A loud ringing cut through their small voices and light giggles. Kaoru looked up form her position on the floor and found her light blue phone glowing, and ringing loudly. She looked apologetic at her Uncle and picked up the receiver. She held the small phone to her ear and smiled. "Hello?"
"Oh! Hey Misao. Oh yeah, well, My uncle and I are almost finished packing, maybe I can get a ride there. I'll be over in twenty, tops...Ok...Alright...No way!...Ok...Bye." She said, trying to keep her conversation short. Her uncle looked up at her and smiled.
"You're leaving?" He asked, his voice calm and low.
"Yea, I'm going over to Misao's." She said looking back down at her bag. It was full, just a few extra spaces, were she threw in some of her hair care products and toiletries. She hated bringing to many bags, since she was always the one who had to carry them.
"Do you need a ride?" He asked slowly.
"I can walk, you don't have to." She said, not bothering to look up form her work.
"No, I want to. It'll be the last time I get to see you. I have to work early, so I'll be in bed by the time you get home." He said smiling and staring at her. Her eyes slowly lifted to meet his gaze. He was such a nice guy when he wasn't around her aunt or trying to replace her father.
"Fine." She said, trying to keep the harshness out of her voice. Due to years of practicing a wicked tone, she was just used to yelling and showing her worst side to her relatives. She had quite a set of lungs from screaming and crying on end for so many years. It was hard for her to say anything nice towards him, no matter how hard she tried.
She zipped up her bag and both of them stood, Kaoru leading the way down the stair case. "Where are you going?" Came a loud voice form the other room.
"I'm taking Kaoru to a friends house!" Kio shouted to his wife.
"She has legs. Let her walk!" She half mumbled half screamed.
"No, I want to say good-bye. It'll only take a few minutes. I'll be right back." He said opening the door and both of them exiting before Zoe could respond. Kaoru jumped into the passenger seat of her uncles red corvette. He had been convinced by Kaoru and her aunt that it was the hippest thing to buy and if he didn't have one all of the other men his age wouldn't speak to him. Of course all the other men his age were already angry at him for not balding yet, but that was a different story entirely.
Kio placed the key in the ignition and revved the car to life before he backed out of the driveway and down the street. "Misao is the one who lives on Larkin right?" He asked, barely looking at Kaoru for her answer.
"Listen Kaoru, I want you to be very careful. It is more dangerous out in the woods than you expect it to be. Right now you're thinking, 'It's a school field trip, the supervision will be more suffocating than at school.' But that's not true. This is survival, The teachers will be few and far apart, I have a feeling the only time they will be suffocatingly close will be at night and during meals. Don't do anything stupid. I don't want a call telling me my daughter...niece is lost in the woods, or has been endangering herself or other students. Got that?" He asked taking his eyes off of the road for only a moment to look into Kaoru's accepting eyes.
"Yes. I got it. I know, stay on the trail, always have a buddy, know were your exits are, don't talk to strangers or take their candy. No need to tell me things I already know." She said her expression pensive and bored. She knew it all, they had been drilling it into her head for years and she wasn't stupid enough to walk around in the woods by herself at night and get eaten by a bear.
The car soon stopped in the driveway of Misao's and her Uncle looked at her. She was about to exit when she felt his hand touch her arm lightly. She half turned to look at him and he smiled, a tear lingering in his eye. Kaoru turned all the way around.
"What? You aren't going to miss me that much are you?" She asked, her voice soft and guilt filling her.
"Can I have a hug before you leave?" He asked, his voice low, she could almost hear it quiver. She nodded her head, her eyes softened by his gentle heart. How come she had never seen this side of him before?
She leaned in and lightly wrapped her arms around him, and he hugged back, full force. It seemed like he was hugging the life out of her, so she hugged back tighter, remembering this last embrace of a loved one at home before she exited the car and waved good-bye to him. He waved as well, then turned around to back out of the driveway.
Koaru walked up to the door and before she could knock the door flung open and Misao, Megumi, and Soujiro stood smiling at her.
"Hey." She said greeting them all separately as she entered her air conditioned home. The fresh breeze of cool air formed a cocoon around her warm body. "So what's up?" She asked as all three of them plopped down on Misao's couch. Kaoru looked expectantly at Soujiro and Misao, to make room for her to sit as well. Neither of them would move, Misao actually spreading her arms and legs out to make less room for her.
