Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Obon ❯ An Odd Request ( Chapter 1 )

Obon

By: Nicolle L. Brandle

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin belongs to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

Author's Note: The story below is written in E-Prime. In other words, I don't use the verb 'to be.' Am, is, are, was, were, been, being, and become have found no place in the story. The idea behind writing in E-Prime is to force the writer into writing in an active rather than passive voice, and there by making the words used less static. The only place I have let the E-Prime slide is in the actual dialogue. People don't speak without using 'to be.' If you catch any mistakes, let me know. If you think the concept is interesting, try writing in E-Prime. Even if you don't like it, it will improve your vocabulary as you try to find new ways to say old things. Also, Giamona-san belongs to me.

Himura Kenshin carried a small, wooden bucket laden with miso, salt, rice, and fish toward home, waving hello's to the neighbors as he passed. Nearing the dojo, his ki awakened, alerting him to the presence of an all too familiar foe. Strangely enough, the presence in question was hardly threatening. The red-headed wanderer came to a halt outside the dojo gates.

"Saitou."

The officer dropped his cigarette, posture completely relaxed. "Still no respect, eh?"

"I only respect those who deserve it."

Kaoru crashed through the gate. "Kenshin! Where have you...?"

Saitou caught the gate before it smashed into him and Kaoru, shinai still in hand from practice, took a stance.

Kenshin put his hand on her shoulder. "Miss Kaoru..."

"What business do you have here?"

Saitou let go of the gate. "If we could step inside...?"

Kenshin uncharacteristically pushed Kaoru inside the gate. The movement shocked her enough that she didn't argue, and made her way back into the dojo. Saitou followed her and Kenshin stared after him.

He's... frightened? Kenshin shook the thought out of his head and went inside.

Saitou sat on the edge of the porch, lounging against the nearest pole. Kenshin sat across from him. Kaoru and Yahiko slipped into the room nearest them and leaned against the rice paper in order to hear the conversation. Saitou glanced at the wall briefly.

"I've come to ask a favor."

Kenshin's posture perked up, wary.

"The government changed my current assignment for the next two weeks. I would like you to stay with Tokio while I am gone."

"You sense danger."

Saitou's ki suddenly changed and he looked worried. He spoke in a low voice, "The coming festival fills me with dread."

Kenshin lowered his head thinking. He knew Saitou well. Saitou did not spook easily. He looked up again. "You know of no reason for concern?"

"Just this odd feeling." Saitou stood, dusting off his perfectly pressed, foreign pants. "All of your friends are invited, of course. It is a holiday after all." He turned to Kenshin. "Will you do this?"

Kenshin nodded and Saitou handed him an envelope before disappearing through the gate. Kaoru and Yahiko pushed the door aside and rushed the red-headed wanderer. Kenshin's impact with the ground went unnoticed as Kaoru and Yahiko huddled around the letter stolen from his hand.

"Saitou lives there? Who'd have thought?" Kaoru mused.

"Who's Tokio? I hope she's not a hag like you!"

"Why you little...!"

The two ran off in the other direction, the letter forgotten. It floated, feather-like, through the air and landed on Kenshin, twitching from the latest abuse.

"Oro...?"

Kawagoe, Japan

Kenshin, Kaoru, Yahiko, Sanosuke, and Megumi stood before a large white home with thick walls of wattle and clay. The house sported tiny windows with heavy green shutters, made to seal shut in the event of a fire. The steep roof covered itself with immense, rust-colored onigawara. The massive fire-proofing of the house reflected the fear many of the Kawagoe residents still felt after the great fire of 1893. Thick walls surrounded the house, trapping the immense gardens inside.

The house boasted three parlors in the front, two converted into guest rooms. The back of the house possessed two bedrooms, a storeroom, workroom, and dining room. The parlors displayed large ink paintings of mountains and trees. The inner rooms decorated themselves in green silks, soft and lovely. The gardens surrounding the house bloomed in gorgeous emerald greens and shining golds.

The wooden gate stood open, allowing passerby to glimpse the beauty inside, and a young man in a very plain blue kimono sat on a stool within, awaiting the arrival of the guests. "Himura-san!" He leapt from his seat, bowing respectfully.

"Eiji! You've grown a lot since we last met. Do you like Kawagoe?" Kenshin asked with a happy smile.

Sanosuke looked around. "I don't get it. Nothing seems out of the ordinary." Kaoru nodded, perplexed.

A young woman in a simple green kimono dotted with embroidered purple butterflies shuffled forward from inside. Her hair twisted in a complicated knot on the top of her head, framing a soft, porcelain delicate face. Her dainty fingers curved gently around a parasol decorated with swallows. The parasol twirled behind her in a girlish way, making the swallows look as if they could fly. She bowed politely and everyone returned the gesture with the exception of Sanosuke whose eyes were still roaming the property. The woman smiled humbly.

