Tomoko-chan: Ahahahahaha!! The stuff I hear in comments! They are all very
interesting and entertaining, don't get me wrong, but some of you people
are just as mean to fan-fic characters as I am! I AM NOT ALONE! I have
considered all of your suggestions strongly, and have decided. . .*drum
roll*. . .TO USE ALL OF THEM! Or at least the ones I can remember. ^-^ They
are all very good ideas! Very eeeeeeeeeviiiiiiil. I love them! So without
further ado, I bring to you Chapter Two! (Hee hee, that rhymes!)
*****
"No. . ." Kaoru mumbled aloud. She felt her throat clench as she struggled helplessly for air. Her stomach seized her abdomen in a fit of quick, painful cramps of fear. Backing away slowly from the bed, she edged into the bathroom, walking backwards. She felt her back clash against the bathroom counter, and something crunched beneath her palm. Kaoru glanced through her eyes filled with cloudy tears, and saw that the foil substance under her hand was a condom wrapper. Her face her hot with rage as she rose the memory of the protection to her face, her other hand clamped over her mouth in fear that she would scream. Her eyebrows deepened into deep crevasses of anger. Slapping her other hand to the counter top and throwing the wrapper into the waste basket, she cursed.
"That bastard. . ." She uttered harshly. "THAT BASTARD!"
Wiping the tear from her coffee hued eyes, she ripped the hair tie from her head, allowing her flowing ebony silk down to her waist. She tore off her expensive, silk, deep scarlet dress adorned with black Rhine stones that she had worn just for him and threw it to the faded white tile which padded the floor. Staring at it, clad only in her soft, black panties and white cotton bra, she wanted to weep, but wanted to scream in frustration and anger. She withheld the urge to do both, and clenched her fists, leaving deep marks in her palm where her fingernails had dug.
It was so fucking obvious. She realized suddenly what a fool she had been. I was so fucking naïve, so fucking clueless! Beating herself mentally, she stomped to the dresser, for once not caring what she looked like to the world. She pulled on a pink tank-top, which on any other day, she would have laughed before even thinking of such a thing. Kaoru took so much pride in her appearance, but it was all for Kenshin. Kenshin was over now. Kenshin was gone. Pulling on some grey sweatpants and white sandals, she got her keys, but had no intention whatsoever to go pick up Kenshin. She never wanted to see him again. She felt that if she did, she would vomit. No, she would go to see Minako-chan. Tell her about what happened, pick up Kenji, then. . .
Then she didn't know what would happen.
Stomping, panting, close to screaming, Kaoru fled down the stairs, thinking she might have broken the elevator in anger if she had tried to use it. She crawled into her black Sedan, slammed the door, and jammed the keys into the ignition. Instantly, Puffy Ami Yumi blared on her stereo. It cheered her slightly. Good ole' Puffy, she thought, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel to the beat. Always so happy. She drove quickly, harnessing her anger for later. If she had an accident, it could mean chaos.
Pulling to a screeching halt in Minako's driveway, she got out, slammed the door again, shoved the keys into her pocket and stomped to the front door. Banging on it, but then realizing how late it must have been, Kaoru knocked. Minako and her head of short, mahogany hair popped into view. A soft smile escaped her lips.
"Hi. You look like hell."
"Hi, and thank-you." Kaoru slid by her, making her way to the living room where she was sure she would find Kenji snoozing on the couch or on the floor. But she was brought an abrupt halt by Minako.
"What happened, Kaoru?"
She stared into Minako's crisp, green eyes and looked away. What happened? She repeated to herself. Does she really want to know? There was so much Kaoru wanted to tell her. She wanted to spill everything, and scream it from the top of her lungs, but. . .
"I'll tell you later. In the morning." Kaoru looked at her, trying to seem collected. Minako stared her down, looking at her top to bottom. Glaring with no trust in her eyes, she let Kaoru pass.
Kenji was on the couch, but was on the line between consciousness and sleep. His eyes were almost closed, but still enough to perceive the new adventures of Pokemon which blared on the television. Ami was knocked out on the floor, a slick of drool dripping from the corner of her mouth into her deep, chestnut hair. Kaoru smiled, humbled by the sight. Kenji's eyes popped open as he sat up, his hair ruffled, and stared sleepily at her.
