Disclaimer: Not mine in any way. But if Watsuki-sensei gave me Shinomori (or Kenshin, or Soujiro, or Sano, or Enishi), I'd be ecstatic. Wouldn't you be? ;)
AN: I told you I wouldn't let you guys wait too long. Peace!
Blue and White
Chapter 10
Trouble Stirrring
donna tokidatte
tada hitoride
unmei wasurete
ikitekitanoni
totsuzen no hikari no naka meg -
"Hello?"
"HEYYY! Sleepyhead! Wakey wakey! It's me, your bestest best friend! MISAO!"
Kaoru cringed and pulled her cellphone away from her ear. She quickly wondered why she hasn't gone deaf yet after years of hanging out with the loud weasel. Sliding her fingers over the volume control buttons on the side of the phone, she pressed the minus button a couple of times. It was necessary. Perhaps even more than necessary. After all, if Kaoru wanted to become a doctor, she's got to have a good sense of hearing.
"Misao?" she mumbled and eyed the bedside clock. 7:08 AM. No wonder she felt so tired. She barely got in 5 hours of sleep.
"KAO! How's Hawaii? What places have you visited already? Have you gone swimming yet? How's the beach? Oh! And the guys! I bet there are loads of hunks out there! Have you snagged one yet?"
Kaoru couldn't help but giggle. When you need a laugh, Misao never lets you down. She silently wished her best bud would never change.
"My dear bestest best friend Misao. I just woke up...are you in Singapore already?" she said groggily.
"Yeah! Sou and I just checked in our hotel. It's really nice here! I can't wait to go shopping!"
"Shopping?...Poor Sou-chan. He hates shopping doesn't he?" she said wryly.
At the mention of Soujiro, Kaoru suddenly remembered last night. She'd been itching to call Soujiro just so she could satisfy her curiosity regarding Yuu. He looked so much like her friend that she wanted to know if they were in any way related.
"Ah...Misao? Is Sou with you right now? I need to ask him something."
"Okie! Hold on... Oi! Sou-chan! It's Kaoru! You. Her. Talk!"
A few moments passed and Kaoru could hear some weird sounds in the background. Giggles. And the rustling of clothes. She listened more intently and she could've sworn she heard a muffled moan-
Oh dear God.
"Oi! Helloooo? I'm here! I can here you!" she said as loudly as she could without screaming.
Laughter.
"Kao. What's up? We were just teasing you." Soujiro's voice chuckled over the phone.
She snorted. "Riiight. Sounds like you guys were teasing each other."
"Ahm..right...hehe."
As Soujiro gave out a nervous laugh, an image of him looking all embarrassed and red popped up into her mind. She laughed. He was just too cute!
"Anyway, I've been meaning to ask you...ano...are you related to anyone named Yuu?"
A silent pause.
"Yuu? I don't think so. Why?"
"Oh...ok. I met this guy yesterday. I swear Sou...he looks just like you! Only that his hair is light brown and his eyes are reddish-brown..."
She wondered if it was a good idea to tell him what happened last night. If she told him, he'd be worried about her, and then he'd tell her dad...and you know what'll happen next. Her old man would overreact and the next thing she knew, it was bye-bye Hawaii. So she decided to leave out some of the details on how she met Yuu.
"...really? Just like me, huh? Is he nice?"
Her lips curled in distaste. Yuu was rude and brash. And he had scared the wits out of her last night. But once she had thought of the probable meaning behind his actions, she realized he was just teaching her a lesson. In a rather scary, unnecessary way. She was lightly touched that Yuu would be concerned for her, after the way they had been at each others' throats. If that's what you call caring anyway. It was confusing really.
"He's anything but nice. He's like Soujiro: Satanic version." Okay, it was an exaggeration, but she thought the title fit Yuu quite well considering how angelic their Sou-chan is.
She heard him laugh heartily. "An evil version of me? That I have to see-"
Apparently Misao had heard what Soujiro had just said, as Kaoru heard the genki girl say in the background "Evil version of you? Who?"
