Chapter 5
Out of the Shadows

(School, the Next Day)

Kenshin stopped by Kaoru's locker in the morning hoping he'll see her before she goes to class. Being embarrassed, they forgot to discuss with her if they were going to pretend to be a couple in school or not. 'I hope so. Maybe I'll get to kiss her again,' he thought with a smile just remembering how her hands worked like magic sliding up his body and the taste of her.

He was woken up from his daydream when he saw Enishi walking up to him. "What are you doing here?" (Remember Enishi didn't go to his school) Enishi gave him a smirk. "I transferred here. I just want to know for sure if you and Kaoru have been dating."

Kenshin's mind was wheeling thousands of miles per hour, finally decided to play it cool. 'Uh oh.' "Of course we have and it's been for a long time too. Jealous?"

Enishi gave Kenshin a doubtful look; he didn't believe a word he said. "Oh really? Then let me ask someone." He grabbed Yahiko as he was walking by. "Hey you. Who is Himura Kenshin's boyfriend?"

Kenshin glared at Yahiko with the look of 'read-my-mind-say-something-wrong-and-I'll-kill-you.

"Oh that's easy! It's Kamiya Kaoru." Yahiko said, 'Kenshin man, you didn't need to glare at me, I've would've thought that anyways.'

"It is?" Enishi sounded surprised.

"Yeah," said Yahiko. "They've been together forever. They're like a married couple!" Enishi let Yahiko go.

"See?" said Kenshin with a smirk.

"So what?" Enishi snapped back. "She acts and looks like a guy anyways. Have her; you might as well be dating a boy."

They were so busy discussing the Kaoru matter, none of them realized the hall became quite as everyone stared at the girl walking down the hall.

'Is she a transfer student?' 'I don't know, she's hot though.' 'She's so pretty…beautiful' 'what's with this? First times some white hair hot guy now a girl? Are they related?' the people were muttering to each other as they stared at an elegant girl walking towards the two fighting guys.

"Kenshin Koiishi-ni!"

Kenshin and Enishi turned around to see who was calling Kenshin is such a honey dripped voice. Both of them did a double take, they couldn't recognize the girl. She had ebony hair put up into a high ponytail with a few locks of hair strands layering her face. On her lips were panted over with a light pink lip gloss blending in with her light silver eye shadow. Only after staring into her sapphire eyes did they realize it was Kaoru. She was wearing a light blue slip dress that emphasized her great figure and matching platforms. Her amazing azure sparkling eyes deepen with the addition of a small touch of eye liner. The school's tomboy had just turned into the school's prom queen. Kenshin couldn't take his eyes off of her, neither could Enishi

"Kenshin!" She went up and kissed him on the cheek. "Are you waiting for me?"

Kenshin finally snapped out of it. "Uh...yeah." 'Suppose that means we're a couple in school as well. This is the best day of my life.'

Then he leaned over to give her a real kiss. 'I can kiss her anytime I want to now that she's my girlfriend,' he thought.

Kaoru turned around. "Oh hi Enishi. What are you doing here?"

He looked at her awkwardly. "Um...hi Kaoru. I just transferred here. You sure look beautiful today."

She gave him a small smile. "Thanks. Well nice seeing you. Kenshin and I have to go to class now. Bye..."

Kenshin wrapped his arm around her waist and led her to class, leaving Enishi with his mouth still half opened looking after them. 'Was that Kaoru or was that some other girl who's name was also Kaoru? Kaoru in a dress? With make up? A girl? I must be dreaming.'

As they entered the door, Sanosuske and Honjou Kamatari ran up to Kenshin but stopped in mid step when they saw Kaoru. Sanosuske gave her a little smile.

"Hi. I'm Sanosuske. I'm single and ready to mingle. And you are?" She rolled her eyes.

Then it was Okina's turn, just happening to glance at the beauty that just walked in. "Can I check your dress to see if you were made in heaven?"

"It's me Kaoru. And those were the lamest lines I've ever heard."

Sano and Kamatari opened their mouths in shock. Being as blunt as Sano, he yelled, "No way, but you're a girl!"

"I've always been a girl!"

