Loving you
AN: Hello minna-san. This fic was originally by my friend Kaori-chan. Unfortunately she won't be, and she doesn't want to, continue this fic and the task has been passed onto me. I feel rather bad about writing this as I know Kaori is a great writer, and I'm sure you all want to see her finish the fic as it was originally hers to begin with. However, she is unwilling to continue and I have agreed to continue it for her. *sigh* I think this is a great fic and all but it doesn't seem right that I have to finish it. Anyway, Kaori's off on a vacation to the beach with her family. Luckily, it's school holidays so she had plenty of time to readjust before going back to school. Hopefully, when she comes back, she'll be feeling a lot better and will start writing again. You've probably already have read the first few chapters by her, but here they are again. I may or may not have made some minor adjustments. Please review again and I hope my writing does justice to the story.
Disclaimers: Rurouni Kenshin doesn't belong to me... officially. ^^
Warning: quite a lot of OOCness
- Chapter 1 –
"HELLO!" Kaoru shouted angrily. 'What do I have to do to get some attention around here?' she thought feeling seriously pissed off.
"Miss. Kamiya," a maid rushed towards her looking worried. Oh dear, Miss. Kamiya seemed to be in a tantrum again!
Kaoru held out a steaming cup of latte in front of her. "Take this," she said scowling.
The maid did as she was told, afraid to displease her further.
"Drink it," Kaoru said curtly.
The maid looked at her in surprise. Huh? What did she mean by that?
"I said drink it!" Kaoru yelled placing her hands on her hips, "honestly, do you want to get fired or what? Drink it!"
The maid drank the latte quickly as Kaoru looked at her scowling further. "Well?" Kaoru asked, "what's wrong with it?"
"Excuse me?" the maid looked at Kaoru feeling puzzled.
"I asked WHAT'S WRONG WITH IT!" Kaoru shouted as the maid cowered in fear.
"I-I d-don't know, miss," the maid stuttered in fear.
"SUGAR!" Kaoru yelled at the poor maid who was about to burst into tears, "SUGAR! I specifically asked for 3/4 spoonful of sugar! This definitely contains more that that!"
"I-I'm s-sorry, miss... I'll..."
"Never mind," Kaoru cut the maid off rudely. She walked towards her room muttering, "geez, what do I have to do to get some proper service here. I should ask father to get some new staff."
"Kaoru," called Yahiko, a 10-year old boy with strong eyes and messy spiky hair. He was dressed in a white sweatshirt and comfy looking jeans.
"What's it, you twerp," Kaoru snapped at Yahiko.
"What's your problem, busu!" Yahiko yelled at her, "just cuz you're ugly, don't take it out on me."
"What did you say?!" Kaoru said her eyes narrowing and her voice rising dangerously.
Yahiko knew that he was in a dangerous position. He quickly muttered, "father wants to see you in his study immediately. He wants you to meet someone."
"Fine," Kaoru snapped, "now get lost."
Yahiko skipped out of the way as Kaoru stomped towards their father's study. Kamiya Kaoru was an attractive girl of eighteen. She was the daughter of a millionaire and her mother was a famous model. She shook her long black hair, which was tied up neatly in a ponytail. She banged open the door of her father's study and barged in.
"Father, did you ask for me?" Kaoru asked the scowl still on her face.
Kamiya did not look very surprised at his daughter's annoyance. He loved his daughter dearly and had done everything he could for her. Unfortunately she had grown up into a spoiled, selfish brat. Kamiya sighed. Kaoru wasn't going to like what he was going to say at all.
"Sit down," Kamiya instructed.
Kaoru plopped down comfortably on a huge leather chair in front of her father. It was then when she noticed a small figure standing behind her father. He was quite short and his frame was lean yet muscular. He was dressed in a simple black suit with a crisp white shirt inside. The top two buttons remained open revealing a part of his perfectly tanned chest. His eyes were a beautiful shade of purple. It studied her looking rather amused. But what really caught her eye was his startling scarlet hair and a cross-shaped scar on his left cheek.
