Rurouni Kenshin
Eyes on Me
Chapter 7 ~ The Wolf's Evaluation
By: C-Chan
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Do you think they'd trust someone like me with an anime series?
Warnings: Let's see…arguments, cursing, some of the usual K and K stuff, and more of the Wolf, for all those rabid Saitou-loving fans!
Notes: You know…I leave really mean cliffhangers. I didn't realize this until now! *grumbles* I mean, when I write I end the chapter where I think it would end as an actual TV episode, you know…the dreaded and hated cliffhangers. And when I don't end it like that, I end the chapter where my lovely muse Eko decides to wander off. Damn her. Good thing I have my other trusty muse Pan with me this time! Mwhahaha! Yes, I have more than one muse, and no I'm not crazy. I just write about crazy characters. Hehe.
*Drum roll* Heeeeeeeereeeee's Johnny! *blinks* Oh wait, I meant to say here's chapter 7. *Sheepish smile*
……
As the conversation turn into an argument between Misao and Kaoru about the better of Leonardo DiCaprio's two newest releases, someone cleared his throat from the door, drawing all attention to him.
"I see you already have some visitors." The man said with a wolfish grin.
Kenshin narrowed his eyes slightly at the man before taking a deep breath. "Hello Saitou."
.……
Kaoru shifted uncomfortably in the plastic seat, her eyes darting from the Nurse's station, to the hallway, down to her tightly-clasped hands, and back to the Nurse's station. Why was she so nervous? That infuriating man was with Kenshin. ALONE.
Now Kaoru didn't have anything against people she didn't know, but when it came to some as Hajime Saitou (She learned his full name after Kenshin angrily explained it), she immediately didn't like him. Was it his cold, untrusting eyes? Probably. Was it 'I'm better than thou' attitude? Most likely. Was it that he reminded Kaoru of a wolf? Definitely.
And worse of all…this man was supposed to be in charge of analyzing Kenshin to see if he was crazy enough for the institution! Kaoru had a STRONG feeling that no matter how many times Kenshin insisted he wasn't crazy, Saitou would make sure he ended up in the looney bin, straight jacket, padded rooms, and all.
Shooting another glance at the hallway, Kaoru saw Sano sauntering into view, a sandwich in one hand and a can of coke in the other. He saw Kaoru and took the seat next to her, not really paying attention to the chattering cousins. "Hey missy, what's up?" He said around a mouth full of bread and bologna.
"Kenshin's getting a psych evaluation." Kaoru replied, narrowing her eyes slightly at a small, dirt spot on the front of the Nurse's station. She needed to focus on something before she got really angry.
"With who?" Sano questioned, unaware of the rage building up in Kaoru.
"Some jerk-off named Hajime Saitou." Kaoru mumbled, still glaring.
Sano sputtered and nearly sprayed coke everywhere, turning wide eyes on the raven-haired girl. "SAITOU?! You're fucking kidding me!"
Kaoru immediately shifted into panic-mode. "Is that bad, Sano? Is he going to send Kenshin to an institution?!" She pleaded, grabbing a hold of a white sleeve and clenching it.
Sano scoffed and took a messy bite of his sandwich, glaring off into space. "I don't know. But that jerk has a way with people, and it ain't a good way either. Pisses the hell outta everyone but his wife." Kaoru snorted at the thought of a man like that being married.
"But…" Kaoru started, but Sano cut her off.
"He may be an ass, but he does his job." Sano muttered darkly, as if
complimenting Saitou was worse than death.
It probably was.
"Oh." Kaoru murmured, letting go of Sano's sleeve and folding her hands in her lap again. Misao—who had finished talking to Soujiro to hear Kaoru and Sano's conversation—threw an arm around her shoulders. "Don't let the mean old wolfy-man get to you, Kaoru!" She said cheerfully; it was obvious she didn't like Saitou either.
"I'm sure Saitou does his job well." Soujiro added, smiling cheerfully; but his eyes also spoke of some sort of hatred towards the psychiatrist.
"I hope so." Kaoru sighed, slumping in her chair. She would find out soon enough.
^_^
Fiery amethyst glared into subdued amber as Saitou and Kenshin 'faced off'. Neither had spoken a word since Kaoru and her friends had left the room. Kenshin was well aware of his evaluation coming up, but he didn't expect it to be today. And he didn't expect it to be with Hajime Saitou, jerk extraordinaire. He met him a few days ago; the guy had come by to introduce himself and Kenshin had immediately decided that his future was depending on an arrogant prick. Was he waiting for Kenshin to speak first? Fat chance.
Saitou seemed to sense this, and after a few more moments of staring, smirked and folded his arms across his chest. "So, you tried to commit suicide?" He asked bluntly; Kenshin cringed.
The red-head refused to talk. Saitou's smirk grew a bit, and he leaned forward slightly, his amber gaze slightly threatening. "I don't remember Dr. Takani telling me you were a mute. Speak up, boy."
