Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.
A/N: Sorry for those who are confused about Kenji's presence, but I did mention him in Chapter 5 if you've read it. Tomoe was asked by Kenshin if she would love the adopted children as much as Kenji. Like I said before, I will reveal why Tomoe can no longer have children a bit later, perhaps soon, please be patient. Thank you. Also, I'd like it if you'd leave a review for me.
Yukishiro Enishi: 25
Drive Me Crazy
Chapter 11: Awkward Situations (Part 2)
By: LadyYuina
Enishi stiffly sat opposite of Saitou as he tried to sum up words to describe himself. He broke his gaze away from the other man when a black bundle of fur came walking up to them. It let out a loud bark to make sure its presence was known, before jumping atop the couch to settle itself upon Saitou's lap. Enishi looked at the dog for a moment.
"Mango, right?" Enishi asked.
"Yes - have you two already met?"
"Yeah, down in the hall. I also met two little girls . . ."
"I see." Enishi looked at the dog again - unaware that Saitou was looking at him all the while. Enishi's eyes stared at the dog lovingly.
"Do you like dogs?" Saitou asked him, slightly smiling.
The white haired man looked at Saitou while nodding. "I'm sorry about the hesitation, though I'm sure you want to hear my profile since I'm going to be your partner."
"That'd be nice . . ."
Enishi was a little unnerved by his new partner's replies. They all sounded so flat and emotionless. Saitou smirked when he saw the effect that he was having on the other man - he wanted to test him to see if he was worth his time.
"Okay - here I go . . . My full name is Yukishiro Enishi and I am twenty-five years old. Still a rookie towards this whole police thing I suppose . . . I'm sorry about your loss, I do hope I can live up to your previous partner's expectations as well as yours. I am not married and am in fit condition. My gun shot aim is decent, but I wouldn't be your partner if I didn't have some skills." Saitou laughed, causing Enishi to smile sheepishly. He managed to make the other man show a remote sense of humor by his crude remark about himself. "And one last thing - I hope to learn a lot from you."
"That's nice to hear. Just try and keep up when we're forced to chase someone down."
"Don't worry, I like to run so that won't be a problem!" Enishi flexed his legs confidently.
"Hehe, whatever you say. If you've ever tried chasing someone you'll be amazed at how fast one can run when they're panicking."
"I can handle it . . ."
"Sure thing, kid."
"It's Enishi," the white haired man corrected him. Saitou merely chuckled as white brows scornfully frowned.
--
Kaoru awoke with a groan - she vaguely remembered waking up earlier but that was all. Reaching for her forehead, she felt a damp towel placed there. Head pounding with pain, Kaoru took the now warm towel off. She knew It must have been cold at one point . . .
"Where am I?"
"You're awake. Who are you?" Kaoru turned around to see what she believed was a smaller version of Kenshin.
"Are . . . you Kenshin?" Kaoru asked stupidly. Her head kept on throbbing - she wished she had something to make it go away.
"Kenshin? No, that's my dad. Who are you?" the boy asked again. "Are you his girlfriend?"
"Dad . . . dad? You're Kenshin's son?" The brown haired youth rolled his eyes. Kaoru frowned - her head was in pain and this kid was making her feel extremely stupid. "Uh . . . I'm Kaoru. It's . . . err . . . nice to meet you."
"Yeah, whatever. Answer my question - are you my dad's girlfriend?"
"No." If Kaoru wasn't mistaken, she swore the boy looked at her with hopeful eyes. Whatever way she was supposed to interpret that, she had no idea.
"Hmmm, you should be." Kaoru blushed at the statement. "I think my dad needs someone new in his life - you could be a start."
Kaoru saw the whole situation in an entire new light - it felt awkward. She didn't even remember how she got here . . . Panicking, Kaoru looked under the blanket to see that she was still fully clothes, however, she reeked of alcohol.
"Do you have a job?"
"Yeah - oh shit! I'm late for work!" Kaoru stood up and the kid's eyes widened. Kaoru gave him a quizzical look. The kid blushed, turning away - Kaoru looked down at herself. She yelped, covering herself with the blanket while looking to the couch's cover sheet. It was stained red. What was she gonna do now . . .?
"Hey, uh . . ."
"It's Kenji . . ."
"Kenji, is your dad home?" Kaoru asked. He shook his head and she frowned. "Um . . . I'll need to use the bathroom . . . can you tell me where it is?"
"I'm still new here so I'll go look for it for you." Kaoru impatiently waited because she was leaking, the stupid brat had to take his time! She was too busy fuming to really think about what he just told her. Another boy entered the living room - his eyes were red and puffy. He seemed to be looking around for someone.
"Looking for something?" Kaoru asked, almost hesitantly.
"Is my daddy home?" the boy asked. His sky-blue hair swayed with movement as he turned his head this way and that. Kaoru thought, irrationally, that he looked really young.
"How old are you?"
The child looked at her, pupils enlarging by her question, still, he answered her. "Nine . . ."
"Miss, I found the bathroom, come over here."
Naoto watched as the woman took the blanket and the couch sheet with her. He gazed at her - completely confused with her actions.
"Naoto, dad went out to get something from school - he'll be back soon," Kenji told him, when he saw him. Naoto simply stared at his brother, not really acknowledging his purpose of speaking to him. He made his way back to his room.
