AN: Merciless Hades! So much has happened! Alrighty. I was, again, grounded for grades. I've had this written for a while but my sister, Protector of Meladon is ALWAYS ON THE FREAKING COMPUTER AND NEVER LETS ME HAVE JUST 15 &$# minutes!!!
Anyhow. Erm...to answer one of my reviewers, there will be no Sano/Megumi. And since the stupid effing bar things don't work, italicized items are THOUGTS.That having been said...onto the story! (I know may of you will be pleased with what happens in this chapter..!! Read read read!!!)
-------------------------
"I can't believe this is happening. This is my second trip to the hospital…first Kaoru gets hit by a car and then this?" Kenshin was pacing back and forth in the lobby reserved for relatives of patients that had been taken to the emergency room. Amakusa and Saitou were inside the aforementioned enclosure, while the roommates had stationed themselves away from the uptight men. Kaoru and Misao were among them, biting their nails and fretting about their friend.
"She had just told us today too, about her being sick…" Misao sniffed, wiping her eyes with Soujiro's shirt. Much to Soujiro's horror, a black mascara stain smeared across the shirt, and Misao didn't even bother to notice what she had done.
"Yeah. She must go through this all the time. But she never knows if it'll be the last time…" Kaoru nodded. Sanosuke had been silent for a while, lighting up if a doctor came in his general direction.
"She told you about this?" Sano asked.
"Just today, yes. She didn't really look like she wanted to." Kaoru responded.
"Did she say anything else?"
"Just…not to tell you…she wanted to do that later." Misao added wearily.
Sanosuke was really peeved by Magdaria's choice of confidants. He assumed that he'd be the first to know something like that.
"Sano, you should understand. She didn't want to tell you too soon because she was afraid you'd back off or just feel sorry for her." Misao added.
Kenshin nodded. Sano shrugged and grunted, not really wanting to forgive Magdaria for her lack of trust, but Misao had a point. He understood why, he was just disappointed that she thought he would act that way.
"Are you all waiting for a Muto, Magdaria?" a nurse came around the corner with a clipboard, and she looked back down at it hesitantly.
"Yes!" Sano snapped back to attention. Saitou and Amakusa came out of the waiting room to hear the news.
"She's all right again. Mr. Saitou, before you go and see your niece, the doctor would like to discuss with you new treatment ideas. As for the rest of you, try not to go in more than two or three at a time. She really needs to rest up…and don't be alarmed by the oxygen hose …that's just in case she has a repeat attack."
Sano practically flew down the hall before he realized he didn't know the room number, and had to be dragged to the other side of the hospital by Kenshin. Amakusa went in first, and no one accompanied him. After he left, Sano was practically jumping up and down.
"Go on ahead…we'll wait before we start going in pairs." Kenshin nodded. Aoshi, ever silent, opened the door for Sano. He thanked them all, and went inside to sit with Magdaria.
--------------
Magdaria stirred and opened her eyes. She thought Amakusa had left her to sleep. Surprised, she turned over to see Sanosuke. She wanted to kiss him, she wanted him to hold her, but she remembered that she had passed out in the middle of a disagreement. Sano seemed to remember this too and he approached cautiously.
"Magdaria…" he started. Sano tried to keep his cool, but found it impossible. He didn't know whether to scream or cry. "Why didn't you tell me?" his accusation came out a mix between the two conflicting emotions. Magdaria looked startled, then took on an equally pained face.
"I didn't want you to hang onto me out of pity, Sano. I was going to tell you eventually."
"You don't trust me? Are you trying to tell me you don't-"
"That's hardly fair, now." Magdaria shot back. "You never told me about the drugs. Uncle Saitou told me-"
"What the fuck did that ass wipe tell you now?"
"Sanosuke, I forbid you to speak of my uncle in that tone!"
"What the fuck!" Sano threw his hands up in frustration. Magdaria huffed and turned to lay on her back. She stared up at the ceiling to prepare her words.
"Sanosuke, Uncle Saitou more or less informed me that you had done 'every drug in the book' and that you weren't to be dealt with. Now is that true or not?"
"I have NOT done every drug in the book, thank you very much. I went through some painful shit getting off of them by myself without rehab, but I did it, goddamnit. I did it for you."
"So that's why you were sick that one time."
"And this is why you're always out of breath and passing out."
"I can't believe you didn't tell me-"
"I can't believe you didn't tell ME!"
"Get OUT of my room."
