INCOMPLETE
By: Chiki Yumeshisa

Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin……all original characters/ideas are mine to claim.

AN: I find it hard to jump into Kaoru's skin. Even though people say I am like her a lot, she and I don't seem to quite match. My approach was different. Very different. I hope you bear with me. This is taking some time to piece together. Now, enough ranting! Please enjoy!

Warnings: None.

CHAPTER 3
- It's a Small World After All -

Dinner that night was going to be at the Swiss Chalet three blocks north of our dormitory building. It wasn't that far of a walk and it had pretty decent food, so I didn't complain when Joanna told me the final meeting place. I could no longer stand fast food dining and who could turn down Swiss Chalet's fries?

Ji was coming too, according to my roommate, so I would finally be able to meet him. Apparently, he'd be bringing along a friend, just so he wouldn't feel awkward in the company of two girls. It wasn't as if we were going to eat him. Jo seemed to find that comment amusing.

"He's Japanese, you know." She said, as she fixed her hair in the mirror. I was busy making the beds as I did not like leaving the place cluttered.

"What?" I asked, looking up from my work. My pillows had fallen in a disgraceful heap at the foot of my bed, and I leaned over to pick them up.

"He's Japanese, too." She repeated, tying her hair up part-way. It made her eyes look big, but I didn't say so aloud. She was wearing a green turtle neck and black slacks. She was the skinniest girl alive, in my opinion, so anything she wore looked great on her.

I had not dressed to impress as I had a simple grey sweater on and jeans. I had done nothing specific with my hair except to put it up in its usual ponytail. There wasn't much you could do with hair like mine since it was so long.

She was still speaking. "I could never pronounce his name right, but you probably will. He's really nice, Kaoru, so you'll get along with him fine."

"I'm not nervous." I said, though secretly I was immensely relieved that he was a fellow Japanese person. When I did get nervous, I tended to forget my English and stammer like a fool.

When I was finished making up the beds, we grabbed our jackets and purses and exited.

The door across the hall from us opened just as I was locking ours up behind us. "Going somewhere, girls?" It was a boy named Ryon, an overly friendly guy who was a bit strange sometimes. When I had first met him, I'd been intimidated by his size and weight. He was like a sumo wrestler come right out of the television, and at first I had wanted nothing to do with him.

It turned out that he was taking the Japanese course with Joanna too, so I ended up spending more time with him than I had planned to. He wasn't such a bad guy once you got to know him, but it was the company he kept that made me queasy. For one thing, he shared a room with a man who went by the name Kamatari. Only, when you looked at him, you would never guess that it was actually a man. Even the way he acted and sounded made you think twice.

I think you get my hint.

He was there too, poking his head out behind the door and he blinked earnestly at us.

"We're going out to dinner." Joanna had the courtesy to say. "We'll be back later."

"Porter says that the doors will be closed by eleven." Ryon announced. "Don't forget your keys or else you won't be able to get back in."

I rolled my eyes. "If we get stuck, we'll call you to let us up." I told him, patting his stomach as I walked by. He grinned showing all his teeth when he did so, and waved as we went down the hall.

"Bring me back some fries, would you?" He called, and I waved back. I think I was too nice for my own good.

Back into the cold I went for the second time that day, and it seemed to reach its fingers past the thick layers that I was wearing and settle on my bones. I was chilled in moments, and miserable, to say the least.

Joanna seemed to sense this because she tried to distract me. Either that, or she was just fantasizing. "This seems like a double date to me." She giggled. "Maybe his friend will be just as cute."

Scowling, I pushed my hair from my face. "I won't go on a blind date, Jo, you know that. I don't like set ups."

"Relax, Kaoru. It's all in fun. You've got to lighten up: after all, you're the one who talks to random people on the street." That had a truth to it, in a sense. Most of the time though, people would talk to me and it was only courteous to reply back. Once or twice I had initiated conversation but if she was implying that I was spontaneous all the time, she was wrong.

We passed by Trinity, where a couple of students walked out wearing their black robes. I wondered briefly whether their dining hall was open or if they were just wearing the robes for fun. If they were doing the latter, they were crazy with the weather conditions. It must have been minus thirteen degrees outside!

When we reached Bloor Street, I was not surprised to see that the restaurants lined there were packed with people already. Joanna looked a little worried too, but when we reached the restaurant of our choice, we were ushered in almost immediately and given a place to sit.

The restaurant was big and spacious. The seats were cushioned and the atmosphere was cozy. Swiss Chalet had always prided itself to be the number one family restaurant for those reasons. The waitress came by and greeted us warmly, even though she looked to be in a frazzled state. She left us our menus and promised she'd be back to take our orders when we were ready.

"He's not here yet." My friend sounded a bit disappointed as she picked up her menu and looked around. "He said he'd be here before us."

I couldn't help but scoff. "Men are always late. They're so unreliable."