"Hi, Oka-san." He rubbed his eyes, smiling. "You look different."
"Really?" She leaned on the wall. "How so?"
"Your clothes and hair. They're different. They're normal."
"Oh? Is that good?"
"Uh-huh." He nodded slowly. Kaoru jingled her keys,
"Well, things are going to be a little different for a while, okay Kenji? We need to get home right away. There's a lot of stuff we need to do."
Instead of questioning, Kenji began to gather his things. He had always been obedient like that. After tying his own shoes and putting his sweater on by himself, he walked over Ami, bent down on his knees and kissed her on the cheek. Kaoru cocked her head, puzzled. Kenji saw her eyes and softly explained.
"Daddy does it to you, sometimes."
Her heart froze as all of the anger and pain flooded back, burring her. She wiped her eyes again, just to be sure. "I need to talk to you in the car, Kenji. Let's hurry."
"Okay, Mommy." He fumbled for his sketch pad and pencil and stood. Walking slowly and sloppily, his head drifting in and out of sleep, he staggered by his mother. Kaoru met up with Minako in the hall, and embraced her in a hug.
"Thanks, Minako-chan."
"No problem. He was an angel." She let her go, staring into her eyes again. "Please call me soon, Kaoru-chan."
"I will." She nodded half-heartedly. Grasping Kenji's slender fingers, she led him to the door of the car, helped him in, then let herself in. Backing away from Miwako-chan's and steering the car onto the free way, a stunned silence stretched between the woman and the young boy. Kenji's eyes flickered wildly between mellow violet and deep indigo. Kaoru tried to keep her eyes on the road, but found it difficult. Kenji spoke up, feeling the tension with the sense that all little children have.
"Mommy, what's wrong? Where is Daddy?"
Kaoru found it hard to put the emotions to words, and then have to translate them in the way you should explain things to a little boy who would probably never see his father again without his mother and a probation worker watching them. "Kenji," She struggled. "Kenji, Daddy lied to Mommy. Daddy lied and hurt Mommy's feelings very badly. Mommy can not trust Daddy now, and probably never will. I don't think you will see Daddy for a long time now."
Kenji took a moment to understand, filing through his mothers' words like one would with the pages of a book. "Daddy is a 'liar, liar, pants on fire'?" He asked innocently. Kaoru almost smiled. Almost.
"I guess so, yes."
"Does Mommy love Daddy anymore?"
"Well," Kaoru hesitated again. "Mommy loves Daddy very much, but now, Mommy isn't very sure. I am angry at Daddy, and sad that he would do something like this to us."
"What did he do?"
"He," She tried to translate the real world into a mini, softer, child's edition. "He wanted someone else to be Mommy. He wanted someone Mommy couldn't be."
"He wanted you to play pretend?"
Yes, she thought. That's exactly what he wanted. He wanted me to pretend nothing happened. He wanted me to pretend I didn't notice, and that he was a perfect husband. He wanted to play, and he cheated too, but I caught him. And now the game is over, and it's my turn to play.
"In a way, yes." Kaoru finally answered. "Now, Kenji, this may be very hard for you, but I need you to be a big boy for Mommy. Can you be a big boy?" He nodded, yes. "When we get home, I need you to go to your room, and after I give you some boxes, I need you to pack all of your clothes and toys and books. We can't go back to our house for a while." She looked at him. "Can you do that for Mommy?"
He nodded yes, again.
"Okay," she breathed, exasperated.
Okay.
She walked slowly with Kenji this time, allowing him to take his time and take it slowly, as if he might break. She was afraid she had hurt him. She knew the pain of having a broken family. When she was little, Kaoru's father was never home. He was always busy with something or another, leaving her mother alone everyday. She cried a lot, and so did Kaoru, but learned to be stronger. But was she strong enough to handle this?
She closed their apartment door softly behind her, ushering Kenji to his room on her way to the closet. She with drew six large moving boxes which she had stored there when Kenji was just a baby. "Kaoru," Kenshin had said, "We'll never use those. It's a waste." She looked on that moment and laughed.
