Chapter 19
D-Day
After the entire episode that had led up to Kenshin declaring his love for her, Kaoru found it difficult to remain angry with him. She'd stood there crying into his arms and thinking about how much she needed him just as much as he needed her. She'd thought about her lifelong memories of the shattered family and how good it felt to finally have someone to confide in.
She'd thought about all the times her and Misao joked that Kaoru would never get married or have a boyfriend. How many times had she insisted that having a man in her life would just mean the same troubles that her mother faced every day with her husband?
"But Kenshin you're so different. How? How did you change my mind and take my heart so quickly?" she thought.
Weeks had passed since that fateful day after school and Kaoru's life began to change rapidly.
Her father was eventually released from the hospital and returned home. He'd remained home as he was still too weak to even walk around much let alone work. Kaoru's mother dutifully continued her motherly and wifely duties by working hard as usual and providing for them. Even being in the hospital and near death her father remained just as stubborn and pretentious as he was before.
He'd insisted on being practically waited on hand and foot and when the smallest of errors were made on part of his family, they would have to face his short fuse and explosive temper. Kaoru scoffed at the thought of going home and wanted to extend her moments spent with Kenshin as much as possible every afternoon after school and during the weekends.
Her father wasn't too thrilled about his young, teenage daughter gallivanting about with her "friends" and was suspicious from the start. But as usual her mother would swoop into her rescue and assured the man that she was a young girl that needed to experience life beyond her room walls.
To stay in contact with her throughout the day when they weren't together, Kenshin had even gotten her a small, pre-paid cell phone. Kaoru had unsuccessfully tried to decline the sudden and extravagant gift. But he was just as stubborn as she.
"Kenshin! A cell phone? This is too much! How can I accept this? I mean…what if…" she stammered as Kenshin placed the sleek, black phone in her hands.
"No K, take it! Really…it was just collecting dust in my dresser since I got the new one. Besides, I want to be able to call you whenever I think about you…" he reached over to caress her face, "and miss you".
Reluctantly she'd accepted the gift but never quite got used to having a cell phone. All her friends had cells and she'd just thought it was unnecessary since most of the time she was either at home, at school, with Misao who had a cell or now with Kenshin. She'd found it annoying when other student's cell phones would go off during a lecture and the entire class was interrupted.
He called her practically every evening and wished her a good night just before bed, and she'd secretly began to expect his phone calls as a part of her daily ritual.
At times she'd considered being completely forthcoming with her parents about her relationship with Kenshin. But there was always something that stopped her. At first it was the incredibly high blood pressure that her father had coming out of the hospital. Any and every small misstep or mistake would trigger him to instantly loose his temper.
Even after recuperating in the hospital and resting at home, his hands still shook slightly from the weakness in his body. Her mother had insisted that Kaoru and Yahiko behave themselves and made them promise to keep their peace around the man.
"I suppose telling him how much I love Kenshin now wouldn't be smart" she'd thought sarcastically.
Kenshin seemingly had no qualms about coming over any day and coming clean to the Kamiya's about their daughters' involvement with him. He was prepared for the worst, but planned to stand his ground.
Kaoru had even considered telling her mother before revealing the relationship to her father, but had decided against burdening the long suffering woman with yet another set of anxieties. Her mother seemingly never had a chance to relax or rest in the past few years. Between work, family, and her husbands' abuse, she'd become a zombie of sorts. Kaoru didn't want to make her mother's life any more stressful than it'd become.
Yet the anxiety of sneaking around and keeping such a large secret was becoming too much for her. She wanted to tell her mother about how wonderful Kenshin was and how much he cared for her. She wanted to tell her father about how smart and charismatic he was and desperately wanted them to meet him. But there was always something that Kaoru had to be mindful of, and as usual her desires were put on hold for the sake of her family's peace.
So it went on for weeks with the two sneaking around on the weekends and Kenshin dropping her home every afternoon after classes and this day seemed like any other.
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As the silver BMW pulled to halt just a few houses before the Kamiya's household, Kaoru quickly turned in her seat to kiss Kenshin goodbye for the evening. They'd been driving around and had some lunch so she was running late to get home.
She planted a quick kiss on his lips and began to gather her bag and books, "Gees, we're really running late Kenshin. Well…I am!" She looked at the time, "DAMN! It's 5 pm already? They're gonna impale me today!"
Not fretting in the least bit Kenshin tried to calm the frantic girl. "Hey relax. Just tell 'em that you had some stuff to do after school. Or…you know…the truth."
She stopped momentarily and looked at the red-head. He had a smug smirk across his face and an accusing raised eyebrow looking back at her. She sighed deeply and recited the same excuse that she'd told him a million times over already. "Kenshin, you know I want to tell them. It kills me to not be honest, but…just the time is never right…and my dad is always pissed off…"
"I know, I know." He assured her. "I just don't think we need to be sneaking around like this. But…I guess you know best about your family and I won't push you into telling them if you're not ready."
