A/N: Some of you had a difficulty with Kenshin opening up to Sano so easily. Well, if you reread the chapter carefully and really concentrate on exactly what Kenshin is FEELING and THINKING at the time, you will see that it was not 'easy' at all, but something that just 'happened' because circumstance presented the opportunity. Attacking Sano so abruptly and viciously upset him greatly and it brought many feelings and issues to the surface that he had never dealt with. It was simply a point of convergence in his life where it became impossible for him to keep it all to himself any longer, and he had just shown his 'full' inner-self to Sano, so he really did not have anything left to hide. It was try and trust or run and hide, and he was tired of hiding. I hope this helps explain a little bit better why things happened the way they did. Tsuki-san :)
A/N: This is for all of you out there who are having one problem or another with the pairing of Aoshi and Tomoe. I know it was a really strange thing to do, but it was a necessary evil that I had to do in order for certain other things in the story to work. Especially for this coming chapter. So, be patient... everything will come out in the wash. Except tomatoe stains. Those suckers never come out. Dammit! Tsuki-san :)
Chapter Four
The White Beaches of Evermore
"Hey Sano, this trail of yours really sucks. I thought you said it was going to be easy to follow." Ruakii had been doing nothing but complaining ever since the group had left the familiar sanctuary of the schools dark Campus.
"Well, it is... during the day." Sano's voice sounded perturbed and just edgy enough that he might be getting close to losing his temper with the the obnoxious malcontent. Megumi looked over her shoulder and tried to motion for Ruakii to be quiet, but he could not really see her that well in the dark so he just kept on talking.
"Oh, oh well, now doesn't that just make loads of sense. Doesn't that make loads of sense to you guys?" He asked to the group in general as the wolfish sarcasm floated up from the back through the single file procession. "But I guess to somebody like YOU, it WOULD make a lot of sense that a trail you can see during the day would be just as visible in the black of night. Geez, Sagara... I knew you were an idiot, but I did not know you were a fucking imbecile." Ruakii's voice turned to a scathing sneer as he continued to bait the already fuming Sano.
"All right, that is it!" The tenious hold Sano had on his boiling temper finally broke beneath the weight of the other youths rudness. "I have had enough of you and your smart mouthed remarks, Saitou." Sano stopped abruptly and turned around with a snarl, and then shoving his way past Megumi, Tomoe, and Aoshi he stormed toward the singular person that was being a royal pain in HIS ass. "If you got something to say, Ruakii," He glowered into the other boys face angrily. "Then say it to my face... if you got the guts."
"I would like to, Sagara." He gritted out through clenched teeth. "But I can't SEE your face, stupid. It's too fucking dark."
"Oh... yeah..." Sano was tired of feeling foolish around this boy, and his level of self-control was reaching it's limit. "Well, maybe you can SEE this, jerk-wad." And the loud crack of a clenched fist striking a solid jawbone was distinctly heard, then it was immediately followed by the unmistakable sound of a rather heavy body dropping to the ground quite abruptly.
"That is ENOUGH! Stop IT!" Was that Tomoe? "What on Earth is the matter with you two? Can't you get along for even a couple of hours? Good grief! Your acting worse than my little brothers for pete's sake."
"Dammit! What did you do that for, Sagara? Can't you take a little ragging?" Ruakii growled as he struggled to get back to his feet, but slipped on the slick grass and fell to his knees in a rather undignifed manner. "Shit! Well don't everybody just stand there... Somebody come and help me up. This fucking grass is so wet I can't get my footing. Dammit!"
"Here," The dark outline of a hand was shoved in front of his face. "Take it... Looks like I'm the only one willing to give you a hand." Reluctantly Ruakii accepted it and pulled himself to his feet.
"Thanks." He muttered ungraciously and he brushed at his duster.
"Sure. Not a problem." Kenshin turned and walked back to his place behind Quii and Kaoru, and lighting a cigarette, proceeded to shove his other hand deep into the pocket of his jacket. He had been solemnly quiet ever since leaving the Campus, and the air of coldness about him had all but tripled as well.
Kaoru cast a quick guilty look in his direction and then turned around to listen to Sano and Ruakii arguing somemore. She was feeling very sorry for the things she had said to the red-haired boy. His reaction was not what she had expected at all. From all the accounts of his past she had heard, she thought he would have turned on her in a violent anger or at least some form of sneering sarcasm, but he had not done either of those things. In fact, he had ceased to speak to her at all, and that was weighing heavy on her mind and her heart. He had tried to be so nice to her and her brother and she had basically insulted him in return. Kaoru was not sure what to do, but thought she should try to do something.
"Now that's what's gonna keep happening to you, Saitou if you don't keep your stupid mouth shut. You got it?" Sano's voice was still filled with anger, but he did sound much calmer than he had before he had punched Ruakii. Kaoru decided that was a good thing. It really would not due to have the two of them breaking out into a full-fledged fist fight right here. For one thing, there was not enough room, and for another, she just did not feel up to the drama. There had been quite enough of that in her life in the last year to last her three lifetimes and then some. She did not need something this foolish to add to her worries.
"Yeah, well you got lucky Sagara, that is all. Next time you won't be so lucky. Mark my words. You won't ever catch me with another sucker punch like that again."
"Yeah, whatever. Just shut your mouth, Saitou, and keep it shut, Ok? I don't have the time or the patience to deal with your bullshit right now."
"Ewwwww, I'm sooo scared."
"You ought to be, you stupid asshole." Sano was starting to get angry again as the growl of challenge entered his voice.
"Oh, for heaven's sake, will you two stop this, and let's just get going, all right? We've hung out here listening to this crap long enough." Tomoe's irritated voice drifted into the argument again as both teen's hackles began to rise.
"Shut-the-hell-up, Tomoe." Sano was in no mood for her right now, and the underlying threat in his voice sent gooseflesh running up her arms causing her to take a wary step backwards. "Mind your own business, Girl. This doesn't have anything to do with you, so back off."
"Hey, don't talk to her like that, you uneducated ass." Ruakii shoved Sano in the right shoulder. "It is not polite to talk to girls that way. Why don't you get your sorry ass back up to the front of the line where you belong, pin-head, and let's get moving again like she said. All right?"
"Yeah, whatever... you just get off by back and stay off."
"Oh sure. Whatever you say." Ruakii's voice was still full of sarcasm, but at least he was starting to cooperate. Who would have ever guessed that it would be his jumping up in defense of Tomoe Yukishiro that would bring about the transformation. And Tomoe, on the other hand, was fuming that it had been Ruakii Saitou that had defended her instead of her own boyfriend. Aoshi Shinomori.
"What is the matter with you, Aoshi?" She hissed under her breath so no one else would hear. "Why did you just stand there and let that stupid moron talk to me like that?"
"You were sticking your nose in where it did not belong, Tomoe. I felt Sanosuke was justified." Was Aoshi's flat morose answer as he looked into the dark shadow of her furious face.
"JUSTIFIED?" Her whisper of outraged fury fanned his cheek with the moist warmth of her breath. "How can you say that to me? I thought you were supposed to stand up for me? Back me up, and that sort of thing?"
"I am, Sweetheart, but not when you are in the wrong. And you WERE in the wrong. You had no business getting in the middle of that conversation. Just as Sano-san said, it had nothing to do with you."
"I know THAT, but somebody had to do something to get those two to grow-up and chill out before they really started to beat the daylights out of each other." Tomoe was doing her best to reason with the absolute logic of Aoshi's black and white brain. Sometimes she really hated him for the way he thought. There was no room for ifs, ands, or buts in Aoshi's world. It either Was, or it Was Not. There was nothing in between. Ever.
"Perhaps Tomoe-dear, and perhaps not. You do not know if that was where their altercation-interaction was leading them, and thusly, you may have destroyed an opportunity for the two of them to work out an existing socialization problem between them. But we will never know now what could have happened because you interfered where you did not belong."
"Ewwwwwww!" She hissed angrily and swung away from him. "You are completely impossible to talk to, Aoshi Shinomori."
"Perhaps. But you are completely out of your mind, Tomoe Yukishiro, if you think I am going to side with you on this matter... or forgive you for it."
"FORGIVE ME?? I do not have anything to apologize to YOU for!" The tenor of her venomous whisper rose alarmingly high and it threatened to ease itself into a raging sneer of outrage as her anger grew.
"But I think you do." Aoshi remained maddeningly calm, as he always did. Tomoe was certain the boy had no emotions in his heart at all... even if he was an exceptional kisser.
"Oh really? And just what would that be?" She demanded fiercely.
"Starting this rediculous argument in the first place. It was completely unnecessary on your part, as is your accusation against me of not standing up for you stepping into an argument that did not concern you."
"Unnecessary? You think your failing to stand up for me and my being upset over that deems this conversation as unnecessary??"
"Yes."
"How can you say that?" Bewildered shock colored her question as she stared at him in confusion.
"Because, as I said before, Tomoe. You were in the wrong."
"Aoshi?" Tomoe spoke his name very carefully and as calmly as she could.
"Yes?"
"Do me a favor, Dearest?" Her voice was dripping with honey.
"And what would that be, Tomoe?" His voice was bland as usual. Unsuspecting.
"Go to hell." And Tomoe walked away from him leaving Aoshi wondering just exactly what that meant. After he pondered it for a few minutes, he decided that it was quite possible that Tomoe had just broken up with him. 'Hmmmmm,' He thought. 'Interesting. I wonder why I do not feel worse?' It was an intriguing and unexpected non-sensation that sent Aoshi to examining his feelings or lack there of for Tomoe. He did not even notice that she was walking towards the back of the line.
