Great, just great! He was in a car with Sanosuke, driving at breakneck speeds, toward some place they hung out constantly. There were going to be people, lots of people. People all around, laughing, touching. Kenshin's hands inched toward the car door preparing to jump out when he heard a click noise.

"Thought you'd get away didn't ya? Luckily for me I have child safety locks." Sano smiled as if he accomplished something of great significance. "You know when I called the little missy she started giggling non stop into the phone. Last time she did that she won the female kendo finals."

Kendo finals? A woman sword wielder? That wasn't all that common, or at least he thought so. There had to be enough to at least compete against each other.

"You'll like the place that we are going and Misao is bringing the best pizza around."

"Pizza?" Kenshin asked.

"You don't know what pizza is? Man where the hell have you been, on some mountain somewhere?"

Close!

"Its tastes really good, but not too good for your insides. Italian. Just wait. Oh and before I forget don't EVER eat anything that the little missy cooks. You'll be sorry!"

That didn't sound promising.

"You don't talk much do you?" Sano turned around the corner and parked in the parking lot, not stopping or slowing down until they were in the parking spot.

Kenshin just looked at the dashboard. Just a moment longer and he could have sworn it would have ignited into flames.

"You know, I know we only just met this morning, but you could tell me anything. I'm always here for my buddies. Now lets get out of this car and chow down on some delicious food before this sentimental crap destroyed my brain."

Kenshin smiled, wanting to comment on Sano and his brain.

"Don't say it!" Sano glared.

Exiting the car Kenshin was surprised to see that they had indeed gone to a park. A large deserted park, with a playground and multiple sport fields. The sun had long since set so multiple street lamps had been turned on illuminating the playground and swings. This was where they hung out?

"Come on Kenshin, or we'll miss the fun" Sano winked heading off in the direction of the playground. A picnic table that had been cleverly placed in the middle of the swing, playground, jungle gym, and what looked like some kind of toddler playground, had a gazebo.

Following Sano he eyed his surroundings. He didn't like being in a place like this. Enemies could be lurking anywhere. This place was very dark and the closest neighborhood wasn't within screaming range. Not to mention he didn't bring a weapon. What was he going to do if they were attacked?

Kenshin froze in mid step. He was in Tokyo. There was no war going on anymore. He needed to stop being so uneasy.

Finally making it to the table he sat across from Sano, who looked somewhat please with himself. This must have been the first time he was early. Maybe this was the first time he was anything but late.

"Sano" A young woman came running from what looked like a field. Where the hell did that girl come from?

"Hey Misao" Sano smiled.

The girl placed the pizza down on the picnic table before hugging Sano. Turning toward the new face Misao smiled. Her green eyes flaring with mischief. Her long dark hair braided down her back.

Kenshin swallowed. Something about this girl made hid uneasy. Maybe she was a spy sent out to find his weakness. Mentally smacking himself he smiled back at Misao. It was a small smile, but one at that.

"Hello Kenshin, how are you?" energy flowed from the girl is waves.

Kenshin didn't like how this girl seemed to know him. Maybe she was spy.

"Relax Kenshin." Sano smiled reassuring. "She is Kaoru's roommate. I'm sure she was told about you"

Misao nodded. "That and Lord Aoshi said a new guy was in one of his classes."

"Lord?" Kenshin's eyebrow rose. Was she that obsessed with that guy that she considered him her Lord?

"Yep Lord Aoshi. He is the leader of the Oniwaban group. The greatest leader in the history of Japan." Misao started to laugh like a maniac.

"Ignore her" Sano leaned forward. "She has is bad for the ice man. I'm almost positive that he had it bad for her too. He may not show his emotions but it kind of obvious."

Kenshin nodded. Looking around he studies the playground and swings. He had never been at a park before, at least not that he could remember.

"You wanna go play?" Sano asked, like it was nothing.
Kenshin didn't get it. A park and 'playing' was considered a past time for children and he defiantly wasn't a child. How could Sano think it was ok?

"Kenshin its ok" Sano started. "I play out there all the time. Why don't you try the swings? You never know, you may have a little fun"

In all honestly, Kenshin wanted to go, but something was stopping him. Was it his years of training? Was it the voice in side of his head telling him not to be a pussy? Was it the screams of his victims? He didn't deserve to have fun. He deserved a horrible fate that the gods just didn't seem willing to give him. They were waiting until he was happy then they were going to take everything from him. He knew it. He could feel it.

"Kenshin, I don't know what caused you to be this way but no one deserves to beat themselves up as much as you do, unless you were a rapist…or maybe if you murdered people just because you enjoyed it." Sano thought about it for a few moments. "Yeah that's about it. Look, I know you feel bad for whatever it is that you did and being sent to this school for your senior year, it had to be bad, but not unforgivable. No one is accepted there if they are considered monsters. NOW GET OVER IT AND GET YOUR ASS ON THE SWINGS!!" Sano stood while pointed at the swings.

Kenshin just stared at him as if it didn't have an affect, when in reality it did. Standing, he made his way toward the swings. He would do it, but just because Sano wanted him to so badly. Yes, that was the reason.

