A RK Cinderella Story

by: nyllemnev

Disclaimer: They're not mine...

Chapter 13: Back to Tokyo

Kenshin smiled as he watched the servants put his trunks into the carriage. 'At last... we're going back to Tokyo..' he thought happily.

"At last we're going back!" Sano voiced out Kenshin's thoughts which made the young prince frown in confusion at him. "Why? Aren't you the one who's really keen on going back?" he raised an eyebrow as he caught Kenshin frowning at him.

"Yeah… it's just that… you seemed, well, you're just too excited to go back." Kenshin shrugged.

"Hell yeah, I am!" Sano rolled his eyes knowing where this thing will be going. "I can't stand being in here with that stupid…"

"You know, you should at least apologize to her… I mean…"

"It's her fault, not mine." Sano said stubbornly. "She should apologize! She thinks too high of herself just because she is a princess."

"Oh, c'mon Sano… but tell me honestly, you called her something that made her annoyed, right?"

"I'm just telling her the truth."

"Fine… fine… this is leading nowhere…" Kenshin shook his head. "I'll just walk around here."

"Fine." Sano, who was still in a bad mood to care. He just stood there and watched the servants put their things in the carriage.

Kaoru sighed as she stared at her reflection on a small mirror, her hand carefully touching the little blue spot on her right cheek. 'Mou… what will I do to hide this? Maybe I'll just let my hair fall for today…' she thought, putting her green ribbon back on her small drawer, together with her small mirror.

'I got to get up now and start working…' Kaoru thought as she stood up and stepped out of her 'room'.

"Oh… so the little devil is finally up!" Tomoe said sarcastically as Kaoru passed her room.

"Ohayo, Tomoe-san…" Kaoru said, as politely as she could while Tomoe only narrowed her eyes at her.

"I don't see what's good in the morning!" Tomoe said before closing her door right in front of Kaoru's face with a loud bang. Kaoru only looked down and sighed. 'I guess, they're very mad at me now… This is going to be a long day…' she thought as she headed for the kitchen.

"I'll have to start making breakfast now." she said to herself as she opened the kitchen doors. She let out a sigh of relief when she didn't see Yahiko inside. "Better start working now…" she said more to herself as she opened a cabinet to get some cooking utensils and some vegetables.

"How's your night?" Kaoru bit her lip as she felt Yahiko enter the kitchen, mustering all the courage that she could, she gave him a small smile.

"Ohayo… you're early today."

"I heard the witch yelling at you last night." Yahiko frowned, taking a seat. "What happened this time?"

"Er… I just did something wrong…" she said, nervously making sure that her long hair is covering the small mark on her face. "Yeah… they always do that when I did something wrong…" she repeated.

"Really, huh?" Yahiko smirked. "You don't usually get that for doing something wrong." he added, pointing at the bluish spot on Kaoru's right cheek.

"Oh… this?" Kaoru lets out another nervous smile. "I got it when… er… when I fell down the stairs… I was so clumsy really…"

"Oh really?"

"Yeah… I should be more careful next time, I think…" she lets out a nervous giggle. "Better start working now." she turned her back to Yahiko and started to chop some vegetables.

"Don't lie. I saw everything last night." Yahiko said making Kaoru's widened, almost cutting her finger with her knife. "I peeked through the window when I heard the old witch yelling at you."

"Mou!"

"Honestly… you should learn to fight back, you know? You're a martial artist… a very good one, well, next to me, of course… but you're letting them hurt you like that." Yahiko sighed, "You shouldn't waste those lessons and trainings that Kamiya-sensei have given you, you know?"

"I couldn't do that… my father taught…"

"The sword that protects… yeah, he did… But the thing is, you're not using it to protect yourself."

"But I don't want to hurt them… I mean, it's nothing really… I'm used to it." Kaoru replied in a low voice.

"Well… fine… whatever you think will do." Yahiko sighed, shaking his head. "I wouldn't be surprise to see you dead next time… See you later." he added, quickly standing up from his seat and getting out of the room, leaving Kaoru thinking about what he just said.

'Now surprised when he saw me… dead?'

"Prince Kenshin!" Sayo smiled as she saw the redheaded prince walking around the palace.

"Good morning, Princess Sayo." Kenshin returned her smile. "I'm really sorry about Sano… well, he's not really like that… he's just that…"

"I don't wanna talk about him… Mou!" Sayo pouted a little. "He is sooo… arghh! Please, I don't wanna ruin my day."

"Sumimasen…"

"You're going back to Tokyo, I believe." Sayo asked, as she stood in front of Kenshin who only nodded at her.

