Subject: [RKFF] Kristin Olson's Butterflies (draft) Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1998 15:23:13 -0500 From: RobinKloster To: rkfanfics@makelist.com kolson00@yahoo.com Konbanwa, minna! Okay, I know I'm supposed to be working on Chapter 2 of "Missing Shinai," but...I'm easily distracted. :P Here's a little piece of fluff for your entertainment. -Kristin _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com Butterflies Kaoru studied the picture her friend had lent her, her brow creasing faintly. She tipped her head to one side, then the other, then turned the print upside down. An instant later, her cheeks flamed brilliant red, and she dropped the paper on her table as if it had suddenly scalded her. Oh, my, she thought. Oh my, oh my, oh my. Tae! "I'll lend it to you, but only if you swear not to tell Tsubame," Tae had told her upon handing over her "secret treasure," carefully wrapped in opaque brown paper at the time. "She doesn't know I have anything like that in my collection." Tae had covered her mouth and giggled uncontrollably. "I'm doing my best to protect her innocence." I can see why, Kaoru thought, beginning to giggle herself. Gingerly, as if it might bite, she picked up the image again. The lady in the picture was certainly...well proportioned. As was the gentleman, for that matter. Although perhaps "lady" and "gentleman" were not the most appropriate terms to use, considering the setting. Kaoru leaned forward, peering closer. The only trouble was, you couldn't really make out the details of-- "Kaoru-dono?" She started like a bee-stung filly, her eyes darting wildly. Bright afternoon sunshine cast a familiar silhouette on the closed door to her room: Kenshin. Dame, she thought. Dame, dame, dame! "Can I--" "D-don't come in!" she stammered, stashing the picture frantically under its brown paper wrappings, then casting about for a suitable hiding place. Outside the room, Kenshin cocked his head at the rustling sound and the panic in her voice. "Is everything all right?" "Oh, yes, fine! I'm, um, changing at the moment." It was marginally true. She'd just changed her green hair ribbon for a blue one. "Did you, um, need something?" Kenshin's mouth quirked in a smile as her voice assumed its normal cheeriness. "I didn't have any luck at the river this morning, so I'm going to the market to buy some fish for dinner. Can I get you anything else?" "Oh! No, I don't think so, we still have miso, and plenty of rice. I don't need anything special." "Okay. Just checking. Sorry to have disturbed you." She held her breath until the padding of Kenshin's quiet footsteps had thorougly faded, then sighed with massive relief--and a twinge of irritation. Argh, she thought, we're getting married next week, and all he worries about is the groceries! Married next week. The words bounced repeatedly in her mind, making her stomach flutter with crazed butterflies. Married next week, married next week--it still didn't seem real. Even with the kimono chosen, the shrine selected, everyone invited, and the Akabeko preparing to cater, sometimes she could have sworn it was all a hazy daydream, induced by long, waning summer afternoons and too much wishful thinking. When it did seem real, however, the prospect was both enchanting and intimidating. Much worse than Kaoru's nervousness about the wedding day was her apprehension about the night that would follow it. It wasn't so much that she was afraid of what would happen--it was that she had very little idea at all of what to expect. Or, perhaps more importantly, of what would be expected from her. The unknown, of course, was always fearsome. Therefore the picture from Tae, who had sensed her younger friend's anxieties and done her best to soothe them. But print collection aside, Tae--being unmarried and, for the most part, virtuous--had little more insight into the matter than Kaoru did. She unwrapped the print once more and gazed at it for a moment. It was no good. The picture showed just enough to titillate, not enough to educate. The butterflies in her stomach ceased their antics, and her shoulders sank with dread. There was nothing else to do but go to Megumi. ------ "Kaoru's here?" Megumi blinked as she washed her hands for what seemed like the hundredth time that afternoon. A nasty cold was rampaging through the ranks of Tokyo schoolchildren, and the clinic had been assailed by sniffling, bleary-eyed patients and their mothers for most of the day. Megumi began to fear she'd soon be suffering nightmares about wiping noses. "She says she