Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Steps Of Courage ❯ Kenshin and Naruku ( Chapter 6 )

Disclaimer: All standard disclaimers apply. Always.

---------

Chapter 6

There was a moment of complete silence between Kaoru and Naruku, after Kaoru had explained her kinship to Kenshin to when Naruku keeled over right then and there, and fainted. It was as if someone had simply pulled the rug out from under her feet, and Naruku was sent sprawling in all directions, her mind trying in vain to wrap itself around these seemingly simple concept.

“You—you’re what!?” she screamed, pointing an accusing finger at Kaoru.

“Cousins, and shh…no need to over-react,” Kaoru said in a rush. She continued as Naruku took the dishes to the sink to wash. “We only just found out a little while ago. It was weird, but we got over it, and now things are just a little different…” she said almost wistfully.

“You miss how it was back then,” Naruku said quietly, setting down a plate she had previously been cleaning. “It was hard for you to fall out of love.”

“Actually,” Kaoru corrected. “Not really. It’s easier for us now. And you’re right, it was a shock at first, I was disappointed and angry because all of my devotion and love to Kenshin had simply diminished at one word. But, now I realize that my devotion has only grown stronger because Kenshin and I now share a bond that says I will love him unconditionally, and I don’t have to worry about any of the romance stuff. The thing is, now that I am starting to get older, I kind of wish I did have romance in my life. But it’s different than how I felt as a teenager, always daydreaming about my love who would sweep me away,” she sighed in a self-ridiculing way.

Naruku nodded and stacked clean plates, feeling somewhat gloomy and tuning out as Kaoru’s talk turned to mindless chatter.

“Oh we’re out of tofu! How does that keep happening?” Kaoru wondered to no one. “Oh well, I just send Kenshin out to get some tomorrow or something. I know we can manage without it for one night…”

Naruku sighed and recalled a moment not too long ago that was close in her heart. She had been standing—twirling, really—in the rain, oblivious to anything else than the drops of heaven that fell from the sky.

She remembered it had been raining like that the night her father died. For months afterward, as Japan was thrown into one of the wettest seasons they had come across, the rain had made her sad. But she had recalled the words of her father, explaining to her as she was a little child that it was the goddess Amateseru that made the rain, by crying. At first Naruku had thought of the sad sort of tears she cried when her mother died of a foreign illness brought by the Black Ships.

Her father had helped her direct her thoughts to when her more recent birthday had been, and then she had cried for joy. He explained that Amateseru loved her subjects very much, and that she made the rain so they could grow their fields of daikon and rice.

From then on the rain had always made her laugh and drift silently toward her little-kid mannerisms, and that one day in the rain was no exception. She had realized she was being watched and turned to find Kenshin a few meters in front of her. She had laughed and called to him to join her, but he had only shaken his head, saying he needed to get all the laundry inside so it would stay dry.

Naruku was reverted to the present when Kaoru exclaimed, “What do you think Naruku-chan?”

Naruku shook her head. “I’m sorry. What do I think about what?”

“About going to Asakusa for a little bit tomorrow night!” Kaoru explained. “It would just be you, though, because I have to help Sano clean out his rowhouse…can’t believe I ever agreed to help him…and Yahiko is working an evening shift at the Akabeko. You could probably try and drag Kenshin along with you,” she added as an afterthought. “He’d probably agree pretty quickly, worried that you’d get mugged or harassed or something…” she paused, seeing the look on Naruku’s face. “Not that that stuff happens a lot in the Akakusa district!” she assured hastily. “But you know, Kenshin’s a bit over-protective anyway.”

“Well, if that’s the case then I think I will go,” Naruku decided. “Asakusa sounds like a really nice place!”

“Oh sure!” Kaoru agreed. “It has loads of fun stuff to do,” And with that she off, listing off the names of restaurants and fun attractions to visit. “Of course, you’ll only go for the evening, so you won’t have time to do everything, but it’s really a great place for dinner and some shopping!”

Naruku smiled mildly, listening to the homely sound of Kaoru jabbering away.

“Kenshin!” Kaoru snapped suddenly, staring at a point just above Naruku’s left shoulder. The latter whirled around to face the red-haired man that had just come inside and was setting down his bags.

“Hello Kaoru-dono, Naruku-dono,” he said to each in turn. “I got some tofu for us tonight,” he added, holding up the little bucket of it.

“Oh thank you!” Kaoru gushed. “Where would I be without you?”

“Probably six feet under,” Yahiko snickered from behind Kenshin.

“You shut up or else it’ll be one thousand practice swings today,” Kaoru admonished. Her student, though, only shrugged in reply.

“Yahiko,” Kenshin advised gently. “Why don’t you go take your new hakama to your room and hang it up?”

Again Yahiko shrugged and picked up his bags, leaving the adults to the kitchen.

