Play Dirty
A/N: This is a random, silly idea I had that I typed up quickly last night. It was just an excuse to write about superpowers. Enjoy! _ce
The Kamiya mansion was chaotic as usual. The handful of superhuman friends were at their routine bickering again all over the property, sharpening their abilities as they did so. By the end of the day, they'd all be agreeable again, but these daily skirmishes were as much a part of their strong friendship as any other interaction.
"Aoshi! Damnit! Stop doing that!"
Kaoru screeched at the top of her lungs as another laser beam singed a little too closely to her ear, straight from Aoshi's piercing blue eyes. The ice blue beam was hot enough to slice through her entire body, if he was so inclined. What made him even more dangerous was his ability to radiate that same destructive force from his hands and his mouth.
Sanosuke snickered watching his younger friend dance away from Aoshi's laser beam. Jo-chan was funny without even trying to be—riling her was priceless entertainment for him, and was even more enjoyable when someone else did it and got the recompense. He anticipated her response to Aoshi's attack.
The petite woman was replaced by a long, lithe white tiger as she shape-shifted into one of her many favorite forms. She snarled aggressively, but Aoshi seemed unimpressed.
"You know my beam can slice through tigers too," he stated matter-of-factly, in a cool and calm voice. In reply, Kaoru growled and then disappeared.
"You're in deep shit now," Sano crowed from his vantage point in the rafters high above their fight. Aoshi ignored the Bounder as he looked around nervously for what Kaoru had become. She could be anything she wanted, even the air. In that form, Aoshi couldn't touch her. Her only downfall was that she retained all of the limitations of her forms and she couldn't maintain most of them for very long. It required much practice for her to hang onto any one form for more than five minutes.
But a few seconds was more than enough for her airy form to wrap around Aoshi's neck, and her body suddenly reappeared latched onto him and strangling him with her tiny hands.
While they were at it, Sanosuke jumped down from his high perch. He sauntered out of the warehouse they used for training and into the open air of the large estate Kaoru's family owned. It was all hers now that her parents and other relatives had passed away in the tragic events of the Establishment. But she had filled it with their ragtag group of supernaturals, and they had become a tight-knit family more quickly than any had anticipated.
"I wonder if Megumi's in the mood to mess around," he mumbled to himself, only half-thinking about actual sparring.
A sultry voice answered him.
"With you? Only if Ken-san isn't pre-occupied."
Sano froze in place, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck raise.
Megumi was a dual-entity, having both healing powers and a unique ability to charm anyone and anything into doing exactly what she wanted. Sanosuke was only too happy to oblige her on most occasions, and in times when he wasn't, he had the option of leaping quickly away. His ability was purely physical, granting him incredible speed, agility, and power in his muscles which gave him unprecedented impact.
"Ah, but Kenshin is always pre-occupied," Sanosuke drawled as he turned around to see the lovely dark-haired, ruby-lipped woman smiling coyly at him. Even if she hadn't been an enchantress in her own right, her looks alone would have probably done the trick.
"Not if I can get to him," she contradicted. Sanosuke merely shook his head.
Kenshin was a Psychic. He was more often in someone else's head than his own, and it was impossible to get at him when he didn't want to be found. Megumi still tried, since he presented her greatest challenge, but it was Sanosuke's secret belief that it would never happen.
"Well, Foxy Lady, you ready to tussel?" he asked her, pounding a fist into his palm. Megumi raised an eyebrow.
"I never tussel," she said primly, to which Sano burst out a laugh.
"Sure," he countered sarcastically. Megumi was actually a mean boxer when one tried to incense her. He knew this from personal experience.
Knowing she would duck and most likely go for a groin shot, Sano took a swing at her head and then leapt straight up in the air to avoid the predictable. He landed solidly behind her, but before he could move, she arrested him with her most entrancing gaze and he suddenly felt nothing but the desire to stare. Her lips curled.
"Copycat, coming through!" a young voice yelled, interrupting their duel and breaking the trance. The short, spiky-haired, Myojin Yahiko dashed madly through, with an infuriated Yutaro on his heels. The pursuer yelled at him.
"Get back here, you coward!"
"Make me, Lefty!"
"Don't call me that, short-stuff!"
"ARGH!"
Megumi and Sanosuke watched as Yahiko spun to face his opponent with angry eyes. He absolutely loathed being called short.
"You'll pay for that," he said, crouching into one of the many stances he'd learned to replicate from watching others at the mansion. This particular one belonged to Enishi. But since he didn't have a sword, it was likely that he'd launch into an entirely different attack designed for hand to hand combat.
He called himself Copycat because his ability was to replicate anything he saw at once. He perfected his ability by practicing his forms and piecing them together in complex kata formations.
