Author's Notes: Sorry it took so long to update. ^_^;;…I didn't want to get into the habit of trying to update everyday, because you see, if I did, then I would force myself to make a new chapter in the next few days. We all know that rushed work can be a bit sloppy. Well, I hope you like this next chapter!
*Thoughts*
Onward!
Chapter 3: The gods are not satisfied
Kenshin groaned. Now what was he supposed to do?! Flipping out his cell phone, he dialed Megumi (yes, he got a new cell phone. ^_^). She agreed to come down there as quickly as she could, and they hung up. Next on the list were the police. After explaining the situation, they dispatched some officers to the scene. It would be at least another twenty minutes before they got there. Slipping his arms under Kaoru's limp form, he carried her to the nearest bed he could find. What he couldn't seem to decipher was why his arms felt sticky with something hot and moist. At first, he pushed it aside, reasoning that it was just sweat from trying to fight the man off. But now, he wasn't so sure. Shouldn't she have cooled off by then? Laying her gently onto the mattress, he quickly discovered the source of his uneasiness. She was bleeding. Why hadn't he noticed before? His senses alerted him to these things, and yet, he had not sensed it at all. Perhaps it was because he was very worried for her? Yes, that must have been it. He quickly left in search of a washcloth, finding one within a few minutes. After wetting the cloth with warm water, he cleaned the blood from around the wounds he could find. There were several on her back, and a large gash on her hand. The gash looked particularly nasty itself. He rose when he heard Megumi knock on the door….or what was left of it.
Megumi performed a quick once over on the apartment. The door had been kicked in, a few pieces of furniture had been overturned, and a vase lay in shards on the floor. It was obvious what had occurred here. Even though Himura had explained, anyone could have guessed. "Come in…We're back here." Carefully, she trudged across the room, cinnamon eyes dancing to the unconscious form of the intruding man. Satisfied he would not be awakening any time soon, she entered the room.
Kenshin looked up as she entered, wringing out the bloody cloth into the bowl of hot water. Megumi glanced in the general direction of the door, and he nodded in silent agreement. Rising, he left the room, going back to deal with the man. Why had he looked familiar? Where had he seen him before? Darkened violet eyes fell upon the unconscious man once more, before going wide. *Udo Jin'eh…..* Kenshin's blood boiled. That bastard! How dare he break into this woman's home and attempt to rape her, after she had just saved his life?! Growling, he went in search of something he could tie the man up with. Moments later, he bound the man with rope tightly, and not without vengeance. Only five minutes had passed when the cops arrived. Taking the man into custody, they took the evidence they needed, asked Kenshin a few questions, and left. Kaoru's testimony and the photographs of her bruises would be proof enough to convict the man of attempted rape. The man had little chance of a trial, and even then, his chances of winning were slim. Megumi rushed out of the room a few seconds after the police had left. "Mr. Himura-" "Kenshin, if you will." "Kenshin, I have an emergency I need to attend to right away. Can you take care of everything else?" He didn't even skip a beat before nodding. "Good. Let me show you what you need to do…" After quickly explaining how to treat the rest of Kaoru's wounds, she made a hasty exit. Kenshin sighed and went to work, grimacing every time Kaoru winced as the alcohol dabbed her wounds. When he was satisfied the wounds had been sterilized, he wrapped the wounds with bandages. According to Megumi's observations, when she had been knocked off her feet, she had fallen on the shards of glass, and they had become embedded in her back. The gash on her hand had occurred when she smashed the glass over the man's head. There were a few other cuts elsewhere, and a bruise was forming on her face along with others on various other parts of her body. Kenshin glanced at his watch. It was approximately 3:58 p.m. He sighed. It had been at least an hour since Kaoru had fallen unconscious. It was going to be a long day….
Yahiko was worried. It was about one o' clock when his stomach had started churning, something gnawing at the back of his mind, telling him something was wrong. Even though he dismissed it as something he had eaten at breakfast. The gnawing just would not go away though. Instead, it grew. Several times, Tsubame had asked him if he was all right. The response: "I'm fine, probably just something I ate at breakfast. Don't worry about it." But she was worried about it, about him. She too, felt something was wrong. It was about an hour later when they heard the police sirens blaring, blue lights flashing as they sped down the road. The two had been on their way back to the apartment. Which was exactly where the cops were heading. Yahiko and Tsubame looked at each other, nodded, and took off running back to the apartment. Unfortunately, today was one of the many days in which the streets were overcrowded. If they were lucky, they could get there in an hour.
