Look And See
By Bri-C123
Chapter 14
"Kenshin! I can walk just fine you know!"
"You are still weak from everything you've gone through. You're lucky I'm even letting you go home."
"You have no right to do this!"
"I have every right to do this. If I don't see anything fit for your health, I am to prevent it from happening. Doctor's orders."
Kaoru snarled. "I'm perfectly capable of living my life."
"I'm not denying you that. I just want you to stay in bed for a little bit before you start wandering off and getting yourself in trouble." He unlocks the door and steps inside her apartment, still carrying her. "And I honestly don't mind this." He smirks.
"You hentai! Put me down right now!"
He walks to the couch and lets her go. She lands on the couch with a small yelp. "There, I put you down. Now be good and stay here while I make you some lunch." She glares at him as he chuckles and walks to her kitchen.
She has been back for a few days already but everyone has been coddling her, not letting her do anything by herself. And Kenshin was probably the worst one of them all. He always fed her, carried her, and had to be forced out just so she could use the bathroom in private, although she had a suspicious feeling he only did that to annoy her. He liked to make her frustrated, and always amused himself with her different reactions.
He was out soon with soba noodles and tea on a tray. She didn't even know she owned a tray. He placed the tray on the coffee table and proceeded to help Kaoru sit up. When his fingers touched the chopstick, she quickly smacked his hand. "I told you I can take care of myself. If you feed me I won't eat."
Kenshin seemed to think over her words. He sighed his consent and let her feed herself for the first time in days. Pride seemed to bloom in his chest as he watched her enjoy the food he made. She ate everything without saying anything to him. When she was done, she glanced up at him. Seeing him watch her made her blush. Suddenly she wished he wasn't such a good cook. He smirked and grabbed the plates. "I'll wash the dishes. Don't get off that couch." She grumbled something as he walked out.
When he walked back in, she was already sleeping again. He smiled and carried her to her old bedroom. He softly brushed her hair back and turned to go. He was just about to step out the door when she began to whimper. In a flash, he was by her side.
Before she was taken, he used to take her hand as she slept. She would quiet immediately and after a few minutes, he would leave. However, in the past few days, she had not reacted in any way. Her nightmares would still continue. He could not do anything to help her. Megumi had stressed that she needed as much rest as she could get before the questioning. Kenshin couldn't agree more. But in situations like these, he didn't know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing. He couldn't just let her continue her nightmare, but he wanted her to get more rest. He scratched his head and went back out to her kitchen. He searched through the cabinets until he found the prescription bottle for Kaoru.
When Megumi had given it to him, she told him it was not medicine for pain. "You only give this to her whenever she wakes up. I cannot stop the nightmares she has, but I can help her forget it. I…" Megumi seemed to have an inner conflict with herself and sighed a moment later. "I've been her doctor for many years. I've always given her this medication for her nightmares. She's always had them. So please trust me on this Ken-san and give it to her. Even if the naps are very short, I cannot allow her to remember those horrid nightmares." She made Kenshin swear on his honor that he would give the medication to her.
An hour later, Kaoru stumbled out of her room. Tear tracks were left on her face from her nightmare. Kenshin quickly stood and helped her to the kitchen where he had a glass of water and the pills. "You should have just called me when you were awake" he scolded. "I would have gone in to help you out."
"I don't need your help all the time Kenshin. I'm not that fragile." She glanced at the counter and sighed. "Do I have to take the pills?"
"Yes. Megumi assured me it would help you."
She glanced at him. "What did she tell you?" she snapped.
He raised an eyebrow. "Nothing. Only that this medicine will help you recover faster" he lied.
"I…see." She grabbed the glass of water. "I don't really think I need the pills then." She turned to walk away but Kenshin was in the way. He didn't let her walk around him. Instead, he used his arms to trap her to the counter. She leaned back, surprised at the close encounter. He wrapped his arms around her and proceeded to take the medicine out of the container while he held her captive. By the time he pulled back, her face was red from the intimate encounter. "There was no reason for you to do that!" she yelled.
"Of course there was. You were in my way and I had to take the pills out for you. Now take it." He shoved the pills into her hand and gave her the glass of water. She glared at him but downed the medicine anyway. She huffed when she was done.
"Can I go out now?"
"no."
"Why not?"
"Because I said so."
"Fine mom." She glared at him some more before going back to her room.
She was suddenly face to face with blazing golden eyes. She stopped breathing for a second, looking into them. "I am not your mom" he growled. This made her blink and narrow her own blue eyes. "I'm trying to make sure you are okay. Can't you just appreciate it?"
"No." she snapped back.
"You are disrespectful."
"So are you" she argued.
"I've done nothing but try to help you."
"I don't need your help."
"You know what? Fine."
"Fine."
"Fine" he growled again.
"Just go away."
His eyes were narrowed even more in anger. He only stared at her for some time before huffing and turning around. "Fine." He said, then he slammed the door to her apartment closed.
Kaoru glared at the direction of her door. She was angry, very angry, but suddenly she felt lonely. Her heart clenched in her chest. No, she argued with herself, this is not the time to get sentimental. He is an overprotective jerk who forced her to do things she didn't want to do.
But he was also very caring. He sometimes woke her up if her nightmares got really bad. He forced her to take those pills because he knew they would help her somehow. And he made amazing food. He was just trying to take care of her-
No, Kaoru. You will not help his case. She sighed and stumbled back to her room and lay down on her bed. There was no reason to feel lonely now. I've always been alone and this would be no exception. She sighed. Her laptop was on her desk so she hobbled over there. When she got there, realization hit her. She never left her laptop on her desk. She turned the thing on and watched it fire up. Then she noticed the USB right by her lamp. It looked harmless enough, but she knew there was something wrong.
Quickly, she plugged it in and watched the folder pop up on her screen. She opened it and gasped at its contents. Her hand shook, afraid to look at everything. She breathed in deep and clicked the first file.
~Sorry, it seems I will be ending this here~ Don't hate me for it, because its what us writers do sometimes. We leave you hanging… wait that sounds mean. Like I would leave you hanging on a date…or leave you hanging on a phone…or….
Never mind that. Ahem. Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter~ I've been working on other stories as well so sorry in advance if these chapters seem to come out slow.
Kokoronagomu: Its great to hear from you again. I hope everything is going well for you. Kaoru does seem to be in a very dangerous situation, doesn't she? Always finding trouble.
Kenjustu2Princess: I actually haven't even noticed it was following the manga! I'm glad you pointed it out to me, or else I would have died completely oblivious. :D
Happy reading! Tata for now~