Tomoko-chan: Yes. . . to most of you guy's dismay, I am quitting my other
Teen Titans fanfic. It should be gone by now. I just didn't feel the same
thing with it as I do with this one, or my YYH one. I don't really adore
the show; hell, it hasn't even completed one season yet. I just don't want
to do a TT one now.
Now, thing are gonna get really intense soon. My muse, Maria, is trying really hard not to hit me or leave for Guam before I can get all of her ideas out, so I should hurry. These next chapters will be. . . some fun. Yes? Yes. Let's try to make the best of this.
*****
Family. . . piece of paper. . .wouldn't supply. . . family. . . Kenshin. . .
He blinked, his indigo eyes un-clouding, slowly.
Fireflies. . .
His eyes shifted around, trying to focus on where he was, what was happening, when he was, and. . .
"What the hell," He mumbled into the carpet. "Why do I hurt so bad. . .?"
Indeed, Kenshin's head was throbbing, pulsing with every beat of his heart. His stomach was rumbling in an acidy fury threatening him evilly if he would make one move. His crotch seemed to. . . burn. It hurt so fucking much! His eyes closed as he winced in pain.
"God. . . dammit." The cursing seemed to pain him as well. "Jesus- Christ-Bananas! My crotch!" A cold sweat beaded his forehead, dying his face a pale pink. Slowly, he turned onto his back, holding the trouble spot tenderly. His eyes drooped in a tired manner, sweat trickling to their sides. Kenshin's face heated with fever.
I need to piss, he realized bluntly.
He sat up, erecting his form half-way and finding little pain, but as one hand tried to leave his swollen area, he groaned in agony. He grabbed it, eyes closing tight again, hissing through his teeth. Tears began to squeeze out from the nooks of his eyes. Need. . . to. . . pee! His mind screamed in frustration. Quickly, he unzipped his fly and pulled out his member. In one wince of painful surrender, Kenshin allowed himself to urinate on the burnished carpet. There was a throbbing soreness in his penis, but afterwards came the slightest hint of relief. Ever-so-slight, but there none the less. He laid himself back down on the ground, placing his manhood back into his Hanes boxers and zipping up his jeans. He felt the sweat and tears stinging his eyes, but was too exhausted to wipe it away. He shut his eyes, panting hard.
"What the fuck is wrong with me?" He whispered to himself, and fell unconscious once more.
*****
"Sano, this is fantastic!"
"Thanks, Kaoru. It is pretty good, if I do say so myself. But keep in mind; I'm an amateur when it comes to Yahiko's cooking. His home-made deserts are. . ." He eyes Yahiko slightly. ". . .they're almost better than sex!"
Kaoru blushed through a smile, pecking at the pie ala mode daintily. Kenji was struggling to reach his fork over the brim of the massive oak dining table, which was a wooden behemoth compared to his small frame plopped in the chair, aided only by the colorful cushion on top of it. Kaoru noticed the trouble he was having, and Yahiko must have as well, for he raised and eye brow and spoke.
"Having troubles, little man? Wanna sit on a phone book or something to give you a little boost?"
"No!" Kenji retorted, trying to sound fearless, but it came out a frustrated squawk. Kaoru hid an amused smile behind her hand, still wielding the fork. Yahiko had a strange emotion clad on his face; a strange combination of surprise and happiness.
"Well, well, then! If you say so." He smiled slyly, eyeing the little boy as if to say 'Come on, you know you need it. I won't force it, but you need it.' As if to read this look, Kenji looked at the ground, his feet dangling.
"Maybe just one phone book. Just to help. A little."
"Okay," Yahiko excused himself briefly, pushing his chair and walking into the kitchen. Sano, Kaoru, and now Megumi along with Kenshin continued to bring the forkfuls of pie to their lips. Megumi cleared her throat and wiped her blood-red lips with a napkin. Kaoru secretly wondered were she had gotten such a deep red.
"So, Kenji, when's your birthday? What year were you born in?"
"May twelfth," Kenji muttered under his breath, reaching over the rim of the table. "In 1998."
"I see," Megumi nodded, a sliver of a smile upon her face. She gave a full, deep look at Kaoru, clashing her bold brown eyes with Kaoru's slightly nervous blue. "You birthed him young. Didn't you?"
Kaoru gave a small intake of breath before averting her gaze to the ground. "Well, yes." She wondered how she could have known, and wished she hadn't asked such a thing. It brought back the memories. Those, horrible, horrible memories. They had only been married for a year. One year, and then she shattered the naïve love that night at the restaurant. Her eyes had been cloudy with tears as she sputtered the facts, feeling like a sinner in a confessional in his presence. She ended up weeping into his jacket, and he brought her close and patted her head and held her. His embrace was not passionate or loving; just a strong hold upon her shoulders as if he were trying to muffle her sobs and not attract anymore attention. He spoke no more, and refused her love later in the night. "Kenshin," she had whispered, a faint, hopeful smile on her lips, "Think about it. I'm going to bear your child. Your beautiful, baby boy. We'll get enough money for him. We can name him after you." Kenshin had placed his strong hand on her forehead and sighed. "No. Don't give him my name. Don't make him have this." She had not understood him, and hardly did even to this day, but she felt the smallest sense of realization within her now.
