The Place where I belong
Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or Stargate SG-1.
Episode 12: Ghosts of the Past Part 1: Hajime's Ghosts
"This way please," Aoshi said calmly as he unlocked the door marked for the employees. He nearly sighed with relief when Tokio smiled at him and took his hand as they followed Aoshi up the stairs beyond the employee door. Shuura left the hallway through the main entrance after a quick whispered command from Aoshi. She still had that wicked grin on her face. Hajime could only imagine what mayhem Shuura was being let loose to do. He was glad!
"Are you ok?" Tokio asked him her voice full of gentleness and true concern. He smiled at her.
"I will be," he replied as Aoshi unlocked another door and led them down another corridor with several more doors. At the end of the corridor he led them into a huge office with amazing sound proof glass on the floor to ceiling window giving them full view of the dance floor below. Several large monitors on one wall of the club showed the other areas of the club not seen through the window. The office was beautifully appointed with a large comfortable sofa directly across the wall with the monitors and had its own little corner bar fully stocked!
"What's going on?" Tokio asked. The music had stopped and the dancers were standing around looking confused. Aoshi explained that Yolanda and her friends were being escorted out by Oniwaban not the club's security personnel. Tokio asked why not the club's security because it seemed like overkill to her. It was Hajime who answered.
"Anyone who frequents Victoria's clubs knows that if you're being kicked out by a bouncer you can come back a few days later as long as you play nice but if you're escorted out by Oniwaban it means you're considered a dangerous and undesirable person and are being banned from future entry to all of Victoria's clubs," Hajime explained solemnly.
He watched from the window as Yolanda argues violently with the Oniwaban officers escorting her out. The men that had been hanging out with her and her friends earlier were pleading their case with Shuura and by the relief on their faces Hajime could tell Shuura had let them off the hook. Yolanda was screaming obscenities at them too obviously by the look on her face but the men quickly made a bee line to the opposite end of the dance floor towards the main bar quickly putting distance between themselves and Yolanda's little group of cronies.
"That woman needs professional help," Tokio said softly a touch of sympathy in her voice. The music came back on but the party goers didn't quickly resume their dancing. Some of them clustered around the men that had narrowly escaped being banned from the club.
"Don't waste your pity on her!" Aoshi intoned gravely as he turned and walked out of the office calling out to them that they could help themselves to anything in the bar. There was a moment of silence as the door clicked shut behind Aoshi but Hajime didn't let the silence hang too long.
"Tokio I am so sorry! Never in a million years did I imagine she'd come chasing after me after all these years!" he began in earnest. Tokio just smiled and shrugged.
"It's ok! No harm done!" she replied still smiling at him and Hajime was witness now of the amazing capacity for understanding of the gentle doctor. He was truly in awe of her. She moved towards the couch and invited him to join her.
"Still Tokio you were honest with me before and I should've paid you the same respect by warning you about her," he insisted as he joined her on the couch. She sighed a bit sadly and took his hand giving it a reassuring squeeze. Hajime clung to it!
"Everyone has a monster in their closet Hajime. You should count your blessings at not having to worry about yours every day of your life," she countered sadly and Hajime thought with a bit of envy.
"A clingy ex is a whole lot better than some of the alternatives believe me!" she insisted and she seemed tired then and her shoulders sagged a little as though burdened by some heavy weight. He wanted to reassure her that he would not allow anyone to hurt her but how could he make such a promise when he'd already failed tonight? He realized that from now on he would have to demonstrate his intentions with actions not words!
"But I don't want you to think I meant to deceive you! I would've told you about her soon enough! But I never meant for you to find about her like this!" he added in earnest. Right now he just needed her to know he was still being honest with her. It was damage control time!
"Oh I'm sure once you get to know me better you will tell me what happened between the two of you. But remember captain that I am your doctor too and I've seen your file. I already knew you were divorced," she countered casually and – to Hajime's relief – a light teasing tone in her voice.
