Disclaimer: I WILL SAY IT ONLY ONCE, AND NEVER AGAIN FOR THE REST OF THE FIC. THIS IS FOR THE REST OF MY STORY. I DO NOT OWN RK OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS. Nakamura is the soul property of Chiki, and I also do not lay claim on her either. SO YOU PEOPLE NO YELL AT ME FOR USING HER!
Chapter Thirteen: Clothes and More Clothes
"It's getting late; I better go home," said Takasugi as the clock struck midnight.
He lifted the still unconscious Sanosuke over his shoulder, and with a bit of struggle, was able to
get him to the elevator.
"Ma'am, are you going to stay here tonight?" Asked a plump short nurse.
Misao nodded as the woman went to get an extra blanket for her.
"I'll stay here too," said Yahiko as he looked at his sister.
"No, you have to do your homework. Your education is more important, now that Magdaria is doing better. She'll get sad if she finds out that it was because of her health that you failed a course. She'd never forgive herself, and you know that," said Shougo.
Before Yahiko could speak, his older brother gave him the look that told him to go or get in big trouble when Shougo got home.
"Wait up you guys," yelled Yahiko as he bolted out the door.
He had just realized that Takasugi was his only chance of getting back home, so he rushed out the doors and was able to catch up with them before the two went down the elevator and to the parking lot.
~*~*~*~*~
Misao couldn't look at her old boyfriend. It's been more than four years since they last met each other, and four years since they've ever made any contact whatsoever. She hadn't seen him since he called it off.
A part of her was crushed, and didn't understand why he did it. They had gone out for four terrific years, from what she could remember.
Her heart had struggled to replace its shattered pieces from then on, but seeing him again after all this time, was breaking, yet somehow warming her heart again. She didn't understand any of it, and she felt so confused right now.
She had kept telling herself that he deserved better, and that he should stick to his own class.
He had money, she didn't. Well, not as much as him anyways.
"Miss, here's your blanket and pillow," said the same nurse; knocking Misao out of her thoughts.
Misao blinked up at her, before blushing and taking the blankets away from the elderly woman with a nod.
"Thank you," said Misao with a smile as she put the folded blanket down beside her.
The nurse nodded as she gave Shougo his own.
She looked over at Shougo who grinned at her, and she quickly looked away.
Tonight was going to be a long one.
~*~*~*~*~
Kaoru drove home, her mind in a swirl. She couldn't believe she was going to help Kenshin get Nakamura and Hiko together. Her instincts told her to just let fate decide, but knowing Kenshin, he was going to fate.
She really needed to knock some sense into that man. He needed to understand that some things weren't meant to be messed with. She just hoped that they were going to make things better, not worse.
Maybe I should just whack him upside the head a few times. That'll help him see the light. Thought Kaoru. But she knew that she could never do that; but she could always dream about it. That brought a smile to her lips.
Then her mind went to the Sakura Ball. She had never really gone to a dance before, she usually preferred to stay at home and study. Kaoru was pretty anti-social, except for when it came to her two best friends.
What made her worry the most, was dancing. She couldn't dance if her life depended on it; she had two left feet. Dancing was something she didn't learn, and didn't want to learn for the fear of humiliating herself.
She knew that at the ball they were going to have to dance; she groaned as she thought about it.
This was great, she was going to a ball--let alone it being the Sakura Ball for all of the important people-- and she didn't know how to dance. She could picture it now, the headlines would be: The Perfect Body with the Worse Feet.
I should have declined. Thought Kaoru., but at the moment she had forgotten all about her problem.
How am I going to learn how to dance in one week? Thought Kaoru.
She sighed, she was going to have to ask for help. Asking for help was something that Kaoru
Kamiya hated doing. She hated asking for help, she hated it more than anything else. Asking for assistance made her feel... helpless. She hated feeling helpless, she wanted to feel great. That was why she would give help, but not accept it.
Karma. Was the only thing that went through her head.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Misao," said Shougo suddenly, breaking the uncomfortable silence in the room.
She slowly looked up at him and smiled her cheerful smile. The last thing she wanted to do was to show him a weakness. She was never one to be called weak. Her ego was just too big to show anyone that she was weak.
"Yes," said Misao in her usual chirpy voice.
Shougo took a seat across from her so that he could see her green eyes. How he missed her eyes.
Misao's hold on her jacket, that she had taken off and placed in her lap, tightened. Her knuckled turned white, as she kept her smile and looked into his chocolate eyes. She wasn't going to melt, she wasn't going to melt under his gaze. Oh but gods his eyes.
Amakusa, which most of his friends used and what Misao use to call him, placed a warm hand on her cold ones. He looked deep into her eyes, as if they held the secret to how she felt about him, or if she still felt for him.
Misao was shaking now, he really couldn't think that after so many years apart, that she would crawl back into his warm, comfortable, and powerful embrace...
No! Don't think like that. Thought Misao as her thoughts trailed off to the old path that she had sworn not to follow again.