Kaoru smiled and jumped onto the three, laying comfortably on their laps, her head in Soujiro's. She smiled looking up at him. "Hi." She said smiling and laughing as all three of them groaned, pretending she weighed to much.
"I don't know what you all are talking about. Last time I slept over here with all of you I remember we played light as a feather stiff as a board, and I was the only one who rose!" She said triumphantly.
"Kaoru, Last time all four of us slept over here, we were in fifth grade." Megumi said thoughtfully.
"So? You didn't lift in the air." Kaoru said crossing her arms and laughing.
"I remember differently, I remember Misao-" Megumi started.
"So, I kicked Kenshin's ass today at Basketball." Kaoru cut her off in a loud voice. She lifted herself up onto her elbows on Soujiro's lap.
"Oh my god! Is that all you think about?" Misao asked loudly as she pushed Kaoru's hip hard, sending her flying off of their slanted laps and onto the brown carpet. Kaoru released a yelp of surprise as her face made contact with the floor.
Kaoru groaned inwardly for a second but quickly rolled over, pretending her nose, rib cage, and hip weren't throbbing with pain. She laughed. "No. But I do like the idea of kicking his ass like I did in basketball today." She repeated. All three of them groaned then began to laugh.
"So I heard that you were packing with your uncle?" Misao asked curiously. "How'd that go?"
"Fine." Kaoru said cheerily, resting her hands on her stomach.
"Fine. That's it?" Megumi asked, leaning in to take a better look at Kaoru. She squirmed under the scrutiny.
"He was being really nice. He was telling me he was going to miss me while I was away. And he completely ignored my Aunt when he dropped me off here. Then he gave me the 'be careful' speech. I haven't had one of those in a long time." She said her eyes fogging over with remembrance.
All three of her friends looked at each other, worried for their obviously sick friend. "You're happy about the 'be careful' speech?" Soujiro asked unbelievably.
Kaoru snapped out of her daze and looked up at him. "Well, when you haven't had it in a long time, especially from someone who actually shows concern for you're well-being, you start to miss it." She said, her voice low and quiet, her eyes clouding over with sadly joyful memories.
"I saw Aoshi today. He was standing in the hallway, talking to some girl. I was so jealous." Misao said, trying to keep the mood light. Kaoru snapped out of her daze and stared angrily at Misao.
"Is Aoshi all you think about?" She asked loudly, repeating Misao's words.
"Yes." Misao said laughing.
"Wow, we're pathetic. I apparently only think about kicking Kenshin's ass, Misao only thinks about Aoshi, and Megumi only thinks about her next fight with Sano. Soujiro is the only normal one." Kaoru said smiling and laughing a bit. The other three laughed with her, even though it wasn't as sincere as it should have been.
Soujiro rubbed the back of his neck nervously. A light blush accenting his cheeks. However, Kaoru was so preoccupied with her own thoughts, she didn't realize his embarrassed look.
"I do not think about Sano all the time. That baka rooster needs to go eat a llama!" She said forcefully, crossing her arms.
"Ok, Megumi. You love him and you know it." Misao said Kaoru agreeing. Megumi averted her gaze and a light blush fell upon her cheeks
"Yea, you should see you're self when he is sick or skips a class you two share, you get so irritable." Kaoru added, her and Misao laughing with each other. Their bubbly laughter melodically dancing into Megumi's angered ears.
"I do not! At least I'm not always obsessed with Kenshin!" Megumi said, trying to keep her dignity and pride which she cared for so much.
"You're right. I wish I was like you Megumi, half the time waiting for your next confrontation with Sano and the other half of the time, pretending to be in love with Kenshin when really your still thinking about Sano." Kaoru said sarcastically. She got her that time. Normally it was Kaoru or Misao who were being chewed out for their obsessions, but it was Megumi's turn. Kaoru just felt sorry that she could never share the experience with Soujiro, he wasn't obsessed with anything.
They all shared a laugh at Megumi's expense and soon loud banter, laughing, and story telling filled the room to the brink. All four of them loved small get togethers such as this, and treasured them. In the next week they planned on many more late nights together talking about stupid things. Soon Kaoru could see through the white billowy curtains that the sun had set and it was getting late. She slowly stood up and said her good-byes to her good friends.
"I'll walk you home." Soujiro energetically volunteered. She smiled and nodded her head. Both of them waved farewell and they walked slowly out the door. Misao and Megumi stood in the doorway watching them walk down the street, arm in arm. Whenever Kaoru was walked home by anyone she insisted they link arms.
Misao looked at Megumi, who was looking at Misao. "Kaoru is so stupid." Misao said softly, leaning against the door frame. "I wish some guy liked me as much as Soujiro likes her." Misao said sighing dreamily. Megumi nodded.
"I know, If Sano loved me like that...I don't think we'd ever leave the bedroom." Megumi said laughing a bit at her own joke. Misao laughed, but was to wrapped up in the picture of the two walking to realize what Megumi really meant. Soujiro, just an inch or two taller than Kaoru, walked next to her, his arm linked in hers. He wore long jeans, a blue and yellow collared stripped shirt with a dark blue one underneath it, and a few tight bracelets around his wrist.
Kaoru had changed from her outfit she wore at school, and was now wearing jeans and a concert tee-shirt, her hair held in a pony tail. They walked happily in the middle of the star lit road, the street lights having not turned on yet.
"He's to shy. If only Kaoru knew...Then things would be so much easier on us." Megumi said sighing. Misao turned to her and smiled.
"I know. He told me the other day that he would ask her to the next dance if Enishi wasn't in the way." Misao said her voice full of sorrow.
"I wish Aoshi would do that.." She said wrapping her shivering body in her arms. Both of them watched them enviously until they were out of sight.
"Soujiro, you don't think I'm obsessed with Kenshin do you?" She asked curiously.
"Well, you do talk about him a lot. But that doesn't make you obsessed. You are just really preoccupied with hating him." Soujiro said. He was a people pleaser, especially when it came to Kaoru. But it wasn't just that, it was also the fact that he wished as much as she did that she wasn't obsessed. One day, Soujiro vowed, he would make Kaoru see that her boy friend isn't worthy, and Kenshin shouldn't even be walking the ground she tread on.
But that's a different story entirely. They walked in silence, neither knowing what to say, but feeling content in the silence. "So are you excited about this trip?" He asked casually. He planned on becoming even closer with her on this trip, and making her even further from Enishi.
"No. It's going to be boring and stupid. Have you ever been camping Soujiro?" She asked, not really expecting a long answer. He shook his head no and a smirk curled upon her pink lips.
"Oh! Well, it sucks. You think it's going to be fun but really all you do is sit around in nature counting the hours until you get to go back home to the air conditioning, technology, and real beds. This trip is going to be suicide." She said angrily. Soujiro stared at her as she rambled on about how disastrous this trip was going to be, a small smile gracing his lips.
"Koaru, camping is about experiencing the wild untamed ways of nature. It's not just a tree or a blade of grass, it's a soul, a living thing. It's beautiful and majestic and should be treasured as one of the many gifts provided for us. This trip will not only be entertaining, but it will be with every friend you have ever made, it will be a learning experience, and most of all, it will be a chance to share nature with loved ones in the traditional manner." Soujiro said, his speech inspiring yet cheesy. Kaoru couldn't help but burst into a fit of giggles, having to stop to catch her breath. Soujiro looked down at her, a disappointed yet amused smile walking across his face.
Her laughing form was illuminated by the moon light and her raven hair whipped around in the air like a black sword. Her blue eyes shone with childlike innocence and joy and her thin frame moved gracefully about the street.
"Soujiro, I hate to camp, why would I enjoy sharing nature in the traditional sense with my friends?" She asked. A small giggle emerged from his lips as well and he shrugged.
"I dunno. I just thought you might look at it from a different light." He said holding his arm out for her. She quickly grabbed it and linked her arm in his once more, skipping playfully down the street, dragging him along. Soon Kaoru's house was in sight and she looked at Soujiro with an air of royalty.
"Well, my fine Sir. Tis my stop, so I bid the, farewell." She said in a medieval English accent. He smiled and his back straitened and he held his linked arm up high, his other hand outstretched in front of her. She grabbed his hand and their coiled arms unfolded and separated.
"I do hope you have a splendid evening and a marvelous slumber. Take care Milady." He said talking as she did, and holding her hand high in the air as they stepped up on her porch. She couldn't keep a strait face and few giggles escaped her lips as she stared up at Soujiro.
"Thank you Milord, thy kindness is bountiful and thy heart is golden. I shall call upon you in the morn' and we shall ride the large yellow carriage to the woods together when we wake. Farewell." She said once more biding him good-bye in the same tongue. Soujiro reluctantly released her hand, gave a flippant bow and slowly began to walk down her drive way backwards so he could wave good-bye to her.
