Legacy

An RK Fanfic

 

Chapter 8- Resurfacing

 

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I wonder how it's gonna be

When you don't know me…

 

Third Eye Blind

 

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Sunlight streamed through the open shoji into Kaoru's closed eyes. Slowly, she became aware of the persistent warmth on her face and began to wake up, her lashes fluttering open like dark butterflies preparing for their morning flight.

 

"Good morning sunshine."

 

The greeting forced Kaoru's mind out of the twilight that exists between sleep and wakefulness and her eyes snapped open to find two slender hands folded on an apron-clad lap. Groggily, she sat up to face the person who had addressed her.

 

"Hideki?"

 

Kaoru barely recognized her relative who seemed to have been cleaning up the dojo while she was asleep. Her usual clothes had been replaced by a tan gi and gray hakama which were both covered by a long apron which reached all the way down to her knees. Her silky hair had been tied up with a white cloth so that only a few strands of blue curled around her ears, revealing the true youthfulness of her face.

 

"Where's Kenshin? Why are you dressed like that?"

 

Hideki cocked her head to the side and smiled, "Kenshin's been up for hours, I've been helping him clean up after your party, hence the styling threads." she joked while striking a sexy pose.

 

"The party…" Kaoru breathed, one hand automatically reaching up to her neck. She half-expected to find nothing there but right there, over her heart hung the Clow key.

 

Hideki's smile faded slightly, "You were hoping that it was all a dream, weren't you?"

 

Kaoru shook her head from side to side as if willing the memories away. "It's…it's all just so…surreal."

 

 

"Preach sister," Hideki said dryly as she stood up, "and it's just going to get weirder from here on out."

 

Kaoru's brow furrowed with confusion, "What are you?"

 

Hideki just wiggled her eyebrows at her younger cousin before motioning to someone just outside the shoji.

 

Kaoru's eyes widened until her eyebrows seemed to be lost somewhere in her hairline. Fluttering as gracefully and silently as a butterfly, a little winged kitten flew through the open shoji to land on the blankets in front of her. The little thing was perfectly formed with glossy tan fur that faded to white around its tiny paws. It considered Kaoru with intelligent golden eyes as it folded its snow-white wings against it's back.

 

Kaoru blinked, a considerable achievement when a fairy-cat is staring up at you from your bedclothes.

 

The cat pushed itself up on it's front paws to peer more closely into Kaoru's face, after a few silent moments it turned to Hideki who still stood next to the window.

 

"What's her story?" the creature asked pointing toward Kaoru with a sleek paw.

 

Kaoru blinked again, "Excuse me?" she managed to ask.

 

The creature turned toward her once again. Stretching itself up to it's full height it addressed her directly for the first time.

 

"I," it said regally, "am Kiroberos, guardian beast of the Clow cards!" 

 

Kaoru stared at the thing incredulously, "Kiroberos?" she repeated. She remembered her mother relating the legend to the both of them when they were still very young. Was this truly the feared guardian beast of the cards, the beast with the golden eyes?

 

"But you're just a little pussycat." she said bluntly.

 

Kiro growled and bit sharply at Kaoru's toe through the blanket.

 

"Itai!" Kaoru shrieked giving the guardian pussycat a mighty kick into the far wall.

 

Hideki put a finger to her cheek, "Well this is going well," she drawled sarcastically.

 

"You little scamp!" Kaoru hollered, "What'd you do that for?!"

 

"Rrrr, how dare you refer to me as a pussy cat?" Kiro spat.

 

"Look in the mirror genius!!!"

 

"Insufferable little…"

 

"Time out!" Hideki ordered shutting them both up at once. "Kaoru," she said calmly, "Meet Kiro, guardian of the cards. Kiro, meet Kaoru, holder of the Clow key."

 

The two glared at each other from opposite ends of the room.

 

"Oookaaay," Hideki breathed, "Kiro, would you like to fill Kaoru in on the situation or should I?"

 

Kiro humphed before rising into the air with practiced grace, to hover in the air above their heads, "Six months ago," he began, "Hideki was forced to open the Clow book and allow the cards to escape in order to protect them."

 

Kaoru rubbed her sore toe thoughtfully, "Protect them?" she questioned, "From whom?"

 

Hideki sighed and rubbed the back of her neck wearily, "The devil." she sighed.

 

"Nani?" Kaoru questioned again looking up.

 

Hideki looked toward Kaoru with a tired look in her eyes, "She's like a devil, her name is Wang Tian Kuai," she's the last descendant in a family of rival sorcerers to the Clow family.

