The Difference Between Infatuation and Love
By: Ayashi no Tenshi
Full Summary: Kaoru is a 21-year-old enterprising young woman trying to forget her teen infatuation with Kenshin Himura, 3 years her senior. As she tries to dismiss her infatuation as that--- an infatuation--- Fate decides to take it upon Herself that this so–called infatuation be revealed as true love.
This story is a spin-off from one of the stories I've recently read. The details are quite different, but the gist is the same. I need to explain some things before you read.
Tomoe is a Kamiya, the eldest, and her fiancé is Akira, and she has no romantic involvement with Kenshin; Sano is married to Megumi, and he's the eldest Kamiya brother; Soujiro is the third in the brood, and I paired him up with an OC I've developed, who I call Ayane; Kaoru is the fourth; Yahiko is in college here.
All right then. I hope you enjoy and take time to review.
Chapter 1
Kaoru wiped the sweat off her face with the back of her hand. Cleaning dojo floors was definitely not the best job in the world. Especially when there were two small children running around the place.
She had to do this tedious job. Her older sister Tomoe had gone out for a date with her fiance Akira for the day. Sanosuke -oniichan had to go to work and his wife Megumi had a conference in Hokkaido. Soujiro -niichan had promised his girlfriend Ayane that he'd help her with her grocery shopping, and her little brother Yahiko was still in the college, studying.
She sighed and stretched, causing her back to crack in a satisfying manner. She dropped her rag and went to chase after the two daughters of her older brother, Sanosuke. "Ayame-chan! Suzume-chan!," she called. She found them playing with the dog, Haro, an evil tempered German Shepherd. She shook her head. "Ayame-chan, Suzume-chan, you shouldn't be playing with Haro," she chided gently. "He's not a play dog, but a guard dog."
"Haro kawaii!" Ayame said, pouting. Suzume nodded in agreement with her sister, though she hadn't learned how to speak much yet.
"But Ayame-chan, you could get hurt! Besides, it's time for your nap." These children were a sweet pain.
As soon as the word 'nap' was uttered, Ayame started whining. "Kaoru-baasan!! No want!" Their young aunt sighed. This was not going well.
"All right, then. If you promise me you won't get near Hiro, I promise I won't make you sleep early. Is that a deal?"
Ayame contemplated about it for a moment. Although she was only 3 and a half, Sano called her 'Judge Ayame' or 'Ayame the Grown Up Baby' because of her ability in making such decisions. Kaoru's eldest niece nodded. "Deal!"
Kaoru then took both children by hand and put them by the porch where she could look over them as she cleaned the dojo. She took the task of wiping the dojo spotless again.
After a very short while, Suzume began to whimper. Ayame called to Kaoru, "Suzume-chan want milk." Kaoru sighed and asked the child what sort of milk Suzume wanted. "Cold."
Kaoru smiled gently and undertook the task of finding cold milk. She went for the cooler in the kitchen. As soon as she opened it, however, the heat had already seeped into the cooler and melted the ice. Now the milk was warm. "Shit," she swore. She loved making the children happy, so she contemplated. Should she give Suzume the warm milk, or should she run down to the grocery store and buy ice-cold milk?
The first choice sounded less dangerous. But before she made it to the kitchen door, a figure blocked it.
"So, you're going to give the warm milk, are you?" it said. Kaoru recognized the cool voice as Kenshin Himura's voice. As a blush began to creep up her cheeks, she thought of her mantra over and over again.
He's not my crush, I'm not a kid. He's not my crush, I'm not a kid. He's not my crush, I'm not a kid. "Do you want to baby-sit them then, while I go run down to the store?" she retorted icily.
"That won't be necessary," Kenshin said, and strode to the fridge so gracefully that Kaoru was almost swooned.
No, not again. Never again. He's not my crush, I'm not a kid. "And how come?"
Kenshin grinned, waving the ice cubes on the ice tray. "Problem solved."
His boyish grin made Kaoru want to grin sheepishly too. But she took on a cold demeanor so as not to give away the feelings she harboured for him –a long time ago, she reminded herself.
As Kenshin cracked the ice so the cubes could be placed in the glass of milk, Kaoru watched. Her eyes travelled to his graceful wrist, his slender but muscular arms, and to his face she –used to –love, she couldn't help but smile. He was a very dependable person.
She had been taken by him right from the start. As soon as he and his father had moved to their little town, she couldn't help but be endeared by him, by his mysterious air and funny character, once she and her siblings got to know him.
Her Soujiro –oniichan became Kenshin's best friend, and so did Sano –oniichan. Her Tomoe –oneechan added him to her babysitting list, while the youngest Kamiyas became his 'fans,' Yahiko for his sword skill, Kaoru for his charm. It didn't take too long for this crush to become fascination.
Soon, she began tagging along to the three boys' excursions, which in her opinion were fun activities, and in her mother's opinion, boyish activities. Kaoru however, didn't mind scratches, bruises, and her mother's nagging and scolding, as long as she was near her 'beloved' Kenshin.
When their mother died of sickness and their father died of depression, all five of them had to become more mature. Kenshin helped them heal, especially Kaoru, who had been her father's 'little tomboy.' When his own father died in an accident, they helped him in his difficulties. Kaoru remembered, when she was thirteen, she had found him crying silently at the Hiten Mitsurugi Dojo, and she had comforted him, for the first time, with success. She had dreamed so much of becoming someone he'd turn to for comfort all the time, so that something may develop between them. But that was the only time he had showed so much of that emotion. Most of the time his face showed her a smirk, a grimace, or a frown.
