See chapters 1-2 for disclaimers and acknowledgements
~*~*~
Chapter 7
You spin me right round, baby, right around
Like a record baby, right round, round, round
Dead or Alive
You Spin Me Round,
Kevin wasn't the only one who had trouble sleeping that
night. Kaori also lay awake, her eyes focused intently on
the ceiling. However, unlike Kevin, who was simply nervous,
Kaori was experiencing full on panic.
Although she was safe, in her parent's house, in her
own room, in her own bed, she couldn't help but feel
terrified. What if what happened before, happened again? She
thought. She carefully reminded herself that what HAD
happened, had not been on their first date. It had happened
after she had broke up with Shiro. And besides, Kevin didn't
seem like the violent type...
There were a few things about Kevin that did scare her.
First, he had long hair, like Shiro, and he wore it in a
ponytail, only Shiro had worn it up higher. And Kevin's hair
didn't look sharp like Shiro's had. Anything that reminded
her of Shiro at all made her edgy.
The other thing that scared her was that eerie sense of
familiarity she got whenever she saw Kevin. The fact that
the redheaded man in her dreams looked just like him... she
shivered involuntarily. She also felt strange whenever she
walked past the sword in the dojo now. She had made the
mistake of asking her father who that sword had belonged to.
She felt she had to confirm her dream, and yet it scared
her.
And her father HAD confirmed it. He had known the story
from family history, as well as history books. It turned out
that the sweet looking red-headed man had been a famous
assassin on the side of the Ishin Shishi during Bakumatsu,
THE most famous assassin of that war in fact, Hitokiri
Battousai. That was were recorded history stopped and family
legend started. The man's true name had been Himura Kenshin,
just as her dream had said. She had discovered from her
father that after the war, he felt so bad about all the life
he had taken that he'd given up his katana for a Sakabatou;
that backwards bladed sword in the dojo; and had sworn never
to kill again. He'd wandered for ten years, before meeting
and saving the owner of the dojo at the time, Kamiya Kaoru.
She had asked him to stay and he had.
During his two year stay at the dojo, they seemed to
collect vagabonds- first, Myoujin Yahiko, her great great
grandfather, who had been all of ten years old, and working
for the local Yakuza. Then a streetfigher type, named Sagara
Sanosuke, and Megumi Takani, who turned out to be from a
family famous for their medical skills; Megumi had been no
exception. When they found her, she had been making Opium
for another local Yakuza branch.
Then, suddenly, one day, Himura Kenshin had just died
in his sleep. No particular reason could be found- he hadn't
been poisoned, and there were no signs of struggle or
violence. In fact, he had died with a smile on his face.
Kamiya Kaoru had been hopelessly in love with him,
regardless of the age difference, and after that she had
lived to teach, never married, and died without an heir. She
left the dojo to Yahiko, who had always been her best
student, and his wife Tsubame, and the rest, as they say, is
history.
And even stranger, now that she thought about it, she
had known all that, without ever asking. Confirmation was
what she had wanted, and that was what she had gotten. The
fact that Kevin looked exactly like Kenshin had, simply
without the scar, and had known precisely how to use that
shinai the moment he'd picked it up made her think. Now if,
in theory, there was a connection, as Kevin had handled the
shinai like he was used to something heavier, that something
heavier would be a sword. More specifically, a Katana, or
perhaps even the Sakabatou.
Kaori mentally shook herself. Things like that NEVER
happen in real life. She was just being overly romantic and
paranoid, and combine that with lack of sleep, and a minor
blow to the head, no wonder she was thinking strange things.
What mattered was she had a date with this strange and
gorgeous boy tomorrow night. What mattered was that her fear
was completely out of habit, and yet she KNEW with a
certainty, that her fear was completely unwarranted. If in
fact, he had some connection to the ex-assassin who had once
lived in her home, so long ago, she should feel completely
safe, for if her second suspicion was correct, she had been
Kamiya Kaoru. Kenshin had once sworn to protect Kaoru, and
keep her from worrying about him.