"Fine, you crazy bitch." Sano jerked up out of his chair and headed for the door.
"Fine!" she shouted after him. The door was closed forcefully and Magdaria sat in her white room in silence. She listened to her own breathing, and she choked back a sob.
All of ten seconds later, Sano came bursting back into the room, his voice cracking as he rushed to her bedside.
"I didn't mean to call you a crazy bitch!" Sano exclaimed, on the verge of wailing, and he fell over Magdaria's small form as she cried and held him.
"I'm sorry too, I didn't mean any of it, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner." Magdaria showered him with kisses, which perked Sano's mood up considerably as he returned her favors with kisses of his own.
And what with the lovers' ill luck, it was about then that Saitou walked in.
-----------------
Kamatari couldn't stop thinking about him. He was so nice, polite, a real gentleman, if you asked Kamatari. He was the dream, the prince charming, everything a girl - er - anyone, he supposed, would want. Kamatari delved further into the recesses of his overactive imagination as he fondly put together his fantasy wedding. Candles, fresh flowers, a string quartet, Aoshi in a tux…
"Kamatari! Hey!" A hand hesitantly touched his shoulder and Kamatari turned around to see the polite smile of Aoshi. Kamatari thought that the color might be draining from his face from his start, but quickly felt the color return in a burning blush.
"Are…you okay?" Aoshi asked, backing up a bit. Kamatari regretted his absurd idea immediately: Aoshi would never marry him…even if he was gay. Their personalities just didn't fit. Kamatari wasn't even sure yet of whether he wanted to wear a dress or a suit at his own wedding. Sighing, Kamatari answered.
"Nothing."
"You're looking at me funny." Aoshi's features of embarrassment were replaced by determined, amused ones. Kamatari brightened up. Aoshi was his friend. He didn't care that Kamatari was gay…well, not particularly, anyway. There had been the occasional slip up on Kamatari's part that had led Aoshi to ignore his phone calls for weeks, but everything was patched up in the end. Kamatari supposed that Aoshi just felt sorry for him and was still embarrassed about the situation that had occurred at the karaoke bar.
"How's that girl, Magdaria?"
"Oh, Sano's girlfriend? She's doing all right. Just a little tired." Aoshi shrugged. He had different things on his mind, and missed the look of rekindled hope on Kamatari's face.
YES YES YES YES YES!!! MAGDARIA ISN'T HIS LOVE INTEREST!!! Kamatari did a little dance in his head. Aoshi stirred his coffee a few more times and took a sip, choking back his surprise at the overheated liquid.
"Dammit! I think I burned my tongue…" Aoshi winced as he coughed. Kamatari giggled.
"Anyhow…Kamatari, I was wondering if you could help me. This girl, Arashi, she asked me to join her for dinner one night next week, and I was wondering if you had any sort of advice I could use."
Kamatari's heart sank. Well, first it plummeted through the atmosphere, caught fire, hurtled into the ocean and sank to the bottom as a charred mess. Metaphorically speaking, anyway.
Aoshi ran a hand through his hair. "Then, sometime next week I need to confront Daisuke, and possibly kick his ass, but Soujiro won't let me go without him and I'm afraid he's going to come to some serious injury. Soujiro is barely half my height. And when Misao wears heels he always gets pissed because it makes her taller than him."
Kamatari wanted to fall on his face and die. Aoshi was connected to so many people, had other loyalties, better friends. The list went on, and Kamatari wondered why Aoshi bothered to keep their short-lived friendship at all.
-----------------------
Kenshin dumped the contents of his shopping basket onto the counter. The teen girl behind the register snapped her gum with indifference and pulled up the first item over the scanner. Hair dye. No big deal. Just a darker shade of red, Kenshin had been wanting a change. A pack of mechanical pencils for his Trig class, toothpaste Aoshi had asked him to get. Then there was a compact of foundation, black nail polish "onyx" eye shadow, liquid eyeliner, and three things of chap stick.
The girl snapped her gum again, and looked up at Kenshin as if he belonged in a medical facility for people with terminal head injuries.
"My name is Mufasa. Mars sends amiable greetings, earthling." Kenshin replied with utmost seriousness. The girl, after much debating, decided to ignore him. She pointed to the total on the window of her computer, and Kenshin gladly paid her. He was in a rush to get to an early Saturday band practice, and he eagerly sped away in his Camry. Before band practice, however, he had promised to spend a little time with Ayame and Suzume at the park after they had eaten their breakfast. His mind being preoccupied, he turned the corner without thinking about his speed….
