A/N. As of 12 April 2004, this piece has been (finally!) revised to fix the formerly godawful formatting. Lesson of the day, folks: Don't just cut and paste from email. @.@
Hm, warnings: This was my first ever multipart RK fic--actually, my first ever multipart fanfic, full stop. Extreme episodes of WAFF; some episodes of mild mopey angst; liberally scattered gratuitous Japanese; rather bad gushy, excessive descriptions; overall terrible wordiness... Still, quite a few people liked this fic in the end, if I may say so myself... ^.^
Sorry also for the long glossary. Those for the subsequent chapters shouldn't be quite so long. ^.^
glossary:
tadaima = I'm home!
okaeri nasai = Welcome home!
kirei, totemo kirei = respectively, "lovely" (also "clean" and "bright", but they don't exactly apply here ^.^;) and "very lovely"
-chan = suffix denoting a younger close personal acquaintance/friend and/or a young female friend
-san = standard, all-purpose respectful suffix
-dono = archaic suffix denoting a status much higher than the speaker's; "Keishiko-dono" would be roughly equivalent to "Lady Keishiko". Kenshin's trademark suffix for some men and nearly all women
baka = noun. idiot, silly, stupid
daijoubu = [i'm] okay, [i'm] fine. if in question form, "are you okay/all right?"
oei = hey!
geisha = essentially, Japanese women trained for many years in many traditional arts like playing musical instruments and dancing
hitokiri = lit. "man-cutter" or "man-slasher"; essentially an assassin
Ahou ga. = Saitouism: "Idiot." Less literally, "You are an idiot."
hai = yes
de gozaru = to be technical: an archaic, superpolite form of "desu." "desu" is something like the Japanese equivalent of the verb "to be." Kenshin's trademark superpolite way of speaking. ^.^
Jou-chan = lit. "little lady," "little miss," "young miss"; Sano's trademark way of referring to Kaoru
-kun = suffix denoting a male friend as old as or younger than the speaker, and/or close to the speaker
gomen nasai = i'm sorry.
oyasumi nasai = good night!
tsuzuku = to be continued!
Kinou no Kakera (A Piece of Yesterday)
by Keishiko
One: Arrival
Radiant - that was what everyone called Kiku-chan. Kamiya Kaoru watched her beaming cousin being paraded around the temple grounds by her new husband and could not help feeling a twinge of wistful envy. Even as she was happy for her cousin, who had been a childhood playmate, Kaoru found herself wishing that, someday, she would be the one smiling in the shade of the camellia trees, embraced warmly by her handsome husband, radiant in the delicate, exquisite kimono handed down from bride to blushing bride in her family.
She would have liked to stay longer, to linger among the guests, most of whom were relatives she had not seen in many years. But it was getting late. Although the celebrations would continue for some hours yet, it was time for her to head home.
Purple shadows were thick beneath the dojo wall when she arrived. Pushing the gate shut behind her, she found a lone figure, slight and still, standing on the porch steps. Flame-bright hair glimmered as the figure turned toward her expectantly.
"Tadaima, Kenshin," Kaoru said, nodding.
"Okaeri nasai." The greeting was as warm and gentle as the smile that accompanied it. "How was the wedding?"
"Kirei," and Kaoru sighed. "Totemo kirei. So was Kiku-chan. In her kimono she was so grown-up - you wouldn't have thought she's--" She caught herself. /You wouldn't have thought she's only as old as I am./
"Well, she was pretty," she amended quickly, seeing Kenshin's questioning eyes on her. "And Kazumi-san was handsome, too. They're going away to Europe for the next few months - Kiku-chan promised to send postcards, and when they get back, she'll have a present for me. Just imagine - Europe!" Kaoru sighed again. "I guess it helps to have a friend working at the embassy."
"Tae-dono does own the best beef-pan restaurant in town," observed Kenshin mildly, though his violet eyes were bright with humor as they followed Kaoru. "That's a good place to start."
Kaoru smiled. "I guess you're right." She yawned. "I'm tired out. I'll be going to bed early. Is dinner ready yet?"
"In a few minutes, it will be." Kenshin rose to his feet. "I just came out to tell you - there's a gentleman waiting for you in the front room."
"A visitor!" Kaoru woke up. "Baka! Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Frowning, she headed toward the back of the house. "I'll just change - this is too formal. How long has he been here? Did he say why he wanted to see me? Did he give his name?"