“Ack, that kid!” Kaoru let out exasperatedly once Yahiko was out of earshot. “He’s so moody all the time! Ever since he turned thirteen—it’s like an excuse to be rude to me! Plus, he never talks to anyone anymore, now, I wasn’t like that when I was his age!” she ranted, putting away various groceries that Kenshin had brought home.

Naruku and Kenshin exchanged glances. “Sure, Kaoru,” Naruku added, leaning in to help Kaoru though her friend was hardly paying attention.

“He’s growing up, Kaoru-dono, it’s only to be expected,” Kenshin commented, his words retaining more helpfulness than Naruku’s sarcasm.

“Gah!” Kaoru exclaimed, dropping the small paper bag of wagashi for the third time. “Forget it!” She stalked off.

Naruku knelt and picked up the bag of treats. The bag crinkled in her grip as she watched Kaoru leave. She stood up and looked at Kenshin. “She’s been awfully moody herself today,” Naruku recalled.

“It must just be one of those days,” Kenshin offered.

“Right…” Naruku answered absently, putting the wagashi bag onto a shelf. She of course was thinking of something else that only a fellow female would apply to the situation. “Anyway, I’ve made lunch so it’s up to you for dinner!” She patted him cheerily on the shoulder as she made her way out of the kitchen.

Kenshin smiled good-naturedly and watched her go. He wouldn’t be smiling the next time she left.

Naruku winced as her foot made contact with the ground. It created a distinct thud sound, and she peeked over to her prey to see if he noticed.

He hadn’t and he was still washing clothes and humming away merrily as Naruku crept toward him. She snuck up behind him and was about to try and startle him when he spoke, still looking at the wash-bin.

“Hello Naruku-dono, is there something you want?”

She sighed, disheartened and placed her hands on Kenshin’s shoulders, letting her own shoulders droop. “I knew I’d find you here.”

“What do you mean by that?” Kenshin questioned innocently, finally turning to face her.

“Well, where else would the famous Himura Kenshin be than doing the laundry?” she snickered.

Kenshin put a hand on the wash bin to steady himself as he rose to his feet. “Well, what is it that you want, Naruku-dono?”

She put on a false pout. “Do you really think I’m so selfish? Can’t I come to see my favorite red-haired baka just because?” She couldn’t hide it any longer so she cracked a smile.

Kenshin sighed heavily and rolled his eyes up to the sky.

“Anyway, I actually do want something—betcha didn’t see that coming!” she laughed to herself. “Kaoru-chan has given me a night off and I wanted to go see the Asakusa district for a while. She expressed the opinion that you would be positively irate were I to go alone. As though I were an easy target,” she scoffed mockingly. “So I’ve appointed you official escort,” she beamed at her cleverness. “And yes, by ‘escort’ I do mean ‘person that I dragged along so I would not have to go alone.’” At that she burst out laughing.

“Sure, Naruku-dono,” Kenshin replied a bit warily, if only to get her to quit laughing and goofing off. Although, Kenshin reflected, it was a queer but charming trait of Naruku’s, to laugh at her own jokes in such an amiable way, even if everyone else was only blinking at the oddness. It was almost as if she were making fun of herself. “I’ll be glad to go with you.”

“That’s a relief,” she answered, her laughter subsiding for now. “Because I’m sure glad to go with you!” And she smiled, her eyes twinkling in an irritating yet tantalizing manner.

A few hours later, Kenshin found himself knocking persistently on Naruku’s door, calling in to her that they wouldn’t have much time if she took much longer.

“Sorry—I’ll be right out!” And she was, a few seconds later, stepping out of her room and sliding the door shut behind her.

“You look nice,” he told her, almost automatically.

“Thanks!” She hopped on one foot and did a sort of half-spin. “It took me forever to get my hair to lie flat,” she went on.

However long it took, it seemed to work, because her russet colored hair was piled atop her head and tumbled down to waist, unruffled. Kenshin pondered for a second why she’d even spend so much time to do that (she certainly didn’t bother on the other days where her hair would be twisted up and kept out of her face.) He concluded from prior experience that women seemed to think going out was something special they needed to dress up for.

Though, Naruku was hardly ‘dressed up.’ Sure, she was wearing a green and black kimono in place of her usual attire, but she hardly looked ravishing or exquisite or whatever other adjectives other women strove to be christened as. Naruku looked…nice, he decided, after little thought. She had this sort of airy charm that floated about her, making her seem quaint and endearing.

“Shall we go then?” Kenshin broke the silence, extending an arm for her to take. She laughed out loud and they set off.

Naruku looked around the center of Asakusa with wide-eyes. She glanced over at her companion who seemed unnerved by the crowd. The two of them had grabbed an early dinner at the dojo earlier and were now wandering the Asakusa district.

