Disclaimer: We dont own it

Summary

Welcome to the present, where the Rurouni Kenshin characters have placed their lives in Japan's modern day world. The twist? None of them remember each other from their past life. Now reincarnated, 17-year old Kaoru has had to deal with misery, her parents dead, and no one to look after her but Misao. Misao is an owner of a bar, Kenshin is a bartender, and Aoshi is an aspiring business man. The mystery of her parents' death slowly unravels when she meets the red-headed stranger. With the other RK characters present in her life, will she find out who killed her parents, and finally lay her mind to rest? The story is yet to unfold!

Author's Note:

Hello! This is Mou and Sora saying hey to you all! We got to thinking, and we decided to do a joint account for stories we come up with together. Sora and I have been friends since the beginning of time, and one day, during one of her random sessions, she suggested a story, one which came straight out of her daydreaming. Great minds do think alike. (Sighs at Sora and smiles) Let's get this show on the road!

WARNING: Angst, sexual themes, adult situations, masochism, mentions of suicide, and all that jazz. Oh-ho! and YAOI. Don't like Yaoi? Then back the fuck off of my story doorstep. Not a suggestion. A warning. Thank you.

The Glass Half Empty

By Mou Hitori no Akari & Soralvr926

She didn't realize what or why she had her head up in the clouds, but it was unexpected. She was stuck in one of her daydreams again, one so deep she didn't bother hearing the voice of another young woman calling her name in apparent annoyance.

"Kaoru..." The voice seemed distant, and yet so close. "Kaoru..." The voice came again, and she was staring into another realm, when--

"Kaoru!" A young girl, not much older than she, stared her in the face. Her blues eyes held a gaze of slight aggravation.

"Kaoru, I called you, like, a million times!" She put her hands on her hips, and shook her head, her raven hair bouncing with emphasis.

"Sorry, Misao." Kaoru gave a sheepish grin, scratching the back of her head. "I was in my own little world." She sat foreward, resting her head on her shoulders. She finally tuned in to the music, listened to it playing in the background in the bar, entranced by it, losing herself in it. Her thoughts seemed to meander regardless.

The innocent blood of others are always shed every day.

"Kaoru!" She yelled into her ear, and Kaoru almost fell backwards from the bar stool, grabbing the counter for dear life. "Yes?" She said, slightly annoyed with Misao, and Misao gave a smile of satisfaction. "Good. Now that you are back down to earth, you might want to drink the beverage I handed to you." She took it with gratitude, drinking without hesitation as the alcohol in it slid down her throat.

Makimachi Misao, her best friend, had owned the joint, a bar called "Daiquiri", named after her favorite alcoholic drink. Although Kaoru was only seventeen, Misao had given the privilege to let Kaoru in whenever she wished, despite her age.

"I haven't seen you move an inch since you've been here, Kaoru, and honey, frankly I am worried about that." Misao had said, and Kaoru scoffed. She was pretty much used to Misao fretting over her like a mother hen. In growing up, she didn't have a mother to look after her. Not since she had gone away from this world in such a horrible way...

"I highly doubt anyone will come running to ask me for a phone number, Misao." Misao was well aware of her friends inability to believe in herself. She sighed heavily, and waved her hand in the air to a gentleman across the room. He came, finishing his conversation with another waiter. "Yes, Misao?" He came quickly, his red hair a blur beneath the bar lights as he passed Kaoru.

"Kenshin, look," She began, tucking a strand of her midnight raven hair behind one hooped ear. "I need you to call Aoshi for me, ok? Tell him it's a dire emergency." She patted the red-head's shoulder, and he went, disappearing beyond the crowd. As Kaoru looked up, their eyes met, and she was struck by the look in them. It was a ghost of a memory, but Kaoru seized it, analyzed it, and could not mistake it.

She had seen those violet orbs and red hair before.

Blaming it on the vodka, she shook her head, thought it impossible, and let the memory slip away into the darkness of her subconscious. "I think I drank too much." She mumbled softly.

Moments later, a tall man in a suit appeared. He took the stool nearby Kaoru, and gave Misao his utmost attention. "You rang, Mistress Misao?" He smirked, his ice-blue eyes sending a chill down Kaoru's back. There was something commanding about him, his aura was strong Kaoru sensed, and she felt she had known him at some point as well.

Tonight, she wasn't supposed to feel like she had met all these people!

"Don't call me that, Aoshi. You know I hate that name." She feigned mock hurt, crossing her arms, unable to hide the small smile forming on her lip-glossed lips. "I want you to meet someone." She pointed to Kaoru, and Kaoru sat rigidly in her seat.

