A/N:Sorry once again for takin so long! Schools almost over just one more month…xx, Oh well.. here is the next chapter! Enjoy! Thank you to the ppl that reviewed!

Chapter 14:

--Last time--

"Before you go can I talk to you alone Kaoru?" Sano asked.

"Umm..sure." she looked at Kenshin then back and Sano. They went out of the building, Kenshin and Misao decided to wait out in the parking lot as the two talked.

Sano brought Kaoru to a quiet more quiet place which was somewhat a garden like area. The two stayed quiet for a while just walking around as couples or families passed by and enjoyed the sight of some of the flowers or plants. A little boy, around five or six years of age, wasn't watching where he was going and ran into Kaoru and fell on the ground.

"Ops..are you okay? Here let me help you." Kaoru offered her hand out and the boy took it and was brought up. Kaoru gave a smile.

"Gomen Ne-san." He said coyly.

"Don't worry about it." He gave a nod and went to catch up with his friends.

"So..what was it you wanted to talk about?" Kaoru asked Sano.

"Do you remember when we first met?" he asked as he heard Kaoru chuckle. ", We were in third grade and I was a new student."

:Flashback:

"All right class! Please may I have your attention? Today we have a new student! His name is Sagara Sanosuke. Please make him feel welcome. Ah Sanosuke? You can sit where ever you like kay?" he gave a nod. The seven year old went to an empty desk and sat down not knowing blue eyes were watching him. After the teacher explained the homework a little girl, that had a ponytail down to her neck, got out of her seat and decided to talk to the new kid. She stopped behind his desk and poked him on the back twice. Sano put down his color pencil and turned around. The girl gave him a big smile.

"Hi! My name is Kaoru!" Sano smiled a bit.

"Hi. I'm Sanosuke." Kaoru looked at him as he looked at her confused expression.

"You don't look to happy. Are you okay?" Sano was surprised at first but shook his head telling her he was fine.

"hmm..if you say so. Do you mind if I color with you Sano? Is it okay to call you Sano? I think it's much easier to say, you know? For short." Sano just nodded. She was pretty talkative. He watched her go to her desk to get her things and sat next to him. Kaoru hummed a tune as she started to color and so he decided to start coloring too.

"So how old are you Sano? I'm seven! Oo! Oo! Do you have any brothers and sisters? I do!"

"I'm seven also. But I don't have brothers or sisters." He replied picking another color out of his color box. The recess bell rang and the kids excitedly put their stuff down to go out and play. Sano got up but noticed Kaoru was still drawing.

"Aren't you going to go outside?"

"Umm..no I cant. But you can go out and play! I'll just stay here." She said happily. Sano was now confused. She couldn't go out?

"Why can't you go?"

"Oh because it's too hot out there. When it's too hot I get sick, I get all dizzy and stuff so I just stay in here. When it isn't too hot I go out to play."

" I see. I'll just stay inside too then." He said sitting back down. The teacher walked up to them and smiled.

"You okay Kaoru?" Kaoru nodded with a smile. ", what about you Sanosuke? Why don't you play outside?"

"I'll just stay here." He replied.

"I know! Me and Sano-chan will play rock-paper-scissors! That way he won't be bored." Miss Yukimo laughed.

"Okay. Well I'll be outside for a while." She then left.

"What's rock-paper-scissors?" Sano asked.

"Huh? Nobody showed you how to play it?" he shook his head. ", not even your parents? Don't you play with your parents?" Sano looked down for a while hesitating to speak.

"No. I-I don't play with my parents."

"wow…well I'll teach you! It's easy!"

: Later that afternoon :

"Bye Suzu-chan!" Kaoru screamed out as her friend went in her car. Next to her Sano sat quietly thinking to himself, but was startled as he heard someone scream out Kaoru's name. He looked up and found a girl and a boy walking towards them.

"Who's he?" the boy asked.

