Can't Stop Loving You
Chapter 4 - You're Not Alone
I lasted one week waiting alone. That week was gloomy from my end, and slowly Kaoru started getting that way too.
Sometime during that week, Sano disappeared. Megumi was the only one not phased by this.
Kaoru and I spent our breaks fretting. When we went home, we tried to distract ourselves from the loneliness and the worry. Needless to say, we failed.
I figured that it would take a week for Aoshi and Kenshin to heal well enough to fight. Sano must have left because they needed him for planning. That sounds stupid, since Sano's idea of a plan would be to go in, guns blazing. It might have been a week trying to convince him otherwise. Or, they didn't want him leaking anything to us.
After that first week, another passed.
I listened to the clicks in school, trying to glean an ounce of information as to the whereabouts of our boys. I tore apart the newspapers, checked the news. I figured something would have to be there if there was a big gang fight.
But, none came.
...Can't Stop Loving You...
It was late Saturday night. Kaoru and I were sitting on the couch at Megumi's place. She had gotten fed up with our moping and demanded a girl's night. Therefore, it was no surprise to see a pile of chocolate wrappers on the table in front of us.
We had been trying to get absorbed in a horror flick. Yeah, it's kinda funny watching horror movies with Kaoru. She tends to get a little jumpy. Me, I think they're kinda lame, but it's fun to watch with others, especially Kaoru.
Megumi had set up the movie so she could take a shower. Unlike me, she thinks they're stupid and lame, so she doesn't want anything to do with them.
It was all fine and good until there was a knock on the door. Kaoru and I start to freak out. The zombies are coming for us!
"Meg! Meg! Open the door!" a voice calls weakly.
Kaoru and I look at each other, then to the chocolate wrappers. Figment of our imagination?
"Maybe we shouldn't eat that much chocolate..." I whisper.
Kaoru nods.
A loud single pound. "Megumi! Open the god damned door!"
Megumi comes out of the bathroom, hastily dressed with her hair wrapped in a towel.
"Can't either of you do something as simple as opening a door?" she snaps as she goes to do so.
Kaoru and I look at each other and huddle against the back of the couch, peering over the top. We can't see anything, but if a horde of zombies come, we'll know.
Megumi screamed. Well, not exactly a scream, but an inhaled shriek.
Kaoru and I jump the couch, ready to fend off the zombies.
"Inside, quickly," Megumi snaps.
Again, Kaoru and I exchange glances. Megumi wouldn't have invited zombies into her house.
And in walked our boys. Well, Sano sauntered in, supporting Kenshin. Kaoru cried out and went to him. Together, her and Sano get Kenshin further into the house. Behind them, Aoshi limped in, supporting himself with the sheathed double kodachi.
"You're going to the hospital," Megumi states.
"No we ain't!" Sano replies loudly.
"Look at this! Ken-san's unconscious, that guy can barely walk, and what the hell did you do to your hand?" Megumi shouts.
"We shouldn't go to the hospital," Aoshi reasons quietly.
"Meg, we can't!" Sano shouts, oblivious to what Aoshi said. "They usually ask questions! How 'm I supposed to tell them I punched a bunch o' people and my hand exploded. Damn, lots of shit exploded!"
Megumi glared at her rooster head for a good minute."Open the couch bed," Megumi orders.
Kaoru and I hurry to do as we're told.
After that, time sped by. Everything was so hectic that time fused.
The three of us worked hard to get their wounds patched. Megumi had a ton of medical texts lying around. All I had was the "How to treat minor cut and lacerations" half memorized. So between the three of us and the books, we had a lot of work to do.
Sano was pretty much a pile of bruises and cuts. I blame it on his "love" for defense. It doesn't exist. He also annihilated his right hand. Yeah, a punch that decreases resistance in other objects does the same thing to your hand. Thus, hand explodes. He also had a pretty good dent in his forehead. It bled a lot. He said he was having a tough time with his right eye. Go figure.
Aoshi's injuries were different. Some nicks, a few bruises. A big gash in his right thigh. A half healed ditch running down his chest. (Yes, Aoshi shirtless. If only I had time to stare.) A lot of half healed cuts. From his fight with Kenshin, I think. A single burn/cut across his chest.