Tomoe felt the bitter sting of tears burning her eyes as she trudged along the narrow pathway behind Megumi. Why could Aoshi never understand how she felt about anything? Why was he so damned cold hearted all of the time? She knew she was tired of their relationship; she had been for a long time now, and Tomoe knew it was time for a change. So, silently she stepped to the side of the path and waited for a few people to go by until she recognized the unmistakeable form of Ruakii Saitou. Falling in behind him, she drew in a deep breath to steady her nerves, and then she shyly spoke to him.
"Ruakii..." She began tentatively, "I wanted to say Thank-you for standing up for me like you did back there. I really appreciate it."
Ruakii was more than a little surprised by the quiet dark-haired girls comment, and found himself feeling a little unsettled by her presance as well. He had always thought Tomoe was pretty, but her quietness and long-standing attachment had made her unobtainable so he had never given her a second thought. "Ahhh, sure thing, Tomoe." He shrugged inside his black duster and looked over his shoulder at her dark form trudging behind him. "I did not like the way the Rooster-head was talking to you... It just bothered me, you know. My dad always says guys aren't supposed to treat girls that way. He's always talking about respect and being a gentleman and stuff. Sagara was being an ass to you... it was not right."
"Well, what ever reason made you do it, I just wanted to say thanks. It was more than Aoshi has ever done for me." Her voice dropped on a sad note, and Ruakii felt a strange tugging on his heart. He could not see why anyone would not want to stand up for their girlfriend. It was just something you were supposed to do.
"Really?" His voice was uncustomarily soft, and Tomoe's head jerked up in surprise as she stared at the back of him. "And why is that, Tomoe? Why hasn't Aoshi ever done anything like that for you before? I thought you two were together."
It was her turn to shrug. "I don't know why. He's just very nonconfrontational about things, and he believes that everything can be solved with words, not fists. But most of the time he does not even try to deal with anything with words. Not unless it has something to do with him directly. He does not like to get involved with anyone elses problems."
"Wow! I did not know that about Shinomori. You sure could not tell it by the way he throws the guys around in Karate class. You would think he hated everybody."
"That is different. He looks at Karate as a form of discipline. He says it helps him with his concentration and self-control."
"Is there ANYTHING that ever comes out of that guys mouth that doesn't sound like old man gray-haired phylosophy?" Ruakii's voice was fairly serious, but it was tinged with a hint of sarcastic cyinicism that was unmistakable, and it got to Tomoe and started her thinking about Aoshi, the Extremist.
"Ummmm.... Now that you mention it, no. I don't think so." Tomoe started to giggle as her soon to be ex-boyfriend suddenly looked different to her in the new light Ruakii had just shown him in. "I guess he really does sound like an old Doli Lama or something. I had never thought of it before. It's actually kind of funny."
"Are you kidding me. It is VERY funny. How do you stand that guy anyway? He would drive me nuts if I spent as much time with him as you do."
"Well, if you want to know the truth, he does drive me nuts a lot of the time." It was a reluctant admission, but a truthful one.
"Then what do you stay with him for?"
"I... I don't really know. I have wanted to leave for a while, but... I just never seemed to be able to find a good enough reason to go."
Ruakii pulled up enough to let Tomoe catch up to him, and so he could see the outline of her face a little better. "Well, maybe that is something you should think about, Tomoe Yukishiro. Why you are staying with a guy who makes you miserable... He is not the only crab on the beach, you know."
Tomoe burst into giggles again as she looked over into Ruakii's grinning face. "You say some of the dumbest things, do you know that."
"Yeah, but it makes YOU laugh."
"Yes... it does." She smiled and met his eyes for a moment then looked away in embarrassment. 'God, I never noticed how cute he was before.' Then to her consternation, Tomoe felt Ruakii's hand glide down her arm and slide into hers gripping it loosely giving her the chance to pull away if she wanted to. A warm tingle of wary excitement traveled up her arm and settled in her stomach where it curled into a little ball of nervous knots.
In the two years they had been going out together, she had never once felt this way with Aoshi. Tomoe bit her bottem lip in apprehension and wondered what she should do. It felt so good having Ruakii hold her hand in his. It was so warm and she felt alive all of a sudden, but was it a bad thing to be doing this just this soon? She was not even actually broken up with Aoshi... was she?
Tomoe decided she did not care. It felt good, and it felt right. She let her fingers wrap themselves around Ruakii's hand and felt him squeeze back. Looking back up into his face, she found him smiling gently at her and her heart did a wild flip-flop in her chest. Nope. Aoshi had NEVER made her feel like THIS, and she liked THIS. Aoshi Shinomori could roast in Hell for all Eternity for all she cared. She knew where she was going, and it was not back to him.
It was not very long after the argument between Ruakii and Sano that the group finally found their way out of the dangling tree branches and heavy grasses and broke out onto the flat far reaching beach of Evermore-sound. Lit only by the scant starlight, it stetched out before them like the pale gray ghost of a long forgotten road winding around the edges of the black lapping water and disappeared in the dark shadows of the night. They were still too faraway to see any sign of the old Lighthouse, but the rolling lap of the waves slapping up against the pale sand was a monotonous on going rhythm that would follow them to their destination and help keep them on the right track.
"Finally." Megumi breathed a sigh of relief which was whole heartedly echoed by each one of the others as they broke free of the suffocating trail and took a deep breath of the cool fresh salt air coming off the ocean. "I thought we would never get here."
"It is about time, Sagara. You might have warned us the path was so tight, you know." Ruakii still could not just keep his mouth shut, and to make matters worse, Tomoe was standing beside him nodding her head in complete agreement. That was when everyone noticed they were holding hands, and the night grew still with an eerie silence of apprehension. Aoshi was wearing a pinched look on his usually blank face, and Tomoe felt a shiver of anxiety run up her spine. She unconsciously moved closer to Ruakii and he squeezed her hand tighter as if to tell her not to worry.
"Ahem, Tomoe... Is there something you wish to say to me?" Aoshi clasped his hands negligently behind his back as he approached the couple with a deadly glint in his dark eyes. He did not mind her breaking up with him so much as he minded that she had gone immediately from his embrace to that of the most mean spirited jerk in the entire school. THAT bothered him.
"I already told you, Aoshi, Dearest. Or have you forgotten already that I very specifically told you to 'go to hell'?" Tomoe straightened her shoulders and tried to sound as confident as she could.
"No, I quite remember those sweet words falling from your lovely lips, My Dear, but I do not recall your mentioning anything about leaving me for... HIM."
"It is your own fault, Shinomori." Ruakii spoke in a triumphant voice as he moved closer to Tomoe. "If you do not know how to take care of beautiful things, you lose them. And, obviously, you do not know how."
"I don't do I? So that is what is behind this?" A rare chuckle escaped his lips as one hand rose to rub the smooth edge of his jaw thoughtfully. "I think I understand now. Very well then, you are welcome to her, Ruakii, and I wish you well. I just hope you know what you are getting yourself into."
"Just what is that supposed to mean?" Tomoe snapped angrily in Aoshi's direction as he turned to walk away.
"Just what I said, My Dear. But then again, since it appears Ruakii is just as foolish a person as you are, perhaps the two of you will get along quite famously. I wish you well... and good riddance."
"Go to hell, Aoshi" She spat venomously.
"Very likely, but I will be sure to save you a seat, Darling." And with another cold chuckle, Aoshi meandered away from his now ex-girlfriend and started making his way up the pale sandy beach.
"Wow! Intense." Misao exhanged anxious looks with Quii and Kaoru as the three girls cautiously moved a little closer to Kenshin and Yahiko.
"That was really creepy." Quii was shaking her head as she looked with increasing confusion in her brothers general direction. "I didn't think he liked Tomoe. Usually he refers to her as the 'Mouse-Girl' because she never makes any noise."
"Weeellll, she made some noise tonight. That in itself was way strange. I wonder what was up with that? Tomoe usually always fades into the background where nobody ever notices her. I wonder what got her going tonight that she jumped in the middle of Sano and Ruakii?"
"Who knows, but it looks like my big brother has a new girlfriend... YUCK!"
"Quii! That is not very nice. Tomoe is a nice girl. At least I think she is a nice girl. I don't really know her very well myself." Misao found her eyes wandering away from Tomoe and Ruakii and searching out the lone figure walking ever so slowly up the beach. 'I wonder what is up with HIM?' "Hey, Himura?" She called softly over her shoulder.
"What do you want, Machimaki?" Was the stiff sullen answer.
She jerked around and stared at him. He looked like a pale gray-haired ghost in the minimal light, but she could still make out his features and it was obvious he was ticked off over something. Plus, he was smoking another cigarette. She could not help the look of concern that crossed her face as she walked over to him. It suddenly felt strange to see him like this after the way he had been with her just a little while ago. Of course, this was the Kenshin Himura she was the most familiar with, the one that wandered silently around the hallways of Ive Payne, but she liked the other one much better.
"Are you Ok, Himura?" She asked gently and rested a soft hand on his arm.
"Sure. I'm great. Why do you ask?" He pulled a drag off his cigarette and then blew the smoke out in a tight thin stream. His eyes were hard when he finally looked at her.
"Yeah, I can see how 'great' you are. Fine," She shrugged. "If you don't want to talk to me, that is Ok, but I just want you to know... I'll listen if you want to." 'Oh my God... Did I really just say THAT to HIM??'
He looked at her long and hard for at least twenty seconds and then simply nodded once before taking another drag off his dwindling smoke. "What did you want before? You were going to ask me something. What was it?" The voice was slightly less sharp, but he was not anymore open than he had been before. Misao frowned and pulled her hand back.
"I was just going to ask you if you knew anything about that Shinomori guy. He just seems really intense, and... well, kind of closed up and way too anal about everything. Do you know him?" Kenshin chuckled a small ironic sound that make Misao look at him quizzically. "What?" She asked trying to get him to look her in the face. "What did I say that is so funny?"
