A/N: Well this is going to take an interesting turn...:)

6.

"I knew he wasn't into me. I knew there was another woman around. I was just something there to fill the void; he didn't tell me what he was involved with, who he was involved with or why he was involved with it. The truth was, I really wasn't interested in any of it. I did know for certain that he lived a lavish lifestyle. He showered me with gifts and I was treated like royalty; not just by him but people around him, though I noticed the looks. Whoever this girl was that had his attention must have definitely been a beauty queen and must have had some extreme passion. Kenshin's heart wasn't icy...it wasn't even there. She had stolen it right out of his chest and probably had it on her mantle and she just...watched it, waiting for him to come back.

"Like I said...I really didn't care."

-Tomoe Yukishiro

1973 was a dark year for me. Once Koshijiro had passed I felt I had morphed into some sort of monster. There was something about myself that was different. I wasn't as interested in everyone and everything as I usually was. I brooded a lot. I didn't go around Kaoru much either, and she didn't come around me. We were like magnets, and at the time we were both north; cold and bitter at the world. All my life I felt that I'd been doing something good, even if it wasn't. I myself hadn't done anything wrong, I hadn't even gotten a traffic ticket. But when the blood went on my face and I saw the body I was terrified. What was worse was that Sanosuke didn't even blink and eye, but then I knew he had been doing hits for a while. Seeing one more die wasn't going to change him.

I confided in a few people. Sanosuke was one of them even though I knew that nothing would come of it. Then, after Koshijiro's funeral where most of the family attended, something even darker occurred: Kaoru moved away. I couldn't help but feel something in me break. As she was driven away by some aunt or grandmother or whatever the woman in the driver's seat was, I felt my heart being ripped from my chest the further the car got away. I had gotten so close to her in those few days. We went on quiet dates at little restaurants and we even went to the movies. After she was gone I felt like there was a void, there was something missing.

Of course I figured she was never coming back.

For a few months I was lost. I moped around like I did when I was fifteen, what got me started in this business in the first place. It made me realize that I had yet to complete the grief cycle with my own father and I had to face that coupled with the loss of Kaoru. I didn't let my emotions interfere with my education which I finished up eventually, but it did interfere with my relationships with the people around me. Hiko was constantly yelling at me, telling me that I needed to liven up and that she was just a woman. I was dropping things at work and mixing up recipes. Eventually Hiko got to the point that he couldn't stand me anymore and he threw me out--literally.

One April day during spring break I had gotten up to find my room looked rather barren and standing in the hallway was Hiko, his arms crossed. I went up to him ready to ask what the hell was going on when he grabbed my arm and started pulling me down the stairs where the door was open. It was a cool April morning, with the flowers blooming creating a nice fresh breeze. Hiko lifted me by my waist and moved me out midway down the sidewalk where all my things were packed up.

"Until you get yourself together," he said in a warning tone, "you will not live in this house. You're too dependent on those around you."

I knew that this was one of his life lessons, but it didn't feel like it as he walked away and slammed the door in my face. I kicked at the gravel on the sidwalk then grabbed one of the bags and threw it at the closed door.

The farthest thing I felt like doing at that moment was crying. I wanted to take it out on anybody and everybody, but there was no way I could do it. I needed something that could completely take me from this world and put me in another one.

I went back to school and settled in the dorm, my eyes glazed over and tired. I was exhausted even when I hadn't done anything. Parts of me ached other than my mind. I wasn't exactly helpless but I was close to it. The void was just growing bigger and bigger and no matter how much I ran from it, it wouldn't go away. It just kept sucking me in, harder and faster. I got out of my sophomore year with decent marks, but after that I began my descent into something that still haunts my every waking moment.

I got an apartment knowing that Hiko wouldn't let me come back yet. We still talked and I still held my job. I still made more money than any person my age should, but I wasn't satisfied. I would stay out late after my shift ended. I partook more in selling the arms out of the back meeting people I never thought I would meet, one of which was a woman.

