What Do You Want?
A.N. This is a trial chapter. I actually only wrote it as a form of stress relief. Eh heh. So, feedback please? I haven't written anything much in about a year so it'd be nice to know how I'm faring, character portrayal wise and all.
Disclaimer : Nope. Don't own Rurouni Kenshin.
"You know, there are tons of women out there who are single because they're so picky."
The taller of the two raven haired females, both decked in casual blue jeans and zipped hoodies rolled her eyes.
"Misao, I'm not picky. I just don't want to go out with a guy that I'm not attracted to. Can I help it if all the guys I know are either brothers or stalkers?"
"But you ARE picky. Kaoru, you can't really expect me to believe that every single guy that you know doesn't appeal to you as boyfriend material. Or at least make you consider going out on a date," Misao replied exasperatedly.
Kaoru halted, sipping her iced coffee thoughtfully. Spring wasn't cold enough to make her discard her love of cold drinks.
"No, I guess not all the guys I know can be classified under brothers or potential stalkers but all the ones I'm close to can. Sano is a brother, Katsu is a brother, Aoshi is a brother I suppose since you're like a sister. Shougo was a jerk," she took another sip, pausing.
" The others… definitely jerks and stalkers," she finally said, careful not to look the green eyed girl in the face, knowing the query that was on the tip of her tongue.
"What others?" Misao asked suspiciously, raising an eyebrow.
And there it was. They weren't best friends for nothing. Kaoru sighed. It was time to spill.
"When u went off during term break last year, I kind of went out with this guy. We didn't last long enough for you to know."
Misao furrowed her brows, confused. Kaoru was known for having relationships that always lasted more than 6 months.
"And how come you didn't tell me about him after I came back?" she asked.
Kaoru leaned forward, surprised at the hurt in Misao's tone.
" Honestly, I didn't really want to remember him. And in all the excitement of you coming back, I guess he just got pushed to the back of my mind."
She was somewhat afraid to ask why but curiosity got the better of her.
"Why didn't you want to remember?"
Kaoru managed a tight smile, recalling the reason why she was dumped.
"Apparently I was more of a rival than a girlfriend. He said he felt like he had to top me in everything or he'd respect himself less. Something to do with his self-esteem."
Being at the top of kendo classes when she was young brought out the competitive side in Kaoru. Close friends understood that she needed to feel the satisfaction of winning but others did not. Suitors, especially, were wary of her need to achieve after a while, in the end claiming that being with her put too much pressure on them.
Sure, she was pretty used to it but it still hurt to hear those words. It was like digging a knife into an old wound. Of course, pride had not let her cry in front of Soujirou but she had shed a tear or two. He was a pretty decent guy other than the fact that he dumped her.
Still, she had bought a tub of ice cream, some cocoa powder and rented a movie. Add a big mug of ice blended chocolate to a good action movie and it equals to a not so depressed Kaoru.
"Seems more like he wasn't man enough to keep up with you," Misao grunted, breaking the silence.
Kaoru laughed before smiling brightly at her not so pleased friend. Misao's bluntness may be painful to others but she had always thought of her statements as more amusing than harmful.
"But, don't go swearing yourself into staying single forever just yet okay? Love happens when you least expect it remember?" Misao said.
"Since when were you into clichés? And I don't want to fall in love with a lawyer who thought I was a client's kid!" Kaoru retorted, laughing at the memory of how her friend had met Aoshi.
"Hey!"
Sagara Sanosuke drummed his fingers on the armrest, waiting impatiently for his girlfriend to get ready. At 24, he was more mature than he was when they had first met but certain things never change. Like how he always had to wait for her.
"Oi fox, could you take any longer?" Sano asked the door of her room, frustrated.
"Yeah, yeah. Hang on…" Megumi flung open the door, eyes searching frantically for the footwear identical to the black espadrille adorning her right foot.
Sano watched amusedly as his normally calm and dignified girlfriend tried to balance with only one of those high shoes she adored on while she scrambled around her apartment. It was times like these that made her so endearing and dare he say it, adorable.