*An hour and thirty minutes later…*
They were beat. The streets were terrible, and they had to push and shove their way through. Finally, they had arrived at the apartment building. The police cars had left already; they had seen them passing back by. Yahiko pressed the up button for the elevator, but it was taking too long. So instead, they took the stairs. It took them fifteen minutes to get upstairs, and three to arrive at the apartment. Both teenagers sucked in a deep breath when they saw the door. Yahiko was the first to recover. "Kaoru! KAORU! WHERE ARE YOU?! WHAT HAPPENED?! ARE YOU OKAY?!?" He was darting all over the apartment, finally spotting her in her bedroom. With an unfamiliar man standing in the middle of the room, facing him. Eyes widening at the sight of Kaoru unconscious and wrapped in bandages, he lunged for the bed. Kenshin restrained him gently, trying to get the boy to calm down. "Kaoru! KAORU, WAKE UP! Let me GO!" Kenshin shook his head, lavender eyes traveling to the girl in the doorway. She stood there, shocked. "Kaoru-san…" She managed to choke out. "Shhh…I'll explain later, or Kaoru can do it if she would like. She needs her rest for now." Finally, Yahiko calmed down and walked to Kaoru's side. Tears threatened to fall, but he refused to let them. She stirred, eyes closing tightly before opening slowly. The ruckus had welcomed her back to reality anyway.
Mmmmm….What was all the fuss about? She closed her eyes tightly for a moment, opening them halfway scant seconds later. Minor pain was throbbing in her hand, and the cuts she had received were sore. Even more shocking, however, was when Yahiko threw his arms around her neck, unable to hold back his tears any longer. If she had been drowsy before, she wasn't now. Using the headrest to support her, she sat up. Her arms slowly returned the embrace, running her fingers through his hair comfortingly. He must have been worried. After all, it wasn't that long ago when their parents died. The only people he had left were her and Grandpa Genzai. And, to top it all off, Grandpa Genzai already had two grandchildren to care for. He wouldn't be able to handle Yahiko as well. Soothing tones flowed from her mouth, and eventually he calmed down. Kissing him on the top of his head, she glanced up to find who else was in the room. Tsubame stood in the doorway, a small smile gracing her lips. Worried, yes, but relieved as well. Her eyes then traveled to the man standing a few feet away. Even now, she recognized him as the man she had saved. And, the man who had probably saved her life. She offered him a small smile, before her attention returned to her brother. His sobs had quieted, only a few hiccups here and there. "Feel better?" She whispered. His head bobbed up and down, but he made no attempts to move. "I was so…*hic*…worried! I thought that I-" "Shhhh…It's all right. I'm ok, just a few scratches and bruises. Nothing to worry about." Glancing up at Kenshin briefly, she added, "Thanks to Kenshin. It might not have turned out that way had he not shown up." Kenshin was about to protest when, suddenly, Yahiko rose, marched right over to him, grabbed his hand, and shook it wildly. "Thank you thank you THANK YOU! Come over anytime you want! Make yourself at home!" When he was finally finished shaking his hand, Kenshin chuckled. "You know, your sister saved my life first. I owe a lot to her." Kaoru scowled. "You owe me nothing. I saved your life, you saved mine. We're even." When he started to protest, she stopped him with a glare that clearly said, 'if you even think about arguing, I'll shove an apple down your throat and then proceed to beat you senseless!' He gulped and nodded. A satisfied grin appeared on her features, and she tried to climb out of bed, effectively putting pressure on her stitched hand. Yelping, she retracted her hand and inspected it closely. Kenshin was beside her instantly, scowling. "Watch it! You're going to hurt your hand further." She shot him a glare, but he wasn't phased. Grasping her arm gently, he helped her to her feet. Kaoru's stomach growled, and she blushed a deep crimson. An amused smirk appeared on his face, and he turned to look at her. "Kamiya-san, I do believe that you are hungry. Shall we grab something to eat, or would you like me to cook?" Blushing further, she replied. "I don't really have the energy to go out anywhere, so if it's not a bother…could you cook something? And it's Kaoru. Kamiya-san is much too formal." Kenshin grinned and nodded, letting her use him as support to make it out into the living room. Kaoru stopped dead in her tracks, staring at the door that lay in bits and pieces. A disarming smile was formed on her lips. "Kenshin…." She said sweetly…….
