By: O. Juice
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But if there was one thing Kaoru was sure of, the relationship between Kenshin and Kaoru were changing. The only problem was, she didn't know if it would be for the better.
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Just a little note. There's an extra half-chapter at the very, very end, as a big thank you to all of you who've stuck with me this far. Don't miss out on Kenshin's POV on a certain punch a few chapters back!
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Chapter 11
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Kaoru waited for most of the night for Kenshin to call. He usually did after a fight, no matter whose fault it was, to schedule a lunch get-together at some ridiculously rich, posh place. But, much to Kaoru's surprise and disappointment, he never did.
She grabbed her coat, ready to get to class and stared at the phone for a little while, hoping Kenshin would dial any minute. Misao soon came out of her room, a slight frown and concerned expression on her face.
"You know, you can call him too." She told her for the millionth time, "Phones go both ways, you can call him, and he can call you. If he doesn't call you, you can call him."
Kaoru glanced helplessly at Misao, "I know, but--"
Just then, the phone rang cutting Kaoru short. The phone rang once more before Kaoru nervously picked it up.
'Please be you, Kenshin.' Kaoru silently pleaded.
"Hello? This is Kaoru Kamiya." She said softly on the phone.
"Kaoru?" A voice said on the phone, "What's the matter?"
She felt her heart sink a little, "Oh, hi, Sou-chan. It's nothing, but I had a fight with Kenshin last night and..."
"Really? I'm sorry to hear that," Soujiro's voice remained somber, "How about lunch then? I'll take you out for lunch to cheer you up."
Kaoru gave way to a rouge smile, "Thanks for the offer, but I think Kenshin is going to take me out."
"Didn't you two fight, though?" Soujiro wondered aloud.
Kaoru nodded, "We did, but..." her voice trailed off.
"Then how about some coffee?" Soujiro urged, "Just a nice hot cup of coffee."
"Coffee?" Kaoru bit her lip.
Coffee sounded innocent enough, it would only take a few minutes, and maybe Soujiro can help her with the real issue at hand: her true feelings for Kenshin. True, the two really don't know each other all that well, and she'd have to explain a few things to him, about their history, but she was sure Soujiro, being smart and clever, can help her out.
"So, how about it?" Soujiro reminded, snapping Kaoru back to reality.
She smiled, despite herself, "Sure, coffee sounds good."
The two soon settled on a time and place to meet. Kaoru felt a little better already, knowing that Soujiro may have the answers to the questions she couldn't even begin to grasp. She daydreamed that Soujiro would help her win her Kenshin back. Kaoru could already picture that woman in some desolate land, covered in pimples and suffering from dreadful sunburn. Just as she got to part where Kenshin would propose, should Soujiro's non-existent plan go well, she realized she would be late if she didn't leave soon. Quickly, she grabbed her purse, ready to leave, when the phone began to ring again.
"Hello? Kaoru Kamiya." She said, a little less softly than before.
There was a pause on the other line.
"Hello?" Kaoru's patience wore thin, "Is this one of those callers that call when you're about to leave and then not answer? You should really stop that; it's really annoying, you know."
There was a laugh.
Kaoru's breath caught on her throat. Her face lit up like Las Vegas, and a blush began to slowly sting her cheeks. Kaoru gave way to a broad grin, time and her job suddenly seemed so unimportant and meaningless compared to talking to Kenshin on the phone.
"I'll be sure not to call you at this time then, Kaoru." His was tone light and casual.
Kaoru's face began to steam, and perspiration began to form as her hands tightened on the phone, 'Just say it, Kamiya! Say it! Say sorry then tell him just why you were so angry. Tell him you're a fool, and that you don't know why you said such horrible things!'
Kaoru suddenly felt her heart clench a little, feeling that she would have admit that she was indeed terribly jealous. Kenshin would probably just laugh at her; or worse, it would lead to another big fight. It was a risk she had to take; she had to apologize for the wicked things she said the night before. Kaoru took a steady breath before beginning again.
"Kenshin, I--"
"How about lunch?" Kenshin interjected, cutting Kaoru short, "Maybe dinner?"
Kaoru smiled softly and agreed to a nice dinner. They chatted for a bit, a little bit on Kenshin's latest errand Hiko has him out doing and Kaoru on how Megumi was surely going to give her a terribly long lecture on the values of being on time and punctual. It had been already a good five minutes, and still the topic of their fight had gone untouched.
