author's notes: hi everyone! yay! another update and so soon! you can thank the fact that i actually had some free time.:D thank you to those who gave me reviews! they were all supportive and made me want to write more! i hope you enjoy this chapter! some KE interaction and slight KK action. enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters. They are not mine. I am simply borrowing them for the sake of my story.

Ch. 2: First What?

Kaoru sighed. She was not a very happy person right now. Frustrated, she kicked the locker, making a loud clang.

'WHERE WAS MISAO?'

Kaoru growled to herself. They always met after school to walk home together. That weasel was going to pay for making her wait like this.

"Waiting for me?" A voice crooned out to her, interjecting her bad mood.

"Hey Enishi." Kaoru gave a small smile as he approached. "What's up?"

He grinned at her.

"I don't know. You tell me." Kaoru didn't like that glint in his eyes. He was up to something.

"Eni—" Before she could even finish, she found herself pressed up against the locker she had just vehemently attacked.

"Yeah?" Enishi breathed, his face only a few centimeters away from Kaoru's. He was crouched, his tall body enveloping hers.

Kaoru blushed and looked away.

"Don't do that," she protested shyly, slightly shoving him. Enishi laughed softly. Cupping her chin in his fingers, he gently, but firmly, tilted her head to look at him.

"Do what?" he teased. Before Kaoru could even breathe out a response, he leaned down, stealing a quick kiss. Stepping back, he smiled at the flushed girl in front of him.

"Aah…" Kaoru didn't know what to say. Her eyes shifted to the ground.

"It's ok. I know you liked it," Enishi shot her a cocky smile. "After all, I am an amazing kisser." He leaned in closer again, causing her to back up against the locker again. Cocking his head, he looked at her thoughtfully. "And lover," he added, whispering into her ear.

"ENISHI!" Kaoru felt her face go hot.

"I thought you might be angry that I was late, but I guess you should be thanking me instead!" Misao's voice rang through the now empty hallways.

Enishi stepped away from Kaoru, as she quickly tried to keep her blushing down to a minimum. Turning her attention to Misao, Kaoru groaned as she realized her friend was not alone.

"Misao," Kaoru feigned a smile. "What's going on?" She stared as her friend clung desperately onto a tall, stoic boy with a rather stiff, and almost disturbingly apathetic look on his face. Behind them were the two new boys from her chemistry class and Sou-chan, smiling as usual.

"This is Aoshi-sama! He's new. And so are the other two. I heard you guys already met!" Misao beamed at Kaoru, then turned her attention to the boy on her arm.

"This is Kaoru, my best friend!" Aoshi merely nodded.

'Well at least he's alive and breathing,' Kaoru thought. She almost felt bad for the guy. Kaoru could tell that Misao had fallen hard, which meant the guy was going to fall even harder, sooner or later. She was shaken out of her thoughts as she noticed the coy gleam in Misao's eyes.

"So Enishi," Misao grinned slyly at the white-haired boy. "Finally kiss the girl?"

"MISAAAOOOO!" Kaoru felt her ears burn. Enishi grinned sheepishly but said nothing.

"Did she tell you that it was her first?" Misao asked gleefully, as she swiftly escaped Kaoru's grasp. Enishi's eyes widened. Kaoru couldn't believe her ears.

"MISAO! YOU"RE DEAD!"

Kaoru knew Misao loved to tease her, especially about her relationship with her first boyfriend. They had just started to go out a couple weeks ago, and Misao knew it was a highly sensitive topic with her. As she chased after Misao, screaming bloody murder, she suddenly felt a cold chill run down her spine. Looking behind her, she thought she saw the new boy staring intently at her, his eyes flashing amber. Thinking it must've been a mistake, Kaoru shook her head slightly. As she refocused her mind to the present murder of Misao at hand, she didn't notice a book fall from Misao's half open book bag. Yelping in surprise, Kaoru slipped backwards, her eyes shut, anticipating the crash with cold linoleum. Instead she felt a strong pair of arms cradle her fall. Gratefully, she opened her eyes.

"Enishi—"

Kaoru stopped. As if frozen, she stared up into Kenshin's deep violet eyes, full of worry and something else she couldn't quite put her finger on. She felt as if she couldn't say anything. Her eyes focused on a faded scar on his cheek. As if her hand had a life of its own, her fingers slowly moved towards his face, wanting to trace the faint lines of the scar. She hadn't realized at first, but up close, he was actually quite handsome…

"You ok?" His voice was low. Kaoru nodded, jerking her hand away from his face.

"Kaoru! You're not hurt are you?" Enishi crouched down over the two, extending his hand to her. Kaoru accepted quickly. Enishi promptly hoisted her on her feet, glancing over her body for any signs of injury. Satisfied, he looked at Kenshin.

"Thanks for helping my girlfriend." He forced a smile, his glasses seeming a little bit more frosty than usual. He wasn't particularly fond about the red-head, though he had to admit, the new kid was fast. Kenshin had gotten to Kaoru a split second before he had. Something about him was vaguely familiar…

"Thanks," Kaoru added, smiling at Kenshin. She could still feel the warmth of his arms around her shoulders.

Kenshin shrugged.

"It's no big deal. If she wasn't so clumsy, none of this would have happened anyways."

"WHAT?" Kaoru's smile turned into a near snarl. 'Forget any thoughts about him being good looking. He was just an arrogant bastard with amazingly good reflexes!'

