Fanfic by Blueroseulan

December 17, 2005

RK doesn't belong to me! Don't sue!

Please review! Please! Please! Please!

REAL CHAPTER 2:

A hand tensely swept the hair from his eyes as Soujirou released a shaky breath. His heart was pounding mercilessly on his chest though it mystified him why. There was an unknown emotion spreading in the very fibers of his being that he could not place. There is something about her… I've barely known her for a day yet… there's something telling me that she's more than just a girl…

Shaking his head, he placed his small bundle on top of the wooden cabinet that rested on the far side of the corner.

Her eyes are sad… lonely… and dull… I could tell.

His curiosity was more than spiked when he saw Sanosuke enter the dojo. She must be acquainted with Himura. But… he's not here… is she his sister? No… Battousai never had siblings… his lover? His wife perhaps?

Unknown envy began to course to his veins. They must be more than friends… But has he left her? Why is she sad? All of these thoughts were reeling onto his mind while he fixed his things and unrolled his futon. This must be Himura's room… he mused, not knowing what to think. Had they slept together? Or are they married?

STOP!

A loud voice boomed into Soujirou's head, making the man stop suddenly. What are you thinking! Those musings should never occupy your head! What gives you the right to think about them! You're just a border here. Nothing more. Don't go peeping into other people's lives.

Smiling rather sheepishly while stroking the back of his head, Soujiro couldn't help but frown.

Kamiya san… what have you done to me?

All but a moment had passed yet Kaoru still found herself unable to move at the foot of Soujirou's door.

Trying very hard to cover the tell tale blush from spreading onto his cheeks, he bowed reverently, his forehead touching the floor before whispering,

"Arigatou…"

And then he was gone, leaving her shocked and clearly speechless. She had glimpsed upon the spreading blush on his features and she had wondered why. Her heart was beating loudly against her chest and her face felt flushed. What is this I'm feeling? It's like I feel so nervous… anxious… I don't know… Soujirou… that man… I.. I want to know more… something about him… I don't know… I'm confused…I…

She sighed. She was hopeless! First, she fell in love with an ex Hitokiri, watched him walk away then have another one enter her premises completely?

But he reminds me… of him….

STOP! There you go again Kamiya! Thinking about that man again! Don't! Do something. Train. Stop yourself before it gets the best out of you.

Kaoru was beat tired after the day. She had been too busy and too absorbed in her training that she had not cared less on the world around her or even the man she had just allowed inside her dojo. Too tired to eat, she was just about to cook dinner for the trio when surprised as she was when she saw Soujirou, in the kitchen cooking merrily.

"Seta-san!"

A brown head bobbed into her direction followed by a cheerful smile

"Ah… Kamiya-san…. Haraheta nan da yo?" He asked, offering her a piece of fried tempura.

Though she would have silently declined, the fried shrimp was too much to resist and it really did make her rethink to eat after all. Approaching him, she took the offered food in her finger, only to have it jerked off from her grasp because of its searing heat.

"ITAI!"

At once, a tender hand grasped the burnt part of her digit and an anxious face looked up to her.

"Daijobou yo Kamiya-san?" he asked uncertainly.

Torn between to flee or cry, Kaoru stood motionless while he held her hand, too startled by the man's prior actions. Gently, he led her towards the sink where he allowed tap water to cool the burnt skin, all the while murmuring strings of reminders, and silent coaxings.

"There. Does it still hurt?" he asked, turning back to his tempura and grabbing a pair of chopsticks before him.

Silently shaking her head, she took the offered tempura, now on the chopsticks and lifted it to have a taste.

"How is it?" he asked, slapping a grin to hide his nervousness.

She closed her eyes. Kenshin…

"Oishii!" she exclaimed. Concealing the hidden sadness in her eyes.

It would have been funny to watch both of them try and hide their emotions under different masks of happy faces even if both knew what the other had been exactly doing. Soujirou was no stranger when it came to hiding one's emotions and he knew Kaoru had remembered something when she tasted the food for a look of sadness had flashed in her eyes.

Trying to steer her away from whatever emotions she might be feeling, he asked her in a hopeful voice,

"Kamiya-san, um… will you be joining us for dinner?"

Smiling sadly while shaking his head, she had an apologetic tone, "Gomen Seta-san… demo… I'm too tired… e-eto… Gomen…" she stammered.

"Yare… yare…Wakarimasu… Demo Kamiya-san?"

"Hai?"

"It's my last dinner with you… all of you… would you not like to come with us?"

The thought dinged to her as she remembered that she, after all, had granted Soujirou only one day in her dojo.

"Ah… Gomen Seta-san… I forgot… Kaoru no baka! I… of course I'd join you."

Dinner was quiet and uneventful and even Yahiko was adamant to make a scene. Of course, there were a couple of glances shared by both Kaoru and Soujirou, one that did not go unnoticed by the eye of Sanosuke but the man kept quiet, however hard it was for him. There was a thick air of tension blanketing the room and Kaoru could certainly feel it. Yahiko was quiet, behaved even still. Sanosuke had earlier talked to him about the man and described Kenshin's fight with him. He told the boy to be alert and wary. And alert he was. Now, seeing the man harmless, he could have wished he had been friendly with him. He was cheerful, he could cook delicious tempura and he was mostly like Kenshin…

Before long, dinner was over and they slowly retired to their respective rooms leaving Kaoru and Soujirou alone.

