WHEN THE WORLD REVOLVES AROUND YOU
BY: Chiki Yumeshisa

Disclaimer: I don´t own Rurouni Kenshin…all original characters/ideas are mine to claim though.

AN: This is the special chapter – I think. LOL! Please enjoy. Oh, and another thing: thanks Gi-kun for the info about Florida malls!

Warnings: More K/K – is that really a warning? Broken family situations……maybe more Yuusou mistakes? J/K! On with the show! Mellow chapter up ahead! Enjoy. Actually there is a little bit of swearing…rated PG13 just in case.

Chapter 21:
When Sparks Fly

She´s not breathing! He thought frantically. He eyed the distance from where he was floating to the shore. He was tired enough as it was from swimming back and forth. His injuries from the week past because of his fight with Kamiya in the hospital, and his recent fight with Jineh still had him sore. His shoulder was burning with pain due to the after effects of the bullet from the gun. He had ignored it for the most part, and now suddenly, he wished he didn´t.

He was running out of time……….

Stay with me Kaoru……I´ll help you……..He began to shout, in a loud frantic voice for help. For a few seconds, people just stared at him, thinking he was joking, but when he continued, trying to get to shore himself, four big strong men swam over.

Between the four of them, they managed to get Kaoru onto the shore, and Kenshin followed after them, feeling drained. They lay her down in the sand, and Kenshin fell to his knees by her side. She still wasn´t breathing.

A feeling of dread filled his chest, and the scene at Kisoyas flashed through his head. He remembered feeling helpless when Kaoru was suffocating. He also remembered how the restaurant hand had saved Kaoru. CPR was in demand.

She had a short while to live, and he hoped he wasn´t too late. He bent over her and hesitated for a moment before putting his lips against hers. He had, after all, done it before. Still, his cheeks heated. He blew a breath into her, plugging her nose with his left hand.

With the aid of one of the men, they did the resuscitation together, Kenshin doing the mouth-to-mouth aid, while the man helped him to pump the water out of her.

Kenshin went cold when he realized Kaoru was still refusing to breathe on her own, and that her lips were turning a pale blue. He began to curse silently. "Come on, Kamiya! Work with me!" He ordered through gritted teeth. "Breathe, damn you!"

Still, she had no response.

"It´s no use." The man said, "We´ve been at this for almost two minutes now. She´s probably…….."

"No!" Kenshin cut him off angrily. It was then that he realized Kakujin and Hiroto hovering over him. "I won´t let her die on me." He put a hand to her face tenderly. "Kaoru, please……….." He resumed his efforts, and with a sigh, the man did as well. Kenshin would not give up!

0-0-0-0-0

Okita lay in his room, swinging his legs over the side of his bed, listening to classical music. His head was resting on his chin, and his gaze was far away. His black hair was pulled into a small ponytail at the top of his head. He fiddled for a second with a dark pillow before throwing it to the bedposts in exasperation.

He couldn´t get his mind off of Ai.

Growling, he reached for his pack of cigarettes, which was lying a small distance from him on the bed. He had already smoked up twice, and he still wasn´t able to forget. He figured another smoke might help him, and so he picked it up again. Fumbling for his lighter, he began to cough, heaving, wracking ones that shook his entire body.

Just as he opened the door to his room, he almost came face to face with his father. Retreating a bit, he moved back, allowing the elder man to walk before him. He kept his eyes downcast.

"Where are you going, Soushi?" His father asked him.

Still keeping his eyes averted, Okita brooded inwardly. He disliked that name greatly – but leave it up to his parents to choose a name after somebody noble. It was in their bloodstream after all, but still……..

"Out." He answered finally.

His father raised an eyebrow. "I beg your pardon?"

Okita just wanted to hit him. "My apologies – I´m stepping out for a bit, my father." He bit off the last words with contempt.

The man stood silent for a while, waiting, and Okita bowed his head slightly.

"Are you going to smoke again?" He demanded.

Okita rolled the box in his fingers uncomfortably. He couldn´t lie; his father had already seen it. "Yes, my father."

"How many times have I told you to stop?" His father demanded, his voice gaining an edge.

Okita sighed inwardly. It had begun. He gritted his teeth to keep himself from answering back smartly. He kept his head bowed. "Too many to count." He heard himself say.

