Rurouni Kenshin 1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **It's been a while since I last wrote. Admittedly, I haven't had time to do anything and the last pieces I wrote made me cringe. I hope my writing style's better this time around. Anyway, enjoy. Let me know what you think and if you have any violent reactions to anything.

Please remember that this is an AU story, so the setting will be completely different from what we all know from the manga. I retained most of the characters' personalities, but I had to alter some of the others so they can fit the story better. I have a pretty good idea on where I can take this story in terms of character and plot development. I just hope I can get enough inspiration to keep writing everything down.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, nor any of its characters. All information in this story (especially those relating to the Japanese government and their public officials) are all fictional.

* * *

**It Is What It Is**

**Chapter 1**

"Kamiya!"

Kaoru cringed. She knew this was coming, but the loud voice booming from inside her boss' office still made her jump in surprise. It was a good thing she just placed her mug of coffee on her desk before the volume of her supervisor's voice filled the entire floor of their office, otherwise there would've been a big mess and—another—mug broken.

'_Damn it. There goes my coffee break', _she thought to herself.

A familiar chuckle brought her out of her annoyed thoughts and made her turn around to face the highly amused face of her partner and best friend, who was currently leaning on her office's doorframe. "You just never learn, do you, Kaoru? Ever heard of self-preservation? What did you do now?"

"Oh come on, Enishi. You know none of those were my fault. Compared to the piece I brought him, the collateral damage shouldn't even matter much", she said.

"And the ten other cases before this?" Enishi replied, mirth shining brightly in his eyes as he asked mockingly. "I heard you got a cat killed this time. How'd that happen? It's not like it could've been withholding information from you."

"Fuck off, Yukishiro."

"Kamiya Kaoru get the hell in my office right now!" boomed her supervisor's voice again.

Most of the other employees gave her pitying glances as she walked towards the direction of the loud voice. They all knew she was brilliant at what she did, and some of them even felt jealous of the fact that she was the only writer that Hiko actually bothered to learn the name of, but the amount of times she got creamed for whatever she did to get the information for her reports was horrifying, and as a result, they could only be thankful that they weren't in her shoes. They could only wonder at how writing lifestyle articles could possibly merit such harsh and loud reactions from their boss.

Kaoru sighed again as she turned the last corner that will lead her to her boss' office. '_Really, I don't even understand why he feels the need to do this every single time. We all know he'd end up paying for everything. After all, if it wasn't for my exposés, this newspaper wouldn't even be doing half as good as it is now.'_

While unbelievably arrogant, the journalist's thoughts were true. It's been two years since she first got the chance to publish an exposé on a corrupt politician's underground business and since then, the newspaper's sales got a three hundred percent increase because more and more people started watching out for another one of her unbelievably courageous columns. It seemed that every article posted under her alias had at least one or two incriminating evidences that would eventually lead to the prosecution and impeachment of whatever politician her article was written against. The officials' power and influence over many facets of society never fazed her. To Kamiya Kaoru, power had no right to be held by disgusting money-hungry mongrels. Of course, the masses had no clue of what was going on behind the closed doors of most of their government officials' offices—which is why the journalist took it upon herself to shed light on these issues so the people could elect someone better suited for the position; someone who'd actually deliver on their promises of creating a better Japan, both through transparency and integrity. The proud nation had no need of superficial structures and consistent economic growth—not when these only benefited those with power and wealth while the middle and lower classes had to suffer through unbearable taxes, hunger and poverty.

That's not to mention all the mysterious disappearances of influential, albeit poor and seemingly insignificant, activists. It seemed as though for every step towards the country's growth, a thousand lives had to suffer. It was this that Kaoru found despicable and disgusting.

Kaoru graduated with flying colors from Tokyo University with a degree in journalism. A fact that most critically acclaimed newspaper and publishing houses were highly aware of, which easily made Kaoru the most sought after journalist in Japan. Despite starting her career as a lifestyle writer—due to the insistence of her previous employer, seeing as Kaoru had connections in every elite social group in the country—the twenty-seven year old beauty eventually found a fulfilling career when she transferred to _Tokyo Shimbun_, a well-respected and honest broadsheet publishing company which, at the time, was only second to _Chunoichi Shimbun_ where she was originally employed.

Sadly, though, there were still some major complications that she had to go through to get the position she has now. One of which was the issue of her safety, especially since the pieces she wrote weren't exactly _safe._ This is why Seijuro Hiko, their editor-in-chief and _Tokyo Shimbun_'s highly esteemed owner, strongly insisted that she use an alias for her news exposés. He also made her agree to continuing to write lifestyle pieces so their broadsheet's readers won't get too suspicious, seeing as she published her first piece as an investigative journalist immediately after she moved to their company. Doing so would lessen the possibility of her being discovered as the one responsible for tarnishing the names of various government officials.

Kaoru scoffed internally at that, _'More like the asshole just doesn't have the patience to interview any other lifestyle journalists'_.

This wasn't really something to complain about since she felt it was relatively easy to write about various events that she would be forced to attend anyway due to her deceased parents' social standing. Kaoru felt that she had to continue to be in good graces with her parents' friends because this was one of the ways that she could make sure that people wouldn't forget her parents and the cause that they stood for. Charity wasn't really something that the high and mighty bothered with, which is why the Kamiya family felt that getting a chance to remind the elites that writing checks for foundations and other charitable organizations wouldn't really hurt them and could actually bring them really good karma. It sounded superficial, yes, but it got the job done. After all, talking about poverty, hunger, and other pressing societal issues would only upset their so-called friends, which would lead to getting nothing but a snore or a soft chuckle instead of a donation that could be used to fund a special cause. In the world that we are all currently living in, you have to know how to play your cards right to achieve whatever you want to achieve. This is a principle that was fully ingrained into Kaoru's heart and spirit, which made her an excellent journalist because this is exactly what she needs to get the necessary information for whatever she's writing.

"Kamiya! Now, goddamn it!", echoed the angry voice once again.

"I'm here, I'm here!", Kaoru said as she entered. "You really have to learn how to control your temper, Hiko. Didn't you learn anything from the anger management books I got you for your birthday?"

The raven-haired woman raised her eyes to meet the angry gaze of her red-faced supervisor. She could see the vein pulsing on his temple—a tell-tale sign of how angry he was, and ordinarily, any employee would cower at the sight of the large and burly man's mad disposition. Kaoru, however, was completely unfazed by it. She knew he had a tough façade, but she also knew that this was only a cover-up for his generous and caring nature. Not everyone saw it though, and Enishi swore up and down that she was just imagining it, but Kaoru still believed that it was there.

"What. The. Flying. Fuck. Were. You THINKING?!" bellowed the disheveled man before her as he stood up to his full height of 6'2". Seijuro Hiko normally appeared composed and calm, and his temper was something that wasn't often fully expressed. He usually opted to use low and menacing tones when talking to someone who has upset him… until he hired Kaoru.

"Were you even thinking at all?! Are you fully aware of the damage that you've brought on to the good name of this paper?!" he screamed again.

Kaoru gave Hiko a cheeky grin and stepped closer to him, knowing that her close proximity would get him to at least lower his voice. "I'm guessing you liked the piece I gave you, then?"

Her boss gave a longsuffering sigh and closed his eyes to try to calm himself down.

"You're fired."

Kaoru scoffed, "No, Hiko, I'm not."

Hiko glared up at her as he dragged his memo pad closer to him to read off of the notes he wrote down during the infuriatingly long—and loud—phone call that he received from the latest politician that his employee recently wrote about. "You trespassed onto his property,"

"It was unlocked! I don't think that counts as trespassing!" she reasoned.

"broke his window,"

"It was already broken when I got there, I swear! It's not my fault the ass didn't notice. He was probably off—"

"killed his CAT,"

"Hey! I take no blame for the cat running out onto the street and getting run over by a car! If anything he should be looking for the driver who—"

"and hacked his PERSONAL computer to access PRIVATE files that were never meant to be released in the first place!", Hiko finished with a growl.

"…well, how else was I supposed to get the info I needed?" Kaoru retorted. "It's not like anyone would really be willing to talk to me about his connections with the Kyoto Drug Ring. And you KNOW the people needed to know this!"

Hiko sighed and sat down, massaging the bridge of his nose as he did so. "You're still fired."

"Oh come on, Hiko. You know you love me." Kaoru chuckled as she sat down on one of the chairs in front of her supervisor's desk. "And you know that article was perfect. I even got to tell people about how one of the "foundations" he ran was actually a cover up for the damned drug transfers. That was really hard to track down!"

"Yeah, I can see that. It's so hard it's going to cost me 50,000 yen to appease Yazuo-san's damaged mental and emotional state." Hiko muttered.

"You know that's not gonna matter when Saitou gets his hands on him. He's going to be behind bars before you know it, and this'll be just a memory that we'll all laugh about one day, you'll see." Kaoru said with a bright smile.

Hiko looked back up at her angrily, "Until you find your next politician to terrorize".

Kaoru grinned at him again. "You know me too well, Hiko-_sama_", she said mockingly.

"Get out of my office, Kamiya. I have no time for your annoying antics. I'm dealing with YOUR mess, after all", said Hiko as he waved a dismissing arm at his employee.

Kaoru stood up to leave, but not before reaching for Hiko's arm to give her weary boss a comforting touch. "I can't say I'm completely sorry about this, but I do swear I'll try to be more careful next time", she offered sincerely.

Hiko looked up and studied the writer's face with a scowl. "Come off it, Kamiya. That hasn't worked on me before and it's not going to work this time. Get out."

Kaoru smiled, knowing that she was already forgiven without having to hear him actually say it. "Again, you know me too well", she said as she walked out of Hiko's office.

"Kamiya."

She turned back around at her editor-in-chief to find him looking at her with a menacing glint in his eyes. He had something horrible planned for her and he knew she wasn't going to like it one bit. "What now, you big oaf?"

Hiko frowned slightly, but it didn't sway his intent to annoy her as punishment for all the trouble she brought him today. He knew that she knew what was coming. After all, this was a ritual they developed back when her investigations started to get messy, and she was fully aware of that. Every time he ends up trying to fix the horrifying messes she somehow managed to create, he would assign her to write a shallow and air-headed lifestyle piece that required no sense of intelligence at all. He knew she hated those columns, which is why he took immense pleasure in seeing her reactions every time she'd be forced to write another one. "Talk to Tae. I have another assignment for you and you're not allowed to back out of it. If you don't do it, I won't let you publish any of your other crap for the next three months."

The younger journalist's mouth flew open in shock, her left hand rising to her left hip as she leaned to one side. "What the hell do you have planned for me?"

"You'll find out soon enough. Now get out and do your job. I'm not paying you two people's worth so you can ruin other people's houses and slack around."

Kaoru gave her boss one last glare before she turned around and walked out of the spacious office, grumbling about insensitive, annoying, demanding, horrible bosses the whole time.

Hiko sighed as he watched the twenty-seven year old walk out of his office, '_What am I going to do with you, Kamiya?'_

* * *

"I'm what?!" Kaoru yelled as Tae, their lifestyle editor and her supervisor, took her through the brief for her next assignment.

"I'm sorry, Kaoru-chan", said Tae sincerely, "he refused to let anyone else interview him for this and we really need to write a piece about him to get our female market interested again."

"What do I care about what those twits think?" Kaoru asked. "It's not like they're going to end up leading Japan one day."

"Now, now, Kaoru-chan. You know writing these could be fun. Who knows? Maybe you could even end up liking this guy more than you think!" teased Tae. The editor was immensely concerned for Kaoru's love life—or lack thereof. Kaoru was secretly touched by her concern, but at times like these, it did nothing but annoy her to no end. If Tae wasn't who she was, Kaoru would've probably ended up strangling the life out of her to ease her temper. But alas, this was indeed Tae and without her, Kaoru would never have had the chance to know what home-cooked meals taste like, seeing as how the older woman took it upon herself to bring Kaoru delicious bento-boxes every time she'd have the spare time to cook.

"There is no way that's happening, Tae. I'd rather shoot myself than even think about getting anywhere close to that scum", she admonished.

"What are you going on about now, Kao?"

Kaoru and Tae turned to find Enishi sauntering towards them, a pack of cigarettes and a lighter in one hand. His bright green eyes were full of mirth and his bleach blonde hair was shining merrily under the fluorescent lights of their office. It wasn't every day that you could encounter a person with features as strange as his, but oddly enough, Yukishiro Enishi pulled it off flawlessly. A lot of people found him attractive, and his sexy wit and gentle disposition helped immensely with his overall appeal.

Kaoru and Enishi have been close friends for two years now, the same amount of time that Kaoru has spent working for Hiko. Enishi was originally assigned to show Kaoru the ropes of the company's different processes and rules, and he eventually became Kaoru's unofficial partner—when it came to writing the hard news articles, anyway. Despite all the rumors going around about them being more than work partners behind closed doors, Kaoru and Enishi had nothing but platonic feelings for each other. It was probably better anyway seeing as how they both grated on each other's nerves from time to time, mostly because of Kaoru's workaholic and slave driving tendencies that made him end up spending more time in their office than he'd like.

Tae smiled brightly at Enishi's approach and gladly told him about what Kaoru was going to be writing next for their lifestyle section.

Enishi gave a low whistle and looked worriedly at Kaoru, watching as her anger slowly faded away to worry once she was fully able to digest what she would be doing that afternoon. "Sagara Sanosuke, Kao? You sure you're up for this?"

Tae looked confusedly at her two officemates, "Is there anything wrong? Will there be a problem, Kaoru-chan? Do you know Sagara-san personally?"

Kaoru shook her head and forced herself to smile brightly at Tae, though both Enishi and the lifestyle editor noticed that her smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "No, it's nothing, Tae. I'll be there. I should have the piece ready for you by Monday."

"Are you sure?", Tae asked, worried that there might be something deeper than Kaoru's general dislike for writing lifestyle articles—much less a piece about one of the most eligible bachelors in Japan. Sometimes, she really didn't understand why the little spitfire worked as a lifestyle journalist if she hated it so much. Kami knows how many times she's tried to convince Hiko to let the girl try something else, but he would have none of it. It even looked as if the man enjoyed terrorizing the young journalist, seeing as how he assigned her the most mindless topics.

"Yeah, no problem", Kaoru replied reassuringly.

Tae smiled back at her and bid both Kaoru and Enishi farewell as she walked back to her office, intent on finishing her work early so she can have time to cook for Kaoru that night. _'Maybe at least giving her food will make her feel better about whatever it is that's bothering her.'_, she thought.

Kaoru looked back at Enishi to ask what he wanted her for when she found the white-haired man raising the pack of cigarettes he was holding. "Thought you'd need this after you got chewed out by Seijuro", he said teasingly.

"My hero!" she chimed as she linked her arm through his, leading them out onto their office's spacious balcony to smoke a couple of well-deserved cigarettes.

* * *

"So how do you really feel about this?" Enishi asked.

The two friends were leaning against their balcony's railing, both looking down at the city of Tokyo with cigarettes in hand. Kaoru sighed and took a deep drag of her cigarette, "I don't know. I mean, I haven't seen the guy for two years now. Who knows what he thinks of me?"

Enishi looked at his friend, then, already understanding where her discomfort was coming from. "He's not gonna do anything horrible to you, Kao. He probably just misses you."

"Yeah, but what if he hates me? Like I said, it's been two years since I last talked to him. Normally, people who just drop out of their friends' lives won't really have anything to go back to. It's one thing to know that he hates me, it's a whole other thing to get affirmation of that."

Kaoru and Sagara Sanosuke had a relationship that most people would call colorful. They met in college, back when most of her nights were mostly composed of investigating and writing about the disgusting deeds of some of their professors and school officials. Their eventual friendship was far from expected, especially since it started with Sano making a drunken pass at her in a bar close to their university. Kaoru, of course, brushed him off and told him to leave her alone—in very explicit sentences that explained how men with IQs such as his didn't deserve women with standards like her. The drunk twenty two year old laughed and told her about how much she reminded him of a foxy friend of his and introduced himself. Kaoru, knowing that the worst part was over, told him her name and laughed at how amazed he was when he realized that it was "a puny little missy" like her that was responsible for outing the perversion of his Economics professor who recently got fired on the grounds of sexual harassment.

The next night, Sano bumped into Kaoru in the same bar and introduced him to his other friends. It was this that marked the start of her amazing friendship with, undoubtedly, the best people she knows. Truthfully, it was these people whom she treated as her family, just as they did her. Without them, she never would've gotten over the grief of losing her parents and thus being thrust into the world of adulthood orphaned and alone. Looking back, she didn't really understand why she decided to put them all behind her in favor of giving herself a fresh start, free from all the ghosts that haunted her whenever she thought of them and what drove her to move forward without them. It really was a dick move on her part, knowing how attached they all were to her.

Enishi turned to face her fully this time, "Are you saying you're going to chicken out of this? I told you to at least go talk to your friends when you told me about what happened to you last year", he scolded. "Anyway, if what you've told me about them is right, especially about Sagara, then you probably have nothing to worry about", he explained.

Kaoru said nothing as she took another long drag of her cigarette, watching the smoke float through the air as she thought. She knew Enishi had a point, and knowing Sano, he'd most likely just give her a warm hug and chew her out for not contacting him at all the past two years. However, it wasn't really Sano that was worrying her.

"He's not going to be there, Kaoru." Enishi said. "I think you've made it pretty clear that you never want anything to do with him again."

Kaoru looked up at her best friend, knowing that it wasn't Sano that he was talking about.

"It's been two years. He's probably moved on." He continued, "and if he hasn't, then just cross that bridge when you get there. We can pick the pieces up back together if it ends up in shit."

Kaoru chuckled at that, finally getting the shine back into her eyes after about an hour of moping and feeling sorry for herself. "Yeah, you're probably right."

She put out her cigarette on a nearby ash tray, looking down at herself as she did so. "How do you think Sano'll react when he sees me? Do I look alright?"

Enishi, annoyed at being asked such a feminine question, glared up at her and said "Kao, how many times do I have to tell you that I will never answer that question? I'm not a good judge of what you girls think look good and what don't."

Kaoru laughed again, remembering the time when Enishi had the misfortune of telling her that he didn't think her shoes matched her outfit during one of her particularly bad PMS episodes. From that day on, he'd refused to answer anything remotely related to what Kaoru chose to wear.

That's not to say that Kaoru didn't look good. On the contrary, she looked every bit like the fierce and menacing journalist that she was-not that people were aware that she was responsible for the exposés that were always so talked about. However, how she looked now was admittedly a far cry to how she was two years ago. After finally accepting the job that Hiko offered her, she felt like she was being given a fresh start, which she wanted to give herself one hundred percent.

With that thought in mind, she traded her long, beautiful raven locks for a short pixie cut to make it easier for her to move around. Her skirts and pastel-colored tops were traded in for outfits that would make it easier for her to accomplish her stealthy missions. Of course this didn't mean that she walked around looking like one of those journalists that didn't even care about what they wore so long as they met their deadlines. No, her mother would never have forgiven her for throwing all those years of etiquette classes and proper clothing away in favor of comfort. Although Kaoru favored wearing jeans and leather jackets now, she still made sure that everything she wore was nicely coordinated. This, partnered with the dozens of fashionable boots, sandals, flats, and high-heeled shoes that she owned and loved wearing—she once jokingly told Enishi that wearing heels actually made her feel empowered instead of stifled, a far cry from what the other feminists in the world have been saying for years and years—, gave her a persona that is completely different from how she appeared two years prior.

After spending another ten minutes joking around and smoking another cigarette with Enishi, Kaoru announced that she'd better leave soon lest she get stuck in the horrible Tokyo traffic that late afternoons brought. Enishi gave her a noncommittal wave and told her he'd see her tomorrow, but she should feel free to call if anything comes up.

"Yeah, I'll call you if Sano decides to kill me. Bury me under a sakura tree, will you?" Kaoru joked as she walked away from the handsome—although she'd never admit that to his face—man.

"Too much hassle, Kao. I'll tell Hiko to keep your body frozen in the pantry instead!" laughed Enishi.

Kaoru dropped by her office to change out of the sandals she had on and into the pair of navy blue pumps that she kept under her desk in case of emergency lifestyle interviews such as this. She gave herself one last once-over before deeming herself presentable enough for meeting the friend she's been avoiding for two years now. She grabbed her purse and car keys, and sighed to herself after getting in the elevator that was going to take her down to the basement.

'_Here we go.'_

* * *

Ten minutes later, Kaoru found herself parking her car in front of the venue Tae mentioned, and what she knew was Sano's favorite café. It was a quaint little shop, five blocks away from her office and from the detectives' headquarters that Sano worked in. She sighed one last time before grabbing her purse and proceeding to get out of her car. She walked towards the café, pressing the lock button on her keys—_you never know what people can do these days, really—_and stopped when she saw a familiar rooster-headed man sitting on one of the coffee tables on the sidewalk by the café.

Nervously, she walked to where her friend was seated and sat down in front of him, not quite finding the strength to look up and face the man yet.

Sano was wearing a white, long-sleeved polo with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, partnered with a classic pair of black slacks and black leather shoes. Though his outfit was relatively conventional, his physique still gave him the impression of a man that was not to be, under any circumstance, trifled with. His polo was stretched around his torso, letting the people around him see his hard and undeniably masculine features. His messy hair was pulled back by a red bandana—which she used to mock him about all the time back when they were still students in the university, while his cheery chocolate eyes kept glancing around him to look for his friend.

One glance at Sano and you wouldn't be able to help but be intimidated by his overpowering presence. That is, until you get to know him, and all your respect will fly out the window. Goofy and easy-going in nature, Sano had an amazing talent with making most of the people around him laugh. His mischief and not-quite-but-almost addiction to gambling made him all the more interesting and fun to be around, especially if you get to witness his pathetic losing streaks. Though he seemed superficial and uncaring, he is actually known to be fiercely protective of those closest to him. It didn't matter what they did or who they messed with, no matter the situation, you can count on Sano to have your back—which is why Kaoru was so afraid of him telling her that he no longer had the same regard for her as he did two years ago.

"Uh…sorry Miss. I'm kinda waiting for someone and I don't think she'd appreciate me sharing the table with a stranger." Sano said politely. "If you want, though, you can give me your number and maybe we can get to know each other a little bit later", he added suggestively.

Kaoru chuckled and looked up at his arrogance, her bright blue eyes worriedly locking with his chocolate orbs. "I don't think Megumi would appreciate that, eh, Sano?".

Sano's jaw dropped in surprise as he finally got the chance to see his friend's face. He spent quite a few seconds taking in and digesting every bit of Kaoru that changed in the last two years that he hasn't seen her personally.

"HOLY FUCK, JOU-CHAN!" he yelled once he finally got control of his surprise again and stood up to give her a gigantic and warm bear hug.

Kaoru laughed and stood to hug him back, immensely grateful that her friend still appeared to be the same brother-figure that he was, prior to her dropping out of the face of the earth. "Settle down, Sano. You're causing a scene", she chuckled.

After a minute of just standing there in each other's friendly embrace, Sano finally let her go and sat back down.

"Damn, I heard from Tomoe that you changed a lot, but fuck, jou-chan!" he said loudly.

"Keep your voice down, you oaf. People are looking!" she admonished half-heartedly, still elated at the fact that Sano's affection for her seemed to remain the same as well. "And I figured you guys would keep tabs on me through her. After I found out that Enishi was her brother, I didn't even bother trying to cover my ass. You guys would've found out eventually."

"Yeah, what the hell's that about? You replaced all of us with that white-haired pansy ass?"

"Don't talk about him like that, you brute, he's my best friend."

Her friend sighed, "Well at least that confirms that you're not seeing him."

Kaoru was immensely grateful to the universe when a waitress appeared to drop off drinks for the both of them, seeing as Sano already ordered for her before she got there. The implications of what he just said were too thick and she didn't have the courage to face that just yet.

"I got you your favorite," Sano said proudly. Then, his gaze turned into a shy one as he realized that what he ordered might not be her favorite anymore. "I can get something else in case you don't like that anymore, though", he said after a moment.

Kaoru warmed at his concern and eased his worries, "Don't worry, Sagara. I may have changed, but not by much."

"Are you kidding me?! You've changed so much I barely even recognized you when you got here!" he exclaimed. "If it weren't for those eyes of yours, I would've brought you in for questioning when you mentioned Megumi."

"Still keeping it under wraps for your fan club?" Kaoru teased.

Sano blushed and looked down for a bit, "Ah come on, jou-chan. Ya know it's nothin' like that."

Kaoru scoffed.

Sano chuckled, "yeah, maybe a little."

They spent a few minutes just looking at each other, each trying to digest how much has really changed since they last saw each other. Kaoru, uncomfortable with the sudden silence, rummaged in her bag for her pack of Marlboro Lights and lighter. She lit her cigarette and took a long drag out of it before looking back at Sano.

The detective cleared his throat and said, "So, uh, ya never quit smoking huh?"

Kaoru looked at him, "Yeah. Hard to break a habit, you know?"

Sano cleared his throat again, suddenly nervous about where the direction their conversation was taking. '_She did start smoking when it all started happening'_, he thought.

This time, it was Kaoru who broke the awkward silence, "So, how's everyone?" she asked with a smile.

Sano lit up and readied himself to tell her about what's been going on with each of their friends for the last couple of years, "Well, I guess you should know that Megumi and I are living together now."

Kaoru choked on her cigarette smoke and said, "How the hell did that happen?!"

"Long story, jou-chan," he explained, "but to cut it short, she lost a bet. Ya remember how I always lose when I gamble, but when it comes to the important ones I always end up winning? Well, that's basically what happened with me and the fox."

"She lost… a bet? And you ended up living together?" Kaoru asked disbelievingly.

"Yeah but that doesn't mean we ain't sleepin' together!" Sano proudly stated. "Seriously I think that fox has an addiction with—"

"Sano!" Kaoru scolded, blushing hard at what her friend was about to say. "There are some things I really don't need to know about. God." She took another drag out of her cigarette, "So what was the gamble? What'd you bet about?"

"On when Aoshi and Misao were finally gonna get together."

Kaoru's eyes widened even more, if that was even possible seeing as her eyelids were wide open already. "They're together?!"

"Yeah, well…" Sano started, "ya know, jou-chan, maybe it'd be better if you find out for yourself. You can ask them tonight. It's Thursday after all."

She sighed at what he said. Somehow she knew that this was how it was going to play out, and she wouldn't go as far as to lie to herself by not admitting that she was hoping for a chance to rekindle their lost friendship. Still, though, that didn't make the thought of actually meeting them again any less daunting. Kaoru remembered how their group had a habit of meeting every first Thursday of the month in their favorite bar to just drink and be merry. Of course, she didn't know they still kept the tradition when she left and she didn't even bother trying to check, but that just proved that she really was the only one who felt like a drastic change was necessary in order to move on from what happened.

Kaoru turned somber eyes at her friend, "I don't think that's a very good idea right now, Sano."

"The fuck? Why not?!"

"I just…" she said, inhaling another puff of smoke, "I don't think they'll be ready yet."

"To hell with that!" he exclaimed. Kaoru gave him another reproachful look and Sano took that as his cue to bring his voice down to a normal level, "You're the only one who's not ready, Kaoru. We've been ready for two years."

The journalist looked down as she put off her cigarette on their table's ash tray. "I don't know, Sano. I just—"

"Come on, jou-chan. You only broke up with him… not all of us." Sano reasoned.

Kaoru didn't reply, opting instead to think about the possible repercussions of what would happen if she did agree to go with Sano.

Sano sighed, "Tell you what," he said as Kaoru looked up at him, "either you come with me tonight or I don't answer any of your interview questions."

The blue-eyed woman looked up at him, surprised and indignant. "Hey! Don't go involving my work with our personal lives!"

Sano looked back at her, strength and determination in his eyes, "Kaoru, you knew this was going to be personal the moment they told you I asked for you."

Kaoru glared at him, but realized that this was a battle she was most likely going to lose. With a sigh and a mental note to ensure that Sano was going to be reborn as a toilet brush in his next life, she acquiesced. "Fine. Whatever. Just give me the damn interview. I'll show up to say hi and high tail it out of there as soon as I could."

Sano smiled and agreed. Honestly, he was glad that he got into this absurd bachelor list, if only for the fact that he knew he'd get a chance to get back in touch with his jou-chan.

The tension eased as the pair went through their interview, with Kaoru having to scold Sano for giving crude answers from time to time. Just because this interview and feature was going to be exclusive to their newspaper doesn't mean that they have the freedom to publish such crass language.

About an hour passed before Kaoru deemed that she got enough information to write a pretty interesting article for their lifestyle feature. She was busy fixing her things and steeling herself for the inevitable and long overdue meeting when Sano suddenly broke the silence.

"He still misses you, ya know", he said somberly. "Doesn't tell anyone about it, but we can tell."

Kaoru stopped. For a brief moment, she swore everything around her stopped making a sound. All she could hear was her heart pounding in her ears. She steeled herself and replied scathingly, "I don't give a fuck, Sano."

The detective sighed, "Yeah, I figured you'd say something like that."

She didn't reply, opting to light another cigarette up. She smoked a lot these days, and she figured she'd start smoking even more given what was happening.

"At least be civil when you see him, jou-chan. It's been two years. Ease up a bit on the guy."

She still didn't speak. When her cigarette was reduced to nothing but ashes and her anger was back under control, she decided to just take the high road and make this easier on everyone. _After all, if I'm not going to be seeing any of them after tonight, what's the point of digging up old issues?_

"Fine. But no funny business, Sano. I mean it", she warned.

Sano practically glowed after she said that. "That's great! See, this is why I never gave up on you, Jou-chan!" he reached out to lock her head in his arms and rub her head affectionately, "It's 'cause of that big, ginormous heart a' yours!"

Kaoru couldn't help but giggle at his antics, finally easing her tensed muscles into submission. _God, I really did miss this guy. _

A few more minutes later, Sano paid the bill—insisting loudly that this was his treat and that he didn't want his jou-chan thinking that he hasn't landed up anywhere good during the time they weren't able to talk—and they got up to leave. As Kaoru was walking back to her car, she was surprised to find Sano following close behind her, looking sheepish. She raised her eyebrow in question and laughed internally when she realized what he wanted, but she wanted him to say it anyway. It's been two years since she last heard him grovel for something and she'd be a liar if she said she didn't miss that about him too.

"So, uh… mind if you give me a ride? I asked one of my officemates for a ride here earlier. Tryin' to save up on gas, 'ya know?"

Kaoru shook her head, completely amused. "Get in the car, cheapskate."

* * *

End of Chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **Yeah, so I got unbelievably inspired. I've been writing for about 14 hours now, and I couldn't be happier. I hope you guys can enjoy this as much as how I enjoyed writing it.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, nor any of its characters. All information in this story (especially those relating to the Japanese government and their public officials) are all fictional.

* * *

**It Is What It Is**

**Chapter Two**

_It was a very shitty day._

_The red-haired detective sighed as he had to stop at yet another red light on his way home from a particularly long day at the headquarters. He spent the whole afternoon holed up in their conference room with Sano, Saitou and a few other higher-ups, trying to figure out how yet another group of mysterious criminals somehow managed to smuggle two million yen's worth of drugs into the country—right under their noses at that. They've been following lead after lead for weeks now, but they were still nowhere close to figuring out just what higher being was out there to support a crime this huge without having any one of the wrongdoers caught or even close to identified._

'Divine intervention. That's the only explanation for this fucking mess',_ thought Kenshin._

_The stoplight finally flashed green, giving him and the other motorists the signal to go to wherever it was that everyone was going to after a long grueling day at work. Kenshin accelerated, only to get held up at yet another red light right after he turned the next corner._

'Goddamn it. Just let me go home', _he thought morosely._

_As one of the country's top detectives, he knows that he has a lot going for him. This was fully supported by the fact that despite working for just five years, he had already outranked the others who've been in this industry for far longer than he has, yet had been assigned nothing but meager cases like tracking down rapists or low-class burglars; the basics. At only twenty seven, he's already managed to track down and catch several corrupt politicians who were all too busy swindling money from the absurdly high taxes that the government charged their citizens. It was pathetic, really. The lengths that people did just to purchase a new car or mansion that they could brag about to further establish their standing in society. It disgusted him to no end, and he was sick and tired of it all. _

_His disgust doesn't mean, however, that he was willing to let this all go just like that. He once thought about how easy it would be to just lay back and enjoy the inheritance his deceased parents left for him when they passed away, but he just couldn't bring himself to actually do so. In his point of view, that would put him in the same place that those mongrels were in. He couldn't stand the thought of not doing anything but watch as people around him suffered through poverty, hunger, and a lot of other horrible situations that human beings should never be subjected to. Not when he was fully aware that he could do something about it—that he could make a difference._

_And what a difference he could make. Five years on the force, and he was already one of the most trusted detectives and special agents out there. Along with his partner, Sano, his alias could easily arouse fear out of the dark hearts of those he worked hard to fight against. Still, though, that wasn't enough for him. Somehow, he knew he was capable of doing more. It was this, his unbelievable spirit for justice, that Katsura—one of the most powerful and influential officials in Japan—invited him to be a part of an underground organization that was hell-bent on bringing down those who were too high to be touched by the law. The same people who were hiding behind false promises and superficial good deeds to cover their filthy trails and desires for more wealth and power. _

_He and most of his most trusted friends joined the Ishin Shishi three years into their respected careers. It is here that Kenshin felt he was most useful. He, along with Sano, was responsible for bringing down the most despicable of men—permanently. He had absolutely no heart for killing, but he knew that sometimes, death was the only sentence for those who have killed and tortured innocents and civilians. All for a better Japan, he reasoned with himself after his first kill two years ago. Since then, he's killed more criminals than he can count—although the public didn't know a thing about it. _

_He was not a heartless, cold-blooded killer, as opposed to what some members of his organization believed him to be. No, his humanity remained intact despite what he's been doing for years now. He had his beloved fiancée to thank for that. Her love and support held him together as his deeds threatened to break and tear his sanity apart with grief and unbelievable guilt for the lives he has taken._

_Kenshin sighed again as he thought about his soon-to-be wife. They've been going through a rough patch lately, mostly because of her desire to do something for the people, for her country, as well. The redhead, however, was adamant that she not sully herself with the blood of others. He didn't want her anywhere near his world because just being his fiancée was already putting her in enough danger as it is. Fully integrating her into their underground doings would only bring more attention to her, and he cannot even bear to think of what might happen should she be assigned to a mission that could end badly._

_He knew he wasn't being fair. He was being outright obtuse; as his beloved screamed into his face so many times he'd lost count. But this was not something that he was willing to risk. What's one argument compared to the possibility of losing her forever? Yes, it was for a better Japan. Yes, she was very talented and he knew—hell, they all knew that she could really make a difference for them, but he just couldn't let her do this. He couldn't. He would die before he'd let her get her way. He loved her too much to put her at risk._

_They've been together for five years now. He could still remember the day they finally admitted their hidden feelings for each other right after their graduation from Tokyo University. He with a degree in criminology, and her with flying colors for her outstanding performance under the journalism program. Admittedly, their relationship had a very unorthodox beginning—what with how they spent a whole night locked in each other's arms after they got too drunk to even think about stopping their hot impulsivity. It was a blessing to find out the next morning that they both didn't regret what happened and that they were both hoping to take their friendship to the next level—a decision that their friends fully supported. They got the most support from Sano, who even went as far as to scream "It's about fucking time!" after they confessed their current relationship status._

_It was perfectly reasonable for him to propose four years into their relationship. It was the next logical step, and honestly he couldn't be more thrilled about it. Not that he'd admit that to anyone, seeing as how he would be viewed as a pussy-whipped boyfriend. His proposal was not so perfect. It seemed that everything he planned to say for his grand proposal went to shit the moment he opened his mouth in front of her. He did everything right prior to his speech. The dinner was perfect, the starry night sky was immaculate, and not once did he spill anything to ruin the ambiance of the evening. Then he knelt down, opened his mouth, and stammered… and stammered… and stammered. He forgot everything he planned to say because of all the damned butterflies fluttering around in his godforsaken stomach. _

_It didn't matter to her, though, she confessed later in the night after they made love with tears in their eyes from the joy that they were both feeling. He was perfect. Everything was perfect. But to him, nothing was more perfect than her saying yes and putting the ring on her own finger—his hands were too clammy and sweaty for him to even get the ring out of the box for heaven's sake!_

_The stoplight changed again, finally letting him drive to his home in peace. Just two more blocks. Two more blocks and he could spend the rest of the day in his beloved's arms, washing the memories of the crimes he had to deal with into nothing but unimportant mutterings in his head. Because, truly, nothing was more important than her smiles and her gentle caresses. He once told her that one word from her and he'd willingly drop everything for her; his career, his past, everything—just so he could get her to stay by his side._

_Lately, though… lately he hasn't been getting much of her gentle caresses. He was finding it harder and harder to find reasons for her to smile, and he knew that he was somehow at fault for that. For five months now, they've been doing nothing but argue about his stand on letting her help them make a difference._

_The night before was particularly harsh. She screamed, he screamed, and somewhere along the way she told him that she wasn't even sure if she was happy anymore. That broke his heart. That one single sentence epitomized all of his nightmares and he couldn't believe that what he was doing, his protection and devotion and love for her, was no longer enough. He was too angry to think about what he said next and he ended up leaving in the middle of the night to stay at Sano's to cool off._

_Today, though, he was determined to make a difference. He was going to do everything he could to make her happy again. No matter what, he was going to show her how much he loved her and how much she meant to him. However, the thought of her bringing up the topic they've been fighting about for so long now troubled him. If she asked him again, he knew the answer he was going to give; and no, that was not the answer that was going to make her happy._

_Why couldn't she see that it was all for her? Why couldn't his love for her be enough?_

* * *

_He sighed as he pulled up on his driveway, briefly wondering about why Kaoru's car was still parked outside instead of resting inside their garage as it always was. She always got home before he did, preferring to take most of her work back home to work there instead of having to bear with her unbelievably annoying and shallow co-workers who had nothing better to do than to force their way up on the social ladder._

_Kenshin picked up the bouquet of white roses, her favorite, from his passenger seat. He was going to apologize, and damn it all if he screwed this up. He really wanted to just lie down in their bedroom with her cuddled up beside him. They'd open that wonderful bottle of wine that Megumi got them for his birthday, and she'd put on a movie in their bedroom—Silence of the Lambs, probably, since that was her favorite. It didn't really matter to him, as long as he got to hold her. As long as they had each other to keep them warm during this cold, winter night._

_He opened their front door and frowned. Something was wrong, something was horribly wrong. Their home seemed darker, colder today. It was quiet, he couldn't hear Kaoru's work playlist blaring out from her study. _

"_Kaoru?" he called from their foyer, removing his shoes in the process. "Sweetheart, I'm home!"_

_He frowned. Usually, no matter what mood she was in, she'd come out from whatever room she's in to greet him and give him a kiss and a warm embrace. He was so looking forward to that the whole day. He sighed yet again, was what he said the night before that unforgiveable? Surely she knew that he was just angry. That he didn't mean anything._

_He turned the corner and entered their living room, his eyes growing wide in surprise the moment he laid his eyes on what was before him. _

_There she sat, quiet and deep in thought. There were bags all around her, packed to the brim with clothes and other belongings. It was now that he realized that there were boxes placed on the backseat in her car outside. No, this wasn't happening. He chuckled internally, of course it wasn't. Maybe she just wants to get away from the city for a while. He could probably force Saitou to give him a short leave from work, seeing as he's been working to the bone the previous months. He was a detective, but he was still a human being. He still gets tired. He forced himself to be excited for this chance to reconnect with her. He stamped down the shadows and nightmares and the 'what ifs' that were trying to make their way up into his brain. _

"_What's going on?" he asked fearfully, knowing perfectly well what was happening but still forcing himself to deny it. He wasn't going to accept it, not like that. Not ever. "Are we going on a trip?"_

_Kaoru looked up at him, her beautiful blue eyes boring into his with apprehension and sadness. "Kenshin…"_

"_If I call Saitou now, I'm sure he'd let me get off work for a couple days", he mumbled. "Where are we going?"_

"_I'm going to my parents' house. In Kyoto", she replied, willing for him to accept what she was saying. "I'm… not sure when I'll be back."_

"_What do you mean? Are you planning to stay there for long?" he stepped closer to her, breathing in the scent of jasmine that he so closely associated to her. _

_Kaoru looked away and didn't answer. She was too busy steeling her resolve to think of an appropriate response to his question. _

"_I…" started Kenshin, "I brought you flowers". He held out his right hand, the bouquet held up above them. "I know—I know what I said last night hurt you, but Kaoru, love, I didn't mean it. Any of it, I swear."_

_He looked at her, watched her try to stop her hands from shaking. '_No', _he thought, _'No'.

_Kaoru sighed, then. _'This is going to be difficult', _she thought. She looked up at him and grasped the flowers he was holding out to her. She placed them beside her with a soft "thank you", as she painfully forced herself to stand by her decision. _'This is for the better. This is for us. This is for us' _was her mantra. _

"_Kenshin," she looked up at him then, willing him to understand. "I think… I think we both know what's going on here."_

"_No."_

_The twenty-five year old woman was startled at his tone. "Kenshin—"_

"_No." he looked at her then, begging—pleading with her. Baring his whole heart out in an effort to let her know, to make her understand how much this was hurting him. "No, Kaoru."_

_It hurt to look at him, then. She knew how painful this was for him, but then, she was hurting too. Every argument they had just built up and up and up until she felt like if she didn't do something, she'd end up hating him past the point of no return. She couldn't do that, not to him. Not after everything they've gone through together._

"_I've already packed most of my stuff. I left some of them behind, but I don't think I can come back for them so you can just…" she stopped, trying to push air back into her lungs, trying to just keep fucking breathing, "you can decide what to do with them later on."_

"_When are you coming back?"_

"_Kenshin…"_

_He wouldn't look at her, couldn't. He was staring at a photo of them that they hung together on the wall by their fireplace. They laughed at how cheesy it was, but they both loved it at the time. They loved how happy they were together, smiling and laughing out on the beach as they celebrated their first anniversary. He used to smile every time he saw that picture. Now though, he hated it. It wasn't reminding him of anything happy, it was mocking him. Laughing at his misery, even._

"_When. Are. You. Coming. Back?"_

"_I'm not."_

_That was it. His entire world shattered, broken, but hoping and praying that this was all some sick joke. That she'd laugh and tell him she was kidding and that, if he wanted to, they can go out to dinner together. _

"_What?", he growled. Too hurt to notice the aggressive tone he'd taken with her._

_Kaoru met his eyes, then, and he could see how much this was hurting her too. Why was she doing this? Why was she hurting herself? Both of them?_

"_I'm not coming back, Kenshin. You know that. I know you do."_

"_Why?" he dared to ask. He wanted to understand. He wanted to hear her reasons so he could at least TRY to get her to stay._

"_We both know why. Please don't make this any more difficult than it has to be."_

"_Goddamn it, Kaoru!" he screamed, pain and anguish consuming him from inside and out. "Difficult? Why does it even have to be difficult? Why do you have to do this?!"_

_He saw her flinch at his raised voice. "I don't understand, Kaoru", he said as he knelt down in front of her. Taking and holding her hand in his. "Tell me why."_

_She looked at him, then. Blue eyes blazing with the anger and hurt and unadulterated sadness that she felt. "I can't do this anymore. What you said last night—"_

"_Fuck what I said last night, I didn't mean any of that. Please, love. I never meant anything."_

"_I can't—I'm not happy anymore, Kenshin", she whispered._

_He let go of her hand as though it stung him. He stood up, angrily running his hand through his hair, "But you're not even trying! You're not even fucking trying anymore, Kaoru!"_

_She kept quiet. She knew he was going to react this way, Kami knows how many times she'd played this out again and again in her head. Yet hearing it, actually living through it, was still unbearable for her._

"_I'll quit", he said with fierce determination. Anything to get her to stay. "I'll leave Shishi. They have enough hands. They can handle it." He said, turning back to face her. "We can move. Let's start again, let's start fresh. Let's just… forget this."_

"_Don't be stupid. You know that won't do anyone any good."_

"_Then tell me what to do, Kaoru!" he screamed again, pacing back and forth across from where she was seated. "Tell me what to do and I'll do it! Tell me what to do to make you happy. I'll do it, I swear!"_

"_There's nothing you can do. I have to—"_

"_BULLSHIT!"_

_Kaoru, startled, looked at him. There were tears threatening to fall from his eyes, the same as hers. But no, she wouldn't cry. Not now._

"_That's bullshit, Kaoru, and you know that!"_

_Silence._

"_Is this still about Shishi? Is this about you not being able to be part of it?", he said._

"_You know it's not that. It was never about that."_

"_Then what is this about?" he pleaded with her, kneeling down in front of her to take her hands in his again. "Please, love, tell me what's wrong and I'll fix it. Please. Just don't do this."_

_Her tears were falling freely now, she lost control the moment he knelt down. How could she hurt him like this? Was this what she was reduced to now? A stubborn, selfish, petulant child who screamed and yelled and hurt everyone around her all because she didn't get what she wanted? _

"_It's not about you, Kenshin. This is all about me now. I want—I need to fix myself. And I can't do that here. Not with you."_

"_Why?" he asked brokenly. "Why? I can help you. I know… I know I can be difficult sometimes, but please. I can change. I'll be more supportive. I'll be whoever the fuck you want me to be, just please. Please don't do this."_

"_Please Kaoru." He begged as he sat down beside her to take her face into his hands. The beautiful face that held his every dream, his every desire. He wanted her to understand just how much he needed her, and to—hopefully—make her see that she needs him as well._

"_I can't." she sobbed, her tears falling twice as hard as it was two minutes ago._

_He kissed her. He knew no matter what he said, he wouldn't be able to get through to her. Not when she was so set on this. He kissed her and he felt her kiss him back and for a while, for a brief moment, he felt like things would be okay. He thought he heard her tell him to stop when he kissed her tears away, when he started letting himself follow the familiar trail from her jaws to her shoulders, but he didn't pay attention to it, opting to wrap her up in his embrace and having no intention of letting go._

"_Stop."_

_He couldn't. He wouldn't. Not until she understood. He kissed her lips once again, but this time—this time she wasn't kissing him back._

_Kaoru pushed him away with so much force that he was surprised and he went sprawling back on the couch. "Stop! You can't—you can't just expect everything to be better by having sex with me, Kenshin! You can't! You can't just kiss me and expect everything to just fade away! It doesn't work that way!"_

_He stared up at her as he sat back down, her eyes blazing in fury and her shoulders set with anger. His beautiful, vengeful siren. He could see her fists clenched so tight that he knew there were going to be marks on her palms from the pressure. "I know, I know. I'm sorry."_

"_Then why did you do it?!"_

"_I just—I don't know. I…"_

_They stared at each other then. Their eyes telling them everything and nothing at the same time._

"_So this is it, then?" he asked. "You're leaving me? Just like that? Five years, Kaoru. Five years we've been together and you're going to throw it all away because of some stupid argument? Just because you couldn't have your way?"_

"_Fuck you", she said vehemently. "If that's all you think of me then I'm definitely making the right decision."_

"_How the hell is this right?! In what fucking universe is what you're doing defined as right?!"_

"_I have to do this. I need to do this."_

"_You keep saying that but I still don't fucking understand WHY!"_

_Kaoru took a deep breath, steeling herself to recite the speech she'd practiced again and again in her head for the past two hours. "I don't know who I am anymore. I don't have a purpose and I can't keep sitting around here, writing superficial shit and just waiting on you to come home. There's something I can do out there. I know it. It may not have worked out with Ishin Shishi but I know I can still help. I have to find that purpose and I NEED to do something, because I know I couldn't possibly be happy until then."_

"_How long is that going to take, then?" he asked scathingly. "How long is it going to take for you to do that? You can't expect me to just sit around and put my life on hold for you."_

"_I know", she whispered. She reached for one of his hands and placed a familiar velvet box onto his palm. He knew what was in it, he saw how bare her left ring finger was, but he refused to acknowledge it. _

_He chuckled darkly at her, "You're just full of fucking surprises, aren't you?"_

"_I'm sorry."_

"_No." he said harshly. "No. You don't get to say that. You don't get to be absolved of anything because of two little words."_

"_Look, Kenshin, I know this hurts—"_

"_Then WHY THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IT?! If it hurts so fucking much, why do it at all?!" he screamed yet again. He breathed deeply before continuing, "We can fix this, Kaoru. You don't have to leave. Let's—let's talk about it. Please." He held out his hand for hers again, but she stepped away from him. Knowing that touching him won't do them any good at this point. Not when his tears were flowing as freely as hers were._

"_We've tried that. For months we've been trying that and it hasn't been working. I don't want us to end up hating each other because every argument gets worse and worse. I don't want us to lose all respect for each other in the end. This—this hurts now, but it'll get better. I know it will."_

"_Kaoru—", he sobbed brokenly. He walked towards her, and he held her tight and this time she did not move away. She did not have the strength to push him away from her. "It won't. It won't, Kaoru, because you're everything to me. I can't imagine my life without you. I can't lose you, please. Please."_

_She cried into his chest, trying to quench the searing pain blooming inside her heart. "I—"_

_Kenshin fell to his knees then, holding onto her as he cried, his voice muffled by her shirt. "Please, Kaoru. I'm begging you, please. Don't leave."_

_She couldn't help the broken sobs breaking out from her mouth then. She couldn't breathe, and she knew if she stayed for longer than a minute, she wouldn't be able to leave. She knelt along with him, hugging him fiercely as she whispered her countless apologies into his neck and hair. _

_They stayed like that for a few minutes, just holding each other and crying and trying to get each other to see and to understand what this was doing to them._

_She let him go first, and at that moment he knew that he had lost._

_He moved away from her, hurt beyond all measure, but forcing himself to at least appear like he had some semblance of control over himself. The phone rang, and for a moment they both just stared at it. _

"_You should get that", Kaoru said. "It could be Katsura. It could be important."_

"_I don't care."_

"_Kenshin—"_

"_Don't give me a lecture on a better Japan, Kaoru. Right now I don't give a fuck about Japan."_

_The phone stopped ringing, only to resume doing so after a moment. _

_The broken lovers stared at each other, both knowing that when duty calls, they will never have another choice but to answer. Their honor and their duty came first. Isn't that what got them here in the first place? Their love for their country, their desire to make a difference?_

"_Fuck it", Kenshin said as he got up to answer the phone. Kaoru got up then, she grabbed her purse and thought hard about lighting a cigarette. Kami knows she needed one right now. She could hear Kenshin speaking with someone in the background, and she decided against smoking. He always did hate it when she smoked, but when she started doing so five months ago, she didn't care. It reminded her that he didn't control every aspect of her, that there are still some things she can decide for herself without seeking his approval first. It hurt him, she knew, but she also knew that he was aware of how little his pain was compared to the battle that was raging within her. _

"_Alright. I understand. I'll be there", she heard him say. And with those words, her fate was sealed, her decision fully made. She smiled then, sincerely this time because here was the man that she loved. Here was the man that she fell in love with, this beautiful man who was willing to sacrifice himself and his happiness for the benefit of those around him. Her selfless, beautiful angel._

"_I have to go", he said, walking back towards her._

"_I know," she said. _

"_Please, Kaoru. Please be here when I get back. Please wait for me", he begged. She didn't answer him but he still held onto the blind hope that she would. _

_He kissed her sadly, lovingly, __and turned to leave. With one last longing glance before he left, he prayed to every god and deity out there to please, please, let her stay. Make her stay._

* * *

_When he came back four hours later, he found nothing but the velvet box on top of their coffee table with a note beside it, written on one of the post-its she loved writing on. _

I'm sorry.

_She left._

* * *

**Author's Note: **I hope this was able to clear up some of the questions from the previous chapter. Obviously, the "he" that both Enishi and Sano mentioned was Kenshin.

Cheers!


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **This... is going to be a long chapter. Please bear with me.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, nor any of its characters. All information in this story (especially those relating to the Japanese government and their public officials) are all fictional.

* * *

**It Is What It Is**

**Chapter 3**

Kaoru was nervous as hell. She hasn't seen these people in a long time, and she knows that her presence in their _Thursday habit_ was far from expected. In fact, she wouldn't even be surprised if they chased her out of the bar with knives and extremely dangerous flying fragile objects. It's not like they haven't done it before. She could still recall how Misao once chased off a guy who brazenly—and stupidly—groped Kaoru's ass while they were dancing at a club several years ago. She was quite sure that the club's walls still bore the marks of their rather violent encounter; not to mention the trauma that the club's bouncer was sure to have developed because of his pride being torn into shreds when the petite woman harshly and loudly explained to him just how he was supposed to "stop making eyes with the ugly guy in the blue suit and just pay fucking attention to what was actually going on around him".

When Sano all but dragged her into their circle of friends eight years ago, she never expected to actually become fully integrated into their lives so soon after they met. Kaoru used to think that the group just felt sorry for her since she didn't really have many friends. Her days and nights were mostly dedicated to her odd hobby, which involved constantly searching for information that would lead to the demise of yet another discreetly evil school official. The thought was immediately erased, though, after an alcohol filled night with Sano where he drunkenly told her that they were all very pleased to have such a "cute, charming little jou-chan" to brighten up their otherwise dull days and that she shouldn't worry her pretty little head over such _idiotic mumblings _that he was sure little demon spawns whispered to her in the middle of the night. This was followed by a long explanation on the importance of sleep and having an actual life outside of her mission to destroy their annoying professors.

Since then, they have all been inseparable. Kaoru spent every night with at least one or two of her newfound friends, doing everything from studying to drinking themselves silly. Sano was even generous enough to secretly give every member of the group copies of the keys to her two-bedroom apartment so they could all drop by every now and then to make sure that Kaoru hasn't been killed by those whose reputations she has permanently damaged through the various columns she wrote for their school paper.

After they graduated, she thought that they wouldn't really have much time to hang out anymore since everyone was going to be busy starting off their careers. This, of course, didn't happen since Misao and Megumi spent most of their nights calling or visiting her to whine and complain about how absolutely horrible their employers and co-workers were. Sano and Aoshi stayed close as well; even going so far as to dubbing her living room as their official poker venue, which they made use of every Friday night. To thank her, they made sure to always keep her refrigerator stocked with a generous supply of beer and pizza—though she was quite sure that it was more for their benefit than hers.

Kenshin was an entirely different story. After that fateful post-graduation night, they spent almost every night and weekend together—barring any intrusions from their lovely friends. This was perfectly reasonable since they were already in a relationship, but she didn't expect it to grow stronger and stronger every day despite their hectic schedules. After work, it was either he would drive straight to her apartment, or she would go to his—depending on who got off work first. It wasn't really a surprise to anyone when they moved in together a year into their relationship, especially since they were both orphaned and already basically lived with each other. Sano was a bit disappointed since he shared an apartment with Kenshin before Kaoru agreed to move in with him, but he was immediately appeased when Kaoru told him that he could continue the lease she originally had for her apartment—thus saving him the grueling task of trying to find the perfect place to "enjoy the thrills of his bachelorhood". They were forced to help him personalize his new home more than the others did because in Sano's eyes, he wouldn't have had to do all that "if the two lovebirds could just keep their hands to themselves for at least one night a week".

"You did what?!" Sano yelled, his boisterous laugh drowning out the music in Kaoru's car, and effectively halting her nostalgic thoughts from bringing her down.

He was fully aware of how nervous Kaoru was, which is why he exerted much effort in asking her question after question about the different articles she wrote as Kasshin Karasu—her alias, which was apparently very obvious to them since they knew her investigative journalism style quite well, and "_goddamn it, jou-chan, at least change the first letters of your fake name!_" since the initials of her chosen alias were far from different from her real name's.

Kaoru knew her friend was trying very hard to ease her tension for the upcoming meeting, and she appreciated him all the more for it. Sano always did have a weird sixth sense for whatever she was feeling, and he always knew what to do to bring back her spunk when she was starting to get heavy boots. She gladly took the opportunity to try to get her mind off of what she felt was her impending doom.

"Yeah, I did. That wasn't my fault, though. How the hell was I supposed to know that that bastard was actually screwing one of the prostitutes he hired?" Kaoru explained, a wild blush staining her cheeks and ears. "Had I known, I wouldn't have bothered kicking the door open."

Sano laughed even more at that. "As if the shadows you saw weren't enough of a giveaway?! They were practically on top of each other, jou-chan!" he guffawed. "Seriously, either you're stupid or you just really like getting yourself into these situations."

Kaoru gave him an annoyed glance before turning her eyes back to the road. "As if you're any better? I heard about you being shot in the ass two months ago, so you don't get to call me stupid!", she huffed, grinning at how Sano's face paled at the knowledge that the unfortunate incident wasn't all that confidential after all.

He pointed an accusing finger at her, "Saitou said that wasn't going to leave the agency! How the hell did you find out about that?!"

"I have ears everywhere, Sanosuke. Remember that."

"Yeah, I guess you do", sighed the detective. Suddenly, he grinned at the implication of what his friend just admitted. "So, I guess we weren't the only ones who were keeping tabs, huh?"

The journalist blushed yet again, humiliated and internally berating herself for not being more careful with what she said to the annoying man sitting on her passenger seat. "Shut up. I wasn't. I just heard about that from one of my friends."

"Yeah, right", Sano scoffed. "And I'm secretly in love with Aoshi."

Kaoru gasped playfully, humor shining bright in her eyes. "Does Megumi know?" she asked.

"I don't think it would matter, really," he replied mischievously. "Seeing as how she just loves licking my—"

"Goddamn it, Sagara! What did I say about telling me shit I don't wanna know?!"

The jolly man laughed at her indignance, "You asked for it."

After five more minutes of trying to stop Sano from telling her any more of his uncensored escapades with Megumi, Kaoru finally found a parking spot right beside the bar that they would be spending the rest of the evening in. She carefully parked her car and turned off her engine, then she spent a few minutes just watching the people outside as they went about their business. Truth be told, she was content to just sit there and wait the evening out, but the damn rooster head would have none of it.

"You gotta face them some time, Jou-chan. It's not like they're going to eat your anything", he explained. "Besides, the worst thing they could do is to stab you with a steak knife. And Kami knows no one ever dies from that."

Kaoru scoffed as she continued to watch an old lady try to fit her folded lime green umbrella into her obscenely bright pink purse. "Thanks, Sano. That made me feel a lot better, really. At least I know my heart will still be beating after tonight".

The detective turned to look at her seriously as he tried to assess just how nervous she was. "Seriously, Kaoru. I'll be there every step of the way. I won't let it get too bad. Besides, you know we all love you".

She took a deep breath and looked at Sano, noting how even though he tried to reassure her, he still couldn't hide the worry behind his eyes at what this unexpected reunion would bring. Sighing as she ran a hand through her short hair, she strengthened her resolve to just face the night head on, and to let whatever might happen to just happen. "Alright, Sagara. Let's go."

With that, the two friends stepped out of the black Mazda and walked into the bar together.

* * *

Kaoru couldn't help but to thank all the gods of the universe when they found out that they were the first of the group to arrive. At least now, she would get more time to prepare herself to face the friends she thought she'd lost when she decided to remove herself from their circle. She laughed as Sano led her to their table, which was still the same as the spot that they always occupied two years ago.

"It just stuck, you know?" the messy haired man told her as they sat down across from each other. "I guess the owner got tired of Misao calling him every week to make sure that we get this table 'cause eventually, he told us he'd just block this spot off for us every Thursday".

"I can't say I'm surprised. You guys always did have a thing for coming up with weird habits", she mused.

"Oh please, if I remember correctly, you were the one who suggested this bar in the first place. It's not our fault we loved it enough to keep coming back".

She hummed in response and smiled as she remembered how much they really did love this quaint little bar. Located in one of the more hidden side streets of Tokyo, she didn't expect to ever chance upon a place as interesting as this. She was on her way home from a particularly annoying interview with an airheaded hotel chain heiress when she caught sight of the bar's disgustingly bright signage. At the time, she didn't really care. All she wanted to do was to get one or two glasses of vodka to try and erase all traces of the annoyance that she felt when talking to the heiress. At the moment, she didn't particularly want to drive all the way to the other side of the city just so she could get her alcohol fill; and being on edge wouldn't do at all because she was about to meet Megumi and Misao for another one of their griping sessions and she needed an inhumane amount of patience if she wanted to get through that with her sanity intact.

She fell in love the moment she stepped foot in the bar. You'd think that with a horrible signage like the one she saw outside, you'd be stuck in a shady establishment with no one but greasy-haired perverts. What she saw, though, was nothing of the sort. The warm lights that filled the room from the different lamps around the place gave it a really cozy feel, which was enhanced by the mismatched sofas and other types of furniture clumped around in little circles around the room. Furthermore, the bartender was a bubbly young woman who knew just about every drink and mix in the world. The waiters and waitresses were very pleasant and seemed to know how to act around their moody customers—initiating small talk for those who looked lonely, and quietly smiling at the ones who didn't want to be bothered. The variety of books and posters scattered all around the room ranged from beautifully artistic to funny, slapstick comics. It was the perfect place to unwind after a day of bustling around the city and dealing with people who you'd rather bury six feet under the ground.

