Summary: 50 stories about Kenshin and Kaoru, sometimes meandering to include the other Ruroken cast. A mix of canon and AU one-shots. Some crack can be expected. Read and Review!

Rating: T

Characters: Kaoru and Aoshi

Disclaimer: Anything you recognise here belongs to the one and only Watsuki Nobuhiro.

Review Replies:

Brukaoru – Will the Battousai be caught though? Hmm, that remains to be seen.

Saki-hime – I fear I am too cruel to poor Kaoru sometimes.

P.P.V.V. – I don't blame you. Actually a lot of us in the fandom have a problem just "liking" Enishi. He usually inspires a lot more intense emotion. I find he's terribly convenient to turn into the hot bad guy with a touch of insanity about him. His unpredictability is probably what makes him attractive, to me, at least. I must sound crazy. And Kaoru is a noble woman and the reason why she goes to the prison alone is that is her task, her initiation rather. There will be further details about her organization in the next instalment of this one-shot, so it won't seem as weird anymore.

Special thanks to Angle1, morningwolf, anon-chan, kokoronagomu, and sulou.

A Kaoru/Aoshi friendship ficlet because I think in a modern world, these two would make great friends.

A Little Friendly Advice

Kaoru gazed thoughtfully into the soft brown beverage resting in her styrofoam cup. Her briefcase was wedged in the backseat along with a cardboard box full of papers for the case she was working on, a chocolate easter egg basket, a basketball, a pair of ratty old sneakers she just didn't have the heart to throw out and a baseball bat because no matter what anybody said, every city had its fair share of weirdos who just didn't get the concept of 'No, I don't want you anywhere near me'.

She sighed deeply and checked her watch again. It wasn't like Aoshi to be late….ever. The last time he'd been late was when….oh great, she groaned. She hoped he remembered that they had a meeting with Makoto & Associates. And she really didn't feel like going to this meeting alone. Really.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the passenger window. Kaoru opened the door to let in Aoshi who looked like he just walked off a ramp in New York. He glanced at the back seat.

"When was the last time you cleaned this thing?"

"Excuse me? Are you sure you want to talk about the state of my car right now Aoshi?" She moved the car into gear and swerved out of her parking spot. "You're late. And you made me late too."

Aoshi raised an eyebrow. Kaoru glanced at him. "What?"

He lifted his chin imperiously. "I have never been in any position to make you late." A beat. "Maybe you should ask Himura."

Kaoru sputtered. "Why you nasty, insidious, insinuating bastard!"

"You started it."

"Whatever. Why were you late anyway?" She checked the rear view mirror before quickly switching lanes to make the exit. "It's not like you, at all. Is everything okay?"

Aoshi absently stroked his tie. Fiddling with the handle of his briefcase, he glanced at her, "I made a mistake."

Kaoru nudged the inside of her cheek with her tongue. "What sort of mistake?"

Aoshi closed his eyes for a second before turning slightly towards the window. Kaoru blinked. She could distinctly hear a fire engine alarm going off in her head. Ignoring the fact that they were already behind schedule and that that cat Yumi Komagata at Makoto & Associates would probably rub their faces in it for the next five weeks to come, she pulled over at least four blocks away from the meeting place and parked.

Aoshi looked at her in bafflement. He glanced around the street. "What are you doing Kaoru? We're still four blocks away."

"Sweetie, you're a world away. Now spill. What's up?" She looked at him earnestly.

"Kaoru…this really isn't the time for..."

"Trust me I know. We're late. That bitch Yumi is going to shred us for being late, Kenshin will probably fire us because we gave Shishio a reason to brag, but all of that can wait. You look…like you really need to throw a hissy fit. So go ahead, tell me."

"It's nothing."

"'Nothing' doesn't make you look like Romeo's long lost cousin. Now stop hedging and tell me."

Aoshi rubbed his forehead. He turned to her. "I made a really big mistake. You know how last week was my anniversary?"

"Yeah, you had a surprise for Misao. You'd been planning it all month."

"Yeah…well….that. I kind of… forgot about it."

"You what?" Kaoru shrieked, eyes almost bulging out.

