Now That You've Returned - 1/?
Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2003 9:57 pm
Gundam Girl: Well, we have progressed to chapter one.
RK freaks: ABOUT TIME!
GG: Yipe! In all fairness, my Gundam Wing readers should be quiet pleased with me. *cough* KT and Animechick *cough* Just so everybody knows, there will be a lemon in this eventually. *Kirsten Elizabeth shouts for joy* But it won?t have to be a part of the main storyline (as in, I?ll post a separate link on my bio when it comes to that), so you guys can read it separately and so I can keep it on FFN.
Disclaimer: I?m Nobuhiro Watsuke in disguise! . . .Not.
Notes: This chapter ? and the rest of the fic for that matter ? will take place six years after the prologue, when that jerk Derekai Takeda killed Kenshin.
*~Now That You?ve Returned~* Chapter One
On a sunny spring afternoon in Tokyo, Japan, the waiting room of the clinic was full or both children and adults with various injuries or illness symptoms. Dr. Megumi Tanaki found helping her patients a delightful way to spend her life. With a smile on her face, she slid back the door to her operating room to let the now-stitched up factory worker out and let the next customer in ? and came face to face with a tall, brown-eyed man that made her heart thunder and was grinning sheepishly at her with a bleeding lip.
?Been waiting here a half-hour, fox lady. But damn, if that man doesn?t feel like hell.? Sanosuke winced as the injured man walking by him clutched his repaired and bandaged right arm. ?Ouch.?
?Just get in here.? Megumi quickly pulled him in and slid the door shut. ?You?re holding up the line.?
With a smile reserved for only her, Sanosuke tucked a few wayward strands of silken raven hair behind her ear. ?I?d love it if I could hold you up.? He leaned in to kiss her and hissed a curse when the slit in his busted lip widened.
?Serves you right,? Megumi told him. ?You got blood on my cheek.? As she wiped it away, she reached for a rag soaked with peroxide.
?Hell. That crap burns.?
?And prevents infection, rooster boy.? Megumi raised an eyebrow at his slitted eyes. Baby, she thought. ?So, how?d this happen? Yahiko beat you up? I thought you were training with him today.?
?Kid sucker-punched me.?
?This hard??
?Nah, he reached for his sword in defense when I said I?d kick his ass and splintered me. Ow.?
She grinned behind her hand. ?My poor baby.?
?It?s not funny,? he grumbled. ?Do I get any comfort at all??
She kissed his cheek and patter his head, knowing she wasn?t helping. ?Don?t threaten Yahiko, Sanosuke.? She moved away to let in the next patient, when the untied bandana the fighter usually wore came around her neck, efficiently bringing her into his arms.
?Five seconds,? he assured her. ?I should expect that much from my fiance.?
Megumi smiled.
***
?Hey! Can anyone feed a hungry guy in training??
?Yahiko,? greeted Tae from the front of the Akabeko. ?We haven?t seen you around here lately. How are you doing??
Yahiko grinned. ?I just made Sano bleed.?
?Excellent,? she praised him. ?If only that would teach him to stop running away without paying his bill.? She sighed. ?Maybe if he wasn?t so good-looking. . .?
?Yahiko!? Holding a tray of empty sake bottles, Tsubame smiled. Her blush had eased when he was around, and her brown hair was longer. And that pretty expression on her face made the young Miyojin boy grin back at her. ?You didn?t say anything about coming in today.?
?I didn?t realize I would until I found myself in here and calling to your gorgeous boss.? He winked at Tae and moved to give Tsubame a quick kiss to her cheek.
Tae sighed. ?I?d hate to lose my heart to you, too, Yahiko Miyojin. You?ve a good one there, Tsubame.?
?I know it.? Her eyes darted from her samurai to Tae. ?Isn?t it about that time??
It wasn?t quite time for her lunch break yet, but Yahiko hadn?t been to the Akabeko in a couple of weeks, so Tae smiled. The number customers were slimming anyway. ?It is, dear. You go on ahead.? But she slipped Yahiko a handkerchief of sushi before they left.?
?Tae, my angel, I?ll love you ?til the day I die!? he called before leaving with a hand at Tsubame?s waist.
?You better love me longer!? Tae retorted with a grin. Those two made a cute couple. She sighed. And if Yahiko?s charm grew any more, she was afraid that her little Tsubame would be sending her a wedding invitation soon.
***
?Suzume! Suzume!?
At the unmistakable voice of her eight-year-old little sister, Suzume turned. ?Ayame, what is it?? Looking beyond her, she blinked. ?Shiro.?
The boy named Shiro smiled. In the midst of a swirl of falling sakura, his classmate Suzume looked absolutely breathtaking. ?Hi,? he said timidly. ?I wanted to ask you something,? he said, knowing she was a girl who preferred the point to idle rambling. ?Would you??