He wished his father hadn´t come to that part of the house at that exact moment. "Give them to me." He ordered, holding his hand palm up expectantly.

Okita´s hand tightened around the cigarette case for a moment, and reluctantly placed them into the open hand.

"If I ever hear that you do this again, you will regret it." His father warned.

Okita couldn´t help but scowl. For heaven´s sake, he was already 18, and this old geezer was still trying to run his life for him. There was nothing he could do to fight back though: his father was much more powerful than him when it came to fighting, and much better with words when it came to arguing. Not to mention the difference in height and weight.

He felt the slap come, and he winced slightly. "Don´t make a face at me like that boy! I can´t believe you´re so disrespectful!"

He struggled to keep quiet, as his father ranted and raved about how he had grown up wrong and how he should get more than a simple slap. He tuned himself out, and let his mind wander again. Once again, his father was trying to make him do what he wanted. His nightmares were coming to life again…

He cut his father off. "My utmost apologies for my faults, my father. I will see to it that I do not disappoint you." He lied. He lifted his eyes for a moment, and quickly looked away when his father glared down at him.

"And don´t look at me, you dishonorable runt." His father commanded. "Until you have found favor in my eyes, you will be no more than a failure! Now, get out of my sight, you pathetic thing, and don´t let me catch you sniveling."

Okita bowed slightly and stepped back. He saw a couple of his servants do the same when that revolting man he called a father walked by. He stayed in that position, as was customary, until his figure exited the hallway.

He wondered if his father was drunk again.

He wondered what had gone wrong with their relationship as a family.

"Master Okita." A maid whispered, touching his arm. "Master Okita! Do not listen to what your father says."

Angrily, Okita pulled his arm away from her. "Leave me alone." He muttered. He hadn´t realized his face had gotten pale, and that he was trembling. He brought his arms up to cross themselves. "I´ll be okay." He assured her.

She smiled slightly, and walked away quickly.

Okita glanced down the hall his father had just exited.

A thought crossed his mind:

What was he doing home?

0-0-0-0-0

Soujiro grinned. His father and mother were poking fun at each other, commenting on how each other looked with sappy tones. They could be like children sometimes.

His father slung an arm around Soujiro´s shoulders. "So, when you choose a girl to marry, make sure she´s going to look beautiful when she´s older too."

Soujiro rolled his eyes. Keeping the smile on his face to keep his cheeks from turning a bright red, he politely excused himself from the table. He ruffled the fur of his dog which had come running up to him, its tail wagging in excitement.

His mind wasn´t on that though. It was on whether or not Kaoru was okay, and on Okita´s problem. He guessed what the rumors said were true about him: Seta Soujiro was a softy.

He hoped Kaoru was having fun, and he anxiously awaited a call from her. He had, after all, purposely left his cell phone with her. He was certain he had placed enough money in the wallet too. If not, well, he´d send some money over to her somehow.

His mind flipped to Okita´s story. It was strange how their families were so closely tied, yet so very different. While Okita´s held the samurai name highly under respect, Soujiro´s didn´t mind for it. He wondered what he would do if his father were to be strictly authentic when it came to samurai basis. He knew he wouldn´t be able to survive.

Okita and Soujiro had been the best of friends from the very beginning since they had been younger. Cousins though they were, they acted and looked, almost like twins. Okita had been made to grow his hair out longer, as was customary for any samurai in the olden days, while Soujiro´s family hadn´t cared how he kept his.

Though Soujiro was of the noble blood, he didn´t abide by the code of honor that they had served. It was, in his opinion, something to leave behind in the past. That´s what his father thought too.

It was different for Okita though. Okita´s father literally took the term Master of the House and lived by it. Everyone in the household respected him and feared him: even his own son and daughter were not able to speak with him in general terms. His wife was just as bearing, and it became so suffocating that Okita sometimes contemplated on committing suicide.

His father had run most of his life for him, deciding when and where Okita could go someplace, what Okita was allowed to do, what school he was to attend, even so much as to who Okita was going to marry.

The father and son relationship had been fine at first, when Okita had done his father´s wishes without complaint. But as he grew older, Okita had begun to retaliate and question his father´s authority. Their relationship began to break apart. Now, Okita did everything in his power to avoid even bumping into his father.

That was easy enough. Okita-san usually left the house for long periods of time recently, due to business affairs with other companies. It made Okita all the more happier.

