A/N: Okay, so this is the last short chapter, but it's still an important one all the same.
Standard disclaimers apply.
Chapter Seven
Kaoru
I was at my desk, finishing up a piece about a charity organization when Kamatari strode into the office, looking extremely pleased with himself.
"Attention!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands together. I knew it must've been really good news since he looked like he was going to pee in his pants. "Enishi Yukishiro is hosting the biggest function of year and guess who's covering it? We are! Not that it's much of a surprise, of course, since he favors us…but still!"
There was some clapping and hollering, and I clapped as well…but the real question was…who had the honor of actually attending the event?
"I'm allowed to bring three writers with me, and I've decided that Yuki, Tetsuo, and Kaoru will be joining me."
What? How was that possible? I was definitely the youngest writer working on the staff…shouldn't someone with more years of experiences have the honor?
But people were happy for me, or at least appeared to be. I pushed past them to get to Kamatari.
"Kamatari…I'm flattered…but…seriously? Me?" I whispered in his ear.
"You belittle yourself darling. Besides…this is kind of part of my apology."
I rolled my eyes. "Come on, I've forgiven you for that. In fact, there was nothing to forgive in the first place. It wasn't your fault."
"Kaoru, you're also a great writer. This is a good opportunity for you." He gave me a pointed look before leaving me so he could go back to his office.
I went back to my desk, the excitement finally beginning to sink in. Pulling out my cell phone from my bag, I dialed Kenshin's number, which I already had memorized, and I sucked at remembering phone numbers.
"Hello?"
"Kenshin! It's Kaoru."
"Hey! How are you?"
"I'm good, really good, actually. I want to go out an celebrate – do you want to meet for lunch today?"
He laughed, and I felt fluttering in my stomach, as if I was fourteen-years-old. "Sure…are you going to tell me what it's for?"
"You'll find out at lunch."
"Cruel woman." He sighed. "Alright. I'll see you where?"
"Blue Lemon – it's 1531 Lexington and Fifth."
"Okay, I'll see you there."
Kenshin
My head was hurting like a bitch, and I had no idea why. It was never this bad. I even took six pills, which would normally knock me out, but it only numbed the pain the tiniest bit.
Something was wrong.
But I wanted to see Kaoru, so I met her at the restaurant anyway. It was nice, and I knew it was out of my price range, but she was probably going to insist on picking up the tab since she wanted to celebrate something.
And of course she told me over the phone…how was I supposed to read her mind and find out the reason? Not that she actually knew that I could do that anyway…but still.
I rubbed my eyes when she joined me at the table. The lights were so bright.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, headache. It's nothing," I lied, lowering my hand to the table and trying to smile. "So what are we celebrating?"
She grinned brightly. "Well…you've heard that…well…" she blushed. "Of course you know…you're his best friend."
"What? Enishi?"
"Yeah. You know that huge function he's holding at the end of the month, right?"
"Yeah."
"Well…The Daily Word was asked to cover it and I was one of the writers chosen!"
There was a surge of noise in the room, and I clutched my head with both my hands and groaned.
"Kenshin?" she asked worriedly, placing her hand on top of one of mine.
I clenched my teeth. "Fine. Fine." I looked up at her. "So…so you're going?" Everything was getting a little fuzzy at this point. And I was pretty sure black spots were blocking my vision.
"Yeah! I'm really excited – I'll get to talk to –"
And everything went black, as the cliché line goes.
My head was still hurting as I became conscious, but it was a lot less intense than before. I must've been on some serious painkillers.
I tried to open my eyes, but the bright lights made it worse, so I kept them closed. I supposed that was what having a hangover felt like.
"Mr. Himura?" I had no idea who this person was. I would've tried to read his mind, but I didn't want to push my aching head.
"Yes?"
"Are you having…difficulty opening your eyes?"
"The lights are too bright."
There was silence, and I didn't like it, so I tried to probe his mind a bit, and all I sensed were concerned tones of thought.
Uh oh.
I opened my eyes quickly and found myself staring at a doctor.
Fuck my life.
"Did I actually pass out?" I muttered to myself, bringing a hand to my forehead.
