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My Life: Chapter 30 - Avoiding Confrontations

by Fitz

The crack of dawn hit, and I was in the bathroom, getting ready to face another day. I had an eight o’clock class anyway, so it was just as well. It would take me the whole time to get ready with how I felt. My foot and head still hurt from the nights’ escapades, and the fact that I had not slept a wink since then did not help matters at all. But it was Friday, and Sano said we’d hang out that night--with Megumi, but who was I to complain?--so I could handle it.

I went with a button-up shirt that day. That way, I didn’t have to lift my arm over my head like I would with a pull-over shirt. I ran a brush through my wet hair and called it done unless I could convince Kaoru or Misao to help me with it.

Dimly, while I was brushing my teeth, I heard the phone ring, and I wondered who would call at seven in the morning. Unless one of the girls was awake, it would ring until the message service picked it up because I would never make it in time. Sure enough, Misao answered it. I could hear her mad dash across the room while I spat in the sink and put my toothbrush away. She probably thought it was her dearest Aoshi.

The girl was holding out the phone when I stepped out of the bathroom. I frowned. Sano wouldn’t call me so early unless it was an emergency. Neither would anyone else for that matter.

“It’s for you,” Misao announced, sounding disappointed.

“Who is it?” I asked, walking to meet her in the kitchen. I adjusted the strap of the sling over my neck so it didn’t dig in so much.

“Didn’t say,” she shrugged. I reached for the phone. “Just said he wanted to apologize and explain a few things about Wednesday.”

I might have reacted the same way had I discovered I was about to pet a rabid dog. Recoiling, I sucked in my breath in alarm. Misao blinked wearily, probably wondering what was wrong with the long-haired weirdo across from her.

“Tell him he can go to hell,” I growled. “And he’d better not call here again.”

Her hand was not over the receiver. He would have had to be deaf not to hear me. Misao rolled her eyes and held out the phone again.

“Tell him yourself,” she ordered.

She had no idea what she was asking me to do. No way in hell could I talk to him without either breaking down or shouting incoherently. So I did the first thing that came to mind. (Well, not the first thing, but everyone would have been mad if I threw the phone against the wall.) I took the phone and slammed it back onto the cradle. Glaring at Misao, although she had no idea why I was so pissed, I walked out of the kitchen.

“What’s your problem?” she called after me. “He wanted to say he was sorry!”

“Mind your own business, Misao,” I snapped, picking up my bag. I hoped it had everything I needed because I was not prepared to spend anymore time in the apartment. As it was, I got stuck trying to get my arm through my jacket sleeve.

“For god’s sake,” Misao grabbed the jacket and shoved it up to my shoulders. “You’re just being rude, you know. If someone wants to apologize, you should at least hear him out.”

“Sometimes a simple ‘sorry’ doesn’t cut it,” I replied, still scowling. I pushed her hands away. “I can do it, Misao.”

“And your hair?” she challenged, referring to the fact I had done nothing with it. It was still loose, half of it tucked awkwardly into my jacket. I pulled it out from my collar and let it drop down my back.

“What about it?” I retorted, picking up my bag. “Go pester Aoshi.”

It was mean, but she was pushing her nose into subjects I was not keen on discussing. On top of that, Misao was one of the last people I wanted to have to explain this to. She knew that--she must have--when I shut the door on her face. I was going to be early for class, but it was better to sit alone in the classroom than to listen to Misao lecture me about how I should have listened to Mike’s apology.

^_^

A couple girls in my morning class noticed my injured state and took it upon themselves to help me out. That is to say, I spent the rest of the day with my hair in a girl’s style. It was half back, and that part was braided. The rest was still left hanging, but at least it did not wrap around my neck or get in my face. A couple people did look at me and ask--aloud--about the presence of a new girl. Really, I had enjoyed several months where no one mistook me for female (except that one lady at the mall, but that hardly counted). It stung.

