A/N: Something different I suppose… hope you guys enjoy it … don't kill me KK fans..

Disclaimer: totally not my own..

HOW TO FIND A DATE ON VALENTINE'S

KAMIYA KAORU'S POV

'Well, well….here goes the another year', she said to herself as she flicked a calendar's page. Oh…that's right…St. Valentine's Day is next Friday! She chided, feeling slightly enthusiastic..but then her expression fell, as she realized something. "Oh, yeah…it's of no importance…I don't have a boyfriend anyway…", she pondered, rather disappointed.

Kaoru, in her early twenties is a cheery and down-to-earth girl. A beautiful girl with azzure-coloured eyes, she always brightens up the rooms that she enter, and she prides herself of having many friends. Social-life wise, she's doing more than okay…but, in the romance department…

She sighed then… remembering her childhood sweetheart.

Flashback

It was a fine day in Tokyo, four years ago, and the eighteen-year old Kaoru was feeling exceptionally happy. She'd just smile at everyone that passed her by all week, as she was waiting impatiently for next Saturday to come. This was her first-date, well..sort of..since she's been best friends with Himura Kenshin since she started junior high school.

The face of her senior of three years appeared in her thoughts..making her a little nervous. She suddenly remembered an incident a few days ago that always had her blushing every time she thought of it.

….

….

….

"Kenshin…have a date with me this Valentine's day, okay!"… her voice sounded casual, although she was actually very surprised at finally getting the courage to tell him what has been in her mind for a long time.

"Ah…Kaoru-dono…I..", he sounded surprised too. In fact, he was almost rendered speechless by her request.

Kaoru cut him off mid-sentence, afraid he was going to say no. "Please, Kenshin..we've been friends for a while now…this is all I'm asking you…well, you can even think of it as me asking you a favor, if you'd like", she sounded rather disappointed at his initial lack of excitement at hearing her words.

"Ah..don't put it that way, Kaoru-dono. He looked a little bit ill at ease. "Very well.. I've been meaning to tell you.. ", he cleared his throat, then continued after a few seconds, "But I think I'll tell you then", he decided, smiling at the younger girl.

Not expecting to hear his agreeing to her request, Kaoru's heart fluttered as she received the warm smile of her favorite red-head.

"Then, I'll pick you up at your house, next Saturday, say, at five-thirty?", he added.

Kaoru nodded her head, unable to say anything. Her childhood crush is finally going to date her!

"All right then, Kaoru-dono…ah, I still have some errand to do, I'll see you later, okay?", he said, looking down at his watch. Kaoru nodded.

'Say something, Baka!', she forced herself to utter a few words before the dashing red-head turned and walked away.

"Ah, Kenshin…nn…I…thank you", she managed to say sheepishly, her face were a little pinkened, and she looked absolutely adorable in the eyes of the red-head.

Kenshin flashed her a genuine smile. "It's my pleasure, Kaoru-dono..", then he resumed walking. Kaoru raced all the way home, and it's not until she got back to the confines of her bedroom before she let out a big goofy grin and shouted, "Yeah!"

Days at school were merely a passing blur to her. For Kamiya Kaoru, whose father was a Kamiya-Kasshin Ryu instructor, her daily routines include going to school and training the same art of shinai-wielding as her father's style. Her mother passed away when she was barely a teenager and she has developed a sense of independence within herself ever since. It was not really difficult for her to do that, for her father was always very strict with her, she reminisced. But her father has also passed away two years ago, leaving her all alone, but with a Kamiya Dojo as her inherited property, and the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu to teach in a few other, small dojos a few times a week, juggling her sole means of income with her studies schedule.

Life had been rather rough for Kamiya Kaoru.

But lately, she feels a new surge of excitement as she sat in front of her study desk, she hastily crossed her calendar with red ink, indicating the Valentine's Day, and she couldn't help but smirk every time she came home and crossed yet another day. 'Oh, Valentine's definitely getting closer', she said to herself, anticipation building up from within her as she imagined what her first date would be like.

She winced as she recalled her friend, Megumi in class today. She has told the fair-skinned beauty about her plan to ask Kenshin to date her. Her friend tried to hide an amused grin, before she said to her, "Well, well…Tanuki-chan.. I admire your plan. but for you to actually carry it out.. I'd love to see that, ho ho ho..", she smirked slyly at seeing Kaoru's flushed face. "As I thought before, Tanuki…Here, I'll make a bet with you, just to encourage you a bit.. even if I know you would back out in the last minute, as usual….She halted, grinning from ear to ear, making the Tanuki suddenly piped in crossly.

"I won't back down on my words this time!", she replied, gritting her teeth. "I accept your bet, Kitsune…what will it be on?", she asked bravely.

Megumi laughed at that, "Oh, no…charming little Tanuki's upset…very well, how 'bout if….I'll date whoever you want me to date on this coming Valentine's? isn't a good enough incentive? Pick your choice, then", she smiled sweetly, gesturing one elegant hand toward her surrounding.

Kaoru fumed. Megumi sure knows how to annoy and tease her. Sly Kitsune…Well, she can't back down now…Kaoru looked around like a vulture looking out for its prey. Megumi will have to eat her own words now!

