Author's Notes: Hey! I'm back with another chapter. Really hope you review coz how will I be able to know what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong? That, plus the fact that I'm a review-hungry author..hehe..I live and breathe for your reviews..Ok, That was an exaggeration. But you get the picture, right? This is 2 pages longer than the last one so I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: Don't own RK.

The Looking Glass

Chapter 3: The Unattainable

As he turned the engine off, he heard her mutter, "finally." Stupid, arrogant chick.

He swiftly got out of the car and automatically took a few steps forward. Then he realized that she had not done the same. He looked back at her annoyed, his mouth set in a scowl. When Kenshin's eyes landed on her face, he was surprised to see that her forehead was wrinkled worriedly and her eyes were unsteady. She's nervous.

"You're not scared, are you?" he asked a little too sarcastically.

Her eyes refocused almost immediately and gave him the glare that he was hurriedly becoming familiar with.

"I'm not scared of anything," she retorted, her blue eyes darkening.

He chuckled, the corners of his mouth turning upward.

"We'll see," he replied, smirking at the angry girl who had gotten out of the vehicle and was now standing across him with her arms crossed.

"Can you handle getting to class alone or do you need me to look after you?"

He gave her a patronizing stare. Her gaze intensified.

"I'll be fine as long as I'm away from you," she exclaimed scathingly.

He chuckled once again, simply because he knew it infuriated her.

"Then have fun." He turned around and started walking away.

Kenshin could still feel her blazing eyes and he felt a little guilty for disobeying his mother. But he shook the feeling away. She's a big girl. And I've got things to do. He smiled at the thought of Manami and how she was undoubtedly waiting for him beside his locker.

After a few seconds of walking and passing by several entranceways, he arrived at his destination. There she was, leaning against the wall, wearing a hot pink top and a short, black skirt. Her brown hair loose and her green eyes sparkling. His eyes were immediately drawn to her long legs.

"Hey lover," she greeted, smiling provocatively.

"Hey yourself," he said, casually slipping an arm around her waist and pulling her towards him.

"You gonna give me a kiss or what?" he whispered.

She giggled and looked at him through downcast lashes. Kenshin smiled. He knew how this game was played and had played it several times with girls exactly like Manami. They all wanted the same thing and he decided to give her just that. His lips planted themselves directly on her full mouth and he felt her pull him in, her lips responding to his every movement. Kenshin had her crushed between the locker and his body in a matter of seconds. But much to his amusement, she didn't seem to mind at all. Just when they were getting more passionate, they heard a loud and annoying voice.

"Take it to a room, man!"

Kenshin disentangled himself from her eager embrace and faced his grinning friend.

"Into spying now, Sano?"

"Spying's all about keeping it a secret. Sucking face in the middle of the entire school isn't exactly what I call discreet," the tall boy teased.

Kenshin couldn't help but smile at that and brought his eyes once again to the girl clinging to his arm.

"You alright?"

She looked at him coyly. "I'll be alright when we can finish this," she replied softly and started walking down the hall, her hips swaying promisingly. The two boys kept their eyes glued to her retreating back until she was out of sight.

"That girl is hot, dude."

The redhead laughed. They exchanged high fives and started going to their first class.

"How long do you think she'll last?" Sano asked.

"Considering she's a good kisser, a week tops," he said indifferently.

"No way, she's gotta be worth at least two weeks."

He looked at his friend with a look of fake wisdom. "See, that's what separates us. You stop for anything. I, on the other hand, flow."

At that, Sano snorted. "I see your head hasn't gotten any smaller."

"I just call it like it is."

"Whatever."

Silence followed.

"So, how's the chick you hit?"

He grimaced at Sano's sudden question.

"Talk about random. Where did that come from?"

"It came from a very bored friend with nothing to talk about and the fact that you've been ranting about her for the past week," Sano said sarcastically.

A pair of angry blue eyes flashed before him.

"Been handling it. She actually went to school with me today," came his dismissive answer.

