Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Flight of the Wounded Dove ❯ Moping ( Chapter 3 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Shaeya Sedjet Namir 
Anime/Manga: Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Hentai / Romance | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 06.18.2007 | Updated On: 06.21.2007 | Pages: 4 | Words: 3.1K | Visits: 575 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Hentai / Romance | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 06.18.2007 | Updated On: 06.21.2007 | Pages: 4 | Words: 3.1K | Visits: 575 | Status: Work In Progress
Disclaimer: I am in no way claiming to own any sort of right to Rurouni Kenshin! I just like to pretend that I am god and bend the characters to my will. Mwahahaha!!! Ahem. Kenshin and his friends actually belong to Noburhiro Watsuki.
A Note From Sedjet: Gomen nasai, minna! I know I have taken a very long time to update, and I am sorry. School has been hectic, and with my improvisation group having gigs, it is really difficult to find time for the extra stuff. If I cannot weekly or bi-weekly, I will definitely try to update monthly. Thank you for your patronage and support!
Flight of the Wounded Dove
Chapter Three:
Moping
Kenshin seemed spacey as he cooked the fish he had caught earlier in the day. This did not escape Sano’s keen attention despite his ravenous hunger. He and Yahiko were starving!
“I wish Kenshin would hurry up! I’m hungry!” The spike-haired pre-teen complained. Then, he looked around, noticing for the first time that Kaoru was not present. “Hey! Where’s the old hag?”
Kenshin looked at him sharply, “Kaoru-dono will not be eating with us tonight,” he murmured.
“Is she still sore about yesterday? Sheesh!”
Kenshin was slowly losing his patience with the young boy, “Kaoru-dono has gone away for a while,” the red head said somberly.
“Gone away? To where?” Yahiko wanted to know. Then, he paled, “Aw, man! Who is going to train me???”
Kenshin took a deep breath in an effort to rein in his emotions, “She did not know where she was going, or how long she would be gone, but she did ask me to continue your training in her absence.”
“She didn’t say where she was going?” Sanosuke asked.
Kenshin shook his head, “She told me only that she was going away.”
“That isn’t like Jou-chan.” The former gangster murmured.
“Why did she just up and leave like that without saying anything? Women are so moody.” Yahiko pouted.
“Can we not talk about this anymore, Yahiko?” Kenshin said shortly.
“I was just wondering. You don’t have to get sore with me,” the boy grumbled.
Kenshin turned to face Yahiko, “Do you want to know why she left?” He did not wait for an answer, he merely plowed on ahead, “She is gone because of us. She is gone because we do not appreciate her. She is gone because Sanosuke and I neglect her and say horrible things to her. She left because we hurt her—because I hurt her,” he ended his tirade softly.
Sanosuke clapped him on the shoulder, “Don’t beat yourself up, Kenshin. Jou-chan loves you.”
“And I have hurt her. Knowing that she loves me only makes it worse,” Kenshin said softly, turning his attention back to the cooking.
“You care about her, don’t you, Kenshin?”
Kenshin stared at the fish on the grill, “Of course I do.”
Sanosuke grinned, “Then it is time you stopped being a coward and tell her how you feel.”
Kenshin looked up, startled. The one thing he had never been called was a coward. His mind drifted, as it had all day, to what he would say when Kaoru returned. Before, he had been uncertain; but now, he had a vague idea of what he would say to her—to the woman who had stolen his heart.
~*~
“Look at this one, Kaoru-chan!” Tae gushed at a beautiful silk kimono.
It was a rich, saturate, deep, midnight blue with tiny pinpricks of white forming vague patterns. Some of the white pinpricks were larger than others and more vibrant. The obi was of a delicate buttery yellow silk with golden embroidered suns on it. It contrasted beautifully with the deep blue of the kimono.
Kaoru marveled at the craftsmanship and the sheer artistry of the garment, “A night sky…” she murmured. She was enchanted by the exquisite kimono.
The fact did not escape Tae’s keen gaze. She thrust the kimono at Kaoru, nearly frightening the poor girl to death, “It is perfect for you! You must try it on!” She looked to the shopkeeper for backup, “Shouldn’t she try it on?”
The shopkeeper, a kindly older woman, smiled pleasantly, “It will look lovely on you my dear.”
“With your coloring, it will be stunning, Kaoru-chan!” Tae gushed.
Kaoru smiled shyly, “Thank you, but I could not possibly—“
“Nonsense!” Tae interrupted. “It is perfect!” To the shopkeeper she beamed brightly, “We will take it.” Then, to Kaoru, “It will accent your figure so well!”
By the time the two women left the shop, Kaoru had acquired many parcels and boxes—too many. She was anxious and more than a little worried about her finances.
“I fear I have spent too much money, Tae. Perhaps we should call it a day and return to the inn, ne?”
“Nonsense! Money is no object. If you need more, I will compensate.”
Kaoru shook her head as she spoke, “Tae, I absolutely cannot allow you to do that.”
“Think of it as a belated birthday gift, Kaoru.” She plucked at the ribbon in Kaoru’s hair, and a mass of glossy raven hair tumbled to the younger girl’s waist.
“Kaoru!” Tae exclaimed, “You should wear your hair down more often!” She reached out to caress Kaoru’s blue-black hair. “So soft!” she giggled, “It is one of your best features!”
Kaoru smiled, blushing faintly at the attention, “Thank you, Tae-chan.”
~*~
“Kenshin! Kenshin!” Yahiko sprinted into the yard, waving a piece of parchment frantically, “A letter came from Kaoru!”
Kenshin tried to hide his eagerness and obvious relief, but it was no use, “What does she say?” He took the parchment from Yahiko and broke the seal. He read for a moment, perplexed.
“Well?!” When Kenshin did not answer, Yahiko snatched the letter from his hands and read for himself. He frowned at the letter’s contents, “It only says that she will be back in two weeks,” he murmured flatly. He turned the parchment over, “And there is no return address.”
Without a word, Kenshin took his fishing-pole and bucket and made his way up to the house.
Yahiko just stared after him. Kenshin had been moody since Kaoru had gone away. He barely spoke to Yahiko or Sanosuke. The retired warrior only trained Yahiko, performed his daily chores and retired to his room after the evening meals. Even during meals he was sullen and mopey.
~*~
“I just can’t stand this anymore, Sano!” Yahiko exploded after Kenshin had retreated to his room for the evening. “All Kenshin does is mope around since Kaoru left.”
“So let’s do something about it.” Sano said as if it was the most obvious suggestion.
“And what do you propose we do about it, Tori atama? We don’t even know where Kaoru is!”
Sano leveled a look at the young boy as if to say, ‘Watch it, buster.’ “She went will Tae, didn’t she?”
“I think so, but what does that have to do with Kenshin’s moping?” Yahiko prodded.
“It has everything to do with the cure for Kenshin’s wallowing. All we do is send word to Tsubame that we need to get in touch with Kaoru because there is an emergency at the dojo. She will give us the address because Tsubame is gullible. Then, we write to Tae and plead with her to help us. You know how unconventional that woman is. She loves to play matchmaker. So, we set it up to take Kenshin on a ‘fishing trip’ to wherever they are, and WHAM! Instant rurouni bliss.” Sano finished with a triumphant grin.
Yahiko just stared at Sano. The man had been giving this scenario a great deal of thought. That knowledge slightly weired Yahiko out. “You are a scary, scary man, Sano.”
Sano shook his head jovially, “Not at all.” His demeanor suddenly changed to that of intense frustration, “I just want those two to admit their feelings, get it on and get it over with! This is ridiculous!”
~*~
Yahiko was raking leaves in the front yard when a messenger arrived with a letter from Tae. Yahiko thanked the messenger and ran to find Sanosuke. He had a pretty good idea where Sano was: recovering from his drinking binge the previous night in the room that was his when he chose to stay at the dojo.