"To tell you honestly last Sunday I thought you drove your wife crazy and she dumped you but after tonight I realize I was completely wrong so I'll apologize for that!" she added enthusiastically.
"Oh no need! I can't blame you for thinking that way I did give you plenty of reason to!" he countered relieved "it's hard for me to talk about it so not a whole lot of people know. What she did to me was very painful and I was very young," he continued.
"As I said in time when you get to know me better you can tell me all about it…" she insisted cheerfully and moved to get up and go back to the party but Hajime kept her seated next to him.
"I know all I need to know about you Tokio. So I want you to know now I don't want any shadows or secrets between us!" his tone solemn and determined. Tokio blushed perhaps from the blazing determination in his eyes but either way it meant Aoshi was right and his chances were still good…
"Would you like something to drink?" he asked getting up and Tokio readily accepted but requested a plain cherry coke. She needed to keep her head clear for this conversation! He had given her again that powerful look that made her weak in the knees and was glad she didn't need to get up to get her drink. He went quickly to the bar and began speaking again as he poured their sodas.
"It's hard to know where to start…I've never had to tell this story before…" he began uncertain. He returned to the couch with their drinks handing her one and putting down his on the side table next her. He began his story by telling her that he had met Yolanda one night while out at a club in San Diego where he was stationed at the time with his friends some of which Tokio had already met tonight.
"I was 19 and had just come back from Afghanistan with medals on my chest and a fresh promotion! I was less than a semester away from my engineering degree and I already had my spot guaranteed in the Officer Training Program," he began pacing back and forth in front of the couch. It was a fascinating thing to watch him.
Physically speaking he was an awesome specimen of the male half her species! He had a nicely toned body that wasn't bulky but wasn't too thin either. She had never liked men with excessively large muscles. It usually meant they were trying too hard to cover up some other short coming. He obviously had no such issues! His power came from within as much as it came from how well he maintained his physique!
He really was a creature of pure power and Tokio suddenly found her self admiring how well he could control it. She knew he was angry enough to where most people would curse or act childishly but not him! He focused his anger and reined it in with the precision and strength of an expert handler taming a particularly dangerous beast. He released it slowly then in the least harmful way in this case: the pacing! There was nothing reckless or wild about him every movement and action was controlled and deliberate.
"You were on top of the world!" Tokio put in cheerfully hoping to restore his mood but Hajime shook his head sadly. He stopped pacing and looked at her then straight in the eyes. His eyes burned into her and his rage had transformed into something else. A new power burned in his eyes and it was as though he had coerced his rage into becoming something positive and far more powerful.
"I was a stupid kid who was too full of himself. I set myself up for that fall!" he countered bitterly. She took a sip from her drink as a polite excuse to look away for a moment giving her self brief reprieve before she responded. The look in his eyes now was so intense she felt as though she could lose herself in his eyes and this was definitely an out of character thought for her! She put her drink down as he returned to the couch and he took her hand again.
"Hindsight's always 20/20 right?" she said softly giving his hand another reassuring squeeze. She hoped he couldn't hear her heart pounding so loudly by the sudden intimacy of this conversation! He smirked slightly in agreement and with a deep breath continued.
Their courtship had been a lust-fueled reckless whirlwind. He had mistaken her attitude and sass for real strength and fell head over heels in love! They had eloped when his best friend Zack married later that year in Las Vegas. He had become proud and greedy and in his desire to have everything at once he ignored his mother and his friends' good advice to slow down and wait.
"You were young…everyone makes mistakes," Tokio insisted and found herself sliding just a little closer to him. He smiled tiredly at her. But she could see by the tensing of his shoulders that he was still a little angry and frustrated. Obviously he doesn't give him self much room for mistakes!
