Under the circumstances.

an r.k fanfic.

 

 

CHAPTER FOUR

 

"Sparks"

 

 

"Morning smiles,

Like the face of a newborn child

Innocent, unknowing."

 

Sarah Mc Lachlan

 

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Misao awoke to the sound of birdsong on the other side of her bedroom wall. She began to stretch but was hampered by the sling. "Che." she cursed, rolling over on her good side. She tried to will herself out of bed but her body was unwilling to cooperate. Sleepily, she pushed herself into a sitting position with her uninjured arm.

 

She forced herself out of bed and rolled away the futon. "Mou." she muttered, grabbing a kimono out off the rack. She half turned to leave, then she thought better of it and tossed it back. She'd never be able to get into that thing without help. Her eyes fell on some folded fabric in a familiar shade of blue, she smiled and stroked her hand thoughtfully over the material before picking it up.

 

In the bathhouse, she was relieved to find that the injury had healed enough to allow her to remove the sling. She cleaned herself up and bound her breasts as tightly as she could.  "Mou, I must look like Shishio." she mused, running her hand over her bandaged shoulder and torso. She eased herself into the clothes she brought with her without too much difficulty and headed back toward the house.

 

"Whoa," Yahiko breathed when he caught sight of Misao in the doorway.  Her cropped hair was slightly tousled, spilling over one eye like soft, dark silk and she was wearing her Oniwabanshuu uniform. It was obviously a new one, with a light-blue belt. The pants were longer than before, but only because she was now a few inches taller so they still showed a fairly decent amount of well muscled, shapely legs. "Ohayou minna" she chirped as she walked toward them with a light step. 

 

Startled, the boy shook his head visibly when she spoke. Kaoru chuckled at his reaction, "Ohayou Misao-chan." she replied with a smile, she noticed that she wasn't wearing the sling, "I see your arm's feeling better today." she observed.

 

"Much better" Misao confirmed, looking down toward Yahiko whose mouth was still open. "Something wrong Yahiko-kun?" she asked coquettishly, knowing full well the effect she was having on him.

 

"N..Nothing." he choked. "I, eeto… have some practice to get through before breakfast." Without another word he dashed toward the dojo. Misao doubled over in laughter as soon as he was out of earshot.

 

"That was evil Misao." Kaoru scolded her, trying not to smile.

 

"Yeah, but it was fun." Misao quipped back with a wink, "So, are we in charge of breakfast this morning?"

 

Kaoru grinned at the question, "Soujiro and Kenshin are taking care of it." she announced.

 

"Nani?!" Misao squealed, "Soujiro can cook? Now I'm impressed."

 

"So am I," Kaoru chuckled, "I was just heading for the kitchen when I caught them clucking over the miso like two old biddies. I'm not complaining though, at least this way breakfast will be edible."

 

"Would you believe it?" Misao said shaking her head in disbelief, "Two of the best swordsmen in Japan, cooking breakfast for the two of us."

 

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A distinguished-looking gentleman sat on a window seat with a thoughtful expression on his face as a beautiful young woman in an emerald green kimono sat on the floor next to him playing a shinoubouay. A younger, dark-haired man sat on a tatami mat a few feet behind her, looking far more annoyed at the older man's nonchalance.

 

"What do we do now?" he demanded in a low voice, "without the girl, the whole plan falls apart."

 

His elder looked back at him distastefully, "You think I don't know that?" he asked evenly, "And as I remember it wasn't my idea to send those morons out anyway."

 

The younger man got up and cut his eyes at the elder who was still wearing the self-assured smirk that went with his sarcasm. "I don't hear you coming up with any bright ideas," he retorted, turning toward the door.

 

The elder turned back to the window so that his face was hidden from the other man's view. "No," he agreed, "but I have come up with a sensible one."

 

"And what's that?" the younger man asked, his anger abating.

 

The older man smiled at his little victory over his junior, he turned his face slightly so that the other man could see his profile as he spoke.

