A Second Chance

Chapter one

Kenshin sat cross legged in the center of his living room. He wore his white shirt unbuttoned and untucked, with the sleeves rolled up. He had some loosely-fit khaki pants on, which had a zillion pockets. He had a joint grasped between two fingers, enjoying each inhale. He tilted his head up and blew a couple smoky rings.

He gave his red hair a quick stroke, feeling like something was out of place. He set the joint down on a plate, deciding to fix his ponytail so that it was a little tighter. He held the hair band in his mouth while he fussed with his hair. There was a sudden knock at the door, and before the redhead had time to react the door slammed open. Embarrassed by his appearance, he tied his hair up with unimaginable speed. Kenshin relinquished a sigh of relief when he realized it was only his best friend, Sanosuke.

Sanosuke entered the door and took off his scuffed up sandals. He wiped off the dirt from his t-shirt and blue jeans, before coming in the apartment. Before Kenshin had a chance to greet him he charged straight for kitchen.

"Sano, where have you been? I wasn't expecting company."

"I just came from work."

"How's the construction site?" Kenshin asked with sincere interest, as he picked his joint back up, and took a deep puff from it.

"The building is just a steel frame right now. There's a lot more work to be done."

"I see."

Sano was rummaging through Kenshin's kitchen, for what Kenshin had no clue. "Hey Himura! Do you have any more sake?" Sano bellowed from inside a cabinet. "No, I finished it last night." Kenshin replied with a level tone.

"Damn Himura, you drink like a fish." Sanosuke complained.

"I don't drink that much…" Kenshin mumbled, now somewhat upset.

"I can't take you to bars unless you get sloshed." Sano teased.

"Sano!" Kenshin growled.

"Whoa buddy you don't' have to be so serious about that. I was only joking."

"But I'm not an alcoholic!" He demanded with side-splitting anger.

"I never mentioned anything about that Kenshin. You came up with that idea."

There was an uncomfortable silence after that; it lasted for a few minutes. Sanosuke felt weird standing over Kenshin, he felt like he was overpowering him. 'Why does Kenshin stay in such a submissive position all the time?' Sano thought with frustration. Kenshin sat meekly, taking in what his friend had said. The auburn haired man let this matter roll away and stop bothering him. He decided that he wasn't a heavy drinker or for that matter alcoholic, he was just fine.

Sanosuke easily shifted the subject away from their potential argument, after Kenshin was done settling himself.

"Do you have anything else to drink?" Sano asked cautiously, trying to avoid Kenshin's temper.

"Wine." He replied flatly.

"What kind."

"Merlot."

"Where can I find it?"

"Its behind the tin box of tea, in the second cabinet to the left."

Sanosuke found it instantly, he proceeded by setting the wine bottle carefully on the counter. He looked around for champagne flutes, wine glasses, even regular glasses. In the end he found nothing. Kenshin came back to earth after hearing all the commotion; he shook his head to clear his mind. "Sano, all my dishes are dirty. They are piled high in the sink. There are some teacups that I don't use…" Kenshin muttered, while standing up, stretching, and walking over to the couch. "Where Ken?" Sano asked eagerly. "Hold on. I'll come in a minute to get them. They're hard to get at unless you know where they are." The redhead simply explained. Sano felt like something wasn't quite right with his friend, but he couldn't put a finger on it. Kenshin was more irritable and tired than usual, and he was having late reactions to situations. Sano was concerned about his best friend; he decided to keep an eye on Kenshin.

Kenshin got to his feet, and walked over to an antique wooden trunk on the other side of the room. The bolt was unlocked and the heavy lid opened for him with ease. Kenshin pulled back some linen to reveal sets of well worn china dishes. He picked through the dishes with nimble fingers, and managed to grab two delicate teacups.

Kenshin joined Sano in the kitchen and told him to bring the merlot to the table. The redhead set the cups down, next to Sano and himself. Sanosuke poured the wine, while Kenshin took a seat. They made a toast to their good times together, before gulping down some Merlot. As the night wore on half the bottle was gone. Sanosuke and Kenshin were laughing and pointing at the fridge. Kenshin was slapping the table because he couldn't contain his joy.

"Ken! Ken! The fridge is dancing!" Sano shouted.

"Maybe I should dance with her."

"Yeah! Dance with her!" Sano exclaimed.