Megumi brushed a lock of her gorgeous black hair aside as she reached for her cup of steaming coffee with milk. "I knew it." She spoke triumphantly. "I can always tell. I suppose it's just a sense I have." She sipped and placed the mug back on its original position. "I could read him for his future if you want."
Kaoru lifted her head up from her gaze and stared at Megumi. "What?"
"Read him for his future. It's this silly talent I have, but usually, I'm not wrong. I feel a strong presence in this boy, and I want to know what it is. But if you don't want me too, I won't."
"Oh. No. You'd better ask Kenji. It's fine with me." Kaoru waved her hand, as if throwing the comment aside. A hint of curiosity was in her voice.
"Kenji, may I read your fortune?" Megumi asked softly. Kenji glanced up.
"Um, sure."
"Alright. I need you to stand for me." She stood from her chair and kneeled to be at eye-level with Kenji, who slid out of his chair and looked as if he were about to fall. But he landed with his feet on the ground, and stood ready before Megumi.
Megumi looked at him over for a few moments, her eyes darting about and around various parts of his body. She clamped her hands together and rubbed them, not loosing her gaze from Kenji's frame. Separating her hands, she patted Kenji's shoulders and moved her hands down to cover his arms, elbows, and eventually reaching his hands. She stared hard at his palms for a minute, then continued with her 'search; by placing her slender fingers on his torso. Working down, she rubbed and patted with chest and stomach until reaching his hips. Kaoru was afraid that Megumi would grope Kenji's small, un-developed manhood, but she didn't and instead moved down his legs, eventually reaching his toes, where she massaged quickly.
"Well?" Kaoru asked, nervous and somewhat frightened. Sano just stared.
"Your son is very hard to read." She responded almost immediately. "But I think I got something. He's a very brave and strong boy. Intelligent as well, as I'm sure you know. He will grow very quickly, and will only get sick five more times in his life. He will have three major accidents in his teenage years, but I don't think in any other part of his life. He will never be gravely ill, and will die asleep in his bed, as an old man. He is happy now, but it is a confused, puzzled happy where he doesn't really understand what's happening. In his pre-teen years, we will get very active and playful, and will work off most of his body fat, so feed him well. In his teenage years, be careful about girls. There will be one you must be very aware of. The rest of his life will be peaceful, calm, and pleasing." Megumi looked up at Kaoru, startling her with her huge brown orbs. "You should be very proud." She stated, smiling. Kaoru smiled as well, nodding.
"I already am."
*****
Pain.
Agony; bitter-sweet, skin-ripping, blood-curdling, muscle-searing, bone-crunching agony that beat steadily within his mind, causing his forehead to glisten with sweat from fever and stress. His amethyst eyes were distant with hallucination as he crouched in the corner of his apartment, hiding from the various puddles of vomit and urine he had forced from his body in the past hours. He panted heavily, but felt like he was hardly getting any air at all. He didn't really care anymore. It was a blessing, that feeling that he might die from lack of air. Kenshin's dazed, confused look matted onto his head cocked in uncertainty was almost unsettling, even to himself. He had shed the soaking T-shirt earlier, wanting to escape the stench within it. He felt dirty and broken, and slipping away from this world seemed sweeter than sugar. His mind smiled at the thought of him bleeding to death as the poison within him left his life juice.
His eyes shifted around the room, searching blankly. He couldn't move, not even an inch, but maybe. . .
There was a small table to his side, where a number of office supplies littered the top. Kenshin's wide, nearly pupil-less eyes darted feverishly around the wicker-basket table, his hand groping senselessly in a disturbing manner. Finally he grasped something, and knew right away what it was. He smiled faintly, the taste of copper and blood gurgling in the back of his mouth,
It was a sword.
He knew this touch. He knew the coldness of the blade. He had felt it so many times, it was as if it was carved into his memory. The icy pleasure of the chilled metal graced his heated hand as he clutched it, and brought it to his eyes. The handle slid comfortably over his fingers, and a shiver of sweet surrender speed through his spine, tingling his nerves and re- sparking his warrior sense with the flame of murder. He had missed this rapture, this golden retreat within his hands. Tears misted his eyes as the pain already seemed to slip from him. He remembered the blood, and knew that seeing it again would make him perfect, and he would be truly happy.
He brought the newly-found sword to his cheek and began carving.
Of course, Kenshin Himura did not really grasp a sword that day. He had never touched a sword before in his life, and had only seen them on occasion. He had hardly ever given them a second thought until this day. What he held between his fingers were in fact a pair of scissors that had been upon the side table. But Kenshin did indeed begin to slice through the skin on his face, and eventually shed so much blood that he fell unconscious.
If he had not coincidentally carved a cross, the symbol of the savior, on his skin, heated with delusional fever, he may not have been found until days later, dead on his living room floor. But, by a stroke of luck or maybe even God, Misao walked through the open door and saw Kenshin bleeding, and immediately ran to the phone and dialed the emergency unit.
*****
Something disturbing went down Kaoru's spine. Chills, maybe? She rubbed her palms over her arms, attempting to warm them. Yahiko walked in through the door to the kitchen, clutching a handful of phone books. His eyes darted around the facial features of everyone in the room, sighed, and locked his eyes onto Megumi.
"What'd you do, Fox Girl?"
"I just read Kenji's fortune. That's all." She smiled, calmly and beautifully, the shade of red clad over her lips like a rose petal. Yahiko set the pile of phone books in the corner of the room and walked to Kenji.
