Disclaimer: Love-Lee Light Maiden does not own any characters from Rurouni Kenshin. All Rurouni Kenshin characters rightfully belong to their creator, Nobuhiro Watsuki.

Second Chance Screw-up

By: Love-Lee Light Maiden

Written by: Bunny

Edited by: Hoshiko Shinomori (I love you so much! I'm so glad that you put up with me!)

Chapter 6: Ouch

"…" indicates talking

…italics… indicates thoughts

blah blah blah indicates sounds

-o-o-o- indicates change in scenery

-VI-VI-VI-VI-VI-

I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious Ambiguity.

- Gilda Radner

Let the love be disgraceful, crazy, absent-minded. Someone sober will worry about events going badly. Let the lover be.

- Rumi

-VI-VI-VI-VI-VI-

From the last Chapter:

Dodging students sweeping the halls, Kyo dashed to the practice room, not bothering to slow down to Sano's calls of "Hey, wait up!" Skidding around corners and avoiding nasty glares Kyo slid to a stop at a particular door labeled 'Kendo Club.' Slamming the door open he didn't bother to look where he was going as he rushed in choking out, "Katsura-sensei, I'm sorry I--"

"Kamiya, watch out!" yelled a deep, commanding voice. Kyo turned slightly, but not enough to avoid a bokken coming straight at his head.

WHAM

Right before Kyo hit the ground and blackness consumed his vision, he remembered seeing a blaze of red in the corner of the room, a soft, surprised gasp of "Oro!" and thinking, What kind of idiot would ever say…'Oro?'

-VI-VI-VI-VI-VI-

Mmmm…what…where am I? groaned the piled heap of a boy, currently lying on the hardwood floor. Voices filtered in and out of his head, disorienting him and blurring his sense of place. The mixture of sounds pulsated in his mind, creating an immense throbbing and a…lump on his head?

What the…how'd I…? he thought while bringing a heavy arm up to finger the tender, swollen area, wincing and hissing at the sharp pain that shot through his skull. "Hssssss…"

"KYO! You're ALIIIIVE!" dramatically yelled a brusque voice, followed by two strong arms wrapping around him and shaking him violently. Kyo slightly opened his eyes to protest the movements and the continuous loud comments, only to find a clouded, swooshing room that didn't bode well with his increasingly growing migraine.

Ugh, I think I'm gonna be sick…

"SAGARA! Put that boy down! He's been through enough without you making things worse!" yelled a very contemptuous and saucy feminine voice, stopping Sanosuke's rampage. Kyo could hear the woman coming closer by the mind shattering clicking of her heels.

"Well SSSSSOOOORRRRY!" gruffly shot back Sano, obviously not taking a liking for the female. Kyo then felt a smooth, cooling hand on his forehead that helped calm his nerves. Seconds later it was removed to be heard swatting Sanosuke away. Slowly he was lowered back onto the floor, but not without a few grumbled complaints about shifty nurses under his best friend's breath.

A cold compress was applied to his swelled-up forehead and Kyo immediately felt better. He opened his eyes only to be greeted by a blinding light before he closed them again. Slowly this time, he blinked one eye open adjusting to the brightness of the room.

"It's a good thing that you came to so quickly," spoke the same feminine voice, but this time with a softer edge. "That means that your injuries are, most likely, not too serious this time," she stated looking down at him.

Returning the look, he gave the nurse a weary smile and said, "Hi, Nurse Takani." The lady in question smiled back down at him, her red-lipstick lips curving up in a mischievous grin and her brown eyes squinting slightly. She pulled back, her long black hair swaying with her movements.

"Okay Kyo," she began, grabbing a clipboard, "you've been in my office enough times for injuries, you know the drill." He grinned and nodded for her to continue. Immediately, Nurse Takani lifted her manicured hand to Kyo's head, left it there for a few lingering seconds then removed it.

"Okay, no fever. Check. Now, open your eyes wide." Obeying the nurse's order, Kyo widened his eyes while Ms. Takani looked into them, sometimes moving his eyelids out of the way. "No dilated pupils either, good. Now, one last thing before I'm done. Do you feel sick at all? Nauseated?"

"No. Just a headache," dully replied Kyo.

"Well then, all signs point out that you don't have a concussion," she told him while looking at her clipboard.

"Okay Kyo," said Nurse Takani finishing up her inspection, "other than a nasty lump on your head, you're as healthy as ever and will most likely live to see another day." Picking up her supplies and standing up she looked back down at him and flipped her hair over a shoulder. "But I would advise that you skip practice today so that your headache doesn't get any worse."

