Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Real World Kenshin ❯ Sorry About That ( Chapter 3 )

After a nice long wait, episode 3 is here! Enjoy!

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KENSHIN

I had entered the bar to make sure Yahiko had talked
with the bar management and somehow, while I was ironing out
the details of that night's arrangements, I began
helping the bartender, a middle aged man by the name of Trevor,
serve the lunch rush. He seemed to find it amusing
that I would talk to him while casually and
unconsciously flipping a shot glass into the air,
catching it behind my back, and pouring the mixed
liquid I had just concocted from that position.

"Some habit," he chuckled when I explained my routine
movements to him.

I shrugged. "You are the same, ne?"

"I suppose." He eyed me, I could see it from the
corner of my own eyes...well, eye, since the other was
winking at the woman before me as she paid. She was
too old for me to pursue, most likely near my own
mother's age, but it was fun to play with the patrons.
I almost broke into laughter when the man beside her,
presumably her husband, wrapped his arm around her
waist and glared at me. Sometimes mankind could be so
amusing.

"You want to make some extra cash? Working with me,
that is."

I glanced over at Trevor with a bit of surprise. A
smile quickly spread over my lips soon after. "Honto,
ne?" I shook myself out of the language barrier and
laughed as I translated. "Really?" and added, "I can
have a job here?"

"I sure as hell need help come evenings, whenever you
have free time away from you work with the show, come
by and lend a hand. I'll pay you hourly, if you like."
A burly man smacked his hand to the bar to get
Trevor's attention, who jumped and gave a warning
glare to the man, conveying with just that look who was
dominant here.

"Sure, I would love to," I replied, in all honesty and
all excitement. I could feel my feet rock up to my
toes in a childish gesture. It had been a while since
I'd done this and I hadn't realized just how much I
missed it. "But we can have the bar tonight?"

"Well, tomorrow morning technically. I'm shutting her
down around one o'clock for you."

"Thanks."

"You're lucky. That's one of the busy times. The
gamblers usually come over for a few drinks when the
bouncers kick them out of the casino. That producer of
yours, Jonathan, he drove a hard bargain to get this
fixed up." My eyes unconsciously flickered over the
camera to my left. I could see the cameraman's
shoulders jump in surprise as most of us had learned
to ignore the lens by now. There were still times when
we were reminded of their presence though. I shook my
head as I looked back from the camera and snickered.
My hands moved again from their frozen position to
cleaning a shot glass with the bar rag. Apparently
Jonathan assumed chaos would break out tonight as
well.

My body shuddered at that and I frowned; that thought
should have brought on a smile at the mischief that
would ensure. Why did I feel uneasy?

"Oi, Red!"

The gruff tone of Sano above the ruckus of many other
voices brought my attention to search the area for the
tall and undeniably handsome male. When I spotted him
I told Trevor I was leaving. At his nod I bounded over
the bar from where I stood, another habit from the old
days. Sano reached out to catch me in my jump, but
even as his arms went around my waist I was already to
the ground and in perfect balance. He seemed slightly
disoriented when I started bouncing slightly, my hands
fisted in his shirt. "Sano, guess what? I get to
bartend here! Kami-sama I missed it so much!"

I dawned on me then, that if Aoshi were there to see
me, bright eyed and bouncing, he would have said
something like "You're acting like your old self
again." Of course, that was five years ago...

Sano

I grinned, slipping one arm around Kenshin's waist and giving him a slight squeeze, while playfully ruffling his hair with the other. He seemed more chipper than usual… actually, he always acted cheerful, but sometimes I got the impression that he wasn't all too happy underneath that grin of his. He seemed in a good mood for real now though, and I enjoyed his bouncing around. "Careful Red, you don't want to steal that psycho hyper persona from Misao now, do you?"

I took a step back, cocking my head at him a bit and stuffing my hands in my pockets, laughing at his glare and the slight pout of his lips. How adorable! He huffed, crossing his arms over his chest and blowing some bangs out of his eyes. "Hey…" I said after a minute, an idea occurring to me. "Since you're working here, that means you can set up a really flexible tab for me… right?"

He laughed at me and ticked his finger back and forth before my face.
"I don't think so. On the contrary you better be tipping me *very* well."

I could see the glint in his eyes and couldn't help taking a step
closer, not only to feel his warmth, but to take advantage of my
height over him. "Hmmm...well, that all depends on how well the
service you provide is."

"OIIIIIIIII, you guyyyys!" Kenshin blinked away from the atmosphere we
had created and glanced around me to see the source of the cheerful
yell. I, on the other hand, knew precisely who it was. That damn weasel...

Misao

Kaoru's gotta be somewhere around here! She's been looking kinda 'in love' with Kenshin during this whole trip... So I decided to ask the others. I found them at the bar. Looks like Kenshin's the bartender, so I cheerfully called out and I asked, "Have you seen Kaoru-chan?"

Sano commented that she was probably in her room, so I decided to look. There she was, just on the bed reading something.

"Hey, Kaoru-chan... Do you wanna go over to the deck? The wind is cool... And maybe we can talk over somethin' to drink... Wanna play chess? It's been my pass-time back at home."

Kaoru

I glanced up from my reading, smiling at Misao's
cheerful expression. There was something funny about
this girl. We were the same age, but she made me feel
so old. I guess it's not the number of your years,
but what kind of experiences you fill them with...

"Sure," I nodded, letting my book fall shut and
stretching my arms leisurely. It was a beautiful
day... what was I doing sitting around in my room
reading, anyway? "That sounds like a great idea."

I followed a grinning Misao out of my room and up to
the sun deck, sighing painfully as I felt the heat of
the sun beat down upon my body. Oh yes, that is why I
wasn't out doors. Pulling slightly at the collar of my
long-sleeved shirt, I kept up Misao's quick pace,
trying to ignore how uncomfortable it was to be
wearing jeans in this weather. Maybe if I took a seat
in the shade...

"Let's sit over here!" Misao chirped, motioning to a
row of lounge chairs designed for sun bathing, a few
chess boards set up here and there between the chairs.
I repressed a groan and nodded feebly, lowering
myself down onto one of the chairs and closing my eyes
briefly while Misao settled in front of me, repeating
a mantra inside of my head. *It's freezing out.
You're in Antarctica. It's so cold you can't even
feel your toes. There are penguins all around and
icicles forming on your eyebrows. So cold it hurts to
breath. So cold it-*

"Boy, it's really hot out."

I tried not to burst into pathetic tears as I opened
my eyes, squinting into the sunlight to look at my
company. "Really? I hadn't noticed."

Misao

The air is humid, the sun's beating on our backs and worst of all, Kaoru and I were out there under the hot, hot sky... This is the only place where you can find chess boards... I mentally slapped my forehead thinking, 'I should have went for checkers or pool somewhere colder!' Ah! What the hell... I just hope that Kaoru's okay...

I found it quite odd that Kaoru-chan would be wearing jeans at this temperature... But hey, I wear shorts almost all the time, even in the cold! Some people can find me quite strange.

And so I asked her, "Say, Kaoru-chan... How do you like this trip so far? I'm enjoying it." I smiled and moved my pawn forward. Kaoru thought for a while and moved her pawn parallel to mine. Ah... This is an old one... I can take it out immediately... No one back home calls me "Tactician Misao" for nothing!

But after a few moves, the heat was beginning to take its toll on Kaoru...

"Kaoru-chan... Would you like to play another game...? You're burning like a furnace over there..."

Kaoru

If I wasn't sweating before, I certainly was now.
Laughing nervously I rubbed at the back of my neck
with one hand, moving one of my pawns forward a few
spaces with the other. "Oh, I'm fine... just
concentrating on this game is all..."

Ah, what a lame response. I barely knew how the
pieces moved, let alone how to plan any kind of
attack. Deciding the change the subject, I smiled
across the board at Misao. "As for your earlier
question... yeah, I'm definitely enjoying the trip."
I probably blushed at that. "Enjoying" was an
understatement... Kenshin and I hadn't spoken since
last night, when we kissed, and it was hard for me to
concentrate on anything much without him popping into
my head. Just take now for example...

Misao

"Well then... I'm enjoying this trip." I smiled broadly, "Kaoru-chan... I think you moved your pawn too far... Pawns are only allowed to move one space at a time, remember? You can return that and use your knight to eat this pawn." I
pointed at one of my pawns which was easy prey for Kaoru's knight.


She returned the pawn in exchange for eating my pawn. Well then... She still looked a bit uncomfortable though. Was it the game? Or was it the heat? In a
way, I kinda remembered that not everyone was enjoying the whole trip like
everyone else. I guess the only one who wasn't truly enjoying this whole thing
was...


"Aoshi-san..."


Kaoru perked up a bit when I suddenly blurted out his name. It was truly
sudden. So I blushed a bit and continued playing.


"Checkmate."


There were so many questions floating in my mind. Why is Kenshin not
communicating with Kaoru, why did we decide to stay in this hot place, why does
Kaoru look so uncomfortable and why was Aoshi-san so glum. But I might ponder
on those later. For the meantime, I'll just have to speak with Kaoru...


KaoruI accepted my defeat graciously, returning my piecesto their starting positions as I attempted to containmy smirk. It seems I was not the only one with a manconstantly on my mind. Misao and Aoshi? Thatcertainly was an interesting combination. Not thefirst two I would pair together, but perhaps Aoshicould use a little lightening up. Speak of the devil. I squinted and watched as ourfavorite mystery man stepped onto the deck, laptoptucked under his arm. The similarities between Aoshiand… well, they were uncanny. Tall, lithe muscularfigure, bright eyes, large hands, jet black hair…personality-wise, I don't think they could have beenmore different, but boy, did they both look good in atight t-shirt. Not surprisingly, sometimes it hurt to look at Aoshi. The memories his appearance brought back were notalways pleasant. However there was someone insidethat shell of his that I was determined to get toknow. Besides, I couldn't live my life stinging everytime I set eyes on a classically attractive Japanesemale. Sighing slightly, I pushed a few stray tendrils ofhair behind my ears and smiled mischievously at Misao. "What do you say we go hit on Aoshi?" I laughed asthe girl's eyes widened and she blushed slightly. Kawaii! I tapped her shoulder good-naturedly. "Hey,I'm just joking. Let's go hang out with the others." Megumi and Yahiko had now congregated around Aoshi aswell, and he didn't seem to happy about the company. Well too bad for him, because the Real World was quitea social experience, I would say. Misao noddedhappily, probably a little excited about the prospectof some Aoshi time. Hehe, if it had been Kenshin, Iwould have acted the same. We both stood and pushedin our chairs, and I let her skip ahead a little so Icould tug at the neck of my sweatshirt in a vainattempt to circulate some cool air towards my feverishskin. Damn heat. AoshiKenshin had rolled his eyes when I had left the roomsaying I was going to the sun deck, he to the bar. He did so becausemy laptop was under my arm; he knew I would beconcentrating on business and news rather than'relaxing' he said with his hand moving slowly palmpushing toward the ground. Then I rolled my eyes andexited the room. Takani asked about Japan's news and afew particular stocks when she noticed I was hooked tothe internet from my lounging position on a recliningplastic chair. Myoujin had shorted and mutteredsomething that can be assumed insulting before he toldme to get a life and go swimming, as if the twopertained to each other. Miller had asked to check heremail and a glare sent her scampering off with a"you're no fun." But Kamiya...she merely settledherself beside me in a lounge chair similar to mine,leaned her head back and closed her eyes. She didn'tsay a word. The silence wasn't something that unnerved me, thoughit rarely did. So I turned back to my research andstatistics without another thought. She shifted twice,once to recross her legs and again to roll her neck. Iwaited for her to speak, but she chose not to. Thesilence was beginning to grate. "Are you here to speakto me or did you choose to relax in a chair next to mine bysheer coincidence?" KaoruUmmm… none of the above? Well, I was too shy to hangaround Kenshin at the moment, fearing awkwardsilences. I could picture us standing there, lookingat each other, shuffling our feet until one of us justsaid "so…are you going to kiss me, or what?" I smiledat the thought, turning to Aoshi with a smile. Imight as well see if I could trick him into talkingwith me instead. "I'm not here to talk, I know you'rebusy, but I thought since I was going to sit out inthe sun anyway, it might as well be next to you. Ienjoy your company." I was still confused about his behavior towardsKenshin, but it seemed to me that Aoshi was trying tobe a good friend, he was trying to do the right thing. His stoic demeanor intrigued me and I could steallooks at him every once in a while when he was lookingat his computer screen, and he didn't seem to notice. He seemed a little suspicious of that statement,which wasn't exactly what I was going for, but atleast I was getting a reaction. I was hoping that Icould shock him into talking to me.

Aoshi

I suppose part of me was I bit surprised that she would think of my company as enjoyable, but the shock soon changed to skepticism and I moved back to my laptop. Sometimes people said the silliest things to get someone's attention or to cure boredom. "I'm sure the others would be much more obliged to reciprocate that kind statement, Kamiya-san."

It was a bit more harsh than I had wanted, but something about her mannerisms set me on edge. As if she were readying to attack in some way. I slipped on my sunglasses as the sun rose to become in my face and sighed. "Not to be rude..."

Kaoru

"No no, not at all. Maybe you don't understand…" I cocked my head, thinking about all the secrets I had, all the things I would never tell anyone, all the stories that would forever remain untold. "But it's always seemed to me that the people that speak the least usually have the most to say."

Well, not exactly. Some people have a world of idiotic things to say. I used to be one of them. Some people need to express their every emotion, need to communicate their every inclination or idea. But the most important things… the things that touched you the most… are the things that you never share.

