Note: Spin-off from Winter Sapphire's I Dare You to Move, from Life Can Be Captured in a Snapshot or Two. Um...read that first. Then come back and read this. 'Cuz hers is better. Mine is just the result of evil plot bunnies.

Wish I Had Moved

Part I

The...thing...that had been going on between Kaoru Kamiya and Kenshin Himura was the stuff of Watseka High School legend.

No one was sure of the details, but the basic facts of this demented relationship were common knowledge. Kaoru hated Kenshin. A lot. The cause was unknown, and the specific incident that had sparked this loathing was lost to history, but it was simple math that Kaoru plus Kenshin equaled utter chaos. These sorts of love/hate relations were semi-normal. It was Kenshin that made this one special.

All anyone really knew was that at some point Kenshin had heard Kaoru comment that she was glad she'd never "had that idiot's voice inflicted upon her." For some reason, he'd taken this as a challenge, and so he never, ever spoke in from of Kaoru. It was easy; they weren't in the same grade and only had one class, Gym, together. Since the teacher always broke them up by gender in Gym and never really taught in Health, Kenshin had successfully avoided ever talking in front of Kaoru.

She either didn't notice or didn't care (probably the latter). Everyone was sure that she was secretly in love with him. It was only a matter of time, girls whispered in the locker rooms behind her back, until she confessed her attraction and was horribly rejected. What guy would like a girl who professed a deep and profound hatred of him? None, especially not Kenshin Himura, who was the most, sought after guy in school. Even though he didn't date, and actually possessed a brain.

It was war, and until the supposedly inevitable confession, it would always be that way.

Little did the students know that yesterday afternoon, the unraveling had begun with a kiss...

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Kaoru picked mindlessly at her chocolate pudding. This was unusual for a self-proclaimed chocolate addict, and the ever-perceptive Misao picked up on it immediately.

"Is something wrong, Kaoru?" She asked, leaning forward disconcertingly. She poked the listless girl in the shoulder. "Come on! Talk to me!"

"It's just...something weird happened yesterday after practice." She admitted. She hadn't slept well last night, the dark circles under her eyes making her look even more raccoon-like than usual. Brushing her irritating bangs out of her eyes, she sighed sadly, and pushed her pudding away.

Megumi arrived, looking slightly off-kilter. The normally composed girl threw Kaoru a shrewd look and gave Misao a look. This look communicated its worries at once; Misao climbing over the table awkwardly and plopped down next to her friend. Megumi sat down across form them and daintily ate her disgusting school lunch. Poking at her mystery meat, she spoke in a voice that betrayed no emotion.

"There are weird rumors going around about you and Kenshin again. Should I blackmail Yumi into shutting up for you, or will you attack her in your usual, loud fashion?"

"Rumors?" Parroted Kaoru. "Um...I'll deal with it." Her voice held no enthusiasm. Tossing her lunch into the nearest trash can, she laid her head down on the table with a thump. The other two girls exchanged more loaded looks. Misao's nose twitched like a weasel's as it did when she was thinking of something outrageous. Megumi gave a low, humorless fox laugh.

"They're saying you and Kenshin have been dating secretly since...forever." Megumi supplied.

"We're not." Kaoru said numbly. Her mind was still caught in yesterday's incident, from which she could make no sense.

'Kenshin kissed me. He backed me into a wall and dared me to move and obviously I couldn't because I was a little scared and I didn't want him to know I was scared and then he leaned over and kissed me and normally I'd just plot his demise but I kind of liked it...no I didn't...maybe a little...I'm really confused...maybe it's just a bet...yeah, that makes sense, it means nothing, forget it and move on, Kaoru...'

"You won't tell anyone?" She asked quietly. Her friends did occaisionally have big mouths, and had been known to interfere needlessly in her love life. The two must have realized how messed up she was feeling, because they nodded solemnly without any snide comments.

"I...I was in the freshman hallway. Practice had just finished when Kenshin suddenly comes up behind me in the hall. I ducked into one of those tiny side halls to...to hide from him, I guess. Anyways, he followed, and then we were staring at each other and he actually talked to me...and then he backed me right into the wall and...And hekissedme." The last few words fell out in a rush. The effect was immediate: Misao dropped her sandwich and Megumi broke a nail against the table in her shock. Thy stared silently at her for a few moments before speaking.

"He kissed you?" They asked simultaneously. This went against the accepted theory of Kaoru being in love with Kenshin. Privately, the two friends were sure their tomboy raccoon only hated Kenshin because he was out of her reach. But Kenshin had just effectively killed that theory.

"Did anyone else see?" Misao asked. "It would explain all the rumors."

"No, I don't think so." Kaoru said, feeling a little better now that she could talk about it. "You'd think, if he was trying to win a dare, he'd want witnesses."

