Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Silver Cross ❯ Send the Word Out ( Chapter 11 )

A/N - This chapter was actually written over my spring break in mid-March, so I'm warning you not to expect another one too soon. Since I wasn't able to do more than revise this chapter since I've come back to college, I don't expect I'll be able to turn out another chapter for a couple weeks. So sorry! I hope you can forgive me enough to read this chapter. Thanks! The shout out to the reviewers will be after the end of the chapter. I had to change the format a bit. FF.net was messing with me.

Disclaimer - There's a difference between those who own Kenshin, and those who wish they owned Kenshin. Well I wish I owned Kenshin. I don't own Word Perfect either, or Nissan.

Silver Cross

Chapter 11 - Send the Word Out

Mmmmm. . . mmmmm . . . mmmmm . . .

What are all the 'mmmmm's for?

Mmmmm. I love pickles and ketchup on potato chips.

"Look, we don't have time to deal with your petty love triangle right now and I refuse to talk about it anymore in front of him," Saitou said blandly, jerking a thumb towards the taxi driver.

"But I have to tell him! If he knows, then maybe he'll ditch the -" Kaoru cast a glance at the nosy taxi driver. She'd almost said the word 'hunters'. Ken threw her a warning glance. "- those people he's hanging out with," she amended, "and go back home."

Saitou snorted. "Fat chance. That's never going to happen unless you tell him to his face, which is impossible at this point and time."

"The kid has a right to know," Ken put in.

"He damn well does! But the circumstances are against him. He can't know. They don't even know 100% for sure that you two are still in LA, and I'd like to keep it that way to minimize the peons I have to deal with since we're doomed to hang out with each other for a while. If this chick wasn't muddling your brain processes, then you would know what I'm saying is right."

Kaoru was sick and tired of Saitou blaming her. It had been a long cab ride so far. "Why do you blame every single action he does that you don't like on me?!" she asked angrily.

"What are you suggesting?"

Kaoru could sense the blade edge in the man's voice, even though she couldn't see his face, as he was in the front passenger seat. "I'm suggesting that you just don't like the idea of him and me together! Do you think I'm not good enough for him or something?"

"On the contrary, I think it's him that's not good enough for you," Saitou corrected coolly. "What kind of person is he to put you in danger if he cares for you so much?"

"He's not the one putting me in danger! I'd bloody well say it was you and your people putting me in danger!" It was much easier to argue with Saitou when she couldn't see his face.

"Stop it both of you," Ken cut in. "You can call Seta after our dealings with Saitou are over, Kaoru."

"A wise decision," Saitou agreed.

So he'd won. Kaoru bit back a protest, but managed to keep her silence. She turned her head to the window and stared out at the city traffic moodily. She wasn't the one who had wanted to call Sou in the first place; she'd been sticking up for Ken's views when she'd argued with Saitou. So he'd changed his mind. She could deal with that. It was a relief to put the matter off in any case. It was bound to cause her tears when she finally called him anyway.

The silence in the cab was broken only by the calypso music on the radio for the next few minutes until they reached the tea house. Ken pushed the argument from his mind with difficulty. He didn't like making Kaoru unhappy, but Saitou did have valid reasons for refusing to agree to the call. True, the chance was slight, but the possibility did exist that the hunters wouldn't gain evidence as to his and Kaoru's whereabouts in the city, or the fact that he and Kaoru were in the city, as long as he kept a low profile. Bye-bye to the pleasing idea of having Kaoru officially all to himself. They were headed towards Ayame's, the most high profile teahouse in the city. Everyone and anyone in the vampire culture who cared would know that he was in the city as soon as he set foot in there. But it couldn't be helped, he had to let Tomoe Yukishiro know that he was in the city, and there was no better way to do it. Once she knew, she would find him, of that he was certain.

Ken had never sought her out. She would be curious as to why he chose to now, and also on her guard, but that couldn't be helped. Once he had made an effort to find Tomoe at the teahouse, he could finally be rid of Saitou. The other vampire knew there was nothing else Ken could do that night that pertained to his mission for the Juppongatana. Tomorrow night would be very eventful, but this night would be relatively calm in the Tomoe aspect. And once Saitou was gone, he and Kaoru could start searching for clues and step closer to finding the dark one. Crashing the beach party would be a piece of cake, hopefully Seijuro Hiko wouldn't mind too much.

His train of thought was broken by the taxi driver pulling abruptly up at the curb of Ayame's.

"Who's paying?" Kaoru asked.

Ken was cheered a little by her tone. She seemed to have gotten over not being able to call Soujiro Seta already. "Half and half," he asked Saitou.

The man shrugged and held his hand back so Ken could give him the money. "Whatever."

Ken rolled his eyes and slapped the money in his hand before sliding out and holding his hand to Kaoru, who had to slide across the seats in order to emerge from the taxi curbside.

"Why are we here?" she asked Ken as Saitou waited for his change.

"This is one of the most public restaurants in L.A. It's a teahouse run by a female vampire, but her employees and performers are human," Ken explained. "I doubt Tomoe's here, but this is the easiest place to put the word out that I'm in town and I'm looking for her. After I talk to the owner we'll wait about ten minutes and then leave. The word will be out and we'll come back tomorrow and see what information the owner has for me about Tomoe's whereabouts."

"Hurry up, I need air-conditioning," Saitou grunted, stepping out of the cab and straightening up.