"You called him 'anal', Misao. And, whether you know it or not, that describes Shinomori perfectly." Another round of deep chuckles slid from his throat as he dropped his cigarette butt onto the pale sand and stubbed it out with his foot. "He is obsessed with logic, cause and effect, choice and consequence... His life is black and white and there is no room in it for any gray-matter."
"You are kidding me... aren't you?"
"Nope. He is a very interesting piece of work. Give him a single topic to research, and he will bring you back a library's worth of information... in his head. The man is a walking, talking, breathing genius."
"You like him... don't you?"
"I respect him. We speak the same language a lot of the time only he gets a little extreme for me sometimes."
"Too extreme for YOU??" She raised a disbelieving eyebrow at him.
"Hey, it happens." He retorted sourly as he glared down at her sarcastic expression.
"Sorry, Himura. It's just really hard for me to believe anyone being too extreme for YOU. I mean, get real will you. Some one is too extreme for The King of The Extremists?"
"Careful, Weasel-girl, your treading on thin ice here."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah... go growl someplace else, tough guy. You don't scare me anymore."
"Shit!"
"You know anything else about this guy? Like is the son of an alien-mutant or anything like that?"
"No. He is not the son of an 'alien-mutant." The ghost of a half smile tugged at the coners of Kenshin's mouth as he took a measured look at her. "Why the sudden interest, Machimaki?"
Misao shrugged and looked up the beach to the place where Aoshi had stopped about one hundred yards ahead of the group. He seemed to be staring off into the darkness that loomed over the water. It was difficult to tell what he was doing, but he was not moving. "It was just really bazaar the way he an Tomoe broke up. He was almost totally nonemotional about the whole thing, yet the exchange between the two of them was very intense. It was wierd."
"I suppose. But that is how he is."
"Do you know why?"
"Nope. I doubt anybody does. Except maybe Aoshi, himself, but he probably would not bother to explain the reasons for his behavior."
"Why not?"
"The reasons are basically irrelivant to his behavior whether they are the direct cause of it or not. Cause and effect, Misao. His behavior is the result of whatever effected him in his past, so it no longer matters. It cannot be changed, it can no longer be effected, it has caused whatever changes in his life and character it is going too, so it requires no further exertion on his part. He would consider it a waste of time."
"Wierd." She shook her head and screwed her pretty face up into a thoughtful scowl. "It really would be hard to figure out what makes a guy like that tic then wouldn't it?"
"Oh, I don't know... Most guys are pretty easy to figure out once you know the one thing they need the most."
"Well, that is a no-brainer, Himura. Like... Duh."
"A no-brainer, huh? What do you think it is? Sex?"
"Of course. That is pretty much the only thing you guys think about, isn't it? The Almighty Panty Game? The Thrill of The Hunt? My Way or The Highway?"
"Is that what you really think??" His voice sounded angry and Misao turned a surprised face to him. To her personal sense of dismay, she discovered his face looked just as angry as his voice sounded.
"Well, actually... that is what most all girls think you guys want the most."
"That is your first mistake, Weasel-girl. I did not say 'want', I said 'need'. If you can figure out what HE NEEDS, what HE WANTS becomes a secondary consideration."
"Are you trying to tell me that you guys would for-go the sex-thing is we were to find out your one true NEED and fulfill it FIRST?"
"Yes. That is exactly what I am saying. At least, that is truth for the majority of the male population. There are the odd few who don't give a shit about anything one way or the other except self-gratification. Those are the one's you have to watch out for."
"Geez, Himura. You just ruined my whole view on the male-asshole."
"I did? How did I do that, Misao?" He looked at her quizzically as she favored him with a wicked smile and twinkling eyes.
"You just went and made them all look almost human... whadya do that for? I was quite comfortable with my current perspective the way it was." A soft almost inaudible chuckled slid out of Kenshin's mouth as he jammed both hands into the pockets of his jacket.
"So sorry, Misao. Truly I am."
"Yeah, you are." She let a quiet giggle loose and playfully shoved him. "Not." Then she sobered somewhat and searched out his semi amused features in the pale starlight. "Hey, Himura?"
"What?"
"Can I say something to you without you tearing my head off?"
"I do not know. I guess that depends on what you say to me."
"Fine, whatever... Geez, you are a prickly jerk, you know that?"
"Everybodies got to have a hobby."
"Yeah, well, you would think this was your lifes pursuit." He smiled a little wider and kicked a spray of the loose sand onto her feet.
"Hey! Cool it, you big dork. All I was going to say was, once you get past all the smart-ass, big-balls attitude, you are actually a really great guy... and... and, I want you to know I really meant what I said about being there if you ever needed somebody to talk to." She looked down at his shoes and felt the burn of a dark blush glowing in her cheeks. "I think everybody should have at least one person they can talk to about stuff that's bothering them. Somebody that won't dump a bunch of judgement bull in their lap or start giving them lots of advice. Just somebody to talk to when they need to unload. You know what I mean?"
"Yes," He nodded almost imperceptively. "I know what you mean."
"Well, I just wanted you to know that I will listen to you... if you ever need to talk... you can trust me, you know. You really can."
"Trust you?" He raised an eyebrow at her questioningly.
"That's right. Me."
"Hmmmm. Interesting thought, but tell me, why should I trust YOU? What makes you better than anyone else?" His eyes narrowed skeptically and Misao could see that all sense of sarcasm had suddenly been dropped. 'Geez, he changes moods fast... He's a damn roller coaster.'
"Because, I have never betrayed a friend in my entire life."
"Never?"
"Never." She set her jaw and folded her arms across her chest in defiance. "You can ask anybody. I am one of the most loyal people you will ever find anywhere, Himura. I don't kiss and tell."
"I should hope not." His usual sarcasm finally pulled its ugly head out and grinned widely at her, and a small lopsided grin tugged at Kenshin's mouth. "I am not very good at trusting people, Misao. I have made it a habit not too... but, maybe... I..." He stopped and dropped his head to stare at his shoes for a long moment. "I have sort of gotten tired of being alone all of the time." She had to struggle to hear what he said, but once she realized the magnitude of the admission, Misao felt a squeezing pain in her chest.
"Himura... I didn't..." He stopped her from going any further by putting a hand on her arm and shaking his head.
"It is Ok... Do not worry about it, please. All I can do is try, you know... Sano and I... we, well, we sort of came to an understanding earlier today... so, I am trying... It is difficult. So difficult." A ragged sigh escaped him, and Misao felt him tremble slightly. "It has been a long, long time since I allowed myself to have any friends..."
"It is Ok, Himura. I am not looking for anything catastrophic, Ok. I just want you to know that I am here if you need somebody to talk to, or just hang out with. That is all I am saying... I don't think you are what 'we' thought you were... are you?" She searched the shadowed features and found them pinched into a look of sadness.
"No." Was all he said, and then he looked up and met her eyes. She saw everything she needed to know there, and nodded gently.
"Didn't think so." She gently squeezed his hand where it rested on her arm and he smiled a little weakly. "Come on... grab the kid and let's get going."
"Ok. I think I am definately up for an adrenaline rush about now."
"Need one?" She smiled wickedly, and he grinned evilly at her.
"Yes, feel like helping me out?"
"Nope, you said I wasn't your type, remember?"
"I could always make an exception." He winked at her and she laughed out loud bringing a genuine roll of laughter from him as well.
"Cool." She nodded in approval as she started to walk away. "He does know how to laugh after all."
"Misao! Are you insane??" Quii's anxious whisper was accompanied by her frantic grip on the sleeve of Misao's dark green coat. "Kenshin Himura is dangerous. What are you doing going right up to HIM and talking to him like that? Everybody knows he's unstable... You don't know what he's capable of... He might had tried to hurt you or something."
"That is a bunch of crap, Quii, and I think you know that." Misao yanked her sleeve loose from the younger girls grip. "Himura's not going to hurt me or anybody else for that matter... except maybe your stupid brother. Otherwise, he's pretty much harmless. So, get a grip, Quii. Kenshin Himura is no one to be afraid of, Ok?"
"Are you really serious about that, Misao? That he's not dangerous?" Kaoru's quiet voice interrupted the fierce exchange between the other two girls.
"Yes, I am serious. He wouldn't hurt anybody."
"How do you know that?" Kaoru's face creased into a line of worry. "I mean, everything everyone has said about him at school has been..."
"I think it's all crap, Kaoru." Misao hastily cut her off. "I really don't think he's what everybody thinks he is."
"But how do you know that?"
"I don't know... I just do, Ok? It's one of those gut feelings, and I just gotta believe it. Besides, if he was such a scarey person, would he have done all that stuff for your little brother? Huh?"
Kaoru cast her eyes down in confusion because she had been asking herself the very same question ever since Kenshin had stopped talking to her. Initially, when she had first noticed him being in so many of her classes, she had thought he was the most handsome boy she had ever seen, but her admiration was short lived once she started hearing the stories about him.
He was supposed to have killed some old man in up-state New York three years back while he was trying to rob his store. The general consensus of the rumors were he had done it intentionally during a struggle of the old man's gun, but he had gotten out of a major murder charge because he had only been 14 at the time. There was also a rumor that the only reason he was here at Ive Payne was because his parents were really rich and had somehow bribed the system into confining him here on the Campus instead of putting him in Juvie Lockdown.
The thought that a cold-blooded killer was roaming the hallways unfettered had made her flesh crawl and the blood freeze in her veins. It seemed that Yahiko and herself were doomed to keep running into bad luck no matter what she tried to do to make things better for them. It was her responsibility to look out for Yahiko, to take care of him, and to make sure that he grew up into a descent human being, but sometimes Kaoru just wanted to give up and quit. It was so much harder than she could have ever imagined; trying to grow up without parents.
