Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Fairen Destiny ❯ Chapter 14

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

GAAAAAAAAAAH! It's been over a month since I've updated! I'm SORRY! (I think it's been five or six weeks since I last updated) it's because I've actually been busy these past few weeks! (gasp! I know, shocker) I finished this…..Tuesday. but I'e waited til now to update. (please don't hurt me)

Why so long to update?....Well, let's see, there's been my computer breaking down….me being lazy…spending time with friends…having my older sister visit from Georgia with my brand new niece and stealing my bed from me (not really I let her use it) and my niece is SOOOO CUUUUUUUTTTTEEEE! -squeals- She's only two months old and one of those months are premature but she'd still so adorable and I love her! I'm a gushing aunt lol (it doesn't sound weird saying a I have a niece but saying I'm an aunt or someone calling me Aunt Victoria sounds so weird to me)…..and what else….being lazy….having to do service hours for school…and being lazy. I think that's about it though I think I'm missing a couple weekends of stuff in there. -shrugs- You get the basic-ness of it right?

And I had writer's block. Sort of. I knew what I wanted (kind of) I just had a hard time writing it. And starting to write it. I want to write at night or later in the day but I can't on weekdays because my dad forces me to go to bed at 10. Neh.

Oh and I'm sure all of you will be thrilled to know Kenshin has finally learned to fly! I am. It was bloody hard for me to figure out to describe what flying feels like (bit of a problem since I can't actually go and find out) and then trying to figure out what sort of disaster Kenshin caused (not really a disaster but you'll find out)

Ok alright then I'll just let you all read the actual chapter now. Unless you've all just skipped this. Then there really is no point my rambling right now is there? Ok I'll shut up.

READ ON!

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Kaoru sat leaning against her bed staring out through her balcony, wishing desperately she could be outside and far, far from her mother right now. She was still trying on dresses. Gah. You'd think after all this she'd give up or I'd of found something decent to wear. All those frills and lace itch like mad and may I be eaten alive before I wear anything that bright a pink or yellow. Her brain chose then to remember the encounter with the dracins. Ok maybe not eaten…

All morning she had try on gown after gown and only had a break to have lunch on the grounds that if she didn't eat and take a break she would collapse. Her mother only agreed after the seamstress complied with her and said she should clear out the unwanted gowns. Kaoru came back thinking to see almost all the dresses gone but felt like beating her head with a stick when she saw all the dresses that remained. I barely even made a dent in the number of dresses. Did my mother buy every single one in the country? She was beginning to think it a likely possibility.

All this for one bloody dress I'm gonna wear once. Then have stored deep under ground. Such a waste. She wanted to just leave. A little fresh air would be good. Much better than being indoors all day. I wanna go outside! Kaoru let her head fall against the bed, turning her attention to her mother. Lady Kimiko was directing the seamstress about which corrections to make on the dresses and such. She didn't look as if she was going to stop until Kaoru finally found a gown. She'll keep this up all night if I let her. I better find one soon. Why can't they just transfigure a dress to what I want? I'm not going to pick something I don't like. No point in having me try it on.

Despite any protest she made about a dress, Lady Kimiko had her try on every one, insisting it was good to try and what if she liked one of them when she tried it on even if she claimed she didn't? “`Oh, but it would look so good on you. Just try it you never know. This might be the one.'” Kaoru mocked her mother under her breath. Lady Kimiko had said something along those lines every time she tried getting rid of a dress. It was easy to see why Kaoru was so irritable.

“Kaoru dear, come try this one please.” Kaoru sighed and did as told, although reluctantly, and being sure to throw in a murmured complaint whenever she could. The dress was long and red and currently about four sizes too big. It took the seamstress a minute to shrink the size until it fit snugly. Before she looked like an oversized and wilted strawberry, now she looked liked an underfed lobster. Gee, such an improvement.