"You don't possibly mean--" She started.

"Kaoru, this is Shinomori Aoshi. And Aoshi," He grabbed her hand, shaking it curtly, his eyes capturing hers in a hypnotic glance. "This is my best buddy, Kamiya Kaoru."

"Enchanted." He murmured, and Kaoru gave a curt nod. "Likewise." She said softly.

"I've heard many things about you. Misao-chan says nothing but good things." He said, and she stared, wide-eyed. She had spoken to this man about her?

"Oh. r-really? I-I'm flattered." She said, and he shrugged.

"And here I thought that dragon Misao had no friends at all." He joked, and Kaoru stifled a giggle as Misao made to punch him. He dodged quickly, grabbing her hand before it made a hit, his eyes observing her hand. "All in good fun, I'm sure." He said, and she wrenched her wrist from his grasp.

"You're wearing nail polish. It's beautiful."

"Baka." She muttered, rubbing her wrist. "And so what if I'm wearing nail polish?"

"I believe the words 'I would never wear that crap in a million years!' had come from your mouth, Misao." Kaoru cut in, trying her best not to laugh. Noticing that they were double-teaming her, she went to the other side of the bar, attending to another customer's need. He watched after her, smiling softly to himself, then looked to Kaoru.

"She is a good soul, isn't she?"

"Yes, very. I've known her since I was in Elementary school." She smiled, and Aoshi smiled with her.

"I worry for her, though." She frowned slightly, and he watched her every move. "She's been this way for a while. I wouldn't exactly call it bitter, but..."

"I see." He said.

"She told me once that it was ok if she lived her life alone, that pushing people away was her way of sparing them the emotional crap she puts them through. I don't believe that, because I've seen her shed tears, she's felt my embrace when she needed me, and we have always been there for each other. Everyone else is just..."

"Cordial?" He interceded, and she nodded.

"Exactly." That analysis had caused him to frown slightly.

"So what about you? Seeing someone?" He changed light on the subject. She was glad.

"No. Neither am I looking for one." She had hoped that would put him offtrack, but he didn't seem daunted by her inclination. "It's a shame," He began, "A pretty little thing like you doesn't need to be all alone."

'I've been all alone ever since I could remember.' She thought bitterly, the painful pang of realization set in. "Well, I am looking for the right one." She gave a polite smile, and he gave a casual shrug. "Aren't we all?"

It was silent between them again. She took another thoughtful sip of her drink, and felt loose-tongued, relaxed, her mind swimming hazedly. "You and Misao have so much in common." Kaoru heard herself say, and Aoshi seemed offguard by the statement.

"My dear," He said softly. "Misao-chan and I are as opposite as water and oil."

"On the contrary, Aoshi-san." She looked into her glass, saw that it was half empty, and placed it on the counter. "Add some pepper, some seasoning, and you could make a decent vinegrette." She quiped, and he chuckled.

"Well, I have never heard that analogy before." He laughed genuinely, running his hand through his raven hair. "But, I see your strange ideology. I have a disturbing feeling you are right." He gave a short tug of his hair, and closed his eyes. He opened them, staring right through to Kaoru. His eyes flickered for a second, found something familiar about the girl, but shrugged it away.

The words "have we met?" were tempted to leave his mouth, but he stopped in doing so. "Well, Miss Kamiya, I bid you goodnight."

"Won't you stay?" Kaoru found herself saying, and he shook his head. "I have work tomorrow, and sadly, getting drunk will not help the situation." He inclined his head for a bow, and spun around. She watched him go, sighing deeply. For a moment she wasn't alone.

She hated when she was alone. It was something that feared her so. She stared into the glass, the colorful lights bending and shifting. She rested her head against her arms, and closed her eyes, felt the bitter feeling of chaos claim her, felt her eyes well from the tide of emotion. "Papa... mama... what am I supposed to do?" She asked herself furiously, a question she had asked herself since she felt the stinging pain of loss.

No one understood how it was like to lose the only two people who cared. She didn't expect anyone to.

"You're drink is half empty," She heard a voice say, and she looked up, eyes as deep as violet staring patiently back into hers. "Do you want a refill?" He asked, and she stared at him. "Oh, uh..." She had lost her words, and he bent his head a bit, as if waiting for her answer. "N-No... no more." She mustered her words, and he shrugged, grabbing the glass.

