Subject: [KFFDisc] Better than Chocolate, Part 3 Date: Mon, 24 Aug 1998 18:47:05 -0700 (PDT) From: Kristin Olson Reply-To: kenshinfanfics@makelist.com To: kenshinfanfics@makelist.com Anybody know how to properly spell the word for 'wooden sword' in Japanese? It's something like 'botouku,' but I'm not sure if that's right. ^_^;;;; ------------------------------- Better than Chocolate, Part 3 ------------------------------- Weather aside, the mood at the soba stand was less than sunny. Sanosuke slurped his noodles audibly, with an occasional glance down at his companion on the bench, who made very little sound at all. "Oi. You're not eating." "Not hungry." "I know that," Sanosuke growled. "Eat it anyway. You're still growing." Sullenly Yahiko lifted the bowl to his lips and drank, or at least made a pretense of doing so. "That's more like it." Sano slurped again. "If you don't eat now, you'll be starving later. It might be a while until dinner yet." "Are we really going to go somewhere fancy, like Kaoru wanted?" "Sure. Might as well spend it while we've got it, eh?" Sanosuke chuckled, thinking of one or two choice words Kaoru--or Megumi, for that matter--might have to say about that particular philosophy. He paused, then continued, "You know, Yahiko, Jou-chan and Tsubame-chan were having a pretty good time in there until you went and said that." "I know!" Yahiko's voice cracked. He ducked his head, shutting his eyes as if to block out the memory. "I feel bad about it." "Do you? Well, good. You ought to." "I know I shouldn't have said it. I guess I should apologize. I still don't understand why Kaoru got that mad, though. I mean, she usually gets mad, but not that mad." The boy frowned. Sanosuke sighed. "Everybody's been through some rough times lately. That last fight was pretty bad. It was tough for all of us, but don't you think it was probably toughest for Kenshin and Jou-chan?" After a moment, Yahiko nodded, looking a little queasy with guilt. "I think they came though it pretty well. But you shouldn't expect things to be the same as they were before." A thought crossed Sanosuke's mind, and his mouth twisted in a lopsided grin. "In fact, I have a funny feeling things may be getting even more different pretty soon." "How's that?" "Oh, just a hunch of mine." Sanosuke chuckled and downed the last of his noodles in one gulp. "Didn't you see how close together those two were sitting when we were on the train?" Yahiko blinked for a moment, then wrinkled his nose in fierce distaste. "I try not to notice that kind of stuff," he said. "That's why you're still a kid. Fighting's not the only thing that makes a man, Yahiko-chan." "Hey!" "Aw, shut up and eat your noodles," Sanosuke said. "If you don't, I'll eat 'em for you." He leaned back and patted his stomach contentedly. If only he had a fishbone to gnaw on, life would be perfect. "You oughtta be grateful. I'm paying for your food twice today." "Thanks a lot." "No problem," Sanosuke replied, ignoring the sarcasm. He slapped his hands on his thighs and squinted down the street. "I guess we should head on over to that park or whatever it is. Probably the girls will have forgiven you by now." Yahiko stood up. "You do know where we're going, right?" he asked, his eyes narrowing. "Well, the waterfront's that way, isn't it?" Sanosuke jerked his thumb. "I'm pretty sure...or maybe it's more to the north...well, it can't be that hard to find. Just keep an eye out for ocean, okay? We'll get there eventually." "Eventually," Yahiko groaned. It was a good thing Sanosuke had made him eat, after all, he thought. Dinner might really be a long way off. ----------------- She dipped her feet in the cool water and watched the ripples spread. Sunlight glanced off the wavelets that danced across the little pond's surface, and she lifted a hand to shield her eyes from the dazzle. Tsubame stood on the other bank, watching a family of black swans at the water's edge. Kaoru smiled. The little girl seemed entranced by the birds; she even knelt down to get a better view of them, though she was careful not to approach too close. "Do you think she's all right over there?" "Aa. As long as she stays in earshot." Beside her, Kenshin had removed his socks and pulled his hakama up to his knees. "This place feels safe enough." Kaoru watched in amusement as he edged forward, frowning