Disclaimer: I do not own Kenshin, though I wish he were my boy toy. :grins evilly:
Romance/Action/Drama
Rating: PG-13/R
Reader Discretion is advised
Please forgive an misspellings or grammar errors
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Gun Smoke and Sword Blades
Chapter Three: Past Pains and Broken Canes
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Kaoru took the piece of paper from Sano. "This is where Kenshin lives."
"An apartment complex?" Kaoru looked at Sano, "but he seems so rich..."
"He's waiting for his home to be built," Sanosuke explained. "Right now he's just living in a grubby, crappy area on the bad side of town."
"Will he be okay there?" Kaoru asked.
"Kenshin can take care of himself if you haven't figured that out yet," Sanosuke said, "He said you can meet him in an hour or in thirty minutes. It'll take you half an hour just to get there."
"I better leave now," Kaoru looked at her watch, "It's already six. I don't want to walk in that side of town late at night." She grabbed her blue coat and put it on. "Thanks Sanosuke." She then left and took her car.
"...Whatever..." Sano said and was greeted by Megumi. "Megumi...?"
She handed him some tea. "Kaoru has been acting differently. Have you noticed? Now she sits in her room and stares out the window, expecting her father to come home..."
"She'll be fine. She's strong," Sanosuke answered.
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Kaoru got out of her car and went up to his apartment. She passed by an apartment filled with guys drinking, making her feel nervous. Even more nervous when they came out and hooted at her.
She was about to knock on the door of his apartment when one of the guys yanked her by the arm. "Hey!" Kaoru stormed around to face them. "Don't touch me you filthy pig!"
"Oh baby, I just wanted to have some fun," he grinned at her and pulled her closer, but she yanked away and pulled out her shinai. "What happened to your eye? Let's take off the patch!"
"Yeah!" the other guys agreed.
"Don't mess with me or I'll beat you from here to Okinawa!" Kaoru threatened as she got into her stance. Then a guy landed behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She struggled as another guy grabbed the patch and ripped it off.
She instinctively closed her left eye.
"Open your eye!" the fat man demanded and she shook her head and then kicked him in the groin. He stumbled backwards, yelling. She then stepped on her hugger's toe and he immediately let go.
'Please let his door be open,' she thought and then she ran to Kenshin's apartment and opened the door. 'Thank God!'
"Get her!" they all shouted.
She smirked, "Bye!" She slammed the door and locked it, placing her back to the door.
"Miss Kaoru?" Kenshin entered the living room; a bathrobe draped around him and his hair was damp. His sword in hand. "Are you all right? I heard shouting, that I did." Right when he said that the door crashed down and the guys appeared, grinning maliciously.
"Uh...no...I think I accidentally brought guests," she stuttered as she pulled out her shinai again.
"Please step back, Miss Kaoru," Kenshin ordered and Kaoru obeyed. "I do not want people who are uninvited into my home. Especially to hurt an innocent young woman, such as Miss Kaoru, that I don't."
"Oh yeah, shrimp! What are you going to do about it?" the fat guy questioned. "That girl begged us to fight her."
"Liar!" Kaoru shouted and Kenshin stepped forward, making her quiet again.
"I will protect Miss Kaoru, that I will," Kenshin replied. "I do not wish to fight, but if I must." He got into a stance.
"Bring it on," the fat dude grabbed a beer bottle and broke it, leaving pointed edges as his weapon. He then charged at Kenshin and Kenshin sliced the beer bottle in half, clean cut.
"I am afraid you are without a weapon," Kenshin pointed out as everyone stared at the clean cut bottle in his hand. And then a skinny guy ran at him with a dagger.
"Kaoru, drop," he said and Kaoru kneeled down as the guy sailed through the air over her and into the wall. She winced as she heard the crash.
"Now anyone else want to?" Kenshin asked as he picked up the skinny guy and threw him at the people, who caught him, stumbling out the door. "Have a nice day."
They all ran to their own apartment, "He almost killed me!" A man shouted as they locked the door.
"I'm sorry Miss Kaoru," Kenshin said as he placed the door back in its hinges. "I shouldn't have invited you over to a place like this."
She rose, "It's fine." She placed her hand over her left eye. "Do you...might you have a patch I could use?"
Kenshin shook his head. "I am sorry again."
"Damn it," Kaoru said, collapsing on a moth eaten couch. Her hand still covering her eye.
"You may let down your hand, Miss Kaoru," Kenshin said as he handed her some tea.
She shook her head. "The reason I need a patch is because...my eye looks gruesome."
"I think I've seen more disgusting things then a blind eye, that I have," Kenshin replied, sitting across from her.
She let her hand slowly down, her eye still close. She drank the tea. "...Yahiko hates it. Sanosuke's afraid to look at it and Megumi doesn't seem to mind it."
"She's a doctor, isn't she?" Kenshin asked. "She shouldn't be bothered by those things. May I see?"
Kaoru looked at him and set the tea on the table. "I don't...I don't think..."
"Please Miss Kaoru," Kenshin prompted. "I promise I will not flinch or anything."
Kaoru tilted her head foreword, her bangs blocking her eyes as she opened her left eye. She then faced him once more and waited for his expression to change to disgust or fright. Instead he smiled which shocked her.
"Miss Kaoru has a special eye," Kenshin said, "That she does."