"Hiramata Tokio," she said by way of introduction, "and it pleases me very much that you've accepted my husband's invitation to visit for the festival. Please come inside."

Kaoru's, Sanosuke's, and Yahiko's jaws hit the dirt road.

"Husband...?" Kaoru whispered under her breath. She grabbed Kenshin by his gi as the woman turned to lead the way inside. "Saitou?! Married?!"

Kenshin nodded with his patented wanderer's smile, following the young woman inside. Eiji motioned everyone in after her. Inside, the sweet smell of the gardens gently floated on the breeze, reaching out to noses and turning heads. Amidst the flowers sat two young girls, one with a baby boy in her lap, busily painting lanterns for the festival. The girls bowed politely when the group passed.

"Your children?" Megumi ventured.

Tokio nodded as she led them inside the house.

"They appear to take after you," Kenshin said.

"Don't let them fool you, Himura-san. Fumiyo and Kirie share their father's cunning. Matsusuke, though still yet a babe, shows all signs of taking after his father." Both girls, upon seeing Yahiko, quickly leaned into each other to whisper, evil gleams in their eyes.

"I'd like to thank you for hospitality, Hiramata-san, but do you have any idea why your husband worries so?" Kenshin asked as they seated themselves in the first parlor of the house. A young serving girl entered with tea, bowing to everyone as she stepped inside.

Tokio waved off the question as she closed her parasol. "My husband worries too much. But I lack for company." The servant leaned forward and whispered into her ear. She smiled. "When you finish your tea, Koji will show you to the guest bathhouse and your rooms." The young girl bowed again.

An odd ki approached the gates of the house. Kenshin looked over his shoulder, attempting to discern what it meant. Tokio's eyes flicked suddenly to the door. She turned to Eiji. "Would you please meet Giamona-san at the gate and let her know that Fumiyo and Kirie will visit family during the festival?"

Eiji nodded and jumped to his feet.

"He seems to have found some peace here," Kenshin noted.

Tokio nodded. "He's grown a lot and the girls' influence on him seems to have softened his edges. Fumiyo painted a lantern for his family. She's a much better painter than he."

A cacophony of giggles erupted from the gardens and Tokio off handedly pushed the rice paper wall aside, revealing a porch and a beautiful view not only of the gardens, but of the misty mountains beyond. Eiji sat in front of the girls, pouting, his face painted to look like a cat. A young western woman in a bright pink kimono sat behind him, with her hand on his shoulder while the girls had their fun. Her hair, a dark brown, twisted in an odd braid on the top of her head. Her eyes gleamed an unusual hazel. Noticing the slide of the door, the woman smiled and bowed to Tokio.

Kenshin's violet eyes narrowed, attempting to discern why the woman would emanate such an odd ki. The woman walked over to the porch and held out a small bag. "The fennel you asked for. If you need anything during the festival, just let me know." She bowed again before going back to the girls.

"I've met westerners before, but she doesn't have an accent at all," Megumi said.

"Giamona-san hails from America. She comes from one of the great merchant families of Europe. She told me once that as a child, she lived in a town filled with Japanese immigrants escaping the revolution." Tokio took a sip of her tea. "She teaches English and math to the children."

"What an odd ki," Kaoru said, "I've never felt anything like it."

Tokio nodded. "Giamona-san said she took after her grandmother when my husband mentioned it. She and her family little like other westerners. In fact, I've seen many of them shun her. I believe it stems from a Christian prejudice. Many of the missionaries fear her and the converts who live here refuse to buy any of her family's goods. But her honor and kindness has left nothing but gratitude in her wake. I've never detected any evil in her." Tokio stood and bowed politely. "If you'll excuse me, I have several things to prepare for the festival."

Dinner and evening passed uneventfully. Night slipped over the horizon as Tokio and Giamona-san said their goodbyes at the gate, waving to the girls as she left. Kenshin and Kaoru sat on the guest's porch, watching the sky turn a thick black.

"I don't get it, Kenshin."

"Oro?"

"What's so wrong with this place? I mean, that woman had a pretty weird ki, but other than that, I don't see why Saitou cares."

Kenshin sipped his tea. "Neither do I, but Saitou would never give up his privacy like this unless he had a reason. We'll wait and see."

Yahiko ran screaming out of the third parlor where he, Sanosuke, and Kenshin were spending the night. "IT BURNS!!! IT BURNS!!! IT BURNS!!!"

Tokio's voice could be heard echoing off the mountain. "FUMIYO! KIRIE!"