She looked at him affectionately and leaned in for another kiss. "I know, and soon. I promise. Love you."
And with that she rushed out of the car and practically flew into her house as Kenshin quietly watched from his seat.
He let out a small sigh of relief feeling satisfied that she was home, "Love you too. Whenever you're ready" he muttered while driving off.
Once inside Kaoru practiced her excuse for being late in her head. She dropped her bag and books and removed her shoes to go into the living room looking for whoever was home. Most likely her parents would be in the living room watching TV together and Yahiko upstairs in his room playing video games.
As she turned into the doorway and entered the living room, she saw that her mother was sitting in silence alone. The TV was switched off yet everything seemed in its place. The room had been thoroughly cleaned in anticipation for Kaoru's father being released from the hospital and now seemed to radiate life once again.
But there was something wrong today. The silence in the room and throughout the house seemed unbearably deafening. The solemn look on her mother's face as she met her young girl at the doorway caught Kaoru off guard.
"Mom…what's wrong?" she asked in a hushed tone. "Where's dad? Is everything okay?" Feelings of fear and anxiety began to throb through her veins. "Another seizure attack? Oh god!" Memories of that morning and the look of horror in her father's eyes began to flood back to her.
Her mother said nothing, instead just continuing to look her daughter. Kaoru couldn't read the expression on her mother's face, but desperately wanted answers. She continued to look around the small room, thinking somehow her father was sitting there and she'd overlooked him, but nothing.
Silence.
Kaoru's mind screamed at her to keep asking what was going until she got an answer. Where was her father? And what had her mother sitting there looking so upset.
Then from behind her, a familiar voice boomed, "Where have you been this whole time?"
She turned her head slowly and caught sight of her father walking into the living room. For a moment relief washed over her as she saw him in one piece, but the tone of his voice and look on his face told her that something was wrong.
His eyes narrowed on her and she felt his intense piercing gaze. She could give no immediate reply as he looked suspiciously at her and seemed to pin her in place. As if stalking his prey, he continued to walk towards her and eventually stood a few feet away.
Her voice was caught in her throat and her heart pounded so hard with fear that she thought she might collapse. She opened her mouth to speak but the words died before they even left her tongue.
"I asked you where have you been for the past 2 hours? What time is your school over?" he asked again. She could see the anger rising in his light brown eyes and his feature twisting in resentment at the sight of her.
"Dad…I…I..." she could barely whisper as the tears began to fill in her eyes. "Damnit Kaoru, be strong! Don't you cry! What should I do? Tell them the truth?" She continued to think about whether or not she had the ability to lie so boldly to her parent's faces and live with herself. But the sight of the seriously ticked off man in front of her told her that her life was in question no matter what she said. "They know something. But how?"
"I ASKED YOU A QUESTION DAMNIT. DON'T JUST STAND THERE AND INSULT ME WITH NO ANSWER! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" He exploded and his voice coursed through her frame and shook her to the bone.
Instantly her mother rose from the couch and came to her daughter's rescue. "Shhh. What's wrong with you?" she chastised the man softly. "You want the entire neighborhood to hear…"
"I WANT TO KNOW WHERE THE HELL MY DAUGHTER HAS BEEN" he screamed at his wife. He turned his attention his daughter again and took a step closer to her, as his wife held onto his arm.
Kaoru couldn't peel her sight away from him and was faced with his glare once more. She swallowed hard and tried desperately to find the voice within her and to stop her fear.
"I was out…with…" she slowly and softly began to speak, but his name wouldn't leave her tongue. "How do I tell them that I was with Kenshin this long?"
Her father startled her as he quickly turned his anger towards Kaoru's mother. "WHAT HAVE I BEEN TELLING YOU FOR THE LAST FEW DAYS? DIDN'T I TELL YOU THAT SOMETHING WAS WRONG?" he directed his attention towards Kaoru once more, "COMING HOME LATE, GOING OUT EVERY SINGLE WEEKEND, EXCUSES, EXCUSES, EXCUSES. YOU THOUGHT WE WOULDN'T FIND OUT? YOU TAKE ME FOR A FOOL?" His anger only grew more and more fierce.
Kaoru could feel her legs grow weak and a frightful chill traveled up her spine as he spat out the last of his words. She needed to explain to them just how much Kenshin had helped her through everything and how much he meant to her. "Kenshin is a great guy and I…I do love him. They need to understand."
She started to speak with a miniscule more of resolve in her voice and looked back and fourth with pleading eyes between her parents. "Dad…I wanted to tell you guys for so long, but you were in the hospital. And that day in the hospital…when I visited…"
Just as she began to gain more strength in her voice, she was interrupted by a ringing. She looked around desperately as the ringing became painfully familiar and she realized that the sound was coming from her father's hand.