It was amazing, really, how to people could dance around the topic they both desperately needed to talk about.
Kaoru bit at her lip, she should apologize. She didn't make it easier for either of them to have a good time last night, and it was only fitting she should. But it seemed, to Kaoru, whenever she tried to even apologize, Kenshin would cut her off. Her face twisted into a frown, glancing at her watch again.
"Ah, look at the time!" She said breathlessly, "I've got to go, Kenshin. Come by the clinic around six, all right? I'll see you later tonight."
"I'll see you tonight then, that I will," Kenshin replied back, his smile almost audible on the other line.
Kaoru hung up. It didn't matter that she was already thirty-minutes late, or that Megumi was going to strangle her for being so late, because her world was right again. Kenshin and she were still friends.
Her face twisted again as she knocked on Misao's door to say good-bye, suddenly, being just friends with Kenshin didn't seem like something she wanted.
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'Well that was a big help,' Kaoru frowned heavily, picking up a file to examine.
She had just returned from a coffee break with Soujiro, and he wasn't much help on the topic. He didn't come up with a fantastic, brilliant plan, but instead seemed to avoid the topic all together. Whenever she'd even steer in the general direction of Kenshin, he'd talk about coffee, or the weather, or something strange that happened to him or somebody he knew, or a friend of a friend; or even, on rarer occasions, he would just remain silent and not respond to the information she had just given him until he thought of something random and unrelated to the topic to say.
She was starting to think he didn't want to help her get that woman and Kenshin to break up.
Kaoru shook the thought off, and went back to busying herself with the patients waiting to be attended to. The patients seemed endless. It was like it was flu season, though she didn't doubt it had come early this year. Christmas was just a week away, and the dank, chilly weather did not help anybody feel good about themselves.
It was nearly six by the time Kaoru was able to sit down and catch a breath. She was cleaning after a flu shot and a check up, when she was sure she was getting the flu herself. She glanced at the door, and there was Kenshin. She stood there, blinked a few times before going back to work, unfazed by his presence.
"Kaoru," she said with a little grunt, "you've been working too hard. Now you're hallucinating again."
"Oro?" Kenshin raised a brow at her conversation with herself.
Sure, Kaoru's had some strange moments, but this was bordering on lunacy. Kenshin had been there through the many phases of her life; like the time when she thought acid-washed, ripped jeans were the greatest thing in the world or even during the time Kaoru refused to bathe after watching a particularly convincing movie on sharks; but this event easily surpassed them all.
"Kaoru," Kenshin took a step forward, "are we still going out for dinner?"
She seemingly froze between moving trays around, then finally turned to Kenshin.
'He must think I'm a lunatic,' Kaoru inwardly groaned, scolding herself for her lack of an internal monologue.
"Oh, it's you, Kenshin!" Kaoru gave way to a sheepish laugh, "Go on and wait in the waiting room, will you? I'm just going to finish up here, and then we can go."
If ever a record was kept to see the speed and agility a room could be cleaned up, Kaoru could have beaten the best time. She was eager to talk to Kenshin and finally clear the air between them. Perhaps, she thought up wickedly, she could convince him to break up with that woman with enough of her subtle hints at how wrong she really is for him.
Kenshin sat in the waiting room, fiddling around with the magazines nobody would ever really read unless they were in a doctor's waiting room. He was pensive to bring up the fight they had last night; he wanted nothing more than to rid the bad blood between them and let things return to as close to normal as they could get. But something in him also dreaded it. If he brings it up, and Kaoru were to ask why her Sou-chan was not a person he liked, he might accidentally confess something he had no intention to; for the moment, at least. He put down the magazine on fishing as Kaoru came out.
"Are you ready to go?" Kenshin offered his arm to her, as he usually would.
Kaoru nodded, "Yeah. So where are we going to spend our hard-earned money, Kenshin?"
He smiled, telling her of this great place with good food, still dancing around the subject of last night.
"Sounds like a great place," Kaoru smiled weakly.
