A Note From Sedjet: I know I've been a bad bunny. le sigh I'm just having issues right now. I know this is out of character, but I won't be doing individual reviews for this chapter. 1.) I'm sleepy as hell; 2.) I don't have the energy to put forth the effort to hunt all the reviews down; 3.) I'm not even supposed to be doing this. I'm supposed to be doing homework, but I was inspired. I'm really sorry, guys. I feel terrible. I'm just uncharacteristically drained of energy. I'll try to respond to the reviews from this chapter in the next. As always, you guys are the best. No doubt, hands down, number one best fans in the whole wide world. I'm sorry.

Rent

Chapter Six

When the couple had to break the kiss to come up for air, Kaoru just stared at the man in front of her. What in the hell just happened? The guy that had just kissed her was totally different than he had seemed earlier in the evening. She studied him for a long moment, with a guarded expression. She watched him go from desperate, to lost to angry in the space of a few seconds. He was closing himself off already.

"Look, I'm sorry about that. It shouldn't have happened."

She didn't meet his eyes. She didn't want to see his cold expression, "I'm glad it did."

Kenshin didn't have a response to that. Well, he did. There were just three of them. The pacifist was passed out with swirly eyes, oro-ing; the scary one had a raging hard on; and Kenshin, himself, was berating himself for betraying Tomoe. "Uh...maybe we shouldn't see each other anymore?"

Kaoru's head shot up at that. "Why? Because of your dead wife?"

Kenshin clenched his fists, "Don't make assumptions that you can't possibly know anything about."

"What happened?"

"Don't ask me that!" he bellowed.

"Why? Are you scared to have to admit it?"

"Yes!"

"What happened, Kenshin?"

"Why are you so fucking nosy?!"

"What happened?"

"Fuck you!"

"What happened, Kenshin?"

"She killed herself because she found out that we had AIDS!!!" he screamed.

Kaoru covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes welling with tears, "Shit!" She reached for him, "I'm sorry Kenshin! I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have—"

He ripped his arm out of her grasp, "You shouldn't do a lot of things, but you do."

"Your wife killed herself..."

"She wasn't my wife. She was my fiancé. Enishi has taken to calling me 'brother-in-law' to torment me. He's fuckin' crazy. He blames me for it, but I—Fuck this. Why are we even having this discussion?! I don't even know you."

"You could make the effort to get to know me," she suggested.

He glared at her, "And why would I want to do that?"

Kaoru was stung, "Because I care."

"Why do you care? You don't even know me!" he yelled, and Kaoru was certain people would be coming to investigate the alley any moment.

"I don't know why I fucking care, you piece of shit asshole rat bastard!" she bellowed right back at him. "You can't even treat people like human beings! You invite me here tonight and just ignore me and then I try to be nice to you and you yell at me! Who the fuck do you think you are, you sorry fucking excuse for a human being rat turd asshole?!"

Kenshin blinked once, twice, a third time and then in rapid succession. As he processed her tirade, he burst into laughter. Kaoru just rolled her eyes at him and turned to go inside...again.

"No, wait! I know I'm an asshole, but don't leave." There was a moment of strained silence. "Please," he added.

Kaoru turned to look over her shoulder at him, "No. Why don't you find me when you get a clue?" She snatched her arm away from his grasp and stormed back into the restaurant. She marched over to the table, grabbed her bag and her fuzzy coat. "She glanced at Sano and Sou, the only two left at the table. "It was nice to meet you two. Maybe I'll see you around sometime." She gestured vaguely in the direction of the alley entrance. "You might want to put that bastard out of everyone's misery."

The other two looked at each as the stripper took her leave. They just shook their heads and sighed.

Sano muttered, "I really thought it was going to work between those two. He's different with her."

"Well, they live in the same building, you know? They've got to see each other sometime."

"You've lived there how long, and he's only run into her once?"

"Ah, Sano, but now they both know they live in the same building. It's just a matter of time, before curiosity gets the better of one or the other."

"If you say so. Personally, I think the only reason Kaoru would try to find him would be to kill him."

Sou chuckled, "He does have that effect on people, doesn't he?"

"That hating wanting to commit homicide effect? Yeah, I've noticed the trend."

Kenshin tossed and turned on his futon that night. He couldn't get Kaoru out of his mind. She was beautiful and kind and feisty, and she fit so perfectly against him that he just wanted to—

The pacifist covered his ears, trying to shut out the scary one's mantra of Fuck her fuck her fuck her fuck her fuck her, and all the images of him doing so.

Kenshin, shut his eyes tight and prayed for his voices to go away. :What the hell is wrong with me?:

You're dying of AIDS, your girlfriend killed herself, and you haven't been laid in how long, and you feel the need to ask that question?

"Will you just go away?" Kenshin whispered fiercely into the darkness.

Nah, 'cuz you're just that crazy. Personally, I think it was all the drugs you did after that chick offed herself.

