Kaoru lay sprawled out on her queen-sized bed that Friday afternoon, studying for her and Misao's first major exam in pathophysiology. It wasn't until next Wendesday, but she wanted to get an early start because she knew that waking up at 0430 for her clinical rotations on Monday and Tuesday mornings would leave her too exhausted to study effectively. So, she had brewed a pot of green tea in their cozy kitchen with the black-and-white tile floor, snuggled into her light pink comforter, and begun preparing for a test that seemed to cover an impossible amount of material. After four hours of sipping tea, memorizing early and late signs of altered consciousness, feedback mechanisms of the endocrine system, and different types of shock, Kaoru slammed her book shut with a dramatic thud, totally saturated with information and completely unable to process another word or fact.
"That. Is. IT!" she exclaimed to no one in particular. Down the hall, she could hear clubby techno music softly emanating from Misao's room. Silently, Kaoru wondered how long it had been playing, as she had been totally absorbed in her work. She padded to her best friend's room and pushed the door open. "Misao? What are you doing? Your music is making me feel like we're in Ibiza!"
Inside, the music pulsated a little louder, and Kaoru began bouncing her shoulders side to side ever so slightly without realizing it. Misao had apparently emerged from the shower a few minutes ago, and was sitting at her vanity wearing nothing but lacy hot pink boy shorts and a matching bra. Her hair was wet and pushed away from her face, and she was beginning to put on what she liked to call her "going-out makeup," which consisted of a dewy complexion and tons of dramatic eyeliner.
Kaoru eyed Misao curiously. "Hey, what's going on? Do you have a date that I don't know about? Why aren't you studying for our test next week?"
Misao gave her roommate a pitying smile. "Kaoru, I love you, but look in the mirror for a second. That's it, go ahead. Give yourself a hard look and tell me what you see."
Intrigued, Kaoru looked at herself. She was wearing an ex-boyfriend's ratty plaid boxer shorts, an old band shirt, and Sailor Moon socks. Her hair was twisted into lots of tiny little bits as the result of her nervous "twirling habit" that surfaced whenever she studied, and when she looked closely…she had to admit that her eyebrows could use a little tweezing.
"Hmm, I see what you mean. I suppose I've let myself go a bit since school started," Kaoru said, pursing her lips. "But what are we supposed to do? There's no way we can keep up with all this studying and work and still put on makeup every day!"
Misao applied a coat of mascara with a flourish, and then brandished the wand in Kaoru's direction. "Nonsense. We're not going to let school take over our lives. Nursing is about taking care of other people, and there's no way we'll be good at it if we don't take care of ourselves, too!"
Kaoru jiggled her shoulders a little more to the music and smiled mischievously. "Does this mean what I think it means?"
Misao winked back and began applying mascara to her other eye. "Get in the shower, Kaoru…we're going out tonight."
******
An hour later, Kaoru and Misao were fully coiffed and ready for their first real night out in San Francisco. Misao had a couple of friends from college who lived and worked downtown, and they had all agreed to meet the girls at one of the hottest clubs in the city.
"I hope they let us in!" Misao exclaimed, adjusting the strap of her top. She had chosen to wear a silver halter that gave her the perfect amount of cleavage without being suggestive ("As if my tiny boobs could ever be suggestive," she had laughed at Kaoru's comment at the boutique where she bought it), a clingy black pencil skirt that hit at the knee, and hot pink patent peep-toe heels.
"This isn't L.A.," Kaoru laughed. "I don't think we'll be up against any celebrities tonight. Besides, how could any bouncer say no to us?"
Misao laughed giddily. It appeared Kaoru had gotten her old confidence back…and Misao could see why. Her best friend had decided to go with the black French designer bandage dress that had cost a fortune, but hugged her every curve perfectly with bands of stretchy fabric, and gave her the look of a high-class dominatrix. Her hair, which had been pulled back in a lazy ponytail for school all week, was down, and it fell down her back in a wave of shiny darkness. Her makeup was understated but elegant; Kaoru had chosen to play up her eyes with a little liquid liner and mascara, and leave her lips neutral with a smear of crystal clear gloss. In other words, she looked practically edible.
Misao squealed and slipped her arm through Kaoru's as they sauntered out the door. "This was such a good idea. I can't wait to start dancing! Hey," she said, pausing to think. "Do you think we should invite Aoshi-sama and Kenshin? I stole their phone numbers from the staffing directory!"
Kaoru didn't know whether to laugh or scold her friend. "Misao! That directory of personal phone numbers exists in case we can't reach one of the doctor's pagers and it's an emergency! You can't just…take them so that we can invite your crush out with us! And besides," she continued indignantly, "There's no way I'm agreeing to that idea. I want a night away from the idea of doctors, and the hospital, and studying. There will be plenty of hot California boys for you to dance with once we get there, you'll see."
