"Himura, you just invited two teenage girls wearing purple scrubs to eat lunch with us. What the hell is going on?" Aoshi muttered to Kenshin as they sat at one of the tables in the huge hospital food court, waiting for Misao and Kaoru to come back with their meals.

Kenshin chuckled. "They're not teenagers, they're in graduate school. That makes them at least 22 or 23…probably even older." His mind raced; he didn't want to have to explain to Aoshi that he found Kaoru fascinating, and wanted to get to know her better. "I invited them because I felt bad about how rudely you and Miss Megumi treated them last week, and wanted to make them feel comfortable here." There, that was mostly true. "So," he finished with a dangerous glance at his friend, "Be nice."

Aoshi raised a slim eyebrow and narrowed his eyes at Kenshin, the corners of his mouth curving upwards ever so slightly. "Why do I get the feeling there's more to your story, Himura?"

Kenshin smirked. "You're imagining things. You said so yourself…none of us have time to date anyone right now."

Aoshi's smile widened into a rakish grin. "I said we don't have time to make new friends. I never said anything about dating."

A light blush crept across Kenshin's face as he realized his slip-up, but he kept a straight face. "Just don't act like a jerk this time, Shinomori," he said. "The last thing we need is for the nurses on our floor to hate us."

"We're back!" Misao cried, plopping down at the table with a huge platter of sushi that looked like it could feed five people. "Kaoru and I didn't know what you liked, so we got some of everything. Sashimi, rolls…mmm, I forgot we ordered unagi!" She plucked a piece of grilled eel from the long dish with her chopsticks and popped it into her mouth.

"Wow, that was really generous. We didn't expect you to buy sushi for us!" Kenshin exclaimed, looking at the assortment with hungry eyes. "Next time will be on us, okay?" His eyes met Kaoru's, who had sat down directly across from him. He suddenly had to fight the impulse to reach out and graze a hand over her long, black hair, and he quickly laced his fingers together to hide the urge. Instead, he busied himself with the sushi, picking out a decadent piece of spider roll and crunching down on the fried crab legs.

"Ken-san!" the same feminine voice from yesterday suddenly rang out from the other side of the food court. The group turned to see Dr. Takani hurrying towards their table, with Dr. Sagara following not far behind.

Megumi was just as breathtaking as the last time Kaoru had seen her. Her tailored white coat fit perfectly over her black silk crepe skirt and navy blue blouse, and her high heels made her legs appear to go on forever. Her cheeks were flushed pink, probably from a hard morning of work, Kaoru assumed, and she was smiling brilliantly at Kenshin. When she spotted Misao and Kaoru, however, she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Heyyyy, it's Jou-chan and Weasel," said Dr. Sagara affectionately, plopping down at the table and clapping Misao and Kaoru on the back. "What's going on, ladies? Hey, sushi! Mind if I have a piece?"

Amused, Kaoru glanced at Misao, who looked like she might punch Dr. Sagara's lights out for calling her Weasel, however well-intended the nickname had been. Before she could say or do anything, however, Dr. Takani cut in, her smile completely gone.

"What's going on?" she demanded, glaring at the two girls. "Ken-san, I thought we talked about this last week. We need to focus on work right now! What are you doing with these teenagers?"

Kaoru snorted. "Umm, we're 24," she replied icily. "And excuse me, but I really don't know what your problem is. Your friends invited us to eat lunch, so we're eating. That's it." Her temper continued to rise. "And it's interesting how the only person whose behavior you really seem concerned with is Dr. Himura. Is he your boyfriend or something? That's the only reason I can imagine why you would keep such a close eye on him."

Kaoru wondered if she had gone too far when she saw Dr. Takani's reaction. The beautiful doctor, whose face had flushed a deep pink, narrowed her eyes into dangerous slits, and she focused all of her venom in Kaoru's direction when she spoke.

"My relationship status is none of your business. Nor are my reasons for wanting to protect my friends from trampy nursing students who just want to marry doctors and be lazy housewives."

Kaoru stood up, her hands unconsciously forming into fists. She was so angry that her teeth were nearly chattering, and she could feel her pulse throbbing at the temples. Seeing the murderous look on Kaoru's face, Kenshin quickly stood up.

"Miss Megumi, you're probably starving—let's take a walk and get your lunch," he said, taking a light hold of her arm and sending an apologetic glance towards Kaoru and Misao, who were entirely too angry to notice.

At his touch, Megumi's features relaxed a bit. "Whatever you say, Ken-san," she said slowly. "See you later, girls." Looping her arm through his, the pair walked off in the direction of the pizza kiosk.

Kaoru sat back down, still trembling slightly from anger. Misao, stupefied, finally spoke up. "Um, awkward! What was that all about? I mean, seriously…why does Dr. Takani hate us?"

Aoshi, feeling slightly embarrassed for Kaoru and Misao, felt obligated to speak up for the first time. "She sees you as a threat," he said crisply. "She's been in love with Kenshin since our first year of medical school, and hasn't had any other competition until now." He glanced rather pointedly at Kaoru, who completely missed the nuance.

Dr. Sagara, who had been content to watch the spectacle unfold until now, suddenly slammed a fist down at the table, making everyone but Aoshi jump.

"That's it, isn't it?" he exclaimed furiously. "She still wants him! God, when is she going to get that he doesn't love her?" He grabbed a shrimp off the sushi platter and ripped off its tail viciously.

Misao and Kaoru looked at each other. What was THAT about? Aoshi cocked an eyebrow, amused at Sanosuke's outburst. Glancing at his female companions, however, he decided to remain silent.

"Um, no offense, but this is getting a little weird," Kaoru said, finally recovering from her anger. "I think we'd better go back to the floor and finish up our charting."

Aoshi felt a slight twinge of remorse for how awkwardly things had gone. He normally wasn't one for sentimentality, but he felt that he needed to make up for yet another unpleasant encounter.

"Girls…ah, ladies, please excuse my friends…this behavior really isn't like them. It was very nice of you to get sushi for all of us, and…Himura and I will try to make it up to you at some point." He finished awkwardly.

Misao's face lit up. "That sounds great, Dr. Aoshi!" she stopped suddenly, realizing that she had just called her crush by his secret pet name without meaning to. Her face turned bright red.

Dr. Shinomori raised his eyebrows. "Dr. Aoshi?"

Misao began to babble. "I mean, Dr. Shinomori! Um, Shinomori-san?" she trailed off pathetically.

Gathering up his things and collecting a still-sulking Sanosuke, Dr. Shinomori stopped briefly, considering Kaoru and Misao.

"Aoshi is fine…unless we're on the floor," he said with an almost imperceptible wink, starting the walk back to the cardiac unit. "Then you'll need to refer to me as Aoshi-sama."

When they were alone, Kaoru let out a low whistle. "Misao," she groaned, "We have got to stay away from those people…they're trouble. I wouldn't be surprised if Dr. Takani gets us kicked out of school."

Misao, however, was barely listening. Her large eyes were glistening, and she had a dreamy smile on her face. "Aoshi…sama…"