Disclaimer: I do not own, nor have I ever owned, anything related to Rurouni Kenshin. That is, Kenshin, Kaoru, Sano, and Yahiko all belong to someone else. Yadda, yadda, yadda… Like anyone reads these things.
Notes: Well, I just got home from work, where I threw a temper tantrum. Damned if I could not get the garbage into the dumpster. It was so heavy! So I go to throw it, and several times I have these bags filled with bread and bagels drop on my head! Gah! Yeah, so at one point after a bag fell, I just started jumping around and yelling nasty swear words to the night. Fortunately, no one was there to see me. I did get that bag into the dumpster, actually. But on to this story. It's short. It's weird. It's just something I came up with late one night. It's another, rather odd thing. Hope you all like! ^_~
Rurouni Confessions
Sanosuke had never seen his friend so drunk in the year they had known each other. Sure, he had seen Kenshin when the man was tipsy. It was kind of fun, actually, when Kenshin was like that. First off, it did not happen very often. In fact, Sano could count the times on one hand. Second, Kenshin was just so different when he had too much to drink. Gone was much of the poised rurouni, replaced by an unsteady, clinging young man. Sano thought it was hilarious when Kenshin would latch onto his arm to keep his balance.
This was different. This Kenshin was not just somewhat drunk. He was completely smashed. Outwardly, he looked fine to the casual passer-by. His eyes were mostly clear, his hands almost steady, his speech touched with just the slightest slur. But Sano knew better.
"Oi, what's bothering you, Kenshin?" he wondered, casually pouring himself another cup of sake. For once, he was being the prudent one.
"Hmm?" Kenshin, seeing Sano drinking, reached for his own cup, but his hand hit nothing but air. He blinked down at the empty space, not noticing Sano's hand over his cup across the table. "Strange..."
Sano just shook his head and silently moved the sake jug out of Kenshin's reach.
"You've been moody all night," he told the man. "Did you think you could hide it from me?"
"I'm not moody," Kenshin smiled sweetly at him, as if to prove that he was perfectly content. "What time is it?"
"Late," Sano smirked. "Did you forget to do some laundry or something?"
"Laundry is all done," Kenshin lifted his arm to wave for the passing waitress, hoping to procure another cup. "Even your spare pants."
"Yeah, thanks for washing those," Sano glared at the waitress, threatening grave bodily harm to anyone who dared respond to Kenshin's call. The girl tiptoed away meekly. Kenshin's hand dropped in defeat.
"Strange..." he said again.
"Jou-chan yell at you?" Sano pressed. "Hit you one too many times with her bokken?"
"No, Jou-ch--ahhhhh... Kaoru-dono did not hit me," Kenshin flushed at his slip. He frowned at Sano, dangerously close to pouting. "Well... she did, but that's nothing--"
"Nothing you're not used to," Sano snorted. "Want something else to drink?"
"Please," Kenshin smiled again.
"Sure... when you tell me what's on your mind," Sano finished triumphantly. This time, Kenshin did poke out his lower lip in a juvenile protest. Sano nearly laughed. Geez, but Kenshin was drunk!
"Well... Kaoru-dono did say something to me..." Kenshin said with a heavy sigh.
"That girl is always saying something mean and stupid, Kenshin," Sano poured more sake into Kenshin's cup. "She doesn't mean it."
"I know, but I think she meant this..." Kenshin sighed, the perfect picture of dejection. Sano stopped pouring, looking up at Kenshin with a sudden rush of anger. He did admit, he felt a strange desire to protect his friend--even if just from nasty words. How dare anyone say anything to Kenshin that would upset him?
"What'd she say?" he demanded.
"It's embarrassing, Sano..." Kenshin grumbled, reaching for that cup again. Sano reluctantly let Kenshin take it, watching the already-sloshed redhead throw back a deep swallow. Sighing softly, Kenshin set the empty cup down.
"Damn that girl, I'll beat it into her head that she can't--" Sano snarled.
"She asked me what I felt about marriage," Kenshin said abruptly.
"She can't say that--she what?" Sano blinked at Kenshin blankly. "Marriage?"
Kenshin nodded solemnly.
"'Kenshin,' she said," he went on, recounting an event of that afternoon. He gave Sano that pouting look again. "In that sweet way she has that only Yahiko can ever ignore her."
Sano nodded. He knew the tricks Kaoru liked to pull. Damned women. Kenshin sighed again.
"She said, 'Kenshin, what do you think about marriage?'" he explained. He shrugged helplessly. "What was I supposed to say to that? So I say, 'I think it's a wonderful thing, Kaoru-dono.' That was safe, right? Promote proper relationships."
Sano rolled his eyes but muttered his grudging agreement. Kenshin's head bobbed up and down a few times.
"She got this weird look on her face," he continued. "Like she does when she wants me to do something..."
"I hate that look," Sano grumbled.
Kenshin held out his cup, and Sano filled it again.
"Right," Kenshin paused to drink what Sano had given him. "So she said, 'Kenshin?' again, all that sweetness."
"Damn that."
"Uh huh, and I asked, 'What, Kaoru-dono?'" Kenshin narrated. "And she asks me, 'What do you think about me and marriage?'"
"That sounds bad," Sano decided.
"Yep," Kenshin smiled, then frowned. "So I told her, 'You'll make your husband very happy, Kaoru-dono.' That's okay, isn't it? I can say that?"
"Sure you can, Kenshin," Sano nodded. "It's safe."
"Yeah, so she says, 'Do I make you happy, Kenshin?'" he concluded. "And of course, I said, 'yes, Kaoru-dono. You make me very happy.' I mean, that's what a guy is supposed to say. And of course she makes me happy!" Kenshin was pouting again. "I mean, even if she didn't, I couldn't say, 'No, Kaoru-dono. I hate you,' could I? That's mean, even if you really don't like someone."
"So what's the big deal?" Sano was getting confused. Why was Kenshin so upset about this?
"Well, then she just started talking really fast, and I couldn't understand her," Kenshin chewed on his lip nervously. "So I just smiled and nodded whenever it sounded like she wanted a response."
"Doesn't sound that bad, yet," Sano still did not get it.
"She gave me this big hug then," Kenshin groaned and buried his face in his hands. His words were muffled in his palms, and Sano had to lean forward to hear him. "And then she announced that she would plan with Tae-dono for a wedding date."
Sano frowned.
"Jou-chan's getting married?"
"Yeah."
"Who's the lucky bastard?" Sano now knew why Kenshin was unhappy. The man was head over heels for the spunky girl, and she was announcing her engagement to someone else? The nerve of the girl! And he never knew she was seeing someone else! How did a person miss something like that?
"Ah... yeah..." Kenshin gave Sano a guilty glance. "I think she asked me to marry her."
Sano blinked.
"Jou-chan asked you?" He burst out laughing.
"And I think I said yes..."
Sano doubled over, laughing so hard he could barely breathe.
"That's what's bothering you?!" he asked incredulously.
"I should have asked her!"
Sano just continued to laugh.
^_^
More notes: Poor Kenshin. How embarrassing. So, please review. I like to know what you all think, after all. Was it totally off the wall? *shrug* It was fun to write. Later all!
~Fitz