Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin does not belong to me. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai does not belong to me either. =*( (sigh .. a part of life)
Special Thanks to lonelystar-07 for adding me to your Favorite Authors' List! Thanks so much ^_^ sniff sniff. =)
Author's Notes: Hello! If you have time, I would like you guys to check out this music site: www-scf.usc.edu/~pradhakr and sign his guestbook! He would really appreciate it! ^_^
Warning: Chatacters are a bit OOC.
~ WHEN SOMETHING CHANGES ~
Chapter 5
Healing
1 Week Later
"Kaoru . . please . . get up and eat something. You haven't eaten anything properly for the past week," Megumi chided as she sat down next to Kaoru on the bed. Kaoru nodded as she got up listlessly and walked towards the kitchen. Misao was already there preparing a turkey and cheese sandwich for the three of them. She gave Kaoru a bright and cheerful smile.
"I'm making your favorite," the younger girl said.
Kaoru looked up and made an attempt to smile, but it only came out lopsided. Misao frowned. "Cheer up, Kaoru. Please. Sano and Aoshi are coming over today."
Kaoru's eyes widened. "Wh-what? But . ."
Misao winked, "Come on . . you've been in this apartment so long and haven't gone out. Everyone's worried. They think you're sick."
The blue-eyed girl looked down at her feet. It's true that she had stayed in her room for most of the week. She was afraid of seeing any of her other friends, but she was most afraid of seeing Kenshin and Tomoe together. She knew that it was selfish of her, but didn't someone tell her once that love was selfish?
Misao furrowed her brows as she sliced the sandwich in half. Her voice dropped into a more serious tone. "Kaoru . . I know. I know that this is difficult. But we're your friends and we want to see you happy. You can't be happy if you lock yourself in here."
Kaoru nodded and gave a more believable smile this time. She was going to be strong . .she was going to be happy for Kenshin . . but can I do it?, she added in her thoughts.
*RING RING
"I got it!" Megumi called out from the next room as she hurried to pick up the phone. It could be him. She was a little excited, god forbid, about seeing Sanosuke again. She didn't know when it had started, but her feelings for him have been growing deeper and deeper. At first she wouldn't believe that she would love someone like that and at times even now, she still couldn't believe it. Hmph, how can someone so classy as me fall for a ragamuffin like the roosterhead?, she thought with a loving shake of the head.
"Hello. Takani Megumi speaking."
"Ano . . hello."
"K-Ken-san," she stuttered lowering her voice into a whisper. She didn't want Kaoru to hear that Kenshin was on the other line. He had been calling on and off for the past week because Kaoru had not been going to class. He was very worried about her.
"Can I speak to Kaoru-dono?"
"A . . she's still not feeling well enough to talk on the phone."
"I see. Is it alright if I come over to see her?" he asked with worry tinged in his voice.
"No. I'm sorry, she just doesn't want any visitors right now," Megumi said reluctantly. She felt bad about lying to Kenshin about Kaoru's condition. But she knew that Kaoru wouldn't be able to see Kenshin right now, not so soon.
"Aaa . . I see. Then should I come by and drop off the notes from class?"
"Ano . . I'll just meet you on campus and get them from you," she paused and then added, "It'll save you the trip."
"Oh," he sighed. "Thank you, Megumi-san."
"Bye," Megumi said as she hung up the phone.
"Bye . . ." Kenshin said. His lavender eyes looked at the phone with worry. Why did it seem like Megumi and Misao didn't want him to see Kaoru? What was wrong with her? Every time he had called, it was the same excuse from her two roommates. He gave another sigh as he looked at the ceiling of his studio apartment.
"Kenshin?" Tomoe called from the kitchen.
The red-haired man turned and looked over at Tomoe with a smile donning his face. She was wearing an apron over her plain dress with a spatula in her right hand. He had thought about it for a long while and decided that he wanted to be like this with Tomoe for the rest of his life.
"Lunch is ready," she said.
Kenshin's smile grew as he pushed himself up from the couch.
"Ano . . how is Kaoru-san?" Tomoe asked with worry lacing over her serene voice.
The young man looked up with a sorry shake of the head. "She's still not feeling well and she doesn't want any visitors." His voice had grown hurtful at the thought that Kaoru would not even want to see him, her best friend.
"Oh . . I see," Tomoe replied with sympathy. An awkward feeling grew at the pit of her stomach.
I wonder . . I wonder what's wrong with Kaoru-san?
Is it .. could it .. could it be about Kenshin and me?
- - - - - - -- - -- - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - -
Back at Kaoru, Megumi, and Misao's Apartment
Kaoru had retired herself back into the room after lunch. Megumi and Misao nodded sadly towards one another. The girl had only taken a few bites of the sandwich and the way she ate was so mechanical. "How do we cheer her up?" Misao wondered aloud.
Megumi sighed. "It's all up to her." She got up and announced that she would go check the mail. Misao nodded as she too got up to clear the dishes.
As Megumi was coming back from the mailbox, she flipped through the mail in her hands. People Magazine, TIMES, Scientific American . .Megumi stopped and glanced at the articles in it. Is there such a thing as Race? She then flipped through the other mail. Bills, bills, bills, a letter for Misao-chan from Okina, and . .she stopped. A letter to Kaoru from her Dad. Megumi smiled. A letter from Kamiya-san might cheer up Kaoru.