?Shiro likes you! Shiro likes you!? Ayame squealed.
?Ayame!? Suzume exclaimed. ?Be quiet.?
Ayame?s lower lip protruded in a pout. ?But he does,? she insisted.
Color flooding his cheeks, Shiro continued. ?Can you ? I mean, will you come to the festival with me on Saturday? You don?t have to,? he went on quickly. ?But if you like that kind of thing, it?d be nice to have you come with me. . .?
?You?d look pretty in your festival kimono,? Ayame added. ?Shiro might even want to kiss you.?
This time it was Suzume that blushed. Closing her eyes, she took in the scent of the sakura. She opened them with a smile. ?I?d love to go, Shiro. I?ll meet you hear ten minutes before the festival starts.?
?Great!? Shiro couldn?t help but raise a fist in victory. ?I?ll see you then, Suzume. Good-bye, Ayame.?
?Bye-bye!? Ayame turned back to her sister with folded arms. ?How come you snapped at me??
?I?m sorry,? she apologized. ?You were making things hard for both of us.?
?How come??
Suzume bent on one knee and patted her sister?s head. ?It?s just that people?s emotions get really silly when somebody likes someone.?
?Oh. Okay!? Ayame?s interest lost for the moment, she smiled at the falling petals. ?The flowers are really pretty,? she said. ?This was the time of year Uncle Ken-ni went away, wasn?t it? And when Kaoru got married??
Suzume hesitated, bit her lip. They were waiting until Ayame turned ten to explain Kenshin?s death to Ayame. She?d been told at seven, but she had been more mature than Ayame at her age. ?It was. Doesn?t it smell nice??
?Smells good,? she agreed.
Suzume took Ayame?s hand and tucked a braid behind her ear. ?Let?s go home and start dinner for Grandpa, okay, Ayame??
?Okay. Hey, Suzume? How come Kaoru doesn?t talk as much anymore??
Suzume hefted her sister onto her hip. ?Why are you asking so many questions? I?ll call the mean Samurai Gobbler if you don?t keep things to yourself! He usually just eats men who carry swords, but I heard that he has an appetite for curious little girls today! He?ll eat you for supper,? she warned.
As Ayame screamed in delight, Suzume sent a small frown to the cherry blossom tree she had just stood under. Kenshin, she thought. If you knew what would happen to Kaoru, would you have stayed?
***
The blossom-scented breeze was perfect for hanging laundry, she thought as she made her way to the line of string outside, basket in hand. Not only would it make her clothes smell nice, she?d feel accomplished for that day.
Even thinking this, she didn?t smile. Couldn?t. Filling the basket with the clothes from the line and then replacing them with the wet bed sheets she had just finished scrubbing, she frowned as she thought about what took place underneath them. Shaking her head to clear it, she went back into the house.
As she folded her nightgowns into a mahogany drawer, she pressed the back of her hand to her forehead. She?d started doing laundry six years ago, and every day for that time her thoughts had been filled with him every waking moment. He?d always insisted on doing the laundry for her, even on the rare occasions when she volunteered to.
Listening for a moment, she pulled a small piece of canvas paper from the bottom of the drawer, beneath a blue bathrobe he?d purchased for her while in America.
It was a work of Sanosuke?s friend, the journalist. In the lovely oil painting, a man with blood-red hair pulled back behind his head held a reverse-blade katana up in a battle stance, ready to defend what he loved. Set against his magenta kimono, the man?s haunting violet eyes chilled an opponent down the bone. For her, they had heated and scorched.
Kaoru closed her eyes as she read the kanji that had been neatly printed next to the image:
?Love has never killed and will never kill. Nor will it die. Love survives forever.?
She pressed a tentative kiss to the painting. ?I love you, Kenshin. That survived, even if you didn?t.? With the care of a mother to her child, she returned the artwork in the drawer next to a bloodstained piece of the kimono shown in the picture.
And buried them once more with her heart.
***
GG: Hey, chapter one?s done! Wow, this RK streak won?t last long, I must admit. I just get hyped when I start a new fic ? and my love for Kenshin is recently-realized. I just love him so much. *sigh* I should date someone like that. Athletic, cute, funny, agreeable, loveable, disagreeable, always protecting me, caring for me. . .
Kiki Tigerclaw: You do realize the readers are asleep, don?t you?
GG: What? Oh.
RK freaks: *snore*
GG: Ah, man. *taps them* Just review, okay? Please? Review? Yes? Ah man, they?re dead. . .
P.S. Can you people help me out? What?s the name of that guy Sanosuke was friends with and makes the bombs and paints the pictures? I can?t remember at all!
