Information: this version contains no lemon. If you want to read the lemon version AND IF YOU ARE OF AGE (warning: it's NC-17), it's on Mara's site, the link is: www.geocities/maraamber1/fanfictionkamorgana.html , You can find the link to Mara's site on her profile too. Edited: Mistake in the url: it's (thank you, Firuze!)
Preys
Chapter 10: Wicked games
Kaoru welcomed them with a warm smile. "I'm so glad you came! Come in!"
They all sat at around three tables that had been gathered in the middle of the room. Tae and Sae had already brought beer for their three most regular clients.
"Misao-chan, milk or lemonade?" joked the older sister.
"I'll have a beer too," she answered with a smile, containing her anger. After the way she behaved today, she really wasn't in position to react to her teasing, she thought. She was still a kid compared to the others. She smiled again to Kaoru, who was behind the counter and was obviously furious at Sae's bad joke.
"I'll have tea."
"Of course, Shinomori-san. You should come here more often, you know."
He didn't answer.
"Red wine for me."
Meg whispered in Tokio's ear "After last night you can still bear the view of it?" before saying out loud: "Orange juice, please."
Saitoh was smoking silently. Tae approached him, her gall fading.
"Ano.Detective?"
"Sake. Warm."
"Hai!" she said quickly, before returning to prepare the drinks, joining Kaoru and her sister at the counter.
There was an awkward silence, which was not even broken when the twins put their glasses in front of them.
Tokio sighed. Could she be spared to make a speech? She always had to be sensible, diplomatic, and lecture people. Picture perfect boss, so boring and so not like her. She didn't want to take any responsibilities now. But everybody, bar Saitoh, was looking expectantly at her..
"To Okita," she said simply.
They all lifted their glasses and toasted. It released some of the pressure, and when food came most of them were talking animatedly. Well, except for Saitoh, of course, who was indifferent to everybody; and Aoshi was observing the others as usual. Sanosuke and Misao were playing darts, with Tae and Sae. Megumi was stopping her conversation with Enishi and Tsunan to send the ex-thug some remarks anytime he missed. He of course answered with a flirtatious tone, and she ended up insulting him.
Tired of witnessing one of their endless arguments, Tokio went to sit at the counter.
"Thank you, Kaoru-san. I appreciate your gesture. We all needed a little time to breathe."
The young girl glanced at the table.
"Is he okay?"
"Saitoh? He's always like this.."
"I meant Enishi. I know it's not of my business, and I'm nosy to discuss your decision, and I'm not a cop but..Do you know how this story affected him? He can react so violently.he has so much hate in him."
As the girl was looking genuinely worried, Tokio forgot her annoyance at her intervention.
"He isn't alone, Kaoru-san."
"Yeah, right, I used to think so too," she mumbled, washing furiously the dirty glasses.
Tokio noticed that Saitoh stood up, finishing his last cup of sake, and deposing it on the table in a definite gesture. He passed by them and went out of the pub. Tokio crossed Aoshi's eyes, and shrugged. She was already surprised that he came, and stayed so long. Anyway, she didn't want to think about Saitoh, his behavior or motivations now.
Kaoru's boyfriend came out of the kitchen.
"I'm finished for today. It's time for me to go home now. Hisashiburi desu, Takagi-san."
"Kenshin, won't you stay a while?"
"Kaoru-san, I didn't know Okita-san well. My place is not here. And it would upset some people. Just call me when everyone is gone, I don't want you to walk alone at night. Takagi-san, I'm sorry for your loss."
Tokio had repressed a bemused grin imagining Himura protecting Kaoru, as she was probably stronger than him. But the violet eyes were sad and gentle, and she nodded to him with a serious and warm smile.
She knew Kaoru and Enishi had dated for several years, and couldn't understand what she had found in this little man. Stability? Probably. Loosing her father last year had been very hard for the young girl. The old Kamiya was crazy about her, and Tokio remembered the adoring smile Kaoru had for him as a teenager. Usually she interrupted even the conferences and private meetings to bring a bento to her father.
Kaoru had played a large role in Tokio's decision not to tell the entire truth to the media. She wasn't intimate with Kamiya's daughter, but she knew enough to realize she would be the first casualty of washing publicly the previous Mayor's dirty laundry. That sweet girl didn't deserve that.
