Orphan's Paradise

By Mystic Song

Chapter 7 - Bowling

Disclaimer- I do not own RK or Disney or any other brand mentioned!!

~*~*~*~

Kaoru skipped around the kitchen, pulling out the ingredients that Misao shouted at her in order to make those delicious chocolate chip cookies. Kaoru threw open the pantry doors as Misao rambled off the ingredients, "brown sugar, eggs, butter, vanilla…" Kaoru frantically skimmed the pantry, which was stuffed with just about everything possible. It was like a freakin grocery store. Where was the brown sugar? Where did it go? If you were brown sugar, where would you be? A few Domino labels stood out down on the third rack and Kaoru crouched down to find the confectioner's sugar, the light brown sugar, and then finally the brown sugar! She grabbed it and tossed it onto the table behind her.

'What else did Misao say?' Kaoru tapped her finger thoughtfully against her chin as she skimmed the shelves. 'Eggs, butter…those are in the fridge. And vanilla?' Her eyes landed on a few stacks of icing, one labeled vanilla. She grabbed it and turned to toss it to Misao. Only Kenshin got in the way.

"Oro?" Kenshin squeaked as the vanilla icing smacked him upside the head. He picked it up and looked at it questioningly, his surprised look settling into one of confusion. "What's this for?"

"Misao said vanilla, didn't she?" Kaoru smiled innocently, walking over to where Misao stood with a large bowl and mixer.

Kenshin arched an eyebrow. "That she did, but not icing Kaoru. Extract. Vanilla extract." Kenshin shook his head and put the icing back on the shelf, grabbing the small bottle of vanilla before leaving the pantry. When he walked back to the table, his eyes bulged as he saw that Kaoru was reaching for a third egg to crack and empty into the bowl. He lunged forward and grabbed her wrist. "Kaoru!"

She looked back at him questioningly. "Misao said I could crack the eggs."

"Only two eggs!" Misao giggled as she took the egg from Kaoru and put it back in the carton.

Kaoru pouted and folded her arms.

Kenshin sighed. "Go get the sugar and bring it over here then."

Kaoru nodded and waltzed over to the table. But as she went to reach for the sugar, the kitchen door opened and a tall figure collided into her back, sending Kaoru flying to the ground, the bag of sugar exploding into her face. "Mou!" Kaoru huffed from the floor, her bangs tinged white from the sugar. Kenshin was sniggering and Misao lunged across the kitchen to berate the intruder.

"Aoshi Shinomori!" Misao screeched, her arms flailing about her. "What are you thinking? Rushing into this kitchen like that. What if Kaoru was holding a knife! You should know better than to barge into a kitchen! No matter what business you have!"

Aoshi laid a hand on Misao's shoulder, hushing her immediately. "Kenshin, may I have a word?" Kenshin's playful façade fell instantly as he solemnly exited the kitchen with Aoshi at his side.

"What's with the ice man?" Kaoru grumbled as she dusted herself off.

Misao looked quizzically at the door that Kenshin and Aoshi had walked through. "I have no idea. Must have been something important." She turned back to the bowl and turned the mixer on. "Those two, I swear. Sometimes it's just all business. No wonder the public hates them. And those icy exteriors that they have all the time, it took me ages to just get Aoshi to even look at me." Kaoru frowned and handed the sugar to Misao as she angrily mixed it in with the other ingredients. "You're off to a good start, though, Kaoru. At least Kenshin acknowledges you."

"But only in an objectifying way." Kaoru growled. "I'm not some possession, some toy that can fix everything."

"No Kaoru, you're not a toy. You're human." Misao said softly. "That's why they brought us here. Because we can feel, because we can have fun, because we're human." With that, she dumped in the chocolate chips and let Kaoru lick one of the beaters when she was done mixing.

~*~*~*~*~

Kenshin sat down in his study, Aoshi leaning against one of the armchairs. "What did you have to tell me?" Kenshin asked, hands folded in his lap.

"I have someone tracking Gohei to find his informant." Aoshi replied calmly.

"And?" Kenshin asked, his hands tensing together.

"And they followed him back to Juppon-Inc. Where Tomoe was employed under Kamatari."

Kenshin sighed. "Is that so? Do you think that the owner of Juppon-Inc is behind Tomoe-san's death?"

