Rurouni Kenshin
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Fandom: Rurouni Kenshin:
Table: table-1


Title: .021 New
Characters: Kenshin/Kaoru/Kamatari
Prompt: .021 New
Word Count: 2030
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Werewolves for everyone!
Author's Notes: Random drabble



Kaoru had been an unsure at first if she was going to like this city. It had it perks of course, every city did anymore. The Kin Wars had all but destroyed the major cities, and they had to be rebuilt to attract kin and human to live there. From what Kaoru could remember her mother saying about the wars, that distant look in her dark eyes, things had been tough then. They weren’t easy now, but when Kaoru had been born, human and kin had finally started to settle into an uneasy truce. Fifty years later, things were still tentative, but they were moving along.

The first thing the Kin had done was exercise their muscle when it came to rebuilding the cities. Things were slowly becoming environmentally safe, and pollution was down. It had to be, when thousands of individuals who specialized in the healing earth and air were working to keep the places they lived clean. And forcing the humans who might or might not want to help into helping.

This city had been built with the mind of the bigger shifters. Kaoru hadn’t heard if any of the big cats had survived, but this city was run by a dominant pack. They policed the cities, kept an eye on the comings and goings of the other, more violent creatures that lived there. A pack could take on almost anything. Some of the kin were quiet natured and could be preyed on by other kin, but that would mean the rest of the city suffered. Just as humans had serial killers, kin had their own nightmares.

The city itself was built oddly. It was squeezed between one of the Northern Lakes and a stretch of forested land that was several dozen miles long, and then flared out like an hourglass. Enough room for deer and other animals to thrive. For the were to chase. Most kin lived lakeside, herself included. That didn’t mean the place wasn’t popular with humans. As far as Kaoru knew, the pack lived lakeside as well. There were so many were that she didn’t recognize all of them. Like every other kin that had moved into the city, she had sent them a formal note to the pack announcing her arrival and the nature of her shift form.

Her first few weeks had been… interesting. At least until she had learned to keep her head down and changed apartments, she had been so very naïve. She had just gotten lucky that she had managed to keep from attracting the attention of the pack. So she had shifted apartments and moved into an area that was filled with more humans than Kin and set about fitting in. It had taken her a while to figure out why she hadn’t heard something from the pack. She had been studying for the college entrance exams and had someone make a comment about the name on her application. They had thought she was a boy.

She could only assume that the pack thought she was male as well. It explained why she hadn’t received any contact from them besides the letter acknowledging her presence in the city and a warning that any harm to human or kin would be dealt with. The pack was less likely to keep a close eye on a rogue male who was keeping his head down than a female. It was one of the reasons she had gotten into trouble early on. Too many males of any species too interested in what a lone female was doing.

At least human females where allowed to have independence free of their families.

Fitting in as a human had been easier than she thought it was going to be. Her interaction had mostly been with her students and her younger cousins friends when she lived at the dojo. She had never really had the desire to make friends with people once she graduated from high school. It had been more important to help preserve her father’s legacy by learning Kamiya Kasshin herself and then helping him teach it.

Now she was learning what she had missed. The first week she had been enrolled at the local college, she had been dragged into incoming freshman activities, having never been more thankful that her aging had stopped for however long she made the change each month. It didn’t matter when she changed, as long as she made the change. Kaoru enjoyed life. She enjoyed the change.

Humans gave her something else to enjoy. They took life head on in a way that fascinated her and she found that she enjoyed living with them. The dorms had been over crowded and noisy, and she had moved out as soon as she could. The home she rented with a friend had almost been more than she could handle, but she had learned to cope. She had even come to enjoy the chaos that was in her little three-bedroom, two-story home.

The downstairs belonged to Kamatari.

Kaoru hadn’t minded having a bathroom that was across the hall, but he had given her the most horrified look at that suggestion and she had given him the master bedroom. The third room had been converted into a guest room, for any number of the random friends that stopped by or stayed too late. So she only had to share the upstairs with the wide room they had converted into a game room sometime office space. Those three years were precious memories filled with exploding pizza, alarm clocks going off at all hours, and late night excursions into bars and clubs that had left her dizzy.

She loved it.

Two weeks ago, they had all graduated. Kamatari was headed off to East to follow up on a job he had earned after a long, difficult internship in another week. She was searching for a new apartment and a job that would let her use her degree without her having to compromise her internal wolf. That was going to cause some problems, since if she joined the kin community again, she would gain attention she wasn’t ready for. If she didn’t, then she would be treated like a human and things could get complicated. She had learned many things about her instincts, not all of them good, but she had learned she didn’t appreciate having what she considered her territory invaded.

Kamatari had learned her other nature from pure necessity. One too many snarls in the morning over the coffee pot. It seemed likes something simple, her getting the first cup of coffee in the morning, but things could get testy if she didn’t. Kamatari had asked her in his normal, blunt matter if there was something he should know. So she had told him.

Tonight was Kamatari’s idea. She wasn’t entirely certain how she managed to be talked into this little mess, except that it was his idea. She should have seen this coming. Chemistry class hadn’t been worth this. Still… she supposed she should have known better than to make a bet with a man more stubborn that she was. It had been made for a good reason; Kamatari had needed to complete his internship. The bet just goaded him through it. Now she had to pay the price.

Kamatari had left her alone to study the effect. The pants he had chosen were so tight they had spent a good fifteen minutes getting her into them, using a hanger in the most creative fashion. They clung to every line of her body, showing off the definition of her hips and thighs in a way that offered too much information. She was thankful she didn’t own another pair of leather pants and she doubted she was going to get into these without assistance. This was the only time she would wear them. Now she was starting to understand why Kamatari had nixed even a thong to wear under them.

“We must show off that sexy body you have developed! You may be slight, but you have muscle. Work it!”

Kaoru rubbed her temples. The motion shifted the fabric across her stomach. The shirt itself was dark purple with silver threads woven into the pattern. It was held onto her body by the two clear straps holding the fabric together, pulling the shirt tightly across her bust and along the line of her ribs. When she turned to look at the back of the outfit, all she saw as the line of her spine until she hit the waist of the pants, which were low enough that she was going to have to be careful with how she sat.

Her hair was curled loosely so that it fell around her shoulders and face in messy waves. She had been forced to take the brunt of the length off a month ago thanks to the toddlers who lived next door and their first excursion with bubble gum. She still wasn’t used to it. Instead of falling to her waist, it hit just above her shoulder blades. The entire effect was…

It was interesting.

Somehow she knew she was going to spend the rest of the night saying the word ‘no’. Especially since the places Kamatari liked to go were always… interesting. He firmly believed she needed to get in touch with her inner kin and meet more wolves. To ‘make nice little puppy babies’.

The place Kamatari had chosen to drag everyone was… a place only Kamatari would pick. It was run by kin, but catered to both human and other. There was a waiting list that wrapped around the building, but Kamatari had a friend on the inside and somehow managed to get them onto the entrance list.

Kaoru just didn’t ask.

Kaoru enjoyed herself. Kamatari was an excellent dancer, even if he looked better in those jeans than she did. She managed to ingrain herself deeply enough into the booth and her friends that she avoided most of the attention she had been afraid she was going to get. She had taken pains to learn how to mask her chi, to mostly appear and feel human, but she knew she couldn’t mask it completely. It was a curiosity for the kin and it drew attention.

All night she had felt a stare burning between her shoulder blades. She had scanned the floor once or twice from below lowered lashes, trying to find the source, but had been unable to locate it. Feeling annoyed with herself, and whoever was starring at her so blatantly without coming out of the shadows, she threw herself into her dancing with the others.

