Riddle-Master ~ This is Chibi Okami and I get to do the thank you's this
time! BWAHAHAHAHA! Now, first order of business . . . cookies . . .
*pulls cookies out of hammer-space* These are FOR ME!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!
Sure Silent made them for reviewers, but like I am going to give up
cookies! *Silent walks over and hits Chibi over the head* Why are you so
mean to me, Silent? Fine . . . here you reviewers go . . .
Cookie to: VolleyGurly, Phoenix Wanderer, Badgirl 03, , and 817. You people need to put names or pennames on these things so we can give you cookies.
Disclaimer: If we owned Kenshin, we would own Kenshin! *Silent daydreams* How cool would that be?! I want Kenshin NOW! *cries*
Chibi- We'd better move on to the story now. *TWACK! Silent gets hit with a sketch book and starts to scream and yell* *Chibi cowers in corner afraid to come out*
Silent- We are now continuing to the story.
Shattered Chapter Three
By: Riddle-Master
Kenshin walked into the musky bar. Even though it hadn't been raining, he was drenched in water, or was it sweat? Kaoru really couldn't tell. He was wearing his same every-day outfit that consisted of his black pants and long, black trench coat. He was wearing a different shirt, this one was tattered as well but it was red, a blood-colored-red. Nobody could tell if it was indeed blood or just the color or his shirt, but as soon as Kaoru saw it, she felt a shiver creep down her spine. 'It's his shirt, defiantly his shirt' she thought to herself. 'Why would a. . . business man? yeah, a business man is what he is. Why would a business man be drenched in blood?' She was almost positive it wasn't blood; she was almost a hundred percent sure . . . almost. She decided the best way to find out was to somehow feel his shirt . . . somehow. 'Oh god, how can I do this without him getting suspicious?' she questioned herself. 'Oh I know! The trick that is most believable, the one Sano has seen happen to her a million times, FALL!'
She waited for him to order a drink. He did his ritual, he went to talk to the bartender, ordered a couple of drinks at the bar (something Kaoru couldn't serve), and then sat down. When he sat down, he already had a drink in his hand, and for some reason, he wouldn't drink it. He just sat there and starred at it. Kaoru walked over to him, gathered up all her courage, and plop. She tripped herself on her own shoe, purposely of course, though she had enough practicing with the real thing to make it look good. She was heading for his back, where he wouldn't be able to catch her, but at the last second, he stood up, turned around and put his extended arms out stopping her from falling on him by grabbing her shoulders. He noticed the large bruise on her face, but said nothing. He released her shoulders, turned around, and walked out the door of the awkwardly quiet bar. She stood there with a dumb-founded look on her face and cussing going on in her head.
He left her there, just left, she didn't even get time to say 'thank you' or even worse, see if it was or wasn't blood on his shirt! She cursed a few times and then looked down at the table he had previously occupied. There on the table sat a wallet. Kenshin had forgotten his wallet . . . what a great reason to go and find where he lives . . . and maybe see what was so strange about this guy.
---*---
Kenshin walked, he never drove a car for some reason; the agency would gladly give him one if he asked or accepted any that they sent to him, but he didn't all the same. Therefore he just walked down the streets, boots pounding against the hard concrete. The Battousai realized he was being followed. He quickly turned around and spotted Kaoru. The expression on his face showed he was shocked to find her walking behind him.
Kaoru was the first to break the awkward silence. "You . . . ummmm . . . you forgot your wallet," she said nervously. She held out the wallet for him to grab.
Kenshin took the wallet. "Uhh . . . thanks." he replied quietly.
"Bye then. . ." Kaoru spit out uncomfortably. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Good bye Miss Kaoru," he said happily. Just then they heard the thunder roll. It started to drizzle then turned into a full downpour.
"Oh great, it's raining," Kaoru commented sarcastically. "The bar is 3 miles from here too!" She turned and started to head back toward the bar.
"Uhh . . . Miss Kaoru?" Kenshin called after her. "Would you like to come to my apartment for tea or something? It's just around this corner." Kaoru hesitated, after all, going to a strange man's house late at night didn't sound all too good . . . but after a few seconds of contemplating, she decided that she would go anyway. She didn't know this man all too well, but for some strange reason, she trusted him. Also, if worse came to worst, she could defend herself, she had been trained to take down men three times her size, though, Kenshin looked relatively puny . . .
