A/N: I truly appreciate the reviews and you all sticking it out! So here you go, the next chapter! Kenshin feels guilty about…because…well…you'll see! Read on!

Previously on Reaching True Feelings: "Miss?" Kenshin whispered as he tried to get her attention. She was reluctant in looking up but did so anyway. As soon as her eyes met his, she saw his widen. And to this she felt uneasy. They both froze and Kenshin smiled at her. She nodded and took the packet from his strong hands and skimmed it while he looked at her. Who would have thought, she's in gifted english. She has beautiful eyes too, that she does. Kenshin dragged his eyes away from her and began passing out the other packets to the other remaining students.

Kenshin sat at his desk, gripping his cup of coffee. He wanted to give his students the chance to read the packet. He glanced over at Kaoru and wondered how they ran into each other twice before winding up in class together. He liked her outfit, he liked her skirt. I cannot think of her that way, that I cannot. He was starting to get a headache. His period four class was really obnoxious and loud and so he hoped that this class wouldn't be the same. He continued to look over at Kaoru. Her hair was nicely tied back, a few strands escaped her hair tie. Her blouse was a loose fitting article and was white. He wanted her to look up so he could see her cyan colored eyes again. They were glassy pools that hypnotized him. And suddenly, he realized that he was thinking of a student in that way and pinched his hand lightly to snap out of it. She's just a student, which by the way I have over 100. Besides, I am seeing Tomoe. "Is everyone finished reading that packet?" He said calmly. He avoided looking in Kaoru's direction.

"I assume that everyone is due to your silence. Well you can all get started on your first assignment quietly. If you work in pairs, I don't want to hear a sound. This is senior advanced english so I hope that you can control yourselves." He concluded and looked down.

Kaoru didn't want to work on it but she knew that she would have to get it done eventually. She didn't want to get in trouble with english as well as global. She opened up her notepad her english book and began taking notes like a good student would. She bit her pen cap and looked for good quotes to put in her assignment paper. She was bored. Since she was exceptional in english class, she did not have to put much effort into it. She looked at her watch and grinned. There were a few minutes left in class and she was almost done with her assignment. Words were thrust down on paper as Kaoru wrote fast, like a madman.

Kenshin glanced at his class and saw that many were having trouble with his first assignment. He looked at Kaoru again and his eyes widened as he saw her pen moving rapidly. He glanced over at her notebook and saw more than a page written. She must be the best of the best in this subject. He continued watching Kaoru write down. She put her pen down and looked at her watch. To this, Kenshin glanced at his own and saw that the bell would ring in three minutes. He went back to watching Kaoru write. She wrote in cursive, it looked as if she was scribbling everything down but it was as neat as can be.

Kaoru was finished. She didn't find it challenging but she read over her work anyway, making sure that it was fine. She didn't want to mess up her first english assignment. Satisfied with her first paper, she capped her pen and stood up, making little to no noise while doing so. "Mr. Himura?" She whispered. He instantly shot his head up to look into her eyes again. He saw her papers in her hands and he was surprised that someone would finish it so quickly. "I finished everything for this assignment. Is there anything else I need to complete?" Kenshin took the papers out of Kaoru's hands, accidentally brushing his hands against hers. He shook his head and when Kaoru was just about to leave, he grabbed her wrist.

"Can I see you after class?" Kaoru looked down at his hand gripping her and she felt so warm as his touch radiated a great deal of heat to her. She had wondered why he wanted to see her but decided to remain calm. Kaoru nodded and quietly went back to her seat. She twiddled her thumbs and looked around aimlessly, wanting her school day to end. She had already packed her english things up and put her book on top on her binder, ready to leave. She didn't know why, but she was so uncomfortable in Kenshin's class.

Rrrrring. The students around Kaoru got up and left the quiet english class as fast as they could, conversing about movies and music. Kaoru stood, with her books in her hands and walked over to Kenshin's desk. "You wanted to see me sir." She said quietly.

"Yes I did. I wanted to know how you finished this assignment so fast. Were you not trying? Is that it?"

