My mom wasn't home that night. I looked at the note that she left for me on the fridge door with a frown. 'I'm staying overnight at the office to meet a deadline. I left you some tuna casserole in the refrigerator. Be good okay? And please check up on our guest and make sure that his needs are met. Thanks in advance. Love…Mom' the note said.

I sighed and crumpled the yellow post-it note in my fist before I tossed it to the waste basket. Well at least her absence saved me from the trouble of having to explain my current state and Aoshi's whereabouts. But sheesh, she really should start telling me her plans right at the very start, instead of informing me about these things at the last minute.

Grudgingly, I took out the casserole and placed it inside the microwave. After setting the machine, I strolled leisurely towards the living room and dropped my tired body on top of the soft, cushy sofa. I leaned back and savoured the comfort of finally getting off my feet after such an exciting day. I closed my eyes and almost instantly, I fell right into a light, restless sleep.

Just a few seconds later, I was awakened by the insistent sound of the doorbell ringing repeatedly, like the person outside was too impatient to get inside. Groaning, I got up on my feet and started towards the door. I fixed my expression to one of an angry scowl, ready to blast whoever it was on the other side of the door for disturbing my sleep. But as soon as I opened the front door, my face quickly metamorphosed to one from an annoyed glare to a look of utter disbelief and worry when I saw who the person was that was standing on our welcome mat. My mouth parted to speak but the person beat me to it by placing his index finger on my lips. Aoshi's dark eyes met mine as he began to talk in a soft voice, "I didn't want to stay in the hospital."

After uttering those words, he pushed me gently to the side to amble inside the house. I closed the door behind him and quickly rushed to his side to assist him, but he simply waved me away. "I'm not an invalid," was his gruff remark when I tried to help him up the stairs. That statement hurt, but I refused to be offended by his attitude. After all, he just went through a life-and-death situation today and I understand that he might still be in some sort of shock.

Though he refused my assistance, that didn't stop me from following him at a close range; just so I would be able to quickly help him if in case something was to happen. But once we got near the room he was currently occupying in our house, he suddenly turned to stab me with his infamous piercing stare. I took a step back in surprise, not realizing that the wall was directly behind me. So when Aoshi came near, I realized only too late that I was trapped! I held my breath in nervous anticipation as his lips began to move. In a cold tone, he asked me rather simply, "Why didn't you tell the police?"

"I…"

"I deal with drugs Kamiya…so why didn't you report me to the authorities? Furthermore, why did you save me?"

My throat went dry after that. Oh my God, there was no way I could explain it to him without leaving out one very important fact: that I was very much in love with him! Now I'm seriously wishing that my mom decided to come home instead of staying at her office so that she could have saved me from this confrontation.

I was not ready to tell him how I feel for him!

His right arm was now propped up beside me, further deepening my feeling of entrapment. I cast Aoshi an alarmed look, mentally begging him not to push the answer out from me. But my eyes only met his inscrutable, unforgiving stare in return.

"I'm waiting."

And then I knew, right then and there, that there would be no escaping this situation…It was now or never.

I bowed my head in defeat. And in a voice barely audible even to my own ears, I whispered and finally told him, "Because I love you…"

"What?"

I raised my eyes now to meet his, slightly emboldened by my first declaration, so there was no hesitancy now as I told him plainly, simply, that: "I love you Aoshi Shinomori…"

I didn't know how he would react. Would this be the first time that a girl confessed her feelings to him? Or would this be the hundredth or thousandth time that he got such an answer? I wasn't certain. Don't get me wrong: I mean sure, Aoshi was terribly attractive and I'm positive I'm not the first girl to notice this. But the idea that other girls before me admitted their attraction to him was questionable due to the fact that Shinomori had this dangerous, don't-mess-with-me aura that most people are afraid of. Girls included.