She was classy. She came up wearing a pair of shoes that cost so much they shouldn't be walked on. Her skin was pale, her eyes were flaming with pride yet so glassy that she seemed devoid of humanity. She didn't smile immediately and she didn't speak. I watched her quietly and waited for her to approach me. It took her about ten minutes, then she came up to me and put something in my hand and walked away. It was a scrap of paper from someone's agenda book and it had her name and phone number on it.

At first I scoffed at it, but the biggest mistake was that I never threw it away. Though my heart had told me Kaoru was coming back eventually, that there was never really a forever, my mind showed me the logic of everything and forced me to dial the phone. Yeah, I'm sure it's stupid to say that I was forced by my own body. Let's just say that I was nudged.

Her name was Tomoe and she was a part of another family. At the time I wasn't aware that there was even another family nearby, and they weren't but they were just as much a hassle. Not knowing what she was apart of and who she was associated with I spoke to her kindly, but kept myself detached. I could hear an ache in her voice. She had lost someone too, and I knew that she was in pain. Somehow I thought that confiding in one another would be good for me. And at first it was.

She came to my apartment for the first time in May. She had her haired bunned up, her lips deep red and her face still porcelain white. Her nails were like a dragons, red and sharp.

"Who'd you lose?" I asked her after a half hour of eating and chatting about the weather and what was on T.V.

"His name was Akira he was...a nice city boy. Worked for Daddy for a while before he had to move onto other things. He asked me to marry him though so we could stay close. He was stabbed though about a month ago."

I got up and got a bottle of wine I had stored for a special occasion. I knew we were going to need it. "Isn't it a bit sudden to start...dating again?"

"I didn't know this was a date," she quipped, wiping her mouth off. She smeared some of her lipstick but I didn't say anything.

"Touche'."

She laughed. "And what about you Mr. Himura?"

"Oh..me? Well um...she moved away and I don't know where. She kinda went against her will."

"She's young," Tomoe deduced. I didn't give her a definitive answer but I was sure by my actions she could tell what I was thinking. "At least she's not dead. I think Akira's dead for a reason."

"A reason?" she seemed like a prophet in the way she spoke. Calm and omniscient. Nothing seemed to bother her. Even the death of her fiance' seemed almost trivial. "What do you mean?"

"Well...people didn't like him I know. He didn't know when to shut his mouth so I'm not surprised."

"You mourn though right?"

"Oh of course of course," she seemed to come to her senses. "I can't not mourn. I'd known him since I was seventeen."

"How old are you now, if I'm allowed to ask."

She played coy for a few minutes but she wasn't afraid to tell me. "I'm twenty four." She was three years older than me, but she didn't look a day over sixteen. It was a quality that she wouldn't lose for a long time, as I recall.

After that, we got close but we never called anything a date. To both us, we were still with our respective partners and this was just a real close friendship. Even when we were out in public, or when we were at the movies. We went out to eat often and I found myself giving her little gifts. I knew I was compensating for my loss so far, and I was tryign to indulge her like I would Kaoru. Strange as it sounds, I always found myself imagining that she was Kaoru. She had the same heart shaped face and onyx hair. She didn't smile much, but she grinned just enough to make me realize that she wasn't emotionless.

I got a priviliage in August. We went to see Enter the Dragonand Tomoe brought along an extra guest. He pulled up in a sleek black car . When he stepped out, I was surprised to see a sixteen year old boy look at me from behind a pair of mirrored sunglasses. I wasn't totally appalled by it though. I only had to think of myself at sixteen to know how things tended to work out, especially with the people that I know.

"I'd like you to meet my brother, Enishi," Tomoe said, her hands out like Barker Beauty. Enishi stepped up to me, taking off the glasses as he did. And then the problem began.

He took my hand very firmly, his eyes looking dead into mine. That handshake was more deadly than and narcotic or firearm. And believe me, if looks could kill, I'd be dead right now. The way Enishi, at sixteen, could peer into my soul was frightening. I held my ground as firmly as he held my hand. I smiled and offered my name:

"I'm Kenshin Himura."

