See chapters 1-2 for disclaimers and acknowledgements
~*~*~
Chapter 5
Touch me, Touch-
Was the heat too much?
I thought I lost you from the start.
Time- Clock of the Heart, Culture Club
Kaori blinked her eyes sleepily at the mass of words
in front of her. They sat in the library again, and she was
currently trying to correct Kevin's homework. The characters
swam together in dark puddles before her tired eyes.
Looking up briefly to clear her head, she saw the
worry etched into Kevin's beautiful face.
Of course he's worried. He would never let anything
happen to you.
She shook her head fiercely to clear the cobwebs, and
tried to focus. She pointed out the mistakes she was
conscious enough to catch, and let the minor ones she was
sure were there but couldn't see stay hidden.
"Did you have any problems with your other homework?"
She asked wearily. Kaori felt her head starting to fall
towards the table, but she caught it quickly enough not to
hit her head.
Kevin shook his head. "Not really. Only the Pre-Calc
was hard, but I figured that out. Kaori-san...are you okay?"
she looked like she was ready to pass out, she'd nearly hit
her head on the table a second ago.
"No, I'm fine! Really. I just didn't sleep that well
last night...I had a really bad dream."
He was so concerned for her. His perfectly shaped
eyebrows had drawn together, puckering his skin. His eyes
were the most beautiful shade of purple, the kind of purple
that she never believed that eyes could be. They seemed to
be so deep and warm, almost like a hot spring... One moment
she was drowning happily, and the next she was falling, the
ground seeming to jump up from its stationary position. The
world turned red, then yellow, and finally went mercifully
black.
~*~*~
He hadn't been fast enough to catch her before she hit
the floor. The thud of the side of her head forcefully
striking the ground made something inside him squirm in
panic. He snatched her up in his arms, hurridly asked the
Librarian the location of the infirmary, and shot out the
door, as fast as untrained and pathetically slow body could
carry him.
He dodged around several curious students, and more
then a few concerned teachers, before he had her resting
comfortably in a small bed in the infirmary. All that
remained now was to locate the school nurse.
"Hello young man. What seems to be the problem?"
Turning around quickly, he said "Thank god, you're
here Sensei-" And his words abruptly left him. If not for
the gold rimmed spectacles, and the modern clothing, he
could swear he was looking at Megumi. She had the same
glossy black hair, only it was braided loosely down her
back. The same red lipstick that was always applied to
perfection. He shook himself mentally. He could think
about this later.
"Kaori-san hit her head." He continued lamely after a
moment "I carried her here as fast as I could."
The doctor (he couldn't help but insert the name
Megumi in his head) nodded earnestly before kneeling next to
Kaori, and checking quickly for lumps. Just above Kaori's
left temple, she found one- or the start of one. The doctor
touched it gingerly, and Kaori winced, even in her blacked
out state.
She nodded her head. "That's a good sign. That means
that she's isn't out cold. The poor thing looks like she
hasn't slept in a week! I really should try to wake her, but
she probably needs rest more then anything else. She needs
to go home." The doctor sat down at her desk, and pulled up
Kaori's medical records on the computer, and made a few
phone calls. Finally she replaced the receiver. She shook
her head, and sighed.
"No one is home, and I can't get a hold of her parents
at work either. She doesn't have any other numbers listed.
Unfortunately I have to leave to go to another school for an
assembly they are having, and I have to leave. Would you
mind staying here with her until she wakes up? She'll need
someone to walk her home when she comes to."
Kevin nodded solemnly, agreeing. "Okay, thanks. There
are ice packs in the freezer. I'm late so I have to run."
The nurse grabbed her briefcase and purse, and hurried out
the door, shutting it quietly behind her.
He watched her leave in a swish of white cloth, and
then turned back to Kaori. Her face was twisted in a vague
grimace. A piece of his heart twanged at her expression.
After a moment of simply watching her, he rose and moved to
the freezer the nurse had indicated and retrieved an ice
pack. Sweeping aside her raven hair as delicately as
possible, he gingerly felt for the lump. Kaori winced once
again in her unconscious state as his fingers brushed the
area. Ever so carefully he braced the icepack against her
head and the pillow, tilting her head to the side a little
to balance it.
