Author's Notes: Hm, well, this is more or less just a one shot on barriers between the rich and poor, how we can't help who we are sometimes, but that we always have the ability to change that. Ugh, I sound philisophical now. Ok, let me start over. Kaoru is rich, Kenshin is poor and they manage to find each other in times when society is split in almost visible lines. The real question of this story is, can they make it?
Temptations
The limo driver is patiently holding the door open while my escort for the night is impatiently tapping his foot, waiting for me to step out into the frigid night air. But something is holding me back and for a moment, I can't remember what it is. Then I look at the unpracticed mask of my escort and a rush of thoughts fill my head. Now I remember. I had been thinking of him again, the temptation I had been secretly indulging myself in for weeks. I don't want to think about it, just an image of his face brings a fresh torrent of pain to my heart, but it's not like I have a choice.
Because they're everywhere...temptations. No sooner do you attempt to banish one that another comes and takes its place. You can't escape from it because it's everywhere. No matter where you turn to look, it stands before you like an immortal monument of human weakness. However strong your will may be, it will crumble before a temptation, leaving you to fling all caution to the winds and blindly follow something you cannot clearly see.
And why do we give into temptations? Simple. They are like the caresses of a long lost lover, that butterfly touch sending a million electric signals everywhere on your skin. The touch leaving you dreaming about it day after day. And at the same time, it can be the bitterest drink in the world, forcing itself down your throat till you want to tear yourself apart from the revulsion of its taste.
And so we come to my temptation. Love. The teenybopper dream of a handsome prince on a gallant white horse who will save you from the cruel realities of the world. Sad to say, that was....is my temptation
But my prince is far from being the honorable and chivalric knight in shining armor. His loyalty only goes so far as to friends who will lend him money to gamble off. His faith, I want to laugh, is nonexistent along with any moral sense on love. He would bed any girl pretty enough to look at, mere dolls whose outer coverings hides the hideousness of their inner selves.
However, he is handsome, beautiful....almost. Maybe that's why he can lure people so easily into his traps. His lavender eyes are so intense that it can make a person forget how to breathe. Those swirly depths have the potential to reveal so many things but he masks them with a jovial sparkle that always seems so sincere. And they look casually inside you, sifting through every emotion and thought till he knows exactly who you are.
But it's his hair of fire that sets him apart from others. And I mean fire. Not the dull and smoky fire you see in campfires but the brilliant light shining forth from a blood red sunset. Tones of crimsons and oranges blend together to form hair that appear to be spun from the sun. The softness of his hair is incredible. When you run your fingers through them it feels better than the softest silk in the world. And it leaves me wondering why the richness of my expensive clothes can never compare to the wonderful texture of his hair.
Yet, in spite of all these unnatural aspects that catches the eye, I think what first caught mine was his cross shaped scar. It wasn't ragged and torn, like you would expect scars to be. It was two swift and deliberate strokes, like someone had intended to cut them that way. There's a hidden meaning behind that scar, because sometimes, when he thinks I'm not looking, he strokes that scar as if he's remembering something important. Then he turns those lavender eyes at me and his hand falls away, like I had shattered the memory he was reminiscing.
But despite it all, he is kind. He has never raised his voice above that of the soft tone that always sent shivers down my spine. He has never been angry in all the times I have been with him, even through the hopelessness of our situation. With him, I felt safe from the world, even though I could never see the true emotions running through his constantly concealed eyes.
I knew that all our times together were probably just entertainment to pass time. He was never one to stay tied down to somebody, he was always moving, always doing something. He was drunk on life and didn't care about anything except living. If I was any other girl, I would have dumped him right away or asked him why he never showed his true face. But I savored our times together and dreamt about them at night when he wasn't with me. It was enough that he was with me and that I was in his arms. Even though that tiny voice inside wondered what he really thought of me.
There were so many things wrong with the picture but it felt so right. And the welcoming feeling of just being...home.
Who am I kidding? I am a high bred woman of multiple talents, a lady of important society. And him? He is but a mere tramp who has nothing of value to his name. I quickly clench my gloved hands before slipping them into the grasp of my wealthy escort who had plastered a fake smile on his arrogant face. Gods, I've fallen in love.