 

"You handle things personally."

 

****************************************

 

Sano was the second male to see Misao in her new uniform. He bounded in just as the girls were making their way to the living area. He took one, lingering look at Misao's figure-flattering garments and let forth a long wolf's whistle as he followed them into the house.

 

"Nice outfit Misao," he said, grinning widely, "Mind telling me where's the rest of it?"

 

"Hentai," Misao replied over her shoulder, "Give the uniform some respect."

 

Kaoru's face crumpled with laughter, "Respect?" she chuckled pointing a thumb at Sano, "This jerk doesn't know the meaning of the word!"

 

"Hey!"

 

"Maa, maa," a familiar voice said soothingly, "No fighting until after breakfast minna." Kenshin set down the trays of tea and serving bowls he was carrying on the dining table. Behind him came Soujiro balancing two trays of food which he easily set down next to Kenshin's.

 

"Damn, that smells good!" Sano happily exclaimed.

 

He was right. Kenshin was a good cook, but  the combined effort he and Soujiro had made was nothing short of spectacular. Tae would have been impressed.

 

"I'd better go get Yahiko." Misao said rising from her seat, "I was the one who scared him off in the first place." she and Kaoru exchanged meaningful, amused looks.

 

Soujiro swallowed visibly when he realized what Misao was wearing. "No wonder I didn't recognize her the first time!" he thought as he took in the sight of her. Talk about maturing nicely.

 

Kenshin was the only one who caught the change in Soujiro's eyes as he glanced up at the young ninja. His own eyes widened in surprise at what he read in them for that brief moment.

 

"Kenshin, dajoubu?" Kaoru asked, concern creeping into her voice.

 

"Eh? Aa, dajoubu Kaoru." he replied with a reassuring smile, just a little shocked, that's all. he added mentally stealing another glance at Soujiro who had already started to serve the meal.

 

Kaoru shrugged her shoulders and sighed, letting the matter drop. She began helping Soujiro by pouring the tea. "Soujiro-san, I didn't know you could cook!" she exclaimed, flashing a sweet smile at the young swordsman.

 

Soujiro noted once again what pretty eyes Kaoru had, especially when she smiled. "Hai," he said modestly, "It's nothing really."

 

"It is when you can't even boil water right." Sano mumbled around a mouthful of food. Kaoru's eyes flashed up at him and she let out a sound that sounded a little too close to a growl that made everyone else jump.

 

"Shut up rooster-head." she hissed.

 

"For once you're right Sano." Yahiko said plunking down between Sano and Soujiro, "Busu can't cook anything to save her life."

 

"WHY YOU LITTLE…" Kaoru began pushing up her right sleeve.

 

"Don't kill him yet Kaoru," Misao said smoothly settling down next to her friend, "We can torture him with practice afterward." she promised with a wink.

 

Kaoru gave her a wicked, conspiratorial smile. When she spoke, her voice was like amenko laced with poison,  "Just you wait Yahiko-chan," she crooned, "This is one practice you'll never forget."

 

Poor Yahiko.  the three older men thought ruefully.

 

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"I have nothing to give.
We have so much to lose...."

 

Sarah McLachlan.

 

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As the days progressed, Kenshin persuaded Soujiro to stay on at the Kamiya Dojo until the end of summer. Coincidentally, that was the same amount of time Misao intended to stay there as well, and as the days passed the two former enemies became friends, although neither of them were wont to admit it…

 

"Could you hand me that bowl, Soujiro-san?"

 

"This one?" Soujiro asked picking up medium sized bowl with a lacey pattern.

 

"Yes, thank you." Misao said taking the bowl from his hands.

 

Unwittingly, their fingers brushed each other briefly as the bowl passed form hand to hand. Simultaneously, their breaths caught and  the bowl fell. They both reached for it reflexively, Soujiro being the faster, caught it first, and a moment later Misao's hands closed over his own instead of the pottery. Both ninja and samurai looked at each other with equal levels of embarrassment. Blushing profusely, Misao allowed Soujiro to gently ease the bowl into her hands. Soujiro turned back to his place at the counter and looked down.

