Author's Note: Think of this chapter as a continuation of the last one.
I'm trying to make the chapters approximately the same length and adding
this would've been a little too much. I really enjoyed writing this
chapter, so I hope you have just as much fun reading it!
Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, but maybe dreams do come true...
The Love of Life
Chapter 5: A Proper Thank You
By CrismHeart
August 20, 2003
Megumi had been delayed from meeting the rest of the group because she had stayed after class to speak with the teacher about her options for college. Regardless of the way Megumi flirted with the entire male population at school, she was an extremely studious and diligent worker. In fact, all of her teachers were impressed by her ambition since she was the best in her class. This was not just because Megumi loved feeling superior to everyone else, though she did, this was all for a purpose. Megumi aspired to be a renowned doctor, like her Grandfather Genzai and her parents who had been practicing in Aizu for twenty years. She moved to Tokyo when she was a child in hopes of being educated at Konouenai High, the finest school in Japan and to assist Genzai-sensei with the clinic.
"Oi, Kitsune, over here!"
Megumi caught sight of that "baka tori-atama" she claimed to loathe. In reality, she could feel her heart beat faster as his warm brown eyes met hers, although she would never admit it. Megumi did not have time for actual relationships, not when she knew it would distract her from the pursuit of her life-long dream. Maybe when she achieved that, she could think about love. Ignoring Sano and that strange sensation she had whenever she was near him, Megumi sauntered over to Kenshin to shower him with her affections. "Ken-san!" she gushed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Oro?" Kenshin was totally clueless as to why he appeared to have grown two extra arms.
"Ken-san?! What right does Megumi have to call him that?! And how dare she drape herself all over him!" Kaoru thought enraged.
"Kaoru! What are you doing talking to Ken-san? I'm sure he doesn't want to be bothered by a tanuki!" Megumi cried aloud.
Misao saw Kaoru's now crimson-colored face and menacing death glares aimed in Megumi's direction and decided to act fast. She promptly dragged Megumi off of Kenshin to have a private chat with her.
"You mean, Ken-san was the guy you saw with Kaoru?! Ohohohoho!"
This juicy bit of information was music to Megumi's ears. Two of the activities she enjoyed most were teasing Kaoru and making Sano jealous and now she could do both at the same time.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kaoru remembered that she had never properly thanked Kenshin for escorting her home safely. All throughout lunch, Kaoru had been devising a method to do so. She could not contain her enthusiasm. It was so brilliant that it was borderline ingenious! "Hey, Kenshin?" "Hai, Kaoru-dono, what is it?" "Ano, I've been meaning to thank you for taking me home that day. Do you think you could come over my house for dinner on Saturday? I'll cook it myself." Everyone sitting at the table had similar expressions of horror on their faces. It was obvious that the frantic shaking of heads and silent warnings that accompanied their terror had not caught Kenshin's attention since he readily agreed, "Of course, Kaoru-dono. That is very kind of you, that it is."
"Great!" Kaoru exclaimed in delight. Misao looked at Kaoru nervously, "Um... Kaoru, are you sure about this?"
Kaoru was so overly excited that she completely disregarded the tone Misao had used, "Yeah, why not?"
Before Misao could come back with an answer, Kaoru had already skipped happily off in the direction of their classroom to her favorite subject, English.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The school week had passed by and it was now Saturday. Kaoru's friends and family members were intent on preventing her from accomplishing her plan. And now, thanks to Kaoru's excessively straightforward friends, she had lost confidence in herself and began thinking that it was a bad idea to invite Kenshin over for dinner. She thought back on the series of onslaughts the people closest to her had made on her cooking.
Megumi was the first to approach Kaoru, "Tanuki, how can I put this nicely? You have no culinary skills whatsoever! Ohohohoho! If not for your own sake, think of Ken-san. You don't want him to get food poisoning, do you? Though it might not be such a bad idea if he did get sick. I could give him a personal check up afterward! Ohohohoho!"
