AN: HELLOOOOOOOO! It's been a while. A long while. But I will not abandon this. It's true I've had a lot of writer's block, a lot of school work, and lack of inspiration. But I'm back with a brand-spanking-new 11 page chapter. It'll be a ride. Confusing, because I never remember quite what I wanted to accomplish in the first place.

I'm 18 now by the way. HELL YES! So yeah. Should be fun...

Enjoy...and...a slight warining that SOMETHING will happen but I don't want to give it away...so READ READ READ! And don't flame me for what happens. Theplottwist that is going to happen ...was my original intent. So don't saw I didn't warn you somewhat!

Aoshi came back with free food from the Kickin' Chicken Palace and saw that the little shower was well under way. The guys immediately jumped up to help with the food, and Aoshi followed them into the kitchen, spewing dire warnings at them.

"Do you know what is in that? Do you know how that's made? I think not. They take-"

"Dude. Don't ruin the food for me. I haven't had a decent meal since end of term yesterday." Sanosuke muttered with his mouth full. Kenshin took his share of the free bread rolls and headed back out to the living area.

Magdaria was seated in the middle of the couch, Kaoru and Misao chatting animatedly with her. Kamatari was adding his two cents' worth as well. Soujiro was watching the scene amusedly, taking a sip of tea as he turned his attention to Professor Saitou. He was on the telephone, having a heated conversation with someone. Saitou was obviously getting his ass kicked, judging by the way he was cringing every few moments. Finally, after a few more heated exchanges, Saitou straightened up and shouted into the next room: "MAGDARIA! Your Grandmother wants to talk to you."

Kenshin sighed. It was going to be a long day. He had dressed comfortably for it: a faded black shirt that advertised a band he couldn't even remember why he liked; blue jeans and flip flops. Kaoru would definitely know something was up. He usually didn't go out in public this casual. Indeed, as she walked up to greet him, Kaoru quirked an eyebrow, but said nothing and gave him the ceremonial kiss of greeting.

"What's up?" she asked. Kenshin didn't respond; instead massaging his temple with the heel of his palm. Kaoru didn't like this motion. "Kenshin…you'd better tell me something before I have to force it out of you." she crossed her arms.

"Well-" Kenshin started, but was promptly tackled to the ground. He let out a surprised "OOF!" and lay dazed in the grass as Kaoru crossed her arms, sitting on top of him. "You didn't give me any time to respond!" Kenshin shouted incredulously. Kaoru only smiled. She rolled off of him, and laid back in the grass beside him.

"I'm going to move back in with Mom and Kasaan."

"For the summer? For the school year?"

"We'll have to see how things go. I know they'd really like some help with Ayame and Suzume. Plus, I've got a car, so transportation is no issue." Kenshin sighed. Kaoru gave him a prompting look. Kenshin blinked and then whispered, "I shouldn't have boarded. I should have waited until college to leave them. Even if I had waited…I shouldn't have left the way I did."

"It can't have been that bad. They let you go, when they could have kept you at home-"

"No, Kaoru, they never restricted me in anything. That came from the pain they endured as children and as adolescents, being unable to express their love and be accepted for it. No, they never said no to any ambition of mine, so long as it wasn't illegal."

"Then…" Kaoru prompted, yet again. She pushed herself up on her elbows.

"I left because I was ashamed of them. You know that."

"Yes, but all has been forgiven."

"I know."

"Yeah."

They sat in silence like that for some time. Kaoru eventually enclosed an arm around Kenshin. Smiling, Kenshin brushed her hair out on the grass, and eventually let his arm come to a protective rest over her shoulder.

Soujiro rubbed his eyes. He hadn't gotten any sleep in the past few nights, and hadn't practiced his guitar at all. Band meetings were on temporary hiatus. Members were going through problems.

On the one hand, Kenshin was moving back in with his parents. He had his own car, so he wasn't a problem. Sanosuke, now officially married to Magdaria, was no longer eligible to rent a dorm. The two were having to move out as well. Since they had been given such a short notice, the couple had rented an apartment in the same complex as Kamatari, upon the queen's suggestion. Soujiro could only imagine the problems that would arise from being the only heterosexual couple in the building.

