Disclaimer: I regret to inform all of you that I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or its characters, although I do own any created characters that my imagination comes up with.

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Chapter 6 – Quality Time

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Author's Notes: This chapter is told in Kaoru's point of view.

"Kaoru! Wake up! It's already noon!"

"Yumm….hmm………yeah, yeah." I mumbled in my sleep.

That's what I love about weekends; you can sleep as long as you want to. No waking up six-o-clock in the morning, but instead, twelve, midday. It's beautiful.

"Kaoru! I'm not going to repeat myself. Wake up, NOW!"

At this call, I jolted straight up. "O-KAY Aoshi, I'm up." Jeez, leave it up to him to ruin a perfectly comfortable sleep. Well, I suppose Aoshi would never know the true meaning of weekends. He still wakes up at the crack of dawn, doing Kami knows what. I never understood how he could get enough sleep when he goes to sleep at midnight. I mean, what? That leaves only about five to six hours of sleep for him. And to think, the average teenager needs at least eight to nine hours. Eh, whatever. There are some things I'll never learn about Aoshi.

Anyway, I stay in my bed, lying there awake, just thinking about random ideas and thoughts when suddenly a peculiar event from yesterday rushes to the front of my mind.

Yeah, you guessed it too. It involved Kenshin.

Jeez, nowadays, it seems like everything interesting that does happen to me involves the mysterious red-head. Not that I care though, heheh.

It was during clubfest. One minute I was talking to Misao when she suddenly ran off somewhere, and if my eyes weren't playing tricks on me, it was to Aoshi. Wow, now that I do think about it, that's pretty strange. Aoshi………Misao………oddly enough, they seemed to compliment each other pretty well.

Anyway, enough about Aoshi. As I said before, one minute I was talking to Misao, then next minute, I'm staring right into (and yes, its true!) the eyes of Kenshin Himura.

Now let me tell you that from all the gossip I was hearing around school, and especially from Sano and Megumi, I was thinking that Kenshin's eyes would probably show some sort of anger, evil type of emotion.

But, wow! Never in a million years would I have imagined that Kenshin's eyes would be the most beautiful shade of violet I have ever seen in my entire life! And instead of the anger they were supposed to show, you could only see compassion from them. Seriously, now that I think about it, I probably stood there for a full minute or two just staring into his eyes. A girl could easily drown gazing into a pair of orbs like Kenshin's. It's just……wow.

Why in the world does everyone else, well, save for Misao and Aoshi, talk about Kenshin's eyes as being a dangerous hint of amber yellow? I know what I saw yesterday, and it was definitely violet! I remember telling Megumi last night about his eyes, and she just thought I was imagining things or I was sick or something.

I think I know what I saw, and I did see violet.

Well, enough about his gorgeous eyes, although one could probably go on talking about them.

Wait a second here. 'Why in the world am I talking about Kenshin like I'm in love with him, or have some kind of crush?'

………………. ………. ………… ……..

….. ……………… ………… ………………. ……………

…… ….. ……. ……………… ….. ……………..

"Kaoru, are you getting up or what!?"

'Mou! Just when I was about to formulate some kind of answer to my problems, well, sort of.' "CO-MING Aoshi."

I grudgingly get up and enter the bathroom, putting some toothpaste on my toothbrush when I look into the mirror, and let out a small gasp. My cheeks have a faint red to them. I was………blushing!? Kami!, this is not happening.

Not wanting to believe my inner thoughts, I quickly brush my teeth so I can avoid looking at myself for some time.

Ah, yes, now comes the good part – a nice, long twenty-minute hot bath to relax myself, relieve stress, and maybe to get some sleep in too, hehe.

Still feeling a bit exhausted, I enter the kitchen, yawning and sit down at the table, where Aoshi is already eating.

"So, what's for breakfast Aoshi?" I casually ask while trying to slap myself awake.

"You mean lunch."

"Huh? Yeah, whatever. I mean, what is there to eat around here?" And to prove my point about how hungry I am, my stomach grumbles at the thought of food.