She felt suddenly depressed. The others were still drinking, and getting more and more careless. She wasn't in the mood. She tried, but she couldn't. Waving goodbye to Aoshi and Enishi (the others were too busy to notice), she left the pub.
She didn't want to go home. Going back to work was probably not the best idea, but it's all she came up with. Correction: the only sensible solution she could come up with.
She realized that while she was fighting with her depressing thoughts, her legs had led her to the office anyway. She opened the door of the section's room and froze. There was somebody already there. The smell of cigarette reached her senses before she saw his face, chiseled by the darkness of the room and the light from the corridor. She knew she was lost as their eyes met.
She couldn't say she was surprised. Somehow she had known. She let go of the door. It closed behind her in a soft bang. His eyes where glittering in the dark. They had that golden shade again. Her pulse fastened in anticipation, she couldn't slow it down. Still gazing at her, he crushed his cigarette in the ashtray, expectative. No way out. She had a choice, though. It was useless to fight, yet..
He had won. She had come to him. He felt the urge to dive on her, but he had to wait a little more. He needed a complete victory over her. She looked like a trapped animal... yet suddenly her expression changed. She walked to him, with assurance, not trying to hide the strength of her want anymore. Goosebumps spread on his skin.
He stood up only when she was inches in front of him. So close..Eyes to eyes, they didn't make a move for a while, letting the tension grow. And explode finally.
Everybody had left the bar, even Tae and Sae. Enishi had gone out with the others, pretending he was going home too. He came back though. Something had attracted his attention earlier, and he wanted to clear it up. Privately.
Kaoru was startled as he appeared on the doorstep, walking slowly down the stairs.
"What were you talking about with my boss?" he asked, his voice slightly threatening.
She considered lying for a while, but she lifted her chin, her green eyes gazing straight into his.
"I heard from some clients yesterday that you would be working on the Slayer case. I wanted to know if she really had measured the consequences."
"And what gave you the right to?", he whispered, glaring at her coldly.
"Enishi, I'm sincerely worried about you. I know better than anyone your obsession with this, your nightmares, and the way you loose control sometimes..It's not..."
He tossed his head back to laugh sarcastically. "You know? You know nothing! You can't understand, Kaoru. I'm not sure you even tried seriously."
She tightened her fists. "How can you...! YOU always rejected my help, getting distant, shutting me out. YOU never let me understand. You had these violent reactions sometimes, and never explained! I know you'd never hurt me physically, but you frightened me! You don't know what it is to sleep near someone and seeing him getting crazy..."
"You don't have this kind of problems with your lapdog, I guess."
"Not a word on Kenshin. He's the most caring person on earth; he's reliable, and gentle. He loves me and understands me."
"You give a new definition to "finding one's boyfriend in the dumpster".."
"Shut up! We were over before I met him, so you don't have any right whatsoever to insult him." She had retrieved her calm. " He has suffered, has been living in the streets, he has lost everything, but he didn't let bitterness and hate taking over him like you did. He is there for me. You were never there, Enishi. You went for undercover missions, accepting the most dangerous ones, not even giving a shit that I was worried about you, or the problems I could have. You were not even here for me when my father died."
"If I was so wrong, you should be relieved not to care about me anymore. We broke up, good riddance. Which leads me to repeat my question: why did you talk to Takagi?"
"I thought we could be friends, no, that we were still friends, so I was still caring about you. It was a mistake. I won't waste one more thought on you. As I said, you still can come here with the others if you want but never speak to me again if it's to be like this."
He had never been so cold towards her as when he answered. "Perfect. But if you nose into my business again, you will regret it. O shiawase ni, Kamiya- san."
She watched him leave, blinking as the door slammed behind him.
She returned to her cleaning task, saying out loud : "I don't care, I don't care", while hot tears were running down her cheeks.
To be continued.
Author's notes:
Japanese words: O shiawase ni: I wish you to be happy. It's used in an ironic way a lot, like here, though it's not always the case.
The title of the chapter comes from the Chris Isaak's song, "Wicked Games".
I'm respecting the ban on NC-17, so the lemon isn't there, the same for the others to come. If you don't like lemons, or the way I write them, or if you are underage, the version here is for you.
Next chapter: Saitoh/Tokio only. Morning after. Yes, again.
See you!
Kamorgana