A/N: Oh, it has been a while, now, hasn't it? I really shouldn't be doing this right now, since I have an assinment and an exam soon, but I can't help it. This chapter was difficult, since Kaoru's confusion returns! Aoshi is nonexistent in this chapter, since it's a band-function related thing. Yeah, I know it isn't fair to leave him out, but that's okay. I think I'll give him a little screen-time in the next one. Okay. The rundown: creepy stalker behavior by Tomoe, insistent kissing from Enishi, Sano's organizational and leadership skills, and Enishi's mood swings, as well as MAJOR confusion on part of Kaoru. If I were her, I would swear off men for a good six months until everything blows over! But anyhow, I think maybe I should warn you about the...heck no! Read and find out. Unless you're under the age of...thirteen, is it? Yep. Rated T. Okay.

Legal Stuffiness: I don't own Ruruouni Kenshin or any of the characters therein.

Chapter 5: Warning Signs

He hadn't moved for close to an hour now, and Tomoe was getting tired of waiting. Her position was actually rather uncomfortable, and she wasn't keen on remaining where she was. Perched atop one of the larger rocks near the lake, she had been watching Kenshin meditate for a long time now. How long did inner peace take? Shifting once again, she tried to bring feeling back to her legs. They'd fallen asleep some time ago. Her eyes still hadn't left him, though.

If there was one thing that characterized Yukishiro Tomoe, it was determination. Were a person allowed two characteristics to describe her, the next on the list would be that she was devious. And devious she was, because why else would she have taken a week off of work simply to observe the movements of a boy who was three years younger than herself? The fact that she had the chance to help her little brother didn't enter into it. He could take care of himself for the most part. It had simply been too long since her last relationship. She thought of Akira. Tomoe had loved him, ever since the first time she'd met him when they were little.

It was the day before they were to graduate high school when she went over to his house. The door to the house was broken in, and she panicked. She'd run through the house, calling for him, and finally found him in the back yard. After fainting and waking up, she called the police to report his murder. Since then, the thought of him always gave her pain. His killer had never been apprehended.

Akira's death broke something inside Tomoe, and it was mended with a new part to her personality. It was meddlesome, devious, and altogether unwholesome. She was aware of this, but couldn't make herself care. It had also caused her to have some amount of apathy toward her own life. She had, for some time, tried to drink herself to death. Then, she tried to work herself to death, and other various self-destructive methods, none of which worked. Of course, her mother had forced her into therapy, and then the psychiatrist put her on medication. Enishi said she seemed like a zombie most of the time. He always was a bit melodramatic, but it was slightly appropriate. Tomoe was actually proud of herself that she hadn't taken her medication for an entire week, and she was fine. No adverse effects, no episodes, and she hadn't even had a drink. Not a single one.

Now, staring down at the small red-headed figure near the water's edge of the lake, she concentrated all of her thoughts on how to make it so that he and that Kamiya girl did not continue their relationship. They were in a relationship. She had seen them, walking down the street together, hand in hand. It made her ill. That little twit didn't know anything about anything, and she didn't deserve someone like Kenshin. Tomoe had also seen them in the park, on an impromptu picnic. He had kissed her. That really made her ill. She had nearly been literally sick.

Finally, the figure below stood, but made no move to leave. In spite of the chill in the air, he removed his shirt and the tie from his hair and took off his sandals, then went into the lake. She blinked. He had many scars. They were long and thin, and she couldn't think of how he would have gotten them. After a moment of wading, he was in up to his waist, and she watched him dive under the water. When he came back up, he was nearly twenty meters further into the lake. He repeated this process several times, and swam across the entire lake and back again. Once he was finished, he waded out of the lake again, squeezing water from his hair and smiling faintly.

Kenshin reached into his bag and took out a rather large towel and dried himself with it, then dressed himself and left. When he was gone, Tomoe slid down from the rock she had been on, and followed his example.

Kaoru looked discreetly over her shoulder. She and Kenshin were walking to school. It was Saturday, but there was a concert competition to go to. The wind ensemble was going to compete against fifteen others in the prefecture. "You mean she's been following you?" She saw Tomoe before the older girl ducked behind a neighborhood deli. "That's creepy. At least Enishi's open about it. He's not stalking me. The kid just likes to bug me at school. Maybe you should call the cops?" Kenshin shook his head. His hand drifted up to his scar. She had been following him for eight days now. It wasn't like she hid very well. He felt like an animal on one of those nature shows. The host always approaches the larger animals bit by bit, getting a little closer each time.

It was really only a matter of time before she actually approached him. Kaoru grabbed his hand and pulled it away from his scar. With the hand, his thoughts were pulled back to the present. "Oro?"