"About an hour and a half. No, he didn't. And he said his name was Niimi Keisuke-san--"
Kenshin nearly walked right into her.
Kaoru had stopped. She stood very still, suddenly pale, one hand clutching the post for support. In her eyes burned a strange, eager brightness, and her voice was hushed and low as she repeated, with a slight catch: "Niimi... Keisuke?"
Kenshin nodded. "Daijoubu, Kaoru-dono?" he asked quietly. "I will tell him to come back another time if you like..."
Kaoru did not seem to hear. She turned toward the house, eyes soft and unfocused, as if she were walking in a dream. Her cheeks were flushed bright pink as she raised a hand slowly to her heart.
"I'll see him right away," she said.
"Oei, Kenshin."
"Sano. Good evening." From his seat on the back porch, Kenshin had not seen the spiky-headed silhouette emerge from the shadows at the side of the house, but Sanosuke's arrival had not been entirely unexpected anyway.
"Still up?" Sanosuke came to lean against a post some distance away. Kenshin could feel brown eyes leveled at him, the intensity of their gaze contrasting with the nonchalance in the low, smooth voice. "Something wrong?"
Kenshin smiled faintly. "I'm still wondering about that myself." He glanced up at his friend. "You're up late yourself. Hard night at the gambling tables?"
Sanosuke grimaced.
Shaking his head, grinning ruefully, Kenshin closed his eyes and rested his cheek against his sheathed sakabatou, propped up in its customary position against his shoulder.
Sano plopped down beside him with a thump.
"All right, Kenshin. You're dancing around this thing better than a lot of geisha I've known. Spit it out."
Kenshin smiled, though his eyes stayed closed. "It's nothing important, Sano, you don't have to concern yourself."
"If it's keeping you awake way past the setting of the moon I think it's pretty important. Hitokiri like you know better than to worry themselves over unimportant things."
Kenshin chuckled softly. Sanosuke cocked a grin at him and lay back, folding his sinewy arms behind his head. Meditatively he chewed on his fishbone as silence reigned for several minutes.
Finally the fishbone went flying into the bushes.
"Spill, damn it."
Kenshin sighed. Of course, he thought, it was foolish to hope Sano would give it up... A mental image of Saitou muttering "Ahou ga" came to him, glowing cigarette and all, and Kenshin shook his head to dispel it.
"It's very simple," he said, slowly and elaborately, as though speaking to a child. "This man, Niimi Keisuke, came to the dojo this afternoon. I told him Kaoru-dono was out for the day, and he said he would wait. When Kaoru-dono got back some hours ago I told her about her visitor. She saw him. That's all."
"What time did he go home?"
Kenshin paused. "He's still here."
Sanosuke arched an eyebrow. "I see."
"Kaoru-dono seemed to recognize the name." /That's an understatement,/ thought Kenshin, remembering Kaoru's poleaxed look. He frowned.
"Two guesses why you're so upset." Sanosuke yawned. "A, you're worried this guy's some old enemy, and you feel you should protect her. B, you're worried this guy's some old friend."
Kenshin said nothing.
"It can't really be A," continued Sano thoughtfully, "because knowing Jou-chan, she'd beat him up and throw him out two minutes after meeting him. So now, you little worrywart, you're afraid that it's a B." He eyed Kenshin critically, noting the rigid posture, the
tense set of his shoulders. "Or worse."
Silence.
"What are they talking about for so long anyway? Dawn's probably just hours away." A thought struck him. "Did he have dinner here?"
"Hai, de gozaru."
A sly grin crept across Sanosuke's face. "And let me guess. Jou-chan made you cook."
"Mm-hmm."
"To impress this guy, of course. She wouldn't dare feed him her own cooking. And you ate with them?"
"Yes." Kenshin's violet eyes reflected back pinpoints of light from the stars. "He's a naval officer based in Yokohama, here on leave for a month. He used to be a student here at the dojo until he and his family moved to Yokohama three years ago so that he could be
a naval officer like his father. He and Kaoru-dono were close friends before he left."
"Close friends, huh?"
Kenshin paused. "He was going to say something else, but Kaoru-dono interrupted him."
Sanosuke grunted.
