I don't own Rurouni Kenshin.
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Livid. Angry. Furious. Pissed to high heaven. It all meant the same, and it was all steaming from the ears hidden by a curtain of raven-black hair and boiling in the cauldrons of Kaoru's darken blue eyes.
Sano knew he was treading on some very thin ice that was doing nothing but growing thinner by the second. Hell, the nanosecond. He'd never seen her this mad about anything, and was really starting to become worried.
For one, this was the third time in the past few days that Kaoru'd willingly set foot inside the bar, and after how much she proclaimed her hatred of the place.
Sano was beginning to not like it as much either.
Once Kaoru had finished explaining her problem last night, she glared down at her glass of water and hadn't looked up since.
A tray of cheese fries was sitting between them on the table in the far corner of the bar, as far as Sano could get her out since she refused to waste time by leaving. As inviting as the cheese and grease smothered fries were, Sano dared not touch a single one. It was really difficult for him. There was bacon crumbled on them too.
As far as he knew, this whole deal with Kenshin really messed her up into thinking everything was some weird dream. He couldn't blame her. If he woke up to nice things in his place…well, actually, he wouldn't be complaining so much, not caring where or who the hell it'd all come from as long as he could keep the stuff.
Still, he hadn't actually been over to her apartment to scope things out, see what's up. He probably should, and soon. Sano was uncertain if something wasn't really wrong with her.
"Look," she began slowly and softly. Sano relaxed, fingers twitching for a fry, but he didn't reach. "I'm sorry for snapping at you. You don't deserve it, but you can understand where I'm coming from. Somewhat."
"Somewhat," he agreed. "But, Kaoru…what I don't understand is how you think all of this is a dream."
Her face fell into exasperation. "No. No, Sano. No. I don't need this right now. And of course you'd say that. You wouldn't know any better."
He shook his head. "But," he leaned on the table with an elbow. "But-"
"I said I don't want to hear it!"
A few heads turned toward their table, and Sano's cheek twitched.
"This is insane," he muttered.
"I've been telling you that… You haven't told anyone else about this have you?"
"Would it matter?" he asked, snappish. His mood was fouling a bit.
She agreed, and his mood's knob was tweaked another notch down. "No, I guess it wouldn't. Can you dream while you're in a coma?"
"Let's talk about something else. Anything else besides this nonsense. Like Kenshin. Let's talk about Kenshin!"
Kaoru's frown deepened as he spoke until she was scowling at him.
"Yeah, Kenshin. Now that's an easy subject. I'm beginning to not care anymore, ok? Drop him. Forget about him, Kaoru. Damnit, it's like ever since you met him you've been messed up and I'll be damned if I let it continue."
"Exactly!" she lifted her hands high into the air in a loose touchdown signal, and drunks watching the game roared their approval alongside her, unaware of the truthful events. It was a game alright, but it didn't involve a ball. "That's what I've been thinking, Sanosuke. I'm sick of this!"
Aware that she'd just used his whole name, Sano swallowed his own irritation and let her continue, his scrutiny chipping away bit by bit.
"I just want to find him, somehow, and, just wring some answers out of him!"
Sano's brow lifted as Kaoru acted out her damnation of Kenshin on the glass of water straining in her grip.
Gingerly, so not to train her sights on him with sudden movements, Sano rescued the glass, placing it far from her reach.
"Look," Sano folded his hands, and some of the anger blinked out of her eyes. "You're seriously stressed out, Missy. I think you're taking it a little too far. Oh, we'll get him," he assured her, and then slammed his fist on the table. "But for now, we're going to have a break, Sanosuke Sagara style!"
Kaoru's lips twitched into a smile when Sano kicked his chair back, sauntered to the bar, and returned with a beer for him and a fruity drink for her. He smiled.
"C'mon, Kaoru. Let it go for a bit."
Kaoru stirred the little umbrella around the green mixture, trying to analyze each individual chemical compound in the drink before Sano sighed.