Kaoru's eyes rolled. "Kenshin…you're spacing out again." She shifted the huge case on her back that she absolutely refused to let him carry. "So, what are you going to do about her?"

"Nothing. I think a reaction is what she wants. I don't give her one, maybe she'll go away. So, I pretend not to notice that she's there. Why should I care if she's following me?" He really didn't. He had Kaoru, and that was all that mattered. He didn't care about anything else.

"Because if she keeps doing it, I'll be forced to beat her to a bloody pulp, Kenshin." Kaoru's smile spread across her face, and her voice had sweetened to an almost unbearable degree. "I don't mean to be territorial, but we are dating, aren't we?" Kenshin smiled slightly, and gave a quick nod. He really felt like doing a happy little dance in the middle of the street when she acknowledged that fact. He'd been wanting this for so long now, even though he hadn't allowed himself to think about it…now that he had it, he wasn't going to ever let it go.

"Hai, Kaoru-dono." Kenshin shifted his instrument case to his right hand, and took her hand in his. "You don't think I'll let a little thing like a stalker come between us, do you?" They had now stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. He raised a ginger-colored eyebrow at her. She held back a smile, and shook her head vehemently. Pulling gently on her hand and making her take a step closer to him, he kissed her cheek. "Good. Now that we have that straight, we've really got to hurry, or we won't get good seats on the bus!" Kaoru's eyes widened. She grabbed his wrist, and he did not know how she had the energy to run with a thirty-five-pound, five-foot-long instrument case strapped to her back, but she did, and dragged him along with her.

Now standing at the bus in uniforms and with all of their music in hand, Kenshin no longer saw Tomoe lurking. "She's gone. I wonder where she got to?"

"Don't worry about creepy stalker-chick. We just have to concentrate on the task at hand." Sano's voice startled Kenshin, and he whirled round to see his friend, who had three snare drums in their cases strapped to his back, as well as a bag of drumsticks, mallets, and various other percussion implements hanging around his neck. Hiko secretly enjoyed Sano's antics, but he liked his strength more. The loud drummer was the wind ensemble's equipment manager, as well as the person who settled all arguments within the group. Kenshin thought that Sano was more than equal to both tasks, since he did know when to get serious and actually had his priorities straight when it came to organization.

Hiko's quiet but commanding voice came from the exterior door of the music hall. "Line up for roll call." Immediately, the competition participants scattered like ants, and found their order in a matter of seconds, cases and music folders in hand, ready to be counted as attending. Once all names were called, Hiko handed a piece of paper to Sano.

"All right ladies, gentlemen, and freshmen." A few groans at this comment were heard. "Time for…seat assignments, Hiko-sensei? What's wrong with sitting where we like?" Sano's brows drew down in a sullen frown.

"I see you don't remember the last trip we went on?" Hiko asked quietly, and then waited for only a second until Sano looked quickly away from him. "I've attempted to put people sitting with those that they will be least likely to have a fistfight with. Just read the page."

"Takani Megumi, seat one, with me?" Kenshin nearly laughed as Sano's eyes grew comically wide. This lasted only for a moment, and his friend was once more calm and collected. Megumi was smirking covertly, and Kenshin shook his head. Those two… "Sanjo Tsubame, seat two, with Myoujin Yahiko…" He continued on, and Kenshin zoned out until he heard his name. "Himura Kenshin, seat fifteen, with Kamiya Kaoru." A slight smirk, as well as an upraised eyebrow accompanied this announcement, and Sano continued. Once the list was complete, a partially groaning group of students boarded the bus, with minimal resistance to their seating arrangements.

Kaoru glanced behind her. Three seats back, sitting with a very bubbly Makimichi Misao, was Enishi. He leaned back in his seat, and stared out of the window. It was amazing to her how different he seemed now. He was quiet, and would not look at her. She supposed that she would have to talk to him soon. Without getting close enough for him to kiss her. That would be a very bad situation. Kaoru quickly decided that at the first available opportunity, she should tell him outright that she and Kenshin were together, and that he would have to stop coming on to her.

Yes, that would work. She was sure of it. So, as the bus started rolling, and she inevitably became sleepy, she leaned her head on Kenshin's shoulder, and closed her eyes. In a few moments, Kaoru was wrapped in an un-troubled sleep.

