Tears and Rain
By Gabi-hime
http://www.pinkfluffy.net/rurouni/fanfiction/
Chapter 3
On the Kindness of Strangers: Halt, Police!
Of course, once Kuri’s stomach announced itself, it was difficult to ignore. It growled out again before they had taken ten steps out of the bathhouse. Its incessant noise reminded Soujiro that he’d had nothing to eat since the day before. This was not uncommon for him, as a wandering ronin cannot always choose his mealtimes. Still, he did generally get enough to eat, a statement he was not so sure he could make about his companion.
Kuri put a comforting hand over her stomach and groaned.
"We don’t have any money left, do we?"
His benign smile was unaltered, although he was forced to shake his head, "Iie, Kuri-san."
"No money means no dinner," she equated miserably.
"Sumimasen, Kuri-san. I’ll try and make sure that we eat tomorrow."
Her eyes popped at the prospect, "Tomorrow!? We can’t wait that long to eat, especially if you want to travel some more this evening," she bowed her head, "Gomen nasai, Soujiro-kun, but I just can’t walk any more without rest or food. I’m not used to it. Fetching water from the well when I haven't eaten all day isn't so bad, but walking all this way? I don't want to faint on you."
His pleasant smile and soft touched voice was rather nerve racking as he calmly went over their options, "Well, if you’re really hungry we can go through some trash or beg, but that rarely works. I've seen several people at it since I started on my journey and it generally only gets them in trouble."
Kuri was not particularly excited by the idea of finding her dinner at the bottom of a garbage heap, the latter idea had some merit though, she decided.
"Soujiro-kun, would you mind if we tried to get some food? If we, you know, begged?" she looked rather pitiful, with her hungry, hangdog expression.
Soujiro would not beg for himself. If he was hungry, then that was fate and part of his penance. Kuri however had done nothing wrong and didn’t deserve to go hungry again. He wasn’t sure when she’d eaten last, but from her skinny frame he guessed that her meals at the inn had been few and far between. Deciding it would be all right to be for Kuri’s sake, he shook his head, "Iie, Kuri-san. I don’t mind if we beg. You need food."
She rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, "Soujiro no baka. You need food too."
He pretended as though he hadn’t heard and then nodded, "Cheer up, Kuri-san. I’m sure someone will give us a little something."
His positive comment distracted her and bucked up her spirits again, "Hai, I’m sure someone will."
* * * * * * * * * *
A dismal hour later they had visited most of the residences and restaurants in the town. Every homeowner or cook had called them worthless sloths or shouted obscenities. Two had thrown things at them and one had threatened to call the police. Needless to say, Kuri’s belly was no closer to being full and it protested its condition loudly.
Still, she kept up a faint hope as they approached the final restaurant on the row. It was a nice looking establishment, well lighted and bright, and the most delicious smells issued from the open door. Kuri’s mouth watered.
The head waited stood at the door and tried to lure passersby in with descriptions of the delectable food inside. It was almost more than she could bear, and as she stood beside the door she could almost taste the dumplings. She swallowed. Soujiro was the one to present their case this time.
"Pardon my interruption, sir, but my friend and I are travelers. We’ve run out of money and my younger friend is very hungry, sir. I don’t suppose you have any food to spare," he explained politely, "Because my friend would appreciate almost anything."
Kuri held her breath.
Then the waiter responded, "I’m happy to serve anyone," his face was as pleasant as Soujiro’s, "Provided they can pay for their meal," his expression grew quite stony, "People work too hard for their money for me to just give you food for nothing. Go on, you vagrant filth, and don't come back until you have some money!"
This was a bit too much for Kuri, "Why you evil bastard! Haven't you ever heard of helping those that are down!?! Did it ever occur to you that we maybe had some bad luck or were wronged!?" she was shouting at the top of her lungs and looked as if she was going to pounce the waiter and show him just how angry she was. Soujiro was quicker than she was and restrained her before she could make her move. He looked quite embarrassed and sweatdropped as he apologized for her behavior. She wriggled and wriggled, trying to get loose, but his grip held firm and he manage to drag her away.
The waiter shook his fist after them, "And if I ever see your faces again, I'll call the police!"
He did not let her go until they were several blocks away from the restaurant.
"Sumimasen, Kuri-san, but you can't just randomly attack people like that," he sweatdropped, "They'll put us in jail."
"That jerk! Every word I said was true! May his restaurant burn down tomorrow," she snapped sullenly.
Her peevish mood did not dampen Soujiro's expression or voice in the least. He simply smiled and pointed out the obvious, "And your belly isn't any closer to being full, is it?"
