Author's note:

Many thanks to, koishiikochou, for looking through this for me and giving me the help and support.

An anonymous reviewer suggested that I should have a summary for all of my chapter. I thought it was a good idea for me to track my fact and details, so I did. But it is in my profile page. So, if anyone needs a re-cap of this story, you know where to look.

Previously, Hiko found out that Sano dating Megumi and he took Kaoru out for dinner without informing Kenshin. Tomoe went back to Shanghai because Akira was hospitalized and Enishi was not happy. Kenshin took Hiko's cue and took Kaoru out to a surprised dinner. Kenshin wanted to ask her verbally but ended up being temporarily mute. So, he just held her hands instead and Kaoru squeezed back.

Disclamer: I do not own any character in Rurouni Kenshin. I just borrowed them to improve my vocabulary and grammar.

Misunderstanding

Kaoru looked at the time. Another two and a half hours before she gets to see Kenshin again. She wondered briefly why was she having such a strong urge to see him when the last time she saw him was only seven hours ago. She had never had this sort of desire in the past, even though she was one thousand miles away for him a period of time.

Her mind wandered back in time, to the morning where she could still vividly see his alluring eyes that were holding her captive and frozen on her spot. She smiled lightly without knowing that she did. To think that those eyes once made her want to crawl and hide under the bed. That same pair of eyes gave her the shivers inside out and that sensation was not unwelcome.

"You are spilling the distilled water all over the counter, Kaoru," Kirara pointed out.

As if waking up from a trance, Kaoru opened her eyes wide and immediately put the bottle of distilled water upright. "Shit..." She cursed softly as she was looking for the something to absorb the excessive moisture from the counter.

Kirara smiled. "What were you thinking of? Kenshin?" She nudged Kaoru slightly.

Kaoru blushed, "No, I was not!" She continued wipe the table, the smile on her face slowly crept back inadvertently. It was surprising how love could make her feel mindless.

"How long have you guy been seeing each other?"

'Now, that is a difficult question to answer…' "Ah… Well… for some time…" Kaoru simply brushed it off.

"Like how long? A week? A month? A year?"

"Erm... something like that." Kaoru didn't quite know how to address the question. She herself wasn't sure what date to fix the beginning of their chapter together.

Kirara shook her head. "You seem like a new couple.. I mean…"

Kakari butted in, "Yeah, both of you are still clingy and crazy over each other that it makes me sick and yet envious at the same time."

"So love-y dove-y to one another…" remarked another colleague.

Kaoru didn't know what else to do or say, except blush harder and keep her head low.

Ryuzabaro was listening in closely the girls' conversation. He was not happy. What was so great about this Kenshin guy, he thought.

As the girls were engrossing themselves about teasing Kaoru, Enishi walked into the lab. He was not pleased when he heard giggles and laughter in his lab. He turned to his current source of irritation and glared at the group of girls who fortunately didn't notice his dagger eyes. 'Why is she blushing so fiercely?' His entire attention on whom he thought was Seijuro's young mistress. For the first time, he took the time to look at the personnel in his lab other than the professor himself. 'She seemed a little too innocent and ordinary to pass as a mistress.' He watched her smiled uncertainly as her complexion changed into a brighter shade. He wondered briefly – could it be her innocence that caught Seijuro's heart. He didn't like drawing attention to himself but it was something that came naturally to him wherever he went. However on that particular day, her aura over-rode his as no one in the lab realized that he was walking slowly into the professor's office.

Ryuzabaro watched every passing of Kaoru's expression without blinking. She looked so happy despite the fact that she was speechless and powerless against the other girls' teasing. He felt jealousy clenching his heart. His dislike toward Kenshin deepened by a few depths of seas. He wished he was first to meet her. His right hand took in a scalpel, thinking that it was a test rod. His fingers gripped on the round unsealed petri dish of agar full of active cultured substances which their lab had found and developed recently. Talking to Kaoru was all he had in his mind as he walked towards the girls without actually looking where he was going.

