Disclaimers: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, so nyeh!

Wow I'm glad people have liked my fanfic so far. I though I was gonna get a bunch of flames and stuffies.. . ;...Well, I'm thankful that I didn't. Uhm...probably in the next chapter I'll post the replies to the reviews I've gotten so far. But for now I will have to thank you. I started this chapter today...(12/25/03)...But I'm not sure if I'm gonna get to finish because of time...so if I don't it'll be out tomorrow. (12/26/03)...maybe...Well, enough of my mindless chatter...Enjoy chapter three!

Edit6/19/05 Fixed up this chapter.


The Heartbreaks of Love

By: Satin Elegance formly known as Yukimaru

Chapter Three: Running Away

"Kaoru...?"

The person in question looked ahead of her. Sapphire eyes widen at the person in front of her.Standing therewas the only man she had ever believed she loved. The man she had waited ten long years for. The man who hadbroken her heart. The man she wanted to forget. The man who caused her so many tears.

Kaoru was too shaken up by his sudden appearance to even say anything. She just stared at him with wide eyes and her face was pale as a sheet. She couldn't believe it was actually him. She almost didn't even want to believe it was him standing right in front of her. But there he was. Still with his long, beautiful fiery red hair and those eyes...those eyes that would haunt her every single night for five years straight. Those lovely violet orbs that once she peered into she couldn't escape.

He suddenly took a step closer to her and she instinctively she stepped away. Kaoru saw his eyes flash with an unknown emotion as she stepped back. No! Look away! Her mind screamed as she willed herself to do so. With great will power, she was able to look away from him haunting lavender gaze.

Her sapphire eyes traveled to the floor then to her clenched hands in front of her. Finally finding her voice, Kaoru spoke.

"Hello Ken-...Kenshin." Her eyebrows furrowed as she mentally scolded herself for slightly stuttering.

If she would have been looking up at him, she would be able to see the many emotions swimming in the amethyst depths of Kenshin's eyes. These emotions included confusion, shock, fear, and most of all...love.

But she couldn't. She knew that if she did look into his eyes, her legs would give out under her and the barrier she created would melt into nothing as if it never existed.

"I...I didn't expect to see you here...in Kyoto I mean." Kenshin continued to stare at herfeeling asif he looked away for even just a second she'd disappear like she wasn't there at all.

Her clenched hands tightened some of her infamous anger building up inside. Didn't expect her..? He left for ten freaking years, without a word of his safety or well-being, nothing! And all he has to say us thathe didn't expect to see her here...? That just fueled so many small fires that she had kept down for those many years. Having her anger take control of her, the raven haired doctor looked up with a nasty glare and her eyes narrowed coldly.

"Didn't expect me...? Didn't expect me? You left for ten fucking years, Kenshin...without a word to me at all! I didn't know if you were safe, if you even made it to Kyoto...hell, I didn't even know if I could trust you that you wouldn't just find some new whore to mess around with as soon as you arrived here. Well...I guess I already know the answer to the last one now..." The last sentence she muttered angrily to herself as her voice lost all of it's anger.

Kenshin's eyes widened at Kaoru's outburst. She was right and he felt so damn guilty about it. He then remembered the ring that he found on his door step yesterday.

"So it was you..." He said as his hand reached into his pocket and grabbed the gold object.

At that statement, all of Kaoru's anger disappeared and it now turned into sorrow the same sorrow that she felt yesterday. That horrible feeling of being so helpless and alone. Tears slowly started to blur her vision, as she remembered her previous findings. All those walls she built around herself, dissipated and she found that she couldn't hold in her emotions.

"Yes...it was me." She said in a low broken voice as tears started to flow down her cheeks.

Kenshin couldn't control himself once he saw her tears. From all the times that he was with her, the only time he witnessed her cry was when he first met her. The building pang in his chest became insufferable. He hated to see a woman cry, but one that he loved made it all the more painful. Not knowing what he was doing as if he was in some sort of trance, he engulfed the sobbing Kaoru's shaking form into his arms like he used to all that time ago.

