Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Life Insured ❯ You Know What They Say About Men With Big Swords ( Chapter 4 )

A/N: I'm glad everyone enjoyed Megumi in the last chapter. She and Sanosuke were lots of fun to write! Hope you like this chapter too- R&R

"Life Insured"

Chapter 4: You Know What They Say About Men with Big Swords…

Needless to say, Saitou had been very miffed on Tuesday afternoon, when, on a surprise visit, Kenshin had requested he be able to change desks. Not only change desks… the redhead had also asked rather forcefully if he could have his phone number changed.

The long-faced manager had leaned back in his chair slowly, fixing Kenshin with a look that denoted he thought the man had gone off the deep end. Here was a man that had never demanded anything in that quiet, even voice of his. Now that such a strange request had popped up, the tall, greasy-haired man didn't quite know how to react.

"Explain to me again, Himura, why it is you suddenly feel the need to move closer to the window, and why also your line needs to be changed? Is there something the company should be informed of?" His voice was dry and sardonic.

Kenshin took a deep breath. "I already explained once, Mr. Saitou. I've been at Imperial Insurance for eight years now. I think it's about time I deserved a better desk area… specifically, a desk with a better view." He winced inwardly. The lie was horrible, but he couldn't very well tell Saitou that the reason he wanted to move was to deter ruthless mafia assassins from tracking him down, could he?

Saitou eyed him critically. "And the phone extension change…?"

The redhead flinched. He didn't really have an excuse for that one, unfortunately. "It's…it's a personal problem, sir, that it is..."

"Personal problems should not get in the way of your work duties, Himura."

Kenshin's jaw clenched unnoticeably. "I understand, Mr. Saitou." He wished that the manager would just get on with it already, but Saitou had the extremely annoying habit of dragging out everything to milk every last bit of sick, twisted pleasure he could out of each situation.

In the end, after lecturing a fuming Kenshin on the values of Imperial Insurance Company employees, Saitou had reluctantly agreed to grant his requests.

Kenshin had been working furiously the past week. First and foremost, he had to plow through all the work he had neglected the week before. Secondly, drowning himself in tiresome insurance claims and complicated forms had been his only option for forgetting temporarily the situation he was in. He knew he was fooling himself in thinking that the mafia would be sidetracked by something as silly as changing his phone extension, but it was the least he felt he could do. He couldn't just skip town.

He had also noticed that Kaoru had been giving him very strange, sidelong looks for the past few days. He was sure that he didn't blame her, considering the situation. He had told her expressly not to worry about him, and not to mention anything about the mafia ever again, but she still worried after him. He saw it from across the room. He told himself that as long as he could protect her, he could still let her worry. Even if the memory was far away, he had sworn long ago that he would be a protector.

So, slaving away throughout the workday, Kenshin found himself more on edge than ever before. He was an attentive worker anyway, but since the first telephone call from Shishio's man, he had jumped every time his phone rang. He was sure that when he least expected it, answering the phone could end all of this apprehension… and put him in an even more difficult situation.

Kenshin sighed deeply to himself, thinking all these thoughts. He raised his head out of the papers for a second, giving himself just a second to admire his new view of the city. It wasn't particularly fascinating, only containing a view of the metal sheet windows of an adjacent office building, and the sky above it. He noticed the sky was darkening, as if a storm were approaching.

Suddenly, his thoughts were split by the ring of yet another call on his telephone. His hands twitched a little, as he battled with himself on whether to pick it up or not. After a moment of tough deliberation, and the focus of two bright violet eyes, Kenshin's hand snaked out to grab the phone.

"This is Kenshin Himura. How may I help you…?"

"It's me." When Kenshin heard the smooth, smiling voice his stomach dropped all the way down to ground floor. He didn't answer for a long moment, millions of questions, answers and fears popping into his brain.

He remembered very quickly what Megumi had told him. She had said to play it cool, to act like a hit man… otherwise he might not wake up the next morning. His heart began to beat faster. What did mafia men say? What words did they choose? Most of all, how in the world was he supposed to convince them he was who they thought he was… whatever that was…

He cleared his throat loudly, supposing that the fewer words, the better. "Yeah." Though his hand shook on the phone, he tried to make his voice as rough and deep as possible.

The polite voice seemed to have taken no notice of the long pause, and continued speaking curtly to Kenshin. "Have you been under any pressure lately?"

Kenshin's eyebrows raised, and licked his lips nervously. "Pressure? What is that supposed to mean?" He flinched at the sound of his own voice, which came out husky and deep.