Aoshi at first only gave me a tight-lipped glare. Finally, just when I thought I had to kick him on the shins just to get a reaction out of him, he suddenly turned around so now I was facing his back as he muttered out loud, "You're a fool…"

"What?" I was surprised by that response. He started to walk towards his bedroom door but I quickly caught up with him and grabbed his shirt sleeve. "What do you mean? Aoshi I-"

"Stupid little girl! You barely know me and yet you claim that you love me," there was a tone of disbelief and scepticism in his voice as he said this. "And after you found out that I'm criminal, you still had the gall to admit this to me. It's idiocy to the highest degree!"

I was stung terribly by that statement so I wasn't able to stop myself from snapping back, "That same idiocy took a bullet for you!"

"So we're counting good deeds now, are we?" was it just me, or was that a sarcastic sneer I just saw crossing his thin lips? "Do you expect me to feel so indebted to your heroism that it will make me start returning that affection you have for me, eh? Well for your information little girl, it was your fault I got in trouble with that group in the first place."

"Now how did I get-"

He interrupted me. "When you discovered me in my room with the drugs, I had no choice but to dispose of the evidence lest you go to the police and have me arrested. So if you wanted me to be grateful to you for saving me back there, well then here's my gratitude- THANKS A LOT!"

I willed myself not to cry after hearing such harsh words. He shook of my hand that was holding his shirt and proceeded towards his room. But before he could enter, he was stopped again when I started to speak once more, "I do not expect you to love me because I know you already care for someone else… Nor am I expecting for you to love me in return for saving your life. I don't want to judge you and your motives for doing this kind of things, and I'm not asking you to be grateful for that either… "

He didn't respond.

I looked up at him with despair now as I continued, "All I ask is for you to give me a chance to get close to you…to be your friend."

I waited for him to shout at me, or for him to tell me in that cold, grave voice that I'd have better luck wishing for the moon to turn into green cheese. But what he told me instead was something I never thought I'd hear from him for the life of me…

"You don't deserve me." Bowing his head, he added in a soft whisper, "No one deserves trash like me…"

I saw him turn around as he faced me fully. His eyes never left my face as he told me in a puzzled voice, "I thought you're in love with that red-haired prat Himura."

"I…"

I lowered my eyes to the floor as I was unable to meet his hard scrutiny. How am I ever going to get out of this sticky situation? I couldn't possibly admit to him that my relationship with Kenshin was a sham to get our roles back in the school play just to prove my feelings for him. Kenshin would never let me live it down!

And then my dream…it's too important…I just couldn't-!

"Something smells like burning."

My eyes widened in surprise at his words and my head shot up as my nose detected the lingering scent of burnt food. It was then that I remembered the casserole in the microwave. Shrieking, I made a dash towards the kitchen to save what was left of my dinner, leaving Aoshi in the hallway as he watched me speed away with those enigmatic eyes of his again.

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"Hey Kaoru!"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"But I'm really curious."

"Will you just drop it?"

"Oh come on!"

I halted on my tracks and turned around to give Kenshin an annoyed look. "My mom didn't come home last night, okay? So I didn't get into trouble concerning my injury—yet! Satisfied?"

We were currently walking down the hallways of Seirin High, like a pair of perfectly ordinary students who just didn't went through a life-changing experience yesterday. And as if nothing so special happened to us, Himura was back to being his annoying self by pestering me with his stupid questions.

"Boy, you're a bundle of good cheer today," Kenshin quipped sarcastically, nudging me with his elbow. "What gives?"

"Nothing," I replied in a low voice. "Look, I'm not really in the mood to talk right now Kenshin, so please…?"

We stopped in front of the door of my next class- which was Art Appreciation by the way. Before I could go inside, Kenshin's hand landed on top of my left shoulder. I raised my eyes questioningly at him at the gesture, "What?"

"About Aoshi…"

I bowed my head, "Let's not talk about him."

"Oh."

Thick silence followed after that. I fiddled with my backpack strap uneasily and started to speak, "So…if there's nothing else for you to say Kenshin then I guess I better get inside and-"

As I started to turn away and push the door open, I was stopped in my tracks when Kenshin leaned forward and held my jaw with his right hand. And in a move so unexpected that it completely took my breath away, he bent forward and planted a swift, soft kiss on my left cheek.

