Disclaimer: I definitely don't own Rurouni Kenshin and its characters. They all rightfully belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki-sensei so don't sue me. I am poor (and young) and I write this kind of stuff for entertainment purposes only.

Author's greetings: It's been two straight months since the last time I updated. I lost my inspiration. Hmmm. I hope you reviewed Chapter VII. Anyway, I'm feeling great today; I wonder why. I just hope you'll like this chapter. So just read on and enjoy!

Rating: PG (though ratings may vary as story progresses)

WARNING: All who said I did a good job in the non-OOCness business are now welcome to kill me. This chapter may contain OOCness so brace yourself. It's for you guys to decide whether it's OOC or not at all.

Second Chance

Chapter VIII: Aishiteru

Kenshin saw Kaoru hold her breath as he stepped out from behind a tree. Her sapphire eyes grew big with surprise. *Is she happy to see me? * Kenshin wondered.

Kaoru ran to him and literally jumped into his arms. The impact made Kenshin fall on his back with Kaoru on top of him, her delicate arms wrapped around his neck and her face was buried into his gi.

Kenshin supported both their weight on the ground with both hands and just sat there for several seconds with Kaoru embracing him.

"Kenshin." He heard her say as her arms tightened around his neck.

He swallowed a lump that formed in his throat. He exhaled shakily as he closed his eyes momentarily, trying to bring himself to say the words that would surely hurt his Kaoru-dono. "Do I know you?" He asked blankly.

Kaoru froze. She loosened her embrace as she inched her head away from him. "Kenshin?" She asked, the confusion very evident on her voice.

She peered into his face to see if whom she had just hugged was the real Kenshin. He was. The purple eyes, the auburn hair, the scar. *But why is it. he seemed like he never met me! *

Kenshin saw the blood drain from her face. His expression was blank but inside him, he was in turmoil. *Gomen nasai, Kaoru-dono. I'll just have to do this for the meantime. *

"Kenshin?" She asked once again, gathering all her courage to lift her right hand to touch his scar. But Kenshin caught her hand and brought it down to her side. Her face was a picture of confusion. and dismay.

"Onegairusu. I really don't know who you are, even you're name. I'm sorry for following you. Your." Kenshin began searching her face to find an excuse for following her. His eyes rested on the dark blue ribbon that she was wearing, which he had apparently bought for her. "Your ribbon caught my attention. It's. beautiful." He tried explaining, hoping she'll buy it.

Tears began flowing down. Kaoru could not hold them back anymore. *After all I've gone through. just to find you. What happened Kenshin? Have you lost your memory? * She thought, hoping Kenshin could read her mind. She closed her eyes.

*Maybe he did lose his memory. * Kaoru told herself, trying to console herself.

She opened her eyes, giving him two windows into her soul. She gave him an adoring smile. "I'm sorry, I thought you were someone I knew." She told him.

She stood up and took a step backward, ending the closeness between them. "My name's Kaoru. Kamiya Kaoru."

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Kenshin stared at her as he scrambled to his feet. He stood up and faced her squarely. He was surprised at Kaoru's response. *How could she play along? Did she really think I've got amnesia? * He tried figuring things out. *Maybe I'm a better actor than I thought I was. *

He nodded at her. "Mine's Himura. Himura Kenshin."

"Himura-san." She bowed at him slightly.

Kenshin furrowed his eyebrows. "Just Kenshin, Kaoru-dono."

"Fine." Kaoru agreed. She stared at him with those gorgeous sapphire orbs.

Kenshin forced himself to look away. He felt like the words "I LOVE YOU" were written all over his face. "So, Kaoru-dono. What are you doing here all alone?" He asked her, changing the subject. "Kamakura isn't that safe any more."

"I know. I was just taking a walk. And you?" She stated.

"Funny. I was taking a walk, too." He responded. Kenshin laughed at himself. *Hahaha. Very funny indeed.*

"Care to join me?" She invited him.

He smiled at her. "I'll join you."

