Standard Disclaimers Apply.

Chapter Twelve: Surfacing Hearts II

After classes, Megumi did not go to the theater as usual. Since she is costume designer, she was not needed every single rehearsal session. She decided to wander around for the time of being. She needed to be alone. Her mind was clouded with many things, that is why she decided to sit on the park to sort her thoughts.

I really find Sano attractive… I am so drawn to him in many ways. His beautiful chestnut eyes. The way he looks at me makes me want to melt. But… but why do I feel so jealous of Kaoru? Why does it bother me so much that she and Kenshin have finally confessed their feelings for each other? I knew that they belong to each other the minute I saw them together in the theater. I thought that teasing Kaoru was just for fun… could it be that maybe I was doing it because I like Kenshin? Megumi took a deep breath and sighed. Funny. In fairness, Kenshin is nice and good-looking but he hasn't done anything special to me… unlike Sanosuke… why? Why did it pierce my heart when I saw Kenshin's hickey?

Her musings were cut short when Sanosuke sat beside her and pushed away a stray hair. He said in an unusually fond manner, "Oi kitsune! Are you okay?"

Megumi instantly turned her head to snap at Sano but no words came out of her mouth. Looking at his brown eyes, which stared at her lovingly, Megumi burst into tears. She placed her hands on her face to hide her eyes as she continued to sob.

Sano was so surprised at her sudden outburst of emotion. Without any hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her and whispered, "Shhh… it's alright. I'm here. Tell me what's wrong…"

"It's nothing," Megumi sobbed, "It's just that I am so confused right now."

Sano's eyes saddened as he caressed Megumi's back.

Megumi squirmed at his touch and pulled away from him, "Sano… sorry… I want to be alone now."

Sano stared at Megumi with mix emotions. Sadness. Disbelief. Hurt. Unable to restrain himself, he cried out, "Why kitsune? Are you sad that Kenshin finally confessed his feelings to Kaoru?!"

Megumi glared at Sano for a second before bursting out into sobs, "It's… it's.. not what you… think… Sano."

"Then what should I think?" He exclaimed in utter frustration.

"I… don't know… Please don't yell at me… I am so… confused now… please… don't get mad."

Sano's eyes softened as he said, "Oh Megumi, I am so sorry…"

Upon hearing her name, she lifted her head up and looked intently at his eyes. She whispered, "You… you called me by my first name…"

Sano smiled at her warmly as he leaned his forehead towards hers, "Why? Shouldn't I call the woman I love with her first name?"

Megumi's eyes widened as she leaned over to kiss Sanosuke. Sanosuke responded tenderly, losing himself in the kiss.

Megumi smiled while kissing Sanosuke as she thought, With one kiss, Sano cleared my mind from all doubts. I love Sano… not Kenshin. I never really loved Kenshin, it's pure insanity. That's it… insanity.

The clouds rumbled and large drops of rain began to fall. Heavy rain was coming but none of them cared. They continued kissing, not allowing anything to stop them.

~~~~~

            After the rehearsals, Aoshi slipped out of the theater, unnoticed by anyone. He walked out towards the park to think. He found a nice, shady tree in the middle of the playground and sat down there cross-legged. As he closed his eyes, he thought, What am I doing here? Taking a deep breath he said to himself, "This is more relaxing than I thought." He continued his deep breathing as he returned to his meditation.

            I need to clear my mind. Think of clear waters… green fields… blue skies… blue-green eyes… Aoshi opened his eyes and whispered to himself, "Misao…"

            Rain was starting to fall but Aoshi remained in his position. He closed his eyes once again as he allowed images to run through his head.

~~~~~

Misao searched the whole school frantically, looking for her beloved. The gym was the only place she haven't checked yet. Upon reaching the area, she stomped her foot in disappointment when she saw that Aoshi wasn't there either. Where could Aosh-samai be? Misao closed her eyes, Think Misao, where is Aoshi-sama… Ugh! I can't concentrate with the rain continuously beating against the roof.

Misao snapped her fingers as she said out loud, "That's it! He must be meditating…" She rolled her eyes, "Yeah right, now where did I got that stupid idea? Oh well, he might be stuck in the rain, I better look for him in the park." She stared dreamily into space as she grinned, Alone in the rain, sharing this umbrella? Ohohoho!! I wonder if he'll wrap his arms around my shoulder…

            Deep in meditation, Aoshi did not even notice Misao running towards him with an umbrella.

Misao yelled as she gasped for air, "Aoshi-sama!!!" She rushed to his side, placing her umbrella above their heads, which seemed rather pointless for both of them were already drenched.

Aoshi opened his eyes slowly, surprising Misao with his soft gaze. He asked, "How did you find me?"

Misao blushed as she said, "Ano… I was looking for you everywhere. I just thought that… maybe you were stuck in the rain and… you don't have any umbrella, Aoshi-sama."