Kaoru sighed and lifted her head slight only to see Ryuzabaro randomly swinging his right hand holding a potentially deadly tool – the scalpels. Her eyes shot wide opened when Enishi was about to cross path with Ryubozaro at the narrow path.

"Ryubazoro! Watch it!" Kaoru shouted before Ryuzabaro cut Enishi.

Ryuzabaro was startled by Kaoru unwarned scream and jumped. His reaction had his right hand to jerk up suddenly and accidentally slashed Enishi's left hand.

"Fuck!" Enishi cursed as he felt a sting on the back of his left hand. Before can he pull his hand to himself, the little group of annoying ladies shouted causing Ryuzabaro to flinch.

Ryuzabaro realized too late what he had done and started to panic. He saw blood dripping from Enishi's hand. Unable to move his rigid right hand gripping tightly to the scalpel, he automatically raised his left hand. Unfortunately, Ryuzabaro temporarily failed to register the feel of the agar plate and he poured the entire content onto Enishi's left hand.

"ARRGH!" Enishi screamed in pain. It was no longer just a sting that he had to endure. The highly concentrated active substance was forcing its way into his vein through his wound. His body almost curled into ball in response to the excruciating pain. As his back bended downward forcefully, his elbow hit the counter, intensifying his vicious pain. His left hand fell flat on the counter, hitting direct into another plate of agar culturing another type of microbes which Ryuzabaro had carelessly left open. The adrenaline rush as a result of the shock had just accelerated the pace of the microbes being carried through his blood vessels into his entire body.

"Oh my god!" Kaoru hurried to Enishi as the rest could merely watch in fright. Ryuzabaro had gone statue like.

The professor swung his door ajar and demanded, "What is going on here?" His face paled when he saw Enishi's condition.

Enishi could no longer feel the pain. His left hand was numb. His whole body was losing its solid feel and his vision was blurring and spinning at the same time. He felt completely overwhelmed with an unusual joy dancing in him. He halved a smile before his eyes turned white and he collapsed.

Kaoru rushed to Enishi just in time to barely support him from hitting the hard cold floor. She tried to heave him up. He was far too heavy for her lithe body to support but she didn't give up. She had to wash his wound as soon as possible to avoid further penetration of the combined microbes into his system.

"Don't just stand there! Help me!" She snapped everyone in the lab to life.

The professor was the first to awaken from his trance and aided Kaoru. Ryuzabaro was still shaking, his feet planted firmly on the floor. When the professor shifted Enishi's weight from her, she immediately grabbed the nearest material and went around Enishi's upper left arm, securing it as tight as she could. She hoped to constrict his blood vessel, slowing down the contamination process; assuming the microbes would flow and not clogged in his vein mutating into something even more disasterous and deadly.

"Call the ambulance. Hurry!" Kaoru ordered the girls.

Kirara scrambled for her phone.

The professor was holding Enishi tightly and steadily while Kaoru took Enishi's left hand and ran it under the pouring tab. She nor anyone of the other lab workers had any idea what the effect would be of the union of the two newly combined microbes. Her greatest fear was that the two species of microbes might create a deadly new species, like bird flu through copulation.

With her mighty arms, Kaoru shoved all the beakers and flasks on the nearest counter to the edge, not bothered if she had shoved it too far edge till broken glasses was heard. She helped the professor to maneuver Enishi on top of the counter by his side with his left arm dangling from the counter. The gravity pull from the ground should at least help in slowing down the blood movement.

Her heart was racing against time as she examined his wound, his overall condition and her options. He didn't look very good and his cut was deep. She had not done enough research to counter the microbes and there were two of them. Instinctly, she wrapped his forehead with her palm. He was burning hot. She sighed in relief, as the microbes would not normally have survived under temperature above forty degrees Celcius. Then again she was not sure whether the cause of the fever was because of his antibody fighting the microbes or as an after effect of the mutation of the two microbes.