"This is Sano! Sano this is my brother and sister. Aoshi and Misao." Misao sat down next to Sano and touched his spiky hair.

"Wow! It's like sharp! Like a rooster!"

"A rooster?" he asked with a insulted expression.

"Haha! Yeah kinda!" Sano learned a few things about Kaoru's brother and sister. Misao was a noisy one and was much more talkative than Kaoru. He just wondered if she ever breathed when she talked. And Aoshi well Aoshi was the opposite of Misao he was quiet and kind of scary. His icy blue eyes would look at him from the side when ever Kaoru got close to him. But other than that he enjoyed their company.

"Oh I see Otou-san!" Kaoru said standing up. Kaoru ran and gave her father a hug as he hugged her back happily.

"How's my Jou-chan? You guys ready to go home?" he asked as the other two walked towards them. Sano stared at them as he saw the smiling faces of Kaoru and Misao. Aoshi had also smiled as their father turn towards him and gave him a pat on the head.

"Where do you guys want to eat tonight?"

"Hmm.. that's a tough one!" Misao replied.

"Oh how bout we cook dinner and surprise Okaa-san tonight?" their father requested.

"Yeah! Okay!" they said with big smiles. As they were about to leave Kaoru suddenly turned around and went back to Sano.

"Hey! I'm leaving now! Your parents aren't here yet? Do you want me to wait with you?"

"No. It's fine. I'm sure they'll be here soon."

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow then!" she waved and ran back to her family. Sano just stared sadly at them. It was weird looking at their family. They were all smiling and hugging. They all loved each other deeply. Pain struck and Sano put his hand on his heart. His heart hurt like there was a wound but no blood. He wanted it to go away. He decided to wait for them to pick him up. He waited and waited till he was the last person sitting down on the steps in front of the school. His heart sank deeply and he brushed away the tears that spilled. They had forgotten about him. They weren't going to pick him up. It had been like this for as long as he could remember. He should have known better. What gave him hope that they would come to pick him up?

Sano got up from the steps and slowly walked out of the school. He would have to walk home. He looked up as he saw a little girl holding her fathers hand and laughing as they walked past him.

'Alone…'

…..……….To be continued.

"Where the hell have you been!" a woman around her late 20's shouted at the seven year old boy. Sano put his bag down on the chair and looked down at the floor before he began to talk.

"I walked home…I thought you were going to pick me up.." his mom chuckled in disgust.

"What gave you that idea? It's your dad that's gonna pick you up. If you wait again like that I'm gonna kick you out of the house, got that?" Sano nodded silently. She looked away and mumbled to herself.

"Go prepare dinner."

"Hai.." he obeyed without fighting back and began to prepare dinner.

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It had been almost two weeks since he met Kaoru and he was glad he met her. She kept his hopes up and made him laugh everyday. He had also told her about his relationship with his parents and since then she took care of him as if he were her younger brother. The one thing that struck him the most was if he couldn't handle his parents abuse she would take him away from them and he would live with them.

"Sano! Come over here!" Kaoru shouted as he snapped out of his thoughts. Sano looked up as Kaoru ran over to him with a bright smile.

"Are you okay? You look sad." She asked with curious eyes. Sano tried to smile.

"Yup." Kaoru frowned.

"I know your lying. So why are you sad?" he looked at her surprised.

"How did you know I was lying?" she shrugged her shoulders.

"I can just tell with these kinds of things.? Oh ya.. your dad seemed pretty upset yesterday…are you okay?" Sano stayed quiet.

"You know what. If you're not going to listen then you can no longer stay in this house! You were a mistake to begin with! I couldn't care less what happens to you!" His father shouted. Sano looked at them with shock.

"W-what do you mean mistake?"

"You heard him boy! I never intended to have you! Everything was ruined because you were born! We were planning on having an abortion but are parents were against it and said we had to raise you." Sano looked at them with wide eyes.