Blowing her bangs out of her eyes, feeling sweaty and tired, Kaoru turned to track down Kamatari. She was ready to go. Halfway through the scan, her eyes collided a pair of pale yellow eyes. Her breath caught in her throat at the blatant heat in that look, but it wasn’t until he broke the collision of their eyes that she realized she had been holding her breath. Her mouth ran dry as his lashes lowered as his eyes swept over her body and then slowly lifted back to her face. The edge of his mouth kicked up to one side as he waited to see what her reaction was going to be.

Wolf. The thought came from nowhere, but she knew without a doubt that he was wolf. If that posture and gaze said anything, he was dominant. Her stomach curled with anticipation and something else. Those yellow eyes gleamed with silent challenge.

“Kaoru!”

She jerked her eyes away; turning to meet Kamatari’s smiling face. “Shura said you were ready to leave.”

Was she? Offering Kamatari a weak smile, she nodded and moved to follow him. Licking her bottom lip, she turned her head and met those amused, challenging eyes one more time before heading away from him.

Somehow, she knew that this wasn’t the last time she was going to see him. There was a gut-deep knowing, that while she might have managed to avoid the pack’s radar…

She just didn’t think that she was going to manage it in the future.



Title: .027 Reverse
Characters: Kenshin/Kaoru
Prompt: .027 Reverse
Word Count: 646
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Some other worldly Kenshin I think…
Author's Notes: Random drabble



Kaoru hated walking home from work every day. As luck would have it, when she ran to work in the morning, she faced the sun. When she walked home in the afternoon the sun was shinning directly into her eyes. On the days that she left her sunglasses at home she was mostly blinded. Putting her hand up to shade her eyes, she squinted into the light and sighed. With the crush of bodies pushing her forward, as always, her best bet was to duck her head and follow the crush of bodies in front of her.

Tilting her head down to trudge along with the press of the crowd, Kaoru was watching the feet in front of her to make sure she didn’t run into someone, when someone behind her got a little over eager, bumping her between the shoulder blades. Squeaking, she slammed her eyes shut as she attempted to catch her balance, her foot catching on the seam in the sidewalk.

Before she could continue to loose the fight with gravity, her nose slammed into something hard enough to make her eyes water, the rest of her body crashing into the solid object so that her lungs emptied of air.

...

Kenshin was irritated. Last nights mission had gone wrong in so many places that Aoshi hadn’t even bothered to brief him of it afterwards. This was why he refused to train rookies. Something was always guaranteed to go wrong. And it had.

Needing to clear his head, he had gone for a walk. It was safer to go when the masses were crushing together, easier to slip from shadow to shadow without being seen. The flex of his control was minimal and it gave him something to think about instead of how many people had died. Regulars were too busy with their own lives to notice a single, short man slipping through them, moving in a different direction that what they were. Practice. Practice.

Thump.

Reaching over in reflex, he never broke his stride, just carried the object that had hit his shoulder hard enough to feel, along with him until he was in a place where the tide was softer. Looking down, he blinked in surprise to find himself starring at a dark head of hair. Tilting his head to the side, he let his eyes run down the smooth line of her back, lingering on the way the black strands wavered just above the line of her hips.

A sound like a whimper and the girl was pulling back, hands coming up to her nose. That must have been what hit him first. Narrowing his gaze, he took in her plain clothing and decided that it was impossible for her to an agent. Her muffled voice broke free from behind her hands.

“So sorry!” Her pained voice groaned. “Sometimes people are so impatient.”

As galling as it was that an innocent had run into him (this was why he practiced) he took some satisfaction in the fact that she had not done so on her own will power. He flicked his eyes back up to her face, he found himself starring at watery blue eyes as one hand dropped away, the other continuing to rub her pink nose.

“No problem.” The words were automatic and seemed to be what she was looking for as she sniffed and dropped her other hand. Pert nose. Stubborn chin. Pursed mouth-suggesting irritation. Cute.

The last thought was unbidden.

“Well, thank you for the catch!” Taking a step back, suggesting a sudden shy streak, she turned on her heel and disappeared into the crowd, melting into the crush of bodies almost as easily as he.

He had taken the first steps in her direction before he had registered the move.