She glared at her mother reproachfully at her mother, ready to shoot down anything Lady Kimiko would try to say. Her mother said nothing though as the seamstress was already striping the dress off her. They went through the same process over and over for what felt like a year to Kaoru. Another infinite pile of dresses and gowns filled her bed and the seamstress had them taken away.

I can't take it anymore. “Lady Kimiko I have a suggestion. How about I go through the oh-so lovely gowns and find something I might not actually mind wearing?”

“And what about the others? They all look so nice on you Kaoru and you might actually like one if once you wear it.” Kaoru managed to keep her self from cursing out loud or showing her anger but mentally she was banging her head on a wall. “If that were true then I would have found one amongst the thousands I've already tried on.”

“Oh don't be silly. You've haven't tried on thousands” Kaoru muttered “Alright then hundreds” but her mother still heard quite clearly. Lady Kimiko's calm face took on a much sterner look. “Very well then. If you insist, you do not have to try on those you find unsuitable; however that is not an excuse to refuse them all.” Her tone was clipped and Kaoru knew to watch what she did and said. Though she was grateful she wouldn't have to try on all of them.

“Works for me.” Kaoru went to sorting out the more, if only in her opinion, ridiculous and hideous gowns, filtering almost half of them out until her mother's stare made her stop. At least she got rid of all the bad ones. Maybe she might find something decent now.

She was trying on a wide lavender dress when something in the forest shot into the air with a loud echoing bang! She stared out toward the forest, sharing the same bewildered look as her mother and the seamstress, wondering what the hell that was.

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Thud! Kenshin fell flat on his face again. Owwwww…damn it! You'd think taking off would be easier. What is this, the fifth time I've fallen now? Kenshin stood, rubbing his nose and wondering if it had become bent yet. “No, Kenshin. That's not how you do it. Don't rely on running for take off so much. It's in the wings. And you've got to keep them spread. Don't wait until the last second.” Aoshi was hovering in the air, spreading his own wings in demonstration. Misao was still there, watching from the ground under the shade of a tree with an amused smile plastered on her face.

They had continued Kenshin's flying lessons right after lunch and they weren't going exactly well according to him. He just couldn't get airborne and kept falling flat on his face. And that hurt. Aoshi lectured and demonstrated over and over but he just wouldn't stay in the bloody air! Not that he wasn't trying. Bloody hell if I'm not. Apparently flying was harder than he thought. Everyone else made it look so easy.

He sighed and got ready to try yet again. I'll do it this time. He had only told himself that about fifty times. It didn't seem to be working too well.

“Ready Kenshin? Try again!” Kenshin shot forward, wings spread wide, towards the lake. He was going to do it this time. He could feel the air rushing underneath his wings, so close to lifting him up. “Flap your wings, Kenshin! Flap!” Misao had taken on the responsibility of cheering him on. His wings beat twice up and down. He almost made it that time. He was fast approaching at the water now. I will fly.

He leapt upwards and flapped his wings up and down with as much force as he could, keeping his wings spread as far wide as possible after. Kenshin kept rising and rising. He began to straighten out. He was parallel with the ground now. He beat his wings again. He stared at the ground below him, seeing it turn to water as he flew over the lake….

His mind halted for a moment as the thought registered in his head. I'm over the water? He didn't dare look behind him but he could see the opposite bank of the lake ahead and water rushing under him below. The distance between him and water was steadily growing. That meant…that he…I'm…I'm flying!

He was. Kenshin was flying. And it was the most amazing thing he had felt. The wind whipped past him and his stomach had jumped into his throat, doing back flips. Misao was rushing towards him, fists punching the air and letting out shouts of joy. Flecks of water splashed onto his face when Aoshi flew alongside him, skimming a wing along the water. He didn't think he should try that just yet. He still felt amazing. All his senses seemed heighten then when he was limited to the ground. He wasn't sure how to describe the feeling. It was too wonderful. It felt like freedom. It was freedom.