"You did. A Miss Kamiya made the call and is waiting outside for you."
"Oh…shit. Kaoru." This probably freaked her out.
"We've taken some scans, Mr. Himura," the doctor continued.
"Of what?"
"Your brain."
I felt my body grow cold. "And…?" But I already knew the answer.
"You have brain damage, Mr. Himura, and it's extensive. The tumor is deadly and fast working. You're going to need surgery to remove a part of the brain."
I felt myself gawking. Brain surgery?
"But…it's not a high success rate."
"Oh my God." This wasn't happening. I was twenty-three! I shouldn't be dealing with things like this! "My insurance…there's no way –"
"What did I tell you, Kenshin? Don't worry about the money."
Enishi.
The doctor rounded on him. "Excuse me, visitors aren't allowed…" but he trailed off, finally realizing whom he was yelling at. "Enishi Yukishiro?"
Enishi nodded, disinterest plastered on his face. "Yes, yes. I'll be paying for this whole thing."
I looked over at the doctor. "Can you excuse us for a minute?"
The doctor left the room without a word. He was probably going to tell all of his colleagues that Enishi Yukishiro was in the hospital.
"Enishi…this surgery…I don't know."
He gawked at me. "Are you serious? This can save your life!"
"But…I'll probably still have brain damage anyway. I'm not going to be able to help you after it. Isn't it just better to…ride it out?"
"No! Absolutely not!" he exclaimed roughly. "You're my best friend, and I want you to be healthy and alive."
"But…our operation…"
"Fuck that!" he hissed. "There won't be one if you're dead!" He took a breath, and I wondered whether or not he was holding back tears. "I'm getting the best doctors for this…but it may take a while for them to get here. But I'll get them here in less than a month, at the absolute latest."
About a week after the function.
I didn't know whether to feel touched that he cared so much or not. Not that I ever doubted his feelings for me; I just assumed that he wouldn't want to risk having a hiatus on our operation. Or a permanent end.
Perhaps I was being so rash in assuming that he didn't care about my wellbeing.
I didn't recall what was going on around me after that. I remembered signing some things, and Enishi was beside me, signing things. The pain in my head was like a constant hammer pounding inside my skull. I wondered if it would be okay to take eight pills…
But those thoughts came to a screeching halt when I saw Kaoru sitting in the waiting room, her hands ringing a tissue, her knees bopping up and down. She was looking down at her shoes.
I didn't think Enishi knew she was there, because he visibly tensed.
She looked up and her face is blotchy, but was still beautiful to me. She would always be beautiful to me.
She stood up and walked over to me, still ringing her hands. When she was about a foot away from me, I smiled a little, which just set her off; she threw her arms around me tightly, a new wave of sobs racking her body.
"Kenshin…" she whispered into my neck.
"I'm okay. I'll be okay."
"They took you in for scans…?"
I swallowed and pried her off of me so I could look into her eyes. Everything was blocked out; it was just she and I. "I need surgery," I said.
Fresh tears filled her eyes and I hated being the reason for them.
"It'll be okay…" But even that sounded false. It was as if I was trying to assure myself.
Her cell phone rang and she reluctantly pulled away from me, sniffling as she checked who it was. "I have to go. I'm late for work." She tried to smile, and her bottom lip quivered. I wanted to kiss her and forget about everything that had happened. "I'll talk to you soon." She squeezed my hand before leaving Enishi and I.
Enishi
I couldn't believe this. It couldn't be happening, it just couldn't. Not to Kenshin! He was the last person on this planet that deserved this. And what the heck was I supposed to do once the surgery happens? Would I begin to work solo? And what would happen if Kenshin ended up a vegetable? Or dying?
I wished at that moment that I had registered Kenshin as a sidekick because I remembered one of the heroes having a sidekick that could possibly help him, but I couldn't now because I would get in trouble for not reporting. I would be forbidden to use my powers; all the hard work Kenshin and I worked for would be for nothing.
For the first time, I felt the type of guilt that kept people up at night. When did everything get so complicated?
A/N:Gossip Girl is on tonight! Finally! Too badHeroes is on a break now...why do all these shows have to go on random breaks?!
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MissGoalie