Sano took pity on me when we met up in Coffman Memorial Union after my last class of the day. He made me sit and proceeded to rip out half of my hair. I protested, of course, and not quietly. People nearby were laughing, and I was ready to tell Sano to leave my hair in the damned braid, but he got the braid out and somehow managed to maneuver the hair into a decent ponytail. My scalp ached for the rest of the day.

“We’re going to the mall,” Sano said, grimacing slightly. “Megumi’s going to meet us there.”

“The mall?” I asked weakly, recalling having spent ten hours in a mall the previous day. “Why?”

“Some of Megumi’s friends don’t want to spend four hundred dollars on bridesmaids dresses,” Sano shrugged, shouldering my backpack and gesturing toward the exit.

His car was parked on the other bank in the 21st Avenue ramp, which was damned lucky because his dorm was right across the street from it. It also meant that we had to walk across the Washington Avenue bridge to get to it. I was exhausted and not about to admit it, so I just trailed along, glad Sano was carrying my bag.

“We’re checking out the stuff they have in regular stores,” Sano continued, holding open the door and letting me through before heading toward the bridge. “Jordan’s coming, if you can handle it. If not--”

“It’s fine,” I said quickly, offering a smile to reassure him. “I don’t mind.”

It would be awkward, to be sure, but I could handle it. Whether or not I went along, Sano would be stuck following the women through dress stores. The least I could do was keep him company. The fact that I felt inexorably (pathetically) safer with him in a public place as opposed to alone in the apartment did more than a little to convince me to tolerate any and all annoyances that evening.

“How’s the arm?” Sano asked after a few minutes of comfortable silence. “I called yesterday, but no one answered.”

“Kaoru and Misao took me out,” I explained. “And the arm’s okay. Stomach hurts more.”

“No kidding,” Sano snorted. “You were spitting blood, and it wasn’t from a busted lip.”

“No,” I agreed, smiling at the comment. No doubt Sano was recalling his own fist fights that resulted in such bloody mouths. “It’s more annoying than anything.”

“Girls doing your hair,” Sano predicted.

“Among other things.”

“Hn,” he grunted. We were quiet a little longer, and I glanced out over the river. Some kids were skipping rocks from the sandy bed on the west bank. That was the same place Sano and I had first really talked about anything, over two years ago. It seemed longer, but at the same time, it seemed like just a few months. Had I known him that long? Had I actually kept a friend for so long? It was mind-boggling.

“Who’s Mike?”

My jaw clenched automatically at the question, and I glanced at Sano in alarm. He was watching me--gauging my reaction--a light frown on his face. I looked away.

“I’ve never known you to get so worked up over something,” he continued. “What’s the big deal? Who is he?”

He was bound to ask. I should have anticipated it, but I followed the foolish fantasy, assuming no one would question me. No one had bothered before, after all. But then, no one had cared before.

“Don’t ignore me, Kenshin,” Sano growled. “And don’t tell me he’s nobody. You didn’t even snap like that at Jonas, and that bastard tried to kill you. This guy accidentally fell on you... although maybe some of that was on purpose. I wouldn’t put it past the bastard.”

“Sano...” I muttered warily. He continued to frown at me.

“It’s not like I’m going to condemn you or anything,” he offered. “But I swear I thought we would have been picking up pieces of Mike if I’d have let you go the other night.”

“I would have left him whole,” I grumbled.

“Yeah... just maimed,” Sano stated bluntly. “So? What is it? You hate him. He kill your pet cat or something? Those nasty gay jokes getting to you?”

“I hate him...” I echoed uneasily. I did not want to talk about this with Sano. I wanted to avoid thinking about it entirely. Just the mention of it made me recall that Mike had the audacity to call me up at the apartment that morning. Again, the thought that he knew where I lived unnerved me. “It’s... there’s more to it than that.”

“You hate him because he made you cough up blood?”

I gave Sano a pained look and glanced away again. We went down the stairs to the courtyard. Across that, past Wilson library, was the parking ramp, our destination.

“You’re making me guess here, Kenshin,” Sano complained. He sighed. “All right, so you hate him. That much is obvious. You called him every name under the sun and then some. Let’s see... what else did you say? No one else could figure it out.”

