Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ To Reveal All ❯ Revealing Song ( Chapter 2 )

To Reveal All

Chapter 2: Revealing Song

By steelphoenix

 

 

Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, or any of its characters.

Author's Notes: So! Chapter 2! The fact that this is posted means that someone liked the first chapter (and said so). I'll put Review Replies at the bottom of each chapter, to answer specific questions/points, and reply to everyone who reviewed.

Language Notes: The traditional Japanese instruments mentioned here are a shakuhachi (a bamboo flute), and a koto (a 13-stringed zither). A zither is a box with strings over a soundhole (This is a very crude description: check the Internet for pictures).

A shinai is a practice sword, made of bound bamboo. A sakabato is a reverse-bladed sword, with the sharp and dull edges switched (but you knew that already, didn't you?).

A kimono is a woman's traditional Japanese dress.

Warnings: Presently rated PG-13. Will be R for sexual situations/scenes and violence in later chapters. No language warnings.

 

 

Kaoru smiled at the expression on Megumi's face. Her `elder sister' and friend was annoyed. In fact, she was downright pissed off.

Megumi frequented the `Red Sakura' teahouse, and was one of, if not the, most popular geisha there. Beautiful and talented, she was known throughout Tokyo as a perfect shakuhachi player, and her bell-like laugh was praised by a thousand love-struck poets.

However, the reality tonight was that she didn't have a party to go to until nine o'clock in the evening, quite late, and Kaoru had one at six. Megumi's client had cancelled at the last minute, and, unless she visited parties that she wasn't expected at, she had three hours with nothing to do. She had offered to come to the teahouse with Kaoru. Ostensibly, it was to help her `younger sister' get ready for Kenshin's visit, but Kaoru knew that in reality, she was trying to get invited to a party.

Kenshin's visits had become a ritual. Once a fortnight, or sometimes more often (Kaoru suspected it was whenever he could get the funds), Kenshin would visit Kaoru. He would shyly enter the entrance hall of the teahouse, and, blushing bashfully, ask the attendant if `Kaoru-dono' was free. Kaoru always was - she knew when to expect him. He would be escorted to the room, and they would drink tea, talk, and Kaoru would sing.

“Kaoru, why does Kenshin always call you `Kaoru-dono?'” asked Megumi, tongue poking out the side of her mouth as she concentrated on touching-up Kaoru's eye makeup.

“I thought you knew. It was a while back that he started calling me that.” Kaoru knew that Megumi was just making conversation, to keep her mind off her annoyance.

“Yes, I had noticed, but you never said why.”

“Well, he found out that my family used to be minor nobles before the Bakumatsu. He jokingly said that as a mere rurouni, he should call a lady such as myself Kaoru-dono.” Kaoru grinned at the memory. “It stuck.”

“You're no lady, though.” Megumi teased.

“Like I said, it stuck, and that's what he calls me now.”

“Well, lady or not, we want you to look extra-nice for your `friend's' visit! You never know, you might finally get him!” Megumi's voice was forcedly-cheerful, and slightly acidic, as she arranged Kaoru's hair underneath its ivory combs.

Kaoru blushed, then snapped, “I don't want `get him', though! He's my best friend! I don't want him as a lover!” Though geishas could have lovers if they wanted to, it was generally frowned on, as they weren't making money out of the men. The two of them had had this discussion several times before.

“Well, he wants to get you,” returned Megumi. “You're not all that bad-looking,” - which received a murderous glare from Kaoru - “And I've seen the way he looks at you! I bet he's just shy!”

“He comes to talk to me!”

“Possible. He can't be coming for the tea, because it's so bad!” Megumi grinned teasingly, and shuffled around her friend to check on the back of the hairstyle.

“Hey! It's not that bad!” Kaoru snapped. The tea ceremony was still the weak point in her entertainment. Try as she might, it always ended up tasting strange.

The smile on Megumi's face broadened, unseen by her friend. Kaoru's denials always meant that she knew that what Megumi was saying was true, at least partially. “But haven't you seen what he looks like?”

“Yes, once,” Kaoru replied, suppressing a blush as she remembered the perfection of Kenshin's body.

