Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait. I've been tied up with this and that. You know how it is. Anyway, the reviews have been wonderful! I'm a very happy author! Enjoy this chapter, and keep it coming, please!
Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or InuYasha… But I did ask for them for Christmas. Hopefully Santa thinks I've been a good girl!
Your Azure Eyes
Chapter 3: Of You
"Ah, Miss Kaoru… Can I ask you something?" Kenshin asked as they walked down the street towards the studio. A few hours had passed, and the sun had begun to go down.
"Go ahead, Mr. Himura," She said cheerfully, rubbing her hands together. Sanosuke produced a pair of gloves from the pocket of his own white coat, and handed them to her. Kaoru took them with a grateful smile and a shudder due to the cold. Even though summer was only a month or so away, spring nights had not been so fair weather wise.
"What exactly will I be doing for you?" Kenshin asked, his eyes darting around the softly lit street. He watched the people walk by, and the streetlamps flicker, and the headlights of cars drive quickly by. He suddenly wondered why he had never noticed how beautiful New York City was.
Kaoru laughed softly, her voice melodic. "Sorry," She said finally, catching his eyes with her own and smiling, "I never told you, did I? That's alright… it'll all be explained once we get there."
Kenshin smiled back and nodded. He returned his purple gaze to the street, pushing his hands into his pockets to protect them from the cold. His gaze fell on the tall Sanosuke, who walked a pace or two behind them now, thoughtfully gnawing on a toothpick. Anyone giving the small group a passing glance would think he was simply out for a nightly stroll to the bar. However, upon taking a closer look, one could see his eyes glaring suspiciously at anyone who came close to his charge.
It wasn't long before they reached the small warehouse used as the studio. Of course, it was by no means 'small,' as it was the largest building on the street. But compared to the normal definition of a warehouse, being a large concrete building to store copious amounts of products, it was small-er.
"Come on in, Mr. Himura. Welcome to Kamiya Studio," announced Kaoru as she walked in and pulled off her long, black coat and hat. She tossed both onto the rack next to the door and proceeded to glide into the room to greet her staff.
Kenshin stood at the doorway for a second, mouth gaping at the sheer size. He had not expected to walk into such a large room with so much going on at once. A food table was set to one side of the wall, filled with fruits, cakes, and coffee machines. At the other wall, many tables were set up, displaying pictures from recent photo shoots. Kenshin noted the torn photos lying all over the floor in this area.
And in the center of it all, lay the heart of the project. It was a massive screen used to display backgrounds on, with a beach chair set up in front of it and sand all over the floor. A few meters from this lay the camera.
Just as Kenshin's wide eyes fell on the camera, he felt a shove from behind and a grunt. "Oi, walk forward! Can't stand out here all day, you know!" Sanosuke's gruff voice awoke him from his daydream, and he finally stepped into his new work place.
Kenshin finally came back to his senses. Quickly, he tore off his jacket and threw it at the coat hanger (unknowingly mistaking Sano for the hanger, and tossing the item on top of his head,) and trotted briskly towards the camera.
It was beautiful; it's black exterior shining in the light as Kenshin ran is fingers over it.
"Magnificent, isn't it?" He heard Kaoru's soft voice behind him and turned abruptly towards her.
"Yes, yes it is," He smiled, turning back towards the instrument to begin his inspection. Kaoru turned to get some coffee from the table, figuring that she should leave her new photographer alone with the camera.
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"Okay, dear, here's what you need to do. I'm guessing that you already know how to use one of those, right?" Kamatari spoke to Kenshin, pointing a well-manicured finger in the general direction of the camera. Kenshin nodded to her.
"Oh good, good. Now, our little miss will come onto the set that these wonderful people have set up for her latest shoot. This is our set designer, Misao." A short girl appeared almost out of nowhere. Her wide eyes sparkled as she smiled brightly. Kamatari ignored her and continued her instructions, "Kaoru will come out, and you just direct her for the pictures," She turned and began to walk towards Kaoru's dressing room, "I'll bring her out. Have fun now!"
Kenshin nodded, feeling his throat suddenly go dry. What if he had no idea where to put her when she came out? What if he made a complete idiot of himself, tripped over the camera wires, and smashed the whole thing to bits? There were just so many things that could go wrong…
The door to Kaoru's dressing room swung open, and out walked the gorgeous model Kenshin had seen in the magazines. Her steps were calculated, fluid and graceful in the red high heels. Kenshin's eyes moved upwards along her body, noting the bottom half of the bikini around her slim form. His eyes continued their travels, settling on…
"Ack!"
She tripped.
"Miss Kaoru!" Kenshin called, running to her side along with Kamatari and Sano. He gently took one of her arms, and hoisted her back to her feet.
"Stupid heels," She muttered, extremely red in the face. Kenshin couldn't tell whether it was from embarrassment, or from the rate at which she had smacked into the floor.
"Are you alright?" He asked, allowing Kamatari to wipe the dust off of the bikini rather than himself. He did, however, bring his hand up to catch a loose strand of her long, black hair and tuck it gently behind her ear. Kaoru's face went redder.
"I'm fine, thanks," She muttered, looking down to re-adjust the top half of her bikini. Kenshin looked away, suddenly deciding that his camera needed a last minute check. These had to be good pictures, as they were the replacements for the mysteriously ripped ones that were originally to go into Vicky's summer magazine.
Kaoru finally straightened her self out. Slowly and carefully, she made her way over to the scene. "Where would you like me, Mr. Himu… Kenshin."
Kenshin smiled at her from behind the large camera, "Would you like to start with the chair?"
