A/N: For all my questioners, yes, this will turn out K/K.

Warnings:

Disclaimer: I don't own RK. Sadly. Yes. I know, it's terrible.

Chapter Four: Subconscious Minds

Oh God.

He was sure that this was going to be one of the worst days of his life.

Yes, that girl walked into the office right then and there.

"Oh no…" he murmured to himself. His purple orbs followed her as she carried a box in with a grin across her face. She walked down the hall with the box and entered Enishi's office. When she came back out, Enishi was with her. Kenshin watched them as he told her something, pointed to the desk next to him, and she nodded, heading towards that desk with the box.

The desk next to him.

"Oh God… please, no…" he muttered once again. He watched her, placing the box on the desk, not even glancing at him once. Catching his stare, she blushed and turned towards him. She had very startling features, pale skin, silky-black hair, and a pair of eyes with every shade of blue possible swirled in them.

"Hi…?" she began. Kenshin didn't say anything back. "I'm Kaoru Kamiya, and you are…?"

"Kenshin Himura," he replied coldly. She seemed puzzled at his cold tone.

"Nice to meet you, I guess," she said with the same warm voice, yet a hint of uncertainty hung in her tone, as she nodded towards him. She turned back to her things and began setting up her work area.

He turned back to his blueprint, blowing his bangs out of his face.

Yes, it was going to be a long day.

&&&&&&

Kenshin had watched his blueprint nearly all morning, forgetting about their twelve o'clock lunch break. When he wasn't looking at his blueprint, he was glaring a hole through Kaoru's head.

"Here, Kenny, I got you some McDonalds," he heard Kamatari's voice behind him, placing a brown, paper bag with the McDonald's symbol on it and a large Coke. "Thought you might possibly get hungry later,"

"Thanks," he replied genuinely, grabbing the Big Mac Kamatari had gotten for him. Kenshin was actually starved, but he didn't bother leaving the office in fear he'd get in trouble. He had realized that it was lunch break fifteen minutes before it ended. He gobbled it down, satisfying his stomach. Taking large slurps of Coke, he slouched back down again into his computer chair.

Being the bored person he was, he looked around. After finally looking to his right, he noticed Kaoru sitting there. She looked like she was working her ass off.

And she hasn't even left the office yet…Kenshin pondered. So she had work on the first day. Poor girl. She didn't have anything to eat yet. She made you look bad in front of Enishi! She almost got you fired! Don't feel sorry for her!

Kenshin agreed with himself. He shouldn't feel bad for her. After all, she had almost gotten him fired.

Enishi walked into the room from his office, and Kenshin suddenly blurted out, "Do you want some fries?" regretting it immediately.

Kaoru gave him the same, puzzled look she had given him this morning, but it turned into a smile. "Sure, I'm starved," she admitted. Instinctively, he directed the bag towards her and she reached in for a fry with ketchup. Kenshin, meanwhile, was highly confused. Why did I just do that?

He wondered for a moment while she stuffed down some fries, and the answer struck him. I was trying to look good in front of Enishi! If I show that I'm trying to be nice, he might not hate me as much…He was clever… even subconsciously.

But why does everything revolve around Enishi anyway… I look like I'm trying to please him or something… Kenshin thought once more. Wait… it's for Tomoe, I'm just trying to get him to accept me, and so Tomoe will be happy. And so will I.

Proud of himself, he took a fry himself and munched on it.

You're a genius…

But little did he know, this relationship with Kaoru was about to get more complicated.

&&&&&&

How kind of him… Kaoru thought. She had thought that the man named Kenshin Himura was an unfriendly snob, but it turns out he wasn't so bad. It was nice of him to notice she hadn't even eaten lunch and offer her some fries. Even though she hated greasy food.

She was exhausted. Enishi had given her loads of work for the first day, and she had to finish by tonight. She was only half-way finished!

Kaoru glanced up at the clock. 4:30! Time went by so slowly. It was only a minute ago she looked at the clock.

She groaned in desperation. She wasn't enjoying this at all. Maybe this job wasn't right for her. I'll give it a month or two…Kaoru felt her stomach rumble again. Those fries just weren't enough.