Yutaro was ready for his attack however, as a strong spell blasted from his left palm. He was a spell-caster who could only utilize his abilities from his left hand. It was a strange manifestation, but it was often how supernatural abilities were. It was also the reason for his affectionate nickname, which he hated about as much as Yahiko hated being called short.
Sanosuke turned to look to Megumi and continue their own bout, but realized she was gone. He sighed. Kenshin must have appeared somewhere in her line of vision.
Sure enough, when he spotted a thick cascade of red hair tied in a low ponytail, he also found Megumi trying her damnedest to charm him. But Kenshin was focused calmly on his book, sitting cross-legged in the large armchair of the sitting room.
Kenshin was an interesting case as far as supernaturals went. His psychic abilities didn't end with reading minds. He was also capable of telekinesis and telepathy. His clandestine knowledge of human thoughts and behavior enabled him to react to others even before they knew what they were thinking.
He was just that good.
Sano knew that Kenshin was probably not actually reading his book, but stalking someone else's mind. All of the residents in their household had gotten used to the idea of his perusal of their thoughts. He was a discrete person and quite trustworthy. And his capabilities also made him a great advisor, as he helped them understand things in ways they hadn't considered before.
Megumi didn't have a chance of ever touching his mind, because given his knowledge of her intentions, he was able to shield himself from her attempts.
It was really funny actually, to watch her try so hard and have her efforts easily disappointed.
A whizzing burst of light passed over Sano's head, and he felt Misao materialize out of it and land lightly to the floor.
"So Megumi's at it again?" she asked conversationally, coming to stand beside him.
"Yep," he sighed, "some women just don't know when to quit."
"Says the gambling and booze addicted moocher," Megumi responded briskly, without breaking her concentration in the slightest. Sanosuke grinned roguishly.
"Have you seen Aoshi?"
"Sparring with Kaoru. Warehouse," he replied to the girl. She shifted into her orb form again and whizzed away to find the object of her affections. Her unique ability was to utilize the form of a tiny sun, radiating great heat and light when she wanted to. She could also fly that way, which she usually did. In fact, she wasn't often in her human form, unless Aoshi was around or she had something she wanted to say. But then again, she lived with him and talked often.
Megumi finally got bored and gave up.
"Ugh, Ken-san, you're killing me!" she complained. The short red-haired man returned to his own mind and smiled meekly.
"This one apologizes," he said, to which Megumi huffed.
"Oh you do not," she muttered. Kenshin merely smiled.
"I think I'll go find Kaoru," he said then, getting up from his chair in a smooth motion. In his place, Sano draped his lanky form over the arms.
"Hello," he said blithely to the still scowling enchantress.
Misao and Aoshi had left the warehouse together, the former chattering into his ear about this and that while the latter listened patiently, and Kenshin and Kaoru were alone.
Kaoru wiped her brow free of sweat, worn out from the exercise. That had been a great bout. Aoshi was always an excellent sparring partner.
Kenshin watched her passively, and after a moment passed, she suddenly felt nervous. She hadn't been alone with him in…well, a while.
"I guess you know why I'm here?" he asked her conversationally, closing the distance between them a little more, to a comfortable speaking distance.
"I'm not the psychic," she replied, though she felt she did have a vague idea. Her friend smiled.
"No, but, you know what I know," he said cryptically. She sighed.
"I know, Kenshin. Look, I can't help it! We don't have to talk about this, I'm sure I'll get over it. Nothing is going to change." She tried to pass him by, and touched his shoulder as she did so.
"I promise."
Kenshin touched her hand lightly with his own, and held it.
"That's not what I wanted to hear," he said honestly. Kaoru paused.
"What?"
"What I mean: I just wanted to tell you that I've known these feelings were developing for some time. I was just waiting until you realized it too. Luckily for me, it didn't take you too terribly long."
"Oh."
Kaoru's surprised voice was small, and only the barest hint of elation crept into it. She turned to face Kenshin, and he threaded their fingers together.
"I have the same feelings for you, Kaoru-dono," he confessed. "And I have for as long as you."
Kaoru smiled, showing him how happy this made her. They both laughed briefly and then she leaned in to hug him close. Kenshin pressed his nose to the junction of her neck and shoulder, completely contented.
"I'm so glad," she said, a little breathlessly. He murmured an assent against her skin.
"Mm, me too. We should go out some time."
Kaoru laughed.
"That sounds like a great idea, Kenshin," she replied.
As every night, the Kamiya mansion occupants assembled into the sitting room to review the day's activities and plan for chores and other matters. The entire household lounged on the comfortable seats, waiting for Kaoru to begin their nightly session so that they could get to dinner.
Tae, the resident chef and Mind Weaver, shared a loveseat with Katsu, a moody but gifted individual with the ability to bring to life any of his many imaginative ideas. He and Tae were like two peas in a pod, as her talent enabled her to plant false memories or ideas into someone's head.
