Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, but it is my dream.

Sorry I didn't put up this chapter the next day like I said I would. I needed to revise it a little, that I did! I made Enishi the overprotective brother in here! In the series, he's a lunatic cause his sister died. But in this fic, no sister of his died, so he's not that crazy. All he wants is for Kaoru to never be hurt.

Forever

Chapter 3

Bonds

Kaoru woke up with the sun shining on her eyes. She pulled the covers over head, trying to block out the bright rays. 'Wait a minute, covers? Last thing remember was that I was at work.' Kaoru thought. Then everything came flooding back to her. She threw her covers off and sat up, only to lay back down again.

Kaoru groaned at the pain at her headache. Chuckling was heard across the room. Kaoru slowly sat up and saw Enishi standing at the doorway, holding a glass of water in one hand and a packet of pills in the other. "You shouldn't get up so quick, you're really hung over." He said. He walked towards her and sat on the edge of the bed and gave her the pills and water.

Kaoru nodded her head in thanks and took the pills.

"Kaoru, have you left yet?! You're going to be late for work!" Kaoru's mom yelled from downstairs.

"She's not feeling well!" Enishi barked out, glaring at the door. Their mom immediately quieted. Enishi turned back to Kaoru and gently pushed her down to lay back down on the bed. "Get some rest. You won't get any better if you're up." He said.

"That's okay. I need to get work." Kaoru said, trying to get up.

Enishi sighed heavily. "I'll call in and tell them you're sick." He said.

"No, that I'll be coming in late." Kaoru argued.

"I won't allow you to go back to work if you're sick." He said.

"And if I get better?" Kaoru asked.

"Then you can go." Enishi sighed. Kaoru smiled and flopped back down, pretending to be asleep. Enishi kissed her on her forehead and left. "No dirty tricks." He said before shutting the door and leaving the room.

Kaoru smiled and went to sleep.

Enishi stood behind Kaoru's door, listening to her even breaths. He internally gave a sigh of relief. 'At least she isn't trying to sneak out. What's so great about work any ways?' he thought as he trudged down the hallway and to his room, now thinking of only one thing.

That Himura the Battousai better stay away from his sister.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"You better stay away from that girl. I heard her brother causes much trouble." Hiko said, throwing his feet onto the coffee table.

"You don't need to worry about me uncle Hiko." Kenshin said, placing a bunch of grocery bags onto the kitchen counter.

"I'm not worried about you. I just don't want any dumb ass egging my house." Hiko said.

Kenshin just rolled his eyes. "If they do, I'll make sure to shove it up their-"

"All right, all right, that's enough. It's almost lunch time and I don't want to lose my appetite." Hiko said, grimacing.

Kenshin smirked as he began chopping the vegetables. "I'm going out to eat at the Akebeko tonight." He said.

"What? Finally found yourself a girl you actually like?" Hiko asked, more like mocked.

"You could say that." Kenshin murmured. Hiko lifted an eyebrow at him.

"Whatever. I don't give a damn. Just hurry and finish making lunch." Hiko ordered. Kenshin sighed and did what he was told.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kaoru yawned, covering her hand over her mouth. Blinking back the sleep, she brought the back of her hand to her forehead, which wasn't so hot anymore. 'I feel so much better now.' Kaoru thought as she closed her eyes and let a smile spread across her face. 'Much better.'

Throwing her covers off of her, she hopped out of bed and began to get dressed for work. Quickly spraying some jasmine perfume on, she made her bed and went downstairs. Just as she had her hand around the doorknob, someone tapped her on the shoulder.

"Just where do you think you're going?" they asked.

Feeling as though her heart would jump out, she turned to Enishi, who was staring at her with narrowed eyes. Kaoru nervously laughed and scratched the back of her head. "To work?" she said uncertainly.

"I don't think so." Enishi said.

"But I feel so much better!" Kaoru pleaded. "Go ahead, check me!" she said, grabbing one of his hands and putting it over her forehead. "See? I'm not sick!"

Enishi gave her a suspicious look, retracting his hand. "You didn't put ice on it like last time, did you?" he suspected.

"Of course not! Go ahead and get a thermometer." Kaoru said. Enishi sighed and nodded his head.

"All right, I believe you." Enishi gave in. "But I'm walking you to work."

"But I told you I'm not sick!" Kaoru whined.

"I know, but I need to talk to you about something." Enishi said seriously. Kaoru nodded her head, not liking the way his eyes had flashed with something she had never seen in his eyes before.

"What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?" Kaoru asked as they were walking down the street towards the Akebeko.

"About that Himura." Enishi said.

"That man with red hair?" Kaoru asked. Enishi nodded his head. "What about him?" Kaoru asked.

"His reputation, his face, his attitude…" Enishi began trailing off.

"What about it?" Kaoru asked.

"I don't like it! I don't like HIM!" Enishi shouted, emphasizing 'him'. Kaoru jumped a little at his volume.

"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have yelled. Are you all right?" Enishi apologized. Kaoru nodded her head quietly.

"I just don't like him." Enishi murmured.

"Why? Did he do something to you?" Kaoru asked.

Enishi gave a cold, bitter laugh. "He's the only man I have left to beat." He said.

"Beat in what?" Kaoru asked.

"Drag racing of course!" Enishi said.

Kaoru felt her eyes grow wide as saucers. "THAT'S IT?!" Kaoru shouted unbelievingly. Enishi nodded his head. Kaoru slapped him on the shoulder playfully. "Mou! And here you had me thinking that he took something supposedly precious from you!" Kaoru said angrily.

Enishi chuckled and stopped walking, now standing in front of the Akebeko. "Well, remember to stay away from him." He said.

"Mou, what happened to the 'Don't judge a person until you get to know them' thing?" Kaoru asked, stopping as well.

"There are exceptions." Enishi said.

Kaoru just rolled her eyes at him. "You don't need to worry about me. I'll be fine, I promise." She said.

Enishi gave a long wary sigh.

"What? Is talking with me that boring?" Kaoru asked, joking around.

"No, it's just that-"

"Yeah, yeah. I got to go work now. See ya later!" Kaoru said, giving him a kiss on the cheek and rushing into the Akebkeo.

Enishi gave another sigh and went his own direction.

"Kaoru, you're here! How are you feeling?" Tae asked as she felt Kaoru's forehead.

"I'm fine, thank you. Now come on, I wanna get to work!" Kaoru said.

Tae gave Kaoru a weird look. "You sure are strange, Kaoru. But, yes, let's get to work. This place is packed." She said.

"As usual." Kaoru put in, rushing off to get her apron.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Tae, I've got to go pick something up, could I maybe leave for awhile?" Kaoru asked as she finished serving a table.

"Sure, go right on ahead. But be back soon, it's already seven." Tae said.

Kaoru nodded her head and rushed out of the restaurant. Running down the street wasn't her plan, but Sagara's weapon shop would be closing any minute now, and she needed to get Enishi's gift and have it specially wrapped. Just as she turned a corner, she crashed into something soft yet firm. Looking up, she saw the man she wasn't supposed to be around with.

"You again." Kaoru said.

TBC

Yeah, I bet you know who it is! I made this chapter to show you the bonds of Enishi and Kaoru. They are very close, as you see. Boring chapter…

I'm very tempted to tell you what happens in one long sentence, but I got to do it one chapter at a time. ::sigh::

I'm not quite finished with chapter 4 yet. It may be about Enishi's birthday party, I'm not sure yet!

And now, the REVIEWS! Check for your name! I don't think I have everyone on here, though! Gomen! Please forgive me!

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