Disclaimer: Baaaah, must I repeat myself all the time? –sigh- Fine, I will then. I do not own Rurouni Kenshin whatsoever. Only Nobuhiro Watsuki does. So don't hunt me down please, I have no money at all! You have to believe me! 

"…"- talking

'…'- thinking

Italics- past/flashback/strain on a word

Chapter 4

Kenshin stood there in shock. There, a few paces ahead of him, was her. Yes, it was most definitely her, only in different clothing. Of all the people to see, why did it have to be her, the girl he had sworn to hate for all eternity? He looked over at Aoshi to find that there was no expression on his face. But from knowing Aoshi for a little while, Kenshin knew Aoshi was alarmed by the stiffness in his form, his hand on his sword. Aoshi then looked over at Kenshin and met his gaze. He then moved his hand away from the sword after the slightest of nods; however, Aoshi's behaviour seemed to have aroused Misao's curiosity.

"Pardon me, Mister Shinomori, but why do you carry a sword?" asked Misao curiously.

"He believes that one should never be caught off-guard," said Kenshin immediately, saving Aoshi from explaining. He mentally slapped himself. Why did he open his mouth? The question was not meant for him, after all. Misao said something in return but he didn't pay attention since he shifted his gaze back to Kaoru. Amber orbs, livid with anger, clashed with blue ones, equally livid.

'Hmm…it would seem that she recognizes me as well…but I shouldn't be surprised…it has only been a day after all…,' thought Kenshin as he kept staring at Kaoru. But the staring contest was interrupted by Okina.

"Well then, Mister Himura, and Mister Shinomori, why don't we sit down in the drawing room?" asked Okina, as he walked into the room and to the area where the seats were located. Everybody followed him and seated him or herself properly and Okina proceeded to introduce everyone to each other.

But Kenshin paid no heed. He simply walked up to Kaoru until they were only a feet or two apart. He slowly took Kaoru's hand and kissed it, never breaking eye contact with her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss…?"

"K-Kaoru Kamiya."

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Kaoru," said Kenshin, though the angry gleam in his eyes said otherwise. Then he said something that had Kaoru's eyes widen.

"Best be on guard, little bird. You may never know of when you'll become prey," whispered Kenshin, his warm breath grazing Kaoru's skin on her hand. He gave her a wicked smile that would have had every girl in the vicinity swooning and cooing over him. And when Kaoru shivered, his smile broadened, turning into a devilish smile. He then let go of her hand, quickly composed his face, and turned to join the rest of the people.

If Kaoru looked shocked before, then now she looked positively staggered. Then she regained her awareness and bent down to pick up the spoon and placed it down and got another spoon as a replacement. She shakily picked up the tray and placed it on the table as carefully as possible and immediately sat down. She looked around at the seating arrangement. Okina was sitting on the single sofa on the right and Yahiko, Kaoru, and Misao were sitting on the lengthy one. Kaoru was thankful that Misao was sitting beside her and Yahiko on Misao's other side, because she didn't want to deal with Yahiko's questions. The guests, however, were sitting on the other lengthy sofa that was across from this one. Aoshi was sitting closer to Okina, followed by Kenshin's subordinate, and then Kenshin himself. It just so happened that Kenshin sat right across Kaoru. Kaoru found him staring at her and immediately looked down at her hands, blushing angrily.

'I…I can't believe he is here…a-and what he said…goodness, it seems the gods are definitely against me. Oh why oh why, are they against me? What did I do in my past life to deserve this? Haven't I suffered enough misery for a lifetime? That arrogant man just challenged me…what am I supposed to do? Be on guard day and night? Of all the people, why him??' thought Kaoru, completely frustrated. She fidgeted with her hands and stopped to listen to the conversation so she could distract herself.

"I hope your stay here would be pleasant, Mister Himura and Mister Shinomori. I pride myself in having such an amazing mansion and the best cooks, next to the cooks of the royal family of course," said Okina while he chuckled at his last comment. Misao and Yahiko joined him as well. Kaoru just smiled.

Suddenly, the butler came in a hurried fashion.

"Forgive me for interrupting, Master, but there is someone here to see you, Lady Misao, and Master Yahiko," said the butler in a cultured voice. Misao, Okina, and Yahiko looked at each other surprised, and got up.

"Pardon me, gentlemen, it seems we have to take care of something. But fear not, should you need anything, Kaoru is here to help you," said Okina as he smiled and left the room immediately, followed by Yahiko.

Misao would have left too if it had not been for Kaoru holding her hand tightly and refusing to let go. When Misao turned to Kaoru, Kaoru looked at Misao pleadingly and mouthed 'Don't leave me' and 'Stay'. Misao just looked at Kaoru, confused, but gently made Kaoru break her grip.

"Don't worry, I'll be back!" whispered Misao and she got up and left.

Kaoru watched hopelessly as Misao left the room as well. She kept staring at the doorway and then turned back to see three pairs of eyes staring at her. She gulped and sweat started forming on her forehead. She kept her mouth sealed since she was very close to hyperventilation, but she was raised to be good mannered.

"I-is there anything you gentlemen would like?" squeaked out Kaoru and mentally slapped herself for being so weak. She tried to smile encouragingly at them. "More tea or biscuits?"

