Hey everyone, this Nicky9. I have decided once again to continue writing my fics once again. You can say I receive inspiration from a very good friend, who wouldn't give up on me. Deseray in the meantime decided to focus more on school. I will only continue to update my fics when I update others. I will try to write most and update most of them at the same time. If anyone has comments, questions, or suggestions, please leave them in your review. Thank you for those who supported Deseray.
Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. I wish I did but I don't. : (
What Happened?
Chapter One
The day went by so fast at Akabeko in Japan. Workers left their job to stop at Akabeko to grab a bite to eat, or buy something for their families. Akabeko alone was known to be a very successful fast food joint where people loved to stop by. Akabeko made most of their profits on the weekends though. Kids and teenagers crowded the joint to hang out with their friends. The owner of the place knew a lot of the customers who came in here and there. Sometimes the owner would be walking up and down the aisles to greet many people. They called her Tae.
Among the swarming crowd of people in this particular evening, were two young women who were working hard to take the orders to the tables. There were so many people who crowded each of the tables; both women had to make sure they gave the right people their orders.
"Kaoru did you serve table ten? They have been waiting for quite a while," one of the women reminded the other woman gently.
"Oops, I completely forgot what they ordered. Please tell me we have the tab somewhere in here," said the woman named Kaoru in haste.
"Calm down," replied the other woman. She handed over the tab to Kaoru of what she had in her note pad. "You know, you are only like this if you have something important to do next."
"Misao, I thought I told you last week. I have a date to go on." Kaoru picked up the tray on one side of the counter. She winked at Misao, before leaving. She knew exactly what to expect from her friend and co-worker Misao.
"What! Kaoru…" But Misao couldn't say anything because Kaoru left to serve table ten.
***
The heart of Tokyo was what Kenshin could see through the window of his office. It was beautiful, vast, big, so many buildings stood, as their lights started coming on for the evening. The sun was now setting, just a little; vibrant rays were streaming through his windows into his office. He watched the roofs of some buildings he could see. When he was bored this was what he loved to watch. He waited for his friend to come back from his errand before he left his office. He wanted to make sure he did not miss anything important from his job.
"Yo Kenshin! There is nothing to worry about. Soujiro will take over the rest of the job from here!" yelled a familiar voice from the distance. Kenshin turned around to find his tall, spiky, dark brown haired friend looking at him. It was Sanosuke, his dear friend he knew ever since he started working on his job.
"Okay. Thanks. I definitely don't want to have Kaoru going through one of her tantrums," said Kenshin innocently as he scratched the top of his head. He smiled at memory of his sweetheart getting mad at him.
"Yeah, or else next thing I hear is that you are in the hospital because your girlfriend almost killed you for meeting her late," said Sanosuke jokingly. His eyes filled with laughter as he saw Kenshin look at him with worried in his eyes. "Hey it was a joke. You should know when I am joking around."
"I really don't think that would be a joke. Kaoru does seem to get in a violent mood, when she is provoked. Being late to meet her would provoke her violent side." Kenshin checked his watch and frowned at the time. He couldn't believe how fast time flies. If he didn't make a move he knew he would regret it for the rest of his life.
"Look before I go, let me remind you, the paper on Shishio's trial is due on my desk Friday. I want it no later then that. I have been giving you to much slack, when you needed to be fired," replied Kenshin seriously. Before Sano could reply back, Kenshin flew out the door of his office with his jacket and his car keys.
***
Kaoru waited quietly at the front of Akabeko waiting for Kenshin. The sky was already dark. People were crowding the eating area in Akabeko, making Misao and the other waitresses work overtime tonight. She was lucky to get out of there early. Because Kenshin chose this night for their date, Kaoru begged Misao to work overtime for her. She promised to make it up to her, by doing the same for her, when she had something important to do. For now all she could do was wait for Kenshin to come and pick her up.
Ten minutes passed by. Kenshin didn't come.
Twenty minutes passed by. He didn't come.
Forty Minutes passed by and he still didn't come to pick her up. Kaoru was growing impatient. Not only was the night getting chilly, but also she felt more like a jerk waiting for her boyfriend to pick her. She began to wonder if Kenshin stood her up, or had something more important to do then to meet her.
Slowly she kicked the curve of the sidewalk of Tokyo busy streets and started her walk home. Through the crowds of people, they pushed her either to the right or to the left, but Kaoru was too down to even care. It felt like something went wrong. Did he forget our date? Did Kenshin have something important to on his job, that he couldn't meet me this night? Kaoru wondered so many things. Tears wanted to spill from her eyes, but it was her pride that kept her head up high. She already didn't care that the crowds of people were pushing against her, preventing her from reaching her home. She decided when Kenshin came to her next time; she would violently beat him up and tell him everything was over. That was if he didn't have a good explanation for not picking her up tonight.
By the time she got home, she noticed there was no one at the apartment. Megumi, a roommate of hers, was not in at the moment. She probably had a date to go on. At least she was having the time of her life.