She immediately called Megumi and Misao and told them about the place, and they too fell in love with it. They insisted on dragging everyone there for dinner at least once a week, until eventually, eating and drinking on the table near the back of the bar just became another one of their odd habits.

As expected, remembering the good times they spent here also brought back the anxiety that she couldn't quite squash. It probably didn't help that the last time they were all here, the tension surrounding the group was so thick that you could probably cut it with a knife.

"Sano?"

"Yeah, jou-chan?" he replied, already knowing that the next question would start the awkward conversation that he knew they were bound to have at some point during the day.

"How do you think they're going to react to me being here?" she asked worriedly. "Please… tell me the truth."

The usually jolly man slouched a little and turned somber eyes on her. Kaoru already had an idea of what might happen, but she wanted to hear it from him so she could steel herself further.

"Well… to be honest, I don't really know, Kaoru." he said. "I mean, admittedly when I first saw you, I didn't really know what to expect. I didn't even think you'd show up, so seeing you there sort of threw me off guard."

She mulled over his words and motioned for him to continue with what he wanted to say.

"You changed a lot, that much I could tell. I mean, physically speaking, I barely recognized you—like I said. But I also know that you're probably not exactly the same as the Kaoru I knew two years ago. A lot has happened since then, and although I knew you were doing fine, I wasn't close enough to really see how you were holding up. I knew you had a stable job, I knew you were doing what you've always wanted to do, but I didn't know if you were taking care of yourself as much as before.

"Kenshin, he…" he stopped, looking at the bright blue eyes that were gazing up at him as she mentally processed every word that came out of his lips. "He took it the hardest, you know? I mean—I dunno how this'll make you feel, jou-chan, but we all know how attached he was to you… but I guess you already expected that from him".

Kaoru nodded at that, her heart clenching in agony as she remembered the last time she saw him—and knowing that _she _was responsible for his defeated and utterly broken disposition.

"And you? The others? Did you—" she stopped, fearing the answer that she knew she deserved. "Does everyone still hate me?"

Sano sighed, recalling everything that happened from when they found out that she left as though it happened just a few months ago instead of the real length of time that had passed. "We never really hated you. We all thought we did, for a while, but after a few months we sort of figured that this was something you had to do and having us around would just get in your way."

She felt her bright blue eyes widen at that, surprised and hurt that they would ever think that they weren't important to her. "That's not true," she said steadily. "You would never have _'gotten in my way'_, surely you guys knew how much your support meant to me".

The detective was silent for a while, unsure of how he should phrase his next sentence, but opting to go for the direct approach. '_She wanted honesty, after all' _he thought to himself.

"Well, we couldn't have possibly known that, could we?" he said gently, though he saw each word hit her as though he shouted each syllable into her face. "You just disappeared. We didn't know how to reach you, we didn't even know where to find you. We knew your family used to live in Kyoto, but none of us knew where it was exactly. And the only person who did know was too busy drowning himself with work and feeling sorry for himself to actually be of much use to us".

Kaoru looked away, anguish evident on her countenance. Sano wanted to stop, truly he did. He couldn't bear to see the guilt and pain that he knew she felt, but he also knew that she wanted—no, needed to understand just what her actions did to all of them. They were a family, after all. Yes, none of them were related by blood, but they shared a bond far beyond what normal families had for each other. They were all orphans, after all—each of them tainted and haunted by a painful past that was only eased when they found comfort in each other.

"We stopped hanging out for a while, you know? I mean, yeah Kenshin and I worked together, and so did Misao and Aoshi, but we pretty much kept to ourselves for a while. It didn't help that Katsura had us on case after case, chasing the bad guys and all that", he said meaningfully. "Honestly, jou-chan, I was pretty messed up for a while. You know I loved you like a kid sister, and I felt really guilty 'cause I kept thinking that I could've done something—that maybe if I paid enough attention to you, I would've seen a sign or something to see how torn up you really were."

"Sano, I—", she started. "You have to understand that what happened was not your fault at all. None of you could've possibly seen that coming", she said as she looked him straight in the eye, needing him to understand that it was HER fault, and that he shouldn't blame himself for anything. "It was something I needed to do".

He looked at her sadly before nodding, "Well, yeah. I understood that eventually", he chuckled. "Actually it was more of Megumi who practically hammered that into my head."

"Megumi?"

"Yeah. You'd think that she wouldn't even bother, seeing as how she treated me like crap and how you two kept getting up each other's asses about one thing or another". He stopped, smiling gently as a soft glow exuded from his eyes. "We were all really surprised with her. She was the one who sort of held us together back then; kept dragging us all back here every goddamned Thursday even though we were all soaked up to our eyeballs with everything that was going on."

Kaoru's eyes widened in surprise, "She did?"

Sano nodded, "Yeah, and what's more—", he cleared his throat before continuing. "What's more is that she was actually the one who did everything she could possibly do to try to find you; called almost everyone we knew to ask if they've seen you or anything. She even called in favors from almost all the hospitals in Kyoto, just to make sure that you didn't do something stupid to yourself or that you weren't found lying in a ditch somewhere."

Her jaw almost dropped down in shock at this. She and Megumi were close, but she honestly didn't think that the twenty nine year-old surgeon cared that much for her. She expected that kind of behavior from Misao because they were practically attached at the hip before she left, but not Megumi—never Megumi.

Serious and seldom spontaneous, Megumi has always been the type of woman to hold her career above everything else in her life. As one of the youngest female surgeons in the Japanese medical field, Kaoru knew that she had a really hard time back when she was trying so hard to prove herself to her colleagues. She complained a lot about her job, but there were a lot of instances where Misao and herself had to literally drag her out of the hospital so she could catch a well-deserved break every now and then.

The doctor was more in the same wavelength as Aoshi. He was one of the more quiet members of the group, and he always took everything way too seriously for everyone's liking. He seldom laughed or showed any interest at whatever they were all doing, but for some odd, unimaginable reason, he was always there whenever they would decide to do something as a group. Even though Sano—and occasionally, Kenshin—always dragged him out to grab a few drinks after work or during the weekends, none of them have ever seen the _ice man_ get drunk or lose control. He always thought things through until he was sure that his actions won't have any negative repercussions, and he rarely voiced out what he thinks or feels—unless he's with Misao; which was actually quite surprising at first since the little spitfire's personality was the complete opposite of how Aoshi held himself.

Together with Aoshi, Misao worked as an intel agent for the Tokyo Intelligence Agency—which was why they were two of the most valuable assets that the Ishin Shishi had. Although this meant that they had to work twice as hard to make sure that each organization got what they needed, Misao always made time to randomly visit her friends at work or at home. Sometimes, she even picked her and Megumi up for no reason other than to enjoy a delicious meal at one of the hole-in-the-wall restaurants in Tokyo that no one has really heard about.

"That's pretty much how we reacted too, when we found out about what she did" continued Sano, chuckling at the look of complete surprise on Kaoru's face. "Since more and more cases started piling up on top of each other, none of us had the time to scour every inch of Japan to find your sorry ass; so we thought Operation Kill Kaoru was put on hold for a while. It wasn't 'til Megumi told us about what she found out about you that we realized just how much work she'd put into finding you."

Silence reverberated through their table for a while, both of them thinking about what happened and what WILL happen when the rest of the group arrives. It wasn't 'til the waitress brought over an ash tray for Kaoru and two shots of tequila for the two friends—courtesy of the bartender who apparently noticed how serious his regular customer looked, that the mood lightened and their conversation turned to reminiscing about their drunk college adventures and other light-hearted and fun topics that filled their previously somber table with chuckles and giggles.

It was in the midst of their loud guffaws and teasing remarks as they recalled the time that Kaoru literally broke a plate on Sano's head because he stole 100 yen from her purse when he slept over the previous night that the journalist spotted a familiar figure entering the bar.

Her breath caught and she thought she was going to have a heart attack because of the way her heart was rapidly pounding in her chest. Sano, surprised at her sudden silence and the deer-caught-in-the-headlights expression on her face, turned around and immediately understood what was going on.

"So, are you ready for this?" he whispered.

Kaoru looked back at him and saw the warm reassurance evident in his eyes. She sighed and closed her eyes, "As ready as I'll ever be."

She gulped down half of the Tequila Sunrise she ordered and prepared herself for the worst.

* * *

"Seriously, Misao, did you HAVE to threaten that guy with your badge? You know that's not okay. You're taking advantage of your position again and it's disgusting!" she heard Megumi say as she watched three of the friends she so terribly missed walk into the bar.

"What?! That's the ONLY perk I get to enjoy for working with the police force," shouted Misao indignantly. "Besides, it was his fault for parking in my usual spot."

"How was he supposed to know that?! And that still doesn't give you the right to bump his car! The guy was scared shitless!"

"Oh please. It was a gentle bump. And there wasn't even any damage!"

"Didn't you see the huge scratch on his bumper?!"

"That was already there even before I bumped into him!"

Kaoru heard Megumi scoff. She couldn't help the chuckle that came out of her mouth.

'_Some things just never change', _she thought as she watched them draw closer to their table. She could feel her palms getting sweaty from her nerves, but she knew she couldn't run. Not this time… and not with the knowledge that Sano would just drag her back to the table if she even dared to take one tiny step away from it. _'Better to go down with grace than without it'_.

Megumi, Misao, and Aoshi were in her line of sight now. She saw their surprised faces at the unexpected company, but she didn't think that they recognized her yet. She wiped her hands on her jeans and stood up to greet them properly.

"Hey, rooster! Who's the—"

The three newcomers stopped in shock as they saw the pixie-haired woman bowing down to her waist right in front of them. Even Sano, who had planned to say something witty to re-introduce Kaoru back into their lives, had his mouth open in shock.

"I'm sorry," Kaoru said, her upper torso almost completely perpendicular to the floor now. "I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I'm sorry."

Misao, Megumi, and Aoshi could tell that the weird girl in front of them meant every word she said, though they really didn't have a clue on who this woman could possibly be. They also didn't know why she chose to apologize in the most respectful and humble manner that they could think off, what with bowing down as low as she was.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but we don't quite understand what's—"

Megumi stopped talking instantly once the odd woman stood up to her full height and looked at her straight in the eyes, agony and longing shining as clear as day in the short-haired girl's expression.

It seemed as though the whole world stopped spinning at that moment. Even the other patrons in the bar stared and watched in tense silence as they waited for how the scene that the group caused was going to play out. Nobody was breathing, nobody dared to make a sound as they watched the five people closely.

SLAP!

Kaoru's head swiveled to the right as she felt the full brunt of the slap across her left cheek. She could feel the pain setting in as her shock started to fade, and a whole new other type of pain started to blossom in her chest. She didn't dare breathe as she turned back to look at the faces of the people in front of her. Sano had his mouth wide open, Aoshi's face was unreadable as he digested the fact that she was there after two years of being MIA, and Misao was turning a ghastly shade of white.

And Megumi… oh, Megumi. Her palm was still held up between them, slightly turning red from the force of the slap that she delivered. Her eyes had nothing but pure, unadulterated fury; as if challenging her to try to explain her intrusion into what was supposed to be a regular, Thursday night for them.

"I—", Kaoru stammered. "I know my being here is unexpected, and I know I have no right to—"

SPLASH!

Her eyes were starting to sting—not just from the alcohol that splashed right into her eyes from the drink that Megumi threw into her face; it was also from the intense shame that she could feel from being rejected, quite embarrassingly at that, in front of people she did not even know.

The other patrons around the bar cringed. Some averted their eyes, while some continued to watch with morbid fascination at what was happening right in front of them. Even the bartender and the other waiters didn't dare to try to approach the group.

"You're goddamned right", Megumi said scathingly. "You have absolutely no fucking right to be here. Get out."

Kaoru couldn't move. Her eyes were locked with the doctor's angry gaze, and while her brain already registered the harsh command, she couldn't quite get her legs to start walking away.

"Get out! How dare you even try to step foot into this place?! What makes you think that you're welcome here?!" she screamed, starting to grow hysterical at the gall of this woman—this fucked up woman, to show up to a place she knew they frequented.

"Oi, Megumi" said Sano as he tried to think of a way to diffuse the suffocating tension around them. "There's no need for that. I invited her here. I thought—"

"I don't give a fuck about who dragged her here!" yelled the fox-like lady. "She drops out of the face of the earth for two years and then suddenly—because she FELT like it, she has the nerve to actually come here?! I don't think she understands—"

"Megumi", Aoshi said calmly. "You are making a scene. Control yourself."

It seemed as though Aoshi's calm voice rang louder than Megumi's screams among the five members of the group. So stunned were they that the man who spoke so little actually made the effort to berate his friend and stare her down.

A few more moments passed before Kaoru, thankfully, regained control of her motor skills. With a sigh and a brief look at each of her friends, she said "You're right. I'll leave. I'm—I'm sorry for bothering you."

With that, she bowed once again and started walking morosely towards the bar's exit. The audience that their little group managed to acquire followed Kaoru's every move, every step towards the exit. She could hear Misao and Aoshi settling down on the couches in front of the table amidst Sano's furious whispers to Megumi about how what she did was uncalled for, and how no decent woman would do what she just did. The journalist kept walking, blocking everything out of her ears and eyes save for the floor that she was walking on.

It hurt, what happened. She knew this was coming, and she knew it was nothing more than what she deserved, but every word that Megumi said still plunged the blade of despair deeper and deeper into her heart—effectively killing the tiny semblance of hope that she had in reconnecting with her friends and at least trying to pick up where they left off.

She quickly grabbed her coat from the waitress by the exit, not even bothering to look up as she whispered a soft _'thanks'_. She grabbed her keys from her purse and quickly got in her car, intending to speed off and away from the bar as quick as possible, but finding herself unable to do so because of her horribly blurred vision and heavy breathing. Her heart was still pounding erratically in her chest, and she couldn't get Megumi's voice out of her head.

As her tears finally started to stream down her face, she rummaged around for her pack of cigarettes and rolled down the window. She needed to calm down, she needed to change out of her wet top, and she needed to _get the fuck out of this place._

She was about to roll her window back up after disposing of her cigarette butt when she heard her car door open and she—shocked beyond belief, saw Megumi settling herself down on the passenger seat.

None of them spoke for a while; Kaoru was too surprised and wary of the reason behind why the doctor would bother to follow her out to her car. Just when she was about to open her mouth to ask what the uninvited passenger wanted from her, Megumi broke the tense silence.

"I never did understand why you left", she said. "The way you ended things with Kenshin, I could understand. I felt it brewing for a while when the two of you started having fight after fight, but I—to this day, still have no fucking clue why you left us like that."

Kaoru held her breath, as she waited for Megumi to continue. She didn't—couldn't look at the woman beside her yet. She knew the surgeon had more to say, and she wouldn't dare open her mouth until she was sure that the other woman was done. She had a feeling that there were a lot of things she needed to hear from her; and even if they hurt her, she wouldn't run away from this again. It was the least she could do for them.

"Kenshin never talked about it, and for a while, we hated him—Sano, most especially. We all thought that his selfishness and his unbearable need to protect you was what finally drove you away. Before all of that shit happened, we tried to talk to him as much as we could; we tried to convince him that he couldn't just force you to keep writing those stupid, superficial articles when we all knew how much you wanted to help. We told him about how brilliant you were, and how we could definitely use your help with the cause. Kami knows how fucking talented you are with those sorts of things. When he wouldn't budge, and when we saw how caged you felt, we decided to back off. We thought it was something you two were going to have to work out yourselves. It was your relationship after all, and we all knew how no matter what we did or said, the final decision would still lie on both of your hands.

"When he finally agreed to let you talk to Katsura, we thought that would've been the end of that. We watched you train with Saitou, we helped you get through it—hell, even Kenshin tried to help you as much as he could with your first assignment. 'Til now, we still believe that the evidence you got against Representative Fukioka's human trafficking syndicate was the biggest success Shishi ever achieved. So we were all out of our minds with shock when Katsura told us that you didn't make the cut for Shishi. Even Saitou was angry with Katsura for a while—and I know you know that Saitou never fights for anyone like that.

"You started avoiding us, then. Kenshin kept trying to get us to talk to you, but you didn't even have the decency to come see us whenever we'd visit. Then you started working for that lifestyle thing again, and we saw how Kenshin was fucking happy about it. Somehow, I knew that wouldn't sit well with you. I knew you were going to burst sooner or later, but I never expected you to do what you did.

"You were always so impulsive—so goddamned selfish", Megumi scoffed.

"Was that why you left, Kamiya?" she said after a while. "Was it because you couldn't get into Shishi and 'cause Kenshin kept trying to keep you out of it all?"

It took Kaoru a few minutes to realize that Megumi was actually waiting for her to answer. She sighed and lit another cigarette, taking a long drag out of it before she opened her mouth to reply in an effort to sort through her jumbled thoughts.

"I won't lie," she started. "That was part of it, but it wasn't the whole reason."

Megumi glanced at her, confused with her answer. "Then what is? What made you throw all of us out of your life? I know you're fully aware of how unfair and stupid it was to do so, so what was so important that you had to do all that anyway?"

Kaoru sighed. "It was me. It was all me."

The doctor waited for her to explain, the desire to understand her friend winning above her anger and bitterness at being left behind by one of the people she trusted most.

"I lost my purpose," she said after a while. "I spent my entire life trying to fight the injustices around me, fighting for other people and fighting for fairness and equality for everyone. Kami knows I've seen enough of other people's suffering my whole life, even though I was in no way directly affected by it. My parents—" she stopped, her heart breaking all over again as she remembered her beloved parents whose lives were taken away by the cruelty of fate.

"My parents always taught me about how everyone should be treated fairly, about how those who can SHOULD help those who couldn't help themselves. That's why they were so happy when they found out I wanted to take journalism back in college. They knew they taught me well enough to know what I should pay attention to and to know what really matters.

"When we graduated, I knew perfectly well what I wanted to do. I didn't get the chance to do so, though, because the editors back in _Chunoichi _didn't trust my skills enough. I knew I had to wait it out—to do whatever it was they wanted me to do 'til I could finally get the chance to prove myself worthy of the task I wanted to take on. I wasn't ignorant, though. I still knew what was happening around me. Kenshin used to tell me about all the underground shit that was going on, but that they didn't have enough information to stop all of it because it was all so complicated and it involved so many higher ups that they couldn't investigate anything fully. I tried to help him as much as I could with his cases, but there was only so much I could do with the limited resources I had. It's not like the people I talked to and interacted with every day were concerned about shit like that. They were too busy worrying about breaking a goddamn nail."

She heard Megumi chuckle and hope blossomed in her chest once more. '_Maybe—just maybe, there might be something salvageable there after all'_, she thought. Kaoru knew, though, that she had to tell her friend everything now, so she can at least try to make sense of what Kaoru felt all those years ago, and what led her to decide to do what she did.

"Then things started building up. I knew there was something going on that you guys didn't want to tell me, and I pestered Kenshin about it for a while. He wouldn't budge, though. He refused to tell me. I swear, if it wasn't for me thinking that he was having an affair with his assistant, I would've probably never found out about Ishin Shishi." she smiled sadly at the memory of how she found out, but she refused to dwell on it. _'It's a story for another day. Not now.'_

"I don't know what happened with Katsura either. I thought for sure that he trusted me and that I'd finally get a chance to actually do something that could help people—something that my parents would be proud of, instead of just publishing features about "Who's Hot and Who's Not". I wouldn't have minded writing those stupid articles—not when I knew I would still be able to use my skills to help. I didn't give a fuck about credit. I just wanted to DO something that would help make a difference to what was going on in the government. I wanted to help lessen the number of activists that would just disappear out of the blue. There was an underground revolution going on and I knew I could be of use to the cause.

"You can only imagine my surprise when Katsura told me that he wouldn't have any use for my skills—not when there were so many others who were better than me, and that he'd appreciate my secrecy and silence. Then again, he knew I would never think about doing anything stupid since Kenshin was in too deep and that if anyone even suspected him of being involved with the assassinations of the officials' friends, everything could end up in pieces. I was devastated. I thought I was good enough, and then here's this brilliant, honest and powerful politician who told me that I wasn't. I avoided you guys for a while because I felt so unbelievably inferior and worthless because I couldn't help you. I realize now that what I did was miles beyond stupid."

She looked at Megumi then, and found her friend watching her with critical eyes. She didn't know if she was only imagining it, but she thought she could see a bit of empathy there too. Then again, that may be because of her desperation to finally have her family back again.

"I went back to writing for _Chunoichi_ to appease all of you. I knew you were all worried about me, and I didn't want to be another burden that you would have to carry. I tried to get over everything and to just leave it all to you guys since I thought that was my place in life. Things started to look up for a while. Then Kenshin proposed, and I was happy. I thought that maybe I could be content with what I had. I had great friends, I had a job—though it gave me no sense of fulfillment at all, and I had a wonderful fiancée who loved me dearly and whom I loved in return.

"But then, everything started to get worse. Taxes kept on getting higher and higher, the prices of commodities weren't getting anywhere near affordable for the masses. It was all so unfair, and what made it worse was that we didn't even know where the taxes were being used. I knew there was something going on, but I couldn't do anything to try to stop it. I wasn't good enough. I'm not blaming him, but it didn't help that Kenshin seemed all too happy with me being stuck in my worthless and highly superficial job. He once told me he was glad that I wasn't directly involved in anything because that meant I was safe, and that I was innocent enough to not have anything tying me down in case Shishi went down. I knew he didn't mean for that to upset me, but it did. I didn't want to resent him, I didn't want to be mad at him—Kami knows how hard I tried because I loved him too much, but somehow I ended up feeling that way. You were right when you said I felt caged. I was suffocating with the knowledge that I wasn't worth it, and that the life I was living was probably going to be what I would have for the rest of my life. Then the… incident happened."

She looked back at Megumi then, pleading with her eyes to understand what she meant and to not make her say the words out loud. Miraculously, she nodded and motioned for Kaoru to proceed.

"It all started getting worse and worse, I guess. When that happened, I just felt all the more worthless and useless and pathetic. Then I couldn't bear to face you guys any more than I had to because somehow, I felt like I didn't deserve any of your love and support. Not when I was this weak, pathetic shell of the girl that I used to be. Kenshin and I weren't any better. Every fight just built up and up and up until we were both drowning in it… and that's when I knew. I realized that I had to fix myself before I could even start fixing the relationships I destroyed because of my self-pity. I had to find my purpose, and I had to regain my strength and confidence—but I knew I wouldn't be able to do it here. Not when all of you were staying strong FOR me.

"Leaving him… leaving all of you—it was one of the most difficult decisions I've ever had to make, but I also knew it was completely necessary for me to do it. My only regret is that I should've had the strength to explain all of this to you back then. Maybe if I did, things would've been so much better and there wouldn't be so much bitterness between all of us." Kaoru sighed and looked out past her window shield, "I'm really sorry about what I did, and believe me, if I could re-do all of this, I would."

They spent a few minutes in silence once more. Each of them going through everything that was said and finally starting to understand what happened two years ago.

"That still doesn't explain why you didn't bother talking to us for the past two years", Megumi said bitterly. "I'm starting to understand why you chose to leave and why you did it the way you did. We probably would've tried to stop you had we known that that was how you were feeling. But it doesn't explain why you didn't even bother to tell us when you were starting to get back up on your feet. It took us almost a year to find out that you were Kasshin Karasu—and by then we weren't even really sure that that was really you. All we had was a hunch. Hiko wouldn't tell us anything when we asked about who Karasu really was, even though Sano threatened to put him in jail for kidnapping and to break every bone in his body until he understood the importance of friendship and honesty.

"We called every broadsheet publishing house that we could to find out where you went off to, but no one knew who you really were. So you can only imagine our surprise when a few months later, your name pops out on the lifestyle pages of _Tokyo Shimbun. _That's when we were sure that you were this ballsy journalist. Turns out you were right here, in this city, right under our noses! You couldn't have bothered to call us then?"

Kaoru winced. "Yeah, that was my fault."

Megumi scoffed.

"I was so afraid of all of you. At the time, I was so scared because I thought when you found out about me and what I was doing, you'd all drag me back to safety. I wasn't ready for that yet. I wasn't ready to face any of you because I knew that if you asked me, I'd go running back to you and I'd be right back where I started. When I met Hiko at a charity ball I attended back in Kyoto, he offered to let me write whatever I wanted to write. He promised me he'd let me publish whatever I wanted so long as I took a few safety precautions—hence my alias, and publishing my name under the lifestyle section. He didn't want me to get in any unnecessary trouble because, and I quote, "my stupid nephew would skin me alive if you ended up dead under my watch".

I agreed, but I made him promise not to tell any of you where I was or what I was up to. But then, I started working with Enishi on some of my more difficult assignments as Karasu. When I found out that Tomoe—Tomoe, of all people! The girl I accused of having an affair with Kenshin—was his sister, I knew you were bound to find out eventually. By then, I didn't even bother trying to cover my tracks. You were all too smart for that."

Megumi smiled, a genuine one this time. "Yeah. I'm glad you know that.

"Sano made us back off when Tomoe told us what she knew about your secret. If she didn't think that you were sleeping with Enishi when she caught you sleeping in his bed, we probably wouldn't have ever found out. It was a good thing you told her too, 'cause otherwise we would've hated you for leaving us for a guy. We started to understand what went wrong, then. And we think… Kenshin did too."

The doctor sighed, and Kaoru lit another cigarette. They were both thinking of what would happen now that everything was out in the open.

'_It's in their hands now'_, Kaoru thought as she breathed in more smoke from the cigarette, making sure to exhale everything out her open window as a sad attempt at courtesy since she knew Megumi hated smoking. It couldn't be helped, though. The journalist was far too tense as she waited for her friend's verdict.

"What do you plan on doing now?"

Kaoru was startled by the sudden question. They've been quiet for a while now and she thought that was the end of it and that they'd all go back to their own lives.

Once she got over her shock, though, she answered honestly. "I don't plan on stopping what I'm doing."

"We're not going to ask you to. We know how important this is for you, and to be honest, you've been a lot of help to Ishin Shishi. We could only take care of getting rid of the legs, but you put the masterminds that we couldn't touch behind bars. You even found a way to get the people's spirits up because at least they started to have an idea on why they've been put into their current situation."

Kaoru smiled, "I didn't see it that way. In my point of view, I was just exposing their disgusting deeds so the masses could decide better next time."

Megumi looked at her then, and she didn't look away until she knew that she had Kaoru's full and undivided attention. She looked at her as if she was daring her to lie straight to her face. "Have you found your purpose now? Are you back?"

Kaoru's smile, if possible, grew even bigger. She had tears in her eyes, and an unbelievable amount of gratitude in her heart. She was silently thanking the gods over and over again for giving her her heart's desire. She couldn't help but reach out to Megumi, hugging her close as she said "Yes. I'm back."

Megumi smiled and pulled away, before schooling her emotions back into her usual snooty self. "Good. I hope you fully understand that if you ever pull something like that again, we won't even bother trying to talk to you anymore. We'll just send out one of our assassins to stab you over and over again with a nail file", she warned.

Kaoru laughed, "Duly noted."

"And change your clothes. You smell like a drunk eighty year old. I'm going to go change in my car because you got your crap all over my dress."

The long-haired beauty opened the door to leave Kaoru's car, "Oh and before I forget, Aoshi and Misao are engaged. You better be ready to help with the wedding preparations. As punishment, I'm telling her to make you the maid of honor instead of me. I don't want to deal with her giddiness at six in the morning every damn day."

She closed the car door and didn't look back as she walked to her car, trusting the journalist to not high tail it out of there as soon as she looked away. Kaoru smiled.

'_Finally.'_

* * *

Ten minutes later and both women were completely dry and presentable enough to face other people again. Kaoru changed out of her leather jacket and white blouse into the spare tank top she kept in her car in case she ever felt like going to the gym. Megumi, on the other hand, wore a blue silk shirt and tucked it into the white pencil skirt she was wearing earlier.

"Be thankful that I had something clean in my car, Tanuki. Otherwise I would've ripped off your head for ruining my favorite blouse—you know I could do it", she remarked snobbishly.

Kaoru laughed as they stepped back into the bar, "Oh I have no doubts about that, Dr. Takani. Though I have heard that you've been making very good use of your knowledge in anatomy lately; Sano was very proud to tell me all about your… escapades".

Megumi turned a horrifying shade of red and huffed before walking ahead of her and heading back to the table where their three friends were seated, all of them tense and sporting grim expressions. She placed her purse down on the seat beside Sano before sitting down herself. Kaoru followed suit soon after, opting instead to sit beside Aoshi on the opposite side of the table.

The surgeon turned her nose up and looked at every one of the table's occupants before grinning mischievously, "Who wants a drink? Kaoru's buying."

And just like that, the tension was lifted and Sano and Misao launched themselves at Kaoru, shouting and squealing about how glad they were that she finally came to her senses before throwing themselves around Megumi afterwards to tell her about how kindhearted she is underneath that pretentious, chilly façade of hers.

The rest of the night went smoothly as they spent most of their time drinking and catching up on what they've all been up to recently. Misao was absolutely thrilled that Kaoru was going to be her maid of honor now and was busily chattering on and on about everything that they had to do before the wedding. Aoshi, who traded seats with Misao after getting tired of her leaning over him again and again, sat opposite Sano as they both tried to ignore the obnoxiously loud squealing from the three women beside them.

One by one, the group fell silent as they all looked towards the entrance door to the bar, watching as a familiar figure took off his coat and started making his way towards their table. Kaoru, who was busy trying to light another cigarette to try to ease the headache building because of Misao's continuous abuse of her eardrums, didn't really notice what was going on until a shadow fell upon their table.

"Sorry I'm late," said a very familiar voice, "Saitou was all up in my ass the whole day about clearing out the last of the Kyoto drug lords. I can't believe—"

He stopped as he finally noticed a pair of brilliant blue eyes staring up at him.

And for the second time that day, Kaoru swore her heart stopped beating.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Well, that was long. I apologize for all twelve pages of this, but I wanted to establish a few things. In case you may have missed something from this chapter, here's a brief summary of what went on during the two years that Kaoru was MIA:

She left because she needed to regain her independence and confidence. Independence from subconsciously relying on her friends too much for strength and support, and confidence in her abilities and her purpose. Don't get me wrong, she loved Kenshin very much and Kenshin wasn't fully aware of what his desire to protect her was actually doing to her. It was more of her trying to find fulfillment by doing something to help a cause she fully believed in. She was raised by her parents to be brave enough to fight for those who couldn't fight for themselves, and it was a huge part of her life that it was hard for her to give it all up just to keep everyone around her happy (which, I hope, explains the hurt she felt when she left Kenshin. She was torn up about losing her purpose and basically letting go of everything she believed she was meant to do).

Kaoru tried to get in Shishi—and everyone supported her. But Katsura didn't feel like she wasn't good enough to be put at risk considering what they were all doing. He didn't feel like it would be worth it to risk an _innocent _who wouldn't even really be of much use to him anyway.

Kaoru was fully aware of who Hiko was and his relation to Kenshin (he's Kenshin's uncle) when she met him at the charity gala when she was staying in Kyoto. It surprised her when Hiko asked her to be a part of _Tokyo Shimbun_ and to let her write whatever she wanted to write under the news section—provided that she use an alias and to make other people think that she was only a lifestyle writer to protect her identity. Kaoru moved back to Tokyo when she accepted Hiko's offer.

Megumi and the others found out about Kaoru through Tomoe—Enishi's sister. She caught Kaoru sleeping in Enishi's bed because she was too tired to go home while she and Enishi were working on a column together. Tomoe, out of loyalty to Kenshin, told her friends what she knew. She didn't want to lie and she saw how much they all suffered when Kaoru left Tokyo.

Sano and the others backed off to as a sign of respect for Kaoru, and after finally understanding why she left a year after she did.

Megumi's, along with Misao's and Aoshi's, acceptance and forgiveness after she explained herself may seem odd to most of you. But please remember that they considered each other as a part of their family. Yes, they were hurt over what happened, but when they finally understood the reasons behind everything, they were just glad to finally have her back. That, coupled with the guilt that they felt for not being able to see Kaoru's internal dilemma from two years ago, made the decision easier for them. Since they're all orphans, the bond they shared goes far beyond what normal friendships are like—and it's strong enough to overcome an issue like this. They've been friends for eight years prior to Kaoru leaving, and the concern they felt for Kaoru was the real reason behind their anger at the journalist.

I hope this chapter was able to establish just how strong their friendship is, and how important it is for a person to actually have the strength to stand on her own. I originally wanted to call this chapter **"The Prodigal Friend"**, but I didn't want to pre-empt anything.

A big thanks to **melay**, for inspiring me to use Kaoru and Megumi's reunion as a way to explain their perspectives on what happened.

I truly appreciate all the reviews you gave me, and I hope you will continue to enjoy this story as it develops.

Again, thank you!

Cheers!


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: **I hope you guys enjoy this one.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, nor any of its characters. All information in this story (especially those relating to the Japanese government and their public officials) are all fictional.

* * *

**It Is What It Is**

**Chapter 4**

To say that Kenshin was surprised would be an understatement.

The moment he saw those familiar sapphire eyes staring up at him in apprehension and surprise, he could've sworn that for a moment, the world stopped breathing. It wasn't until he felt his head start to throb from the lack of oxygen it was receiving that he realized that HE was the one who stopped breathing.

He looked away and cleared his throat to at least try to seem normal. He could see the anxious faces of his friends as they looked back at him and waited for his next move—well, everyone but Aoshi at least. That guy never did express any sort of emotion. The redhead didn't know how he felt at that moment—the resentment, guilt, anger, bitterness, longing, love, and every other emotion that he felt the previous years all seemed to blend into a huge whirlpool of feelings and he had no idea how to even begin to sort them out.

Yes, what she did hurt him. In fact, he swore he was in hell for the first few months after she left. He took over most of the cases the agency was investigating at the time and didn't even dare to think about slowing down. Every day, he worked himself so hard until all he could feel was complete exhaustion. He didn't want to feel anything else but that because he knew that if he gave himself time to rest, everything that happened would come crashing down around him until he exploded into tiny, unrecognizable bits of himself.

He could tell that his friends were very upset with him for a while. If Sano beating him down into a bloody pulp a week after Kaoru left wasn't proof of that, then he didn't know what was. It wasn't until Megumi found him passed out on his floor, drunk and hot with fever, that they started to see just how badly he was affected by what happened. They always saw Kenshin as a pillar of strength—after all, it would take an unbelievably strong and mentally stable person to kill as many people as he had without going insane—and to see him that torn up and damaged over his ex-fiancée's disappearance broke their hearts. They all took turns checking up on him from then on. They always made sure that he ate and slept properly, each of them going out of their way to bring him groceries and helping him clean his house every now and then. Sano, of course, kept a very close eye on him. If it wasn't for his no-bullshit behavior and commands, Kenshin probably would've set up camp in their office just so he could go straight to work the moment he opened his eyelids every morning—of course, most of the time getting him out of their workplace involved brute strength and a lot of threats since the redhead could be quite stubborn when he wanted to be.

Eventually, he got back up on his feet. There was a time when he did nothing but to try and look for her, but eventually, he realized that maybe it was time for him to move on. When he heard about Kaoru working for his uncle's newspaper, he thought about rushing down to their office to get her to talk to him and to just come home. Misao practically chewed his head off when he admitted that, so he had no other choice but to back off. Kaoru was doing okay, she was safe, and that was all that mattered. When that finally sunk in, he decided to move into a two-bedroom loft in the busier part of the city so he could be free from the ghosts that still haunted the house that he bought with her.

He decided to focus on his own life and on his friends—ever grateful for their patience and support, and he did all he could to continue fighting for the cause that they all believed in. He got better, and the initial resentment he felt for Kaoru that used to scream over and over in his head eventually faded into weak whispers in the back of his mind. He was finally okay; but he still held on to the hope that maybe, one day, they'd cross paths again. If not to get back together and pick up where they left off, then at least go back to being friends. All he knew was that he needed her in his life, and it wouldn't matter what role she decided to play as long as she would be within reach.

"Hey," he said to Kaoru after he regained the strength to actually use his voice.

The way their friends' faces all swivelled to look at Kaoru's reaction would've been funny had it been any other time. However, this wasn't an ordinary occasion and all of them were aware that this interaction would basically dictate how they would all proceed from there.

Kaoru, surprised with the greeting and with the warm smile that Kenshin gave her, smiled back. "Hey."

And just like that, the tense atmosphere disappeared and everyone sighed in relief—glad that this wouldn't be a barrier to the friendship they so desperately wanted to rekindle.

Sano's insensitivity helped with easing the tension when he voiced out what everyone was thinking during the tense reunion. "Kami, I thought one of you would end up high tailing it outta here once you saw each other!"

Megumi dug her elbow into Sano's side, appalled that he would say that considering the precarious situation they were in. "Can't you, for once in your life, put some effort into using that brain of yours before you speak?", she whispered harshly.

Kenshin sat down on the single couch adjacent to his rooster-headed friend, amusement evident in his eyes as he watched Megumi abuse her boyfriend.

"Damn it, fox, that hurt! And hey, I was just being honest! I bet you were all thinking the same thing!", Sano cried.

"There is a TIME and a PLACE for everything, you stupid, stupid man!"

"Oh yeah?" the tall man replied mischievously. "Why don't we make _time _and find a _place _for you to vent out your anger... if you know what I mean?"

Kaoru, chuckling at the bickering couple, chimed in. "Trust me Sano, the entire _bar _knows what you mean".

Megumi's face turned angrily towards her and right as she was about to give an angry retort at the journalist, Misao's high-pitched voice squealed "Drinks are here!".

They each got a bottle of beer, eager to finally get a chance to breathe and relax after the emotion-laden start to their evening; each and every one of their faces expressing the great relief and happiness that they felt as they finally got closure from the torment that the last two years brought them. They were finally complete again.

"Oi, Kenshin", Sano said after taking a huge gulp from the cold bottle he was holding. "What did Saitou bug you about this time, anyway? I thought everything was okay when I left you back there four hours ago."

The redhead sighed as he remembered the horrid amounts of paperwork he had to cram that afternoon. "Yeah, well, I had to consolidate all the reports we got from all the agencies. Everything came together once we got Yazuo's assistant to give us all the names of the people involved in the drug scam, and Saitou was adamant that we close the case as soon as possible so we can move on".

Misao scoffed. "I know how you feel. Apparently someone's—", she stopped to give Kaoru a pointed look, "report had enough weight to force Chief Justice Kitazato into getting that bastard put behind bars as soon as possible. The masses weren't too happy when they found out where their tax money was going to, and there've been rallies and protests rising from all over the country. All the info had to be summarized quickly so the court can proceed with the trial two days from now."

"Hey! It's not like publishing that was a walk in the park either!" huffed the journalist indignantly. "I got in trouble too when Hiko found out about all the damages to Yazuo's estate. You should've seen his face when he was screaming at me about killing that asshole's cat."

"You killed... his cat?" asked Megumi, incredulity evident on her face.

"Please, let's not get into that. I've heard enough about it already," sighed Kaoru. She grabbed the ash tray from the edge of the table and lit another cigarette, eager to quench her sudden nicotine craving.

"Aw hell, jou-chan!" yelled Sano exasperatedly. "I've been putting up with you smoking all over me the whole day! Stop treating your cigarettes like popcorn, would 'ya?"

"I agree with the buffoon, Tanuki. Don't you know how harmful those are? If you want to give yourself lung cancer, then at least have the courtesy to not drag us down with you", added Megumi.

"Fine, fine!" the journalist yelled, not wanting to hear any more about the oddly pleasurable habit that she picked up. "I'll enjoy my _deadly stick _outside then."

Kaoru left the table and headed outside, mumbling about prisses and know-it-all doctors the whole way there.

* * *

The pixie-haired woman was happily enjoying her cigarette as she stood by the bar's entrance, away from the throngs of people lined up as they waited for a table to be vacated so they can enjoy their evening with a few drinks, when she felt someone staring at her.

She turned around and saw Kenshin right outside the door, hesitation making him pause as he looked at her for a sign that his company wouldn't be unwelcome. She smiled warmly at him, wondering at how he could still make her heart skip a few beats despite two years of not being able to be in close proximity with him.

"Hey," she greeted as the redhead came closer.

"Hey," he greeted back. He stood on her right side, and was about to say something when Kaoru interrupted him and told him to stay at her left side since the wind was blowing the smoke from her cigarette towards him.

"Can't help to be careful," she remarked with humor in her eyes, "I don't want Megumi being all up in my ass about courtesy, after all."

Kenshin chuckled, "Yeah, we wouldn't want that, would we?"

They both fell silent, Kaoru thinking about what this conversation will be about, while Kenshin thought about how he should phrase his next question.

"So," he started. "How've you been?"

Kaoru smiled at the apprehension in his tone as she blew out the cigarette smoke she inhaled. "I've been great, honestly. And you?"

"I've been okay", he replied. "The usual. Sano still keeps mooching off of me for free drinks whenever he knows Megumi's going to be home late."

"I wondered about how he survived when I left," she chuckled. "I guess he found someone to replace my wallet. I'm sorry about putting you in that position, though. He's been stealing money from me since college and I guess he's not going to be changing anytime soon even though I know he earns a hell of a lot more than I do."

"I can't say I disagree. Though he does come in handy sometimes—I bribe him with buckets of beer to get him to watch over my apartment whenever I'd have to go out of town for a mission."

Kaoru looked at him, surprised at what she heard. "You live in an apartment now?"

The detective cringed. He hadn't planned on her finding out about his living arrangements this way. "Yeah. I, uh—decided to move there about a year ago."

She mulled over what he said for a bit, and Kenshin noticed that her expression was fading into something more morose. He immediately thought about something to say to change the topic, quietly deciding that they'd need a little bit more time before he said anything related to what he really planned on talking to her about.

"Congrats on the Yazuo piece, by the way. I know the others look like they hate you for it, but really, we're just glad to finally get him into jail. We didn't have enough evidence to tie him into the case, but we all knew he had something to do with it. If it weren't for you we'd probably still be suffering through Saitou's speech about how incompetent we all are", he said.

"Well, you don't really have to thank me for it," she replied sincerely. "Your capture of the other drug lords is what tipped me off to even start looking into him in the first place. It was a matter of looking at the big picture. It's a good thing Enishi knew his personal address, so we didn't really have to put that much work into finding out where he could be hiding all his secrets".

"You must spend a lot of time together, huh?" he commented. "You and Enishi, I mean."

Kaoru giggled again. _'It figures he'd find a way to ask about 'Nishi. Kami knows how curious he must've been'_, she thought as she studied his nervous behavior.

"Well, yeah. We are partners after all", she explained, emphasizing the word 'partners'. "He's the only one I trust to not screw up or tell Hiko on me whenever I'd go through one of my rather... unconventional methods of getting information."

Kenshin nodded. He already knew that they weren't romantically involved, but hearing her say it straight to his face helped to ease his discomfort over the thought of her dating other people during the two years that they weren't together.

"I heard you got pretty chummy with Tomoe, though", Kaoru mused. "I mean, I wasn't affected by it or anything", she lied as a rosy blush started to stain her cheeks. "I just... you know."

The redhead's hand rose to scratch his head. "Yeah, but that was a fluke", he admitted. "I guess she knew I wasn't ready for another relationship yet. When I called it off, she told me she was glad I did. She said it was getting a bit awkward to be involved with the guy she's working for, considering she's my assistant and all."

She chuckled, "Ease up, Kenshin. You don't owe me an explanation. I just wondered about your side of the story. I mean, Enishi told me all about Tomoe's worried rants about you back then".

Kaoru lit another cigarette when she noticed how Kenshin seemed like he was thinking hard about what he was going to say next. She knew this conversation was going to be as awkward as watching Hiko try to flirt with women, and she wanted to be as prepared as she could be for it. After all, it wasn't like they ended things in good terms two years ago. Their easy conversation and more-than-civil interactions were actually nothing short of a miracle.

"Look, Kaoru—", Kenshin started as he stared hard at his shoes.

The blue-eyed girl took a long drag out of the stick she was holding in her right hand. _'It's now or never'_, she thought.

"I know that... Well, I mean—", stammered the redhead. He sighed, obviously growing frustrated at not being able to express himself properly.

"Just say what you want to say, Kenshin", encouraged Kaoru. "Honestly, I wouldn't mind. You never censored what you said to me before, and I don't want you to start now".

Kenshin looked up at her, expecting to find tension lying beneath her eyes, but feeling surprised at discovering the sincerity and warmth behind her words.

"Alright," he sighed. "You're right."

He looked up at the night sky for a few seconds as he quickly organized and filed everything that he wanted to tell her in his head. _'Best get this over with before it drags us down again'_, he thought.

"I guess what I wanted to say was... well, I'm sorry".

Kaoru's eyes grew wide at this. She expected him to be mad, she expected angry and harsh words from him since it was nothing less than she deserved after what she did to him. His apology was nowhere near close to what she thought she was going to hear from the man she used to love with all her heart.

"You don't have to look so shocked about it," Kenshin chuckled. "Sano and—well, all of them actually, they took me through most of the hard parts. I mean, at first, yeah I was angry and hurt as hell, but eventually I understood why you left. It took me a while, and Sano had to literally beat me over the head with it, but I got there.

"I didn't realize what I was doing, to be honest. At the time, there were a lot of things going on that I had absolutely no idea how to stop, and I guess I got too caught up in it all to realize that what I was doing—how I was keeping you out of it—was actually tearing you up inside. It didn't help that I was way too supportive of the job you had back then. In my head, I thought you were eventually going to love what you were doing, and you'd stay innocent and unburdened by all the things we had no control over."

He looked up at her, then, wanting her to understand what drove him to do what he did. "I didn't mean for you to feel like you were worthless. It's just that... well, I knew how brave you were. I knew that once you got involved, you'd want to be so invested in it that you won't even stop to think about how dangerous the position you'd be getting yourself into was going to be. I have to admit that I was a bit selfish, too. I always looked forward to going home and knowing that I won't have to face the exact same shit that I've been dealing with the whole day. I enjoyed your innocence too much, and I guess I loved you too much to willingly drag you down into what we were involved with. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if something happened to you when I knew I could've prevented it from happening altogether."

He stopped talking and looked up at the sky again as he thought about how he was going to phrase the next part of what he wanted to say, but opted to just say it point blank—knowing that Kaoru wouldn't have appreciated him trying to soften things out for her sake. "When Katsura told us you didn't make the cut for Shishi, I was so happy. I hoped that that would somehow encourage you to stop trying to push your way into what was going on underground. I hated myself for feeling that way, because I knew that was a big blow for you, but I couldn't help it. It wasn't 'til we started fighting over and over again about the same things that I started to think that maybe it hurt you more than I thought it did. I was blinded by my selfishness and my desire to keep you safe and happy and protected that I didn't realize that you were starting to feel suffocated by everything that I was doing.

"So... yeah. I know most of it was my fault; and I really, truly never meant to hurt you", he said as he turned to face her fully. "So I'm sorry, Kaoru. I really am. I'm sorry for being blind, and I'm sorry for ignoring your pain and for being so, unbelievably selfish. I'm just... I'm sorry."

Kaoru tried to blink back her tears after he finished talking. She didn't really want him to see how affected she was by what he said because she didn't want him to feel like she _did _blame him for everything—which she didn't. She took a long drag out of her cigarette again and threw the little stick into the ash tray by the bouncer's podium before she looked down and started talking, smoke coming out of her mouth as she spoke. "Kenshin, I..."

She stopped when she realized that she didn't really know what to say to that. All this time she's been too busy working hard to build herself back up, while she was blissfully unaware of the things that were going through his head—the burden he carried because he thought that what happened was _all his fault._ "I really wish you didn't think that any of this was your fault. Out of everything that happened, I want you to know that I **never **blamed you for anything.

"I know it's kind of hard to believe considering everything I told you whenever we'd fight, but none of it was your fault. It was always something that I knew I'd have to fix by myself. I meant it when I told you that I didn't want to hurt you, but I really felt like I wouldn't be able to be happy—to make you happy, unless I'd get a chance to try to make it out on my own. Yes, I resented you for a while because I thought that you _liked _what was happening to me, but then... I realized that you didn't have any more control over the situation than I did.

"I loved you too much back then. I loved you so much that I made myself believe that I didn't need to do anything to help with the cause anymore because just having you could've filled the emptiness I felt with not being able to do anything that I felt was worthwhile", she looked up at him, wanting to erase all of the guilt that he felt during the previous years that they spent apart. "When I started working for your uncle, I felt so fulfilled. I felt happy that I was finally at a place where I could help make a difference. I wanted to talk to you—truly, I did—but by then I was too scared to face you. I wasn't ready to see how much you hated me—"

"I never hated you, Kaoru", he interrupted. "I was angry, but I never hated you."

"Well, I know that _now_", she murmured. "But, _at the time"_, she said with a pointed stare at him, pretending to be annoyed at his interruption. "At the time, I was too scared because I thought that if you did hate me, I'd end up throwing everything away to win you back. I wanted to be sure first that I'd be strong enough to handle anything that came my way. I needed to know that I wouldn't crumble if you told me you didn't want me in your life anymore, and that I ruined everything that we had because of my foolishness.

"I'm sorry too, Kenshin. I'm sorry for hurting you, and I'm sorry for forcefully shutting you out of my life. I'm sorry that I didn't take the time to explain what was going through my head, and I'm sorry because—well, I was selfish too."

They both fell silent, then, as they processed what the other said. Two years have passed since they last met, and they were both glad that they finally got a chance to say what they've wanted to tell each other all this time. They were sad, of course, because they realized that if they only took the time to communicate all of these before, then maybe they wouldn't have had to live with as much hurt and misery as they did. But they also knew that what happened _had _to happen, because otherwise they wouldn't have been able to get the strength that they had now—strength that would mean that they would be able to stand on their own in case one of them left again.

"I really wanted to make it work, you know", Kaoru said softly.

Kenshin smiled. "I know."

She reached out to hug him to show him how much she appreciated everything that he told her. He hugged her back to reassure her that everything was finally okay and he bore no ill will towards her anymore. When they pulled back, they smiled as they finally put the past behind them.

"So, shall we go back inside?" she asked him. "I bet Sano and Misao are tired of standing by the door to listen to us talk."

Kenshin laughed as he looked at the direction of the bar's entrance, "Yeah, I bet they are. I hope they're both satisfied with what they heard".

Kaoru turned to look at the two miscreants walking towards them, both shocked and ashamed at being discovered. "How long have you known we were there?", Sano asked curiously—although that didn't lessen the blush he was trying to hide.

"Long enough", the journalist replied. "Though it didn't help that you kept telling Misao to shove her hair out of your face."

"I TOLD you they'd hear you, you stupid spitfuck!" yelled Misao as she hit Sano over the head.

The redhead chuckled, "Yeah, we heard you say that too. Twice."

The two eavesdroppers had the courtesy to look bashful as they realized that they were both at fault for being discovered.

"Aww, that doesn't matter now, does it?" Sano said proudly as he put his arms over Kaoru's and Kenshin's shoulders. "What matters is that we're all fine and dandy now and you have ME to thank for it!"

The group walked back inside the bar as they listened to Sano's gloating and demands to get free drinks from every one of them as a thank you for—finally—getting them all back together.

After two more hours of laughing, reminiscing, and watching Sano get piss-ass drunk, Megumi finally put an end to their evening escapade by announcing that she had a surgery the next day and, _"there's no way I'm going to be able to get up on time if this asshole gets drunk enough to start crying about how beautiful our evening was"_.

They laughed at the reality of the picture Megumi painted for them as they all got up to leave. The doctor forced Kenshin to help her get her boyfriend into her car, while Aoshi, Misao, and Kaoru walked towards the direction of where their respective vehicles were parked.

Right before they separated, though, Aoshi surprised Kaoru by smiling—actually SMILING—at her and telling her that it was good to have her back. She smiled warmly at him and said, "It's good to be back, Aoshi", before turning away and getting into her car.

The journalist placed her purse on her passenger seat and started her car, still reeling with elation and gratitude at the very unexpected turn of events that the day brought.

'_I guess I'm going to have to thank Tae tomorrow' _she mused. _'...and maybe Hiko too. I knew that guy had a soft spot for me'_.

She was about to pull out of her parking spot when a knock on her window stopped her from doing so. She was a bit surprised to find Kenshin peering down at her, but smiled and rolled down her window anyway.

"Have you finally been infected with Sano's mooching tendencies? Are you _saving up on gas_ too?", she joked.

The redhead chuckled and rubbed the back of his head again—an endearing mannerism of his that was usually proof of how nervous he was feeling. "No uh—no, my car's parked on the other side."

Kaoru's head leaned to the side as her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. "What can I do for you, then?"

Kenshin looked up at her, a gentle smile working its way up into his face. "I just... I forgot to say that uh—well, it's great to see you again, Kaoru."

Her blue eyes glimmered with warmth as she replied, "Thanks, Kenshin. It's great to see you too."

After a moment's hesitation, Kenshin's expression turned into something more serious and Kaoru's eyebrows shot up in surprise since she thought that that was all he came over to say.

"Is there anything else?" she asked softly.

"Yeah, actually," he answered. "I just wanted to know if...", he cleared his throat and locked his violet eyes into her sapphire orbs. "Are you happy?"

Kaoru, knowing the weight behind the question that he asked, smiled. "Yes, I am."

When the redhead still didn't show any sign that their conversation was over, she started feeling nervous and tense again. She knew what was coming and she really didn't want to put a strain on their recently reconnected bond. It was still too fresh, too soon to even think of that.

"Kaoru, I—"

"Let's not, Kenshin" she interrupted, a thousand apologies shining in her eyes. "At least, not yet."

She saw a flash of hurt appear in his eyes, but it was immediately replaced by a look of warmth and understanding. "I'll see you soon, then. Take care."

He smiled at her one last time before he turned to walk towards his car. She sighed and watched him walk away for a few seconds before she closed her window and drove to her apartment.

* * *

"I can't say seeing you this attractive at one in the morning is a welcome sight", Enishi said mockingly as he entered her living room.

"Shut up, Yukishiro. You've seen me look worse. Stop complaining", Kaoru said scathingly.

The twenty-nine year old woman was currently sprawled out on her bright yellow couch, shoving spoonful after spoonful of strawberry ice cream into her mouth. She was wearing a blue knit sweatshirt that was two sizes too big for her, on top of a pair of worn gray pyjamas decorated with disgustingly pink dancing hearts. Her hair, although short and relatively easy to maintain, was in complete disarray; and her pale face was completely free of make-up.

Normally, Enishi wouldn't even bat an eyelash over her dishevelled appearance. They were writers for the country's top broadsheet, after all, and they often found themselves giving less attention to how they looked when they were trying to keep up with a particularly tight timeline. However, the fact that his friend was eating the ice cream straight from the tub was what clued him in on how frantic the girl must be feeling. She **never **ate her ice cream that way; she prefers to transfer the dessert into her favourite bright green ice cream bowl first—another one of her _weird tics_, as he so lovingly dubbed. In fact, he tried to hide the bowl from her once just to see how she would react to its disappearance, and he ended up with a black eye and a hell of a lot of scratches all over his face and arms.

He sat down on the single couch adjacent to where she was, and observed her—trying to figure out how he should approach the topic that he knew he was called here for. "So," he said carefully, "what happened in the last eight hours that we didn't see each other that's gotten you this riled up?"

"Nothing", Kaoru replied as she gulped down yet another spoonful of ice cream. "What makes you think something's up?"

"Kamiya Kaoru." Enishi said, starting to feel the annoyance at being summoned to her house at such an ungodly hour because of a _friendship card_—whatever that was. "You did **not **make me come here at one in the fucking morning for _nothing_".

The petite woman scoffed, "Why? Am I not allowed to miss my best friend? I just wanted to see you."

"As much as I appreciate your hospitality and your... attachment to my beautiful self, I would really appreciate it if you just get to the motherfucking point because I am in no mood to dance around whatever it is that you want to talk about.", he ranted. "Not when it's **one in the morning **and I was having a wonderful lesbian-filled dream".

"Well I'm sor-ry for missing you, then", she said as she turned wide and sad eyes towards him. "I just really needed a friend."

Enishi studied her critically. "You know, that may have worked that one time when you begged me to get you a box of tampons, but I've been immune to that look since then", he sighed. "What's wrong, Kao?"

It seemed as though his gentle voice and the use of the familiar nickname brought her out of her denial. Kaoru slammed her tub of ice cream down onto the coffee table placed beside her sofa, and she sat up as she ran a hand through her hair.

"I don't get myself!", she blurted out.

"Start from the beginning, please", sighed the blonde-haired journalist. He was trying so, so hard to hold on to every bit of kindness he had, begging the gods above to give him the patience he needed to deal with his friend.

Kaoru told him about all of the events that transpired that day, starting from the interview meeting she had with Sano down to her last conversation with Kenshin. It seemed as though the day had finally taken its toll on her frazzled mind. Earlier, she was so thrilled with finally being reunited with her friends that she wasn't really able to process everything that was said and done. Yes, she was unbelievably happy for what happened, but was she really ready for everything that was coming next?

She blabbered on and on for thirty minutes straight, with the only interruption coming from Enishi's loud snort as he said "Tequila Sunrise, Kao? Couldn't you have chosen a classier drink?".

Once she finished her tale, the room was filled with a companionable silence as they both processed every detail of the story that she recounted.

"Well," Enishi said after a while, "I don't really understand what you called me here for, woman".

"What do you mean?" she gasped. "I need to process this and I need your help!"

Her friend, mentally reminding himself of why exactly this odd, emotionally unstable girl was his friend, turned his patient green gaze onto her. "It seems to me, Kaoru, that there's not really anything **to **process. I mean, yeah, it's a lot to take in—considering that it only took you what, eight hours? But sometimes there are things you just have to take as they are."

"But... I just don't understand."

"What don't you understand?"

"How could they have forgiven me so easily? I don't get why they took me back just like that. I actually thought they'd chase me out of there as soon as they saw me—that, I was ready for. But this? What good deed could I have possibly done in my previous life to deserve this?"

Enishi sighed yet again. _'Why does this girl have to process __**every. single. thing. **__that happens to her?', _he thought. "Would you like it better if they did just that?"

"...No."

"Then there's no problem here!", he said. "The way I see it, those people love you and they're happy to finally have you back again. Haven't you ever heard of _The Prodigal Son_? What makes you think that type of thing can't happen in real life?"

"Well, for one thing, I'm not a boy. Nor am I their son."

"Stop being cheeky, you smartass", he retorted. "Kaoru, just take this for what it is, okay? You said sorry, they said sorry, you all forgave each other. You got closure. Here's the happy ending you've been waiting for! Just enjoy it, woman! C'est la vie!" he exclaimed as he stood up, fully intent on walking right out the door now that he was sure that his friend's sanity was intact.

"Now," he announced. "as touched as I am that you called me to help you with this top secret dilemma of yours, I've wasted an hour of precious sleep to help you sort out your life. I'll be taking my leave now, my lady." he said as he bowed mockingly.

"What? Why don't you just stay here? I think you still have a couple of fresh shirts in the guest room, if you need it."

Enishi shook his head, "I thought about that on the way here, but then I remembered that you burned my spare boxers last month when you got mad at me for eating half of the chocolates in your secret stash of junk food."

Kaoru laughed at the memory as she walked her friend to her front door. "It was your own fault. You know I have a rule on sharing my food—I don't".

"I learned that the hard way, didn't I?" mumbled Enishi, feigning his annoyance with the pixie-haired girl. "Still, you didn't have to do that. You **know **that was my favourite pair."

"Yeah, yeah", she chuckled as she opened the door for him.

She was about to say good bye as she handed him his coat when he grasped her arm, a serious look on his face.

"What is it?" she asked, surprised at the sudden change of his mood.

"Does he still have a chance, Kao?" he asked. "Do you still love him?"

"I don't know what you're talking about", she replied as she turned away from him. She knew that if she looked at him, he'd see the answer in her eyes—and she wasn't ready to deal with that quite yet.

"Don't be stupid, you little punk. I know you didn't call me here at this ungodly hour just to fill me in and get me to tell you things you already know."

Kaoru sighed, "I really don't know, 'Nishi".

"Well," he said as he put his coat on. "You better figure it out 'cause the way I see it, you won't be getting rid of him any time soon".

He gave her one last bear hug before he turned away and walked out the door, feeling extremely pleased with himself and already trying to come up with a plan to get Kaoru to take all the blame for his tardiness the next day.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Not quite as long as the previous chapter, but still pretty long in my standards. It can't be helped, though. I originally planned on writing a short and sweet reunion for Kenshin and Kaoru, but the ideas just kept flowing as I wrote this and I decided to just go with it.

I was supposed to write more, but I figured that proper pacing would be necessary so each chapter won't have too much heavy information. I'll probably get the next chapter up tomorrow or in a couple of days since I have the details ready for it and it's just a matter of writing everything down and making sure that there won't be any loose ends.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and again, thank you very much for all your support and reviews. Reading your reviews inspire me to keep writing, so I really appreciate all of them.

