Kaoru's Regrets

Disclaimer! Rurouni Kenshin doesn't belong to me, but to Nobuhiro Watsuki. Darn, maybe some day ^_^x

Kaoru's Regrets Chapter 9: What is love?

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Kaoru woke up feeling extremely irritated. she had no idea why, but she felt a need to take her anger out. Hastily she got up changed into her training gi and hakama. She pulled her long raven hair into a high ponytail.

Kaoru strode past the kitcehn, rufusing breakfast until her spirits lifted a bit. Plus, Kaoru didn't want to snap at her father, who knows what kind of trouble that could get her into.

Walking into the dojo, she picked her bokken and got into her fighting stance. Angrily, she practiced the basic head strike. She did it over and over again. Doing over 500. 'Argh!! This isn't helping!!' she thought. 'Maybe some meditation'

She walked out to the cherry blossom tree and sat down. Breathe in. Breathe out. Kaoru just sat there and mediatated. Slowly, but surely her mind wandered off.

'Is this meditating even helping? I wonder. Do I really love Kenshin? There are many definitions for love. Some say if a woman really loves a man, she'll do anything to make him hapy, even give him up. Of course, I want to see him happy, but I don't know if I could give him up forever. Others say love is when you feel incomplete or mayb ethe idea of being with someone else is just plain ridiculous. So much that you couldn't even imagine yourself with anyone else. I've never really thought about it. just the though of being with Sano or Aoshi or Enishi or Soujiro is a little silly, but I guess I could kinda see it. But it's a little blurry. Or maybe love is when you'll wait for him forever. I do'nt know if I could wait forever, but I have waited for a few years.

She just sat there, under the cherry blossom tree, in deep thought. She sat and thought until she came to a resonable conclusion on her feelings for a certain red-head 'So . . . I guess you could say I'm almost in love with him.' Kaoru got up feeling much better, She was no longer irritated, instead a content feeling filled her. 'I guess all I needed was to sort my feelings out and come to a conclusion' And now that she had she could continue her day, without questionable doubts floating in and out of her mind

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Megumi expected Sano to come for lunch again. Afterall, he did say he was going to be back. 'Freeloading baka.' She thought, but instead of an expression of distaste, Megumi's face was full of happiness. She hummed while stirring the stew she had prepared for Sanosuke.

Sure enough, the doorbell rang and there stood Sano. He grinned and asked in a mock polite voice. "Why hello, Fox! May I join you for lunch?"

Megumi laughed. "Fine come in." She ushered him into the kitchen and started to set the table. Thw two ate in silence.

'Maybe I should ask her how sh'es doing. kenshin did tell me that I should be nicer and mroe considerate to her' Sano thought about this for a moment, but quickly abolished the idea. "So, Fox, what are you doing today?"

"Nothing, I was expecting company, but they've already left." (A/N: the compant was actually Sanosuke, she just wanted it to seem like she was doing something besides waiting for him ^_^x)

"Well, since I'm not doing anything either. How about you and me spend the day together?"

"Hmm . . . well ok, just give me a few minutes"

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Kenshin woke up to his Shishou's booming vioce. "Wake up!" Kenshin groggily opened his eyes only to recieve a few more orders. "Get up and get some water"

Kenshin finally got up and took a minute to stretch out. "Get dressed and get some cold water." Hiko commanded him once again. Hastily, he stripped out his yukata and put on a clean gi and hakama. Kenshin sighed. He was going to sleep in today, but being ordered out of bed at the crack of dawn would put a damper on that plan. Angrily, he strode past Hiko, grabbed the bucket and walked outside.

'I wonder if Kaoru-dono would mind if I called her today' He mused. 'She seemed serious. Or maybe I should drop by. Would she be mad?'

Kenshin awlked to the waterfall and drew come water. After he walked back to the cabin, almost in a trance like state. So much that he didn't even notice when Hiko yelled at thim for bumping into him. Kenshin was so busy thinking about Kaoru, everything else seemed trivial.

The morning passed quickly as Kenshin contemplated the choices as he did all his chores. at last he made his choice. 'I will not bother Kaoru-dono today. Tomorrow will be the day'

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The minute Aoshi woke up, he knew he was being spied on. "Okon-nee-chan, Omasu-nee-chan, I know you're watching me."

The two older girls came out of their hiding place. Okon was the first to speak. "Aww!! Our Aoshi-kun, the morning after his first date!"

Aoshi sighed. Older sisters were such a pain. (A/N: Don't I know!) he knew that Okon and Omasu liked Misao a lit but did they really have to keep pushing him to be more forward with his feelings?

"Misao-chan is so sweet, too!" Omasu chirped. "You're lucky that she likes you, too"

"I know, I know, now get out!" Aoshi pushed his older sisters out the door. He loved them to bits, but couldn't they just leave him alone like his brothers, Kuro and Shiro? I mean, really, and they say younger siblings are a pain.

"You should invite Misao-chan over, Aoshi-kun." Okon said while being pushed out the door. Aoshi quickly dreesed and met his older siblings at the kitchen table.

"So,"Aoshi began, "I was thinking that we could go to the Aoiya for a few weeks." he glanced at the four sitting across from him.

Okon and Omasu glanced at Shiro and Kuro. And they glanced back. And they glanced again. Ang again. Aoshi, tired of being ignored, smothered his anger and said in the calmest manner that he could possibly muster. "What are you doing?!"

"Well," Shiro bagan, "We were thinking-"

"That you could go to the Aoyia" Okon cut in.

"by yourself." Kuro interrupted. "You know, as-"

"a graduation present from us!" Omasu finished.

Aoshi started in shock. "By myself?" he questioned.

"No, you get to bring someone else, anyone!" Kuro answered.

"I think you should bring Misao-chan" Okon suggested.

Omasu nodded. "She already knows Hanya and the others.

"And they love her too." Shiro added.

"Okay, how long?" Aoshi was little surprised. He had wanted to see Hanya, Beshimi, Hyottoko, and Shikiiyou for awhile. They were his 'group' in Kyoto, even if they were 5-7 years older than him.

"A week"

A week. One week at the Aoiya with his older friends. One week at the Aoiya with Misao. Aoshi had already made his decision. His siblings did make a good point. Misao had spent a lot of time together with them. The four treated Misao like a little sister and they were like her older brothers.

"When do we leave?" Aoshi asked.

"In a week." Okon said. "And I expect you will do nothing there that you wouldn't do here."

Aoshi blushed slightly at her implication. "Okon!" he glared at her. "I'm going to call tomorrow"

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Megumi emerged from her room half an hour later. "Okay, I'm ready, let's go."

Sano offered her his arm and she accepted. They spent the day walking aounrd in downtown Tokyo, looking at the stands, eating a light dinner, well Megumi anyway. It was like a date, not an official date, but a date nonetheless.

Megumi had never known that she could have so much fun with Sanosuke. And only with Sanosuke. It seemed like she was almost a different person with him. Less guarded, more carefree, not caring what pepople thought of her. She liked that feeling-no loved that feeling.

At the end of the day, the two parted ways. Sano promised that he would stop by soon and they would do this again. Tentively, Megumi gave him a little kiss on the cheek before she bid goodbye.

It, indeed, had been a good day.

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A/N: Do you think that going on a trip by themselves is too much? I don't think so, I've gone vacation with a friend before, not alone, but still. And I found a way to add in the whole Oniwanbanshuu!! I'm thinking that there will be no more than ten more chapters, I feel like it'll be dragging out the story too long.

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