Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ To Prove You Wrong ❯ Visitors ( Chapter 2 )

To Prove Your Wrong

By: EvilNekoEatsYourSoul

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Rurouni Kenshin.

Author's note: This is a kind of short chapter, but I felt like I had to end it when I did or it would be too long. Since I'm doing it for my other story I figured I might as well offer it for this one as well… If you want an e-mail notification when I update this story then send me an e-mail at: EvilNekoEatsYourSoul@hawaii.rr.com with the subject: shiroi ichigo. ^_^ Read and review. Thanks

Last time: The rest of the night went smoothly with no mishaps except for a spilled pot of tea which Kaoru knocked over while standing to tell Megumi to stop touching Kenshin. Luckily for Sanosuke, the hot tea fell on him and gave him an excuse to seek the pretty doctor's help. Everyone slept easily that night except for Kenshin. He couldn't help but think about the fact that today had been the first day in a long time that a certain blue-eyed kenjutsu instructor hadn't eaten lunch with him

Chapter 2: Visitors

~*~

Perspiration glimmered on her forehead and made her hair and clothes stick to her skin. The sunlight made her eyes shimmer and as always those deep blue orbs showed every emotion she was feeling. A look of determination was upon her as she swung her shinai down gracefully.

"Kenshin."

The rurouni was shaken from his reverie when she called out his name. She turned to him with that sweet, innocent smile of hers and for the thousandth, perhaps millionth time since he met her, he swore to himself he would never allow anyone to harm her. He felt a small smile on his lips as he continued to gaze at her, until a shinai made contact with his head.

"Oro!"

"Kenshin no baka! I'm talking to you."

"Gomen nasai, Kaoru-dono. Sessha was just thinking de gozaru yo…"

She frowned and kneeled in front of where he was sitting. Blue eyes met with violet ones and she seemed to be searching for something.

"Kenshin… you're not leaving again, are you? Whenever you're distracted by thoughts it usually means something has happened…"

It pained him to see the worry in her eyes, to know that he placed it there made it worse. He was tempted to take her into his arms and hold her, to comfort her fears. But he looked down at his hands, to the sakabatou at his side. `Unworthy one,' he dubbed himself, and so he was, unworthy of touching such innocence. He would just have to calm her with words rather then actions.

"Kaoru-dono, Sessha has no intention of leaving, unless you want me to leave de gozaru yo. But if it isn't too much trouble, Sessha would like to stay here."

Her smile returned, and she stood to resume her practicing.

"Good," she said, "I'd hate to go running around all over Japan looking for you again."

He nodded.

"Oh, and Kenshin?"

"Hai, Kaoru-dono."

"I almost forgot, could you go and buy some tofu for lunch?"

"Hai, Kaoru-dono," answered the ex-hitokiri as he stood and walked out of the dojo.

~*~

"Tanuki-san!"

Once again Kaoru had to stop practicing, but this time to talk to a tall female doctor. She sat and Megumi did the same, sitting at the porch's edge next to her. There was silence for a while and suddenly the young kenjutsu instructor was struck by the moment. She recalled a time two years ago, in Kyoto when they had sat together like this.

"Where is Ken-san?"

"Buying tofu."

"The rooster head?"

Kaoru shrugged, "Gambling house I guess."

"Yahiko-chan?"

"At the Akabeko."

"Alright then let's talk. The first thing I want to know is what is going on between you and this Toshiro person."

Kaoru frowned; she didn't know how to reply to that. She herself didn't understand Toshiro. He had been by everyday day this week to see how she was doing. That in its self was ridiculous since Megumi had lied to both Toshiro and Kenshin, telling them she had sustained no injuries. Besides that, he always seemed to want to do things for her, bringing her flowers or buying her a ribbon for her hair. She didn't understand why he was so… nice to her. Besides, just because she had a new friend didn't mean anything was `going on' between them. She snorted.

"What are you talking about Megumi? Nothing is going on between us, he's just a friend of mine."

"Really Tanuki, you are such a baka! Are you blind? That boy follows you around like a lost puppy and he's here everyday. Can't you see it's putting a strain on Ken-san? Since you still haven't really told him about your feelings, now he's filled with doubt thinking this Toshiro person is getting a lot farther with you in this short span of time then he ever did. For some reason he still thinks himself beneath you, with all this `sessha' `de gozaru yo' business. So tell me, do you love Kenshin or not?!?"

After all that, the doctor was a bit red in the face. Kaoru wouldn't lie, she had noticed how tense Kenshin was when Toshiro was around. But had it really caused him to doubt her feelings for him? She thought he was just being his usual wary, over-protective self.