 

"Gomen Makamachi-san," Soujiro said quietly, eyes still trained to the floor, "I guess I've gotten a bit clumsy…"

 

Misao took a deep breath to steady her nerves and placed the bowl next to the vegetables she had been chopping. "No, " she whispered, her voice a perfect match for his, "It was my fault. Just…forget about it."

 

"Easier said than done."

 

"Hai." Soujiro answered turning back to the counter where he began methodically shaping onegiri. Everything was quiet between them for a few moments, except for the steady chop, chop, Misao's knife made as it connected with the board.

 

Chop! Chop! "Baka." Chop! Ch…

 

"Kuso!!" Misao cursed, her knife clattering on the floor. Soujiro turned to see her sucking on that spot at the base of her index finger, her expression equal parts pain and self reprove.

 

"I'm fine." she mumbled without looking up, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. Soujiro reached out to her but she lightly smacked his hand away. "I said I'm fine!" she insisted, her voice cracking up.

 

Unfazed by her reaction, Soujiro simply set his jaw and reached out to her again. This time she didn't smack him away. Gently, he pried the hand away from her mouth and turned it over, Misao kept her eyes averted the whole time. Soujiro made a small hissing noise as he looked at the wound, he could tell it was fairly deep from the way it bled. Misao bit her lip but she didn't flinch away from his touch..

 

Reaching up onto a cupboard, Soujiro pulled down the small box of bandages that the Himuras kept there. Misao allowed him to lead her toward a bucket and to gently clean the wound with water. The cold water and the gentle pressure of his hands had stopped the bleeding and now he wound a clean linen strip over it. Neither of them spoke once during the whole process.

 

"You go ahead," he said once he was done,  "I'll finish up here."

 

He turned from her slowly, too slowly. She closed her freshly bandaged hand over his own before he could fully turn his face from hers. Surprised, he looked down at her, her face still hidden in the fall of her hair. For the first time she looked up at him, her eyes were wide and soft, "Thank you." she whispered.

 

"Oi! Are you guys finished in there?!" Sanosuke bellowed from just beyond the door.

 

The spell was instantly broken. They both sighed in relief as they sprang apart from each other. Misao backed toward the door, "I…I should go," she stammered, "I'm no use to you like this." she held up her bandaged hand.

 

"Sure." Soujiro blurted out turning quickly back toward the counter.

 

Misao all but ran out of the kitchen, her face flushed. She forced herself to walk and not run from the house.

 

"Oi, you okay?" Sano asked, "I thought you were helping with dinner."

 

"Eh? Oh, dajoubu Sano." she managed to say somewhat calmly. "I was just…I mean, I was so clumsy in the kitchen I decided to let Soujiro finish up."

 

"Hmm…" Sanosuke smiled as he looked at her thoughtfully, "Jou-chan must be rubbing off on you."

 

"I heard that Sano!!!" Kaoru yelled as she stomped up the steps, fists clenched.

 

"I was only kid…ouch!! Jou-chan!!"

 

"Like you're some kind of master chef!!"

 

"Feh, I'm a hell of a lot better than…ow!!"

 

Misao let out the breath she'd been holding. "Thank Kami-sama!" she mused glancing back toward the kitchen. At that very moment, Soujiro looked toward the kitchen door with the very same thought.

 

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Japan-speak

 

amenko- sweet syrup

che- mild curse, similar to "shit."

dajoubu- (are you) okay

gomen- (I'm) sorry

hai- polite form of  "yes"

hentai- pervert

maa, maa- now, now

masaka- impossible, unbelievable.

minna- everyone

mou- another interjection, similar to "damn."

nani- what

onegai- please

shinoubouay- bamboo flute (I am so sure I misspelled this.)

 

 

 

 

 

           

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