Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Her ❯ The Way ( Chapter 14 )

Tenshi: Ok, this chapter's gonna need some background.

Sakura: Oh dear. Just remember to breathe Tenshi.

Tenshi: Quiet you. Ok, first off, this will take place over the course of a week or two at the dojo. *Takes a breath*

Sakura: Take too big a breath and you're gonna hyperventilate. Take bigger breaths. >:)

Tenshi: QUIET! As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, this takes place before and after Kenshin has begged and pleaded with Kaoru to let Masako stay (if you remember, Kenshin is trying to make it up to Masako for the life he put her through) and Kaoru caves. And yes, the title is of a Clay Aiken song, one of my favorites, #3 on the Measure of a Man album, The Way. The reason is simple: this is a song-chapter.

Sakura: In other words, the chapter will be written as a songfic. So it will be a bit like a music video.

Tenshi: Or a music "story".

Sakura: Quit messing with the words. That's twice you've done it, so stop.

Tenshi: Make me.

Sakura: Maybe I will.

Tenshi: I don't see you doing anything. Are you scared of me?

Sakura: Oooo, you're gonna pay for that!

*Sakura lunges at Tenshi. Tenshi waits for Sakura to get within three centimeters of her face before she holds up a picture of all of Sakura's favorite bishonen. Sakura stops in midair before snatching away the picture and retreating to a far off corner. *

