STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY: Because I own ideas and little else…

To my lovely readers: I am sorry for the delay. Since I'm writing my thesis and being an intern takes a lot out of me – mind you, it's a wonderful workplace – I simply have my hands tied and this story is, sadly, part of a fictional realm currently at war with the kingdom of Real Life. I stand on enemy lines refusing to surrender, but I find myself outnumbered. Still, I'll find a way to make it out alive; in the meantime, please keep on being patient. I have foregone the Reviewer's Response section that should be found, as per custom, at the end of this installment; I simply have no time to get back to each and every one of you in detail right now and my doing so would keep you waiting even longer for an upload, something none of us need at this point. Enjoy the chapter, there is more to come and, please, don't forget to review – I treasure every single message I receive. Kissies, Anna Iram.

Soundtrack: Part I: "I turn my camera on" – Spoon; "Fall line" – Jack Johnson / Part II: "Little girl blue" – Janis Joplin / Part III: "Between love and hate" – The Strokes; "I want you" – Bob Dylan; "Modern romance" – Yeah Yeah Yeahs / Part IV: "40 Ft" – Franz Ferdinand; "Don" – Miranda

Chapter 29: The shoes we are filling

The new me might be old news to you, but it's different than anything else that I've tried. And though I have tried everything I can think of and all I know, it is new to me that which to you is so old. And old is familiar, and old is a friend and old is without movement for memory does not change. Unchanged I remain, yet I am brand new to myself. Were I new to you too, I wish. Wishing inspires novelty that is really more of the same, but I am looking at things from a different perspective and so I exclaim that there is a new me for all the world to see, though your eyes are tired of gazing at me. And the shoes we are filling might be the worse for wear, rubber soles, stiletto heels and all. Yet, we will fake it, pretend we are clean – the gall! We will bury ourselves in new skin and claim we are reborn.

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She was causing something of a scene and boy did she love it! She could hear the whispers and catcalls, see the shamelessly staring faces and pointing fingers: was it any doubt that her smile widened?

It was no secret that she lived for the attention. One day, a sea of crazy paparazzi would make her day; for now, the future France Press photographer clicking away at his Nikon F3 while she took her time reaching her locker would have to do.

There was definitely a bounce in her step as Misao confidently walked down the hallway in her 4" heel suede boots, low rise jeans and slim-fitting white tube top. Of course, after what she had done that weekend, nothing but the utmost self-assurance would do in order for her to face Monday morning and her peers with a smug grin.

All eyes were on her, and though many would have caved under that kind of pressure, Misao gracefully strutted on, blowing kisses at her admirers from the chess club, the debate club, the swim team, the marching band and many others, including would be Peter Parker, who was still snapping photos of her while struggling to keep in step with the girl, who had the entire school parting before her like the Red Sea.

"So I thought to myself, 'mamma needs a new a pair of shoes', but then…"

Kaoru had been busy angrily shoving books into her locker when her best friend's voice reached her ears.

"Please tell me that's a wig," she said, as soon as she turned around and came face to face with a whole new Misao.

"Actually, it's semi-permanent." Taking a moment to think it over, the young girl decided to go for an addendum. "Well, my hair will grow out and I bleached it first so… yeah, semi-permanent!"

"Why couldn't you just stick to the shoes?"

"Oh, it did start out that way. Aren't my new boots pretty?" she asked, lifting her right foot off the ground for good measure.

"Lovely," Kaoru answered dryly. "So, is there like, I don't know, a logical explanation for this, maybe?"

"Try psychological."

"As in 'you've-finally-come-to-terms-with-the-fact-that-you're-nuts' psychological?"

Misao snorted. "As in 'I'm-discovering-a-new-side-of-me' psychological."

"So… basically, you're just going through another one of your weird phases again. Huh."

Shouldering her backpack, Kaoru closed her locker and started walking down the hall, Misao hot on her heels.

