I'm sure you guys are ready for some more, so here you go.

Love,

Sosoru

Chapter Twenty Two

Kenshin's small, but commanding frame was hovering over Aoshi, his fist raised and ready to strike. I could feel the beads of sweat roll from the arch of my brow down the side of my shock-stricken face. Misao was heavy in my arms, holding me down, holding me back. The two men stood frozen for what seemed like a timeless eternity. I could hear no sound except the pounding of my heart in my neck, which I could have easily mistaken for roaring thunder. I struggled to gulp the air as if it were fleeing from my vicinity, my chest tight with worry and anticipation. Why couldn't I move? Why couldn't I do something? Anything but just sitting here in shock?

I could feel Missy stirring in my arms, but I did not look down at her. My eyes were still transfixed on Kenshin and Aoshi. Kenshin... and Aoshi in the bed with Tomoe. Kenshin nearly dragged his best friend out of the bed and Aoshi's eyes shot frozen daggers focused on me. I could see Tomoe protesting as she held the sheet up to her bosom in a sudden burst of modesty despite the heat of the tempers within the room. Her raven hair was tousled about her ivory body as she grabbed the arm of her husband, her face red from yelling and crying. I could faintly hear Misao say something, but it sounded like a garbled tape eaten by a hungry tape deck. I could see the mouths of Aoshi and Kenshin move as they argued, but I still could hear no sound. Was I still in shock? Had I never seen two men fight before? Maybe I wouldn't had felt so incapacitated if Aoshi didn't glare at me as he spoke...if Tomoe didn't look at me with subdued hatred as she tried to break up the fight. And there was Missy's voice again, tearing me away from the action which I was no active participant of.

"Kaoru?"

I told Misao to hush, as to not disturb the scene unfolding. But, she called my name again. I ignored her until I felt her hands upon my shoulders shaking me furiously, knocking my head around like a doll's until I was forced to open my eyes and look at her.

"WHAT?" I yelled.

"Kaoru, you're worrying me," she said to me, her bright eyes misting with innocent sorrow.

I looked around, but saw the interior of my car instead of dueling men. And Misao, she was not in my arms, but standing outside of my car, her elbows resting on the top of my lowered window. I looked to the right to see Aoshi's house, the same one I know I parked in front of. Could I have been...dreaming?

"Kaoru, are you ready to go in or not?" my sister asked me. I didn't know what to tell her. I just had the most whacked out daydream ever. I could have sworn it as real. It had to be real. There's no way I could have imagined the horror of that sight. The primal fear I felt...

Wait a g-ddamn second...

Me? Fearful?

I ran the calculations in my head and the numbers didn't add up. I could be uncertain at times, maybe even a little worried. But fearful? Hell no. That's simply not my method of operation. Never be fearful and never make fear based decisions, some words I hold very dear. Yes, that whole scene had to be a dream. There could have been no way that I would have been so frozen by a situation. It was just my imagination, mixed with the heat of a car sitting in the sun in the mid of summer.

"Where the hell were you?" I finally asked Misao. I stepped out of the car and wiped the sweat of my face with the back of my hand. It had to be the heat that made me to friggin' delusional.

"I went around back to grab the extra key. I came back and you were here, sleep in your front seat," she said, leading the way to the front door. I didn't say anything else to her as she raced ahead, unlocked the door and flew ahead of me.

Damn it. Why was she rushing so? I didn't feel like running, definitely not in the infernal heat and humidity. I could hear her shoes drop by the door and her feet pitter up the staircase as I walked in. There was something about the scene that was eerily familiar. I looked about and saw the same surroundings that were in my dream. A large welcoming room with the spiral staircase leading up to where Aoshi was, but this time, I could see more detail. Still...it was the same place and I knew I had never been here before. An unexplained force rushed my up the stairs, noticing again the same hue of blue wallpapering I had seen before.

This couldn't be...

I could hear Missy's feet again, and then I saw them as I reached the top of the stair. She had halted in front of a doorway. The same doorway as before in my dream, I thought I felt my heart skip as I tried to process the information that had just been given to me. I was no friggin' psychic. It had to be weird coincidence...but, my dream couldn't come true? Right?

Right?

I told myself if I looked out the window, Kenshin won't be pulling up to the house. So, I peered out and not to my surprise, his car was there. I could hear him pounding up the stair in the same rhythm of my heart. Kenshin was coming up the stairs. Kenshin was at the top of the stair.

Holy fucking shit...it wasn't a dream. It was a premonition.

