Flushed Realizations


Feathers littered the floor, scattered around like fallen snow. Soft and pure. Pillow cases that once held pillows were throw carelessly, draped over couches or stuffed under chairs.

A young girl was snoring on the couch, feathers stuck in her dark hair, her long braid halfway undone. A tall man was sleeping upside down on a chair, his head on the floor, drool coming out of his mouth.

And there, just laying there in a chair, were a young man and woman. Her dark hair was mingling with his red, disappearing altogether in some areas. His arm was thrown protectively over her shoulders, the other around her waist, drawing her ever nearer. Her hand was pressed up to his chest, and the other was tangled in his long dark hair, cascading down his back in a shimmering of early morning light. Her head was nestled snugly under his, lips pressing to his neck. Legs were tangled, so no one could tell where his began and hers ended.

All in all, they looked like a longtime couple, perfectly comfortable with each other.

Violet eyes blinked open drowsily. His first reaction was confusion. Who's warm breath was on his neck? The next thing he thought of was Kaoru. Looking down, he sighed happily in relief and tightened his grip on her.

Blue eyes opened, and Kaoru automatically licked her dry lips, accidentally licking a neck. Wait, who's neck? A flash of color met her eyes, and she smiled lightly.

Ah…red.

Kenshin shuddered as her small tongue touched his neck, biting back a moan. 'Not now, not now, dear Kami-sama not now!'

Kaoru pressed further into the warmth that was Kenshin, and smiled.

Last night had been confusing, wonderful, and simply perfect.

The small pillow fight had escalated into a full-blown war, and the three ended up ganging up on Sanosuke. Then Misao had attacked Kaoru, and Kenshin had raced to her rescue.

Four hours later, tired, they fell asleep.

And now, here they were, sleepy and content, listening to the birds chirping and Misao snoring. Neither moved, and neither knew the other was awake.

And then Kaoru's eyes strayed away from Kenshin's beautiful face to a clock, and she jumped up, her cheek skimming across his.

"ITS ALREADY 7:30! We have to be downstairs by 8:00!"

Her cheek was now resting on his, and she groaned. He too was stifling a sound, and his head pushed against hers.

'What the HELL is wrong with me?'

To his deep displeasure, she reluctantly stood up and tugged on Misao, pulling the sleepy girl to other room.

"See you guys later. We have to go on a tour. Promise we'll meet up somewhere?"

Kenshin smiled and she felt her heart skip. 'What the hell is WRONG with me?'

"Sure…um…how about the lobby? Then we can go wherever we want."

She nodded, and off they headed, a drooling Misao leaning on Kaoru's shoulder.


Kaoru winced as bright sunlight flooded her face, all the people in the market pushing her this way and that. She sighed and pulled on Misao's hand, tugging her towards a booth. There were necklaces there, and she wanted souvenirs.

The class was taken to a mall-ish market, where they were selling authentic Japanese antiques and more. The class had split up into pairs, and Misao and Kaoru were fighting their way through a crowd.

"Misao, look at this!"

She held up a necklace with a violet stone that hung low on her neck, with an amber sheen on the outside of the gem. She smiled and turned to buy it. As she tapped her fingers, waiting for the cashier to finish, a flash of red caught her eyes. She blinked.

'Kenshin?'

Yes…that was him…but…

He looked so serious, so calm…he looked like Aoshi, void of any feelings. She saw Misao goggling over some earrings and snuck closer, curious as to what could have him so uptight.

A man was speaking to him, and he too held a serious look. However, he looked a little amused, even. She heard Kenshin's voice as she stood right behind him, a shelf blocking his view of her.

"Saito, what do you want? This is a strange place for you to want to meet."

"Quiet Battousai. You're needed. There's a new gang leader. Shishio." At Kenshin's startled look, his lip curled. "He's dealing in dangerous stuff. What he's messing with could affect all of Japan, and hundreds of people could be hurt. You've been asked to take him down."

"What? Take him down? But you know that I no longer-"

"I know perfectly well what you pretend. But the fact still remains that you are the Hitokiri Battousai. And they want you."

Kenshin's shoulders tensed, and he looked like he was contemplating. Finally, he jerkily nodded, sighing.

"I'll contact you."

Saito nodded and took off, pulling out a cigarette. Smoke trailed behind him and Kenshin watched him with distant eyes.


Kaoru sucked in a deep breath, telling herself, forcing herself to believe that nothing was happening. Her sweet Kenshin…he wasn't…

…it turned out…

All it took was for him to turn around, and pierce her with his violet gaze for her to realize.

Kenshin…her Kenshin would never hurt someone…perhaps he had. But…not now.

And in a sweet fascination, she watched as violet swarmed over and was changed to a deep, melting amber.


Kenshin's head was spinning. How much had she heard? Did she know what he had been…what he was becoming again? Oh, God…

He could feel Battousai coming to the surface, slight anger and fear sweeping him. Battousai did not like fear, but somehow the thought of losing Kaoru was the last thing he wanted. He took a step near her, closing his eyes and pushing Battousai down, so that when his eyes opened they were purple again.

