Hello people…sorry for the *massive* delay in getting this chapter up. So, no header for now, except:
1.) Read & Review if you please =)
2.) Disclaimer: RK and its characters are not mine to officially play with
3.) Author notes at the end as usual, but now…on with the show!
Little Collisions by Pav - Chapter 6
It had been two weeks since Kenshin barreled into Kaoru's life for a second time. Kaoru wasn't sure what to make of what she referred to as the "situation." She had sort of been expecting him to be underfoot cSonstantly, and she couldn't admit that that would have been entirely annoying. Not even the case involving Makoto Shishio brought him into her office, save for one occasion, when he had been all business. A few other times, Kenshin sent one of his junior lawyers to gather the necessary information from her.
Kaoru pushed her reading glasses up her nose, and frowned at the stack of patients' charts. Why was she dwelling on whether or not the red-headed buffoon was in her life? It was all for the better if she didn't see him. She had her practice to focus on; she had patients to tend to, among other things.
Sighing over something she wasn't sure there was to sigh about, Kaoru scooped up the ever present stack of charts and picked up her things. Tucking her glasses away, she thought, 'It's 8:37, might as well do these at home, where I at least have a nice TV dinner sitting in front of me.' With food in mind, Kaoru opened the door with her usual hasty speed, and was paralyzed with fear, shock, and dread over what happened next.
Before she could even open her mouth to scream, a gloved hand clamped down over her mouth and two bulky arms trapped her against a large frame. Kaoru battled to keep her mind from shutting down with fear as she felt the cold, unforgiving steel of a knife pressed to her neck.
Hot, rancid breath seemed to scald her sensitive neck as her assailant ground out his words in a harsh tone, "Lookie what we have here, a pretty doctor."
Kaoru began to mentally chant to herself, 'be calm be calm' as she responded to the mugger behind her, "What do you want?" Hearing her voice coming out strangled and weak, Kaoru strenuously commanded her voice to become more clear and firm. 'You will not be a victim, you will not be a victim, you will not be a victim…"
"What do you want?" Kaoru repeated, this time in a stronger tone, tinged with just a bit of impatience. Good lord, all she wanted to do was finish her charts in the comfortable setting of her home, was that such a bad thing?
The man gave a low, gritty laugh that sent a shudder of revulsion down Kaoru's spine. She couldn't help but cringe as he ran a hand down her back with meaty fingers. "What do you think every man wants, honey?"
Kaoru's mind ran at light speed as she prepared for what was to come next, thinking of a million and one ways to unman the bastard holding her hostage. In that one heartbeat it took for her to suck in a breath and brace her body to fight like there was no tomorrow, she was unprepared when something knocked the man's head to the side. The impact caused him to slump forward, and before Kaoru knew it, she was flat on the floor with the weight of an unconscious man sprawled over her and charts scattered about.
Kicking herself free from the unsavory weight that had pinned her down, Kaoru scrambled up to assess the situation. She found herself face to face with the man she had been ruminating over not fifteen minutes ago. Face flushed and hair escaping the now messy bun on to of her head, Kaoru asked in a not quite steady voice, "Kenshin. What are you doing here?"
Kenshin stooped down to pick up a couple of the charts that littered the floor near his feet, and handed them to the doctor with a touch of amusement on his face, "What? No thanks for being your heroic samurai?"
Before Kaoru could respond with a caustic retort, she noticed the infamous leather briefcase in Kenshin's right hand. "Is that what you whacked this piece of scum with?" she asked, blue eyes widening.
Kenshin was taken aback by her question, and remembered the frightening situation she had just gone through. He nodded in affirmation before asking with concern, "Are you okay?"
Kaoru picked up the rest of her charts, willing her hands to stay steady as she finished the task at hand. She looked at the floor for a second before lifting teary eyes to Kenshin's concerned amethyst ones. Taking a step towards him, she pitched forwards with an "oomph" as Kenshin caught her before she landed on the floor…again.
Looking down at what she tripped over, Kaoru let out a watery laugh as she nudged the still unconscious mugger's head to the side with the toe of her shoe. To Kenshin's surprise, Kaoru sighed and leaned into Kenshin, putting her head on Kenshin's chest. She closed her eyes and focused on nothing but the warmth that surrounded her as Kenshin hesitantly enveloped her in an embrace.