Kaoru brought her hands up to face to hide her tears for him as she started to shake from her crying. The next thing she knew there was this familiar warmth surrounding her. She could also smell a recognizable scent that she used to love. Kenshin's scent... Her eyes widened as she opened her teary eyes and found out that she was indeed in Kenshin's warm, loving embrace. It felt so wonderful and familiar like she was living in the past once again. The young doctor wondered how she could of survived ten long years without being held by him.

Kenshin, on the other hand, was also in heaven. Scents of lavender and jasmine assaulted his nose. The identifiable scent that was only Kaoru, his Kaoru. A scent he missed for so long and had almost forgotten. Pulling back enough to see her, he was instantly trapped by her stunning sapphire eyes. In them, he could see all that she was feeling. The sorrow and immense pain and sufferingthat he had caused her. It greatly pained his heart to know that he had done all of this to her. Slowly, he lifted his hand and wiped the glistening tears that streaked down her slightly flushed cheeks.

"I'm so sorry, Kaoru...please forgive me." He said with much emotion in his husky voice.

This surprised him as well as it did Kaoru. Over the last ten years, the red haired swordsman had become much more emotionless and unfeeling. Even to Tomoe, he would show a limited amount of emotion. Suddenly, the raven haired doctor was assaulted by noises that seemed to come out of no where. Blues eyes widen in realization at the recognizable sounds. It was those same sounds she had heard when she went to go visit Kenshin. Those same haunting noises that tore her heart apart. She then pushed him away. No...he shouldn't be doing this... She thought as she looked up to him with sad eyes.

"Please...just stay away."

As soon as that was said, she practically ran away from him. The violet eyed swordsman was too shock to even do anything. He couldn't believe that he had even done what he did. He wasn't even sure if it was actually Kaoru he was holding in his arms. But then the scent of jasmine hit him knocking him into understanding as she ranpast him. It was her, she was actually there in his arms crying her beautiful eyes out...all because of him. Kenshin quickly turned around and he could still she her running away. His eyes filled with an unknown emotion as he turned andheaded towards room 117.


Day soon faded into night. The night sky was gray and the sight of clouds could be seen covering the endless boundaries of the heavens above. Soon enough rain fell, drenching everything in its path but she welcomed it. She welcomed it with open arms. There on a park bench soaked from head to toe was the raven haired doctor. As soon as she got back from the hospital, she decided it was best to just go to the park and sort out her feelings. Her eyes were red and puffy and she knew they would make Misao worry. She didn't want to answer questions that would bring back those terrible memories of what happened earlier.

Closing her sapphire eyes, Kaoru relished the feeling of rain falling on her. The rain was not cold but warm like the downpour from a summer's storm. There was little thunder and lightning if any at all. This was exactly what she needed. Some alone time where she can just think about everything.

A sad smile formed on her lips as she remembered the feeling of Kenshin's arms around her. It felt so good and she felt so safe. She almost regretted parting from that loving embrace. She had missed his touch all those years.All she ever wanted wasto be held and to be reassured that she was to never be alone. To be alone. That frightened her more than anything else. Because she was deprived of her parents at a young age, Kaoru had always feared of being abandoned. A cherished memory then came back to her.

It was on a night just like this one...


It was already night and everyone seemed to be asleep in their houses safe and sound from the pattering rain outside. All but one raven haired teen stood outside walking in the rain. This was the only time she felt free, in the rain. A time where her mind would just let go and she could forget all of her worries. The soaked blue eyed teen walked down the side walk to her favorite park that wasn't too far away from her house.

Her black skirt and navy blue tank top were already drenched but she didn't care, she just continued to walk on as if nothing. As if she didn't have a care in the world and for just this night, she didn't. Ever since she could remember, she used to do this. It started sometime after her parents had died. Even though she had Kenshin, she still felt the need to let all her feelings go. Nights like these were the only time Kaoru felt that she could do that.

Upon reaching the park, Kaoru smiled at its familiarity. She idly remembered playing in this same park when she was just a carefree child with no worries in the world. A lot had changed from that time. The list could go on and on if she thought of those many things. Wanting to forget her sadness, Kaoru fixed her eyes on the ground.

The blue eyed teen blinked as she felt that the raindrops stopped hitting her but she could still hear and see the rain. She soon found out it was an umbrella above her head protecting her from the rain. Kaoru turned around and saw her smiling Kenshin there with his large umbrella in hand. She smiled gently at him as he moved closer to her.

