Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Changing ❯ Truth ( Chapter 3 )

Can't-get-enough-anime: Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

Donna8157: I like the fact that Kaoru has to seduce a guy too! If you read the later chapters it will be even more interesting!

MizzLee (xfadedxdreamx@hotmail.com): What do you mean my writing is funny?

Emi: I try...

A/N: READ THIS BEFORE YOU'RE CONFUSED! I didn't see all of the Rurouni Kenshin. So the information that Dr. Gensai tells later in the story might be incorrect but please ignore that!

Changing

By: AnimeKrazy a.k.a. Kaoru-chan

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, Samurai X, or etc.

Chapter 3 - Truth

Kaoru grumbled as she sat there, pouring tea for Sano, in the stuffiest kimono ever, as Yahiko and Megumi smirked at her.

"I don't see why we have to do this," Kenshin said worriedly.

"Me neither, but as Sakura sees it fit..." Kaoru mumbled.

"Awww... It's all right tanuki... A few days of starvation won't kill ya. But it will do wonders for your figure," Megumi's fox ears showed.

"Hahaha... It's not her figure that I'm worried about, Megumi-san," Sakura sighed.

"Then what Blondie?" Sano asked.

"I'll tell you in a bit. It's more of a concentration thing," Sakura whispered. She hated it. She hated lying to them. For all she knew, they were nice people like her, trying to star a new life, in the new Meiji Era. But Kaoru had agreed and she was going through it now, whether she liked it or not.

"I'm leaving," Kaoru whined. "If I can get up in this stuffy kimono!"

"Here, I'll help you Kaoru-dono," Kenshin said as he got up.

"No."

"Excuse me?" Kenshin looked at Sakura.

"No. She'll have to learn to get up by herself."

Kenshin sat down with a look of disapproval, but nodded faintly.

Kaoru gritted her teeth and with effort she got up... Somewhat, gracefully.

"Mou! This is going to kill me!" She growled.

"Well, you can change into your regular clothes now. Saitou is going to be here. To check up on your sword skills and all," Sakura said.

Kaoru narrowed her eyes at her clothing then left quickly.

As soon as the door closed there was a familiar, "Kaoru-chan!!!"

All of them looked worriedly at each other as they realized, "Misao!"

"Misao-chan!! I missed you! No! NO!! Don't jump!!!!" Kaoru shrieked.

But when Kenshin slid the door open and everyone jumped out, it was already too late.

Kaoru laid flat on her back on the dirt with Misao on top of her, both laughing uncontrollably. Aoshi looking at them, amused.

"Kaoru. Why are you wearing such a stuffy kimono?" Misao asked as Kenshin helped Kaoru up.

"I. Uh. Umm. For fun! Dress up! Have you met our new friend Sakura?" Kaoru quickly diverted the conversation. Everyone noticed the nervousness in her voice as she quickly looked from Misao to Aoshi.

On cue, "I'm Sakura! Nice to meet you! I'm afraid I didn't hear much about you. I just began to live here!"

"L-Live? Here?" Misao looked confused.

Sakura nodded. Misao looked at Kaoru as if wanting her to tell her that it wasn't true. Kaoru found her fingers to be extremely interesting.

"Kaoru. Go get dressed. Now," Sakura's voice held a bit of ordering commandment. And they were surprised to see Kaoru obey, slightly.

After a moment of awe Misao asked, "Is that our Kaoru?" almost in an accusing tone as she looked at Sakura.

Sakura nibbled on her lower lip before leaving.

{~*~}~*~{~*~}~*~{~*~}~*~{~*~}~*~{~*~}~*~{~*~}

Saitou stood leaning against the wall. No one saying anything. Sakura slid the door open, saying in an alarmed voice, "She won't come!"

"Not surprised. Kamiya always has been a free spirit. She made much trouble throughout the city of Tokyo. Let me go talk to her,"

"You don't need to go anywhere. I'm right here," Kaoru's voice said. She was gritting her teeth, and she looked very much angry and annoyed.

She was wearing something that had to be from the western lands. It was a black dress that dove deeply in to her chest in a V-neckline. Both of her sides had a cut all the way in her high thigh.

Everyone's jaw hung loose. Aoshi was the first to recover but he looked away.

Saitou said, "Not bad."

Sakura smiled. "You look great! I knew it would fit!"

Kaoru closed her eyes and seemed to be chanting.

"Reconsidering?" Saitou asked.

"No. Way. In. Hell!!!!!!" Kaoru whispered, almost dangerously.

"Good," said Saitou as he threw her something. Kaoru caught it.

A sheath. With a sword in it.

"Forget it," he said.

"Forget what?" Kaoru asked confusedly.

"Your crap about sword saving lives. It doesn't work that way. Throw away your bokken thing. You're learning to use a katana," he inhaled his smoke as he walked out, motioning Kaoru to follow him.

