WHEN THE WORLD REVOLVES
AROUND YOU
By: Chiki Yumeshisa
Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin...all original characters/ideas are mine to claim.
AN: Hi all! I just want to clarify one thing that people have been mailing me about and asking about: YES, Kenshin's hair is long here. I'm sorry I wasn't able to include that in my description, I must have overlooked it. Kenshin isn't Kenshin without his trademark hair after all Winks. Thanks again for your reviews guys!
>Chiki
Warnings: rated pg.13, to be on the safe side.
CHAPTER 4
- Aikoku Kashin -
Kaoru quickly snatched her hand out of his and retreated into the limo. What on earth was that reaction for? She berated herself: what was wrong with her?
When she finally became aware of her surroundings, she was fascinated. There were 3 rows of seats, made of rich black leather. There were a total of 6 televisions and in front of every seat, a pair of earphones, and a cup holder and tray. The little compartment overhead was where they were able to get their drinks and food from with a mere push of a button.
Soujiro entered to sit beside her. She gave him a tight-lipped smile. She felt very uncomfortable. She turned her head to see Kenshin whining.
"What happened here, Sir?" One of the men dressed in black was asking. He was fingering Kenshin's bump.
Kenshin turned his head away. "Aw, nothing. I'm fine."
"Did you already put ice on.."
"I told you I'm fine. Now can we get going, I'm hungry!" Kenshin yelled. "I want us there pronto or else!" The man paled and nodded. Kaoru turned away, thinking about what a spoiled brat he was.
With that the redhead turned and, not paying attention to what he was doing, slipped into the car next to her. When they bumped shoulders, she whipped her head around and glared at him. "Excuse me, what do you think you're doing?"
"I'm getting in my car, do you have a problem with that?" He asked.
"I don't want you sitting next to me." She pointed out.
"What do you think you're doing sitting next to me?" He cried.
"Me, sit next to you? In your wildest dreams! And what the heck are you talking about? You're the one who sat next to me!" She crossed her arms. "If you don't want to sit next to me, move, 'cause I'm not moving."
Kenshin threw a temper tantrum. "What! This is MY car! I want you to move!"
Kaoru smirked. "It's your fault, so you can't make me."
"We'll see about that." He growled. "I'm not moving. I'm the richest, so you have to."
"RICHEST? What does that have to do with anything?"
He smoothed back his red strands. "Why everything of course. If it weren't for me, you'd never have the great opportunity to ride in this limo. Unfortunately, it's not a stretch limo. This one is one of the smaller punier ones, used to take me to lunch." He said smugly.
Kaoru wanted to strangle him. He didn't really have to rub it in. But wow, if this was one of the 'smaller punier ones' she could only imagine what else he had up his sleeve. On second thought, she didn't care.
The two hadn't noticed that they had already started to move and were on their way. Sano had slipped in next to Kenshin and hollered for the driver to get a move on while the two argued. Soujiro cast Sano a weary glance and the latter rolled his eyes in defeat. There was nothing they could do.
Soujiro, Kaoru, Kenshin and Sano sat in one row, while Okita, Aoshi, and Amakusa sat in front of them.
Luckily, Aoshi caught Kenshin's attention. The ice-cold tone was filled with irritation. The words he spoke were enough to get a reaction out of everyone.
"I hate this damned tie."
The reaction was amazing. Kaoru had never seen the likes of it before. Five of them (excluding Soujiro) began taking off their ties and their blazers, throwing them into a heap at the back at top speed.
Kenshin smoothly unbuttoned his polo shirt, leaving it open until it reached the middle of his torso, revealing smooth golden skin. It had a few blemishes, but they weren't noticeable. What was noticeable was his nice pack of abs. He looked downright good. He could have passed for a model.
Seeing her stare at him, he gave her a confident grin, fingering his shirt teasingly. Kaoru saw this and frowned, facing the other direction in disgust. What a player!
She was about to start an argument by making a snide comment, but caught Soujiro's eye: and her friend shook his head. Instead, he tugged at his blazer's collar thoughtfully, before leaning in to whisper that she shouldn't bite Kenshin's bait. She began to protest, but he firmly shook his head. He gestured to the rest of the people in the limo and introduced every one of them.
When he reached Aoshi, Kaoru studied the man. He was an iceberg from the top of his head to the tip of his toes. His eyes were enough to freeze anyone else in their spot. She was afraid that he had already done that job to her, because she hadn't seen anyone so...lifeless. It was almost as if he were constantly brooding over something. She just couldn't see what Misao saw in him.
