SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1Standard Disclaimer: I own Rurouni Kenshin…..in my dreams of course. Boy would that be the life!
But, no, I am not lucky enough to own it. *sniffles*
Author's Notes: Hey guys! Sorry for the wait. I guess I don't have as much time on my hands as I thought.
Thanks for reviewing you guys! I don't expect this story to be one of the best, but hopefully it will turn out ok.
Hope you guys all had a good Thanksgiving! If you want something changed with the story, review and tell me
your ideas. I will take all of them into consideration. Thanks again for your patience! ^_^. Yes! We reinstalled word! I can start updating again! ^_^
Things to know:
*Thoughts*
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~: Scene change
By the way, when I put a few spaces between the new paragraphs, it's usually to put it in a
different perspective. Anyway, enough of my blabbering. Onward!
Chapter 3 part 2: Surprise surprise!
Misao was excited. Very excited. Words could not express her feelings at the time. It took very ounce of her
willpower to restrain herself from jumping for joy right there in the office. After listening to what was expected
of her, she rose, said her thanks, and left the building. When her feet touched the cement sidewalk, she did
exactly what she had wanted to in the office. She jumped for joy.
"YES! YIPEE! I GOT IT! I CAN'T BELIEVE I REALLY GOT IT!"
The words flew from her mouth, ringing in the air quite noisily. Pedestrians and passerbys looked at her as if
she were crazy, but no one said a word. She didn't care if the whole world saw her or thought she was
crazy, she was happy, and she wanted the whole world to know it. Her job as a secretary began that
Monday, and according to the information she had received about the job, her boss's name was Aoshi Shinamori.
From the information she had gathered from her friends that were already working there, he was a very handsome
man. She giggled and skipped the rest of the way back to her apartment. She couldn't wait to call Kaoru and tell
her the good news. Kaoru had been Misao's best friend for years. The two had grown up together, practically living
in each other's house. Well, they did live next door after all. Of course, they weren't currently living next
door, but they didn't live that far apart. Growing up, the two had been like sisters. In fact, they still were.
Misao never really knew her parents, for they had died in an accident since before she could remember.
Kaoru's parents had become like her own. They accepted her, treated her like one of their daughters.
Love for them had grown, and when they died, she was just as sad as Kaoru had been. But she gave her a shoulder
to cry on and was strong for her, until she was better. After that, she mourned for them, but she did so no sooner.
Yahiko needed support too, and so it was offered, even though he had always been a brat.
Still, he was like a brother to her as well. Their parents had died in a fire, while Kaoru and Yahiko were at
Grandpa Genzai's home, watching his two little grandchildren. The firefighters had been unable to rescue them.
That had been three years ago, and though they had all mostly recovered from the incident, they still missed them dearly.
In the end, it brought the three of them closer together. Misao visited them at their apartment at least four times
a week, if not more. Kaoru would say that she practically lived there, which was true. Whenever she did visit, she
almost always spent the night. Raising her blue-green eyes from the hard cement, she discovered she was home.
Blinking, she realized she had been caught up in her own memories. Shaking her head, she grinned and entered her apartment.
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Kaoru quickly took another once over on her door that lay in shambles. *Huh. Pretty strong for such a scrawny
looking guy. Well, ok, not all THAT scrawny.* Reddening at the memory of Kenshin's body, she pretended to
be angry so as not to arouse suspicion. Closing her sapphire eyes, she turned and faced him. When she opened them
again, she looked quite irritated with him. "Kenshin, would that perchance be my door that is lying in splinters on my floor?"
From the look on Kenshin's face, he was pretty sure that he was in deep trouble. Kaoru's tone had been a little too sweet.
Giving it a quick thought, she decided for the act to last a few minutes longer. She couldn't wait to see his face when she
was through.
