Be Careful What You Wish For

A Rurouni Kenshin fanfiction

By Chibi Tenshi and Kirstian

Chapter One

Giving the yukata in her hand a vicious twist, Kaoru continued mumbling to herself. At the rate she was going, Yahiko and Tsubame would be grandparents long before she and Kenshin ever got together. Though she sometimes found those violet eyes staring at her with the strongest hint of longing, she knew he would never get around to saying a thing. If only ‘oros’ were words of love, she thought wryly. She’d be dead from all that attention she received.

She blushed at the way her thoughts were heading. Though innocent, she wasn’t exactly stupid about the ways between men and women. All she had to imagine was a certain redhead and the light muscles she frequently saw under his gi and she just about had a seizure. The question became, was she doing the same for him?

She highly doubted for a second that bounded breasts and hakamas were much of a turn on for him.

That became a problem. What on earth could she do?

With a faint sigh, she muttered, “I wish I were desirable.”

She was about to realize just how fatal five little words could turn her whole life upside down, and to never, ever leave wishes to be as vague as that ever again.

**********

Hanging the clothes up to dry, Kaoru patted herself on the back for a job well done. She had hoped to get the laundry out of the way so Kenshin would be able to accompany her to lunch. It was one of those rare days that she would have him all to herself. She could barely contain her blush at the suggestive route her brain had taken. Then again, knowing her luck, the rurouni would probably find some poor soul to save.

Really, sometimes, one would’ve thought that he were a superhero instead of an ex-hitokiri.

Fighting a yawn, she told herself it was worth the extra effort it took for her to wake up early and finish laundry. After that, all she had to do was send Yahiko on some wild errand, and never one to leave it up to chance, she had arranged for Tae to send Sanosuke breakfast. She grinned. She was going to succeed in getting Kenshin to go out to lunch with her. She’d knock him unconscious, gag him, and carry him there if she had to.

She sat down for a moment as the sun slowly crept up on darkness, splashing the skies with rays of orange hues. Leaning her head against the pillar comfortably, she admired the scenery in front of her, and eagerly anticipated the day ahead of her.

Today would be the day. Kamiya Kaoru was a modern woman, and if she were extremely lucky, perhaps a declaration wouldn’t be far off. It was with these thoughts in mind that she drifted off into slumber, where the impossible became a reality.

**********

The sun was getting hotter, and she was dying in the desert, with no rurouni in sight to save her. As she crawled away from the sun, the grainy floor beneath her was scraping her knees painfully. And from out of nowhere, a fly appeared, hovering around her face. It kept buzzing by, flickering by her skin and finally, in sheer frustration, she swatted at it, only to hear a loud “ORO!” exclaim in her ear.

Kaoru woke up with a sudden start. She looked around her in confusion for a few moments before finding a redhead sprawled awkwardly on the ground, not too far from her.

“Kenshin!” she exclaimed, moving to help him up. “Daijoubu ka? I didn’t hurt you did I?”

His eyes blinked adorably at her. “Aaa, sessha is fine, Kaoru-dono.”

She pulled him to his feet and apologized. “Gomen nasai, Kenshin. I must’ve been dreaming, and accidentally hit you.”

“Daijoubu de gozaru yo.”

The moment seemed to hang between them before she realized her hand was still firmly encased in his and that his thumb was stroking her hand in a most unusual, yet extremely delicious way. She blushed furiously, though she made no move to take her hand away.

“Ne, Kenshin,” she began hesitantly.

“Nani de gozaru ka, Kaoru-dono?”

“You… you’re… still holding my hand.”

She wished she could bury her head in the laundry tub. Maybe the bubbles would suffocate her.

“Do you mind?” he asked huskily, his voice sounding far lower than she had ever heard it.

Her heart began accelerating even faster than it had ever beat before. She dared to venture a peek at him, only to find looking intently at her. The blush spread even further upon her cheeks, and she turned away. His other hand moved to cup her cheek gently, turning it back to meet his heated gaze. She was fairly certain she was going to faint some time soon.

“Kaoru-dono, iie. Kaoru…”

She melted, and her knees nearly gave out. He laughed, the low timber of the sound sending shivers shooting up her spine. His eyes were blazing golden at this point, and he caressed her cheek.

“You are so beautiful,” he whispered reverently. He pulled her closer, and she found herself being surrounded by his unique scent – male yet distinctly soapy. Surely she was dreaming. She pinched herself hard, and let out an astonished yelp.

“It’s real,” she whispered.

Kenshin blinked in confusion. “What’s real?”

“You are,” she replied stupidly.

He chuckled, sending shivers up her spine. “Of course, I’m real.” His hands tightened around her waist, and she blushed even more. Though it was everything she ever dreamed of, propriety was key! It wouldn’t do for someone to stumble in on what was going on.

“Kenshin,” she murmured.

“Hai, Kaoru?”

She just about swooned at the way her name just seemed to roll off his tongue. “We shouldn’t be doing this. It’s in the courtyard, and it’s not proper."