Our eyes met and he offered me a somewhat embarrassed grin. "I'll be seeing you after class then," he uttered softly.

I was shaken by the realization that, instead of slapping him, my first impulse was to smile back. I lowered my gaze in a pathetic attempt to hide the fierce colouring on my cheeks. What was happening to me? What was happening to us? Two weeks ago, I knew that Kenshin would never, ever, EVER do something like this with someone like me! And two weeks ago, my first reaction to his every move would be either to burst out crying or to retreat in a corner and stew in my own misery, anger and humiliation.

Am I actually starting to grow…comfortable…with him?

Or maybe I'm just deluding myself. Maybe I was feeling awkward about the whole 'being-intimate-with-him' scenario, but that didn't mean that his reactions were the same. After all, he had more experience concerning women, while I have zip concerning the members of the opposite sex.

"I'll be going then."

I nodded and didn't speak, afraid that my voice would reveal to him how much that simple, chaste kiss affected me. And as I watched him walk away, I was suddenly overwhelmed by a strange void in my chest to see him go.

What the heck was happening to me?

"Free sample miss."

I whirled around and spotted a freckled-faced little girl standing right behind me. Whoa! Where did she come from? Was she there all this time when Kenshin and I were talking a few moments ago?

She read the wonder written all over my face but didn't bother to offer an explanation. Instead, she held up a cup filled with yellow liquid closer to my face. "Free sample, ane-san," she repeated. "We're making lemonades and we want people to tell us what they think first before we start selling our product."

"Who are you calling ane-san," I replied, a tad put-off with the informal greeting. "And sorry but I don't like lemonade. So now if you'll excuse me…"

I started to push the classroom door open, but the little girl suddenly barred the way with her small, puny frame as she batted her eyelashes at me, "Just a sip, please? So that we'll know if it's the right mixture."

"Look-"

"Pwetty puh-lease?"

I sighed in frustration and defeat. "Fine!" I said and grabbed the plastic cup without thinking, just to stop the kid from pestering me. I quickly drained the contents and grimaced. I HATE LEMONADE! I coughed and handed the cup back. "Needs more sugar," I groaned, trying to get the sour taste out of my tongue. "Now leave me alone squirt!"

And with that I entered the classroom, still coughing out the taste of the juice from my mouth. It was then that I spotted Enishi Yukishiro at the middle of the classroom, obviously already at work with our painting assignment. We were the only two people inside the room since the class wouldn't be starting for at least twenty more minutes.

Our eyes met for only a split second before I quickly turned away. I was never really comfortable to be around my ex-best friend's twin brother. I didn't know why, but even back then when we were children we never talked much. He was always aloof with the other kids and was only close to his own twin sister. That's why it was really kinda surprising that he ended up being best friends with someone like Kenshin Himura.

As I settled in front of the canvass stand right next to the window, I had this uncanny feeling that I was being watched. I sneaked a peek at Enishi's direction but found him still hard at work on his own piece. I decided to shrug off the feeling and focus instead on setting up my own canvass so I could start on my project.

I wrinkled my nose in disgust at what I have drawn so far. I was no Van Gogh or any of those famous artsy guys, that's for sure. But I knew my art teacher wasn't going to take that for an excuse once she saw my lame illustration. The assignment for this week was to draw -using whatever media we were comfortable with- the first thing that could arouse intense emotions from you. I tried to draw a mask of a happy face and smiling face, depicting theatre acting (my dream). But lately, my feelings were being troubled by something (or rather someone) else for me to completely focus on my picture. All I've done so far was an outline of a mask and a stage at the background.

I was taking out my graphite pencils with much difficulty from my bag (due to my arm injury) when number two on my list of most impossible things to happen in my life suddenly occurred…

"So you're Kenshin's new girlfriend, eh?"

I almost stumbled over my canvass in surprise when Enishi suddenly spoke up to me. Over-reacting? Not when you knew Enishi Yukishiro the way I did! I turned to my right where he was still painting, undisturbed, as I squeaked out, "Excuse me?"