But the way he was looking at her made her forget temporarily.
"I'm sorry," said Amakusa suddenly; that jerked her attention to his face.
Her eyes scanned his face. He looked so sincere and guilty, she just wanted to hug him and say that it was all right. But for some odd reason, she seemed to be frozen in place.
"I... The biggest mistake in the world was me letting you go. I... I didn't know what I was doing. You... You're a marvelous person, and you deserve so much better than me. Back when, I was in financial problems too, and I didn't want to bring that on you as you were. So when I saw you with Cho, I thought..." began Amakusa as he looked down.
"No! You got it all wrong. Cho and I... We were just friends. Now I understand," said Misao, as she tilted his chin so he could look up at her; she nearly went into tears at the hope in his eyes. They sparkled like they did all those years ago.
What are you doing? You can't just throw yourself back at him. He left us, he turned around and left us. This man made you cry yourself to sleep in college. Think about it, think about Soujiro. Said a part of her; her ego.
Misao wanted to cry, she didn't know what to do.
"I thought that you were with him. He was richer, so I decided to let you two be. I was so stupid; I should have known better. I'm so sorry Misao," said Amakusa with a weak smile.
She could only nod.
Shougo inched his face closer to hers.
*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*
Misao jumped as she heard the noise as Shougo closed his eyes and took out his pager. He let go of Misao's hands and then sat back down in his own chair.
Her heart pounded in her ears. What would have happened if his pager didn't go off? She had to get out, she had to get out of here. Anywhere away from him.
She stood up, grabbed her jacket, and left the room.
A nice walk would do. Thought Misao.
She left before Amakusa could do anything.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A sunray went into her eyes, as she rolled over.
Morning already? Thought Kaoru. She didn't want to get up.
*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*
Kaoru groaned. Stupid alarm clock. She threw a pillow at it, but it wouldn't shut up.
"I swear. They must test the most annoying noise, and stick it in those alarms," said Kaoru as she reluctantly left the warm covers and got off of her bed. She walked over to the table at the far end of the hotel room, and turned off the alarm. She did that so she wouldn't turn off the alarm and then go back to sleep.
(A/N: Don't you people just hate those stupid alarms? Curse them all, I need my beauty sleep!)
She turned it off and yawned as she stretched her arms. Slowly she dropped into her comfortable bed and began to snooze back to dream world. Old habits die-hard.
There was a sudden knock at the door.
Kaoru groaned and rolled up into a ball with her covers. She needed more than six hours of sleep. Staying up at the hospital, and with her thoughts made it only five hours of sleep.
Who would be here at six in the morning? Complained Kaoru as she placed the pillow over her head and hoped that the person would leave her alone.
Her head zipped back up when she heard the doorknob turn. She curled back up, thinking that it was the hotel maids.
The door burst open, and in walked Kenshin Himura with a big smile on his face. He was wearing the latest style.
His long red mane was high in a ponytail as he strode in like he owned the place. He had on a pair of black pants, a red t-shirt that had Bad 4 Life that were in a flame font on it, and a pair or red and white Nike shoes.
Kaoru peaked her head out of her protective warmth as the door slammed shut and locked.
She sat up straight as she saw her boss and was barely able to make out his form in her groggily state.
"What in the world are you doing here for? How are you so awake? Did you down all the coffee at Starbucks?" asked Kaoru as wiped the sleep from her eyes.
"Actually, I bought a Starbucks shop. So therefore I can drink all the coffee I want. Waking up at this time is a habit that my uncle knocked into to me. Old habits die hard you know," said
Kenshin with a broad smile.
Kaoru could only nod. She was trying to get over her own, of sleeping for at least eight hours a day.
"I'm here because we're going to go look for your dress. We need to find one that will blow everyone away, and we'll need more than one day to find one, so let's get going. Oh yeah, you're not going to work today. We need the time to find the perfect outfit," said Kenshin with a grin.
His lawyer only looked at him as if he were crazy.
Kaoru stretched and yawned to show him that she wanted the day off to sleep.
That was when Kenshin finally noticed her morning state and grinned inwardly. She looked so cute with her hair disarrayed, her red lips, flushed face from the morning, and the way her clothes were practically sliding off her body made her look good enough to eat.
His grinned became visible; Kaoru cocked her head at him. Making more of her skin show; the tank top that she had worn to sleep, that had Angel embedded in blue, was close to falling off of her shoulders. A strap was down and showed her smooth milky white skin underneath it.
Kenshin wanted no more than to ravish her that very moment, but thought better of it. She was still in a sleepy state, and he would not take advantage of her. He had too much dignity and pride. But he couldn't help but keep his eyes glued to her goddess like features.
Kaoru rolled her eyes, and stood up. She yawned as she made her way to her closet to get her daily clothes, and then left to the bathroom.