Now that Ai Sou had come though, he had once again grown upset. Well, it was understandable.

But Okita´s story had been a shock. Soujiro wondered why Okita never let him know about her.

The phone rang, and a maid passed the phone to Soujiro. He took it from her, and wandered to his living room, flopping down lazily on one of the many couches.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Seta-san?" A voice asked on the other line.

It made Soujiro´s blood bubble. He sat up straight, and he found he was at a loss for words.

Again.

"Y-yes?"

"This is Makimachi." The voice said. He had already known it, but to hear it said was even better. Grinning like an idiot, he managed to stammer,

"H-how might I h-help you?"

She giggled. "You sound surprised."

"I am." He blurted. And he was. How did she get his number? His heart pounded in his chest.

He could picture her smiling and he wanted to melt. "Actually, I wanted to ask you a question." She told him.

His mouth went dry, and he decided to wait for her to just ask. "It´s about Shinomori-san." She said.

His hopes fell. He couldn´t let her hear it though. "Yes, what about him?"

"Can you help me?" she asked. "You´re a good friend of his – can you help me – tell me – how to win his heart?"

Numbly, Soujiro thought of being selfish for once, but decided against it. He would not take away someone else´s love. It was a dream to do so. It was confirmed: he was a softy. "Sure, Makimachi-san."

0-0-0-0-0

About ready to give up, Kenshin put his ear over Kaoru´s mouth again, to hear if she was breathing. She still wasn´t.

His bodyguards had called the police just in case, and a minute later, an ambulance arrived. They said they would take her to the closest clinic

"Why won´t she breathe?" Kenshin demanded.

The paramedics turned to him. "There are cases when the victim may not want to breathe. Perhaps she is at the edge of accepting death herself. Now, if you will excuse us." They hurried into the ambulance and sped away.

Kenshin jumped into his limo, with wet swimwear. He didn´t care. He would make sure Kaoru was okay. While they drove to the clinic, he worried over what the paramedic had said. Surely Kaoru wasn´t ready to die – he understood that she missed her father, but she couldn´t just give up on life like that. He only wished there were some way to convince her to hang on.

He made a promise to himself not to let her out of his sight while they were in Florida.

By the time they got to the hospital, she was resting. The paramedics said she coughed up the water when she had been in the ambulance and that she needed the time to recuperate.

"Can I go see her?" Kenshin asked.

"Only if you are a relative, fiancé or boyfriend." The doctor said from behind him.

He turned around. He was none of those. Did that mean he would not be able to see her at all? He decided on the latter-most response. "I´m her boyfriend. My name´s Himura Kenshin." He felt his cheeks heat up with the title. "Can I see her please?"
The doctor nodded, and led him into the room. There were no devices hooked onto her, luckily. She lay on the bed in her swimsuit, her wet black hair spilled over her pillows. She was pale and breathing shallowly. Her eyes were slightly open. She turned them to Kenshin when he entered.

"Miss……….Kamiya…….." The doctor said, "Your boyfriend is here to see you."
She didn´t understand his fast speech quick enough, though she did recognize her name. She saw him gesture toward Kenshin, and he stepped forward. His purple eyes were filled with anxiety.

"Thank God………." He told her. "I thought that you wouldn´t wake up again."
He took her hand into his and pulled her into a fierce hug. She returned it weakly. "I heard you calling my name." She murmured.

He smiled inwardly. "Don´t ever scare me like that again!" He told her, pulling away. "You scared the shit out of me."

She bit her lip. "I´m sorry……….."

"Why didn´t you tell me you didn´t know how to swim?" He demanded.

She looked away. "I didn´t want you making fun of me again………that´s all you ever do."

He couldn´t help but feel terrible. His would-be actions had almost led her to her death. Again. He tried to be upset, but he sounded sad. "It could have prevented this." He told her. "And yeah I guess you´re right – I would have made fun of you. But that doesn´t matter. You almost got yourself killed."

Kaoru hugged her arms to herself, suddenly feeling very vulnerable, and out of place. After all, she was no longer on a beach. Lying in a hospital room with no more than a bikini on made her blush. Kenshin standing next to her in nothing but that pair of swim shorts made her blush even harder.

He leaned over her and touched her forehead worriedly. "You´re all red. Are you burning with fever?"