She handed three boxes to Kenji, but was doubtful he would use one and a half. She would have to go through his things and make sure he packed enough. Kaoru was sure she would need most of the boxes. One for her clothes and hygiene supplies, one for kitchen utensils, a cordless phone, and other miscellaneous items, one for random knick-knacks of hers, and if possible, she would snag one of Kenji's boxes for thing like linen and health-care items in case of emergencies. She packed quickly and efficiently, and was finished before Kenji had even started. She decided to get her revenge.
Pulling out her cellular phone, she dialed the home number of the apartment. She heard both rings, in the cell phone and in the living room, waited a few seconds, and heard Kenshin's voice recording on the answering machine, saying they weren't here at the moment (oh, we're here) and that they would reply their call soon. A lone, mono-tone beep stretched, and Kaoru spoke.
"Hi there, Kenshin. If you are listening to this, then you can rest assured we both had a rough night. Of course, you suffered physically. I hope your stuck-up nose falls off because of frost bite; it was so high in the air with pride. I figured it out, Kenshin. Did you think I was that fucking stupid? Did you think I was that naïve? How long did you screw these bitches before feeling guilt? I guess it doesn't matter now. As you can see, me and Kenji are gone, and will be gone for a long time. I'll make sure he doesn't see his bastard of a father any time soon. Hey, Kenshin, check our joint account. I dare you. That's right, baby. Ten thousand dollars. All mine. I hope that job interview wasn't a lie. You're going to need it to feed your whore's little whelps. I'm going to file for divorce, so you don't need to worry about suing me, honey. I wouldn't want to worry your cute little head of red hair." Her voice grew thick with sarcasm. "I still can't get it. How could you do this to us? To me, your wife? And Kenji, your only son? Well, I'm not sure how many prostitutes you've knocked up, so I may be wrong. How could you? You dirty, unreconstructed whelp of a whore, how could you do this to your FAMILY!?" She screamed, spittle flying from her lips. She felt tears again. Sniffing slightly, she hid them with the palm of her hand; she hated crying. Kaoru hardly ever cried and never did it in another's presence. She could say no more to her husband. "Good bye, Kenshin, Good bye,"
*****
Fuck.
"Fuck." Kenshin whispered. It was beyond cold. It was freezing. Every nine seconds, the wind would howl, unleashing flurry of fallen leaves and bit of trash in his direction, chilling him to the bone even through his thick coat. The screech of air would subside, and then begin all over again.
He hurt, too. Ever since he and Misao had 'meet', there was a twitching pain down there. He had ignored it for a while, but now there was nothing to think about except the icy wind and the bubbling pain in his groin. Kaoru should have been here by now. . . The restaurant closed about half an hour ago, shooing him out quickly, but not quick enough as to forget their bill. He didn't have enough for a taxi, and the bus had not been seen for an hour. How was he supposed to get home? He wondered frantically, twitching from the pain in his crotch and the chill in his skin. Walk? Is that what she wanted him to do? Walk when it had taken fifteen minutes to DRIVE there? Screw that, his head murmured.
"Fuck." Kenshin repeated bitterly. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!" His little rage thermometer was climbing steadily from annoyed, to pissed. Kenshin rarely cursed, but he was far from ticked off, and that was usually his breaking point. But then, looking across the street through the teeny branches of the trees, he strained to see a dark, yet familiar figure.
Speaking of fuck. . .
"Misao? Is that you?"
The figure raised her head in response.
*****
Misao didn't want to see Kenshin again. The sight of the 'daddy' mug shattered any affection for him. Besides, she added to herself, I just want to go home. It had been a hard day. This one thirty-year-old guy kept pushing the limits. He hurt her, and just wouldn't stop. He gave her a hundred, but she felt cheated. Wasn't she already in enough pain? Her crotch was throbbing, but luckily, she had made enough for her to buy some cocaine, and she soon forgot. Seeing Kenshin reminded her of everything.
"Oh, hi." She spoke softly, quietly, almost shyly. She wiped her face, dismissing any stray flakes of the white powder beneath her nose. Kenshin's eyes darted across the street, searching for cars, and when he saw the barren street, he crossed to her. He waved childishly, smiling.
