Mou!! Does anyone else have as much trouble just trying to get to ff.net?!?!? I seriously tried like 30 times. So much for updating… *gnashes teeth* (this was pre-June 14th…)
Oh, and I know what I said about Saitou… I'm not all about him… but… I used to hate him. Well, not hate, but… anyway, dude… the fighting was cool- give me that. So, in a weird way I'm trying to "redeem" myself. And, Saitou … well, see, the thing is, he used to be on the same level for me as the fluffy thing (Totoro?) in "My Neighbor Totoro," which I made my friend turn off after 2 minutes.
Chapter 3: Reflections
All concern for some horrible tragedy or attack or danger gone, Kaoru began to become angry at Kenshin for his interruption.
"Let me guess, Kenshin…"
He tried to open his mouth to say something, but she held up a hand,
"Just… let me finish and I'm sure you'd make it worse by trying to say something…anything…"
After some bumbling, Kaoru had finally gotten Kenshin excused from his erratic behavior. After giving Ryo a friendly hug, and bidding him goodnight, she told him to go. Kaoru then walked back inside to find Kenshin. She politely accepted the tea he had made, and cut him off gently as soon as he let the first word- being "sessha" drop from his lips.
"Don't worry about it, neh Kenshin? It was… an honest mistake. I know how horribly overprotective you are of my safety." She grinned ruefully. "I know it'll be an adjustment for everyone, but… when I stay out late from now on, it won't be because of a kidnapping or anything terrible like that. And, you can relax. Rui can take care of both of us- he is a very able swordsman. Anyway, thank you for the tea, and your concern- oyasumi nasai."
Nobody can protect her like I can. growled Battousai after he had recovered from some of his initial disappointment.
[Thank goodness she thought we were trying to protect her, de gozaru! I'd hate to give Kaoru-dono another wrong impression by her thinking we were jealous…]
Oi! I wasn't the only one seeing green a few minutes ago…
[Speak for yourself…] The rurouni replied loftily.
You wanna go?! Yelled Battousai, grabbing his sword.
Oh dear… what a mess de gozaru.
Kenshin sighed and went to bed after cleaning up quickly.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kaoru sat up and sighed. She didn't want to get up yet… starting another day just seemed so daunting. At least she could escape at night while on a date with Rui… Kaoru held her head in her hands and had to laugh wryly. The whole dating thing had started after a minor affair where some punk came looking for Battousai to challenge him…
Kaoru had been feeling under the weather, which is why the thug had been successful in taking her. She had been sleeping. Kenshin and the others had come and the punk had been taken care of with relative ease. The next day, there had been a festival, and Kenshin had escorted Kaoru to it- with the rest of the gumi- of course- as a means of celebration. Megumi and Sano had actually worked together and somehow and finagled away everyone else in order to leave Kenshin and Kaoru alone later in the evening. While watching the fireworks, they separated. Not long after, Kaoru shivered slightly, in the chill night air, and Kenshin slipped an arm around her and pulled her to him.
When the fireworks show had seemingly ended, all the other couples that had been around them slowly drifted away. Kaoru had turned to Kenshin to thank him for the evening, but the words died on her lips. She looked at him and was mesmerized by Kenshin's faintly golden eyes. They seemed to draw her in, and because the time was a little after twilight, it seemed to Kaoru like they were the only two people on earth in the darkness. He was staring at her in a way that made her feel…made her feel…she put a hand to the neck of her kimono.
After a few more moments, she grew embarrassed and said softly to ease the awkwardness,
"Thank you for tonight Kenshin- it was wonderful."
Just then, one last firework-more spectacular than all the previous ones went off. Kaoru looked up and sighed in appreciation as the last sparkling bits disappeared.
"It's so beautiful, neh Kenshin?" She exhaled happily, still looking up.
"Aa…" he drawled, one had coming up to touch her soft cheek. She blushed and realized that Kenshin had been looking at her the whole time, and that he didn't mean the fireworks at all. She was captivated by his gaze and the hand that was now cupping her cheek, tracing gentle circles on her silky skin. Kaoru's lips parted as her breath caught, and she saw Kenshin's eyes flash, and suddenly the hand on her face was coaxing her to tip her head up. She allowed him to direct her, and her eyes fluttered closed, knowing that Kenshin was about to kiss her.
He did so softly, moving his mouth gently over hers. Waves of sensation washed over Kaoru, and she had a feeling of… right. Just as she began to respond to Kenshin's kiss, voices were heard.
"Busu! Kenshin!" A pause. "Where could they be?"
"Hey kid- come on!"
"Don't call me a kid- where are they? I swear, if something else happened…"
"Yahiko-kun, you don't think something else could have happened, do you?" came Tsubame's concerned voice.
Kaoru and Kenshin broke apart, amusement and exasperation showing in both their eyes as their slightly unwelcome friends approached. Kaoru noticed the gold slowly fading from Kenhin's eyes. They turned as one to meet the oncoming group of people.
"Well, I tried…" Megumi said non-chalantly to nobody in particular, her tone slightly apologetic. "I blame any interruptions on Rooster head."
