Standard Disclaimers Apply. The rights to Rurouni Kenshin are exclusively owned by Watsuki Nobuhiro, Sony Entertainment, Shueisha, Jump Comics and other associated groups. Do not sue!!! I am writing this to satiate my urge to write.
Lie to MeChapter Eleven: Lies Revealed
~~~~~~
[Megumi]
Why was I feeling like this towards that crude rooster-head? Why did I kiss him that way last night? Why was my guilt bothering me? Why?
These questions had been rattling my head ever since we had that date and ever since we shared that kiss.
What's wrong with me?
I was looking at myself in the mirror but somehow I couldn't recognize myself. I wasn't the respectable doctor I used to be… I felt dirty.
Dirty with guilt.
"Fox, you ready?"
"Hmmm…" I turned around absent-mindedly, allowing his words to sink in.
"Well, I scheduled an advance audition for you since… well, you said that your uncle was sick and I thought that maybe he didn't have enough time left anymore…" he finished softly as he scratched his head in uncertainty.
"Sano…" I began, my eyes widening.
Just then, he waved his hands in front of him, saying defensively, "Sorry about that what I meant to say was ano… if Aoshi, the director, likes your performance, the role is already yours."
What had I gotten myself into?
I sat down on the bench, motioning him to sit beside me as I sighed, "Sano, we need to talk."
He furrowed his eyebrows and asked worriedly, "Is there anything wrong?"
"It's about my so-called uncle."
He immediately placed his hand on my shoulder, gasping, "Chikuso! Is he dead?"
I rolled my eyes and continued, "Baka tori-atama, listen to me first, will you?"
Why was he making things more difficult? Why couldn't I just leave him and move out to make things easier?
"Oh, sorry," he replied, looking at my with his little cutie bird eyes.
I took a deep breath, preparing myself for the kill. Here goes nothing… "He doesn't exist."
With that, Sano leaned his face forward, looking at me quizzically, "Did I just hear you correctly? Did you just say that…"
"Stop being so damn nice, Sano!" I yelled in utter frustration.
"Huh?"
"I don't deserve it!"
Oh, please Sano, don't look at me like that!
"Why?" he asked.
"Because… because I made it up! I made everything up! I don't have a sick uncle and I don't need to become an actress!" I finished, looking down in shame.
"Soo you were just playing with me, huh?" he muttered, his voice filled with hurt.
"No, no, no!" I protested, grabbing his hand to prevent him from leaving. "Please listen to me!"
"No!" he said firmly as he stood up.
I walked in front of him and pleaded, "Sano…"
"Was that kiss a lie too!?" he asked, not meeting my eyes.
Taking a deep breath, I grabbed his cheeks and pulled him down for a kiss. I was desperate. I wanted to prove to him that my feelings were real. That not everything was a lie. I smiled when I saw his pleased reaction and explained, "No, Sano. Let me finish, I am doctor. I was the one who treated you when you were brought here. I don't know… I guess, I just needed a break from it all. I am sorry if I used you. I don't know. Everything just seemed so crazy that time. I keep on saying I don't know, ne?"
He nodded and joked, "Were you confused?"
"Will you forgive me?"
He smiled at me as he lowered his lips to capture mine as he caressed my cheeks.
As I responded to his soft kiss, I whispered, "…Is that a yes?"
He nodded. "Che Megumi! Why didn't you say that in the first place." Grinning mischievously, he turned to me, "You want excitement! You got it!" At that, he grabbed my arm as we ran towards the parking lot.
"Sano, where are we going!?" I demanded.
"I don't know!"
I laughed heartily at what he said. I had never felt so free…
…but of course, I'll return abandon my duties…
…after my nine-month vacation!
Yup! You guessed it! I'll marry him, that is if he asked me.
~~~~~
[Kenshin]
I sighed heavily as I opened the door to my hotel room.
How could I have forgotten to tell her?
Maybe I didn't really forget. Maybe I really didn't want to tell her that time.
The way she smiled at me a while ago… ugh! I felt as if my heart was torn into two… one has stopped beating… while the other is beating hard, pounding furiously.
I couldn't ruin the moment. It was too special to spoil.
As I took off my coat, readying myself for bed, I was knocked back to reality when I saw a figure standing before my bedroom door.
Shura.
"Kenshin, how could you do this to me!?" she demanded, glaring at me with her piercing eyes.
"Do what?" How did she get inside here?
"Betray me!"
"Huh?"
She approached me, eyes brimmed with tears, and slapped me. "I suppose you were with the whore named Kaoru…"
I narrowed my eyes when I heard the word whore. No one has the right to call her that. No one. I caught her incoming palm as I growled, "I don't see why that is any of your business. What do you mean betray you?"
"I thought we had something special?" she sobbed.
Unable to contain my shock, I squeaked, "Oro?"
"What about the dinner, the dates, the—"
"Shura, that is part of our job. I know that you are aware of that," I cut her off, looking straight into her eyes, trying to knock back the sense into her.
"But Kenshin," she whimpered, holding my hands, "We are already going out in public."
I knew it was cruel to take my hands off her but I did. I didn't want to give her any false hope.
Also, I didn't know how else to put it so I just stated the truth plainly, "They are just publicity stunts. Aoshi had explained that to you right?"
"I thought—"
"Oh, I am sorry if ever I did something that misled you. Shura, I am sorry."
Though I knew I didn't do anything wrong, I apologized. It was the best way to resolve things. There was no point keeping my pride when it would only complicate things.
"I understand," she said, her eyes downcast as she headed out of the door.
What I did was mean, I knew that but I couldn't shower her with compliments and sugar-coated excuses.
I didn't love her.
It was as plain as day and I just told her that.
The least thing I could do was to escort her out of the room so I did. I opened the door for her as I said, "I'm sorry."