 

"Why would she be after the cards?" Kaoru asked, "Even if she got them, she wouldn't be able to activate them, right?" she asked turning toward Kiro again.

 

"Normally, yes." Kiro agreed, "but she's different, she…has the power to force her will upon the cards.

 

Kaoru was nonplussed,  "The Clow cards are the most powerful magical items on Earth," she almost recited from memory, "Each one is an individual with a will of it's own until tamed by the master of the cards. No mere human, even one with formidable magic can control all of them at once."

 

 

"Tian can." Hideki said flatly, "and damned well at that."

 

Motioning to Kiro, Hideki turned to leave the room. "Kenshin left some breakfast for you in the kitchen," she said, "when you're finished with your daily routine we'll talk some more." With that, she left the room, Kiro following close behind.

 

Kaoru remained sitting up for a few moments before plopping back down on the futon.

 

"Surreal." she whispered while staring up at the ceiling.

 

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Kenshin watched from the door of the dojo as Kaoru and Yahiko practiced in the yard in favor of the still cluttered dojo. Hideki and himself were still scrubbing the place down after Kaoru's party. He could hear her humming to herself as she continued to work at picking up the clutter strewn about from the previous night's celebration.

 

Funny, she didn't strike him as the type to spend hours cleaning house or cooking meals. However, when he woke up earlier than usual to begin the cleaning out, she was already there with a rag in hand and contented smile on her face as she scrubbed away at the furniture they had brought in the previous day. It soon became clear to him that Hideki was a woman whose claim to fame was her unpredictability. The night before she had been an irresistible vixen, proven by the fact that she had accomplished in a half of an hour what most of the women in Kyoto, Misao included, had been trying for years. Get Aoshi to even look in their direction.

 

"And here she is this morning, the picture of a good traditional Japanese woman." he mused.

 

Hideki placed the last of the debris into a large sack and secured the top of it with a strong piece of twine. "There," she said triumphantly, "That's the last of it."

 

"Arrigatou Hideki-dono," Kenshin said as he walked over to where she stood and grabbing hold of the sack, "I'll take this outside so Sano can get rid of it later."

 

"You're welcome," Hideki said cheerfully as she wiped a hand across her brow.

 

 

"Alright Yahiko, you can take a short break now." Kaoru said as she relaxed her stance and swung her bokken over her shoulder. The boy just barely managed a thankful groan as the assault on his sake hangover was over for the moment.

 

"Hey you!" Kaoru cheerfully greeted her husband as he returned from storing the sake bottles against the side of the house.

 

"Hey yourself," he purred in answer as he gave her a quick kiss.

 

"Blech." Yahiko managed to groan in the background.

 

"Oh, forget you," Kaoru threw over her shoulder at the boy.

 

"So how'd you like your party de gozaru ka?"

 

"It was wonderful," she said snuggling up to his neck, "you guys are the best."

 

"I'm glad you liked it koishii," he said, smiling "thank goodness the weather held up."

 

Kaoru stiffened against his body as if she felt a sudden chill.

 

"Koishii?" the former rurouni questioned.

 

"Oh, it's nothing Kenshin. You know how much of a baby I am around thunder and lightning."

 

"That's true." Kenshin admitted, relaxing.

 

Kaoru pasted a fake smile on her face. "Right now anata, 'true' isn't a word I can use with you." she thought. Kenshin had married her for what he had seen in her during their years of obscurity. A bright, energetic, loving young woman who loved him for who he was, but would he be so willing to continue the relationship if he ever found out she was a…

 

"Captor?" a soft voice intruded on her thoughts.

 

"I don't remember inviting you into my head, Hideki."

 

"Who needs an invitation anymore?" Hideki's ghost like voice said nonchalantly.

 

"You are so impossible." Kaoru almost sighed.

 

"If you say so sunshine," Hideki projected, "but your husband and I still have work to do so if you would please release the poor man…"

 

"Fine," Kaoru agreed, "anything to get you out of my head."

 

 

"I'm going to finish up training Yahiko so we can both help you and Hideki move the furniture out." She said to Kenshin.

 

"Alright." He agreed stealing one last quick kiss.

 

Kaoru blushed as she watched him ascend the dojo's steps once more. Kenshin's ponytail swayed a little in the breeze catching little glints of sunlight that sparked golden in the morning's rays.

 

"A red haired god married to a certified magic wielder, " she mused, "no wonder we're nowhere near normal."

 

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