Like usual, Aoshi rolled his eyes at me. "There's nothing, unless you want some fruit. You're either going to have to go out and eat or cook something for yourself."

"What!?" Now, regularly, I wouldn't mind going out to eat nor cooking, but there are two important facts though. One – I'm totally broke; and two – I can't cook even if my life depended on it. I mean, just this past summer, I actually tried to cook a meal for Aoshi and his dad one night because they were both out late for their own personal reasons, and yeah, let's just say in the end, we had to order take out. Partially because the food was overcooked, and partially because it just tasted downright awful.

Anyway, I grabbed my purse, which was conveniently right next to me (I guess I must have left it on the table last night) and double-checked to see if I had any yen left to spend. If I did, you would probably see me at the Akabeko in the next five minutes.

However, truth hurts – I was indeed, broke. "Hey Aoshi, mind if I borrow some money from you?" I pleaded. I was really hungry.

Aoshi just snorted as he went to the sink to wash his plate. "You already owe me more yen that you can count Kaoru. Sorry, not this time."

"But Aoshiiii! I'm starving!"

He then tossed me an apple. "Then eat this. Anyway, I'm won't be home till late tonight, so don't bother cooking…….rather ordering anything for me, got it?"

I stuck my tongue out at my cousin. "I too can cook Aoshi!" Of course, I would never admit the truth to him, or to anyone for that matter.

He rolled his eyes at me, but didn't say anything back. He was halfway out the door, when he suddenly turned around, "Oh yeah, before I forget, Dr. Genzai called this morning asking if you could baby-sit his grandchildren around one in the afternoon today. I said yes for you because I know you're in need of the money." And with that, he was gone.

Mou! And here I wanted to get in some training today to practice for the Swordfight Team tryouts next week. Then again, I am the captain of the team, so I suppose I'm already a shoe-in for the team.

I grinned as I checked the time: five minutes before one. Perfect, that gave me enough time to……………..

WHAT!? Five minutes before one! Ahhhh……….I'm going to be late! Aoshi no baka! I'm going to kill him the next time I see him!!!!

For your information, I was only two minutes late to Dr. Genzai's apartment. Usually, I could reach his house, walking, in fifteen minutes. Obviously, this time, I was running my heart out. So, yeah, I showed Aoshi who was the boss around here. Kaoru Kamiya.

I rang the doorbell, breathing heavily when suddenly two little girls ambushed me with a hug. Needless to say, I fell to the ground with both Ayami and Suzume on top of me. Normally, I would have been pretty angry with them for doing that to me, but for some reason, I laughed along with them. I guess I just needed to release my anger in some other form – through laughter. Yeah, I know that sounds kind of odd, but it's true, it did happen, because I felt great after.

"I'm sorry I'm kind of late Dr. Genzai."

Of course, Dr. Genzai was a kind old man, and a really good doctor too. "It's ok Kaoru. I should be the one saying I'm sorry, bothering you on a weekend like this, but there's an emergency that I must attend to immediately. A woman is giving birth and I need to be there to……well……you know."

I nodded, telling him I knew what he meant. I suppose he had trouble saying it in front of his grandchildren. Who knows?

"I was going to leave them with the neighbors, but I've been relying upon them a little too much lately, and I wanted to give them a break, so I really hope you don't mind."

I shook my head. "No, its okay Dr. Genzai. No problem with me." Really, I loved taking care of both Ayami and Suzume. And plus, I needed the money, eheheh.

The elderly man smiled before going about his business. "Anyway Kaoru, both of them already ate their lunch so they are probably pretty energized at the moment. But I'm sure their favorite cartoon shows are coming on right now, so that should occupy them for at least an hour or so. After that, you may take them out to the park if you like. I'll be back around seven or eight." He then quickly grabbed his things and was about to leave when he added something else to his list. "Oh yeah, if they do become too troublesome, you can also take them next door for some time, just not too long. They love playing with our neighbors."

I nodded. "Okay Dr. Genzai, I'll keep that in mind." And with that, he left.

I turned towards the girls who were looking at me expectantly. Usually, I would play with them, but at the moment, I was still kind of hungry. "So girls, what do you want to do first today?" I asked cheerfully, trying to hide the fact that I was still hungry.

"We wanna watch cartoons!" Ayami replied.

"Yeah, we wanna watch cartoons!" her little sister replied with the same precious voice.

I smiled as I turned on the television for them. Both of them sat on the sofa and instantly were absorbed into the show. 'Wow, this show must be really popular among the kids.' I silently thought. I was able to catch the theme of the show before I went into the kitchen to find something to eat…….something about a wandering samurai or something of the sort. I dunno.

I would have to remember to thank Dr. Genzai for giving me permission to eat his food whenever I was hungry…………again. I do that a lot. Wake up late, have nothing at home to eat, then come over to Dr. Genzai's house and grab something to eat. Yeah, kind of a strange ritual, but hey, it works.

True to their grandfather's word, both Ayami and Suzume lasted exactly one hour before they were growing restless. Jeez, he must know his grandchildren really well.

"Auntie Kaoru, we wanna play!" Ayami cheered as she started to clap her hands.

"Yeah Auntie Kaoru, we wanna play." her younger sister mimicked.

I smiled at both of them. I had just finished eating and was pretty full. I knew I couldn't do anything to vivacious or I would have an upset stomach by the end of the day. And plus, I was still kind of exhausted from the early marathon I had. I quickly went over what Dr. Genzai had told me.


Well, going to the park was out of the question. Then that would leave the neighbors. I suppose I could go over to the neighbor's apartment to see what they are like and let the girls play over there, with their children, for some time.

"Hey, you girls want to go over to your neighbor's house?"

For some reason, at this question, their eyes seemed to light up instantly and glow with an unusual brightness. "Yay! Let's play with Uncle Kennie!"

"Yeah, Uncle Kennie!" Suzume once again mimicked her older sister.

'Uncle Kennie? I guess he must be an adult. Oh well, at least he'll keep them company for an hour or a half.' "Ok, get your sandals on girls and we'll go down the hall."

I wasn't even finished putting on one of my sandals when both Ayami and Suzume came running over to me exclaiming that they were done. Wow, this uncle must be some person special. I shrugged and finished putting on my footwear. Taking the keys to the apartment, I locked the door as I led the young girls down the hall to their neighbors.

"I wanna knock!"

"No, I wanna knock!"

I rolled my eyes at the girls' dilemma. "Why don't you both knock?" I offered.

Once again, energy radiated from the little girls as they nodded vigorously and started knocking on the door (loudly if I may add, too).

I wasn't really paying attention at first when the door opened a minute later because something outside caught my attention. I thought I saw a familiar red-head walking to the park, but it probably was my imagination. But when I heard a familiar feminine greeting, I quickly turned my attention to the person who answered the door.

"Misao?"

"Huh? Kaoru? Wow, what a surprise! What are you doing here?"

After the initial shock of seeing her here had left me, Misao's question entered my brain. "Oh, well, I'm looking after Dr. Genzai's granddaughters for the day. At the moment, they, well, are very energetic and were exclaiming how they wanted to play with an "Uncle Kennie………………"

Oh my god. Uncle Kennie! Why didn't I notice it before? They must have been referring to Kenshin! Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god!

While wracking myself with the sudden problem I was going to inevitably face, I saw Misao give me a strange look when it suddenly turned into a grin, and not just any grin. It was like one of those grins that Megumi has when she has something in mind………that usually involves me.

"Well, do you girls want to come in or are you going to stand around outside all day?"

"Sure, why not?" I commented towards Misao as I took off my sandals along with Ayami and Suzume and entered her apartment.