"We could have been rich if you didn't exist! We had to quit school to make sure you had the proper things….you know what..forget it. I'm done with you. I'm going to bed." Sano looked at his father as he left the room.

"…I was a mistake…" Kaoru looked at him.

"What are you talking about?"

"They never loved me at all."

:End of Flashback:

" I was really hurt when they told me I was a mistake. And I thought I'd be alone after that. But you decided to help me out till one of my relatives came to get me." Sano explained to Kaoru. There was silence for a while till one of them decided to speak.

"Ever since that day you became very important to me. You became my best friend. Not until Jr. High did I figure out that I had feelings for you." He said with a serious face. He was really in love with her and she didn't know how to act.

"I became strong and decided to block out that memory of them. You made me to who I am today. And when I found out about your disease, it nearly smashed my heart. After everything you've done for me the gods repay you by this. I never got to thank you…I can never have you…and in the future I can never see you again." Kaoru looked down at her feet ashamed to look at him.

"So…I came up with a conclusion. If I can't have you…then…can I hold you for the first and last time?" Kaoru looked up at him with tears. Sano ignored her reaction and slowly pulled her towards him hugging her tightly. This only caused more tears to spill down Kaoru's face.

"I-I'm sorry …I'm sorry ..Sano."

'…Sano I'm sorry I cant be with you….i'm sorry I didn't recognize your feelings. Maybe if I had earlier…you wouldn't be suffering. You're my best friend and will always be my best friend… I want you to know no one can replace how special you are to me in my heart.'

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"Ne-san! We're here!" Misao announced as she entered the house.

"Come on in! I'm in the kitchen cooking. Go ahead and watch T.V .or something cause it's gonna be a while. Both Aoshi and Misao sat down at the couch and turned on the T.V.

"Would you like me to help Kaoru?" another feminine voice called out. Kaoru walked into the living room to see who called out.

"Okaa-san!" she ran and gave her a hug. ", I thought you couldn't make it?" Mrs.Kamiya smiled brightly.

"I've decided to take a day off. I barely see you anymore." Kaoru hugged her mother once more.

"I've missed you too."

"Hoy Kaoru. Don't let your food burn." Kenshin said sticking his head out of the kitchen.

"Ah.. Mrs. Kamiya. It's been a while." He said walking over to them.

"Yes it has. I hope you two are doing well..," she said with a slight pause as a smile appeared on her lips. ", but from the looks of it you two are doing quite fine. Or is Kaoru forcing you to help you cook?" Kenshin looked at what he was wearing. His hair was up in a high pony tail and wore black jeans and a navy blue turtle neck. On top of his shirt he wore an apron that said 'kiss the chef.'

"No. I decided I wanted to help." He said laughing. Kaoru rolled her eyes and pushed Kenshin back into the kitchen as she followed him. She went back out and sat beside Misao to see what they were watching.

"So how are you Nii-san?" Kaoru asked.

"I'm fine. Nothing much has happened." Misao snickered.

"Nothing much happened! Are you kidding me! Ne Ne-san…Nii-san is actually taking an interest on a girl." Kaoru gasped and looked at her brother with those ' why didn't you tell me' eyes. He sighed not wanting to explain anything.

"Who is she? Do we know her?" Misao's smile grew big.

"Yup! It's Tae-san!"

"Are you serious! Ahh!" she hugged her brother who tried to pull her away. ", Okaa-san did you know?" her mother nodded with a smile. Misao smiled evilly.

"Yup. I've been watching them. She'd always go to the café every morning for a quick cup of coffee and a croissant then leave for work. She also goes to the same college as him and takes her classes at night too!" Aoshi closed his eyes desperately trying not to kill her little sister as she kept on ranting on how the two got closer.

"So when are you gonna ask her out?" Kaoru asked excitedly waiting for the answer. Again Aoshi gave another sigh but never said a word.