wants to see you," Dr. Genzai nodded. "She's waiting in your examining room." Megumi wiped her hands on a clean cloth and paused to tie her long hair back from her face. Kaoru, visiting the clinic? Mysterious, she thought. The old doctor would have said if she seemed unwell. And surely the dojo owner was too busy with preparations for next week to make idle social calls. She slid open the door to her room, finding the younger woman perched rather awkwardly on the edge of a stool. Kaoru stood as Megumi entered, her hands tugging on her kimono nervously. "Konnichiwa," she said, with a feeble attempt at her usual smile. "Is everything all right?" Megumi asked as she closed the door behind her, for a moment genuinely concerned. Her puzzlement increased as the young woman's face flushed pink. "Y-yes. I mean, I'm not sick or anything. I--I was wondering--if you have some time--if I could--talk to you." "Of course," Megumi answered, surprised at her hesitant manner. "What's the matter?" Kaoru reddened further and fidgeted. "I'm sorry--I'm really sorry--I would have asked Dr. Genzai, but--I just couldn't--he's practically my grandfather--" she stopped, momentarily overcome with embarrassment. "But--I can't stand--not knowing like this! I mean, I'm getting married in a week, and it would be nice to have some clue about--what's going to happen--when we--um." She covered her hands with her mouth, and finished in a muffled whisper, "I'm sorry--I didn't know who else to ask." "Oh." Understanding came, along with a swarm of mixed emotions. Amusement, even sympathy; anger and indignance at the way so many women remained ignorant of the workings of people's bodies, especially their own...and, to her surprise, a twinge of bitterness, a twinge of something she did not want to recognize as jealousy. Of course, Kaoru's parents had died. No one since had bothered to explain to her about the facts of life. Innocence, Megumi thought ruefully, the crown of a maiden's virtues, a pearl beyond price. Though she had always poked fun at the "ignorant country girl," she knew well enough that for Kenshin, that very innocence was as irresistable as nectar to a honeybee. And it was one of the reasons--though only one--why he had chosen this blossom over any other. Megumi looked at the blushing girl, trying to subdue the tumult within her. It could never have been you, she told herself, as she had so many times before. It could never have been, and you know it. But that didn't matter. Kenshin's happiness was the important thing. And...she watched as Kaoru lifted her blue gaze in anxious supplication. And...no matter what kind of a doctor you become, you could never heal his heart as this girl has. That ought to be worth something. "Wakatta," she said, surprised at the easy warmth in her own voice. She had thought it would be harder than that. "Yes, I'll tell you what I can. I'd hate for Ken-san to have his wedding night spoiled by you fainting from surprise." She had not thought it possible for anyone to blush redder than Kaoru already was, but somehow the young woman succeeded. "A-arigatou, Megumi-san. I--I really appreciate it." "All right, let's start with this: what do you know?" Kaoru swallowed, changing from red to slightly green. "Um. I know--a little. I mean, I've heard stuff. A man and a woman, um, get in bed together, and...he puts his, um...um...his..." The young doctor couldn't resist. "His sword in her scabbard?" "Megumi-san!" Kaoru practically shrieked. "What? You're a kenjutsu master, aren't you? I thought I should use a familiar metaphor." Kaoru was covering her face again, and thus did not notice the fox ears appearing on Megumi's head. "All right, all right. I'll be merciful. You seem to have the basic idea, which is more than I expected. What is it you have questions about?" Kaoru's chin quivered as she raised her head. "Well...will it hurt?" "The first time, yes, it will hurt some, and there may be a little blood. After that, no. In fact, it should be quite the opposite. If it keeps hurting, something isn't right. But in this case, I don't think you have to worry about that." "Okay." The bluntness of the answer seemed to relieve Kaoru somewhat. "Um, what about, um, getting pregnant?" "What about it? It happens. Not every time people have sex, but sometimes." "Is there...is there any way to keep it from happening? I...I don't know if I'm ready for that...right away." "There are some methods. I'll go over them with you, but none of them are entirely reliable. The only reliable way is to look but not touch, and