The pleased look on her boyfriend's face halted her search. In fact, it made her suspicious. Just a minute ago, he sounded so annoyed and now… he was grinning at her.
"You have my shoe don't you? Give it!" Megumi demanded, taking an accurate guess.
Sano laughed before pulling out the shoe from under one of the cushions but refused to surrender it so easily to her. Quirking his lips into a smirk, he raised his eyebrows, baiting her.
She pursed her red lips before storming over to him, although the fact that she was only wearing one heel dampened the effect. Megumi thumped him easily on the head, wiping the smug look off his face and grabbed her shoe.
"Oww that hurt, woman! What if I get a concussion?" Sano exclaimed, rubbing his head gingerly.
"Oh you'll be fine. You deserve it for making us later than we already are," she informed him, slipping the espadrille on, tying the ribbons easily.
"They won't mind," He grinned, watching as she stood, brushed the wrinkles off her dress before he walked over and wrapped his arms around her waist.
Megumi jumped as she felt him embracing her. She looked up at him and smiled before saying, "You know, I love the fact that you're taller than me. I don't have to wear flat shoes all the time."
Sano laughed before leaning forward and whispered," And I love the fact that I'm the only one who's allowed to see how cute you can be."
He pressed his lips to hers in a chaste kiss before grabbing her hand, tugging her gently towards the door. Megumi allowed herself to be lead out the door, her mind trying to process what she had just heard.
In all 23 years of her life, she has been called beautiful, sexy, elegant, pretty, hot and just about anything but cute. In fact, Sano would be the first. A pretty blush spread over her cheeks, which was saying something because Takani Megumi rarely ever blushes. She looked at the head of spiky brown hair and a smile graced her features.
She was in love.
"Aoshi!" Misao squealed before throwing herself onto the tall dark haired man. Aoshi returned the embrace and offered what could be called a smile for a man of his personality.
"So this is Misao's famous 'Aoshi-sama' huh?" Katsu grinned. He had to admit he was surprised though. A minute and he could tell that the two were different as could be. Misao was being the chatterbox that she was while her sweetheart was all quiet. Sighing, he could do nothing but hope this icy man didn't break her heart.
Laughing, Kaoru reached over to give Katsu a hug before apologizing, "Sorry we're late. Took us some time to find the place."
"Are the two of you new in town?" It was the red head that she had not noticed earlier who spoke.
"Yup. Me and Kaoru moved here just last week. Takes some time for us to get around town," Misao chirped.
Kaoru couldn't resist getting a dig in on Sano," Of course it doesn't help that Sano has horrible handwriting and even worse map drawing skills."
The red head let out a deep chuckle before extending his hand," Himura Kenshin. I recall being stuck on the opposite side of town once under Sano's instructions."
Eyes twinkling and lips twitching, she shook his hand and introduced herself, "Kamiya Kaoru."
"And that weasel over there is Makimachi Misao."
Misao whirled around and glared at Sano before snapping, "Oh shut up you rooster head. Took you long enough to get here! Even us newbies managed to get here earlier than you, no thanks to your horrid map."
Sano laughed before saying," Hello to you too. Sorry we're late."
Kaoru looked up at the tall model like figure by his side, clad in a dark blue dress. With her long straight hair and sharp dark eyes contrasting with her clear fair skin, Sano's girlfriend was pretty. Very pretty.
And apparently Katsu thought so too.
"I still don't know how the heck the rooster head over here managed to get a girl like you?"
Sano scowled," What's that supposed to mean?"
Megumi laughed and greeted the other two men at the table, "Hello Ken-san. Aoshi."
Aoshi merely nodded before his attention went back to the girl at his side who blinked in surprise before introducing herself.
"Makimachi Misao. Are you Sano's girlfriend?"
Megumi turned towards the petite green eyed girl in white clinging to Aoshi. "Yes I am. Makimachi-san, correct? I'm Takani Megumi."
"Ah. Megumi-san. You're the one Sano calls fox then?"