"I heard Kenshin Himura dumped cheerleading captain Tomoe Yukishiro for someone named Kaoru Kamiya. And since you're the only girl I know who possesses that name in Seirin High, well..."

His tone was calm, devoid of any feelings as he uttered these words. Embarrassed with my own outburst, I looked away and answered him, "And what if I am?"

"Why?"

"Why what?" I was starting to get annoyed. "Why Kenshin would choose someone like me over someone as beautiful and as popular as your sister, huh? Is that what you're trying to point out?"

He continued his smooth brush strokes, his eyes never leaving the canvass as he decided to ignore my question. After a while though, he finally answered me in what I surmised was a bored voice as he continued to paint, "My sister loves him. I don't think you do… Do you?"

No! "What do you think?" I queried back instead.

"That wasn't a proper answer."

"Well that's too bad," I replied smugly. "Yours wasn't a proper question either."

Silence reigned between us for a while. And just when I was starting to relax and assume that there won't be any more inquiries coming from him, he started to speak once more, "And when exactly did you realize that you love him?"

"I know that everything happened so fast, but-"

"Precisely!" finally, Enishi averted his eyes away from his painting to face me. "You two hated each other for more than ten years already, and then all of a sudden, you guys are together. Kamiya look, even YOU must admit that this whole thing sounded too…bizarre to just be accepted by the people who knew your long history with Kenshin."

"I'm not forcing you or anyone else to believe it! Whether you choose to accept it or not is no problem of mine!" I couldn't keep the temper out of my own voice anymore. But underneath the guise of anger, I was secretly shaking with fear, worry and uncertainty. If Enishi wasn't convinced about my relationship with Himura, then that that could only mean one thing: that Kenshin and I weren't doing a very good job making people believe that we were in love. And that couldn't be good!

"But why?" an indiscernible emotion flashed beneath his turquoise eyes as he asked me this. "Why would you love someone like him? He made your life miserable for so many years, don't you remember?"

"Of course I remember!" I choked out as memories of Himura's cruel jokes and tricks came back to me in an instant. "I hated him! I hated him so much!"

"Then why would you fall in love with him if you hated him THAT much?"

I turned away, unable to respond. But Enishi stepped forward and forced my chin in his direction. My eyes locked with his as he repeated urgently, "Why Kamiya?"

"I don't know why you're being meddlesome!" I cried out defensively when I wasn't able to think of an answer. I stepped away from his grip. "It doesn't concern you how it happened, ok? It just did!"

He didn't react immediately after that. Slowly, he told me in a dead-serious voice, "I worry about Tomoe…"

It took me a moment for his words to sink in before I started to grab my art materials and began stuffing them back inside my bag. I slung my backpack over my shoulder and walked towards the door. But before I exited the room, I threw him one, last scathing look as I went, "Look, I know that you care for your sister Tomoe. So if you have some unresolved conflict with Kenshin for choosing me over your sister, then deal with it! But kindly leave me out of it, ok?"

My hand landed on the doorknob. But before I could turn it and push the door open, my vision suddenly swam before me. I held my forehead as I was suddenly besieged by dizziness while I tried to keep my balance.

"Kamiya you're injured," Enishi spoke up when he finally noticed the bandage on my arm. But I was unable to answer him as the wooziness slowly got worse. "Kamiya?"

Enishi's voice sounded so far away. Groaning, my eyes fluttered close just as I saw him run up to me when my knees gave way and I succumbed to the overwhelming darkness that awaited me…

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Tsunan didn't know what to think.

"Well?" Megumi purred beside him. They were currently standing just a few feet away from art room and the sight that greeted them was something the man didn't expect.

Megumi turned to the freckle-faced little girl standing beside her and gave her a thumbs-up, "Good work kid."

"Where is the money you promised!" the little girl whined.

"I already sent for it. Now scram brat!"

Their companion paid them no heed, still watching the hallway where the subject of his interest was slowly walking away. Enishi came out of the classroom just a few seconds ago. But that wasn't what caught Tsunan's attention. It was the spectacled face of the girl Enishi was carrying in his arms that got him! Megumi had to nudge him hard to snap him back to reality. Seeing the questioning look written all over his face, Megumi sighed and decided to answer his unspoken query. "That's Kenshin Himura's new girlfriend; the very reason why I called you here."

