From: "Elienta *" Greetings... yes, it's another newbie... please be gentle. T_T The fan fic below is one I've already finished - however I am too lazy to send it all at once. Please read and comment... some of you who are in the Rurouni Kenshin Club at Yahoo may already have read it. ^_~ The reaction on the whole was postive, so here goes - ========================================== A Beautiful Hitkokiri by: Elienta ========================================== Disclaimer - Rurouni Kenshin is property of Wastuki-sama... heaven forbid I would claim it as my own. (is that how you write a disclaimer? ========================================== Part One - Enter Karen (contains mild obscenity and a tiny tiny bit of violence. I don't think it's enough to insult anyone... ========================================== It was a lazy summer afternoon in Tokyo, and the Akabeko was as busy as ever. People talked loudly as they ate and shouted for more. Tsubame and Yahiko were out of breath running to and fro, taking orders and serving tables and listening to impatient customers yell complaints. "Come in!" Dae cheerfully greeted her next customers. "Konichiwa, everyone!" Kaoru, Kenshin and Sanosuke greeted her. "Konichiwa, Dae-san! You sure do look busy today," Kaoru commented as they took their seats. "As you can see," Dae smiled. "Wait a few minutes, and I'll get Tsubame to wait on you." "Take your time, Dae-san," Kenshin reassured her. "We can wait." "We can?" Sanosuke talked around the piece of grass he was chewing on. "I can't." "Keep your mouth shut, Sano, especially if you're not paying for this," Kaoru said pointedly. "¡¦^^; All right, all right," Sanosuke waved his hands in defeat. Kenshin smiled. "Have you heard?" Dae's voice took on a lower tone as she served them water. "Someone is trying to buy up half of the land around here." Kaoru nearly spit out the water she was drinking. "Who?" "I don't know. It's just a rumor." Dae shook her head. "A college professor who comes here every now and then told me that land rates have rose around here, and foreigners especially are eager to buy a piece of it." "They're not getting one bit from me!" Kaoru scowled fiercely. "Is the government protecting the rights of the citizens?" Kenshin asked. Dae shrugged. "Some people say they're encouraging the foreigners." "Dirty dogs," was Sanosuke's comment. "Welcome!" Dae called out as another person entered. Kaoru glanced up, then blinked. "Kenshin, look!" "Mm?" Kenshin turned. So did Sanosuke. So did everyone in the room. For a split second there was a lull as a girl who looked a little older than Kaoru walked in. Her black hair was pinned up, framing her oval face that was slightly tanned but nevertheless quite attractive. Her sapphire eyes were lowered as if to hide something. She wore a dark red kimono, and carried herself gracefully as she sat down at an empty table. The noise started up again, but it was now a murmur. Kaoru cast a glance over her shoulder. "Who is she?" "I don't know, but she sure is pretty," Sanosuke drawled. "Now that's what I call a girl. Unlike some people around here..." "What is that supposed to mean, Sano?" Kaoru demanded. Kenshin, oblivious to Kaoru's and Sano's bickering, was observing the girl through thoughtfully narrowed eyes. "..." "Just some sake, please," the girl requested. "Whew ~" Sano whistled. "Sake ¡¦ in the middle of the day. What a woman." "Will you cut it out!" Kaoru snapped. "Hey lady!" a gruff voice made them turn. "Wanna join us?" Standing over the girl was a burly man, leering at her, as she calmly looked him over. When she spoke, her voice was low and melodious. "I am not an oiran, but if you ask politely, I will condescend to pour you and your friends' drinks." "¡¦!" Kaoru was holding her breath as she watched. The burly man laughed in the girl's face. "You should be honored that a man has asked you to join him!" he bellowed. The girl's eyes flashed dangerously. "If you please, I would like to be left alone," she said quietly. "You bitch!!!" The man raised his hand to slap her. Kaoru tensed, and Kenshin and Sanosuke half stood. But the girl was fast. She jerked back as the meaty hand came crashing down on the table, shattering a vase. "This is a public place," she stood up. "Please do not disturb the meals of others." " ..!!!" The man pulled out a sword. "I'm going to teach you some manners!!" "Outside, then." The girl smiled sweetly and vanished through the door. The man lunged after her. "Let's go!" Kaoru was on her feet, Kenshin and Sanosuke right behind her. Behind them followed a group of curious customers who had lost their appetite. The girl was standing underneath a tree, where she had left a small bag ¡¦ and a ninhontou. Everyone gasped as she unsheathed it and took a fighting stance. "Ha! You think you can fight me? ME?!" the man snarled, surrounded by his gang. "Get her!" "You cheats!!" Kaoru shouted as they attacked. "Ten against one..!!" Kenshin was already in the air, and so was Sanosuke. But Kaoru hardly saw them. Her eyes were fixed on the girl. One moment she was there, the next she couldn't be seen as she whipped through the men like lightening. The girl calmly sheathed her sword as Kenshin and Sanosuke made short work of the rest. Which, to be sure, wasn't much. "Arigato," she bowed to them. Then she walked over to Dae. "I apologize for the disturbance." She pressed some money into her hand. "Wait, there's no need for -" Dae started to protest, but the girl smiled and bowed and started to walk