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La Fleure qui est Belle	By : Raithe Category: Rurouni Kenshin > General Views: 3301 -:- 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
- 6
- 7
- 8
The usual warning and
disclaimer applies, see chapter one.

Chapter Seven

It was midsummer, and Kenshin was in much higher spirits
than he had been in the weeks since he�d ousted Jean from his life. Kaoru was sitting in the window, reading,
when he blew into the flat. �Kaoru? I�ve been asked to join a few of my business
partners on a trip, and would like for you to accompany me. We have to leave in three hours.� With that, he nearly ran into his room while
Kaoru, bemused, set the book aside and went to pack; by dusk, they were in a carriage,
headed south through the countryside.

They
arrived at a manor a few days later, on the shores of the Mediterranean
Sea. It was an old house,
triple-storied and built from local stones, ivy climbing the walls and curling
around the windows. It was situated at
the end of a long driveway, about a mile from the edge of a cliff that dropped
into the water. Kaoru was the first to
alight from the convoy of carriages, and so was the first into the manor. The interior was even more exquisite than the
exterior; lush carpets covered the floors, a sweeping staircase led up to the second
floor, where the carpets ended, the floor was made or marble. Draperies hung on the walls along with gilt
sconces, and chandeliers hung from the ceiling throwing the light in such a way
as to make the house inviting yet mysterious at the same time. Kaoru climbed the stairs to throw open the
curtains, and then up another flight to the third floor, where their rooms were
located. On the landing she paused,
looking outside. Kenshin followed her,
and threw the door open, allowing them access to the balcony from where could
be seen grassy hills rolling to the Cliffside and then the sea and sky
beyond. Kaoru smiled; Kenshin made a
handsome picture, standing with the wind blowing through his hair, and a cheery
smile on his face. Shaking her head, she turned and continued
down the hall, followed by Kenshin not long after. He paused as she opened a door which revealed
a rather immense room.

�Here you
are, Mr. Himura.�

Kenshin
smiled as he looked around. �It�s a good
room.� The bed was immense, surrounded
by heavy drapery, and old hardwood furniture filled the rest of the space. He flopped on the bed, and closed his eyes
for a while before going to find Kaoru.
She was in a slightly smaller but equally nice room a few doors down the
hall, and had changed into a lighter dress by the time he knocked on the
door. �Would you like to go down to the
beach?� In response to her nod, offered
his arm and they walked down the sloping path to the beach below the
cliff. She let go of his arm once they
reached the sand in order to remove her shoes and stockings and walk in the
surf. Kenshin chuckled. �If I knew it would make you so happy, we
would have come here a long time ago.�

Kaoru
grinned at him over her shoulder. �Does
it make you happy?�

�Mostly��

�Well, I
suppose that�s better than being utterly miserable, right?� Kenshin nodded, smiling a bit, at which Kaoru
laughed quietly. �It�s good to see you
smiling again, Mr. Himura.�

Kenshin
blinked, bemused. �I�ve not had much to
smile about, of late.�

�I know,�
Kaoru answered, her voice quiet. She
kept walking, the waves lapping around her ankles. She was still angry at Jean, hurt for
Kenshin, and just slightly bitter about the fact that there was little she
could do.

�So��
Kenshin was slightly behind Kaoru, keeping away from the water.

�There�s a
vineyard down the road, yes?�

�Mm.�

�Shall we
go there tomorrow?�

�I�ll see
if I can arrange it.� Kaoru nodded,
bending to pick up a rather pretty stone, and jumped backwards as a wave broke
higher than the others, causing Kenshin to grin. �You should have known you�d get wet.�

Kaoru gave
him a withering look, and kicked the water so that it splashed him in the face,
at which he frowned; his suit was expensive!
�Hmph.�

�Oh, only a
few drops hit you.�

�Still,� he
stepped away a bit more. �You�re
dangerous.�

�Only when
provoked.�

�And I
provoke you?�

�You just
did.�

�Oh, how�s
that?� Kaoru merely gave him another
look, turned, and stalked away. Never,
in his entire life, had Kenshin met someone with her temper, yet, she had a way
of making him smile that unnerved him just the slightest bit. Not that it was a bad thing, however, he had
never really been close to women other than his mother�and that was a different
case entirely. �See the docks up
there? That�s where Napoleon landed when
he came back from Elba.�

Kaoru
turned so that she was walking backwards, and out of the water. She grinned, watching his hair whip around
his face, hands in his pockets�and he was still smiling. She found a dune on which they could sit, as
they were a ways down the beach and she was slightly fatigued. Kenshin removed his jacket and sat on it.