"Hai… we'll be leaving in a couple of hours."

"I see." Sayo sighed. "Well, I really enjoyed your stay here… I hoped you'll visit us again, that I do."

"I enjoyed my stay here too." Kenshin smiled. "And yes… I would be glad to visit you again some other time, though it would be better if you'll go visit Tokyo some time. It's a very nice place."

"I would love that." Sayo smiled back, blushing a little.

"It's a deal then." Kenshin said, "…I'll be expecting you in the palace some other time, my new friend."

'My new friend?' Sayo mentally frowned at that but decided to just let it pass. "Of course." she said out loud in the usual gentle tone in her voice.

"I think… I better get going then…" Kenshin said, glancing at his golden watch before placing it back on the pockets of his coat.

"Hai… be careful on your trip, then." Sayo flashed a faked smile.

"Water!" Megumi said to Kaoru who quickly poured some water on her glass.

"Me too." Kamatari and Tomoe both said at the same time to Kaoru.

"I'm there." Kaoru said, as she poured some water on Kamatari's glass, then on Tomoe's.

"You'll have to go to the market to buy me a new handkerchief, don't forget that." Tomoe said, glaring at the quiet Kaoru. "I want white… get that?!? Not pink, not yellow."

"Definitely, Tomoe-san." Kaoru nodded her head a little.

"You'll have to pick up that kimono I made that Sekihara-woman made for me after that." Kamatari said. "And those usual things too…" she gave Kaoru a knowing look.

"I'll do that."

"Alright." Megumi said. "Clean the whole house up before going then… We're going out for a while and I want everything done before we get back."

"Certainly."

"I'm finished." Megumi said, pushing her empty plate aside before standing up.

"Me too." Kamatari said with a huge smile on her face before purposely spilling the contents of her glass of water on the floor. "Ooops… sorry." she giggled before running out of the room.

"Manners, sister." Tomoe said before leaving Kaoru alone in the dining hall.

"Did you find out his weakness?" a man, wearing a dark blue cloak said to some nasty-looking men.

"We're not sure yet… but our spies told us that he's seen talking with that Yokohama princess once." it was a huge man who answered.

"I see."

"What do you want to do, master?" it was another man who answered. "Do you want us to get the girl?"

"No, no… We can't say that she's already his weakness just because you saw him talking to her once." the cloaked man said. "Make sure first that your information is correct."

"Right, master."

"Watch his every move as for now. I'll give you a signal when it's safe to attack… We have to be careful 'coz he's really tough."

"As you wish master." and with that, the nasty-looking men disappeared in sight.

"What's wrong with you Sano?" Kenshin frowned as he watched his whistling friend.

"What?" Sano frowned too.

"You seem so… er… so happy that we're going back to Tokyo."

"Why? Aren't you?"

"Of course I'm happy that we're going back to Tokyo…" Kenshin gave a small nod. "But… I just thought that you're kinda acting a little weird lately."

"I'm not." Sano said flatly. "And if you're going to start lecturing me about that old maid… just shut up!"

"Fine!" Kenshin sighed. "Whatever you say, Sano."

"I don't like her!" Sano growled. "I don't! Who would like a woman who looked like an old maid! Arghh! I'd rather die a bachelor!"

"Whatever you say, my friend." Kenshin sighed. He starting to get tired listening to his friend rumble about a certain princess. He just stared outside, letting his mind wonder about a certain Tokyo girl…

"Ohayo!" Kaoru greeted as she entered her friend Tae's shop.

"Kaoru-chan! It's nice to see you again… you're welcome." Tae cheerfully gave her friend a hug. "You're not visiting me for a while now."

"Gomen… I was… er… kinda busy lately." Kaoru smiled at her friend.

"What's that on your face?" Tae frowned, placing Kaoru's hair that fell on her face on the back of her ear. "Mou! Who did this to you?"

"Oh… er… it's nothing." Kaoru said, covering the bluish spot on her cheek with her hair again. "Just an accident… I fell down the stairs."

"Mou! You should be careful next time." Tae said at Kaoru sternly. "Mou! It would ruin your face… your pretty face."

"I'm not pretty." Kaoru said, letting out a sigh of relief that Tae bought her alibi.

"Mou!" Tae only shook her head. "Here… let me place some ointments in that."

"No… it's alright, really…" Kaoru said but Tae have already left to get a small medicine box.

"Here… Mou! You should be more careful, Kaoru-chan." Tae said as she started to put some ointment on Kaoru's small bruise. "You should take care of your face, you know?"

