Souls
By Mizuki
Bow
"Come in!" she called, a bit bemused. It was late and usually no one bothered her anymore. To tell the truth, at this time she was usually at home. Had Mr. Jackson forgotten something?
"Sorry for intruding," said a soft, masculine voice and the door opened and closed. It took her several seconds before her mind registered that the words had been spoken in Japanese.
Wide-eyed, she watched as Sean Jackson entered the little office and stopped just behind the threshold. Then he slowly raised his head and looked her straight in the eyes.
"Kaoru-dono."
Her breath hitched in shock. "Kenshin," she said in wonder. "You – "
"We need to talk."
"Y-yes." She nodded, overwhelmed. "Please sit down."
He crossed the room and lowered himself into the seat. She waited patiently for him to begin, but he remained silent. After several moments, when the silence between them was stretched so thin that she was afraid it would snap, she decided to speak up.
"I thought you didn't want to talk to me…"
He exhaled heavily and she faltered, but then squared her shoulders and plowed ahead, "I thought you didn't want to have anything to do with me anymore."
For a long time he didn't answer and then, completely out of the blue, he bowed. Startled, she watched him lower his head so low that his nose was almost touching his knees.
"What are you do – ?"
"This unworthy one sincerely apologizes," he spoke, but then caught himself. "No, this is not enough…"
Before she could react, he was out of the chair and on the floor, on his knees, his forehead touching the ground.
"This unworthy one sincerely apologizes for every evil he has brought upon Kaoru-dono and for how he has treated Kaoru-dono for the past three weeks."
Everything in her rebelled viciously at the sight of him literally prostrating himself before her. What the hell was he doing…? This was simply unacceptable!
"S-stop!" she cried, aghast. "Stop it!"
He didn't seem to hear her. "This unworthy one realizes that a simple apology is not enough to repay the wrongs he has committed, therefore he asks Kaoru-dono to – "
She stumbled over to his slouched form, desperate to make him stop, and grabbed at his shoulders, wrenching him partially upright.
"Stop… Please, stop it, Kenshin…"
"Kaoru-dono…"
His face looked so grief-stricken, that her body reacted of its own accord. Letting her tears fall, she gathered him to her and pressed him close, her arms creating a wrought-iron cage around his shoulders.
"Kaoru-dono - !" he protested vehemently, struggling to get free, but she only tightened her hold.
"No! I won't let go until you calm down!" she snapped. "Now sit still!"
To her amazement, he complied.
"Now, let's get some things straight, okay? First, this is twenty-first century America, not nineteenth century Japan, all right? No one bows to anyone! We are all equal and you are in no way unworthy, do you understand?" He didn't answer, but she wasn't exactly expecting him to. "And second, you have nothing to apologize for! Absolutely nothing!"
The mirthless snort she heard next to her ear didn't sound promising at all, although his breath felt really hot upon the skin of her neck… Distracted, she barely noticed when he skillfully extracted himself from her arms and moved to sit away from her.
"Kaoru-dono," he said softly. "I am sorry. This is a very peculiar day for me and the modern part of my experience seems to be dormant for the time being…"
She blinked in confusion, and then an idea popped into her head.
"Kenshin… Has something strange happened today…?"
He gave her a tiny, wistful smile. "My world has shifted, Kaoru-dono."
Her suspicion confirmed, she sucked in a breath.
Suddenly everything made perfect sense.
A/N: Just what is it that makes so much sense now? XD
Expect a continuation on Saturday! :)
Also, I'd like to thank J Luc Pitard for becoming my beta-reader!:D I'm sure you won't have to put up with my stupid mistakes from now on :)
Thanks for the reviews go to Memorie, caithzadz, brit02, J Luc Pitard, SRAS9, sulou and skenshingumi :)