*Uh oh. This definitely does not look good. I am in deep trouble. Maybe she won't decide to kill me?* He prayed. Hard. A sheepish look crossed his features, as his right hand rubbed the back of his head. "Yes, I suppose it is. I'm sorry Kaoru, the door was locked, and it was the first thing to cross my mind." Opening his soft violet eyes, and not without caution, he studied her reaction. "Oh? Well then, if that's the case, you're forgiven. That is, after you've cleaned the apartment, cooked dinner, and replaced that door. Then maybe I won't be angry with you." Her tone was calm. "Oro?" He blinked. Then he thanked the gods. That was all she wanted from him? "Alright, if you will not be mad at me any longer." Kaoru gaped. "Do you know how expensive these doors are?! They have to be at least a thousand dollars. Surely you wouldn't be so willing to pay that much for a door!" Disbelief crossed her features (Honestly, I don't know how much those doors are, but I want to make it expensive, so, viola! Lol). He smiled. "I did cause the damage. Really, it's hardly expensive. I suppose we will have to ask the actual cost of the door, though." "Hey Ugly, why can't you find a guy like him anywhere? This guy's awesome!" Yahiko and Tsubame had been forgotten in their bickering. Kaoru's fists clenched, and she glared at the boy to her side. "You're lucky I don't bop you upside the head, Yahiko-chan." Her attention returned to Kenshin, ignoring the boy's sputtering. "You know, I was only joking. I'm not really mad, and you don't have to clean up or replace the door. But I would still like for you to cook dinner." Kenshin blinked. "So you aren't mad?" She shook her head, and his smile grew wider. "Great! I was going to cook dinner already, you needn't have asked. And I will replace the door and help clean up." He dismissed her protests with a wave of his hand. "Really, it's not a bother. Plus, if I didn't help, not only would I feel guilty, but it's not very gentleman like of me." Once again she tried to protest, but they fell upon deaf ears. Frustrated, she finally gave up, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Fine. But I'm helping…" Her gaze shifted to Yahiko, "And so is he." Yahiko sputtered, but the glare sent in his direction shut him up. Kenshin shook his head. "No you don't. I want you to rest on the couch. You already have enough injuries as it is, and I don't want to cause you anymore." She scowled. "But-" Kenshin cut her off again, sending a determined glance in her direction. Glaring, her sapphire eyes locked with his. "I'm not moving." Her stubborn expression was unmoving. Yahiko glanced at Kenshin, and Kenshin nodded. Both turned their attention back to the girl in front of them. "What?" Glancing from one to the other, she knew what they planned to do. Clearly, she would lose this round. Her expression fell and she paled.
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Megumi took a deep breath. Kami that man was infuriating! *Why I could just….! Breathe in, breathe out, breathe
in, breathe out. Calm down Megumi, you can do it.* She sighed and rubbed her temples, knowing all the while it
would do nothing to stop her growing headache. Perhaps the accident gave the man some brain damage. That could
have been it. But, no, the results of the cat scan had clearly revealed that he had no serious head injuries. Releasing
another sigh, she took a Tylenol and went to call Kaoru to see how she was doing.
Sanosuke grinned. After a long round of verbal sparring, she had finally gotten agitated and threw her hands up in
the air. "You're hopeless!" And with that she walked out the door, shutting it firmly behind her. Yes, he had won the battle
of wits (unusual I know ^_^). That had been five minutes ago. Now he was humming to himself, some song
that he had made up in his head. *Well she's definitely a beautiful woman, no doubt about that.
Huh, maybe we can go out some time, even if it is only as friends.* He snorted. *Maybe not. I don't know
if kitsune would like that very much. Perhaps I can change her mind?* After making a quick decision, he grinned
smugly, and continued to hum the song inside his head.
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(Note: Kenshin took the time to fix the phone. That's why it works.)
"BRRRRRIING! BRRRRRRIING!"
As delicious smells wafted into the living room from the kitchen, the phone began to ring.
Yahiko answered it. After a short pause, he turned and held the phone out to Kaoru. "It's for you." Kaoru was sitting
on the sofa, arms crossed and pouting. They had forced her onto the couch and wouldn't let her get up. Kenshin had
then asked him and Tsubame to watch her while he cooked. Of course, Tsubame found the whole situation quite
amusing, and she couldn't help but giggle when Kaoru glared at the boy. Sighing, she reached for the phone. "Hello?"
