A/N: Hello everyone! Sorry about the delay! I've been working on my new story Dear Diary.
It seems to be quite the hit:D!
Anyway, here's chapter 11!
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Chapter 11 – Prying the Secret
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When Kenji scrambled off the warm couch of Kaoru's living room and hastily made his way over to the door of the house, after craning his neck out the high door-window on his tip-toes, Kenji opened the door to two familiar figures.
Drenched and proceeding to soak the water even deeper into their bones with their standing in the door-way while the storm continued to roar, the two drowned rats hunched their way into the dry inside.
Kenji stared at the two apprehensively in hopes to see some progress from their date. Shifting between Kaoru, who was wringing out her shirt, then to his father, who was squeezing the water from his hair, Kenji hoped for a sign of some progress. Kenji looked more closely at Kaoru's now shy form as she tried to dry her thoroughly drenched clothing.
Her mouth was formed in a diffident frown as her face was slightly red. But Kenji focused back onto her mouth for a moment. His eye twitched slightly as he noticed that her lips looked slightly swollen. Squinting his turquoise eyes, he swiftly snapped his head to the direction of his dad.
His dad has busied himself with shaking his chin length locks dry, then unbuttoning his shirt so he could also attempt to dry it. Kaoru had wrung out her shirt and some of her hair before turning to Kenshin shyly, then, seeing his shirtless state, quickly shifted back into her old position.
Kenji gazed among the two with a confused expression.
Exactly what happened on the date that made them so skittish?
Kenji quickly retreated back to the living room where Yahiko sat on the couch, waiting for the news. Kenji slowly approached with a lost look on his face.
"Well? What's the outcome?"
Kenji could only shake his head for the moment. Then, he lifted his gaze from the couch cushions to Yahiko's eyes.
"They seem really nervous around each other…"
Yahiko groaned and wiped his hand over his face.
"Not good…"
Kenji bit his lip in deep thought while Yahiko laced his fingers through his tussled black locks. Suddenly, Kenji popped in his idle position.
"Maybe something happened and they don't want us t'know!"
The mirthful expression had brought a doubtful Yahiko to some hopes. Yahiko slowly stroked his chin while bobbing his head into a steady nod.
"It's possible…"
"Kenji, we've got to get going…"
The soft voice of his father pierced the thoughtful air that had formed around the two mischievous plotters and Kenji turned his head to face his father who had his head poked out shyly from the kitchen, and nodded.
"Okie-Dokie, Dadio!"
Kenshin cocked an eyebrow at the new nick name.
Dadio….?
Kenshin shook off the sudden confusion that bubbled up inside of him and just ushered Kenji over. After saying his goodbye's with Kaoru's little live-in 'brother' so to speak and exchanging a few words, Kenji hopped off the couch and trotted over to where Kenshin stood.
One last glance at Yahiko and a nod from the boy, Kenji was set and ready to go. Silently, Kenshin led him to the door and looked back at Kaoru, then gave a silently nod and proceeded out the door. Then, pulling out of the driveway, Kenshin and his son drove off for home.
Kaoru watched as Kenshin drove off down the road with a longing look in her eyes. Yahiko watched her from the cough with the remote in his palm and not paying attention to the T.V which he had turned on.
"Somethin' wrong?"
His question had jolted her from her dream state and she quickly turned to face him with a smile and a shake of her head. Yahiko would have rolled his eyes if the smile she had given him was fake. But instead, he was surprised when she presented him with a bright, jovial beam and a tinge of pink at her cheeks.
"Nope…everything's fine!"
Yahiko watched as Kaoru hummed an unknown tune while heading to the shower to rinse off the dirt and grime that had made it's home on her body for the day.
Yahiko shook his head in confusion. He could have sworn by the way that they were acting that something went wrong. Hearing the squeak of the shower knob, Yahiko decided to question Kaoru on her date when she was done her shower.
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After a half an hour of flipping through channels and staring intently at the t.v. screen, Yahiko thanked the lord when he heard the shower finally come to an end. Resisting from turning his head to see Kaoru emerge from the bathroom, Yahiko let his patience run until dry for Kaoru to come and plop herself onto the couch, towel and all.
Snuffing, Yahiko kept his gaze fixed on the screen.
"You know, it'd be nice if you could change into something slightly more decent."
And un lady-like snort was heard from Kaoru.
"You're living in my house, remember? If I want to just be in a towel, I'll just be in a towel. Besides.-"
Kaoru paused in her sentence to take a large mouthful of her apple in which she snatched from the fridge, then continued on, another point off of her ladylike like.
"We're practically related."
Yahiko sighed and shook his head, unable to argue with her reasonably. Glancing from the screen to Kaoru every once in a while, Yahiko decided that after some time of hesitation, it was the moment of truth. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Yahiko summed up his courage to finally ask Kaoru about –
"How was your date?"
Kaoru stopped in the process of eating her apple only for a moment as Yahiko took note that a faint blush spread onto her face, but only for a moment.
"It was good."
Her curt reply made Yahiko smirk. She was avoiding a direct answer on purpose.
"So! Whadd'ya guys do?"
Kaoru swung her hand with the apple around to signify that there wasn't only one thing they had done, then took a small bite while answering.
"You know, dinner, talking…ice-cream."
Bingo! She paused before ice-cream. Something must've happened.
"Specifics! C'mon, Kaoru!"
Kaoru rolled her eyes and sighed as if annoyed.
"We talked a lot, ok?"
"About what?"
Yahiko continued to press Kaoru into telling everything about the date. Groaning in defeat, Kaoru finally confessed more detailed parts of her date with the suddenly infamous Kenshin.
Whapping his forehead, a true, mirthful laughter escaped Yahiko's mouth.
