Disclaimer: I don't own RK
AN: Well…I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this story, but I just thought I might as well write it down. I'll still have to work on "Best Friends Forever?" so I don't know how fast I can update with two stories going on at the same time. If this story doesn't get a decent amount of reviews then I might just drop it until I finish my other story. We'll just have to see.
Chapter 1:
Kenshin sat in the dojo's dining room desperately trying to block out the incessant yelling and arguing of his friends over breakfast. He had tried and failed many times to calm them down, but for some reason, they all were a bit irritable and seem to enjoy taking it out on each other. To make things worse, he hasn't had a decent night of sleep all week and the constant bickering wasn't helping to reduce the migraine he was having.
Kenshin groaned, but nobody seemed to notice it. He got up and quickly left the dining room before he too got irritable enough to start yelling as well. He sighed as he reached the yard and sat down on the porch with his head in his hands. Something was wrong and he knew it. He has been having bad nightmares about his days as a hitokiri and has barely had any sleep. Not only that, but his body felt tired and sore as if he had spent a whole day training with Shishou. Something was going to happen. He just knew it. He could feel it. Good or bad, time can only tell.
Kenshin got up stretching out his sore muscles and decided to start on the laundry before Kaoru starts yelling again. Kenshin was soon lost in thought again as he went through the routine of scrubbing and rinsing. He stared blankly into the wash tub as his hands carried on mechanically.
He was snapped out of his reverie when a hand began waving in front of his eyes. "Oi Kenshin! Anybody home?" said Sano lightly knocking on Kenshin's head. Kenshin suppressed a wince. "Oro," he said putting on a confused face.
"I was just wondering if you would lend your best friend some money," said Sano with a pleading look in his eyes.
"And why, may I ask, do you need money?" asked Kenshin without even looking at his friends face.
"Oh you know! Business!" exclaimed Sano.
"You mean gambling," sighed Kenshin. "Well…it doesn't really matter why you need the money I guess."
"Really!" interrupted Sano.
"..because I don't have any money to give you anyway." Finished Kenshin.
"Fine, be that way," sighed Sano, "I guess I'll have to go ask Kitsune to lend me some cash." Sano stuck a fish bone in his mouth and began walking out of the dojo. Kenshin sighed yet again and continued on with the laundry.
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It was nearing afternoon and Kenshin had already finished doing the laundry and cooking lunch. He really wasn't in the mood to be surrounded by arguments, so he decided to take some lunch to go. He packed a bento box and prepared to leave a note for Kaoru when she walked in with Yahiko. Seeing the packed lunch in his hand, Kaoru and Yahiko looked at him confusedly.
"Where are you going Kenshin?" asked Kaoru.
Kenshin pasted his rurouni smile on and said, "I was thinking about going on a quiet walk."
"What a great idea!" said Sano as he suddenly appeared out of nowhere. "Let's have a picnic!"
"You're right Sano! It's such a nice day! Perfect for a picnic. I can't believe that you were going to leave us behind Kenshin," said Kaoru with a scowl on her face.
"Urr…uhh…well you see Miss Kaoru, I was just about to invite you guys to join me right before Sano interrupted me," Kenshin said quickly hoping that she would believe him and not hurt him.
"Oh okay!" smiled Kaoru brightly.
In a matter of minutes, they were walking down through the woods looking for a good spot to have their picnic. They finally came upon a beautiful clearing filled with trees and right by the calm river. They set down their blankets and began to eat. Once again, a quarrel broke out and Kenshin found himself not only trying to block out the noise, but fighting down his rising temper.
"It's a good thing you didn't cook Busu. It would have ruined this picnic," said Yahiko with his mouth full.
"What did you say you little brat?" yelled Kaoru.
"Don't call me a brat Busu!" yelled Yahiko back.
Sano took the food out of their bowls and started to munch on it. "How bout this, you're both brats," he said enthusiastically.
"What did you say?" both teacher and apprentice shouted.
"Now, now…" said Kenshin trying to stop their fight.
"Shut up Kenshin!" yelled Yahiko and Kaoru as they began attacking Sano and arguing some more.
'Calm down Kenshin…Breathe' thought Kenshin to himself. But as the fighting continued, he found himself getting more and more irritated, frustrated, and annoyed.
