By: O. Juice
::~::As Kaoru pondered on what Kenshin had just told her, the realization dawned on her like a heavenly ray of light in the middle of a moonless night. Kenshin had just hit one of the numbers on The List. ::~::
+---+
Chapter 7
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Kaoru frowned as she reached for whatever she could grab. It really was a sight to behold. There was the proud Kaoru Kamiya, on all fours like a rabid animal reaching for something she had not seen in ages. She sneezed as she stuck her head under her bed, something that she regretted instantly as she eyed the many cities of forgotten clothes and dust scattered around. Just what was she looking for? She was looking for an old, rotten, discolored box on the verge of falling apart. Her eyes lit up like fireworks as she touched something smooth, and with such ferocity, the shoebox was out in the open.
"Please, please, please, please be it!" Kaoru pleaded to a higher power as she ripped open the top at such a super sonic speed that the box almost flew away as well.
Her frown only deepened as she looked at a particularly ugly pair of shoes she thought looked so beautiful, and was even on sale at the time. Her nose instinctively turned up as shoved it back under the bed where it belonged.
"Where could it be?" She said aloud, hoping the shoebox would jump out of a corner and reveal itself.
But after waiting a good ten minutes and even a few traps she set out, no shoebox showed up and did a back flip in front of her. She threw herself on her clothes and junk encrusted bed and just sighed.
"What now?" She mumbled aloud. "I don't have The List."
As childish and silly as it may sound, Kaoru greatly depended on that crumpled list written on scented stationary. It was everything the child in her wanted, and everything Kaoru still wants today. It was terribly specific and went down to the very last thing she could think of. It was even neatly condensed into ten simple necessities. She couldn't just write a whole new one since she'd probably add things she hadn't thought of like a smile sweet enough to make her knees buckle. (The smile, of course, belonged to Soujiro.) It would be biased and lead her to an eventual ruin and a possible unhappy life.
'Maybe I lost it during moving day.' Kaoru thought as a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach began to form just thinking of her precious raggedy box discarded and forgotten in some dumpster.
She glanced at the clock which read five-thirty. Kenshin would be here in a little bit armed with a movie and, this time, some Chinese food. Kaoru felt a blush slowly creep on her face just thinking that he had hit a number on The List so trivial it was nearly impossible for either to get. She blinked a few times before realizing her room was a pigsty and began to clean up.
Just as she threw her last sweater in an overstuffed drawer, she heard her phone ring. With a quick grunt shoving the sleeve that stuck out in, she answered the phone.
"Kaoru?" Kenshin began a little hesitantly.
"Oh! Hey, Kenshin!" Kaoru felt a smile tug at the corners of her lips, "What time are you going to be here?"
There was a pause then the shuffling of the phone to his other ear, "I can't make it today, that I can't. Hiko has me working overtime today."
Kaoru could almost hear that crazy man in the background yelling for Kenshin to do something he would be too lazy to do himself. She sighed; it certainly wouldn't be the first time Kenshin couldn't come over because of his boss. But this time she felt the weight of disappointment nearly crush her heart.
"That's all right, Kenshin." Kaoru tried to say cheerfully but only managed with a tired tone. "But double movies next week and a pint of ice cream."
"All right. I'll see you tomorrow then, Kaoru." Kenshin said with a slight laugh, noting the slight sigh Kaoru released.
"I'll see you." Kaoru's frown seemed to deepen as she hung up the phone.
'Why are you so sad about Kenshin not making it?' Kaoru silently questioned as she sat down on her now clean bed. 'It's not like this is the first time he wasn't able to make it.'
Kaoru began a silent war in her mind as she counted the little popcorn bumps on the ceiling. Her face would twist and crunch at the prospect of liking Kenshin more than a friend. To her, it was Kenshin. The very same Kenshin that's been around since their days mindlessly digging in the sandbox hoping they would eventually end up in Mars or even the moon if they were lucky. It was strange, to say the least, that only now Kaoru is starting to develop these new confusing feelings for Kenshin. Or was it only now that she had noticed or even realized them brewing in her? Has this new strange love for her best friend been around so long it had become a crucial part of her that she never paid much attention to or even noticed, like an invisible limb?