"You still thinking of her?" The man said lazily as he tossed the dice in his hand. The edges of the dice were worn from countless throwing and the black paint that marked the holes had faded away. It flew high in the air and he swiftly caught it in his immense hands then threw it up again. The man sitting across from him had his feet rested on the aged brown desk, hands on the back of his head and a thoughtful look on his delicate face. If it weren't for the intensity in his eyes, he could have been mistaken as a female, all that long red hair and the large lavender eyes. He gave a snort and the thoughtful look quickly disappeared into his mask of amusement.
"Why would I? She's just a good lay." He stated but an image of tangled legs and intertwined fingers flew into his head, words of love and promise reverberating in his ears. The scent of tantalizing jasmine on soft cotton sheets. The thoughtful look returned to his face. The man threw the dice again, caught it, and stuck them deep in his pocket. He ran his fingers through his tall brown hair, making them rise higher and appearing to defy gravity itself.
"Sure man, if that's what you say. Then how come you haven't returned Sakura's calls yet? Or that foreign chick, what's her name?" He asked dryly as he stared at his friend who's face was back to the mask of amusement.
"Giselle." He said just as dryly. "They aren't any fun anymore. They're too clingy." He defended and he gave an annoyed look at the man. "What's with the interrogation, Sano? If you want Sakura and Giselle, all you have to do is ask."
"Nah man," Sano raised his hands in innocence. "I already got a girl. I just wanted to know why you haven't been up to your ol' tricks lately. You won't even go gambling with me anymore."
"It isn't fun. Nothing is." He said, his voice suddenly growing angry. His lavender eyes flashed and speckles of gold showed through. Sano narrowed his eyes and slipped his fingers into his pocket. He took out a die and threw it at his friend's head. A quick hand caught the die and the gold speckles evaporated into nothingness.
"What's with you Kenshin? You falling in love?" Sano asked apprehensively. "That's it, isn't? You in love with that rich girl? Ka-Ka-"
"Kaoru." Kenshin said coldly. His eyes flashed again.
"Damn it, you are in love with her. I thought you told me you wouldn't love anybody after Tomoe." Sano barely had time to finished when Kenshin leaped over the desk and grabbed Sano's neck. His eyes were a fierce amber and his fingers were trembling with the need to squeeze Sano's neck till there was nothing there. The air grew heavy with hate.
"Don't EVER mention her name again, got it?" He hissed and Sano nodded his head. The redhead shook his head, as if wondering what he had just done, and slowly went back to his seat. Sano cautiously rubbed his neck, knowing there would be faint bruises tomorrow.
"You've fallen hard Kenshin. What the hell do you think you're doing? She's in a different social class than you, hell, she's in a different world from you! Do you honestly think it can even work?" He went on as if nothing had happened.
"I don't know." Kenshin slouched in his seat. "And I'm not in love." He said softly.
"Sure, you keep telling yourself that." Sano took out his remaining die and tossed it high in the air, and caught it.
It was never suppose to turn out like this. I was never suppose to think about you every day, dream about you every night. I was never suppose to hate washing my sheets, for fear of losing your scent. I was never suppose to hate myself for not being worth enough to be with you.
You're turning my world upside down and inside out, making me wonder if I'm really proud of who I am right now. Everything used to be so simple. Eat, gamble, make love to a few girls, sleep. And I never thought twice of what I had to do. And now, nothing makes me happy enough except you.
Why did I even choose you? I've slept with some of the most beautiful girls in Japan and now, when I think about it, their beauty can't compare to yours. Nobody has ever matched the fire of determination in your azure eyes, nor have they matched your smiles that have never failed to light up my day. And nobody has ever fit so perfectly in my arms.
And soon, the next thing I know my days are soon spent pulling you into my arms and revering the perfection of us, instead of gambling and sleeping around. But we both knew how impossible this was for us. My reputation was deteriorating and nobody in your world would ever accept me. We clung to hope and to each other.