Kaoru ran to the apparatus cabinet and grabbed a thermometer and ran back to Enishi. She stuck the thermometer into his mouth and observed the reading. Her eyes shot up when the reading keep on going further and further. At the rate that it was going, Enishi was going to burn his brains out.

"Oh god! He is burning. We need to stop the fever." Kaoru went off again to the small refrigerator in the lab and came back with a tray of ice. She looked around frantically and found what she was looking for. She grabbed the hand towel like the one she used to clean her counter top earlier and spread it out on the counter. She shook the trays of ice upside down vigorously onto the towel. When the trays had been emptied, she bundled up the towel and rested the on his forehead. She watched for the reading on the thermometer closely.

"H-How is he?" Prof. Kanyru asked.

Kaoru sighed heavily. "I don't know," she answered honestly. "But at least we managed to control his fever, I think." The thermometer reading was still at the high end.

Shortly after, two men in white came with a stretcher and hoisted Enishi away to the ambulance. Kaoru went into the ambulance with the unconscious Enishi while Prof. Kanyru drove to the hospital in his own vehicle.

Once the ambulance reached the hospital, Enishi all of a sudden felt as though he was burning up again. The rise in temperature was abnormal and because they did not know what the effect of the microbes was, the doctors did not know how to treat his symptoms. The doctors were reluctant to give any form of medication to curb his fever, afraid that it might have an adverse effect on his body. The best that they could do was to lower Enishi in a tub of ice while they took samples of his blood and analyzed his condition. Prof. Kanyru participated in the analysis while Kaoru stood beside Enishi, carefully observing his medical condition.

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Kenshin parked his car and looked at his wrist watch before he got out of the car.
He had a smile plastered on his face. A few more steps and he would be seeing her lovely face. He was looking forward to it all day long. It amazed him that being just physically close to her can give him such delight.

He chuckled lightly and walked into the elevator.

'Perhaps tonight we can take another step further…' he thought to himself. Since Sano's grand interruption …again… Kenshin had sort of given up trying to kiss Kaoru for the time being. Taking time to build their relationship was what he had promised himself. However, he didn't think he could last very long being satisfied by just holding her hand as her luscious lips kept on tempting him to taste.

'A week of just holding hands should be sufficient to move on to the next stage.' He didn't want to Kaoru to think that he was rushing their relationship and it was nothing more than mere physical attraction. He had been listening to some of his colleagues complaining about how their girlfriends were whining about how it seemed as though their love was only the result of sexual needs.

The elevator door opened and he walked out.

As he turned into the lab, he was rather surprised to find the lab had turned solemn and Kirara was ...cleaning the floor? And Ryuzabaro sat on the tall stool looking totally lost and retarded.

"What happened?" he asked as he looked around the lab "Where is Kaoru?"

Kirara stood up with difficulties to face Kenshin before she said in a very low voice. "There had been an accident," she noticed how Kenshin eyes grew wider and worry inching to his forehead, "and Kaoru is in the hospital…"

Before Kirara could explained further, Kenshin grabbed her by arm and fiercely insisted, "What happened? Where is she?" He shook her slightly.

Kirara was shocked by Kenshin's intimidating reaction. She was too nerve-racked by his reaction to respond.

"Where is she!" Kenshin demanded again.

Kirara finally answered, his frightening eyes snapped her out of her daze. "R-relax K-Kenshin. She is fine. She at Kuraba Hospital…" Kenshin left before she could complete her sentence. She ran after him and shouted, "She's in Room 312."

Kenshin disappeared into the stairway.

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Kaoru placed her palm on Enishi's forehead as he stirred uncomfortably. He was still very hot.

"He should be doing fine, considering the circumstances," Professor Kanyru said, standing next to Kaoru. "It was such a coincidental luck that he happened to hit the second agar plate – the microbes in that had helped coagulate the first microbes disabling its movement. But that didn't come with a price to pay as the process raised his temperature abnormally." He was explaining as if it was one of his lectures.

