Shinta-Fan!-Hello guys! I've updated again! I would like to thank my reviewer's for reviewing cause it inspires me to write! So the more ppl review the more I get inspired. And if anyone knows of a good story they have read please do tell me! Cause I get inspired on reading other ppl's stories also!

Chapter Eleven:

Kaoru was awakened by a banging. She had thought that it was Misao and thought that she would stop banging, but the banging never stopped. Kaoru groggily got up from her bed and went downstairs to see what the commotion was about. As she was going down she heard a plate crash and quickly ran down. Kaoru went to the kitchen and found her father cursing and looking at his foot that was stained with blood. From the looks of it there was a small shard stuck in his foot. He quickly took the shard out without flinching.

Kaoru took a step forward and called out to him.

"Otou-san?" he looked at her squinting his eyes as if he couldn't see and frowned. Kaoru looked at his state and noticed that there was a bottle of sake in his hand and his face didn't look so good.

'…he's drunk…' Kaoru took another step forward.

"Otou-san? Are you okay?"

"Does it look l- like I'm o-kay! I got a d-amn shard stuck in my god damn foot!"

"Otou-san..please calm down..i was only worried. I'll be back. I'll get the first aid kit." Kaoru quickly went out of the kitchen and brought back the kit. She made him sit down and cleaned up his wound and put a band-aid over the wound. He had only watched her swaying a bit from dizziness.

"There we go. You don't need to worry about the plate, I'll clean it up." She said getting up. He quietly watched her as she picked up the pieces and threw them in the trash. She had reminded him so much of his wife, her smile, face, hair and her eyes. He gritted his teeth as she turned around and gave him a smile.

She was taken by surprise as she found arms hugging her tightly.

"O-Otou-san?"

"Kaoru…why?..why do you have to look like her? Suji?" Kaoru only looked down at the ground for she knew what he was talking about. It was her disease. She felt him shaking and found him crying. Crying? No. That was something she never saw him do. Something was wrong. It had been years since he hugged her like this. Before they had found out she had Leukemia.

"O-Otou-san? Are you okay?" she choked out her words.

"You're a burden." Kaoru's eyes widen. ", did you know that?" he let go of her and picked up his bottle of sake.

"Otou-san…I think you've drank too much." Kaoru took the bottle away from him. But that was a mistake. He angrily took the bottle back and slapped her hard causing her to fall back. She looked at him with fear, her right hand touching her cheek.

"Don't you dare tell me what to do! Stop acting like Suji! Ever since we found out about that stupid disease Suji has been crying every night! You've only been a burden to the family! You think they're being nice to you because they love you! They don't! it's only out of pity! I'll end their suffering! I'll end my suffering!" he smashed the bottle on the table so that the ends of it were sharp.

Her eyes widen as he took a step forward and soon tears start to fall. He was going to abuse her again..or worse.

"O-Otou-san.." Kaoru screamed and moved out of the way as he tried to stab her. He turned to her and caught her wrist.

"O-Otou-san! Why? Otou-san! Please!" she desperately tried to break free of his grasp.

"It's better this way. That way you wont have to suffer when the disease takes over!" he was about to hit her but she broke free, missing her shoulder and making a gash on her stomach.

Pain had struck Kaoru as she crouched down to the floor her hands hugging her stomach. Blood started to soak through her clothes and screamed as pain struck her once again. She looked at her father her body feeling numb of shock and pain. Her vision slowly blurred.

'……I've been a burden.'

Kaoru gasped and sat up straight and looked around her surroundings. She was in her room. Tears filled her eyes yet never spilled. She had been dreaming for about a week of the incident. She had hoped that she wouldn't dream of it anymore but it kept on coming back and the words he had said that day was always on her mind. Kaoru slowly laid back down and was now unable to sleep.

"You're a burden…did you know that?"

"They never loved you! It was out of pity!"

'…am I ..really a burden?'

------------------ ----------- ---------------- --------------------

"Hey Kaoru-san?" one of Kaoru's classmates, Sachi approached her.

"Hey Sachi."

"Did you hear up to what numbers we had to do for homework? I couldn't hear. Class was kind of being loud."

"Page. 240 1-20 all."

"Thanks Kaoru-san! Man I cant believe it! It's all ready December! It feel's like we just started school yesterday. Can't wait till this day is over! Then I have two whole weeks to spend time with Takachi!"

"Ya. Time does fly fast. When is Takachi visiting? Or are you going to visit him?"

"I'm visiting him. I can't wait to see him! I miss him sooo much! I'll see you later ne?"

