The Unexpected Matchmaker: A RK Short Story
Title: The Unexpected Matchmaker
Author: Azuhra (Daughter of Chaos on FF.net)
Prompt: Party (With abonus for a surprise kiss)
Rating: K+
Word Count: 2117
Character(s): Sanosuke, Kaoru, Kenshin
Summary: A gift and a birthday party lead to strange revelations one evening. Count this as a peculiar follow up to "Shopping Buddies."
A/N: Its funny that I wrote theses stories in reverse order of the prompts they actually came from. Consider this story a follow up to Prompt 2: Brilliant. For the record, I'm a fan of BigBrother!Sanosuke and LittleSister!Kaoru when it comes to that aspect of the Kenshin family. I'm afraid those tastes blatantly show. Really, the man teases her relentlessly but drops everything to protect her (and you can't convince me its just because of Kenshin....) Oh and bonus points for a surprise kiss were once to be awarded for this prompt. Of course I imagine it would have had to have been done on time for that to work.
1.) Party --For the rk_challenge
Not posted there though as I wrote this much too late for the prompt :/
The Unexpected Matchmaker
He expected this party Jou-chan was throwing to be well worth his while. He really did. To have to be caught out on the streets of Tokyo carrying this shiny little fist sized wrapped box was beyond him. If he had a girl or some such he could pass the pretty little thing off as a gift for her. Sanosuke didn't have a girl though and of all the times he might pass a clutch of his drinking and gambling buddies it would be toady.
The ex-street rough pulled his chin up high and coiled his right hand as tightly as he dared about the box as he offered as nonchalant a greeting as possible. He heard the snickering behind him, caught of glimpse of hands being raised to mouths to attempt to hide this activity from the mighty Sagara Sanosuke.
Oh, there would be rumors flying by tonight he knew. Was he finally taking a whack at presenting himself as a romantic interest for that foxy lady doctor? Was he trying to woo that red-headed swordsman's girl right out from under him? Was he trying to woo that red-headed swordsman? The last always cracked him up when ever he heard any such rumors directed at himself and Kenshin. According to Ginji, Kenshin quite batted his eyes at Sanosuke when ever they were together. Sanosuke pointed out that Kenshin batted his eyes at everyone.
Honestly, he could almost understand the gossip of his trying for female conquests with Jou-chan and Megumi. He really could. To outside eyes that kind of thing might make sense even if he in truth wouldn't ever really pursue those tracks. Heaven help him. That lady doctor would laugh until her make-up was streaming if he tried any wooing and Jou-chan wouldn't know he was trying unless he smacked her with a romantic stick upside the head. Even then he wasn't sure. And they both had Kenshin colored glasses on when it came to men.
And with Kenshin, well at this Sanosuke allowed himself and amused smirk. He wouldn't ever try to woo Kenshin. If he decided he wanted a go in the horizontal kind of swordplay with Kenshin he'd just out and ask. No point in beating around the bush with the man, he'd know. Sanosuke had no interest in Kenshin that way either though. There were much easier prospects to be had at his usual dives if he wanted someone to warm his toes of a night.
Still, to see the tough, able, and epitome of manliness that was Sagara Sanosuke walking through town (and out of town as fast as he dared) with a little box wrapped in silvery paper and tied off with a complex bow of red ribbon would be enough to set the town gossips to working. He wasn't unknown (his own doing on that) and neither were his habits (also his own doing in all honesty) and this strange little scene was way out of character for him.
Which was when Sanosuke decided Jou-chan had best be serving sake at this party and enough of it for him to get very drunk and have every excuse to pass out and sleep at the dojo tonight. Let the rumor mongers stick that in their craw and chew on it.
The young man let that smile that was creeping in his heart about the whole thing tonight finally cross his lips as he passed the last bridge out of the heart of Tokyo on his was to the dojo. It was Kenshin's birthday and Kenshin's party. And how Kaoru had managed to wrangle that sort of personal information out of a man as tight lipped as Kenshin was well beyond Sanosuke's own reasoning and powers. He was more than willing to go with the celebration though.
And just possibly get himself into some well earned trouble.
What he carried in the box was the gift the he had gone along with Jou-chan to pick out not two weeks before. She wanted a frilly something, but must have suspected it wouldn't at all be what Kenshin wanted. Which was how the kendo instructor wound up having a world class street ruffian trailing behind her like a well trained puppy as they cavorted through a variety of street stalls. She was likely hoping Sano could sniff out something useful for the rurouni.