Straitening up again, he pulled the nurse's chair up
to the bedside, and sat down to wait.
~*~*~
The first thing Kaori noticed as she woke up was the
throbbing pain in her head. Then she noticed how -cold- that
section of her head was. She moaned softly, and tried to
open one eye. The light only made her head hurt worse, and
she reached up to put an arm over her face, and accidentally
brushed the bruised portion of her skull. Through another,
much louder moan she heard the sound of blinds being drawn.
Seeing the light decrease through her eyelids, she made
another attempt at opening her eyes, and found the light
level far more pleasant the second time around.
She glanced around briefly, disoriented. She was in
the infirmary comfortably ensconced in bed, with a worried
Kevin standing guard. He had pulled the nurse's chair up to
the bedside, and was perched in an uncomfortable cross-
legged position. She tried to sit up, and he swooped out of
his seat, and gently pushed her back down.
"Don't sit up. You'll probably feel very dizzy and
sick if you try. And although I would hold your hair back
for you if you had to throw up, I don't think either of us
would enjoy that much." His serious expression convinced her
not to try it again.
She blinked a few times in the darkened room, and them
asked quietly "Kevin? Why are you here? Where is the nurse?"
Kevin shook his head briefly and then explained "The
nurse said that you probably had a light concussion. She
couldn't get a hold of your parents, so I stayed to watch
over you after the nurse left, until you woke up."
All she could manage in response was a slight nod. Any
movement made her head hurt even more, if that was possible.
"Why did you do this for me?" She said quietly after a
moment. "Why didn't you just go back to class? It wasn't
your problem."
Kevin shrugged a bit and said, "I wanted to help. If I
had hit my head like that, I hope someone would do the same
thing for me." That silenced Kaori for a few moments.
This boy is genuinely kind, she thought after a
moment. Nice guys are hard to find these days, she mused.
His kindness even shone in his deep lavender eyes.
-Wait. Lavender eyes? Where had she seen purple eyes
before?
Red hair and purple eyes. But no scar.
Recognition made her body go numb from shock. She knew
where she had seen Kevin before. He looked like that man
from her dream last night! What a strange coincidence. If he
had that weird scar he would look just like him...
*That scar was gone now, and he was even more
beautiful...*
If her head hadn't hurt so much she would have shook
herself. She was hearing those strange voices again. She
tired to pass it off as her blow to the head, but it wasn't
quite working. The resemblence was eerie.
Kevin was looking at her strangely. "Are you alright?"
he asked, his eyebrows knit together in concern. Her eyes
had gone totally blank for a moment. If he hadn't seen her
chest moving as she took her breaths, he almost would have
thought her unconscious again.
She smiled a little as she spoke "Yes, thanks. I
really appreciate you taking care of me and stuff. I'm sorry
I was so rude to you yesterday. I just...avoid guys now."
She watched one of his eyebrows raise nearly into his
hairline. "Oh? Is that so? Should I give up all hope?"
"That's not it at all!" She protested weakly. "I had a
boyfriend once, my freshman year..." Kaori began, and then
lasped into silence. Kevin was watching her closely waiting
for her to continue, but as she opened her mouth to begin
again, she found that she couldn't. "Gomen." She finished
lamely. "It's hard for me to talk about."
Kaori could only wonder what had come over her to
almost tell someone she barely knew about Shiro...
*You trust him.*
Why, she didn't know, but she did trust him. She
wanted to tell him, but she just wasn't able to-
*-Not yet*
But strangely enough, although she only met him
yesterday, she knew this boy wouldn't hurt her ever,
physically or mentally.
*Like the other one did.*
Kevin's eyes had turned sad, and almost wistful as she
explained. One corner of his mouth had quirked up into a
tiny smile. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable
yesterday. I didn't mean to."
She reached out and took his hand in hers. "I know
that. You didn't know. How could you have? Don't worry about
it. Besides, you're different. You're actually a nice
person."
His grin immediately widened. "Does that mean I get a
chance anyway?" She couldn't help but smile and chuckle a
bit over the innocent hope that expression held. Could she?