"Mou!" Kaoru huffed. She had enough. "I'm going."

"Kaoru! You can't just go! We have to show the new kids around town! I promised sensei I would help Aoshi get comfortable!" Misao protested as she watched her friend prepare to leave.

"Misao, I think he meant at school. I don't think it applies during any other time."

Misao grinned.

"Well, that's just no way to treat a guest!"

"Fine." Kaoru sighed. "You go do that. I'm going to go home." She looked at Enishi, silently asking him if he was going with her. Enishi gave a slight grimace.

"Sorry babe. I gotta stay after school. I got caught ditching class again."

Kaoru glared at him.

"I told you not to ditch!" she scolded him.

"Sorry?" And with that, he dashed away before she could get any angrier with him. Kaoru's was not a wrath he wanted to deal with, not that he was any less volatile. He gave a glance at Kenshin before he turned the corner, his expression turning hard.

Kaoru sighed. It was a good thing she was tired. She would yell at Misao and Enishi later.

"Kaoru?" Kaoru looked at Soujirou. She had almost forgotten he had been there the entire time! He was too quiet for his own good sometimes. "Do you want me to walk you home?" he offered, stepping towards her.

"Soujiro! Your home is all the way across town! And you have a cold!" she admonished. He was too much of a gentleman for his own good as well. "Plus, you should watch after Misao," Kaoru whispered at him. "You know how she gets around tall, hunky, stoic guys," she added winking.

Soujirou's smile faltered a bit.

"H-hai."

Kaoru waved good-bye to her friends and went on her way. She glanced down at her watch and groaned. She would be starting dinner late.

----

Kenshin watched Kaoru's retreating figure. He felt a little bit relieved. They had only just begun dating. That meant he still had a good chance. The image of Kaoru flushed and pushed up back against a locker with Enishi locking lips with her flashed in his mind again. Kenshin felt a wave of anger go through his body.

Then he remembered the feel of her body in his warm. He had almost drowned in her deep, blue eyes. It had just felt so right, her being in his embrace.

He sighed.

He wasn't sure why he felt so strongly about her. It was just… something about her that he found so irresistible. They had only met! They barely spoke a word to each other! But he wasn't one to deny his own instincts. He checked his watch. Groaning to himself, he turned to the group of people around him and apologized, saying he was needed back at home.

His shishou would smack him over his head if he didn't have dinner ready soon. The irony of his life sometimes astounded him.

----

Kaoru picked at her slightly burned bowl of rice and stared at what was supposed to be some kind of soup in the adjacent bowl. She stuck out her tongue in disgust. This was why she should never be allowed to cook.

Blowing her bangs out of her eyes, she took the food and dumped them into the trash can. Yahiko had called saying that he would sleep over at a friend's house and her parents were still on a business trip somewhere for who knows how long. She was lonely.

Maybe she should call Enishi.

Her mind wandered back to her scene with him in the hallway. Her face flushed, half in anger and half in embarrassment. She had wanted her first kiss to be more romantic! And she hadn't wanted such a private moment to be flaunted in front of an audience… especially him. Kaoru's eyes widened as she realized her own thoughts and shook her head. It was only because he had rescued her from a painful fall and then pissed her off by calling her a klutz. She had been caught off guard. What did she care what he saw or not? Recalling his tight embrace, the outline of the scar, and his intense, violet eyes, Kaoru groaned and smacked herself. Enough! She was just acting weird because she had been kissed for the first time and her emotions were going haywire. Thoughtfully, she touched her lips. She had to admit, though, Enishi lived true to his word. He was a good kisser. Now what had he said about being a good lover…. Kaoru proceeded to blush furiously at the thought.

Feeling hot, Kaoru decided to take a walk. It was a good night to look at the stars anyways.

----

"BAKA DESHI!" Hiko bellowed at Kenshin, who sighed irritably. "I teach you how to fight. I clothe you. I provide a roof over your head, and you can't even provide a decent meal to feed your shishou?"

"I told you, I got home late. I only had time to make some miso and rice by the time you got home!" Somehow, he always found himself feeling like he was six-years old being scolded for not doing the laundry right around his master.

"I'd rather just drink my sake!" Hiko huffed, storming out of the kitchen. He was in a nasty mood, Kenshin could feel it. "I'll talk to you later, regarding some business." Hiko gave Kenshin a stern look, indicating serious matters. Kenshin nodded. Scratching his head in frustration, he leaned against the kitchen counter and stared absently out the window. Sometimes, his shishou was just impossible to live with. A shadow caught his attention from the corner of his eyes. Focusing his attention to make out the figure, Kenshin acted quickly. Suddenly, it was the perfect time to take out the trash…

----

Kaoru closed her eyes and breathed in the cool night air. Hearing a sudden rustle from behind her, she whipped her head around. Her eyes found a solemn raccoon digging through one of her neighbor's trash cans. It paused to stare back at her, as if mocking her. Kaoru, who wasn't particularly fond of her surname, made a face at the raccoon who swiftly proceeded to scamper away. Sighing, she turned around, only to be face to face with a very familiar pair of violet eyes.

"Hey there. Fancy meeting you here."

Kenshin smiled.

Kaoru gaped.

---

yay! ch. 2 is done! i hope you all liked it! i know. not so much happened. but i want build some of the relationships up first. please read and review! no flames please!