"Why are you here?" Misao asked, almost cruelly.
"I was having dinner with-" He stopped, for a moment. "Just having dinner by myself."
"I see," she looked at the ground, unconvinced.
"Hey, um," Kenshin scratched his head sheepishly. "Do you think I could get a ride or crash at your place or something? My ride ditched me." He tried to force a chuckle. Misao stared him down, her eyes freezing his mouth to a nervous smile.
"You can stay at my house. I'd offer a ride, but it's my brother's car, and he doesn't like strangers driving his car alone."
"He could just drop me off."
"It's not wise to be with my brother alone for too long, especially if you," she paused, staring harder. "If you 'know' me. It would be better of you to stay with me, because you won't be alone. My brother worries about me too much."
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"Not if he almost killed someone trying to protect me." She stared at the ground again. Kenshin's nervous smile faded.
"I see. You know, maybe I should get a hotel or something. . ."
"No, it's okay. He won't hurt you. Just don't touch me in his presence."
"Oh, um, sure. No prob." He tried to make her laugh. "I should touch you as much as I can now, then, shouldn't I?"
Misao's face was blank as she brushed his hand away and walked ahead of him.
*****
"All done, Mommy!" Kenji chirped happily. Kaoru stopped stuffing the kitchen utensils into one of her card board boxes, and made her to Kenji's room. His bookshelves were bare, and the toy chest was empty. His dresser had a lone open drawer, which was barren inside. She sighed.
"Go get your toothbrush and your favorite shampoo. Mommy's going to check."
"I already did!" Kenji stood proud. "You can check it in front of me. I'm positively positive that I packed everything, and even if I DID forget something, I wouldn't get mad at you." Kaoru smiled.
"Okay, let's see. . ." She rummaged through the box. "Underwear?" She held up an example, patterned with chibi dogs. Kenji giggled.
"Check!"
"How about. . .shirt and pants?" She held up his favorite T-shirt, and his not so favorite shorts. He still laughed.
"Check!"
"Toys and books?" She withdrew a battered copy of 'Chibi Usagi' and displayed it. Kenji smiled.
"Check-a-roo!"
"Wow, you even have stuff here that you don't need. Good job, Kenji!" She patted his head, mussing his coal-hued hair. He closed his eyes, and smiled just like Kenshin. Kaoru pulled her hand back, almost disgusted at the sight. Tears welded up in the corner of her eyes, and soon, she was kneeling on the floor and hiding her face as she wept. Kenji's smile faded slowly in realization.
"Mama? Mama, what's wrong?"
Kaoru cried and wrapped her arms around Kenji's waist, hugging him closer. She wept into his T-shirt, her tears staining it with dark water spots. "Why, Kenji?" She screamed, wishing that she could just know why. "Why did he do this to his family?" Squeezing him tighter to her face, her screams came out muffled and thick. Kenji looked down on his mother, crying in his arms.
Then, Kenji slunk down to his knees and cried with her.
*****
"Here we go." Kaoru shoved the keys into the ignition. "Ready, private?"
Kenji grinned. It was a game they played. He adjusted imaginary goggles. "Ready for take-off, mother bird!"
"Here we go!" She made fake airplane sounds, pulling the car out of the drive way. "Runway clear?" She checked the street for oncoming cars. Kenji nodded positively.
"Yup!"
"Five. . .four. . ." She urged.
"Three! Two!" He joined in.
"ONE! BLAST OFF!" They screamed in unison, laughing in joy. Kaoru left her smile at the house, abandoning it. She never wanted to go back there again.
Kenji was nearly smothered by all off the boxes in the back seat. He was stuffed between two of the giant cardboard menaces, while the other four were either in the trunk, under his feet, or in the front passenger seat. "Mommy?" Kenji inquired, gasping for breath. "Where are we going?"
Kaoru stood silent.
"Mommy?"
"I. . .I don't know Kenji. I don't know."
I don't know. . .