For real, REVIEW PLEASE!
RK freaks: ABOUT TIME!
GG: Yipe! In all fairness, my Gundam Wing readers should be quiet pleased with me. *cough* KT and Animechick *cough* Just so everybody knows, there will be a lemon in this eventually. *Kirsten Elizabeth shouts for joy* But it won?t have to be a part of the main storyline (as in, I?ll post a separate link on my bio when it comes to that), so you guys can read it separately and so I can keep it on FFN.
Disclaimer: I?m Nobuhiro Watsuke in disguise! . . .Not.
Notes: This chapter ? and the rest of the fic for that matter ? will take place six years after the prologue, when that jerk Derekai Takeda killed Kenshin.
*~Now That You?ve Returned~* Chapter One
On a sunny spring afternoon in Tokyo, Japan, the waiting room of the clinic was full or both children and adults with various injuries or illness symptoms. Dr. Megumi Tanaki found helping her patients a delightful way to spend her life. With a smile on her face, she slid back the door to her operating room to let the now-stitched up factory worker out and let the next customer in ? and came face to face with a tall, brown-eyed man that made her heart thunder and was grinning sheepishly at her with a bleeding lip.
?Been waiting here a half-hour, fox lady. But damn, if that man doesn?t feel like hell.? Sanosuke winced as the injured man walking by him clutched his repaired and bandaged right arm. ?Ouch.?
?Just get in here.? Megumi quickly pulled him in and slid the door shut. ?You?re holding up the line.?
With a smile reserved for only her, Sanosuke tucked a few wayward strands of silken raven hair behind her ear. ?I?d love it if I could hold you up.? He leaned in to kiss her and hissed a curse when the slit in his busted lip widened.
?Serves you right,? Megumi told him. ?You got blood on my cheek.? As she wiped it away, she reached for a rag soaked with peroxide.
?Hell. That crap burns.?
?And prevents infection, rooster boy.? Megumi raised an eyebrow at his slitted eyes. Baby, she thought. ?So, how?d this happen? Yahiko beat you up? I thought you were training with him today.?
?Kid sucker-punched me.?
?This hard??
?Nah, he reached for his sword in defense when I said I?d kick his ass and splintered me. Ow.?
She grinned behind her hand. ?My poor baby.?
?It?s not funny,? he grumbled. ?Do I get any comfort at all??
She kissed his cheek and patter his head, knowing she wasn?t helping. ?Don?t threaten Yahiko, Sanosuke.? She moved away to let in the next patient, when the untied bandana the fighter usually wore came around her neck, efficiently bringing her into his arms.
?Five seconds,? he assured her. ?I should expect that much from my fiance.?
Megumi smiled.
***
?Hey! Can anyone feed a hungry guy in training??
?Yahiko,? greeted Tae from the front of the Akabeko. ?We haven?t seen you around here lately. How are you doing??
Yahiko grinned. ?I just made Sano bleed.?
?Excellent,? she praised him. ?If only that would teach him to stop running away without paying his bill.? She sighed. ?Maybe if he wasn?t so good-looking. . .?
?Yahiko!? Holding a tray of empty sake bottles, Tsubame smiled. Her blush had eased when he was around, and her brown hair was longer. And that pretty expression on her face made the young Miyojin boy grin back at her. ?You didn?t say anything about coming in today.?
?I didn?t realize I would until I found myself in here and calling to your gorgeous boss.? He winked at Tae and moved to give Tsubame a quick kiss to her cheek.
Tae sighed. ?I?d hate to lose my heart to you, too, Yahiko Miyojin. You?ve a good one there, Tsubame.?
?I know it.? Her eyes darted from her samurai to Tae. ?Isn?t it about that time??
It wasn?t quite time for her lunch break yet, but Yahiko hadn?t been to the Akabeko in a couple of weeks, so Tae smiled. The number customers were slimming anyway. ?It is, dear. You go on ahead.? But she slipped Yahiko a handkerchief of sushi before they left.?
?Tae, my angel, I?ll love you ?til the day I die!? he called before leaving with a hand at Tsubame?s waist.
?You better love me longer!? Tae retorted with a grin. Those two made a cute couple. She sighed. And if Yahiko?s charm grew any more, she was afraid that her little Tsubame would be sending her a wedding invitation soon.
***
?Suzume! Suzume!?
At the unmistakable voice of her eight-year-old little sister, Suzume turned. ?Ayame, what is it?? Looking beyond her, she blinked. ?Shiro.?
The boy named Shiro smiled. In the midst of a swirl of falling sakura, his classmate Suzume looked absolutely breathtaking. ?Hi,? he said timidly. ?I wanted to ask you something,? he said, knowing she was a girl who preferred the point to idle rambling. ?Would you??