This wasn't Kenshin's first psych evaluation at the hospital. When he was brought in a short, plump old lady sat down and talked to him, trying to figure out what was going on in his mind (That's all he could remember from that night), and she was the reason he was being kept in the hospital. But even so, Kenshin wished the lady was evaluating him now, instead of this pompous jerk. "I don't remember." He finally growled out.
Saitou nodded slightly and sat back in his chair, his posture casual. He was a person who liked to get done what needed to be done as quick and thorough as possible. He would have made a good police officer; No emphasis on the word good, though.
"And do you feel like committing suicide now?" Saitou asked after another pause.
Kenshin looked down at his clenched fists, the knuckles bright against the usually pale skin. Kenshin took a deep breath before answering in a soft tone, "No, I don't."
"And do you feel like hurting yourself?" Saitou continued.
Kenshin paused. Did he? The only true reason he did it was out of anger at everything, a way of keeping others safe from his rampaging temper. "Not really." Kenshin answered truthfully.
Saitou shrugged and stood up, unfolding his arms and allowing them to hang limp at his sides. "Then I'm done here." He stated before heading towards the door.
Kenshin blinked. That was it? No other questions? Was this some kind of joke? "Wait a minute!" He stuttered, causing Saitou to stop just outside the door. "What's going to happen?"
The wolf looked over his shoulder at the red-head, glaring slightly. "I'm going to tell Dr. Takani to stop wasting my time with her patients." He stated before sauntering out of the room, leaving behind a completely befuddled Kenshin.
^_^
Megumi was standing just a little down the hallway, examining an x-ray of a little boy who had fallen off the jungle gym at home when she felt eyes on her. Turning, she met the amber gaze of Saitou, who was leaning oh-so-casually against the wall next to her. Megumi frowned and put down the chart she was holding. "Well?"
"Waste of my time." Saitou said, reaching into the
breast-pocket of his shirt and pulling out a cigarette. He placed it in his mouth and talked around
it. "Stop filling up the hospital rooms
with patients like him."
"But you read his chart, right?" Megumi asked, raising an eyebrow. She never questioned Saitou's evaluations in
the past, but this one was different.
The patient was different.
"Of course I did, woman." He growled softly, his cigarette bobbing as he
talked. "And my evaluation is he's able
to be introduced back into society."
"Humph." Megumi replied, glaring at him.
"Obviously you didn't—"
"The boy's fine." Saitou interrupted before Megumi could bite his head off. With that said, he continued down the hallway, past the waiting area, and into the doctor's lounge.
Kaoru blinked as Saitou walked by, shooting her a glance before disappearing into the lounge. Immediately she sprang to her feet and headed down to Kenshin's room.
What was going to happen to Kenshin? The question repeated inside her head until she saw Kenshin sitting on the bed, looking absolutely confused. Cautiously, she walked in and sat down next to him. "Kenshin?"
The red-head startled and looked up at her, blinking a few times. "Huh?"
"What did he say?" She whispered back, placing a hand on his forearm.
Kenshin paused for a long time, switching his gaze from Kaoru's hand on his arm to his own hands. When Kaoru was starting to fear he was going to say he was being shipped off soon, he asked the most out of place question ever:
"Can I come to your next movie night?"
The question was soft-spoken,
yet the serious of it was what made Kaoru almost suffocate Kenshin with a
hug. The red-head chuckled and hugged
her back (Not as hard, mind you), surprised that such a question could spark
such a reaction.
"Of course you can!" Kaoru said, pulling away from him. "Does that mean you can leave the hospital?"
"I think so." Kenshin replied, presenting Kaoru the widest, brightest smile she'd ever seen on his face. She hugged him again. "You can even choose a movie if you want."
Kenshin chuckled again, resting his chin on the crown of her head.
Back in the waiting room, three pairs of eyes watched Megumi curse to herself as she stomped over to the Nurse's station, pulled out a patient's chart, and scribble down what was probably her signature. She then turned and stomped back down the hall, huffing and cursing about the opposite gender.
"What's going on?" Misao asked, moving the next chair over to talk to Sanosuke. Soujiro followed suit.
A large, goofy grin spread across Sanosuke's face as he finished off his sandwich. "Weasel, I think that jerk actually did something right for once." He answered airily.
Misao caught on and smiled, but it suddenly dropped. Rising to her full height of 5 foot 1 inch she towered over Sanosuke's sitting form and in a loud, ear-piercing shriek that seemed to shake all the windows of the hospital. "DON'T CALL ME A WEASEL!!"
Notes: Yay, another chapter done! Kenshin's getting out! Saitou did something good! Wheee! As you can see, I'm a little hyper after writing this. I find it easier to write each chapter in one sitting, rather than little bits in pieces like I usually do. Hmm…maybe I should try that with my other stories….*shrugs* And even though I portrayed wolfy-man as a prick and all, I love him! Don't hurt me for it! *Runs to hide*
The next chapter will be…MOVIE NIGHT! I admit here and now that movie night was inspired by Fitz' wonderful, glorious story Life's a Dance. I demand that all of you go read it! Yes, it has some alternative pairings, but it's good! It's better than good, it's great! Go read, now!
Ahem…next chapter coming soon!
Just click the button and make C-Chan happy some more!
