Who Was That Skateboarding Fool?!

By Altia

Disclaimer: I can't think of anything original to say here… so I'll just say I don't own it!

A/N: Wooo… fast update, no? Ok yea… now is the time… dundundunnnnnn! dinner at Kaoru's house! Enjoy!

Chapter 21: Father's Quiz: Is There Any Right Answer?!

Silence seemed to reign in the car as Kenshin drove to Kaoru's home. Kenshin then realized a major error on his part…

'I FORGOT TO CHANGE MY CLOTHES!' Kenshin's mind screamed at him for not realizing it sooner. His clothing had smudges of dirt, and it was obvious manual work had been done in them.

Kenshin glanced over at Kaoru, "Um, Kaoru?"

"Yes, Kenshin?"

"Do you think my clothes will be ok for dinner at your house?"

Kaoru allowed herself to do a full body scan on Kenshin, his blushing face evident even though he tried to hide it.

"It should be ok, Kenshin. Your clothes are a bit dirty, but it's to be expected when you do yard work."

Kenshin gulped, "Thing is, Kaoru, I wanna be presentable when I officially meet your father."

Kaoru smiled, "Look at me, Kenshin, I'm just as dirty as you are. I probably look like crap… it really doesn't matter. Its just dinner."

'Kaoru, you could be covered in mud and you'd look beautiful,' Kenshin thought as he stopped at a red light.

Almost too soon they arrived at Kaoru's home. Poor Kenshin was so nervous that his knees were shaking.

Kaoru, as if sensing his worry, took his hand and gently squeezed it. "Don't worry, Kenshin. My dad's bark is worse then his bite."

That statement, however, nearly made Kenshin wet himself, "Y-you mean… he's bitten someone before?!"

Kaoru laughed, "No, Kenshin! It's a saying! My dad is really a nice guy; he just looks tough. Now come on, I can smell dinner from here!"

Kenshin and Kaoru both got out of the car and walked to the door.

"Um, maybe you should ask your dad if its ok for me to eat here before I go in…" Kenshin said quietly.

"Oh, Kenshin, you need to not worry as much!" Kaoru said as they reached the front door.

Kaoru opened the door and called inside, "Dad! I'm home! I was wondering if Kenshin could eat dinner with us."

Kenshin could have sworn he felt the ground shake as Kaoru's father made his way to the door.

Kaoru's father looked over the boy, "Aren't his clothes a bit dirty for wanting to eat at someone else's house?"

"That was kinda my fault, dad. You see, he didn't plan to come… I just asked him that if he wanted to come and eat he could, as long as it was ok with you," Kaoru said as she defended the now very pale Kenshin.

Father once again regarded Kenshin, "Fine, he can join us. You talk, boy, or does a cat got your tongue?"

"Oh, um, it's a pleasure to meet you, sir. I'm Kenshin Himura," Kenshin managed to state with only a small squeak of a voice.

"Well, are you going to allow your guest to stand outside, Kaoru? Bring him in!" Father said as he walked into the house.

Kaoru grabbed Kenshin's hand and gently pulled him inside the house.

"I don't believe I have introduced myself, boy," Kaoru's father said, not wanting to let Kenshin catch a break. "I am Koketsu Kamiya, Kaoru's father, as if you didn't already know that."

Kenshin gulped, 'Crap… I've truly entered a tiger's den… and the cub was the one to lead me here… Hopefully I won't be the main course…'

Kaoru pulled Kenshin into living room while dinner was being prepared. Kenshin looked at Kaoru a bit strangely, "Why aren't you cooking, if I may ask, Kaoru?"

"Well," Kaoru began, "to tell the truth, I can't cook all that well… So dad does all the cooking."

Kenshin nodded in understanding and looked around the living room. While it was not as fancy as his house was, what with both his parents working in well paying jobs, it was still a nice house. To Kenshin, it looked friendly, and lived in. It was so unlike his house, which always looked like it was abandoned save for him. He hadn't been in a house like this since he was a small boy.

Kaoru saw the look that was on Kenshin's face as he looked around the room; it was a look of reminiscence, as though he hadn't seen anything like this in a long time. "Kenshin, are you ok?"

Kenshin blinked and looked at Kaoru, "Yea, I'm fine… why?"

"No reason."

Koketsu called from the dining room, "Dinner's ready!"

Kenshin and Kaoru got up from the couch and walked into the dining room, sitting across from each other. The table was only a small square one, but it did the job it was supposed to.

Koketsu sat to Kaoru's left, Kenshin's right. There was quite a bit of food there, since he had made extra because Kenshin was there.

Everyone began to eat; therefore it was silent for several moments.

Kenshin was truly sweating, 'Oh man… it's too quiet… Someone say something! Please!'

"So, Kenshin, was it?" Koketsu said.

Kenshin nodded.

Koketsu continued, "How long have you known my daughter?"

Kenshin gulped, and not just to remove any food from his mouth, "Well, sir, I've known her for four weeks, or so…"

Koketsu nodded, "Four weeks, huh? That's not a very long time, you know."

Kaoru began to get worried. 'Dad is the master of cornering boys. And I believe he's about to do the same to Kenshin. Don't get caught in his trap, Kenshin!'

"I am aware of that, sir," Kenshin replied.

"What are your thoughts of my daughter?" Koketsu asked.

"Well," Kenshin began, "she is a strong individual; also very independent. She is loyal to her friends and has confidence in herself. She doesn't bend to pressure. She is truly beautiful, both inside and outside. However, even if she wasn't as pretty as she is, but she still had the same fiery personality, I would still feel as strongly about her as I do now."

Kaoru's face was so red by the time Kenshin finished, she could have been mistaken for a tomato.