A knock sounded on Kaoru's door. Megumi rose, ready to leave. Quickly, she leant forward, and whispered in her friend's ear, “And don't you desire that? Don't you want that?”

The door slid back, revealing Kenshin, with Sano behind him.

“Kenshin! Sano? You don't usually visit!” Kaoru's voice was happy, and surprised at Sano's presence.

“Hello, Kaoru-dono, Megumi.” Megumi smiled at the warmth in Kenshin's voice. You can always tell… Definitely attraction on his side.

“Hi, Kaoru. Hey, Fox.” Sano's cheeky grin at Megumi invited her to take offence at the nickname he had only recently thought of for her.

Megumi took the bait. “Sagara Sanosuke. You are speaking to Takani Megumi, a very popular geisha of this teahouse, famed over Tokyo for her shakuhachi and her laugh, and you have the nerve to call her `Fox'.”

“Yes, it suits you.”

Kenshin and Kaoru rolled their eyes as the two immediately got into an argument over the nickname. Fights like these were a regular occurrence at the dojo, when Megumi was visiting. She and Sano always seemed to find something to argue over.

After ten minutes of back-and-forth bickering, Kenshin broke off the quiet conversation he had been having with Kaoru, and coughed, attempting to interrupt. “Ahem.”

He was ignored, so Kaoru tried a little louder. “A-hem!”

Once again, she was ignored. They glanced at each other, and simultaneously coughed, again trying to interrupt. “A-HEM!”

“…That's not fair, Fox!”

“It is fair! Considering that you just…”

They were once again ignored. Kenshin's sakabato slipped out of its sheath, and Kaoru's shinai appeared from out of the cupboard. The two now-armed warriors stood, and stepped over to where the warring duo were.

“…so don't call me Fox!”

“But I… oh, Kenshin, Kaoru. What's with the weapons?”

“The weapons are because last time we tried to break up a fight between you two, we ended up needing them, that we did.” Kenshin's voice was dry and seemingly annoyed, but was belied by the grin on his face.

Megumi lifted her nose, and drew herself up. “I am ending this discussion. Sagara, if you wish to speak to me, go through Kenshin or Kaoru. I will not be speaking to you until you agree not to call me `Fox'.” She lifted her skirts, and attempted to sweep out of the room. The effect was rather spoiled when she slammed the door shut, caught her kimono sleeve, and had to come back.

“Let's re-try that part of the performance,” she said, and launched into her closing speech again. “I am ending this discussion. Sagara, if you wish to speak to me, go through Kenshin or Kaoru. I will not be speaking to you until you agree not to call me `Fox'.”

This time her sweeping exit was better, and she giggled all the way down the hallway. She could hear the roars of laughter from Kaoru's room.

I love being with that guy - even though we argue, it's all in good fun, and he looks so alive and so handsome when he's competing with me like that!

Megumi started, as she realised what she had thought. She sat, slightly discomforted by her train of thought.

 

---

 

Kaoru swirled the whisk in the cup, mixing the tea smoothly into the hot water. Shifting over in front of Kenshin, she placed the cup down.

“Thank you, Kaoru-dono.” Kenshin took a sip, both his friends watching him carefully. Kaoru, because she hoped that her tea had improved, and Sano, because he hoped to get to see Kenshin's swirly-eyed look (and have something to tease Kaoru about).

Unfortunately, it was Kaoru who was disappointed. With a single “Oro!”, Kenshin's eyes went swirly, and with a crunch, he was laid out on the matting.

“Your tea hasn't got any better, I see,” said Sano, looking sideways at Kaoru.

“Why you…!” Kaoru's eyes went slanted and angry, and she grabbed the ladle and began battering Sano with it.

“Better… than… before… Kaoru-dono…” came a weak voice from the floor. Kaoru paused in her belaborment of Sano.

“Wow. He's actually conscious,” said Sano, sounding surprised. Kaoru swatted him again with the ladle.

“Well, gotta go, Kenshin, Kaoru. You should see a doctor after that brew, Kenshin,” Sano rose.