At first glance, the place looks pretty similar to the one Dr. Genzai owns down the hall, but there are major differences. Firstly, the walls have a different coat of paint – a light blue in Misao's house contrasting the plain white Dr. Genzai has. Secondly, and a no-brainer of course, is that there is different furniture and arranged differently as well. There are a few paintings hanging on the walls, but oddly enough, there was only one real picture, which was plastered at the center of the room above the television. It was a picture of Misao and Kenshin, around eleven years of age or so, at the beach. Kenshin has sand on his face and hair while Misao is laughing. Unknowingly, I stare more closely at Kenshin than at any other aspect of the picture and find him amazingly cute for at that age.

"Kaoru, you want anything to eat or drink?"

Misao's question quickly shakes me out of my reverie. Yeah, I'm probably blushing a light red right now so I turn my face the other way so Misao couldn't see me. "No, I'm fine Misao. Thanks for asking though"

She just shrugs. "How about you Ayami and Suzume?"

"No, we're full. Is Uncle Kennie here, Auntie Misao?"

"Yeah, is Uncle Kennie here?" Suzume once again reiterated her older sister.

I watch Misao bend down to get at eye level with the little girls as she shakes her head. "Nope. I sent Uncle Kennie on a mission to the market to get me some ingredients so I can cook dinner later on. He should be back in a few minutes. So why don't you girls sit down with Auntie Kaoru in the meantime while I clean up the kitchen, kay?"

Both girls nod as they come running over towards me and sit on the couch quickly chattering among themselves.

For some reason, I start getting nervous. I mean, that happens when you feel beads of sweat coming down your forehead, right? What's wrong with me? It's just Kenshin. Another normal guy that goes to my school. He should be no different than, say, Sano or Aoshi, right?

However, those reasons don't appease my consciousness as I could practically feel my heart trying to throb out of my chest. What is happening to me?

It was at the moment when I heard the door open. Because of the angle I was sitting at, I couldn't see who it was, but my three guesses were all Kenshin.

"Taidama!" I heard a voice call out, and if my memory doesn't serve me wrong, it was definitely Kenshin's.

Almost instantly, both Ayami and Suzume sped of towards Kenshin, leaving me behind, alone with my thoughts. It wasn't until that minute when I realized something. Why am I so afraid of him, or at least to speak to him? The answer was so simple to find that I laughed. Kenshin is just another regular guy like Sano and Aoshi…………just one good looking guy, not to mention strange and mysterious as well. There is absolutely no reason why I can't act normal around him.

Finally reaching a decision myself, I decided not to wait for Kenshin, but instead introduce myself. I walked over to where everyone was gathered and just stood there, watching the scene unfold itself. Kenshin certainly had a look of surprise on his face when Ayami and Suzume reached him. But it quickly turned to a cheerful smiled as he bent down to them to hug them both. 'Wow……never would have thought Kenshin as a caring, compassionate guy.'

It wasn't until when Misao coughed and pointed in my direction when Kenshin finally realized I was there. And to explain his facial expression when he saw me – well, I can't. It was a cross between a million things – shock, surprise……and I could have sworn I saw a hint of nervousness in his eyes. 'Kenshin, nervous? Why?'

I have no clue how long our eyes stayed locked on one another. Another cough from someone, I don't know who, brought me back to reality, and apparently it had the same effect on Kenshin because he was shaking his head. And, what? No way! Was that a……………..faint blush?

Kenshin was the one to speak first. "Hi Kaoru-dono. Um, it's a surprise to see you here."

I giggled. "Yeah, Misao said the same thing."

"Ahhhhh………" he trailed off, nodding his head slowly before Ayami caught his attention.

"Uncle Kennie! Do you wanna play with us?"

"Yeah Uncle Kennie! Let's play!" her younger sister said.

I was breaking down in giggles – on the inside – at Kenshin's situation. If only you could have seen his face. It was a cross between bewilderment and compassion. I cocked my head to see if a different angle would help clarify things. Nope……same cute picture.

………………………….Wait, did I just say cute?"

It was Misao who answered for him. "Yep, Uncle Kennie will play with you guys. Because I'm cooking a surprise dinner for him and I don't want him to see what it is."

