Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Blood and Amber ❯ Kiss- Part II ( Chapter 24 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Bookkbaby84 
Anime/Manga: Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 12.10.2004 | Pages: 1 | Words: 1.6K | Visits: 565 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 12.10.2004 | Pages: 1 | Words: 1.6K | Visits: 565 | Status: Completed
Mgeumi's arms went slack, hanging by her side. Her eyes opened wide.
Sanosuke was kissing her.
Even with her hair as short as a boy's, her attitude, her scolding, her shouting.... everything!
The shock was so great she forgot to respond, and Sanosuke pulled away before she could kiss back. He moved the hand holding her neck gentely to her cheek, sliding his hand carefully over, a sad smile on his face and in his eyes.
"Sumimasen, Megumi. I'm just the roosterhead you always said I was. Baka......" he said, meaning himself, not her. His hand slid away from her cheek, and he released her other arm. Megumi was still frozen in shock.
"I'll go now. If you ever want to see me again in a few years, you know where to find me." he said softly, grabbing his shirt and walking away.
'Sanosuke..... loves me?' she thought, a small part of her mind realizing that the only man she had loved was walking away from her, thinking that she disliked him.
"Wait." she called softly. It may have been quiet, but it stopped him. He turned around just in time to see Megumi crying as she jumped into his arms, hugging him.
"I don't want you to go." she said, sounding like a little kid who didn't want her parents to go to work and leave her alone. Sanosuke smiled gentley and hugged her back. He bent his head a little to nuzzle her hair.
"You know what?" He moved his head as Megumi looked up at him, her tear-streaked face and tear-filled eyes completeing the picture of a lonely little kid. He bent his head to kiss her forehead.
"I don't want to go either." Megumi nuzzled her face into Sanosuke's chest, smiling happily and hugging him as tight as she could without aggravating his wound. Sanosuke hugged her back, a look of contentment on his face.
-Back With The Family-
"When you must? Is that often?" Lady Takani asked Kenshin.
"Not really. Things are much more peaceful nowadays, so I don't use it as much as I once did." Kenshin said.
"What did you use it for before coming here?" Komakai asked.
"The government. Police work." Kaoru said quickly.
She was a bad liar. A very bad liar.
"Can you please tell us the truth? Something is going on- and I doubt it's good. Why did my daughter say that she had gotten a hair cut? I know perfectly well that she did not. The only reason that she would lie is to protect someone." Lady Takani looked directly at Kenshin. "And I have a feeling that that person is you. I want the whole truth. The boy- Yahiko- mentioned a man with green eyes, but everyone else refuses to speak of him. My daughter keeps on assuring me that both you and this 'Sanosuke' person are great members of society, but Yahiko tells me that Sanosuke is a gambler and a drunk." kaoru shot an angry glare at Yahiko then. He gulped.
'Busu'll give me so many extra strikes to do tomorrow....' he groaned mentally.
"I want the truth. I have not seen my daughter in years, and now that I've found her, she lies to me. I want the truth! Is that so much to ask?"
Kaoru bit her lip.
"You're right. We haven't told the truth." she said, looking down.
"Kaoru's right. Megumi lied when she told you the story. Well, she left bits out." Yahiko said.
"What do you know?" Kenshin said. "I shall fill you in on the rest. All about Sanosuke, Yahiko, and myself. Kaoru can tell you her story."
"Why don't I get to tell mine!?" Yahiko asked.
"You wouldn't tell them, or you'd make yourself sound godlike." Kaoru said.
"I'm ready to hear the whole story. I'm made of sterner stuff than I appear." Lady Takani said dryly.
"I'll tell mine first." Kaoru said. She took a deep breath, then began.
"It was years ago. A false Battousai was in our area, and using the name and sword-style of my school. He and his brother were in a plot to destroy me so they could take my dojo and industrialize it. I met Kenshin while hunting for the fake Battousai."
"A man was pretending to be Battousai, and you were hunting him all by yourself?" Komakai asked, awed.
"My father had died- his last gifts to me were this school and sword-style. I was determined to beat the man I believed to be Battousai at the time, even if it meant my death. That is my entire story."
"That's it? No more secrets?"
"No more secrets." Kaoru promised.
"Now you go." Kai said, pointing at Kenshin. "You we know the least about."
"True, you know little about me. And I am the logical one to take up this narrative, since I come in next." Kenshin said. "I do not know where to start."
"Start with your parents, your childhood, anything." Komakai suggested.
"I don't know who my parents were. I lost my parents at an early age."
"To the war?" Kenshin looked at Lady Takani, who had asked.