"You've had enough, anyway." He said after a moment of silence. She looked at him, and he looked back. "Besides, I'm sure you are too young to drink." She stiffened at his words, wondering if she actually stuck out in the crowd. "You don't know me, sir." She started, the alcohol loosening her speech.

"And further more, it doesn't matter what you think." She said, and he raised one brow. "Do your parents know you are here?"

That question had struck a cord in her heart. Fury, anger, anguish, utter sadness trapped her, and she drowned to find the solution to her trepadation. But, it was always the same when it came to her parents. Something snapped inside her, and she gave him an annoyed glance.

"My parents are dead, sir." She snapped, her eyes stinging. She could never get over the death of her parents, and she never would. She stood abruptly, startling the man named Kenshin. He saw her reaching for her coat, and he followed her around the bar counter, spinning her around. She gave a mean look, her eyes already red-rimmed from her impeding her tears from flowing.

"I didn't mean--" He started, and she took a shuddered breath.

"You didn't mean, what?" She snapped, and he didn't flinch at her tone. He stared blankly into her eyes until she had to look away, wiping her eyes against the back of her hand. "I didn't mean to offend you like that. I apologize." He said softly, and Kaoru wrenched her arm from his tender grip, slightly disturbed by the warmth of his long, slender fingers seeping into her coat.

He seemed genuinely sorry, and she gave a small pout, wrapping her arms around herself to stop her body from shaking.

"Do you forgive me?" He asked softly, and he had seen the arrested look in her eyes. He knew she was in pain, saw through her facade, saw the girl crying for help inside her, slowly drowning in her own self-hatred. The moment he touched her, he saw flashes of a past he knew or would never know anything about. A sword. War. Peace. Family. Love. Desire. Disease. Cherry Blossums.

At that moment, he released her, flashes of his own hands stained with the blood of others. "I forgive you..." He heard her respond, and his heart skipped a beat at her voice, as though his subconscious was telling him he had grown accustomed to that voice. As though he knew that voice.

"Good." He whispered, giving a sheepish grin. They stood there, awkward with one another, and she turned to go. "Wait," He said, and she stopped, never looking at him. "Do you have a ride home?"

"No." She said truthfully, remembering that she didn't want to take the lonely ride on the bus back home to her empty apartment.

"Let me take you home." He murmured, and she turned around. "I'm sure you have to work--"

"Someone should be taking over this shift. I'm off of work right about..." He looked at his watch, and smiled at her. "Now." His smile caused her heart to skip a beat, his teeth pearly white, his skin tan and swarthy against the black uniform he wore. His long red hair was tied back into a ponytail, loose hair fell in locks around his long neck. He was handsome, she admitted, in an exotic way.

She had never met anyone with hair like his, not that she knew of anyway, and had wondered if it was his real hair color. Ignoring the urge to ask him, she followed him into the parking lot, to his car. "It isn't the best thing in the world." He chuckled, patting his Honda Civic, and she suppressed a smile. "But, it gets me where I want to go."

The car looked just fine, Kaoru thought. In fact it looked in good shape, like it was only a year old. And it was the latest model, she thought respectively. She reached for the knob, but Kenshin beat her to it, opening the door for her. She blushed, and thanked the darkness, as she got into the car. He closed it behind her, and went around the car, hopping into the driver's seat.

He started the car. "Ok, which way do I go from here?"

She paused in thinking. She didn't want to go back to her apartment. It would only mean sleeping in deafening silence. When she was alone for too long, she could feel her feelings crush her, tear her mind into two. Morning was her only salvation, her only sanity, and she didn't want to go back to that, only to wake up alone and cold.

Nothing new, she thought dimly.

"There is a request I must ask of you." She said softly, and Kenshin turned on the heat in the car. "What may that be?" He asked gently, patiently. She clasped her hands tightly in her lap, felt her hands shake. "I... I don't want to feel like a burden..." She began, her voice quivering.

"But... I don't want to go back... it's so cold there... I mean, my apartment."

"Are you alone there?" He asked in concern, and she hesitated in answering. She wasn't exactly living alone. It was Misao's place actually, but Misao was never there.

"Yes... well, no, but--"

"You can stay at my place." He suggested, and she looked into his eyes, baffled. She held a grateful gaze, and whispered thanks in her heart. "But, I warn you." He added, "I have roommates, and they are crazy bastards. Watch out for them, ok?" He smiled, and she knew he was jesting, her eyes looking straightforward.

"Thank you." She said later when it was quiet between them.

'No,' He thought, 'Thank you.'

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