“You enjoying yourself?” Aoshi couldn't help but smile at Kenshin's joy over success “you finally did it Kenshin! You're flying!” Kenshin heard the smile in Misao's voice, twirling around Aoshi and him, and felt a grin of his own splitting his face. “I've never felt anything like it! It's incredible!” He had to raise his voice a little to speak over the wind whipping around them. Misao laughed at his response and looked ahead, clearly enjoying the flight herself.

“I'll let you fly around a little but let me know if you start getting tired. You can't overexert yourself. And you still need to learn to land and turn. You've been flying in the same direction the whole time Kenshin. Are you planning to go head on into the trees?” Aoshi inquired.

First, he had no intention of stopping just yet. This was too fun. And second, yes he would have to learn to land but not right now. And he only just realized he was indeed flying in the straight the whole time because Aoshi mentioned it.

“I can try turning and stuff on my own. And I've no intention of landing just yet.” He flapped his wings and rose a few feet higher in the air. Aoshi smiled at him and slowed, stopping in the middle of the lake, rising up and down in time with his wings' beats. Misao stopped with him, hovering with her wings flapping incessantly.

“Alright then. I'm going to go the castle for a minute. Misao will come with me. Try staying over the water. And don't go too high. If you fall it won't matter if you're over land or water if you're too high up. You must still be taught magic. We'll be back soon.” Aoshi and Misao took off into the other direction. Kenshin turned around successfully, if somewhat slowly and awkwardly, and waved bye at them. Actually, flight seemed easier than taking off. Now that he was airborne though he wasn't sure how he was going to land. Oh well, he'd worry about it when Aoshi got back. Right now he was enjoying his flight.

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Aoshi and Misao landed outside Misao's room and walked inside. Megumi had given her a potion to give to Kenshin and she had put somewhere in her room. Now what did she do with that potion? There was so much stuff in her home and it was so cluttered. Aoshi thought maybe it was mistake allowing Misao to leave it in her room. They might not ever find it. She needed to clean her badly. Mmmm…later. Too busy right now. She needed to find that potion for Kenshin. Megumi made it last night and said to be careful. It was supposed to take a long time to make. Of coarse Misao forgot to take it with her this morning when she went to see Kenshin and Aoshi.

A `limits' potion it was called and was suppose to limit the strength of magic a person could do temporarily. She knew she would have to give it to Kenshin before his magic lessons. The last thing I need is for someone to obtain injury from teaching him.

Anyone could tell Kenshin was strong with magic, he just needed to learn. I hope he hasn't tried anything yet. I suppose nothing being blown up yet is a good sign. It's only a matter of time before curiosity wins though and he does something. She shuffled through her cluttered desk full of loose papers and daggers. She accidentally nicked herself on one and sucked on her finger before Aoshi healed it for her without saying anything. She really needed to clean her room.

I know I had it here. Now where'd I put the bloody thing? She scowled, trying to remember where she had set the potion down last night. If only it hadn't been so late last night, and she so tired. Maybe she'd remember where it was then. Stupid Limits Potion.

Aoshi checked outside on her balcony and near her dresser. She moved to her bed, hoping to see it laying there amongst mussed covers. Nope, nothing. She gave out an irritated growl and searched the floor. Maybe it's under the bed. Misao plopped to the ground, careful to avoid any unidentified objects scattered on her floor.

Aha! Found ya! You evil potion bottle. Well now that I have this we should probably get back to Kenshin to make sure he hasn't died or something. “Aoshi I found it. It was under my bed.” She held up the bottle to show him. “Good. Now let's go back.” He was already outside ready to go before she answered. “Wait Aoshi. Let's go see how Megumi and Sano are. I didn't get to see them at lunch with Kaoru. Please?” “Misao…”She gave him the cutest look she could muster. “Please. Just real quick. We don't have to stay long.” After a moment Aoshi sighed and relented. Smiling to herself, Misao left the hut and flew out of her room with Aoshi to Megumi's hut. I'd ask to visit Kaoru but she's probably still trying on dresses. She won't want my help or be in the mood for it either. I saw a t lunch anyway so it's okay. Megumi I think is still recruiting Sano as a guinea pig. Poor guy.