Her boss let out a sigh; if he did find the perfect dress for her, he would have a hard time taking his hands off her. It was replaced with a grin, when he realized that they would be dancing, and that meant body contact. ^_~
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Misao woke up to an all too familiar scent. She cracked open an eye, and saw that she was laying on something hard, yet soft. Shaking her head, and trying to sit up, she noticed that she had a blanket over her.
Her eyes finally registered her surroundings as she heard the pumping of machines, and realized that she was in Megumi and Magdaria's hospital room. Then her eyes fell on the item that she had been laying on, and realized that she slept in a chair.
That's odd, why didn't I get cramps? Thought Misao, her eyes hadn't fully gained their vision.
She usually always woke up with cramps when she slept on something other than a mattress or futon. Even couches didn't make her feel this relaxed.
Her eyes finally working for her, she saw the reason why she didn't feel so terrible. She practically screamed, she got tangled in the blankets as she fell to the tile floor and groaned as she rubbed her bruised bottom. But luckily, from the tangle she was in, the wrapped blanket cushioned most of her fall.
"Are you okay?" asked that deep masculine voice, as Shougo stood up to help her.
Misao blushed as he extended a hand to her. She smiled weakly and took the offered hand, as she pulled the blanket off of herself as she came up.
He pulled her up, and she was face to face with his masculine torso. Misao noticed that he had unbuttoned his suit, so that his chest was bare. She felt her face flush three shades of red as she smelled his cologne that she was sure that was all over her too.
She had woken and saw that she was lying on Amakusa and had her hands around his waist, as he had his strong arms around her then frame. The blanket was over the two as they slept peacefully, that is until Misao woke up. It felt just as good as when they last snuggled up together. Misao shook her head, she wasn't going to fall for him again. Oh but gods, it was going to be hard.
Misao stepped away from him, and stared off at Megumi. She couldn't look at his face, it would only make her blush more.
Shougo only chuckled, making Misao turn around.
"What's so funny?" asked Misao; but it came out oddly, since she had yet to wake up and wash her face or even brush her teeth. I hope my breath doesn't smell that bad. Thought
Misao, as she resisted the temptation to cup her mouth with one hand and breath in it to see if it did smell revolting.
"You don't remember anything from last night, do you?" stated Amakusa, with that grin of his.
That grin always told others that he knew something that they didn't, and it always got on her nerves.
"What was so funny, was the question," said Misao through clenched teeth.
Amakusa only smiled at her; making her legs want to just clasp below her. But her ego wouldn't allow her to show any sign of weakness. Even though she knew that she was helpless.
"If you must know, I was thinking of how you looked when I found you asleep in the waiting room. You were so happy and peaceful, and you looked like an angel when I carried you back here," said Shougo with a pure smile; that made Misao practically feel her bones melting from inside her. Curse his face expression and god-like body.
"So why were we like... that?" asked Misao as she looked at the seat they were occupying.
"I was going to put you in a chair, but I knew how cranky you get when you don't sleep comfortably. So, since I was the softest thing in here, I thought that I could be your pillow. You didn't complain, so I just left you on me to sleep," said Shougo innocently.
Misao flushed furiously, after all this time he still knew practically more about herself than she did. He was so sweet, and charming too. It did help that he was hot, sexy, and those grins.
Misao slapped herself mentally, she broke up with him. They were no longer together. She was going to the Sakura Ball with Soujiro.
She closed her eyes and kept repeating the last sentence.
But you two aren't dating, or anything. You're only his escort. Said a tiny voice in her, which she had thought had been discarded so long ago.
Curse that voice, it was right and she knew it, and hated it. She was falling for Shougo all over again, and she knew it too. No! She promised herself she would forget about him, and she would. But heaven help me, I'm going to need a miracle not to fall for him again. Thought Misao.
"You can take the restroom before me, you need it more than I do," said Shougo suddenly; with a smug look on his face as he smirked when Misao turned redder, if possible, but she did it.
Misao then glared angrily at him, and threw the blanket that had fallen on the floor when she did, at him. She then stormed off into the bathroom, uttering incoherent words under her breath.
Shougo easily caught the blanket with his left hand, as he straightened out his suit and began to button up his outfit again. It was quite hot at night, with another warm body snuggled up to him with a blanket too. Though he didn't mind that at all. It was Misao that snuggled up to him. He grinned at the thought.
He then began to fold the white cotton blanket as he looked at his sister that had yet to open her eyes. A smile came upon his face, as he laid the folded blanket at the edge of Sayo's bed.
Amakusa placed his right hand over his sister's cold one, and squeezed lightly as if to comfort her.
"You're turn Amakusa," said Misao when she came out with a towel; she was still wiping her face from the water.
"I haven't heard you call me that since high school," said Amakusa with a smile to her.
Misao was taken aback a bit, as he walked passed her and closed the bathroom door behind him. She slowly finished wiping her face, and took a seat next to Megumi.