That left Soujiro and Aoshi in a very quiet dorm. Aoshi was hardly ever seen now. He was always gone with Arashi, occasionally out with Kamatari, working, or just out on the town, enjoying an evening by himself. The silence and emptiness nearly drove Soujiro crazy. He had thought he was getting gray hairs over it, but realized that it was only his roots starting to show, once again. It was time to get rid of the pink hair anyway…it had been fun while it lasted.

Misao was over often enough, but she never stayed the night. It was against dorm rules, and she was having to help Kaoru adjust to the fact that Kenshin was moving. It was not as though the change was greatly upsetting her; but she was growing listless and moody. She respected Kenshin very much, but with such a movement in situation, it was expected the couple would become antsy.

Aoshi appeared suddenly, watching Soujiro. He was very still and complacent, as if he had been standing there for many hours. This unnerved Soujiro very much. He was also pissed that he was finally in human company, and still there was no conversation.

"You've returned." Soujiro stated strongly, mocking Aoshi's self-important stance.

"I have."

"Arashi, Kamatari, or all on your lonesome?"

"Arashi." Aoshi moved to the kitchen to get himself a drink.

"Arashi's, like, older than you, right?"

"Two years."

"She seems….bleh." Soujiro made a bland face, holding his hands limp in the air. "Wicked or something."

"She's not the best of people, if that's what you mean."

"Then…why date her?"

"We're not really…dating." Aoshi shrugged, taking a long swig from his glass of green tea. Soujiro frowned, for once, but Aoshi failed to notice.

"You don't have to prove anything." Soujiro blurted suddenly, and Aoshi choked on his drink. There was another long moment of silence after Aoshi finished coughing over the sink, and Soujiro was feeling rather proud of himself until Aoshi whipped around and grabbed him by the throat.

He had never seen the truly hostile side of Aoshi. Apparently, Soujiro had struck a nerve.

"Stay…out…of…this." Aoshi whispered. Then he let go, and began to walk toward the door as if nothing had happened.

"But…where…where the hell are you going!"

"Out. All by my lonesome."

And with that, the door was shut, and Soujiro found himself without human company, yet again.

Hideous floral wallpaper, faded by the sunlight. Dirty pink carpeting. Bamboo window shades. Minimal, contemporary furniture. The apartment was by no means attractive…not to the newlyweds, at least. Kamatari was giving them the tour, but even he couldn't defend the previous tenant and his lack of taste.

"These curtains are just dreadful. I'm going to be coming over a lot now for little home ec. projects, do you mind? I can help spice it up a little, free of charge!"

"But Kamatari, we don't have jobs yet. Grandmother is paying-" Magdaria started. She set her last box on the floor, eyeing her meager possessions she could afford to bring.

"Nonsense! I've got my thrifty ways, and there will be plenty of volunteers after they hear your heart-wrenching story." Kamatari clucked his tongue, running his fingers across the dismal fabric. "You're lucky you've got such great friends-"

"Hey, Magdaria! Good idea to bring your own bed…these guys didn't leave anything." Misao called, marching out of the bedroom.

"Not even a frame? Box spring? Headboard?" Magdaria asked, bewildered.

"Nope. Just you, Sanosuke, and a queen sized mattress on the floor. Oh, there's a closet, and a night stand. And a rickety dresser."

Kamatari was standing with his mouth agape. "No! How…let me see!" Kamatari followed Misao back into the bedroom, and Sanosuke could hear them exclaiming over the lamentable situation. Sano rolled his eyes and made his way to Magdaria, circling an arm around her shoulders.

"At least we've got a roof over our heads, baby."

"Did you hear me complaining? I'm glad. I'm very glad we're sheltered." Magdaria nodded strongly, as if convincing herself, then made to unpack. Misao and Kamatari stayed well into the evening, but Misao finally had to head back before curfew, and Kamatari had to perform again at the dinner theater.

"Toodles, my darlings." Kamatari blew them a kiss. "I'm right across the hall if you need me later!"

Sanosuke shook his head and dug into his Chinese take-out. Magdaria was scribbling away furiously in a composition book. This befuddled Sanosuke only slightly. He was, of course, much more interested in his food. But being married for three days had taught him a few rules of politeness and consideration of other people. So he decided to ask his wife what the hell she was doing.

