Hello, and thank you all so much for the support this story has already been shown. I had hoped to update with a new chapter last week, but unfortunately my job was much more hectic than it usually is. I'm thinking it might be every other week that I'm able to update, but hopefully I can get that down to once a week at least. This chapter is quite a bit shorter than the first and upcoming chapters will most likely be a length somewhere between the two. Again, thank you for the support and I look forward to more reviews!
Disclaimer: I do not own RK, only this particular plot line.
Kaoru didn't know if she should cry, scream, faint, or just keep swearing. Two years without any contact, no information about where he went, what he was doing. Two years since he stood still and silent as she slammed her fists against his chest. Two years since you left without saying goodbye. Kaoru quickly rubbed her eyes to make the prickling sensation of fresh tears disappear. She cried for a week straight when her father died and Kenshin left. She swore then she'd never cry for a man again. Kenshin held a piece of her heart, but she learned to live without it; without him.
"Yahiko! Yahiko, you better leave more than crumbs in that bag of cereal!" I can't say anything to Yahiko about this. It would kill him if Kenshin didn't actually show up. Yahiko denied Kenshin's abandonment for months before finally saying that for Kenshin to leave and not say anything something serious had to have happened. He could never think the worst of Kenshin no matter what happened and it broke Kaoru's heart to see the light of hope slowly fade the longer they went without word from the Wanderer. Kenshin's name had not been spoken since that day.
"I hear ya, Ugly!" Even though he said that, Kaoru knew she'd end up with only coffee for breakfast. She thought boys were supposed to stop eating so much when they stopped growing. By Yahiko's eating habits he seemed to be growing a foot a day. I've gotta remember to write cereal on the grocery list. Saturdays were usually reserved for sleeping in and grocery runs. Lunch was picked up on the way home and dinner consisted of two frozen pizzas: one and a half for Yahiko's dinner, a couple slices for Kaoru, and the rest put away for Yahiko's Sunday breakfast.
Kaoru huffed as she trudged to the bathroom to wash off whatever shame remained from her "emergency meeting" with Misao. The night had gone almost exactly how Kaoru imagined it would; Misao continuously cursing Jun and trying to come up with various plans to get rid of him. Of course none of them would ever actually work, but it was fun to plot. Fairly quickly though, Misao brought up another man. While the crafty Weasel made sure to never say his name, Kaoru could tell it was Kenshin. The subtle, and not-so-subtle, comparisons Misao drew between Jun and Kenshin prompted Kaoru to put more thought to the Wanderer than she had in over a year. But what was with that dream last night?
A dark blush colored her cheeks as she recalled the rather intimate position they had been in. She had no idea how she could have dreamed such a scenario as nothing of the sort ever happened in reality. Sure, she'd crushed hard on the redhead when she first met him, but he never showed signs of wanting anything more than friendship. One year later he was gone and two years after that she thought she had buried any feelings she'd had in the very bottom of her heart.
The sound of the front door opening and then slamming shut told her that Yahiko left without her. Quickly finishing up in the bathroom, Kaoru ran back to her bedroom to throw on something appropriate for the opening ceremony. I suppose sweat pants and a turtleneck are out of the question. Since the ceremony would take place in the small garden area next to the dojo Kaoru thought that the maxidress with the sakura blossoms would be a nice touch. Giving the dress a quick sniff to make sure it didn't smell of moth balls too badly, she tossed it onto the bed before diving into the bottom of her closet to look for the matching sandals Misao made her buy the last time they'd gone shopping. On second thought, when was the last time I painted my toenails? Hmm… She ditched the sandals in favor of her favorite white converse that went with practically everything. Sure, they wouldn't be considered formal or even dressy, but she counted on the fact that no one would really see her feet given the length of the dress. She sniffed the well-worn shoes as well before deciding they needed a quick spritz with the fabric refresher spray she'd bought the week before because Yahiko found a coupon for it. At first she'd been offended by him telling her to buy it because her feet stunk up her shoes, but the bottle could always be found his room. Kaoru never said anything to him, but she had a sneaking suspicion that he wanted to keep his room smelling fresh in case a certain girl ever came to visit. She let out a small sigh as she silently thanked the powers-that-be for allowing Yahiko to have such a normal, young romance. Kaoru could not imagine a more complicated, convoluted, and cocked-up love life than hers at the moment. I mean, it can't get much worse than this at least.