Kamiya gestured towards the figure, "Kaoru, I would like you to meet Himura Kenshin." He turned towards Kenshin, "Himura, meet my daughter, Kaoru."
Kenshin bowed slightly towards Kaoru with a smile, "it's nice to meet you, Kaoru-dono."
Kaoru nodded feeling speechless, which wasn't very often. Anyway what the hell was Kaoru-dono? Which century was this guy from anyway?
Kamiya noticed his daughter looking slightly confused, "Himura is to be your new bodyguard."
"WHAT!" Kaoru blew up, her face flushing in anger, "I thought we had this conversation! We concluded that I didn't need a bodyguard!"
"No, you concluded," said Kamiya shaking his head, "as far as I can remember you concluded everything by slamming the door and running out of the room, as usual."
Kaoru blushed. It wasn't a very nice memory. She ignored her father's remark and continued. "You can't do this to me," Kaoru muttered, "it'll be mortifying if my friends found out! I won't have any more freedom! You can't do this!"
"Ano... Kaoru-dono," Kenshin started looking a little aplogetic.
Kaoru pointed at Kenshin, "you, shut up!" She turned to her father, "father, I refuse to have a bodyguard. Give this idiot to Yahiko or something 'cause I don't need him!"
Kamiya looked angry, "you are going to have Himura as your bodyguard whether you like it or not! He is to go everywhere you go including school, leisure activities..."
"Bathroom?" Kaoru muttered sarcastically.
Her father who didn't catch the note of sarcasm continued, "...bathroom..." He stopped in the middle of sentence when he realized what he had just said. Kenshin's face had turned as bright as his hair. Kamiya coughed, "anyway, he'll be your bodyguard and that's final. He'll be attending school with you tomorrow."
"Wait," Kaoru started, "if he's going to attend school, isn't he pretty young to be a bodyguard?"
"Actually," Kenshin told Kaoru, "I'm twenty-nine years old."
"EH?!" Kaoru looked surprised. And here she was thinking that this guy was only one or two years older than herself!
Kenshin blushed, "well... at least I'm not thirty."
"Anyway, I do admit that Himura looks very young for his age," Kamiya continued, "that's one of the reasons why I chose him. He can be at school with you undercover as a student. I've called your principle and made sure that he is in every single one of your classes. I trust you wont find it too embarrassing. I reckon it'll be better that someone like Shikijou?"
Shikijou (remember him? One of Aoshi's men who died saving him from the gatling gun) was her father's absolutely enormous bodyguard. He also looked after Yahiko. Kaoru shook her head feeling slightly shocked. What the hell was this? "Erm, father," she said, "will he be coming with me tonight when I'm out with Aoshi?"
Kamiya seemed to consider, "hmm... Aoshi should be able to take care of you but I'd feel safer if Himura was to accompany you, so yes."
"WHAT?" Kaoru said in dismay, "I can't even go out on a date by myself? What's with all this security all of a sudden?"
"I have my reasons," said Kamiya in such a final tone that even Kaoru found herself unable to argue any further. She looked at Kenshin who smiled at her. She groaned inside. Great! She'd be stuck with this guy for the rest of her life! She just hoped that Aoshi would understand. She wasn't looking forward to telling her boyfriend that they would have to be accompanied by her 'babysitter' for the rest of their dates. If they'd have any left after she told him. She sighed as Kenshin said with a friendly smile, "Kaoru-dono, I hope we'll be able to get along very well."
Oh great! He was one of those hello-let's-be-friends and those older-brother type guys! I am so screwed!