"Budgeting."

"Budgeting?"

"Budgeting."

"Budgeting?"

"Will you stop repeating me?" Magdaria smiled, but didn't look up. "The Chinese food you're eating isn't free. We're already going to have to pay Grandmother back once we're on our feet…eating out isn't going to help us."

Sanosuke lost his appetite very quickly.

The evening wore on, and was increasingly boring for Sanosuke. There was no TV. No soaps, no cartoons, no karate tournaments, no nothing. Magdaria reappeared in the living room, brushing her teeth and clad in a t-shirt and soccer shorts. Sano gave her an up and down: he had never seen this much of her legs before, nor had he ever seen her barefoot. It made her look younger, and Sanosuke felt a pang of guilt. She had just turned seventeen and was throwing her life away to be with his lame-butt self.

"Coming to bed?" she asked, a sly glint in her eye. This banished every guilty feeling Sano had.

"Bed?" he repeated, in a desperately hopeful manner.

"Well, mattress. Remember? Just you and me and…a mattress on the floor."

"Kinky." Sano grinned. Magdaria arched an eyebrow.

"I was talking about going to sleep. Like normal people."

"Normal people, as in, normal married couples, have a bit of…fun." Sano tried hinting. He stood, walking over to her with a look of stealth Magdaria didn't appreciate.

"Not all married couples have fun."

"That's only the ones in nursing homes." Sano scoffed.

"Actually, there's been an increase since Viagra…"

"AHHHH! DISTURBING MENTAL IMAGES!" Sano covered his eyes, but realized that this would do nothing to block his imagination. Magdaria smirked: she had succeeded in turning Sano off for the night, and she pranced back to their queen-sized mattress, humming a little ditty of victory.

Aoshi sipped the coffee and grimaced. The drink was scalding: his tongue burned and he probably wouldn't be able to taste anything for a few days. He resisted the watering of his eyes and turned to face the stage. Kamatari was on again tonight, though Aoshi was there on a surprise visit. Well, not even a visit: he had no plans to approach the actor after his skit.

Kamatari was dressed as a woman again, clad in toga and sandals. Aoshi believed him to be portraying Helen of Troy, but he couldn't be sure. He hadn't been paying attention. The boy looked odd onstage, with the golden wig and silver armbands glinting in the lights. His monologue droned on, though he was very passionate in his presentation.

The waitress asked him a question. He couldn't focus on her. Everything was blurry and he just couldn't concentrate on the sounds coming from her mouth. Why were his eyes still watering? With a rush of anger, Aoshi realized that he was on the verge of tears. He had swore off such irrational emotions after the death of his mother. Hastily, he stood, and clumsily made his way to the men's room.

His vision was still hazy. Aoshi tilted his head back to keep the tears from spilling. He tried counting backwards, anything to set his concentration away from the misery. Was it misery? Grief? Just stress, he decided.

But there was nothing to be stressed about. Sure, his mother had died in the early spring. So what? He was over it. No more stress. Sure, he had been responsible for the injuries to the members of his former martial arts club. He had severed himself from them in apology and humiliation. Problem solved. There should be no stress.

And yet…

He was stuck in a relationship he did not want to be in. Modeling paid well, yes. But he couldn't tell her that he wasn't interested. He couldn't brush her off of him.

Because…

"Aoshi? Baby, what's the matter? Are you okay? I had to improvise up there and wrap up my monologue because I saw you nearly fell over a chair." Kamatari swam into Aoshi's vision, but all he could see was the sparkling wig and bright, snowy toga.

"I'm fine. I just…I think I got…dust in my eyes…" Aoshi trailed off lamely. Kamatari laughed, a high-pitched giggle of pure elation. He liked that about Kamatari…he wasn't false…he was who he wanted to be…

"Dust? Aoshi, that's the worst excuse…come on, talk to me. Do you want to call Kenshin? Misao? I know she's like a sister to you." Aoshi felt a hand brush across his face. He tensed, feeling for the wall.

"Aoshi?"

He didn't respond, instead, sank to the ground with the cold tile guiding him. He pulled his knees to his chest.

One.

"Aoshi, tell me, what's wrong!"