"True." Megumi said. "Otherwise no one would believe him. Someone probably saw you, and talked to someone who saw Kenshin, and since you at least would have been all blushing and modest it would be an easy assumption to make."

"How was it?" Misao did the leaning in thing again, eagerly awaiting details.

"How was what?" Kaoru asked. Then it clicked. Her face reddened considerably. "Oh, that...um...it was okay."

'No way am I admitting to Misao that it was pleasant...because it was not pleasant, this is Kenshin Himura we're talking about!'

"Okay? Give me some details, Kaoru!" Misao shrieked. "You always hold back on me!"

People looked over curiously at them. Kaoru yanked hard on the shorter girl's braid, knowing it would distract her from the topic at hand. Megumi smirked knowingly as Misao launched into a tirade on how people with long braids and short statures were direly discriminated against.

The fox laughed inwardly; she'd worm the details from Kaoru later.

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English Class

Post-lunch Depression

Dear Journal,

Writing about your problems is supposed to help you deal with them. "Supposed to" be the operative phrase, of course. Still, it might help, so on that off-chance I'm going to share with you the details of Kenshin's little...well, you could call it harassment. Yes, Kenshin harassed me. I should press charges.

Anyway...um. What to say? He actually talked to me-I'd never heard his voice before. It nothing like I'd imagined...not that I've ever even thought about Kenshin's voice. Right. Besides, he only said eight words. And he dared me to move- those were his exact words. "I dare you to move." So obviously I had to salvage my pride and stay, and anyway it was scary. Stupid pride. Idiot red-headed asses who go around kissing people, all sweet and gentle, like we're not enemies. He's just trying to mess with my head, I just know it. There is no other explanation.

It's funny. I've seen how he treats people he doesn't like. He's cold and harsh and mean to them. I would have expected him to a lot more...forward...than he was. It was a light kiss, except for the fact he was holding my head in place. Like I would ever stand there and let him molest me? Never! I have standards and morals and scruples and principles and he's a much better kisser then I would have ever imagined-

No, no, no. I will not listen to that mutinous part of my head that liked it. Hormones don't get an opinion, because they're biased. Against me. Grrr...if he ever tries that again I'll kill him painfully and horribly. I didn't tell anyone else this, but my knees gave out as soon as he turned the corner. It was totally unexpected. I DON'T GET IT! Dammit, he has the whole female population of Watseka all over him and yet he just has to harass little old me!

I'm going to stop writing before my brain explodes.

Sincerely,

Kaoru Kamiya

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While Kaoru wrote an impassioned entry in her journal, Kenshin was being interrogated by his nosy friend, Sanosuke, on the verity of the rumors going around during lunch. The fact that Sano needed to pay attention in his worst class, Math, never occurred to him. Kenshin knew he'd have to lend Sano his homework later on.

"Kenshin, are you secretly dating Kamiya?"

"No, we're not dating." 'Yet. Unfortunately she really, really hates me.'

"And you weren't making out with her in the closet yesterday?"

"No." 'It took an act of God just to hold her still long enough to even try kissing her. Trying to drag her into a closet would have to involve drugs.'

"Are you taking Sheila Myers to the dance?" At the very mention of the hottest, most popular girl in school, every guy in a ten foot radius perked up to listen in.

"No." 'Over my dead body.' The guys all around sighed with relief. They all still had a chance. "I had someone else in mind." 'I wonder if I could threaten- I mean convince Kaoru to go to the dance with me.'

"She's been hanging all over you for a week and you're still not taking her? Sheila's the hottest thing in this whole damn school." Katsu piped up.

"Not to mention the dumbest." Kenshin pointed out, finishing his class work and handing it in. Sano tried and failed to get a look at the answers. When Kenshin refused to help him, the rooster-head began writing in random numbers and mathematical terminology. He looked up hopefully at the red-head who was currently thinking about his encounter with Kaoru yesterday.

'She's a pretty damn good kisser...I would fall for the one girl who hates my guts, wouldn't I? I hate my life...'

"Hey, Kenshin." One of the younger, nerdier kids in his class asked unexpectedly. "Who are you taking to the dance?"

"Someone." Kenshin replied mysteriously. "I don't think she'll say yes though." 'Maybe if I gave her hallucinogens...'

"Yeah, right." Sano snorted, breaking one of Kenshin's pencils in frustration. Kenshin threw the broken pencil pieces into the nearest trash can and sighed, grabbing Sano's notebook and demonstrating the first problem for him. If he had work to do, Kenshin thought, he wouldn't destroy his stuff.

The rooster-head grumbled ungratefully. It never failed to amaze him how Kenshin charmed the opposite sex. H was certain that even Kenshin-hating Kaoru Kamiya would go out with him if he asked.

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It was in the parking lot that afternoon, on her way out, that Kaoru experienced déjà vu in the form of an unwelcome surprise.

