A/N: Minor warning for Sano being Sano. :)
^.~
Moonlight
"You know her rule, man."
Kenshin was startled into reality and he turned sheepishly to his childhood friend. "Eh… what do you mean?" he tried, but knew he'd been pinned like a kid who'd been caught peeking at his birthday presents.
Sano fixed him with a knowing look, effectively urging Kenshin to drop the act.
Heaving out an exasperated sigh, Kenshin leaned against the balustrade and returned his gaze to the girls chasing each other playfully in the grassy, moonlit fields below them. He could see Kaoru's smile even from the distance and it made his chest swell. "It's not like there's an 'off' switch, you know."
"You should have short-circuited the fuse before even testing it."
"And how would I have known to do that before actually meeting her?" he grumbled.
Rolling his eyes, Sano followed his friend's line of sight, but deviated at the last second until he locked in on the tallest of the three women. "I mean… I hear ya. But it's not like you didn't know the rule to begin with. I told ya before you even met her that she would never date you. You had the automatic sentencing of the Friendzone before anything else." Ignoring the light glare Kenshin shot at him, he scrunched his face slightly. "In hindsight, maybe I could have introduced you another way that wouldn't have thrown you into the dungeon so easily. But you're too damn honest and would have blown it, and she would have found out anyway and skinned both of us. So see? You were screwed either way." He snorted. "… or not screwed- HEY!" he shouted as Kenshin's hand slapped the back of his head.
The pained yell broke the women from their game and they gazed up at the men in concern before Kenshin waved to them good-naturedly. Shrugging, Misao took the opportunity of the others' distraction and pounced on Megumi, provoking an undignified shriek from the doctor-to-be.
"Jeez…" Sano grumbled, rubbing at what was sure to become a bruise. "You know I was kidding, damn it. She's like my sister, for cryin' out loud. In fact, if you ever do end up touching her, I'd have to kick your ass." Sano eyed him imperiously before melting into sympathy again. "Seriously- she's too damn stubborn. It'll never happen, man. You can thank the bastard for that."
Kenshin whirled around to face his childhood friend. "What bastard?"
"Look, it's not really my story to tell." Sano tried to brush it off awkwardly, but Kenshin's narrowed eyes told him it would be in his best interest to explain. The towering man heaved out a sigh. "The short version, without getting too personal, is that there were two other people- siblings- in our little group, and Kaoru dated one of them after a while. The breakup wasn't horrible, but it was enough to cause the siblings to split off. It wasn't just a breakup between two people- all of us ended up losing two decent friends, and she's always shouldered the blame for that. Doesn't matter how many times we keep tellin' her it wasn't her fault."
Kenshin's hard gaze softened, and he turned to look back out over the field bathed in moonbeams. "I would never do anything like that," he asserted.
"I didn't say you would, but she still wouldn't want to risk it."
"I don't think you understand, Sano. I want to date her," Kenshin said, his voice taking on a nervous, uneven edge. "I haven't dated since before I left. It's been seven or eight years."
"Shit." The oath drew the redhead's attention back to Sano, who suddenly understood why his friend's pools of amethyst had deepened. "She's the... I mean, you're that kind of serious about this?"
A short laugh sprang into the air. "I guess I underestimated your warning about her right hook. She knocked me to the ground before I could think to defend myself."
"No 'off' switch, huh?"
"No 'off' switch."
"Shit."
Aoshi, who'd been standing motionlessly beside them the entire time, broke his silence with four words that sent Kenshin reeling. "You could challenge her."
Both Kenshin and Sano turned to face him, and Kenshin's lips slowly curved into a smile. "That I could…"