"Sure, why not?" She smirked. "It is better than running to the bar in the rain."
Kenshin took off his coat and handed it over to Kaoru. "Here, take this. It is a bit wet already, but it may help some."
"Kenshin, I couldn't take this from you." She said holding out. "You are in the rain, too, you need it."
"I am used to being in the rain, it doesn't bother me anymore." He shrugged.
"Really?" Kaoru questioned. "Why are you always in the rain?"
Kenshin shrugged once more. "I have my reasons."
"Please, take your coat." She handed it out to him.
"No, I gave it to you to keep you dry." He said determinedly.
"Well, you know what? It's too late for that; there is absolutely no point in wearing it at all anymore." She said, poking at her thoroughly soaked shirt.
"True." He said, a smile slowly forming on his lips as he took his long trench coat back. "Follow me." He turned and headed toward his apartment. They walked silently through the rain until they reached a building. They climbed up the metal steps until they were at the third floor. Where Kenshin pulled her to the side and showed her the door to his apartment. He twisted the key in the lock and opened the door and she was met with a rather run-down apartment, though her own was not any better, at least his was clean.
Red walls, weird . . . She thought being the girl that she was and feeling the awful clashing colors were putting her in pain. Yellow carpet . . . the horror. Kenshin went into the kitchen to make some tea. He came back a few minutes later carrying a tray with a pitcher and two coffee cups. They had chips in them and were rather dingy. Talk about cheep china. Oh well, I guess cups didn't really matter to some people.
Kenshin walked over to a dingy, beat up, yellow couch. The cousins had holes in them and the corners of the arms had cloth missing from them. In front of the couch was a small table. Kaoru wasn't really sure what it was made of, but she knew it was oak or any other fine wood. It had water rings all over it. Kaoru was about to burst out 'it's called a coaster' but stopped herself. That would have been just plain rude. Kenshin motioned for her to come over and sit by him. Kaoru walked over checking the ground before she stepped. She didn't want to step on a rat and ruin her shoes. Sure it was clean, but it was so old and in such a run-down neighborhood she just couldn't be sure. She sat down next being sure to keep at least a foot of space between them. You never know with men.
"Would you like a cup of tea?" Kenshin questioned. He reached for the pitcher and poured tea into one of the beat up coffee cups. Kaoru could tell it used to be red because of the few specs of paint left on it.
"Of course," she answered while grinning. "That is why I came." She accepted the cup gratefully.
"Good point." He smiled back at her. He then poured himself a cup and they both sipped at their tea. Kaoru was searching her mind for anything to say. She hated awkward silences and would much rather be talking.
"Where do you work?" she inquired as sneakily as possible.
Kenshin hated that question and searched for a way to dodge it. "Oh no! I forgot!" he exclaimed. "You're still wet! Let me go get you a towel." Kaoru started to object but found it futile when Kenshin jumped off the couch and ran to the closet. He searched for the nicest towel he could find. Yeah, right, like he actually had a nice towel. He grabbed a dark blue towel. At least this way the stains would not show. He hurried back to the other room. Poor Miss Kaoru must be getting cold. He handed her the towel. She took it and dubbed her wet waitress uniform. It was partially air-dried but was still a little wet.
She decided to try the question again. "Where do you work?" she asked, a bit more obviously this time.
Of course he couldn't answer that question until he thought of a place, but one would just not come to his head. "Are you hungry?" That was the first thing that came to his mind and it seemed to have worked. She looked as if she were pondering this thought very carefully. "I'm hungry," he added. "Let's go out to eat, my treat."
"Uhhh . . . okay . . . but where? We are sort of wet and I'm still in my work clothes," she mentioned.
"How about McDonalds? That's a nice and casual place." Kenshin suggested.
"Works for me. Now that you mention food, I am starting to get hungry."
Leading the way, Kenshin walked toward the door. When he got there, he opened the door and allowed Kaoru to pass him first, like the gentleman he was. He fixed the door to lock and closed it.
---*---
A/N~ XxSilentWolfxX here bringing you the ending author's note. *says like an announcer* We must apologize for the delay; Chibi Okami's laptop broke down on us. *gives the laptop a death glare* So. . . now that you have this nice little chapter here read it! Please. And review! Please again. Oh yeah, and don't worry . . . the romance will pick up (at least if I get it my way) and we will explain the bruises next chapter! Until the next chapter, Ta ta and Happy New Year!