Kaoru's eyes scanned her classmate. Fuuji is too nerdy, Kota is rather serious, Honda is a womanizer…Makoto is downright freaky..she sighed, 'what kind of people go to this school, exactly!', she pondered, fixing her gaze at the other end of the classroom. Her eyes suddenly fell on a certain figure leaning down relaxedly on a chair, well, more than that, he seemed to be taking a nap, even with a notebook covering his face. A mass of brown spiky hair, a catchy red-bandanna… Kaoru observed, then she tried to suppress a smile.

'Yatta! There's nothing like a bad-boy Sagara Sanosuke that would annoy Kitsune way beyond her imagination'.

Kaoru glanced at the tall girl next to her, who was coolly observing her perfectly manicured nails. She smirked triumphantly.

"Megumi…I found a candidate..", she said, displaying an innocent look on her face. "And as you have said, you too can't back down on your own words", she reminded her.

"Right, right, whatever…it's not like I will run away, Tanuki…", she lazily replied. "So, who's the lucky guy?", she said rather arrogantly.

She pointed to the direction of the spiky-haired guy, "I want you to date…him!", she said firmly.

Megumi's face paled considerably, and Kaoru never felt so powerful in her lifetime.

Ah-ha! Gotcha, Kitsune…

"Er, Tanuki…are you sure about your choice..I mean..are you absolutely sure you picked the right candidate for me?", she tried to negotiate.

Kaoru stifled a laugh now. "Now, now, Megumi…you're not thinking about backing down this early, right?", she replied with a renewed twinkle in her azure orbs.

Megumi swallowed hard. "I..ah..very well..I accept that", she winced inwardly, trying to maintain her cool composure. It was no easy feat.

Kaoru giggled freely "But Megumi…you did say I can choose anyone.."

Megumi grumpily nodded, adding tears of mirth to Kaoru's eyes as she giggles continuously.

Valentine's Day

She smoothed her sakura flower embellished yukata. This was her best yukata, and she made a point to be looking her best today. She combed her long, lustrous hair and put a few silver hair-pins in place, as she looked at her own reflection on the mirror. Breathe Long, deep breath..Kaoru..you look like a nervous wreck! She chided.

She was going around the house, to the kitchen to get something to drink, back to her room to re-apply some lip gloss. She went to the bathroom to check on her appearance every five minutes or so, and her eyes kept darting to the old, wooden clock. It's 5.40 now.. 'this is rather strange', she thought… Kenshin is not an unorganized person, and he rarely break his promises. In fact, she couldn't remember him ever breaking his promises. Perhaps something has happened. "I hope he's all right"..Her heart raced as her imagination started picturing accidents and the like… "No, no..he's going to be all right."

A rasp knock on the entry gate of Kamiya residence was heard. Kaoru suddenly woke up from her daze and ran to open it. The sight that greeted her surprised her. It was Kenshin, as she suspected it to be, but he looked rather disheveled and was apparently breathing labouredly as she quickly unbolted the gate, letting him in.

"Kenshin, what has happened…?", she asked, her brows furrowed, and a genuine concern was reflected in those pool of azure orbs. "Ah…wait here..I'll get you a drink..", she said, turning around, only to be halted by his voice.

"No, Kaoru…there's no need", he said, for once seemingly forgetting the honorific embellishment as he called out her name.

Kaoru stopped in her track. "Ah..why?..I."

"Kaoru, I don't have much time to explain to you… but my adoptive father relocated his workplace, and I had a late notice… I came to tell you…I'm sorry Kaoru, I have no other way to say it…", he stopped, running an agitated hand through his red mane.

Kaoru listened to him, her eyes never leaving his, suddenly she was worried of hearing what was to come.

"..I have to cancel our date, Kaoru", he said in a soft voice, feeling miserable all at once for having to break his promise to the lovely raven-haired girl.

" I… ah…when..?", Kaoru's words jumbled up, much to her dismay.

" I have to leave now… and I don't know if I'll ever come back to this city again someday…Kaoru…" his words stopped mid-sentence as he observed a stricken look flitted across her face.

"I..will you..will you write to me, then..?", she asked in a tight voice, her face bowed down and blinked several times to prevent threatening trickles from surfacing at the corner of her eyes.

Kenshin looked down at her, then he carefully lifted the jut of her chin with his thumb and index finger, as he said to her, "Kaoru, please don't cry…I hate to break this to you, but I have to… I will write to you", he forced a wry smile.

Kaoru nodded. She was unable to say anything that could change the fact that he's still leaving… a rush of air was taken out of her lungs in all of the sudden, and she was shocked to realize that she was being embraced by him.

"Please remember me always, Kaoru…", he whispered close to her ear as he embraced her tightly as if he didn't want to let her go…but in a whisk of motions and in a blink of an eye, he was gone.

He was gone…before she even had the chance of replying…

Kaoru stood at her front yard, tears fell down copiously from her expressive azure eyes.

"I'll remember you always, Kenshin…" she sobbed.

It was a sad valentine's day for Kamiya Kaoru.