DISCLAIMER: Rurouni Kenshin and Rurouni Kenshin characters are exclusively owned by Watsuki Nobuhiro, Shueisha, Sony Entertainment, Jump Comics and associated parties. Please note, this is purely fiction and for entertainment purposes only. This story is not meant for sale or profit.


Author's Notes: This is my first Alternate Universe Fanfic about Kenshin and Kaoru falling in love during modern times. It's not your typical love story and it is OOC. (Drama/Angst/Romance) Fatal Love Fanfiction by Gypsy-chan Enjoy!

Please Note: This story was not written to offend those in the medical profession or in the law enforcement field. It was written from my over-active imagination. The characters, the characters in various professional capacities and the events in this story should not be taken literal in anyway. OOCness and unethical practices will prevail throughout this story. Thank you and Enjoy! ^_^



FATAL LOVE
Part Fifteen



"Cancel everything and then call Dr. Choshi and ask him to cover for me during my absence. I'll contact him later," she answered as she continued down the corridor.

Yuri was perplexed by the whole scene that had taken place before her. She then shrugged her shoulders and began doing as Kaoru had instructed her to do.

********************************

Later that evening, a depressed Kaoru was sitting in a booth at the Akabeko sipping on her second martini. This one had a twist of lemon in it. Tae came over and sat next to her friend.

"Hey, what's with the long face? This is suppose to be a happy occasion. I asked you to come and help celebrate my becoming manager of my sister's restaurant. I can't have you sitting here with a long face on the first night of new management."

"I'm sorry Tae, it's just that..."

Sano and Megumi appeared causing Kaoru to trail off in her sentence.

"Nice place Tae," said Megumi as she slid into the booth next to Kaoru.

"Yeah," replied Sano as he looked around the restaurant. "I like it. If you need security, I'm your man. And don't worry about paying me, I'll just eat for free."

Tae smiled and replied, "No thanks, you'll probably eat me out of business."

Megumi giggled.

"Aw come on Tae, you know you need me," he replied while putting his arm around her shoulder. "I can beat off all those guys who'll be trying to hit on a pretty business woman like you."

"Oh Sanosuke, you're such a big flirt," blushed Tae. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Give me the job," he smiled.

"Alright, but try not to eat all my profits," she smiled back at him in return.

Sano looked into the booth and saw Kaoru sitting quitely sipping a drink.

"Hey, what's up doc?"

"Listen you big jerk, I'm not in the mood for your foolishness," she replied before taking another sip of her drink.

Tae and Sano sat down. They all looked at Kaoru but remained silent. Finally Sano spoke up.

"I heard about Kenshin being denied parole and transferred to Cell Block D." He looked toward Kaoru and said, "I know how hard you tried to get Kenshin out of that rat hole. I'm sorry things didn't work out."

"Oh my god," gasped Megumi. "Kenshin's been denied parole? Why didn't you tell me about that you idiot!" she exclaimed while whacking him on the shoulder.

"Hey that hurts," he replied as he rubbed his shoulder. "I just found out today."

Megumi lowered her head as she thought of Kenshin. "Why did he get transferred over there? Cell Block D is the worst section of the whole prison. Poor Kenshin."

Tae put her arm around her depressed friend trying to console her.

"Kaoru, I'm so sorry to hear what happened to Mr. Himura. Like Sanosuke said, you've worked so hard trying to help him. It's not fair that he be denied parole again and then thrown in some violent area."

"Well Kenshin is not the only one affected," replied Sano. "Everything has changed since that new warden took over. For some reason, I don't trust him. Maybe its because he has some shifty looking eyes."

"Oh don't be so foolish. A person shouldn't be judged by his eyes only," responded Megumi.

"I know what I'm talking about Megumi. Gorou's been making some weird changes in security procedures every since he took over for old man Matsushita."

"Yes it's true. That's why I quit," sighed Tae. "Warden Gorou also made changes in the way I ran the cafeteria. He had the nerve to cancel my orders from the food vendor I always used and told me to order from some other vendor I've never heard of. The quality of food wasn't the same. He also reassigned some of my staff members into another part of the prison. He replaced my former staff with people who didn't even know how to cook."

"That's when I decided to quit. My sister has been trying to get me to take full ownership of the Akabeko for a while now. I always helped her during the evenings and on weekends. I guess it was a matter of time before I decided to take over. It was getting pretty hard on Sae running two restaurants. Now she can spend more time with her husband and their younger daughter Marimo. They live in Kyoto where Sae owns her other restuarant called the Shirobeko."

Suddenly Tsubame walked up.

"Excuse me Aunt Tae, but you're needed at the front."

"Thank you Tsubame," replied Tae as she stood. "Everyone this is my niece. Her name is Tsubame. She is my sister Sae's teenaged daughter. Tsubame is going to be living with me. She'll also be helping out with the restaurant."

Tsubame bowed to everyone. Sano looked at her and replied, "She's a real cutie."

Tsubame blushed feverishly.

"Don't mind him Tsubame, he flirts with everyone," replied Megumi as she whacked Sano on the shoulder.

"Hey! What'd you do that for?"

Tae, Megumi and Tsubame giggled. Then Tae and Tsubame left.