Ken rolled his eyes in Saitou's direction before flashing Kaoru a smile and walking into the teahouse. Kaoru considered Ken's words. Wouldn't that mean the hunters could find out they were in L.A.as well, making the reasons for not calling Soujiro obsolete? She sighed and followed Ken inside, conscious of Saitou behind her. The teahouse itself erased any misgivings she may have had the moment she entered though. The restaurant itself was dim; the performer on center stage oozed panache, the waiters and waitresses glided smoothly around the huge room in pressed black and white uniforms. This teahouse was a classy establishment.

Kaoru thought of Tae back home in Pennsylvania. This teahouse was her dream for the Akabeko some day soon. She hoped Tae was doing ok without her and hadn't fired her or anything. When had she left? Thursday night, and now it was Monday. How long had she known Ken? Kaoru thought back to the first time she'd served him at the Akabeko. She'd written in her diary before she'd gone to work, and that had been the seventh of July, a Monday. She'd taken off until the next Monday. That was today. Gulp. She was supposed to work today. She'd better call Tae and tell her she wouldn't be coming in for a while yet or the woman would flip out and fire her when Kaoru finally got back to Pennsylvania. That wasn't a pretty picture.

"Hello and welcome to Ayame's. Party of three I assume?" a cheerful waitress asked.

"Yes, thank you," Ken replied with a polite smile.

"Smoking or non-smoking?" she asked, picking up three menus from the stand next to her.

"Non-smoking," Kaoru answered firmly, with a frown in Saitou's direction. She mentally dared him to contradict her.

"Alright, follow me, please."

Kaoru took in the sights of the teahouse as she followed behind Ken. They weaved through the tables to a circular table for three towards the front of the restaurant. The vampire culture of L.A.didn't seem all that different from the human one as far as surface appearances went, but Kaoru could sense an underlying tension. She wondered how the human staff dealt with it, or if they even realized it was there. Of course, the question that had to be asked was how many of them were contacts? As long as she didn't find herself mistaken for one again, Kaoru found she didn't really need to know.

Ken pulled back a chair for her, and she sank into it gratefully, a little spooked at the possibility that she might be mistaken for a contact.

"Can I start you all out with waters?" the waitress asked.

Kaoru nodded to Ken, who glanced at Saitou for confirmation. "Sure. Three please."

"Great. I'll be back in a few minutes to take your orders."

"So when are you going to talk to the owner and let everyone know you're looking for Tomoe?" Kaoru asked Ken, glancing around nervously.

"Relax," Ken reassured her. "I'll ask the waitress after we order. Now be calm or you'll attract unnecessary attention to our table."

"Listen to him, Kamiya. Focus on your menu or something," Saitou put in crabbily as he glanced through the menu, looking for the entire world like he was sulking for want of a cigarette.

Kaoru sighed and picked up her menu, feeling suddenly antsy. "How long are we staying?"

Saitou rolled his eyes at her. "Until we finish our tea."

Kaoru gave up questioning the two vampires. They seemed to be calmer here. If they thought there was no need to be on guard, then who was she to argue? This was at least better than the tense silence of the cab ride. And the menu was interesting. As she didn't know what half the teas and cakes on the meal were, she decided to go with lemon tea and a blueberry muffin. That decided, she turned to watch the performer on stage. Small talk was not going to happen as long as she was sitting at a table with Saitou.

Ken watched Kaoru instead of his menu as she stared at the performer on stage with a faraway expression in her eyes. She was far away from him now. He wondered what she was dreaming of. The woman on stage had a nice voice, soothing and strong as if she was singing the crowd a lullaby. Ayame knew just who to hire to make people feel at home in her teahouse. Ken was looking forward to seeing her again. Although she'd been turned into a vampire at a later stage in her human life than he had, she was still a century younger than him. She'd traveled with him and Sano for a few months until she'd been able to exist in the vampire world on her own. And look at how far Ayame had come. Ken was proud of her. He knew Sano would be as well.

"Are you all ready to order now?"

"Yes. I'll have the chamomile tea," Saitou answered.

"One chamomile tea," the waitress repeated, jotting the order down on her pad. "And you, miss?"

"Lemon tea," Kaoru said, deciding to skip on the muffin since Saitou hadn't ordered any food.

The waitress nodded to her and moved to Ken. "What about you, sir?"

"Green tea."

"Very well, sir."

"And I'd like to see Miss Ayame if she's not busy."

The waitress's face clouded a bit in confusion. "She's very busy, sir. We usually have a lot more customers at this hour than this, but I don't know if she'll be able to come and speak to you personally."

He'd been expecting this. Ayame rarely helped serve customers anymore. But she would make time for him, he knew. "Just tell her Ken's here," he ordered, softening the order with a disarming smile as he handed her the menus.

"I will, sir," she nodded, moving away with their menus.

Kaoru went back to considering the performer on stage. Ken went back to considering Kaoru. Saitou gave a snort of disgust before watching the performer on stage as well and alternately sipping his water. There was nothing else for him to do.

I am lovin' the Bahamas. I'm glad I thought of coming here.

You thought of it?

Yup. And I am also loving the Bahama girls.

But they hate you.

Eh, they're only playing hard to get.

"Where are we going, Oji?" Soujiro asked, watching the traffic in front of them as his uncle drove. They'd taken a taxi straight to a rental agency where his uncle had rented a silver BMW for a week. Now they were simply cruising around L.A., for all Soujiro knew, and had been for the past half hour.