Cookie to: VolleyGurly, Phoenix Wanderer, Badgirl 03, , and 817. You people need to put names or pennames on these things so we can give you cookies.
Disclaimer: If we owned Kenshin, we would own Kenshin! *Silent daydreams* How cool would that be?! I want Kenshin NOW! *cries*
Chibi- We'd better move on to the story now. *TWACK! Silent gets hit with a sketch book and starts to scream and yell* *Chibi cowers in corner afraid to come out*
Silent- We are now continuing to the story.
Shattered Chapter Three
By: Riddle-Master
Kenshin walked into the musky bar. Even though it hadn't been raining, he was drenched in water, or was it sweat? Kaoru really couldn't tell. He was wearing his same every-day outfit that consisted of his black pants and long, black trench coat. He was wearing a different shirt, this one was tattered as well but it was red, a blood-colored-red. Nobody could tell if it was indeed blood or just the color or his shirt, but as soon as Kaoru saw it, she felt a shiver creep down her spine. 'It's his shirt, defiantly his shirt' she thought to herself. 'Why would a. . . business man? yeah, a business man is what he is. Why would a business man be drenched in blood?' She was almost positive it wasn't blood; she was almost a hundred percent sure . . . almost. She decided the best way to find out was to somehow feel his shirt . . . somehow. 'Oh god, how can I do this without him getting suspicious?' she questioned herself. 'Oh I know! The trick that is most believable, the one Sano has seen happen to her a million times, FALL!'
She waited for him to order a drink. He did his ritual, he went to talk to the bartender, ordered a couple of drinks at the bar (something Kaoru couldn't serve), and then sat down. When he sat down, he already had a drink in his hand, and for some reason, he wouldn't drink it. He just sat there and starred at it. Kaoru walked over to him, gathered up all her courage, and plop. She tripped herself on her own shoe, purposely of course, though she had enough practicing with the real thing to make it look good. She was heading for his back, where he wouldn't be able to catch her, but at the last second, he stood up, turned around and put his extended arms out stopping her from falling on him by grabbing her shoulders. He noticed the large bruise on her face, but said nothing. He released her shoulders, turned around, and walked out the door of the awkwardly quiet bar. She stood there with a dumb-founded look on her face and cussing going on in her head.
He left her there, just left, she didn't even get time to say 'thank you' or even worse, see if it was or wasn't blood on his shirt! She cursed a few times and then looked down at the table he had previously occupied. There on the table sat a wallet. Kenshin had forgotten his wallet . . . what a great reason to go and find where he lives . . . and maybe see what was so strange about this guy.
---*---
Kenshin walked, he never drove a car for some reason; the agency would gladly give him one if he asked or accepted any that they sent to him, but he didn't all the same. Therefore he just walked down the streets, boots pounding against the hard concrete. The Battousai realized he was being followed. He quickly turned around and spotted Kaoru. The expression on his face showed he was shocked to find her walking behind him.
Kaoru was the first to break the awkward silence. "You . . . ummmm . . . you forgot your wallet," she said nervously. She held out the wallet for him to grab.
Kenshin took the wallet. "Uhh . . . thanks." he replied quietly.
"Bye then. . ." Kaoru spit out uncomfortably. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Good bye Miss Kaoru," he said happily. Just then they heard the thunder roll. It started to drizzle then turned into a full downpour.
"Oh great, it's raining," Kaoru commented sarcastically. "The bar is 3 miles from here too!" She turned and started to head back toward the bar.
"Uhh . . . Miss Kaoru?" Kenshin called after her. "Would you like to come to my apartment for tea or something? It's just around this corner." Kaoru hesitated, after all, going to a strange man's house late at night didn't sound all too good . . . but after a few seconds of contemplating, she decided that she would go anyway. She didn't know this man all too well, but for some strange reason, she trusted him. Also, if worse came to worst, she could defend herself, she had been trained to take down men three times her size, though, Kenshin looked relatively puny . . .
"Sure, why not?" She smirked. "It is better than running to the bar in the rain."