My mind was racing a mile a minute. I couldn't let what happen in my dream come become reality. I had to stop Kenshin from going in there, even if Misao had already seen the horrible sight. They would probably kill each other. Oh, if Misao hadn't woke me up, I'd know how it was to end. But, I had to stop it from happening, no matter what. So, almost automatically, I held out my arm in front of Kenshin, preventing him from going any further. He looked down at me with anger amber eyes, warning me to get out of the way, but I did not move. Strong arms, much stronger than I knew he was, not-so-gently picked me up slightly and move me out of his way. I grabbed his arm again as he moved down the hall. I had to stop him.

"Kenshin, NO!" I yelled, pulling him towards me. He had whipped his head around and parted his lips to speak, but the squeal from Misao stole both of our attention as she ran inside the room. Kenshin broke free from my grasp during my distraction and I trailed right behind him.

I still couldn't believe it. I wouldn't believe this was real. That meant, when I got to the door, I would see Aoshi and Tomoe in the bed. That would mean the end would be here, for all of us. I didn't want to open my eyes, but I knew I had to. I had to somehow accept what was happening. I inhaled deeply, swallowed hard and forced myself to look and see...

...Misao with her arms around Aoshi, kissing him furiously with dozens and dozens of roses at her feet...

What the fcuk?

I looked on with bewilderment. This wasn't how the dream was. Granted, this appeared to be a much happier ending that the one I envisioned, but it took me back a few steps. My mouth was gaped, for I couldn't find any words to speak. For a moment, it was as if I were not truly there...until Aoshi glared at me with those same eyes of death. Though I wasn't sure what was going on, I returned the gaze, and back to the reality at hand.

"What are you doing here?" Aoshi asked his voice cold and damning. Misao stepped back a bit and patted him on the chest.

"It's no matter, Aoshi-sama. My sister was just worried about me and put a silly idea in my head."

Shut up, Misao.

"And what idea would that be?" Aoshi asked Misao, his gaze still on me.

Misao lowered her eyes, as if she were ashamed to repeat what I had told her.

Fool! The damn fool could not be helped.

"That you might be here...with..."

Shut up, Misao.

"With whom?" he probed.

"With..."

I threw my hands up and walked into the room. Damn it, if she was going to say it, just come out and friggin' say it. But, Kenshin put a hand on my shoulder and stepped in front of me. His persona was different. He was different. He had the same fire about him when he took me in the restaurant...she same glow when I dared to stop him in the hallway. It was like another person was dwelling inside of him and decided to make a commanding appearance.

"We were all thinking you were here with my wife," Kenshin said coolly.

For someone who suspecting his best friend was banging his wife, his voice was extremely calm. So calm, that even Misao could pick up on the true gravity of the situation. She looked at Kenshin, silently understanding his presence, realizing something much bigger than she and Aoshi was going on.

"Aoshi-sama?" she whispered innocently, her voice quivering.

"Damn it, Misao! What did I tell you about calling him that?" I yelled.

"What the fuck are you doing in my house, woman?" Aoshi bit, slowly losing his temper. Misao pushed him further away, her brows furrowing in anger.

"Don't talk to my sister like that! Like I said, she was worried," Misao said, defending me. At least I knew where her true loyalty laid...for now.

"Are you serious?" Aoshi laughed. "There's no way that whore is worried about anyone or anything other than herself."

Misao put her hand over her mouth to keep her shock in, but it did little good. Her eyes widened like a doe's and she stumbled back. I caught her and moved her to the side without looking. Kenshin was about to speak, but I put my hand on his elbow and pulled myself forward. So it was a duel with me he wanted? So be it.

"Do you have a problem with me, Aoshi?" I purred.

"Only the fact that someone as sweet as your sister is related to trash like yourself," he said with neither eagerness nor hatred.

"Oh, I see...my dealings with Kenshin make me trash?"

Aoshi laughed without humor.

"It makes you many things, none of them favorable," he replied, this time, a little more emotion in his voice.

"It seems you are barking up the wrong tree, because mere words do not affect me."

"Developed an immunity?" he said, his words dripping with insinuations.

"You can say that. But tell me, Aoshi...if my dealings make me sooo bad..." I stepped closer with every word, into his personal space and aura. He was flaring with hate and I was feasting on it as it if were my life sustenance. "If it makes me so horrible, what does you fucking a girl barely old enough to shave her armpits make you?"

I could hear the thud of Misao dropping to her knees and Aoshi's right arm came towards me. Kenshin rushed to my side, but I caught his friend's open hand by the wrist before it reached my cheek, all the while my eyes never left his. He did not look surprised. In fact, his face did not chance at all as my lips curled up in an impish little smile.

"Oh, did I hit a nerve?" I quizzed as I threw his hand back to his side.

"I ought to kill you," he spat.