I think I said that too loud because the people sitting next to us (ironically, all men) gave me dirty looks before continuing with their meals. I shrank back a bit, pretending to be interested in the menu that was laid out before me.

Joanna's sudden squeal made me look up. "There he is!" She whispered excitedly. She got out of her seat to wave him over.

I wished I could disappear right then and there, but it didn't happen.

When I looked up, two men were walking toward us. One was a tall lanky man, with spiked brown hair. He had light brown eyes and an oval face. He was dressed casually in a t-shirt and jeans. I did a double-take. If the Trinity students were crazy, this guy was beyond that. Even with no protection against the cold, he didn't seem fazed at all.

My breath hitched in my throat when I saw who he was with. His blue eyes fell on me, curiously, and then that dazzling smile lit his face. Jo turned to me. "This is Ji." She announced proudly. I found I couldn't take my eyes off him, and I felt my cheeks getting hot. "Ji, this is Kamiya Kaoru, my friend you've spoken with on the telephone."

Ji reached over, taking my hand. "Nice to meet you." He murmured, not breaking eye contact. "My name is Seta Soujiro." He turned away briefly to introduce his friend. "This is Sagara Sanosuke, my buddy. I hope you don't mind I dragged him along."

"He didn't have to 'drag' anyone." Sanosuke said, proudly. His voice matched the rest of him. "No one needs to force me to eat."

Joanna motioned for them to sit, and I continued to stare at Joanna's crush. I felt her nudge me slightly. "Have you met him before?" She asked.

I blinked, and smiled uncertainly. Suddenly, the butterflies that had been absent earlier came to me in a flutter of wings. My nervousness started getting the better of me and I tried to calm down. "Sort of." I said. "We met on the train…."

His smile turned bigger. "I remember." He said, nodding. "Today."

My cheeks did go red at the memory of the words he had spoken earlier to me. "Hey, beautiful. A smile would better suit your pretty face." What a small world! He blushed slightly too, and I felt more at ease. I don't think he had been expecting to bump into me again either.

This time, I got to take a better look at him. He was wearing a different sweater this time, gray in color like mine, with a hood. His features were round and childish, unlike the rugged appearance that Sanosuke had. As I mentioned before, he was not drop-dead gorgeous, but there was something about him that seemed to attract all women. Jo was practically melting beside me.

"What a pleasure to finally meet with you." I quickly said, changing the subject. "Joanna talks of you all the time."

"Does she now?" He asked, sliding those blue eyes over in his friend's direction. Sanosuke was too busy reading the menu and arguing with himself over what to get to pay attention to what we were saying. Joanna merely laughed, but I noticed that she didn't deny it.

I nodded, lacing my fingers together. "So, Seta-san….."

He held up a hand. "Please just call me Soujiro. Formalities don't apply here in Canada."

"Soujiro, then." I corrected myself. His eyes were trained on me and I couldn't help but wish that I had dressed to impress. I don't know why, but I felt myself slip into self-consciousness. "What is your major?"

School was always a safe topic.

He leaned back a bit, letting his menu slide onto his lap. "I'm in Pharmacy." He told me. "Didn't Joanna already tell you?"

Joanna shook her head and shrugged. Then the waitress came by to take our orders. My appetite was larger than I had expected it to be and I ordered a three course platter. Sanosuke wouldn't let me beat him because he ordered so much I wondered if he could eat it all.

When the food arrived, we slipped into casual conversation.

Sanosuke was a Business Economics student and was funny, but he was also exasperating. He liked to say the stupidest things at the weirdest time, and he did it purposely to bait me. He was like the older brother I never had, and even though he was irritating, I couldn't help but like his wittiness. Sometimes one needed a break from all the seriousness of the world, and Sano was mischief and fun rolled into one.

I learned that Soujiro had come from Japan four years ago, and that he liked Canada better than his home country. And that he was in his final year.

And single.

Of course.

"What about you, Kaoru?" Sanosuke asked, after I fumed at him for his silly remark at how cute the waitress was. He had said plenty more of his thoughts on her but I won't go into that. "What are you studying?"

"I'm an English Linguistic Major." I said, feeling stupid compared to them as all the courses they seemed to be taking were science or math related. The butterflies in my stomach jumped around and I was rapidly losing my calm.

There was an uneasy silence that followed after that, the sounds of people talking and the ring of utensils on plates loud in my ears. I didn't know what else to say. Was I supposed to talk about family? Was I supposed to talk about homework?

Joanna came to the rescue switching the topic. I was immensely relieved and avoided making eye contact as much as I could. Some of the topics they touched upon I had no clue how to answer, and the others I felt too unknowledgeable about to answer. So, for the most part, I concentrated on finishing the food in front of me. Sanosuke was done before us all, much to my amazement: I hadn't even finished my first plate.