"Ma ma…Kaoru, don't embarrass your brother any further." Said Mrs. Kamiya who was also trying hold back a laugh.

"What's this Aoshi liking someone?" Kenshin said from behind. ", Well anyways the food's ready as you can see." He said. Everyone got up and sat around the table and began to eat. As they ate they mostly talked about Aoshi's relationship by Kenshin, who was teasing the hell out of him, until finally Misao decided to change the subject.

" Oh so how did it go with Sano, Kaoru?" Misao asked as she stuffed her mouth with food. Everyone at the table stopped eating and looked at her waiting for her reply. Kaoru smiled nervously and glared at her sister for bringing it up.

"Um haha…well…things went well. We've sorted things out and that's all you guys need to know." She said as she filled her bowl with rice.

"Oh I hope he's okay…have you talked to him lately?" Mrs. Kamiya asked.

"Yes. He's fine, remember he does go to the same school as us." Kaoru said feeling uneasy. ", can we not talk about this? I want to have a good lunch."

"Gomen." Her mother replied.

"So what are you two doing today?" Aoshi asked

"We-"

"We're probably going to the mall." Kenshin interrupted before Kaoru could reply.

"You guys can come if you're not busy." Kaoru said, but still a little confused on why they were going to the mall.

"It's okay Kaoru. Hiko invited me over to his house. It's my first time being there and so we're just gonna have a little chat." Mrs. Kamiya said as Kenshin raised his eyebrow in suspicion.

"If this has to do with Kaoru's health then don't we have to be in it also?" he asked. Mrs. Kamiya smiled.

"Don't worry Kenshin. And we would never leave you two out of this. We just haven't talked to each other in a while." Misao laughed and looked at her watch. She gasped and stood up as they looked at her.

"Oh crap! I'm late for my appointment! I know this was sudden but I applied for a job and I have a job interview in like 30 minutes! Ne Nii-san lets go!" Both Aoshi and her mother stood up.

"Sorry Kaoru." Aoshi said ", But it looks like this will be a short lunch." Kaoru laughed.

"It's fine. But you should have told me earlier Misao! Good luck ne? I'm sure you'll get the job. Tell me all the details later." Misao nodded and quickly left followed by the other two.

After they left Kaoru began to clear the table and put the dishes in the sink as Kenshin washed them. Kaoru took a piece of apple on her plate and took a bite as she leaned against the kitchen sink.

"So why all a sudden do we decide to go too the mall?" she asked as she was handed a wet plate for her to dry.

"We haven't been able to hang out lately because of school activities and the only time we see each other is in-between brakes or when we go home. But that doesn't really count either cause we're either dead beat from our activities or doing homework. So to put that all in short term I miss you and I can be real grouch if I haven't seen you in a while." Kaoru giggled and leaned towards him giving him a kiss. Kenshin greatly responded and kissed her passionately, pulling her closer to him. Kaoru moaned as he started to tail kisses down her neck then back up to her lips, slipping his tongue into her mouth.

Not till she felt something wet at her back did she break the kiss. Her back was a bit wet from Kenshins hands.

"Mou! You should have wiped your hands before you touched me! Now I have to change!" Kenshin grinned.

"It wasn't my fault. You're the one that kissed me."

"Oh so you're saying I shouldn't kiss you? Hmm…and here I thought you liked me kissing you. But it's probably for the best. We wouldn't want to regret anything now would we?" Kaoru said with a teasing tone.

"Kaoru…" he said with a warning tone. Before he could do anything she quickly ran away and went to her room to change.

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" Well we're here at the mall. What do ya wanna do? Check out some video games or something?" Kenshin kept quiet and grabbed her hand as he led them to a jewelry store. He talked to the cash register and asked for a bracelet that was shown in display up front of the store. As the guy brought it over Kaoru noticed it was the bracelet she had been eyeing for sometime. The bracelet itself was metal but in the middle was a flower that sparkled and the background was blue.