They all shook their head and then everything was silent. Kaoru looked at each one of them and these were her observations: Kenshin was staring at her with his devilish smirk (which made her angry blush deeper), Soujiro was just looking around the room (which she relaxed at), and Aoshi glaring at her (which she turned her face even more red, making her face look like a tomato with a blue dress). She immediately looked down at her hands and tried to calm herself.

'What is wrong with me? I shouldn't be afraid of them! They are nothing but arrogant men who don't know how to treat a lady! I am brave and will not cower to the likes of them!' thought Kaoru. She closed her eyes and breathed in and out.

"Forgive me, Miss Kamiya, but you wouldn't mind answering a few questions, would you?" said a voice, breaking Kaoru's concentration. She immediately looked up to find Kenshin's subordinate smiling at her. She "ahemed" and smiled back.

"Of course not, Mister…?"

"Oh, forgive me for not introducing myself. I am Soujiro Seta, Mister Himura's assistant," said Soujiro, smiling apologetically. "Though I thought Mister Kashiwazaki already introduced all of us."

It was Kaoru's turn to smile apologetically. "No, you should forgive me, I didn't pay attention even though I was getting tea ready."

"I understand, Miss Kamiya. You don't need to apologize!" said Soujiro as he chuckled, joined by Kaoru as well. Once they were done, they just smiled at each other.

"So, what were the questions you wanted to ask, Mister Seta?" asked Kaoru.

"Well…I was curious about this family. I've noticed that every one of you have a different last name. Lady Makimachi addresses Mister Kashiwazaki as her grandfather, but they don't have the same last name either. Is there any…reasons behind all this?" asked Soujiro curiously. Kaoru just smiled wider.

"Well, we all have different last names because not all of us are related!" said Kaoru and she giggled at Soujiro's puzzled face.

"I don't understand…?" started Soujiro and was stopped when Kaoru held up a finger.

"Let me explain it clearly. Mister Kashiwazaki was the caretaker and uncle of Lady Makimachi's father. After her birth, both her mother and father died in an accident, leaving her to be under the care of Mister Kashiwazaki. Their bond is the perfect example of how a granddaughter and grandfather should be to each other," said Kaoru as she smiled gently, her eyes softening. "I envy Misao really. I wish I had a grandfather like him."

"And what about the little boy?" asked Soujiro after a little while.

"First, I would like to give you a little warning. NEVER call Yahiko 'little', or you will suffer his wrath!" said Kaoru seriously. But after seeing the surprise on Soujiro's face, she burst out laughing.

"Well, I don't know if he'll hurt you in any way, but please don't call him 'little'. He finds it very demeaning," said Kaoru.

"I shall make note of that," said Soujiro as he smiled again. "Shall I rephrase? I meant to say "what about Mister Myoujin?"

"Well, Yahiko is a special boy. Misao and I found him one day in the marketplace and he tried to steal money from us," said Kaoru and she laughed at the expression on Soujiro's face. Then she continued. "You see, he was from a very poor family. His father was part of the militia and was killed, leaving his mother and him with nothing. His mother then worked so much to support both of them but she fell sick. It had gotten to the stage where her death was inevitable and then one day, she died, leaving Yahiko all alone to fend for himself. He resorted to steal money even though he found it very demeaning and questioned his honour."

"But that doesn't explain how he's living here…he tried to steal from you and yet here he is, living in this mansion!" said Soujiro, surprised. Kaoru giggled in response.

"Well, as odd as that sounds, it's true. Even though he tried to steal money from us, we could tell that he didn't want to do it. He had no other choice, he was very hungry. So, we brought him here and gave him food and clothing. We explained to Mister Okina about his situation and he agreed with us," said Kaoru.

"Mister Okina? And agreed to what?" asked Soujiro, puzzled.

"Oh, Mister Okina is Mister Kashiwazaki," said Kaoru and Soujiro replied with an "Oh". "And as for agreeing, he agreed with us about letting Yahiko stay here. We could tell that there was more to him than what we saw, so he agreed to letting Misao take him in under her care."

"The three of you seem very gracious. He must be very grateful for what you did," said Soujiro. At that, Kaoru burst out laughing.

"He doesn't show it, but we know he is!" said Kaoru, in between her laughing. Once she calmed down, she "ahemed" and mumbled an apology.

"And what about you, Miss Kamiya…?"

"Well…I am living here temporarily. My home is being rebuilt and Misao let me stay here until then," said Kaoru with finality. She didn't want to say anything more in the matter.

"How generous of Lady Makimachi! She must be a good friend!" said Soujiro. He could tell that there was more to that as well, but didn't pursue it. He didn't want to make Kaoru uncomfortable. And though Kenshin and Aoshi pretended not to listen, they paid attention to every word from Kaoru.

"Yes, she is! She is my best friend!" said Kaoru as she smiled.

Suddenly, Misao rushed into the room and plopped down beside Kaoru. She seemed ecstatic about something and was quivering with excitement.

"Kaoru, you'll NEVER guess who's here!!" said Misao enthusiastically.

"Who's here?" asked Kaoru curiously, laughing at Misao at the same time.

"I'm here!" said a voice from the doorway and Kaoru stood up, shocked.

A/N: Man, that was a loooooong and boring chapter. I had to do that guys, I'm sorry! Many people have been asking me about who's who and what is he/she doing here and what not, so I had to do that. But fear not, I'll be updating the next chapter very soon! I'm sorry again for such a long and boringly informative chapter, bear with me! I'll update soon, I promise!! Btw, I have a new beta!!!! Say hello to cutepuff everyone!