"You know what Kaoru? I've always had a crush on you," Okina said to her sweetly.

"Back off guys," said Kenshin. "She's my girl."

Sano pouted his lips. "Damn it figures… OW!"

"HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT? ARE YOU SAYING YOU DON'T LIKE ME ANYMORE?" Megumi pouted cutely while she slapped his on the head with her fox ears popping out.

Then Enishi came in. 'Damn,' he thought. 'She never looked this good before.' He wanted her back and he always gets his way...

The next two weeks went by fast. Kenshin acted like the perfect boyfriend. He treated her nice and was always there by her side with flowers. Her parents like him a lot. Before Kenshin knew it, his dating charade with Kaoru was over and so was school. Her parents stayed until their graduation and then afterwards they took a plane back to the U.S. Then entire graduated class decided to go on a campout because it will be the last time they will see each other since everyone is going their separate way to college.

The Camping Trip (With the exception of names, nothing, nothing at all was changed from the original story, got too lazy)

Everyone was sitting around the campfire and talking. Haruka had sat herself between Kenshin and Kaoru. Enishi was watching her the whole time. Sano was telling a scary story about a psycho killer in the woods.

"He goes around chopping of peoples' heads and he especially likes girls. Heh heh…"

Yahiko threw a stick at him. "That's a stupid story Sano."

Enishi threw in more wood into the fire. "But I heard it's true though."

Okina widened his eyes. "For real?"

Kenshin laughed. "Oh come on. It's a bunch of bull. Even if it is for real, he'll just be after the girls." He gave Kaoru a supposedly scary face but being with her for two week and falling deeper in love with her he couldn't keep up a straight face and she ended up laughing.

Haruka grabbed onto Kenshin though. "Ken-san! I'm scared. Hold me."

Kenshin was taken by surprise. He tried to pry Haruka off of him but she held on tight. Kaoru glared at them both. 'That Casanova. Just because every time he smiles his eyes would light up and his hair is so soft he thinks he's—'Kaoru stopped herself. 'What am I thinking? It sounds like I want him or something.' She stood up. "Excuse me but I think I'll got for a walk." Then she left.

Enishi stood up too. "I think I'll take a walk too."

That alarmed Kenshin. 'He is not going to take a walk with my Kaoru.' He ended up having to force Haruka off of him and ran where he saw Kaoru disappeared.

Haruka was mad and yelling at him as if he was a dog. "Himura Kenshin, you come back here!" Everyone at the campfire started giggling.

Somewhere in the woods
Kaoru looked all around her. 'It figures. Kenshin wouldn't come after me,' she thought sadly. 'I mean why would he?' Then she heard a voice.

"Kaoru!"

She smiled and turned around. It was only Enishi. Her face fell. "Oh hi Enishi."

He sat down on a rock next to her. "Aren't you going to come back to take Kenshin away from the vixen girl?"

She shook her head. "No…I guess they're mean to be together."

Enishi looked at her. "Kind of like you and me?"

Kaoru scooted herself away as her eyes widened. "Uh, Enishi. It's over between us." He grabbed her hands.

"But you can give me a second chance!" She pulled her hands away.

Then he asked her, "Remember what you told me what you wished for a long time ago?"

"What?"

"You said you wanted to find your first true love and be with him forever." Kaoru stood still. She did say that. Enishi was her first love, but then she thought of Kenshin—or is it Kenshin?

"I don't know!" she yelled as she took off running. Enishi smiled. 'She's coming back to me.'

As Enishi walked back to camp he heard a voice calling for Kaoru. He recognized Kenshin's voice. In the middle of the road Enishi looked down. He saw a huge hole that was about ten feet deep. He gave an evil smile as he began to rustle the leaves near the hole.

Kenshin heard a noise. 'Is it Kaoru?' "Kaoru is that you?" No answer. "Come out come out wherever you are." The leaves continue to rustle. 'What if she's hurt and couldn't answer?' Kenshin started to walk towards the noise and ended up falling into the trap. It was so cold and dark in there. He began to panic.

"Help!"

Enishi came out from where he was hiding. "Hey Kenshin. Looking for something?"