The air hung clear and crisp between the two men, the autumn chill nipping at their skin. For several moments conversation was lost to the quiet, busy rustling of wind through bamboo.
Then there were muffled footfalls, as of tabi on wood, and hushed voices.
"Are you sure it's all right? I wouldn't want to impose..."
"Oh, you worry too much. You always did, Kei-kun, even when you were seventeen and it was the night before the final competition. Remember?"
Kenshin, too honorable to eavesdrop, rose to his feet and would have walked away had Sanosuke not latched on to the hem of his hakama. Kenshin frowned, but Sano would not be detached and was listening intently to the whispered conversation. It came loud and clear - too clear, Kenshin thought wryly; even after passing through walls of paper, every word could be understood.
"Yes, the competition. I remember how you drilled me endlessly the week before, and the last night... I remember--"
A pause. Kenshin turned his face away. Sano sighed; this sure wasn't turning out very well.
A rustle of cloth. Sano bit his lip.
"Keisuke..." Kaoru's voice quavered.
"Gomen nasai." Rustle, rustle. "Forgive me, Kaoru. It's just that-- It's been so long--"
"Yes, it has." Silence. A door slid open, and warm yellow light flickered to life. "This is your room. If you need anything, I'm down at the end of the corridor."
"Didn't that use to be the master's?"
"You still remember?"
Kaoru's voice was soft and wistful. With a sudden effort, Kenshin tugged free of Sanosuke's grip. He walked away, head bowed, and Sano, watching him, thought the color of the fire-bright hair a little duller, darker than usual. Or was it only the night's shadows, playing tricks on his eyes?...
"Oyasumi nasai, Kaoru."
"O... oyasumi nasai, Kei-kun." A pause. "It's good to see you again."
"You don't know how much I feel the same way."
Moments dragged into eternity as Sano sat and listened in gloomy, frustrated silence. Finally a last "good night" was mumbled, and then the door slid shut. Footsteps went slowly away from the guest room door, toward the room at the end that Sano knew was Kaoru's.
Several minutes passed, then the yellow lamplight from the guest room vanished. The house sank into darkness.
Sanosuke was left alone on the porch, eyes half-closed, mind racing.
"Chik'shou," he breathed at last.
- tsuzuku -
Standard disclaimers apply!
Hm, warnings: This was my first ever multipart RK fic--actually, my first ever multipart fanfic, full stop. Extreme episodes of WAFF; some episodes of mild mopey angst; liberally scattered gratuitous Japanese; rather bad gushy, excessive descriptions; overall terrible wordiness... Still, quite a few people liked this fic in the end, if I may say so myself... ^.^
Sorry also for the long glossary. Those for the subsequent chapters shouldn't be quite so long. ^.^
glossary:
tadaima = I'm home!
okaeri nasai = Welcome home!
kirei, totemo kirei = respectively, "lovely" (also "clean" and "bright", but they don't exactly apply here ^.^;) and "very lovely"
-chan = suffix denoting a younger close personal acquaintance/friend and/or a young female friend
-san = standard, all-purpose respectful suffix
-dono = archaic suffix denoting a status much higher than the speaker's; "Keishiko-dono" would be roughly equivalent to "Lady Keishiko". Kenshin's trademark suffix for some men and nearly all women
baka = noun. idiot, silly, stupid
daijoubu = [i'm] okay, [i'm] fine. if in question form, "are you okay/all right?"
oei = hey!
geisha = essentially, Japanese women trained for many years in many traditional arts like playing musical instruments and dancing
hitokiri = lit. "man-cutter" or "man-slasher"; essentially an assassin
Ahou ga. = Saitouism: "Idiot." Less literally, "You are an idiot."
hai = yes
de gozaru = to be technical: an archaic, superpolite form of "desu." "desu" is something like the Japanese equivalent of the verb "to be." Kenshin's trademark superpolite way of speaking. ^.^
Jou-chan = lit. "little lady," "little miss," "young miss"; Sano's trademark way of referring to Kaoru
-kun = suffix denoting a male friend as old as or younger than the speaker, and/or close to the speaker
gomen nasai = i'm sorry.
oyasumi nasai = good night!
tsuzuku = to be continued!