as if with profound concentration, and lowered his feet into the pond. Clearly, the dipping of one's feet was a more serious matter than she had previously considered. She peered into the water and glimpsed small speckled koi darting beneath her toes. "Look," she said. "Fish." She wiggled her toes, disturbing the tiny carp, which flashed away in all directions. Kenshin chuckled quietly. "And no fishing pole." They laughed. "Doesn't it always happen like that?" she sighed. A breeze lifted her bangs from her forehead and toyed with her ponytail, cooling her. "The gardens really are beautiful, though, aren't they?" Kenshin, though he was not looking at the gardens, murmured agreement. "It must take so much patience, to grow things," he said after a time. "I never really thought about it before." She was quiet for a moment. "My mother's garden, behind the house, used to be so beautiful. She grew flowers and vegetables in it." A pause. "After she died, there was no one to care for it. I've always wanted to try to make it beautiful again, but with running the dojo...." She shook her head, falling back into silence. He watched her, watched the reflection of the sunlit ripples dancing on her face, watched the ribbon in her hair move gently with the breeze. "What kind of flowers?" he asked. "Oh, all kinds. Irises, morning glories, peonies, chrysanthemums...I don't even know the names of all of them. I just remember the colors." Kenshin pondered what it must be like, to remember such a garden. His own memory was not so fertile, although a long time ago...a long time ago, it seemed to him, there had been a small bright place, the scent of grasses, and a woman's voice calling his name. But it was not his name, it was the name of a distant, forgotten child, a changeling who had vanished one night on a field of graves. And the woman's voice, his mother's voice was still calling, "Shinta, Shinta--" "Kenshin?" He blinked. She was gazing at him, blue eyes gently questioning. Not insistent, not demanding, never demanding. She never asked him to say where it was he went, when his gaze unfocused and his face grew pale with memory. All she ever asked was that he come back. His lips curved in a shadow of a smile. "I can't remember," he said, his voice husky. "I can't remember if my mother had a garden." He closed his eyes against the brightness of sunshine and water, then opened them again when he thought he could bear it. "We could get some seeds," he said, "you and I." She nodded. She was trembling, she found; her hands were shaking. It was the cool of the water, she thought. It must be. She drew her feet up onto the soft grass of the bank, folding her legs to one side. The breeze prickled on her damp skin. Reaching for her shoes, she glanced back at the shadows stretched behind them on the grass. Afternoon was shading into early evening. "Sanosuke and Yahiko should have found us by now, don't you think?" she asked, setting the sandals beside her. "I expect they got lost," he murmured. He glanced around them, a little regretful that she had not chosen a more private place to sit. It had been difficult, when he noticed her shivering, not to gather her against him and warm her. A hundred different kinds of flowers, he thought, beginning to smile again. They should be in all colors, but blue especially. "Well, I hope they show up soon. It's nearly dinnertime." "Hungry?" His eyes glinted. She glanced at him, a little piqued by his tone. "Something wrong with that?" "No, not at all. I'd think you would be by this time." Kaoru lowered her eyelids. He definitely looked amused, she thought. She decided to ignore it for the present. If this kept up, though... A flash of motion across the pond distracted her, and she raised her head swiftly. "Is that--" she broke off, searching. "I don't see Tsubame-chan." He tensed. The violet eyes sharpened; without his even willing it, one hand strayed toward the blade lying nearby. "She's not--" They both heard the shriek of a young girl in pain or fear, the sound carried by the breeze across the water. Kenshin launched himself to his feet and was lengths ahead of her before she had even fully risen. Kaoru followed, running as fast as her kimono would permit, wishing furiously for her botouku. Her heart counted the steps as she ran--too slow, too slow--shouting silently