If all this WAS true, who else could she have been? How
else would she know these things? And if Kaoru had died
still in love with Kenshin, wouldn't that explain her
instant attraction to Kevin?
In the dark of her room, Kaori giggled softly. She was
indeed a hopeless romantic. Lovers separated by death and
reunited in the next life. It was almost cheesy. However all
this what if-ing had calmed her down considerably. Thinking
that Kevin had been Kenshin, no matter how improbable that
might be, took all her panic and nervousness away. Making
her resolve firm, she decided two things; first, she would
have fun on that date tomorrow. Second, she was going to go
to sleep RIGHT NOW.
~*~*~
She spent her whole school day completely zoned out.
Time and people passed by her without her knowledge. Once or
twice, she had looked Kevin's way, and he had smiled, and
nodded to her.
Of course none of this escaped the other girls in the
classroom. They all glared at her back, and although she
felt it, she staunchly ignored them. To her, most of her
female classmates were weak and simpering. It would make her
life easier if they liked her, but she didn't particularly
mind that they didn't either. She suspected now, that it was
her strange appeal to her male peers, (she didn't understand
it either) that made them hate her. So, because she knew
that she couldn't change anyone's minds, whether they be
male of female, she just ignored them. What else could she
do?
Other then that, school passed quickly, and
uneventfully. She had put up a notice earlier this morning
that Kendo practice was canceled. After school, as she
walked out the gate, she watched Kevin haul ass (that was
the only way she could describe it) down the street in what
she assumed was the direction of his house. She giggled to
herself as she watched him and his cloud of dust disappear,
and thought that she had been giggling a lot lately. Shaking
her head in self-annoyance, a wry smile graced her mouth.
She wasn't about to let herself become a simpering female, a
quality she disliked in anyone, especially herself.
She walked home at a comfortable pace. When she got
there, she sat down and ate a few crackers and had a glass
of iced tea. She relaxed for a bit, then glanced at the
kitchen wall clock- 5:00PM. She padded up the stairs, and
into her bathroom, stopping briefly to snatch her bathrobe
off her inside doorknob. Turning on the tap, she ran herself
a hot bath, and poured a bit of a scented oil into her bath
water. Relaxing completely in the hot aromatic water, she
let go of the last of her nervousness with the help of a
long history in meditation.
After her soak, she toweled off, and headed back in
her bedroom. Kevin hadn't said if they were going somewhere
nice or not. She hoped they were, because she planed to
dress nice; in fact she was going to wear the only dress she
owned. She had bought it along time ago to wear to a Senior
dance with Shiro that they had never gone to. It was a black
satin affair, but not too short nor too skimpy. It had wide
shoulder straps and a moderate square cut neckline. It fell
to just above her knee, and was cut to be form fitting, and
yet concealing at the same time. It had a small slit up one
side of the skirt, but neither did the slit go up very high,
it just enough to keep the skirt from impeding her walking.
However, she had grown since she had bought it two
years ago, and both her bust and her hips were larger,
making a not-so-skimpy dress look a little slinkier then it
should have been. However the effect was not unpleasing; it
still appeared to be rather modest. If anything it
complemented her figure more, and made her waist look tiny.
And now to accessorize! She threw a black cardigan
over her dress and left it unbuttoned, with the addition of
a pair of small silver hoop earrings, and a short silver
necklace, she completed her outfit. Simple yet classy.
Perfect. Pulling her hair up high on her head, she tied a
long, wide black ribbon in it, and let the ends trail into
her hair.
Kaori was putting the finishing touches on her hair,
when she heard a car pull up. She glanced out the window,
and got a bit of a shock. She watched Kevin step out of a
car, and a rather nice one at that, and start up the path to
the house's front door. Kevin's family could afford that
car? She winced a little as she thought how much that fancy
little Honda he was driving had cost. That Kevin even knew
how to drive...