Kaoru glared at Kenshin who smiled back at her. They were sitting in the limo, on their way to her date with Aoshi. Kaoru was dressed in a purple T-shirt, with a glittery butterfly on the front, and her tight fitting black jeans. Kenshin was still dressed in his black suit and white shirt. As they sat in the car, Kaoru couldn't help admiring Kenshin. He looked pretty great for someone who was twenty-nine! Kaoru still found it difficult to believe that he was so old. He only looked one or two years older than her at the very most.
"Kaoru-dono, is there anything wrong?" Kenshin asked.
Kaoru realized that she had been staring. She turned away blushing. She hoped that he hadn't noticed her blush. Kaoru felt like slapping herself. Geez, what was she doing? She had been checking out her bodyguard! She felt like an idiot. And here she was on the way to a date with her boyfriend!
She felt anger rising inside her once more. She had tried to suppress it while she had been at home because she was afraid of what her father may have done if she had continued arguing. But as she sat in the car she couldn't help getting angrier and angrier by the minute. She wondered how Aoshi would react when he found out. She wasn't looking forward to telling him at all.
"Shishio-sama."
Shishio pulled away from his lover Komagata Yumi. She seemed disappointed. He turned to Houji who was dressed in a dark green suit.
"What is it?" he asked adjusting his bandages. Shishio Makoto was a businessman. But he wasn't just any businessman. He was well known in the business world to be violent and ruthless when it came to deals. In fact it would have been much more accurate to refer to him as a mafia or gangster, rather than a businessman, as he preferred to refer himself to. Some of his opponents referred to him as the Al Capone of Japan. Shishio didn't care what the others thought. He never had and he probably never would.
"Shishio-sama," Houji continued, "it looks like Kamiya has hired someone to take care of his daughter."
Shishio raised an eyebrow. Kamiya. He felt his blood boiling in anger. Yumi stepped away from him with a squeal, as the heat from him reached her painfully. He felt utter detest for Kamiya and anyone else who was related to him. It was Kamiya's fault that he was like this now. He had been stuck in a fiery building ten years ago with Kamiya. Back then, they had been the closest of friends. Shishio still could feel the betrayal he had felt when Kamiya had left him behind and ran away by himself. Thanks to him, Shishio now had to live in bandages. He had been scalded terribly in the fire and there wasn't a single inch of his skin that didn't hurt.
Houji continued, "His name is Himura Kenshin. He looks rather scrawny and weak but I have done some extra research on him. Looks like he'll be pretty tough to beat." Houji passed Shishio a file. Shishio opened the file and looked through it, his eyes lighting up in interest.
"It looks like Himura will be attending school with Kamiya's daughter."
Shishio looked up from the file. "Which school does Kamiya's girl attend?"
"Furinkan High School." (eh~! ^^ I know. It's the school than Ranma and Akane went to~!)
Shishio looked up surprised, "doesn't Soujirou attend that school as well?"
Houji nodded. Shishio sighed. He waved his hand towards the door, "very well, you may leave. Give me more details about Kamiya's girl. I want the file handed to me before tomorrow."
"Hai, Shishio-sama."
Shinomori Aoshi entered the restaurant. It was very classy and expensive. The restaurant was candlelit making it look magical and romantic. Not that he cared for such details. But he knew that Kaoru would love it.
"Sir, may I help you?"
Aoshi turned to the man, "I have a reservation."
"Your name, sir?"
"Shinomori Aoshi."
"Of course, follow me sir," the man said leading the way, "your friends have already arrived."
Friends? Aoshi was sure that he was only meeting Kaoru here. When had he invited any of his friends?
"Here you go," the man said, interrupting Aoshi's thoughts, "have an enjoyable dinner."
Aoshi looked at his table and stirred. Where was Kaoru? There was an unfamiliar guy sitting at the table. 'What a weirdo,' Aoshi thought. The guy had flaming red hair, purple eyes and a weird cross-shaped scar on his left cheek. Aoshi was about to call someone when the guy spoke.
"Shinomori-san, it's a pleasure to meet you."
