Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, or any Stephen King novels.

Always and Forever

By: Mika Saito

Chapter 2- The meeting

Kaoru looked around, eagerly looking for her father. Not finding him, she turned to face Enishi, who stood next to their luggage watching her.

"He was probably delayed by traffic." Enishi assured her.

"Yeah." Kaoru sighed disappointedly. She was eager to see her father. It had been nearly five years since she had seen him.

Kaoru could hardly believe that it had been five years. Sure, she could have returned home after she finished high school, and she had planned to, but then, just hours before her flight home, she had met him.

# # # # Flashback # # # #

Kaoru smiled happily as she slid silently into her seat. Only one more exam. Just six hours and I'll be on a plane back to Japan. Kaoru knew that her last exam wouldn't take her long. History had always been her best class, and somehow she had managed to keep it that way when she had moved to America.

Kaoru was the first to finish her test. She stood quickly, and grabbing her bag, she turned in her completed test and left, her teacher smiled at her and whispered a quiet congratulation. Kaoru smiled to herself as she wandered slowly toward her locker. Finally, after three years she was able to go home. She silently opened her locker, only to remember that she had already cleaned it out. Kaoru laughed lightly at herself and closed the locker. It had been a long time since she had been this happy.

Walking slowly to her car, Kaoru allowed thoughts of her old friends to enter her mind. It would be great to see them again; she had often wondered how they were, though she hadn't let her mind wander toward certain thoughts of the red haired man that was waiting for her in Osaka. Or was he? Kaoru shook the discouraging thoughts away and got in her car.

It didn't take long for Kaoru to get to the airport, and a glance to her watch showed that she was three hours early. Most of the students at the high school would just be getting out, Kaoru noticed detachedly.

Kaoru made her way toward a small café area and ordered a cup of coffee and a muffin. She had been to busy making sure she had everything packed to bother eating something before her first exam. Grabbing her coffee from the cashier she sat down at the only empty table in the area. Having three hours before her plane took off, Kaoru decided to start reading the book her advanced Chemistry teacher had given her. She wasn't too far into the book, maybe about four pages, when a man cleared his throat to get her attention.

"Is this seat taken?" The man asked quietly when Kaoru had finally looked up. Kaoru felt entranced by the mans pale turquoise eyes, and only managed to stutter out a no before the man smiled and sat down. Kaoru, deciding to ignore the handsome stranger sitting in front of her turned her attention back to the book in her hands.

She was aware that the man was watching her, and tried not to ask him what his problem was. The man tilted his head to the side and read the title of the book aloud, his voice surprising Kaoru, who had just started to get into the book.

"Nani?" she asked, forgetting where she was and falling back into speaking Japanese, the man only laughed.

"The book you're reading, Christine, by Stephen King." The man smiled again. That smile was driving Kaoru crazy. It spoke of his high position in society, that smiled that could melt any women's heart, any, that it, except for Kaoru's.

"What about it?" She snapped at him, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"It doesn't seem like the type of book a young and beautiful lady like yourself would be reading." He said smoothly, flashing her another annoying smile.

The simple comment got Kaoru thinking that the man before her must be blind. She was dressed completely in black; her long black hair was pulled into a high ponytail with a few strands left down to frame her face; she almost looked gothic, and he was saying that she wasn't the type to be reading a book by Stephen King? Kaoru smiled, then started giggling.

"What's so funny?" The man asked, his smile never disappearing.

"How could a person make such a stupid comment that doesn't even fit?" Kaoru smiled challengingly at the stranger.

"But it does fit." His smile faltered. "At least in my opinion it does.

"I like books like these," she held up the book in her hand, "and I am the type to be reading these types of books. But a stranger like you wouldn't know what type of person I am, therefore you can't judge what type of books I'm the type to read." Kaoru stood. "I'm leaving." She turned started walking, throwing away her almost full cup of coffee and untouched muffin.

The strange man, seeing her obvious anger, stood and followed her.

"I'm sorry if I upset you miss, but something about you suggests that you aren't the type to be dressed in black, or to be reading something by Stephen King." The man said apologetically. Kaoru turned to face him, her attention for the first time focusing on what the man looked like. He was several inches taller than herself, and he had silver hair and pale turquoise eyes.

"It wasn't your place to judge what type of person I am." Kaoru paused and smiled. "But you're right. I'm not really the type to be wearing all black, but its just part of who I am."

"If you're not the type to wear black then why do you?"

"By looking gothic I kept most people away from me. I don't need to have any friends here, once I leave today I'm not going to come back here." Kaoru glanced at her watch and sighed. Only forty-five minutes had passed, leaving two hours and fifteen minutes before her flight left and only one-hour before she could check her bags in; they were still in her car.

"Anything wrong?" The man asked curiously.

"No, It's just that I have two hours before my flight."

"Your flight? Where are you heading, if you don't mind me asking." Kaoru smiled and moved out of the main flow of people and sat down on a bench.

"I'm going home, to Kyoto." Kaoru told him when he had sat down.

"Where in Kyoto do you live?" The man was looking into her eyes, smiling a real smile this time.

"Look, I don't know you. My father would have a heart attack if he knew I was talking to a complete stranger about where I live." Kaoru sighed again. Today was a complete mess.

"At least tell me your name."

"Kaoru Kamiya." The man offered his hand, and Kaoru hesitantly shook it.

"Enishi Yukishiro."

AN: well, there's chapter 2! What do you think so far? Please review and let me know whom you think Kaoru should be with, Kenshin or Enishi. I'm kinda leaning toward Kaoru/Enishi, but I still want your opinion.