“Oh, Kenshin! Over here!” Naruku cried suddenly, rushing toward a shop that looked notably like a sweet shop. “I wonder if they have any chocolate,” she mused, trying her best to imitate the French accent. She looked around the sweet shop, and was only slightly disappointed when not a piece of brown candy was in sight. Instead she grabbed a few Japanese-style candies and purchased them. She only unwrapped one to eat, and offered some to Kenshin, who declined. The rest she tucked in her obi to share with the rest of their friends.

“Your loss,” she commented to Kenshin at his refusal to eat the sugary sweets. “Here. Come on, try some!” she shoved the orange candy into his hand.

He stared at it for a little.

In the middle of transferring a candy from her hand to her mouth, Naruku looked over at Kenshin. She swallowed the candy. “You aren’t staring it down, are you?” she asked, barely suppressing a giggle.

Kenshin ate the candy and was surprised at how sweet and pure the flavor was. “I don’t believe I’ve ever had this…”

“It’s sort of modern here in Tokyo, I think,” Naruku answered.

“No, I mean candy.”

Naruku blinked at him. “You’ve never had candy before Kenshin?” she questioned incredulously. He shook his head slowly.

“It’s quite good, isn’t it?”

Naruku shook her head at his mannerisms. “You are one odd man, my candy-deprived Kenshin.”

“Not as strange as you, I’d imagine,” Kenshin retorted.

“Touché,” she imitated a Spanish accent (which was considerably better than her French garble) and then began laughing.

After the exiting the store, Naruku and Kenshin explored a shop selling queer, foreign musical instruments, including one from Spain called a guitar. Naruku examined it, proclaiming that she was sure her great-grandfather had played one. After that, Kenshin had quietly ushered her out of the store, trying to keep his laughter inside. They then discovered a small florist shop where Naruku bought a few long-stemmed flowers to take back to the dojo. Then they entered a tailor shop where Kenshin hinted at Naruku to buy herself another kimono, but she only ‘hinted’ right back, buying a training hakama instead and making sure to show it to Kenshin. He sighed at her antics.

“Would you like to make a wish Naruku-dono?” Kenshin inquired as they came upon the Shinto Shrine with the famous wishing stones in front of it.

Naruku stared up at the other praying populace. “I’m not sure,” she admitted. “Up there they look like they really have something to wish for…I, well, don’t.”

“It’s only for fun, Naruku-dono,” Kenshin persisted. “And besides, if your wish is insignificant to the kami then they won’t pay mind to it.”

“Kenshin!” She whacked him. “That’s not very nice. Maybe I will make a wish. And it’ll be granted, too!” She added furiously.

“Oro…” They made their way to the front, slipping between crowded patched of people.

Naruku closed her eyes serenely and held her hands in the customary praying position, unsure of what her wish would be. I wish…that I could be sure…that everything is all right. That I wouldn’t have this nagging, betraying feeling day in and day out. She thought slowly. So that I could decide what was really best for me. She opened one eye to glance at Kenshin, who was praying next to her peacefully.

She opened both eyes and dropped her hands, staring at Kenshin with liquid green eyes. She had never seen him so tranquilly, and frankly, the sight made her blush.

“Are you done Naruku-dono?” In a second Kenshin’s own eyes were open and looking into Naruku’s.

“H-hai,” she answered unsteadily.

“Are you having fun Naruku-dono?” Kenshin asked as they moved along.

“Very much so,” she answered sincerely. “I’m very glad we came. I’ve never been to the Asakusa.”

Kenshin smiled lightly. “It’s a place you have to visit if you live in Tokyo.” Naruku agreed.

“Oh, I have to go run a quick errand,” he informed her. “I’ll be back very shortly, don’t go anywhere.”

She nodded and he disappeared into the crowd. Naruku became momentarily worried and wondered if he’d be able to find her again. She closed her eyes to ease her frenzied nerves. Behind her she could faintly make out voices…and they didn’t sound friendly.

“Look, she’s all alone,” one crowed.

“Yeah, this’ll be easy,” another jeered in reply.

Naruku’s heart skipped a beat as the voices got closer…very close. Kenshin told me not to move, she thought with unease. But she wasn’t going to just stand there and get mugged or raped or killed—or whatever those psychos were bent on. She walked quickly through the crowd, coming to a quick stop every so often to listen for the voices. They were always with her. Up ahead there was a hill. She broke out into a run, frantically dashing through the crowd. She sprinted up the hill, panting heavily.

Near the top she took a long leap, but tripped on her kimono and tumbled a little ways. She winced, recalling her dislike of kimonos. She scrambled to her feet and continued up the hill. The crows thinned as she climbed higher, and she could see her attackers behind her. There must have been at least seven of them, she decided. A strange curiosity befell her and she counted the men. Nine total. Naruku faintly wondered why they were after her in particular.

Then again, she was a seemingly helpless girl all alone in the middle of the night. She should have suspected something.

She was too out of breath to run anymore, and she had reached the top of the hill besides. She didn’t much favor the idea of sliding down the other side, which would result in her bowling into many annoyed strangers.

So she reached a conclusion and spun around to face her opponents.