"No where at the moment, kid. I'm waiting for Enishi or Jineh to call in. Then we'll ditch the vampires who are tailing us and start in earnest with the process of finding your girl."

"Vampires are tailing us?!" Soujiro exclaimed, starting to twist in his seat.

"Don't!"

Soujiro froze at the tone of his uncle's voice.

"I don't want them to know that we know until the last second, or it'll be harder to lose them when the time comes. I like this car too much to ding it up on a fast turn," he paused. "Just sit back and rest easy, Soujiro. This'll be fun."

Soujiro wondered what his uncle's idea of fun was.

What are you doing?

Reading.

I know that. Why?

It's good for the brain.

Why The Complete Hans Christian Anderson Fairy Tales though?

It's the only thing I could find.

I have serious doubts about you sometimes, Ken.

"Ken! I'm so happy to see you!" an elegant woman carrying their tea on a circular tray practically squealed as she came towards their table. Their waitress followed behind in confusion. "Who had the chamomile?"

"I did," Saitou spoke up.

"It's good to see you too, Miss Ayame," Ken said warmly, standing.

So this was the owner of the teahouse, Kaoru thought, looking the woman over. She seemed nice enough. A brunette, she wore her hair cascading down her back and was clothed in a traditional kimono and obi. She was just as elegant and beautiful as the performer on stage. No wonder most of the men at the tables around them were watching her discretely.

"Oh, sit down and drop the 'miss', Ken. I never made you call me that before," the woman fussed as she served Saitou. Their waitress waited behind her, still looking slightly puzzled. "And you had the lemon, right, hon?" she asked Kaoru.

"Yes, thank you," Kaoru answered, wondering what the connection was between Ken and this woman. She was always curious whenever Ken showed such an easy manner of familiarity with someone. He didn't often adopt that manner with her.

"Sit down, sit down, Ken," the woman fretted. "You're a guest here, and I want you to behave like one," she finished, placing Ken's cup of tea and saucer at his place at the table. She handed the now empty tray to the waitress and shooed her away, before turning back to Ken, who had ignored her requests to sit down, and throwing her arms around his neck. "It's been a long time," she smiled, releasing him.

"Yes it has," Ken agreed. He offered her his chair to sit in.

"Oh, no. I can only stay for a few minutes. This place is quite a handful to run. What's up? I know Saitou of course, but who is this lovely girl you're with?" she asked, leaning down and placing her elbows on the table as Ken sat down. "A new contact already?" she asked, studying Kaoru with an avid interest.

"No," Kaoru muttered. Darn, mistaken for a contact again. She couldn't suppress a quiet sigh. Meanwhile, Ken had the grace to cast an apologetic look her way before he answered.

"No. This is Kamiya Kaoru. She's traveling with me." Ken didn't think it was very wise to give Ayame more information than that or the whole vampire community would know about her before the end of the night.

Ayame extended a graceful to Kaoru. Her handshake was firm. Kaoru could sense the strength behind it, which wasn't surprising considering the woman was a vampire. Ayame released her hand and made a sympathetic noise. "Not a contact though. Must be hard for you. I still say you should find yourself a nice female vampire and settle down somewhere."

"Have you found yourself a nice male vampire and settled down?" Ken asked dryly. He'd forgotten the match-making aspect of Ayame's character. Sano had been all too happy to go along with it, but since he wasn't around, all her efforts would be focused on him. That was just great. Kaoru would not be happy.

Ayame's laugh held all the childish innocence she'd once possessed, that had compelled Sano and him to help her in the first place. "No way! He'd probably want me to give up the teahouse and settle down with him somewhere outside of the city. I like being in the fast track. You though, you like all that country living, that quality will make some woman happy," she hinted with a sly smile.

Kaoru was not happy, but she didn't see much use in being immature and pouting about it. She would just have to tolerate this Ayame woman. She was the means to an end after all, and Kaoru herself was learning more about Ken through her. The woman's mention of Ken finding a 'nice female vampire' did make her a little depressed though. As much as she loved Ken, she loved the Lord more, and she was not going to sacrifice her humanity by becoming a vampire. To cover her sudden frown, she added sugar and a little bit of cream to her tea from the containers at the center of their table. She felt better in action; it took her mind off her and Ken's hopeless situation.

"That's not much of an excuse, Ayame," Ken informed her in a soft tone.

She sighed, some of the merriment taken from her gaze. She knew Ken would rather see her with a strong vampire who could protect her in case any of the wrong people came around after hours. The teahouse was a hotbed for information. She'd already received numerous bribes from various organizations to let them bug the restaurant. Ken also didn't want her to be lonely. "I'll find the bum someday, Ken. Don't worry about me. Now what did you come to the teahouse for, besides to see me of course?"

"I'd like to set up a meeting with Tomoe Yukishiro."

Ayame frowned. "That woman?" she asked doubtfully. "Well, alright, Ken. I'll spread the word around. May I ask why?"

Ken knew Ayame didn't miss the glance he threw at Saitou. He'd taught her better. "I would rather you not know."

"Whatever you say, Ken. I will most definitely spread the word. I'm not pleased that you won't tell me why I'm spreading the word, but I'd do almost anything for you. Now I'll have to bid you all adieu for tonight. I confess I left the kitchens in the middle of a crisis. I trust I'll see you again tomorrow?"

Ken nodded.