"You'll be fine. Just hold in there. We'll find a donor soon," said Misao in a whisper as she tucked a stray hair out of Megumi's face with a delicate fingernail. She smiled when Megumi wrinkled her nose and turned to her side, away from her. It could only mean that the fox was coming back to her usual self.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Stop! It's a red light!" yelled Kaoru, as she hung onto her seatbelt in the passenger seat. Why oh why, did she let him drive his red Ferrari? The should have taken her midnight blue Porsche.
Kenshin stepped on the breaks, making a screeching noise, as his rims twirled the other way.
He had just gotten them installed today, and was quite happy that it got so many people's attention when he stopped dramatically before he crossed the street walking area.
"It was a yellow light! I could have made it," complained Kenshin.
Kaoru took in deep breaths. She could swear that he was going to kill them both.
She was wearing t-shirt with ANGEL in the front, and clouds all around it. A halo was above the A. Kaoru had on blue round sunglasses, blue jeans, and a belt with PRINCESS on the leather to hold up her pants, and blue and white Nike shoes.
The two actually looked completely different too, since Kenshin had on red round sunglasses.
Kenshin tapped his nails on the stirring wheel, she was so boring.
"Can't you for once, not follow the rules? We're late to meet Kamatari at the Kirei Blossom
Studios, and Tae wants to get you into a dress and looking nice," said Kenshin a bit annoyed; he didn't look at her angry face though. If looks could kill, he would be a puddle of nothing right now.
"You could kill us both! I don't feel like dressing up today," said Kaoru in a low voice.
"Why not?" asked Kenshin as he looked at her over the brims of his sunglasses confused.
"I've been thinking," began Kaoru, as Kenshin stepped the gas once the light turned green. He left dust for the slower cars; the only thing left for them to see was his license plate that read: KENSHIN.
"What?" asked Kenshin, as he stole a glance from her before focusing on the road again.
"I really don't think I want to go to the Sakura Ball," said Kaoru in a low whisper, her eyes were on her intertwined fingers in her lap.
Kenshin slammed on the breaks so fast, that he left tire tracks. He had stopped just in time, to not cross a red light, when Kaoru told him something that he couldn't believe.
"Why in the world not?" demanded Kenshin as he looked at her. When she didn't look up at him, he tilted her head up so that he was staring right into her eyes.
"Tell me why," commanded Kenshin, his amber eyes seemed to pierce her very soul.
Kaoru looked away, not daring to meet his golden colored like orbs.
"I... Well... I've never really been to dances... and I... I don't think that I'd..." stuttered Kaoru as she fiddled with her hands; trying to make him look away. His stare was giving her goose bumps.
A light suddenly popped up in Kenshin's head, as he realized why she didn't want to go.
The light turned green, and Kenshin drove off, much to Kaoru's relief because he couldn't look at her.
"You can't dance, can you?" asked Kenshin; his eyes never left the rode.
"I..." began Kaoru, but slouched back in her seat. She couldn't yell at him for telling the truth.
"You don't have to dance at a ball you know. What people care about is you showing up, making conversation, and letting the press take pictures of you," said Kenshin calmly.
Kaoru bit her lower lip, she wasn't quite sure about that.
"If you want, I can teach you the Waltz so you'd feel more comfortable," said Kenshin with a smile as he caught a glimpse of her from over the rims of his sunglasses.
He couldn't help but grin when Kaoru looked up at him with hopeful eyes, he swore that he saw them sparkle.
"But first we must find you a dress, and see if you can dance in it properly," said Kenshin, when he pulled up to the gates of Kirei Blossom Studio.
Kaoru gulped, this was going to be one long day.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Shura happily strolled out of the elevator, and into her cubical. She had done. She actually quit Beauty Magazines, and now she can work full time. The pay was going to be great.
With a smile on her face, she sat in her leather chair, and took out her head set.
"Excuse me, Miss Shura?" asked a very masculine yet childish voice.
Shura looked up from her desk, and saw Soujiro standing over her.
"Oh hey. What do you want?" asked Shura, as she looked through the papers that Sano so neatly placed on her desk, she snorted at his organizing abilities. The man really was a rooster head. He expected her to retype all of these papers? I better get paid extra for this. Thought
Shura as she started up her computer.
"Have you seen Miss Misao anywhere? I haven't seen her all day," said Soujiro politely.
"... I think she took a day off. She had to go to the hospital last night to visit someone. I'm not sure who though, but I'm sure that it was someone close. She sounded worried when someone called to tell her," said Shura.
Right then Takasugi just walked over.
"Oh yeah. I forgot to tell Hiko that Misao took the day off," said Takasugi; he was about to leave when Soujiro gripped his arm a little too tightly.
"Why?" asked Soujiro, his voice had dropped a bit.
"She's staying there today to look after her cousin Megumi. Misao's in room 626 at the local hospital with her ex-boyfriend. Did you know that she use to go out with Shougo Myojin, for four years?" asked Takasugi as he remembered.
Soujiro's hold on his arm became a death grip.
