A/N: I'm so glad about all the feedback that I got with my first chapter! (insert out of character squeal here). Well anyway, here's the second chapter for you all, as promised. So R&R! There'll be more Sano coming your way, don't worry.
DAY ONE
Kenshin POV:
I guess that slip of the tongue earlier was my fault entirely…I was the one who told Sanosuke of all people that I loved Miss Kaoru. But it was a good thing that I covered that up. Even so, I can't be that careless around him. But anyway, I just got myself in a horrible predicament. Now I have to make love to her…all in a week…and the thing is, she doesn't even have a clue. See, Himura…you're supposed to be enjoying your bath right now but all you can think of is the safety of Miss Kaoru… I let out a moan as I massage my temples, submerging the majority of my body.
Miss Kaoru is in fact very special to me but now I have to do this. I don't know if she'll get scared and run away but if she doesn't, and if she is willing to do this with me, she probably should get used to what a male body is capable of doing. I don't want to scare her…no, I would never want that for her. I really do love her with all of my heart and she deserves the best. I want to repay her kindness and show her that I care. I guess that having to go through with Sano's bet isn't entirely a bad thing after all. You see, recently I've been trying to fight an aching for something… lately, I've been wanting to tell her that I love her.
Either this is just great timing or Buddha is smiling down on me for whatever reason. I have to ease Miss Kaoru into something like this. If I can't do that then I won't go through with the deal. There's no other way around it. I won't hurt her to make up for something else. I feel a smile creep to my cheeks. I'm glad that I still have my honor…unlike a certain someone…who's made my life a living hell and the person who got me into this mess! But I won't mention any names, that I won't…
Miss Kaoru would surely worry if I didn't show up around the doujo…I've been in the baths for a long time now…about an hour and a half. I've been sitting here just thinking about all this. It's funny…I never would have seen myself in such a mess before but here I am, about to go insane only because I have to prove my manhood in a matter of seven days! Wait a second… before I start scolding myself even more… did…I just hear a click? Is someone in here?
I suddenly stand and my eyes graze the entire area. They pause on the floor. I notice two bare feet…bare ankles…bare…oh my…KAMI-SAMA! Help me!
Kaoru POV:
Kenshin's not prancing around the house with his usual basket of laundry…I wonder where he could have gotten to? Oh well, maybe I should go and find him or something. I mean, it beats sitting in my room all day and waiting for Yahiko to come and ask me to train him. So I open my door and walk out into the hallway, looking left and right. No Kenshin. Okay, but my search has just begun.
The kitchen! Yes he must be in the kitchen. After all, he does like to cook so he must be in there. My feet shuffle down the hardwood floors and my gi flaps in the wind as I sprint toward the kitchen. Odd. I don't smell any lunch being cooked. That's Kenshin's favorite meal too… Nevertheless, I peek inside and notice a cold bowl of ramen sitting on the counter. That and no Kenshin. I hear myself let out a disgruntled moan. Where could he be?
Of course! The training hall! Yahiko must have asked him to be his sensei for a change. Maybe I can find him in there. Again, I pick up my feet, now jogging toward the other side of the doujo. The sun hits my face as I reach the doors to the hall. It feels nice and I smile contently for a moment, almost forgetting that I'm on a mission to find Kenshin. Silly me. So I slide open the door and what do I find? Nothing at all. I see no mess of red hair and no magenta gi. There was no trace of Kenshin in the training hall, that's for sure.
See, he can't be in his room because I would have heard him when I came out of my room. I know. He must be out shopping. Either that, or he's out dealing with small matters concerning the police chief. I don't know why I let myself worry so much. He's a man. He knows how to take care of himself. Mmm, and speaking of taking care…I think I could use a bath. Getting all of this dirt and grime out of my hair is just what I needed to do anyway… so I give up on my search for Kenshin and head for the bathhouse. My walk there is so peaceful and since there isn't anyone around, I take off my gi.
Soon enough, I am right in front of the door. I just want to take off all my clothes and jump in. I always love the cooling sensation of the water in the tub. I'm still such a child, I know… So I take off my hakama and the rest of my garments, slowly sliding the door open. It's almost as if I feel someone's presence in there. Oh how could that be? No one's home after all! No…one…at…all…
Oh my…what a body. My eyes stop wandering once I see him. Wow. I can feel my cheeks burning but I don't do a thing about it. I'm way too busy roaming his figure, noticing everything about him that I never could before. And…wow. I never noticed that he was that big. You know what I'm talking about, don't you girls? What I laid eyes upon just now…is something that no female could avoid looking at! It's what you first allow your eyes to see. Naturally, my eyes were of no exception and once I realized I was gawking at such a heavenly sight, I almost forgot that I too, was in the nude.
Kenshin paused once he saw Kaoru naked. Kaoru paused once she saw Kenshin naked. Both could not speak and all they did was look at each other, mouths hanging wide open. But Kenshin realized that he was staring, suddenly snapping himself out of his dream-like stupor. "Miss Kaoru…I didn't mean to!" He sat back down, the water's surface concealing his lower region. "Take my towel," he said again, politely shielding his eyes and tossing it to her so that she could wrap it around her body. "I'm so sorry for looking at you like that…I have no right to…"
"It's fine, Kenshin…I mean, I did the same thing, right?" Kenshin's eyes widened once he looked at her embarrassed face. She was blushing rather obviously and Kenshin laughed inwardly. She was as embarrassed as he was. "Um…I'll come back later then, Kenshin. Again, I'm so sorry for walking in on you like…that."