“I don’t remember,” I muttered. I glanced at the library. If I sprinted, I might actually have made it, but Sano wasn’t hampered by a sling or a bruised gut, so I doubted it. He was pretty determined.

“He had to have done something before that made you mad,” Sano predicted. He flinched and looked at me cautiously. “This doesn’t involve your sister, does it?”

“Not really, Sano,” I sighed. “Look, can we not discuss this right now? I think about it enough as it is.”

“Hey!” Sano glared at me, affronted by my disregard of his concern. “I think I have a right to know. As your best friend, unless you’ve got another best friend running around here, why shouldn’t I get to know why you want to kill this guy? Not to mention I think I should know if there’s something seriously wrong with my best man.”

There was something seriously wrong with me. I just wasn’t sure what it was. With time, I could probably figure it out. Something must have been wrong with me to make me as screwed up as I was.

“Look,” I stopped, looking at him full in the face. Goddamn it, but he actually looked worried. I mean, really worried. I had to look down again. “I don’t want to talk about it, okay? He just... I knew him... sort of... encountered him once, and it was bad--”

“Bad?”

“Just--!” My hand jumped up in some frustrated gesture, and I froze before letting it drop. “Just bad, all right? I didn’t even know it was the same guy until Wednesday, so... well, I can’t explain it--” Sano was looking at me strangely. I got a bit defensive, blurting, “I’m sorry!” I shrugged helplessly. “I can’t.”

“You’re afraid of the guy.”

“Shit,” I hissed. “Sano, please--”

“He did something nasty, and now you’re scared shitless of him,” Sano insisted over my protest. “Why didn’t you just say it?”

“Because then you’d want me to explain it, but I can’t!” I shot back.

“Why not?” he scowled.

“Because--” I stuttered a bit, searching for a reason. “Because... because I won’t.” It was pathetic, but it was all I could come up with. I glanced back, again thinking I could make a run for the library. My eyes moved back to Sano, then to the ground as I fidgeted restlessly. “Don’t push me, Sano. Not on this. I can’t deal with this shit right now.”

He didn’t say anything for a long time. Likely, he was trying to decide whether or not to go along with the plea. In the end, much to my immense relief, he sighed and grunted in irritated acknowledgment.

“Let’s go meet the girls,” he said grumpily. I nodded sullenly and followed him across the street to the ramp.

^_^

So, we walked through the mall--of America, of course, because why would we go to one I had not been to the previous day?--and we spent five hours trooping around through various stores, looking at dresses. We spent most of our time in Nordstrom, Macys, and Bloomingdale’s.

“All right, boys,” Megumi announced. “What do you think of this one?”

Jordan emerged, looking hideous in beige. Sano winced, and I shook my head. Jordan looked vastly relieved.

“Thank you,” she stated, then walked back into the fitting room.

Megumi shrugged.

“It looked okay on the hanger,” she observed.

“Apparently Jordan doesn’t have all the traits of the hanger,” Sano yawned.

And so it went. We stopped in the food court to eat. I picked at some French fries and was off in my own world while Sano, Megumi, and Jordan discussed food for the reception. Then it was more shopping and watching the girls try on dresses. A woman in Bloomingdale’s took one look at me and turned to Megumi to ask her if she would like to see their selection of petite dresses. She was mortified when she discovered I would be wearing a tux. I was so used to the mistake that I was not overly embarrassed, although it did not bother me one bit that she was.

For the second day in a row, I left the mall while it shut down. We all took different cars, so we said good night near the Underwater World entrance (the down escalator of which was currently blocked off), and went our different ways. Sano dropped me off at the apartment, and I ran up two flights to the proper floor.

Kaoru met me at the door with the phone and a pile of little scraps of paper. Her face was grim.

“He won’t stop calling,” she told me. I didn’t even look at the papers, dropping them straight into the trash. “Messages, phone numbers, places and times to meet... this is harassment bordering on stalking.”

“Ignore him long enough, and he’ll get the hint,” I said, even though I had a nagging feeling that was not completely true. “Anyone else call?”