Takasugi tried to jerk his hand of the shorter man's hold, but failed miserably. Then a thought went across his mind from last night. That's right, Misao's going to the Sakura Ball with Soujiro. Takasugi looked at his college buddy, and realized that he shouldn't have told him that Misao was with her ex-boyfriend.
"Soujiro, you're cutting off my circulation," said Takasugi finally.
The smaller man let go, and then placed on one of his fake smiles.
"Hey! Is Misao's old boyfriend Shougo Amakusa Myojin?" asked Shura, she wasn't paying attention when Soujiro nearly squeezed the life out of Takasugi's arm.
Takasugi nodded as he rubbed his arm. That's going to leave a bruise. For a small guy, he sure had a powerful grip, just like Kenshin. What's up with all of these short people being so strong? Thought Takasugi as he tried to move his arm, but it was in pain. Luckily it wasn't his better arm.
"I heard that the guy is quite the genius," said Shura as she went back to typing up Sano's paper, which was the reason why she didn't see Soujiro act so weird.
"He graduated Valedictorian of our high school graduation class. Though he made it second best in our class in college. I think that his break up with Misao at the end of the year caused him to not think straight. I didn't know he was going out with her, but I knew that he was sad when he broke up with a girl. We didn't know that he had gone out with her for four years though," said Takasugi absentminded, as he rubbed his bruised arm.
"Who got first in your college class then?" asked Shura, as she stopped typing and looked at him.
"You wouldn't believe me," said Takasugi with a grin.
"Don't tell me that it was the rooster head," said Shura; if it was, then she swore that she was going to have a heart attack from the shock.
"It wasn't him. I thought it was going to be Shougo or Aoshi," said Takasugi truthfully.
"Then who was it?" asked Shura curiously.
"Kenshin Shinta Himura," said Soujiro.
"Really? Dang, and here I thought that he was some spoiled brat. So the saying you can judge a book by it's cover it true. I didn't think that he was that smart, I mean you don't expect that from rich kids, and he was the richest back in college too. Amazing," said Shura.
"What about all of those papers that has made him richer?" pointed out Takasugi.
"I thought that Hiko or Kaoru was helping him," said Shura.
"Himura's smart, it's just that he doesn't like to show it that much, not unless he had to," said
Takasugi calmly, as he defended his friend.
"Mr. Himura and Shougo were pretty close to the top in high school as well. It's just that Shougo was happier with Misao with him," said Soujiro with a smile, though Takasugi could swear that he felt hatred in those words when he mentioned Shougo with Misao.
Shura nodded before going back to work.
Soujiro then left to the elevator.
"Where are you going?" asked Takasugi, one hand still on his arm.
"Do tell Mr. Seijiro that I'm going to take the rest of the day off," said Soujiro with a smile, before the elevator door closed.
Takasugi sighed, and left to Hiko's office.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Spin around darling. That dress was made for a woman to move in it. Now walk the runway for me. That's it, don't be shy," said Kamatari as he ordered a model in training to go up on stage and do a walk.
The man looked weary, as if he hadn't slept in days. He must have been having a major headache right about now. The expression on his face was tense and looked like he was about to explode in any minute.
Kamatari rubbed his temples, he wasn't expecting to be training new models today, he had so much work to do already.
"From the beginning," yelled Kamatari.
His trainee walked around the stage for him.
The girl was in a golden dress that went all the way to the ground, with slits up to her thighs. Her honey colored legs was visible with every step she took. She had her hair up in a regular bun, as some of her coffee colored hair went to her shoulders. The dress was strapless as the sleeves split in half to her elbows, and went down to wrists.
Kaoru and Kenshin had just entered the room, and felt a bit sorry for the girl. She looked no more than 15, she was the same age as Tsubame.
Another girl came out with the same dress, but in black. She had chocolate colored hair was in the same bun, as she walked down the runway; her face flushed just like the other girl. The girl looked 15 as well, and Kaoru knew that they had to be fraternal twins because they had the same hazel colored eyes and body structure.
"Do you want a dress like that?" asked Kenshin as he looked at Kaoru.
Kaoru looked at the design and shook her head, she wouldn't wear those tall heels. They seemed to be like 5 inches high, she thought it was a miracle that these girls could even wear them. She swore that you can kill people with them too.
"You're right. Now's the hard part, finding something new for you to wear," said Kenshin.
"I think that you should wear a midnight blue regular tuxedo to match my black dress," said Kaoru.
Kenshin cocked an eyebrow at her.
"Well I get to choose what you wear," stated Kaoru.
Kenshin only sighed.
"So you want a black dress?" asked Kenshin eyeing her blush.
"Well... Or midnights blue one. I don't want a bright color, because I don't want to attract people to me. Don't look at me like that. I swear if you make me wear a red dress..." began Kaoru when she saw Kenshin eyeing one of the two girls coming out again in a red dress that went to the knees with shawl around her neck.
"I won't. Do you think that I'm going to wear a red tuxedo? That would make us look like we're getting married or something. That would give the press a field trip," said Kenshin.
