Author's Notes: HAPPY NEW YEAR MINNA-SAN! Arigatou to all the reviewers! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Keep 'em coming! Hehe. A review always makes my day. I really, really wanted to upload this yesterday, but, unfortunately, I couldn't get it done. But here it is. I'm so happy coz' I was able to update within a week! I think I'm in shock. Hope you like this next chap. Again, this story is generally a compilation of 'moments' between Kenshin and Kaoru. Nothing earth-shattering. Just the typical teenage drama and mischief.

Sigh… I do not own RK…wipes tears

The Looking Glass

Chapter 2: Sweets and Spices

Kenshin found himself sitting in the den, waiting for his mother. She had told him earlier that she wanted to talk to him about something important. He presumed that it would be about the girl. His body slouched a little on the chair as he allowed himself to reminisce. The girl had been with them for over a month now and she still hadn't regained her memory. He involuntarily flinched when he recalled the outburst his father had had upon discovering that she had amnesia, and a very bad case of it according to the doctor. He had tried several times to visit the room she was in and make friends with her, but he had a feeling that it would be a little on the sentimental side and he never could handle sentimentality. Add that to the fact that he had slowly begun to resent her. Or, maybe not her, just the situation they were in.

In a matter of weeks, she had become the darling of the entire household. Even her father seemed to like her, which was highly unusual. If he heard one more comment about how nice she was or how sweet she could be, he would probably go stark raving mad. His face darkened at the thought. Since when did he become this childish? Did he even have the right to think that? Especially since he was the one who put her there?

He began stretching his legs to occupy his time. He wished his mother would hurry up.

It wasn't long before he heard the swinging of a door and Yumi appeared before him, smiling happily.

"Kenshin, you're here. Did you wait long?" she asked, walking gracefully towards her son.

He shrugged, not moving from where he was sitting. He noticed how his mother's enthusiasm was dampened by his reaction.

"Oh, alright then," she uncertainly continued, "I just wanted to discuss our guest's condition. This won't take long."

"What's to discuss? She's doing fine, isn't she? We're feeding her, clothing her, sheltering her. What more can we do?" he responded a little too harshly.

His mother's frowned.

"Is there anything wrong, honey?"

"No, mom there isn't," Kenshin replied, eager to just get this conversation over with. "Okay, I'm listening, shoot," he gave in.

Yumi still looked perplexed, but she spoke up anyway.

"She has fully recovered physically. But-"

"But she still doesn't remember a thing, right?" he interrupted.

"Yes, she still has amnesia and the specialists we've hired don't know how to remedy it yet. Until then, we will continue to take care of her. Your father and I have already contacted the proper authorities and have left them the task of finding her family."

"Looks like you've got everything figured out."

"It seems that way. But there is still something we've failed to resolve."

Here it comes.

"She really is a very cheerful girl, but, even though she has repeatedly told us that she's okay, we feel that it would be best for her to start living a normal life again."

"And, by normal, you mean what?"

"School. Going out. Making friends."

"And where do I come in?" he asked her, hoping that whatever she said wouldn't be that bad.

"You're going to be her guide."

"Her what?" he snorted.

He was not made for jobs like guiding someone. Reaching out and being friendly were simply not things he was good at.

"It's not as bad as it sounds," his mother cooed, "Just take her to school and back. Accompany her to a few parties and introduce her to people. I'm sure she'll have no trouble fitting in. She's a wonderful girl," Yumi concluded smiling.

Don't give in. Stay strong man.

"If she's so wonderful, why can't she get along by herself," he said carelessly.

"Kenshin!" she exclaimed reprovingly,

"But mom-"

"Don't 'but mom' me, young man," she interjected, "Don't think I haven't noticed that you still have not gone to visit the poor girl. Not even for a couple of measly minutes. I'm beginning to think that you have something against her."

His mother fixed him with a hard stare, and he unconsciously shifted in his seat. She could be just as stubborn as his father, and, maybe, even more convincing when she wanted to be. And Kenshin had no doubt that she was choosing to be at that moment. He could already feel his resolve weakening. But he found his nerve and resumed his struggle.

"I don't have anything against her. It's just that I'm not really good at those things. I'd probably end up scaring her."

But, even to him, he sounded lame. He was a goner. He knew it. And so did she.

"I'm sure you'll be fine," Yumi said, looking at him sharply. "Now, no more excuses and go to school already. You will take her with you tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow!"

This time, he was the one shocked.

"Why so soon?"

"The sooner, the better."

He couldn't help but express his displeasure, which his mother ignored.

"You will do it, right?" she asked him, arching her eyebrow. Her usually gentle face was clenched in quiet determination.

