Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin.

Hey there all my darling readers. Sorry for this late update. I was having major exams, so I couldn't update as early as I want to. Still, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Healing By KatsunoCZ

Chapter 9

When the restaurant had finally settled down after the drunken men had gone, Kaoru led Saitou to a corner.

"Thank you, Saitou." Kaoru said, looking up anxiously at him.

Saitou looked down at her and sighed, "You're welcome."

"How did you happen to be here?"

"I just walked into the restaurant and saw you growling at that man," Saitou said, a sly smile on his lips, "and that was kind of sexy."

Kaoru blushed, "What!"

Saitou laughed.

"It's not funny! I could have gotten beaten up really badly if you had not appeared. Arigatou, Saitou. This is the second time you've saved me." Kaoru said, smiling gratefully up at him.

Saitou blinked at Kaoru's smile. He had almost forgotten how stunning she was, now every detail of her was overwhelming him again, making him lost his composure. His hands reached up to touch her cheek…and Kaoru looked at him dreamily.

But that moment was lost when Tae rushed over to them.

"Thank you sir for helping us out!" she gushed.

Then, she saw the moment that Kaoru and Saitou were in and moved back quickly, embarrassed. "Sorry, am I interrupting something?"

Kaoru smiled and shook her head, "No, no, Tae. It's all right."

Tae looked at them doubtfully but continued to say, "Thank you, kind sir. What is your name?"

Saitou nodded, "You're welcome. I'm Hajime Saitou."

"Hajime Saitou?" Tae asked unbelievingly. "The Hajime Saitou?"

Kaoru looked at Saitou confusedly. 'The' Hajime Saitou?

Tae turned to Kaoru, "You didn't tell me that you are acquainted to Hajime-san!"

"Huh?" Kaoru responded, even more confused than ever.

Saitou laughed. "All right ladies, I'll need to go now or I will be late for a meeting."

Kaoru turned back to him again and he bent down to kiss her slightly on the cheek. Tae's eyes widened in surprised.

Kaoru blushed and watched him walking out of the restaurant.

Tae turned to Kaoru with a mischievous smile on her face. "Hehehe"

"What!" Kaoru exclaimed, "Would you please explain to me what appeared so amusing to you? And what do you me by 'the' Hajime Saitou?'"

Tae put her hands on Kaoru's shoulders. "Didn't you know? Hajime-san is the best lawyer around here. He has never lost a case before, and so of course he is extremely wealthy and eligible…"

"Right." Kaoru said boredly, she sort of knew about that from Shougo.

"And he had just recently broken up with the famous celebrity, Tokio…and obviously he is now besotted with you!"

That caught Kaoru's attention. Tokio? Who was Tokio?

"So, so…is Hajime-san your boyfriend?" Tae asked.

Kaoru shook her head weakly, "No."

"No? But he sure behaved like he is!" Tae exclaimed.

"Kaoru!" one of the waiters called. "You are wanted at table 10!"

Kaoru snapped back to attention and rushed off to table 10. Tae was still watching after her.

The next day…

It was Sunday and Kaoru was home alone. Misao was at the University having extra classes and the flat was completely silent.

Kaoru yawned loudly and picked up her Medicine Textbook. Exams were in two weeks time and she had not started studying yet. But actually, it was quite easy for her. She had understood all the facts already and all she needed to do now was to remember them. And it was a good thing that she could remember things easily.

She settled into a couch comfortably, and yawned again before flipping open her textbook.

The phone was ringing and Okita finally put down his papers to pick it up.

"Hello?"

"Okita! It's me Enishi."

"Oh, how are you?"

"Fine, fine…I'm in love!"

"You always say that, and then you'll get bored and it will start all over again."

"No, no…I'm serious this time…it's only that she doesn't feel the same way…"

Okita laughed, "Oh? Has the mighty Enishi finally met his match?"

"Yeah, but she will learn to love me in time, we are engaged, you see…"

"Gosh, what has been going on with your life? She doesn't love you and she agreed to marry you?"

"No, her father arranged the marriage…"

Okita laughed, "I wish you good luck, my friend."