that she could not bear for something to happen to Tsubame, not now, not here, not anywhere, not ever. Not after everything else they had survived. It would be intolerable. The distance to the other bank seemed endless. Kenshin's grip whitened on the sheath of the sakabatou as he rounded the curve and saw the figure of a young girl crumpled on the ground. "Tsubame-dono!" She jerked her head at the sound of his voice, and from a clump of nearby bushes an animal emerged. On seeing Kenshin it turned and fled in the opposite direction, barking defiantly. He stared after it, his white rage beginning to fade. A dog? He reached the little girl, who was climbing unsteadily to her feet. "Tsubame-dono! Are you hurt?" She flung herself against him, quivering with fright as she clung to his hakama. "N-no," she whispered, her words muffled against the cloth of his gi. "It was a dog--a big dog--it jumped out at me, and I was scared." He laid a hand on her head, feeling shaky himself as all the anger drained from him at once. "But it didn't touch you?" "No." A sniffle. "I'm sorry." He closed his eyes. "It's all right." When he opened them again he saw Kaoru nearing, her face frozen with terror. "It's all right," he called to her. "She's not hurt." Kaoru slowed and nearly collapsed with relief. "Yokatta," she breathed. "What happened?" "A dog frightened her." Blue eyes met violet, and both of their shoulders sagged. A dog. Only a dog. Only that. Kenshin calmly informed his adrenaline that it was no longer needed, thank you, and returned the sakabatou to its place at his hip. His battle-reflexes reluctantly allowed that the danger seemed to have passed, for now, and his heartbeat returned to a more reasonable pace. Tsubame lifted her head from his shirt, her face streaked with tears and mortification. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to make you worry, Kenshin-san, Kaoru-san." She blinked in confusion when the two began to chuckle at this. "Wh-wha? Is something funny?" "We're just glad you're all right," Kaoru said, reaching out to her. The little girl unfastened herself from Kenshin and went gratefully to her honorary neesama. "Tae-san would've served my head on a plate for her daily special if something bad happened to you." "Oi!" Sanosuke's yell caused the three to swivel their heads like a family of startled owls. >From across the wide green leading up to the pond two figures came loping, one tall, one short, both spiky-haired. "Is everything okay?" "Fine," Kenshin called. Yahiko, as he drew closer, fixed on Tsubame's tear-stained face with dismay. "Are you all right?" he asked. "What happened? We saw Kenshin running." "I'm fine," Tsubame said, wiping her cheeks with a handkerchief borrowed from Kaoru. "It was nothing, really." She smiled bravely. "Come see the swans? They're right over here, by the bank." Sanosuke held his peace until the two had left, then opened his mouth to speak. "A dog," Kenshin said, forestalling him. "A rather large dog. Tsubame-dono was frightened." He smiled wryly. "We were a little unsettled ourselves." "I bet. Well, nothing like some excitement to help you work up an appetite, eh? I'm starved." Sanosuke eyed the pair of them, then glanced further down, his eyebrows lifting. "You guys been playing footsie or something?" Kenshin and Kaoru looked simultaneously at their bare toes. "Oro!" "Our shoes," Kaoru said, covering her mouth with one hand. "I'll get them, Kenshin. We can hardly go to dinner barefoot." Kenshin fidgeted under Sanosuke's wicked gaze as she left. "Well?" Sano sniggered. "You gonna give details?" "Hell no de gozaru." Sanosuke merely grinned and meandered towards the pond. "Just let me know when you two are fully clothed again, and we'll go find us a restaurant." ------------------------ Sorry, now you'll have to wait a bit for Part 4. ^-^ ------------------------ Notes: re: soba--this is also very tasty. Try it. Hey, Saitou likes it, so you know it has to be good. yokatta = thank goodness, or something thereabouts (expression of happiness and relief) _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com ____________________________________________________________ List Site: http://www.findmail.com/list/kenshinfanfics/ To unsubscribe, send to kenshinfanfics-unsubscribe@makelist.com FREE group e-mail lists at http://www.findmail.com