Battle Front: Chapter 9
Megumi sat beside Kaoru on the couch in their den and handed her a mug of hot chocolate. "I called the office and I don't want you coming in until this afternoon, understood? As your superior office I won't tolerate any disobedience on your part."
Kaoru accepted the hot chocolate, enjoying the warmth of the liquid in contrast to her ice cold hands. "All right," she agreed. She would never allow her pride to get in the way of patient care.
"Glad I didn't have to browbeat you," Megumi said with a grin; however her eyes were dark with worry. She rose from the couch and began to gather her things. "I'll come back here for lunch and I'll determine whether or not you're ready to return to work."
It took all of Kaoru's will power to not retort, so instead she drank some hot chocolate. "Lunch time then."
Megumi cast her roommate one last look of concern before leaving for the clinic. Kaoru waited until she heard the click of the door's locks falling into place. She stared blankly at the news channel on the television, unable to focus on the earthquake that happened in some distant land.
She almost died out there. A simple morning run almost ended up in her being target practice! If Enishi hadn't been there with her she'd have been dead for sure, or possibly worse. She could have been taken captive and raped and abused in ways best not thought about and then killed.
Her vision started to blur and the news program was now a conglomeration of bright lights and noise. She almost died and she hadn't really lived! The man she had spent the last eight years of her life in love with wouldn't have missed her. Her family would have been fine without her. They might be sad for a few months, but she knew Misao and she'd have gotten over the grief sooner or later.
She hadn't really built up a relationship with her patients yet, and even if she had they'd have simply gotten another physician. Would the world really miss the presence of Kaoru Kamiya?
Enishi paused outside the door to Kaoru's apartment. He had run into Megumi in the hall and knew that Kaoru wouldn't be returning to work until that afternoon. He needed to take off on his assignment soon, but he couldn't quite ignore the nagging sense of responsibility he felt.
If he hadn't have dragged her out of bed that morning she'd have never experienced such a close encounter. He pulled out his pocketknife again and picked the lock and entered the apartment silently. He could hear the television in the background so he followed the sound into the den.
There was a sharp pressure in the center of his chest at the vision of her sitting on the couch, arms wrapped around her legs and face pressed against her knees. Her long hair cascaded around her like a dark curtain. He crossed the distance to her and kneeled in front of her, placing his hands gently on her shoulders.
Her beautiful sapphire eyes were red rimmed as she met his gaze. Enishi sighed heavily before he sat beside her on the couch and gathered her small body against him. She pressed her face against his chest and he tried to ignore the fact that her tears were dampening his shirt.
He ran his long fingers through her dark, silky hair finding comfort himself in the small action. Enishi never was one of those touchy-feely types, but for once in his life he was going to stick around instead of running off when a female started crying.
"It's all right now, you're safe," he said quietly.
Kaoru jerked at the sound of his voice. Whereas the television had been reduced to garble in her mind his quiet, deep voice cut through to her mind like a hot knife through butter. She pulled away from him and lifted the bottom hem of her shirt to dry off her eyes.
Enishi chuckled softly. "Does it take a near-death experience for you to show me some skin?"
She punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Pervert," she said with a sniffle.
Enishi kept his arm wrapped loosely around her shoulder and kicked his feet up on her coffee table. Kaoru couldn't help but compare him to Sanosuke with his suddenly comfortable posture.
"Why are you here?"
Enishi didn't answer her right away. He reached for the remote control and turned off the television. Then he turned to face her, searching her face intently before speaking. "Mostly because I don't want you to blame this incident on the fact that I made you go running with me."
Kaoru's brows winged upwards. "You came all the way over here to make sure I didn't blame you?"
"There's plenty of stuff you can blame me for that I deserve whole heartedly. But I want you to realize that we're in the middle of a war over here. What we faced this morning was nothing compared to what those soldiers you treat every day see."
"So you're here to tell me to stop feeling sorry for myself, is that it?"
"No, I came here to give you a shoulder to cry on," Enishi answered matter-of-factly.
Kaoru gaped at him, blinking in disbelief. It wasn't so much what he said, but how he said it. He sounded exactly like Aoshi! "I have two perfectly good shoulders myself," she snapped.
Enishi's hand closed around her far shoulder and drew her back against him. "We can all use an extra set sometimes."
"Why are you trying to be nice?"
He looked absolutely insulted. "I'm never nice," he countered.
"I see."
"No, you don't, but that's fine. I was harsh on you for no obvious reason when we met. I'm really not such an asshole as that."
Kaoru couldn't help but laugh. "Why did you change your attitude that night?" She batted her eyelashes. "Was I that irresistible under the moonlight?"
Enishi sighed, closing his eyes and resting his chin on top of Kaoru's head. "I used to be in medical school," he started to explain. He waited, contemplating whether or not to bare his heart to this woman. No one knew the source of his bitterness, but as he told Kaoru earlier, they were in the middle of a war. And he didn't want to die with that on his conscience.
"Why didn't you finish? They kick you out for your terrible people skills?"
"Oh hush up. I can deal with people just fine."
"Ha!"
"You don't seem to be complaining right now," he pointed out.