"Yea…Anyway I can't say for certain when exactly the troubles started but six months after I was married things were already starting to go bad," he continued. Yolanda was constantly provoking Lisa to the point where Lisa stopped talking to him altogether. Jesse and Kelly tried to mediate but again Yolanda would constantly provoke hot-tempered Jesse into heated verbal battles that always ended in Yolanda's defeat and a severe argument between the two of them when they got home.
"Kelly is gentler and harder to provoke. She tried to keep us all together but when Yolanda couldn't provoke her she accused her of having an affair with me!" he added frustrated and angry.
"Kelly, Lisa and Jesse are like sisters to me! I can't even imagine how she could've gotten that notion!" he continued and by the way he frowned she knew this part was very difficult for him.
"You know you strike me as too honest to be a cheater," Tokio said rather disturbed by these revelations.
"Thanks! She didn't see it that way and even showed up at Zack's office to shout it in his face in front of all his coworkers," Hajime explained with a grimace. That was the worst falling out they had. Kelly forbid Hajime from calling them anymore because she was worried about Zack's job. He couldn't afford to lose it since they'd just gotten married and were both still in college.
"After that we just didn't talk to each other that much. We were arguing most of the time and I breathed a sigh of relief when I was sent away to Officer School in Virginia," he paused for a moment as though to gather his thoughts but Tokio could tell the worst was yet to come and he was having trouble reliving all of it.
"Even a simple hello call to my mother would spark a fight!" he added frustrated and embarrassed. His frustration was something Tokio could understand.
"She possess an anger that poisons everything around her…you did the right thing to get away from her," she said softly it was a lesson she had learned in the worst way possible. He was more fortunate than her however because he was able to walk away whenever he chose to. For Tokio escape had involved many years of hardship and toil and many, many sacrifices.
"I told myself that some distance would help ease things. I was really worried at that point. I was losing everyone that was important to me and I felt helpless!" he paused again a look of desperation on his face and Tokio could tell he was stalling. The worst was coming and he definitely had a hard time getting to it. Tokio just held his hand and let him get to it on his own time….
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Things started looking up when he arrived in Virginia. He hit the books with fierce determination climbing to the top of the class in no time. Yolanda was calmer in phone calls. She seemed to be much more willing to talk about their relationship. She was a lot mushier than she'd been in months. She even agreed to spend their first Christmas together at his mom's house!
'When I get back I will straighten things out with my friends and work things out with Yolanda,' he promised himself as he pushed himself to break the record in this morning's run then doubled back after he was done to encourage his classmates to push their limits. More than halfway through the program the Christmas holidays approached and Hajime was only one of a small group of students allowed to go home for the holidays as a reward for their extremely high marks.
They let him go a day earlier than he had anticipated so he decided to surprise his wife and didn't tell her his arrival date had changed. He did call his mom and let her know the good news that he'd be home for a whole week. She was delighted to hear that Yolanda had agreed to spend their first Christmas with her. They would still have to go visit her parents but they would stay with her. Life was starting to look up again for Hajime!
He smirked in anticipation of his warm welcome as the cab driver pulled in to the street where he lived. He told him to stop on the opposite side of the street where his house was. He wanted his arrival to be a complete surprise! It was a corny idea but he was certain she would love it! Rain was coming down hard that late afternoon but Hajime was too excited about being home to care. He jogged quickly across the street pulling his keys out of his pocket.
There was an unfamiliar car in the driveway but Hajime thought nothing of it. He figured one of her ever present hangers-on was probably visiting. He knew he could get rid of her easily enough. He unlocked the door quietly and was surprised by how quiet the house was. Her friends were usually rather loud! He put his bag down by the door and quietly made his way towards their bedroom. He heard a strange grunting noise coming from the room and he stopped.
He heard Yolanda scream and he hurried towards the room. He froze in his tracks when he reached the open door. The scene before him didn't make any sense at first. Yolanda was lying naked in their bed. There was another man in the place that was supposed to be his grinding his body furiously into hers. She was not stopping him in fact quite the contrary she was encouraging him rather loudly and passionately. Rage exploded inside of him like a supernova and he slammed his fist into the wall closest to him leaving a hole where his fist made contact.