Aoshi stared at the guy. Huh? What was this? Who was this guy? And where was Kaoru? Kenshin saw the confused look on Aoshi's face. He stood up and offered Aoshi his hand. "Himura Kenshin desu." Aoshi took Kenshin's hand still confused. Kenshin continued with a smile, "Kaoru-dono has gone to the bathroom. Please sit down."
Aoshi nodded and sat down. He stared at Kenshin. What was this guy doing on his date? Aoshi frowned. Kaoru had better give him a good explanation.
Kaoru walked towards the table wondering how to break the news to Aoshi. She saw Aoshi and Kenshin sitting together. Kaoru studied Aoshi's expression. His eyes were cold, revealing no emotion. Kaoru groaned deeply inside. Oh no! Aoshi was angry.
"Aoshi," Kaoru called brightly with a huge smile plastered on her face. Aoshi looked up.
"Kaoru," he said in a quiet voice, "whatever your reasons are they had better be good."
Kaoru's smile faltered. This was going to be harder than she had thought.
"WHAT!" Aoshi spluttered, "your bodyguard!!" Kenshin silently offered him a glass of ice water. Aoshi gulped it down. He ran his hand through his hair. "Let me go through this again," he said slowly, he voice slightly shaky, "your father thought I wasn't good enough to protect you, so he stuck you with a babysitter?"
Kaoru shook her head annoyed, "why do you have to make it sound so bad? He's just a bodyguard. Besides it's not like it was unexpected anyway. I told you that I talked through this with my dad a week ago!"
"Yeah but you said it wouldn't be a problem!"
"I was wrong, okay?" Kaoru crossed her arms and sat huffily in her chair. Aoshi sighed. He reached out a hand and grabbed Kaoru's.
"Kao, I'm sorry, okay?" Aoshi said trying to smile, "but it really came as a shock."
Kaoru nodded, "I know. I'm sorry to. Aoshi..."
"Ahem."
Kaoru and Aoshi looked up suddenly realizing that Kenshin was still with them. Aoshi scowled at Kenshin, "do you mind?"
Kenshin smiled. Aoshi felt like strangling him. Kenshin pointed to the waiter. "I think we should order."
Aoshi snarled as he grabbed a menu from the waiter. This was going to be a long night.
"Okita-san, would you like something too eat?" Seta Soujirou asked his cousin.
Okita shook his head, "Sou, you can call me Soushi. I'm your cousin for god's sake! We've known each other forever!"
Soujirou just smiled, "so, Okita-san, how are things with Takahashi-san?"
Takahashi Akane was Okita's gorgeous girlfriend. "I broke it off with her," Okita said curtly.
Soujirou looked at his cousin in surprise. Okita continued with a shrug, "I didn't really like her that much from the start anyway."
Soujirou sighed, "Okita-san, you should really stop fooling around with girls. Imagine how Takahashi-san must be feeling now."
Okita made a face, "knowing her, she's probably flirting with another guy now." Soujirou shook his head feeling exasperated. Okita gave Soujirou a grin. "Don't worry. I won't fool around anymore. It's just that the girl I really like..."
Soujirou looked at Okita in surprise, who had turned bright red. "Okita-san, I didn't know that you liked anyone."
Okita shrugged, "well, now you know. Anyway, the girl I liked just had to be the one I couldn't possibly get."
Soujirou studied Okita's face carefully. It was full of despair and frustration.
"Is that why you fool around with girls?" he asked, "so that you can forget her?" Okita nodded slightly. Soujirou continued, "well, it isn't working is it? I think you should tell that girl how you feel. I'm sure she'll like you. Who is it anyway?"
Okita sat up debating whether to tell Soujirou or not. Maybe Soujirou can help him get over her. At that moment, Soujirou's sister, Seiko, entered the room. Seiko was a year older than Soujirou and Okita. She had beautiful long, wavy, brown hair and huge black eyes. Okita felt breathless. He felt himself blushing.
