Welcome to my first ever attempt at fan fiction.
I've been reading fanfics for quite a while now, but I somehow never got
around to writing one myself. Well, until now that is. Since I have an
important report to finish until the end of this month it naturally was the
perfect time to start.
Geez... I'm such a workaholic.
But I figured writing might be a nice alternative to sleeping. ;o)
I have to seriously warn you though: English is not my first language, so
this might be an assault to your reading skills. Grammatical errors will
probably haunt you.
But whoever is brave enough to stay and read: Enjoy ^_^
'...' = thoughts "..." = speech
(I know that in English both of the quotation marks are supposed to be in the *upper* corners, but I haven't been able to figure out yet how to tell my computer to do it that way (well, actually I haven't really bothered to), so you will have to live with it I guess.)
One more thing: I've only seen a few early episodes of the Rurouni Kenshin anime! My story is based on the Manga! *hugsManga*
Disclaimers: I don't own anything. Watsuki-sama had all the ideas...
Chapter 1:
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kenshin awoke to the sound of chirping birds just outside his room. The sun hadn't fully come up yet. He could tell because the light that filtered in through the shoji was of a misty grey. Even by just looking at it one could feel that it was going to be a cold day.
He sighed. Since it was January and his room was cold enough to make his breath visible above his blankets there wasn't really any need telling the temperature by looking at the light.
Winters in Tokyo were just as cold as in Kyoto.
He really missed the snow though. Here on the east cost of Japan the sky was usually a crisp blue during the winter months with little clouds to bring any real quantity of it. In the back of his mind he wondered why on earth he actually missed it.
He could vividly recall images of himself standing opposite Hiko for hours, knee-deep in the white stuff, trying - futilely - to avoid his masters attacks. He had really hated it back then. Hiko hadn't exactly been the sympathetic type of teacher. If he had let him come inside before his whole body had turned so numb that he wasn't even able to tell anymore if he was still cold and wet, it had been a rare occasion.
Kenshin sighed again.
Great. Now he was starting to pity himself. Silently a little amused at himself he had to smile.
It was almost a full year since he had first set a foot into the Kamiya dojo. He couldn't believe time had run so fast. When he had told Kaoru-dono that he was indeed a little tired of his wanderings and that, if she didn't mind it, he would stay for a while, he hadn't meant for this *while* to extend over a longer period than one month. Yet here he was.
'Kaoru-dono'
Smiling again he decided it was time to get up. She would be pretty upset if she woke up to find that there was no breakfast ready.
In one fluid motion Kenshin swung the covers of his futon aside and sat up. The moment he moved however, a wave of dizziness swept over him. Taking a deep breath he steadied himself, fighting the urge to just lay back down. Frowning he blinked and waited for the feeling to pass. Once he felt sure his futon had stopped turning in circles he carefully stood up. Again he felt the world perform a few spectacular moves around him. Breathing hard, angry with himself, he used all his willpower to force the floor to stand still again.
It seemed to work. Breathing in and out slowly he wondered what was wrong with him. He had never really been a person to get sick easily. With the exception of one time while he had been training with Hiko (well, twice maybe, if one counted those horrible mushrooms...) he couldn't recall ever having anything more serious than a little cold. This was ridiculous!
Determined that he wouldn't let a little dizziness get in the way of his chores he started his morning routine.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Kaoru turned over on her futon lazily. Shivering she pulled her covers up over her nose and tried unsuccessfully to fall back asleep. Listening to the sounds around her she could hear distant snoring. That meant Yahiko was obviously still sleeping. Breathing a sigh of relieve she turned over once more. If he still slept, why shouldn't she?
She felt a cold breeze at her neck and tried to pull the covers back in place. Just to immediately feel the same at her left foot. Thoroughly annoyed, she attempted to get the unruly blanket around it without moving too much to allow any new loopholes for the air around her.
Squeezing her eyes shut even tighter Kaoru tried to ignore the light filtering through her blanket, which by now covered her whole face. Getting up on cold mornings like this was just the worst thing ever. Maybe there was a way she could just stay like this for the whole day. On the other hand, it definitely *was* getting a little hard to breath. Lifting the blanket up a bit she inhaled deeply just to have her lungs protest at the sudden intrusion of the icy air.
'Mmmm... this is no fair. Why can't it be summer all year?'
Sighing she finally decided it was absolutely no use to try to go back to sleep anymore. Cautiously opening one eye she looked out under her covers to find her room already lit brightly with the light of a cold winter sun.
