DISCLAIMER: someone flared at me about saying plagarism... i did not write this story, i don't own this plot, i changed part of it, and i was the original editor of this story. this original story was called hidden desire or something, later changed to memories. we used to be obsessed with the shinhwa. don't flame me on this because my purpose of putting this story up (edited version to flow better) is to share my favorite story. once again, i don't own this plot but i do have the permission of the author to change and fit it to rurouni kenshin as i see fit. (i did contribute to some of teh original story). all i wanna do is share this story so pleast stop flamming me about memories since i've truely never heard of that title.

(A/N) quick note… Tae is the Kamiya's maid in some way but also runs the Akebeko. I've also been wanting to add in Enishi but realized that it might conflict with my plot so one of my readers suggest I make them not related, and I thought that would be good. Btw Enishi and Tae are having some kind of relationship. (sorry this chapter took so long)

Chapter 13
Lucky 13?

True to his word, Soujrio stayed for the night on the hospital's couch, just to keep me company. When morning came, I happily stuffed all my belongings into the little bag that Soujiro had brought my change of clothes in, glad to be able to finally leave the place.

"All ready, Kao-chan?" he says, coming around to stand next to me.

"Yup!"

"Where would you like to have breakfast?" he asks, heaving my bag onto one hand and guiding me towards his car with his other hand.

"Ummmm…" I say, thinking hard. Suddenly my whole face lit up and I began to jump up and down excitedly. "Akebeko place!"

"Okay! Okay! Don't get over-excited!" he says, laughing as he bleeped his car open.
I climbed into his car and settled myself comfortably, laughing and joking all the way to the little restaurant.

"Tae-San!" I yell, as I spotted her. She turned around sharply and scurried over to where we stood, beaming at us. With her hands on my shoulders, she turned me around.

"Kaoru, have you not been eating properly? You've gone so thin. And you're looking so pale," she says patting my cheeks gently. "Have you not been getting enough sleep?"

"Mou! Tae-san! Don't worry about me! I'm fine. Look," I say, giving her a little twirl. "How're you?" I ask, linking my arm with her as she led us towards our table.

"Me? I'm getting fatter. Enishi's been making me eat a lot!" she says, patting her tummy and laughing gaily as I joined her.

"Here. You all have a seat first, all right? I'm going to tell Enishi you're here. He's going to be really happy to see the both of you."

As she bustled off, we both settled down at our table.

"Awwwww, Enishi's coming over!" grinned Soujiro.

I slanted my eyes at him. "What are you getting at, Sou-chan?"

"Well, everyone knows Enishi has a thing for you," he says, winking at me.

"What rubbish," I say, blushing a little.

"It's true! You're the only one who doesn't know!"

"Come on, Soujiro, he's just a friend. A really, really sweet friend. Besides you're the one who doesn't know anything… Tae and Enishi are a couple now."

"really? Hey how come no one tells me these things?" Soujiro said pouting.

"Hi!" says Enishi, approaching our table.

"Hey!" replies Soujiro.

"Enishiiiii-san!" I yelled.

He pulled a chair from the next table and sat down, folding his arms on the table. "It's been quite a while since I last saw all of you. Where's Aoshi-sama and Akira-san?"

"They're in Korea right now," I say, smiling at him. "And I've been so busy with work and everything that I didn't have time to come here and eat."

"Me too!" piped up Soujiro.
"Oh, where are you working, Kaoru?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Hiten Mitsurgi Corporations."

He furrowed his brow for a moment, deep in thought. "Hiten Corporations headed by Himura Kenshin? A little shortie, wears suits 99 of the time, 1 of the time wearing some gi and some kind of sword outfit, currently with long red hair and drives a sports car?"

"Yeah," I say, turning to face him in surprise. "How'd you know?"

"He eats here sometimes."

"Oh," I say, a little taken aback.

"Speak of the devil," mutters Soujiro under his breath, his face hard and his gaze fixed on the doorway of the little restaurant and plasted on a smile.

We whipped our heads around to see who had entered and my heart sank a little at the sight that greeted me. Why is it that everywhere I go, he's always materializing in front of me one way or another? I slid a little lower in my seat, hoping that he wouldn't be able to spot me. No such luck. As he headed towards the only other available table in the room, which unfortunately, was just next to ours, his cool eyes locked with mine for a full second, before he turned away. I closed my eyes and sighed, burying my head in my hands.

"You don't like him very much, do you?" asked Enishi, with an amused twinkle in his eyes.

"Is it that obvious?" I ask, scrunching my face a little.