Should she?
After a moment, and after he looked like he was
beginning to despair of getting a positive answer, she
smiled. "One date. You had better impress me if you want
there to be a second one."
He squeezed her hand, and the flash of joy that
traveled over his almost pretty face was amusing in its
intensity. This boy made her smile a lot. She supposed that
that could be taken as a good sign.
"Would the classic dinner and a movie work for you?"
He asked, his grin nearly taking in his ears.
"Sounds great." She said with as much enthusiasm as
she could, considering she had a minor concussion. Realized
then that she was grinning like a maniac too, she tried to
stifle it but found herself unsuccessful. They just sat
there and grinned at each other like idiots, until the loud
ringing of the school bell brought them back.
Smiling, Kevin asked, "Do you feel up to walking home
yet? If so I'll go get our stuff from the library."
Kaori nodded slightly trying once again to sit up. The
wave of dizziness that attacked her wasn't nearly as bad as
the first time. Managing to get upright, she blinked a few
times to clear her vision.
Seeing her falter, he stepped forward to help. Kaori
waved him back, and said "I'm fine. Really. Please hurry and
get our stuff so we can leave."
His face betraying his worry, Kevin nodded. "As long
as you're sure."
Kaori found herself starring at the door many minutes
after Kevin had left to retrieve their belongings. What was
it about him? What was it? There was something there that
she just couldn't put her finger on. She sighed deeply, and
quieted her mind. She could think about all of this when she
got home.
~*~*~
Chapter 6
Another night with open eyes,
To late to sleep, to soon to rise
You're short of breath, is it a heart attack?
Hot and feverish, you face the fact-
You're in love
Can You Forgive Her? From the album Very,
by the Pet Shop Boys
Sleep evaded Kevin that night with frightening
determination. He stared at his blank ceiling, thinking only
two things- "Oh god she said yes, I have a date tomorrow
night!" and "If I don't fall asleep now, I'm going to be a
complete zombie at school tomorrow."
The first being most important to him, of course. He
quietly watched the minutes on his alarm clock tick by, and
the light slowly rise from the bottom of his window. Slowly
his room filled with light, until it filtered through his
blinds in a bright shaft, bits of sparkly dust swirling in
the draft created by the air conditioning.
At 7:00 AM his alarm screamed for him to get up. He
smacked it into silence, and went about what had become a
morning ritual to him in only three days. Shower, blow dry
his hair, put his clothes on, grab a bite of breakfast and a
can of soda, head out the door to school, where he met
Nicky. They then walked to school together and discussed how
"The Plan" was proceeding. The good news he had for her
granted him a bear hug, and a somewhat sloppy kiss on the
cheek, along with an enthusiastic "Ganbatte yo!"
School zoomed by at light speed. His nervousness
multiplied exponentially as the clock chimed each hour.
Almost too soon, school was over, and he realized that there
was Kendo practice today. Although he was new, and couldn't
really afford to miss practice, he decided he needed to
skip. He hoped Kaori wouldn't be mad.
The houses along the streets became a blur as he
hurried home, recapturing some of his old speed in his
urgency. When he realized that he was practically out-
running cars, he slowed down. It would be embarrassing to
get a speeding ticket on foot.
Once home, he attacked his closet with a frenzy.
"Kevin" had tons of clothes... but, oh, WHAT to WEAR?? He
got no further then choosing an appropriate pair of boxers
before becoming frustrated and stocking down the stairs (in
said boxers) to where his mother sat in the kitchen working
on some of her files.
His mother's eyes bugged out of her pretty head, as her
nearly naked son plunked himself down unceremoniously at the
kitchen table.
"Kevin, dear, what's the problem?" She asked, sensing
something was wrong, but unsure as to what.
"I have absolutely nothing to wear!" He practically
wailed.
Kevin's mother had been through this before. She wished
the change she had been seeing in Kevin a safe trip where
ever it decided to go, and brought her attention back to her
semi-naked and wailing son. "Dear, you have more clothes
then I do. That wasn't helpful. Okay, what's the occasion?"
