Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Ai Yai Yai: A Modern Romantic Story ❯ Scattering Dust ( Chapter 5 )

Here is the second (bonus… sort of) update as promised… please enjoy and read slowly because I won't be updating for a while!!

Recap:

Otou-sama smiled as the door closed behind him. “Yumi, our little dog has left some things for us to clean up. Get Hoji to sweep the room, there are at least three listening devices in here.” Yumi bowed and made to go, but the man interrupted her, “And Yumi…” She raised her head, “Yes, Otou-sama?”

“Make sure to inform Soujiro that next time he kills someone, to make sure that they're all the way dead.”

“Yes, Otou-sama.”

Chapter 5

Scattering Dust

-I-

The smell of stir fry over a faint burnt something mingled with the stale air of Kaoru's room. The sun had dipped below her window and the dust in the air was visible, drifting and swirling around her like a galaxy of faerie dust. She slumped over onto the bed, reaching up in futile to take one of those particles in her hand, some celestial destiny that she could grasp. As soon as she seemed to snatch it from its orbit it would slip between her fingers. She pulled the blinds shut to make them disappear, but they seemed to scurry to the strips of light the blinds let in, dancing in smaller, defined circles now, laughing at her frustration.

She felt nothing. It was as if the warm muffled room had also dulled her thoughts. It was as if she wasn't in the room at all, but outside of it looking in at herself. She felt her eyes glass over and play and replay the last few days in her head. In that sense she almost seemed like a machine. A malfunctioning machine, she sighed inwardly, feeling the breath escape, too stale to stay inside of her for so long. She just couldn't seem to grasp how she had been put into such a mad excuse for a life, as if the person pulling the strings above her head was laughing maniacally at her feeble attempts of understanding herself.

Hefting herself off of the bed, she reached for the doorknob, cold under her hot palms, and pushed it open. He stood on the other side of the door as if he had been pondering if he wanted to open it or wait for someone else to, toxically mesmerizing yellow eyes shimmering in the dying light. Kaoru's breath caught in her throat and she hurriedly tried to slip past him, palms beginning to sweat. Unfortunately, the apartment was small and the hallway even smaller. She was forced up against the wall, feeling its bumps and imperfections against her skin through her shirt.

He turned to face her again and in that muffled silence, time seemed to seep by, the golden glow etherealizing the two bodies. She turned her face away from his, something that seemed very much like fear grappling with her chest, then, as if it was an addiction that she could not resist, she lifted her eyes to search for his. In that moment she felt herself die of sorrow. Something deep within those eyes held emotions that could only be unlocked with such deep feeling that Kaoru knew too much of it could take you over. It was like taking a lethal dose of poison and then wishing you hadn't. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and her lips quivered uncontrollably. Was it fear, or the sudden cold that seemed to sweep her body… or something else? Ducking away from those eyes, she hurried to the kitchen. She grasped the tiled countertop, knuckles white, sweat dripping coldly down her face. Her muscles did not relax enough to allow the blood to flow back into her hands until she heard the door to her bedroom close behind her. The tingling sensation that she was left with just made it feel all the more unnatural.

Kaoru couldn't believe that two days with this man could do so much to a will that she had always thought was so strong and unwavering. She rested her forehead in her hands, threading her fingers through her damp, sweat-soaked hair. She stared thoughtlessly into nothingness as the apartment began to darken, the night settling into the empty silence. After a while, she lifted herself sleepily and opened the fridge to find something to fill herself with. To her surprise, a plate with stir-fry, neatly covered with saran-wrap, lay there between her soy milk and half eaten package of tofu. She hesitated for a moment, weighing her options. Why take something from this man if she didn't want anything to do with him? Deciding that hunger at this point was more important than her illogical idea of morals, she plopped down at the counter to eat the left-over cooking, scowling at how much better it tasted than hers ever had.

For a moment old memories of a half-forgotten childhood streamed back to her like an old movie reel. She was five again, cradling the soft down of a small bird, its wing slanted at a strange angle and dangling over her fingers like water escaping from between the cracks of a sidewalk. Her father's face, blurry with forgetfulness scolded her, “Don't get attached Kaoru, he's probably not going to make it,” She watched her five-year-old tears fall onto the little bird, as if crying could somehow fix everything. She named the bird Yuki, because she had always liked the name, and it had died the next morning, its body stiff and cold as the icy snow she had named it after.

I'm not relying on him, She assured herself, and I'm not getting attached.

-II-

Agent Sanosuke scowled as he shifted uncomfortably. The little boy beside him was, at this particular moment, staring out the window at the billowy white clouds as they lit up colorfully above the sinking sun. As he pulled away slightly from the glass, cheek peeling off of it, his face and hands left clearly visible marks for the next lucky passenger to find. He turned Sanosuke's way, and the man quickly leaned back, closing his eyes, expertly miming sleep. Not convinced, or maybe just apathetic to his neighbor's slumber, the child poked him hard in the ribs. Sanosuke tried as hard as he could not to hit the kid over his buffle-brained little head.

“Hey, Mister,” He said in a loud whisper, “Are we there yet?” Sanosuke opened one eye slightly to glare at the boy, mentally ticking off the 764 time he had asked that question in the last seven hours and forty-five minutes. “I hear that if you ask that too many times,” Sanosuke whispered harshly, “the plane will blow up and we'll never get there and your ghost will be condemned to walk the world of limbo between heaven and hell asking that question to all the old geezers who are passing over to a better place.” He closed his eyes again, satisfied, only to be jolted harshly awake again.