Before Kaoru was able to start high school, her mother had died from a severe illness and her dad decided that he would move to Kyoto. Since Kaoru had many dear friends in Tokyo, Kaoru's dad had decided that she would continue to attend schooling in Tokyo and live with her mother's father (Kaoru's grandfather), Dr. Genzai. Kamiya-san did not write often to his daughter, but when he did, it would always light up the girl's day. Megumi nodded to herself. This would definitely make Kaoru happier.
She opened up the door and walked back into the apartment. Misao had already finished cleaning the dishes and was now preoccupied with listening to the music in her room. She could hear the stereo all the way from the living room. She sighed as she made her way towards Kaoru's room.
"Kaoru, you have a letter from your dad," Megumi called out as she knocked on the door.
The raven-haired girl had been staring at the ceiling for the past couple of minutes. She was in her own world. Kenshin . . if only . . why did I have to fall for my best friend?, she cried in her heart. Tears fell from her eyes. And why . .why does it hurt so much? What should I do? I can't tell Kenshin. He's in love with Tomoe-san. She sniffled as she turned herself face-down on the pillow. Tears were continuously streaming down her face. She hated that she was being so weak. She didn't want to worry her friends so much.
"Kaoru!" Megumi banged on the door.
Kaoru heard her this time and instantly got out of bed, quickly wiping any signs of tears with the sleeve of her shirt.
"I'm coming," she called back as she checked herself in the mirror making sure that she looked okay. She then unlocked the door and opened it.
"You silly tanuki girl. What were you doing?" Megumi scolded lightly.
"Ano . . I was . ." Kaoru started to explain as she shifted her eyes around the room. She wasn't good at lying.
Megumi shook her head and handed her the letter. "It's from your dad."
Kaoru looked down and recognized the familiar handwriting. A small smile began to grace her features. She took the letter gratefully and quickly went to her desk to read it.
"Megumi, did I get anything?" Misao asked as she bounced towards Kaoru's door where the older woman was standing.
Megumi sifted through the letters and gave Misao the letter from Okina. Misao smiled brightly and then peered into Kaoru's room.
"Kaoru, Sano and Aoshi said that they would be here around sev .." she stopped herself .
Kaoru was face-down on her desk violently shaking with silent cries.
"Kaoru . ."Megumi said as she too saw Kaoru's figure. They hurried over to her side and hugged her. "What's wrong? What did your father say?"
Only muffled sobbing was heard.
Misao looked over at the letter and picked it up. Some of the words were smudged by the wetness of her tears. She knew everything when she saw the words,
"The doctors say I need to have an operation . ."
She looked down at Kaoru and felt overwhelming compassion for her. How could so many things happen to her? Megumi was feeling the same emotions at that time for their friend. But she was helpless in thinking what she could do to help her.
At that moment, Kaoru stopped crying and looked up. Her short black hair was disheveled and her eyes were bloodshot. But inside them they found a determination that was clear as crystal.
"Megumi , Misao . . I've decided that I'm going home."
-
-
-
-
-
-
- To be continued
Author's Notes
Please read and review! Thank you very much! I'm sorry it took so long in updating. I was having trouble deciding what to do after that last scene. Anyway, I've written out most of the next chapter so I should have that up by the end of this week (or maybe even sooner.)
1.) Kaoru's mom died when Kaoru was in 8th grade. (I'm not sure how the grade schooling goes in Japan . .sorry!) Because Tokyo left Kaoru's dad with many memories, he decided that he wanted to move to Kyoto. Kaoru stays with Dr. Genzai up until college. She does visit her dad in Kyoto every so often during winter and summer vacations. Her dad is a teacher of kendo.
Reader Responses:
Ryoga – Thanks for the kind reviews!
Koishii Sweet – I hope you enjoyed the chapters so far. ^_^ It'll get more interesting later on.
Saotome – Thanks for reviewing!
Oyuki – Yes, that's really sad for Kaoru. =( Poor girl to have her heart broken like that.
Kry Angel- Thanks for reviewing!
Fan4000 – Yeah, it was sad about what had happened to Kaoru. Hmm .. but you're right in that Kenshin really didn't do any wrong because he didn't know that she loved him. Sigh .. I guess we'll have to see what happens next. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Wistful-Eyes – Yeah, that was a bit OOC of Kenshin, but it was important for the story for this to happen. Anyway, thanks for reviewing!
Koishii Sweet – I'm glad you liked the story so far. Thanks for reviewing!
SerenityBlossom – Aww.. yeah, I understand how it feels to be rejected too. Sniff sniff. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story.
Cherryblossom91 – Thanks for reviewing! I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
MissBehavin – Thanks for reviewing! Your reviews always make me smile. ^_^ especially since it comes from such a great author as yourself. ^_^
OniTokage – Hi! You're right on the dot. Yes, Kaoru will definitely meet Kenshin again in the present story. Haha. It's kinda funny. So far the two stories on FF.net center on Kenshin meeting Kaoru again. I guess I'm a sucker for those kind of plots.
Are-en1 – So you've watched the movie before? Cool ^_^ I hope you enjoy the story. Although it will be a bit different.
Mcdulldullpiggy – Thanks for reviewing! Hope you enjoy the rest of the story.