She then directed her attention to Kenshin as I stayed in the background, just observing. "Kenshin, you give me those groceries and take the girls to the park for the afternoon while I cook. Got that?!" Wow, Misao was determined to get Kenshin out of the house. One could tell by the authority in her voice.

"You sure Misao? I don't want to leave all the work to you, that I don't."

At this, Misao just grabbed the bags Kenshin was holding and pushed him towards the door. "Yes I'm sure! Now go!"

"Ok, ok, I'm going." Now this was a sight to behold. No one in the world would believe me if I told them that Kenshin would take orders from his sister. No one single person.

However, the next thing that came out of Kenshin's mouth took me by surprise……totally! "Kaoru-dono, would you like to accompany us to the park?"

For some reason, my fatigue and full stomach was completely forgotten. I found myself saying yes without any hesitation whatsoever.

It took us about five minutes to walk to the park, with Ayami and her sister constantly talking about random things (and I do mean random) to Kenshin and me. I really didn't say anything, just nodded. Kenshin, on the other hand, seemed fully interested in what the little girls had to say. This red-head is just amazing me more and more.

Of course, for some reason, I couldn't help myself but to take furtive glances toward Kenshin when he was not paying attention, or at least I hope he wasn't. Everything about him seemed so different from the norm. I mean, who exactly has red hair? It looked natural, and not bleached. And that strange scar on his left cheek – that alone gave me the reason to get to know him.

I hadn't realized we reached the park until Kenshin asked the girls what they wanted to play first.

"Ummmmm………….let's play tag!" Suzume surprisingly said.

Ayami was quick to second the offer. I sighed. Tag – I mean, no offense to them, but playing tag itself was boring, and with girls less than half my age, was just made it worse. But in the end, I would play anyway. It made me happy to see them happy.

Kenshin smiled and nodded. "Okay, let's me see if I have a handkerchief."

"Handkerchief? What do we need one to play tag?" I asked, totally confused.

Kenshin just smiled as both Ayami and Suzume giggled. "Why don't we show Kaoru-dono how we play tag?" Kenshin said, rhetorically.

Both girls nodded anyway and Kenshin finally pulled out the piece of cloth from his pocket. He handed it to me. "Put this over your eyes."

"What? Then how am I supposed to see?"

Kenshin just smiled. "That's the point, that it is."

It all slowly came to me. We were playing tag……blindfolded. Well, this would definitely be a new experience for me.

"Okay girls. Let's make that tall tree over there and the bushes on that side the boundaries." the red-head added as he pointed to the opposite sides. That gave only about a twenty, twenty-five feet distance both ways. Wow, we were even playing small distances.

The three of us nodded as I finally put on the handkerchief. "Ok Kaoru-dono. We're ready anytime you're ready."

"Yeah Auntie Kaoru." both Ayami and Suzume shouted out.

I breathed in heavily, and exhaled the same way as I nodded, signaling I was ready. I could hear the three of them spread out – their voices gave them away. At first, I was unsure of how I would catch anybody, even the little girls. But as I opened up my other senses, especially hearing, it all came clear to me.

I slowly started to walk toward the giggles I heard, which were coming from both Ayami and Suzume. I couldn't hear anything from Kenshin, but something else gave him away – his feet. This was easier than I thought. Instead of going for the easier targets, I decided to try to get Kenshin. I again, slowly walked in the direction I heard the feet shuffling, but every time I would get close, he would obviously just walk away.

This was not getting me anywhere. I had to try another tactic. 'Wait, why in the world am I walking?' Mou! I should have been running.

I stood my ground until I once again heard the shuffling of Kenshin's feet. I predicted in which direction he was going and ran full speed in that direction.

BAM!

Yeah, I ran into something, but strangely, I wasn't hurt. I landed on something, soft, yet hard. I heard an "oof" follow afterwards and suddenly, I knew what I ran into. Quickly taking off the cloth covering my eyes, I found myself staring directly into Kenshin's beautiful violet eyes, and to make matters even worse……………or better (I didn't know what it was at the moment), we were only mere inches apart.

Kami! His eyes……just…wow!