One.

"Aoshi!" Kamatari took Aoshi's face in his delicate hands, rubbing his thumbs across his smooth jaw.

One. Meditation wasn't working. He couldn't count his way back into the safe world, the power, the all-being. This was the first time Aoshi had truly felt panicked. He tensed again, backing up against the wall.

ONE.

A tear wavered, spilled, then slowly trailed down his cheek, falling on Kamatari's hand. Instantly, his eyes began to dry, and Kamatari's face became defined. The boy had removed his golden wig, and his familiar purple tresses were feathered about his head. A wavering smile greeted him.

"Oh, baby…" Kamatari whispered weakly, his voice cracking. He let a small sob escape, then quickly leaned in, closed his eyes, and pressed his lips against Aoshi's.

Total silence ensued.

When he pulled away, Aoshi was looking at him with such a look of dumbstruck bewilderment, Kamatari had to laugh. However, Aoshi's face did not change, and Kamatari was rather surprised as well.

"You…"

"I kissed you. Yeah." Kamatari let out a nervous giggle. The look of bewilderment didn't change. Aoshi seemed to be pondering something.

"Do it again."

"What?" Kamatari asked. This time, it was he who was taken aback. He had totally expected Aoshi to storm away from the bathroom, black rain cloud over his head and everything.

"Kiss me again."

"Uh…all…right…" Kamatari leaned forward again, this time playing with a little more passion. To his surprise, Aoshi kissed back, though very tentatively.

"I …like you?" Aoshi asked, though he seemed to be directing the question toward himself. Kamatari instantly lit up.

"I KNEW IT! OH, THANK YOU GOD!" Kamatari threw his arms up toward the ceiling, thanking every deity he had ever prayed to with every fiber of his being. He even got up and did a little victory dance around the bathroom, shouting "YES! YES! YES!" over and over again. Aoshi was still sitting on the floor, still totally bewildered.

"It's surprising…and yet…not." Aoshi muttered to himself. He touched his hand to his lips incredulously; shook his head and stood up. Kamatari was still twirling in circles. Just as he finished with his last "THANK YOU, OH MIGHTY AND POWERFUL DEITIES!" and threw himself on Aoshi, an unsuspecting customer sauntered in.

He quickly sidled right back out.

Aoshi supposed they did look funny….a purple-haired transvestite in a toga and a tall, brooding martial artist…but for that one moment, Aoshi didn't care about homosexuality issues. It wasn't because Kamatari was a guy. It was because he was the only genuine human he had ever known, and he loved him for it.

It was a beautiful morning all around, but the first one to wake up was Misao. The light was neither harsh nor weak; the birds had an appealing song instead of an unruly squawk. Her room was clean for one of the first times since she moved in, and the smell of breakfast was wafting from the kitchen. Misao sat in bed for a few moments, enjoying what seemed to be a perfect morning.

"It'll change," she shrugged, getting up to get dressed.

But it didn't.

Kaoru was all smiles when she walked into the kitchen, offering Misao freshly-made muffins. Now, Kaoru's cooking was not perfect, and Misao often shied away from it, but this particular morning nothing was wrong with the muffins aside from the fact that the texture was a bit chewy. She pondered this while eating her muffin on the couch, watching early morning cartoons. Normally Kaoru would chastise her for this, but…

"I'm going to go see Kenshin today. He's picking me up at the park, so I have to head out now if I'm going to be there on time. You should go see Soujiro! It's a beautiful day!" Kaoru smiled again and closed the door behind her. Misao sat in shock on the couch. So it was infectious, this perfect morning. Perhaps things would go well all day.

Misao immediately turned off the TV and grabbed her keys, locking up the dorm as she headed out to the elevator. Once on the second floor, she raced down the corridor and nearly missed the right dorm before coming to a halt and knocking on the door out of courtesy before barging in.

The TV was on. No one was home. Granted, it was only Soujiro and Aoshi living there now, but she still expected to see Kenshin or Sanosuke grappling for the remote. She was slightly surprised Aoshi was not there reading the news paper, but she supposed that was for the best. Misao wanted to surprise Soujiro.