away. "Wait!" Kaoru ran and caught her sleeve. "Where are you from? Do you live around here?" " ... Kamia ..?" she said suddenly, studying her. "Kamia Kaoru?" "...!" Kaoru started. "Yes, that's me. How do you..?" "I've heard about you." She bowed. "My name is Karen. Fujita Karen." Kaoru returned the bow, then turned to Kenshin and Sanosuke. "Karen-san, this is Himura -" " - Kenshin and Sagara Sanosuke." Karen greeted them. They bowed back. "That is quite some skill you have there," Sanosuke commented. Karen shrugged and smiled. "Arigato." "Are you visiting Tokyo?" Kenshin asked. " ... I'm a rurouni, so I don't think you could call it a visit." Karen lifted her small bag and laughed. "But I think I should move on ... tarrying any longer in this neighborhood does not seem very wise after this afternoon..." "Would you ... would you like to stay at our dojo?" Kaoru said impulsively. "Just for awhile?" "Yeah, and cook while you stay!" Sanosuke added. Kaoru glared at him. "Well ... If it wouldn't be too much trouble to you .." Karen, for some reason, looked a little bit embarrassed. But Kaoru took her arm warmly. "Of course not!" she smiled. "Come, this way." The sun was setting, casting its blood red rays over the horizon. Karen, now wearing a dojo outfit and wearing her hair tied over her shoulder, was kneeling and washing the dishes in the yard. But her thoughts were elsewhere. 'This is too dangerous ... even if my original motive was to stay close to the Kamia Dojo, I don't think it was supposed to be *this* close! What was I thinking? Should I tell Himura the truth?' She shook her head. 'Not yet... not when everything is so unclear. At least guarding the people here has become easier ... although from what I can tell these people don't need any guarding.' She smiled to herself. "Karen-dono!" Kenshin's voice brought her back. "It's getting late - what are you doing?" "Washing dishes," she answered. "Kaoru-san is with Yahiko-kun in the dojo." She rinsed the last plate. "There, I'm done." "Where are you from, Karen-dono?" Kenshin asked as he helped her move the dishes to the kitchen. "Kyoto," she answered promptly. "I used to be an oiran -- later I met someone who took me as his concubine. Now I wander where I please. But I'm surprised at you, Kenshin-san." " ...? Why so?" "I would think a fellow rurouni wouldn't ask questions about another rurouni's past." Karen wore a mischievous smile. "Oro .." Kenshin blinked. "You sure know a lot about us,Karen-dono." "You'd be surprised at what you can learn as an oiran. I know about you because..." she hesitated. "Yumi-san was my friend. She worked in the same place as I did before she met Shishio." "Aa..." Kenshin was surprised. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it as Kaoru came out. "Whew! Kenshin, is the bath water ready?" "Yes," he pointed. "And Yahiko's, too." Karen suddenly felt a chill go down her back. Her eyes narrowed, and she slightly turned her head towards the door. "Karen-san? What is it?" Kaoru asked. "...Nothing, nothing." Karen deliberately stretched and yawned. "I think I'll wash up and go to sleep, if you don't mind." "Of course. You must be tired. My room is down that way," Kaoru pointed. "Do you mind spreading out the blankets?" "No problem. Good night, Kenshin-san, Yahiko-kun." Karen bowed and walked off. As soon as she was out of sight, she quietly made her way next to the wall. With one jump she leapt on it, then lightly landed on the other side. A figure was in the shadows, leaning against a tree. It was long and lean, and the outline of a blade showed up faintly in the near-darkness. "So... you found your way inside," it said in a bland, cool tone. "Once again you surprise me." "I don't believe you've ever been surprised in your life," Karen spoke in a low, barely audible voice. "What are you doing here?" "My job." The figure shifted a bit. "Are you doing yours?" "Don't worry about me, you fool." Karen raised an eyebrow. "I'm capable of taking care of myself." "You're the only human on this earth that gets away with calling me a fool." The voice changed not an octave. "I'm warning you though, keep your distance. If you become too close to them, there will be future problems." "I've never been close to anyone ever since I became an oiran. I don't intend to start anytime soon. I'm as cold-blooded as you are, and you know it." "I have my doubts." A faint plume of blue smoke rose from the figure's mouth. "But I suppose you can look out for yourself. Till next time, then." The figure dropped its cigarette, squashed it with its boot, and sauntered into the darkness. "Chi ..." Karen made a movement of impatience and leapt back over the wall. Almost wearily she entered Kaoru's room and spread the sleeping rolls. She untied her ninhontou, glanced at it for a moment, then slid it under her blanket as she lay down and closed her eyes. Sanosuke sauntered in soon after. "Sano, where've you been?" Kenshin asked, locking the huge wooden doors. "Just around. How about the young lady?" "Karen-dono? She went to bed awhile ago. Why?" Kenshin looked at him inquiringly. "...nothing." Sanosuke walked around the corner and entered their room. He thought about what he had just seen outside. ...I'll keep an eye on her myself. --------------------------- ONElist Sponsor ---------------------------- How do you enter ONElist's WEEKLY DRAWING for $100? By joining the FRIENDS & FAMILY program. For details, go to Click Here ------------------------------------------------------------------------