IAK: YAY! I'm back with another chapter!
Kenshin: ORO! How are you so hyper, de gozaru ka? You haven't even had any sugar yet!
IAK: So? When you're me, you just need to be insane to be hyper, but sugar helps! YAY FOR CHOCOLATE!
Kenshin: Orororo… *swirly eyes*
IAK: I've received a few complaints about my portrayal of Enishi in my fanfic. Sorry, Enishi-fans! Didn't mean to make you mad! But please understand that I am basing his character off of what I've seen in the Seisouhen OVA, and he came off as a possessive, violent guy, and would not have been surprised if he had managed to hurt Kaoru at some point. Sorry, but that's just what he seemed to me.
Something to keep in mind when reading parts with an abusive Enishi—most people who are abusive were abused earlier in their lives. So let's just say his family background isn't the greatest.
Another note-Tomoe is Enishi's FIRST COUSIN in this story, so they are still really close, but are not brother and sister. You'll see how this applies later. TOMOE AND AKIRA ARE A MARRIED COUPLE IN THIS STORY—AND THEY'RE ALIVE! Okay, that basically covers that.
Kenshin: Ano, read the first chapter for the disclaimer, de gozaru.
IAK: Thanks Kenshin. Now on with the fic!
Warning: There will most likely be some OOC-ness in this, previous, and following chapters. This chapter is in Kenshin's POV.
Save Me From the Darkness
Chapter Three: Coming Home
"Oh, Keeeennnnsshhiiiinnn!!"
I groggily pulled the comforter off of my head and opened one eye.
A pair of dark eyes in a pale face greeted me.
"How did you get into my apartment, Tomoe? And is Akira here? 'Cause is he is, I'm going to kill him for letting you come in here to wake me from my dream."
"Oh, stop! If I know you well enough, you were dreaming about a certain friend of yours. To answer your other questions, no Akira is not here, and I used a spare key to get in."
I groaned and put the covers back over my head. Note to self: NEVER give out a spare key.
I think I'd fallen asleep for about five minutes when I had the unpleasant sensation of something cold and wet pouring down my shirt. My eyes snapped open and sat straight up.
"Cold, COLD, COLD, COLD!"
Turning my head to the sound of someone laughing, I glared at a guy about my age. Akira, no doubt.
"Akira?" I asked politely.
"Yes?"
I grinned.
"Run."
"Bye!" He ran like there was no tomorrow.
Looking down at myself, and my bed, I checked to see how much damage was done. My hair was a mess or wet and dry strands., my Evanescence shirt was wet, and my bed now had a wet spot where I had been sleeping moments ago. I took a glance at the alarm clock on my bedside table.
"Crap!"
Shishou is going to have my head on a platter, if I'm not in Bakersfield by 11 o' clock. Of course, leave it to him to live in a secluded place like Bakersfield .
I got dressed quickly, and made my way to the kitchen. Lo and behold, there sat Akira and Tomoe—IN MY KITCHEN!
"WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU GUYS DOING HERE?"
I just didn't get it obviously, until I sat down to find a plate of pancakes in front of me. Guess Tomoe made breakfast.
"Orororo…ano…Arigatou, guys."
"It was nothing. Listen, it's almost nine, so finish up fast so you can head out and be back by early this evening. We have some stuff planned with the others, and will make you join us," Tomoe said.
"That's fine with me, as long as there is no alcohol involved. You know how I hate the stuff."
"Yeah, yeah. We know. We were just planning to go for some Korean BBQ and then we could go catch a movie or something," Akira said.
"Sure, that works. I'll be back soon, but right now I have to leave."
"Okay then. Ja, Kenshin!" Tomoe said, leading Akira out of my apartment.
"Hai, see you later, guys!" I called to them. I stepped out of the apartment after grabbing my keys, a light coat, and my trusty sakabatou, locked the door, and made my way to my wonderful maroon 2004 Acura RL. Settling myself into my seat, I put the key into the ignition and felt the car roar to life. The sound of Do As Infinity's "D/N/A" came pouring out of the car speakers. Backing out carefully, I drove out of my apartment complex, and headed to the freeway entrance for 101 north, and followed the signs onto I-5 headed north to Sacramento .