Enishi folded his sunglasses and slipped them into his pocket. His hair immediately fell into his eyes, and he blew it out of the way, only to have it fall directly back where it was. She was a few seats in front of him, sleeping. He envied Kenshin. It was glaringly obvious that Kaoru loved him. It was probably that fact which hurt him more than anything else. He wanted to be the one she leaned on, the one who got to hold her. Enishi was jealous, but he was also resigned. There was no way that he could hope to be with her, especially now. And for this reason, his depression was complete. He didn't even have the energy to tell Misao to just shut up, like he wanted to. She was just far too perky, and it annoyed him to no end.

He was well aware of the fact that he was wallowing in his own self-pity, but he couldn't help it. She had been about to say something really important the other day before Tomoe walked in. Kaoru could have put all of his fears to rest if his sister had not returned. She could have told him that it would have been possible to be friends, at least. That way, he could at least be near her, so that the void inside him could be filled, if only in part. All he was able to do, in the end, was steal a kiss from her. She had not protested, but she had also been taken by surprise. As he watched the green fields flash past his window, he had to try very hard not to allow his eyes to tear up.

For the love of all that was holy, why did Tomoe always have to ruin to most private moments of his life? Maybe she thought that she should make it so that he could be miserable with her? That, he thought, was a distinct possibility. She was direly depressed most of the time, unless she took her medication, and then she simply seemed indifferent to everything. He remembered a couple of years earlier when her boyfriend was killed. She went nuts, and first stopped eating, then started up again, but started drinking, then stopped that, and worked three jobs just to take her mind off of the fact that Akira was gone. She nearly died a few times. Once when driving home and swerving into oncoming traffic from sheer exhaustion, once when she had alcohol poisoning, and a couple of other times that involved illicit substances of other kinds.

Now, his sister was decently leveled out. She did seem unhealthily fixated on Himura, but Enishi thought that it was to be expected. He was much like Akira had been. Quiet, and idealistic, but Himura had some things in his past that though Enishi did not know what they were, he was sure that they were not the sort of things to be taken lightly. In spite of the fact that he had been suspended because of Kenshin's observant nose (he knew that it was his stupidity that got him suspended for drinking on school grounds), he respected the older boy. It was difficult not to. He had a quiet dignity about him that was only ruined when he was taken unawares, and made his characteristic general question, "Oro?"

His rambling thoughts continued like this for some time. They always came back to the same thing, though. There was something wrong. Kenshin and Kaoru, of course, seemed to be made for one another. Even Enishi could, albeit grudgingly, admit to that. But the wild card in the situation was Tomoe. She offered to 'help' him to get closer to Kaoru. That was suspicious. Yukishiro Tomoe never did anything unless it had some benefit to herself. His eyes closed for a moment, as he tried to figure things out. He knew that if she helped him to be with Kaoru, then she would be able to pursue Kenshin, but that wouldn't happen, because Kaoru and Kenshin were so close that they had no secrets, he was sure. Kaoru had probably even told him about how he'd kissed her. That made him pause. It had felt so good to kiss her, to hold her, and he missed it.

Kaoru jerked forward in her seat as the bus squeaked to a stop. "Ack! Why are we stopping?" Kenshin tapped her on the shoulder and pointed out of the window. They had arrived at their destination. Sighing, Kaoru waited for the fourteen seats ahead of them to get off of the bus, and then stood, taking down 'the behemoth' from the case rack, and let Kenshin carry her folder of music. They descended from the bus, and Kaoru looked around.

The competition was being held on the campus of the local community college, since they had a large auditorium. The good thing was they didn't have to walk all the way across the campus, they were only three blocks away. After everyone was off of the bus, they started walking. Outside the concert hall, Hiko lined everyone up. "We will be performing sixth. That gives us one hour and forty minutes. You must stay in the building. If you watch the other performers, remember to be respectful, and clap, even if they're less than satisfactory." With that, he ushered them into the lobby, and they placed their instrument cases where they were supposed to, and Hiko settled in to watch their things while they either went to watch the others or ran wild through the building.

"I'm going to go to the restroom, Kenshin." He nodded, and went to talk to Sano. Kaoru went through a set of double doors and in a few minutes, had found the restrooms. On her way back out, she found Enishi waiting for her.

"Um…" She skirted him, and stopped for a moment about five feet from him. "Enishi, I—"

He shook his head. "I know. You don't have to tell me. I just wanted to say one thing."

"And that would be…?" She looked up at him, and couldn't see his eyes behind his hair. He really should get that cut. Kaoru was distracted by his hair, so she didn't notice when he stepped closer to her. Then, suddenly, she realized he was looming over her, and his arms were wrapped around her, pulling her close. "Enishi…this is a bad idea." He leaned down to her and smiled.

