Howdy everyone! ^.^ I'm back from my little trip to the country! I was pleased to find so many reviews when I got back! ^-^ It made my day! ^.^ Muahahaha... Anyway, I suppose you want the next chapter, right? So I'll cut the small talk and get on with the story, since I'm anxious to write it as well. By the way, I got this really good smelling lotion set. It smells soooo good! Ok ok, I'll shut up...

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or any of the characters from it. End of story. No! Not this story! Erm... you know what I mean. -.-'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Heheh..." Sanosuke snickered. It was midnight, and he was still wide awake, due to the large amounts of coffee he had been exposed to.

"Tee hee." Megumi was up also, having one too many cups of java herself. Neither of them felt tired, so they ad both gotten up and roamed the hallways, then bumped into eachother. They decided to explore together. They ended up going in circles, and during one of their journeys through their own hallway, came across Aoshi's door.

They now stood in his room, a can of extra-thick whipped cream and a feather in hand. Sanosuke sprayed some whipped cream into both of Aoshi's hands, then motioned for Megumi to do her job. Megumi nodded and tickled Aoshi's nose with the feather. He shook his head a little and scrunched his nose. Megumi growled and tried again. This time he rubbed his nose with the back of his hand.

Sanosuke smacked his head. Aoshi was so difficult to prank...

Megumi tried again, and this time her efforts were rewarded. Aoshi rubbed his nose, spreading whipped cream all over it. She then tickled one part of his face at a time, and each time Aoshi coated his face in whipped cream. Five minutes later, the only parts of his face that could be seen were his tightly closed eyes.

Megumi and Sanosuke got out a camera and were about to take a picture when Aoshi's eyes snapped open. All three of them screamed. Aoshi was up in a flash, bounding after the two pranksters who were literally running for their lives. They rounded a corner and quickly hid in a small closet, gently closing and locking the door so Aoshi wouldn't hear them.

"Where are you!?" Aoshi yelled. "Nevermind, I'll come find you!"

"Aoshi?" He stopped when he heard a confused voice behind him. He turned around and came face to face with Misao, who was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"What are you doing up?" He asked, his face turning red under the layers of cream.

"I should ask you the same thing." She said, taking a finger and delicately wiping off a bit of the whipped cream. She popped it in her mouth. "Mmmm... I heard a whole bunch of noise, so I came to see what all the commotion was about." She giggled at his bewildered expression.

"I uh..." He started. How would he explain himself? "Well... Megumi and Sano..."

"Oh I see. This is their work. I can help you get them back if you want." She smiled.

He almost turned into a puddle on the floor. He was relieved that she didn't think him extremely stupid. "Yeah sure... Just not tonight. We have to do some planning first."

She nodded and winked at him, then returned to her room. He returned to his room also, heading for his bathroom to wash off the whipped cream.

"Ouch!" Cried Megumi. "You stepped on my foot!"

"Sorry, there's not enough room in here..." Sanosuke tried to shift around in the closet. Despite his efforts, Megumi ended up in Sanosuke's lap, and they were both on the floor. Both of them blushed wildly.

"Er... Sorry..." Sanosuke said.

"It's... ok..." Megumi said, her gaze locking on his deep brown eyes. They both froze for an instant, just staring into eachother's eyes.

Sanosuke hesitated. What were all these emotions flowing through him? Would she smack him if he tried to kiss her? He decided to go for it.

Megumi watched as Sanosuke leaned in, getting closer to her every second. Suddenly she really wanted to kiss him.

Their lips met in a gentle kiss, and electric shocks coursed through both of their veins. They both pulled back.

Megumi touched her lips softly as she looked at Sanosuke. 'What was that!?'

Sanosuke blinked. 'What the...'

"I think we should get out of here." Megumi suggested.

"Yeah." Sanosuke nodded and reached up to unlock the door. He turned the knob. "Uh..." He turned it again.

"What's wrong?" Megumi asked.

"It's stuck!" He answered.

"Let me try!" She said, shoving his hand away and trying the knob herself.

Aoshi smirked and looked at the chair he had propped against the door knob. That should keep them... Or at least until Sanosuke got smart and decided to punch the door open. He sauntered back to his room.

"Great! Now we're stuck in here!" Megumi said, smacking him upside the head.

"Ouch!" He said, slumping against the wall.

"Funny. You can get hit by some of the strongest men in the world and not get hurt, but you get hit by a woman and you get knocked out." Megumi giggled.

He shook his head and recovered. "What was that for!?"

