Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ The beauty of life ❯ The meeting ( Chapter 6 )

“ I wonder if that man found Elena. It's been a while and we haven't seen her either,” Kaoru said putting her empty bowl down. Kenshin began to wonder as well. Yahiko stood nearby listening to what she was saying.

“ Ah she's probably somewhere. It's not like we're supposed to worry about her,” He said.

Kaoru glared at him. But he was right. It wasn't really her place to worry about someone that was missing, but she just couldn't help but worry for her.

“ But the guy looked so sad,” She said.

Kenshin nodded, “ She must've been dear to her, or at least close,” He mused.

Sanosuke leaned back, satisfied with his meal.

“ Why don't we go look for her?” He suggested.

Kaoru shrugged, “ Where would we look? Besides, we're just keeping a look out for her,” She said.

“ You're the one who's worrying. It's kind of annoying how you worry for other people,” Sano shot back.

Yahiko sniggered at his remark. He moved towards the back to put away the broom.

Tsubame came and started to collect their plates. Kaoru looked up at her.

“ Hey have you ever had a customer that looked about Kenshin's height that was a samurai? A man was looking for her and told us to keep a lookout,” She asked.

Tsubame thought for a moment, peering around the Akabeko for anyone that fit her description.

“ Oh come to think of it, I have. But she doesn't come in often. She carries around a sword quite like Kenshins too. She might be coming in later on today. She usually comes late today,” She said.

Kaoru looked at Kenshin hopefully. Kenshin nodded and drank his tea.

“ So we'll wait for her to come in,” She decided.

Sano coughed, “ She might not come at all,” He said.

“ It's worth the wait.”

“ This one would like to meet her,” Kenshin said.

Kaoru beamed and picked up her bowl again.

 

An hour had passed. More people came into the Akabeko to eat and left paying their tabs. Kaoru talked casually with Kenshin, constantly looking at the door for a girl to come in. So far it was older women and a few men. Sano got up and walked down the aisle saying that his legs had gotten cramped and needed to take a stretch.

He walked just inches away from the restaurant, sliding off to the side and leaned against the wall. He looked around watching the woman pass by and veers off into another street.

He could see that the sun had begun to set into the mountains. He figured that she wasn't coming.

He had just begun to go inside when a woman with dark hair tied up high came walking towards the Akabeko. He slipped inside just before she came and watched her come in from the entrance.

Hoping that he wouldn't be seen, he hid among the plants that decorated the restaurant.

But she turned to look at him with a blank expression. He shivered and turned away.

She hadn't moved. She was still watching him. She had soft features except for her eyes that stared at him. They were a shocking blue. Something he had never seen before.

He stepped out of his hiding spot and towered over her.

“ You're that girl, aren't you?” He said.

The girl stepped away from him. He watched her hand fly to the hilt of her katana that she carried in her belt.

“Hey, I don't mean any harm I just wanted to know if you were the girl the man was looking for,” Sano said nervously.

The girl eyed him warily, “Are you an imperialist?” She asked.

Sano shivered at her cold voice. He shook his head.

“ Why would I be?” He snapped.

The girl dropped her hand and waited for Tsubame to come. Sano watched her as he stood next to her.

“ You've created quite some trouble for my friends. A man came to them saying that he was looking for you and now my friends have begun to worry about you too. It's quite annoying since that's what they've been talking about for quite a while,” He said irritably.

The girl walked to an empty cubicle. Sano followed. He could see that Kaoru was watching him carefully.

The girl looked at Kaoru and the others.

“ She doesn't need to worry about me. Who's the guy that is looking for me?” She asked Sano.

Sano shrugged, “ Don't know, Kaoru knows though. Come over and talk to her,” Sano said.

The girl shook her head, “ I'm not interested,” she said.

Sano shrugged, “ You're choice. Hey Kaoru, what was the guys name again?” He shouted at Kaoru.

Kaoru stood up, “ His name was Hachiro I think,” She replied.

Sano turned back to the girl, “ Hachiro was his name,” He repeated.

The girl stood up, walked to where Kaoru sat. She grabbed Kaoru by her arm and pulled her up until she was staring straight into her face.

The others got up, surrounding the two. Kaoru looked at the others nervously, and then turned to the woman that was facing her.

“ You know Hachiro?” The woman demanded.

Kaoru nodded quickly, “ Yeah, he came by last week. He asked about you. He's looking for you,” She said.

The girl released her, her gaze still upon Kaoru. Kaoru rubbed her wrist. Her grip was tight and hard. She had also noticed the coldness in her hands.

“ Are you going to see him? I've got his address if you need it,” Kaoru said nervously.

The girl looked at the ground, shaking her head. She couldn't see him. Not now.

Se looked at the group and smirked. She turned away, budging past Sano.

“ No. There's no need,” She replied.

Kaoru followed, feeling a sense of irritability. Why did she not want to see Hachiro? She grabbed the girl by the shoulder.

“ Now I don't know why you don't want to see him, but you should. You should've seen the look on his face. He wanted to apologize for all he did! As well as thank you for all your help,” She snapped angrily.

The girl looked at her with mild surprise and irritated that the girl had grabbed her. She shrugged out of her grip, letting her gaze wander towards the red haired man that stood just a few feet away from Kaoru. A hint of recognition flickered in her eyes. She had seen him once before.

“ Answer me!” Kaoru demanded.

Elena looked at her, hesitating.

“ Tell him, that he doesn't need to apologize. It wasn't his fault,” She said.

Kaoru frowned, “ Why don't you want to see him? Did something happen?” She asked.

Elena shook her head, “ No. It's not that,” she said.

“ Then what?”

Elena looked at the ceiling, “ Back then, there was no formalities. Hachiro to me was just a man that I was to protect. Nothing more. There is no reason for me to go and see him. Nothing good will happen,” She said.

Kaoru shook her head, “ That's not true, something could happen. You never know,” She retorted.

Elena closed her eyes, “ You just don't give up, do you?” She asked.

She looked to the red haired guy again. He caught her gaze and simply smiled in greeting.

She did not return the smile. Instead, she bowed in respect and turned to the door.

“ There's more to this than you'll ever know. You might be better off dealing with your problems, rather than involve yourself with mine. An assassins life is not as easy as a life like yours,” She said.

Kaoru froze as she spoke of the word `assassin'

“ You.. Were an assassin?” She repeated.

Elena turned, “ I hardly call that a surprise, since you have an assassin standing behind you,” She said.

She smirked and ducked her head under the door flap and disappeared amongst the crowd.

Kaoru looked at Kenshin.

“ Did you two know each other?” She asked.

Kenshin nodded, “ At one time we met, but it wasn't for long,” He said.

Sano shrugged, “ Did you work for the same clan?” He asked.

Kenshin shook his head.

“ No, He replied.

He walked towards the door, Sano following behind.

“ Kaoru-dono, I think it's better if you left this behind. We can deliver the message to Hachiro ourselves,” He said.

Kaoru started to protest, but nodded. She followed him out the door, slipping open a crumpled piece of paper that had Hachiro's address on it.