She hurriedly applied a bit of gloss to her lips, and
checked her reflection again. Perfect. Just then the
doorbell chimed. She padded down the stairs, to find her
poor mother gapping at Kevin. She didn't blame her. Kevin
looked like something out of an American movie, to be sure.
Although his suit was all of a modern cut, he still looked
terribly old fashioned, and yet...She tore her eyes away,
and looked at her mother, who was still gaping. Kaori only
shook her head, grabbed her coat, and sat down to fasten on
her heels.
They were about to step out the door when her mother
recovered herself. "Stop right there! I need pictures!" She
scurried down the hall and returned a few moments later with
a camera. After arranging the poor couple till they were
practically hanging on each other, she snapped a picture and
scurried off once again. Kevin could only shake his head.
"What is it with parents today?" He whispered loud
enough for Kaori to hear.
"Yours too?" She thought that just her parents were
going batty today.
Kevin nodded earnestly. "Oh yeah. When mom told dad
that I had a date, suddenly I had car keys and a credit card
in my hand." He shook his head. "And now you see, my mother
has me dressed up like a vampire."
"It looks great." Kaori said helplessly, now a little
worried. He was right, he did look downright vampiric. That
scared her just a little.
"You look better." He immediately shot back. It was
true- she didn't need the fancy clothes to look beautiful.
She'd look gorgeous in a burlap sack, naked, or in Versace.
It just didn't matter.
A faint blush had stained across Kaori's cheekbones.
Although she knew he was trying to stifle it, Kevin had a
"Forget dinner, can I have you instead?" sort of look in his
eyes. Although it made her nervous again, it also made her
insides jumble pleasantly and feel warm in just the right
places. Kevin was certainly a vision himself. He exuded
glamour, as incense gave off smoke. Although he was not very
tall, all the black made him seem so; combined with his
natural slenderness, and his posture... well it wasn't
helping her jumbling insides at all. He was fairly broad-
shouldered, and the cut of his jacket even made him seem
more so, and he stood with his hips pressed forward, hands
in pockets. All of that, added to his brilliantly glossy red
hair, and deep purple eyes...she felt like she was dating
some kind of model or movie star.
She must have been silent for quite a while, or
perhaps she was starring something awful, but briefly he
looked confused. "Kaori-san, is something wrong?" He asked,
the now familiar expression of worry etching itself onto his
face, making his eyebrows draw together, and the skin around
his eyes pucker slightly.
She gave herself a mental kick in the butt, before
replying "No, nothing is wrong at all!" She punctuated that
statement with a brilliant smile; "Well, I think my mother
is done fawning over us, shall we get going before she
decides she wants more pictures?"
This instantly wiped the worry of Kevin's face, and he
gave a low chuckle. "Good idea. Hey, turns out while I was
getting dressed my mother made reservations at some Italian
restaurant called Biba's. Have you heard of it? Do you know
where it is, because I sure don't."
A surprised gasp escaped Kaori's lips. "Reservations
at Biba's? I wonder how she managed to do that! That's one
of the most expensive restaurants in town, and it's ALWAYS
packed. And, yeah, I know where it is. Let's go before they
give our table away."
"They wouldn't really do that would they?" Worry
worked its way back into Kevin voice and face.
"They've done it before; they did it to my parent's on
their anniversary."
"Then we are leaving NOW." Kevin gently took hold of
Kaori's arm, and steered her out the door. Upon reaching
the car, he opened the door for her, and held it until all
her limbs were safely tucked inside. After climbing inside
himself, he looked over to find Kaori shifting nervously. "A
bit like a cockpit, isn't it?" he asked with a grin. "Please
keep hands and feet inside the vehicle until we have to come
a complete stop. Thank you and enjoy your ride." He said
jokingly in his best announcer-esque voice. Kaori put a hand
over her face and tried to stifle a giggle. It didn't work.
