Author's Note: Er…sorry I didn't update sooner. I got caught up with some other things and this just fell on the back-burner. I'm delightfully surprised with the number of reviews for the first chapter. Thanks so much.
Reviewer Responses:
JBella: I'm so glad you enjoyed the first chapter so much. Your comments are very appreciated. I hope you like the second chapter as well. Sorry it took me longer than expected to update. But, I hope it was worth the wait! Thanks so much for reviewing.
half-breed-demon-fox: I'm so happy you like it! Thanks for reviewing!
Wolfie-chan18: Hope you're feeling better. I'm happy you enjoyed the first chapter. I'm glad you reviewed.
Satora-chan: Thank you for your lovely review. Don't worry about the relationship being rushed…I plan on going slow. I hate it when the characters automatically fall in love after they've known each other a few hours. And I won't be hurting the baby, either, so you can relax on that count. (smile) Thanks so much for your great review. I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter. Hope you like the second as well.
Spirit Rose: Thanks bunches for reviewing. I'm very glad you're enjoying it. (smile)
ZSilver: Thanks for dropping in your thoughts. It's great to hear you like it so far.
Megumi Readman: Got your interest? That's good. I like the idea of Kaoru and Sano being siblings as well. It's fun to write their interactions. I'll try to get cracking on my other stories as well. Thanks for the nice review!
erica6060: That's great you're enjoying my story so far. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well. Thanks for reviewing.
Bradybunch4529: Hello again! I'm so glad you took the time to review this story. I'm happy you liked it. Writing the scene with Tomoe was hard and it took me a little while to get the scene right. I'm glad you liked it. Thanks so much for reviewing.
Lendra-chan: Frightened that Kaoru's pregnant? Yeah…it is kind of strange that little Kenji isn't the baby she's going to have first. But, that doesn't mean Kenji will never exist, right? (wink) Thanks for reviewing. Hope you like the update.
Kat: Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you like it so far.
Aine of Knockaine: I'm very happy you like this new story. Thanks for telling me your thoughts. I'm glad you reviewed!
person: The scene with Tomoe's death was the hardest to write. I wanted to make it emotional, but not too over the top with sappy sorrow. I'm glad you liked it. Once again, your review was wonderful. I always look forward to reading what you have to say about each chapter and how the story is progressing. Thanks also for your lovely review for the final part of Amethyst Serendipity.
Ange Noir: Yeah, I ended up putting this story up quicker than I planned. But, I'm happy you like the first chapter. That's great you enjoyed to detailed description of the setting. And, yes…Kenshin will be the main focus/point of view of this story. I figured since I stuck with Kaoru in Tendrils of Sunset, Glorious Twilight and part of Amethyst Serendipity, I needed to give Kenshin a voice. I hope you like the update. Thanks for reviewing.
Mizu-Ryuuseisui Inc: I'm glad you like the way I write. Thanks for leaving your kind review. It means a lot. (smile)
Killer Cool Sobe: I debated on whether to make the father another RK character or not, then figured it would have more of an impact if the father was indeed an RK character, so….yes. Daddy is a fellow RK character. I'm glad you like the first chapter. Thanks so much for your thoughts.
AmayaSaria: I tried to update as fast as possible. I hope you like this chapter as well. Thanks very much for reviewing.
tyro: Thanks for the encouragement. I'm happy you like my story so far.
Keta Himura: Thanks so much for your positive thoughts on my story. I'm very happy you like it so far. I hope you enjoy the update. (smile)
polar bear: Thanks for your nice review. I'm happy you're enjoying it. And as to your question on the whether Kaoru's married or not…scroll down to the bottom to the final A/N. I wrote a small note for everyone to see regarding that matter because a few people mentioned you're question as well. Thanks again! (smile)
Kean: Your thoughts are greatly appreciated. It's great to know you enjoyed the first chapter. Great review! (grin) Thanks for leaving your thoughts.
jep: Here's the update. I hope you like it. Thanks for reviewing.
RogueSummersLover: Thanks so much for reviewing this story as well. I'm happy you like so far. Thanks a lot for telling me what you think.
Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin.
White Tides of Dazzled Dreams
Chapter 2
"Tides of Friendship"
Pouring steaming, bitter coffee into an insulted mug, Kenshin turned his gaze to the small window above the sink and admired the pretty sparkle of a yellow sunrise. Below his window on the sidewalk, a trickle of early morning pedestrians walked in a relaxed pace, tuned to the gentle air of Saturday morning. Once the mug was full, Kenshin replaced the glass pot in the coffee machine, and snapped the black lid on top of the full metal mug.