Kenshin had some burns covering half of his body. They weren't real serious. I'd gotten worse from pouring tea. Those were just the half of it, though. A really deep gash across his back. He had a good part of the skin on his left shoulder, at the base of his neck, torn off. It was all tattered and gross. He had been stabbed in the side. Nothing vital hit, but it added to the severity of recovery. Several slashes had been cauterized already, wounds sealed by flame. The right half of Kenshin's chest was charred, as if an explosive had hit him. A pretty bad bruise on his head. On top of this, he also was recovering from the fight with Aoshi. An older shoulder wound had been reopened. There was one on each side of his neck, and a deep cut on his left hand.
We worked hard, to say the least. Wrapping wounds, putting on antiseptics and stuff. Megumi did a little bit of stitching on the largest wounds.
Finally, Megumi ordered one last check over.
Since she has everything under control, I head to the kitchen. As tired as I was, I need something to drink. Tea.
There, I found Kaoru leaning over the sink looking sick. She had disappeared a little while ago, but I had been a bit busy to mention anything.
"You ok?" I ask.
Kaoru nodded.
Not really believing her, I start some hot water. As I take five coffee cups down from the shelves, I talk. "They'll be fine." I'm not even one hundred percent sure it's true, but it sounded convincing to me.
"He should have told me they were going to do this today," Kaoru mumbles.
"Yeah, that would be nice," I reply fancifully. What did she expect? We had been in the dark for two weeks, the day they tried to kill themselves shouldn't matter.
"Kenshin...Kenshin is close to dying. What if he does? What if Sano hadn't been there to carry..."
I cut off her frantic rambling. "Kaoru, no what ifs. They're here now, that's all that matters."
"But...next time..."
"Next time we'll find out everything, and we'll be there to help. If we have to, we'll remind them of how well this turned out."
"Kenshin still might die. Megumi said so. We're not advanced enough to do this. We're only high schoolers!"
I put a hand on Kaoru's shoulder. "He'll pull through. He's to strong to die here. Besides, he's got you by his side."
"Misao..." Kaoru buries her face in my shoulder, crying. No surprise with how this night (or is it this morning?) is going.
"Besides, if he died, we'll find some way to bring him back so we could soundly thrash him!"
"Misao," Kaoru stopped crying, looking at me with that expression that says "you're weird."
The water whistles. Kaoru helps me make hot beverages. I make tea for Aoshi and myself. Hot chocolate for Kaoru. Coffee for Megumi and Sano.
"After this, I am sooo ready for sleep," I decide as I gather three of the cups, balancing carefully.
"Me too," Kaoru agrees, picking up the other two.
Together we walk out of the kitchen, trying not to spill.
Aoshi was leaning back against the couch, positioned in the corner as best as he could. He opens his eyes to check what was going on before closing them again.
Kenshin's lying in the middle, still unconscious.
Megumi and Sano were at the opposite side. Megumi was finishing up wrapping Sano's exploded hand. Sano was still bitching. Megumi muttered something in a steely voice that I couldn't hear. I assume it's nothing good when Sano shuts up. About time.
"We have drinks," I inform the two when Megumi finishes. Kaoru and I hand out their drinks. Kaoru sits on the side edge of the couch-bed, near Kenshin.
I sidle up to Aoshi. "Aoshi-sama," I ask quietly.
"Misao," he replies quietly. He still looks like he's asleep.
"I brought you some tea. You should drink it before you sleep."
"I will not be sleeping."
I frown, confused for a moment. Then I remember. Aoshi doesn't sleep around other people. He dozes. Not really asleep, but on the boundary line of it. Restoring energy without being caught unawares.
"You should drink it anyway," I reply.
He opens his eyes finally. He leans forward and offers his hand out. I give him the tea.
"Thank you." He takes a sip. "Misao, you have improved."
I blush slightly, proud of the compliment.
"In ten years, I should have."
Together, we drink our tea.
When he is finished, Aoshi mutters, "I'm sorry Misao." Then he leans back, dozing again.
I don't know what he's sorry for. It doesn't matter. Whatever it was, it is forgiven. As long as he stays by me, anything he does will always be forgiven.
I take one final sip of my tea. I can't remember what it used to taste like.