He cursed. "That's the girl who conked me out on my party!"

Megumi's brows rose in surprise. "You mean that Kamiya is the girl you've been talking about that gave you that nasty bump on your head?"

But Tsunan wasn't listening to her anymore. Carrying his trusty camera by the straps, he started to follow the pair. There was something really fishy going on here. And as the chief editor of the school newspaper, not only was he obligated to report the facts, but now he also saw an avenue of opportunity to exact his revenge from the prissy little bitch who almost gave him a concussion some nights ago- and do it in a completely 'journalistic' way too.

"But what about the favour I was asking from you!" Megumi hollered at him as he sped off.

"I'm on it!" was his echoing reply.

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I really didn't know how long I remained unconscious. All I knew was that I was slowly awakened by the soft, cool sensation of something being pressed on my left cheek and forehead. Slowly, my eyelids flickered open and the first thing I saw was white.

"Ah back to the world of the living I see," a friendly voice chuckled somewhere inside the room. A hand holding a wet towel retreated away from my line of sight and I quickly concluded that it was the hand of the person who just spoke up.

"Don't joke about something like that Soujirou, please?" I groaned, recognizing the owner of the said voice as I turned away from the beige ceiling of the school clinic. I tried to pull myself into a sitting position but almost gasped out loud when a pair of strong arms slid underneath me to help me in that task. My head whipped to my left and fierce colour quickly invaded my cheeks when Enishi met my gaze head-on.

"What happened to you back there Kamiya?" he asked without missing a heartbeat. "You just fainted."

I held my temples and felt a slight fuzziness still inside my head. "I, I, I don't know what caused me to pass out …" I answered him weakly. "All of a sudden, I just felt like the world was moving and then I blacked out."

"Must be something you ate." Soujirou walked up to me, a perpetual smile plastered on his thin, boyish lips. I managed to grin back feebly. Soujirou was from my math class and happened to work as an assistant nurse in the school clinic. Something I ate? All I could remember was that horrible lemonade I drank earlier. I ate a piece of toast for breakfast this morning and burnt tuna casserole last night. So what caused my sudden wooziness?

Maybe I'm just anaemic or something…?

I was still mulling over that when Soujirou came up to me quite unexpectedly. I looked up, startled, to suddenly see his face just a few inches away from mine. "Er, y-yes can I help you with something?" I stammered, perturbed by the way he was staring at me.

"Ah…well…" Soujirou started to scratch the back of his head sheepishly. "Kamiya-san, I was just wondering if…"

He let the statement hang in the air and I had to prompt him to continue when he refused to speak after a few minutes. "If…what Soujirou-san?" I urged.

Soujirou started to chuckle nervously. "Well, it's okay if you're gonna say no, but if, well, just in case you're interested…I was wondering if…"

I almost rolled my eyes at him. Why couldn't he just blurt it out? "Soujirou…!" I prodded, my voice slightly tinged with irritation now. At the corner of my eye I saw Enishi's expression darken, but I didn't pay much attention to this.

"Ah well," he hesitated. "I was wondering…well…that is to say…if…you know…you'd like to…well…come to the 'SwingBeat'…uhm you know…with me?"

"SwingBeat?" I scrunched up my face in an attempt to remember what kind of event that was. Soujirou saw my puzzlement and quickly explained that it was a charity dance to be held by the student government to raise money for future school projects. It was a retro party so students were required to dress up in whatever oldies outfit of their liking.

