A/n- Now Rutger and Lilina get to travel to Japan! This series is most likely going to have 4 parts, so with this it's halfway over. Enjoy!
The Commission Files- File #794 Samurai R Episode 2
Characters: Rutger, Lilina, Kenshin (Rurouni Kenshin), Kaoru (Rurouni Kenshin), Sanosuke (Rurouni Kenshin), Yahiko (Rurouni Kenshin)
Based on: a commission by VidalRalph on Twitter
It was a nice spring day during the Meiji era in Japan and two people in particular were sitting outside enjoying the morning slowly slipping into noon. Kenshin and Kaoru were peacefully sipping tea together in a calm and soothing moment as they just watched the wind blow through the cherry blossom trees. Things had been peaceful like this for a while now, so peaceful that Kenshin had finally decided it was time for him to see if he could move on with his life and be truly happy, to which he had proposed marriage to his lovely Kaoru just a few weeks before. Of course she happily accepted, even knowing everything that had gone on in Kenshin's past, because she knew that he truly was a good and reliable man. That and he was quite funny and humorous, not to mention handsome as well. Either way, they were enjoying themselves until two loud figured burst out of the dojo and started running towards town.
"What's got you two in such a rush this morning? Does Sanosuke actually have money to spend for once?" Kaoru teased the two, Sanosuke and Yahiko, which got them to stop and turn around to face her.
"No way, it's even better!" Yahiko said excitedly. "Someone saw Kenshin and Kaoru fighting robbers in town and we were gonna go watch!" Apparently the two of them hadn't realized that the two of them had been here the whole time. That is until this very moment that is.
"Wait a sec, if you two are here sipping tea, then whose in town fighting the robbers and why would they say it was you two?" Sanosuke wondered, still a bit confused, but interested nonetheless.
"Well, why don't we go see who these lookalikes are." Kenshin said putting his tea down and standing up. "I'm in the mood for a bit of a surprise, that I am."
"Yeah, we don't have anything to do around here today, let's see what's up." Kaoru agreed. Plus if these 'impostors' were up to no good Kenshin could probably set them straight pretty easily. So the four hurried off into the town and there was still quite the crowd surrounding the fighting, so much so that they couldn't see what was going on.
"Put me on your shoulders so I can see the fight Sano!" Yahiko suggested. So Sanosuke picked him up and he started commenting. "There are two people fighting the robbers, a man and a woman. The guy is wearing red and has long brown hair with a sword and the girl is also in red with long blue hair and a staff that looks like it's putting people to sleep."
"You don't say." Kenshin commented as he looked at Kaoru, the both of them knowing who these people were now. "What about the robbers, are they killing them?"
"No actually." Yahiko replied. "The sword guy is fighting a lot like you, though he only has a wooden sword, and the girl's staff isn't one that can kill people."
"Well then, I might as well jump in and help then." Kenshin said before literally jumping over the crowd and joining the fray. As expected he and Kaoru were correct that the combatants were Rutger and Lilina, their friends from another world, and he was happy to help them out. "I know you probably have this handled, but do you mind if I help out a bit?"
"It would be my pleasure." Rutger replied. So the trio worked quickly to take out all the robbers, but somehow their leader snuck through the crowd and was trying to run away. Unfortunately for him he was met at the edge with Kaoru bashing his head with her own wooden sword to incapacitate him.
"Why do they always run?" She said with a sigh before she grabbed the leader's collar and dragged him over to his friends along with the other three who had been fighting.
"So, what now?" Lilina wondered since the robbers had been taken care of. She was used to just having her knights throw people like this in the dungeon or just killing them outright, but she figured it might not be appropriate to do so in a land where they didn't know the culture well.
"We'll tie them up and leave them for the police to handle." Kenshin answered. "They'll get charged with making a disturbance and attempted theft most likely, unless they attacked you first, then they might get a bit more."
"No, we saw them trying to steal some money from some women getting off work so we stepped in." Rutger explained. "Then they drew their swords and then you showed up."
"I though you said it was peaceful around here when we met last time." Lilina wondered.