A small smile tugged at the corners of Kenshin's mouth. He knew it was wrong to enter someone's dreams without their explicit permission, but when he realized the pull came from Kaoru he couldn't resist. It had been well over a year since he'd last featured in her dreams. Usually he blocked it out, not wanting to pry. However, last night the pull was strong and surprisingly warm. Once he linked with the dream version of himself he'd almost had a heart attack. He knew he should have left right away, but holding her so close and feeling her tongue on his neck felt sinful and heavenly at the same time. He couldn't stop himself from escalating the fun and came extremely close to completely losing himself. Hearing Yahiko's voice drifting through Kaoru's subconscious, however, felt like a bucket of ice water splashed across his face. Yahiko sounded agitated so Kenshin decided to help Kaoru wake up even if he really didn't want to. Her sleepy hums and the little wrinkle between her brows pricked his heart and he knew it was time to let Yahiko's voice come through stronger and wake her up fully.
When he'd first seen her among the roses and lilies in her father's garden his heart skipped a beat and his palms began to sweat. He hadn't had such a visceral reaction to a woman in several decades. The way she stood with her neck craned and face upturned to steal kisses from the sunrays filtering down through the very few clouds dotting the blue sky—Kenshin could never forget that moment. He knew then that he had to bury any trace of romantic affection because to actively pursue her would put her life in danger and his heart couldn't bear even the thought of her getting hurt because of him.
Kenshin thought back to when he'd received the order to investigate the Kamiya dojo. The file's size reflected the size of the establishment: miniscule. The few pages contained within told a depressing tale of bad investments and a naïve master. Kenshin almost tried to escape the responsibility until he saw Yahiko's name. He was listed as Yahiko Kamiya and Kenshin couldn't be entirely sure it was the same child but if there could even be the slightest chance he had to go to Kamiya dojo and find out for sure. If this Yahiko turned out to be someone else then the only complaint Kenshin could have is that the original job he'd been assigned was complete without any further incidence. However, if Kenshin's instincts proved correct, then the situation would be much more complicated than anyone could foresee.
Shaking the gloomy thoughts away, Kenshin concentrated on picking out a shirt and tie combination to wear to the opening ceremony. Kaoru will probably wear the sakura blossoms dress. She's worn that every year since she bought it. Kenshin chuckled to himself as remembered when she'd brought it home after buying it. Kaoru and Misao came bounding into the dojo to parade their finds from the long-planned shopping trip. Misao boasted the most bags, but Kaoru's lengthy dress with the soft pink blossoms did more to color his cheeks than anything Misao flaunted. When she'd appeared at that first opening ceremony Kenshin did everything he could to avoid being alone with her. That dress makes her too tempting. Speaking of tempting, if that snake Tanaka is there I might be a little too tempted.
The mere thought of the man who somehow managed to convince Kaoru to-no, Kenshin couldn't stomach the thought of a romantic, much less physical, relationship between the two, but it didn't change the twisting feeling in his gut. He knew jealousy when he felt it, and he knew he had no right to it considering how he forced himself to keep Kaoru always at arm's length. Kenshin had his regrets, but now nothing could stand in the way of what he wanted. The past two years he'd done nothing but train and go on missions. Kenshin had sworn as he'd watched the last tendrils of smoke rise from the incense sticks at Kamiya's grave that he would become strong enough to protect Kaoru and Yahiko from anything and anyone.
Kaoru stretched upwards as she attempted to hang yet another paper lantern in one of the trees around the dojo. She ignored the bead of moisture trickling down from her hairline into her eye. Almost there… Kaoru gasped and tried to step back as a distinctly male hand closed over hers, taking the lantern and hanging it delicately on the branch. Kaoru's quick departure was blocked by a solid mass. Turning around to either yell at or thank whoever startled her, Kaoru's eyes widened slightly as recognition flooded through her. She squealed in delight and threw her arms around the neck of the tall man.
