Subject: [KFFDISC] Kaoru no Hatsukoi? 2/4 Date: Mon, 21 May 2001 11:24:45 -0500 From: "Megan Lavey" To: Konnichiwa, minna! Thanks for the kindness shown after the first part of this poor fic. ::bows:: Everything else on here has been so good lately! I really enjoy "Autumn Shadows" and the latest story by Jo-chan. "Ice Blue" was hilarious as well as Sano and Megumi's plots to get Aoshi, Misao, Kenshin, and Kaoru fixed up! Anyhow, here is the second part of this fic I had started! I wrote it earlier but didn't have time to post until now: ***** "Kaoru no Hatsukoi???" by DQBunny Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is not mine. Too bad. I could use a red-haired rurouni in my life. Oh well, he, Kaoru, and the others all belong to Watsuki Nobuhiro. The original concept for "Ami-chan no Hatsukoi" belongs to Takeuchi Naoko. ***** Part Two - She WHAT? Tae looked at her customers with a frown. Sanosuke and Yahiko seemed to be eating with their usual robust, but Kenshin looked like he was either depressed or deep in thought. Tsubame had left the Akabeko on an errand. The elder woman hoped that she would be back before Sano and Yahiko ate everything in the restaraunt. "So, where's Kaoru-chan?" she asked, noting the abscence of her friend. "Is she joining you later?" Yahiko shrugged and shoveled more rice in his mouth. Sanosuke actually stopped eating long enough to give her an answer. "Seems like Jo-chan's been busy lately, ne Kenshin?" "..." Kenshin stared into the cup of cooling green tea he held, not noticing the ongoing conversation. "Busu's been acting weird lately," Yahiko muttered through a mouthful of food. "She's always got this goofy grin on her face, and she goes around dressed in nice clothes. She leaves first thing in the morning and comes back at night. Her hair's all messed up and her kimono looks somewhat dirty, but she still has that goofy grin. It's weird." Tae gasped, dropping her tray. Sano and Yahiko stopped eat and stared at the waitress as if she had grown a third head. "What's wrong?" Sanosuke asked. "What else is she doing, Yahiko?" Tae zeroed in on the student. Yahiko set his chopsticks down and thought for a moment. "Well, the past two days, she's not touched me or lost her temper at all. When she's around, she's so nice and cheerful. It's almost like you want her to lose her temper or go around hitting people upside the head with her shinai just to know she's still Kaoru, ne Kenshin?" "..." "Damn rurouni's starting to act too much like Shinomori for me," Sanosuke muttered. "Oh no, oh no no no!" Tae leapt to her feet and started pacing the area in front of the table. "Oh, this is terrible! I didn't think she would do it! I always thought she had feelings for Ken-san!" "Huh?" Sanosuke and Yahiko gave Tae blank looks. Kenshin kept staring into his tea. Tae threw her hands in the air in exasperation. "Don't you understand what's going on?" Sanosuke and Yahiko stared at each other and scratched their heads. "Kaoru-chan's in love!!!" Tae cried at the top of her voice. "Duh," Sanosuke said, helping himself to more of the beefpot. "She's had a thing for Kenshin for months. It's not exactly the best-kept secret in Tokyo." "No, you baka!" Tae exclaimed, placing her hands on her hips. "She's in love with someone else!" The piece of meat Sano had speared slipped from his chopsticks back into the pot. Yahiko dropped his rice bowl, cooled clumps of rice flying everywhere. "USO!" They cried at the top of their lungs, then stared at Kenshin, who simply kept staring into his cup of tea...and had not heard a single word of the conversation. ***** Tsubame paid the vendor for the vegetables she purchased and double-checked the basket to make sure she had received everything. Bowing respectfully to the vendor, she headed back toward the Akabeko at a lesiurely pace, enjoying the beautiful day and the free time while she could. Activity in the nearby park caught her eye and she looked through the gates to see row after row of tables draped with white Western-style tablecloths. Curosity got the best of the young woman, and she walked in the park to see what was going on. It would be great news to take back to the Akabeko and mull over with Tae later on. A group of women dressed in