She let out a frustrated cry as she got up off her bed. It was no use thinking about it now, whatever it was that was causing her to start thinking of Kenshin other than her very best friend would just have to wait.
::~::
Sano grinned. He had finally tracked her down thanks to Tokio and her lovely sister, Sayo. The paper in his hand was crumpled and obviously been written in a rush. His normally casual strides quickened upon seeing the clinic around the corner.
He had planned to visit Kaoru, who miraculously worked there too, and accidentally bump into a certain foxy lady. The rooster headed man could only grin as he strode into the middle of a bustling clinic. Through the crowd of people purposefully walking to an important destination, he saw Kaoru filling out some charts and decided it was a good a time as any to say hello.
::~::
If Megumi, her boss, were a psychic and had the ability to read her mind, Kaoru could very well be out of a job right this second. It seemed to her that out of the many interns and nurses under Megumi's so-called supervision (or tyranny, as Kaoru would sometimes put it) Kaoru was the one being scolded at the most.
"Don't put that there, Kaoru." Kaoru began to mock as she filled in a chart, "Stupid Kaoru, don't you know how to take care of people?"
She continued to mutter and mumble under her breath as a tall shadow suddenly loomed over her. Kaoru stopped mid-insult as her face began to blanch.
'I am so going to loose my job!' She panicked as she tried to get back to work.
In a few moments, she expected to hear an angry voice proclaim she was fired or even for a female voice to make yet another insulting comment, but instead, she was greeted by the shadow with a friendly shove.
"Oi, Jou-chan!" Sano grinned as Kaoru sighed in relief.
"Sano? What are you doing here?" She suddenly began to worry for his unexpected visit to the clinic. "You're not sick, are you?"
Sano shook his head, "Of course not. I just was in the neighborhood and decided to stop by."
Kaoru was about to as him why in the world he was even in the neighborhood but she was cut short by the tyrant herself.
"Kaoru, stop lounging around. There are many patients that need your..." Megumi trailed off as her eyes wandered off to Sano. "What are you doing here?"
"I just came by to see Jou-chan, seeing you here was just a bonus." Sano said with a grin.
Kaoru sighed, realizing that Megumi was probably the real reason he was even here to begin with. She adjusted her hold on the clipboard as she remained mute to their lively conversation.
"If you think that I'm going to have lunch with you, then you are quite mistaken." Megumi stated coolly as she too began to fill in random charts. "Besides, I'm a busy woman."
Kaoru nearly scoffed. It wasn't that Megumi was as lazy as an orange; in fact, she could be quite the worker bee when the wind would blow right. But on days when the help is plentiful, she would leave everyone else to tend to the patients while she did small picayune errands Kaoru would kill to do instead of doing the dirty work.
"Well, that's all the more reason for me to take you out for a cup of coffee." Sano suggested, "Besides, I'm sure Jou-chan is more than capable to cover for you."
Kaoru's heart nearly jumped at the thought of being able to work without Megumi criticizing her for once. But that would just be a dream, she thought to herself as she snuck a glance at the annoyed woman.
A thought began to overtake her mind, 'If Sano wants a date with Megumi,' She nearly grinned, 'then a date he shall have.'
Of all the clever revenge plots, this seemed the least likely to ever happen. The most likely of them would be leaving her all alone to do the work. Kaoru decided that even if it would take her very last breath, she would have Megumi out that door with Sano right behind her.
"Kaoru?" Megumi slightly scoffed. "She's just in training and I can't--"
"Go on ahead, Megumi." Kaoru said with an innocent smile, interrupting her. "There are lots of people here who could help me out."
Megumi shot her a look, "But they don't know--"
"You work hard enough as it is and I think you deserve a little break, am I right? You complain about how tiresome this is, so why not just go out for a half hour and have some coffee with Sano? He's a nice enough guy." Kaoru persisted.
"But--" Megumi looked around helplessly, hoping by some miracle that somebody would come in needing immediate medical attention.
"Just go!" Kaoru gave her a push, and before she knew it, Megumi was out the door.
Never in her life was she this proud of herself. She beamed as she continued to fill in the chart Sano so wonderfully distracted her from. Kaoru was so happy, she could almost cry. But this happiness, she concluded, was most likely short-lived if Megumi loved the taste of revenge. Her shoulders already slumped in defeat, she was probably going to work this weekend.