I was stopped after that (rather awkward) explanation. And then after the initial shock was gone, I started blushing uncontrollably due to severe discomfort and the way Soujirou was staring at me so expectantly as the realization sank in. HE'S ASKING ME OUT! This is the first time a guy actually asked me out and I'm so totally freaking out here! So I guess there was some truth in Himura's words when he teased me a few days ago that Soujirou had a crush on me…

What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? A part of me wanted to say 'yes', but the other part wanted me to turn him down…! Okay, don't get me wrong here but it wasn't like Soujirou was bad-looking himself or anything like that. In fact, many girls find his gentle aura and smiling face quite charming. But…

"I…"

"Yes Kamiya-san?" he looked up at me with eagerness clearly etched in his childish features. I swallowed uneasily upon seeing how much he obviously wanted an affirmative answer from me.

"She can't go with you."

Soujirou and I both turned our attentions to the one who just spoke. Enishi casually raised an eyebrow in my direction as he leaned back on his seat, his left feet propped up on top of his right knee and his arms folded close to his chest. After that brief stare-off, his bored eyes rolled over once more towards Soujirou's direction as he repeated his statement in an off-handed tone, "She's not going with you."

"Excuse me?" Soujirou's brows were furrowed together now. "But why are you answering for her? It's not like you're her boyfriend or something."

I saw Enishi's left eye twitch slightly after that remark, but didn't know what to make out of it. "No I'm not…" he conceded in what almost sounded as a grudging voice (though I really couldn't be sure). He directed his turquoise eyes at me once more as he slowly told Seta-san in a triumphant tone, "But that doesn't mean that she's not already taken, you know."

I paled and Seta quickly averted his attention to me, a worried line creasing his brow as he asked me hesitantly, "Y-you are not taken already, are you Kamiya-san?"

I secretly threw Enishi a burning glare after this. But he only lifted his left eyebrow down at me in response; a challenge for me to discredit his declaration. I looked at Soujirou's puzzled expression and couldn't suppress the sigh that escaped my lips. First time a guy asked me on a date and I had to turn him down- yurgh! I didn't realize that I was making funny faces as I mentally debated with myself and only stopped when I realized that both Soujirou and Enishi were throwing me strange looks.

"Kamiya-san?"

I was just about to open my mouth to speak when, all of a sudden, the door slammed open and a flustered Kenshin Himura rushed inside. He was coming in so fast that he almost tripped over a chair that was conveniently standing in his way. But with the athletic grace that was expected from a jock like him, he managed to swerve away just in time to dodge the four-legged item. And he did it so comically too that I wasn't able to stop the giggle that escaped from my lips because of the funny way he jumped sideways to evade it. As soon as he straightened himself up, he casually walked over to my bedside and smiled sheepishly in silent apology over his crazy antics. He looked so adorable when he gets all embarrassed and stuff that I couldn't help but grin back in a way that mentally told him that I didn't mind.

"Hey," he combed back his hair with his fingers but some of it escaped his hold and a few strands of hair were left falling across his eyes and left cheek. "I heard you were sent to the clinic so I quickly rushed over here. Why? What happened?"

"Uh…"

I almost squeaked out in surprise when Kenshin parted my bangs as he pressed his palm on my forehead. He bent forward to look at me closely until our noses were just a few centimetres away from each other. "You're kinda warm. Are you developing a fever?" he asked.

His nearness was wreaking strange, unexplainable confusion with my senses and I tried to stop it. I inched away and avoided his hand as I whispered, "I, I am fine. I just, I just-"

"She needs room to breathe Mr. Himura."

Kenshin turned to the small kid who addressed him and quickly recognized him as Seta Soujirou, a classmate from math class (the three of us were in the same class). He cocked a questioning eyebrow down at the nerdy pipsqueak who was still smiling at him as he queried rather offensively, "What the heck are you doing here Seta bozu? Getting some growth pills or something?"

"Kenshin!" I frowned at his rudeness.

"I work here Himura-san." Soujirou didn't seem to be the least bit angry at being called 'bozu' when he was of the same age as Kenshin's, or the fact that he was indirectly teased for his small stature. "Part-time of course," he decided to add as an afterthought. "And Kamiya-san is here because she fainted earlier. But she's looking fine now."

And after this statement, Soujirou resumed his place beside me and gave me another one of his endearing smiles. "Well Kamiya-san, will you? Not that I'm rushing your decision or anything, it's just that-"

"Uhm…Seta-san…"

"Will she what?" Kenshin suddenly interjected. "What are you guys talking about?"