"Okay, then," she finished, straightening to stand tall and aristocratic once again. "Farewell, Ken. Nice meeting you, Kamiya Kaoru."

With that she was gone.

"I'm glad that's over with," Saitou grumbled. "I see that wench way too often for my liking."

Kaoru frowned at him. "You see her on a regular basis?" she asked before taking a sip of tea.

"Yes. The wife and she are friends," Saitou admitted with a roll of his eyes.

Kaoru nearly spit out her tea, all sulky thoughts of Ayame ejected from her mind. The idea of Saitou, her temple vampire, with a wife, was just too weird and hilarious to be true. "You're married?!"

"What's so unusual about that?"

Kaoru fought valiantly to stop herself from dissolving into laughter, but it was a losing battle from the start.

Come, Cap! . . . Cap! Come!

The dog's not listening to you again?

Don't rub it in. Cap, come!

What did he do this time, steal another woman's purse?

No! That was a one time deal. I don't know why he did that. He just ran off chasing a rabbit, that's all, and now he won't come back, and I'm not chasing him all around the park again.

Um, I think you'd better start chasing before the parent of that little kid sues you.

Oh, shit! Cap! No! Bad dog!

His uncle was finally on the phone with Jineh. Soujiro listened carefully to Shishio's side of the conversation. He had a feeling he would need to know as much as he could while he was hanging around with his uncle. A part of him wanted to head back to Japan, to the peaceful world of his grandparent's estate on rural Kyushu. But he could never live with himself if he left without finding Kaoru first. She hadn't sounded all that alarmed or even upset on the phone. Her tone had held only wonder. True, there had been a little trepidation, but he'd attributed that to being across the country without her parents knowing. Did this Ken fellow really have her brainwashed? He'd thought Kaoru was stronger than that, but there were some pretty strange things going on in this other world he hadn't known existed.

"… We'll be there in fifteen minutes," his uncle finished, snapping his cell phone shut and slipping it into the pocket of his khakis. "It's time to ditch our little parade, Soujiro. Are you strapped in? Your mother would never forgive me if you were hurt in a car accident."

The man's tone was neutral, but Sou knew better than to hope he'd spoken out of any care for his nephew. Luckily, Sou had strapped himself in almost by reflex the minute he'd gotten in the car, so he didn't have to dignify that with a response.

Shishio glanced over at his nephew. "Good, kid." He reached up and strapped himself in. "I'm not going to take any chances. When that light turns green, you're going to witness some ace driving. I may be a little rusty at first, but we should ditch these guys in five minutes- if they're any good."

"Where are we going after you ditch them?"

Shishio gave Soujiro a long sideways look. "Enishi and Jineh found my old vampire informant. We're just heading to meet up with the guy. Up, the light's green! It's go time."

After a quick glance around for cops, Shishio rammed his foot down on the gas, jerking them both back into the padding of their seats. Careening down a busy street in L.A.at night wasn't exactly where Soujiro wanted to be at that very minute, especially since his uncle was turning out to be a reckless driver. He had to give the man credit though, with all the tight corners he was able to miraculously cut, the car had received not one scratch.

"Keep your eye on the white Taurus, kid!" Shishio yelled over the squeal of brakes as they whipped through a red light at the next intersection.

Against his better judgment, Soujiro twisted around in his seat and peered backwards, searching. It wasn't too hard to find as it was the only car that had managed to avoid the pile up at the aforementioned intersection. The glare of lights across the windshield prevented him from seeing who was in the car, but it looked like two people. Soujiro gulped. Vampires were after him and wanted to kill him. It wasn't a very good feeling to be driving around out in the open with people who wanted to kill you on your tail. He was suddenly glad his uncle didn't seem intimidated in the least. His strength allowed Sou to hold onto his dignity and not run screaming for the nearest police station. It wouldn't be so bad to be locked up in a cell at that moment. Even though he couldn't get out, the vampires couldn't very well get in, could they?

"See any cops, kid? I have to watch the road," Shishio yelled.

Soujiro panned the streets around them. Not one blur of white cop car. "Nope, but we can't going on driving this fast without running in to the LAPD sooner or later!" Sou yelled back.

"I know; that's why I've got to break every traffic law in the book and lose this car now!" Shishio replied with a grin, cutting into a one way alley - the wrong way.

Perhaps some of his uncle's reckless character was rubbing off on him, but all of a sudden the near death situation didn't seem quite so bad.

Sano, your driving is horrible.

What are you talking about? I got my license fair and square.

Ahhh!!!

Shut up. We're alive. I didn't know you were such a wimp.

That was an 18 wheeler back there! You don't just cut in front of an 18 wheeler!

Hey, who's the one driving here?! Besides, we lived. He only bumped us a little before the car sped up.

Idiot! That would have hurt a lot!

Not as much as this will hurt if I don't make the turn just right!

Sano! Noooo!!!

… You're such a wimp. I did that perfectly.

I think I peed my pants.

"That's all you're going to do tonight? My boss is not going to be pleased with you, Battousai."

"Then that's Myoujin's problem. You know how fast word spreads from Ayame's. Tomoe will either meet me there in person tomorrow, or leave me a message. In the meantime, I am going to do what I came here for - find the dark one."

"Fine. I suppose you've made it easier on all of us. I'll contact you an hour after sunset tomorrow." Saitou walked away into the crowd.

Kaoru let out a breath of relief. "Things are looking up now that he's gone."