Aoshi

I glared at her from my peripheral vision. So that was it. I was right, huh? She was looking to attack, but why the hell me? Just what had Kenshin told this one? His immediate attraction to her wasn't entirely surprising, she had an interesting personality and was attractive herself, but would he be able to trust her enough to speak of things he couldn't even tell me? I doubted it.

Beside that fact, it was clear that we weren't the only ones with troubled pasts or some sort of secret. All though her mind was sharp, I could read her very easily and could see darkness behind that girlish smile. I scowled, my mouth pressing firmly together with the tension in my jaw. "Are you speaking of me or yourself?"

She frowned at that, though she didn't seem particularly shocked that I figured it out. She was still laying casually on the chair, her face tilted to me. Kamiya parted her mouth to say something more to me, but my temper was flaring and I didn't feel like being questioned. "What is it you want, Kamiya-san? Tell me bluntly, because I don't feel like playing games."

Kaoru

I swallowed, smiling nervously. So much for my "plan." What was my plan anyway… sit down and expect him to just dive into a conversation? Hm, I should have known better. And it would be a lie to say I hadn't panicked a bit when he'd seen through my statement, but it's alright that he knows I have a secret. Everyone has a secret, right? The only thing that's important is that he doesn't know what that secret *is*.

"I don't want anything," I said after a minute, picking at the arm of my chair absently. "I just… well, you know what they say…" No, what do they say? Where are you going with this? I shrugged, finishing lamely. "Birds of a feather…"

Aoshi

All that comment deserved was a glare and I gave her a particularly angry one. I was beginning to wonder if I had given her too much credit. That she was as much of an idiot as the others. I took off my glasses for a moment, rubbing the back of my hand over my eyes. "What has he told you? Apparently it was something interesting enough to pester me about."

I snapped my laptop closed, my anger edging higher. Kamiya wasn't the only thing triggering it, most likely it was a compilation of various things, but unfortunately she was the one to push. "What is it? What about me that interests you so? My lack of emotion? Did he tell you about my life on the streets? Is that why? Because you wanted to hear about my 'jaded' days, because you wanted to know what would make a person so cold. Or is this about Kenshin? He said something and now you are hoping I can give you the truth? Hoping that I can give you the dirt on what fucked *him* up?"

I stood then, tucking my laptop under my arm and standing before her. She looked concerned; whether it was fear of my temper or sympathy for me, I don't know. My shadow cast over her as I stood, so her blue eyes dilated slightly in the new shade. "We're all fucked up, Kamiya-san. Some more than others. But if this about him, don't bother. I've tried to heal that boy for a while. He doesn't want his wounds licked, he wants to forget everything that's ever happened. I'm just here to make sure his new outlook doesn't kill him."

I leaned in close to Kamiya's face and peered out from above the shades. "Also...wounded birds don't hold a support group, Kamiya-san, they get left behind. Don't you even begin to assume we are alike. Don't assume you have faced the same pain as he has. If you went through what he did...you would have killed yourself long ago."

Kaoru

"I *tried* to!" I gasped at that. Everything around me freezing as I faced my reflection in his sunglasses. My eyes were so wide, wide and wild. I snapped my mouth shut, scooching back in my chair a little, as far away from him as I could get. "I mean… I tried to… to strike up a conversation with you… be friendly… you know…" Nice save there, Kamiya. Nice save.

I turned my cheek, trying desperately to control my breathing and fight the onslaught of my memories. The scars littering my skin burning with a passion, especially one in particular.

I clenched my jaw, squeezing my eyes shut. "I'm sorry I disturbed you. I won't do it again."

Aoshi

I stared at her for a long time, my eyes trying to read the look in hers even as she turned away. I shouldn't have been surprised by her recoiling, I was being very harsh, but the sequence of her statement to mine wasn't overlooked even as she tried to cover it up. My eyes lowered for a moment, following my diminishing anger. "Or are you asking me to listen?"

Kaoru

I turned slowly back to him, looking where I thought his eyes were. Those sunglasses were unnerving. "No." Scratch my earlier musings. Aoshi was nothing like him. Nothing. Even the amazing likeness of their appearances could be overlooked in light of their behavior. "I was being stupid approaching you. I recognize that now." It seemed like Aoshi could tell if I was lying, so I might as well tell the truth. "You know, most people just drink up the whole image of a short girl with long hair and blue eyes, so I unjustly assumed that perhaps you would be like the rest and be friendly with me based on only what you can see." And what you can't see. What you assume is beneath all of this. "You know, it's going to be a long six months if we don't all try to get along, so I was making an effort. But since neither of us seem to want to talk about who we *really* are, I guess we have nothing to discuss."

Aoshi

I nodded. "Sounds like a tolerable plan." I remained standing over her for a moment longer, before I turned, placing my laptop on the table between her chair and another. "How about business? We have a floor show to think up. Any ideas on that?"

Kaoru

I blinked for a moment, unable to stop a strange strangled sound to escape my throat. Business? After the exchange we just had? The heart I knew he had seemed to be buried beneath even more ice than I had imagined. I raised my tired eyes to his face, ignoring my exasperation at the lack of eye contact. "I'm sorry Aoshi, you win. I can't think about a floor show right now." I stood from my chair, noticing that I was shaking slightly. I could talk the talk, but I couldn't hide my fear. I couldn't hide how vulnerable I suddenly felt, after dropping my tirade for five minutes and accomplishing nothing. Aoshi was never fooled. And now he knew even more than before. There was no hope of concealing much more from him.

I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling the beating heat of the sun once again, having forgotten it in light of our discussion. I bowed my head, allowing my bangs to hide my lowered eyes. "I'm going to go…" I smirked slightly, thinking about the analogies he had so carelessly thrown around such sensitive subjects. " 'lick my wounds.' "

Aoshi

I frowned at her words, more than slightly irked that her hurt expression bothered me, and very angry with myself for being unable to let her leave upset. She gave off a shrug and started to turn from me, but it took only two long strides for me to get in front of her, blocking her path. Kamiya seemed startled and defensive that I would interrupt her exit. Her blue eyes were still slightly wide, though not as wild as they had been when she made the comment on "trying...to talk to me". I wasn't about to let her win this mellow drama, nor was I willing to divulge any information or comforting. She was old enough to understand the reality of humans and I was sure from her slip ups that she had witnessed its cruelty first hand.

"Kamiya, I will be honest with you. I didn't get on this boat to have a good time, or meet people, or go to exotic places. One look at me and you can tell I'm not one for these ridiculous circuses. You've got to understand that I'm here for one reason and that is Kenshin. I lost him for four years to the shadows he's hiding in and I've determined that I am going to make sure he either faces his fear or doesn't die trying to run from it. You can make idle chat with me as much as you want, but don't expect me to be your best friend." I paused and tugged off my sunglasses to meet her eyes without the dark barrier. She could barely look at me for more than three seconds, but I knew she was listening to every word.

"Kenshin has problems, but he is a very compassionate and caring person. I don't mind your interest in him. I think it will be good for him to have your friendship, but don't come to me for information on him, because it is not my place to tell. Perhaps if your relationship with him gets to a certain point where he won't tell you and I believe you deserve to know I will tell you, but for now it is up to him. And considering he has been denying what happened for almost five years now I doubt you will find out any time soon."

Kaoru

"Perhaps you should stop assuming that the only reason anyone would want to talk to you is because of your friends," I spat, meeting his stony gaze with a piercing one of my own. "Why should Kenshin listen to your advice when it's you who is hiding?" I braced myself, pretty much terrified of how he might react to that, but by some trick of fate I was saved. This time, I didn't mind being interrupted. I didn't mind at all.

Megumi

My entire plan for the afternoon consisted of sitting on
the sun deck. With that in mind, I had packed my straw handbag with a
few magazines, some tanning oil and a towel; I had thought to lay out
on deck for a few hours, catch a tan, maybe catch glances from certain
passengers of the more, shall I say, sexy persuasion?

Well...

Isn't it interesting how easily one can become tangled up in the
affairs of others? The altercation going on right in front of me
looked to be far more absorbing than my copy of Entertainment Weekly.

I approached Kaoru-chan and Shinomori-san slowly; they didn't notice
me at first and I waited until I was right next to them to speak.

"Well," I ran a hand through my long hair, folded my arms, "this is
unusual, isn't it, Kaoru-chan?" I looked at her through my designer
sunglasses. "I certainly didn't expect you to be catching Shinomori-
san's attention as well."

From the corner of my eye, I caught Shinomori-san leveling a glare at
me, but I kept my gaze on Kaoru, my mouth quirking into a small smile.
Kaoru, for her part, looked as if she was about to spit out some sort
of denial and I spoke before she had the chance.

"Everyone is moving so fast, aren't they?"

Kaoru

"I'll say," I drawled, crossing my arms over my chest
and biting my lip as I blushed slightly. If only she
knew... I wondered how she would have reacted had she
been the one to walk in on Kenshin and I.

I ignored Aoshi's stiffening figure, more than a
little annoyed with him and really not caring if he
was disgusted by the idea of checking me out.
Regardless, I extended a thumb in his direction. "But
I wouldn't worry yourself, Megumi-san. I don't think
I'm Aoshi's type."

Megumi

"Well," I smiled slightly, "how do you know who's type you are until
you test him out?"

Shinomori-san was looking just a little bit displeased. Very good.
This was so much better than Entertainment Weekly. Live entertainment
right in front of me! And for free.

"Kaoru-chan," I pulled off my sunglasses, looking into her eyes, "since
the other guys seem more than a little disinterested right now,
Shinomori-san just might be the perfect companion, wouldn't you think?"

Kaoru's hands went to her hips. "Megumi-san-"

I waved her protests away. "No, you needn't say anything, really. I
understand." A little ways down the deck, I spotted the happily
bouncing figure of Misao.

Oh, things were going to get so much more interesting.

"Why don't we ask Misao-chan?"

Kaoru's eyes widened slightly. "Ask her what exactly? Megumi-san..."

"Misao-chan!" She caught my eye and I waved the girl over.

Misao

"Huh?" I looked curiously at Megumi... She seemed to be
planning something. "What's the matter?"

"Do you think Shinomori-san and Kaoru-chan look like a good pair?" She asked. I
could have sworn she looked like a fox.

I felt my cheeks get hot. Shinomori-san and Kaoru-neechan... Mou...

"I thought she had Kenshin!!" I suddenly blurted out. Everyone looked at me
with amazement, "I mean... Don't you think Kenshin's already the right guy for
you?" I looked away from Shinomori-san, "Not that I like any guy on this
ship..."

I think Kaoru's got a mixed expression now... Of embarrassment and curiosity. I
bet Megumi's gonna say, "Of all the people on this ship! Misao Miller, I can't
believe you LIKE Aoshi Shinomori!!" Yet I really don't know if Megumi knows how
I feel about Aoshi...

Sure I like him... But it's just because I think he should lighten up... It's
not nice being all serious in this cruise... I just like him to cheer up a bit
on this trip. But as long as he's enjoying the cruise, I'm okay... I'm okay...

"Misao... Misao... MISAO!!" Megumi waved her hand in front of me, "Earth to
Misao!! You're daydreaming!!"
"Ha- hai!!" I snapped out of my trance. I can't believed I blacked out just
like that...

"I'll be off now... Um... See ya later!" I waved as I left.

"Misao-chan's acting a bit strange lately... Is it the heat?" I heard Megumi's
voice as I made my way back to my room.

Megumi

I watched Misao go with some interest.

Misao and Shinomori-san? Now that I hadn't considered.

How interesting.

"So, Shinomori-san," I slipped my sunglasses back on, faced him, "this
is a new development, isn't it?"

"New development?" Kaoru-chan echoed me slowly. I could practically
feel the relief radiating off her in waves. So much better for her if
my focus was on Misao, perhaps she was thinking.

Well, I'll get back to her later.

I gave Shinomori-san a small smile. "Are you more particular toward
the bouncy English girls or the cute Japanese girls? You certainly
seem to have your pick, don't you?"

Aoshi
I glared. It was all I could do this entire time to
keep myself from killing this woman. What exactly did
she hope to gain here? It was clear that she had no
inclination towards myself, I could see as much in the way
she only smiled at me to get me to react, but at the
same time she was digging under the skin to see if
others did. I was never too fond of personalities like
hers; the type that if nothing was dramatic she would
make up her own tragedy with real people. Persons like
her had a tendency to be good writers, but something
told me she enjoyed reality entertainment much better.

The two girls were staring at me, awaiting my answer.
I remained silent and urged them with my glower to
continue on the deck if they wanted live. Apparently,
neither of them were threatened. Although Kamiya-san
was shifting her weight and casting her eyes away from
me, I do believe that was in regards to her earlier
discomfort with Takani-san pairing her off with
Kenshin and myself. Takani-san was being utterly
arrogant, twirling her sunglasses back and forth
between thumb and index and smiling coyly. If she had
a tail, I'm sure it would be ticking back and forth
like a cat's, actually a fox tail would suit this
woman better.

Well, it was no use trying to rid myself of them in
silence. Lets try snapping. If that doesn't work I
will resort to threatening. "Tanaki-san, I don't
believe any of this is your business. Human lives are
a dangerous thing to be tampering with."

"Especially yours?" She finished for me with her
smile quirking ever so more arrogantly. I seethed.

"If you know as much then what makes you think that I
won't throw you over the side of this ship for pissing
me off?" Ok, resorting to threat a little sooner than
expected, but...

Kamiya-san took a step back at that, eyes slightly
wide. Perhaps she believed me, or maybe she was just
disturbed by my bearing my teeth. Megumi, unfortunately
wasn't phased. "Despite your 'look at me and I'll kill
you' attitude, you are a gentleman Shinomori-san, and
I very much doubt you would do such a thing."

God, damn it. Perceptive and cunning. The little
bitch. "My relationships are none of your business.
Shall we leave it at that then?"