They began strolling together in silence. Finally, they sat at the roots of a tree near a serene river, a good distance from each other.

"Are you taking a vacation here in Kamakura, Kaoru-dono?" He asked, hoping to start a meaningful conversation with her.

Kaoru turned her head to his direction and smiled. "Hai."

"With your family?" He asked once again, though deep inside him he already knew the answer.

"With friends, though I consider them as my family already." She replied.

"I see."

"But the sad thing is, we're not complete." She said suddenly.

Kenshin's eyes widened. "So des'ka?"

"So des'. One's missing." She answered, navy eyes softening. "One who had been very important to all of us."

Kenshin smiled at her. "Hope you see that person again."

Kaoru nodded, not taking her eyes away from him. "Arigato." She smiled.

They stared at each other for quite some time, until Kaoru looked away from him and stared at the calm river before them.

Kenshin, apparently, could not take his eyes away from her. His eyes wandered from her eyebrows down to her lips. Kenshin wanted to touch those lips, to find out if they're as soft as they looked.

Kaoru felt Kenshin was watching her, so she turned to his direction, giving him a full view of those lips he yearned to touch. She parted her lips slightly to say something, but that's when she realized Kenshin was watching that part of her face.

"Kenshin, daijobou des'ka?" She asked, licking her lower lip in nervousness. *Why is he looking like that? * She thought.

Kenshin looked up at her. Amethyst and sapphire clashed. "Kaoru-dono." He started.

"Hai?" Kaoru looked at him keenly.

Kenshin forced himself to look away. "Never mind."

*I-I-I-I.. * He was thinking. "Aishiteru, Kaoru." The words escaped from his mouth without his knowing it.

Kaoru looked at him, surprised. It took Kenshin a couple of seconds before finally realizing what just came out his mouth.

He turned to look at her with big, purple eyes. He closed his eyes in nervousness as he began waving his hands before him defensively. "It's not what you think, Kaoru-dono! It's not like that!" He tried explaining, but the words didn't come out right.

He sighed and bowed his head, eyes still closed. He was just waiting patiently for a blow on the head. He braced himself for the impact.

Seconds passed. *What's Kaoru-dono doing? * He asked himself. He lifted his right eyelid, then the other. What he saw were just tears. of joy?

He watched her as tears fell down her eyes. But what confused Kenshin the most was her smile. She was smiling.

"Aishiteru, Kenshin." He heard her murmur. "I love you, too."

Amethyst eyes softened at what he heard. He lifted his left hand as it reached out to wipe her tears away from her face with his calloused fingers.

Sapphire eyes widened at the sudden show of affection. His fingers ran through her eyebrows, her wet cheeks, her nose then it stayed for several seconds on her lips. Kaoru parted her lips slightly and placed a chaste kiss on his left palm.

Kenshin smiled faintly. His hand slid down to her chin as he lifted her head up slightly.

"Gomen. Kaoru-dono." He managed to say. He leaned closer and closer to her until his lips brushed against hers. But eventually, a soft, light kiss settled on Kaoru's lips.

Kenshin waited for any signs of protest or objection from Kaoru; either a nudge or a slap would do. But there was none. She was just sitting there straightly with Kenshin leaning close to her as his left hand held her chin. At first, it was just a chaste kiss, an innocent one. But as the seconds passed by, the longing to learn more became stronger. Kaoru parted her lips and so did Kenshin.

As far as Kenshin was concerned, her lips were indeed as soft as they looked. Actually, way more softer. If Kaoru finds out sooner or later that he never had amnesia, he'll be DEAD. But he decided to enjoy the moment, while it's still there.

The world may be burning in hell for all he cared. What matters now is the fact that he had her. And all hell may break lose any second now but. what the heck?

He breathed in her jasmine scent, and touched the ivory skin of her face. He enjoyed the petal softness of her lips and the feeling of holding her. in his arms.

Kaoru wrapped her arms around his neck tightly as Kenshin's arms wrapped around her waist. *This is not part of the plan! * Kenshin thought frantically as he tried forcing himself to break away from Kaoru. But he just can't! He had waited for so long to kiss her and now the moment has finally arrived. and there's no way he's gonna let her go!