And promptly slammed on the brakes.
"Hey!" he shouted, sticking his head out the window.
"Bastard!" the girl yelled back. Both stopped their yelling, however, and stared in disbelief at the other.
"Kaoru?!"
"Kenshin?!"
"Do you have a thing for being hit by cars?" Kenshin asked as Kaoru walked up to his window.
"No," she replied stiffly. "You were speeding."
"Sorry…I was thinking about other stuff. What are you doing out here?"
"Went to a kendo match, but sensei forgot to give me a ride back to the dorms." Kaoru rolled her eyes. Kenshin hit the button on his side of the door, unlocking the rest of the car.
"Get in. I can take you back. I've just got to run a couple of errands first."
"You sure?" Kaoru asked, hesitantly.
"Unless you want me to be a lousy shithead and drive away, leaving you stranded." Kenshin shrugged. Kaoru blushed and hopped into the car, pulling the seatbelt over her.
"So what do you have to do first?" she asked as Kenshin picked up speed, driving away from the curb. Kenshin shrugged again and made a few impassive noises. Kaoru glowered at him as she pulled her dark black hair back into a fresh ponytail (since several strands had been falling out).
"I have to go play with my sisters a bit in the park before I have to go to a band practice."
"Kenshin! That means I'll have to meet your parents…and…your sisters….but…"
"You got something against my parents?"
"Oh, Kenshin, I didn't mean it like that-" she sighed, exasperated.
"They're nice. They'll like you. Not like that. I mean….Mama and Kasaan, they're just…the best example of a marriage you'll ever see. They never had and problems or affairs or anything. They've been in love with each other for more than twenty years, and that's one hell of an accomplishment…" Kenshin grinned, "don't you think?"
"They sound lovely. They've always sounded lovely, Kenshin, it's just…always so nerve-wracking to be introduced to a family…"
"We're here!" Kenshin interrupted brightly. He hopped out of the car and pulled a spare key out of his pocket. Kenshin bounded up the steps to the door, and opened it. Kaoru was surprised at his agility and exuberance…she had always seen him drag his feet and glower at the sidewalk.
"Mama! Kasaan! I'm here for the pixies!" Kenshin called as he closed the door behind Kaoru. She looked around hesitantly. They were in a small foyer that was furnished with a spring green sofa and footstool, a pillar with a potted plant on it, and a coffee table littered with children's picture books. A red-haired woman came through the doorway wiping her hands on a dishtowel. She smiled and hugged Kenshin, looking sweetly quizzical at Kaoru.
"Mama, this is Kaoru. She had some transportation problems, so she's going to come with us for a little while."
"Oh, lovely! Kaoru, you can call me Lisa. Julie is with the girls in the kitchen."
As if on cue, Kaoru heard two little voices squealing "Ken-nii! Ken-nii!" and a husky woman's voice shouting "Not until you've finished your oatmeal!" as she tried to stifle her laughter.
"Julie, Kenshin's brought a friend!" Lisa called, heading back for the kitchen with Kaoru and Kenshin in tow.
"Oh really?" A dark-haired woman looked up as they entered. She was sitting at a small table with the two little girls on either side. Julie had a spoon in one hand, trying to aim for Suzume's mouth, but she was squirming in her chair to get down. Ayame followed suit.
"Ken-nii!" Ayame squealed yet again. Julie sighed and got the both of the girls out of the chairs and let them loose on the ground. The girls had only just mastered walking upon arriving to their new home, and were experts at speeding headfirst towards Kenshin's legs. Little arms clamped around his calves with deathgrips.
"We'll go put the car seats in for you. Have a piece of toast! You too, Kaoru. Make yourself at home." Lisa smiled, gesturing toward the table. Kenshin sat down and finished drinking Julie's cup of coffee, completely ignoring the new attachments that were cutting the circulation out of his shins.
"Poptart?" Kenshin offered an unopened package of strawberry flavored poptarts, and Kaoru declined. She silently looked around the kitchen, drinking in the evidence of Kenshin's former life there. A few photographs were framed by the telephone on the counter, and an old, yellow paper was still hung on the refrigerator with a magnet. There was an orange scribble in the middle and crude black lettering that said "Kenshin" with one 'n' written backward. The drawing was surrounded by more recent works, by Ayame and Suzume, but something else had caught Kaoru's eye. It seemed that Lisa had been scrapbooking at the table during breakfast, and left some of her handiwork out in disarray.