Seiko turned to Okita, "eh? Soushi, I didn't know you came over." Okita gulped and nodded. Seiko smiled, "well, it's good to see you again. I'll tell the cook to make extra food for dinner." She turned to Soujirou. "Hey, Sou, uncle Shishio told me to give this to you."
Soujirou took the CD that Seiko held out towards him. He broke out into a smile. "I ordered this game ages ago! Okita-san, do you want to play?"
Seiko made a face. "Boys!" She left the room with a smile.
Okita tried to catch his breath while Soujirou was busy pouring over the game. There was no way he could tell Soujirou the truth. That he was in love with Seiko. Soujirou's sister. His cousin.
"Wow! This tastes great~!" Kenshin sang out loudly.
Aoshi frowned. For the last half hour, Kenshin had managed to butt in every time he had tried to hold Kaoru's hand or say something private to her.
"You said that about ten times already," Kaoru snapped. Kenshin just smiled at Kaoru. Kaoru felt like slapping him. He was certainly doing his best to ruin her date with Aoshi. Kaoru glared at Kenshin. Kenshin seemed pretty oblivious to Aoshi and Kaoru's annoyance. Kaoru looked at Aoshi. Uh oh. It didn't look good. Aoshi looked angry, really angry.
Aoshi turned to Kenshin, "Himura."
Kenshin looked up in surprise. "Oro? Is there anything wrong Shinomori-san?"
Aoshi nodded with a strained smile. "Yeah, I've got a problem, and it's..."
"Hey, Aoshi," Kaoru cut in, not wanting to make things worse. A fight between Aoshi and Kenshin was the last thing she needed.
Aoshi turned to her. "What?" he snapped. He looked angry at having interrupted.
"Urm..." Kaoru paused. What? "Uh... let's get out of here." Aoshi raised an eyebrow skeptically. "I really, uh... I really want to go for a walk. I'm really full. Yeah." Kaoru finished lamely with a weak smile.
Aoshi didn't look very convinced but he didn't argue. He asked for the check. Kaoru heaved a sigh of relief. That was close. She glared at Kenshin who just shrugged. Was he really that thick or was he doing this on purpose? She really didn't need this. This was her date! It was turning into hell thanks to Kenshin.
"Misao-chan! Dinner!"
Makimachi Misao sat up in her bed and rubbed her eyes. She felt groggy. She had fallen asleep. She was in a really bad mood. She wasn't sure why. She glanced on her table to check what time it was. Her eyes went to a photo frame. It was a picture of her and Kaoru, her best friend. Misao remembered why she was in such a foul mood. Kaoru was probably on a date with Aoshi right now. She hated herself for being such a jerk but she couldn't help feeling very jealous. She had been dismayed when Aoshi had asked Kaoru out at the end of their first year. She had been obsessing over Aoshi since the beginning of junior high. Kaoru had never cared about him. Not as much as she had. But Aoshi ended up asking Kaoru out instead.
Of course it was understandable that handsome Shinomori Aoshi would choose someone like Kamiya Kaoru over her. Misao was short, with awkward, long, skinny, chicken-like legs. She was still flat and her figure was boyish. Unlike her, Kaoru was beautiful. She was well endowed – her figure was great! She had flawless complexion pale and soft, her hair was long and flowing and her eyes were like huge sapphires. Not to mention, she was smart and filthy rich. Misao sighed. Of course Aoshi would pick Kaoru over her. Any guy in their right mind would pick Kamiya Kaoru over Makimachi Misao any day.
"Misao-chan! Dinner!"
Her mother was calling her again. Misao sighed as she got up and made her way to the dining room.
"Soushi, would you like some vegetables?" Seiko asked. Okita turned bright red and nodded. He felt like kicking himself. Why was he acting so dumb anyway? He looked at Seiko. She was really beautiful. He found himself gawking at her. Wait a minute! What was he doing? Seiko was his cousin. His cousin!
"Okita-san? Are you okay?" Soujirou asked looking worried.