“Your uncle,” Kaoru sighed. “Wants to know how you’re doing. You should call him.”

“He can wait,” I dropped my bag on the floor near the computer and sat down. “I’m going to check my email, and then I’m going to bed.”

“Tired?” she came up behind me and kissed the top of my head. I smiled and looked at her. “Did you get to sleep after you got up last night?” I flinched.

“You heard that?”

“The cup that fell in the sink,” she nodded. “I heard you crying.”

“I wasn’t crying,” I contradicted, looking back to the computer.

Kaoru sighed and leaned against my back, wrapping her arms around my neck lightly.

“Are you okay, Kenshin?”

“No,” I said bluntly. “Ask me when my arm’s not in a sling.”

“Have you told your uncle?” she asked anxiously.

“No,” I shrugged awkwardly. I gave up on trying to check my email for the moment, instead leaning back to meet her embrace. “Just you.”

“You really should tell him.”

“Why don’t I just go kick a bulldog?”

She sighed again. I was frustrating her, but I could not help it. She never got the opportunity to argue the point because Omasu came in then, carrying her bags, calling out wearily.

“I’m back.”

I shut off the computer and rose, following Kaoru to greet the girl.

^_^

Although the girls all thought I was crazy, I did go to work the next day. I still had bills to pay and student loans to consider, so missed days were lost money. Well... that, and I really needed to do more than hang around in the apartment all afternoon. Noon to five was covered in the copy center, and I could get some casual conversation in with Kari, which was something different from the stressful interrogations of Kaoru and Sano.

“What happened to you?” She did ask about it when I dropped my bag behind the desk. I caught the keys she tossed me and unlocked the cash register.

“Accident,” I replied, and that was that. Unlike closer friends, Kari did not press me for details. “Any orders?”

“Not that you’re useful for any book copying,” she made a face at me and pointed at a pile of dark sheets on the counter. “There’s some microfiche to be done. You can do that one-handed.”

Making sure the cash drawer was in order, I slammed it shut and turned to pull open the pay window. I picked up the indicated order and went to the microfilm/fiche machine to do my job.

There were more fiche orders than books, and Kari helped me when she was finished. She made idle conversation as we worked, telling me about her week and the report she had to finish that weekend.

“And my boyfriend is coming home from Kuwait next weekend,” she announced at one point.

“I thought you saw your boyfriend last weekend,” I glanced at her in amusement.

“He’s just the boyfriend I keep around while my real boyfriend is in the service,” Kari grinned at me. “Brian is finished with his active duty for now. We’re going out next Friday, and I’m fully expecting him to pop the question.”

I lifted my eyebrows, wondering if Brian was aware of this high expectation. I did not wonder for long because the microfiche copier decided to shut down at that moment, the screen going black, a little light flashing on the right.

“Paper jam?” Kari asked carelessly, pushing the copy button on her own machine and watching in fascination as the light dragged across the screen.

“Out of toner,” I shook my head. “I’ll need you to change it.”

“I’ve never done it,” she reminded me.

“Now you can learn.” I turned off the machine, regretting the fact that I’d never taught her to do such a simple task before. “Unless you want me to attempt it myself.”

“And risk dumping toner all over the floor?” Kari giggled, already on her feet and walking to the back office. “Where is it?”

She didn’t even know that? Sighing impatiently, I stood and followed her back. Pointing to the cabinet where the toner was stored, I waited as she dug through the box for one and returned, holding it up for approval, as if there were any other random items in the box that could pass for tubes of toner.

“Right,” I nodded to the front, and I explained what she would have to do as we walked. “It’s pretty easy...” There was someone at the front window, and I headed in that direction, still talking. “The directions are right on the--Jesus.”

“Right on the what?”

I barely registered the question. My attention was fully focused on the man in front of me, demanding to know why he was there. More than that, there was this little panicked voice in my head screaming, ‘RUN! RUN AWAY!’ which, of course, I could not do. There was nowhere to run, even if I thought I could outdo someone while my body was as sore as it was at that time.

He smiled, slow and deliberate.

