D/C: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin.
Hello, my dears! I'm sorry it took me a bit long to update this story, but I've been suckered into joining a Harry Potter fanfiction convention, and I've been a bit busy writing for it. Heh. Anyway, thank you so much for the reviews you've sent the last time! Let's proceed with the chapter now, shall we?
The Geek in the Pink
Chapter 7: Carnage
"Himura."
Kenshin looked up from what he was doing, and met the cold gaze of his colleague, Aoshi Shinomori. The latter wasn't looking very pleased, but that wasn't really new to Kenshin - Aoshi usually always looked unimpressed. "Yes?" he said, because Aoshi didn't seem to want to be the one to start the dialogue.
"I don't like what you're doing, Himura," Aoshi stated.
"Oh? I hope I haven't been performing inefficiently?" he asked with polite puzzlement.
"You know that's not what I'm talking about," Aoshi retorted, now standing, towering, over Kenshin, who was seated at a stainless-steel table. "You've been getting too close to that girl on campus, and that's not tolerated. We've come here to do business, and only business we will do. If you want to have fun, you can go pick a prostitute off the street. Do what you have to do and then finish her off. No one will miss a hooker, but a popular university student will most surely be missed. Keep it simple and clean."
Kenshin snorted, and rested the long blade that he'd been polishing on the table. "You're one to talk, Shinomori," he muttered.
"So you aren't denying it?" Aoshi questioned.
"It's not the issue of me denying it or not," Kenshin replied. "It's the issue of you being attracted to the friend of that popular university student, yourself."
The taller man raised an eyebrow. "That's different," he said coldly. "I haven't even said a word to that girl. Yes, you're right - I may be attracted to Misao Mackimachi, but I'm not about to go telling her that. I'll keep her away from me at a safe distance if that's what it takes to keep her alive. I won't go out to cozy little diners with her, and walk her home."
"Have you been watching me, Shinomori?"
Kenshin didn't even have to look up or stand to his feet for Aoshi to sense the anger that was vibrating off of him. He calmly sat down at the table across from him, folding his arms in front of him. "No, I haven't been watching you," he replied. "You forget how competent the gossip network is on the university campus. I've heard several rumors concerning that girl and Pink."
Kenshin twitched, and his hand automatically reached for the hilt of his sword. "Now, look here, Shinomori! You obviously forgot that I'm only giving off the impression of being a geek because you asked me to! Because you told me that I needed to go undercover!" he seethed. "I will not stand to hear any banter from your side!"
Aoshi's thin lips stretched a few millimeters. He appeared to be highly amused. "Relax, Himura, I was just informing you of my sources, that's all," he said softly, and Kenshin just scowled. "So, what are you going to do about it?"
"I won't do anything about it," Kenshin muttered. "I've already drew lines for Kaoru. I made her see that we can't be anything more than just school mates. I think she's very suspicious of me, anyway, since I keep getting paged on my beeper when I'm with her."
"Oh?"
"She's taken a liking to the theory that I'm actually a male stripper, and that those calls I get are from sex-crazed women who I must run to serve," he continued, and Aoshi couldn't help but release a snort of laughter. "Don't laugh. She thinks you're a stripper, too."
Aoshi subdued right away, much to Kenshin's glee. "Right, well, it's better than her actually knowing what we are, I suppose," he said quietly.
Kenshin nodded silently. The clock chimed above his head, announcing ten p.m. He got up to his feet, and sheathed his sword. "I best be off," he said. "The sooner we get done with this mission, the better, and the quicker we get back to our hometown."
He didn't wait for Aoshi to respond before leaving the room. He exited the building where he and Aoshi had taken residence, and stole into the night, his small feet barely touching the littered floors of the dark alleyways as he ran in pursuit of his marked target. The cold night's air rushed against his face, and made his crimson hair stream behind him. His violet eyes were wide and wary, filled with the murderous intent that always came upon him when he was out to kill.
Upon reaching his destination, he lurked in the shadows, waiting for his target to come out of the office building were it supposedly worked. It was better to deal with a target as an object, this way he'd feel no remorse when he finished them off. It was barely a few moments before the target came out of the building. It was a nervous-looking creature, with half-moon spectacles and a black suit. He was hardly the type that caught your attention twice.
Kenshin followed him stealthily to the almost bare parking lot, where his little blue car was waiting. He waited until the man's back was to him, as he dug into his pockets for his car keys, and the he attacked. He crept silently behind him, drawing out his sword as he did. His hand was over the man's mouth, blocking out his gurgled scream, before the sword sliced through his back. The man seemed to convulse between Kenshin's arms, before he became still altogether. Kenshin let him drop to the floor, a lifeless corpse.
An item dropped from the man's limp hand. It was a wallet, and it lay open to reveal two small pictures of a boy and a girl. The man's kids. Or rather, his orphans.
Kenshin gazed at them expressionlessly for a moment, before turning on his heels and walking away from the scene. Often, after he'd met Kaoru, he wondered if she saw the murderer in him when she looked upon him. He wondered whether she knew what a vile person he was underneath his innocent, naive exterior.
"Hello, Kenshin!" Kaoru said brightly when she saw him on campus the next morning.
I guess not.
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A/N: Well, well, well. Kenshin is not as innocent as he seems, is he? Or is he not? People who've read stories of mine before know that sometimes things are not what they seem, so don't think you've figured out the whole plot just yet. Anyway, please review!
Thanks!
- S. N. B.