“Miss Stewardess Lady,” The kid whined, “He said the `H' word!” Sanosuke looked meekly up at the glowering stewardess as she glared down at him. He smiled guiltily until she turned her attention back to the small child, “It's okay little man, he just has no class,” She glared at him momentarily, “Women hate men like that…” Sanosuke sighed, slumping back in his seat, and opening one of the bag of peanuts he found arranged in a happy face pattern (guess who)on his tray. Are we there yet? He wondered.

-III-

Kenshin fiddled with the alarm clock radio that sat on the woman's dresser. It was fairly straightforward to operate, and he soon found what he was looking for. A grating voice that spoke over a slight fuzzy haze of white noise filled the room, “…The culprit in the Little Tokyo killing has yet to be found, and no suspects have been taken into custody…” The radio zoned in and out and Kenshin turned the dial slightly to tune it better, “…Police have not confirmed anything more at this point, stay tuned for any updates and Sandy Miller's ten ways to avoid being the victim of a murder… And now back to Rob with the traffic update, Rob?” The radio clicked off and Kenshin wiped a drop of sweat off of his forehead. They would send someone soon, and he was a sitting duck. It was time for him to leave, and if anything, as quickly as possible.

Standing quietly, he opened the door to the woman's bedroom and slipped silently out, making his way to the bathroom. Keeping a close eye on the figure slumped on the couch, chest rising and falling steadily in sleep; he bandaged his scar and replaced the gauze around his quickly healing wound. It had not been as bad as it had seemed in the first. The wound had been deep, yet it had not hit any major arteries and within a month he would be completely healed. For now, two days of rest would have to be enough. He had been in worse situations. Then again, he had never had his own government assassin syndicate after him. Securing the last of the bandage, the man picked up his sword gently, and grimly made for the door.

He froze as the woman moaned in her sleep, and turned over. Setting the sword down, he felt a strange emotion turn his stomach, stopping him. He covered the distance between the door and the sofa swiftly, to pull back into the shadows. The woman lay on her side, hair flowing over a bare shoulder that her shirt had slipped off. Kenshin felt his face grow slightly hot, he pulled back slightly, surprised at his own foolishness. Her skin seemed to absorb what moonlight seeped into the room, and her surprisingly long eyelashes shimmered. He frowned, wondering why he was noticing these things when he realized the reason her eyelashes shone like they did. A tear trickled across her skin, flickering and dancing its way down her cheek.

Unconsciously his mind went back to a time that another woman had cried in her sleep, whispering apologies to the dead, people she had buried, and people she had walked away from, their blood tainting her dreams. He found himself pulling her sleeve back onto her shoulder, not expecting the smaller hand that clasped onto his own. Her eyes did not open, but he knew now that she had been awake this entire time. “Thank you,” She whispered, her eyelashes fluttering as her eyes opened slowly. Deep blue as they were, they twinkled in the faint light, framed with tears. Her fingers were callused, but in the same way, strangely soft. He shook his head, “Don't thank me woman,” he told her, suddenly finding it hard to look at her, “If anything, damn me.”

“Kaoru,” She said softly, not looking at him. Kenshin looked down, brow furrowed slightly, “It's Kaoru. And the only way I'll damn you is if you don't take me with you.” Kenshin pulled his hand away in surprise, “Absolutely not.” He told her, the moment, like a calm lake, was disrupted by unexpected ripples. Suddenly her eyes became obstinate and strong, “Then I'm calling the police the minute you leave,” He raised an eyebrow.

“Don't look at me like that,” Kaoru shot back, “You know that there's no way they won't know where you are. Your fingerprints, hell, even your blood, are all over this apartment. Even if you kill me, they'll hunt you down.” The fact tha it was completely true didn't make this woman bossing him around any better. Finally, after what seemed like a decade, Kenshin sighed, “Fine.” He knew he would regret this, “But if you get into trouble, I'm not coming to save you. You're an accomplice now.” Kaoru nodded, a smug smile creeping across her face.

“If they catch us, I'm telling them you kidnapped me.”

“Not if I tell them you kidnapped me first. Who in their right mind would kidnap you, woman?”

“It's Kaoru!”

-VI-

Agent Sanosuke sat in the LAX airport, staring at the food stalls and wondering if God really loved him as much as it seemed. Pulling out a crisp American bill, he made his way towards one of the stalls. Anything called `Taco' has gotta be good…He thought to himself happily. His relief of being off of that plane, and away from that goddamn little menace carried him away to a beautiful land of taco's, where he completely missed the man in a red coat carrying a long rectangular box roughly the size and width of a deadly weapon and being closely followed by a woman carrying a small bag with a luggage tag that hung over the edge and read:

“If found please return to:

Kaoru Kamiya

Little Tokyo Towers # 105

351 E 2nd St

Los Angeles, CA”

Side notes:

Yuki in Japanese means `snow.'

Author Notes

All there is left is to tell me how you liked it! Feel free to bludger, burn, criticize or praise (whichever seems most appropriate at the time) this chapter, just make sure you let me know your opinion! Also, questions are welcomed, they let me know I'm doing my job right!!