"Have you noticed any signs of anyone… watching you? Is your company aware of your actions?"

Kenshin realized that, since they believed their man had changed name and location, they would watch out for any suspicious activity. He steeled his voice once more. "Nothing at all." He wasn't used to speaking so rudely to people on the phone. He hoped he didn't sound like he felt- as if he were play-acting… and very badly at that.

"Good." The young voice sounded pleased, and Kenshin tried not to sigh with relief straight into the receiver.

He could feel cold sweat prickling on the back of his neck. How long would this phone call go on? How long could he actually keep up this charade before making a slip?

"Shishio has a new `project' for you."

Adrenaline shot fiercely into Kenshin's veins. Project? If by "project" the man meant "murder," which he was ninety-nine percent positive it did, Kenshin knew that the trouble was coming quicker than he had imagined. Would he be calling the number on that blank business card sooner than he had hoped for? He had to calm down, though. He had dealt with stressful conversations in his life. He could deal with this one.

"Yeah- what?" How else could he have answered?

"Stay where you are. Communication is becoming tougher, so I will contact you again to provide the location within three days. Mr. Shishio would like to remind you that if you are caught, we cannot come to your rescue, so stay on your toes!" The warning was cheerful, and Kenshin found it almost sickening. The boy quipped about death as if it were a good-natured sporting event.

"Right."

"I'm glad you understand." After a lightly affirmative noise from the speaker, the phone call was over.

Kenshin set the phone back on the hook with shaking fingers. When he was sure that the man on the end would never hear him, he slumped down violently in his chair, covering his face with one hand. How could he keep this game up any longer, not knowing where it could lead?

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"Uhh….Mr. Himura?"

The delivery boy looked on in confusion at the mass of red hair splayed on the desk, and the figure of the insurance agent sleeping deeply on his pile of papers. He nervously checked the nameplate on the desk to make sure he had gotten the right desk. How was he going to explain to his boss why he was late, if he couldn't wake the man?

"Mr. Himura? There's a package for you."

Kenshin's eyes were wide and unfocused as he snapped out of his slumber, giving a wild look to the delivery boy, who backed away in uncertainty. The boy tried hard to remember again why he had decided to keep this godforsaken job… oh yes, he had to pay for college. He resignedly held out the clipboard to the sleepy insurance agent, who took a long moment to process the meaning of the form, and then finally scribbled a loose signature on the bottom line.

"Er…thanks…" Kenshin muttered, embarrassed. He had never slept on the job before. But, he hadn't really had anything that could be labeled as sleep, in the past few days. It was rather difficult to sleep when you were afraid the mafia was after you.

Kenshin felt confusion wash over him as the young man in his khaki shorts and matching work shirt passed him a long, thin cardboard box. The boy didn't bother to explain, and left, uninterested, to finish the rest of his duty. Kenshin frowned to himself, feeling that the package in his hands was heavier than it at first had looked. Now, he couldn't remember ever ordering something that might come in a box this shape…in fact, he couldn't remember having ordered anything at all!

Rubbing sleep and dryness from his bloodshot eyes, Kenshin moved his fingers fast to rip open the top of the box. When he had succeeded, he tipped it to pull out some object wrapped in thick layers of soft cloth. His eyebrows furrowed darkly over his eyes. What kind of object would be wrapped in this silky cloth, and sent to an insurance agent without his knowledge? A feeling of unexplained excitement and dread ran up his spine, as he carefully began to pull back the layers of cloth.

With a sudden pang of fear and surprise, Kenshin realized what the object was. If his stomach had been at ground floor when Shishio's man had called him, it was now making his way towards uncharted depths.

Someone had sent him a sword.

And, it wasn't just any kind of sword. It was the style of some ancient samurai warrior- long and thin with a sleek wooden sheath and, Kenshin realized with fright as he slipped open the sheath for a second, a polished and sharpened blade. He quickly sheathed the sword again, suddenly remembering to check for people around him. If suspicions hadn't been aroused by his recent actions, then drawing a sharpened killing sword during office hours would probably do the trick quite nicely.

So, setting the sword across his desk as if it were some priceless relic, Kenshin leaned back in his chair, and just stared for a moment. What was he supposed to do with a sword? It was, in fact, a murder weapon.

A moment later, his quick eyes noticed the small, square piece of paper that had fallen out of the box. He leaned down to pick it up, reading the handwritten lines to himself.

A present from your loyal client. Use it when the time comes- you're going to need it.