Sanosuke looked at him with a spark of interest. "How come you didn't say anything?"

"Didn't think it was important."

"What's she like?"

"A real pain in the butt."

"It can't be that bad."

"It's worse."

He could see Sano shrugging his shoulders.

"She hot?"

He remembered how she looked when he finally turned to her.

"Nothing special."

"Too bad. Thought I'd check her out."

"You'd be wasting your time," Kenshin responded, leaning in and opening the door to their English classroom.

Bright sunlight followed and noise immediately invaded their ears. He could feel a dozen eyes on him and already knew that most of the girls there were trying to figure out if today was their lucky day. But, strangely enough, he didn't feel like flirting with them like he usually did. He was having a bad day and Sano mentioning his family's guest wasn't helping one bit. He went instead to the corner where more of their friends were hanging out and received their grunts and slaps with considerable ease.

"How's it going?" the smiling guy next to him asked.

"It's been alright. How've you been doing, Soujirou?"

"Feeling pretty good. Got a new girl."

"This one gonna stay?"

"Depends," Soujirou replied, his eyes mischievous.

"Hey, where's Enishi?" Sano interjected, sinking smoothly into the chair behind Kenshin.

"Late I guess. Had some fun with a blond the night before. So must be feeling tired."

"Nice explanation, Okiya," Sano said, laughing.

"Only one that fits, man."

And all of them dissolved into laughter.

I hate him. Kaoru was repeating this like a mantra. If she had thought that he was annoying when they were arguing in his house, then she definitely felt worse now that she was roaming around the ridiculously huge school he went to, which, by the way, he forgot to mention could pass for a castle! She had already spent 10 minutes just trying to figure out where the principal's office was in order to get a list of her subjects and rooms. And, after a very tiring and fruitless search, here she was, stranded in the middle of the hall, looking as lost as a helpless bird. I hate this! Why did I ever tell him I didn't need his help? His arrogant eyes came back to her and she instantly knew why.

She sighed loudly and leaned against the wall behind her. Closing her eyes, she tried to drive the tension away from her body.

"Anything I can do to help?" a smooth voice interrupted.

Her eyes flung open. Her head swiftly turned towards the intruder. A few feet away, stood one of the cutest boys she had ever seen and he was slowly walking towards her, his eyes glinting with amusement. She stared at him awestruck as she took in his silver hair and lean body. She vaguely remembered a TV show she had recently watched about silly high school crushes and realized just how well this scene fit in. The guy looked like he had just stepped out of a magazine. The nearer he came, the more she noticed how good-looking he was. He looks like candy. She blushed at the thought and immediately regretted it, knowing that he noticed by his slight smirk.

"Need some help?" he asked, now standing right in front of her.

She looked up at him almost shyly and noticed his silver eyes.

"Ummm…No thanks..Think I can pretty much handle it," she responded hurriedly, unable to look away. He had amazing eyes.

"Are you sure? I can be pretty helpful."

He smiled. He has an amazing smile too.

"That's alright. I've got it covered," she smiled back.

"Oh..okay then. I guess I'll be seeing you."

She didn't miss the fact that his eyes had clouded over with disappointment and felt like punching herself when he shrugged and started moving away from her. Stupid. She tried to figure out what to do next, but she was just too nervous. Should I ask him or not? Her brain went into overdrive. Her gaze suddenly darted to his back. Even from behind, his hot!

"Wait."

She watched as he slowly turned, her heart skipping a few beats.

"Do you know where the principal's office is?"

His eyes crinkled.

"Know it? I get called to go there almost every week. It's like my second home."

She grinned.

"Can you tell me where it is?"

"Can I bring you there instead?"

Enishi looked at the hottie walking beside him. His skin started to tingle and he knew that if he didn't get to touch her right now, he just might lose it. Man, this girl is gorgeous. He couldn't stop checking her out. There was just too much to check out. She had on a skirt that was pretty modest, but it clung to her legs in a way that she probably didn't even know and contrasted with her milky white skin. As for the rest of her body, it was covered with a blue shirt that wasn't too tight but showed off just the right amount of curves. He just couldn't keep his eyes from wandering to her small, tight waist and was imagining how it would feel to put his arm around it.