She could clearly remember all of the times she and her Mother had argued and thrown cruel words back and forth at each other, but what she would not give now to be able to wrap her arms around her Mother's waist and lay her head on that soft but sturdy shoulder and let all of her cares and worries slip away. Or if she could hear the boombing laughter of her Father ringing through their house as he came home from work and found Yahiko hanging from the bannister on the stairs, Kaoru would give anything for that too. Two years. Two years they had been gone, and it seemed to her that the pain and emptiness just kept getting bigger and harder to bear instead of easier like everyone told her it would.
What did they know? Had they lost their parents when they were 15? Did they feel responsible for the fact that their parents were dead? Did they feel like it was all their fault that the two most important people in the world were dead because of something that they had done? No. None of them knew or understood anything, and none of them ever would because no one knew what had happened. It was her fault her parents were gone. It was because of her that her Mother's embrace was lost and her Father's laughter was silent, and Kaoru lived with that knowledge everyday. And everyday saw her become more and more withdrawn, more isolated, and more self-depreciating. But she had to maintain for Yahiko. She had to keep going for him. Whether he realized it or not, he depended on her for a lot of things, and she did on him as well. True, he was a complete pain most of the time, but Kaoru knew she would not be able to go on if anything ever happened to him, and she had watched him warm up to the most unlikely person imaginable. Kenshin Himura. Kaoru did not know what to think. Yahiko was usually an uncannily good judge of character, and if that still held true then... Maybe Misao was right.
"Maybe you are right, Misao. I just do not know if I can feel the same way about him that you do, right now."
"You don't have to, Kaoru. All I'm saying is give him a chance, you know. Do not sell him up the river just because of everything you've heard. I think there is a lot more to him than anybody knows, and I think he deserves a chance to prove it... even if that isn't what his intentions are. Just give him a chance, Ok?"
"Sure. I can do that, I guess." She smiled weakly and turned her wary gaze back to the aloof red-haired boy who was now engaged in an animated conversation with her younger brother. "After all, Yahiko likes him." The last was spoken so softly, it almost sounded as if she said it to herself, and Misao and Quii looked at each other in mild confusion.
"Hey, Kaoru? You ok girl?" Misao reached out and touched the dark-haired girls arm. It was true, no one knew hardly anything about these new kids, but Misao always seemed to be the one that wanted to reach out to everyone, and Kaoru was no exception.
"Yes," Kaoru quickly looked back and Misao's concerned face and managed a shaky grin. "I'm fine. It's just hard for us to get used to new people."
"Oh," Misao smiled warmly and winked. "I can relate to that, but don't worry about it, Ok? You got me and Quii here to keep you company, and we'll introduce you to everybody else, and then in no time at all, you'll have a ton of friends. Trust me." Impulsively she reached out and hugged the other girl tightly, and then squeezed her hand in friendly affection. "We won't let you fade into the wood-work. You can count on that. So, come on... Let's get going before we get left behind. It looks like everybody is starting to move out. Hey, Himura!"
"What?!"
"Come on... unless you want to get left behind with the little wild-animal all by yourself. Everybody is leaving."
"All right. We're coming." Kaoru turned around in time to see Kenshin lean over and say something to Yahiko that make the younger boy break out into raucous laughter, and then the two of them were jogging up along the pale sand to catch up with the rest of the group. "All right, we're here already, so why aren't we moving yet?"
"God, you are a sarcastic jerk, Himura."
He grinned evilly. "Someone has to be. Might as well be me."
"Sure, God knows you are better at it than anyone else."
"Thanks Misao." He smiled proudly and bowed in mock appreciation.
"Not a problem." She giggled and gave him a shove that sent him sprawling into the sand. "I guess grace isn't one of your better virtures, is it?"
"No. But I hope running is one of yours."
"Why?"
"Because, when I stand up... I am going to pick you up and throw you in the ocean." His voice was deadly calm and Misao felt a prickle of apprehension tingle along her nerve endings.
"You wouldn't dare..."
"Wouldn't I? Are you sure?" The implied threat was very evident in his voice as he slowly began to rise to his feet. "Can you absolutely count on that, little Weasel-girl?"
"Ummmm... I... Himura? You are kidding... right?" Misao began to back up in a slow defensive move as her eyes widened into huge dark pools of anxiety. "You aren't serious are you? That water is freezing? Himura??"
"I don't know... What do YOU think?" He was half crouched almost like he was getting ready for a sprint, and Misao suddenly remembered just exactly how fast he really was. He had taken All State the last three years in a row in the 100yard and 220yard runs.
"Oh shit..."
"You better run, Misao." Quii hissed in a tight whisper. "I don't think he's bluffing." And at that split instant Kenshin sprang from his crouch and darted with alarming speed in Misao's direction.
"EEEEEEPPPP!!" She squeeled in terror and frantically dashed up the edge of the beachline passing everyone in a blur. "IIII'MMMMM SSSOOOORRRRYYYY!!" She cried as she heard the steady sure footed pad of him swiftly gaining on her headlong flight, and as she cast a terrified look over her shoulder to see how close he was, Misao plowed right into a solid wall of pure stone. It seemed to hold up beneath the weight of her assault for a moment, but then it crumpled and she fell crashing to the ground caught in a tangle of arms, legs, and a very long trench coat.
"OOOOOFFFF!" The distinct sound of male discomfort brought Misao to her senses faster than any amount of cold water could have, and she began to struggle wildly to get free and discover what had happened.
"STOP!" The brusquely spoken word caused her to immediately freeze where she was to the point she was even holding her breath. But then, a gentle hand was carefully wiping her hair out of her flushed face, and Misoa found herself looking into the surpised and very handsome face of none other than Mr. Extremist himself. Aoshi Shinomori. To her eternal embarrassment she realized she was laying on top of him in a very compromising position with her legs straddling his waist, and her small but firm breasts almost pressed right in his face. Slowly he sat up and she slid down his torso and settled in his lap with her knees bent on either side of his thighs. 'Oh My God!!! HELP!!!!' Her mind was screaming over and over in embarrassed distress as she watched him brush his own hair out of his eyes and then pop his neck, and then he was looking directly into her wide-eyed horrified face.
"Are you all right?" He asked in his usual bland voice, but Misao could see the shift of concern in his dark colorless eyes as they looked into hers. 'I don't think I can breath.' She thought as her gaze locked and held with his. 'I have to say something... but what... Oh shit! I can't think of anything to say... What am I going to say? Say something Misao. You have to say something.'
"I... I think... so." She stuttered and mentally swore at herself because she sounded so stupid.
"Are you certain? You hit me rather hard, and we did fall in quite an awkward position." One of his hands reached out and slid under her hair and began to probe her neck. Misao felt incredible little electrical shocks of pure pleasure shoot through her as he touched her. 'WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME? OH GOD!' "Does this hurt?" He asked quietly in the same bland voice he always used.
"H-hurt?" Her eyes were closed and she was almost leaning into his hand. "No. It doesn't hurt."
"Good." Then his hand slipped along her spine probing each vertebrae for pain and placement, and as he did, Misao drew in a shakey breath and let her head drop forward where it fell onto the broadness of his shoulder. "Does this hurt anywhere at all? I have to make certain you did not hurt your back, so you must tell me if it hurts anywhere at all. Do you understand?"
"Um-hmm..." Relaxing against him, Misao became achingly aware of several things all at once. The simplest touch of his hands was sending her off into another world, she was almost certain she could detect the slightest tinge of something in his voice besides it's usual flatness, he smelled absolutely incredible, she had never met him before this moment, and... and she wanted him to try and kiss her so she could let him do it.
Kenshin stood several feet away with a crooked smile on his face, and a evil gleam in his eyes. His little plan had worked out better than he had thought it would. Misao was perfectly perdictable, and she had fallen for the bait of his bow just like he had thought she would, and her wild run up the beach had taken her in the exact direction he had wanted her to go.
Right up to Aoshi Shinomori. His smile got bigger as he watched her lean into Aoshi letting him check her for 'injuries', and he turned and meandered lazily back down the beach to where Kaoru, Quii, and a wide mouthed Yahiko were walking. Whether Aoshi knew it or not, Kenshin believed quite certainly that the tall serious minded 'Extremist' had finally met his 'Match', and he was in for the ride of his life.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Quii looked at him in astonishment.
"What makes you say that?" He asked as a delicate brown brow arched up in sarcastic bewilderment.
"For one thing, the look on your face, and for another... Misao just got through telling us you wouldn't ever hurt anybody. So, that means you would never have thrown her in the water... doesn't it?" Now she looked a little bit wary and backed a couple of steps away from him ending up behind an embarrassed Kaoru.
"I don't know, Quii Saitou. Does it?" He laughed a wicked sound that was heavily laced with insolent amusement, but Kaoru was, at that moment, watching him very closely, and she saw something that caught her eye and made the breath freeze in her chest. Beneath the sarcasm and the insolence there was something else. Something fleeting and elusive, but she knew she had seen it. What it was had left her wanting to reach out and grab his arm before he walked away and started tormenting her brother the way boys do with each other, but he had moved too quickly for her and the opportunity was gone.
It was nearly 12:30 when everyone finally got moving along the waters edge of the pale beach, and heaven knew it had been an interesting hour. More things had changed in that endless 60 minutes than in most of these teens lives in the last three years.
Tomoe Yuishiro and Aoshi Shinomori broke up.
Ruakii Saitou proved he was a gentleman underneath the surface of his ever presant rudeness and self-righteous attitude, and now Tomoe was HIS new girlfriend.
Misao Machimaki and the ever aloof Kenshin Himura had become tentative friends, and Kenshin had somehow taken the loud mouthed obnoxious Yahiko Kamiya under his wing.
Sanosuke Sagara and Megumi Takani seemed to be working towards a new relationship, much to their mutual enjoyment.
Aoshi Shinomori and Misao Miachmaki were... well, nobody was sure what was going on there, but ever since she had plowed him over in her mad dash to escape Kenshin's threat of throwing her in the water, they had sort of been staying close to each other. And lastly, Kaoru Kamiya had made a very interesting and valuable discovery.