"But…but…Aoshi-sama…" Misao sputtered as Kaoru dragged her resolutely to the car. She wouldn't budge; she wanted a night of freedom, and when Kaoru Kamiya made up her mind, she usually got her way.
*****
"This place is hopping!" Kaoru cried, looking around the ground level of the three-floor, swanky club that she, Misao, and their friends from college, Tomoe Yukishiro and Sojiro Seta, had just been admitted to by a burly, stoic bouncer. There were three separate bars depending on whether you wanted wine, house drinks, or top shelf liquor, and a huge, transparent dance floor that glowed different colors. Rich leather booths and tables were sequestered all around the perimeter so that people could take a break, have a drink, and watch the action from the sidelines before returning for another round. Kaoru and Misao had chosen vodka tonics, and after a couple of rounds, everyone was ready to dance.
"Okayyyy, let's see what we have here," Misao purred over Kaoru's shoulder. "Anyone you see who looks worthy of dancing with?"
Kaoru's trained eyes scanned the gyrating throng of club patrons. "Hmm, no one really catches my attention. I think we should just get out there are do our own thing—let them come to us, right?" She climbed out of the booth, and made her way slowly and confidently to the dance floor, with Misao close behind.
They moved to the center of the dance floor and lost themselves in the throbbing trance music, completely oblivious to anyone else. Anyone who was watching the two girls could tell that they loved dancing, and did it for their own pleasure, not to please anyone. Within minutes, Kaoru and Misao were the center of attention, and they were hardly aware of it. They moved with each other, almost as if they were dancing together. A light film of sweat began to appear on their brows, and as the night grew later, the music became even more intense, building and climaxing regularly, with a constant bass rhythm that kept everyone's hearts beating fast.
*****
Across the club, sitting in a different leather booth, Kenshin nearly choked on his dirty martini when he looked up and saw Kaoru Kamiya and Misao Makimachi on the dance floor, swaying and moving so seductively and yet oblivious to the attention they were getting. He could hardly believe that she was here, in the very same club as him, no more than 10 meters away…and she looked absolutely stunning. After nearly five minutes of sitting and watching Kaoru dance with his mouth slightly open, Kenshin's companions, Aoshi and Sanosuke, took noticed and waved hands in front of his fixed gaze.
"Oi, Kenshin, what are you staring at?" Sanosuke asked, punching him playfully on the arm. "You almost spit your drink all over me."
Aoshi, whose very keen eyes rarely missed anything, looked up and quickly discovered the source of his attention. "Those girls—nursing students—are here. Kamiya and Makimachi. And they're…dancing."
Sano grinned. "All right, Jou-chan and Weasel are here? Let's invite them over to drink with us! We need a little female companionship since Megumi won't come out tonight. Something about having to finish her paperwork." He began to get up to find Kaoru and Misao, but much to his and Aoshi's surprise, Kenshin shot out his hand and grabbed Sano's lean forearm, effectively yanking him back down into his seat.
"Sano. Leave this to me." Kenshin wasn't normally so aggressive, but he couldn't let his best friend ruin this moment. Kaoru Kamiya was the most beautiful creature Kenshin had ever seen, and he wanted nothing more than to 1) continue watching her dance, and 2) dance with her, himself. Not that Kenshin was a huge dancer, but as he studied her slender form swaying to the music, he made up his mind that he had to figure out a way to get her in his arms. It's now or never, he thought. "Excuse me," he said, getting up and heading off in the direction of the dance floor, leaving Sano and Aoshi behind to order more drinks and watch.
Kenshin swallowed nervously as he walked towards Kaoru. All of a sudden, he felt self-conscious and wondered how he looked. Was his long hair stupid? Did she think his scar was creepy? What if she took one look at his expensive, dark blue button-up and pegged him for a metrosexual weirdo? I should have had another drink, he thought grimly. He felt awkward as he approached the dancing beauty, not really knowing how to get her attention, but was nonetheless determined to appear confident. Should he start dancing and accidently bump into her? Kenshin almost laughed out loud at that ridiculous idea. She was so close now…he inhaled and swore he could smell her, which he had decided when they met was a fragrance close to fresh jasmine. Without thinking, and totally instinctively, he reached out and put a slender, muscular hand on Kaoru's shoulder, completely shocked at his own boldness.
Kaoru snapped out of her reverie and spun around at the touch. She inhaled sharply to see Dr. Himura, gazing at her possessively with amethyst eyes that seemed tinged with amber.