Sano sat down again watching Kenshin sit on the swing cautiously. He nearly laughed when Kenshin pushed off and nearly fell off. It didn't take long to figure out.

"Sano" Misao smoke quietly, while staring sadly at Kenshin. "Has he really not been on a swing before?"

Sano nodded. "I don't think he was aloud to be a child. When the bastard Saito told me that I would be having a roommate he made it very clear not to mess with him or it would turn out bad. This was supposedly for the good of Japan, whatever that means."
"So in other words, they want Kenshin to socialize and somehow it will be good for Japan in some way. Why would the mental state of one teenage boy be important to Japan's well-being?" Misao sat down next to Sano, keeping her eyes on Kenshin. Even though there was an emotional mask up on his face, Misao was able to see the sparkle in Kenshin's eyes. He was happy sitting on that swing. "We need to help him," She whispered.

"That's why I brought him. Besides, no one is better at breaking anybody in than the little missy" Sano frowned thinking of embarrassing situations from the past.

Misao giggled.

Off in the distance Kenshin was happy swinging back and forth. As a matter of fact he was so happy he didn't feel the presence sneaking up on the group.

"Hey guys, what' up" A familiar blue eyes girl sat down, placing a bag full of canned soda on the picnic table.

"Nothing much, Kenshin is swinging on the swings. I wouldn't bug him right now though. He's having fun by himself." Nudged his head toward Kenshin.

Kaoru looked at Sano strangely.

"Kaoru, we need to help Kenshin" Misao smiled sadly.

Kaoru panicked for a second. "What's wrong with him? Is he hurt? Is somebody bullying him?"

"No Kaoru, its much worse" Misao cringed at the look on Kaoru's face. "We are not sure of what happened exactly, but Kenshin had never been in the real world. He had never been able to be a kid. This is his first time swinging"

"And he's never even heard of pizza" Sano added in.

All three watched Kenshin swing. His eyes were now closed.

"But why?" Kaoru asked. That just wasn't right.

Sano sighed. "Maybe he was abused."

"What makes to say that?" Misao questioned.

Sano closed his eyes; thoughts of the shower flooded his mind. "I have my reasons."

There was a moment of silence before Kaoru started to move.

"Where are you going?" Misao asked.

"Where else, I'm going to go swing too"

Kenshin was too oblivious to everything around him. The feel of the wind in his face was soothing. He almost felt free. Is this why people loved to swing?

"Hi"

Kenshin nearly fell of the swing. He didn't even notice the person until she started talking. Stupid swing was a distraction.

Wait, girl?

"I'm sorry, it didn't mean to scare you" Kaoru smiled.

Kenshin just stared. It was dark out but he was still able to see her face. She was gorgeous. He knew that she wasn't the most beautiful person in the world, but she has a presence like no other, that magnified her beauty one hundred fold.

"You're Kenshin right?"

His voice was gone. There was no hope in finding it now. Her dark hair blew in a light breeze. The infamous blue ribbon blowing along side her hair. The small amount of light shining from the streetlamps illuminated her face just enough to make out, but still leaving some of it to mystery. Her gorgeous sapphire eyes shone. They seemed to take in all of the light and reflect her own. Looking into them you could read ever emotion she felt. She allowed herself to be an open book.

"Are you ok? You're started to blush?" Kaoru became worried. She hoped he wasn't coming down with a fever.

Kenshin's eyes widened. He was blushing. Or dear god he was blushing. He became too worried about his blush and making it go away that he didn't notice his emotional mask slip.

Kaoru gasped. There was so much pain and loneliness in those eyes. What happened to him?

He closed his eyes.

Her gasp woke him up. That had never happened before. What was up with this girl? He was afraid to look into her eyes again. He knew that she saw his pain. Pity was the last thing he needed right now. Slowly making eye contact with her he nearly gasped, knocking down his mask once again. She was smiling at him, admiration glowing in her eyes.

She admired him? Why? He didn't deserve that.

"You know Kenshin" Kaoru turned to look straight ahead, she began to swing. "I have learned something very important, do you want to know what it is?"

Kenshin nodded before he turned and started to swing as well. He had no idea what this girl was up to. She was unpredictable…and amazing.

(I, being the author, live by this rule) "I learned that if you don't allow yourself to heal after something bad happens, whether it was your fault or not, you wont be in any condition to face the next obstacle in your life. It would be foolish to think that after you get over something nothing but a field of wildflowers awaits you or to dwell on it too long. There will always be things in your way trying to harm you; it is your job to face them, to show them they can't control you. If you don't they will start to pile up on you until you can no longer move."

Kenshin, for the first time in since before he could remember, felt tears in his eyes. He didn't let them fall, nor did he allow Kaoru to see them, but they were still there. She wasn't feeling sorry for him. She was trying to help. What he didn't get was why what she said affected him too much. Many people had tried to help him in the past but he shut them all out. Did one-day attending high school soften him up that much? No! She spoke from her heart. A heart that only knows giving. A heart that knows no greed. Her heart was pure and she was sitting next to him on the swings, telling him something that obviously meant a lot to her.

