Tanuki To Ryuu
This is chapter 2 of my fic! Remember, knowledge of Jinchuu is
needed to understand what's going on!
Chapter 2: Kenshin hits Town
***
Kenshin woke up late at night covered in a thin film of cold
sweat. He had that dream again, the one where Kaoru died by Enishi's
sword, pinned to the dojo's wall. He wiped his forehead and shivered
as he felt how cold the sweat was. Kenshin suspected that if this
nightmare repeated itself for the rest of the week, he would give
himself a cold. He knew sleep for the rest of the night was
impossible, and a lingering question was in the back of his mind. He
had to know if she was alright.
Kenshin carried his sakabato in his left hand as he walked
silently towards Kaoru's room. Outside the door, he stretched his
senses inside the room and felt only Kaoru inside, sleeping. He should
have felt relieved, but a small nagging doubt still bothered him. He
slowly slid the door open and saw Kaoru sleeping, her hair braided as
she usually wears it in bed. Kenshin sighed and sat down near her
head, setting the sakabato down next to him, and looked down at her
sleeping face. He smiled slightly and watched her sleep for a while.
***
Kaoru woke up the next morning and was greeted by seeing
Kenshin's sleeping face hovering over her. Kaoru gasped loudly in
surprise. The gasp woke Kenshin from his slumber immediately.
Kenshin noticed he was in an odd predicament and lacking the reason to
explain it said the only thing he could think of. "Good morning?"
What happened next was easy to expect. Kaoru gave a loud
scream as she threw Kenshin through the wall of her house and into the
couryard. Kenshin landed a good distance away from the house on his
head. Kaoru immediately rushed out of the house from the hole she made
with a worried look on her face as she apologized immediately, "Oh god,
Kenshin I'm soo sorry! You scared me that's all. Are you ok?"
Kenshin, who was sitting upside down on his head outside the
house, quickly got up and brushed the dirt off his sleeping clothes and
calmed Kaoru down. "Its alright, Kaoru. See? I'm fine. I could
take some of Sano's best punches, remember?" He put his hand on
Kaoru's shoulder in a reassuring way and hoped that his words calmed her
fears.
"Alright, Kenshin." Kaoru said as they started walking back into
the house. "Its just that I don't want you to be hurt on my account
and..." Kaoru's face changed expression slightly as she realised
something "HEY! What were you doing in my room, WATCHING ME SLEEP?"
Kenshin's eyes widened in fear as he heard Kaoru's tone rise.
"Umm, you see, Kaoru..." Kenshin said with a slight blush on his
face, "I had a nightmare. One about the doll..." Kenshin's face looked
more serious as he was speaking. "I had to make sure you were alive."
Kaoru's face paled; Megumi told her before her departure to Aizu about
the corpse doll and how its
image haunted Kenshin.
"Oh, Kenshin..." Kaoru said, worried. "Don't worry. You'll
always protect me, right?" she said smiling, trying to reassure him.
"Right" he said, smiling his usual kind smile with a touch of sadness
behind it. "Always, Kaoru. We better get inside."
***
"Kaoru, when will Yahiko be coming, you think?" Kenshin asked,
turning his head towards Kaoru as he was sitting on the porch.
"I'm not sure. He should be here by now. Of course," Kaoru
mused "he IS living in Sanosuke's row house, so who knows what would
delay him." Kaoru walked out of the main house wearing her kendo
clothes and carrying her bokken, ready for practice as usual. "I'll be
in the dojo warming up. If Yahiko shows up, send him in." she said
with a small smile.
"Alright, Kaoru." Kenshin said in a slightly distracted tone as
he stood up, threading the sakabato into his belt and walking towards
the other end of the property. Kaoru noticed the way Kenshin was
walking seemed slightly tense, but shrugged it off as she entered the
dojo and prepared for her daily exercise.
Kaoru's focus seemed off, even though she was performing her
moves with the same precision as always. She couldn't get the image of
Kenshin walking away out of her mind. Even if she was doing the
movements right, she knew if her mind was abscent that this exercise had
little purpose. She groaned in annoyance and walked out of the dojo to
see what Kenshin would be doing, and hopefully talk to him some more.
What she saw surprised her.
Kenshin was standing, sword unsheathed, eyes and body tense,
staring at several boards of wood that were fixed to stand vertically.
Even Kaoru's relatively untrained ki sensing ability could feel
Kenshin's ki was active, not passive. Kenshin moved swiftly, smashing
his sword against the boards, shattering them on impact. Kaoru
watched, spellbound by Kenshin's precise, swift motions. Kenshin
slowed his motions, staring at the final board standing. Nine arcs of
light seemed to emit from his body as he rushed the board, shattering it
into sawdust and smaller wooden fragments. Kenshin's back seemed to
straighten and he turned and saw Kaoru watching him, then he smirked
slightly and disappeared in a blur.