Trying to get up without actually dropping the blanket she thought of the day lying ahead and decided she would start training right after breakfast to warm up. Frowning she remembered Sanos comments from the day before about her being unable to stand a little chilly air.
'That big freeloader! Dares to make fun of me. Of course. After he comes here to stick his feet under *our* kotatsu, after filling his stomach with warm food that *Kenshin* prepared...'
'Kenshin'
At the thought of him she somehow started to feel a little warmer immediately. Yesterday she had watched him chop firewood for about two hours without seeming to be able to get enough of how peaceful his face looked, of how graceful his body moved. Of course she had tried not to be too obvious in her staring. Actually she even thought she had done a perfect job at stealing unsuspicious glances at him every few minutes. But then Yahiko had managed to land three swings at her in quick succession. And while she had furiously been pondering if chasing him up a tree would be worth leaving the spot from which she was able to have a good look at Kenshin, Sano had passed her, a wicked grin plastered on his face. His comment about the beautiful, but dangerous view today had prompted her to chase him out of the gates instead. Much to Yahiko's amusement.
Kaoru frowned. She didn't know what irritated her more. The taunts or her own inability to act more mature and just ignore them. Why did she have to be so impulsive and act like a child every time? But she just couldn't stand it when the comments hit too close to home... what was she supposed to do? Blush and look at her feet? Surely that would only prompt them to taunt her even more.
Sometimes she thought it was hopeless. It was no wonder Kenshin saw nothing more than a little sister in her. And she probably shouldn't complain about being treated like a child when she behaved like one.
Yet sometimes she thought there actually was more than that in Kenshin's eyes. Sometimes when they were able to share a quiet moment together he would look at her with this expression that she couldn't quite place. Of course she would always get her hopes up that he might feel the same way she did. But was it really love that showed in his eyes? One could argue that if Kenshin didn't feel something for her he would have left by now. But he had promised not to leave her again... so maybe he was just trying to keep his promise. Maybe he was just waiting for her to finally fall in love with someone and get married, so that he could leave.
What was she going to do if it was that way? She couldn't imagine ever falling for somebody else. But if Kenshin wasn't interested in her...
'Damn his Rurouni smile.'
There couldn't be a single person on earth harder to read than Kenshin. Looking at his carefree smile sometimes made her want to scream. But on the other hand he was just so darn cute that she actually wondered why she had never lost her self-control and thrown herself around his neck to burry her face in his log hair.
She had the distinct feeling in the back of her mind that all problems would just cease to exist in that precise moment. Maybe she possessed more self-restraint than she actually thought. No, probably it was just fear. She wouldn't be able to stand his rejection.
Shivering Kaoru blinked and looked around her. Her blanket had fallen off and she was standing in the middle of her room staring at the wall. Shaking her head, annoyed at her own reverie, she walked over to where her clothes lay and started dressing.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Kenshin tried to tell himself that he was fine. Psychology worked that way. So he ignored the headache that made it quite hard to think clearly and tried to concentrate on chopping vegetables like he always did. He wouldn't let anything get in the way of his routine. The stability was what he loved about his life at the Kamiya dojo. Well... one of the things he loved about it.
Peacefully cooking for people who were actually happy to have him around seemed to be more than he could ever have hoped for. While he had still been on the road wandering the country he had been sure he would be alone for the rest of his life and die just as lonely one day. Never could he have imagined being at peace with himself again, to be happy to be alive.
But she had worked her magic on him. Yes magic was the right word.
It was probably a miracle that would be needed though, to keep his present condition a secret from her. He couldn't fool himself... his head seemed to be stuck in a thick cloud and his whole body now felt like he had just finished an exhausting fight.
'I have to get a grip on myself; otherwise Kaoru is going to worry. While Sano is probably going to crack up, laughing at me...'
Kenshin was just trying to figure out if he had already added salt to the soup or not when he heard Kaoru's shoji slide open and closed again. Her footsteps were coming closer quickly.
He made sure his back was turned on her before she entered the dining room. Hopefully she was just going to sit at the table and wait for him to bring out the food. Well, not that that was probably going to do any good.
His hopes were brought to an end however when he felt Kaoru slip into the kitchen behind him. He heard her come a little closer to where he stood at the counter.
"Ohayô Kenshin! Is breakfast ready yet?"