Creeping down the hallway, she discovered her boyfriend had locked himself in the bathroom for a shower. Misao grinned evilly and flipped out her cell phone, quickly dialing a number. Her call was quickly answered.

"IS THIS THE PLAYBOY HELPLINE? I CAN'T GET MY ORDER THROUGH-"

"GRANDPA!" Misao chided. "You don't need to yell. And I was the one who canceled your subscription. You need healthier hobbies."

"WHAT?"

"I SAID, you NEED HEALTHIER HOBB-"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Okina let out a wail of complete anguish as if the world had ended. "Oh well, can't be helped. At least you haven't found my secret stash. You coming by for a visit today? Haven't seen you lately."

"Oh, I'll come by today Grandpa. And I'll bring a special visitor for you."

"A little girl friend?" Okina asked hopefully.

"NO. A little boy friend."

"Bah. Boys are nothing but trouble. Whippersnappers…" Okina grumbled off to himself. Misao grinned.

"I'll play for you today, Grandpa. I've been practicing a new piece especially for you. Soujiro is musically talented too, I'm sure he'd be happy to play for you as well. He plays the guitar…"

"WHAT?" Okina shouted, having another bout of temporary deafness.

"HE PLAYS THE GUI-" Misao was interrupted by a speedy tackle to the ground, Soujiro planting a sly kiss on her collar bone as they toppled over to the floor. Misao let out a loud "OOF!", but wasted no time in punishing Soujiro for the surprise.

"WHAT THE HELL? YOU LITTLE JACKASS, I CAN'TBELIEVEYOUFREAKINDIDTHAT" Misao shrieked and growled as she proceeded to smack the still-grinning Soujiro. Her slaps proved futile and she ended up relenting and giving in to Soujiro's romantic advances. Suddenly their kiss was broken by Misao's cell phone yodeling a curious "Hell-OOOOOOOOOOO?"

"Shit. Grandpa. " Misao groaned and picked up the phone again. "No Gramps, wasn't being raped. I'm fine. Just surprised. I'll come by in a little while, okay? Talk to you later." Misao hung up quickly and tossed the phone away. She looked up at Soujiro, who was kneeling over her.

"Your hair is aqua again. I kind of miss the pink." She commented.

"Yeah…fun while it lasted. It's good to be back to normal. Who was that on the phone?"

"My Grandpa. You're going to meet him today."

"I…what?"

"You're going to meet him today."

And that was that.

Kenshin woke up groggily to Suzume jumping up and down on his bed. The twins had grown quickly since the Spring and had finally mastered walking…and jumping, for that matter. Ayame was still on the ground, but she was latched onto the leg of…

"KEN-NII! KAORU IS HERE TO PLAY!"

"KAORU!" Kenshin sat bolt upright, cursing for forgetting about meeting her that morning. "I am so sorry, I must have really conked out and I …"

"It's okay." Kaoru smiled. Kenshin's thought process stopped. He always went brain-dead when Kaoru smiled…she was so…captivating.

"Ayame, Suzume; it's breakfast time. Leave Ken-nii alone for a little while." Julie poked her head into Kenshin's bedroom. She smiled in greeting at Kaoru, then focused her attention on the now-whining twins. "Breakfast. Now." She took a hand from each and led them out of the room to the stairs. Kenshin stared up at Kaoru, who smiled down at him.

"I am, really really sorry. I didn't mean to sleep in." Kenshin hopped out of bed, flipping on the radio. The Killers, "Mr. Brightside" was playing at the moment. Kaoru swayed a bit to the music, and Kenshin shrugged on a pair of pants.

"The walk was really nice over here. I'm rather glad I took it." Kaoru put down her purse and began brushing Kenshin's hair as he expertly applied his eyeliner. Kenshin glanced at her in the mirror. Kaoru glowered.

"I'm jealous of my boyfriend's hair. That's wrong." Kaoru muttered.

"It's a pain in the ass."

"You think I don't know that? My hair is just as long as yours.!"

"I know, but mine's red. I get more weird looks- OW! Don't yank so hard!" Kenshin grumbled. Kaoru finished brushing the knots out and began sweeping his hair high on top of his head into a ponytail; higher than he usually wore it.