Kinou no Kakera (A Piece of Yesterday)
by Keishiko
One: Arrival
Radiant - that was what everyone called Kiku-chan. Kamiya Kaoru watched her beaming cousin being paraded around the temple grounds by her new husband and could not help feeling a twinge of wistful envy. Even as she was happy for her cousin, who had been a childhood playmate, Kaoru found herself wishing that, someday, she would be the one smiling in the shade of the camellia trees, embraced warmly by her handsome husband, radiant in the delicate, exquisite kimono handed down from bride to blushing bride in her family.
She would have liked to stay longer, to linger among the guests, most of whom were relatives she had not seen in many years. But it was getting late. Although the celebrations would continue for some hours yet, it was time for her to head home.
Purple shadows were thick beneath the dojo wall when she arrived. Pushing the gate shut behind her, she found a lone figure, slight and still, standing on the porch steps. Flame-bright hair glimmered as the figure turned toward her expectantly.
"Tadaima, Kenshin," Kaoru said, nodding.
"Okaeri nasai." The greeting was as warm and gentle as the smile that accompanied it. "How was the wedding?"
"Kirei," and Kaoru sighed. "Totemo kirei. So was Kiku-chan. In her kimono she was so grown-up - you wouldn't have thought she's--" She caught herself. /You wouldn't have thought she's only as old as I am./
"Well, she was pretty," she amended quickly, seeing Kenshin's questioning eyes on her. "And Kazumi-san was handsome, too. They're going away to Europe for the next few months - Kiku-chan promised to send postcards, and when they get back, she'll have a present for me. Just imagine - Europe!" Kaoru sighed again. "I guess it helps to have a friend working at the embassy."
"Tae-dono does own the best beef-pan restaurant in town," observed Kenshin mildly, though his violet eyes were bright with humor as they followed Kaoru. "That's a good place to start."
Kaoru smiled. "I guess you're right." She yawned. "I'm tired out. I'll be going to bed early. Is dinner ready yet?"
"In a few minutes, it will be." Kenshin rose to his feet. "I just came out to tell you - there's a gentleman waiting for you in the front room."
"A visitor!" Kaoru woke up. "Baka! Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Frowning, she headed toward the back of the house. "I'll just change - this is too formal. How long has he been here? Did he say why he wanted to see me? Did he give his name?"
"About an hour and a half. No, he didn't. And he said his name was Niimi Keisuke-san--"
Kenshin nearly walked right into her.
Kaoru had stopped. She stood very still, suddenly pale, one hand clutching the post for support. In her eyes burned a strange, eager brightness, and her voice was hushed and low as she repeated, with a slight catch: "Niimi... Keisuke?"
Kenshin nodded. "Daijoubu, Kaoru-dono?" he asked quietly. "I will tell him to come back another time if you like..."
Kaoru did not seem to hear. She turned toward the house, eyes soft and unfocused, as if she were walking in a dream. Her cheeks were flushed bright pink as she raised a hand slowly to her heart.
"I'll see him right away," she said.
"Oei, Kenshin."
"Sano. Good evening." From his seat on the back porch, Kenshin had not seen the spiky-headed silhouette emerge from the shadows at the side of the house, but Sanosuke's arrival had not been entirely unexpected anyway.
"Still up?" Sanosuke came to lean against a post some distance away. Kenshin could feel brown eyes leveled at him, the intensity of their gaze contrasting with the nonchalance in the low, smooth voice. "Something wrong?"
Kenshin smiled faintly. "I'm still wondering about that myself." He glanced up at his friend. "You're up late yourself. Hard night at the gambling tables?"
Sanosuke grimaced.
Shaking his head, grinning ruefully, Kenshin closed his eyes and rested his cheek against his sheathed sakabatou, propped up in its customary position against his shoulder.
Sano plopped down beside him with a thump.
"All right, Kenshin. You're dancing around this thing better than a lot of geisha I've known. Spit it out."
Kenshin smiled, though his eyes stayed closed. "It's nothing important, Sano, you don't have to concern yourself."
"If it's keeping you awake way past the setting of the moon I think it's pretty important. Hitokiri like you know better than to worry themselves over unimportant things."
Kenshin chuckled softly. Sanosuke cocked a grin at him and lay back, folding his sinewy arms behind his head. Meditatively he chewed on his fishbone as silence reigned for several minutes.
Finally the fishbone went flying into the bushes.
"Spill, damn it."