Megumi

"Of course." I smiled at Shinomori-san, put my sunglasses back
on. "I'm sure Misao-chan doesn't want to leave it at that though and
it's not nice to keep a lady waiting."

Shinomori-san's glare darkened and after a long moment, he turned and
stalked away, leaving me standing there with Kaoru-chan.

Misao-chan and Shinomori-san?

I hadn't noticed anything from either end. How interesting.

But anyway...

I turned to Kaoru-chan. "Shall we get a drink then, maybe bring it up
to the sun deck?" I indicated to my straw handbag. "I was going to
read a magazine, but I'd much rather enjoy your company, Kaoru-chan."

Kaoru-chan gave me what was almost a wary gaze and then after a
moment, she smiled. "All right, Megumi-san. I'd like that."

The two of us started walking toward the bar and Misao-chan's words
drifted back to me.

That's right. Kaoru-chan and Kenshin.

"So, Kaoru-chan," I kept my tone light, "Misao-chan mentioned that
you've taken an interest in Kenshin?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kaoru's eyes widen briefly. She
cleared her throat. "I... I like him. He's nice."

"It seems that way, yes." An image of the rooster head appeared before
my mind and I mentally slapped him away. Grinning idiot. "He seems
nice enough."

Kaoru-chan pushed the doors to the bar open and stepped inside. I
followed, dropping my sunglasses into my bag and letting my eyes
adjust to the dim room.

Hmm. Was that...?

"I'll just order a soda," Kaoru was saying, "and we'll bring them up
to the sun deck, right?"

Yes. Yes, it was.

"Well, speak of the devil..." I gestured to where Kenshin and the
rooster head were sitting, engaged in conversation.

Kaoru

I grinned, then stifled that expression down to a
small, unintentionally flirty smile when my eyes met
Kenshin's. What do you say to a guy when the last
time you met you pretty much sucked each other's faces
off? Well, I said nothing, I just blushed. Not that
I've really had this problem before.

I pried my gaze away from Kenshin so I could nod to
Sano in greeting, turning the situation over a few
times in my mind. It was pretty awkward for me, this
whole 'putting myself on the market' thing. I'd never
really been on the 'market' before. I'd been bought
before I'd put myself up for sale, and then kind of
left on the side of the road like crappy 80's dorm
furniture after the student graduated, and damn I'm
taking this analogy way too far.

Sano smirked at me, probably reading my expression all
too well. Was my face glowing? Was it obvious how
happy I was? Were my eyes sparkling? Or maybe my
lips were still swollen from my first kiss in two
years. All of the above?

KenshinMan this day was getting better and better. Although Iwasn't sure if I should be so happy to see Kaoru aftershe had been avoiding me since the kiss. Not tomention it wasn't the best for me to have both Sanoand Kaoru in the same room. I shrugged and waved themover, announcing their presence in the middle of mysentence. "Hey girls!" Sano glanced up at my call and made a small wave tothem from where he sat with a shot of vodka and midoriin his hand, known to me as an Anti-freeze. I had toldhim to order it, just to see his reaction when heknocked it back. I, for one knew how much that stuffstung going down. Might as well get more of anaudience to embarrass him. As the girls made their wayover I chuckled and Sano eyed me, hearing the mischiefin the tone. I touched my hand to his wrist, keepinghim from lifting the drink to his lips. "Hey girls, you want to witness Sano breath fire?"

Sano
It wasn't hard to ignore my irritation at the way Kenshin's focus completely shifted to the additions to the bar, after all, Megumi was quite the attractive distraction. Megumi was a smart girl, she had to know what kind of looks she would get by walking into a bar wearing a swimsuit and a short skirt… she also seemed to know what kind of clothes flattered her… mmm…

I smacked Kenshin playfully on the back of the head as I made my way over to the fox. Fire breathing my ass. It was morning. You had to wait until later for this stuff. Unfortunately for Kenshin, not all women knew how to highlight their finer features like Megumi. Maybe we could get her to take Kaoru shopping sometime, the silly runt needed help desperately. Jeans in 90 degree weather? Pffft.

I leaned casually against the wall beside her, cocking my head a little and more than a bit frustrated when she just continued to look at me like I was any old person. "So…" I began, running a hand slowly through my hair. "That date…" that aughta do it. Cut right to the chase! No bush beating! Always my philosophy!

Megumi

Hmm. So there was something between Kaoru-chan and Kenshin after all. A possible something anyway. The hint of an opportunity, perhaps.

Interesting.

Hmm.

The rooster head was sliding out of his seat, smacking Kenshin on the back of the head, a smile playing across his lips.

Well...

I had my own interests too.

I took a moment to give him a very brief once over, suddenly wishing I had not dropped my sunglasses into my handbag.

The rooster head seemed to have quite the... well...

My friends back at home might define him as "hot."

Hot isn't quite the word. His tight black t-shirt pulled across his well defined chest and briefly, very briefly, the image of him *sans* t-shirt flitted across my mind.

I shook my head slightly. I've never been one to entertain fantasy for too long.

Though... the shell necklace was a nice touch. I've always been one for detail.

I shook my head again, a small smile playing over my lips as he sidled up next to me, began talking.

The date?

"Yes." I arched an eyebrow. "That date. What of it?"

Sano

"Don't you mean 'when,?'" I smirked, reaching out to
tuck a tendril of dark hair back behind her ear. A
bit forward, maybe, but nothing compared to what I
would do if Kenshin and Kaoru weren't in the room.
Actually, Kenshin in the room… hee, this was not such
a bad idea after all.

I glanced casually at my watch. It was… Tuesday.
"How about Friday?" I asked, a little louder than
usual. I wanted Kenshin to hear this. Two birds with
one stone, baby. A date with Megumi, and a jealous
little red head.

Kenshin glanced in our direction, I could feel his
stare across the room. That's right, my boy, who's
breathing fire now?

Kenshin

I think my neck cracked audibly with my twitch though
that might have just been my imagination. Honestly
there was no reason for me to be jealous. Sano was
naturally charismatic and I knew the ways of
flirtation. When you're as sexy as he is you assess
your prey. I didn't blame him. I, myself, was no
better. Still...

I controlled my twitching and smiled at Kaoru. Well,
then....two can play at this game. "Ne, Kaoru, we're
gathering here tonight for a drinking game. Are you
going to join us?" I nudged her with my arm and
winked, smile still in full effect. "It'll be fuuuun."

Kaoru

I raised an eyebrow. His grin was so forced it was
all I could do not to cringe, and I remained tense
even as he nudged me. Well, things had certainly
changed since the previous night. We had been all
over each other and now he couldn't even offer me a
natural expression. "Why the façade, Red?" I asked
quietly, my eyes sliding over to where Megumi and Sano
were flirting unabashedly nearby, lost in their own
little world. I see… this again, this use of a person
to make someone else jealous. Maybe I wasn't so great
a kisser, if he was still intent on attracting Megumi.
"I don't drink," I stated, perhaps a little too
coldly.

Sighing, I acknowledged that I was only serving to
further the distance growing between us, and I offered
small weary smile. "But maybe I'll come and just
hang out."

Kenshin

One look in her eyes was I needed to realized that
Himura, you are indeed the biggest asshole in the
world. She was hurt and annoyed and it took me one
split second to realized why. It was different from
the club scene here, Himura, you don't use people like
this outside of the strobe lights. You don't use
people like Kaoru like this.

I flinched when she called me Red and wanted to kick
myself in the ass. Of course, she would be mad. She
had to know I was using her as a device to get the
others jealous, she wasn't stupid. Here I was having
made out with her yesterday and today using her as a
'device' and sadly it didn't seem that odd. You know,
why? Because that's how the rave and club scenes
worked. "Nice hook up, I'll be seeing your boyfriend
tomorrow." It wasn't that uncommon for me or my crowd,
but here was different and if I wanted to keep my
friends I had better figure out the rules of this
world before it exploded in my face.

"Sorry," I muttered, smile fading and brow furrowing.
Kaoru didn't seem to react much even after she bit out
her reply that she didn't drink. I could still see the
hurt in her eyes and the anger. All of it was focused
on me. I ran my fingers through my bangs and turned to
her completely, tuning out Sano and Megumi.

"Listen, that was rude and careless and I'm sorry. I
have to kill my club scene habits and I promise I
will," I said quickly, she was watching me at least,
though I don't know if she was listening. "So please,
come tonight...if only to hang out and take blackmail
pictures of us. I know just as many virgin drinks as I
do alcoholic..."

Kaoru gave me a slow nod and a hint of a smile, though
I think it was more to humor me then from being happy.
I motioned to the exit of the bar and asked if she wanted
to help me find the others to tell them the plan. She
again agreed, this time vocally and said goodbye to
Sano and Megumi with a nod as we left. I waved and
tried to stop myself from assessing Sano's reaction as
we left. I failed and he was watching closely as I
departed, eyebrow raised and mouth in a smirk.

Yahiko

As I cracked my eyes open, I saw sunlight peeking in through the little
window. Still drowsy enough to snuggle myself into the cozy sheets and sleep on for at least another few hours, I turned around, letting out a little
sigh. As my eyes fell on the clock radio however, I was surprised at how
late it already was. 11:49 it said. Who cares. Surely no one would miss me.
I closed my eyes again and tried to concentrate on getting back to sleep
instead of the tormenting rocking of the boat on those restless waves of the
ocean. No luck. Not only the fluent movements, but also the faint sounds the
water made when it hit the boat were soon bugging me silly. And the
distinct sound of chattering people walking up and down the hall topped it
all off. Frustrated, I pounded my fist on my pillow and pushed myself
upright, throwing a weary glance to the mess of tangled sheets, a result of
a whole night tossing and turning. Almost instantly, I felt a stabbing
headache rushing to my brains and my vision started blurring. I uttered a
drawn out groan, covering my forehead with my hand as I closed my eyes. So
that's what a lack of sleep does to you. That girl, that one girl. She had
been in my head ever since I'd heard she was here. Only to have heard her
name had brought it all back to me. All those suppressed feelings, all those
unspoken words I wanted to tell her so badly. I loved her so much back then,
cared so utterly much. And she did too, I know that. Until I wanted things
to move on a bit, you know, not much. Just a kiss. A simple kiss, that's all
I asked for, to express our feelings. That's not such big a deal, is it? Not
something that would make the world go round. But for some gloomy reason,
she had locked. From that moment on, things had changed. We were still
friends, but it wasn't really the same anymore. She had still been sad about
me leaving for six months, though. No more goofing around together, no more
pinching her cheek in an unguarded moment. Maybe that's why she was here
now, maybe that's why she had followed me. I…I… Damn it, it made me so
confused. Then maybe she did care for me more than I thought after all. I
should go ask her. Yeah, that's what was mostly on my mind for now,
momentarily forgetting about the fact that I had to go and butter her up for
that drinking game Kenshin had planned. First get a straight and honest
answer once and for all.
I showered in a hurry, dove into my clothes and stepped outside, first of
all wondering where I should start looking anyway. Most logical would be the
bar, I figured, since she worked here as a waitress. I made my way to the
bar, but slowed my pace as I saw Misao approaching, judging by the dreamy
expression and a particularly wide grin on her face, with her head caught
somewhere between cloud number nine and seventh heaven. Seemingly she was
too preoccupied in thoughts that most probably weren't my business at all to
notice me.

"Why, aren't we looking happy!" I smirked, making her jump up a little in
surprise. "So tell me, what are you grinning about like that?"

Misao

I jumped back in surprise.
"Dammit, Yahiko!! You kicked me outta Nirvana!!" I yelled at him making him
jump back too. He folded his arms and smirked.

"And tell me... Why were you in Nirvana?"

I folded my arms and growled under my breath. Somewhere in the depths of my
mind I wanted to pick up Yahiko from his neck and shake him. I took a deep breath to calm me down and muttered...

"Aoshi."

"What?" He strained to hear me.

"Beer..." I muttered again. My plan of annoying him should work... He should
walk away from me soon... But unfortunately, he caught the first thing I said.

"Ahhhhh... AOSHI!!" He smirked in horrible pleasure. I could have sworn his
face started to resemble a cat...

"Doh!" I slapped my forehead, "Why did I let it
out... I warn you, Yahiko... If you tell that to ANYONE... Especially that foxy
Megumi, I'm gonna crush your bones to dust!"

But he was unmoved by my threat. He coolly shrugged his shoulders and left.
Oh... How I wish I could just put some duct tape on his mouth... I sighed as I
saw him leave for the bar. Probably to join the drinking game... Sounds like
fun. I guess I should join. But for the meantime, I smiled.

"Someday... I'm gonna make you smile, Shinomori Aoshi... Even if it takes this
whole trip..."

Yet I still dread that Yahiko's gonna yell my feelings out to the whole bar...

Aoshi

I flopped down in my computer chair, and let my head
fall to my folded arms; a gesture only executed
because there was no one else around. Myoujin had
finally pulled himself out of bed. I had no idea where
Sagara and Kenshin where, though I didn't doubt they
were together (a fact that unnerved me once again),
but that meant there was no one in the guys suite. No
one playing music too loud, or watching television, no
voices, no movement, nothing. It was nice.

But unfortunately it also gave me time to think about
the trip so far and once again question my motives. I
originally applied to see Kenshin clean up his act,
but apparently it has hit a mudslide and tumbled back
to me trying to force him to admit what happened.

My eyes opened slowly, staring at the patterns the
wood desk made. This is where I didn't understand what
I was thinking. I knew, probably better than most,
that prying and nagging only made people more
defensive and in Kenshin's case, pushed him even
further into denial and pushed himself further from
me. So I needed to stop...easier said than done.

