Disclaimer: *Wandering around aimlessly* Huh? What?
Notes: All right! This is where we start to pick up, insert wild, weird humor along with serious situations, and take a longer time in updating… Waitaminute… okay, so scratch the first stuff. That's already happened. But I am taking longer to update. Sorry. I'm in school now—(YAY! What? You think it's weird that I'm happy? You try working full-time in a retail job for a year and not be happy about doing something else)—which means I have other, slightly more important things to do with my time. Only slightly. Although I'd rather do this. Okee dokee. On with the story:
Random Omake:
Kenshin: *painting away*
Katsu: What are you drawing, Kenshin?
Kenshin: Huh? *blinking dumbly* Oh! It's just—
Katsu et al: EH?!?!?!
Kenshin: *Smiling brightly* You like it? I call it…*Dramatic pause* the Mona Kaoru!
(If anyone has been keeping up with the anime and has watched that ridiculous episode with the psycho painter dude… yeah. Think that.)
Katsu: Erm… Fitz?
Fitz: What?
Katsu: Picasso drew in that style.
Fitz: Do I look like an avid follower of art to you?
Katsu: Uh… no. Not really. But the Mona Lisa was by Da—
Fitz: Oh, go away.
Right. So that was stupid. Don't let that be your impression of how this chapter will be, although this is a bit cliché and predictable as well. Lalalalala… this is a ploy to introduce another character. So there. (And random, nameless people I insert in here really are just random nameless people. Don't read into them because it will just frustrate you uselessly.)
Life's a Dance
Sano stared at the line in dismay. He offered a lopsided grin to the short boy beside him in apology.
"I knew I should have hit the bank yesterday," he muttered.
"This is going to take over twenty minutes," Kenshin decided, calmly studying the line of people with their checks and various banking materials. "Can't you just use the ATM and make your deposits later?"
"The point of depositing my check is so that I'll have money to take out," Sano grumbled. Kenshin smirked and shook his head.
"You've got a cell phone," Sano pointed out. "Call Jou-chan and Aoshi's place to tell them we'll be late."
"You know that I'm only allowed to use that phone for true emergencies," Kenshin frowned, shifting his pack on his shoulder. "There's a pay phone here. I'll call from there. You got a quarter at least?"
"I'm pinching pennies here, Kenshin," Sano complained, digging through his pockets uselessly. "Nothing but lint."
"Cheap," Kenshin muttered, searching for his own wallet as he walked across the bank to the pay phones. A woman entered through the doors just before he passed her, and she smiled pleasantly, nodding at him when their eyes met. Two men walked in right behind her, but they were not nearly so polite. Kenshin made a soft noise of protest as they jostled past him, shoulders jarring into his and his bag, pulling him around roughly. They passed, and he glared at their backs before continuing to the phone, complaining under his breath about rude people.
Across the bank, Sano frowned at the guys that had shoved past his friend in disapproval. Not wanting to lose his place in line, he kept his mouth shut, although he was itching to give those men an earful. Or at least 'accidentally' trip one of them up. The line shifted forward, and he lost track of the rude men. He glanced back at Kenshin and found himself chuckling at the sight of the boy crouched by the payphone, digging through his backpack in search of some spare change. Recalling the redhead's 'cheap' comment, he snorted and faced the tellers, hoping they would move more quickly. The one guy at the far station had been there for the better part of five minutes. Maybe he would finish soon.
"It's not like I'm not paying for the gas it takes to get us there," Sano mumbled, earning some strange glances from the people around him. He grinned at them and shrugged carelessly.
Kenshin smiled triumphantly when he finally produced his wallet. He offered his bag a mock glare, mentally comparing it to a woman's purse, before standing straight and lifting the phone from the receiver. Crinkling his nose at the price--they charged fifty cents for one local phone call for heaven's sake!--he shoved the proper change into the slot and dialed the Kamiya's phone number. Humming softly to himself, he listened to the phone ring.
Something strange was happening. Sano glanced around curiously, wondering what was out of place. A strange sort of tension rippled through the place, and he glanced at the door. Eyes roving, his frown deepened. The tellers had not called anyone for a couple of minutes. They seemed to be very busy doing nothing. Sano glanced back to the door. The guard that had been there before was gone. Coffee break?
