A/N : This is my payment for my long over dued postings from the past few weeks. i apologize and see i did get this up soon.
Chapter 26
Confessions
"Here, Himura," says Katsura quietly, handing him a cup of chamomile tea. "Drink some of this."
"Thanks," he says gratefully, accepting the steaming mug.
"I hope you didn't mind me eavesdropping on your conversation earlier, but personally, I think you should have put more trust in Kaoru."
"What?" asks Kenshin incredulously. "Are you out of your mind, Katsura? Why are you siding with her all of a sudden?" he asks, turning to look at his friend.
"I'm not siding with her, Katsura."
"If she didn't do it, who could have done it?"
"I don't know. But what I do know is, she didn't do it. Kamatari says she's not capable of doing something like that, and he should know better. He's known her for years now."
"Katsura, Kamatari cuts her hair. He doesn't live with her!"
"Yeah, but he knows how she carries herself around people. That should be enough, isn't it, Himura?"
"Maybe she's putting on an act!" he argued.
"Look, Himura," says Katsura calmly. "Just take your time and think about it. Don't jump to conclusions so easily. And, you'd better call her up and apologize to her soon…before you lose her." Giving his friend a small smile, he turned and exited from the room.
Kenshin stared into his mug, thinking hard. Then, in fury, he lifted the steaming mug and hurled it towards the wall, where it smashed into pieces, hot tea spraying everywhere. But he didn't care. He just stood there, staring at the glass shards littered all over the floor. Back in the kitchen, the four guys who heard the sound of glass breaking looked at each other and shook their heads in dismay.
The old Kenshin was back.
"Sano! Akira!" exclaims Aoshi in surprise, after he had swung open the big door to their insistent knocking.
"What brings you guys here?"
"Have you read the news yet?" asks Sano.
"Yeah."
"Has Kaoru?" asks Akira.
"Yeah."
"Where is she now?" asks Sano.
"I have no idea. After she read it, she just bolted, without eating her breakfast. Would you all mind telling me what's happening?"
"No time to stay and chat, Aoshi! I'll call you later!" yelled Sano, running back towards his car, with Akira right behind him.
"Okay, where to now?" asks Sano, expertly reversing his car out of the Kamiya's driveway.
"Umm…cemetery?" asks Akira, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Possible…or she might still be at Kenshin's half-sister's place. Let's head over to Hara Street first. And could you please try to get through to her cell phone again, Akira?"
"Sure. No problem."
After a few minutes, they pulled up on Hara Street.
"Ten dollars to guess which house it is," mutters Sano under his breath. The moment they got out of the car, the reporters came flocking towards them. Before they could open their mouths to say anything, Akira raised his hand for silence.
"No comments. And if you guys don't make way for us, I'll send you flying across to the other street."
All the reporters backed away slowly, each of them knowing that Akira had attended self-defense classes a few years back and had performed exceptionally well in it.
"Himura, open up!" yelled Sano, banging on the door.
The door swung open allowing both Sano and Akira to enter. Once inside, Kenshin accosted Sano up against the wall.
"What do you think you're doing here?" he snarled. Akira, who was nearby, tried to pull the both of them apart.
"I'm not here to see you. Where's Kaoru?" asks Sano, straightening his clothes.
"She left."
"What do you mean she left?" he asks, his eyes piercing Kenshin.
"She's not here anymore," says Kenshin, shrugging his shoulders. Sano, angered by Kenshin's attitude, grabbed him by the collar.
"I trusted you would treat her well, Himura Kenshin. I really did. Now, I'm not so sure anymore. If I find out that you've hurt her in any way…you'd better keep a 10 meter radius away from her, or else." With that, he let go of Kenshin's collar and shoved him backwards roughly, before exiting from the house.
"You know, Kenshin, although I don't know you that well, I think you're an ass for making Kaoru cry and go through so much pain. You're ruining the life of one of the sweetest girls who ever lived. I hope you're proud of yourself," says Akira, shaking his head at him, before walking out the door.
"Kamiya Kaoru!" panted Sano, running up to me, with Akira in tow. "Did you know, we searched EVERYWHERE for you?"
"Hey, guys," I say, trying to muster a smile, for their sake. "Did something happen?"
"You all right?" asks Akira.
I heaved a long sigh and sat down on the grass, in the middle of the park miserably. There was no point trying to lie to them. It seems like they already knew anyway. "No."
"Want to talk about it?" asks Sano, plopping down beside me.
"Mou? You sure you actually want to listen to my ramblings?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.
"Why not? It's not like we have anything planned for today. Besides, if it'll make you feel any better, I'd be glad to listen to anything you have to say," says Akira, sitting down next to me and giving me a radiant smile.
"Morning, Sano, morning Akira," says Aoshi, stepping into the kitchen. "Did you guys sleep well?"
"Morning, Aoshi," they chorused together. "And yes, we slept well," says Sano, grinning up at him.
"Glad to hear that. Where's Kaoru?"
"Still sleeping, I guess," says Akira, running his fingers through his hair.
"Mou, that little girl! You guys go ahead and start eating first. I'll go wake her up," says Aoshi, walking out of the kitchen.
"You know, Aoshi," begins Sano. "There's something wrong with the whole picture, don't you think?"
"What, about the whole Kaoru thing?"
"Yeah. Think about it. First, her identity is revealed, and the next day, Kenshin's secret is all over the papers."
"What are you getting at?" asks Akira, his forehead creasing a little.
There was a slight pause before he spoke. "I think she was set up. And I'm pretty sure I know who did it," he says grimly.
"Set up? Why would anyone want to se—"
"Morning, Kaoru!" piped up Sano suddenly, shooting Akira a warning look. "Finally up?"
"Yeah," I groaned. "No thanks to Aoshi."
"Right…blame it on the poor guy," says Aoshi, taking a seat next to her. "You're the one who still wants to go to work after all that has happened!"
"Well, it'll be pretty irresponsible of me to just drop work like that, wouldn't it?" I ask, rubbing my eyes.
"You don't have to continue working there, you know. You could always come back to Kamiya Corporations…or…you can go work at Sagara Corporations!" says Aoshi. "I'm sure Sano wouldn't mind!"
"Of course I wouldn't," says Sano, smiling.
"Or you can come work at my place!" offered Akira.
"Awwww…you guys are so sweet," I say, smiling up at them.
"Anyway, hurry up and eat, or you'll be late," says Aoshi, buttering a piece of toast for me.
"Hey," says Sano suddenly. "Why don't I drop Kaoru off at work?"
"Are you sure?" asks Aoshi. "Wouldn't it be a little troublesome for you?"
"Nah, don't worry about it. I'd be glad to do it."
"Thanks, Sano. I really appreciate it," says Aoshi gratefully.
"No problem. Anyway, Kaoru, do you think I could borrow your tape recorder?"
"Sure thing. Why do you need it for?" I ask, looking at him quizzically.
"Just for something that I need to do," replies Sano, smiling warmly at me.
"Okay, Sano," I say, tapping his shoulder. "You can drop me off over here."
"No, I think I'll walk you up too. Just in case something happens," says Sano.
"Mou! Nothing's going to happen! This is the office!" I exclaimed.
"I'm not taking any chances. Nope," says Sano, holding the glass doors open for me.
"Ladies first," he says, bowing.
"Thanks," I say, giggling a little.
"So…" says Sano, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "Do you think Tomoe will be in so early in the morning?"
"Why?" I ask, a smile appearing on my face.
"It's not what you're thinking," he says, bopping me on the head. "I just thought I'd drop in and say hi, since I'm here and all."
"Are you sure that's all you're going to do?" I teased.
"KAORU!" he yelled.
"Okay! Okay!" I say, laughing. "You can always follow me in to check. Her room is just down the hall in the middle. 1590 ok?"
"alright, thanks, and have a good day." Sano said as he turned around the corner.
"Wait!" Megumi stood up.
"Huh? O, hey kitsune-san." Sano turned around and waved, "I just needed to speak to Tomoe, is she in?"
"Shut up roster-head, but yes, she's in, just let me check if she's busy."
"roster? Who's a roster? Well, maybe… maybe a cute roster" Sano said innocently with a wink.
Megumi blushed red as she picked up the phone.
'ah, it's so fun to make fun of her' Sano thought.
"Ok roster, she's open, you can go." Megumi said, trying to not to face him with her blushed red face.
"K, thanks kitsune, see you around."
"Come in," says Tomoe when she heard a few knocks on her door.
"Hey, Tomoe," says Sano, stepping into her room and shutting the door behind him quietly.
"Oh Sano?" she exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"Here to talk to you about some things," he says, taking a seat directly opposite her.
"Like what?" she asks, her suspicion aroused.
"I know you set Kaoru up," he says calmly, looking straight into her eyes.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she says, busying herself by arranging the files on her desk.
"I'm sure you do. No point trying to pretend, Tomoe."
She stopped whatever she was doing and leaned back in her chair, her hands folded across her chest. She assessed him from head to toe, then the corners of her mouth lifted in a thin smile.
"You're a very smart person, Sano," she says.
"Why did you do it?"
"To take back what rightfully belongs to me."
"Kenshin doesn't belong to anyone."
"Yes, he does. He was mine, until Kaoru came into the picture. She ruined everything!" says Tomoe, her voice rising up a notch.
"If that's what you think, you lost him to Kaoru four years ago, Tomoe."
"That's why I did it. I had to ruin her. It serves her right, anyway. She shouldn't have tried to take Kenshin away from me."
"So, you hired a private investigator to find information on her."
"And also on Sakura," she says, smirking.
"How did you find out about Sakura? If I'm not mistaken, only a selected few were informed about it."
"Pure luck," she says, laughing. "Kenshin accidentally dialed my number without him knowing it and I overheard the entire conversation he had with Kaoru."
"Then you decided to use everything you had to break them apart, am I right?"
"Exactly," she says. "I couldn't have said it better myself."
"Why aren't you trying to deny any of this, Tomoe? Aren't you afraid I might tell Kenshin about it?" asks Sano.
"You can try, but I doubt Kenshin will believe either you or Kaoru anymore. Besides, you don't have any proof," she says, grinning at him.
"You play the game well," he says, getting up. Just as he was about to turn the door knob, a distant click was heard.
"What's that sound?" she asks sharply.
"What sound?" he asks, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly.
"Don't play stupid with me, Sano." Suddenly, she zeroed in on the little bulge in his pocket. "What's that in your right trouser pocket?" she demanded.
"What, this?" asks Sano, pulling the tape recorder from his pocket. "This, Tomoe, is proof."
With that, he let himself out of the room, leaving Tomoe to scream and throw whatever she could get her hands on, at the closed door.
A/N: YES GOOOOOOOOOOOOO SANO, I LOVE HIM. i will get my revenge on tomoe and kenshin. and i know kenshin's really OOC but he'll fit later. promise. and i've also decided what to do with Tomoe after i punish her severly
Next Chappie: Hmm... What now... i think i'm going to start some Tomoe torturing in the next or the next next chapter, total orginal ideas. '', but first i must make kenshin suffer too.