"Later!" He shouted loudly in the modern day street tongue, just to break the trend.
"Bye!" She yelled just as loud as she twisted the door knob and walked into her darkened home. She turned the corner to find a small light fighting the shadow of darkness surrounding her house. She followed the source of light into the living room were she saw the dark figure of Enishi sitting peacefully on the couch.
Quickly she ran up to him searching his body for any wounds or ailments. Once she reached the couch she softly sat on the couch and padded her way towards him. His eyes were shut and he was in a light sleep. She wished so badly his turquoise eyes would land upon her and tell her everything was alright. His face was twisted in worry and his silver hair was messy and falling in his eyes. His muscles were tense as if he was having a bad dream, and Kaoru blamed his behavior on that.
She gently set one hand on his forearm and the other brushed his shining hair out of his eyes. "Enishi." She said her voice small and trying to stay light and joyful. "Enishi wake up." She said kindly, his eyes quickly snapping open and his hands unclenching, his body jolting from his dream. His fierce green eyes stared hard at her scared, worried blue ones. Once he processed were he was and what he had been there for he smiled and his eyes softened into a calm turquoise.
"Oh Kaoru, you scared me." He said his voice gentle yet course.
"Enishi, what's wrong?" She asked glancing quickly at the time before she slid gently onto his lap, to inspect his face better. She stared at him, wondering what he was doing over at her house at 11:23 at night. That's why he was sleeping, was because he had been waiting for her to return, but what could be so important that he couldn't leave her a message.
He wrapped his arms around her body, still far enough apart that he could see her face clearly. "Kaoru, I can't go camping." He said plainly, his voice void of emotion, as if he had rehearsed saying this so many times the life and infliction had been sucked out of it and flat out saying it was the only way he could break it to her.
"What! Why? What possible reason could you have for not going to the camping trip to be with me?" Kenshin's deep worry filled voice rose out of his throat.
"I'm sorry Kenshin, my grandma died and My family has to fly out to Nagasaki to go to her wake and funeral. We will be gone all week taking care of legal, financial, and emotional problems. Besides, I loved my grandma, I wouldn't miss paying my last respects for the world." She said her voice full of sorrow. She pulled him into a tight hug, tears brimming her eyes just thinking about the recent loss.
Kenshin patted her back lightly, his voice calm and soothing. "It's ok Tomoe, I understand. Take as long as you need. You can cry if you like." He said rubbing his hand soothingly on her back. She sniffled and allowed a few tears to slip past her beautiful eyelids and soak into his red shirt. However, she had cried enough tears already and soon wiped her eyes and looked into Kenshin's.
"Just promise me you wont do anything stupid while I'm gone." She said her soft brown eyes staring lovingly at him. Her hair was frazzled from her recent crying and large blue and black bags hung under her eyes.
"I wont. Please Tomoe, feel better. I don't want to see you like this any longer." Kenshin said his hand resting softly on her cheek. She leaned into his warm hand and closed her red puffy eyes. He pulled her into a hug and savored her smell and embrace.
"Kenshin, I love you." Tomoe said slowly into Kenshin's shoulder. Kenshins hands gently rubbed her back and a smile spread across his face. She rested her head gently on his shoulder and she could feel her body go limp in his arms. She felt so content in his arms, she felt like she could stay there forever.
"Tomoe, I-" Kenshin started when the door to his room swung open widely, hitting his wall and causing Tomoe to jump. Her head bounced off of his shoulder and her dark eyes searched the door way for the interruption. Kenshin looked up, cut off mid sentence. It was his mother.
"Kenshin, your friend has to leave, you need to get some sleep." She said quietly, walking down the hall, not bothering to close the door. Tomoe looked up at him and smiled.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to anger you're parents. I'll talk to you next week ok Kenshin?" She asked smiling and looking up at him. He temporarily let himself slip into her dark eyes and he gently leaned in and kissed her tear stained lips softly. Once he realized what he did he leaned back and looked once more into her brown eyes.
"Sorry. I needed one of those. But, I want you to keep your phone on while I'm away, I plan on bringing my cell phone and calling you when I get there. Ok?" He asked smiling down at her. She nodded her head after a bit of thought and slowly crawled off of his lap. She stood up and so did Kenshin.
