Who was that Skateboarding Fool!

By Altia

Disclaimer: Wish I owned it, but I don't. I'm just a poor college student, so don't sue.

A/N: Wow… preparing for college is a lot of work… Well, I managed to squeeze out this chapter, on my new laptop no less! Woo! Anyway, enjoy chapter 26!

Chapter 26: The Aftermath. What is a Skater Boy to do?

Kenshin slowly drove home, knowing all of the things he had to do over the next few days. He sighed deeply as he parked his car in the driveway. Getting out of the car, he walked in, and went to the answering machine. He heard Kaoru's message and gave a sad smile. He deleted both messages.

He was too tired to do anything except sleep. He walked upstairs, looking down the hall at his parents' room. He slowly shook his head, turning to walk into his room. He flopped face down on his bed, not bothering to change clothes. Things were going to become very difficult, but somehow Kenshin would have to manage.

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Kaoru tossed and turned in her bed, knowing that Kenshin was going through so much pain, but there was nothing she could do. She closed her eyes, forcing herself to go to sleep.

Eventually, sleep overtook her, and she awoke the next morning, not really ready for school.

'I wonder if Kenshin will be there today,' she thought, getting up and doing her morning ritual. She walked downstairs, ate her breakfast, and said goodbye to her father. She walked outside, squinting slightly at the bright light.

Misao and Megumi caught up to their friend and instantly started bombarding her with questions of how her and Kenshin were doing. Kaoru calmly explained what had gone on, and the two girls instantly felt grief for the poor skater.

When they arrived at school, Kenshin was nowhere to be seen. 'He probably has a lot of work to do concerning his parents' death,' she reasoned, though she felt bad that she wouldn't see him all day.

Misao, almost as if sensing her friend's despair, smiled as she put her arm around Kaoru's shoulders. "Don't worry, Kaoru. You can see him after school," she said.

Kaoru nodded, her own smile gracing her face. "You're right, Misao. Thanks for reminding me of that. Now maybe I can actually concentrate at school," Kaoru said. Together the three girls walked into the building to begin yet another boring day.

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Kenshin slept in more then he should if he hoped to go to school. He rolled onto his back and groaned, not really wanting to move. Knowing he had a lot of work to do, and not a lot of time to do it, he reluctantly got up.

Walking into his parents' office, he began looking through the multitude of files and paperwork that they had. Almost right away he found their life insurance forms, so he put those to the side. He wasn't sure if he would need them, but he wanted to keep them to the side just in case.

He never realized how much work his parents' were actually doing until he read some of their reports. It was then also that he realized how little money they made. 'No wonder they had to work so much…' he thought, amazed at the sacrifices his parents made for him. Most people his age had a part time job, but he never had to get one. His parents had given him so much, yet most of the time he wasn't grateful like he should have been.

Kenshin held back his tears as he continued looking through the files. Finally, he found what he was looking for: his parents' wills. He briefly looked over them, and of course everything was left to him. He sighed, knowing that he now had more responsibility then he ever had before.

He stood up and walked to the phone. He called the man who helped his parents put their wills together, and talked with him as to how this was going to happen.

The man told Kenshin he would have to submit the wills through the court system not too long after his parents' funerals. Only by submitting the documents would he be able to keep his parents' belongings.

After talking a while to the man, Kenshin finished his conversation and hung up the phone. He got his parents' life insurance forms and called the agency. He knew some of that money would be used for their funerals, so he wanted to get the money as soon as possible.

By the time he got off the phone with the insurance company, it was late afternoon. He had yet to have anything to eat, and was really hungry. Kenshin got to his feet and began to walk to the kitchen when there was a knock on his door.

Kenshin blinked in confusion, wondering who it could be at this time of the day. He walked to the door and opened it. He was slightly surprised to see Kaoru, Misao, Megumi, and Sano outside his door.

"Uh, hi everyone," he said slowly.

"We were worried about you, Kenshin, so we decided to drop by," Sano said, a genuine look of worry on his face.

"Hi, Kenshin," Kaoru said softly. "Mind if we come inside?"

"Sure… Come on in," Kenshin responded, moving out of the door way and watching them as they entered.

Everyone there couldn't help but noticed the papers that lay spread out across the living room table, some on the floor as well.

"Go ahead and sit anywhere. I was just about to get something to eat," Kenshin said, once again walking towards the kitchen.