"Yes mom," he heard himself saying.

Kenshin was stuck.

The raven-haired girl put on the uniform the maid had placed on her bed earlier as quickly as possible. She started to panic when her hand began fumbling with the zipper.

"Oh no! This. Cannot. Be. Happening!"

She forced it up with one violent pull and didn't bother looking at it even when she heard a funny sound. She immediately rushed to the mirror, grabbed a brush, and ran it through her hair a few times. She was going to be in major trouble if she didn't get out soon. She knew for a fact that Mrs. Himura's son had been waiting for her for a good twenty minutes now. But it wasn't my fault. She had set the alarm clock to ring at 6:30. How was she to know that it had no batteries? Stupid machines. Only work when you don't need them.

As she slung her bag over her shoulders, she got a glimpse of black hair and white skin. Her body automatically paused. Her reflection. Her eyes suddenly became glassy. The rapid knocking of a servant woke her from her reverie.

"Ma'am, Sir Kenshin asked me to tell you that he's at the living room. He's waiting for you there."

She gasped as the present came flooding back and she remembered where she was and what she was supposed to be doing. This is not the time to space out.

"Tell him, I'll be right there. I'll just take a sec."

She scanned her room one more time, trying to search for things she might have forgotten to bring. This is definitely not my day.

Finally, she was able to step out of the room and enter the long hallway. In her haste, she didn't even realize that this was the first time that she had gone out of her chamber. And that she had no idea where she was going. She just kept on running, whisking past the portraits of the Himura's different family members.

Then it all caught up with her when she found herself in front of a wide entranceway that led to several rooms. Oh god. She stayed in the same spot, jumping up and down, trying to figure out what she was going to do. Their son must hate me by now. He must think I'm major prima donna. She looked back, hoping to find someone. But she was completely alone. Nothing but thick painted walls and incredibly bright lights surrounded her. This place is too darn big!

"Umm..hello..hello…Anyone here!"

Kenshin looked at the grandfather clock beside him. He huffed in frustration. When was this damn girl going to appear? He had been there for 30 minutes now. He was seriously considering leaving her.

"I'm giving her five minutes and then I'm outta here," he mumbled.

With an impatient growl, he pulled himself up and started pacing across the marble floor. This chick is too much trouble! He still had to meet Manami before class. He wasn't ready to drop her just yet.

Getting tired, he walked towards the wooden shelf, which held some of his father's books. Kenshin scanned the numerous titles and concluded that every one of them was just as boring as the rest. How can my father read all of these? His eyes rested upon a phrase. 'The Agony of Being'. Interesting.

"Never knew father was such a sap."

He took it in his hands and sat down again, leafing through it and not minding the blaring television. Snippets of paragraphs and scenes met his eyes. The book was actually not that bad.

But before he could continue his examination of the work, he heard shouting in the hall. It reverberated all throughout the house.

"Akima."

A sad-looking petite woman came in.

"Sir Kenshin?" she asked shyly, looking at the ground.

He ignored her obvious discomfort and coolly asked her to see what all the racket was about. She acknowledged his order with a shy bow and excused herself. When the maid was gone, he continued his perusal of the novel.

It wasn't long before he heard footsteps.

The faint scent of jasmine reached his nose and he stopped and unconsciously breathed into it. And here she is. He sensed hesitation and he smirked inwardly. No way was he going to help her out. Kenshin waited patiently for her to say something, his back to her.

She was quickly able to move past her awkwardness.

"I am SO sorry," she said pleadingly. "The useless clock didn't ring and I woke up about an hour later than I had originally planned. Oh god, I made you wait for so long. Are we late? Cause if we are, I'll just die. Really. Then I got lost and couldn't figure out what to do, so I started shouting. I disturbed you, didn't I? It's a good thing Akima found me."

His lips twitched in amusement when she paused to breathe and then resumed her banter.

"My first day! I can't believe this. I bet you're just dying to kill me. I promise it'll never happen again. I do. Next time, you can make me wait. I swear. I-"

"Look, let's just go, okay,' he said coldly.

As much as he liked hearing her squirm, he knew they had to leave already. So he regretfully put an end to her discomfort.

"Just try not to take too long grooming next time," he added disdainfully.

The woman behind was clearly taken aback. He could almost hear her hissing.

"I was not grooming."

"Sure, whatever..err.."

He stopped for just the briefest moment. But it was enough to make him uncomfortable. Silence followed. And then.

"Ummm…it's okay. It doesn't really bother me," he heard her say a little too steadily.

"Everyone cares whether he or she has a name or not," he countered.

"Yeah but-"

"Do you want everyone to keep calling you Miss all the time?"