Kaoru ignored him. She was watching at Enishi's struggle in his unconscious form.

"Don't worry. He is strong. His antibodies are working hard to dispel the unidentified being in his body. His fever should be gone by tomorrow." Professor said cheerfully. He was rather glad that this had happened as he found a new discovery while he was analyzing Enishi's blood sample. He can't wait to return to his lab and perform more testing. "Kaoru, I will be returning to the lab to perform more tests. Would you be fine on your own?" He asked eagerly.

Kaoru rolled her eyes and nodded. She couldn't believe that he was still in the mood to perform more tests after what had happened. Then she remembered that he was a scientist, after all.

After Professor Kanyru left, Kaoru got up from the chair beside the bed and put her hand into the basin on the table next to the bed. She immersed the towel into the cold water before she picked the towel and squeezed the water out. She folded the towel into a rectangular shape and placed it onto of Enishi's head. She preferred the old ways of doing rather than stick some form of sticker onto his forehead. She sat back and watched his struggle again.

She noticed that he was sweating profusely. She stood up again. She partially climbed onto the bed; one leg standing while the other knee and a palm rested on the bed, supporting her weight. She leaned over him wiping his sweat away with the same towel. She heard him murmur and stopped her movement.

"Tomoe… Tomoe… Don't leave me. Please don't leave me, Tomoe…" Enishi subconsciously pleaded as he twisted and turned in his sick bed.

'From the fever?' Kaoru thought. She smiled a little and proceeded with what she was doing- wiping his face with a hand towel.

Enishi continued to moan Tomoe's name. His struggle became harder and all of a sudden he tossed out his arms from under the sheet. He embraced Kaoru and pressed her tightly against him.

Kaoru was caught off guard, her chest slammed onto Enishi's and her face hit on the pillow by the side of his head. She was stunned but nevertheless tried to escape his forceful hug until she heard him say, "Tomoe, please don't leave me…. Don't leave me…"

Enishi hugged tightly causing Kaoru to lose all her air in her lungs.

"Mr.Yukishiro, I am not Tomoe...Argh…" She tried to push herself up from his chest without pressing too much weigh on him.

"Tomoe… No, I need you.. Tomoe…" He wailed softly.

Kaoru froze at his plea and looked up to his face. She gasped when she saw a pearl of tears streaming from the corner of his eyes. She stared at him for a while before she relaxed in his embraced. Carefully she raised her free arm and dropped the towel in her hand. It reached to his head and she began to smooth his hair.

"E-E-Enishi," she had bit of a problem calling him by his first name, "I will not leave you." She cooed. "Sleep well."

"Tomoe…. Don't leave… I love you…"

Kaoru was stunned and blinked before she said the unthinkable, "Shh… my love. I love you too." She whispered into his ears. Her hair stood as she couldn't believe those words just came out from her mouth. She briefly wondered why can't she tell the exact same words to Kenshin instead.

"Don't leave me." His hold tightened.

"I'm here. I will not leave. Sleep. It will be over soon." Kaoru carefully lulled him to sleep, brushing his hair with her fingers.

She felt his breathing calmed against her chest. She watched him relaxed his face muscle and his grip on her loosened a little. She gave out a heavy sigh and slowly her lips curled into a smile. A man so cold on the exterior had such strong emotion and bonding to one woman, Kaoru thought in amazement. She reckoned that no one would believe her if she were to say that Enishi was a man with great passion. 'This Yukishiro guy is not such a bad person after all," she concluded. A man who loved a woman dearly like Enishi couldn't possibly be all that bad.

Kaoru wondered momentarily of this lady, Tomoe. What was she like? How did she manage to leave Enishi so breathless without her?

Kaoru questioned whether Kenshin would feel the same about her like Enishi did for Tomoe.

Kaoru took a closer look at Enishi. 'Hm… He is really good looking. And this Tomoe must be really ugly or pretty.' Kaoru thought further.

