Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the property of Nobuhiro Watsuki, Sony Entertainment Enterprises, and Shueisha Jump! Comics. All of the characters mentioned in this, previous, and future installments are used solely for entertainment purposes.

Note: Possible OOCness ahead. This chapter told from Kenshin's POV

Save Me From the Darkness

Chapter Five-Fateful Occurances

Written By: Ice Angel Kaoru

"I'm inviting you and Kamatari to have dinner with Enishi and me tonight."

It was a Friday morning, two weeks after I'd arrived back in Japan. My stuff was already unpacked, my furniture had arrived just as Shishou had said it would, and it was set up in my apartment. Kamatari had decided to paint the place, though, so most of the time everything was covered in white sheets. I was getting ready to head to work, and was half-dressed in a pair of dress pants and a button-down shirt, with my tie done loosely around my neck. I was having a breakfast of ramen and coffee [while I like cooking, I still tend to put the kitchen on fire occasionally, and I really didn't want to risk it on a kitchen so new], and talking to Kaoru at the same time.

I raised an eyebrow at her invitation. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, why?"

"Well, does Enishi know?"

"I'm planning to talk to him about it later. I'm sure he won't mind."

"I don't know, Kaoru… I mean, I don't want to impose, and it would be smart to check with Enishi whether or not he had something planned for the two of you tonight," I said.

"Okay, tell you what. I'll talk to him, and give you a call later. Is that okay?"

"Sure, that's fine."

"All right then. Talk to ya later. Ja."

"Ja ne."

We hung up,

Done with breakfast, I set to work washing the dishes, and cleaning up the kitchen. I couldn't help wondering what kind of guy Enishi might be. I could tell Kaoru was absolutely in love with this man. I knew of one Enishi—he was Tomoe's younger cousin—and had seen pictures of the man, but I had never met him in person. No one but our close friends had been invited to Tomoe and Akira's wedding, because Tomoe's family "has a hard time adjusting to change," as she described.

Half an hour after cleaning the kitchen, I was dressed and knocking on Kamatari's bedroom door.

"Hey Kamatari, do you need a ride to your boutique, or do you already have it covered?"

"Wait for me, please! I'm running late today, and desperately need a ride!"

"Fine," I said. "I'm in the living room."

Ten minutes later, Kamatari came out dressed and ready to go. I dropped him off, and told him that we might be going to Kaoru's for dinner that night, depending on what she told me later. He said it was okay with him.

I reached the office building, checked with my secretary for any phone calls or meetings [two phone calls and no meetings, thank Kami], and went into my office. The day passed pretty smoothly, and before I knew it, it was two o'clock. I decided to go for lunch, and then realized that Kaoru had not called me yet.

Hmm… She hasn't called me yet. Maybe she lost my cell number? No, she's organized that way. I know, I'll go see her at the restaurant. That'll be easier for both of us—I can get lunch, and she can tell me if we're on for tonight.

I decided to head over to Music Planet at the Tokyo Decks Beach. It's actually located pretty close to my apartment, and I didn't realize it until I was driving there.

I parked my car in the parking lot, and headed inside. I wasn't sure where I would find Kaoru right then, so I decided to approach a young woman who was manning the cash register.

"Konnichiwa! Welcome to Music Planet. How may I help you?"

-"Could you tell me where I can find Kamiya-san right now?"

"Hmm… She's probably upstairs in the restaurant right now."

"Arigatou gozaimasu," I said, and headed to the staircase near the back of the music area. I took the stairs up and stood at the entrance to the restaurant, scanning the smatterings of people here and there for a familiar raven ponytail. After looking for a few minutes, I found her.

"Kaoru!" I called out. She turned her head in my direction, but didn't see me. I called out her name again, and this time she saw me. Smiling, she waved and walked over.

"Hey! I was just going to call you in about half an hour! What are you doing here?"

"Well, it was time for lunch, and I figured that I would see you and get lunch at the same time."

"Ah, very smart, Himura-san," she said in a teasing voice.

"Oh be quiet. I'm not that great."

"Fine, fine. C'mon, I'll seat you."