"I know. I can't help it." His lips met hers, and they were soft and warm, and her breath caught in her throat. After a long moment, he pulled away from her. His smile was sad now, as if feeling loss. "I will miss this," he said as he ran his fingers over her cheek. "Kenshin is lucky. I hope he knows that. If he doesn't, which I somehow doubt, you should tell him, or let me." His arms started to loosen, and she started pulling away from him. "Kaoru, be careful of my sister. I think she's up to something." Kaoru nodded, and then was taken utterly by surprise when he kissed her again. If the other kiss made her breathe stop, this one took it away altogether. He took her face in his hands, and pressed his lips against hers, coaxing them open, and she felt his tongue enter her mouth. She made a small noise like a whimper, and her knees started to buckle. Kaoru's hands clutched at his shirt to keep herself from falling. The weakness in her knees was so much that she really would have hit the floor if she had not held onto him.

His hands slid around her waist as he flicked his tongue against hers in a way that made her heart beat faster. Enishi pulled her against him, pressing her close, and made a low sort of moaning sound. Now able to breathe, Kaoru's short, ragged breaths were coming more erratically now. If there was one word to describe Yukishiro Enishi at that very moment, even in her own mind, it would have been: sexy. He was far too good at doing what he did to her, and she wasn't happy about that in the least. She loved Kenshin, with every fiber of her being. That was obvious to everyone, even Enishi. But the problem when it came to Enishi was, she liked it when he kissed her. It set something on fire inside her, even though she didn't want to admit it.

A light haze had begun to form in her brain, so that when he pulled away from her, Kaoru's eyes had drifted shut, and she almost whimpered in protest. "Kaoru…" he breathed, and she opened her eyes to see him. Her breathing was still fast, and she blinked up at him now, surprised and confused. Why had he done that? Why did he have to kiss her like that…making her feel things that she hadn't known the human body was capable of feeling? Why did he have to speak in that low, rumbling, completely sexy voice? Why did he have to—"Kaoru, I love you."

"What?" The strength went out of her completely, and she stumbled backward against the wall, blinking, then eyeing him in wild confusion. "No. You…you cant—"

"Why? I can't control it. I tried to tell you before, but Tomoe came in. I can't help it." He took a step nearer, and she held up her hands to motion for him to stop where he was. "I…I can't think of anything but you. I know I shouldn't, that you're with Kenshin now, but I really don't know what to do." Enishi started inching toward her again, in spite of her defensive posture. "I didn't mean to do that, just now. But it just happened. You felt something, didn't you?" His hands found her face, brushing unruly black strands from creamy skin. "You did. I could feel that you did."

Kaoru felt like she was being sucked into some kind of vortex, at the center of which were his eyes. Like a moth drawn to a flame, she was being pulled, coaxed, and enticed by those black eyes. "Enishi, please…" What was she asking him? Please, but what? A moth was burned to death by the flame, she knew. It certainly felt like she would be burned alive. It wasn't fair, what he did to her. She didn't want it. She didn't. She didn't want to feel that burning under her skin, making her want to kiss him. Did she really just think that? He was leaning down to her again, his lips not far from hers. God, she couldn't breathe. Inside her mind, she was screaming at herself to push him away, to run back down the hallway to where Kenshin was waiting for her. As much as she knew it was right to do that, she felt an alien sensation, identified as need. She needed to let Enishi kiss her. Wait. What was she thinking?

She didn't need him to kiss her! There was a vast deal of difference between needing something and wanting it. Kaoru pushed him away, realizing that it was really in her control to make him stop. She wanted him to kiss her, but it was simple physical attraction. That was something she could control, with practice. "Please, Enishi. Don't do that again."

He blinked down at her, looking very confused. Then, he seemed to become angry, clenching his jaw. "But you feel something for me…" he said this, not looking at her. His fists were clenching and unclenching.

"Physical attraction."

Enishi looked at her again, and there was a fire deep in his eyes that made her press herself against the wall to try to get away from him. The intensity of his gaze was frightening, and the emotion there was startling. "Kaoru, don't lie to yourself. I know physical attraction when I see it. There's something else there, and you know it." She shook her head, denying this. He raised an eyebrow. "Tell me, then, when Kenshin kisses you, what do you feel?"

"That's not fair, Enishi. Kenshin and I are completely different. I love him, and I always have." Enishi's face changed again, hurt flitting through his gaze for a moment, then disappearing.