I sucked in my breath and quickly stole a glance at the redhead standing next to the small teen. A glare was now marring Kenshin's handsome face as he tried to analyze what Soujirou was trying to tell me. I didn't want Himura to ruin this moment for me! To finally be asked out by a member of the opposite sex was one of the things that I never thought would ever happen during my teenage years! Not that I spent half of my puberty years obsessing about boys and dating. But I'd be lying through my teeth if I didn't admit that things like this were really…flattering…for a girl. But now, I couldn't very well accept Soujirou's offer and at the same time still be able to keep up the charade that Kenshin and I were madly in love now, could I?

There was no way this situation could end favourably for me…

"Well Kamiya-san?"

"What are you-"

I sneaked a peek in Enishi's direction and saw that he was staring at me –RATHER- intensely as he too waited for my answer. Unnerved, I quickly looked away only to be greeted back by Kenshin's bewildered scowl and Soujirou's hopeful grin.

"I." I started to rub the base of my neck, feeling an incredible dryness reign inside my throat. Unexpectedly, I sat up and cried out, "I…I…I need to go to the girl's room!"

And before any of them could react, I was quickly out of the bed and went straight for the exit door.

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"You're so weird. Why did you just run out of the clinic like that?"

Kenshin opened the car door for me as I got out. I looked at my house and noted that it appeared empty. It was 5 o'clock in the afternoon and I knew that my mom probably wasn't home yet due to her workaholic nature. Also, it seemed that Aoshi was not home either, though I didn't see him around school today. So where could he be?

"Hello! Earth to Kaoru! Is anyone in there?"

"Oh," I started. I shifted my weight to the other foot as I looked at Kenshin. "Sorry, I kind of zoned out there for a bit. What were you saying?"

Kenshin sighed and shook his head. "Never mind. I might as well just get going before your mom catches me here with you." At this, Kenshin began to walk back towards the driver side of the car. But before he could get inside, a thought suddenly occurred to me and I called out to him. "Kenshin!"

He turned in my direction and cocked his head questioningly. "What?" he asked.

"Ummm…" I began to fidget around anxiously. "Kenshin…umm…like, do you have any plans this Friday or something?"

"Huh?"

My face started to redden uncontrollably as I pursued the idea that came to me. "Er…well…what I'm saying is that there is this event on Friday that I think-"

"Oh yeah!" Kenshin's face suddenly lit up and he snapped his fingers in acknowledgment. "Thanks for reminding me Kaoru! I was just about to ask you to-"

I held my breath as I anticipated his next words. 'This is it, he's going to ask me out on our very first date as an official couple,' I thought. I blushed even more when I realized that I was starting to get excited. He came running up to me, and when he was near, he held my hands close to his chest. My throat went dry and my heart started to beat a crazy rhythm as he stared at me deeply with those lavender eyes of his.

"I know this is asking much," he started in an almost breathless voice, "But considering the situation -OUR situation- then I guess I'll just have to go through with this." Taking a deep breath, he pinned me down with his gaze once more as he began to speak. "Kaoru I want to ask you if you w-"

"Yes. My answer is yes Kenshin."

He seemed surprised at this as he angled his head back in wonder. "Really? But I haven't even told you what I was about to-"

I freed my hands from his grip and raised my right hand to interrupt him. "I know this is an embarrassing moment for both of us," I said to him in a whisper. "But it has to be done. So let's make this as painless for both of us as possible, okay?"

Kenshin's lips started to form a wide grin. Without warning, he suddenly gave me tight hug and planted a quick kiss on my right cheek before he broke off and started to go back to his car. "Thank you so much Kaoru! I knew you'd understand," he told me. "And I promise that there won't be any screw-ups!"

I was still slightly dazed by that second kiss that I wasn't able to reply immediately. When I finally regained my faculties, I couldn't help but grin too in return, "I hope so…"

"Tomoe was right when she told me you'd understand. You're pretty okay after all, Kamiya."