"I'll say," Ken agreed, grabbing her hand as he searched the traffic for an unoccupied taxicab. "Now we're headed to a dealership to get a car for the rest of the night."

"We're not taking cabs?" Kaoru asked, glad to feel Ken's hand in her own.

"There're no cabs where we're going unless you call ahead, and we need a quick getaway. I don't want the other car we rented to be recognizable yet, so we'll rent another one just for tonight," he explained.

Kaoru was pleased that he'd told her the reasoning behind his actions for once. Yes, things were definitely looking up. "Where are we going?"

"A beach party," he answered mildly, eyes intent on the cab that had seen him and was pulling up in front of them.

Kaoru tuned out the talk between Ken and the cab driver at the mention of a beach party. She'd been hoping Ken had forgotten about that, but she should have known he hadn't with her luck. Kamatari had outfitted her with two suits, one a modest one piece and the other more questionable. It was too bad she seemed to have misplaced the one piece earlier that evening. Compared to the suits, or rather lack of suits, they made models wear, she supposed it wasn't too, bad, but it still revealed more skin than she was accustomed to. The bottom was a cute shorts type deal, extremely short of course, but hey, at least they were shorts. It was a bikini top though, that revealed a bit too much cleavage for her to wear in front of her parents or her relatives. She could just imagine her mortification at that particular family reunion. The only thought she had to comfort her was that no one would know her at the party and she wasn't likely to ever see the people there again. A small comfort.

The ride to the dealership was way too short and awkward in Kaoru's opinion. Ken kept tossing her strange glances. It figured he would know something was wrong. Kaoru couldn't help but fret as Ken paid the taxi driver and helped her out of the car.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his tone muted, surprising her by sweeping her up in his arms before the taxi had even driven away.

Kaoru sighed and closed her eyes. "It's silly. You don't want to hear about it."

"Yes I do."

"No you don't."

Ken laughed. "Yes I do."

"No you don't."

Ken tickled her waist with the hand that rested against it. "Tell me."

Kaoru squealed and tried to jump back, but he held her close.

"I'll torture you until you tell," Ken threatened.

Kaoru jerked and squirmed in his arms, trying to avoid his hands. By this time the pedestrians passing by were giving the couple strange looks. "Ok, ok, I'll tell you," a puffing Kaoru gave in, glad to finally be able to control her breathing. "This is going to sound really dumb, but the bathing suit Kamatari picked out for me is not enough suit, if you know what I mean."

"I know. I'm looking forward to the moment when you take off your shirt," Ken breathed in her ear.

"Hentai," Kaoru accused in a hushed tone.

"Nope. That suggests I look at all women, whereas in truth I only look at you," he replied.

Kaoru felt like she was going to faint. Who would have imagined a man would ever say that to her? She had a strong feeling she should be hitting him upside his head with her purse, but she knew she wasn't going to be taking that course of action any time soon, not when he was staring down at her so much possession in those gold violet eyes, not when one of his hands was caressing her face while the other held her tight to him, not when he held the power to put her at ease with a few well said compliments and a little flirting.

"You will look wonderful in that suit, Kaoru. Promise me you'll wear it at the party," he requested with a whisper in her ear. He wished he could kiss her neck, but she was wearing the earrings. That would certainly ruin the moment.

"I promise," Kaoru acquiesced, closing her eyes and meeting his lips in a light kiss. "Hey, you just shamelessly manipulated me," she accused as soon as they broke apart. "I don't have to put up with that."

"Yes you do."

"Why? How are you going to make it up to me?" Kaoru asked, aware that Ken was concentrating more on her lips than what she was saying.

"I'll let you pick the car."

"Deal," Kaoru sealed the pact with a laugh and twisted free from his arms.

Forty-five minutes later Ken was a lot poorer, but Kaoru was a lot happier. She seemed content to sit back in the passenger seat and let the wind course through her hair, which she'd put back in a pony tail to prevent one bad hair day.

"I love this car. I think I'll buy one some day when I'm old and can afford things like this," she said appreciatively. "Look what I'm sitting in, Ken. A Nissan 300 ZX! I know people who would kill for a ride in a car like this."

"That's because it's too damn expensive to get for free. The other car we loaned for a week cost less than this," Ken grumbled, although he was happy with Kaoru's choice. The five gear feature was impressive and exceedingly satisfying on the open highway.

"Aw, you know you love it!" Kaoru exclaimed, planting a flyaway kiss on his cheek. She settled back into her seat to examine his profile. "Ken, this car was made for you. I'm going to always remember this moment. You, me, the open highway. It's perfect." She sighed in contentment.

"It would be even better if you were wearing a bikini top," Ken grumbled again underneath his breath so she couldn't make out his words. He didn't want Kaoru hearing him say that.

"Did you say something?" she asked, all sun and flowers.

"No, must have been the radio."

"It's not even on - Hey! The sound system!" Kaoru remembered, brightening even more if that was possible and leaning forward in a hurry to fiddle with it. "She only want me for my pimp juice - ooo-ooh," she sang along with Nelly before dissolving into laughter and switching the radio station.

Ken knew then that it was going to be a long ride.

What do you think I'd look like with an afro? Black power!

First of all, you're not black. Second, you're hair is not curly. You'd have to get a perm or a wig. Third, I think you would look stupid.

"Wow. You didn't say we were going to a beach party at a mansion," Kaoru half scolded as she looked up at the huge house.

