Rurouni Kenshin Fanfic
Rurouni Kenshin & Samurai X Original Japanese Version ©N.
Watsuki/Shueisha * Fuji-TV * SME Visual Works Inc. * Sony Pictures
Entertainment
All Fanfics created by Chiruken (me) were written for the
sole purpose of shared entertainment and not intended for publication or sale.
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Kaoru let out a sound partway between a nervous giggle and a shout
of outrage. What was Aoshi doing?! This was a horrible time for him to
rediscover his sense of humor!
Kenshin’s eyes narrowed
dangerously. “I’m afraid I must
decline.” This was the last thing he’d
expected to find. He was willing to give
the benefit of the doubt, but someone had better start explaining and they’d
better make it good. Admittedly, he had
no actual claim on Kaoru, but he’d thought his feelings fairly obvious, even to
Shinomori Aoshi.
“K-Kenshin…It isn’t what it looks like!” Kaoru turned desperate eyes on Aoshi. “Tell, him Aoshi.”
Aoshi nodded. “As condemning as this appears, Battousai, I
assure you it was purely innocent.” He
glanced at Kaoru when the Battousai’s implacable expression didn’t change. “It is raining.” He finished as if that were explanation enough.
“I am fully aware of the current
weather, Aoshi. However, I fail to see
how that has any bearing on why you’re both in such a state of intimate
undress.” He spoke harsher than he’d
intended. It was impossible to keep his
tone mild and even, given the situation.
“We got wet.” Kaoru answered when Aoshi remained
silent. She pointed at their
clothes. “We were trying to dry our
clothes while waiting for the storm to pass.”
She held her breath and waited for Kenshin’s reply with a sinking
heart. He looks so angry, she thought
morosely.
“I…see…“ Kenshin frowned thoughtfully.
Looking at it in that light and knowing Kaoru as he did…Suddenly he
grinned. He could definitely see the
humor in the situation. He was still a
little annoyed, but he’d get over it.
“What were you doing out here anyway?”
He turned and shook out his umbrella before closing the door, missing
the almost desperate looks exchanged between Kaoru and Aoshi.
“Um…Well…You see…“ Kaoru cleared her throat nervously. “Aoshi was showing me around
the…um…countryside.” She flinched at
how lame her explanation sounded to her own ears. She was a terrible liar and she just knew that Kenshin could see
right through her falsehoods.
Kenshin carefully set the umbrella
aside and drew in a deep breath before turning, schooling his features into a
cheerful expression. He didn’t believe
her explanation for one minute. There
was more to it…much more. He had a
feeling he knew what this sudden desire to tour the Otsu area was caused by,
too. Sometimes shishou had a big mouth. “Were you able to see Biwako, Kaoru-dono?”
She nodded enthusiastically. “It’s very pretty, Kenshin. Maybe we could go for a boat ride
someday.” She ducked her head quickly
at her forwardness. Maybe he didn’t
want to go on such an intimate outing with her. She sighed inwardly.
Still, she had been impressed by the picturesque view of the lake from
the road.
“Otsu is a very peaceful town, that
it is. It’s a place where generations
of families were born and raised.” He
didn’t bother hiding his knowledge of the area. The fact that Kaoru and Aoshi were here stated plainly enough
that they knew that he’d lived in the area.
He moved closer and studied the small fire. “Your fire is too small.
That’s why your clothes aren’t drying.”
“It’s the best we could under the
circumstances. Dry wood is a rare
commodity, Battousai.” Aoshi was
feeling more than a little uncomfortable, which made him defensive. Kaoru’s explanation behind their presence in
the Otsu area would have generated suspicion in anyone, never mind some with a
wary nature, as in the case with Himura Kenshin.
Kenshin smiled with a slight shake
of his head. “This is a temple,
Aoshi. Behind the butsudan should be a cache of dry wood stored for
travelers in situations like yours.”
Aoshi frowned up at the
Battousai. He’d never heard of such a
practice before. Of course, he hadn’t
wandered around Japan for ten years either.
“I was not aware of that.”
“It is usually done in small rural
temples, that it is.” Kenshin crossed
to the butsudan and reached behind it, pulling out neatly cut firewood. “It depends on the area, of course.” He returned to the fire and added the wood
before sitting across from Kaoru and Aoshi.
