A/N: Um, I'm an idiot/I live under a rock. Apparently there's a book series out there that basically has the same premise: a girl has a supermegafoxyawesomehot (kudos to anyone who can guess the reference!) boy ghost living in her bedroom. Wow. In case you're interested, it's The Mediator by Meg Cabot.
Sequel to the previous theme – you know the drill: read that before you read this.
Standard disclaimers apply.
040: Sight
Kenshin Himura is a very irritating ghost.
Kaoru's been living with him for the past few months, and let's just say she has wanted to kill him on more than one occasion.
"You can't be in here tomorrow," she tells him as she's brushing her wet hair in front of her vanity mirror.
"And why not?"
She sighs. "Someone's coming over, and I hate seeing you in the corner of my eye, watching and making faces. Really mature, by the way," she snaps.
He grins, clearly recalling the situation that cost her a potential date with Akira Kiyosato, who still thinks she's mentally unstable.
"You'll get over it."
Placing her brush on the vanity, she turns to look at him. "Please, just do it? Besides, I don't know if we'll be just studying…if you know what I mean."
He cocks his head to the side in confusion. "What do you mean?" he inquires.
For a moment, she thinks he's being serious, but then she sees the corner of his mouth twitch, and she's back to hating him. "You know what I mean," she mutters.
"I died over one-hundred-and-fifty years ago. I'm very naïve about social protocols of this decade."
"Alright, let me spell it out for you: I will be alone in my bedroom with a boy –"
"Similar to this situation, is it not?"
She slams her hands onto the vanity, counting backwards from ten. "No," she finally bites out. "I actually like this guy and want him in my life."
"Well, I'm sorry, darling, but you're stuck with me."
"I told you not to call me that!"
There are two sharp knocks on her door, scaring her as her father opens the door.
"Dad! I could've been changing, you know!" Kaoru exclaimed indignantly.
"Who are you talking to?" her dad asks, looking around the room as if expecting to see someone in there.
She mentally corrects his grammar to "whom."
Kenshin sticks his tongue out playfully, and she tries hard not to laugh. "Oh, just rehearsing a monologue."
"Again? How many monologues of Shakespeare do you have to learn for that English class?"
She winces. "Not for English," she corrects him, not wanting to recite anything to him again, which he made her do last time. Actually, Kenshin practically saved her by feeding her a passage from the play she was reading at the time. But she didn't want a repeat of that – he whispered everything in her ear (totally unnecessary, as she told him later), and she could've sworn his puffs of breath were hot, as if he were alive.
"It's for History. A presentation."
He nods, accepting her sad cover. "I like this school – it really enforces the importance of presentation skills. They get you far in life." Before he completely shuts the door, he adds, "You should go to bed early, honey. Don't think I didn't hear you last night at two in the morning."
With that final comment, he shuts the door.
She doesn't have to turn around to know that Kenshin is silently cracking up.
"Not a word," she growls.
"Mr. Himura is right – you have to be able to present yourself properly to the public. And sleep is very important to a growing young woman."
She refrains from throwing her hairbrush at him, knowing it will do absolutely nothing.
"Get out of here. I'm going to sleep."
"But you have Calculus homework –"
"Fuck off!"
"Fine. I know when I'm not wanted."
And before she can rebuttal, he sinks through the floor, leaving her alone.
She goes over to where he disappeared and stomps the spot. "Jerk."
She hears the echo of his laugh through the walls.
It seems Kaoru and Enishi Yukishiro are just cutting through the bullshit of pretending to study together and are, instead, making out on her bed.
She tries to get into it, she really, really tries, but she keeps thinking that Kenshin is somehow watching her, or listening in. Eventually, Enishi gets fed up with her being distracted, and awkwardly offers to work together on their homework. Kaoru fumbles for an excuse, saying that she has a lot on her mind – her dad is still depressed over her mom, and her extended family is being incorrigible, etc.
He leaves two minutes later, mumbling out a goodbye.
After making sure her father isn't in the house, Kaoru screams, "KENSHIN!"
"No need to yell."
She whips her head to find him sitting in front of her vanity. He doesn't have a reflection in the mirror.
"You were in here, weren't you?"
He cocks his head to the side.
