Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Memories in Kyoto ❯ To Kyoto ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: Again, I do not own Rurouni Kenshin. Even though, I've tried bribing Nobuhiro Watsuki and Shonen Jump…

To Kyoto

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The next morning, Kenshin had woken up early to cook breakfast. He had already taken the liberty of packing his things so that he wouldn't have so much to do in the morning. Kaoru on the other hand was quite the opposite. In fact, Kenshin could hear her pacing back and forth, gathering and packing her things, in her room. He sighed, noting how she had ignored his suggestion of packing the night before. He smiled, remembering how naïve she was and is now. Four years ago, she was a young girl, eager to see and explore what the world had to offer and now… she was older, a young woman. Kenshin blushed, pushing away such thought of Kaoru.

His ears twitched. Kenshin let his senses roam to the dojo where Yahiko did his katas with his shinai. That boy was getting better everyday. He let his memory go back to when Yahiko was still ten. He had such fire in him compared to right now. Now he was fourteen, more refined and mature. Yahiko still had energy and arrogance in him but was now more in control.

If you could call it that… Kenshin thought wryly, referring to one of Yahiko and Kaoru's daily fights yesterday. Yahiko had grown up and was becoming a young man now… yeah, right. He chuckled lightly at the thought, moving his senses to Sanosuke. The freeloader was still sleeping. Sano didn't change much, he noted. He was still the same old Sano even after four years.

He finished cooking breakfast and cleaned up, quickly eating his share and setting the food on the table. After doing so, he made his way down the hallway to Kaoru's room, her rapid pacing becoming louder. He shook his head, sighing and shaking his head slightly. He raised his fist and knocked on the wooden panel of the shoji. Her footsteps continued its brisk pace.

"Yes?" Kaoru asked, acknowledging Kenshin.

"Kaoru-dono, breakfast is ready," he said. The rapid pace stopped as if she was debating whether she should eat now and pack later or vice versa.

"Alright, Kenshin. I'll be right out," she replied, the brisk pacing resuming. "Oh, do me a favor. Tell Yahiko to come in and call the rooster head up."

Kenshin chuckled nervously. "Yes, Kaoru-dono," he answered, his voice almost obedient.

"Forget it, I'm already up," a gruff voice responded. Kenshin turned to find Sano out of bed and already dressed. He nodded and motioned Sano to go to the kitchen. Sano complied without a word, walking at a rather quick pace.

Probably wanting to get to the food before Yahiko. Kenshin thought sarcastically. Footsteps reached his ears. There was a thud of a shinai.

"OI! Stop hoggin' all the food, ya little brat!" a stern voice scolded, obviously Sanosuke.

"LITTLE?! BRAT?!" a younger yet equally arrogant voice retorted. Louder and faster chewing noises echoed, making Kenshin's ears twitch.

"HEY!" Sano protested. Kenshin could hear the swish of his clothing as he reached for a bowl and began to challenge Yahiko to an eating contest.

Do we have to go through this every morning? Kenshin thought grimly to himself, sighing as he did so. The good thing was that his friends were all packed up and ready to go. They were all excited and he had to admit that he was pretty anxious to get to Kyoto to see Misao and everyone at the Aoiya. But then… there were always memories.

He narrowed his eyes, walking slower. Yes, there were many memories there. Too many to count. He remembered every incident the last time he was there. Flames burned into his memory and a maniacal laugh echoed through his mind. Black smoke and the creaking of metal were all too familiar. Kenshin shut his eyes, refusing to recall anymore. Now that he thought about it, he didn't know what happened after the fight in Kyoto. All there was was darkness and nothing more.

When he reached the kitchen, he stopped, hearing the eating noises of Sano and Yahiko break through his grim recollection of past events. He opened his eyes, his eyes widening when he saw the scene.

Empty bowls were carelessly thrown to the side, not even a scrap of food was left. They had almost eaten all the food! Kenshin stepped forward, speechless, nearly tripping over the shinai on the floor.

"Uhh… Sano? Yahiko?" he interrupted. Despite his protest, they kept eating, oblivious to Kenshin's presence in the room. "Don't eat all the food. Save some for Kaoru-dono…"

"YEAH!" a voice yelled from behind them. Sano ceased his consumption of food, nudging Yahiko to do the same. Yahiko shrugged of Sano's prod, still chewing and swallowing his breakfast. The older man's lower jaw rose slightly, making him look like he was pouting.

"OI, YAHIKO!" Yahiko stopped, looking at Sano with irritation.

"Whaddya want?" the young boy asked his question barely clear through the many rice balls that he stuffed in his mouth.

"Jou-chan's here," he stated simply. Kaoru looked at Yahiko's shinai that lay on the floor. Immediately, she grabbed it, swinging it high over her head, giving her student a good smack to the top of the head.

"Whaddya mean `Whaddya want?'" she scolded. "I WANT MY BREAKFAST, WHICH HAPPENS TO BE WHAT YOU'RE EATING!!!"

Yahiko rubbed the spot where she hit him, clenching his teeth as he did so.

"Why? Aren't you fat enough already, Tanuki?" he retorted. Kaoru retaliated with more screams and hits of the shinai. Sano sat in the corner, full and content, watching the fight with a smirk on his face. Kenshin turned away, sighing and bowing his head. It would take forever to get to Tokyo Station now…

He looked up, his eyes wide with alarm. The train!

"Kaoru-dono! Sano! Yahiko!" he exclaimed. "The train is going to leave without us if we don't get going!"

At this sudden realization, Kaoru rushed to her room. Yahiko and Sano dashed to their rooms. A din of clattering objects and hasty footsteps filled the air. Kenshin shook his head, walking calmly to his room and gathered his things in which he stored in a compact gray bag. Using the alternate shoji, leading to the courtyard, he strolled to the front gate of the dojo. He could hear the rushed footsteps behind. Something sped by him, a long black ponytail trailing behind. A small bag swung wildly as Kaoru sprinted to the gate and opened it, pushing the door open. Gradually, Kenshin met Kaoru at the door, followed by Sano and Yahiko. Yahiko smiled deviously, shaking eagerly.

"Alright, we're ready!" Yahiko said impatiently. Kaoru nodded and pointed to the left, down the path, leading to Tokyo Station.

"Okay! We're going to Kyoto!" she yelled happily.