"Soujiro-san may just be giving an interview. Just because Gohei went there does not mean that Sourjiro was the one who tipped him off, though it is very likely. It is possible that Soujiro only gave Gohei a lead as to Kamiya's purpose here, and had nothing to do with Tomoe's death." Aoshi replied.

Kenshin leaned back. "Yes, it is best to look at all sides of the problem. Thank you for telling me, and keep me updated."

Aoshi nodded curtly and left Kenshin in his study to think.

~*~*~*~*~

Kaoru let out a groan of frustration, throwing her arms up into the air and balling her hands into fists. She was still wearing that ridiculous outfit Megumi had dressed her up in that morning, her head was still reeling from all the camera flashes from the press conference that afternoon, and she was infuriated by Kenshin's cool behavior that evening. Kaoru flipped on the television in her room for background noise as she paced around.

"The Himura household takes on a new member this morning. Kaoru Kamiya, an orphan from the downtown area, has been invited to stay with Kenshin Himura at his estate for the next few months as an act of charity." Buzzed the voice of a newscaster over the television. Kaoru paused in her pacing to see pictures of her dressed in that stupid pink plaid skirt, white polo, white flats and a pink ribbon in her hair. She was the epitome of preppy-ness. She was standing shyly outside the Himura Mansion, her eyes bulging wide from shock and the blush on her cheeks matching the ribbon in her hair. Kenshin stood nonchalantly beside her, hands dug into his slacks, his button up shirt revealing his chest, his bright hair pulled back in a ponytail. Kaoru slapped her forehead. Boy, did she look like an idiot. And her whole figure clashed with his. She looked so stupid, so little, so naïve, standing next to someone whose ego was the size of Texas. Quickly realizing that she was still wearing that dreadful pink outfit, Kaoru quickly ripped it off and chucked it at the television before stomping over to her closet to pick out her pajamas.

"To follow the development between Himura and his new guest, log onto Entertainment Tonight and you'll find pictures, videos, and more." The newscaster persisted. Kaoru stuck her head out of her closet and growled. Kaoru reached for the closest thing by her, which happened to be the flats she wore that morning, and chucked it at the television, successfully turning the annoying set off. She then grabbed an oversized t-shirt from her closet and clambered into bed, burying herself under the covers.

Screwing her eyes shut, she willed sleep to come fast, but of course it didn't. Instead, moments from the press invasion flooded her mind. The awkward questions as to the relationship between Kaoru and Kenshin, the numerous hints to how cute it would be for Kenshin to fall for his ward, the not-so-innocent comments about Kaoru's shabby background, and the many upcoming events and opportunities that Kaoru would be presented to the public. Everyone was judging her. Not just everyone present at the conference, but the thousands of people that saw her through every camera flash and streaming video. The whole world had access to her, had the opportunity to judge her and to see her fail. The day's events showed her just how much of an object she was. How she was just a tool in Himura's scheme. Despite Misao's friendliness, and that playful bout between Himura and herself the day before, it wasn't real. She was here to work, to fix Himura's image, to be used as a means to an end.

Tears stung at the back of her eyes. She could not afford to screw this up. Kaoru had to pull through. She didn't want to be sent home. Well, it's not like she could go home anyway since there was no home to return to. She was too old for Yumi's orphanage, yet unable to provide for herself. She had to stay. She had to be used. She was just a means to an end.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Sunlight filtered through the slightly open window, a light breeze drifting through to ruffle Kaoru's messy bangs. With a loud yawn, Kaoru pushed the covers down and slid out of bed. She walked over to the window and was welcomed with the sight of a bright clear sky and chirping birds. The lake was shimmering and you could hear children squealing and laughing off in the distance.

Kaoru sauntered over to her closet and pulled on a pair of bright yellow Bermuda shorts and a blue t-shirt, drawing her hair up in a matching yellow ribbon. She hummed her own little theme song as she went through the motions in the bathroom before skipping out of her room and down the front steps.

The front windows were open to let the wind drift in and Kaoru paused on the bottom step to enjoy the warmth of the sun and the coolness of the breeze. For such a crappy day yesterday, this day was surely making up for it. Footsteps echoed from the slim hallway next to the stairs and Kaoru froze. Just as she expected, an egotistical redhead emerged from the hallway, his posture rigid and his head buried in a manila folder.

Kaoru laughed out loud, causing Kenshin to look up from his book and do a double take. "Well aren't you cheery today?" Kenshin stated, his tone bitter.