Megumi's smile faltered and she sent a glare to Sano who was off talking to Kaoru. The hairs at the back of his neck stood and he knew he was in trouble.
Smiling sheepishly at his girlfriend, he pushed Kaoru in front of him as if using her to shield him. Kaoru, surprised by her sudden relocation, let out a confused, "Hi?"
Used to having eyes on her and opinions being formed based on what people saw, Megumi unconsciously started judging others at first glance as well. Sweeping her smouldering cinnamon eyes over Kaoru's long dark hair pulled into a ponytail, her first thought was how simple the girl was. And as she took in the barely there make up and casual outfit, she soon decided that the girl wasn't someone she would want to be with everyday.
Kaoru could feel the eyes of the taller girl slowly analyzing her. There just wasn't another word for it. She was no mind reader but the look on the taller woman's face seemed to get more and more… superior. Which pissed her off.
Raising her eyes, she looked at Sano's girlfriend in the eye and merely said, "Kamiya Kaoru" before extending a hand.
Her tone and the look in her eyes however, did not escape Sano's attention. The spiky haired man winced as he heard the icy undertone in his long time friend's voice. Kaoru was known for having tempers that flare up as quickly as they cooled down. And Megumi, well, her tongue was as sharp as a knife.
Megumi looked at the extended hand, as if letting the blue eyed girl know that she did not intend to make friends with her. She was surprised when she saw the blazing blue eyes glaring back at her, daring her. And she was never one to back down from a dare.
"Kaoru? Sano's gym buddy? And here I thought you were a guy from all the things I hear about you. I mean, you even have a unisex name."
Kaoru's temper snapped and all subtlety flew out the window along with any consideration for Sano.
"And you must be the really high maintenance girlfriend who's been eating up his money, judging from that thing on your neck."
Katsu tried to suppress his laughter as he caught the panicked glances that the rooster head kept sending him and guessed that something had pissed Kaoru off again.
Kenshin raised an eyebrow at Katsu, who had suddenly gone quiet in the middle of their conversation and looked rather like… a ripe tomato. A very ripe tomato. His friend took a big gulp of water before whispering gleefully, "Sano is going to get it from the two ladies."
Kenshin looked up and caught bits of the verbal fight that seemed to be heating up between Sano's girlfriend and the other girl.
"Oh?"
"Heck yeah. Megumi is gonna lash out at him about Kaoru. And Kaoru is gonna prepare a 3 course meal for him tomorrow."
"I thought Sano loved getting free food," Kenshin replied, furrowing his eyebrows. As far as he could remember, Sano had never turned down an invitation to freeload when it comes to food.
"Not Kao's food. Her food is poison, I tell you. I've known her since I was 11 and she has never made a decent meal once." Katsu shuddered at the memory of having to endure attempt after attempt.
"You've known her that long? I'm surprised she's on speaking terms with you." Yet again, Kenshin was puzzled. Both men had broken out of their very distinct personality traits and both involving the Kamiya woman.
Katsu laughed at the comment before explaining, "It'd feel so… wrong. Kind of incestuous for me cause we've known each other for more than 10 years. She's an only child, I'm an only child and we used to live close together. So I guess you could say, she's the sister that I never had. Besides, don't you think it'd be hard to try to flirt with someone who knows just about every embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you?"
"And just what are those embarrassing things?"
"They're called embarrassing for a reason, red. Alright, I think it's time to save Sano's butt."
Katsu stood up and threw an arm around Kaoru's shoulders. He grinned at Megumi before announcing, "Less talk, more food. A hungry man is a grouchy man."
Sano mouthed a quick "thanks" before steering his girlfriend to her seat, hoping that Katsu would be sensible enough to place Kaoru somewhere near Misao. If there was a person who could deal with Kaoru's temper, it was the weasel.
Kaoru sighed, content after the nice long shower she took. The dinner was… pretty eventful. Sure, it was nice to see Katsu and Sano again along with being saved from instant food. And she had never minded making a new acquaintance, or better yet, friend. What she didn't like about the dinner, was the constant bickering that had gone on with Sano's girlfriend.