::~::
Kenshin sighed as he rubbed his eyes. He finally convinced Hiko to let him go home early because there was nothing left to do and that it was pointless to start a new project, thanks to the overtime he did Friday night. He so regretted the fact he wasn't able to make it, and he could tell Kaoru was disappointed too. But for some reason, there was a thought tugging at him that Kaoru was more disappointed than usual when he said couldn't make it.
'I'm probably just imagining things again, that I am.' Kenshin frowned a little as he shoved his hands in his pockets.
"Maybe I should take her out tonight?" Kenshin wondered aloud as he crossed the street and headed for the clinic.
It only seemed right, Kenshin concluded, if not chivalrous for him to compensate for their missed Movie Night with a coffee or even a late night dinner. Besides, she was going to get off duty any minute now. He grinned, turning the corner and seeing the clinic in the distance, not noticing the raven haired man only a few meters ahead of him.
::~::
It was more than thirty minutes later when Megumi had come back with an actual smile on her face. Kaoru was pleased, and a little irritated that she had left her picking up her slack, that she had a good time. Maybe then she'd ease up on her since Sano hopefully treated her to some coffee.
"Did you have a good time?" Kaoru as she put away a chart and picked up another one.
Megumi only shot her a look and picked up a stethoscope and headed down the hall to check on some patients. Kaoru laughed despite of herself and was ready to go help the waiting doctor in the nearby room treat a young boy when she felt a hand on her shoulder and jumped.
"Soujiro!" Kaoru said breathlessly. "You scared me."
Soujiro smiled, "I'm sorry. But I was just in the neighborhood and wondered if you wanted to grab some coffee later. My treat."
Kaoru could feel a slight sting of a blush on her cheeks but she instantly shook it off and nodded. "Sure. I get off in two hours, anyway."
"All right. I'll be back later then." He said with a small smile and headed out the door.
Kaoru smiled softly as she watched Soujiro exit the clinic. His walk was different from that of Kenshin's that she knew off the bat. He took large confident strides while Kenshin would take humble cautious ones that seemed to be at the speed of a turtle. But why was she even comparing Soujiro to Kenshin to begin with? She didn't like him that way, she was sure of it. But she often times wondered why her knees would feel weak when she was around him or the way her head would swirl whenever he would smile. It was probably just an infatuation, she concluded.
'Yeah, that's it.' Kaoru thought to herself smugly as she headed down the hall.
::~::
Kenshin opened the door with a smile directed at the small boy clinging onto his mother's skirt as they both exited the building. He saw Riyo by the reception desk and was ready to ask her if Kaoru was still in when he saw her already out with her coat on seemingly talking to a wall.
He smiled as he neared, but his heart stopped when he saw that she wasn't talking to a wall, she was talking to Soujiro.
"Kenshin!" Kaoru said with a bright smile that made Kenshin's heart skip a beat. "What are you doing here?"
"I just thought I should make up for the Friday I missed, that I should." Kenshin said, his smile slightly wavering. "Hello, Soujiro."
Soujiro just smiled pleasantly and nodded.
"Really?" Kaoru seemed pleased, "Well, Soujiro and I are on our way to the Akabeko for a late night snack, you're welcome to join us."
::~::
Kaoru shy smile seemed to burst into a wide grin just upon seeing that familiar hat of flaming red hair in front of her, it seemed. But then it faltered into a forced smile when Kenshin shook his head and declined her offer.
"That's all right. I'm quite full, that I am." He said, "I'll see you tomorrow, Kaoru, Soujiro."
Before Kaoru could even work her charms to get him to come with her, he was already out the door, it seemed. Her heart sunk a little more than usual when Kenshin wouldn't be able to come, causing her to suddenly loose her appetite.
Just as Soujiro was ushering her out the door and Riyo waved good bye to her, a thought struck her.
'Did Kenshin's walk seem a little faster than usual?' She frowned as she saw no sight of her red-haired best friend who had just left a few moments before them.
::~::
Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin!
