AN: Remember, this is a revamped fiction! :)
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Chapter 3
"Greetings from Akabeko sir. Food edible, prices reasonable. What would you like to have?" Kaoru asked robotically behind the counter, not bothering to look up.
Starring at her notepad, she waited for the customer to order.
She was tired, exhausted, and craved for sleep. Only one hour left, she told herself. After that the night would be over, and she'll get her pay, then she'll head home and rest.
Impatiently tapping her pencil on her notepad, she waited for a response. Upon not receiving one, she looked up to see what was taking so long. Her eyes registered surprise when she saw a familiar face.
There was a silence, when both faces just looked at each other. She was mostly gazing into his eyes, his stunningly attractive eyes, and vice versa. It was more like a trance, or hypnotism, whichever you would rather call it.
And she called those eyes blind?
Snapping out of whatever she was feeling, she opened her mouth.
"Are you here to bang me down again?" she questioned, a hint of humor in her voice.
She knew that was a ridiculous question to ask, but she just couldn't seem to help it. Her side of bad sense humor usually got the best of her.
It perks up curiosity, and anyway, it always made her life more interesting.
"No, I'm here to eat. You?" Was the slow reply.
As if her uniform wasn't clear enough on what she was here for.
"I'm here to take a bath and feed the pigs. What do you think I'm here for?"
She could have sworn she saw a tint of pink shade appearing on his face. But his jaw was set to a firm line, eyes narrowing and his fingers were drumming on the counter surface.
"Okay, okay. Sorry bout that. Now, what would you like to have?"
Silence.
"Set 1. And make that large."
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After he was done with his meal, his mind told him to get up, and go. And he was about to comply, when he saw his classmate holding a tray filled with food, looking for a place to sit.
Glancing at the vacant seat on his table, his sixth sense told him that she would be joining him in a matter of moments.
So he lingered awhile longer, pretending that he was still eating. And sure enough, two minutes later she was sitting in front of him, gobbling down her burger hungrily. The poor creature looked like she hadn't been fed for days.
None of them spoke, as a comfortable silence embraced them. Well, it had to be comfortable, since she wasn't paying any attention to him, but to the coke and fries.
"What's your name?" he suddenly asked unthinkingly.
When she heard his voice, she stopped munching. She looked up, face blank. Blinking at him, she thought silently about his question, as she felt a vein pop.
'He doesn't know my name? Then what the HELL is the use of introductions in class period after period?'
He was waiting for an answer, but she was not giving one. She could sense that he was growing impatient, and she guessed that he was a person who hated being ignored.
"Kaoru." She said at last.
He looked confused.
"My name. Kamiya Kaoru is my name."
It's either he's slow and stupid, or he just forgot that he asked a question, since she took such a long time to answer. Shaking her head, she continued consuming her food, unaware that he too, opened his mouth to speak.
"My name is Kenshin. Himura Kenshin."
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When she finished eating, she patted her tummy, feeling satisfied as she let out a sigh. She was hungry, and she was fed. Now she's sleepy, so she should be sleeping.
Getting up to a standing position, she thanked him.
"Thank you for accompanying me for dinner."
He gave her a lopsided smile, a small one, but she caught it nonetheless. She smiled in reply, and left for the staffroom. She changed her clothes, and gathered her things. After collecting her pay, she proceeded towards the exit, but to her utmost surprise, Kenshin still there, by the exit, just… standing there.
She walked up to him, and tapped him on the shoulder. As soon as he lifted his head, –"What are you still doing here?"
He blinked, and answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Waiting for you."
"For what?"
"Girls like you shouldn't go home at night alone. It's… not safe."
Normally girls would probably feel special, or blush even, since it was an undeniably flattering statement –if you would look at it from a small angle. She should have been happy, or grateful for that even.
There was a pause.
The next thing he knew, she was glaring at him.
"Girls, like me?" she hissed. "What is that suppose to mean?"
He blinked.
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Well, even though she had protested, insulted, and mocked him for wanting to "walk her home", here she was, walking side by side with him, heading towards her house.
They were enduring a silence, yet again, and she decided that his character did not include being a chatterbox. He was more of the aloof, calm and collected, Mr. cool-type-of-person. She glanced at him, and saw that he had a distant look, as if deep in thought, as if… he was thinking about a past, a past that hurt.
She snorted.
A past that hurt? What past? He's only seventeen, for goodness sake. There's no way he would have a "past" to haunt him. He's too young for that. She would re-consider that thought if he was thirty, or something like that.
Though she was, curious on how he got that scar on his left cheek. The cut looked quite deep, and she wondered -what was the cause of it? She was itching to ask, but decided it would be improper to ask. It might be a touchy subject anyway.
Her house was just a few blocks away, and she was thinking about the bath she was planning to take. A nice warm bath, to sooth her nerves. And then there was her bed.
She sighed.
She could not wait to get under those covers. The mere thought about it made her want to reach home even faster. Marveling with her own thoughts concerning comfort, she was jerked away from them awkwardly when he spoke up.
"Why are you working?" he asked quietly.
She was astonished, seeing that the question came out of no where. She remained silent, not wanting to answer that question. But then again, she felt something tingling inside, reassuring her -to just tell him. Two different decisions battling inside, wondering which one to pick.
"Why would you want to know?" she asked casually, raising an eyebrow.
He merely shrugged.
"I just think that you shouldn't be working, that's all."
Unknowingly, she let out a tiny smile, as her eyes looked straight ahead.
"I'm just having some financial problems," was all she was willing to offer in her reply. It was brief, but it was true.
Her smile grew a little bit wider, when he nodded in understanding.
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"Would you like to watch "Monsters Inc." with me? My mom won four tickets in a contest, and I was thinking that maybe you would like to go and watch it with me and the twins this coming Friday." Soujiro asked, and then stopped to catch his breath.
She was about to decline because she had work, but then she remembered Friday was her day off.
"Sure, why not? I haven't seen a movie in ages." She grinned.
"Okay then. I'll pick you up at eight."
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And sure enough at eight o' clock sharp, her doorbell rang. Checking her appearances from head to toe again, she ran to the front door and swung it open. Soujiro was standing there, smiling, while his two younger sisters beamed at her excitedly.
"C'mon Kao-nee, let's GO!" Ayame said eagerly.
"Well, someone's enthusiastic today." She replied, laughing.
Closing and locking the door shut behind her, they headed towards the cinemas. They had an hour to spare before the movie started, so they dropped by McDonalds to grab a bite.
When they finished, they hurried to the cinema, arriving just on time. Soujiro bought two popcorns and two cokes, and the twins insisted on sharing a bag of pop corn and coke. So he and Kaoru had to share the rest.
It was a fun-filled movie, as squeals of laughter constantly boomed through the cinema. There were times when Kaoru was about to take a sip of from her (and, his) coke, when Soujiro would be thinking about the same thing. Their hands would brush together momentary, and their cheeks would redden upon the brief touch.
The movie ended at approximately 11 o' clock, and the twins were already sleeping. Their bedtime was ten thirty, after all. Walking from the cinema to Kaoru's house, both were chatting softly as not to awaken the sleeping children.
Soujiro was carrying Ayame, while she was carrying the other one. Upon reaching their destination, Kaoru gave him his sister back.
"I'll see you in school next week," he whispered. "Good night, and sweet dreams!"
She smiled at him, and whispered back, "Same to you."
And with that, she entered her house, closing the door quietly behind her. She went upstairs to her room, and drifted off to sweet slumber as soon as her head touched her pillow.
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AN: :)