"It is, mostly." Kaoru noted. "Usually just one small incident like this a week or so, which is a lot better than it used to be."
"Fair enough." Lilina shrugged.
"I'm wondering why you only have a wooden sword Rutger." Kenshin wondered. "Kind of lucky you do, real swords are kind of illegal here. I only get away with it because everyone knows I'm helpful and don't kill people, that I am."
"Like Lilina mentioned, we figured it was going to be peaceful so I just brought a training sword, though that's nice to know for if we decide to come over again at a later date." Rutger noted. Then he noticed the crowd was still around them and that everyone seemed kind of nervous. He gave a silent look to Kenshin and he saw it too and started to talk to the crowd.
"Not to worry everyone, these are my friends from a distant land, they're peaceful." He assured the crowd and it seemed that Kenshin's word held a lot of weigh with them because they started to disperse after that. "Sorry about that, Japan is a very closed off nation, most people aren't comfortable around newcomers right away. But if you show them that you're nice and helpful that will change quickly, that it will."
"So, are you four just going to stand there talking all day or are we gonna get some introductions going around?" Sanosuke cut in as he and Yahiko joined the group after the crowd left.
"Oh, yeah, that might be a good idea." Kenshin replied a bit embarrassed.
"Sanosuke, Yahiko, this is Rutger and Lilina from Elibe, you know from went we went missing for that couple of days a while back." Kaoru explained.
"Wait? They're real people?" Sanosuke asked in a bit of shock. "Me and Yahiko just though you two went off for a few days to-" Kaoru stepped on his foot before he finished his sentence and he yelped out in pain a bit, getting the rest of the group to laugh.
"Yes they are real, and so is the story we told you about them." Kaoru stated. "I'm actually glad we got to see you again given your busy schedules."
"Busy schedules?" Yahiko asked. "What kind of jobs do you have?" Rutger and Lilina were at a bit of a loss on how to explain it since this land of Japan looked like it didn't run on the same principles that Elibe did. But luckily Kenshin was able to step in and explain a bit.
"They are government officials, kind of." Kenshin noted. "You see, Miss Kaoru and I got to thinking after we got back from their homeland and we realized that Rutger and Lilina come from a land similar to what nations in the west call the medieval period. Maybe around 600-700 years or so in the past if they had been in our world. They live in castles and have kings and queens and such, as gross of an oversimplification as that probably is."
"It's close enough." Lilina commented. "I'm the ruler of a middle-sized nation and Rutger is my consort, basically a king if the queen had more power than him." After she said that both Sanosuke and Yahiko straightened up and started to bow at them as if they had been disrespectful.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Rutger said getting them to stop. "We're not that kind of royalty. You don't need to treat us any different than anyone else, especially since we're guests here in your nation."
"Yeah, we like getting to know people and how they get along, so don't worry about offending us." Lilina added.
"You sure these two are government people?" Sanosuke whispered to Kenshin, still not believing it.
"We stayed in their castle and they had servants and everything, so I'd say yeah." Kenshin confirmed. "Something does tell me they are a bit unique compared to their peers though."
"Well, with that all out of the way, why don't we show you around town since you're already here?" Kaoru suggested. "I need to get some ingredients for lunch anyways, so we can kill two birds with one stone."
"Sounds good to me!" Lilina agreed and Rutger nodded as well. So the six hit the town and Kaoru and Kenshin made sure to show Lilina and Rutger all their favorite spots. They even got to see Sanosuke get chased around by some of the restaurant workers trying to get him to pay his tab as usual and they all had a laugh about that. Eventually though they started making their way back to the dojo with the lunch ingredients, though there still were some questions to ask.
"So Miss Lilina, what's with that staff you were fighting with?" Yahiko asked. "It seemed like it was able to put people to sleep with just a touch, are you that skilled of a fighter?"
"Oh this?" Lilina said pulling it out from the loop around her waist it was resting in. "This is my Sleep staff, it uses non lethal magic to put people to sleep. And I guess I can bonk people on the head with it as well if I have to."