Kaoru nodded and smiled, "Whatever you like; you're the photographer."
Kenshin felt his heart swell with pride at that statement. He was a photographer now, free to order around beautiful women and take pictures of them in revealing red bikinis. Perhaps that had not been his heart to swell, but rather his head.
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The photo shoot went amazing. Kenshin found that Kaoru was incredibly easy to work with. Not that he had worked with many models before (she being his first encounter of the kind) but he imagined that others were much worse. She moved every time he asked for her to move, she smiled and frowned as he asked, and she catered to his every whim as a photographer.
"Wonderful," He breathed, snapping the last shot, "I think that should do it."
Kaoru smiled, "Good, this is really starting to itch," And without further ado, she pulled off the high heels and trotted back to her dressing room, leaving Kenshin to deal with the mess of sand on the floor.
Sighing, he picked up a broom from the corner and began to sweep at the stuff. Suddenly, someone called out to him from the food table. It was Sano.
"Kenshin!" He called, downing an entire pastry, as he waited for the other man's attention to turn towards him, "Don't have to do that. We've got people…" He motioned towards the other members from the staff, holding brooms as well and eyeing Kenshin with a strange look.
"I see," He said quietly, putting the broom back and joining Sano at the food table. "What happens next?"
"Well," Sano shoved another pastry into his mouth and spoke in between mouthfuls, "Our guys will develop those pictures you just took, and then we'll take a look at them. You'll choose the ones you like best, then present them to the big head honcho over at Vicky's magazine."
Kenshin was slightly annoyed by one fact; "I have people to develop the pictures for me?" He asked. Sano nodded. Kenshin's mind went to his former job, and remembered the thrill of developing his own pictures, never knowing exactly how they'd turn out. "Would it be alright if I developed them instead?" He asked.
Sano shrugged, "Do what you want. But that'll be a few people out of a job. Missy doesn't like putting people out on the streets like that."
"Does that mean that I have the power to fire?" Kenshin asked, his eyes wandering over the large studio.
Sano chuckled, "You've got all the power next to Missy. Basically, you run the place. If she doesn't like the way you do it, then she'll kick your can out. That's the way it works."
Kenshin smiled, "Then let the photo developers keep their jobs, just set them to work on something else," He took a bite of a cookie from the table, and immediately spat it out, "Ack! They should work on making better cookies!"
Sano chuckled and patted Kenshin on the back, "I'd stay quite about that if I were you," He laughed, taking the cookie out of Kenshin's hand, wrapping it in a napkin, and tossing it into the garbage, "The Missy makes those cookies for us. Her cooking is awful, but we try to humor her. You'll get used to that taste after a while. Best not mention anything to her. She can get real nasty when you insult her cooking."
Kenshin paled slightly, images of the small but spiteful Kaoru trying to bash his head in with a broom handle floated across his mind, "I won't say a word," He said, and tossed his napkin into the trash.
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"Kenshin?" Kenshin heard a light knock on the darkroom door. Quickly, he walked over and opened it slightly, trying to let as little light in as possible. He found Kaoru at the door, smiling at him. "Can I come in?" She asked.
Kenshin nodded, opening the door a fraction more so that she could slip through, closing the door behind her.
"Sanosuke told me you were in here. Why not let the photo developers do this?" She asked, walking over to the table where the pictures sat soaking in the fluid.
Kenshin shrugged, "I like doing this."
Kaoru turned to smile at him, the soft red beam from the only light in the room playing across her face. "You are very different, Mr. Himura."
"Kenshin," He corrected her patiently. Kaoru giggled at him swatting his arm playfully. "Well, I'll leave you alone then," She said, turning to leave through the door.
Even in sneakers, Kaoru managed to trip over something. Her foot caught in a wire, throwing her off balance, and sending her hurting towards the ground, until something rather soft and familiar broke her fall.
Kaoru clung for dear life onto Kenshin's sweater, her face buried in his chest. "Sorry," She muttered, her voice muffled by the fabric. Kenshin chuckled softly, his deep laugh vibrating through his body, sending a strange swooping feeling through Kaoru.
Slowly, she lifted her head, her left foot still caught in the pesky wire. Her azure eyes met a bright violet gaze, and she found herself drawn towards the man holding her up. Butterflies swooped in her stomach, and her heartbeat sped up with excitement. Her body was reacting of it's own accord. She felt her head rise, her lips intending to steal his in a kiss.
Kenshin stood still, his mind unable to comprehend what was going on. She was going to kiss him, for sure! Slowly, he began to lower his lips to meet hers.
"Kaoru!" The door to the dark room flew open, allowing all of the light to shine through. Kaoru slipped right out of Kenshin's grasp onto the floor, letting out a loud, "Oof!"
Kenshin cursed loudly, running towards the door, intending to push the crazed man out in a desperate attempt to save his probably already ruined pictures.
Behind him, Kaoru lifted her head, "Enishi!" She cried, standing up at once and walking over to the two men. Kenshin watched questioningly as Enishi threw an arm around Kaoru's waste and kissed her on the cheek.
Kaoru flushed deeply, unwilling to look Kenshin in the eyes.
"Mr. Himura, meet my boyfriend, Enishi Yokishiro."
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Extra Author's Note: And Enishi is introduced! Just to answer a few questions I know will be coming: 1.) Kenshin does not know that Kamatari is actually a man. 2.) I do plan on adding Misao into this story more than just the little spot she got in this chapter. Other characters will also be stirred into the mix. 3) Yes, yes you should review. Lol. Until next time!