The car came to life as soon as he turned the key in
the ignition. Since this was a sporty car, Kaori had
expected it to roar to life with all the ferocity of a
hungry lion. Instead it was very quiet; in fact it purred
very softly. Kevin punched a button on the dash and music
blared into the small car. He quickly turned down the
volume; he didn't want to deafen her.
On the way to the restaurant, Kevin amused her by
trying to sing the lyrics from his Erasure CD in Japanese;
he failed miserably, not in translation, but in making the
words fit. Knowing he sounded ridiculous, he switched back
to English. According to her, she understood English just
fine, and had been one of her favorite subjects in school.
And so he picked a song in particular:
"Angel made in Heaven,
Oh, my one and true love,
Give me some of that action, reaction
Angel made in Heaven
Only one and true love,
Gimme some of that action!"*
Kaori understood the content of the song perfectly.
She wondered if he had picked this one out to get a message
across.
"Arrow in my heart, we were meant to be
I knew it was my name you were calling
Celebration: now your standing next to me
Show love and emotion, I'm falling!"
She chose to ignore that verse, and everything it
could have meant. Now she wasn't sure if she was being a
hopeless romantic, or just being paranoid. If she wasn't
reading meaning into things that weren't there, why would he
want her to love him? Unless...
Unless her suspicions were correct. She couldn't think
about it anymore now, however. They had pulled up in front
of the restraunt, and Kevin was stepping out, and was
handing a liveried valet his keys. Yes, there was plenty of
time to think about this later. Right now, she had promised
herself she'd have fun, and she was going to keep that
promise.
~*~*~
Chapter 8
"I don't want to start any blasphemous rumours,
But I think that God's got a sick sense of humour,
And when I die, I expect to find him laughing."
Depche Mode, "Blasphemous Rumours"
"Nicky."
Nicky shifted in her regenerative state. She had tired
herself out earlier when she had re-taught Kevin to drive.
"Nicky! Wake up!" the voice came, far more insistent
this time.
One eye opened drowsily to find an annoyed heavenly
ruler standing over her. Bounding to her feet, she
straitened her clothes and checked to see that she was
properly materialized.
The being nodded sharply. "That's better. You haven't
reported to me once since you started this mission. I
shouldn't have to come find you myself. Report. NOW."
Nicky snapped her heels together and saluted smartly,
her skirt swishing around her legs with the quick movement.
"Yes, your Majesty!! My mission objective was to help Himura
Kenshin, in his reincarnated state as Kevin Hannah, to find
the reincarnated Kamiya Kaoru, thought and confirmed to
Myoujin Kaori, and fulfill his wish to be with her
romantically. The purpose of his wish was for there to be a
more peaceful time and place where their relationship would
not be interrupted."
"My current mission status is as follows," Nicky
continued formally, "Kevin is out on a date with Kaori, and
appears to be doing fine in the modern world. Something that
was not part of his wish, but was an added bonus was his age
reduction to one nearly Kaori's own. I believe it makes him
more comfortable around her."
The heavenly ruler nodded slowly. "So everything is
working out perfectly for him then?"
"Yes, Your Highness. He is adapting fine. That is the
end of my report."
The attractive androgynous face of the being that
ruled Heaven twisted into frightenly evil smile. "Good. Time
to throw a kink in the plot. I can't let him have it that
easy."
Nicky felt shock take her. "But...I thought you were
going to give him a break!" Her hands balled into fists,
fingernails digging painfully into her palms. "I thought he
was one of your favorites!"
The smile on God's face only widened and it shrugged
its shoulders. "So I lied. And he's one of my favorites to
PLAY with. You've worked for me for a long time Nicky, you
should know me better by now."
Closing her eyes tightly, she tried to press back the
tears. She had worked so hard to make sure nothing went
wrong this time. For once she had managed to do her job
perfectly. However, she understood the nature of things now.