"Hey, little man. Are you okay?" Yahiko inquired puzzled and sincere. Kenji's head lolled, his eye half-closed, and his frame looked ready to collapse.
"Sleepy." He mumbled simply, and trudged over to Kaoru. He got on his knees, laid his head in her lap, and fell asleep. Kaoru looked at him, surprised but pleasured slightly at the audacity before her. Sano nodded, speaking for the first time in a while.
"Here, let me escort you guys back home." He moved his own chair aside, and pushed it back to its own place under the table. "Be right back, Yahiko." He yelled to the kitchen, where Yahiko had retreated to clean up. Kaoru pulled Kenji up and draped him on her shoulder. She walked to the door, where she shook Megumi's hand firmly.
"Thank you. It was a pleasure to meet you."
"No problem. I'm glad I met you, Kaoru Kamiya."
"How. . ." Kaoru stuttered. She had not told Megumi her maiden name. She shook it off; coincidence, probably. "Good-bye." She stared into her eyes again, the shivers tingling her back again. "Good-bye, Yahiko. I'll see you later." She spoke loudly, her voice ringing off the sides of the house to the kitchen. Yahiko yelled something back, but she couldn't hear him. She still smiled.
Sano opened the door for her. "Come, me lady." He grinned foolishly, offering an arm. She giggled and grasped it, using the other to hold Kenji into place on her shoulder. They walked out of the front door, the imprint of Megumi's smile still imprinted in Kaoru's mind.
What an odd smile. . .Kaoru thought humbly to herself.
"Did you have a good time?" Sano asked, leading Kaoru up the apartment stairs. She nodded, humming in contentment.
"Yes, I had a wonderful time. It was very nice to meet Megumi and Yahiko."
They paused for a moment at the top of the stairs as Kaoru fumbled briefly with the doorknob. It swung open, and she walked inside, heading to Kenji's bedroom. Expecting a quiet 'good-bye', Kaoru was more than surprised to notice that Sanoske had followed her.
She pushed Kenji's door aside with her hip, bumping it and allowing her to pass, and trudged to his bed side. She placed him gently on top of the covers and laid a green comforter on his frame. She felt an emotion of peace within her as she watched his small, tender lips form around a sub- conscious smile. She backed away slowly from her son and closed the bedroom door behind her. Hearing the soft click, she turned her head, looking at Sano.
"Thank you." She almost whispered. Her voice was quiet, yet passionate. Sano raised an eyebrow.
"For what?"
"For. . . everything. I'm so grateful for you, Sano. If I didn't meet you today, who knows what might've happened to us. We would have had no furniture, no food, no friends. . . I'm just so happy now." Tears threatened the corner of her eyes. "And. . ." She struggled. "I know that this may insult you, or startle you but. . ." She rubbed her eyes. "I feel this love for you, Yahiko, and Megumi, Sano. It's so strong, and it feels so good, I can't imagine life without you guys." Hiding her face, she spoke to her hands which wrapped around her cheeks, becoming one with the tears. Sanoske's eye softened as he quickly walked to Kaoru's side and locked her in a calm embrace.
"Kaoru-chan, we love you and welcome you here. We want you to be our family. You and Kenji are little stars of light in our lives, and we must thank you for that as well. Don't think that life is over. So what if your husband's a bitch," He joked, smiling as he used his fingers to brush away the droplets of moisture by her eyes. "If he could do such a thing to you and Kenji, he must be some kind of demon, and a baka one at that."
She smiled, burying her face into his T-shirt to weep some more. She suddenly realized how much weeping she had done these past few days, and thought carefully about it. From now on, she vowed to herself, I'm going to laugh more than cry. I need to be happy here, for Kenji and Sano and everyone else.
Demon, she wondered as the last tears fell from her face. A demon? Perhaps. . . she closed her eyes.
An incubus?
*****
"911 operator speaking; what is your emergency?"
"Oh my God! Holy shit, please, someone help us!"
"Ma'am, I need you to calm down."
"I can't! I fucking CAN'T! Sweet Jesus, help me! Kenshin's bleeding to death!"
"Where are you?"
Misao stuttered into the phone, pushing her hair from her eyes. "I don't know. . . I only know it by memory. I don't know the address. I know it's on Ume Street, or Ichigo Street or some crap like that. It's a street with a fruit in the name. Oh God, Kenshin." She cupped her hand over her mouth, trying to conceal the sobs.
"Alright, ma'am. We're tracing the call and an ambulance will be there shortly. Stay on the line. Do not move from your location."
"O-okay. . ." Misao sputtered, flecks of spit flying from her mouth. She tried to pull her eyes from Kenshin's body, but her gaze was drawn to it like a magnet. His hair blended perfectly, and under another circumstance, say, if this scene had been a painting, Misao would have found it disturbingly beautiful. Now she just found it disturbing.
"Now, ma'am, where is the person injured?"
"Kenshin. . .he. . ." She hesitated, feeling like she was looking at a corpse. "It looks like he cut himself with scissors, but in his cheek, and there's blood all over the floor. There's also a lot of pee and puke on the floor. . ." She noticed, stepping from the foul odorous substances.
"Get a clean cloth and apply pressure to the area that is bleeding. Do not do anything but that. Stay on the line and wait for the ambulance."
