Disclaimer: Uh, pretty self-explanatory, ne?
part three: Denial
Dinner time. Back in the bedroom Kaoru was lying on her futon and Kenshin was sitting in the corner.
"Why do you always sit in the corner, akage? You must be a very broken person," Kaoru stated while staring at the ceiling.
"And just what is that supposed to mean...'musume'?" (AN: musumeunwed girl) He asked. She looked over at him at the end of his statement.
"Musume? Is that really all that you could think of?" She asked.
"Yes, it was the only thing I could think of. I'm not a very fast thinker sometimes, ok? You keep calling me 'akage'," He said and she thought she saw the ghost of a smile on his face.
"Fine, Kenshin. So anyway, you're a broken person. Something happened that broke you, took the happiness out of you, you know," She looked back at the ceiling and smiled, "Wanna talk about it?" She asked hopefully.
Kenshin broke into sobs and said, "Yes! Yes I must talk about it! Arigato, Kaoru!" record scratch>
In your dreams, girl, She thought to herself.
What he actually said was, "No."
"Oh, come on, you know you want to!" She whined. He stayed silent so she sat up and picked up her bowl of rice that was next to her futon. She took a bite to calm down; eating always helped her.
"Actually, no, I don't," He said, annoyance growing in his voice. This amused Kaoru and she giggled, "What's so funny?" He asked with even more annoyance.
"Nothing, akage, it's just...you're so stubborn," She laughed, "A normal person is like me. You're the annoying one. I wanna be friends with my partner but he doesn't wanna talk. I told you my secrets, you know!"
"Secrets? No you didn't-" He was interrupted by a steadily growing angry voice.
"I told you how I became an assassin!" She yelled with tears coming to her eyes at the memory. She continued in a whisper, "I had planned to take that secret to the grave...So you'll tell no one! Or you'll definately die by my hand! I promise you, akage!"
"Stop calling me 'akage'!" He nearly shouted. She just crossed her arms, held her head high and stuck out her tongue.
"I can't!" She replied.
"And why is that?" Kenshin asked with anger of his own.
"'Cause..." She giggled, "It's stuck in my system. I can't stop," She laughed some more but he crossed his arms and pouted.
"Anyway," She continued, "I wanna know why we had to kill that guy in the first place. They didn't tell us, just that we had to do it."
"They never do," Kenshin said, "All I know is they are bad people who kill for pleasure. Kill innocent people. That's what they do."
"How do you know for sure?" She asked him curiously.
"How do you think? I asked, baka!" He took a bite of his own rice to do something other than listen or talk.
"You have serious temper issues, akage," She muttered under her breath. But he miraculously heard her and threw a clump of rice at her. "Hey!" She giggled and threw some at him. He looked up with his mouth open at her, peeling the rice off his forehead. Then he chuckled so softly anyone could have missed it. Time stopped. He had chuckled. Kaoru stared at him with wonder, not caring that she looked like a fool with her jaw dropped and eyes wide and staring at her partner.
His chuckling stopped and he looked back at her, "What?" He asked with concern, "Is there rice somewhere-" He searched himself but there was no more rice stuck to him. Suddenly her mouth closed and she looked angry. Her fists closed tightly. He became concerned. Then she punched the air in triumph.
"Yes! I made him laugh!" She laughed and stood up, bouncing with joy. He watched her as she danced with one eyebrow raised. The things that amused her...
When she settled down and sat back again on her futon he spoke, "You finished? You know, you really had me worried," He stood up from the corner and walked to his futon, sinking into it with his arms crossed under his head.
"Y-You were worried about me…?! AHA! You aren't ice cold! Yatta!" She started jumping in joy.
"Settle down," He said icily, changing her mind quickly. She pouted.
"Won't you talk to me? Onegai? Just a little? I got you to laugh, that's talent, isn't it? Please? Please talk to me?" She begged. He lifted his head and looked at her, his mouth opening and closing in indecision. True, getting him to laugh was a talent, but he didn't want her to think she was special. But he didn't want to look soft either. He shouldn't have laughed. Wait, he didn't. He chuckled. That was totally different.
He looked up again and rolled his eyes at the ceiling. What should he do? Of course!