"Ha, ha, good one!" Yahiko said laughing, thinking it was a joke. "I'm old enough to know that magic isn't real any more." Kenshin gave Kaoru a look asking if he should butt in but she shook him off because she knew that it would be more funny if Lilina showed him.
"Really now, then how would you explain this!" Lilina replied before deftly pulling out a Fire tome and casting a small fireball that stayed in the palm of her free hand.
"Ahhh! Your hand's on fire! Kenshin, get a bucket of water!" Yahiko yelled as he looked around for something to put it out, but after realizing that everyone other than Sanosuke was acting normal he turned around and realized what was going on, sort of.
"No freaking way!" Sanosuke commented looking more intently at the fireball in Lilina's hand. "No wonder you're the leader of your country, this is an amazing power."
"Oh, she can do much more than a simple fireball." Rutger noted with a bit of a smirk. "With the right tome she can call on the power of the winds and lightning as well, though she does prefer fire."
"Ken, you have some really strange friends here, you know that right?" Sanosuke asked, still a bit shocked.
"Perhaps, but whose to say we aren't strange to them?" Kenshin countered. "They don't have guns or trains or many of the things that make life more comfortable for us, so I'd say that evens things out a bit, that it does."
"Just don't get on her bad side, I don't want to have to deal with a flaming hurricane filled with lightning anytime soon." Sanosuke noted. After that bit happened it was only a few more minutes until the group reached the dojo. Though Sanosuke and Yahiko had other plans for lunch, so it only left the other four together for the moment.
"Alright, you three can tour the dojo while I start making the food." Kaoru noted. Kenshin tried to hide it, but Rutger could tell from the look his face made that Kaoru's cooking was dicey at best, so he decided to speak up.
"Let me help you out, I'd like to see how food is prepared here in Japan." Rutger told her.
"Oh, you know how to cook Rutger?" Kaoru asked.
"Yeah, my mother taught me when I was younger and my father was somewhat of a food expert, so I know my way around a kitchen." Rutger confirmed.
"Okay then, come right in and I can tell you what we're making." So they made their way to the kitchen, leaving Lilina and Kenshin outside.
"Thank you for not making my magic seem weird." Lilina commented. "I wasn't quite sure how it would be taken, but it's important to me so I was glad things worked out well."
"Of course, everyone has special skills and they should be celebrated when used to help people, that they should." Kenshin replied. "How did you like the tour of the town, I could sense you were just a tad bit uncomfortable at the beginning."
"I was." Lilina confirmed. "A bit of that was from the fight we got in right away, but the other part is just me. Sometimes I just feel like I don't fit into common situations because of my upbringing, being a 'princess' as you and your friends might call it is a pretty sheltered life even if my parents were on good terms with our subjects as I am."
"Well I think you do a lovely job of it Miss Lilina." Kenshin assured her. "You're always so nice and kind to me and Miss Kaoru and you were nice and inviting to all the townsfolk as well, I think they really liked you."
"Thank you Kenshin, I appreciate that, it's very similar to what Rutger always tells me." Lilina noted. "See, he doesn't have a problem with it because he grew up not being royalty, though he sometimes has the reverse of my problem, he doesn't feel comfortable all the time around people of high esteem.:
"Which makes you two perfect for each other because you know how to deal with the other's problems." Kenshin commented as he clasped his hands together. Doing that allowed Lilina to see a ring on his finger.
"Hey, that ring is new, where did you get it?" Lilina wondered. Kenshin blushed a bit before explaining.
"Well, since we last met I decided that I wanted to try and move on with my life a bit more, and part of that was letting someone special into my life, I'm engaged to someone." Kenshin explained.
"You are? That's great!" Lilina said happily. "Whose the lucky woman?"
"I mean, isn't it pretty obvious?" Kenshin noted, which clued Lilina into who it was.
"Awww! I'm so happy for you two!" She told him genuinely. "When is the wedding, Rutger and I would love to come if we could."
"We haven't set a date yet, but I'm sure we can find a way to let the two of you know when it will be." Kenshin assured her.