And then all these people around me, trying to get to
know me, trying to figure me out, be my friend. It was
annoying at best. It was this type of behavior that
had me become a loner. Flirting, blushing, beating
around the bush, there was no need for it. At least
with Sagara I knew where I stood. He hated me. Fine
with me. Takani was just trying to makes this into
some soap opera, and the others were just up for a
good time. It was like a bad spring break that I was
stuck in for the good half of a year.

I lifted my head and rubbed at my temples. This was
going to be a bad year. My thoughts were jarred by the
ringing of a telephone. It took me a moment, my hand
half reaching for the room's phone, to realize it was
my laptop. Setting it up with a mic and camera was
something my adopted mother asked me to do. I didn't
use it much, but it seemed someone was trying to get
through to me.

I plugged in the headset quickly and double clicked on
the blinking icon on the menu tray at the bottom of my
screen. A small 2x2 inch square maximized and an
attractive female smiled brightly at me. I blinked
twice, taking in her long dark hair and very dark
eyes, bordering near black. She was stilling at a
desk, but behind her was the makings of your average
apartment. I could see a part of the kitchen from the
image and two other girls were milling about in there,
coming on and off screen as they talked in the
background.

"Hello, Aoshi-kun."

I smiled, my attention moving back to the young woman.
"Hello, Tomoe. Where did you get my connection
numbers?"

"From your mom," Tomoe answered leaning her chin to
one palm. The movement was choppy because of the
connection, but it was enough that I could tell what
she was doing. "Have you checked in on them lately?"

"I talk to my dad through email," I replied, feeling
slightly more relaxed talking to the outside.

Tomoe smiled. "How you holding up there?"

I shrugged, though I didn't know if the camera could
pick up the quick motion. "Not too hot, but you know I
don't like this type of thing."

I could hear her soft laugh over the speaker as she
shook her head. "I still don't know how you got in
there. I guess they just wanted to see what kind of
trouble you'd cause."

"I'm causing a lot," I muttered, my hands going back
to rub at my temples. Even the thought of the ship made
me tense up.

"How's our boy?"

I couldn't deny the sudden concern that slipped into her
voice and I sighed. She was in the same situation as
I was, although she had to hear the stories second hand
from a few prefectures over. Both of us just wanted to
help Kenshin with his life and all Kenshin wanted to
do was slowly destroy himself with his new lifestyle.

"He's..." A deep sigh escaped before I could finish
the sentence.

Tomoe laughed again. "He's being that difficult, huh?
I wish I could see him."

"I don't know how well that would go over. Especially
if he knew I was the one who has been contacting you.
He would think it was some conspiracy against him."

"Aoshi-kun...it is some conspiracy...we're just not
against him."

I raised an eyebrow. "You try telling him that."

"I know you can help him, Aoshi-kun. It's silly for me
to try when I wasn't even there. I wish I
was...sometimes I wonder if Akira and I hadn't moved
away so early...would any of this have
happened?"

I watched Tomoe's expression, and frowned. I wondered
the same sometimes, but then again, if Kenshin was
never with Fukumi...he would have never met me. And a
selfish part of me, was thankful that it happened. Of
course, that meant I was thankful that Kenshin was
hurt, which made me feel utterly guilty and suddenly I
was back to being depressed.

"Aoshi-kun. Hang in there..."

I forced a smile. "I will."

"I gotta go, my roommates and I are going out to eat.
I think Nomi almost killed the kitchen earlier when
trying to make dinner." She paused, looking over her
should and nodded to something said too far from the
computer for me to hear. She turned back and tilted
her head slightly. "This was nice, we have to do this
more often. Better than emails and phone calls...you
know, I think this is the first time I've seen your
face..."

I looked away slightly, realizing that she was right.
Even though we had been communicating for about three
years now, we never had the chance to get together and
meet. I chuckled at the irony of it, as I felt I knew
her better than Kenshin. "Strange, isn't it."

"You're pictures do you no justice, handsome," Tomoe
joked.

"Aren't you married," I shot back.

She giggled. "Engaged, and don't flatter yourself,
just take a compliment."

"That made little to no sense."

"Hush, you." Tomoe paused again to wave off her
roommates, then moved to start disconnecting. "I
better go. Oh. I have to warn you. My little brother
is trying out for Road Rules. I don't think he'll make
it, but then again I never suspected you would."

"Why should I be warned?"

"Road Rules is going to face of with Real World this
season. A series of challenges to get money. They do
it every season or so...sad that I know more about
this than you do. Anyway, that would put him up against
Kenshin."

I raised my eyebrows, feeling another shrug coming
on. "So?" What did I care?

Tomoe gave off an exasperated growl. "I told you
before. Kenshin and Akira used to torture Enishi. I
mean they were like big brothers to the brat and I'm
sure you've heard horror stories of what big brothers
to do little brothers. Anyway, Enishi, is out for
revenge."

"Would he hurt, Kenshin?"

"Nah, not to much. Just try and embarrass the hell out
of him. Anyway, keep an eye out for a our boy." Tomoe
blew a kiss at the screen. "Ja ne."

The screen went black and I leaned back in my chair,
feeling only slightly better than before. I stored her
warning of her brother in the back of my mind, but it
seemed so far off that it didn't matter. With I sigh I
pulled myself out of the chair, realizing with
surprise that it was close to dinner time. Might as
well find the others and glower some more.

***

Megumi

"So how does Friday night sound?" Sanosuke grinned, his brown eyes
sparkling and I couldn't help but notice the way they caught the dim
light of the bar, the way my reflection seemed to shine so clearly in
them.

My friends back at home might say that his eyes were sexy, charming
even.

Well, they were... but they were also drawn elsewhere.

"Friday?" I ran my hand through my hair, tossed it back over my
shoulder. "Let me think for a moment."

There's little fun to be had in a straight answer. So much more
interesting to let whatever may happen play out for a bit. Besides,
the rooster head's attention clearly wasn't focused solely on me and
my reactions. He was trying to catch the gazes of someone else.
Someone on the other side of the bar.

Men are so obvious.

I directed another teasing line his way and he replied in kind.

Which one is it? Kaoru-chan? She is the kind of girl that a man would
like. Cute enough. Innocent enough. Wide eyes that give away
absolutely everything.

Another line, a laugh, a small smile. Again, he played along. It seems
we both know how to play this game.

Cute and innocent hardly seems his type though. So maybe...

Kenshin?

It certainly is possible.

Kaoru and Kenshin traded a few lines of their own, moved to leave the
bar and Sanosuke's attention, rather, his gaze, followed them out the
door.

A glance exchanged.

Kenshin.

Interesting.

"So," Sanosuke returned his attention to me, offered another
lackadaisical smile, "Friday it is?"

I returned a coy smile of my own. "Well, I'm not sure about that.
Don't you think Kenshin might be jealous?"

Sano

I narrowed my eyes briefly, more than a little caught off guard by her suggestion, then smirked. I knew she was the clever one of the group. It was lame of me to think she might not catch on. I shrugged slightly, leaning in closer to her and resting one arm against the wall. "Hm, I don't know. You mean since I've got a real date and that chickadee of his probably doesn't know how to... I suppose that's grounds to be jealous. I didn't know he was interested in you though, call me dense." I winked. Beating around the bush was ok under these circumstances.

Megumi

I lifted an eyebrow. "I would think he's about as interested in me as you are in Kaoru-chan," a small smile, "Rooster-head."

This certainly was going to be an interesting six months. If I had ever felt the need to keep a journal, this exchange alone would have been worth sharing with friends. Of course, they'll see it on television and then... hmm.

"So," again, I ran a hand through my hair, toyed with a strand, "do you always keep both options open or is this a more recent occurrence?"

Sano

"Both?" I quipped, smiling lazily as I mimicked her, running a hand through my wind tousled hair. "There are just two? I could have sworn I've come up with more combinations than that." I sighed, trying to think back to when I had my first boyfriend. It wasn't something I really liked to think about, but I wasn't the type to pretend things never happened. "A couple years… five years now… I think."

I grinned. "It's a great way to be… you should try it."

She gave me a coy smile of her own. "Perhaps, but then again, that's never particularly been my game." She poked me lightly in the shoulder. "Kenshin would be quite the catch though, wouldn't he be?"

I narrowed my eyebrows curiously, leaning back against the bar behind me. "Why do you say that?"

Megumi

"Mm?" I raised an eyebrow, then set my bag on the floor and settled myself onto a barstool.

Well, at the very least, he doesn't give in easily. That would hardly be worth the effort.

I caught the bartender's attention, smiled at him and when he smiled back, lacking charm though it did, I ordered a lemonade.

Sano's eyes were still on me, but I kept my attention on the bar tender. He set my drink down in front of me and winked before turning to the next patron.

Drink in hand, I returned my attention to Sano. "Well..." I sipped at my lemonade, stirring the straw around in the ice. "Do you disagree?"

Sano
I swallowed, the smile sliding from my face. Suddenly this seemed so weird, discussing my interest in Kenshin with Megumi, who I was equally interested in if not more so. I thought for a minute, trying to conceal the way the question made me feel uneasy. Eventually I winked, tossing my head to get some bangs out of my eyes. "Maybe you should ask Jou-chan that. She seems to know better than I would."

Another sip of her lemonade. "Mm? Kaoru-chan knows how you feel about Kenshin?" She raised her eyes to meet my gaze. "She hardly seems that perceptive."

I rolled my eyes awkwardly, and I swear I felt my cheeks heat. Blushing?? I was blushing?!? I coughed, running a hand over my face. "I didn't mean like that, I meant… ah hell, why are we talking about this anyway? Friday?"

Megumi

Hmm.

He gave in quickly, didn't he?

I set my lemonade down, slid off the barstool. "I really think that question would be better directed towards Kenshin," I smiled, lifted my bag to my shoulder, "Rooster-head."

His eyes still on me, I turned, made my way out of the bar and into the sun.

That certainly was disappointing. Mentally I suppressed a sigh, reminding myself that it really didn't matter. After all, I had only known the Rooster-head for a week.

Really. I'm not concerned. Not at all.

Sano

I stood there for a minute, slack jawed and completely dumb-founded. She just walked out on me. She just walked out after I *blushed* for gods sake. That was supposed to be adorable, wasn't it? Don't girls have a thing for blushing? And weren't we just having a conversation? Wasn't she completely and obviously flirting with me? Then she leaves?

Damn women. They're so tricky. I can never read them like I can males.

I let my head fall back, rotating my shoulders once before taking a deep breath and following her out onto the deck. I stood a few feet from the door, watching her walk towards our penthouse. "Hey wait," I called. "Why do you assume the invitation isn't exclusively for tall fox-like women with dark long hair? You know, last time I checked, Kenshin didn't fit that description…"

Megumi

I fished into my bag, withdrawing my sunglasses and right when I had them in place, the rooster-head was shouting at me.

Well, that I didn't expect. Diminished my exit somewhat, but apparently, he still wanted to play.

I turned slowly. "Well," a smile played across my lips, "with the way the two of you seemed to be keeping tabs on each other in the bar, how could I possibly think otherwise?"

His expression formed itself into something that resembled shock. With the way his blush was rapidly cooling from his cheeks, it was rather cute.

"Now then," I gestured vaguely, "you might want to catch him before Kaoru-chan does." With that, I turned and continued back toward my room.

Sano

I lengthened my strides, catching up to her quickly and snatching up her wrist, tugging her to a halt. "Oh cut it out," I chided, tugging on her arm to bring her closer to me. Even out in the open, the sea air couldn't mask her scent, which was… nice, to say the least. "What does a guy have to do for a date these days? prostrate himself?" I gave her a pointed look, dropping down to one knee, keeping on of her hands in mine. A few passersby's stopped near us, and I saw out of the corner of my eyes that it was the old couple from a few days earlier, whispering about how I was going to propose.

I shook my head good naturedly, flashing Megumi quite a grin. "Look, I'm not asking you to marry me, I'm asking you to spend some time with me Friday night. Eat. Drink. Laugh. Typical date-like activities. Is that such a ridiculous request?"

Megumi

My breath caught when he grabbed my wrist and seemed like I was never going to be able to breath again when he dropped down to his knee.

This was not expected. Very much not expected.

I took a moment to regain my sensibilities and had to force myself not to look at the cameras which seemed to be mere inches away from us.

I took a deep breath, stared down at him through my sunglasses. He was cute. Very attractive.

"Well..." I smiled and one of the passerby's whistled. Another one nodded at me, murmured, "Go on, honey, go for it!"

"Perhaps."

Sano

This seemed to be my afternoon when it came to grinning, but this one blew all the others away. I released her hand, remaining on my knee but raising my hands in a gesture of surrender. "I'll take that," I said, unable to keep the well… excitement, out of my tone. Usually getting a date wasn't such a triumph and she hadn't even given me a solid yes yet, but my heart was definitely beating as if she had…

Eventually I stood, reaching out to slip my arm around her waist but recoiling when I remembered that this was probably not that kind of girl, and I feigned a large stretch to cover my movement. "For now." I added.

Megumi

I raised an eyebrow slightly.

Well, he's playing quite the gentleman now, isn't he? Interesting move with the stretching. I was tempted to point it out, but it was... somewhat cute.

"Will you?" I smiled, turned away. "All right then." I continued my walk back to my room, my hips swaying slightly and my hair moving with the breeze.

"Later then."

My smile widened slightly when I returned to my room.

He really was attractive.

Sano

I swallowed heavily, my eyes swaying, I swear, with those unreal hips of hers. Like a waving a bone in front of a dog. What a cruel, cruel girl… What an amazing woman. I was going to follow her when she closed the door in my face and I suppressed a laugh, leaning my forehead against the door and letting my eyes close.