"Arigatou Kamiya-san."

She smiled while teasingly holding up her seared finger. "Iie Seta-san. Arigatou." She emphasized with a smile.

Rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, he secretly wished that she would allow him to stay with her the next day, and the day after that and the next and… and…

"Seta-san?"

His thoughts were disrupted as her voice filtered his mind.

"Daijobou desu ka Seta-san?" she asked, a bit worried by the zoning out of her companion.

"Hai hai…" he said laughing at his stupidity. Kaoru blinked, uncertain whether to laugh or gape at him. But his laughter was contagious, sounding merrily along the dark corridors of her dojo and she couldn't help but smile, then giggle then finally laugh herself.

After their laughing spree was over, Kaoru soon excused herself and went back into her own room. As soon as she stepped in the bleak gloominess of her room, the wild emotions came rushing back, running to her in a frenzied motion and overwhelming her.

"Kenshin… he reminds me of Kenshin… The way he talks, the way he cooks… everything…I…. Kenshin…"

With that, she broke down by the edge of her shoji, tears cascading down her cheeks as her shoulders shook with hostility. So many memories, so many questions, so many emotions that she didn't know how to be over with it. At daytime, Kamiya Kaoru seemed fearless, dauntless and unafraid, unhurt by the swordsman's sudden leaving. But at night, her façade rounded a 250-degree turn. At night, emotions and emptiness were quick to eat her whole. The bold and commanding voice quick to dissipate inside her head. It was where she lost her wits; any coherent thoughts… all except the fact that he had left. And he would never return.

Kenshin… why! why did you leave all of a sudden! Did I do something wrong! Naze! Naze!

Kaoru would have totally broken down had not her ears registered the faint knocking on her shoji door. Immediately wiping her cheeks, she slowly opened her door, to reveal a certain Soujirou looking sheepish and embarrassed.

"Seta-san! What are you doing here?" she exclaimed in surprise.

He smiled while shaking his head. "Ah gomen Kamiya-san… I was just looking for the bathhouse when I… um… got lost… "

"And?" she asked, waiting for the answer to her question, not fully comprehending why he chose to knock on her door and not in Yahiko's.

"I was looking for someone and I knocked on this door. I didn't know who owned it, but I was kind of hoping it wasn't Sanosuke's" he smiled weakly.

Nodding her head in understanding, she was about to point towards the true direction of his destination, when his hand caught her extended arm.

"Kamiya-san… what is the matter?" he asked, forgetting to cover his worry and astonishment.

Quickly, she bowed her head, hiding her red-rimmed eyes and unsuccessfully denying the fact that she had been crying.

"Iie Seta-san…. There… there's nothing wrong…" she whispered meekly, trying not to draw more attention for herself.

But he was determined to know what was wrong. Not releasing her arm, he neared her and wiped the tear that had somewhat strayed on her cheek.

"Kamiya-san, a face as beautiful as yours should never be adorned with tears." He murmured

She blushed, despite her tears. "Dai-Daijobou Seta-san…"

"What is wrong?' he asked, quite firmer this time.

That voice…

"Kamiya-san… you know you could trust me…. It's okay… you don't have to hide your emotions… You don't have to suffer the way I did…" he thought.

Unbeknownst to him, he had also voiced the last part of his sentence and this had been enough for Kaoru. Breaking down and sliding to the floor, she buried her face on her hands, muffling her sobs by her palms.

"Kamiya-san!"

She could no longer think, no longer speak. A thousand thoughts launching on her mind, rattling her soul. It was not after when she felt a pair of arms hold her shivering form did her mind clear, the devilish and stinging memories, fleeing.

"It's okay… Ssshhh… It's okay Kamiya-san… its okay…" he whispered comfortingly, while he rocked her in a soothing motion.

Kaoru had never been this close to a man except Kenshin. But even with Soujirou, she didn't know why, but instead of flinching, she felt comfortable and oddly comforted with him. It didn't help that he was a stranger… an enemy maybe, but still, she took the solace he offered.

"Tell me… What is it that is bothering you…" he coaxed.

She bowed her head, resting her chin atop his shoulders and closing her eyes.

"Kenshin…" she started. "He left me… left us… without even saying goodbye… without even saying why. He just left… and it hurts me… it hurts really… here…" she cried pointing the left side of her chest where her heart was suited.

Although visibly nodding in understanding, Soujirou was on fire with jealousy. Envy stinging every nerve endings.

Curse you… Curse you Himura for leaving her so broken and so shattered… Curse you for leaving this beautiful creature…. Curse you…

His hand ran freely on her back while she slowly calmed down, her sobs reduced to mere hiccups. Time seemed to pass by while he held her, silently wishing that she were for crying for him and not for that wretched man. Not so long after, he felt her shift her weight heavily against him and he realized that she had finally fallen asleep. Gently lifting her, he laid her on the futon. Her face was pale, contrasting with the darkness of her room and her features showed distress, her lips curved in a frown. Lifting a trembling hand, he boldly touched her cheek, marveled by its softness. His touch seemed to have an effect on her for a small smile replaced the grimness on her lips. Nodding his head in satisfaction, his hand ghosted on her lips before he stood up and whispered a shushed goodnight.

TBC…

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Bluerose