She flinched slightly when his fingers touched her skin. That same bolt of shock ran through them both again. Kenshin paused, and let it subside. Kaoru´s eyes were wide blue pallets that relaxed when the shock passed. They slid lazily a bit, watching him.

"No………." Kenshin murmured. He could manage no more than a whisper being that close to her. He didn´t want his hand to leave her body, so it didn´t. It rested on her forehead. "…………you´ve got no fever………."

Once again, his eyes held hers. He felt like he was drowning in her intense gaze. He spoke again, his fingers trailing to her temples. "…..You´ve got the most beautiful eyes…….."

That caused Kaoru to blush a further red. The comment made her heart hammer against her chest. "And the most beautiful smile…….." he added, seeing her lips curve upward. It was true. He loved her smile more than anything.

He saw her lips part slightly, and he had to control the urge to bend over and kiss her. However, it wasn´t working – he slowly bent over her, his red hair falling down his back, and he let his fingers stroke her temple slowly, in little circles.

Kenshin didn´t understand the feelings that were rampaging freely through him. All he knew was that she was like a magnet, always drawing him in. He couldn´t resist any longer, his lips were a brush away from hers.

Her hands came up, unnoticed by either of them, as if on instinct to push him away. But they didn´t. Instead, they tentatively rested on his chest. Kenshin made a sound of approval at her touch. It was almost painful that he was not yet able to kiss her. Her fingers on his skin made him feel both hot and cold all over.

The same feeling was rushing through Kaoru, and she was dizzy with anticipation for his kiss. His muscles felt so warm and inviting. She wanted to be pulled up against his body and hugged; to feel his hands all over her, and to feel her hands all over him. His sound of approval excited her further, but at the same time, she was scared. Why did she feel this way?

She could literally taste his breath on her lips and she nearly died with impatience. He implored, wordlessly, it if was okay with her by caressing her cheek. She complied by raising her lips slightly. What a gentleman.

He captured her lips in his own, gently at first, afraid that he was trespassing on ground that might make him regret his actions later. She didn´t seem to mind, and so he kissed her again. He couldn´t take it any more. His hands slid to her shoulders, pulling her gently toward him, massaging her shoulders tenderly.

A warm fuzzy feeling rose up into the pit of her stomach as he did so. She never knew he could be so daring. She rather liked it. A lot.
He suddenly paused, and she opened her eyes to see what was wrong. He was watching her, to see her reaction. Her cheeks were flushed, and she had made a sound of disappointment at the sudden loss of contact. His hands froze on her upper arms, and one of them went up to trail lightly on her lips. "Kaoru…." He whispered. His voice was insistent, almost begging.

Another blush crawled to her cheeks. She felt her ears heat up too. His hands begun their massage on her shoulders again, and he once again brought his lips to hers. Shyly, she began to kiss him back. It was so new to her that she paused. He squeezed her upper arms, encouraging her.

She was so inexperienced, she awkwardly gave him a chaste one. He chuckled, a deep rumble in his throat. It looked like he´d have to teach her. A brief kiss like the last one they had shared at her house would not be enough. He craved to taste her.

Just as he was going to take the kiss to a more passionate level, the doctor walked back in. He paused for a moment, and looked about ready to turn back. He then coughed politely.

Kaoru jumped at the intruding sound, her hands pushing Kenshin away. She swung her legs over the side of the bed. She couldn´t do anything to hide her blush.

"You´re clear to leave, Miss Kamiya." The doctor said. "I´m certain you feel………fine now." He eyed Kenshin for a moment.

She didn´t understand a word he said because he spoke so quickly. She did manage to hear the word 'leave´ and 'fine´ however, so she put two and two together, and nodded.

Disappointed at the sudden interruption, Kenshin helped Kaoru down from the hospital bed. He spoke with the doctor, and agreed to cover the hospital bill before leaving the building and climbing into the limo.

Kaoru took a seat up front, as far away from Kenshin as she could get. Everything had gone by so fast, she was in a daze. But………she wished the doctor hadn´t interrupted.

Kenshin sat back watching her, and wondering:

What on earth had possessed him to do that?

0-0-0-0-0

Sanosuke took Magdaria´s hand. "You okay?" He asked, as she doubled over in a coughing fit. She shook with each one.

"I-I´m fine." She managed. Her brown eyes met his. "Don´t worry so much about me, Sagara-san……."