I followed Kaoru to a seat by one of the many windows facing the bay. It was a sunny day, but the morning forecast predicted a heavy spring storm by the end of the following week. Taking my seat, I turned my gaze back to Kaoru. Smiling warmly, she sat down across from me and handed me a menu.

"What would you like?" she chirped. I noticed then that she seemed overly happy; her voice was very…er…chirpy, for lack of a better word.

"I'll have a glass of iced tea and a teriyaki chicken bowl. Something has you in a very good mood, Kaoru-dono," I said, reverting back to the nickname I gave her when we were in school.

"Mou! How do you know me so well?" she teased. "Don't answer that. Make sure your agenda is free for tonight around eight. I got Enishi to say 'yes'!"

"Great! Want me to bring over a cheesecake or some sort of dessert?"

"Iie. I'm getting everything from here. Now let me get your order for you, and then we'll talk some more."

Kaoru hurried away to take care of my order, and came back in about twenty minutes with a steaming bowl, a tall glass with what I assumed was iced tea, and a pair of hashi on a tray. She set the bowl and glass in front of me, and handed me the chopsticks.

We sat and talked while I ate, and then parted ways after I attempted to pay the bill. Of course, Kaoru is stubborn, and would not allow me to do so.

"Demo, Kaoru-dono--!"

"Iie, Kenshin. You will not pay for this meal. I don't care what you say!"

I sighed and gave in—on one condition.

"Okay, you can pay the bill for this meal since you want to so badly. But dessert for tonight is on me."

"Kenshin, that's really not necessary!"

"Take it or leave it." Go me for getting a degree in business. Negotiations, I am king!

She grimaced. "This is what I get for having an almost genius for a friend."

We laughed.

When we got ourselves under control, I couldn't help staring at her She looked beautiful, her eyes bright and happy, and her cheeks flushed from laughing. Her eyes locked with my own, and her face flushed a darker red. I vaguely felt my face leaning towards hers, and my eyelids fell closed. Ever so lightly, my lips brushed against hers.

And then I jerked back.

What have I done?

Kaoru looked at me, stunned.

"I-ano-I-gomen nasai, Kaoru-dono. I don't understand what happened just now, and I apologize. That was not right of me. I'll see you later."

I bolted, or at least tried to.

"Kenshin, matte!"

I turned back to face her.

"Please, Kenshin, don't blame yourself. What happened was an accident. Just forget that it ever happened. You see, everything is still just fine. So please, don't work yourself into a panic. It was an accident." She smiled at me reassuringly, though her face was still flushed from the kiss, and her movements were a bit shaky.

I smiled in relief, nodded and waved to her in good-bye. Calling over my shoulder that Kamatari and I would see her that evening, I left the restaurant.

The entire drive back to the office, however, I couldn't stop thinking about what had happened. Something I realized as I thought about what happened, was that I liked it. I suppose that it could also have something to do with the fact that I had not been in a relationship for a few years now, and that I had been in love with Kaoru since we were in school.

Before I thought it was just a long term crush, like what Tomoe had been to me—a crush. True, I would dream about Kaoru. It was also true that every time I closed my eyes, I saw her face. I, however, was still in denial that it was just a crush. But now, I knew for a fact that I had fallen in love. I had fallen hard.

No, I could not deny it anymore. It was not a crush, but full-blown love.

I was in love with my best friend.

What the hell am I going to do?

At eight o'clock that evening, Kamatari and I stood at Kaoru and Enishi's front door, with a boxed New York-style strawberry cheesecake in my hands. Kamatari rang the doorbell, and I prepared myself for an interesting evening.

The front door swung open, and there stood Kaoru dressed in a pair of boot-cut black jeans, and a deep blue top with long, flowing sleeves that came down to her knees. Kami-sama, she looked gorgeous.

"Konbanwa, Kenshin, Kamatari. Please, come in," she said, and smiled at us warmly.

We stepped inside and removed our shoes. Kaoru took the cheesecake from me and hurried into the kitchen to put it in the fridge.

"Your place is really nice Kaoru-dono. Did you decorate it yourself?" I commented when she came back.

"Are you kidding? Me, decorate a place and make it look nice? No way. I got Misao and Megumi to give me a hand."

"That's really sad."