Kenshin sighed. Of course, he thought, it was foolish to hope Sano would give it up... A mental image of Saitou muttering "Ahou ga" came to him, glowing cigarette and all, and Kenshin shook his head to dispel it.
"It's very simple," he said, slowly and elaborately, as though speaking to a child. "This man, Niimi Keisuke, came to the dojo this afternoon. I told him Kaoru-dono was out for the day, and he said he would wait. When Kaoru-dono got back some hours ago I told her about her visitor. She saw him. That's all."
"What time did he go home?"
Kenshin paused. "He's still here."
Sanosuke arched an eyebrow. "I see."
"Kaoru-dono seemed to recognize the name." /That's an understatement,/ thought Kenshin, remembering Kaoru's poleaxed look. He frowned.
"Two guesses why you're so upset." Sanosuke yawned. "A, you're worried this guy's some old enemy, and you feel you should protect her. B, you're worried this guy's some old friend."
Kenshin said nothing.
"It can't really be A," continued Sano thoughtfully, "because knowing Jou-chan, she'd beat him up and throw him out two minutes after meeting him. So now, you little worrywart, you're afraid that it's a B." He eyed Kenshin critically, noting the rigid posture, the
tense set of his shoulders. "Or worse."
Silence.
"What are they talking about for so long anyway? Dawn's probably just hours away." A thought struck him. "Did he have dinner here?"
"Hai, de gozaru."
A sly grin crept across Sanosuke's face. "And let me guess. Jou-chan made you cook."
"Mm-hmm."
"To impress this guy, of course. She wouldn't dare feed him her own cooking. And you ate with them?"
"Yes." Kenshin's violet eyes reflected back pinpoints of light from the stars. "He's a naval officer based in Yokohama, here on leave for a month. He used to be a student here at the dojo until he and his family moved to Yokohama three years ago so that he could be
a naval officer like his father. He and Kaoru-dono were close friends before he left."
"Close friends, huh?"
Kenshin paused. "He was going to say something else, but Kaoru-dono interrupted him."
Sanosuke grunted.
The air hung clear and crisp between the two men, the autumn chill nipping at their skin. For several moments conversation was lost to the quiet, busy rustling of wind through bamboo.
Then there were muffled footfalls, as of tabi on wood, and hushed voices.
"Are you sure it's all right? I wouldn't want to impose..."
"Oh, you worry too much. You always did, Kei-kun, even when you were seventeen and it was the night before the final competition. Remember?"
Kenshin, too honorable to eavesdrop, rose to his feet and would have walked away had Sanosuke not latched on to the hem of his hakama. Kenshin frowned, but Sano would not be detached and was listening intently to the whispered conversation. It came loud and clear - too clear, Kenshin thought wryly; even after passing through walls of paper, every word could be understood.
"Yes, the competition. I remember how you drilled me endlessly the week before, and the last night... I remember--"
A pause. Kenshin turned his face away. Sano sighed; this sure wasn't turning out very well.
A rustle of cloth. Sano bit his lip.
"Keisuke..." Kaoru's voice quavered.
"Gomen nasai." Rustle, rustle. "Forgive me, Kaoru. It's just that-- It's been so long--"
"Yes, it has." Silence. A door slid open, and warm yellow light flickered to life. "This is your room. If you need anything, I'm down at the end of the corridor."
"Didn't that use to be the master's?"
"You still remember?"
Kaoru's voice was soft and wistful. With a sudden effort, Kenshin tugged free of Sanosuke's grip. He walked away, head bowed, and Sano, watching him, thought the color of the fire-bright hair a little duller, darker than usual. Or was it only the night's shadows, playing tricks on his eyes?...
"Oyasumi nasai, Kaoru."
"O... oyasumi nasai, Kei-kun." A pause. "It's good to see you again."
"You don't know how much I feel the same way."
Moments dragged into eternity as Sano sat and listened in gloomy, frustrated silence. Finally a last "good night" was mumbled, and then the door slid shut. Footsteps went slowly away from the guest room door, toward the room at the end that Sano knew was Kaoru's.
Several minutes passed, then the yellow lamplight from the guest room vanished. The house sank into darkness.
Sanosuke was left alone on the porch, eyes half-closed, mind racing.
"Chik'shou," he breathed at last.
- tsuzuku -
Standard disclaimers apply!