*****
Tomoko-chan: See! Kaoru is NOT a wussy! She just, um. . . runs away from her problems. . . Yea. Okay! Any who, I don't know where Kaoru and Kenji should go. I'm thinking a motel somewhere, until they can find an apartment. I already know what's going to happen to Kenshin. Don't hate him! I love Kenshin, he's my favorite character, but I'm just so evil. I can't help it. . . Sorry it took so long to post this. My muse, Maria, like to take vacations and spend my money. I need chocolate. . .Ja ne! Please comment!
*****
"No. . ." Kaoru mumbled aloud. She felt her throat clench as she struggled helplessly for air. Her stomach seized her abdomen in a fit of quick, painful cramps of fear. Backing away slowly from the bed, she edged into the bathroom, walking backwards. She felt her back clash against the bathroom counter, and something crunched beneath her palm. Kaoru glanced through her eyes filled with cloudy tears, and saw that the foil substance under her hand was a condom wrapper. Her face her hot with rage as she rose the memory of the protection to her face, her other hand clamped over her mouth in fear that she would scream. Her eyebrows deepened into deep crevasses of anger. Slapping her other hand to the counter top and throwing the wrapper into the waste basket, she cursed.
"That bastard. . ." She uttered harshly. "THAT BASTARD!"
Wiping the tear from her coffee hued eyes, she ripped the hair tie from her head, allowing her flowing ebony silk down to her waist. She tore off her expensive, silk, deep scarlet dress adorned with black Rhine stones that she had worn just for him and threw it to the faded white tile which padded the floor. Staring at it, clad only in her soft, black panties and white cotton bra, she wanted to weep, but wanted to scream in frustration and anger. She withheld the urge to do both, and clenched her fists, leaving deep marks in her palm where her fingernails had dug.
It was so fucking obvious. She realized suddenly what a fool she had been. I was so fucking naïve, so fucking clueless! Beating herself mentally, she stomped to the dresser, for once not caring what she looked like to the world. She pulled on a pink tank-top, which on any other day, she would have laughed before even thinking of such a thing. Kaoru took so much pride in her appearance, but it was all for Kenshin. Kenshin was over now. Kenshin was gone. Pulling on some grey sweatpants and white sandals, she got her keys, but had no intention whatsoever to go pick up Kenshin. She never wanted to see him again. She felt that if she did, she would vomit. No, she would go to see Minako-chan. Tell her about what happened, pick up Kenji, then. . .
Then she didn't know what would happen.
Stomping, panting, close to screaming, Kaoru fled down the stairs, thinking she might have broken the elevator in anger if she had tried to use it. She crawled into her black Sedan, slammed the door, and jammed the keys into the ignition. Instantly, Puffy Ami Yumi blared on her stereo. It cheered her slightly. Good ole' Puffy, she thought, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel to the beat. Always so happy. She drove quickly, harnessing her anger for later. If she had an accident, it could mean chaos.
Pulling to a screeching halt in Minako's driveway, she got out, slammed the door again, shoved the keys into her pocket and stomped to the front door. Banging on it, but then realizing how late it must have been, Kaoru knocked. Minako and her head of short, mahogany hair popped into view. A soft smile escaped her lips.
"Hi. You look like hell."
"Hi, and thank-you." Kaoru slid by her, making her way to the living room where she was sure she would find Kenji snoozing on the couch or on the floor. But she was brought an abrupt halt by Minako.
"What happened, Kaoru?"
She stared into Minako's crisp, green eyes and looked away. What happened? She repeated to herself. Does she really want to know? There was so much Kaoru wanted to tell her. She wanted to spill everything, and scream it from the top of her lungs, but. . .
"I'll tell you later. In the morning." Kaoru looked at her, trying to seem collected. Minako stared her down, looking at her top to bottom. Glaring with no trust in her eyes, she let Kaoru pass.
Kenji was on the couch, but was on the line between consciousness and sleep. His eyes were almost closed, but still enough to perceive the new adventures of Pokemon which blared on the television. Ami was knocked out on the floor, a slick of drool dripping from the corner of her mouth into her deep, chestnut hair. Kaoru smiled, humbled by the sight. Kenji's eyes popped open as he sat up, his hair ruffled, and stared sleepily at her.
"Hi, Oka-san." He rubbed his eyes, smiling. "You look different."
"Really?" She leaned on the wall. "How so?"
"Your clothes and hair. They're different. They're normal."