An hour and a half later, I started seeing signs for Bakersfield , and took the off ramp for 178 East, and took the exit for Mt. Vernon . Shishou lived up in the hills; I didn't blame him either. The view was great, even if was just a view of Bakersfield and the Kern River . I found his street and turned into it looking for our house. It was our house even though I didn't live there anymore.
Shishou came out in front to greet me, with his usual smirk on his face.
"You made it just in time. It just turned eleven," he said.
"I made sure to leave by nine. It's almost a two-hour drive from LA to here, de gozaru yo."
"Good. My baka deshi is a little smarter than I thought."
"ORO?"
I think he complimented me without really realizing it.
~*~
At three o' clock, I headed back for Los Angeles —"The City of Angels". I was going to miss LA when I went back to Japan on Friday. My backseat was filled with boxes of…well, stuff really. There were a few boxes of clothes; the rest was my other stuff—my vast CD collection, my photo albums, my scrapbook, books I'd read again and again, and a few other things. There was one very special item with me as well—an indigo hair ribbon. Kaoru made me promise to bring it back with me when she and the others saw me off at Narita International Airport eight years ago.
"This is just a loan," she had said. "You have to promise to bring it back."
I would fulfill that promise.
Upon reaching my apartment, it was already five-thirty. LA traffic was such a pain sometimes.
I got inside, freshened up a bit with a quick shower, and started packing. Finding the silence uncomfortable, I turned on my stereo to hear John Rzeznik and the Goo Goo Dolls pouring out "Iris" off of one of my various burned CD's.
By the time I finished packing the boxes, it was seven o' clock in the evening.
I heard knocking at the door at about seven-fifteen, and made my way around the various boxes to open it.
"Hello Kenshin. How was Bakersfield ?" Akira asked, leading Tomoe inside and around the boxes to sit on the couch. I closed the door, and moved the boxes out of the way to make some walking room.
" Bakersfield was as good as it could be—small, quiet, and boring."
I liked Bakersfield enough to live there for a few months; that is until university started. I moved to UCLA, and met Tomoe. We went out together for about a year, but figured out we weren't really meant for each other. We remained close friends, and then she met Akira. They dated for about two years, and the summer before our senior year in college, they were married. I was their best man.
My other friends began to show up within the next 30 minutes: Chou--a Japanese-American guy who became my friend in college with blond hair like a broom--and Anji—a tall guy originally from Japan who also became my college friend. Then there was Yumi and Makoto, the only other couple in our group. And finally, there was Kamatari, the resident gay guy who owned a successful fashion line. Kamatari was actually coming back to Japan with me because he wanted to start a boutique in his hometown— Tokyo .
Yup. He's from our hometown. Our, of course, meaning my friends back in Japan .
Anyway, we gathered at my place, then headed out for some food and a movie. I enjoyed the evening. It was fun to just hang out with my friends for awhile. We took a bunch of pictures for memory's sake—lots of candids, some pose pics, and a few group photos.
Heh…more pictures for my scrapbook, embarrassing ones and all.
Blackmail is good when you have dirt, especially when you did a minor in photography and know how to take embarrassing photos.
I blame Yumi and Makoto for my bad habits.
~*~
The day of my flight back to Japan was here.
I woke up at seven Friday morning. I had to be at LAX Tom Bradley terminal by five this afternoon. That gave me nine and a half hours to get the last minute stuff done.
It's a good thing Hiko offered to come down and take care of shipping my furniture and my car and stuff to Tokyo . He would be arriving at about ten or so, depending on what time he was able to get onto the road and how bad traffic was.
I'd just gotten dressed in blue jeans and a black shirt with sleeves that covered three-quarter of my arms, when Akira and Tomoe came into the apartment. Tomoe went to the kitchen to make some breakfast—it was miso soup and rice from what my nose picked up—while Akira helped me close and label the last few boxes.
"That's all of it," I said around nine-thirty.
"Guys, come and eat," Tomoe called from the kitchen.