Kyo tried to protest, but one sharp glare from her made the unspoken argument die on his lips. "You also might want your rooster-head friend to help you home—just to be on the safe side. Although, I'm not sure how safe you can be with an idiot like him watching out for you." With a mischievous smile playing on her lips and a certain gleam in her eye, she cast a sidelong look at Sanosuke and turned to go talk with Katsura-sensei.

"Thanks Megumi—uh…I mean Nurse Takani," Kyo called to her retreating figure, only getting a wave of her hand as acknowledgment. Closing his eyes, Kyo reached up to rub his aching neck.

He had always liked Nurse Megumi Takani. She was the school's nurse, and was training to become a doctor. Around teachers and staff, she always seemed like the most organized, professional woman in the world, but to her patients she was a very open and sarcastic person. She had a knack for getting under your skin and irritating you with her sassy remarks and witty comebacks, but once you got to know her she was a very sincere and caring person. During one of his many visits to her office, she had mentioned that she had had a rough childhood, but never went further than that.

Thinking about Megumi's advice, Kyo lifted his head back up and revolved it around, scanning the room for Sano.

It didn't take him too long, for Sano, now seemingly unfazed by Kyo's mishap, was flirting vigorously with a…redhead? Rolling his eyes, Kyo decided to try and stand, if only to save the unfortunate girl from Sano's sad attempts at wooing her. Even if she WAS Fujimori's former captain, nobody deserved THAT kind of torture.

With wobbly legs, Kyo managed to stand and shakily walk to Sano's side. Once there, he had to try extremely hard to suppress his rising laughter. THIS was a truly hilarious sight! Sano was leaning his forearm on the wall in a completely over-confident and casual manner; while the girl was keeping her distance. She was obviously only smiling and staying near him, in general, for politeness sake.

Ha ha, Sano will be disappointed when he realized that his 'oh-so-charming' smile doesn't work on everybody.

"So…" Sano started, coming in for the kill, "I'm kinda embarrassed to say this but…" he now looked into the girl's eyes, faking bashfulness, "I can't seem to remember my phone number, so…can I have yours instead?" Doing a complete 180-degree persona change, he turned back to his boastful demeanor and flashed her a wide grin.

Hearing this, Kyo absolutely lost all self-control and submitted to all-out laughter. Startled, Sanosuke jumped slightly and turned, surprised to see his best friend next to him, doubled over in hysteria. Hoping to get a better reaction from the girl, he returned to his laid-back stance and repositioned his face from shocked boy to that of a cocky teenager.

The sight that he was greeted with was a statue-still girl with abnormally wide violet eyes. She was blushing so furiously that her face was the same shade as her hair! Finally, after a minute, she seemed to come out of shock and blinked a couple of times before looking back up to him with nervous laughter and mumbling a soft 'oro?' This only accomplished renewing Sano's smile because he thought it was adorable. Flustered and not knowing what to do, the girl swallowed hard and tucked her hair behind her ears.

"Umm…I…uh…I mean…he he he…I'll have to get back to you on that, he he." Then sidestepping from Sano's immediate vicinity she bowed politely and hurriedly said, "uh…ItwasnicetomeetyouSanosuke, thatitwas, andIhopetoseeyouagainsoon, thatIdo. Goodbye."

Standing up swiftly, she immediately scurried over to the other side of the room and left out the door, where an older woman was waiting for her. Sanosuke's disappointment could clearly be seen in his crestfallen face. By now, Kyo's laughter had subsided and he punched Sano comfortingly.

"Ah, come on there buddy. You have the rest of the school year left to snag her. Don't let your hopes down." Seeing that Sano seemed a touch more like his usual self he decided to lead him outside and to start walking home. He was sure that Megumi had told Katsura-sensei that he was to go home, so he didn't bother announcing his departure.

Once they were about a block away from school Sano finally started talking again, his first words being: "Man…she was hot…"

"Is that ALL you can think about Sano?" questioned Kyo, thinking that with all the blows to the head he himself had gotten, Sano still had more mental issues. Or maybe it was more hormonal…?

"But did you SEE her?" he exclaimed, a goofy grin spreading over his features.

"Actually, I really didn't get a good look at her," replied Kyo, shrugging off his friend's one-track-mindedness.

"Ya! Probably because you were too busy wipin' your eyes from tears of laughter!" shot back Sano accusingly.

"But seriously Sano, that WAS pretty dang funny," smiled Kyo, recalling the incident. "Where do you come up with those things?"

Crossing his arms and straightening his shoulders, Sano tapped his temple and answered, "It's all in here man, all in here."

"Ha ha, that's probably why they're so stupid."