Megumi turned to Kaoru and said, "Please don't tell anyone but, I've started interviewing for another job. I don't like this new warden either. He's changed the procedures in the infirmary too. From the way we ordered supplies all the way to how we treat the patients. He told us not to spend extra time treating the prisoners on death row. He said that since they were going to be executed, it wouldn't make a difference."

"Something is going on around there and I'm going to find out what it is," replied Kaoru as she pounded her fist upon the table. "The first thing I got to do is get to Mr. Himura."

"I've think you've had too many drinks little missy," responded Sano while popping a couple of pretzels in his mouth. "Only certain guards and hardened criminals are allowed in that rough section."

"Then I'll become a hardened criminal."

Sano and Megumi looked at each other and then back at Kaoru. They burst out in laughter.

"Now I know she's drunk," chuckled Sano before guzzling down the rest of his beer.

Kaoru glanced over to Megumi and saw her still snickering. She frowned at them and stated,

"I'm serious! I'm going to get some prison clothes and sneak into Cell Block D and speak with Mr. Himura."

They both stopped laughing after seeing the determined look on her face.

"Whoa! Slow down doc, you can't just barge in there wearing prison clothes and expect them to believe you're some kind of hardened criminal. Those guys will eat you alive."

Megumi gave her a worried look before saying, "I agree with Sanosuke. I know you're concerned about Kenshin that same as we are. But I think you should think this thing through first. Do you really want to risk your job and your career over this?"

Kaoru looked directly into Megumi's eyes and answered, "Yes. I will risk everything to save Mr. Himura. That poor man has suffered enough in life. When will he ever get a break. I honestly believe that Warden Gorou has put Mr. Himura in that section against his will. When we last spoke, I could sense that Mr. Himura was hiding something. I could see the pain in his eyes."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Kaoru looked over to Sano and nodded yes.

He smirked at her before saying, "I guess love and selfishness really goes hand in hand."

Kaoru balled up her fist and punched him as hard as she could on his shoulder and yelled,

"You big dumb jerk! What does love have to do with this! I'm talking about saving a person's life!"

"Hey! Lower your voice Kaoru, you're attracting attention," whispered Megumi as she looked around her.

Kaoru covered her mouth and muttered, "Sorry, it's just that he got me so angry."

"You got a pretty mean punch there doc," smirked Sano. "I think you'll make a really good hardened criminal."

"Oh shut up you idiot and let's help Kaoru plan out her strategy," replied Megumi

Kaoru's eyes widened at Megumi. "You don't have to do this. I don't want you two to get into trouble."

"I stay in trouble," quipped Sano.

"You got that right," teased Megumi.

Sano narrowed his eyes at her before saying, "So, this is what I think we should do....."

Around 5:00am the next morning, Kenshin was startled out of his sleep by the rattling of keys. He lifted his head slightly and saw a guard unlocking his cell. The guard shoved in a prisoner causing the prisoner to fall to the floor.

The prisoner immediately jumped up and rushed to the cell gate. "I'll kill you for that!" replied the prisoner through grinded teeth.

The guard slipped his hands through the bars and pulled the prisoner against it saying, "Listen you piece of scum, you better calm down or else!"

The prisoner whispered, "Not so tight you idiot, you're choking me!"

The guarded whispered back, "Sorry, but I have to make this look good. Now hurry up and do what you came here to do. I got to get you out of here before the day shift starts."

He shoved the prisoner back into the cell causing the prisoner to fall to the floor again. The guard turned and left. Kenshin cast his eyes down toward the prisoner on the floor. The prisoner had short black hair and green eyes. The prisoner looked up at Kenshin, took off the short wig and whispered, "Mr. Himura, it's me, Dr. Kamiya."

Kenshin eyes widened as he whispered back, "Dr. Kamiya?"

Suddenly, a large black rat scurried across the floor. Kaoru's eyes widened in horror upon catching sight of the rat. A small yelp escaped her lips. Kenshin immediately rushed over and covered her mouth with the palm of his hand.

The sound of footsteps were heard coming into their direction. Kenshin quickly grabbed her up by the waist and put her upon his bed. He then whispered to her, "Flattened yourself against the wall. I'll spread the blanket over you to keep you hidden from the guard."

Kaoru obediently did as he instructed. After covering her with the blanket he whispered again, "No matter what happens, stay here and don't move. I promise to protect you Dr. Kamiya." Kaoru nodded and mouthed the words, "Thank you," as he pulled the blanket over her face.

Kenshin decided to stay on the outside of the blanket, using the back of his body to cover hers completely. He was hoping this would keep Kaoru hidden from the guard. The guard flashed a light into the cell shining it on Kenshin's face.

"What's going on in there?"

"Nothing."

"I thought I heard some noise coming out of your cell."

"Just a rat," answered Kenshin. "It caught me by surprise."

The guard took his flashlight and shined it briefly over Kenshin's bed and then througout the cell. He heard some scratching noises. He flashed his light into the direction of the noise and saw the long tail of a large black rat. It was burrowing it's way into the next cell.

The guard flashed the light back into Kenshin's face and remarked, "He's gone now. So shut up and get back to sleep."

Kenshin nodded in response. The guard turned his back and continued his watch down the corridor.