Chapter 20: Insomnia, Drinks, and Phonecalls

Kenshin woke up a little while later, thankful to of missed Saitou's class. He went home after school with Hiko, and neither of them said a word to each other.

By midnight, they were both laying in bed, wide awake.

Kenshin lay alone, staring at the ceiling. I can't believe I lost my sense of logic today… What was I thinking? I'm going-

Crazy! All of this is nuts! Hiko wondered in the same position in his bedroom. Since when could an innocent and stupid teenager become-

Battousai? Am I really the Battousai? Why is this happening to me? I can't-

Handle this. I don't understand why that kid brought back those memories that-

Can't possibly be mine. There's no way I could be. It's not-

Possibly they were true… No! I need to stop-

Thinking like this. Okay-

I'll just-

Go discuss this-

With him-

Right.

Okay.

I'm ready! They both rose up. "I hope…" They both said at the same time.

-

Kenshin rushed down the stairs, and Hiko flung open his bedroom door, meeting Kenshin's eyes immediately.

"Uh-" Kenshin said.

"Wh-what're you doing up?" Hiko asked casually.

"I couldn't sleep, de gozaru yo," Kenshin said, stepping down the final step.

"Care to explain what went on this afternoon?"

"No."

"That was blunt."

"Well… I can't- I just want to get some sleep!" Kenshin moaned.

"Yeah… me too… I haven't slept comfortably tonight either… Hey, tell you what, I got a plan.

-

Kenshin slurred out a laugh as he lay on the living room carpet in his pajamas, a wide grin on his face almost as large as the blush across his nose.

"Jeez, kid, you can drink a-a lot," Hiko said, holding his sake glass up to his lips. There was a small tint to his face as well.

"Y'know… um… uhhhhh…. Ummmmmmmmm…. Oh, yeah… wait… Oh, yeah, y'know… If people re-re- noticed that I was th' Ba- Battousai, I'd prob'ly get lef' alone a lot more, y'know? Not that I wanna BE Ba-Battousai, it's jus' somethin' laid on me 'cause 'a' my past life, y'know. I jus' dunno why th' past won't lea' me alone now, de gozaru y'know." He then giggled stupidly as if it was a joke. "Yer th' best, Shishou."

Hiko stared at the kid for a second, taking in what he had said. So… it is true…He then took a long swig out of the bottle.

"Heeeey, pass some 'a' that over here, Shis-Shi- sir," Kenshin laughed again, snatching the bottle from Hiko and tilting it towards his face, letting the sake fall all over him, considering that he was laying down.

Hiko looked down at the floor. This is crazy…

"Hey…"

"What?" Hiko asked.

"Y'know what would make this even better?"

"Humor me, Himura," Hiko smirked, glad to be changing the subject.

"Women."

"Smarter than y' look, Himura," Hiko picked up another bottle that had somehow become half empty when he wasn't looking. "Which woman would you want."

"Kaaaoru-dono."

"Really, now?" Hiko began drinking out of the bottle.

"I dun' care what anyone says… Kaoru-d-dono is th' real fox 'round here."

"More like tanuki," Hiko smirked, thinking of Yahiko.

"Hey! Leave my woman 'lone!"

Hiko laughed, and Kenshin soon joined in too.

-

Kenshin felt a burning sensation on his eyelids. "Uh…" He opened his eyes, then suddenly shut them tight, crying out and rolling onto his side.

Hiko's laughing echoed through his ears, louder and more booming than usual.

"Oh…" He muttered, risking opening his eyes again. "My head…"

"This is your first hangover?" Hiko asked, dropping an egg yolk into a glass.

"Not… so loud," Kenshin put his hand to his forehead and felt around for something to help him up.

"You're pathetic," Hiko said, pouring other strange concoctions into the glass. Kenshin's blurry eyes couldn't read the label.

"I think I'm gonna… vomit…"

"Don't do it on the carpet. It's difficult to clean, you know," Hiko said, leaning over with a glass of a strange, chunky, maroon liquid in his hand. "Here, drink this."

"What's in it?" Kenshin asked, sitting up and taking it.