He walked her down to his front door, since every light in his house was off. He checked outside his door and found a ride was waiting for her. He smiled, seeing it was very dim in the room he gently tugged on her sleeve. When she turned back around questioningly she felt his soft lips press against hers. She recoiled a bit then leaned into his embrace. She took a step closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.
Kenshin smiled then slowly ended the kiss, keeping his face still close enough to hers to see her in the dark. "You're awfully friendly today." Tomoe said laughing softly at her joke. "Thanks." She said softly then uncoiled her arms and stepped back, her hand on the door knob.
"I'll miss you Tomoe. Don't go falling in love with any boys from Nagasaki." Kenshin said jokingly, and he could hear the twinkle of her small laugh. The door opened and her darkened figure stepped out into the starlit driveway. He watched her climb into the car and zoom away quickly. He smiled, unaware of how he could ever have gotten such a wonderful girl like Tomoe.
Yellow sunlight splashed onto Kenshin's face as his dark blue curtains were pulled apart harshly. His light violet eyes opened slowly, his pupils quickly shrinking to small dots with the increase of light. His pink scar was illuminated in the bright sun light and it throbbed with pain. He had a dream, reliving the two moments he had received those two slashes across his beautiful face. His heart was racing, and his hair was thrown into all different directions with his erotic movements in his slumber. He coughed quietly and shook the dream out of his head, looking around his room for the owner of the pair of hands that had thrown open the curtains.
His eyes landed on his mother and quickly his eyes opened wider and he sat up onto his elbows. His hair gently fell into his eyes and no matter how many times he tossed his head to the side his hair would not budge. "Mother. What's up?" He asked casually as he studied her actions so he could decipher her mood. She was wearing a pristine white blouse and a knee length brown skirt. Her blouse was tucked into her skirt and she had on small heeled dark brown shoes. Her hair was pulled back tightly and stuck up with the help of a black clip. He smiled softly up to her, hoping she wouldn't be angry with him. She stared down her nose at him, straitening things up in his room with stiff harsh movements. She was angry. She even walked with rage filling every step.
"What's up?" She asked her voice high pitched and angry. "Well, my baby boy is leaving me for a whole week to go hang out in the woods with all of his friends and he hasn't even said good bye to me." She said her voice cracking a bit. He could tell she was upset by this but he wasn't sure if it was real or not. When she talked her voice was smooth for the most part, causing him to question her sincerity.
He slowly stood up, the light still burning his foggy eyes. But his mother was a morning person so he had to pretend he was to. "Well mom, I'm not going to be all alone just me and my friends. It's a school field trip." He said slowly, walking towards his closet. He stood in the middle of it and lazily picked up the small gray remote form the floor. He pressed a button and all of his clothes began to move, revealing more clothes. His glazed eyes glanced over the dancing clothes searching for something appealing.
She promptly walked into his closet, her movements robotic. "Kenshin Himura." Her voice rang softly into his ears. Her voice was gentle, yet reprimanding, and for once he could hear a loving tone somewhere squished in there. He couldn't keep the tiny smile that crept up, off of his face. His purple eyes slowly looked up to her, his head cocked to the side a bit, as if he was still trying to look at his moving clothes.
As he stared at her, he could see regret in her eyes, and as the abused child he was, he mistook it for regret that she conceived him. However, her regret was about what was going to happen once Kenshin got downstairs. Her eyes cast to the side and she placed a fake, yet convincing smile on her face. One that made her regretful look seem like she was just reliving a memory. Kenshin, unsettled by her whole course of action in the past twenty minutes, looked back to his clothes, and managed to pull something off he rack.
"Mom, I'll be down in a minute. I just need to get dressed, grab something to eat, and I'll be out of your hair for a week." He said smiling comforted at her startled form. It was like his voice had shaken her out of a nightmare, and she was left speechless. Seconds later she regained her composure and smiled politely at her son.
"Alright honey. Take you're time. You still have forty-five minutes left until You need to be in the limo." She said slowly backing out of his closet, then promptly turning and walking from his white, illuminated room. Kenshin was nervous as he walked back into his room as well, setting the clothes he had just picked out on his bed. He turned and closed the door, pulling his shirt off over his head on his way back to his small pile of clothes.