"Oh? Is that good?"
"Uh-huh." He nodded slowly. Kaoru jingled her keys,
"Well, things are going to be a little different for a while, okay Kenji? We need to get home right away. There's a lot of stuff we need to do."
Instead of questioning, Kenji began to gather his things. He had always been obedient like that. After tying his own shoes and putting his sweater on by himself, he walked over Ami, bent down on his knees and kissed her on the cheek. Kaoru cocked her head, puzzled. Kenji saw her eyes and softly explained.
"Daddy does it to you, sometimes."
Her heart froze as all of the anger and pain flooded back, burring her. She wiped her eyes again, just to be sure. "I need to talk to you in the car, Kenji. Let's hurry."
"Okay, Mommy." He fumbled for his sketch pad and pencil and stood. Walking slowly and sloppily, his head drifting in and out of sleep, he staggered by his mother. Kaoru met up with Minako in the hall, and embraced her in a hug.
"Thanks, Minako-chan."
"No problem. He was an angel." She let her go, staring into her eyes again. "Please call me soon, Kaoru-chan."
"I will." She nodded half-heartedly. Grasping Kenji's slender fingers, she led him to the door of the car, helped him in, then let herself in. Backing away from Miwako-chan's and steering the car onto the free way, a stunned silence stretched between the woman and the young boy. Kenji's eyes flickered wildly between mellow violet and deep indigo. Kaoru tried to keep her eyes on the road, but found it difficult. Kenji spoke up, feeling the tension with the sense that all little children have.
"Mommy, what's wrong? Where is Daddy?"
Kaoru found it hard to put the emotions to words, and then have to translate them in the way you should explain things to a little boy who would probably never see his father again without his mother and a probation worker watching them. "Kenji," She struggled. "Kenji, Daddy lied to Mommy. Daddy lied and hurt Mommy's feelings very badly. Mommy can not trust Daddy now, and probably never will. I don't think you will see Daddy for a long time now."
Kenji took a moment to understand, filing through his mothers' words like one would with the pages of a book. "Daddy is a 'liar, liar, pants on fire'?" He asked innocently. Kaoru almost smiled. Almost.
"I guess so, yes."
"Does Mommy love Daddy anymore?"
"Well," Kaoru hesitated again. "Mommy loves Daddy very much, but now, Mommy isn't very sure. I am angry at Daddy, and sad that he would do something like this to us."
"What did he do?"
"He," She tried to translate the real world into a mini, softer, child's edition. "He wanted someone else to be Mommy. He wanted someone Mommy couldn't be."
"He wanted you to play pretend?"
Yes, she thought. That's exactly what he wanted. He wanted me to pretend nothing happened. He wanted me to pretend I didn't notice, and that he was a perfect husband. He wanted to play, and he cheated too, but I caught him. And now the game is over, and it's my turn to play.
"In a way, yes." Kaoru finally answered. "Now, Kenji, this may be very hard for you, but I need you to be a big boy for Mommy. Can you be a big boy?" He nodded, yes. "When we get home, I need you to go to your room, and after I give you some boxes, I need you to pack all of your clothes and toys and books. We can't go back to our house for a while." She looked at him. "Can you do that for Mommy?"
He nodded yes, again.
"Okay," she breathed, exasperated.
Okay.
She walked slowly with Kenji this time, allowing him to take his time and take it slowly, as if he might break. She was afraid she had hurt him. She knew the pain of having a broken family. When she was little, Kaoru's father was never home. He was always busy with something or another, leaving her mother alone everyday. She cried a lot, and so did Kaoru, but learned to be stronger. But was she strong enough to handle this?
She closed their apartment door softly behind her, ushering Kenji to his room on her way to the closet. She with drew six large moving boxes which she had stored there when Kenji was just a baby. "Kaoru," Kenshin had said, "We'll never use those. It's a waste." She looked on that moment and laughed.
She handed three boxes to Kenji, but was doubtful he would use one and a half. She would have to go through his things and make sure he packed enough. Kaoru was sure she would need most of the boxes. One for her clothes and hygiene supplies, one for kitchen utensils, a cordless phone, and other miscellaneous items, one for random knick-knacks of hers, and if possible, she would snag one of Kenji's boxes for thing like linen and health-care items in case of emergencies. She packed quickly and efficiently, and was finished before Kenji had even started. She decided to get her revenge.