It was when Joanna announced that she would be leaving for Poland right after her last exam, that Sanosuke decided to include me in on the conversation.

"So, Missy, what are your plans for the winter holidays?" He leaned one elbow on the table.

I reached for a glass of water, and only when I downed half of it, did I shrug in response. When had I adopted that stupid nickname?

"Do you plan to go back to Japan, Kaoru?" Soujiro asked, turning his gaze onto me.

I shook my head, my ponytail wobbling. I decided to let Sano's prod drop. I finally found my voice and replied, "I'm on campus."

Soujiro looked taken aback. "Alone?" He asked. "You're spending Christmas and New Years alone?"

Was that such a bad thing? There was no one else to spend it with.

"That's the plan."

Sanosuke twirled his fork on top of his plate absently. "Don't you have family you can share it with?" He asked.

I smiled. Who would have thought that under that badass exterior he was such a softy at heart? "They're not going to be here for the holidays." I told them, vaguely, not wanting to go into more detail. I think my voice cracked, but I tried to cover it up as best as possible. "They've got things to do…"

I was avoiding the question, and the prodding, I know. But I couldn't help myself. When I offered no more explanation, Sanosuke opened his mouth to ask again, but Soujiro stopped him.

"Well, we have no family around for the holidays either, Kaoru. If you want, you could come with us: we're going to Barrie to hit the slopes for a week. You're welcome to join." I began to reject the offer – I didn't want them to feel sorry for me! "Don't worry," He said hurriedly, "there are other girls who are coming."

Unfortunately for me, Sanosuke jumped in on the bandwagon. "That would be awesome! The more the merrier, Missy! Don't tell me you don't want to go because you don't know how to ski."

My cheeks were turning red again, and I had to stop myself from glaring at him. So what if I didn't know how to ski? I hated the winter, and now they were asking me to join them! The sport would take place outside, the very last place I wanted to be.

"It's alright if you don't know how to ski." Soujiro pressed. "There are a ton of people who don't know how." His smile was on again, and I felt terrible. "You learn something new every day."

Sighing inwardly, I nodded. "I'll think about it."

Yeah, I was too nice for my own good.

Sano let out a whoop even though I hadn't exactly agreed to it. "Let's drink!" He announced. "Celebrate tonight, before the exams start!"

Joanna made a face. "Sano, victory parties should take place after you know you've passed. And it's late already." She glanced at her watch and jumped from her seat. "Crap, it's almost eleven! Kaoru, we have to go. The Porter won't open the doors for us if we don't leave now."

And that was how our evening ended.

The boys were kind enough to walk us home, even though we insisted we'd be okay. They would hear none of it though, and so, we trooped back to Whitney Hall, the four of us walking two by two.

The temperature had dropped, and it only got colder. I felt sorry for Sanosuke who walked up ahead alongside Joanna. His shoulders were hunched and he shivered in the cold night air. It was his fault for only wearing a t-shirt. The idiot.

They had launched into a debate over something politic. I had never fancied politics or paid much attention to them, so I never bothered to get involved. I was content to walk behind them, listening.

Soujiro walked next to me, listening too, and occasionally, he would pipe up an answer. I was rubbing my hands trying to keep them warm when he suddenly took off his jacket and offered it to me. "Here, put this on. It's warm." He said.

"Ah….no…..I'm fine." I lied. If this guy was trying to play the gentleman, he was sure doing a good job at it. "It's cold out, tonight, Seta-s…I mean, Soujiro."

He gently draped it around my shoulders though and firmly tugged it into place. "I insist. It's a short walk anyway. I'll survive."

I stuck my tongue out playfully. "If you get sick, don't come any where near me. I have the worst immune system in the world, so I'll take forever to recover from it."

He laughed, his voice easy and carefree when he did so. "Roger that!" he gave me a lopsided grin and stuffed his hands in his pockets. I slipped the jacket on in a more comfortable position, thankful for the extra warmth it gave me.

That same silence fell over us once more, and I was starting to feel the butterflies again. This time, Joanna was not there to rescue me though, and I desperately wished I could say something. Anything.

So I did.

"Do you usually say that to girls on the bus?" I asked, referring to his comment made earlier in the day.

He looked away then, over the Varsity stadium before he answered softly, "No. Just to you." He shook his bangs from his eyes and winked at me. "But I meant every word I said. You really looked so sad and I thought…well, I don't know what the heck I was thinking. I hope you weren't insulted."

I was just grateful that it was cold outside or he would see my blush. "No. I was….happy…." I said truthfully. "It made me feel much better."

He was looking out over the stadium again. In the street lamps' lights he looked kind of cute. He was taller than me, and had broad shoulders. He walked as if there wasn't a care in the world. He looked like a sporty guy, and then, there was that smile. It was ever present as he broke the accumulating silence again.