"The mind always works better if you don't think about the problem for a while," he informed her smartly, tipping his glass in the air. Amber liquid sloshed onto the tabletop.
"After the hangover," she smarted back with a twisted little grin.
"Amen, sister!" Sano roared, downing his mug's contents.
Might as well, she thought as Sano laughed in the background. Things weren't going to change within the next couple hours.
(())
With an overzealously giggling Kaoru hanging from his shoulder, Sano stood outside the bar, waiting for the cab he called to show up.
He hadn't watched her like he first intended, and now she was wasted, not to mention his tab had soared within the last few hours. How, even drunk, she managed to only suck down the most expensive drinks was beyond him.
He hoped she wouldn't be mad in the morning, but it was the only and quickest way he knew to have a kicking time without even the brushing of a stressful thought.
Damnit, he also handled his liquor. Unlike the woman he tried to hold upright.
I take my eyes off her for five minutes, he growled to himself. Ok, so it was more like fifteen, but damnit, still!
"You know," she slurred, placing her hand on his shoulder and blinked. "I'm really tired."
"Couldn't've guessed it, Missy," he slathered her with sarcasm.
"I think I'll sleep," she informed, patting his broad shoulder.
He swore again. "Can it wait until after you get home?"
Kaoru's eyes blinked open quickly. "My bed sounds…sounds real nice."
When the cab finally cranked to a stop in front of the bar, Sano was patting Kaoru's face with his hand, jarring her to stay awake. He growled when he put her in the backseat, and walked around to the driver's side of the car, knocking on the window with his knuckle. It rolled down a little bit.
"Listen, buddy," he growled some more, this time towards the cabbie. "If this ends up being something extremely stupid on my part, then I'm comin' after your ass. You got it? The only reason I'm not driving her myself if cause I can't, so you do it instead." Sano reared back from the window, feeling strangely like this wasn't necessary. Hadn't he decided to ride along with her?
"Anyway, you take her here," Sano handed him a peeled off wrapper of a water bottle he'd found on the ground, and written Kaoru's address, cursing when he had to write over the plastic vigorously to make the ink appear. "And I really trust you with this, so don't screw it up."
"I promise I won't," the cabbie answered softly, rolled the window up, and driving away, leaving Sano standing in the middle of the street with a very blank and confused expression on his face.
He shook his head. He wasn't that drunk to be saying crazy stupid things, but just where the hell did that come from? Well, he didn't feel guilty about letting her go alone. Strangely, he did trust the cabbie, who he didn't even see. A change of heart, maybe? What the hell? It didn't make much sense, but as long as she got home safe, then it wouldn't be a problem. Missy got violent much easier when drunk, so she'd most likely remove parts from the man if he laid a finger on her if she didn't know him…
Wait a minute…
Sano frowned, and got out of the middle of the street, watching where the cab had gone. Alright, he'd already established he wasn't really that drunk, but he could have sworn that the cabbie's voice sounded just like Kenshin.
"Nah," he snorted, walking down the street, not wanting to go back to the bar either.
Kenshin wasn't a taxi driver. He was…whatever the hell he was.
(())
In the back of the cab, Kaoru picked at the worn upholstery until something dawned in her hazy mind.
"Hey!" she called to the cabbie, smacking the back of his headrest with her palm. "Where's Sano? He said he was coming!"
"Don't worry, Miss. He gave me the directions to your home." Without taking his eyes off the rode, a small plastic water bottle wrapper waved in his fingers.
She didn't hear him. "Stop the car! Sano!" she screamed. "I swear, if you come near me-"
"Please calm down," he insisted, quickly tucking her address away and reaching back for her arm. She screamed again, and wriggled to bite his fingers. "Please! Kaoru, calm down!"
Something sharp sank through the fog of intoxication, and Kaoru settled, frowning as she scooted away behind the passenger seat, pressing against the door. She missed hearing the locks click into place.