As Soujiro and Enishi both nodded their heads in unison, the door to the restaurant shut with a loud bang, and once again we turned in our seats to see who had entered. I grimaced as I saw Tomoe standing there, scanning the room, her hair a little windblown and her clothes perfectly pressed. Now this was one person that I really did not want to see. As her gaze swept over me, her face contorted into a disgusted look, as though she had just stepped on horse manure. I shifted my gaze when she walked by our table and sat down opposite Kenshin.

"You don't like a lot of people, do you?" asks Enishi, his eyes twinkling.

"Well, Soujiro doesn't like her either!" I say defensively as the both of them laughed.

"Right. Right. Laugh all you want. I don't care," I say folding my arms across my chest.
The door opened again to let in another person and I strained my eyes at the figure that had just entered, trying to determine whether it really was him. When he took off his hat, my whole face lighted up and I jumped up from my seat, cupping my hands around my mouth.

"Sanooooooooooooooooooooo!" I yelled.

His head whipped up immediately at his name and when he saw who had called him, a wide grin spread over his face as he made his was towards us.

It took him a while to regain his composure. "You look wonderful," he says, giving me a smile.

Normal pov
Kenshin stared out the window, while Tomoe ate silently. He had barely touched his food. He just didn't have the mood to eat. Kaoru's words from yesterday played over and over again in his head. Had he done the wrong thing? Guilt had been eating at him after the incident. And he hadn't slept a full minute last night either. Every time he closed his eyes, he remembered her hurt expression. Sure, he had said some pretty harsh and insensitive words to her, but how was he to know that her parents weren't living anymore? It wasn't as though she had told him or anything.

'Of course she didn't tell you, a nagging voice in the back of his head said. She didn't have a chance. When she was just thirteen, when you decided that you were going to make her life miserable by taunting her in school everyday. Besides, why would she want to tell you about it? Just so you can tease her more? Just so you can think of more mean names to call her? What have you ever done to make her believe that she could confide in you? Nothing. In fact, if I were her, I'd steer clear away from you.'

At the next table, he heard her laughter, mingling with Sano's and Soujiro's. Then it struck him. In all the times that she had been with him, she had never laughed before. She did smile, but that was only for the briefest of moments. He turned his head a little, trying to look at her as discreetly as possible. Her face shone with happiness as she laughed with her face turned up a little.

"Kenshin," says Tomoe, breaking into his reverie. "Why aren't you eating?" she asks, gesturing to his bowl.

"I just don't feel like it," he answered.

"Are you feeling sick?" she asks leaning across the table to place her palm on his forehead. But before she managed to touch him, he pulled back and replied with a terse,

"I'm fine." Picking up his chopsticks, he began filling his empty stomach, not really tasting the food.

After both Kaoru and Soujiro had left, Sano got up from his seat and made his way over to Kenshin's table.

"Hello, Kenshin, Yukishiro Tomoe," he says, giving them a small smile. "I'm sorry to interrupt but may I please have a word with you, Kaoru? Alone?" he added, when he saw that Tomoe wasn't going to move.

Reluctantly, Tomoe stood up and told Kenshin that she would be waiting for him outside.

"Thanks, Tomoe. This won't take long," he says, sitting down on the chair that she had occupied earlier. When she was safely out of earshot, he turned to Kenshin.

"Still not getting on well with Kaoru, are you?"

"What did she say to you?" asked Kenshin, a frown forming on his face.

"She didn't mention anything to me, although Soujiro did. I'm not really clear about what happened between the three of you yesterday, but if it has something to do with Tomoe, I could pretty much guess what it is. I can tell you never heeded any of my advice. That's not surprising. I really wasn't expecting you to actually follow someone else's words. But there is something that you need to know."

He paused for a second twisting a strand of his roster hair. "If you still plan on getting her, you'd better straighten out your priorities. You can't go running to Tomoe every time she beckons to you. You can't keep siding with Tomoe even though you know that she's in the wrong. That would be plain unfair to Kaoru. I know the relationship that you share with Tomoe is a very strong one even though you guys are not together anymore but sometimes you have to open your eyes and look at things from a different perspective."

"Why are you telling me all this?"

Sano gave Kenshin a small smile. "Because it would be unfair to you if I didn't tell you all this. Besides, I did have a head start of six years."

With that, he stood up, bowed slightly and walked out of the little restaurant, leaving an once again, stunned Kenshin to stare after him.