Kaoru quirked her mouth to one side and furrowed her eyebrows. "And why are you not cheery? It's gorgeous outside!" She skipped to the front door and was about to open it when she felt something grasp her ponytail. Hard. "Gah! What do you think you're doing?!" She cried, wildly flailing her arms about her.

Kenshin tugged Kaoru back from the door and released her. "You can not go outside today." He said simply, his piercing eyes berating her.

"And why not?" Kaoru scowled.

"Because there's too much press around." He replied just as tersely. "we don't want you to make a fool out of yourself just yet."

Kaoru was just about to throw the door open anyways when the handle turned and Sano slid inside, lights flashing all around his head and something grabbing at his clothing. "Man, the press is really all over the place. Security can barely manage them." Sano said, wiping off the sweat from his brow. "Oh, hey Missy."

Kenshin gave Kaoru a pointed look that clearly said, "I told you so."

Kaoru growled and pivoted on her foot to go find Misao.

"What's wrong now?" Sano asked, bemused, giving Kenshin one of those "I know it wasn't her fault it was yours" look.

"She wanted to go outside." Kenshin shrugged, turning his attention back to his manila folder.

Sano drew a fish bone from his pocket and dangled it from his mouth. "Hm, maybe I could take Jou-chan and the Weasel over to the Aoiya for a bit. It's such a perfect day outside."

"No." Kenshin said flatly, starting to walk off again.

"Eh?" Sano asked. "What's the deal? The press can't get into the Aoiya."

"No." Kenshin repeated, not waiting for Sano to catch up with him.

Sano sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Geez." He then strolled off in search of Megumi.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I'm sooo bored!" Misao whined obnoxiously. She was swinging around in her stool, twirling a fudge-sickle.

"I know." Kaoru agreed, eyeing her fudge-sickle thoughtfully. "What can we do besides eat ourselves into obesity?"

Misao huffed and stopped twirling. Suddenly, her eyes lit up and she popped up and out of her chair faster than a jack-in-the-box. "I know! Follow me!"

Kaoru didn't have time to argue as she was dragged out of the kitchen and over to the main entrance. "I was snooping a while back and I found this closet that has a bunch of old stuff in it. And you would never believe what I found. I think it belonged to Kenshin at one point, or maybe even Aoshi-sama, though I can't see Aoshi getting into Disney and Mickey Mouse."

"Huh?" Kaoru was baffled. What did Kenshin have to do with Disney? She didn't remember him being in any Disney movies…

Once they entered the entrance hall, Misao slowed down to a tiptoe, beckoning Kaoru to follow her. Misao placed a single finger to her lips and rounded the corner to enter the long, dark, slim hallway that they both knew was off limits. Kaoru's heart leaped into her throat: the fact that this area was off limits made it all the more alluring. Misao lurked forward down the hallway as Kaoru hung slightly behind her, keeping a look out for unwanted company. Kaoru was disappointed, however, when Misao stopped only halfway down the hall at a tall closet door. She soundlessly drew the door open to reveal old blankets, sleeping bags, a fire pit, a couple crates, and a cardboard box with something that was bright orange and yellow sticking out of the top. Misao reached up to grab the box and then dashed out of the hall, jerking her head for Kaoru to follow.

Together they raced out of the hallway, past the kitchen, and down an aisle that lead to a deserted conference room. Misao opened the curtained glass doors and stepped inside, dumping the contents of the box onto the ground. "Tada!" She shouted triumphantly, pointing to what appeared to be a variety of oddly shaped pillows.

"What is it?" Kaoru asked, bending down to note that Mickey Mouse's face was plastered to every 'pillow,' accompanied by some other Disney character.

"Bowling! You see, those are the pins, and these are the balls." Misao answered eagerly. "I figure that Kenshin had this when he was younger. He looks like a kid that could have grown up on Disney."

Kaoru's eyes lit up. "Oh, I love bowling! And I love Disney! Oh this is so cool!"

"I know, right?" Misao said, picking up the pins and walking to the far side of the room. "Come help me set this up. Thank goodness this has hardwood floors. This is gonna work so well! Nobody will disturb us in here!"