Tenshi: That's what I thought. Now, I guess I get to do the special disclaimer. I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, or The Way. Clay Aiken and a few other people own the latter, I think. I do own Masako.

~~~~~

Her

Ch 14: The Way

The call for dinner rang throughout the house. Sano dreaded having to go to dinner tonight. He didn't want to see Masako, in fear that she might have seen him watching her. He hadn't thought about it at first, but when he had shut the door, he'd been careful not to make a noise himself, but he failed to notice that the door itself had made the tiniest of noises. He pried to himself that she hadn't heard the scratch. He also feared the walk to the dining room. Unless he wanted to leave the building and go around to the front, he'd have to go by the hallway that Masako had been. If she was still training, one, she'd see him, and two, she'd still have her katana out. Carefully, Sano crept out of his room, gliding noiselessly down the hall. As he came around the corner that lead to the hall he'd watched Masako, Sano could see the door slide open. Masako stepped in, her face glistening a bit from sweat, her chest heaving from her breathing. Sano stepped back into the shadows, watching as Masako turned towards the dining room. Watching her, a weird feeling bubbled up inside Sano.

[There's something bout the way you look tonight,

There's something bout the way that I can't take my eyes off you.

There's something bout the way your lips invite,

Maybe it's the way that I get nervous when you're around.]

Sano watched with shaky hands as Masako looked to the side, hearing the creak of floorboards beneath Sano's feet, then shrugging it off and opening the door to the dining room and entering.

[And I want you to be mine,

And if you need a reason why,]

Sano didn't understand why, but he just stood there, almost dumbstruck by her presence. After a bit, Sano finally moved, heading into the dining room. {A/N: It's gonna start jumping around now, try not to get too lost!}

[It's in the way that you move me,

And the way that you tease me,]

Masako glared at Sano as he learned of her true first name, Rini.

" `Little Bunny'? What kind of a name is that?"

When he looked over with a grin on his face, it instantly disappeared as she swept out of the room, her face twisted with anger and disappointment.

[The way that I want you tonight,

It's in the way that you hold me,

And the way that you know me,]

Masako's face filled with rage at the prank Sano and Yahiko had set for her. They had been waiting in a tree for her to pass and scared the crap out of her.

"How did I know that you two were going to do something like this?!" she screeched, leaping at them with her katana.

[When I can't find the right words to say,

You feel it in the way,

Ohhhh…

You feel it in the way.

[There's something bout how you stay on my mind,]

Sano sat up in bed. He couldn't sleep; something was plaguing his mind. He couldn't keep his thoughts straight, but if he could, they kept wandering back to one girl.

[There's something bout the way that

I whisper your name when I'm asleep

Oh girl.]

Masako rolled over in bed. She frowned as her lips parted, forming one word: Sano.

[Maybe it's the look you get in your eyes.

Oh baby it's the way that makes me feel to see you smile.]

Masako sat with Kaoru and Megumi, smiling at the fun they were having with just a deck of cards. Sano slid the door open, not knowing that they were in there. Masako turned around, her smile still there. It almost sent shivers up Sano's spine. When Masako saw that it was Sano, her face became cold, her eyes piercing as she tuned back to the game. Sano immediately tuned and left the room, not wanting to make her too mad. Masako had a horrid feeling in the pit of her stomach; something told her that she shouldn't have done that.

[And the reasons they may change

But what I'm feeling stays the same.

It's in the way that you move me,

And the way that you tease me,]

As Sano came into the dining room, his pockets emptied of any money from his late night gambling, Masako looked over, a sneer on her face.

"Dirt poor, Sanosuke… again?" Sano shot her a dirty look, but the two went back to their meals. "I suppose you've no luck whatsoever…." Masako grinned into her soup.

"Oh, really, `Little Bunny'?" Masako then proceeded in knocking Sano out as he half drown in his soup.

[The way that I want you tonight, (tonight)

It's in the way that you hold me,

And the way that you know me,

When I can't find the right words to say,]

"Oh, what's the word for it…?" Sano asked, as Megumi and Kaoru had begun fighting over Kenshin, again.

"Pathetic?" Masako asked without looking up as she polished and sharpened her katana in the corner.

"Yeah, that's it…." He sweat dropped as Kaoru and Megumi each had fistfuls of the other's hair.

[You feel it in the way,

Ohhhh…

You feel it in the way.

I can't put my fingers on just what it is that makes me love you,

You baby.]

{A/N: pretend it's a split screen….} Masako sat beneath the cherry tree contemplating her newly acquired feelings for Sano. Meanwhile Sano was doing the same as he sat in the dining room with a bowel of noodles before him, amazingly, hardly touched.

[So don't ask me to describe,

I get all choked up inside,]

Just thinking about it caused the two to gain knots in their stomachs, and become choked up. This was easier to see in Sano when he took too big of a bite of noodles and almost literally choked on them.

[Just thinking bout the way.

It's in the way that you move me,

And the way that you tease me,

The way that I want you tonight, (tonight)]

Sano watched with longing as Masako walked back to her bedroom. He wanted to tell her how he felt, but he just couldn't. With a heavy sigh, he finished his lunch and went to his room as well.

[It's in the way that you hold me,]

As Sano opened the door to his room and sat down on the futon, he couldn't help but think that Masako had some type of hold on him…. Masako felt the same way as she prepared herself for a late afternoon nap.

[And the way that you know me,

When I can't find the right words to say,

You feel it in the way,

You feel it in the way.

There's something bout the way you look tonight.

There's nothing more to say then,

I feel it in the way.]

Simultaneously, Masako and Sano sighed, trying to contemplate how they were going to tell the other what they felt without killing themselves first.

~~~~~

Tenshi: YAY! It only took me two days to do that! ^^

Sakura: I have to say, it didn't turn out too bad, but I still think it could have been better.

Tenshi: Oh, that reminds me of a joke I heard once. Ok, it's a band joke, so if you skip over it, I won't blame you. Ok, how many trumpets does it take to screw in a light bulb?

Sakura: Why do I care, I don't play trumpet.

Tenshi: Wrong. It takes 15.

Sakura: Why the heck would it take 15-

Tenshi: It takes one to screw it in and 14 others to tell him how he can do it better. ^^

Sakura: Oh my god; that was a lame one.

Tenshi: I like lame band jokes, they're funny.

Sakura: Whatever. Please review everyone.

Heaven Sent Tenshi