As he stood there, shirtless, he thought about his mothers actions. They seemed, carefully planned, well thought out, yet hesitant. She seemed like there was something she didn't want to do before he left. She had told him to take his time, and for some reason Kenshin knew she meant it. It wasn't just because he had a lot of time, it was because his mother had woken him up early, with the fake excuse of wanting to say good-bye but really it was because of some alternative reason.
Suddenly, Kenshin knew he wanted to take a long time getting dressed. He slipped on a long sleeved white shirt and a tight black short sleeved shirt on top. He slipped on a pair of ripped dirty jeans, that looked old and worn out, but they were brand-new. Rips and cuts in your jeans was "in" now a days, and Kenshin wasn't going to argue. He looked in the mirror at his mop of hair, his signature. With wild hair like that there is no way some one could over look you.
This hair was the reason he was who he was, it was why he already had a fancy well-paying job waiting for him, he wasn't even in college yet. The man had said "A boy with hair like that must have some creative marketing skills bouncing around under it." and thus, he had a job.
Kenshin scanned his face, finding no imperfections with the exception of small lines present on his face from his pillow. He picked up a brush lazily and ran it through his hair several times. The kinks and knots fell from his locks and soon the thick chunks of hair fell strait to his back. He picked up a bottle of moose and ran it lightly through his hair, making sure there was no frizz. He tied it in a low pony tail at the back of his neck and looked in the mirror once more.
He sighed, hoping that when he got down the white set of stairs that his father was gone. He had a hunch as to why his mother seemed so anxious and hesitant, but he was praying to any god who would listen, that it didn't have to do with his father. As he gently skipped down those very white stairs he was just thinking of, he saw the face he had dreaded, smirking.
His father stood patiently at the bottom of the staircase, a small smirk growing with the ever closer aura of his son. He was dressed in a dark gray business suit with a bright blue and green tie. The tie was obnoxious, but even his father tried to keep up with the ever changing trends of young people. His brief case was waiting for him, next to his set of keys at the front door.
Kenshin forced a warm smile onto his face, and a somewhat naive glimmer sparkled in his hopeful eyes. "Hey dad." He said his voice firm and strained. He was trying not to be so tense, but Kenshin could read his fathers lust filled eyes. He wanted to do something to Kenshin.
"Kenshin." He said, his deep forceful voice booming into Kenshins ears. Kenshin grimaced and flinched at the sound of his name so forcefully projected out of his fathers mouth. As Kenshin took his last step off of the white stairs and onto ground level with his father, he looked up to him, since he was far taller than him.
"Kenshin, Before you leave for a whole week, I'd like to talk to you. Your mother wants nothing to do with this talk, and she has asked me to take you out to the dojo, since she doesn't want to hear what I have to say." He said, turning and walking quickly through the kitchen and towards the back door. Kenshin reluctantly followed, bracing himself for anything his father could dish out. Kenshins father was a big man, and his constantly using Kenshin as a punching bag only made him stronger.
As they entered the dojo, Kenshin could see any doors that could be used as an escape were blocked off by either a rack of swords and other sharp objects, or they were locked. Kenshin knew that many of the paper thin walls of this dojo were actually made of paper, others had very thin dry wall in-between the Japanese decoration. Kenshin had been thrown into and through enough of them to know which were real and which were fake. If it came down to it, he could just push through a wall and run.
His father pulled his top layer of suit off, and set it down nicely on the wooden floor. His shiny black shoes made a clicking noise as he walked back towards Kenshin, smiling menacingly.
"Boy, who told you that you could leave for a week?" Came the cold voice of his father. His words were as chilled as the frosty morning air.
"You did Sir. You said I needed to toughen up and sending me into the wilderness would do the trick." Kenshin said, elaborating a bit on his words.
"Did I?" He asked, his gaze scrutinizing.
"Yes Sir. And mother said I should get out of the house." He said confidently, but not cheekily.
"Oh. Well, can you guess what I am doing this week at work?" His fathers voice came booming back at him quickly as he took a step towards a display of bokken and swords. He fingered a few of them lightly.
"Consulting?" Kenshin asked hopefully, with a tone of wonder.
"No. I'm flying to various places in Japan to meet the presidents of several other large scale corporations." He said, his voice a tad testy.
"Oh." Kenshin said quietly knowing fully well what that meant. He knew that his father was going to be meeting and greeting many other business men who were important, and if he was lucky some of their companies could merge together to monopolize the Japanese business world. Kenshin knew for a fact that would never happen, he knew tons of Japanese who would start their own companies just to stop corporal monsters like his father, but if even just one company signed on his family could be richer ten fold.