"I'm glad it did. That was the plan." We continually trudged through the snow, and unconsciously, I reached out to grab his arm to support myself from falling over a patch of ice. When I realized what I was doing, I retracted my hand quickly. He pretended not to notice, and he eased me gently away from the little slip of ice.

"Are you always so quiet, Kaoru?" His question startled me.

Quiet? No. Just around you. I wanted to say, but I didn't. I forced a smile onto my face and shook my head. "When you've got nothing to say, don't say anything at all." I quoted.

"Isn't it, 'When you've got nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all'?"

I shrugged. "They're the same thing."

As we crossed the street, he said, "I hope you enjoyed dinner tonight. I liked it a lot and I was hoping…"

I looked up at him as he stared down at his feet while he walked. "Hoping what?" I asked, as we got to the UC field. At this time of the night, it was deserted, and the place looked cold and foreboding. The bell tower was silent but when midnight came, it would toll its long peals into the night. It used to bother me before, but not any more.

He continued to study his feet. "I was hoping that we could get together another time, after the exams." He said quickly.

I blinked. "I thought you were going to go skiing?"

"Before that. The trip will be on the second week after exams. I was hoping we could get together before it….that is, if you're not busy already."

Get together. What, as in, a date? I hardly knew the guy! And besides, Joanna would not be there….

"I…"

"If you're uncomfortable, then it's okay." He interrupted. "That's it, isn't it? You are uncomfortable around me….after what I said earlier on the train…"

He hit the nail right on the head!

Slowly, I nodded. "I didn't know how to react." I admitted. "I was…flattered….you're not asking me out, are you?"

This time, he looked up at me, and the look on his face made me giggle. It looked like I had hit the nail right on the head this time.

"Are you always so point?" He asked, a smile tugging at his lips, his face looking pained.

I shook my head, and the nervous butterflies continued to jump around making me giggle again.

I think it was infectious because he started to laugh too. "What do you say, then? Let's meet up again? It's not going to be a date – just an outing between friends." He was so adorable with the way his eyes grew rounder, pleading.

We had reached our destination, and Joanna and Sanosuke turned to wait for us by the steps leading into the building. Poor Sano's lips were blue, and he looked longingly at the doors leading inside.

I stopped at the base of the stairs. "I'll go." I told Soujiro. "Would you…like to come up for a moment to get warm?" I was not referring to him, but to Sanosuke, who had now taken to jumping in his spot to keep warm.

Joanna was already entering the building, and waving to the Porter. "We'll be fine." Soujiro said, politely declining, as I handed back his jacket to him. He threw it towards Sano, who slipped it on right away. "Thank you for the offer."

The Porter stuck his head out, and seeing who it was, opened the door and I fished around for my keys. Soujiro and Sanosuke turned to leave once more, bidding us a good night. "I guess I'll talk to you later, then?" Soujiro asked.

I smiled and nodded. "Good night."

Joanna followed me up the stairs and I opened the door to our floor, this time, the key cooperated and I let us in without any trouble. She trailed behind as I led the way back to our room. "You like him, don't you?" She asked, suddenly.

Stopping in my tracks I turned to face her. "What?"

"You like him." She repeated, as if I hadn't heard the first time.

I shook my head. "What are you talking about, Jo?"

She smiled in a knowing way. "And I know he likes you back. The sparks were flying all night!"

The smile on my face came on its own accord. "It was only a couple of hours. How can someone like someone else in such a short period of time?"

"A short period of time is all it takes." Joanna informed me, as we entered the room. It was dark so I flipped the switch to one of the lamps in the far corner. The soft glow of the light made me feel very tired, but I knew there was studying to be done.

"I don't like him, Jo." I insisted. "He's an acquaintance. Besides, I know you like him, it wouldn't be right for me…."

"He likes you. Not me." She said, hanging her coat up and sitting on her bed across from mine. "There was chemistry between you two, that's for sure. It's like you two are finally complete."

Talk about mushy! Where was she getting all this stuff from? Whatever it was, it was making me blush like crazy and I wished she would just stop. Soujiro was nothing special. He was like any other guy.

Only different.

Suddenly, I wished I never said yes to that outing. The butterflies in my stomach had returned with a vengeance and I felt like I never wanted to face him again. What if what Joanna said was true? The memory of his smile was suddenly haunting.

That night, I got no studying done.

To Be Continued…..

AN: Some of you may be wondering why Kaoru is so iffy around Soujiro. Well, she is still very conscious of the way he first greeted her: it's not a normal thing to say to a Japanese girl. And if people are still wondering about the shock that Kaoru received in the last chapter, it will all make sense in future chapters. (As some of you may know that's the style that I write with.)

Please review and tell me what you think. I'm sorry that this story is going to slow as I have others I am trying to catch up on, but your reviews really help! Please help me by letting me know your thoughts/questions. (For updates on this story, please check my profile). Arigatou!