Kenshin, who was still sitting there next to him, at his desk (he was apparently doing something important, because he seemed to be very frustrated,) finally got up to get another cup of coffee from the terrible blender they had in the office.

As soon as he returned with an entire mug full of coffee, she blurt out, "You know, you shouldn't be having this much caffeine, especially in the afternoon. You won't be able to sleep,"

He looked towards her after taking a sip. "Since when have you cared about my physical being?" he asked sharply, setting the mug down on his already cluttered desk.

Kaoru was taken aback, and slightly hurt. "Well, I only meant to make a suggestion," she murmured back, turning back to her work.

Kenshin shrugged, as if the conversation didn't matter. Taking another sip, he picked up his pencil.

She was greatly puzzled.

Another hour ticked by without any communication between the two of them. And another… and another.

She watched as Kenshin stood up and packed his stuff, ready to leave. She still had a lot of work to do.

Suddenly feeling an urge of boldness, she suddenly called out to him, "Bye!" as he walked towards the staircase. He turned around and shot a glare at her. Kaoru was surprised. "Why are you so angry with me?" she finally questioned after a silence.

Surprising her again, he began to approach her with a menacing expression on his face. She didn't back away. It was then she realized that they were the only two left in the office.

"That's none of your business, okay? Just go back to doing your sweet work for Enishi, and stop trying to befriend me!" he shouted.

Kaoru's couldn't take it. She could feel her temper rising. "I was just trying to be nice to you! You seemed to be upset, so I tried helping you by being friendly! And you just – ignore my concerns off as if I didn't even say anything at all! Now you're screaming at me for doing absolutely nothing that could bother you!" she hollered back. "I just wanted a person that I could talk to, and, you know, be friends with," she added softly. She felt just like a little girl, trying to make friends at school.

The former dancer gazed up at his amber-hued eyes. He wore an expression of exasperation, but she could swear that she saw it flicker back to its soft, original amethyst for a split second. But as soon as she realized this, they switched back to their golden flare.

He scoffed. "Friends? You don't know what you've done to me, we couldn't ever be friends," he spat.

"Yeah? Like what?" she inquired hotly, her temper rising once more.

"Like I'd ever tell you…" he muttered.

"And why wouldn't you?" she shot.

"There are just some things little girls don't need to know," he replied. A smirk flashed upon his face as he watched her scowl.

"I'm not a little girl! I'm a woman, thank you very much." She retorted.

"You know what? I'm not going to stand here all night, fighting with you. I actually have a family that I have to support," Kenshin finally declared, turning back to the stairs. Before Kaoru got to reply, he was already storming down the stairs.

"The nerve of that little…" she hissed. "And I thought he was so nice. What happened?" she muttered to herself. She slumped down onto her desk. Burying her head in her arms, the young woman sighed. How was she going to get through tomorrow?

Too distracted to any more work, she packed up and left the office, and headed home. Once again, there was traffic.

"They should really make a fifth lane…" she muttered, one hand on the wheel, the other sweeping her bangs out of her eyes. She switched on the radio.

Nononono, baby, nononono, don't lie…

The Black Eyed Peas song made her want to get up and dance, but she was in too much of a tired mood to do that. After getting off the highway, she drove back to her apartment.

Too lazy to get her keys, she knocked on the door. Immediately, the door opened by the energetic girl – the one and only, Misao.

"Kaoru! You're home!" Misao beamed, letting her into their apartment. "I cooked some ramen noodles – the ones in the cup, you know, the ones you like,"

Kaoru laughed for one of the first times that day. "Thanks, Misao, I really need that right now." Ramen was one of her many comfort foods.

Ignoring the rest of the work she was actually supposed to do, she grabbed the cup-noodles that Misao had instantly made from her hands and plopped down on the couch with her.

"So, how was your exam?" Kaoru inquired as she saw Misao flipping through the channels.

"Oh… I don't know. It was really hard, but I think I did quite well. Did I tell you? Aoshi-sama looked at me today! Right before the exams, he was somehow there, and he looked at me! He didn't smile or say hi, but from the look in his eyes, I knew that it meant something," she swooned.