“You are very difficult to get ahold of,” he murmured.

I couldn’t find my voice, and my head was light. Surely, I was as white as a sheet, but he did not comment. Neither did Kari, actually, but I could feel her, hovering close to my left.

“I figured if I got you in person, you wouldn’t be able to hang up on me,” he said in vague amusement.

My breath hissed in my throat, but I had yet to master it. I was torn between bolting and attacking. Bolting seemed the better idea since I wouldn’t be able to do much damage with one arm.

“Seems like a thing we need to discuss in private--”

“No.” There it was. Voice, back in place, in use... sort of. It had this unstrung quality to it, which was pretty pathetic sounding. I needed to get away from him. “Do I have ‘stupid’ tattooed across my forehead? Just stay away from me.”

Yep. Pathetic indeed. I didn’t care. My heart was pounding, my head spinning, and I had the feeling if I stayed much longer I would lose complete control of the situation, which could end very, very badly.

I retreated. Turning, I went back to the office, which was actually behind concrete walls with lockable doors unlike the rest of the copy center, which was bordered by flimsy cubicle walls.

“Red--”

“Don’t call me that!” I snapped. Almost to the double doors...

“Kenshin--”

“If you have something you need copied--” I spoke over him, still walking away. I was to the door and almost free.

“Do you want me to announce this to the world?!”

“If you don’t have business with the copy center, then you need to leave or I’ll call down campus security!” I was trying not to shout, and for the most part I was successful.

“You’re a fucking idiot, Red!” Mike was shouting. “You deserve what you get!”

I didn’t reply to that. In the back office, I couldn’t see him, nor did I care to. Shivering convulsively, I sat in the chair by the phone desk, trying to still the trembling of my hands--well, just the one since my left arm was still trapped in a sling. Closing my eyes and releasing a shaky breath, I rested my head on my arm on the desk. Things were not going well. Not at all.

“Um... Kenshin?” Kari called timidly.

“What?” my voice was muffled and hoarse, but she heard me.

“I still need help changing the toner.”

Groaning softly, I lifted my head, dragging my hand over my face until I could rest my cheek against my palm.

“Is he still out there?” I asked.

“He stormed out like a true scorned lover,” she said with weak humor.

I winced and nodded. Hesitating, not certain how to deal with the fact that I still had things to do, I glanced around. Pausing on the phone, I reached for it.

“Give me a minute,” I said finally. “I’ve got to make a phone call.”

“Sure.”

Setting the receiver on the desk, I punched in what I hoped was the correct number, then lifted the phone and put it to my ear. A minute later, Megumi’s voice came on the line.

“Hello?”

“Megumi, it’s Kenshin.”

“Kenshin?” she asked blankly. No doubt she was wondering why I would ever go out of my way to call her. I wasn’t calling her.

“Do you know where Sano is?”

“Oh.” I could picture her, a comprehending expression crossing her feminine features, the thought clearly running through her eyes: Now it all makes sense. “Well, I’m going out with him tonight. Other than that--”

“When?” I interrupted.

“...The five-thirty showing of--”

“Megumi?” I cut her off again. “Look, I need a really big favor.”

“What is it, dear?”

I paused, wondering what had brought on that strange endearment. Shaking my head, I got right to the point.

“I need Sano to pick me up after work,” I told her, cringing slightly as I said it. She knew I finished at five, which would interfere with her movie-going. As to be expected, she tried to provide other options for me--for her.

“What about your girlfriend?” she wondered. “Or one of your roommates?”

“I’ll make it up to you, Megumi,” I was down to pleading. “It’s got to be Sano. I just need him to drop me off at home.”

She was quiet for a long time, and I heard her sigh.

“All right,” she murmured. “Why don’t you join us tonight?”

“Excuse me?” I blinked. I had not expected that one.

“I’ll pay for your movie,” she said. “Meet us out front of Middlebrook--”

“I need him to meet me outside the copy center,” I interjected.

“...Okay, I’ll let him know,” Megumi allowed. “Should I tell him anything else?”

