See chapters 1-2 for disclaimers and acknowledgements
~*~*~
Chapter 9
"How can I explain,
When there are few words I can choose?
How can I explain,
When words get broken?
Erasure, Chains of Love
A tall boy, very obviously foreign to the
neighborhood, and in fact, the country, stood calmly outside
the high school gates. Female students looked at him for a
moment in awe, before scurrying away, suddenly frightened.
Until you looked at him closely, this boy seemed much
older then his 18 years, much older indeed. It was
impossible to tell if it was from the hard-bitten
experiences of a childhood gone awry, or if that was simply
the way he was.
He was very tall, easily over 6 feet, his spiky hair a
shiny dark brown, except for the long bits that fell over
his forehead and into his eyes. Those had been bleached to a
very contrasting white. The rest of his hair had been ratted
out, and coated in hairspray until it stood up nearly
strait. His clothing was just as outrageous as his height
and his hair. He wore a pair of black riding breeches, the
kind that ballooned out on the side, and over them was a
pair of knee-high black boots that had been strait-laced
skin-tight. The domed toe announced a steal plate hidden
under the thick leather. Thick creamy lace was sewn to the
cuffs and collar of his poet shirt, and from his neck and
wrists jingled the distinctive presence of a bondage collar,
and matching bracelets.
The high school students walking past him on their way
home could only stare. The closest thing to this they had
seen was a J-rocker, but this boy lacked the
shiny/glitteryness they tended to have.
The boy finally noticed the crowd of curious students
gathering a respectful distance from him. Through his hair,
they all saw his eyes slide their way, and his gaze held the
thinly veiled threat of violence. The crowd scattered
quickly, and no one stopped to stare after that.
~*~*~
Kevin felt a disgusting amount of pride as he and Kaori
walked through the halls to the exit. As they left the
classroom, she's taken his hand, and smiled. He been shocked
for a moment; he'd thought she wouldn't want anyone to know,
especially all the boys she'd turned down. He was happy to
see he'd been wrong.
He simply couldn't believe his luck. It had almost been
too easy. And now as they walked down the hall, many angry
and envious stares beat against their backs. Sometimes he
was glad that he had gotten back some of his ki reading
ability; like now, there was no fighting ki floating around.
Just envy. And other times, like their date, he just didn't
need to know.
They walked out the large double doors that led to the
huge expanse of lawn that graced the front of the school. As
they stepped out, almost on cue, a tall boy stepped from
behind the high plaster wall that lined the lawn, and in
through the gates.
Panic stitched itself in Kevin's stomach, and crawled
through his veins, making his body go numb, and begin to
tingle. *HIM* That spiky brown hair was unmistakable, and if
not that, the slanted brown eyes, even lined in kohl,
certainly were. Currently, they were narrowed dangerously at
the girl on his arm.
The recognition had hit him on two levels. The part of
him that was Kenshin still recognized the exterior to be
that of Sanosuke, while Kevin saw only an ex-boyfriend he
had never expected to see again.
Kaori felt Kevin stop. It was so sudden she almost
didn't stop walking. She also felt Kevin self-consciously
pull his hand out of hers. Shock was quickly replaced by a
deep hurt she couldn't explain. As if something she had
worked very hard for was being cheerfully taken away. She
felt that withdrawal as easily as she handled her bokken.
That was when Kaori noticed the tall boy standing far
down the path to the gate. A strange looking character
indeed, his clothing so foreign as to be unplaceable to her.
His glossy brown hair stood on end as if he had put his hand
in an electric socket. And yet...somehow, he looked
familiar, similar to how Kevin had looked familiar to her,
only there was a different sentiment attached to this one.
The actual boy in front of her sparked a touch of fear, but
the feeling his memory gave her was one of long friendship,
and protection. The memory told her not to worry; the boy in
front of her told her to run.
She looked from the tall boy back to Kevin. His face
showed a panic she'd never expected. Did this tall boy come
to hurt him? Kevin was fairly small and slender. He didn't
look like he would do well in a fight with someone that
large.
*He won last time, why should this be different?*
Damn! She was hearing those voices again! She still
didn't know what they were, or what part of her brain they
came from, but so far they had never lied to her.
Striding confidently down the path, the tall brown
haired boy came towards them, and he came to a stop some ten
feet from them.
"So Kevin, who's your bitch?" Kaori didn't recognize
the English word bitch, but Kevin's eyes and face hardened
to that of a stone figure. She knew from the rest of the
sentence that he was referring to her, and from the look on
Kevin's face, the word must have been something derogatory.