"Of course not!" she retorted.
"Well then," he surmised in his pleasant tone of his, "Your actions back there didn't help us at all, did they?"
She sat down on the sidewalk and crossed her arms, scowling at him. She was in no mood to have this discussion, especially not with a boy who looked eternally pleased with himself.
He realized that that he had pressed her a bit too much while she was still angry and apologized. She sullenly accepted, but didn't budge from her spot. After a few moments, he sat down on the wooden sidewalk beside her.
She sulked in silence for a few moments, running all possible alternatives over in her head. Finally she came upon one that was quite satisfying in all ways. Feeling quite pleased with herself, she bounced to her feet and rubbed her hands together.
"Um, I just remembered I have something to take care of, Soujiro-kun. You stay here and I'll be right back," she smiled widely and fidgeted a bit. Her smile was a little too wide, in his opinion..
"It's all right, Kuri-san, I'll come with you," he smiled good-naturedly.
She laughed nervously, "No, no, silly Soujiro, I have to do it one my own," she groped for an excuse, "It's a surprise."
"A surprise?" he asked, curious.
"A girl surprise," her voice had noticeable strain in it, but he decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and he dismissed it.
"All right, Kuri-san. I'll be waiting right here for you."
"Arigatou, Soujiro-kun, I'll be right back!" and with that, she took off faster than he would have guessed her underfed form could move.
* * * * * * * * * *
She was gone for several minutes, but not any length of time that would have aroused his worry. That was another new feeling he'd been experiencing recently, worry. As the Tenken, he'd never worried about anything. As long as he as strong, there was nothing to worry about. There wasn't anyone or anything that was really a threat to Shishio, that couldn't be easily removed. He had really never had any cares or worries, just a constant unbroken feeling of pleasure.
Even as a ronin, little bothered him. Of course, he cared for himself enough so that his continued existence was not a problem, but he didn't do much more than that. He knew that he had to preserve his life to keep his promise to Himura, so he was always careful and methodical in situations that could be severely hazardous to his health, but he never let such things worry him.
Despite his fledgling emotional responses, he still had a habit of going outside of his situation and examining it like an unbiased party. It was the only logical thing to do, and as the Tenken, logic had been his ally and emotions had been his enemy. This kept petty things from bothering him, and even some not so petty things. For instance, he wasn't a bit perturbed by his constant apologies to Kuri. They didn't hurt him, and they pacified her, so really, there was no draw back. Their current monetary straits did not bother him either. If they didn't have food tonight he'd simply have to figure out a way to get them food tomorrow. It wasn't complicated and there was no use dwelling on the fact that he was hungry.
Still, he had a responsibility now. He couldn't merely dismiss things as unpleasant but bearable now, he had Kuri to think of. He'd now have to consider his actions, and the risks he took more carefully, lest she be left to deal with the consequences. It did complicate things, but taking care of her was fulfilling the promise he had made to Himura, and he had to admit, having someone depending on him conjured that same full, rich contentedness that he had decided must be called "happiness." It'd been so long since he had felt things, he had difficulty remembering what all the terms meant, he realized ruefully.
Well, that would change in time. Everything can change in time, he knew. A bloody hitokiri could become a battered ronin and an indentured servant could become a free citizen. He'd just have to give it some time.
His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the rapid approach of slapping sandals on the dirt road. He looked up just in time to see Kuri come tearing around the corner hefting a large iron skillet with a ceramic dish in the center of it.
She screeched to a halt in front of him, although the skillet had a mind to keep travelling forward and she almost fell forward under its weight. When she regained her balance, she banged it down on the wooden sidewalk and took the heavy ceramic bowl out of the center of it.
"Sukiyaki?" he asked, caught rather off guard.
She nodded happily and shook out her sleeves, producing two pairs of chopsticks.
"Who gave you sukiyaki?" he asked curiously, taking an offered pair of chopsticks.
She laughed nervously, "That nice man from the restaurant we just visited. I went back and explained our situation in greater detail and he felt really bad for the way he treated us, so he said I could have all the food I wanted to make up for it."
"Dishes and all?"
"Hai," her smile was strained, "Now eat up fast. You need your strength and I really have to return these dishes soon."
He nodded and grabbed a piece of squash with his chopsticks. She really was right. He did need his strength if he was going to take care of her properly. That last thing she needed was for him to keel over from hunger on her.
Once she knew that she had secured his cooperation, she dug in with a relish, putting away the rice and vegetables at amazing speed. She barely stopped to breathe, catching spare air in between mouthfuls of food. Soujiro was not quite as enthusiastic, but she made sure he ate well through constant prodding.