"No but-"

"So it's not okay."

"That's not what I mean. I-"

"Then what do you mean-"

"Would you let me talk please!" She said sharply.

Kenshin could hardly contain his smile and it took all of his willpower to maintain his rigid composure.

"Then talk."

"I will, thank you very much," she said, attempting to conceal her anger. "For your information, I've already thought about it and I've decided to choose a name for myself. Just call me Sami."

"Sami?" he snorted.

"What's wrong with Sami!" the girl exclaimed stiffly.

"I think the proper question would be what's right with it?"

This is just too much. This time, he could no longer stop himself from grinning.

"Oh, is that so," she sputtered.

"Yes, that is so."

"If you're so brilliant, what would you suggest then?"

The question seemed to hang in the air between them.

Strangely, it made him think. What would I name her? He tried looking around the room, searching for something.

"I'm waiting," came her annoying singsong.

His gaze fell upon the book he was holding. A thought struck him.

"Kaoru."

"What?"

"Kaoru," he repeated, looking at her for the first time as he carelessly tossed her the book.

When his cynical eyes met her angry ones, Kenshin did the smallest of double takes.

She started in surprise when he threw her the book. After she caught it, she turned furious eyes toward him. The man was absolutely infuriating. And he had just spent around five minutes talking to her while sitting on a chair, facing the television. Of all the rude things!

But, at that instant, her eyes connected with amber. Deep, hot amber. You have got to be kidding me!

Her hand froze just the slightest bit. Conversation ceased and she watched as his eyes left hers and slowly traveled down her body. Her face flushed and she felt as if she should be covering herself for some reason. Looking at him now, she could understand why all the younger maids spoke about him in giggles. He smirked knowingly at her stunned expression. The sight made all of her initial rage return.

Sure, he might seem a little cute to some people, but she was most definitely not about to join his fan club. And that jerk is looking at me as if he knows exactly what I'm thinking. The thought made her blood boil.

She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him.

"What are you looking at?" she spat.

"What are you looking at?"

She literally bit her tongue to keep herself from saying something she knew she would regret. He eyed her chosen silence in amusement.

"So," he said, in an attempt to bring back their past conversation, "what do you think about the name?"

"What name?"

"What else? Kaoru."

She'd forgotten about that.

"Oh that name," she said with false indifference. She paused for a few seconds, making sure to give a bad interpretation of a person thinking, "umm..it's okay, I guess."

"You guess?" he smirked, "It's certainly better than Sami."

"Will you quit with the Sami thing!" she responded in exasperation.

"You're just embarrassed because you came up with a really crappy name."

That was it! She had had it! Her vision disappeared and all she saw was red. The next thing she knew, she was throwing the book back at Kenshin. This time with a lot more force. The arrogant boy looked at the object in alarm. I hope it hits you. And she really thought it would. But before there was any sort of contact, he bent down in one fluid motion and missed it by a hair. It ended up crashing into the wall behind him.

She was normally not the type of person who held grudges. In fact, she forgave rather easily. But she simply could not believe that this man had the nerve to mock and ridicule her when he was the reason why she had ended up in a bed for several weeks. To top it all of, he hadn't even bothered to visit her or give her flowers or say hello or anything!

"What's your problem! That could have hit me!" he shouted.

"Too bad it didn't!"

He looked at her in disbelief. Then those amber eyes narrowed.

"Fine be that way!" And he stormed out of the room. "Let's just get the hell outta here."

She grimly followed him out and allowed him to lead her along the vast passageways and out of the house where his car was waiting for them.

"Get in," he said.

She slid in soundlessly, not looking at him.

Kenshin started the engine and maneuvered his wheels out of the driveway. A few seconds later, they found themselves driving across the long road towards their school. He knew he was speeding. But he didn't care. He sat beside her fuming. When he first got a good look at her, he had been quite surprised at how she was not the ugly, poor woman he had expected. In fact, he had even gone as far as to check her out, and had found himself liking what he saw. But she just had to open her mouth. And had tried to physically harm him.

His anger kept him occupied all throughout the ride. His companion didn't say a thing either, which was how he liked it. It wasn't long before they arrived at school.

"We're here," he said coldly.

She took a deep breath when she heard his words. She had a feeling a lot of things were going to happen.

Author's Notes: So, how do you like it? I hope you're not too disappointed. The good news is that the next chapter will start with them going to school (finally) so it's gonna be a bit more interesting. I hope….Don't forget to review smiles About 'The Agony of Being', I just made it all up so if there really is a book entitled such, I had no idea whatsoever and I wasn't attempting to "steal" it or anything.