Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin.

Always and Forever

By: Mika Saito

Chapter 5- Just another day in the park

Kaoru woke with the sun shinning in her eyes. With a yawn she slipped out from between the comfortable blankets and stood. She noted with some annoyance that she had slept in her black dress, and it was currently wrinkled. Grabbing a pair of black jeans and a baby blue tank top, she left her room, heading towards the bathroom and a much-desired hot shower.

An hour later she stepped out of the bathroom feeling refreshed. She dropped the wrinkled black dress in her room with a mental note to deal with it later and went to find Enishi. She found him sitting in the kitchen with her father, a cup of coffee in hand, and an empty plate in front of him.

"Good morning, Kaoru, did you sleep well?" Enishi turned his attention to her as she sat in the seat next to him.

"Well enough, I suppose," she shrugged. Reaching for the empty coffee mug and the coffeepot that rested on the table between Enishi and her father, she poured herself a cup and relaxed in her chair.

"Misao called while you were in the shower, love. She said to tell you to meet at her house at one."

"Mmm… Thanks Enishi," Kaoru smiled at the silver haired man as she stood. "I'd better get going then, it's almost one now. I'll see you later." She kissed Enishi on the cheek and disappeared down the hall, leaving her half-full cup of coffee on the counter.

"So, what do you plan on doing today?" Koshijiro asked once Kaoru was out of sight.

"I don't know… Any suggestions?"

"I do have one……"

The door swung open before Kaoru could knock, surprising her.

"I thought you were gonna be late!" Misao said, grabbing her arm and pulling her inside. "We'll be ready to go in a minute."

"Where are we going?" Kaoru asked, watching her hyper friend scramble around trying to find something.

"Well, we were kinda thinking last night after you and Enishi left. We haven't seen you in five years, Kao-chan, we need to spend some time together before you head off again. So the six of us are going to spend the day together," she flashed Kaoru a quick smile before continuing her search.

"The six… of us?"

"Ken-san was busy last night, that's why he didn't join us. Today's his day off, however, so he can spend the day with us. Besides, you do have something you need to tell him, right?" Megumi explained before Misao could say anything. "Here," she tossed a small black purse at the energetic girl.

"Thank you, Megumi."

"Anyway, Aoshi and Sano went to pick up Kenshin. They said they'd meet us at the park."

"Alright then, lets get going!" Misao cheered, leading the way out the door.

"So, how did dinner go last night?" Kenshin asked as soon as his door was closed and locked behind him.

Sano shrugged, and Aoshi, being Aoshi, didn't answer.

"That bad, huh?" Kenshin raised an eyebrow calmly, trying to provoke an answer out of his tall friend.

"It wasn't bad, per say… just a little uncomfortable," Sano shrugged.

"That's an understatement," Aoshi supplied as they climbed in his car.

Kenshin looked back and forth between his two closest friends with curiosity. They weren't telling him something. They almost seemed to be trying to avoid the topic of the reunion dinner with Kaoru. But why?

"Alright, what happened?" Kenshin demanded.

"Nothing," Sano was quick to answer, a little too quickly. He winced as he noticed the sharp look both Kenshin and Aoshi were giving him.

"If you won't tell me Misao or Megumi will," Kenshin grumbled, settling himself more comfortably in the passenger seat.

"It's not anything for either us, or Misao and Megumi, to tell you about. It's Kaoru's responsibility, she'll handle it as she sees fit."

"Where are they?" Misao grumbled, tapping her foot impatiently. "They left before we did, they should be here by now! So where the heck are they?"

"Calm down, Misao-chan," Kaoru laughed at her friends antics, "they'll be here soon. Besides, you're starting to make me think that you and Aoshi have been attached at the hip. What happened between you two? When I left he was an icicle, now he seems a little more friendly, towards you at least."

"Well… I…" Misao blushed a dark red, unable to put what happened into words.

"Misao went out with Shiro for a few months after you left. Aoshi caught them making out and got a little but jealous," Megumi explained, seeing that Misao wouldn't be able to without stuttering.

"Really? But I thought you hated Shiro? Why would you go out with him?"

"She was trying to make Aoshi jealous," Megumi answered.

"I can speak for myself, Megumi," Misao growled.

"It certainly didn't look like it to me, weasel."

"Don't call me that!"

"What? Weasel?"

"Just like old times, right missy?" Kaoru turned to find Sano standing behind her, smiling fondly in the direction of Megumi. Aoshi stood just off to the side, a slight smile on his lips as he observed his girlfriend's antics. Kenshin was nowhere to be seen.

"Finally! We've been waiting on you guys," Misao huffed, pointedly ignoring Megumi, who didn't notice or care, seeing as Misao did it all the time.

"It's not out fault that Kenshin wasn't ready to go when we got there," Sano shrugged.

"Speaking of Kenshin, where is he?" Kaoru looked around again, still not seeing him.

"I dunno. He was right behind us."

"I'm right here," a soft voice drew Kaoru's attention towards the trees. Kenshin was sitting on a park bench in the shade a few feet away. He wasn't looking at her, as she thought he would be. His eyes were focused on the engagement ring on her left hand. Kaoru froze, realizing that she'd forgot to take it off as she had planned. She hadn't wanted to have the conversation that she knew she needed to have with Kenshin right now. She just wanted to enjoy spending the day with her friends.

"I think now would be a good time to leave them alone…." Megumi grabbed Sano's arm while Aoshi nodded and grabbed Misao. Together the four of them disappeared down the street to give Kaoru time to explain things to the guy who'd waited five years for her.

"Kenshin, I can…."

"Who?" He asked softly, his voice showing his obvious pain.

AN: I wasn't planning on leaving it at this point, but I need to decide which pairing before I can continue their confrontation. As it is right now it's leaning towards Kaoru/Kenshin... Still, please let me know who you want Kaoru to end up with! I'll post chapter 6 next Saturday.