She must have felt him staring because she looked at him with uncertainty and a hint of nervousness.

"Is anything wrong," her perfect set of ruby lips asked.

"Nah. Everything's cool. Just wondering how someone as hot as you got stranded here," he replied, turning on the charm.

Just as he expected, she blushed. Damn she's cute. She had the most amazing blue eyes he had ever laid eyes on and a face that could almost pass for perfect. And her hair. He could smell it even from where he was standing and it was intoxicating.

"I don't know. Just ended up here somehow. Life can be kinda weird sometimes."

"Yeah, it can be."

Kenshin was pretty much ready to go to sleep. Can this teacher be any boring? He could hear half the class whispering animatedly and Sano snoring loudly behind him. And the poor man in front of him, Mr. Kurosaya, was still droning on and on about e.e cummings, obviously trying to ignore his students' blatant lack of interest. Kenshin pitied him. But that didn't make the teacher interesting. Wish there was something I could do to shake things up.

Then he noticed a girl constantly glancing at him. He smirked inwardly. He could see that she wasn't hard on the eyes. In fact, he had even thought of hooking up with her a couple of times. What's her name again? Aki..something. He caught her eye and smiled slowly, making sure that she knew he was looking at her. She leaned towards him, not breaking eye contact. No harm in a little flirtation.

That was when the door suddenly opened and everyone's eyes turned to see who came in so late, including him. When he spotted that raven hair, he immediately knew who it was. She was followed by none other than a grinning Enishi. Great. Just my luck.

He felt the entire class go silent and even Sano woke up from his stupor. He watched her closely. She was apparently surprised and embarrassed by all the attention they were getting. He noticed her draw back a little. Enishi, on the other hand, looked very relaxed and very pleased.

"Well, Mr. Yukishiro, it looks like you're early for second period."

"Yeah, it looks that way," his friend said mildly.

"But this is the first period, Mr. Yukishiro," the irritated man snapped.

Some of the students laughed.

"Listen, teach," he said, holding his hands up, "Don't bust me up. I was just helping a lovely damsel in distress."

He looked at the girl beside him and she seemed less than glad at having their eyes pinned on her once again. Not so loud now. He thought with satisfaction and silently rejoiced at the fact that she was uncomfortable.

"Woah. She's fine!" Sano muttered in his ear.

He inexplicably felt irritation.

"She's not that hot," he said, trying to sound unimpressed.

"What! What do you mean? You blind or something? All the guys here are practically salivating," Sano exclaimed, outraged that his friend was such a poor judge of beauty.

And he was right. Every other man in the room was looking at her like she was Aphrodite incarnate.

"She's just like every other chick we've got here," he said, his eyes narrowing as she started to speak.

"I'm so sorry for the inconvenience, sir," she started, "Enishi was just helping me get a hold of my schedule."

She could definitely sound sweet when she wanted to.

Mr. Kurosaya smiled at her and assured her that it was okay. Relief came flooding into her eyes, and she grinned back.

"Take your seat, Mr. Yukishiro and, as for you,…err"

"Kaoru," she stated.

Kenshin looked at her in surprise. Her face had not changed. It was still steady.

"Kaoru…," the teacher prodded.

"Samiya Kaoru," a voice said.

He was shocked to realize that it was his voice. What the hell? But he willed his expression to not falter. And he saw that she was looking at him for the first time. It was obvious that she had not realized he was there and he couldn't read the expression in her eyes. The people around them were whispering frantically, interested in the fact that he knew this newcomer. Even Enishi was looking at him rather oddly. But Kenshin kept on looking at her, as if daring her to say anything.

"Actually, it's Kamiya," she said clearly, looking at him pointedly.