We grinned when our stomachs growled and we headed into the kitchen.
Breakfast was quick, and by ten the cooking utensils had been packed. By ten-fifteen, Shishou had was at my apartment with a big U-Haul truck. He would take my stuff back to Bakersfield and send it off with FedEx. I would receive it all by Monday afternoon. Kamatari and I were moving into the same apartment, but he was going to take care of his stuff on his own.
We started loading stuff into the U-Haul and by one o'clock , everything was loaded. Anji, Chou, Makoto, and Yumi came by around then with Jumbo Jacks and Oreo Cookie milkshakes for lunch, and we all sat down on my apartment floor to eat. We were done with lunch by two.
"I can't believe it's actually happening," I said while looking around my empty apartment. My luggage and carry-ons were sitting by the door. Other than that and the trash from our lunch, there was nothing.
"It's gonna be really empty with you gone," Akira said.
"Hmm…it won't be the same without you, Kenshin," Yumi added.
"Yeah, man. We're gonna miss ya like hell," Chou agreed.
"Aw, I feel so special!" I said in this fake, girly, high-pitched voice. Everyone laughed.
Shishou just sorta looked at me like I was nuts.
"What time is Kamatari showing up?" Tomoe asked.
"He should be here in about fifteen minutes. It's two-fifteen right now," I said.
True enough, Kamatari showed up at exactly two-thirty, dressed in jeans, a white t-shirt, and an open black vest. He removed his shoes by the door, put his stuff by mine, and came to sit down in our circle.
"I'M GONNA MISS YOU GUYS SO MUCH!" he yelled, and started to cry.
"We're going to miss you, too, Kamatari!" The girls and Chou—of all people, it was Chou—replied.
"GROUP HUG!" Kamatari crowed.
The next thing I knew I was in a pile of several people and trying to breathe.
~*~
We reached Tom Bradley early by fifteen minutes, which gave us an advantage in the long line for check-in. After taking care of check-in and seat preference (I wanted a window seat near the front of my section—which I got—and Kamatari wanted to be with me so he wouldn't be alone so he ended up getting the seat next to me), it was time to say our final good-byes to our friends and companions of so many years.
"Call us when you get there," Tomoe said.
"Don't you DARE forget to send us emails!" Yumi said.
"Have a safe flight," Akira wished us.
"Have fun with jetlag," Makoto sadistically told us.
"I'm gonna hunt both of you down if you don't stay in touch with me!" Chou threatened with a grin.
"Don't forget us," Anji said.
"WE'LL MISS YOU!" everyone said.
"GROUP HUG!" Kamatari initiated.
What the hell? It was for good-bye's sake.
"Bye, everyone! And don't worry—WE'LL STAY IN TOUCH! BYE!!" Kamatari and I yelled as we walked to the entrance to our gate.
We got to the gate twenty minutes later (long lines tend to do that) and waited for boarding.
I think I fell asleep, because the next thing I heard was: "Now boarding Singapore Airlines Flight SQ176 to Tokyo . We'll begin pre-boarding with those passengers in First and Raffles Class, passengers with disabilities, and passengers with small children…"
We waited our turn and soon it was time for us to go on board. We found our seats and got settled for a long journey.
I smiled as I watched the plane take-off from the runway.
I was going home…
~*~
And that's the end of Chapter 3! You may have thought it weird that I know so much about Los Angeles and LAX. The thing is that I live in Bakersfield [Yes, it's a real town, and everything is in a 10-mile radius. It is truly that small.], and it really is about two hours north of LA. I know a lot about Tom Bradley Int'l Terminal because I do a lot of international traveling with my family, because of which I have pretty much memorized the boarding process on airlines. I've flown Singapore Airlines a lot, actually, and it's my favorite airline, so I picked as the one they would travel by, as I know it the best.
Just thought you'd like to know.
Next chapter—Kaoru and friends welcome Kenshin and Kamatari at the airport.
See you then!
Don't forget to R+R!
--Ice Angel Kaoru [Signing Out-Monday, April 26, 2004 , 3:06 AM PST ]