"Some guy Kaoru just met. She says he looks just like me..."
Kaoru heard a squeal of delight and the next thing she knew, Misao was on the phone again sounding all giddy.
"Kao! Gimme! An evil Sou-chan? Ooohhh sounds like fun!" Misao giggled as Soujiro howled in protest in the background.
Kaoru scratched her head in confusion and frowned. "You want an evil Sou-chan? Why?"
"You know what I mean Kao...If he's evil, it means he's really hot and domineering...and if he's evil, it also means he'll do bad things to you in bed...and-"
At that point Kaoru could hear Soujiro swear profusely in the background.
"Misao! I think I just heard Sou say the F-word..." she said cautiously. She didn't know whether she should be worried or laughing. Soujiro wasn't the type to say bad words. Especially in the presence of women. Hearing him swear out loud was kind of alarming to anyone who knew him well enough.
"Yea. He said it in a really funny way though. It's like...uhm...it didn't really sound like a profanity."
"Huh?"
A sigh. "Oh nevermind! So tell me more about evil Sou-chan!"
"Er...when I said evil, I meant the whiny, obnoxious, annoying type of evil. You wouldn't want that would you?"
"Aw...that sucks...Um..Kao? I have to hang up now..."
"Huh? Why?"
She could hear some weird noise in the background again. She swore she heard Soujiro seductively say something like "You want evil? I'll show you evil"
A squeak of delight was heard...
And then the line went dead.
Kami-sama...
Kaoru frowned.
She had just finished talking to Kenshin over the phone and was quite disappointed. The tone of his voice...it was happy...but it seemed kinda forced. Was it really forced or was she just imagining things? She thought back to the day he had passionately kissed her in his office. A blush formed prettily on her cheeks. No one has ever kissed her like that. But Kaoru had to admit that it was not just the kiss that surprised her. Kenshin was acting strange. After that day, she felt that he was distancing himself from her. No kisses, no touching, and definitely none of those hot seductive looks he had given her.
Forget it Kao. You'll just have to ask him about it when you get back from this trip. You're here to have fun. Everything will be fine with Kenshin. Don't be such a worrywart!
A sigh of resignation escaped from her lips and she smiled softly. Walking over to the full length mirror, she studied herself. She had decided to wear the cerulean halter bikini top and boy shorts bottom she had bought just for the trip. Her brows furrowed as she realized she looked really pale. She was in desperate need of a tan. But there was no way in hell she was gonna walk around in just a bikini. So she put on a white racerback top and a pair of baby blue shorts. She slipped into her flipflops, grabbed her slingbag and put on her favorite aviator sunglassess, and then walked out. She was going to have some breakfast first, and then explore the resort next. Somehow, she didn't feel too excited, and wished she had someone with her on her trip.
On her way to the breakfast buffet, Kaoru observed her surroundings. The resort was beautiful. Big and classy. There were a lot of tourists, and she felt relieved that many of them were Japanese. At least she didn't feel entirely alone.Once she had grabbed some food, she looked around for a table to occupy. She spotted a group of Japanese teenage boys looking over her direction. One of them winked at her suggestively and she instantly sent him a death glare. She snickered as the young man's face paled.
And then she saw him. Yuu.
He was sitting alone in a table for two, holding up a newspaper with his left hand and a cigarette hanging idly between the fingers of his right hand. The one she had bandaged last night. Kaoru wondered if he would bite her head off if she went to sit in his table.
Oh hell. If it beats being alone, miserably, miserably alone...why not?
Plate in her hands, she walked up to him and smiled It was obvious Yuu was too engrossed in what he was reading to notice she was standing by him.
"Uhm..." Kaoru started. "Hi! Mind if I sit with you?"
He looked up at her with a blank expression, his red-brown eyes fixed on her. The man didn't say anything for a while. He just stared at her. Kaoru thought it was pretty unnerving, and was about to tell him off when she heard him speak.
"Whatever. Just don't start bitchin' on me about my smoking." he said sullenly.
