Fall from grace

By hye-kyo

Disclaimer: Nope, RK isn't mine...

Author's Notes: Something i got from Haruki Murakami's Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. Superb book, I'm halfway done already I can't believe it. Anyway, I don't know what you would get from this one, a little less on the dark side, but well it's a bit sci-fi I should say though of course the story line is limited. You'd be left clueless with what they were talking about...But i hope you'd get the point...that is if there's any...

Read and review.

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Title: End of the world

Rating: T

Genre: Romance/Sci-Fi/Alternate Universe

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Kenshin Himura woke up to the frantic cries of "Wake up, wake up! The world's going to end!" and to the pair of hands shaking him hysterically like the world was really going to end. He opened one eye, frowning, and swatted the hands away, burrowing his face deeper into the warmth of his pillow.

The cries increased and irritated he sat up and asked, "What?" He rubbed his eyes and turned the alarm clock on his night stand. It was almost one in the morning and he had not even a wink. He turned to, now he recognized, the furious girl by his bedside.

"They took my grandfather. We have to save him or the world's going to end!" she took him once again by the shoulders.

"I'm awake alright," he said, trying not to sound too harsh. In the soft glow of the lamp he noticed the wet shirt she was wearing and the slightly too-short black shorts. Her hair looked damp. Her face was white against the light and her mouth full and pink. Something in him stirred. He really needed sleep.

"They took my grandfather," she started and rambled on, breath intake and coughs mixed with words. Kenshin found himself unable to comprehend anything.

"From the start please," he said, for a man with no sleep for two days and who had just suffered an eight-centimetre cut on his gut and whose house now lay in ruins, not to mention his blown-up LCD and his slashed-up book collection, this was too much.

"Alright," she took in a mouthful of air, "They took my grandfather last night. I don't know how they did it or how they managed to break into the laboratory but they took him. I tried calling him, anything, but he didn't respond."

"How did you know they took him?" he stifled a yawn. "He must have been just in his laboratory. It's a habit right, just like you said, just like he said, he holes up in that cave without contacting you for weeks. How did you know this was different?"

"I just knew. Like a gut feel or something. He said he's going to be taken soon and when that happens he said the world's going to end. He told me to get you. He told me to ask for your help."

Kenshin wrinkled his nose. Did the old man know this was going to happen? "Look—" he hadn't asked her name yet. It occurred to him that apart from the fact that she has blue eyes, a sensual mouth, nice curves, and that she was the granddaughter of the old man, he knew nothing about her. Not even her name.

She seemed hesitant at first but quickly, as if there was something wrong in saying it she said her name finally, "Kaoru. Kamiya Kaoru."

"Alright Kaoru," he tested the name in his mouth, the word rolled of his tongue smoothly. He decided he liked it. "Kaoru," he tried it again, "I don't understand anything that's happening. I mean, I thought I understood but I don't really now." He motioned his hands to beckon her to look around. "This place is a mess."

Worry crossed her pretty features and she held his hand, "I'm sorry. I haven't even asked you what happened."

He thought that it was the signal for him to tell her what happened, "Well," he cleared his throat, "Two men came looking for the package and the data. They murdered the house and left me with a gash." He tried not to sound too whiny but just the thought of his book collection slashed repeatedly was making him angry.

"I'm sorry," she said. "Where did they hurt you?" she ran a hand down his chest and for some reason he felt like not wanting to be angry anymore.

He cleared his throat and placed his palm flat above the long wound on his gut.

She slowly eased the hem of his shirt and examined the cut, "It's long. Does it hurt too much?"

"When I move," he said, trying to sound nonchalant. He removed her prying hand gently and eased the shirt back. "So..." he shifted his eyes, her being too close was making him uncomfortable, "Do you have any idea where they brought your grandfather?" He had never a problem with women getting too close before. Maybe it was the scent of jasmine coming from the neckline of her shirt, from her ears and from her throat.

"I'm not really sure, but there might be clues in his journal," she said, scooting closer, "You don't mind me under the blankets eh? It's freezing tonight and I fear that with my wet clothes I might get hypothermia."

"Of course not," he said rather too quickly and scooted over to one side. He felt her damp shorts against his thigh. "You could change for something drier."

"That's nice. Where do I get them?" she immediately stood up again, going through the tumbled drawers.

He averted his eyes as she started removing her shorts and her shirt leaving her in her underwear. "How long...how long will it be before the world ends?"

"I'm not really sure...but based on my understanding a good forty-eight hours starting," she checked the small digital watch she pulled out from her shorts pocket, "Two in the morning. It's one forty, that gives us forty-eight hours and twenty more minutes to stop the end of the world."

He glanced at her and found her in one of his oversized shirts. She slipped back into bed, pulled the covers to her chin and said, "Would you help me? I really want to save the world."

"Why? Because of your grandfather? And why do I have to help?" he couldn't help but asked. He was an ordinary agent, ordered to process data for the old man, ordered by the old man to break some laws on certain banned data processing mechanisms. He should have heeded his guts when the old man showed him the certificates allowing him to do the banned processes. He shouldn't have believed. Now he was caught up in this situation.