Looking down towards his fist, she saw her black cell phone. Her heart dropped as she realized there was only one person that could've been calling. "Oh my god, the phone…I left it on the dresser this morning. How could've I been so stupid?"
He raised it to eye level and held it out for Kaoru's mother to see. "YOU SEE THIS? WHERE DID THIS COME FROM? DID YOU GET IT FOR HER?"
The woman shook her head and looked at Kaoru with pain and disappointment in her eyes. "Kaoru, who does that belong to?"
"MISAO! Tell them it belongs to Misao!" she thought. "NO! No more lying! Just…tell them the truth."
The phone continued to ring as Kaoru went over her thoughts again and again. The sound seemed to temporarily drown out everything else as the three stood in silence. Her father glaring angrily at her, her mother looking to her for answers, and Kaoru facing them in shock.
Finally the phone fell silent, but Kaoru could still hear the ringing permeate through her mind. After a few more seconds of silence, it began to ring again. "Damnit Kenshin!" she thought.
She wanted to desperately snatch the phone from her father and answer it. Knowing the person on the other end was the only one that could help her. "No! Why are you so scared?" she scolded herself. "You said yourself that all of this was not wrong. You should be allowed to love and live your life the way you want to. So what's wrong now? Now that the inevitable happened you're scared? You coward!"
Before anyone could say another word, her father promptly flipped the phone open and answered, "Who is this?" he spat rudely.
"Oh my gosh!" her brain went haywire. She could only imagine what Kenshin thought on the other end. She tried desperately to heighten her hearing and pick up on what Kenshin said, but failed.
Her father spoke again, "This is Kaoru's father. Who the HELL IS THIS?"
She could take no more and began to plead with her father, "Dad please! Please don't. I'll explain everything, just don't…"
But she was cut off, "SHUT UP!" he man responded with the phone still in his hand but no longer pressed to his ear. He glared angrily at his daughter and she tried to reason with him once more.
"God what did Kenshin tell him?" she wondered.
"Dad just listen to me for a second, PLEASE!" she was begging him to gain some composure but quickly loosing her own.
After hearing his daughter practically scream at him, his rage took complete control of him. In an instant phone was thrown across the room and Kaoru could hear it crack against the wall and finally fall down to the floor in pieces.
"SINCE WHEN DID YOU START GETTING CAR RIDES HOME HUH?" he screamed.
Kaoru went pale. "Of course…damnit…he saw the phone in my room and probably saw me getting out of Kenshin's car from my bedroom window. Argh…so everything needs to be on the out. Fine!"
She looked towards her father once more with determination instead of fear and answered him defiantly, "It's my phone and yes, Kenshin drove me home today. I wanted to tell you but…"
She didn't get a chance to finish. In an instant she tumbled to the floor with a thud realizing that she'd just been slapped. Her cheek burned with pain and her heart broke as she realized that he didn't want to hear any explanations. Her mother had stepped in again and took hold of the man's arm, trying to dissuade him.
"THIS! THIS IS WHAT WE RAISED HER FOR? SNEAKING AROUND, HANGING OUT WITH SOME THUG AND LYING? SHE'S BEEN GOING AROUND RUNNING THIS FAMILY'S NAME INTO THE GROUND!" he screamed.
Kaoru's thoughts were shattered by his words. "What? Running this family's name into the ground? Me? For what? For loving someone that hasn't done anything but love me back?" Her frustration and pain darkened to anger and resentment towards the man.
She stood up from the floor to face him again. "YOU'RE accusing ME of running this family's name into the ground?"
Her words seemed to only ignite his rage even more. He looked at her as if at any moment he would devour her. But she would not be scared into submission by his scary looks, and continued on. "YOU'RE the one that went around asking the neighbors for money when we wouldn't give you any! And I'M running this family's name into the ground?"
The blue in her eyes turned into a flame of rage directed towards her father. Kaoru's mother desperately tried to quiet her, but failed.
"No Mom! He has to hear this! For the past what…13, 14, 15 YEARS I've watched you suffer for this man. WE ALL HAVE! NIGHT AFTER NIGHT, DAY AFTER DAY, ONE HOLIDAY AFTER THE OTHER WE PUT UP WITH HIS HELL! HOW DARE HE COME INTO THIS HOUSE AND ACT LIKE THIS?"
"Kaoru, he's still your father" her mother begged.
"WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME HE ACTED LIKE ONE?" she screamed back. Her resolve was slipping; the pain and shock from his hard slap had shaken her badly.