I don't think that's what you have in mind." "N-no. I really want--" she broke off, uncertain of how much more to say, and how to say it. "I really want to be a good wife. I want to do things the right way..." "You mean, you want to do things he'll like." Megumi eyed her with just a trace of wickedness. This, she sensed, was really the core of the matter. So, the innocent country girl wanted to play geisha? Silently she laughed at the thought of how much havoc she could wreak just by giving Kaoru one or two...creative hints. More likely Ken-san would be the one to end up fainting from shock. Wide-eyed and blushing again, Kaoru nodded. "Well, this kind of advice isn't really medical in nature...but I can give you a few tips." Megumi winked. Hesitantly, Kaoru smiled back. "Okay." ------ By the time she returned to the dojo, Kaoru's mind was awhirl with shoulds and shouldn'ts, maybes and never evers. Passersby on her route could not help but notice the very pretty young woman and her distracted expression, as she very nearly walked into several people and buildings along the way. Too much information, she thought, grateful for the distance between the clinic and home. It gave her a chance to recover from the shellshock. In the end, she decided that it might be best to concentrate on just a few ideas, and forget about the rest. Otherwise she would only make herself dizzy, to say nothing of scandalizing Kenshin. He might have been married once, but still...Kaoru was nearly positive that normal people didn't do some of the things Megumi had mentioned. Vixen, she thought, shaking herself. She had better take it all with a grain of salt. A large grain. Perhaps more of a block. Back at the dojo she found Kenshin already in the kitchen. She paused in the doorway, faintly disconcerted at the sight of him. Talking about all that stuff with Megumi had been one thing, but when it came to imagining herself and...Kenshin...actually...doing...she stopped the thought before her knees weakened further. He noticed her, and turned to smile with welcoming violet eyes. "Okaeri," he murmured. "I was wondering where you'd gone off to." "I went to say hello to Megumi-san. You must have found dinner." She sniffed happily. "It smells delicious." "We'll see," he said mildly. He came toward her, drawing a small something from his sleeve as he neared. "Here. Put out your hand." "Eh?" Slowly she obeyed, her insides fluttering. The warmth of his fingers enclosed hers as he placed something in them, lingering for a long moment. "For you," he said. She opened her fingers and drew breath in soft surprise. Light glimmered on two tiny blue-winged butterflies: enameled hair combs, a matched set. Kaoru touched them with her other hand, beginning to smile. "A woman at the market was selling them," Kenshin was saying. "Somehow they made me think of you." He looked away, shy, half-embarrassed at his shyness. She cupped the butterflies in her hands, capturing them. You should have known, she told herself. There was really nothing to be worried about at all. She would be with him. What on earth was frightening in that? She caught his arm as he was turning back toward the cooking. Startled at the touch, he paused, gazing at her with uncertainty. Did I do right? the eyes asked. I want to do things the right way.... Quickly, before the impulse vanished, she leaned forward, and for just an instant her lips alighted on his cheek. Then, just as swiftly, they were gone, and she stood back in the doorway, blue eyes sparkling. Astonishment flickered across his face until pleasure overtook it. "Arigatou, Kenshin," she said, and flitted out. Bemusedly he lifted a hand to his cheek, thinking that he must have done things the right way, after all. Back in her room, Kaoru stifled laughter when she looked again at Tae's picture. That was the problem with it, she thought; you couldn't see the details at all, when it was the details that mattered most. She returned the print to its brown wrappings and tilted her table mirror upward, angling it to better see her hair. When she went to dinner, she wanted to be wearing butterflies. * * * Rurouni Kenshin and all related characters belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki, Shueisha, Sony Entertainment, et al. This unworthy (and destitute) author is merely borrowing. ____________________________________________________________ List Site: http://www.findmail.com/list/rkfanfics/ To unsubscribe, send to rkfanfics-unsubscribe@makelist.com FREE group e-mail lists at http://www.findmail.com