"What's sad? Me getting help or me not being able to decorate on my own?"

"Neither. We've all known each other since we were in school, and I never knew that Misao knows how to home decorate."

"Well, you learn something new everyday."

"Guess so."

"Kaoru-chan, where is Enishi, the person we've all heard so much about?" Kamatari asked. "By the way, your ensemble tonight is very nice. A mix of casual and formal."

"Thank you, Kamatari, although I don't think it's that amazing. Enishi said he was going to be a little late in coming. His boss wanted to see him about something."

By now, we were sitting in the living room. The couch, armchair, and loveseat were a pearly white, with cherry wood tables. Her living room was painted a pale blue, and the carpet was fluffy and comfortable under my feet.

"What does he do?" I asked.

"He writes computer software," she answered.

I nodded. "That sounds like fun."

"It is," a new voice said.

I turned my head to see who it was and stood up.

Shock-white hair and aquamarine eyes greeted me. He was tall [then again, most people are tall compared to me], lean and muscular.

I bowed and introduced myself. "Konnichiwa. Watashi no namae wa Himura Kenshin desu. Hajimemashite."

Kamatari bowed and introduced himself as well.

And then, the new man spoke. "Konnichiwa. Ore wa Yukishiro Enishi desu. Hajimemashite."

Right off the bat, something about this guy bugged me. Something just wasn't right about him. I didn't know what, but something was definitely off about him.

Letting the feeling go for now, I asked him something else that occurred to me. "Would you happen to know a Yukishiro Tomoe who lives in Los Angeles?"

If I was not mistaken, this was the guy I had seen in so many of Tomoe's family photos.

"Yes. She's my cousin. How do you know her?"

"She and her husband are my friends. We went to college together."

"I see. Wow. She got married? When? How is she? I've lost contact with her over the past ten years. She left Japan with her family for the States about ten years ago, and I haven't really heard from her since."

"She's doing really well. Tomoe landed a job as a therapist over there."

"That's good."

"Dinner's ready!" Kaoru called from the kitchen.

The kitchen was nice. It was simple, nothing fancy: wooden flooring and cabinets, marble counters [I think that was the only expensive thing in the kitchen], stainless steel stove, oven, oven and fridge. Her cabinets were painted white, the wallpaper had a floral print on it, and the microwave was adjacent to the fridge.

The dining table was round and made of a light colored wood to keep in accordance with the colors of the kitchen. Taking our seats at the table, the three of us [Kamatari, Enishi, and me] started gazing at what there was to eat. There were just a few dishes, and all of them looked absolutely delectable: sukiyaki, miso soup, and almond crusted prawns, and of course, rice. I felt my mouth watering at the sight of it all.

"Kaoru-dono, this looks really good."

"Hai, Kaoru-chan. The aroma is making my stomach growl even more!"

"Did you cook all of this Kaoru?"

I took a subtle glance at Enishi. He looked overly skeptical.

"Enishi, I'm not going to poison my friends with my cooking. That's why I brought some food home from the restaurant. Shura was happy to make it for me at my request," Kaoru explained.

"Oh." I took another small glance at my friend's fiancé. He looked slightly angry.

"Anyway, dig in! I brought this all home for us to eat anyway!"

"Hai!" Kamatari and I chorused together.

We started to fill our plates, when I noticed that Enishi wasn't making a move to fill his own plate.

"Enishi? Have you eaten already?" Kaoru asked. She hadn't filled her plate either, but that was normal. Kaoru was always very hospitable, and if she had invited people over for dinner, the guests always served themselves before her. It was in her nature.

"No. I'm waiting for our guests to finish serving themselves."

The feeling I brushed off before was back. His ki seemed really weird to me. What was so off about this guy that it kept coming back to prod at my instincts?

I decided that maybe I should talk about it to Kaoru, but when I looked at her I changed my mind. She was looking at Enishi and her eyes shone with a love so bright it lit up her face. She cared about this guy so much, it was obvious to anyone around her.

How could I interfere in something as personal as a romantic relationship between her and her lover? That wasn't right.

I would have to trust in her instincts this time. Maybe I was just overreacting and making a mountain out of a molehill. Especially after what happened this afternoon at the restaurant, I didn't need to endanger our own relationship with each other even more.