"Alright Ms. Kamiya, since you and Mr. Himura seem to know each other, you can sit right in front of him."

Both of them stiffened and, this time, everyone could see how she hesitated. She looked at the chair and then at him and back at the chair again. He smirked. So. Getting a little nervous. Knowing she couldn't do anything, she resigned herself to her fate, started walking towards the chair. She didn't even look at him when she settled down.

"Can't believe you know her and you didn't even tell us!"

Kenshin and his friends were in the cafeteria along with the rest of the student population and, just as he had anticipated, they were all ganging up on him and badgering him with questions about Kaoru.

"Look, I didn't think it was important," he stated for the millionth time.

All his companions burst into speeches on how they thought it was important. He simply blocked them out, trying to forget the fact that invading his home life was not enough for her, now she was trying to invade his school life as well.

Practically the whole student body now knew about the mysterious new girl, how she was said to be drop-dead gorgeous and was apparently living with him. He had lost track of all the rumors escalating about their supposed relationship and had lost all hope of trying to suppress them. Teenage mouths were just too hard to stop. And his friends weren't any better. Finally, because he couldn't handle all the noise, he placed two of his fingers in his mouth and gave a loud whistle. They all stopped and looked at him as if he was crazy.

"Let's talk about something else," he told them.

Their confusion grew.

"Is anything wrong, Kenshin? You seem out of it," Soujirou said.

"Don't mind him," Sano interrupted, taking a biscuit and gobbling it up, "He's gone blind overnight."

"It's not a question of being blind," Enishi spoke, "It's a question of being in denial."

Kenshin raised his eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I mean the reason why you're not as interested in her as we are is because you already made a move on her and got rejected," he smirked.

Sano choked on his biscuit.

"You know, I never thought of it that way," his friend said knowingly, "But I think you're right, Enishi."

Enishi leaned back on his chair and fixed Kenshin with a challenging stare. Kenshin could feel himself getting angry. Enishi always liked to bait him.

"No, I haven't come on to her," he said slowly, "Be thankful that I haven't or you wouldn't have a chance in hell."

His rival's eyes sparked with anger. They all knew that Enishi had set his sights on her. The rest of their friends were looking at them worriedly. The tension was piling up.

"I wouldn't be so cocky if I were you. You know you can't have her and that's why you're moping," he replied through clenched teeth.

"I always get what I want," he stated arrogantly, "There's no one I can't have."

"Oh yeah," Enishi smirked again, "Why don't you prove it?" He stared at a point beyond Kenshin's shoulder.

Kenshin looked back and saw Kaoru at a table a few feet away from theirs. For a moment he was uneasy. They weren't exactly the best of friends. What if he got embarrassed? He watched as she reached for a sandwich and started to eat. Cool it, Kenshin. You can handle her. Just be a bit friendlier and she's all yours. He didn't let the others see his hesitation and faced them with a small smile.

"Watch and learn."

He stood up and started to walk towards Kaoru. He could feel their eyes upon him and knew they were very anxious to see how she would react. Fine, he could act like he was into her.

As he got nearer, he knew that she sensed him and she looked up to catch him staring at her.

"Hi," he said smiling, then went ahead and sat across her.

Her blue orbs widened in bewilderment.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked, beaming at her in a way that he hoped was irresistible. But she apparently didn't seem to think so.

"What do you want?" she snapped.

He tried his best to look innocently appalled.

"I don't need a reason to want to sit with you, do I?" he asked her.

Her eyes narrowed and she looked at his snickering friends behind him.

"If this is some sort of bet or some sick initiation you and your friends have, then count me out," she said, dropping her sandwich and crossing her arms. She seemed to do that often when she was around him.

"Kaoru, it's not like that. I just came to say sorry," he insisted.

Strangely, this seemed to infuriate her even more.

"You don't honestly think you can sweet talk me, do you?"

"That's not what I'm trying to do."