I wished there was a fast forward button, so that it could be Friday. Sure, drinking games were fun, but I'd also played them about a thousand times. This vixen… this was new, this was new and quite, quite enticing.

***

Yahiko

I actually thought about killing Sano. He wasn't in the bar anymore when I
arrived there. So after searching about half a boat, I finally caught him
lingering around Megumi's room for some reason, a stupid grin on his face.
Not his usual mocking grin. No, this time he actually looked happy. He
practically made me beg to get Tsubame's room number out of him. How the baka
rooster head had figured it out, I didn't know. Probably had been flirting
with her already, and I couldn't deny the jealousy stinging inside of me
about that. It was the girl I cared about the most, the one that had wept
silent tears when I said I wanted to join Real World, and Sano, of all
people on this ship, that sexually obsessed nuisance, was the first one to
find out she was here.

I heaved a sigh and tried not to think about it anymore. Better not look too
sullen when I would knock on her door. One thing Sano had told me that was
actually interesting, were the hours she had to work. She didn't have to
work until eight o'clock this evening, and now it was only a quarter past
six, so that still left me enough time to talk to her.

I knocked on her door, still contemplating what my first line would be. It
stayed quiet for a little while, so I knocked again.

"Who is it?" I heard suddenly, her voice somewhat hasty.

"Yahiko… Myojin," I said hesitantly.

"Hold on! I'll be right there!"

Her voice alone was enough to give me the goose bumps. Can you imagine what
her body did to me? Let's me honest, she was simply beautiful, and we're not
six years old anymore. It happened more and more that she caused a little
more human reactions than just some butterflies in my stomach. Those
butterflies had become desires, needs, if only to hold her if she wouldn't
allow anything more. True love.

Suddenly the door opened and the pleasant smell that welcomed me told me at
once that she had just taken a shower. The sight I got when she stepped from
behind the door made me completely forget about a first line or whatsoever
and seriously got my hormones working. Those human reactions? Well, there
you had them again, and I could only be glad that I was wearing an oversized
T-shirt, quite convenient at times like this. Can you blame me? She was clad
in only a towel. Only a towel!! Her hair was still wet, skin still damp and
she was revealing more of herself than she had ever done to me so far.

"Come in, come in," she said merrily, pulling me inside and closing the
door. "Make yourself comfortable. I'll get dressed."

My mouth still slightly open and goggling at her like a fool, I slowly
became aware again of the discomfort in my pants. I had to make it go away
before she would notice. I sat down on the bed and closed my eyes.
Okay Yahiko. Take a deep breath, think of anything but her. The drinking
game ahead, crazy things you're probably gonna say in the state of
drunkenness they're gonna get you in. The rocking of the boat. Hey, that did
the trick. It seemed to be useful for something after all.

"Thinking of me?" I heard suddenly next to me.

I gave a little yelp and
jerked my head aside. "I… I ehm… I was…"

"Yahiko, why are you so tense?" she said, arching an eyebrow. "Never mind.
So, how did you find out I was here?"

"From one of the other participants," I said, relieved that she didn't go
any deeper into it. "Sagara Sanosuke's name. Very tall, brown eyes,
brown hair, loves flirting, might remind you of a rooster when you see him."

She chuckled. Gods, the cuteness of it. "Oh yeah, I think I know who you
mean. Saw him at the bar the other day. He was squinting at me the whole
time, and then finally he spoke to me. I knew instantly it was one of those
macho's again, I see them from miles away."

"Oh, he is. Believe me," I laughed. "Now Tsubame, the reason why I'm here.
Kenshin is planning on organizing a drinking game tonight. Can you make sure no one disturbs us at the bar? The last thing we need are a couple of crazy fans wanting to be on the show."

"And Kenshin is… One of the other participants I assume?"

"Yeah. Maybe you've seen him too. He hangs around Sano quite often and you
can't exactly miss him when you see him. He's got very long, red hair and a
scar on his cheek."

"Hmm, now that you mention it, he was there indeed," she said, looking up in
thoughts. "He seems sweet. Not that much the flirting type, at least not
that much as that Sanosuke-guy."

"So could you? You could do us a real favor with that."

"Sure, that shouldn't be a problem. Bars enough on this ship. I'll make sure
you'll be there all alone, just the seven of you." She nudged me playfully
with her shoulder. "Be good, you." Her head couldn't be much closer, and I
had to control myself when she took one of the hands that were resting in my
lap. "I'm glad you're here," she said softly. Her other arm went around my
waist and she heaved a contented sigh. And me? Well, I was just sitting,
cold sweat starting to run down my back, concentrating on the movements the
boat made instead of her fingers playing with mine. I couldn't stop a clear
shiver from running through my body all of a sudden, and that didn't go by
unnoticed to her.

"Yahiko, is there something wrong?" she said, looking at me with worried
eyes. "Are you cold?"

"Warm," I said, staring at my lap.

"Then why are you shivering?"

"I'm sure you know, Tsubame." Her hand stopped playing and slowly pulled
away, just like her arm around my middle.

"Yahiko, don't…"

"I'm in love with you, Tsubame. You know I am," I said, turning my head to
look her straight in the eyes. "Why are you making this so hard on me?"

She turned her look away from me and lowered her eyes to hide the sudden
pain showing in them. "I'm sorry, Yahiko. I didn't mean to," she sighed.

"Aren't you in love with me then? I thought you were. Aren't I attractive
enough, is that it?"

"You're gorgeous."

"My body. Is it my body? I'm not slender enough. Not enough muscles?"

"Dream body."

"Do I have a bad personality then?"

"No. No Yahiko, that's not it," she said, practically crying by now. "You're
probably the best boyfriend a girl could ever wish for."

I sighed in defeat and gently took her head in both my hands to make her
face me again. "Then what is it? Tell me, I care about you. So much. I would
never do something against your will, but at least tell me why. That
ignorance is driving me crazy."

She seemed slightly surprised by my gesture, but soon nestled her head
against my shoulder, grateful that she could cry her heart out with me.
"It's not your fault, Yahiko. It's just that, you're the only person I
really trust. If we would start something together, and we would have a
fight and break up eventually, then I would simply be distraught."

"Tsubame, I will never stop loving you," I said earnestly.

"ou say that now," she
sighed. "But nothing lasts forever. Eventually, the love will decrease and
go away. And I don't wanna lose you. Without you, I would have no one left
to tell my problems to."

"What about your family then?" I asked her softly, stroking her hair.

Her
body shocked with a loud hiccup.
"I really don't wanna talk about this right now, Yahiko," she said with a
tiny, shivering voice. "And I would appreciate it if you would leave me
alone now."

I heaved another sigh and softly kissed the crown of her head. I really
didn't want to leave. Not only because I enjoyed being with her, but most of
all because there was obviously something bothering her. I realized though,
that now wouldn't be a good time to be obtrusive. "Okay, I understand." I
let her go and we both stood up.

"Have fun on your drinking game," she said as I walked to the door, and I
was glad to hear a smile through her sentence.

"I will," I laughed lightly. I suddenly turned around again as I thought of
something. "Tsubame, don't tell anyone about my age. You're the only one who
knows about this."

She swiftly walked up to me and put a finger against my lips, motioning with
her eyes to the camera's that saw and heard everything. "Don't worry. We're
both eighteen," she whispered, giving me a wink. "It will be our little
secret."

I smiled at her and went outside, closing the door behind me. This was no
good. Here I was, desperately in love with a girl that was just at the other
side of that door, still I couldn't do anything. What did I have to do about
this? For crying out loud, I was sixteen and had never seen a girl naked. I
urgently had to find a solution for this. Maybe I could ask one of the guys
for advice. But who? Not Aoshi. He practically broke my arm just for
pointing at him. Certainly not Sano. That one would probably jeer me off the
boat faster than Kenshin could knock back one of his cocktails. So that left Kenshin. Yeah, Kenshin seemed a sweet enough and
trustworthy person. I would ask him the moment I got the opportunity.

Kaoru

Pressing my palms against the smooth cool surface of the bar, I hoisted myself precariously onto a tall leather padded stool. Sometimes being so short was really inconvenient, I mused, as I watched Sano casually slide onto the seat next to me. My jealousy grew when he tapped the toe of his boot idly against the hard wood floor, my own feet dangling a good six inches off the ground. I sighed, watching Kenshin rummage around behind the bar, pulling various bottles and containers off shelves and arranging them in some kind of order that I wasn't the least bit familiar with.

I turned my gaze, already feeling a little queasy. Just being around alcohol made me uneasy, but I didn't want to put a damper on the group activities so early into the trip. I ran my fingers lazily over the counter top, following the random pattern with my eyes as Sano and Kenshin discussed different kinds of drinks and their ingredients and their effects and all kinds of other concepts that were foreign to me.

It was so easy for me to feel out of place in this group. If they had asked me which method was best to switch from standard to drop D tuning on an elixir-strung acoustic, well maybe I could provide some insight, but most of the things Kenshin and Sano talked about just went right over my head.

At a convenient break in the conversation, Sano turned slightly so he could look at both Kenshin and me and smiled. "So, do you know the rules of the game, Jou-chan?"

I shook my head, smiling sheepishly. "I have no idea how this works."

Sano nodded, turning back to the bar and completing a maneuver similar to my earlier one, only this time it was so that he could stand on the bar. He whistled loudly, catching the attention of the rest of the group, who were gathered in the corner chatting. "Ok everyone, we're going to start. I guess I should explain the procedure."

Kenshin laughed, lining up several, actually it looked like several dozen, shot glasses in front of him and proceeding to fill them with… something he had been concocting. He drew my attention away from Sano for a minute to let me know that mine were the pinkish ones, devoid of alcohol so I didn't need to worry.

I nodded, glad that I didn't have to be concerned with mistaking someone's drink for mine and ending up in a situation I didn't want to be in. I turned back to Sano, knowing that my worries were pretty irrational and that people had been drinking and playing these games and getting trashed since the ancient Egyptians and that violent situations were, in the great scheme of things, a relatively rare occurrence, but that didn't stop me from feeling on edge. I had my personal experiences to draw anxiety from.

"Ok, this is a pretty straight forward game," Sano announced, surveying the group. "It goes like this. Say I'm going first, I would announce something interesting that I have never done, and anyone who has done it has to take a drink, like…" he thought for a second. "I have never… had sex in a car."

Kenshin grinned, picking up one of the glasses and throwing it back easily. Heh. Well, that *is* interesting. It seems even if my drinks were alcoholic I wouldn't have to worry, I certainly had never done anything along those lines. Sex in a car? Sex *anywhere.*

The group laughed and Sano grinned, hopping down from the bar when Kenshin announced that he'd be right back and then we'd start, heading towards the bathroom.

Sano

I shook my head when Kenshin disappeared into the next room. Well some of us aren't small enough to manage behind the wheel.

Kaoru had wandered over to join the group around one of the tables, falling into conversation and paying no attention when I slipped behind the bar, examining the various bottles Kenshin had set out next to the tray of shots. I thought for a minute, trying to figure out just what he had put together and finally deciding which substance to use. Glancing up quickly to make sure Kaoru wasn't looking, I unscrewed the cap of the container I had selected and poured just a little of its contents into the rose colored glasses that designated what Kaoru would be drinking. Just enough to get her woozy, I surmised, nothing too serious. She might not even notice, unless she was wilder than she seemed and ended up admitting she'd done a lot of stuff we never had. Which I doubted.

The girl needed to loosen up a little. She was probably just concerned with being underage, but there were no cops around to get her into any trouble. She might find that she likes it anyway, and we were responsible people, we'd make sure nothing bad happened to her. I returned the bottle to the shelf, lifting the tray of drinks and carrying it with me to the large round table and taking a seat next to Megumi, leaving a chair between me and Kaoru open for when Kenshin returned.

Kenshin

I was in an incredibly good mood. Drinking games were
always wild and interesting, not to mention it would
loosen everyone up. And I got to play with the bar. It
was so strange, the things that made me giddy. I
snatched up a few spare rolls of paper towels from the
bathroom and hurried back to the bar, just in time to
see Sano settling himself at the table.

"Ah, we're making it difficult for the bartender, eh?"
I teased, pulling out the empty chair between Kaoru
and Sano. Sano was smirking at me, probably the only
one who understood what I meant. "You just want to see
me stumble back to the bar when I have to make another
round, don't you?"

Sano laughed. "Something tells me *I'm* going to be
making the drinks after the first round."

I raised an eyebrow at him. I wondered for a moment
if I had met my match. Sure, I could probably drink
most of them under the table, I could with both Aoshi
and Fukumi, but Sano...I wasn't quite sure. I leaned
back in my chair holding up a shot glass. "Shot
glasses are the hard stuff, A-bomb, Antifreeze,
Orgasm, Silk Panties, and Turbo among others, the
taller highball glasses are fruitier Fuzzy Navel,
Electric Peach, Harvey Wallbanger, Hawaiian Pipeline,
and Watermelon among other favorites. Choose your
poison."

I smiled as they each took a drink, Kaoru taking hers
timidly. Even I didn't know which drink was which,
though I could assume by color with some. "One more
thing. There's another part to the game. If anyone in
the group demands an explanation, you have to give one.
This only applies if you drink to the question. So
while you could ask me details about my night in the
back of a Honda Civic, you can't ask Sano why he has
no tale to tell."

"Not all of us are small enough to fit comfortably in
the back of a compact car, Red," Sano countered,
giving me a half-hearted glare.

I smirked. "I suppose, and then again not all of us
are flexible enough to fit in the back of a compact
car." Sano's eyebrows raised at my insult and I
chuckled. "Right, lets get this started...hmmm...easy
to start off. Before this wild ride with Real World, I
have never travel overseas."

Misao

Goodie! Game time. I looked around and noticed it was my turn to answer the
question.