"Ja." Kaoru sighed and stared out the window. As she turned her head to find Sano sitting next to her.

"Yo. What you thinking about Jou-chan?"

"Nothing. Just a little tired."

"Tired huh?" Sano looked up the classroom and looked back at her. ",..say..how bout we ditch class."

"What! No!"

"Why not? Your tired right? School's almost over. It's only one class you're missing."

"We'll have to give a reason why were absent." Sano pulled her out of her chair.

"Don't worry Jou-chan. We'll think of something later." Kaoru protested but he kept on dragging her. Once outside she had given up and let Sano drag her to wherever. He held her hand and gave a smile.

" You know Kaoru..i miss hanging out with you..just the two of us ya know?" He paused for a while ", So? Where would you like to go?"

"I don't know. We could go to the mall."

"The mall?" Sano said with slight hesitation. Kaoru chuckled.

"Don't worry. I'm not going shopping. We could just look around or something. Do you have a better idea?"

"No. not really."

"Then let's go!"

"Hey Sano! Look! Look! Aww how kawaii! Let's go inside here!" Kaoru who was dragging Sano along the mall went in but was stopped by Sano.

"No way I'm going in here!" Kaoru turned around.

"Why not?"

"Why not! It's a Hello Kitty store for kami-sama's sake!" Kaoru put her hand on her hips.

"Oh come on. Nothing's gonna bite you." Kaoru pulled him in. Sano just watched her gawk at the stuff animals. He yawned and gave himself a stretch as Kaoru looked at other things.

--Flashback---

"Ahh, One more day till we get vacation!" Sano said lying down on the grass. Kenshin and him decided to wait for Kaoru in the park after school just to hang out. Kenshin sat down near a bench.

"Say Kenshin what are you and Kaoru doing for the vacation? Cause I wanna take Kaoru some where fun. Just the two of us. Like a best friends day out! Since her birthday is on Saturday it'll be my birthday present to her." Kenshin looked at Sano as he closed his eyes feeling the cool breeze pass by.

" Just you and Kaoru? Alone?" he asked with a deadly voice. Sano opened his eyes and looked at Kenshin.

"Stupid. Of course not alone. I did say somewhere fun. So there's other people around. Geez Himura don't worry..i'm not gonna steal your girl. In fact I can't. You two are married."

"That's not my point Sano. Face it, we both know your still in love with her…and by hanging out with her alone isn't going to help get over her."

"You know..from the looks of it I'd say your jealous, just because Kaoru and I are best friends…I only want to hang with her as best friends. Nothing more. Unless you want me to steal her I'm more than happy too!"

Kenshin got up and grabbed his shirt.

"You wouldn't dare.."

"Tch. Watch me. I'll steal her right under your nose.--" before Sano could finish his sentence Kenshin punched him in the face. Sano got up with shock, wiping blood from his lips.

"You son of a bitch!" Sano tackled him but Kenshin dodged him. Before the two could make a move they heard a voice.

"What are you two doing?" They found Kaoru looking at them with worry in her eyes. Sano got up and dusted his pants.

"Nothing. Kenshin was just teaching me a little of self defense." Kaoru looked at the weirdly and laughed.

"Self defense? Ahahaha! Why would you need that Sano? It's the people that you beat up that needs self defense! Unless you tangled yourself in a mafia!"

"Tch! Baka..of course not."

--End of flashback--

'Tch…damn you Kenshin.'

Not till later did Sano notice that Kaoru had become quiet and decided to see what she was staring at. Kaoru was holding a stuffed Kitty. Sano looked at her and back at the cat.

"Hey. You okay Jou-chan?" Kaoru snapped out of her thoughts and looked up.

"Huh? Oh..ya..sorry. You must be bored. Why don't we go somewhere else?" Sano grinned and pulled her out of store. She had a feeling he was going somewhere perverted like the girls bathroom perhaps. No. That's just plain stupid.

"So how are you and Kenshin doing?" Sano asked interrupting her thoughts.

"Good. I've noticed he doesn't really tease me a lot anymore." Sano grinned.

"Missing his teasing? Wow. You must really like him a lot!" Kaoru punched him playfully.

As Sano stopped she read the title of the store.

-Victoria Secret-

Kaoru looked at him sheepishly and rolled her eyes. Of course. Victoria Secret. The one place where you could see panties, bras and girls changing into them. Just before he could go in side Kaoru dragged him away.

"Hey!"

"Sano you pervert!"