Kenshin Himura, Ive Payne's 'Bad Kid' had something no one would ever believe he had... not even if she told them what she had seen in his eyes in that one split instant. However, she finally understood why Misao was so adamant about everyone giving him a chance. It was written just as plainly in his eyes as the stars shining in the midnight sky.
Kenshin Himura had a heart, and it was hurting.
A/N: This is for all of you out there who are having one problem or another with the pairing of Aoshi and Tomoe. I know it was a really strange thing to do, but it was a necessary evil that I had to do in order for certain other things in the story to work. Especially for this coming chapter. So, be patient... everything will come out in the wash. Except tomatoe stains. Those suckers never come out. Dammit! Tsuki-san :)
Chapter Four
The White Beaches of Evermore
"Hey Sano, this trail of yours really sucks. I thought you said it was going to be easy to follow." Ruakii had been doing nothing but complaining ever since the group had left the familiar sanctuary of the schools dark Campus.
"Well, it is... during the day." Sano's voice sounded perturbed and just edgy enough that he might be getting close to losing his temper with the the obnoxious malcontent. Megumi looked over her shoulder and tried to motion for Ruakii to be quiet, but he could not really see her that well in the dark so he just kept on talking.
"Oh, oh well, now doesn't that just make loads of sense. Doesn't that make loads of sense to you guys?" He asked to the group in general as the wolfish sarcasm floated up from the back through the single file procession. "But I guess to somebody like YOU, it WOULD make a lot of sense that a trail you can see during the day would be just as visible in the black of night. Geez, Sagara... I knew you were an idiot, but I did not know you were a fucking imbecile." Ruakii's voice turned to a scathing sneer as he continued to bait the already fuming Sano.
"All right, that is it!" The tenious hold Sano had on his boiling temper finally broke beneath the weight of the other youths rudness. "I have had enough of you and your smart mouthed remarks, Saitou." Sano stopped abruptly and turned around with a snarl, and then shoving his way past Megumi, Tomoe, and Aoshi he stormed toward the singular person that was being a royal pain in HIS ass. "If you got something to say, Ruakii," He glowered into the other boys face angrily. "Then say it to my face... if you got the guts."
"I would like to, Sagara." He gritted out through clenched teeth. "But I can't SEE your face, stupid. It's too fucking dark."
"Oh... yeah..." Sano was tired of feeling foolish around this boy, and his level of self-control was reaching it's limit. "Well, maybe you can SEE this, jerk-wad." And the loud crack of a clenched fist striking a solid jawbone was distinctly heard, then it was immediately followed by the unmistakable sound of a rather heavy body dropping to the ground quite abruptly.
"That is ENOUGH! Stop IT!" Was that Tomoe? "What on Earth is the matter with you two? Can't you get along for even a couple of hours? Good grief! Your acting worse than my little brothers for pete's sake."
"Dammit! What did you do that for, Sagara? Can't you take a little ragging?" Ruakii growled as he struggled to get back to his feet, but slipped on the slick grass and fell to his knees in a rather undignifed manner. "Shit! Well don't everybody just stand there... Somebody come and help me up. This fucking grass is so wet I can't get my footing. Dammit!"
"Here," The dark outline of a hand was shoved in front of his face. "Take it... Looks like I'm the only one willing to give you a hand." Reluctantly Ruakii accepted it and pulled himself to his feet.
"Thanks." He muttered ungraciously and he brushed at his duster.
"Sure. Not a problem." Kenshin turned and walked back to his place behind Quii and Kaoru, and lighting a cigarette, proceeded to shove his other hand deep into the pocket of his jacket. He had been solemnly quiet ever since leaving the Campus, and the air of coldness about him had all but tripled as well.
Kaoru cast a quick guilty look in his direction and then turned around to listen to Sano and Ruakii arguing somemore. She was feeling very sorry for the things she had said to the red-haired boy. His reaction was not what she had expected at all. From all the accounts of his past she had heard, she thought he would have turned on her in a violent anger or at least some form of sneering sarcasm, but he had not done either of those things. In fact, he had ceased to speak to her at all, and that was weighing heavy on her mind and her heart. He had tried to be so nice to her and her brother and she had basically insulted him in return. Kaoru was not sure what to do, but thought she should try to do something.
"Now that's what's gonna keep happening to you, Saitou if you don't keep your stupid mouth shut. You got it?" Sano's voice was still filled with anger, but he did sound much calmer than he had before he had punched Ruakii. Kaoru decided that was a good thing. It really would not due to have the two of them breaking out into a full-fledged fist fight right here. For one thing, there was not enough room, and for another, she just did not feel up to the drama. There had been quite enough of that in her life in the last year to last her three lifetimes and then some. She did not need something this foolish to add to her worries.
"Yeah, well you got lucky Sagara, that is all. Next time you won't be so lucky. Mark my words. You won't ever catch me with another sucker punch like that again."
"Yeah, whatever. Just shut your mouth, Saitou, and keep it shut, Ok? I don't have the time or the patience to deal with your bullshit right now."
"Ewwwww, I'm sooo scared."
"You ought to be, you stupid asshole." Sano was starting to get angry again as the growl of challenge entered his voice.
"Oh, for heaven's sake, will you two stop this, and let's just get going, all right? We've hung out here listening to this crap long enough." Tomoe's irritated voice drifted into the argument again as both teen's hackles began to rise.
"Shut-the-hell-up, Tomoe." Sano was in no mood for her right now, and the underlying threat in his voice sent gooseflesh running up her arms causing her to take a wary step backwards. "Mind your own business, Girl. This doesn't have anything to do with you, so back off."
"Hey, don't talk to her like that, you uneducated ass." Ruakii shoved Sano in the right shoulder. "It is not polite to talk to girls that way. Why don't you get your sorry ass back up to the front of the line where you belong, pin-head, and let's get moving again like she said. All right?"
"Yeah, whatever... you just get off by back and stay off."
"Oh sure. Whatever you say." Ruakii's voice was still full of sarcasm, but at least he was starting to cooperate. Who would have ever guessed that it would be his jumping up in defense of Tomoe Yukishiro that would bring about the transformation. And Tomoe, on the other hand, was fuming that it had been Ruakii Saitou that had defended her instead of her own boyfriend. Aoshi Shinomori.
"What is the matter with you, Aoshi?" She hissed under her breath so no one else would hear. "Why did you just stand there and let that stupid moron talk to me like that?"
"You were sticking your nose in where it did not belong, Tomoe. I felt Sanosuke was justified." Was Aoshi's flat morose answer as he looked into the dark shadow of her furious face.
"JUSTIFIED?" Her whisper of outraged fury fanned his cheek with the moist warmth of her breath. "How can you say that to me? I thought you were supposed to stand up for me? Back me up, and that sort of thing?"
"I am, Sweetheart, but not when you are in the wrong. And you WERE in the wrong. You had no business getting in the middle of that conversation. Just as Sano-san said, it had nothing to do with you."
"I know THAT, but somebody had to do something to get those two to grow-up and chill out before they really started to beat the daylights out of each other." Tomoe was doing her best to reason with the absolute logic of Aoshi's black and white brain. Sometimes she really hated him for the way he thought. There was no room for ifs, ands, or buts in Aoshi's world. It either Was, or it Was Not. There was nothing in between. Ever.
"Perhaps Tomoe-dear, and perhaps not. You do not know if that was where their altercation-interaction was leading them, and thusly, you may have destroyed an opportunity for the two of them to work out an existing socialization problem between them. But we will never know now what could have happened because you interfered where you did not belong."
"Ewwwwwww!" She hissed angrily and swung away from him. "You are completely impossible to talk to, Aoshi Shinomori."
"Perhaps. But you are completely out of your mind, Tomoe Yukishiro, if you think I am going to side with you on this matter... or forgive you for it."
"FORGIVE ME?? I do not have anything to apologize to YOU for!" The tenor of her venomous whisper rose alarmingly high and it threatened to ease itself into a raging sneer of outrage as her anger grew.
"But I think you do." Aoshi remained maddeningly calm, as he always did. Tomoe was certain the boy had no emotions in his heart at all... even if he was an exceptional kisser.
"Oh really? And just what would that be?" She demanded fiercely.
"Starting this rediculous argument in the first place. It was completely unnecessary on your part, as is your accusation against me of not standing up for you stepping into an argument that did not concern you."
"Unnecessary? You think your failing to stand up for me and my being upset over that deems this conversation as unnecessary??"
"Yes."
"How can you say that?" Bewildered shock colored her question as she stared at him in confusion.
"Because, as I said before, Tomoe. You were in the wrong."
"Aoshi?" Tomoe spoke his name very carefully and as calmly as she could.
"Yes?"
"Do me a favor, Dearest?" Her voice was dripping with honey.
"And what would that be, Tomoe?" His voice was bland as usual. Unsuspecting.
"Go to hell." And Tomoe walked away from him leaving Aoshi wondering just exactly what that meant. After he pondered it for a few minutes, he decided that it was quite possible that Tomoe had just broken up with him. 'Hmmmmm,' He thought. 'Interesting. I wonder why I do not feel worse?' It was an intriguing and unexpected non-sensation that sent Aoshi to examining his feelings or lack there of for Tomoe. He did not even notice that she was walking towards the back of the line.
Tomoe felt the bitter sting of tears burning her eyes as she trudged along the narrow pathway behind Megumi. Why could Aoshi never understand how she felt about anything? Why was he so damned cold hearted all of the time? She knew she was tired of their relationship; she had been for a long time now, and Tomoe knew it was time for a change. So, silently she stepped to the side of the path and waited for a few people to go by until she recognized the unmistakeable form of Ruakii Saitou. Falling in behind him, she drew in a deep breath to steady her nerves, and then she shyly spoke to him.
"Ruakii..." She began tentatively, "I wanted to say Thank-you for standing up for me like you did back there. I really appreciate it."