The loud noise jarred the couple on the bed and their act came to an abrupt halt. As they both looked up the man asked rather brusquely who Hajime was and how he got in. However Yolanda's eyes went wide with shock and she pushed the man off quickly scrambling to search for something to cover herself with. Again the man with her asked what the hell was going on and it was then that Hajime noticed she wasn't wearing her wedding ring.
"Wait Hajime I can explain!" she stammered nervously. Hajime however didn't really need an explanation as it was quite clear what was happening. His wife was having sex with another man in his house on his bed. Yep, pretty self explanatory!
"Yolanda what's going on?" the man with her demanded sounding alarmed now but Hajime didn't stay to hear the answer. He turned quickly and headed towards the door. He grabbed only the keys to his truck and his surfboard along with his overnight bag. He threw his board in the back of his truck and climbed in. Yolanda was rushing past the door to the garage now wrapped in a bed sheet calling to him to come back. She pounded on the glass of his window but Hajime ignored her.
He tore out of the garage slamming in to the unfamiliar car which he was certain belonged to the man with Yolanda then drove like a demon down the highway. Under different circumstances he would've told himself that he was too old to cry but he was beyond caring. He had lost everything he ever loved for the sake of someone who did not care. His only consolation was that he knew that no matter how terrible his failures his mother would always take him back with open arms…
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He paused here. Tokio had thrown her arms around him and suddenly the weight of past failures didn't seem quite so heavy with her slender arms holding him tight. His earlier convictions were reaffirmed in this moment. He would do anything to win Tokio's heart! He didn't care what it took she would be his!
"How horrible! What a despicable woman! Aoshi's right I take back my pity!" Tokio remarked forcefully tightening her grip on him. Yes Tokio would be worth any sacrifice! He knew this time he would get it right.
"You know it was the only time I ever heard Kelly curse! She's very kind and gentle and she never curses but she did then with much vigor!" he added exhaling in relief. Now that he had let that cat out of the bag he found himself feeling lighter. His headache had diminished considerable!
"You were lucky though to get out when you did," said Tokio softly and she loosened his grip on him. He agreed solemnly. She was not good for him from the start and he'd been better off without her.
"Yes had you stayed any longer she would've destroyed you. She would've slowly stripped away everything that you are and everything you were meant to be," she added her tone soft and mournful. He wondered if she was referring to him or to herself. She pulled away from him and she smiled at him though she looked lonely and tired. He wanted to say something but what could he say really compared to her hardships a cheating wife was nothing!
"Take it from someone who knows!" she added pulling herself completely away from him to his great disappointment.
"Nothing's worse than looking back and regretting you never got to be the sort of person you wanted to be," she commented with a casual shrug. But Hajime knew now that she was talking about herself.
'What sort of monsters do you have in your closet?' he raged still unable to respond. It made him angry to think of all the hardship and pains she must've endured alone for so long. How could she have been so completely abandoned? For him who had always had his mother and his friends it was a difficult concept to grasp. His headache was returning again in full force.
"You got your family and friends back and everything turned out ok right? You are a lucky guy! It could've been a lot worse!" she added sounding more cheerful but Hajime wasn't fooled. She was just putting on a happy face to make him feel better.
It wasn't that she was acting like a martyr. He knew now what she was doing. She was fighting. She fought against grief, fear and perhaps even loneliness all the time. She was sweet and she was kind and she had a smile for everyone she met simply because it was the only way she could keep the ones who had destroyed her childhood from completely defeating her and breaking her spirit. Compared to that kind of strength…he had a long way to go!
"Tokio I don't know what sort of person you were supposed to be but the woman you are now is a truly amazing person that I have come to admire a great deal! I'm just really sorry I didn't see it sooner!" he declared with as much conviction as he could manage. It seemed he hit his mark though because she blushed and smiled shyly at him. She picked up her soda and took a sip.