"That's just because I'm depressed and you're the only person around."
"Fair enough. I was on my surgery rotation and my sister was the patient."
Kaoru pushed away from him to look him in the eyes. "How in the world did that happen? You're never supposed to treat anyone you know!"
"They didn't realize we were related, she's married so has a different last name." He paused, collecting his thoughts. He could feel the old anger swelling up inside. "The surgery didn't go well," he explained quietly.
He looked down in surprise when Kaoru took his hand. He could see the sympathy in her eyes so he avoided looking at them and instead focused on the small hand holding his. Was she trying to protect him from pain? He eased his hand out of hers. "She didn't die. But she's now a living shell—all hollow inside."
Kaoru remembered Yahiko telling her this same story, but it certainly made a difference to find out that Enishi was on the surgical team. The guilt must have eaten him up inside. No wonder he became such a harsh man.
"You were a student. I'm sure it's not your fault."
"It wasn't."
"I see."
The two sat in silence. Kaoru was unsure how she should respond to what Enishi had just shared with her while Enishi's thoughts began to drift towards his mission that afternoon. Without warning he swung his feet off the coffee table to the floor and stood. "I'll be by the same time tomorrow to go running," he said before leaving.
Kaoru stared after him in disbelief. How could he possibly think she'd want to go running with him after what happened that morning? She sighed, it sounded exactly like the arrogant jerk. It was his way of saying that neither of them should be bogged down by events that happened in the past.
She scoffed at herself. Maybe she took her Psychiatry class a little too seriously if she was going to try and psychoanalyze everyone. "Forget this," she muttered getting up from the couch and heading for her room.
She opened her closet door and pulled out her professional dress for the clinic. She'd take that arrogant captain's advice and stop dwelling in the past and go to work and face Megumi's temper bravely.
OOOOOoooooOOOOO
"What do you think you're doing?" Megumi hissed when Kaoru stepped into the clinic wearing her white coat with her stethoscope dangling around her neck.
"My job," Kaoru answered calmly with an overly bright smile.
Megumi narrowed her eyes and scrutinized Kaoru's appearance. "You could have at least ironed," she criticized pointing to the wrinkles in her slacks.
Kaoru blinked in surprise as her cheeks grew warm. She hadn't expected that kind of response. "I-I-I didn't even think about that," she stuttered.
"Whatever, just don't start suffering any post traumatic stress while you're on the clock. We're over booked with patients so get to it," Megumi said before returning to her own patients.
Kaoru brushed her hands over her slacks in an ill attempt to fix some of the more obvious wrinkles. She threw back her shoulders and stood proudly as she went to see her first patient.
Five minutes later she was standing outside her patient's room, cheeks flaming red and eyes wide in shock. Megumi rushed to her side and pulled her quickly into her office. "What happened?" she demanded.
Kaoru gripped Megumi's wrist tightly. "This morning was nothing compared to the trauma I am now suffering."
"What are you talking about?"
"The appointment the patient made was for a suspicious mole."
"Yeah, so?"
"It gave no mention as to where the mole is!"
Megumi arched a perfectly sculpted dark brow. "And where is it?"
Kaoru looked around, before leaning forward to whisper in Megumi's ear. The foxy doctor's jaw dropped open. "He has a mole there?"
"Several," Kaoru answered with a solemn nod. She ran her fingers through her hair, skewing her ponytail. "Am I supposed to do a biopsy there?"
"Ho ho ho ho ho!" Megumi laughed, earning a confused look through the open door from a passing nurse. Kaoru looked absolutely miserable and Megumi felt some sympathy towards her. "No need for two such traumatic events in the same day."
"You want to do the biopsy?"
"Ho ho ho ho! Of course not! Refer him to dermatology. Let it be their problem."
A sly smile split across Kaoru's face. "Sometimes I love the way your mind works."
OOOOOoooooOOOOO
Aoshi rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he pondered the opportunity. "So why is it that you wanted me?" he finally asked.
"Many reasons," Kenshin explained. "Your aptitude scores were in the genius category, both your father and grandfather were heavily medaled servicemen in special forces, and you haven't any attachments."
"So you choose men to work with you whom have nothing to lose? No one to be concerned if they do not return home for dinner?" Aoshi asked quietly. He couldn't help but feel irritated at the short, red haired man's assumption. He had attachments! Wait, wasn't Soujiro on this special operations team? He had a fiancée.
"It's a risk we all face," Kenshin answered solemnly.
"I need some time to think about this," Aoshi answered.
"You have until morning. The timetable we have to work with is limited."
Aoshi stood and walked towards the door, as he opened it Kenshin called out. "You must decide on your own. If you discuss this mission with anyone, and I mean anyone, it will be considered a matter of national security."
"I understand."
"The penalty would be severe," Kenshin reminded.
Aoshi turned around, eyes a violent storm of sea green. "I understand," he answered more firmly.
He walked back to his bunk at a brisk pace. Kenshin's words echoed in his head. 'You haven't any attachments.'
Not for the first time, Aoshi wondered about the wisdom in his decision to join the military and to involve Kaoru. Even more, he wondered about the wisdom in ending their relationship. If fear and doubt hadn't played a role he'd have already been down on one knee before the woman.