Pulling out her cellular phone, she dialed the home number of the apartment. She heard both rings, in the cell phone and in the living room, waited a few seconds, and heard Kenshin's voice recording on the answering machine, saying they weren't here at the moment (oh, we're here) and that they would reply their call soon. A lone, mono-tone beep stretched, and Kaoru spoke.
"Hi there, Kenshin. If you are listening to this, then you can rest assured we both had a rough night. Of course, you suffered physically. I hope your stuck-up nose falls off because of frost bite; it was so high in the air with pride. I figured it out, Kenshin. Did you think I was that fucking stupid? Did you think I was that naïve? How long did you screw these bitches before feeling guilt? I guess it doesn't matter now. As you can see, me and Kenji are gone, and will be gone for a long time. I'll make sure he doesn't see his bastard of a father any time soon. Hey, Kenshin, check our joint account. I dare you. That's right, baby. Ten thousand dollars. All mine. I hope that job interview wasn't a lie. You're going to need it to feed your whore's little whelps. I'm going to file for divorce, so you don't need to worry about suing me, honey. I wouldn't want to worry your cute little head of red hair." Her voice grew thick with sarcasm. "I still can't get it. How could you do this to us? To me, your wife? And Kenji, your only son? Well, I'm not sure how many prostitutes you've knocked up, so I may be wrong. How could you? You dirty, unreconstructed whelp of a whore, how could you do this to your FAMILY!?" She screamed, spittle flying from her lips. She felt tears again. Sniffing slightly, she hid them with the palm of her hand; she hated crying. Kaoru hardly ever cried and never did it in another's presence. She could say no more to her husband. "Good bye, Kenshin, Good bye,"
*****
Fuck.
"Fuck." Kenshin whispered. It was beyond cold. It was freezing. Every nine seconds, the wind would howl, unleashing flurry of fallen leaves and bit of trash in his direction, chilling him to the bone even through his thick coat. The screech of air would subside, and then begin all over again.
He hurt, too. Ever since he and Misao had 'meet', there was a twitching pain down there. He had ignored it for a while, but now there was nothing to think about except the icy wind and the bubbling pain in his groin. Kaoru should have been here by now. . . The restaurant closed about half an hour ago, shooing him out quickly, but not quick enough as to forget their bill. He didn't have enough for a taxi, and the bus had not been seen for an hour. How was he supposed to get home? He wondered frantically, twitching from the pain in his crotch and the chill in his skin. Walk? Is that what she wanted him to do? Walk when it had taken fifteen minutes to DRIVE there? Screw that, his head murmured.
"Fuck." Kenshin repeated bitterly. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!" His little rage thermometer was climbing steadily from annoyed, to pissed. Kenshin rarely cursed, but he was far from ticked off, and that was usually his breaking point. But then, looking across the street through the teeny branches of the trees, he strained to see a dark, yet familiar figure.
Speaking of fuck. . .
"Misao? Is that you?"
The figure raised her head in response.
*****
Misao didn't want to see Kenshin again. The sight of the 'daddy' mug shattered any affection for him. Besides, she added to herself, I just want to go home. It had been a hard day. This one thirty-year-old guy kept pushing the limits. He hurt her, and just wouldn't stop. He gave her a hundred, but she felt cheated. Wasn't she already in enough pain? Her crotch was throbbing, but luckily, she had made enough for her to buy some cocaine, and she soon forgot. Seeing Kenshin reminded her of everything.
"Oh, hi." She spoke softly, quietly, almost shyly. She wiped her face, dismissing any stray flakes of the white powder beneath her nose. Kenshin's eyes darted across the street, searching for cars, and when he saw the barren street, he crossed to her. He waved childishly, smiling.
"Why are you here?" Misao asked, almost cruelly.
"I was having dinner with-" He stopped, for a moment. "Just having dinner by myself."
"I see," she looked at the ground, unconvinced.