At that thought, fox ears unexpectedly emerged from the top of her head.
The next day, Misao spoke to her on the topic.
"Kaoru, you like Himura, don't you?" Misao asked.
Kaoru felt the heat rushing to her cheeks and bent her head down so that her best friend could not see her, "Misao-chan, I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Sure," she replied not really acknowledging that she had heard Kaoru, "Well, my point is, I know that he likes you too so please don't do anything drastic, like cook."
And the day after that, Sano came up to her, "Listen Jou-chan. I might not have known Kenshin that long, but I know that no one has a stomach strong enough to eat your food."
And who could forget the time Kaoru had been testing out a new recipe on her brother?
"Sugoi!" Yahiko cried.
"Honto?" Kaoru inquired, hope evident in her voice, "Is it really?"
Yahiko was overcome by laughter, "Yeah, Busu, it's amazing how bad you can cook! Hahahaha!"
Naturally, that had earned Yahiko several whacks in the head with her bokken and the punishment of having to do five hundred katas for practice, not that it made Kaoru feel any better.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Saturday had finally come and Kenshin had walked to the Kamiya dojo with Kaoru after school ended. She had told him to wait in the dining room while she prepared dinner. He had offered to help, but Kaoru insisted on doing it herself.
Kenshin had heard Sano, Megumi, and Misao's warnings on Kaoru's cooking. Megumi had even gone as far as to give him a small bottle of pills that relieved stomachaches, but he had brushed it off as a mere joke. No one could be that bad, right?
His thoughts were interrupted as he heard Kaoru shriek. Kenshin rushed into the kitchen just in time to see a huge fire.
"Kaoru-dono! Kaoru-dono! Daijobu?" Kenshin called to her worriedly after he put out the last of the flames.
"I'm okay." Kaoru assured him when he continued looking at her concerned, "Kenshin, thanks for saving me." Kaoru wished he had not seen her almost burn down her house. It was so mortifying! She thought she had gotten rid of that problem last month.
Kenshin eyed the remains of the meal that he had managed to salvage. Was food really supposed to look like this? After setting up the tableware, Kaoru peered at him closely, waiting for him to eat. He knew that she was not trying to poison him no matter how much the food did not seem to resemble anything edible. How could Kenshin refuse someone with so much compassion and good will? So, he took a small bite of the rice to please her. Kenshin's face turned multiple shades of green and then purple before returning to its natural color.
"Ano, it's good." Kenshin lied as he tried his hardest to smile for her.
Kaoru could tell that he was not telling her the truth, and despite the fact that she was upset that she could not cook to save her life, she took his reaction into consideration and said, "Since I owe you dinner, I know the perfect place!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sekihara Tae owned and ran the popular restaurant, the Akabeko. Tae had been like an older sister to Kaoru for as long as she could remember. She was an attentive young woman who adored Kaoru and wished only for her happiness. "Now if only she would get out more often and meet someone special." Tae thought just as Kaoru came into her restaurant gently tugging a blushing Kenshin by the hand.
Tae observed the Kaoru and her new friend with avid curiosity. "Kawaii! They would make such a cute couple!" She grinned mischievously to herself. Tae had known then and there that she had a new mission: to get the two of them together.
________________________________________________________________________
Author's Note: So, did you guys like it? Keep those reviews coming! Special thanks to my reviewers: Kitsune KeNsHiN, flyinangel777, Califpinay3001, Yurikkuna, and Koniko-chan, for the encouraging comments! Arigato!
Kitsune KeNsHin: Kenshin is in the same class as Aoshi, Megumi, and Sano, so he's in the same year. Sorry, if that wasn't clear. I was trying to make it from Kaoru and Misao's point of view. They wouldn't have known that Kenshin would be there and they had been eating lunch together since before he came so his name wasn't mentioned.
Yurikkuna: Wow, you like my fic that much? Your review was so sweet! Don't worry, I have every intention of finishing all stories I start. It really annoys me when others have great stories going and don't complete them! Besides, how can I not if someone wants me to?