Author's Notes: I'm really sorry I made you all wait long. School started a few weeks ago and with my luck, I managed to snag the homework-crazy teachers. But I got to do this on weekends and on miraculous days that I don't have any homework or anything to study for. I hope it came out all right since I wasn't really working on it non-stop but after long intervals. (I know the Megumi thing came out awkward, but I was having a very hard time with that particular scene and didn't want to scrap it out.) But I really, really, really appreciate everybody who's giving me all this good feedback! Y'all make me wanna cry from happiness that there are actually people out there who read what I write. Hope to have chapter eight up soon before I pass out from all the homework and tests!
Thanks to those who have reviewed! Me loves you all!
gracianeko (Sorry for the long wait! Lol, I'm glad the yellow thing makes sense to you now. Lol, it must be kind of fun to have your mind randomly analyze things. I would have gone insane if I had to analyze all sorts of things all the time. I'm glad that you like my story! Thanks so much for your review! I really appreciate it!)
SilverLightning177 (Thanks so much for your review! I'm happy you like it! Ah, I'm sorry if I had made you wait a long time! Hope you like the new chapter.)
x_soukaoken_x (Lol, yeah, there's going to be some more S/K, but in the end its K/K. I think I'm going to end up with either 12-13 chapters. ;_; We're already more than halfway through. Thanks for your review and the support!)
Sasami9876 (Hi Sasami! No, the story is going to eventually end up as a K/K, even though it may not seem like it. And yes, I suppose you can say Soujiro does like Kaoru. Thanks for your review!)
Serenity (Lol, it did take a while for those two, huh? But there's going to be more K/K and S/K moments up ahead! Thanks for your review!)
donna8157 (Thanks for your review! Haha, Soujiro and Kenshin are such cuties! ^_^ I'm glad you liked the whole yellow thing. And don't worry about Soujiro getting hurt. I'm doing my very best in making sure the resolution to this story will be as pain-free as possible.)
thunder sister (Lol, the list goes all the way back to chapter one and it basically describes what Kaoru wants in a mate. I hope that made enough sense! Thanks for your review!)
april (Lol. Don't you just wish somebody would do that for you too? SiGh. ^_^ Thanks for your review!)
Califpinay3001 (Tee-hee, thanks! Thanks for your review!)
EnjeruJoshin (Really?? No complaints! Yes! I have no complaints! ^_^ Haha. No need to hunt me down because they definately will end up together. Trust me. The story is already structured to be a K/K even though it seems otherwise. You rock too! I'm so happy you like my story! Thank you so much for your review!)
Korai Rumikashi (;_; I so happy you think my story is awesome. Just for that I'll brush off my Chemistry homework all this week and work on chapter eight! Haha. Thanks so much for your review!)
Sessha Kenshin (Lol. Of course not! This is K/K all the way, baby! But it just won't be so obvious all the time. I mean, a perfect love is no fun, right? And it would have ended in two chapters, don't you think? Just trust me on this one, this is K/K. Thanks so much for your review!)
Papaya! (Aw, that sucks that your computer flipped out! Mine did too a month or so. It drove me insane, but now everything is a-ok. Lol, maybe next time I write something, I should make Enishi a good guy to make up for his ass-yness in this one. I'm really happy you like how this is turning out. Thanks a million for your review!)
Kochou (Lol, I'm a hopeless romantic too, can you tell? Ah, from one hopless romantic to another, I'm glad you like my story. Thanks so much for your review!)
Kochou570 (Gwarharhar, is this the same person? Lol, or am I just being silly again? Anyways, Kenshin and Kaoru are really cute! I'm so happy you like my story! I hope I didn't make you wait too long! Thanks for your review/s!)
TheDucki (Lol, yes, two. But that was just because I was on summer vacation, unfortunately. I'll try my very best to update faster though. Thanks so much for your review and I'm glad you like my story!)
Kaoru Gal (Ah, Soujiro... lol. I agree with you totally. I'm glad you like my story! Thanks so much for your reviews!)
SoujiroSeta_doris (Hm, I'm not sure yet if they're going to kiss. But most likely. I hope I didn't make you wait too long! Thanks for your review and I'm glad you like my story!)
Kitaru (Lol, I actually did get typing right after I saw your review. I'm sorry I made you wait long. But school is a real pain in the butt. I'm glad you like my story! Thanks for your review and the yell to get moving!)
Review!