Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ To Love You Again ❯ Unexpected Guest ( Chapter 9 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimers: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin... If I did, Kenshin would be as hentai as he sounded last chapter... Don't you love fanfiction?

Asiyah belongs to Firuze Khamune. She is an original character of the story "Of Legendary Creatures and Mystical Beasts". Firuze was kind enough to let me borrow her character.

Special thanks to Firuze for helping me with the writing of this chapter.

Gypsy-chan: I'm changing this story summary because I loved the one you wrote for it in your site. I hope you don't mind. =^x^=

To Love you Again
9. Unexpected Guest

Kenshin woke up. His body was sticky with sweat. 'Oh, God...' Kenshin sat, and then buried his face in his hands. His body felt unbearably hot. He could still feel the effects of his dream. 'Great... Now I have dreams like a teenager with raging hormones.' Kenshin blushed. It felt wrong to have that kind of dream about Kaoru.

He remembered taking Psychology classes back in college, that said that the dreams were a manifestation of an unconscious desire. Did that mean he wanted to...? He'd better do something about his current situation before something nasty happened. With that in mind, Kenshin hit the shower. It was 'refreshing' - not to say, freezing - to start the day with a cold shower.
After the bath, he dressed his yukata and went to the kitchen to make breakfast for him and Kaoru. Kenshin was surprised to find her already up and cooking.

"Ohayou, Kenshin. Did you sleep well?" Kaoru greeted cheerfully.

"Ohayou... You can say that." Kenshin replied and mentally added: 'I dreamt about you, but in my dream you weren't using so many clothes.'

Kaoru was wearing the yukata Kamatari had bought for her.

"I'll cook breakfast today." Kaoru smiled.

"Do you want me to help?"

"No-no-no-no-no! Today is my turn." Kaoru shoved Kenshin from the kitchen. "I'll call you when it's ready."
Kenshin went back to his room, took out his yukata an put on his boxers. He was choosing what suit he was going to wear that day when he heard a loud yell that made him forget everything else:

"Kenshiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin!!!!!! Heeeeeeeelp!"

Kenshin ran into the kitchen. It was filled with a dark smoke. He did not need to ask what was happening: The stove was on fire, and the flames threatened to take the wooden shelves and flammable structures around it. Kaoru was sitting on the floor, curled against the wall.

He took quickly the fire extinguisher placed near the fridge, closed the windows to prevent that the new flow of oxygen helped the fire growing, and after a short fight with the flames, he got to put them down. He opened the windows again, quickly, to let the smoke get out the place and new air filled the room, allowing them to breath easily. Giving a relieved sigh Kenshin thought that he had never been as happy of accepting a salesman's advice as in that moment, putting aside the fire extinguisher.

Panting, Kenshin walked backwards, until his back were flat against the wall. Then he let himself slide down to the floor. Kaoru, next to him, had a terrified look in her face. Kenshin pulled her to his lap.

"Are you hurt?" He asked softly, his arms holding her close. Kaoru buried her face in his chest, while shaking her head. Her face was wet with warm tears, moistening his skin.

"It's okay... It's okay..." Kenshin repeated by her ear, with a soothing tone. His hand slid up her back to stroke her hair.
She whimpered softly against his chest. Kenshin couldn't help but to think how perfectly their bodies molded to each other. Even through the smoke he could smell her unique scent, and a shiver ran through his spine, almost in anticipation. The room's temperature which had descended after he opened the windows, unexpectedly seemed to rise again, and he couldn't deny any longer the responses her closeness were eliciting in him.

God, he loved her. She had nearly set his kitchen on fire and all he could think about was how right it felt to hold her. Maybe he was getting soft. She made him soft. And at the same time, she gave him strength. He'd do anything for her. He would jump of a bridge, walk through deserts for her. All for her. And she not even knew how he felt. Maybe she should know.

"Kaoru?" Kenshin asked, softly. "Kaoru, look at me."

The young woman looked up to him. Their eyes met. Her blue eyes were teary and her face was red. Kenshin held her face in his hands and his thumbs brushed away the remains of her tears.

"Kaoru, I--" Kenshin was interrupted by the door bell.