He grinned. "I have to." He helped her to straighten herself. "I can´t help it. You´re a friend."

His smile was infectious, and she found herself doing so back. His last words rang in her ears again, and her happy mood fell. She looked away, pulling her hand out of his.

"My brother is not happy about………me…….being friends with a guy…….." she told him.

Sanosuke blinked. Had he just heard right? Confused, he asked, "What? Amakusa won´t let you be friends with guys?"

She frowned, her eyebrows knitting together in sorrow. "No….it´s not that. I am allowed to be friends with guys – it´s just that………." She didn´t know how to finish her sentence. It would be too offending.

Magdaria and her brother Amakusa had inherited their parents´ company when they had been but children. Their mother had had consumption and died. Their father had been assassinated while he had been overseas. Both parentless, Amakusa had taken over their business smartly, only to find out that Magdaria too, had inherited the dreaded disease.

Of course, Amakusa didn´t run the business by himself. Their uncle helped them out. But since they had grown up parentless, he had been protective of his younger sister.

Sanosuke knew the story about Amakusa´s parents but he hadn´t known that he was like that. He knew that he cared deeply for his friends and loved ones, but not to the point where he became overbearing. There was more to it than she was letting on.

"Magdaria…….?"

She pursed her lips together, her eyes filling with tears. For the few short days she had known him, she had grown to like him very much. Always so supportive, always so optimistic. She needed that, and he had given it to her without further conscience. She knit her fingers together nervously.

"It´s not that, Sanosuke……it´s just……….." she turned to face him. "My brother doesn´t want me being friends with you………."

Sanosuke took a step back in surprise. "Me?" He repeated. "But……..why not?"

This was new. He made a mental note to throttle Amakusa when they next met.

"Because," she sounded distressed. "Because, he says you´re not the right one for me. He says, that you´re a bad influence……….."

"Bad influence? Not the right one?" He couldn´t understand what was going on. "Oh, come on, Magdaria. It´s not like I´m teaching you to do drugs or whatever. I don´t smoke that often, and I don´t drink more than once a week. And even if I did, I wouldn´t ever do so around you." He pleaded. He didn´t want to lose her friendship. "And besides, it´s not like we´re going out or something. What does he mean I´m not the right one for you?" Frustrated, he jammed his hands into his coat pockets to keep them warm. Man, even in the mall it was cold.

They had gone out to eat lunch together at Magdaria´s request, and were now trolling the mall casually. She had suddenly gotten so distant.

"He means that I can´t be with you. That´s all." She eyed him for a moment. "That´s why I wanted to go out to lunch with you Sagara-san. To let you know. I didn´t have the courage to tell you until now. But….now that you do……..I wanted to thank you for everything. You´re so wonderful and special. Not many treat me like you do. I hope you can forgive me."

As she turned to leave, he grasped her arm. "What? Magdaria……..you´re not making sense. I can´t forgive you – I won´t. How can you give up so easily?"

She pulled her arm out of his. "Saga - "

"No, Magdaria! Tell me! Why!"

"Because!" she told him. "Because I´ve fallen in love with you, okay!" She cried. She registered his shocked expression for a moment, before rushing away into the crowd, leaving Sanosuke standing by the GAP store looking stunned.

0-0-0-0-0

Salt water had done well on the wounds that she had received the other day with Jineh. So whatever her science textbook had told her had been true.

Kaoru glanced at her wounds with scrutiny. At least they would heal. While she had been in the water, she hadn´t felt any pain. Although, she would not ever want to wander anywhere alone again there in the hotel. Sighing, she buttoned up her pajamas. She was in a loose t-shirt and shorts with little stars printed on it. The fabric was a worn blue color – they were, after all, her favorite sleepwear.

When they had reached the hotel, all she had wanted was rest. It wasn´t even 9 yet, but the sun had already begun to set. She wasn´t in the mood to eat, and so, had sent Kenshin down to eat something ahead of her. He had been against it at first, but she had promised not to leave her chambers until he was back. And she really had no intention of doing so.

He had left reluctantly, leaving Hiroto behind. His green eyes made Kaoru very nervous with the way they watched her like a hawk. He was silent too, making it even worse.

The other thing that made her skin crawl was the fact that he had been there in the same room when Kenshin had kissed her. She was really embarrassed. She jumped when Hiroto suddenly spoke: she hadn´t expected him to.

"Miss?"