Another little bit of information about her character was finally revealed in this last little reaction. Every time she felt a strong emotion that she couldn't cover behind a non-committal smile she hid her face. Before last week he would've said she was just being girly but now he knew better. Showing how someone affects you gives them power over you so concealing your emotions gives you an edge over your opponents.
'Amazing how someone who professes not to be a warrior has such good warrior instincts!' he thought watching her sip her drink unable to completely be certain how she was taking his compliment. It made him both sad and angry to think that her warrior instincts were developed not as a result of proper martial arts training but through the harsh gauntlet of an abusive childhood.
"You know we should really get back downstairs! The others might be wondering what's taking so long!" she said still blushing cutely making Hajime's headache quickly dissipate again.
'Someday you will trust me enough to show me your face when you're happy!' he declared to himself glad that at least she couldn't conceal the blush on her cheeks. It was a sign that he was making good progress. He smiled at her then and got up.
"Alright I guess if you want to go back we'll go though I'm finding it more enjoyable sitting here talking to you than being downstairs with my noisy friends!" he said as she took his hand once more. She frowned but still blushed turning away to put her glass back down on the table.
"Don't say that! Your friends would be hurt! After all they came all this way to see you!" she countered sounding more like herself again. But boy was he enjoying that cute blush on her cheeks!
"Hardly! They came because Victoria told them to and you just don't say no to her!" Hajime retorted feeling a whole lot more cheerful now too. He somehow made it through the worst hurdle. Everything from here on should be smooth sailing…
It was just before 1am when they returned to the resort. They had gone back down to the karaoke room and Tokio talked Shuura and Lisa into doing "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls with her. Hajime had enjoyed that little show immensely! His mom and Hannya had left by the time they returned to the party because Mai's curfew was approaching and Hannya wanted to check up on her.
Victoria left not long after Tokio and Hajime returned to the party so Aoshi left early too. Kenshin and Sano followed. Wherever Aoshi went Kenshin and Sano were never far behind! His friends had stayed along with Shimel and Abrams who agreed to stay behind and help Shuura and Hiei. Those two were staying behind to provide extra security for Will and his wife and ensure the club's attendees behaved themselves around the movie star.
He invited her back to the suite he was sharing with Aoshi and the other two and for a moment he thought she would say no but she agreed. When they arrived at his floor he found that Mai was having a sleepover with two new friends in his mom and Hannya's room and the girls were still awake. However the girls had decided to invade their suite. Kenshin and Sano were playing a board game with the girls who were giggling and blushing at everything those two said or did!
"Big Brother!" yelled Mai as she threw herself on top of him kissing him on the cheek with almost bruising force. He didn't mind. Mai didn't get a whole lot of attention from her parents so he didn't mind bestowing as much TLC as he could manage on the rare occasions that he got to see her.
"Oi Aoshi Tokio's here!" called Sano cheerfully who got up and encircled her in a crushing hug much to Hajime's discontent. Aoshi merely replied he was aware without looking up from his laptop which he was furiously typing away at as he spoke very fast – in Japanese this time – into his celphone's hands-free device. He shocked Hajime though by pausing in his work to say hello to Tokio and ask her if she had fun.
"It's nice to see you again so soon Tokio-dono!" Kenshin greeted politely. Sano offered then to make milkshakes to which all three girls jumped up saying they wanted one. He offered Tokio her favorite – a strawberry shake – and she readily agreed. Apparently she liked anything that had strawberries in it! He filed this bit of important information away for future use. Of course with the milkshakes they wanted a snack!
'Give a mouse a cookie!' he thought amused but he didn't trust Sano in the kitchen anymore than he trusted the Kamiya sisters! So Hajime tossed Sano out of the kitchen once he'd prepared and distributed all the milkshakes.
"Alright I'll make sandwiches! Who wants one?" he asked and all the little girls raised their hand. He took the bread out of the cabinet and searched the fridge to see what supplies Sano and Kenshin had stocked. She came into the kitchen and sidled up next to him.