"Ohayô Kaoru-dono! Breakfast is almost done. Why don't you sit down and I'll bring it out in just a second."
"Can't I help you with something?"
Kaorus eager face came into his line of vision, as she stood beside him and smiled at his profile.
"That's ok Kaoru-dono. I'm practically done with everything"
"Kenshin? Are you alright?" Oh great... She had caught on even faster than he had feared she might.
"Of course. Everything is fine. Why do you ask?"
"Well, you're not looking at me. And normally you're not holding onto the table while cooking"
He sighted inwardly. This was not going too well. Turning around to face her he smiled at her as convincingly as he managed. "Please don't worry about me. Sessha is absolutely fine!"
"Kenshin you don't look too good. Are you sure you're ok?"
"Yes, as I said, there's no need to worry." With that he took the pot of Miso-soup he had been stirring and carried it over to the table. Taking a deep breath he set it down and closed his eyes for a second. By now his head felt as if somebody had been trying to split it in two. The dizziness had obviously decided to stay around a bit longer as well. He had it under control though. As long as he didn't move too fast or didn't bend his head too suddenly...
He turned around to head back into the kitchen to get the rice. Only to almost run into Kaoru who stood right behind him and looked at him with a stern, almost reproachful face.
"You don't look fine! And don't you go on telling me not to worry! You look pale as a ghost!"
Kenshin stared into Kaorus passionate face and felt his face go from surprised to smiling. This was another reasons why he loved his life here; why he loved her... she was just so caring. Always worried about other people. But he just couldn't stand her worried face. And to think that he was the reason for it made it even worse.
"Maybe you are right Kaoru-dono. I might have caught a little cold. But still it is nothing to worry about. Why don't we start eating?" He smiled his best Rurouni-smile and motioned her to sit down.
He hoped his little admission would calm her down. Actually he was sure it really was nothing more than a cold. Admittedly he had never ever felt this dizzy before but it would surely pass until tomorrow.
Kaoru however didn't move an inch towards the table as he had hoped for. Instead she continued staring at him. Then, suddenly, she took a step towards him instead, so that she stood directly in front of him. He stared into her eyes and felt time slow down. Those deep blue pools seemed to have a very bad effect on his dizziness however, as he started swaying slightly.
When he felt her hand on his forehead goose bumps started erupting at his neck and ran all the way down to his toes. Her hand was so nice and cool. And her touch was so gentle.
"Kenshin!"
Kenshin tried to regain his wits, which was not an easy task since not only his head but his whole body now felt like it was on fire. But when she removed her hand from his head it seemed that at least the room slowed down his spinning a little bit.
"Kenshin! You are burning up! You need to lie down right away! I'm going to send Yahiko to get Megumi."
Kenshin felt her pull at his hand and saw the dining room move out of his view to be replaced by the hallway. They were almost at his room when he realized what she had actually said to him and stopped.
"Kaoru-dono, this is really not nece..."
"Oh yes it is. Kenshin, please. Don't be so stubborn! I'm not going to watch you ruin your health because you don't want to admit that you're not feeling well!"
Kenshin was too surprised at the vehemence in her voice and too distracted by the pain in his head to reply fast enough. So before he was able to come up with a new argument as to why he was not worth all the trouble he found himself standing in his room. Kaoru immediately started to lay out his futon for him, which he had folded neatly in the corner this morning as usual.
This was it though. Feeling his head clear a little. He went over to her, determined to convince her that he was not that sick and lying down absolutely unnecessary.
Just as he wanted to reach for her shoulder to get her attention though, Kaoru turned around in one fast motion to make her way back over to Kenshin, evenly determined not to listen to his feeble protests. Colliding with Kenshin she went stumbling back a step.
Through the thick haze in his head Kenshin saw Kaoru be almost knocked down by his fault. Reaching forward to keep her from falling he suddenly felt the world perform one great somersault.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Kaoru could feel her heart pound hard inside her chest. Kenshin's body was pressed on top of her own and she was sure he must be able to hear it drumming in his ears.
Opening her eyes she stared directly into Kenshin's face, mere inches apart from her own.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Notes: Shoji (well, probably everybody knows): Japanese sliding doors made out of wood and rice paper Kotatsu: A heater under a blanket and a low table to warm your feet and legs. (While your back freezes ;o)
Well, what do you think? Since this is, as I said, my first fan fiction story please let me know if you thought it was any good. I welcome all kinds of criticism, as long as it is not too harsh. (I'm a really sensitive soul, you know, so try not to make me cry...).
