Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ That Voodoo That You Do ❯ Now I'm A Believer! ( Chapter 3 )

Yahiko was practicing his techniques down by the riverside yet again. He had to keep moving spots because he knew how Kaoru would find him, and make his training three times as hard for skipping off in the morning, but he had his reasons.

The day before he had gotten into a bit of a scrap with some kids over something so pathetic he couldn't even remember, and had done his left elbow a little damage. Rather than have Kenshin baby him or have Kaoru moan at him for it, he had gone off early to find Megumi at the clinic. Of course, she had been out, he had to wait, and eventually when she returned she treated him, and with something slyer about her demeanour than usual she handed him a small, Misao look-alike doll. This was all well and good, but when he questioned her she had said it was because he had been "A good little boy."

Something she had said about the doll puzzled him. He wasn't a believer in `magic' as such, but then Megumi, a little tired of the scepticism of others in her ability to create something powerfully supernatural, gave a demonstration. She told Yahiko about how she kept losing or giving away some dolls but she still had a mini Misao, Kenshin and Kaoru left, and by tying a coin around Kenshin's middle would attract him good money fortunes. She did just that, with a silk thread, and then told him to keep an eye out when he got home.

Yahiko paused for a moment to take out the Misao and look at it. Megumi had painstakingly created her in some detail, even giving her a fabric plait that swished back and forth with the doll. It had a black stitched smile and daubes of blue ink for eyes.

Deciding to test his own manipulative toy, and not knowing quite what to do, he moved closer to the waters edge. He dipped first the rounded feet, then legs, and then nearly the whole doll in water. For a moment, he dunked the little Misao wholly under.

"Hey, Yahiko!" shouted a very angry, very familiar voice from a higher position. In an instant reaction, he pulled the doll back out again, and returned it to its hiding place. Seconds later and he found himself hauled up by the scruff of the neck, even though his feet were still on terrestrial ground.

"Hey, lemme go ugly!" he yelled at the top of his lungs at his instructor. Kaoru merely stood there, her face like thunder. "You know," she seethed, "I have spent all morning looking for you? What were you doing?"

"I was here. Training! Trying to make the name of the Kamiya Kasshin Style proud of me!"

His mentor growled. There was no way she could fault that. But if he was training then… "What were you doing by the waters edge, Yahiko?"

He had to think fast. "Washing my… hands. What were you doing spying on me?"

"I wasn't spying on you," sighed Kaoru, letting him down and beginning to walk away, "I'm your instructor aren't I? I was observing you to see how you apply the Kamiya Kasshin principles on your own. But it didn't look like you were, and to top it all off you lie to me."

He knew then what he had done. The lies were out of control so fast, and he couldn't keep up with the cover-ups. He had to run a little up hill to catch up and walk beside her as she returned to the dojo for lunch. He looked at his feet, before reproducing the replica of the ninja, and though sodden passing it to Kaoru.

"I was washing this. Or testing it. Whichever you wanna say. Megumi gave it to me this morning. Said it was-"

"A magic doll!" His teacher interrupted, and somewhat surprised as she retrieved her own. They swapped over and studied each other's.

"Hey!" he realised aloud, "Its… it looks like me!"

"It is." Grinned Kaoru, suddenly overwhelmed with vengeful thoughts. All the times he called her names, all the times he insulted her cooking, all the times he was ungrateful for the things she did for him and took her for granted - now was the time to redeem that karma herself.

Before Yahiko had a half way decent chance to recognise the glint in her eye, Kaoru snatched back her Yahiko doll and tossed Misao back into his lap. So began the series of tests. She ruffled the dolls hair, and a strong breeze blew over, creating the same part on the equal. With a wicked grin and a realisation she better not get caught she began to run pinching at Yahiko's legs until he complained of cramp and fell back to a safe distance. By the time he returned to the dojo, Kaoru had hidden the Yahiko doll safely away - or at least temporarily.