Hi ya! I had this chapter written a few weeks ago, but then all that business happened with FF.net. Finally, after about 2 months, you get Chapter 9! How 'bout them apples?!
MASSIVE OOCness from Kenshin. And I do mean MASSIVE. Just wanted to warn you! ^_^
Disclaimer : Not mine.
Kaoru…the Saiyan??
Chapter 9: Kenshin the Baka
Kaoru stood in Kenshin's room, waiting for him to speak. He motioned for her to sit but with that dress on, it would show more than she was comfortable with. She gave a short bark of laughter in her mind. I was just swinging my hips around like a whore and I worry about modesty NOW! She had no doubts about her performance before and while it was going on, but after the fact she wished for nothing more than to take some of it back. The words reflected her feelings exactly, but the motions were embarrassing to her in retrospect. Kaoru shook her head at Kenshin. "Sorry. I can't really sit in this dress." She gave a shy smile and Kenshin returned it.
"Okay, we can talk standing or you can change first. Whichever you prefer, Kaoru."
"We can stand, Kenshin. I'm still too wound up to sit anyway."
Kenshin's eyes softened as he looked at her. She was strikingly beautiful in that dress, but he couldn't tell her. There was a nagging fear in his mind and he needed to put her efforts for his affection on hold. He took a deep breath and steeled himself. "Kaoru, we need to put all of this to a stop for now. Your battle with Nakago will be difficult as it is. Building a relationship cannot be a priority right now."
Kaoru's eyes widened and her breaths grew short as she struggled against her oncoming tears. "Kenshin, I've waited and tried for so long to get you to notice me as something more than a friend. And now, it happens and you say we have to put a stop to it. I can't accept that and I won't."
Kenshin sighed. He knew this wouldn't be easy. He wished with everything he was, that he didn't have to do this, but Kaoru left him no options. "Why are you being so stubborn? You aren't the only one involved in this. Others are counting on you to defeat this monster and you're worried about some little crush you have on me? I have things to think about as well. Did you ever stop to consider that? Don't be so selfish."
Kaoru felt like she'd been slapped in the face. "How can you say such things? Of course I worry about all of the things that are happening. I'm scared out of my wits. I've been sheltered and protected for my entire life and now all of a sudden I'm supposed to fight some madman who, as I am now, could kill me with a simple flick of the wrist. I don't want to die without letting you know my feelings. Plus, if this is meant to be, we can work through this together while building our relationship." Kaoru smiled hopefully at Kenshin.
Kaoru, please don't make me do this. Please, just let it go. But, Kaoru wasn't about to back down and Kenshin knew it. He summoned all his willpower and did the unthinkable. The reversed-blade sword was pulled from the sheath and the dull edge placed against Kaoru's neck. Amber eyes glared at Kaoru and she began to tremble and choke on her sobs. "Listen, Kaoru. I already tried to be nice, but you won't listen. Maybe if you would stop thinking about yourself, you'd hear what people are saying. I never asked for your love and I never accepted it. Why don't you give it to someone
who actually wants to be with you?" Kenshin stepped back, sheathed his sword and swiftly left the room.
Kaoru slid down the wall she was backed against and fell into a heap on the floor. Her small frame shook with uncontrollable sobs and she couldn't comprehend anything for a while. Kenshin had placed himself against the wall right outside his door, listening to Kaoru. He wanted desperately to run in there, apologize and tell her he loved her over and over. The battle with Nakago kept surfacing in his mind. He didn't intend on doing that to Kaoru. But when she said he could kill her with a flick of the wrist, that was it. She needed to put her heart and soul into training and she couldn't do that if she was giving her heart to Kenshin. Kenshin's lip began to tremble as he listened to Kaoru sob and gasp for breath every now and then from crying so hard. He left the dojo before anyone could find out what was going on.
Kaoru couldn't stop crying. The harder she tried to stop, the harder she cried. She finally gave in and let all of her emotions from the past few months escape. She cried for her newfound identity, for all the injuries she received in training that she couldn't lament, for Yahiko leaving, for the future of Japan, for the fact that she had to kill, and she cried the most about her encounter with Kenshin just now. When she felt she could no longer cry, she picked herself up and tried to compose herself. She got her shaking down to a minimum and began to think. As she thought, her sorrow gave way to anger and her anger to rage. She began the deep breathing exercises Piccolo had taught her to calm down. She would just have to settle for civility with Kenshin. There was no way she could be friends with him for a while, not after what he just did to her. Kaoru came to the conclusion that she would focus entirely on training. She would become stronger, she would defeat Nakago, and she would treat Kenshin just as coldly as he treated her. To hell with civility. That baka's gone too far. She left Kenshin's room for her own and went to bed.