"My parents told me you were coming. I hoped they had
lied to me. You haven't changed at all have you? But then I
haven't been gone very long either." Kevin ground out the
English words; his teeth bared in what would almost be a
feral snarl. Kaori had never seen Kevin like this, had never
thought his face could become so frightening.
*--But when he was angry, his eyes became the most chilling
yellow...*
After her brain's last wayward interjection, she
couldn't help but look over, and wonder if Kevin's eyes had
indeed turned yellow. She had seen them change color before.
After looking, she quickly turned her head back, and looked
at the concrete with a great deal of interest. Perhaps her
imagination was overactive but she could swear she could
almost see the yellow-gold flecks gathering and multiplying
in his normally purple irises.
Kevin tore his eyes away from the tall boy, and back to
his new girlfriend. He could sense the confusion and fright
wafting off her. He took one of her hands again, and with
his other, he raised her chin so she would meet his eyes.
For some reason, she was studying the concrete with great
intensity.
"Kaori...look at me." He had switched back to Japanese.
She looked back up, her gaze tentatively touching his. "This
is someone who I used to know from where I used to live. I
don't have time to explain the details to you now, but he is
angry with me. I would feel better if you left for now, and
I will explain things to you later. Also, before you go, can
I borrow your bokken?"
"My bokken?" Kaori hesitantly touched her favorite
practice bokken where stuck out of her school bag at a
jaunted angle. She preferred her own bokken to the shinai
the school provided, so she carried it to and from school on
practice days. "What do you need my bokken for?"
Kevin choose his words carefully, not certain of what
was going to happen once she left. "I was thinking I should
get some extra practice in. Is it okay? I'll give it back
tomorrow, I promise." He tried to smile reassuringly, but
she probably knew that his smile was forced.
That smile is sooooo FAKE, Kaori thought, eyeing
Kevin's face with trepidation. What he had said wasn't
exactly a lie, but nor was it the truth. But it was a fact,
either way.
"Fine. A sword is for protection. Remember that, okay?"
She pushed the old wooden practice sword into his hand and
then quickly kissed the hand that still held her other. With
that she ran past him, and then past the tall boy, and out
the gate.
~*~*~
Kevin watched Kaori sprint out the gateway, and then
turned back to the tall boy.
"Samuel Sanguinetti, I am NOT happy with you." Kevin
eyed the other boy's tall frame as he shrugged his massive
shoulders. "And she is not my 'bitch'. She is my girlfriend."
Sam stepped forward to where Kevin stood, and poked
the shorter boy in the chest. "But Kevin, you don't like -
girls-, remember? And I don't recall us ever breaking up, do
you?"
Kevin stepped back and threw up his hands. "This is
not the place to discuss this! Just because they are
Japanese, doesn't mean they can't understand us, you know!
Follow me, okay?"
Kevin led Sam back to his house. The sat down on the
porch, Kevin against a wooden post, Kaori's bokken resting
against his shoulder comfortably. If it were only a little
heavier, Kevin thought, missing his sakabattou for the first
time since his reincarnation. He never thought he would need
to use a sword of any kind again, wooden or otherwise, but
everything about Sam's posture told him otherwise.
Sam had leaned back against an opposite wooden post,
but remained standing, his arms crossed over his chest, one
leg crooked, and his foot on the post. "So are we going to
talk like good little flamers? We couldn't ruin out clothes,
now could we?" Sam bit out.
Kevin looked up into Sam's angry face. "Perhaps you
noticed that my significant other is now female? Whether we
were or are gay has nothing to do with this. You say we
never broke up? Well fine. Then I'm dumping you. I'm with
Kaori now. I know you're not the type to stay friends with
your ex's so maybe you should just--AAH!!"
"I don't like this cold politeness Kevin. You are not
breaking up with me." Sam hauled Kevin up by his shirt
front. Or he attempted to. He felt a blow hit his chest, to
see Kevin
-flying- away, and after a perfect back flip in mid air, he
landed in a crouch several feet away on his lawn. Sam stared
at him in amazement. The blow wasn't enough to hurt him, or
knock him down, but he couldn't believe what his eyes told
him he'd seen. Kevin had rebounded off his chest using his
feet, and landed perfectly. He'd never know Kevin to be
terribly coordinated unless he was dancing, and certainly
not athletic to the extent necessary to perform that cute
little stunt. But he had done it, almost as if he'd been
doing such things for years.
