"A single drop of water affects all surrounding it..."

-Anonymous

All The Difference

By Sagara Sanosuke

Kamiya Kaoru woke up to the sound of birds singing in the early morning. Yawning loudly, she sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. Pausing a moment, she heard a faint humming from the back yard.

Looks like Kenshin's already up. He's probably doing the laundry right now, she thought. It still boggles the mind as to why a man like him would do housework willingly…He looks good when he does the chores, though. The sweat glistening off his chest in the sun… She shook her head furiously to get rid of THAT train of thought, blushing. There was something about today that was important, she thought, but what was it? After a few seconds, she remembered.

It's my birthday today! I almost forgot!  Kaoru frantically scrambled out of bed and dressed herself in a nice light blue kimono. Tightening her green obi, she slid open the shoji door and walked out to the yard where Kenshin was, indeed, sitting beside the laundry tub and washing clothes, humming to himself. Sensing Kaoru watching him, Himura Kenshin turned his head to face her, smiling.

"Ohayo, Kaoru-dono," Kenshin cheerfully greeted her. "Sessha has already prepared breakfast for you, de gozaru yo." He stood up, brushing some soap bubbles off his worn white hakama. "Shall we go in?"

Kaoru mentally sighed. Still the same attitude, ne Kenshin? Always "Kaoru-dono" and "Sessha"…When will you stop acting like you don't deserve anything? She thought bitterly.

When will you let me admit I care for you?

"Kaoru-dono? Daijobu ka?" Kenshin asked, snapping Kaoru out of her contemplation. He felt a twinge of worry at the serious, almost sad look on her face.

"Ah, it's nothing," Kaoru replied, plastering a cheerful look on her features.

~*~

"By the way, where's Yahiko-chan?" Kaoru asked curiously, noticing that the brat was strangely absent from the breakfast table.

"He went to the Akabeko early this morning, de gozaru yo," Kenshin replied, sipping his miso soup. Kaoru knew the hidden message in his words; Yahiko had gone to see Tsubame-chan again.

Mou! Even that gaki-deshi of mine has more progress in his relationship than me! If this goes on he'll get married before I do…

She had a sudden mental image of an adult Yahiko and Tsubame, surrounded by kids, with a VERY old Kaoru and a VERY old Kenshin standing with them, still without an ounce of a relationship between them. The thought annoyed Kaoru to no end.

"Ano…Kaoru-dono? Is there something wrong with the food de gozaru? Why aren't you eating?"

"Nani? Ah, iie, nothing's wrong," Kaoru replied, still feeling a little annoyed. She took her chopsticks and began eating in silence. After a few moments, Kaoru asked tentatively, "Um… Kenshin? Do you know what day is it today?"

"Oro? I think it is the 14th, de gozaru yo."

"No, what I mean is, what DAY is it today?" Kaoru repeated, growing more exasperated.

"Ano… It is a Thursday de gozaru yo." Kenshin was starting to get a little nervous.

"No, I mean, WHAT DAY IS IT TODAY?"

"Um…Ah, sessha remembers!" Kenshin replied happily.

"Well?" Kaoru asked, hope in her voice.

"It is…laundry day de gozaru yo!"

Kaoru facefaulted, then stood up, eyes burning. "KENSHIN NO BAKA!!!" she yelled vehemently, nailing him with a fist.

"OROROOOO!!!!" went Kenshin as he sailed out through the door and flew towards the gate. Just then, it flew open, resulting in Kenshin's path of flight being altered as the gate slammed him sideways into a tree that was conveniently placed to stop Kaoru's spontaneous demonstration of the fact that yes, humans can fly at a high speed without any mechanical aid whatsoever. This resulted in a very dazed Kenshin lying slumped beneath the tree with wide, swirly eyes.

"Oroo……"

~*~

"Hey, Kenshin? You okay? Just HOW hard did Jou-chan hit ya anyway?"

Kenshin blinked away the last of the little raccoons hovering within his vision and his eyes focused on a familiar spiky, brown haired head with a red bandanna looking at him, fishbone in mouth. "Sano? Is that you?"