"Oi."
"Mou- we were just watching the fireworks display, minna." Said Kaoru, "nothing happened- you don't have to worry."
She and Kenshin smiled at each other.
"Lets go home de gozaru." Said Kenshin.
Kaoru had gone to bed so happy that night. Warm and satiated from both her bath and the nights happenings. Her last thought was 'Kenshin and I are finally getting somewhere…' before she drifted off to even happier dreams
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kaoru woke up, the events of the previous day fresh on her mind. She changed into an attractive kimono and went to find Kenshin.
"Ohayo Kaoru-dono, you're up early." He greeted her.
"Ohayo Kenshin." She said softly.
[Oro… look at what you did gozaru yo! She's acting all girly and shy… I can't believe you got control last night and kissed her.]
Hey- I don't remember you complaining… and who wouldn't have wanted to kiss her? She looked so delectable… Battousai being distracted, the rurouni took over.
"Um… Kaoru-dono… about last night…"
"Yes Kenshin?" She asked eagerly. 'Is this it? It he finally going to tell me he cares for me?'
"It was a mistake de gozaru yo."
She stared at him. Her brain shut down. 'Mistake… mistake… mistake… mistake…' pounded in her ears.
"Sessha…sessha was not himself. Sessha apologizes for his fowardness. Sessha hopes Kaoru-dono will forgive him for taking advantage of you." At this point, Battousai was fighting for all he was worth to get out. The rurouni, however, was adamant.
'Nooooooooooooooooooo' Kaoru's mind wailed. "Kenshin…" she shook her head slowly. "There's nothing to forgive. You didn't take advantage of me… I have no regrets about that kiss, and… I'm glad we're moving forward in our relationship." She ended a bit desperately.
Good. You can still salvage your blunder… panted Battousai, wielding a sword, dueling with the rurouni.
[No. Neither of you understand. That was no blunder, and I meant every word.]
"That's just it Kaoru-dono. There is no… or… there should be no relationship between Kaoru-dono and sessha. Last night was… a slip on sessha's part and sessha apologizes.
Kaoru tried to retrieve the pieces. "But Kenshin…"
"There can be no relationship between us Kaoru-dono. Not like that. Sessha apologizes, de gozaru."
Kaoru closed her eyes and then opened them. She watched in morbid fascination, looking down at Kenshin's arm which was now protruding from her chest. She felt a jolt of pain, and then realized that Kenshin had ripped her still beating heart out of her chest. She couldn't tear her eyes away as Kenshin slowly lifted his now gory hand to his mouth, and she stared at his sharp white teeth as he took a bite. He held it in his mouth for a few seconds, then spit out the piece of her heart, and wiped the trickle of blood off of his mouth with his other hand. His eyes seemed to say 'And what are you going to do about that?'
She fell to her knees.
"Oi, Jo-chan! Are you ok?"
Kaoru then realized that she had simply been imagining the last part, and that Kenshin was now gone. She prayed fervently that Kenshin's cold reception to her almost declaration of love was also imagined, but she knew that wasn't true. She clutched a hand painfully to her wounded heart.
"I… I'm fine…" Kaoru lied wildly.
"Che- Jo-chan, even I can see you're lying. Now…"
She interrupted him. "Sano, I'm sorry, I'm fine, really. I… I … have to go."
She then ran wildly out of the dojo. Fearful of going to any secluded place and finding Kenshin there, Kaoru ran to the Akabeko, withholding her tears until she arrived. When she got there, Tae was mildly busy, but there were some open booths. Kaoru went to one in the back that was secluded. She sat in the booth and finally let her eyes spill over with the tears she had been holding back. She stared at the wall blindly, the tears dripping from her face. Then, a voice was tentatively cleared.
"Ano… excuse me Miss, are you ok?" asked a concerned voice.
Too hurt to be embarrassed, Kaoru said emotionlessly,
"I'm sorry, am I at your table?" The tears continued to fall.
"Er… I guess so, but that doesn't matter… Kamiya-san, please… what happened to you?"
'Kamiya-san? Who is this?' Kaoru tried to focus and made an effort to stem her tears. She blinked, then was surprised when a hand began gently wiping her tears away with a silk handkerchief.
"I apologize for the liberty, Kamiya san, but I hate seeing beautiful women like you cry." said the handsome young man, slightly discomfited when he realized that she was staring at him.
"I'm sorry…" She wiped at her eyes with the handkerchief he had handed off to her. "Do I know you…?"
"Ah! Gomen for my rudeness… My name is Kikutani Rui."
Something in Kaoru's mind clicked, but she was still to disheartened to react physically.
"I feel so stupid…" She mumbled. "I didn't think anyone was at this table, and now I've disturbed you… I'm sorry…" She moved to get up, but a hand gently pushed her back down.
"No, it is I who should apologize. You are upset and clearly in much more need of comfort than I am… Please Kamiya-san, won't you tell me what is wrong? I will help you in any way I can."
