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Chapter Two

By BattousaiChic197

One year later...

"Hey, Misao…" Kaoru whispered, "are you going to that weird Haunted House thing tonight?"

"Duh, of course I am! Why wouldn't I? Are you going?" She countered, not noticing their teacher, who was watching them.

"I don't know, I mean what's it like? I've never been to one."

"You're kidding!" Her voice rang throughout the classroom, "…oops."

"Miss Kamiya! Miss Machimaki! This is not the time to be talking! Quiet" Mr. Yamaguchi turned his back on the girls and continued to write on the board.

Later, the girls continued their conversation as they walked to the cafeteria. "So you mean you've never, ever gone to one? You're strange. Well then, I guess you will just have to come with me tonight." Misao stated as she flirted with a group of passing boys.

Kaoru hesitated, "okay, it's not gonna give me nightmares will it?"

"No way, that is unless you can't handle it." Misao smirked.

"I can! I was just curious, is all." Kaoru defended.

"Cool, then I will come over to your house at nine. I don't want to stay at my mom's house tonight. She's having her boyfriend over, and I don't feel like dealing with his attitude towards me." Misao frowned.

"So you two still aren't getting along?" Kaoru asked.

"No, but I don't care. Mom can't force me to like him. Well whatever, I'll see you later, Kaoru." Misao walked off, eyes downcast.

"Seeya" Kaoru whispered to herself as she watched the depressed teen walk away.

The doorbell rang throughout the Kamiya house. It was a home of three floors, fancy furniture, and a lot of rooms. Kaoru lightly ran down the well-built spiraling staircase and opened the door. "Hey Misao, what's up?" Kaoru greeted.

"Oh nothing, sorry that I'm a bit early. I couldn't stand being around mom's boyfriend anymore…hey, I got an idea. Do you want to go to the movies! Nightmare of Horrors just came out. We can be out of there by ten and then go over to the Haunted House." The young teen suggested.

"Sure, let me go get my wallet." Kaoru went towards the stairs, but was stopped by Misao.

"Oh, that's okay. I've got my own money, plus, I was able to sneak into my mom's wallet and snatch a few bills. I've got a good fifty dollars here; it's enough for the both of us for the whole night." Misao chirped.

"Oh, okay. Let's go!" Kaoru exclaimed.

Two hours later, the two girls left the theater and headed for the Haunted House; two blocks down. When they approached the house, Kaoru was awestruck. The building that stood before her was a large black house with buttresses that towered into the sky. Trees surrounded the house in every direction, and red leaves covered the ground like a blanket. As the wind picked up slightly, a chill was sent up and down Kaoru's spine, as the hair stood up on the back of her neck. "wow" she whispered, more to herself than anyone else.

"Don't just stand there, Kaoru! Come on! Misao yelled.

Meanwhile…

Kenshin ripped through the streets of Kyoto; set out for a specific destination, Kyoto's traditional fair and haunted house. As he drove, thoughts of that painful day unwelcomely entered his mind.

He gently rested Tomoe's limp form onto the black leather sofa and quietly smoothed out her hair. Her deep, empty eyes taunted Kenshin ad they stared back at him; making him sick in the stomach. Kenshin carefully closed her eyes and stood to find washcloths. When he came back to her side, Kenshin proceeded to clean up the dry blood that offended her beautiful skin tone. After a few minutes had passed, Kenshin ceremoniously wrapped Tomoe in a blanket and carried her in his arms; he left his apartment building for the cremation center.

A few hours later Kenshin returned home, and threw his coat on hi glass table set up. He slowly retreated to his black leather chair and closed his eyes. Pain ached his whole body, it was almost unbearable. Through, there was something deep inside him that boiled hot; revenge. Kenshin let his rage overpower his sorrow, as he swiftly jumped to his feet and threw his fist into the closest wall. When his fist broke the surface, he quickly retrieved it; but it was only seconds before his other fist landed itself back into the wall. Kenshin pulled it out again, but this time slowly walked into his bedroom and slammed the door shut; ignoring the pain jolting from his bleeding fists. His heart had been broken and he wasn't about to let the men get away without equal payback.

Kenshin pulled into the parking area that was quickly filling up. When he stepped out of his car, he quietly, but quickly, made his way towards the back of the building. There, he entered a backdoor and stepped into the dark, haunted interior. Kenshin stealthily walked through the dimly lit hallway; being careful as to not be seen by anyone. He searched the whole first floor, before realizing that his target wasn't there. When he got to the top floor, Kenshin quickly jumped into a dark corner when he heard someone coming…

Kaoru screamed and ran down the dark hallway, with flailing arms; her heart was beating two times faster than usual. She quickly dove into the corner of which Kenshin occupied, and hid behind him. Kenshin quickly took notice that the girl thought him to be a statue, and froze in place.

When Kaoru's breathing rate was back to normal, she slowly moved away from Kenshin and observed him. 'wow, it looks so real' she quietly thought. ' but what's so scary about him, is it the intent look on his face? Or is it his sword?' Kaoru quietly tiptoed over to Kenshin and placed one of her fingers on his hand that held the hilt of his sword. 'Cool! It feels real too!'

Kenshin tried not to blink, while the girl observed him. 'stupid girl' he thought. He stayed in his battle stance and continued to look straight-ahead. But when he felt Kaoru's warm fingertips move to the scar on his cheek, he had to fight the strong urge to gasp. As her smooth finger stroked his cheek lightly, the hair un-noticeably stood up on the back of his neck; the warmth of her body so close to his, released him of all his tensions, and he relaxed a bit. 'she's so beautiful' he thought. Though he wished he could look at her face to see her full beauty.

"Wow, he's so cute and handsome!" Kaoru exclaimed. At this Kenshin's eyes widened in surprise and snapped in her direction, before he could stop himself. Kaoru screamed and jumped back into the wall behind her. She fell to her knees and stared at Kenshin with a scared look on her face. Kenshin slowly moved out of his stance and made his way towards Kaoru; eyes unwavering. "What is your name?" he asked, when he stopped at her feet.

"Wh..what! Why should I tell you! I am the one that should be asking you that question!" Kaoru yelled, as she stood to her feet.

"You stubborn girl, give me your name!" Kenshin demanded through gritted teeth.

"Hmph! Kamiya Kaoru, daughter of the richest man in Japan! Besides the emperor, that is." Kaoru stared back into Kenshin's amber eyes. 'great' he sarcastically thought. Kaoru gasped as Kenshin grabbed her wrist and started to pull her down the hallway, towards the exit.

"Come, I need your help." He demanded.

"Ugh! No! Let go of me, you perve!" Kaoru started to fight back, but fell to the ground unconscious, when Kenshin delivered her a swift punch to her stomach. Kenshin picked her up in his arms and quickly left the building. When he reached his car, he threw her in his back seat, locked the doors, and drove away.

Read on to Chapter Three…