"Hmm... I've traveled overseas. Which one do I have to drink?"

I looked at the shot glasses, thinking about what to do. Giving up on solving
the puzzle myself, I decided to turn to Kenshin.

"Ne, Kenshin... Which one of these drinks here should I take?"

Aoshi

This was an event bound for disaster. Sure, we all
were laughing and carrying on now, but these things
always got ugly, questions got ridiculously personal, people got bitter, and what was remembered the
next morning never went over well.

Good lord, I remember the time Fukumi convinced us to
play this at my house one night. Kenshin wouldn't come
out of my bathroom halfway through the game for
answering a question Fukumi didn't particularly like
the answer to and Fukumi angrily huffed home alone. I
didn't understand exactly why Kenshin was so
determined to stay with me then...now it was pretty
clear what would have happened if he had gone home
with Fukumi. I doubted any of us would revert to the
immaturity of violence, although I worried about
Sagara, Myoujin seems a little temperamental too, but I
doubted he would hurt any one.

Well, needless to say I wasn't too keen on this game,
but Kenshin cleverly ignored my disgruntled and
pointed glare as he laughed at Miller and told her
than she had to choose her own poison. I was with
Kenshin on this question, which was innocent enough,
never having traveled outside of Japan before this
insane trip. So I just sat back in my seat and watched
a few of the others drink.

Kenshin smiled, brushing his bangs out of his face.
"Okay since this is an innocent question, lets just
hear about your experiences."

****

Sano

Several questions later, everyone was a bit rosier and a bit goofier and a lot more up to speed about their fellow cast mates. We found out that Kaoru, although she has never cheated on a significant other, has been to London, Paris, Milan, Rome, Geneva, Cairo, New York, Budapest, Jerusalem… quite the worldly girl. Kenshin revealed that he had never run over any small animals, but he did cry over a sappy movie… and he also seduced one of his teachers to get higher marks. It turns out none of the girls ever thought they were pregnant, but Megumi did hit a pregnant deer once in her dad's Ferrari and still feels bad about it. Aoshi had never drunk underage, but, bad boy that he is, he did once sneak into a restricted area. Misao and Yahiko, on the other hand, never did anything quite so mission impossible, but they did both drink underage… considering at the moment they were both underage and drinking. I of course, proudly admitted that I had been streaking several times, then admitted not so proudly that I had cheated on significant others before.

It was Kaoru's turn now. She was the silliest one of all, as she had surprisingly had the most drinks. Most of the group was eyeing her strangely. As far as they knew, she was drinking fruit juice sans alcohol and was just acting off the wall for no reason, but I on the other hand… she was a lot more fun to be around when she was drunk. She had let her hair down and her blue eyes were even shinier than usual.

"Hmmmmmmmmm" she leaned one elbow on the table, ticking her head back and forth as she thought about something to ask. Her already flushed face reddened even more and she smiled slyly. "I have never… made out with a guy… in public!" She added the last part after glancing quickly at Kenshin and bursting into laughter. She continued to laugh maniacally and tipped her chair back to such an extreme that she would have toppled over had Kenshin not reached out quickly to stabilize her.

Kenshin was looking at her very suspiciously now. Why was she acting so… well, drunk, if she had only been drinking the virgin things he had brewed up for her? He narrowed his eyes briefly and I tried to contain my tell-all smirk when he turned his attention back to the group.

Aoshi, Yahiko, Misao, and Megumi all passed, admitting that they had never done such, and Yahiko added "god, I have never made out with a guy at *all*!" quite scornfully.

I raised an eyebrow at him when it was my turn, wondering how he was going to react to the new information he was going to receive in a moment. "Let's see…" I mused, twirling my now empty shot glass around a few times. "I've made out with guys in public tons of times… malls… parking lots… concerts… which story should I tell?" I paused thoughtfully. "Ok, here's a good one. "A few years back I was in prison for ODing -that's a whole other story- and there was a guy a few cells down who was in my group when we were cleaning the floors of a courthouse for community service. He was a really interesting guy… had so many stories to tell… So when the guards were off doing what corrupt guards do, this guy and I snuck into the Judge's office and cleared all the paper work of his desk… we did this more for fun than out of lust, you know. Prison life can get pretty monotonous if you don't shake it up sometimes, and boy, did we shake it up. The judge came in a few minutes later… by that time we'd already lost most of our uniforms and swapped a lot of spit, and the judge was absolutely outraged! His expression was priceless, absolutely priceless, he was this big fat old guy…" I stopped, I had to laugh by now, and I noticed that Kenshin and Kaoru were the only ones laughing with me. Kenshin because he'd probably tried something similar and Kaoru because she was just that fucking drunk, but the others were just staring at me wide-eyed. Well, Aoshi didn't seem all that surprised, and Megumi seemed almost Freudian the way she was looking at me, but Misao and Yahiko were just completely taken-aback. I finished up when I had managed to control my laughter. "We got our sentences extended for that little stunt, but it was worth it. It was a riot."

Kaoru quieted down the last of us all, and when she did she turned to me curiously. "So you're gay? I had no idea!"

I shook my head good naturedly. "Nah, I wouldn't say gay. More like… open minded… experimental even."

"Bisexual," Kenshin offered, helpfully.

"Yeah, what he said," I nodded. "Ask Kenshin, he's more up to date with all the sexual jargon," I joked, grinning when he realized it was his turn.

He took a deep breath, fingering his shot glass as I had. "Let's see…"

Kaoru smacked him playfully on the shoulder. "I said made out with a *guy*, silly! A *guy*."

Kenshin offered her a sideways smile. "I know."

She blinked once, before bursting again into laughter. "You're so funny!"

Kenshin shook his head at her, that confusion from earlier crossing his features again before he dismissed them. "Well, like Sano making out in public was a common occurrence for me. I'm not sure if I have any stories quite as entertaining as that one, but since I worked at a club it isn't hard to guess…"

Yahiko waved his hand dismissively, he still seemed pretty surprised. "Yeah, I think I still have to digest Sano's story."

I laughed, glancing over at Kaoru, who had gone suddenly silent and was staring at Kenshin like he had three heads. It seemed so quiet in the room without her laughter…uncomfortably quiet.

"So *you're* gay then?" She gaped at him, as if she had been completely winded. But of course that was not the case because she started laughing all over again before Kenshin could respond. "I'm so stupid! I can't believe… we…" she stopped, she couldn't possibly get any more words out, she didn't have enough breath between all the giggles. "No wonder you were so mean to me… after…" she stopped again. This was getting scary. If she continued this way then she would run out of breath and pass out, especially considering…

I glanced anxiously at the half a dozen or so empty glasses that had accumulated in front of her. When I had put the alcohol in her drinks I had never intended it would go this far. I had never dreamed she would out drink the rest of us, but that's exactly what happened. Maybe I should have spoken up earlier… well, it was time to wrap this up anyway. I better end it before anyone got hurt. "Ok, last question for the night… and no Kaoru, Kenshin's not gay, he's *bisexual*" I reiterated, throwing the terminology out again. "Anyway…" I paused, looking out at everyone. "I have never… been in love."

Another burst of laughter from the tiniest member of our crowd. This was getting scary. If she continued this way then she would run out of breath and pass out, especially considering… Kenshin tried to calm her but to no avail. Her face turned bright red and tears sprung to her eyes and she just kept laughing. Kenshin looked downright worried now, and he picked up one of the glasses that Kaoru had left a little pink liquid in and threw it back, making a face after he swallowed. He seemed even more worried now, and I saw his eyes dart over the glasses, counting in his head just how many she had consumed. I counted too… nine. Nine shots. Yikes… she should have hit the floor a long time ago. Kenshin looked up at me and Megumi, and then Aoshi, and his eyes were almost panicked. "I swear I didn't put anything in those. I made them without anything…"

Megumi's eyes widened. "Wait, what are you saying? Kaoru's been drinking alcohol?"

Kenshin nodded dumbly. "I don't know how though. I was watching her, she was only drinking the ones I didn't put anything in."

Kaoru sobered immediately. Her features fell slack and she looked just as panicked as Megumi now did. "I was drinking?"

"Yes…" I piped up quietly, but Kenshin heard me and turned to me in confusion. "You were…"

It seemed to dawn on him and he looked very disappointed in me. I felt my stomach drop out and I spoke quickly in hope of some forgiveness. "I just wanted her to loosen up… I only put in a little and I had no idea she'd drink so much! How was I supposed to know she's done so much shit? She sure as hell wasn't letting on!"

Megumi was outraged, she hit me swiftly over the back of the head. "Sanosuke! What were you thinking?? She expressly said she didn't want to! Look at her! She's so small! Look how much she's drunk! This is just dangerous! Her BAC must be through the roof!"

Kaoru was just staring at me, not angrily or anything like that… just staring. Her lower lip started to tremble slightly and I felt so guilty at that moment I can't even describe it. She shrugged, reaching out for another shot and lifting it to her lips, but Kenshin caught her wrist and shook his head quickly.

"No no no," he muttered. "No more for you."

She fought against him, and the liquid sloshed out of the glass onto the table. "But I've been in love before!" She protested. "That was the question, now I've got to drink, and everyone else who has has got to drink. You know, I hate drinking. I really think it's disgusting. I really wish I hadn't drank so much but I didn't know what I was drinking and I don't understand why Sano would do that. But you know, I was in love once. It was great. But it didn't end all that well." I was just staring blankly at her now. She was talking a mile a minute, her words slightly slurred. "Actually it ended terribly. He said he loved me as much as I loved him but I don't think that's true because he hurt me so much and he never cared when he did and he yelled at me all the time… you know it wasn't always like that but he drank a lot… I hate drinking… you know?"

I don't know if Kenshin was listening, but he mumbled something about getting her back to the room and bent by her chair so he could help her up. She smiled at him, walking next to him with some difficulty. I was amazed that she could even stand. "He was really cute," she continued, as they made their way out of the bar. "He looked kind of like Aoshi only he had green eyes. Really bright green eyes! And he was funny, even funnier than Sanosuke. He was a good kisser… like Kenshin… you know, I hate drinking."

We were all silent when the door swung closed behind them, probably trying to interpret what little we could make out from her rambling. After a moment where we all shifted uncomfortably in our chairs, I turned to Megumi. "So Fox… Jou-chan sure makes an amusing drunk, eh?"

She glared daggers at me, standing abruptly from her seat and moving away from the table. "I can't believe you, Sanosuke. I have to make a phone call." She stormed out of the room, leaving me lower than ever.

I turned back when a short, cute little waitress timidly approached the table. "Um… are you guys still playing? I need to know when I can clear the table…"

Yahiko

Was it the alcohol? Was it my own twisted imagination? Or was this all just
one big dream? Well, I guess that's the effect the excessive use of alcohol
can have on a person, especially when that person is a minor who's not used
to drinking in the first place. Four drinks was all I'd had, but four drinks
of that stuff was excessive enough for me to get me in the state I was in
now. Had they ordered me to take off my clothes and run around the ship
naked, hell, I easily would've done it. That counts for something, now
doesn't it? And when Kenshin and Sano confessed to the entire group that
they appeared to be gay, oh no wait, bisexual as they said themselves, I got
only more convinced that this wasn't really happening. The mere thought of
two guys getting it on made me shudder. Hey, I'm not being judgmental here,
as long as they think it feels good, that's fine by me. I just hadn't
expected it from two playboys like them. Not to mention Kaoru's reaction to
this. And then I thought my staring had been inappropriate. She just started
laughing and laughing again, just like she had done about the whole evening
after her second or third glass or so, only a lot louder now. How did she
get this drunk anyway? The contents of her glasses seemed only ordinary juice to me. Then it all came out. When she actually started rattling
some incoherent stuff about some cute guy she had once been in love with and
Kenshin had to escort her out of the room.

Sano appeared to have slipped
alcohol into her innocent looking drinks under the pretext of loosening the
girl up a bit. So much for asking him advice about my own intimate problems.
Kenshin was a wise, very wise choice. However, roosterhead seemed to feel
really sorry about what he had done. I shook my head as I heard him mumbling
his lame apologies. My head snapped back to the door though, as I heard a
lovely, familiar voice asking if we were still playing and if she could
clear the table already.

"Tsubame," I whispered. Still strongly convinced that this was a dream
anyway, I sauntered over to her, more staggering instead of anything else
actually. I wasn't in the least aware of how disgraceful if must've looked
to her. But hell, I was sloshed. And when you're sloshed, then you lose all
control over yourself and your body becomes a slave of actions of which
you're not even aware you're doing. Or you say things that
better remain unsaid.

"Hey Tsubame, wanna go to bed with me?" I blurted out. Smart move, Yahiko. Way to go, buddy. From the corner of my
eyes I saw Sano slapping a hand to his forehead, and I also thought I could
hear some startled gasps behind me. I slightly wondered why, until a
stinging pain hit my cheek, so hard I stumbled over my own clumsy feet and
fell on the ground. For a moment I thought that I had fallen out of my bed
and that my head had hit the floor. But then I looked up and saw Tsubame
still standing there, tears in her eyes. It was only then that I realized
that this wasn't a dream at all and that it had been her hand I had felt.
Dear God, I had said that for real. Without saying another word, she turned
around, clearly hurt. I jumped upright and ran behind her. "Tsubame, wait! I
didn't mean that!" I yelled in a weak attempt to save this disastrous
situation a bit, but to no avail. She threw the door shut right in my
face. I heaved a bit of a sigh and turned to the still remaining members of our
little group, feeling pretty ashamed, I might say.

"I guess we're gonna have to clear the table ourselves," I sighed. Boy, I
had screwed up.