"Mou!" Kaoru pouted. "I told you that…"

"If you're ugly, that would make your mother ugly too." Tae gave a stern look at Kaoru, putting her medicine box aside. "'Coz… you're a living replica of your mother… that's why that mean Megumi hated you!"

"I do… look like her?" Kaoru blinked at Tae who gave her a small smile.

"Undoubtedly. You are Sakura-chan's exact copy… well, except for your eyes… you got it from your father." Tae said.

Kaoru sighed. What Tae have told her makes her miss her mother more. 'Oh… I wish I could see her again…'

"Oh… I'm sorry… I must've said something that I shouldn't have." Tae, who have quickly noticed Kaoru's sigh, said in a low voice.

"No… tell me more about my mother." Kaoru said. "I mean… I've never really known that much about her… she died when I was just a little girl…"

"Oh, Kaoru…" Tae sighed. "I know how much you missed your mother… I mean, I do missed her too… demo, I know she wouldn't like it if she'll see me or more importantly you, sad."

"Yeah… I guess you're right." Kaoru smiled.

"Oh… I'm going to show you something… wait here." Tae stood up and left Kaoru for a while. When she got back, she have an elegant light blue dress, a mask and a crystal-blue slippers.

"It's so… beautiful…" Kaoru sighed, touching the soft silk material of the dress.

"It's your mother's." Tae smiled. "Plus that necklace with a blue diamond pendant."

"Oh! That?" Kaoru's eyes brighten as she remembered the last thing her mother have left her before she died and the only thing that she have hidden from Megumi and her stepsisters when they arrived the house.

"She was wearing this dress and the slippers, the first time she met your father on a masked ball." Tae told Kaoru. "It was really… I mean… the first time they saw each other… it was like love at first sight…"

"…I mean, I knew it. I was there. It was your father who has first asked Sakura-chan for a dance. I mean, they literally danced the whole night… They started going out a lot after that night. Tetsuro-san could be seen almost everyday in Sakura-chan's house, though, he insisted on everyone that they're just friends."

"Eh? How come?" Kaoru blinked curiously at that.

"I don't know… maybe he's just shy or something." Tae shrugged. "Honestly, up to now… I'm still wondering how he got the courage to confess his feelings to my best friend." she added, with a dreamy look on her face.

"I never thought otousan would be the shy-type of man." Kaoru giggled.

"Yeah… there was a time when your mother almost gave up waiting for him."

"Eh?"

"Yeah… that time I thought they would never be together again… I mean, Sakura-chan started to avoid him, she even didn't talk to him for almost a week! Maybe that was what made him confess his feelings for her."

"Wow." Kaoru smiled. "They're love story was so… so, like in those books that I've read before…"

"And that necklace…" Tae continued. "Your father had given your mother that necklace the day he confessed his feelings for her."

"Oh… how I wish I would meet someone like my father." Kaoru said, dreamily. "A sweet, kind and brave man like him… though, I wouldn't want a very shy man like him…" she giggled before blushing furiously as she noticed that her mind was slowly drifted to a certain redheaded man.

"You'll find someone special for you, Kaoru-chan… I knew you would." Tae smiled. "Would you like to keep this with you?" she added, referring to Sakura's kimono.

"Nah… It would be better if you keep it here." Kaoru said, "Besides, Aunt Megumi might throw it away the time she sees it."

"Alright." Tae sighed. "You said you need something?"

"Oh… yeah…" Kaoru nodded. "Here." she handed her friend a small paper.

"Alright. Wait here while I get these things for you." Tae said before leaving Kaoru for a while.

(Some hours Later… in Tokyo…)

"Maybe I'll just stop and walk around here for a moment." Kenshin said, telling the coachman to stop.

"Oi… Your father's going to look for you." Sano frowned as Kenshin jumped out of the carriage, with a small bag with him. "What are those?" he asked pointing at the bag.

"A change of clothes." Kenshin said with a smile. "I can't walk around here wearing this." he added, looking down at himself. He was still wearing his white royal suit.

"Yeah…" Sano sighed. "But what am I going to tell your…"

"You can tell him that I… er…" Kenshin frowned. "You can just… think of a story, okay?" he added with a wink before starting to run away. "I'm leaving everything to you Sano."

"Oh, brother… he's giving me so much trouble!" Sano rolled his eyes.

"So… I think, I better get going." Kaoru smiled at her friend as she stood up. "Thanks."

"Sure…" Tae said, patting the younger lady's shoulder. "Visit me again some other time, ne?"

"Hai."

"Be careful on your way."