Said surprise was finding herself pinned to Kenshin's car by its owner. It was a nice car, shiny and black and expensive. The metal behind her was cold through her tee-shirt. Still, it was either the freezing metal or the warmer and more frightening Kenshin.

His arms were on either side of her, keeping her from bolting the way she wanted to. He was only a hair's breadth away, and she could feel warm breath against the side of her face as he leaned in.

The violet gleam had returned to his eyes, accompanied by the smirk.

'How does he do that, anyway?'

Standing so close to her worst enemy, she noticed that he smelled like ginger. Berating herself for her stupidity, she glared hatefully at him.

He was still smirking in a way that made her unaccountably nervous.

"Get off me," She hissed. "Do you get off of harassing me or what?"

"Or what." He murmured, watching her like a hawk might watch a mouse. The mental comparison of herself as prey wasn't really helping. "This isn't harassment, kitten, you just happen to be between me and my car."

"So get off and I'll leave, jackass." She snapped at him. His logic was pissing her off.

And then he kissed her. She fell back against the freezing car, somehow managing to push him off her. It didn't take too much effort; she had the impression he was letting her do it.

He was still too close. There were sparks of tension in the air all of a sudden.

"What do you want?" She was trying to be fierce, but her voice quavered treacherously.

"I wanted to ask you something, but you distracted me." he said. That smirk was yet again on his face, and anger bubbled in her chest, clearing the dazed feeling. She tried no to shrink against the car, wishing he would just ask whatever it was he wanted to so she could go home.

'Stop it, Kaoru. Don't be afraid of him. He's just...'

"Do you have a date for the dance yet?" She blinked at him in confusion.

'Wait, what? What does the dance have to do with anything? Isn't he taking Sheila Myers?'

"Dance?" She parroted dumbly. "No, I don't have a date."

"Then will you go with me?" Kenshin asked calmly. The fact that he had just murdered the dynamics of their relationship, Sheila's dreams, and the hopes of about three hundred girls didn't seem to bother him in the least.

'He's drunk, or high, or deranged. Or I am. Something is very, very wrong with this delusion. Or nightmare. This isn't even possible...'

"That was a yes or no question, kitten." He said impatiently. He'd been expecting a straight-up no, but Kaoru seemed to be lost in thought, or horror, or shock.

'My world just crashed...and burned...and became infected with radioactive waste or something...and since when does he call me kitten?'

While Kaoru' mind rambled incoherently, Kenshin ran out of patience and kissed her again. He caught her wrists this time so she couldn't push him off her.

It seemed like both eternity and no time at all before he pulled away, this time moving back far enough that she could run. She leaned against his car, catching her breath, one hand covering her mouth. She let her hand drop and then came over to him. He waited.

She slapped him as hard as she possibly could, but despite that he didn't even flinch.

"And just so we're clear, I'd rather rot in hell then be anywhere near you."

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It was the most popular pizza place in town, and thus the best place to have secret conversations without being overheard. Sitting in a booth tucked away in the corner, Misao, Megumi, and Kaoru eagerly ate veggie pizza as they waited for Kaoru to share her urgent news.

"Déjà vu is a bitch." The raccoon-girl said without preamble. "Kenshin kissed me twice in the parking lot yesterday."

"Start at the beginning, girl!" Misao said frantically. "How did that happen?"

"I was just leaving, and he randomly pinned me to his car. We talked for like a second, and then he kissed me. Then he had the nerve to ask me to the dance. Before I could answer him, he kisses me again!"

"What'd you say?" Megumi asked in a low voice. "You didn't say yes?"

"Of course not! I slapped him and told him I'd rather rot in hell!"

Misao shook her head. "No one's made any bets. I asked Sheila and Yumi. I just don't get it."

"Should we adopt the buddy system for you protection, raccoon?" Megumi said snidely. "Since he keeps pouncing on you whenever you're alone together."

"I can't let him scare me, Megumi." Kaoru insisted. "I have my pride."

"Was it any good?" Misao asked urgently. "Give me some details, Kaoru! You're like the only girl who can say she's been kissed by him!"

"It sucked." Kaoru snapped.

'Right. Admit it, you liked it. Let's go and do that again.' A voice in her head laughed evilly.

Kaoru flushed slightly and covered it by eating more pizza.

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Extreme hero-worship towards Winter Sapphire, who agreed to let me shamelessly steal her snapshot and do a spin-off fic. You've probably figured this out already, but I'll say it again: read the first snapshot of Winter Sapphire's Life Can Be Captured in a Snapshot or Two (called I Dare You To Move) first. Then and only then will this make any kind of sense.

Don't hurt me, people who want me to update my other fics. They're half-done; I just...needed to get this one out of my system.

Anywhere from one to three more chapters, depending.

Review!