Maybe Sano's right. Maybe I have fallen in love. But it can never work out. I'm from the streets and have never known anything above it. I've done things that I'm ashamed of, things that I can never talk about to anybody. My life could never fit in yours. You deserve all the best things in the world, not a second rate man like me. I should just break it up, make everything go back to how it was before you. But I don't know how to live without you anymore.
Her escort was in a group of young debutantes, girls who had just freshly come into high class society. He gave a wolfish grin at one particular girl who's dress showed more skin than the others. A grin of promise and sex.
And she was sitting down, waving away men who were asking for dances, thinking not of the glitter and flash of the ball. The only thought she had in her mind was the predicament she had gotten herself into and the turmoil she was feeling everywhere inside. She wanted to be with him, she wanted so many things. And her wealth could not give it to her like before. He was not something to be bought or obtained and he was too far from her grasp to steal him away.
It had to be over now. He had been carefully avoiding her and not returning her calls. She knew what those signals meant. He didn't want her anymore. And try as she could, she couldn't stop crying at night. The loneliness she used to have had returned with reinforcements and she was losing grip of everything. If this was what it meant to be in love, then she didn't want it anymore. Her temptation had taken too much out of her. She had never expected it to break her heart and making her so dependent on someone.
Anger began to prickle her senses. The least he could have done was tell it to her face, tell her that he was bored of her now. She stood up and her escort caught a glance of her walking towards him. He allowed one look of annoyance dance across his face before he slapped a smile on his face.
Kaoru gave a magnificent bow to her escort, one filled with her disgust and her sarcasm, and turned to the entrance with a graceful twirl of her heel. She flagged down a taxi and stepped in. The man gave a look of surprise and didn't bother to cover it at all. Her lips muttered the address she knew by heart and he turned around and started to drive. Then her fingers began to tug at each other. Maybe now wasn't a good time. But she had to do it, she had been meaning to do it, she had to know why he had played with her all these weeks. And....she wanted to see his face just one last time. It would be over after this. Falling in love with a street thug was something that was never in her plans and she hated unexpected things.
She dropped a bill into the driver's hands and stepped out of the taxi before he could say anything. His light was on and she steadily climbed up the stairs that led to his apartment. When she stood before the door, all courage fled and the temptation replaced it. She looked down at her priceless dress of midnight blue and nervously fingered a sapphire that had been sewed in by hand.
She couldn't do it. Terror had seized her body and she was afraid of what he might say. Then she heard voices on the other side of the door and she sprinted into the hallway at the right. She peered around the corner and saw Kenshin's door open. A girl that looked like she could be in high school stepped out in a daring tube top and a short skirt. She turned around and ran her hands over Kenshin's chest before winking at him and walking toward the stairs. He remained in the hallway and watched the girl leave before giving a sigh and going back into his apartment.
She stepped out from her hiding spot and leaned against the wall near Kenshin's door.
"Stupid." She said quietly to herself. She knew this was going to happen. Damn it, she had even trained herself to expect it one day. But she had never prepared herself of the horrible clenching feeling inside. She couldn't breathe and she couldn't see. It felt like everything had stopped, even time. And to her horror, the doorknob on Kenshin's door turned and there wasn't enough time or strength to hide herself again. He walked out and slowly turned his head to look at her.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, and immediately felt like an idiot for letting those words escape from his mouth. She dropped her head.
"I don't know." She admitted. She straightened herself and moved to go downstairs. "I'll come back when I figure it out."
His arm snapped out to block her. "Wait, we have to talk." Her hand gently touched his arm and he felt the same shockwaves running through his body. He couldn't refuse her and his hand dropped down.
"It's ok, I know. Everything will be alright after this." She moved close into him and laid a soft, almost invisible kiss on his scarred cheek. "Bye."
She walked downstairs and stood out in the cold until a taxi drove by. Courageous Kaoru had failed her mission and had returned to be Lonely Kaoru. She ducked into the taxi and missed seeing Kenshin staring at her from his window, staring so hard that he stood unmoved from that spot for a long time. She had never said goodbye to him before....
More Author's notes: I think I might turn this into another short story. It seems a little unfair to just leave it there, well, I guess I have to hear the reader's point of view. So, short story, or not?