"You hate it, don't you?" the future thespian inquired.

"I'll get used to it… I hope. At least it's not that bright!"

"You think it's too short."

"You know what? The haircut suits you; the color… scares me a little. But if anyone can pull it off…"

"YOU DYED YOUR HAIR PINK!"

Having made a quick stop at Misao's locker, both girls cringed at the loud scream that, in stating the obvious, managed to rise above the sounds of chitchatting students.

"Good morning to you too, Danielle," said Kaoru as their bewildered friend approached.

"It's a nose-length bob and it's PINK!"

"Don't forget the fringe," Misao added, ramming a notebook into her canvas bag. "It kind of makes me look like Natalie Portman in Closer."

"Pink is so over!" Danielle exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "This is why you left a teary, incomprehensible message on my cellphone Saturday afternoon, isn't it? You were afraid you wound up looking like Kelly Osbourne, weren't you?"

A strange look crossed Misao's face, though quick as lightning, it was gone. The sapphire-eyed teen took note of it, yet she chose to remain quiet and wait for a more appropriate time to bring it up. There was something odd about the girl calling up Danielle instead of her when she was bawling her eyes out; Kaoru was always her first choice in the realm if saviors.

Making their way for homeroom, the schoolgirl kept her mouth zipped shut while her two friends conversed rather animatedly about hair products and all things fashionable. It was kind of hard to believe that Misao had gone right on ahead and done something so drastic, not because she wasn't generally up for big changes, but rather because she usually sought Kaoru's counsel first, going right on ahead and getting on with the show despite the girl's opinion. It was just weird, not having been harassed over the phone about stuff like which salon was best and which outfit would do the new do justice.

As they reached the classroom's door, the threesome met up with Kaz, who was having a hard time figuring out why he had ever stopped crushing on the girl with short cotton candy hair.

"Why didn't you call to ask about my date?" Kaoru wondered aloud, interrupting the conversation that had been taking place between Misao and everyone else but her.

"You went out on a date?" Danielle inquired, unsure as to why the ever private girl would spill the beans without so much as a good-natured poke.

"Oh," the green-eyed imp blanched. "Well… I honestly didn't think you would want me to call."

Kaz nodded his head. "I second that motion. Kaoru hates it when you all meddle."

Danielle punched him in the arm. "Because you don't?"

"That's never stopped you before," Kaoru said, ignoring the bickering pair standing in the sidelines.

Misao shrugged, looking away uneasily. "I decided to respect your privacy for a change; shouldn't you be thrilled?"

"I would be," she conceded, her eyes unflinching, "except, I'm not buying it."

"You don't trust me; what else is new?"

The bell rang. Without another word, Misao slipped past her best friend and stepped into the classroom.

"Is she okay?" Danielle asked, looking to Kaoru for answers.

"I'm not sure."

"She sounded angry," Kaz commented, unused to the venom in the cheerful girl's voice.

"Personally, I would have to go with cold," the ebony-skinned student amended. "Did you two have a fight that we don't know about?"

"No."

"Maybe 'the new Misao' is a bit tougher than we're used to," the teenage boy in their midst suggested, placing a sympathetic hand on Kaoru's shoulder.

"Maybe," she answered, though uncertainty made her voice waver.

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"I haven't really noticed anything out of the ordinary."

"I hadn't either, but I'm seriously rethinking things."

"You said so yourself; she acted completely normal afterwards."

"Yes, but I know your cousin as well as I presume to know myself. Something is wrong."

"Don't you think you might be getting a little ahead of yourself?"

Strolling through the park hand in hand with Soujiro Seta, Kaoru bit her bottom lip, concern for her best friend making it impossible for her to fully enjoy the moment.

"Maybe I am," she admitted, "maybe the pink hair confused me and I'm blowing things out of proportion."

"…But?" he asked, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

"But what if I'm not mistaken and she really is going through something that she won't let me in on?"