She shot him another angry glare and waiting for his response. It came quickly. The man grabbed his wife's arm and tugged at her to make his point, "YOU SEE? YOU SEE HER? THIS IS WHAT YOU GET FOR LETTING HER GO WHEREEVER SHE WANTED. I TOLD YOU…I TOLD YOU OVER AND OVER TO WATCH HER. BUT YOU WANTED TO JUST LET HER GO AND HANG OUT."
"For god's sake can't you act your age and calm down. You think yelling at her like this will help?" the poor woman pleaded with her husband.
"Oh so it's MY fault? All of this is MY fault. OF COURSE IT IS! I'M THE WORTHLESS BUM HERE!" he responded. "YOU CAN LEAVE ME TOO. I DON'T NEED ANY OF YOU!" he tried to push past his wife and exit the room, but she fought to keep in there.
"You have to talk to your daughter. You have to ask her what's going on, for once in your life just talk to her" she pulled and clawed at his arm to keep him from walking out.
He turned and looked at his wife square in the eye before pulling his arm from her hands and bringing a harsh hand across her face. "THIS IS YOUR FAULT!"
Kaoru's heart skipped a beat and she was instantly at her mother's side. "DON'T YOU TOUCH HER!" she screamed at him.
By now Yahiko had heard the commotion coming from downstairs and had stayed in the stairwell listening to the argument. He too heard the hard slap that his mother received and soon ran into the living room on the defense.
"Don't touch my mother!" he yelled at the taller man in front of him.
Seeing that he was outnumbered, Kaoru's father retreated out of the room and walked to the back of the house. He wanted some air, and Kaoru was thankful that she too could collect herself.
Her mother sank down to the couch and looked miserable. Kaoru saw the time and noticed that soon the woman would have to return to work and was in for another night of stress. She walked over to where the woman sat and crouched down in front of her.
"Mom…" the sight of her made Kaoru cry, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. Please don't be mad!"
Kaoru's mother wiped tears away from her eyes but her voice still exuded the strength and determination that Kaoru had become to respect over the years. "Why didn't you just say something sooner Kaoru? How could you have kept something like this from me?"
Yahiko stood in silence as he listened to the two women and tried to make sense of the argument.
"Mom…I wanted to. So many times. But dad being in the hospital and you being upset all the time. I just…I couldn't find the words…I couldn't find the right time to tell you. I didn't want to lie. Please…I'm so sorry!"
Just as Kaoru went to explain more to her mother, she heard the doorbell ring.
"Yahiko, please answer that" her mother requested. The two women tried to compose themselves for the unexpected company. The entire situation seemed sickeningly customary to Kaoru. How many times had they all had to put on a front for everyone else to hide their despair? "Who could this be" Kaoru thought.
Yahiko ran out of the room and to the front door. Kaoru heard the door unlock and open. She heard a few mumbles from the direction and tried to distinguish who the other voice belonged to.
After clearing her head of all other distractions she quickly rose from her spot in front of her mother as she realized who it was.
"Kenshin!" she thought.
In an instant the red head appeared in the doorway with Yahiko standing behind him. He saw Kaoru's disheveled state and immediately entered the room. Giving her a concerned look, Kenshin also directed his attention to the woman now standing next to Kaoru.
His expression was serious and he looked around the room and saw the phone in pieces on the floor.
"Kenshin…" Kaoru started, but her voice dried in her throat once more. "What are you doing here?" she thought in shock.
Kaoru's mother seemed just as shocked, but the red-head was on point as usual.
"How are you Kaoru? I spoke to your father over the phone and thought I better come over." His voice was smooth but laced with a seriousness that Kaoru had never heard before. He spoke in a soft and matter-of-fact tone as he continued to examine Kaoru.
He looked over at Kaoru's mother and smiled warmly, "How are you Mrs. Kamiya? I am Kenshin Himura and I believe you have some questions to ask me."
The two women stood in a stupor as Kenshin stood there in front of them making his introduction.
"Y-yes Kenshin. I suppose these aren't the best circumstances to meet you under, but you two do have some explaining to do" her mother finally gained some sense and answered back.
All fell silent once more as a looming presence entered the room. Kenshin still faced the two women and answered them even if they were no longer listening to him, "Of course, I understand. Where is Mr. Kamiya?"
Silence.
Kenshin looked in confusion at the two women who were now looking past him. He turned to see what their focus was on. As he turned he saw the man standing in the doorway to the living room staring daggers back at him. Tiger-brown eyes met his own for the first time.
END CHAPTER 19
Well what did you think? Finally the truth comes out huh? I suppose this was what the entire story boiled down to. Kaoru confronts her father about everything and of course her parents finding out about Kenshin.
The cell phone thing may seem a bit off, but trust me it's possible!
So Kenhsin meets Mr. Kamiya next chapter. Well actually they already met; just now they get to speak face to face.
But please review and let me know what you think so far.
-Arrigato!