At the leather smith’s shop Sano was rather proud of himself for having spied something to combine the two whims - it could be personalized and yet would be perfectly useable to to the red-haired man. It was a leather hair tie back, cut with precision and wide enough to control that main of Kenshin's hair while supple enough to be easy to tie off. Sano pointed this out to the younger woman and suggested they might have a birthday wish embossed on the strap.
Kaoru had been thrilled, leaning over the counter and grinning hopefully up at the leather smith on the other side. “Please emboss it to say 'Best Birthday Wishes. From Kaoru, Megumi, Yahiko, and Sanosuke.'”
The man looked rightly stricken by this command even as Kaoru counted out her money, said she would return for it in two weeks, and happily trotted off in the direction of a shiny bauble stand across the street. Sanosuke strayed, having taken pity on the poor worker and also realizing himself what a problem all of that would be to put on a leather hair thong. Leaning an elbow on the counter he suggested quietly to the man, “That'd be some hard work on your part. Just go with 'Best Birthday Wishes, Love Kaoru.' I'll tell her I changed it.”
Oh, it was a risk and a bold one at that in having that particular phrase so permanently emblazoned on leather. He kind of hoped Jou-chan wouldn't out and kill him. He hoped Megumi wouldn't kill him either. He really hoped Kenshin wouldn't go so red in the face that he popped like a small, self contained, explosion.
Okay, so he hoped to do a little unasked for matchmaking here. That's the part where he suspected he was going to get into trouble. He hadn't told Kaoru what he had done. She wouldn't know until Kenshin opened his gift this evening.
It turned out that Kaoru had well out done herself for this party. She must have been saving for some time and he suspected Tae still kicked in some food and beverage 'on the house' among what was brought to the dojo. Tae and Tsubame had to run early from the party to close down the Akebeko that night (much to Yahiko's fidgeting consternation.) So they dined and started in on the sake early. Gensai-sensei was called out not long after on a house call for one of his patients. This is how it turned out for better or worse to just be Kenshin, Kaoru, Yahiko, Megumi, and Sanosuke himself around to witness as Kaoru pulled the small wrapped gift from behind her back and presented it to Kenshin with a shy smile.
If she knew what was written on it, she'd be a lot shier of the whole deal.
It turned out only some of Sano's predictions for reactions to this gift were true. Kenshin carefully unwrapped the package and dipped one pale hand into its interior retrieving the fine piece of workmanship that was the leather hair tie back. He spied the inscription right away and flipped the leather to read it through quickly. He did turn red - bright red, but he skipped the small explosion part. The little rurouni's eyes darted nervously to a joyously expectant Kaoru even as his pink tongue just barely tipped out between his lips.
Jou-chan watched him for a moment before her brow began to lower and her smile to fade ever so slightly. “Do you like it?”
Sanosuke knew a wicked grin was crossing his own face by this time and quickly buried his reactions in a cup of sake. It was much too funny. Kenshin looked as though he'd sat on something sharp and twitched wonderfully even as he pulled a jittery smile from the depths of somewhere to reward Kaoru with. “It is lovely, Kaoru-dono. This one has never received quite such a gift before.”
Oh heavens above, Sanosuke found he had to close his eyes and clench his jaw to contain his amused reaction. Kenshin: the master of understatement. Yahiko was rapt with curiosity and watching the tableau in front of him intently. Megumi's cinnamon eyes and sharp intellect had caught on to something being not quite right in this game. Her gaze slid unerringly to Sanosuke and his not-well-hidden humor. He , in turn, shrugged as innocently as he could back at her.
Kaoru continued, looking some cross between pleased and baffled. Even she knew Kenshin's behavior was not quite right for the gift given. “Well it is from all of us. I had hoped you'd like it, maybe even use it.”
“Oro?!” Came the somewhat squeaked reaction to this announcement. Kenshin's eyes going wide in disbelief and confusion. “This one was under the impression that.... thought it to be personalized from you, Kaoru-dono.”
And now Kaoru was looking equally confused. Yahiko's own brows were drawn low. Megumi seemed to have quickly put together who exactly had brought the gift and his all together wrong and amused response to the conversation. Sanosuke met her gaze, struggling and failing to look innocent of the matter. And that damn foxy doctor, what did she do? Her lips twitched into an equal smile, as though she knew something fun was up. They really were too much alike, him and this lady doctor.