Kaoru started to follow Kenshin into the kitchen before she was grabbed on the arm by both Megumi and Misao.

"Hey! Let me go you guys!" she yelled, a bit upset at them stopping her.

"Kaoru, you know as well as we do that you plus kitchen can only equal disaster," Megumi said, a slight smirk on her face. Misao just nodded her head in agreement.

"Oh, geesh you guys! I won't touch anything! I just want to talk to Kenshin!" Kaoru whined, not believing her friends had such little faith in her cooking skills. Granted, they were not the best, but she could at least make toast… most of the time…

Her friends gave her an odd look before letting go. Sano, this whole time, watched with slight amusement.

Kaoru glared slightly at her friends, and Sano for good measure, before turning and walking into the kitchen with Kenshin.

"Is she really that bad? Cooking, I mean," he asked, choosing his words carefully as long as Kaoru was in earshot.

Misao and Megumi nodded sagely, having experienced Kaoru's cooking first hand on more then one occasion.

Sano's face twisted into a disgusted look as he let that topic fall.

Kenshin, meanwhile, was looking through his shelves for something to eat. He was deep in thought when Kaoru entered the kitchen.

"Kenshin?" she said softly, not wanting to startle him.

The boy in question was startled none the less as he turned his head to look at Kaoru. "Yeah, Kaoru? Something you need?" he asked, turning back to look once more.

"Well, I just noticed that you weren't looking very good. How are you feeling?" she asked softly, not knowing if it was too soon to bring up the subject of his parents or not.

Kenshin let out a soft sigh as he turned his attention fully on Kaoru. "I'm dealing, Kaoru. That's all I can say right now."

Kaoru nodded her head and hugged Kenshin around the waist. She could tell he was in desperate need of someone, anyone, and she was willing to be the person he needed.

Kenshin smiled slightly as he returned the hug, his search for food momentarily forgotten. He could tell Kaoru wanted to help him in anyway that she could, and he was thankful for it.

"Thank you," he whispered. There were no other words he could think of at that moment.

Kaoru tightened her hold on Kenshin, smiling. "Anytime, Kenshin," she whispered back. She suddenly became aware of the three sets of eyes that she felt on them. Kaoru turned her head just in time to see the three heads snap back behind the corner.

Kenshin looked over where Kaoru was looking and slowly shook his head. "I think we need to teach the eavesdroppers a bit of a lesson, don't you think?" he asked, a mischievous look in his eyes.

Kaoru grinned and nodded her head. "And I know just how to do it too," she said, the idea already forming in her mind…

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A/N: Whoo. Long chapter, no? Oh, and I'm not sure if that's what you have to do as far as wills go, so if I'm wrong, I'm sorry. Be nice and leave me a review. Make them inspire me! The more review I receive, the faster I'll update! So make me happy! Be like these people!

kenshee: Sorry for the slow update. Thanks a lot.

Dark Hope Assassin: Don't judge a fic by it's genre. Thanks a lot. Hopefully I can throw Hiko back into the mix at some point. Thanks a lot. I didn't know my fic could do that…. Thank you again. I'm shocked you think so highly of my fic… I have a tendency to do that… either go too fast or too slow. It's a curse… I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. I write to my mood, so obviously when I wrote that chapter I was angsty. You'll find out why soon enough. Yes, but if she stopped doing that, she wouldn't be Kaoru now would she? Again, same question as before, just replace Kaoru with Rurouni Kenshin. Thanks. Well, I'm not a good WAFF writer, so sorry if that doesn't please you.

enchantedsleeper: Three words: Evil Plot Twist. Maybe so…

midnite cherry blossomz: Poor Kenshin, I agree. But now he gets to be comforted by Kaoru…

the lone wonderer not so sad: Aoshi will come back. How could you think he would let his lose to Kenshin go so easily?

phoenix-tabuutz: Hopefully most sadness is over…

Amber Wolf: Thanks a lot. I do feel sorry for your brother. Enjoy the update.

The Mystic Firefly: Thank you so much for reading my fic. Yeah, have to have sadness in there somewhere.

Peachie-Chan: Yes he does.

Universal Fighter: Thanks a lot.

Narugami Kiyou: Uh, thanks…? Here's the update.

Xujin: Yes, poor Kenshin. Wow, that's pretty bad. Here's the update.