"Okay! Okay." She breathed deeply, forcing air to her lungs as she limped along the hallway. Her groin had been hurting her, and she found it hard to move most of the time. She searched the hallway cabinets, and eventually found some towels. She grabbed one, and hobbled as fast as she could to his side. Kneeling, struggling with the phone and the towel, she tried to turn him on his side. A slick of a mysterious liquid dripped from the corner of his mouth. Frantically, she pressed the cream-tinted towel to his cheek, squealing girlishly at the sight of the blood seeming through the cloth. Misao was afraid to apply the pressure. She didn't want to touch it.
That was when the convulsions happened.
It started with just a single jerk of his body, twitching slightly just for an instant. Misao thought she had seen a glitch in time. Then his fingers moved in an abnormal manner and his head lolled on the floor, rolling in the mess behind him. His legs and arms jerked outward, nearly hitting Misao. Her blue eyes grew wide in fear as she found her self trembling.
"Oh my God! Kenshin!" She screamed rather loudly. The operator showed no sign of emotion when he questioned.
"Calm down, ma'am. What is wrong? What's happening?"
"Seizure!" She held the receiver with one hand and yelled into it. "Seizure! He's having a fucking seizure! Get that fucking ambulance over here! HE GOING TO DIE!"
Misao's head felt faint as a sweeping pain washed over her. Her eyelids drooped, revealing dark circles. She swaggered unsteadily in her knees, then fell over on top of Kenshin's twitching frame. She wanted to move and scream, but was too exhausted. Her eyes closed after uttering "Kenshin. . ." one last time.
She fainted and submitted into the darkness.
*****
Sano patted her back tenderly and gently broke the embrace. Kaoru sniffed soulfully, embarrassed that she had wept into Sanoske's interesting, yet cool-looking T-shirt with American letters on them. She couldn't really understand them, but made out the word 'like'. She tugged on it.
"What does this say?" Kaoru asked, her azure eyes clearing from the absence of tears. Sanoske chuckled.
"It says 'Like a Virgin'. I thought it was funny and pretty ironic in my case, so I bought it."
Kaoru formed some puzzle pieces together within her mind. "You can read, speak, and understand English, Sano?"
"Yea. I used to live in America, with my dad, but after he died I moved back here with my mom."
"Was it different?"
"A little. Not much, really. About just as crowded. It was interesting, all right. Maybe it was a bit of fun, too.
"Oh, speaking of English and fun. . ." He reached into his pocket and retrieved a CD case, the gleaming disk shining a kaleidoscope of colors inside. "This guy's name is John Mayer. He's got some pretty good lungs on him. I thought you might like to listen to him, seeing how you liked my version of 'Come on, Irene'." He grinned, foolishly.
::But only fools can get into Heaven::
She clutched the CD jewel case, a smile on her face but a veil of black haze in her head. Where had she heard that before? She shook herself mentally. Maybe I'm just crazy, she figured.
::Maybe I'm a fool::
What were these thought in her head?
::Kenshin!::
They were so familiar. . .
::What's this? The blade is on the wrong side!::
And yet. . . so very new.
"Kaoru?" Sano stared at her puzzled.
She snapped out of her daze, blinking quizzically. She smeared on another shy smile as she bowed her head. "Oh, sorry. Thank you, Sano. I'm sure I'll love it." She walked to her CD player. "Can I listen to some now?"
"Oh, sure."
She only got as far as to put the CD in the stereo when her cell phone rang.
She rushed to it and hesitated before picking up the phone. Something didn't feel right. "H-hello? This is. . ." She paused. She didn't know what to say. "This is Kaoru Kamiya." It felt different to say such a thing. She was so used to saying Kaoru Himura. It almost. . . hurt.
"Hello, this Akari National Hospital. We're looking for a Kaoru Himura."
She swallowed nervously. Something was not right.
"Speaking."
"We have your husband here. He had a series of convulsions and seizures within his apartment earlier in the evening while attempting suicide. He wishes to see you. And testing has just come through that he has been diagnosed with AIDS. Ma'am? Are you there?"
No. . . Kaoru thought. Her face flushed white as she struggled to free the breath caught in her throat. No.
***** Tomoko-chan: Blah. Sorry it took so long to update. I've been running out of ideas. Technically, I just pulled the ideas for this chapter out of me arse, so don't be surprised if I'm knee-deep in flames. But please don't flame me. . .^_^;; I'm just a poor little girl with nothing better to do than make imaginary character's lives miserable.
About the whole eye-color, hair-color comment I got, I looked around and did some research and YES. Kaoru's eyes are indeed blue Sorry about that. BUT I also learned that Misao's eyes are blue too. So ha ha ha on my part. Um, I do know and realize that Kenji's hair is supposedly red too, but I like it better black, like his mom. It also symbolizes the hatred he felt for his father in both the anime and manga for never knowing him. Besides, it's my fanfic. I can screw it up if I want too. ^_^
In case you didn't notice, I am intertwining the plot lines from the true anime and manga in this story, making it a sort of. . . past life kind of experience for the RK gang. If you want one of your favorite characters to make an appearance, just tell me. As always, ideas, tips, hints, and death threats will all be considered if put in a sensible way. Yawn, I'm hungry, so I must depart to gorge on chocolate and pizza! AWAAAAAAY!! Ja ne, peoples.