"I have a date with Kaori tonight." He murmured
miserably, as he smushed his face into the table "I want to
impress her!"
Jenice tapped her manicured fingernail on the table for
a moment. "Dinner? She inquired. "Somewhere nice?"
His face still squashed into the table, Kevin nodded.
She snapped her fingers. "Simple! Make a suit out of
that black velvet jacket you have, and the velvet pants!
With that button-down shirt I found you at that thrift shop,
and your father's onyx cuff links, you'll be the best
dressed guy in there. Do you still have that wonderful silk
cravat?"
He stared at his mother in amazement. She had solved
his problem in a second, when he'd been lamenting over it
all day. It was so nice to have a mother again! As for the
cravat...
"You mean the purple one?"
"That's the one! Now, go shower, get dressed and get
back down here, then we can figure out what shoes you're
going to wear."
He nodded mutely at his mother, before clambering up
the stairs to follow her orders. An echoing shout of "Don't
forget to deep condition you hair!" swept up the stairs as
he entered the bathroom.
He eyed himself in the bathroom mirror, while
slathering his hair up with Paul Mitchell Hair Repair
Treatment. Kevin had kept himself in fairly good shape,
although it had probably been out of vanity, as opposed to
any concern for his health. He was somewhat muscular, but no
where near as -defined- as he had been as Kenshin. Of course
not, he thought ruefully, I haven't been struggling to keep
Shishou from knocking me out every five minutes. Or hiding
from and or assassinating government officials, and then
practically starving to death for ten years he added to
himself dryly. He let the conditioner soak into his hair for
ten minutes before climbing into the shower.
Another ten minutes later, he stood in front of the
mirror again, now toweling himself off. No scars, he
thought, smiling to himself. Not on my body, not on my face.
After mourning the loss of his cross scar for the past two
days, he had decided that he could live without it. His
memory was working fine, and that's what mattered.
He had to admit he was enjoying being 17 again, and
having no real worries, except what he was going to wear on
his first date with Kaori, and getting his schoolwork done
on time. This life was so different from his other one; this
was pure luxury in comparison. He smiled softly at his
reflection, and told it "I did deserves this." Selfish
indeed, but truly, he had suffered. And now that a life of
luxury and privilege had been handed to him on a pretty
silver platter, he certainly wasn't about to tell The Powers
That Be no.
Padding into his bedroom, towel clasped low on his
hips, the boxers he'd chosen earlier clutched in his other
hand, and he closed his door behind him. He let the towel
fall into a shapeless heap, as he inspected his closet for
the articles of clothing his mother had indicated. The
"button down shirt" turned out to be a slightly shiny and
lightly striped affair, but still very classy. It did need
cuff links. Pulling his boxers on, he began his search for
the velvet pants. Once locating those, he pulled them on as
well, straightened his boxers, buttoning his shirt and
tucking it in before fastening his pants. After quick trip
downstairs to retrieve the cuff links, and to enlist his
mother's help in fastening them, and he was back upstairs
searching for that purple cravat. He spent the better part
of ten minutes trying to tie it strait. Once it was properly
in place, he threw the matching velvet coat over his shirt,
buttoned yet another set of buttons, and tucked in his
cravat. Looking over his reflection, he realized that
something just didn't look right. He tapped faintly at his
mirror trying to figure out what it was. When he'd bought
the cravat...
It had come with a waistcoat! That's what was missing.
Now where was it? He dug through his closet and all his
drawers, and as always with his luck, it was in the very
last drawer, and looking a tad wrinkled. But if I'm wearing
it with a coat over it, no one will notice, he convinced
himself.
The full-length mirror on his door revealed a very
gothic, but still very classy looking person. Now the test:
his mother.
Back downstairs he went, and once again found his
mother in the kitchen. He did a little catwalk type turn,
struck a pose, and said, "Well? How do I look?"
Her hands clasped in front of her chest she said
dramatically, "You look how I've always thought Armand
should!"
"Are you saying I look like one of Anne Rice's
vampires?" He tried to keep the annoying screech out of his
voice that seemed to show up when he was annoyed. Kevin
hated it. He hoped fervently that he could mimic Kenshin's
soothing mellow voice with practice. He would certainly give
it a good try.