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Aoshi and Misao glided over a pathway in the gardens, Misao munching on a couple cookies she had convinced Aoshi to let her nab from the kitchens on their way back to the forest. She had meant to save some for Kenshin but she was apparently hungrier than she thought. That or her sweet tooth got the better of her. In her defense, Aoshi had had some too.

They were just coming back from visiting Megumi and Sano at her hut. Sano had ended up being used as a moving target for Megumi to practice some offensive magic. Misao wasn't sure how that ended up happening since Megumi was more for defense and healing magic. But happen it did. Sano was currently a bloody pulp when they both left. Makes you feel kinda sorry for the guy. Worst comes to worst Megumi ends up healing him though.

Misao finished the last cookie off as they flew over the castle wall. Both Misao and Aoshi stopped dead in the air as a deafening bang echoed around them and staring wildly at the forest. Vibrant colors were fading from the sky over what looked like the lake where Kenshin was. Oh what did he do? Please tell me he didn't do anything too catastrophic. She zipped alongside Aoshi, back towards the lake as quick as she could, both vainly hoping Kenshin hadn't caused that blast, and whatever it was, was nothing either of them couldn't fix.

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Kenshin was still flying around the lake. He had almost done a full lap around the perimeter; the lake was huge so it took a while to get around, especially when he was still getting the hang of turning in midair. He could do that pretty easily now though and was trying a few more complicated things. Complicated for him anyway. He had been practicing rising and descending to different heights. Easy. Trying to skim the water with his wing like Aoshi had done. He had stuck his wing a little too far into the water and nearly went tumbling down again. A second try and he had done it without any mess-ups though. Now he was just practicing stopping and going in midair. That required him to be able to sort of hover by correctly timing his wing beats. It was harder than it looked. But Kenshin had done pretty well none the less.

He felt very accomplished and proud at having done all this on his own. And he still didn't want to stop. Flying was too much fun. Besides, it had taken him so long to take off properly; if he landed he wasn't too sure he'd be able to become airborne again.

Maybe I should try it with magic. He had seen Megumi, Aoshi and Sano take off by just pushing off the ground and rising a few feet before actually using their wings. That was undoubtedly using magic. He hadn't seen Misao do that though, she probably didn't need to. Her wings were smaller and flapped so fast. Misao was also much more agile when flying than the others and could fly in smaller spaces without magic as well.

He still liked Doren wings. Aoshi and Sano had told him Dorens and Betroes were much more able to fly longer and higher distances than Itens because of their larger wings. That was when Itens needed magic for flying. So it's kinda reversed I guess. There was suppose to be another fairen wing type that was a combination of the other three but he forgot what it was called. That wing type had all the plusses of the others too, flying long and high but small enough for compact spaces ad good agility. No one had wings like that anymore though if he remembered correctly.

Kenshin had hovered there so long he hadn't realized he had stopped flapping his wings. Once he did, he panicked and nearly fell in to the water before catching himself and flying up again. How come he hadn't fallen earlier than that? Did he do something? Or someone else? Was Aoshi or Misao back and kept him from falling?

Kenshin remembered when Megumi or Misao had levitated him and how it felt when someone levitated you. A strange feeling. It was like something invisible was underneath you, holding you up, but it was like mere shadow of what flying on your own was. Maybe that's why Kaoru feels the way she does about not being able to fly.

Knowing you had flown before but now couldn't and barely having only a shadow to remember the feeling. It hadn't bothered him before about being levitated but now he knew how wonderful flying was. He didn't want to lose that. He had no idea what flying with your magic was like but it didn't seem like it would be as…restrictive?....as someone else doing it for you. He hadn't felt that when he was levitating. Maybe that was me? I used magic without knowing? Come to think of it, he had felt something, though small and distant, when he was thinking. It was like earlier when he tried magically bringing his clothes to himself this morning.