"It's threatening AND romantic! It's threatmantic!"
- Cosmo, for 'Fairly Odd Parents'
Now, thing are gonna get really intense soon. My muse, Maria, is trying really hard not to hit me or leave for Guam before I can get all of her ideas out, so I should hurry. These next chapters will be. . . some fun. Yes? Yes. Let's try to make the best of this.
*****
Family. . . piece of paper. . .wouldn't supply. . . family. . . Kenshin. . .
He blinked, his indigo eyes un-clouding, slowly.
Fireflies. . .
His eyes shifted around, trying to focus on where he was, what was happening, when he was, and. . .
"What the hell," He mumbled into the carpet. "Why do I hurt so bad. . .?"
Indeed, Kenshin's head was throbbing, pulsing with every beat of his heart. His stomach was rumbling in an acidy fury threatening him evilly if he would make one move. His crotch seemed to. . . burn. It hurt so fucking much! His eyes closed as he winced in pain.
"God. . . dammit." The cursing seemed to pain him as well. "Jesus- Christ-Bananas! My crotch!" A cold sweat beaded his forehead, dying his face a pale pink. Slowly, he turned onto his back, holding the trouble spot tenderly. His eyes drooped in a tired manner, sweat trickling to their sides. Kenshin's face heated with fever.
I need to piss, he realized bluntly.
He sat up, erecting his form half-way and finding little pain, but as one hand tried to leave his swollen area, he groaned in agony. He grabbed it, eyes closing tight again, hissing through his teeth. Tears began to squeeze out from the nooks of his eyes. Need. . . to. . . pee! His mind screamed in frustration. Quickly, he unzipped his fly and pulled out his member. In one wince of painful surrender, Kenshin allowed himself to urinate on the burnished carpet. There was a throbbing soreness in his penis, but afterwards came the slightest hint of relief. Ever-so-slight, but there none the less. He laid himself back down on the ground, placing his manhood back into his Hanes boxers and zipping up his jeans. He felt the sweat and tears stinging his eyes, but was too exhausted to wipe it away. He shut his eyes, panting hard.
"What the fuck is wrong with me?" He whispered to himself, and fell unconscious once more.
*****
"Sano, this is fantastic!"
"Thanks, Kaoru. It is pretty good, if I do say so myself. But keep in mind; I'm an amateur when it comes to Yahiko's cooking. His home-made deserts are. . ." He eyes Yahiko slightly. ". . .they're almost better than sex!"
Kaoru blushed through a smile, pecking at the pie ala mode daintily. Kenji was struggling to reach his fork over the brim of the massive oak dining table, which was a wooden behemoth compared to his small frame plopped in the chair, aided only by the colorful cushion on top of it. Kaoru noticed the trouble he was having, and Yahiko must have as well, for he raised and eye brow and spoke.
"Having troubles, little man? Wanna sit on a phone book or something to give you a little boost?"
"No!" Kenji retorted, trying to sound fearless, but it came out a frustrated squawk. Kaoru hid an amused smile behind her hand, still wielding the fork. Yahiko had a strange emotion clad on his face; a strange combination of surprise and happiness.
"Well, well, then! If you say so." He smiled slyly, eyeing the little boy as if to say 'Come on, you know you need it. I won't force it, but you need it.' As if to read this look, Kenji looked at the ground, his feet dangling.
"Maybe just one phone book. Just to help. A little."
"Okay," Yahiko excused himself briefly, pushing his chair and walking into the kitchen. Sano, Kaoru, and now Megumi along with Kenshin continued to bring the forkfuls of pie to their lips. Megumi cleared her throat and wiped her blood-red lips with a napkin. Kaoru secretly wondered were she had gotten such a deep red.
"So, Kenji, when's your birthday? What year were you born in?"
"May twelfth," Kenji muttered under his breath, reaching over the rim of the table. "In 1998."
"I see," Megumi nodded, a sliver of a smile upon her face. She gave a full, deep look at Kaoru, clashing her bold brown eyes with Kaoru's slightly nervous blue. "You birthed him young. Didn't you?"
Kaoru gave a small intake of breath before averting her gaze to the ground. "Well, yes." She wondered how she could have known, and wished she hadn't asked such a thing. It brought back the memories. Those, horrible, horrible memories. They had only been married for a year. One year, and then she shattered the naïve love that night at the restaurant. Her eyes had been cloudy with tears as she sputtered the facts, feeling like a sinner in a confessional in his presence. She ended up weeping into his jacket, and he brought her close and patted her head and held her. His embrace was not passionate or loving; just a strong hold upon her shoulders as if he were trying to muffle her sobs and not attract anymore attention. He spoke no more, and refused her love later in the night. "Kenshin," she had whispered, a faint, hopeful smile on her lips, "Think about it. I'm going to bear your child. Your beautiful, baby boy. We'll get enough money for him. We can name him after you." Kenshin had placed his strong hand on her forehead and sighed. "No. Don't give him my name. Don't make him have this." She had not understood him, and hardly did even to this day, but she felt the smallest sense of realization within her now.
Megumi brushed a lock of her gorgeous black hair aside as she reached for her cup of steaming coffee with milk. "I knew it." She spoke triumphantly. "I can always tell. I suppose it's just a sense I have." She sipped and placed the mug back on its original position. "I could read him for his future if you want."