"Thanks!"
She ate her breakfast silently, just as he drank his coffee silently. Kaoru observed him as discreetly as she could. She noticed he was much more relaxed than he was yesterday. Yesterday he was acting like a spoiled brat. Or a rabid dog.
Maybe he had PMS yesterday.
At that thought, Kaoru snickered.
Yuu looked up from his paper and stared at her. "What?"
"Uh...nothing...er...Yuu? Can I ask you something?" she meekly said.
"What is it?"
Did you have PMS yesterday?
Her eyes widened slightly at the thought that popped up in her head. Oh shit! Thank god I didn't say that out loud!
Kaoru sweatdropped and thought fast. "Uh...about last night-"
"There's no need to thank me." he arrogantly replied and waved her off.
Kaoru seethed. "Actually, I was gonna smack you for scaring the shit out of me! What the heck was that? You could've just told me! You could've just said something like 'It's dangerous for you to be alone with a man you don't know' or 'You shouldn't be here.' You know? You almost gave me a heart attack!"
He grinned. "I don't think me advising you to not be so naive and gullible will actually stop you from being...well...naive and gullible."
"What did you call me?" she dangerously replied.
"Besides, I thought it was the most effective method possible. It worked, didn't it? Now, you know that there are people out there who'll jump right in and take advantage of whatever kindness you show them. And if you're bright enough to keep that thought in that pretty li'l head of yours, you could probably save yourself from whatever unwanted situation you could think of." He stared at her pointedly and scoffed.
As much as Kaoru wanted to smack him on the side of his head for being so smug about everything, she had to admit he was right. She was too trusting. And she really hadn't thought too much about the consequences 'coz she always thought she would able to handle them easily.
She looked at his smug face and she frowned at him. "Fine. You're right. Just don't be so smug about it, PMS boy."
Confused, Yuu raised his eyebrow at her. Realization about what she meant hit him and he smirked.
"How very mature, Kaoru. Very mature."
Sarcastic !$&!#
Kaoru looked up and waved for the bartender. Once she had his attention, she leaned over the bar with a smile.
"Hi! One iced tea please!"
"WHAT?" the bartender shouted. "YOU HAVE TO SPEAK LOUDER! I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER ALL THIS MUSIC!"
Oh. She leaned forward and tried again.
"ONE ICED TEA PLEASE!"
The bartender blinked at her and shook his head. "ONLY ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES!"
"Oh! Uhh...ok! Just give me the weakest drink you have!"
"WHAT?"
Sighing, she held up her index finger and shouted. "WEAKEST DRINK!"
The bartender smiled, gave her a thumbs up sign and proceeded to get the drink.
Kaoru looked around while waiting for her drink The scene before her was pretty wild. She didn't have anywhere else to go that night so she ended up in the resort's own disco bar. It was a very large place, which was good, because it was one of the most popular bars in the area. Lots of people were dancing heavily, drinking, and just enjoying the night.
She sighed and wished she'd see someone she knew. Her thoughts instantly went to the man she had spent her morning with. Yuu was the only person she knew in this place. Well, she didn't really know much about him. But she did find out the basics when they had breakfast together. She found out that he wasn't as repulsive as she thought him to be. In fact, they had spent the entire morning together talking about random subjects.
Talking? I'd say we were ARGUING most of the time.
Smiling at that thought, Kaoru had to admit that she liked him. He was in a way similar to Yahiko. Only more mature, more profane, but generally, he seemed like a decent person. Sorta. There was something strange about him though. Kaoru didn't know what it was, but she noticed the way he would hold back and hesitate answering her questions. It was barely noticeable, but she noticed anyway. Did he have something to hide? Or was he just uncomfortable opening up to someone he just met?
The bartender had handed her the drink and she took a sip. Kaoru's face scrunched up and she stuck her tongue out. Blech! Is this the weakest drink they have? Taking another sip, she decided to just finish the drink just so she wouldn't waste her money.