"And when I kiss you?" He stepped closer to her, almost touching her, but not quite. He leaned down, his lips hovering over hers, so that she could feel them without them actually touching her skin. Kaoru's heart sped up, and that almost-tickle across her lips became a kind of itch that needed scratching. He spoke again. "What do you feel right now, Kaoru?" He had not moved, and she felt his breath on her lips, causing a shiver to move through her at a pace that was so fast she couldn't control it. She did not say anything, so he pressed her against the wall, and she barely repressed the strangled whimper that tried to escape her. "Answer me. What do you feel right now?"

Swallowing hard, she said hoarsely, "Anticipation."

"And?"

"And I'm wondering…"

His voice was a low and irresistible growl as he said, "Yes?"

"…when you're going to kiss me and get it over with." Kaoru blinked. Had that actually just come out of her mouth? Enishi seemed surprised as well, looking down on her in a curious way. "What?" she asked, almost whispering.

He smiled faintly. "Kiss me."

"Excuse me?" She was actually rather shocked by such a demand, since she was trying not to let him kiss her. Why would she kiss him? But then, his lips actually touched hers, a mere brushing of skin on skin, almost too lightly to be felt. Her heart nearly stopped, it felt so wonderful.

"I said…" he breathed, voice still low and rumbling, "kiss me, Kaoru. You want to. I know you do." His lips brushed over hers again, and the little jolt in her stomach was mirrored in the rest of her body as she couldn't take it anymore and took two handfuls of his shirt and pulled him against her. Their lips met, and to Kaoru's horror, she was kissing him. Horrified or not, she was the one pulling him to her, ignoring the voice in the back of her head that screamed at her. Kaoru's eyes widened in abject terror, and she pushed Enishi away violently.

"Stop it. Just stop it, Enishi."

"But I didn't do anything." He smirked.

Her voice became a growl. "Yes you did."

"What did I do?" He raised an eyebrow, seeming to know what she was going to say before she did.

"You know very well what you did." He stepped toward her again, but she stopped him. Taking his hand, she twisted it behind his back, and pushed him face-first against the wall. Wrenching that hand up to between his shoulder blades, she hissed at him, "Don't play innocent, Yukishiro Enishi. You made me want you. I won't let you do it again." He began to laugh in an uncomfortable way.

"Why do you fight it?" His quiet tone was not the one that made her want him now. It was the one that made her feel compassion. Damn him.

"Because I won't let some stupid momentary attraction ruin what I have with Kenshin." After she released him, she backed into the middle of the hallway. "I'll only ask you once, Enishi. Please stop. If you don't, it can only end badly." He raised an eyebrow.

"Kaoru, I think both of us know it will end that way no matter what we do." His smile was sad again, making her wonder how his mood could change so quickly. Once again, he stepped forward, toward her. This time, he did not touch her. He didn't come that close. "But you know, I can't make myself care. If I can't have you for myself, I won't try to keep you. But I don't want you lying to yourself, Kaoru. If you honestly felt nothing, then it would be easy. I could walk away. But you do." Damn him, he was right. She felt something, but what? Damned if she knew.

She eyed him suspiciously. "Just stay away from me, Enishi. I can't be around you if this is going to keep happening." His expression was crestfallen for a moment, and then he nodded.

"If that's what you want, I will. But if you change your mind—"

"I won't." Her voice was firm, and her face was set in an expression of grim determination. "And tell your sister to stay away from Kenshin." With that, she walked back down the hall, and through the double doors, leaving Enishi in the hallway, along with those damnable hormones that he seemed to carry with him. She absolutely hated being at someone's mercy like that. It was a good thing that she was able to snap out of it finally and physically abuse him for a bit to make herself feel better and get him to quit messing with her head.

When she got back to the lobby, where Kenshin, Sano, and Yahiko were waiting for her, she was much less flustered. Kenshin said, "Are you okay, Kaoru-dono? I saw Enishi go to the restroom after you left. He didn't bother you, did he?" Kaoru simply shook her head. Kenshin didn't need to know about what happened in the hallway, at least not unless it became a problem. If Enishi bothered her again, then she would tell him.

A/N: Dum, de dum dum dum! The plot thickens. Oh, but she's really confused now, isn't she? I love to make her all confuseled!

Kaoru: I hope you're happy.

antilogicgirl: What do you mean, you drama queen?

Kaoru: You made me kiss him. Again.

antilogicgirl: Oh, come on, you know you liked it.

Kaoru: That's not the point. I don't want to kiss Enishi. I want to kiss Kenshin. he's nowhere near as pushy.

Enishi: Hey, who are you calling pushy? You grabbed me, too.

antilogicgirl: That's enough out of both of you. I will NOT have you two bickering. You've been doing enough of that in the fic. Or maybe I should sick Sano on you?

Kaoru/Enishi: Hell no!

antilogicgirl: That's what I thought...