Megumi smiled. "Oh nothing." She said coyly.

He growled. "Guess we're stuck in here for the night."

"Actually it's more like morning." Megumi said.

"True... Grr... I can't be stuck in here, I have too much energy to burn!"

"I know a way you can burn energy..." She said, tracing his jaw with a finger.

"H-h-how?" He asked, swallowing.

"By trying to get us out of here! I don't want to spend my valuable time with the likes of you!" She said, punching him in the face.

"Hmph. What do you always have to abuse me? If that's how you want it... HAAAAA!" She backed up against the door as he threw a punch in her direction.

It was as if time stopped for Megumi. Would he really punch a woman? And her of all women?! She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes, waiting for the impact. But it never came. Instead, she heard the sound of snapping wood. She opened her eyes. The wooden door was no where to be seen. There was wooden dust scattered all over the hallway.

"Why didn't you just say so in the first place?" He asked coldly as he walked out and back to his room.

Megumi was shocked. He could have done that all along! Did he actually want to spend the night in there with her? She felt terrible. She must have hurt his feelings... She sighed and wandered back to her room as well.

Sanosuke growled. He had always had some what of a crush on the fox. Ever since he first saw her. But it seemed the only time they ever spoke to eachother was to argue. And she always acted like she hated him. He figured staying in there with her would be a chance to talk civilly to eachother. He was wrong. He sighed and his thoughts travelled back to the kiss they had shared. He was surprised she allowed that to happen, and even more surprised when she didn't murder him afterwards. He shook his head and forced his thoughts elsewhere. He shouldn't get his hopes up.

*************

Kaoru awoke to the sound of yelling in the hallway beyond the balcony door. She was going to stretch until she noticed the pair of arms around her waist and the chin resting on her shoulder. Her first thought was to scream bloody murder, but then she remembered who it was. She smiled and played with a lock of fiery red hair. She sighed contentedly and snuggled further into his chest, breathing in his scent. Desirable, yet masculine. He must have put on cologne. She breathed it in once again. It fit him perfectly.

She had never imagined that Kenshin would be so bold as to hold her like this. Seeing what those guys had been doing to her probably gave him a few gray hairs. That is, if he had feelings for her. Of course he did! They wouldn't be in this position if he didn't. And Kenshin wasn't one to fool around when it came to women. She wondered if the incident yesterday (AN: Remember, it's past 12 AM. Morning!) had anything to do with his sudden gutsy actions. Well, it's not as if they kissed, but if they had still been in Japan Kaoru would bet her bottom dollar that he wouldn't have gotten so close to her.

She smiled again. But she liked it. It felt so... right. Like they were made to fit in eachother's arms. She closed her eyes and relaxed, feeling perfectly safe in his arms. She was absolutely sure nothing could get within ten feet of her when she was in his embrace. Especially not those thugs. She shivered from the memory of the event.

Kenshin must have felt her fear. He stirred, and before long his eyes slowly opened. "Is everything alright, Kaoru-dono?" He asked.

"Hai." She said, putting on one of her best smiles for him. His eyes softened as he smiled back.

Kenshin was in heaven. He finally got to hold her close to him. He had waited for so long to do this... Some times patiently, and others not so patiently. But it all paid off now. He felt as though the world could end for all he cared, as long as he had 'his' Kaoru with him. He contemplated whether or not he should tell her all of this. What would she say? Would she tell him she had no feelings for him? That she only loved him as a friend and a brother? No... Surely she wouldn't let him hold her like this if she had no feelings for him. This gave Kenshin some confidence.

"Kaoru..." He whispered in her ear, nuzzling her neck.

He wanted her so badly. His craving was driving him insane with desire.

"Y-yes?" Kaoru stuttered. She was surprised he hadn't added the usual "dono" to her name. And the way he said it drove her up a wall! It was all she could do to keep from kissing him passionately.

"Aishi-"

The sound of shattering wood was heard and he abruptly sat up.

"What was that?" Asked Kaoru.

"I don't know. It sounded like wood being smashed into tiny pieces. Sanosuke must have used his special technique." He said thoughtfully.

"He's probably mad." She giggled.

Kenshin smiled and relaxed. His reflex action would have been to jump up and draw his sword. But he didn't. That would have worried Kaoru. He sighed. The moment was ruined. He had just gotten up the courage to tell her, and Sano had to go and be destructive. He shook his head.

Kaoru felt his tension and shrugged. "I'm sure he won't be bothering us."

Kenshin caught the hidden meaning behind her words and smiled, looking into her enchanting blue eyes. His desire mounted again, and before he knew it, he had gently laid her on the couch, and was laying on top of her, his face inches from hers. He leaned in closer, and just before their lips were about to meet, he hesitated as if to ask permission. She answered by closing the distance and capturing his lips with hers. As their passion and desire grew, the kiss grew more heated. They finally seperated for lack of air. They were both shaking, and each thought their strength would give out right then and there and they'd melt into a puddle of mush.

"I've waited to do that for so long, that I have." Kenshin confessed.

Kaoru smiled. "Me too." She then cuddled up to his chest and closed her eyes.

He smiled and kissed her forehead before closing his eyes himself and drifting off to a peaceful sleep full of fantasies.

***************

Tougi growled as he watched from his window, on the floor above them. Who did that Kenshin guy think he was kissing and holding Kaoru like that? As far as he was concerned, Kaoru was 'HIS'. Fire burned in his eyes and he glared daggers at the one who dared touch HIS Kaoru. Kenshin would pay... Oh yes.... Would he pay... His eyes possessed a deadly glint as he turned away from the window.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~

Okay, that's all for this chapter. I wanted to start with a fresh new chapter when they all wake up for the day. Anyway... Yup. I'll work on the next chapter tonight and tomorrow, and I'll get that one out hopefully before Thursday, 'cause I'm going on another trip, this time to Michigan. ^- ^' Then after that I'll be back at work, so you probably won't hear from me until a week from this Friday. -.- I'm so busy all of the sudden... But oh well. At least I got out of work this week. Muahahaha...

Resha Valentine - Thanks. ^.^ However, if you want to read the story, You'll have to do so from right here. I'd be happy to e-mail you and tell you when I've updated, though. ^-^ Hope ya keep reading!

ShilviGrl/Amyjenc1 - Lol. Yes, Aoshi does appear as a dunce. However, that's only because he's not used to all these emotions, and frankly, he doesn't know what to do with them. I thought that if I had him confess all his feelings to Misao and start acting human so early, it wouldn't be like the real Aoshi. Therefore, I'm having him take his sweet time and sort out his feelings, and then he'll be ready to tell Misao everything. I'm trying to brain storm some brilliant event that will finally crack his shell so he can tell her how he feels. ^-^' Anyway, thanks for your support! ^.~

battousai rk8520 - ^-^' eh heh heh.... That's rather disturbing.... But I'll take that as a sign you're enjoying the story? ^.^'' I sure hope so. ^.^ Thanks for reviewing!

donna8157 - Thanks ^.~ Yeah, I was deciding whether to make him an evil person or a good person, and I guess I chose the evil one. It gives Kenshin more chances to stand up and fight for Kaoru ^.^ And as for Seija.... Well... in the last chapter the guy that Tougi was talking with had blue eyes.... I wonder if it was him? ^_^ Thanks for your encouragement! It helps a lot!

Kenshin - Really? That's cool. I live in that area too. ^-^' That's where I got the idea from. ^.~

marstanuki - I agree. I had half a mind to have Yahiko go to America instead of her, but I decided to try and make it work. I'm a fan of Harry Potter too ^.^ I read the fourth book without stopping (except meals and such). I can't wait to read book five. But I need to get money first. ^-^' Yeah, I try to post fast. Not to mention I'm enjoying writing the story, so that gives me motivation. Thanks! And I can't tell you how grateful I am to you. By reading your story, I got rid of that horrible writers block that made me use the same words over and over. ^.^ I guess you could say you inspired me. ^_^

Princess of Darkness and me - Got this chapter out as soon as I could. ^.^ I'm glad you're enjoying it, because I'm enjoying writing it as well!

Hypo/Peachy - Thanks ^.^ I'm glad you like it. ^-^ Happy happy joy joy, happy happy joy joy... ^-^' er... Yeah. Hope ya keep reading!

CurlsofSerenity - Lol! Actually, there is a reason why his name is close to mine. A few months ago I was kinda getting tired of the name Seien, and I thought I needed a new one. So I made up a list of names that I thought sounded cool, including a slight variation of my name, and Seija was one of them. Then when I needed a name for this guy, that just popped into my head. ^-^' No, I'm not suggesting that that's my evil twin brother or worse yet that I'm the criminal mastermind behind all the mayhem. ^.^ Just a name I thought sounded cool. Hope ya keep reading!

Until the next chapter! Ja!

~Seien