Kaoru giggled. "I know it sounds strange but it is what I believe in. All it took was to remember that and everything seemed much easier, but don't go around telling people about that. I never even told Misao. It will be our secret ok?" Kaoru smiled.

His heart started to beat as his blood heated. A blush rose to his cheeks as his mind ran thought of tackling her to the ground and kissing her silly. Good thing it was dark out.

Lusting after somebody was something he forbade himself from doing. After the incident with his wife, another woman was not aloud; it had only been three years after all, but this woman. He had met hundreds of woman during his missions, and yet not one of them sparked as much interest as this one.

"Hey Kenshin?" Kaoru snapped Kenshin from his thoughts once again. "I was wondering something. More of a favor actually." She blushed, rubbing her hands together.

Kenshin stared at her waiting.

"Well its more like two things. First there is a dance on Friday, and I need a…date. I was wondering what wondering if you wanted to go with me" She couldn't bring herself to look at him. Dear god, what had she done? She had just embarrassed herself in front of the new guy. The hot new guy with the most gorgeous eyes she had ever seen.

"Is a dance similar to a ball?" Kenshin asked. Quietly. It was a stupid question he knew, but he wanted to make sure he wasn't agreeing to be in some show or something.

Kaoru smiled. "Have you been to many balls?"

Kenshin nodded. "A few"

Kaoru was so happy she nearly jumped from her skin. He was talking to her, and seemed interested in the dance. There was hope for them after all.

She remembered when she first saw him. She was looking out her window from the dorm and watched him walk around the buildings reading the plaques. At first she mistook him for a female, but when she caught a closer glimpse of his face her breath was taken from her. If she was down there she wouldn't have been responsible for her actions, and she was a innocent virgin.

"A dance is like a ball, just will less formality and younger age group"

Kenshin smiled slightly. "You take escorts to these?"

Kaoru nodded. "Yes, and I am requesting to go as your escort."

Kenshin wasn't expecting that. He forgot that stupid dance was on Friday from the comity/class/club he was in earlier. "I do not have anything to wear"

"Its casual. Jeans and a T-shirt are acceptable." Her heart was started to speed up faster. Was he going to say no? Was he playing with her?

"Then I accept Miss Kaoru"

Kaoru was so happy she leapt up and hugged Kenshin before realizing what she did. She felt his body stiffen under her. Backing up slowly her wide eyes met his. A blush reached both of their cheeks before Kaoru broke the tension. "I will…see you later." With that she turned around, sat at the picnic table, and buried her flushed face in her arms.

Kenshin smiled. It wasn't a small smile nor was it by any means large, but it was there. A smile that showed how content he was at that moment. All thanks to the kind heart of one Miss Kaoru Kamija.

&&&&&&&&&&&&(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

"You so have a crush on him" Misao giggled once there had made it back to their rooms. She was currently in the process of stripping down and dressing in her nightclothes. "You can't deny it."

Kaoru, who happened to be face first in a pillow turned her head to smile at Misao, who was dressed in a rubber ducky Pajamas. "I wont deny it. I do have a little crush on him"
"Little my ass! It was love at first sight, admit it" Misao pointed her finger in a demanded sort of way.

Kaoru giggled.
Misao's sparkled "I KNEW IT!" She leapt onto Kaoru's bed, causing her to giggle even more. "So what now?"

Kaoru sighed. "I romance him."

Misao giggled. "Romance him? That will take ages. He's such a recluse there will be now way you could crack him before graduation."

Kaoru glared. "Is that a challenge?"

Shaking her head she placed her hands in Kaoru's. "Would you be willing to…"

"MISAO!!" Kaoru ripped her hands away. "I am not a whore. I will not throw myself at a man." Kaoru looked in the mirror she hung up on her closet door. "Even if he's really handsome, kind, and mysterious…oh man" Kaoru whined.

"Kaoru, there is only one thing to do." Misao smiled devilishly.

Kaoru flinched.

"You need to seduce him"

Kaoru blushed. She may be attracted to the man, and it he kissed her she would completely give into him, but still. Shaking her head she felt a head ached coming on.

Hiko sat in his office. It was the second day of school and he already had four students with detention for a week. Freshmen of course. After three days of detention they wont do it again. His detention didn't have the students sit around for an hour; they had to perform hard labor. They had to run, dig, climb, build, and clean. It was hard work and Hiko took pride in making sure it was so. Before he came here the students were given a slap on the hand and sent back to class. Like hell that was going to happen after he took over.

His thoughts changes suddenly onto his apprentice. He had been a mere month away from mastering Hiten Mitsarugi style and he left. His apprentice abandoned him and returned depressed and scarred in more ways than that one on his face.

In all honesty he was happy to hear that Kenshin was to be going to high school his senior year with him. It meant quite a bit to Hiko. This way Kenshin would not only socialize, but graduate and go to collage. He would be able to build a life for himself. To live without being the Battosai.

It was Katsura's way of trying to mend the heart and soul of the boy he nearly destroyed.