Cheers!


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: **Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, nor any of its characters. All information in this story (especially those relating to the Japanese government and their public officials) are all fictional.

* * *

**It Is What It Is**

**Chapter 5**

"Kamiya." Hiko nodded as she entered his office. He gave her an appraising stare, as if trying to understand and process what he was seeing. He blinked as the woman ungracefully flopped herself onto the black couch beside his glass door. "You look like shit", he concluded.

Kaoru scoffed, not even bothering to be insulted by her supervisor's tactless nature. "Thanks, Hiko. I'm flattered".

Although the younger journalist was garbed in her usual fashionable and semi-professional attire—which consisted of a simple emerald green silk shirt hidden beneath a black blazer, form-fitting jeans, and red, six-inched pumps—her half-dry shoulder-length hair and the dark circles underneath her eyes told Hiko of the true state that she was in.

The usually energetic woman sighed, trying to lessen the amount of anger she felt at being summoned into her supervisor's office before she had a chance to enjoy her usual morning office ritual—which mainly involved coffee with two shots of espresso and at least three cigarettes that she enjoyed on one of the umbrella-covered coffee tables in their balcony. This, coupled with her best friend being late for work again—which annoyed her even more since he was in charge of bringing her coffee in the first place, made her morning all the more miserable.

"Apparently, Misao felt it was necessary to come banging on my door at five in the morning because she needed help in deciding which caterer she should go with for her wedding", she explained. "Honestly, sometimes I feel that that little weasel just comes up with random "wedding emergencies" just so she could wake me up at ungodly hours."

Kaoru sighed again as she remembered the countless times that she was woken up by Misao's screeching and moaning about how everything was supposed to be perfect for her upcoming nuptials. It's been six months since their group was reunited and although she could not be more grateful for it, she sometimes wished that her disappearance would've warranted her a smaller part for the big event. It didn't help that Megumi just laughed spitefully at her whenever she'd call her to complain about how demanding their friend could be—especially since the wedding won't be for another six months; and for the journalist, they had more than enough time to iron out the details during regular _human _hours.

Ever since Sano somehow managed to find a way to drag her back into their circle, every day has been filled with surprise after surprise. A couple of mornings after the night at the bar, Misao practically tore down her door at six in the morning with an irate Megumi so they could proceed with "the proper brief and turnover of all wedding-related responsibilities". This made her transition into their lives easier, as most of the time that was all they practically talked about. Apparently, her role as the maid of honour meant that she would spend most of her mornings and late nights being hounded by the intel agent so they could discuss things like whether they should serve their guests with _Caesar salad, or regular garden salad_—instances which the rest of the group teased and laughed at her about.

"Think of it as Misao's personal token of friendship and love," Kenshin said when she told him about wanting to pass the baton of responsibility back to Megumi. "She missed you, and she's always wanted you to be a part of her wedding. Especially since you were basically the one who pushed Aoshi to finally ask her out".

"Yeah well I don't feel _loved_", she complained. "I feel like I'm being tortured every day".

Even more surprising was how every one of them treated her as though she had still been a part of their lives for the past two years. Sano went back to showing up at her doorstep every time Megumi would throw him out for being too drunk to function—a ritual that was reintroduced to her life when Kaoru found him sprawled out on her living room floor when she got home a week after they were all reunited. When she asked him about how he found out where she lived, he scoffed and slurred about how "I'm a dee-teck-teeve, jou-chaaan. I'm a superstar dee-teck-teeve". Immediately after which, he crawled into her bathroom to throw up and spend the rest of the night there.

Misao and Megumi went back to randomly showing up at her doorstep every now and then to complain about their jobs and—as an addition—their annoying loved ones. Friday nights at her apartment were once again dubbed as poker nights with Aoshi, Sano, and Kenshin; with Enishi joining them occasionally when he had enough money to brave the aforementioned boys' amazing gambling skills. Although most of the time, Enishi went home with triple the amount of money that he brought in since he'd be sure to arrive when the rest of the men were too drunk to tell an Ace from a King.

Their lives basically picked up from where they left off. Maybe even better, actually, since Enishi was completely enamoured with the fact that her refrigerator was always filled with beer and cold pizza; and even some of Megumi's, Kenshin's, and Tae's home-cooked meals whenever they felt generous enough to grant her with their wonderful concoctions. This proved especially useful for the long nights that she had to spend with her partner whenever Hiko would pressure them to hand in an ace report which would have to be printed the next morning. Sadly, though much has changed since she last saw them, the only improvement she managed to achieve in the kitchen involved scrambling an egg with tiny strips of cheese—and even that was achieved when she gave the task her one hundred percent attention.

Perhaps the only deviance to their previous routines was how Kenshin would knock on her door and ask if he could spend the night in her spare bedroom whenever Sano would decide to grace his home with his loud, drunken self. Two years ago, he wouldn't even have had to knock since they lived in the same house and they would just opt to lock their bedroom door once they heard their friend's rather unintelligible version of yet another one of Elvis Presley's hits. The journalist is more than welcome to do the same to his apartment, provided that she make sure that she wouldn't be followed by the rooster as a "way to ensure her safety"—even though in reality, Sano's drunk driving was actually more of a hazard to her than the five minute drive it would take to get to where Kenshin lived. Kaoru didn't mind the change much, though, since she felt that they still needed time apart before they could even discuss where their non-relationship would be headed.

She saw Hiko staring blankly at her, clearly uninterested in what she was saying. In an effort to try to bring his mood up to par with hers, she decided to ramble on. "Plus, Enishi and I got home really late last night. Seriously, I'm not even sure why we decided to talk to Chief Justice Kitazato. He's clearly just another asshole who feels like demolishing the homes of illegal settlers is completely warranted. I mean, doesn't anybody ever think about human rights these days?!", she said passionately.

Kaoru was about to continue with her mission to annoy her emotionless supervisor when an even better way to do so sauntered into Hiko's office.

'_I'm surrounded by idiots', _the editor-in-chief thought to himself as he watched the new addition to his morning circle.

"Good morning, boss man", Enishi greeted as he self-consciously walked into the spacious office.

"Yukishiro", Hiko said, pinching the bridge of his nose in an effort to control his rapidly increasing temper. "Are you drunk?"

Wide green eyes turned to the speaker. "What?" he asked, seemingly appalled that he would be accused of such a thing. "I would never disrespect your authority like that, Hiko-sama!"

Kaoru scoffed at her friend's pathetic attempt to show respect. "You reek of alcohol, you idiot. And you're still wearing your clothes from yesterday".

The blonde-haired journalist, embarrassed that his not-so-secret was discovered, blushed as he tried to iron his wrinkled gray polo with his hands. "Well uh... Sano dragged me out with the guys again last night. He said he needed moral support since Megumi threw him out again."

"What did he do this time?", she asked as she sat up to hear what happened. She was eager to have something new to tease the tall detective with again. It's been a while since she got him to be embarrassed about something, and she was quite tired of coming up with witty retorts to the man's insensitive comments.

"'Gumi caught him flirting with their cute neighbour. Apparently, she came over to ask for a cup of sugar and he said _'don't think you'll need it honey since you look sweet enough to eat'_. The asshole was stupid enough to say that even though his girlfriend was right behind him. And well, you know how it goes." Enishi explained.

The petite woman laughed as she leaned on one of the couch's armrests. "Yeah, I guess I do. Though I have to say I'm glad they have you to take care of them now. Kami knows how many times I've had to drive them home after another one of their drinking binges".

Enishi moved to the side and leaned against one of the glass walls of Hiko's office, suddenly feeling a wave of nausea hitting his system. "I don't know how you survived being friends with them, Kao", he scoffed. "You must be some kind of miracle worker or something. Sano threw up on my passenger seat and Kenshin and the ice man were too busy brooding to help me clean up the mess."

"That sounds like them", she agreed. "They've never really bothered to help Sano when he's like that. I guess they got tired of being responsible for him after putting up with his antics back in college".

"As much as I'd love to hear about your pathetic social lives," Hiko announced, clearly trying to reign in his anger. "That's not why I called you in here, Kamiya."

Kaoru gave her boss her attention now. Even though teasing her superior proved to be a great source of fun for her, she was more excited for her coffee and cigarettes at this point. "What are you making me do now, Seijuro-san?"

Hiko locked eyes with her, eager to see her reaction to what he was going to say—that is, after all, why he decided to tell her face-to-face in the first place. He knew the young journalist was going to be extremely annoyed, and he took great pleasure in giving her a taste of her own medicine. "There's an upcoming state gala to celebrate the opening of the orphanage Prime Minister Shishio built. All the major media networks have been invited to attend so we can publicize the event, along with all the national and international figures who donated to his foundation. News, Lifestyle, Regional, the works. We've been invited to participate, of course."

"What does this have to do with me? Don't you usually attend these things with Tae?"

"Tae-dono will be on maternity leave by then", he explained. Suddenly, a menacing glint appeared in his eyes as he continued, "And I don't want to go."

'_Oh, hell no' _she thought. Kaoru knew where this conversation was headed and she **refused **to be bullied into it. "No", she said firmly.

"Kamiya," Hiko said. "You don't have a choice."

"What do you mean I don't have a choice?!", she exclaimed. "Get Sara-san to go! You know she'd die to be in one of these things!"

"Because I don't need a squealing twit to represent the good name of this paper," he muttered, a slow and evil grin forming on his lips. "And besides, I want _you _to go."

"No."

"Kamiya." He warned.

"No. I am not going. I am most definitely, **not going**." She stated. "There is no way in hell that I'm going to be in the same room with those social climbers, celebrity assholes, and government idiots. No."

"Like I said, Kamiya, you do not have a choice in this. I've already decided."

The young journalist stood up in indignation. "No. I'm way too busy. Doesn't this office believe in work-life balance? I'm still working on Kitazato's human rights violation. Back me up, Enishi", she said as she turned threatening eyes onto her best friend's pale face.

Enishi, not wanting to be a part of the mess, replied "Hey, keep me out of this. Hiko-sama didn't ask _me _to go."

"Think of it this way, Kamiya." Hiko intervened. "Either you go to the gala, or I cut the damages on Kitazato's property from your next pay check".

Kaoru turned disbelieving eyes onto the man seated behind his desk. "Damages? Why do you even think there'll be damages?"

"It's as you said before," he mocked. "I know you too well."

"Goddamn it", the short woman muttered. "I knew that was going to bite me in the ass one day."

Hiko chuckled as he turned away to check the new e-mails that he received. "The invitation's for two people. I don't care who you decide to drag into that mess with you—as long as you make sure that whoever you'll take won't get drunk or end up hitting on one of the state councillors' wives," he ordered as he gave Kaoru a pointed stare. It was clear that he meant Sano, and Kaoru—blessed be her high intelligence level, understood immediately.

"Tae-dono will give you the rest of the details. Don't forget our agreement, Kamiya", he warned before he turned his gaze onto his unexpected visitor. "Why are _you _here, Yukishiro? I'm quite sure you didn't just randomly decide to show me how much you respect my office".

"Well, I uh—", Enishi stammered, startled with the sudden attention that his supervisor gave him.

"Spit it out. I don't have time for your stupidity", the editor sighed.

The dishevelled-looking reporter cleared his throat as he explained, "I actually wanted to run Kitazato's interview by you. I dunno, but I have this feeling that there's more to it than his desire to _uphold the law_. He seemed pretty adamant that the illegal settlers' houses be demolished as soon as possible even though he knows they don't have anywhere else to go yet".

Hiko nodded gravely. The two journalists may annoy him to the heavens and back with their overly-critical processing of the responses they get from the higher ups, but they've proved multiple times now that their instincts could be trusted. "Where's the transcript?" he asked as he held out his hand.

Green eyes widened in fear and surprise as they stared at the outstretched hand. "Uh... I don't really have it... yet?" he said, already fully aware of what was going to happen now that he pushed his senior's temper far beyond its breaking point.

"Get out", Hiko growled. "Your incompetence never fails to astound me. You", he said as he pointed to Kaoru. "—are going to the state gala, and you", he growled at Enishi, "—are going to give me the transcript by the end of the day. Get out."

The two younger journalists quickly scrambled out of his office, afraid that if they stayed even a millisecond longer, they'll be on the receiving end of one of the paperweights their boss was bound to throw.

"I am surrounded," Hiko muttered to himself as he watched his employees run out of his office. "by idiots".

* * *

Half an hour later, a more pleasant young woman and her freshly dressed partner were finally given a chance to enjoy their morning coffee-cigarette ritual on their office's balcony. The sun's warm rays were shining down around them as they sat facing each other on one of the garden coffee table sets placed around the veranda. The black umbrella above them kept most of the bright glares of the sun away from their lines of sight, and the scent of coffee wafted out from the cups placed merrily on the table.

"Please, 'Nishi", Kaoru begged. "You know I won't be able to control my temper at the state gala without you."

The thirty year old man's expression remained impassive as he replied, "Kao, you know I can't. I'd help you if I could but I promised Tomoe I'd meet her boyfriend soon. I think Akira's planning on proposing to her, and I have yet to pass judgement on the guy seeing as I haven't even met him yet".

"You don't even know when you'll be meeting him yet, you buffoon", she growled.

"That's not the point", he shrugged off. "All she said was that they'd be coming over some time in the next two weeks. What if the night they'd want to come over will fall on the night of the state dinner? I can't bear to disappoint my sister like that. You know how sensitive she is".

"What if it doesn't?"

"Yes, but what if it does?"

Kaoru sighed, knowing that her battle has already been lost before it even began. "I suppose pulling the friendship card isn't going to make you change your decision, huh?"

The green-eyed man scoffed. "Of course it isn't. Aside from the fact that it doesn't make any sense to me at all, you've pulled three of those cards on me this year. That doesn't even count the time you demanded me to come over at one in the morning after you talked to your friends".

"Hey! They're your friends now, too! And besides, I really needed your help back then".

"Whatever", he dismissed. His expression brightened as he had a sudden epiphany, "Hey, why don't you ask your _friend _Kenshin?" he asked as he took a sip of his coffee.

The petite woman, who just took a drag from her half-finished cigarette, choked. "Why would I do that?", she asked as a blush started to creep up her face.

"Why not? I mean you _are _friends, right?" he teased.

"Of course we are!" Kaoru exclaimed, annoyed at what her best friend was implying.

"Exactly. So I don't know why you can't ask him," he said pointedly. "You've been spending so much time together lately I was actually surprised that you didn't ask him first".

"Why would I? You're my best friend. It makes sense that I ask you first".

"Yes, but you haven't been spending almost every night of every week with me, have you?"

"I don't know what you mean," she said as she looked away, embarrassed that her friend voiced out what she's been trying to not pay attention to.

Enishi laughed at her guilty face. "It's not like you don't know where it's headed, Kaoru. Why don't you two just have sex and get on with it?"

"Enishi!", she yelled, her blush taking over her pretty face. "You know it's nothing like that!"

"Sadly, I do," he sighed. "I don't get it. He picks you up every other day—"

"I'm just trying to save gas money! It doesn't just grow on trees, you know", she explained defensively.

"You have dinner together every night,"

"We do not! Most of the time, I have to stay here late with you. Other times, I have to go out with Megumi and Misao, and we all know we spend Thursdays in—"

"You have a damn drawer over at his apartment filled with _your _feminine shit—"

"But that's just 'cause it's convenient since Sano crashes at my place all the time and I don't want to—"

"AND I caught you snuggled up together on your couch when I brought the hard drives over last Sunday", he said with a grin. _'Mission accomplished'_, he thought as he watched his friend try to think of a way to weasel her way out of the situation.

"...it was cold", she mumbled after a while.

Enishi's laugh roared across the balcony. "Oh Kami, that must be the stupidest excuse I've ever heard in my whole life".

Kaoru's temper was starting to rise again as she watched her friend make fun of her incriminating predicament. In an effort to stop herself from throwing her scalding hot coffee onto his face, she decided to take the high road for once and just change the topic.

"What's got you so high-strung over the Kitazato interview, anyway? I thought you said he was just another disgusting conservative?", she asked. She actually meant to ask earlier so they can start ironing out their game plan from there, but his incessant teasing kept her from doing so.

He cleared his throat and lit a cigarette as he remembered what he wanted to discuss with their editor-in-chief. "Well, I've been looking over the other demolitions he ordered the past couple of years," he explained. "And I noticed that no matter how much of an asshole he is for giving those orders out in the first place, he still had the decency to at least make sure that all the settlers would have a place to go".

She mulled his words over in her head, trying to think of a reason behind their Chief Justice's odd behavior. "Maybe he just ran out of funds for it this time?"

"That's what's odd, actually," he replied. "I was looking over all the info we got from the Finance Secretary and there's more than enough budget for the construction of relocation sites. I thought he'd at least give the settlers time to move out properly before he sics the police force onto them".

"Well, what if the people were just being stubborn? Maybe they didn't want to move because they didn't have enough money to start from scratch. There was another tax increase last month, after all".

Enishi sighed, "Yeah, there was, so I pulled a few strings yesterday to talk to someone else from the Department of Finance". He paused to take another drag out of the cigarette stick he was holding. "Apparently, the government _hasn't _been funding the relocation sites for the demolitions Kitazato ordered".

Kaoru's brows shot up in confusion, "So... he's been funding those himself?" she asked. "Maybe he's not much of an asshole as we thought".

"Maybe," he agreed. "But it doesn't make sense".

"What doesn't make sense?"

"I mean, where does he get all the money to do so?", he asked rhetorically. "So I started asking around, and it turns out, the man is actually richer than we think he is".

"How so?"

Enishi pulled his BlackBerry out from his back pocket and scrolled down through the thousands of e-mails he has. "One of my sources said that he has a huge mansion in almost every major city of Japan, a few others in the known vacation spots, and a couple more over in Europe

"So that, coupled with the relocation funds... well, I just didn't think a government official earns that much".

"Hey, isn't he the guy who came from that fishing village in Osaka?", asked Kaoru as she remembered the fact that she learned a year ago when they were doing biography features on major government officials for the lifestyle section. "Yeah, and I think his wife was from that village too. So there's no way he could've come from old money like the others".

The blonde-haired man nodded, "Exactly. So... where's his money coming from? And why the hell is he using his own for the relocations? I highly doubt that's just because he randomly decided to share his blessings with the less fortunate".

The two reporters sat in silence for a while, each of them silently thinking about what the information they have really meant. It didn't make sense. It was common for government officials in their country to perform random acts of kindness every now and then—especially when their terms are about to end and the elections are just around the corner; but the fact that their Chief Justice is only a year into his term and that people generally liked him already for his support for different human rights movements formed a puzzle in their heads. That, coupled with the seemingly endless amount of money that he had considering that his wife didn't even have a business of her own because of their humble beginnings just made the mystery all the more... enticing. There was something that they weren't seeing here and gods be damned if they don't find out what it is.

"So..." Enishi said after he lit yet another cigarette, "shall we play our game tonight?"

Kaoru smiled, already feeling excited over what they will be doing. "You bet. Say, six at the gas station across the Supreme Court?"

"No problem", he said with a grin.

"KAMIYA KAORU!" shrieked a voice from the entrance to their balcony.

The two journalists cringed and turned pale once they heard the obscenely loud voice. They looked over their shoulders and saw a very petite girl dressed in the stiff, monochromatic office attire that government employees were required to don during work hours. Behind the girl was an annoyed looking woman with long hair, looking intimidating as she stood behind her friend in her white lab gown.

"It still amazes me how such a loud voice can come from a puny, little girl like her," Enishi observed.

Kaoru's face turned even paler when she saw what the girl was holding in her arms.

"I have called you **three **times already! What part of always answer my calls do you not understand?!" screeched Misao as she approached their coffee table, Megumi trailing lazily behind her.

"And that, ladies," Enishi said, "is my cue to go. Have fun! I'll see you at 6, Kao!" he said over his shoulder as he happily walked away from the group.

The remaining journalist sighed. _'This... is not my day'_, she thought morosely as she looked at the two women in front of her.

"Hey, Misao", she greeted politely. "Megumi".

The doctor gave her a pointed look, obviously blaming her for being kidnapped from her workplace. "If you just bothered to answer your phone, Tanuki, then we wouldn't be here. So don't give us that look".

"I'm sorry, I was stuck in a meeting with Hiko earlier, and Enishi and I had to talk afterwards". She patted around for her phone, and upon realizing that it wasn't in her back pocket like it was supposed to be, turned a shy face back onto her friends. "I guess I left my phone somewhere so I didn't notice".

Misao flopped down the offending device onto the table, nearly dropping it into the cup of coffee that was resting peacefully beside her cigarette pack. "Hiko answered on my third call," she informed Kaoru as she sat down on Enishi's recently vacated seat.

Megumi sat down on her other side. "Can we please just get this over with? I have another surgery in two hours and I have to be back there to study the lab results".

"Whatever Megumi", said Misao. She was already opening the white wedding binder in front of her, intent on finding the proper page that caused her yet another wedding-decision-emergency. "Aoshi and I need to send out invitations soon, so we have to get everything printed out within the week. He's working on what the invitation's going to say with the guys tonight, so I'm in charge of choosing the paper and the other designs for it", she explained.

"So, what's the problem, Misao?" asked Kaoru. "I thought we already went through the fonts and everything?"

The energetic soon-to-be bride sighed. "Yeah, but we forgot one thing".

"What?", Megumi droned.

"The color. I don't know what color it should be. I found two things I sort of like, but they're so different and staring at them the whole day long isn't helping me decide which I like better!", she announced. "It's so frustrating!"

"Why don't you show us so we can help you, then?" Kaoru offered helpfully.

"Well that's why I'm _here, _aren't I?" replied Misao. "Anyway, here they are!"

Kaoru's and Megumi's faces paled at what they saw. Already, they could tell how miserable the two hours they were going to spend together was going to be.

"So," Misao said, mistaking their expressions for being in deep thought over what she thought was one of the toughest decisions she was going to have to make. "Cream, or off-white?"

* * *

The _game_, as Kaoru and Enishi referred to it, is what they called their rather unconventional way of gathering the information they'd need to write another exposé. It starts with them trailing their "target" from wherever their office was to their personal homes—which, as the two journalists believed, contained most of the important documents and other pieces of evidence that would support their case. It was very similar to how the paparazzi went about their business, but they preferred to view it as a means to finish their important task for society—a far cry from the goal that the annoying low-class reporters wanted to achieve (which is to tarnish other people's reputations by telling the public about what detergent they use to wash their underwear).

From there, the tandem would then determine the appropriate schedule that they would follow in order to grace both the officials' private offices and their personal homes with their "friendly visits". Of course, this meant that they would have to _visit _these places at times when there wouldn't be anyone to see them—because, really, who would want to willingly admit that they (or their bosses) were working for a huge drug or prostitution circle?

Drawing from their years of professional experiences, Enishi and Kaoru made sure that their mission would never be compromised by taking a few tried-and-tested security and safety measures. Since most of the officials' guards would be on the lookout, they made sure that their trailing wouldn't be obvious by switching cars at particular points in the road. Enishi would usually initiate the search, tell Kaoru where the officials and their cronies were headed, then let her take over the shadowing until they find out where their target lived. Sometimes, though, Kaoru would call him again to let him know where their target was headed should the distance prove to be more than they expected. This meant that at this stage of their _game_, constant mobile communication was required.

The two journalists also had a spare notebook filled with random squiggles and other whatnots placed by their feet, in case they get caught and the officials' bodyguards decide to snoop. As reporters, they had to have their notebooks ready to take down notes at all times, and since they were taking notes about the whereabouts of highly guarded individuals, they had to make sure that what the guards will see won't be anything that would incriminate them and, probably, lead to them being subjected to intense bodily harm and torture—as what was currently happening to activists who have had the courage to voice out their complaints about the powerful politicians.

The writers were also quite well-versed in pulling off the "oh no, I'm lost" disposition. Although that part was seldom effective since some of the guards actually used their brains instead of just depending on their intimidating physiques.

"He's leaving", said Enishi over the phone. "I'll call you when I'm close to the intersection, and then you can take over. Give me around twenty minutes. I don't think he lives too far from here".

"Alright", Kaoru replied. She ended the call and placed her BlackBerry calmly onto her passenger seat, making sure that the spare notebook was in place as she jotted down notes on the time that it would take for their target to reach his house.

She didn't really have anything to worry about at this point of their _game_. They were rarely caught because of their wise switching technique, and the fun doesn't really start until they reach their _visitation _phase.

She turned up her radio as she heard one of her favourite songs play on the air, cheerily bobbing her head along with the music. Exactly twenty minutes later, Enishi called her and she took off to take over the trail that he was following.

"I'll call you once I get an idea of where they're headed" she said when she called him back. "If they turn down one of the villages here, then I guess I can finish this myself".

"Got it, partner", he replied. "Let me know if you get in trouble".

Kaoru laughed, "Yeah, 'cause that's the first thing I'll do when I find a gun staring up in my face".

She put her phone down again as she watched the black Hummer that was currently two cars in front of her. She noticed two other black cars flanking both sides of the truck and she couldn't help but roll her eyes at the sight, _'People really have to come up with better colours for their security trail. Black's becoming too conspicuous... and extremely clichéd', _she thought.

The journalist quickly wrote down the plate numbers of the Chief Justice's security detail, as well as their target's plate number. Once the stoplight turned green, she sped off to follow the trail, making sure to keep at least two vehicles between hers and Kitazato's.

She smiled when the vehicles she's been following for another twenty minutes turned down a familiar street, and felt around for her phone.

"Hey 'Nishi", she greeted.

"Where to?"

"He's headed West. I'm by Fuchu, wait for me in the convenience store by Hino. I think he lives somewhere in Akiruno, but you should be ready to take over in case he heads somewhere else".

Enishi agreed and said he can get to Hino in less than ten minutes. It was a bit risky for Kaoru to follow the official's car all the way to Akiruno, since that would mean that she'd be on his trail for over half an hour already—but she figured it wouldn't be that much of a big deal since it wasn't unusual for people to take the same roads together; especially since they were heading towards a suburban village.

As she passed the parking lot by the convenience store she told Enishi to wait by, she made sure to keep her phone in her hand so she could call her partner quickly if her assumption was wrong. She dialled her partner's number once she saw the vehicles enter the village and waited for it to ring once before ending the phone call, a sign that he was good to go and that she could take over from then on. The mission turned south, however, when after a few turns later, she found herself on the same street that they had already driven by twice over the last ten minutes.

'_Fuck'_, she thought as she realized what the official and his guards were doing. _'They caught me'._

She would've stopped the car and turned back, but as Murphy's law would have it, she noticed another black car behind her. She missed one of the cars in his security detail. She thought the official only had two—as most of them usually had, but Kami be damned because this particular guy had **three **security vehicles.

'_Damn it'_.

She dropped her original reporter's notebook down to her feet and picked up her spare, and she was already prepping herself for the upcoming interrogation, when she noticed a man dressed in a black and white suit step down from the car behind her and head towards her. She calmed herself down and tried to remember the spiel she had prepared for situations like these. She hasn't been caught for two years now, and she guessed that feeling nervous was kind of reasonable since that meant she was out of practice.

She put on her best smile as she rolled down her window after the man knocked on her window thrice.

"May I help you?" she asked nicely.

The guard gave her a critical stare before saying, "Are you lost, Miss?"

Kaoru feigned confusion as she replied. "Uh, isn't this Akiruno?"

"Yes".

"Then, I don't think I am", she said cheerily. "It's my first time here, since my friend just moved in last week. Maybe you know him? Fujiwara Hime?"

The man's gaze turned stony and the journalist could've sworn that the guard was mentally counting the number of beats her heart was pounding into her chest. "Ma'am, there is no one named Fujiwara in this village. And there have been no recent additions to this village in the past two months".

'_Goddamn it. Fuck it, fuck it, fuck it, fuck my fucking motherfucking life' _she cursed in her head. This was a complication that she's never—not once in her successful career in investigative journalism—encountered before. She was pressuring her brain to come up with a plan that would get her out of this situation, but she hasn't been able to come up with anything better than kicking the guard down and making a run for it.

'_They'd probably shoot me before I even turn the corner'_, she thought morosely as she struggled to keep her face look innocently confused.

"Perhaps you should come with me, Miss. My friends and I shall try to help you find... Fujiwara-san" the guard said monotonously.

'_Yeah, sure. Then we'd all bake cakes and draw rainbows and butterflies on each other'_.

"Oh, no thank you," she smiled. "I'd hate to be a bother. Besides, my friend is already expecting me. I bet he'd call me in the next few minutes to ask me where I am. I've always been horrible with directions", she giggled flirtatiously.

"Trust me, Miss. It will be no bother."

Just as Kaoru finally resigned herself to her unfortunate fate, the gods above decided to grant her mercy by making her phone ring. She smiled as she gestured at the man for privacy as she answered her phone.

"Hello?" she said, internally thanking every god, goddess, deity, and every other higher being out there for granting her another chance to live.

"Kaoru?" she heard Kenshin's voice say from the other line.

"Hime-chan!", she chimed. "I'm on my way there! I just entered Akiruno, but I think I made a wrong turn."

"Huh? Kaoru? Are you okay?" asked the redhead worriedly. He was just supposed to ask her if she wanted to go out for dinner since he got off work early, and her oddly squeaky voice wasn't what he expected to hear. '_And who the hell is_ _Hime-chan_?'

Kaoru giggled and cast a quick glance at the guard who was still watching her every move. "Shut up, you know I'm not good with memorizing directions. Anyway, what?" she said, making her eyes grow wide to feign surprise. "I thought you said you lived in Akiruno!"

"Kaoru, I... uh—what?", Kenshin asked, confused beyond belief at this point.

"Damn it, Hime-chan! That's on the other side of town!"

"I'm... really confused now", he murmured.

"Alright, alright, Hime-chan. I'll be there soon. I'll call you later, okay? Bye!"

She ended the phone call and looked at the guard with smiling eyes once again. "That was my friend. It turns out I got his directions wrong. Anyway, I know where to go now, so thank you very much for your concern, Sir!"

The man nodded and walked back to his car. Kaoru rolled up her window and watched the politician's Hummer move away from her, followed by all _three cars_ of his security detail.

The journalist sighed as she turned her car around to exit the village, more than excited to just go home and enjoy the fact that her heart was still beating.

* * *

After three hours and a very relaxing hot bath, Kaoru was busy appreciating her "new life" by lounging around in her apartment in her favourite lime green, off-shoulder sweatshirt and bright pink shorts. Her shoulder-length hair was held up by a bright yellow ribbon in a messy bun, with some loose strands hanging around her face. To top it all off, she was also wearing a pair of obnoxiously bright blue fuzzy socks. Normally, such colours would make her cringe and want to tear her eyes out, but since she wanted to celebrate and show the universe how thankful she is for her spared life, she made an exception.

She just got off the phone with Enishi after recounting her thrilling escape from death that afternoon and was currently looking through her fridge and trying to decide which dish she'd heat in her microwave—Tae's beef teppanyaki or Kenshin's tuna carbonara?—when she heard someone knocking on her door.

She tensed and walked across the room before looking through the peephole. She didn't usually do that, but she felt it was necessary that night since Kitazato's guards might have tracked down who she really was and decided to pay her a visit.

'_Kami, please don't be so cruel as to dangle my life in my face just to take it all away'_, she thought as she braced herself for who she might see on the other side of her door. She smiled when she saw Kenshin standing out in her apartment building's hallway, holding a couple of grocery bags in one hand.

"Hey," she greeted as she opened the door. "I'm very happy to see you! What's up?"

The redhead, obviously surprised at the bright welcome, walked in and gave her a once-over before asking "Are you alright, Kaoru? You seem... cheerful."

The journalist couldn't help but giggle at his apprehension before linking her arm through his and leading him into the kitchen. "Don't be silly, my little redheaded friend! It's just a beautiful day to be alive! Don't you agree?"

"Uh... sure", he replied as he placed the grocery bags on top of her kitchen table. He paused to look at her seriously, trying to figure out just what was going on before shrugging it off and proceeding to unpack the groceries he brought.

"Sano got thrown out by Megumi again. He brought three bottles of sake to my place and drank them so fast he ended up passing out an hour later. I didn't want to be there when he woke up, because I have a feeling he'd drag me out to a strip club again. Mind if I spend the night here? I brought enough food for dinner _and _breakfast", he explained as he held up a pack of raw chicken fillet in one hand and two eggs in the other.

Kaoru chuckled and shook her head, "How can I say no to that?" She watched the detective grab a knife and chopping board before taking the chicken out of its pack and slicing them clean through the middle. "So what's for dinner, Chef Kenshin?"

He smiled and continued slicing through two other fillets. "Chicken François. I found the recipe for this yesterday and I've been wanting to try it out sometime soon. I figured tonight may be as good a night as any." He looked up at her and winked, "Nice outfit, by the way".

"Shut up", she muttered. "I'm celebrating my second life. You don't know what I've been through today".

"Second life? Is this related to the weird phone call we had earlier?"

"Yeah," she sighed, her energy finally going down to a more bearable level. "I had a run-in with a few of Kitazato's guards".

"Kitazato?" he paused what he was doing to give her a worried look. "What happened?"

"It's a long story."

"I have time. Unlike you, I can cook _and _keep up with a conversation at the same time," he said with a reassuring smile.

Kaoru sighed one more time before telling Kenshin everything about what happened. She had to backtrack a few times to take him through the evidence that they found that led to them trailing the chief justice. They paused the conversation for a while to set up the table and settle in to eat before picking up from where they left off.

The journalist was very worried with how he was going to react, and he could see that. So Kenshin tried his best to school his emotions into nothing short of impassive so she wouldn't be driven to censor any part of the story. He knew how hard it was for her to do this, especially given their history together, but he wanted to know every detail so he can figure out how to help her without being too overbearing.

"So you think our Chief Justice—the man behind every decision of the Supreme Court—is involved in a corruption scam?" he asked after she finished with her tale. "That's a pretty big accusation".

Kaoru focused on her meal so she wouldn't have to look into his eyes. She wasn't ready to see his disapproval and annoyance with her for suspecting the leader of the country's police squad of a crime as big as this. "I don't know yet. 'Nishi and I are just going with our instincts here, but there are a lot of things that don't make sense. I mean, if he wants to be charitable, then that's alright with me, but we just don't understand where he's getting all his money from. They weren't rich to start with, and we know he doesn't earn nearly enough to have all those properties _and _fund most of our country's relocation efforts. There's something we're missing here".

"I agree." He said after a few minutes of digesting all the information he was given. "We've been thinking about that too ever since Misao told us that the Department of Finance hasn't been shelling anything out for the relocations."

He saw Kaoru's eyes glance up at him in surprise and smiled, "We just haven't had time to check it out since we've been investigating another Yakuza-driven situation that's getting stronger over in the East District."

"So... you don't think what we're doing is silly?" she asked warily. "I know what some of the detectives think about what gets printed out on the paper, and I don't want you to insult me by humouring my _wild ideas_."

Kenshin was surprised at the question she raised. He never—not once, thought that what she was doing was anywhere near silly. He sighed as he realized that maybe her concern was another result of what they went through two years ago. "I never thought that what you're doing is silly. Reckless, maybe. Ballsy? Definitely. But never silly."

Kaoru smiled widely at him. "I'm glad. It feels good to know that we have the support of one of the country's top detectives on this."

They finished the rest of their meal silently, each feeling grateful that they were able to stop another potential problem in their budding relationship before it even started having a solid and more damaging effect on them.

"So, detective", Kaoru said as they loaded their dirty dishes onto the dishwasher. "Does this mean we can start calling in a few favours from your good office?"

Kenshin looked up at her warily, forcing himself to stop all the possible innuendos that were bubbling up in his head. _'I have to stop spending too much time with Sano. I think he's starting to rub off on me'_.

"It depends on the favour", he replied. "As long as it doesn't involve me hiding you from the police, then I think we can manage that."

The journalist chuckled and leaned against her kitchen counter, "It's nothing big, really. Right now we just need Kitazato's home address".

"Address? What for?"

"I think we both know it would be better if I didn't answer your question," she replied. "Just know that this won't involve any sudden deaths or disappearances; and we won't trash his house... much".

Kenshin laughed and stood up to follow her into the living room, "Well as long as you don't kill any of his pets then I can promise to give it to you by tomorrow".

The petite woman squealed and gave the redhead a brief hug. "Thank you! That's gonna save me a lot of trouble since I wasn't able to find out where his exact address was earlier."

She was about to go into her spare bedroom to make sure her guest would have everything he needed for the night when Kenshin grabbed her arm and made her turn around to face him. "That favour's gonna cost you, though", he said as he pulled her closer to him.

"Oh yeah?" she asked playfully once she saw the mischievous glint in his eyes. "Well what can I do for you, _Himura-san_?"

Her heart was starting to beat heavily, and she could feel the world slowing down around them as she leaned into him, placing her arms on top of his shoulders when he pulled her form closer to his—their hips close to touching. She felt thrilled as she saw desire creeping up his eyes, and she was finally letting all her inhibitions loose after years of holding them back.

"Well..." he whispered close to her ear.

"Ye-es?" she droned out softly, counting down the seconds before the inevitable happened. _'Here it is. Here we go', _she thought excitedly. At this point, she didn't really care about what he wanted, as long as he kept rubbing circles on the lower part of her back with those delicious fingers of his. _'Oh yes.'_

"I saw a beautiful bottle of Merlot back there," he continued. "That and a movie would be really, really great tonight."

"Sure," she breezily answered. "We can—wait, what?"

Kenshin laughed and kissed her cheek softly before letting her go, stepping away from her and heading towards the spare bedroom to change into something more comfortable for the night. "I think that's a reasonable exchange, don't you? I'll be out in a minute. You can pick the movie, and I'll just grab a couple of blankets out of your room so we can sprawl out on your couch".

Kaoru couldn't do anything but nod as she watched his retreating form, _'What the hell just happened?'_

* * *

_I can barely look at you, don't tell me who you lost it to..._

She groaned as she forced herself to open her eyes, forcing them to adjust to the dim light shining out from her TV as the credits rolled up on the screen.

_Didn't we say we had a deal? Didn't I say how bad I'd feel?..._

She pushed herself off of Kenshin's sleeping form from underneath her, and tried to get his arm to let go of her waist so she could sit down and find out where the loud singing was coming from.

_Everyone needs a helping hand, who said I would not understand..._

'_There'_, she thought. It was Kenshin's phone, ringing out from under the sofa where it must've fallen when they fell asleep halfway through the movie. The empty bottle of Merlot was sitting innocently on top of the low coffee table that was situated between the couch that they were sprawled out on and the TV screen that hung from the wall across from where they were. The two wine glasses she brought out were placed on top of her plush white carpet, with her friend's arm dangling right in front of them.

_Someone up the social scale, for when you're going off the rails..._

She laughed at his choice for a ringtone, knowing that at one point, he felt that he could actually relate to the song—not that she slept with anyone else while they were apart, that is. She heard him grumble and complain unintelligibly about the loss of warmth and felt him turn away from her in an effort to make himself feel more comfortable on the couch. She stood up after she finally managed to untangle their legs, only to crouch down across the sofa to reach for the offending device.

_Have post break-up sex, that helps you forget your ex..._

She giggled silently at the lyrics of the song and glanced down at the caller ID, curious about who was calling him at twelve midnight. When she saw who it was, though, she immediately stood up to whisper over Kenshin's sleeping form.

"Kenshin?" she whispered. "Kenshin, wake up".

The redhead grumbled, but opened his eyes obediently, "Kaoru? What's going on?"

_What did you expect from post break-up sex?_

His eyes widened and a faint blush started to work its way up into his cheeks upon realizing that Kaoru had heard most of the lyrics of his phone's ringtone. He didn't have time to process that fully, though, when he saw who was calling him as the journalist handed him his phone.

"Katsura-sama?" he said after immediately pressing the call button.

"Ah, Himura-san. I'm sorry for calling you this late", the older man answered from the other line.

The redhead cleared his throat and watched as his friend open the lights and sit down beside him. "It's fine, Katsura-sama. Have we found our next target?"

"Yes", said the Ishin Shishi's leader gravely. "Makimachi-san and Shinomori-san have finally been able to find the leader of the Yakuza's prostitution leg. I'm afraid we're going to have to finish this as soon as possible. We have reason to believe that she knows we're onto her."

"I understand," he answered. "Wait, _she_?"

"Yes, Himura-san. Yamagata Yumi. But perhaps you'd like to discuss the rest of the details in person? I am currently in the coffee shop across from your office. This will have to be accomplished tonight, so shall I see you in around thirty minutes? Would that be alright?"

"Yes, Katsura-sama. Thank you."

He ended the phone call and sighed deeply. The coffee shop that his superior was talking about was only a five-minute walk from Kaoru's apartment, so that gave him twenty five minutes to make himself look presentable—a generous amount of time, since all he had to do was wash his face, brush his teeth, and change out of his comfortable attire.

"Who is it this time?" Kaoru asked silently.

Kenshin turned his head to watch her face, worried about the reaction that he'd find there. It was the first time that he got a call from Katsura in her presence since they separated two years ago and he didn't know how she was going to feel. He never told her about his assignments before, opting to tell her to not mind them since he didn't want her to get involved.

"Yamagata Yumi", he answered just as quietly. He knew that if he wanted things to change between them, he had to show her that he'd changed. That this time around, there won't be any more secrets between them, and he wanted her to understand that he trusted her enough to know how to handle it and act accordingly—just as he knows that she felt the same towards him after she told her about how she's currently investigating Chief Justice Kitazato.

He saw her eyes widen and for a moment, he thought that she was going to ask him to let her tag along. When he finally understood that her expression was that of genuine shock, though, he shrugged off his initial thought and asked, "What is it?"

"Yamagata?" she asked again to clarify.

He nodded and waited for her to explain why she was so surprised.

"She's Yazuo's ex-wife. What did you find out?"

His brows scrunched together in thought, surprised at the information that he was given, but not quite seeing how the two are directly related. "Katsura-sama says that she's the head of the Yakuza's prostitution leg. What does that have to do with Yazuo?"

"Well, most of the drugs that Yazuo brought in from Kyoto were distributed in the red light district, the same place where most of the brothels that the Yakuza built are. It's a bit odd that Yazuo and Yamagata's dirty work are in the same place—especially since they used to be married".

Kenshin took a few more seconds to process the information and glanced down at his watch. He only had twenty minutes left and he wanted to discuss what Kaoru told him with Katsura before he had to leave for his assignment.

"I'll ask Katsura about it," he told her as he stood up to change. "It looks like there's more to this than we initially thought".

Kaoru nodded and stayed seated as she watched him go to her spare bedroom to prepare for what he was about to do that night. After a few minutes, a fresh-looking Kenshin walked towards her to say goodbye as he placed a gentle peck on her forehead.

"Go back to sleep, Kaoru. I'll let you know what I find out tomorrow", he said.

He was about to turn away, but he stopped when he felt Kaoru tugging on his right hand. He faced her and was about to ask what she wanted when he saw her concerned eyes peering back at him.

"Be careful", she reminded gently.

He nodded and smiled warmly before letting her hand go as he left her apartment.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I can't stop writing. Seriously, I think it's a disease. I keep waking up and telling myself to stop, but then the ideas just keep swirling around and around in my head. In my profile, I said that I didn't enjoy writing as much as I did reading, but I think I'm starting to find the appeal in being able to control and create a world of your own. I hope you guys don't mind.

I'm not sure when I'll be able to finish the next chapter yet, though. Like the others, I have the plot ready, but I still have to figure out what details I'd want to expound on. If you guys have any suggestions on what you want to see, I'll be glad to hear them. Sometimes, I get inspired by something that one of you says and it makes what I'm writing all the more better.

I know this chapter was a bit plot-heavy, especially since this happened six months after the last chapter, but I hope I still managed to bring it all together properly. If you have any questions, though, let me know so I can try to address them in the next chapter.

I am immensely glad and grateful that you are all enjoying this story. This may sound clichéd and I know you've all heard this so many times before, but I really, really appreciate all your reviews and your constant support. This story is the longest piece I've written so far and I'm glad that a lot of you think it's worth continuing. I'd like to give a special shout out to **Royal Orchid****, melay, blue14, pesto, CaylieJelly,**** ireenie9177,** and all the other **guests **who take the time to leave reviews.Your kind words mean a lot to me and I love you guys for telling me what you think and for encouraging me to keep writing.

To **shishyu1**, I hope this chapter was able to answer your question. I'm afraid I can't give any more details since I'm still trying to iron them out myself, so I'm really sorry!

Again, thank you all very much. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Cheers!

PS Kenshin's ringtone is **The Vaccines' Post Break-Up Sex**. It used to be mine and it used to make me laugh all the time. Hahaha


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: **Yet another long one. I'm quite worried about this, so let me know if you get confused or too overwhelmed with anything!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, nor any of its characters. All information in this story (especially those relating to the Japanese government and their public officials) are all fictional.

* * *

**It Is What It Is**

**Chapter 6**

_He's late... again._

_For the past couple of weeks—months, really, Kenshin had picked up this annoying habit of calling her sometime in the late afternoon to tell her that he was going to be coming home late, so she wouldn't wait up for him. She didn't really mind at first. Actually, she prided herself in not being one of those women who felt the need to make a fuss every time her significant other would come home late without telling her exactly where he'd been. _

_She understood the nature of his job, and she knew that there were things he couldn't tell her because of confidentiality and safety issues. Sometimes, dating one of the country's top detectives and secret agents meant that she would have to trust him enough to know that what he's doing—all the secrets he's been keeping—are for her good and the good of her people. Especially now that the Yakuza's been acting up all over the country, and they both had the feeling that it involved some people in the government since no matter how hard Kenshin and the others tried to put a stop to the crimes that were being committed, they couldn't seem to pinpoint exactly who's been managing all of the underground organization's different facets. Whenever the law enforcers would feel like they're close to figuring everything out, another complication rises and they'd end up starting from scratch all over again._

_She had enough faith in him to know that he loved her enough to not do anything as stupid as to cheat on her—not when he knew just how capable she was of beating the crap out of him in case he ever decides to be unfaithful. She's never been the jealous type, because he never gave her a reason to be put in that position. Even when they were back in college, he's never been the type to play around with her feelings. _

_Their relationship was built on solid trust and faith in each other, and it was even made stronger because they both had the same amount of passion for the wellbeing of their country and all of its constituents. Although they both had enough wealth to keep them out of the more less-fortunate side of the social system, they both couldn't stand the atrocities that the people around them had to face to survive each day—and it was this that drove them both to try and find a way to make a difference._

_Kaoru was growing more and more frustrated at not being able to use the passion she had to help those who couldn't help themselves. As a lifestyle writer for Chunoichi Shimbun, her supervisors expected her to stick with what they thought she knew best—the ins and outs of the elite, the rich, and the famous. Kaoru has lost count of the number of times she'd begged her superiors to let her write something for the news. She hated the fact that every news article that they published mostly involved updates on how well their government was doing. She was aware that most of the people who worked for Chunoichi refused to see beyond their country's superficial achievements—thus blinding them to the pain that the less-fortunate had to endure to keep the status quo._

_She's been telling Kenshin about how she wanted to resign so she could do something that would let her channel her passion into something that could actually make a difference, something similar to his career—though maybe something that didn't involve as much interaction with lower-class criminals. She loved how much her boyfriend of three years supported this desire of hers, but she also listened to his advice whenever he'd say that she should just wait it out—that her big break would come sooner or later and she'd be able to print whatever she wanted to print._

_Recently, though, she's been feeling a bit suffocated by his support because her craving to do something worthwhile has been getting stronger. She's been getting the feeling that he _liked _what she was doing, because it kept her _safe. _Whenever she'd get those thoughts, though, she'd consciously try to block them off because she knew that he knew that she never really paid any attention to danger and trouble. However, with the recent developments in their relationship and current living situation, doing so is getting harder and harder to do each day._

_Initially, Kenshin brought home gifts and little tokens as a way to apologize for his late nights. She used to feel happy about them; but now, every time she'd see one of those little gifts lying around, she'd scoff. _

_They fought about that once, because she felt like he was bribing her to stay in a good mood and to not ask questions. He brushed her off, of course, and told her not to think anything else of it because they were just what they appeared to be—gifts. She was glad he had enough sense to stop doing that. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been held accountable for choking him to death with the next chocolate bar he gave her._

_She couldn't help how, lately she's been growing more and more agitated at his odd behavior. She understood, yes, and she was trying so, so hard to control herself to tolerate his sudden disappearances and his secrets. But couldn't he at least give her _something_ to let her believe that he wasn't doing anything that would end up breaking her trust? She didn't think she was asking for much, really. She just needed to know that he was safe, that he wasn't being reckless, and that he wasn't doing anything that would ruin what they had. She was hurting and she was starting to feel like he didn't trust her enough to be able to handle whatever it was that he was doing and goddamn it, she _missed _him._

_She missed being able to talk to him, and she missed falling asleep in his embrace—it's so unbelievably cheesy and disgusting, but she missed feeling secure and comfortable. She missed his presence, and it didn't help that most of the time, he couldn't even properly explain himself to her. He'd shrug her off whenever she'd ask, and most of the time he'd tell her to just leave it because he was so tired and he just wanted to sleep. It hurt. Kami knows she didn't want to be hurt by it, but she was._

_She's been feeling so lonely lately because not only was her boyfriend avoiding talking to her, but her friends were too. It felt like they were all ganging up on her because they were all being so... busy lately. Sometimes, it even felt as though they _knew _what Kenshin was doing when he wasn't with her, but none of them wanted to tell her anything. Hell, even _Sano_ was covering for Kenshin. Sano! The guy who never believed in secrets and who made a conscious effort to make sure that she wasn't going crazy. _

_Frankly, she was getting tired of it and she could feel herself drawing closer and closer to her breaking point—and she was so terrified of that because she wasn't sure if she'd be ready to lose any of the most important people in her life... ever. It made her feel pathetic because most of the time, she just turned a blind eye and pretended to be fine and to not care about whatever it was they were hiding just so they won't cut her off completely. They were the only family she had left, and she didn't know where she'd be if she lost them._

_She was starting to doubt Kenshin's fidelity. More often than not, she'd call him only to end up talking to Tomoe because he was too busy doing something—at one in the morning. She knew about Tomoe's feelings for him—she even told her herself because she wanted her to trust that she wouldn't do anything that would ruin what Kaoru had with Kenshin. The detective's assistant was so sincere that she ended up trusting her word. Kaoru was beginning to feel stupid for doing so, because it seemed like Kenshin and Tomoe were spending more time together than she was with him._

_So here she was, standing on the balcony outside of her and Kenshin's bedroom at two-thirty in the morning, trying to force herself to believe in her friends and her love. But tonight, more than ever, she wanted to be reassured. And damn it all to hell if he wouldn't give her anything to work with. Goddamn it all to motherfucking hell if he ended up telling her to leave it because he was _tired_, like he's been doing the last two weeks._

_The journalist was toying around with the cigarette she bought earlier. She never did understand why people smoked since it tasted so bad and it seemed to cause more harm than it was worth in the long run; but when she asked some of her officemates about it, she was starting to be more inclined to pick up the habit—if only to ease her anxieties and give her an outlet for her recent negativity, like her officemates said it would._

_She heard the door to their balcony open, and felt—rather than saw—Kenshin walk towards her._

"_Hey," he said as he hugged her from behind. "What are you still doing up?"_

"_I was waiting for you." She said softly, not wanting her anger to seep out into her voice in case it got him all defensive again. That wasn't going to get her anywhere closer to getting answers, so she prayed for control._

"_Didn't you get my message earlier? I told you I'd be home late." Her boyfriend murmured into her neck. _

"_I did, but I wanted to talk to you." She replied._

"_Hmm? About what?" he said warmly. "I can't say I'm upset that you stayed up, though, love. I missed you."_

_Kaoru sighed. "Where've you been, Kenshin?" _

_She felt him tense from behind her in a heartbeat, and just like that she knew she wasn't going to get anywhere with him that night._

"_I was at work." He lied. "There was another case I had to work on. Tomoe stayed with me most of the night, but I sent her home at around midnight."_

_There it was again; the anger, the doubts, growing stronger by the second. "I called Sano earlier. He said you left the agency the same time as he did—eight hours ago."_

"_Kaoru, let's not do this again," he said as he let her go to stand beside her and lean on their veranda's railing. "I'm tired, and you know there are some things from work that I can't tell you. Let's go to bed."_

"_I just need you to give me something, Kenshin!" she exclaimed exasperatedly. She turned to face him so he could see the frustration shining in her eyes. "Anything! A small detail, or at least where you really were. I'm not asking for much, but I can't keep being in a relationship with someone who I'm not even sure I know anymore!"_

_He looked away from her, his face turning stony as he watched the lights dance across the Tokyo Skyline. "Can't you just trust me?"_

"_I'm trying!" she said. "Kami knows how hard I've been trying to just trust you and know that you're not doing anything stupid. But it's getting harder and you're not making it any easier for me."_

_He sighed and turned away from her. "I'm tired. I don't want to fight about this. Not tonight. I don't have the energy to do this with you again. Let's just go to bed, Kaoru."_

_He was walking away from her again, and she was oh, so tired of it. "Fine", she said. "I don't even give a fuck anymore." She turned to lean on the railing again as she tried to fight back the tears in her eyes. She hasn't cried before and she wasn't about to start now._

_Three hours later, Kenshin woke up to a half-empty bed. Kaoru's side of the bed was untouched, making it clear that she hasn't been anywhere near it since they fought. He frowned and was about to head to their spare bedroom to try and coax her to join him in their bed, but noticed that the curtains blocking the entrance to their balcony from the room were flowing gently with the breeze. Obviously, she was still out there. _

_He sighed again as he made his way to talk to her, but was surprised when the scent of cigarette smoke wafted into his nostrils. _

'Kaoru doesn't smoke'_, he thought to himself. _

_He was looking around for a weapon he could use in case there was an intruder, while thinking about his girlfriend's safety. He hoped she was indeed in the spare bedroom and he hoped that, if the person outside _was _an uninvited guest, then at least he would be able to get rid of whoever it was before Kaoru woke up._

_He froze when he saw that the person outside wasn't a threat. _Kaoru was smoking.

"_Kaoru? Love?" he asked tentatively. "What are you doing?"_

"_What does it look like I'm doing?" she replied as she inhaled another puff of smoke._

_He paused at her icy tone. Perhaps he pushed her too far tonight. Maybe... this was her way of telling him she didn't care about him anymore. "When did you start smoking?"_

_Silence._

"_Love, you know how horrible those are for you. Come on, let's just go to bed."_

_She turned to face him slightly, and he was afraid of the expression he found on her face. It was something he'd only ever seen once—during her parents' funeral, when she was stubbornly refusing to cry as her parents' caskets were being lowered down into the ground._

_He saw her smile slightly before facing away from him again._

* * *

"Ah, Himura-san." Katsura greeted as he saw his redheaded assassin making his way towards the table he was currently occupying. It was exactly thirty minutes since he summoned him, and Kenshin was wearing the usual expression he schooled whenever he was given an assignment.

It hurt Katsura beyond belief to have to make him do this. He was fully aware of how killing someone can ruin a person and lead him into destruction—either emotionally, or mentally, depending on the person's strength. Truly, if they could avoid having to go through such means to achieve peace and equality in their country, he wouldn't even have had to think about doing so. But sometimes, one had to disregard their morals to deliver the punishment that the wicked people deserved. Sometimes, the destruction of one person would have to be allowed to ensure the protection of others.

"Katsura-sama." Kenshin nodded as he sat down on the vacant chair in front of Ishin Shishi's leader. "Is everything ready for tonight?"

"Yes." Katsura seriously. "The vehicle you will be using is waiting around the corner. The address and the blueprints of the target's location are in the envelope on the passenger seat, and we have marked the hallways and rooms that are expected to have guards making their rounds every now and then. I believe Makimachi-san was also able to list down the details on how often each corridor will be monitored."

Katsura watched as the young assassin took mental notes of all the details he's been given. Kenshin's efficiency and gift with remembering every detail without having to be told twice still amazed him to this day, despite having worked with the redhead for close to six years now.

"Finally, Himura-san, all security cameras have already been taken care of by one of our tech agents. You have four hours to finish this assignment, though I am quite sure that you will be able to do so in a less amount of time since the location is only half an hour away from here."

Kenshin nodded once again, mentally calculating the amount of time he would need to finish his mission quickly.

"I'm sure you understand that we do not want any other casualties aside from Yamagata-san tonight? I would like us to avoid dirtying ourselves with more blood, if it can be avoided."

"Yes, Katsura-sama." The assassin replied.

"Well, then, Himura-san. I wish you luck. Please don't hesitate to contact either myself or Sagara-san should there be any complications. Sagara-san will be close by should you need back-up."

Katsura was about to stand up to leave when he saw Kenshin looking at him intently. It seemed that he had a question about his assignment, and the leader was honestly both glad and surprised to see that his subordinate was finally going to ask about the reason behind the assassination he was about to perform. Perhaps the young one wasn't completely unaffected by the murders he was being asked to commit. Perhaps his humanity was still intact, after all of this time; and he was immensely glad about it since this meant that he hasn't been turned into another killing machine—uninterested in the details that weren't directly related to the mission he was assigned until after the deed was done in an effort to completely close himself off to not feel guilt over the life that he was about to take.

"Is there anything you would like to know, Himura-san?" he asked kindly.

"Yes, Katsura-sama, if you would not mind my asking."

"Of course." The politician settled himself back down onto his seat, hoping to reassure the detective that his questions were far from unwelcome. "What is it, Himura-san?"

"I was told that Yamagata Yumi used to be married to ex-Councillor Yazuo."

"That is correct." Katsura said, wondering about where this conversation was leading towards. "However, we have been unable to gather enough information to prove that both of them were aware of each other's dirty deeds. As far as we know, the Kyoto Drug Ring that Yazuo was involved with was in no way related to any of the Yakuza's establishments."

"Weren't most of the drugs that Yazuo brought in distributed in the Shinjuku district where most of the Yakuza brothels are?"

Shishi's leader was startled with the redhead's question. "There have been rumours of that, yes, but we haven't been able to confirm it. Originally, we thought that Representative Fukioka was responsible for smuggling them into the district, but since his assassination, we have always tied the drugs together with the brothels. When we took care of Fukioka four years ago, the amount of drug abuse instances in Shinjuku lessened, but we did find it odd that it has been rather unstable over the past couple of years."

"In time with Yazuo's appointment as Councillor, if I remember correctly" mused Kenshin.

"Himura-san," started Katsura. "Are you saying that Yazuo's Kyoto Drug Ring is also being powered by the Yakuza? That the Councillor himself was a member of the most powerful illegal organization in the country?"

"I know it's a big accusation, Katsura-sama, but these assumptions come from good authority, and I believe that they will be worth looking into."

The senior Shishi member paused to think for a while, before deciding to tell the assassin about what brought suspicion to Yamagata in the first place. "The only reason we had behind thinking that Yamagata-san was doing something illegal was because she kept going in and out of Yazuo-san's estate after he was incarcerated. We thought that she was just trying to collect as much of the funds that Yazuo-san was reported to have stolen from the government—which is mostly why we were surprised when we found out that she was funding the Yakuza's prostitution leg herself; although we never thought that the two would've been working together since their messy divorce eight years ago.

"If what you're saying is true, Himura-san, then it would mean that the Yakuza still has ties with our current government—something that we thought we were able to cut off when Representative Fukioka was killed."

"I am aware of the gravity of the situation, Katsura-sama" replied Kenshin seriously. "And I am also aware that if the Yakuza continues to have allies in the government, then we may be dealing with something bigger than what we originally suspected."

"Very well." The leader concluded. "I will have our intel agents take a closer look at this."

"Thank you" said the assassin respectfully as he prepared himself to leave. "I appreciate your trust, Katsura-sama."

"However, I do have a question for you as well, Himura-san, if you wouldn't mind."

Kenshin stopped to look at his superior curiously, which was enough of a sign for Katsura to proceed.

"Would you mind telling me who brought these facts to your attention? I would love to have a chance to speak with this person myself."

He saw the detective tense, and his eyes narrowed to give his leader a meaningful look. "It was Kaoru. I was with her when you called me earlier and she told me what she knew of Yamagata."

Surprised at the admission, but understanding the look that his subordinate gave him, Katsura nodded. "I understand." He sighed before looking up at the standing form of the man before him. "Although I must say that I am grateful that you and Kamiya-san are in touch once again, Himura-san. I'm glad for you—the both of you. I wish you luck with your personal endeavours."

Kenshin's eyes softened after hearing that. Despite the fact that his superior hadn't exactly been giving him orders that would strengthen his morality, he did know how much the older man regretted every mission he gave out. It was one of the reasons why the assassin continued to be fiercely loyal to his organization, after all. He understood that while their means were considered as dirty and unforgivable, at this point, there would be no other way for them to achieve their goal of having a better, cleaner Japan.

