Disclaimer: Dammit guys, I'm a designer not a writer!
"Safety is something that happens between your ears, not something you hold in your hands."
- Jeff Cooper
LAST TIME
Kaoru said what they were both thinking. "We-we blew that way out of proportion, didn't we."
"I think we might have."
They both grinned and laughed. Kaoru reached forward toward Kenshin.
"What are you-"
"Hugging you." She wrapped her arm around his torso and squeezed. "I liked the last one. It ended too soon for me."
"Oh." Kenshin relaxed and returned the hug. "
THIS TIME
The best day for rain is a day when you don't have to do anything. When you can sink deeper into your blankets, listen to the gentle tattoo of thousands of little droplets hitting the shingles and window panes and doze for hours without a care before finally wobbling out of bed to do the exact same thing all over again on the sofa downstairs – maybe with the addition of a few too many chocolates and the hum of a historical drama playing out on the TV.
This was not one of those days for Kaoru.
"Oh, come on, come on, come on." Her heels bounced sporadically against the rung under her feet. "Please send." She wined high and long through her nose and clicked her mouse three times in rapid succession. Her phone buzzed in her hand.
"Hello? Yes, I'm mailing you the file right now."
Her laptop flashed up a notification. The attached file exceeds the allowable limit.
Kaoru threw it face that would have made kings whither and tugged sharply at her loose braid. She propped her phone against her ear with her shoulder and began stabbing at the keyboard with hurried and stumbling fingers.
"The document is a little large, so I'm sending you a download link."
Copy. Paste. Faster, faster, please!
"No, it's perfectly safe."
Another notification. Low battery. Plug in or find another power source immediately.
If Kaoru made a practice of profanity, this is a moment she would have used it liberally. "No, I can assure you, downloading the file will not give your computer a virus." Her power cable was buried in the bottom of her tote. She yanked it out. Two markers, a bottle of orange juice and a t-shirt tumbled to the floor in its wake. "The only way that could happen is if the file itself had a trogon, which, I promise, it doesn't."
She set her phone down just long enough to jab the plug into the wall outlet. "It's exactly as secure as downloading it from an email." Her laptop chimed happily as it connected to its new power source. Kaoru tried to minimize the puff that escaped her flared nostrils so her caller wouldn't pick it up. "Just click the link in the message and your computer will take you to the file though your browser." She error-checked the email for what could have been the hundredth time before clicking "send" again.
Kaoru both felt and heard the thunder rumble outside. It vibrated low in her chest.
"Oh, that's just the storm. It's gotten pretty fierce out this way. As long as the wind doesn't pick up I think we'll be fine, though."
Her computer sent her one more notification, this one redeeming itself of its previous sins against her.
Message sent.
Kaoru cast her eyes to the ceiling and mouthed a very heartfelt "thank you" to the powers that be.
"You should be getting the message any second now." She sat back and let her shoulders slump against the wooden frame of the dining room table. "Good. Yes, that's the one…Great. Ok, just let me know if you have any questions or see anything you would like changed…Right. And thank you again for the opportunity. I think you'll like the result…Yes, you too…Goodbye."
Kaoru ended the call, draped her arm over her eyes and took a few deep, slow breaths to calm her frazzled nerves. She peeked out from behind her elbow into the dimly lit room. The clock read 9:37 a.m.
Had she really been up all night? It appeared so.
She had gotten a call – it must have been thirteen hours ago, now. The owner of a little niche magazine ('Jinsei wa Bakudan'? An ammo and weapons technology magazine. Kaoru had never heard of it.) had called her late last night. They were in a bit of a pickle with a 10 a.m. deadline fast approaching and not enough manpower to crank out the final draft of this month's issue. Apparently the owner, Katsuhiro Tsukioka, had gotten Kaoru's number from the chairman of a committee she had served on during her senior year at university. They offered her a part-time internship on the spot if she could help them meet the deadline. Kaoru accepted, of course and, in less than ten minutes, was eyeball deep in fact checks, photo edits and revisions.
The whole thing was so bizarre, Kaoru's head was still spinning. It had certainly made for an unusual end to her first date with Kenshin.
Kenshin?!
They we're just finishing the dishes when the call came through. He had looked at her quizzically as the conversation escalated and she had tried her best to explain the gist of it with wild hand gestures and lip-reading while still talking with Mr. Tsukioka. He had acted like he understood. He nodded, put away the last two plates and shooed her off to go get her laptop bag. Kaoru remembered him slipping out the back door somewhere in between reciting her email address to Mr. Tsukioka and pulling up that first photo of a new concealed arm-gun that had looked all backwards upside-down (Kaoru still wasn't entirely positive it had been attached to the model's arm correctly when the photo was taken).