"It's a private party on a private beach, what did you expect?" he asked as he parked the car a good block away. It was looking like the attendance at the party was huge. That was fine with him; it would be easier to conceal the fact that they didn't have invitations. Ken was sorry they'd arrived so quickly. As long as Kaoru stayed away from the rap she had a sweet voice that he enjoyed listening too. Although he supposed even if she couldn't hold a tune to save her life he'd still enjoy listening to the sound of her voice.

"Should I bring my purse?" Kaoru asked, wondering what the party guests were dressed like. She hoped her white cotton shirt, flared skirt, and black flip flops would be appropriate.

"Yes, don't leave it in the car. The host will have a place to stash our belongings set aside from the party."

"What kind of guests are they?" Kaoru asked as she opened the car door and stepped onto the grass of a luxurious lawn.

Ken knew she was asking if they were human or vampire. "About half and half. The host is a vampire. Since a lot of vampires are young when they're turned, beach parties are popular in L.A. It'll be fun for you, and these people will float around a lot of rumors about the dark one," he continued as he walked around the front of the car and took her hand, leading her towards the mansion. "Plus I get to see you in this suit you're so worried about," he finished, amused to see her blush even in the shadows of the night.

"Stop going on about that, you're making me nervous."

"It'll be okay. Just relax and have fun. There are a lot of friends to be made at parties like this. If you're ever in L.A.again, you'll have people to show you a good time."

"Hola! Mi hombre! You and your chick headed for the party?" the voice of a young man asked, as he emerged from the road in front of them.

"Yes. How's it going?" Ken asked in reply.

"The party's great, man! I'm headed out for an hour to pick up my girl and bring her back here. Enjoy it. Hiko did a slammin' job this time," the man gushed before continuing on.

"Did you know him?" Kaoru asked.

"No." Ken shrugged.

"Who's Hiko?"

"The vampire who owns the mansion. He's even older than me. He was turned when he was in his mid-thirties, but he likes to hang around with the younger generation of vampires sometimes. You won't miss him when you see him."

They walked the rest of the way in silence. Ken was glad that Kaoru didn't seem to notice when he steered her away from the front door and around the side of the house through the gardens instead of walking through the house to get to the beach. There were plenty of couples in the garden though, so he didn't feel conspicuous. The couples were mostly human, achingly young men and a few bikini goddesses lounging on benches or in the grass. Some had champagne bottles or beer cans. He'd have to make sure that Kaoru didn't get drunk. Who knew when a quick vampire would try to slip something into her glass when she wasn't looking?

Ken forgot about that and only saw the lights in her eyes as soon as they emerged from the garden onto the shore. Lamps were lit all over the beach, stuck high on poles embedded deep in the sand. In the middle of all the people was a giant bonfire surrounded by logs for the guests to sit on. At one end of the beach a band crooned songs into the night. Hired help moved through the crowed in short tan dresses, serving drinks and picking up litter.

One of the young women hired to help run the party rushed over to them as they stood at the edge of the crowd. "Hello and welcome to the party. Please follow me to the changing quarters and I'll get you both situated."

Kaoru seemed willing enough to follow her, so Ken simply shrugged and allowed her to pull him along. They reached the makeshift tents after a couple minutes of weaving through the edge of the crowd.

Kaoru handed over her purse to the woman, who placed it on a pile of other purses.

"Your purse is number 207 miss, but don't worry, I never forget a face, I'll remember which one it is. Take off your earrings and put them in your purse. It's not a friendly gesture to the vampire community, hon."

Kaoru glanced to Ken for confirmation. He shrugged. Kaoru did as the woman instructed, placing the earrings inside her purse and zipping it up before handing it over to the woman, who continued. "You can change in here."

Ken moved to follow Kaoru inside the small makeshift room.

"Oh no, sir. We've got separate stalls for the men."

"I'd rather help Kaoru change." Ken didn't let go of her hand.

Kaoru blushed a deep pink. The woman giggled. Ken smirked.

"Well just this once I guess it's okay," the woman allowed. "Just hurry up and get in there before anyone sees you!" she ordered, shoving them both inside the cramped space.

Ken locked the door behind them. Kaoru's blush turned red.

"Well this is awkward," Kaoru said nervously, keeping her eyes trained on Ken's eyes. Like there was anything else in the room to look at.

"No it's not. Do you want to wear your flip flops or not?"

Kaoru blinked at him for a moment before the question processed in her brain. "Um, no. I might lose them in the water."

"See, that's not so awkward." Maybe it had been a mistake to do this after all, Ken wondered. But it wasn't like either of them would be naked. They both had their swimming trunks on underneath their clothes. How he felt for Kaoru couldn't be a mistake. No, he assured himself, this was right. To put her at ease, he plopped down on the sand and began by taking off his socks and shoes. He could feel her eyes on him. After a moment she slid her feet out of her flip flops, and nudged them over next to his shoes with her toes. She even had cute toes, Ken marveled, watching them.

Kaoru couldn't help but let out a laugh. "Stop staring at my feet, Ken." She held out a hand to help him up, which he readily took.

"They're cute," he protested in his defense.

Kaoru rolled her eyes, watching him as he undid his belt and unzipped his pants, revealing a pair of navy blue swim trunks. Watching him undress was fascinating. He was neater than any woman she'd ever seen. He folded his pants neatly and placed them on top of his shoes, then shrugged out of his jacket, pulled his shirt over his head, folded and placed them on the pile as well, and viola! Ken looked for all the world like a beach bum.