She had not paid much attention to Sano's warning of how sharp Megumi's tongue was. Instead, Kaoru had laughed and told him that he was being overly cautious.
Toweling her wet hair, she moved to sit on the couch and stretched, resting her legs on one of the many boxes cluttering their room.
Overall, she rather enjoyed the little get together. She had not been able to spend much time with Katsu ever since he had moved which was around a year ago. Sano she still met up with regularly at the gym where she and Katsu had first met him a few years back. The longer haired man, however, had a more demanding schedule which he did not dare defy, being so close to the bottom of the journalism food chain.
But she had to admit, she had been a little bored once in a while. When group conversations took a backseat, they started pairing off. Misao and Aoshi, she was used to and she didn't mind quite so much. She found herself feeling miffed when Sano and Katsu were engaged with the two people she had just met but later chided herself for being so bitter.
Megumi the fox, she had decided, would be her verbal punching bag.
It was Sano and Katsu's red haired friend, Himura who sparked her curiosity. Physical attractiveness aside, he seemed to possess some sort of presence that made everyone acknowledge him each time he spoke. Maybe that was what people called charisma. But whatever it was, it was something she could use. Being not so tall had its certain disadvantages sometimes.
When he talked to her, she found that it was close to impossible to tell if he was really interested. One of the things that put her off about going on dates, especially first dates, was the conversations. The feeling of your date pretending to be interested or worse yet, showing boredom, was not very pleasant and often left a dent in one's self-esteem. But this man had seemed to absorb everything and seemed genuinely content with her talk.
In fact, he was so sincere it made her suspicious.
A thought suddenly stuck her. Misao was right. She was picky.
Groaning, she tossed the towel into the temporary laundry basket nearby. She knocked on the bathroom door, letting Misao know that she was claiming the couch for the night before she plopped herself down on said makeshift bed and drifted off.
Sano ran a hand through his spiky mane out of habit before walking in the open door of his friends' apartment and headed directly to the mock bar countertop of the kitchen.
"Did you lock the door?" Aoshi questioned.
Sano grabbed the bottle of beer laid out for him and took a sip before muttering, "Yeah, yeah."
Katsu burst out laughing before asking, "What's the matter? Megumi beat you up about Kao?"
"Tch. Course she did."
"How'd you know the other girl? She wasn't from high school or college, was she Aoshi?"
The icy man shook his head at Kenshin, saying," Misao said they met at the gym."
"Jou-chan was with Katsu over here who I hadn't seen in ages. If I remember correctly, she was waving dumb bells around, threatening to kill him," Sano elaborated. "And like the true friend that he is, he used me as a shield a split second after recognizing me."
Katsu grinned," What can I say? Kaoru is scary with a weapon."
"I reckon she's scarier with her cooking, which I bet she is going to feed to me tomorrow."
"Tomorrow? Sano, weren't we supposed to drop the tv off at that repair shop after we check out that gym?" Kenshin asked.
Sano blinked, his mind quickly forming a plan to save him from Kaoru's wrath.
"How bout we drop the tv off then you come with me to help Jou-chan and the weasel fix up their furniture? She wouldn't dare cook with you around. We can look around the gym some other day or drag Jou-chan along with us after we're done."
Aoshi stood and tossed a random cushion at Sano.
"Don't call her weasel, rooster."
Sano laughed, throwing the cushion back at him.
"And where are you going, protector of the weasel?"
"Bed."
Katsu snickered before saying, "Probably went to call Misao." Swinging his bottle of beer to his lips, he took a big gulp of the liquid, before regretting the move a second later when the back of his head met with the same cushion Sano had been hit with.
Kenshin chuckled, "What is this? A pillow fight? Sorry guys, pillow fights are only enjoyable when females are participating."
An hour and four empty beer bottles later, Kenshin and Sano headed back to their shared flat.
"So, Kenshin. Save me from Jou-chan's cooking?"
Kenshin smirked and nodded in compliance. Sunday was leisure day. And it would be fun to watch the little missy give Sano hell.
Scratch that, she was interesting enough on her own.