"So here you are. I had a feeling I'd find you here tonight." His voice was soft and loving. A voice that she loved to hear.

With a slight nod, she found herself enveloped in strong warm arms. The umbrella was forgotten and laid on the drenched ground as Kenshin held Kaoru close. Soon she found herself wrapping her arms around his slender waist. His arms tightened around her as if he was seeing if she was real.

"Don't ever leave me Kaoru. Please...I don't know if I can live without you." He whispered with feeling as Kaoru's eyes widened.

She pulled back just enough to see his face. He had his eyes closed but as soon as she touched his cheek with her hand his violet orbs opened. She gave him a reassuring smile before placing her forehead on his.

"Don't worry. I will always be here for you." She whispered as she brought his face closer to hers for a kiss.


She shivered as she wrapped her arms around her. It was not because she was cold, it was because she was remembering those past events and the memory was so overwhelming. She then suddenly felt the raindrops stop hitting her face but continued to attack her legs and arms. Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw a large black umbrella over her face. She idly wondered if it was Kenshin. Looking to the owner, Kaoru sat up from her place on the bench.

There was the tall okashira himself. Not caring that he was there, she pushed the umbrella away and turned to the ground to the right of her. Aoshi narrowed his eyes at this. He watched as she leaned back onto the bench with her eyes closed allowing herself to become drenched more than she already was.

"Sometimes I remember...when I was smaller...it was some time after my parents died...I would go out on nights like these and get soaked in the rain. I guess I believed if I stayed long enough in the rain...all my worries would be washed away by the rain." Her voice was broken and soft. She had surprised him when she suddenly spoke.

Aoshi just stared at her. He wondered what had caused this strong, stubborn woman to feel so much pain and sorrow. Although she tried to hide it from him, he could plainly see that she was slowly dying inside. He had to admire that she tried her best to hide her emotions but to someone like him, it was very apparent as to what she was hiding. Closing the umbrella, Aoshi took a seat next to Kaoru silently wondering to himself why he was even doing this.

"After Kenshin left...I wondered how would I be able to live on without him. But I knew I had to be strong and the thought that I would see him again gave me the strength to go on with my life. And I found out I did well without him...and yet I always felt a part of me was missing. A part of my soul, of my heart." Kaoru spoke again as she opened her eyes.

The stoic man beside her listened not knowing why she was telling him all of this but decided she needed to let this all out. He watched as she lifted a hand to her hair and took off the tie holding her hair up. Wet raven locks fell over her bare arms as she shook her head. Aoshi was utterly mesmerized by this sudden action. He felt the urge to touch her silky waves of dark hair. To run his fingers through the tresses to see if they are as silky as he guessed them to be.

"Aoshi...can I ask a favor of you?" Her voice was quiet as she stared at the wet ground below.

"What is it?" His voice was monotone and indifferent.

"Can you...hold me, please?" She asked as she looked to him once again.

To say that he was shocked was an understatement. Had she just requested that he held her..? Her eyes were almost pleading as he stared into her sapphire gems. He had the undeniable urge that he should accept and hold her. The okashira idly wondered how she would feel in his arms. He was suddenly assaulted by lustful thoughts. No, I must not let her affect me this way. He thought to himself and just for self assurance that she meant nothing to him, he approved.

Not responding with an answer, Aoshi just pulled her on to his lap. The both of them were surprised to see that their figures molded perfectly together as ifthey were meant to be. Kaoru closed her eyes and mumbled a 'thank you' as she nuzzled closer to him. The dark haired man found himself wrapping his arms around her feeling the indisputable desire to protect the raven hair beauty.

Kaoru was feeling like she was in heaven. She had missed the feeling of being in someone's arms. Though Aoshi's embrace was slightly different than Kenshin's, she still felt safe and warm. His scent was also very different than Kenshin's too. The fiery haired swordsman had a calm, gentle scent to him like a fresh breezy night. Aoshi's scent was exciting and addicting like the smell of a rain forest.