"Yeah," Shishio muttered, "you seem pretty much out of it."
"Uncle," Seiko said, "don't be so mean to him."
Shishio shrugged but didn't say anything else. Shishio was their uncle. Soujirou and Seiko had lost their parents ten years ago in an accident. Since then, they had been living with their uncle. Okita still lived with his parents but he liked to visit them often. For one thing, Soujirou was his best friend and second, coming here meant that he'd have a chance to see Seiko. He didn't like his uncle Shishio very much. He was creepy, the way he stared and seemed to know everything. After getting burnt, he looked scarier than ever with all the bandages. Okita wouldn't have been very surprised if Shishio had realized what his feelings towards Seiko were.
"Soushi," Seiko called him. Okita spilled his water in surprise. He blushed. Why was he always so stupid and clumsy around Seiko? Seiko giggled, "good going. Sou, take him to your room and get him some dry things."
Sou smiled good-naturedly as he got up with a very embarrassed Okita trailing behind him. Seiko giggled again and Shishio stared at Okita with a knowing smile.
Aoshi and Kaoru strolled in the park with Kenshin following close behind them. Too close, in fact. Aoshi was getting really tired. He hadn't managed to get Kaoru to himself even once. He scowled. Kenshin was really testing his patience. He turned to Kenshin and smiled. "Hey, Himura. Kaoru's thirsty. Get her something to drink."
Kaoru looked at Aoshi in surprise. She realized what Aoshi was trying to do. She smiled. "Yeah, Kenshin. I'm feeling really thirsty right now. Can you please get me something to drink?"
Kenshin didn't look very convinced. Kaoru batted her eyelashes. "Please?"
Kenshin gave in with a sigh. "Fine, I'll be back in a second. Don't wonder off anywhere."
As soon as Kenshin was gone Aoshi grinned. He turned to Kaoru. "Finally," he whispered. Kaoru smiled up at him.
"Aoshi, I'm so sorry."
"Shhh." Aoshi brought a finger to Kaoru's lips. "Never mind that now. We're alone. Finally."
Kaoru smiled and blushed slightly. Aoshi leaned closer to her. He reached down. There lips were millimeters apart.
"Kaoru-dono!" Kenshin shouted. Kaoru groaned.
"That was really fast," Aoshi muttered.
Kenshin shrugged. "Thanks. My employers tell me I'm very efficient." Aoshi's eyes narrowed. This guy was REALLY annoying. He had an idea. He accidentally-on-purpose made Kaoru drop her drink. Kenshin's eyes widened.
"Oops," Aoshi muttered in a cold voice. He smiled at Kenshin, "well, do you think you can make yourself efficient one more time and get Kaoru another drink."
Kenshin frowned. He turned to go before shooting daggers into Aoshi with his eyes. Kaoru couldn't help giggling as Kenshin walked off in a huff. Aoshi looked at Kaoru.
"So... where did we leave off?" Kaoru was about to answer when suddenly they were surrounded by at least ten ninjas, clad in black.
"What the hell!" Aoshi gasped. Kaoru clung closer to Aoshi. What was happening?
One ninja stared cruelly at Kaoru with his pale eyes.
"Kamiya-san. I think you are coming with us."
"What's happening?!" Kaoru gasped. Aoshi grabbed Kaoru and pulled her closer.
"Stay behind me," he instructed. Kaoru nodded. Aoshi reached for a stick nearby.
"If you get any closer, I'm going to knock you out!" Aoshi threatened.
The ninja laughed. He lunged forward at Aoshi with his weapon, a set of tonfas. Aoshi held his stick in a defensive position used in Kendo. The ninja sniggered. This was child's play! The ninja and Aoshi collided together with immense power and Kaoru heard a sickening crunch. Aoshi lay sprawled on the ground grabbing his right arm painfully. It looked as though it was badly broken. Kaoru shut her eyes tightly and screamed.