"If you have to ask… You don't wanna know," Hiko said sitting up straight.

Kenshin placed the glass to his lips and took a small sip. "OH, GOD!" He began spitting it back into his hand, coughing and gagging. "That shit's a-awful! AWFUL, de gozaru yo!"

"Yeah, but you don't have a headache anymore."

Kenshin looked up at him. "Now, I'm sick to my stomach."

Hiko took the glass from him and drank it all.

"Eeeewww… Why'd you do that?"

"-because, I drink a whole lot, and that's 'bad' or so says some people. I figure, if I do the crime, I do the time."

Kenshin got to his feet and stumbled into the kitchen, looking for something to clean his mouth out with. "How much did I drink last night?"

"More than me," Hiko said, smirking. "New record, but then, I didn't pass out after talking about sex-"

"WHAT!" Kenshin cried, his whole face becoming blood red.

"Well, that's the subject you were on," Hiko shrugged. "It's amazing what teenagers know these days…"

Kenshin pulled a box of cereal from the pantry and lazily placed it on the kitchen table. "Sweet mercy… What did I do to deserve this?" He moaned, fumbling around for a bowl and spoon. "You do have milk, don't you?"

"I dunno, you bought the groceries," Hiko said, shrugging.

"Whatever," Kenshin said, pulling a half-gallon of milk from the fridge and carrying it over to the table with the bowl in his other hand and the spoon behind his ear.

Hiko preceded on washing the sake bottles in the sink as Kenshin ate in silence.

The phone rang.

"I'll get it," Kenshin said, walking into the living room and picking up the receiver. "Hello," He said half-heartedly.

"Ke-Kenshin?"

"K-Kaoru-dono!" Kenshin felt his face warming again.

"Um… hi…"

"Wh-wh-what's up?"

"I was… worried about you… You… You weren't yourself yesterday… and I was afraid…" Her voice was troubled, and it made Kenshin feel uneasy.

"I… wasn't myself… yesterday…"

"Are you okay?"

Well, I got piss drunk last night and woke up with a hangover the size of Alaska, but… "Yes, I'm fine, de gozaru yo."

"I just thought I'd make sure… If you didn't answer, I was gonna come over to see for myself."

"Oro…" Kenshin smiled sheepishly, glad that she couldn't see him. "Sorry that I worried you, Kaoru-dono… I never meant to frighten anyone… I just lost my senses. I won't do it again, I promise, de gozaru yo."

"Okay, that makes me feel better," Kaoru said. "Hey, the prom's coming up in a few weeks!"

"O-oro?" Kenshin blushed. "Wh-what about it?"

"Are you going?"

"Um… I hadn't heard about it until now… I don't know… I never was good at dances."

"You have to go! It's the prom! No one, and I mean NO ONE can miss it!" Kaoru cried.

"Oro…"

"So, are you going or not?"

"I… suppose…"

"Just don't forget. You need a date."

"D-d-date!" He bit his lower lip, his face so warm, a fire seemed like ice. "I… I'm not so good with w-w-women…"

"Not according to what you said last night," Hiko pointed out.

Kenshin gave him the meanest glare he could muster.

"Well, I'm sure you'll have no problem getting a date for the prom. Since you lost the glasses and started sporting the ponytail, a bunch of girls really have the hots for you." (A/N: like all the girls reading this fanfic…)

"O-oro! R-r-really? You're serious?"

"Yeah! Oh! That's my students! Gotta go!" She hung up. Kenshin dropped the phone.

"What's the matter?" Hiko asked.

"Girls like me…"

"Why's that a problem?"

"I don't know which one to ask…"

-

Since it was the weekend, Kenshin spent the day doing what he did best… cleaning. Hiko had actually joined in on the effort until he realized that he had a 'meeting' to go to. After he had grabbed his poker chips and cigarettes, he had left Kenshin alone to finish it by himself.

He was sweeping the front step when suddenly a black convertible with the symbol 'Aku' on the hood pulled out in front of the house.

"Oro?" Kenshin blinked.

"Hey, Kenshin!" Sano's head peeked out of the window of the car.

"Sano?" Kenshin blinked twice.