God did not care if she actually completed her mission. It
only wanted to watch the troubles she and her human charges
suffered as they tried! Despite her best efforts, the hot
tears poured down her cheeks. Poor Kevin. And he was so
happy! He deserved it! Nicky took a deep gulping breath to
calm herself, her large green eyes seeming all the larger
magnified by tears, and after a moment she spoke.
"With all due respect Your Majesty, I believe that you
should take pity on him, and let him rest and enjoy himself
for a lifetime." Nicky's head was inclined. She was really
pushing her luck now.
God's eyes narrowed sharply. "If I cared what you, a
simple heavenly guide, thought of how I go about my
business, I would have had you appointed to the Council long
ago. Remember your place!"
Nicky raised her head and matched God's hard stare.
"Forgive me, Your Highness. I've overstepped." She tried to
keep the sarcasm from dripping off her words, but still a
hint remained. "May I ask what you have in store for him,
that I may prepare more sufficiently?"
She heard God scoff, and raised her head again. "Of
course not. It won't very interesting to watch if you are
prepared." With a curt wave of it's hand, God banished Nicky
back to her earthly state.
~*~*~
All he could do was watch intently as she picked
through her food. Even the way she pushed the food around on
her plate...And so he stared, his own plate of pollo
marsala* forgotten long ago.
Kaori wasn't really eating either. She was literally
pushing her food from one side of the plate to the other.
How could she possibly eat when Kevin was staring at her
THAT WAY?? At school he was okay, because he had to wear
that same all consuming uniform that all the other boys did.
School uniforms are never flattering. However, now seeing
him outside of school, he dressed and carried himself
completely different. And he always stood hands in pockets,
his hips pressed forward, causing his back to bow in such a
way... She mentally shook herself. Her insides hadn't
stopped their gymnastics either. In fact they must be
getting a really good workout, because she was warm, almost
sweating. She knew very well what this feeling was; it had
been there with Shiro, but was so very pitifully small
compared to this.
Kevin had leaned forward, elbows on the table, his
hands forming a bridge to support his chin. "You've stopped
eating."
Kaori jumped, and couldn't stifle her nervous
laughter. "Well of course I've stopped eating! You're
staring at me! And your not eating either."
A tiny grin sneaked onto Kevin's face. "I'm not
staring. I am admiring. If you want me to, I'll quit." A
hint of something he wasn't aware of had sneaked into his
voice, but Kaori picked it up clearly.
"You are staring!" Kaori insisted. "Your eyes say
you'd rather have ME for dinner then your food!" She wasn't
sure she was comfortable with where this was going. She was
far too attracted to this boy for her own safety, and
obviously the feeling was more then mutual.
Instantly, his eyes changed, from the warmth that was
making her squirm in her chair, to sadness. The purple,
which had acquired an alarming pink tinge in the last half-
hour, became a deep blue, as the pink tinge left them. His
head lowered, and cocked to the side, allowing her nothing
but the view of an eyelid, and eyelashes. "I'm sorry. I've
made you uncomfortable..." He flagged the nearest waiter,
and flashed his father's credit card, calling for his check.
He kept forgetting that this wasn't Kaoru in front of
him. Well it was her, but it wasn't. This person had had
something awful happen to her at the hands of someone she
had loved. But persons' Ki could only tell you so much.
Currently it was telling him things he was sure she wouldn't
want him to know. She was fairly glowing with sexual
energy, and she was obviously uncomfortable with the
feeling. He understood, because if bad stuff went down with
her ex, then of course she would be uncomfortable. All he
could do was mentally kick himself, and apologize. Sometimes
he wished that THAT ability had stayed gone.
Although...he wasn't quite used to this kind of
tension either. After he'd gone on his journey, part of his
penance had been abstinence. So when Kaoru had flirted, he'd
ignored it. He sighed as they brought him the check, and he
tucked the card inside, and the waiter went to scan it. He
looked back up at Kaori then, to find her eyes shining with
tears.
