Part eleven

 A few hours later, Kenshin was using the perfect weather outside to do the laundry.  His hands paused in scrubbing as he mingled through the facts of the present situation in his head.  He thought about Kaoru-dono and her recent listlessness, he was concerned not only because of the amount she worked, but of the toll it was taking on her.  Gone was the feisty, temperamental girl he had come to care for, instead to be replaced by a quiet, secretive shade of the person he once knew.  And he knew mixed into all that was the grief of the death of her father, so far down that she didn't realize it herself.  And guilt as well.  As Kenshin was familiar with these darker emotions, he felt them more deeply than most and was able to find the same dark feelings in
others.

 That is one of the things that drew him to Kaoru-dono in the first place. Besides her deep loneliness, Kenshin always felt a darkness in Kaoru-dono's soul.  Though it was no where as near as dark as his, that is the one thing that intrigued him about her.  That for a girl who appeared so simple and was so giving,  a darkness in her would exist. All he could understand about it is that it comes from the death of Kaoru's parents.  And as far as he can label
it, the darkness in her soul is called-

 Kenshin felt a hostile presence near the dojo.  He resumed his scrubbing, but scanned the area around him with narrowed eyes.  Ah, that tree, he thought. He couldn't see the person hiding there, but could feel him through the person's powerful aura of evil and malcontent.  As suddenly as the feeling appeared, it was gone.  Kenshin put the laundry away and walked towards the
main door that opened into the dojo area.  It was there that he saw Megumi bending over and picking up a small doll from the ground.  The smell of blood, Kenshin thought as he approached the doctor.

   * * * * * *

 Instead of his customary cheerful greeting, Megumi was surprised by Kenshin's clipped voice, "Give me the doll."  When she complied, she looked down at her hands in surprise.  Her hands were stained with the freshness of blood.

 "What-?" Her gaze moved from her hands to the doll in Ken-san's hand.  Oh, from the doll, she thought, but who's blood is it? Megumi paled, but kept her composure as she swept past Kenshin, past the gates.

 "What's going on, Ken-san?"  Kenshin's glance up at her chilled Megumi's blood.  Instead of the customary bright purple eyes that usually greeted her, she was met with hard, narrowed eyes stained almost amber with hatred.  His usually easy-going expression was transformed by the tightness of his mouth.

"Megumi, go wash your hands."

 Megumi's eyes widened at the lack of formality that usually accompanied Kenshin's speech, but did as she was told.  As she came back from doing so, she spied Kaoru sitting on the porch outside the doors of the dojo, deep in thought and totally ignoring the antics of Yahiko who decided it would be much more fun practicing by calling her 'old bag' with each downward stroke of his wooden sword.  Megumi was going to call out to Yahiko to chide him for his
rudeness when Kaoru's eyes widened as she finally registered what her pupil had been saying.  Kaoru stood up and approached the now fearful boy and leaned over him, "What did you just call me?"

 Yahiko realized that he was in big trouble.  There was something in Kaoru's eyes that scared him more than the low, angry tone she used in her voice. When her hands tightened on her own wooden sword and lifted it above his head, he couldn't help but flinch and close his eyes.  When the expected bashing on the head didn't come, he looked up to see Kaoru's blue eyes brimming with suppressed tears.  Strangely enough, he was relieved but was still shocked even more than he was previously, "Hey Kaoru?  Kaoru, what's wrong?"

 Kaoru lowered her practice sword in front of her till it's tip touched the ground.  Gripping it with two hands, she assumed the stance of the budo master that she was, "Yahiko," she started, "You will commence practicing right now. Five hundred swings, done correctly, starting now."

 "Five hundred?!?" The boy howled.

 The bashing on his head,this time, only angered him, "There's no way I'm doing five hundred!"

 Kaoru yelled back, "Yes, you will and you'll do them now!"

 Megumi relaxed as she saw that Kaoru and Yahiko were now resorting to their normal antics.  She continued walking back to the front of the house where Kenshin was once again doing the laundry.

 "Ah, Megumi-dono, good morning."  Kenshin was back to his normal self.

 "Good morning, Ken-san," Megumi smiled in relief.  She looked around, but couldn't find the doll she'd held earlier, "Um, Ken-san what hap-"

 "Megumi-dono, tell me about Kawasaka Ikeda."  Megumi's eyes widened in surprise, but she complied, "Well, he is a very handsome and charming man, but he is also something else.  There is a darkness in his eyes,  I can't tell you if he is capable of cruelty, though.  But he does seem like two different people, at times." Kind of like you, Ken-san, Megumi finished silently.

 Kenshin's pleasant expression didn't change as he silently absorbed what Megumi had just said, " I see.  "  He paused and looked up at Megumi then,"When Sano and I came to see Kaoru-dono a few nights ago, where was she?  Was she hiding from me?"

 Megumi felt annoyance at the question, "If you didn't see her, she must have been hiding."

 Kenshin was surprised by the vehement answer but stayed silent a moment longer before continuing, "Megumi-dono, Kaoru-dono and yourself may be in danger working there, but I don't know how to stop Kaoru-dono from going back. She's determined to gain all the money she needs from that place."

 A wind suddenly rose around the two.  Megumi tucked a straying hair back behind her ear.  Kaoru, Kaoru is all he thinks of, she thought.  Yes, he is concerned about me, but he truly worries about the little country girl.  As feelings of regret and envy came over her, she looked up and noticed that Sanosuke was leaning against one of the wooden supports on the porch, "Good morning, Sano-san."

 Sano nodded, "Fox Lady."

 Megumi instantly fumed, "Chicken head."

 Sanosuke's fuming matched hers, "Why you-"

 "Sanosuke.  Megumi-dono."  The battle of name calling was averted by Kenshin's voice, "Please, Ayame-chan and Suzame-chan are sleeping."

  Megumi was startled to see that beyond the porch, past the half-opened door, there were indeed the forms of two sleeping little girls.   Megumi turned a little red at being caught acting so immature.  She turned to Kenshin, "If you want me to try to talk Kaoru into not going..?"

 "No, that's alright, Megumi-dono. I'll talk to her myself.  But thank you for offering."

 Megumi nodded, "Well, I'm going to head back to the clinic, if you both will excuse me."  Megumi nodded to both of them and turned to go.

 "Um, Megumi-dono?" Kenshin's inquiry stopped her, "Please allow Sano to go with you."

 Sanosuke's eyes narrowed at the request, but as his eyes met Kenshin's he knew that it was necessary, "Yeah, let me walk you back, Fox Lady."

 "Thank you very much, Chicken head." She gritted out through clenched teeth.

  Sano shot Kenshin a 'why me?' glance and followed the doctor out of the gates.

  *  *  *  *  *

 Kenshin shook his head at the antics of his friends.  Then his eyes focused on the doll which he held under the water in the washtub.   Kenshin felt sorrow come over him as he imagined the small, sweet little girl who had probably owned this very doll before she was murdered in cold blood. Kenshin's hands clinched on the doll as if it were the hilt to his sword.  His teeth clenched in growing hatred as he heard the scream of little girls being murdered.  Of all the crimes he'd ever been guilty of, it had never been the murder of a child.  And those who had murdered children surely had a dark spot in hell waiting for them, he thought.

 When Megumi had left to wash her hands, Kenshin inspected the doll carefully. The only thing besides blood out of place was the word "Maku" written carefully across the doll's heart.  He knew it was a message to him.  One he did not fully understand yet, but by damn he would, he thought.  Then he would get revenge on whoever cut the doll away from the little hands who'd once held it.  Kenshin's murderous gaze met his own reflection in the water...