I wonder if I could do it again. If it was me, it had to be me, then it worked and nothing bad happened. No flying dressers. He glared at nothing as that fully registered. So if it worked this time how come I was almost squashed this morning? Do I have to be completely distracted? That wouldn't be very helpful when I actually need it. Magic was confusing. He needed to be taught how to use it. Lady Tomoe seemed to be taking her sweet time to decide when and who to teach him though. He'd have to end up teaching himself with the how slow she was. Lord knew that wouldn't end well but his curiosity was getting the better of him. I'll just see if I can hover like that again. It wouldn't hurt anything. He hoped.

Kenshin stopped in the air, beating his wings slowly once more to remain in the same place. He had no idea what to do. Clear your mind; Let the magic come to you, not you to it. He couldn't help but laugh at the thought. Yeah that would work. Like magic is going to come when I call it like a dog. And how the hell do you clear your mind anyway? Can you get rid of all the thoughts floating around in your head? Doesn't matter. Focus Kenshin. Focus.

On what? Okay this morning he had felt something sort of shoot out of him. If only he knew what ever it was he was looking for. He closed his eyes, hoping that would help. It did seem easier to concentrate without his surroundings distracting him. There! The something from this morning. He guessed that was magic. It was a like a shining light in the dark. I have my eyes closed, of coarse it's dark. But whatever he was seeing was bright. Really bright. He reached for it and…nothing. He tried again….and again…and again…and again. Finally he was able to take hold of the light and it filled his mind. With what he had no idea, probably magic.

All this was a bunch of guess work on his part. He tried to picture forcing it under him, trying to simulate what he had felt when he was levitated. The magic…or light or what ever it was…either seemed to keep trying to escape him or his hold on it kept slipping. That was the best he describe what was happening anyway. It was all new to him and, honestly, he was surprised he had gotten this far.

The light, he guessed it was some mental embodiment of his magic, surged and he let go a moment before latching on to it again. Damn. Is it supposed to do that? It was almost like what ever he was holding onto to control the magic was either not all the way there or just a small part and he couldn't even see all of what he was trying to get hold of. Maybe both.

He was still trying to get it to support him in the air. The light in his head surged again and this time he couldn't regain hold of it. It exploded in his head, blinding him. His eyes shot open and an earsplitting bang filled his ears. He was greeted with a bright multitude of vivid color whirling and screaming into the air. It exploded, shooting the colors everywhere. He was briefly reminded of a firework. Except the colors didn't fade away but halted in the air as the bang faded and echoed around him and in his ears. I think it's too much to hope for if no one heard or saw that. If no one did, then everyone around here was deaf and blind.

Aoshi's gonna kill me. How the hell was he supposed to fix this? The colors didn't seem to be going away. Though now they were slowly floating down into the lake and spreading everywhere. It was like watching a melted rainbow sink out of the sky. Or ink or something except whatever the colors were made of looked a lot thicker than ink. Of what they were made of, he had absolutely no bloody clue. Or how to make it disappear either.

Panic was beginning to set in now. What if that stuff was toxic? He was going to be skinned alive if it was. He flew over and around the thick colors. They were still trickling in to the water, slowly but surely. They didn't seem to be sinking- Thank God! -and only remained on the surface. Surprisingly, the colors didn't mix when they came in to contact, just sort of swirled together and formed random, moving patterns. The thought that he was still dead wouldn't leave his head.

His fears were reassured as Aoshi and Misao came rocketing towards him, eyes wide and staring at the whirling colors. The colors had finally floated out of the sky and into the water. He wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

Aoshi was the first to tear his eyes away from the spreading colors and turned his disbelieving eyes to Kenshin. Though it was Misao that managed to choke out “What happened?” first. Kenshin gulped, not sure how to answer. “Um…well…you see…I have no idea.” Aoshi's stare was fast becoming cold and Misao's accusatory. “Did you do this? Tell me you didn't do this. Not after I specifically told you not to do magic.”