We were probably staring at each other for god knew how long when I noticed Kenshin was blushing and pointing down. I looked down and probably blushed the deepest shade of red I possibly could.

I was on top of him, with my other half between his legs. 'KAMI-SAMA – help me!!!'

Literally, the next second, I was five feet away with him on my knees, and yes, probably blushing fifty shades or red as well. I noticed Kenshin having a faint red in his cheeks as well as he scratched his head nervously, it looked like.

"Yay! Uncle Kennie is it!"

If it wasn't for Ayami or Suzume, who knows what would have happened. Kenshin seemed to totally forget about the situation as he took the handkerchief from me and tied it around his eyes.

Thank the Kami that Sano or Megumi or someone from school wasn't there to see that, or else I would never hear the end of it. Especially from Sano. Who knows where he would have taken that to? And it's a good thing that Ayami and Suzume are too young to understand the meaning of it all.

Needless to say, there wasn't much "running" done by either Kenshin or me from then on.

Believe it or not, we spent a full hour and a half playing "Blindfold Tag," and it was actually fun! Luckily, nothing……strange……had happened again and everything went by normally. After that, we took a half hour break eating some snacks Kenshin had brought and resting up. Another hour was spent playing on the playground with the little girls and then another thirty minute break was the order.

It was about six in the evening when both girls finally fell asleep, both on Kenshin too. I couldn't help but to giggle at him as he eventually gave up trying to move the girls off him and put his arm around the two, trying to make them as warm as possible. We chatted for awhile thereafter about school and such. I decided that it was not the best of times to ask him about his past. I barely even knew him. However, I did find out that he was going to tryout for the swordfight team. And yes, I can't wait to see him in action. Misao had just watched him practice and she was good. It made me wonder how good Kenshin was. Probably not better than Aoshi though. He's just invincible.

It came out of nowhere. My stomach all of a sudden started to grumble. I gave Kenshin an apologetic smile. I was hungry. It couldn't be helped.

"Why don't we go over to my apartment as see was Misao cooked for us?"

"I can't do that Kenshin. It's dinner for you." I was hungry, but I wasn't about to ruin whatever Misao had in mind for her brother.

Kenshin just waved his hand. "It's no problem, that it isn't. Now would you be so kind enough to carry Suzume?"

I tried once more to argue with Kenshin, but it seemed that once his mind was made up, it was solid. I shrugged and decided to eat with them in the end.

We were halfway to his apartment when the girls woke up, soon exclaiming that they were hungry. Again, Kenshin solved that problem.

In no time at all, we reached Kenshin's home. And conveniently enough, Misao said she just finished cooking whatever she made. And just to make sure I wasn't intruding on anything, I asked Misao if I should leave. Again, like her brother, she said she made extra.

Did they know we were going to eat here?

Five people seemed to crowd the table in their apartment, but again, nobody seemed to mind. Strangely, I felt at home with both Kenshin and Misao, and with both Ayami and Suzume there, things seemed merrier.

I watched as Misao placed the food she prepared on the table. I inhaled deeply and found the aroma emanating from the food to be quite intoxicating.

"Can we eat now?" Ayami asked.

"Yeah, I'm hungry Uncle Kennie!" Suzume added.

"Let's wait for Misao girls, then we'll start eating." the red-head answered them.

We didn't have to wait very long, thankfully. Misao joined us a minute after. She looked blankly at all of us before exclaiming, "Well, what are all of you waiting for? Dig in!"

As Misao opened all the covers, I slowly examined everything on the table: miso soup, bread, chicken, tofu, sushi, fruit, and other delectable items. 'Wow……'

"Misao, this is all really too much, that it is." Kenshin had stated as he seemed as marveled as I was at the choice of items that could be eaten.

"Nonsense Kenshin. I was in a good mood today………so be grateful!" his sister added with a voice of authority.

I smiled as I first served a little bit of everything to Ayami's plate as Kenshin did the same to Suzume. Misao seemed busy filling up my plate, as well as her brother's and in the end, finally took some for herself.

