D/C: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin.

Hello all! I'm so sorry for the terribly long delay; I don't know what happened! Actually, well...in the hectic hustle and bustle of exams, I kinda forgot to update my stories! Gomen-nasai! Anyway, I'll shush now and let you get on with this chapter. Oh, and thanks for all the reviews!

Enjoy!

The Geek in the Pink

Chapter 10: Rendezvous

"I don't believe it, Kaoru...you're actually going out with him? But...but you've only known him for a short while!"

Kaoru sighed as she pulled a comb through her hair. "Let's make a few things clear, Misao, I am not going out with Kenshin," she told her. "I'm just meeting him for a nice dinner tonight, and if things go well from there, and we have a second and third date, then we'll be going out. And anyway, why are you so annoyed about this, eh? Normally, you'd be so thrilled for me, you'd actually offer to tag along!"

She could hear her friend tutting impatiently on the other end. "I'm not annoyed about this..." she said defensively. "I'm just-"

"Jealous because Kenshin asked me out while your tall and charming Aoshi-sama wouldn't even look at you?" Kaoru cut her off, her tone playful.

Misao sounded a bit hesitant when she spoke next. "Well..."

Kaoru frowned, and paused midway with her brush. "Well...what? Did you get to talk to him?" she asked curiously, and Misao issued a sort of a grunt. Kaoru laughed. "Oh, wow, Misao, you've got some guts! What did you say to him? Did he show interest or did he brush you off?"

Misao seemed to be shifting restlessly; there was a lot of rustling on her side. "It would be pretty weird if he didn't seem interested, I mean...I used a pretty lousy pick-up line, and many people overheard me and sort of snorted and shook their heads pityingly," she said miserably.

"It couldn't be that bad..."

"It was bad!" Misao said hotly. "I actually asked him which stripper club he worked at so that I could come and watch!"

There was a momentary silence where Kaoru's jaw had dropped open, but the silence slowly and gradually dissolved into fits of hysterical laughter. "You what?" she wheezed, gasping as she laughed. "You asked him for the address of his...his stripper club? What on Earth made you say such a thing? Oh, God, Misao, you kill me sometimes!"

Misao was tearful. "Don't laugh; I meant it!" she protested. "It's all your fault, you know, insisting that Kenshin works in a club and that Aoshi's in the same business! I wanted to say something cool and casual like, "Hey, Aoshi, that exam was pretty easy, wasn't it? I saw that you finished your paper rather quickly, and of course, that's not surprising considering how clever you are...", and I would say it in my slurry and sexy voice..."

"You don't have a slurry and sexy voice!"

"You're no help at all!" Misao fumed. "And then he stared at me for a few moments, as if trying to determine whether I'm an idiot or if I'm actually joking, and then he said in a low and quiet voice, "No", and walked off without a second look. I was so humiliated!"

Just then, the door bell rang. "I'm sure you were, Misao, but if you'll excuse me now; I believe Kenshin just arrived and I really must..." she said, and paused when she heard Sano yell, "I'll get it!". She sighed. "Well, look, I'm sure Aoshi doesn't think you're strange because of it. Just corner him some time later and use that same slurry and sexy voice of yours..."

"You're sarcastic," Misao muttered.

"Sure I am, but if you use the right words like..."I'm so sorry about what I said yesterday, Aoshi-kun"...yes, use the Japanese stuff; he looks like the type who might like them..."But I couldn't help it; you've got such a sexy tush and the words just came out", get it?" she said, checking herself several time in her mirror; all seemed intact - no missing earring like what happened on her last date.

Misao gasped. "Kaoru, you're dirty!" she hissed, but she was giggling at the same time. "I don't trust innocent little Pink with you!"

"Hey! He kissed me first, remember?" she said defensively. "Anyway, he's here now, so I'll talk to you some time later, alright? Bye, Misao."