He felt like murdering whoever was at the door. His moment was ruined and only Kami knew when he'd have another shot.
Kenshin got to his feet, bringing Kaoru with him. He let her go when he was sure she could stand, and went to answer the damned door. He opened it just to be "attacked" by a young woman. She threw herself at Kenshin, her arms locking around his neck in a mighty hug. The force of the impact sent both of them to the floor.

"Oro!"

"I thought you'd grow stronger over the years!" The young woman said, with a mix of annoyance and mockery.

"Oh, you caught me by surprise. Do you want to try that again?" Kenshin asked, strangely comfortable with the young woman who was using his body as a mattress.

"No... You'll get your back hurt, old man."

"Are you planning on getting off me sometime soon?" Kenshin raised an eyebrow at her.

"No... It's comfy this way." The young woman said, lying her head on Kenshin's chest and pretending to be asleep.

Kaoru was at the kitchen's door, watching the strange interaction between the two. Who was that woman and why was she lying over Kenshin? Moreover, why he didn't seem to mind? Kaoru's mind was spinning, but then it could be the smoke... She was probably still dizzy because of the smoke. It wasn't like she really had feelings for him, was it?

Similar thing happened when he had went out with Megumi. Kaoru's heart felt like it was twisting in her chest. It was almost painful. How could he go out to dinner with such an insufferable woman? No... She wasn't jealous... She just cared about his companies. After all, he was her friend. And he deserved much better than that doctor... And surely he deserved much better than the redheaded woman lying over him.

The mysterious guest finally realized they were being watched.

"Hey, Kenshin? Who is the chick?"

'Chick?' Kaoru thought to herself, fuming mad.

Kenshin turned his face towards Kaoru, with a peaceful smile on his face.

"That's Kaoru, my roommate." The reply sounded innocent, but at the same time, a bit unnatural and untrue. He didn't want her to be only his roommate. At that point, any word that would raise a barrier between them and their relationship would make Kenshin wince.

"Since when do you need to rent a room in your apartment? Something must be really wrong with the company... Unless..." The young woman finally seemed to realize that Kenshin was in his underwear and that Kaoru was dressed in a yukata. "You sly dog!"

"Oro?" Kenshin's face turned crimson, as he motioned the young woman to move from her position over him. As he got to his feet, he turned to Kaoru: "Kaoru-dono... This is Asiyah, sessha's sister."

'Kaoru-dono? Sessha? What is he? Crazy?' Kaoru asked herself, and finally it sank in that the redhead was Kenshin's sister. How did she not notice that they really looked like each other? Except for their eyes, maybe. Kenshin had amethyst eyes. Asiyah's were green, just like a cat's.

"What's with the 'sessha' thing?" Asiyah asked, staring at her brother. "You only used that when you were younger. Only when your were really nervo... Oh... That's why... Am I interrupting something?" She asked, with fake innocence.

"Asiyah!" Kenshin let out an anguished shout.

Asiyah didn't mind Kenshin. She walked straight to Kaoru and took her hands.

"I'm Himura Asiyah. It's a pleasure to meet you, Kaoru-san."

"The pleasure is mine." Kaoru muttered, still in shock.

"What is this burnt smell?" Asiyah turned to Kenshin.

Kaoru's face got red from embarrassment. "I'm going to my room!" Kaoru snapped, leaving the room in a hurry.

"What happened to her?" Asiyah asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Kaoru was cooking and the stove caught fire." Kenshin said, matter of factly.

"She set the stove on fire?"

"It was probably a gas leak, but everything is okay now. Nobody got hurt."

"I see... Is that why you are on your underwear? Does she have a fantasy involving firemen? Or it's just the fire?" Asiyah winked at him.

"Asiyah! It's nothing like that! There is nothing going on between Kaoru and me!"

"Sure... Sure... Can I stay here, or do I have to find someplace else? I would hate to interrupt you guys..."

Kenshin sighed. It was a lost cause. "You can stay in Yahiko's room. Kaoru's in the guest room."

"You don't have to pretend near me. She can sleep in your room." Asiyah poked him in the ribs.

"Asiyah! I told you there is nothing going on!"

"Wasn't she like... Your roommate?" Asiyah put emphasis in the 'room'.

"Oro... It's not like that!"

"Whatever." Asiyah said, going towards the rooms.