When Kaoru was certain Enishi was deep in slumber. She slowly tried to remove herself from being on top of him. It was harder than she thought. Enishi's hand was locked behind her and she could not peel off his fingers off her. She sighed again.

It suddenly occurred to her that was her first time her body was plastered front to front with a man, a completely stranger. However, she didn't feel unease. Perhaps she knew that from Enishi's point of view, it wasn't her that he was holding but Tomoe. It touched Kaoru heart that she didn't mind being held that way. She hoped that she would be this calm if Kenshin was beneath her instead of Enishi. She smiled at that thought again.

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Kenshin practically ran into the hospital. He had even parked his car illegally. He didn't particularly care if his car gets towed away or received fines for his atrocious parking. He was really not in the mood to care. All he could think of was Kaoru. Although Kirara mentioned that she was fine, but he could take in her words as if she was fine, why was Kirara telling him which room she was warded? Being warded can only mean one things; Kaoru was not fine! He would only opt to believe that Kaoru was really fine when he assessed it with his own eyes.

As Kenshin was driving to the hospital like a woman in labor, he had made an attempt to call Kaoru by her mobile phone but she was not reachable. His concern got another notch higher. He immediately dialed for Hiko shortly. He wasted no time in informing Hiko that Kaoru had been involved in an accident and was admitted to the hospital. He could hear the shock in Hiko's voice and how Hiko had stood up from his chair abruptly.

Kenshin was fanatically looking for the Room 312. 'Where the hell is 312!' he berated internally. He was too worried to think that Room 312 was on the third floor and bumped into someone without a face.

"Umph! Kenshin! Slow down. You almost knocked over my specimen." Professor Kanyru complained.

"Where is Kaoru?" Kenshin had no time to apologize for half walking half running blindly.

"Oh! Kaoru…" Professor took his own sweet time to tell Kenshin," she is in Room 312."

"Where is that?"

"Third floor obviously…" Professor Kanyru was dazed when he realized he was talking to no one but air.

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Kaoru placed her palm flat on the Enishi's side, on the bed. Once again, she attempted with a little more force to push herself up. She carefully observed his expression, not wanting to wake him up. She managed to lift her chest from his but he made a facial grunt. She froze, watching Enishi.

She jerked up slightly when the door suddenly swung opened. She immediately turned to look at the direction of the door and gasped.

Kenshin couldn't believe what his eyes were witnessing. Anger flared up within a heart beat. When the pair of arms holding Kaoru in placed tugged behind her back, she, unprepared fell flat, chest to chest, on what looked like a man to Kenshin. If his molten eyes say anything at all, he was ready to run for a kill.

Before Kaoru could even say, "Kenshin, no, wait. This is not what you think it is…" Kenshin was already standing next to the bed, about to tear her off from the unknown-son-of-a-bitch's body with his muscular arm. A small whimpering noise stopped Kenshin from ripping that man apart once he took Kaoru off the bed.

"Tomoe… Don't leave me."

Kenshin stood bemused. "Tomoe?"

"He is running a high fever and thinks that I am someone else. It not me that he is hugging," Kaoru explained as Kenshin crocked his brow to the side, "literally."

"Yes, but that doesn't gives him the right to hug you, does it?" Kenshin spoke of his thought out loud.

Kaoru chuckled slightly. "No, Kenshin. It doesn't." She watched for his expression carefully. "So, if you are not too angry, can you help me get out of this, please?" She tried to lighten up the mood a bit.

Kenshin's hands immediately went to Enishi's hand, unwinding it.

"Careful not to wake him up," Kaoru cautioned softly.

Kenshin felt like breaking all the man's fingers. He noticed that the stranger's hand was not without callus. Scanning quickly over where the calluses were formed, Kenshin was certain that the man practiced kendo. Although he had no idea who this man was, he had already began to hate him. How dare this no-name man hold his Kaoru in the way the man just did? Even he had never held her like that – at least not while she was well aware. No excuse in this world could justify the man's action. The more Kenshin thought of it, the more he felt like shaking the unconscious man to his awakening and beating the crap out of him.