Kaoru sighed.
"Honey, Darling! I didn't see you two," said Kamatari as he rushed over to them. He was
wearing a black and green France designer like clothing, he even had the red and black hat to match it.
"We're looking for a dress for Kaoru, and tux for me," said Kenshin.
"We're going to the Sakura Ball next week," said Kaoru.
"Yes, on Saturday, August 25," said Kamatari with a smile, as he clapped his hands and looked at the two. He made them spin around and take off their sunglasses.
"Hm....... Ken darling, you should go with a dark color to match your hair. Midnight blue would match your features very well; or black... Hm..." Said Kamatari shifted his lips to the left so that he looked like he was in deep thought.
Kenshin just rolled his eyes.
"Midnight blue with a rose in your left pocket. Yes, I'll go work on it right away. But for now..." said Kamatari with a great wide grin as he clapped his hands together and looked at Kaoru, who backed away a bit.
"Kamatari, do you want us to change?" asked the girl with the chocolate hair, who was still in her black dress.
"You can go now Ayame. Tell your sister Suzumi that she can go too," said Kamatari with a wave of a hand, as he spun Kaoru around.
The two girls nodded and got off the stage.
"So who are they?" asked Kenshin once the girls were in the back.
"They're new models. Ayame and Suzumi are going to be models for M.R.S. this month, along with Miss Kamiya here, and the other two. Spin around one more time honey," said Kamatari as he looked at Kaoru's body, and tried to determine what type of dress would best match her.
Then again, with her body, she would fit into any style and still look good. He so envied her nonetheless.
"Oh," said Kenshin.
"Can I stop spinning now Kamatari? I'm getting dizzy," said Kaoru.
"Sorry dear, I was thinking of a dress for you. But I don't know which one. You'd be able to go in any of them and look good, but I want you to look great," said Kamatari as he stopped spinning her.
Kaoru felt dizzy and nearly fell on the floor if Kenshin hadn't caught her in time. She was helped
to her feet, as she held her head, trying to stop the room from spinning around in circles. Kaoru shook her head, trying to clear her vision again.
"So why did you take so little time in deciding what I should wear?" demanded Kenshin, as he held Kaoru to him, who seemed to have been like a drunk.
"Well men are easier to dress up. You guys only have so many dress clothes," stated Kamatari.
Kenshin glared at the man.
Kaoru grabbed her head, but her body was still rocking back and forth as if she were on a ship at sea.
Kenshin wrapped an arm around Kaoru's waist and put an arm around her stomach as he brought her to stand straight up next to him, as if to completely stop her from moving.
"If she gets sick, it's all your fault," said Kenshin, with deadly amber eyes as he looked at Kamatari who was grinning ear to ear.
"You two look like such a cute couple," said Kamatari, as he squealed in delight and clapped his hands.
Kenshin's face faltered, as his eyes became a steely blue once Kaoru turned around to face him, after she stopped seeing the world go around in circles.
"Thank you," said Kaoru with a blush, Kamatari's comment was getting to her. But that wasn't what caused her to blush furiously and look at the floor, it was the way Kenshin was holding her and his blue eyes. They were so beautiful, and she swore that he could have drowned her in them. Though she seemed to have gotten used to the amber ones that were always so cold and distant, and didn't expect Kenshin to do such a nice thing.
Come to think of it, she was sure that whenever Kenshin did show some sort of emotion, his eyes changed to a blue or an amethyst color. It was strange that someone could change their natural eye color.
"Enough of you two lovebirds. I'm going to need you to try out a new dress Kaoru, I know you'll look exquisite in it. Kenshin darling, please keep that eye color for the Sakura Ball. It'll match your outfit," said Kamatari once he pushed Kaoru into the changing room, and threw a dress in with her that was on a separate hanger.
Kenshin rolled his sapphire orbs, as he sat on a make-up box and waited for Kaoru to come out. He had his face in his elbows on his knees. She sure liked to take her time in putting on a dress.
"Well bye Kamatari," said the one name Suzumi, once they came out in regular clothing. They both had on a purple tank top, and purple jeans.
"See you tomorrow Ayame," said Kamatari kissed her cheek.
"Bye Suzumi," said Kamatari as he did the same for her. They kissed him back, and were about
to leave through the two doors when Kaoru stepped out in a very beautiful black dress
All that the outfit was missing were a few extra accessories, a bit of rouge, a French Pedicure for her nails and toes, better shoes, a shoulder cloak, and of course her hair.
"You're Kaoru Kamiya. Oh my god! I didn't recognize you at first. You're like the coolest model out there right now," said Ayame, her face lit up and she was all smiles just like her sister.
Kaoru blushed another shade of red, if that were possible.
"You're going in that dress. We just need a few extra things," said Kenshin as he looked at Kamatari who nodded anxiously after taking out a pen and a notepad.
"Come on down here," said Kenshin, as he stood up.
