Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ If I Should Fall ❯ Chapter 6

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
Music_nerd101: ::bats eyelashes:: You always have such kind words. :) Thanks so much! I think my cousins would disagree with you, though, that I have good taste in music lol. I’ll never forget the look my Sobrina-kun shot me one day when I gave her a ride and decided to turn on Pink Floyd. :) As to why Kenshin didn’t tell Kaoru sooner…honestly, I didn’t think of that -_- I’ll try to address it…eventually. lol

“Oro” Object: More!

Tenken’s Amour: Thanks!

Hana Yori Dango: lol I’m glad you like it :) Consider it updated.

Mummy: lol Thanky

Chikky-chan: lol Thanks. I’m sorry it takes me so long to update. I’m trying to focus on quality over quantity, so it takes me a little longer to write…


Random Person: ::grins back::

Grey Wolf 4: Thanks! ::laughs nervously:: Actually, no, I’ve never watched any boxing movies lol I don’t know anything about boxing (I have a lot of nerve writing a fic about boxing then, don’t I?) But I will take that as a compliment and thank you again!

gabyhyatt: Yeah…sorry, I can’t think of an explanation right now.

51 reviews!!!!!!! I’m catching up to Sobrina-kun!!! lol

Woo-hoo! I’m already on the 6th chapter. That’s like…wow. I can’t believe I’ve stayed interested in it for this long. With any luck, I’ll stay interested right up to the very end. :) Again, thank you to all of my reviewers!
Also, it has occurred to me that Shishio doesn’t appear in here very often. Sorry, folks. I kinda…forgot about him. -_- Plus he’s a difficult character to write. So I will try to give him some more appearances. (Although somehow I doubt that anyone actually missed him)

The lyrics quoted are that of Trying, by Lifehouse (This is actually the song that I got the title of this story from).

If I Should Fall

Chapter 6

By Night Imp

- Could you let down your hair

And be transparent for a while

Just a little while

To see if your human after all

Honesty is a hard attribute to find

When we all want to seem like we've got it all figured out

Let me be the first to say that I don't have a clue

I don't have all the answers

And god I pretend like I do just

Trying to find my way

Trying to find my way the best that I know how



Well I haven't memorized all of the cute things to say

But I'm working on it

Maybe I'll master this art form someday

If I quote all the lines off the top of my head

Will you believe

That I fully understand all these things I’ve read

I’m just trying to find my way

Trying to find my way

Trying to find my way the best that I know how



Well I haven’t got it all figured out quite yet

But even if it takes my whole life

To get to where I need to be

And if I should fall to the bottom of the end

I'll be one step back to you

I'm trying to find my way

Trying to find my way

Oh, I'm trying to find my way

Trying to find my way -






Soujiro stared into his glass. This was a very bad turn of events. He most certainly did not want to fight his sister’s fiancé, no matter how much he didn’t like Kenshin, and no matter how famous it would make him. In fact, if anything, it was one more reason for him to not fight Kenshin; Soujiro had never wanted to be famous.
He set his glass down on the coffee table and cleared his throat. “I should be going.”


Kaoru’s eyes widened. “Oh Soujiro, don’t worry about the fight. I’m sure we can talk Sano out of it.”


Kenshin nodded in agreement. “I’m sure we can, please stay.”


Soujiro shook his head. “No…I…need to get going.”


Kenshin and Kaoru watched in silence as he left. “He still doesn’t like me very much.” Kenshin said after the door was shut.

Kaoru sighed. “It’s not you, it’s just…he’s always been very possessive. Of me, of his animals, of his things…just everything.”


“I doubt that telling him about the fight helped any.”


“It’s not your fault, he would have found out sooner or later.” She stared into her glass, slowly swirling the liquid around. “He’s been acting strange lately.”




Yumi stood at the counter and watched as Soujiro walked in. She really had not expected him back so early. He seemed even more withdrawn and depressed than he had been earlier, and that worried her. She picked up her teacup and turned to face him. “What’s wrong, Sou?”


“Leave me alone.”


She raised an eyebrow as he walked into his suite and slammed the door. He was always so moody lately, and frankly, it was beginning to annoy her.
Shishio walked out from the bedroom when he heard the door slam. “Is he back?”


“Yeah, but he doesn’t seem to be in too good of a mood. Why don’t you wait till tomorrow to talk to him?”


Shishio said nothing, but walked to the door of Soujiro’s suite.

“Makoto…”


“Stay out of this, Yumi.”


“Makoto, he’s been having a difficult time lately, you need to lay off of him for a while.”