"Is this the bracelet you preordered sir?" Kenshin nodded.

"Kenshin what are you doing? This is expensive!" Kenshin thanked the man and they both left the store.

"Not to me it isn't. Or have you forgotten my Uncle owns three businesses?" Kaoru looked sheepishly at him. He took the bracelet out of the box and put it on Kaoru's right hand. It was a bit loose but it still fit her. Kaoru looked at it with admiration.

"Every time we pass by here you always look at the bracelet. So it's obvious you want it but you don't say anything." Kaoru blushed and looked at him. There was that smile again. That smile that made her heart beat fast and make her run away. It reassured her that he would protect her and would do anything to see her smile. The same way she had felt when Enishi told her that he loved her.

'wait….what am I saying?...I mean yeah…I like him a lot…but if that made me feel like that then….am I falling in love with him?' Kaoru blushed even more and looked away from Kenshin.

"Thank you …Kenshin." He said nothing only slipping his hand to hers and held it tightly.

"Lets see…what should we do now…ah..i know lets take pictures." He said pointing to the booth. Kaoru gave a nod and both went inside closing the curtains.

"Hmm..How many pictures do you want to take? Three? four?"

"How bout four. Oh! I have an idea. In one of the pictures why don't you put your hair to a low pony tail instead of your regular high ones?"

"What? No way! What about your hair? Ah! Hey!" Kaoru reached for his clip and tried to take it off as Kenshin struggled to keep her away. Screaming was heard out of the booth and some people looked and wondered what was going on.

"Okay! Okay! How about this. I'll put my hair down if you put your hair down. Hahahaha" Kenshin frowned.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Cause you'll look like a girl! And I wanna see it!"

"…Ugh….me and my damned mouth…I just had to pick the picture booth…" he mumbled to himself.

Finally, which took ten minutes from the fighting and the actual pictures, the two went out and waited for the pictures to print out. Kenshin closed his eyes in annoyance and tapped his foot as Kaoru got the pictures. What made it worse was she started to laugh.

"Give me those pictures!" he grabbed them away from her and looked at them. He looked at the one where he put his hair down. He looked like a girl.

"Ahahahaha! Kenshin you're so cute in this one! If only you had smiled!" Kaoru said as she linked her arm with his. The other three pictures he was forced to smile. So his smile looked like a smirk.

A girl not too far from them noticed the girl with blue eyes laughing happily and next to her was a redhead that she had seen before. To confirm it was really him the girl quickly went closer to them.

"Kenshin?" a voiced called out and the two couples turned around to find a very cute girl with a spring dress on. Her long dark brown hair reached down to her butt and wore a cute hat on her head. All together she just looked adorable. It took a while for Kenshin to recognize who she was until she had given him a hug.

"Shazi! W-what are you doing here!" this girl Shazi giggled and replied only looking at Kenshin.

"I'm here to visit you of course! Have you forgotten our promise?"

'…Our?..' Kaoru looked at the two.

"Ah…Um No! I haven't forgotten."

"Oh that's great! I missed you a lot!" Shazi said giving a too comfortable hug. As Kenshin looked at Kaoru he noticed she wasn't looking to happy at the situation.

"Um this is my friend Shazi Cheng. Shazi this is Kaoru Kamiya." Shazi's smile had disappeared as she looked at Kaoru but smiled again and bowed to her. Kaoru also bowed but was getting annoyed by the look Shazi had given her.

"It's nice to meet you Kaoru-san. As Kenshin said before he and I are friends. But there is one thing he left out. I am also his ex-girlfriend."

…….to be continued.

A/N: OH MAAAN! Ex-girlfriend? Your all wondering? That was a nice place to stop wasn't it? Hehehehhehe!

Kaoru: What is the meaning of this! I thought Kenshin said he had never dated anyone before?

Shinta-Fan, you'll just have to see in the next chapter…:runs away before any reviewers kills her: