Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ May The Sun Shine Forever ❯ Kari's Past ( Chapter 7 )

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

.:*May The Sun Shine Forever*:.

*Author's Note: Can Kaoru draw? Hmmm….this reminds me of this one scene in Cowboy Bebop, the movie. Have any of you seen it? Reviewreviewreview!*

Chapter Seven

Kaoru huddled at a desk in her room, eraser shaving flew around her head like a dust storm,

"There, no just a bit there. Maybe a touch here, yes, great! And the here, and here, and here…"

"Is it done yet?" Sano leaned against the wall and chewed on a drumstick. As bad as the girl's cooking was, nobody else could cook, so they were all waiting outside her door for her to finish her "masterpiece" so they could get a bite to eat.

"Just a second…there! All done!"

Bounding out of her room, Kaoru proudly showed her work.

"There, what do you think?"

Sano and Yahiko stared.

"I think it's a chicken."

"Nah, it's a rooster, can't you see it's gobble thingy?"

"Hey, Sano, I think it's you!"

"Well, if you squint and turn your head to the side, it does make a good impression of Kenshin."

"I still think it's a rooster."

"What is it supposed to be anyway, Kaoru?"

"Well, whatever it is, it's pretty hideous."

*twitchtwitch*

"IT'S THE MUSIC BOX!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Oh."

Kenshin watched Kari skip outside to the street, Bufo behind her, busy terrifying a butterfly.

Soujiro stood up and looked out the door. "A bit late in the year for butterflies, but there still seem to be plenty around."

Turning, he looked into Kenshin's eyes. "So what brings you here?"

Kenshin stayed silent. He didn't feel like telling this boy anything yet. He still didn't know if he could even trust him. Instead, he asked the former Tenken the same thing.

Soujiro looked out the door again.

"I don't wanna wait

Till our lives end

Just tell me now

And to me send

The hope and the prayer;

What you think is true

And in time tell me

When life ends, anew."

Looking back at Kenshin, he smiled. "Just a poem Kari taught me."

He walked back to the table and sat down with a sigh.

"Kari has taught me many things," he said staring at his plate. "Some I needed to know."

Here his gaze left the table and wandered to Kenshin's eyes. To Kenshin's surprise, his eyes showed sorrow, an emotion he never used to have. "Others I wished I'd never known."

"Let me tell you the story of how I met Kari."

"Being a wanderer is never easy, that I know now. I saw many things, some good, others evil. I saw people doing good followed by people unraveling their hard work and instead, spreading chaos. In one city I went to, robbers, burglars, and other street men were common; they prowled the alleys in the day and came out in the night. Any child who went out then were usually never seen again, kidnapped by those gangs and sold off as slaves or prostitutes. Kari…"

His voice seemed to falter, but he went on.

"Kari lived with her father, mother, her younger brother, Jakin and her dog, Bufo. Their family was a happy one, and they always took precautions against the street gangs. They would lock their doors after nightfall, and never opened the door to strangers. One night, Kari forgot to lock the doors. A band of five street men came into their house. I had been working with the police force there for some time, but unfortunately, they usually weren't notified until late into the crime. When I had arrived, we found almost nothing left of the house; the whole building had been burned. The bodies of Kari's father and mother were found in the front of the house. They had been trying to fight off the intruders."

Soujiro looked away, his gaze traveling to the ground.

"Their bodies were found first. Their heads were then discovered some five feet away. The main frame of the house was still standing, and the second floor was still intact. Carefully, the police and myself went up the stairs, and heard laughter. Going into one of the rooms, we found Kari, her brother, Bufo, and the bodies of three men. They had tried to rape her, but when they approached her, her dog had ran after them. In the end, they tore out one of his eyes, and knocked him unconscious. Two men died of their injuries from fighting the dog. The third man tortured Kari's brother to death. His sister was found cradling his body, with the dog licking Kari's injuries. Bufo apparently regained conscious soon after the attack on him. The third man died from a loss of blood, all coming from many bite marks. We believe Bufo killed him too, but we aren't sure. They had obviously tortured Kari too, judging from her eyes and the concussion she had suffered. She had many bruises around her head, one of them hit a crucial area, causing her to be "insane" as some of the policemen described it. She was laughing when we found her."

Soujiro looked back at Kenshin, and Kenshin saw his eyes had been replaced by a fire of anger. Standing up, he gripped the table tightly.

"The most depressing thing is that the police arrived about half an hour after this. The police force there is weak, undependable. The people there have to fend for themselves, never going to sleep without checking their doors first."

With that speech, he fell back, his face cloudy with worry. "I've kept Kari ever since, and that was about a year ago. She does fine with me, and Bufo still continues to protect her for me when I'm not around. We get by with my money working with the police force here in Kyoto. The doctor says that nothing was really permanently damaged in her head. The only time that she really scared me is when we first found her. She had been playing with her brother, even through he was quite clearly dead. We found her by her laughter. When we asked her why she was laughing, she told me it was because he had told her a funny joke. She should be getting better, but she still has problems ever now and then. She doesn't seem to listen to people that well, and scares many people by talking to Bufo as through he was her only friend in the world. He is, in a way, but I'm hoping she'll talk more to me one day."

Kenshin lay back in his chair, and digested this information. So that was why she acted so. With a deep breath, Kenshin told Soujiro all that had happened to him, starting from the letter.

Both men were so engrossed in each other's stories, that they had not noticed the back door open and close. Down a hallway and behind the door, Kari sat with her back to the wall, every word they were saying clearly reaching her ears. Bufo sat in her lap, head to her.

"Do you think I'm crazy," whispered Kari eagerly. "Do you?"

Bufo licked her. Kari smiled.

*Author's Note: O.o Creepy……………………What do you think? Do you think Kari is crazy? She might be connected to the whole Tomoe thing, so watch out. Unfortunately, it's winter rite now in the story and in real life. *weepweep* I need to get them out of winter somehow, and REALLY SOON.

Sano:………

Yahiko: Oro

Kenshin: Hey, that's my line!

Yahiko: Yeah, so? Orororororo…ORO!

Saitoh: Kill…evil…immediately!

Author: Hey, you're not in the story!

Sano:………

Megumi: Oh dear, this weather is going to end up ruining my fair complexion!

Kaoru: What complexion? I've always thought that oval located on your neck was a piece of trash someone forgot to take out.

Megumi: *laughs* Ohohoho! Sir Ken sure doesn't think so, does he?

Megumi: We were getting pretty cozy in the second chapter, weren't we?

Kenshin: Uh -oh…

Kaoru: ROAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Soujiro: ^__________________________________^

Kaoru, Yahiko, Megumi: What are you smiling at, you stupid punk?

Soujiro: ^___________________________________^

Soujiro: ^_______________________________^

Soujiro: ^_____________________^

Soujiro: ^_____________^

Soujiro: ^______^

Soujiro: ^_^

Soujiro: -_-

Soujiro: Wahhhhhhhhhhh! I want my mommy!

Author: Will I do? *heehee*

Soujiro: ^______________________________________________^

Sano:…

Tomoe: Haha! I'm a ghost so I don't get cold! Haha!

Kagome: Hey!

Kaoru and Megumi: SHUT UP

Tomoe: Brrr..bbbrrr…bbbbbrrrrrrrrrrrrr…..

Sano:…

Sano:…

Everyone else:…

Sano:…

Sano: Hey…the seasons changed.

Megumi: Shikon Jewel! I command you to make Sano smart!

Shikon Jewel: Hey, hey, hey! I'm not a miracle worker!