"Asiyah! Your bags?"

"What? I'm a lady. You carry those." And Asiyah took off to Yahiko's room.

'That's got be karma...' Kenshin thought, picking up his sister's bags. 'I must have done something really wrong in a past life...'

"Why are you here?" Kenshin asked, as he put her bags down inside Yahiko's room.

"Can't I come to visit my favorite onii-san?" Asiyah twinkled innocently.

Kenshin raised an eyebrow. Asiyah took a deep breath.

"I got the invitation to Tomoe's wedding." She said, sitting on the bed. "So, I flew all the way from Switzerland to see how you were. I thought you'd be depressed, but I see you have something else in your mind."

"I told you it's nothing like that de gozaru yo!"

"De gozaru?" Asiyah laughed. "I thought you were over that!"

Kenshin sat by her side on Yahiko's bed. "I got angry."

"Kenshin... Tell me... You know you can trust your imouto-chan..."

"Asiyah..." Kenshin said, in a warning tone of voice.

"Onii-san..." Asiyah mimicked his tone.

"Geez, fine... I'll tell you... Kaoru and I..." Kenshin lowered his voice. "Have absolutely nothing whatsoever."

"No confessions?"

"No."

"Boring!" Asiyah smiled. "I thought I'd come here to cheer you up. You don't need cheering. There is nothing interesting to do, then... And I can't go back home, because mom and I had a fight. So, I'll stick around until she apologizes."

"How's mom?"

"Same as always. Always doing everything for that sake freak, that doesn't seem to notice she's around most of the time."

"Don't talk about shishou that way." Kenshin objected.

"Whatever. You don't see them in nearly two years, since you took Yahiko for a visit. Speaking of which, how is my nephew?"

"Kaoru would say he's as bratty as ever. They don't relate well."

"Figures... His mom is getting married. His father is living with some woman - who looks like is skipping school classes, by the way."

"Now that you mention... He treats Kaoru just like he used to treat Akira."

"Well, duh!"

"What do you mean by 'well, duh'?" Kenshin asked, poking Asiyah's side.

"You really are dumb... Don't do that."

"I know you are ticklish."

"I don't want to play right now... Jet lag is kicking in." Asiyah said, slapping Kenshin's shoulder. "And you should know that I know exactly where you are ticklish."

"Truce?"

"Truce." Asiyah agreed. "By the way, how meet miss roommate?"

"She works at the Akabeko... A small café near here."

"Oh... Was it love at first sight?" Asiyah twinkled at him.

"Oro... Stop that." Kenshin sighed. "I suppose you want to know how Kaoru ended up here..."

"Well, duh!"

"Fine... I met her a few weeks ago at the Akabeko. One day I went there and she was missing. Tae-san, Akabeko's owner, asked me to look for Kaoru. She came back hurt in the next morning. Tae-san talked me into taking Kaoru in for a couple of days. But she got sick. I just couldn't let her go, while she was sick."

"She doesn't look sick to me." Asiyah pointed out.

"She is not anymore." Kenshin sweat-dropped. "I asked her to stay. But you should have seen the room she was living in, Asiyah! No one should have to live under those conditions!"

"My brother, the saint... Always trying to save the world." Asiyah sighed. Kenshin was always like that... Trying to help people, no matter what. "Now leave me. I need my beauty sleep."

Kenshin left Asiyah and closed the door as he left. That definitely wasn't his lucky day. Hell! That probably wasn't his lucky week, or lucky month. Only Kami knew until when Asiyah would be around. The last time she had a fight with their mother, she stayed away from home for three months. He wasn't sure he could endure all that time with his sister teases about Kaoru.

Asiyah always had the instinct for these kind of things. She was the first one to notice Kenshin's feelings for Tomoe so long ago. She probably knew it before he knew it! To complete his misery, Tomoe's wedding was closing in and he had to go dress shopping with Kaoru.

Sure, he'd love to spend some time with Kaoru. It was just that he'd never go shopping himself, if he could avoid it. He never knew what to buy and the salesperson would always make him buy things that weren't exactly the best choice.