The raven haired doctor traveled her hand up Aoshi's hard, chiseled chest as it found its way around his neck. She had no clue what possessed her to do that but she felt like she had to do it. Aoshi had to suppress a groan as she did this.Did she have no clue as towhatwas she was doing to him? He already was struggling with controlling himself as she would sometimes unknowingly wiggle her bottom on his very sensitive spot. It was pure torture yet he willed himself to endure this showing that he didn't feel any hidden desires for her but deep down inside he knew he wanted her.

The okashira decided to give her a taste of her own medicine as his hand 'accidentally' traveled up her leg stopping on her very fine bottom. She let out a small gasp as he did this. An unknown feeling washed over her when his hand traveled up her leg. She started to moved her position but was stopped when she felt something hard under her.

"Cease moving...or I will not be able to control myself." His voice was low and husky. It came out sounding like a growl. He voice was filled with want yet it sounded as if he was trying to control his manly desires.

Kaoru stopped and just sat in his arms wondering how had she had caused that to happen. Both felt comfortable in the rain and in the silence just enjoying the feeling of not being alone. Eventually both had parted once they arrived in the warm, dry apartment. Yet they couldn't forget the feeling of how wonderful they felt in each other's arms.


Sapphire eyes opened as someone knocked on her door. She got up only dressed in her usual tight tank top and boxer shorts. Opening the door, she was instantly attacked by lips upon hers. Kaoru's eyes widened as she noticed it was Aoshi who was kissing her with such need.

Kaoru felt something build in her. Slowly, she found herself responding to his heated kisses. She opened her mouth when she felt his tongue caress her bottom lip. Soon, he deepened the kiss taking all that he could from her. Aoshi guided her to the bed and pushed her down.

She let out a small 'eep' and he was now straddling her hips. Kaoru felt this building excitement as he traveled kisses down her neck. One of his hands traveled up her leg and lifted it up to be wrapped around him as if he was getting into position. A small moan escaped her lips as his talented tongue found a sensitive spot under her jaw that was just below her ear.

Her hands traveled up his shirt andin no time at allthat saidshirt was thrown to the floor. She felt his muscular chest as he continued to trail hot, wet kisses down her neck. Soon enough his lips found hers once again and he pressed his body closer to hers. She felt something hard poking at her hips and she could only guess what it was. Kaoru could feel the urge to justlet him have his way with her.

Never before had she experienced this with anyone. He filled her with suchwant and desire. He barely gave her anytime to think as she shivered feeling his hand travel up the inside of her thigh. "Do you want me...Kaoru?"

Kaoru's eyes snapped opened. She wondered what the hell was that all about. Only rarely would she ever have dreams about guys...especially those kind of dreams. She could almost still feel his talented hands as if his touch was actually real.

The raven haired doctor sat up with a groan and brought a hand to her head. What was wrong with her? Why was she having fantasies of the cold okashira of the Oniwabanshu? A blush soon found its way to her cheeks as she recalled her dream. Kaoru hated to admit but she sort of wished it had actually happened.

Smiling to herself about the whole thing, Kaoru got up and headed to the shower. She was planning to go and visit Soujiro today. Grabbing her necessary items, she walked into the bathroom humming a song to herself.

When she got out, she felt refreshed and surprisingly energetic. Kaoru also decided to be a little drastic today and dress very seductive hoping it would make her feel better. Smirking at her choice of clothing, she sat on her bed brushing her long locks. The blue eyed female wondered what came over her to make her feel like this. Sheguessed that the rain actuallydid wash away her sorrow and pain.

Upon finishing dressing, Kaoru bounded over to the full body length mirror. She grinned widely as she felt very pleased with the results.

She was wearing a tight black almost see through dress that had a layer of black lace over it. The dress was backless revealing a fair amount of her creamy, flawless skin. It had thin black straps that tied around her neck with the ends of the straps dangling down her bare back. The neckline was modestlylow revealing some cleavage as the material clung to her bosom. The hem of the dress was a few inches above her knees showing her long, shapely legs.

Leaving her hair down, Kaoru added a little make-up and was out the door grabbing her purse on the way out. Reaching the living room, the young doctor only noticed Aoshi was there sitting on the table with a newspaper in hand. She also had noticed that Misao hadn't been around since she last saw her yesterday morning.