"You were being a creeper, spying on me, like you always do."
"Contrary to the nature of your accusation, you are not the only interesting being in this house," he points out lightly.
"There's no one else here. Just admit it! You want me to be miserable and alone."
"Now why would I want that?"
She lets out an exasperated sigh. "I don't know! You tell me!"
"If you want to know, I was speaking with your mother while you were being fondled by that impertinent…" he trails off, glaring at the wall.
All the anger rushes out of her. "You were…what?" She shakes her head. "I thought you couldn't see her. Remember? We were in the attic and she was there, and only I could see her?"
"We're on the same plane now."
Numbly, Kaoru sits down on her bed, blankly staring at the floor.
"She's lovely," he tells her.
Tears suddenly fill her eyes. "I know." She breathes irregularly, trying hard not to cry. "I don't get it…I thought people became ghosts because of unfinished business…and…"
"That's not always the case. Sometimes a person stays behind…because they don't want to leave their family quite yet."
She looks to him, confused.
"She just wants to watch over you until you're ready."
"Ready for what?"
"To let go."
She bristles. "I'm faring better than my dad is," she snaps.
"Not really," he tells her. "Remember – I'm awake all day, everyday. You cry in your sleep and say her name almost every night. Your father stopped that after a month."
She clenches her jaw. "Why do you even care?"
He laughs exasperatingly. "I'm not even going to answer that, you thick-headed brat."
She glares at him.
"I can't talk to your mother's spirit unless you care for me, too. It's a reciprocal relationship, ghostly being and human."
He sighs, sending a cold gust of air toward her, making her shiver.
"So…because I supposedly care about you, and you care about me…you're on the same level of existence as my mother, who cares about me and vice versa as well?"
He nods. "We talked for a bit. It was mostly about you."
"What about me?" she inquires cautiously.
He shrugs. "Mostly about how you're wasting your life."
"Thanks a lot," she retorts.
"She said that you never would've brought boys to your room like you've been doing," he continues softly.
"Well, a lot has happened since her death. I've changed."
"She wishes you would stop."
"And why doesn't she tell me to her face? Why haven't I seen her after that one time in the attic?"
"Because she doesn't want to disrupt your life. One ghost is bad enough."
"Then why can't you switch places? I'd rather have her here than you."
He glares at her. "I've wanted to move on, believe me, but I haven't, and I was getting along okay until you came stomping into my afterlife," he hisses, standing up.
"And what have I done?"
He laughs. "Let's see! You boss me around, you insult me, you annoy me with your problems, you rant about the most ridiculous things, you throw things at the wall when you're angry, which is most of the time, you laugh too loudly, you always spin around in front your mirror like you're in a bloody motion picture, you get that…that charming smile whenever you get into trouble in order to get yourself out of it, you…you just…light up a room, whenever you walk in it," he trails off, not quite looking at her.
Kaoru's frozen on her bed. Did he just…? Is he…?
But then he looks at her with fresh determination. He walks over to her until he's about a foot away. Getting on his knees, he keeps his eyes level with hers.
She tries to keep her breathing even.
"You don't know how torturous it is to look at you, and know that I can't touch you…no matter how much I want to," he adds in a quiet voice.
It takes her a minute to find her voice; she got lost in his gaze. "Dirty," she whispers, trying to smile.
He doesn't smile. "A guiding hand on your lower back…lacing your fingers through mine…feeling each others' heat…such simplicity," he continues with a hint of nostalgia.
She automatically reaches out to touch his face, but her hand goes right through it.
He smiles sadly. "I wish I could feel it. But I can only see it, imagine what it would feel like."
She drops her hand as tears fill her eyes again.
"I hate you," she says, but not actually meaning it.
"I hate you, too," he replies.
It feels like she's really seeing him for the first time; she's been pretty stupid these past few months. Or maybe she was just trying to protect herself from this: being so connected to a being not of this world. She knows this will only bring her pain, which she's beginning to feel quite acutely, but somehow, in a twisted way, it's okay.
Kenshin Himura is a very irritating ghost.
But she can't help loving him anyway. Damn it.
A/N: Question: do you want a sequel to this one, or should we just move on? I'll be keeping a tally, and majority rules!
Please review!
MissGoalie