A cold breeze rattled the tree branches directly above the couple's heads as they reached an ice-cream vendor.

"She's a big girl, Kaoru," Soujiro said, offering her one of his blinding smiles. "If she's in trouble and doesn't want to tell you, then she must have her reasons."

"I guess…" she grudgingly conceded. "I just hope she knows that she can come to me if she needs to."

"Two strawberry ice-cream cones, please," he politely requested, taking his wallet out of one of his jeans's back pockets. Kaoru sighed. "I'm boring you, aren't I?" she asked as Soujiro proceeded to pay for dessert.

"Not at all. My cousin means a lot to you and you're worried, so, if that's what you want to talk about, I'm here."

"Thanks," she said, relief washing over her as he handed her one of the ice-cream cones.

For a while, they continued on in amicable silence, each savoring their frosty treat. Lost in thought, Kaoru absently found herself gravitating towards a park bench by the pond. Soon enough, they were both sitting on it, looking at a swan glide across the waters.

"E.B. White was one of my favorite authors when I was little," she voiced without taking her eyes off the graceful bird.

"That was random."

The young girl giggled, mindful not to drop her ice-cream cone to the ground. "When I saw that swan I remembered. The first book that made me cry was Charlotte's Web; the first book that I can think of that made me laugh out loud while reading it was The trumpet of the swan," she explained.

"Did you ever read Mr. Popper's penguins?" Soujiro asked, thinking back to a time when things had been much simpler. "It sure beats Beans on the roof."

"Anything beats Beans on the roof!"

"Ain't that the truth," he agreed. "I used to hole myself up at the school library, devouring book after book after book, and I don't think I ever came across a story that I liked less."

"You were a bookworm?" she inquired, turning in her seat to get a good look at the boy.

Soujiro shrugged. "I still am," he easily replied between licks of strawberry ice-cream, "and, as I recall, you were one too."

"Be careful using the past tense there," she warned. "Some people might be forced to set you straight."

"Namely anyone who has ever met you," Soujiro asserted, causing his companion to grin at him like she hadn't been able to all throughout the course of dinner on Friday night; then, she had been incomprehensibly tense and distant. "You're smiling at me again," he said. "I was beginning to think that wasn't going to be a regular occurrence."

At his words, all mirth slowly faded from the schoolgirl's eyes. Lowering her lids, Kaoru considered the hidden meaning behind her companion's comment. She would have been a fool not to see that he had been referring to the awkwardness that had marked their dinner date.

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," the boy stated at length.

The teenage girl sighed, gently shaking her head. "You want to know why I acted the way I did at dinner." At Soujiro's nod of confirmation, Kaoru realized she had no choice but to be as frank as she knew how. "I wouldn't even know where to begin," she murmured.

Gazing at the shimmering trees reflected on the pond's silvery surface, Soujiro bit into the wafer cone in his hand. "You were thinking of him," he said when he was done chewing.

Suddenly lacking an appetite, Kaoru stood up and walked over to the nearest trash bin, throwing away what was left of her own dessert. Looking off to the side as she wiped her hands on her jeans, her heart sank as she caught sight of the place where she and Kenshin had shared a very interesting conversation what felt like ages ago.

"I guess, what I keep asking myself is… will we ever love as much?"

A large yellowed leaf flittered to the ground in front of the raven-haired teen, her ponytail minutely swishing from side to side in the breeze.

"Come one, take me home Batman."

Taking a deep breath, she stuffed her fists in her pockets and tilted her head skyward. Peeking through gaps in the tree canopy, the vibrant sun harshly stared down at her, making a pair of dark green spots dance across her vision once she turned away.

A few strides later, she was back by Soujiro's side, who had kept himself busy by throwing pebbles into the rippling pool of water.

"Walk me home, Sou," she said, offering him her outstretched hand. Lacing their fingers together, Misao's cousin gently pulled the young girl against him. "…Or not," she added, a blush staining her cheeks.

