AN: A quick warning before you read the chapter. Although I am female, I have never truthfully been shopping…. So I'm sorry for anything that seems somewhat odd in this chapter. Tomoe also makes her appearance in this chapter. I couldn't possibly leave her out; she plays too big of a part in making this work. -
A special thanks to Yume-chan for helping me out with this chapter. Without her encouragement and help, I wouldn't have been able to finish this chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin.
Always and Forever
Chapter 7- Shopping
"Kaoru, you have to try this one on!" Misao said excitedly, holding up a simple white wedding dress. Megumi peaked over her shoulder at the price tag.
"That's kind of expensive, don't you think?" She asked.
"That would depend on Kaoru's price limit," Misao looked expectantly at her dark haired friend.
"Enishi didn't give me a limit…" she answered truthfully.
"Then try it on," Misao handed her the dress and pushed her in the direction of the changing rooms.
"All right, all right," Kaoru laughed as she took the dress and left. A few minutes later she returned and put the dress back on the rack.
"Not going to let us give our opinions on it?" Misao pouted when she saw Kaoru return and hang the dress back up.
"It didn't fit right," Kaoru told her quietly, "besides, I was thinking of having a more traditional Japanese wedding, so I'm not looking for a dress exactly…"
"Which means you're looking for a kimono," Megumi finished the thought for her.
"Yeah. I don't want it to be white either," she wrinkled her nose at the rack of white dresses that Misao had been looking through before joining Megumi in looking at a few kimonos.
She looked at them for a few moments, then turned and wandered away, towards the front of the store. As they'd entered the store, she'd noticed a few kimonos that she wanted to look at.
"Kenshin, what do you think of this one?" A soft feminine voice asked from the other side of the rack where Kaoru was standing. Without thinking, she peaked around the rack at the couple on the other side. It was none of her business, but she was curious. What she saw shocked her. A young woman with long black hair and warm brown eyes stood in front of Kenshin, holding up a beautiful silvery white dress for the red head to look at.
"It suits you, Tomoe," he commented quietly, a smiling tone to his voice. He turned slightly to grab something from the rack behind him, and froze with his hand resting on another dress, his lavender eyes locked with Kaoru's.
"Kaoru, what are you doing here?" He asked, his surprise showing clearly in his eyes.
"I could ask you the same," she responded, voice colder than she had meant it to be.
"I'll just go try this on," Tomoe murmured quietly, looking back and forth between the two before taking the dress and leaving them alone.
"Kaoru, I can…."
"You waited for me, huh? It certainly doesn't look like it."
"Kaoru, let me…" Kenshin started, only to be interrupted by Kaoru slapping him hard before she turned on her heel and walked away.
Kaoru slowly made her way back towards Megumi and Misao, completely forgetting about the kimonos she'd wanted to look at. As she maneuvered her way around the racks of clothing, she couldn't help but wonder why she'd slapped Kenshin. Why had she felt jealous of the woman he'd been with, she had no claim on him anymore, she was marrying Enishi.
"There you are, Kaoru. Come look at this," Misao motioned her over, pulling her out of her thoughts.
"What is it?" She asked, though she really couldn't care less about it at the moment.
"What do you think?" Megumi asked, holding up a silky sky blue kimono with sakura blossoms dancing along the hem and sleeves, and a matching pale pink obi.
"It's perfect," she nodded approvingly, a ghost of a smile on her lips.
"Go put it on!" Misao urged her.
With a laugh, Kaoru took the kimono and headed towards the dressing rooms. She was about to go into one of the stalls when a hand on her sleeve stopped her.
"Excuse me, miss." Kaoru turned to find the woman from before.
"Yes?" She asked, her voice cold. The woman didn't seem to notice.
"Kenshin-san explained what happened…. Please, do not misinterpret things between Kenshin-san and I. My fiancé asked Kenshin-san to help me pick out a dress. I'm sorry if it appeared differently to you."
Kaoru watched, perplexed, as the woman walked away without waiting for a response. Shaking her head, she turned and went into the stall to put the kimono on.
An hour later, Kaoru slipped into the leather seat and waited for Misao and Megumi to find her.
"So, what do you plan on wearing tonight?" Misao asked as she and Megumi slipped into the seats across from her.
"I don't know, I hadn't really thought about it…" Kaoru answered truthfully. "I hadn't planned on anything like this, so I didn't bring anything with me."
"You really thought we'd let you get away with not going to at least one club with us?" Megumi asked, exchanging looks with Misao.
"I don't know what to expect. But while we're here we might as well look for a dress or something for tonight," Kaoru shrugged.
"I know just the place," Megumi grinned, "and I think I know just the dress."
"I don't know if I trust you two with this," she muttered, seeing their exchange of mischievous looks.
"Come on!" Misao grabbed her arm, pulled her out of the seat, and dragged her into another store. Megumi followed slowly, carrying the bag with Kaoru's wedding kimono in it.