            Aoshi stood up and caressed Misao's cheek causing bolts to run through her whole body, "Now, where did you get that sama? You have been calling me that since we first met, I don't recall owning you, Misao."

            Misao looked down and barely whispered, "…but you own my heart, Aoshi."

            If Aoshi's ears weren't well-trained with years of kodachi training, he would have missed Misao's comment. Trying to lighten up the mood, he said, "I think we should go to the shade… Misao-sama."

            Misao pretended to be angry as she balled up her fist and yelled, "Now what!? Are you mocking me?"

            Aoshi titled her chin and whispered, "No, Misao-sama, owner of my heart, I am not mocking you." With that, he leaned down and kissed Misao.

            Misao was so shocked at Aoshi's out of character tenderness, causing her to drop the umbrella she was holding. Melting into his arms, she embraced him to close the distance as she parted her lips to deepen the kiss.

            "Misao," Aoshi murmured in their kiss, "The way you melted my heart will always remain a mystery to me."

            Misao pulled back and smiled, "It was no mystery, Aoshi-sama. You were too easy."

            Aoshi finally gave her his smile and replied, "I resent that."

            Seeing Aoshi's smile, Misao pressed her soaked body against his as she pulled him down for a deeper and more passionate kiss.

~~~~~

            It was late in the evening and the two residents of the Kamiya town house had already retreated to their respective bedrooms. The rain, which started that afternoon, became worse as the rain fell harder and thunders roared louder.

            Luckily for Kaoru, the rehearsals left her exhausted, allowing her to fall asleep before the thunders began pealing.

            She woke up inside a run-down a dojo. She stood up and saw Kenshin was in front of her wearing a pink gi and white hakama. Yahiko was also inside the dojo wearing something similar. Oddly, a man she cannot seem to identify was sitting in the middle. When the man turned around, she was utterly shocked. She whispered to herself, "Professor Fujita?"

            Kenshin and Professor Fujita continued talking aggressively to each other. Kaoru stared at them in confusion since no voice were coming out of their mouth. All that she could hear were the sounds of silence. Fear was creeping up to her, causing her to tug Kenshin's gi from behind. After a few seconds, Kenshin walked away, shocking Kaoru.

            The two faced each other and began fighting. This scared Kaoru so much because she was so worried about Kenshin and she did not even understand what was going. After several minutes, which seemed like eternity, Kenshin looked up with a feral amber glare towards his opponent's direction. Kenshin sneered, "Kill me? No. I will kill you."

            Upon hearing this, Kaoru broke down on her knees and cried, "Don't! Somebody stop them!!" Then, there was the rapid clanging of swords.

            Kaoru woke up with another loud rumble if thunder, drenched in sweat. She could barely recall her dream but the rapid beating of her heart remained. She closed her eyes, trying to remember even bits of her dream, Kenshin was out of control… I can't reach him. Why did I need to reach him? Ugh!! I can't remember!!! Kenshin… staring so coldly at his opponent with amber eyes. She opened her eyes and clutched her chest, "Kenshin!"

With that, she ran towards Kenshin's room and jumped at his bed. She straddled on his stomach as she shook his shoulders violently, "Kenshin! Kenshin! Wake up!!!"

Kenshin slowly fluttered his eyes, to shake off sleepiness, revealing its violet hue.  He slowly took in the sight in front of him. Kaoru was sitting on his stomach, wearing her usual baby t-shirt and black underwear. Kenshin gulped and moaned inwardly, Oh no! I'm having one of those dreams again!!!

Kaoru noted the color of his eyes and laid herself on top of him to hug him. She rested her head on his chest as tears slowly fell from her eyes. It was just a dream. He is still Kenshin. He is here. And… he is safe.

The tears were seeping down Kenshin's pajamas. He tilted Kaoru's chin up as he looked at her with confusion.

Kaoru gave him one of her sweetest smiles and said to him almost embarrassingly, "I dreamed that… that you changed. That I couldn't even reach you. You were fighting someone…" Tears were streaming down her cheeks again but she managed to blurt out, "…I… I was so worried!"

Kenshin wiped away her tears as he turned their position around, laying Kaoru under him. He used his elbows for support, not to crush Kaoru under his weight and placed one of his legs between hers. He rubbed his nose against her as he said, "You don't have to worry about me, Kaoru. I'm here… I'll never leave you."