“No. That’s fine,” I sighed, relieved that she was not asking any questions. “Thank you, Megumi.”

“Go back to work, dear.”

“Five o’clock,” I reminded her. “Sano knows where the copy center is.”

“I’ll let him know.”

“Thanks.”

“Good-bye, Kenshin.”

Sighing softly, I hung up the phone. I really was pathetic. It would have been just as easy to call campus security and have someone escort me home. They would have done it. On the other hand, I knew Sano, as did Jensen, and I felt a little less like a wimp to be with a friend.

“Does this black stuff ever come off your hands?” Kari’s voice drifted back from the front, and I smiled, standing and going to join her.

“Did you get it on your own?”

^_^

It was awkward infringing upon Sano and Megumi’s date that night. It also reminded me that I had not taken Kaoru out in quite some time. I assured myself that I would remedy that very soon. At the moment, though, I felt very guilty about my imposition. Sano probably knew why I was calling on him like that, but Megumi was in the dark and visibly agitated by my presence. Not that I blamed her. I doubt I would have been happy if she or Sano tagged along on one of my dates.

After the movie, they dropped me off at the apartment before going off to finish their date alone. Sano muttered something to Megumi before walking with me into the building and up the stairs. Embarrassed and feeling bad about that night, I mumbled a quiet ‘thank you’ to him as I unlocked the door.

“You want a ride tomorrow?” Sano offered.

Pride forced me to shake my head. I was not a chicken who could not face his own shadow.

“Thanks,” I said again. “You should go. Your girl is waiting.”

“Don’t say that to her,” he snorted. “See you Monday, Kenshin.”

“Bye.”

The door closed, and I stared into the apartment. Omasu looked up from the computer, waved, and went back to doing whatever she had been doing. The shower was running, and since I knew Misao was going to visit a friend at a different school that weekend, it had to be Kaoru.

Sighing at the normalcy of the scene, I dropped my bag by the wall, walked over to the television, picked up the first movie I could locate, and sat on the futon. Twenty minutes later, Omasu plopped down next to me, smiling and informing me she loved While You Were Sleeping. I was already bored, but there was little else to do, so I tolerated the movie. My goal was to wait until Kaoru came to join us, but I fell asleep first. It was just that kind of day.

^_^

As to be expected, nothing happened the following several days. I went to work without incident, attended classes, and even managed to get my homework done between bouts of stressing out about Enishi and everything else that was screwed up with the world. Without the sports to help me work off all my excess energy, I found myself searching for things to do. I annoyed the heck out of everyone around me with my short temper and restless behavior. Even Kaoru got fed up with it, nearly a week and a half after the weekend when Jensen kept harassing me.

I was cleaning out the bathroom because it desperately needed it, and no one else would do it. My arm still ached, but I didn’t wear the sling anymore. It really was not necessary. I just had to be careful about what I did, and bathroom cleaning was hardly strenuous exercise.

The irritating thing about cleaning the bathroom was that I often ended up discovering things I could have done without seeing. The main object that day was the box of tampons that somehow was left on top of the toilet tank. Now, I knew what they were, why they were used, and basic applications, but that did not mean I wanted to see or touch them--boxed or otherwise. I was content pretending such things did not exist.

I chucked the damned box right out the bathroom door. At least it was closed--I’d made certain of that--so the individual tampons did not go flying every which way. In hindsight, it was not an overly mature response, but at the time, it felt good to do it. Until, while I was scrubbing down the shower, the box flew back into the bathroom, hit the wall next to me, and clattered to the shower floor.

“Omasu!” Kaoru’s voice rang through the apartment. “Don’t leave your tampons out like that! What if someone comes over?!”

“I didn’t!” Omasu protested. “I...” I couldn’t hear her after that. She probably remembered where she had left them and was blushing about it. Good.

“Kenshin!”

“Don’t yell at me!” I climbed out of the shower and threw my rag into the laundry hamper. “I’m not the one leaving my girl products out in plain sight!”

“You didn’t have to throw them out into the open!” Kaoru shot back, meeting me shout for shout.