"No, Mr. Himura. English is not a very tough subject for me. I am perfectly capable of writing something well in a short amount of time." Kaoru stood there, feeling his eyes read her. She wanted to go and she wondered where the other class was. "Isn't there supposed to be a period six class coming in now?"

"No, but I have a period seven class. Right now, it's the electives period." Kaoru nodded. "Well as long as you write as best you can, I don't have a problem." He stood up. "Would you like a pass to your next class?" Kaoru nodded and Kenshin pulled out a green slip and wrote fast. "I was surprised to see you in my class because of the run ins that we had earlier." He laughed and Kaoru felt a little comforted. She really liked his voice and she didn't want him to stop talking but she wasn't very good with striking up conversation. "I'll see you tomorrow." He said as Kaoru walked out of the door. He watched her leave the room and he sat back down at his desk. "I shouldn't have kept her after. She was very uncomfortable staying here, that she was." Kenshin mumbled to himself as he remembered the way that she looked. "And she hardly speaks. I wonder if she is all right." Kenshin sipped his coffee and prepared for his period seven class.

Kaoru was on her way to art class. She still had jitters from english. The way that he grabbed my wrist made me blush, but I don't think he noticed…thank Kami. I want to talk to Laura about how he did that. She's probably the only one who will understand how I feel right now. Kaoru was glad that she didn't have homework in english. If all of the assignments were that easy, she would never have to do them at home again. She entered the art room but everyone was already working on projects. She ran to the art teacher and gave her the pass. "You came from Mr. Himura's class? You must be a bright girl. Well, we are working with plaster of paris today so you can get started." She said with a smile. Kaoru nodded and went to the back of the room to fetch some. She saw Youko there and arched an eyebrow.

"What is it, annoy Kaoru day?" She said as Youko tapped her on the shoulder. "What do you want?"

"The art teacher said that I had to help you."

"Right…"

"So how was english?" He said as he took out a few pieces of plaster for Kaoru.

"You're as smart as me so I'll tell you that the assignment is easy. You'll be able to finish it in ten minutes tops…unless you're losing it."

"Shut up. No, I didn't lose anything." He said as he poured water for Kaoru's project. "Math is boring. You just sit there, doing random calculus problems from this booklet. You could just sleep the whole period but I figure the practice is good." They both began plastering a piece of circular wood. Kaoru wanted to try and make a better mask than the rest of the class. "You had Himura?" Youko said.

"Yeah. He was really surprised that I finished that assignment so fast that he made me stay after class." Youko snickered. "I wasn't in trouble, it was just…he wasn't sure if I was trying!"

"You never do anyway and you get good grades automatically." Kaoru shrugged and dipped her hands in the pail of water, trying to get the gunk off of her hands and Youko did the same. Occasionally, his hands brushed up against hers and he just casually took his hands out of the pail. "Oh yeah, in math, the teacher tells you about the trip to the amusement park. It's in two weeks."

"Well that's good. I'm gonna hit every coaster there."

"And you think I won't? I'm gonna cut everyone to get on faster! That's right!" Kaoru smacked him on the head. "Ow! Stupid!"

"You'll get caught if you do! You're the one that's stupid!" Youko clenched his fist and muttered something under his breath. "They will throw you out if you cut, Youko!" He didn't listen to her. He just shrugged his shoulders and put a second layer of plaster on her project. "Uh, Youko? You can stop doing my project for me, you know." She tapped him on the shoulder.

"I know, but I don't want to." Kaoru's eyes widened. "Since I already finished mine and since it's in the kiln, I don't have anything to do." He said calmly.

"You're so fickle! Pick an attitude and stick with it!" Kaoru said as she grabbed him by the ear. "I don't need touchy feely stuff from you so get away from my project and quit pretending to be nice to me!" Kaoru said as she yanked her mask away from Youko's grasp.

"Well who's pretending? Surely not me." Youko paused and dipped his hands in the water pail. "You know what, Kaoru? Here I am, being nice to you and all you can do is scream your ugly head off!" Kaoru was fuming. She hated the way he screamed at her and she hated the way he insulted her. "Don't get all mad! You know you are not capable of being nice to anyone!" Youko said as he took his hands out and splashed Kaoru.