Kenshin took off his coat and handed it over to Kaoru. "Here, take this. It is a bit wet already, but it may help some."
"Kenshin, I couldn't take this from you." She said holding out. "You are in the rain, too, you need it."
"I am used to being in the rain, it doesn't bother me anymore." He shrugged.
"Really?" Kaoru questioned. "Why are you always in the rain?"
Kenshin shrugged once more. "I have my reasons."
"Please, take your coat." She handed it out to him.
"No, I gave it to you to keep you dry." He said determinedly.
"Well, you know what? It's too late for that; there is absolutely no point in wearing it at all anymore." She said, poking at her thoroughly soaked shirt.
"True." He said, a smile slowly forming on his lips as he took his long trench coat back. "Follow me." He turned and headed toward his apartment. They walked silently through the rain until they reached a building. They climbed up the metal steps until they were at the third floor. Where Kenshin pulled her to the side and showed her the door to his apartment. He twisted the key in the lock and opened the door and she was met with a rather run-down apartment, though her own was not any better, at least his was clean.
Red walls, weird . . . She thought being the girl that she was and feeling the awful clashing colors were putting her in pain. Yellow carpet . . . the horror. Kenshin went into the kitchen to make some tea. He came back a few minutes later carrying a tray with a pitcher and two coffee cups. They had chips in them and were rather dingy. Talk about cheep china. Oh well, I guess cups didn't really matter to some people.
Kenshin walked over to a dingy, beat up, yellow couch. The cousins had holes in them and the corners of the arms had cloth missing from them. In front of the couch was a small table. Kaoru wasn't really sure what it was made of, but she knew it was oak or any other fine wood. It had water rings all over it. Kaoru was about to burst out 'it's called a coaster' but stopped herself. That would have been just plain rude. Kenshin motioned for her to come over and sit by him. Kaoru walked over checking the ground before she stepped. She didn't want to step on a rat and ruin her shoes. Sure it was clean, but it was so old and in such a run-down neighborhood she just couldn't be sure. She sat down next being sure to keep at least a foot of space between them. You never know with men.
"Would you like a cup of tea?" Kenshin questioned. He reached for the pitcher and poured tea into one of the beat up coffee cups. Kaoru could tell it used to be red because of the few specs of paint left on it.
"Of course," she answered while grinning. "That is why I came." She accepted the cup gratefully.
"Good point." He smiled back at her. He then poured himself a cup and they both sipped at their tea. Kaoru was searching her mind for anything to say. She hated awkward silences and would much rather be talking.
"Where do you work?" she inquired as sneakily as possible.
Kenshin hated that question and searched for a way to dodge it. "Oh no! I forgot!" he exclaimed. "You're still wet! Let me go get you a towel." Kaoru started to object but found it futile when Kenshin jumped off the couch and ran to the closet. He searched for the nicest towel he could find. Yeah, right, like he actually had a nice towel. He grabbed a dark blue towel. At least this way the stains would not show. He hurried back to the other room. Poor Miss Kaoru must be getting cold. He handed her the towel. She took it and dubbed her wet waitress uniform. It was partially air-dried but was still a little wet.
She decided to try the question again. "Where do you work?" she asked, a bit more obviously this time.
Of course he couldn't answer that question until he thought of a place, but one would just not come to his head. "Are you hungry?" That was the first thing that came to his mind and it seemed to have worked. She looked as if she were pondering this thought very carefully. "I'm hungry," he added. "Let's go out to eat, my treat."
"Uhhh . . . okay . . . but where? We are sort of wet and I'm still in my work clothes," she mentioned.
"How about McDonalds? That's a nice and casual place." Kenshin suggested.
"Works for me. Now that you mention food, I am starting to get hungry."
Leading the way, Kenshin walked toward the door. When he got there, he opened the door and allowed Kaoru to pass him first, like the gentleman he was. He fixed the door to lock and closed it.
---*---
A/N~ XxSilentWolfxX here bringing you the ending author's note. *says like an announcer* We must apologize for the delay; Chibi Okami's laptop broke down on us. *gives the laptop a death glare* So. . . now that you have this nice little chapter here read it! Please. And review! Please again. Oh yeah, and don't worry . . . the romance will pick up (at least if I get it my way) and we will explain the bruises next chapter! Until the next chapter, Ta ta and Happy New Year!