No, I wouldn't tell her what my instincts are telling me.

As the evening wore on, Enishi seemed to be withdrawing even more from the conversation, simply observing the interactions of the people around him with the eyes of a hawk.

I didn't like his gaze.

We did some interesting things that evening. After dinner and cleaning the kitchen we sat down in the living room for a few games of Jenga.

Jenga holds many memories. When our group was younger, and we used Tae's back room to keep us busy, we'd bust out the box of Jenga and pass hour after hour playing and teasing each other. It was great fun. The best thing about the game is that it keeps you awake.

So that evening, we played a few hours worth of Jenga. It was even more fun with Kamatari. Nimble-fingered as he is, it was funny to watch his face as he struggled to remove a piece from the building and then put it on top.

Through all the fun, however, Enishi didn't play. He simply watched, his aquamarine eyes focused on the interactions between the three of us.

Creepy isn't even the word to describe it. His smile was forced, and seemed more like a grimace. He seemed to be looking at us with distaste.

Several games of Jenga, a cup of coffee, and a slice of cheesecake later, it was time to call it a day.

Kamatari and I rose from our seats around the coffee table, and proceeded to shake Enishi's hand.

"It was nice meeting you, Enishi-san," I said, putting on my "rurouni" smile, as it came to be called in school by my friends.

"This evening has been absolutely lovely," Kamatari said, and shook Enishi's hand.

"It was nice meeting the both of you as well. Would you happen to have my cousin's phone number with you, Kenshin? I'd like to give her a call," he said.

"Sure. Ano…do you have a piece of paper and a pen?"

He nodded, and pulled out a pad of paper and a pen from a drawer in one of the side tables in the foyer. I took the items and quickly wrote Akira and Tomoe's home number down.

"Here you go," I said, and handed the notepad and pen back to him.

Kaoru came forward and gave Kamatari a quick hug. "Arigato for coming, Kamatari-chan."

"Iie. Arigato for inviting me. I really enjoyed myself."

"I'm glad to hear that," she said with a smile. Then she turned to me and smiled an even bigger smile.

"Arigato for coming, Kenshin," she said and gave me a big hug.

"Arigato gozaimasu for having me, Kaoru-dono. Perhaps next time, the entire group can be present."

"That sounds like a good idea. I guess we'll have to plan it soon, won't we?"

"Aa. Take care, Kaoru-dono. We'll be seeing you. Ja."

"Ja. Be careful driving home! It's pretty late!" she called from the doorway.

"Hai!" Kamatari and I called from near the car.

Before getting into the driver's seat, I turned to Kaoru and waved. She waved in return, and remained in the doorway. I sat down, buckled in, put the key in the ignition, and started the car. Turning to look at Kaoru, I gave one final wave and drove off. Taking a peak in the rearview mirror, I watched her quickly go inside and close the door.

I sighed, and leaned back in my seat, my hands carefully gripping the steering wheel.

Kamatari looked at me. "What's on your mind, Ken?"

:"A lot of things, Kama-chan."

"Would Enishi happen to be one of them?"

"Did you notice his behavior as well?"

Kamatari nodded.

"I can't help but feel that something just isn't right about that guy," I continued.

"He seemed to be angry about something."

"Angry? I thought it was more along the lines of 'I don't really like you, but I'll put up with you for now' when we were in the living room after dinner."

"Maybe it's both?" Kamatari asked.

"Maybe. But because of his behavior, I'm worried about Kaoru-dono," I confessed.

"Are you going to talk to her about it?"

"I want to, but I'm not so sure I should. First off, he's Kaoru's fiancé; it's obvious that she is in love with Enishi and she's made a commitment that she wants to marry him. Second, I'm sure he'll contact Tomoe soon, and Tomoe has told me several times that the two of them were very close; no doubt they still are. He's got a strong bond with two of my closest friends. If I interfere, I can jeopardize two relationships that are important to me. Plus, who am I to say 'I don't like this guy and I think you should stop associating with him'?"

"So you're going to trust Kaoru-chan on this one?"

I nodded. "She's smart. She knows what she's doing. I'll intervene when I feel I need to, but until then I'm just going to pray that nothing happens to her."

