From: "Tin Mandigma" Hello, minna-san ^_^ Been kinda long since I last posted ^^;; Gomen nasai but school started again and I got the most unbelievable schedule. Negatively speaking, of course ~_~ Anyway, here's a 'fic a dear friend asked (read: shamelessly nagged) me to post for him. Clifford, the author of the 'fic and said dear friend, is more active in YYH and GW but, hell, we are united in our veneration of Kenshin, platonic or otherwise, so when he asked my opinion on this story, I (and the rest of the Sisterhood, special mention: Crimy-sama) pushed him into the loving embrace of his computer and asked, nay, begged, nay, commanded him to write this ^_^ (as if! ne, Cliff?) As for the 'slightly yaoi?' tag, erm, the yaoi elements in this 'fic are more a matter of perspective than of any actual content. But I digress... PTSOUP, SNOW, & A BLANKET (A Rurouni Kenshin Fanfic) By: Clifford de Marquis - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - AUTHOR’S NOTES: This one here’s for the “blanket scenario” fic. Now, don’t get me wrong! I’m a fan of Rurouni Kenshin myself, maybe as much as Mme Mandigma is. It’s not my fault that Sano-chan keeps on dropping curious lines every now and then, or that Kenshin is such a shy guy for a lethal swordsman to begin with. I don’t know about you, but I think they had it coming in the first place. Waaaiiiii! Besides, they’re so cute together, how can I possibly help myself! T__T () Anyway, standard disclaimers apply. I don’t mean to bring these two good people to bad light, nor it is my intent to degrade this very beautiful anime/manga. I don’t have any money, I’m technically jobless as of the moment, and I’m not worth suing, so there. This piece of insanity is especially dedicated to two very lovely people indeed. (HhwwaaaarrrrkkK!!! Somebody give me a barfbag! Quick! ~_~ ;;; ) Firstly, to Majie Soliman, who gave me the idea; and of course, to Mme Tin Mandigma, my cheerful landlady, dear friend, and the one and only Avatar and High Priestess of the Temple of the Order of the Brothers of Highway Traffic Jams. (whew! That’s a mouthful!) Also, special mention goes to Daryl-sama, the one and only Inoran-no-Miko, for posting this thing on the Sisterhood page. Oh, did I mention that this fic has some yaoi coloration? If you didn’t get the hint from the first paragraph above, then now you know. Well, if you’re not into this stuff, BEAT IT! I don’t need no uptight self-righteous homophobic Gendou Ikari wannabes around here. Scram! But if you like it, you can get to stay and enjoy the show. No lemons though. Mme Mandigma might kick me all the way to Makai if I did something like that to Kenshin and Sano-chan. Enjoy! ^_^ - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - It was a cold winter night, and not a soul was stirring. Well, save for Sanosuke’s grumbling tummy and Kenshin’s chop-chop-chopping in the kitchen. “Is the soup done yet?” Sanosuke shouted towards the direction of the kitchen. “Almost,” was the quick, short reply. A few days ago, Kaoru wanted to go to the hot springs, and everyone else wanted to join. It had been a fairly peaceful week, but she wouldn’t want to take risks. She wanted somebody left behind to maintain the dojo and stand guard should anything happen while the rest of the group went vacationing. Sanosuke was willing enough to volunteer for the job, but had second thoughts about the food Kaoru was leaving behind for him. Since Kenshin was a very good cook and had no second thoughts about staying, he also volunteered to stay. And that left the two of them, alone, in a big house with a big dojo. Too bad the same couldn’t be said for the food Kaoru left behind. It was anything but plenty. Less than enough would do it justice. Sanosuke’s stomach grumbled some more with the cold winter breeze outside. “Don’t you have anything done there?! Anything at all?!” There was hunger and desperation in that voice, ringing true with the echoes that led towards the kitchen. “Don’t worry, Sanosuke,” came Kenshin’s all-too pleasant reply. “I’ve arranged a feast for us tonight. Too bad Kaoru-dono won’t be around to enjoy this.” “Would you please shut up already and get the food out?!” Sanosuke shouted out in frustration. “I’m as hungry as a bear waking up for the first time in the first day of spring!” He clutched his stomach, and contemplated on loosening the tight wrappings that covered most of his abs. Kenshin’s cooking always had that effect on him. The wind continued to howl outside. It wasn’t that bad a couple of days ago, the morning when Kaoru and the group left. Sure, it was cold, but it wasn’t even snowing a few minutes ago. But now, not only did it drizzle but it snowed heavily, and after a