Kaoru and Misao quickly set to work, not that it took much work to set up six fluffy pins and two tiny balls. They took turns rolling the balls across the room to knock down the pins, which were actually quite difficult to knock over. Kaoru was on a winning streak when the glass doors flapped open and a huge figure wearing a cape lumbered in.

Both Kaoru and Misao froze in mid victory pose to eye the intruder. "Hiko-san," they whispered in embarrassment.

Hiko eyed them quizzically. "What are you girls doing in here? Don't you know that we're ha—wait a minute. Is that Disney Bowling?"

Misao nodded energetically as Kaoru handed over her bowling ball. "Yeah! We found it in this closet, you see, we were just looking around because we were so bored you know so we found it and just decided that it would be fun to play." Misao babbled.

"Hah, you know I was pretty good at this." Hiko said, rolling up his sleeves. "Step aside to see the master at work."

Needless to say, the game became pretty intense very quickly. Misao was convinced that a round house kick followed by a back handed roll guaranteed a strike while Kaoru never missed when she skidded forward on her knees, rolling the ball while simultaneously blowing a kiss with the other hand. Hiko, however, was the most extravagant out of them all. With a power leap forward, he would twist in the air and chuck the cushiony bowling ball down onto the ground, colliding and knocking away all of the pins.

"That's cheating!" Kaoru cried, leaping up to stick her finger into Hiko's chest. "You can't just throw the ball on top of the pins, you have to roll it into the pins. This makes you disqualified. You lose."

"Now you see here," Hiko replied hotly, his finger jabbing Kaoru's shoulder. "I was the one that bought this game, therefore I know how to play it, and I say that this is a perfectly legal move."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Kenshin checked the clock hanging on the wall as he walked through the house. He was going to hold a quick meeting between himself and some members of the household to organize the upcoming public dinner. But Seijuro had asked Kenshin to come just a few minutes earlier so they could discuss some business. Kenshin thought that he was late when he arrived at the glass doors to hear Hiko shouting, "…I say that this a perfectly legal move!"

Kenshin hesitantly pushed the door open to find Hiko and Kaoru at each other's throats. "Oro?" Kenshin deadpanned.

Both Kaoru and Hiko turned to look at Kenshin oddly before returning to their argument. Misao rushed over to Kenshin, "Hey, you okay? Oh I know, you should play with us!"

"It would be pointless." Hiko butted in. "There is no way that baka deshi could win, I taught him everything he knows."

"Including that big ego of yours?" Kaoru snipped, grabbing the bowling ball away from Hiko and chucking it at Kenshin. "Come on, Kenshin, show us what you got."

Kenshin held both his hands up defensively. "Now, I don't think that would be a good idea, that I don't. We're supposed to have a business meeting in a few minutes, that we are."

"Stop being such a wimp. Since when did you become all apologetic?" Kaoru stated, advancing towards Kenshin.

Someone cleared their voice by the open door and Shishio walked in. "Oh my, what's going on here?" He said, stepping around Kenshin to seat himself at the table.

Misao sweat dropped and rushed to pick the pins up. "We were just leaving. Hope you guys have a wonderful meeting! Go get busy!" She then forcefully tugged at Kaoru. "Come on, Kaoru, let's go!"

"Hey, wait a minute!" Kaoru called out as Misao dragged her away by her shirt. "I wasn't finished!"

Hiko chuckled and braced himself against the door. "You know, Himura, I really like the girl. Great choice, Makato."

Shishio grinned. "Of course, sir. Only the best for you."

Kenshin 'hmphed' and plopped down at the table. "So about that match that Aoshi proposed?"

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Guess what's going on tomorrow night?" Misao called out to Kaoru. Kaoru was sprawled out across the couch in the living room but at the sound of an event she jumped up too eagerly.

'"Something's going on? You mean I can leave the house? What is it, Misao, tell me!" Kaoru asked. She had been cooped up in this house for two days, unable to leave or even take a walk outside. She didn't care if this involved Kaoru modeling Sound of Music themed lingerie or reciting a Shakespearean soliloquy in front of the press, as long as she got to leave the house and do something.

Misao waved two tickets in front of her face and Kaoru snatched at them playfully. "These are two tickets to a match!" Misao said as dramatically as if they were front-row seats to the best selling Broadway show in existence.

"A match?" Kaoru asked, noticing that Aoshi's name was plastered all over the ticket.

"Yup!" Misao beamed. "Aoshi-sama will be fighting against a competitor named Usui for the title of the strongest tomorrow night. It should be really good, even though I know my Aoshi-sama is going to win."

Kaoru grinned. She used to spar when she was very little, so this would be very interesting. "Sounds like fun!"

"Oh I can't wait. I think I'll go pick out my outfit for it now. Will you look it over, please?" Misao rambled.

"You're picking your outfit out already? Is this some classy event?" Kaoru asked, worried. She hoped that Megumi wouldn't come in and try to dress her up again.

"Oh no, no, no, it's not classy. I just want to look amazing in that casual I-just-woke-up-but-look-incredibly-sexy-yet-classy-so-that-you'd-want-to-take-me-out-to-dinner-before-taking-me-to-bed way." Misao said all dreamy eyed.

"Oh, well, that sounds complicated." Kaoru said thoughtfully. "Who are you trying to get into bed anyway? Aoshi's going to be fighting, not looking at you."

"But he'll be able to see me from where he's fighting, and that one look that he'll give me will make him think of how much he loves me!" Misao cried, hugging her chest.

"Sounds romantic and all, but wouldn't that distract Aoshi from the match? He could lose because of that." Kaoru said matter-of-factly.

The look on Misao's face was one similar to a kid who just realized that there was no Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, nor Tooth Fairy. "Oh no! I can't make him lose!" Her eyes started to water dramatically. "Oh, the pressure of being beautiful! Now I have to look invisible yet completely alluring so that Aoshi-sama will see nobody but me after the match."

Kaoru slapped a hand to her face and collapsed onto the couch. Now Misao was starting to get her worked up on what to wear. How to impress the press yet live up to Kenshin's killer sex appeal and not look skanky and wanting to get into Kenshin's pants, which is not what she was here to do anyway.

Together, the two girls bounded up the steps to their separate rooms to pick out their outfits. Kaoru walked over to the stereo and turned on some tunes that she could jam out to while picking out some clothes. First thing that came on, however, was a track from the Sweeney Todd soundtrack- Poor Thing. She waltzed around her closet, pulling out dresses and spinning around the room in time to the music. When the music became harsher, she pulled out several hats, stuffing them on her head and wrapping scarves around her neck. She prowled around her room, jumping in front of the mirror and startling herself. Kaoru rushed to her stereo and started to blast the music so that Misao may be able to hear it as well. Kaoru then found a masquerade mask in a drawer full of accessories and put that on as well before scampering out of her room and barging into Misao's.

Misao screamed at the masked intruder and threw her kunai, pinning the tail of Kaoru's scarf to the door. "Hey!" Kaoru objected, taking the scarf off and letting it hang there on the door. "I was just having some fun!"

Misao's heart was racing 100 miles a minute and she was taking big gulping breaths to calm herself down. "Kaoru, you scared me! I was in this mood, and then your music turned on and made me jump and then you came jumping in!"

Kaoru grinned and started prancing around Misao's room as Frank Sinatra's New York, New York came on. She rushed into Misao's closet and brought a hangar of a green ball gown over her head and a bright pink boa to wrap around her neck. "C'mon, Misao, play along!"

Misao giggled and grabbed a ridiculously puffy yellow gown that looked like it came out of Beauty and the Beast and a spotted umbrella. Together they danced around the room, doing the cancan and stacking furniture to clamber up on. "King of the hill!" Misao crowed. "Top of the list!" Kaoru shouted. Together they finished the song at the top of their lungs, standing on top of chairs that were stacked on top of Misao's bed.

"Come on, come through New York, New York!" Misao and Kaoru finished with energetic jazz fingers. Once the song ended Misao and Kaoru collapsed into a fit of giggles as they waited for the next song to come on.

An electric guitar came through the speakers and both Misao and Kaoru froze when they recognized the tune. "The Killers." Misao whispered. "Mr. Brightside." Kaoru said just as eagerly.

They started shuffling to the beat and Kaoru motioned to her room to grab some more clothes to throw on. Without wasting a beat, Kaoru pulled on a pair of rubber ducky rain boots, a handful of beaded necklaces, threw the dress aside and pulled on the pink plaid skirt on top of her sweat pants and a bright orange bikini top on top of her tank top. She dashed out into the hallway to find Misao in leg warmers, girl swimming trunks, her t-shirt pulled up and tucked into the neck of her shirt, and a scarf wrapped like a turban in her hair.