He looked up and saw Enishi's face. "Damn you Enishi! Get me out!" He just smiled. "This all seems so familiar. You know, it took me a while but then I remembered. Didn't I do this to you before ten years ago?"

The redhead started to tremble because of what he did to him; he had a fear of the dark and being trapped alone. But he wasn't going to show it. Kenshin glared at him. "So what? I don't give a damn. Just get me out!"

Enishi laughed. "I guess history repeats itself when you mess with me or anything of mine. This time I mean Kaoru. She is my girlfriend and I want you out of the way. And I guess this solves my problem."

"Kaoru don't like you! She's with me."

"Oh really? Didn't seem like it when your ex held you like that. I guess you can't let your first love go and I think you know that I'm Kaoru's first. She'll come back to me."

Kenshin sat down on the cold ground. She did say that before. 'Is she really going to go back to him?' As he was thinking, Enishi had left already. He looked up.

"Hey!" His worst nightmare had come back and this time Kaoru was not there to save him. He was stuck here all alone in the dark. "Kaoru…where are you?" he whispered into the dead silent night.

After a while Kaoru headed back to camp. She took out her flashlight to shine her way back on the main path.

Down in the pit Kenshin looked up and saw a beam of light. He stood up. "Help!"

Kaoru looked around. 'Was someone calling for help?' "Hello? Is someone out there?"

"HELP!"

Kaoru ran to where the voice came from. She saw him jumping up and down in a hole.

"Kenshin! What are you doing down there?"

"I fell in. Help me out!"

"Okay." She placed her flashlight on the ground. Then she reached over and tried to pull

Kenshin up but he was too heavy for her. "I can't"

"What do you mean you can't? Use those puny muscles you have!"

"You're too heavy! Let me go back to camp for help." She tried to withdraw her hand but Kenshin wouldn't let go.

"Hell no! What if you leave me here?"

"What? I'm not like that!"

"How do I know?"

"Kenshin. Let go!"

"No!"

Kenshin ended up pulling Kaoru into the pit with him. She landed on top of him. She got up and started yelling at him. "You selfish jerk! Now we're both stuck down here!"

Kenshin backed up against the wall then he started yelling. "Damn! Not again! Why me? Why does it have to be so dark?"

Kaoru looked at him. "You're afraid of the dark?"

"Yeah! You got a problem?" his amber eyes glared at her, daring her to make fun of him, despite of his current stage of fear.

Kaoru looked at him surprised. "No." She started to look at the real Himura Kenshin for the first time in a long time. The smart-aleck tough guy was gone. And there he was. The innocent and vulnerable Kenshin she first fell in love with when she was eight.

(edited)

Kenshin started to gasp for air, his chest heaving up and down as he pushed back so his back was digging into the wall. His hands grabbed a pile of dirt and crushing in his palm, trying to calm himself down. Kaoru was alarmed by his sudden change in composure. His face looked deadly white from hyperventilation. She rushed to his side, kneeling down in front of him feeling his forehead. "Kenshin… are you okay?"

He weakly shook his head; still gasping he leaned over and pulled her to him, burying his face into her neck. She just asked again, "are you okay?" her voice was soothing to him as he tried to calm himself down.

She felt Kenshin shivering in her arms as she ran her fingers through his hair and whispered in his ear like he was a little child who needed comfort. Kenshin began to breathe easier and calmed down. When he finally came out of his panic stage, he realized that he was holding onto Kaoru a little too hard, he quickly let go with a blush. "Uh, gomen, I didn't mean to."

"It's okay." Her whisper glazed the silent night. She closed her eyes feeling the breeze entering from the opening of the summer's night zephyr.

Kenshin gazed at Kaoru from the light that the moon shone on her. Her eyes were closed. She was like a sleeping angel with her raven hair flowing down her back, her little white dress, and she was so naturally beautiful that she didn't need make-up. He began to lean forward to kiss her but then suddenly she opened her eyes. He pulled back instantly, his cheeks turning red. 'Crap! Did she know what I was about to do?'

Kaoru patted him on the shoulder. "Hey Kenshin…"

"What?"

"Look. There's a full moon out tonight."