while the wind moved until it was almost storming outside. It was then he thought about the others, soaked in the steaming hot pools of water, incredibly warm, luxuriously comfortable, having the time of their lives. He cursed and promptly gave himself a mental kick in the behind for not going with them. But then again, he couldn’t just leave Kenshin alone in this kind of weather either. Darn it! Well, if anything at all, Kenshin’s better than getting stuck with Megumi for an entire day or two. Almost as if on cue, Kenshin appeared with what looked like a tray filled with aromatic delights enough to wake the hungry dead. And in what seemed like a few seconds, the plates and bowls were devoid of any food, with Sanosuke’s quite squeaky clean. “Gochisou-sama,” Sanosuke said, toothpick in mouth. “Gods, Kenshin, I’m stuffed! How did you come up with all those food?” “Just call it culinary magic,” Kenshin said, a bit blushing. “I think I’ll have nightmares tonight for eating too much!” With that, Sanosuke gave out a tremulous, resonant, echoing burp. “Well, better not sleep too early, ne Sanosuke?” Kenshin retorted with a big smile while gathering the dishes for cleaning. “Here, let me help you with those,” Sanosuke said, reaching over the table to gather a few bowls himself. “No, that’s quite all right, I can manage these myself,” Kenshin said. “I insist,” Sanosuke interjected. In a split second, both of them grabbed for the same bowl in the middle of the table. Kenshin got hold of it first, and Sanosuke ended up holding Kenshin’s hand instead. The snow continued to howl outside. The cold of winter crept into the walls, chilling the air in the room. And Kenshin’s hand was comfortably and strikingly warm under Sanosuke’s touch. “Sanosuke?” “Eh?” “Soup too spicy? You’re turning red, and I think that’s a nosebleed you’re having now...” Sanosuke immediately jumped up and turned about-face towards the door, abruptly wiping his nose with a piece of cloth. “N-n-no-noth... no-nothing’s the matter, Kenshin... I’ll just be... at the dojo if you... need me...” Sanosuke muttered aloud between huge gulps of air. “Are you sure you’re okay? Want me to give you a glass of milk or something?!” Kenshin called out at the rushing Sanosuke, who didn’t even bother to answer back. “Oro? Mondai aru darou ka, aitsu wa...” Kenshin thought to himself, walking to the kitchen with the dishes. ~ o 0 o ~ “Done! Your move, Sanosuke.” “Okay. Get ready for this...” Now THIS is definitely better, Sanosuke thought as he studied the board before he made any move. They were now in the middle of the dojo, playing a friendly game of go to pass the time. Nothing like some competition to get the mind off a few unbidden thoughts. “Let’s see you get past this, Kenshin,” Sanosuke smiled contentedly as he made his move across the wooden board. His victory was short-lived, however, as Kenshin’s next move abruptly finished the game. “There,” Kenshin said, “now you owe me three full meals at Akabeko!” He was grinning proudly as he crossed his arms on his chest. Sanosuke, however, was dumbfounded. He never saw that one coming. He was still staring at the wooden go board with an open mouth as Kenshin got up to stretch, yawning with a similarly big mouth. “Oi, daijobu ka?” Kenshin asked the now pale-faced Sanosuke. It was only then his attention snapped back to reality. “Uh, huh?” Sanosuke had a peculiar look that made one think of question marks written across his face. Kenshin had to smile at his friend as he reached a hand towards him to help him stand. Sanosuke shot a glance at Kenshin, then at the outstretched hand, then at Kenshin again before he muttered a line. “No, thank you,” he said, almost defiantly. “I can get up myself.” Kenshin shrugged his shoulders at that, and proceeded to pick up the go board with the pieces. Sanosuke was walking off to another room, when Kenshin yawned one more time. “Sanosuke,” he called out. “Yup, Kenshin?” “Could you do me a favor and prepare the thick mattresses and the woolen blankets? I’m too sleepy to do anything after cleaning up.” “Okay,” Sanosuke replied back. After a second or two, his spine shot up and went cold. Kenshin turned around and saw Sanosuke frozen in mid-stance. “Oro? What’s the matter, Sanosuke?” he asked. “Oh, Gods! K’so!” Sanosuke’s mind was shouting at the fury of his discovery. He forgot to haul in Kenshin’s laundry earlier on before the snowstorm came. Among the things in the laundry that were worth noting were most of the thick mattresses and almost all of the nice, warm, thick, woolen blankets and bedrolls. And since there was no way in the seven pits of hell that he’s going outside now to go and get any of them back, it looks like they’d