INCOMPLETE
By: Chiki Yumeshisa
Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin….all original ideas/characters are mine to claim.
AN: WOW! Thanks for the responses guys, it's really touching! This chapter ahead is going to be a fairly bumpy ride, but I hope you all pay very close attention to what is being said here as of course, all details will be used later on in the story (as always). As to who the fiancé is, well, everyone will have to read to find out!
There is some character introduction here, go figure. Enjoy!
>Chiki
Warnings: None.
CHAPTER 1
- The Stranger -
You can imagine my surprise when a random stranger came up to me and spoke. His exact words were even more surprising. "Hey, beautiful. A smile would better suit your pretty face."
I stared up at him, wondering if he were some sort of perverted man come off the street. I had had too many of those, and I could never quite get used to it.
I was traveling back to the University after having spent the Reading Week at my friend's house, studying for the upcoming examinations. I was not looking forward to them, but who in their right mind would be eager? I honestly just wanted to get them over and done with.
December was the time of the year when I really hit the low, getting depressed. My grades were not the greatest, and the weather and homesickness were not helping me any. Not to mention the fact that I was sick again. Everything seemed against me, and I had had enough.
It was a man, a year or two older than me, I suppose. He had dark brown hair and deep blue eyes. Those were probably contacts though, as I could tell he was Asian. He was a student, apparently, because on the front of his dark blue sweater were the words "UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO" written in big, bold white letters.
Blinking, I felt my cheeks redden slightly. Embarrassed, but at the same time, touched by his words, I couldn't help but smile. He was smiling down at me too, and I quickly looked away, feeling an overwhelming sense of self-consciousness grip me. He was not drop-dead handsome, but I liked his smile.
When I looked up again, he was getting ready to get off the train. I stood as well, preparing to exit, my eyes trained on the back of his head. But he went the opposite direction, and I lost him in the huge crowd that made their way up the stairs.
As I was jostled upward, I couldn't help but reflect on his words, and despite myself, I smiled again, a warm feeling curling in my stomach. Maybe the day wouldn't be that bad after all.
It had been a very tiring week, as my friends and I had studied hard until the early hours of the morning every day. Granted, I was not the best in my subjects, but I still tried. As much as I wanted to give up, I kept telling myself that I only had two years left. I had to keep going.
"The Star?" Someone asked me, and I blinked, snapping out of my thoughts. The man was standing at the subway station's exit, holding out a newspaper to me. His gaze looked uncertain as he wagged the paper in my face. I realized that I was still smiling stupidly, from the remark that the stranger had given me. Feeling like an idiot, I politely held up my hands, declining the offer, before adjusting the bag strap on my shoulder.
How absolutely embarrassing!
Absently, I exited the subway station and began to walk down the street, toward the dormitories. Already the campus was filled with students trudging through the ankle deep snow (which actually had turned into ankle-deep slush) and cars were jammed in traffic at the intersection.
My breath rose in a cloudy mist as I let out a sigh. At least it wasn't as cold as it had been the day before. I had been positive my fingers would fall right off, even in the warm blue mittens I had on. If there was one thing I hated, it was the cold.
It took me a while to get to Whitney Hall, the UC's dormitory building. Because it was so cold out, my fingers were shaking so badly that I dropped my keys twice and when I finally got the right key in, it got stuck. Finally, the Porter came around to see what was going on and just let me through. I bet he was feeling sorry for me, but I was just grateful that I would be able to get in to where it was warm.
A few heads looked up to greet me as I wandered past the common room and made a beeline for my room.
Joanna, my roommate, was already in there, talking on the phone when I entered. She smiled and waved and I returned the former, though, weakly.
"Kaoru just got in." She announced to her friend on the line. She pushed her sand brown hair out of her face before she turned to me. "Ji says 'hi'."
I rolled my eyes and took off my boots, neatly arranging them to face the doorway alongside hers after making sure they were dried. Ji was a friend that Joanna had met in her biology class during the year that she was absolutely crazy over. She talked to him all the time, talked of him day and night, and once in a while let me speak with him over the telephone. Despite her obvious obsession over him, I had never met him before.
"Tell Ji that I say hi too." I said, dropping my bag onto the floor and flinging myself onto the bed. It made a creaking sound, as it to protest my weight. Home sweet home.
Or, home away from home.
Last year I had had a room all to myself because I believed I needed the peace and quiet to do well in school. But that easily led to depression and loneliness, even though I had befriended many people on the floor. When left alone, I had the chance to dream about home, and fret over my every assignment. I had made up my mind that that would not happen again.
Thus, when I had first met Joanna, I had been rather shy. She was a polish girl, the same age as me, but already in her third year of studies. She was easy to get along with, and she was always considerate. At first we had hardly spoken, but now, we were the best of friends.
Since it was still quiet hours, her radio was off. Usually, it would be blaring any Pop song she could get her hands on.
Finally, she put the phone down, and turned to me. "Welcome back." She said, swiveling in her chair. "How was your week?"
I propped myself up on my elbows. "It was great." I spared her the torturing details. "I bet you had a blast without me here."
She winked. "Oh, yeah. While you were gone, I made intimate contact with my textbooks and had a secret relationship with my computer and lab notes." Her sarcasm was light, and I laughed.
"Something you want with Ji?" I asked, grinning.