"How...how did you do that?" Sam sputtered, taking an
instinctive step towards Kevin. He stopped in midstride when
he saw through the shadows that the fringe of flame colored
hair created. Eyes that were normally a warm purple burned a
frozen blue now. That was the only word Sam had for it. They
burned.
The figure in front of him stood up slowly, so that
more then anything he appeared to -uncoil-. He couldn't
think of the cold figure in front of him as Kevin. He had
been warm, and almost girlish at times. Even before he'd
gotten angry, Kevin had still been completely different from
when he'd left California.
That 'Oh no, my favorite shirt! This was a Gucci too!"
attitude was gone. The severe black slacks and high-collared
jacket suited the remote person in front of him; it would
not have suited Kevin at all.
But strangely enough, even as foreign as this person
seemed there was something so familiar about it. He could
remember seeing Kevin this angry once before, but he
couldn't really remember when. Something to do with a police
officer... Sam shook his head briskly to clear his thoughts.
Kevin watched the confusion march across Sam's hansome
face. But through the confusion also showed a great amount
of hurt. Sam probably had loved Kevin, he thought to
himself, momentarily forgetting that he was Kevin now. How
strange it was to think like one person, and be another! But
now was not the time to back down.
"Look, I'm sorry about this." Kevin's posture had
softened considerably. After all...he could very well be
looking at who Sano had become. "But really. I have a
girlfriend now. You live in an entirely different
country..."
Sam shook his head, almost wearily. "You're not Kevin.
You act nothing like Kevin did. That sword in your hand may
be wooden, but you seem to know how to use it. Kevin didn't
know how to fight; he was a dancer. You're not Kevin." Sam
repeated as he looked up at him, pain evident in his
chocolate brown eyes.
"I am Kevin." He insisted. "I am. I'm just not the one
you're used to. Things are different now."
A pained chuckle crossed with a sob left Sam's chest.
"Che. I guess they are." He straitened his shoulders, pain
evident in his posture. Part of him did remember this boy
more fondly; part of him remembered everything about this
boy. To part of me, Kevin thought, this boy was my lover. I
will miss him. And I don't want him to leave so sad.
"Do you mind...if I kiss you goodbye?" Sam whispered,
bringing Kevin back out of his memories. "I mean, I'm sure
I'll never see you again, so..."
If it will make him feel better...Kevin let that
thought trail off in his head, as he nodded his okay. Sam
stepped forward, and swept him up in his arms, for a moment
only burrowing his face in Kevin's hair. Kevin had never
remembered feeling so small; Sam was extremely tall, and now
he could feel his feet dangling six inches off the ground.
It was shock when Sam kissed him. It was as if Sam was
trying to devour something important inside of him, so that
he could take it home with him. It was overwhelming to be
attacked this way...but somehow pleasant....
~*~*~
Kaori has stopped short when she saw Kevin literally
bounce off the taller boys chest, and had been completely
shocked when she saw him execute a back flip, and land in a
fluid crouch some distance away. She had followed them when
they left the school grounds. Even though something in her
head had told her Kevin could take care of himself, she
wanted to be there, just in case he needed her help. But
from the litte stunt he just preformed, it seemed he was far
more adept then she could have ever guessed, and had
probably even been holding back during all their Kendo
practices. Although it was obvious now that Kevin would
indeed be fine, just as that mysterious piece of her brain
that had taken to talking to her had said, she still wanted
to stay. For awhile they just stood cross for each other,
and occasionally, one of the two would make some kind of
angry gesture.
Eventually though, Kevin's posture softened, and the
taller boys' became more and more dejected. But that was all
she could see from a little more then half a block away.
Eventually it seemed the Kevin had softened entirely,
and the tall boy swept him up in a bear hug, with Kevin's
feet dangling some six inches off the lawn. But then the
taller boy kissed him! She watched her boyfriend slide his
arms around another BOY'S neck, as though he didn't mind....
Maybe he didn't? But...Scenes from another time swept
through her head. Last time had been much worse, but at
least it had been a girl...Kaori didn't even realize she was
crying, until she realized that the distant forms had
blurred to being unrecognizable. She had been right earlier
when she had felt something slipping away...
Without another glance, Kaori turned and ran.
~*~*~
Chapter 10
"I heard a rumour...
It was just a rumour...
I heard a rumour...
What have you done to her?"
"Arabian Knights"
Siouxie & The Banshees
Kaori ran. It was comforting to feel her muscles ache
as they did, because it momentarily dulled the pain of what
she had just seen. It was instinct that guided her home; her
sight was too badly blurred by tears for it to be anything
else.