Soujiro drank her in. "Only if you smile first."

"I think that's the first time that someone complains about my smiling."

Plastering a halfhearted grin on her face, Kaoru did as she was told and, palm to palm, they strode away. Where there was gray in her life, she was determined to slap on a fresh coat of pink paint.

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In an ideal world, Kaoru would have been allowed to stay in watching TV while mentally going through the first part of her day, editing the sad parts. Unfortunately, her parents refused to let her become chief-editor of her own existence, sending her on an errand instead. Thus she found herself staring at a stuffed lion's teeth in quiet fascination, wondering at how such a menacing beast could not get as much as a frisson out of her, despite its being perpetually frozen in attack mode.

Stalking around the display, the blue-eyed girl concluded that nothing short of a safari in Africa would make her fear for her life, let alone cringe. Natural history museums simply did not pack quite the punch. The fact that a giant elephant pointing its ivory tusks at her chest only made her blink owlishly drove her point home.

Exiting the mammal exhibit on the building's first floor, Kaoru looked down at her watch and groaned. She still had to wait another fifteen minutes before she could meet up with one of her mother's clients in the museum's vivarium and hand over a stack of photographs that, in her opinion, should have been delivered by mail or sent via gmail – if, indeed, Mrs. Kamiya ever chose to embrace the digital age and its new technologies. The schoolgirl hated acting as office boy for either of her parents, but sometimes it just could not be helped.

Kaoru trudged up the helical glass staircase leading to the second floor and, seeing as she had no idea what else she could do to pass the time, once at the top she ducked into the nearest gallery. Upon taking her first steps into the dark exhibit area, bathed in but a pale bluish light, the teen gasped. She was all alone, no noise echoing through the gallery's vast space – save for the sound of her hesitant footsteps –, several impressively large whale skeletons hanging from the ceiling. The bones appeared to be so white in contrast to the ill-lighted room that, combined with the lack of museum goers, the place made for certain spookiness. And the shadows bouncing off the walls… now those were just plain creepy.

Backtracking, Kaoru decided she was not going to stick around and find out if the whale exhibit was horror-movie-scenario worthy. When her body collided with something solid she squealed and quickly spun on her heel, a security guard peering down at her with a bored expression on his face as she made a run for it. Rushing down the stairs, two steps at a time, only the glass balustrade kept her from certain death.

It was as soon as she dashed into the central hall, after, yet again, passing by the mammal exhibit, that she finally allowed herself to slow down and catch her breath. The familiar sight of a group of sixth-graders nearly knocking over a case containing an ishango and other weird artifacts made her feel at ease and, suddenly, quite silly. Had she really been that frightened of a couple of whale skeletons? Had the seemingly harmless and uninteresting Natural History Museum actually struck back?

Absently staring at the throngs of visitors walking this way and that, Kaoru shrugged off her backpack, holding it by its thick straps. As far as she was concerned, that manila envelope containing photos of a taxidermist's finest work was getting delivered ASAP. The sooner she was able to go home and dwell on her torturous thoughts, the better. Quite frankly, she would much rather brood than get the bejeezus scared out of her courtesy of kooky museologists and the strange manner in which they opted to showcase collections.

Unzipping the bag, she bent forward and rummaged through it, seeking out her ticket to freedom. Unable to find the much sought after prize, Kaoru cradled her backpack against her chest with one arm, digging through it with the other while remaining oblivious to the chaos going on in the background. Sure, she heard a few shouts and registered a couple of sounds that indicated something had been broken, but when her mind was elsewhere, she simply could not be troubled to pay attention.

Suddenly knocked forward by a pair of fugitives in private school uniforms, the real world demanded Kaoru's attention in a not so subtle way, heedless to her desires of staying out of the loop as to the events taking place. And, just because someone up there has nothing if not a sense of humor, once she fell forward, the envelope she had been looking for – along with a few other things – flew straight out of her backpack and landed at the feet of the last person she would have thought to encounter on that very day.