Again- please bear with me concerning all the grammatical errors, spelling mistakes and the stuff that might have sounded just plain weird. I'm trying hard, but English is not my mother tongue...
Mata ne + thanks for reading!!
'...' = thoughts "..." = speech
(I know that in English both of the quotation marks are supposed to be in the *upper* corners, but I haven't been able to figure out yet how to tell my computer to do it that way (well, actually I haven't really bothered to), so you will have to live with it I guess.)
One more thing: I've only seen a few early episodes of the Rurouni Kenshin anime! My story is based on the Manga! *hugsManga*
Disclaimers: I don't own anything. Watsuki-sama had all the ideas...
Chapter 1:
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kenshin awoke to the sound of chirping birds just outside his room. The sun hadn't fully come up yet. He could tell because the light that filtered in through the shoji was of a misty grey. Even by just looking at it one could feel that it was going to be a cold day.
He sighed. Since it was January and his room was cold enough to make his breath visible above his blankets there wasn't really any need telling the temperature by looking at the light.
Winters in Tokyo were just as cold as in Kyoto.
He really missed the snow though. Here on the east cost of Japan the sky was usually a crisp blue during the winter months with little clouds to bring any real quantity of it. In the back of his mind he wondered why on earth he actually missed it.
He could vividly recall images of himself standing opposite Hiko for hours, knee-deep in the white stuff, trying - futilely - to avoid his masters attacks. He had really hated it back then. Hiko hadn't exactly been the sympathetic type of teacher. If he had let him come inside before his whole body had turned so numb that he wasn't even able to tell anymore if he was still cold and wet, it had been a rare occasion.
Kenshin sighed again.
Great. Now he was starting to pity himself. Silently a little amused at himself he had to smile.
It was almost a full year since he had first set a foot into the Kamiya dojo. He couldn't believe time had run so fast. When he had told Kaoru-dono that he was indeed a little tired of his wanderings and that, if she didn't mind it, he would stay for a while, he hadn't meant for this *while* to extend over a longer period than one month. Yet here he was.
'Kaoru-dono'
Smiling again he decided it was time to get up. She would be pretty upset if she woke up to find that there was no breakfast ready.
In one fluid motion Kenshin swung the covers of his futon aside and sat up. The moment he moved however, a wave of dizziness swept over him. Taking a deep breath he steadied himself, fighting the urge to just lay back down. Frowning he blinked and waited for the feeling to pass. Once he felt sure his futon had stopped turning in circles he carefully stood up. Again he felt the world perform a few spectacular moves around him. Breathing hard, angry with himself, he used all his willpower to force the floor to stand still again.
It seemed to work. Breathing in and out slowly he wondered what was wrong with him. He had never really been a person to get sick easily. With the exception of one time while he had been training with Hiko (well, twice maybe, if one counted those horrible mushrooms...) he couldn't recall ever having anything more serious than a little cold. This was ridiculous!
Determined that he wouldn't let a little dizziness get in the way of his chores he started his morning routine.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Kaoru turned over on her futon lazily. Shivering she pulled her covers up over her nose and tried unsuccessfully to fall back asleep. Listening to the sounds around her she could hear distant snoring. That meant Yahiko was obviously still sleeping. Breathing a sigh of relieve she turned over once more. If he still slept, why shouldn't she?
She felt a cold breeze at her neck and tried to pull the covers back in place. Just to immediately feel the same at her left foot. Thoroughly annoyed, she attempted to get the unruly blanket around it without moving too much to allow any new loopholes for the air around her.
Squeezing her eyes shut even tighter Kaoru tried to ignore the light filtering through her blanket, which by now covered her whole face. Getting up on cold mornings like this was just the worst thing ever. Maybe there was a way she could just stay like this for the whole day. On the other hand, it definitely *was* getting a little hard to breath. Lifting the blanket up a bit she inhaled deeply just to have her lungs protest at the sudden intrusion of the icy air.
'Mmmm... this is no fair. Why can't it be summer all year?'
Sighing she finally decided it was absolutely no use to try to go back to sleep anymore. Cautiously opening one eye she looked out under her covers to find her room already lit brightly with the light of a cold winter sun.
Trying to get up without actually dropping the blanket she thought of the day lying ahead and decided she would start training right after breakfast to warm up. Frowning she remembered Sanos comments from the day before about her being unable to stand a little chilly air.