Misao and Megumi dragged her through several stores, making her try on a vast number of dresses before finally Megumi handed her the dress she'd thought would be perfect. It was a dark blue, almost black looking, strapless dress that barely reached her fingertips.
"Are you sure about this?" Kaoru asked, looking at herself in the mirror.
"It's perfect. Enishi won't be able to keep his hands off you," Misao assured her. Kaoru wasn't in the mood to argue with that, so she changed back into her own clothes and bought the dress.
"I have to go meet up with Enishi now, I'll see you guys tonight," she said, hugging them both.
"We'll take this," Megumi took her newest purchase from her, "so that Enishi can't see if before tonight."
"Remember, four thirty at our house," Misao reminded her.
"That early?" She raised an eyebrow curiously.
"It gives us plenty of time to get ready," Megumi told her.
"All right, I guess. I'll see you then."
"Don't forget to remind Enishi that the guys will be by to pick him up around seven."
"I wont," Kaoru laughed, walking away from her friends.
Enishi stood outside by his rented car, waiting for her. He was dressed in his usual business suit with his silver hair combed so that only a few strands hung in front of his turquoise blue eyes.
"Hey, did you have fun shopping?" He asked, slipping an arm around her waist and giving her a quick hug and a peck on the cheek.
"Yeah, just like old times," she laughed, returning the hug. "A little too much like old times, I think."
"Did you find what you were looking for?" He opened the passenger side door for her, accepting the shopping bags she handed him.
"Yes. I think you'll like my choice, it's beautiful."
"I'm sure it is," He smiled as he slipped into the driver's seat after dropping the bags in the trunk. "You'll have to show me later."
"I'll show you tomorrow," she told him with a yawn.
"I was thinking you could show me tonight," he offered with a sly smile as he watched her out of the corner of his eye.
"The club opening is tonight, you agreed to go," she reminded him.
"So I did," he laughed.
"Misao told me to remind you that the guys will be by to pick you up around seven tonight."
"How are you getting there?"
"I'm supposed to go to Misao's to get ready, the three of us will meet you guys there."
"Alright."
"Misao, I don't think I'm going to be able to do this," Kaoru looked up at her friend from where she sat at the kitchen table.
"What do you mean?" Misao looked up while putting her other earring in.
"I'm not going to be able to walk in these," she motioned towards the strappy black heels that her friends had supplied for her.
"Have you even tried?" Megumi asked, stepping into the kitchen.
"No…." she replied doubtfully.
"Just try it."
"I'll break my neck."
"No you wont," Misao laughed.
"Here, we'll help you." Megumi and Misao moved so that they each stood on either side of her. Each took an elbow and pulled Kaoru to her feet.
"Now take a step forward," Misao instructed.
A few minutes more of this and Kaoru was walking around the kitchen with ease.
"I think we're ready to go," Megumi looked around at the three of them, checking to be sure that nothing had been forgotten.
"We're going to be late in meeting up with the guys if we wait any longer," Kaoru agreed after looking at the clock.
"Lets go then," Megumi grabbed her keys and led the way out the door.
"I didn't think you'd come, Kenshin," Sano greeted his friend as he, Aoshi, and Enishi climbed out of Aoshi's car.
"Misao threatened me," he explained.
"I see. Aoshi, you really should do something about your girlfriend…. Letting her threaten other men into doing what she wants them to do kinda says something about yourself as well," Sano teased, trying to get a reaction out of the man.
"Who's he?" Kenshin asked, motioning towards Enishi, before Aoshi could respond.
"Oh, him. He's Jou-chan's fiancé, Enishi Yukishiro. This is Kenshin Himura, Kaoru's closest friend," Sano introduced the two.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Kenshin," Enishi smiled politely. The red head nodded in recognition, but stayed quiet. Silently Enishi observed Kenshin while they stood there waiting for the girls to arrive. The red haired man was pretending that he didn't exist, which got him thinking.
Koshijiro had mentioned that the two had gone out for a while, but the man had told him to talk to Kaoru about it, meaning it had probably been more than just a meaningless relationship. He didn't have time to think on it much longer, as the girls arrived just then.
Enishi watched Kaoru climb out of the passenger side of the car in front of him, looking like a goddess. The dark dress and makeup brought out the color of her eyes, something he had always loved about the woman. He barely noticed the other two women giving him knowing looks, or the red head glaring at him, as they entered the club.
AN: I didn't want to end it here…. But it's taking me longer to finish this chapter than I want it to. So I'm splitting it into two parts. The next part will be up next Tuesday, if not earlier.
Thanks to those of you who reviewed: DeadlyDragon12, Reckless Person, reiko-chan, ken, sapphireracoongal, Fishee (thank you for pointing those things out, I'll fix them when I get the chance to), and
Anonymous but very interested- In answer to your question: Between 15 and 20 chapters long. Maybe a little longer, depending…. I've got the rest of it outlined, but I tend to just sit down and start writing, and while doing so I don't always pay attention to the outline. I don't think it will be more than 20 chapters long though. Maybe one or two over with the epilogue (which is already written…)