"Aoshi, I haven't seen Misao-chan around. Do you know where she went?" She asked walking into the kitchen for a drink.

Cold blue eyes traveled to her petite form. Like any other straight male, his eyes scanned her body and what she was wearing. He had the sudden urge to go over to where she was, grab her, and kiss her senseless. But with a lot of will power he resisted this lustful temptation. He idly wondered if it was only lust. Because yesterday, he did feel something having her in his arms yet he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. Shaking off his thoughts, his attention went back to the newspaper laying down in front of his trying to ignore the beautiful, tempting Kaoru that only stood a few feet away from him.

"She's out on an urgent business and she didn't have enough time to tell you." He said with a cold, indifferent voice.

"Oh...alright then." Kaoru said sitting down on the table next to the dark haired man. Kaoru was looking at him from the corner of her eye. She felt so weird just sitting next to him doing nothing. A blush grew on her face as she recalled her dream from last night.

"Do you..." She paused not knowing what was coming over her. "..want to go to dinner with me tonight?" She found herself finishing as she turned to face him.

The stoic okashira was surprised by her offer. He thought long and hard about it. What could one dinner hurt? He seemed to like being in her presence and he didn't have anything else to do that night. And so he accepted like any other gentleman would do with a polite nod. Kaoru then beamed as she launched herself at him wrapping her arms around his neck. She flushed noticng her random actions and pulled away sitting back down in her own chair much to Aoshi's disappointment, of course.

"Great! Then I'll pick you up at six. I have a few errands to do today so I'll be out until that time." She said with a smile as she stood.

"I'll be ready by then." He said also getting up.

Kaoru walked over to the sink and stood there for a while looking as her hands as Aoshi moved behind her. He was about to leave but a small, gentle hand grasped his arm and stopped him. He turned around and Kaoru slowly walked closer to him wrapping her arms around his waist in the process. Blue eyes slightly widened at this act. He felt the same warm, comfortable feeling as he did last night when he held her in his arms. Her grip on him tightened and he found himself responding to her touch by snaking his arms around her petite form.

"Thank you for last night. I really needed some one to be there for me...I'm glad it was you." Her voice was soft as if she was remembering last night.

Pulling back and getting on her tippy toes, Kaoru placed a light butterfly kiss on his lips before turning to leave. A shock went through Aoshi as he felt her soft, sweet lips brush against his. Before she was able to leave, she was stopped in the same manner that she stopped Aoshi a few moments ago. Not only did that kiss break his well-built control, but also had him craving for more. He pulled her back to him and crashed his lips on hers in a heated kiss. This also struck something in Kaoru, so she soon found herself responding to his kiss.

When he finally pulled away, the young doctor had swollen lips and she was panting heavily. Kissing her one last time, he released her. The okashira leaned down to her ear. She shivered as she felt his hot breath tickle her ear.

"I'll see you tonight." His voice was not cold but husky and almost seductive.

She was then left there wondering what had just happened a few moments ago. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips were swollen, and her body was on fire where ever his skin had made contact with her own. But there was one thing she now knew for sure. She wanted Aoshi. She wanted him bad.

The young doctor had no idea what brought this train of thought. Since she wasn't a virgin, Kenshin was her first, of course, Kaoru knew of the feeling of desiring someone. But Aoshi? What had happened to make her want him? She hadthought that she would only desire Kenshin since he was her one, true love, right? Shaking away these thoughts, Kaoru sighed and grabbed her purse before heading out the door.

Kaoru walked through the hospital hall heading toward Soujiro's room. After that 'incident', as she liked to call it, with Aoshi, she had left the apartment to do her promised visit to her best friend. Reaching the room, she knocked to see if it was all right to go in. After hearing a faint noise that sounded like a 'come in', Kaoru made her way into the room. She smiled at her smiling friend as his eyes scanned her body. He gave her a wolf call and Kaoru blushed crimson.

"Wow Kaoru-chan. If I wasn't immobile right now I'd get up to grope you." Soujiro joked as Kaoru narrowed her eyes.

"Yeah, I miss you too, Sou-chan." Kaoru rolled her eyes and walked over to his bed.

