Disclaimer - I don't own Rurounin Kenshin.
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Toy Store
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Emotion
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"Tomoe Honjo?" Kaoru exclaimed in surprise. Eleven o'clock at night and Kenshin's sister, who she thought lived somewhere far far away, was standing at her door in the rain, dripping water off the front of her umbrella and onto the welcome mat just inside the front door.
"May I come in for a moment, Ms. Kamiya?" she asked demurely.
Kaoru's eyes widened. "Oh yes! Yes, of course. I'm sorry I didn't ask," Kaoru said, stepping aside and holding the door open wide. "I'm just so surprised to see you. Can I take your jacket?" she asked, shutting the door behind her guest.
"No, thank you. I won't be staying long," she told her, holding her wet umbrella above the mat so it wouldn't drip on the floor.
"How can I help you?" Kaoru asked politely.
"I've just come from Kenshin's. Forgive the late hour, but after speaking with him, I feel I must tell you that I do not approve of you."
"Excuse me?"
"My family has been through more than I hope you'll ever know, Ms. Kamiya. I'm of the opinion that a person of your," she paused, "frankly, of your innocence and all too obvious display of emotion, simply is not the right fit for my brother."
" 'All too obvious display of emotion?' " Kaoru repeated incredulously.
"Yes. I can read your thoughts by your facial expressions. One must be able to keep at least those secret in my family on occasion. You would fail miserably."
"What right do you have to come into my house at eleven o'clock at night and insult me, Mrs. Honjo?" Kaoru said frostily. "And all because you've designated yourself as your brother's keeper. He's old enough to take care of himself."
"I'm sorry you feel that I'm insulting you, Ms. Kamiya. I am merely stating the truth. I'm not certain as to the depth of your relationship with my brother, but I'd suggest, for your sake, that you start slowly surfacing from that ocean."
"The ocean of our relationship?" Kaoru asked in disgust.
"If you want to call it that," Tomoe said evenly, reaching behind her to open the door. "Like I said, surface slowly, or you'll come up too fast and get the bends."
"The bends?"
"When a scuba diver breathes underwater, some amount of nitrogen from the air dissolves in the water in his or her body. If the diver swims quickly to the surface, it's just like uncorking a bottle of soda – the gas is released as nitrogen bubbles in the blood." She turned and walked back into the rain. "Good night, Ms. Kamiya."