'That big freeloader! Dares to make fun of me. Of course. After he comes here to stick his feet under *our* kotatsu, after filling his stomach with warm food that *Kenshin* prepared...'
'Kenshin'
At the thought of him she somehow started to feel a little warmer immediately. Yesterday she had watched him chop firewood for about two hours without seeming to be able to get enough of how peaceful his face looked, of how graceful his body moved. Of course she had tried not to be too obvious in her staring. Actually she even thought she had done a perfect job at stealing unsuspicious glances at him every few minutes. But then Yahiko had managed to land three swings at her in quick succession. And while she had furiously been pondering if chasing him up a tree would be worth leaving the spot from which she was able to have a good look at Kenshin, Sano had passed her, a wicked grin plastered on his face. His comment about the beautiful, but dangerous view today had prompted her to chase him out of the gates instead. Much to Yahiko's amusement.
Kaoru frowned. She didn't know what irritated her more. The taunts or her own inability to act more mature and just ignore them. Why did she have to be so impulsive and act like a child every time? But she just couldn't stand it when the comments hit too close to home... what was she supposed to do? Blush and look at her feet? Surely that would only prompt them to taunt her even more.
Sometimes she thought it was hopeless. It was no wonder Kenshin saw nothing more than a little sister in her. And she probably shouldn't complain about being treated like a child when she behaved like one.
Yet sometimes she thought there actually was more than that in Kenshin's eyes. Sometimes when they were able to share a quiet moment together he would look at her with this expression that she couldn't quite place. Of course she would always get her hopes up that he might feel the same way she did. But was it really love that showed in his eyes? One could argue that if Kenshin didn't feel something for her he would have left by now. But he had promised not to leave her again... so maybe he was just trying to keep his promise. Maybe he was just waiting for her to finally fall in love with someone and get married, so that he could leave.
What was she going to do if it was that way? She couldn't imagine ever falling for somebody else. But if Kenshin wasn't interested in her...
'Damn his Rurouni smile.'
There couldn't be a single person on earth harder to read than Kenshin. Looking at his carefree smile sometimes made her want to scream. But on the other hand he was just so darn cute that she actually wondered why she had never lost her self-control and thrown herself around his neck to burry her face in his log hair.
She had the distinct feeling in the back of her mind that all problems would just cease to exist in that precise moment. Maybe she possessed more self-restraint than she actually thought. No, probably it was just fear. She wouldn't be able to stand his rejection.
Shivering Kaoru blinked and looked around her. Her blanket had fallen off and she was standing in the middle of her room staring at the wall. Shaking her head, annoyed at her own reverie, she walked over to where her clothes lay and started dressing.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Kenshin tried to tell himself that he was fine. Psychology worked that way. So he ignored the headache that made it quite hard to think clearly and tried to concentrate on chopping vegetables like he always did. He wouldn't let anything get in the way of his routine. The stability was what he loved about his life at the Kamiya dojo. Well... one of the things he loved about it.
Peacefully cooking for people who were actually happy to have him around seemed to be more than he could ever have hoped for. While he had still been on the road wandering the country he had been sure he would be alone for the rest of his life and die just as lonely one day. Never could he have imagined being at peace with himself again, to be happy to be alive.
But she had worked her magic on him. Yes magic was the right word.
It was probably a miracle that would be needed though, to keep his present condition a secret from her. He couldn't fool himself... his head seemed to be stuck in a thick cloud and his whole body now felt like he had just finished an exhausting fight.
'I have to get a grip on myself; otherwise Kaoru is going to worry. While Sano is probably going to crack up, laughing at me...'
Kenshin was just trying to figure out if he had already added salt to the soup or not when he heard Kaoru's shoji slide open and closed again. Her footsteps were coming closer quickly.
He made sure his back was turned on her before she entered the dining room. Hopefully she was just going to sit at the table and wait for him to bring out the food. Well, not that that was probably going to do any good.
His hopes were brought to an end however when he felt Kaoru slip into the kitchen behind him. He heard her come a little closer to where he stood at the counter.
"Ohayô Kenshin! Is breakfast ready yet?"
"Ohayô Kaoru-dono! Breakfast is almost done. Why don't you sit down and I'll bring it out in just a second."
"Can't I help you with something?"
Kaorus eager face came into his line of vision, as she stood beside him and smiled at his profile.