She nearly jumped out of her skin when Aoshi spoke to her. His voice was cold too: devoid of any emotion. "What are you looking at?"
Kaoru coughed. "Ah, um, my friend was just telling me that she thought that you were the greatest." She confessed. "Do you know her, Makimachi Misao?"
He gave her a small incline of the head as an answer, but no further comment. Gosh, he was weird. She didn't know whether or not to ask him if he had any feelings for her genki friend, but Okita interceded.
"Kamiya-san, I hear you passed the exam without difficulty. I commend you for that."
She blushed. "Ah, well, I thought to...save some money." She replied.
"Yeah right!" Kenshin cried. "Admit it, you liar, you had none to begin with!"
Before she could say something back, she happened to glance out of the window at that exact moment. She saw a huge building that was simply...put lamely...gorgeous. She could find no better word for it. Aikoku-kashin really did live up to its reputation.
Expensive cars were lined up outside of it, all of them having a chauffer and several men dressed in black escorting the passengers out, much as Kenshin's had escorted them in.
The people leaving the expensive cars were dressed finely. Some were dressed in rich furs, while others in elegant ballroom dresses. Some were even dressed in gowns. Kaoru looked down at herself: she was simply in uniform. Now she really felt out of place. The others in the limo with her began to grudgingly put their blazers back on, returning their ties to their original place around their necks.
The restaurant was classy: with a huge arc, twin glass doors that were outlined with what looked like gold, and an elegant red carpet was laid out for the visitors to walk upon. It was well lighted, several men dressed smartly lined along the walkway ready to assist customers with any belongings.
When the limo came to a stop outside of the restaurant, the 7 of them piled out of the car when the chauffeurs opened the doors. Kaoru clutched her school bag nervously to herself as they began to dust her uniform with a small brush and fix up her tie. They did so with the rest of the boys too, who seemed used to it. Only Kenshin whined.
They were escorted by a man dressed in black who seemed to be waiting for them. Okita and Soujiro began to chat. Feeling really out of place, Kaoru fell behind them, wishing she had just declined Soujiro's original request for lunch together. Cafeteria indeed! This was Japan's finest restaurant. Never in her life had she dreamed to eat there. Wait until her father heard about this!
She jumped when another man who was dressed in black tapped her shoulder. "Excuse me miss, would you like me to take that?"
Kaoru glanced down at what he was pointing at. "What this?" She asked, lifting her school bag. The man nodded. "Ah..no...it's quite alright." She said, seeing a woman in front offering a tip to her escort. She didn't have that kind of money.
"Yes, take it please." Kenshin said. Kaoru gave him a glare.
"What are you doing?" She demanded as she reluctantly let go of her death grip on her possession and gave it to the man.
"Do you want to embarrass me? We never walk into this place carrying our own bags! How disgraceful."
She was shocked. "You guys can't carry your bags into the restaurant by yourselves? How lazy can you get?"
He shrugged. "That's what us rich people do."
Kaoru couldn't help but stick her tongue out at him. "You don't have to rub it in you know."
"I know." He answered smoothly. "I just want to."
Up ahead, she saw the most beautiful lady she'd ever seen. The kimono she was wearing was extravagant and she was captivated by the mere sight. It was the color of a sky blue, with silver linings and prints. It was simple but beautiful. It looked to be made of real 100 silk. The obi looked like it had taken days to do, and her hair was amazingly styled as well. Her face was painted very lightly with makeup, making it look as if it had been airbrushed onto her head.
How Kaoru wished she could have a kimono like that! The only real silk kimono she had was worn and old, left for her by her mother for her wedding day. Kaoru had thought that the yellow material from her mother's given kimono was the most gorgeous thing she could ever have seen: but she found she was mistaken.
Kenshin saw her wistfully looking at the woman's clothing. He nudged her with his elbow. "She's a babe eh?"
Kaoru snapped out of it. "Babe? Excuse me, but I'm a girl. I can't help you there."
Kenshin grinned. "Oh, excuse me. With your attitude, I thought otherwise."
It was her turn to throw her head back. "Well, here I thought you were a girl. Who would have thought a guy would go around with hair as long as yours?" She glanced over at him. "Are you gay?"
"WHAT?" Kenshin shrieked. "I'm not gay!"
His sudden yell made everyone entering the restaurant turn to look at him. He blushed a furious red, matching his hair in color. He scowled and turned to Kaoru who was giggling with pleasure. His hair was one of the things he was greatly proud of. It was what he was known for.