She was beginning to feel very good inside when the rapid approach of several pairs of heavy booted feet reminded her of the consequences of their meal. She tugged at his sleeve.
"I think it's time we set off, Soujiro-kun," she intoned in the most relaxed, cheerful tone she could muster, which still sounded slightly nervous and panicky.
"Nani? I though you had to return these dishes . . ."
Suddenly, he was cut off by the sharp cry of thief and curious, he turned his head to survey the end of the street, where several armed policemen had just rounded the corner.
"I see," he sweatdropped, as he rose to his feet.
He should have expected as much. Kuri's story and behavior had been more than suspect. Still, he really couldn't blame her. She was a starving waif and the man she'd swiped from looked like he ran a very profitable restaurant. Soujiro doubted that he would even feel the loss of one dinner. He might have perhaps felt a twinge of guilt at Kuri's actions had the man at the restaurant not been so thoroughly unpleasant to her. As it stood, Kuri's impulse action had solved one of their problems but had presented them with another. He couldn't help thinking of her fondly, despite the trouble she'd gotten them into. She was trying her best to help in any way she could think of.
She hopped about like a demented rabbit again, sure that he was displeased with her, "Gomen nasai, Soujiro-kun, I was so hungry!"
He gave her a reassuring smile and murmured, "Daijoubu, daijoubu, don't work yourself into a fit, it just looks like we're going to leaving a little sooner than I expected."
The front runner in the pack of constabulary was close enough now to see that Soujiro carried a sword. He drew his own weapon and loudly called for the ronin to stay right where he was.
Soujiro was not particularly impressed with the policeman's sword, yet he did not see the benefits of slaying a policeman. Besides, there was Kuri to consider, that and the fact that he didn't need to kill these men to protect her from them. He was fairly certain that the random killing of a policeman would contradict the whole purpose of his journey.
This settled, he could see only one other feasible alternative.
He turned his head absently and gauged the height of the nearest building. He glanced back at the rapidly approaching policemen one last time and then turned and scooped Kuri up into his arms in one smooth motion. She made a startled sound that turned into a light squeal as he jumped from the ground to a rooftop like a grasshopper. She blinked and began to rub her eyes as if she disbelieved they had just hopped from the street to a rooftop with no problems. Soujiro took the opportunity when Kuri had her eyes closed to tense his calves. He was gone from the town in something between an instant and a moment, with only a few dented rooftops to show his passage.
The policemen were left in the middle of the street wondering what on earth had become of their quarry in a fraction of a second. After a half-hearted hunt through a few local buildings, the hunt was called off and the bowl and skillet were returned, empty, to the angry restaurant owner.
He had nothing to say about it but a low, muttered curse.
* * * * * * * * * *
He stopped his monumental burst of speed right after they passed through the outskirts of town, but he kept running for sometime, putting a good bit of distance between them and the town. When he finally did stop it was to announce that they were stopping for the night under a tree near the road.
He set her on her feet gently, but even as he did she immediately grabbed his shoulder.
"Soujiro-kun, how did you do that?!! I close my eyes and we're in town, I open them back up and we're not in town anymore. What happened?"
He laughed nervously and smiled his benign smile, "I think you fainted, Kuri-san."
She looked at him skeptically, "Are you sure?"
He nodded, "You went limp in my arms for a while. I was worried."
He was sure that she would treat him differently once she knew about his past. She didn't need to be burdened with the truth. Besides, a few slight alterations of the truth never hurt anyone.
This answer seemed to appease her, and she didn't question him about it any more before curling into a little ball near him, under the tree. She had had a long day.
"Just one more thing, Soujiro-kun," she yawned and made herself more comfortable in the grass.
"Hai?"
"If you run off and leave me while I'm asleep, I swear I'll hunt you until the day I die."
"Hai, Kuri-san," he smiled and rolled over on his side.
"Oyasumi," she yawned again faintly.
"Oyasumi, he returned.
Several minutes passed and Soujiro was lulled by her regular breathing. He was just about to drift off himself when he felt a light tug at his sleeve as she shifted positions slightly while she slept.
He craned his neck to see her arm stretched out between them. His smile was warm in the darkness. She had a death grip on his gi.
She was taking no chances.
Author's Note:
Because I revised this chapter quite some time ago, the original no longer exists to compare it with. Going over to Tears and Rain proper will only net you a slightly altered version of this chapter. The full rewrites begin at chapter four. Don't worry, you didn't miss anything good in the first drafts :P
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