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Flight of the Wounded Dove	By : ShaeyaSedjet Category: Rurouni Kenshin > General Views: 3101 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 2
- 3
- 4
Dislaimer:
In case you were wondering, I
still don't own Kenshin or his friends.

A
Note From Sedjet: Gomen nasai, minna! I know I have
taken a very long time to update, and I am sorry. School has
been hectic, and with my improvisation group having gigs, it is
really difficult to find time for the extra stuff. If I cannot
weekly or bi-weekly, I will definitely try to update monthly.
Thank you for your patronage and support!

Flight
of the Wounded Dove

Chapter
Three:

Moping

Kenshin
seemed spacey as he cooked the fish he had caught earlier in the
day. This did not escape Sano’s keen attention despite
his ravenous hunger. He and Yahiko were starving!

“I
wish Kenshin would hurry up! I’m hungry!” The
spike-haired pre-teen complained. Then, he looked around,
noticing for the first time that Kaoru was not present. “Hey!
Where’s the old hag?”

Kenshin
looked at him sharply, “Kaoru-dono will not be eating with us
tonight,” he murmured.

“Is
she still sore about yesterday? Sheesh!”

Kenshin
was slowly losing his patience with the young boy, “Kaoru-dono
has gone away for a while,” the red head said somberly.

“Gone
away? To where?” Yahiko wanted to know. Then,
he paled, “Aw, man! Who is going to train me???”

Kenshin
took a deep breath in an effort to rein in his emotions, “She
did not know where she was going, or how long she would be gone, but
she did ask me to continue your training in her absence.”

“She
didn’t say where she was going?” Sanosuke asked.

Kenshin
shook his head, “She told me only that she was going away.”

“That
isn’t like Jou-chan.” The former gangster murmured.

“Why
did she just up and leave like that without saying anything?
Women are so moody.” Yahiko pouted.

“Can
we not talk about this anymore, Yahiko?” Kenshin said
shortly.

“I
was just wondering. You don’t have to get sore with me,”
the boy grumbled.

Kenshin
turned to face Yahiko, “Do you want to know why she left?”
He did not wait for an answer, he merely plowed on ahead, “She
is gone because of us. She is gone because we do not appreciate
her. She is gone because Sanosuke and I neglect her and
say horrible things to her. She left because we hurt
her—because I hurt her,” he ended his tirade
softly.

Sanosuke
clapped him on the shoulder, “Don’t beat yourself up,
Kenshin. Jou-chan loves you.”

“And
I have hurt her. Knowing that she loves me only makes it
worse,” Kenshin said softly, turning his attention back to the
cooking.

“You
care about her, don’t you, Kenshin?”

Kenshin
stared at the fish on the grill, “Of course I do.”

Sanosuke
grinned, “Then it is time you stopped being a coward and tell
her how you feel.”

Kenshin
looked up, startled. The one thing he had never been called was
a coward. His mind drifted, as it had all day, to what he would
say when Kaoru returned. Before, he had been uncertain; but
now, he had a vague idea of what he would say to her—to the
woman who had stolen his heart.

~*~

“Look
at this one, Kaoru-chan!” Tae gushed at a beautiful silk
kimono.

It
was a rich, saturate, deep, midnight blue with tiny pinpricks of
white forming vague patterns. Some of the white pinpricks were
larger than others and more vibrant. The obi was of a delicate
buttery yellow silk with golden embroidered suns on it. It
contrasted beautifully with the deep blue of the kimono.

Kaoru
marveled at the craftsmanship and the sheer artistry of the garment,
“A night sky…” she murmured. She was
enchanted by the exquisite kimono.

The
fact did not escape Tae’s keen gaze. She thrust the
kimono at Kaoru, nearly frightening the poor girl to death, “It
is perfect for you! You must try it on!” She looked to
the shopkeeper for backup, “Shouldn’t she try it on?”

The
shopkeeper, a kindly older woman, smiled pleasantly, “It will
look lovely on you my dear.”

“With
your coloring, it will be stunning, Kaoru-chan!” Tae
gushed.

Kaoru
smiled shyly, “Thank you, but I could not possibly—“

“Nonsense!”
Tae interrupted. “It is perfect!” To the
shopkeeper she beamed brightly, “We will take it.”
Then, to Kaoru, “It will accent your figure so well!”

By
the time the two women left the shop, Kaoru had acquired many parcels
and boxes—too many. She was anxious and more than a
little worried about her finances.

“I
fear I have spent too much money, Tae. Perhaps we should call
it a day and return to the inn, ne?”

“Nonsense!
Money is no object. If you need more, I will compensate.”

Kaoru
shook her head as she spoke, “Tae, I absolutely cannot allow
you to do that.”

“Think
of it as a belated birthday gift, Kaoru.” She plucked at
the ribbon in Kaoru’s hair, and a mass of glossy raven hair
tumbled to the younger girl’s waist.

“Kaoru!”
Tae exclaimed, “You should wear your hair down more often!”
She reached out to caress Kaoru’s blue-black hair. “So
soft!” she giggled, “It is one of your best features!”