They didn't bother to go back into one of their rooms, just stood on top of the steps to play air guitar and jump wildly to the beat. They grabbed each other's hands and twirled together in circles and started miming the words. "Turning her sick lullabies, chocking on her alibis!" Soon the mimes turned into crude hand movements and they were screaming the words. "He takes off her dress now" and Kaoru lifted the back of her skirt as if to moon Misao.

"Jou-chan!" Sano laughed from the bottom of the steps. "I didn't know you were like that!"

The girls froze in their dancing and the song ended to be replaced by Led Zepplin's Dazed and Confused. The girls started laughing.

Sano shook his head and sauntered up the steps, the music putting emphasis behind his every movement. "You were just the two girls I was looking for. I'm supposed to talk to you about the match we're going to tomorrow."

"Oh we know all about that!" Misao winked at Sano, flashing the two tickets.

Sano grabbed at them. "So that's what happened to them. And here I thought I'd hafta pull a few more strings cause I lost two tickets. Thanks Misao. That would have put me in a lot of trouble with the big man." He said, jerking his finger at a portrait of Kenshin that was displayed haughtily in the entrance hall.

Kenshin sneezed and stumbled into the entrance hall. "Someone talking about me?" He asked innocently up at the group.

"Us? Never." Sano drawled, throwing his head back nonchalantly and chuckling.

Kenshin shot him a disbelieving look before climbing the stairs to join them. Kaoru suddenly became very aware of the rain boots, the skirt, and the bikini top she had on.

"Whoa, what happened here?" Kenshin asked, nodding in the direction of the scarf that was still pinned to Misao's door.

"Oh, uh, we were trying on outfits for tomorrow night. We were wondering what we should wear." Misao flushed.

"Hopefully you're not wearing that." Kenshin motioned to the two outfits they were wearing.

"No of course not!" Kaoru said quickly, blushing.

"Oh, I dunno Kenshin. I think they should! Then everyone would be wearing it tomorrow!" Sanosuke grinned before receiving two smacks from both Kaoru and Misao. "As I was saying," Sano said, clearing his throat and giving the two girls a pointed look, "I was just coming up here to talk to you about what's going on tomorrow. But now that Kenshin's here, he can just tell you himself!"

Kenshin shot Sano a death glare and muttered something along the lines of "That's not what I hired you for…" Sano patted Kenshin's back good-naturedly and leaned against the stair banister. "Any time now," Sano prompted.

Kenshin sighed and scratched the back of his head. "Well, you see, we have front-row seats for Aoshi's match tomorrow, and since it's a big deal we're going to see the match at 7, then go out to a club afterwards to celebrate."

"Won't Aoshi be tired from the match?" Kaoru asked.

"Maybe. But he hardly goes out with us anyway." Kenshin shrugged.

"What?" Kaoru asked. "You're going to celebrate his match without him?"

Kenshin nodded. "Well, yeah. Isn't that what normal people do? Like after the Superbowl or Wimbledon, they go out and celebrate."

"But that's different. You're actually friends with Aoshi!" Kaoru protested.

"That's never stopped Kenshin before." Misao grinned. "Anyway, wouldn't it be fun to get out, Kaoru?"

Kaoru got all jittery at the thought of leaving the house. "Hell yes. Ok, I'll stop arguing."

"Good girl." Sano said, earning him another punch from Kaoru.

"Well I've got some more work to do. Have a good night and see you girls tomorrow." Kenshin said, descending the stairs. The group waved goodbye and dispersed into their respective rooms to finish the night.

~*~*~*~*~

Six o'clock rolled around and Kaoru sat in Misao's room, waiting to leave. She decided to wear a pair of hip hugging designer jeans and sandals, a white tube top that clung to her like a second skin, the bottom of the shirt ending at her hips. She wore her hair pulled back underneath a cap that looked like it came out of Oliver Twist and large hoop earrings. Tae came in earlier to fix her makeup; she looked flawless. Tae was just finishing Misao up, who looked much more erotic with her black shorts, green heels that had straps winding around her calves, a matching green halter top that was gathered at the top and hung at her hips, a large droopy necklace and studs. Her hair was gathered and bunched so that it flared out of her clip, and her make up included long lashes and swooping eye shadow that curled up at the corners of her eyes. Kaoru would have thought it to be overdone, but this was Kenshin she was talking about. She was in high-class society, where everyone tried to out do the other.