�It�s nice
here.�

Kaoru drew
her knees up and wrapped her arms around her legs. �Thank you for bringing me along.�

�Why
wouldn�t I? You�re pleasant to be around
when you�re not kicking sea water at me.�

She laughed
lightly. �Oh, I don�t know. I hate to think of what your opinion of me
would have been four years ago.�

�Hmph.�

�I was a
horrid person, always thinking about myself, not caring about anyone else�not
that I had a reason to care.�

Kenshin
nodded. �I can�t honselty say that I
understand any of that.�

�There�s no
reason for you to want to, either. We
all worked for ourselves. Honestly, I
prefer this.�

�I�m glad.�

�What?�

�That
you�re happier.

�I have you to thank for
that.�

�I suppose
you do.�

Kaoru
closed her eyes, listening to the waves.
She�d love to live here one day, as the sound of the waves was incredibly
soothing.

Kenshin
looked at her for a minute, and then looked back at the sea. �Jean and I discussed coming here once. But he didn�t like to be away from the city.�

�Kaoru
shook her head, muttering under her breath about how much she�d love to do Jean
some bodily harm. She still found it
difficult to believe that he could have led Kenshin on the way he had, and
ranted on the subject for a while before catching Kenshin�s expression.

�You really
don�t know much about me, Kaoru.�

She
frowned. �No, I don�t. And you don�t trust me enough to tell me��

�Is there
any particular reason why I should trust you?
Kaoru, you�re an employee. If I
need to confess, I�ll go to my priest.�

�Right. Your employee.� She stood, brushing the sand off of her
dress, and walked away. That remark had
stung, because she did care for him even if she wouldn�t tell him for that very
reason. �Of course. It was wishful thinking that we might
be able to be friends.�

Kenshin
rose, picking up his jacket, and walked
after her. �That�s one mistake I made
with Jean that I won�t make again. I�ll
not be friends or lovers with anyone I pay.
I won�t do it again!�

�Fine! Fine, that�s perfectly fine. Forget I even mentioned it. I�m sorry, I won�t bring it up again, Mr.
Himura,� she growled. �If you�ll
excuse me, I have to get ready for dinner, and tune the piano,� her words were
acid-laced, and she stormed off down the beach in a snit, hair whipping around
her waist where it had fallen out of its bun.

�What the
hell are you so irritate about, anyway?�

She turned,
glowering at him. �For the first time in
my life, someone gave me the tiniest spark of hope that I meant more than just
something to be shown off. For the first
time, you treated me like a human being.
And now it�s all gone to hell.�

Kenshin
stalked up to her, trying to appear imposing, although he wasn�t that much
taller than she was at a little over five feet in height. �What other use would I have for you,
exactly? You are employed, by me, to
entertain and to be beautiful. I did not
hire you to be my confidante, do my paperwork, or to give relationship advice.�

�You really
know how to hurt a girl, don�t you?� She
clenched her jaw, and walked turned away, half to prevent herself from slapping
him and half to hide her tears.

�What makes
you think I care about girls?� He
brushed past her and went to the manor.

�You don�t
have to care to know how to hurt.� She
didn�t return until much later, by which time Kenshin had left to pursue his
true purpose for the visit: to get Mr. La Roue away from his wife, and did not
return for a few days. In the meanwhile,
Kaoru had sequestered herself in her room with a stack of books, which was fine
with Kenshin. He wanted to sleep, and
locked himself in his room.
- 6
- 7
- 8
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La Fleure qui est Belle