"What's a sexy woman like you doing in a dirty mind like mine?" someone behind her asked sultrily.
Kaoru rolled her eyes. Oh great! Now I have to deal with some sicko trying to get into my pants.
She turned around hotly, ready to give the guy a piece of her mind. Eyes widened in disbelief, she gasped.
Yuu!
Her new friend was grinning at her rather seductively. But when he wiggled his eyebrows at her, Kaoru just had to laugh. If this was his attempt to appear sexy, then he failed miserably. But if he was trying to be funny, well, it pretty much worked, considering how Kaoru can't stop giggling. She noticed that he looked good tonight too. He cleans up real nice. She thought appreciatively.
"Oi! I'm serious here!" he complained. Though Kaoru could easily see that he was joking.
Kaoru grinned, apparently amused. "That was a pretty lame pick-up line!"
The man smirked and shrugged his shoulders casually. "Works for me. It's not as bad or as dirty as the other ones I've used. Wanna hear the rest of them?"
She held her hands up in mock defense and wrinkled her nose. "Please, no! Keep them to your dirty self! And you actually get girls with lines like those?"
Grinning devilishly, he titled his head to the side. Kaoru looked towards the direction he was implying. Two pretty young women were eyeing him and giving him hot and sexy looks. Surprised, she whipped her head back towards his direction and gave him a questioning look.
"You can't be serious!"
All she got out of him was a smirk. And then a playful grin. "Wanna join us? It'll be fun..."
Kaoru glared at him menacingly.
"Suit yourself." he replied and began walking towards the ladies. He paused and looked back to the raven-haired beauty. "And Kaoru? If you change your mind, you know where to find me." He winked at her and left.
Her head was spinning. But that didn't stop her from dancing to the beat of the music. There was no attention paid to who she was dancing with. She didn't mind them. Until someone began touching her in a way that made her feel uncomfortable. Pulling away from the blonde man quickly, she stumbled and almost fell to the floor. The man grabbed her by the arm and pulled her close before she fell. She felt giddy for some strange reason. Her mind was not registering what was happening. And the dizziness was getting worse. The man pulled her closer and whispered seductively. "Babe, let's go somewhere more private."
Kaoru tried to push him away but to no avail. And then she heard the man shout in pain. She had no idea what had happened, but the next thing she knew, she was being dragged by the arm out towards the exit by another man.
When they had finally exited the bar, the sudden flash of bright lights caused her head to ache. She groaned and stumbled a bit.
All of a sudden, the man stopped dragging her and turned back to face her. Kaoru looked up and tried to focus her gaze on his face.
Damn, he's tall... she drunkenly thought. And then she giggled for no apparent reason.
"Daijoubu desu ka?" A deep voice.
A Japanese?
Blinking a couple of times, she tried looked at the man before her more closely.
She saw blue.
A phone rang in the middle of a dark room.
"Speak."
"Boss. We have a problem..."
"And what might that be?"
"The girl. She's not alone. She has been sighted this morning with one unknown man. Japanese, approximately 5'7" tall, light brown hair -"
"Spare me the details. When the time comes, bring him along if you deem it necessary."
"Yes boss...uh...there's something else that will become a bigger problem..."
"You test my patience..."
"Uh...the girl was just seen leaving the bar with another man. I think you know him, boss."
"Who is it?"
"Shinomori Aoshi."
Silence.
"What a pleasant surprise."
And then laughter.
"A pleasant surprise indeed."
End of Chapter 10
Ohohohohoho! . Finally! Ice man has showed up! And with Kenshin thousands of miles away, who knows what'll happen? Sorry Ken-chan...haha
Does anyone recognize Kaoru's ringtone (at the beginning of the chapter)?
What do you guys think of Yuu? I wanna know...and who is this "boss" guy? Maybe some of you already have an idea on what's about to happen...but i promise, it's not as predictable as you think.
Thank you guys for reviewing! Knowing that there are people still reading this fic makes me wanna write more. Lotsa luv!
Please continue to REVIEW! mwah!