"I don't know, maybe because I simply wanted to. Not just because of my grandfather. I don't even know why I have to save it but I feel that I must. The earth is nice. The world is nice. It's my home and yours too. And you need to help me because you're a good man," she rested her head against his shoulder. "Because my grandfather said you are the only one who can do it."

"Do what?"

She shrugged, "I don't know either. If I do I would have saved you. Like I would have the saved the world if I could alone. But I don't. And we have to figure this out together."

He kept silent for a long while.

"My grandfather has been researching about you for a while. He told me he finally found the key to finishing his research."

He furrowed his brows, "What do you mean, I am the key?" Does that mean all this was a set-up? A set-up to finally get him? So processing the old man's data five days ago was just a test? A test of what he can do? A test of what he cannot do?

She shrugged again, she scooted closer, pressing herself against his, "I don't know. But I'm glad you're the key. What do you say," she started, whispering into his ear, "After this...why don't I live with you?"

He looked incredulously at her. "How old are you?"

"Twenty," she said, "And you are thirty-one. At least I'm not half your age. Besides you had divorced your wife already eh?"

Right. He had been divorced for three years already. Three years of being detached from the world. Having no child probably was a good thing too, since having a kid would have only made the divorce more complicated. He had to give it to Tomoe for not wanting a kid.

"What do you say? We do not have to get married or anything...I really would like to have my own kids. I realized I would like them to have red hair."

He considered it in his head. Right now the idea sounded good. He looked at her intently, wondering where this, if this was a part of any plan, fit into the scheme of things. But she looked sincere as she traced his mouth and he realized he didn't mind having kids with blue eyes.

"So we have forty-eight hours to save the world from ending," he caught her hand.

"Yes. Forty-eight hours."

"What do you mean end of the world? Like it's going to explode or melt? You mean destruction, annihilation? What?"

"I don't know. My grandfather doesn't tell me about those things. He stopped telling me about his research when he found the package. Have you seen what's inside?"

He shook his head, "No idea. I didn't want to open it. There's something ominous about it."

"I felt it too," she closed her eyes, "I'm really glad you're the key. Could I touch you?"

"No," though of course he would like to. The pain from his gut was making him uncomfortable. Even talking was becoming uncomfortable. "I need to sleep. You need to sleep. We both need to sleep. A long day awaits us tomorrow."

"I know," she said her eyes closed still, "I don't want the world to end. I just met you."

He regarded her silently and whispered, "Go to sleep."

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Kaoru was already awake by the time he opened his eyes. There was a warm feeling in his head and he looked up at her as she held his head above her chest. He could hear the even beats of her heart and he closed his eyes for a while, wondering about what she offered last night. "We have to get back to the laboratory first and see if there are clues."

He sat up, wiped sleep off his eyes and said, "Right. We don't know exactly where they took your grandfather."

"Do you think the world's going to end?" she watched him. She finally sat up too and ran her fingers through her hair.

"Let's hope not. I don't really understand much. And I hope that by the end of this everything would've been made clearer to me. I don't really like getting left out in the dark." There he goes, he scolded himself, getting whiny again.

"I'm sorry," and she pressed a palm on his chest.

"Don't be," he smiled sheepishly, "I just need to blame somebody. It lifts the pressure a little. Of course I know it's bad."

She smiled, stretched her arms and back and yawned, "I should really live with you after this. And have sex with you. I don't really know if it's going to work out but I think that it's really going to be good."

He cringed slightly.

"We have approximately forty-four hours and sixteen minutes before the end of the world," she said after checking her clock, "We could spare an hour to get to know each other better. I don't know how long you normally do it but I think an hour's long enough."

He blushed at how offhanded she said it, "Have you done it before?"

"Do I have to have done it before to do it with you? I mean I haven't done it before so does it bother you?" she asked, leaning closer.

He shrugged. Oh well, apart from the occasional sex and flings he had not been involved in any real relationship after the divorce. Perhaps it was a defense mechanism or something, a self-preservation technique, that he didn't get involve with any other woman seriously. He looked at her for a long time and thought that maybe he had been too un-detached for a very long time. Perhaps it was time he start creating ties.

"I really like you," she said smiling and leaned slowly to kiss his mouth. She stood up from the bed, slipped the oversized shirt off her and avoided the clutter on the floor as she opened the door to the bathroom. "And I'm really hoping I could have little redheads. We could spare an hour before saving the world. Join me in the shower if you want."

Kenshin smiled. He liked the smell of her morning breath. And he liked the feel of her lips and the curve of her body against his and the sound of her voice waking him up, no matter how hysterically, and the fact that she wanted to save the world without knowing from what and how and why. Best of all, he liked the prospect of having little redheads with blue eyes. He could give it a try. There was a plastic gauze or something that he could use on his wound anyway to prevent it from getting wet.

They have one hour to spare.

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A/n: Tell me what you think...