"Is there something wrong with looking like a
beautiful immortal boy?"
Kevin sighed. "I suppose not." He didn't quite
understand his mother's nearly occult obsession with Anne
Rice, but to be compared to her favorite vampire was a
compliment indeed. "Now, what shoes?"
Snapping her fingers again "That's easy! The
Daljeets*." He though again that he had entirely too many
pairs of shoes, but at least the Daljeets were sort of
normal looking. Patent leather they were, and also very
expensive, but not as pointy as some creepers, and
thankfully not platformed. The silver buckle would look good
with his tie tack, and his cuff links.
The deep rumble of the garage door opening filtered
through the wall clearly. His mother winked at him. "Maybe I
can get your dad to let you take his Prelude." Kevin could
only shake his head. His mother was being almost as nuts
about this date as he was!
Presently, his father had come in, and had let out a
low whistle. "Well, hello. What's the occasion?"
His mother nodded stupidly while speaking. "Kevin has
a DATE. With a GIRL." He completely missed the significance
of his date being with a girl, but his father smiled widely.
"Is that so? Going somewhere fancy? If not, you are
now." He found five thousand yen deposited in his hand along
with his father's prized, but never used, Platinum Visa.
Kevin could only blink in surprise at his father's
generosity.
He stared dumbly at the shiny plastic card in his
hand, only to be spooked when he found a set of car keys
dangling in front of his nose. "Take the Prelude, son. Be
careful, the driver side is opposite, you have to shift with
your left hand, and drive on the left side of the road. If
you dent her, you'll never driver her again, and it will be
out of your wallet to have the dent pulled out." Kevin
winced a bit, but nodded dutifully. He headed back up to his
room silently, not about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Once in the safety of his bedroom again, he stared
terrified at the shiny metal keys glinting almost evilly on
his bedspread. He remembered how to drive...sort of. Plus
with the differences of driver's side, and everything being
in kilometers.... He sighed helplessly.
"Having doubts?" Nicky. Thank god. He was almost glad
that she could appear and disappear at will where ever she
chose.
"No, no doubts at all. Just..." He gestured briefly to
the car keys.
Nicky grimaced. "When did you need to meet Kaori?"
Kevin looked at his wristwatch. "I still have an hour.
Besides my hair still needs to dry." He snatched a hair tie
off his dresser, and pulled his hair back into its customary
low ponytail. "Hey, where have you been anyway? I've been at
my wits' end trying to pick out clothing!"
Nicky waved one hand, basically indicating that she
wasn't going to tell him. "Oh, here and there. Nothing to
concern you, my pretty friend. Anyway, I'll give you a
driving 101, if you would be so kind as to meet me in the
garage in two minutes." Nicky disappeared into her signature
puff of smoke. He stuffed the money his father had given
him, along with the credit card, into his wallet, and was
happy to see his California Driver's License still safely
tucked inside his wallet as well. He had known how to drive.
'He' had done it once; he could do it again. Just like if he
really tried, he probably still perform most of Hiten
Mitsurugi Ryu's special moves, with the exception of the
ougi of course. Scooping up the car keys, he went to meet
Nicky in the garage.
He spent a mere ten minutes remembering how to shift,
and use the clutch properly. Another ten getting used to
being on, what was for him, the passenger side of the car.
And yet another ten getting used to driving on the wrong
side of the road. But it only took him a few minutes to
figure out how the stereo worked (His dad had a CD player in
the dash. He was glad he remembered to grab a few CDs before
leaving the house) Nicky merely patted him on the back, gave
him a good luck hug, and disappeared again. He wanted to get
to Kaori's early. He pulled up to the old dojo fifteen
minutes early, his speakers blaring Erasure, and he felt on
top of the world.
~*~*~
* For all you Non-Gothic people, Daljeet used to be a huge
Gothic clothing store in San Francisco. They seemed to
specialize in patent leather. Think of it as a designer
brand of Gothic/Mod/Dark Wave people. Just as expensive too.
*sighs, remembering her own pair of Daljeet creepers*