hey everyone. Heres the next chapter. enjoy.

Oakami-san
xxx

P.S. I own RK, Samurai X and every other brill anime in the world...yes this is a joke. I own nothing.

Chapter Five - Awkward Timings

Kaoru blinked as she walked into the hotel. Everyone seemed to know Kenshin and they all bowed or inclined their heads to him. Kenshin dragged her into one of the elevators and it the top button that had PH written on it.

"Ph?" she asked "What's that?"

"Penthouse" he said stiffly before he returned to staring at nothing in particular and glaring as though he would like to kill that nothingness. Kaoru rolled her eyes and tapped her foot on the floor in time with the song that was blaring out over the radio. Then she began humming it and bobbing her head, she turned around to ask Kenshin something and jumped back in fright.

"What the hell !" she screeched. Kenshin face was millimetres from hers and he was giving her the darkest look.

"Aren't you even quiet?" he asked.

"Well isn't that nice" she huffed "Aren't you ever normal?" she retorted crossing her arms and scowling "You could give someone a heart-attack Kenshin" she pouted and remained silent and still for the rest of the short journey.

Then they stepped out of the elevator and Kaoru's jaw dropped. To her right was a corridor that led to a door, to her left was another corridor which led to what she could see was a stylish kitchen. There was a corridor in front of her and this I where she walked. It led her straight into the living room with a huge glass wall where you could see the view for miles. There were comfy looking sofas and armchairs artistically placed around a roaring fire and then in a shoji-screen room was an office with a computer and some bookshelves.

Sighing slightly Kenshin took off his jacket and threw it over the arm of a chair and walked into the kitchen. Kaoru hear the clinking of glasses and he was back within minutes carrying two glasses of water. Kaoru took hers gratefully and drank it quickly her throat was sore and the crying she had done that day had made it worse.

"This is where you live?" she asked. "Its nice" she said as she took in the cream and beige walls and the beige sofa's and chairs. The kitchen she cool see was mahogany wood fitted with metallic handles and tops. It seemed so…cosy. Not at all like what she was expecting. In the place of the Monet style painting she had expected to see posters of violence and in place of the vases and glass ornaments she had expected to see old food trays and porn magazines. And instead of thick white throw over for the sofas she had expected black leather.

"My employer owns this hotel and he furnishes the apartment" Kenshin said simply.

"Oh" she said lightly and bit her lip, she paced about the room a bit and then turned to him. "So what do you do?" she asked.

"why do you want to know?" he asked suspiciously.

"Because I'm trying to make conversation. Come on Kenshin be nice" she smiled. Kenshin ignored her and continued to drink. "What a host…" she muttered. "Don't worry I'll be gone tomorrow" she said un-consciously putting her hand in her jean pocket. Something cool met her fingertips and she dug deeper into the pocket and plucked out a small rectangular object. It had a screen on it.

"I didn't know you had a pager" Kenshin said.

"Neither did I" she shook her head. "Well problem solved, I'll just wait for someone to page me…" she smiled a looked up at him. "It shouldn't be long, right?" boy how wrong was she.

Three days later Kaoru was sitting on the sofa staring into the flames of the fire. It was nearly midnight. Kenshin had left the apartment hours ago and she had no idea where he was now. Slowly her eye-lids began to drop and her body melted into the sofa and she closed her eyes and drifted off into an un-easy sleep.

"Kaoru" a voice rang out "make sure the job is done quickly"
"yes sir" her own voice replied
"That's good how school"
"Why ask?" Kaoru replied "Sir" she added.
"Friendly concern" the man replied
"From blood-thirst to school work. Strange combination sir" Kaoru remarked.
"am I not allowed to ask now?" the man asked.
"I'm not saying that sir" she said,
"then why the harsh defence?" he asked.
"School is going fine sir" she finally said.

The dream was visionless a conversation with no picture it continued.

"daddy" a young Kaoru laughed giggling. In the dream she was five and looking very happy. Her father had her on his shoulders. "let me down" she giggled.

Her father grinned and smiled and laughed with her and he finally let her down. "Why did you want to come down?" her father had asked her.

Kaoru hesitated finding the right words to describe what she felt and saw when he did that when they stood at the top of the cliff, she could see for miles all across the land. "Because I can see the world" she had replied.

Kaoru's father laughed and the dream faded in his laughter.

Again the dream changed.

"Kaoru" her father spoke looking much older and addressing the ten year old girl. Kaoru looked at him. "I want to get down from this tower. I can see for miles here. I can see the world" she said. Turning away from the edge of the tower she walked to the stairs.

"You can take the world by the hand if you wish it, the world can be yours" he told her going over to drag her back to the edge. "Don't you see?" he asked her. Kaoru finally looked out over the edge at the stretch of land.

"I can see the world and its something truly scary to see" she had replied to him. Kaoru's father was silence by the wisdom spoken from that ten year old.

"Kaoru Run!" he father yelled. The door was beginning to break under the weight of many men. Kaoru ran and hid in a cupboard for where could she run? "You have no business here!" he had shouted. Then there was the clang of metal on metal and Kaoru knew what was happening. Darting from the cupboard she ran to her room and picked up her own sword. Running back outside she stood d back to back with her father ready to fight the thirty or so men with him.

"Kaoru…please run!" he pleaded with her. The young Kaoru shook her head and refused to go. The first wave of men hit them and they both fought them. There was a yell of pain and Kaoru span around, her father's body was falling to the floor.

"Father!" she cried out running to him, her father died in her arms and she was still crying as she stood a strange fanatical gleam in her eye. As the next wave of men hit her she killed seven outright. They stood back suddenly wary. A tall handsome man walked forwards a young man walking beside him. "Join us" he said holding out his hand. Kaoru looked at the body of her father. "We will achieve a place where no other fathers have to die, we will achieve a peaceful land void of killings like this…join us" Kaoru reached out a pale trembling hand and took the dark figures.

"Argh!" Kaoru yelled as she sat bolt upright on the sofa. Then she collapsed back against the pillows and closed her eyes. Wait…pillows? A rough hand pressed onto her forehead and comfort came with it. Kaoru's eyes snapped open and Kenshin's face swam into view. "Kenshin…" she muttered and then she literally threw herself at him. Her arms wound around his neck and she buried her face against his chest and began to cry. Kenshin's eyes widened in shock and surprised and he stiffened suddenly uncomfortable by the situation, she was too close for his liking. However as she continued to cry he relaxed and his hands began to stroke her back as though they had a will of their own.

"Kaoru…" he said softly. Kaoru blinked and stopped crying from shock, she couldn't remember him saying her name before…ever. "It alright…don't worry. You're safe here" he told her. "I wont let anyone harm you" he promised.

Kaoru sat back and wiped her eyes. Kenshin brushed a strand of hair from her face and she smiled a little. Kaoru blinked as she realised how close they were but she didn't mind, he really was handsome…and kind even if he didn't show it. Still they drew closer together…almost…almost…she could see herself in his eyes now and she closed her own eyes as he leaned closer still.

Bip…bip…Bip!

They drew apart as though the had been electrocuted. Kaoru blushed and reached over for the pager that was on the table and she scowled.

Watergate Bridge 2:00

Kaoru looked up at Kenshin suddenly nervous and anxious he was looking away from her staring into the flames of the fire and he sighed.

"You leave tomorrow" he said. It wasn't a question.