Kaoru passed by her couch, picked up the remote to switch the television on. She threw herself miserably on the couch, captured a few pillows to cover her whole body from the shame of the world. Tears finally spilled from her eyes, now that she was alone in the apartment. One after another tear fell. As she blinked, they came faster, blurring her vision. She still wondered why he didn't come for her. Was it because of her? Did she do something that was so wrong? Did he break up the relationship after they have been going out for exactly a year? More tears fell from her eyes, as she realized today itself marked the anniversary of their relationship. It marked the day of last year when Kenshin finally had the guts to ask her out. Whatever was the reason, Kaoru promised herself that she would find out why Kenshin couldn't make it to their date, especially their date that marked a year they would have been going out with each other.
***
Sano walked into Kenshin's office, the paper on Shishio's case completely done and ready to be published in the newspaper, however, when he entered his office, his red haired friend was nowhere to be found. His desk was empty, the stack of papers, which were neatly placed on his desk, looked like it was never touched. The phone had messages that were never checked. Sano usually wasn't a man to pry into his friend's business, but right now he was worried about his friend more then anything. Kenshin would never come into the office without letting him know anything. Something was terribly wrong.
Sano pushed the button of the answer machine to see if there were any important messages from important businesses, or important people. The first two messages were from businesses that called about Kenshin's offer. The third message, however, both intrigued and worried him. It was from the woman that Kenshin said he was going to meet yesterday evening.
Kenshin, it's me Kaoru. I just wanted to know why you couldn't meet me last night. I waited for you and you never came. I called your home and you never picked up your phone. I called your cell phone, but I received a busy tone. Now I am calling your office to get your answering machine. I am worried. I hope I didn't do anything wrong to end our relationship. If you get this, please do call me Kenshin. I love you.
Apparently Kenshin never did meet Kaoru. Her voice on the answer machine was filled with grief, with so much sadness at the fact that Kenshin never met her. Hearing her voice alone broke Sano's heart. Something had to be very wrong with Kenshin. He would never do that to her. He loved that woman with all of his heart.
"Sanosuke there is a urgent phone call for you," replied a man. Sano looked up to find Soujiro, a worker, and his friend standing by the doorway of Kenshin's luxury office waiting patiently for him to retrieve the phone call.
"Thanks Soujiro," said Sano as he ran out Kenshin's office. He believed the phone call was coming from Kenshin, himself.
***
Kaoru woke up from her deep slumber on the couch. She must have fall asleep after crying herself, till no more could tears could spill from her eyes. In the air, she smelled delicious food being made by no other then Megumi, her roommate.
As Kaoru stretched lazily as a cat, she noticed Megumi standing there with a robe on, which barely covered her skin. Her long raven hair fell like waterfalls down her back, swaying back and forth gracefully, as Megumi moved around the kitchen. Megumi was astonishingly beautiful woman, who had many admirers. Her graceful ways, her beautiful azure eyes caught many men's attention. Kaoru wished she could have been like Megumi when it came to beauty, but then again she learned she was beautiful from what Kenshin always told her. Maybe it wasn't the same anymore. Maybe he found someone better. Kaoru shook her head furiously. She refused to think about last night. Right now what she had to do was get ready to go to work.
"Good morning to you raccoon girl," said Megumi lightly as she watched Kaoru carefully. There was a hint of humor in her eyes.
"Good morning to you too! You didn't have to call me raccoon girl! I am far from it!" yelled Kaoru, as she glared at Megumi furiously. She felt insulted every time someone called her that name. She hated it with a passion. Only Megumi called her that to ruin all her happy moments. Except right now this was not a happy moment.
"You look awful this morning. That is why I am calling you raccoon girl. You look like you cried yourself to sleep," replied Megumi simply. She tossed her raven aside as she turned her back to Kaoru, to attend to the food.
"That didn't… happen. I wasn't… crying all night." Kaoru shrugged and crouched herself on the couch to hide the shame on her face.
"You weren't crying all night. I expect that Kenshin stood you up last night. He probably found himself someone new," said Megumi indifferently.
"You're right. Kenshin stood me up; however, it isn't because he is seeing someone else. I refuse to believe that Megumi."
"That's your problem Kaoru. You're so naïve. You believe everyone is so good. You believe that Kenshin and you would last so long. You believe in the word love that doesn't exist. You know what. The world isn't perfect. You have to learn to realize that not everything lasts forever. Hell, we don't last forever. Stop being naïve, stop trying to blind yourself by being hopeful, and look at the real world."
Kaoru just got up from the couch. She stomped her way to the bathroom, and closed the door. The shower latch was lifted up, while Kaoru turned the knob of the showerhead. There under the flowing warm water, Kaoru drowned in her misery, while fresh new tears fell from her eyes. Maybe Megumi is right. Maybe he did find someone better.
(To be continued)