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During that whole ordeal, Misao and Aoshi just kept eyeing each other, too shy to make the first comment. Finally, Misao broke the silence. "So, Aoshi-sama, did you enjoy the performance?"
Aoshi smirked mentally. Aoshi-sama again, is it? The little flower must not be as confident as she seemed to be earlier. "It was very nice, Misao."
Misao's emotions were a mix of joy, disbelief and last but not least, anger. "I'm glad you liked it! Wait a minute. 'Nice?' All you can say is 'nice?' Aoshi, a bowl of miso or a cup of tea is 'nice.' I just sang THREE songs! You know how adamant I am about avoiding Jiya's singing parties and then I sing not one, not two, but three songs and all you can say is 'NICE?!'"
Aoshi calmly watched her rant with one raised eyebrow and a small smile on his face. He tuned out Misao and just sat watching her, lost in his own observations. Misao certainly gets prettier when she's angry. Her cheeks flush, her lips get redder and fuller, she tends to growl which shows off her perfect teeth. Her eyes shimmer with tears…wait a second. Tears? The alarm finally went off in Aoshi's mind and he began to scoot over to Misao. "Misao, please calm down. I didn't mean to upset you."
Hearing Aoshi's voice, Misao quit yelling and she blinked hard a few times so she wouldn't cry. "Misao, you know I'm not very good with words. I didn't know how much my comment would hurt you. I'm sorry. And if it makes you feel any better,
I avoid ALL of Jiya's parties, but I sang a song with you."
Aoshi had no idea why, but that comment set off a fresh wave of tears in Misao. Almost in a panic, he pulled Misao over into his lap and cuddled her. And when that action caused even MORE tears, the poor former okashira was ready to pull his hair out.
"Misao, I don't know what to do to help you!" He couldn't hide his panic and Misao began to laugh. She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest.
And now, the poor man thought Misao had lost her mind. Oh gods! I've driven her insane! Misao, I'm so sorry! Misao pulled back enough to look up at him.
She smiled a bright smile and giggled at his lost expression. "I was crying because I was so happy. You actually sang with me. That's something I've wanted to hear for a long time, you sing. I don't know why, it was just one of those things. I guess since you have such a nice speaking voice." Misao blushed when she said the word 'nice' remembering all the earlier trouble and Aoshi raised an eyebrow at her. She decided to push on and pretend she didn't notice it. "And then, you actually showed affection. I've wanted that for a long time, too." She ducked her head down to hide her blush and Aoshi tightened his hold on her. She snuggled into his chest and absent-mindedly began playing with the folds in his shirt.
A thought struck Aoshi and he spoke up. "Misao, what are your feelings for Trunks?"
Misao got a mischievous glint in her eye. "Well, he's a cute kid. Got his father's attitude though. Gotta watch out for that."
Aoshi growled slightly. "You know what I mean, Misao. The other Trunks."
Misao smiled slightly. "Trunks is a very good friend. He's helped me a lot with you actually. He provided moral support and all that flirting made me feel appreciated for once. It's not a big deal in his world to flirt like that. He didn't mean to be disrespectful in any way. But, that's as far as it goes. I'm not in love with him, if that's what you're asking."
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Just outside the shoji, Trunks pumped his fist in the air and smiled widely. Finally got your man, Misao. He turned one last glance to the closed door before heading to bed.
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Misao looked at Aoshi after she finished speaking and wanted to cry all over again. He was smiling. A true smile, not the fake ones he used at the Aoiya to make them leave him alone. She reached up hesitatingly to touch his cheek. Her hand traveled upwards to touch the small creases that formed by his eyes, and then drifted back downwards to his lips. She realized he was biting his lip, fighting against something. That small, vulnerable gesture made her insides melt and she pulled his head down and gave him a small, chaste kiss on one cheek, then the other, and gathered her courage to place one on his mouth.
Aoshi was trying to fight against the urge to kiss her, but she was making it very difficult. He returned her small kiss, but didn't deepen it. Not yet. Not all at once. We'll do this slowly. He stood up and placed her on the ground, then kissed her forehead.
Misao started to make a whining sound in protest, but Aoshi put a hand up to silence her. "Don't try to rush things, Misao. I still have a lot to sort out and I can't devote my whole
self to you just yet, but I can give you small pieces as I heal." Misao smiled widely at him.
"I won't rush you. But, you already know that my entire self has been given to you. Whenever you're ready, I'll be waiting. I love you." For the first time in her life, Misao didn't need to struggle with the words.