Kenshin stepped away from the counter, the mug clutched in his left hand while grabbing a wadded up white napkin with an address written on it. Stuffing the napkin in his front jean pocket, he moved into the bare living area and to the front door of the apartment. Opening it, locking it, then walking down the hallway, he cast a quick glance at the closed door of apartment #210 and sighed. Kenshin lifted his mug and took a hesitant sip of the steamy brew, licking his lips afterwards. He had just begun to swiftly travel down the stairs, when his eyes widened and a small sound of alarm stuck to the back of his throat.
Hastily placing his mug on the flat banister, Kenshin hurried to the small woman who appeared to be teetering on the edge of one of the stairs on the middle of the staircase. Quickly grabbing the upper part of her arm and steadying her, Kenshin sighed in relief when she let out a small squeak of surprise. Standing on the step above her, Kenshin looked down at the young face of his pregnant neighbor and bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from verbally berating her for stupidly carrying too much stuff down a flight of stairs.
Her arms were filled with three rectangular boxes, a small canvas tote bag slung over one arm, while a light lavender duffel bag hung on her left shoulder. Add a swollen stomach to the mess and get an unsteady pregnant woman with apparently no sense, whatsoever.
Kaoru blinked rapidly, clutched the boxes a bit more tightly to her chest and sucked in a few rapid breaths of relief. Biting her bottom lip, she turned sideways and gazed up at Kenshin with a sheepish smile of gratitude.
"Thanks," she said softly.
Kenshin stepped down beside her and gently, but firmly took the boxes from her grasp. "You really shouldn't carry this much, you know. It's a recipe for disaster."
A glint of annoyance flashed in her sapphire eyes and she turned away from him. Stepping down the stairs as quickly as she could, Kaoru clenched her teeth together and jerkily swiped her loose hair from her face. Kenshin followed her with a patient smile on his lips, amused by her stiff behavior. He trailed behind her out the door of their apartment building, his arms still full with her boxes. He wondered if she realized he had them…
Clearing his throat, Ken slightly quickened his pace to where he was able to walk comfortably beside her. "Forget something?"
Startled, Kaoru wiped her head to the side and peered confusedly at him. Lowering her gaze to the boxes in his arms, a small blush stained her pale cheeks. "Ah…," Kaoru started as her pace slowed. "Yeah." She reached to take them from him, but he deftly pulled them away from her grasp, a small smile sneaking on his lips when she frowned and her eyes narrowed. "I can carry them," she started.
"I know."
"Then, I can take them from you…"
Kenshin sighed and shook his head. "If you don't mind, I'll just carry them for you. Besides, I need to go in this direction anyways."
The suspicious light dimmed from her eyes as Kaoru grasped the strap of her canvas bag, bringing it up to sit on her shoulder. She sighed, and turned her gaze back to the sidewalk, her pace regaining its normal speed.
"Thank you," she replied for the second time in less than five minutes.
Kenshin felt like asking for the two bags she still carried, but bit his tongue, knowing the black haired woman would be slightly insulted and automatically rebuke his offer. Sighing, Kenshin shook his head and stopped beside her when they came to an intersection. Waiting for the light to change and signal for their crossing, Kenshin tilted his head to the side.
"Where are we heading, if I may ask?"
Kaoru scanned the many passing cars. "Um, my dojo."
Surprised, Kenshin replied, "You have a dojo in the city?"
A proud smile graced her lips and she nodded as she stepped off the curb and onto the pedestrian crosswalk. "My father founded it and when he died, I became the new owner and master." Looking up at Kenshin's face she shrugged. "Though, I haven't been able to do much lately because of my…condition," she said softly patting her bulging belly. "My brother's been helping me out."
"You used to teach the classes?"
"Yep. It's been only recently that I had to hand over the teaching role to Sano and an assistant."
They fell into a comfortable silence as they walked through the miscellaneous people on the sidewalk. Kaoru hummed a random tune to herself as she nodded absently to some people who walked past her. Kenshin tightened his loose grip on her boxes and side-stepped a small Pekinese who struggled to keep up with the rigorous pace of his owner. Kaoru watched the dog fondly as he passed her and smiled to herself.
Kenshin followed her around a corner and his eyes widened when his gaze fell on the large yellow sign jutting out from a brick wall, announcing the presence of KamiyaDojo. Even he knew the dojo was one of the best within the city and known for its excellent teaching techniques. Turning his gaze down to the small woman he walked beside, a new respect for her bloomed in his chest. He never would have imagined she was involved in this line of work.
Pointing to the sign, Kaoru smiled. "That's it. Right there."
The gentle fingers of the wind blew small wisps of her hair against her cheeks causing her to lift a hand and brush them behind her ear. Her face glowed with luminescent pride.