It was quiet for a moment; Kaoru bit her lip, wondering if she should say something while Kenshin suffered a silent battle if he should apologize now. They walked together to the restaurant nearby, still not bringing up the fight, Soujiro or even Tomoe. The tension began to build, Kaoru could feel her shoulders in knots as well as her stomach, and Kenshin's brows furrowed in deep thought. Kaoru took a shaky breath, ready to apologize.
"I'm sorry," they chorused.
They looked at each other, blinked, and then broke out into a fit of laughter, realizing how much they both were agonizing over it. For that moment, Kaoru knew all was right with the world again.
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Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin!
Author's Notes: Sorry! ;; Please don't hate me for my erratic updating pattern. I fell, unfortunately, into the pit of writers block. I couldn't write a decent sentence--not even in Math class! It's really pathetic. But I worked over time to try to get this out as fast as my writing muse, who loves to run off, allowed me. But to thank you all for sticking by me, even though I am a strange girl who hates schedules, I have here a special scene! It's all the way after the thank-yous, so just scroll down, and you'll see your present! == (I apologize in advance for my poor action-scene skills - I omitted it completely.)
Thank you so very much to those who have reviewed!
gracianeko (Sorry, sorry, sorry for the super late chapter. Hehehe. Call it even? Lol. I hope you get some free-time outside from work. Don't worry, things will start to look concerning the two poor lovebirds. I'm sorry to hear something similiar happened with your and your bestfriend. :-( Hopefully, it turned out for the best? Anyway, thanks for the review!)
Randomxthoughts (Lol. Define 'soon'? Sorry, sorry, sorry a million times for the long wait. It should be criminal, I know. But I'm trying as hard as I can to get these done quicker. Thanks for the review.)
Aryana1 (I'm sorry for the long wait! Don't worry there's going to be gobs more of K/K in this story. We've got only a few more chapters left, depending on how long I intend to make the other chapters, and I'll try to put in as much as I can. Thanks for the review!)
LadyBatosai (Great, I've got a newly dedicated reader and what do I do? I take forever to update. --; I'm so very sorry for the long wait! I hope it was well worth it for you. Thanks so much for the review!)
donna8157 (Hi-yee! Sorry for the super long wait... I'm glad you liked the chapter. I'm also releived you think the story is coming along well. Phew. Thanks so much for the review!)
Koishii Sweet (Super sorry for making you wait a long time for this chapter! Do you need a tissue? I'm glad you think my story is "beautiful!" Haha. Anyway, I'll be sure to put in more K/K in there in the later chapters. I'll try to update faster next time, ya? Thanks for the review!)
leiko47seta (Sorry for the long wait! Lol. It seems my fingers can't type fast enough! Because if I could type at super-human speed, I would have finished the story already! Don't worry, the chapters are coming along a lot shorter than I had hoped, so there might be an extra one or two from what I had planed before it'll be over. Thanks for your review!)
Rurouni Kaoru Kenshin's Love (EEeep! I'll keep that in mind next time I decide to write something. Sorry for the long wait! Thanks for the review!)
KuTiExAzNxAnGeL (Haha, so, you love it, right? - Just kidding. Sorry for the lapses of time between updates! Thanks for the review and the encouragement!)
ebonyfox (Lol. I hadn't expected that reaction. But at least it seems realistic. Sorry for the long wait and thank you for your review!)
SoujiroSetadoris (Hi! Sorry for the long wait! Hm, I might elaborate on the courtship, but I'll tell you now that it really wasn't Kenshin's intention for their relationship to come off so serious-looking. Lol. Wow, I think you may have got the twist with what happened between Kenshin and Tomoe. Thanks so much for your review! Super sorry for the long wait!)
Fan4000 (It's okay that you haven't reviewed, I don't really care about reviews as much as the next ffnet writer out there. I'm glad you like it, though! Sorry for the long wait. Thanks for the review!)
MZ. AMbER EYES (LoL. I hope what's coming up in the bottom will be enough K/K for you. Even though it is a little bittersweet. Don't worry. the last two chapters are all about the K/K. I'll try to put in more Kenshin thinking in there, so you can understand what's going on. Sorry for the long wait, thanks so much for your review!)
glaze (GRACE! What did I tell you about reviewing?! :[ LoL. Just kidding, Poop. Hehe, so here it is. I hope it's up to your standards. Lol. I'll try to put them up faster, ya? But then again... I see you nearly everyday, so you could just ask me whats going to happen. Shee you later, fellow leader!)