"WHAT! Why you…" retaliated Sano, lunging and grabbing his friend by the collar. In desperation, Kyo frantically looked around for a distraction to dissipate his friend's fury. It didn't take him too long to find the perfect target…

"Hey Sano, isn't that Yahiko on your front steps, with a…girl?" he slyly hinted to the simple-minded goon.

His anger evaporated, Sano's head jolted up and his iron grip loosened to observe his brother sweet talking a shy looking brunette. A wicked grin sliding into place, he let go of Kyo, placed his hands in his pockets and smoothly strode over to Yahiko, walking past the girl on the way.

"Bye Yahiko-kun. Thank you for helping me with math homework," sweetly called back the short-haired girl, giggling and waving to him from the sidewalk.

"Goodbye Tsubame," immediately shouted Yahiko, not missing a beat, before exhaling deeply. She passed him a last glance before turning the bend. Afterwards, Yahiko had a look about him that suggested he was currently on cloud nine.

His large brown eyes were glazed over as if he were somewhere else, and his spiky black hair (so much like his brother's, but shorter) was more ruffled than usual—a telltale sign of previous nervousness. His whole body relaxed so that it looked like the tiniest feather could brush him aside, and to top it all off, a lopsided grin told of his light mood.

Seeing Yahiko like this, Kyo almost felt sorry for sending Sano over to him…almost. The little runt was just like the younger annoying brother he never had. So, like an older brother, Kyo had to get his perks. He enjoyed tormenting the munchkin. Thus was why Kyo followed in Sano's footsteps, an evil look in his eyes, and stopped next to Yahiko at the end of the steps.

Smugness seeped out of every pore and fiber of Sanosuke's being. And when Yahiko failed to notice his older brother's presence, Sano decided to make himself known. Coughing loudly, Sano started his tirade.

"Hey Yahiko," he greeted with an upward bob of his head, snapping Yahiko out of his happy place. "So, uh, who was that sweet lookin' little missy I saw ya puttin' the moves on? I never knew you had a eye for brunettes."

"WHAT! You take that back IDIOT ROOSTER-HEAD!" shouted a fuming Yahiko. "I WASN'T putting any 'MOVES' on her. AND DON'T CALL TSUBAME A 'SWEET LOOKIN' LITTLE MISSY' AGAIN!"

"Looks like I've hit a nerve. You like the sweet lookin' little missy THAT much, huh?" taunted Sano. Riling up his brother never failed to amuse him. Especially since he got such great results…

Reaching his limit, Yahiko lost all patience and tackled his brother. Or at least he tried, seeing as how Sano didn't budge an inch. So instead, the smaller, tan skinned boy launched himself onto Sanosuke's back, placing his older brother's skull in a headlock.

Yahiko tried to gain the upper hand on his brother while slowly but surely, Sanosuke's face started turning a pale blue. When Sano couldn't hold his breath any longer, he reached behind him, grabbed Yahiko by the scruff of his school uniform and forcefully jerked the junior-high student off his neck, taking in a desperate breath of fresh air.

Holding Yahiko up to his eye level, Sanosuke gave a confidant grin and teasingly said to his seemingly helpless sibling, "What are ya gonna do now, Ya-hi-kooo?" Unfortunately for Sano, these were the wrong words to say, as Yahiko then immediately reached up to forcefully yank on a fist-full of Sano's bristly hair. "OW! That hurt you little punk!"

Thus, this is where things started to become fuzzy to Kyo. The two Sagara's became a blur of chaos, yelling at each other and wrestling with a tangle of limbs. Kyo just stood there for a moment, watching the amusing scene, enjoying how his annoying best friend and his even more annoying little brother tormented each other.

Ha! Little do they know that they're just making my job easier, he thought with smug satisfaction.

But, after watching this for a time longer, it was starting to get old and Kyo decided to lend a helping hand in divine intervention. Walking over to the two growling family members, Kyo stopped in between them and held them a hairs width apart from each other—just far enough away for one not to be able to reach the other.

"Now now children, settle down," Kyo jokingly said in a 'motherly' voice. "Yahiko, you know it isn't fair to tease idiots."

"Hey! What kind of friend are you?" shouted an already irritated Sano.

Kyo completely ignored this and continued, "And Sano, you know it is not nice to pick on those smaller and less able than you are."

"Who are you calling 'LESS ABLE,' UGLY!"

WHAM! Immediately, Kyo's bokken was out and the look of murder was written upon his face. Then in a voice that would make evil stop in its tracks, he said, "Don't ever call me 'ugly,' Yahiko-CHAN."