Kaoru
smiled, blushing faintly at the attention, “Thank you,
Tae-chan.”

~*~

“Kenshin!
Kenshin!” Yahiko sprinted into the yard, waving a piece
of parchment frantically, “A letter came from Kaoru!”

Kenshin
tried to hide his eagerness and obvious relief, but it was no use,
“What does she say?” He took the parchment from
Yahiko and broke the seal. He read for a moment, perplexed.

“Well?!”
When Kenshin did not answer, Yahiko snatched the letter from his
hands and read for himself. He frowned at the letter’s
contents, “It only says that she will be back in two weeks,”
he murmured flatly. He turned the parchment over, “And
there is no return address.”

Without
a word, Kenshin took his fishing-pole and bucket and made his way up
to the house.

Yahiko
just stared after him. Kenshin had been moody since Kaoru had
gone away. He barely spoke to Yahiko or Sanosuke. The
retired warrior only trained Yahiko, performed his daily chores and
retired to his room after the evening meals. Even during meals
he was sullen and mopey.

~*~

“I
just can’t stand this anymore, Sano!” Yahiko
exploded after Kenshin had retreated to his room for the evening.
“All Kenshin does is mope around since Kaoru left.”

“So
let’s do something about it.” Sano said as if it
was the most obvious suggestion.

“And
what do you propose we do about it, Tori atama? We don’t
even know where Kaoru is!”

Sano
leveled a look at the young boy as if to say, ‘Watch it,
buster.’ “She went will Tae, didn’t she?”

“I
think so, but what does that have to do with Kenshin’s moping?”
Yahiko prodded.

“It
has everything to do with the cure for Kenshin’s
wallowing. All we do is send word to Tsubame that we need to
get in touch with Kaoru because there is an emergency at the dojo.
She will give us the address because Tsubame is gullible. Then,
we write to Tae and plead with her to help us. You know how
unconventional that woman is. She loves to play matchmaker.
So, we set it up to take Kenshin on a ‘fishing trip’ to
wherever they are, and WHAM! Instant rurouni bliss.”
Sano finished with a triumphant grin.

Yahiko
just stared at Sano. The man had been giving this scenario a
great deal of thought. That knowledge slightly weired Yahiko
out. “You are a scary, scary man, Sano.”

Sano
shook his head jovially, “Not at all.” His demeanor
suddenly changed to that of intense frustration, “I just want
those two to admit their feelings, get it on and get it over with!
This is ridiculous!”

~*~

Yahiko
was raking leaves in the front yard when a messenger arrived with a
letter from Tae. Yahiko thanked the messenger and ran to find
Sanosuke. He had a pretty good idea where Sano was:
recovering from his drinking binge the previous night in the room
that was his when he chose to stay at the dojo.

“Oi!
Sano!” Yahiko bellowed as he burst into the older boy’s
room.

Sano
raised his heavy head from his futon and opened one bleary eye.
He growled something extremely unpleasant, and Yahiko smacked him on
the back of the head with the unopened parchment.

“A
letter came from Tae!” He waved the parchment wildly in
Sano’s face.

Sano
buried his head under his blanket. “Go ahead and read it,
and get the hell out,” he grumbled.

Despite
Sano’s gruffness, Yahiko eagerly broke open the seal and read
Tae’s typical response. He grinned triumphantly, “She
has agreed to help us. She has provided the address of the inn
and says that she will make sure they are in residence in three
days.”

“That
means we have to work fast,” came the muffled response from
beneath Sano’s blanket.

“Which
means you should get your useless carcass out of bed, so we can put
our plan into motion.”

“I’ll
get up, and I’ll give your five seconds to get out of my room
before I beat you senseless,” he growled.

“Fine.
Just hurry.”

“Where
are they, anyway?”

“They
are staying at the Golden Dragon Inn in Yokohama.”

“Great.
We’re going to have to take the train. I hate the
train.”

“You
have to make sacrifices for the team, Sano,” Yahiko
grinned.

“Shut
up and get out,” Sano grumbled, “And don’t slam
the—“

Too
late. Yahiko was out the sliding shoji door and there was a
loud bang. Then, there was blinding pain. Sano muttered
to himself something about grilling porcupine headed little boys for
breakfast.

~*~

“Why
must we go all the way to Yokohama for a shopping trip?” A
confused red-headed rurouni wanted to know.

“You
need to get out of here. Yahiko and I are fed up with your
moping. We are getting you out of here.”

“I
suppose a fishing trip might help me get my mind off things.”

“Be
sure to pack your good robes. We are taking you out to a nice
restaurant.”

Kenshin
smiled at his companions. “This is going to be a nice
vacation,” he murmured thoughtfully as he went off to pack what
he would need for a week’s vacation.

:Sucker! :
Sanosuke grinned as he watched the rurouni go.

To
be continued…

And
the plot thickens. Duh-duh-duuuh!

Ok.
I was just wondering if the chapters are long enough for you guys.
I could conceivably put more in each chapter, but chapters have been
running 4-5 pages long each as it is. Just let me know what you
want.
- 2
- 3
- 4
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Flight of the Wounded Dove