Shishio slowly turned around to Yumi with a glare. “I’ve told you once to stay out of it, don’t make me tell you again.”


She froze. She knew that tone of voice. That cold, menacing tone of voice. He had never used it with her before; he only used it with other people. People that he did business with. It shocked her. “Do not talk to me like that.”


“I can talk to you however I want, woman.”


Yumi bristled. “How dare you…” she began, but stopped when Shishio walked over and grabbed her by her upper arms.

“Do not start this with me now.” He growled as he tightened his grip.
She squirmed. “Makoto, you’re hurting me.”


He said nothing; only tightened his grip.

Yumi tried to pull away, without success. “Makoto…”


They stood there for another moment before he finally let go, turned, and stormed into Soujiro’s suite. Yumi rubbed her arms where marks from his fingers could still be seen. She knew they would bruise.





Soujiro was lost. This was nothing new, for he really enjoyed being lost. On his laptop, with his headphones, listening to his music, he could completely ignore the world. Which was why he hadn’t heard Shishio and Yumi arguing. If he had, he probably would have left. He hated yelling and arguments, even if they did not directly involve him. They reminded him too much of his childhood.
He jumped when his door flew open, surprised to see Shishio walking in. Soujiro was really not in the mood to talk to (or listen to) Shishio, but he knew from experience that there was nothing he could do about it.

“Take those headphones off.” Shishio snapped. Soujiro did so. “I’ve scheduled you for another fight.” He started pacing. “Sanosuke Sagara approached me today and suggested it…you know who Sagara is, don’t you?”


Soujiro nodded. Unfortunately, yes, he did know who Sanosuke Sagara was.

“This is the biggest promotional opportunity we’ve had in over three years now. If you win this, you’ll be completely undefeated. Your name will be everywhere…”


“Who am I fighting?” Soujiro interrupted with closed eyes, wishing he did not already know the answer.

“Kenshin Himura.”


Soujiro sighed.

Shishio walked over to him. “This is the chance of a lifetime. Do you realize how much money this will bring in?”
In the other room, the phone rang. Shishio glanced out the door, then back to Soujiro. He stood there a few seconds longer before heading towards the other suite.

“I’m not going to fight him.”


Shishio stopped. “You what?”


“I said I’m not going to fight him.”


Shishio slowly turned and walked back over to Soujiro, a menacing glare in his eyes. “I tell you whether or not you’re going to fight.” The phone continued to ring. “I do. This is not open for discussion. I tell you who you’re going to fight and when you’re going to fight. Got that? You will be fighting him, whether you want to or not.” The phone still continued to ring, obviously grating on Shishio’s nerves. “DAMMIT YUMI, ARE YOU EVER GOING TO GET THAT!?”


“GET IT YOURSELF!!”


Shishio stalked into the other suite and slapped Yumi before grabbing up the phone.
Yumi sat there, her hand to her cheek, stunned, watching Shishio. He had no right to slap her. He was not her father.
She sat and stared at the floor, listening to Shishio’s conversation. It was someone he knew, and he sounded perfectly friendly, as if nothing was wrong. She rubbed her stinging cheek, stood and walked into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her. She was not going to allow herself to be slapped around like that. She would go away for a while, and let Shishio calm down. After all, he had never done this to her before.
She would come back and give him a second chance.
But for tonight, she was leaving.



Soujiro wasn’t sure whether Shishio would come back in after the phone call or not, but he didn’t want to take the chance. He hated being yelled at.
He threw on his jacket and walked out the door, stopping when he heard another door close nearby. He looked out to see Yumi walking out of the other suite.
“Miss Yumi, where are you going? It’s late.”


Yumi wrapped her sweater tighter around herself and walked past Soujiro in a hurry. “Out.”


He started after her. “What?”


“I’m going out.”


“Oh.” He was silent for a moment but continued to walk with her till they got to the elevators. Yumi pressed the button and crossed her arms. “Well…may I come with you?” He asked in a timid voice.

Yumi shrugged indifferently and pressed the button again. At eleven thirty, the lavish hallway was silent. But at even the slightest noise both of them looked around anxiously to ensure that Shishio was not chasing after them. Again, Yumi pressed the button impatiently. “Why is this thing taking so long?”

Soujiro shoved his hands into his pockets and hunched his shoulders as he started to wonder exactly what he was going to do at eleven thirty at night with an angry Yumi. A bar wasn’t her place, and he doubted that a nightclub would be, either. All she would do at a restaurant is sit there and fume silently, and more likely than not, she probably wouldn’t want to see a movie. But presently the elevator doors slid open and they walked inside. Soujiro watched her but didn’t say a word, which seemed to suit her just fine.