“Well, I’m sorry!” I snapped. “Is it too much to ask that I don’t have to see this shit?”

“There are better ways to tell a person--”

“I have told you!” I cut off her argument. “Repeatedly!”

“You’re being awfully temperamental today,” Kaoru scowled at me.

“Didn’t you know?” Misao called over from the kitchen. Just the sound of her voice, interfering with this argument, made me bristle. “Kenshin’s a girl too. He’s PMSing.”

Growling in irritation, I automatically turned toward her, fully intending to get into her face and make her eat those words. Kaoru took me by surprise, her hands on my shoulders and shoving me back roughly. My surprise and her startling strength combined sent me smacking back into the wall. It was only a step back, and it did not really hurt, but I was shocked.

“Misao, stop taunting him,” Kaoru ordered angrily. She turned her eyes back to me, glaring at me furiously. “And you! Stop it. This childish behavior is not becoming.”

“My behavior--”

“Yes, your behavior!” she shoved against my shoulders again, refusing to let me push away from the wall. “Either admit something’s bothering you or stop acting like such a baby.”

I opened my mouth to retort, but then thought better of it and kept my peace. Kaoru stepped back, and I proceeded to go off into the corner and pout. That is to say, I sat on my bed, pulled out my notes, and slowly worked through Oedipus, the King.

^_^

I tried. Really, I did. Already on edge, every little annoyance grated on me like fingernails across a chalk board. Somehow, I managed to control my temper. I even ventured to basketball that Monday before Thanksgiving break. Sano told me Mike had not shown up since I blew up at him (attempted to kill him, but who’s keeping track?) so I was not overly worried about that. I sat out most of the time, as I was technically supposed to go easy on myself for a few weeks, but I did join in for a few rounds.

Tuesday evening, I reminded Kaoru of Sano’s invitation to Thanksgiving dinner, just to be certain she still wanted to go. The past couple of weeks between us had been strained, and I had the sinking feeling she might decide she’d rather spend time with her family as opposed to her overly moody boyfriend.

“Am I still going?” she looked at me as if I was crazy for even asking. “Unless you plan to tell me I’m not wanted, I fully intend to go.”

I smiled, vastly relieved.

“Good,” I sighed. I returned the carton of lemonade to the refrigerator and picked up the glass I had just poured for myself. “So, we should bring something. Sano suggested dessert.”

“I can make a pie,” Kaoru said with a bright smile. I lifted my eyebrows, trying to hide my skepticism. I must not have been very successful because she poked her lower lip out in a pathetic excuse for a pout. “We could call Baker Square.”

“I’ll do that,” I murmured, setting down my glass and going to retrieve the phone book. “What kind?”

“Pumpkin!” she replied immediately. “It’s not Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie.”

I found the phone number and picked up the phone, barely registering the brief jingle of it ringing as I lifted it. Uncle Hiko was not happy when I dialed a number in his ear. Then again, neither was I happy to have him shouting at me over the phone. I could hear it before the phone went anywhere near my face. His words were perfectly clear as I held the phone several inches from my ear.

“WHY THE HELL DIDN’T YOU TELL ME, YOU UNGRATEFUL BRAT?!”

My stomach sank. Cautiously, I put the phone to my ear, shooting Kaoru an uneasy glance. Of course I was irritated. I liked to know the reasons before Uncle Hiko started yelling at me, although I had a pretty good idea what he was yelling about... and it did not make me happy.

“Tell you what, Uncle Hiko?” I asked quietly.

“Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about,” he all but snarled at me. He was pissed. “You said it was an accident. You’re lying to me again, Kenshin, and I want to know why. Why didn’t you tell me the guy attacked you again?! We could have had the police on that son of a bitch weeks ago!”

“Uncle Hiko,” I was cringing under the fury in his voice, and he wasn’t even there. “It’s not a big deal--”

“The hell it isn’t!” he roared, and I yanked the phone away from my ear in alarm. “What’s going on in that pea-sized brain of yours?! Are you really that stupid?!”