-H.S.

Kenshin's jaw dropped open, though part of him knew that, with all the weird things that had been happening to him lately, surprise was starting to become a token reaction. Hiko Seijuro had just sent him a sword.

Now…just what had he meant by "you're going to need it"?

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Kaoru approached hesitantly, seeing that Kenshin was buried in work. She had really tried to respect his wishes, and not get any more involved in his problems, but she just hadn't been able to take her mind off of it. When she should have been paying attention to one of her clients, her eyes flickered constantly to check on the redhead, who was looking even more distressed than before. She hadn't asked, but… perhaps the mafia men had called him a second time?

When her customer, an old doctor with soft, white hair, and a soft stomach to match, had reveled in telling her about the antics of his two darling grandchildren, she was far more concerned about the sanity of the man that sat near the far window. She was beginning to see that Kenshin was one of those strong-willed and self-sacrificial people who believed they could put the weight of the world on their shoulders.

She would just have to beat it into his head. Nobody, not even Kenshin, was strong enough to stand this kind of torture. He would have to understand that, sooner or later.

Kaoru lifted a light fist to knock on the wall of his cubicle. It was a meaningless gesture of formality, considering the enclosed space didn't actually have a door. Kenshin looked up with a welcoming smile. "Ah, Miss Kaoru… did you need anything?"

Kaoru sighed a little. Had he always been like this? It seemed as if, the more worried Kenshin was becoming, the more distant he became towards those around him.

"Not exactly… I just wanted to check up on you, and make sure…you know, that everything was all right." She shrugged a little, making her long dark braid swing slightly. Her deep blue eyes shone in worry for the man.

Kenshin's smile increased in width and brightness, though she swore once again that his eyes were looking at something sad and far away. "I've told you before, Miss Kaoru. I'll be just fine, that I will."

The woman put on a firmly disapproving frown, her hands moving automatically to her hips. If only she could just get it through to him how much she had been concerned for his safety… how much she wished that he would tell her everything, instead of trying to act so tough. "Kenshin, I know you want to handle this on your own, but I don't think you should…"

Kenshin waved it off, even if the thought of spending more time with Kaoru was alluring to him. "I don't want to put you in the way of any more harm…Trust me, I've handled things… similar to this before. Besides, Miss Megumi can help me with that."

The moment he said it, he knew he had made some stupid misstep that had to blamed on male clueless-ness. The change in Kaoru was miniscule, but he swore he could see a vein pop in her forehead. "Oh, is that it?" Her eyes narrowed into something sharp and frightening. "You and your lovely Megumi seem to be hitting it off famously, don't you?"

Kenshin wished he could have backed away… unfortunately for him he was trapped by cubicle walls. Instead, he tried to placate the woman with a nervous smile. "No… that's not quite it… she's just… she said she can help me." He hoped that Kaoru would leave the conversation where it was. By telling her about Megumi and this Sanosuke fellow, it would just drag her in further.

She didn't look convinced by his answer in the slightest. "Anyway, I don't see why any man could fall for such a slippery…." She trailed off, something by his feet catching her eye. "What's that…?" He followed her eyes slowly, noticing fast that he had forgotten to conceal the package with the sword in it.

He tried to play it off as nothing, kicking it farther back. "Ah, it's nothing Miss Kaoru. Just a package from a client, that's all…"

Her eyes narrowed more than before, but she couldn't press any further. Seeing how his eyes were closing off to her again, and taking on that dreaded impersonal glint, Kaoru turned reluctantly towards her desk. She knew, though, that no matter what, she would not let Kenshin go through this alone. No matter how many silly ideas he got in that handsome head.

"Miss Kaoru…?" His voice had dropped some of the absent politeness of before, and had a soft, heavy quality that she wished he would use more often. It was impossible not to listen to what he said when he spoke to you this way.

She turned back with hopeful eyes, his clear, violet ones meeting hers in sincerity.

"Thank you for caring."

She nodded, before turning back towards her desk. She couldn't figure out for the life of her what it was in his stare that had made her cheeks grow so hot.

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A/N: Aww…. Kaoru's blushing! ::teases her::

And, what's with that sword… crazy ol' Hiko…. Always good for a laugh! (Hot dang! I've been using a lot of movie quotes in my A/N's! If you get what movie that quote is from, well then, you get a very tasty cookie)

Please leave a review. I can't fix any glaring mistakes or know what improvements this needs unless I get comments from helpful people such as yourself! Look forward to next chapter coming out very, very soon!