"Can I help?" she offered smiling at him. He shook his head and smiled.
"Sure! You can help by having a seat and telling me how you would like your sandwich!" he replied still smiling in amusement. She would not so easily be deterred however.
"But it's easier if I just show you!" she insisted cheerfully looking a bit embarrassed. And Hajime thought it was so cute how she tried to make herself the useful guest! Sano and Kenshin came to render him assistance by grabbing each one of Tokio's arms, picking up her milkshake and pulling her towards the couch. To Hajime's further surprise Aoshi stopped what he was doing for a moment picked up his laptop and moved his work to the couch where he sat down next to Tokio.
"Nii-sama rarely assumes the role of gracious host. I suggest you sit and enjoy it for you may never see it again," he remarked calmly. Mai's little friends sighed as they watched Aoshi with dreamy eyes. Hajime rolled his eyes in mild annoyance. Tokio laughed and smiled at him mischievously. Hajime knew that smile by now! She was filing away information to hit him with later in one of their little word fencing matches.
'Bring it on!' he thought smiling back at her he rather enjoyed word fencing with her even if he did lose often. Since the supplies in the fridge were below standard in Hajime's esteem he sent Kenshin to check his mother's fridge in the suite across from theirs. However along with the prosciutto, the various kinds of salami and the deli sliced swiss and provolone cheeses came his mother and Hannya who were also still awake because of the girls. Aoshi moved back to the desk so his mom and Hannya could sit with Tokio.
Tokio talked to his mom and Hannya cheerfully and Shuura was reluctantly let off the hook by his mom as Tokio let her know the girl had apologized for abandoning her to the Hecklers earlier. He made sandwiches for everyone and Sano attempted to be funny by taking pictures of him in the kitchen. Hajime countered all of Sano's remarks in his usual calm smartass way. Tokio continued to laugh and was apparently still enjoying herself. Hajime was just glad he could at least keep his promise that she would have fun tonight…
Tokio was so amazed by Hajime's many dimensions. Despite the mildly unpleasant encounter with his ex-wife in the bathroom her evening was continuing to fill her with happiness. And the longer she felt this happiness the more she felt it could be hers for how ever long she wanted it!
"I don't know why he likes to do that so much!" Mrs. Emi huffed annoyed as yet another round of "you're a moron" remarks from Hajime provoked Sano into shameless name calling. Tokio laughed.
"I think he just can't help himself!" she began raising her voice a little to make sure she had his attention "after all Sano does tend to paint a bulls-eye on himself doesn't he captain?" she asked in a teasing tone with a wide mischievous grin on her face. He frowned heavily giving her a suspicious look. It amazed Tokio how easily it had become for her to take Hajime down a couple of notches.
"Alright girls it's time to go to bed!" Mrs. Emi announced since the girl's had finished their midnight snack. Hannya got up patted her on the shoulder and bade her goodnight then stood at the door waiting for Mrs. Emi. Sharpay and Gabriella – Mai's new friends – had lost interest in Sano and Kenshin at some point and hung on the kitchen counter smiling at Hajime with dreamy looks in their eyes. They turned to protest but Mrs. Emi would not be denied and reluctantly all the girls filed towards the door. Mai stopped to hug her brother goodnight and Tokio's heart melted once more at seeing how sweet he was with her.
'He really is another person when he's with her!' she thought. She had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing though as the other two girls said their goodnight.
"Good night Captain Hajime," they said as one in a soft dreamy kind of sigh. And Tokio looked away biting her tongue as he released his sister with a roll of his eyes and said "Good night girls" in a deep solemn tone that sent them into a fit of very girly giggles. As the door closed behind all of them Tokio finally got up from the couch and walked over to the bar stools on the dinning room side of the kitchen counter. With a big smile on her face she handed Hajime her empty dish and cup. He took them though his eyes were narrowed in a suspicious look.