"Hai." Kaoru gave her friend another smile before walking out of the shop, carefully checking if she had Tomoe's and Kamatari's things inside the small bag that she's carrying. She was so busy staring inside the bag that she didn't notice a man standing in front of her. "Ooops!"

"Oh… sorry, Miss…"

"No… I'm sorry…" Kaoru said, looking up to see that the man was none other than her redheaded friend, Kenshin. "Kenshin! Hey…"

"Kaoru-dono… It's good to see you." Kenshin said, smiling at Kaoru.

"Yeah…" Kaoru smiled, looking down to hide the blush that was forming in her face. "Me too."

Kenshin's eyes widened at that as a little blush crept out of his face. "Really? I'm glad." he managed to say, looking at the other direction. 'Damn it… the very great time to act so stupid…' he thought, mentally kicking himself for not thinking of anything good to say.

"Of course." Kaoru said, looking up at Kenshin with a the same bright smile on her face. "I haven't seen you for a couple of days… doing some work for a change?" she joked.

"Actually… you're right." Kenshin chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "Going somewhere?"

"Well… I still need to buy some sweets for my stepsister, actually." Kaoru nodded, starting to walk ahead of Kenshin. "Maybe I'll visit Kionji-san. I haven't seen him for quite a while."

"Mind some company?" Kenshin asked, following Kaoru.

"No…" Kaoru stopped walking for a while to wait for Kenshin.

"Thanks." Kenshin smiled. "Here… Let me carry those for you."

"No… it's alright… I mean… er…" Kaoru sighed when Kenshin got the bag from her. She only gave him a small smile muttering a soft, "Thanks…"

"No problem." Kenshin smiled again, as they began walking towards Kionji-san's shop. They walked together with a companionable silence clouding the atmosphere, with Kenshin glancing sideways at Kaoru when she was not looking. 'She's really so… I only haven't seen her for a couple of days but… I wish I could think of something to talk about with…' he thought as he threw a quick glance at her. 'Her eyes seems to shine more brightly… her smile seems to become beautiful and her… hey… what's that…' he frowned as he noticed a small bluish spot on her cheek.

"Huh?" Kaoru gasped and stopped walking as she felt Kenshin's hand lightly touching her cheek. "Nani?" she turned, finding him staring at the little bruise on her face.

"What happened to your face?" Kenshin asked, his eyes staring straight at her own blue ones.

"Just an accident." Kaoru quickly looked down, feeling that blood was slowly rising in her face. "I fell down from the stairs… My fault… don't worry…"

Kenshin only stared at her as he began to lightly caress her cheeks with his hand. 'Kami-sama… her cheek is so soft and smooth… I've never touched anything so…'

"Uhm… K-Kenshin… er…"

Kaoru's voice made Kenshin's mind come back to reality. He blushed, as he finally realized what he's been doing. Quickly, though reluctantly, his hand dropped to his side. "Gomen-nasai…" he muttered in embarrassment.

"Thank you for your concern…" Kaoru said shyly, blushing furiously. "So… let's go?"

"Hai." Kenshin nodded as they both continued to walk again. 'That was so… argh!'

'Mou! Why did he… I mean… did that mean that he actually… I mean…' Kaoru bit her lip as the once comfortable silence between the two of them is slowly making her nervous. 'Mou… Kaoru no baka! Think of something good to talk about…'

'Darn you Kenshin! Why do you have to act stupid now and worse, in front of my Kaoru!?!?!? Oro?!? My?!? Where did that come from?' Kenshin blushed at that thought. 'Baka! Think of something… more sensible to talk about… what?!? Arghh!!!'

"Er…" Kenshin and Kaoru both muttered at the same time making them stare at each other. "You first…"

"No… you first…" Kaoru giggled nervously at the awkwardness of the situation.

"No, it's alright."

"No… it's non-sense, anyway."

"Okay…" Kenshin sighed. "…so, uhm… a-anou… er…" he stammered. 'Wow! What a very sensible conversation, Himura!' his mind sarcastically shouted.

"Yes?" Kaoru smiled, staring at him in confusion.

'Maybe… I could just tell her who I really am…' he thought, glancing at her. 'Maybe, this is the right time… alright… it's now or never.' he took a deep breath before turning to Kaoru.

"Kao…"

"Oh! Look, we're already here!" Kaoru exclaimed. "You're saying anything, Kenshin?" she quickly turned to the blushing redhead who only shook his head.

"The thing that I was really saying." Kenshin said, nodding his head. "We're here…" he lets out a nervous laugh while his mentally cursing his bad luck. 'Wow! Very good timing, there…'

"Come on, Kenshin." Kaoru smiled, grabbing his arm and dragging him inside the shop with her. He smiled, letting her pull him with her.