“Oi! Sano!” Yahiko bellowed as he burst into the older boy’s room.
Sano raised his heavy head from his futon and opened one bleary eye. He growled something extremely unpleasant, and Yahiko smacked him on the back of the head with the unopened parchment.
“A letter came from Tae!” He waved the parchment wildly in Sano’s face.
Sano buried his head under his blanket. “Go ahead and read it, and get the hell out,” he grumbled.
Despite Sano’s gruffness, Yahiko eagerly broke open the seal and read Tae’s typical response. He grinned triumphantly, “She has agreed to help us. She has provided the address of the inn and says that she will make sure they are in residence in three days.”
“That means we have to work fast,” came the muffled response from beneath Sano’s blanket.
“Which means you should get your useless carcass out of bed, so we can put our plan into motion.”
“I’ll get up, and I’ll give your five seconds to get out of my room before I beat you senseless,” he growled.
“Fine. Just hurry.”
“Where are they, anyway?”
“They are staying at the Golden Dragon Inn in Yokohama.”
“Great. We’re going to have to take the train. I hate the train.”
“You have to make sacrifices for the team, Sano,” Yahiko grinned.
“Shut up and get out,” Sano grumbled, “And don’t slam the—“
Too late. Yahiko was out the sliding shoji door and there was a loud bang. Then, there was blinding pain. Sano muttered to himself something about grilling porcupine headed little boys for breakfast.
~*~
“Why must we go all the way to Yokohama for a shopping trip?” A confused red-headed rurouni wanted to know.
“You need to get out of here. Yahiko and I are fed up with your moping. We are getting you out of here.”
“I suppose a fishing trip might help me get my mind off things.”
“Be sure to pack your good robes. We are taking you out to a nice restaurant.”
Kenshin smiled at his companions. “This is going to be a nice vacation,” he murmured thoughtfully as he went off to pack what he would need for a week’s vacation.
:Sucker! : Sanosuke grinned as he watched the rurouni go.
To be continued…
And the plot thickens. Duh-duh-duuuh!
Ok. I was just wondering if the chapters are long enough for you guys. I could conceivably put more in each chapter, but chapters have been running 4-5 pages long each as it is. Just let me know what you want.
A Note From Sedjet: Gomen nasai, minna! I know I have taken a very long time to update, and I am sorry. School has been hectic, and with my improvisation group having gigs, it is really difficult to find time for the extra stuff. If I cannot weekly or bi-weekly, I will definitely try to update monthly. Thank you for your patronage and support!
Flight of the Wounded Dove
Chapter Three:
Moping
Kenshin seemed spacey as he cooked the fish he had caught earlier in the day. This did not escape Sano’s keen attention despite his ravenous hunger. He and Yahiko were starving!
“I wish Kenshin would hurry up! I’m hungry!” The spike-haired pre-teen complained. Then, he looked around, noticing for the first time that Kaoru was not present. “Hey! Where’s the old hag?”
Kenshin looked at him sharply, “Kaoru-dono will not be eating with us tonight,” he murmured.
“Is she still sore about yesterday? Sheesh!”
Kenshin was slowly losing his patience with the young boy, “Kaoru-dono has gone away for a while,” the red head said somberly.
“Gone away? To where?” Yahiko wanted to know. Then, he paled, “Aw, man! Who is going to train me???”
Kenshin took a deep breath in an effort to rein in his emotions, “She did not know where she was going, or how long she would be gone, but she did ask me to continue your training in her absence.”
“She didn’t say where she was going?” Sanosuke asked.
Kenshin shook his head, “She told me only that she was going away.”
“That isn’t like Jou-chan.” The former gangster murmured.
“Why did she just up and leave like that without saying anything? Women are so moody.” Yahiko pouted.
“Can we not talk about this anymore, Yahiko?” Kenshin said shortly.