"Arigatou, Kenshin," she spoke softly so that Kenshin wouldn't have heard her if he wasn't so concentrated on the silence around them and the feel of her in his arms. His mind protested as she suddenly pulled out of his hold with a rapid change in demeanor.
"I have to get home, it's getting late," Kaoru murmured, looking down at the man on the floor, the clock on the wall, anywhere but the face of the man she was being held by two seconds ago.
Kenshin struggled to keep the confusion and growing impatience from showing on his sharp features. This woman was blowing hot and cold on him, and it was mind boggling. 'Of course, she just had a rough night, you moron. Anybody would want to get home, to their family…family…' Kenshin's trail of thought wandered off as he found himself idly pondering over the "boyfriend proposed to me" statement she had made weeks ago.
There was more, much more, to Kaoru Kamiya then he knew about, and he intended to find out as much as he could. At a later time though…
He whipped out his cell phone to call the police department. "I'll call the police and get this ass handled properly. Go ahead and go home. Take a bath and get some sleep," he commanded with a brisk tone. He began to dial the digits on his phone, a blank mask slipping over his features.
Kaoru stared at him in befuddlement, wondering how a man that could be frustrating one minute, sweet the next, could also be so…impersonal. "But-"
Kenshin cut her off swiftly with a firm grip on her arm, moving faster than her brain could process. "No, go home."
Through the impassive mask of his face, Kaoru caught a glint of fire in his eyes. She may have been a bit irked at being ordered around, but there was something about the look in Kenshin's eyes that made her concede and comply. But it didn't mean she had to be happy about it. She lifted her chin a bit higher, and looked into his eyes with daggers of disdain. "Yes, Kenshin-sama," she replied icily, and moved forward to sail past him, forgetting he still had a hand holding her arm.
Kenshin kept his grip on her, Kaoru's sarcastic response cracking his mask to allow just a little humor in. "Thank you, Kaoru-dono," he smirked, before letting her go. He watched her stumble backwards and out of the still open doorway from the sudden release. "Now, be a good girl and go home."
With that, Kenshin shut the door to Kaoru's own clinic in her face, the quiet *click* of the lock a further insult to an already fuming Kaoru.
Debating between unlocking the door and kicking Kenshin's ass and a pint of ice cream, Ben & Jerry decidedly won over Kenshin. Shaking her head in exasperation, Kaoru turned away from the door and started to head home, plotting revenge.
About six minutes later, light bulbs abruptly flashed off in Kaoru's head, and she whirled back around, marching up to the door of her clinic with determination.
"Kenshiiiiin!" she fairly screeched as she banged on the door, loud enough to rival any banshee's wail found in the nether world. "Open this door immediately."
Just as the door began to slightly open, Kaoru planted her hands on the door and pushed with the entire weight of her body, completely catching Kenshin off guard. She watched with supreme satisfaction as the lawyer stumbled backwards clumsily and squeaked something that sounded like "oro!"
Imagine that.
The confident and infuriating sexy laywer *squeaking*. Kaoru barely managed to stifle a rising giggle when she remembered she was on a mission here. Riding high on amusement as well as temper, she stalked towards Kenshin. Jabbing a finger into his chest, she caused the already unsteady man to topple backwards into a conveniently placed chair in the reception area.
"Okay, first of all, where did that lug of a creep go? Secondly, what the hell exactly were you doing at my clinic so late after hours anyways?" Kaoru demanded, placing hands on hips in a "no-nonsense" manner, and waited for an answer expectantly.
Feeling like an unruly pupil facing a strict schoolmarm, Kenshin sat back in the chair, and couldn't help but bait her once again, "The 'creep' stopped seeing stars and decided it was in his best interest to run before I put another big lump on his head. As for your second question, well, I was here on business as usual, Kaoru-dono."
"As usual? You haven't exactly been a regular visitor here, you know. For someone who's supposedly so involved in this 'all-important' case, you've made yourself fairly short around here. And one more thing, don't call me-"
Kaoru's tirade was cut short as Kenshin pulled himself up from the chair abruptly, bringing himself in close proximity to Kaoru, who had been looming over the chair during her speech.