Western-style clothing stood chatting near one of the tables. "I can't believe Kamiya-san, that poor-bred tomboy coming in and taking over like that," one of the women said. Tsubame's ears zoomed in on the conversation. Being Tae's trainee helped when it came to eavesdropping, especially when it seemed to be particularly good gossip. Her ears had picked up on the words Kamiya and tomboy. Surely that had to be Kaoru! Tsubame frowned and scanned the area. Why would she be in a fancy place like this? "The poor girl doesn't have any experience either," one of the other ladies added. "I think Washoku-san's just smittened with the girl to let her advance so quickly." A third lady sighed. "It seems she'll get the prize though." Prize? Tsubame's forehead wrinkled in concentration. The only contest she could imagine Kaoru entering would be some type of swordsmanship contest. But why would these fancy ladies be here? Perhaps to watch the competition... "But, did you hear?" One of the ladies was saying. "She accepted his proposal. She is estatic! They're going to do it today." "I'm surprise they'll find someone to perform the ceremony on such short notice," the first lady commented. "She doesn't want her current suitor to find out," the third lady replied. Tsubame's eyes widened and the basket dropped to the ground, vegetables spilling everywhere. Her hands flew to her mouth. "Oh...oh no! I've got to get ahold of Kenshin- san before Kaoru-san makes a horrible mistake!" she cried, then whirled around and sped off toward the Akabeko as fast as she could. The women watched her leave. "Odd child," the second lady said with a shrug. "Anyhow, tell me more about your sister eloping, Mika-san." ***** Kenshin silently told his inner voice. The same inner voice that had been bugging him almost since day one of Kaoru's mysterious disappearance. He glanced at the table and noticed Sanosuke and Yahiko devouring the food while Tae chatted with them. At least that kept them occupied. Kenshin frowned. Kenshin smiled to himself. His cheeks grew scarlet. Kenshin shook his head slightly to jar the voice. "You've got to be either Sano or Hiko," Kenshin muttered, taking a sip of his now stone cold tea. Before Kenshin's inner voice could reply to that comment, Sanosuke leaped from his seat and jerked the rurouni up by his gi and shook him. "Didn't you hear what Tae-san just said?" he yelled while roughly waving the smaller man back and forth in the air. "Orooooo...," Kenshin groaned, the world spinning before him. "Jo-chan." Shake. "Is." Shake. "In." Shake. "Love." Shake. "With." Shake. "Someone." Shake. "ELSE!" Sano roared. "Sano...," Kenshin managed to say just as Tsubame ran into the restaraunt and over to their table, tears streaking down her cheeks. "Tsubame-chan!" Tae and Yahiko cried, running to her side. "Are you okay?" Tae asked, putting an arm around the girl's shoulders. "Who hurt you? I swear, as a student of Kamiya Kasshin Ryu, I will get revenge for you!" Yahiko vowed, hand closed over his shinai. "It's not me," Tsubame cried. "It's Kaoru-san!" Sano stopped shaking Kenshin. The rurouni jerked himself from Sano's hold and dropped to the ground, his hand moving instantly to his sakabatou. "What's wrong with Jo-chan?" Sanosuke asked, his eyes narrowing with anger. Tsubame broke away from Tae and ran to Kenshin. She latched onto his gi and stared at him, tears streaking down her cheeks. "Oh, Kenshin-san, you've got to stop her! You've got to save Kaoru-san!" The buried Battousai inside Kenshin began to stir and he fought down the violent side of him long enough to get Tsubame's side of the story. "It's okay, Tsubame-chan. Where is she? What happened?" Tsubame drug in a couple of breaths. She looked into Kenshin's eyes and saw the gold flecks sparkling among the violet. "She's getting married! Today!" Tae, Yahiko, and Sanosuke fainted. ***** Small Japanese/English list: Busu - ugly Arigato - Thanks Hai - Yes Ohayo - Good morning Ja ne - See you later Baka - idiot Uso! - You're kidding! Kaoru no Hatsukoi? - Kaoru's First Love -- Megs ********** mlavey@simplecom.net AIM: MegsLeigh ICQ: 3447399 http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Academy/3191/index.html http://www.geocities.com/collegesenshi/ --