She hurried out of the room and down the stairs; she didn't trust Sano with her dates, he always seemed to scare them off. Not that her brother was scary-looking, but he always placed his gun and handcuffs prominently on the coffee table in the living room, in a sign of "Don't you dare do anything untoward my sister". It was amusing how many of the guys took that unspoken message to heart; some of them wouldn't dare hold her hand.

As she expected, Kenshin and Sano were in the living room with the gun and cuffs between them. Kenshin wasn't wearing any pink tonight, to his credit; Sano would've never approved of a guy who wore pink. He looked rather charming, though, in baggy black pants and a long-sleeved white shirt which was unbuttoned at the top. They seemed to be too busy holding each other's gazes to spare a look at her.

She cleared her throat. "Kenshin? I'm ready now," she said tentatively.

Kenshin jumped up to his feet and made an attempt to move towards her, but stopped short when Sano stood up as well. "Kaoru-dono, you look lovely," he complimented her.

"Thank you, Kenshin; you look quite nice yourself," she replied and purposely marched forward, kissed him on the cheek (much to his bewilderment) and looped an arm through his. She looked defiantly at Sano. "Well, Nii-san, we'll be leaving now. Did you want anything?"

Sano's eyes twinkled. "Have a good time, Jou-chan," he replied, and he glanced at Kenshin. "You seem good, kid; I trust you with her. I'm you that I'm worried about, actually; Kaoru eats a lot, so she might waste your pocket change tonight."

"Sano!" she said hotly.

The corners of Kenshin's mouth quirked in a slight smile. "Thank you, sir," he said with a slight nod. "I'll bring her home on time."

When they were out the door, Kaoru was tugging impatiently at his arm. "You do know he's joking, right? Right? I would never waste your money!" she insisted, and he laughed. "Hey! Don't laugh; it's not funny! Hmph! But you know..."

"Yes?"

"I'm glad; my brother seems to approve of you," she said, leaning against his shoulder as they headed to the car he'd probably borrowed from someone. "He's never trusted anyone with me after our parents died, and was always over-protective of me...but he seemed to like you. I'm glad."

She didn't see his expression, but his voice was soft. "I just hope I can live up to his trust," he murmured.

"I'm sure you will," Kaoru said happily.

-

A/N: Well, done! This chapter may be some sort of filler, but anyway...I still do hope you liked it, because I would love to see some reviews! I'm returning to my personal review reply feature, which you can view below. Hehe.

Evee-san: Hehe, well, I gave you a little insight to what's going on with Aoshi and Misao in this chapter, didn't I? Thanks for reviewing!

Donnie-O: Hey, there, I'm not sure if I've replied to you or not, since it's been long since I updated (sweatdrops), but no; I'm not from UK. It's just that I've been studying in a British school, and that's where all the terms come from. Thanks for reviewing!

Rurouni October: (gulps) I did make you wait this time, didn't I? So sorry! I promise it won't happen again; I really don't know what's gotten into me!

LogicalGoth: Aww, thank you! I love reviews like that! I'm so sorry I didn't reply sooner, but I swear I've been too busy. (sighs)

Adelaide MacGregor: Thank you!!

The Spirit Mage: Kenshin with glasses? Even I haven't thought of that! You'll get to know who that guy in the bushes is soon enough! Thanks!

The Twilight Rurouni: Yeah, he's very bold, isn't he? I think it makes me funnier. Oh, and about your question concerning whether I'm English or not, I already answered up there in Donnie-O's reply.

Summerstar: A happy ending, eh? Well, we'll see. (winks) Thanks for the review!

Fallen4DarkAngel: Title is quite misleading, isn't it? But I like it, so I'm keeping it! I usually call him Pink, too! (laughs) Thanks for the review!

Californiacheese: (gasp) No! Don't cry! Eeep! Thanks for calling me a "masta"! (laughs)

XPullTheCurtain: Eh hehe...I'll try to update more often. Thanks!

RedWingedAngel002: (beams) Thanks, dear! I'm glad you like it!

Blueninja33: Here's your update!

Well, that's all for now. I promise I'll update soon next time, really!

- S. N. B.