"Now," the ninja held Kaoru by the arm, "if you want to live, be a good girl and come quietly." Kaoru struggled but it was no use. The grip on her was too strong.
"Let go of her," said a firm, clear voice. Kaoru looked up. Kenshin! She was surprised when she saw him. He held a long katana in his hand. Reverse blade? It was a sakabatou. Kenshin's eyes were glistening dangerously, a shade of amber.
"Kenshin, be careful!" Kaoru shouted, "There are like twenty of them! And they're really strong! They got Aoshi!"
Kenshin flashed her a smile, his eyes flickering purple for a second, "don't worry Kaoru-dono. I'll protect you."
Kaoru watched fascinated as Kenshin defeated the ninjas one by one. Such swiftness and agility! Kaoru's eyes widened. She had never seen such a graceful yet such a strong, deadly style. The ninja who was holding onto Kaoru seemed to panic. He pulled out a gun from his pocket. He held it against Kaoru's head. "Give up your weapon or I'll kill the girl!"
"Kenshin, it's okay!" Kaoru shouted, sounding braver than she felt, "just run away! Don't worry about me!"
Kenshin smirked. He seemed to ignore Kaoru. He lunged at the ninja, his eyes flashing. He jumped up into the air and held his sakabatou high above his head.
"Ryu Tsui Sen!"
He shouted as dived from the sky and hammering the frozen ninja on his head. The ninja fell out cold, finally letting go of Kaoru.
Kaoru stared at Kenshin as he landed softly on the ground. He placed his sakabatou back in its sheath. He turned to Kaoru. His eyes were back to its usual shade of purple. He smiled, "I'm glad you're okay, Kaoru-dono."
"What the HELL do you think you were doing?!" Kaoru shouted angrily.
"Oro?"
"That guy had a gun! He could have shot me!"
Kenshin smiled, "no, he wouldn't have. The guard was on. He couldn't have shot even if he wanted to."
Kaoru blushed slightly finding herself at a loss for words. "Well... you could have hit me instead of the ninja when you hit down from the air."
Kenshin shook his head ruefully, "I know, it was risky. I apologize for that Kaoru-dono." Kaoru looked at him speechless. Well, what was she supposed to say to that? Kenshin walked over to Aoshi and leaned down next to him. He studied Aoshi's arm. "It's broken. We have to get him to a hospital."
"It's okay. I'm fine," Aoshi muttered with a groan trying to stand up. Kenshin took Aoshi's other arm and helped him get up. Kaoru watched next to him, her face pale with worry and anxiety. Aoshi saw her looking at him. He gave her a grin.
"Don't worry, Kaoru. I'll be fine." Kaoru nodded.
Kenshin turned to Kaoru, "Kaoru-dono, please call and ask the limo to get here immediately."
Kaoru nodded and whipped out her cell phone from her bag.
Okita sat in the limo feeling confused. He was dressed in Soujirou's pair of jeans and a light blue sweatshirt with a hood. The more he tried to forget about Seiko, the more he thought about her. Just seeing her made him feel so... attracted to her. He had never seriously liked anyone before and his overwhelming emotions were confusing and scary. He wished that he could at least tell Soujirou, but what would he say? And what would he think? He scratched his head feeling rather annoyed. He'd sleep on the matter tonight. Maybe he'd be able to tell Soujirou at school tomorrow. And hopefully, Soujirou would come up with a good way for him to get over Seiko.
Aoshi lay in his bed feeling very annoyed. His arm was hurting him like hell, but more importantly his pride had never hurt so badly. He couldn't believe that he had let that stupid ninja show him up like that. What would Kaoru think of him now? And Kenshin just had to show up, do his cool Kendo moves and make him look worse. Such a show off! Aoshi grabbed the phone. He couldn't just sit here like this. He needed to talk to someone. He punched in the numbers.
"Hello? This is Shinomori Aoshi. May I please speak to Sanosuke?"