He gave a typical smile, innocent, so full of innocence it sickened him to put on this mask. But he had to…

Kaoru stepped nearer. Somehow…she trusted this man. She had the first time she saw him. So she would not jump to conclusions. She would not mention that strange conversation. She wouldn't do anything but smile, at least for now.

"Oh, konnichiwa Kenshin! We'll be heading back to the hotel soon! Will we still be meeting?"

Oh, God, she sounded too happy. Better tone it down.

"Oh, yeah. I meant to ask you, what happened to Yahiko? I haven't seen him since Aoshi and he told us to shut up around 1:00 last night."

Kenshin smiled, obviously relieved. He motioned that he would walk her back to Misao, and shrugged his shoulders.

"He's staying around the hotel. I made Aoshi promise to keep an eye on him, since Sanosuke can't even take care of himself. He'll be fine."

Misao was motioning for them to hurry.

"Kaoru, our bus is leaving! We have to hurry."

Kenshin grinned, turning his head to the side, in that way that made her toes curl. How could some look so seducing and sweet at the same time? This man was going to kill her.


"Kaoru, I'm going to get you with Himura."

Kaoru blinked, turning her gaze from the window where she was watching Kenshin weave his way towards the exit. She was sure there was a dreamy look on her face, and blushed.

"Misao, we don't know hardly anything about him!"

Misao cocked an eyebrow.

"He's sweet, you trust him, he's only four years older than you, and every time you see him I think you're going to leave the ground. What more do you need to know? Ever hear of love at first sight?"

Kaoru blinked once again. Was that that warmth that spread through her body? Love? Indeed, when she first saw him, she felt herself going hot with a feeling she couldn't place, and it had grown larger and more consuming with each passing second she spent with him. She smiled and tilted her head. Maybe she was falling in love with Kenshin.

Her eyes widened. 'Oh God. I'll be leaving in two weeks! Two! I might never see him again!' The thought made her eyes shimmer with tears. She couldn't leave him! No!


Kaoru headed for her room. On the bus, she had made the worst and best discovery of her life. "I love him…I really do…"

God, how had she gotten herself into this?

She sat on her bed, biting her lip to hold the tears back.

Nope. That wasn't going to work. She flung her head to her pillow and sobbed her eyes out. She couldn't…leave him. No…she could never. Not now!

She cried harder, and then felt a weight signaling someone was sitting down on the bed. She assumed it was Misao, and sobbed.

"You were right! I can't leave now…I lo-"

"Kaoru-dono?"

She gasped and swung her head to stare into brilliant amethyst eyes.

"What's wrong? Daijobu ka?" (AN: Are you alright?)

She raised her teary eyes to his and smiled weakly.

"Daijobu…" (AN: I'm fine/its fine /its okay)

"Hardly. Kaoru-dono, what's wrong? You can tell me."

And as Kaoru looked at him, she knew. That she would never forget him, never. Even if she married another, her heart would belong to this naïve, sweet little man. And, before she could stop herself, she'd thrown herself at him and was sobbing into his shoulder, sighing in relief as his arms circled her and held her close, as close as they had been that morning.

'Don't let go of me now…'


Later that night, Kaoru was sitting in Kenshin and Sano's room, listening to the rooster-head and her idiot brother fighting about a card game. Aoshi and Misao were discussing fighting techniques, and Kenshin was sitting next to her, reading a book.

Or, so he pretended. If he had been, his eyes would have moved from the word 'Once', at the beginning. Instead, his eyes stayed still, and she could practically feel him thinking. She playfully poked him and successfully startled him out of his pensive state, earning an endearing 'Oro!' in the process.

She lay her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"Arigatou Kenshin. And gomen…I shouldn't have broken down on you like that. Just…homesickness I guess. (AN: I'm assuming you know 'Arigatou' means 'thank you', and that gomen (or gomen nasai) means 'I'm sorry.')

He smiled and placed his head on hers, closing his eyes.

"Daijobu, Kaoru-dono. You can always trust me."

"Hey, you two cuddly idiots! Get over here."

"Busu, stop fawning over Kenshin!"

"Oro!"

"BUSU! I'll show you, little PIG!"

Misao glanced up from a printout with several fighting stances, and raised an eyebrow, seeing Kenshin trying to restrain Kaoru while Yahiko made faces and taunted Sano and the poor girl, Sano yelling at all of them. Aoshi's mouth turned up a bit, and he narrowed ice blue eyes, somewhat melted it seemed, on the girl.

"A normal night, once again."


"Okay."

Kaoru was now sitting on Kenshin, and his arms were around her waist, effectively holding her in place. She pouted and folded her arms, sticking her tongue out at Yahiko, who had been hung up bythe collar of his shirton a bokken that was hanging from Sano's hand. The tall man cleared his throat, and looked at the group.

"Okay. I've been thinking, and I'm in a good mood. So we'll be having a little party. Inviting friends and such. You girls can have some classmates too. We'll open our doors so we have more room." (AN: That's where two of you girls come in! You'll be acting as some of the girls, so be ready!)

