Always and Forever
Chapter 11- Tokyo
Kaoru relaxed against the back of a leather cover booth, enjoying the cup of coffee that Enishi had bought her.
"Did we really have to leave so early in the morning?" She asked, biting back a yawn.
"I suppose not," he admitted. "But it wouldn't be so bad if you had gotten home earlier," he pointed out teasingly.
"Then why are we?" She asked, ignoring what he was implying.
"It's been a while since I've seen my family." He gave her a sheepish look.
"I understand," she smiled at him, sipping the hot coffee. "How long until our flight?"
"An hour," he responded, glancing at his watch.
Kaoru let her gaze drift over the surrounding area as a comfortable silence settled between them. It was hard to believe that she'd met Enishi only three years ago, in an airport very similar to the one in which they currently sat. Three years spent exploring what America had to offer, all because the man himself had made her curious.
Despite her curiosity about the silver haired man, she'd never once thought that she'd fall in love with him. Or that she'd end up breaking a promise that she desperately wanted to keep. And therein lay her problem.
She loved Kenshin. Without a doubt, she loved him very much. Yet, she also loved Enishi very much. She'd said yes to Enishi when he'd asked her to marry him, and in doing so, she broke a promise. If she stayed with Enishi, she knew they'd be happy, but Kenshin would be miserable, alone for the rest of his life, just as he'd promised. If she broke the engagement with Enishi and went back to Kenshin, she knew she and Kenshin would be happy, but Enishi would be miserable.
Either way, someone would end up hurt. And that was something Kaoru wanted to avoid if at all possible.
"Come on, we'd better get going," Enishi's voice cut through her thoughts. When her brow furrowed in confusion, he pointed to his watch. "We have twenty five minutes."
"Oh, all right," she stood and threw her half-full coffee in the trash, surprised that she'd just spent the better part of an hour lost in thought about her problem, and hadn't found an acceptable solution.
The flight passed without incident, or much conversation. Enishi seemed lost in his own thoughts, so Kaoru snuggled down in her window seat and looked over her predicament the entire time. It was a short flight, just over an hour, for which Kaoru was thankful. The sooner she got off the plane in Tokyo, the sooner they'd arrive at Enishi's parents house, the sooner she'd be able to get away for a few hours and figure out what to do.
Finally the plane landed, the first shock of the landing gear on the runway brought Enishi out of his thoughts. He turned to glance at the window, smiling happily when he realized that they'd arrived in Tokyo already.
"My parents said that my sister would be picking us up," he told her as they got off the plane.
"What's she look like?" Kaoru asked, already looking around for the aforementioned woman.
Enishi waved the question off without answering, his turquoise eyes darting around the nearly deserted terminal.
"There," he started walking towards a familiar looking young woman.
"Tomoe-san," Kaoru said, surprised, as Enishi hugged the woman.
"Kaoru-san," Tomoe greeted, clearly surprised as well.
"You two have met before?" Enishi looked back and forth between the two women, confused.
"Yes, actually we met the other day while I was shopping with Misao and Megumi," Kaoru confessed.
Tomoe looked like she wanted to say something, but refrained, eyes darting uncertainly towards Enishi. No one spoke for a while, Tomoe wanting to say something, but holding back because of her brothers presence, while Kaoru and Enishi were once again lost in thought.
"Father's working today, and Mother mentioned something about a get together with her friends, so she's not home right now either." Tomoe said, breaking the silence.
"I figured as much," Enishi chuckled, wrapping his arm around Kaoru's waist and walking towards the baggage claim.
"It is just like them, isn't it," Tomoe smiled, following the couple.
Kaoru watched the two interact with little interest. She knew how much Enishi adored his sister; she had no problems with it either. The way that the woman kept glancing in her direction showed that she wasn't interested in their conversation either, though Enishi didn't notice.
"Enishi," Kaoru interrupted quietly.
"Yes, love?" Kaoru almost winced at the pet name, barely holding it in check.
"Do you mind if I go outside to wait for you? I need some fresh air," she smiled charmingly at him.
"Sure. Tomoe-chan, why don't you go with her? This is her first time in Tokyo."
"All right," Tomoe agreed with a small smile.
Kaoru turned and made her way towards the door, knowing that Tomoe would follow. The moment the door shut behind her, Kaoru turned to look at Tomoe with curiosity shinning in her eyes.
"You wanted to say something back there, what was it?" She asked.
"Kenshin-san told me about you two…." She hesitated, unsure of how to continue.
"Kenshin and I are over. I'm with Enishi now… I'll be Mrs. Enishi Yukishiro by the end of the week," Kaoru pointed out.
"That's what confuses me, Kaoru-san. When you saw him shopping with me you took it the wrong way and slapped him, if there is nothing between you anymore, why did you get so jealous?" Tomoe raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"I…" Kaoru bit her lip nervously. She hadn't fully answered that yet, she had an idea, but wasn't prepared to face the consequences if that idea were true.
"All right, let's get going," Enishi interrupted, stepping through the door with Kaoru's and his own suitcase.
"I parked over here," Tomoe motioned towards the other side of the parking lot with a graceful hand.
AN: My computer is at last fixed, so that is no longer a problem - However, my classes started last Monday, and I'm not sure yet how taking 15 credit hours will affect my writing time… we shall see… I'll try to update every other week at the very latest, unless something else comes up.
Thank you to those who reviewed: Kristy-chan, Eternal Spring89, sapphireracoongal, Anonymous but very interested
Shinta-Fan: I completely agree with you, with everything you said in that rant. Personally I prefer Enishi/Kaoru pairings, though the occasional well written Kenshin/Kaoru pairing can catch my attention. I don't want to pair Enishi with anyone else, but in order for this story to work out the way I want it to, he has to be with someone.
Sorry if I forgot anyone.