Ruakii was more than a little surprised by the quiet dark-haired girls comment, and found himself feeling a little unsettled by her presance as well. He had always thought Tomoe was pretty, but her quietness and long-standing attachment had made her unobtainable so he had never given her a second thought. "Ahhh, sure thing, Tomoe." He shrugged inside his black duster and looked over his shoulder at her dark form trudging behind him. "I did not like the way the Rooster-head was talking to you... It just bothered me, you know. My dad always says guys aren't supposed to treat girls that way. He's always talking about respect and being a gentleman and stuff. Sagara was being an ass to you... it was not right."
"Well, what ever reason made you do it, I just wanted to say thanks. It was more than Aoshi has ever done for me." Her voice dropped on a sad note, and Ruakii felt a strange tugging on his heart. He could not see why anyone would not want to stand up for their girlfriend. It was just something you were supposed to do.
"Really?" His voice was uncustomarily soft, and Tomoe's head jerked up in surprise as she stared at the back of him. "And why is that, Tomoe? Why hasn't Aoshi ever done anything like that for you before? I thought you two were together."
It was her turn to shrug. "I don't know why. He's just very nonconfrontational about things, and he believes that everything can be solved with words, not fists. But most of the time he does not even try to deal with anything with words. Not unless it has something to do with him directly. He does not like to get involved with anyone elses problems."
"Wow! I did not know that about Shinomori. You sure could not tell it by the way he throws the guys around in Karate class. You would think he hated everybody."
"That is different. He looks at Karate as a form of discipline. He says it helps him with his concentration and self-control."
"Is there ANYTHING that ever comes out of that guys mouth that doesn't sound like old man gray-haired phylosophy?" Ruakii's voice was fairly serious, but it was tinged with a hint of sarcastic cyinicism that was unmistakable, and it got to Tomoe and started her thinking about Aoshi, the Extremist.
"Ummmm.... Now that you mention it, no. I don't think so." Tomoe started to giggle as her soon to be ex-boyfriend suddenly looked different to her in the new light Ruakii had just shown him in. "I guess he really does sound like an old Doli Lama or something. I had never thought of it before. It's actually kind of funny."
"Are you kidding me. It is VERY funny. How do you stand that guy anyway? He would drive me nuts if I spent as much time with him as you do."
"Well, if you want to know the truth, he does drive me nuts a lot of the time." It was a reluctant admission, but a truthful one.
"Then what do you stay with him for?"
"I... I don't really know. I have wanted to leave for a while, but... I just never seemed to be able to find a good enough reason to go."
Ruakii pulled up enough to let Tomoe catch up to him, and so he could see the outline of her face a little better. "Well, maybe that is something you should think about, Tomoe Yukishiro. Why you are staying with a guy who makes you miserable... He is not the only crab on the beach, you know."
Tomoe burst into giggles again as she looked over into Ruakii's grinning face. "You say some of the dumbest things, do you know that."
"Yeah, but it makes YOU laugh."
"Yes... it does." She smiled and met his eyes for a moment then looked away in embarrassment. 'God, I never noticed how cute he was before.' Then to her consternation, Tomoe felt Ruakii's hand glide down her arm and slide into hers gripping it loosely giving her the chance to pull away if she wanted to. A warm tingle of wary excitement traveled up her arm and settled in her stomach where it curled into a little ball of nervous knots.
In the two years they had been going out together, she had never once felt this way with Aoshi. Tomoe bit her bottem lip in apprehension and wondered what she should do. It felt so good having Ruakii hold her hand in his. It was so warm and she felt alive all of a sudden, but was it a bad thing to be doing this just this soon? She was not even actually broken up with Aoshi... was she?
Tomoe decided she did not care. It felt good, and it felt right. She let her fingers wrap themselves around Ruakii's hand and felt him squeeze back. Looking back up into his face, she found him smiling gently at her and her heart did a wild flip-flop in her chest. Nope. Aoshi had NEVER made her feel like THIS, and she liked THIS. Aoshi Shinomori could roast in Hell for all Eternity for all she cared. She knew where she was going, and it was not back to him.
It was not very long after the argument between Ruakii and Sano that the group finally found their way out of the dangling tree branches and heavy grasses and broke out onto the flat far reaching beach of Evermore-sound. Lit only by the scant starlight, it stetched out before them like the pale gray ghost of a long forgotten road winding around the edges of the black lapping water and disappeared in the dark shadows of the night. They were still too faraway to see any sign of the old Lighthouse, but the rolling lap of the waves slapping up against the pale sand was a monotonous on going rhythm that would follow them to their destination and help keep them on the right track.
"Finally." Megumi breathed a sigh of relief which was whole heartedly echoed by each one of the others as they broke free of the suffocating trail and took a deep breath of the cool fresh salt air coming off the ocean. "I thought we would never get here."
"It is about time, Sagara. You might have warned us the path was so tight, you know." Ruakii still could not just keep his mouth shut, and to make matters worse, Tomoe was standing beside him nodding her head in complete agreement. That was when everyone noticed they were holding hands, and the night grew still with an eerie silence of apprehension. Aoshi was wearing a pinched look on his usually blank face, and Tomoe felt a shiver of anxiety run up her spine. She unconsciously moved closer to Ruakii and he squeezed her hand tighter as if to tell her not to worry.
"Ahem, Tomoe... Is there something you wish to say to me?" Aoshi clasped his hands negligently behind his back as he approached the couple with a deadly glint in his dark eyes. He did not mind her breaking up with him so much as he minded that she had gone immediately from his embrace to that of the most mean spirited jerk in the entire school. THAT bothered him.
"I already told you, Aoshi, Dearest. Or have you forgotten already that I very specifically told you to 'go to hell'?" Tomoe straightened her shoulders and tried to sound as confident as she could.
"No, I quite remember those sweet words falling from your lovely lips, My Dear, but I do not recall your mentioning anything about leaving me for... HIM."
"It is your own fault, Shinomori." Ruakii spoke in a triumphant voice as he moved closer to Tomoe. "If you do not know how to take care of beautiful things, you lose them. And, obviously, you do not know how."
"I don't do I? So that is what is behind this?" A rare chuckle escaped his lips as one hand rose to rub the smooth edge of his jaw thoughtfully. "I think I understand now. Very well then, you are welcome to her, Ruakii, and I wish you well. I just hope you know what you are getting yourself into."
"Just what is that supposed to mean?" Tomoe snapped angrily in Aoshi's direction as he turned to walk away.
"Just what I said, My Dear. But then again, since it appears Ruakii is just as foolish a person as you are, perhaps the two of you will get along quite famously. I wish you well... and good riddance."
"Go to hell, Aoshi" She spat venomously.
"Very likely, but I will be sure to save you a seat, Darling." And with another cold chuckle, Aoshi meandered away from his now ex-girlfriend and started making his way up the pale sandy beach.
"Wow! Intense." Misao exhanged anxious looks with Quii and Kaoru as the three girls cautiously moved a little closer to Kenshin and Yahiko.
"That was really creepy." Quii was shaking her head as she looked with increasing confusion in her brothers general direction. "I didn't think he liked Tomoe. Usually he refers to her as the 'Mouse-Girl' because she never makes any noise."
"Weeellll, she made some noise tonight. That in itself was way strange. I wonder what was up with that? Tomoe usually always fades into the background where nobody ever notices her. I wonder what got her going tonight that she jumped in the middle of Sano and Ruakii?"
"Who knows, but it looks like my big brother has a new girlfriend... YUCK!"
"Quii! That is not very nice. Tomoe is a nice girl. At least I think she is a nice girl. I don't really know her very well myself." Misao found her eyes wandering away from Tomoe and Ruakii and searching out the lone figure walking ever so slowly up the beach. 'I wonder what is up with HIM?' "Hey, Himura?" She called softly over her shoulder.
"What do you want, Machimaki?" Was the stiff sullen answer.
She jerked around and stared at him. He looked like a pale gray-haired ghost in the minimal light, but she could still make out his features and it was obvious he was ticked off over something. Plus, he was smoking another cigarette. She could not help the look of concern that crossed her face as she walked over to him. It suddenly felt strange to see him like this after the way he had been with her just a little while ago. Of course, this was the Kenshin Himura she was the most familiar with, the one that wandered silently around the hallways of Ive Payne, but she liked the other one much better.
"Are you Ok, Himura?" She asked gently and rested a soft hand on his arm.
"Sure. I'm great. Why do you ask?" He pulled a drag off his cigarette and then blew the smoke out in a tight thin stream. His eyes were hard when he finally looked at her.
"Yeah, I can see how 'great' you are. Fine," She shrugged. "If you don't want to talk to me, that is Ok, but I just want you to know... I'll listen if you want to." 'Oh my God... Did I really just say THAT to HIM??'
He looked at her long and hard for at least twenty seconds and then simply nodded once before taking another drag off his dwindling smoke. "What did you want before? You were going to ask me something. What was it?" The voice was slightly less sharp, but he was not anymore open than he had been before. Misao frowned and pulled her hand back.
"I was just going to ask you if you knew anything about that Shinomori guy. He just seems really intense, and... well, kind of closed up and way too anal about everything. Do you know him?" Kenshin chuckled a small ironic sound that make Misao look at him quizzically. "What?" She asked trying to get him to look her in the face. "What did I say that is so funny?"
"You called him 'anal', Misao. And, whether you know it or not, that describes Shinomori perfectly." Another round of deep chuckles slid from his throat as he dropped his cigarette butt onto the pale sand and stubbed it out with his foot. "He is obsessed with logic, cause and effect, choice and consequence... His life is black and white and there is no room in it for any gray-matter."
"You are kidding me... aren't you?"
"Nope. He is a very interesting piece of work. Give him a single topic to research, and he will bring you back a library's worth of information... in his head. The man is a walking, talking, breathing genius."