He met her eyes with a grin and rose to his feet. "I admit I would rather look at your eyes though."

She blushed prettily again. Ken found that making her blush was very amusing.

"Now which comes off first, the shirt or the skirt?" he asked.

"The skirt," Kaoru said softly, deciding that there was no one better to place her faith in than Ken. She might as well let him run the show. It wasn't like she didn't want him to anyway. She watched his eyes as he slowly reached his hand around her waist to feel for the zipper. He found it soon enough on the side seam of the skirt and slowly unzipped it, bringing the skirt down low until she could step out of it. He folded it and tossed it behind her, on top of her flip flops she guessed. His eyes left hers and traveled down her legs before coming back up. Placing a hesitant hand on her waist, he and let it drift down over the skintight fabric of the suit so that it rested on her butt. Kamatari had outfitted her with one of those suits that had a shorts bottom. Ken would have preferred more of a traditional style, but hey, these were just as skin tight. The suit's muted shade of blue complimented her tan skin. Her ass was firm and fit under his hand.

"Ken?" she asked, her voice faint against the background murmur of the party and the ocean waves.

He knew she expected a more playful mood and was confused at his silence. "Do you play a sport? You're so tan. I know there's no beach in Pennsylvania."

"I'm on the club tennis team at school and I've been playing with a couple of girlfriends since school let out for the summer."

"You play in bathing suits?" he asked incredulously, noticing her tan lines were covered by the suit she was wearing.

She smiled impishly. "How else are we going to get some sun?"

Ken tried to imagine Kaoru running around a tennis court in nothing but a bathing suit and sneakers. His mind started reeling. "Wouldn't everyone see?"

"Everyone?"Kaoru asked, confused. "One of the girls has rich parents. They have their own private tennis courts in their backyard. Her parents never use them, so they're all ours. Sweet deal, huh?"

A deep longing for the sun flooded through Ken and he wished desperately at that moment that he was human, that he could watch Kaoru running around the court in the sun. But he had long resigned himself to the fact that he could never go outside in the sun again. He only wished he hadn't taken his human life for granted during the long ago days before he'd been turned into a vampire. He should have done so many things differently. But that was the past, and it wasn't going to come back except as a rush of memories. If he had never been turned into a vampire, he would never have met Kaoru. He owed Tomoe gratitude for that, so he would make her death quick and painless.

"Must be nice, but does your friend also have a private beach in her back yard?" Ken asked, pushing aside the somber thoughts and reminding Kaoru of the place they were at here and now to dispel the faraway look in her eyes.

She smiled up at him. "No-o." She'd seen a hint of sorrow in his eyes for a fleeting moment there and thought with a pang for the hundredth time what a master Ken was at concealing his emotions.

"I didn't think so." He placed a lingering kiss on the hollow of her throat and moved his hands to the top button of her shirt. She smelled like Dove soap. He relaxed and inhaled her scent as he undid the buttons on her shirt. "You were worried you couldn't pull this suit off?" he asked incredulously, rubbing a thumb across the top of her breasts.

She shivered under his touch. "Yes," she defended herself. "It's one thing wearing a two piece in front of your girlfriends. It's another wearing it in front of you and the rest of the male population."

Ken felt a grin form across his lips. Her prudent nature was droll. "I'm sure they'll find you pleasing to behold."

"That's just the trouble. It feels uncomfortable when everyone stares at you, you know? I don't know, maybe I'm insecure or something," she sighed. "At least there are plenty of other women here in skimpier bathing suits, so I won't feel too conspicuous."

"They only look at you because you turn them on," Ken teased, playing his thumb down between her breasts.

She rolled her eyes, striving to maintain control over her conversational skills and ignore the distraction of his touch. "I hardly think that's the reason."

"It's the reason I look at you," Ken told her, watching as she blushed and looked down at his hand on her breasts, unable to maintain eye contact.

Everything about Kaoru's body was fascinating, and this particular part of her anatomy was no exception. Sure he'd felt them against his chest when she hugged him, but he'd never had the chance to stare at her body unabashedly for fear of bringing her wrath upon him, which would not be good. He brought his face close so that he knew she could feel his breath on her skin. She visibly tensed for a moment. He brought his lips down on the top of one breast where his thumb had been moments before, her sudden intake of breath satisfying some inner recess of his brain. Slowly, he trailed his mouth up her breasts, leaving a wet trail, to her neck. He could feel his fangs start to protrude from his gums and press against her flesh. Willpower. He moved his lips on, taking his time, up to her mouth. Sweetness. He could feel his skin become electrified starting at his mouth and spreading through his whole body. He slid his hand underneath the top of her bathing suit to rub soothingly over her back.

"You're beautiful," Ken complimented appraisingly before swallowing any reply she might have made in a drowning kiss. The press of her body against his filled him with contentment.

A knock sounded on the door. "Five more minutes, you two!" the giddy voice of the woman who'd let them to the changing rooms sang out. "Just leave your things in there, I'll put them away." Her footsteps receded away into the party noise.

Ken groaned in disappointment as Kaoru broke the kiss they'd been sharing. "Should we join the party?" she asked.

"You're right," Ken admitted. "Don't worry about trying to get information. I'll do that. Just act natural and have a good time."

Kaoru nodded as Ken released her and unlocked the door, holding it open for her. It was time to party.