have to settle for the futon and a small pillow tonight. “Kenshin...” Sanosuke turned around slowly to face him. “Sano... ?” An errie silence. And then... “I forgot to haul in the laundry this afternoon,” Sanosuke finally said, face-vaulting. “Oro?” Kenshin’s eyes turned into purple pinpoints and sweat-dropped. The wind continued to howl outside. The lamplight flickered, playing with the shadows of Kenshin and Sanosuke. And for lack of anything better to do, they walked out of the dojo and into the sleeping room. “Well, look at it this way, Sano,” Kenshin said, breaking the errie silence. “At least we still have one blanket.” ~ o 0 o ~ Sometime later, within the confined darkness of the sleeping room... “Kenshin?” “Uh, hn?” “Are you asleep?” “Not anymore.” Silence. Then, some shuffling noises from Sanosuke’s side of the futon. “Well?” “Well, what?” “Wanna talk or something?” A few moments of thought, then, “Nope.” “Then why d’ya wake me up for?” “I didn’t.” “You did too!” “Did not!” “Did too!” More silence. Then, more shuffling noises from Sanosuke’s side of the futon. “Oi.” “Nani yo?” “What’s with the shuffling, Sano?” “Nandemo nai.” Silence again. Outside, the wind continued to howl in cold fury. “Cold, Sano?” “Hn?!?!!” “I mean, cold, like are you feeling cold or something?” No response. “Aw, all right. Here’s the blanket.” Loud shuffling noises of a blanket being passed on from Kenshin to Sanosuke. “Thanks, Kenshin.” “Sano?” “Eh?” “Shut up and let me sleep already.” “Oh.” Silent stillness. A few moments later, the sounds of chattering teeth could be clearly heard. “Kenshin?” “Ng-ngr-ngr?” “You cold?” “Whaddayathink?!?!!” Some shuffling noises again. “Sano?” “Hn?” “What in the manner of demons are you trying to do?” “Thought you might wanna share the blanket.” “Oh, with that small a blanket. Gee, thanks for the thought.” A hint of ice-cold sarcasm frosted over the words. “Hey, could you be a little more thankful that I’m not in a selfish mood right now?” No response. “If you have any better ideas, Kenshin, lemme hear ‘em.” Some shuffling noises again, but faint. “Now what?!?!!” Annoyance and surprise. “Well, I thought that... maybe if we were to... insulate ourselves with our clothes... between us and the blanket, well... maybe we could actually get warmer... What do you think, Sanosuke?” No response. “Sanosuke?” Still no response. “Sano?” Still no response, physical or otherwise. “Oi, baka!” “I nink dad ‘ud be onkay, Ngenshing.” “Oi...” “Ngh?” “Nosebleed again, Sano?” Quick, loud shuffling noises. “Sano?” “Ngust shaddap an led’s ged som sngeep.” “Eh?” “Sneep!” “I don’t get it.” “Sleep! I said sleep!” “Oh.” Then, finally, there was silence that lasted until the sun was up. ~ o 0 o ~ But the following morning... “Kenshin, what is the *meaning* of this?!” “No, Kaoru-dono, I can explain...” “I knew I never should’ve let you guys stay behind...” “It’s not what you think, Fox...” “Kenshin, what’s with the cold, damp laundry outside?” It was a scene unlike any other. As Kaoru, Megumi and Yahiko entered the door, Kenshin and Sanosuke were just barely awake in a heap of interjoined limbs under the lame cover of a small blanket and discarded clothing. Kaoru has gone ballistic, Kenshin’s face was red as beet, waving his hands to and fro in a desperate attempt to clear everything up, Megumi was downcast but with a sly grin slowly creeping on her lips, Sanosuke was sweatdropping as he started picking up the rest of their clothing, and Yahiko’s eyes were as big as dinner plates and was just plain confused. It was a shock to the couple as it was to the trio. Outside the house, the sky has cleared up and the sun is shining brightly. A cool breeze carried the distinct scent of winter lightly. And two little girls were playing amidst the snow with sticks of broken branches. “Hey, what do you think is going on inside, Ayame?”, one of the girls asked, referring to the commotion inside the dojo. “I don’t know, Sazame,” the other replied, writing her name in kana on the snow. “But whatever it is, I think it has to do something with Kenshin and the laundry.” - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - “Soup, Snow, and A Blanket” Owari - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - POST SCRIPT: Like it? Hate it? Do tell. C&C’s go to [clef_sama@hotmail.com], [clef_sama@yahoo.com], or [silver.hakai@iname.com]. Thanks. And oh, keep your flames to yourselves. ^_^ --------------------------- ONElist Sponsor ---------------------------- For BUFFY or BABYLON 5, SPAWN or SOUTH PARK, NextPlanetOver.com sells the cool stuff you want. Shop now and get your FIRST ORDER FREE!! Click Here ------------------------------------------------------------------------