"Thanks. Oh yeah, I called to congratulate you on your triumphant completion of the new estate you built for that billionaire! What's his name again?"

"Thank you, oh… his name is Otojiro Ito. He seemed very pleased with his new house."

"Do you know that the house was featured in the Architecture Weekly this month? They ran a 10 page special just for you!"

Okita laughed, "Yeah, I know."

"Yeah…we should get together sometime…we haven't done that for a long time. And maybe you can meet my fiancé!" Enishi joked.

Okita laughed again. "Yeah, sure."

Soon, their conversation ended and Okita put down the phone. Enishi, in love? It was too hard to believe…which woman had such a power over him? But then, again…he had never imagine himself wanting a woman as much as he wanted Kaoru…Okita smiled to himself, gosh…I might be in love with Kaoru…

Kaoru was dozing off when Misao breezed in, slamming the door behind her. Her face pink was with excitement.

"Kaoru-chan!" she gushed dreamily, sinking into the couch next to Kaoru.

Kaoru laughed, "What is it?"

"Soujiro came to the campus!"

"Really?"

"Yeah!"

"Okay…what else happened?"

"So I asked him out on a date!"

"Really!"

Misao giggled, "Yeah, I didn't know what I was thinking! It just came bursting out, I guess I did it because I don't believe he'll ever ask me if I don't make a move first…"

"Makimachi Misao!" Kaoru exclaimed.

"Yes, yes…I know I was outrageous by doing that…he looked a bit shocked himself. But he agreed to go out with me…so I guess everything turned out just fine!" Misao laughed, blushing.

Kaoru smiled and said sincerely, "I'm happy for you…"

Then, Kaoru saw that she needed to go for work and bid Misao a hasty good-bye. She doubted that Misao was even aware that she left.

Kaoru hurried up to the table that she was supposed to serve and smiled brightly, "What may get for you, sir?"

The man looked up at her and Kaoru realized that it was Enishi and almost winced at the sight of him. Damn, why didn't I recognize him?

Even if Enishi had agreed that he won't bother her and that they were just friends, Kaoru would still not want to have anything to do with her father.

Enishi seemed surprised and confused, "What are you doing here?"

"I work here." Kaoru replied simply.

"But, I am sure that Koishijiro-sama can provide for you even if you are living on your own now."

"I would like to be independent. There is nothing degrading about being a waitress, you know."

Enishi laughed, "Yeah, I know. I don't mean to offend you. But I'm sure you can get a better job with higher pay. I can help you."

Kaoru smiled politely, "No, it's okay. I like my job."

Enishi laughed again, "Does your father know that you are working here?"

"No." Kaoru answered, looking irritated.

Enishi noticed the look on her face and stopped pressing on the subject immediately.

"What would you like?" Kaoru asked again. She wanted to have the least communication with Enishi as possible.

Enishi gave him her order quickly because he knew what he wanted since he used to come to the restaurant very frequently before.

Kaoru smiled again before she walked away with his order.

Enishi watched her swaying hips as she walked away and smiled softly to himself.

Soon Kaoru came back with his order and placed it in front of him cautiously, "Enjoy," she said tonelessly.

Enishi laughed heartily, "What's wrong?"

Kaoru frowned and pretended that she didn't know what he was talking about, "Huh?"

"I mean, why are you behaving this way? Is it because I am connected to your father and you are still uneasy around me after what happened?"

Kaoru frowned harder and remained silent.

Enishi laughed again, "I told you that we'll start over again as friends, right? Don't worry about your father being my employer, what is said between us, I will not report to him. I will not even tell him that I found out that you work here."

Kaoru just looked at him blankly.

"Look, I am truly sorry about the engagement. But, it's all over, so I would really like to be your friend," Enishi said sincerely.

Kaoru nodded, "Okay."

Enishi smiled.

"Enjoy," Kaoru said more cheerfully this time, before walking away.

Next afternoon…

Okita walked into The Iwasaki's and greeted Tae politely.Tae did not greet him as cheerfully as she would usually do, and he frowned at her, but she just waved it away and mouthed, "I'll talk to you later."