--
"Kaoru hasn't come home yet?" Ayame asked Soujirou.
"I'm afraid not - I don't even know where she's at."
"I saw her leave the house yesterday . . . she said something about drink . . . drinking," Suzume struggled to say.
"Oh, boy." Soujirou sighed, placing a hand tiredly to his forehead.
"Is it a bad thing to drink? If it is, I won't drink anything ever again," Suzume declared.
Soujirou sweat dropped. "Not that kind of drinking, Suzume. You can still drink juice and water, but . . . there is this kind of smelly stuff that is bad for you. You don't want to drink that . . ."
"Medi is bad - it smells bad so does it mean we don't have to drink it?" Suzume questioned.
"You mean medicine - it's good for you so you do have to drink that whenever you get sick or injured." Soujirou explained several aspects of prescription drugs and actual alcohol that were liquids. Ayame and Suzume drilled him until they understood. Soujirou was worn out by the end of their session. He liked the fact that they liked to learn, but they always wanted everything at once - which can be overwhelming and frustrating at the same time.
Soujirou gasped when someone latched onto him from behind, pinning his arms to his sides. He felt a soft peck on his cheek. Suzume and Ayame giggled, saying that they wanted a kiss and hug too. Okita released his lover to go towards the two girls. They laughed harder when he squeezed them, giving them big, sloppy kisses.
"Your mother is coming to watch you guys, okay? Soujirou and I are going to take a walk," Okita told the two children.
"Okay, have fun!" Ayame and Suzume called out after them.
--
Okita and Soujirou held hands as they walked along the winding trails of the Okita's giant garden. It was even more amazing that it was going to expand further - taking up some acres of forest along with it.
"The weather is nice today, isn't it?" Okita asked.
"Yup," Soujirou happily replied. He swung his arm back and forth - pulling Okita's along with his. Okita started to blush, Soujirou wondered why. He gave his lover a questioning look - Okita was determined to give him an answer. Whether it came out horribly or not.
Soujirou could feel Okita's hand tighten in grip so he stopped his swinging. He had a serious look masking over his features. "Sou-chan - have . . . have you ever thought about marriage?"
Now it was Soujirou's turn to blush as he nodded. He had a hunched up feeling that Okita was going to propose, though he couldn't be too sure. The outcome could be anything based on the question he asked him.
"What about having kids? Was that something you wanted if you ever got married?" Okita slugged him with more questions.
"Of course - I love kids!" Soujirou stopped walking when they approached an oak tree. Completely changing the subject, he said, "I like this oak tree - I come to his tree all the time ever since I was in high school."
Soujirou knew what was coming - he didn't want to have to disappoint Okita's parents, if he did propose it would be something Soujirou couldn't hold account over. Resolutely, he'd definitely try though. An awkward silence passed between the two men under the ancient oak tree.
"Okita . . . I-" His eyes looked uncertain - so he looked away.
"You know what I'm going to ask, yes?" Okita waited for his lover to nod. "Then, look at me - if you love me . . ." Instead of looking up, the shorter man looked down - at the dead leaves instead.
"I do love you . . . Soushi . . . but, I don't want to destroy your parents' wishes. I told them I'd comply willingly, just so I could . . . so I could . . ." He trailed off, unable to tell Okita what he wanted to say to its true extent.
Grabbing a hold of his lover's arms, Okita demanded, "what did they say to you?"
"It's better off if you don't know and that our relationship remain . . . just so."
Getting down on his knees - Okita Soushi proposed to the man he loved, Seta Soujirou. "I, Okita Soushi, wish to be betrothed to you. Will you marry me?"
It broke Soujirou's heart that he looked hopeful - pleading almost. The brunette haired man shook his head. "I promised your parents that I'd never wed someone like you no matter what. I don't want to break that promise."
Okita grunted in disgust, punching the oak tree out of anger. Blood dripped from his knuckles when he pulled his hand away - blood smeared the bark of the giant tree.
"Your hand!" Soujirou took Okita's fist in his own. Okita took that chance to slip on a golden ring onto Soujirou's ring finger. The other man gasped, paling as he made a motion to take it off, but Okita stopped him. "I promised your parents . . . this isn't right."
Okita held onto Soujirou fiercely. He didn't want to let go in fear that he would lose him. Soujirou let his partner hold him as tears streamed down his cheeks. Okita was known to be kind, but he was awfully stubborn too. What really attracted Soujirou to this man was the way he'd always follow his heart - he lacked that, and realized that he'd never have that quality in himself.
"It doesn't matter what my parents said - they can't stop me from marrying you if you're willing to. If they wish to have more grandchildren they'd better expect them from Saitou. This may sound selfish of me, I think it's about time I don't try my best to please them anymore. Being with you was just the start of my own destiny - marrying you shall complete my journey, entwining our fates as well." Soujirou only managed to release a faint sob from his throat, mouth too dry to form words. "I know that in your past you weren't loved the way you should have been. Now that you've captured my heart . . . for this long - don't ever let go. I believe you deserve all of me no matter how you must obtain it . . . Forget about my parents' wishes - our life is our own."
Soujirou smiled then, a bittersweet one to say the least. He finally found his voice. "Never a better time to break traditions, huh?"
"Any time is a good time. Just go through the barrier."
Anyone can . . . and awkward situations never, ever end . . .
Chapter 11: END
