Author's Note 2023: I don't really know what made me come back to this. Started reading stories I wrote years ago out of nostalgia, which brings me back here—hoping to rewrite and finish this story. Let's see how this goes!

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin nor any of its characters

The Bargain
A Hard Day's Night

It's been a hard day's night
I should be sleeping like a log

November

"Seriously, Kenshin. You're starting to make me sick here with the endless moping. Man up, will you?" Sano growled in frustration as he watched his best friend drink yet another bottle of beer.

It was a cold winter's night and it's been two months since he's had to live with a mostly silent and morose Kenshin Himura—his redheaded childhood who was recently dumped by his girlfriend, Tomoe Yukishiro.

It was pathetic, really, to see someone so messed up after being in a relationship for a measly two years. Well, in Sano's eyes, it was. He was never really one for melodramatics and other pansy ass antics. It was just his ironic luck that the man beside him is such a person and that he felt like it was his responsibility to knock some sense into the guy.

"I'm not asking you to stay, Sanosuke. You can go home anytime you want." Kenshin replied calmly.

Sano scoffed. "And what? Leave you here to get fuckin' smashed so some random stranger ends up dragging you to god knows where? Are you stupid? Is that how you wanna die?" He took a swig of his drink. "Besides, you know you're my meal ticket. If you end up murdered, Hiko murders me."

The redhead didn't deem his interrogation and snide remark about his Uncle important enough to reply. Instead, he opted to avoid responding by taking a large gulp of his cold beer. He'd really rather be drinking his usual scotch, but he felt like a change of taste would do him some good.

He didn't—couldn't—understand what happened between him and Tomoe. He thought they were both perfectly happy and that they were very much in love. He knew she wasn't the type to cheat and she's always been very honest about her feelings towards him. The break-up was completely out of the blue, and despite his relentless pursuit to get her to talk to him again, she had not bothered to reply.

Their separation left him feeling lost and confused. Every day, he replayed the progression of their relationship again and again in his head; but he still couldn't understand where things started to go wrong between them. She never acted like anything was out of place, and as far as he knew, they weren't even going through a rough patch.

Tomoe is one of the most perfect women he had ever met in his twenty-three years of living. She was refined, kind, gentle, and unbelievably loving towards everyone around her—even the ones who weren't deserving of her affections. Her angelic beauty was what attracted him to her, but it was her personality that made him want to stay.

It was true that their relationship was going so well that other people—his best friend, mostly—found it predictable, but he didn't care. Yes, they weren't into surprises and spontaneity like other couples he knew, but to him, it didn't matter. They were stable and in love and he was sure that not a lot of college students could claim to have that.

As the captain of their university's kendo team, he wasn't half-bad himself. He has his fair share of admirers, but he only ever had eyes for one person. Still, he was gentle and kind whenever he would have to turn down a particularly persistent woman. It just wasn't in his nature to be callous and arrogant despite what Sano keeps telling him to be. Besides, he didn't understand what his female colleagues found so fascinating about him. He didn't think it was his appearance that drew them to him. After all, his long red hair wasn't really something that he thought people would find attractive. His violet eyes were strange, but not enough to get girls to go to such lengths to try to attract him. His tan skin gave him a healthy glow, but the cross-shaped scar that marred his left cheek should've ruined any fantasies that they must've held. Although Tomoe did say that it made him look handsome and roguish.

He sighed when he remembered his ex-girlfriend again and took another gulp of the drink he was nursing. He was in such a funk and he felt it was reasonable for him to be feeling this way. He really, truly, believed that Tomoe was the one for him; and the fact that she didn't feel the same way crushed him so badly that he was left spiraling down in his own world of misery and memories of days long gone. 'The pain always comes in waves,' he thought.

"Don't tell me you're thinking about that bitch again." Sano said harshly.

Kenshin glared at his companion and fought the urge to hit him. Aggression and violence would not solve anything, and Tomoe would definitely not approve if she finds out that he hurt somebody else. "Don't call her that."

"What?" Sano shrugged. "It's true. I mean, who breaks up with someone with 'it's not you, it's me' these days? Lying skanks, that's who."

"She is not a liar, Sanosuke. Nor is she a skank. Stop talking about her like that."

"Fine. Whatever." The tall co-captain scoffed. "I just don't really see what you saw in her. She was cold as ice and way too perfect—the type that has issues piled up like skeletons in her closet."

"We all have issues we have to deal with, and we all have secrets we'd like to keep. She's not any different than the rest of us."

"Exactly!" Sano exclaimed, finally happy to have something that he could use to reason with his morose friend. "You put her so high up on a goddamn pedestal that you don't even fucking acknowledge that she has a bad side. I'm tellin' 'ya Kenshin, she ain't that sweet and friendly. That's just what she wants you to think."