All the same, Kaoru carried on. “Well certainly I picked it out. Actually, I brought Sanosuke along to help me that day and he picked it out. I dictated the embossing though. And bought of course. You know Sanosuke never would.”
And what should have damned Jou-chan further in the conversation in fact saved her. The candle was lit in Kenshin's head as he murmured, “Sano helped you to... Ah.”
Deep blue eyes set in a still scarlet face turned knowingly on the ex-street ruffian. For his part, Sano's eyebrows flew up beneath his headband and he did his best to look innocent and hide behind a sake cup again. Of course he knew he never really did pull of innocent very well.
He expected Kenshin to call him out on it openly. To have the man blatantly point out what he had done in Kaoru's name. He knew it was coming because of this shy little tip-toeing act that had been going on forever between Kenshin and Jou-chan. But Kenshin did something entirely different. Which was fair really, it was his party after all.
The rurouni turned a wondrous smile on Kaoru at that point. She began turning red as he reached out and clasped her hand with both of his, gently depositing the leather strip writing side up in her palm. “This one fully returns the wishes, Kaoru-dono, and the sentiment expressed on this leather. This one will wear it with pride.”
And Sanosuke alone gaped that time. He and Kenshin being the only two in the room who knew exactly what was written on that gift just then. And knowing that, had Kenshin actually just told Kaoru that he...
Kaoru's eyes stayed on Kenshin's for an uncomfortably long moment before they seemed to drift to the leather in her hand of their own accord. There were several seconds of silence before Kaoru went white and then red. “This isn't what I.. this isn't at all what what was supposed to be... I... Kenshin, did you just say what I think you said?”
Kenshin's warm eyes lit up with a warm smile as he shrugged, the red never quite leaving his own face. “This one merely thanks you for his birthday gift Kaoru-dono.”
From here the leather was passed around to the other two in the room which inspired much laughter when it became perfectly clear what Sanosuke had done. Sanosuke himself expected that Kaoru would be on the war path about the whole business (and he wouldn't have blamed her.) Therefor it came as one hell of a shock to have Kaoru kneel beside him to fill his sake cup later that night and quickly dart in to place a brush of a kiss on his cheek. This time Sano knew he was the one turning red.
“Thank you, you meddling idiot.”
“Anytime, you shy little tanuki.”
Author: Azuhra (Daughter of Chaos on FF.net)
Prompt: Party (With abonus for a surprise kiss)
Rating: K+
Word Count: 2117
Character(s): Sanosuke, Kaoru, Kenshin
Summary: A gift and a birthday party lead to strange revelations one evening. Count this as a peculiar follow up to "Shopping Buddies."
A/N: Its funny that I wrote theses stories in reverse order of the prompts they actually came from. Consider this story a follow up to Prompt 2: Brilliant. For the record, I'm a fan of BigBrother!Sanosuke and LittleSister!Kaoru when it comes to that aspect of the Kenshin family. I'm afraid those tastes blatantly show. Really, the man teases her relentlessly but drops everything to protect her (and you can't convince me its just because of Kenshin....) Oh and bonus points for a surprise kiss were once to be awarded for this prompt. Of course I imagine it would have had to have been done on time for that to work.
1.) Party --For the rk_challenge
Not posted there though as I wrote this much too late for the prompt :/
The Unexpected Matchmaker
He expected this party Jou-chan was throwing to be well worth his while. He really did. To have to be caught out on the streets of Tokyo carrying this shiny little fist sized wrapped box was beyond him. If he had a girl or some such he could pass the pretty little thing off as a gift for her. Sanosuke didn't have a girl though and of all the times he might pass a clutch of his drinking and gambling buddies it would be toady.
The ex-street rough pulled his chin up high and coiled his right hand as tightly as he dared about the box as he offered as nonchalant a greeting as possible. He heard the snickering behind him, caught of glimpse of hands being raised to mouths to attempt to hide this activity from the mighty Sagara Sanosuke.
Oh, there would be rumors flying by tonight he knew. Was he finally taking a whack at presenting himself as a romantic interest for that foxy lady doctor? Was he trying to woo that red-headed swordsman's girl right out from under him? Was he trying to woo that red-headed swordsman? The last always cracked him up when ever he heard any such rumors directed at himself and Kenshin. According to Ginji, Kenshin quite batted his eyes at Sanosuke when ever they were together. Sanosuke pointed out that Kenshin batted his eyes at everyone.