"I don't know. I think you should take the risk and talk to her."

I shook my head. "Not right now. We don't know anything yet. Let's wait and see. It's possible that we were both overreacting. We have no idea what he was thinking about in the first place."

"Okay, if you're sure," Kamatari said.

"I'm sure," I told him.

We reached the apartment building shortly after, and I parked the car in the parking lot. Kamatari and I got out and made our way inside the building. I went over to the reception desk and picked up the key to our apartment, and then proceeded to the elevator.

A few minutes later, we were on our floor and in our apartment. It was then I realized I'd forgotten the mail. Feeling like an idiot, I slapped my forehead in frustration.

"You forgot the mail again, didn't you?" Kamatari asked. I could tell he was trying not to laugh.

I nodded and sighed in defeat.

"Yay. I get to go downstairs again…for the third time this week…" I groaned. I turned around and headed toward the door to put on my shoes.

"Don't worry, I got it while you went to get the key," he said and let out a few chuckles.

"Why didn't you just tell me that you got the mail?" I asked him.

"Er…I wanted to see the look on your face when you realized you forgot…ha ha…" he said looking at me sheepishly.

"Did I look like the world had ended?"

He nodded, still chuckling slightly.

I started laughing. To me, this situation had turned funny, because it just was. To most people, it would seem really stupid to laugh at something like this, but I didn't care. Still laughing, I collapsed on the couch and proceeded to compose myself.

Kamatari and I turned in for the night shortly after.

Comfortably nestled between my futon and blankets, I continued to mull over the evening's events. My last thought as I drifted to sleep was of a certain blue-eyed best friend.

Dear Diary,

...Before they left, I was under the impression that the evening had gone well. Even when they said good-bye, I didn't suspect anything to be wrong. It was after they left, that I realized his behavior had been odd.

"Did you have fun tonight?" I asked him after they left. He just looked at me, and I saw anger in his eyes. I didn't understand why he would be mad.

He turned his head away from me and slowly iterated the words, "I didn't like them."

"Why? They're good people and close friends of mine." I was deeply hurt by his comment.

"I don't need to explain myself to you." He prepared to leave the room.

"I wish you would be more open with me. I wish you would tell me what's on your mind. I miss the old you," I told him.

He lashed out at me then. He turned around, grabbed me by the shoulders, and threw me against the wall. One of the framed pictures that hung there fell from the impact, and the corner of the frame nicked my temple. I was unable to move for a few minutes because the impact had knocked the wind out of me, As I struggled to regain my breath, he kicked me in the stomach twice—once with each foot. I slumped to the floor unconscious.

When I awoke I was in my room, tucked in bed. He was sitting next to me in a chair, his head leaning back. He'd fallen asleep watching over me. I sat up with some discomfort in my abdominal region, reached over and took an extra blanket off the bed. I slipped the blanket around him, and he woke up.

"I'm sorry," he said, and gave me a gentle kiss. I melted in his embrace.

"It's all right," I said, and leaned into his chest.

"I've been stressed at work," he said. "My has become more demanding of our performance, and I'm afraid he'll fire me if I don't do well with my team."

"Don't worry," I assured him. "Everything will work out. You'll see."

He left me then, but he was smiling. I hadn't seen him smile like that in a long time.

I love him so much. It hurts me when he doesn't tell me what's going on inside that head of his. He may be brash at times, but I know there is a gentler side to his persona. I've seen it.

I hope he shows his more gentle side more often, instead of his brash side. I hope he'll be able to let go of that side of himself all together.

But unfortunately, right now I can only hope.

Signed,

--K.K.

A/N: Woo-hoo! Chapter Five complete! Stay tuned for Chapter Six!

By the way, the thing with the mail was just for humor's sake and was also introducing one of Kenshin's habits. I don't know why, but I see him as the kind of person who would forget the mail...at least most of the time.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It's the longest one I've written for this story.

RR!

Luv ya'll!

--Ice Angel Kaoru [Signing out: 1:21 AM PST, July 12, 2004]

P.S.--If you're reading either Chapter Four or Chapter Five before the 28th of July, I've uploaded them in India. If after, then I am back in the U.S.