"Like the noble samurai…" she murmured softly, completing her task. Kenshin was surprised at what a different hairstyle could do. He looked older, more world-weary. But at the same time…still Kenshin, still attractive in a fierce sort of way.

"You look lovely. I want you to wear it like that when you meet my parents." Kaoru kissed him on the cheek. Kenshin grinned inanely.

"Sure, I'll wear it- WHAT?"

"I want you to meet my parents next Wednesday. Their holding a family get-together and finally threatened me into attending."

"You hate your parents."

"Yes."

"Is that why you're bringing me?"

"Partially. " Kaoru smiled again, "Do you have anything nice to wear?"

"How nice?"

"Suit and tie."

"SUIT AND TIE? What kind of…family gathering….makes you wear a suit and tie?"

"My family."

"Fine…I'll go.. and I'm sure I can scrounge up something to wear. But I'm not going to talk to anyone unless I absolutely have to."

"Great!" Kaoru flung her arms around Kenshin, almost knocking him over, but they remained upright as they shared their first kiss of the morning."

Aoshi's eyes shot open. Quickly scanning his surroundings, he observed that he was, in fact, not in his own dorm. He was on a white couch, sunlight nearly blinding him as it filtered through the mint green curtains, reflecting off of the glazed white walls. A whimper came from somewhere below his line of vision, and Aoshi realized that someone was on top of him.

Kamatari.

He hesitated, then brushed a hand through Kamatari's hair. Kamatari's eyes fluttered open. He was as surprised as Aoshi was when he awoke, struggling to get up on his elbows, which inevitably ground into Aoshi's side.

"HOLY-!" Aoshi couldn't finish his painful expletive, Kamatari was too quick and was liberally kissing him. Despite the fact that Aoshi was sure he had a few bruises, he could not help but succumb to Kamatari's advances. Kamatari's love was unlike anything he had ever experienced. It was true and passionate…innocent and yet fierce.

Kamatari finally pulled back, but Aoshi held onto his waist.

"Better?" Aoshi asked. Kamatari nodded vigorously.

"I just can't believe it wasn't a dream!" Kamatari had been on the moon the entire night, and was still bouncing around on Cloud Nine. Aoshi was actually surprised that Kamatari had been crushing on him for so long: He had thought the crush had been squelched not long after their first meeting.

"You remember when we met?" Aoshi asked.

"And you swore up and down you weren't gay?"

"Yeah. It was at the karaoke night. Soujiro sang that god-awful song."

"OH AOSHI, YOU'RE SO FINE, YOU'RE SO FINE YOU BLOW MY M-" Kamatari was halted by Aoshi's hand clapping over his mouth.

"I still can't believe I like you."

"You mean you can't believe you're gay."

"It's not about being gay. I don't really feel gay at all. I'm not attracted to other men. Kamatari, it's not about our gender…its about…I like you because of who you are."

Tears glistened in Kamatari's eyes. He smiled, sadly, knowingly; and with an understanding gesture he cupped the side of Aoshi's face with his elegant hand.

"I know, baby. I know."

They were silent as a few tears were shed over the matter…then they decided nothing else was to be done except to brush the watery ruin away with delicate sweeping motions of the lips.

Aoshi got up and made breakfast. Kamatari lingered close to him for a while, then decided to take a shower as an excuse to give Aoshi space. It was all really starting to hit Aoshi about what this relationship was going to entail: outside that door, no one knew anything. He wanted to keep it that way. No one needed to know, anyway. But what if someone...? No, no one saw him.

But Magdaria and Sanosuke lived next door.

Well, Magdaria was understanding, and she'd probably brush it off as their normal friendship. Sanosuke would do the same…would probably think even less of it than Magdaria. It was women who were intuitive about these kind of things. Magdaria, if she noticed him over here more often, would be the one to figure things out.

For a moment, Aoshi thought about bolting. What was wrong with him? He didn't care what other people thought about him. He was happy. As a matter of fact, under all his pessimism and worry, Aoshi was dying to tell someone about how content he was with Kamatari. But he had spent the last few months in denial. In denial that he was gay, which he really wasn't, he was just….

In love with a boy….

! What did you think? Did you expect it? Do you hate it? Negative thoughts welcome but no flaming out-the-wazoo please!