I turned away in embarrassment over his praises, "Yeah, yeah of course I'm okay and-" I was stopped when I realized that there was something amiss in his statement. Slowly, I returned my gaze towards him and asked, "Did you just say Tomoe told you?"

Kenshin was still grinning as he answered, "Yeah, Tomoe. And I guess I should've listened to her. I worried for nothing you know."

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" I began waving my hands in confusion. "Worried about what? What are you talking about Himura?"

Kenshin was beginning to look bemused now. His brows were furrowed together in uncertainty as he informed me, "I was worried that you won't let me go with her to Okinawa this Friday. Her parent's silver wedding anniversary is on that day you see. And…umm…her parents knew me pretty well and Tomoe told me they'd be disappointed if I didn't come. So-"

I started to exhale in disbelief as Kenshin continued his explanation. "-And since her parents live all the way down Okinawa, then I thought that they're not included in this whole pretence thing that we're doing, right Kaoru? And you don't have to worry about Enishi finding out either. He's not coming to Okinawa due to some complications that he needed to fix with his English subject grades."

My eyes turned into slits and I nodded my head in affirmation, but refused to say anything.

"I'm really relieved that it's okay with you Kaoru," he was smiling again as he said this. "I didn't know that you already knew I was planning to ask you this. Did Tomoe tell you about it or something?"

I pursed my lips and gave him a sarcastic look, "And how do you suppose we'd be able to do that, I ask you. You know very well that Tomoe and I can't be seen talking with each other since she's supposed to pretend that she's angry with me or something."

"Huh?"

"Oh I give up! You're hopeless!" I snapped out angrily. I turned on my heels and began to walk away. I felt Kenshin follow me and when he was near, he held me by the arm to stop me in my tracks. I looked down at his hand on my arm and hissed, "Let go."

"What is your problem Kaoru? What are you PMS'ing about now?"

I rolled my eyes and gave him a mocking look once more, "I am not PMS'ing, you ass! I don't care if you go with Tomoe this weekend. Go have fun screwing each other's lights out in Okinawa or whatever, I don't care! Now let go."

I jerked my arm away and started towards the front gate once more. But just before I entered the yard, I heard Kenshin mutter out loud, "What's the matter with you Kamiya? It almost sounded like you're jealous or something…"

That made me whirl around and face him. "I'm not-!" I started but was interrupted because of my own rising temper. I tried to find the words to throw him off and wipe away that infuriating smirk that was beginning to curve on his mouth again. And just when I was about to give up, I suddenly remembered Soujirou's offer earlier, and slowly, I started to grin as an idea began to form inside my head.

After all…I haven't refused him yet, have I?"

"You know, if you're so jealous then I guess I can probably talk to Tomoe about staying and-"

"Please!" I interrupted him. "Don't start inflating your head with your own breath Kenshin. It doesn't matter to me if you go with your 'ex-girlfriend' this Friday okay? Because as it just so happened, I have plans of my own too you know."

"Plans?" he scoffed. "You have plans? YOU? Ms. Anti-Social herself? Yeah right!" Then with a sneer, he added, "For your information Kaoru Kamiya, sorting out your encyclopaedia set on a Friday night isn't called a 'plan' you know."

I shrugged nonchalantly, unperturbed by his sarcasm. "Suit yourself," I replied coolly. And with that, I turned on my heels once more and headed for the front door. And just as I expected, Kenshin's own curiosity got the better of him and he couldn't help but ask out before I closed the door behind me: "And exactly WHAT are your 'plans' for this Friday, hmm?"

I grinned inwardly with triumph when I saw how Kenshin's face fell when I told him in an unaffected voice that: "I'm going to the 'SwingBeat' this Friday with my date. And I'm going to have so much fun for sure, particularly because you're not going to be there. So have a safe trip, 'k?"

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A/N: I'll be replying to reviewer queries through the 'reply' system of Fanfiction-DOT-Net now, okay? So I suggest those who have a question to please log-in or apply for a membership first. Well that's all for now I guess... So ciao to all of you nice people out there and have a happy new year! (:D)