Beginning Note: Okay… So I confess… For some weird reason I am a secret Sano/Kaoru fan. Please, no head biting. Not everyone likes this couple, but I hope I write this well enough that people will enjoy reading it. Don't worry. I'm still a true Kenshin/Kaoru fan! Please enjoy and review!
Disclaimer: I don't own the RuroKen characters… I just screwed them up for my own sick purposes.
I Don't Want To Be Friends
Sanosuke walked into an eerily silent dojo. The cloudy day cast muted shadows as the tall, brawny man made his way to the house. Where was everyone?
"Kenshin? Jouchan?" he called.
There was no answer. Something wasn't right.
As he stepped into the hallway, he noticed the uncharacteristic disarray. To his left, a shattered vase lay in a puddle of water, the flowers it used to hold strewn across the floor, wilting in the summer heat. He turned as he heard footsteps behind him.
"Kaoru?" Sanosuke said, surprised at her appearance.
She was disheveled, practice uniform lopsided and dirty and for once, her midnight hair was unbound, spilling around her shoulders.
"Sanosuke, what are you doing here?" she asked, voice slightly surprised.
"No work," he said, stepping towards the kendo teacher. "Where is everyone?"
"Yahiko is working at the Akebeko."
"And Kenshin?"
"Gone," she said simply, jaw tightening.
"Gone? What do you mean 'gone,' Kaoru?" he asked, peering down at her pale face.
"It's just as it sounds, Sanosuke. He's gone."
A stray tear slid down her cheek, but she wiped it away determinedly.
"What happened?" the older man asked, taking Kaoru's arm and leading her into the sitting room. He took the cushion across from her.
"I woke up this morning and realized that no one else was up," she said, voice dull. "I knew Kenshin wasn't up because I didn't smell any food cooking. I wondered if he was sick."
The girl brushed imaginary lint off of her hakama. She offered Sanosuke a soft smile and he placed a large, tan hand over her small, pale ones, which urged her to continue.
"So I went to his door and knocked, but when I didn't get an answer, I opened the door." She took a breath before saying, "Everything was gone. All that was left was his futon folded neatly in the middle of the floor."
The former fight merchant sat and stared at the raven-haired woman in shocked silence. He never thought that his best friend would act like that.
"He didn't leave a letter or a note?" Sanosuke asked.
Kaoru shook her head.
"Nothing."
"Ah, man," he said, rubbing his head, making his hair stand up even more than usual. "How did the kid take it?"
"Yahiko's angry, but I figured he would be. He couldn't understand why Kenshin left."
"Do you think you know why?"
"I have an idea," she said, standing up. "I'm going to make tea. Want some?"
Sanosuke stood up with her.
"Sure, let me help you."
As they fixed the tea, Sanosuke observed the kendo teacher. Her fine facial features were determined and she seemed sad, but not devastated like he thought she would be. Not like she was when the redhead had left for Kyoto.
"Why do you think he left?" he asked Kaoru as she placed a steaming cup in front of him.
"There was nothing left for him here," the blue-eyed girl said before taking a small sip of tea.
"Of course there is!" the older man cried. "Kenshin has you-"
He trailed off as the young woman shook her head.
"No, he lost me a long time ago. I think he finally realized that after I stopped his advances. He understood that he had to step aside for someone else.
Sanosuke stared at Kaoru.
"I don't understand."
"I got sick of waiting. My heart can only break so many times before it tells me to move on," Kaoru said, rotating her teacup so that the wave pattern faced Sanosuke. "So, I moved on. He finally figured it out and left."
She frowned.
"Except I wish he wouldn't be so childish about it. Leaving in the middle of the night without a word is akin to throwing a temper tantrum."
"So what happened to the vase then?"
"Oh, I got angry," she said, looking embarrassed. "I let my temper get the better of me."
"Ah."
"Let me change out of this practice uniform. It's a mess. I'll treat you to the Akebeko," Kaoru said in a sudden subject change, standing up from the table.
"Nothing like food to make a bad day better," the man said with a chuckle.
She smiled.
"Precisely."
Sanosuke drained the last of his tea as a question popped into his head. As he pondered the answer, he cleaned up the mess Kaoru had made in the front hall. A few minutes later, the kendo teacher emerged, dressed in a brightly patterned kimono.
"Ready?" Kaoru asked him, when she found Sanosuke sprawled out on the porch.
"Who is it?" he asked, looking up at her.
"What?" she asked slightly startled.
"Who is it that took Kenshin's place?"
"You should know the answer to that question better than anyone," she said, kneeling down next to the big man.
Sanosuke blushed under his deep tan and saw Kaoru smile as he watched her.
"Kenshin saw it, you know," she said, looking forward. "The way I acted, the way you acted. He put two and two together and this was the end result."
"How did you know?" the ex-fighter asked huskily, gazing at the other teenager.
She let out a laugh.
"I'm not blind, Sano," she said, using his nickname for the first time since they had met.
"And?" he asked hopefully.
"Here's your answer," she whispered and leaned over, placing a light, chaste kiss on his lips.
He deepened the kiss by gripping her chin lightly and she responded with the same fervor.
When they broke apart for air, he grinned widely at her.
"I think I like this answer."
Kaoru laughed. Getting up, she held out her hand to him.
"Come on. Let's celebrate."
"But," Sanosuke said, unsure of how to celebrate since Kenshin disappeared.
The girl saw his struggled and cupped his cheek with her hand.
"We will no longer live in the past. Tonight, we live."