They were finally inside the restaurant, which made Kaoru's knees get weak. The front room seemed to be bigger than her actual house, not to mention the little traditional garden they had indoors, where people walked. A couple who had just gotten married were getting their pictures taken there.
She wondered if her jaw quite hit the floor. She was dimly aware of Kenshin paying the man holding her bag and being led into the actual dining room, where she was placed in between Kenshin and Soujiro.
The linen covering the table was made of fine silk as well. She felt like she had never sat in a more comfortable chair either. There were rows and rows of spoons and forks, elaborately displayed before her, and a tall glass of red wine was poured for her and everyone else. A pair of finely embroidered napkins were set in a V shape to her left and a pair of equally embroidered chopsticks.
Soujiro leaned over. "Relax, Kamiya-san."
"Relax?" Kaoru growled beneath her breath. "How can I relax? This is far from what I thought was cafeteria food. You could have told me where we were going!"
Soujiro smiled apologetically. "I didn't think you would be this upset. I'm terribly sorry."
Okita next to him also leaned forward. "It's not so bad, Kamiya-san."
"What's not so bad about it? First off, I'm in a classy restaurant along with this freak," she indicated Kenshin who was talking a mile a minute with Sanosuke with her thumb, "and second of all, I'm the only girl with you guys."
"That's true." Okita murmured. "If it makes you feel any better, the food is good." He handed her a menu. "Go ahead and order what you like."
Kaoru took it from him and opened it. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head at the prices. $716 dollars for one plate? She felt herself go numb. She looked frantically for something less than $10. There wasn't anything below $500. She wanted to throw a fit.
"I'll have the Nigiri Zushi plate." Amakusa said to the waiter. "I'm not that hungry right now. I think the cig really made me lose my appetite."
"Okara-no-nimono for me." Aoshi said quietly.
"What will you have?" Soujiro asked her.
Kaoru stammered, "I...um...I don't know..." She was used to the simple sushi she got in her lunchbox or a simple sandwich. She wasn't used to cuisine, let alone the prices. "I guess I'll have the...Tonkatsu?" She asked.
The waiter nodded and wrote it down.
"I'll have Chanpuru." Soujiro told the waiter. And Sano practically screeched, "Give me some Tempura Iro Iro!"
Kenshin made a face. "Sano - Tempura Iro Iro? We used to eat that when we were kids."
Sano shrugged. "I don't care. I feel like it today, you got a problem with that?"
Kenshin rolled his eyes. "I want the best house special."
"Yes, of course, Himura-san." The waiter said, taking the menus from them. A few people who passed their table greeted Kenshin warmly, and to Kaoru's greatest surprise, he was a complete gentleman right back to them.
"Do take care of yourself." He was saying to an elderly woman. She smiled and nodded, then continued to proceed out of the restaurant.
Kaoru addressed him, a smirk on her lips. "Well, well, well, who would have thought that the almighty Himura might actually have some manners?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked, stupidly.
"That you're an obnoxious, rotten pig, who has a potty mouth." She rambled.
"PIG?" Kenshin cried. He nearly knocked over his glass of red wine in his surprise and anger. Everyone in the restaurant turned to look at their table. Sano, instantly seeing their reactions, grabbed hold of Kenshin. "Did you hear that Sano?" He cried. "She called me a pig! Why that little - "
Okita did spill his red wine, as Soujiro bumped into him, trying to keep Kaoru from going at Kenshin with everything she had. Amakusa cried out and jumped out of the way as the red liquid spilled off the other end of the table. Aoshi also stood, his face stoic.
"Kamiya-san, don't, it's not worth it!" Soujiro shouted.
The whole restaurant went in an uproar, as people began shouting and some people jumped up from their seats to go either help Sano and Soujiro pin the bickerers down, or else jump out of the way of people who got up.
"WILL YOU GUYS JUST CALL A FREAKING TRUCE!" Sano screamed at the top of his lungs.
Everything stopped. Kaoru stopped struggling against Soujiro's hold, and Kenshin did likewise against Sanosuke's. After making sure that they weren't going to do anything further, they let them go.
Kenshin pulled away from Sano gruffly, and butlers ran to straighten his clothing for him, all the while glaring at his foe.
Kaoru smoothed her own uniform. She had been waiting for him just to hit her and she would have given him a piece of her mind. She stared right back at him, not willing to back down.
The haughty boy pushed the administering hands away, lifting his chin up high. Okita and the rest of his friends starting telling the people that nothing was wrong and that it had all been a misunderstanding.
