The Laws of Love
By Darkness XI

CHAPTER Two
Part One
When you go by her home

Kim entered her house that night with many thoughts in her mind. My father! With a hussy! And this is not the first time! She was full of rage, and the sound of their laughter echoing through the halls of her home just made her angrier. What in the world is he thinking bringing that woman into our home! If only…

Her chain of thought was broken by the knocking on her door. "Miss Kim, a friend is here to see you" her butler informed her. A friend? But I haven't any. "I'll be right down" she answered, getting up from her bed, and making her way down.

Standing by the stairs was her classmate, Rukawa Kaede, looking handsome in his plain clothes. "Rukawa? What are you doing here?" she inquired, her voice hinting confusion. "It was rude of me to leave without thanks." He said apologetically. "Would you like to come over for dinner?" he asked her softly, "It's the least I can do." The sound of the woman's laughter was all Kim needed to agree to dinner with Rukawa. "Alright, let me get my coat" she answered bitterly, while making her way to the coat rack. She grabbed her phone and her palm top, stuffed them in her coat, and let herself out.

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and then take a long walk with her

Their walk was a silent one; it consisted only of a few brief glances at each other, and the occasional shifting of hands from the pockets. Kim stopped mid-way to blow into her hands. The cool autumn breeze left a cold chill in her. Rukawa stopped too, but to feel the breeze blow through his hair, "It's almost winter," he said. "Mother loved winter." Kim said sadly, and kept walking.

"Katakura," he said as he paced to catch up to Kim. "It's Kim." she cut him off, "No one calls me Katakura," she said almost quite angrily. Rukawa cleared his throat, "Kim," he slowly let the words come out of his mouth. "Whatever it is with your mother, I'm sure she loved you very much." This sensitive comment from a seemingly insensitive and cold person amazed Kim. "Thank you," she whispered, putting her hands around herself, shielding her from the autumn cold.

Make sure to impress her

It wasn't too long when they finally reached his home. A loud crying could be heard from the doorstep. Rukawa poked his head in the house as if to check if someone was nearby. The crying only got louder. Could it be?, Kim thought to herself as she let her imagination go wild.

They entered the house silently; Kim let her body enjoy the warmth of the home. It was almost perfect, except for the incessant crying. "Kaede, is that you?" a matronly voice rang from upstairs, "Yes Aunt Yuki, it's me. I have company," he answered.

A tall, dark haired woman emerged from the stairs. "Hello, dear." The woman smiled at Kim with all the warmth Kim could expect from an older woman. "Hello, ma'am," Kim greeted back, with all the enthusiasm she could muster at the moment. "Toru is in the living room Kaede," she told him "I best be off, I'll see you two later."

with a baby,

Rukawa walked over to the living room. Kim followed. The source of the incessant crying was a little baby, lying in a cot in the living room. "This is Toru, my baby cousin." Rukawa introduced as he picked Toru up from the cot. Kim's face lit up at the sight of this adorable little baby in Rukawa's arms. The moment Rukawa started rocking Toru, he immediately stopped crying and rested his little head on Rukawa's shoulder. "I baby sit for my aunt a lot."

"It doesn't seem like you," Kim commented. "Mr. Big-shot basketball guy," Rukawa smiled a little at Kim's comment, "And who would think that Miss Daughter-of-a-business-tyrant would walk half a mile to her new classmate's home for dinner?" Kim smiled at this stupid but true fact. "Speaking of dinner," Kim sniffed the air for a whiff of dinner, and came out with nothing. "where is dinner?"

your cooking,

It didn't take too long for Kim to realize that dinner had not been prepared yet. Rukawa put Toru, who had already fallen asleep, in his room upstairs. When he returned to Kim, who was enthusiastically watching cartoons, he informed her, "Dinner will probably take an hour or so, if you can wait that long. Or maybe we can order in." Kim smiled, "Order in? And miss a meal prepared by Rukawa Kaede himself? You fan girls would DIE for an opportunity like this." Her mockery amused Rukawa even more. "You laugh at me now; wait until you taste my Sukiyaki."