Three men strode out into the large room.
Kenshin frowned, turning from the payphone to look into the bank, at the three men that moved into the room in a very businesslike manner. And who could fail to notice the pistols, shotguns, and semiautomatic revolvers that they carried with them? One of the men turned and stared right at him, just as he heard Kaoru's voice on the other end of the line pick up with a cheerful, "Hello?"
The man lifted his arm, the revolver pointed directly toward Kenshin, and started walking toward the phones. He mouthed a wide, 'hang up!' and pantomimed hanging up a phone. Kenshin stared at him blankly, blinking when he heard Kaoru asking hesitantly, "Hello?"
"We're going to be late," he said calmly into the phone.
"Kenshin?"
"Long lines," he continued monotonously.
"How long?" Kaoru asked.
The man with the gun was next to him then, and Kenshin flinched and closed his eyes as he felt the hard barrel of the weapon against his cheek. By some miracle he kept his voice steady.
"Really long," he replied. "We'll be really late."
"Kenshin, are you okay? You sound funny."
"Fine. I'll call you later."
He let the man pull the phone from his hand and hang it up. Opening his eyes again, he stared at the man, taking in the dark, cropped hair, cool blue eyes, and chiseled features. Beneath his long trench coat was the well-muscled body of an athlete, broad shoulders and over six feet in height. The man was thirty to thirty-five years at most.
"Good boy," the man smiled icily. Kenshin shifted, as if to reach for his bag, but the gun jumped slightly, and he froze. "Leave the bag, kid. You with your parents?"
"No."
"A friend?"
Not batting an eyelid, Kenshin lied smoothly.
"No."
"Then move over to the lineup," the man ordered, cocking his weapon to the side sharply. Kenshin followed the movement, walking cautiously around the man who had the whole of his attention on him. He barely glanced at Sano, instead making a beeline toward the children who were sobbing and clinging to their mother fearfully. Purposefully ignoring the bank robbers--five of them to his count--he sat down next to the mother with her two children. Without asking, he reached out and lifted the younger of the two, a girl of no more than three, and set her in his lap. Startled, the toddler just stared at him for a moment before her chin began to quiver again.
"Hi," Kenshin whispered with a gentle smile. "I'm Kenshin. What's your name?"
"S-Suzume," she whispered back.
"Nice to meet you, Suzume," Kenshin glanced at the robbers again. One of the men was still glaring at him, obviously wanting to make him be quiet but finding no reason to do it. Looking back into the girl's pudgy face, he smiled more brightly. "Is that your sister?"
"Ayame," Suzume informed him, nodding solemnly.
"Your mom has to take care of Ayame now, Suzume," Kenshin tapped her nose lightly. "And I need a friend right now, so will you be my friend until we get to leave?"
Giggling softly, Suzume nodded, then caught hold of his hair. Kenshin winced, his smile growing strained. He adjusted his arms around the girl to hug her lightly. Liking that game, Suzume cuddled up against his chest, clinging to the soft fabric of his sweatshirt tightly. Smiling indulgently, Kenshin glanced over to the mother. The woman mouthed a silent 'thank you' and hugged her other daughter protectively.
"Ladies and gentlemen," a robber called over the din of crying, whimpering, and whispering hostages. He stood flanked by two other men, shotguns aimed toward the floor, not overtly threatening, but presenting a clear warning. This man held the revolver, cradled easily in one hand, and he appeared to be the leader of the small group. "As you can see, this is a bank robbery. If everyone would please remain quiet and cooperative, no one needs to get hurt. That said, let's get down to business."
The other two men detached themselves from him, circling out and toward the group. It intimidated a few of the hostages, and the woman beside Kenshin started crying. He adjusted Suzume in his lap so that the girl would not see her mother break down.
"If you have any cell phones, pagers, knives, guns, or other weapons, please place them on the floor in front of you," the leader droned. "Do not try to resist, or you will be shot. No first and second warnings. Second, slide the weapons and/or cell phones or pagers toward me."
Mechanically, the hostages did as they were told. Not surprisingly, only cell phones and one pager were pushed out. If anyone was carrying a weapon, he or she was not about to admit it.