"Feeling distracted, Kaoru?" Kenshin said with a slight tone of
humor in his voice from his new position behind Kaoru. "I'm sorry."
Kenshin apologized as he sheathed his sakabato, " I usually don't beat
on boards like this, Kaoru, but its just that I feel a little tense from
last night."
"Last night?" Yahiko said as he entered the area as he saw
Kenshin and Kaoru standing so close together and coming up with his
usual conclusions. "Kenshin, there is just some things you shouldn't
say out loud!" he said, laughing.
Both Kenshin and Kaoru turned and saw Yahiko standing there,
dressed for practice, looking as if he was using all his willpower to
keep from laughing out loud. Kenshin and Kaoru's faces turned a
bright shade of red at the youth's suggestion. "Yahiko!" Kaoru cried in
protest, "Its not like that! Go in the dojo and work on that form I
showed you last week, a thousand times! Oh, and I better not see you
doing anymore of those Hitem Misturugi Ryuu imitations without Kenshin's
approval! Kamiya Kasshin Ryuu is your style, not Hitem Mitsurugi Ryuu,
and you should remember that."
Yahiko made a face at his master then headed towards the dojo
with a reply of "Yeah yeah, alright buso."
Kaoru's face turned even more read as she said "That kid will be
the end of me, I know it." Then she realized her immediate proximity
with Kenshin, their faces inches apart. She stepped back hesitantly.
"I, uh, better go give Yahiko his lessons."
Kenshin became slightly embarassed himself and nodded. "Yes,
and I should probably clean up the mess I made" he said as he indicated
the destroyed wooden boards. "Oh, Kaoru, we should probably go
shopping this afternoon." Kenshin shouted to Kaoru's retreating back.
"Ok, Kenshin, we will!" Kaoru replied, turning back with a
smile.
***
Kenshin and Kaoru walked down the streets of Tokyo, both dressed
as they usually would when out in public during autumn. Yahiko was
out, probably working at the Akebeko or training on his own. Kaoru was
still upset about Yahiko's rush to learn. He already had the ougi, but
lacked several other key parts of Kamiya Kasshin Ryuu. Even then, he
only had another 3-4 years tops before he was a master himself. Kaoru
smiled slightly at that thought; a 14 year old kenjutsu master. Of
course, Kaoru still had some final tests to pass before she would rise
above the rank of adjuncent master to master.
Kenshin purchased the groceries the house needed and carried
them on his back like he was an ox and walked with Kaoru down the
streets of Tokyo. He was still smiling as usual, even though the load
on his back seemed unnatural considering his small frame. "Kenshin?"
Kaoru said, "are you sure you have to carry all of that? I could take
some of it." She was still worried about whatever injuries he still
might have from his fight with Enishi.
Kenshin turned his head to face Kaoru and smiled and said "No
no, its alright, Kaoru-dono." Kaoru's face turned red with a slightly
angry look and she turned and walked into an ally, motioning for Kenshin
to follow her. Kenshin realized his error; the honorific!
"Kenshin, I thought you understood I want you to just call me
Kaoru." Kaoru said, looking more sad then upset at the moment. "Did
you forget already?" Kenshin was thinking of what to say in response
when the perfect response came to his mind.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Kaoru, its just that I'm used to calling you
'Kaoru-dono' in public. Plus, it seems more proper to address you as
such out in public, but when we are alone, I'll just call you Kaoru, if
that is alright." He said with a big smile, hoping that his lame
reasoning would hold out better than 'I forgot'. Kaoru seemed to think
about it for a moment then nodded.
"Yes, I guess when you put it that way, it seems alright if you
call me 'Kaoru-dono' out in public. I mean, some people might get the
wrong idea if you sound too familiar with me" Kaoru said with a slight
giggle.
"Well, we better head back home, Kaoru." Kenshin said as he
stood flush against a wall giving Kaoru a passageway out of the alley.
Kaoru used the room Kenshin offered her to manuver back into the main
street and Kenshin followed. "Kaoru-dono, shouldn't you be a master of
your style already?" Kaoru turned her head to face Kenshin, one
eyebrow raised.
"What makes you ask?" Kaoru inquired. "But to answer your
question, not yet. I'm almost there, but there are a few more tests
for me to pass." Kaoru's expression seemed to fall slightly when she
revealed this. The couple continued to walk back towards the dojo
undisturbed until someone called towards Kaoru.