Sagara Sanosuke snorted, then straightened up from his earlier crouching position. "Who'dya think it was? The Kitsune-onna?" He casually jerked a thumb towards the gate.

"That was some dent you made in the gate. You've got a helluva hard head, ya know? And by the way," Sano continued, heading towards the house, "Jou-chan told me to tell ya when ya woke up that you gotta fix the hole in the door you flew through, the gate you bounced off and you also have ta move the tree you crashed into to its former position. By the way, she also said she was going out."

Whistling, Sano carelessly shoved the broken shoji aside and made his way to the leftovers of breakfast. Wonder why Jou-chan was muttering about forgetful baka-rurounis? Yare yare…none of my business anyway. Though she was a little pissed when I just said "Ohayo" to her…hmm…

Kenshin looked around saw the damage and sweatdropped. He turned around and saw that the tree behind him was currently on its side and leaning on the fence, which was starting to crack. As Kenshin watched helplessly, the fence gave way under the weight of the tree and crashed to the ground along with it.

"Orororororooooo……" As he got up and dusted his hakama, he thought to himself, Just what day IS it today? And I wonder why Kaoru-dono was wearing that quite beautiful kimono today?

~*~

Kenshin no baka! Kaoru thought angrily as she stormed through the streets. He didn't even remember my birthday! She felt a wetness trickle down her cheek and wiped it away furiously. Of all the stupid, insensitive, uncaring things to do…

Her inner ranting was cut short when she was knocked down by a familiar spiky-headed boy, who didn't even bother to help her up but continued running.

"YAHIKO!!!! GET BACK HERE!!!"

"No way, Busu-sensei!" Myoujin Yahiko yelled tauntingly, sticking his tongue out at Kaoru. He was rushing on an errand for Tsubame, and he wanted to complete it as fast as he could so that he could hear her sweet voice say, "Thank you, Yahiko-kun." He grinned at the prospect, and continued running. No way was he letting the Busu-sensei slow him down. In fact, he was hoping that she would chase him, so he would speed up in order to escape her clutches.

"URUSAI, GAKI!!! I'LL GET YOU!!!…" Kaoru yelled before realizing that a fair amount of people was staring curiously at her. Blushing a little, she stood up, brushing dirt off her kimono. Despite her efforts, the light blue of the fabric remained stubbornly stained with a patch of brown.

Chikusho…My nicest kimono is ruined…I'm gonna work that baka-gaki to death when he gets back… She half considered chasing Yahiko and thrashing him, but stopped herself. Today is MY birthday, and I'm not letting anything spoil it. Not even three stupid males who can't remember my birthday. She started walking towards the Akabeko.

~*~

At the moment, the said three males sneezed simultaneously, then absently rubbed their noses.

Wonder who's saying things about me? Yahiko, Sanosuke and Kenshin thought.

~*~

"Irrashaimase! Oh, Kaoru-chan, it's you! How've you been?" Sekihara Tae greeted cheerfully.

"Oh, I've been fine the past few days," Kaoru replied. Here, at least, she could find someone who remembered her birthday, she thought happily.

"Have a seat," Tae said, leading Kaoru over to  an empty booth. "Would you like anything, Kaoru-chan?"

She hasn't said anything yet. Maybe she's going to surprise me. "Um…a cup of tea would be nice," Kaoru replied.

As Tae busied herself with getting some tea, Kaoru fidgeted a little nervously. Wait…What if she doesn't remember? What if no one does?

What if no one cares?

Tae reappeared at the table, setting a cup of tea down. "Kaoru-chan? Daijobu?" Tae asked.

"Oh…nothing, Tae-san," Kaoru replied, picking the cup up and sipping her tea. I seem to be saying that a lot today, she thought wryly.

"Sou ka? Oh, in that case, I'll be taking my leave for now. A few customers are coming in," Tae said, walking away.

"Ch…chotto! Tae!" Kaoru stammered. Tae turned around.

"Nani?"

"Don't…don't you know what day it is today?"

"Oh, I know!" Kaoru's eyes widened hopefully. "It's the day of the sale at the doujinshi shop! I must remember to go today…Thanks for reminding me, Kaoru-chan!" Tae bustled away happily, oblivious to the crushed and downcast Kaoru.

