Countdown
By hyekyo
Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply.
Author's Notes: I said initially I'd be posting once a week, but as with all the other promises and things I made and said, it seems that I could not really comply with them. So here it is fresh from the oven, the second addition to Countdown. Read and review!
Title: Under the weather
Rating: K+
Kaoru woke up, unsure what time it was, she inched towards the shoji and slid it slightly open. The moon was still up but the sky seemed a little bright. She wanted to go back to sleep; she would be visiting Maekawa dojo tomorrow and she would need her strength. But her mind was wide awake.
She settled on her warm futon and tried to induce herself to sleep. After what seemed like forever she found herself more awake than ever. Furious, she sat up and opened the shoji once more. The night breeze was cool and the porch looked inviting from where she was. She decided to go out.
"Can't sleep?"
The voice almost made her jump out of her skin. Seeing it was the rurouni she heaved out a sigh and slapped his arm. "That frightened me!" she exclaimed.
He smiled, the corners of his mouth tilting to signal the beginning of a laugh. He scratched his head, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to."
"Don't smile like that! You're making fun of me." Kaoru settled on the porch, tapping the space beside her. Don't smile like that, it makes my knees go week.
"I am not Kaoru-dono," he took the seat she offered. "It is cold, come here, I will wrap this around you," he said gesturing to the haori he has with him.
She narrowed her eyes. Would the real Kenshin act like that? Was she hallucinating again? She furrowed her brows even more, contemplating. Am I imagining things? She has been having weird dreams lately and sometimes she was finding it hard to differentiate the real between the imaginary. Mou! This is bad for my health! He has been with her for a month now and she is quite certain he would never act like that. Well, in her dreams he had but in real life? Unless this is a dream…
"This is not," he whispered. "Not a dream."
"Eh?" her eyes widened; she lifted her hand to tap his cheek, to trace his nose, his mouth. He blushed.
"Maybe you really are sick Kaoru-dono," he said, looking away.
She narrowed her eyes once more. Ah, this is a dream. Kenshin would not blush like that. And if it was a dream…a thought dawned on her mind. She grinned. She sat on her legs, inched closer until their noses were touching. She noted how his eyes widened.
She reached to wrap her hands around his neck, her body pressed closed. She would not be able to do this in real life. "K-Kaoru-dono," he was trying hard to scoot away but Kaoru knew better. This is her dream and in her dreams she can do whatever she wants.
"Itadakimasu." She inched closer and felt the faintest pressure of her lips against his when her vision blacked out. Wa-wait…was her only thoughts as she felt her eyes involuntarily snapping close.
"""
He was petrified, his hand raised above in a chopping pose. He had hit Kaoru-dono on the back of her neck. It would surely be sore in the morning.
His heart was pounding, but what happened to her? She didn't seem drunk when he saw her approach the porch (though she talked with herself for a bit there with the 'is this a dream?' thing). She was with fever a week ago, Gensai-sensei said she was well now. But had it really been cured?
He brushed her hair away from her face as he began to lift her up in her arms. "I'm sorry Kaoru-dono." Maybe she is under the weather, I have to protect her. "I'm sorry for this lapse, I will protect you more in the future."
He began the walk towards her room, still wondering what it was that made her act like that. Perhaps the catfish we had for lunch…
A/n: Thanks for reading!