Koniko-chan: Thanks for your constant support! I really appreciate it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, but maybe dreams do come true...
The Love of Life
Chapter 5: A Proper Thank You
By CrismHeart
August 20, 2003
Megumi had been delayed from meeting the rest of the group because she had stayed after class to speak with the teacher about her options for college. Regardless of the way Megumi flirted with the entire male population at school, she was an extremely studious and diligent worker. In fact, all of her teachers were impressed by her ambition since she was the best in her class. This was not just because Megumi loved feeling superior to everyone else, though she did, this was all for a purpose. Megumi aspired to be a renowned doctor, like her Grandfather Genzai and her parents who had been practicing in Aizu for twenty years. She moved to Tokyo when she was a child in hopes of being educated at Konouenai High, the finest school in Japan and to assist Genzai-sensei with the clinic.
"Oi, Kitsune, over here!"
Megumi caught sight of that "baka tori-atama" she claimed to loathe. In reality, she could feel her heart beat faster as his warm brown eyes met hers, although she would never admit it. Megumi did not have time for actual relationships, not when she knew it would distract her from the pursuit of her life-long dream. Maybe when she achieved that, she could think about love. Ignoring Sano and that strange sensation she had whenever she was near him, Megumi sauntered over to Kenshin to shower him with her affections. "Ken-san!" she gushed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Oro?" Kenshin was totally clueless as to why he appeared to have grown two extra arms.
"Ken-san?! What right does Megumi have to call him that?! And how dare she drape herself all over him!" Kaoru thought enraged.
"Kaoru! What are you doing talking to Ken-san? I'm sure he doesn't want to be bothered by a tanuki!" Megumi cried aloud.
Misao saw Kaoru's now crimson-colored face and menacing death glares aimed in Megumi's direction and decided to act fast. She promptly dragged Megumi off of Kenshin to have a private chat with her.
"You mean, Ken-san was the guy you saw with Kaoru?! Ohohohoho!"
This juicy bit of information was music to Megumi's ears. Two of the activities she enjoyed most were teasing Kaoru and making Sano jealous and now she could do both at the same time.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kaoru remembered that she had never properly thanked Kenshin for escorting her home safely. All throughout lunch, Kaoru had been devising a method to do so. She could not contain her enthusiasm. It was so brilliant that it was borderline ingenious! "Hey, Kenshin?" "Hai, Kaoru-dono, what is it?" "Ano, I've been meaning to thank you for taking me home that day. Do you think you could come over my house for dinner on Saturday? I'll cook it myself." Everyone sitting at the table had similar expressions of horror on their faces. It was obvious that the frantic shaking of heads and silent warnings that accompanied their terror had not caught Kenshin's attention since he readily agreed, "Of course, Kaoru-dono. That is very kind of you, that it is."
"Great!" Kaoru exclaimed in delight. Misao looked at Kaoru nervously, "Um... Kaoru, are you sure about this?"
Kaoru was so overly excited that she completely disregarded the tone Misao had used, "Yeah, why not?"
Before Misao could come back with an answer, Kaoru had already skipped happily off in the direction of their classroom to her favorite subject, English.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The school week had passed by and it was now Saturday. Kaoru's friends and family members were intent on preventing her from accomplishing her plan. And now, thanks to Kaoru's excessively straightforward friends, she had lost confidence in herself and began thinking that it was a bad idea to invite Kenshin over for dinner. She thought back on the series of onslaughts the people closest to her had made on her cooking.
Megumi was the first to approach Kaoru, "Tanuki, how can I put this nicely? You have no culinary skills whatsoever! Ohohohoho! If not for your own sake, think of Ken-san. You don't want him to get food poisoning, do you? Though it might not be such a bad idea if he did get sick. I could give him a personal check up afterward! Ohohohoho!"
At that thought, fox ears unexpectedly emerged from the top of her head.
The next day, Misao spoke to her on the topic.