'Well… I still have… anytime to tell her…'

"Kaoru-chan… and oh… you're Kenshin-kun." Kinoji happily greeted the two as they entered his shop. "It's good to see you two… together." he added with a wink to Kenshin when Kaoru was not looking. This made the red head blush a little.

"It's good to see you too." Kaoru smiled widely at the man.

"Oh… what happened to your face?" Kionji frowned, noticing the bruise on Kaoru's cheek. Kaoru only shook her head saying that "It was nothing, really… just an accident."

"You should be more careful, Kaoru-chan." Kionji said to Kaoru in a fatherly tone. "So, what can I do for you?"

"Oh… just the usual things for Kamatari-san." Kaoru said to Kionji who excused himself to get the thing that Kaoru ordered. A little while later, he reappeared in the room with a small box of cake in his hand, plus two small bags of sweet breads. "Here, take it."

"But I just ordered…"

"It's for you and your nice 'friend' here." Kionji said with a huge smile on his face that made Kenshin and Kaoru blush (they do a lot of blushing here, ne?) again.

"Thanks Kionji-san… I'll visit you again soon when I have some time." Kaoru smiled at the nice old man who smiled back at her. She made a move to get the items that she had bought but Kenshin is faster.

"I'll take it… I'll carry it for you." Kenshin quickly said while Kaoru only gave him a smile. They left the shop, bidding some goodbye's to the owner of the shop before making their way towards Kaoru's home.

"Kenshin… can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." Kenshin nodded, glancing sideways at Kaoru who was silently playing with the sleeves of her kimono.

"Uhm… for example you really liked a person, and well, you don't know if she liked you to." Kaoru started, looking down, her long hair hiding her face from Kenshin's view. "…then, someone came telling that she liked you very much. Who would you choose? The one you really liked, but you're not sure if she liked you… or the one who liked you?"

"Eh?" Kenshin blinked at Kaoru blankly. "Who would I choose?"

"Yeah." Kaoru turned to look at Kenshin, who only stared at her.

"Er… Well…"

"Another thing…" Kaoru quickly added. "The reason why you don't want to tell that person that like what you really feel about her is because you're scared that you might lose her when you… well… when you tell her what you really feels?"

Kenshin only stared at Kaoru with an odd look at his face. 'It's like our situation…' he thought, tearing eye contact with Kaoru. "I'll choose the person I like, of course."

"Why?" Kaoru looked away from Kenshin. "You mean, you're not going to go to the person who liked you?"

"Yeah… well, if ever I'm going to choose the person who liked me… I'll only do it to, well… forget the person I really liked." Kenshin sighed. "And I don't want to do that… I don't want to hurt anyone just for my own good. I don't wanna use anyone for my own selfishness… and besides, if that will be the case… the feeling won't be mutual."

"But, will you tell the person you liked… even if it meant losing her forever?" she asked as she stopped walking beside Kenshin who only stood quietly beside her.

Kenshin's eyes widened at that. He slowly threw a cautious glance at Kaoru. 'No… I don't wanna lose you… I can't imagine life without you…'

"Kenshin? Are you going to take the risk?" Kaoru turned to face him, her eyes shone with a mixture of emotions that he couldn't explain. He looked down, not knowing what to say.

"I don't know." Kenshin said in a low voice. "I can't even imagine myself without… her…" he slowly looked up to stare at Kaoru's shining blue eyes. "For me… she is everything…" he continued, his hand unconsciously grabbing Kaoru's hand.

Kaoru gasped as she felt Kenshin's firm grip on her hand, not tearing her eyes away from him. 'Can it be?' she thought, biting her lower lip as it began trembling. "So… does it mean that… y-you're… n-not go-going t-to tell… her?"

Kenshin's eyes widened as his grip on her hand becomes tighter. "Kaoru… I… well… I… er… I lo-…" before Kenshin could finish what he's going to say, a loud shout cut him off.

"WHAT'S THE MEANING OF THIS?!?"

Kaoru quickly pulled her hand out of Kenshin's grasp as she turned to see an enraged Megumi standing near them. She only realized that they were already near the Kamiya property.

"A-Aunt M-Megumi…" Kaoru nervously stammered, staring at the enraged woman with a shocked expression on her face.

TBC…

A/N: Okay, another chapter done. I wish you'll like it. I'm really really sorry for the long wait… (I hope you're not to mad at me… gomen-nasai, gomen-nasai, gomen-nasai…) Please tell me what you think, ne? Please review, ne?