In a way though she was glad, she thought, as her
speed tore her hair back from her face, that she had found
out so quickly. It could have been worse, so much worse... A
new layer of sobs bubbled up from the depths of her chest,
and she wanted so badly to be at home, locked in her room,
away from everyone...
Not too far now....she tried to comfort herself,
You're almost there, just another block...
And then she was there, and with sob of relief this
time, she slowed as she ran through the old dojo's gates.
Still though, she hurried inside, and past her mother's
intruding eyes, and after kicking off her shoes, she
thundered up the stairs attempting to make no more, but no
less, noise then she always did. She did not holler her
customary "Okaa-san! Tadaima!" She was afraid her voice
would shake too badly, and betray her distress.
None to soon, she entered her room, and closed the
door behind her, making sure she had turned the lock. Nearly
ripping them in her haste, she removed her school uniform,
and dove into bed, face first. Her pillow would be her only
comfort. Her pillow always listened, it was never rude, or
late, and it never cheated on her...
How was she going to look at Kevin tomorrow? She'd
burst into tears if she saw him. All she could do was
resolve herself to not look at him, especialy not while he
smiled (she'd melt instantly, and she knew it) and if she
had to, she would think of how...comfortable...he looked
with that other boy. If she replayed that in her mind she
could stay mad, and if she stayed mad...then she could get
through this.
If she stayed angry she could ignore how incredibly
hurt she was, even though they had only been dating at week.
But the truth was, she wanted to believe that what she had
seen hadn't been real. She wanted to believe that all of
yesterday had been a dream and that there was no strangely
familiar, and extremely hansome foreigner kissing her boyfriend.
Former boyfriend, she added to herself almost as an
afterthought, as she felt her eyes start to drift closed
from all the effort such an envolved crying spree had taken.
And soon after, Kaori fell asleep, tears still
trailing down her cheeks.
~*~*~
Kevin let his gaze stray worriedly to Kaori's empty
desk. To his knowledge, she was NEVER absent, and NEVER
late. It went against her grain.
It was almost two hours into class when Kaori finaly
showed up. Her face was a little puffy, and her eyes were
blood-shot. Her normaly immaculate apppearance was anything
but- her hair hadn't been brushed and had been pulled into a
messy ponytail, when she normaly wore it down. Her school
uniform was wrinkled, and looked like it had been thrown in
a crumpled heap into a corner and left there.
Kevin, for the life of him, couldn't figure out what
could be wrong. Maybe she'd had a fight with her parents? He
fingered her bokken where it stuck out of his schoolbag.
He could do nothing to soothe her at present, he'd
have to wait until lunch. He eyed her worriedly for the next
two hours; that was all he could do.
The moments ticked by ever so slowly, but even still
the second hand on the clock moved. When it completed its
circle, the minute hand jumped forward a pace. Round and
round went the second hand, and slowly but surely, the
minute hand followed, and even slower still, the hour hand.
Kevin contemplated the irony of his situation to no small
degree, and although he disliked the idea, he had to admit
the old saying was wrong:
A watched pot DOES boil, but only when it got darned
good and ready to do so, and this evil clock on the wall of
his classroom seemed to have the same kind of attitude.
But surely enough, the time did pass, even if its
speed was far too slow for Kevin's taste. He shot out of his
seat as though out of a cannon the instant the lunch bell
rang. He folded his arms on the front of Kaori's desk and
sank into a squat, peering over the edge.
His first clue that something was really wrong was
when she briefly looked up at him, and the instantly lowered
her head again.
"Kaori, what's wrong?" He inquired reaching to lift
her chin, so he could look at her.
She swiped at his hand, brushing him away. She didn't
say anything for a minute, and then said in a low whisper
"Can I have my bokken back now, please?"
Kevin felt something akin to dread settle in the pit
of his stomach. He ignored the possibilty that jumped
instantly into his brain. He'd watched her leave. And so he
tried again, this time his eyebrows puckered together, his
worry showing not only in his face, but also in his voice.
"Kaori....Please. Tell me what's wrong."
Although her eyes were hidden behind the thick curtain
that were her bangs, Kevin thought he saw a little of the
shiny wetness before she could manage to swipe it away with
a quick brush of her hand. Once again she was silent; her
breathing was deep and slow, as though she were trying to
steady herself.
