Cover Girls

An alternate universe Rurouni Kenshin Fanfic

Chapter Nine

"More Than Ordinary"

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To Nigel….

There it was again…

Kaoru hated the tingling feeling she got at the thought of seeing Kenshin as much as she reveled in it. Sure, she'd had crushes before, but this feeling she had was way beyond any mere crush, she was sure. Crushes faded with time, with the realization of each new flaw, the attraction became weaker. However, with Himura Kenshin she found that this wasn't the case, every flaw stood out as a beauty mark on his soul, only proving to make the attraction stronger than ever before. Unconsciously, she had begun to crave his presence even more than the air she breathed.

Sighing she kicked her legs back and forth in the air as if to disperse the thoughts that threatened to overcrowd her mind, shifting her head slightly so that her hair fell across one side of her face and thusly, obscured her line of vision.

"Penny for your thoughts?" she heard a familiar voice say.

Flushing slightly, she managed to look up smilingly into her favorite pair of violet eyes. "That's not much of a viewer's fee," she quipped back while brushing the stray hairs back behind her ear with one hand, "Sounds kind of under priced to me."

Kenshin's eyes closed halfway as his smile widened a bit more. The winter wind had tousled her hair a bit and the frosty air had colored her cheeks a flattering shade of pink. The color contrasted greatly with her eyes, which seemed even brighter and bluer as a result.

"You're right koishii," he allowed himself to muse, "Your worth can't even begin to be measured..."

His own face reddened a bit at his private thoughts as he shrugged his shoulders, "You're right," he said, "I'd pay a lot more than that."

Kaoru cocked her head to the other side, lending her smile a more lopsided and coquettish look, "Would you now?" she asked as she took his hand and lifted herself off of the bench. "I'll hold you to that, Himura."

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As is the custom with every gentleman on a date, Kenshin took Kaoru to dinner at one of the nicer restaurants in the city. Afterward, since he didn't live to far away and the evening was still quite young, he invited his companion up to his little studio apartment for a cup of hot chocolate.

Kaoru herself found it both endearing and strange to see the man who had thrilled her when on stage wearing an apron over his navy blue shirt and dark slacks as he fixed their treat in his little kitchen.

Still wearing her bemused smile, she shifted her weight against the kitchen doorway so that her eyes could scan the rest of the apartment with unveiled interest. As she had already guessed, Kenshin was the orderly type, for the whole place gave the impression that it was regularly cleaned and well organized, especially for such a cozy space. Her eyes flicked briefly over the living room, where she noticed a piece of furniture that she hadn't seen at first glance.

Like a moth that is drawn to a flame, she left her post at the kitchen door and headed straight for it, her fingers gently coming in contact with the cool, smooth wood surface, caressing the grain as she would the skin of a newborn.

Without thinking, she had slid onto the bench and lifted the lid that had hidden the ebony and ivory keys from her view. Again she ran her hand lightly over each one, so gently that not a sound was made by her ministrations.

"I had no idea that you played, Kenshin." She said as she lifted her hand off of the keys.

Just then, the red head came in with two steaming cups of chocolate in his hands to find Kaoru seated before his departed mother's piano, her hand hovering over the keys as if afraid that the most delicate touch would cause the whole thing to crumble under her tiny hands.

With a knowing smile, he set both cups on the coffee table to cool off and took a seat next to Kaoru on the bench. "It was my mother's, " he explained, "As soon as I could sit upright for myself she  began teaching me the basics, so by the time I turned eight, I could play the Moonlight Sonata with my eyes closed."

Kaoru kept her gaze fixed on his face as he talked, understanding all to well the emotions which lay behind the bittersweet smile on his lips. At the back of her mind she could just barely hear the sound of her own mother's beloved violin, it's soft strains echoing throughout every corner of their house as she played the only way she knew how, with her whole heart.

Again, she reached out to the instrument, this time allowing her index finger to apply just enough pressure to form a single note that hung in the air long after the key was released.

"My mother played the piano too," she admitted softly, "The shinobouay…and the violin…that one was her favorite."

Kenshin raised his eyebrows slightly, "Wow," he said, genuinely impressed, "She must be some lady."

Kaoru looked up at him again briefly, a genuine smile on her face as she reached out to touch the keys again, this time with both hands. Adjusting her position on the bench she began to play the opening strains of "Fur Elise."

"She was," she corrected, her fingers never missing a beat. "My mother died four years ago."

The smile instantly melted off of Kenshin's face, "I…I'm sorry." he apologized softly.