"Great! I wonder what a wedding in Japan is like." Lilina wondered. Though that was cut off with Rutger and Kaoru coming back out with plates of food ready to eat. "What kind of food is that?"
"Noodles, rice, and sushi!" Kaoru noted. "A special treat for our special guests!" They even set up a table for them all to eat under some cherry blossom trees and the food was wonderful. Rutger and Lilina got to learn how to use chopsticks and when Lilina saw Kaoru playfully feed Kenshin a piece of sushi she wanted to try it with Rutger.
"I think I've got the hang of this." Lilina said moving the food closer to Rutger's mouth. "Open wide!" So Rutger opened his mouth and the sushi landed perfectly in his mouth before he started to chew. Kaoru and Kenshin were still being cute with each other so Rutger motioned over to them without talking, because that would be rude, and Lilina got the question he was asking. "They're engaged now, isn't that great?" Rutger's eyes opened a bit before he nodded in agreement. After that they continued to eat, but eventually the meal was done and Lilina helped Kaoru take the dishes back into the dojo, giving Rutger and Kenshin a moment to talk.
"That was really good, I never thought raw fish could be prepared like that." Rutger commented.
"Well, that was just the basic stuff, next time you should try some squid or pufferfish." Kenshin joked.
"Sounds like something my father would love." Rutger replied with a chuckle. But also, since he brought Mark up, he wanted to say something to Kenshin about it. "You know Kenshin, you actually remind me a lot of my father."
"Oh really?" Kenshin wondered. "How so?"
"Just in the way where he would always act the part of a fool when in reality he was actually very intelligent and could be very serious when the time called for it." Rutger explained.
"I can see why you would think that, I would have very much liked to meet your father Rutger." Kenshin noted.
"There is just one thing different about you two though that I wonder about." Rutger continued. "My father played the fool to get people closer to him so he could form deep relationships with them, you seem to play the fool to keep people away though. Or am I just seeing things?"
"No, no, you are quite right Rutger." Kenshin confirmed. "Outside of my close friends here in the dojo I'm not a very sociable person, even if I would like to change that eventually. It comes back to what I did in the past and me trying to forgive myself for doing what I believed in at the time. Again I must concede that this is one area where your expertise outstrips mine when it comes to life experience."
"Well, that's kind of why I wanted to bring it up." Rutger noted. "I wanted to let you in on my father's...unique methods is the best way to put it, to make close friends. Methods that I've adopted as well and I've seen work wonders for me as well."
"I'm open to pretty much any advice, especially when it comes from a friend." Kenshin replied.
"Good. Now I'm gonna whisper it to you because it's a bit strange and because if you do decide to go through with implementing it you're gonna have to get Kaoru to agree with it as well now since you're engaged." Rutger explained.
"Alright." Kenshin said, not quite sure why Rutger was being this careful. Though when Rutger got close to his ear and started explaining what his and his father's methods were, he understood pretty quickly after that.
"I hope that doesn't color Lilina and I in a bad light, but it's worked for us and we'd be willing to help out in any way we could." Rutger said in his normal tone to finish it off.
"I will admit that I find your methods a bit... extreme." Kenshin noted. "But I can also see the wisdom in you and your father's words. I can't give you an answer about it right now obviously, but I promise I'll bring it up to Miss Kaoru and we'll think about it."
"It's not for everyone, I know." Rutger assured him. "But you never know, it helped me and we're pretty similar guys so it could help you as well."
"Well, I appreciate you thinking of me and my well being Rutger, you truly are a wonderful friend, that you are." Kenshin replied with a smile. It was about then that the women came back to the table that had been set up.
"Let's put this table away and finally give you two the tour of the dojo like we promised." Kaoru said as she started to fold up the tablecloth. "Oh, and you two are staying the night right? We have a guest room you can stay in. It may not have a big fancy bed like your castle, but I'm sure you'll enjoy it. It's almost like sleeping underneath the stars."
"I'm always a big fan of that." Rutger noted. "We have time, right Lilina?"
"Of course we do, we'd love to have your hospitality." Lilina agreed.
"Great! I just love it when things work out so smoothly for once."