"Pipe down, for god's sake! Yes! I forgot. I know! I'm sorry. I wish I could die, but I can't and now it's killing me. And Misao hasn't so much as said a word to me all week. And I can't take it anymore."

Kaoru simply stared, mouth wide open.

Aoshi rolled his eyes and stared at the road ahead. "And you can shut your mouth now. Shocking revelations over."

Kaoru moved back to her original position. She glanced at Aoshi as she turned the key. "Well, have you tried…?"

"Yes. I have. I have begged, grovelled, bought her a year's supply of pudding, painted the kitchen with rainbow sparkles like she wanted, there are now little unicorn fountains all over the garden, the garage door is painted hot pink. I even put a lava lamp in the drawing room! And a mountain of chocolate."

Kaoru grinned mischievously. "Boy, are you whipped! I didn't know Misao had it in her."

"Oh shut up."

Kaoru smiled slyly as she went over all the things Aoshi had told her. "Wait a minute. Oh my gosh." She turned to Aoshi. "Have you tried…you know…"

Aoshi frowned. "What?"

Kaoru bit her lip delicately and tilted her head. "You know what I'm talking about."

Aoshi let a breath loose. "No Kaoru, I assure you I do not know what you're talking about."

Kaoru groaned with frustration. "I swear…why are you guys so thick headed!"

"What? You haven't said anything!"

"Exactly! Sometimes, you just need to do…not say things. Listen, try and think like Misao."

"Excuse me, have you met my wife?" Aoshi asked sarcastically. "You can't think like Misao. Nobody can think like Misao because Misao lives on the planet of Sunshine and Rainbows."

Kaoru growled. "I have half a mind to drive my fist into your face but that will completely ruin my plan, so count yourself lucky, mister."

"You have a plan?"

"I have a plan."

"What?"

Kaoru smiled. "There's only one way to get Misao to accept that mountain of apologies and chocolate you have for her."

"And that is…"

Kaoru leaned close conspiratorially. "You put one piece of chocolate at the door, one at the foot of the stairs….and…the rest on yourself." She finished with a whisper. Aoshi froze. He blinked, his mind slowly grasping the implications of the plan and gradually, a slow smile began to stretch across his lips. He licked his lips.

"Kaoru?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm calling in sick."

Kaoru grinned. "Okay. I'll give you a ten minute head start before I call Misao."

Aoshi smiled back at her as he opened the door and stepped out of the car. He hailed a taxi, and as the yellow cab slowed to a stop before him, Kaoru quickly got out of the car and yelled, "Aoshi!"

He turned, surprised. "Chocolate melts faster in a microwave." She winked.

As the cab sped away, Kaoru sighed and turned the key in ignition once more. She drove the remaining four blacks to the office of Makoto & Associates and parked. As she climbed the steps to the front office, she dialled Misao's number and waited. Two rings later, her friend's voice sounded despondently over the line, "He doesn't love me anymore Kaoru. He doesn't want me."

"Oh you big baby. Go home."

"What?"

"Go home."

"Why?"

"I think it'll be worth it."

"What are you…"

"Just go home!" She cut the call. "Kids…"

A young man with dark hair and delicate features stepped forward, holding out his hand. "Miss Kamiya? I'm Soujirou Seta. Really sorry but Miss Komagata is running a little late, if you don't mind, we could begin proceedings and she'll join us later on."

Kaoru smiled widely. "Of course. It's no problem at all." He held a door open for her and Kaoru sailed through.

X

Next Morning

Kenshin glanced into Kaoru's office. "Hey gorgeous."

"Hi Kenshin." Kaoru was furiously typing away at her keyboard.

"Aoshi's still not in yet."

"No?"

"No. Did he mention anything to you?"

"Oh, he caught a bug." She swivelled around in her chair to face Kenshin. "He probably won't make it for a couple days. Don't worry. I can handle most of his work."

Kenshin looked concerned. "Hope he gets better soon."

Kaoru grinned. "Oh, he will. He will."

Author's Note

Alright, I will confess I have a soft corner for Kaoru/Aoshi friendship. Well, I haven't encountered that much of it but I really think it would be real. It's an idea I've explored in one of my AU fics, Love Lies and Empire. And I thought I'd just see what I could do with it in a more modern setting. So here we are. I hope you all like it. Please be kind!