The rest of the robbery was relatively dull. Separated from Kenshin and uncertain as to why the boy had claimed to be alone, Sano sat where he had last been in line. His hand was going numb from the grip the woman beside him had on it. At least she was not in hysterics. That he would not have been able to handle. He was jumpy enough as it was, in a bank robbery, trying to offer comfort to a woman he had not met before that day, watching Kenshin across the room, without having a weeping woman on his hands.
Why would he pretend he was alone? Sano turned the question over in his head, using it as an anchor to keep himself calm. He studied his friend, unable to understand how Kenshin managed to act as if he was in the middle of a park rather than the stressful situation he was in. At the moment, he was combing his fingers through that girl's hair, tugging her wispy locks into cute little pigtails. She seemed to be enjoying the attention, rocking contentedly in his lap as his hands glided over her head.
What difference does it make whether or not he came to the bank with his friend?
It was at that moment that the cell phone rang. Everyone jumped, one woman going so far as to shriek in alarm. Two of the robbers, one of them being the leader, whirled toward the sound, guns automatically aimed toward the offending sound. They focused on the source, a backpack near the payphones, and relaxed, lowering their weapons.
"Where'd the bag come from?" one man asked.
"I made a kid leave it there earlier," the leader replied matter-of-factly. "Go shut off that phone."
Sano looked back at Kenshin as the man moved toward the pack. The boy was still tugging lightly on the little girl's hair, but his eyes were focused solely on the man now digging through his bag. The girl looked at him questioningly, and he smiled at her, eyes still darting back to the payphones.
"Geez," the robber started yanking things out of the bag and depositing them on the floor. A wallet, a pack of tissues, a tightly folded poncho, a paper bag--the contents of which were dumped on the floor: a sandwich, carrots, an apple, and some napkins--a bottle of prescription pills, another bottle of pills, the cell phone-- "Damn. He's packing for camping." The man eyed the pill bottles, picked one up, and shook it. It rattled loudly. "He's got a pharmacy in here."
Kenshin was frowning now, no longer playing with the little girl. She was tugging on his ponytail expectantly, but he just hushed her and let her continue to play with and rat the ends of his long hair. Sano knew his friend was irritated at having his carefully packed belongings rifled through. He caught the slight edge of embarrassment in the boy's eyes when the man started waving around his medication so carelessly.
"What's this?" the man held up a small rectangular, white container. He shook it like one would shake a present, hoping to find a clue of what was inside. Kenshin started, mouth opening and a hand reaching out as if to stop the man though he was too far away. The sharp eyes of the leader did not miss this, and the man looked at the redhead coldly.
"What's in the box, kid?"
Startled, Kenshin met the man's icy gaze. He glanced away quickly, chewing on his lip anxiously.
"It's breakable," he muttered.
The other man had opened the box by this point and was rolling the small glass bottle between his fingers lightly, watching the clearish liquid swish around inside. He tossed the plastic-sealed syringe up and caught it easily.
"You a diabetic, kid?" the leader asked, frowning in disapproval, as if Kenshin would be to blame for the disease if that were the case.
"No," Kenshin frowned back at him, mirroring the man's expression.
"What's the needle for?" the other man wondered, chuckling loudly. "Getting doped up for the weekend?"
Kenshin glared at the man angrily. Moving stiffly, he lifted Suzume from his lap and nudged her toward her mother.
"What is it, kid?" the leader demanded.
"Read the label," Kenshin replied through clenched teeth.
"I can't pronounce this chemical bullshit," the robber snorted.
"That's not my fault," Kenshin retorted boldly.
"Enough!" the leader snapped, glaring at both of them. His partner shrugged and started digging through Kenshin's belongings again. Deciding the man was staying out of trouble, the leader looked back at Kenshin. "Do you need the stuff anytime soon, kid?" Kenshin's confusion was evident in his blank stare, and the man tapped loudly on the surface of the desk in the middle of the room. "Are you going to go into cardiac arrest if you don't have that medicine anytime soon?"
Comprehension dawning in Kenshin's eyes, he shook his head slowly. The leader was obviously relieved.
"Good," he glanced toward the door. Outside, police cars had collected across the street, flashing lights unpleasant to look upon. A crowd was gathering, and there were more officers devoted to keeping the civilians out of the way than there were to bring the bank robbers down. "Get up, kid."