His voice was deep, his gaze unblinking.

"Y-yes?" she squeaked.

"The Young Master would like to know if you would like anything brought up."
Kaoru tilted her head in confusion. She then noticed the ear piece that Hiroto was wearing and realized how he got the message.

"No, thank you." She told him. "I´m not hungry." He nodded, and spoke in low tones back to the person on the other end of that line. She really wasn´t hungry. The whole incident that day had drained any appetite out of her. She was convinced that she had downed half of the Atlantic Ocean. Her stomach flopped at the mere memory of drowning – nope, she wasn´t hungry.

Once again alone in the room with the unbearable silence, Kaoru decided to ask Hiroto some questions.

"So………have you been working for Kenshin for a long time?" Kaoru asked timidly.

She got a shake of the head, but not one word.

"He must be some client." Kaoru huffed. "He´s got more layers of dirt in his brain than information. That guy………" she growled.

"Your impression of him looked very different this afternoon." The bodyguard pointed out.

Kaoru let out a breath. So, he wasn´t really the silent type after all. But then again, how did she contest to that statement? It was true: she had liked the kiss.

She lay back on her bed. "He´s really changed………I don´t know when, and I don´t know why………but he has………."

He fell silent again, and she welcomed it. She was so tired, she dozed off, curling onto her side. The day at the beach had really taken its toll on her. Flailing around in water trying to get to the surface had made her exhausted.

She stirred when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Kaoru…….." she heard the voice say.

Eyes opening in fear at the sound of a male voice, Kaoru restrained her scream when she realized it was Kenshin. He had come right on time. Her dream had been about to turn into a nightmare as Jineh had entered it. She instead let out a breathless sob.

"You okay?" he asked, noticing how she stiffened. She relaxed and nodded, unable to speak past the lump in her throat. Her trauma over that incident would take a while to pass over.

Kenshin smiled. "Good. I wanted to have you rest in a more comfortable position." He helped her out of her bed and pulled back the covers for her, before helping her back in. "I also wanted to say goodnight." He was about to pull the covers up to her chin for her but she stopped him with her hand, so he didn´t.

"Rest well." He told her. He paused for a moment, before turning to leave the room. Hiroto got ready to leave too, but she called out for him to stop.

"Um…….Kenshin………..will you stay with me again? Please? If you hadn´t come, Jineh would have come into my dreams."

He thought about it for a moment. "I wouldn´t feel right." He told her. He was thinking about earlier that day. He felt so guilty about bringing her to the beach.

"Please." She asked. "I would feel safer."

"Don´t even try to offer sleeping on the floor." Kenshin told her. "I´ll do that." So she closed her mouth against those very words she had been about to say.

She instead patted the bed beside her. "There´s room here." She said. Then she blushed. "I mean, we don´t have to………"

He smiled lightly. "I know, I wasn´t thinking on doing anything anyway."

Kaoru blushed. "Well, I thought……….." She was thinking of the kiss they had shared. "I wasn´t thinking…….."

"I´ll stay." He offered. "I want you to get your rest though." He made his way over to her, but stumbled slightly, ending up catching himself by using the bed as a support. He loomed over her again.

And once more, Kaoru´s heart started beating hard.

Her eyes were locked on his once again, and with the moonlight streaming through the windows, it wasn´t hard to see that soft purple color tinge.

He couldn´t believe how clumsy he was. But it earned him a nice surprise. And a nice view. She certainly was a sight to behold. A true angel from the sky. "Oh…….." he whispered.

"Kenshin?"

Her hand flew up to his forearm, igniting that spark once more.

He froze at the contact. He knew he would never be able to push away. Since when did that feeling get so intense?

His hand went up again to brush at her lips in what seemed like slow motion. "Again…" he murmured in a coaxing way. "Just once……"

She blushed, and he continued to stroke her bottom lip. "Again?" she whispered back.

He tilted her head up slightly, and brought his lips down close to hers. "I believe we were interrupted. Let me show you where we last left off……….."

0-0-0-0-0

Misao bounded up the stairs toward her bedroom, eager to use the telephone. Jiiya watched, and listened as she did so, scowling. She sounded like horses on a race track with the way she ran all over the place. He swore he could see his house shaking.

"Misao-chan!" He called up his warning.

"Sorry, Jiiya!" She called back down. "I´m in a rush!"