When he realized what he was doing, he didn’t stop himself.

Practice. Practice. Target.



Title: .028 Deliver
Characters: Kenshin/Kaoru/Sano
Prompt: .028 Deliver
Word Count: 3287
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Yet another Secret Agency Kenshin…
Author's Notes: Random drabble



Kaoru stared blankly at the man standing on her front porch. It wasn’t so much that he was attractive (where did he get that hair? And those eyes?) or really that he was short (did men really come in that size?) But the expression on his face. Clearly he hadn’t been expecting her.

Hefting her bokken a little higher on her shoulder, she studied him from under her sweat damp bangs.

“Can I help you?”

He rocked back on his heels; head tilting as he considered her before offering her a smile that looked rather sheepish.

“I’m looking for Sano?”

“Well, you’re in the right place….” She let her words hang.

“Kenshin.”

“Kenshin,” she continued on. “Let me go get him for you.”

“Thank you.”

She nodded and shut the door. “Sanosuke!”

He lifted his head off the floor and blinked at her. “I take it wasn’t the guy delivering our lunches?”

“My lunch,” Kaoru informed him, kicking his leg as she walked by. “There is a redhead on my porch.”

Sano sat up. “A redhead?”

Kaoru held her head a little over her head. “Short. Lots of hair. Pretty eyes. Says his name is Kenshin?”

Sano shot to his feet. “You talked to him?”

“He was on my porch!”

“But…”

“Sano, if you don’t want him on my porch, then get rid of him. And if you try to steal my food when it arrives, I’ll break your legs.”

“… did he say anything?”

“He looked a little lost. Maybe you should go and see what he wants!” She informed him around the towel she was wiping her face with. “Then get back here so I can finish kicking you around for the day.”

Peeking around the towel, she blinked when she realized he was gone.

…

“What are you doing here?” Sano hissed as he shut the door. He hoped Kaoru was too preoccupied with thoughts of food to follow him. “We had a deal.”

The small redhead lifted a brow. “I am aware of that.”

Sano pointed a finger at him. “Then why Are. You. Here?”

Calmly he reached into his pocket and handed him an envelope. “I believe that is yours.”

Sano almost dropped it. “What?”

The edges of the redhead’s mouth curved and the smile was a little sharp to be comforting. “You forgot to pick up your paycheck.”

“I didn’t take you for a delivery boy.”

“I’m not.” He shrugged. “However, I was going to be in the area.”

Sano gritted his teeth. “This area is off limits.”

Kenshin’s eyes wandered towards the door. “I see why.”

Sano stiffened but before he could get a word out Kenshin was turning away and moving down the steps. Sano clenched his fingers around the envelope in his hands and took several calming breaths.

“Sano! Hurry up! I don’t have all day to spend beating you to death you know!”

Opening the door, he stepped in and closed it before flicking the locks into place.

“Hey, how do you feel about going out for lunch?”



Title: .030 Fall
Characters: Kenshin/Kaoru
Prompt: .030 Fall
Word Count: 3287
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Kenshin on Campus
Author's Notes: College!RK



He wondered if she was ever going to know what she did to him.

It was becoming second nature to scan the campus grounds for a familiar head of dark hair, bundled up against the cold with the scarf and gloves she had stolen from his closet. That ridiculous faded backpack of hers and that chapped bottom lip. He wouldn’t say that there wasn’t a life for him outside of her, but things were so much… brighter with her. He found himself looking forward to bulling her into a second helping of food just to hear that grumpy note in her voice. He delighted in the way she would watch him out of the corner of her eye, the way her lashes lowered to hide her passing thoughts. The heat in her eyes. The way her eyes darkened when he touched her just so…He would sink into her mouth; catch those faint gasps and even softer moans with his tongue.

If this was what it meant to fall...

Moving forward, he paced behind the familiar fall of swinging hair as she headed to her next class. Watched the way her hips rolled under her backpack with appreciation.

If this was falling, then he was content.