A few minutes later, it was Kaoru who broke the kiss. She removed her arms from his neck. She leaned away from his face, blushing prettily as her right hand went up to cover her mouth.

"Ano." She mumbled, looking down.

Kenshin looked down himself.

"Oro!" Kenshin exclaimed when he realized that he had his arms around her waist. He removed them quickly as he realized that the red is beginning to creep into his cheeks. *Now. what in the world made me do that? *

He brought his left hand to the back of his head as he smiled weakly at her. "Gomen nasai. " He apologized. "I wasn't thinking."

Kaoru removed her hand from her mouth. "I. I'm sorry too. I wasn't. thinking myself." Kaoru said, trying to regain her composure.

"I see." Kenshin looked up to the pinkish sky. "Oro! It's getting dark, Kaoru-dono." He informed her.

"So des'ka? That means I should go back to the ryo-kan now." She responded as she got to her feet.

Kenshin stood up himself. "I'd better get going myself." As he did so, his sword made some noise. But it was enough for Kaoru to notice it.

"May I take a look at your sword, Kenshin?" She said as her eyes rested on the unfamiliar katana hanging on Kenshin's hakama.

Kenshin got the sword from his waist and handed it to Kaoru. She unsheathed the sword and found something that made her shudder uncontrollably.

"Its blade is on the right side." She said unhappily.

"I know." Kenshin replied warily.

Kaoru sheathed the sword and handed it back to Kenshin. She looked at him sadly. "I better head back to the ryo-kan now."

"I'll see you soon." He smiled at her.

She smiled back as she turned her back on him and walked back, heading to the train station.

Kenshin sighed as he tucked his arms inside his gi.

"You're so aggressive, Battousai." Shinru said.

Kenshin looked up to the tree behind him. His eyes narrowed at the sight of the master and his student. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Shinru leaped down from the tree. Himitsu did the same.

"We're just wandering around, enjoying ourselves, until we saw an interesting scene by the river." Shinru smirked at him.

Himitsu chuckled softly. Kenshin shifted his glare from Shinru to Himitsu. Himitsu looked up and glared back at him. "What." He asked Kenshin in a declarative tone rather rudely.

"How old are you?" Kenshin asked tightly.

Himitsu's glare became a look a perplexity. "Twenty. Why?"

Kenshin turned his back on him. "Nothing."

"Then mind your own business." The younger man snapped.

"I'd be happy too." The ex-slasher countered. His voice was blunt, like the blade of his own sakabatou.

Shinru smirked. Tension was beginning to build up. "Anyway, Imizuki-sama called for you, Battousai. So we better head back to the headquarters now." He took a step forward.

Kenshin let the two men before him lead the way as he stared at the younger man's back. *Naze, Himitsu? *



TBC



Author's notes: BWAHAHAHA! Were they OOC? Well, were they? BWAHAHAHA! Don't mind me, I think I'm just losing my mind here. Anyway, I am very glad I was able to finish this chapter though it's kinda short, ne? Those who did not find it. satisfying or anything, I'm sorry, but you see, I don't know how these kinds of scenes happen; I just kinda like, read about them at times. Most of the animes I watch are mostly packed with action. Okay, so I admit this chapter was kinda sappy.

Yo, people! I read 'Memoirs of a Geisha' and it's real good! I recommend it to those who haven't read it yet. I read it for my book report, actually. To tell the truth, we were supposed to read books written by Asian authors but my teacher actually counted me out cuz she said the book was kinda good any way and she did like my previous book report on Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice'. *grin*

So, am I any good now? Please tell me; please review! I'm getting desperate here! Not exactly desperate. just calmly distressed, I think. Anyway, thanks for all those guys who reviewed. And please continue reviewing. Thanks. Aishiteru! Ganbarimasu!

REMINDER: PLEASE REVIEW, I'D BE LOOKIN' FORWARD TO IT.

lieveit1 '^-^'