She felt uncomfortable and she fiddled with her dress. "What do you mean?"
"Usually a blind eye is fogged over. Your eye iris is just black. You have a very special eye. If you could do me a favor and close your right eye."
"But I won't be able to-"
"Trust me."
Those two words sent shivers up her spine, but she nodded slowly and closed her right eye. She could still see. She saw out of her left eye. Everything had a yellow tinge, but she saw! She could see! Then Kenshin moved, as if in slow motion and approached her slowly. He kneeled in front of her and spoke, his mouth moved in slow motion but his voice was normal.
"What do you see?"
"You."
"Am I fast or slow?"
"Slow. Your words come out of your mouth before I can see it move."
"You can open your other eye now."
She obeyed and her left eye went to blackness. She couldn't see anything out of it anymore. She saw Kenshin sitting back on the couch.
"Your left eye slow things down for you. If I threw something at you you'd be able to dodge it before it gets a foot close to you. You could dodge bullets if you wanted. Miss Kaoru, do you want to be on the force?"
"Yes!" she said. "I do. Not only because of my father but I want to protect the ones I love. That's my saying for my style of swordsmanship."
"Do you know how to shoot a gun?" Kenshin asked.
Kaoru nodded. "I know how to shoot a 22 rifle."
"Small..." he thought. "I want to give you a handgun. It's large, but it's a special gun. It's light in weight and the bullets are metallic silver. The bullets can penetrate through anything. Anything at all. They promise to hit its target and shoot out very speedily."
"I see."
"The gun is called 'Silver Sakura'," Kenshin said. "It's meant for women to protect themselves, but you could do so much more with that gun on the field. Your father, I understand, was a very good guns man."
She nodded.
"What happened to your mother? What did she do?"
She closed her eyes. She thought about her mother. Her mother was always sick, but managed to knit, cook and clean with Kaoru's help. Her mother had fainting spells and it grew often. 'Mom...it hurts to remember you...' She saw her mother fall to the ground, her dark hair everywhere.
Her father had rushed in and turned to face her- She couldn't remember anymore. "I can't...I can't...remember. It hurts..." She had tears in her eyes as she lifted her face. "My past...My past was never a joyful one..."
"I am sorry. I shouldn't have pried," Kenshin apologized. "Miss Kaoru I will gladly accept you on my army. It is my decision and I don't care how many protests I'll get. I got plenty when I said Miss Misao could fight as well. Even from Aoshi, who threatened to break my neck."
"I see," Kaoru smiled. "She's in love with Aoshi. She wants to fight by his side."
"And that she will," Kenshin stood up and held out his hand. "It was nice talking to you Miss Kaoru."
She rose and took his hand and shook it, "It was nice talking to you as well, Kenshin."
"I'll walk you to your car," Kenshin said, "Those men are always doing things like that."
Kaoru nodded.
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Kaoru drove back to her house and then walked up to her room. She locked her door and sat on her bed. 'My past...when Mother fainted Dad...dad....' She couldn't continue and she put her face in the pillows as she heard Megumi.
"Your food is before the door," Megumi spoke and left.
Kaoru couldn't bring herself to remember those years. So long ago. Ten years...ago...of pain and torment.
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Kenshin sat in his apartment. "My room needs a definite sprucing up."
Kenshin looked down at the floor and at the new list. Saitou had put American troops on his army. He didn't have a grudge against America...it was just America could take things too far and some of them were not as skilled as the Japanese.
"Ronald Manning, Bryan Keith, Steven Flores, Carmen Dolores, Andy Henshin, William Osterle," Kenshin made a face. "Who named these people? The names are hard to pronounce."
And he went back to attempting to read the list of Americans. Now he had a hundred men. More than he would need. He lay down across the couch, scanning over the paper.
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She remembered when she was fourteen she hated using that black cane. Each time she would accidentally break it and her father would yell at her. Finally she got used to not seeing out of her left eye and she trained herself not to need a cane to feel what was on the left side.
She had one favorite cane. It was white with detailed cherry blossoms on the handle. She still had it in her closet, tucked away.
Then she remembered Kenshin. His apartment was filthy, old and tattered. She couldn't allow him to stay in that kind of neighborhood. "We have lots of room here," she said. "He can stay here." Though talking to herself she knew everyone would agree.
She reached over to the phone and dialed his number that Sanosuke had given to her.
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"Miss Kaoru, I cannot," Kenshin said into the phone. "I'd be a bother."
"No you wouldn't," she replied. "There's plenty of room here and there's plenty of food. And if you'd feel guilty staying at my home for free you could do some chores."
"...Miss Kaoru. I cannot," Kenshin said. "Are you sure you would want me staying at your house?"
"Of course," she said. "You keep living at that place and you'll surely die one way or another. Everyone will agree. I know they will. You will have people to come home to and you won't be as lonely. I know what being alone feels like." There was a long pause, "Since...my father passed away..."
He took in a breath at the mention of her father. "All right. I'll move in."
"All you need to bring is your clothing and necessities," she told him. "You may come whenever you like."
That was that. Himura Kenshin would be moving in with two girls and two guys. He smiled; she was right. He would have people to look forward to seeing at home.
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Crisa Rei: I am done. Yay! Very hard chapter to write. Due to the fact that I am stalling for the next chapter.