Kaoru lifted her head up from her gaze and stared at Megumi. "What?"
"Read him for his future. It's this silly talent I have, but usually, I'm not wrong. I feel a strong presence in this boy, and I want to know what it is. But if you don't want me too, I won't."
"Oh. No. You'd better ask Kenji. It's fine with me." Kaoru waved her hand, as if throwing the comment aside. A hint of curiosity was in her voice.
"Kenji, may I read your fortune?" Megumi asked softly. Kenji glanced up.
"Um, sure."
"Alright. I need you to stand for me." She stood from her chair and kneeled to be at eye-level with Kenji, who slid out of his chair and looked as if he were about to fall. But he landed with his feet on the ground, and stood ready before Megumi.
Megumi looked at him over for a few moments, her eyes darting about and around various parts of his body. She clamped her hands together and rubbed them, not loosing her gaze from Kenji's frame. Separating her hands, she patted Kenji's shoulders and moved her hands down to cover his arms, elbows, and eventually reaching his hands. She stared hard at his palms for a minute, then continued with her 'search; by placing her slender fingers on his torso. Working down, she rubbed and patted with chest and stomach until reaching his hips. Kaoru was afraid that Megumi would grope Kenji's small, un-developed manhood, but she didn't and instead moved down his legs, eventually reaching his toes, where she massaged quickly.
"Well?" Kaoru asked, nervous and somewhat frightened. Sano just stared.
"Your son is very hard to read." She responded almost immediately. "But I think I got something. He's a very brave and strong boy. Intelligent as well, as I'm sure you know. He will grow very quickly, and will only get sick five more times in his life. He will have three major accidents in his teenage years, but I don't think in any other part of his life. He will never be gravely ill, and will die asleep in his bed, as an old man. He is happy now, but it is a confused, puzzled happy where he doesn't really understand what's happening. In his pre-teen years, we will get very active and playful, and will work off most of his body fat, so feed him well. In his teenage years, be careful about girls. There will be one you must be very aware of. The rest of his life will be peaceful, calm, and pleasing." Megumi looked up at Kaoru, startling her with her huge brown orbs. "You should be very proud." She stated, smiling. Kaoru smiled as well, nodding.
"I already am."
*****
Pain.
Agony; bitter-sweet, skin-ripping, blood-curdling, muscle-searing, bone-crunching agony that beat steadily within his mind, causing his forehead to glisten with sweat from fever and stress. His amethyst eyes were distant with hallucination as he crouched in the corner of his apartment, hiding from the various puddles of vomit and urine he had forced from his body in the past hours. He panted heavily, but felt like he was hardly getting any air at all. He didn't really care anymore. It was a blessing, that feeling that he might die from lack of air. Kenshin's dazed, confused look matted onto his head cocked in uncertainty was almost unsettling, even to himself. He had shed the soaking T-shirt earlier, wanting to escape the stench within it. He felt dirty and broken, and slipping away from this world seemed sweeter than sugar. His mind smiled at the thought of him bleeding to death as the poison within him left his life juice.
His eyes shifted around the room, searching blankly. He couldn't move, not even an inch, but maybe. . .
There was a small table to his side, where a number of office supplies littered the top. Kenshin's wide, nearly pupil-less eyes darted feverishly around the wicker-basket table, his hand groping senselessly in a disturbing manner. Finally he grasped something, and knew right away what it was. He smiled faintly, the taste of copper and blood gurgling in the back of his mouth,
It was a sword.
He knew this touch. He knew the coldness of the blade. He had felt it so many times, it was as if it was carved into his memory. The icy pleasure of the chilled metal graced his heated hand as he clutched it, and brought it to his eyes. The handle slid comfortably over his fingers, and a shiver of sweet surrender speed through his spine, tingling his nerves and re- sparking his warrior sense with the flame of murder. He had missed this rapture, this golden retreat within his hands. Tears misted his eyes as the pain already seemed to slip from him. He remembered the blood, and knew that seeing it again would make him perfect, and he would be truly happy.
He brought the newly-found sword to his cheek and began carving.
Of course, Kenshin Himura did not really grasp a sword that day. He had never touched a sword before in his life, and had only seen them on occasion. He had hardly ever given them a second thought until this day. What he held between his fingers were in fact a pair of scissors that had been upon the side table. But Kenshin did indeed begin to slice through the skin on his face, and eventually shed so much blood that he fell unconscious.
If he had not coincidentally carved a cross, the symbol of the savior, on his skin, heated with delusional fever, he may not have been found until days later, dead on his living room floor. But, by a stroke of luck or maybe even God, Misao walked through the open door and saw Kenshin bleeding, and immediately ran to the phone and dialed the emergency unit.
*****
Something disturbing went down Kaoru's spine. Chills, maybe? She rubbed her palms over her arms, attempting to warm them. Yahiko walked in through the door to the kitchen, clutching a handful of phone books. His eyes darted around the facial features of everyone in the room, sighed, and locked his eyes onto Megumi.
"What'd you do, Fox Girl?"
"I just read Kenji's fortune. That's all." She smiled, calmly and beautifully, the shade of red clad over her lips like a rose petal. Yahiko set the pile of phone books in the corner of the room and walked to Kenji.