"Yes. They died early during teh war. I was sold into slavery as a young boy. Bandits attacked the caravan I was traveling in. A wandering swordsman stopped by and killed the bandits. Later, he accepted me as his student. I learned the Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryu from him, and then I joined the war."
"As a soldier? How old were you?" Kai asked, surprised. Kenshin looked down, as though ashamed.
"I was a teen. I did not join as a soldier, or as a scout. I joined as a hitokiri, due to my speed and skill with a sword." The Takani's seemed almost frozen. This was the last thing that they had expected.... such a gentle-looking man, too.
"A hitokiri?" Komakai whispered. Kenshin looked up then, looking all the Takani's in the eye.
"You would have heard of me. I was supposed to stay a secret, the secret weapon of the revolutionaries, but I was found out. My name then was Hitokiri Battousai, or some called me Himura Battousai." Soft gasps could be heard, but Kenshin pressed on with his story.
"I slayed countless men. I don't look it but I am around twenty-eight. While the war was going on, I turned 15. During that time, 15 was considered a good age to marry. The war had taken a turn for the worse. The leader had told me to escape. I escaped with a woman that had seen me... seen me on one of my jobs. She had been drunk, but I had taken her back to the hotel the revolutionaries were staying at. I had fallen in love with her, so I got her out of there as well. The leader had told us to hide as man and wife, so we would not be found by the Shinsengumi or anyone else. Soon, we were man and wife in reality as well. We lived together happily for a short while, but then she went out one morning to give information to my enemies. She had been their spy, but was now feeding them information to hinder them, trying to save my life. I was told that she was a traitor and followed her. I still loved her, even though I had found out that I had killed her fiancee on one of my missions. I had found out by reading part of her diary after she had left that morning, and I didn't read up to the part where she had said she loved me. I followed after to to save her- she had been taken captive by those she had believed her allies. I found three men before getting to their boos, and by the time I reached him, I was half-blind, deaf, and very badly wounded. I still founght him to save Tomoe's- my wife's- life. He prepared for a killing strike with a hidden daggar as I was preparing to slice him in half with my sword. My vision wasn't clear yet, but I could still tell where he was. Tomoe jumped in between us as he and I slashed down. She grabbed his arm to prevent him from killing me even as I killed them both." Kenshin's face turned haunted.
"As she died, I promised to stop killing after the war was over. To mark my promise, she gave me my second scar, crossing over the first that her fiancee had given me." He touched the cross scar on his cheek.
"After ten yaers of wandering around helping people, I met Kaoru. I helped her defeat the fake Battousai and we turned him into the police. Shortly after, we met Yahiko." Kenshin smiled at the youth. "Your story is next."
Sanosuke was kissing her.
Even with her hair as short as a boy's, her attitude, her scolding, her shouting.... everything!
The shock was so great she forgot to respond, and Sanosuke pulled away before she could kiss back. He moved the hand holding her neck gentely to her cheek, sliding his hand carefully over, a sad smile on his face and in his eyes.
"Sumimasen, Megumi. I'm just the roosterhead you always said I was. Baka......" he said, meaning himself, not her. His hand slid away from her cheek, and he released her other arm. Megumi was still frozen in shock.
"I'll go now. If you ever want to see me again in a few years, you know where to find me." he said softly, grabbing his shirt and walking away.
'Sanosuke..... loves me?' she thought, a small part of her mind realizing that the only man she had loved was walking away from her, thinking that she disliked him.
"Wait." she called softly. It may have been quiet, but it stopped him. He turned around just in time to see Megumi crying as she jumped into his arms, hugging him.
"I don't want you to go." she said, sounding like a little kid who didn't want her parents to go to work and leave her alone. Sanosuke smiled gentley and hugged her back. He bent his head a little to nuzzle her hair.
"You know what?" He moved his head as Megumi looked up at him, her tear-streaked face and tear-filled eyes completeing the picture of a lonely little kid. He bent his head to kiss her forehead.
"I don't want to go either." Megumi nuzzled her face into Sanosuke's chest, smiling happily and hugging him as tight as she could without aggravating his wound. Sanosuke hugged her back, a look of contentment on his face.
-Back With The Family-
"When you must? Is that often?" Lady Takani asked Kenshin.
"Not really. Things are much more peaceful nowadays, so I don't use it as much as I once did." Kenshin said.
"What did you use it for before coming here?" Komakai asked.
"The government. Police work." Kaoru said quickly.
She was a bad liar. A very bad liar.
"Can you please tell us the truth? Something is going on- and I doubt it's good. Why did my daughter say that she had gotten a hair cut? I know perfectly well that she did not. The only reason that she would lie is to protect someone." Lady Takani looked directly at Kenshin. "And I have a feeling that that person is you. I want the whole truth. The boy- Yahiko- mentioned a man with green eyes, but everyone else refuses to speak of him. My daughter keeps on assuring me that both you and this 'Sanosuke' person are great members of society, but Yahiko tells me that Sanosuke is a gambler and a drunk." kaoru shot an angry glare at Yahiko then. He gulped.