This meant the stress levels would be very high for his father, especially with the travel, and Kenshin wouldn't be there to be his stress ball. Kenshin thought of buying his father a stress ball and handing it to him as he walked out the door saying "You'll need this while I'm gone" but his better judgement told him his father wouldn't be happy and neither would Kenshin after he got back.
"So, I figured I could just let all of my current frustrations out before you leave so I wont be stressed when I get there, so the trip will be easier to handle." His father said smiling and gently taking a large sword off of the rack he had been looking at. Kenshin had seen him use that sword only once, and when Kenshin had witnessed this, he wasn't the dummy his father was testing it on.
Kenshin took a step back trying to suppress the fear bubbling up from his stomach. "Were are you going?" His father asked taking a smaller yet powerful sword off of the rack and throwing it towards Kenshin without even looking up. Kenshin caught it skillfully, before it stabbed him in the stomach.
Kenshin was shocked to see his father was using a weapon, Kenshin was shocked to see his father was letting him use a weapon, Kenshin was shocked. He stared down at the sword in his hands as if it were a foreign object, and before he could blink his father was standing next to him, the dull side of his blade pressed against Kenshin's neck.
"I thought I taught you better than to let your guard down." Came his fathers voice whispering in his ear. The pressure was taken off of his neck and his father jumped to stand in front of Kenshin, his sword above his head and his body crouched low to the ground. Kenshin stood side ways and held his sword so the sharp edge faced his father.
His father pulled his sword to his waist and ran towards Kenshin, his sword thrusting towards him. Kenshin's sword clashed against his fathers and soon loud sounds of metal could be heard striking against one another every few seconds. Their movements were to quick for any onlooker to see anything more than a blur. Kenshin was better at blocking attacks than his father was, but his father was better at hitting the target. So they were both evenly matched. Both managed to cut the other a few times, the deepest was on Kenshin but, his father had a nasty one on his shoulder.
The wooden floor became splattered with red blood, droplets forming all over as if someone was dripping red paint in random designs on the floor. Soon his father lowered his sword, and so did Kenshin, leaving it at a draw. They were both out of breath, Kenshin breathing irregularly, and his fathers breathes deep and slow. Kenshins father dropped his sword and so did he. They just stood there, watching each other, until his father ran towards him again, this time his fist raised. Kenshin stood still, partly because he was scared, and partly because the section of his brain that dealt with fighting and pain seemed to momentarily not be working.
So he stood there, his red hair falling out of his pony tail, his white undershirt stained red in places, and his eyes watching his fathers movements with a dull entertainment. His fathers fist made contact with his chest, more towards the side that didn't have a broken rib. His father had planned that so Kenshin wouldn't collapse from getting the wind blown from him, but he would be in pain. His body moved a bit with impact and he could feel a dull ache in his rib cage, but he didn't flinch. His father stared at him, his face contorted in evil amusement, searching Kenshin's for pain.
Kenshins anapaestic imperial eyes were not filled with pain, nor misery, but a flash of amber could be seen swirling in those mixed eyes. His father took a step closer and stared hard into his sons eyes. His father took a deep breath and opened his moth as if to ask something, then closed it deciding he wouldn't. Kenshin stood, his arms at his side, his hair a mess but his face stone cold. His eyes stared unwaveringly through his father, and his mind was completely blank. He had never been able to achieve a clear mind before, not even in meditation, thinking back on it later on, he realized it is a scary thing to feel.
"Kenshin, your ride should be here soon. Why don't you go change?" His father asked, his voice stern, as if he knew he was wrong about something but to proud to show it. Kenshin continued to stare forwards and his father shifted his weight uncomfortably.
"Son, I need to change into a new suit, this one is ruined. I'll be back out here in five minutes and if you're still here, I'm calling an ambulance." He said stiffly, as if it was an order for him to move. His father stood there for a few more seconds then turned and picked up his jacket, leaving Kenshin alone.
As soon as his fathers suffocating aura left the dojo, and the door was shut quietly behind him Kenshin's flashing amber eyes settled back into violet, his body fell slack, and he toppled over into the floor. He managed to stop his head from hitting the floor, as he closed his eyes. Suddenly all thought and reason caught up with him. It was like he had managed to stop time for himself as soon as his father was about to hit him, and as he lay there on the floor, it caught up to him. His head began to throb like a million square spikes were slowly being forced into the back of his head.
