A/N: Here we go..hope it will get better as the fic continues…uh…I think I forgot to mention that the pairings in this fic will be slightly A/K, then E/K.. others I shall not disclose yet. heheh….: P Btw, Thank you for your review, Gabbyhyatt...

Disclaimer: RK is my best-loved manga, along with Yukishiro Enishi and Shinomori Aoshi. If only Nobuhiro Watsuki gave me the right to own the two of them at least…No? How 'bout just Enishi then? still…wishful thinking..

Chapter II Work Interview

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Kaoru was busy accepting calls that day, the advertising company she's working at has recently established itself and has been doing pretty well since its grand opening a few months earlier, and Kaoru somewhat felt lucky to have applied in for work last month, for she needed work desperately. At 22, with no one left of her family but her little brother, Yahiko, she was forced to defer her studies at Toudai to find some means to obtain cash.

A hard-earned cash, for her father was not a rich man and her mother had long since she passed away because of Leukaemia when Kaoru was a 12 years old girl. Yahiko was 5 then and he wasn't old enough to understand any of it. So since then, Kaoru was taking full responsibility for her brother as well as taking care of the house chores just as a mother would, since her father was away most of the time doing his business that neither Kaoru or Yahiko knew much about.

If before, Kaoru's father was a Master of Kamiya Kasshin Ryu, since her mother's death, Kaoru was no longer trained by her father in the art of Kamiya Kasshin Ryu, an art of wielding a shinai to protect one's self and others that she particularly loved to learn. Therefore, she started to learn it discreetly through her grand father's old books that she found in their dusty store room and hidden in mouldy boxes in the attic. Most of the techniques she learnt were the result of reading these books, as well as imitating all of her father's stances as much as she could remember.

Her father's death was quite sudden, and despite the initial shock and the sadness, Kaoru had to admit that she didn't feel quite as sad as when she lost her mother, because simply, she felt that she was parentless the day her mother died. Because soon after that fateful day, her father busily maintained a distance and buried himself with his neverending work day in and day out.

Thankfully, after countless days, months and even years rolled by, Kaoru was no longer bothered by the fact that her father almost completely ingnored them, albeit leaving a bit of money for them each month. As far as Kaoru concerned, he deeply mourned the death of his wife to the extent of paying no heed to the welfare of his two children. Looking back, Kaoru had to take care of a lot of things, and even in high school, she used to feel ashamed for having to shop groceries twice weekly, and each time she had to frantically hide the grocery shopping catalogue from the curious eyes of her classmates as they would've laughed at her if they had known. And boy, they found out one day, the event was so vivid in her mind that even she could still remember it…

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(Flashback)

Kaoru flipped the Daionji Supermarket catalogue absently during her lunch break, carefully observing some of the cheaper-priced groceries to buy later that afternoon, with her lunchbox next to her, while most of her friends went out to fetch something from the canteen. She was busy counting the items she wanted to buy and how much money she brought with her, when suddenly a spiky head perked up from behind her, and within the next minute, laughter erupted.

"Whoaa…Kaoru-chan cooks…eeww…look at her lunch, must've cooked it herself" there goes the mocking voice of the spiky brown-haired rascal, who was no other than Sano, the head of bad boys in her class…Kaoru could feel her face ripened like a tomato. She was speechless when a group of guys approached shortly after and laughed at her expense when hearing Sano's remark, even some girls tried to hide their giggles in the background and she heard them murmur incoherently, undoubtedly something bad about her.

She was rather a quiet individual and was a sensitive one at that, and what Sano had said was beyond embarassing for her and undoubtedly hurt her. But she was never one to simply surrender when the others shun her, so she stood up and defended herself.

She was embarassed, yes, but she was seething with anger too…

"SPLAT!"

Sano was taken aback by her action.

His cheek was bearing a distinctive imprint of Kaoru's hand, and he found himself glaring at her venomously, only he was surprised to see her raised her chin indignantly and glared back at him with an equally biting glare. Then she, out of her sanity, spoke her mind out, "That's what you get when you insult me, you arrogant Rooster-head! &()(&#$!" she said. Sano's eyes widened considerably, hearing the colorful words she had just uttered.

"Why you…" he was about to make a comeback..

Unfortunately, the teacher walked in on that exact time, and both Sanosuke and her ended up in detention after school.

"What the heck did you think you do before?" He grumpily started.

Kaoru glared stonily to him. 'Because of this rascal, I couldn't buy grocery today, dang…and they are on special today!' She was internally strangling Sano on her mind.

"You deserved it" was all she said.

She turned to face the window, her face sported a far-away look and she was determined to ignore the brat that was in the same room with her. Never mind he was one of the naughtiest, and feared brats in the whole school with his eccentric Sekihoutai group.

"Hmph…" Sano stayed quiet for a while. Then he turned to see her, before turning away again.

"…"

"I'm sorry" Sano suddenly voiced out quietly.

Kaoru was stunned. Did she hear something? From him? What?

"What?" She said, disbelieving. Did my ears hear correctly?