Kaoru Himura2 (Ehehe, yes, I must! Sorry for the long wait! Thanks for the review and the encouragement!)
animegurl23 (I'm glad you like my story! Sorry for the long wait, but here's the continuation! Thanks so much for the review!)
Review!
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This part happens between Chapter Five and Six.
Chapter 11.5 : All For Her
"Soujiro?" Kaoru said, wide-eyed and shocked.
Enishi staggered back, rubbing his jaw, slightly dazed from the unexpected hit. On the side, Soujiro just stood; his face red with anger, and breath irregular as his fist tightly clenched, ready to hit him again. Kaoru immediately ran to Soujiro, her touch suddenly quelling his rage and anger for a split second.
"Soujiro, don't." Kaoru pleaded, tears beginning to well up, "Don't hit him anymore."
Kenshin's narrowed eyes watched Enishi soon regain his composure and slowly made his way to Kaoru and the distracted Soujiro.
"But Kaoru," Soujiro began to protest, "he shouldn't talk like that to you. Nobody should. Guys like him don't respond to--"
"Please, Soujiro?" Kaoru drew a shaky breath, "What happened in the past is in the past. I don't care about him, or what he thinks. He isn't important to me."
Kenshin felt the bitterness of jealousy amplify within him as he could only watch Kaoru tend to Soujiro. The bitterness inside him only seemed to grow as the seconds laboriously ticked. Soon, the sting of jealousy turned into a rage Kenshin had never before felt.
"Isn't that sweet?" Enishi said, a low chuckle bubbling up. "But let's see how sweet it would be after I give him a black eye!"
With a roar Enishi swung at the startled Kaoru and Soujiro. The growing crowd around them gasped in shock at the audacity of this man. But much to everyone's surprise, there was no yell or even a grunt. In fact, the punch didn't even connect with anything. Save for Kenshin's hand.
"I think it'd be best to leave, that I do," Kenshin said, his voice low and even despite the tumultuous feelings conjuring a storm in his mind.
Everybody could only blink in confusion. Just what happened here? People began to wonder. Low murmurs seemed to swirl around them as the bartender himself came in to inspect the growing commotion.
"Ah, take it outside! I don't want a mess in my bar!" He scolded, as Enishi and his friends that suddenly stood behind him, left.
Kenshin glanced back, his anger still raging like a tempest with no end in sight. Kaoru looked a little shaken, and Kenshin's heart ached for her. He remembered how hard it was, for her especially, when the two broke up long ago. Just when he thought he was starting to calm down, he felt his rage rise again when Soujiro came to her, Kenshin only steps away from reaching her. It was probably a sign, but Kenshin shrugged it off. He didn't believe in such frivolous things.
"Kaoru, are you okay?" Tokio said, wrapping an arm around her, at the same time shooing Soujiro away as she ushered her out the door.
Kaoru nodded, wiping at her face, feeling the wetness of tears as she scolded herself for even crying over Enishi again.
To the side, Kenshin's eyes narrowed at Soujiro who tried to get to Kaoru, much to Tokio's protest, then soon followed the group out. Kenshin stuffed his hands in his pockets, silently defeated that he couldn't hurt Enishi or even give him a fraction of the pain he caused Kaoru to feel. Often times, Kenshin would curse his gentle nature. The most he had ever done to tell Enishi off was talking to him right after he had heard the news of their break up.
He remembered wanting to smash his face in, but didn't because he couldn't risk getting his feelings towards Kaoru out in the open. He wasn't ready for that yet. He was but a young, slightly confused teenager back then. But now, Kenshin couldn't care less. He stopped in his tracks, hearing the familiar laugh and carousing merriment behind him.
Kenshin made slow steps in the opposite direction of where everybody else was going; nobody seemed to notice. He followed Enishi and his group of clowns, ready to give him a piece of his mind.
"You went out with her?" A large man said with a laugh, "She's got a nice piece of meat on her, I'll tell you that much."
A laugh, "Yeah? You think so? You should have seen her back then, though. Barely past puberty, you know? A real scraggly girl, that Kamiya was."
"Do you regret dumping her?" Kenshin said calmly, coming up to them still unnoticed.