He lay there, a smile creeping onto his face as the memory of his fathers reaction when he wasn't affected by his punch came back to him. Slowly he opened his eyes and found he was still in the dojo. He pushed himself up form the ground and blinked several times. As he pushed the sliding door open he caught a glimpse of his fathers worried face looking out the back door at the dojo for a sign of life. But he hurriedly looked away then glanced back at Kenshin a trace of a smile on his lips as he pointed to his wrist watch. Kenshin stared at him, his eyes emotionless.
He just turned and walked down his driveway, and he was soon at the front gate. He let himself out and sat down on the curb next to his driveway. He watched the road for a sign of life. He lived on a private road that turned off of a busy one. Soon he saw a flash of red through the trees. Soon a "pimped out" red Cobalt was sitting in front of him, with ground effects, lights, red and black interior, and tinted windows. One of those windows rolled down and Sano sat in the front seat.
"Hey, You ok?" He asked curiously. Kenshin stood up wordlessly shook the bangs that fell in his eyes out of the way and opened the door hopping in.
"I'm talking to you. Your all beat up and you never wait outside your driveway. What happened?" Sano asked again.
Kenshins purple eyes roamed across the car and landed on Sano, without a word Sano could tell what had happened, and that Kenshin didn't want to talk about it. His eyes were sad and worn out. Sano stared at him for a moment then smiled nervously revving the car to life then focusing on the road as he made a u-turn and drove off of the private road and onto Spencer, the busy road. As Sano drove, Kenshin stared out the window, a bored, tired expression capturing his face. Sano glanced at his friend worriedly.
"So, We get a whole week away from our parents, and school. We just get to chill in the wilderness, along with all the animals and hot chicks. This is going to be fun, don't be so uptight." Sano said making a right into a small convenient store. Sano jumped out mumbling about needing to pick up a few things. Kenshin watched his retreating form walk into the store. He felt so drained, all of that ignoring his father stuff was tiring.
He had never managed to ignore his father so well, he hardly even felt that last blow. It was nice, Kenshin would have to do that again. At the thought of his fathers worried face a ghost of a smile jumped to his face, but it quickly faded.
Sano appeared practically out of nowhere and jumped in the car, tossing the bag of things he had bought in Kenshin's lap and fiddling with the radio nobs. Kenshin looked down to the bag in his lap and stared scrutinizing at it as if it were to move. Kenshin slowly opened it and stared at its contents.
"Caffeine pills, red bull, condoms and mike and ikes?" Kenshin asked picking each up in order. Sano quickly snatched the bag form his grasp pulled out the pack of condoms and mike and iks and set the bag back in his lap.
"These are for me." He said as if he were talking to a dog. Sano shoved the male coverage in the container between the two front seats and started the car with one hand, and opened the candy with the other. Kenshin looked down in his lap once more then up to Sano.
"What's this for?" Kenshin questioned his voice holding a sort of 'why did you get this' sort of tone.
"You need some perking up! We're going to the woods, I've got beer in my bag and there'll be chicks!" Sano said triumphantly, ending his statement with a chuckle. Kenshin shrugged, to drained to fight him, maybe a red bull would help. Kenshin opened the caffeine pills and placed two of them in his mouth, taking a sip of the red bull.
"This tastes like shit." Kenshin mumbled as he stared at the contents of the drink.
"It's not for the taste, you drink it for the caffeine buzz." Sano said staring at the road. Kenshin shrugged and downed the rest of the drink.
A/N: UH! This took forever, and I like to update all my stories at once, but I just couldn't, I have little to no inspiration for my other two stories and to top it off I've started a new one...a lot to take on, especially with such an undedicated unreliable writer such as myself. But I'm trying, of course, I am working with little to no support, people who read this refuse to respond...241 hits, 12 reviews.
That basically means, only twelve people care if this story continues, only twelve people want to help me along with it, and only twelve people enjoy frequent updates and long chapters...keep that in mind as your eyes flash over that small blueish button at the bottom. Sorry for grammar mistakes, I don't have the time or patience to re-read it, and not enough people care enough to kindly tell me I have errors, because the reviews I do get are "No. Plz update soon, it's gr8t."...so...here it is.
Warning: writers who have currently crashed from caffeine may be testy, beware.