Seconds later, they walked up to the large wooden door barring the entrance to Kaoru's dojo. She slowly walked up the four steps and pushed her hand against the door, swinging it open smoothly. Kenshin reached up a hand and held the door open for her as she slipped inside, then walked in after her. The small foyer was brightly lit with a polished wood floor, branching off into two narrow hallways, one leading to a small conglomeration of offices and another to the large open room for her classes. Shouts, laughter and jumbled talking filtered into the foyer causing a soft smile to curve on Kaoru's lips.
Instead of going to her students, she headed left and walked down the hall to a small office with its door open wide in a welcoming manner. Gesturing over her shoulder, she motioned for Kenshin to set down the boxes in a blue chair next to the wall.
"Just set them down here," Kaoru said, slipping the canvas bag from her shoulder and setting it down on the corner of the mahogany desk while also placing the small lavender duffel bag on the floor.
Kenshin followed her instructions and turned to Kaoru as she placed a hand on the small of her back as an uncomfortable grimace momentarily touched her face. Haltingly, she gazed at the photos of smiling people on the wall behind Kenshin, then walked towards him, a welcoming smile on her face.
"Do you want to see the rest of the dojo?" she asked.
Nodding, Kenshin replied. "Yeah, that'd be great."
Kaoru slipped past him and walked back down the hall, turning her head to the side to see if Kenshin followed her. When they reached the large entrance frame of the practice hall, Kaoru placed her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side when she saw her brother standing in the middle of the talking students with an exasperated frown in his face and his eyebrows drawn together in annoyance as he stared at a young man standing to the side clutching his stomach in hilarity as he heaved with laughter.
"That's not funny," Sano told the laughing youngster through clenched teeth.
In response, the younger man cracked open one eye and waved his hand dismissively as he continued to laugh.
"Yahiko," Sano started, a menacing growl in his tone. "That is not funny."
Yahiko brushed a hand through his ruffled black hair as his laughter subsided, leaving a humorous grin on his lips. "Ah, Sano," he smiled smugly, crossing his arms over his chest in a fluid motion. "Don't feel bad about it. It happens to everyone, right?"
Sano's eyes narrowed to small slits as his face turned a light shade of pink. "Boy, you are dead. D - E - A - D."
"Oh, is that so," Yahiko replied lifting an eyebrow. "I don't think - OW!" he yelped, grabbing his head in between his hands and jerking around to see Kaoru standing behind him, a bokken in her hands and an irritated look on her features. "Shit, Kaoru."
Kaoru shoved the bokken into Yahiko's arms and flicked him on the forehead with her thumb and forefinger. "Quit fooling around. I didn't hire you as an assistant to bug my brother."
Yahiko mumbled something incoherent under his breath as he stalked away, his previous amusement abandoned. Sano watched Yahiko with his eyes, his annoyance dimming. Turning his gaze to his sister, he smiled and walked over to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders in a brotherly move of affection.
"So what brings you here? I told you I had it handled," Sano asked her, peering down at Kaoru's face.
Kaoru raised an ironic eyebrow. "You forgot to take those boxes from my apartment yesterday."
A sheepish look crossed his features as he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "Uh, yeah."
Looking behind her, Sano raised his eyebrows in surprise when he saw Kenshin standing the side, leaning against the wall. "Hey! I didn't expect to see you here."
Kaoru's lips curved wryly as she stepped away from her brother. "He helped me carry those boxes. I almost fell face first down the stairs because my arms were full with all that stuff."
The smile on Sano's face was immediately replaced with a concerned frown. "You okay?"
Kenshin stepped away from the wall and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "She's fine. Just needed to be steadied a bit."
"I thought I told you to get me when you needed help…," Sano started.
"Oh, shut up," Kaoru said poking him in the stomach playfully.
Kenshin watched the two bicker with one another with a smile, his eyes hooded with an unreadable emotion. Stepping away from them, Kenshin lifted a hand in farewell and cleared his throat.
"I need to be going," he said. "I have an appointment with someone."
Kaoru turned from her brother and raised her eyebrows. "Thanks again for helping me." She bit her lip and seemed to contemplate something. "I'm cooking spaghetti tonight for dinner and Sano and Yahiko are coming over. If you want to join us, you can," she offered, tilting her head to the side.
"I'm probably not going to be back till late, so I'll have to decline. But, thank you for the offer."
She sighed and nodded, watching as the redhead turned and headed out of the dojo.
-
Twenty minutes later, Kenshin stepped into the crowded interior of a red and white checkered diner smelling of fried food and grease. Choosing an empty booth in the back, he slid onto the cool exterior of the seat and rested his arms on top of the clean tabletop. A middle-aged waitress reeking of stale cigarettes and cheap mouthwash came to a stop at the end of the table, placing her left hand on her hip.
"Can I get you anything, sweetie?" she asked sarcastically, smacking loudly on her electric pink bubblegum. Pen poised on the yellow slip of paper she held to write down his order, she raised a jagged eyebrow.