"Oh Captain Hajime can I please have a glass of water now?" she asked ever so sweetly. Kenshin and Sano exploded in laughter suddenly and she thought she even heard a slight chuckle from Aoshi.
"Oh very funny doctor!" he countered annoyed but turned away from the sink on his side of the counter to get a clean glass. Sano and Kenshin got up from their chairs in a hurry and joined her on the counter at either side of her.
"Wait how come Saito-san has no snappy come-back?" Kenshin asked rather incredulous staring at her with astonishment.
"I don't know but do it again!" Sano pleaded with her in a cheerful giddy way. Hajime rolled his eyes and Tokio just couldn't stop laughing.
"Idiot rooster-head! What is she a circus performer? You're a moron," Hajime retorted quickly and Tokio just kept on laughing. Sano opened his mouth to defend himself but Tokio decided to spare him another round of insults.
"Now, now Sano it's always best not to be provoked. After all you don't want to be targeted right?" she put in smiling mischievously at the captain. Sano looked first to Tokio then to the silent and glaring Hajime then encircled Tokio in another crushing hug. Hajime growled angrily at him.
"I don't exactly know how she does it Saito-san but Tokio-dono is amazingly successful at throwing you a monkey wrench that she is!" Kenshin remarked rather cheerful smiling at Hajime. Hajime rolled his eyes but continued to glare at Sano who had not let go of Tokio.
"She is! Would you adopt me?" Sano asked cheerfully still not letting go.
"Idiot rooster-head! Would you let go of her already? You're suffocating her you moron!" Hajime retorted testily and Tokio thought with a hint of jealousy. Shuura was right he is very possessive! Sano must've noticed because even though he stopped crushing her with his hug he didn't lift his arm from her shoulders. He smiled in wicked glee. Kenshin apparently had the same idea and put his arm around her shoulders from the left side.
"But Tokio-dono is our dearest friend!" Kenshin declared cheerfully.
"And she's been gone for so long! We missed her so much!" Sano added with a mischievous grin. Hajime gave them such a mighty death glare that it would've made the toughest jaffa quake in his armored boots! However Sano and Kenshin were unaffected.
"Well of course you did! Your heads are full of straw so you probably missed not having someone with a full working brain around to show you idiots what an intelligent thought looks like," he retorted rather annoyed. But this time instead of being angry Sano just laughed. Kenshin snickered teasingly. Closing his laptop Aoshi finally moved to the kitchen to help with the task of cleaning and putting away the dishes. He too smirked in amusement.
"Alright that's enough! No more messing with Captain Hajime please!" she declared cheerful and lightly pushed Sano and Kenshin off and moved back to the couch. Hajime left the kitchen then since he had done the cooking and Kenshin and Sano moved in to help Aoshi clean.
"Sensei wishes you to join her tomorrow for breakfast!" Kenshin announced cheerfully as Hajime sat with Tokio. She leaned comfortably against his shoulder and he twined his fingers with hers. She felt happy and comfortable here with them. She felt like she belonged!
"Sure! At what time?" she asked starting to feel tired but not quite willing to let this night end yet. Once the boys were done Sano and Kenshin moved some chairs from the dining table and Aoshi sat with her and Hajime at the couch.
"At 8am!" replied Sano cheerfully and he kept giving Hajime a mischievous smile that didn't make much sense to Tokio's tired brain. This new info made her sit up however. After all it was almost 2 am!
"Oh then I better get back to my room! I should get some sleep!" she announced and as she got up so did all four men. She tried to get them to stay put but that was a pointless effort! They walked out with her and on the way to the elevator they ran into his friends. Will again teased Hajime endlessly about his OOC-ness which Jesse and Lisa encouraged with much enthusiasm! They said their goodnights promising to meet again soon.
"…Provided Victoria will release her grip on Tokio long enough for the rest of us to enjoy her rapier wit!" Jesse added shooting a teasing look towards Hajime.