Suddenly, Kenshin snapped. "Enough!" he yelled standing up. The three's heads shot around at Kenshin in surprise. "This wasn't what I had in mind when I said that I was going to go on a quiet walk. Now if you'll please excuse me, I need some time to myself," he said stalking into the woods. The three were so completely surprised by the sudden outburst that they just stood there in shock until he disappeared. They looked at each other guiltily. "I hope he's okay," said Kaoru quietly.
"Don't worry Jou-chan. This is Kenshin, we're talking about. He'll be fine. He probably had a lot on his mind and needed some time alone to sort through them or something," said Sano.
The three waited for an hour hoping that Kenshin would return by then, but they eventually got their things together and headed back to the dojo.
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Kenshin walked away from his friends. He felt a bit guilty for exploding on them like that, but he pushed those feelings to the back of his mind. Kenshin was feeling very tense and stressed out. The lack of sleep was really affecting him. After walking for about 10 minutes, he decided to stop and do his katas. If there was anything that could calm him down and help him relax, it was going through his katas. He found a clearing that didn't have too many trees and closed his eyes to center himself.
Suddenly, his eyes shot open and he began his practice. He started slowly with the simple techniques and eventually went on to the more complicated techniques. As his sword cut through the air with ease and grace, he felt his mind clear of all things. He concentrated on making every move perfect and if he found any flaw in any of his strokes, he would redo it until it was perfect.
Kenshin jumped into the air and breathed in the clear air that was around him. He slowly felt his tense muscles relax and move as if he was in a dance. He continued on until he noticed the sun start to go down. As the sun began to set, he started to go through his cooling down routine. He gradually decreased his speed as his heart rate dropped back to normal until he finally stopped completely covered in sweat. He flicked his wrist and sheathed his sword. Kenshin smiled grimly. Even after all of these years, he still hasn't been able to get rid of the habit of flicking his wrist before sheathing his sword.
Breathing deeply, he walked to the river and walked into the river and then dunked himself under to wash away all the sweat that covered his body. He got out and headed back to the dojo, his blood red hair dripping. Though he still felt tired and sore and he still had a bad headache, he felt a lot better then before. As he walked through the dojo gates, he found Kaoru sweeping and Yahiko polishing the dojo's floors. They looked up and immediately stopped what they were doing. Kenshin walked up to them and bowed.
"Sessha is sorry for how he acted before. Sessha hopes that you will forgive me for my outburst earlier," he said with his head bowed.
"Kenshin, it's not your fault. It's ours and we're sorry. You have been so patient with us and I guess we forgot that you get angry and annoyed too. Please forgive us," said Kaoru.
"Yeah we're sorry Kenshin," said Yahiko.
Kenshin smiled and said, "There is nothing to forgive. Now how about I go and make some dinner?"
As Kenshin was about to walk into the kitchen, Kaoru suddenly said, "Kenshin, why are you all wet?"
Kenshin said," …I decided to go for a swim."
"With your clothes on?" asked Yahiko skeptically.
Kenshin sweat dropped. He rubbed the back of his head embarrassedly. "Uhh…yeah."
"Okay…"said Yahiko.
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That night, dinner was a lot more quiet then the rest of the other meals and that made Kenshin feel both relieved and guilty. After dinner, Kaoru and Yahiko decided to go to bed early and headed into their own respective rooms. Kenshin went around the dojo checking to make sure the gates were locked and that everything was as it should be. After making his nightly rounds, he made his way into his room and changed into his yukata and got into his futon.
Kenshin laid in his futon staring at the ceiling, praying that this night wouldn't be filled with nightmares the way the other nights were. Slowly, his eyes began to droop as sleep claimed him.
That night, Kenshin was plagued by the nightmares about the Bakumatsu. But there was a difference between this night and all the other nights. This particular night, Kenshin did not wake from his nightmares. He had to endure his demons until the next morning where he would wake up to the surprise of a lifetime.
AN: Well …What do you think. This is only my 2nd fanfic ever so I hope it was at least decent. I know it's kinda short, but I promise to make the next chapter longer. Tell me what you think of it. I decided to write a few chapters and if I find that nobody is interested in this story, then I might just finish up my other story first and come back to this one afterwards.