"Just some water right now. I'm waiting for someone," Kenshin replied.
Rolling her eyes upward in a motion of annoyance, the waitress stalked off as she jammed her pen and yellow pad into the pocket of the red apron tied sloppily around her waist.
Five minutes later, Kenshin sat back against the hard cushion on the back of the booth and sighed glumly. His full glass of ice water sat unhappily before him as he slid his gaze covertly to the side to catch the dirty look his waitress sent his way. She grew more and more disgusted with him as the seconds ticked by, because he hadn't ordered any food yet. Running a hand through his red hair, Kenshin's muscles relaxed slightly when he saw his good friend step through the clear glass door. Sending the tall, black haired man a wry look as he slid silently into seat opposite Kenshin, Kenshin wrapped his fingers loosely around his water glass.
"You're a little late," Kenshin said to him.
The man raised an eyebrow while keeping his features schooled in an uninterested expression; his eyes cast a cool glint.
"Is that so?"
"Not a big deal, Aoshi. Though our waitress would like to serve me as the lunch special," Kenshin responded.
Aoshi gave a noncommittal grunt.
"How did the case go?" Kenshin asked with interest, fiddling absentmindedly with the paper straw wrapper.
A pleased look crossed Aoshi's features as he leaned back in the booth and tapped his fingertips against the tabletop. "We won. Mrs. Kyser was awarded custody of her children when I brought your research results to the attention of the judge. Your results helped to shed Mr. Kyser of his…false pretenses and revealed him to be the wrongdoer he is."
A hint of relief crept into Kenshin gaze and he rubbed his forehead tiredly with the palm of his hand. "Good, good. I only wished I had caught onto his true personality in the first place. I was so blinded by my own…"
"You need to stop worrying about it. It's been corrected, now."
"I know."
Aoshi picked up the folded menu in front of him and scrutinized the many entrees. "Good," he replied.
"Have you looked at the new office building, yet?" Kenshin asked. "I thought we could go over there today and check out the building to get a head start on making it presentable enough for business. The sooner we get back on our feet, the better for our clients."
Aoshi nodded approvingly. "I haven't been there, yet, but I do agree with you." He appeared to falter uncharacteristically and set the menu face down on the tabletop. "Are you sure you still want to head up the research division and not take on any more cases of your own? We made a great duo. Plus with you acting as the second lawyer, we'd be able to take on more clients and retain a larger income."
Kenshin sipped leisurely on his water as a calm smile slid over his lips. "I would rather do as I have planned. This way we can spend twice as much time on each client and get a better feel for each situation. I don't want any more slip-ups on my part. Plus I won't be drowning myself with an impossible workload anymore."
Aoshi studied his friend and fellow lawyer as something akin to admiration glinted in his gaze. Nodding, he looked up as the dowdy waitress parked herself at the foot of the table, pen poised dangerously in her hand.
"Are you ready now?" she asked with a poorly concealed snarl.
Aoshi looked from Kenshin to the waitress, a tiny smile on his lips. "What's the lunch special?"
-
Hours later, Kenshin trudged tiredly up the stairs of his apartment building. He groaned inwardly when he realized his coffee mug was not in the place he haphazardly left it that morning in his momentary panic. Good thing he had an extra. Reaching inside his jean pocket, Kenshin pulled out the small gold key-ring which held his keys and singled out the one for his apartment door.
Coming to a halt in front of his door, befuddlement clouded his features as he reached out a tentative hand and pulled off the small blue slip of paper taped on his door. As he read the neat scrawl of handwriting on the note, an amazed chuckled rumbled in his chest as he unlocked his door.
Found your coffee mug on the banister when I came home. If you want it back, you'll have to stop by tomorrow morning so I can repay you with some fresh coffee made by the world-class coffee machine my brother gave me. See you then, neighbor.
Kaoru
Closing his door behind him, Kenshin shook his head in incredulity.
Guess that's where he'd be tomorrow morning. He just couldn't abandon his coffee mug like that…
-
Author's Note: Kenshin a lawyer...anyone see that coming? I know I didn't. I actually planned on making his profession something else, but then I decided being a lawyer fit better with the storyline...
A couple reviewers asked me the same question, and I figure everyone should know my answer, so I'm going to list it out of the reviewer responses...
Father of baby: Who is he? Well, actually, I just figured that out this morning. (evil grin) And I can't tell you guys just who he is, yet. But, it will be revealed in due time…promise. And, I will admit that he is a fellow RK character. As for Kaoru's relationship with the father… married to/widowed/abandoned/ he's missing/they're divorced…you'll have to wait and see for that as well.
I'll have the next chapter out as soon as possible. Please review and tell me your thoughts on this chapter. Hope everyone enjoyed it.