She spoke into the receiver. "Kaoru! Good you're awake! How are you feeling?" Frowning, she hesitated before answering.
"I'm fine. Excuse me, but may I ask who this is?" The person on the other line gave a little laugh. "Oh, I'm sorry.
Please forgive my manners. It's Megumi." Upon hearing this, Kaoru's sapphire blue eyes brightened and she sat up.
"Oh hi! Megumi-san, how are you? How did you know about what happened?" The woman gave one of her famous laughs.
"Ohohohoho! Why, Ken-san of course! He called me right after you fell unconscious and requested my help.
Didn't you wonder who stitched your hand?" Kaoru's face blushed from embarrassment. The doctor was right. She hadn't
given any thought as to who had stitched up the gash in her hand. "Oh….Thanks for coming over to help. And I hope you
don't mind my asking, but Ken-san?" Once again, that unusual laughter of hers was heard. "Why yes. It's a nickname.
Don't you think it suits a handsome man such as him?" She sweat dropped. There was no denying that he was handsome.
Hell, he was dead sexy! Still, she was pretty blunt with her words. "Uh…yeah, I guess so." At that moment, Kenshin
walked through the door. "Dinner's ready." Kaoru glanced up at him and told Megumi she had to go. "Dinner is done, so
can I call you back later? I mean, if you don't mind that is." Megumi agreed and then the phone clicked off. Setting the phone
down on the coffee table, she was rising to head into the kitchen, but Kenshin stopped her. "Why don't we eat in here?"
After a short pause, she nodded. "Why not? Say, why don't we buy a movie on pay per view?
I think Pirates of the Caribbean comes on at nine o'clock. How does that sound?" "YEA!" Yahiko jumped up and
down, Tsubame clapped her hands, and Kenshin just smiled. "Sounds like a good idea." Kaoru smiled, and they all sat
down to eat.
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Misao looked around her apartment with boredom, glancing around uninterestedly. You know what? It's time for another
visit at Kaoru's place! Yup! That's what I'll do!* Grinning madly, she grabbed her things and skipped out the door.
It wasn't unusual for her to stay the night so she always had a bag ready to go. Strange that she never prepared for anything
else. Instead of taking her Mercedes she decided to walk the three blocks to her 'sisters' apartment. The sight that she was
welcomed with came as a shock to her, and boy was she angry. Stepping inside, she didn't hesitate to ask. "Kaoru! What
happened? Who did this?! I must introduce them to my sharp and deadly kunai." The group in the living room turned to
look at the intruder, and when they saw the petite girl with a long braid standing there, they all sweat dropped. "Hey Misao.
It's a long story, but you see, Kenshin here--" The young girl glared at the guy sitting by Kaoru as she interrupted. "So it was
him huh?!" Without hesitating, she stormed over to the man and shoved a finger into his chest. "Just who do you think you are
breaking into her apartment like that! You're lucky that you aren't full of kunai right now!" Kenshin tried to ward off her
stabbing finger, waving his hands in front of his chest in protest. "Misao, he was the one that saved me." The girl stopped her
stabbing and looked at her. "He was?" Disbelief was written clearly on her face. Kaoru nodded. "Yes. There was an intruder.
I couldn't fight him off for long, but luckily Kenshin here heard me and came to my rescue. I think the man was a sword
fighter, as he had calluses on his hands that were most likely caused by swords. My shinai was completely useless against him.
You see, a couple of days ago, Kenshin was in an accident and I saved him. He called me up today and said he would like to
thank me in person. We agreed to meet here, and right after we hung up the guy broke in." Misao grinned happily. Grabbing
his hand, she shook it wildly up and down, and, as if that weren't enough to show her gratitude, she threw her arms around
his neck. "Thank you thank you thank you! You saved her life! I love you I love you I love you! Kaoru's friends are my
friends too! You're welcome here anytime!" A big sweat drop formed on Kenshin's head, and everyone else did an anime fall.