Misao Man, has he screwed up big time... Tsubame, scores 1! Yahiko, 0! Oh well... I started to get to work with the others on clearing the table. I piled my shot glasses up and due to the disappointed look on Yahiko's face, I piled up his glasses for him. He was about to help when Aoshi shook his head and sternly advised the little love-twerp to get to bed... now. Fortunately, I wasn't drunk. Must be my alcohol toleration... But Kaoru on the other hand... Oh geez... A simple drinking game has suddenly turned into something like a funeral... Kaoru-chan's gone, Megumi'sfurious... I think. And Yahiko's just beenslapped by someone I think he likes. Anyway, going back to clearing the table, Aoshi had found a rag and started to wipe up the mess of some spilt drinks on the table. Sano and I were taking the shot glasses over to the bar. Everyonekept a glum face. I guess it was because of the events earlier. If only Kaoru-chan never got drunk. If onlythat question never popped out and Kenshin'ssexuality unveiled. I sighed. Ahh... Finally, the table was eventually left shiny. Aoshi has set the rag back to where he got it and we all looked at each other. "So... What now?" Aoshi's face stayed morose. Sano didn't say anything. I sighed again and decided to try to get everyoneback to being cheery again. I hate glum nights. My first target... Megumi.

Megumi

I stepped outside of the bar, the door swinging softly shut behind me.

Really, I had expected better from the rooster head. On what grounds,
I'm not sure, as I hardly know him, but still... Spiking someone's
drink... drinks rather... was awfully childish of him and I wanted...

Well, I'm not sure about that. But I know I didn't want Kaoru-chan
drunk and babbling incoherently and Sanosuke the guilty party behind
such inebriated rantings.

I took a deep breath. The sea air was cool and refreshing, and the
breeze was blowing my hair gently back and forth.

Back and forth.

Back and forth.

The deck swayed beneath my feet with the rocking of the ship.

Back and forth.

Back and forth.

Actually, I'm not quite sure it's the deck that's swaying. In fact, I
just realized that I'm slightly tipsy.

Certainly glad no one's around to see that. I hold my alcohol just
fine while sitting down, but it seemed the sudden lurch to my feet and
my subsequent departure from the bar had...

Had...

I really was tipsy. The alcohol must have rushed to my head in a
sudden upwards defiance of gravity.

Upwards defiance of...? Yes. Tipsy. I was making very little sense in
my own head.

I made my way over the railing, leaned heavily against it and took
several steadying breaths, staring out at the ocean, noticing the way
the stars glittered and reflected off the surface of the water.

Quite pretty actually.

Inside the bar, I heard Aoshi, Misao-chan, Yahiko and the rooster head
cleaning up our mess after the waitress made a hasty departure. I
really should have been in there, assisting them, but my annoyance
toward the rooster head- along with my newly discovered tipsiness- was
far too potent at the moment.

A few moments later, what sounded like Yahiko -I didn't turn around to
look- exited the bar and stalked off, muttering under his breath.

Hmm. If they're leaving now, I was in no mind to run into them. I
detached myself from the railing, made my way toward my room and was
just shutting the door when my cell phone went off.

The ring tone is really quite distinctive- it's the Killer Tomatoes
theme, which one of my friends programmed in as a joke shortly before
I left. I liked it, but it suddenly seemed very loud in the quiet, dark
room.

Speaking of friends, who else would be calling at this hour?

I fished the phone out of my bag, flipped it open. "Hello? Who may I
say is calling?"

Oh. I didn't mean to say that. Perhaps I should sit down for the call
as not to sound like a complete drunken fool.

"Who may I say is calling?" A sharp voice on the other end cut through
the line. "Megumi, are you drunk?"

"Older Sister..." I sat down on the bed heavily, all the wind going
out of me in one rush. "I... no, I'm not drunk." It wasn't a complete
lie anyway.

"Oh?" I could almost *hea** Miwako raise an eyebrow. "Well, if you're
not drunk, you've been drinking at the very least."

"Just a little." I fumbled awkwardly with my sandals, kicked them off
into a corner of the cabin. "So..." and I forced a note of what I hope
sounded like cheer or at the very least, politeness, into my
voice. "Why are you calling?"

"I would think that would be obvious." Miwako's tone had taken on a
rather brisk quality. "So you've thrown over college and medical
school and your future as a doctor in favor of drinking with a bunch
of dropouts on a cruise ship."

It was a statement, not a question.

"Our parents are not happy about this. You know that."

Yes. I very much did know that. I was incredibly aware of that.

My father, the renowned brain surgeon who comes from a line of doctors
stretching past the Meiji Era, and my mother, the equally famous
neural surgeon, had made their unhappiness extremely known to me.

My older brother Yasuhiro had just completed his residency and been
hired by one of Tokyo's top hospitals, both promising skill and the
strength of the family name backing him up. Miwako was just entering
residency now.

It was uncalled for that my parent's youngest child - me - would do
anything as "flippant" as take a year off from the increasing
pressures of pre-medical studies.

"Miwako," I spoke slowly as to keep my voice steady, "I've not thrown
over anything. I just," I paused, searching for the right excuse to
placate her, "I just needed... a break."

I fully intend to become a doctor. Of that, I am certain.

But there are other factors.

"A break?" At this, Miwako gave a mirthless bark of laughter. "A break
after your sophomore year? No, I'll tell you what you need, Megumi." I
could imagine her folding her arms and glaring at me. "You need to
leave that silly, trashy show that you've signed up for, come home and
make things right with everyone. Go back to school. Fix things."

"Nothing is broken." My voice wavered slightly. "I'm fine."

Another bark of laughter. "Fine? Fine, you say? You've run away."

I shook my head, pointless as the gesture was. "No, that's not what I
did. I intend to go back to school as soon as this is-"

"You've run away," Miwako cut me off without so much as a
preamble, "from your fiancé."

The accusation stopped me cold. I felt as if I had been slapped in the
face and I could almost *feel* my cheek stinging.

"I..." My throat had gone dry. I swallowed, tried again, but the words
wouldn't come to my lips.

"Did you even tell him you were going?" Another accusation piled on
top of the first. "Or did you just leave? Left him hanging in the
dark?" And another.

The words still wouldn't come.

"Dad is *really* unhappy about that. So is mom. And for that matter, I
can't imagine your fiancé is thrilled. In fact," she paused
briefly, "he was distinctly upset at your sudden departure."

"Well," I cleared my throat and suddenly found I had the strength to
speak, "What's done is done. Dad was the one who arranged that
engagement and-"

"It's a good arrangement. Law school. Lawyer. Nice respectable-"

"I never agreed to it." My voice grew steadily stronger. "Dad was in
no place to expect me to-"

"Dad arranged Yasuhiro's marriage and mine," Miwako reminded me, "and
they've worked out for the best and you *know* that. Why are you
fighting tradition, Megumi? Why are you being deliberately obstinate?"

"It has nothing to do with deliberate obstinacy." I narrowed my eyes
slightly, though of course, the effect was lost on my sister. "I have
no interest in an arranged marriage, tradition be-"

"He's looking for you."

This time, I felt as if I had been punched in the stomach. Repeatedly.
I actually moved to clutch a hand across my midriff.

After a long moment, I managed a small "What?"

"He's looking for you," Miwako repeated and I could detect a note of
smugness in her voice. "Dad thought it was a good idea. You wait and
see the method your fiancé's come up with for tracking you down."

"Tracking me down?" I said incredulously. "Like a-"

"Like someone running from her real life. And when he catches up to
you, I expect, as do the rest of us, that you'll quit this silly game,
come home and resume living your life."

Silence.

After a moment, Miwako sighed. "Megumi, you know we love you. You know
we want what's best for everyone involved. But running away to go on
some silly little cruise ship game isn't in the best interests of
anyone." Another small sigh. "You need to come home, go back to
school, make amends with your fiancé and continue with the life that
you know has a real future."

Moisture dripped onto my mostly bare thighs. I wiped a finger across
my cheek, surprised to come away with tears.

"Look," Miwako's tone softened a bit, "pre-med can be stressful, but
there are good things about it too. And besides, when you come home,
we can do fun girly things, like plan out your wedding. Picking out
dresses and flowers will be fun. Remember when we did it for my
wedding?"

I choked back a sob. "I..." the moisture running down my cheeks didn't
seem to be letting up, "I imagine planning... planning a wedding is...
fun, yes."

"See? And we can figure out fun places for your honeymoon. It'll be
wonderful," Miwako coaxed. "Besides, what do you have on the silly
cruise ship anyway that you don't have here, hmm?"

A sudden image of the rooster head, grinning in that boyishly charming
way of his, flashed before my eyes.

"I..." I cleared my throat and forced resolve into my voice. "I have a
date this Friday."

"What?" Miwako sounded very clearly stunned.

"Yes." More resolved poured into my voice and I lifted my chin
slightly. "A date. Of my choosing. This Friday. I expect it will be
very nice."

"Megumi..."

"Anyway, Older Sister," the tears running down my face seemed to have
dried, "it was lovely talking to you, as it always is, but as I'm hot
and tired, I'll have to end this conversation now. Good night." And
before Miwako could get another word in, I snapped the phone shut.

I don't want to think right now.

Still...

The rooster head said we would have fun.

