Chapter 6
Bday

I paid my taxi fare, bid the driver good night and stepped out of the taxi, giving him a little wave as he drove away. Then, leaning against the wall, I rang the doorbell and waited for Tae-san's familiar voice through the intercom.

"Tae-san! Kaoru here!"

I let myself through the now open gate and just as I was digging through my bag for my keys, the front doors swung open. I looked up to see Tae-san standing in the doorway, now a little breathless.

"Mou, Tae-san! I can open the doors on my own next time. You don't have to waste your breath and run around the house, just to open it for me," I said, giving her a huge hug.

"By the way, where are the guys?"

"Out in the back," she answered, her eyes twinkling.

I pushed open the French doors that led to the backyard. The Tae-san is such a liar!

Nobody would sit out here in the dark! Just as I was about to turn around to go indoors again, the whole place lighted up, almost magically. My mouth dropped open in disbelief as I stood there, stunned at the sight that greeted me.

"Wow," I breathed.

Rose petals covered almost every inch of the grass. Pink and white ribbons spiraled around the pillars nearby. In the center, a lighted birthday cake sat on top of a garden table. Just then, a display of fireworks erupted in the sky above me. As I stood there, mesmerized by the many colors and patterns of the fireworks, Aoshi, Akira and Soujiro joined me by my side.

"Surprise!"

I looked up at them, too happy for words. Then, I gave each of them a big hug. "Thank you sooooooo much!"

"So, does this mean that you like it?" Aoshi asked softly, putting an arm around my shoulders.

"Like it? I love it," I said, grinning up at them. "But you guys shouldn't have done it. All the trouble that you guys had to go through just to set all this up…it's just not worth it."

"Who says?" asked Soujiro.

"Exactly. Of course it's worth it," piped up Akira.

"Yup. Anything for my little sister," said Aoshi, kissing my forehead.

"Which reminds me, why did you guys have to play such a rotten trick on me this morning by pretending that you all couldn't remember it was my birthday?" I asked, punching Aoshi's arm.

"It would spoil the whole surprise if we didn't do it. Besides, the look on your face this morning was worth all the trouble. Definitely a Kodak moment!" he laughed, earning a smack on the back of the head from me.

"Oi! Hurry up and blow out the candles!" yelled Soujiro.

"Wait! Make a wish first!" said Akira.

Obediently, I closed my eyes and made a wish, then blew out all the candles in one breath. After finishing my slice of cake, I jumped up to face them.

"Alright! Time for presents!"

"Sure. But first, you have to put on this blindfold," says Aoshi, throwing a strip of black cloth in my direction.

"Why?" I ask suspiciously. "You're not going to dunk cold water on me, are you?"

"Well, come to think of it, that's a pretty good idea…" faltered Soujiro as I gave him the evil eye.

"No, we're not going to do anything like that. Cross my heart," replies Aoshi, knocking Soujiro on the head. Akira helped me put on the blindfold, tying the ends really tightly. Then, with Aoshi guiding me, we began to walk. After what seemed like an awfully long time, Akira said to me, "You can take the blindfold off now."

I ripped off the blindfold, and gasped in shock, my hand covering my mouth. There, right in front of me, stood a brand new silvery blue sports car caressed by jasmine flowers. Fireflies were dancing in front of me as everything was made perfect. If someone walked in, they would've thought this was a place for honey moon. A clear pool right next to the car reflecting the light that bounces off of the silver blue pain. This was unbelievable, beyond my utmost fascinating dream.

"Is that for me?" I asked, just to be sure.

"Yup. All yours. And here are the keys," says Aoshi, grinning at me. "By the way, it's from all three of us."

"Honestly, I don't know what to say. 'Thank you' doesn't even come close."

"You don't have to say anything. Your expression tells us all we need to know," said Aoshi, giving me a hug.

A/N: Oh dear that turned out way too short. Well I had it originally 10-12 pages on word but realized they should be split up into two parts because, it just doesn't fit. So chapter 6 and 7 will be short, but I will update very soon ;; maybe tomorrow or in two days max.

Next chappie: first major drama. Kenshin had a very important meeting early in the morning. Tomoe gets there finding out Kaoru didn't do her work, what will happen when Kenshin isn't there to support Kaoru? Will Kaoru face Tomoe's wrath by herself?