Kenshin at least deserved a proper apology and "How do you do?" after that roller-coaster of an evening.
He was probably working already. A text, then.
/It's finished. I made it happen, somehow. I am so sorry about all of that./
Send.
A response came almost instantly.
/It's no trouble. Did you sleep?/
Kaoru chuckled and made her way to the kitchen while she typed.
/No. lol But I've been through worse for university finals. So I'll manage./
/Breakfast?/
Kaoru opened the pantry and grabbed the first box of cereal she could reach.
/Corn Flakes. Then I think I'll crash. XD/
Kaoru was just reaching into the fridge when another crack of thunder sounded through the walls.
The light in the fridge flickered and went out. So did every other light in the place.
"Great." Kaoru flicked the light switch over the sink a time or two before calling it. "Power outage."
She put her phone down and hurried to her make-shift work station in the dining room to check her computer. It was fine the battery had enough juice to keep it lit for a few minutes. She saved everything and shut down, unplugging the power cord from the wall for good measure. Couldn't risk a power surge blowing the poor thing out. Especially since that losing it would now have worse consequences than a failing grade.
Much worse.
Her phone lit up with another incoming text. She just barely managed to catch herself on the door jamb as she stumbled over the laptop bag at her feet. The heavily overcast day wasn't sending much light through the windows. Kaoru couldn't make out much besides vague shapes and silhouettes from the living room furniture.
/Did you just go dark too?/
/Yeah. Do you know if Megumi keeps emergency flashlights anywhere?/
Her phone was crazy bright in the dusky dimness.
/In the pocket drawer under the sink, I think. Unless she's moved them./
Kaoru was careful to use her phone screen to illuminate her steps as she tip toed across the kitchen.
/Found em. There's like 10 in here. Excessive, much?/
/What did you expect?/
/True./
Kaoru grabbed two of the flashlights and flicked one on. The sharp glowing eyes that appeared in the beam made her tense and yelp in shock.
Her eyes adjusted. It was Hikari. Perched on the island countertop.
"Holy swiss cheese!" She shook her head shoved her bangs out of her eyes. "You scared the life out of me, cat."
The fluffy feline tilted her head as if to say "How is this my fault?" before stretching and letting out a teeny-tiny mew. It was actually the first noise Kaoru had heard the cat make.
/Will you be OK in the dark?/
Kaoru made a face at the text message.
/I'm not 5, Kenshin -_-&./
/Sorry, that came out wrong./ /I mean, do you have everything you need and are you safe?/
/It's just a power outage. No big deal./
/It can't hurt to be cautious, Kaoru. Megumi's house doesn't have a basement so the safest place during a storm is the downstairs coat closet. I'm fairly certain she stores some emergency water and food in there as well. And DON'T FORGET to turn off the gas before you go to sleep!/*
Between their fight and now Koaru was beginning to realize that Kenshin had a mothering streak.
She wasn't sure if she liked it. Especially if this was just the beginning of it.
Kaoru had to keep reminding herself she only met Kenshin a few days ago. She really didn't know much about him.
/Yes sir./
/I'm serious./
/I know./
Kaoru put her phone down and began to assemble herself some cereal.
Hikari hopped to the floor and meticulously wound around Kaoru's ankles in a spine bending figure eight. The cat mewed again and looked at Kaoru expectantly.
"What?"
Kaoru received a flicking, weaving tail wag as a response.
"You've gotta give me something to go off of here." Kaoru reached down and scratched Hikari's head lightly. The cat purred appreciatively for just a moment then backed away and resumed her vigilant stare. Kaoru let out a huff, which turned into a massive yawn. She mumbled a rounded and gaping "You're hungry aren't you." around it as she turned bleary eyes to her own bowl of corn flakes.
"OK." Kaoru decided. "Food. Then Sleep."
Hikari bolted around the corner when another clap of thunder crescendoed through the walls. Kaoru was certain she saw a spoon resting on the counter rattle from the sound.
"But we'll turn the gas of first. So we don't risk dying in a fiery inferno and pissing off Kenshin."
CHAPTER END
Hiiiiiiiiii.
Byeeeeee.
*AUTHOR'S NOTE: A guest reviewer mentioned something that I just wanted to address real quick since I can't reply directly. THE STOVE HASN'T CHANGED! Kaoru isn't going to start burning food again. Don't worry. :) Megumi's has multiple energy sources for her house. Gas being one of them. Not that it really matters but in my head its the HVAC and water heater that are gas powered. And in Japan, one of the first things you do in the event of a crazy storm, earthquake, typhoon, or any other natural disaster, is turn the gas or electricity off in the home. This prevents gas leaks or dangerous sparks in the event something is shaken, blown, or knocked loose. And this precaution is what Kenshin is referring to.