When Kenshin finally helped Kaoru to her feet, he pulled her away form the bed and asked. "What happened? Who is he?" His eyes meticulously roamed her physical body.

"He is the sponsor of our…" Kaou paused her sentence midway when Kenshin raised her right arm high, looking for something. "What are you doing?" she asked, almost laughing.

"Looking for any sign of injury. Kirara told me there had been an accident in the lab." Kenshin was scanning her left arm. "Where do you feel pain?"

Kaoru had really wanted to laugh out loud but found it difficult to do so when Kenshin put on such a serious expression.

"Tell me if this hurt," Kenshin began to lightly grope at her rib area, careful not to hurt her if she was indeed injured in that section.

"Kenshin, I am not hurt," Kaoru formed a half smile half laugh. "I am fine, See?" she took his hands and pressed hard against her. She smiled broadly.

Kenshin looked at her for a while. No sign of pain. "What about the legs?" his eyes traveled downwards. "You wore long pants. I can't see." He squatted down and searching her legs like she was a suspect of carrying forbidden item under her clothing.

Kaoru couldn't hold it any longer, she laughed.

Kenshin stopped what he was doing and looked up, puzzled.

"Kenshin, I am really fine. He," she pointed to the bed, "is the one that is not fine. That is why I am standing here and not sleeping there." She paused for a brief moment before she suggested, "Or would it have satisfied you if I stripped myself to skin for you to thoroughly examine me?"

Kenshin blushed. He had wanted to nod in agreement but he didn't think it was right to take advantage of the situation.

Again, the door swung opened without warning, interrupting Kenshin and Kaoru's moment. Hiko's large build was at the door, extreme concern was printed all over his face. The first thing that he saw was Kaoru standing looking very healthy and his son, for some reason, face was as read as tomato.

"Hiko? What are you are doing here?" Kaoru was the first to open her mouth between the three.

"I was told that you were hurt," Hiko walked into the room.

Saitoh appeared behind him. Saitoh groaned when he saw the state Kaoru was at. He looked around and saw someone was sleeping on the bed. A familiar face. He turned and walked out for the door.

Kaoru turned down to stare at Kenshin. Kenshin immediately tore away from her gaze, embarrassed.

Kenshin stood up and cleared his throat. "Ah…"

"There is a misunderstanding. It was true that there was an accident happened in the lab but I wasn't the one who got hurt. Yukishiro Enishi, our lab sponsor, was the only casualty. I am here to monitor his condition." Kaoru explained to both Kenshin and Hiko.

Hiko looked over the sick bed and wondered how on earth did Yukishiro managed to get himself into this sort of mess. He then turned to stare at Kenshin. "This baka here almost gave me a heart attack when he told me that you were hurt. I had called in a team of experts to this hospital right this very moment."

"What!" Kaoru asked disbelievingly.

"Saitoh has probably gone out to dismiss them now." Hiko said.

Kaoru sighed in relief.

"Next time, baka, make sure you have your facts correct before you throw me into a scare and drag me out of my important meeting with my board. I might have a strong heart but I am getting a bit too old for all this. And who the hell taught you how to park you car!" Hiko chided. He turned around, walking out of the room. "I have to go back to my meeting." He said sternly. When he was out of the room, his lips immediately curled up, taking shape of a smile.

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"So, that's what happened…" Kenshin digesting Kaoru re-told what happened in to the lab and how she got into a compromising position with Enishi with details.

"Yup, that's all that had happened." She smiled, bringing the cup of coffee to her lips.

Kenshin sat on the sofa next to Kaoru in the ward thinking of how ridiculous he had been. He glanced over the sick bed and realized that his anger still lingered.

Kaoru watched Kenshin shifted uneasily on his seat. "Kenshin, I think you should go now."