“Uh…I won't tell you then.” Aoshi groaned and ran his hands through his hair/ “Kenshin, you were told Don't. Use. Magic. Why didn't you listen? What is this stuff anyway? Never mind, I don't want to know. You didn't pollute the lake did you?” His tone was clipped and calm at the same time. Misao just shook her head at the colored water.

“I'm not sure. I hope not. You can fix this right? Because I can't.” Misao held her face in her hands, shaking her head and muttering to herself. He didn't want to know what she was saying. Aoshi said something to him but Kenshin didn't catch it. “What?” Aoshi rubbed his temples, agitation filling his voice. “Yes, I can fix it! It's only in the water?” Kenshin nodded his head. Misao and Aoshi flew over the still whirling colors, halting just above them.

The colors glowed and rose into the air, forming back into a swirling multitude again and slowly disappearing. Kenshin couldn't help but sigh in relief that nothing permanent happened or was polluted. The others felt the same way. Misao checked to see if the water contaminated in anyway. Thankfully it was fine. Just to be sure she dove under water to make sure nothing was writhing or dieing under the surface. It wasn't. She surfaced again and rose up a wind to dry herself. She was frustrated at Kenshin but relived that was all he had done. At least he looked sorry. He was, apologizing over and over until Aoshi told him that it was okay four or five times.

“Here drink this.” Misao pulled out a bottle with a red liquid inside and tossed it to Kenshin. He caught it then held it up in front of him. It was a fairly decent-sized bottle. He popped the cork out and sniffed it. It smelled horrible. Do all potions have to smell this bad? “It's a Limit Potion. It's for your magic. And it's not poison and I can't do anything about the smell. Just deal with it. It tastes better than it smells though. It's to keep your magic in check while you'll learning. It's only temporary so you have to take it once a day. A small cup though. It can be very potent.”

Kenshin corked the bottle again and tucked it into his belt. ”Why would I need to do that?”

Aoshi chose to answer him. “So you don't end up using too much magic or lose control before you know how to properly use it. And no more repeats of today or worse. You're very strong in magic but it's still becoming active and you're still not quite attached. That's why it's so hard for you to use it right?” How'd he know? And what did Aoshi mean by `still not quit attached' Misao didn't give him a chance to ask though and kept up the plowing through their explanatory lecture.

“Children go through the same thing when they first start using magic. They have magic bursts before and when their just starting to be taught. Their magic is still not fully developed though, so it's not that bad. Very minor things. But yours is completely developed, just unused and immensely strong. And now that you've done something of this level with it, the urge to use it again will be stronger. That Limit potion will help but still… promise me from now on you won't use magic without Lady Tomoe, or whoever she selects to instruct you, there to help you. And that you will take that potion until told otherwise. For everyone's own good.”

He nodded dumbly and Misao sighed before smiling and easing the tension away. “Good. I think that's enough for today then. Right Aoshi? It's almost nightfall. Let's go back to the castle. Kenshin can show off his flying there.”

“Sure.” Aoshi and Kenshin flew just slightly behind her, Kenshin trying to figure out if her and Aoshi's little speech had helped him at all or just made him even more confused. I think a little of both. It certainly popped more questions into his head. For every one answer I get about fifty more questions show up. Why can't anyone just tell me all this stuff? Beats trying to guess everything for myself and messin' something up.

One of these days he was going to force Lady Tomoe or whoever he could to sit down and explain everything to him. For today though, he'd just have to settle with the little he knew now.

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At long last I'm done! With this chapter. A whole nine/ten pages! I don't remember exactly. Still a bit above average for me nonetheless. Now to start on the next one. -.-` Kenshin I think will learn a little magic next chapter, I make no promises. And maybe get some explanations to everything and quite possibly the beginnings of the little ball thing. Though that last one is a big maybe.

That's all I can think of any importance so….till chapter 15 by for now! n-n

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