"You guys had a water fight on the peer restaurant and were asked to leave..?"
Kaoru laughed and nodded as Yahiko shook his head, a smile on his face. Once their laughter died down Kaoru leaned back onto the couch and sighed in contentment.
"So. Anymore confessions…?"
Kaoru fiddled with her fingers slightly and looked around.
"Well…after that, we went to go get some ice-cream."
Yahiko nodded. The ice-cream topic had finally risen. The blush on Kaoru's face didn't help diminish his growing curiosity either. Testing his luck, Yahiko continued to press his skills.
"What flavor'd you get?"
Kaoru snapped out of her dream world and turned to face him.
"What?"
Yahiko wanted to smirk. Whenever in need of time to think for an answer, just as 'what'. He had hit a nerve and Kaoru was now the fly in his web.
"What flavor did you get?"
"Vanilla."
Kaoru's answer was curt and snappy, almost hinting that she wished to get off the topic of ice-cream flavors. But Yahiko wasn't done with his questions.
"What about Kenshin?"
Kaoru put on a bitter-sweet smile that told Yahiko she was irritated.
"Why do you want to know?"
She hoped to throw him off with her comeback but that seemed to have the opposite effect on the boy. And to her dismay, she quickly learned that she had only added fuel to his flame.
"Aha! I knew it!"
Kaoru desperately attempted to act confused.
"What are you talking about?"
Yahiko grinned sadistically as he pointed his finger at Kaoru as if to prove her guilty.
"Something happened with you and Kenshin!"
Her hope for him buying her confusion was slowly starting to die as she jerked back at his proclamation.
"What?"
"Something happened between you and Kenshin after you guys finished dinner! You never had ice-cream, did you!"
"Yahiko, what are you-"
"Whadd'ya do!"
"I don't-"
"Whadd'ya do!"
"We didn't-"
"Whadd'ya do, whadd'ya do, whadd'ya do!"
"We-"
"C'mooonnn! Afraid to tell me? Huh? Chicken! Buck buck buck!"
Yahiko flailed his arms about like a chicken and made clucking sounds along with swinging his neck much like a chicken would while Kaoru desperately tried to get a word in.
"We didn't get ice-cream!"
"Then whadd'ya do then!"
Kaoru let out a large groan of utter frustration, finally realizing that she wasn't going to win over him, she let her anger get the best of her.
"WE KISSED!"
Having interrupted Yahiko in his irritating banter of provoking the truth from Kaoru, he stopped waving his arms and looked at her blankly a moment.
"What?"
Kaoru growled and curled her fingers in attempts to steady her anger, but still latched her hands aournd Yahiko's neck and shook him.
"WE KISSED! LIP-LOCKED, MADE-OUT, TANGLED TONGUES- WE KISSED! WE KISSED, WE KISSED, WE KISSED, WE KISSED, WE KISSED!"
After finally releasing the stressful secret, Kaoru let go of the boy who stared at her, hair messy and disheveled along with his cloths, while Kaoru let out devilish breathing patterns as if in death-defying labor.
Getting a hold of what information Kaoru had just so graciously supplied to him, Yahiko's evil grin returned.
"Oooohhh! So you kissed! Look who's getting it on!"
Kaoru's eye twitched as he mentioned it in the confident tone he used.
"So! Ugly's turning up the heat with Kenji's pop! Gee, I didn't know you had it in ya!"
Kaoru yelled out and then buried her face into the couch to dampen the aggravation that so ferociously burned in her at the moment.
"Admit it."
Kaoru slowly brought her face out from the cushion just enough to look at him, un amused, with one of her sapphire eyes.
"You love him."
Kaoru rocketed from her buried position in the couch cushions and stared at Yahiko in bewilderment.
"What!"
Yahiko grinned at her.
"You love Kenshin! Admit it! You totally dig him!"
"Yahiko Kamiya Miyojin!"
Regularly, the name would've silenced Yahiko, but he was too busy basking in his victory to care. He didn't even mind as Kaoru suddenly start to beat him with one of the couch cushions.
"You didn't deny it! Just admit it already!"
"There's nothing to admit!"
"Oh pshh! Nothing to admit me a-"
Before Yahiko could finished, the couch cushion had collided with his face and silenced him while Kaoru continued to beat him. But finally removing the cushion, Yahiko continued.
"-ss! You love him and you know it!"
Did she…? Did she really love Kenshin Himura? The boy that played the roll of 'best friend' in high school and abandoned her? The same who had left her and then came back into her life, and this time with a son?
Did she?
"Chicken!"
Whatever the answer was, it was clear to her and she wasn't about to let this boy taunt her with childish provoking. Mustering up her courage and gritting her teeth together, Kaoru let her denial slip from her mind and answered his leering question.
"Yes, I do!"
Yahiko snickered.
"Do what?"
"Love him!"
"I can't hear you!"
"YES, I DO LOVE KENSHIN!"
Finally satisfied with his answer, Yahiko clapped his hands together and chortled in a stuck up air while proclaiming his victory quite obviously, letting Kaoru cool down from her explosion of confession.
"I knew it! I just knew it!"
Finally about ready to lose her senses, Kaoru got up from her place on the couch and stomped her way into her bedroom and slammed her door shut while Yahiko continued to celebrate his success.
"Everything's working just the way it should be. Man, Yahiko, you're the greatest."
Yahiko sighed as he fell back onto the couch, placing his hands behind his head while crossing his legs and smirking to himself.
"You are definitely thee greatest…"
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Lendra-chan: Well everyone, sorry for the long wait! I was having trouble with exactly what to write in this chapter. I wish I could show you what I saw in the scene with Kaoru and Yahiko! It was pretty funny the way I pictured it...
I hope you all enjoyed it!
Please review!