A few minutes later, once Tae had finished, the front doors to the house opened and someone had announced that the limos were ready. Kaoru sighed and walked with Misao down the stairs, the sight of Megumi, Sano, and Kenshin stopping her heart. Sano was wearing a pair of white carpi's and a tight grey tank that had a hood in the back that showed off his sculpted chest and arms. Megumi wore a dress that ended right at her thighs, the neck plunging down past her stomach with skimpy strings that strung the front together similar to a bodice. She wore golden heels and a matching golden beaded necklace. And Kenshin, he was simply gorgeous. He wore a pair of faded jeans that hung low on his hips with a wide black belt, and a thick, white collared shirt that wasn't buttoned all the way and was tucked into his jeans, his hair was pulled back underneath a backwards cap, his bangs flaring out and to the side.

"What's wrong, Jou-chan?" Sano called Kaoru out on her stupefied expression. "Haven't you ever seen a bunch of beautiful people before?"

"N-no," Kaoru answered honestly, suddenly wondering whether or not she was dressed up enough.

As if reading her thoughts, Megumi elbowed Sano in the side and said quickly, "Well you look gorgeous, Kaoru. Modest, but gorgeous."

Kaoru bowed her head to hide her blush and allowed Sano to escort her outside. The amount of press that swarmed the gate was like entering a storm. Unlike Kenshin, who had lifted his head to face the crowd of press, Kaoru shied away, allowing the tilted brim of her cap to shield part of her face.

"Let's go, Kaoru." Kenshin urged Kaoru along gently, touching her arm softly to usher her along into the limo that sat waiting.

A tiny smile graced Kaoru's lips and she felt more than saw the flash of cameras capture the small action.

Inside the stretch limo, the girls sat at the front while the boys sat at the back. Kaoru sat comfortably in between Megumi and Misao, looking at them with awe.

"What are you staring at, tanuki?" Megumi asked Kaoru.

Kaoru was taken aback since she hadn't realized that she was staring. "I didn't know that people could look this pretty." She replied honestly.

"Well, I don't mean to be rude," Megumi said matter-of-factly, "But you did come from a little run down orphanage that had you wearing rags for most of your life. Of course this change of scenery is going to be shocking."

Kaoru frowned. "That's not what I meant. And just because I come from a little run down orphanage doesn't mean I don't know how to dress!"

"Amen!" Sano had interjected from the other side of the limo. Kaoru glared at him before turning back to Megumi.

"What I meant was that even people that dress up don't look this pretty. There's just something about the aura." Kaoru thought aloud.

Misao smiled. "I know what you mean. I felt it too when I first came here, but it grows on you. Pretty soon you won't even notice it any more, it just becomes natural, and by then you'll be doing it too."

Megumi looked baffled. "What are you two talking about?"

"I noticed it when I first saw you and Sano." Kaoru confessed. "The way you walked, it was not just confident and self-assured-- it was something almost materialistic."

Misao nodded. "It's like going to a fancy restaurant where on one side you have the aspiring actors and actresses and on the other you have the George Clooney's and Julia Roberts'. And it's not just in the knowledge that they know that they are or are not famous, but it's in the clothes. Like, people that just dress up for fun let the clothes own them; they look pretty because of the clothes. But not you guys. You know you're 'it' and therefore you rule not only your clothes, but the people around you."

Megumi looked shell-shocked. "I didn't know the weasel had it in her."

Misao crossed her arms and pouted childishly, causing Megumi to laugh.

Kaoru looked down the limo at Kenshin. So in order to save Kenshin's image, she would have to be on his level. She would have to pull off this image that demanded the attention of her audience so that they wouldn't be judging her, they would be admiring her and listening to her. But it wasn't just an image she'd have to pull off, it was the whole package: personality, looks, everything. And she'd have to do all of this while still remaining true to herself. Kenshin caught her eye and Kaoru quickly looked away, watching Misao argue animatedly with Megumi. But then again, Kaoru thought, Misao had managed to do it. She succeeded. That gave Kaoru hope that she could do the same.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N: Hey everybody, been a while hasn't it… I apologize profusely for those of you who really enjoy this story and had to wait so long for an update. I appreciate all of your reviews, and I mean each and every one of them! Please continue to read and review, they are so uplifting!