Kenshin stunned. "You are not coming home with me?"

"I can't," Kaoru shook her head. "I have to be here and watch ever Enishi."

'Enishi? Since when is she a 'friend' to this person?'

"I was my fault that he is laying on a hospital bed. If I haven't shouted and startled Ryuzabaro, all of this would not have happened," Kaoru sighed regretfully.

"Kaoru, this is not your fault. You were trying to prevent this from happening."

Kaoru smiled ruefully.

"You stay. I stay. I'm not going anywhere that you are not."

"Kenshin… It would not do any good if there the two of us are here."

'The hell is doesn't! I am not going to sit at home while that creep sleep walks, looking and mistaking you as his lover!' "I'll keep you company. I have decided," Kenshin was firmed on his decision.

Kaoru looked at Kenshin with little exasperation before she nodded. There was no point in arguing. She thought that she should be feeling overwhelmed over Kenshin's reaction. She smiled. "At least you should go back and have a shower and bring me change of clothing. Will you?"

Kenshin was caught in between. He really didn't want to leave her alone with the guy, yet he can't refuse her request. He could possibly get Sano to bring her clothing but he did not like the idea of Sano going through the wardrobe. There was no way around it.

"Alright. I'll be back very soon. About an hour," Kenshin looked at his wrist watch. "While I am away, please stay away from that bed. Sit here. If he needs help, the nurse can do it. You don't work here."

Kaoru chuckled and nodded. There was indescribable wave of emotion filling her.

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Kenshin, hurricane like, drove back to the apartment, ran up to the apartment, jumped into a quick shower and get dressed. As he came out his room, Sano was already in the apartment, lazing on the sofa watching television.

"What are we having for dinner?" Sano asked cheerfully. He had thought he would be home in time for dinner.

Kenshin looked at him questioningly.

"What! I do live here, you know." Sano guessed Kenshin must be wandering why he was back home early. Both Kenshin and Kaoru had started to question of his whereabouts during the night, so, he thought he should be home early once in a while to not arouse further suspicion. Besides Megumi was having an all girls night.

"You have to find your own dinner tonight. I'm going to the hospital. Kaoru is there."

"What! What happened?" Sano turned off the television set.

Kenshin sighed before he very quickly summarized what happened in the lab and unintentionally gripedwhined to Sano how he caught Kaoru in a compromising position when he thought of that incident. He didn't wait for Sano to respond and went into Kaoru's room.

He slid her wardrobe open and started scanning for appropriate clothing. He found what he deemed as perfect clothing for her. He then opened the drawer, assuming that was where she kept her undergarments. He quickly grab a set of undergarments nearest to his reach - thinking it wouldn't be gentlemen of him to hover over her panties and bras like some pervert – when something of interest caught his eyes.

He delicately picked the silky laced material by the string and bought up to level with his head. He involuntarily took a few steps back, stumbled on the edge of the bed and forced himself to be seated on the bed with a thud. He was still holding the lingerie and he felt a ringing sensation in his head.

'Kaoru..h-had this!' Never can he imagine Kaoru buying anything like that – so sexy and naked, in his opinion. It was as good as not wearing anything. Automatically he pictured his innocent angelic-like Kaoru in the hardly visible piece of material. His heart was pumping extremely hard. He immediately disregarded that thought when he felt something hot stirring inside him. However, it didn't really help when his desire, against his mind, wandered back to the nose bleeding projection. A certain part of his body was gaining conscious.

"Kenshin, what… oh… you found it?" Sano came to the room when he thought Kenshin was taking too long to grab a piece of clothing for Kaoru. Kenshin was supposed to be in a hurry.

Kenshin snapped out his lewd imagination. "Sano!" He crumpled the lingerie into ball in his hands in split second.

Sano smiled slyly. "So, you finally found it?" He repeated, knowing Kenshin did hear him the first time.

Kenshin narrowed his eyes and gazed at Sano dangerously.