"If marring her image in my head is all you're going to do tonight, Sanosuke, then I suggest you just go home and leave me be."

"You wanna know what I think?"

"No."

Sano continued, ignoring the half-hearted response of the redhead beside him. "I think she broke up with you because you told her you wanted to shift majors. Everything was all fine and dandy when you were Mr. Hotshot and all set to take over Hiko's company. I swear I saw her flinch when you told her you were thinking about shifting to medicine."

Kenshin scoffed. "How could you have seen her flinch? You weren't even there."

"Yeah, well I felt it. Didn't you notice how cold she's been ever since you told her? 'Cause I fuckin' did."

"She's not that shallow, and she's not a gold-digger, Sanosuke. She wouldn't do anything like that. She's in the medical program herself, so how can you think she'll be biased against me wanting to become a doctor too?"

"Whatever. There's just no reasoning with 'ya when you're in one of your funks."

Since the redhead didn't bother to reply and since the tall business major was getting frustrated with trying to get his friend to see things from an objective point of view, the two fell silent as they continued to drink and try to ignore the other. Despite the cold temperature that night, they both believed that there was nothing better than a bottle of Corona to get their nerves to calm down and warm themselves up.

The bar was quite lively that night, mostly because the university-wide midterm exams just finished and there were a lot of students dying to celebrate. There was an array of cliques present in the dim establishment, and the tall bar stools that they occupied by the bar gave them the perfect view of the entrance door—a spot that Sano scrambled to get in the hopes of finding another unsuspecting young student that he could charm his way into bed.

He was surprised to find that even students from the performing arts department were also taking part in the unofficial festivities. Usually, they were too busy practicing or doing whatever it is that they did in those studios of theirs to actually leave their art-filled holes and act like normal people. He had to admit that they seemed like an interesting bunch of people though. Despite the rambunctious behavior going on around them, the way they behaved screamed of grace and poise, making Sano grimace since he was a firm believer of physical strength and none of those ninny etiquettes.

It took all of his strength to get through a recital once. And the only reason he went in the first place was because the girl he was dating at the time promised to wear a dress that would make his head run wild with heat. 'The things I do for sex', he sighed to himself. 'Speaking of… I wouldn't mind going back to that fox. She was pretty hot.'

Besides, in the brief three months that he dated the usually stiff Megumi Takani, he found that he had grown rather fond of her friends. Admittedly though, they wouldn't be classified as the type of people that he would consider his usual crowd.

Looking derisively at his sulking friend, he figured, 'Then again, if this is the crowd I have, I should consider making a switch before it's too late.'

He remembered the highly energetic ballerina dancer—Misao, he thinks her name was, and how despite her petite size, she almost always bubbled away with energy and a lot of words that didn't permit them a moment of solitude. It was really ironic how that girl would choose to pine over the stoic pianist who acted like he had a huge pole up in his ass.

Tall and icy is how he would describe the pianist, Aoshi. They've only interacted for a total of three times and gods be damned the man never even bothered to talk to him except for a measly "Can you pass me the salt please?".

He chuckled at the memory and thought more of the strange company that Megumi kept. Suddenly, his head was filled with the clear memory of Kaoru Kamiya—the violinist he had met after the blasted holiday recital that they attended. The woman was beautiful, although she didn't possess the type of beauty that would make heads turn as she walked down the street. Her raven black hair contrasted nicely with her milky skin, and she had the bluest eyes that he'd ever seen.

He didn't mind hanging out with her because of her wit and warmth—two things that the redhead's ex-girlfriend didn't possess. Even the instances found himself in whenever Megumi would have to leave the two of them alone weren't awkward. The woman was gentle, but at the same time, refused to take any bullshit from anyone—a fact that was proven by the number of bruises she had given him whenever he would take his teasing a bit too far. Kaoru was smart, but never made the people around her feel dumb. And she just had this weird ability to emit a certain feeling of homeliness that even he enjoyed very much. On top of all that, good lord that woman was talented.

Once, after his relentless teasing of her being nothing but a back-up instrument, she took him on and played a beautiful rendition of Pachelbel's Canon in D Major then transitioned smoothly into an EDM melody he had been hearing in clubs. To this day, he refuses to admit that he enjoyed that performance greatly. It went far beyond what he usually heard, and sometimes he'd replay the performance in his head to help him go to sleep—again, not that he'd ever admit that to anyone. He had a reputation to keep, after all.