Groaning inside, Sano refused to answer her.

"…"

Her eyebrows twitched in concentration. Recalling his words, she looked at him. He was flustered and uncomfortable, and he turned away, with a hand rubbing his neck somewhat clumsily. She smiled inwardly and quietly approach the infamous brat.

He's not as bad as I thought..

Nudge he felt something on his shoulder..or rather, someone tugged at his shirt. He hesitantly turned, only to be surprised again, twice on that day, by the same girl, as she now flashed a genuine smile at him.

He was speechless.

"Thanks", she said softly.

Sano forced himself to say something "…Aa" …Ugh, what a smart response that was, he grimaced inwardly, suddenly feeling like he's turning into the famous smartie of their school, their neighboring class' senior, Shinomori Aoshi, also known as "icicle".

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She chuckled at that trip down the memory lane as she was sitting on her office chair, stretching her arms and her legs relaxedly that afternoon. Indeed, after that incident, funny enough, Sano and her became quite close and eventually became good friends, and she hang out with him a lot. He even called her Jou-chan! He said once that he admired her spunk and her courage at certain things, and she just laughed. He even became a good friend to Yahiko, of course, discounting all that yelling, gnawing and ocassional stiffles between them. Their classmates even thought that Kaoru was Sano's girlfriend! She snickered at that.

In fact, her high school years after that weren't as bad as before, quite delightful on the contrary, as she met different kind of people and learnt to develop herself all the while. Only when she was about to enter university, with an Art major in her mind, her father suddenly had a heart attack and passed away a couple of days after. She felt her world crumble once again, for she was a still a tender 18 years old, with a 11-year Yahiko tagging along with her.

She was forced to do part-time studies in Toudai, while working part-time in Akabeko, a busy restaurant near her district, owned by her mother's long time friend, Tae. She was so thankful that she got that job to help her and Yahiko get by. Unfortunately, the money she earned was not enough and she was forced to make a decision about her studies. So she decided to defer it, thinking that Yahiko needed to finish his high school as a more important consideration. Only then she started looking around for a higher-paying job, flicking the newspaper and calling companies around; but as she was inexperienced and without a university degree, she was mostly ignored, until the day she came across Kashiwazaki Advertising Co.

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"Required, an enthusiastic person who's willing to work in team, full-time work, no priop exp. Necessary. Contact Honjo 0846772122, Kashiwazaki Advertising …." She read out loud on the newspaper she was holding. She quickly scanned the requirements, and without hesitating, picked up the phone and called the number.

"Hello, Kashiwazaki Advertising, Honjo's speaking, how may I help you?" a feminine voice was heard. Kaoru nervously licked her lips before answering. Soon, she found herself putting down the phone and letting out some air in a relieved puff of breath and was noting down her appointment for interview next week.

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Kaoru was combing her hair and applying a little gloss to her lush lips, while looking at her own reflection on the mirror. 'Do I look nervous?' she pondered quietly. She made a quick check of her outfit, a clean light blue long-sleeved business shirt, check, a newly bought dark gray skirt, check, (she much preferred pants, though, being the tomboy that she was) a pair of stocking, check, and a set of black polished shoes to complete her look. Overall, she looks okay, if not plain, but she was determined to get this position no matter what, and she decided, whatever was lacking from her choice of outfit, she had to make up through her charming attitude.

O yeah, she reckoned she could be charming if she wanted to…

She took a folder with her resume and details, and off she went.

Kashiwazaki advertising company was located in the centre of Tokyo, in level 25 of a looming business building that had struck Kaoru with awe. A feminine figure greeted her in the reception area. "Good afternoon, how may I help you",the receptionist smiled at her.

She's quite pretty, Kaoru noted, suddenlylosing her confidence. But there's a certain something about the receptionist that isn't right. Hmm…She narrowed her eyes slightly, but completely dismissed that thought before she let out a smile and informed the receptionist of her appointment.

"Oh, so you are Miss Kamiya…I received your phone call remember? I was the one who schedule your appointment for today…Honjo, Honjo Kamatari", she offered her hand out, and Kaoru was nodding, offering a hand for a hand shake in return.

Ouch…for a girl, she's got a firm handshake, Kaoru winced inwardly.

Kamatari smiledas her eyes glanced at the intercom.

"Ah, it seems that the boss calls you, Kamiya-san…please come through", she instructed shortly after she saw a flashing red light on the intercom, and winked at Kaoru.

Kaoru nodded politely and followed her instruction.

While walking, they passed by a tall girl who looked rather disappointed. She was holding a folder and was looking every bit like an applicant who had just been interviewed. DShe must be.

Did she fail? she pondered.

She gulped in an attempt to swallow her sudden attack of nervousness away.

The receptionist just smiled at her. "We're here", she said.

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Knock..knock…she knocked nervously. Here we go!

"Come in" a somber male voice replied.

She opened the solid double door, to come face to face with…

"Shinomori Aoshi, CEO of Kashiwazaki..please sit down, Miss…"