Suddenly a light bulb went off in Kaoru's head, and she smiled sheepishly. "By the way Kenshin, this is Misao. We've known
each other since we were little. Heck, we're practically sisters!" Yahiko's head bobbed up and down. He nodded, seeing as
it was the only thing he could do. If he wanted to talk, he would have to wait till he caught his breath and his chest stopped
hurting. *She's a mighty strong girl she is. Maybe a little too strong for hugs…* After everything was settled, Kaoru
invited her to stay and watch the movie with them. It would come on in only ten minutes after all. Misao agreed, and they all
settled down to watch. Kenshin sat by Kaoru on the love seat, Yahiko and Tsubame sat by each other sofa, and Misao sat
at the other end. All in all, they looked like one big family. The manager off the apartment was having the door replaced the
next day. She supposed that was ok, since there were only a few other people on that floor. The movie was already a bit past
half over, and Kaoru had fallen asleep. Her head rested on Kenshin's shoulder, and her body lay close to his. It was a habit of
hers to snuggle up to something that had warmth. Kenshin's cheeks were tinted a light pink, but he finally decided to let her
sleep till the movie was over. After all, he didn't know if she was grumpy after being woken up. The others paid no heed, and
Tsubame was snuggled up to Yahiko on the sofa with his arm around her shoulders. She looked half-ready to fall asleep herself.
Looking down, he found himself admiring the sleeping woman beside him. A few loose strands of raven black hair had made
its way into her face, accentuating her features quite well. Her cheeks had a slight rosy tinge to it, barely noticeable but there
all the same. Her skin shone with bravery and courage, even while she slept. When he realized he was thinking about how
beautiful she was, his already pink cheeks darkened to a new shade of red. Gaze returning to the TV screen, he tried to keep
his thoughts from wandering.
*Thirty minutes later…*
Kenshin rose from the sofa slowly as the movie ended, Misao doing the same. Yahiko and Tsubame had fallen asleep as well.
As he did so, Kaoru woke, glancing around the room lazily. Yawning, she stood and stretched her limbs. "What time is it?"
Her voice was groggy from sleep. Glancing at his watch, he gave her the time. "It's eleven o' clock." That woke her up.
"Great, and I have to go in early tomorrow too." She mumbled. "I'm sorry?" Kenshin could have sworn she said
something, though he couldn't really decipher it. Perking up, she smiled. "Oh nothing. Say, Kenshin, why don't you stay here
tonight? It's really late, and we have plenty of room." To be perfectly honest, he was taken aback. He would have said no, but her eyes were pleading. She was still a little shook up from the incident. Well, even if they had just met, it couldn't hurt. "Are you sure? I mean, are
you sure it's really alright? I don't want to be too much trouble." "No no, it's fine, really. I have to go in for work early
tomorrow, but you can stay and hang out here with Yahiko if you'd like. Or you can just sleep here and leave tomorrow."
Now Kenshin was just shocked. "Work? You were almost raped this afternoon and you're still going in for work?! Why don't
you just call in? What about your hand? And your back with all those cuts?" Kaoru sighed. "Because my boss doesn't really
care, and if I take tomorrow off, I'll just have more hours to work when I go back. I can't keep leaving Yahiko here late at
night on school nights. Don't worry about it, I'll be fine! I've had to do it before anyways. Oh, but that's another story! Really, don't
worry about it." Kenshin started to argue, but the glare that she shot him was assuring his death. He knew he wouldn't be able to
win this one. With a sigh, he let it go. "Alright, but only if you let me pick you up from work for lunch tomorrow. Yahiko can
come along too if he'd like." After a moments hesitation, she agreed. All the while Misao watched with a smirk on her face.
Perhaps if she played her cards right, she could play the matchmaking game.....
Author's Notes: Oh, wow....that took a really long time for me to update. Sry for the long wait minna! If you read my profile it explains a little. If not, well, my compy crashed and deleted word, and we were having some family trouble. Well, hopefully I'm back for a little while. I know this is a short chapter, sry! If there is something you guys want me to do to make this up to you, please let me know. Thanks for your patience guys! I will make sure the next chapter is longer! Oh, by the way, we got the new computer. It's not the same word, but it will work for now. ^_^