"Thank you, Katsura-sama." He said before turning around to leave.

"And Himura-san?" his elder called.

The redhead turned back towards his leader once again, curious as to what else he could possibly want to say.

"Yes?"

"I am aware that this Yamagata is the first female that has been assigned to you." Katsura said quietly. "Will this be difficult for you?"

Kenshin knew the underlying questions behind the politician's question. He shook his head and said a quiet "No" before finally making his way to the vehicle he will be using for that night's mission.

* * *

"_You've reached Himura. Leave a message."_

'_Goddamn it!' She thought to herself. _

_It's been two whole days since she had last seen Kenshin and she still had absolutely no clue where he was. It was amazing, really, how her feelings could be in one end of the emotional spectrum one minute, and be in the completely opposite side in another. In this case, she was teetering between extreme anger and unbelievable worry._

_It doesn't help that the last time he was actually home, they ended up fighting about the same things that they were arguing about for the last five months now; although, their recent fights had the additional bonus of his issue with her smoking—which she picked up about a month ago. They both said some pretty horrible things in their last argument, but she was sure that there was nothing that would merit this... this punishment. He's never put her in this position before, and she could honestly admit that it was a position she never wanted to be in ever again. In the past three years that they've been together, they'd never ever had to sink so low as to completely avoid the other without at least letting anyone of their friends know where they could be found in case something bad happens, or in case they'd finally decide to apologize and make up._

_It wasn't fair, what he was doing to her. She was trying her best to be at least civil to him—even though he was being unreasonably secretive. She still doesn't know what he's been up to, and she was pretty sure that he was nowhere near finally deciding to tell her anything about where he's been disappearing off to. He's been pushing her too far, and she wasn't sure what she was going to do if she reaches her breaking point._

_Kaoru pulled her phone from its charger and dialled angrily before placing her phone against her ear to wait for her friend's familiar voice to answer her call._

"_Jou-chan..." Sano said softly._

"_Sagara! If you don't fucking tell me where the fuck he is, I'm going to cut your balls off so I can feed them to rabid dogs!"_

"_Look, Jou-chan, I really don't know where he is. I've been trying to call him too, but I keep getting his voicemail. I'm really sorry." Her friend explained._

"_Fuck you! I know you know something and I'll be damned if I don't find out what it is!" she shrieked angrily. _

_She didn't care about what Sano was going to feel now. She'll decide what to do with him later, but damn it, they're keeping something from her and it's driving her crazy! She knows that her friends know something about where Kenshin disappeared to, and she has—quite honestly—never felt so alone before._

_Kaoru didn't hear anything from the other line aside from her brother-figure's heavy breathing. She could feel the pinprick of tears beginning to burn the back of her eyes, but this was no time for her to feel tired. She was worried sick, and her friends knew it, but they weren't doing anything to help her. What did she do wrong? What did she ever do to any of them for them to feel like she deserved this kind of treatment?_

"_Please, Sano." She sighed. "Just please tell me anything. At least tell me if he's alright."_

_When her friend still refused to answer her pleas, she angrily ended the phone call and sat down on their bed._

_She was so tired. She hasn't slept in two days—hell she hasn't been sleeping properly for months now, and she's been out of her mind with worry. She doesn't know who she could possibly approach about this because everyone she trusted seemed to not trust her in return. Fuck it, she even approached Saitou at their headquarters earlier to ask if Kenshin was involved in a special assignment. He did nothing but look at her warily and tell her to just go home._

_She's never felt that low before. She felt like a beggar—pleading and asking the people around her again and again for something that would help put her mind at ease. Not once in her life has she ever felt like she's been stripped of her pride. She never begged for anything, and now here she was, asking for answers that she knew nobody would want to give her._

_She sighed and wiped the angry tears that managed to escape from her eyes. She was tired of feeling sorry for herself, and she didn't want to give Kensin the leeway that she's been granting him for the past few months. If he wanted to leave her, then he should at least have the decency to tell her to her face!_

_The journalist stepped out onto their bedroom's balcony again, her cigarette pack and lighter in one hand while she grasped her phone in the other. She needed to calm down and get a hold of herself. Her petulant shrieking wasn't doing anyone any good, and her throat was starting to hurt from all the strain she's been putting it through over the last two days._

_Halfway through her cigarette, she decided to try to call her elusive boyfriend one last time; one last time before she stormed down to Sano's apartment to literally beat the shit out of him. _

"_You've reached Himura" said the recorded voice once again. She sighed and was about to end the phone call when a familiar voice suddenly cut off the recorded message._

"_Hello? Kaoru-chan?"_

_She was so startled at hearing a very unexpected voice from the other line that she dropped her unfinished cigarette. "To—Tomoe?_

"_Kaoru, it's not what you—"_

"_Stop. Just... stop." She said, tears finally falling down her eyes as she realized where Kenshin was. "I get it."_

_She didn't bother waiting for the other woman to answer and ended the call. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry at what she discovered. All she could feel was the unbearable pain that blossomed in her chest as she finally realized what's been happening. _

'_Fuck', was all she thought before lighting another cigarette and letting her tears fall freely down her face._

_It was two hours later when she realized that her hands were bleeding._

_She wasn't feeling anything less than pathetic now that what she did sunk in to her conscious mind. The hurt and the anger was still blazing through her chest, and she couldn't do anything but to try to stop it. _

_Scrub. Scrub. Scrub._

_She listened to the sounds of the brush she was holding onto so tightly as she scrubbed their white-tiled bathroom floor as clean as she could. She's been at it for an hour already, but she couldn't find it in herself to stop was she was doing. The strong bleach and detergent she used as a cleaning solution burned through the skin on her palms, and she could feel the stinging sensation that was exacerbated by the fact that she refused to rinse her hands with water or at least put on a pair of rubber gloves. She welcomed the pain because at least it gave her something definite to hold onto; something concrete. It was a welcome distraction from trying to make sense of everything she was feeling at the moment. She refused to stop._

_She dunked the brush she was holding into the bucket of cleansing solution beside her and felt the pain burn through her hand once again. For her, that physical hurt was a valid reason to explain the tears that wouldn't stop falling from her face. She wasn't crying over Kenshin—why would she when he was obviously not thinking about her? She wasn't crying over her friends either—why would she when they obviously knew about what's been going on all along and played her for a fool? She thought of them as her family, but they obviously didn't give a fuck about her feelings. She'd always known that this is what would happen when their relationship turned into a relation_shit_. They were the original crowd, after all. She was just dragged into it because what she did in college piqued their interest. She knew her place._

_An hour and a half ago, she went around their house like a tornado. She grabbed three of the largest travelling bags she had and started shoving her clothes and personal mementos into two of the bags. But when she started moving around the rest of the house to fill the third bags with the other belongings she had that were scattered over their living room and kitchen, she broke down and sobbed uncontrollably. It hurt to realize that there wasn't anything outside of their bedroom that she could define as completely _'hers'_. Everything she bought the previous years ended up having memories attached to them—memories that involved the redheaded detective that she now despised with her entire being. It was pathetic, really, to see how intricately she moulded her life around his that even the tiniest knick-knacks she thought she possessed were now labelled as _'theirs'_. It didn't feel right to take any of it—especially since she didn't even want to remember him anymore._

'Oh how the mighty have fallen'_, she thought angrily. _'What the hell have I done to myself?'

_The sound of her phone ringing brought her out of the angry thoughts that she was mulling around in her head. She sat down on her knees in the middle of their wet bathroom and pulled her phone out of her pocket—thinking that it was the airline she talked to earlier when she planned on leaving the country to start over. It wasn't a very wise decision to do so, really, since she was so emotional and everyone knows that you shouldn't make big decisions when you're extremely capable of making bad and potentially self-destructing choices. But what's done is done and now she was 85, 980 yen poorer than she was three hours ago._

"_Takani Megumi" the caller ID read. She didn't want to answer. In fact, she had the urge to just throw her phone across the room so she could nurse her broken self in peace. But her mother's countless lessons on control and civility prevented her from doing so._

_She pressed the call button and held the phone over her ear, not bothering to say "hello" to let the caller know that she was listening. _

"_Kaoru?" the voice asked worriedly. "Where are you? I've called you at least five times and you haven't been answering."_

"_I know."_

"_I'm sorry I haven't been able to answer your calls earlier. I had something I had to deal with and I didn't have time to—" the doctor tried to explain._

"_I know."_

"_Look, Tanuki—"_

_The journalist heard a scuffling sound, informing her that there was someone who was trying to take Megumi's phone. She heard a few muffled voices and recognized them as Sano's and Misao's, obviously upset with the doctor for calling her._

_She chuckled darkly to herself. So they were all together. Figures._

"_Kaoru, you have to understand—"_

"_I don't give a fuck anymore, Takani." She said coldly. "You don't have to tell me. I know what's been happening, and I don't—just... just stop, okay? All of you."_

_She ended the phone call and went back to scrubbing._

* * *

It took him exactly twenty eight minutes to get to the address written on the briefing documents on the passenger seat of the black vehicle that he was given for the night.

He spent another twenty minutes memorizing every detail of the blueprint that Ishin Shishi provided, along with the time and duration that each corridor would be monitored by the fifteen guards that were in the estate. He was currently parked three blocks away from the gorgeous house that was situated right smack in the middle of a square lawn—an impressive security measure, if he may say so himself, since the guards will easily be able to see if an unwelcome visitor would try to sneak into the house.

Unfortunately for them, though, the assassin's incredible speed wouldn't be noticeable in the middle of the night. The only chance that he could be caught entering the vicinity was if the sentry assigned to watching the security cameras posted around the house would see his black figure running across the brilliant, green lawn; and even this chance was stripped away because of the measures that the tech guys back at the Shishi's headquarters were currently executing.

'_Fifteen minutes'_, he thought to himself as he observed the house.

In exactly fifteen minutes, he'd be making his merry way into the private two-storey mansion with a less than ten percent chance of being caught. He attached the silencer onto the gun he was carrying and made sure that its magazine was fully loaded. He knew that he was only going to be using one bullet that night, but it didn't hurt to be prepared in case anything goes awry. He strapped one knife onto each of his forearms and concealed it with the black, fitted sweater that he had on. He secured another knife on his left boot before pulling the length of his black jeans over it. He rarely ever did use the knives since he hated how messy knife fights are, but they _have _saved his life on more than one occasion, so he brought them with him anyway.

'_Five minutes', _ he counted down.

He took one last look at the blueprints, thanking the universe for giving him the gift of photographic memory. It made everything so much easier for him since he wouldn't have any trouble with finding alternate routes should there be unexpected rounds from the sentries posted around the estate.

Once the clock hit its mark, he carefully stepped out of his car—making sure to make as little noise as possible as he closed and locked the doors of the vehicle. He stealthily made his way through the gates and the wide lawn, and grinned as he reached the wall on the left side of the house.

From here, he would have to climb the wall to reach the window of the room on the rightmost side of the building where his target was currently expected to be in. He saw the curtains in the room flowing gently with the breeze and smiled. It seemed like there weren't going to be any complications for this assignment, and he was especially grateful for it because his last two missions didn't really end well. If he was lucky, he wouldn't have to hurt anyone else aside from Yamagata. He hoped he was.

Giving his weapons one last pat to ensure that they would be secure as he climbed up the building, he took a deep breath before making the first step of his ascent. There were a bunch of peach-coloured pipes snaking their way around the house. He wasn't heavy enough to make the pipes groan, and his steps were light and sure—thus concealing his presence even further. Had anyone seen his figure, they would think that the black shape moving across the house was nothing more than a shadow since his skin was completely concealed and his bright red hair was tied up in a knot and hidden underneath a black bonnet. There really is logic behind assassins' and spies' all-black outfits—it isn't just for show and it isn't just a way for them to intimidate their enemies should they ever get caught.

He was close to Yamagata's bedroom window now, not even a minute away, and he was steeling himself for what he was going to see once he got there. Katsura's discomfort with assigning this mission to him wasn't completely unwarranted. This _was _the first time that he was tasked to assassinate a female target, after all, and he didn't know how he was going to feel about that yet.

He didn't worry about not being able to accomplish this, since every time he went on a _midnight rendezvous_, he made sure to lock his humanity and conscience in a tight box—only to be opened once he was ready to face what he's done. He was a cold and extremely skilled assassin, but he was still human and he still felt guilt over ending another person's life. While Sano usually preferred to drown himself in alcohol after successfully accomplishing another midnight task, he preferred to spend the rest of his dark knights in silence. Thus providing him with enough time to pull himself back together and to make sure that he was still _sane._

The assassin pulled himself into the room, careful to make sure that he won't be stepping on anything that would alert his target of his presence. He took a quick glance of the area to check if there were any immediate threats. Although the room was dimly lit—courtesy of the lamp that was beside the unmade bed on the right side of the room, Kenshin had no trouble with adjusting his eyesight to fit his needs.

The sound of a toilet flushing and a door opening heightened his senses. He faced the left side of the room where a woman just appeared. Her visage was made visible by the bright fluorescent light that emanated from the bathroom she just vacated, and the redhead could see that she was yet to be aware of his presence as she was currently fiddling with her bathrobe.

Yamagata Yumi was a petite woman. She had beautiful long and wavy hair that was as dark as the night sky, and creamy skin that was barely covered by the short night robe that she was currently wearing. From what he can see from her half-bowed head, his target had a pale, heart-shaped face that was void of any make-up.

Kenshin didn't really bother paying any more attention to her features. Whenever he'd be assigned on a mission, he'd force himself to ignore anything that might stand out in his memory in an effort to further detach himself from the task at hand.

He saw the woman raise her head and heard her gasp as her eyes widened in fright. If he wasn't paying enough attention, he might not even have noticed this since her expression was quickly replaced by something akin to grim resignation.

"So," she said silently, her voice tinkling around the silent room. "You're the deadly Battousai. I had a feeling I'd be seeing you tonight."

Kenshin did nothing but stare blankly back at her, cocking his gun and getting ready to finish this as quickly as possible. He tensed as he watched her walk towards her bed, but was surprised when instead of reaching for a weapon or calling for one of her guards, she settled for leaning against one of the bedposts.

"I'm not sure if you know my name." The woman continued casually. "I'm not quite familiar with how assassinations usually proceed. In case you haven't been informed, though, I'm Yamagata Yumi."

The assassin couldn't understand why he couldn't pull the trigger just yet. There was something about her relaxed disposition that piqued his interest, and the way she was speaking to him made him want to listen to what she wanted to say.

This is the first time that Kenshin ever thought about actually letting his target have a chance to interact with him, and he didn't understand why he was letting it happen.

Yamagata chuckled darkly. "I wonder, how do you live with yourself, assassin?"

His gaze was immediately locked into hers, surprised that she would have the gall to ask such a question knowing that he could kill her at any moment.

"How do you live with the knowledge that you ended someone's life? Are you haunted by the ghosts of the people you killed?" she asked imploringly. "Do you even look your victims in the eye before you shoot them or do you prefer to turn away?"

He watched her sit down on the soft cushions of her mattress. No matter how much he willed himself to do so, he couldn't look away and it was making him uneasy.

"I know what people like you think of us, you know. I know that you've completely deluded yourselves to believe that getting rid of us will help you create a _better Japan." _she scoffed. "You think we're scum—that we don't deserve to breathe the same air that you do.

"I don't think you've realized, _Battousai_, that we're as human as you are—maybe even more so."

Her words, soft as they were, were burning into his senses—surrounding him and making the air around him heavier and heavier to breathe.

"I have a family. I know you're aware that I came from a small fishing village in Okinawa, but did you know that I actually strived to be where I am now so I could make sure that my family back home will survive?" she asked rhetorically.

Yamagata looked away from his watchful eyes to stare at a small picture frame that was hung across from her. He didn't dare to follow her line of sight. All he could do was to keep watching the woman in front of him as she slowly coaxed his humanity to come out of its box—not that she was aware of that.

"My parents never had much to begin with, so putting me through school took great effort for them. I saw them struggle every day, and I swear I could almost taste their fear whenever the time to pay my tuition drew near. Somehow... somehow we made it through. But it wasn't long before my father fell ill—probably because all of the years he spent fishing and trying to sell whatever he could to feed us finally catching up with him."

The gun that he held was still locked on her head, unwavering. He watched her look back at him again. It amazed him how she didn't even have fear in her eyes as she stared down the barrel of the weapon in his hands.

"I just graduated from college back then, and it wasn't even a very notable university so you can imagine how hard it was for me to find a job. My father's hospital bills got higher and higher every year, and we had to sell most of what little we had. I couldn't afford any of his medication, nor did I have enough money to feed the three of us every day. So... since my mother had to stay at home to take care of my sick father, it was up to me to find a way to keep us alive."

She paused to take a deep breath before continuing, "A year later, I was approached by the owner of a brothel near the outskirts of our city. I had no money, I was unemployed, and my parents weren't getting any better... so I accepted. I know that people like you are probably going to say that there had to be some other way for me to support my family. If you were human enough to talk right now, I bet you'd tell me that _if there's a will, there's a way_. But you haven't lived my life, have you?

"I have morals, Battousai-san. It may not seem like it, but I do." She explained. "But at that point, was I really going to put my dignity above my family?

"I was disgusted with myself. I never wanted that life, and I wanted to stop doing what they made me do every single day of my life back then. So when I met Yazuo-san and he offered to take me away from all those, I accepted.

"Would you believe me if I told you I loved him?" she asked as he locked her gaze with his once again, making sure that he was hearing every word she said. "He was kind to me. He took care of my family, he erased my past, and he did everything he could to make me happy. When we got married, I wasn't aware of what he was involved in yet; but when he told me on the first night of our honeymoon, I told him that it didn't matter to me because in my eyes, he will always and forever be the kind and gentle person that he was to me.

"Two years later, I was taken as hostage by the Yakuza." She stopped and grinned, then. "I'm not stupid enough to tell you what happened next. I may be dying, Battousai-san, but I won't stoop so low as to offer you information in exchange for my life. Not when I know I'll die anyway."

"Why are you telling me all this?" he growled.

Kenshin saw her shrug and smile up at the canopy of her four-poster. "I don't know, honestly. Maybe I was just curious to see how you'd react once I told you. Maybe I wanted to see if you'd be affected. But I guess you're not, so it doesn't really matter, does it?"

He placed his finger on the trigger of his gun when he saw her start to walk towards him, ready to apply pressure if she made a wrong move.

The woman surprised him yet again, though. Instead of trying to grab his weapon from him and try to fight back, she placed her forehead gently on the edge of the gun's barrel and looked him directly in the eye as she placed her hands on top of his hand that was holding the gun.

"All I want now," she whispered. "—is for you to look me straight in the eye when you pull that trigger."

The assassin narrowed his eyes and shot the woman in front of him. As he watched her crumple down onto the ground, he realized why he wasn't able to shoot her immediately.

Yamagata Yumi's hair was the same length as Kaoru's was two years ago; and as he looked at the lifeless body before him, he could've sworn it was his love's face that he saw instead of Yumi's.

* * *

_The creaking from their front door woke her up. There was someone coming into their house, and while she knew this should scare her, she couldn't feel anything else but annoyed. She didn't want to see anyone, and she most certainly didn't want to see _him.

_The harsh stinging from her bleach-burnt hands was finally starting to fade. As she gingerly forced her swollen eyes open, she was also able to register all the kinks that were able to crawl their way up onto her neck and shoulders—a consequence from sleeping curled up on the reading couch on the corner of their spare bedroom. She didn't plan on falling asleep on the uncomfortable furniture, but when exhaustion finally hit her around an hour ago, this was the only place she could think of to go. There was no way she was going to rest her tired self on their bed, and their living room sofa was too close to the front door—which meant that if anyone were to give her a visit at this time of the night, she would be easily seen and she'd have less of a chance to escape whoever it was that would dare to come and see her._

_She could hear a pair of feet shuffling their way up onto the second floor, and she had no doubt that her elusive boyfriend would be making an appearance in the guest room once he realized that she wasn't in their bedroom. Kaoru closed her eyes and slowly counted down the number of seconds she had left before she had to face the inevitable. _

_How did one go about this? How were you supposed to talk to someone who betrayed your trust?_

_She wanted to leave earlier, but for some unfathomable reason, her masochistic self decided to make an appearance and she knew she couldn't just leave without at least asking him _why_._

_The shuffling was closer than ever now. She was trying to hold on to every bit of sanity and self-control she had left as she prepared herself to face what was to come. It was now or never, and after that night, she knew nothing was ever going to be the same._

"_Kaoru?" she heard him whisper softly as the light from the hall crept its way into the room from the gently opening door. "Love?"_

_The journalist couldn't stop the scoff that made its way past her mouth. _'Really?' _she thought. _'He must be crazy if he thinks I'd respond to that disgusting nickname.'

_She sat up as she saw his red hair approach her, trying to pick through her thoughts to figure out what she wanted to say to him first. She wanted to _hurt _him._

"_You have a lot of nerve to come back here", she said scathingly. "I'd hoped you'd just shrivel up and die somewhere. But I guess the world doesn't really care about what I want, does it?"_

_She saw him tense, before taking tentative steps closer to where she was currently perched. "Kaoru, please."_

"_No." She commanded as she stood up to face him head on. "Don't you dare come any closer, you bastard."_

_He didn't listen to her and continued to make his way to her spot in the room. She saw him stumble a bit, and realized that there was something off about the way he walked._

'Oh, for the love of—'_, she thought. "Are you fucking drunk, Himura?"_

_Instead of answering her, he hastily closed the space between them and wound his arms tightly around her. "Kaoru." He said gently._

_She could feel his damp clothes through her thin nightwear and the anger she felt increased ten times as she tried to push herself away from him. The smell of alcohol and sweat wrapped around her, along with something else that she couldn't quite figure out yet._

"_Let go of me." She said tightly. "You're disgusting and frankly, I don't want to be anywhere near you. Not tonight. Not ever."_

_He didn't listen to her and she could feel his arms tighten around her. His nose was smushed between her neck and left shoulder, and she felt him take a deep breath._

"_Please." He whispered._

_There was something strange in the way he said it and she couldn't help the confusion and worry that slowly blended in with her anger. She hated herself for it, but it was probably brought by force of habit. She never could stay mad at him whenever he'd beg her like that during the previous years that they've been together. But she steeled her resolve and stomped down on the new emotions that were blossoming in her chest—she was angry, damn it, and damn him if he's going to start making her feel otherwise just because of the way he was holding her and whispering "please" over and over again._

"_Let me go." She said half-heartedly._

_Suddenly, her brain finally caught up with her when she was finally able to process the strange scent that her nose was picking up on; its metallic and musty odour assaulting her senses._

"_Kenshin, are you—are you bleeding?" she asked worriedly as she tried to push him away so she could get a better look at him, her anger quickly being replaced by the overpowering feeling of worry. She was still mad, but what the hell happened to him?_

_It seemed as though her question cued his emotions to burst forth. She felt his tears drip down to her shoulders, and she could feel his heaving sobs wracking throughout their connected bodies._

"_Kenshin? What's wrong? What happened?"_

"_I'm sorry", he whispered brokenly. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."_

_She forced his arms to let go of her and pushed him away slightly to get a chance to study him fully._

_His red hair was messily pulled into a knot high above his head, and some of the wayward strands framed his face. He was shaking, and from what she could see from the light in their hallway, his clothes were damp and dirtied with blood and sweat, staining her light blue long-sleeved pyjama top. _

_She looked up to lock her gaze in his and what she saw there was an expression that she had never seen on his face before. His eyes were so hollow, and it looked as though he was currently trying to battle his way through ghosts that she had no idea where he got._

_This was not the face of a man who cheated on her._

"_Kenshin," she said again, softly this time and laced with worry. She placed her hands around his face, and tried to get him to focus on her. "What happened? Where were you?"_

_He roughly pushed her hands away and collapsed against her. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. He was there and I couldn't—I wasn't able to... gods I'm so sorry. I'm sorry."_

_She couldn't bear to hear anymore from him, so she held him tightly back. She didn't understand what he was saying, and she didn't know what to do or how to handle him. She's never seen him like this before._

_A few minutes passed with her listening to his heavy sobs. Her hands were rubbing soothing circles around his back and she could feel her eyes starting to sting from tears that were slowly surfacing. He was so... _broken.

_She knew she wouldn't be able to get the answers she needed with the state he was currently in, so she unwrapped herself from around him gently and intertwined the fingers of her right hand with his as she led him to the bathroom in their bedroom._

_She turned on their lights and the shower, and waited for it to be hot enough before she turned towards him to take his clothes off. Every move she made was slow and deliberate, and every touch and caress was gentle. It was only once they were both bathed in the bright fluorescent lights of the bathroom that she just spent three hours cleaning that she was able to see every detail of the state Kenshin was currently in._

_His bright red hair was caked with dried blood, and his skin was deathly pale. His eyes remained as hollow as they were when she first locked her gaze onto his that night, and his lips were pursed so tight that they were going white with strain. Tears still continued to run down his face, and it seemed as though he wasn't even aware of it._

_As she pulled every article of bloody clothing away from his body, she thanked every deity she knew that he had no wounds at all—which meant that the blood wasn't his. _'Whose are they then?' _she asked herself worriedly._

_He was still shaking, and he went right on back to grasping her right hand for dear life right after she finished pulling her top off from her petite frame. The journalist walked under the shower and pulled him along so she could hug him close to her as they both stood under the barrage of hot, steaming droplets of water._

_It wasn't until ten minutes later, when she pulled her arms away from him to lather shampoo on to his head, that he started talking. She was silent as she listened to him quietly admit that he was working as an assassin for an underground organization called the Ishin Shishi while she washed his hair. _

_He told her of every mission he'd accomplished over the past five month. Others, he'd mentioned in passing—as though they were insignificant and didn't deserve to be explained in detail. Some, he narrated as detailed as possible; so detailed, in fact, that she felt as though she was right there with him when it happened._

_She made sure to scrub every inch of his body as clean as she could. While she was washing his upper torso, he stilled and grabbed her once again. It was then that he told her of what happened two nights ago._

_Kenshin was tasked to kill one of the Yakuza's captains—a thirty-five year old man who was in charge of getting rid of government agents that would come close to discovering the group's chain of command. Katsura gave him the necessary details, and informed him that anyone who would come in his way should be taken care of as well. No one was to be considered an innocent civilian._

_When he reached his target's location, he was surprised that it wasn't anything similar to the abandoned warehouses that his other targets used as their headquarters. It was a white, two-storey house—complete with a beautiful lawn and a mid-waist picket fence that circled the property. Getting inside was easy enough since there were only five guards that his target had for protection._

_However, when he reached the captain's bedroom, he was surprised to find not one—but four bodies inside the dimly-lit room. His target was pointing a gun at Kenshin as he tried to hide his wife and two sons from view. The captain's family was situated in the far right corner of the room, with the woman stonily holding her terrified sons in her arms._

_Kenshin moved before his target even pulled the trigger. He could hear the bullets hitting random furniture and fixtures behind him as he zoomed across the room, and not one of them managed to so much as scratch the redhead's concealed skin. Eventually, the captain's gun ran out of bullets, and Kenshin saw his terrified and frantic gaze turn blank._

_"You're going to kill me" the captain said._

_The redhead stopped moving and nodded silently._

_"Shall we move this outside?" Kenshin asked quietly. He knew that the captain's family, however much involved they were, didn't deserve to see such a gruesome event._

_"No." The captain answered. "We shall finish this here."_

_He was about to protest when he saw the captain pull another gun from his back pocket. He was gearing himself for another round of avoiding bullets, but instead of pointing the gun at him, the captain turned to the three other occupants of the room._

_His target didn't even bat an eyelash as he shot each member of his family straight in the middle of their heads, and as they both watched the innocents' blood spread through the floor, the captain said "They will not die by your hands."_

_The assassin—startled as he may be—turned back to the captain, cocked the gun that he was holding, and pulled the trigger._

_As Kenshin's words washed around her, she realized what had happened to the man that she was holding. She could see him feeling lost and afraid, and guilty beyond belief—guilty for the lives that he was not able to save, and guilty for knowing that even if the captain did not do what he did, then the redhead would have had to do so himself. He was ordered to do so, after all, and no matter what the situation is, he knew that duty must always come first._

_It was this very same sense of duty that brought him to this point. He was broken and hurt, and for two days, he's had no one but himself to try to erase the memory of what happened._

_Kaoru cried with the redhead and held him as tight as possible. Not once did she ever think that she would have to face such a problem. She was a firm believer of diplomacy over violence, and murder—no matter what the cause—is unforgivable in her eyes._

_However, seeing Kenshin in the state he was in broke her. So as soon as she got them both out of the shower and dressed them for bed, she quickly pulled him into the mattress with her and covered the two of them with the warm blankets that they had._

_She continued to hold and comfort him, and she threw away all of the disgust and condemnation that she held for the deeds that he had done. He had enough of that for himself, and despite the anger and hurt and betrayal that she felt for him not telling her sooner, she still loved him. She loved him more than life itself, and to see him like this tore her heart over and over again._

"_You are not a bad person." She whispered to him when his tears finally stopped. She knew he wasn't sleeping yet, and Kami knows that the two of them were not going to be able to get any rest that night. "You are __**not **__a bad person. You are beautiful, and kind, and I love you. Nothing will ever change that. You are __**my **__Kenshin. You are not Battousai."_

_Again and again, she whispered those words into his ear, willing for them to be ingrained into his very being to remind him that he is not defined by what he does for his country. _

_When he finally gave into his exhaustion, she continued to stay up to just hear him breathing. _

_She let another part of herself go that night—her firm belief that no one in this world had the right to decide if a person lived or died. She realized that this was something she would have to forget now, because doing otherwise would mean that she would have to leave Kenshin since it was clear that this was obviously going to be a huge part of their lives from now on._

_If this was what she had to do to keep his humanity from fading away—then she would gladly make this sacrifice over and over again. _

_So she did._

* * *

Her phone was ringing.

It was four in the morning and her phone was _ringing_. It's been ringing for a while now, actually, but she thought that if she ignored it—if she kept her eyes closed and refused to acknowledge the horrible sound that it was making, then it would eventually go away.

It stopped, and she sighed in delight as she burrowed herself deeper into her covers and tried to recall the beautiful dream she was having so she could go back to it and enjoy the rest of the time that she had left to sleep.

A few seconds later though, her phone started ringing again and she yelled in anger as she finally picked it up—not even bothering to check the caller ID. There was only one person who would be brave enough to call her at this time and damn it, she was going to make sure that his ears would bleed as punishment for dragging her away from slumber.

"Goddamn it, Sagara! I don't _care_ if you're drunk and I don't _care_ if Megumi threw you out again! If you can't be bothered to stop drinking and just _sleep_ like normal people do, then at least—"

"Kaoru?"

'_Oh'_, she thought. She felt heat crawling up her face as she recognized whose voice was on the other line. _'Oh. Not Sano.'_

"Kenshin?" she asked tentatively. She kicked herself internally when she realized that it was _his _calls that she'd been ignoring.

"I'm sorry for bothering you, but..." he paused. "Can you please let me in?"

Kaoru's eyes widened at what he said. "Uh... what?"

"I'm... I'm outside your apartment. Can I please come in?"

"Sure." She answered as she rubbed the last remnants of sleep from her eyes. "I'll be right there."

The journalist didn't even bother to check her appearance in the mirror as she rushed through the halls in her home to open her front door.

"I'm sorry." Kenshin said when he saw her frazzled form. "I'm sorry for coming here so late. It's just—"

Kaoru looked up at him and locked her eyes with his. Her heart broke at the hollowness she found there, and she didn't even need to let him finish in order to understand what happened that night.

"I didn't know where else to go." He whispered.

Kaoru nodded and opened the door wider to let him in. She then took his hand and dragged him into the bathroom she had in her bedroom. He needed her, and she couldn't deny her what she knew he needed the most at that moment.

"You're **my **Kenshin", she said as she gingerly pulled his clothes off. "You are **not **Battousai."

* * *

**Author's Note: **This chapter was a bit hard for me to write. I actually had a different plan for this, but as I was writing it, my initial storyline just didn't sit well with me so I ended up going with my instincts.

I'm not sure if you guys were able to distinguish one part from the other. This was a mix of flashbacks and of present day situations, and it didn't feel right to write them as separate chapters because they're so intertwined in my head.

Was it too dramatic? Confusing? Let me know and I'll see what I can do to address your concerns in the next chapter. It helps to hear what everyone has to say because they help me plan how I'll write the next chapter.

Cheers!


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: **This chapter is more of a treat to everyone. It won't be too plot-heavy because I wanted the characters to have a brief respite before it all goes down again. It's not one of my best works, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. Though I have to give a lemon warning, in case any of you guys don't feel like reading something like that.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, nor any of its characters. All information in this story (especially those relating to the Japanese government and their public officials) are all fictional.

* * *

**It Is What It Is**

**Chapter 7**

He could hear the harsh thrum of raindrops falling against the glass windows, and he could feel the cold biting his feet from where they failed to be covered by the blanket that was haphazardly placed over his body. The wind was whistling outside the apartment building he was in, and he knew that when he opened his eyes, he would see how dark it was due to the heavy rain clouds that were looming over the sky. It seemed like the storm that the weather forecasts have been warning them about the whole week finally hit the city.

Normally, Kenshin would view all these as ominous signs of yet another impending disaster. But today, he couldn't quite grasp that thought because he was just so _comfortable_. He didn't want to open his eyes just yet, though, for fear of finding out that everything that happened the night before, or that even the warmth he was currently surrounded with, would all be a dream—a harsh reminder of everything he'd lost two years ago. He was afraid that if he finally decided to wake up, Kaoru's soft embrace would be nothing but a figment of his imagination.

In a way, though, he knew that that wasn't the case. He knew that he really was enveloped in her arms, that he was lying against her chest. He could hear her heart beating through her shirt, and his head was rising and falling in time with her breathing.

He still didn't want to take the chance though. He wanted to savor this moment because _what if _this was just another pathetic product of his relentless prayers to have her back in his arms?

He knew that wasn't the case just yet. She still wasn't completely his. They didn't make love or anything drastic the night before. Everything that happened between them—her soft and sweet words of encouragement and love, the time they spent together under the hot spray of her shower, their gentle movements as they walked to bed together and finally slept—was nothing out of the ordinary based on the other times that he sought her out for comfort after a particularly harsh night.

He sighed warmly, contentedly, as he finally opened his eyes and pushed himself up to relieve her of some of his weight. He couldn't find it in himself to completely push himself away from her, though. In case this moment never happened again, he needed something he could hold on to until they finally get back together in the way that he so desperately wanted them to be.

Kenshin spent a few seconds just admiring her sleeping visage. She still looked like his angel. Her hair was a mess and her skin was pale because of their late night together, but he could still think of no other woman whose beauty could compare to Kaoru's. How could someone who's been through so much still look so innocent?

He rolled onto his back and gently arranged her body to lay partly on top of his. Her head was now nestled on the junction between his neck and his shoulder, their legs intertwined, and her hand lay innocently on his chest. He smiled and kissed her forehead, internally thanking everything around him for giving him the chance to spend this time with her. It didn't matter if she wasn't awake yet. If anything he was thankful for that fact because it delayed him from having to worry about how she would react to their position, and about the awkward conversation that he was sure they'd be having once she finally got her bearings.

He was in the middle of thinking about what he was going to say to Kaoru when her bedroom door suddenly opened and he was forced to sit up in surprise, dislodging Kaoru's peaceful perch on his chest in the process.

"Kamiya Kaoru! It's TEN A.M. on a SATURDAY and what the hell are you doing?!" screehed Misao.

His eyes grew wide at seeing who the intruder was, and he could feel Kaoru's startled movement as she was rudely jolted into the world of wakefulness. Kenshin glanced at her and saw her adorably rubbing her eyes as she tried to process everything that was happening around her all at once.

'_How the hell didn't I hear her coming in?' _he thought confusedly.

"I told you time and time again that Saturdays are dedicated to—"

The way Misao's eyes widened in shock as her gaze locked with his would've been funny to him if he weren't caught in such a precarious position. The petite girl's hand was still on the doorknob as she looked from him to Kaoru's surprised form, and back to him again.

"What's wrong, Misao? Is there anything that—"

Megumi, too, stopped right in her tracks from where she was walking closely behind Misao. Kaoru finally managed to wake up fully upon realizing just who the people in her apartment were and she was fully aware of the positions of each of the people around her. Kenshin was still busy staring at the two new women in the room, a wild blush slowly creeping up his cheeks in mortification as he digested just how incriminating his and Kaoru's positions seemed from where Megumi and Misao were standing.

For a few moments, the four of them just stared at each other, each gauging just how they should handle the situation. Kenshin was the first to recover—he felt like he had to since he was clearly the new addition to what appeared to be their Saturday pre-wedding routine.

"Now Misao, Megumi... it's—it's not what you think." He stuttered in a pathetic attempt to remove the thoughts that he could see were brewing in their heads.

"Uh-huh." Megumi said with a smirk. "It never is what we think, is it?"

Kenshin's face was now the color of his hair, and Kaoru wasn't faring any better. If anything, the raven-haired beauty beside him was worse if the way she buried herself back under her white comforter was any indication.

"Well." Misao cleared her throat, a wide smile slowly cutting across her face. "I guess I can forgive your absence from your duties for... this. Don't let us bother you."

The blushing redhead ducked his head and forced himself to not meet any of the two women's eyes. He has seen a lot of horrible things in his life, but nothing could have ever prepared him from the mortification that the sight of two of his best friends at ten am on a Saturday morning would bring him.

"I guess we'll just... uh... come back later, eh, Kaoru?" continued the intel agent.

Kaoru made a noise of embarrassment and refused to come out from under her sheets.

"Have fun, you two! Use protection!" called Megumi playfully as the two girls finally decided to give them back some semblance of privacy after the loud wake-up call that they issued the bumbling couple.

Kenshin sighed when he heard Kaoru's front door finally close and he crashed back down into bed beside the woman who was still buried deep under her covers. _'This is going to be... interesting'_, he thought to himself.

"Well, that was an interesting start to our morning," he tried to say casually in an effort to break the tension. "So... shall I make us breakfast?"

All he got from Kaoru was a small squeak in response before he saw her flying to her bathroom as if the devil himself was right on her heels.

'_Yep. Interesting.'_

Half an hour later, and the couple were going about their morning routines. It wasn't any different from when they were together, with Kaoru enjoying a hot shower as Kenshin prepared their breakfast while watching the news. Perhaps the only deviance to what they used to do was the venue, but it was something that could be easily overlooked.

Kenshin was so comfortable in his white shirt and boxers, and in the familiar routine that he couldn't help himself from feeling the warmth that only _home _could bring. It was refreshing, after two years of doing this alone in his cold apartment, and he was glad that things were finally starting to look up for the two of them again.

For months now, things have only been building up and up between them and he was confident that soon, they would no longer be able to deny the chemical pull that was threatening to consume them both. It was only a matter of time now, because he was sure that she stopped fighting her feelings for him some time during the last three months that they've been spending so much time together. He had his doubts, but her actions from last night when he told her of the payment he requested for the favour she asked removed all the previous inhibitions he may have had. It was clear that she wanted this as much as he did, and he wasn't about to deny her what they've both been craving for for so long. It was just a matter of finding the right moment to strike.

"_In exactly one and a half week from now, the Japanese National Orphanage that Prime Minister Makoto has spent two years building will finally be open for all the less-fortunate orphans in the country. The institution will be able to house at least three hundred children, along with at least fifty social workers. One of the buildings in the orphanage complex will serve as a school, and there will also be an infirmary to care for the wounded and the sick. This is, by far, the biggest and the best child-geared social project that has been launched under the reign of Emperor Tokugawa."_

Kenshin smiled to himself as he heard the news while he was setting the table. The Emperor and the Prime Minister were both well-loved figures in their country, and he wasn't any different from the other citizens in this regard. It was just sad how some of the politicians and government officials who were working under them were so greedy and corrupt. It was because of them that big breakthrough social projects like the newly-built orphanage were so few and far between.

The Orphanage was something that everyone in his department and even in the Ishin Shishi have been talking about for a while now. As most of them have encountered orphans at one time or another—and since he was an orphan himself, along with his friends—it was very hard for them to see where these children tend to end up in after a few years of being alone. With an institution like this that could offer the kids security, education, health, and _care_, it was highly likely that the number of orphans-turned-bad that they'd be facing would significantly decrease over the next few years. They would finally have a shot at a future, and they would no longer have to be afraid of the system—not if their kind Emperor and their responsible and well-respected Prime Minister had anything to do about it.

"What are you smiling about?"

He turned towards Kaoru's voice and his smile grew bigger at what she was wearing. For some odd reason, he loved that she was still so comfortable around his presence that she wouldn't even bother to put on any make-up or wear any special clothing for his benefit when they were just lounging around the house. Kaoru was wearing a gray, oversized shirt with a washed-out image of The Beatles printed in front, and a pair of short Aztec-print shorts. She was barefooted, as always, and her hair was rolled up in a towel on top of her head. She was the perfect image of what _home_ was to Kenshin.

"I can't believe you still have that shirt." He chuckled. "Didn't Sano give that to you seven years ago?"

Kaoru laughed at the memory of how she actually received the shirt. "It wasn't really a gift. It was more of a... necessary trade. He stole one hundred and fifty yen from my purse, so I stole his favourite shirt." She stopped to give the redhead a once-over before grinning and saying, "Besides, you don't have a right to say anything about my shirt when you're wearing boxers you've had for about ten years now."

"Hey! You're the one who put me in these!" he accused. "I will not feel ashamed for something I'm not responsible for!"

"Yeah, yeah. Play the blame game, why don't you?" she laughed. No matter what he said, her joy at seeing him in nothing but a white shirt and a pair of bright pink boxers with cartoon ducks on them will never be tainted that morning.

"These are lucky. I've been looking for them for a long time now, but now I see that they were stolen." He glanced slyly at her. "Why exactly did you have my lucky boxers anyway, Kaoru?"

Kaoru's eyes grew wide and tried to find a suitable excuse for stealing his underwear. "I don't know! Maybe I mistook them for a pair of my shorts. They're unbelievably girly, you know." She said defensively.

"No they're not. They're lucky. Other people just can't appreciate their charm." He replied cheekily. "Are you sure you just didn't want me to get too lucky while you were away?"

"Shut up and get me my breakfast, you ass." She grumbled as she sat down on one of the dining chairs.

The redhead laughed at her command, but started scooping out a couple of eggs and sausages for her anyway. "It was the orphanage." He said.

"What?"

"That's what I was smiling about. The orphanage is finally opening and apparently the Prime Minister's already been talking to the social workers to get the kids ready to move in two to three weeks from now." He continued as he settled down with a plate of his own breakfast. "Everybody in the agency's really excited for it."

"Oh! The orphanage!" Kaoru exclaimed with a mouthful of eggs.

"Yeah. Why?"

The journalist finished chewing her food and gulped down a glass of orange juice to soothe her throat. "I have a favor to ask you about that, actually."

"A favor?" Kenshin asked, surprised and scared at the same time. "Why? Is there a scheme involving the orphanage?"

"Not that kind of favor, Kenshin. Calm down," chided Kaoru. "No, Hiko's forcing me to go to the state gala for the orphanage's official opening. It's going to be full of the usual bumble-heads and other higher-ups and the bastard doesn't want to go so he says I have to. I'm free to take anyone with me... except Sanosuke. Hiko says he'll stop paying me for a year if I bring Sanosuke with me."

"Have you asked Enishi? Don't you two usually go to those things together?"

"I did, but he said he promised Tomoe he'd meet her boyfriend that week. Besides, he doesn't want to go either."

"What makes you think I'd want to go?" he asked teasingly. Truth be told, he really didn't mind going, but he wasn't about to pass up the chance to ask her for another favour in return for hers. This could, after all, be the chance he was hoping for.

She batted her eyelashes and smiled sweetly at him. "Because you're my friend."

The redhead chuckled, "And you're mine too, but you know I hate those things. My brain cells are still recovering from the countless times you dragged me to events like those when we were still together."

"Oh come on! It's not going to be that bad. Besides, you're pretty invested in the orphanage. Don't you want to hear what Prime Minister Makoto will want to say about it?"

"I have absolute faith that I'll read about it in your accurate report anyway. I can wait 'til then."

"How about my dress?"

"Uh... what?"

"My dress will be your incentive." She said as a wicked glint appeared in her eyes. She stood up slowly, sensually, and walked to his side of the table. She could see Kenshin's amused eyes following her every move as he ate his breakfast.

"See, Kenshin, I was planning on wearing this beautiful dress that I got a year ago. It's black, sleeveless," she recounted. She gently turned his head to look straight up at her face, and when she was sure she had his full attention, she bit her already moist bottom lip. She got the response she wanted when his eyes automatically gravitated to her mouth. She then traced her finger from her collarbone down to the valley between her breasts and stopped right on top of her navel. "And it ends right... down... here" she added in a sultry whisper.

Kenshin gulped as he imagined just what the dress will look like. Damn, this girl didn't play fair.

Kaoru leaned down and slowly pushed her face closer to his. She could hear him breathing heavily and she grinned. Just when their lips were about to touch, she smiled and softly said "I wasn't even planning on wearing anything underneath". She locked her playful gaze with his and saw just how much desire she was able to trigger just by telling him about her dress. She sighed, "But, I guess if you really don't want to go... I'll have to find some other guy to take me."

She stood up and turned around to sit back down, already mentally patting herself on the back for a job well done. As she was about to step away from him though, she felt him grab her wrist.

"I'm going." Kenshin said roughly.

She smiled and turned around to thank him, but was surprised at how close he was to her. He pulled her closer to him and grabbed her hip. "But I'm going to need something in return, Kaoru." He said.

She gulped. It looks like she's unleashed the dragon on her, and she was as both as scared and thrilled as she was the night before. She _needed _this to happen today, because if it doesn't, she wouldn't be held accountable for jumping him in his sleep. "What?"

Kenshin smirked as he looked down at her. He leaned down and rubbed his nose against her neck, before tracing it up to her ear. "I know you know what you just did to me, love." He whispered hotly to her as he pulled her closer again so she could _feel _what she's done. "You didn't play fair."

"Didn't I?" she whispered back, her body fully aware of his hard member pushing against her through his thin boxers. _Finally. _

She gasped when the detective leaned back down to kiss her neck sensually. "No, you didn't. So it's only fair" he whispered against her skin, "that I don't either."

He kissed her neck again and she almost melted right at his feet at the glorious sensations his beautiful lips were eliciting. His kisses crawled up to her ear, before he left her skin alone briefly to nibble at her earlobe instead. Both of their bodies were growing more and more tense and excited at what was to come, and she was frozen and completely in his mercy as she waited for his next move.

Kenshin started trailing kisses down her jaw, then, and stopped when he was a hair's width away from her lips. He stopped and pulled away to look at her eyes, wanting to make sure that she wanted exactly what he did. When he found her blue orbs almost completely dilated, he smirked before closing his eyes and capturing her lips with his.

Their first kiss after two years was in no way near soft or gentle. It was passionate, filled with two years' worth of desire and longing and everything that they've missed out on. Once her mouth opened to let him in, their tongues immediately danced together—the action so familiar and so damn pleasurable that Kaoru was sure that if it weren't for his arms around her hips and her arms around his neck, she would've fallen all the way down to the floor.

Her hands were buried deep in his hair as Kenshin dominated the kiss, both only stopping when the need for air became too much.

"I missed you." She gasped as she stared at his golden eyes. "Please, don't stop."

Kenshin smiled and lifted her so she could wrap her legs around his torso. "I missed you too, Kaoru, and honestly? I don't think I could ever stop now", he chuckled. He kissed her again, softly this time, as he carried her back into her bedroom and laid her gently down on the bed.

"I don't think I've ever shown you just how sorry I am for what I did before." He whispered as he pulled his shirt off. "But I plan on showing you now, if you'll let me."

Kaoru couldn't do anything else but nod as she drank up the sight of his toned body. He managed to gain a few more scars from his missions, but he was still as perfect as the day that she first slept with him. She sat up as he pulled her shirt off, but before he could do anything else, she couldn't resist the urge to run her fingers gently through every new scar that he acquired.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for this," she said as she placed a loving kiss on the scar on his right pectoral. "or this," another kiss to the ragged scar by his left rib. "or this", another kiss to another scar. "or this," another kiss to the long line he had by his right hip. "I guess I missed out on a lot of things that happened to you, Kenshin." She said sadly as she looked up at him.

The redhead smiled kindly down at her as he nudged her to lay down on the bed as he crawled on top of her fully. He kissed her deeply, his hands grasping hers as he held them up above their heads. "I believe I said that I want to apologize. Don't steal my thunder, love."

She chuckled, but it soon turned into a breezy moan as she felt the detective sucking on a particularly sensitive spot on her neck. She felt him smile against her skin before trailing gentle kisses down to her shoulder, his hands making their way down to her torso as they left a blazing hot trail of nerves in their wake.

His head rose to meet her lips in another deep, languid kiss, their tongues dancing and exploring every bit of each other's mouths. She moaned again, and she pushed against him, silently urging him to do _something_—anything, to quell the heat that was building up in her. His knee was rubbing against the sensitive spot between her legs and his hands were slowly making their way towards her chest.

Her skin was tingling in anticipation, begging to be touched and to be paid attention to. Her body was a giant ball of fire and it was threatening to explode at any moment. They've both been without each other for so long, and while they were apart, they had no will to spend a night of intimacy with someone they weren't familiar with. It just didn't feel right to experience something so warm with someone else, not when they've spent five years attuning themselves to what made each other tick.

It was hard to be celibate for two years, but whenever they tried, they'd be wracked with so much guilt and the overall feeling of wrongness that they wouldn't be able to push through with it. Enishi tried so hard to push Kaoru back into dating that he kept setting her up on dates, or at least accompanying her to Tokyo's best night clubs in the hopes that she'd find someone that would hold her interest for at least more than a minute, but to no avail. Eventually, he gave up and just hoped for the best for his best friend.

Sano, on the other hand, knew that Kenshin won't be able to forget the feisty journalist no matter how hard he tried. So he settled for at least trying to help his friend with the horrible case of blue balls he was suffering from. He'd drag Kenshin by his hair to the nearest strip joint, try to get him as drunk as possible, before getting a stripper to give him lap dances. But none of it ended anywhere. Kenshin would just shrug and pay whatever girl tried to get his attention no mind, so eventually, Sano just gave up and contented himself with getting free drinks from the redhead—not that he was aware of the accumulating bill. He always only found out when Sano would just randomly disappear at the end of the night.

The couple thought that they were able to move on from each other, but it wasn't until their friendship rekindled that they knew that they were only fooling themselves because subconsciously, they were both still waiting for that glorious moment when they would be reunited and they'd both be free to pick up from where they left off. Now that they were here, they wasted no time in reacquainting themselves with the bodies they both spent years memorizing and pleasuring.

Kaoru's clothes were now completely off, and the only article of clothing that Kenshin had left were his lucky boxers. Their kisses were getting more and more passionate, their touches hotter and hotter by the second. The moment Kenshin's lips trailed lower and lower down her body, Kaoru knew that there was no stopping the chemistry anymore.

No more games, no more fooling around. All pretences were thrown out the window and the rest of their morning was filled with moans and immeasurable pleasure, along with soft whispers of "I missed you"s and "I love you"s.

* * *

"I told you those boxers were lucky." He said jokingly as they lay together in bed after they both reached the sweet release they've both been looking forward to. They were covered in the soft, white comforter that was slightly damp with their sweat, but they didn't mind it. If anything, they enjoyed the scent of sweat and lovemaking that hung thickly in the air because it proved that what they did was real, and that they were both really at this point of contentment and satisfaction. Things will only get better from here on out.

He was gently running his fingers through her hair, and she was tracing random shapes onto his chest as her head lay cushioned on his shoulder. Their legs were still tangled together, and she was sore in all the _right _places. Their lovemaking was gentle at first, but passion was quick to overcome the two of them once he started thrusting in and out of her as their eyes were locked onto each other.

She hmmed in response, not even bothering to say anything about the disgustingly pink boxers that now lay crumpled on the floor of her bedroom.

"I was beginning to think you've lost your touch, Kenshin." She murmured after a while.

"Hmm?"

"I've been making eyes at you since last week, but you never did anything. Not even last night when I was practically all over you." She said unabashedly.

"Well, I wasn't sure at first. But then I just wanted to make you squirm. I wanted to see if you'd make the first move this time." He chuckled. "You never do fail to disappoint, love."

The journalist gasped playfully and leaned on her elbow so she could look down at him, mirth shining in her eyes. "Are you saying that _I _seduced _you_, Mr. Himura?"

"What else would you call that stunt you pulled with your dress, Ms. Kamiya?" he said playfully. "You can't tell me you were just _innocently _telling me about the very appealing dress you're planning on wearing to the gala?"

"That was not seduction. That was friendly coercion." She said matter-of-factly.

"If that was friendly, love, then I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to not be friendly with anyone else. I won't be held accountable for torturing whatever poor soul you decide to be friendly with from now on."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Oh, but I would," he replied. "You seem to be forgetting just how jealous I could be."

She laughed as she lay back down on his shoulder. "How could I forget? I can still remember how that one guy ran with his tail between his legs when you saw him asking me for my number."

"Only he would be stupid enough to hit on you in front of me. We were holding hands for fuck's sake!" he chuckled as he recalled the memory.

The two of them were enjoying a walk in the park during a beautifully lazy Sunday. He left her for a minute or two to get them both ice cream cones and when he came back, he saw a man in a blue suit talking familiarly with Kaoru. He had never seen him before and the sight of him gently brushing a lock of hair behind her ear made him see red. His girlfriend looked very uncomfortable, and he decided to step in when the man brought up her hand to his lips when he asked her for her number so he could call her.

"Kaoru?"

"Yeees?" she drawled lazily as her hand drew circles around his left pectoral, the circles growing smaller and smaller until her fingers were ghosting around his nipple.

"We _are _back together... aren't we?" he asked, truly uncertain of the answer. "This wasn't just a one time thing, right?"

The journalist chuckled, "Yeah, don't worry. We are."

"Good", he sighed as he placed a happy kiss onto her hairline. "Just how _together _are we, though? I... still have your ring, if you want it."

"Kenshin..." she whispered. "Maybe, we shouldn't rush into that just yet. I just... I don't think I'm ready for it yet."

"Of course, love" he replied softly. "I knew that's what you were going to say, but I just wanted to put it out there. Though, I don't think I could ever sleep alone again."

"That much, I could agree with. I really did miss you," she admitted. "But I don't think I can let go of this apartment" she said sadly.

"I won't ask you to."

"Then how'd you like to move in here? I have a lot of room anyway, and you're here most of the time anyway. Unless you like your apartment too?"

Kenshin shook his head in denial, "No, that place is too cold anyway. And I'm not really that fond of my neighbours. I don't mind moving here."

The journalist smiled and gave him a tight squeeze, "I'm glad. I can help you move in next week. I'll take a day off from work so we could get you settled in. I haven't missed work in two years now, I don't think Hiko would mind me missing one day."

The redhead nodded, "Alright. Maybe we could even get Sano to carry a few boxes."

They fell into a companionable silence, then. It was exciting—getting a chance to live together again after a long time being apart. The best part about this was that the way they talked about it, it was like they've been planning on doing it for quite some time now. Subconsciously, maybe they were.

"Kaoru?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you really going to wear _nothing _underneath that delicious dress of yours?" he asked wickedly. "I don't think I'd appreciate it if I found out you were just lying to me to get what you wanted."

Kaoru chuckled against him and he could feel her breath run across his chest. "Well, you're just going to have to wait to find out, aren't you?"

"Oh, I don't know", he murmured as he crawled on top of her again. His head bent down so he could lick his way down to her right breast. He licked his lips, making sure that his tongue would touch the skin just above her hardening nipple as he did so. "As a detective, I have ways on how to make tell me what I want to hear." He whispered before he captured the pink nub with his teeth, nipping it gently before sucking on it after he heard her gasp in pleasure.

The fire was ignited once again, and his body was already ready to start another round of passion. His lips, teeth, and tongue continued rampaging her right breast as his left hand rose to squeeze and caress her other breast. Once her breathing started turning more laborious by the second, his head shifted so he could pay the same amount of attention to her other breast as he did with her right one.

She moaned deliciously and he decided to up his game by trailing his right hand down and down until it was somewhere near her nether regions. He then proceeded to massage the area around her already moistening center, rubbing slow circles around it, but expertly avoiding the little nub that he was sure would make her moan in pleasure.

"Are you going to tell me yet, love?" he asked playfully as he leaned back to stare at her darkening blue orbs. "Or are you going to wait for me to make you scream the answer?"

Kaoru's only response was to lean up to harshly capture his lips with hers so they could share another heated kiss. She moaned in pleasure once his hand finally touched her hot center, his fingers deftly moving and circling the sensitive nub.

"Ken... shin..." she gasped in pleasure.

"Hmm. Yes?" he asked as he bent down to lick the sensitive spot on her neck that made her turn into a puddle of goo.

She moaned again when his fingers entered her, gently thrusting in and out and swirling around her in a way that made her hands clench the sheets around her.

He bent farther down to trail gentle kisses all over her skin, his mouth lingering on the valley between her breasts before he travelled lower and lower until he reached her belly button.

"Are you going to tell me now, Kaoru?" he whispered before his tongue assaulted her navel, his other hand continuing its ministrations on her breast.

"No?" he whispered hotly before he lowered his head down so his tongue could join in with his hand that was busy giving her pleasure beyond belief. He licked and sucked, as his fingers continued to thrust in and out of her, making her almost crazy with the sensation.

"Kenshin, please..." she said, her voice needy and desperate for more. Her hands moved down to grasp at his hair, trying to get him to stop because she was finding it harder and harder to breathe.

He was relentless, though. He was on a mission to make her scream, and he wasn't about to stop until he achieved his goal.

His tongue stroked the already hypersensitive pearl yet again, and she saw nothing but stars as she screamed his name when the fire consumed her from the inside out. His fingers continued thrusting in and out of her, gently this time, as he continued his assault on her as she rode out her third orgasm of the day.

Once her shivering stopped, he crawled up her body to give her a long, languid kiss—almost lazy with his gentleness. His knee nudged her legs apart as he situated himself comfortably on top of her, his body hot and ready enough to dive into her.

When he finally did, he could feel Kaoru's nails scratching down his back as he filled her yet again with more pleasure and fire. She was so responsive and her moans only served to fuel him to go faster and faster, her legs tightening around him to keep him in place.

He could feel himself nearing the point of no return, but he was determined to put her pleasure first before his. Their hands were so tightly interlocked on top of their heads, and his arms were tight from carrying most of his weight. It wasn't until he heard her scream his name that he let himself go, whispering her name in the process.

As he lay on top of her, spent and breathing heavily from the sensations that were thrumming pleasantly throughout his body, he whispered "So... will you be wearing nothing underneath that delicious dress of yours?"

Kaoru laughed as he rolled off of her, only to pull her half on top of him again so he could hold her in his arms. "Yes, Kenshin. Absolutely nothing." She whispered right before she gave into the exhaustion that their morning brought.

* * *

Kaoru got up an hour later, fully intent on starting a hot bath when one of her best friends burst the quiet bubble that she and Kenshin created that lazy, rainy Saturday. She was sitting up when all of a sudden,

"Oi, jou-chan! You wanna go out tonight with—HOLY FUCK!"

Kaoru stared at the man who burst into her bedroom, shocked that he was there, his eyes wide open and swinging from Kenshin's sleeping form and to her quite topless torso.

"SAGARA SANOSUKE GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY ROOM!" she shrieked as she scrambled to cover herself from his view.

Kenshin woke with a start and ended up falling off of the bed, wildly surprised at all the loud noise that was surrounding him.

"Shit sorry I—goddamn it, uh—"

"GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!"

Sano clearly looked like he really, really wanted to move, but for some unimaginable reason, his legs refused to cooperate. He settled for giving her a playful wink, already resigned to the fact that he would die by the hands of this tiny slip of a journalist.

"Didn't know you had it in ya, jou-chan. Congrats!" he said before running off to her kitchen once he finally gained control of his body once again.

Kenshin got up from where he fell and peered up at her, quite scared of what was going to happen next. He didn't want to unleash her fury upon him, but he also knew that he had to calm her down, otherwise he'd be scraping bits of Sano from the ceiling.

"Uh... Kaoru..." he said placatingly.

"Don't you dare try to defend him." She said angrily. "He's going to **die **today and nothing you or anyone else will say can stop me from maiming him."

Kenshin nodded slowly, _'Sorry, Sano' _he thought. _'I tried.'_

He watched her warily as she made her way to her bathroom to start a hot shower. Once she was in, he then proceeded to collect and wear his discarded clothing so he could face his best friend.

He calmly walked out and headed into the kitchen to get a glass of water. That's where he found his friend, sitting down on the kitchen table and nursing a glass of whiskey.

"Hey, tiger." Sano said with a wink. "How was your morning?"