Honestly, he could almost understand the gossip of his trying for female conquests with Jou-chan and Megumi. He really could. To outside eyes that kind of thing might make sense even if he in truth wouldn't ever really pursue those tracks. Heaven help him. That lady doctor would laugh until her make-up was streaming if he tried any wooing and Jou-chan wouldn't know he was trying unless he smacked her with a romantic stick upside the head. Even then he wasn't sure. And they both had Kenshin colored glasses on when it came to men.
And with Kenshin, well at this Sanosuke allowed himself and amused smirk. He wouldn't ever try to woo Kenshin. If he decided he wanted a go in the horizontal kind of swordplay with Kenshin he'd just out and ask. No point in beating around the bush with the man, he'd know. Sanosuke had no interest in Kenshin that way either though. There were much easier prospects to be had at his usual dives if he wanted someone to warm his toes of a night.
Still, to see the tough, able, and epitome of manliness that was Sagara Sanosuke walking through town (and out of town as fast as he dared) with a little box wrapped in silvery paper and tied off with a complex bow of red ribbon would be enough to set the town gossips to working. He wasn't unknown (his own doing on that) and neither were his habits (also his own doing in all honesty) and this strange little scene was way out of character for him.
Which was when Sanosuke decided Jou-chan had best be serving sake at this party and enough of it for him to get very drunk and have every excuse to pass out and sleep at the dojo tonight. Let the rumor mongers stick that in their craw and chew on it.
The young man let that smile that was creeping in his heart about the whole thing tonight finally cross his lips as he passed the last bridge out of the heart of Tokyo on his was to the dojo. It was Kenshin's birthday and Kenshin's party. And how Kaoru had managed to wrangle that sort of personal information out of a man as tight lipped as Kenshin was well beyond Sanosuke's own reasoning and powers. He was more than willing to go with the celebration though.
And just possibly get himself into some well earned trouble.
What he carried in the box was the gift the he had gone along with Jou-chan to pick out not two weeks before. She wanted a frilly something, but must have suspected it wouldn't at all be what Kenshin wanted. Which was how the kendo instructor wound up having a world class street ruffian trailing behind her like a well trained puppy as they cavorted through a variety of street stalls. She was likely hoping Sano could sniff out something useful for the rurouni.
At the leather smith’s shop Sano was rather proud of himself for having spied something to combine the two whims - it could be personalized and yet would be perfectly useable to to the red-haired man. It was a leather hair tie back, cut with precision and wide enough to control that main of Kenshin's hair while supple enough to be easy to tie off. Sano pointed this out to the younger woman and suggested they might have a birthday wish embossed on the strap.
Kaoru had been thrilled, leaning over the counter and grinning hopefully up at the leather smith on the other side. “Please emboss it to say 'Best Birthday Wishes. From Kaoru, Megumi, Yahiko, and Sanosuke.'”
The man looked rightly stricken by this command even as Kaoru counted out her money, said she would return for it in two weeks, and happily trotted off in the direction of a shiny bauble stand across the street. Sanosuke strayed, having taken pity on the poor worker and also realizing himself what a problem all of that would be to put on a leather hair thong. Leaning an elbow on the counter he suggested quietly to the man, “That'd be some hard work on your part. Just go with 'Best Birthday Wishes, Love Kaoru.' I'll tell her I changed it.”
Oh, it was a risk and a bold one at that in having that particular phrase so permanently emblazoned on leather. He kind of hoped Jou-chan wouldn't out and kill him. He hoped Megumi wouldn't kill him either. He really hoped Kenshin wouldn't go so red in the face that he popped like a small, self contained, explosion.
Okay, so he hoped to do a little unasked for matchmaking here. That's the part where he suspected he was going to get into trouble. He hadn't told Kaoru what he had done. She wouldn't know until Kenshin opened his gift this evening.
It turned out that Kaoru had well out done herself for this party. She must have been saving for some time and he suspected Tae still kicked in some food and beverage 'on the house' among what was brought to the dojo. Tae and Tsubame had to run early from the party to close down the Akebeko that night (much to Yahiko's fidgeting consternation.) So they dined and started in on the sake early. Gensai-sensei was called out not long after on a house call for one of his patients. This is how it turned out for better or worse to just be Kenshin, Kaoru, Yahiko, Megumi, and Sanosuke himself around to witness as Kaoru pulled the small wrapped gift from behind her back and presented it to Kenshin with a shy smile.
If she knew what was written on it, she'd be a lot shier of the whole deal.