“I was just wondering. You don’t have to get sore with me,” the boy grumbled.
Kenshin turned to face Yahiko, “Do you want to know why she left?” He did not wait for an answer, he merely plowed on ahead, “She is gone because of us. She is gone because we do not appreciate her. She is gone because Sanosuke and I neglect her and say horrible things to her. She left because we hurt her—because I hurt her,” he ended his tirade softly.
Sanosuke clapped him on the shoulder, “Don’t beat yourself up, Kenshin. Jou-chan loves you.”
“And I have hurt her. Knowing that she loves me only makes it worse,” Kenshin said softly, turning his attention back to the cooking.
“You care about her, don’t you, Kenshin?”
Kenshin stared at the fish on the grill, “Of course I do.”
Sanosuke grinned, “Then it is time you stopped being a coward and tell her how you feel.”
Kenshin looked up, startled. The one thing he had never been called was a coward. His mind drifted, as it had all day, to what he would say when Kaoru returned. Before, he had been uncertain; but now, he had a vague idea of what he would say to her—to the woman who had stolen his heart.
~*~
“Look at this one, Kaoru-chan!” Tae gushed at a beautiful silk kimono.
It was a rich, saturate, deep, midnight blue with tiny pinpricks of white forming vague patterns. Some of the white pinpricks were larger than others and more vibrant. The obi was of a delicate buttery yellow silk with golden embroidered suns on it. It contrasted beautifully with the deep blue of the kimono.
Kaoru marveled at the craftsmanship and the sheer artistry of the garment, “A night sky…” she murmured. She was enchanted by the exquisite kimono.
The fact did not escape Tae’s keen gaze. She thrust the kimono at Kaoru, nearly frightening the poor girl to death, “It is perfect for you! You must try it on!” She looked to the shopkeeper for backup, “Shouldn’t she try it on?”
The shopkeeper, a kindly older woman, smiled pleasantly, “It will look lovely on you my dear.”
“With your coloring, it will be stunning, Kaoru-chan!” Tae gushed.
Kaoru smiled shyly, “Thank you, but I could not possibly—“
“Nonsense!” Tae interrupted. “It is perfect!” To the shopkeeper she beamed brightly, “We will take it.” Then, to Kaoru, “It will accent your figure so well!”
By the time the two women left the shop, Kaoru had acquired many parcels and boxes—too many. She was anxious and more than a little worried about her finances.
“I fear I have spent too much money, Tae. Perhaps we should call it a day and return to the inn, ne?”
“Nonsense! Money is no object. If you need more, I will compensate.”
Kaoru shook her head as she spoke, “Tae, I absolutely cannot allow you to do that.”
“Think of it as a belated birthday gift, Kaoru.” She plucked at the ribbon in Kaoru’s hair, and a mass of glossy raven hair tumbled to the younger girl’s waist.
“Kaoru!” Tae exclaimed, “You should wear your hair down more often!” She reached out to caress Kaoru’s blue-black hair. “So soft!” she giggled, “It is one of your best features!”
Kaoru smiled, blushing faintly at the attention, “Thank you, Tae-chan.”
~*~
“Kenshin! Kenshin!” Yahiko sprinted into the yard, waving a piece of parchment frantically, “A letter came from Kaoru!”
Kenshin tried to hide his eagerness and obvious relief, but it was no use, “What does she say?” He took the parchment from Yahiko and broke the seal. He read for a moment, perplexed.
“Well?!” When Kenshin did not answer, Yahiko snatched the letter from his hands and read for himself. He frowned at the letter’s contents, “It only says that she will be back in two weeks,” he murmured flatly. He turned the parchment over, “And there is no return address.”
Without a word, Kenshin took his fishing-pole and bucket and made his way up to the house.
Yahiko just stared after him. Kenshin had been moody since Kaoru had gone away. He barely spoke to Yahiko or Sanosuke. The retired warrior only trained Yahiko, performed his daily chores and retired to his room after the evening meals. Even during meals he was sullen and mopey.