She nodded silently then, she did the unexpected.
She kissed me.
I stood there, shocked, unable to move. To make things worse, I saw flashes of light.
Paparazzis.
This was definitely not good.
~~~~~
[Kaoru]
The next day, I woke up with a smile on my face. The dream I had about our date was enough to keep me smiling for the rest of the day.
As I walked towards the living room, Misao greeted me, "So did you tell him already?"
I looked up at the ceiling, silently deliberating what I should tell her. Settling for the truth, I replied flatly, "No..."
"Kaoru!! I thought you were going to tell him tonight!" Misao exclaimed exasperatingly.
"Well," I began as I casually sat down on the couch, "I was supposed to tell him last might but we had such a great time that…" Here I was again with my lame excuses, "…That I didn't want to ruin the moment!"
Misao sat beside me, looking sympathetic as she placed her hand on top of mine. "Tanuki-neechan, you are hopeless."
I glared at her when I heard my beloved nickname as I snapped good-naturedly, "Don't push it itachi-chan!"
"So what are you planning to do?"
I shrugged.
"Do you love him?"
"Yes…"
"Does he love you?"
"Yes…"
"Then he deserves the truth. If he truly loves you as you claim so, he'll understand. Believe me."
"I know that." Misao's logic was simple and true but there were forces holding me back. Strong forces such as fear, guilt and… selfishness.
Ugh! What is happening to me!!!?
"Then what are you waiting for?"
"Misao, it is just so hard! Every time I am with him I feel as if I am walking on the clouds. The happiness is almost addicting… I don't want to end it," I replied sincerely.
"I don't know, Kaoru. This is pretty stupid."
"I know…"
For the next couple of minutes, we sat together in silence as we stared blankly on the wall waiting for the other to speak. Our silence was broken when the bell rang.
"That must be the paperboy," Misao announced, jumping out from her seat. She flashed a wide smile at the teenager as she scanned through the pages of the newspaper. Suddenly, she stopped on her tracks, her face paling as she stammered, obviously dumbfounded, "OMG! Kaoru, come here quick. You have to see this."
"Huh? What?" I immediately leaped to where she was standing as I peered on the page she was looking at. I gasped, "Tha… That's Kenshin"
"I know," she replied gravely.
When everything had settled in, I looked back at the newspaper, almost unbelieving. "Kenshin?"
No, he can't be Kenshin. He must be someone who looks like him. Must be his twin or something but not Kenshin.
"Now wonder he looked familiar. He is an actor, Kaoru-chan!" she shrieked.
Taking another look of his photo, everything didn't seem to matter anymore. Blood drained from my face as my heart threatened to explode. "He… He is kissing another woman!"
He lied to me.
He cheated on me.
As if hearing my thoughts, Misao pointed out the headline.
Kenshin Himura kisses co-star Shura in hotel hallway.
Misao's words didn't register in my mind anymore. I felt as if she was speaking a foreign language. Either that or my shattered heart just refuses to hear more news that would break it even more.
I was hurt. Deeply, terribly and utterly hurt.
No, I couldn't break down in front of Misao. I wouldn't. That was why I did the best thing I could do… to steer away my tears. I clenched my fists, furrowed my eyebrows and narrowed my eyes. "That jerk!" I turned around and crossed my arms. No, I won't let any tear to fall. "He was toying with me after all. How could he do this to me!?"
"What goes around comes around."
"What?" I suddenly faced her, cocking my eyebrow for her to elaborate.
"Don't you think that this is partly your lie's fault?"
"No! Of course not!" I snapped. I sighed in misery as I sat down on the sofa, allowing myself to think rationally. When Misao's words sank in, I asked, "What do you mean?"
"I don't mean to be blunt about this, Kaoru. But think about it. If you had told him in the first place who you really were, it would encourage him to be more honest with you."
"For all he knows, I was telling him the truth, wasn't it good enough?"
Ignoring my query, she continued, "If he wouldn't be moved with that, at least he'd think twice before playing with a famous novelist, right? I mean he could be immortalized as a pigheaded twit in one your novels."
I laughed as I envisioned the fulfillment of her words. That is so true.
But still…
I thought he…
"I will never forgive him…" I frowned, unaware that I had just said that out loud.
"But Kaoru, you haven't been completely honest with him, too."
What Misao said felt like a hard slap on the face. She had a point but…
…I never toyed with him.
~~~
Seconds seemed to pass like hours and hours like days. What seemed to be an eternity of misery turned out to be just a couple of hours. It was only afternoon.
Hmmm… maybe I should try poetry some time. Really bad poetry.
As I sat by my window, I had the time to collect myself and think. I should take things with a level head and I should think rationally. I mean, there is no point aggravating the situation by letting my emotions ride.
Let's see…
He lied to me.
I lied to him.
Seems fair enough, right?
NO!! Because… because I loved him but he lied to me.
Author's Notes:
You might be wondering why Kaoru is so furious with Kenshin when she, too, lied to him. Just like what dementedchris said, it's like this. Imagine a situation when you want to break up with your boyfriend… then that same day, he broke up with you first. Even if you wanted to break up with him in the first place, you still feel hurt. The same with this fic. Even if Kaoru lied to Kenshin, she knew deep inside her heart that she didn't have any malicious intention for that. To top it off, that day she knew, she also saw Kenshin kissing Shura. At this point, she is all confused, not knowing what to believe anymore. She doesn't know Kenshin's intention either. So there… that's the reason why it's like that. ^__^
Sorry if it has been a while since I last updated this fic. College life has been taking up most of my time. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter and I hope you will keep supporting this fic! Keep RK love burning!
This fic is nearing its close so keep yourselves posted!!!
Leave me a review!! ^__^