It turned out only some of Sano's predictions for reactions to this gift were true. Kenshin carefully unwrapped the package and dipped one pale hand into its interior retrieving the fine piece of workmanship that was the leather hair tie back. He spied the inscription right away and flipped the leather to read it through quickly. He did turn red - bright red, but he skipped the small explosion part. The little rurouni's eyes darted nervously to a joyously expectant Kaoru even as his pink tongue just barely tipped out between his lips.
Jou-chan watched him for a moment before her brow began to lower and her smile to fade ever so slightly. “Do you like it?”
Sanosuke knew a wicked grin was crossing his own face by this time and quickly buried his reactions in a cup of sake. It was much too funny. Kenshin looked as though he'd sat on something sharp and twitched wonderfully even as he pulled a jittery smile from the depths of somewhere to reward Kaoru with. “It is lovely, Kaoru-dono. This one has never received quite such a gift before.”
Oh heavens above, Sanosuke found he had to close his eyes and clench his jaw to contain his amused reaction. Kenshin: the master of understatement. Yahiko was rapt with curiosity and watching the tableau in front of him intently. Megumi's cinnamon eyes and sharp intellect had caught on to something being not quite right in this game. Her gaze slid unerringly to Sanosuke and his not-well-hidden humor. He , in turn, shrugged as innocently as he could back at her.
Kaoru continued, looking some cross between pleased and baffled. Even she knew Kenshin's behavior was not quite right for the gift given. “Well it is from all of us. I had hoped you'd like it, maybe even use it.”
“Oro?!” Came the somewhat squeaked reaction to this announcement. Kenshin's eyes going wide in disbelief and confusion. “This one was under the impression that.... thought it to be personalized from you, Kaoru-dono.”
And now Kaoru was looking equally confused. Yahiko's own brows were drawn low. Megumi seemed to have quickly put together who exactly had brought the gift and his all together wrong and amused response to the conversation. Sanosuke met her gaze, struggling and failing to look innocent of the matter. And that damn foxy doctor, what did she do? Her lips twitched into an equal smile, as though she knew something fun was up. They really were too much alike, him and this lady doctor.
All the same, Kaoru carried on. “Well certainly I picked it out. Actually, I brought Sanosuke along to help me that day and he picked it out. I dictated the embossing though. And bought of course. You know Sanosuke never would.”
And what should have damned Jou-chan further in the conversation in fact saved her. The candle was lit in Kenshin's head as he murmured, “Sano helped you to... Ah.”
Deep blue eyes set in a still scarlet face turned knowingly on the ex-street ruffian. For his part, Sano's eyebrows flew up beneath his headband and he did his best to look innocent and hide behind a sake cup again. Of course he knew he never really did pull of innocent very well.
He expected Kenshin to call him out on it openly. To have the man blatantly point out what he had done in Kaoru's name. He knew it was coming because of this shy little tip-toeing act that had been going on forever between Kenshin and Jou-chan. But Kenshin did something entirely different. Which was fair really, it was his party after all.
The rurouni turned a wondrous smile on Kaoru at that point. She began turning red as he reached out and clasped her hand with both of his, gently depositing the leather strip writing side up in her palm. “This one fully returns the wishes, Kaoru-dono, and the sentiment expressed on this leather. This one will wear it with pride.”
And Sanosuke alone gaped that time. He and Kenshin being the only two in the room who knew exactly what was written on that gift just then. And knowing that, had Kenshin actually just told Kaoru that he...
Kaoru's eyes stayed on Kenshin's for an uncomfortably long moment before they seemed to drift to the leather in her hand of their own accord. There were several seconds of silence before Kaoru went white and then red. “This isn't what I.. this isn't at all what what was supposed to be... I... Kenshin, did you just say what I think you said?”
Kenshin's warm eyes lit up with a warm smile as he shrugged, the red never quite leaving his own face. “This one merely thanks you for his birthday gift Kaoru-dono.”
From here the leather was passed around to the other two in the room which inspired much laughter when it became perfectly clear what Sanosuke had done. Sanosuke himself expected that Kaoru would be on the war path about the whole business (and he wouldn't have blamed her.) Therefor it came as one hell of a shock to have Kaoru kneel beside him to fill his sake cup later that night and quickly dart in to place a brush of a kiss on his cheek. This time Sano knew he was the one turning red.
“Thank you, you meddling idiot.”
“Anytime, you shy little tanuki.”