All thoughts sneaked out of Kaoru's mind as she found herself distracted by the closeness of the man now standing a few inches in front of her. Furiously trying to convince herself that the reason her mind was freezing up and knees felt weak was because his sudden movement had surprised her, Kaoru almost didn't catch his next sentence. Good thing her eyes had focused on his firm and appealing, 'no, you mean irritating,!' mouth.
"Does this mean you missed me?" Kenshin asked, intrigued by the ways her eyes were darkening and clouding over.
"Of course not, " Kaoru replied only halfheartedly. Before she could form a more convincing response, rationality fled her mind once more as she noticed subtle movement from Kenshin. 'Wait! What is he doing? Oh my god…is he about to-'
She seemed transfixed to the spot as Kenshin moved in even closer without a word and began to slowly dip his head down towards hers. Kaoru watched his eyes, mesmerized by the fact that there were gold flecks in the darkening violet of his eyes. Her mind seemed to shut down over anything and everything practical and her senses whittled down to Kenshin, and what he was about to do.
Kenshin wasn't sure how he got here, about to kiss Kaoru. All he knew was that the lively anger sparking in her eyes broke his control enough to want to taste her, taste the vibrancy she possessed. Something about the way she bantered (okay, argued) with him, the way she was a strong woman, all the while having a softer and more vulnerable side. He hadn't been thinking about how he had only known her for a couple of weeks, how the number of calm conversations they had could be counted on one hand, and how she may have another man in her life. Nope, the usual calculating and careful man was having his brain muddled by this woman. It was as if a voice within him was commanding, "I want that mouth" and he didn't seem to be complaining.
A mere inch between lips, and some circuit or other in Kaoru's mind seemed to weakly snap back to life. Taking a deep breath, she placed a hand on Kenshin's chest. "No, Kenshin."
Some part of Kenshin refused to comprehend her words. He took the hand she had laid on his chest, and began to gently massage it with his own. The reaction on her face was quickly masked, but it was enough for him to see that he wasn't completely out of line here. "Why?" he asked, softly.
A flush started to creep along her face. Why was she stopping him? Good question. Maybe her answer wasn't a solid one, but all she knew was that this man she hardly knew was capable of melting down her mind quite easily. 'It's just lust, you don't even like the guy' she reasoned to herself. Feeling his intent gaze searing through her questioningly, Kaoru berated herself for getting into such a…situation, and now he wanted an answer. Well, she didn't have an answer.
So, she took the easy way out.
Using the hand he held, Kaoru planted both feet and pushed him backwards, catching him completely off guard.
Kenshin fell back into the chair once more and faced her with utter disbelief. Dragging a hand through his messy bangs in frustration, he looked at her dryly, "I'm a tad confused."
"What. Were. You. Doing. Here." She asked through gritted teeth. Impatience and temper were far more familiar, and safer, feelings than the ones she felt just moments ago.
Kenshin sighed, "Ah, Kaoru-dono-"
"You know what, I don't want to know," she snapped, cutting off his words as soon as he spoke that hated nickname he apparently adopted for her. "Please, just leave. It's been a long day, and if there's some business you have with me, you can come some other time." She crossed her arms against her chest defensively, as Kenshin listened to her silently with his face changing imperceptibly until his handsome features were hard and unreadable.
He stood up and strode past her. Reaching the door, he opened it and stepped out. "As you wish, Kaoru-dono" he said frostily to her back, the words still snaking their way to sit uncomfortably in the pit of her stomach.
With that, he left, and the quiet snick of the door closing caused Kaoru's shoulders to slump tiredly. She sank into the chair previously occupied by Kenshin, and buried her head in her hands as she tried to ignore the male scent lingering from the chair.
After a few minutes of hashing over what just happened, Kaoru realized there was only one thing to do in times like these. Reaching for the cell phone in her pocket, she punched in the first phone number in the address book.
"Hey Megitsune, about that rain check for dinner…"
~*~*~*~
A/N: When life's being a buttmucnch…eat, and eat well, I say. Anyhoo, again with the apologies for the lack of update. insert usual excuses of being bogged down by real life here This chapter was a little odd in my opinion, and the ending may have been a bit strange to you, but no fears…I know where I'm heading with this thing! Please read and review, I'd love to hear your opinions/comments etc etc. =)
MEGA THANKS to everyone who has read and reviewed, you guys are awesome with the comments and whatnot. ::heaps laurels::
'Til next time…
-Pav