A/N - Hope you enjoyed the latest chapter of Silver Cross! I know it was mostly WAFF, but as the next chapter will be mostly action, I thought Kenshin and Kaoru should get some quality time together, even if part of it was with Saitou. Hope you review! Question: One reviewer commented that I should change the rating to R. Agree? Disagree? I want your opinion. That said, here are the promised reviewer shout-outs.

Black Chiney: Yes, I too get too lazy to log in. I'm just glad you weren't too lazy to review. I'll try to update sooner. *nods head up and down vigorously*

EEevee: I'm glad you liked Kaoru's apology to Saitou. I was trying to make it characteristic of my version of her. I hope your Spring Break turned out okay in the end.

Rinfirithiel: Whew! I'm glad you thought Chapter 10 was worth the wait, I can only hope that Chapter 11 was. Thanks for not pressuring me to update!

Poppy2: Yes, there will be beach party fun in the near future. I wish I was at a beach party…

kenshin's-angel: Yup. They're officially together. Well, to each other, if not to the rest of the world.

Angi-chan: Glad you can't wait to read more!

aNiMePeRfEcT: I love the Megumi laughter touch. Yes, I did finally update, didn't I? *pats self on back*

KoishiiSweet: I'm glad you like the Kenshin/Kaoru moments. It's great talking to you on AIM. ^_^

Galenahaiel: A reviewer of few words. At least I know you like it!

ixchen: Glad you loved it. Here's the update you were hoping for.

BizzareNinja Silence: Oooh, Aryanne-sama. You flatter me. Thanks for the three reviews. I'm glad you stumbled across 'Silver Cross.'

Jade Catseye: I inspired you? Wow. I'm honored. Yup, I decided to make Kenshin and Kaoru get together soon because I just didn't want to deal with all the misunderstandings between characters to stall their relationship development or anything. And about Ken not being 'that oroing idiot', hey, I like bad boys too. hehehe

Saravati: Kenshin and Kaoru are really cute together! Cool that you picked up on the waking up thing. I don't know if anyone else did, and you will definitely see Kenshin and Kaoru together in the future!

BelleDayNight: It really took four hours for you to read 'Silver Cross'? Wow. It's 165 pages single spaced in Word Perfect right now. Do you really think it should be rated R? I didn't think it was that bad…

KyiaStar: Sanosuke is a funny character, well he's got great comic potential and is fun to write about. Glad you liked the way I developed him.

chibiBattousai: Yay! Another person who likes the flashbacks with Sano enough to point them out specifically. I try to make them funny. Glad it's working.

Sapphire Princess: One of the best vampire/Kenshin fics?!! I'm honored. I didn't know it was that good! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for inflating my ego. ^_^

Naiya-chan: A being tired. I know that story. Thanks for commenting even through a fog of sleep! Sorry it took so long for me to update.

Yuna: Glad you loved 'Silver Cross'. "Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines." That cracked me up.

Hitokiri-miaomiao: Thanks for forgiving me. I know you've been reading 'Silver Cross' for a while. I'm glad you think it's good enough to stick to!

Silver Warrior: You know, that's a good question. I'll have to figure it out when the time comes. That's going to be such a sticky situation. I'm dreading writing it because everyone's feelings are going to be hurt. Sigh.

thesacred night: Wow. That's about the longest review anyone has ever given me. Thank you! About the Kaoru, hentai thing, she may be born and raised in the States, but she's still fluent in Japanese from her home life, like many people are whose parents are from overseas. Besides, hentai is more fun to say, so I took a little poetic license, and made Kaoru share that opinion too. Thanks so much for the comments, especially the ones about the night element. That's a great tip. I love it when people give me suggestions on how to improve my writing. I guess I'm like Yahiko, in that I basically suck right now compared to many authors, but want to become one of the best!

rebuttal101: You're inflating my ego. Stop!!! No one ever described one of my chapters as gorgeous before. *sniff sniff*

Angel338: Can't answer that. Kenshin's not going to force Kaoru into anything, and he doesn't want her to become one any more than she does, but I guess something could happen. That would be horrible for Kaoru though… Thanks for the review!

gestoordeann: No problem about reviewing your story, thanks for reviewing mine!

MishorouMie: Ah, another review of few words. Glad you loved it!

Sakura Takashi: You love it? You flatter me too much. Glad you're enjoying it though.

Kenshin's Demon: Thanks for the compliments on how I portray the characters. I'm glad they're realistic.

Videl621: How Sou will take it… Yeah, I'm not looking forward to how he'll take it. I mean, he loves her. There's no way he can possibly take it well.

stoictimer: Don't worry. I'm not going to give up on 'Silver Cross' any time soon. There are so many other stories in my head, but I'm not going to write them until 'Silver Cross' is finished, so put your worries aside. I looked at your favorite list. The stories are so good! I'm honored to be on it.

yuyufankurama: Haha is what you call your mother in Japanese, just very very formal. I figured that fit Atsuko, Sou's sister, in this particular situation, just part of her character. It kind of distances her from her mother because she's not pleased with her actions. Okasaan is what she would normally call her. (Forgive my spelling if it's wrong.)

Whew!!! That took a while. As I'm lazy, I probably won't be doing that again for a while, but I felt that people needed some personal feedback, since I never reply directly. Just letting you all know I read and appreciate your reviews. Very, very much.

That said, please review again if you have the time!