Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ First Impressions ❯ Bets and Lawsuits ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

First Impressions

Part III

They broke apart, panting.

There was a long silence as the two stared at each other.

Kaoru looked carefully at the man she'd just kissed. She'd been too nervous to look at him before, but now she noticed his hair was long and red, and his eyes were a hard amber color. She also noticed his disheveled hair was at odds with his neat clothes, then she felt the hair tie tangled in her fingers and blushed. Somehow or another she'd managed to mess up his hair while kissing him.

Kenshin stared openly at her. She seemed dazed. It wasn't like him to stare noticeably, but he figured he had a good excuse to be a little shocked. He'd only seen this girl in photographs of Sano's and heard of her in passing. He was reasonably sure they'd never exchanged a word before today.

“What just happened?” He asked bluntly, looking from Kaoru to an openmouthed Sano to Kaoru again. `She's very pretty...if she hadn't just jumped on me, I would probably have been interested...'

Kenshin smirked at her suddenly. `As it is, now I'm fascinated...most people avoid relations with people who work outside the law...'

Kaoru jumped, surprised at the sudden change in mood from Kenshin. `I can't even stand up straight without leaning on him...God, I cannot believe I just did that...' She dragged herself away from him, and she felt his hands linger on her waist before releasing her. She was so weak-kneed from the combination of shock and horror at what she'd just done that she had to lean on Sano's desk. Kaoru stared right into his wide eyes.

“Pay up.” She managed, sitting down on the desk.

“Wha?” Sano was clearly still trying to process the fact that his man-hating adopted sister had just made out with his best friend. “Uh...yeah, Jou-chan, about the money...”

“Don't tell me. You were lying?” Kaoru asked sharply. Anger curled beneath her skin, giving her strength. “Fine. Call whoever you made the bet with, and collect. You can pay me from there.”

Sano gulped. “Umm...sure. I'll do that later...” he flinched under Kaoru's glare. “Okay, okay, I'll call!” He picked the phone and dialed a familiar number.

Kenshin leaned over Kaoru's shoulder. “Why are you calling Megumi's cell phone?”

“Uh...I made the bet with her. And Misao. Hi, fox...yeah it's me...well, no...okay.” Sano pressed the speaker phone button. “Yeah, she did it.”

“GET OUT!” Misao's hyperactive voice shot out of the speaker. “Kaoru! I can't believe you did that! Oh my god!”

“Calm down, Misao.” Megumi's calm voice joined Misao's. “Well, Sano, I can't believe I'm saying this, but you won. Kaoru, what poor soul did you end up inflicting your presence upon?”

“Hey! I take offense at that!” Kaoru said.

“I can assure you it was hardly an affliction. You know, Sano, if I knew this was what happened to people who came early to meetings with you, I'd be early more often.” Kenshin commented dryly. Karu turned to see him behind her and nearly fell backwards of the desk. In fact, she would have if Kenshin hadn't grabbed her arm.

“Kenshin? I didn't know you were going to show up...I guess that means Sano won both bets...sigh...” Misao sounded so depressed at this that Kaoru had to laugh. He friend really was overdramatic.

“What was the other bet?” Kenshin asked, moving around Kaoru and leaning over the phone.

“Oh, I bet Sano a hundred bucks Kaoru would get slapped with a harassment suit. You're not going to sue her, are you?”

“Hardly.” Kenshin laughed. “At any rate, we have to have lunch, so if you two don't mind...” he hung up the phone. Then he turned to give Sano a Look. This was a look generally reserved for people who tried to kill him for stupid reasons, but Kenshin felt it applied here.

Sano gulped again. This was not his day.

“Sanosuke Sagara, I thought we agreed you would never, ever try to set me up again?” Kenshin asked angrily. “Did you forget the Shaista incident?”

“How was I supposed to know she was nuts?”

“You mean the fact she couldn't get through one sentence without saying the word `like' and giggling wasn't enough of a sign that it wouldn't work out?”

“How was I supposed to know about your taste in girls?”

Kenshin glared at him. “You didn't know I hate stupid people? I've made a career out of their removal and you couldn't' figure that out?”

Kaoru watched this exchange with surprise. Kenshin had seemed rather calm before. Now he was being a jerk about this whole thing. And who was Shaista? `The only Shaista I know is that model...but I don't think he and I travel in the same social circles, but Sano knows her..'

“Um, excuse me, but what the heck are you two taking about? Are you talking about Shaista Von Du?” Kaoru asked. When they both turned to stare at her, she flinched; this must be what it was like to get in a fight between two tigers. Or a tiger and a rooster. She laughed inwardly at the image of a giant rooster trying to kill a tiger.

“That's right. You know her?” Kenshin asked curiously. He didn't know what Kaoru did for a living, so it was possible that she'd met Shaista through her job. Or they were friends. Kenshin silently prayed it wasn't the latter; any more contact with Shaista Von Du and he'd be forced to strangle her to keep his sanity.

“I work as a photographer/assistant for RK photo. I'm in charge of you, know liasoning with the models and agents, and then taking their pictures. You dated Shaista?” Kaoru felt bad for Kenshin if he had; Shaista's conversation left much to be desired, as it dealt entirely with the fascinating subject of Shaista, Shaista, and...Shaista.

“I went on one date with her. Then I had to get a restraining order.” Kenshin admitted. It was the first time Kaoru had seen him show any signs of embarrassment.

“Ah. I feel for you. At east you weren't stuck with her agent.” Kaoru told him. “She's a bitch.”

“I know.” Kenshin said. “She chaperoned our date. Then she called and threatened to sue me for `emotional trauma'.”

Kaoru laughed. “What'd you tell her?”

“That I'd have her charged with being a creepy stalker woman. She decided to bother someone else.”

Kaoru laughed and told him about Shaista's latest victim. Before she knew it, she and her `victim' were having a conversation over lunch. At one point Kenshin left to get the leftovers he'd brought, and Kaoru thought to herself how weirdly this whole affair had turned out. `The homicidal maniac turned out to be a pretty good kisser...not that I'll admit it to anyone...'

Downstairs in the break room, Kenshin smiled to himself. `Definitely a conspiracy...but I don't mind...not that I'll tell Sano that...'