"You like him... don't you?"
"I respect him. We speak the same language a lot of the time only he gets a little extreme for me sometimes."
"Too extreme for YOU??" She raised a disbelieving eyebrow at him.
"Hey, it happens." He retorted sourly as he glared down at her sarcastic expression.
"Sorry, Himura. It's just really hard for me to believe anyone being too extreme for YOU. I mean, get real will you. Some one is too extreme for The King of The Extremists?"
"Careful, Weasel-girl, your treading on thin ice here."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah... go growl someplace else, tough guy. You don't scare me anymore."
"Shit!"
"You know anything else about this guy? Like is the son of an alien-mutant or anything like that?"
"No. He is not the son of an 'alien-mutant." The ghost of a half smile tugged at the coners of Kenshin's mouth as he took a measured look at her. "Why the sudden interest, Machimaki?"
Misao shrugged and looked up the beach to the place where Aoshi had stopped about one hundred yards ahead of the group. He seemed to be staring off into the darkness that loomed over the water. It was difficult to tell what he was doing, but he was not moving. "It was just really bazaar the way he an Tomoe broke up. He was almost totally nonemotional about the whole thing, yet the exchange between the two of them was very intense. It was wierd."
"I suppose. But that is how he is."
"Do you know why?"
"Nope. I doubt anybody does. Except maybe Aoshi, himself, but he probably would not bother to explain the reasons for his behavior."
"Why not?"
"The reasons are basically irrelivant to his behavior whether they are the direct cause of it or not. Cause and effect, Misao. His behavior is the result of whatever effected him in his past, so it no longer matters. It cannot be changed, it can no longer be effected, it has caused whatever changes in his life and character it is going too, so it requires no further exertion on his part. He would consider it a waste of time."
"Wierd." She shook her head and screwed her pretty face up into a thoughtful scowl. "It really would be hard to figure out what makes a guy like that tic then wouldn't it?"
"Oh, I don't know... Most guys are pretty easy to figure out once you know the one thing they need the most."
"Well, that is a no-brainer, Himura. Like... Duh."
"A no-brainer, huh? What do you think it is? Sex?"
"Of course. That is pretty much the only thing you guys think about, isn't it? The Almighty Panty Game? The Thrill of The Hunt? My Way or The Highway?"
"Is that what you really think??" His voice sounded angry and Misao turned a surprised face to him. To her personal sense of dismay, she discovered his face looked just as angry as his voice sounded.
"Well, actually... that is what most all girls think you guys want the most."
"That is your first mistake, Weasel-girl. I did not say 'want', I said 'need'. If you can figure out what HE NEEDS, what HE WANTS becomes a secondary consideration."
"Are you trying to tell me that you guys would for-go the sex-thing is we were to find out your one true NEED and fulfill it FIRST?"
"Yes. That is exactly what I am saying. At least, that is truth for the majority of the male population. There are the odd few who don't give a shit about anything one way or the other except self-gratification. Those are the one's you have to watch out for."
"Geez, Himura. You just ruined my whole view on the male-asshole."
"I did? How did I do that, Misao?" He looked at her quizzically as she favored him with a wicked smile and twinkling eyes.
"You just went and made them all look almost human... whadya do that for? I was quite comfortable with my current perspective the way it was." A soft almost inaudible chuckled slid out of Kenshin's mouth as he jammed both hands into the pockets of his jacket.
"So sorry, Misao. Truly I am."
"Yeah, you are." She let a quiet giggle loose and playfully shoved him. "Not." Then she sobered somewhat and searched out his semi amused features in the pale starlight. "Hey, Himura?"
"What?"
"Can I say something to you without you tearing my head off?"
"I do not know. I guess that depends on what you say to me."
"Fine, whatever... Geez, you are a prickly jerk, you know that?"
"Everybodies got to have a hobby."
"Yeah, well, you would think this was your lifes pursuit." He smiled a little wider and kicked a spray of the loose sand onto her feet.
"Hey! Cool it, you big dork. All I was going to say was, once you get past all the smart-ass, big-balls attitude, you are actually a really great guy... and... and, I want you to know I really meant what I said about being there if you ever needed somebody to talk to." She looked down at his shoes and felt the burn of a dark blush glowing in her cheeks. "I think everybody should have at least one person they can talk to about stuff that's bothering them. Somebody that won't dump a bunch of judgement bull in their lap or start giving them lots of advice. Just somebody to talk to when they need to unload. You know what I mean?"
"Yes," He nodded almost imperceptively. "I know what you mean."
"Well, I just wanted you to know that I will listen to you... if you ever need to talk... you can trust me, you know. You really can."
"Trust you?" He raised an eyebrow at her questioningly.
"That's right. Me."
"Hmmmm. Interesting thought, but tell me, why should I trust YOU? What makes you better than anyone else?" His eyes narrowed skeptically and Misao could see that all sense of sarcasm had suddenly been dropped. 'Geez, he changes moods fast... He's a damn roller coaster.'
"Because, I have never betrayed a friend in my entire life."
"Never?"
"Never." She set her jaw and folded her arms across her chest in defiance. "You can ask anybody. I am one of the most loyal people you will ever find anywhere, Himura. I don't kiss and tell."
"I should hope not." His usual sarcasm finally pulled its ugly head out and grinned widely at her, and a small lopsided grin tugged at Kenshin's mouth. "I am not very good at trusting people, Misao. I have made it a habit not too... but, maybe... I..." He stopped and dropped his head to stare at his shoes for a long moment. "I have sort of gotten tired of being alone all of the time." She had to struggle to hear what he said, but once she realized the magnitude of the admission, Misao felt a squeezing pain in her chest.
"Himura... I didn't..." He stopped her from going any further by putting a hand on her arm and shaking his head.
"It is Ok... Do not worry about it, please. All I can do is try, you know... Sano and I... we, well, we sort of came to an understanding earlier today... so, I am trying... It is difficult. So difficult." A ragged sigh escaped him, and Misao felt him tremble slightly. "It has been a long, long time since I allowed myself to have any friends..."
"It is Ok, Himura. I am not looking for anything catastrophic, Ok. I just want you to know that I am here if you need somebody to talk to, or just hang out with. That is all I am saying... I don't think you are what 'we' thought you were... are you?" She searched the shadowed features and found them pinched into a look of sadness.
"No." Was all he said, and then he looked up and met her eyes. She saw everything she needed to know there, and nodded gently.
"Didn't think so." She gently squeezed his hand where it rested on her arm and he smiled a little weakly. "Come on... grab the kid and let's get going."
"Ok. I think I am definately up for an adrenaline rush about now."
"Need one?" She smiled wickedly, and he grinned evilly at her.
"Yes, feel like helping me out?"
"Nope, you said I wasn't your type, remember?"
"I could always make an exception." He winked at her and she laughed out loud bringing a genuine roll of laughter from him as well.
"Cool." She nodded in approval as she started to walk away. "He does know how to laugh after all."
"Misao! Are you insane??" Quii's anxious whisper was accompanied by her frantic grip on the sleeve of Misao's dark green coat. "Kenshin Himura is dangerous. What are you doing going right up to HIM and talking to him like that? Everybody knows he's unstable... You don't know what he's capable of... He might had tried to hurt you or something."
"That is a bunch of crap, Quii, and I think you know that." Misao yanked her sleeve loose from the younger girls grip. "Himura's not going to hurt me or anybody else for that matter... except maybe your stupid brother. Otherwise, he's pretty much harmless. So, get a grip, Quii. Kenshin Himura is no one to be afraid of, Ok?"
"Are you really serious about that, Misao? That he's not dangerous?" Kaoru's quiet voice interrupted the fierce exchange between the other two girls.
"Yes, I am serious. He wouldn't hurt anybody."
"How do you know that?" Kaoru's face creased into a line of worry. "I mean, everything everyone has said about him at school has been..."
"I think it's all crap, Kaoru." Misao hastily cut her off. "I really don't think he's what everybody thinks he is."
"But how do you know that?"
"I don't know... I just do, Ok? It's one of those gut feelings, and I just gotta believe it. Besides, if he was such a scarey person, would he have done all that stuff for your little brother? Huh?"
Kaoru cast her eyes down in confusion because she had been asking herself the very same question ever since Kenshin had stopped talking to her. Initially, when she had first noticed him being in so many of her classes, she had thought he was the most handsome boy she had ever seen, but her admiration was short lived once she started hearing the stories about him.
He was supposed to have killed some old man in up-state New York three years back while he was trying to rob his store. The general consensus of the rumors were he had done it intentionally during a struggle of the old man's gun, but he had gotten out of a major murder charge because he had only been 14 at the time. There was also a rumor that the only reason he was here at Ive Payne was because his parents were really rich and had somehow bribed the system into confining him here on the Campus instead of putting him in Juvie Lockdown.
The thought that a cold-blooded killer was roaming the hallways unfettered had made her flesh crawl and the blood freeze in her veins. It seemed that Yahiko and herself were doomed to keep running into bad luck no matter what she tried to do to make things better for them. It was her responsibility to look out for Yahiko, to take care of him, and to make sure that he grew up into a descent human being, but sometimes Kaoru just wanted to give up and quit. It was so much harder than she could have ever imagined; trying to grow up without parents.
She could clearly remember all of the times she and her Mother had argued and thrown cruel words back and forth at each other, but what she would not give now to be able to wrap her arms around her Mother's waist and lay her head on that soft but sturdy shoulder and let all of her cares and worries slip away. Or if she could hear the boombing laughter of her Father ringing through their house as he came home from work and found Yahiko hanging from the bannister on the stairs, Kaoru would give anything for that too. Two years. Two years they had been gone, and it seemed to her that the pain and emptiness just kept getting bigger and harder to bear instead of easier like everyone told her it would.