And taking Kaoru to Soujirou's antique shop was certainly different of taking Kaoru to buy a dress. The latter implied he would enter countless stores, she would spend hours dressing and undressing, asking for his approval till he went totally swirled eyed and color blind. A hard shudder coursed through his body remembering the long afternoons spent by his mom's side doing shopping.

'It has to be karma... There is no way such bad things can happen to me all at once...' Kenshin sighed. Sure, he loved his sister. But he knew how much of a pain she could be if she wanted to. If she knew for a fact that he was interested in

Kaoru, he'd never see the end of it. 'Always look at the bright side of things... There can't be a bright side about this...' Kenshin sighed. Then it hit him. Asiyah loved shopping... In fact, maybe she loved it too much. She could go dress shopping with Kaoru. That would make everybody happy. Asiyah would be doing something she liked, Kaoru would have someone to help her picking a dress and Kenshin wouldn't have to be the one to help. It was perfect.

"Ano... Kenshin?" Kaoru was standing by her room's door. Kenshin looked at her. She had changed from her yukata to a cute flowery top and jeans.

"Nani?" He asked, suddenly aware that he was standing in the hallway on his underwear.

"Wouldn't your sister be more comfortable in this room? I could--"

"No." Kenshin smiled. He knew what she would say. She'd say she could go back to the Akabeko. "There is no problem about it. Asiyah is very comfortable at Yahiko's room, I'm sure. Don't worry, Kaoru."

Kaoru smiled a bit.

'She is just so cute.' Kenshin thought. 'Maybe I could continue from where I stopped when we were in the kitchen. Though the hallway is hardly the place to say this... And I'm nearly naked. No, this must be perfect. But she looks so cute... To the hell with it, I'm just going to say this right now.'

"Kaoru..." Kenshin walked closer to her. "Kaoru, I'm..."

Yahiko's door was opened.

"Onii-san, I'm hungry." Asiyah said.

Kenshin sighed, bad timing.

"Wasn't you going to nap now?" Kenshin tried to not sound too angry, but he believed he failed it.

"I just remembered that I slept a lot in the plane. Besides, I can't sleep when I'm hungry."

"Fine. I'll get dressed and take you ladies for breakfast at the Akabeko." Kenshin sighed loudly. That was exactly what he had meant when he thought he was out of luck.

-------------------
TBC...
-------------------

I know it was a bit short. I decided to cut this chapter in half and post it like this, because the second part is giving me a headache. And I don't want you dear readers to have to wait too long for the chapter without a reading material. So, please review and inspire me to write the next chapter. =^x^=

Jason M. Lee: Thank you! So, Miguel was wrong after all!! That Sakabatou is really pretty!

Chri: It's like this... A dream, a smell, the feeling of doing again something you never done before in your lifetime, it all can trigger a memory. It's weird, yet you are very sure it's real. It's just like any other memory. It's filled with details of things you could never know... When I was twelve, I remembered a place I had lived in another life. I remembered the name of the city and details about it's Geography. I didn't want to believe it was true, but I kept remembering things. So, two years later, I finally gave in and went to the library to search out the place. I found pictures of it. It was just like I remembered. What triggered my memory at that time was the weather. I had went to the beach and it was raining. I heard the sound of the sea and felt the wind... And it just came to me. I hope this answer your question. =^x^=

omochi: I don't think Kenshin was OOC. He suspects Kaoru is in trouble with the cops since chapter 5. He just knows he could be right, but he wants to be wrong. He wants to protect her, because he loves her. That's why he wants to know what happened, so that he can help her. But he doesn't want to ask her because she doesn't want to talk about it... It's kind of a dilemma.

Susan: Well, this is not quite the calm yet... I think Asiyah is pretty stormy (Thank you, Firuze, for letting me portrait her like this). There is a few important things to happen before the storm comes.

Gypsy-chan: I promise Kaoru will soon tell Kenshin about herself.

Sakura: Logo, logo, Kenshin e Kaoru vão sair do "chove-não-molha", como você disse.

Nemo: The good thing about publishing in the internet is that nobody knows who you are. And soon we become accostumed to have people commenting our stories (though I always get a chill when I publish a new chapter. I always think no one will review it). And be patient about Misao, Sano and Saitou being off the picture. They are busy with their stuff. They'll all be back soon (and then you'll think: why couldn't they be out of the picture for a while longer?).