An uncomfortable silence followed until Kenshin finally cleared his
throat. “This temple is rather out of
the way from Otsu, is it not?”
There was a telling moment of
silence as Aoshi and Kaoru exchanged a quick, nervous look. “I…um…I wanted to see the jinzou.” Kaoru finally blurted out the first thing
that came to mind then winced inwardly at how stupid it sounded.
“The…jinzou, Kaoru-dono?” Kenshin studied her flushed face and shook
his head slowly. He would get no
truthful answers from her. He turned
his attention to Aoshi who looked rather unhappy with her reply. “And did you find the…jinzou?”
“No, unfortunately we did not.” Aoshi resisted the uncharacteristic urge to
squirm under the Battousai’s penetrating gaze.
The was no doubt about it. He
was suspicious.
“Perhaps you were searching the
wrong area. Closer to Otsu, not far
from Biwako, is a place with jinzou. Is
that the place you were searching for, Kaoru-dono?” He returned her blank look with a knowing smile. That was answer enough for him.
Aoshi studied the Battousai silently
for several moments before clearing his throat to gain his attention. “Your skill at tracking people in the rain
at night is remarkable, Battousai. How
is it that you were able to find us?”
Aoshi watched closely as he waited for a reply.
“Misao-dono mentioned that
Kaoru-dono had expressed a desire to see Otsu.” Kenshin smiled innocently, though the expression in his eyes
belied the action.
“I see.” Aoshi, seeing the calculating light in the other man’s eyes,
frowned thoughtfully. “This temple is
rather secluded, Battousai, and some distance from Otsu.”
“Yes it is.” Kenshin’s pleasant smile disappeared as he
regarded Aoshi coolly. “How is it that
you found yourselves here when supposedly viewing Otsu, Aoshi?”
Kaoru blinked in surprise at the
abrupt change in Kenshin’s attitude.
She had a feeling he’d just laid an elaborate trap and they’d
unwittingly fallen in just now. How
could they answer without revealing that they’d been investigating his
past? She doubted he’d be any happier
knowing the truth. But still, she knew
Kenshin well enough to know that he hated lies. He valued honesty above most everything else. She felt her cheeks heat and quickly lowered
her gaze. She’d already fibbed, too.
Aoshi silently applauded the
Battousai and his intricate verbal maneuvering. However, he, himself, wasn’t disarmed just yet. “How is it that you are so familiar with
this area?”
Kenshin smiled. “Why, Aoshi, I thought for certain you, of
all people, would know the answer to that.
I’m a little disappointed.”
**To Be Continued…**
***
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Author’s Notes:
1.I’m making it up! I have
no idea if temples in Japan actually do store wood for weary and wet
travelers. I put it in to make Kenshin
A LOT more knowledgeable than Aoshi.
After all, Kenshin wandered for 10 years…he ought to know something about
how to survive with nothing, right?
2.Butsudan: I don’t know if
that’s what the altars in temples are called.
The book I read didn’t quite explain it to that extent.
3.EVERYONE is out of character in this Chapter, especially
Kenshin. He’s REALLY devious here,
isn’t he? (Oh well. It suited the story, I guess.)
4.I know, I know…Battousai could be considered a pronoun, but if I
remember correctly, Aoshi (in the dubbed version, at least) refers to Kenshin
as THE Battousai, but addresses him as Battousai. Technically since it’s a nickname I probably shouldn’t be using
“The” at all, but…>>shrugs<< …oh well. It’s just a fic, right?
5.Another short one…
6.POINT OF INTEREST: In my
original rendering Chapters 7 & 8 were ONE chapter. I broke it into two just for the cliffhanger
effect.
7.I debated on whether or not to end this chapter after Kenshin
confronted Aoshi about being so far from Otsu, then thought better of it. >>shrugs<< It was too close to the original chapter
end and I had no way of making a measly 3 paragraphs look like a chapter. (Even with my tendency towards short
chapters that would have been pushing things a little too much.)
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Definitions:
shishou:
master; teacher
Biwako: Lake Biwa
butsudan: altar