"I don't want to talk!" He said childishly. She pouted but he didn't care, "And if you didn't want to tell anyone your secrets why did you tell me? I wouldn't have! Why should I tell you mine to keep if you can't even keep your own? Why did you open your big mouth?"
"Because I trust you!" She blurted out without thinking. She quickly covered her mouth. He looked up at her in surprise. She trusts me? He thought. Suddenly her eyes filled with tears that sparkled in the candlelight.
"Don't cry," He said softly. Her eyes were now about to overflow with her tears until one finally spilled over her eyelid. He felt bad now; this was all his fault. He was always so sour.
He walked over and sat next to her. Quite suddenly she let go of her mouth and pounced into a hug with Kenshin. His eyes widened to their widest extent. That was quite unexpected, he thought. He felt tears on his back.
"Why are you crying?" He asked. She didn't answer, unless crying harder was an answer, which it wasn't to Kenshin. She was suffocating him. He was now willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. He closed his eyes tight and prayed that things would go all right.
"Alright, I'll talk," He choked out and he felt her grip loosen. He gasped in the air. Sweet, sweet air, he thought as he smiled. She slowly let go of him and sat back to look into his eyes. He looked back. He stared into the cold silver beads and she stared into the burning gold ones. The only difference between their merciless gazes was that hers was red and puffy from crying. Then she smiled.
"Honto ni?" (AN: "For real?) She asked gently. He bit his lip, shut his eyes as if flinching from a huge blow and nodded once. She beamed at him and hugged him once again, but briefly this time.
"So...what do I talk about?" He asked after a few seconds of sitting in silence facing each other.
"Just talk," She said, "Tell me things that you want to tell, to express. Tell me what you feel and think. Just talk to me. Open up to me. Let your emotions go. If you bottle things up they will eat you from the inside out. That's also why I told you everything, because I had to let my feelings go."
"Uhhh...okay. I'm an assassin. My name is Kenshin. I have red hair-"
"No, you baka! Tell me your feelings! Maybe even your secrets! C'mon, be serious!"
He groaned. He didn't want to tell her his secrets. He didn't want to ever tell anyone his secrets. That's why they were called secrets.
"I can't tell you my secrets. They're secret!" He said.
"You don't trust me is what you mean," She said. She just layed down on her futon and shut her eyes, "Maybe you will talk to me when we become friends..."
He felt pretty bad now. He never wanted her to feel that he didn't trust her. It was just that he didn't believe in trust.
"You don't understand. People can turn around and stab you in the back in a heartbeat, you know. I just...I never had a friend that I could actually trust all the way to the end before," He looked down at his hands in his lap and she opened an eye to look at him. This guy was sad. Really sad. She shook her head.
"You think that I would betray you?" She said, "You think that I am a back stabber? Baka! The only people I stabbed in the back were thejerks that murdered my parents. And I mean I stabbed them with my katana! Akage, I'm not that kind of person!...…Would-would you betray me? You wouldn't, would you? I really do trust you..."
He looked up. Those words. They mean so much. One wrong move and they could shatter and he would lose the only one that had ever said them.
"Don't," He said quietly, "I like the trust but...I wouldn't want to make a mistake and lose it when I need it most..."
She made a pained face and layed on her side with her back towards him. He sighed and went back over to his bed and sat down. He shut his eyes and begged. Let the emotions stop; take them away... Sleep would not come as he sat waiting for it with his katana on his shoulder. The sounds of the other assassins partying did not help him fall asleep either.
Kaoru's eyes, however, were wide open. He doesn't trust me and doesn't want me to trust him. What is wrong with this boy? I think he needs serious comfort. I will do my best to give it to him. In a strictly platonic way, of course.
AN: Ha ha, yeah right, Kaoru! You know you like him! Okay, so, er…what do you think so far? Sorry, some things probably seem really stupid but that just because I'M A MORON! Yeah, and tend to make up stupid stuff. Like the second chappie and Kaoru's past and stuff, I just had no idea what to do so I made up a totally impossible past and said, "I DON'T CARE!" Ok? And I know this chapter was DUMB alright?For those looking for action, I think the next chapter will be action packed...maybe...