"Hey, um," Kenshin scratched his head sheepishly. "Do you think I could get a ride or crash at your place or something? My ride ditched me." He tried to force a chuckle. Misao stared him down, her eyes freezing his mouth to a nervous smile.
"You can stay at my house. I'd offer a ride, but it's my brother's car, and he doesn't like strangers driving his car alone."
"He could just drop me off."
"It's not wise to be with my brother alone for too long, especially if you," she paused, staring harder. "If you 'know' me. It would be better of you to stay with me, because you won't be alone. My brother worries about me too much."
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"Not if he almost killed someone trying to protect me." She stared at the ground again. Kenshin's nervous smile faded.
"I see. You know, maybe I should get a hotel or something. . ."
"No, it's okay. He won't hurt you. Just don't touch me in his presence."
"Oh, um, sure. No prob." He tried to make her laugh. "I should touch you as much as I can now, then, shouldn't I?"
Misao's face was blank as she brushed his hand away and walked ahead of him.
*****
"All done, Mommy!" Kenji chirped happily. Kaoru stopped stuffing the kitchen utensils into one of her card board boxes, and made her to Kenji's room. His bookshelves were bare, and the toy chest was empty. His dresser had a lone open drawer, which was barren inside. She sighed.
"Go get your toothbrush and your favorite shampoo. Mommy's going to check."
"I already did!" Kenji stood proud. "You can check it in front of me. I'm positively positive that I packed everything, and even if I DID forget something, I wouldn't get mad at you." Kaoru smiled.
"Okay, let's see. . ." She rummaged through the box. "Underwear?" She held up an example, patterned with chibi dogs. Kenji giggled.
"Check!"
"How about. . .shirt and pants?" She held up his favorite T-shirt, and his not so favorite shorts. He still laughed.
"Check!"
"Toys and books?" She withdrew a battered copy of 'Chibi Usagi' and displayed it. Kenji smiled.
"Check-a-roo!"
"Wow, you even have stuff here that you don't need. Good job, Kenji!" She patted his head, mussing his coal-hued hair. He closed his eyes, and smiled just like Kenshin. Kaoru pulled her hand back, almost disgusted at the sight. Tears welded up in the corner of her eyes, and soon, she was kneeling on the floor and hiding her face as she wept. Kenji's smile faded slowly in realization.
"Mama? Mama, what's wrong?"
Kaoru cried and wrapped her arms around Kenji's waist, hugging him closer. She wept into his T-shirt, her tears staining it with dark water spots. "Why, Kenji?" She screamed, wishing that she could just know why. "Why did he do this to his family?" Squeezing him tighter to her face, her screams came out muffled and thick. Kenji looked down on his mother, crying in his arms.
Then, Kenji slunk down to his knees and cried with her.
*****
"Here we go." Kaoru shoved the keys into the ignition. "Ready, private?"
Kenji grinned. It was a game they played. He adjusted imaginary goggles. "Ready for take-off, mother bird!"
"Here we go!" She made fake airplane sounds, pulling the car out of the drive way. "Runway clear?" She checked the street for oncoming cars. Kenji nodded positively.
"Yup!"
"Five. . .four. . ." She urged.
"Three! Two!" He joined in.
"ONE! BLAST OFF!" They screamed in unison, laughing in joy. Kaoru left her smile at the house, abandoning it. She never wanted to go back there again.
Kenji was nearly smothered by all off the boxes in the back seat. He was stuffed between two of the giant cardboard menaces, while the other four were either in the trunk, under his feet, or in the front passenger seat. "Mommy?" Kenji inquired, gasping for breath. "Where are we going?"
Kaoru stood silent.
"Mommy?"
"I. . .I don't know Kenji. I don't know."
I don't know. . .
*****
Tomoko-chan: See! Kaoru is NOT a wussy! She just, um. . . runs away from her problems. . . Yea. Okay! Any who, I don't know where Kaoru and Kenji should go. I'm thinking a motel somewhere, until they can find an apartment. I already know what's going to happen to Kenshin. Don't hate him! I love Kenshin, he's my favorite character, but I'm just so evil. I can't help it. . . Sorry it took so long to post this. My muse, Maria, like to take vacations and spend my money. I need chocolate. . .Ja ne! Please comment!