"Kenshin?"

Had they been characters in a movie, Kaoru Kamiya and Kenshin Himura would have had a Shopgirl moment involving subtle glances and gestures, which was basically the usual order of cheeseburger and fries for the pair. In a sense – probably due to past experience – Kaoru was expecting as much, which is why she refused to get up or take her eyes off his shoes.

However, as soon as he crouched down to pick up the envelope sitting pretty in front of his Birkenstocks, the teenager sprung into action and quickly scrambled to her feet – no way was she going to let him help her stand up when she was perfectly capable of doing so herself! Panting ever so slightly, she tightly clutched her backpack against her chest, as if for dear life. Things were about to get awkward, weren't they?

"Drop this?" Kenshin asked in so innocent a tone that Kaoru had no choice but to narrow her eyes at him and wish he would drop dead right there and then.

"Thanks," she replied, snatching the reason she was in the museum to begin with from his grasp.

Honest to God, she would have sworn that he was going to comment on her rudeness or do something else equally stupid, but all it took was a split second of him getting distracted and looking off to his left before his hand went round her wrist and, out of the blue, she was getting dragged through the crowd, the infamous mammal exhibit drawing ever closer.

Kaoru tried to ask questions as they sped by rhinoceroses, leopards and elephants alike, she really did, but, apparently, her captor would have none of it. Later on, she would wonder why she didn't just hit the brakes and make Kenshin release his hold on her – after all, that would have been the logical thing to do. Then again, there was nothing logical about her involvement with the redhead.

As they took to the stairs, the blue-eyed girl concluded that she had been doing a whole lot of running around in museums lately, something that she herself would have frowned upon had she been in someone else's shoes. The good news was that she was the proud owner of a pair of checkerboard slip-ons, as opposed to the clunky mules worn by the lady at the top of the staircase that had given them the finger when Kaoru accidentally bumped into her.

"Not the whales! Anywhere but the whales!" the teen cried once she realized just exactly where they were headed.

"What?" Kenshin asked without missing a step.

"I refuse to go into the next gallery, alright?" Kaoru groused. "Dead whales are creepy!"

Shaking his head, Kenshin rapidly spun them around in the opposite direction. Making out a white door next to a fire extinguisher close to a group of Japanese tourists – weren't they at the wrong museum? – he picked up the pace. In the blink of an eye, Kaoru was thrust into darkness that swiftly disappeared as a light bulb dangling above her head illuminated what appeared to be – seriously? – a broom closet.

The young girl took a couple of deep breaths. "Kenshin, we're in a broom closet," she stated crisply.

"Yeah…" he responded absently, forehead pressed against the closed door.

"Kenshin," she insisted in between pants, "why are we in a broom closet?"

"Oh. That." Slowly, he turned around and offered her a sheepish grin, his chest heaving. "We're hiding."

Eyebrows raised and eyes as wide as saucers, it was plain to see that Kaoru had been completely taken off guard. "Hiding? From who?"

The undergrad scowled. "Let's just say it's all Sano's fault," he answered, wiping the sweat off his brow with the back of his hand.

"A boy and a girl barricade themselves in a closet and Sano's behind it…" Kaoru began, index finger tapping away at her chin. "You make it sound as if he were your friendly neighborhood Cupid."

Chuckling, Kenshin became aware of just how much he had missed her and her odd sense of humor. His mirth, though, was shortlived. For such a frail looking girl, Kaoru sure packed quite the punch!

"What was that for?" he asked, rubbing his abused arm.

"I'm in a broom closet!" she exclaimed, eyes glinting angrily, nostrils flared. "This is the last place in the whole of the museum I counted on visiting today!"

"It's not like I planned for this to happen, you know."

"How would I know? One minute I'm downstairs, minding my own business, and now I'm here, with you and, as if things couldn't possibly get any weirder, I'm hiding, but I don't know why!"