By the time they were out on the street it had started to drizzle again. It really was unusual for the time of year. Not that Soujiro minded walking in the rain- and in fact, Yumi didn’t, either. To them, the rain felt like the bittersweet memory of an old friend smiling; an old friend that had left long ago. The rain was a strange sort of comfort.

Soujiro looked around, still wondering where to take Yumi. She seemed to just be walking around aimlessly, with her arms crossed and her head down. Soujiro smiled slightly, as he prided himself on the fact that he was, in essence, protecting Yumi. In a city like this, a woman walking around late at night, not aware of her surroundings was almost certain to get mugged- or worse.
After several minutes of walking, Soujiro noticed a 24-hour gym across the street. He stopped and smiled, an idea creeping into his mind.

“Miss Yumi?”


She took no notice and continued walking.

“Miss Yumi?”


Still, she continued walking. Soujiro quickly caught up to her and put his hand on her shoulder. “Miss Yumi?”


She stopped and looked at him. “What?”


Soujiro put his hand back in his pocket as the absurdity of his idea began to sink in. “Um…” He looked down and scuffed his foot. “Would you maybe like to go to the gym?”


Yumi raised an eyebrow and blinked. A gym? He wanted to go to a gym? Why would he want to go to a gym in the middle of the night? She shook her head in an effort to figure him out. “What?”


“There’s a twenty-four hour gym over there,” he gestured across the street, “I thought…maybe…um, you’d like to take out your aggression…or…something…” He cleared his throat and hunched his shoulders, and they stood silent for a moment.

“I could teach you how to use the speed bag.” He ventured.

Yumi slowly began to smile. “Yeah…I guess.”




“It’s every third beat.”


Yumi sighed and shook her head. “I don’t get it.”


“It’s alright, it took me a while too. Try it again.”


Yumi sighed again and for the fifth time tried to hit the bag. Hitting it was not the hard part; it was getting the rhythm down, and that seemed to be completely beyond her range of skills. Soujiro had hoped that this would calm her down, but all it had succeeded to do thus far was agitate her that much more.

She threw up her hands in irritation and walked away. “I can’t! I just don’t get it!”


Soujiro sighed and brushed his bangs out of his eyes. This was not working. “Um…” he stared at the floor, then suddenly reach out and grabbed Yumi, pulling her back over to the speed bag. “Here.”
Standing behind her, he took her hand in his and once again hit the bag, alternating sides, so Yumi could get the feel of it. Yumi smiled as she finally began to understand; hit it on the third beat. You don’t wait for three beats; you hit it on the third beat.

“The harder you hit it, the faster it goes.”


Yumi grinned. The horrible evening that she had had suddenly got a great deal better as a sense of accomplishment set in.

Soujiro ran his hands back up her arms as he took a step back, watching as Yumi continued on. She certainly had a knack, once she got the hang of it. Yumi had a knack for a lot of things. Yumi was very talented. Shishio didn’t seem to realize that; either that or he didn’t care. Anger flared up inside of Soujiro as he began to think of the way Shishio had been treating Yumi as of late. Yumi deserved so much better.

Looking at the ground, lost in his thoughts, he didn’t notice when Yumi turned around and took off her gloves. He didn’t notice until she laid a hand on his cheek and gently turned his head to face her. She smiled at him and looked into his beautiful blue eyes*.

“Thank you, Sou.”


She leaned forward and gently kissed his lips, leaving him staring at her in shock when she pulled away.

“Uh…I…um…m…uhhhh…ummmm&# 8230;” He licked his lips. “uhh…um…b-but…but…um…w-w-what…wha t…what about Mister Shishio?”


“What about him?”


“Well, I…I…I don’t really really really want h-him killing me…”


Yumi smiled. “He doesn’t need to know.”






Hee hee I’m so totally horrible at writing romance. Strange, considering that all I ever read when I was nine were my grandma’s romance novels. Although I guess those things really aren’t very good examples.
It just occurred to be that I never really went into any depth about Shishio and Yumi’s relationship. Yeah, the early chapters sucked really bad. I really should totally re-write this story.
Ha! Like I’m really ever going to do that.

*People’s opinions seem to vary as to Soujiro’s eye color. My preference is brown, but whenever I say brown, I get a bunch of reviews where people not-so-politely inform me that his eyes are BLUE!!! So I figured I’d save myself the trouble and just go ahead and say they’re blue.

Short update, I know. Sorry folks.