"The same could be said of you!!!" She shot back, practically screaming. She had had enough of his stunts. Kaoru grabbed the pail and turned it upside down, causing all of the water to fall on Youko. He was drenched in an instant and they both started arguing at each other, blinded by anger. "I cannot believe that you are as smart as I am Mr. Let's-cut-the-line-when-we-go-to-the-amusement-park! You stupid dense pig!"

"Ugly hag!"

"Pig!"

"Hag!"

"DETENTION!" The art teacher boomed. "Youko and Kaoru, detention for the two of you tomorrow after school! Normally I would give you three days for this but…" The teacher snickered. "I can see that this is just a lovers tiff." Both Youko and Kaoru were beet red as soon as those words passed her lips. "Now I want both of you to be here at three, when school ends." Rrrrring. "The rest of you can go." She waved them off. "You two, control yourselves next time. Now I want both of you to clean this entire room and you will not leave until it's spotless. Get to work, guys." She said as she went in the back room. Kaoru took a sponge from the sink and began to wash off the tables while Youko watched her.

"I don't believe you, Kaoru! I cant go to english like this! Himura's gonna think I wet my pants!"

"Well, I have two answers for you, Youko. One: you probably do still wet your pants!"

"Shut up!"

"And two: if you're so bothered by being wet, take off your shirt! Unless you're too scared!"

"Scared of what!?" He retorted.

"Not being buff," she said with a snicker. Youko threw his sponge at her and it hit her in the head. Kaoru ran to it and ran it under cold water. "Don't do that again!" She said as she walked over to him. She was going to give him the sponge but she was much too furious to give it up so easily. And so, she held it over his head and squeezed it, causing the cold water to fall on his head. "Now take this!" Kaoru said as she shoved the sponge in his face. "Oh and if you ask me, keep that shirt of yours on, thanks." She said as she continued to wipe off the tables. There was a lot of wet plaster that needed to be scrubbed off and it wasn't helping that Youko took the water pail away.

"Go get your own. I don't wanna get soaked again." He scoffed and started to wash the floors. They both washed everything, making sure that they wouldn't have to redo anything. They were already late for their period seven class and Kaoru really didn't want to miss a second class because of Youko. After about a few minutes of washing, the art teacher stepped in and nodded.

"Well it looks like when you two work together, you get something done. I hope you understand why I had to give you detention, you were both screaming at the top of your lungs. And I do not allow outbursts in this classroom. You two are very special to each other so don't argue again please." Youko gagged. "You are boyfriend and girlfriend aren't you?"

"No ma'am. That will never happen. Youko is just someone that I am stuck with…unfortunately." The teacher giggled. "Well is it clean enough for you?" Kaoru said, glancing over at Youko.

"Yes and I wrote you two passes when I was in the back." She handed them over and smiled. "You are quite the pair." She said as she walked back into the back room. Kaoru scoffed and started to walk down the long corridor, which was now deserted because the second bell already rang. Youko had just realized that Kaoru had left without him and he clenched his fist again, carrying his books in his left hand.

"Wait up! Where are you going?"

"Math. Have fun not finishing your english assignment because you wont have time!"

"Right, Kaoru. Riiiight." Youko said as he folded his arms. "See you in detention, stupid." He said as he walked ahead of her.

"I'm not stupid! You are!" She shot back as she went straight and Youko veered left. She was mad and she really hoped that Kenshin would think that he wet his pants. Although, she thought it was fun to pour a full bucket of water over Youko. And after math class, home sweet home! Freedom! Kaoru beamed on the inside as she walked at a lively pace to her final class.

A/N: I like writing the bickering scenes between Kaoru and Youko…but don't get me wrong here…I adore K/K! I'll write the next chapter fast because it seems that I am getting addicted to it fast! Hee hee! I should have updated this a long time ago but couldn't because I wasn't at home for a while. Gomen!

Son Christine