"Kevin." Kaori kept her voice low. She knew that this
would already generate rumours; they were still in the
classroom, and while some of the students had left, a
greater portion of them had stayed. She was sure that many,
very curious stares were being shot their way. And so she
needed to stay calm for now. She needed to keep her voice
steady for now.
"Kevin." Kaori said again, "I saw you with him. I saw
everything."
All his blood abrubtly dropped into his feet, and his
body went completely numb. He must have turned an alarming
shade of white, because now the curious looks they had been
getting before intensefied tenfold.
He blinked his eyes a few times to clear his sight. He
had a sudden urge to burst into tears. He reached for her
hand, in hopes that she would allow him to take it. She drew
away from him, as though pulling into a shell. He left his
hand laying on her desk, and he picthed his voice as low as
possible to keep it from shaking as he spoke. "Please let me
explain things to you. You don't have to forgive me, but let
me explain. Please. You don't ever have to speak to me again
afterwards if that's what you want." No matter how he tried,
a note of desperation snuck into his voice.
At this Kaori raised her head a little, enough for him
to see her eyes. They were puffy and blood-shot, just as
he'd thought earlier, although now, her eyes were completely
dry. "And what if I don't want to hear it?" she asked him
quitely, her voice deadly calm.
Kevin stood up slowly, one of the joints in his knees
protesting with a loud pop. He made his way back to his
desk, and grabbed his book bag. Once again, he walked back
to Kaori's desk, and pulled her bokken out of his bag, and
laid it quietly on the hard wooden writing surface. With
that done, he turned and walked out of the classroom.
~*~*~
Kaori hadn't expected Kevin to just pick up and walk
out. She watched him march machanicaly out of the classroom,
his gait stiff, and his face that of a stone figure, frozen
in time and lost on a faraway island.
Kaori had seen that look on her own face before and
knew very well what it meant. She could almost see him
sweeping up the remains of his shattered heart into a little
plastic dustbin.
She watched the door as class resumed. Some part of
her belived that Kevin would come back to class and she
could apoligize for being so cruel. He hadn't lied to her.
He hadn't denied what she had seen. He hadn't even begged
for forgiveness; all he'd wanted was for her to listen. She
wasn't angry with him, she realized as she stared at the
papers on her desk. Her pride was hurt. That's why she had
refused his request.
A small and nearly silent gasp escaped her; how many
people had she refused out of pride? Some of the girls of
the school had tried to talk to her before, and she had
snubbed them. In fact, she had snubbed almost everyone who
wasn't part of the Kendo club. But why had she done that?
She didn't used to be this way.
Shiro.
But could she blame everything on him? He may have
been part of the reason she avoided everyone; the mental
anguish he'd caused her had made her want to hide in the
deepest hole, as far away from anyone else as possible.
He'd made her feel like trash to be thrown away...
And perhaps she had avoided deeper contact with
everyone, just to avoid feeling that way ever again? So
perhaps part of it was his fault.
But it had been her -choice- not to recover from what
happened. Her choice. Her parents had put her into threapy
after the fact, the psychologist had always told her that he
wanted to help her, if she let him. But she had to make a
-choice- to recover. She hadn't made that choice. She had
managed to convice him that she would be able to function in
everyday life; and that was where the threapy had ended.
Now, two years later, she understood what the
phsychologist had meant. She would recover when she was
ready, when she decided to stop living what had happened to
her everyday of her life and wallowing in the remaining
pain, because that was all she felt she had left. Now she
knew different. All she had left had walked out of the
classroom at lunch. And before him, she'd had nothing at
all.
~*~*~
Later that day, Kaori walked dejected towards the
school gates, trying to think of some way to patch things
up. She passed through the gates, not noticing until he was
practicaly on top of her, that someone was waiting for her.
The tall boy from the day before jumped in front of
her and gestured for her to stop. If possible, today's
outfit was even more outrageous then the last. His chest was
covered in a veil of fishnet, and...and...Kaori blinked not
quite beleiving what she saw. He was wearing a long and
rather graceful looking skirt, and over which was a curious
belt that had long bits of thin chain strung between metal
loops, in a decending fashion. His shoes rather alarmed her
when she noticed them. The had a very shaply pointed toe,
and sliver buckles going all the way up the side; she
counted 12 in all.
The tall boy let her stare, a grin lighting his
features making him appear boyish. "If you're done staring
at me, I'd like to talk to you."
The boy's English sounded weird to her, his accent was
thick with something she'd never heard before. She blinked a
couple of times, processing what she had heard, and
translating in her head. After deciding that her translation
was accurate, she nodded slowly, not quite sure what else to
say.