She liked Toshiro that much was true. He had helped her when she was in need and he was always kind to her, but in her heart there was only one man who she could ever love. This was one thing she knew without a doubt, and the conviction in her voice seemed to soften the doctor.

"Yes, I love Kenshin."

"Kaoru-san!" called Toshiro from the dojo gate. But before she stood to greet her friend she locked gazes with the doctor, who nodded her approval and stood to leave.

~*~

"Don't move."

All the way from the market to the path that led to the dojo, Kenshin had ignored the presence behind him. He had sensed no danger from the person behind him, he had apparently been mistaken because now there was the tip of a blade pressed against his back.

"You are going to remove your weapon and come with me quietly, is that understood?"

"Sessha thinks not de gozaru yo."

There was a chuckle behind him and Kenshin's eyes narrowed.

"Well, I'd hate for Kamiya-san and the others to be hurt. Let's see, the girl, Kaoru I think, is in that dojo of hers alone. The boy is at the Akabeko, the ex-gangster at one of the gambling houses. Your two doctor friends are at the clinic, along with the two little girls."

Obviously, whoever this was had done their homework. He wondered if the man was working alone.

"I have people watching each of them, so if you refuse to come quietly…" his abductor let the words hang in the air.

"Does sessha have your word that his friends will not be harmed?"

"I swear on my honor."

"You threaten the lives of women, children and the elderly and still you claim to have honor? Sessha does not think so de gozaru yo."

There was a shrug, and having nothing else to do, Kenshin handed his sakabatou over to his captor, hoping he had been wrong about the man's sense of honor.

In the shadows of the surrounding trees, a dark figure watched the scene and began to follow the two swordsmen, neither aware of it's presence.

~*~

"It's getting late." Kaoru said worriedly. It had been hours since she had sent Kenshin to buy tofu, and still he hadn't returned.

"Kaoru-san… I know you've only known me for a little over a week…"

"I wonder where Kenshin is." She hadn't even heard half of what he was saying.

Toshiro stopped what he had been saying and looked at Kaoru, but when his eyes met with hers he looked away.

"Is something wrong Toshiro-san?"

"No, I just… I'll tell you when this is all over." He stood and still wouldn't meet her gaze as he left.

The sun was beginning to set as Yahiko came running into the dojo a few minutes later.

"Kaoru! Kaoru!"

"What is it Yahiko?" asked Kaoru.

"It's Kenshin, when I was leaving the Akabeko he was walking with some guy who had his sakabatou and he definitely did not look friendly."

"Nani? Which way were they headed? Did you follow them? Are they fighting right now?"

Kaoru had already grabbed the young samura's hand and was running out the dojo gate when she ran into a tall slender young woman. Kaoru looked up at the woman who was a few inches taller then her. She had long dark hair and blue eyes.

"Kaoru, I know where they took Kenshin."

Yahiko was the first to recover and realize who it was they had bumped into.

"Misao?" he asked, eyes wide in surprise.

"That's right brat, now let's go inside and I'll tell you where they took him." She started to walk towards the dojo, trusting that they would follow, "Oh, and I took care of the guy that was following you Yahiko-chan, you really should be more careful."

"DON'T CALL ME CHAN!"

~*~

"Wow Misao-chan, you've grown so much."

"Hmph. Well if you came to visit me in Kyoto more often then you wouldn't have been so surprised. When was the last time you came to Kyoto? You always make me come here to Tokyo but never make the trip to visit me!"

Kaoru shook her head, `she's taller and her figure has filled out, but she still acts like a child'

"Anou, Misao-chan we've been busy…"

"Would you just shut up and tell us where Kenshin is?" shouted Yahiko.

Their faces turned grim as they remembered the circumstances.

"They threatened to hurt everyone if he didn't go quietly. Somehow they knew everyone's schedule. They knew when you would all be separated and had every one of you followed to ensure that he wouldn't put up a fight. I listened in on their conversation and then followed them into town. They took Kenshin to… a teahouse."

"NANI?" said Kaoru and Yahiko in unison. Misao nodded and continued.

"It's true, think about it, no one would ever think to look for him in a place like that, especially one in such a bad part of Tokyo. Also, it prevents us from just busting in there and beating everyone until we find him, there are too many innocent women there."

Everything Misao said made sense. They had no idea what kind of numbers they were up against, or why those people had taken Kenshin. There was no way Yahiko could walk into a place like that unnoticed and neither could Sano, Megumi wouldn't be much help since she didn't have any fighting skills. Kaoru looked at Misao, and a plan began to form in her mind.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Author's note: I kind of feel like something is missing in this chapter… but I don't know what. I guess I'm just feeling a bit blocked for some reason. Hopefully I get over this little block soon because it's depressing! I know what I want to happen, I'm just having a hard time putting it into words… -_-