But fear and doubt had played a role, a pivotal one at that. It wasn't fear or doubt in Kaoru. It was fear and doubt in himself. He didn't believe he was worthy. Beneath the surface of his seemingly calm exterior raged a fire of such proportions he was afraid he'd lose control. He didn't want to risk burning Kaoru.
He reached into his dresser door and pulled out his forty five magnum Desert Eagle and tucked it into the waistband of his jeans. Today was his off-duty day and he had planned to relax, not be offered a position in a covert operation.
He'd go to the shooting range and practice. If he turned down the offer and Kaoru found out she'd have been greatly disappointed in him. More so, he'd be disappointed in himself for doing such a cowardly thing.
It was his idea to join the military to do everything they could to help preserve freedom. Hypocrisy was not something he could actively engage in, nor was avoiding conflict.
OOOOOoooooOOOOO
Enishi rose from bed and looked at his alarm clock and cursed. Without fail he would wake up at four o'clock. Even after daylight savings had occurred he still woke up at that time no matter. For once, he wanted to sleep late, late being half after the hour.
He stretched his long, sinewy arms high above his head before reaching for his toes. He wandered into his kitchen and poured a half glass of water and took a banana from his fruit bowl. He always liked bananas before running; the extra potassium did wonders for preventing cramps in his calves.
He leaned against his refrigerator door as he thought back to his previous mission. He was surprised that Sagara was suddenly so disciplined under Himura. He'd been a part of several covert operations in the past couple of years, but he couldn't help but think this one was probably more skilled in the art of war than any others he'd seen. Of course, it made sense that a bastard like his brother-in-law would be such a ruthless leader.
The only thing that was bothering him was the conversation he had overheard about involving a doctor on the team. Sagara, the fool, had actually suggested Kaoru. Thankfully, Enishi hadn't had to make an even bigger fool of himself by speaking out on what an absurd idea that was because Seta had beat him to it.
Himura hadn't wanted to involve any women on his team. It would seem he already had someone in mind and for some reason Enishi had an image of the young doctor he had met at the other base, the one that seemed to know Kaoru.
He tossed the banana peal into the trash before heading out. His hand was poised to knock on the front door of Kaoru's apartment when it opened. He kept his expression blank, only raising one snowy eyebrow in mild surprise.
Kaoru was already walking away, toothbrush in her mouth, headed for the bathroom.
"And here I was hoping to convince you to engage in some of the other kind of cardio activity in your bed, like we discussed yesterday." Enishi teased, leaning against the door frame in a sexy, pose. It was a well-practiced pose, known around the world for stealing hearts of women.
"Maybe some other time," Kaoru said after she spit out the toothpaste into the sink. "Could you grab my watch from my dresser?" she asked, meeting his eyes briefly in the mirror.
Enishi was flabbergasted. He was in his sexy pose and she was completely unfazed by his deliberateness. He had seen himself in the mirror; he was quite irresistible with his slightly messy 'bedroom' hair. And yet, here he was finding himself breathless and his heart racing at the sight of her in gym shorts spitting into a sink.
He slithered away from the door before he did something stupid, like taking her into his arms and tossing her to the bed and convincing her into the other cardio activity. He squinted his eyes into the darkness before flipping on the lamp on her dresser. He found the watch easily, but something else caught his attention.
He looked closer at the framed photograph and his suspicions were confirmed. Kaoru did know the young Dr. Shinomori and apparently she knew him very well. His hand clenched her sports watch tightly as he felt an outrageous sense of jealous gnaw in his gut.
"Did you find it?" Kaoru called from the bathroom.
Enishi turned away from the image of two young people obviously in love and found himself looking directly into that same young woman standing in the doorway. The expression on her face was one of mild confusion, nothing like the expression of absolute happiness he could see in the photograph.
"I was thinking we could run along the track in the recreation room," Kaoru said reaching for her watch in Enishi's hand. He didn't relinquish his hold on it. "Are you feeling all right, Enishi?" Kaoru asked reaching up to place the back of her hand against his forehead. "You don't feel feverish, but your eyes look a little wild."
"Where's Megumi?"
"Oh, she decided to forgive Katsu for being an idiot." Kaoru grinned. "She was bragging about the make-up sex they were going to have. Said it was the true reason behind every lover's spat."
Enishi shoved the watch into the pocket of his shorts and then placed both hands on Kaoru's waist. "Enishi?" Kaoru asked uncertainly, her eyes wide in concern.
"Make-up sex, huh?"
"That's what she said. What are you doing?"
He began to lead her towards the bed until her legs knocked against the edge. "I'm going to kiss you," Enishi informed her confidently.
"I thought you wanted to run," Kaoru protested as he leaned closer to her. For every inch he pulled closer to her she leaned back further until finally she collapsed on the mattress.
"I've been running in circles since I met you." He watched as her eyes fluttered closed and listened as her breath hitched. He kissed her softly, just a second really. He pulled back to wait for her to open her eyes again. He wanted to watch her watching him. "I want to catch the breath you stole from me," he whispered.