"We could have been surrounded by whales and other people right about now if you hadn't panicked," the architect major pointed out. He received another punch to the arm for his trouble.

"Sure! Because Moby Dick hanging from the ceiling would have made us invisible, am I right?"

Frustration did not suit Kenshin, but it was one of the side effects of hanging around with Kaoru in a confined space while she was being kept on a need to know basis. With a sigh, he leaned forward and invaded the schoolgirl's personal space, his warm breath fanning her face.

"Wait! Wait!" she shrieked, batting his hands away. "What on earth are you doing?"

Silent and undeterred Kenshin went ahead with his self-appointed mission, regardless of her protests. The fact that she kept slapping him away would not stop him, though it certainly did not make his task any easier.

"I'm warning you, I bite!" Kaoru, once again, deflected his advances in a move faintly reminiscent of the lost art of mosquito-swatting. "Kenshin cut it out!"

He shook his head and smiled wryly. "Me thinks the lady doth protest too much."

"Seriously," she began, the butterflies fluttering around in the pit of her stomach giving her something to think about. What was it about a boy quoting Shakespeare, no matter the circumstances? "What are you doing?"

And, just like that, she went still. At first, he had been planning on going for the kill as soon as he found an opening, but once she stopped fighting him, he found himself dragging out the moment. Kenshin hadn't really thought to do things in such a manner, but he allowed himself to be selfish, to enjoy the subtlest brush of his arm against the skin of her cheek as he reached behind her head and pulled out the scrunchie holding her ponytail in place.

"Letting your hair down," he whispered, his fingers threading themselves through inky strands of midnight skies that swirled free about her shoulders.

Kaoru's mouth went dry. "Why?" she managed to croak out, her eyes permanently glued on the hand that slowly retreated, that inched ever closer to breaking the spell that was, for the duration of a sigh, making things right again within the bubble that Kaoru Kamiya and Kenshin Himura occasionally ensconced themselves in. When no one was watching. When rationale was old news and little else.

Then, too fast too catch, his arm was, yet again, a dead weight against his side. The bubble burst, fading from sight in less than a heartbeat. The world went topsy-turvy once more and whatever unresolved issues the pair had, they sprung back to life right before their very eyes.

"Because," the redhead explained, forcing himself to forget how good it had felt to be remotely close to his broom closet companion, "if someone saw us come in here, wouldn't it look suspicious if we walk out without looking the least bit… disheveled?"

Kaoru rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. Why don't you give me a hickey while you're at it?"

"Don't tempt me," he muttered under his breath, giving the closed door a sidelong glance.

The schoolgirl gathered that his words had not been intended for her ears, but she couldn't stop herself from blushing. Being outraged was also at the top of her list. Being trapped in a tiny room with someone that made her insides twist themselves into knots, however, made her opt for the least probable course of action: she would keep her mouth shut and ignore the comment that was doing something to her that she just knew she didn't want to dwell on.

"What about your hair?" she asked, in lieu of… well, whatever reaction his remark would have warranted under normal circumstances.

"What about it?"

"Don't you have to look 'disheveled' too, or is it only the girl that's supposed to look the worse for wear after having rabid monkey sex in a museum's broom closet?"

"Monkey sex?"

"Fine," she conceded, "panda sex, seeing as if we leave right now people will assume that what went on in here was the most unfulfilling and shortlived sexual experience known to man. Which, in a way, it is."

Kenshin chortled. "So what you're saying is that you would be more satisfied with the entire situation if I took advantage of the moment and felt you up?"

"Maybe…"

If there was any truth to body language, then the undergrad was in paradise. If there was subtext to be found in the intonation used when voicing thoughts and ideas, then he was living a dream.

Kaoru could not have insinuated what he thought she had, could she? But, there she was, chewing on her bottom lip, twirling a strand of her long silky hair round her finger, her wide blue eyes boring into his own…

"Get your mind out of the gutter and your feet out the door, Kenny."