"Father! What is happening? Who were those ninjas?!"
Kamiya shook his head. His daughter was in one of her tantrums again. His head was throbbing. "Kaoru, sit down and calm down."
Kaoru sat down and glared at her father. She couldn't believe this. She felt like she was in one of those action films. She made a face. Those kind of films were so predictable and cliché. Kamiya looked at his daughter. "Kaoru," he began, "there is a man, a very dangerous man, that is out to get me."
Kaoru's head jerked up in surprise. What was this? One of those stupid action films, where the psycho guy always wanted revenge because someone or something had betrayed him?
"He wants revenge on me because he believes that I betrayed him years ago."
Kaoru stared at her father. Was he reading her mind? Next thing you know, he'll be saying that the guy wants to get her, so he can get revenge on him.
"And he wants to get you so he can get revenge on me."
O-kay. This was starting to get scary. Kaoru didn't feel like trying to guess anymore. It was getting kind of creepy. Since when had her life been part of an action film?
"That's why I got Himura to protect you. He is extremely skillful and he can be with you anywhere without arousing much suspicion. Now that you understand, make sure that you are with Himura twenty-four hours a day."
Kaoru stood up angrily, "I don't understand! I don't know why my life has to be some kind of action film! It's just so cliché. It's embarrassing!"
Kamiya and Kenshin stared at each other. What was she going on about? What movie?
Kaoru continued, "This totally sucks! I hate it!"
Kamiya sighed. He'd have to deal with his daughter later. "Kaoru. You're tired and shocked now. Go downstairs and get something to eat. And go to bed after that. You look tired."
"I'm not hungry."
"Fine, then go to bed. I need to discuss something with Himura."
Kaoru couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had nearly died and her father didn't care at all. She yelled in frustration and stomped out of the room.
Kamiya shook his head. What was he going to do with her? He turned to Kenshin. "Himura, do you know of Shishio Makoto." Kenshin nodded. Shishio Makoto was a well know villain. However, the government found it impossible to find anything against him. Some said that Shishio was good friends with high officials in the government. Kamiya continued, "He is after me."
Kenshin wasn't very surprised. He had been expecting something like this. Otherwise Kamiya wouldn't have chosen him for the job. Kenshin was an expert, an elite, in his area. He was only asked to do the most important, dangerous jobs. "Kamiya-san. Don't worry about Kaoru-dono. I'll make sure nothing happens to her."
Kamiya nodded satisfied, "I hope this didn't put you off your job."
Kenshin grinned, "it would have helped if you had told me sooner, but I guess you wouldn't have bothered to get me unless it was something this serious."
Kamiya chortled, "Himura, you can go check on my daughter. I moved your room next to hers so that you could stay nearby."
Kenshin bowed slightly before leaving the room.
Shishio pulled Yumi closer to him. He pulled her shirt off so that she was only in her bra. He pulled her head closer to his and kissed her. Her tongue entered and left his mouth teasingly. Shishio grasped her closer and she groaned pleasurably.
"Shishio-sama," Houji entered the room. Shishio pulled away from Yumi. She looked disappointed. She pouted as she put her shirt back on.
"What is it?" Shishio asked, "it had better be good."
Houji flinched. "We were unable to capture the Kamiya girl." Shishio sighed. He was disappointed. Houji passed Shishio a file. "We have gathered some information on Kamiya's girl. I daresay you'll find it quite interesting."
Shishio flipped open the file. A picture of Kaoru smiled back at him. His eyes scanned through the information. Oh, this was good. Shishio smiled with an evil glint in his eye. This would be just perfect.
AN: And that's were Kaori left off... You'll be able to taste some of my work in the next chapter. Let's just hope that it's good enough compared to Kaori's, ne? And I know you probably reviewed to this before but please review again. I think it would be nice to show Kaori, how many reviews came from the wonderful fics she created, when she comes back from her holiday.