"Oh yeah? Bring it on UGLY! I could beat you with my hand tied behind my--" Yahiko retorted, only to be painfully interrupted with another smack of the bokken. This time, Yahiko was down for the count.

"Whoo hoo!" hollered Sano in victory. "Now that's what I like to call putting him in his place," joked Sano, laughing at his own joke. Sighing, he looked up to Kyo from where he was sitting on the ground and smiled, "Thanks man, I owe you one."

"You owe me many more than one. Besides, he was getting on my nerves," came Kyo's explanation for beaming Sano's little brother.

"Yeah, yeah, sure," Sano replied to Kyo's reasoning with a wave of his hand. "Now get outta here. Unlike me, you've got chores to do."

"Damn, it's that late already?" Looking down at his watch, Kyo's heart gave a jump as he realized how much time had actually passed.

"Like I said, go home and leave me alone, before your mom gets home and throws a hissy because you didn't get everything done."

"Fine. I can tell when I'm unwanted," teased Kyo as he flung his book bag over his shoulder and headed down the sidewalk. "See ya tomorrow Sano!"

"'Till then! And don't be late this time!" Sano joked back, a grin re-appearing on his features. Kyo just shook his head and rolled his eyes while he continued walking home. What would he do without Sano?

A lot, he mentally answered himself. Gazing around at his surroundings, he saw that the once completely green trees now had scattered yellow leaves in their bunches of foliage.

Hearing the gentle chimes of laughter, Kyo looked away to see kids, no older than five, playing in a sandbox provided in the local park. He smiled, fond memories encompassing him. This was the place he always came to clear his head. Ironically, this was also the place where he'd met Sano, which was anything but mind clearing.

Unconsciously, he started fiddling with the ring suspended from the chain around his neck. It was an heirloom that his mother had given him after his father died. Supposedly, the symbolism of the intertwining gold and silver bands was meant to unite you with your true love. He didn't believe it though. Meeting whom you end up loving was just a big coincidence, pure and simple.

Moving his eyes from the cheerful children he noticed the smiling parents watching them from the benches. This quickly jolted him back into reality, and he sped up his pace, praying that he could get home and finish his chores before his mother arrived.

-o-o-o-

Putting the pan full of water onto the burner, Kyo switched the heat to high and took a deep sigh, waiting for the water to boil. He had just spent the last hour cleaning dishes, folding the laundry that his mom had put in the dryer before going to work, vacuuming, and trying to finish his homework; all right after the other. When he came upon a math problem that he couldn't for the life of him solve, he decided that it was time to cook dinner. Maybe he could finish it before his mom got home and surprise her. Thus, why he decided on ramen: fast, easy, and nobody could not like ramen!

"Honey, I'm home!"

Great… "Hi, Mom!" he greeted back, watching his mother put her jacket away in the closet and walking over to him. She hugged him and gave him a peck on the cheek. Looking at the apron he was wearing and glancing over his shoulder, she physically tensed up as she spotted what was on the stove.

"Kyo…you aren't trying to cook are you?" she asked warily.

"Of course I am!" he happily replied. "You work day in and day out, then come home only to slave over a hot stove. Sooooo…I decided to cook dinner tonight," he finished with a flourish of hand movements and a glimmering smile.

"He he, that's wonderful honey," Sakura began as she mustered up the will to break it to her son gently. "Ummm…do you remember what happened last time you tried to cook?"

"Yeah, the food was a little burnt…why?" he answered, suspicion creeping into his voice.

"Kyo, the food was burnt, but you burnt half of the kitchen with it. The smoke alarms all went off and I had to call the front desk to turn them off and to stop the fire department from coming," she bluntly told him. She loved him inside and out but…he just wasn't made to cook…

"But MOM! It wasn't THAT bad…was it?" he looked over to his mom to see her nodding sadly in conformation. Sighing, he handed her the package of noodles, "Here, you cook then. Better you than me!"

"Thanks for trying to help Kyo, but I really don't mind cooking dinner."

"Okay…" mumbled a dejected Kyo as he walked back to his room to battle with his ever present math homework. Looking at the problem, he re-read it and sprang to work. Why did he think it was so hard last time? IT WAS SIMPLE! Finishing the equation, he let out a breath of happiness.

DONE! Yes! Now I can relax until dinner, he thought joyfully. But right before he closed the textbook, the problem that he had just finished caught his eye and he stopped, frozen in place. At the end of the long problem, there was one word that he had missed: Explain.

NOOOO! Why? Is the world out to get me today? Whyyyy…

Thus, after ten minutes of gruesomely trying to figure out how to explain the problem, then actually writing the answer, he was blissfully aware when his mother called him in for dinner. Running into the kitchen, he sat down and waited for his mother to follow suit. Once she did, they both chorused an 'Itadakimasu.'(1) Then both split their chopsticks and dug in to a delicious meal of ramen, rice, and some deep fried fish.