She glanced at Kenshin, who was busy reading the paper. She turned and proceeded to crane her neck. The scrapbook page read "Bathtime for Baby" and had rubber ducky stickers placed on the page. Pictures had been carefully placed but not yet glued, and some were still in the process of being trimmed.
"Hel-looo…" Kaoru grinned, "What have we here?"
Kenshin looked up just in time to pale in horror as Kaoru picked up a photo of a 2 year old Kenshin with his back turned to the camera, looking into the bathtub. The problem with this was that he was very, very naked.
"Aww…look at that cute little butt…"
"GIVEITTOMEOHMYGODICAN'TBELIEVEMOMLEAVESTHISCRAPLYINGOUTLIKETHIS!!!" Kenshin exhaled this all in one rasping, frightened cry.
"What did you say, Kenshin?" Lisa walked back in. "Oh, Kaoru saw my scrapbook! Do you think it's too cheesy with the stickers or should I start over again?"
"I think its adorable, Miss Lisa."
"Oh, Kenshin….give that back to me. It's going on that page."
"But…but…you can see my butt!"
"You were a baby, Kenshin, it was cute!" Lisa sighed.
"But my butt is not to be put on public display."
"It's not on public display, it's only on family and close-friends display." Lisa turned back to Kaoru, picking up a thick stack of photos. "Do you want to see the rest that were taken in the same day? Oh look, this is the one Julie took when he got soap in his eyes. Look at the poor baby scream…"
"MOTHER!!"
"Ken-nii, play! Play!" Ayame and Suzume were getting bored with Kenshin's legs and began pulling on the pants to get his attention. Julie walked back in and joined Kaoru and Lisa with the photos.
"And here he is on his third birthday in the yukata Julie bought him. He tripped over the hem two minutes later. Yep, here he is, flat on his face-"
"MOTHERRRR!! KASAAAAN!!!"
Kaoru found herself in the park soon afterwards, with a traumatized Kenshin and two little girls on their hyper streak for the morning. When Kenshin asked Kaoru to help him push the girls in the baby swings, several older couples complimented them on their "fine daughters"; and the two teens blushed and sputtered their contradictions. However, the outing, along with the meeting of his parents, had helped Kaoru replace her previous animosity with trust and respect. He still had strong ties with his family, had taken responsibility of being a role model for his sisters (he had skipped out on makeup and jewelry for the morning) and he was no longer ashamed of the considered 'immoral' situation of his parents. They were good parents, lesbians or not, and had raised a fine son. They would do well with the two girls.
Kenshin brought Ayame and Suzume back home successfully tired out so that Julie and Lisa could spend the next few hours quietly reading books to the little ones. Lunch time would energize the girls later, so the book-reading was a well-desired break from the demands of twins. Kenshin and Kaoru bade the four goodbye, and headed for the band practice.
"You want me to drop you off at the dorm?" he asked, circling the student parking lot as he looked for a convenient space.
"Actually, I wondered if I could watch a practice. Misao always invited me to come, but I never had time." This was a lie of course (the part about never having time). Misao had begged her to come countless times and had nearly been successful in dragging her out of the dorm, but Kaoru had only wished to avoid Kenshin and the strange friends of his.
They drove in silence for a minute as Kenshin headed back to the campus music studio they had reserved for the day, and Kaoru mulled over the thoughts in her head. High school had been more complicated than she had anticipated, that was a given. In middle school, the cliques and social groups had been less influential since most of the students came from the same sort of background: middle class, white-collar jobs, same sort of ancestry. In high school, the diversity had intimidated her, and the overwhelming authority and control of social groups had been frightening, especially the hostility between opposing factions. And as this all circled in her head, she could only think of three words to say to Kenshin.
"You were right."
"What?" Kenshin glanced at her with a look of alarm.
"When you…when you last talked to me." She replied. Kenshin's face didn't convey any registration as to what she was talking about, though she felt he knew.
"I didn't mean to blow up like that." Kenshin finally spoke, pulling the car into a parking space outside the studio building.
"It's okay. Like Misao said, it had probably been building up for years." Kaoru smiled at this, though Kenshin did not.
"No, Kaoru…I've been thinking about that day a lot and I'm really sorry.-"
"No! I'm sorry, Kenshin, I should have listened. What you said, all of it was true!" she protested. I can't believe I'm fighting for his side of the argument.
"Kaoru, it was wrong of me to subject you to my anger and resentment the way I did. I said some things I shouldn't have. I upset you, which is something I had never, ever intended to do."