Kaoru unsheathed the sword. The sword gleamed in the sunlight. Sparkling. She quickly sheathed it again and threw it to Saitou.

"I'll be back," then, as if she were airborne she ran to her room, only to come out with another sword.

"I can't fight with any sword. I-I- I have to have this one," Kaoru whispered.

Everyone couldn't help but be awestruck. Kaoru? Their Kaoru!! With a sword?

"A special one?" Saitou asked.

Kaoru hesitated before answering, "My mother's sword."

{~*~}~*~{~*~}~*~{~*~}~*~{~*~}

Kaoru was in the bath, letting the water soak through. Everyone was in the room talking about who-knows-what. Sakura was in her own room doing some `testing' with clothes.

Mou. Whoever thought it'd be this hard?

She closed her eyes and thought of how to get Kenshin and her friends to agree to her and Saitou sparring.

{~*~}~*~{~*~}~*~{~*~}~*~{~*~}~*~

"Her mother's sword!?!? What is wrong with Tanuki!?" Megumi shouted. She never showed it but she did care for the girl.

"Spar!? With Saitou? Is she insane!? I bet she would have done it too if we weren't there or we let her! AS IF!" Misao trampled the dojo ground.

Yahiko was swearing loud as he can, but no one actually cared at the moment.

Sano was slamming his fist over and over again into his palm. Kenshin and Aoshi looked calm at the moment.

"She's not insane..." A new voice said, so sharp.

Everyone's head turned almost on instinct.

Saitou.

"What are you doing here?" Sano's voice was like venom.

"Maybe I should tell you," he continued. "Why she is doing this."

"Maybe you should," Kenshin said. His voice, it was so different. His eyes were amber.

"Or maybe you shouldn't," Another voice added onto their conversation.

Their head snapped and looked at the sound of the voice.

Dr. Gensai.

He looked so serious. So out of his character. He was always joyful, laughing, even more with his two grandchildren around.

Where were his grand children?

"Tell me why I shouldn't," Saitou asked.

"Because you don't know Kaoru. None of you do," he sighed.

"Oh and you know her better than us?" A new voice added on to the conversation.

"What is this!? An open none invitation party?" Yahiko asked.

"My grandchildren are with a friend. I should tell you. About... Kaoru. It's not my place but none of you understand her."

Aoshi cleared his throat. "If it isn't in your place to tell us, you might as well not."

Dr. Gensai looked in pain. "I shouldn't but I can't have you judge her like that. That's the reason..."

Megumi sighed. "Why don't you sit down and tell us? Never mind Shinomori-san."

There was a bit of silence before Dr. Gensai told the story.

"Kaoru was very popular in the town. When her father lived. Her mother died in childbirth. But she was as spirited as Kaoru I supposed.

"I'm not an old doctor of the Kamiya family. I don't know why Kaoru tells people that. Anyways, when Kaoru's father died, he left quiet a fortune. Because of the war, people were quite willing to learn Kenjutsu.

"But when he died, so did the dojo, and the students. No one could teach. Kaoru was only at the tender age of 13. She took care of herself. I don't know how. She never left her house much. She taught herself everything. Cooking, sowing, living, cleaning, and just about everything else about being a mother,"

Sano and Yahiko looked extremely guilty.

"Being a mother!?" Misao shrieked.

"You'll hear about it later. And because she never had a mother, she didn't grow up to be feminine. You see, when her father was still alive, she was very much loved all around the town. She was everyone's favorite troublemaker. She got many offers to be betrothed. I don't really know all the details but I do think she was betrothed. Though I think he died in the war."

Dr. Gensai laughed a bit before continuing.

"She was quite pretty when she was around the age of 11 and 12. She got many offers of courting from young men, even older and younger than her. She beat them senselessly. It's quite funny.

"But when her father died, and Kaoru kept to herself, many men began to come and offer the promise of moons and the stars, Kaoru locked the door and refused to open the door for no one."

"'The promise of moons and the stars?'" Yahiko asked.

"Marriage proposals," Misao said dreamily.

"When Kaoru locked herself in," Dr. Gensai continued. "Many rumors about her spread. Not so bad, but certain ones could hurt. But when she re-opened the dojo and began to teach students, the rumors hurt even more. She closed the dojo.

"And I being the old fool I am, believed the rumors. I stayed away from Kamiya dojo. Then one night, some one broke in to the house. I got up quickly, and grabbed some thing. Then there was something pointing at my back. Something sharp."

"A sword?" Misao asked.

He nodded.

"Yeah! I bet he was a mugger and Kaoru saved you! And you changed your thoughts about her!"

He shook his head.

"The person holding your life by the sword was Kamiya," Saitou said, nodding.

"Yes..."

"But why!? Why would she?" Yahiko asked. It hurt him. A lot, the teacher and sister he looked up to, the person who told him a sword was something to protect people with threatened Dr. Gensai's life.