"Look," she replied, standing up and gathering her books, "Don't treat me like some bimbo who'll just fall all over you whenever you smile, because I'm not. Frankly, I find it hard to believe that you want to be friends all of a sudden when, just a few hours ago, you were making fun of me."

And with that, she stormed out of the cafeteria without a second look. His cheeks started to burn.

"Strike!" he heard Enishi shout.

Kenshin and Kaoru drove home in silence, both refusing to acknowledge the other. Kaoru secretly looked at him for a second. It looked as if he was thinking about something really important. She wondered why he hadn't bugged her about what happened in the cafeteria. She was sorry she had acted that rudely, but, when she realized that he was doing it simply because of his friends, she had been outraged.

All day long, she had battled with the stares and the occasional glares from some of the girls. She felt as if she was being held under a microscope and was being slowly dissected. And she didn't like the feeling. Somehow, she didn't want them to know she had lost her memory. And she was surprised to realize that Kenshin probably didn't tell his friends also, since there was still no gossip about that. The only good thing he's done all morning.

They finally arrived at the Himuras' estate and she struggled to open the car door as fast as she could, but, to her consternation, found that it was locked. She turned to Kenshin in bewilderment.

"Don't ever do that again," he muttered.

Now, she was really confused.

"Do what again?"

"Embarrass me like that!"

He met her questioning gaze. She was startled to see that his amber eyes had darkened.

"You don't want to test me, Kaoru," he proclaimed, "I rule that school."

She was speechless. She honestly didn't know what to say. Whatever fear she might have had was quickly replaced with disbelief. She couldn't believe his conceit. Himura Kenshin was undoubtedly a spoiled brat. It was time for so someone to knock him down a peg or two.

"Listen, Kenshin, and listen good," she responded, glowering at him, "You might have this twisted notion of how everyone should treat you and it might have been followed in the past by all those so-called fans of yours. But treat me differently! I am not a puppy and, most especially, not your puppy. If I don't like you, then I don't like you!"

"Who do you-," he started.

"I'm not finished!" she interrupted, stilling him.

Now, it was Kenshin who seemed speechless, looking at her like he couldn't believe what she was saying.

"I will not be threatened nor will I be commanded. Is that clear?" she finished.

It took him quite a while to recover and, when he began speaking again, Kaoru knew he was angry.

"I don't think you know who you're talking to."

"I think I do. You're Himura Kenshin, a childish kid trying to act like a man."

"What!"

"Do you want me to repeat it?" she asked, trying to get a rise out of him.

She almost burst out laughing when she saw how his mouth opened and then closed again. The sight of him so powerless made her feel very mean and she decided to rile him up just a little bit more.

She stared at him for a while.

"Why?" she whispered, "What were you expecting me to do?"

She looked at him intently and he was suddenly very quiet. She slowly moved forward and leaned towards him, putting her hands on his chest. She could feel his heartbeat speed up and could smell his aftershave.

She allowed her hand to stay that way, letting it rise and fall with his chest. Both their eyes were drawn to her fingers.

"What are you doing-"

"Did you expect me to do this," she whispered, this time just over his ear. He turned to face her. And she could feel the breath from his lips.

She felt him clutch the steering wheel harder. Kaoru was very much aware of the fact that the car had become a bit suffocating. She decided it was time to quit.

"Not gonna happen," she stated, pushing him away and reaching over to unlock the doors.

"See you," Kaoru said, trying to appearchirpy,and left a wide-eyed Kenshin inside the car.

Kenshin punched the nearest thing beside him. Damn her! He thought, trying to slow his heart down.
Author's Notes: How'd you like it? I'm trying not to make it seem as if Kenshin and Kaoru immediately fall for each other, I just want to establish the fact that they are, from the start, attracted to one another, though they try to ignore it. Why does Kenshin seem to dislike Kaoru so much? You'll know a couple of chapters away. If there are any errors, grammatical or otherwise, then forgive me. I'm just a lazy writer who, up to now, still hasn't rechecked the chapters. Does Enishi have silver eyes? Don't really know.

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