It was that reputation that made him stop dating the interesting woman with the odd crowd. He was known to be a playboy—someone who believed that college relationships had to end after the third month to prevent himself from experiencing the drama that usually came after that. Besides, he reveled in the fact that women were attracted to his aloof nature because all of them believed that they could be the woman who would change him; not that he wanted to be changed.

Still, though, he was surprised to find that the break-up didn't go as badly as he thought it would. Apparently, the foxy woman already knew what she was getting into and her going through with the three-month relationship was a challenge that was issued by her friends. He knew he should've been offended, but he liked the fact that the challenge would mean that they would still be in amicable terms. In fact, there would be days when he'd be invited by the little group to join their Friday nights in Kaoru's rather spacey apartment—a place that emitted the same amount of homeliness that his own "bachelor pad" lacked.

"What the hell are you smiling about?" Kenshin asked darkly, thus interrupting his cheery thoughts.

"Just because you're miserable doesn't mean that I have to be too, you selfish prick." Sano growled. "Are you done wallowing yet? Or do you need more booze to make you feel human again?"

Sighing, his friend replied. "Just a couple more and I'll be done. Really though, you can go if you want. I'm not going to get too drunk and I can get home by myself. It's just a few blocks from here."

"Shut up. Just-" Sano had to take a deep breath and pray for patience. "Shut up, shut up, shut up. I could use a couple more after the shit you've been putting me through. You're buying."

"I thought so. I knew there was a reason you keep hanging around." Kenshin chuckled.

"Pfft, yeah. I'm the gold-digger." He scoffed. Upon seeing the glare his friend was giving him though, he quickly changed course. "Yeah, well, we all gotta give and take. I drag your ass to your place in one piece, and you give me free booze. Quid pro quo."

"Fine. Whatever."

Sano chuckled at Kenshin's lack of willingness to refuse his demand and went right back to watching the people around him. He saw the bar's door open and his eyes brightened when he recognized a familiar head of wavy raven black hair. She was busy trying to untangle the scarf from her neck, but he would recognize that tiny person anywhere.

She was wearing a deep green turtleneck sweater and a pair of form-fitting jeans. Currently, she was smiling at the bouncer who was taking her coat as she shook the snow out of her hair.

"Oi! Missy!" he yelled enthusiastically to get her attention.

Kaoru looked around to find the loud voice's owner, but given the number of people in the crowded bar, her brows scrunched together as she struggled to find the person who called her so boomingly.

Kenshin, who was a bit surprised at his friend's sudden burst of energy, turned to see what the fuss was about. Sano raised his hands and waved energetically to make it easier for the twenty-two year old woman to find him, ignoring the angry grunts and 'what the fuck' from the guys sitting behind him. He knew the redhead would apologize for him later on anyway as he always did.

Smiling, the violinist made her way towards her friend. Sano saw that she was having trouble pushing her way through the rambunctious crowd, so he met her halfway and pushed some of the more drunken patrons away from her, growling at them to play nice. When they finally reached their seats, Sano gallantly offered his own barstool to make her more comfortable, standing behind her and putting his arms on either side of her to shield her from the rowdy crowd.

Kaoru leaned into him and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek as a way of greeting. "Hey, Sano. What are you doing here?"

"Playing chess, Missy." He chuckled. "What the hell do you think I'm doing here?"

She laughed. "I see your point. It was stupid of me to ask."

The tall business major gestured for a couple more beers, easily catching the bartender's attention because of his earlier show of enthusiasm. "You bet it was." He paused and looked down at her. "The more curious question is what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be busy plucking those strings 'a yours?"

"I play the violin, Sano. I don't pluck the strings." She rolled her eyes. "Besides, is it a crime to want to enjoy a few drinks after midterms? We have to suffer through those painful tests too, you know."

"Tests? You have tests?"

"Of course we do, you stupid man. How do you think we're graded?" She chuckled.

"Hell if I know." He shrugged. "But I can't say I'm too interested in that. So…"

She sighed playfully. "I still have no idea how Megumi managed to put up with you for three months."

"Because of my hot bod, of course!" He exclaimed, reaching for the two bottles that the bartender had brought over and handing one to Kaoru. With a brief clink of their bottles, they both took a generous gulp of the alcoholic drink and sighed.

Kenshin cleared his throat quite loudly and Sano mentally thwacked himself on the head for forgetting to introduce his two companions. "Right, sorry. Kenshin, this is Kaoru, one of Megumi's friends; Kaoru, this sad little man here is Kenshin."

The redhead gave his friend an annoyed glance, but smiled at his new acquaintance nonetheless. "Hey." He said, raising his bottle towards her.

"Hey yourself." Kaoru smiled back, ducking under Sano's muscled arm to do so.

Sano grinned at them, pleased at what he thought was a brilliant idea. "Now that we're all perfectly acquainted, I have a lovely suggestion for the two of you."