Kenshin glanced at him as he opened the fridge and opted for a bottle of orange juice instead. "Kaoru's going to murder you. I'm surprised you're still here."

The rooster head gulped and paled when he heard this, but then again, he already knew what was going to happen when he saw what he saw. "Yeah, why the hell do ya think I'm on whiskey at this time of the day?"

"Oh?" the redhead raised his brow. "I thought alcohol was just like water to you. I never knew your drinking had any sort of significance."

Sano didn't respond and instead took a sip of his drink, its warmth already calming his frazzled nerves. "I wasn't here to peep on whatever the hell the two of you were doing, though I must admit when Megumi told me you two were in bed together I thought it was just 'cause of what happened last night."

The two detectives shared a meaningful look, both knowing that they will not be talking about the latest mission. Sano knew that Kenshin dealt with particularly hard assignments in his own way—usually with Kaoru's help, and since they were back together, there was no point in trying to get the redhead to talk about what exactly happened during the mission.

"Why are you here, then?" the redhead asked as he settled himself down on the chair in front of his best friend.

"Katsura called me. Said you and the little missy had something on the Yakuza that we should know about. The others will be dropping by soon so I suggest you freshen up before they arrive."

Kenshin nodded and stood up, "I'm going to tell Kaoru. I think Enishi knows as much as she does."

Sano grunted in reply before he stopped paying attention to the redhead, and turning the TV on so he could enjoy a few minutes of basketball as he waited for his friends to get ready.

A few minutes later and Sano was staring up at the bane of his existence.

"Now... jou-chan..." he started quietly, scared of making her any angrier than she had to be.

"Privacy, Sanosuke. Are you aware of that word?" she said menacingly.

"Jou-chan—"

"Are. You. Aware. Of. That. Word?"

Sano was growing paler and paler by the second. "I am." He admitted.

"Do you know what it means?" she grumbled. "Do you?!"

"Yeah. Look, jou-chan, I didn't mean to see what I see, but if it's any consolation, your... assets... are really rather beautiful, you know? Not like the other girls'. I mean—"

"Stop talking." She ordered. "I want you to forget what you saw and I want you to never mention it again to anyone else. Do you understand?"

"Yeah. I do." He affirmed, glad that that was all the punishment that he was going to receive from her. She could be quite violent when she wanted to be. "I swear. On my life."

"Your life isn't really worth much, Sagara, so that doesn't matter to me."

"Ouch, jou-chan. Harsh." He muttered.

Kaoru walked to her cupboard to get her box of cereal so she could fix herself a cold bowl of Cookie Crisps. When she passed by Sano's head, though, she couldn't help but give him a loud, resounding thump which made him sputter on his drink.

"Is the bloodshed over?" Kenshin asked amusedly as he walked into the kitchen, fresh and in a white shirt and a pair of clean pants.

Sano grumbled about violent journalists, but wisely chose not to comment on Kenshin's question. He was unscathed, and he wanted to remain that way.

As the three of them settled down to wait for their other friends, Kenshin and Kaoru kept glancing at each other happily, each filled with so much relief that their two-year separation was finally over.

"So, does this mean you two are going out again? Or was it just a romp for old times' sake?" Sano asked frankly.

The journalist sighed at her friend's crassness, but answered nonetheless. "Of course we're going out, you idiot. But I refuse to discuss anything with you because you're an ass and you have absolutely no capacity to digest anything related to relationships."

"Hey! I happen to be in a relationship of my own, you know!"

"A relationship which you suckered Megumi into, I'm sure." She drawled back.

"What did Katsura call you about, Sanosuke?" Kenshin interrupted before the two people he was with started arguing again.

Sano sighed and turned off the TV to give his two companions his full attention. "Just about what you discussed with Katsura last night. He told me about Yazuo being in the Yakuza with Yamagata?"

The redhead nodded. "I think Kaoru better tell you about this, though. She was the one who brought it up with me last night."

The tall detective turned to Kaoru to ask her for more details, but was interrupted when their three other friends entered the kitchen.

The journalist sighed. "Does my apartment seem like a frat house to all of you?"

"We like it here," said Misao. "Besides, you have the best parking space. It's raining so hard outside I'm so thankful for your basement parking. I'd hate to have to cross the street just to get here."

"Why don't we move this into the living room?" offered Megumi. "We brought pizza, and Kaoru, I'm sure your fridge is stocked with beer. Might as well bring them out. Enishi's already in there."

All of them moved into the bigger room, each of them finding their own comfortable spot to settle in for the talk they're going to have. Everyone has already been informed of the story that Kaoru shared, courtesy of Katsura, and since all of them were already aware of the Ishin Shishi, there was no need to censor anything.

Once Sano brought out the beer to distribute, Kaoru decided to go straight to the point. "I don't really have much else to tell you guys. 'Nishi and I just came across a few files when we were investigating Yazuo, and it wasn't hard to make the connection between him and Yamagata 'cause his house is filled with their pictures. We don't have proof yet about Yazuo being in the Yakuza, just assumptions. It wasn't hard to find where his drugs were going to, 'cause he had a log book of all his drug transactions—but I think those are already with the police."

"Yeah," Misao confirmed. "They were given to us when he was arrested. We confirmed that most of the drugs were going to the Shinjuku district and we already shut down most of the brothels that were listed down there. The Shishi's already in Yamagata's estate, trying to find something to point us towards the direction of where all the money from the red light district's going to. We still have no idea who's running the whole syndicate."

"Hey," Enishi interrupted. "Didn't we find those weird bank transactions in Yazuo's computer before?"

Kaoru nodded, suddenly remembering the document with the countless numbers that they encountered when they were investigating the councillor. "Yeah, were you ever able to trace where those were going to?"

"What transactions?" asked Sano after taking a gulp of cold beer.

"We found a few files with account details when we were meddling with his computer. The thing is, we couldn't track down who the recipients were. Swiss banks are very strict about those things. They were pretty big transfers, though—around two to three million yen per month. We thought it was all for Yamagata as part of their divorce agreements, so we decided to leave them alone. But now that you're saying that Yamagata's in tight with the Yakuza, maybe it wasn't for her after all."

Kenshin whistled. "Those are pretty big amounts for them to be part of Yamagata's allowance. His drug ring says a lot, but I don't think he would've been able to shell that out for nothing."

"Do you still have copies of the bank records?" asked Aoshi.

"Yeah, I think they're somewhere in my office." Said Enishi. "I could hand them over to you, maybe you could do something about it. Hack the banks or something."

Misao nodded. "We'll do what we can. Hopefully, this'll be a strong lead once we find out who they've been surrendering their money to. I think Katsura mentioned something about weird bank details they found in Yamagata's estate too."

The group fell silent, each member thinking about where their stolen information could possibly lead.

"How funny would it be if Kitazato would actually be related to this, eh, Kao?" muttered Enishi after a while.

"It's a pretty far shot," said Kaoru. "But if that were the case, then that'd explain all the hunches we have about him."

"Kitazato?" interrupted Megumi. "The Chief of Justice?"

"Yeah. We're working on something for the paper. Enishi's been following up on a few leads he found, but we're starting to think his wealth isn't just from his job. He has way too many properties and extra cash to be doing what he's doing" explained Kaoru.

"Why? What's he been doing? Ain't he a nice guy? Most of the force is in love with him" said Sano.

"Yeah, he's nice and all. He's been constructing relocation sites for all the families whose houses he's been demolishing, and he's doing all that with his own money."

"What?!" exclaimed the rooster-headed detective. "Those are pretty expensive. Even for someone like him. He's issued about twenty demolition orders just this year alone!"

"I know" replied the female journalist. "That on top of his estates in the top vacation spots in Japan, plus the ones he have all over Europe, makes everything about him so weird; regardless of his philanthropy."

"Well whaddya know. The Japanese Robin Hood."

"We think it's more than that, though" said Enishi. "We'll let you know once we get a solid lead on it, but 'til then, we can't really do anything about it. We don't have any info on him yet and nobody we've talked to is willing to touch someone as high and mighty as him."

"Figures", scoffed Megumi. "You'd think those people would have enough balls to do that, but face them with a man like Kitazato and they tremble."

"Hey, have you ever thought of telling Saitou about this?" suggested Misao. "He's an asshole, but if there's anyone who has enough balls and clout to actually do something, it'd be him."

"I'll have to run it by Hiko first" agreed Kaoru.

"I've never known you to run anything by the old man before you do something, Kao" thought Enishi out loud.

"Yeah, well, Saitou scares the crap out of me. At least if Hiko's aware, maybe I could get him to talk to Saitou in my place."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Like I said, not one of my best chapters. I'm so sorry! I honestly didn't know how to write this chapter, and I don't know if it makes much sense, but I wanted to focus more on Kaoru and Kenshin's getting back together so I could focus on other things in the next chapters.

I hope you guys liked it, though! Let me know what you think. It was my first shot at writing a lemon, so I'm quite nervous about hearing what you all have to say about this.

Cheers!


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: **Before anything else, I'd just like to tell everyone that the Yamagata Yumi that Kenshin killed in the previous chapter is completely different from Komagata Yumi. Anyway, I think this chapter might be able to explain a bit more about the other characters. I hope you guys enjoy this one!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, nor any of its characters. All information in this story (especially those relating to the Japanese government and their public officials) are all fictional.

* * *

**It Is What It Is**

**Chapter 8**

It's been exactly a week and a half since that fateful Saturday, and Kaoru could not be happier. Her friends are as close and as rambunctious as ever, giving her more than enough love and support to get through her tough missions; her steady career has recently been getting better and far more productive than before, thus giving her the sense of fulfilment she'd always been craving for; and now Kenshin was with her again, filling the holes that the other aspects of her life couldn't quite touch. The best part was that he didn't seem to have any qualms with what she was doing, giving her the support and help that she needed whenever she'd need something that no ordinary law enforcer would dare to give her.

The recent events were starting to tie together and she was confident that, given a little more time, the secret revolution would come to an end. It was depressing to see just how many higher-ups were involved with the menacing Yakuza, and it was sad that people who the public thought they could trust were the same ones who have been making them suffer all these years. Kaoru was fully aware that the crimes wouldn't just come to a complete halt once the ill-willing officials were put behind bars, but she knew that if they managed to clean the government, it would only take a little more effort to finally bring down Japan's most feared underground criminal organization. At first, all of their suspicions seemed far-fetched, but with the right sources and leads, they've already been able to put at least six councillors and four government representatives in jail. It was a bit frustrating how with every official that she and Enishi were able to expose, there would be at least three more people who would be involved in the illegal transactions. It made her wonder just how high the Yakuza actually ran in the government.

"So... you and Kenshin, eh?" asked Enishi playfully as they enjoyed their morning routine out on their office balcony. It's been relatively calm lately, but it was mostly because they were at the phase where they would be able to do more inside their office than outside of it. The people they needed to talk to have already been interviewed, and the transcripts have already been checked by their editor-in-chief. Now, it was just a matter of reading through everything to try to find interesting pieces of information that they could tie together. They've been at it for two days now, but they were stuck in a rut. They have no plans on stopping, though, aside from the occasional coffee break every now and then, of course.

"I told you it was just a matter of time." The blonde journalist chuckled. "The guys and I had a bet going on, but none of us won. We all thought you'd be playing hard-to-get for at least another month or so."

"Shut up, 'Nishi" replied Kaoru as she took a drag off of her cigarette. "That's personal shit. I don't even know why you guys were talking about us behind our backs. I think I should be offended."

"But you won't be, because you love us too much." He explained matter-of-factly. "Besides, I don't think you have it in you to be offended. You're obviously up in cloud nine every damn day, so why would you bother stepping down there to be annoyed with me? Enjoy your beautiful life, you little minx."

"Yeah, whatever. I'm still mad at you for not going to the gala with me. You disregarded a friendship card, you know" she reminded him. The state gala she was dreading was already due to happen in a few days, and she wasn't happy about it at all. Yes, she'd be going with Kenshin, but she would honestly rather just spend her evening curled up in bed with the redhead with a nice bottle of wine and a couple of CSI: New York re-runs.

"But you got the next best thing going with you! I bet the press would have a field day on that one. Loads of lifestyle reporters are going to be there and I bet they'd be giving you the evil eye for being back together with the country's top bachelor. That's a way better scoop for them than if you were going with me" he teased.

The female journalist scoffed, "Like I care what those bimbos think. They can write whatever the fuck they want to write about me, it's not like anyone who matters reads that crap anyway."

"If I'm not mistaken, you're supposed to be one of those bimbos, Kao. You better get your notebook ready. I mean, who knows? Maybe you'd get to cover something exciting there. I heard the Prime Minister's wife was in the same dress store as Takei Emi. Oh the horror of two women being in the same dress in one event! I can see the headlines now!" he recounted amusedly. He knew his partner absolutely abhorred having to write lifestyle articles, and he was having so much fun reminding her about her impending assignment every chance he got.

"It amazes me how you find the time to listen to useless rumours like those, 'Nishi. Are you sure you don't want to be a lifestyle writer instead?" she teased. "Besides, I'm more excited for sneaking into Kitazato's office. If what happened during our game's any indication, I'd bet my left foot his security's going to be tight. I could use a challenge right about now. All this desk duty's driving me crazy."

Enishi lit another cigarette before taking a sip of his hot, black coffee. He loved their morning routines because it always gave him the chance to enjoy the calmness of their mornings in the office. Their balcony was high enough that they never had to suffer through hearing the rush of the Tokyo traffic that's usually terrible at this time of the morning, and they had enough outdoor furniture to keep them comfortable whenever they'd stay outside to enjoy a cigarette or two. It was getting a bit chilly these days, though, and he knew that they wouldn't be able to do go through their routine outside soon enough because of the snow that was bound to cover the whole floor once winter hit.

"I know what you mean. I think I'm starting to get cabin fever from being holed up in the conference room. Though I do like working in there better than my own desk." He said calmly. "Are you making Kenshin tag along during your hunt? I'm sure he'd be able to make things easier for you."

The female journalist pondered the idea for a bit, but shrugged it off. Hunting for information was her thing, and she preferred to do it alone—though sometimes she'd have to ask Enishi for his help on particularly tough cases. Given the event that was going to be happening in the same place as her target venue, though, she doubted there would be too many problems. "Nah. I'd rather do it myself. You know I love this part of our game. Just because we're back together doesn't mean he gets to do my dirty work."

"You sure? I mean, you said it yourself. Security's bound to be tight. Don't you think you might need a little extra muscle?"

Kaoru laughed, "You know as well as I do that I could handle myself. Remember that one guard who tried to block me before? He ended up unconscious ten minutes in."

"How could I forget? The way you used your _feminine wiles _that time should be illegal" her best friend grumbled. "I'd never be able to get anywhere if I did what you did. I don't have the boobs for it."

The raven-haired journalist scoffed as she took another drag from her half-finished cigarette. "You're starting to sound like Sano. You really have to stop hanging out with that guy."

"Beats hanging around with you and your boyfriend. I'm sick of being the third wheel. I get enough of all that couple crazy shit with Tomoe and Akira."

"I keep telling you to start dating someone so you wouldn't feel so left out, you ass" she reminded him. "I heard that chick in the business department's got the hots for you. Why don't you ask her out?"

"Because she's ugly" he explained bluntly. "We all know that ugly girls are way too clingy and jealous. If I do end up going out with her, you can bet you won't be able to call me in the middle of the night for an assignment anymore."

"Aww, 'Nishi!" she gushed. "I knew you couldn't live without me!"

Enishi chuckled, "It's more of I'd be bored out of my mind if you dropped out of my life. Kami knows I haven't had this much fun at work before you came in here."

"I bet you haven't had Hiko scream at you as much as he has since I got here, too" she said as she killed her cigarette on the nearby ashtray.

They fell into a companionable silence, then; the two of them opting to enjoy the stillness of the morning around them as they enjoyed their morning coffee. They were both dressed warmly enough that the chill around them didn't bother them much. Kaoru leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes for a bit, gearing herself up for another day that was going to be spent in their conference room so they could work through the transcriptions away from prying eyes, when her phone beeped twice to signal a message that she received.

"It's Hiko", she announced as she read through her message. "He wants us in his office now, but he didn't say why."

Enishi sighed. "What did you do this time? I'm not in the mood to be yelled at again, Kao. Not when my life has been delightfully peaceful lately."

The raven-haired beauty shrugged as she stood up, intent on disposing of her paper coffee cup on the way to their supervisor's office, "I didn't do anything! I've been with you most of the time, so if there's anything he's going to be screaming about this morning, it's got to be something you did."

"I never get in trouble with him, though," he explained as he opened the door so the two of them could step into their warm office. "He only screams at me when I come here drunk, or when you drag me into another one of your missions-gone-bad."

"Whatever, we'll find out soon enough anyway." Kaoru muttered in reply. For a couple of minutes, the only things that could be heard around the office were the clicks from the fierce journalist's six-inch heels. The two were walking to their supervisor's office at a leisurely pace, expertly navigating themselves around the regular hustle and bustle of their other officemates who were hurrying to beat the next morning's deadlines. Other employees would be running towards the tough editor's office once they got wind of his summons, but the two news journalists were confident—and resigned—enough to know that whether they hurried or not, they'd get screamed at just the same. There was no point in losing your poise if you knew you were going to get the same result anyway.

Once they arrived outside of Hiko's office, they took a deep breath before Enishi proceeded to open the door to let Kaoru step into the office before him, both of them failing to notice the presence of another well-dressed man leaning against the side of their editor-in-chief's work desk.

"You called, boss man?" the blonde journalist asked to announce their presence.

Hiko looked up from the documents he was reading over to watch his top reporters settle themselves onto the couch he had by his door. "Kamiya. Yukishiro", he said as he nodded to the two of them.

"Whatever it is, it wasn't us" Kaoru announced before Hiko could even explain why he called them into his office. "We've been working on the transcripts the whole week, and we haven't been out since what I did with Yazuo, so it must've been someone else."

The editor-in-chief sighed, "While it pleases me to know that I won't be paying for any of the damages your stupid shenanigans always manage to bring, that's not why I called you in here. In case you brats haven't noticed yet, we have a guest."

The two reporters turned their attention onto the fourth person in the office, their eyes growing wide as they realized who was standing in the room with them.

The seasoned senior detective was leaning against Hiko's table, dressed in a white long-sleeved polo and black slacks. A gun hung on its holster by the man's hip, and he was toying with a cigarette stick as he turned lazy eyes onto the two newcomers.

"Saitou", Kaoru acknowledged. "What brings you over to our side of the town?"

Saitou Hajime didn't bother to explain his presence, opting instead to shift from his current position so he could sit on one of the chairs occupying the front of Hiko's desk. He glanced at Hiko, silently telling him to explain why he was there instead of exerting effort to tell the female journalist himself.

"Saitou's here on Katsura's orders. Apparently, your recent scoop's been picked up by the Ishin Shishi, courtesy of that idiot nephew of mine. Katsura seems to think that their assistance is needed, and he sent Saitou to personally take care of this" the editor-in-chief said.

Kaoru gasped at the explanation, genuinely surprised at her supervisor's knowledge of the underground organization. "How'd you know about Shishi?" she asked.

Hiko scoffed at the question, "Of course I know about it, seeing as I'm one of the people who co-founded it."

The admission made the young journalist's mouth gape open in surprise, but before she could ask any more questions, Hiko decided to save himself the hassle by telling her of his involvement with Ishin Shishi. "Did you seriously think I let you print whatever you wanted to print just because I _like _cleaning up after you?" he scoffed. "You wouldn't be here in the first place if it weren't for Katsura. He told me to bring you in here two years ago. The revolution's been going on for a while now, girl, and if you think you know everything there is to know about it, then you're even more of an idiot than my nephew is."

"But... why didn't you tell me before? I know you know I'm fully aware of the Shishi."

Hiko shrugged, "Didn't feel like it. Besides, you were doing well enough on your own that I didn't think pulling you into that would benefit anybody."

The young journalist nodded in understanding, but she couldn't help but voice out another question that's been niggling in her head, "But... I'm not part of it. I wasn't able to get into Shishi because Katsura said I wasn't good enough for them. Why would he ask you to let me write for Tokyo Shimbun?"

Saitou took that moment to push his way into the conversation, "Nobody knows the answer to that but Katsura himself, so if you have any more questions about that, I suggest you take it up with him" he said. "I'm not here to help you understand your incompetence. I'm here because Katsura said you told Himura something that's of interest to me. So speak."

"I already took him through most of the things that you told me about Kitazato," Hiko explained. "He wants to know if you have any leads on this, and he wants to know what made you go after the Chief of Justice in the first place."

Enishi cleared his throat to get the attention of the other three occupants of the room, unsure as to why he was called in with Kaoru, but willing to share the information he was able to gather from his sources. "Uh... am I allowed to talk?"

"Of all the blubbering idiots in this office—" Hiko grumbled, "Why do you think I called you in here, Yukishiro? I'm not paying you to be Kamiya's sidekick. Tell us what you know."

He heard Kaoru chuckle at his misfortune, and he wanted to throw something at her just so he could find something to distract himself and the other two men in the office from his rapidly reddening cheeks. Instead of giving into his childish impulse, though, he decided to clear his throat again to buy himself a bit of time before he delved into explaining everything he knew of the situation to the intimidating detective in front of him.

"It started with the demolitions," he began. "He ordered another demolition around a month ago, but Kao and I got suspicious because it was so rushed and the people whose homes were affected had nowhere to go. It was supposed to be just another human rights violation story, but when we got wind of Kitazato paying for most of the relocation expenses before, we got interested. I mean, he may be the Chief of Justice, but we're pretty sure he doesn't earn _that _much."

"He doesn't." Saitou confirmed as he put the cigarette he was playing with between his lips. "No government official does, not even the Emperor himself."

The tough detective was just about to light his cigarette when Hiko's grumble broke through, "You light that cigarette in my office Saitou and I swear to Kami you'll be smoking that through your ass."

Kaoru and Enishi chuckled at how Saitou tried to stare their boss down, but ended up scoffing and looking away as he put away his cigarette. Saitou Hajime is tough, but there was no contest when he was pitted against Seijuro Hiko.

Kaoru decided to have mercy on the detective's pride and continued where Enishi left off. "Exactly. We got as much confirmation when 'Nishi here dug more dirt out of Kitazato through the Department of Finance; though when we tried to get more records about the previous relocations, they were suddenly very tight-lipped about it. We did, though, get copies of the deeds of all of his other suspicious properties all over Japan."

"And Kitazato's lawyers were all willing to give those documents to you, were they?"

The two journalists looked at each other mischievously before Enishi answered for the two of them. "Well... yeah. They just needed a bit of coercion."

The law enforcer sighed frustratedly, "They refused to talk to us when we asked, even though we had badges to threaten them; said that they weren't scared of any of us since they weren't doing anything wrong and if we had more questions, we were free to ask Kitazato himself."

"It helps when one of the lawyers is easy enough to sleep with blondie over here," explained Kaoru. "It helps even more when that lawyer has a husband and two kids."

"Anyway," Enishi interrupted, "we got another lead off of that. A couple of the properties around Kyoto weren't considered as _his _entirely, though they're currently under his care. They're registered under this guy called Udo Jin-E. We've been trying to snoop around to figure out who he is exactly, but we can't find anything on him. No bank records anywhere, no vehicles registered under his name, no IDs, nothing. Well, except for the Kyoto estates."

"We're still looking into it, but we have a hunch that if we figure it out, we'll find something bigger than what we're expecting. It's nothing new considering all the asshole officials out there seem to be related one way or another, but this Udo person isn't even in the government—at least, not that we know of" continued Kaoru.

Saitou looked at the two of them warily before facing Hiko, "A... hunch? You called me all the way over here to discuss a couple of _feelings _your people have?"

"No, Saitou" Hiko said gruffly. "I called you in here to let you know that my top investigative journalists are working on investigating the Chief of Justice, and they have actual leads that they could follow—which is more than I can say for you and your goons in the department." Saitou bristled, but Hiko ignored his indignity. "I want to be sure that they won't be encountering any trouble from the detectives under your belt."

"If you're asking me to stay out of this, then fine, Seijuro. But if you expect me to actually exert effort to make sure that your pets won't get killed during this little... adventure of theirs, then you've got another thing coming. We have our own problems to take care of."

Hiko scoffed. "What do I care if they end up dead? I just want to make sure that I won't be sued for any damages their investigation's bound to bring up. I hate dealing with screaming politicians. All I'm saying is the moment these two find whatever it is they need to find, you and your boys better be ready to take care of Kitazato."

Saitou nodded gravely. Arresting the country's Chief of Justice isn't something that they can take lightly, and he knew that when he does make the arrest, his department's going to be put under a lot of scrutiny. Still, though, once the evidence is in his hands, he wasn't going to waste any time in getting that bastard behind bars; and he most certainly wasn't going to let the old politician get enough time to go to the press to make it seem like he was being a victim of blackmail. "Is there anything else I need to know?" he asked.

"There is, actually," said Kaoru. "Back when we were investigating Yazuo, we got a few documents with bank details. The councillor's been busy before the exposé about his drug ring came out. He's been transferring around one to two million yen a month to an unknown bank account that we couldn't trace. Misao and Aoshi are working on it, though. We're just waiting for them to get back to us on it. They should have something by tomorrow."

Saitou looked at each face of the three people in the room who were with him. "We'll see what we can do about all this, but I'm going to have to ask you to not publish anything related to this if you do find anything."

The two younger journalists stared up at him in shock before hastily turning their heads towards their supervisor, fully expecting him to decline the detective's request. They were, after all, running a broadsheet, and to wait before they publish something could mean that the story they had in their hands could easily be printed by another newspaper.

They were surprised, however, when instead of finding Hiko's outraged face, they saw him looking meaningfully up at Saitou before nodding. "Fine."

Enishi was about to ask why he would agree to such a condition, when Saitou interrupted his intent by explaining, "We don't want to give his camp the warning they need. They might end up burning all the documents we'd need to indict them. With Kitazato's clout, he might even end up leaving the country before we could inform all airports in Japan to not let him travel any time soon."

The two journalists reluctantly agreed, but vowed to have the article ready for printing as soon as the arrest is made. They were about to say so when their supervisor interrupted their trains of thought with a dismissal.

"You two twits can go now. Keep doing whatever it is you're doing. I want this over and done with as soon as possible." He said. As the two stood up to leave his office, however, he called for their attention again, suddenly remembering another pressing issue that he had to inform them of.

"Before I forget, there's a new kid coming in today. Seta Soujirou. He's going to be on your team, so you two better play nice."

"What?!" Kaoru exclaimed, surprised at this turn of events. For two years now, she's been working with just Enishi, and she liked it that way. The two of them had chemistry and they were an excellent team since they had the perfect balance of spontaneity and skill. Adding another member to their team might mess that chemistry up and that could lead to catastrophic possibilities. "Why? 'Nishi and I are doing well enough on our own. Put the new guy on somebody else's team."

"You two need help, Kamiya. You both come in here looking like shit every day, it's only a matter of time before one of you ends up dead because of exhaustion. Shut up and just do as I say for once, will you? This kid's good. I wouldn't have hired him if I wasn't so sure of it myself. Or are you doubting my judgment now?" Hiko asked sardonically.

The feisty woman huffed and stomped her left foot in petulance before turning away from her supervisor. "Fine. But if he slows us down he's off the team, got it?"

Hiko scoffed and watched his two employees leave his office, sighing once his door shut closed. He turned to find Saitou's bemused face staring at him, his interest piqued as he watched the strange interaction that went on in front of him.

"Don't say a word, Wolf." He grumbled. "I know you have your fair share of insolent employees, so don't bother trying to lecture me about mine."

The detective scoffed, "Well, if that's all you need me for then I'll be taking my leave now. I put Himura in charge of the department while I'm here, and I have a feeling Sagara's not being too cooperative right now." He stood up to leave, and was about to pull the glass door open when Hiko's voice stopped him.

"I have one last question, Saitou." The editor-in-chief announced.

Saitou obligingly turned back around, his brow raised in question. The man seated on the desk looked up at him seriously, internally gauging how he should phrase his inquiry.

"I know you wanted Kamiya to work with you in Shishi" the older man said before stopping to stare up at the detective.

"I thought you said you had a question, Seijuro."

Hiko sighed, "Why isn't she in there with you, then? I know this is the first time you've ever listened to the word of someone outside of Shishi, so it's obvious that you trust her enough to work off of her leads; and I know you don't think she's incompetent, so what happened two years ago?"

Saitou stared back at the man who was asking him about one of the most talented investigative journalists he knows—not that he'd ever admit that to anyone. He sighed as he thought about how he was supposed to answer the question he's been asking himself for two years now too. Unfortunately, there was no way to answer the man before him that wouldn't give away his own curiosity. "You're going to have to ask Katsura about that. I approved of Kamiya before, and I told Katsura as much, but he ended up telling me to train someone else. When I asked why, he just said to forget about the girl."

He stopped, and looked at Hiko intently once more before continuing. "Perhaps you should ask that nephew of yours as well. Katsura has an odd affinity with that boy. I had a feeling he had something to do about Kamiya, but I didn't want to waste any of my time asking around. Besides, the girl clearly found a way to make herself useful outside of Shishi. Why bother?"

The elder Shishi member nodded and looked back down at the documents he was going over, signalling the end of his conversation with the tough detective. Saitou walked out of the office and made his way out of the building, already feeling the stress at the chaos he knew he would find the minute he stepped into the investigative department. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

"Okay, so we have confirmation for what Kitazato's lawyer said about the properties. Eight of the estates in Japan _are _his, and legal just sent the deeds back in to confirm their authenticity" recounted Enishi as he pored over the countless sheets of paper in front of him.

"The character statements we have from his wife's friends confirm that she's nothing but a social figure. She doesn't have any other sources of income aside from what her husband gives her every month. So that counts her out as a possible source of money for his household," Kaoru said thoughtfully. "Plus, none of the banks here in Japan have any records of any stocks or trust funds he may have stashed somewhere. So we know he's not playing around in the stock market."

The two journalists were still holed up in their office's conference room, trying to plug in all the holes in the mystery that was their Chief Justice. They already had proof of his dishonesty in terms of his wealth—they got that when they got hold of a copy of the official's Statement of Assets and Liabilities that all government officials were supposed to send in once they get elected into office. They were pleasantly surprised to find that most of the properties they discovered weren't in his statement. If an ordinary person would look at the documents, they would only find about a quarter of what the Chief Justice actually had to his name, which was proof that their official was hiding a lot of things under his sleeve. After all, there wouldn't be a reason for him to hide his wealth—unless he acquired them using means that aren't well-fitted to a person who held the position that he did.

"What about that Jin-E person? Found anything on him yet?" asked the blonde-haired main who was sitting across from Kaoru.

"No," she answered. "I called Misao last night, and she said there are absolutely no traces of the guy's identity; which is odd considering he has two of Kyoto's biggest estates under his name."

"Do you think maybe we should go down there to see the estates ourselves?"

"Kenshin told me Saitou already sent two agents down there to check it out yesterday. They should be back in a week, and I believe we were promised a copy of the report the agents'll be sending in."

"Ah", Enishi sighed happily. "The perks of being a detective's girlfriend, eh?"

"No, you idiot. Saitou was the one who promised us the copies. So it's more of _the perks of having Hiko as the boss_."

"Whatever. So what? Does this mean we have nothing to do but wait 'til we get the reports in?"

"I guess so. Or at least wait until the gala. Kitazato's office is the only place we haven't checked yet that's within our reach. I have a strong feeling we'll find something there."

The gala was in five days, so the two journalists weren't all that worried about rushing to prepare for the upcoming infiltration. They already had a couple of reports ready to publish for the next few days, so they weren't chasing deadlines of any sort. It was unbelievably odd, but right now, they found themselves _bored_. There was nothing left for them to do now but wait, and it was making the two adventure-seekers very antsy. It is, after all, their first slow period in two years.

After a few more minutes of hearing nothing but the clicks coming from their laptops' keyboards, Enishi had enough. "That's it. We've been in here for six hours straight now. I'm going out for a smoke. You wanna roll with?"

Kaoru chuckled at seeing her partner so restless. Truth be told, she was getting quite restless herself, but she knew that they really had nothing to do right now but wait. She didn't mind the slow pace, though. If anything, she appreciated it because it gave her time to help Kenshin settle into her apartment.

"Fine", she acquiesced. "But I'm fresh out, so you're going to have to give me a stick or two."

They stood up to leave after fixing the documents in front of them to make sure that they would be able to pick up where they left off once they got back. As they were about to walk out, though, they saw someone walk into their make-shift office.

The man was handsome, that much Kaoru was willing to admit. He had striking blue eyes that shone in the midst of his rather gentle-looking face. The serene smile he wore made her want to smile back at him, and he was impeccably dressed in a light blue long-sleeved polo, with its sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and a pair of khaki pants. His hair was black, and cropped neatly on top of his head. If Kaoru didn't have a boyfriend, she was quite sure she would've asked this man out just because of the warmth and air of confidence that exuded off of him.

"Quit drooling, Kao. You're taken" muttered Enishi from behind her.

Kaoru's eyes widened, and she turned around to hit Enishi for catching her in the act of admiring someone who was so clearly _not _her boyfriend. She was about to tell him off when she heard an unfamiliar voice call for their attention.

"Um, excuse me," the man said shyly with an embarrassed grin on his face. "I'm new here, and I think I got lost. You two wouldn't happen to know where the balcony is, would you?"

"Ah! A smoker!" exclaimed Enishi excitedly. "You must be the new guy. Seta, right?" he continued as he reached a hand out to the man, bumping Kaoru's shoulder as he pushed his way closer to their new officemate.

Soujirou nodded happily. "Yeah. I'm guessing you're Yukishiro?" he asked as he briefly shook Enishi's outstretched hand.

"The one and only," Enishi confirmed. "And this idiot girl here's Kamiya Kaoru. We're your new teammates."

Kaoru, who finally managed to compose herself and stand up to her full height, turned a smiling face onto their new comrade as she stretched out her arm to shake his hand in greeting. "It's nice to meet you, Seta-san."

The handsome journalist laughed at her formality. "It's Soujirou, please. Seta-san makes me sound so... old."

Kaoru nodded, then, pleased at his friendly demeanour. "Alright. Soujirou."

"Well, now that that's out of the way, you were looking for the balcony, right?" Enishi asked Soujirou jovially. "We were just heading out there to smoke a bit. Why don't you join us?"

Seta smiled and turned to follow his two new officemates out to the balcony. "If you two wouldn't mind."

"Of course not!" said Enishi. "We're all going to be working together pretty closely. I'm just glad you smoke too. That's gonna make it easier for us to get along. Smokers aren't assholes, in my book."

Soujirou chuckled as he walked behind the Kaoru and Enishi, who were now playfully teasing each other as they made their way through the busy office and out onto the balcony that was hidden behind glass doors. It was starting to get gloomy outside because of the rain clouds that were coming in, but he knew they had at least another hour before the rain fell.

The three of them settled down on three of the four chairs that surrounded a black, rattan-woven table near the edge of the left side of the balcony. It was one of the few furniture sets that didn't have an big umbrella to cover it, but none of them minded since the sun wasn't shining anyway. The two men brought out their cigarette packs and lighter and immediately lit up once they were comfortable. Kaoru had to beg Enishi for another two minutes before he actually gave her a cigarette to enjoy, but once the three of them were happily smoking, the two experienced reporters didn't waste any time in interrogating the latest addition to their team.

"So, Soujirou," Kaoru started. "What brings you to Tokyo Shimbun?"

Soujirou exhaled the puff of smoke he ingested before replying, "I didn't expect to be here, actually. I just sent my application in on a whim, but I never thought Seijuro-sama would be kind enough to even consider me to be a part of your team. I was about to sign in with Chunoichi Shimbun as one of their regional reporters, but when I got Seijuro-sama's call, I knew I couldn't pass this opportunity up."

Enishi scoffed, "Come on. You don't have to suck up to anyone in this table. What's the real reason you took the job? I know Chunoichi pays a hell of a lot more than Hiko does."

The black-haired man chuckled, "They do. But they absolutely refused to let me work on the piece I've been working on for two months now. When I was interviewed here, Seijuro-sama seemed pretty interested and willing to fund the research I needed for this."

"Must be some story you got there," observed Kaoru. "Hiko doesn't fund anything by anyone new. On second thought, he'd never put you on the same team as us—not unless he knew you had enough balls to do what we do."

The blonde reporter nodded, "That's true. We _are _known to be pretty ballsy. What are you working on anyway?"

"I'm not sure I should tell you," the new guy replied unsurely after a while. "I don't want you to think I'm an idiot on my first day."

"Let us be the judge of that," Kaoru pointed out. "If we think it's stupid, you can trust us to laugh straight in your face instead of behind your back. Besides, if Hiko thinks you're good enough, then you probably are. No need to feel insecure."

Soujirou looked at the other two occupants of the table thoughtfully before lighting another cigarette. After two puffs, he decided there'd be no harm in telling them. The whole company was bound by a non-disclosure agreement anyway, so it wouldn't matter if they knew or not. "There's a site I came across a couple of months ago. It's pretty disgusting, and the guys who are running the whole thing are all very secretive, so no one really knows who owns the site or who's in charge of the operation behind it, but it's pretty big and it's been running for a few years now so it's pretty established."

"What site?" asked Enishi curiously.

"It's basically like a Facebook website. Only they advertise naked kids instead of actual people. Once you're in it, you get a list of all the kids in the network, along with the money you'll need if you want them to... accompany you for the night. The kids range from about twenty thousand to two hundred grand per kid."

"Sounds sick," Kaoru grimaced. "What else is in there?"

"Well, once you click on a kid you like, the page expands to feature more details about the kid. There's a rating scale on the site that corresponds to what the kid can do. Like, you'll be able to find out how good a kid is with giving head by just looking at the number of stars beside each "talent"."

"What the fuck?!" exclaimed the blonde reporter. "So you're saying there's this online database of kid prostitutes and no one's ever done shit about it?!"

"Yeah," sighed Soujirou. "Since the kids are pretty expensive, I have reason to believe that the site's clientele are all rich enough to have money to spare. People are logged on to the site with aliases, so there's no way to know who's bought who. They are, though, required to leave comments on the kids' profiles after every "session". Just to prove that they're real people and that they were satisfied by the services they purchased—and I guess it's insurance for whoever's running it. See, when you register into the site, they ask you for all your details—credit cards, current employment, the works. The way I see it, if you find whoever's running it, then you'll get all the information you need about most of the paedophiles in Japan."

Enishi whistled as he lit another cigarette, surprised at the gravity of the case that this newbie was handling. "Holy hell. No wonder Hiko put you in our team. That sounds like a case we'd take on."

"How did you find out about it, anyway? How do we know you're not one of the paedophiles who's just scared you'd be taken down once the site gets discovered by the cops?" Kaoru asked sceptically.

"Well, for one thing, I wouldn't be telling Kasshin Karasu about it if I _were _one of those sick bastards. That'd just be stupid, don't you think?"

"Hey!" Enishi interrupted, aghast at Soujirou's knowledge of his best friend's alias. "How did you know about Kaoru?!"

Soujirou chuckled as he leaned back to look at the blonde man with mirth in his eyes."I didn't, actually," he admitted. "I just knew that guy worked here. You're the one who told me Karasu was actually her", he said as he pointed to Kaoru—who was busy glaring daggers into Enishi because of his carelessness with her identity.

"You're a fucking idiot, 'Nishi, you know that?" she grumbled as she stole another cigarette from Enishi's pack. "I swear one day I'm going to end up dead because you'll have blabbed my identity to the wrong person."

Her best friend had enough decency to smile embarrassedly as he rubbed the back of his neck in shame. "Yeah, that was my bad. Sorry, Kao." Apology given, he then turned to their new officemate to fix him with the most intimidating glare he could push himself to give despite the blush that was staining his cheeks. "You tell anyone and I swear to Kami you won't have just _me _to deal with. Kao's got a couple of guns behind her, so you won't have anywhere to run to if you do something stupid."

"Duly noted," Soujirou said mock-seriously. "This is my first time working with a team. I'd hate to fuck it up on my first try, so your secret's safe with me, Karasu-san."

"First rule of working with us, Soujirou-kun: don't ever mention my alias outside of Hiko's office" she scolded. "Anyway, what's done is done. So let's move on. You haven't answered my question yet. How'd you know about the child porno site?"

"It was an accident." He explained. "You'd be surprised at the shit you overhear in shady bars. There were two guys talking about it while I was out drinking one night, and I just decided to randomly check it out. I had no idea I'd come across something like that, but once I got into it, I was hooked."

Enishi and Kaoru nodded in understanding, fully aware of the high that journalists like them get whenever they'd be faced with a particularly interesting and tough case.

"Well, it's great to see you have the spirit for the job", the blonde commented. "If you need any help with that, feel free to let us know. I'm sure we can be of help. Especially if you'd need to pull a few strings up in the investigative department of the government. We got a few friends up there, and we'd be more than glad to introduce you to them—"

"No!" Soujirou exclaimed, surprising the two other journalists. "No, I, uh—I got this covered. I don't think I'll need any help from the detectives, if you don't mind. Thanks for the offer, though." He said as he forced himself to calm down and get his smile back in place.

"Alright, alright. Calm your ass down, Seta" Enishi nudged. "We're just saying. You don't have to get your panties up in a twist."

Soujirou nodded, smiling at the other two again. He was about to ask them what they were working on to change the topic when his phone rang, effectively excusing him from any further questions his new colleagues may want to ask him. He took the call and politely stepped away from their table, opting to talk to whoever was calling him in private.

"That was odd", the blonde journalist observed as he gave Kaoru a cigarette before lighting another one himself. "Think he's good enough?"

Kaoru took a drag out of her cigarette before turning around to look at the newest addition to their team, watching him as he spoke seriously to whoever was on the other line of his phone. "Must be. His scoop's good, and Hiko doesn't just let anyone work on whatever they want to work on. You know that", she replied pointedly.

"Think we can trust him?"

The feisty woman looked back at her best friend with a smirk gracing her features, "I guess we'll see."

* * *

"It amazes me how you've spent two hours in this room, yet I still don't see you in your dress."

Kaoru chuckled at her boyfriend's impatience. She was busy making sure her shoulder-length hair was curled _just right_, and she was doing final touches on her make-up. It was the night of the gala and although she absolutely abhorred the thought of spending six hours in the same room as pretentious bastards and bitches, pretending to actually like their company and to enjoy their countless tales of how brilliant they all were, she wanted to be sure that she would look well enough to help people remember that she is _Kamiya Kaoru_—only remaining heir of Kamiya Koshijirou and Eri, two of society's best, richest, and sincerest philanthropists. She wanted to remind them that the Kamiya line is still alive, and that the cause they stood for still had supporters out there.

"It's easy for you to say. All you have to do is put on that suit of yours and tie your hair up and you can go out there without anybody criticizing your every move", she pointed out. "I, on the other hand, have to make sure that the country's top bachelor's date looks impeccable."

Kenshin chuckled as he got up from their bed to put his arms around her busy self, effectively stopping her from tinkering with the countless number of bottles that were spread out in front of her. "You look fine, love", he said as he placed a tender kiss on her bare shoulder, her sleeve having slipped off some time in the middle of her pre-gala rituals.

"I'm not aiming for "fine", Kenshin" she giggled. "_Fine _is not good enough on a night like this. You know that."

The redhead laughed as he gave her one last squeeze before directing her to their walk-in closet. "My opinion might change when I finally see you in that black dress, so hurry up and get in it. We're going to be late."

She sighed and decided to let him guide her into the small room where her dress hung innocently from one of the hangers on the racks. The shoes she bought for the occasion were already laid out by the small couch in the room, saving her the time of trying to choose from her countless heels in order to find the perfect pair to go with her dress. It took her less than five minutes to put everything on, not even needing to ask for her boyfriend's help in zipping up her dress because there was no need for it.

The dress she had was custom-made, ensuring that she won't come across another woman in the gala who would be in the same gown as hers. It was black, but it had in-laid glitters that were so fine and so subtly sewed onto the outer chiffon layer of her silk dress that it made the whole thing seemingly shimmer once the light hits it just so. The top part of her gown split into two, the middle part left bare to show an enticing amount of skin. It would've been tasteless had it been worn by someone else, but her innocent beauty made the whole thing look classy.

She strapped on the black, six-inched platform pumps that she bought before crouching down to open one of the bottom drawers by her shoe cabinet. She smiled as she saw the weapons hidden in the drawer, spending a few seconds just admiring the shine and glimmer of the collection of heavy-duty knives she kept for instances like that night. She took one of the knives and strapped it onto her inner right thigh, making sure that the weapon was well-concealed before grabbing her purse to ease her redhead's impatience.

"Alright, I'm done. Let's go" she announced as she stepped out of their closet. She looked up from her purse when he didn't say anything in response, and laughed at the look of sheer incredulity that was painted on the detective's face.

"You know, if I were any other girl, I'd be offended at how surprised you look" she said coyly as she walked up to fix the collar on Kenshin's suit. She stepped back to admire his dapper attire, mentally promising to take care of the Armani suit he had on since she was quite sure it must've cost him a fortune—not that he had to worry about it, but it was the principle of the matter that counts. She looked up to lock her sapphire gaze with his, surprised at the amount of pure, unadulterated heat that she found in his amber orbs.

She felt his fingers crawling up the bare skin on her upper torso, his right hand making its way up to lock around one side of her neck. He grinned as he pulled her face closer to his, his other hand going around her waist. He was tall enough to still see past her head despite her being in those tall heels of her, a fact he was immensely pleased with because of his relatively petite physique.

"What do you say we just skip this whole thing so we can spend some time together? I've missed you, love" he said softly into her ear.

Kaoru laughed at his antics, pushing herself slightly away from him so she could mock-glare at him. "Hiko would _kill _me if I don't show up, and besides, you know that's not the only reason I'm going to the Metropolitan building tonight" she said meaningfully.

Kenshin was relentless, though, placing a sensual kiss onto her shoulder. "Are you sure there's nothing I can do to persuade you?"

"No" she said firmly, grabbing his hand to pull him out of their room. "Now go get your keys. We're taking your car 'cause it's sleeker than mine."

"Yes, ma'am," the redhead chuckled. "I'll go get it ready. Wait for me at the entrance of the lobby downstairs."

The journalist nodded as she gave her boyfriend a chaste kiss before he left their apartment. Once he was gone, she made one final run-through around their home to make sure that all windows were locked and all the lights were off. She also took a few seconds to rummage through her purse to make sure that her phone was there, along with the hard drive she'll be needing for when she infiltrates Kitazato's office later on in the night. After making sure that everything was in place, she made her way down her building to get into her getaway vehicle for the night.

Kenshin was already parked in front of their apartment building by the time she got downstairs. She wasted no time in getting into the black vehicle, and found the redhead smiling at her from the driver's seat.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Take me away, detective" she sighed good-naturedly.

They drove in silence for a few minutes before the redhead decided to break it by facing the metaphorical elephant in the room head on. "I'm still really not comfortable with you doing this, Kaoru."

The journalist sighed, already aware of the confrontation that's been building up the past few days after she told him of her plans to go into Kitazato's office alone. "I know, but there isn't anything I can do about it. You know that."

"Of course there is! You can choose to not go. Just let us take care of this. Things could get messy, you know."

"I've spent two years going through messy missions, and I came out of them just fine" she explained. "Besides, even Saitou agrees that this has to be done, and this has to be done now. You guys just don't have the time to do anything about Kitazato yet because of all the other cases you're handling."

"Then at least take me with you," he sighed, already aware of what her response was going to be. There was just no reasoning with her once she was dead set on doing something.

"You know I can't do that. You're my alibi in case something goes wrong."

"Ah-ha!" the detective exclaimed, feeling triumphant with finding yet another reason to prove that what she was going to do was a bad idea. "So you _think _something's going to go wrong."

"No, you idiot man, I said _in case_. We all know how important it is to cover all bases before we go into something" she gave him an annoyed look, before deciding to have pity on the man by at least trying to ease his worries. "You don't have to worry so much, Kenshin, really. I'm not going into this empty-handed," she said as she pulled her dress up to show him the knife she had strapped onto herself.

The redhead smiled sadly. "Then I guess I'm going to have to let you go, aren't I?"

"You're not going to _have _to _let _me do anything. I'm going with or without your permission. I'd much rather go with your support, though" she muttered.

"You have it," he assured. "I just wanted to be sure you know what you're getting into."

Kaoru smiled gently as she reached out to give one of his hands a quick squeeze in thanks. She knew how hard it was for him to let her take the reins on this, but she trusted him enough to know that he won't overreact should anything go wrong. She did _not _want a repeat of everything that happened two years ago. Somehow, she hoped that this time, he would have enough faith in her abilities to know that she would get herself out of whatever situation she gets herself caught up in alive.

"You know where Kitazato's office is, right? Tonight is not the night for your amazing direction skills" he joked, a clear effort to clear the tension that was building up between them.

"That was one time! And I do. 'Nishi grilled it into me yesterday" she affirmed. "We're here."

"We are. You ready for this?"

The journalist gave her knife one last pat, before giving her boyfriend a bright smile and readying herself for the press that they were going to face once she stepped out of the vehicle. "As ready as I can be. Let's do this."

It was chaos out there. A red carpet was rolled out to lead the guests in from their vehicles to the building's lobby, where cocktail tables were set up in the wide space. There were already a lot of high-profile personalities present, both from the government and from Japan's elite social circle, and the press were busy taking pictures and screaming out questions in preparation for the news and lifestyle features that were going to be out the next day. It was rare for the government to host events like these, and even rarer for the Prime Minister to be the one to call for a social gathering—especially since he was known to prioritize his job above mingling with the rich and famous. The opening of the orphanage, however, was a special occasion. The gala was being held as a thank you for all the people who have shown their support—both through the praises they've been giving during the institution's construction, and through their kind donations for the building and the kids that the government would be taking in.

Kenshin stopped the car they were in, making sure to stop right in front of the red carpet so the two of them could make their proper entrance. He's been to countless gatherings like these before, more so when he and Kaoru were still dating two years ago, so he knew the proper protocol for how he should act. He was no stranger to mingling with the elite, and he didn't really have as much trouble with the press because of his career and his family name. Of course, his appearance didn't make it any harder for him either. All in all, he expected to be able to get through the night without any worries.

The redhead stepped out of the vehicle, giving a brief smile to those who recognized him, before walking towards the other side of the car to assist Kaoru as she stepped out. The couple then made their way into the building, occasionally stopping every now and then to pose for a few pictures and to answer a few of the media's well-meaning questions. They also took that chance to confirm the status of their relationship, shocking most of the gossip columnists with the knowledge that the country's top bachelor is officially off the market... again.

Once inside, they easily found a relatively peaceful spot among some of Kaoru's parents' old friends. It was easy to fall back into the social rhythm they were both so familiar with and it wasn't long before the smiles and the conversations became less-forced and more comfortable. They just made sure to stick with the people that they knew wouldn't be as superficial as the others, and they were fine.

"Is that Kamiya Koshijirou's daughter I see?" boomed a strong male voice from somewhere behind the couple.

Kenshin felt Kaoru tense at the voice, and he mentally prepared himself for what was to come. He knew the reason behind why his girlfriend suddenly felt very uncomfortable, and if it wouldn't be rude, he would've taken her far away from the fast-approaching man. However, he knew that doing so would only cause eyebrows to be raised in their direction, so he settled for giving the journalist as much support as he could by placing a gentle hand on her back.

The journalist pulled up a serene smile as she turned to face the owner of the loud voice, before nodding her head in greeting once the man was close enough. "Kitazato-san. It's been a while", she said nicely.

"Indeed", the chief justice paused to observe her and Kenshin's linked hands before looking back up at her with smiling eyes. "I see you and Himura-san are back on friendly terms. May I offer my sincerest congratulations?"

Kaoru nodded again in thanks. "Are you here with your wife, Kitazato-san? I can't seem to see her anywhere."

"Oh no, I'm not. Aiko hasn't been feeling well lately. I think the stress of everything that's been going on is starting to take its toll on the poor thing" he mused.

"Trouble, Kitazato-san?" asked Kenshin politely.

"No, no. Just a few pests asking questions about our lifestyle. You'd think the media would be running around like headless chickens over the opening, but somehow, they still find the time to meddle around other people's businesses. Can you believe that someone's been hounding my lawyers for information on the estates I have?" he scoffed. "People just can't respect that other people have what they have because they _work hard._ If they want what others have, then they better be ready to exert as much effort as we decent people do."

The journalist bristled at the comment. How dare this man call himself decent despite doing what he has done? It was truly sickening how some people were just so self-righteous! "Sometimes, these people actually exert more effort than we do. They just aren't given the chance to succeed because other people see it fit to keep the masses down there."

"Then perhaps they are simply not strong enough, Kamiya-san. Strength, after all, belongs to those who can handle it. So does power."

"But that does not give those who hold it the right to abuse it, does it, Kitazato-san?"

The old man gave the journalist a levelled stare, annoyed at the insinuation of her statement. "Are you trying to say something to me, Kamiya-san?"

Kaoru, noticing the tension that was building among their small group of three, knew that causing a scene and pressing her views onto this man will do no one any good. So instead of fighting back, she decided to just bow out of the conversation. Some battles are meant to be lost, after all, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the enemy would gain a stronger foothold over her.

She forced herself to smile to diffuse the rapidly-building tension, "Of course not, Kitazato-san. I was merely standing for what my father and mother believed was right. You know how our family feels about power."

The Chief Justice nodded tightly. "Yes. Your parents have always been quite the idealists", he mused out loud. "Ah. I believe the man of the hour has arrived."

The three turned their heads to watch as their Prime Minister walked into the lobby with his wife on his arm. Immediately, the room was filled with so much warmth and sincere smiles because of their gratitude for this man's noble efforts. Not to mention the sheer amount of charisma that Japan's golden couple seemed to always have with them wherever they went. Not even the Emperor could inspire such sincerity from the people around him.

Prime Minister Makoto Shishio was one of the best men that Kaoru has ever known. Despite his rich background, the man always found a way to help those around him—ensuring that everything he did was for the wellbeing of the less-fortunate. He always exuded such a warm and gentle aura that the people around him couldn't help but bask in the glow of his good nature. It wasn't hard to get along with him either. In the few times that Kaoru and Kenshin have interacted with him, they've never felt even an iota of bragging from what the man has achieved in his lifetime.

His wife was the same way. As the country's best actress, you would expect Komagata Yumi to be nothing but a pretty face to complement the Prime Minister's handsome stature. However, her involvement with the country's top charitable foundations, as well as her background as a medical practitioner, gave people no doubt that she deserved to be married to their country's leader. Nothing but praises could be said of the two, and they truly were the couple that most of high society aspired to be.

"Ah, Kitazato-san," the Prime Minister greeted as he approached the group. "I'm glad to see you could make it."

"Of course, Makoto-san", the Chief Justice smiled. "This is a momentous occasion, and I would never have missed this for the world."

"You are too kind, Kitazato-san. Tonight is nothing but an event that should have happened long ago. I am only glad that we were able to make all of this happen during our term." The kind leader turned his attention onto the other two members of the group, smiling warmly in recognition. "Kamiya-san, Himura-san", he nodded in greeting. "I am pleased that you two are here as well. Please know that your donations have both been a great help in the building of this institution."

"It was no problem at all, Makoto-san", said Kenshin warmly. "It was our pleasure to be of assistance to you and your cause."

"Oh no, Himura-san. This is _our _cause. If I remember correctly, it was Kamiya-san's father who placed the idea in my head in the first place. If it weren't for him, we never would've thought of rushing something like this. Not with all of the other issues that have been rising recently." The Prime Minister sighed. "It surprises me that the officials that the people themselves have elected have all proven to be quite ineffective. For the longest time, we've been trying to find a way to lower the taxes and to make life more manageable for the masses, yet now we find out that it's the leaders themselves who have been responsible for them in the first place."

"Now, dear," his wife admonished. Yumi was dressed in a simple navy blue halter-top gown, and her face wasn't heavily painted with make-up, but she still looked absolutely gorgeous next to her husband's striking form. "We are here to celebrate, not to mourn. Stop thinking about the problems we have, just for tonight."

"I'm going to have to agree with your wife, Makoto-san. Tonight should be all about the orphanage, and it wouldn't do to have the person responsible for such a wonderful institution to be so depressed in the midst of all the guests", agreed Kaoru. She turned to smile at the prime minister's wife, intent on driving the conversation onto lighter topics. "That is a wonderful dress, Komagata-san. You look beautiful, as always."

"As do you, Kamiya-san", Yumi commented. "And may I offer my congratulations for you and Himura-san? I'm glad the two of you have gotten back together. The other state galas have not been the same without you two there to keep Shishio and I company. I've grown quite tired of talking about the latest Parisian fashions with the other women here", she chuckled.

"Thank you, Makoto-san", said Kenshin. "We're glad our company pleases you."

"Oh, stop being formal will you?" Yumi chided. "We've all known each other for a long time now, and we consider you as friends. Surely we have no more need for formalities."

The redhead chuckled and apologized for his behavior, before turning to the Prime Minister to offer his congratulations on the success of tonight's opening—as well as to offer his gratitude for his support during the latest arrests that the law enforcers have been forced to make in light of the recent happenings in their government.

"There is no need to thank me, Himura-san. My support is the least I could give through it all," Shishio mentioned. The group heard the event's emcee announcing the opening of the ballroom doors, and this cued the Prime Minister and his wife to make their way to the front of the crowd for the evening's opening speech.

"We'll have to find you later, Kamiya-san, Himura-san" said Yumi as they turned to greet the huge crowd of elites. "Please, enjoy yourselves."

Kenshin and Kaoru smiled at her in response, before stepping away from the crowd the moment that Shishio and Yumi fell out of sight. It was time for Kaoru to make her way to Kitazato's office since most of the people around them were preoccupied with settling themselves down in the ballroom where the gala's program proper was to be held. The couple were busy synchronizing their watches and running through the directions one last time before they parted ways for the night.

"You're sure you have everything you need?" Kenshin whispered as he fiddled with his watch to make sure that the time he had matched Kaoru's perfectly.

"Yes" she confirmed. "I have to go. I'll see you in an hour, okay?"

"Call me if you need help. I'll make your excuses in case anybody comes looking for you. Be careful", he instructed before leaning in to give her a quick peck on the lips for good luck.

The journalist smiled at her boyfriend one last time before turning around to stealthily make her way outside of the lobby and down into the service elevators that were located in the back part of the building. Luckily for her, most of the building's staff were busy trying to control the press outside, so the rest of the floor was completely empty save from the occasional guests who had to use the bathroom before going into the ballroom.

Once she reached the elevator, she wasted no time in getting inside and pressing the appropriate button that would lead her to the same floor as the Chief Justice's office. The Metropolitan building had thirty-four floors, the lobby and the ballroom being on the building's ground floor and all the major offices located on the higher floors. Her target's office was on the twenty-ninth floor—which meant that she had to be extra careful because escaping any possible trouble would be twice as hard as normal since her only escape routes would involve running back to the service elevators, or taking the stairs all the way down to the lobby. Both options were tricky since it was so easy for her to get caught should she try to make a run for it.

The service elevator that she was in came to a shuddering stop, signalling her arrival at her desired destination. Kaoru took a deep breath before pressing the button that would open the elevator doors, silently praying for there to be no guards on this floor at that time of the night. If the information that she got from Misao regarding the guards' rounds that night were correct, then there shouldn't be any patrols out there for at least another half-hour.

She gave a quick glance around her immediate area to look for any threats. Finding none, she silently stepped out of the elevator and quickly navigated her way around the floor, taking the appropriate turns in order for her to reach her target's office. Once she found herself in front of a pair of large wooden doors, she rummaged around her purse for one of the access cards that Aoshi gave her the day before so she could go into the office without triggering any alarms. She swiped the card, and pushed her way into the office once she heard the click that signalled the unlocking of the doors.

It was dark in the office, her only source of light being the neon lights that shone from the nearby buildings which were visible through the floor-to-ceiling windows that covered one entire side of the room. Kaoru calmly made her way through the chaotic work area, and walked to the door that marked the entrance to the Chief Justice's private room. She swiped another access card onto the electric slot beside the oak door, and waited for the signal that the internal alarms have already been deactivated before pushing her way into the darker room. It was smaller than the antechamber, with just one giant wooden desk sitting right smack in the middle of the room. There were shelves that were put up against the walls of the room, and a few scattered couches and chairs that were obviously used for impromptu meetings and discussions.

Kaoru found the official's laptop sitting innocently on top of the desk, and she hurriedly made her way to it, pressing the on-switch as soon as she reached the device. She sighed when the device asked her for a password, but wasn't really that annoyed because she already expected there to be roadblocks that she had to go through before she could get the information she needed.

I.T., however, was not one of her strong points. So, she took out her phone to call her long-trusted expert when it came to hacking computers.

"You're in?" Enishi called from the other line after he answered his phone after a couple of rings.