Megumi rushed back to the hospital, arriving to her office just as the ambulance made it to the hospital. A man had been hit by a car, saving the life of a little girl. If the man did not get there soon, however, the price might be his own life. Nurses rushed the man to an emergency room that was ready for operation. She took a deep breath, and the surgery began…
*Four hours later….*
She sighed, taking off her face mask and bloody gloves. The man would live. He had suffered some internal bleeding, a mild concussion, three broken ribs, and a broken leg. Sagara Sanosuke was moved into a normal hospital room, sleeping with an IV in his arm. An hour later, he woke, bleary brown eyes taking in his surroundings. They fell upon a young doctor, perhaps as old as he was, recording his stats on paper. Kami, she was beautiful. Long black hair, cinnamon eyes, luscious red lips….Grunting, he pushed those thoughts aside, blaming his perverted thinking on the drugs they had given him. Having heard him, she turned, a bit surprised he had waken thirty minutes prior to the expected time. "Awake already?" She asked calmly. Sanosuke grinned at the lady doctor. "You couldn't tell?" He teased. Her response was to raise an eyebrow. "You know, that was pretty reckless of you…" Trailing off, she turned away again, finishing up the paperwork. "But, even I must say, that was a brave thing you just did. You saved that little girl's life with no concern of your own." Tilting his head to the side slightly, his grin didn't disappear. "You think so?" Flipping her hair over her shoulder, she replied without missing a beat. "Would I have said it if that is not what I believed? I thought it would be fairly obvious. Huh, must just be you." His grin widened. It looked like he had just found himself a good verbal sparring partner. "You're good. Sharp tongued and beautiful. Rare nowadays." His grin turned seductive. That comment caused her cheeks to tint with a light pink. "Coming from you, that might not be such a good thing." She replied evenly. Oh yes, this one was good. Lying back down, he folded his hands behind his head. "You're right, it's better." "Hmph. Keep dreaming, rooster." One eyebrow rose at her comment. "Rooster? I hardly think that is a fitting nickname for me, fox." She shot him a glare. "Don't call me that, rooster. If I wanted your opinion, I would have asked for it." Talk about harsh! "Whatever you say, fox."
Misao was in a rush. She was going to be late for her interview! Quickly, she wove in and out of the crowd, apologizing to those she bumped into. *Just a little bit further! Come on Misao! You can make it!* *Bam!* Expecting to fall smack dab on the cement, she closed her eyes tightly, waiting for the impact. She was surprised to find two hands at her waist, steadying her. Opening her blue-green eyes, they traveled up from the muscular arms to the equally muscular chest, all the way up to a handsome face. Blushing, she looked down. "S-sorry…" She muttered. "Are you all right?" The deep, rumbling tones were music to her ears. "Hai. Arigatou." The man nodded, amusement playing in his steely blue eyes. Eyes widening, she glanced at her watch. "Oh NO! I'm going to be late! I'm sorry, I have to go, I'm in a rush!" Darting around him, she ran the rest of the way to Hiten Mitsurugi Inc. He shook his head and continued on his way, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
*Thirty minutes later….*
Misao sighed. That had been a close one. As she awaited the results of the interview, her thoughts drifted back to the man she had bumped into earlier that day. Sure, she had bumped into many people during her lifetime, a few of them men, but kami that man was fine! Warm, gentle but firm hands, muscular arms, broad, muscular chest, and those eyes! Those eyes were entrancing to her, drawing her deep within their depths, drowning her…"Makimachi-san?" Her musings were cut short by her name being called. Looking up, she answered. "Yes?" "Shiro-san requests your presence inside his office for the results." Misao nodded and entered the room. *This is it….*
Author's notes: Sorry the chapter is so short. I don't have my chocolate here to motivate me. ^_^. *hugs stuffed horse* But, I do have Neko-chan (pronounced neeko) here to keep me warm and make me sleepy. ^_^;;; Yes, I know I'm lame. But I do still have stuffed animals. ^_- Please let me know what you think. I would really like to know if you want me to continue.