Kaoru's view

The doors to our office burst open suddenly, making me jump a little. As I bent down to pick up my pencil that had fallen to the ground, I heard a familiar, deep, male voice and immediately whipped my head back up.

"All right, everybody. Listen up!" says Kenshin, clapping his hands together to get our attention. "As you all know, our company has been offered a partnership with another company based in New York. Since Tomoe has not been feeling well over the past few days due to fever, it would be pretty inconsiderate of me to insist that she follow me over to New York to discuss about the plans to market this new product. So, is there anyone here who would like to volunteer for this job?"

We looked at one another in silence, uncertainty etched all over our faces. Sensing our hesitation, Kenshin spoke again.

"Let's put it this way. Who do you think is the most capable person of completing this task and making a good job out of it?"

It took everyone about a millisecond to make up their minds and as though they had planned this together behind my back, they all pointed in my direction. My jaw dropped open and I pleaded with them with my eyes, trying to tell them telepathically not to pick me.

"Kaoru is the person you're looking for," says Yahiko, grinning at me as everyone else nodded their heads in agreement, while I shook mine furiously.

"Yeah, I agree with what Yahiko said. Kaoru is definitely the one," quipped Misao.

"Right.Kaoru it is then. Any problems?" Kenshin asked, turning to me.

"Ye—Ow!" I muttered as Misao stepped on my foot.

"No, Himura-san. I'm sure Kaoru doesn't have any problems," she replied sweetly.

"Sur—Ouch!"

"Please don't mind her," she says again, smiling radiantly at him while I rubbed my arm where she had pinched earlier.

"Right," he says. "Anyway, how fast can you pack all your things, Kaoru?"

"When are we supposed to leave?"

"Today. By 5 o'clock."

I blinked, trying to absorb all this at once. "Oh. Right. Okay. Great."

"So, roughly at what time do you think you could be ready?" he asks, giving me a weird look.

"Oh, ummm…just give me about 2 hours. I'll be ready by then."

"Great. Would you like me to fetch you to the airport from your house?"

"NO! I mean, no, there's no need for that. I can come back here or we can just meet at the airport or something," I say, shuffling my feet nervously.

"Whatever suits you. Why don't we meet at the café around the corner at 3 o'clock? That'll give you about…" he trailed off, looking at his watch, "three hours and a half to get ready. Would that be okay for you?"

"Yeah. Oh, how many days should I pack my clothes for?"

"Enough for 2 weeks."

(btw this is when Aoshi and Akira got back. They gave Soujiro a hell of a hard time for not telling them about Kaoru's trip to the hospital.)

"Ani.," I say, nudging the huge lump buried under the comforters. He shifted a little, muttering under his breath and then fell asleep again. "Come on, Aoshi," I say, pushing him a little harder this time. "I know you're feeling pretty tired from the plane ride back but please, please get up." Seeing that her nudges were doing no good she screamed in his ear, "THIS IS IMPORTANT!"

Abruptly, he sat up straight and looked at me, a frown marring his features. All thoughts of sleep had vanished from his mind. "What's the matter, Kaoru? Are you feeling sick?" he asked, putting his palm up to my forehead.

"No, silly," I say, swatting his arm away. "Why is it that you always think that there's something wrong with me? Anyway, I wanted to tell you that I'll be leaving for New York tonight."

"WHAT?"

"Mou! Don't yell! I'm just one foot away from you! It's a business trip and I'm the lucky one that got chosen to represent the Marketing Department. So, wanna help me pack?"

"Whoa! Hold up! My brain can't input so much information at one shot. You're leaving on a business trip to New York tonight. When will you be back?"

"Ummm…about two weeks."

"TWO WEEKS?"

"Oww! Aoshi! Think of my poor eardrums! Yeah, two weeks."

"Do you know how long two weeks is? It's 14 days. 336 hours. 20,160 minutes. How am I supposed to go through 2 whole weeks without seeing you, without knowing how you're faring? I'd be worried sick!"

"Mou, ani! I promise I'll call you every day so stop acting like a six-year-old. Come and help me pack. My flight leaves at 5 o'clock," I say, pulling him out of his bed, while he complained continuously about how boring it was going to be without me. Oh God, I thought, rolling my eyes.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. My name is Tsubame and I'll be your pilot for today. You are aboard flight K5246 from Tokyo, Japan headed for New York. The time now is 5.30 in the evening. It will take about…"

As the speakers crackled overhead, I leaned forward to look out of the little square window, at the twinkling lights of Tokyo, thousands of feet below. So awed by the sight that greeted me, I grabbed Kenshin's arm excitedly and pointed.