"Yeah. There's a password here, so I'm going to need you to take me through this thing." she explained calmly. She was relatively early considering the time frame she was given, so she felt no need to rush through everything.

"Okay, sure. What is it? A PC or a Mac?" asked her best friend.

"Mac. Looks like it has the latest OS, too."

"Oh, then that should be easy," her best friend commented before proceeding to tell her exactly which buttons to push and what commands to give the computer so she could get through the relatively lax security system. The moment that she got through the codes, she gave Enishi her thanks and promised to call him once she got home that night.

She plugged her hard drive onto the device, and saw how much time she had before she could get out of the office to bring all of Kitazato's personal and office files with her. Since the files were pretty big, she had ten minutes before it would be safe for her to unplug her external drive from the computer before she could make her merry way out of the office she was in.

Deciding to take the chance to try to find something else that she could use for her investigation, she walked around the office silently, running her hands through the spines of the books that were displayed in his mini-library. Kaoru was about to turn away to go to the other side of the office when a small, black safe caught her eye.

'_There has to be something good in there', _she thought as she crouched down to see how she could open it.

The safe was relatively new, and there were no visible key holes or locks that could show her how to open it by picking the lock. Because of its modern design, the technology involved in securing the device involved a small, touch-pad that was located in the middle of the front side of the box. It was obvious then, that the device was finger-print activated, and that there was no other way for her to open it unless she could access his prints.

Luckily, she'd already done something like that before, so all she had to do now was to find a piece of scotch tape so she could attach it to the touch-pad before applying just the right amount of pressure onto it—thus giving the device the impression that it was Kitazato's finger that was pressing against the touch-pad. Once done, the safe beeped in response before clicking open, giving Kaoru access to its contents.

There were at least ten sheets of pristinely-kept documents in the safe, all of which were filled to the brim with numbers. The journalist's brows rose in response to what she saw, but decided to get a closer look under the light of the desk lamp that was located by the chief justice's laptop. Once there, Kaoru was able to see that one column of numbers had the same numerical combinations, while the other columns had dates, times, and transacted amounts.

'_Bank transfers'_, she thought to herself when she realized what she was holding. Upon closer inspection, her heart started to beat a little faster because of the familiarity of the numbers that was on the document. She had seen that code before. Kaoru hurriedly rummaged through her purse to find her phone again, then she wasted no time in punching in Misao's number to wait for her friend to pick up so she could get confirmation on what she was thinking.

"Kaoru?" Misao asked curiously from the other line.

"Misao, I don't have much time, but I need you to check something for me", the journalist said hurriedly.

"You're lucky I'm right in front of my computer. Shoot."

"Do you have the account number we found in Yazuo's computer before?"

"Yeah, it's right here. We still haven't been able to trace it back, though. Why?"

"Run it by me again, will you? Just—just read the number to me, please."

The intel agent did as requested, and calmly waited for her friend to explain what was going on. After a few moments of silence on the other end, though, Misao decided to prod.

"Kaoru? What's happening?"

The blue-eyed woman was too busy staring down at all the sheets of paper she was holding, grinning at her discovery. When she heard her friend's voice, though, she was jolted out of her thoughts and pushed into replying "I think I may have found where those transactions lead, Misao. I can't explain now though, I'll have to—"

CRASH!

Kaoru jumped in surprise as the window behind her was blasted off into tiny pieces, the broken glass scattering itself all over the room. She crashed down to her knees, uncaring of the pieces of glass that broke through her skin. There was someone _shooting _at her from outside and she'll be damned if she'll waste time with crying over a few scratches in favour of crawling to save her own life.

She was on the right side of the desk, and she had to get under the oak table to get a less chance of being seen. As she was hurrying towards her destination, however, another bullet was fired—and this time, it grazed her arm, the sharp stinging making her lose her balance and slip down onto the floor. She shook her head and pushed herself up in order to keep crawling to safety, trying to think of an escape plan in the process.

The moment she got under the table, she pulled up her dress so she could grab the knife she strapped onto herself. She used it to rip her dress' skirt in half, giving her an easier outfit to move around in. There haven't been any more shots that have been fired, so she assumed that whoever was trying to kill her was using a sniper—and that he was just waiting for her to make one wrong move to tell him of where she was before shooting again.

The journalist was in the middle of thinking that maybe she should just wait it out and improvise from there, when she heard the office door opening and two pairs of heavy footfalls entering the room.

She sighed. _'Kenshin is going to __**kill **__me'._

* * *

**Author's Note: **I don't know how I did with this chapter. I'm afraid I might be rushing through the plot because I'm getting a bit too excited for what's to come. I hope I did it enough justice, though. But please, let me know what you think about it.

I've brought in a few new characters onto this story, and I hope I was able to give them enough attention.

Also, recently, I've been quite inspired to write something new. I plan on putting it up within the next few days. It's going to have a lighter plot than this, and it's going to be set in an Alternate Universe again. It's just something to keep my head above all the drama that I've been thinking about recently. Don't worry, though, I won't be abandoning this story any time soon. I would love for this to be the first story I ever complete.

Anyway, the new story is going to be **loosely** based off of Grey's Anatomy, since I love the characters' interaction in that series. I hope you'll like that once it's up.

Cheers!


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: **Okay. Here we go.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, nor any of its characters. All information in this story (especially those relating to the Japanese government and their public officials) are all fictional.

* * *

**It Is What It Is**

**Chapter 9**

She had no plan.

She could hear the two men coming closer to the table she was hiding underneath with every second that passed, and yet her brain still refused to help her by coming up with a solid plan of action that she could take so she could get out of the situation unscathed. Okay, so maybe unscathed was too much to hope for—seeing as her right arm was already bleeding profusely from where the bullet grazed her not two minutes ago. It was amazing how fast her heart was beating, and how she was _this _close to hyperventilating, but she still managed to hold on to some semblance of control so she wouldn't just faint out of sheer shock and fear for her life.

Kaoru took hold of all the possible advantages and disadvantages to her situation. She had a knife, so at least she had something to defend herself with; but she knew that her weapon would hold no candle to the guns that the two goons were sure to have. She was quick, though, and well-trained in hand-to-hand combat thanks to the training she underwent during her brief stint with the Ishin Shishi, so those were another couple points in her favor.

Looking back, maybe she shouldn't have rushed for the relative safety of the oak desk in an effort to hide from whoever was trying to shoot her. She should've run across the room to hide behind one of the shelves so she wouldn't feel like a sitting duck. But then again, she couldn't have possibly seen the additional challenge brought by the appearance of two burly men, so she didn't really feel bad for that. She did, though, feel bad for ruining the gorgeous dress that she bought for the gala. It was going to be horribly difficult to explain that to the press if they catch her running out of the building in the state she was in.

She could see two pairs of feet right behind the table now, and she shook her head to clear her thoughts of what she was going to tell the people she'd meet once—if, she gets out of the room alive. Right now she had to focus on actually _staying _alive.

The journalist grasped her knife tightly at the hilt and held her breath as she watched one of the two men walk around the desk, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. Hopefully, if she manages to injure the first man badly enough, then he would be out of commission for the rest of the night—thus giving her a chance to focus on fighting the other bastard who was after her.

_One, two..._ she counted down in her head as she watched the man's legs step even closer to where she was hiding with bated breath. Any second now and he'd be crouching down to pull her out from under the desk, and she was sure as hell going to be ready to pounce once she saw his face. Her knife arm was ready, and her body was coiled tight in preparation for the fight she was going to have.

The chair was pulled away from in front of her, and she could see a pair of legs covered in a dark pair of jeans. Something glistened near her head and she recognized the gun that her perpetrator was holding. She grinned, at least now she was going to have another weapon to protect herself with.

_Three._

Kaoru heard the man scream in pain as she pushed the knife she was holding deep into his left eye immediately after she locked her gaze with his when he bent down to see her, his blood gushing out onto her hand as a result of her efforts. She pushed herself out from under the desk and pounced on the big, burly man before her, pulling out her knife and stabbing the man's other eye in the process to make sure that he would be too injured to function once she was done with him.

She heard the other man scramble to remove the desk from between them, and she wasted no time in grabbing the gun that the first goon was holding and shooting in the direction of where the other guard was.

"What the fuck?!" she heard guard number two exclaim as he rolled away from the bullets that Kaoru was firing.

As expected, whoever was trying to kill her from outside the building started shooting at her again, filling the room with random crashes of fragile objects and flying glass from the now destroyed glass windows that stood behind her.

"Now, missy," the black-haired man said as he raised his hands in surrender. She was pointing the gun she was holding directly at him, daring him to make one wrong move so she could shoot his brains out. "I don't want to hurt you. Just put the gun down and nobody has to die tonight."

She scoffed, "In case you haven't noticed, I have no plans on dying any time soon." A series of shots were fired from behind her and she ran to the other side of the room, effectively hiding her from the sight of whoever was holding the sniper outside of the building.

When she heard the shooting stop, she leaned out to peek from the shelf she was hiding against, only to fall down when the uninjured man grabbed her ankles and pulled her down. The gun she was holding flew out of her hands as she fell, and her vision swam when her head hit the tiled floor with a thump. She could feel dozens of pinpricks of pain from where pieces of glass were cutting into her skin, and the sharp stinging of her right arm was starting to bother her, but she knew that to give into the pain now would mean her death.

The journalist tried to push herself up, but the other man had other ideas—pouncing hard on top of her and putting his legs on both sides of her hips as one of his hands grasped both of hers in a vice-like grip.

"Gotcha," he said, breathing heavily from the scuffle. His other hand grabbed her face and forced her to look up at him, his face barely visible due to the darkness in the room. She knew that he could see her perfectly, though, since the light from outside the building was directly on her face. "When boss said that we could expect Kasshin Karasu tonight, I didn't think I'd find a pretty little thing like you fumbling around in his office," he told her. "Maybe I'll ask him to give you to me as a present once he's done torturing your ass off."

"Let... me... go", she growled out at him, struggling to free herself from being held so roughly.

"Now, why would I do that, love?" the other man said. He leaned down so he could whisper in her ear, all the while making sure that his legs were tight around her body so she could have no chance to escape. "Why would I give you the chance to run?"

She saw him lean back up to take note of her precarious position from underneath him. He smiled when he saw her state of undress and let go of her face in favor of running his calloused hands through the skin that was visible on her upper torso. "This is such a lovely dress you have on. If you're good, I might even let you keep it."

"Who do you work for?" she bit out before forcing herself to stop panicking so she could _think_.

The man laughed at the question, "I would've thought that was obvious, little bird."

She decided that it would be good to keep him talking while she tried to figure out how to get back up on her feet. It didn't matter how stupid the questions she asked were, as long as it distracted the man long enough for her to come up with a plan. "Why are you here?"

"Again," the man chuckled as he stared down at her prone form. "Obvious. Though I rather think you're not in any position to be asking me any questions, missy. Why don't you tell me why Kamiya Kaoru's snooping around Kitazato-san's office instead?"

"How do you know who I am?" she asked angrily.

"Who wouldn't know who you are, doll face? You didn't seriously think that no one would notice the little girl who used to follow Koshijirou around, did you? I'm sure even you know how influential your parents were when they were still alive." He explained bemusedly. "Now, would you mind answering my question? Why is Kamiya Kaoru doing Kasshin Karasu's dirty work for him? And why are you sticking your nose into Kitazato-san's business?"

"It figures that you assholes would be sexist." She scoffed as she tried to wiggle her way out of her current position. If she could just... there! Now all she had to do was wait for him to lean back and she'd be able to stretch her leg back enough to kick the back of his head hard enough to make him stumble off of her.

The man sitting on top of her froze in surprise at her statement, before his brain finally caught up with what he heard. "Wait, _you're _Kasshin Karasu?" he said as he leaned back a bit to get a better look at her.

"Yes," Kaoru answered, her leg rising in a heartbeat so her foot could collide strongly with the back of the man's head, making him fall off of her due to the force of the hit. "I am, you fucking misogynist. And don't you forget it."

She scrambled out from under him and reached for the gun that was a few meters away from her head. Unfortunately, the man was stronger than he looked and he was able to get his bearings back quickly. She felt him grab her from behind and try to drag her back to where he was, but she kicked him hard in the face and got him off her tail for a moment, the hard sole of her heel making her hear a satisfying _crunch _in the process.

Kaoru struggled to regain her balance on her knees once again so she could grab the elusive weapon, but her efforts were once again thwarted when the man jumped up and made a grab for the gun. He was so damn quick that he got there before she did and her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him staring down at her with the barrel of the gun right in her face.

_Thwap!_

"That was for my nose, you bitch," he growled out after hitting her hard across her left cheek with the gun's handle once, her cheek and lip splitting open in the process.

_Thwap!_

"And that was for Mizuko!" he yelled, referring to his companion who was still screaming in pain and grasping his face on the other side of the room. "You better pray he doesn't end up blind. Otherwise I'll take those pretty blue eyes of yours and shove them in his face."

She spat at him then, aiming to show him just what she thought of the things he said. She saw him grimace in disgust upon seeing her bloodied saliva hit his shoes, and she felt rather than saw his foot hit the right side of her chest when he kicked her hard.

She was having a hard time breathing, which probably meant that the kick broke or at least bruised a couple of her ribs, but Kamiya Kaoru is not a quitter. So despite all the pain she was feeling, she still forced herself to at least try to get back up and fight. She needed to get out, and she needed to get out alive. Otherwise her redhead was going to make sure she never saw daylight again.

She was halfway up on her feet when she felt a huge blow on her stomach that completely stole her breath away. The man caught her by her hair as she started to fall, and her neck cricked because of the strain it was being put under as he pulled her head back roughly so he could whisper roughly into her ear.

"You just don't know when to quit, don't you?" she heard him say. Disgust filled her and rolled off her back when she felt his breath running across her face, but it was soon replaced by fear when the man placed the gun by her right temple. "Let me ask you again, sweetling. Why are you snooping around in here?"

"None of your business", she growled.

"Wrong answer." The man said simply before throwing her out right into the middle of the room, in plain view of whoever was trying to shoot her from outside of the building.

As soon as the light hit her, she heard a series of pings and crashes, and she saw more glass shattering from all around her. She crouched down immediately to try to avoid the bullets that were raining over her area, and there was a moment that passed where the other man—the one that she blinded, fell silent. She knew he was dead before she heard her enemy scream in anger.

"That was your fault, you filthy slut!" she heard him yell. The journalist was trying to crawl to the other side of the room to hide behind another set of bookshelves, but she only made it halfway through before the black-haired man grabbed her and flipped her around, his gun pointing straight at her head.

'_This is it'_, she thought. _'I'm going to die in this room.'_

"You've caused way too much trouble here, little bird. It's time we ended this."

She closed her eyes as she heard the gun cock into place, the rest of the world and its sounds fading away from her senses. Right now, the only thing she could process was the fact that she was going to die because of the bullet that was going to go through her head any second now.

Her eyes were forced open when she felt something fall against her foot, as well as something warm and sticky spreading over her legs. The first thing she realized when she opened her eyes was that she was not dead, and that she was staring into the eyes of someone who _was_.

"Get up, Kaoru. We have to get out of here."

She looked up at the voice and to say she was surprised at who she found was the understatement of the year.

"Sou—Soujirou?" she asked breathlessly. "What are you doing here?"

Another round of bullets hit random things around her and she was forced to crouch all the way down, as low as she could, onto the floor. She saw her officemate lean away from her to hide behind the open door of the now trashed office that they were in.

"Now's not really the time to be asking me any questions!" she heard him yell over the commotion. "We need to get out of here now! Get up!"

Kaoru nodded once and took a deep breath before taking all of her energy and shooting it into her system so she could half-run, half-crawl her way to where Soujirou was. It only took a few steps before she was finally out of sight of whoever was trying to kill her, and a few more moments before she felt Soujirou's arms around her, steadying her so she could stand properly.

"Wow," he sighed after catching her. "You're pretty banged up, eh?"

Disoriented and still heavily breathless from her struggle, the injured woman didn't bother to think of a response to her colleague's comment. Instead, she nodded and tried to breathe through her nose so she could calm down.

"The files", she gasped out, her eyes growing wide when she realized what she left behind. "I have to get the files."

"Are you crazy?!" Soujirou exclaimed. "They're tearing this place apart! You're lucky you're still alive! We have to get out of here!"

He was starting to drag her away from the office so they could both get to safety, but she stood her ground.

"No!" she yelled in frustration. "I have to get back in there! I can't leave without the files!"

Soujirou shook his head and held her arms tighter. "Don't be stupid, Kamiya."

Kaoru wouldn't have it, though. She almost _died _that night for those files, and she'll be damned into hell if she left that place without anything to justify her hard work!

Annoyed and highly frustrated with the lack of cooperation she was receiving, she growled at the man who was trying to drag her away into safety before stomping hard at his foot, effectively making him let go of her in favor of holding his throbbing appendage. She muttered a quick "sorry" before running back into the room they just left where, as expected, more bullets started flying in once she came back into her perpetrators' line of sight.

She crouched down and stuck close to the walls as she prayed to every deity that she knew to _'please don't let me die here tonight'_. She ran to the desk as quick as she could. Once she reached it, she grabbed everything she could get her hands on—making sure that her hard drive and the sheets of paper that she was investigating earlier were all in her grasp, but not taking the time to hold them neatly, and opting to crush them all to her chest instead.

She felt a couple of bullets graze her left arm, and she cringed when she felt them stinging as she continued to move low around the desk so she could grab her purse before turning around to run back out of the room.

As luck would have it, though, she tripped on the body of the man who injured her before she could finally get out of there. As a result, she had to scramble around for a few seconds to get everything she needed, earning her more scrapes on her bare legs and arms because of the copious amounts of broken glass that were scattered all over the floor.

"Kaoru! Get out of there, goddamn it!" she heard Soujirou yell angrily from outside.

"I'm trying!"

She crouched back up once she had everything gathered in her arms again, and was about to move out when she saw a little black notebook by her foot. Shrugging and telling herself that it could be important, she bent down quickly to grab the notebook before finally—_finally—_running out of the room.

Soujirou caught her once again, and she hurriedly handed him most of the sheets of paper that she was holding in her arms. They weren't visible through the windows anymore, so they both took a few seconds to catch their breath before doing anything else.

"Are you okay?" her colleague asked her as he scrambled to get a better handle of the papers he had in his hands.

"You—you killed him!"

"Yes, I did." He nodded. "Are you okay?"

She looked at him with wide eyes, shocked with how easily he performed what he just did and with the gentle way he treated her despite what he just did.

"Kaoru?" he asked again, worry lacing his voice. "Are you okay?"

She took a deep breath to steel her frazzled nerves before replying. _'Now is definitely _not _the time for me to be in shock_'. "Scratched up and bruised", she replied as she gasped for air, trying to still her rapidly beating heart. "But otherwise okay".

Soujirou nodded. "Good." He took a moment to assess how bad her injuries were before stopping to look around their immediate vicinity in case there were any other threats that he missed. "The building's on lockdown," he announced. "Somebody called a code red when one of the guards said that there was an intruder in the higher offices. All the guests are locked in the ballroom and nobody's allowed to go in or out."

"What?!" she gasped. "So how did you get here? Wait, why the fuck are you even here in the first place? And how do we get out?"

"I'll answer your other questions later. For now, I need you to trust me so we can get out of here." He said seriously as he looked into her tired eyes. He stretched out his hand as he indicated for her to hold it so he could drag them both to safety. "Do you trust me?"

Kaoru, although she was still very confused at this odd turn of events and his even odder appearance during her mission, nodded and grasped his outstretched hand. "Yes."

Soujirou smiled at her and she was yet again surprised by how that one, simple action seemed to transform him into someone who's completely at peace with himself and with what's happening around him. To be honest, she was getting weirded out by how calm he seemed because she knew that he knew that they could both die at any moment that night.

Still, though, she continued holding his hand and running behind him as they wove through the different corridors on the floor. If she remembered the floor plan correctly, they were headed straight for the fire exit that was supposed to be just around the corner from the hallway they were currently in.

"I thought you said… the building was… on lockdown?" she gasped out as they ran up the stairs of the emergency exit. "Where are… we going? And why are we… going up?"

The bullet wounds she got were starting to sting, and she was aware of the trail of blood that they were leaving courtesy of the various cuts and gashes she had on her body. She was also having a hard time breathing because of the strain of their activity and because of the injuries she acquired earlier. Wherever it was they were going, she prayed that they'd get there soon. She didn't know how long she could hold up considering the abuse her body has already gotten.

"The Prime Minister has a private emergency elevator up in his office," he explained as they ran. Kaoru was annoyed at his stamina, and the fact that his voice didn't even waver while he spoke to her despite having gone through what they went through and running up three flights of stairs. "It's supposed to still function despite the lockdown and it leads straight down to a secret passageway in the basement. My car's waiting out in the back alley."

They ran up a couple more flights of stairs before they were met with the large door that marked the entrance to the Prime Minister's floor. The two journalists stopped, Kaoru gasping for air as they tried to catch their breaths. Soujirou let her hand go in favor of transferring the sheets of paper he had from his right hand to his left before pulling out a gun from his back.

"How the hell didn't I notice that earlier?" she gasped out.

"We were busy climbing up the stairs to save both our asses, Kaoru. So you can forgive yourself for failing to notice one, insignificant detail."

"I hardly think that you having a gun is insignificant." She scoffed. "Are you even allowed to have that?"

He grinned at her mischievously and she shivered at the thought that her colleague was more dangerous than she originally thought. Damn that fucking smile of his!

"There are supposed to be guards making their rounds on this floor. Stay behind me."

"I can defend myself, you know! I don't need you feeling like you need to protect me."

"I'm aware of that but I highly doubt that you can use your knife with all the shit you're holding right now." He said calmly, gesturing towards the various items she held in her arms. His smile still glued onto his face. "Stay behind me. And you should know that I _will _be using this gun if we see anyone up here. Please try to not go into shock until we get to my car."

He didn't wait for her to respond as he turned to grasp the large bar on the door and pushed his way inside, making sure that his accomplice was right behind him as he walked through the doorway.

The two journalists stuck close to the wall, barely breathing as they forced their eyes to adjust to the darkness so they can scan their surroundings for any immediate threats. Kaoru wasn't familiar with the area they were in so she had no choice but to follow Soujirou's orders by gluing herself onto his back, trusting him to know his way around and to get them out of there alive.

"Take off your shoes." He whispered before they turned another corner. "I can't believe you still have them on."

She paused at his words, her eyes wide and clearly expressing how appalled she was at his instruction. "I like these heels! And they cost me a hell of a lot of money, so I refuse to just throw them away."

He smiled at her again, ever patient. "We're going to need to run now and I don't want you tripping and getting yourself killed. I don't think anyone will believe me if I end up explaining that you died a horrible death because you refused to _take off your heels._"

"Fine, damn it." She grumbled as she balanced all of her things in one arm so she could bend down to unstrap her shoes. "Hiko better fucking reimburse these."

Kaoru heard a quiet chuckle from her fellow reporter and she couldn't help but smile at their current predicament. Here they were, about to run across a room with at least three highly trained government goons, laughing and joking about her _heels_. It was insane, and she had no doubts that they were only doing this as a weird, fucked up coping mechanism brought about by the stress of their current situation.

"Ready?" Soujirou asked quietly while cocking his gun and looking straight at the elevator at the end of the wide office that they were about to run through. He took note of the positions of the three guards and scanned the room one last time to make sure that there weren't any more.

Kaoru took a deep breath and mentally sent out a quiet prayer before replying with an equally quiet "Yes". She crossed her arms in front of her, securing her purse and her other paraphernalia in an effort to make sure that none of them would get dropped during their escape.

Soujirou nodded and without another word, pushed out a burst of speed as he ran towards the elevator.

Their run consisted of flashes of color for her. Black, as a result of staring intently at the back of Soujirou's head; Yellow and white, for the gunshots that her colleague fired silently and quickly; Red, for the blood that exploded out of the heads of the three guards they needed to escape; blue and orange, for the light that glinted from the glass windows; and finally, blinding white that covered her eyes once they stepped into the elevator that would lead them to safety.

She leaned against the elevator wall once the doors closed and the machine started moving, gasping for breath and keeping her arms crossed out of sheer will alone.

"You shot them." She said monotonously, her vision starting to blur around the edges as a result of blood loss and what was, undoubtedly, the beginnings of shock taking over her body.

"Yes." Soujirou replied calmly. He was staring at her warily, as if expecting her to keel over any second.

"They're dead."

"Yes."

She looked down at her bare feet, trying to hold on to the last vestiges of calmness that she had with desperation. The elevator was shooting down the building, but it wasn't going fast enough for her. She just wanted to lie down and rest now, and to try to forget the horridness that was her evening.

"My shoes are gone." She observed silently, her brows scrunched together as if she was trying to solve the greatest mystery in the universe.

He chuckled. "Yes." He paused and tucked his gun back into the back of his dark jeans. "Look, Kaoru, if you can hold on for a bit longer then we should be out of here _alive, _okay? Just—just breathe and then when we get to my car you can start screaming or pass out or whatever you need to do. _Focus._"

"What the fuck do you think I'm trying to do?" She looked up at him with a glare that would've made even Hiko shiver in fear.

Soujirou smiled again—that infuriating smile that made it seem like they weren't in any danger and that everything was perfectly normal. "That's good. Get angry. Stay angry."

She continued to glare at him until a soft _ding _from the elevator made her jump. The doors opened, and they stepped out, both of them wary of their surroundings and fully expecting someone to jump out of nowhere to shoot them.

"Where's your gun?" she hissed when she noticed that his hands were bare and that he was walking calmly beside her.

He glanced at her briefly, his smile unwavering. "Unnecessary. I went through here earlier."

The implication of his statement made her close her eyes and take in a deep breath. '_Just how many people did he _kill _tonight?_'

She nearly slipped when her right foot stepped on a warm substance that suddenly covered the floor they were walking on. Her heart skipped a beat and she didn't, for the life of her, want to look down. She'd seen enough blood for the night.

"We're almost there, Kaoru. Just a bit longer." Soujirou said calmly from somewhere beside her.

She nodded and kept walking, trying to block out her surroundings and the bodies that were strewn all over the floor.

"We just have to go up these stairs now. My car's parked right outside that door."

She nodded again. Her knees were starting to tremble and her breaths were coming in short gasps. She honestly couldn't be _this _pathetic. She'd seen blood before from when Kenshin would come home late at night, covered in the rusty-smelling liquid, so she shouldn't be feeling nauseous because of it now.

'_One'_, she counted mentally in her head after she took the first step up the stairs.

They seemed unbearably high for a simple set of stairs, but when she glanced at her partner for the night, he didn't seem to be fazed.

'_Five'_.

Her knees' shaking were getting worse now, and she stopped breathing after the third step. Her vision was starting to get blurrier and blurrier by the second.

'_Twelve.' _

Pain. Her arms were searing now, and her face was starting to feel numb from the violent hits it was subjected to earlier_. _The various cuts and scrapes on her body, though nowhere near fatal, were stinging. And—wait, why was the lower right part of her torso starting to hurt?

'_Fourteen.'_

It wasn't just hurting now. It was searing hot. The pain was starting to consume her, but she had to keep going because she knew that if she passed out now, she'd fall down the stairs and _that _would just be _pathetic—_not to mention it was sure to subject her to more pain than she was already in.

'_Sixteen.'_

Almost… there.

'_Eighteen.'_

A click and a groan cued the wind to blow across her face as they stepped out onto the quiet alley behind the Metropolitan building. Stepping onto the rough concrete made her wince, but that didn't stop her from rushing to the passenger side of what she was sure was Soujirou's car. She heard the tell-tale click that marked the unlocking of the car doors and she released the breath that she was holding right after she felt the leather of the car seat's cover against her back.

"We're safe now, Kaoru."

Okay, maybe releasing that breath so suddenly wasn't such a good idea. Right after she inhaled to replace the air she lost, she felt _everything_. Her arms loosened and she felt the various paraphernalia she was holding fall against her bloody lap, some dropping down to the car's floor.

"Goddamn it, Kaoru!" she heard Soujirou exclaim. She felt the car moving and her vision was starting to darken now, threatening to take over at any second. "You were fucking shot and you didn't bother to tell me?!"

She was starting to feel cold—and she was sure it wasn't because of the car's air conditioning because the cold she was feeling was coming from somewhere inside her, numbing her pain.

"Don't you fucking dare sleep, Kaoru. Don't you fucking dare."

She sighed. She gave into the darkness.

* * *

Someone was screaming.

Scratch that, someone was shrieking.

It was so loud that she could feel the shrillness of the voice echoing straight through her bones. Whoever was the source of that unbearably loud noise had to shut the fuck up soon because it was making her head pound, and she could swear it was because of that infuriating voice that her entire body felt like it was on fire.

"Hold her down!" she heard a familiar voice command from above her.

She opened her eyes roughly and felt tears burst from her sapphire orbs. Someone was holding her head steady, and she could feel tight bonds on her ankles and wrists, preventing her from curling into a ball like her body demanded that she do.

"Kao, I know this hurts, but you've got to _stay still_."

She could still hear the shrieking, and frankly, she was starting to get so annoyed by it. _'Can't someone shut that bitch up?'_

Her gaze was locked onto Enishi's green eyes, darkened by worry and what seemed like guilt.

"Kenshin's coming. So are the others. Megumi's going to treat you, but you have to hold on, okay? Stay awake and hold on for a while longer."

Why was he saying that? Her eyes were wildly looking around the room, trying to figure out where she was and what the hell was going on.

"The neighbors might hear her." She heard Soujirou's calm voice from somewhere near her.

"Don't you think I fucking know that?!" Enishi growled out, his eyes releasing Kaoru's gaze so he could look up at the third occupant of his bedroom. He sighed and looked back down at Kaoru, "Look, just—get me a sock or something so we could stuff it in her mouth, okay?"

Stuff it in her mouth? Why the hell would he do that? What the fuck was going on?

Enishi stretched out his arm, and a few milliseconds later, she could see him holding a tightly knotted hand towel about the size of a fist being held above her.

"I'm sorry, Kao," her best friend breathed. "You can hit me for this later, okay?"

She felt her mouth being stuffed, and immediately the annoying shrieking was muffled.

'_Oh_._'_

"Kaoru?" Enishi asked, panicked. "Kaoru, don't you dare pass out on me. Stay awake!" he commanded as he shook her head in an effort to get her to open her half-lidded eyes.

Darkness and that comforting coolness were calling her again, pulling her deep and away from Enishi and from the pain.

She gave in.

* * *

For some unimaginable and ungodly reason, Kaoru woke up.

Immediately, she was submerged in blinding pain, making her shriek and want to curl up into a ball, but she was still tied down to the bed so she couldn't move at all. There was no way for her to at least try to cease the burning fire that seemed to be coming from deep inside her body, making her arch up in pain.

Why the hell did she wake up?

"She's awake!" she heard a shrill, female voice command from beside her. "Hold her down!"

'_Megumi.' _She realized.

Her throat was beginning to burn as well, but she couldn't help but keep screaming. She felt like doing so would expel at least a little bit of the fire that was consuming her very being.

"Kaoru," someone called from above her. She opened her eyes and saw wide, violet eyes staring down at her.

She wanted to thrash out, to move so she could get rid of the pain, but aside from the tethers that bound her to the bed, she realized that there were a lot of hands on her, preventing her from moving. Tears rushed down her temples, and breathing was becoming an unbearable chore.

"Kaoru, love," Kenshin called again. "Try not to move. Please."

"It hurts!" she tried to say, but found that her mouth was full with damp cloth, choking her.

Kenshin noticed her discomfort. "Someone get that out of her mouth!" he commanded, looking up at the people around the bed.

"We can't," Soujirou answered. He was calmly, but forcefully, holding the left side of her torso down. "The neighbors might hear her. They might get suspicious."

"We'll deal with that later." The redhead growled out, his eyes menacing as he glared at the blue-eyed man. "Get it out. _Now._"

Megumi looked up from her task of trying to fish the bullet out of her friend with a sanitized scalpel and surgical extractors. "He's right. Take it out. She can't breathe properly and she's choking."

Soujirou looked at the doctor and nodded silently, knowing that the foxlike lady knew what she was doing. Everyone watched as Sano, who was closest to Kaoru's mouth since he was holding her left shoulder down, pulled out the offending piece of cloth from Kaoru's gasping mouth.

A series of loud shrieks and gasps filled the room instantly, and although most of the people in the room winced at the noise, Megumi didn't even so much as pause from what she was doing.

"There's too much blood. I need alcohol to clear this out. Misao, get the white bottle from my bag and hand it to me, will you?" Megumi commanded.

Misao, who was currently standing in the corner of the room in tears at seeing her friend's state, shook herself out from her stupor and immediately did as asked.

"Can't we give her something for the pain? An anesthetic?" Kenshin asked worriedly without looking away from Kaoru's eyes. His hands were trembling from around her face, but he knew that to give into his feelings now wouldn't do any good. He had to stay calm.

"I wasn't able to grab one from the hospital, so no. When Enishi called me, I was only able to take what's in my bag. We can't do anything about her pain, at least until he gets back here with more supplies." Megumi explained. "_Got it_."

The surgeon pulled out the bullet from the heavily bleeding wound on Kaoru's side, immediately throwing it and her extractors down to the floor once they were fully out of her body.

There was too much blood coming out of her system, and Megumi knew that she had to stop it soon. The blood that was dripping from the blood bag that Aoshi was calmly holding above her head wasn't enough to address the speed with which she was losing the warm liquid.

Kaoru could feel her body weakening, her vision blurring even more than it already was and her shrieks dying down until she could only feel herself gasping out in an effort to distract herself from the pain she was feeling.

"Kaoru, you have to hold on, okay?" Kenshin begged. "Enishi's on his way back with more supplies, but you have to hold on."

She could hear Megumi calling out more commands, and she could feel people moving around her, but her eyes never strayed from the pained violet gaze that was pinned on her.

"I love you." The redhead said. "I love you, so you can't let go. I won't let you."

The darkness was calling to her again, and although she could hear the words Kenshin was saying, she couldn't process them. She just wanted this to end.

"Keep her awake! I don't know what her vitals are, so you have to keep her up!"

"Kaoru, stay up, please. Stay awake."

"Enishi's here."

"Get me my scalpel!"

"Jou-chan, stay up, goddamn it."

"Her pulse is slowing down, Megumi."

"Kaoru."

"Kao, don't you dare die on me!"

"_I love you_._"_

* * *

When she woke up again, the first thing she felt was extreme thirst. Her throat was burning from the lack of moisture, and she coughed out to try to get her vocal cords working again.

"Thank Kami you're up," she heard a voice sigh from beside her.

"Mi—Misao?"

"I'm here, Kaoru. Do you need anything? How do you feel? Are you thirsty?" Misao rambled on worriedly, her bright green eyes shrouded with fear.

Kaoru couldn't do anything else but nod, her throat still too dry for her to attempt talking again.

Her friend immediately rushed to the table located on the other side of the room to pour water into a glass that she handed to Kaoru once she got back to her spot beside the journalist's bed. She held Kaoru's head up as she pushed the glass up to her lips, helping the injured woman take a few careful sips.

"You scared the shit out of us." Misao whispered. "Kenshin barely slept the whole time you were out, and everyone's been taking turns watching over you. They're all still outside, waiting."

"How…" Kaoru choked out before clearing her throat, already feeling the relief from the water she drank. "How long?"

"Two days."

The journalist nodded once, sighing as she fought the darkness trying to pull her in again. "What happened?"

"You got shot. Megumi said the bullet didn't hit any organs, but you still lost too much blood from when she pulled the bullet out of your body and all the other injuries you got. You broke two ribs, too, and your face got a little messed up."

"Soujirou?"

"He's perfectly fine. Not even a scratch on him. Apparently you got the brunt of it all since you were stuck in the room the longest, and that bastard of a man got hold of you for a while. At least, that's what he told us yesterday." Misao's worried gaze shifted to a glare. "How fucking stupid are you, Kaoru? When bullets start raining around you, you get the fuck out of wherever the fuck you are! You could've gotten killed in there!"

"I think she's fully aware of that now, Misao." Kenshin said sternly from his spot by the door. "I don't think you should be yelling at her just yet."

"Kenshin," Kaoru breathed, faintly smiling at seeing her boyfriend entering the room. The joy she felt at seeing his face filled her heart and erased the heaviness that she was feeling due to the guilt that Misao's berating brought about.

The redhead smiled warmly at her before leaning down to kiss her temple. "You scared me, Kaoru."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"You're alive. That's all that matters right now." He replied gently, taking her hand and sitting down beside her on the bed, careful to avoid touching any of her injuries.

She squeezed his hand to reassure him of her presence. "I am. I'm going to be okay, don't worry."

"Of course you are. Otherwise, you won't have just me to answer to. Sano and Enishi'll definitely pop a vein or two if you give up on us now."

Her vision was starting to blur again, and it was getting harder for her to speak since the darkness was starting to shroud her thinking. "You got… everything?"

"We did. Aoshi's working on going through the files in the hard drive, and Soujirou and Enishi are talking to the banks on the transaction sheets you got. Everything's fine."

"Megu…mi?"

"As mad as can be at your recklessness. Sleep, Kaoru. We'll talk about everything else when you wake up." He said gently.

"Stay… with me." Kaoru whispered, already half-asleep from the sedatives running through her bloodstream.

"Always."

"Love… you."

"I love you too. Sleep now, love."

She slept.

* * *

The next time she opened her eyes, she could hear a muffled conversation from outside of what she now recognizes as Enishi's bedroom. She tried to move to soothe her aching muscles, and immediately a pang of pain rushed through her body.

The man beside her shifted awake and sleepily brought his head up, leaning it against his raised shoulder to look down at her. "You're not supposed to move yet, Kaoru."

Kaoru coughed and attempted to clear her throat, but failed because of how dry it was. Not missing a beat, Kenshin calmly got up and poured her a glass of water before settling himself back down beside her and helping her drink.

"Better?" he asked after she gestured that she was done drinking.

"Yeah." She whispered, looking around the room and noticing the darkening sky from outside the window. "What time is it?"

The redhead looked down at his watch. "Six-thirty. You've been asleep for eight hours since the last time you woke up."

Once her vision cleared completely, she looked straight up at Kenshin's face, worry filling her as she took in his tired countenance. "Are you okay?"

He chuckled. "I should be asking _you _that. How are you feeling?"

"Fine…better."

"Does anything hurt? Megumi says the morphine she gave you should numb everything down, but if something hurts I can call her in here so she can give you more."

"No, nothing hurts. I'm okay." She replied, her voice gaining strength after every word. "Have you slept?"

He nodded. "I've been here since you woke up this morning. I've been asleep as long as you have."

"Okay, good." She sighed. "Where's everyone?"

"They're all outside, finishing all the reports we need to give to Saito and Katsura. You did a brilliant job, love." He said gently, brushing stray strands of hair from her face. "Though I'm not sure I can take you doing something like that ever again."

Kaoru sighed and reached for his other hand, intertwining their fingers and reveling in the comfort and warmth that instantly filled her at the contact. She was so glad that she got out of there alive, and that her efforts weren't wasted. They were finally getting somewhere, and glory be to Kami that this case was going to end soon.

"I don't think you have to worry about my recklessness anytime soon." She giggled softly. "I'm probably not going to be getting out of this bed for a while."

"Believe me, you won't. We'll tie you down and lock you in here if we have to." He replied before leaning down to place a gentle and chaste kiss onto her dry lips. After a few seconds passed, he leaned back and placed his forehead gently against hers, sighing as he did so. "I was so scared. I almost died when Enishi called to tell me that Seta brought you here, bleeding and close to death. I couldn't get out of the Metropolitan 'cause of the lockdown, so I had to call Megumi from the hall. Enishi called everyone else. I was the last one to get here."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm being serious when I say that I won't be able to handle you doing something like this ever again, Kaoru. I don't think I can let you."

The journalist sighed sadly, making Kenshin lean further away from her as he watched her reaction to what he said. He knew she was afraid of him saying something like that if anything went wrong with her mission, but he couldn't help it. What happened was too difficult and painful for him to ever see and experience again.

"Kenshin, I—let's talk about this later, okay?"

The redhead nodded grimly, pursing his lips but acquiescing to her request. "Yeah, okay."

The couple laid there in silence, each holding back what they wanted to say due to their wariness of the impending argument, but not willing to relinquish their hold on each other. They may be dancing around a painful topic, but they won't let that stop them from taking comfort and reassuring themselves that the other was fine.

A few minutes later, the door opened and filled the room with dim light coming from the hallway outside. A tall silhouette stood before them, and they watched him reach beside the doorframe to turn on the lights in the room. Kaoru flinched from the bright light that filled her vision, but as her eyes adjusted to the light, a bright smile crawled up her face in greeting for the rooster-headed man who was walking towards her bed.

"Sano," she breathed happily.

Sano smiled brightly at her, relief and joy flooding his eyes as he stared down at her weak form. "Welcome back to the world of the living, Jou-chan!"

"I'm happy to _be _back." She giggled.

"I lost ten years of my life because of what you did. I hope you know that means you owe me at least a year's worth of beer and scotch."

"It's just like you to take advantage of a situation like this, you brute." She chided. "If anything you should be giving _me _free stuff for surviving. I know how lost you'd feel if I _did_ die in there."

The tall detective laughed, but his mirth was soon replaced by a serious and gentle look. "Seriously, Kaoru, I'm glad you're okay—well, relatively."

"I am too, Sano. Thanks." She smiled up at him.

Upon realizing that the situation was too sentimental for his liking, Sano cleared his throat and plopped himself down onto the couch that was placed on the left side of her bed before shifting his gaze to Kenshin—who was still propped up on his elbow, but was watching his best friend amusedly.

"Anyway, it's good you both are up. We just finished consolidating everything, and Saitou's on his way over here so we can give him the reports for the arrest."

Kaoru's eyes widened at the news. She knows Hiko and Saitou had an agreement about being ready once she got all the information they needed, but this was _fast_. She wasn't even up yet, and she hasn't gotten a chance to study everything she got from Kitazato's office and already the police were getting ready to arrest their Chief of Justice!

"Already?" she gasped in surprise. "Saitou's satisfied with what he got?"

"Hell yeah! Are you kidding? What you got was more than enough! And that little notebook you snatched up? Fuck, it's _insane_."

"Why?" Kenshin asked confusedly. "What's in it?"

"God_damn_. I forgot we didn't involve you in tracing everything. Hold on, let me call the boys in for you. They can take you through everything better than I can." Sano paused and took a deep breath, turning towards the open door. "Yo! Yukishiro! Seta! Get your asses in here! Jou-chan's awake!"

"Volume, Sagara!" Kaoru hissed. "Fuck it, I'm recovering here!"

The detective turned towards his two friends who were still reclined on the bed, his hand reaching up to scratch the back of his head embarrassedly. "Sorry 'bout that. I just didn't want to walk all the way out there then have to walk back here. My legs are kinda sore from standing around all day."

Kaoru threw a solid glare at him. "Oh I'm _so _sorryfor your discomfort, Sanosuke. Do you need to lie down? I'd gladly get up for you."

Sano looked away from her. "Kami, Jou-chan. Chill out, will 'ya? I already said I was sorry."

Before either of them could say any more, the two male reporters walked into the room—both sporting tired faces and dark circles under their eyes. Enishi was looking more disheveled than usual, dressed in nothing but a black shirt and jeans. Although this wasn't the worst set of clothes Kaoru has ever seen him in, his flat bleach-blonde hair was what cued her in on just how tired he was. No matter the situation, her best friend _always _took the time to style his hair in its usual high spikes. To see it in that state was weird, and it made her angry at herself for not being there to aid in whatever he was doing.

Soujirou, on the other hand, stood in a plaid polo that covered a white shirt, and jeans. His hair was covered by a worn red and blue baseball cap that sported the _FC Barcelona _logo. His signature smile was still on his face, but his eyes remained empty—the warm glimmer that she was starting to getting used to seeing absent from his dull orbs.

Upon seeing for himself that his best friend was awake, Enishi rushed over to the bed and bent down to drop a firm kiss onto her forehead.

"You look like shit." He observed once he stood back up to stare down at her. "Hell, you _smell _like shit. I'm surprised lover boy over here could stand being next to you."

"I look better than you, 'Nishi." She replied with humor. "You look like a widowed drunk."

"You look like fucking _Annabelle_." He replied. Despite the insults he was throwing at her, he knew that she knew that this was his way of telling her how happy he is that she's going to be okay. "I've smoked at _least _five packs since you were down. Do you know how much damage my lungs got because of you?"

Kaoru scoffed. "As if you wouldn't have done that anyway. Stop blaming me for how much you've smoked. Soujirou here smokes too, and I'm sure he hasn't had nearly as much as you have."

"Are you kidding? He's been out on the balcony more times than I have. I bet his lungs are in worse shape than mine."

She shifted her gaze to the blue-eyed reporter who was now standing behind her best friend. "Well, Soujirou. I didn't think you'd get us out of there alive only to end up killing yourself with lung cancer."

Soujirou grinned. "What can I say? I live on the edge."

The injured journalist couldn't help the tears that blossomed in her eyes upon seeing that peaceful smile up close. This man saved her _life. _If it weren't for him she wouldn't even be here, and she was forever indebted to him for being at the right place at the right time. "Thank you, Soujirou." She said softly. "I don't think I'd be here right now if it weren't for you."

She felt Kenshin squeeze her hand and hold her just a little bit tighter when she gave Soujirou her heartfelt thanks.

"You're part of my first team." Soujirou replied warmly. "I told you I didn't want to fuck up."

"Alright, alright. Now that that's all over and done with, can we _please _get on to business? I can't handle all these… feelings and… shit." Sano announced disgustedly.

Kaoru rolled her eyes at her friend's insensitivity, but stayed quiet nonetheless, interested and quite excited to hear what she missed during the two—close to three—days that she was knocked out.

Enishi cleared his throat as he settled down on the couch beside Sano, pushing the detective's legs away from where they were stretched out on the sofa.

"Okay, well, after you passed out , Soujirou here called me and asked me where I live so he could bring you here since he couldn't bring you to a hospital 'cause of all the cops that were called in for the infiltration of the Metropolitan. When he got here, I swear to Kami, Kao, I almost passed out myself when I saw you all covered in blood and shit." He grimaced. "Anyway, I called everyone here 'cause we couldn't fix you up ourselves. You were too badly injured and there was no way in hell that Soujirou and I were going to start fishing around for the bullet that was apparently lodged somewhere in your stomach. I don't know if you remember Megumi's surgery, but it was pretty rough since she wasn't able to bring any morphine or any other anesthetic to calm you down. So me and the guys basically had to hold you down the whole time she was trying to get the bullet out.

"Once that was over, we ran through all the documents you brought in from Kitazato's office. From there, it was pretty easy to trace everything. We were right about him getting his money from somewhere shady, but I don't think any of us were ready for what we'd find. I mean, Misao told us about your conversation with her when you were still in Kitazato's office, but we were still surprised when we got confirmation."

"You mean—"she said, surprised at what Enishi was saying. "Yazuo?"

"Yeah. Turns out everything Yazuo was sending out before he was incarcerated went straight to Kitazato's Swiss and French bank accounts. But the money just wasn't from him. When we ran through the transaction documents you brought, we saw another account transferring money to Kitazato's account every month. So we had Misao and Aoshi trace them, and they found that the cash was coming from _Yamagata—_."

"Yamagata Yumi?" Kenshin interrupted. "His ex-wife?"

Enishi nodded. "So we took a look at Yazuo's and Yamagata's bank details. To cut the long story short, everything that Kitazato was getting was dirty. The money they were all getting was traced back to the drug lords and brothel owners that the Bureau and Shishi were able to get rid of before all this."

The room fell silent then, giving the couple on the bed enough time to process the information they were given. Yes, they both knew that something was up with some of their officials, but never did they think that their very own Chief of Justice would be involved with the _Yakuza_.

"Wait." Kaoru said after a while, looking at Soujirou with a confused look on her face. "I still don't understand what _you _were doing there. 'Nishi and I never told you what we were working on. So how'd you know I'd be in Kitazato's office?"

"Oh hell, Kao. _This _you gotta pay attention to." Enishi said with a grin.

Soujirou smiled calmly at her before proceeding to answer her question. "Remember the child prostitution thing I told you I was working on?"

She nodded grimly, slightly pulling Kenshin closer to her for warmth. Suddenly the blankets covering her weren't enough to ward away the cold she was starting to feel.

"Well, some of my sources led to Kitazato. I was already planning on going into his office during the night of the gala, but when I got there, you were already being beaten up and the office was already completely trashed. I had no clue you were going to be there, but when I saw what was happening—well, you know the rest of the story."

"And was your lead right? Was Kitazato involved in the child prostitution thing?" Kenshin asked.

"He wasn't just involved." Soujirou said, a bit of pride starting to shine in his eyes. "He was running it."

Kaoru gasped. "Are you serious? What confirmed it?"

"The little black notebook you had? It had a list of names of the website's clientele, along with their aliases."

"That was it? I don't think that's enough to pin him as the mastermind. I doubt that's strong enough for Saitou."

"It isn't. We also found more evidence in your hard drive. He had a bunch of files on the kids involved, details on which kid was paid for by whom and where they went, everything. When we called Saitou about it, he said what we had was enough."

She sighed. "Well, fuck. Guess we hit two birds in one stone with this one, huh?"

"It's not over yet, though." Sano interrupted. "The kids on the site? They were all _introduced _to Kitazato through e-mail. We have all the messages, but we have no idea who the sender is. I mean, we have a name, but we can't find a trace of him anywhere. Even Saitou's been looking."

"Who are they from? Maybe I've heard the name somewhere, so we could jump off from there."

"They were all from a guy named Udo Jin-E. I think you already know about him."

She turned wide eyes onto Enishi. "Jin-E? The same-?"

Enishi nodded. "I already told them what we know about him so far, but that's all we have right now. We're stuck."

Conversation ceased again, enveloping the group in silence. Just when Kaoru thought that this case would finally be put to rest, another mystery pops from out of nowhere for them to solve. _'I need a vacation.´_ she thought morosely as she thought about what they have to do next to figure out who this Jin-E person was.

Five minutes later, Misao broke the silence by entering the room and looking at all its occupants, her eyes shining at seeing Kaoru awake. She smiled at the injured woman before raising her eyes to meet Kenshin's tired gaze.

"Saitou's here." She announced, but it was apparent that that wasn't all she wanted to say to the group.

Kenshin sat up from his position on the bed, noticing the unease that suddenly covered the intel agent's face. "Who else, Misao?"

Misao sighed. "Katsura." She paused before looking down at her feet, tensing at what she had to say next. "He… he said he wants to talk to Kaoru."

The entire room tensed at the statement. Shit was definitely going down now.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. I don't know if the reveal seemed anticlimactic for you guys, but please bear with me!

The next chapter's going to be exciting and fun to write. I don't want to give you any spoilers, but I hope you'll all stay tuned to this story until my next upload.

Again, thank you thank you thank you so much for all the reviews and positive feedback! I really appreciate it. I get most of my encouragement from your comments. Admittedly, there are days when I don't really feel like writing anything and when I feel like I've hit a writer's block, but reading what you guys think and suggest for this story help me a lot. So thank you!

I can't wait to hear about what you guys think about this chapter.

Cheers!


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: **I love writing chapters like this one. I hope you'll enjoy reading it too.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, nor any of its characters. All information in this story (especially those relating to the Japanese government and their public officials) are all fictional.

* * *

**It Is What It Is**

**Chapter 10**

_It was exactly 10:00 PM on a Thursday when she received a message from Katsura Kogorou, leader and founder of the Ishin Shihi, asking her to be at the headquarters in half an hour. _

_She would've asked Kenshin to come with her, but he was currently engaged in a raid that the Kouanchousa-chou—Japan's Public Security Intelligence Agency—organized. She didn't dare call him or at least leave him a message regarding her summons. She was well aware of the protocol and other security measures that the detectives and special forces took for missions like those, and she wasn't about to put her boyfriend in any more danger than necessary._

_Still, though. She was teetering between being excited and nervous for her upcoming meeting with the organization's leader. It's been four months since she started training under Saitou Hajime and two other agents so she could have Katsura's approval for her full participation with Ishin Shihi. If it weren't for her friends' active involvement in the organization, she doubted she would've ever had this chance to make a difference in Japan's current status quo. The underground group is wildly secretive, and they didn't just invite or let anyone into their secret operations. Her friends' names were on the line, which is half of the reason behind her giving her one hundred and one percent effort to make sure that she would do well during her training._

_The first and initiation mission she was assigned just finished debriefing the day before. Kaoru, along with all of her friends and her mentor, were very satisfied with how she performed—staying calm under the pressure of going through the security systems that were installed and enforced in Representative Fukioka's home so she could gather enough information to indict the official for his involvement with the importation of illegal drugs in Tokyo. It was the first time that she was trusted to complete the mission alone, and she was very nervous about it. It was a miracle that she accomplished her assignment with only a few cuts and bruises, and with only having to severely injure a few guards. Saitou briefly mentioned that that mission was the first operation that did not require any deaths, and she was very proud of that since she never really believed in killing._

_She knew that the summons she received involved the decision regarding her pending application to be a part of the group. Although she was fairly confident that there would be no issues, she still couldn't help the nervous butterflies that were flying all around her stomach. Since she was not going to be able to talk to Kenshin or Sano about it, she thanked the heavens for giving her one more friend to turn to in times like these._

"_Kaoru?" Misao asked after a few rings. Despite the late hour, the intel agent didn't have any problems with taking the call. Kaoru assumed that she was busy working on a case._

_The journalist sighed. "Katsura-sama summoned me to his office."_

"_Really?" Misao said excitedly. "This is it, then, woman! It's finally going to be official!"_

"_Don't say that, Misao. I honestly don't know what to expect yet. I still haven't mastered using a gun, and the four-month training and initiation period's already up. I need more time."_

_Her bubbly friend sighed exasperatedly. "No you don't. How many times do we have to tell you that it's all in the bag? _You_ were the one who got the location of Fukioka's warehouse. _You_ got all the evidence so we could arrest him. _You_ got out of your initiation mission alive. Trust me, you did better than most of us and the others who were assigned something like that—especially since you went in there alone. Do you know how awesome that is?!"_

"_I get it. But this is all so surreal for me. I'm still having trouble believing that I really made it out of there alive. I think a part of me thinks that I died and went to wherever the hell it is that dead people end up in when they die."_

"_I know. Megumi and I felt the same way after our first assignment too. But be_lieve _me, Kaoru. It's going to be fine. Just take a breath and go to the headquarters." _

_Kaoru heard sheets of paper being shuffled from the other line, and she was immediately filled with guilt at disturbing her undoubtedly tired friend. "Okay," she sighed. "Okay."_

"_You don't sound okay. What time do you have to be there anyway?" _

_The journalist raised her left arm so she could check the time on her wrist watch. "I have twenty minutes."_

"_Holy shit! What the hell are you still doing home, then? Do us both a favor and just _go _already."_

_Kaoru paused. "I just—I don't know, Misao. I feel like something bad's about to happen. I mean, what if Saitou doesn't like me after all?"_

_The intel agent scoffed from the other line. "Now you're just being an idiot. We all saw how he acted while he was training you. Believe me, if he didn't like you, _you'll know_. So stop being shit scared and just go, alright? You're probably just nervous. Shake it off."_

_Kaoru sighed again, finding a bit of comfort and reassurance in her friend's words. "Alright. I'm going now. Thanks, Misao."_

"_Call me when it's over. I'll call everyone else so we can celebrate right after your meeting. Bye."_

"_Bye."_

_The journalist pressed the 'end' button on her phone before pocketing the device. She looked at herself one last time, making sure that she looked as nondescript as possible in her black sweater, dark jeans, and Doc Martens. The only thing that stood out in her outfit was the glimmering diamond ring that she had on her left ring finger. She smiled as she raised her hand to admire it once more, finding reassurance at the fact that no matter what happened that night, Kenshin would always have her back._

_With one last sigh, she made sure that her house keys were in her pockets and that all the locks in their house were secured. She grabbed her car keys from the table near their front door and silently made her way towards her vehicle. _

_The inn that served as the underground organization's headquarters was only ten minutes away from their home. The couple made sure that where they lived would be near the headquarters in case either of them were called into a midnight mission, so they prioritized convenience when they chose the house that they'd be living in. That's not to say that the neighborhood they settled in was bad or anything. In fact, it had all the necessities that a family would need—another factor that they considered when they were looking for a house._

_The supermarket and wet market were only a fifteen minute drive from their street; their neighbors were relatively quiet, and they were polite enough to inform them whenever they'd be having a party or a small celebration so they could prepare for the noise; and there was a nice private school that was only a twenty minute walk from where they lived—something that Kaoru was really pleased when Kenshin told her since it meant that he was obviously thinking about the future that they would be sharing._

_The drive to the inn went smoothly, with the stoplights on the way to her destination being the only hindrances she had. She arrived at the venue five minutes early, so she had a couple of minutes to calm herself down before she stepped out of her vehicle and made her way towards Katsura's office._

'It's going to be fine_', she thought to herself. _'This is just a formality. Training went well, the mission went well, and Saitou doesn't hate me completely. I'm going to be fine.'