“Why, where are you going?” asked Kaoru.

“Gotta see a man about a dog,” grinned Sano. “And besides, I don't want to get dosed with that so-called `tea'. I'm not immune, like Kenshin is.” He slipped out the door, narrowly missing getting hit by the ladle, which sailed out after him.

 

---

 

Sano strolled down the hall, and on to the veranda. As he expected, Megumi was kneeling there.

“Hi, Fox! Been practising exit speeches, have we?” Sano's cheeky tone was instantly recognisable, and Megumi turned around, grinning at her friend.

She knew why he was here. Their serious discussions had become a custom between the two of them. They were to clear up any strange or scathing remarks made in the last argument, and now that the argument was over, they would clear the air.

“No, Sano, I have not been `practising exit speeches', as you put it. That exit simply needed to be re-worked, so that it went right! Choreography is essential in any dramatic performance!”

"Dramatic performance?" Sano smirked, leaning against the doorpost. "That's a strange way of putting it - even though you are a bit of a prima donna..."

Megumi rolled her eyes, and began to explain. "You do the arguments for the fun of it, don't you?"

“Yes… where are you going with this, Fox?” Sano's tone was puzzled, but interested.

“Well, if you're doing it for the fun of it, then it's a performance for anyone but you and me.”

“You have a point…” Sano seemed intrigued. “What else would you call a `performance'?”

“All of life is a performance, Sano! Make the most of it!”

Sano grinned. He had been expecting a remark like that, and also the fact that she had never once mentioned the `Fox' nickname. If she hadn't commented on it in this, a serious - well, semi-serious - discussion, she didn't mind. He strolled to the doorway. So, you don't mind being a Fox, Megumi? You're as cunning as one.

“Oh, and you're a great performer, Fox!” Sano blew her a kiss from the doorway, and slid it shut.

 

---

 

“Gambling?” said Kaoru, once she had calmed down. “Is he still losing all the time?”

“No, fortunately,” replied Kenshin, rising from the floor. “But he is only allowed to take gambling money out of his share of the income, which cut back his spending, that it did.”

Kaoru smiled, turning to help him up. “And has he won big yet?”

“Of course not. This one advised him to stop gambling, but he does not. All his extra money goes into it.”

“And you spend your extra money on visiting me.” Kaoru's voice was quiet, but she smiled as she said it. She knew it was true.

“No, of course not… there is the extra equipment… and the food… and… well…” Kenshin blushed, and ducked his head.

“Yes, you do.”

“Yes, this one does,” Kenshin mumbled, his face as red as his hair.

Kaoru smiled. “I don't mind. It's very special to me, that you would actually pay to see me regularly.”

“Truly? It is enjoyable, seeing you, that it is. This one would not get to otherwise!”

“Kenshin, you're one of my best friends. It's the best part of my week, getting to sit and talk, and just be comfortable with you.”

Kenshin's eyes snapped to Kaoru's. She thought for a moment that they flickered, desirous. “Comfortable?”

“Yes. I never have to worry about how I act, I don't have to be perfect. I don't have to be a geisha. You know me and like me the way I am. And you're one of the few men who can beat me with the sword!” Kaoru laughed.

“True, this one can best you with the sword. And with the cooking spoon -” Kenshin ducked as the tea whisk rocketed past his ear “- but with the koto, never!”

“Oh, yes, I'm supposed to sing, aren't I?”

“You always forget, that you do!”

“We can't just talk all the time, can we? I wish we could - singing's such a hassle!”

“You have a lovely voice, Kaoru-dono. This one enjoys your singing, especially the songs you compose yourself.”

“Really?” Kaoru frowned at Kenshin, not sure he wasn't joking. He had made similar remarks the last two weeks he had come. Perhaps he was trying to hint at something. “I'll sing you one I wrote, then.”

Kaoru moved over to the koto that lay at the side of the room, and carefully laid it down between herself and Kenshin. Fitting the plectrums to her fingers, she began plucking the strings gently, raising delicate ringing tones. She began to sing, her voice sweet and expressive.

 

I dreamed a dream of times gone by

When my samurai, my love, was living,

I dreamed my love would never die

I dreamed the gods would be forgiving.