Kenshin looked up at the sky. The moon was full and bright. Then he looked over at Kaoru, who was smiling. Then she asked him, "Do you remember when we were ten, we saw the moon's reflection on the lake? You told me the moon was a ball so I would go in and get it."

Kenshin smiled when he reminisced about his childhood past. It had been a happy one ever since he met Kaoru, "Yeah. You went into the lake and started to get the moon ball. And you kept asking me why the ball would disappear every time you came near it. You were so stupid!"

He started laughing. Kaoru gave him a look. That made him stop laughing. But then she gave him a little smile to show that she wasn't mad and it made him feel better.

"Yeah because of your dumb lies I almost ended up drowning."

"Yeah…I had to jump in and save you. I was so worried."

Kaoru looked at him. "Were you?"

Kenshin faced her. He was gazing directly into her eyes. He always thought the best part about Kaoru were her eyes. They were big, innocent, and honest. Every time he looks back, he always remember them as the first thing he saw when he met her. "Yeah kinda. I mean if you ended up drowning then I have no one else to pick on."

Kaoru looked down and smiled. She knew what Kenshin really meant though. They continued talking about their past and before they knew it, they both fell asleep on each other's shoulders.

It was morning when Enishi woke up. He went over to Kaoru's tent but she wasn't there. He patted Haruka on the shoulder. "Hey Haruka. Do you know where Kaoru?"

Haruka rolled her eyes. "That girl hasn't been back all night and neither was Kenshin. She must have went—aft"

Enishi left before she could finish talking. "Ahh!" she screamed, no one ever listened to her.

Enishi called the others so they can help look for Kaoru but he had the feeling she was with Kenshin. He took them to the place where Kenshin had fallen. Sure enough, there they both were. She was leaning against Kenshin, asleep. Enishi was mad. "Hey!" The yell woke up them up. They glanced up to see what it was.

Kenshin stood up. "Hey you guys, help us out!" Sano started laughing as he pulled Kenshin up.

"Ooo...Ken-san...what were you and Kaoru-dono doing down there all night?" Soujiro chimed in.

Everyone else except Enishi laughed. "Shut up Sano." Said Kenshin. Then he leaned over to help Kaoru up.

"Let's go home," He said to the others.

It was evening by the time Kenshin got home. He was exhausted so he took a shower and headed straight for bed. He looked over at Kaoru's room, who was exactly across from his. Her lights were out so she must be asleep. He sat down on his desk and began writing in his journal. He had kept one ever since he was ten and he wrote in it whenever something came up. When he finished his entry, he turned off his lights and went to sleep too.

It was eleven at night when Kenshin woke up, he had a feeling something was not right. It was dark out but he couldn't sleep anymore so headed downstairs to look for something to eat. His mom was in the kitchen.

"Hi sensei."

"Hey Baka." He walked over to slap him on the forehead. "How was camping?"

"It was fun."

He sat down at the table with his master. He touched his hair and let out a sigh. "What's wrong?"

Kenshin began eating his noodles. "Nothing baka. It's just that you're all grown up and going to be off to college soon. I won't have anyone to push around now. Hey I know, go to college right here and then I can throw you off the waterfall everyday. Morning exercises makes my day."

"I'm going to Tokyo, AWAY from Kyoto. This is a place where I don't want to remember. It's only a couple of hours from here. I'll be back to visit you once in a while. During that time you can try to throw me off the waterfall."

Hiko smirked and muffled "I know" and continued to eat, then he remembered, "Can you believe it? You and Kaoru know each other for ten years now and in just two more days it will be the last time you'll ever see each other."

"Nnh ya, long time… wait… what?" Kenshin choked on his food. 'What the hell did he mean it will be the last time I'll ever see her?'

A/N: ooooooooo what does Hiko mean? where is Kaoru going? .. hm... is he gonna stop her? what will happen... major drama next chapter... i think next chapter might be the last chapter (i know i know, this was a short fic) i never did like those that were like 50 chapters long... but i suppose this one was too short... maybe i might make a sequel to it...

i barely got any reviews for this chpter so i figured it must have been a really sucky one so i fixed it up some more.