"Hey, little man. Are you okay?" Yahiko inquired puzzled and sincere. Kenji's head lolled, his eye half-closed, and his frame looked ready to collapse.
"Sleepy." He mumbled simply, and trudged over to Kaoru. He got on his knees, laid his head in her lap, and fell asleep. Kaoru looked at him, surprised but pleasured slightly at the audacity before her. Sano nodded, speaking for the first time in a while.
"Here, let me escort you guys back home." He moved his own chair aside, and pushed it back to its own place under the table. "Be right back, Yahiko." He yelled to the kitchen, where Yahiko had retreated to clean up. Kaoru pulled Kenji up and draped him on her shoulder. She walked to the door, where she shook Megumi's hand firmly.
"Thank you. It was a pleasure to meet you."
"No problem. I'm glad I met you, Kaoru Kamiya."
"How. . ." Kaoru stuttered. She had not told Megumi her maiden name. She shook it off; coincidence, probably. "Good-bye." She stared into her eyes again, the shivers tingling her back again. "Good-bye, Yahiko. I'll see you later." She spoke loudly, her voice ringing off the sides of the house to the kitchen. Yahiko yelled something back, but she couldn't hear him. She still smiled.
Sano opened the door for her. "Come, me lady." He grinned foolishly, offering an arm. She giggled and grasped it, using the other to hold Kenji into place on her shoulder. They walked out of the front door, the imprint of Megumi's smile still imprinted in Kaoru's mind.
What an odd smile. . .Kaoru thought humbly to herself.
"Did you have a good time?" Sano asked, leading Kaoru up the apartment stairs. She nodded, humming in contentment.
"Yes, I had a wonderful time. It was very nice to meet Megumi and Yahiko."
They paused for a moment at the top of the stairs as Kaoru fumbled briefly with the doorknob. It swung open, and she walked inside, heading to Kenji's bedroom. Expecting a quiet 'good-bye', Kaoru was more than surprised to notice that Sanoske had followed her.
She pushed Kenji's door aside with her hip, bumping it and allowing her to pass, and trudged to his bed side. She placed him gently on top of the covers and laid a green comforter on his frame. She felt an emotion of peace within her as she watched his small, tender lips form around a sub- conscious smile. She backed away slowly from her son and closed the bedroom door behind her. Hearing the soft click, she turned her head, looking at Sano.
"Thank you." She almost whispered. Her voice was quiet, yet passionate. Sano raised an eyebrow.
"For what?"
"For. . . everything. I'm so grateful for you, Sano. If I didn't meet you today, who knows what might've happened to us. We would have had no furniture, no food, no friends. . . I'm just so happy now." Tears threatened the corner of her eyes. "And. . ." She struggled. "I know that this may insult you, or startle you but. . ." She rubbed her eyes. "I feel this love for you, Yahiko, and Megumi, Sano. It's so strong, and it feels so good, I can't imagine life without you guys." Hiding her face, she spoke to her hands which wrapped around her cheeks, becoming one with the tears. Sanoske's eye softened as he quickly walked to Kaoru's side and locked her in a calm embrace.
"Kaoru-chan, we love you and welcome you here. We want you to be our family. You and Kenji are little stars of light in our lives, and we must thank you for that as well. Don't think that life is over. So what if your husband's a bitch," He joked, smiling as he used his fingers to brush away the droplets of moisture by her eyes. "If he could do such a thing to you and Kenji, he must be some kind of demon, and a baka one at that."
She smiled, burying her face into his T-shirt to weep some more. She suddenly realized how much weeping she had done these past few days, and thought carefully about it. From now on, she vowed to herself, I'm going to laugh more than cry. I need to be happy here, for Kenji and Sano and everyone else.
Demon, she wondered as the last tears fell from her face. A demon? Perhaps. . . she closed her eyes.
An incubus?
*****
"911 operator speaking; what is your emergency?"
"Oh my God! Holy shit, please, someone help us!"
"Ma'am, I need you to calm down."
"I can't! I fucking CAN'T! Sweet Jesus, help me! Kenshin's bleeding to death!"
"Where are you?"
Misao stuttered into the phone, pushing her hair from her eyes. "I don't know. . . I only know it by memory. I don't know the address. I know it's on Ume Street, or Ichigo Street or some crap like that. It's a street with a fruit in the name. Oh God, Kenshin." She cupped her hand over her mouth, trying to conceal the sobs.
"Alright, ma'am. We're tracing the call and an ambulance will be there shortly. Stay on the line. Do not move from your location."
"O-okay. . ." Misao sputtered, flecks of spit flying from her mouth. She tried to pull her eyes from Kenshin's body, but her gaze was drawn to it like a magnet. His hair blended perfectly, and under another circumstance, say, if this scene had been a painting, Misao would have found it disturbingly beautiful. Now she just found it disturbing.
"Now, ma'am, where is the person injured?"
"Kenshin. . .he. . ." She hesitated, feeling like she was looking at a corpse. "It looks like he cut himself with scissors, but in his cheek, and there's blood all over the floor. There's also a lot of pee and puke on the floor. . ." She noticed, stepping from the foul odorous substances.
"Get a clean cloth and apply pressure to the area that is bleeding. Do not do anything but that. Stay on the line and wait for the ambulance."