So Okita sat there patiently for Tae, wondering what she might want to say.

Finally Tae came over to his table and sat opposite him.

"What's wrong?" Okita asked.

"I think Kaoru already have a boyfriend."

Okita scowled, "How do you know?"

"Do you know Hajime Saitou?"

"Yes. That lawyer?"

Tae told him about the incident in the restaurant and how Hajime-san had came to the rescue for Kaoru. She also told him how Saitou was behaving towards Kaoru and how she thought that Kaoru really liked Saitou too.

"Did you ask Kaoru that if he is her boyfriend?" Okita asked calmly.

"Yes."

"What did she say?"

"She said that they are not together, but he sure behaved like he is her boyfriend."

"If she said that they are not together, than why are you so worried?"

"You know very well yourself that Hajime Saitou cannot be trusted. He can never be satisfied with just one woman. He discards women as often he changes his shirt. Not only that, he is also cruel and very unfeeling. I understand why he is attracted to Kaoru, for she is very beautiful. But I don't want him to hurt Kaoru. She knows nothing of men as complex as Hajime Saitou."

"Than, why didn't you tell her?"

"How can I? Though I like her a lot, but we are not so close that I could comment on her personal life. Plus, she already told me that she and Hajime-san are not together. She'll just dislike me for telling her all these as I can see that she likes him too."

Okita sighed and tilted his head, as though thinking hard.

"Why are you telling me all this?" he asked.

"I know that you care for Kaoru very much and I know that you are a man who takes relationships seriously. I wouldn't want Kaoru to end up hurt by Hajime Saitou, so I think that we should work together to prevent it."

Okita nodded, "Don't worry, I don't give up so easily even if I am going against someone like Hajime Saitou."

Tae smiled.

Shougo was standing in front of the entrance of the art building, waiting for her. Kaoru looked at him and waved. He nodded in response and beckoned to her to come towards him.

"Why are you waiting out here, Shougo? Aren't we working on our paintings today?"

Shougo watched her animated face and her bright blue eyes smiling up at him. She was so exquisite that it made his heart ache for he knew that he could not have her now.

"Shougo?" Kaoru asked again, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Shougo nodded solemnly, "Yes, I'm all right. We are not painting today."

"We are not?"

"Yes."

"Than what are we doing?"

"We are going to an art gallery opening; the artist is a friend of mine. I'm hoping that we can learn something from there."

Kaoru nodded, "How will we be going there?"

"We'll drive there."

"Okay."

On the way to the art gallery…

Shougo glanced at Kaoru, who was sitting next to him in the passenger's seat. He had actually wanted to continue his painting today, but he could not possibly stand the fact that Kaoru had been drawing only one thing the past few days.

Well, actually not 'one thing'. It was actually a human being.

Hajime Saitou.

A few days ago, he had found her sketches of Saitou, but as much as he disliked her drawing his best friend, he had to admit that the sketches were all amazing work. He asked her about it, and she just beamed at him and told him cheerily that she intended to work on a serious portrait for Hajime Saitou.

He would like it better if she would just draw him. Not Hajime Saitou.

But Shougo also knew that if women fall for his best friend, they wouldn't snap out of it unless they got dumped by Saitou when the game ends. So he would wait patiently for Kaoru. Of course he wouldn't want her to get hurt and he had warned her already. But she did not listen.

They never do.

"Is there something on my face?" Kaoru asked, confused with Shougo's long stare.

Shougo shook his head, "No."

Then, he realized that the traffic light had turned green and he pressed down on the accelerator with extreme force. Kaoru just turned back, confused with Shougo's behaviour.

Kaoru came home humming a tune to herself happily, Shougo and her had a great time at the art gallery. She got to meet some interesting artists, which was much nicer than meeting the doctors in her father's hospital.

Misao grinned at her, "Hajime-san finally decided to call you?"

Kaoru stopped humming, "Nope, I've not heard from him ever since that day in the restaurant."

"He came to the restaurant?"

Then, Kaoru told Misao briefly about what had happened at The Iwasakis's.

By the end of it, Misao exclaimed, "Gosh! That was so romantic!"