Kaoru glared at him, but quickly followed orders.
Kenshin looked at her, and walked around her as he examined her outfit with his sapphire depths. Kaoru had to keep herself standing, the intense look that he was giving her, was enough to make any girl faint of melt away into a bile of goop.
"Make the dress longer, the slits longer as well. We need something to keep her dress from falling off, why not make it with straps? The center looks a bit empty. You should add something there that won't clash with the dress. Her shoes too, we need to get her something not so plain, something different. We'll need to talk to Tae about all of the other stuff," said
Kenshin as he spun Kaoru around once and then stopped her. His hands were on her hips as he looked over her dress.
Kaoru felt all her blood go up to her face. She hated his eyes. His evil, sexy, beautiful eyes; curse him! He was going to be the end of her.
Kaoru could only sigh and live with it. She could only hope that his eyes wouldn't end up making her go soft on him.
Kamatari nodded and began to write down the new instructions.
Kenshin looked at her chest area and looked at the spot hard. Kaoru was just about to slap him when she realized what he was looking at.
"Do you think you can get something that would fill up her neck area?" asked Kenshin.
"Yes, necklaces always makes the outfit complete," said Suzumi with a smile to Kaoru, who decided against it to slap the red head before her. He was only trying to make her look grand for the ball.
"All right. Now if you'll give me three days tops, I can get it all done for you. Though I think that you two need to go find the other accessories," said Kamatari as he put away his notepad.
"Now get out of that dress so I can work on it," said Kamatari as he pushed Kaoru back into the changing room again, and made her change back to her normal clothes.
"Why didn't you tell us you knew her?" pouted Ayame angrily at Kamatari.
"Kamiya will be modeling with you two soon enough, to be exact, she's going to be at the same photo shoot as you two in two weeks for the magazine. Now if you don't want to make total fools out of yourselves on the big day, then get home, and practice walking perfectly for that photo shoot. I want perfection," said Kamatari as he turned them around and smacked their behinds so they would get on out.
They wrinkled their nose at him before walking out.
Kaoru came back out; her face still blushed.
"Now you two get along as well. I have much to do you know. They've made me in charge of decorating the ball and I can't afford to fail," said Kamatari sharply.
He pushed them out and slammed the doors behind them.
Kaoru just blinked at her companion.
"What's wrong? You didn't like the dress?" asked Kenshin as they walked slowly toward the garage.
"No, I liked it. It's just that I had expected it to take longer to find a dress," said Kaoru. It was true, she had expected to get stuck in there all day looking for a dress.
"Between you and me, I think Kamatari prepared this already," said Kenshin with a grin, once they made it to the elevator to the parking garage.
Kaoru looked at him confused.
"Didn't you notice the bag under his eyes, and how that dress wasn't on the hanger with all of his other models' clothing? It was on its own hanger, and had a bag over it," said Kenshin calmly, as the elevator door opened and the two stepped out.
Kaoru thought about and made an 'oh' shape with her mouth.
"Even if he doesn't fix up that dress in time, you'd still look better than all of the others that are going to the Sakura Ball. Except for me of course. I'm going to look better than everyone," said
Kenshin with a conceded smile to her, once they walked over to his red Ferrari.
Kaoru rolled her eyes as she put back on her sunglasses, and sat in the passenger seat.
Kenshin only grinned and got in too.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Misao waited by her cousin long after Shougo got out of the restroom, and went to the cafeteria to get them something to eat.
He sure is taking his time. Shougo should have been back by now. What's taking him so long? Thought Misao. She was bored and needed to someone to talk to before she bored herself to death.
Her thoughts then came to three people.
Aoshi Shinomori. Soujiro Seta. Shougo Amakusa Myojin. All three are great guys, and I've had a crush on each of them at least once in my lifetime. Though who do I choose. Aoshi really hasn't taken light to me, Soujiro's real kind to me, but Shougo knows practically everything about me. Oh Megumi, what do I do? Asked Misao, as she looked at Megumi's pale skin as if it would give her the answer to her problem.
Misao sighed.
Then the door suddenly opened.
"Took you long enough," said Misao as she turned to the door, expecting Shougo to be their with one of his grins on his face. But her eyes went wide when she saw Soujiro, in a navy blue suit, standing there with his hands behind his back and had a rather forced smile on.
"Hello Misao," said Soujiro, his voice as happy as ever. But Misao couldn't help but feel a chill from his words.
"Hello Sou. I wasn't expecting you, I thought you were a friend of mine. What are you doing here?" asked Misao as she stood up to greet him.
"I heard that you had the day off and was looking after your cousin. I thought that I'd come and see how you and her were doing," said Soujiro with a smile on, as he walked over to Misao and looked at Megumi.
Misao followed him over to Megumi's bedside.
"Thanks," said Misao a bit lamely, she wasn't at all expecting Soujiro to come here.
"These are for you," said Soujiro, as he suddenly popped out with a dozen roses, that were hidden behind his back the whole time.