"Enishi Yukishiro. Tomoe's said quite a lot about you."

"Hopefully all good," I laughed trying to settled the tension. He let go of my hand and walked over to his sister, hugging her fondly. "You didn't tell me that we had a tag along."

"I won't bother anyone Mr. Himura, I promise. I just wanted to see the movie is all."

"I was just...oh nevermind. Come on, I heard good stuff about this."

So we went in. While we watched the movie, Tomoe grappling to the both of through intense fight scenes, I couldn't help but take a glance at Enishi and wonder what he was planning. He was the kind of person that you could just feel was slimy and revolting, but you could never pin anything wrong on him because he had a great amount of discretion and politeness. We got out of the movie, and I pretended that I still wasn't a bit suspicious of him as I pretended to do a few of Bruce Lee's moves, failing miserably.

"Kung Gu monkey," I heard Tomoe say. I laughed too, thanking that I at least stayed on my feet.

"Hey um...I want you to meet someone," I said to her, having Hiko in mind. "Plus we could grab something to eat while we're there."

"Sure, sounds delightful."

"Mind if I tag along?" Enishi asked. I couldn't deny him, otherwise I would be on Tomoe's bad side, and I couldn't be that risking the chance that my floatation device would be pulled out from under me. I told him to just follow me and that we would be there in no time.

I was silent the whole car ride, fiddling with the radio to fill any empty space between me and Tomoe. She could sense that I could sense something was wrong, at least in my book there was something wrong. I didn't want to bring it up, so I just let it fester there until we got to the restaurant where Sanosuke was hanging out front. The sternest look was on his face and I was surprised when he looked at me, motioning for me to come over to him quickly. I nodded and got out of the car, Tomoe and Enishi following shortly behind. He grabbed my shoulder and put his mouth by his ear as he said:

"Are you out of your fucking mind!"

Okay, so the ear thing was a little useless unless he was trying to make me deaf.

"What the heck is your problem..."I asked, my finger digging in my ear to stop the ringing.

This time, he did whisper: "You know who the hell that is?"

"My...friend?" I asked, curious if he was talking about Tomoe or Enishi.

"You might want to talk to Hiko...now."

It wasn't a good sigh when Sanosuke delivered a brutish warning to me about Hiko. I shoved my hands in my pockets and went inside, the sibling pair following shortly being. they were seated while I walked over to Hiko's office. He stood in the hallway, leaning against one of the walls nonchalantly. It was bad when he didn't look pissed. "You have new friends?" he cut right to the chase.

"Yeah, I suppose."

"Yukishiro?"

"Yes..."

"Are you out of your fucking mind."

"I'm beginning to think so," I muttered. "Why does this matter. They're just...people."

"People you have no right being involved with," he pushed me into his office. "I told you to grow up, I didn't tell you to start cavorting with the enemy."

"Enemy?"

"You think all this is clean?"

"All what?"

He shook his head tiredly. "We're a business, right?"

"On what grounds?" I inquired, wondering which he was talking about. He gave me a scowl and I nodded.

"We're a business, and guess what, we have competition. We're not the only family out there trying to stay together. These are tough times, and we have to figure them out accordingly, even if that means making a few enemies."

"What do you want me to say? I didn't do anything wrong at this point."

"You didn't do anything wrong? You're sleeping with the fucking enemy!"

"I haven't slept with her!"

He shook his head yet again. "Nevertheless. Get rid of her, by whatever means."

"I'm not killing her."

"Get rid of her!"

I took that as a sign for me to leave. After that, I settled down at the table and spoke to Enishi and Tomoe quietly pretending I didn't know their little secret. the only problem was I began to get paranoid. I was curious if he knew about me and if he was as ruthless as any other family member. I began to disassociate myself at the dinner table feigning that I had a headache. Apparently that's what it was anyway. One big headache....one big screw up.

A/N: he's tredding in dangerous waters...gotta love it...I promise Kaoru will come back in time, but I need to establish a bad guy eventually so....baer with me. Till next time, Ken-san out!