*aside note* Well... some of you are pretty good guessers! *grins* I didn't list the pairings in the summary because it would have spoiled the story, and there's still another one coming, but you get the secondary pairing in this chapter at least. Sorry if you're disappointed...

Kaoru stared in morbid fascination, fingers cold against her lips, heart fluttering in her breast like it was trying to get free. What... was this...? Kenshin...?
The heat that exploded in her mind, that of immediate anger and rabid jealousy, was tempered more than she would have expected... by the tears that shone on his pale cheeks, the smile that tugged at those thin lips as they pulled away from the kiss she had intruded upon, the near shyness that glimmered across his face as their eyes met...
He looked so happy...?
She stumbled backwards, unable to look away, the heavy air of surreality that clung to the scene choking her. It seemed so wrong, it seemed so right, it seemed as though she were disrupting what should already be, and yet... and yet... How could this have happened? How could this have possibly happened? What had she done so wrong, that Kenshin would have- that he would have- that he would have resorted to-
To-
Those brilliant eyes glanced up, the light that was shining inside them lancing through the early morning fog to meet her horrified yet mesmirized gaze... and that sweet smile melted, sudden shock and despair darkening his features.

A sob wrenched from her throat, and Kaoru turned on her heel and fled into her room, her feet taking the same frantic path of the night before, eyes clouded by her own bewildered tears. The same nail ripped savagely at the already-torn heel of her sock, and catching the trailing threads and tripping her onto the cold wooden floor.
Kaoru curled up on herself, hands clenching into whatever kimono she had thrown on this morning, only a few short minutes ago, and yet... She sobbed into her bony knees, shivering in the early morning cold and not caring, only knowing that this was the end for her, Kenshin didn't want her, no one would ever want her if Kenshin didn't want her, and he didn't, he didn't... Kenshin... Kenshin already had...
Kenshin already had Sanosuke...
She was that horrible, that she had forced him to another man? How could anyone be so loathsome? What had she done so wrong that-
When two arms wrapped tightly around her, she didn't think to protest, only turning to sob into the shoulder that presented itself, the warm embrace holding her tightly and rocking her like a baby who had woken in the middle of the night, rocking her until at last the tears ran dry and all she could do was whimper and shiver against the presence that felt so warm...
Then two fingers lifted her chin, and Kaoru blinked bleary eyes into a pale face she knew well, a perfect face, a beautiful face, a face that was now set in a stern scowl.
Megumi-san snapped softly, what on Earth is this? What are these tears for? One delicate finger danced over her cheek, flicking away the tears that still remained there.
Kaoru stared up at the older woman in baffled surprise, jaw working for a few moments before her cracked voice could even make a sound. You- you must have seen- Kenshin- Kenshin- Kenshin and-
And Sanosuke? Megumi-san sighed and tossed her long black hair, that damnably perfect hair, then tightened the grip she still held on Kaoru's back. Of course I did. And you should have noticed it long before.
Kaoru gasped, her jaw beginning to set in that familar grip of anger that took her so often when Megumi-san was around. Seen it BEFORE? What the HELL are you-
It's really a testament to how much Ken-san worries about your feelings that he's waited this long to get with Sanosuke... I mean, they've both been holding off a long time, she continued, seeming unconcerned with her mounting rage. Ken-san may have horrible taste in men, but I wasn't aware his timing was so bad, too... It's a pity.
You knew about this?
The whisper that escaped her throat held less anger than it did guilt, surprise, the soft buildup of tears again... Megumi-san had known? She had known, who saw Kenshin even less? If she had known, then what did it say about her...? She was supposed to be Kenshin's friend, and Sanosuke's friend too, above all else! If Megumi-san had known...
Of course I knew, the older woman mused offhand. It was difficult to miss how pathetic Sanosuke was over Ken-san, really. And you would have noticed too if you hadn't been so wrapped up in yourself.
Those last words stung, and Kaoru's head snapped up, the guilt that had been pooling in her heart snapping into rage again. In myself-?! she hissed, almost unable to bear it. I-I- You're one to talk, Takani Megumi! You always hit on the both of them and teased Kenshin and-
I didn't mean anything by it, Megumi-san pointed out, onyx eyes lit with smug mischief. And they both knew it. You and Yahiko-kun were the only ones who thought I did, you know. And just because you wanted things to work out perfectly for you.
This time, no words would come. She simply stared, choked by regret and guilt and unspeakable frustration. She was wrong...! Of course she was wrong! She was only trying to get under her skin, the same she always did, when- whenever she was around-!
I- I love Kenshin, she gritted out, ignoring how difficult it was to get the words past her lips, only wanting to prove her wrong, unable to bear those smugly glittering eyes, unable to stand Megumi-san having proof that she was better than Kaoru was, in every walk of life- It didn't matter that she was, it only mattered that she didn't know it!
No, you don't, she said calmly.
It was like a slap in the face, as nearly as substantial as the remembered feeling of Megumi-san's hand cracking over her cheek, that solemn and sure pronouncement. Kaoru reeled in silence, entire body quivering in fear and rage, staring into that perfect face without a single thing to say in rebuke.
Megumi-san smiled prettily, that slight darkness of warning beginning to take her face. You don't, she repeated, voice menacingly calm. And you know you don't. You want him to stay by you, yes. You want to keep his friendship, yes. But love him? She let her hand rest comfortably on Kaoru's hip where she still held her, but she remained stiff and unwelcoming to Megumi-san's touch. Think, Kaoru-chan. Do you really want to get married to him and bear his children and be his obedient wife for the rest of your life? Do you know what that would be asking for?
Her voice was growing lower, almost hoarse, as the ladylike sweetness evaporated into that fire she had seen in the black eyes only once before, before she had left for Kyoto, when she had... Kaoru trembled, not quite sure why she was doing so, wanting to break away and run, but knowing with a sick certainty she no longer had anywhere else to go...
But you were the one who told me I should tell him how I feel...! she protested weakly, unmoving in the older woman's grip. Remember? You told me to-
So you would know how you were wasting your time, Kaoru-chan! She smiled wickedly, almost cruelly. You already knew you didn't want things that way, deep inside. Apparently... She let her dark head tilt to the door, clearly indicating the... couple... who were still outside in the early morning mist. You just needed to be shocked into realizing that again. You don't want to be a wife, Kaoru-chan. You know that. And Ken-san doesn't want you as a wife. He wants you as friend and family. Why is that so wrong?
No one else will ever WANT ME! Kaoru fairly wailed, struggling wildly in Megumi-san's grip, heart pounding and aching in unanswerable grief and pain, the words spoken aloud seeming the concrete truth that existed now and forever would exist because the only man who would ever have a chance of loving her loved another man and would never want her and she would always be-
The slap came as no real surprise, but the words that came as Kaoru reeled back from Megumi-san's astonishing strength were, the tone fierce and unforgiving.
You stupid little girl! You think that just because the man you had a little crush on loves someone else that your life is over? Don't be so selfish as to think everything is over for you! There is another who loves you, little idiot, and if you give that up now you really ARE hopeless!
Kaoru staggered back from the blow, then looked up into Megumi-san's face. Her pale cheeks were flushed with obvious anger, full lips set tight and trembling. The cool, unshakable Takani Megumi was quivering in emotion, staring down at her with beautiful flashing eyes.
And so Kaoru collapsed into her arms and wept, this time not in anger, but in grief, in regret, in guilt, and in some measure of happiness that she couldn't explain.