"Oh no..." he reached forward across the table to take
one of her hands. "Please, don't feel like you've done
anything wrong! You haven't. I've made you uncomfortable, so
it's my fault." Something about this only made the tears
rise faster and they now threatened to spill over.
How could anyone be so nice? He had to be the sweetest
person she'd ever met. He said it was his fault when it
wasn't. It was all her. She shouldn't be uncomfortable,
after so long. Perhaps it wasn't the feeling itself, just
it's intensity? That was something she'd just have to figure
out. But she wasn't going to let herself cry in the
restaurant. She'd wait until they left...or at least she was
going to try.
He'd gotten his dad's credit card back, and now they
could leave. He offered Kaori his hand, and she stood up,
and let him lead her out of the restaurant. The valet
retrieved the car, and he made a quick survey for new dents;
his dad would kill him if there were. Luckily there were
none, so they could leave. Once in the car, he turned the
music back on, but quietly, and put in something less bouncy
then Erasure. He figured London Suede would fit the mood
better.
She seemed to be calming down a little, but he didn't
want to risk it. He pulled the Prelude into a fairly empty
parking lot, and parked the car under a light.
Kevin turned in his seat to look at her. "Do you want
to talk about it?" He asked gently.
Shaking her head, Kaori whispered, "I don't think I
could explain it to you. It's strange..."She paused for a
moment, searching for the words. Telling him of her odd
theory was out of the question, as was talking about Shiro.
"Part of it DOES have to do with...what happened last time.
But...I feel like I've met you before. Like I've known you
for a long, long time. That's what confuses me most."
A little bit of shock followed by a lot of elation
filtered through Kevin's brain as her words sunk in. That
was definitely a good start! Maybe in time, she would
remember WHERE she knew him from. When or if she did...
everything would be perfect.
Kaori glanced up then, to see what Kevin's face could
tell her. He looked strangely happy at what she had said.
Perhaps he felt it too? No...that would be too weird...and
further confirm her odd theory of reincarnation.
But did she really want it to be confirmed? It was one
thing to find out her dreams were in fact events, but to
really discover that by chance you are dating a person you
loved in a previous life...that would point to order in the
universe that just couldn't be there. Perhaps she had
developed a bad case of pessimism since Shiro, but people
just DON'T get that lucky.
But, what if they did? Was it really so hard to
believe? She looked back up at Kevin, his concerned face
looking at her, waiting patiently for her to continue her
explanation. They were so comfortable with each other; it
almost felt like they had been together for a long time.
Kevin was certainly different from most guys. Anyone else
would have taken her home and never talked to her again, if
she had started crying in a restaurant like that. The next
morning everyone in school everyone would know how 'weird'
she was. Instead, he had taken her somewhere quiet, and
asked if she wanted to talk about it.
Quite suddenly, she realized something. She WANTED it
to be true. She wanted to believe that something out there,
whether it was God or whatever anyone wanted to call it,
could be kind enough to give the love of her life back to
her. She glanced up at Kevin again. The love of her life?
Kenshin had been the love of Kaoru's life. And she wanted to
believe, so she would believe.
"Kaori-san...Are you okay?" She had been silent for a
long time, as if lost deeply in thought. Every once in a
while she'd look up at him and smile just a little bit, like
she was remembering something from a long time ago. It took
a while for his question to reach her. She looked up and
smiled again.
"Yeah. I'm okay. I may be better off now then I've
ever been. " Her smile widened as she spoke. "I was
wondering...I hope I don't sound dumb...but do you believe
in fate?"
~*~*~
Kevin parked the Prelude in his garage, and sat back
in the cockpit style seat. When she had smiled at him and
asked him if he believed in fate, his heart had nearly
stopped. He almost couldn't breath. She hadn't explained the
elusive comment, but he had a feeling parts of Kaoru were
coming back to her. They were probably only vague
impressions of half-forgotten feelings, but it seemed to be
enough. They didn't end up going to a movie, but had sat in
the car and talked for an hour and a half.