But now they were only childhood fantasies to her. Kenshin was a much too complicated person for her anyway. It always seemed that he would never settle down and marry. He only made love to women, but they were mostly one-night stands. Kaoru frowned at the thought of him fathering a lot of children, but then again, probably all the single women in their town dreamed of that occurrence.
She couldn't get why she was still so jealous of the women he had had on his bed. She insisted to herself that she only felt the leftover fascination from her childhood. Or the hope she had felt whenever she tagged along for dances and Kenshin would ask her for a dance. She could still remember his arms around her slender waist, his even breathing as she leaned against his chest, his soft lips when—
"Kaoru! Hello!" Kenshin waved a hand in front of her. "I said, how cold does Suzume want her milk!?"
"Huh?" Kaoru said, a bit dazed after being jarred out of her thoughts. "Oh… just two cubes, I guess."
Kenshin plopped two cubes into the glass of milk and said, "Kaoru, really, you shouldn't go out on me like that. I may have result to… drastic measures to get you out of your stupor." He smirked as the desired effect of his teasing flashed across Kaoru's face.
Kaoru was blushing in embarrassment. The emphasis on the word 'drastic' was giving her ideas. Fucking bastard… Do you know how much that affected me? Baka! "Mou, just shut up, Kenshin. You don't affect me."
Kenshin smirked, now knowing how much Kaoru didn't know. "Yeah, right. Why the hell do you blush whenever I'm around, then? Why do you drool all over me, then? Why do you place on that damn pedestal I don't deserve?"
"Wha…what do you mean?" A wave of fear washed over Kaoru. Had he found out about…?
"You know very well what I mean," Kenshin said, no trace of emotion in his voice now. "How can anyone not notice someone who's been grovelling at their feet for years? How can't I notice you worshipping the ground I walk on? I'm not some god, Kaoru, I'm only human, but your damn infatuation has kept me on that fucking pedestal for years!"
Kaoru froze. When she found the energy to speak, she yelled, "Dammit, Kenshin! Yeah, okay, you know about it, I can take that, but you have to know something else too; I don't grovel anymore! I'm grown up, I'm successful in whatever I'm doing, and I don't need my silly fantasies anymore, because I can fantasize more feasible things now! I'm not that stupid kid who'd follow you around wherever you went anymore! I'm not fucking infatuated with you anymore!"
Kenshin was quiet after that outburst, but he began to close their distance quickly. Without warning, Kenshin placed his mouth over Kaoru's. Kaoru mumbled a muffled curse before letting Kenshin take lead.
Kenshin sucked on Kaoru's bottom lip, silently commanding entrance. Kaoru didn't obey just yet, teasing him as her tongue darted in and out quickly, giving him only a hint of what he could taste. When she finally relented, Kenshin invaded her mouth, feeling the ridges and contours of its insides. Kaoru ruthlessly attacked his tongue with his, but he fought back just as fiercely. Their tongues were caught in a war dance, and their hands were soon exploring.
Kaoru placed her smooth fingers on Kenshin's nape, stroking circles on it. Her other hand went to explore the outlines of Kenshin's well-chiseled chest. Kenshin traced her spine, and a shiver followed at his touch. His other hand slowly entered the fabric of Kaoru's shirt, climbing up to her stomach and rubbing the warm flesh he found there.
They stopped, panting for breath. Kaoru's cheeks were stained with red, and her eyes flew open to become as wide as saucers. "What did you do that for?" she murmured.
"To test you," Kenshin said simply, walking out the kitchen door and into the dojo.
He couldn't admit that he had liked that kiss as well.
Kaoru wanted to burst into tears. Test her? Why the hell did he test her? Why did he want to find out if she still craved that of encounter? "Aughh! I hate him!" she said, banging her hands on the cold marble island. She took a deep breath to calm herself. As soon as she felt that her hands weren't shaky anymore, she got Suzume's glass of milk and carried it to the dojo, praying that Kenshin had gone.
He wasn't. He was sitting with Ayame and Suzume, amusing them with 'magic' tricks. As Ayame went whining for Kenshin to pull out another coin out of her ear, Kaoru fixed herself to look like nothing happened. She smiled as Ayame went laughing when Kenshin gave her the coin he had found hidden in her hair. "Ah, here, Suzume-chan," she said in a falsely cheerful voice. To her chagrin, as soon as Suzume drank a few gulps, she tried scooping the ice from the glass.
"Suzume-chan, please don't do that!" Kaoru exclaimed, withholding the child's hand gently. Kenshin watched amusedly. She frowned at him. "So much for your good idea."
"You're welcome."
She scowled and ignored him, coaxing the baby to drink up. She didn't notice Ayame sidling up to the dog slowly.
Then Suzume said, "Ne-cha! Dod!"
"Huh?" Kenshin asked. "What're you trying to say, Suzume-chan?"
Suzume's hand waving became more frantic. "Ne-chaaa! Dod! Anri!"
Kaoru's eyes widened. "Nee-chan, dog… oh no! Kenshin, watch Suzume!" She went to the yard and saw that Haro was starting to growl. "Shoo!" she yelled, and grouchy Haro barked, causing Ayame to get scared, but Haro ran away. She carried a whimpering Ayame back to the porch.
"Aka-chan, don't do that ever again!" Kaoru scolded the child gently, rocking her in her arms. Kenshin smiled.
"I'm going now," Kenshin said, standing up. "I have classes to teach." His eyes fell on Kaoru's lips, and she deduced they still must be swollen from their kiss.
As he casually sauntered off, Kaoru frowned. "I hate you," she said under her breath.
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TBC…
I hope you guys liked this chapter. Please review. Thanks!