"What you said was true, Kenshin. I've had all this time to think over it, and do my own observing. It's true. And it's a good thing. Your ideas on balance and beauty…they're the only thing that make sense anymore."
"You…you really think so?" Kenshin asked, hopefully.
"You were only wrong in one area. At least you are now."
"And what was that?" Kenshin asked, blinking in mock surprise.
"You said I was scared."
Kenshin's face fell into apprehension, and he gazed at her suspiciously. Kaoru only smiled. She felt a fire burning in her, a new acceptance of her world. A new way to look at things. She was the balance. She was the light. And she could bring harmony into the world…if she was with Kenshin.
Kenshin barely had time to react. He was rooted to the spot as Kaoru leaned forward, her dark hair spilling over her shoulders as she closed her eyes. He saw a quick glimpse of her long, thick lashes and her perfect, pale lips before he had closed his eyes as well…
When their lips touched, time stopped. Nothing happened for a few blessed seconds, then Kenshin's hands immediately molded around her face, and Kaoru's arms linked around his neck. They held this position for a moment before Kenshin lost his balance and his elbow hit the car horn.
"WOOOOOO!!! KENSHIN!!!"
"Shit." Kenshin and Kaoru groaned at the same time. In the distance, by the entrance to the studio building, Misao was hopping up and down and waving madly next the completely shocked Aoshi and Soujiro. Sanosuke was laughing hysterically.
"It never fails, does it?" Kenshin grinned, indicating Misao's unappreciated interruption. Kaoru only smiled, and leaned in again.
----------------------------------
"Magdaria! Damn, have we got some news!" Sano walked in with a stuffed animal for his girlfriend: a purple fluffy puppy with a pink ribbon tied around its neck.
"What is it?" she asked, shifting position in her bed. She had been home for two days but had been urged by her uncle and brother to keep resting. At the moment she was trying to catch up with her chemistry class work. Sano sat down on her bed, tossing the book to the floor. Magdaria winced, but didn't argue. She hated Chemistry as much as Sano did.
"Kenshin and Kaoru have finally settled that argument they had way back and were kissing in Kenshin's car!"
"That's wonderful," Magdaria smiled. She grasped Sano's hand and they sat there in silence for a moment. Magdaria had a way of making Sanosuke forget everything that was on his mind with a simple touch of a fingertip.
"So they're dating?" she asked.
"Well, I can't really say. Just because they were kissing doesn't mean they're dating."
"They will be soon enough. All they need to do is announce it publicly and everyone will fawn over them for a few months."
"Like they did with us?"
"Yeah."
"You miss the attention."
"You give me all the attention I need. What's this?" she asked, pointing to the fluffy purple puppy.
"For you. Get well soon."
"I am well, you seem to forget."
Sano leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead, pulling her close to him. Magdaria encircled her arms around him, lightly drawing her fingernails up and down his back. It was something Sanosuke particularly liked, and it was especially persuasive when need be.
"I feel so old, now. How long have we been dating?" Magdaria sighed.
"Oh, it seems….since Spring break, basically…so…three months. School is out in two weeks."
"Mmmm….summertime…I wonder how that will be."
"Lots more time to ourselves." Sano murmured into her hair. They were still holding each other, not quite ready to let the peaceful moment slip by. "Tell you what," Sanosuke said, pulling back, "Our four month anniversary is coming up. After school is out, we can plan a whole day for ourselves. Just you. Just me. Doing whatever the hell we want to. So start thinking about what you want to do, and how you're going to wheedle Saitou into letting you do it."
"I will." Magdaria smiled.
"SAGARA! Your ten minutes are up! GO BACK TO YOUR DORM!" Saitou bellowed from the other side of the door. Sano rolled his eyes and turned back to Magdaria.
"Same time tomorrow?"
"I'll see you at school tomorrow. I'm getting back into the swing of things. And I'm not missing finals."
"Finals…FINALS? Shit! They start next week, don't they?"
"No, review starts. Then the week after is finals. And our last day is next Friday."
"Oh…oh…phew…" Sano breathed a sigh of relief. He kissed Magdaria once, twice, and finally tore himself away from her, tightening the red band around his head, and headed back towards the dorm. Magdaria smiled and watched him go, her rough and tumble boy, and she squeezed the fluffy purple puppy as she watched him gently close her bedroom door.
--------
Nice, eh, you K/K fans? You finally got what we all wanted!