"Look, Kenshin, Tokyo looks beautiful from up here," I say, finally turning to face him, only to stare right into his cold eyes. They say it takes roughly about thirty-six muscles to smile. Ten of mine must have failed to work as my face dropped like a wet towel. "I'm sorry," I mumbled, releasing my grip on his arm.

Sighing, I turned my back on him and gazed out the window again. Sure, it was great to be able to fly in business class and everything but having a seat partner who is as prickly as a porcupine just kills the mood. It really does.

(Normal pov) she'll be asleep

Kenshin inclined his head just a little and observed her out of the corners of his eyes. Through her reflection in the window, he could see that she was a little downcast, probably at his reaction earlier. He cursed inwardly at himself. He felt like a grade-A heel for being so cold towards her. He could see that she was trying her damnedest to relieve the tension between the both of them and he knew he wasn't doing anything to help things. He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration then turned his attention back to his laptop and began typing, desperately trying to blot her out of his system.
After what seemed like hours, Kenshin leaned back in his seat, rubbing his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose lightly. He rotated his shoulders and moved his head sideways to help ease the tense muscles there.

"Excuse me, sir," says a stewardess, smiling down at him and handing him a menu. "What would you like to have for dinner?"

He hurriedly scanned the page. "I would like to have the chicken set, please," he replied, closing the menu.

"What about your friend?" she asks, nodding in Kaoru's direction.

He shifted his gaze to look over at her, surprised to find her fast asleep in a very awkward position. Turning back to the stewardess, he said, "She'll have the same thing, thanks."

"Sure. Dinner will be served in half an hour," she answered politely, walking away.
He slowly pried the book away from between her fingers, memorized the page number then slipped it into his bag. Leaning over her, he carefully unfastened her hair clip, letting her long hair fall in wisps around her. Then, lifting the wrapped up blanket from the floor, he roughly tore the bag open and tucked the warm blanket securely under her chin, making sure that she was fully covered from neck to toe. Satisfied with what he had done, he lifted his hand to switch off the reading light. Now if only she would wake up when dinner is being served.

Kaoru's pov

"Wow," I gushed, taking in the sights around me. During our two weeks here, we would be staying at the Four Seasons Hotel. I've heard from various sources that this hotel was really expensive and was one of the best-rated hotels in New York, next to the Plaza Hotel but I wasn't expecting its interiors to be so…so…fantastic. For a start, the reception area was all limestone and marble and amazing high ceilings.

As we approached the reception desk, a concierge in a trendy jacket smiles at us. "Good morning, Mr. Himura," he says. "And Miss Kamiya. Welcome to the Four Seasons. I've put you both in adjoining rooms 19 and 20," he continued, as Kenshin starts to fill in a form. "Overlooking Central Park."

"Great," says Kenshin.

"Thanks," I say, smiling at the concierge and he smiled back warmly.

"If there is anything else that you require, Mr. Himura and Miss Kamiya," says the concierge, "please don't hesitate to let me know."

"We will, don't worry," I say, as Kenshin hands the forms back. The concierge hands him two sets of room keys, and summons a porter to help carry our bags up.

We walk along an opulent corridor in complete silence – then the porter swings open the door to room 19 and ushers us into a spectacularly beautiful room, furnished with a big double bed with an enormous waffle duvet, a state-of-the-art music system, plushy chairs and a paneled dressing room. He places both our bags on the luggage rail, then Kenshin gives him a note and he disappears.

While he crossed over to his room through the adjoining door, I made my way over to the bathroom and pushed open the door, stunned at what I saw. Inside, there was a huge great sunken mosaic Jacuzzi with the hugest shower that I've ever seen above, and a whole rack of gorgeous-looking aromatherapy oils.

Suddenly, I remembered my promise to call Aoshi. Rushing over to where my bag stood, I rummaged through my clothes, searching for my cell phone. Whipping it open, I quickly punched in Aoshi's number forgetting about the difference in time zone.

"Helwfrow?" he said groggily.

"Hiya, ani! Kao here! Just to let you know that I've reached safely. And I'm sorry I called at the wrong time. I forgot that it's night over there," I say, giggling a little.

"Frit's awright, Kao."

"Right, ani. Go back to sleep. I'll ring you at a saner hour. Night!" I say, shaking my head as I flipped it shut.

"Kaoru?" Kenshin called out, poking his head around the door. "Did you, by any chance, bring along a cocktail dress?"

"Umm…no. Why? Are we attending a formal dinner?" I ask.