"Pervert? I just wanted to look around." He paused and grinned ", remember when you brought Kenshin and Aoshi here? That was hilarious! I can't believe we actually tried to get them to at least like each other." Kaoru raised her eyebrow

"Well we did try our plan the night we ate at my house. But it didn't work."

"Okay. Fine , whatever. Let's go get something to eat. I'm hungry." Kaoru nodded and looked at her watch.

"It's pass three, let me borrow your cell. .I forgot mine at home. Need to tell Kenshin that I'm at the mall." Sano reached for his cell in his pocket and gave it to her. Kaoru dialed the number and waited for Kenshin to answer.

"The number you have called is unavali-" Kaoru hung up the phone and sighed. Sano knew there was something troubling her and he could probably guess what it was about. He frowned just thinking of a world without her. No. He shouldn't be thinking about that.

As Kaoru handed back the phone to him she smiled but soon was caught by surprise as she was pulled into a hug. Kaoru blinked in confusion and looked at Sano from the side.

"Sanosuke?" Sano had his eyes half way closed and hugged her for a little while before he took a step backwards. He gently smiled at her.

"Sano..what was that for?" He shrugged.

"I don't know. I…-.I ..just wanted to hug you." Kaoru looked at him seriously.

"I don't think that's what you wanted to tell me. I'm your best friend Sano. You can tell me." Kaoru said giving him a reassuring smile.

"Kaoru…I-..um..I-…nevermind. It's nothing important. Come on lets go eat." Sano turned around as Kaoru stared at him.

'Kaoru…I love you. Ever since you became my best friend. I've loved you. That's what I wanted to tell you. But I know my feelings won't be returned.'

As Kaoru opened the door to her house she said goodbye to Sano who dropped her off.

"I'm home." She called out just to check if Kenshin was already home but no one replied.

'he must be in kendo still.' Kaoru put her bag down on the nearest counter and took her shoes off. She looked around the house for no reason.

'….i've tried..but I cant stop thinking about otou-san….and what he said.'

She went to her room and got her phone, which was left on her bed, checking to see if there were any missed calls.

One missed call from Tomoe-san

Kaoru's eyes widened and listened to her voicemail.

"Hey Kaoru! I'm speaking in Japanese! I'm getting better at it too! Anyways. I just wanted to tell you that Enishi and I are leaving today in the afternoon at 1:00. I can't believe a month as passed by. It feels so short. I'm hoping you'll get this before we leave cause I really want to see you before we got back to America.." there was a pause. ", Enishi also wanted to see you. He had something to tell you..I hope to see you soon Kaoru-san."

End of voice messages

Kaoru closed her phone and silently looked at her clock. It was 3: 45.

'he had something to tell me. What would he want to tell me? The whole month we barely talked. Now that he's gone….i may never get to see him again…Enishi…I'm afraid.' Kaoru sadly looked at the ground. There were so many things going through her mind especially her recent dreams, school, friends, family, and now this. It was too much. She tried ignoring her struggles but it never worked. She didn't want to worry anyone. Especially Kenshin.

"Kaoru." Kaoru looked up slowly and found Kenshin standing at her door. She didn't even notice that he was home. Tears filled her eyes and she flung herself to Kenshin, wrapping her arms around his waist, surprising him a bit.

"Kenshin." She sobbed. Kenshin frowned and wrapped his arms tightly around her.

"Kaoru…"

"H-he's gone! He left! And I never got to say goodbye!" Kenshin stayed silent and let her cry till she rested in his arms.

"Kaoru." He called out as she looked at him. ", I'll make you forget about him. Plus your birthday is coming up soon. I don't want you sad when I give your surprise." He said smiling at her. She looked at him surprised.

"Surprise? What surprise?"

"That's for me to know and for you to find out." Kaoru pouted.

"Don't worry. Your birthday is tomorrow. So you'll find out tomorrow." He said giving her a grin. He then stood up pulling her with him.

"Fine. I can wait till tomorrow." She said ruining his teasing.

"You're a party pooper ya know?" Kaoru smiled and followed him out the room.

"So where were you this afternoon? I tried calling you but you didn't answer." Kenshin said going to the kitchen and preparing something to eat.

"I left my phone here and I went with Sano to the mall just to hang out. He made me ditch the last class." Kenshin smirked.

"Really? That's cool. You should have invited me too."

"Sorry." Kaoru went over to help him cook. She had noticed that he was having a hard time cutting the vegetables.

"Move over. Let me cut the vegetables. You find something you can cook with." She said teasingly. Kenshin stuck his tongue at her. Kaoru just rolled her eyes and chuckled cutting the vegetables. Somehow whenever Kenshin was there to ask what was wrong he always made her feel better and it was kind of embarrassing just now crying like a baby over a guy. Kaoru chuckled out loud.