"She told me to get all my doctor gears. She sounded panicked. I did get all the medicine I could. She pushed me all the way to the Kamiya dojo. I panicked. What if she wanted to kill me? What did she want with me?

"She poked me into a room lit by a candle light. There was three people in the room, one an infant, one a very young child and a young woman. She told me to take care of them.

"I quickly began to work. The young woman was dead, but the infant and the child? I could help them. I somehow, with Kami's help saved them. Then she asked me, `are they alive? The children...' I nodded. And Kaoru Kamiya fainted."

"So she threatened you so she can save people?" Yahiko asked, pride gleaming in his eyes.

"Let me ask you, what do you think of Ayame and Suzume?"

Sano was about to ask why when the pieces fell into place. "Yeah right. Ayame and Suzume?"

"Yes. They're Kaoru's adopted children."

"Go on... This trip is being all the more amusing to me. What happened to Kamiya?"

"Well, it turns out the woman and the children have been there a couple of days, Kaoru, not knowing how to do things, fed them and took care of the to the best of her abilities. But she didn't, or maybe couldn't take care of herself.

"Her body was suffering from starvation and exhaustion. Her temperature suggested a fever. I had to stay there for weeks trying to recover her. Ayame and Suzume were fine after a couple of days, but Kaoru. She was on the brink of death."

Misao's eyes held tears.

"And I. I almost left her at first. Believing all the rumors. But when I saw the children, and how they curled up next to Kaoru, she looked like just another kid. Lonely and vulnerable. I helped her.

"When she was revived and restored to health, she apologized to me. She said that I could take her to the police and press charges or I could kill her right there. Her head hung loose. Then she looked up and she smiled at me asking if I could take care of Ayame and Suzume.

"So I asked, `whose Ayame and Suzume?' She answered, `My children.' I really didn't notice the tears that fell down my cheeks and how stupid I have been to believe the tears.

"I was supposed to be saving Kaoru but in the end, Kaoru saved me. Kaoru legally adopts Ayame and Suzume but since she was so young, she needed someone to help her. So I took the little children in, passing them as my grandchildren.

"From then on, our friendship grew. We were closer, Kaoru could tell me most things. She confided in me, I was her first friend."

They were quiet.

"If what you say is true, how come Kaoru never told us this before?" Sano asked.

"Yeah. Kaoru and them are pretty close," Sakura added as an afterthought.

"She is a bit self-conscious around you guys." Dr. Gensai sighed.

"She's self-conscious? Around us!?" Misao asked incredulously.

"I really don't know about you, but Kaoru hits people a lot. And that's not her fault. She doesn't have social skills and don't know how to act around people, so she simply ends up yelling at them."

"Oh."

"That still doesn't excuse her!" Yahiko said.

"Maybe I shouldn't be the person to tell you this but Kaoru feels that you guys are attracted to her innocence. At least that's what she tells me anyway."

"How come Kaoru doesn't tell us this stuff? I'm supposed to be her best friend," Misao whimpered.

"I really don't know. But I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell her I told you."

"I'd suggest you don't talk about this to her. Not now. Unless you don't want to see Kaoru," Sakura whispered.

"Excuse me?" Misao asked.

"Don't talk to her about this. She doesn't need any more distractions. If you do talk to her that might affect her mood in anyway, be prepared not to see her for a year."

"What the hell!?" Misao shouted, getting up.

"I meant exactly what I said," Sakura said in a simple tone.

Everyone frowned.

"Ouch. Not exactly warm, are you?" Sano said.

Sakura ignored him.

"And how the hell do you think you can do that?" Yahiko asked. "You can't just take her away from us! You think she'll go with you? You'll have to take her by force! And you'll take her over all of our dead bodies!"

"You'll be surprised what Kaoru would do for you people. Even if distancing herself from you," Sakura whispered.

"Ah-ha! I thought I'd find you here!" Kaoru's slid open the door, smiling at them.

Everyone looked uncomfortable. "What's wrong? Oh! Dr. Gensai! Where are Ayame and Suzume? Are they all right? They're not-"

"No, Kaoru. They're perfectly all right. One of my friends decided to baby sit them for me."

Kaoru looked at him as if to say, `I trust your decision.' And then she looked at Kenshin.

"Kenshin. You have to let me spar with Saitou." She said in a determined voice.

"Maybe you should tell them." Saitou said from his corner.

"Maybe you should shut up," Kaoru hissed at him.

"Tell us what?" Yahiko said.

"Kami, you're annoying!" She spat at Saitou.

"We'll talk about this later. Okay? I'm leaving! And you and I are going to talk!" Kaoru smiled at Kenshin warmly before dragging or at least trying to drag Saitou out.

Saitou acknowledged her wishes and walked out behind her.

Everyone of course, thought it was necessary to follow them.