Kaoru shook her head, "No, it's not. I would rather not meet him, so that I won't remember how magnificent he is. He still hasn't call me, like he said he would. It would be better if he and I will never see each other again so I would stop thinking about him."

"Than I think you should move on and try seeing other people. I don't think Hajime Saitou is the man for you as well."

Kaoru's eyes widened in surprise, "Why? Is it because he is connected to the celebrity called Tokio? Who is she anyway?"

"Wow, I'm surprised that you know all that…no it's not because she is his ex, but because he is a womanizer. When you mentioned him the first time, I checked out on him and from what I heard…he had never been serious about any of the relationships he had been in."

"Who is Tokio?" Kaoru asked again.

"She is Japan's most famous female singer now. Wait, I have her CD in my room," Misao replied, getting up from the couch and walking to her room.

Moments later, she walked out with a CD in her hand and sat down on the couch again. Kaoru took the CD from her.

On the cover, Kaoru saw a very beautiful woman with long, silky brown hair and pale white skin. Her heart sank, afraid that she might not be beautiful enough for the man she was falling in love with. Misao saw her reaction, and slapped her playfully on the shoulder.

"Don't be sad! She is not as charismatic as you and she doesn't have blue eyes like yours."

Kaoru nodded wordlessly.

"Plus, there is always that fiancé your father had arranged for you!" Misao added slyly.

Kaoru pushed her back and scowled, feigning annoyance, " Sheesh Misao!"

Misao laughed, "No, no. I was just kidding. How about that friend of Tsubame? If I remember right, his name is Okita or something."

"Yeah, you were too busy looking at Seta-san to notice anything around you," Kaoru teased, "His name is Souji Okita."

"Souji Okita! Are you serious?"

"Yeah…" Kaoru said uncertainly.

"He is that famous architect! You didn't know?"

Kaoru shook her head.

Misao started telling her about the projects that Okita was involved in when Kaoru's cellular phone began to ring.

Kaoru picked it up, "Hello?"

"Hey," a male voice drawled.

Kaoru blushed at hearing the familiar voice. It was Saitou.

"Hi," she said.

"How are you?" Saitou asked.

"I'm fine, doing okay. How about you?"

"Good too. I'm calling you to ask if you would like to go out with me on Thursday night."

Kaoru tensed, "Thursday night?"

"Yes, it's going to be a formal party."

Kaoru laughed, "What do you mean by 'formal'?"

"The party is held by one of my client's company. He would like me to go, and I would like very much to bring you with me. 'Formal' means that...I will need to be in a suit and you'll need to be in a gown."

"I don't see much difference since you wear suits all the time anyway…but don't worry I have dresses."

"So does that mean you'll come with me?"

Kaoru laughed softly, "Yes, is it a date?"

"You bet it is. I'll pick you up at around 7.30pm?"

"Okay."

After they said their goodbyes, Kaoru disconnected the call.

"I suppose that was Hajime-san?" Misao asked, scowling.

Kaoru smiled and nodded, "Yeah, and he asked me to go on a date with him."

"And you are actually going to go with him?"

"Yeah, is that okay?"

Misao looked at Kaoru doubtfully and sighed, "Even if I say that it's not, there is no stopping you right?"

Kaoru laughed and hugged Misao tightly.

"Just be careful and guard your heart…don't get hurt." Misao added.

Kaoru laughed, "I shall guard my heart with care."

A/N: This chapter is done; again I apologize for the delay. I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

If there are any grammar mistakes and sentence structuring problems, please tell me about them so I can improve and make it a more likeable fic to read. Thank you!

Thank you all so much for the support and please do review.

I still am not sure who Kaoru should end up with, but most reviewers would like to see her together with Saitou. There is however some who wants her to be with Shougo. I will decide soon, but before that, please read!

Sorry about not being able to write out individual thanks to all my wonderful reviewers.

Thanks to: tameka, Blood Upon Rain-RiN, Kura-sama, Kaori-Angel, MizzLee, Fairy Mage, anime pixie, Pixel-the-evil-fairy and silverythm

Please review again and tell me what you all think!