"Well, I don't know how you'd even so much as hit me with a punk ass bitch slap like that. And my advice as a lawyer, keep your death threats to yourself," I said, turning around and walking away from him, not looking at either Misao or Kenshin.

"Stop it!" Misao yelled. "Kaoru, don't go!"

The cold, heartless bitch in me wanted to leave her there, crying. I was angry; angry enough to test my skill on an obviously skilled man. I knew his slap wasn't nearly his best form. I knew if he really tried, it would probably be a damn good fight. I hadn't fought in a long time and it probably would have done my mood some service. But, with Misao there...my instincts took over and I turned to her.

"It's time to go Misao," I said to her in a tone more serious than she'd ever heard.

"What business with Kenshin is he talking about? What the hell is going on, Kaoru?"

I pulled her by her arm and jerked her to me. Not because of her question, but because she just didn't seem to know when to STFU and remove herself from a situation. I jiggled her frightened form to emphasis the urgency,

"I'm not going to repeat myself," I said, releasing her. She looked back at Aoshi with apologetic, yet angry eyes. I knew the goose wasn't considering staying here. "Come on, Misao."

"Get your hands off of her," Aoshi said as he moved in and put his hand on my wrist.

In one swoop, I rotated my hand, fingers wide, to the outside to loosen his grip on my left as I decked him with my right. I got him just below the eye and the tall, angry figure fell to the floor with a thud. The three of us stood over Aoshi, who had his eyes shut, but a hand to the hurt side of his face.

"Did you have to hit him so hard, Kaoru?" Misao said, panic in her voice.

"I didn't mean to. It was reflex," I said laughing, though I was not joking. It was reflex. Tee Hee...

"I didn't think he'd go down like that," Kenshin said, the flame now gone from his eyes.

"Guess I don't know my own strength," I added.

"Who are you tellin'? My cheek is still red from earlier," Kenshin said, smiling.

"This isn't funny," Misao yelled, "He needs help."

"Geez, Missy. I only decked 'em...he'll be fine. Here, I'll help you find get some ice," I said as I stood her up and took her downstairs, leaving the boys alone.

Kenshin stayed by his best friend's side, who was still lying on the hardwood floor. His face was throbbing and he knew he'd probably have a shiner in the morning. Aoshi began to push himself up, but Kenshin pressed him down and shook his head. The two shared a moment of comfortable silence, probably more comfortable than it should have been. Perhaps because it was the last time they would be able to do so. Kenshin moved his friend's hand away from his face and inspecting the already swelling affected area. He touched the flesh with his index finger, causing Aoshi to flinch.

"And of all times, I don't have my video phone with me," Kenshin said, chuckling.

"I'll give credit when credit is do...that bitch has a mean right," Aoshi said with no venom in his tone.

Kenshin laughed.

"You don't need to tell me. Sometimes I wonder if she's made of steel," he said, this time, his tone was more somber.

"Do you really?" Aoshi questioned.

This time, the silence was thick with harsh, unsaid words. The moment of joy had passed and they were left with the current affair. Time seemed to crawl as the two stood-off, neither willing to be the first to break the silence. But, something had to be said. Something had to be done. Kenshin sat on the hardwood floor and rested his arms on his knees, relaxing, but not really. He would have to be the one to start.

"I want to know what happened here last night, Aoshi. I know my wife was here," Kenshin said, all lightness gone from his face.

"So, she's your wife again, eh?" Aoshi asked, sarcastically.

"Aoshi...she's always been my wife," he replied.

"Then start fucking acting like it!" Aoshi yelled, this time, raising himself up, resting his weight on his elbows, his face red with burning emotion.

Kenshin met his gaze with unspoken, but understood frustration and anger. Kenshin's white, neat button-up shirt was unfastened to the mid of his chest, wrinkled and damp with perspiration. His flaming red hair was as disheveled as Aoshi's midnight blue hair. These two men, who had been friends for years were now teetering on the line of becoming eternal enemies. So alike, yet so different. The glue that had made their bond strong was now throwing them on opposites sides, becoming polarized. It wasn't until that very moment, sitting there face to face with their respective anger, that they realized it.

"I've got the ice!" Misao yelled as she ran into the room and fell to Aoshi's side.

I stood in the doorway, watching as Misao placed the makeshift compress on her boyfriend's face, speaking to him in at an incredibly fast pace, none of it making any sense. Aoshi's gaze was fixed on Kenshin, and I witnessed his eyes narrowing and his face hardening. Kenshin stood up, his eyes seeming to flicker. It was as if they were both telepathic, reading each other's mind, communicating without speaking. With a clench and Kenshin's fist, I knew that both men had stopped teetering and boldly jumped over the edge.