Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin and "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" are not my property. However, I'd like to think that Kenshin is mine. Hahahhaha. .
Warning: Characters are a bit OOC.
~ WHEN SOMETHING CHANGES ~
Chapter 4
Confessions from the Heart
Continuing Flashback, 4thYear of College, Fall Semester
Kaoru got up from out of bed with an excitement in the pitter-patter of her heart. Oh the time never seemed to go by so slow as it did now. She looked at her clock. It was only 8:00 am she sighed. She looked around the room with an anticipation of what to wear that afternoon when she would meet Kenshin. She hastily got up and rummaged through her entire wardrobe.
"Mou! I really should have gotten a dress like Megumi had said," Kaoru humphed as she plopped herself back down on the bed.
Sure Kaoru and Kenshin had spent many a time and day together alone, but . .but Kaoru could tell that today was going to be something different. She had seen it in his eyes last night.
Could Kenshin love me? Maybe what he had said that other time in class was some sort of hint to me that he had those feelings, she sighed dreamily.
That morning Kaoru had never looked more beautiful.
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12:00 pm at the Park
Kaoru was dressed in a pair of khakis and a light blue blouse as she made her way to the top of the hill. It was the most feminine thing she had in her closet. During the walk she found herself constantly smoothing out her blouse even though there were no creases. Saying that she was nervous would have been an understatement.
Kaoru looked up as she neared the hill and saw his profile standing next to the lone tree on top. His red hair was blowing freely in the wind and swayed with the movement of the long blades of grass. His eyes were focused on the sights below him. She smiled. Seeing his image was a comfort to her.
She felt her heart beat faster with every step that she took.
Every step that brought her closer to him.
Her palms started to feel sweaty.
She looked up and found that he was watching her. She was transfixed by his lavender orbs.
And her breath caught in her throat.
Kenshin cut the distance between them by walking up to her. The whole time he had kept his unwavering eyes on her. He smiled and gently took hold of both of her hands.
Kaoru sighed at the gentle caress and looked into his eyes.
"I love you," Kenshin said.
Her sapphire blue orbs widened. Time seemed to stop at that mere second. It seemed as though the wind had stopped blowing. The people had stopped moving. And her heart had stopped beating.
Just so that she could hear those words.
And then . .
And then . .
His laughter shattered the entire atmosphere.
She took a step back. And another. And another. Her hands had started shaking. What's going on?, she screamed inside of her head.
"I'm . . I'm so . .HAHA . .I'm so sorry Kaoru-dono!! HAHA," he paused to take a breath and take control of his laughter.
Kaoru stood there glued to the earth. What was he saying sorry for?, she wondered. With her hand still shaking, she slowly went to hold on to Kenshin's arm. She needed something to steady herself.
"Kenshin," she started in a strained voice, "what . .what. do you mean? What are you saying sorry for?"
Kenshin looked at her and said in a more calm and serious tone than before, "Kaoru-dono . . how was it? I really didn't mean to try it out on you like that, but I didn't think you would actually fall for it."
Kaoru's eyes widened. "What do you mean? Try . .try what out on me?" she asked in a hurried voice.
"Kaoru-dono. . .so much has happened in these past couple of weeks. You know Tomoe right?"
Kaoru nodded her head as the name registered in her memory.
Kenshin grinned and his purple eyes lit up in excitement. "Well .. well .. I love her. I want to confess to her today what my feelings are. You see . . I've gotten to know her so well during our study sessions and in class. She's really such a beautiful person and . ."
Kaoru mechanically nodded her head and pasted a smile onto her face as she watched Kenshin continue to animatedly talk about Tomoe. Even though she was going through all the physical actions, inside . .inside Kaoru was dead. Her heart and mind had stopped after hearing that Kenshin . .that her best friend . . that her first love was in love with another.
" . . I've wanted for so long to tell you this Kaoru-dono. But . .but I never got the chance to. It feels great just to tell this to someone. Oh Kaoru-dono, you won't believe how wonderful it feels to love someone!" Kenshin said exclamatorily.
Kaoru couldn't help but smirk at what he had said. Isn't it ironic .. that the person I love is you?
"So .. do you think Tomoe would say 'yes'? I'm afraid that . ."
Kaoru placed two fingers upon Kenshin's lips. Her blue eyes had cleared up as she looked into his own. "If I were Tomoe, I'd say 'I love you.'"
Kenshin's smile grew as he heard this and pulled Kaoru into a fierce hug. "You're the best friend I could ever have. Thank you, Kaoru-dono. I'll go tell her now," he said in excitement as he quickly ran off.
Kaoru watched as his figure disappeared from the park.
A crack of thunder was heard in the distance.
At that moment, all the strength she had kept up had left her in one whoosh. She fell down onto the soft grass and whatever was left of her heart and her love had shattered into a million broken pieces.
And the rain fell.
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A few hours later at Kaoru's Apartment
"M-my . .first love was not returned. M-Megumi .. M-Misao ..my heart .. it hurts .. " Kaoru cried as she desperately clung onto her bed post. Tears fell constantly from her blue eyes.
Her best friends, Misao and Megumi watched with much heartache. They had tried to comfort her as much as possible but to no avail. How would you heal a broken heart?
Misao couldn't stand it anymore. She marched out of Kaoru's room and into her own. Megumi watched with a weary eye.
"Th .. that bastard! I swear . .I swear . ." Misao threatened as she went to her desk to take out a couple of kunais. "I .. I don't care if he . . if he .. Gawd! I'll show him . . " She started to walk out the door when Megumi grabbed her by her shirt collar.
"Please Misao .. Kaoru wouldn't want you to do this. Kenshin didn't know how Kaoru felt about him. Telling him now that Kaoru loves him would only complicate things more and make it harder for Kaoru. Do you think . ." Megumi stopped as she felt anger rolling off her like waves. She too wanted to go up to Kenshin and give him a good punch in the face, but she knew that in the end it wouldn't benefit anybody. "Do you think that by telling Kenshin now that Kaoru loves him . .that Kenshin would run over to Kaoru and forget about Tomoe entirely? Do you think that Kenshin loves Kaoru in return?"
Misao looked down as she clenched the kunais in her fist tightly. Some tears started to fall from her turquoise green eyes. "I . .I can't see Kaoru so broken like this. It. . It hurts me so much." After saying those words, Misao broke down completely and cried for both her and Kaoru.
Megumi took the girl into her arms like a sister would another sister. "I know. It hurts me, too. But to help Kaoru, we need to help her get over this.
We need to help her get over him."
Misao looked up and understood. Life wasn't a fairy tale. First loves don't always end up being returned. But why . .why did it have to be Kaoru?
And at that point somewhere in Tokyo, a crimson haired man had had his first love returned to him.
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- To be continued
Author's Notes:
Please read and review! Thanks much! I know this was a pretty angst-ridden chapter. Poor Kaoru. Sigh . .it was so sad seeing this scene play out on the big screen. =*( .. sniff sniff .. Well, I hope you enjoyed it. After the next chapter, I won't be able to update as often since I'm going back to school. ^_^
Reader Responses:
Nina - Hello. Thanks for reviewing. Well .. lol .. when you put it like that .. I guess there are no surprises at all. Anyway, what makes a fic different is not the overall, but the details. ^_^