Sano immediately caught on and explained, "It was an accident!" He lied. "She dumped the whole lot of shopping bags onto me and I happened to see it." Kenshin was throwing dagger stare at Sano when he added, "Look, I really did not intentionally go through her stuff."

Kenshin got up, put the lingerie where he first found it and walked out of her room with her other clothing. He stopped short beside Sano and asked, "How long have you known?"

"Since the flower fair."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"… Er… I thought I should respect her and let her surprise you instead."

Kenshin walked away without another word.

"Geez…" Sano's heart was thumping in fear. 'Small but scary man…'

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"Kaoru," Kenshin was glad to find Kaoru obediently sat on the sofa reading papers, "I'm back. With your things." He walked to her with a large paper bag in on one hand and the other holding a smaller bag.

Kaoru smiled.

Kenshin sat next to Kaoru, placing the bag on the floor next to her feet and the small bag on the coffee table. "I bought dinner as well. I figured you would not want to go out and grab a meal."

"Brilliant." Kaoru went to dig into the smaller bag.

Kenshin find it hard to look at her without picturing her in the lingerie that he found. He swallowed hard. "Why don't you go have a shower? Then we can have dinner." Even the word 'shower' had been sensitized to his arousal.

Kaoru nodded.

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Kaoru opened up the bag and looked inside what Kenshin had brought her. Item by item she emptied the bag. She turned pink when she pulled out her undergarment. 'How thoughtful.' She failed to remember that was where she kept her sexy lingerie.

She was in for a surprised when at the bottom of the bag stationed all her toiletries. She giggled. "Silly man." She thought that Kenshin must have been confused with all her toiletries item that he just brought the whole lot of them, in case he missed anything.

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Kenshin paced forth and back in the ward, thinking of ways to curb his growing arousal. Everywhere he turned, he could see her almost naked form. Every single corner that his soul tried desperately to hide - from being engulfed the excitement, a sultry seductive Kaoru was there to lure him, putting his restraint to the test. When she wearing less average to cover herself sometimes ago, he had thought it took him a great deal of strength of will to control his needs to touch her. And this… was just unbearable. The power of mere lingerie- no wonder they sell well.

And the worst was that he was really looking forward to seeing her in that sexy lingerie. He had to calm himself down soon. She will be coming out of the bathroom soon.

The sound of the shower was driving him mad. He felt like walking to her bath, ravishing her then and there.

No. He can't. This was a hospital, for god sake. He shook his head violently. He can't.

The shower stopped. He swallowed. He could hear the beating of his own heart. What should he do now?

He looked around him for some form of control. There was nothing.

He grabbed a piece of paper on the coffee table and wrote. He walked out of the ward.

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Kaoru stepped out of the shower. She toweled her hair dry before her body. She had, initially, no intention of washing her thick hair but since Kenshin had brought along her shampoo, she did not want to put his effort to waste. It was a silly logic, she knew, but she didn't care. She tried her best to use all the toiletries.

She came out of the bathroom feeling fresh and wonderful. She looked around. Kenshin was nowhere to be seen. Where had he gone to, she wondered.

She went to Enishi bed side. He was still sound asleep, no longer struggling. She tested his forehead for temperature with her palm. She was satisfied when his fever had gone down a little, she reckoned. She went to sit on the sofa and noticed a piece of paper with something written on it.

'Kenshin has gone out for a while...' She smiled wondering where he could be at that moment.

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Author's note: It wasn't my intention to leave reader at the edge of the chair (I think that is the expression). I am a reader too and I know how annoying it is when the story hangs 'there' like that and it seemed to take forever for K&K to get together. I did promised in the previous chapter that they will get together in this chapter but I can't seem get there yet. I cannot not write non K&K stuff and I am long winded. Anyway, the next chapter is three quarter done. I hope to complete next chapter by the coming weekend. Trying very hard to get it out as soon as possible. Warning, it is going to another looooong chapter.

Thank you for reading and review.