Aoshi returned her smile and smoothed some hair away from her forehead. "You do know that this makes sharing a room more difficult."
Misao giggled and headed toward their room they were sharing in the dojo. "Aoshi no hentai. Behave yourself."
Aoshi's eyes glinted playfully. "Oh, I can behave just fine. It's you I'm worried about behaving."
Misao blushed and gave Aoshi a half-hearted punch in the arm. "AOSHI!"
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Kenshin watched sadly as Kaoru powered up and swung at Goku again as he disappeared and reappeared in various places. "GOKU! You have that stupid speed of yours and it isn't fair to use it right now! I can't learn if you don't fight on my level for a while!"
Goku just grinned and kept on disappearing, but then he would reappear behind Kaoru every time. Kaoru lost her temper and turned to connect with Goku's jaw at precisely the moment he materialized behind her. "Serves you right, baka." Kaoru grew more ticked off when the punch seemed to have no effect and Goku grinned at her. "Damn you, Third Class!"
Goku stopped right where he was and Vegeta looked up from his meditation spot in surprise. "Princess, you just called him Third Class. Looks like you have more Saiyan nature in you than we thought." Vegeta closed his eyes and began to meditate again.
Kaoru resumed her sparring with Goku. She met him punch for punch, kick for kick through out the morning and by lunchtime, Kaoru was exhausted. As she picked at her lunch, Goku watched her. She was almost rabid today. Instead of just wanting to learn, she wanted to hurt someone. He was beginning to rethink his earlier decision on calling on some extra help for her training. But, as he looked from Kaoru to Kenshin, he realized what was going on. So, he refused her. Poor girl.
Kaoru didn't feel like eating. Last night still hurt terribly. She almost felt as if she was being ripped apart inside. Sitting there next to Kenshin made it even worse. She felt the sting of tears and made a hasty exit. "I'm not hungry. Excuse me."
Kenshin watched her leave and lowered his gaze back to his food, suddenly not hungry himself. Sano watched all of this with concern. "Hey, Kenshin. We need to talk."
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Kenshin and Sano sat by the river. "So, buddy, what's wrong? Why are you and Jouchan avoiding each other?"
Kenshin stiffened. He knew Sano wasn't one to beat around the bush and he knew his friend wasn't in the least bit stupid, but he hoped he wouldn't ask about this. "Well, Sano. It's quite a difficult story to tell. Sessha hurt Kaoru-dono's feelings and now…
I'm sure she hates me."
"Interesting story, now fill in the gaps. It isn't as cut and dry as that."
Kenshin sighed in defeat. "You won't leave it alone will you, Sano?"
"Not a chance, rurouni. Jouchan's important to me as well. Now start talking."
Kenshin told Sano the entire story. Even about when he pulled his sword on her.
Sano looked ready to kill Kenshin. "How could you do that to her?!"
"Sano, didn't you hear my reasons?! She has a huge battle coming up! If she doesn't concentrate heart and soul on that, she could lose!"
"And what if she loses anyway, Kenshin? What if Kaoru can't beat this Nakago guy? Then, you would've wasted what little time you have with her. You're so stupid sometimes! I'll have you know, if you weren't my friend, I would've killed you by now for doing that to her. But, I'll just let you off with this." Sano pulled back and punched Kenshin in the stomach as hard as he could and then elbowed him in the small of the back. He gave Kenshin a few minutes to compose himself and helped his friend up. "I should've left you here, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Besides, Jouchan would kill me if she found out what I just did. I'll tell you this, she may be furious with you right now, but she doesn't hate you. I don't think that's possible. She loves you too much."
Sano stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked away, leaving Kenshin to think.
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Back at the dojo, Misao and Kaoru were sitting in Kaoru's room. "He just makes me so mad, Misao. How could he do such a thing? I know he wouldn't have actually hurt me, but the fact that he pulled his sword makes me just want to…want to…ugh! I can't even think of what it makes me want to do!"
Misao smiled sympathetically. "He'll come around, Kaoru. I'm sure he's just worried about you and your upcoming fight. After that's over, I'm sure he'll come running back for your forgiveness."
Kaoru gave a small grin to the young ninja. "So, how did it work out for you?"
Misao gave an uncomfortable giggle. How could she tell Kaoru how wonderful it worked out for her, when her friend was so miserable? Kaoru noticed Misao's discomfort. "Misao, if it worked out for you, you can tell me. I won't be upset. At least one of us should have been rewarded for all our hard work."