"K-ken-kenshin?"
Suddenly bright violet eyes were peering like headlights into the rearview mirror at her. "Yes?"
"You got a lot of nerve, comin' out here again after…after leaving like that!"
He shrugged calmly, and the turn signal started clicking before he took a turn. "I couldn't stay away."
Kaoru snorted and crossed her arms, sinking down until her head was resting near the door handle. "Then why'd you have to leave in the first place?" she muttered angrily, pouting.
"That's something completely different," he answered quietly. "And please put your seatbelt on."
Kaoru grumbled about redheads in general as she slowly rose, glaring to make sure he knew she wasn't being a willing subject. He waited until the snap of the buckle clicked.
"Thank you."
The cab ground to a stop, and Kenshin pulled the emergency brake despite the road being flat, and unbuckled himself.
Kaoru was dozing lightly when he reached for her, undoing her seatbelt, and lifting her easily into his arms. She immediately protested, not even fully reawake yet.
"I walk for myself, Kenshin!"
He set her down for the most part. She was moving her feet, which made her happy, but most of her weight was on his shoulder and the arm he kept under her elbow.
She looked up at him with a small pinch of a scowl between her eyes and on the bridge of her nose. He almost smiled, but asked what was wrong instead.
"I'm saying this, but if you laugh, then I'll drop you so hard, by God, you'll-"
"Alright, alright," he placated, and her cheeks puffed out with air. "But, just to let you know, you're beginning to sound like Sano."
The air blew out of her mouth in Kenshin's face. It calmed her some, and she gave him yet another demanding glare, to which he nodded his head.
"I won't laugh. I promise."
"You have…very pretty eyes," she blurted. "They look like flowers," she added, then lowered her head like an embarrassed child. He could practically feel the heat radiating off her cheeks.
Her worries of his laughter were needless; Kenshin didn't think about chuckling. He only frowned, his eyes casting worry shadows under them.
"Kaoru, can you tell me which floor?" Kenshin asked after taking a shaking breath when they stepped into the lobby. It was worse than he thought…
"Hey!" a gruff voice rubbed the air the wrong way. Kenshin bristled silently and turned. The landlord, no doubt, Kenshin thought, keeping the scowl from reaching his eyes. "What're you doing in here? You don't live here." His beady, little eyes ran over him, jumping to Kaoru next, who had fallen asleep once again. On her feet of all places.
Kenshin swallowed again, biting his tongue for a moment more before speaking. Some things shouldn't be changed, he reminded himself.
"If you'll forgive me, but I'm taking her up to her apartment. I drove her home from the bar."
The little man waved his dirty hand, but continued to follow them with his gaze as Kenshin hefted Kaoru up the stairs.
"Kaoru." Kenshin patted her face lightly. "Kaoru, wake up. I need your key."
"Mmm…"
"Kaoru!" he whispered, his breath blowing into her ear.
Her eyes opened wide. "What?"
"Your key. You're home."
"Oh," she said dumbly, fumbling with her little purse to find her key.
Kenshin chuckled, helping her stay upright with a hand on her lower back. "Sounding like Sano again," he played.
Kaoru glared and dropped her keys.
"I'll-" Kenshin said, bending to pick them up at the same moment Kaoru swore and lurched towards the floor.
Their heads collided with a solid thunk.
Kaoru jerked up, holding her head, but lost her balance and felt into the wall, flinging her arm out to steady herself. Kenshin grabbed her wrist, pulling her back to her feet, keys in hand. Kaoru tripped over her own foot and fell again, only forward this time and a hard chest caught her.
Intoxication at its worst. Kaoru stumbled over her apology too, rubbing her head as Kenshin quietly fingered a spot on his head also. Not at a loss for words, and he did chuckle accordingly. Kaoru was just too drunk and noisy at the moment to notice its fakeness.