Tsubame, a Pixie, leaned against Tae's legs. The diminutive girl was small even in her larger form, but when she changed to her puny, winged phase, she was able to fly and cast entrapment spells. She was surprisingly clever for such a soft-spoken and meek person who seemed incapable of hurting a fly. But on several occasions, she had fooled Yahiko into one of her traps.
Kenshin, Sano, and Tomoe occupied another couch. Behind his sister stood Enishi. The brother-sister pair manipulated things, the former the elements with a fondness for water and the latter his own senses.
In a close armchair sat Akira, who held Tomoe's hand lovingly. Akira was a djinn, capable of great cosmic powers. He was however limited to doing only what was asked of him, and so had manipulated his shortcoming by tricking his enemies into requesting things of him and then purposely misinterpreting their words. It worked surprisingly well.
On the other side of the room, Aoshi and Misao reclined together on one side of the couch, with the other half occupied by Yahiko, Yutaro, and Ota. The younger Sagara was still developing his abilities, but they seemed to be geared towards Silent Mastery. This was related to telekinesis, but with a difference in focus. Rather than manipulating objects with his mind, he seemed able to cast silent spells similar to Yutaro's, thus always surprising his opponents. He did quite a number on his housemates too, when he played his sneaky pranks on them by causing steps in the staircase to disappear just as they were about to place their foot on it, or other things of that nature.
And finally, Megumi lay sprawled out on her stomach in the middle of all of them, accompanied by the many wild animals she had tamed with her abilities and adopted. Among these were a fox, a rabbit, a hawk, and a black snake.
"Glad to see everyone's here in one piece!" Kaoru started, and the hum of conversations ended as faces turned towards her standing behind an ornate podium.
"Hurry this up, Jo-chan, I'm starving!" Sanosuke called out. Everyone shot back encouragement for him to shut up so that Kaoru could speak and get to dinner. He was unfazed.
"Right, well, what's today's run-down?" she went on briskly. Kenshin spoke first, as he usually did since he was the one with the most intimate knowledge of the mansion's activities.
"This morning, everyone was awake by about ten a.m., and breakfast finished by eleven. Then, Tomoe-dono, Enishi-dono, and Katsu-dono went into town for some supplies and leisure time. Akira-dono remained on-site to work with Ota-kun on his abilities. Yahiko and Yutaro trained with Kaoru in the dojo as usual. Sanosuke lazed around as usual, except to help Megumi-dono find her lost snake. They found him. Tae-dono spent most of her time in the kitchen, preparing meals and planning the menu for the Akabeko. She intends to return tomorrow, as her holiday is ending. Tsubame-dono helped her. Misao-dono roved the city streets for information on government movements. Aoshi-dono meditated and held conference with his connections in Japan's undergroup. The Oniwaban are keeping track of our other comrades and some potential threats. Everyone returned to the mansion around 4:30 p.m., and the usual sparring chaos began. It was over by 7:30 p.m. And finally, I roved the minds of the entire city all day, and confessed my true feelings to the woman I am now dating."
A surprised gasp went around the room at Kenshin's ending line. Kaoru felt her cheeks redden at his abrupt disclosure.
"CONGRATULATIONS!" Tae squealed excitedly from her spot on the loveseat. Her joyous exclamation was followed by the rest of them offering their congrats, and Kenshin looked slyly at Kaoru who's face had gone even redder. She met his eyes with an annoyed, if smiling, expression.
"Well," she said, clearing her throat, "now that we've had today's news, I am pleased to inform you that the only plans we have to make concern our trip to Kyoto. I assume everyone has already purchased plane tickets?"
The group affirmed this. She then dismissed them to dinner.
Everyone was courteous enough to leave her and Kenshin alone again, though judging by Tae, Megumi, and Misao's looks she wasn't going to get off so easily over their meal.
"I figured this was the best way to tell everyone," Kenshin said, coming up to her. He slipped his hands casually into the pockets of his black slacks. Kaoru sighed.
"Yeah, you're probably right. But you could have warned me!"
"Sorry. I tend to forget people don't know what I'm thinking."
"Yeah, because you already know what they're thinking and get lost in their own head."
"Precisely."
Kaoru rolled her eyes.
"Oh well, Kenshin, I guess you'll just have to pay me back later," she said with a small shrug. She brushed by him to continue to the dining room.
"And how would I do that?" he asked curiously. Though he knew it was coming, Kaoru was suddenly perched on his shoulders in the form of a black cat with blue eyes. She purred in his ear.
The feline draped herself around his neck, and he took that as a sign that she wanted him to carry her to the table that way. He complied, realizing that she was going to force him to face everyone first, since she couldn't appropriately converse in her condition and would be able to maintain this particular shape for as long as she wished. Being a cat had been her first ever learned form, and was her best.
"You play dirty, Kamiya Kaoru," was all he said, with a smile as he scratched behind her ears.