Even she doesn't remember…Am I so unimportant to everyone? Kaoru thought listlessly, as she rose and walked out of the restaurant.

~*~

Tae watched her friend walk out of the restaurant worriedly. "Did I say something wrong?" she said to herself.

"Oi, miss! We need some service here!" a guy yelled from a nearby booth. Sighing, Tae walked over to him and took orders. As she headed for the kitchen, a thought struck her.

Wait a minute…isn't today Kaoru-chan's birthday? Oh my…Judging by her expression earlier, no one else remembered…And she expected me as her best friend to remember as well…she must have been crushed. Well, Tae thought firmly, I'll make it up to her.

Entering the kitchen, she noticed that Tsubame and Yahiko were there. Calling the two of them, she began to make her plans…

~*~

After endless moments of wandering aimlessly, Kamiya Kaoru found herself in an all-too-familiar road near a river. Plopping down on the grassy bank, she looked up into the sky, tears forming in her eyes.

No one remembered…Not Tae, not Yahiko, not Sanosuke, not even Kenshin…This is the worst birthday ever…

Kaoru cried softly, her tears sliding down her face and forming dewdrops on the grass. Is it because I've never done anything good for any one of them?

She recalled scenes from the past…whacking Yahiko repeatedly with her bokken… thrashing Sanosuke for mooching off her again…launching Kenshin through walls despite everything he'd done for her…repeatedly taking advantage of Tae's generosity, never giving anything back to her.

Maybe it would've been better if I had never existed, Kaoru thought sadly. Unknown to her, a faint glow was starting to surround her.

"I wish I'd never been born!!" Kaoru yelled into the air, tears lining her face.

As soon as the words were spoken, the faint glow shined brighter, enveloping Kaoru within its golden light.

"N…Nani?!" Kaoru yelled, surprised at what was happening.

The light blinded her for a few moments, then it died down, leaving an astonished Kaoru on the ground.

"What just happened?"  Kaoru asked no one in particular, not expecting a reply.

She got a reply.

"Well, looks like your wish did get granted, Jou-chan," A familiar voice answered. Kaoru turned to face it, shock registering in her eyes.

"S…Sanosuke? Is that you?"

It was him, yet it wasn't. Sanosuke didn't wear glasses. Neither did he carry a spear. Neither did he wear a blue jacket. But besides those three features, the man standing before Kaoru looked exactly like her rooster-headed friend.

"No, not exactly," the man drawled. He even TALKED like Sano. Kaoru narrowed her eyes, then grabbed a branch and held it in front of her like a makeshift bokken.

"Who are you? What are you doing here, and what do you have to do with that odd light earlier?" Kaoru asked cautiously, aware that this was definitely NOT Sano. The man smirked.

"Slow down, Jou-chan. First, I'm Sagara Sanosuke. Not the one you know, but him nonetheless. It'd take me too long to explain. Second, what am I doing here? Well, I've been sent by someone. Third, well, I was gonna get to that part."

"What is it?" Kaoru asked threateningly.

"Well, feisty aren't we? Here's your answer; someone out there heard your wish. It's your lucky day."

"Wish? What wish?"

The Sano sighed. "Man, can't you even remember? Remember what you said just before the flash of light? Well, you've got your wish."

Kaoru didn't understand. She refused to. "I still don't understand!"

"You REALLY don't get it? Well, I'll tell it to you straight."

"Sano" smiled.

"You don't exist."

-to be continued

A/N : YATTA!!! leaps in joy It's finally done! Oh yeah baby!! calms down and gives trademark Sano grin Well, how's this for a first fic? Sumimasen for any typos, lousy ideas, wrong facts yadda yadda yadda. I MIIIIIGHT continue this if you fellas give me yer support. Otherwise, I'll just dump this fic in the trash and stop writin'. Man, this "Fanfiction" stuff is hard ta type…Even if you're a character in it…grin

Disclaimer: I belong to myself. (Just kiddin'!) Rurouni Kenshin and I belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki. He drew me in the first place, so I owe him. Remember to put your own disclaimer ta borrow the Kenshin-gumi for yer fics!

-Sano