There was a petulant smirk on her face as she breezed past him and stepped out of their impromptu hideout. The girl had one-upped him and boy was it a shame. After all, there was only so much self-restraint a man could muster before temptation got the best of him.

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"Is it just me or did your car just…squawk?"

"Sadly, your ears are working just fine."

"Huh." Kaoru cocked her head to the side. "You do realize that automobiles in general don't sound like birds, right?"

"I'm aware of that."

"Sano's fault?"

"Smart girl."

After staring at the jeep in utter silence for about two minutes – punctuated by several squawks and a loud thump – Kaoru folded her arms over her chest and awaited an explanation.

"Do I have to ask?" she voiced lazily in view of Kenshin's tightlipped attitude.

He sighed and hung his head low. "I wouldn't even know where to begin."

"As long as there are no Gremlins or hens that lay golden eggs involved, it can't possibly be that bad."

"There's a parrot in my jeep."

Had it been nightfall, crickets would have been heard chirping in the stillness that ensued. Of course, the occasional ruffling of feathers would have probably done away with the dramatic effect caused by the insect's sunset serenade.

"I bet that's something you never thought you'd hear yourself say," Kaoru spoke at length, her eyes never once straying from the vehicle parked a block away from the museum, next to a foul smelling dumpster.

"Then it's a good thing you don't gamble."

"Come again?"

Kenshin smiled ruefully. "Sano's my friend. Anything can happen."

The car alarm beeped, breaking the schoolgirl out of her stupor. Kenshin had a parrot on his hands, he had been forced to hide his favored mode of transport away from public eyes and yet she got the distinct impression that he wasn't feeling all that miserable about it. Was there a new man in town or was she loosing it and hearing oldies playing in the background again?

"Doesn't that trouble you?

The redhead shrugged. "It's kind of funny, isn't it?" The schoolgirl put on her best Daria Morgendorfer face, leaving him with no choice, save to elaborate. "I know I'm not laughing right now, but in the future this whole thing will have become one of those silly anecdotes that you tell people just to make them smile."

"And since you're ever the crowd pleaser…"

The college student blanked out her negativity and instead reached for the door handle. "Ladies first," he said, bowing as he opened the car door in true Jeeves fashion.

Kaoru smiled, then screamed; Kenshin was sweet and all, but getting attacked by a giant scarlet macaw was a definite mood killer. So it was a good thing that the undergrad had quick reflexes and shut the door before the bird managed to fly straight at his intended target and claw the living daylights out of her.

"There's a parrot in there!" she shrieked, pointing a finger in the general direction of the jeep's passenger seat.

"I think we already covered that," stated Kenshin, his fist under his chin.

Despite the car owner's cool and calm approach to the entire situation, Kaoru wasn't exactly done with being hysterical yet.

"A parrot tried to kill me!"

"Confined spaces probably make it hostile," he pondered.

"It went 'splat' against the window!"

Kenshin nodded. "One can only hope the blow left it slightly disoriented."

The schoolgirl turned on him, fed up by his apparent indifference. "What are you, a freaking newscaster? Polly wanted me dead!"

"Actually, I'm trying to figure out how we're going to get it back inside its cage without using tranquilizing darts," he explained, shooting her something of a dirty look.

"We?" Kaoru threw her head back and laughed. "Are you nuts? I'm not going anywhere near that thing again!"

"I'm going to need help, Kaoru."

"Delusions are for the birds…you do know that, right?"

A slump of the shoulders, a sigh and suddenly Kenshin was sitting on the hood of his jeep and, as unobservant as usual, it was only then that she noticed the broken headlight for the first time. A couple of steps later, she was standing in front of him, still taking in the damned headlight that she hadn't bothered to lay eyes on before and the man who had this air about him that left no room for doubt: appearances being what they were, he was broken too, he just refused to let the whole world know about it.