?Shiro likes you! Shiro likes you!? Ayame squealed.
?Ayame!? Suzume exclaimed. ?Be quiet.?
Ayame?s lower lip protruded in a pout. ?But he does,? she insisted.
Color flooding his cheeks, Shiro continued. ?Can you ? I mean, will you come to the festival with me on Saturday? You don?t have to,? he went on quickly. ?But if you like that kind of thing, it?d be nice to have you come with me. . .?
?You?d look pretty in your festival kimono,? Ayame added. ?Shiro might even want to kiss you.?
This time it was Suzume that blushed. Closing her eyes, she took in the scent of the sakura. She opened them with a smile. ?I?d love to go, Shiro. I?ll meet you hear ten minutes before the festival starts.?
?Great!? Shiro couldn?t help but raise a fist in victory. ?I?ll see you then, Suzume. Good-bye, Ayame.?
?Bye-bye!? Ayame turned back to her sister with folded arms. ?How come you snapped at me??
?I?m sorry,? she apologized. ?You were making things hard for both of us.?
?How come??
Suzume bent on one knee and patted her sister?s head. ?It?s just that people?s emotions get really silly when somebody likes someone.?
?Oh. Okay!? Ayame?s interest lost for the moment, she smiled at the falling petals. ?The flowers are really pretty,? she said. ?This was the time of year Uncle Ken-ni went away, wasn?t it? And when Kaoru got married??
Suzume hesitated, bit her lip. They were waiting until Ayame turned ten to explain Kenshin?s death to Ayame. She?d been told at seven, but she had been more mature than Ayame at her age. ?It was. Doesn?t it smell nice??
?Smells good,? she agreed.
Suzume took Ayame?s hand and tucked a braid behind her ear. ?Let?s go home and start dinner for Grandpa, okay, Ayame??
?Okay. Hey, Suzume? How come Kaoru doesn?t talk as much anymore??
Suzume hefted her sister onto her hip. ?Why are you asking so many questions? I?ll call the mean Samurai Gobbler if you don?t keep things to yourself! He usually just eats men who carry swords, but I heard that he has an appetite for curious little girls today! He?ll eat you for supper,? she warned.
As Ayame screamed in delight, Suzume sent a small frown to the cherry blossom tree she had just stood under. Kenshin, she thought. If you knew what would happen to Kaoru, would you have stayed?
***
The blossom-scented breeze was perfect for hanging laundry, she thought as she made her way to the line of string outside, basket in hand. Not only would it make her clothes smell nice, she?d feel accomplished for that day.
Even thinking this, she didn?t smile. Couldn?t. Filling the basket with the clothes from the line and then replacing them with the wet bed sheets she had just finished scrubbing, she frowned as she thought about what took place underneath them. Shaking her head to clear it, she went back into the house.
As she folded her nightgowns into a mahogany drawer, she pressed the back of her hand to her forehead. She?d started doing laundry six years ago, and every day for that time her thoughts had been filled with him every waking moment. He?d always insisted on doing the laundry for her, even on the rare occasions when she volunteered to.
Listening for a moment, she pulled a small piece of canvas paper from the bottom of the drawer, beneath a blue bathrobe he?d purchased for her while in America.
It was a work of Sanosuke?s friend, the journalist. In the lovely oil painting, a man with blood-red hair pulled back behind his head held a reverse-blade katana up in a battle stance, ready to defend what he loved. Set against his magenta kimono, the man?s haunting violet eyes chilled an opponent down the bone. For her, they had heated and scorched.
Kaoru closed her eyes as she read the kanji that had been neatly printed next to the image:
?Love has never killed and will never kill. Nor will it die. Love survives forever.?
She pressed a tentative kiss to the painting. ?I love you, Kenshin. That survived, even if you didn?t.? With the care of a mother to her child, she returned the artwork in the drawer next to a bloodstained piece of the kimono shown in the picture.
And buried them once more with her heart.
***
GG: Hey, chapter one?s done! Wow, this RK streak won?t last long, I must admit. I just get hyped when I start a new fic ? and my love for Kenshin is recently-realized. I just love him so much. *sigh* I should date someone like that. Athletic, cute, funny, agreeable, loveable, disagreeable, always protecting me, caring for me. . .
Kiki Tigerclaw: You do realize the readers are asleep, don?t you?
GG: What? Oh.
RK freaks: *snore*
GG: Ah, man. *taps them* Just review, okay? Please? Review? Yes? Ah man, they?re dead. . .
P.S. Can you people help me out? What?s the name of that guy Sanosuke was friends with and makes the bombs and paints the pictures? I can?t remember at all!
For real, REVIEW PLEASE!