Misao smiled widely. "We aren't rushing into anything, but he did kiss me. Just a little one, but a kiss all the same. And he smiled Kaoru! A true smile! He said he still needed to heal, but he can give himself to me little by little as he finds his answers." Misao was practically bouncing giddily.
Kaoru gave a true laugh. "I'm so happy for you, Misao!" She gave her friend a hug and then smiled devilishly. "So, was he a good kisser?"
Misao blushed bright red. "Kaoru no hentai." A slight pause. "But, yes he was." The two girls laughed heartily.
Aoshi smiled and blushed from outside the door. He had paused outside when he heard Kaoru's question. He shook his head slightly and continued on his way out to the temple.
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Kenshin was again watching as Kaoru sparred with Goku. He didn't notice Vegeta walking up to him until he spoke. "I heard the two of you talking last night, baka. A princess offers her love and you refuse." The prince turned to face the surprised wanderer. "There are no second chances with Saiyan royalty. I forbid you to be near her." Kenshin's eyes widened and a sudden panic swept through him. He had planned on keeping his distance, but to be forbidden to be near Kaoru was something completely different. The prince looked up to see the two sparring and continued thoughtfully. "I'll have her mate with Kakarott's oldest. He's a half-breed, but the child would be three-quarters Saiyan. Not bad."
Kenshin's ki skyrocketed but he remained silent. The change did not go unnoticed by Vegeta. Quite impressive for a human. Not such a weakling after all. He decided to push a bit further. "I despise weakling humans. I'm quite thankful you turned her down. Now, you're not even an option."
Kenshin pulled out his sword and pointed it at Vegeta's throat. "Let it be known that if you continue to push me, this battle will be your last." He stepped closer so the tip of the blade was piercing the first few layers of skin. Vegeta smirked and pushed the tip away so forcefully that the sword flew from Kenshin's grasp, flipped in the air, and Vegeta caught the hilt. He pointed it at Kenshin and spoke.
"You have it backward, weakling. Should we battle, it would be your last. If my sister wasn't so blindly in love with you, I would blast you to the next dimension here and now." He lowered the blade and tossed the sword back to Kenshin. "When I threatened to have her mate with Kakarott's oldest, your ki skyrocketed and gave you away. You love her too, you just can't admit it. Remember this, if you push her away too far, then when you're ready for a relationship, she may not return the feelings any longer."
Vegeta took off into the sky to find Piccolo and the younger ones to spar. Kenshin sat on the porch, lost in thought.
Aoshi sat next to him after returning from the temple. "Kamiya-san's training is quite intense."
Kenshin nodded mutely. At that moment, Misao came running from the dojo, Sano following. "Get back here, Weasel. You can't use kunai! It's not fair!"
Misao squealed happily when she saw Aoshi and turned to fling more kunai at Sano, effectively pinning him to the ground. She calmly walked up to Aoshi, ignoring Sano's yells to release him in the background.
"Are you finished meditating, Aoshi?"
"Yes, Misao."
She smiled at him and sat down on the porch next to him. She glared at Kenshin. "Baka, baka, baka."
Kenshin nodded sullenly. "So I've been told."
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Kaoru charged Goku again, hoping to land at least one good hit. The older Saiyan dodged, blocked, and countered everything she unleashed. Finally, it was time to let his plan to help her further along be known. He called a time out and Kaoru hovered in the air, arms crossed, waiting.
"Kaoru, you're improving drastically and coming along better than we had ever imagined. However, time is short and we need all the advantages we can get. So, I need to call on King Kai to help us."
"King Kai?" Kaoru raised an eyebrow at Goku.
"He's one of the four kais that watch over the universe. There's north, south, east and west kais. King Kai is the north kai that watches over our area of the universe. Then above them is the Grand Kai and above him, the Supreme Kai."
Kaoru nodded skeptically. "Alright, Goku. Ask for his help. I trust you."
Goku motioned for them to land and go inside. Then he called everyone to come into the dojo with them. Once everyone was gathered, he turned serious. "I need everyone to be here for Kaoru right now. She's going to need the support of her friends." With that being the only explanation he gave, he closed his eyes trying to contact King Kai telepathically.
Vegeta smirked. The baka actually has a good idea.
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A/N: Yep, stopping there. Don't worry, chapter 10 should be here soon. As long as ff.net stays up, you should get it by this weekend. It's written, I'm just polishing it up.
Finally, the asked for confrontation between Kenshin and Vegeta. I'm sorry it's not a huge all-out battle, but I can assure if they did have one, our little rurouni would be history. I'm toying with an idea for Misao to get more action in the story. I really like her character and want to get her more involved. We'll just see what happens! Anyway, please leave a review and let me know what you think! Hugs and kisses!