Now you should know firsthand, the looks can be deceiving. I mean, I remember when I cook – sure, the food looks and smells editable, but that necessarily does not mean it is editable. Yeah, that might sound mean, but I'm also worried about my health.

Luckily for me, Misao had previously announced Kenshin would be the first to eat. And I could have sworn I saw Kenshin sweat drop at the proclamation.

Anyway, Kenshin did take a sip of the soup. I watched him closely as the spoon he was holding entered his mouth. He seemed to be tasting it very carefully, because it took him a whole two minutes to actually come out and say it was…………good.

I shrugged and decided to taste it myself. Quickly taking a spoonful of the soup, I let my taste buds do the talking for me.

The bottom line – let's just say if I had to chose food made between Misao and myself, it would be a hard, grueling decision, but in the end, I would have chosen Misao.

"It's………….good." I managed to squeak out somehow.

Ayami and her sister, however, didn't have any trouble about saying their "real" thoughts. "It's too hot! It's too spicy! It doesn't taste like chicken!"

I giggled as I reassured a frowning Misao that it was indeed, good. I mean, it's better than mine, and anything that's better than my cooking – is good.

After we finished eating and helped Misao clean all the dishes, there was a knock on the door. Kenshin went and opened it, revealing Dr. Genzai. His granddaughters were quick to greet him, and after some quick farewells, they left. And as for my pay, yeah, I would be getting in tomorrow.

Now all that was left was Kenshin, Misao and I, and well, I seemed out of the picture all of a sudden. "I guess I should be getting home."

Kenshin nodded as Misao was more vocal. "Yeah, it's starting to get dark. You want to borrow my brother so he could walk you home?" For some reason, the tone in her voice was more mischievous than ever.

Yes, I was probably blushing ten different shades of red again, but I declined. "It's okay Misao, I'll be fine. But thanks again for the food and helping me take care of the girls."

"It's no problem! Right, Kenshin?" Misao asked as she nudged him with an elbow.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, no problem at all."

I smiled as I put on my sandals. "Guess I'll see you guys in school on Monday."

"Yep, till then Kaoru! Bye!" Misao chirped.

"Yeah, bye Misao." As for Kenshin, I just waved to him as he did the same to me.


And just like that, with one foot out the door, I was out of his house.

Wow, if someone had told me earlier today that I would be spending the whole day with Kenshin and Misao, I would have thought they were nuts. But seriously, now that I do think about it, today was the most fun I had for a long time.

Yep, things were definitely changing around town.

Author's Notes: First of all, let me thank my readers/reviewers from last chapter:

Setine, StarPrincess Sakura, Califpinay3001, Piper, flyinangel777, Azura1, larisa, Linggoddess, whisper*2*imaginary, Billabongbog, nikki, hey=), irksome one, missaw, fireruby, Asuka-chan2, Dragowolf, Alderine, Orphan, Namiko the anime wizard, akasha_death, ESP, Sakura Lane, Rath, blazin dragon, dark-coyote, Nanaka

Again - I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart! You all keep me alive!

Wow, I can't believe I actually finished this chapter one day ahead of schedule, and with all my packing that needed to be done. And fyi, this chapter is also 5000+ words - and I'm proud!!

I was initially going to end this chapter before the whole "dinner" scene at the Himura's house, but your reviews were so encouraging and great, I decided to add it on.

I really hoped you like this chapter also. At first, I wasn't sure that this chapter was written as well as the others, but after I read it over a couple of times, I thought it was ok, to say the least. I guess I'll see how good/bad it is after reading your reviews.

Yes, as I said before, I start college Friday - so I have no clue when I'll be able to update next. Just don't count on the regularly weekly update, that's for sure. I'll try to update every two to three weeks. I'm really sorry about that, but that's life, I suppose.

Well, as usual, I always love to hear your thoughts on this chapter, so that's why I'm posting it up a day earlier. So LEAVE A REVIEW! Thanx a lot!

Till next chapter people,
vindemon64