He waved his hand forward, gesturing for her to join
him. "I don't bite, you know."
~*~*~
Kaori found herself at a small coffee shop that
cattered to foreign touists. It had a small inclosed patio
away from the street. The tall boy bought her a soda, and
for himself, a steaming cup of a deathly black looking brew.
"You know, Kevin never told me your name." The boy
stirred his coffee while dumping sugar packet after sugar
packet into it.
"Kaori. Myoujin Kaori...." She took a sip of her soda,
not sure she liked the particular one he's picked. It was
pale green and sickly sweet.
The boy gave her a small salute. "Nice to meet ya,
Kaori. I'm Sam. I'm sure I'm making all kinds of cultural
blunders, but you'll have to forgive them. I have a story to
tell you."
Sam paused, as if unsure of how to begin. "About a
year ago, I met a boy who I fell comepletely in love with.
It was very confusing to me because that person was male,
and I didn't think that I bent that way. But that person
helped me figure out what was important to me. He helped me
do what I wanted to do. It's thanks to him that I have my
job."
"Now remember that I loved this boy with all my
heart." Sam continued "He helped me quit speed, and helped
me study for my GED. This boy gave and gave, never caring
what he got in return. And then...one day his parents told
him he had to move far away, to the otherside of the world.
When he told me, he kissed me, gave me his phone number, and
said goodbye."
"I went out to visit him, to discover that he'd
already completely forgotten about me, and had found a
beautiful girlfriend. He and I exchanged words, and eventual
he gave up, and explained the facts to me. He always had a
way of making me see. So I accpeted what he said, and asked
him if I could kiss him goodbye. I knew I'd never see him
again, and this boy was my first love... I kissed him
goodbye, and went back to my hotel room, not planning to
visit him again. But today, he showed up at my hotel room,
in tears and shaking. He told me his girlfriend had seen us
kiss, and now she wouldn't forgive him. He wasn't sure if it
was because I was male or just because. Tell me what you
think of this story."
Kaori looked at the tall boy in front of her. At first
she hadn't realized who he was talking about, but now...This
was Kevin's ex-boyfriend. There was nothing else he could
be. After a few moments of silence, she said softly, "I
don't know what to think."
Sam looked down at the girl in front of him, her hands
wrapped around her cup of soda, and huddled down in her
chair. She did seem very confused. He shook his head. He
have to spell everything out. What a trial. The things he
did for Kevin...
Sam put a long slim brown cigarette in his mouth, and
flicked open his silver lighter. The tip caught, and he took
a long deep draw off it. What a trial indeed.
"Kevin loves you." He said bluntly, and Kaori looked
up at him sharply. "He had no problems telling me goodbye. I
know he cared for me a lot. But I don't think he loved me.
He loves you. You two have been together, what, a week at
most? Normaly when a boy is dumped after only a week, he
just thinks to himself 'Ah hell, screw her anyway' and goes
on with his life. Kevin was practicaly hysterical when I saw
him earlier. "
"He...was?" Kaori ventured. It was obvious that Sam
was very protective of Kevin.
"I hope you didn't decide not to forgive him just
because it was a guy he kissed?" Sam spoke, his voice
becoming low in pitch, beginning to sound almost like a
growl, "If you're that shallow, then he doesn't need you
anyway. That's something else Kevin taught me. You can love
someone regarless of what sex they are. It just doesn't
matter. If you limit yourself that way, you could be missing
the most important person in your life. You should love
someone for what they are inside, regardless of their
gender. Sex is just a result of love. Because I still love
Kevin, I want him to be happy. And I think that he can be
happy with you. But you need to forgive him."
Kaori's felt her eyes go as wide a saucers. All of
what Sam had said had struck a chord deep inside her, and
she took it all to heart. Her vision blurred, and she
quickly blinked the tears away. She wasn't sure why she had
almost started crying. Taking Sam's large hand in one of her
smaller ones, she looked him in the eye, and smiled. "Thank
you Sam. I'll go talk to Kevin tonight." Sam colored deeply,
and said gruffly "You're welcome. I better not have to fly
out here again next time you guys have a fight."
"I'm going to go now." Kaori stood up leaving her
unfinsihed soda on the table top. "Is Kevin at his house?"
Sam only nodded; she'd caught him while he was dragging off
his cigarette. "I'll go over there now then!" Kaori made for
the small gate that led from the patio back out to the
street.
"Remember what I said, Miss Kaori! Don't make me come
back out here!"