Then he was young and unafraid

And had so many dreams of glory,

There were no prices to be paid

No comrades lost, no swords yet goried.

But the Battousai was there

And he slew my lover's dreaming,

And he tore his hope apart

And his dreams were turned to shame.

He slept a summer by my side

He filled my days with endless wonder

He took my childhood in his stride

But he was gone when autumn came.

And still I dream he'll come to me

That we will live the years together

But death has come, and I can see

That love can't conquer it, not ever.

I had a dream my life would be

Together with my love, forever

But his death has taught me truth

Battousai killed the dream I dreamed.

 

Kaoru dropped her hands from the koto, her eyes damp. “No matter how many times I sing that one, I always end up crying!” she exclaimed, drying her eyes with a cloth out of her sleeve.

“You really believe all that?” Kenshin's voice was hard, and as Kaoru looked up, she gasped. Kenshin's relaxed pose was gone, and in its place was a taut body, ready to pounce. Kenshin's hand was on his hip, on the hilt of his half-drawn sakabato.

Kaoru looked higher, and again gasped. The tears dried on her face in an instant, for she knew that she was in danger from this man. He was no longer Kenshin, the friend and confidant, but an angry stranger. His face was taut, set in a forbidding battle-expression.

And his eyes were amber.

Kaoru recalled all the legends of Hitokiri Battousai in an instant. It was said that the Battousai was young man, slight and weak-looking. It was said that the Battousai had flaming red hair. It was said that the Battousai had a cross-shaped scar on his cheek.

And it was said that Hitokiri Battousai's eyes changed colour. Violet when calm, amber when angry.

Amber when he was going to kill.

“Kenshin?”

As if her voice had snapped him out of his trance, Kenshin relaxed. His hand fell off the swordhilt, his body slumped, and his face eased out of the battle-expression.

With a last forbidding swirl of amber, Kenshin's eyes calmed, and became violet again.

“Kaoru. Don't ever sing that song again.”

“No. I won't.”

 

---

 

Later that night, Kaoru dozed fitfully. Amber eyes and half-drawn sakabatos haunted her. False memories, with Kenshin attacking her, wounds on her body, Kenshin torturing her, twisted in with the real memories, creating a horrific patchwork of images.

She woke with a gasp. The dreams churned in her memory, urging her to come to a conclusion about what she had seen. She knew what her subconscious was telling her.

“Alright. I know. Kenshin's him. Hitokiri Battousai.” Saying it aloud didn't make Kaoru feel any better. It made it worse. Actually acknowledging that a man she was friends - close friends - with, was the legendary killer. She had at first wondered, when she saw the red hair and scar, but his demeanor was so different from the legendary assassin's, that she had dismissed it as mere fancy. Now her mind was torturing her with her original doubts.

Could gentle, kind Kenshin be the same man who had once killed a whole company of troops?

Could the man that gave her techniques on the grip on a sword have used those same techniques in a battle?

Could Kenshin, with his amiable laugh, have laughed differently, killing?

Could the man who was so tender with Dr. Gensai's granddaughters have once been the lone wolf that said almost nothing to his comrades for months?

Could Kenshin's love of life once been a love of death?

Confused, sad, and angry, Kaoru burrowed her head into her futon and cried.

 

 

Author's Notes: And the plot thickens…

Oooh, long chapter. It started off really short, because I actually wrote this without the bits with Sano and Megumi's argument, and this chapter being their first meeting, but then I re-thought it, and decided to make it so Megumi had been friends with Kenshin and Sano nearly as long as Kaoru.

Shameless ripoff of Andrew Lloyd Webber there, too. In case you didn't pick it, that was a (bad /sweatdrops/) adaption of `I Dreamed A Dream' from Les Misrables, I love that song, I just had to RK-ify it.

Review! Please! Onegai!

Review Replies: Thanks to my (single!) reviewer!

Empress_Koki - Thank you very much for taking the time to review… I wasn't going to put any more of this up, but rest assured, since you have asked for it, I shall be continuing! Arigato Gozaimasu!