"How could you see anything past those icy eyes…" Kaoru muttered back, sticking her chopsticks in her noodles. Though she was confused, because she had noticed Misao had had quite a few encounters with Aoshi lately…

"He lets me, Kaoru-chan, he lets me! I'm the only one he allows through – to see his mind almost. It's like he's vulnerable when he's around me. Oh, Kaoru! I know he's going to ask one day – and it will be soon!" she declared, almost spilling over her noodles in excitement.

Kaoru laughed with her friend's optimism. "You never know, Misao, he might unexpectedly ask somebody else out before you," she teased.

"No he won't! He'll wait for me," she explained with sparkling eyes. Shaking her head, Kaoru snatched a DVD and popped it in the player. It was a disc of the episodes of Smallville.

"Now, that is what you call hot," she announced, pointing to Tom Welling, currently topless, which exposed all his muscles. Although she wasn't a little school girl, she couldn't help but gaze at him.

"Nahh, he's too… pretty looking," she retorted. "I like my Aoshi-sama and my Adam better,"

"Whatever, this guy is looks like heaven to me, at least," Kaoru shrugged, slurping the last of the noodles she had.

It was funny, the kind of pointless conversations she had with Misao.

After drinking a large glass of water, (the sodium content in the ramen was incredibly high) she yawned loudly.

Maybe I should just get some rest for tomorrow. I'm way too tired to finish that work. Kaoru contemplated. In the end, she agreed with her idea.

Taking a long, relaxing shower, she thought about that rude man, Kenshin Himura.

"Gosh… he could be nice if he tried, I know he could… people are just so angry these days!" she muttered to herself, rinsing out the shampoo in her hair. "I feel bad for his wife… having to deal with such a snob like him everyday. How'd he get married in the first place anyhow?" she said to herself, massaging in conditioner with irritation.

After stepping out of the shower, she pulled on her bathrobe, and stopped herself of thinking of that man. "He's not worth your time or thoughts," she decided. Smiling, she exited the bathroom.

It was at first, hard for Kaoru to see. Everything was blurry.

"Wow, I must be really sleepy," she wondered. As soon as things cleared up again, she changed into her pajamas. But the drowsiness came back again, blurring her vision. "Do I need glasses?" she questioned herself. Before she could answer, she saw darkness.

&&&&&&

What a little brat!

Spitting out the remains of the toothpaste in his mouth, he rinsed it thoroughly and thought to himself, "That girl – she gets on my nerves too much,"

Hm. She was really invading his private mind too.

The thought didn't bother him for the rest of the night, but he knew it was still lurking in the back of his mind.

Stupid sub-consciousness, he thought, his eyelids heavy, as he fell asleep.

! and another chapter finished.

So, whaddaya think? Please REVIEW! I really need this reviews to improve my story, and to make me happy ;D

AAAAAND you need to review so you can vote for which story you want to see me writing next:

The candidates areeee :drumrolls:

TAKE MY HAND:
-Summary: A tidal wave crashes upon the heart of Tokyo. Kamiya Kaoru has just barely escaped the disaster, but how will she survive? With the help of a mysterious, red-haired, purple-eyed man. AU. KK. What may seem like the end could just be the beginning.

CONFESSIONS OF A RACOON:
-Kaoru is a writer with big dreams. She one day gets an inspiration to write a thrilling, fresh, novel. Little do the readers know, that this novel is an autobiography. AU. KK. Writing really is a true form of expression.

CRYSTAL CLEAR:
-People tell me I was born with a curse - blindness. They pity me. But little do they know, I can see much more clearly than they ever could. I am Kenshin Himura. My job is to open people's eyes, to help them see. AU. KK. For a blind person, I can see crystal clear.

KEY TO ROOM 414:
-Kaoru is the manager of a major hotel in New York City. Life had always been the same for her. Routine. Never once did she do something spontaneous. But one ma ncan change that. AU. KK. It's feels good to break free for once.

(title/summary pending)MY PERSONAL DIARY(suggestions are welcomed):
-After a heart-shattering accident, Kaoru loses her entire memory. With the help of a mysterious red-head, she begins taking tiny steps towards regaining her memory, but until then, she needs a personal diary. AU. KK. Patience is a virtue.

PLEASE VOTE! I will keep this up for another chapter or two. Until then, keep reading and reviewing! Thanks!

-ss1128