Kendo no Go
In the Language of Kendo:
A Fanfic in 100 Chapters
by Akai Kitsune
99: Ame
~*~
The rain
was still falling.
Kaoru stood at the open
shoji, watching the water cascade from the sky to the waiting ground, small
puddles gathering in the yard. It was a mournful sight, the heavens crying
their hearts into the world, despite how life-giving such rainfall was.
"There's
been too much rain lately."
A soft voice behind her made
her turn, just as Kenshin stepped over to stand at her side, one hand resting
on the wooden wall frame. His eyes stared out into the storm, as the clouds
circled above.
"It'll
ruin the garden," Kaoru observed softly, her tone reluctant.
Kenshin shrugged. "If it
happens..."
"But you
worked so hard," she added, her lip forming a gentle pout.
His gaze hardened for a
moment, memories flickering in his eyes before fading again. She wondered what
it was he thought of to make him so angry, even for an instant.
Or perhaps it wasn't
anger...?
"Kenshin?"
she called questioningly, but he turned away, smiling silently, and returned
to the vegetables he had been chopping.
"I'll just
have to work harder to salvage it," he finally replied, moving on to the fish
he had purchased at the market before the storm began.
A frown tightened her lips,
but she refrained from commenting. There was no reason to argue with him.
A single cricket whistled
outside, the lone composer of a quiet symphony. They stood in silence for a
long time, listening.
Impulse struck her, and Kaoru
spun towards him, a broad smile on her face.
"Kenshin,"
she grasped his sleeve, tugging gently, "Let's go find it."
"Oro?" he
blinked, surprised and baffled by her request. "Find what?"
"The
cricket!" she answered simply, pulling him towards the door.
"But - the
food-"
"It can
wait."
"Er - and
the rain-"
"It's just
water," she shrugged aside his concerns, opening the shoji fully.
"But what
about your kimono-"
"This old
thing?" Kaoru laughed. "It's about as worn as your gi. A little mud will
barely touch either of us."
He didn't know how to respond
to that comment, and was not given the chance, as she dragged him fully
off the engawa and into the pelting rain.
It was cold at first, yet
refreshing, and after a moment he allowed himself to smile, enjoying the feel
of cool water against his bare skin, and her delightful company.
"Come on!"
she encouraged, taking his hand again. "I heard it over here."
The cricket's chirp was
merely an excuse, he knew; they both could tell where it had come from, yet
avoided it carefully without a word. Soon it fell silent altogether, and they
traveled on regardless. She led him towards the garden, drawing her fingers through the
untrimmed grass and giggling as the water dribbled down her neck, a soothing
butterfly's tickle.
"Maybe the
rain isn't so bad," she smiled brightly at him, squeezing his hand gently.
"The flowers are thriving."
He gazed past her pointing
finger, his step faltering for a moment as he recognized the flower. "Irises,"
he noted absently, as if just then realizing they existed in the garden.
"Yes," she
nodded, not seeing his sudden hesitation. "My mother loved the irises, and she
would talk about them a lot. I can't really remember what she said, though...
just that she was always happy with her flowers." Her smile turned wistful.
"She used to talk to them, and sometimes I wished they could tell me what she
said."
Suddenly she looked playful
again, tugging him towards them, and Kenshin had not the heart to resist. He
followed her lead, breathing in the gentle, floating perfume of the blooming
flower. They were white, pure and beautiful, still small in the early season.
Careful so as not to disturb the rest of the branch, he pulled free a single
blossom and tucked it behind her ear, inhaling deeply. She smiled shyly in
response.
"You
know," he said after a long moment, "Someone once told me that the scent of
the iris is stronger in the rain than in the sun."
"Really?"
"Aa,"
Kenshin nodded, stepping past her to crouch beside the rest of the flowers.
"It's the blossom of secrets, of hidden feelings and guarded thoughts. The
rain... it has no defense against such things."
Kaoru blushed slightly and
laughed again. "It almost seems like you brought the rain, to make us
share all these stories!"
His hand froze against the
petals, twitching briefly in an uncontrolled reaction to her words. The
laughter died in her throat.
"Kenshin?"
He smiled up at her, his eyes
and the darkness within them hidden again. "Perhaps I did," he murmured, his
gaze releasing a soft twinkle as if he still carried a secret he might share.
"But," he
added after a moment, "Perhaps the irises still have secrets of their own."
That said, he held out his
hand, opening his fingers when she looked down at them.
Resting in his palm was a
single, silent cricket.
Her smile returned as it
bounced away at the first moment of freedom, and he straightened, standing
beside her once again.
"Look,"
she suddenly gasped, pointing towards the sky, "The rainbow!"
Even in the midst of the
storm, the bright trail of colours spread out across the fading rain clouds,
another secret treasure for the couple to share.
Kaoru was surprised when it
was Kenshin who took her hand, a softness in his violet gaze as rain fell
through the crimson bangs which clung to his forehead.
"Shall we
go in?" he offered, and she finally nodded, the flower in her hair glistening
in the growing light. Stepping beyond the flowers, they headed for their dojo
home.
Behind them, the crickets
heralded the arrival of the brilliant colours which streaked across the golden
sky.
~*~
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