Kenshin

She stumbled through the door as soon as I unlocked itfor her and retreated to the bed where she promptly,and clumsily, crawled upon it and buried her face inthe pillow. I watched her for a moment, standing inthe doorway and debating on if I should let her haveher space, as I knew the alcohol wasn't helping herstressed body, or if I should attempt to comfort her.Fingers picking nervously at the threshold, I was aboutto turn and leave when I saw her shoulders shaking insilent sobs. I was closing the door behind me...and tossing thekeys on a dresser, as I walked slowly over to the bed.There was no way I was going to let her hide in thedarkness. She was too vibrant to curl up like this. Ineeded to know what was wrong and I need to chasethose monsters away from her so she could smile again."Kaoru..." Her body tensed and I heard her muffled voice carry tome through the fabric of her pillow. "Thank youfor...for taking me back...you don't have to stay." I tilted my head, sitting on the bed near her waist and reaching out to brush her ebony hair, but recoiling infear of being too rude. "Do you want me to stay?"Kami-sama, I hoped she did. Her eyes lifted from the pillow, red-rimmed, but stillthat gorgeous blue. My mouth quirked up slightly as Iallowed myself the motion I previously wanted tobestow upon her, relishing the feel of her silky bangsacross my fingers. "Is there ever a time when youdon't look beautiful?" Her eyelids lowered, with her brow, shimmering withtears again. I bit my lower lip, sometimes I shouldjust keep my mouth shut, but I couldn't help it. I'dseen her just woken up, soaking wet from rain,frazzled from exercise and now worn from tears andstress and every time I looked at her all I could seewas her beauty and her heart. When she turned her headaway from me I pulled myself completely on the bed,taking her lack of reply as an invitation to stay. Shedidn't seem to be angry and actually accepted my armswhen offered. She settled into me; her head on my chest, one handclutching my shirt, the other lying limply beside it,near her mouth. Her body was curled between my legs,my right leg crooked up to support her back the otherresting on the bed, her knees against it. To give hertime to gather her wits and to give myself time tocontrol my hormones I tugged a blanket over us,nudging my nose to her black tresses. "Do you want totalk, Kaoru? I'm here to listen...what ever you needto say." "I'm not beautiful." I blinked at her words and tilted my head to try andsee her face. I could only view her lowered eyelidsand the fringe of her lashes, not the sapphire depths Ihad wanted to met. "Yes, you are." "No, I'm not. I'm all scarred up." She held up her armfor emphasis, showing me the pink and white lines thatmarred her flesh. She started when I took her hand andkissed one of them just below her wrist. "You're beautiful," I whispered, twining our fingerstogether and pulling her hand, with mine, to her upperchest. "You heart covers up any faults you shouldhave. It shows your beauty as true." She blushed, her eyes flickering up to mine, thenlooking down and staring at our fingers interlocked."My heart almost got me killed." I frowned, feeling her body tense, readying for tears.When she stopped, not speaking and not letting thetears through I squeezed her body to mine with my armaround her waist. "Go on, Kaoru...I'm here. Tell mehow your heart almost killed you, tell the truth aboutthese scars. What ever you need to say..." So she spoke. "When I was 14, a freshman in highschool --smack out of junior high with the maturity ofmaybe a 5th grader-- I had a small circle of friends,and we were probably the odd ones out. I didn't careabout clothes, I didn't watch teen soap operas, I'dnever had a boyfriend or even gone on a date...I don'tthink I'd even ever slow danced with anyone. No onereally noticed me, but I was happy enough...I'd juststarted singing and my dad got promoted so we couldafford voice lessons and everything, and things werelooking good...I lived in my own universe really,totally oblivious to the rest of the world. "One day at lunch I was sitting by myself because myfriends were on a field trip or something...anyway,this guy came up and sat across from me. His name wasDanko and he was a sophomore...THE sophomore. Everygirl in my high school new his name...he was famous, a star athlete, straight A student, and boy- was he attractive. Tall, broad shouldered, dark hair thatfeel into his eyes...his eyes...they were brilliantjade green and breathtaking. So this guy was smilingat me, and I was awestruck." I would be lying if I were to say I didn't feel a pangof jealousy then. Hearing her speak of Danko in such awistful voice made me want to hear her sigh mine intomy ear. I was so attracted to this young woman and Iwanted so badly to understand her. To heal any woundthat lay open and this, it seemed, was the stab woundthat gaped at her heart. I wanted to press my lips toher temple and hug her close, but now wasn't the time.She need to let this all out and I would let her.Listening intently, I remained silent. "We talked for a little while and he sat with me at lunchthe next day...and every day for the rest of highschool. That first day, he asked me out, and ofcourse I said yes. My first date, my first boyfriend,my first kiss...it's amazing how much I changed in soshort a time. From tomboy to Ms. Popular...I madetons of new friends, became a cheerleader, was part ofthe homecoming court, wore makeup...meanwhile, Dankohad become my best friend as well as my boyfriend.When we weren't at practice or games we were together. Always. It's almost disgusting how story book wewere...like straight from a movie. We went steadyfor three years...the basketball captain and thecheerleader, the honor students, the voted cutestcouple, most likely to get married, yadda yadda. Iwas obsessed. I loved Danko like I had never lovedanything in my life. I worshipped the ground hewalked on, I would have done anything for him. Anything. It was never Kaoru anymore...it was Dankoand Kaoru, Kaoru: Danko's girlfriend, Danko's Kaoru. I loved it...I was living a dream, a fairy tale." But fairy tales end badly in reality, I thought tomyself, knowing how badly they could end fromexperience. I knew where this would lean, I knew thescars weren't from a trip or a skinned knee. I justhoped that it wasn't taken as far as...I hoped thisDanko didn't kill her soul, as I had a feeling he had.My thumb was stroking over the back of her hand, myeyes closed as I leaned my chin to her head, relishingour embrace, but more so the touching trust she wasbestowing upon me. I knew this was hard for her, thatshe baring her soul to me and I felt honored. "Danko came from a very wealthy family...he bought memore teddy bears and candy and jewelry than I had roomfor. I was exposed to the higher class at cocktailparties and yacht soirees. He took me with his familyto their beach house in the summer and their ski lodgein the winter...it was just perfect. Everything wasso perfect. We were so in love," her voice had hit awhisper as she pressed her cheek to my chest hertears slowing, but still dampening the fabric of myshirt. Not that I cared, they were part of her andthey were touching me and moving my heart. "Things started to change a little in Danko's senioryear though. It was college crunch time and Danko wasunder an amazing amount of pressure. Generations and generationsof his family had attended Tokyo University, and if heever wanted to show his face at another ritzy familyreunion, he had to get in. He had to study studystudy. Do more extracurricular activities, play more sports,write more letters, smile wider at interviews, begreater. So naturally, he couldn't spend as much timewith me. I was disappointed, but I completelyunderstood, I was his biggest fan after all. Alwayssupportive, always cheering him on. He grew sodistant though, and our time together became rushedand rough. He used to be so careful with me, like hewas afraid I would break. But now...I came home withscratches and bruises. He seemed to want so much morefrom me, more than I could give him, even if all Iwanted was to please him." My hold tightened around her at her words. 'More thanI could give him'. I swore at that moment if he didwhat I thought he did I would kill him, I would hunthim down and gut him. No first I would castrate him,*then* I would-- Kaoru, Himura, pay attention toKaoru! "I knew he was drinking. I could smell it on hisbreath, feel it in his clumsy aggressive hands whichused to be so… deft and loving. I started to be scaredof being with him, scared that when I got home myparents wouldn't believe me when I told them thatbruise on my cheek was from a fall in cheerleading. Istill loved him, with all my heart. I was so torn, Ibegged him not to drink. He yelled at me, screamedthat I couldn't possibly understand. Things gotworse...bruises got larger and more frequent, morepainful. If the old Danko ever hurt me, he would havebeen heart broken and so, so sorry, but thisDanko...he would stare disgustedly at my scrapes andcuts, and demand why I didn't do something about them,what I was telling people about them. I still lovedhim, still. I still adored him. He was my world, mylife." Oh, Kaoru. Why didn't you leave him? He was hurtingyou so, he was killing your spirit. You should havefled! *Look in the mirror when you say that, Himura.* "One night, we were going to meet his parents at afancy restaurant for a big political gala. I spentextra time getting ready, hoping that if I lookedbeautiful that night, maybe he would smile his oldcocky grin and everything would be fine, everythingwould be like it was." Once again my earlier musingscame back to me and I wanted to speak them aloud;'Kaoru you are always beautiful, you heart radiateshow wonderful your beauty is', but this time I caughtmyself before I said something stupid. Not the time,Himura, just listen. She needs you to listen. "I neverthought I was very pretty, despite Danko's constantextravagant praise...except as of late that is. Still, that one night I was pleased with myappearance. I wore a little black dress and highstrappy sandals, the sapphire necklace Danko had givenme for my birthday, my hair piled on top of my head ina fountain of tight curls, my eyes bright with hope." I could see her clearly in my mind; ebony hairbouncing in the curls as she click-clacked up thesidewalk from her car to his front door. Amazing smilein place and eyes sparkling like the sapphires theymimic. It brought a smile to quirk my mouth and me totilt my head into hers. But here was where the fairytale ended and reality began it seemed, I could feelit when her body tensed, her hand clutching mine alittle more roughly. "I got to his house and found him in thekitchen...drinking, his tie was loosened and his eyes were darkand brooding. His breath was strong with the familiarsmell of the expensive wine he stole from his parents'cellar. He assaulted me the minute he saw me,ordering me to step closer, then reprimanding me andsmacking my wrists for the yellow-green of bruisesscattered across my skin which I had failed to concealwith the pounds of foundation I had tried. I couldn'thold back my tears, my mascara smudging, causinganother uproar on his part. He took another swig ofwine and then he started swingng the bottle wildly around,splashing its contents onto my dress and knockingover pots and pans. I begged and pleaded for him tocalm down, but that only angered him more… and then he turnedhis attention on me." I squeezed my eyes shut, knowing hers had already doneso long ago, tears beginning to slip down more quicklythough her sobs didn't enter her voice. She buried herface in my shirt and clutched my hand like a lifeline. For the moment I couldn't help her, seeing thisso clearly as she described it I found myselfshuddering, determining that even if he didn't rapeher I would beat his ass in damn good. "I can't even begin to describe how terrified I was,"she whispered. There was no need to, I could feel itcoursing through her body. I felt it running throughmy own. "It was like… the person that I had been loving for so long just wasn't there any more. I trusted him so much and I wanted so badly for him to smile the way he used to… but it was no use. I was begging and he just couldn't hear me. He lifted me a little off the ground… his hands were so rough… and then flung me across the room. My head hit the counter as I fell...I had anasty cut, and my ankle twisted on my way down. Iprobably shouldn't have worn such high shoes, but Iguess I hadn't counted on my boyfriend beating me thatnight." The sarcasm was lost on both of us, ourbodies hanging onto each other in sadness, her intears, myself only a step away from breaking down aswell. "He continued to scream and I sobbed in pain and shame,horrified at his transformation. My guardian, myprotector, the love of my life, was looking at me withloathing and nausea...I don't remember much afterthat...I tried to keep my eyes squeezed shut until itwas over, but I do recall him swinging the now brokenwine bottle back...I remember the way it's dark greenglass caught the light of the crystal chandelier, andI remember how it hurt… it hurt so much when it hit me, there was even more blood than Ithought there would be." My cheek was burning, where a scar lay from temple tochin, throbbing as if somehow connected to her ownmemories. I knew what steel felt like to skin, notglass. Somehow I though glass would be more painful... "When I came to, I was in the hospital. I found outlater that when Danko had realized what he'd done,he'd called the hospital and fled. I was in thehospital for three weeks...the injury list wasamazing...2 broken ribs, a sprained ankle, a brokenarm, a twisted wrist, and gashes that neededstitches, on top of tons of smaller cuts and nastybruises. I had lost a lot of blood too," she pausedto swallow, before continuing in a surprisingly morelevel tone. "My parents were furious. At Danko, atDanko's parents, at local law enforcement, but most ofall at me for not saying anything...for not standingup for myself. Everyone was mad at me about that itseemed, but no one understood. Danko and I...we werein love. Danko was my life! He was under so muchpressure. He was influenced by alcohol, he neverwould have hurt me otherwise. It was never hisfault...it was never my fault either. It was no one'sfault, it just happened. My parents wouldn't speak tome for weeks when I refused to press charges." You didn't want to fight anymore, did you? I thought,nestling my head to her hair. You were tired and youdidn't want to fight. You didn't want to cause himany more trouble...well, you loved him after all... "Danko tried to apologize I heard, sent me letters andflowers, called me, tried to repair things...but Inever heard from him because my parents shipped me offto an all girls boarding school the minute I recoveredphysically. I don't know what you've heard aboutprivate girls' boarding schools, but it's all true. It...was hell there. Sure, my bones were no longerbroken, but mentally, I was still so shattered. In amonth my world had been torn to shreds, and here I wasin a school full of strangers, utterly alone. I criedmyself to sleep every night, sleep filled with dreamsof the night of the accident, over and over again,"she shuddered against my body and I held her tightlyin response. Was I anchoring her to the present? Orwas she coming back to the present? I didn't know Ijust wanted her to stay with me. "I graduated after the longest year of my life. Myparents were thrilled, convinced I was all better,when inside, I was dead. I didn't do much for a fewmonths after that. I returned to Tokyo, by then Dankowas long gone...off at his year abroad for college. The rest of my friends had scattered across thecountry for college, but I heard from them a lot. When I got into college I started singing in thelounge a lot, and that helped. Anyway, it took a longtime to get where I am now, and still...," she stoppedand pulled away from our embrace, sitting up betweenmy legs. I wanted to whine when her warmth left me,but I watched her, reaching out a hand, then lettingit fall short resting to my crooked leg. Kaoru's head remained low, her lashes still obscuringthe blue depths I so desperately wanted to meet. Herhands fiddled with my own hand in her lap as if shedidn't even realize it was connected to me, as if Iwasn't there at all. "Lots of people think I'm cute. They think that I'm sweet and pure and that I've neverfelt any pain, but they have no idea...maybe it's nota big deal compared to what some people have to go through, butit changed my life. Although I'm healing a little bitnow, I'll never be who I was before. I'll never havethat spark or that confidence. I miss it, I miss itso much. Most people chide me for dwelling, sayingthat 18 is too young to give up, too young to reallygrow up, too young to forget who you are, and I guessthey're right...18 really is too young to loseyourself." I waited a full three minutes before reaching my handout again, touching her temple and pushing her hairbehind her ear, a gesture she jumped at. Noticing I wasstill there. She seemed to blush and her eyesflickered away in shame. "You have not lost yourself,Kaoru," I whispered. Her eyes raised to mine at myvoice, which was soft and gentle. "You're emotionsremain, your smile is true, your compassion isvibrant...you are still amazing person. You are stilla person and you are still Kaoru." She shook her head starting to speak, but my armaround her waist pulling her back into my armssilenced her. "You've grown and you've become agenerous and amazing young woman. You may not foundyourself completely, but you've never lost yourselfeither..." "I'm not sure I understand..." I smiled into her hair and stroked my fingers throughthe ebony tresses. "That's because you are tired. Goto sleep, you're going to feel that alcohol in themorning." "Are you leaving?" I closed my eyes at her words and the slight whimperin them. Could I leave? "Do you want me to stay?" Shenuzzled close as an answer and I ran my hand over herarm, my thumb stroking over scar and silk all thesame. "Then I'll stay." Her reply was a soft sigh, her eyes fluttering closedand her breath becoming smooth. I leaned my head backagainst the wall behind the bed and let out my ownheavy sigh. I looked like I had my work cut out for mewith this little angel...and if Danko came within twoyards of me within my lifetime he would most certainlybe castrated, then killed...maybe, killed...if he's lucky...

*******

AoshiAnd not for the first time in my life the words "Itold you so" floated through my head. I knew drinkinggames, they never ended well. Either there was afight, a falling out, or everyone ended up withmassive hangovers and none of those scenarios were inmy definition of 'good.' I didn't bother speaking toanyone. I think it was well known by this point that Iwas not one for comforting people, so they didn'tbother me as we cleaned up the mess we made of thebar. In all consideration the mess gravitated more tothe people than it did the bar, which made formoderately easy clean up and my getting myself awayfrom anyone and anything that could be consideredhuman. I milled about the decks for a while, fighting offfatigue and the effects of the alcohol. I didn't wantto return to the rooms in fear that I would walk in ona fight. I had no idea where Takani-san went, nor didI know where Sagara moved off to. Kamiya-san was alsoemotionally through the roof and any of them couldhave been in the suites. I didn't feel like testing mytolerance with so many shots of...whatever Kenshin hadus drinking in my system. I returned to Kenshin and my room about an hour afterI left the bar. It was to the point that I knew Icould pass out without anyone keeping me awake withshouts or tears and the air was getting a bit toochilly for me. Besides, I thought I could see the sunbeginning to peek up from the horizon and I didn'tfancy falling asleep to birds chirping...then againnot many birds chirped in the middle of the ocean...Idefinitely needed sleep. The suite was still dark when I dragged myself in. Noone was sleeping on the couch in the lounge betweenthe boys' rooms so I assumed everyone was okay witheveryone else. I was then met with a befuddlingsurprise once I entered my own room. Kenshin wasthere, drifting to sleep, but clearly not completelyunder yet and in his arms, dead to the world, wasKamiya-san. I blinked a few times and pressed the heel of my palmto my head. Oh, this was going to be interesting inthe morning. Kenshin started gently when I set myshoes on the ground, proving to me I was right inthinking that he wasn't even half-asleep at the time.He smiled to me softly, something I hadn't seen donegenuinely in a long time, and pressed a finger to hislips. Trust me, Kenshin, I'm not about to wake upsleeping beauty. If she was that bad drunk, I didn'twant to see her with a hangover. Without a word, Kenshin settled himself again, Kamiyacradled in his arms and let himself drift to sleep. Iwatched him for a moment, wondering if he had stayedawake just long enough for me to get into the roomsafely. I wouldn't put it past him. With what littleenergy I had left I shrugged off my shirt and socksand passed out on top of my sheets, not caring whathappened in three minutes, let alone the next morning.I just wanted this night to end.