"Hell yeah," Enishi said with a swig of his beer, "if I knew she had that much potential, I would have liked to have a piece of that."
Kenshin's fists balled, his eyes narrowed and his intent turned murderous. Never in his life had he felt so angry, so much like he could commit some heinous crime than this moment. He never liked it when the people he cared for were being maligned; especially Kaoru. Kenshin had a soft spot for the only woman he truly loved.
"Eh, wait a minute, that you, Kenshin?" Enishi stopped walking, turning lazily around.
Kenshin's fisted hand pulled back, and then punched Enishi square in the face. Enishi's balance faltered, but then was caught but his friends.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, man," Enishi blinked, spitting some blood to the side as he discarded his broken shades. "I don't see you for years, and this is the greeting I get?"
"I'm tired of that Kamiya girl's friends beating up on you, Enishi," one of his friends came up suddenly, and cracked his knuckles. "Let's teach this scrawny guy a lesson."
Enishi raised a hand, a grin forming on his face, "No, let's not. I will."
And with that, Enishi swung at Kenshin.
Kenshin rubbed his throbbing head a little apprehensively. He was a little bruised, yes; a little bloody, yes; a little dirty, yes. But nothing could beat the surge of joy that now grew in him. He spat on the floor, and began to walk away from beaten Enishi.
"Never speak of Kaoru like that, or else you will find an angry man." Kenshin wiped a trickle of blood on the corner of his lip, his back turned to Enishi, before simply adding, "you never want to mess with an angry man, Enishi."
He shoved his cut and aching hands in his pockets and made his way to Kaoru's apartment. His heart began to pound harder with each step. He planned to come in, Kaoru would gasp, Kenshin would smile weakly, and for the rest of the night, they would be together. She tending to his little cuts and scrapes, he just enjoying the attention she gave him.
Attention that Soujiro stole from him.
Sure, Kenshin was a little selfish, a little bit of a jealous type; but it simply wasn't fair. Soujiro comes in, and with one smile repels Kaoru from him like two magnets turned the wrong way. He didn't like him very much, was an understatement. Kaoru and he had a history, the two were on the verge of a major breakthrough with their feelings, then Soujiro came and shook things around. After tonight, he was sure Kaoru would finally realize that Kenshin was willing to even bring her the moon and stars if she truly wanted it.
He licked his lips, a little wet with the bitter taste of blood. He pulled out a hankercheif to dab at his face. He touched the skin around his eye and flinched. That was surely going to leave a mark, but it was something Kenshin can take care of. Everything would be worth it, every staggered walk and pain he endured would be all worth Kaoru's caring touch.
He walked up the steps of their apartment complex, and soon found himself ringing the bell. He only pressed it once before Misao appeared before him.
His heart sank. It was probably a sign that Kaoru herself didn't come to answer the door.
Kenshin shook off the thought, 'I thought you didn't believe in signs, Himura.'
"Kenshin!" Misao said, her voice heightened in surprise upon noting his subtlely soiled face.
"Is she sleeping already?" He said, cutting off any comments on the way he looked.
She shook her head, "Nope. We're eating ice cream." She gave way to a small smile as she motioned to Kaoru's room, "You're welcome to join."
"No, that's all right. Tell her I came by." Kenshin blurted out. "I'll just come see her tomorrow, that I will."
There was a pause as Misao nodded, still not saying anything of the little drops of blood on Kenshin's shirt, or the fact that his face puffed up a little and his eye was nearly purple with a bruise. "Okay then, I'll tell her."
The door closed infront of him as he sighed. He turned around, wondering why he didn't come in to tell her how he beat Enishi to a bloody pulp. All just for her. He took a few steps, then stopped; he suddenly was faced with the man he also wanted to beat. Soujiro's face twisted ever so slightly at Kenshin's condition, but Kenshin shrugged it off and kept walking.
"Don't you even dare," He warned Soujiro in a low criminal voice just as he walked past.
Kaoru didn't have to know now, Kenshin concluded. This wasn't a contest between the two, he realized, with Kaoru as the prize. If Kaoru were to chose him over Soujiro, he would have wanted it because he loved him, not because he beat Enishi up for her. Sometimes he wished that Kaoru wasn't so dense. That one day, she'd wake up and realize that everything he did was just for her.
All for her.