Kaoru practically radiated happiness. Being in Japan, going to a party, AND meeting Kenshin? Could this trip get any better?

"HEY!"

Yahiko pouted, and crossed his arms.

"Like I'm going to stay in a room all night, listening to you idiot adults."

At this, Aoshi and Misao exchanged rather frightening evil glances. 'What the hell are they up to?' Kaoru thought, tilting her and blushing as Kenshin's hair stroked her cheek.

Yahiko pulled himself off of the bokken and made a huffing sound, heading for his room. As soon as he left the room, Misao burst out laughing, and Aoshi smiled softly.

"What?" Kaoru asked, completely confused.

"We…we…" Misao was apparently having trouble breathing through her laughter, and Aoshi wasn't volunteering any information, so Kaoru threw up her hands in frustration and leaned back on Kenshin's chest, frowning.

"We…we…brought…"

"WHAT THE HELL?"

Yahiko's voice echoed across the hall, and an excited squeal and yell of joy followed, as Misao sat up and smiled at Aoshi.

A moment later, Yahiko came in, tugging behind him-


"Tsubame!"

"It was Misao and Aoshi-san who brought me here. They apparently thought Yahiko was lonely, and dad saw no problem with me coming, so…here I am," Tsubame managed to get out through hugs from Kaoru.

"She was just in there, sitting on my bed. I nearly had a heart attack."

Kaoru laughed, falling back on the couch and, incidentally (so she says), Kenshin. He grunted and grabbed her shoulders to keep her from falling fully on him. She blushed and sat up, still half-way on him.

"This is so wonderful! Now, we'll have to plan the party, and make sure that Ms. Tae doesn't find out. I'd rather not be kicked off now, thank you very much. So, what are we going to do?"

Sano smiled, a rather wicked grin that would have made any girl swoon. Too bad all the girls currently in the room were staring at their own sets of men.

"Leave that to me. I once knew Ms. Tae's father. I'll get her set up."

Kenshin rolled his eyes and leaned forward to whisper in Kaoru's ear, "We're all doomed."

His breath tickled her ear, and sent shivers down her neck that escalated as they lowered down her body, and she blushed brightly. She nodded, causing his hair to caress her face once more. 'Was he really that close?' She leaned back slightly to test and barely moved an inch. Yep, he was pretty close.

And she was loving every damn minute of it.

As she leaned back, she could feel his breathing rate increase, and smiled deviously to herself. He was obviously at least physically attracted to her. She rested her full weight on him, pressed closer than ever and laying her head on his shoulder, partially under his head. Her eyes gazed at that neck, one she had licked (on accident, mind you) that morning.

And she was now resisting the urge to kiss him senseless and repeat the action. Unfortunately, (even if they were arguing over party plans, threatening to strangle people with their braids, flirting shyly as children should, or looking on in wry amusement) their friends were still in the room.

She turned her head so her face was under his head fully, and felt his arms wrap around her. She suddenly felt very sleepy, her senses lulled by the sounds of good-natured fighting and Kenshin's exotic smell, of the forest and of swords.

And, as she drifted off to sleep, she forgot completely about the strange conversation she had heard that afternoon. She forgot about 'Saito', whoever he was, and about Kenshin's strange expression. She forgot anything existed but the two of them.

It was just Kenshin, and his arms around her, that mattered. And she had never felt so right before. Never felt so loved. And she never wanted this to end. She leaned up, half conscious, and brushed her lips across his in a chaste kiss, jumping from the shock emitted. Then, smiling at his confused expression, she leaned back down and fell asleep.

Nothing mattered but Kenshin. Nothing but that sweet purple light, overlaying gold darkness…


O.O

WAHAA! I made them kiss! -giggles insanely- I think this was my favorite chapter so far.

OMG! I am so happy!

One, its Saturday, and even though by the time I post this it won't be, this is the day RK, Inuyasha, Yu Yu Hakusho, and…a bunch of other shows come on.

PLUS, last night, 'To Reveal All' was completed. One of the best stories I've ever read. It was mind-blowing. I loved every moment, and encourage all KK fans to read it.

Also updated was 'The Forgotten Night', which kicks ass! That story is awesome! Mind-tingling.

PLUS! Animeobssessed3191 updated a one-shot. AND I got a RuroKen manga. This is the best weekend of my life. Really. -happy sigh-

Okay, girls. Two of you had your parts mentioned. Those playing the girls will be:

Animeobssessed3191, and Yu-Gi-Ah 2.0.

The other girl never replied, so I may not be using her. The offer of the spy still stands for her! If she wants it, she can have it. But, right now, it'll just be my own charrie.

And now some closing notes from my muses:

Kenshin: ...-blink-

Bri: What?

Meg: ... ;;; Nevermind. Just say you enjoyed the chapter, Bri-chan.

Bri: You enjoyed the chapter, Bri-chan.

Meg: Forget it. -sigh-

Arigatou for reading, dear readers.

Ja ne, minna-san!

Bri: Cow and Chicken!

Chee: Stop it! 9.9