She leaned over and pecked his cheek before smiling and sitting down on the chair next to his bed. She noticed that his leg's cast wasn't there anymore but had a thin layer of bandages around it. Kaoru tilted her head to the side silently questioning why it was out of it's cast. Soujiro seemed to notice this so he just smiled and answered her thoughts.

"My fractured leg has already healed. It's just the bruising that is left."

She let out a small 'oh'. Her eyes then glared at her brown haired best friend. "See! You didn't even need me. I have no idea why you asked me to come here...if you hadn't, I would have never of saw him.." She added the last part silently to herself as the smile from Soujiro's face disappeared.

"Are you talking about Himura-san, Kaoru-chan...? He came to visit me yesterday after you left. So, I assume you had a run in with him." He received a nod for an answer.

Kaoru was just looking at her hands that were neatly folded on her lap. Her once bright, beautiful sapphire eyes were now clouded and empty. This pained Soujiro to see his friend looking so weak. Never had he known her to be like this. Never. The usually emotionless Soujiro leaned over and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I'm very sorry, Ru-chan." He said as she looked up with glassy eyes.

"It's alright...I suppose it was for the best. I can finally get over him and move on with my life. Just how he has..." She burst out into tears as soon as those words left her mouth.

The wounded Soujiro then pulled her into his arms and let her cry her eyes out. Soon enough his shirt was soaked with her tears. He stroked her back comfortingly as she continued to cry. Kaoru turned her face to the side, sniffling and bringing a hand up to wipe her tears.

"You must think I'm such a cry baby." She said with a broken voice.

He shook his head and lifted her chin so that she was able to look at him. "Not at all, my Kaoru-chan. If anything your tears will make you stronger. And plus, you've been holding all your emotions in since Himura-san left you. It is good for you to let them all out now."

Kaoru then buried her face in his shirt once again and her body shook silent laughter. Soujiro looked at her oddly as she looked up again with an amused smile on her teary face.

"This coming from the man who is a master at hiding his emotions." She said as a small giggle escaped her mouth.

He smiled down at her loving to see her laugh again. It wasn't one of those fake laughs that she always used to use after Kenshin left her but a real true laugh. For hours they just sat like that talking about trivial things with the occasional laugh or joke made by each other. Both not wanting to hide their emotions from one another.


Gah...I'm soooo sorry this is super, super late. I've just been having major writer's block for these past few days. So I apologize for it's late release. I wanted to post it out yesterday but I didn't have enough time to finish typing it out so...I'm sorry. Now to answer the reviews.

bootleg: What's with Aoshi and Misao? Well...as you know in the anime series they do live together but Misao has some love thing going on for him...In my fic they are nothing but friends. In high school, they had tried the whole going out thing but found out the love they were feeling for each other was nothing romantic but a sibling kind of love. And because of that, it makes Aoshi want to protect her both because he feels like it's his duty and because of their job which I will explain in other chapters.

Why did they move in together? I believe I answered that in the previous response

Did Kaoru get over Kenshin already, or is she just pretending to? She is just pretending. I think both in the anime and my fic Kaoru is a very determined and strong willed person so she is trying her best not to show anyone what has happened and she is hiding the fact that she hasn't gotten over him but is trying her best to do so.

Why can't Kenshin remember Kaoru? Well, he does in fact remember her...it's just that he moved on. And I know that this brings about more questions but I plan to explain all of this in up coming chapters so stay tuned and you'll find out.

How do you do the italic, bold, and underline? Hmm...there are two ways you can do that. When you type in like Microsoft Word or Microsoft Works Word Processor like I am, you can add all the needed styles to the words and stuff. Then when you save it you save it as an .html document...does that make sense? Another way is just to add the html tags yourself. For bold it's b> and to end it, it's /b> , italics i> /i> , and for underline it's u> /u> . The u> going before the word or sentence and the /u> where you want the style to end.

I hope that answers all of your questions. D

KAORU KAMIYA: I'm sorry for keeping you waiting. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Angie: Ah, thank you. I took your advice and changed my summary. Thank you for the suggestion. D

Lizzee: I hope you like this chapter. Thank you for reviewing. Enjoy.

Well...stay tuned for the next chapter of The Heartbreaks of Love. I'll try to get it up as soon as I can. Ciao!