_The leader's office was located in the basement of the three-storey building, so she had to go to the alleyway behind the structure in order for her to access the door that would lead to where Katsura was. She half-walked, half-ran to the door and wasted no time in pushing it open and going down the dark stairway. She only had two minutes left before she was due to be with their commander and she didn't want to be late._

_After passing through a couple of dim hallways, she stood in front of Katsura's door. She took a deep breath before gently knocking on the door three times and waiting for the man inside to call her in._

"_Come in." she heard him call from inside the room._

_She opened the door and stepped inside, bowing as she greeted the highly-esteemed man before her. "Good evening, Katsura-sama."_

"_Hello, Kamiya-san." He replied. _

_She stood up upon hearing this and her eyes widened when she saw Saitou standing beside the cushioned seat that their leader was reclining on. Katsura was holding a mug of hot tea, his legs crossed and his eyes filled with warmth as he smiled at her in welcome._

"_Saitou-san?" she asked, obviously shocked at seeing him there. "Isn't there a raid going on? Aren't you supposed to be there?"_

_The detective scoffed. "Don't presume to tell me what my duties are, Kamiya. Himura and Sagara are leading the operation. Apparently, Kitazato has enough faith in them to not screw this up. My presence is not needed there."_

_Kaoru nodded solemnly, her anxiety increasing as she realized that her boyfriend and her best friend were in more danger than she originally thought._

"_Please, Kamiya-san. Take a seat." He interrupted, gesturing at the black, leather seat adjacent to where he was. Saitou remained standing, but his stance relaxed as he leaned on the back-rest of Katsura's single sofa._

_The group fell into an awkward silence, each of them tensing at the reason behind their late-night meeting._

"_I believe that you are aware of the reason behind my invitation?" Katsura asked kindly._

_The journalist nodded again. "I have my suspicions. After yesterday's mission, I doubt that you called me in here for another assignment. Though I wouldn't mind if that _is _the reason, Katsura-sama. I mean, I am a bit anxious to know if I got in or not. The four month training period is up, after all, and I just—"_

"_Shut up, Kamiya. Your senseless babbling isn't getting us anywhere." Saitou rudely interrupted, pinning her down with a stern glare._

"_There is no need for that, Saitou-san. She is free to speak her mind here." Their leader said. "Though I must admit that you are quite entertaining tonight, Kamiya-san." He said, his eyes laughing at her discomfort and nervousness. _

_Kaoru stayed silent, then. Worried that if she opened her mouth again, she'd be subjecting the two men to her another one of her awkward, word vomit episodes._

_She watched Katsura's smile slowly disappear at the silence in the room, his eyes growing dimmer and more serious by the second._

"_I suppose… that there is no sense in wasting our time tonight. Your suspicion was right, Kamiya-san. I did tell you to come here so I could personally explain the result of your training and initiation."_

_The journalist and the detective both tensed, both listening intently to what their senior was saying._

"_I am sure you are aware of the success of the assignment that you were given. As we speak, some police officers are already on their way to Fukioka-san's estate with a warrant of arrest and a subpoena to appear behind the Supreme Court."_

_Katsura sighed and looked down at his mug before looking back up at her with guilt and what looked like a silent apology shining in his eyes. "We are extremely grateful for your efforts. I, personally, would like to thank you for everything you have done for us in the past four months—especially for what you've invested in completing our investigation on Representative Fukioka. It is because of what you've found that we can now effectively, and without violence, get him out of the government."_

_He paused, and Kaoru's heart started beating faster as she realized that a huge 'but' was coming._

"_However," the leader continued, "I'm afraid that I cannot allow you to be a part of our organization. Despite your obvious talent, we already have enough detectives and other investigative staff to complete the succeeding missions. I am not willing to put you at risk when I know that what you can do can also be done by the people we have now. I find your membership unnecessary as of this point. I hope you understand, Kamiya-san."_

"_I don't." she breathed out, closing her eyes as she tried to reign in the pain of rejection that was filling her very being. Along with this, she couldn't help but fear anger—anger at being exploited, at being told that she was _unnecessary_, despite the fact that what she gave them and what she did for them benefited their cause more than they initially thought._

"_Excuse me?" Katsura asked not unkindly._

_She opened her eyes and saw the pity that filled the man's eyes. Not being able to bear it, she shifted her gaze to Saitou, her trainer and mentor, who wasn't able to conceal his surprise at his superior's decision._

"_I don't understand." She cleared up. "I don't get why you find me unnecessary, and I don't understand why you feel that my membership will be nothing but a liability to Ishin Shishi. I completed my training, and I know for a fact that I passed my initiation with flying colors. So forgive me if I don't understand why, despite all that, you feel that it would be better for you to get rid of me."_

_The old man sighed tiredly. "That is now considered as confidential information, Kamiya-san, and—"_

"_Fuck your confidentiality." She growled out. "I spent four months killing myself for this, and I _refuse _to just take your answer for what it is. You're basically telling me that yeah, I did a good job, but I'm still not good enough?! That doesn't make any sense and frankly, it's not fair!"_

_Frustrated at the unexpected turn of events, she angrily pushed herself out of her chair, opting to pace in front of the two men who were watching her._

"_Kamiya-san, if you would calm down, perhaps—"_

"_Don't you fucking dare tell me to calm down! What did you expect me to feel? Did you honestly—"_

"_Kamiya." Saitou interrupted, his voice stern and full of authority. "Stop your bitching around. Sit down."_

_She took a deep breath, but disregarded what her mentor said about sitting down. It was too frustrating for her. She couldn't understand the logic behind what Katsura was saying. She respected him too much, but now her initial opinion of him is starting to change into something dark. He _used_ her. He sucked her dry, but now that he got what he wanted, he was going to just spit her out? Was that what he did? Was she supposed to just take this as it is?_

"_Forgive me, Katsura-sama." She grumbled insincerely. "Please excuse my behavior."_

"_It is perfectly understandable, Kamiya-san. If you would please sit back down—"_

"_I'd rather stand."_

_He sighed, accepting her decision and letting her do as she pleased in case doing that one little thing for her would help her feel more at ease with the situation. "As you know, we already have fifty members at our disposal—most of whom are well-trained in espionage and combat. In selecting our members, we have to ensure that each one will be able to stand alone and survive whatever situation they are cast into. Based on your performance yesterday, I found weaknesses in your abilities that, if subjected to a more difficult situation, could prove fatal to you and could possibly lead to our demise."_

_She looked up at him. "What weaknesses?"_

"_Have you ever mastered how to hold a gun, Kamiya-san? Can you honestly tell me that, should the need arise, you would be able to kill an enemy without ruining yourself?"_

"_So you're rejecting me based on my ideals? You're telling me that what I believe in, and what I live by, is wrong?" she said angrily._

"_No. I'm saying that you are unfit for what we need, and that despite your talents, I don't find you qualified enough to be recognized as a part of this organization." He paused, his now dark gaze locked onto hers. "We are driven by strength, Kamiya-san; strength, and courage, and the ability to remain sane despite the acts that we are forced to do. I cannot afford to have someone watch over you every time you are given a difficult mission. It is a waste of both our time and our resources, and it would be unwise of me to do so."_

_Kaoru was silent as she digested everything that she was being told. Basically, the man she so admired for what he was doing for their country, was telling her that she was _weak_—that she wouldn't be able to handle being a part of their team._

_Katsura continued speaking to her, ignoring her inner turmoil in favor of finishing their harsh conversation. "I would appreciate your continued secrecy despite my decision, Kamiya-san. I believe that I don't have to warn you of what would happen to Himura-san should you decide to expose what we are doing."_

"_I am not a child." She scoffed. "I may be weak in your eyes, but I am not immature. I won't sink so low as to burn you all down just because I didn't get what I want."_

_She turned towards Saitou. "Is that what you think of me as well? After everything, am I still not good enough?"_

_He remained silent and impassive, and she chose to draw her conclusion from that reaction of his. Tears were starting to gather in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. They already thought of her as weak. She refused to give them any more ammunition to strengthen their negative opinion of her._

_She breathed out to her nose and silently counted to five to control her raging emotions. "Is that all?"_

_Katsura nodded and Saitou looked away. Anger was starting to overwhelm her, making her knees shake and her vision darken as she stared at the other two occupants of the room._

"_Thank you. I'll be taking my leave now." She said, forcing her voice to remain steady as she did so._

_She turned around and started walking towards the door. She wanted to slam it once she was out of the office, but she refused to show such vulnerability. _

"_Kamiya-san." She heard Katsura call. She didn't bother turning around seeing as her hand was already on the doorknob. She did turn her head slightly towards his direction, though, to indicate that she was listening._

"_Good luck."_

_She gave a brief nod before turning the knob and stepping out of the office. Once she was out, she let out the breath she was holding and she felt the tears of frustration that were brimming in her eyes earlier fall down her cheeks. After all this, after all the reassurances that she was given, she wasn't good enough after all._

_She was weak—_is _weak, and the fact that she was unable to stop her tears from falling only solidified that fact for her._

_She took a moment to lean against the wall beside the door to Katsura's office, trying to stop her limbs from shaking and the shame from overwhelming her right then and there. She needed to get a grip._

"_What the hell was that, Katsura?" she heard Saitou's muffled voice from inside the office._

"_Saitou-san—"_

"_No. You know what I think of her. You know she's good enough. Where the fuck did that spiel of yours come from? Do you know how this is going to make us look? We basically took advantage of the girl!" _

"_My decision is final, Saitou-san. The basis of which is under my discretion."_

"_I trained her. I told you before, and I'm telling you again, Katsura. She _is_ good enough. You know that."_

_A pause. "This conversation is over. You may leave."_

_She moved away from the door as fast as she could. If Saitou ever found out that she was listened to their conversation—though it was unintentional, she was sure that he would never let her live it down. As if she wasn't embarrassed enough._

_She climbed up the stairs two at a time, and let her adrenaline push her to run to her car. The drive back was a blur, and the next thing she knew, she was back in their house, chest heaving as she ran up to their bedroom._

"_Kaoru?" she heard a worried voice say from their bed._

_She paused as she watched him stand up, his long red hair damp from the shower that he just took but still tied in its usual low ponytail. His bare torso was illuminated by the soft glow of the moonlight that was shining down from the glass doors leading to their balcony, and the pajama bottoms he wore hung low on his hips._

_Kenshin took a few tentative steps closer to where she was. "I got home a few minutes ago. I saw Misao's message. What—what happened, love? I thought you talked to Katsura-sama?"_

_She remained silent as she fought against the urge to hide herself in his arms. She didn't want to break down. She wanted to make herself believe that she was _strong_._

_Realization hit the redhead as he took in his lover's tense form. He could see her hands shaking from how tight her fists were clenched. Her hair was in disarray, her high ponytail having been subjected to what he assumed was the harsh wind that she was exposed to as she ran away from the headquarters. _

"_Kaoru." He sighed as he walked towards her so he could wrap his arms tightly around her tense body. "It's going to be alright. I have you. It's alright."_

_The journalist was still trying her best to stop more tears from escaping her lids, and she was still stubbornly holding in the sob that was threatening to break out from her chest. It _hurt_. Being cast aside _hurt_. Being told that what she believed in—what her parents ingrained into her soul—_hurt_. Realizing that the sacrifices she made for Ishin Shishi, the amount of herself that she threw away for Kenshin's sake, everything that she thought made her a strong person _fucking hurt._ She didn't want to cry now. Crying was for the weak, the soft-hearted. It had no place in the revolution that was going on around her. _

_Her friends were all strong, and they believed her to be as strong as they are. But now? What would they think of her? Hell, what would Kenshin think of her?_

"_You're still Kaoru. No matter what, you're still the same Kaoru that I know. I love you. I have you. We're going to fix this. Let me help you, love. Let me be here for you." She heard him say as he placed a firm kiss on her right temple, his hold never loosening._

_She gave into the feelings that were bottled up in her chest. She let everything go in her lover's embrace, getting strength and reassurance from his warmth and his love. She let him guide them both onto the bed. She followed his lead when he laid back on their pillows, and she allowed him to cover her with their blanket. She buried herself in him, inhaling his comforting scent and forcing herself to focus on the gentle circles he was currently tracing on her back and the steady rise and fall of his chest._

_Her head was resting on top of his chest, so after her sobbing was reduced to soft whimpers, she was able to give all her attention to the beating of his heart. She listened to his whispers of support, his promises, and his devotion. She heard him tell her that it was all going to be okay, that no matter what, he would be there for her, and she held on to that—blindly believing in everything that he was saying because he was her strength. He was her everything._

_Before giving into the comforting pull of slumber, she heard him mumble something that made her heart stop beating._

"_Don't you think, Kaoru…Don't you think that this would be better for you?" he sighed. "I love you. I have you. You're safe. I'll keep you safe... Isn't that enough?"_

_It was exactly 12:16 AM on a Friday when she realized that _Katsura Kogorou, leader and founder of the Ishin Shihi, was right.__

* * *

**Author's Note: **Well, there we go. This chapter basically recapped the last time that Katsura and Kaoru met—which I felt was necessary to include to help you all understand the tension from the end of the previous chapter.

As always, I'm looking forward to hearing what you guys think. But before anything else, I'd like to give a **huge **shout out and virtual hug to **Royal Orchid **and **J Luc Pictard**. I appreciate you guys taking the time to write such cohesive reviews! my imagination just burst when I read your thoughts and I got a few ideas that I feel would make the original plot I had better, and I just love seeing how excited you are about where this story is going. I'm very excited too.

Cheers!


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: **Here we go, here we go!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, nor any of its characters. All information in this story (especially those relating to the Japanese government and their public officials) are all fictional.

* * *

**It Is What It Is**

**Chapter 11**

The tension in the room was so thick that even a steak knife of the highest quality wouldn't be able to cut it.

Everyone, even the two other journalists in the room who have only known of Katsura through hearsay alone, held their breaths as they watched the faces of the two occupants of Enishi's bed. Kenshin's had a grim—and slightly angry—expression on his face, while Kaoru's was completely blank. The whole group was aware of what happened the last time that the female journalist met with their esteemed leader—Enishi having been told by his best friend herself one year ago, and Soujirou being unintentionally dragged into the whole situation—and none of them had any clue as to why Katsura would decide to make an appearance now, or how their friend was going to take seeing the leader again.

The success of Kaoru's mission was phenomenal. They all knew that once they decide to release all the information publicly, Japan would be thrown into a series of chaos and uproars. The people would, undoubtedly, be filled with anger and hatred towards the government that they trusted to take care of them. To find out that one of the top three officials—the person responsible for upholding the law above all else, was a big part of why they were such in miserable states, is devastating. The underground revolution is at its peak, and they will be ready to join the people head on. There was no sense in avoiding their involvement with the public. After all, it was their efforts that led them to this point. Now, though, a sickening amount of responsibility will be placed upon their shoulders since they will now have to make sure that the other members of the Yakuza, or any other unlawful group, will not take this opportunity to hurt even more than they already have. Activists will, undoubtedly, be filling the streets soon—especially since they will have more ammunition to fight against the government now, and Ishin Shishi will be damned if they will be the reason behind why these outspoken people will be silenced.

"Should I tell him to come back tomorrow?" Misao asked tentatively, afraid of the answer. She was very concerned for the state of her friend, but she knew that no matter what Kaoru thought, she would never be able to deny Katsura. It was her duty to enforce her commander's wishes, and she placed her duty high above all else—as she was sure that all of the other people in the room did as well.

The other members of the room looked from one face to the other, none of them willing to be involved in the decision-making. Only a few minutes have passed since Misao's announcement of Katsura's strange request, and yet they all felt like they've been subjected to the heaviness in the air for more than five hours now.

Kenshin wasn't moving from his spot beside Kaoru, although the rhythmic motions of his hand stroking her hair did stop when Misao told them of their unexpected visitor. The injured woman looked away from the nervous intel agent and up into the eyes of her lover, trying to ask him for support for whatever decision she'll make.

"Do you think he'd mind if we asked him to?" Sano asked softly before clearing his throat. "I mean, Jou-chan just woke up and we just brought her up to speed on anything. I don't think having him talk to her now would do anyone any good. She needs more time."

As he spoke, no one noticed the silent conversation that was happening between Kaoru and Kenshin as they gazed at each other worriedly. Bestowing Kenshin's hand with one last squeeze, Kaoru sighed and turned towards her now arguing friends.

"No." she said quietly, yet hearing her voice echo around the room, immediately stopping anyone from saying anything else. "It wouldn't matter if you sent him in now or tomorrow. We'll still be dealing with the same thing." She stopped to clear throat, "Besides, I'm jacked up on so many drugs it's a miracle I'm thinking clearly right now. I don't know if I'll be feeling the same way tomorrow."

"You sure, Kao?" Enishi asked from his spot on the couch.

"Yeah." She sighed. "It just sucks balls that I won't be able to smoke after this, though."

A series of quiet chuckles and giggles went around the room after her half-meant confession, and the tension slowly dissipated from the room until it was just a faint sizzling in the atmosphere. She felt Kenshin move from beside her, sitting up from his previous position, but still not relinquishing his hold on her hand.

Misao gave her a brief smile before walking out of the room to fetch Saitou and Katsura.

"I guess we'll go get outta your hair, then." Sano announced, sighing as he took in the tired faces of the people in the room. "I bet we could all use a drink right about now. I saw a bar somewhere down the street on my way up here earlier. They any good, Yukishiro?"

Enishi glanced at the tall detective from the corner of his eyes. "Yeah. Kao and I used to drink there all the time. Though I have to tell you, they don't appreciate grown men throwing up on their floors. It's sort of a classy place."

"What? You don't think I can be classy?" Sano scoffed scathingly. "You're talking to one of the country's top bachelors here, Yukishiro. I can be as classy as you want me to be."

"Are you… are you fucking hitting on me, Sagara?"

"Don't flatter yourself. Get your ass up. Let's go." He commanded before turning towards Soujirou. "Since you're new, you're paying for my drinks tonight."

The three men continued bickering as they stepped out of the room, leaving a silent couple behind them after they closed the door. Kaoru chuckled at her friends' humor and enjoyed the brief amount of solitude that they were given before she would have to face the man who basically broke her self-esteem two years ago.

"Are you sure about this?" Kenshin asked quietly.

"Well, no. Not really. I don't know what he wants from me, and I don't know what I'm going to have to say to him, but what the hell, right?"

The redhead chuckled as he stared fondly down at Kaoru's pale and bruised face. "I'll be right here the whole time. Just let me know if you want to stop talking to them. I'm sure they'll understand."

"I will." She replied with a gentle smile.

They heard a couple of knocks from behind the door before it was opened to admit entrance to two serious-looking men. Saitou was in a gray polo that was tucked into his jeans, making the holster of the gun he had visible. His hair was as pristine as ever, and his usual intimidating, stern mask was on.

Katsura's disposition was in complete contrast versus Saitou's cold façade. Dressed in white collared polo that was hidden beneath a thick, red long-sleeved polo and jeans, he seemed very much like the warm grandfatherly-figure he led the public to believe. Seeing him like this sometimes made Kaoru wonder at how someone who looked so kind and gentle could have a heart that was ice-cold enough to lead an organization like the Ishin Shishi—whose main objective was to rid the government of weeds and pests by _any_ means possible. Meeting Katsura Kogorou was, perhaps, what made the journalist learn that you should really never judge books by their covers.

"Good evening, Kamiya-san." Katsura greeted as he stepped further into the room. He settled himself on the couch that Sano previously occupied, while Saitou opted to stand and simply lean against the now closed door.

Kaoru gave the man a small nod in response, her face hardening itself into an impassive mask as she watched the Ishin Shishi's leader warily. Kenshin was a bit more polite in his greeting by muttering a soft "Katsura-sama" as he briefly bowed his head.

The founder smiled warmly at seeing the couple together, despite the coldness of his welcome. Turning his gaze to the injured woman, he said, "I'm glad to see you're awake, Kamiya-san. We were all quite worried when we heard of your condition."

"I'm sorry for troubling you then, Katsura-sama." The journalist mumbled softly from the bed. "Although if that is all that you came here for, then you should know that I'm already stable and that I'm not in any risk of dying right now." She paused, giving Saitou a quick glance before looking at her very unexpected visitor. "Although I doubt that that's the only reason you're here. So let's get to it then, shall we? I'd like to get a chance to actually rest so I could be out of here as soon as I can."

"Kamiya." Saitou interrupted sternly. "Regardless of whatever drug they're pushing into your body, I'm sure it hasn't muddled your idiotic brain enough to make your forget your superiors. You _will_ show your respect."

"Forgive me, Saitou, but I don't recall working under Katsura-sama's office; nor do I ever remember being under his employ. I was only being honest with what I said, but forgive my impudence if I've offended either of you in any way." She replied insincerely.

Katsura raised his hand to stop Saitou from giving a scathing retort without taking his eyes away from Kaoru. "It's quite alright, Saitou-san. No harm, no foul. I understand the predicament."

Kenshin cleared his throat, wanting the two visitors to get back on track so the visit could end as soon as possible. "If you may, Katsura-sama, Misao said that you wanted to speak with Kaoru?"

"I did, Himura-san." He sighed. "Kamiya-san, I would like to thank you personally for what you have done two nights ago. The evidence you gathered from Kitazato-san's office was strong enough for both the Prime Minister and the Emperor to order his immediate arrest and incarceration without having any nuances from the higher government. Kitazato-san will be held in solitary confinement in the Correction Bureau's maximum security wing until he faces the Supreme court three days from now, where he will be expected to answer for his crimes against the people and the country. From what our agents say, the remaining drug lords and brothel owners under his control have now gone into hiding—effectively stopping the big transactions that go on in the Shinjuku district."

"And the website?" Kaoru asked. "The one Soujirou's been working on?"

"We're still working on it." Saitou said from his perch against the doorframe. "We tied him down to it, but we can't get it to stop. Even though he has a list of the aliases, those alone won't be enough to arrest the website's clientele. We'd need more information than that; besides, we still can't even find the kids yet."

The journalist's brows furrowed in thought. "Can't anyone hack the site? Wasn't there anything on it in my hard drive?"

"No. We have our top software analysts tinkering with it back at both HQ and the Ministry of Justice, but what they're telling me so far is that the site's firewalls are airtight. Nobody can get through it, and whenever they get close enough, a virus is launched that automatically shuts down the computer that the technicians are using. Whoever created that website knew what he was doing."

"The love virus." The redheaded detective said from, seemingly, out of the blue. Upon feeling that everyone's eyes shot towards him at his announcement, he expounded. "What the site is using in its firewall. It's like a modified version of the computer worm that swept through the world back in 2000; the one that caused $10 billion in damages and affected 80 of the Fortune 100 companies. The difference now is that instead of being activated by clicking a link on an e-mail, it's only triggered when you raise red flags on the website's firewall."

Saitou nodded. "That sounds about right. So are you saying that we just have to treat the firewall like a virus and try to go from there?"

"No. I'm saying if we want to get this over and done with quickly, we're going to have to ask for foreign help. I think the guy who originally made the love virus is still in the FBI."

"FBI?" Saitou scoffed. "We're going to ask help from those pansies?"

"_This _particular pansy can do more than the nerds back at the HQ and you know it, Saitou." Kenshin sighed. "I know you don't like the idea of asking the US government for help, but this'll speed things along."

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to agree with Himura-san, Saitou-san." Katsura commented.

"Fine. But I'm not taking care of getting the Prime Minister to agree."

The commander simply smiled and nodded his head to let the room's occupants know that he will be taking care of speaking with the Prime Minister regarding the issue at hand. After a few seconds of letting the people around him collect their thoughts, he decided to proceed with what he originally intended to discuss with the young journalist.

"Forgive us for digressing, Kamiya-san, but that was not all that I wished to discuss with you."

"I figured as much, Katsura-sama." She chuckled softly. "Though before you continue, I want to let you know that appreciate what you said. I didn't know that my actions would have that big of a ripple effect, but I'm glad I was able to help."

The leader smiled. "What you did was brave, Kamiya-san—reckless, but brave. And I am not a man who refuses to give credit where credit is due."

The journalist looked at the old man searchingly, sighing when she saw a flicker of the same look that he gave her two years ago. "But…?"

Just like that, Katsura's smile disappeared from his face and was replaced by a tired and wary expression. Suddenly all his wrinkles were more visible and Kaoru could see just how much the years of hard work have really been affecting the strong commander. It was really too bad that she had already seen how cruel and manipulative he could really be, since now she felt no pity for this man before her.

"I will allow you to publish an article about this case, however," he paused and locked his gaze with hers as his features were schooled into an emotionless, stern mask. "I must ask you to step away from the rest of the investigation. Ishin Shishi will take over from here."

A palpable silence descended over the room as all of its occupants heard the order from the powerful commander. All pairs of eyes were locked on Kaoru's silent form, each of its owners silently gauging how the girl would react and what they should do when she does. They've seen her fall apart over something like this before, and it was not a sight they'd like to see again—especially with her lying on a makeshift hospital bed with wounds that would take time to heal.

Kenshin, especially, was wary of how his beloved would take this request. He kept still and made sure that his eyes would not betray any of his thoughts in case Kaoru ever decided to look at him for support. He was so afraid that the hope that sprung up in his chest at getting a chance to make her back down would be evident through the way he acted so he forced himself to be as still and emotionless as a statue.

Her expression never faltered from its impassivity, but her eyes turned icier at the request. She sat still, thinking of a way to phrase the dozens of questions that formed in her mind at what she heard, but settling with a simple, "Why?"

Katsura sighed. "There are already too many people involved in this, Kamiya-san, and while I recognize that your courage is truly admirable, we cannot afford to risk any more lives than we already are."

"So?" she asked coldly.

The leader's eyes widened at the unexpected response. He expected to hear another reprimand from Saitou, but when everybody stayed quiet, he realized that the other two occupants were also waiting for him to answer.

"Should you involve yourself more, Kamiya-san, then that would mean that your safety would be another accountability for us. I am quite sure that Yukishiro-san's and Seta-san's safety would also be compromised. If you cannot keep yourself away from harm, then at least have the courtesy to do so for the sake of your colleagues." He phrased carefully.

"So basically, you're saying that you're going to take everything I've worked hard for—_risked _my life for, and leaving me with what, exactly? Your sorry gesture for _'thanks, but no thanks'_? You're telling me that I did well, but that it's time for the adults to do the real work now?"

Katsura looked away from her and nodded grimly. "If that is how you choose to understand it, then yes, I am."

"And you are aware that this is the second time you'll be doing this to me? That you're doing the _exact _same thing as what you did with my investigation on Fukioka two years ago?"

"Yes."

A dark chuckle bubbled from Kaoru's lips which made the three men watch her as she stared up at the ceiling, looking like there was something up there that was playing a humorless joke on her. Kenshin tried to squeeze her hand, but she pulled it away from him harshly—opting to gently cross both her hands on top of her stomach instead.

"Why am I not surprised?" she asked bemusedly. "You know, Katsura-sama, for someone who's fighting for a better Japan, I'm not really sure if you fully _understand_ what you're fighting for."

"Pardon?"

"You keep telling your subordinates—and the people, that you are _for _them. That you _support _them, and that you want them to live better lives." She paused, searching for the proper words that she would need to say next to get her message across. "But with the way you're treating me and your pets under Ishin Shishi, it makes me wonder if you truly understand what "better" means."

Nobody interrupted her as she continued her monologue. "I, personally, believe that "better" means being able to do whatever it is that I wish to do provided that I don't do it at the expense of those around me. "Better" means that I'll get to choose, fight for, and believe in what I choose to believe in. "Better" means having the ability to find real happiness in all aspects of my life. "Better" means that I won't be confined to what others, or what society, expect me to do. "Better" means having a _choice _and getting a chance to _act _on my choice without the interference of people like you."

She paused again to trail her eyes over to Saitou's cold stare, then back to Katsura's. "I'm fighting for people who want to have a choice, but can't. I'm doing what I do because I believe that everyone deserves a chance to prove themselves—to use their ability for whatever purpose they choose to serve, as long as it will not harm anyone else. What about you?"

Surprised at being expected to respond, Katsura took a few moments to collect himself before answering. "I am fighting for the same cause, Kamiya-san."

"Oh?" she asked humorlessly. "It doesn't seem that way to me. At first, I thought you were, but now? Not really."

"I understand your reservations on—"

"Tell me, Katsura-sama, was I accepted to Ishin Shishi two years ago?"

"No." the man answered, wary at where this line of questioning would lead to.

"Am I, in any way, employed by your office?"

"No."

"Ah." Kaoru looked back up at the ceiling again. "Then what right does that give you to tell me to stop what I'm doing? You're not telling me to do so simply because you _said _so, right? Surely you're not about to shove your government position into my face—because if you are, then I think that would only solidify my assumptions on who you really are."

"Kamiya-san—"

"Last I heard, I'm working for _Tokyo Shimbun, _and that I was hired by Seijuro Hiko—and although I know you're all buddy-buddy with him, I still don't think that gives you the right to _fire _me. I'm also the daughter of Kamiya Koshijiro and Emi, and I doubt that you were friends or even acquaintances with them, so I'm quite _sure _that I was never placed under your care. I know all my friends are integral parts of your little group, but I know for a fact that does not—in any way—mean that you are tasked to be responsible for my actions, because that would just be _insane_." Her cold, sapphire gaze found his brown ones and he cringed. "So tell me, _Katsura-sama_, what divine and all holy power gives you the right to tell me what I should and should not do with my time? I don't recall asking for your help, nor do I ever remember asking you for my protection. So who exactly do you think you _fucking _are to make my decisions for me?"

"Kamiya-san, this case is something that the Ishin Shishi has been working on for a long time now and—"

"And how far along did you and your cronies get with that, _Katsura-sama_?" she asked mockingly, her expression and her form still being deceptively calm. She may be confined to the bed, but that didn't mean that her miniscule actions and the words she spoke expressed less of the heat that was raging inside her chest.

"Kamiya," Saitou started to say, annoyed at how the tiny slip of a woman was belittling his and his organization's work. "Don't think—"

"What Saitou? Are you going to deny what I said? Or are you going to ask me to stop being so passive-aggressive with your beloved commander?" her scathing reply came. "How can I when I can't even say that I _respect _this man?" Turning back to who they were referring to, she continued. "You say you know how to give credit where credit is due, Katsura-sama, but I don't think you really mean that with the way you're trying to take this from me now."

The two detectives, with as much training as they had on the field, tried to read into the expression written on Katsura's face They've never seen the politician angry before, but they were starting to believe that they may witness that very, very soon.

"You took everything away from me two years ago. You made me believe that I wasn't strong enough to pursue the same cause that my parents did. You made me think that I wasn't worth it. I had to build myself back up after that, and now that _I _found something I could do to make a difference, now that _I _am sure that I'm as strong as the rest of you because of all that I've done while I was away from you, you think that I'm going to let you do the same shit that you pulled before?" Her eyes bored onto Katsura's, and she had to take a deep breath to keep herself from standing up and screaming right at his face. "I don't give a flying fuck if you told Hiko to hire me. I'm not entirely ungrateful to you for that, but that was all that you did. You put me there, but _I _made him see that I was worthy. _I proved myself worthy_. And there is no way in a _thousand _hells that I'm going to let you take this away from me again, and I sure as hell am not allowing you to do so to Enishi or Soujirou either. No matter who the fuck you think you are in this world, you don't scare me anymore."

No one really knew what to say after that; not even the usually well-meaning politician. Kaoru's words sunk into them all, and all three men felt extremely guilty at what she said—not that they would show it, of course. Saitou was staring angrily at the wall across from him, while Katsura's gaze stayed locked onto Kaoru's seemingly peaceful face that was turned towards the ceiling once more.

Kenshin, on the other hand, sat as still as he could as he tried to prevent himself from shaking. Every word that Kaoru said cut through him like a knife again and again until every inch of him felt like it was burning and raw with shame. He thought he understood what she went through before, but now that he got a chance to witness this confrontation, he was starting to second-guess every decision he's ever made for her wellbeing during the years that they were together. He was nothing but a piece of scum, and he wanted to put himself as far away from her as possible because it was now extremely clear to him that he did not deserve the woman beside him.

The sound of someone knocking broke the pressing silence. The other three watched as Saitou placed his full weight back on his feet and opened the door silently to check on who dared to interrupt their private conversation. Upon seeing the two women behind it, he stepped back and allowed them entrance.

"Sorry for interrupting you guys," Megumi said coldly, her eyes roving around the room and taking in the previous occupants' tense dispositions. "But it's time for Kaoru to take her medication now."

Kaoru saw Saitou give her a brief nod in farewell before walking right out the door after hearing the doctor's announcement. Katsura, however, took his time in standing up and staring down at her.

"Thank you for your time, Kamiya-san." He bid her. "I will be talking to Seijuro-san tomorrow about the matter we discussed."

The journalist felt a cold swing of fear rush through her system, but refused to give the older man the satisfaction of letting him see it. Feigning smugness, she smirked. "Good luck with that, Katsura_-sama_."

Ishin Shishi's commander smiled grimly at her, before nodding to the other three members who were in the room with them and leaving the premises. Kenshin internally sighed in relief as he watched Katsura's back go through the doorway, and he leaned back on the bed to try to relax his tense muscles.

Kaoru, who was still reeling from the implications of what Katsura last said, closed her eyes and tried to get rid of the darkness that was starting to shroud her heart—fear was starting to build up in her chest at being pushed aside by Hiko because of Katsura's orders like Saitou did two years ago, and it was something that she could not afford to feel right now. She felt Misao settle beside her on the bed; careful to not apply any pressure onto the bullet wound she had by her waist.

"I don't know what went on here, but I sure as hell am glad that I wasn't here to live through it." Megumi said softly, gently placing the metal tray she was holding on the small table beside the bed Kaoru was occupying. The group listened silently to the soft clatters of the different paraphernalia that was placed on the tray, watching as Megumi worked her way through injecting different types of liquid into the thin tube that went into the back of Kaoru's hand.

"What the hell was that about, Kaoru?" Misao asked curiously. "All four of you look like you just came from a funeral for fuck's sake."

The journalist sighed. "He wanted me off the case."

"What?!" After receiving a reprimanding look from Megumi, the energetic agent toned her voice down. "Did he say why?"

"Something about Shishi being able to do the rest on their own—sorry, _your _own."

Misao bristled at what she heard. "The fuck?! Why the hell would he—"

"Not now, Misao." Kenshin's voice shot out from the other side of the bed, his striking violet eyes tinged with amber when he looked sternly up at the loud woman.

The emerald-eyed woman simmered down at the command, but her eyes clearly stated that the conversation was in no way near over for them.

"Well," Megumi announced loudly. "Regardless of whatever happened here, I'm glad you didn't do something stupid, Tanuki. Stitching you up once was hard enough. I'm not sure if I would've done it for you a second time around."

Kaoru chuckled and eased her way back into Kenshin's embrace after Megumi was done tinkering with her IV drip, her body slowly feeling at ease as his warmth penetrated her thin clothes.

"How long am I going to have to be here, 'Gumi?" she asked as soon as she was comfortable.

Megumi gave her an appraising look. "Why? Planning on jumping on a grenade this time?"

"No…" Kaoru replied meekly, shrinking under the doctor's gaze. She felt Kenshin's chest shake when a chuckle bubbled from his lips, which prompted her to give him a sharp jab on his stomach. "I just wanted to you know… know."

"You're not going to be moving anytime soon. Right now we're still dealing with the infection you got, though it's pretty minor so I'm not worried about that. But it's going to take around a week before it goes away completely, so expect fevers every now and then." Megumi paused and turned to unbutton the oversized pajama top she had on so she could prod at the gauze that covered her bullet wound. "The swelling's probably going to be there for another two weeks, but you have to be careful about re-opening the stitches, 'cause that might make things trickier for you."

"So… two weeks, then?"

"From the looks of it, yeah. Though I'm not guaranteeing anything. You're not strapped onto a proper monitoring device so I'm doing the best as I could with what we have here. You should be okay to move back to your apartment in a couple of weeks, but I'm not letting you leave your apartment for another two. I'm telling Hiko to not let you in your office for a month."

"A month?"

It seemed as though the surgeon didn't hear Kaoru's question because she turned to address Kenshin instead. "I don't care what you have to do to her—bind her, gag her, hell, drug her even, but I'm trusting _you _to make sure that this idiot girl doesn't leave this or her building without my say-so. Got it?"

After seeing the redhead nod amusedly at her instructions, Megumi finally sighed and sat down on the couch beside the bed. The tired doctor leaned back and closed her eyes to get a few moments of respite from the stress that the last three days have brought her.

"Kami, Megumi. You look like crap. Have you slept at all the past two days?" Misao asked concernedly.

Megumi's head shot up in annoyance from her semi-relaxed position so she could glare at her friend. "What the hell do you think? The hospital's been fucking crazy. Our E.R.'s been full, and it's all hands on deck over there; and every minute that they give me for a break, I spend _here, _babysitting that chicken-brained bullet magnet."

"Hey!" Kaoru interjected. "I resent that! It's not like I went in there with a huge "shoot me" sign on my forehead, you know!"

"Yes, Kaoru, but normally when people start shooting at you, you run as far away from wherever the hell you are as fast as you can. You don't go back in the room for whatever you felt was as important as your life, you blithering idiot!" At Kaoru's stunned look, the surgeon scoffed. "Oh yeah. Seta told me _all _about your idiotic decisions. Do you _know _what could've happened?! Are you aware of what would've happened to you if that bullet swayed _just a little more _to the left?!"

The journalist cringed and hid herself a bit more in her boyfriend's arms as Megumi's voice escalated with every reprimanding sentence. "I made it out alive, Megumi. I'm okay." She tried to reassure herself softly.

"Because of me! You're alive because of me!" The surgeon hissed back.

Kaoru turned to regard her angry friend and was stunned when she saw angry tears starting to fill her eyes. Megumi was known to be a rock, and as someone who had the firm belief that crying will never accomplish anything. No matter how many terrible things happened in her O.R., nobody has ever seen her even so much as tremble at the pressure of anything she faced. She was about to question her friend when a light bulb suddenly clicked on in her head.

What happened undoubtedly _scared _Megumi; what she did for Kaoru was miles beyond what she normally faced on a daily basis because she considered Kaoru as family. She'd already lost her parents before, and she couldn't bare the idea of losing another loved one because she felt like she wasn't good enough; not to mention the probable scenario that was going on when Kaoru was first brought in. Megumi probably felt like if she made one mistake, she wouldn't only lose Kaoru, but the rest of her friends as well, and that_ terrified_ her.

"Megumi." Kaoru called gently. When the surgeon stubbornly refused to look her way, she tried once more. "'Gumi, please."

"What?" Megumi said scathingly, her eyes flashing as she glared at Kaoru.

"I—I'm sorry. I'm so sorry… And thank you. Really. I know you were scared, but I'm okay now, see? You did it." The journalist smiled warmly. "And I promise you I'll be more careful next time."

Calming at the reassurance she received, Megumi leaned back into the couch as she replied, "You better. 'Cause next time I won't be so willing to patch your ass up."

Seeing that her two friends have already kissed and made up—so to speak, Misao took the chance to try to distract everyone from their morose moods by bringing up a happy topic.

"So!" Misao giggled happily as she clapped her hands. "Seeing as how Megumi will be spending a lot of time here, and that Kaoru obviously won't be going _anywhere_," She shot Kaoru a pointed look before turning to address everyone again. "I'm guessing we can all work on wedding details here!"

The journalist and the surgeon both visibly tensed at the announcement and internally groaned upon realizing that what their friend said was going to be inevitable. Once Misao knew what she wanted, she always _always _found a way to make it happen.

"So tomorrow, I'm going to be bringing the wedding book and all the notes I took for what we'll need. Kaoru, we still don't have a decision on what flowers should be used, and Megumi, I think the wedding dress designs I got could use a bit of your input…"

As the energetic woman went on and on about their wedding discussion schedule for the next month, Kaoru couldn't help the smile that grew on her face. She couldn't deny that it was nice having people around her who generally cared about her wellbeing, and it was even nicer to have Kenshin right beside her as she faced everything. It may not always be a walk in the park to be with them, but she wouldn't trade her odd family for anything in the world.

The drugs that Megumi injected into her system were already starting to take effect, and her eyelids were starting to feel heavier and heavier by the second as she felt her torso growing numb—effectively easing the discomfort that she was started to feel sometime in the middle of her discussion with Katsura. Kenshin noticed her tiredness and smiled gently down at her as he kissed her forehead.

"Sleep, love. I'll be here when you wake up."

She smiled and buried herself deeper into the redhead's arms, closing her eyes as she did so. It was then, as she was listening to Misao's excited chattering about the wedding preparations and Megumi's complaints about one thing or another, and as she felt Kenshin's warmth surrounding her, that she gave into her first peaceful slumber in two days.

* * *

"Kaoruuuuuuu…"

The woman in question turned her attention to the pathetic groaning lump that was her best friend. Enishi was currently sprawled on the couch beside her bed, his now closed laptop lying on the floor by the sleek piece of leather furniture.

"Pleeeeeaseeee…"

It's been two weeks since her conversation with Katsura and so far things have been normal—or as normal as could be given the lives that every member of their dysfunctional circle of friends led. So far, everyone's been really busy with cleaning up the mess that Kitazato left behind following his two-day trial where he was sentenced to a lifetime in prison. The proceedings were surprisingly fast, and was actually dubbed as the quickest sentencing of a renowned public official in Japan, but given that most of their evidence would be hard to refute and that the witnesses that Saitou's department found had no qualms with telling the court what they needed to know in exchange for a shortened incarceration period, nothing could've complicated any of the hearings any more than they should be. The decision regarding the judgment of the Chief Justice's innocence was made easily—perhaps it might have been already been set even before the first trial, considering the amount of anger that the Prime Minister and the Emperor were expressing at being betrayed by one of their own.

Kenshin and Sano were sent on assignment after assignment to track down the elusive staff of the Chief Justice, while Aoshi and Misao were both heavily involved with trying to crack the dirty website that Kitazato partially ran. Megumi was, as always, hidden away in the hospital she worked in. You'd think that since most of her most trusted friends were out doing their respective duties, Kaoru would feel even a little bit lonely because she was still stuck in bed and recovering from the injuries she got, but this was not the case.

Enishi, upon realizing that nobody was ever really around much in his apartment, spent most of his time there with Kaoru, and a hesitant-looking Soujirou. The blonde journalist claimed that he had a right to work wherever he pleased since he was getting his job done anyway, and his articles were being sent and published on time. When asked why he suddenly felt the urge to work on his scoops from home, he merely replied with a shrug and a flippant comment to get them off his back. Soujirou, since he was still relatively new to the office and their team, was forced to join his other two teammates to show camaraderie. Kaoru, however, knew the real reason behind why the two journalists were there with her and not in their office. She was sure that they were only there to avoid their fiery editor-in-chief because they knew that he would be strongly reprimanding them for what happened at the Metropolitan Building.

It's been two weeks since Katsura said that he would be talking to Hiko about her current employment at the broadsheet publishing house, and she still hasn't heard anything from her boss. While she knew that their editor-in-chief wouldn't stoop so low as to fire an employee through a simple e-mail or text message, she still jumped every time she'd hear her mobile phone ring from the bedside table. Truthfully, at this point, she'd rather have him barge into the room and scream at her over and over for her irresponsibility and inconsideration due to the way she handled the investigation on the ex-Chief Justice rather than live through another day of his uncharacteristic silence.

"What?" she asked the blonde-haired man amusedly.

"Can't we have a fucking break? We've been at this for hooouuurrsss." Enishi moaned, his arm stretching back to cover his tired eyes.

Kaoru scoffed. "Soujirou's been working just as long as you have, and you don't see him griping about it."

"That's because he's a robot! All he ever does is smile that creepy ass smile of his whenever you give him another thing to do! It's like he has no sense of humanity anymore!"

"I think that's overdoing it a bit, don't you?" Soujirou said cheerily from his spot across the room. His laptop was on top of a small plastic table that they brought it a week ago so all three of them could have a makeshift desk in the big room.

"Not even a bit." The blonde correspondent mumbled. "The only reason I brought you here was so we could escape that hell-hole of an office we have and just _chill _for a couple of weeks, you know? Had I known you'd be as bad as the Queen over here, I would've left you there to fend for yourself."

"I appreciate your consideration then, Enishi." He replied, not even bothering to pause from reading an article he pulled up as he responded.

"See? He's taking it like a man, Yukishiro. Since when have you turned into a sniveling little bitch?" Kaoru interrupted.

"I resent that. And for your information, it's been since _you've _turned my apartment into a frat house. I haven't been able to properly go through my evening habits for _two _weeks now. I'm going crazy."

"Enishi, I highly doubt that being in my apartment would stop you from being able to watch Friends re-runs in your underwear with a bowl of cold cereal every night. I have DVDs of all ten seasons, and I'm pretty sure I had three boxes of Koko Krunch left in my cupboard before this all happened."

"But it's not the _saaame_."

"Oh will you just stop it! Kenshin's taking me home tonight, so you can go back to doing whatever it is you do in this craphole of yours." The recovering woman hissed.

Enishi paused and let her simmer in her annoyance for a bit. "Got you all riled up now eh, Kao?", he asked after a bit, marveling at being able to beat his own record on the amount of time it takes to annoy the injured reporter.

"Fuck you." She said simply as she went back to editing the article she'll be submitting to Hiko that afternoon. Despite her boss' silence, Kaoru still knew that her articles weren't being ignored since during her stay in Enishi's apartment, Tokyo Shimbun had already published two of the follow-up columns she wrote for their most recent exposé.

"Enough teasing, kids. We have deadlines to meet today, and we don't want to get in trouble, do we?" Soujirou said calmly, turning his desk chair around so he could smile at his teammates before turning back to continue what he was doing.

"See?" Enishi scoffed. "Robot."

The group fell into a comfortable silence then, with Kaoru and Soujirou's fingers racing across their keyboards as they worked on their assignments, and Enishi taking the chance to take a short nap to ease his building headache. After about twenty minutes of being submerged in the comfortable quiet, Kaoru decided to break the silence by voicing out the question she's been dying to ask ever since her two teammates started working from her make-shift hospital room.

"Sou?" she called out to the blue-eyed man.

"Yeah?"

When no response was heard from the recovering woman, Soujirou spun his desk chair around to face the curious woman. "What's up, Kaoru?"

"Has… Did Hiko say anything to you guys about me?" Kaoru asked softly, her gaze shifting away from her teammate's gentle smile and onto the wall clock that hung above Enishi's bedroom door. "I mean—nothing's going on or anything, but I just… wondered."

Soujirou's eyes flashed, but his smile remained ever-present on his slightly moist lips. He was trying to figure out what the woman wasn't telling him, but when he realized he couldn't, he replied slowly. "I don't think so, no. Although he _has _been oddly quiet since you've been here. We figured he was just annoyed 'cause of all the press conferences he's had to attend in your place."

Kaoru nodded. "And the others? Where does everybody else think I am?"

"The day after you woke up, he told Tae that you'd be working from home for at least a couple of weeks—but that she shouldn't give you any assignments until he says she could. I think he said something about you having a bad case of the measles or chicken pox, or something like that."

She 'hmm'ed in response and turned back to her laptop in deep thought. _'If he's not telling anyone I've been fired, then that must mean he didn't agree with Katsura; or maybe he's just waiting for me to get better before he _does _fire me—but he's never been that considerate before… although people _do _say that he has a soft spot for me…'_

Her thoughts went round and round in the same manner as she stared at the screen of the computer that was placed on a low-rise breakfast tray so she could work on her bed comfortably. She let herself be dragged by the sudden ups and downs that each new line of thinking brought, and she found counterpoints to every positive entry in her head. Soujirou must've noticed her oddly pensive behavior because he got up so he could stand right beside her side of the bed.

"Hey. Kaoru." He prompted.

Kaoru shook herself out of her stupor and looked up at the pale man. "Sorry, got a bit distracted there. Were you saying something?"

He shrugged and grinned, bending down so he could be eye-level with her. "How long's it been since you last had a cigarette?"

"Uh… what?"

"I was thinking about going to out to the balcony to smoke a bit. You can join me, if you want to."

"What so you can gloat right in front of my face?" she scoffed. "No thanks."

"Actually… I have an extra stick… if you'd like it, that is. I mean, if you were planning on quitting, then by all means, forgive me. But if you want it…" He pulled out his pack and lighter and waved the two in front of her face, as if teasing her to take them from him right then and there.

"But… Megumi…"

The smiling man stood up to his full height and backed away a few steps from the bed to give Kaoru enough room to stand up on her own. He was very happy to note that the shaking that used to accompany her every step was now close to diminished, and that she didn't need anyone's assistance to move anymore. She's been recovering very well during her house arrest and he had no doubts that she would be able to regain her entire strength in just one more week, contrary to what everyone's been saying. He knew that giving her a cigarette now is highly irresponsible of him, but he also knew—based on his past experiences—that it wouldn't hamper her recovery period. He just really wanted to cheer her up or calm her down, and this is the best way that he knew how.

"I can keep a secret if you can." He winked. Turning towards their other teammate who was ungracefully slumped and snoring on the sofa, he gave the man's head a huge thump to wake him up. "We're going out for a smoke. You wanna roll with?"

Enishi groaned and rolled away from the two moving figures. "What the hell are you bothering _me _for? There aren't any boogiemen here, so you can go by yourself, fucking retard."

"We figured you'd like to join us for my first cigarette in over two weeks." Kaoru said as she giggled at her friend's obvious displeasure at being woken up in such a fashion.

With another groan, the blonde journalist pushed himself up into a sitting position and glared accusingly at his best friend. "Fox lady's going to kill you for this."

"She won't if she doesn't find out." Soujirou replied calmly by the now open door.

"Your funeral." Enishi shrugged. "You know, Seta, I always had a feeling you'd be more trouble than you seemed. It's always the quiet ones you've gotta be careful with, is what I say."

_BANG!_

The trio froze. Nobody but their friends were allowed up Enishi's apartment, and none of them were due back there for at least another hour or two. Aside from that, they were quite sure that Megumi already briefed everyone on the proper behavior they should practice when entering the apartment—in case Kaoru was sleeping, which she apparently needed a lot of.

"Get back in the bed, Kaoru." Enishi hissed as he dragged her back, pushing her work paraphernalia off the soft surface and helping her lie back down. Once she was settled, he wasted no time in crouching down to grab something from underneath his bed.

Soujirou hurriedly closed the door behind him, making sure to make as little noise as possible in an effort to not prompt the intruder of where they currently were. His smile never fell from his face as he calmly walked back to his bag to pull out a gun.

At the sight of the black weapon, Kaoru's eyes widened in shock. "What the hell?! Do you always carry that around with you?"

The blue-eyed man did nothing else but give her a pointed look, silently telling her to be quiet, as he rushed back to her bedside and pointed his gun towards the door. Enishi, having found what he was looking for, immediately stood back up and stood in a way that was much similar to Soujirou's current position—a shiny black gun also being held by his two hands.

"'Nishi? Since when did _you _have a gun?"

"Can't help to be careful, Kao. Our line of work isn't exactly Yakuza-friendly, you know?" he muttered back, his eyes trained on the door.

They listened to the intruder walk around the apartment in search of its three occupants, his loud footfalls and deep grumbles echoing across the now silent room.

"He's not exactly very stealthy, is he?" Soujirou whispered from beside her. He had the audacity to look amused at the oddness of their soon-to-be attacker and Kaoru had half a mind to tell him off, but the sound of footsteps nearing the entrance to their room prevented her from doing so.

Guns were cocked and breaths were held as they all counted down to the moment that the door would open and they'd be facing off with yet another surprise villain.

_BANG!_

"Well. Had I known you three idiots were so trigger-happy, I would've hired you as bodyguards instead of the good-for-nothing journalists that you think you are."

"Hi—Hiko?" Kaoru breathed, her muscles relaxing from their tension along with the breath she expelled.

"Who else were you expecting? Katsura? I know even you're not enough of an idiot to not know that you've shot that completely into hell."

The two men beside her eased up and put their weapons away, both of them feeling more relieved than annoyed that the intruder was no one else but their obnoxiously loud editor-in-chief. Hiko stood before them in all his lumberjack-like glory, his face set in an angrier expression than usual. After two weeks of hearing nothing but silence and angry grunts from the huge man, everyone was understandably surprised at his sudden behavior.

"Damn, boss man. Did you have to make such a dramatic entrance? What happened to old-fashioned knocking?" Enishi said with a groan as he sprawled back onto the sofa he previously occupied.

"I'm afraid I agree with Yukishiro, Hiko-sama. You gave us quite the scare." Soujirou concurred.

Hiko closed the door behind him and walked further into the room, standing somewhere in the middle of the three of them where they all three of his subordinates could have a clear view of him.

"I am amazed," he growled out, making all three writers shiver at the sheer coldness behind his tone. They've seen him angry before, but it was nothing compared to what they were seeing now, and they didn't know how to act appropriately.

"I am amazed," Hiko repeated. "at your _impudence. _You," he said, pointing harshly to Kaoru's reclined form. "were specifically told to _lay off work _for _at least _two weeks. And yet I received _countless _e-mails from you submitting articles and columns that, to my honest despair, were better than anything these two idiots spewed out. I do not _appreciate _receiving _screeching _phone calls from Dr. Takani every single time I'd have to publish one of your articles just to remind me that I'm not supposed to be making you work when I'm _clearly_ not making you do so in the first place!"

The editor took a deep breath before pinning the other two journalists with a glare that would've made Hitler run for the hills. "And you two," he said harshly. "You have the _audacity _to _hide _from me?! We have a perfectly good office where you could spend your sad pathetic days in and you choose to work from this hellhole where you are _not _easily accessed by your peers, and, more importantly, by _me_?!

"I have half a mind to just grab those goddamned guns of yours and throw them out just so you can get the idiotic notion of you _boys _being adults out of your empty heads! You are _children. Boys. _You have no sense of responsibility or accountability or _intelligence_."

Kaoru, Enishi, and Soujirou were stunned. Stunned, wildly humiliated and, quite frankly, scared of what was going to happen next. Having Hiko scream at them was normal—expected, even; but to have him drive all the way to Enishi's apartment just to do so was miles beyond the treatment that they were used to. They watched Hiko close his eyes and pinch the bridge of his nose in an effort to reign in his burning rage and tone it down into a more controllable simmering anger.

The woman lying on the bed smiled at seeing her superior applying one of the anger management techniques that was indicated in one of the self-help books she got him for his birthday. When she saw him start breathing normally again, she knew the worst was over and that they were all safe now.

"You're fired. You're all fired." He said with finality.

Kaoru scoffed. "No, Hiko. We're not."

She giggled a bit at seeing Enishi's and Soujirou's heads swivel towards her in surprise, both of their mouths open at her disrespect.

"Pardon me, Kamiya?"

She looked straight into Hiko's eyes and saw the glint that she was looking for, letting her know that they were back into their familiar routine.

"We're not fired. We're too good for you to fire us. I mean, did you _see _the feedback and rollout from the Kitazato article? It'd be _insane _for you to fire us." She explained confidently.

"No, Kamiya. What would be insane is to _not _fire you after you trespassed onto government property,"

"It was during the night of the State Gala and we were invited to—"

"You _hacked _your way into a recognized public official's computer,"

"_Ex_-public official's computer, and besides—"

"You absolutely _destroyed _an _entire _floor of the Metropolitan building,"

"Hey! I refuse to take the blame for something that—"

"And you _killed _a total of _fifteen _security guards."

"Well... _that, _I can honestly say I didn't do."

The door burst open again and all four journalists turned towards the noise.

"Hey kids! We brought doughnuts!" Sano announced happily, swinging his arms as he did so. Once he saw all of the room's occupants, though, his jolly disposition was immediately wiped off of his face and he took a couple of steps back. "Which, we can all enjoy happily in an hour or two. Have fun talking! Bye!"

Hiko sighed and grunted as he took a seat on the edge of Kaoru's bed as the door closed. A few silent moments passed among the group, each of them thinking about what to do next. A soft chuckle from Soujirou was what broke it though, and it was immediately followed by loud laughter from Kaoru and Enishi.

"I am surrounded," Hiko mumbled to himself as he tried to block out the noise around him, "by _fucking _idiots."

* * *

Six hours, four doughnuts, and a lot of careful moving later, Kenshin and Kaoru finally arrived back at their apartment. It only took them an hour to pack most of the stuff that was actually theirs, but it took a couple more to help tidy up the place that they've stayed in for two weeks.

"So," Kenshin sighed as he laid Kaoru onto their bed. "Long day?"

Kaoru giggled. "Yeah. Though I highly doubt mine was as long as yours."

"Well, it probably isn't, but I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt anyway."

She smiled at him warmly and watched him walk into the bathroom to freshen himself up before he joined her in bed. He's been especially gentle with her the whole afternoon, and to be honest, it irked her a bit because she really didn't want to be treated like a fragile china doll. But seeing him so happy and relaxed just made her forget her own discomfort—especially after what she'd put him through.

They still haven't discussed anything even related to the topic they were both avoiding. It was really unfortunate too, because Kaoru was quite sure that if they could just get past that, she'd be willing to give herself completely to Kenshin once again. Living through something like what she experienced really put things into perspective for her. Their careers were both dangerous, and nothing was ever certain. Every day on the job meant that they'd be put into even more risk than they were in the day before, and she couldn't bear to face that again without knowing that Kenshin was aware of just how much he meant to her.

She sighed happily as she leaned back and let herself feel every inch of comfort that her soft bed provided. She'd missed being home, and she'd missed being home alone with Kenshin.

"You seem happy," the redhead observed as he stepped out of the bathroom in a pair of comfortable sweatpants. He was pulling his long red hair into a low ponytail, and his eyes were smiling brightly as he looked at her relaxed form.

"I _am _happy. Is that so wrong?" she questioned amusedly.

"It's not _wrong_. Considering the tongue-lashing you got from Hiko this afternoon, though, it's very, very odd."

He hung the towel he had around his shoulders on the chair in front of the dresser, and climbed onto his side of the bed, pulling Kaoru close to him as he did so.

"I've missed you, love." He muttered into her hair. "I was starting to think that I wouldn't get you to myself ever again."

"Oh you know that's not possible. In case you haven't noticed, we're very stubborn people. We would've found a way eventually."

The redhead started placing gentle kisses all over her shoulder. He still couldn't believe that they were finally _home. _He was very thankful that he was allowed to sleep next to her back at Enishi's apartment, but that setting—not to mention, her condition—didn't exactly allow for him to actually _be _with her.

"Kenshin?" he heard Kaoru ask tentatively.

"Yes?"

"Are we ever going to talk about it?"

He sighed at the question and stopped his ministrations, but he didn't let go of his tight hold on her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She nodded and intertwined her fingers with his, a gesture that she hoped would relax him and assure him that she won't be running away from this conversation again. "I just… Well, you know my stand on this. You were there when I talked to Katsura. I know… I know it's hard for you, love, but… I can't stop."

"I figured as much," he said softly as he leaned back onto the headboard. "I feel like we've been over and over this lots of times now, actually." He chuckled. "We've been going in circles for two years, and I think the only reason we haven't stopped is because we're both not willing to budge. I was so dead set on protecting you before, on keeping you safe, that I didn't realize how much I was caging you and killing a part of you. I didn't realize that keeping you away from this mess made you feel like you were letting go of the path your parents set for you. Like I said before, I was being selfish. In more ways than one, I was so unbelievably selfish.

"I guess what's different now is that… well, I understand you now. Completely. Look, I know I can be difficult sometimes, and I know I have a huge tendency to be overbearing, but I guess you're just going to live with that now. And you're going to be required to call me before and after every assignment you get. I don't care what state you'll be in, but I want to get that phone call, otherwise the deal's off."

Kaoru pushed herself away from her boyfriend so she could lock her gaze with his. "Kenshin… are you-?"

"After two years, Kaoru, yeah. I'm finally budging." He smiled.

Elated and extremely grateful, she launched herself at him and kissed him with all of her might. Willing everything she was feeling to be expressed by the soft touch of her lips with his, by the dancing of their tongues. Finally, _finally_, they were on the same page. There was no reason for them to not be happy now. There was nothing barring them from being together.

Ever so gently, he rolled them over so he could look down at her face now. "Although, Kaoru, I'm going to have to ask you to promise me one thing before I fully agree to this."

His eyes glinted under the light of the bedside lamp that they had on, and his serious demeanor surprised her. "What is it?"

"No matter what happens, no matter what you have to do," he sighed and closed his eyes, lowering his forehead onto hers. "Please… please come back to me alive, okay? No matter what, Kaoru."

Tears sprung from her eyes and she valiantly tried to hold them back at his sincere request. She wanted to tell him so many things then, to reassure him that she was there and that she would never willingly leave his side again, but her throat was so choked up that all she managed to breathe out in reply was a soft, "I promise."

"And I promise to do the same. Always, Kaoru." He kissed her deeply then, lazy at first but gaining in passion as the seconds ticked by.

Hours later, as they both laid in each other's embrace in the darkness of the night, basking in the afterglow of their gentle lovemaking, Kaoru realized that this was exactly where she was meant to be. It was a rough road, what they went through, but if they hadn't gone through that, then they probably wouldn't have been able to be as strong as they are now. She trusted him completely now, and she knew that he did her, and it was going to take something close to impossible to break them apart again.

"Kenshin?" she whispered into his neck.

"Hmm?"

"Where's my ring?"

* * *

**Author's Note: **I hope you guys enjoyed this. It wasn't really all that difficult for me to write, and the last part was a lot of fun. I hope you don't think that what happened was too abrupt or anything, but everything just really fell into place after what happened to Kaoru and Kenshin that I couldn't help it!

As always, I'd love to hear what you think about this. Lots of love!

Cheers!


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: **This is quite possibly the longest chapter for this story. I hope you guys like it!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, nor any of its characters. All information in this story (especially those relating to the Japanese government and their public officials) are all fictional.

* * *

**It Is What It Is**

**Chapter 12**

"Well it's about damn time!" Sano exclaimed when Kaoru finished informing them of her re-engagement with the redhead beside her. "Alright, cough it up, weasel. I won fair and square."

Misao grumbled as she rummaged through her purse for the money she apparently owed the tall detective. "You guys couldn't have waited for at least another week?"

Kaoru smiled and gave Kenshin's hand a gentle squeeze, making him turn his head towards her to give her a soft smile. Truly, she didn't understand how such a simple reaction from him always managed to make the ever-present butterflies in her stomach flutter around uncontrollably. When she first agreed to go out with him all those years ago, she'd told herself countless times that eventually, she'd be able to control her body's reactions to his smiles, smirks—his everything, actually; but as it turns out, she'd just been lying to herself.

It's been two weeks since the night that they got engaged, and she was now fully recovered—which was why they felt that this was the perfect time for them to let the cat out of the bag, so to speak. It was hard for them to keep such a big secret from their friends—especially since all of them kept on dropping by their apartment, but they felt it was necessary since they took that time to iron out all the other kinks that their relationship had. They wanted to make sure that everything would be stable between them, and that there won't be any more secrets or leftover issues that they might have to face in the future. The trust they had between each other now was stronger than ever; in fact, they both felt that if anything added to their happiness, their hearts would literally burst.

"We're sorry for your inconvenience, Misao." Kenshin said, his eyes shining brightly at Misao's disgruntled disposition. "Had we known, maybe we would've kept it a secret a bit longer."

"Woah, wait a minute." Misao paused, her hand covering the money that she was pushing towards Sano. "How long have you two been engaged, exactly? And you kept it a secret?" she said accusingly.

Kenshin's eyes widened when he realized his slip, his purple orbs automatically searching for Kaoru's so she could save him. Seeing her fiancée's frantic face, she decided to interject. "Well… we made it official about two weeks… ago?"

"And you didn't tell us because?" The loud intel agent's eyes narrowed accusingly at the couple, her blue-green eyes filling with annoyance at having been kept out of the loop. "You better have a damned good reason for this."

"We had a few things to iron out." Kaoru sighed. "We wanted to make sure that everything would be solid by the time we told you."

Silence fell on the table that all six friends occupied. It was Thursday, so they were currently seated around their usual table in their favorite bar, their drinks and some nachos sitting in the middle of the table. It wasn't exactly the best place to make such an important announcement, but the couple felt it was appropriate since this was the place that they were all reunited after two years of not being together. It was also the first Thursday that they were all able to visit the bar again after Kaoru's successful assignment.

"So it's a sure thing now? We don't want to waste all our time planning for a wedding that's not going to happen." Megumi said snootily.

Sano groaned at hearing his girlfriend's negativity. "Aw hell, fox! Can't you let 'em bask in their happiness for a little bit?"