“I’m not stupid,” I protested weakly, glancing around the room. Omasu and Kaoru were both looking at me in alarm, one with a distinctly uneasy expression in her eyes. And it struck me. Uncle Hiko went off again, demanding to know who the hell I thought I was, that I wasn’t showing the maturity of my age, and that he was coming to get me--we’d talk more when he got here.

My anger intensified, directionless at first, then slowly focusing down on two people. Uncle Hiko obviously was the first, being as he was screaming at me about how to live my life. The other object of my fury was trying to slink off to do her homework.

“Are you even listening to me?!”

I couldn’t contain it. If ever the phrase ‘spitting tacks’ applied, it was then.

“No.”

“Excuse me?” he was shocked. It was apparent by the way the volume of his shout suddenly dropped away.

“No, I’m not listening to this anymore,” I said icily. “Don’t bother coming tonight because I won’t listen then either.”

“You--”

The phone made a nice smacking sound against the cradle. I stared at it for a long time, trying to calm my resentful anger. Then, Kaoru spoke.

“Kenshin--”

“You told him.” I didn’t need to ask. I knew she did.

“Kenshin, hold on a minute--”

“What gives you the right?” I turned to stare at her, demanding an answer. “What the hell gives you the right to go behind my back like this?”

“Kenshin--”

“You tell me to stop keeping secrets, so I tell you, and you fucking stab me in the back with it!” Even Omasu was flinching back at my shouting. Looking at her, I realized I could not stay there that night. Storming around the counter, I snatched up my jacket and shoved my feet into my shoes.

“Kenshin, don’t,” Kaoru reached for my arm, but I stopped her with a glare.

“I’m not discussing this with you right now,” I hissed. “Don’t follow me.”

I slammed the door in her face, ignoring her tears. I made it outside in record time, nearly bowling over Mrs. Williams with her armful of groceries in the process. It would have been nice of me to apologize, but I thought of that when I was already four blocks south of the apartment.

I didn’t know what to feel. So many emotions flooded through me... Anger, resentment, fear, and worse... the sickening sense of utter helplessness.

Feet pounding against the concrete, I tried to beat it all back. The wind bit at my face, reminding me that winter was not far in coming and that I should put away the spring jacket in favor of something warmer. My vision swam, the cold wind making my eyes water, but I just dragged my hand over my face to clear the dampness and continued running.

Maybe, if I had stopped to think, paused to hear Uncle Hiko and Kaoru out, none of it would have happened. It could have ended with the police rather than with me. But I was too angry and did not anticipate the results of my careless running.

I figured things out quick enough when something caught my arm, fingers catching in the bulky sleeve of my jacket and holding tight. I had been running hard, the speed of my flight almost worth bragging about. Nobody I knew--save, perhaps, Sano--could have stopped me like that, but that hand clamped down on me, yanking back, and my forward progress was brought to a violent halt as the next thing I saw was a brick wall moving swiftly toward me. face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"> A flash of intense pain, and I was on the ground, groaning as I tried to clear my head. For a moment, I wondered if I really was so stupid as to not have seen that brick wall coming. Then, I forgot to care when my attention was diverted to the searing pain in my scalp, the ground falling away from me, a fist flying toward my face.

I reacted without conscious thought, pedaling back, away from that attack. The guy missed. Unfortunately, the second man didn’t. Something stabbed into my lower back, and I dropped again, gasping at the agony of that move.

“Come on, pretty boy!” someone laughed, his words wavering in and out. “You’re not goin’ nowhere!”

He was probably right, but no self-respecting man would lay there and take that kind of abuse without at least attempting to fight or flee. I will admit that I was young and hardly a grown man, not to mention I barely respected myself at that time, but I was not about to give up so quickly, especially when I had no idea who those guys were and what they wanted.

One of them caught my ponytail again, and I twisted, kicking out at his legs. He stumbled, falling off to the side momentarily. Again, I managed to fend off one, but I failed to get the other. I thought I needed to work on taking multiple opponents next time I visited Mr. Kamiya, but the pointless notion faded along with everything else when something hit the back of my neck.

Darkness.

^_^