What did they know? Had they lost their parents when they were 15? Did they feel responsible for the fact that their parents were dead? Did they feel like it was all their fault that the two most important people in the world were dead because of something that they had done? No. None of them knew or understood anything, and none of them ever would because no one knew what had happened. It was her fault her parents were gone. It was because of her that her Mother's embrace was lost and her Father's laughter was silent, and Kaoru lived with that knowledge everyday. And everyday saw her become more and more withdrawn, more isolated, and more self-depreciating. But she had to maintain for Yahiko. She had to keep going for him. Whether he realized it or not, he depended on her for a lot of things, and she did on him as well. True, he was a complete pain most of the time, but Kaoru knew she would not be able to go on if anything ever happened to him, and she had watched him warm up to the most unlikely person imaginable. Kenshin Himura. Kaoru did not know what to think. Yahiko was usually an uncannily good judge of character, and if that still held true then... Maybe Misao was right.
"Maybe you are right, Misao. I just do not know if I can feel the same way about him that you do, right now."
"You don't have to, Kaoru. All I'm saying is give him a chance, you know. Do not sell him up the river just because of everything you've heard. I think there is a lot more to him than anybody knows, and I think he deserves a chance to prove it... even if that isn't what his intentions are. Just give him a chance, Ok?"
"Sure. I can do that, I guess." She smiled weakly and turned her wary gaze back to the aloof red-haired boy who was now engaged in an animated conversation with her younger brother. "After all, Yahiko likes him." The last was spoken so softly, it almost sounded as if she said it to herself, and Misao and Quii looked at each other in mild confusion.
"Hey, Kaoru? You ok girl?" Misao reached out and touched the dark-haired girls arm. It was true, no one knew hardly anything about these new kids, but Misao always seemed to be the one that wanted to reach out to everyone, and Kaoru was no exception.
"Yes," Kaoru quickly looked back and Misao's concerned face and managed a shaky grin. "I'm fine. It's just hard for us to get used to new people."
"Oh," Misao smiled warmly and winked. "I can relate to that, but don't worry about it, Ok? You got me and Quii here to keep you company, and we'll introduce you to everybody else, and then in no time at all, you'll have a ton of friends. Trust me." Impulsively she reached out and hugged the other girl tightly, and then squeezed her hand in friendly affection. "We won't let you fade into the wood-work. You can count on that. So, come on... Let's get going before we get left behind. It looks like everybody is starting to move out. Hey, Himura!"
"What?!"
"Come on... unless you want to get left behind with the little wild-animal all by yourself. Everybody is leaving."
"All right. We're coming." Kaoru turned around in time to see Kenshin lean over and say something to Yahiko that make the younger boy break out into raucous laughter, and then the two of them were jogging up along the pale sand to catch up with the rest of the group. "All right, we're here already, so why aren't we moving yet?"
"God, you are a sarcastic jerk, Himura."
He grinned evilly. "Someone has to be. Might as well be me."
"Sure, God knows you are better at it than anyone else."
"Thanks Misao." He smiled proudly and bowed in mock appreciation.
"Not a problem." She giggled and gave him a shove that sent him sprawling into the sand. "I guess grace isn't one of your better virtures, is it?"
"No. But I hope running is one of yours."
"Why?"
"Because, when I stand up... I am going to pick you up and throw you in the ocean." His voice was deadly calm and Misao felt a prickle of apprehension tingle along her nerve endings.
"You wouldn't dare..."
"Wouldn't I? Are you sure?" The implied threat was very evident in his voice as he slowly began to rise to his feet. "Can you absolutely count on that, little Weasel-girl?"
"Ummmm... I... Himura? You are kidding... right?" Misao began to back up in a slow defensive move as her eyes widened into huge dark pools of anxiety. "You aren't serious are you? That water is freezing? Himura??"
"I don't know... What do YOU think?" He was half crouched almost like he was getting ready for a sprint, and Misao suddenly remembered just exactly how fast he really was. He had taken All State the last three years in a row in the 100yard and 220yard runs.
"Oh shit..."
"You better run, Misao." Quii hissed in a tight whisper. "I don't think he's bluffing." And at that split instant Kenshin sprang from his crouch and darted with alarming speed in Misao's direction.
"EEEEEEPPPP!!" She squeeled in terror and frantically dashed up the edge of the beachline passing everyone in a blur. "IIII'MMMMM SSSOOOORRRRYYYY!!" She cried as she heard the steady sure footed pad of him swiftly gaining on her headlong flight, and as she cast a terrified look over her shoulder to see how close he was, Misao plowed right into a solid wall of pure stone. It seemed to hold up beneath the weight of her assault for a moment, but then it crumpled and she fell crashing to the ground caught in a tangle of arms, legs, and a very long trench coat.
"OOOOOFFFF!" The distinct sound of male discomfort brought Misao to her senses faster than any amount of cold water could have, and she began to struggle wildly to get free and discover what had happened.
"STOP!" The brusquely spoken word caused her to immediately freeze where she was to the point she was even holding her breath. But then, a gentle hand was carefully wiping her hair out of her flushed face, and Misoa found herself looking into the surpised and very handsome face of none other than Mr. Extremist himself. Aoshi Shinomori. To her eternal embarrassment she realized she was laying on top of him in a very compromising position with her legs straddling his waist, and her small but firm breasts almost pressed right in his face. Slowly he sat up and she slid down his torso and settled in his lap with her knees bent on either side of his thighs. 'Oh My God!!! HELP!!!!' Her mind was screaming over and over in embarrassed distress as she watched him brush his own hair out of his eyes and then pop his neck, and then he was looking directly into her wide-eyed horrified face.
"Are you all right?" He asked in his usual bland voice, but Misao could see the shift of concern in his dark colorless eyes as they looked into hers. 'I don't think I can breath.' She thought as her gaze locked and held with his. 'I have to say something... but what... Oh shit! I can't think of anything to say... What am I going to say? Say something Misao. You have to say something.'
"I... I think... so." She stuttered and mentally swore at herself because she sounded so stupid.
"Are you certain? You hit me rather hard, and we did fall in quite an awkward position." One of his hands reached out and slid under her hair and began to probe her neck. Misao felt incredible little electrical shocks of pure pleasure shoot through her as he touched her. 'WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME? OH GOD!' "Does this hurt?" He asked quietly in the same bland voice he always used.
"H-hurt?" Her eyes were closed and she was almost leaning into his hand. "No. It doesn't hurt."
"Good." Then his hand slipped along her spine probing each vertebrae for pain and placement, and as he did, Misao drew in a shakey breath and let her head drop forward where it fell onto the broadness of his shoulder. "Does this hurt anywhere at all? I have to make certain you did not hurt your back, so you must tell me if it hurts anywhere at all. Do you understand?"
"Um-hmm..." Relaxing against him, Misao became achingly aware of several things all at once. The simplest touch of his hands was sending her off into another world, she was almost certain she could detect the slightest tinge of something in his voice besides it's usual flatness, he smelled absolutely incredible, she had never met him before this moment, and... and she wanted him to try and kiss her so she could let him do it.
Kenshin stood several feet away with a crooked smile on his face, and a evil gleam in his eyes. His little plan had worked out better than he had thought it would. Misao was perfectly perdictable, and she had fallen for the bait of his bow just like he had thought she would, and her wild run up the beach had taken her in the exact direction he had wanted her to go.
Right up to Aoshi Shinomori. His smile got bigger as he watched her lean into Aoshi letting him check her for 'injuries', and he turned and meandered lazily back down the beach to where Kaoru, Quii, and a wide mouthed Yahiko were walking. Whether Aoshi knew it or not, Kenshin believed quite certainly that the tall serious minded 'Extremist' had finally met his 'Match', and he was in for the ride of his life.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Quii looked at him in astonishment.
"What makes you say that?" He asked as a delicate brown brow arched up in sarcastic bewilderment.
"For one thing, the look on your face, and for another... Misao just got through telling us you wouldn't ever hurt anybody. So, that means you would never have thrown her in the water... doesn't it?" Now she looked a little bit wary and backed a couple of steps away from him ending up behind an embarrassed Kaoru.
"I don't know, Quii Saitou. Does it?" He laughed a wicked sound that was heavily laced with insolent amusement, but Kaoru was, at that moment, watching him very closely, and she saw something that caught her eye and made the breath freeze in her chest. Beneath the sarcasm and the insolence there was something else. Something fleeting and elusive, but she knew she had seen it. What it was had left her wanting to reach out and grab his arm before he walked away and started tormenting her brother the way boys do with each other, but he had moved too quickly for her and the opportunity was gone.
It was nearly 12:30 when everyone finally got moving along the waters edge of the pale beach, and heaven knew it had been an interesting hour. More things had changed in that endless 60 minutes than in most of these teens lives in the last three years.
Tomoe Yuishiro and Aoshi Shinomori broke up.
Ruakii Saitou proved he was a gentleman underneath the surface of his ever presant rudeness and self-righteous attitude, and now Tomoe was HIS new girlfriend.
Misao Machimaki and the ever aloof Kenshin Himura had become tentative friends, and Kenshin had somehow taken the loud mouthed obnoxious Yahiko Kamiya under his wing.
Sanosuke Sagara and Megumi Takani seemed to be working towards a new relationship, much to their mutual enjoyment.
Aoshi Shinomori and Misao Miachmaki were... well, nobody was sure what was going on there, but ever since she had plowed him over in her mad dash to escape Kenshin's threat of throwing her in the water, they had sort of been staying close to each other. And lastly, Kaoru Kamiya had made a very interesting and valuable discovery.
Kenshin Himura, Ive Payne's 'Bad Kid' had something no one would ever believe he had... not even if she told them what she had seen in his eyes in that one split instant. However, she finally understood why Misao was so adamant about everyone giving him a chance. It was written just as plainly in his eyes as the stars shining in the midnight sky.
Kenshin Himura had a heart, and it was hurting.