She finally made an effort to smile to reassure him, but she failed. She said dully,
"It's nothing important, Kikutani-san…"
He smiled faintly.
"Kamiya-san, you must think I'm a fool. And please, call me Rui."
"A… fool?" She questioned.
"Clearly you are not fine and it is not 'nothing.' Normally you are so cheerful and vibrant; anyone could tell that something is terribly wrong. However, I respect your privacy, and I won't press you. I don't have the right to. Please, let me do what I can and offer you some comfort." He poured her a cup of tea, and a waitress came just then with several steaming plates of food. "I give you what I can at this point… breakfast… it is so early you can't have eaten yet, so please join me."
"Kaoru sniffed, and blushed, normal everyday etiquette began to come back to her, and she was mortified at her actions.
"I…"
"Please Kamiya-san. I can see something terrible happened, but surely it can wait until after breakfast at least…"
"Thank you but…"
He sighed and said kindly, "I had hoped it wouldn't come to this, but… I shall be deeply offended if you do not share breakfast with me." He gestured at the table. "There is way too much for me anyway, and I'd hate for it to be wasted…"
"Well… if you're sure…" Kaoru said reluctantly.
"I am." He said immediately.
As they finished, Tae had come over and saw Kaoru. Rui paid for the food, excused himself politely, bid them both a good day and wished Kaoru luck with her problems. He then left, leaving the two women alone.
Kaoru spent the next few days with Tae. Tsubame was sent to the dojo to inform the inhabitants of her intentions and whereabouts.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After a while, when Kaoru went back to the dojo and began teaching again, she would see Rui in the marketplace. More and more, she began to see him there. After the first few times, it seemed every time she was there, he was there. And he always made sure to talk to her, and assist her for however long she was there. At the dojo, she and Kenshin acted very politely towards each other, and although it was extremely painful for Kaoru at first, it slowly became a dull but constant ache- like it was at this point.
After seeing Rui in the marketplace fifteen times, being accompanied by him like always, Kaoru teased,
"I swear Rui-kun, you plan your trips to the market according to mine."
A hand on her elbow stopped her gently.
"What makes you think I don't?" He asked sincerely, looking down into her eyes.
"I…" she blushed and looked down.
"Please Kamiya-san… I've been changing my schedule purposely just to see you for the precious few minutes when you shop… You're such a wonderful effervescent person. I know you've experienced some problems and hurt, and you might have your affections engaged elsewhere currently, but… I sincerely care for you. Surely you can see that… could see that… I've felt this way for so long … Will you please consider going out on a date with me? You must have noticed I was 'conveniently' always where you were… recently at the dojo's where you teach I just 'happen' to be visiting… Please Kamiya-san, I can't get you out of my head. Just… will have dinner with me? Just this once?"
Kaoru's mind raced. 'Alright…so Kenshin doesn't want me… he's barely even talked to me in the past month… I'm almost twenty and most girls are married long before they reach my age… I know I'm not drop dead gorgeous but I am pretty… but good looks won't be with me forever… I want to be married…'
Kaoru looked up, her eyes sparkling.
"Hai Rui-kun. I would like to go out on a date with you." Although, if one looked closely, they would have seen that Kaoru's eyes were a bit too bright.
"I… I'm so glad! Oh thank you, thank you Kamiya-san!" He said ecstatically.
Kaoru smiled. "Rui-kun… don't you think that if we're going to start dating you should call me something a bit less formal?"
Aa… gomen…" he scratched his head embaressed.
'Great, now he's like Kenshin… Mou! Get out of my head you stupid rurouni!'
"How about Kaoru, then?" She said with a smile.
"Kaoru-san…" Ichiro said dreamily.
Kaoru shook her head in exasperation, but she could not help but chuckle.
"Mou, I guess you'll have to work on that. I'll see you next week then?"
'I'll just beat him senseless if he starts calling me 'dono'.'
"Hai Kaoru-san." replied a starry eyed young man.
Kaoru walked home, musing to herself. "Well, I suppose I'll wear that new kimono I have… Feh. I can't believe I talked myself into buying that… to wear the evening Kenshin professed his undying love for me…'
Kaoru gave an unladylike snort. 'Not even that night at the festival did anything… anyway, enough about him. Rui-kun is a very handsome and eligible bachelor. Every girl in town is going to hate me… His family is the wealthiest in the region… I guess I should be flattered… I am flattered… I know he's liked me for quite a while… in fact I think we'd finally gathered up his courage when Kenshin arrived two years ago… Why it is the best swordsmen I know are such pansies? Hm… maybe Rui will let me spar with him… I wonder how the regional champion trains…"
Kaoru arrived home and began making preparations for her date. That evening and the next few days, Kaoru actually felt happy at times. The next day, she met Rui on the way to the Akabeko, and he informed her of his plans, and he suggested a Western gown for her attire. He immediately assured her he had already spoken to Tae about the dress, and that it was his gift to her.
~*~*~*
Kaoru sighed, and got up when she heard Yahiko beginning to wake up. How had everything happened so quickly? The events had so morphed to end into last night… Well, at least tonight would offer her some solace.