Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ A Little Wind Can Fan A Single Spark Into A Bright Flame ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: None of the characters in Rurouni Kenshin have been created or owned by me. I had no hand in the makings of the show or manga. All copyrights belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki and Shueisha.

The sun rose up slowly, basking all of the houses in its radiant glow as it climbed up into the sky. All over the countryside and in the cities, too, people woke to begin their daily chores. To them, they felt that the sun rose so that they may be given the opportunity to make money and feed their families. These people believed that the sun served the sole purpose of awaking the sleepers from their slumbers. To them, the sun was a beacon for the good people of the land. To Kaoru, though, it seemed as if the sun dawned and shed light only for her and her new love, Kenshin.

Even though it had been over a week since that magical night, everything played over in her mind as vividly as if it had only happened moments ago. Kaoru blushed as she reminisced about what they did together. She sighed happily and sat up form the tatmi mat that was sleeping on. Kaoru tossed off the blanket, exposing her legs to the cool, morning air. She shivered a bit as she thought about reconsidering her idea. The pillow still held the impression of her head and beckoned her to lie down upon it invitingly. Kaoru nearly caved in and was lowering herself back down when her eye caught something to the side. It was the glass vase on the dresser top that held a single perfect, red rose that Kenshin had given her. At this time of the year, flowers were hard to come by and the ones at the florist were already wilted. Kenshin must have traveled far to find such a beauty but didn't reveal anything about where he had gotten it when Kaoru asked. The sight of that rose erased all her thoughts of going back to bed and replaced them with thoughts of Kenshin instead. She hastily stood up, briskly walking out of her room, trying to ignore the biting cold.

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Kaoru's very beautiful, that she is. I wonder what I've done to deserve such a treasure as she… I love the way her silky, black hair feels against my skin. Her eyes deep pools of blue that I could easily lose myself in… She looks even more luscious with her hair down from the ponytail that it is usually in, that she does…

Kenshin felt himself becoming aroused as he thought about his new love. He was still staring up at the ceiling with Kaoru on his mind when suddenly, the screened door slid open.

Standing there in the golden sunlight was the woman in his dreams. A small breeze picked up her hair and her nightgown swayed with it. Kenshin blushed guiltily. The way she was looking at him seemed as if she was able to read the thoughts that he was just having about her.

"Miss Kaoru! You usually aren't up at this hour, that you are not." He propped himself up on one elbow so that he could see his love better.

"Kenshin, I couldn't keep myself from you. I had to see you."

Kenshin smiled. "But Miss Kaoru, you see me everyday, that you do."

Kaoru shook her head. "That's not what I meant, Kenshin. I wanted to be alone with you. Please?"

Kenshin stood, letting the blanket fall to the ground. He was fully clothed because he didn't want to have to fight off any nightly intruder in some flimsy nightdress. I wonder, does she realize how much control she has over me? I would do anything for her, that I would. I would risk everything for her. Even my life…

He walked over to her slowly. Time seemed to drag on for Kaoru. Inside, she wanted to scream at him to hurry up and take her, but she didn't.

When he was finally face to face with her, he lifted her chin so that she was staring straight into his eyes. His eyes are so captivating. They took my breath away the first time I looked into them. I've never felt that way before a man… Kaoru closed her eyes with such thoughts on her mind when his soft lips met hers. But just when they were starting to get into the kiss, she thought she heard a faint snicker and then a shushing sound. Reluctantly, but quickly, she broke their kiss, leaving Kenshin wanting more.

"Miss Kaoru!"

Kaoru, however, ignored him and spoke instead to a seemingly deserted hallway. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

Sanosuke and Yahiko burst out laughing and holding onto their sides.

"Hey missy! We all knew you had the hots for Kenshin but who would've thought he'd return your feelings! Ha ha!" Sanosuke was rolling on the floor with laughter.

Kaoru turned as red as a tomato. "You mean, you were there, watching the whole time?!"

"Yahiko heard you open and close your door. He's usually dead in his sleep so you must have done it real loudly! Anyway, when he noticed that you were sneaking around, he came and got me up. We followed you to Kenshin's room. And-" Sanosuke had to stop talking as another wave of laughter came over him.

Yahiko stopped cracking up enough to be able to sit up. Then, he did a really horrible imitation of Kaoru in a high-pitched voice, "Kenshin, I couldn't keep myself from you! I had to see you! I wanted to be alone with you! Ha ha ha!"

All the while that Sanosuke and Yahiko had been speaking about them, Kaoru's blood was boiling. She clenched her hands into such tight fists that her knuckles were beginning to turn white.

Suddenly, Sanosuke and Yahiko felt an ominous presence and when they looked up, that saw a really pissed off Kaoru looming over them. She was beyond words now.

"Uh oh, Sanosuke, I think we'd better… Gulp!"

Kaoru stepped closer, each step creating a small earthquake.

"Run for it!" He and Sanosuke picked themselves up from the floor and shot down the hallway, a plume of dust trailing up behind them.

"Get back here, you cowards!" Kaoru shouted and then sped down the hall after them.

Kenshin was quiet throughout the whole argument and he intended to stay that way. I think I should let Miss Kaoru cool off a bit, that I should. Otherwise she'll come after me next, that she would. Kenshin thought as a sweat drop formed at his left temple.

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"This'll teach you to laugh at me!" Kaoru laughed evilly as she watched Sanosuke and Yahiko breaking their backs to clean the floor. "And once you've finished, I want you to do it all over three more times!"

"What?! This is totally unfair!" Yahiko's face was all puffy with bruises and looked rather comical as he was protesting.

"Of course it is! If this isn't fair, then was spying Kenshin and me fair? Anyway, you can think about it while you're cleaning. I have to go down to the market to do some shopping. Make sure you have it all done by the time I'm back." Kaoru turned around to leave but then she added as an afterthought, "Or else."

Just as she turned the corner and was out of sight, Kenshin happened in on the cleaning scene. Yahiko and Sanosuke looked at each other, shared some thoughts, and then smiled kindly at Kenshin. But the way their faces were covered with bruises made those smiles look like a death sentence. Kenshin was starting to back away from their frightening expressions.

Yahiko hastily made up an excuse before he had the chance to bolt, "Hey Kenshin, we need to go to town and uh… look around for some uh… things. Kaoru told us to."

"Yeah, so we'll be leaving now. Oh, and finish the cleaning will you? Kaoru's going to be pretty mad if this place isn't clean so make sure you do a good job on the scrubbing, ok? Later!" Having said that, Sanosuke tossed the rag to Kenshin then raced out of the dojo with Yahiko, freed from their work.

Kenshin stood alone at the dojo, holding a torn rag in one hand with a bucket of soap near his foot. "Sanosuke? Yahiko? Miss Kaoru?"

A sudden gust of wind blew freshly fallen leaves across the dojo floor. The relatively clean floor had become a big mess.

"Well, I guess I should start cleaning, that I should. Or Miss Kaoru will be very angry, that she will." Then, humming a lively tune, Kenshin started cleaning, completely oblivious to the fact that he's taking Sanosuke and Yahiko's punishment for them.