Inside her apartment, Kaoru made a beeline for the bathroom, and Kenshin felt it safe to let her navigate in the familiar territory. He surveyed her place. It was exactly as he had imagined it, as he'd seen it. What a mess, and something he knew would be such an easy fix if only Kaoru would just accept it. He was glad when he'd decided against a complete fulfillment, or almost complete. As complete as he could make her life, and the things in it that didn't include himself.
No matter how much she'd acted like him, Kaoru wasn't Sano who'd see something better, something new that'd been offered to him free of charge and readily accept it without any questions. The tall brunette had proven time and time again that he never cared where the stuff came from, or what happened to the old stuff, as long a he could keep the new. It was easy being friends with him because of that.
But Kaoru…
Kaoru had to get to the bottom of it, and Kenshin was wondering just how long it would be before she did. He knew that Sano'd explained what Kenshin told him the first time Kenshin replaced an entire toilet in Sano's bathroom because he'd been so fed up with having to plunge the thing over and over. Sano had asked, and didn't believe that Kenshin had paid for an entire toilet to be replaced, the lines to the septic tanks and everything.
She knew that much and she'd tried out the advice Kenshin had given Sano. So she had to at least believe some of it.
If she didn't, Kenshin knew, she'd have clobbered him in the car whether he was driving or not. It's proven to be a risk well worth taken.
She groaned when she came from the bathroom, holding her head.
"I've a knot on my head," she said, looking at him with blurry eyes. "Thanks."
Kenshin carefully approached her, weary of the surly expression, and placed the bag of ice he'd gotten from the freezer, wrapped in a dish towel, on the spot. She flinched.
"Ow," she growled.
"Sorry."
He stood over her for a long time, holding the ice until most of it melted. When she'd get too cold, she'd shoo his hand away, and he'd place his other over the same spot gingerly to warm it before replacing the ice. After a while, she slept.
Ice melted into slush, Kenshin lifted her into his arms again and carried her to her room. A bit of pride swelled in his chest, and he allowed it for a moment when he looked at the wonderful bed he'd given her. The feeling was gone when he placed her on the covers, and she grabbed at the pillow her head rested on.
His hand, cold from the icepack, hovered over her hair, imagining the feel, the texture of her glossy locks and how easily his fingers would run through such silk. But, his fingers curled into a tight fist, and slowly drew away. His eyes were drawn to her porcelain face, the delicate curve of her nose, her black eyelashes that exploded her blue gem eyes in color, and her full lips puckering slightly in her slumber.
She was dreaming…
Her eyes darted under their lids, and Kenshin gripped her arm, startling her awake.
"Kenshin," she growled, rolling over to put her back to his rudeness. "Lemme alone, please."
"Kaoru, what did you dream? Just now."
She looked over her shoulder. "What?"
"What were you seeing in your dream?"
"How'd you know-?"
"You're eyes were shifting."
Kaoru contemplated that, but she dropped it soon. "I don't remember. You woke me up."
"Listen to me, Kaoru," he pleaded as she turned from him, plopping on her pillow. "You can reach it while you're mind is…freed, I guess you could say." She was slipping again. "Kaoru, you can reach out without any limitations, just picture this place and yourself. Picture yourself here. Can you see it?"
Her slurred affirmation was all he needed. A second later, and she was out. Kenshin stood quickly, closed his eyes, and the world around him began to blur.
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Well, what's my excuse?
Um…alien abduction? :D
Not necessarily, though 'abduction' would be a very interesting way to put it. An abduction of the mind into a new fandom. It's taken over my mind with pairings galore and so much fighting goodness! If anyone else likes Bleach, check out the couple stories I have posted at the moment.
It's not real fair to neglect and old love but…at least I haven't abandoned RK…I hope…considering I've had both these chapters done for a long time… For those who enjoy my RK stories, I dedicate these two chapters. And also ask for forgiveness, but I don't want to push my luck.
Thank you to anyone who has stuck around with this for so long.