"Kaoru, is that you?" said a woman about Kaoru's age dressed in a bright
green kimono with an obi tied in the style of a married woman. "Oh my
goodness, it is you! I haven't seen you in years!" Kaoru turned her
head towards the young woman and smiled.
"Hiriko! How are you? Its good to see you!" Kaoru said
enthusiastically as she gestured for Kenshin to move closer. "Kenshin,
this is an old childhood friend of mine who I haven't seen in years!"
Kenshin bowed slightly, even though he was carrying a large load
on his back. "Good to meet you, Hiriko-dono." Hiriko looked at
Kenshin, then Kaoru, then at Kenshin's sheathed sword.
"You didn't tell me you were married, Kaoru. Boy, the other
girls will just have to eat their words! Remember when we were younger
and they said you would never get a husband? I guess it figures he's a
kendoist. Knowing you, he's probably extremely strong. My husband's
just a merchant, and we've been out of Tokyo for the last year or so.
Its funny, first thing I get into town, I heard from Sakura all these
weird rumors of explosions and ninjas at your dojo. I even heard you
died and came back from the grave somehow!"
Kenshin and Kaoru both blushed at Hiriko's suggestion that they
were married. "No no, Hiriko. Kenshin and I aren't married yet!"
Kaoru then blushed almost as red as Kenshin's hair when she realized she
said 'yet'. "I mean..." Hiriko cut Kaoru's protest off with a smile.
"Ahh, alright. I should have noticed. How long have you two
been engaged? And how come Sakura didn't tell me about this? Only
thing she mentions about your dojo are all those weird rumors like she
said," Hiriko started giggling uncontrollably, "she said that the
Hitokiri Battousai was living in your home!"
Kenshin's face paled slightly as he looked down and Kaoru
stammered slightly, "Umm, well, you see, its kind of complicated"
Hiriko looked at both Kenshin and Kaoru then had a look on her face of
understanding.
"Ohhh, I see! So the other girls don't know you're engaged to
the Hitokiri Battousai yet? I can see why you'd want to keep it a
secret. He does look a bit scrawnier than you'd expect." On the far
end of the street, a man called for Hiriko to come his way. "Oh,
that's my husband. I guess I have to go. Bye Kaoru!" said Hiriko
as she walked down the street waving back at her childhood friend.
"That girl.... She didn't change a bit!" Kaoru said in an
aggrivated tone. Kenshin and Kaoru resumed walking towards the dojo and
Kaoru went on. "She lived in the neighborhood and I knew her since we
were 8. She moved out when she was 15 and she was married off to
someone. She's always talkative."
Kenshin nodded and snickered slightly. "I feel sorry for her
husband." Kaoru looked at Kenshin with a slightly shocked look on her
face.
"Kenshin! Don't say things like that! She's my friend you
know." The two of them arrived at the dojo's gate and Kaoru quickly
unlocked and opened the door to let Kenshin in. Kenshin walked through
the courtyard and into the kitchen to put the groceries up. When he
was about finished, he heard Kaoru scream "Kenshin!"
Kenshin ran as quickly as his legs could carry him to the
direction of Kaoru's voice and saw Kaoru standing infront of her dojo, a
note pinned to the dojo door reading "Girls shouldn't play with swords".
Kenshin put his hand on Kaoru's shoulder to calm her then stepped up to
the dojo's door and stretched out with his senses. After being
absolutely sure there was no attacker or trap awaiting them, he pulled
the note off the door and studied it.
He noticed the calligraphy was fine, yet there were obvious
signs that the writer knew kenjutsu due to the harsh movements of the
brush. Whoever wrote this might be a former samurai of some sort, with
a grudge against Kaoru and not him. That made protecting her much
harder, but protect her he will, because Himura Kenshin would not lose
her again.
***
Well, that's Chapter 2. What do you think? I know Hiriko is a made
up name, but it sounds about right. I always thought Kaoru would've
had a lot of friends as a child due to her friendly, outgoing nature,
even though her hobby as a kendoist might have alienated her from the
other girls.
Of course naturally there should be rumors about Kaoru's dojo! I
checked and nearly every part of the Dojo had to be replaced at some
point of the series due to all the fights that happened in and around
it.(the repair bill would rival even that of the Tendo dojo!).
Stay Tuned for Chapter 3 where the mystery of Kaoru's new enemy unfolds!
.---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List----.
| Administrators - ffml-admins@anifics.com |
| Unsubscribing - ffml-request@anifics.com |
| Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject |
`---- http://ffml.anifics.com/faq.txt -----'