"Sano! You made it!" She could feel the deep chuckle rumble through his chest.
"Yeah, I made it Missy. Wasn't easy, but I heard today was supposed to be extra special." Kaoru narrowed her eyes at the over-grown rooster.
"Just what is that supposed to mean? And you better tell me the truth." Sano threw his hands up in surrender and took a couple steps back.
"Look, all I know is Jun called me, asked me if I was coming tonight, and hinted at a surprise. I swear, that's all I know." Kaoru regarded him thoughtfully for a moment then let out a small sigh in resignation.
"Alright, alright I believe you. But I didn't know Jun was coming. Did he say anything else? Did Ken—anyone else contact you?" She knew better than to get her hopes up when it came to the red-headed wanderer, but with Sano appearing out of nowhere the day held more promise than she cared to admit. She saw Sano's dark eyes squint pensively for a split second before they widened and pinned themselves to something behind her.
"Who is that?" he managed to breathe out. Confused, Kaoru turned quickly to see who Sano so rudely stared at. One look as she could guess it was the tall brunette standing next to an even taller man with the bluest eyes she'd ever seen.
"I'm not sure. I've never seen either of them before. I don't think they're parents…" Before Kaoru could suggest Sano should leave the unsuspecting woman be, he had crossed half the distance calling a vague "talk to you later" across his shoulder. Shaking her head and making a mental note to check on him later, Kaoru returned to her last minute to-do list. The final touches seemed almost complete as she scanned down the page to the last two tasks: Find Yahiko, Don't Panic. She grimaced a bit at the last two words. The handwriting was obviously Misao's which meant the weasel somehow managed to go through Kaoru's purse the night before. Knowing her purse had been invaded caused her to cringe at the thought that she might find more than just an altered to-do list in there. Kaoru considered tracking Misao down to deliver yet another lecture on personal space and privacy but a flash of red through the growing crowd stopped her in her tracks.
Kenshin sent small, tight smiles to those who cared to greet him. He didn't have to turn around to know Aoshi kept a watchful eye on his movements. What he couldn't understand was why the doctor lady had to come. He let out a soft sigh as he yet again searched for a sign of Kaoru. He thought he had felt her over by the edge of the garden, but as he turned in that direction the feeling vanished. A slight scowl appeared on his scarred face before he broke into an ear-to-ear grin.
"Sanosuke! I didn't know you were gonna be here," he called out to the highly distracted man. Kenshin's grin faltered when he realized just who had Sano distracted. "Sanosuke, yo!" Kenshin called again as he neared the small group. This time Kenshin's greeting seemed to penetrate the rooster's thick skull because Sano turned and gaped at the shorter man.
"Kenshin? What, what are you doing here?" Kenshin chuckled at the bewildered expression Sano wore as he reached a hand out in friendly greeting.
"I finally had some time off so I thought I'd drop in and see everyone. I didn't know you were coming though or I would have told you. Hey, have you seen—" Kenshin's question cut off as a large fist collided with his scarred cheek. Kenshin turned to face Sano as he righted himself after the sudden attack. The man's face trembled with rage as he drew his fist back to deliver another blow. Fury turned to shock and guilt as a small hand rested on his arm. Kenshin looked down at the hand holding Sano at bay, his eyes moving to the wrist, then forearm, then shoulder, and finally the face of a woman he'd tried everything to forget for almost the entire three years he had known her. He swallowed roughly as he fought to calm his racing heart. Any flourishing speeches, roguish remarks, or tender, sweet nothings Kenshin had pre-planned flew away, completely forgotten in the presence of an even more beautiful Kaoru than the one he'd so suddenly left. Remembering he should at least say hello, he opened his mouth to utter the now insignificant word. Before he could speak, however, Kaoru finally looked up from the spot on the ground she had been studying. Kenshin watched as her perfect lips parted to form a single word aimed at him:
"Leave."