Moving slowly, Kenshin disentangled his fingers from Suzume's grasping hands and stood up. Some indecipherable emotion slid behind his eyes when the revolver swung up to point at his heart, and he froze where he stood. Sano noticed this, but the leader did not. He just motioned for Kenshin to move forward.
"Stop there."
Kenshin stopped and stood rigidly near the middle of the room. The leader studied him coolly.
"What's your name, kid?"
"Kenshin."
"Strange name."
Kenshin shrugged apathetically.
"Do you know why all those squad cars are lined up out there like that, Kenshin?" Kenshin followed the man's sweeping gesture toward the street, and he studied the row of cars.
"Because you're robbing this bank," he said cautiously.
"In part," the leader glanced toward the teller desks where the other two members of his team were still busy locking down the job. "They are there for the cops to hide behind if we start a shoot-out with them."
Opting to remain silent, Kenshin looked back at the man calmly.
"But they haven't shot at us yet, have they, Kenshin?" the leader pointed out.
A shake of the head was the response he received.
"Do you know why not?"
"There are too many of you," Kenshin replied softly.
The response made the leader blink in surprise. He paused for a moment, just staring at the short redhead before him curiously.
"Now how would a boy like you know something like that?" he wondered.
Kenshin shrugged again.
"Your daddy a police officer, Kenshin?"
"No, he was not."
"Was?" Kenshin glared at the man icily, refusing to offer further explanation. Not inclined to force answers out of a teenager by pressing the issue, the bank robber smiled darkly and tried a different approach. "Your mother dead too?"
Kenshin's eyes narrowed slightly in a flinch. He remained silent, but the look in his eyes told of his displeasure in the line of questioning. Sano could not keep quiet anymore.
"Leave him alone!"
The tall boy gulped as two shotguns swung around to point at him. The woman beside him quickly released his hand, scooting away from him. He did not blame her. Just because he had to be all stupidly brave and draw attention to himself did not mean she wanted to.
Despite the firearms aimed toward his being, Sano's gaze was locked with Kenshin's. He suddenly understood the wisdom behind denying any association with anyone else in the room. By being related to or associated with someone else, he would automatically draw that person into the spotlight by admitting it. Kenshin had been trying to protect Sano by pretending that they were complete strangers. If they came out of the situation alive, Sano intended to give the boy a piece of his mind about that--just before thanking him for his consideration.
The leader smirked, then glanced over toward the tellers again.
"Time?!" he demanded.
"Seven minutes at most!" came the disembodied response.
"Are we going to take a kid for a hostage?" one of the other robbers asked, a bit leery at the thought.
"I don't think this one will give us too many problems," the leader decided, looking at Kenshin with a slight smirk. "Will you, Kenshin?"
Kenshin tore his gaze away from Sano to look at the man questioning him. Face utterly blank, he did not reply. The leader glanced at Sano and back to Kenshin.
"That your friend, Kenshin?"
Still silent, Kenshin's eyes dropped to the gun held so innocuously in the man's hand. He stared at it for a few seconds, shook his head, and looked back up to the leader. The man was watching him with a guarded expression, wary of this strange boy. He was growing impatient.
"Well?" he snapped. "Do you know him?"
Flinching slightly, Kenshin shook his head again. He focused on the table beside him, staring blankly at the pen, a little chain attaching it to the countertop.
"You wouldn't be lying to me, would you, Kenshin?"
Another shake of the head was his response. The leader did not like this.
"But for that slight rattle, I can't hear a shaking head," the man said irately.
Kenshin's eyes jumped back up to the man, flashing in irritation. Thinking he had the boy off balance, the leader just smirked down at him.
"You just behave yourself, and you'll live to see another day," he said darkly.
Neither man nor boy had the chance to continue further. A soft 'thunk' and loud cursing rose behind the leader, causing both to look toward the phones. The robber who had been going through Kenshin's bag was groping about his side frantically.
"What the--!" the man stared at a small object, clutched loosely between his fingers. It glinted in the lights. "A needle?"
Snorting impatiently, the leader turned back to Kenshin. He startled. The boy was gone. During his distraction, Kenshin had ducked around the large island table and dropped to his hands and knees behind it. He was currently pressed up to the side of the thing, eyes squeezed shut, making a valiant effort to ignore the third robber who walked toward him.