Their date hadn't been what he'd expected, but he felt
that it had turned out BETTER. When he'd dropped her off,
he'd gotten out to open the car door for her, and walked her
to the gate that still lined the yards of the old dojo.
"Do you mind if I kiss you goodnight?" He'd asked,
knowing very well that it might not be okay; he still had no
idea what had happened with her ex, in fact she wouldn't
even say his name out loud. That subject had been completely
avoided during their talk in the car.
She'd blushed darkly, and in the glaring light of the
street lamp he could see her nose and her cheekbones stained
a vivid shade of pink. He almost thought she was going to
say no, but after a moment she nodded her assent.
Once again, he'd felt his heart skip, and his
breathing halt. Not even daring to put his arms around her,
although he would desperately love to do so, he'd merely
taken her hands and pressed a soft, chaste kiss to her
mouth, only lingering slightly. After a whispered goodnight,
he watched her walk inside, before climbing into the car,
and driving home.
He heaved a contented sigh, and pulled the keys out of
the ignition. He locked up the car, and went in through the
door that led into the kitchen, to find both his mother and
father waiting up for him.
He proudly held out the car keys to his father. "No
dents!" he proclaimed happily. "I told the valet that I
would kill him if there were any." His father nodded, and
took the keys from him.
"Kevin." his mother said seriously. "How did it go?"
"Perfect. Great. Better then perfect." Heaving yet
another contented sigh, he fell into one of the kitchen
table chairs.
"Did ya kiss her?" His parents said in unison as they
leaned forward over the table expectantly.
Kevin drew himself up, and tried to look insulted, but
couldn't pull it off. He was secretly too proud of himself
for it to work. "Maybe." Was all he said, shooting his
parents a sidelong glance through narrowed eyes.
His parents smiled at each other. "He kissed her." His
dad said though a large grin.
"He certainly did." His mother replied through an
equally large grin. All of a sudden though, she went
serious. "Kevin we have a piece of news for you."
He perked up again. News? That didn't sound good.
"What kind of news?" He asked, worry creeping into his
voice.
His parents shot each other unreadable glances, before
his mother continued. "That depends. Remember that tall guy
with the brown hair you were dating when we moved? He called
tonight. He's coming with his father on a business trip over
here. He said he wanted to see you while he was here."
Kevin felt his night go from wonderful to horrid in
two seconds flat. This was a part of "Kevin's" memories
that he hadn't paid attention to. It seemed he'd overlooked
something quite important. How was he going to explain
-this- to Kaori? He could only hope she was liberal.
Silent, he left the kitchen table, and headed up the
stairs. His parents watched him disappear with worried looks
etched into both their faces.
"Do you think now is a bad time to ask for my credit
card back?" His father whispered.
Jenice could only look at her husband in amazement.
"Yes. I think this is a very bad time. Ask for it in the
morning. I don't think I should have given that boy our
address. Oh well, it's too late now."
~*~*~
Kevin wandered up the stairs to his bedroom in a daze.
"That boy I was dating..." he said quietly to himself, as he
opened his bedroom door. He was too shocked even to panic.
He stepped into his bedroom to find a bawling Nicky
sitting on his bed. Momentarily forgetting his own problem,
he tired to understand Nicky through her hiccups.
"Kevin!" She exclaimed. "I have some *hiccup* bad
news. God called me in for a report. *hiccup* When it heard
how well you were doing, *hiccup* it decided it was time to
play with your life again! I tried to talk it out of it, but
it wouldn't listen to me! I'm so sorry, I tried, I really
did!"
Oh. Well that explained things, now didn't it?
~*~*~
Author's Notes: I wanted to apologize for taking so long to
write this chapter. I also wanted to thank Miyu for
flattering me, and Sakka-chan for curing my writer's block.
Even more thanks to Miss Led; she is a big part of why this
is readable ^_^