"Okay! Okay." She breathed deeply, forcing air to her lungs as she limped along the hallway. Her groin had been hurting her, and she found it hard to move most of the time. She searched the hallway cabinets, and eventually found some towels. She grabbed one, and hobbled as fast as she could to his side. Kneeling, struggling with the phone and the towel, she tried to turn him on his side. A slick of a mysterious liquid dripped from the corner of his mouth. Frantically, she pressed the cream-tinted towel to his cheek, squealing girlishly at the sight of the blood seeming through the cloth. Misao was afraid to apply the pressure. She didn't want to touch it.
That was when the convulsions happened.
It started with just a single jerk of his body, twitching slightly just for an instant. Misao thought she had seen a glitch in time. Then his fingers moved in an abnormal manner and his head lolled on the floor, rolling in the mess behind him. His legs and arms jerked outward, nearly hitting Misao. Her blue eyes grew wide in fear as she found her self trembling.
"Oh my God! Kenshin!" She screamed rather loudly. The operator showed no sign of emotion when he questioned.
"Calm down, ma'am. What is wrong? What's happening?"
"Seizure!" She held the receiver with one hand and yelled into it. "Seizure! He's having a fucking seizure! Get that fucking ambulance over here! HE GOING TO DIE!"
Misao's head felt faint as a sweeping pain washed over her. Her eyelids drooped, revealing dark circles. She swaggered unsteadily in her knees, then fell over on top of Kenshin's twitching frame. She wanted to move and scream, but was too exhausted. Her eyes closed after uttering "Kenshin. . ." one last time.
She fainted and submitted into the darkness.
*****
Sano patted her back tenderly and gently broke the embrace. Kaoru sniffed soulfully, embarrassed that she had wept into Sanoske's interesting, yet cool-looking T-shirt with American letters on them. She couldn't really understand them, but made out the word 'like'. She tugged on it.
"What does this say?" Kaoru asked, her azure eyes clearing from the absence of tears. Sanoske chuckled.
"It says 'Like a Virgin'. I thought it was funny and pretty ironic in my case, so I bought it."
Kaoru formed some puzzle pieces together within her mind. "You can read, speak, and understand English, Sano?"
"Yea. I used to live in America, with my dad, but after he died I moved back here with my mom."
"Was it different?"
"A little. Not much, really. About just as crowded. It was interesting, all right. Maybe it was a bit of fun, too.
"Oh, speaking of English and fun. . ." He reached into his pocket and retrieved a CD case, the gleaming disk shining a kaleidoscope of colors inside. "This guy's name is John Mayer. He's got some pretty good lungs on him. I thought you might like to listen to him, seeing how you liked my version of 'Come on, Irene'." He grinned, foolishly.
::But only fools can get into Heaven::
She clutched the CD jewel case, a smile on her face but a veil of black haze in her head. Where had she heard that before? She shook herself mentally. Maybe I'm just crazy, she figured.
::Maybe I'm a fool::
What were these thought in her head?
::Kenshin!::
They were so familiar. . .
::What's this? The blade is on the wrong side!::
And yet. . . so very new.
"Kaoru?" Sano stared at her puzzled.
She snapped out of her daze, blinking quizzically. She smeared on another shy smile as she bowed her head. "Oh, sorry. Thank you, Sano. I'm sure I'll love it." She walked to her CD player. "Can I listen to some now?"
"Oh, sure."
She only got as far as to put the CD in the stereo when her cell phone rang.
She rushed to it and hesitated before picking up the phone. Something didn't feel right. "H-hello? This is. . ." She paused. She didn't know what to say. "This is Kaoru Kamiya." It felt different to say such a thing. She was so used to saying Kaoru Himura. It almost. . . hurt.
"Hello, this Akari National Hospital. We're looking for a Kaoru Himura."
She swallowed nervously. Something was not right.
"Speaking."
"We have your husband here. He had a series of convulsions and seizures within his apartment earlier in the evening while attempting suicide. He wishes to see you. And testing has just come through that he has been diagnosed with AIDS. Ma'am? Are you there?"
No. . . Kaoru thought. Her face flushed white as she struggled to free the breath caught in her throat. No.
***** Tomoko-chan: Blah. Sorry it took so long to update. I've been running out of ideas. Technically, I just pulled the ideas for this chapter out of me arse, so don't be surprised if I'm knee-deep in flames. But please don't flame me. . .^_^;; I'm just a poor little girl with nothing better to do than make imaginary character's lives miserable.
About the whole eye-color, hair-color comment I got, I looked around and did some research and YES. Kaoru's eyes are indeed blue Sorry about that. BUT I also learned that Misao's eyes are blue too. So ha ha ha on my part. Um, I do know and realize that Kenji's hair is supposedly red too, but I like it better black, like his mom. It also symbolizes the hatred he felt for his father in both the anime and manga for never knowing him. Besides, it's my fanfic. I can screw it up if I want too. ^_^
In case you didn't notice, I am intertwining the plot lines from the true anime and manga in this story, making it a sort of. . . past life kind of experience for the RK gang. If you want one of your favorite characters to make an appearance, just tell me. As always, ideas, tips, hints, and death threats will all be considered if put in a sensible way. Yawn, I'm hungry, so I must depart to gorge on chocolate and pizza! AWAAAAAAY!! Ja ne, peoples.
"It's threatening AND romantic! It's threatmantic!"
- Cosmo, for 'Fairly Odd Parents'