Kenshin got up from his chair, and approached the fridge anxiously. He stood in front of her, introducing himself. When she didn't answer back Kenshin thought of her to be the quiet type. He wrapped his arms around her cold, stainless steel frame. Kenshin swayed his hips side-side, and did a few shuffles with his bare feet. A chuckle came out of nowhere from him. When he was done with her he suddenly thought he should dance for her. Kenshin climbed up onto his dinner table and began rockin' out to music playing in his drunken head. He played some air guitar and hit invisible drums. Kenshin shuffled, shimmied, and shook without falling off that table once.

Sanosuke retreated to the couch after an hour of dancing, and fell asleep. Kenshin got to his feet, and hobbled over to the sink, wavering with each step. His vision blurred as he tried to find the knobs for the faucet. He turned the cold water on and let it run over his hands. He lowered his head in and splashed water on it. Kenshin grabbed the nozzle and sprayed his face with icy water, till his eyes popped open. Water was all over the nearby counter and floor, but he didn't care, he'd clean it up later.

Sobered up, he now felt ready for action. He checked the time on the microwave, it read 2am. Kenshin walked across the living room, spotting Sano on the couch. Sano was passed out on the couch, snoring heavily. 'Perfect.' thought Kenshin, as he meandered to the privacy of his bedroom. He locked the door behind him just as he came in. He went into his bathroom and turned the lights on. They gave off a dim glow but it was just enough to see. Kenshin left the bathroom for a moment to get something. He knelt down, lifted the bed skirt, and reached under the bed. He pulled out a wooden case, carrying it to the bathroom.

He set the case on the counter after closing the bathroom door. Kenshin slipped a chain-link necklace off his neck. It had a little metal key strung on the chain. He grasped the top of the box with a firm grip so it wouldn't slide, and jammed the key into the lock. The case popped open with a click.

It contained various tins and medical supplies. Kenshin dug through it, grabbing what he needed. He sat on the toilet, rolled up his sleeve a little more, and swabbed the crook of his arm with rubbing alcohol and cotton. He took a syringe out of his case, placing it on his knee. He grabbed a spoon from the counter and placed a bit of powdered Dope in the bottom. He reached into his pocket for a lighter, putting it on the counter. He took the spoon, leaned over to the sink and barely filled it with water. The redhead flicked on the lighter, held up the spoon, and heated the bottom of it.

It took Kenshin a little while to dissolve the heroin into the water. He was eager to shoot up, tapping his feet against the ground impatiently. The water had turned to a brown, murky color. Kenshin set it on counter, now filling the syringe. In a flash he pricked the skin of his left arm. The needle got stuck in his skin. He quickly wriggled it out and attempted to shoot up again. This time he aimed right, and the heroin went straight in. It burned his veins and made him want to crawl out of skin. He wanted to rip out his veins one by one and bash his skull in. The sensations made him shiver with pain. Kenshin as moaned the prickly, burning feelings passed through his body. He let his head rest on the wall and a cool feeling swept over his body.

Just as his muscles started to relax he refilled the syringe with more heroin. He shot up again, going through the same feelings. He did more heroin and lost count on how many times he had put that needle in his vein. Kenshin felt nauseous and his arm ached. He clutched his stomach and threw up on his shag rug. He wondered why he felt so horrible usually he had a good tolerance for these kinds of drugs. He thought back to anything else he might've done. He nearly slapped himself when he remembered the half of a Merlot bottle he had drank. He didn't remember being drunk, but he saw the empty bottle on the table when he went to his bedroom. His stomach gurgled and twisted, making him feel worse. He wondered what was making him so sick. He threw up again and collapsed. Kenshin laid there for few minutes, hoping the dizziness would go away. It didn't.

Kenshin had gotten out of the bathroom and made it to his bedside table. He was sitting on the bed as he searched his drawers for some medicine. After a thorough investigation he found some oxy cotton, leftover from what he had bought last week. He gazed at the five pills sitting in the plastic bag. His pain was intense, he ached all over, and was shaking. He popped all the pills. He stared at the wall, waiting for the pain to go away. What he wanted came, that and more. The dizziness returned, full throttle, and now he had a raging headache. He instinctively grabbed his head and scrunched his eyes shut. He tried to sit up and open his eyes so he could get into bed. His body went limp and he crumpled to the floor. On his way down his temple hit the sharp corner of the nightstand.

Kenshin's world went black.