She blushed. "I told you, I do not like him that way. Besides, we don't have chemistry, together."
I smirked. "No, you're right: you don't. You have biology together on Tuesdays at 8. Don't you think I already know that?"
If she had a pillow she would have thrown it at me. "I don't mean it like that." She scowled. "We're not meant for each other. He's just a friend."
The smirk on my face refused to leave. "Sure. That's what they all say." I liked to tease, and luckily, she never got offended. It came naturally as I would always tease Misao when I had been back in Japan.
It had been a year already. Since the University of Tokyo had not accepted me, I had decided to go abroad, as had been my dream since I was a little girl. My parents had been supportive enough, so I chose Canada, where I had an aunt who was willing to let me stay with her, and a known university that had accepted me into its community.
When my aunt gave birth to her baby, I decided to move onto campus. And there I've stayed since. Granted, the food wasn't as good, but I could always go back up to Scarborough and eat some good food at my aunt's again. But if there was one thing I hated, it was imposing on someone else.
Joanna sighed and threw her hands up, a sign of defeat.
"When do I get to meet this guy, Jo? It's already almost Christmas time and I have never even seen a picture of him!"
"Ji doesn't like pictures." She said, defensively. "And we'll get together sometime."
"When?" I demanded.
She stopped her swiveling and began to tap her foot. "Well, since The Union is closed for reading week, we'll have to go out to eat for dinner. I'm sure he can come along. That is, if it's okay with you."
The talk of food made me hungry already, but it wasn't even lunch time yet. "That's okay with me." I fumbled for a moment to find a comfortable pair of pants and a sweater and changed into them quickly.
"In the meantime," She said, "you have to help me with my Japanese."
0-0-0-0-0-0-0 (The Union is the name of the Dining Hall of the UC).
Quiet hours ended with a bang. Literally. I had fallen asleep right before lunch time and was woken rudely to the sound of two cars crashing outside.
Even Joanna looked up from her studying, and she came over to the window beside my bed to look out.
Groggily, I rubbed my eyes and fought with my covers to untangle myself before joining her at the window.
Sure enough, it had been a bad accident. A small blue Sedan had crashed into an oncoming truck that had the words "" on it. I gasped when I saw the flames and the wreckage.
The front of the Sedan was beyond repair, and the smoke that engulfed the car made it almost impossible to see what remained of it. The driver to the truck came tumbling out of his car, and though the words he was saying could not be heard from my window, the look on his face and his gestures were enough to show how badly shaken and how upset he was.
The problem was: the driver of the Sedan was not getting out.
Apparently, we were not the only ones watching, as people began to crowd around. A few of them tried to venture close, perhaps wanting to try and save the driver of the Sedan. A strange feeling tightened in my gut, and I leaned in closer, to try and get a better view.
Had we been part of that crowd down below, I would not have seen anything. As it was, we had a room on the second floor, so we were able to see above everybody's heads. Added to all the noise and confusion came the sound of sirens.
The feeling heightened as I watched some of the firemen jump out of their vehicles and start the pumps. The other firemen dove straight into the flames, no doubt wanting to save the man inside.
Joanna shifted in her spot next to me. "I don't think he's….."
"No, don't say it!" My hand went up to her mouth, rather roughly, I'll admit, and it made her jump. I could feel tears come to my eyes. "Don't say anything!"
She blinked and slowly removed my hand. "Kaoru? What's wrong?"
My chest was heaving and I bit my lip, telling myself to calm down. As hard as I tried to, I could not force a smile onto my face. My outburst had startled even me, and I had thought that fires no longer frightened me. How wrong I was!
She never replied, as she returned to the window, to see what was going on. Reluctantly, I did too, and after what seemed like an eternity, we saw a man being pulled out of the Sedan.
My mind went blank when I saw the figure and I swear my heart stopped thumping.
The tightening feeling in my gut turned empty, and I suddenly felt sick. I didn't bother to watch what happened next as I got up and stumbled to the doorway, and into the hall.
It was cold there, and my bare feet on the floor were very uncomfortable.
Why did things always happen in December!
I was not aware of the tears on my cheeks.
To Be Continued…..
AN: The chapter just….stopped! I wanted so much more to be included, but the story wants to unravel itself slowly. So that means everyone will have to wait for the next installment. To my reviewers: erica6060, Bethy-kun, Marisa, nes, kawaii meeh, Microburst#16, dreamwings, Queeney, paisita, Peachie-Chan, xh3LLox, Liliess, Crystal Winds, Ice Angel Kaoru, Kuro-Mei
ai so – Ai-nee it's great to hear from you again. You live! . I'm glad that you like it and yes, I've based it off of things we know. I hope you enjoy. It's going to be a tough one to write.
Sagitarious Devil – As to who the brother is, you'll have to wait and see.
Mademoiselle Anime -I'm far from writing like a real author does, so you comparing me to one really honors me. Thank you! I'll do my best to live up to that expectation.
u1yuan – I don't think all the RK characters will be in this fic, but I'll do my best to incorporate them!
Thank you all for reading and reviewing! I hope you enjoyed this chapter too, and I am looking forward to those reviews again. Please be so kind as to leave me one before you exit the window. The more reviews, the faster I update, as I don't have a definite update schedule for this fanfic. Please be so kind! Thank you all again!