The man by the phones collapsed. Both the leader and the third man turned toward him again.
"What the hell is going on here?!" the leader demanded, gun swinging around over the hostages. Men and women cried out fearfully.
The third man dropped. Kenshin shoved himself back into the side of the counter violently to avoid having the man fall on him. The entire island rocked from the force, but the leader had seen his other partner go down and did not make the connection between Kenshin and the heavy table. He cursed angrily and shouted out to the other two men, supposedly still in the back.
"Get your asses out here! Something's happening!"
"I'm afraid the other two men are sleeping soundly now."
Had Sano not been so terrified, he would have been drooling. The woman who had spoken appeared in the teller window, the gun in her hand never wavering as she climbed smoothly over the counter. The weapon was aimed directly toward the only man left standing. But Sano was not looking at the gun so much as he was the woman's legs. There was very little coherent thought going through his head.
Whoa!
She was hot. Her leather pants looked like they had been poured onto her. He could see her bra through that sheer black shirt, and her long, long black hair was twisted back into a simple ponytail near the base of her neck. Those eyes, so piercing and cold, were a deep brown, shading toward black. Her slim, shapely form was encased in a lot of black, and Sano could not complain. Lips painted bold red twisted into a rueful grimace, the only sign of expression on her pretty face.
"Forget your hostage and your comrades and surrender quietly," she ordered.
"Who the hell are you?" the leader demanded. "You're not a cop!"
"It doesn't matter," she replied icily. "Do what I say and be happy I stopped you before worse could happen."
"What are you talking about?!" the man glared at her. "What are you in this for?"
"I'm in it for the boy you just tried to take hostage," the woman smiled. "Now put away your gun, or I will loose him on you. Let me assure you, I am much more kind than he is."
"Like hell--" The leader's arm twitched to swing up the gun he still held. The woman squeezed the trigger of her own gun, and he fell before he could move his hand past his hip. The strange woman shook her head and quietly surveyed the bank lobby. The patrons still huddled fearfully near the teller counters, and the three robbers were all out cold--two near the center desk, the other by the pay phones. And of course, there was Kenshin, still crouched against the side of the island desk. His wide eyes were focused on the woman, shock plain on his face. She smiled coolly.
"Hello, boy," her voice lightened to something less threatening. "Are you okay?"
"T-Tomoe..." he whispered, disbelief riding in his words. "But how--?"
Sano wanted to go to his friend, but he was not certain how that woman would react. Kenshin's wide, terrified eyes nearly convinced him to do it regardless. Whoever this woman was, he did not think Kenshin liked her presence. It was apparent in the way Kenshin scrambled to his feet as the woman moved forward. The poor kid must have been about pissing in his pants by this point. Sano felt terribly helpless. This lady was going to shoot Kenshin with that gun of hers, and he was unable to stop it.
He did not expect Kenshin to throw himself into the woman's arms. No, Sano certainly had not anticipated the sight of his friend flinging his arms around her neck and meeting her kiss halfway. It looked a bit odd, considering the woman must have had seven or eight years on him, not to mention about five inches with those heels. If he was any judge of passionate kisses, he'd say he just found the source of Kenshin's lost virginity.
A lone tear rolled down Kenshin's cheek, and he looked up at the woman in awe.
"My god, Tomoe!" he searched her face, still not quite believing it was her. "What are you doing here?"
"Would you believe me if I said I missed you?" she smirked.
"Not for an instant."
"Then I fear you'll be left with a lie you don't believe," to his dismay, she slipped free of his embrace. "Because I have to leave. Take care, honey. I promise this is not the last you'll see of me."
"Wait--!" Kenshin's plea was not answered as she disappeared through the side door. Despite his obvious desire for her to remain, he made no effort to follow her. He stood in the middle of the lobby, an unconscious robber near his feet, tormented eyes focused on the door that closed slowly behind the woman.
Understanding the danger to be past, Sano had risen and walked slowly toward his friend.
"Kenshin..." he murmured cautiously, not wanting to startle the troubled boy. For all he knew, his friend had switched personalities during the trauma of the robbery. But Kenshin just stared at that door for a long time. "Kenshin, you okay?" The police were coming. He could see them running across the street to the bank steps. They would arrive any second.