~*~
“I just can’t stand this anymore, Sano!” Yahiko exploded after Kenshin had retreated to his room for the evening. “All Kenshin does is mope around since Kaoru left.”
“So let’s do something about it.” Sano said as if it was the most obvious suggestion.
“And what do you propose we do about it, Tori atama? We don’t even know where Kaoru is!”
Sano leveled a look at the young boy as if to say, ‘Watch it, buster.’ “She went will Tae, didn’t she?”
“I think so, but what does that have to do with Kenshin’s moping?” Yahiko prodded.
“It has everything to do with the cure for Kenshin’s wallowing. All we do is send word to Tsubame that we need to get in touch with Kaoru because there is an emergency at the dojo. She will give us the address because Tsubame is gullible. Then, we write to Tae and plead with her to help us. You know how unconventional that woman is. She loves to play matchmaker. So, we set it up to take Kenshin on a ‘fishing trip’ to wherever they are, and WHAM! Instant rurouni bliss.” Sano finished with a triumphant grin.
Yahiko just stared at Sano. The man had been giving this scenario a great deal of thought. That knowledge slightly weired Yahiko out. “You are a scary, scary man, Sano.”
Sano shook his head jovially, “Not at all.” His demeanor suddenly changed to that of intense frustration, “I just want those two to admit their feelings, get it on and get it over with! This is ridiculous!”
~*~
Yahiko was raking leaves in the front yard when a messenger arrived with a letter from Tae. Yahiko thanked the messenger and ran to find Sanosuke. He had a pretty good idea where Sano was: recovering from his drinking binge the previous night in the room that was his when he chose to stay at the dojo.
“Oi! Sano!” Yahiko bellowed as he burst into the older boy’s room.
Sano raised his heavy head from his futon and opened one bleary eye. He growled something extremely unpleasant, and Yahiko smacked him on the back of the head with the unopened parchment.
“A letter came from Tae!” He waved the parchment wildly in Sano’s face.
Sano buried his head under his blanket. “Go ahead and read it, and get the hell out,” he grumbled.
Despite Sano’s gruffness, Yahiko eagerly broke open the seal and read Tae’s typical response. He grinned triumphantly, “She has agreed to help us. She has provided the address of the inn and says that she will make sure they are in residence in three days.”
“That means we have to work fast,” came the muffled response from beneath Sano’s blanket.
“Which means you should get your useless carcass out of bed, so we can put our plan into motion.”
“I’ll get up, and I’ll give your five seconds to get out of my room before I beat you senseless,” he growled.
“Fine. Just hurry.”
“Where are they, anyway?”
“They are staying at the Golden Dragon Inn in Yokohama.”
“Great. We’re going to have to take the train. I hate the train.”
“You have to make sacrifices for the team, Sano,” Yahiko grinned.
“Shut up and get out,” Sano grumbled, “And don’t slam the—“
Too late. Yahiko was out the sliding shoji door and there was a loud bang. Then, there was blinding pain. Sano muttered to himself something about grilling porcupine headed little boys for breakfast.
~*~
“Why must we go all the way to Yokohama for a shopping trip?” A confused red-headed rurouni wanted to know.
“You need to get out of here. Yahiko and I are fed up with your moping. We are getting you out of here.”
“I suppose a fishing trip might help me get my mind off things.”
“Be sure to pack your good robes. We are taking you out to a nice restaurant.”
Kenshin smiled at his companions. “This is going to be a nice vacation,” he murmured thoughtfully as he went off to pack what he would need for a week’s vacation.
:Sucker! : Sanosuke grinned as he watched the rurouni go.
To be continued…
And the plot thickens. Duh-duh-duuuh!
Ok. I was just wondering if the chapters are long enough for you guys. I could conceivably put more in each chapter, but chapters have been running 4-5 pages long each as it is. Just let me know what you want.