"Somethin' tells me it ain't Victoria ya'll are gonna have to wrestle her away from!" Will teased and he enjoyed immensely the thunderous look Hajime directed towards him. He pulled her away towards the elevator and Tokio waved goodbye and promised to see them tomorrow. Sano and Kenshin were still sharing soft conspiratorial laughs. Even Aoshi could be seen smirking a little!
On Tokio's floor they ran into Shuura who was just returning as well. Tokio learned Abrams, Shimel and Cindy were sharing Shuura's suite because Kaoru – Shuura's older sister – wasn't coming to the reunion. Hiei was supposed to be sharing his suite with Kenshin's twin brother Kurama but Kurama was busy still preparing for a figure skating competition and would not arrive until tomorrow afternoon.
"Good night Tokio-dono! We'll see you in the morning!" Kenshin called cheerfully as they all stopped at her door for a moment to say their goodbyes. Then he turned to go off towards Hiei's room. Sano gave her one more crushing hug and smiled mischievously at Hajime before skipping away with Kenshin. Aoshi said he'd come by in the morning and escort her to his sensei's breakfast meeting with the Phoenix Foundation. Immediately Hajime offered to do it for him so Aoshi told him to make sure they were both there by 8am sharp.
"Of course we will!" Hajime replied a bit irritated rolling his eyes. Tokio pulled out her key card and opened her door. Hajime leaned against the door frame and smirked casually. She smiled thinking he was much more handsome when he was being nice.
"Thank you for inviting me tonight! I had a lot of fun," she began smiling content leaning against her door. A slight guilty look flitted across his face for a moment.
"I'm sorry about what happened with her," he replied and Tokio didn't miss the disgust with which he said the last word. She shook her head.
"Don't apologize it wasn't your fault. You were right tonight was great! And you kept your promise you didn't let her ruin our fun!" she countered cheerfully. He smiled more fully then and out of impulse Tokio reached up and placed a one soft kiss on his cheek. She almost laughed at the slightly stunned look on his face.
"I'll see you in the morning Captain Hajime!" she said teasingly as he took a step back smiling at her.
"7:30 sharp! I'll bring tea!" he added with a smirk. There was a burning intensity in his eyes that shocked Tokio a little and she wondered whether it had been such a good idea to kiss him.
'Oh well what's done is done!' she told herself as she closed the door. He was still smiling and standing there as she closed the door. Her heart hammered in her chest as she pressed her ear to the door listening for his footsteps to fade away. It was at least a minute before she finally heard him walk away. She felt a fluttering in her stomach and as she climbed into her soft bed she just couldn't wait for the morning…
Hajime stood there a little stunned for a moment processing what had just happened. She had kissed him! Of her own free will mind you with no insinuations from him! Granted it had been a small chaste kiss on the cheek but with someone like Tokio that had to be a huge step forward! He started walking away slowly but soon found himself running full tilt down the empty corridor towards the staircase vaulting down the stairs much like he had earlier this evening.
'And she blushed afterwards. I just know that's a good sign!' he said to himself as he arrived at his suite. He was glad that little brother and the dynamic dork duo had not returned to the suite so he could enjoy his small victory by himself. He called down to the reception desk and ordered a wake up call for 6am so he could go downstairs to the gym and do his morning work out before heading up to Tokio's suite.
Not that he needed it Hajime was so worked up by the night's success that he was up well before the wake up call…
Well there you go not only did he get a hug but he got a kiss too! I'd have to say things are looking up for the wolf…aren't they? (evil snicker) You know fic reader I am glad you are enjoying my story as much as I enjoy your spot-on reviews! I made Yolanda appear here so that I could show Hajime the sharp contrast between the two women early on in his relationship with her. I also needed a way to get Tokio to feel less threatened by how aggressive he's been in his pursuit of her thus the quiet heart to heart talk in the office.
Thanks for Reading and Reviewing!