Kaoru looked up briefly to flash him a reassuring smile before turning her attention to the keys once more, "She meant a lot to me and I still miss her a lot. We all do." Her fingers began to move more slowly, bringing the song to a close, " Still…" she admitted, "She was so special that I can't help but be grateful for the short time that I did have with her. "

In the silent moment that passed afterwards, a thousand emotions swirled in the depths of Kenshin's amethyst gaze, even as his eyes reflected the profile of the woman who sat beside him. How many times within the confines of his own mind had he had the same thoughts toward the memory of his own mother? The perfect simplicity with which Kaoru expressed that raging sea of emotion threatened to overwhelm him with a new swirl of feelings, all directed at the dark haired woman in his company.

Blushing slightly under the fall of her blue-black hair Kaoru ventured to break the thickened silence with the only neutral question she could think of.

"Do you like Vanessa Carlton?"

As she had hoped, Kenshin immediately blinked and uttered a single, equally neutral "Oro" that instantly caused the tension to dissipate.

With a smile that was equal parts satisfaction and relief, Kaoru reached out and touched the keys of the piano once more.

Just a day,
Just an ordinary day.
Just tryin to get by.
Just a boy,
Just an ordinary boy.
But he was looking towards the sky.
And as he asked if I would come along
I started to realize-
That everyday you find
Just what he's looking for,
Like a shooting star he shines.

He said take my hand,
Live while you can
Don't you see your dreams are right in the palm of your hand?

She sang with her eyes halfway closed and the sweetest smile playing across her face. Her fingers wandered almost instinctively over the keys as she became the image of her mother, playing with her whole heart.

And as he spoke, he spoke ordinary words
Although they did not feel
For I felt what I had not felt before
You'd swear those words could heal.
And I as looked up into those eyes
His vision borrows mine.
And to know he's no stranger,
For I feel I've held him for all of time.

And he said take my hand,
Live while you can
And if we walk now we will divide and conquer this land.
Don't you see your dreams are right in the palm of your hand?

Right in the palm of your hand.

Once again, Kenshin was lost in the world that Kaoru created from the power of her own voice. It took him beyond his motherless years, back to the place where he sat beside the slender red-haired woman who was at the very center of his existence, safe and loved within the melody of his own, personal, lullaby.

Please come with me,
See what I see.
Touch the stars for time will not flee.
Time will not flee.
Can you be?

Just a dream, just an ordinary dream.
As I wake in bed
And the boy, that boy, that ordinary boy.
Or was it all in my head?
Did he asked if I would come along
It all seemed so real.
But as I looked to the door,
I saw that boy standing there with a deal.
And he said he my take my hand,
Live while you can,
Don't you see your dreams are right in the palm of your hand
Right in the palm of your hand
Right in the palm of your hand

Kaoru's blush returned and her eyes opened a little wider as she felt Kenshin move closer to her. Still, she failed to hit a sour note as she returned to the place where she'd began.

Just a day, just an ordinary day
Jus tryin to get by.

Just a boy,
Just an ordinary boy.
But he was looking to the sky…

The last note was still trailing off of her lips as she turned to face him again. For a moment they just stared at one another, each afraid of saying the wrong thing at the right time, like a person holding his breath as to not scare away a songbird on his windowsill.

And then, at exactly the same moment, it occurred to them…

They didn't have to say anything at all.

To Kaoru, the sensation of Kenshin's lips on hers was the single, most complete feeling she had ever experienced. To him, her mouth was sweeter than anything else he had ever sampled. Her tongue swept boldly over his bottom lip, inviting his own to come out and play. Smiling a bit against her questing mouth, he obliged, deepening the long-awaited kiss.

Somewhere in the back of Kaoru's pleasure-muddled mind, a single thought took form that credited her a smile of her own.

"Definitely better than chocolate…"

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Author's Thanks:

You guys really are wonderful. Thank you all so very much for all your kind and comforting reviews and e-mails. Contrary to what most of you expressed, they did help me through these first few stages of the grieving process by making me feel that much less alone.

Even though my worries are far from over, everything has stopped threatening to suffocate me where I stand, shrinking back to their more bearable perspectives. All except of course, Nigel's (for that was his name) death, which still angers and saddens me a great deal. I found myself still refusing to believe it was true, even after viewing his body at the funeral. I refused to see any connection between that blue-tinged, somber face and the bright, healthy and handsome one that used to smile up at me from under his baseball cap. He was one of the few men who had secretly made a special place for himself within my heart. A bond that I wasn't aware of until I was crumpled on the floor next to the phone, crying for all I was worth.

I pray that none of you ever has to lose a friend this way, especially one who was as loyal and loving as Nigel. And I hope that there is a heaven, and I may become worthy of it, just so I might see him again someday.

Take care, Angel.

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