Koketsu smirked slightly, "And what are your feelings about my daughter?'

Kenshin took a deep breath. 'Either I lie to myself and to her and not say how I feel, or I surrender myself to anything Mr. Kamiya might do and tell him my honest feelings… Well… here goes nothing!'

"Mr. Kamiya, your daughter holds a special place in my heart; a place I never knew I had before. I don't think anyone could ever take her place, and I don't think I'd ever want anyone to. Sir, I love your daughter, with everything I am. I'd do anything to protect her life, even if it meant giving up my own. Hopefully, sir, you will see how serious I am about everything I'm saying, because I am very serious. I won't allow anything bad to ever happen to your daughter. I swear on my honor," Kenshin said, his confidence growing with every word he said.

Kaoru smiled wide; he had said the correct answer! She was tempted to run over and hug Kenshin tightly, however she waited for her father's response.

Koketsu was silent for many moments, taking in what this boy had just said. No boy Kaoru had brought home before, few that there was, had said anything like that. Koketsu finally spoke, "Fair enough, boy. I trust my daughter to you, however, if anything should happen to her, you won't be able to run fast enough or far enough."

Kenshin grinned, "No problem, sir! Nothing will ever happen, I swear it!"

Koketsu cleared the table with Kenshin and Kaoru's help and desert was served. Kenshin and Kaoru made small talk in the living room for a bit after eating their desert. Kenshin looked at the time, "Crap! I'd better get home! I'll see you tomorrow at school, Kaoru."

Kaoru nodded, "Dad, I'm going to walk Kenshin out to his car!"

Koketsu called back, "Ok. Bye, Kenshin."

"Good bye, sir. It was a pleasure to eat here. Thank you for allowing me to," Kenshin said, making a small bow towards Koketsu when he was within seeing range.

Kenshin opened the door, and he and Kaoru walked out towards his car.

"Dad likes you," Kaoru said suddenly.

"Really? What makes you say that?" Kenshin asked.

"Because he didn't bite your head off when you said you loved me."

"Oh," Kenshin said simply.

They finally reached his car. Kenshin walked over to the driver's side, Kaoru following.

Kenshin turned to face her and a quick kiss was placed on his cheek in the process.

Kenshin smiled slightly, and returned the kiss to her cheek. Then, ever so lightly, he allowed his lips to brush hers.

He and Kaoru were both red as Kenshin climbed into his car.

"Bye, Kaoru. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye, Kenshin. I love you," a red-faced Kaoru said.

Kenshin smiled wide, "I love you, too, Kaoru." Kenshin made sure Kaoru was safely on the sidewalk before driving away.

Kaoru slowly walked back to her front door, smiling as she closed it. Going to her room to prepare for bed, she thought how wonderful it would be to be able to have dinner with Kenshin every night.

…………………………………………

Kenshin managed to make it home without getting into an accident, considering he had Kaoru on his mind the whole time.

He locked his car doors and walked into his house, where a small flashing light greeted him by the phone.

He walked over to the answering machine and pressed the "PLAY" button. It was a message from his parents.

"Hey, Kenshin! It's mom and dad. Well, turns out we will be gone longer then expected. Hope that's ok. Well, we'll see you when we get home. We'll bring you a souvenir or something. Love you lots!"

Kenshin sighed; he had been expecting this. He walked to his room and flopped onto his bed, not even bothering to change his clothes.

'I'll be able to make it. With Kaoru by my side… I feel like I could do anything…'

A/N: WOW! Long chapter! Once I got goin', I didn't wanna stop! Anyways, AX04 is in like 2 days! WOOOO! Which means, I'll be gone from my comp, and the Internet… (sob) Oh well… it's a small price to pay for AX. Oh, and in case you are wondering about Kaoru's dad's name, Koketsu, it means "Tiger's Den." Kenshin knew what the name meant, therefore feared for his very life! Anyways, here are my thank yous, and I expect a lotta reviews over the AX weekend!

kik-ting: Yes… well it wasn't. Hope you liked it.

Miguela: Hey, I'm always up for creative criticism. But see, here's my reasoning for my writing style that last chapter: You see, that chapter was supposed to be light and fluffy and so I tried to make it that way by adjusting my style where it would be cute and humorous. Now, in later chapters where it gets more serious, then I will take your advice and write seriously. Thanks for that, though.

crasyducky: Thanks. Hope your arm gets better.

KuTiExAzNxAnGeL: Thanks. Here's the update.

Kiryuu-500: Cool! A loyal minion… wait I said too much…

Kitsune KeNsHiN: Thanks. Hope you enjoyed the dinner. Thank you.

MiraiGurl: Thanks, I'll try to keep going good.

kenshin-chan345: Cool… my fic causes pain… wait… that ain't a good thing…

The evil witch: Thanks. I'll try.

tintin-chan: Sorry about making you wait… Hope I'll do more fluff soon… and you'll find out soon enough as to why she hates skaters.

Inuyasha's girl: Ooh… a convert… slightly… Thanks. Yea skateboarding is fun when you are good at it…

Hikari-Kawaii: Thanks for all the nice things. Hope you liked the update.

Funaru Kutsuteru: Hey! Don't be mean to the author! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Yea… you don't wanna make people mad…

Chiki: I always look forward to reading your reviews. Yea… very light. This one was kinda a mix of light and heavy… if that even makes sense… Hope you liked the dinner.

Mysticblue101108: Thanks. Its not rated G… it's PG now! That's crazy… you're 3 years younger then me…making you a former freshman… heh…

…: Yes, poor Kenshin.

Darkygurl11: Thanks. Hope you liked the update.

A/N: Woo… I can't wait… 4 action packed days at AX04 in Anaheim, CA! It's da best ever! I'll try and update soon! Later much!!