'Busu'll give me so many extra strikes to do tomorrow....' he groaned mentally.
"I want the truth. I have not seen my daughter in years, and now that I've found her, she lies to me. I want the truth! Is that so much to ask?"
Kaoru bit her lip.
"You're right. We haven't told the truth." she said, looking down.
"Kaoru's right. Megumi lied when she told you the story. Well, she left bits out." Yahiko said.
"What do you know?" Kenshin said. "I shall fill you in on the rest. All about Sanosuke, Yahiko, and myself. Kaoru can tell you her story."
"Why don't I get to tell mine!?" Yahiko asked.
"You wouldn't tell them, or you'd make yourself sound godlike." Kaoru said.
"I'm ready to hear the whole story. I'm made of sterner stuff than I appear." Lady Takani said dryly.
"I'll tell mine first." Kaoru said. She took a deep breath, then began.
"It was years ago. A false Battousai was in our area, and using the name and sword-style of my school. He and his brother were in a plot to destroy me so they could take my dojo and industrialize it. I met Kenshin while hunting for the fake Battousai."
"A man was pretending to be Battousai, and you were hunting him all by yourself?" Komakai asked, awed.
"My father had died- his last gifts to me were this school and sword-style. I was determined to beat the man I believed to be Battousai at the time, even if it meant my death. That is my entire story."
"That's it? No more secrets?"
"No more secrets." Kaoru promised.
"Now you go." Kai said, pointing at Kenshin. "You we know the least about."
"True, you know little about me. And I am the logical one to take up this narrative, since I come in next." Kenshin said. "I do not know where to start."
"Start with your parents, your childhood, anything." Komakai suggested.
"I don't know who my parents were. I lost my parents at an early age."
"To the war?" Kenshin looked at Lady Takani, who had asked.
"Yes. They died early during teh war. I was sold into slavery as a young boy. Bandits attacked the caravan I was traveling in. A wandering swordsman stopped by and killed the bandits. Later, he accepted me as his student. I learned the Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryu from him, and then I joined the war."
"As a soldier? How old were you?" Kai asked, surprised. Kenshin looked down, as though ashamed.
"I was a teen. I did not join as a soldier, or as a scout. I joined as a hitokiri, due to my speed and skill with a sword." The Takani's seemed almost frozen. This was the last thing that they had expected.... such a gentle-looking man, too.
"A hitokiri?" Komakai whispered. Kenshin looked up then, looking all the Takani's in the eye.
"You would have heard of me. I was supposed to stay a secret, the secret weapon of the revolutionaries, but I was found out. My name then was Hitokiri Battousai, or some called me Himura Battousai." Soft gasps could be heard, but Kenshin pressed on with his story.
"I slayed countless men. I don't look it but I am around twenty-eight. While the war was going on, I turned 15. During that time, 15 was considered a good age to marry. The war had taken a turn for the worse. The leader had told me to escape. I escaped with a woman that had seen me... seen me on one of my jobs. She had been drunk, but I had taken her back to the hotel the revolutionaries were staying at. I had fallen in love with her, so I got her out of there as well. The leader had told us to hide as man and wife, so we would not be found by the Shinsengumi or anyone else. Soon, we were man and wife in reality as well. We lived together happily for a short while, but then she went out one morning to give information to my enemies. She had been their spy, but was now feeding them information to hinder them, trying to save my life. I was told that she was a traitor and followed her. I still loved her, even though I had found out that I had killed her fiancee on one of my missions. I had found out by reading part of her diary after she had left that morning, and I didn't read up to the part where she had said she loved me. I followed after to to save her- she had been taken captive by those she had believed her allies. I found three men before getting to their boos, and by the time I reached him, I was half-blind, deaf, and very badly wounded. I still founght him to save Tomoe's- my wife's- life. He prepared for a killing strike with a hidden daggar as I was preparing to slice him in half with my sword. My vision wasn't clear yet, but I could still tell where he was. Tomoe jumped in between us as he and I slashed down. She grabbed his arm to prevent him from killing me even as I killed them both." Kenshin's face turned haunted.
"As she died, I promised to stop killing after the war was over. To mark my promise, she gave me my second scar, crossing over the first that her fiancee had given me." He touched the cross scar on his cheek.
"After ten yaers of wandering around helping people, I met Kaoru. I helped her defeat the fake Battousai and we turned him into the police. Shortly after, we met Yahiko." Kenshin smiled at the youth. "Your story is next."