"Look what you did, you tanuki!"
"Tanuki? You're the one that responded in such a vulgar manner." She retorted.
Sano shoved Kenshin lightly, growling something beneath his breath. The redhead cleared his throat. "A truce then, so that you won't embarrass me any further."
She felt Soujiro give her a gentle nudge, hearing him sigh. She guessed they were all embarrassed. The way Kenshin worded it was as if everything had been her fault. Everyone was staring at her as well. She found it so unfair; she wanted to cry. It was almost as if she accepted defeat when she nodded.
Just because he was rich...and because people knew him...she slumped back into her seat as people began to lose interest and start eating. Kenshin's escorts were still fussing over him and didn't stop for quite a while.
Soujiro sat down next to her. "Please don't feel so bad about it."
Kaoru bit her lip. "I want to leave." She told him.
He pleaded, "Stay please? You're having lunch with me, not Himura-san." He watched as the waiters began to start cleaning up their table of the spill and replace the white cloth with another one. He winked. "I hope he didn't offend you so much."
"He offends me a lot." She told him. "Now you see why I say those things. He is just...just so unbearable..."She trailed off, hoping that he didn't hear the crack in her voice. She tried to compose herself: as far as she was concerned, Kamiya Kaoru did not give up. She felt him pat her hand comfortingly.
"Relax." He told her. "No need to try so hard. According to these people here, you're just like one of them. Your uniform says it all: you go to the topnotch richest school in Tokyo. They don't question anything."
She smiled finally. Soujiro was right. Their food came and to her greatest surprise, it was done really well. She savored every bite, and throughout the whole meal, paid no attention at all to the redhead she sat beside. Instead, she made small talk with Okita and Soujiro, finding out that they were only a year older than she was, and that they were the best of friends. They even looked the same.
"Are you two...related in some way?" She asked tentatively.
Okita grinned. "We're cousins. From our father's side."
That would explain it.
She finished her food, and reached for the tall glass of red wine.
Only to accidentally spill it on Kenshin.
"Are you starting up again?" He cried, jumping up.
"It was an accident! I'm sorry!" She cried, jumping to her feet as well.
Kenshin began to curse in a string beneath his breath and the butlers ran forward to help him. He was escorted out of the room and was brought back with a new pair of pants on, neatly cleaned and ironed.
"Some damned poor girls," emphasis on poor, "need to learn table etiquette." He muttered, loud enough so Kaoru could hear, as he sat down heatedly in his chair.
Soujiro and her exchanged glances, his apologetic and telling her to relax, hers perfectly annoyed and seething anger. 'I. Want. To. Kill. Kenshin.' She thought angrily.
"After all, EVERYONE knows that you don't go about spilling wine on school uniforms." He continued. He was making such a scene that people were starting to look at him. "It HARDLY ever happens by ACCIDENT, so if it DOES happen, it just can't be an accident. However," his eye caught hers and he gave a smug grin, "for POOR people, it happens all the time."
Soujiro glowered a bit at him, but he looked back down at the food. Kaoru said nothing, pursing her lips so hard they turned white. The bill came taking her attention from the insolent rich kid and took it up curiously. When she saw the end price, her lips weren't the only things that were white.
Before she could tell Soujiro what was wrong, the waiter spoke aloud. "The total comes to $3815 Master Himura."
Kenshin nodded, taking out his wallet. The rest of his friends once again offered to pay their shares, but he generously told them not to. "Besides," he reasoned, "I've got nothing else to do with this money anyway. I can use it as tissue if I want."
Tissue! Kaoru felt herself grow really mad. She made up her mind then and there: she would never talk to Kenshin again. She thought about all the starving children and all the struggling families that were similar to hers - and the dolt had the nerve to use his money as tissue!
Kenshin saw her disgusted look and for some reason, felt bad for saying what he had just announced. He had forgotten that she was there momentarily, but seeing that look in her eyes, he pressed on lamely. "Of course, I don't use it as tissue. I'll handle the bill okay guys?"
They nodded reluctantly, and after everything was taken care of, they piled back into the limo for the trip back to the school.
When Soujiro took her hand to help her into the car, she pulled back. "No, it's okay Soujiro. I think I'll sit at the very back by myself thank you. A - woman's business."
He nodded, and helped her instead to sit where she planned to. She shut herself off from all their conversations throughout the whole trip back. Despite the fact that she had tasted fine cuisine for the first time with high class society, she was starting to realize that Kenshin did nothing but bring down the lower class.