"No, it was my fault for not letting you know that I would be in the bathhouse. Besides, I've been in here for a good hour and a half so it's only fair that I let you have a turn now, correct?" Kaoru nodded and turned herself around, allowing Kenshin to climb out of the tub and grab a fresh towel. He wrapped it loosely around his waist and Kaoru slowly turned around to see if he was done. Her heart skipped a beat again. Just catching the sight of his chest was something that made her quite uneasy. "Is something wrong, Miss Kaoru?"
"Um, no…it's just that I don't walk in on a naked man everyday, you know…" She fanned herself with her hand and shook her head.
"I apologize for that in the truest sense, that I do." Kenshin looked back at the tub and noticed a disgusting film of grime on top of the water. "Aah, Miss Kaoru…I can't let you bathe in such unsanitary conditions…" He muttered, walking back to the tub and swirling his forefinger in the dirty buildup of bathwater mixed with oil and filth. "Maybe you should come back later and take a bath. At least let me make up for what I did before by fixing all this for you, Miss Kaoru."
"Kenshin, cleaning the tub is a major chore! I don't want you breaking your back over something that's really not all that important," she protested, waving a finger at him. "Now you listen here! I don't want you cleaning this behind my back when I specifically told you not to! Understand?" Kenshin's eyes widened. "Answer me!"
"Hai, hai!" Kenshin snapped up and straightened his back out, afraid to step out of line. He feared that such a violent temper would set back his plan to make love to her. "I will simply go out and stoke the fires for you then…if that is all right with you now."
"Umm…you don't have to…" Kaoru said as she twiddled her thumbs, looking away from him. She pressed the towel closer against her figure, afraid that her inner conscience would win and take over her rational way of thinking. She didn't want to make herself plant delectable and feverish kisses all over that well toned bare chest of his…or at least she hoped that she didn't want to. "Yeah…it would be better if you just…left. I think the heat is getting to the both of us. It is summer after all."
"Natsu…" Kenshin muttered under his breath. "That is my favorite season, that it is." Kaoru smiled. "I will leave you alone now Miss Kaoru so you should take care and relax…especially after what just happened." He turned to the door, slid it open and then slid it shut in one unambiguous motion. After he was concealed from her sight, he felt his shoulders drop. "Kami-sama…that was just bad timing, that it was… Ohh, I think I need to take a trip to the well tonight, that I do…"
"She saw you…WHAT?" Sanosuke slapped his sake jug down on his hardwood floor, his fishbone falling out of his mouth as it hung open unconsciously. Kenshin looked red in the cheeks, avoiding any and all eye contact with Sanosuke. "What the fuck?! Are you sure you were sober when this all happened? Or have you miraculously gained some sense of humor and wanna mess around a little bit…?"
"Sano, we both know I'm not very funny… this is the truth, that it is."
He reclined back against a wall. "Okay…so what if it is? You didn't take advantage of the situation did ya? No… I didn't think Mr. It's-All-About-The-People would be capable of doin' something like that." Kenshin raised an eyebrow. With the tone that Sanosuke just used, he was sure that he meant for that statement to be far from a compliment. "If you don't wanna be called GAY for the rest of your life, you'd better get your act together and cut the polite crap. You gotta start learnin' that things happen for a reason! The next time you catch her naked like that, take her then!"
"But Sano! That isn't right and you know it!"
"Sure I do!"
"So then why would you even suggest such a thing? You're making it sound like I should rape her! …Which you know that I would rather die first than do such a horrible thing to her." Sanosuke nodded, recomposing himself by pulling out a random saucer from his cabinet and pouring himself a bit of sake. "It's a good thing that I have a week to do this! Otherwise, I know that I wouldn't be able to go through with it… see, I don't know about you but I don't like pressuring a woman to do this kind of thing. And for all I know, Kaoru might not be ready for this yet… she is still eighteen!"
"Damn, drinkin' outta this dinky saucer sure is pretty annoying!" Sanosuke glared at the offending object, before promptly throwing it into the wall. He smirked in triumph as it smashed.
"Were you even listening to a word I just said?!?"
"Aah, somethin' about getting Jou-chan pregnant right? Need some pointers?"
"No!" Kenshin cried, disgusted. "I can't let myself do that! I'd have to be married to her first! You know that as much as I do!"
"Umm…no!" came the reply of the dull, half-witted, in-the-process-of-getting-wasted younger man. "Who's morals are you studyin' under anyways? Geez, grow some balls man!" Kenshin's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. He really didn't have to visit Sanosuke in the row house in the first place. In fact, he knew that once he knocked on his friend's door, he was going to regret it. "Whatever…what you do from this point on, is your headache, not mine. Kami knows that I don't need any of your crap piled onto my shoulders once I'm in hangover mode. 'Sup to you to do her or not so you better get with it! Day one is comin' to a close!" ---
A/N: And here's the finale of the second chapter! Hope you liked it and/or thought it was funny. Please review! There's going to be a chapter for each day in the week, so we cleared day one. Six more to go. Whew. Thanks a lot for the previous feedback, bye!
Son Christine