Kaoru gave him a curious glance, while Kenshin glared at his friend—already knowing where the conversation was heading and silently threatening to cause him bodily harm if he continues.

Still, Sano ignored the implied threat and grinned, pretending to whisper into Kaoru's ear despite the loudness of his voice. "You see, little Missy, the guy's feeling a bit down because some chit broke up with him years ago… and seeing as the nights are only getting colder, I was thinking that maybe you could keep him company." He nudged her playfully and continued. "Give him a little love, if 'ya know what I mean?"

Kaoru laughed. "Sano, I think the whole of Japan knows what you mean." She turned towards the redhead and gave him a playful once-over as he sat there looking more and more embarrassed. "But… I wouldn't mind."

The two men were flabbergasted at her response, stunned that she had so easily agreed to such a crass proposal. Just as Sano was about to whoop in delight and focus on getting his redheaded friend to agree to do the whole proposition, Kaoru continued. "It's too bad though," she sighed. "I have a prior engagement that I just can't get out of… and I won't be free 'til next year. If you wouldn't mind waiting though, I'm sure we can work something out." She winked.

Sano laughed and Kenshin couldn't help the chuckle that bubbled from his lips at her response. "Well, that's sad. I think Kenshin here was hoping you'd be serious about that."

"Who says I wasn't?" she winked up at him playfully. "Honestly I really wouldn't mind, but see Red, you're clearly still thinking of someone else." She lowered her voice down to a sultry tone, stepped down from the barstool, and pressed herself into Kenshin-who was now giving her his full attention. Man can those eyes twinkle. Her manicured hands glided up from his chest to his hair, and she tugged down on the red locks as she pulled him down to whisper in his ear. "And when we do have sex, I'd be really offended if you were thinking of anyone else but me."

The redhead gulped and looked at Sano, who was gaping at the girl as if she had suddenly grown two heads.

A cold breeze went through the bar when the entrance door opened again, and Kaoru turned her head to see who was entering the establishment. Smiling as she recognized the tall, stoic man with a serious disposition, she stepped away from Kenshin, casually untangled her fingers from his hair, and gave them both an accomplished, teasing grin. "Well, much as I'd love to sit here and wallow with the two of you," she teased, "I'd really much rather enjoy the company of my good friend, Aoshi."

"Really?" Sano scoffed, shaking himself out of his stupor. "That man? But Missy, he barely talks." He paused. "Scratch that, he never talks."

"Still, I don't want to wait around and end up listening to Red's woes and heartaches. It's too nice of a night for that." She glanced at Sano. "But I'm proud of you for being such a good friend to him."

She waved to get Aoshi's attention and turned back to the two. "I have to go. I hope you two have a nice night." She smiled and turned to Kenshin. "And I hope you feel better soon. Break-ups are hard, but you'll get through it."

Kenshin nodded at her and went back to his beer.

"But Missyyyyyyy." Sano groaned, holding on to her hand when she moved to walk away from them. "I want you heeeere. You know you're my favorite Missy!"

She scoffed and pushed his hand off her. "I'm your only Missy. Besides, you have my number. Call me if you want to hang or something. I'll see you around, rooster head."

"Alright, whatever." Sano said. "Crowd's wild tonight, holler if some dick comes sniffing around and I'll come running!"

She laughed and nodded before turning to walk away again, but turned back around to face the two men as if she forgot something. "And Kenshin? Thanks for the free drink." She said mischievously.

Kenshin nodded at her amusedly and watched her push her way through the crowd.

"That was hot right?" Sano asked his friend once Kaoru was out of earshot, clearly still surprised at what just occurred in front of him. "I mean, it wasn't just my imagination right? That was hot, right?"

Kenshin nodded. "Yes, Sanosuke, that was hot."

Sighing once more, Kenshin felt annoyed at the guilt that was starting to bubble its way into his chest. He felt like he was cheating on Tomoe for feeling some semblance of attraction towards the violinist because of a conversation that lasted less than ten minutes.

"Seriously? You're seriously going to go back to being miserable? Missy didn't even cheer you up? What'd she say to you anyway?" Sano said, frustration highly evident in his voice. Seeing his friend turning despondent again, he griped. "But... but Kenshin... that was hot. Didn't you feel hot?"

"Learn a new fucking word, Sano." he growled.

Kenshin signaled the bartender for another round of drinks for him and his friend. His thoughts were still stuck on his ex-girlfriend but after he took another generous gulp of his drink, he couldn't help but think of the playful smile that came from the girl he just met.

Author's Note: Cleaned up all the run-on sentences and tweaked the imagery a bit. This is going to be fun!