Kaoru practically jumped out of the vehicle before it came to a complete stop, thanking Soujiro for bringing her to lunch and ran for her locker. She saw Misao and the rest of the girls huddled around and when they caught sight of her, ambled over.
"Hey Kaoru - How did it go?" Misao asked, almost hungrily.
Kaoru shrugged. "It was one of the worst experiences of my life. I hate him Misao - I can't stand the way he thinks he's above everybody else, and then he has the nerve to put all others down."
Misao pouted. "Don't say that Kaoru. Perhaps there's still more you will see in him."
"There's nothing I will see in him." Kaoru answered, almost hopelessly, "I have decided I won't talk with him ever again. It's not worth my time and it's not worth the pain he manages to give me."
Her friend frowned. "What about your assignment with Saitoh-sensei?" Misao demanded. "You can't just give up on the project."
"Oh, I'll do it." Kaoru sniffed. "By myself that is. I could suddenly care less about my grades, so long as I don't have to talk with that creature again."
Tae came forward and gave the girl a small squeeze on the shoulders. "It's better for you then, if it's your decision." She said gently. "Cheer up now. We have class."
They helped figure out what class Kaoru had next. It ended up being algebra and geometry. She found that Soujiro also had that class and then she found out that Misao had her last class with her too: English.
By the time the end of the day rolled along, she went to gather her things after having helped clean up on duty. Everything was quiet. A few teams had stayed behind to practice, but other than that the students had all gone home. She had always joined school teams, only her semester was terribly difficult and she wasn't sure if she should put her grades on the line.
Heaving a sigh, she slammed the door to her locker closed. To make things worse, she had promised her gym sensei that she would join the kendo team: and Kaoru was one who kept her promises.
She was wondering whether she should go sign up or go home, when she caught sight of her most hated enemy, walking up to her casually, a book in the crook of one arm, while the other was stuffed in his blazer's pocket.
Kaoru turned away, hoping he'd leave her alone.
Unluckily for her, he didn't.
He came right up to her, tapping her on the shoulder.
"Hey, Kamiya-san," He started to say.
"Would you just leave me alone, you pompous, arrogant, conceited - "
"-I wanted to return this to you." He cut in, brushing away her string of curses. He'd get her back for those later.
In surprise, Kaoru turned to see him with a small smile on his lips, holding up her chemistry textbook. His purple eyes shone. She felt her breath catch.
When she didn't respond, he continued, "You dropped this the other day. You might need it in future classes so..."
Taken aback, Kaoru took it from him, hugging it to herself. 'How strange,' she thought, 'maybe he decided to be nice after all.' She smiled.
"Thank you so much." She told him happily. "I thought I'd lost it for good."
Kenshin hadn't been expecting that reaction. She almost looked...cute. His plan was working. He smiled back.
"You're welcome. I hope you liked lunch today."
"Yes. I did! Thank you very much. And..." Kaoru nervously tugged at a loose strand of hair, twirling it around her finger. "I'm sorry for hitting you with the door the other day and for making you drop those cigarettes." She hugged the textbook tighter.
Kenshin smiled slyly. "Yes…well…I must get going. I'm late. I'll see about that project?"
She nodded vigorously. "Okay."
And with that, he turned and ran down the direction he had come from. Sano waited for him in the change room.
Kenshin pulled off his blazer, chuckling. "You should have seen her face, Sano." He said, changing into an off-white yukata. "She's completely falling for me."
Sano grinned. "Ain't that what you wanted?" He asked.
Kenshin ignored him. "Man, she's gonna be so mad."
"Mad?" Sanosuke asked, confused. "What do you mean?"
The smaller boy picked up his bokken. "Just wait Sano, and count down." He pulled the tie to his hakama tighter. Sanosuke continued to stare at him in confusion.
Kenshin merely began counting. "Watch this: 5, 4, 3, 2 - "
"HIMURA! WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY TEXTBOOK?"
"-Run."
To Be Continued...
AN: Hi again! A big thank you goes to Keiko with this chapter! I'm so sorry - it's not as long as the other chapter so you all must forgive me! I tried, but stories like these like to write themselves. What did you all think? PLEASE review! I loved the reviews so far! You guys are the greatest! Unfortunately today I don't have time to list everyone and for that I apologize too. I would appreciate it though, if you could review again.
Kenshin is being nice to Kaoru? It was too good to be true: so what did he do to the textbook? What about the project? And the different relationships? I know - cliffhangers are evil...