"Kaoru, you like Himura, don't you?" Misao asked.
Kaoru felt the heat rushing to her cheeks and bent her head down so that her best friend could not see her, "Misao-chan, I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Sure," she replied not really acknowledging that she had heard Kaoru, "Well, my point is, I know that he likes you too so please don't do anything drastic, like cook."
And the day after that, Sano came up to her, "Listen Jou-chan. I might not have known Kenshin that long, but I know that no one has a stomach strong enough to eat your food."
And who could forget the time Kaoru had been testing out a new recipe on her brother?
"Sugoi!" Yahiko cried.
"Honto?" Kaoru inquired, hope evident in her voice, "Is it really?"
Yahiko was overcome by laughter, "Yeah, Busu, it's amazing how bad you can cook! Hahahaha!"
Naturally, that had earned Yahiko several whacks in the head with her bokken and the punishment of having to do five hundred katas for practice, not that it made Kaoru feel any better.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Saturday had finally come and Kenshin had walked to the Kamiya dojo with Kaoru after school ended. She had told him to wait in the dining room while she prepared dinner. He had offered to help, but Kaoru insisted on doing it herself.
Kenshin had heard Sano, Megumi, and Misao's warnings on Kaoru's cooking. Megumi had even gone as far as to give him a small bottle of pills that relieved stomachaches, but he had brushed it off as a mere joke. No one could be that bad, right?
His thoughts were interrupted as he heard Kaoru shriek. Kenshin rushed into the kitchen just in time to see a huge fire.
"Kaoru-dono! Kaoru-dono! Daijobu?" Kenshin called to her worriedly after he put out the last of the flames.
"I'm okay." Kaoru assured him when he continued looking at her concerned, "Kenshin, thanks for saving me." Kaoru wished he had not seen her almost burn down her house. It was so mortifying! She thought she had gotten rid of that problem last month.
Kenshin eyed the remains of the meal that he had managed to salvage. Was food really supposed to look like this? After setting up the tableware, Kaoru peered at him closely, waiting for him to eat. He knew that she was not trying to poison him no matter how much the food did not seem to resemble anything edible. How could Kenshin refuse someone with so much compassion and good will? So, he took a small bite of the rice to please her. Kenshin's face turned multiple shades of green and then purple before returning to its natural color.
"Ano, it's good." Kenshin lied as he tried his hardest to smile for her.
Kaoru could tell that he was not telling her the truth, and despite the fact that she was upset that she could not cook to save her life, she took his reaction into consideration and said, "Since I owe you dinner, I know the perfect place!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sekihara Tae owned and ran the popular restaurant, the Akabeko. Tae had been like an older sister to Kaoru for as long as she could remember. She was an attentive young woman who adored Kaoru and wished only for her happiness. "Now if only she would get out more often and meet someone special." Tae thought just as Kaoru came into her restaurant gently tugging a blushing Kenshin by the hand.
Tae observed the Kaoru and her new friend with avid curiosity. "Kawaii! They would make such a cute couple!" She grinned mischievously to herself. Tae had known then and there that she had a new mission: to get the two of them together.
________________________________________________________________________
Author's Note: So, did you guys like it? Keep those reviews coming! Special thanks to my reviewers: Kitsune KeNsHiN, flyinangel777, Califpinay3001, Yurikkuna, and Koniko-chan, for the encouraging comments! Arigato!
Kitsune KeNsHin: Kenshin is in the same class as Aoshi, Megumi, and Sano, so he's in the same year. Sorry, if that wasn't clear. I was trying to make it from Kaoru and Misao's point of view. They wouldn't have known that Kenshin would be there and they had been eating lunch together since before he came so his name wasn't mentioned.
Yurikkuna: Wow, you like my fic that much? Your review was so sweet! Don't worry, I have every intention of finishing all stories I start. It really annoys me when others have great stories going and don't complete them! Besides, how can I not if someone wants me to?
Koniko-chan: Thanks for your constant support! I really appreciate it.