Kaoru smiled at him as she placed her left hand on Kenshin's hip and her other hand on Kenshin's hair. She trailed her fingers through it for a moment before pulling him down for a kiss. Their kiss started out slow, increasing its speed and passion with every passing minute. Kenshin slowly ran his hands from Kaoru's shoulder to her stomach, sending shivers all over her body.

Finding the need to breathe, Kenshin pulled away from her mouth and moved to her earlobes. Kaoru closed her eyes in pleasure as she continued stroking Kenshin's hair. Moving down, he continued to place open mouth kisses to her neck. While kissing her, he continued to caress her body tenderly. Concentrating on the kiss, he accidentally placed his hands on Kaoru's breast. He looked at it in horror, expecting Kaoru to hit him. Looking up into her eyes, he was surprised when he saw Kaoru gasp, arching her back towards him, pulling him closer. Kenshin took a deep breath to control himself, placing his hand away from her chest as he began to reach for Kaoru's mouth again.

Kaoru whispered breathlessly, "Don't… don't stop." She pushed him away for a second as she removed her shirt, revealing almost everything to Kenshin. [not that he hadn't seen everything already in that shower incident.]

Kenshin fought really hard not to stare and decided to concentrate on her mouth instead. He pushed back a stray hair and said to her, looking directly in her eyes, "Kaoru… sorry. We must wait. We can't do this."

Hurt and disappointment filled Kaoru's eyes as she fought back the tears, stinging her eyes. She pushed Kenshin off her and grabbed her shirt to cover her bareness as she started to run out of Kenshin's room.

Kenshin grabbed her hand to stop her and said, "Kaoru, please… understand."

"I understand completely, Kenshin, but…" Kaoru whimpered, "I don't know if I can face you anymore!"

Kenshin lovingly pulled her for an embrace as he said, "Of course, Kaoru. You don't have to be ashamed of anything… We just got carried away, again. Believe me Kaoru, it took me a great ton of control not to love you that moment, but… I just want to love you differently before we do that."

Kaoru nodded in understanding and said, "Sorry for making things harder for you."

"Oh, Kaoru… you just don't know how much harder you made it," Kenshin inwardly smiled.

"Don't worry, I'll behave myself from now on," Kaoru frowned with guilt apparent in her eyes.

Trying to lift Kaoru's guilt, Kenshin whispered in a husky voice with mischief in his eyes, "Well, don't behave too much, okay?"

Kaoru blushed furiously at his comment and said while yawning, "I need to go to bed now, I suddenly feel so sleepy."

"You know… it's really cold in here with the heavy rain and all," Kenshin said, pretending to be shivering.

Kaoru saw right through his act and teased, "Oh well, that's what other people get for… aaiiieee!!!"

Kaoru's teasing was cut short when Kenshin grabbed her waist from behind and pulled her to the bed with him. He spooned Kaoru against him and whispered on her ear, "Now, isn't that better?"

Kaoru rolled her eyes and whacked him on the head, "Not yet baka!!! I haven't dressed yet!!!" She sat up her back facing Kenshin as she pulled back her shirt. She laid down beside him, shifting closer as she pulled his arms around her, "Now… let's sleep."

"Kaoru?"

"Hmmm…"

"Have I ever told you that I love you?"

"Yes, why?"

"Nothing…. Kaoru?"

"Hmmm…"

"I love you."

Kaoru smiled and turned her head. Kenshin raised his head up to catch Kaoru's lips as they brushed each other's lips gently.

"Kenshin?"

"Hmmm…"

"I love you, too. Don't ever leave me, okay?"

"I promise."

Preview of Next Chapter:

Play Jitters.

Thank you to all those who left a review and even those who didn't! ^_^

Lizzie- Actually, I had finished three fics already. Click on my profile and check it out! Leave me a review, ok? =)

Takato Taikashi, Pyro Nynja- actually, I am also a sou/Misao FAN… they're my second fave couple!!! But Aoshi/Misao is the norm, right?

Omochi- Sano isn't dense in this chapter, is he? ::wink::

Macy- don't worry… I don't write lemons! ^_^

Lady Inu-Yasha- the play is on chapter 14 =)

Tsuki-sama- just mail me if the problem persists.

Chibigreenwizardmon- maybe sou-chan will get a ryu tsui sen

Midori-chan- this chap is for you. Thanks for all the help you have given me.

JML- as of now, I don't know.

Hatokirei- Oh no! Not the whip! Kenshin save me!

Marstanuki- I think a hickey is more like a dried blood.

Dementedchris, Raphie- I really wanted to use it so I made at chap.

Sakura Li, Shiari, Battousai Angel, Buuny, KuroNeko-Sama, Kamimura Kaoru- Thanks, next chap is on Friday.

Claria, Gypsy-chan, Ali-chan- Is this enough? ^_^

JK- I love rooftops, too but I can't climb ours. Hehehe. I do love the stars.

M@ry- I don't think Aoshi has much excuse to be to cold this time.

Aki, Susan- I want to take things really slow for now.

Special Thanks to Hana-chan for editing this.

Reviews, comments, suggestions, constructive criticisms, encouragements and the like are welcome! ^_^

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