Though there was delicate colour staining his cheeks, he murmured, "Any time between us is the right time." Kaoru would've fallen face forward had she not been in the redhead's arms. Was this really the shy rurouni who she had to beat to get any action out of?

Was she just being hopeful or had Kenshin finally made a pass at her?

And there it was; what if she was just being hopeful? While she had dreamed of moments like these ever since he had moved in with her, somewhere, Kaoru had always known that the rurouni wasn't one for large or public displays of affection unless he had been pushed. For goodness sake's, this was the man that had bought her flowers and then forgotten about them - this was the man that had only ever ventured to embrace her before when he thought he would never see her again.

Through the heady feelings stirring in her gut, a bit of apprehension appeared; what if it really wasn't what it seemed?

"K-Kenshin," Kaoru stammered, finally finding the courage to look up into his molten amber eyes, reaching up to touch his forehead. "… you're… not sick, are you? Do you have a fever?"

When he replied, catching her wrist in his hand and drawing her palm down to his mouth, Kaoru almost fainted. "Not the sort that Megumi-san's medicine could fix…"

"Eh? What about the kitsune?"

Proper - proper - this was damn well NOT PROPER, even though it was feeling very very nice, a voice screamed inside her head.

That was too much. Letting out a small shriek, Kaoru spun around and away from Kenshin, clasping her hands in front of her and trying to put on the most innocent-ladylike image she could muster. "S-Sanosuke!?"

When she actually took a look at him, though, she couldn't decide what was odder; the quiet and put-off "gozaru" that the rurouni mumbled under his breath, or the fact that Sanosuke looked like he had spent the last few hours in front of a mirror, trying to make himself look presentable - to the point where his hair was slicked back with something she couldn't identify.

"Yo, Jou-chan. What's for lunch?"

"S-Sano, what's in your hair?" Kaoru stuttered, ignoring his questions. "And… did you try to sew that shirt up by yourself?!"

"What," he grumbled, "can't a guy look nice around here?!"

At her wit's end, Kaoru almost screamed, matter-of-factly, that he couldn't look nice, but caught herself and decided to take a few deep breaths instead. Things weren't odd at all, she told herself firmly. No - Kenshin just had a little fever, and Megumi would treat him, and he would be back to his rurouni self - and Sanosuke? He was dressing up nicely because... he wanted to impress Megumi when they took Kenshin to the clinic. That must have been it. There's always a rational explanation for everything, Kaoru thought, heaving a heavy breath out her cheeks.

"Anyway, what's for lunch?" Sano asked, more brusque then normal and almost agitated, running a hand through his hair and then cringing and wiping it on his pants.

"I… I haven't made lunch." She was about to explain that her and Kenshin were supposed to go out when, suddenly, Sano had wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her towards the gates.

"Good," he grunted, "I got some stuff from Tae."

"Ah, but - Sano, what did you use in your hair… is that fish sauce?!" Shocked and appalled were two more things to add to the growing list of unusual emotions that were flitting over Kaoru's face as she pulled away from him. "I was supposed to go out with Kenshin for lunch today!"

"That's right," came a voice from behind her - and Kaoru snapped back upright as thhe rurouni's hand clasped down on her shoulder, tight and possessive. "Sorry to disappoint you, Sano… looks like you got all dressed up for nothing."

"Ah, eto, Kenshin!" She had never heard Kenshin use such a tone with anyone other then his rivals, and when Kaoru glanced between the man behind her and the one in front, it became apparent that that's what had happened. Eager to right the situation, she stammered, "Sanosuke looks... nice!"

"Oh, go do the laundry, Kenshin," Sano replied stiffly. "The little lady wants to go with me."

The sparks flying between the red-headed ex-hitokiri and the oiled-down-chicken-headed ex-gangster were practically palpable; and, in a last ditch effort, Kaoru stepped in between them, holding her arms out to their chests to keep them apart. "G-guys, what's going on here?! G… guys!!!"

"She'd rather go with me," Sano growled at Kenshin, pulling on one side of Kaoru's arm when she offered it - and Kenshin's vice-like grip clamped down on her other wrist.

Sweetly, Kenshin retorted, "why don't I go warm a bath for you so you can wash that gunk out of your hair?"

"Oh, shut up, you can't take her out on a date in pink!"

"It's magenta de gozaru yo!"

If she had ever had the urge to say 'oro', it was then - but, instead, in the true Kaoru fashhion, she balled her fists, anger bubbling over the confusion. "Kenshin… Sanosuke… let go of me…"

"Tell us which one you'd rather have lunch with," they both replied at the same time - and, amazingly, they both went flying into the sky at that very moment, too, the red imprints of fists on their cheeks.

"What is going on?!" Kaoru screamed in frustration as she ran from the dojo, making a bee-line for the Akabeko.

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Disclaimer: We own no part of Rurouni Kenshin or any other presences, other then Tenshi and Kirstian themselves, who will appear in this fic. If we did, Kenshin wouldn't be as clueless as he normally is, and he'd be called Tub-by. In any case, we have no money. We spent it all on Sesshoumaru's spandex Halloween getup. XD So don't sue. We'll sick Vash on you.