Sakura and Kyo ate in content silence until Sakura decided to break the silence.

"You know that man at work I've been telling you about, Koji?" Stopping in mid-bite Kyo looked up from his half-bent position over his food.

"Yeah," he replied monotonlessly, while bringing his chopsticks full of ramen to his mouth.

"Well, he's been extremely nice to me over the years, and today, while we were doing paperwork, he asked if I wanted to go to dinner with him," she continued, looking at her son for some sign of approval.

Not showing any emotion in the least, Kyo just kept concentrating on his food as he asked, "And what did you say?"

"Yes, of course."

"Hn," a nod of his head and a loud slurping of his ramen was all of Kyo's response.

"Kyo…"

"Look, Mom, this is your decision, not mine. You know how I feel about--"

"What are you talking about? It's as much your decision as it is mine, Kyo!" Sakura put her chopsticks down on the table and stared at her son, concern written on her features. "Kyo, look at me!" she commanded sternly, and then in a softer key, "What's wrong?"

"You know what's wrong, Mom," quietly said Kyo, finally stopping the swirling of his food.

"Honey, nothing like that will ever happen again. I've learned from my mistakes…I--"

"HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?" burst out Kyo accusingly, now standing up and looking his mother straight in the eyes. "You didn't know it was going to happen the first time! How can you possibly know THIS time?"

"KYO! Don't talk to me with that tone, young man!"

"But how could you know, MOM?" he retorted angrily. Sitting down, he rested his elbows on the table and leaned his head in his hands. His words sounding strained, he explained his frustration. "I don't want that to EVER happen again. When that…that…MONSTER hurt you. And I couldn't do ANYTHING! I felt so helpless…" Taking a deep breath, all of the anger seemed to drain away, only to be replaced by tired regret.

"I know, Honey…I know…You've always tried to protect others, especially me. That's why you're so diligent at training." Moving over to her son's side, she wrapped her arms around him and patted him on the back, trying to sooth some of the pain. Then, getting down on one knee, she tried to meet her son's lowered eyes. Shakily, she confessed, "I felt helpless too. More so because I couldn't help you…my baby." Again she hugged him, this time more for support than for tenderness. "I will make sure that never happens again."

"I'll make sure too, Mom." Letting out a deep breath, Kyo returned the hug.

The rest of the night was spent laughing about what the day had brought, trying to temporarily erase what had just conspired.

-VI-VI-VI-VI-VI-

A phrase that the Japanese say before eating. It means something along the lines of "good meal"…or something like that…

Hello…I not exactly sure what to say…sorry? "Hello! I'm not dead!" Yeah…I don't know. Anyways, I know that it has been a VERY long time since I last updated. I have many excuses as to why I haven't updated, but I'm sure that you don't want to hear them, so I won't bother writing about them. But, if it makes you feel any better, I have a lot of the next chapter written. A pretty uneventful chapter though…Did you notice any similarities between girl Kaoru and Kyo? Can you guess who the redhead is? You'll all smart readers, so I'm sure that it is obvious (or at least I hope so). Well, even though it wasn't as 'thrilling' as the other chapters, I hope that you enjoyed this one nonetheless. Until next time…

Darksaphire: You know…I really don't know what the difference is…(sweatdrop) Oh well…

Misao-chan122: I believe I already have felt their wrath. I'm such a bad updater…

Hoshiko Shinomori: Hee hee. I'm glad that you like it nee-chan! Thank you so much for editing my chappy…again. (sigh) What would I do without you…not much I'm sure. lol. Anyways, if you liked the last chapter with Sano, I think you'll like this one too. Thanks again Hoshi! (big hugs)

GreenKnight-Warrior: Um…I hope that this isn't considered a cliffhanger…I'm glad that you enjoy my chapters though!

Nanakiyoda: I think your last review is one of the best reviews that I have gotten. Thank you so much. That means a lot to me.

Sara-Chan 11: Thank you!

ELLIE 31773: Sorry for not updating sooner…I feel really guilty. But, thank you for your comments. I'm glad that you find this story so appealing.

Slowmotionrunner: lol

Miharu Kawashi: Thank you! You're right, Kenna and Kyo will know who they are facing off against. But, they are going to meet in a different way, as you kinda already saw in the chappy. Also, don't worry about rambling on or asking questions. They just make the reviews more interesting! I'll try to answer any and all questions you have about the story without giving away too much. I'm just not sure if I'll explain them very well…Oh well…