"As a matter of fact, we are. And it's tonight."

My jaw dropped open. "Oh my God. What do we do?" I ask, feeling panic rising within me.

"Go and take a shower. After that, we'll go shopping."

(Normal pov)

As they sat in the back seat of the cab, side by side, Kenshin couldn't help but notice how much her spirits had lifted. She looked so energetic and radiant, wearing a pair of dark blue jeans and a plain white three-quarter sleeved shirt. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, fastened securely with a sapphire ribbon that matched her beautiful eyes. When she happened to look his way, she smiled warmly at him, a smile that was sincere and unguarded. Just as he was about to smile back, memories from the day at the hospital flooded into his mind. He felt a sharp pang of guilt remembering all the hurtful things that he had said to her. Since he still hasn't apologized to her about his behavior, now was a good time as any to do it.

"Kaoru?" he called out quietly.

"Yeah?" she asked, turning in her seat to face him.

He paused for a moment, looking out of his window at the blur of colors whizzing past him. Finally, he turned to look into her questioning eyes. "I'm sorry for all the hurtful things that I've said to you the other day at the hospital."

It took her a few minutes to register what he was talking about. "Oh, it's alright," she answered, fidgeting with her bracelet and averting her gaze away from him.

"No, it's not alright. I'm sorry. I really am. I shouldn't have been so insensitive with my words."

She gave him a small smile. "Apology accepted. Don't dwell so much on it. I never took what you said to heart."

He knew she was lying, but he allowed her small deception. An uncomfortable silence engulfed the both of them.

"Anyway," he said. "It's obvious that we had set out on the wrong foot together. Why don't we start over? We can pretend none of those rotten things had ever happened and, you know, just get to know each other better. Well, it's just a thought. You don't have to go through with it if you don't want to," he added hastily. His heart pounding in his ears waiting for her reply...

A/N: will kaoru reject him? hm.. btw do u guys get tired of my changing pov? I find it very hard to maintain in one so I hope you don't mind too much but if it bothers u too much I'll try to stop it, though it may make things seem akward, like taking Kaoru's view even though she's sleeping. --v

Next Chapter: does anyone actually read this preview note? Anyways. Does Kaoru accept his offer? And coming up, another turning point, Kenshin admits his feelings and ask for a chance, what will happen? Btw there will be a dinner party.

More A/N Reply: (i heard someone say i can't reply to reviews so just consider it more A/N)

Firalyn Tiatra: i love how you comment on all the events, it lets me know what is good and what not.

Anonymous but very interested: Soujiro and Her.. uh Soujiro likes her but kaoru's just too innocent to notice. and i havne't thought about mental break down... and yes like rurouni kenshin, he is very indecisive in these things and an idiot. specially in my fic.

royal blueKitsune: the only real love i have planned is kenshin's love for kaoru... can't say anything on kaoru's side or i'll end up giving it away. and yes he is an idiot. i don't captialize things because i reply at the spot and not on microsoft word (the reason i failed english)

VanyD: lol my grammer is no comparison to half the authors on this site, i couldn't pass english class with a good grade if my life depended on it. and the car, well it was expensive, a sport's car (not big on cars so i don't know too much)

forever angel: yes tomoe only acted sorry, i don't think i'll let tomoe ever turn "good"

blooded wyngs: their money is mainly in investments and she does not like to waste money and all she wants to be is normal so she won't just use her inheritance. and the car was special because ... uh.. hm... they all worked together to save up their extra spending money to get it. i don't want kenshin and the others to know that kamiya's are rich.. yet...

Deseray: thanks, yes kenshin's a hypocrite. o well. i like it when things like that happen. hopefully you don't mind.

Green Animelover: sou and kaoru are just friends, though soujiro has developed feelings (okok, more like love at first sight) but doens't show it because he knows kaoru doesn't like him in that way.

... she wants to stay at that corp to earn a reputation so she can prove to others that things aren't handed to her on a silver plater.

sato: no i've never read that. this wasn't originally called hidden obsession nor was it called memories. i believe it was called hidden desire or some desire. like i said this story was written 3-4 maybe even 5 years ago... and i already disclaim the plot. i just wanted to share this story. the plot was made by my friend but i did have a few imputs.

Deseray: thanks, yes kenshin's a hypocrite. o well. i like it when things like that happen. hopefully you don't mind.

Those i didn't reply to is because you didn't ask questions, i only reply to quesitons though i love all your comments all the same. i just want to make sure all my readers know that i love you all.