"Just shut the fuck up!" Kenshin roared.

Hasn't anyone ever told you that it's ok to have voices? It's when you start talking back to them that you really have problems.

Kenshin pressed a pillow over his head to block out the voice.

You really are a dumb fuck, aren't you? You can't block me out just by putting a fuckin' pillow over your head. I'm part of you, you crazy fuck. You really need to get your head out of your ass and fuck this chick. She's brutally hot! And, despite the fact that you are a raging asshole, she seems into you. So, I'm telling you, "I WANT TO GET LAID!!!" Do it! What have you go to lose? For that matter, what has she got to lose? You're both infected, so you don't have to worry about that...

Kenshin turned onto his back and tried desperately to smother himself, the only problem being that he couldn't breathe and eventually, he had to give up.

But at least the voice stopped, after claiming that he was a psychotic freak that was way beyond therapy.

The next morning, Kenshin heard a song that sounded very familiar. It was blaring in the apartment below his, and it was from Rent. It was "Out Tonight", sung by Dapne Ruben-Vega as Mimi MarquezKenshin's interest was piqued. He called back to his roommated, "Sou! I'm going out!"

"Twice in one week? That girl's really gotten to you."

"Shut up. I'll be back in bit." He made his way out of the apartment and walked down the dingy hallway, where the music was even louder. He leaned over the railing to look down onto the first floor of the once-factory. Kaoru had set up her stereo out in the bottom of the factory, and she was dancing. It wasn't the kind of dancing Kenshin would have expected from her, her being a stripper and all. She was letting herself go with the music, but it was a more sophisticated style of dance. She threw her body into harsh arches and made it look effortless. At one point, she took a huge leap into a grande jete with her arms up in a V. The line of her was amazing. It was obvious that she had had formal training at one point. There was a certain sadness in her dancing. It was not in her, necessarily, but more in that she was good at it and could never pursue it. She didn't have enough time. Her body was wasting away and wouldn't support such a laborious physical activity for much longer. At that, Kenshin was reminded once again of how young she really was. It made him want to grab her up in an embrace and shield her from the world. His fingers ached to touch that incredible body.

A force that he couldn't explain, led him down the stairs to watch more closely. Her eyes were close, an expression of bliss on her face. Dancing completed her. He had the fleeting thought that maybe the two together could complete each other. He didn't realize when he had begun to walk toward her, until he was standing directly in front of her. She opened her eyes as the song ended and jumped, shrieking. "Shit! What the fuck?!"

Kenshin ducked his head, sheepishly. "Sorry. You—You are an incredible dancer. Why didn't you go to school for it?"

She took a defensive stance, one hip askew, arms akimbo over her chest and her head tilted to the side, "What makes you think I didn't?"

"Why don't you dance professionally, then, instead of working at the Sex Kitten?"

She sighed, "I was earning the money to go to the NYU, but that seems a tad pointless now. Why do you care?"

"Because despite everything I am, I find myself attracted to you."

"Why?"

"You're weird. Why does every conversation we attempt to have have to become a debate?"

"Because you're usually being an asshole."

"I think we covered that last night. So why are you out here?"

"Because my apartment doesn't have enough space for this kind of dance."

"Do you like Rent?"

"It's my favorite."

"It was Tomoe's favorite," he murmured with a soft smile.

"You fiancé?" she asked timidly.

He nodded, "Yeah, she used to make me sing with her because she wanted to fantasize that I was Adam Pascal."

"I can't imagine why she would want to fantasize that you were someone else. You are just as good looking as Adam Pascal."

He looked at her suspiciously.

"What?! Am I evil because I think you are good looking?!"

"I'm just not used to people being so blunt with me."

"You haven't had much interaction since the...thing....have you?"

He shook his head, "Just Sano, Sou, Misao, Aoshi and Megumi."

"I didn't meet Megumi, did I?"

Kenshin shook his head, "Megumi Takani. is a nurse that Sano and I go to. She has AIDS, too and volunteers at the clinic. I'm surprised you don't know her. You have to be getting some kind of treatment since...well, you know."

Kaoru shrugged. "I go sometimes, but I don't think I've ever met her." There was an odd silence, "Um, do you want to come to my apartment?"

Kenshin hesitated, but both of the voices in his head were shouting 'Yes!' "...Yeah."

Kaoru smiled. "I promise I won't try to seduce you or anything." She motioned for him to follow her.

Kenshin laughed, and picked up her stereo, following her to a door near the back wall.

Author's Note: Ok...so...I think this moved too fast. Let me know what you think. I'm thinking about re-working it, but I'm just not sure. It seems awkward, like maybe there is too much tension between Ken and Kaoru. But I don't know what to do with it. I've got no freakin' clue. This is just my first draft, but I wanted to give you guys something for being so patient and wonderful. I need feedback on this one, kids!