She wasn´t really.

She was just looking forward to talking on the phone. Out of Soujiro, she had managed to get Aoshi´s number, and he had suggested that she be the one to ask him out: Shinomori wouldn´t be likely to.

So she would. She had told Ai after all that she wouldn´t give up.

But now her hands shook with dread and excitement as she picked up the phone. If they shook any harder, she wouldn´t be able to punch the numbers down correctly. It was hard enough doing that: what if she stumbled while she spoke to him?

She took a deep breath and dialed the number slowly. It was an eternity for her as the phone rang three times before someone answered it. It wasn´t Shinomori who answered it.

It was Ai.

"Hello?" Her voice came over the phone, silky, and in Misao´s opinion, fake.

"This is Makimachi." Misao told her. "Can I speak with Shinomori-san, please?"

Ai paused. "Ah, the weasel girl. I know you. Unfortunately, Aoshi´s busy right now."

Misao brooded. She had just called him by his first name! Were they that close already? And how dare she call her a weasel!

"It´s really important though." She pressed. "It´s got to do with school. And since you don´t go to our school, it wouldn´t concern you, now would it?"

Ai seemed to smirk, which caused Misao to get angrier just by picturing it. "You´re right there – but suit yourself. Aoshi told me he should not like to be disturbed."

She turned around and called for Aoshi to get the phone.

Misao jumped when she heard his rich deep voice speak. "Hello?"

"Hi, Shinomori-san………it´s………"

"I know who it is." He cut her off. She was hurt – did he really hate her? If so it was probably because of what Ai-san had told him. Or because of what she had said about her opinion of his fiancée.

"I´m really sorry if you were busy. Perhaps I should call some other time?"

Aoshi glared at Ai, who stood nearby with her hand on her hip. "No, now is okay. Don´t worry about it."

Misao felt so much better by his quick reassurance. "Oh, okay! Um, I was wondering if you´d go with me to the mall tomorrow. My friends have gone out to their chalet, and I am all alone." She crossed her fingers behind her back hoping that he wouldn´t ask her why she didn´t go with someone else.

The pause was enough to make her heart sink.

"I´ll go." He said suddenly.

Her heart skipped a beat.

"Really! I mean, well, thanks so much!" She hugged the nearest teddy bear to her tightly. Wait until Soujiro heard this! "I´ll meet you tomorrow at Townsquare MV okay?" She asked.

Aoshi nodded, but realizing that she couldn´t see that, he responded with a yes. Once they were done talking on the phone, he turned to Ai.

She was smirking. "So?"

"She asked if I could go to the mall with her. I didn´t think you´d mind." He said simply.

"Of course I don´t." She answered. "But I´ve told you before – she´s crazy about you. If you lead her on and drop her, you´ll break her heart."

"It won´t matter." He told her. "After all, she´s not the one I will be marrying."

Ai´s face wasn´t too happy with his response. "That´s not fair, Aoshi. The poor girl. I´ve tried to tell her that you aren´t available anymore, that you´ve no interest, but she wouldn´t listen. You´re making it worse. I was just trying to let her know that she can´t win your heart. I don´t want her feeling sad." Although she didn´t know Misao, she had a fondness for the girl the moment she had seen her. It wasn´t that she wanted to tease the girl, but she wanted to keep her from getting so heartbroken over something that wasn´t hers to begin with.

She didn´t want anyone hurt in this relationship. She thought of Okita……..

Aoshi turned away. "Well, it makes no difference to me. If ever things get out of hand, I will let her know how 'important´ she is to me." He gave her a shadow of a smile. "I´ve already told you – the only one I love – the only one I can love – is you."

With that, Aoshi left the room.

Ai watched him leave. She hoped Misao would be okay.


To Be Continued…

AN: (Twirls) wow, I´m so evil leaving K/K unfinished like that. I´m mad at myself. Even I feel deprived. Anyway, sorry this chapter didn´t end off at a major cliffhanger again guys. I´m just trying to lighten the mood a bit. If things get too serious, it would lose its touch..

AGAIN: thanks to all those who reviewed! You´re all so special to me. Oh, if any of you wanna check out the bathing suit Kaoru was wearing, or Kenshin in shorts, check out my website. ALSO, cultural notes will be posted on my yahoo group. The topic is Names and suffixes.

Please review for me again! I love you all,

-Chiki