"What's so funny?" Kenshin asked.

"I'm sorry. For crying like that. I'm stupid, Crying over a guy like that.." Kenshin stayed silent and looked at her.

"What?"

"Do you still have feelings for him?"

"No. It's just that…well I still care for him. Ever since last month we barely talked and I feel bad about it."

"What about me? Do you have feelings for me?" Kaoru blushed.

"..baka….y-you already know that question." He grinned and moved closer to her.

"Oh I think not. Ne..Kaoru you like me don't you?" he asked in a husky tone. Kaoru knew where this was leading too. She hated it when he did this. Especially when he talked like that. It made her want to melt. But then again she loved it also. It thrilled her. Kaoru backed away but was stopped by the wall. Kenshin moved closer and put his hands to her waist pulling her closer to him. He rested his forehead on hers. Her heart was beating fast and she grew red on how close they were.

"Kaoru…you know how I feel for you and whenever I kiss you, you never reject me. There's got to be some feelings out of that right?" he whispered.

"Yes…I –I do like you Kenshin." Kenshin pressed his lips on her as she closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him. She pressed into the kiss as it grew more passionate. Though she hated to admit it, she missed his kisses. The last time he had kissed her was a month ago when they were in the front porch saying goodbye to Tomoe.

Kenshin backed away and smiled at her.

" Was that my surprise?"

"Not really," Kenshin noticed his food was boiling and quickly went to it. ", aww man! Look what you did! My food is burnt!" Kaoru put her hands on her hips.

"What? Don't blame me! It's not my fault you suck at cooking!"

"Why you-!"

"ahh!" Kaoru ran away as Kenshin chased after her. Kaoru decided to run out of the house and hide but as she opened the door she ran into someone's chest. The person grabbed her before she could fall.

"Sano! I'm sorry!" Kenshin stopped running once he saw Sano out the door with Kaoru in his arms.

"It's okay Jou-chan," he said grinning. ", I see you two are playing a little game." Sano let go of Kaoru.

"Oh ya. Jou-chan. Since tomorrow is your birthday what would you like to do?"

"Um. Well we could invite the gang and my mom and eat somewhere. Though I can't stay long. Maybe up to 12 we could hang out."

"Oh. Where are you going?"

"Um.. well Kenshin says he has a surprise for me." She turns around and sticks her tongue out. ", but he wont tell me what the surprise is." Sano looked at Kenshin who looked back at him with a not so friendly expression.

"Oh…that's cool. Well just wanted to drop by. I gotta go Jou-chan. See ya." Kaoru waved goodbye as he left through the gate. She turned around and gave Kenshin a stern look.

"What?"

"Okay. What happened?"

"What are you talking about?" Kenshin asked innocently.

"I could feel the tension between the two of you! Now something happened so tell me!" Kenshin sighed in defeat.

"We just had a fight that's all."

"A fight? About what?" Kenshin paused a while looking out to the sky.

" Kaoru do you know who he likes?"

"Um no. Not that I know of…wait., .I don't get it what does this have to do with you two fighting?" Kenshin chuckled.

"You're so naive Kaoru. And you look cute with that clueless face." Kaoru blushed with a pout.

"I'm not naïve! Humph," Kaoru turned around folding her arms together ", can you just tell me already!" Kenshin turned around and smiled as he saw Kaoru angry at him. He took a step forward and hugged her from behind.

"I was only joking. You don't need to get mad." Kaoru didn't bother to protest and the two stayed quiet. No matter how hard she tried she wanted to ask anyone, someone for the truth.

"Kenshin? …do you think I'm a burden to my family? All I've brought was pain and grief knowing that I wont be living among this world anymore…and when this disease get's worse …I'm going to be a burden to you too." Kaoru waited for his reply but none came she was about to talk again but she was gripped by her shoulders and was turned around so fast that it made her dizzy. She looked up and saw amber eyes looking at her intensely.

" Don't you ever say that. You're not a burden. And I don't want to hear anything about your sickness…ever." He said in a demanding voice. Kaoru looked away.

"Sorry..I promise I won't speak of it again." Kenshin let go of her and went into the house as Kaoru looked at him silently.

A/N: Man…as you can see there's gonna be trouble among Sano and Kenshin…lets just hope Sano doesn't do anything irrational! Or Kenshin::sighs: hehe …plz R&R! and I'll update soon! Until then Merry Christmas everyone! This is my Christmas present to u all! Hehe ja ne!