• 1-Rent: Prologue
• 2-Rent
• 3-Glory
• 4-Who Do You Think You Are
• 5-It's Hard to Say 'I'm Sorry'
• 6-Over the Moon
• 7-Can't We All Just Get Along?

A Note From Sedjet: Alrightyroo. Here is another chappie. I will warn you, however, that my summer
schedule is even worse than my school schedule.
I will be holding down two jobs and taking a summer school course. *sigh* I’m trying to complete my degree and
graduate next spring. WOOT! So, you know my schedule, and I only ask that
you be patient with me. I will try to
update as frequently as possible. I love
you guys, and I want to keep you happy!

Koishii Sweet
-- Thank you
for reading! You’re always so
supportive!

Hellhound -- I’m glad you liked
it! I hope you like the next chappieJ

Lyphta
-- Thanks! I hope you stick around for the rest of it!!

Engel Star 13 –
Thanks for the nice review. I will
definitely check out your stories.

Rent:

Chapter Five

Over the Moon

Kaoru reached for Kenshin’s arm,
but he shied away, offering her an apologetic almost-smile. She nodded, trying to hide her sad
expression, but failed miserably. Sano
noted the exchange and draped a large, heavy arm over Kaoru’s shoulders. He leaned down to whisper in her ear, and Kenshin frowned.

“Don’t be put off.
He’s just weird about this kind of thing. He hasn’t had a date in over a year. You just have to go slow and be patient. Don’t get discouraged.” Sano murmured in her ear. A sad smile crossed her face, she nodded her
head solemnly.

Sano ruffled her hair, “Don’t worry, Jo-chan. I’ve got a good feelin’
‘bout this.”

Kenshin watched the exchange with
a jealous eye. Why did Sano get along
better with everyone than he did? What
was it about him that made people open up to him. What was it about him that made Kaoru smile
like that.

It’s because he has
come to terms with his disease, a reasonable voice answered Kenshin’s thoughts. He has accepted his fate. You haven’t.
It is really as simple as that, you know. His attitude makes the difference. Sano was right to have called you a hermit
earlier. You don’t go out. Kaoru is the only person you have made an
effort with. Perhaps you should just—

Perhaps you should just shut the fuck up, you annoying lil’ pacifist, before I kick your ass to kingdom come.

That is quite
enough! You trash mouthed hooligan!

I will kill you.

Kenshin pushed the voices out of
his mind. His two drastically different
personalities tended to battle it out for dominance. Actually, it was more like his dominant
personality just beat the shit out of the weaker and that was that. Generally, Kenshin
tried not to listen to either of them.

The pacifist had a point, though. Sano had a wonderful attitude if you considered
that he was dying in the slowest and perhaps most emotionally painful way
possible. Kenshin
couldn’t figure the man out. He was
going to these group therapy meetings that “helped him deal with his
disease.” Kenshin
had only scoffed when Sano had invited him along. He didn’t need poems or songs or mantras to
give him hope. His hope had been ripped
away from when Tomoe chose to take herself out of the world rather than staying
with him so they could help each other through it.

Kenshin turned away from the
smiling pair of kindred souls. “We
better get going or they’ll be pissed,” he muttered.

Kaoru frowned. She
ran ahead of Sanosuke to wrap her arms around Kenshin, but backed off immediately when he cringed and
shot her a belligerent look.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured, intently studying her purple
polished nails.

“’S ok.” Kenshin was quiet
for a while. “I’m just not used to being
touched, and it kinda weirds
me out.”

“Oh! You should have
said so! I’m sorry. I’m a touchy-feely person. That’s how my family is. It’s how we show our support. I’ll try to remember that you’re not
comfortable with it.” She offered him an
awkward smile. They walked in silence
for a moment, “So…who are we going to see?”

“Misao. She’s doing a protest show against the
closing of her lot.”

“Her ‘lot’?”

“I told you we were going to see a show at the lot on B and
10^th, right? Well, she
considers it her lot. It’s her stage. She’s been performing there for years. Now, an…ex-friend of
ours has decided that he’s going to shut down the lot. He’s just being a dick. Anyway, she says