Misao's eyes sparkled in surprise, they were so beautiful and gorgeous too.
"Huh! Thank you so much Soujiro," said Misao as she took the flowers and hugged him; he happily hugged her back.
He looked at her with a smile that actually matched his eyes.
Misao busily looked at the batch with a smile plastered on her face.
"I took the day off as well. Do you think that you can go with me to pick out our outfits?" asked Soujiro.
"But..." began Misao. She looked over at Megumi, she didn't want to leave her cousin here all alone.
"It's better to go now, so that all of the best dresses aren't taken. It'll only take a little while ," said Soujiro.
Misao bit her lower lip, she wasn't sure.
"Just go," said a weak voice.
Misao looked up and saw that Megumi was finally awake. She placed the roses on the counter by the fruit basket that a nurse had brought in earlier. Misao smiled back at her, as she pushed back a lock of stray hair from Megumi's face. She rushed over to Megumi, who had a small smile on her face once Misao held her cousin's hand in her warm ones.
"I'll be all right. You two go," said Megumi, she had seen the whole scene. It wasn't what she expected to see when she woke up, but it was sweet nonetheless.
Though, like the others, Megumi had no clue that Misao ever went out with Shougo, so seeing her with Soujiro was no problem at all. She had seen him eyeing her for a while, and the two had a lot in common.
"Thanks," said Misao with a bright smile, as she kissed Megumi on the forehead, as Megumi closed her eyes again.
She smiled up at Soujiro, who returned it.
The two then quickly headed out of the room and into the elevator, they didn't bother to look back, or they would have seen a pair of very saddened chocolate eyes who saw the whole scene as well from outside.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"So where do you want to go to lunch at?" asked Kenshin, once they were on the road again.
"I don't care," said Kaoru with a shrug.
Kenshin cocked an eyebrow at her.
The two fell into an uncomfortable silence, until Kenshin finally broke it. He couldn't stand things to be so quiet.
"Something wrong?" asked Kenshin finally as he looked over at her.
Kaoru shook her head.
"Something is wrong. What is it?" asked Kenshin knowingly.
She never fell this quiet unless she was deep in thought, doing serious work, or something was wrong.
"How am I suppose to learn how to dance the Waltz in less than a week?" asked Kaoru as she adjusted in her seat to face him.
Kenshin only chuckled.
"What's so funny?" asked Kaoru angrily; she was being serious and here he was laughing.
"Is that what you're worried about? Don't worry, I'll teach you personally. Though we're going to have to go back to my place. I think that it's big enough for us to practice the Waltz. There's like a ball area in the estate, and if you practice in there. The surroundings at the Sakura Ball won't feel so awkward," said Kenshin calmly, as he focused on the road again.
"Your house is the size of the ball? But that place and its property are like an acre," said Kaoru amazed. She knew his house was huge, but not that huge.
"Estate," corrected Kenshin as he grinned at her.
"You know what I mean," said Kaoru.
"Actually, we added a new east Wing when you first worked for me. So now our estate is like what, 10 acres huge or more. They could have had the ball at our place, but it's been tradition to put the Sakura Ball in the Ballroom in downtown," said Kenshin calmly.
(A/N: 1 acre=4,840 yards squared, which is 23,425,600 yards, which is13,310 miles. In the metric system, one acre is pretty close to over 24,000,000 meters, and exactly 21415.79 kilometers, but it still concludes that 1 acre is huge, so 3 of them is very gigantic and very big, but it's the area! You can blame MATH for this part. An acre is basically the same size as five normal houses, for those who don't want to imagine what I wrote earlier. I just wanted you all to know exactly how huge his estate is.)
Kaoru gaped at him. She couldn't believer her ears.
"So where do you want to eat?" asked Kenshin calmly as if what he said didn't really matter.
"So how big exactly is your property?" asked Kaoru curiously.
"I don't know, we've been buying more land as the years went by. Though about four years ago, our property was about 60 acres. Though I know that we've bought at least 10 more acres or so. I really don't know. My uncle was the one that bought it. He kept saying that the more space the better," said Kenshin as he tried to remember.
Kaoru couldn't believe her ears. Over 50 acres? No wonder the guy was so rich. Even if he did go down in business, which she highly doubted, the government would pay millions for all of that land.
"I'm hungry. Do you want to go mall?" asked Kenshin as he looked at her.
Kaoru shut her mouth and nodded. She hadn't been to the mall in a while.
"We can go look for a necklace and other things there," said Kenshin with a smile, as he turned to her.
Kaoru couldn't help but smile too, he looked so innocent with those eyes.
Looking at Kaoru, he realized that she had relaxed. Relaxing himself, he decided to loosen up a bit today, and have a fun time.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Well that's it. This was the longest chapter that I've done so far; it's to make up for the long wait. I know the shopping isn't done yet, but any more and this chapter would never end. Anyways, next time they all go shopping again, and Kaoru learns a few dancing steps.