"Do you think we can still go to the fair today?" Kenshin asked abruptly.
Sano grinned and draped an arm over the smaller boy's shoulders. Kenshin caught the hand that dangled by his arm and twined his fingers through Sano's.
"Yeah, Kenshin," Sano muttered. "I'll even take you on the Sky Tram."
The police burst through the front doors.
^_^
Notes: Oooookay, so this is set sometime in the late, late winter, reeeeeeally early spring. I don't know when the fairs start for everyone else, but OUR state fair started in August and ended on Labor Day. Yeah. So… shall we call it a plot hole and leave it at that? Sounds good to me. Review, pleeeeeeease! I love you all. Well… I like you a lot. A lot, a lot. *People run screaming from a lovesick Fitz*
Fitz: Wait! Come baaaaack!… *badly imitating a hoarse voice* There's a boat, Jack.
Kenshin: That's a quote from something.
Fitz: *Patting Kenshin on the head* Good boy, Kenshin.
Kenshin: *Scowl*
Sano: *Runs to the bow of a ship that appeared out of nowhere* I'm the king of the wooooorrrrrrrrrrrrld!
Reviewers: Hi! *Waves* Remember? You're down here now. Did you think I'd forgotten? Do you want me not to do this anymore? Let me know.
Jason M. Lee: I agree with you on the Battousai thing. I've altered a few things for my needs in this story, though. I would tell you more, and try to justify myself, but that would make for less surprises later on, so I think I'll leave that sit for now.
nemo: Heeeheeheeee! Raspberry on FF.net, apparently. But I got your review, even if you did have to email it to me. Yeah, so I suppose that track thing will just be another strange plot hole. Just like the fair! Thank you, I am the master of mix-ups. Now, I must go change the year of their graduation so that they have not graduated before Shrek (and the other movies I mention) was released.
Vesca: Thank you. I wasn't sure if that chapter would really be appreciated, what with the conversation between two men we know nothing about. I'm glad I made you happy with it.
Clarus: I really want to know that too. Could you tell me? (I'm kidding.) Wait a few chapters. It'll be explained… sort of. I kind of leave it like they do in the anime—minus the whole Revenge Arc thing—and let you know something happened, but I don't go into all sorts of details. That would make for another story entirely.
tenshineko er… twice…wow, make that three times: Eeeeheeeheeehee! Your review made me laugh out loud. (And it was electric blue) As far as the sleeping arrangements… well, I tried to keep the boys/girls separate, but that chapter was an exception. And as far as the Rurouni/Battousai thing… deeeeeeeep. Okay, let's see… I hate to say too much about Battousai, so I won't. As for Rurouni… it's just as I portrayed him. He's protective to the point where he would resort to extreme violence—short of killing. Like Kenshin in the anime/manga. Aaaaand… *Holds out a pretend cookie* You won! Yay for tenshineko! Tenshineko is a wonderful, intelligent, perceptive reviewer! There. Your praises and pretend cookie. Don't say I never gave you anything. (ACK! Double negative!)
mae: Thank you! I'm going to check that site out sometime. *making mental note… Go… check… manga… on… blahblahblah site…*
marstanuki: Perhaps, no real deep relationships yet, and YAY! I'm so happy! In that order.
Opposite: Ahhh… that was two questions. Of course, Battousai will appear. I could not write this story, point him out, and then never put him in. Well, I could, but that would be mean, and kind of disappointing.
Battousai: Wahoooo! I exist!
Kenshin: Sure, you do. Go away.
Battousai: Okay.
Yeah… something like that. And that second question (We'll say it was just an extension of the first to hold by your 'one question' thing)… I'm not telling! Eeeeheeeheeeheeeee! Um… sorry. But have fun cuddling Soujiro.
Koneko-chan: Glad you liked… both the chapter and that brownie. I'll give you the recipe sometime. Note… give Koneko-chan recipe for MPD… waitaminute… brownie. Get the recipe for the brownies.
Hitokiri Gentatsu: Hmmmm… you're getting ahead of me. Wait awhile… I'll get there. I promise! ^_~
Oooookay… these have gotten very loooooong. I think I'll have to cut back next chapter. Sorry if that disappoints anyone. You're welcome to all of those who are doing a little happy dance right now.