"What are you doing?" she asked, nervously wringing her hands together.

"I'm thinking," he answered. "There's a parrot in my jeep and it's no longer in its cage; I need to think."

"I'll say."

Hopping onto the hood beside him, Kaoru gave Kenshin's shoulder a squeeze. One way or the other, the poor guy was always screwed, wasn't he? Not that he didn't have it coming, or anything…

"Got any ideas?" he asked, seeing as his own brain was running low on viable solutions to the current dilemma. "Seriously, I'll take what I can get."

Kaoru giggled. "We can always steal a tow truck," she suggested.

Kenshin shook his head and smiled. Their eyes met and, in that instant, Kaoru realized that he wasn't beyond repair. Whatever was eating away at him, things could still be fixed, just like the jeep's headlight. So long as he was occasionally sincere in his smiles, all was not lost.

"It's nice," she said, looking down at her feet.

"What is?"

"When you smile and mean it."

Astonishment was all he could muster, so she contented herself with blushing and keeping any other thoughts to herself. Too much of a good thing could quickly turn wine into water and, as far as she knew, God had intended it to be otherwise. In any case, she didn't want to overdo it and make Kenshin more uncomfortable than he could stand; making him run from her was not part of the plan. He just wasn't wearing the appropriate shoes for a mad dash – Birkenstocks had the word 'blisters' written all over them, as far as she was concerned.

"You see right through me, don't you?" he inquired, amazed at how perceptive a seventeen-year-old could be.

Kaoru shrugged. "Sometimes," she answered without looking him in the eye. "Sometimes I honestly don't know what to think."

"Then that makes two of us," he said, "because you are always a welcome surprise."

"I'm really not that unpredictable."

"Take it from me, there's nothing about you I could ever predict. And I have a parrot in the passenger seat, so it's not like many things actually throw me for a loop that often."

"And that's a good thing?"

His lips curved upwards into the very opposite of a frown. She just didn't know, did she? Hadn't anyone ever made her see how special she was? Had no one explained to her that a glass slipper was the perfect fit?

"That's a great thing."

"Some people aren't big fans of surprises," she argued, not being one to take a compliment gracefully.

"That's because some people get stuck with babysitting parrots as opposed to being found out by the likes of you," he defended.

"As if being found out was fun…"

Kenshin sighed. Why was it that she refused to understand that she wasn't like everyone else? People weren't kind, friendly, charming and sincere. There was always a tollbooth somewhere down the line and if you didn't have any spare change, you could kiss that road trip goodbye. And yet, Kaoru gave of herself without handing over a receipt. She took care of the bill and made fools out of men like himself, who believed there was nothing out there except greed. She was too good to be true, but she wasn't about to take his word for it. And it was a shame.

"There are worse things in life," he insisted, knowing all the while that his efforts would be in vain.

"Such as?" she inquired, emotional barriers firmly in place.

"There's a parrot in there," he said, pointing behind himself, "so what more can I say?"

And, in all fairness, Kenshin had a point. What more was there to say? They were characters in a play, performing roles that forsook reality for a good cause, namely keeping things civil. The elephant in the room did not shy away into a corner – there simply was no space and it was much too large to be moving around as apposed to stuck inside four walls – but the owners were ever so close to teaching it new tricks that all it would take was a couple of peanut flavored Slim-Fasts for delusion to set in. As if pink elephants would loose weight by slurping on a couple of milkshakes…

A good old fashioned one-on-one was in order, but they, for the time being, seemed unwilling to actually talk, instead chitchatting themselves into sharp corners. Passive-aggression was on the menu and the only thing short of a good clean argument that would set the records straight once and for all would have to be shoe swapping. Only a walk in the other's shoes would be able to tell whose feet were the worse for wear. Too bad that Kenshin and Kaoru stood on foot-shaped templates rather far apart and simply refused to yield any ground.

Next update: more K&K&Polly fun! Hahahah