"That's ok Kaoru-dono. I'm practically done with everything"
"Kenshin? Are you alright?" Oh great... She had caught on even faster than he had feared she might.
"Of course. Everything is fine. Why do you ask?"
"Well, you're not looking at me. And normally you're not holding onto the table while cooking"
He sighted inwardly. This was not going too well. Turning around to face her he smiled at her as convincingly as he managed. "Please don't worry about me. Sessha is absolutely fine!"
"Kenshin you don't look too good. Are you sure you're ok?"
"Yes, as I said, there's no need to worry." With that he took the pot of Miso-soup he had been stirring and carried it over to the table. Taking a deep breath he set it down and closed his eyes for a second. By now his head felt as if somebody had been trying to split it in two. The dizziness had obviously decided to stay around a bit longer as well. He had it under control though. As long as he didn't move too fast or didn't bend his head too suddenly...
He turned around to head back into the kitchen to get the rice. Only to almost run into Kaoru who stood right behind him and looked at him with a stern, almost reproachful face.
"You don't look fine! And don't you go on telling me not to worry! You look pale as a ghost!"
Kenshin stared into Kaorus passionate face and felt his face go from surprised to smiling. This was another reasons why he loved his life here; why he loved her... she was just so caring. Always worried about other people. But he just couldn't stand her worried face. And to think that he was the reason for it made it even worse.
"Maybe you are right Kaoru-dono. I might have caught a little cold. But still it is nothing to worry about. Why don't we start eating?" He smiled his best Rurouni-smile and motioned her to sit down.
He hoped his little admission would calm her down. Actually he was sure it really was nothing more than a cold. Admittedly he had never ever felt this dizzy before but it would surely pass until tomorrow.
Kaoru however didn't move an inch towards the table as he had hoped for. Instead she continued staring at him. Then, suddenly, she took a step towards him instead, so that she stood directly in front of him. He stared into her eyes and felt time slow down. Those deep blue pools seemed to have a very bad effect on his dizziness however, as he started swaying slightly.
When he felt her hand on his forehead goose bumps started erupting at his neck and ran all the way down to his toes. Her hand was so nice and cool. And her touch was so gentle.
"Kenshin!"
Kenshin tried to regain his wits, which was not an easy task since not only his head but his whole body now felt like it was on fire. But when she removed her hand from his head it seemed that at least the room slowed down his spinning a little bit.
"Kenshin! You are burning up! You need to lie down right away! I'm going to send Yahiko to get Megumi."
Kenshin felt her pull at his hand and saw the dining room move out of his view to be replaced by the hallway. They were almost at his room when he realized what she had actually said to him and stopped.
"Kaoru-dono, this is really not nece..."
"Oh yes it is. Kenshin, please. Don't be so stubborn! I'm not going to watch you ruin your health because you don't want to admit that you're not feeling well!"
Kenshin was too surprised at the vehemence in her voice and too distracted by the pain in his head to reply fast enough. So before he was able to come up with a new argument as to why he was not worth all the trouble he found himself standing in his room. Kaoru immediately started to lay out his futon for him, which he had folded neatly in the corner this morning as usual.
This was it though. Feeling his head clear a little. He went over to her, determined to convince her that he was not that sick and lying down absolutely unnecessary.
Just as he wanted to reach for her shoulder to get her attention though, Kaoru turned around in one fast motion to make her way back over to Kenshin, evenly determined not to listen to his feeble protests. Colliding with Kenshin she went stumbling back a step.
Through the thick haze in his head Kenshin saw Kaoru be almost knocked down by his fault. Reaching forward to keep her from falling he suddenly felt the world perform one great somersault.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Kaoru could feel her heart pound hard inside her chest. Kenshin's body was pressed on top of her own and she was sure he must be able to hear it drumming in his ears.
Opening her eyes she stared directly into Kenshin's face, mere inches apart from her own.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Notes: Shoji (well, probably everybody knows): Japanese sliding doors made out of wood and rice paper Kotatsu: A heater under a blanket and a low table to warm your feet and legs. (While your back freezes ;o)
Well, what do you think? Since this is, as I said, my first fan fiction story please let me know if you thought it was any good. I welcome all kinds of criticism, as long as it is not too harsh. (I'm a really sensitive soul, you know, so try not to make me cry...).
Again- please bear with me concerning all the grammatical errors, spelling mistakes and the stuff that might have sounded just plain weird. I'm trying hard, but English is not my mother tongue...
Mata ne + thanks for reading!!