Kim tried her best to help out in the kitchen, although it was rather awkward since she had only been in the kitchen a few times, most of which were spent foraging for snacks at 4 in the morning. It felt nice to be a normal teenager for once, not a daughter of a business tycoon who has hired help for her every whim. She enjoyed the company which she had never been able to get back home in L.A. Kim had always been treated differently because of her wealth. And here she was now, in her classmate's kitchen, trying hopelessly not to burn their dinner, with a classmate who could care less about the contents of her wallet.

humor,

"Do you know how to crack an egg?" Rukawa asked. "If I say no, do you promise not to laugh at me?" Kim looked down at her feet, clicking them together, trying to keep her eyes away from Rukawa. Rukawa took a deep breath, as if letting out all the giggles he had in his system. "Yes," he finally answered. "Then no, I have never cracked an egg in my life." Rukawa merely smiled, trying to keep laughter from coming out of him. "Here," he held an egg out with one hand, "Try it. Get a fork and smack it gently"

Kim reached for a fork, and with much force, smashed the egg open, with bits of egg shell flying everywhere. Her face turned white. "It's okay," Rukawa smiled at her, "next time try to be gentler." Kim was not unhappy though. The loss of blood on her face was not due to her mortification, but to the amount of laughter she had begun to release. She laughed like there was no tomorrow. Rukawa could only watch in amazement at what his classmate was doing. He smiled at her, "You and laughter go well together." Kim smiled back him, "It's been a while."

Sensitivity,

They ate dinner silently, trying not to make too much noise to wake Toru up. "I haven't had good sukiyaki since…" Kim started happily, but drifted off quietly before she ended. "There's nothing wrong with it you know," Rukawa told her. "I'm sorry, what?" Kim was amazed at this person she was sitting across from. In school he seemed like a person who could care less about anything that happened around him. And yet here he was now, taking care of his baby cousin, cooking dinner, and being sensitive to Kim's memories.

"It's okay to talk about someone you loved." He told Kim silently, "It's good that we remember them sometimes." Kim's eyes widened, swallowed her last few bits of dinner, and Kim wondered to herself if she could tell Rukawa things about her mother.

"She…she passed away when I was seven." She started, "I really didn't know what happened to her, it's like I don't remember. All I remember was how her presence always lit up a room, how she loved cooking and baking for us, how she always managed to make time for her family in between her busy schedule." Kim sighed, fighting the tears welling up in her eyes.

And the cute little red dude.

Rukawa could only smile at her. It was as if he knew the right timing, because just before Kim burst into tears, he calmed her down, "Toru loves Elmo." Kim looked at him silently, trying to keep her eyes from bursting into tears. She sighed heavily, relieving her grief, turning it into amusement. "Elmo," she repeated, "Elmo." Kim smiled at the thought of this little red guy in Rukawa's home.

"I know how it feels too." Rukawa assured her. Kim said nothing. She helped clear the table and made her way out. "I'm going home." Kim told him coldly. Before Rukawa could respond, Kim had already gone out the door.

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It was a cold night, the wind was mercilessly howling at Kim who was walking home alone. It felt like the rain was going to pour anytime. As the sight of Rukawa's house faded, and her house was no where in sight, thunder broke the silence of Kim's lonely walk. The first drop of cold rain hit Kim's face. Damn it…

The rain started to pour as she caught sight of her own home. The cold wind and the cold rain settled itself on Kim's body; Kim paid no attention to the faintness she felt in her head. Her hand felt the cold metal of the door of her home. She walked in, soaking wet, "Miss Kim…" the butler acknowledged her arrival, but she paid no attention to him. She made her way to her room paying no attention to the water that dripped on the marble tiles of her home.

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"It's raining," Rukawa whispered to himself. "I hope she got home okay." He thought of calling her up. He was cleaning the dishes when he realized the Kim had left her phone on the kitchen counter. It was not too late so he thought that he could drop her phone by her house.

His aunt Yuki arrived just after he had finished cleaning up. "I'll just be a minute, Aunt Yuki." He informed her. But just before he opened the door on his way out, to his surprise, two people came in the house.

"Mother? Father?"

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Author's Notes: Well, ho-hum. That's about it for now. Still more to come, so keep tuned in.

Much Love,
D.