Megumi paid him no mind and kept her eyes on the happy couple. Kaoru didn't think the question was serious, but when she looked around the table and saw Misao's and Aoshi's curious faces, she nodded cheerily to reassure them. "Barring any outrageous hurdles, then yeah. I think it's pretty sure."

"Good. So, when's the wedding?" The surgeon smirked.

"Oh shit. I completely forgot about that." Misao groaned. "Now we're going to have to split our planning time. I don't know how we can balance planning for my wedding _and _yours."

Kenshin offered the troubled woman a reassuring smile. "You don't have to worry about that. Just because we got engaged doesn't mean we're rushing to get married. We have time."

"So you haven't set a date or anything yet?"

"Not yet. We figured we'd wait for your wedding to finish before we even start thinking about ours." Kaoru smiled. "So I'm all yours, Misao."

"Good. I didn't want to go all passive-aggressive on you for being insensitive. I _did _announce my wedding date _first_. So it's only fair that I get all the attention I need." Misao grinned happily.

"Like you haven't already." Kaoru heard Megumi grumble quietly—or at least she thought she did so quietly. It was rather unfortunate that Misao had a very sensitive ear to these things, since that cued the girls to bicker loudly as they tried to calm the now frantic bride-to-be.

The men in the group cringed at hearing the loud voices, making them signal their waiter for another round of drinks. There was no stopping the girls when they got into one of their _wedding moods_, as Sano so lovingly dubbed it.

Despite what was currently happening, though, it was obvious that the group felt the most relaxed that they have since they were reunited. Admittedly, they didn't really know where Kenshin and Kaoru's relationship was going to go, and although they could see that the two were dealing with their issues well, they were still worried that if the couple ended up breaking up, it would once again cause them all to deal with the same amount of unwanted tension that they've dealt with before. Seeing the diamond ring on Kaoru's finger was a huge relief for everyone, since they believed that the gesture meant that things really were okay between their two friends.

The girls' bickering eventually ended and they were all given a chance to enjoy the evening just talking and drinking. It wasn't until Sano got a phone call from Saitou regarding a case that needed his and Kenshin's immediate presence that the lightheartedness of the night was disturbed. The two detectives left morosely and left the rest of their friends sitting on the table to continue the rest of their evening together.

Kaoru made sure to sit at the edge of the table so she could put a bit of distance between her and the rest of her friends. Upon making sure that the smoke wouldn't be too much of a bother for them, she brought out her cigarettes and gingerly lit a stick.

"So," she said as she blew out the smoke she inhaled. "Mind if we talk business for a while?"

The three other occupants of the table looked at her and waited for her to continue. "I was just wondering if you've heard anything about Udo Jin-E? Sou, 'Nishi, and I've been looking everywhere but we've hit nothing but dead ends."

Misao sighed. "We're in the same boat as you guys. We haven't even been able to crack the stupid website yet."

"Really? I thought Saitou finally cracked and asked the FBI for help on that?"

"They did." The bride-to-be confirmed. "But even they couldn't get anywhere close to the actual server. They're not saying it's impossible, though. They just said it's going to take time."

"So basically, we're just going to have to sit tight 'til then?" Megumi interjected.

Taking a sip of his cold beer and seeing that the topic was safe enough for him to join in, Aoshi spoke. "That's what the higher ups are telling us back at the Agency, but we've received a different set of instructions from Katsura-sama."

Kaoru scoffed. "Oh? What did the almighty one tell you to do this time?"

"He wants us to find other leads." He said before lifting his ice blue eyes to meet hers meaningfully. "However, we don't have as much information as you do."

The journalist immediately looked away from the serious man, her mind reeling at the implications of what he said. If that were true, then it means that it wouldn't be long before her friends asked her for the information that she and her two partners have been able to gather. She took a huge drag of her cigarette as she thought about what her next course of action should be. She really didn't want to be immature about this, but she also didn't want to give up everything that her little group's been able to work on so far. It just really wasn't fair that no matter what she did or where she went, Katsura would always manage to get what he wanted from her.

"Kaoru." Aoshi called softly.

"I know, Aoshi." She replied before inhaling more smoke into her system. Nodding morosely, she continued. "Much as I hate your leader, I'm not immature enough to hold back information just so he wouldn't get what he wants. I'll give you everything tomorrow."

The four of them fell silent again and tried to fight the awkward tension that was building among them. Kaoru knew that her friends hated their current predicament, and that they have tried to convince Katsura to revoke his decision on her involvement tirelessly. She appreciated them doing that, but a week after her confrontation with the renowned leader, she asked everyone to just stop. She didn't want to hear any more about it, and they understood that. However, when Aoshi once mentioned what he's been working on during one of his visits to her apartment, she knew it would only be a matter of time before her friends would have to come to her for whatever information she had.

Kaoru lit another cigarette and listened to Misao start chattering about how excited she was about her dress fitting the next day in an effort to lift their spirits. After a few minutes passed by though, she noticed that most of the bar was starting to quiet down—which was really weird since the establishment wasn't due to close for at least another couple of hours.

"What's going on?" she whispered to the man beside her, not wanting her voice to be raised above the quiet murmurs of the other patrons around them.

Aoshi looked up from his drink and peered above the heads of the customers from the table beside them. His eyes widened fractionally before his expression was once again schooled to its usual cool demeanor when he saw the couple entering the bar. "It appears the Prime Minister and his wife are here." He announced softly to his friends.

"What? The Prime Minister?" Megumi gasped, craning her head around to try to get a glimpse of the high-ranking politician.

The aforementioned man was indeed entering the small bistro, and was currently helping his wife get her coat off before handing it to the woman who was currently assisting them. His dark hair was held up in its usual high ponytail, the black strands glimmering from the dim lights of the bar. The gentle smile he always wore was glued onto his face, his eyes warm as he nodded at the other patrons who recognized and greeted him politely. It was rare for the people of Japan to see the official outside of his office, so his presence at the establishment raised a lot of brows.

Still, the famous couple were unfazed by the attention as Makoto Shishio led his wife to their table for the evening. Yumi, as usual, looked beautiful and perfectly poised as she walked. Her black hair was loose and flowed freely down her shoulders, and she was dressed casually in a pair of dark jeans and a simple white blouse. The attire didn't make her any less recognizable though, and like her husband, she nodded sweetly to those who greeted her as they made their way to their reserved table.

"Kaoru-chan?" Yumi gasped as she and her husband walked by their table.

Kaoru was surprised at the way the elegant woman said her name so informally, but nonetheless smiled and stood up to bow to the couple in greeting. "Good evening, Makoto-san. Komagata-san."

The moment she stood up from her brief bow, Kaoru was even more surprised when she was immediately engulfed in the elegant woman's embrace.

"Oh, Kaoru-chan. We were so worried about you!" Yumi said softly, giving Kaoru one last squeeze before stepping away from her. Upon seeing the journalist's shocked face, she blushed prettily. "Forgive me, Kamiya-san. I may have overstepped my boundaries."

Kaoru shook herself off from her brief stupor and smiled kindly at the older woman. "It's no problem, Komagata-san, really. You may address me however you wish to do so."

Yumi smiled. "Thank you, Kaoru-chan. Please, call me Yumi from now on, okay?"

"Alright then, Yumi-san." The journalist nodded, flattered at being considered a close enough acquaintance to be given such a privilege. When she got the chance to process the reason behind the embrace she received, her brows scrunched together in confusion. "May I ask why you've been worried? Sorry, I'm just a bit… confused."

"Oh. Well—"

"Forgive me, Kaoru-chan. Perhaps this is something that would be better discussed in private?" Shishio interrupted. "It is a rather sensitive issue, after all."

Kaoru nodded and watched as Yumi asked her friends if they could borrow the journalist for a while.

"Of course, Komagata-san." Megumi answered for the three of them, giving her a formal bow as she did so. "It will be no problem at all."

The elegant woman smiled at the small group and led Kaoru to the table in the far corner of the establishment, where a waiter was currently adding another chair to the small round table. It was amazing how attentive they were—but then again, the reservation _was _for the Prime Minister, so she supposed all the attention was warranted.

Once they were settled and had glasses of the restaurant's finest wine, Kaoru looked up at the high-profile couple expectantly.

"We know about what happened, Kaoru-chan." Yumi explained, keeping her voice low so the other patrons wouldn't be able to hear their conversation. "During the night of the state gala, I mean."

The journalist's eyes widened in both fear and shock. The damage done to the Metropolitan Building and the number of dead and injured guards were not something that they could ignore. It was actually amazing that she hasn't been arrested yet, but she figured that maybe that was what was going to happen now.

'_Crap.'_ She thought worriedly.

The Prime Minister chuckled at her nervous expression. "Please, Kaoru-chan. There is no need for you to be so afraid. We are not here to tell you that you're in trouble."

She breathed out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Makoto-san."

"Shishio, please. At this point in time, I believe we are past the point of formalities." He smiled. "And you needn't have worried yourself, truly."

"Alright, Shishio-san." After seeing him nod contentedly at the way she addressed him, she continued. "If I may, what do you know about what happened to me, exactly?"

Shishio's smile melted down into a grim expression and he looked at her seriously. "When the building went on lockdown, Yumi and I looked for you and Himura-san immediately. We were worried that extreme measures would be taken for our security, and we wanted to make sure that you two were okay."

"We found Himura-san, but when he told us that you decided to go home because you were feeling unwell, we somehow knew that it wasn't true and that you were involved in the reason behind the lockdown." Yumi interjected. "Eventually, we found out what was really happening through one of the guards that reported to Shishio. We helped Himura-san leave the building when we were told that there were blood trails everywhere."

"The tapes from the security cameras in the building were all blank at the time, but I managed to make sure that you were involved when I got the footage from the hidden camera in my private elevator." The Prime Minister sighed.

"It was you, wasn't it?" Kaoru asked, surprised at what she was being told. "You're the reason behind why I haven't been contacted by anyone from the police? After what happened, I figured that it would only be a matter of time before I get arrested for all the damage I did."

Shishio chuckled. "I don't think we can ever arrest a person such as you, Kaoru-chan. We owe you far too much for us to do that. All the evidence that would've linked you to what happened have all been destroyed and forgotten at my command. Although I must admit that Yumi and I were very surprised when we found out that _you _are the person behind the infamous Kasshin Karasu."

"What? How did you—"

"It was very easy for us to connect the dots, Kaoru-chan. You need not worry yourself, though. Everything that we discovered stays between the three of us. Yumi and I understand why you feel that the secrecy is necessary." Shishio assured her.

Yumi reached out for her hand, making the journalist look up into her sincerely worried gaze. "We were just very worried about you, Kaoru-chan. What you went through must've been terrifying and painful—especially since you weren't able to go to a hospital for proper treatment."

The Prime Minister must've seen her befuddled expression because he decided to explain further. "We called all the hospitals in Tokyo to see where you were brought so we could visit you personally and thank you for your trouble, but we couldn't find where you were. So we assumed that you had your injuries treated at home."

Kaoru sighed. "It's like you two have eyes everywhere."

Shishio and Yumi chuckled at her declaration, making her smile.

"Being the Prime Minister has its perks, Kaoru-chan." He smiled.

"I don't doubt that, Shishio-san." The journalist chuckled and took a sip of her wine. "Everything that you know is right. My friends were the ones who took care of me, and I was given one month to recover so I'm perfectly fine now." She smiled. "Although I must apologize for all the trouble I caused you two. I really didn't mean for it to end up that bad."

"It's alright, Kaoru-chan. You don't have to apologize to us for anything. In fact, we should be thanking you for your efforts. What happened with Kitazato-san was severely disappointing." Yumi said sadly.

"Yumi's right. Please don't worry yourself over the damages. I have already taken care of everything, and the new Chief Justice has already been appointed. I'm sure you've already heard of Kitazato-san's sentence?"

"Yes, Shishio-san, I have. Thank you very much for assisting them with expediting the trials. It made a lot of things easier for everyone."

The black-haired official nodded. "It was the least I could do. Now, we're just glad that everything will be back to normal. Things might even be better seeing as we've already managed to get rid of one of the most despicable ex-officials."

"You are okay, Kaoru-chan, right? Have there been any long-term effects from the injuries you sustained?" Yumi asked worriedly.

"No, Yumi-san. All of my wounds have been treated effectively, and no vital organs were hit by any of the bullets, so I'm perfectly fine now. I really appreciate your concern. Thank you." Kaoru said sincerely to the couple.

The three talked about the after-effects of the recent blowout a bit more before Yumi decided that it was time to put an end to such a serious conversation—especially since it was clear that they were all in that bar to take a bit of time off from work. Kaoru politely said her goodbyes, and was once again surprised when Yumi stood up with her to give her one last embrace.

"If you need anything, Kaoru-chan, please don't ever hesitate to call us." Shishio said as he shook her hand.

Kaoru nodded and smiled at the couple one last time before turning around to walk back to her friends.

"What was that about?" Megumi asked when she sat back down on their table. "I didn't know you were that close with the Prime Minister and his wife."

"Kenshin and I've used to go to a lot of state galas. Since they were my parents' friends, we usually ended up spending those nights together." She explained.

Aoshi glanced at her. "I assume they know about what happened to you?"

"Yeah, they do. Kami, those two have eyes everywhere. They're amazing."

Misao nodded before drinking some of her beer. "You can say that again."

* * *

'_This is so damn frustrating.' _Kaoru thought morosely to herself as she scanned through the various sheets of paper in front of her for the third time.

After having one last round of drinks at the bar, the four of them decided to finally call it a night half an hour before midnight. Unfortunately, despite all that happened that night, the journalist still felt too energized to sleep when she got to their apartment. The puzzle of Udo Jin-E kept rolling around and around in her head, so after taking a warm shower, she decided to run through all of the information they had again, hoping that she would find something that would help them get another lead that they could investigate further.

She thought it would eventually help her fall asleep, and since her redhead wasn't home yet, she decided to work on their bed where she could easily put everything away when the sandman finally came knocking on her door. So here she was now, her laptop placed in front of her crossed legs as she sat in the middle of scattered sheets of paper.

Feeling very put out by her lack of progress, she decided to call Enishi in case he had any ideas. Grabbing her phone from her nightstand, she quickly dialed his number and waited for him to pick up. She smirked when her first call went unanswered, and figured that he was asleep given the late hour. Mischief filled her at that moment and she decided to seize the chance that she was given to annoy the blonde-haired man. So she dialed his number again… and again… and again… and agai—

"What, Kaoru? What?!" she heard him growl sleepily from the other line. "What the _fuck _could you possibly want _now_?!"

"Hey Enishi." She greeted calmly, smiling and trying to control her laughter when she heard his angry voice. "What's up?"

"If you're not out dying in a ditch somewhere, I'm putting the phone down."

"Is that any way to greet your best friend?"

"Not when it's one-thirty in the fucking morning. What the _hell _do you _want_?"

She chuckled when she heard the rustling of sheets, but toned her humor down when she decided to get down to business. "I'm reading through everything we have on Udo Jin-E so far, but I keep getting nothing but dead ends."

"That's probably because it's _one-thirty _in the _fucking _morning." Enishi growled again.

Deciding to ignore his jab, she continued. "I was wondering if you have any ideas?"

"Kaoru. I don't think you understand what I'm telling you. _It's one-thirty in the fucking morning_."

A pause. "So… you don't?"

"Leave me _the_ _hell _alone, Kamiya." She heard him hiss into his phone before she heard the soft beeping that signaled the end of the phone call.

She was still laughing when she heard the door open to admit her tired redhead. Kenshin, though he was confused about why she was still up at that hour, was highly amused at seeing her so full of mirth.

"Kaoru?" he asked as he stepped further into the room.

She giggled and beckoned him to come closer. "Hey, Kenshin."

"Why are you still up?" He kissed her cheek after he asked the question and sat down beside her on the bed.

"I was running through the Jin-E files." She said as she finally got a grip on her laughter.

His brow lifted. "At one-thirty in the morning?"

"You sound like Enishi." She chuckled. "Is it really so weird? I just wanted to see if I could get any ideas tonight."

"So you decided to call Enishi about it?" He sighed and shook his head amusedly. "I don't know how he puts up with you, love."

"Hey! I resent that. I happen to be a very delightful person. I'm a delight!"

"Of course you are." He said softly, leaning against the soft pillows that were propped up by the headboard so he could close his eyes for a few seconds.

Kaoru observed his tired features, frowning at the way his skin seemed to look paler and his brows scrunched together. "You look tired."

"That's because I _am _tired." He grumbled softly. "Sometimes I really hate my job."

"Why? What did Saitou have you do this time?"

"Paperwork." He scoffed. "Apparently we missed a lot of reports this week and he wanted them in by tomorrow morning. I bet he just wanted to make sure Sano and I were as miserable as he is. Stupid bastard got thrown out by Tokio again."

She chuckled before leaning into him, making sure that she didn't crumple the pieces of paper around her. His arms went around her immediately and he took a moment to just enjoy her fragrance and the softness of her skin.

"Why don't you go take a shower now so we can go to bed? I'll get these out of here." She said softly.

He nodded and gave her shoulder a lingering kiss before standing up and heading into their bathroom. Once she heard the shower running, she started gathering all of the work paraphernalia she had scattered all over their king-sized bed so she could place them on the desk she had on the other side of the room. She organized everything carefully to make sure that she would still be on the same track when she went back to reading through them again at work after the long weekend.

She smiled and started humming a happy tune as she let her hair down from its messy bun, allowing it to fall gently on her bare shoulders, reveling in the comfort she felt while she walked around their room in her tank top and sleep shorts. She was turning down their sheets when she felt the familiar arms of her lover wrap around her waist, his lips sensually kissing the back of her earlobe.

"I thought you were tired?" she sighed half-heartedly.

"I am." He answered mischievously. "But I'm also tense, and you are too. Luckily for us, I know a perfect way to get us to loosen up."

She smiled and turned to face him, her arms wrapping around his neck as he gently laid them both down on the bed and half-carried her up the mattress so their legs didn't dangle on its edge. He was only wearing a pair of pajamas, so it wasn't hard for her to place teasing kisses all over his torso.

Once they were settled, Kenshin leaned down to kiss her, slowly at first but gaining in heat as their passion increased. Their bodies were rubbing each other perfectly, creating the delicious friction that they both loved.

"Mmm. Kenshin?" she whispered into his hair as he placed languid kisses down her neck and shoulder.

"Yes?"

"Do _you _have any ideas about Jin-E?" she moaned softly as his kisses trailed their way softly from her shoulder to the middle of her cleavage.

He chuckled and she shivered when she felt his body vibrate with amusement. "Are you seriously asking me that question now, Kaoru?" he murmured, his lips and tongue finally reaching the already hardened bud on top of her left breast.

She gasped when he started sucking on the sensitive spot through the cloth of her tank top, her hands grasping his hair and her hips thrusting up at him as she felt the fire in her body start to burn her insides deliciously. "I've been… hitting—mmm, dead ends. I just…" she sighed and arched herself up when the redhead started moving towards her other breast. "I'm stuck."

Kenshin grinned and decided to humor his unbelievably persistent fiancée. "What do you have so far?" he whispered into her skin, enjoying the shiver that went through her body when his hot breaths hit the patches of skin that he just left open kisses on.

Kaoru ran her hands through his hair and down every bit of his heated skin that she could reach, moaning when he started sucking on her other nipple. "Same things we had before." She replied in a rush before sitting up and pushing him away from her so she could help him get her top off.

"Which are?"

He laid them both back down on the bed and settled himself firmly on top of her, making sure that she felt every inch of him. His arms were settled on either side of her to support his weight, but he almost buckled down onto her when she arched her hips up to rub against his already throbbing groin. He kissed her hard then, and enjoyed the feeling of her hands running down his torso so she could work on removing his pants.

"Mmm…" she moaned again when he started making his way back down the valley of her breasts. "His money—oh Kami _yes_… came from… Yazuo and Yama…gata."

He was licking his way down her torso, listening carefully to what she was saying in the midst of her heated gasps and moans. "And?"

With a sudden display of strength that he didn't expect, she wrapped her legs around him and flipped them over. She was straddling his torso, and her hands dragged his over their heads as she slid her way down him until she could feel the full length of his throbbing member against her already wet mound.

It was her turn to kiss him passionately, her tongue no longer waiting for his permission before it pushed its way into his mouth—not that it was in any way unwelcome. She ground into him and he gasped at the sensation, his hips arching up to feel more of her through the annoying shorts that she still had on.

"Well—" she gasped again when his head leaned up to suck on her breast, his tongue creating the most delightful friction with her now bare nipple. "the.. the drug lords and—_ah yesss_… the brothels."

He pulled his arms out from under her hands so he could run them down her sides slowly 'til he reached the garter of her shorts. He ran his fingers through the skin on top of the garter before hooking them into the cloth and pulling them off of her. "But we already have them." He whispered when she finally kicked off the offending piece of clothing, his hands proceeding to trail their way up from her thighs. "And the brothels have already been shut down."

She ground into him once more, and he groaned when he felt the wet slickness of her folds rub tantalizingly against his hard length. Not willing to let her have all the control, he flipped them over again so he had the dominant position. Her hands made their way up his body, leaving light scratches on his back before they tangled themselves into his long red hair. He kissed her as she pulled away the band that was holding his hair back, and trailed his hand down her hot, sweaty body until it reached its destination.

She writhed and moaned hungrily as his right hand left butterfly touches along her inner thigh and traced its way around her slick mound, making sure that none of his fingers made contact with her heated core. Her body arched up against him again, and he almost threw away his resolve to make this last longer.

"What else, Kaoru?" he whispered against her neck as she turned her head to suck and bite on the skin of his arm, silently begging him to _please _do _something _to quench the fire that was building dangerously in the lower part of her stomach. He drew his free hand away from her hips and used it to push her hands that were tangled in his hair down onto the bed. He pulled his other hand out from under her head so he could grasp both of her hands, his head dipping so he could suck on the pulse point on her neck.

"Mmmm… Kenshiiiin…" she breathed, her legs wrapping around his elevated hips.

He gave into her request and ground into her, but was very careful to not push into her yet. "What else, Kaoru?" he repeated as his free hand made its way back down towards her core.

"Demolitions." She gasped when his hand finally reached her slick folds. "The—mmm… the demo—litions."

He looked down at her flushed features and rolled the idea around his head as his fingers skillfully played with the sensitive pearl hidden underneath the lips of her nether regions. "What about—_Kami,_" he gasped out when she brought her hips up again, her wet opening accidentally rubbing against the head of his cock. "What—what about them?"

One of her hands interlaced its fingers with his and held it tightly as his other hand continued its ministrations on her heated core. "The… last one—mmmm, it was… rushed." She whispered against his lips.

His lips descended on hers to swallow her delicious moans when he pushed one finger into her already wet center, his thumb still rubbing against her clit. Her legs were shaking from either side of him, trying to draw him into her, but he was stronger. He slowly thrust his finger in and out of her, enjoying the feel of her breathing heavily from underneath him.

"Rushed?" he whispered as he kept pushing his digit in and out of her, swirling around at the right moments and making her body arch up again in pleasure.

"Mmmm…" she moaned. "Rushed."

He started thinking about the reasons behind why the demolitions could've been rushed as he kissed, licked, and sucked down her body. "Do you think… he's hiding something?" he whispered when his face was right in front of the main source of her heat.

"_Kenshiiiiin," _she breathed heavily once his tongue replaced his thumb, burying itself in her folds so it could rub and push against the pearl that was hidden beneath them. He pushed another finger into her and he felt her hands grip his hair desperately. He thrust his digits in and out of her, his tongue never stopping its movements.

Just when her insides were starting to tighten, he was once again surprised when she flipped them over, her moist core straddling his face. He grinned against her brazenness and took advantage of the position to give her more pleasure than he had already been giving before. He made his tongue firmer and used it to push harder into the slick folds so he could stroke the sensitive bud more thoroughly.

"_Fuck, Kenshin." _She moaned, making him growl in pleasure.

He gasped and unwittingly stopped what he was doing when he was momentarily blinded by an explosion of white hot fire behind his eyelids when she reached back to grasp his erect member with one of her hands. Up and down it went, and his breathing grew heavier and heavier after every second that passed. He continued his sucking and licking, his tongue replacing the digits that were in her earlier so both of his hands could cup her ass and push her further into his face. Every movement of her skillful hand made him growl, and it wasn't long before he felt her grasp his cock tightly as her entire body tensed right before her very essence flowed down into his mouth, drawing a long, heated _"Kenshiiin" _from her mouth.

He used his arms to guide her shaking form back down onto the bed before crawling up her body, pulling her hands back up over their heads so both of their hands could be intertwined as he finally pushed himself into her. He stilled and controlled himself after the first thrust, pausing for a second so he could hold onto his control.

"He could be," she gasped against his skin. "Hiding something… in the—slums."

If he wasn't so riled up, he would've laughed at her stubbornness. But as it was, he dipped his head to push his tongue into her mouth as he gave another long thrust. They eventually found their rhythm, and soon enough, her hands were running all throughout his toned torso—touching and scratching at everything she could reach. She craned her neck so she could kiss and suck on the sensitive spot on his neck.

His thrusts gained in speed, and her legs were so tightly wound around him that he was surprised he could even move. A minute later, her body and her insides clenched tightly as she screamed out her pleasure. He watched her moan and gasp his name again and again as she rode out her orgasm, before closing his eyes and falling down into her as his own climax came soon after.

They breathed deeply against each other, their arms and legs still tangled and his head lying tiredly on her naked chest. When he finally caught his breath, he rolled off of her and pulled the warm comforter over their sweaty bodies, stretching his arm so she could pillow her head on it as he lied back down. She cuddled into him and he held her tightly, both of them feeling their relaxed muscles and each other's breathing slowly lulling them to sleep.

"Kaoru?" he whispered against her hair before he let sleep claim him completely.

"Yeah?"

"We really have to work on your dirty talk."

* * *

Kaoru sat comfortably on the couch as she waited for her friend to reappear wearing yet another option for her wedding gown. It was the first non-working holiday that they were actually being allowed to enjoy since her team already had a roster of follow-up articles ready for the next three days, and their editor-in-chief told everyone in their office that they were all _required _to celebrate the holiday. When Misao heard about the news of her free day, she immediately set an appointment for a dress fitting at one of Tokyo's high-end bridal shops so she could finally get the search for her wedding gown over and done with.

It was a good thing that the appointment was scheduled early in the afternoon, leaving her morning free to spend with Kenshin—not that they were up for most of it, seeing as they both decided to sleep in after their previous night's… delicious activities. Still, it gave her enough time to recuperate, so she had all the energy in the world to put up with Misao's overenthusiastic nature. The two men sitting on either side of her, though, were a completely different story.

"What about this one?" she heard Misao chirp from where she walked out of the changing rooms. A meek-looking shop assistant stood behind her, looking a bit frazzled as she held the train of the sophisticated gown carefully while the bride-to-be paraded around the room. The gown had a form-fitting tube top that hugged Misao's curves perfectly, and its bodice was filled with clear sequins and beads that were set in a sophisticated pattern. Its skirt was asymmetrical—the front part ending a few inches above her knees while the back had a long train that was at least two meters long.

"That's beautiful."

"You look wonderful, Miss Misao."

Megumi scoffed at hearing the two men's comments. "You two idiots didn't even look."

Misao's eyes flashed angrily and her vision zoomed in on the two men sitting on the couch with Kaoru. Despite her rather petite body and the fact that the two men could easily overpower her without even batting an eyelash, she needed no words to scare them.

Kaoru chuckled and lifted her head from Enishi's shoulder, her eyes filled with amusement as she watched her best friend try to dig himself out of the hole he dug.

The blonde-haired journalist cleared his throat, and widened his eyes in feigned indignation. "We looked, Misao! Honestly! I don't know what Megumi's talking about, but I meant what I said. That gown _is _beautiful."

"That's what you said two gowns ago." The bride-to-be growled.

He gulped and looked to Soujirou for help, begging his friend to save him from the tiny girl's wrath. When the other man ignored him though, he prayed to the gods above for wisdom and guidance. "Was it? I'm sorry, it's just… everything in this store is so lovely." He heard Kaoru scoff and gave her a quick jab with his elbow. "For this gown in particular, though, I really like... the… uh, the beads. They're so… sophisticated."

"You think so?" Misao gushed happily, her earlier mood forgotten just like that. "That's what I liked about it, too!" she said as she twirled in front of the wide full-length mirror. The sales associate's eyes widened and she rushed to follow the enthusiastic woman's movements, afraid that if she looked away for one second, the gown would be in tatters.

Enishi sighed and slumped further into the sofa cushions, watching Misao and Megumi discuss the different aspects of the gown warily. "God_damn _it. I cannot handle this much stress on a holiday."

Soujirou lifted his eyes from the book he was reading and turned to the griping man, sighing as he agreed with his sentiments. "I still don't understand why we're here."

"It's because the big boys are out on an assignment, and Aoshi's not allowed to be here—obviously." Kaoru explained happily. "We need a guy's opinion so we can be sure the gown's going to be perfect. You don't want to make Misao cry on her wedding day, do you?" she asked innocently.

"Of course not, Kaoru." Soujirou smiled before turning his attention back to the book that he held open on top of his crossed legs.

Enishi leaned his head back against the couch's backrest and closed his eyes, his left hand rising to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Sometimes, Kaoru—_sometimes_, I really wish I let you fend for yourself on your first day at the office. I'd probably be much better off."

"Aww, 'Nishi." She gushed as she leaned her head back onto the blonde man's shoulder. "I love you too!"

"It's a bit too short, don't you think?" They heard Megumi say from where she was scrutinizing the fifteenth gown that Misao had tried on for the day. "The front part, I mean. And I don't really feel the whole asymmetrical thing. It's too… modern."

Kaoru stood up and stepped closer to the two women as she gave the sophisticated dress an appraising look. "I think Megumi's right. Maybe we should try something a bit more traditional? Plus, the dress might swallow you up. You still have the veil to put on."

Misao's eyes squinted in thought. "I see your point." Sighing as she did one last twirl in front of the mirror, she sashayed her way back into the changing room, calling out for Dress Number 16 before she closed the door.

"Sixteen?" Enishi hissed when Kaoru sat back down between him and Soujirou. "Dress number _sixteen_?"

Kaoru chuckled. "Man, up, will you? It's not _that _bad."

"It is, Kaoru. It _is _that bad. It's a holiday. I'm supposed to be in bed, _sleeping_. You, of all people, should understand that especially after that stunt you pulled last night."

Kaoru laughed at the memory, but sobered quickly enough when she remembered the reason behind her late-night call. She fought the blush that threatened to color her cheeks because of the images that flashed in her head about what happened _after _the phone call, and tried to keep her voice steady as she spoke. "Hey, yeah. Can you still remember why I called you?"

"I'm _tired_, not stupid. Of course I remember." The blonde man grumbled. "What about it? I hope you know I haven't had enough time to run through everything again. So I still don't have any leads."

Kaoru nodded and decided to go straight to her explanation. "You may not have one, but I think I might."

Soujirou, upon hearing something that finally piqued his interest, sat up straighter in his seat and marked the page he was on before closing the book he was reading. He caught Megumi's curious eyes briefly before turning towards his teammates. "You have a lead?"

"I think so. It's nothing solid yet though, but I think it might be able to help us—if there _is _something there, that is."

"Well, what is it?" Megumi asked from her spot on the single couch adjacent to the three journalists. She was closer to Soujirou, so she had to lean forward to hear the hushed conversation clearer.

The raven-haired woman cleared her throat before continuing. "Remember the original reason why we started investigating Kitazato?"

"Yeah." Enishi nodded before looking down at the floor as he thought of the details that he needed to remember. "It was 'cause of the demolition, right? The last one. It was brutal and none of the people from the area had anywhere else to go."

"But it was different from the other demolition orders he issued because there were already relocation sites ready for the previous ones." Kaoru continued seriously. "Then we found out that it was Kitazato who was actually paying for _all _the relocation buildings."

Soujirou processed the information quietly, his ever-present smile stretched out on his face. "What about it?"

"Well, don't you think that maybe there's a reason behind why he took such good care of them? And that maybe there's a reason behind why the last order was different from the others?"

"I think I remember you telling us about that before." Megumi mused. "But it got buried under all the crap with Yazuo and Yamagata."

"We didn't get to look into that too." The blonde journalist paused and allowed himself a moment to be annoyed with how he forgot something as important as that. But what's done is done, and they could only move on now. So with that thought in mind, he asked. "What do you plan on doing, Kao?"

"I doubt Kitazato-san would be willing to talk to us about them." Soujirou said calmly.

"I know that." The female journalist stated. "Which is why I think we should pay the relocated families a little visit."

"Kaoru, there are _fifteen _relocation districts."

"I _know_. So we should start as soon as we could. It's obviously going to take some time, but it's the only lead we have right now."

Megumi looked carefully at the three journalists, wondering about how they could possibly go through all of those people quickly. She knew that if there really was a lead there, then whoever was running the whole thing could easily make them run around and around in circles. Time was of the essence. "I have a medical mission in District 11 next week. I could start asking around for you, if you want me to." she paused. "And sorry, Kaoru, I know you're not going to want to hear this but once you give Aoshi all of the files, then I'm sure Shishi's going to want to help too."

The female journalist sighed. "Yeah, I know. But what the fuck, right? As long as it gets the job done quicker." She paused. "I think we can divide the districts we'll be visiting. Kenshin probably told Sano already, so I'm sure they're going to want to hear about the plan."

"I think we have to tell Hiko, too." Enishi added. "If this is what we'll be doing, then he should probably know why we won't be around the office much in the next few weeks. The Districts are pretty big, after all."

"Do we even know what we're looking for?" The surgeon asked dubiously.

Kaoru shook her head. "No, but actually doing something's bound to be better than what we're doing now."

Soujirou smiled and observed the three people around him who were all trying to gauge if exerting this much effort to chase a weak lead would be really worth the effort. From what he knows of the group so far, they don't take their assignments lightly, so following something as vague as this one would be hard for them—especially since they didn't know what they were looking for. "We could get in trouble if we ask someone the wrong question." He said with a pointed look to Kaoru.

"I don't think I can handle anymore guerilla surgeries." Megumi said sternly.

"We need supplies, then." The blonde man said, leaning back against the couch and closing his eyes once again as he sighed. "We need to get a safe house ready."

"We could all go in pairs, too. We were all trained in combat before, so I don't think we'll have too much trouble with defending ourselves." Kaoru explained.

Enishi scoffed. "In case you haven't forgotten, Soujirou and I _weren't _trained as intensely as you guys were. We have weapons, but we're not nearly as good as you when it comes to hand-to-hand fighting."

"Oh, 'Nishi, I'm so sorry!" the raven-haired woman said patronizingly to her best friend. "I forgot about that. Well, how about this… _I'll _go with you for the missions so I can protect you from the monsters."

"Fuck you. I'm sorry for not bothering to learn how to decapitate someone with my bare hands. Forgive me for being raised in normal society."

She chuckled. "I know, I know. I was just fucking around." She sighed. "Seriously, though. I'll go with you, and Sou here can go with Kenshin. We work better together anyway."

"And have your little boy toy castrate me?" Enishi scoffed. "No thanks."

"He won't. Look, we've always been partners. I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Oh Kami." Megumi griped, annoyed at the pointless conversation that was going on in front of her. "Just go together, already. There is absolutely no point to this conversation and it's annoying me."

Before they could all put an end to the topic though, Soujirou threw a question at Kaoru. "Will Himura-san mind? We've never actually interacted and he might not want to work with me."

"Of course he won't, Sou." Kaoru reassured as she put her arm around his shoulders. "You're a perfectly nice guy. I'm sure he'll love you just as much as I do… just… don't go on any killing sprees, okay?"

"I SAID," they heard a voice screech from somewhere in front of them. It turns out that at some point during their brief discussion, Misao was already able to change out of her previous dress into the one she was wearing now. All four people who were seated on the couches tensed and took a huge gulp of air, their eyes widened in fear as they stared at the furious and teary-eyed bride-to-be. "What do you guys think about this one?!"

Soujirou, blessed be his soul, decided to take the leap and try to save everyone from the upcoming scream-a-thon. So after he made sure that his smile was as charming as ever, and that not even his eyebrow would twitch even a little bit, he turned to Misao. "That gown looks stunning, Misao."

The bride-to-be stopped her huffing and the other four watched her face fall as the first couple of tears trickled down her cheeks. "That's what you said a while ago, Soujirou!" she sobbed. "I only asked for _one _day from you guys. _One _day. Is that really too much? Am I asking for a lot here?"

Kaoru and Megumi quickly ran to comfort their distressed friend, leaving Enishi and Soujirou standing beside each other on the other side of the room as they watched the three women hug and reassure _Bridezilla_.

"I'm telling you Soujirou," Enishi said softly when he noticed that Misao was starting to calm down. "You should get as far away from Kaoru as you can while you still have a chance."

* * *

"Kaoru, I told you _three _times. You just had to _wait _for one side to be cooked, _then_ you can flip the pancake. _Three times._"

The journalist sighed as she got on the passenger seat of Kenshin's car, rummaging around her bag to make sure that everything she'd need for work were already in the large tote. "Well, I didn't hear you, okay? I was busy."

"You said okay!" The redhead replied as he started the car. "You told me you understood!"

"I was distracted, okay?"

"Distracted by what, exactly? The clouds?"

"I was thinking!" she huffed. "Besides, you know better than to trust me in the kitchen. This wouldn't have happened if you just _remembered _that I have absolutely no cooking skills."

"I had to put my pants on, Kaoru. I was gone for no more than five minutes. I don't understand how you managed to ruin our breakfast in that short amount of time."

Kaoru sighed again and looked out the window. It was Monday morning and as expected, the traffic was heavy and she could see people scrambling along the sidewalks as they made their way to their respective offices. She tried to shake her annoyance off, but the constant huffing of the redhead beside her and the loud grumbling of her stomach prevented her from doing so—and the fact that she was going to be _late _made her want to scream.

She always made sure that she was never late for work. In the two years that she's been working for Hiko, not once has she arrived no later than 9 AM, and the fact that it was already half an hour past that time made her mood all the worse. If it weren't for the _goddamn _pancakes, everything would probably be fine.

It really wasn't her fault—or so she made herself believe. When they woke up that morning, they went about their regular routine—with Kenshin going straight to the kitchen to fix their breakfast while she fixed the bed and got both of their things ready for their respective jobs. She heard her fiancée turn on the TV in the kitchen to watch the news as he busied himself with cooking as she stepped into the shower and dried herself off fifteen minutes later. Looking back, she realized that what happened to them that morning should be blamed on him—because if he _hadn't _left his stupid pants inside the dryer the day before, he probably would've found them right on schedule; which meant that he wouldn't have to step away from the heated stove, leaving Kaoru to watch over the pancakes that he was cooking; which meant that Kaoru wouldn't have ended up burning, breaking, and basically making a mess out of their breakfast.

So now here they were, bathed in tense silence as he drove the car to drop her off at her office before heading off to his own. It was another habit that they've picked up recently—the couple would take turns with driving the other to work so they'd only have to take one vehicle out from her apartment's basement parking. It was only rational for them to do so since they always got so annoyed when they'd have to find another parking space to leave their car in whenever they'd get home at night. Most of the time, they'd find another tenant's car parked on the spot they left that morning, so they'd have to drive around the dim basement to find a vacant space. At least this way, they'd be able to block off both parking spaces with the car they'd leave behind, thus ensuring that they would have one when they got home.

It wasn't until Kenshin angrily turned on the radio in his car and the soft sound of jazz music filled her senses that she realized how funny their situation really was. She tried to imagine what people would say when they found out that she was currently fighting with one of the country's best detectives over a few pieces of ruined _pancakes_, and she giggled. She was suddenly overwhelmed with how unbelievably _normal_ their relationship is now, considering all of the challenges that they had to go through in order to get to this point.

"What are you giggling about?" The redhead grumbled as he stopped at a red light.

His anger only fuelled her humor, and she burst out laughing. When she finally sobered enough to find his curious gaze locked on hers, she answered. "Kenshin, we're fighting over _pancakes_."

"Yes, but at this point I don't see what's so funny about that."

She looked happily at him. "We're _normal_."

It took him a moment to digest what she said before a grin slowly worked its way up to his face. When was the last time they had fought over something as mundane as _pancakes_? His annoyance with her irresponsibility faded into thin air and he placed his hand gently to cup her cheek.

"I guess we are." He said with a warm smile, his violet eyes light with joy.

They spent the rest of the drive to her office joking and laughing about all of the things that they used to fight about, and both of them were happy with the fact that they could now talk about what their relationship was like before without any bitterness tainting their memories. His right hand kept on switching from holding the wheel, changing gears, and holding her hand; while she, on the other hand, took every chance she could take to place gentle kisses on his cheek, and sometimes on his smiling lips.

He pulled up in front of her office building twenty minutes later, and for the first time in his life, he was very thankful for the traffic they went through. He knew he was almost an hour late and that Saitou was probably going to chew him out when he got to the agency, but at the moment, he really didn't care. In his book, the lightheartedness that they enjoyed on their way to work was definitely worth it.

"So I'll pick you up at 5?" he asked before leaning in to give her a brief kiss goodbye.

She nodded and pulled his head in for another kiss. "Yeah. Thanks!"

He smiled as he watched her step out from his car and make her way into the building. Shifting his gear into drive, he moved the vehicle only to stop behind another car. The traffic really was terrible at this time of the day.

He sat back and closed his eyes for a bit to enjoy the soft melody that surrounded him, but his moment of peace was broken when his fiancée knocked on his window. He gave his passenger seat a quick once-over to see if she left anything behind. Seeing nothing that he could hand her, he pressed the button to roll down his window and looked up at her curiously.

"Kaoru? What's wrong?"

She smiled. "Nothing, I just forgot something."

"What?"

He was pleasantly surprised when she bent down to give him a short, but passionate kiss. "I love you", she said when she stood back up, her eyes glimmering under the morning light.

"I love you, too." He smiled.

Kaoru walked back into her building and gave him one last glance over her shoulder to give him a playful wink. She was suddenly so glad for everything that went wrong that morning, making her skip her way into the elevator and up to her office. She was really late now, and she knew she wouldn't be able to go through her usual coffee-cigarette routine with Enishi, but she couldn't care less.

'_He's probably with Soujirou anyway.' _She thought to herself as she stepped into their office and made her way over to her desk. Gingerly arranging all of her stuff onto the table, she looked around their area to see if she could find her two partners-in-crime. When she saw that they weren't there, though, she grabbed the pack of cigarettes and lighter she had in her purse and calmly walked to their balcony, smiling as she did so.

"Someone's happy today." Enishi said bemusedly from where he stood leaning against the wall. Winter was coming soon, and the air was starting to get cold. This meant that they wouldn't be able to spend as much time in the balcony as much as they did before since sitting still on the outdoor furniture would probably make them freeze to death.

She smiled brightly up at him and gave him and Soujirou quick pecks on the cheek. "Hey guys." She said brightly.

Her best friend groaned. "Not this again. You know how we feel about morning people."

"Is it so wrong to be happy, 'Nishi? You know, you should really find yourself a nice girl to be with. I'm sure it'll get that stick out from your ass." She teased, plucking a cigarette from out of her pack and lifting it up to her lips to light it.

"_Excuse me!" _Enishi exclaimed. "But _what _is _that ring_?!"

Since she was busy inhaling smoke from her lit stick, it was Soujirou who replied first. "I was wondering when you were going to notice that." He chuckled.

"You knew?!" the blonde man said, aghast at having been left out of what was obviously a big deal.

"I saw it last Friday, dumbass. I just didn't say anything 'cause I wanted to see how long it'd take before _you _noticed it. You really are quite dense." The blue-eyed man replied calmly with a smile on his face. "Congratulations, by the way." He continued, turning towards Kaoru as he lit another cigarette. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but this idiot was far too amusing."

She laughed. "It's alright, Sou. I probably would've done the same thing."

"Jackasses." Enishi grumbled as he too, pulled out another cigarette and busied himself with lighting it, talking around the stick in his mouth. "When did it happen anyway? When did he propose?"

"Two weeks ago—give or take a few days."

"What? You mean I haven't noticed that huge rock dangling off your hand for _two _weeks?"

She shook her head, chuckling as she did so. "No, we kept it a secret for a bit. Had to work out some issues and all. I only started wearing this last Thursday when we told everyone else."

He nodded. "Good. I know I can get pretty dense sometimes, but I'd personally throw myself off this building if I didn't notice that for two whole weeks."

"It probably would've happened. Your hair prevents you from thinking properly. Must be all the chemicals you put in it to keep it that white." Soujirou joked.

"Shut up, Seta. You're not a part of this conversation."

"Anyway," Kaoru interjected, blowing out the smoke she just inhaled. "Since you know now, I was actually planning on asking you something."

"Oh _Kami. _Is this gonna be another one of your favors? 'Cause honestly Kao, I'm _this _close to strangling you as it is."

"No, no, it's nothing like that." She paused and took another drag from her cigarette. "I wanted to tell you both that you're going to be in the wedding—obviously. I mean, we don't really have anything planned yet and it's probably going to take a while before we set a date, but I wanted you both to know so you can make sure that I'll be your number one priority when I _do _tell you when it's going to be."

Soujirou nodded and his smile brightened by a thousand watts, his eyes flashing with gratitude. "I've never been invited to a wedding before—much less been asked to participate in one."

"I'm a lucky girl then! I hope Kenshin and I won't ruin weddings for you." Kaoru smiled back.

"You probably will. You're going to turn into Bridezilla, then you'll end up traumatizing him." Enishi grumbled. "Hell, you're probably going to end up traumatizing _me._"

"Shut up, Enishi. Don't go discouraging him." She inhaled more smoke from her half-finished stick. "Which reminds me, that's not all I needed to ask you."

The blonde man sighed in exasperation and looked up to the heavens to beg for strength for whatever it is his best friend needed. "What now?"

"I need you to be my Maid-of-Honor."

Soujirou burst out laughing and her eyes twinkled when she saw Enishi sputtering, his eyes growing wide. "What?!" he hissed.

"I need _you _to be my Maid-of-Honor."

"Kaoru, there is a _reason _behindwhy they call it _Maid_-of-Honor."

"I don't see your point."

"And I don't see me having a vagina." He retorted quickly. "So, much as I am deeply honored by your request, I'm going to have to say no."

"I really don't think you should say no to this, Enishi. It seems like it means a lot to Kaoru." Soujirou interrupted mock-seriously.

Enishi scoffed. "I'm not buying it. She just likes to annoy me. You'll learn about her evil thinking soon enough, Sou. Just you wait."

Kaoru laughed and the three of them put out their cigarettes before making their way back inside their office. She meant what he said about needing Enishi to be her Maid-of-Honor. Although it really wasn't conventional—it was downright _wrong, _if anyone ever found out about her intent; but she really couldn't imagine anyone else standing behind her on her wedding day. She didn't worry though. She knew she'll be able to convince him soon enough. It was just a matter of finding the right cards to play against him.

* * *

Her work day went as normally as possible. She edited a few of the articles that she wrote a few days ago, attended a few staff meetings, and scanned around the various news alerts they had to see if there was something that would interest her or that could be a possible lead for their search for Udo Jin-E. They still haven't gotten around to telling Hiko about their plan to look around the districts because he's been locked up in his office dealing with legal matters the whole day, but Kaoru didn't mind much. She figured it would be better this way so that when they finally talk to him about everything, all the details would already be ironed out. She knew how much her superior hated being approached for matters like this and while she normally would've talked to him anyway just so she could annoy him, she was just in too good of a mood to exert effort into doing so.

At exactly 4:50 PM, she cheerily bid her officemates goodbye and made her way down to the lobby so she could wait for Kenshin to pick her up. So she was understandably surprised when instead of seeing the sleek, black car she was in that morning, she found a dark blue vehicle instead.

"Sano?" she asked, surprised at seeing her friend's car waiting for her in front of her building.

"Hey Jou-chan!" Sano greeted from the front seat of the car, his window rolled down so his friend could see and hear him clearly.

Confused, Kaoru walked up to the detective. "What are you doing here? Where's Kenshin?"

"He's being held hostage by Saitou back at the department. He came in late this morning, and you know how that bastard boss of ours takes every chance he can get to torture poor souls like us." He sighed. "So now I've been tasked to be your personal chauffer for the day. Hop in."

She chuckled when she heard the reason behind his presence, but couldn't help but feel a bit guilty for Kenshin's added workload. Despite the fun they had that morning, she did understand that what happened was her fault… partially.

"Good afternoon, Kaoru." A deep male voice greeted once Kaoru gently closed the door after she got in.

Surprised, she turned towards the source of the voice and found Aoshi's tired form sprawled across the backseat, his right arm covering his eyes. "Hey Aoshi." she greeted softly, confusion lacing her voice. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm rescuing him." Sano chuckled as he pulled out of the driveway and joined the light traffic headed towards her apartment. "Poor bastard hasn't had any sleep 'cause Misao kept him up with food options for the wedding. He came crying to me for help."

Aoshi scoffed. "I did no such thing. _You _dragged me out of my office."

"Yeah, 'cause _you _sounded like you were being tortured by little dwarves. I was kind enough to read between the lines." The driver retorted before turning his attention back towards Kaoru. "Anyway, I'm taking him out for a drink tonight. He needs to get drunk. Kami knows how Misao's probably been driving him crazy for months now."

"How magnanimous of you, Sanosuke." She cooed. "I'm so proud of you! You're finally learning how to be a decent human being!"

"He just needs someone to pay for his drinks. Megumi confiscated his wallet this morning." Aoshi grumbled.

"Ah. There it is. And here I thought you were just doing this out of goodwill." Kaoru giggled.

"Picking you up to bring you home is goodwill. Your overprotective boyfriend's killing me here, Jou-chan. Seriously."

She sighed. "If I have to deal with it, then so do you. I refuse to live through this alone."

"Yeah, whatever. You engaged people are driving me crazy. Hell, all this wedding talk's driving me crazy." Sano spat.

Kaoru looked at him appraisingly. "Well if it's driving you so crazy why don't you just propose? If you can't join them, beat 'em, and all that crap."

"And have another Bridezilla in my hands? No thanks. I'm perfectly happy with living in sin." He sighed. "Besides, 'Gumi's probably not ready for it yet. She has another two years before her fellowship ends."

Grinning at her friend's obvious discomfort with the topic, she wisely decided to just shut up and let him drive in peace. It only took them fifteen minutes before they reached her apartment building, and after bidding the two men farewell and countless reassurances that _yes, _the two of them can sleep in her apartment tonight, she finally made her way up to her home.

Sighing as she finally stepped into her apartment after a lot of careful juggling, she was surprised—and more than mildly annoyed—when she ended up stumbling on a small, brown envelope. She picked up the anonymous package after placing all of her things on the couch and was about to open it when her phone's ringtone stopped her from doing so. She smiled when she saw who was calling and happily placed the device against her ear.

"Hey." She greeted, throwing the envelope onto the coffee table in front of their living room set and making her way into their bedroom.

"Hey. Did Sano pick you up?"

"Yeah. I got home five minutes ago." She sighed. "You know you don't have to make him do that. I don't mind taking a cab."

"Yes, well, I mind. Besides, they're going to the bar near the apartment anyway, so it wasn't a big deal."

"They're sleeping in our guest room too, by the way." She giggled. "With the looks of it, they're both planning on getting especially hammered tonight. I think maybe you should pick them up before you come home."

He sighed. "Fine. There goes having you all to myself tonight."

"Boys like you need to learn how to share, Mr. Himura." She chuckled.

"_Please_, love. Don't ever say something like that again. You just made me imagine having an orgy with them."

The journalist laughed. "Alright, alright. Anyway, I have to go take a shower now. I'll see you when you get home, yeah?"

"Okay. I miss you already. Do me a favor and order take out. I don't want you anywhere near the kitchen."

"Whatever." She grumbled as she took off her jeans. "Take care. Love you. Bye."

"Love you too."

Stepping into the shower, she couldn't help but chuckle at how unbelievably _ordinary _their lives were becoming. She knew things were going to be different soon, especially once they get a solid lead on finding their mystery guy. But for now, she wasn't afraid to enjoy the brief respite that they were being given. It was rare for their circle of friends to get a chance to deal with mundane issues, and actually getting a chance to do so was a huge relief for all of them.

Since her fiancée wasn't going to be home for at least a few more hours, she decided to make herself useful by doing a few chores. A couple of hours later, she decided to smoke a cigarette so she could formulate a game plan for the rest of her night. She still had too much pent up energy, and since she wouldn't be able to get rid of that energy in a... pleasurable manner, she chose to just open a bag of chips and a nice bottle of wine so she could sit on their living room couch to watch a movie as she waited for the three men to arrive.

It was when she was about to kill her cigarette when she remembered the small brown envelope that she almost stumbled on earlier. Curious as to what it could be, she went inside and poured herself a bottle of wine before making herself comfortable on the couch and opening the brown package.

There was nothing written on the envelope, so she went straight to ripping the top part of the package open. Her brows rose when she found a DVD case inside, and briefly she thought about leaving it alone because it might be for Kenshin. Her curiosity overrode her better judgment, though, and she opened the case.

'_I have nothing better to do anyway'_, she thought to herself. The DVD itself had the first piece of information that pertained to what the package was. There was a small sticker on the disk, but it had nothing else but a date and time.

'_This was from two years ago',_ she observed. Her interest was definitely piqued now, so she quickly walked to their DVD player before settling herself on the yellow couch and taking a sip of wine as she waited for the disk to play.

What she saw surprised and befuddled her, and she barely blinked as she watched the scene in front of her. It was a surveillance video, and she briefly glanced at the date and time that on the bottom right of the screen to ensure that it had the same details as the sticker that was placed on the disk. The camera that was used was placed on the top right corner of Katsura's office in the Ishin Shishi headquarters, and she watched as the older man ruffled through his desk while he reviewed some documents.

* * *

_Katsura Kogorou sat calmly behind his desk in their underground organization's official headquarters, re-reading the debriefing document that he was given with the summary of Kamiya Kaoru's initiation assignment. He smiled to himself as he took in every piece of information in the sheet of paper, extremely pleased with knowing that they have acquired yet another dedicated member to support their cause. He's heard a lot about the woman, and he couldn't say that he was in any way disappointed in all of the reports that he's been given. Even Saitou Hajime, his right hand man, spoke highly of her and of her abilities and various skills, thus making his decision to accept her into the group easier. Saitou was not an easy man to please, and watching him talk about all of the assignments that he felt the young woman would be able to handle already made him excited to work with her._

_Throughout the four months of her training, he'd seen how much of an important person she was to his top agents. Aside from her romantic affiliation with the best assassin that Ishin Shishi had, he watched how her friends helped her achieve his approval. Not that they ever had to talk him into letting her join their organization, that is. Her skills alone were more than enough for him to trust her despite the fact that she was just two months into her training period. The rest of the time that she spent working with Saitou was considered as nothing more than a necessary formality, just so they won't deviate from the process that their organization had established._

_He was brought out of his musings when he heard a three knocks from his closed door. Curious as to who could be visiting him at such a late hour, he beckoned his visitor to come in._

"_Good evening, Katsura-sama." _

_The leader's eyes widened in surprise as he stared at the bent form of his assassin. "Himura-san?"_

_The redheaded detective stood up and stepped further into the room, gently closing the door as he did so. His blank stare was locked on Katsura's curious gaze, and he watched as his superior's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion when he refused his offer to sit on one of the chairs in front of the wooden desk._

"_Is there a particular reason behind your late night visit, Himura-san?" Katsura asked kindly, schooling his features back into its calm façade._

_Kenshin nodded tentatively. "Yes, Katsura-sama, there is." Upon seeing his senior's patient gaze, he continued. "It's about Kaoru."_

"_Ah. Kamiya-san." He smiled. "I wondered when you'd be coming to talk to me about her. There is no need for you to worry yourself, Himura-san. She did very well during her training and there's no reason for me to deny her participation."_

_When the redhead remained silent and did nothing else but bow his head, Katsura decided to continue speaking about all of Kaoru's achievements during the four months that she's been working to get into the organization. "Her skills with espionage are exceptional, Himura-san, and although her combat skills are still not as good as the others', Saitou-san and I are confident that she will be able to develop this through time. It is nothing that you should—" _

"_Katsura-sama."_

_Surprised at being interrupted, the leader stopped and looked at his subordinate more closely. "Yes, Himura-san?"_

"_Will she be asked to kill?"_

_He paused and carefully phrased his response. "It is a possibility that we will not be able to avoid, yes." _

"_Is there a chance that all of her missions that will involve assassinations could be assigned to me instead?" _

_His top assassin looked up at him then, his gaze filled with pleading and desperation as he waited for his commander's answer. Katsura sighed and thought about the real reason behind the visit, and as the seconds ticked by, he grew warier and warier of what was happening. "We can lessen the number of missions that we will be assigning her until her combat skills improve significantly, but I cannot promise you that arrangement. There will be times when you will be assigned a mission to accomplish on the same night as she will."_

_He remembered the first time that the redhead was assigned a mission, then. He's always shared a rather odd affinity with Kenshin Himura, which was mostly brought about by the fact that it was this man who was first asked to kill for the cause that they were all fighting for. The act of murder was never easy—no matter how many times you did it. He knew about the difficulties that his agents faced whenever they would be required to do so; and he knew of their internal struggle to hold on to their sanity—their humanity, in the midst of committing such acts. He's always been concerned about the man before him, worried about the state of his mentality since he was the one who was asked to go on such missions the most. If there was anything he could do to prevent this, to maybe ease his burdens, then he would gladly do it… as long as it did not hinder their goal of making Japan a better place to live. At the end of the day, they all did what they did for a better Japan._

_The room was bathed in palpable tension as Katsura waited for Kenshin to speak again. He honestly had no clue where the redhead was going with his line of questioning, but he wasn't about to send him away. This was the first time that the man approached him after all, and he was curious as to what he wanted to talk about._

"_Katsura-sama," Kenshin said quietly. "Have you ever killed anyone?_

_Surprised at the blunt inquiry, Katsura took a moment before he shook his head in negation. His eyes sought out the redhead's, and despite the dim lighting in the room, he swore he could see amber specks glittering around the man's usually violet orbs. "No, Himura-san. I have not."_

_His top assassin's gaze was locked firmly on his, and he found that he couldn't look away. He watched as anguish and despair crept their way into the redhead's originally blank stare, and his chest constricted painfully at seeing it. It was the first display of emotion that he's seen from his subordinate, and he felt guilty for it being so._

_Never, in his entire career and in all his life, did he ever feel as much regret for his actions than this moment._

"_It ruins you." Kenshin started to say. "It breaks you, and it makes you question everything you believe in. It forces you to reassess your moral code. It makes you feel inhuman, and evil—regardless of the reason behind why you did it."_

_At seeing Katsura's expressionless face, he continued. "Killing… changes a person, Katsura-sama. Once you fire that bullet, or slit that first throat, nothing is ever the same. The things you used to see in black and white all blend together into a huge mess of dirty gray, and you can barely remember who you were or why you were doing it in the first place. You start to forget everything around you, and for a second, you think about killing yourself too—just so you can take yourself out of the ruins you've placed yourself in. Sometimes," he paused and took a breath. "Sometimes, it makes me feel just as evil as they are. I'm human after all, and I have no right to be someone's executioner. And yet, I am. I became a murderer… in your name. By _your _orders._

"_Not once did I question what you asked of me because I knew that it was necessary for me to do so. Everything we're doing here, in Ishin Shishi, is for the benefit of those who have no ability to protect themselves. But at the end of the day, Katsura-sama, it is not you who has to deal with the burden that we all carry. You are not there to watch someone's life fade from their eyes. We are. _I _am."_

_Katsura sighed. "I am aware of your burdens, Himura-san, and believe me when I say that if there was any other way for us to deal with this, I would gladly throw all of these away so we could do just that. But you of all people should understand why such measures are necessary. You have seen what those in power are capable of doing and hiding firsthand. There are some evils in this world that must be done in order to achieve the greater good."_

"_That may be the case, Katsura-sama, but I don't think you understand what I'm saying yet. We are fighting for you because we chose to do so. But I don't think you understand the full extent of the sacrifices we have made for this revolution." Kenshin replied stonily. "What _you _put us through—what you are _still _putting us through, is _ruining _us. I know our lives are a small price to pay for the betterment of those around us, but _we are human too_. I want you to understand that this—what's happening to us—is your fault. It is by your orders that we are forced to lose bits and pieces of ourselves until we can barely recognize who we are. So you don't get to absolve yourself by saying that there is no other way. You don't get to throw our sacrifices away that easily."_

"_Is that all you have come here for, then? To blame me and place all of your burdens on my head?" he replied, not unkindly. The man's words were harsh, but he knew he deserved them._

"_No."_

"_Then may I ask the real reason behind your visit? I am aware of all that you've said, Himura-san, and I want you to understand that I do not make such decisions at a whim. Everything that you've done has been well appreciated, and although your name will never be mentioned in any history books, nor will it be remembered, I want you to know that you have my eternal gratitude—all of you."_

_It was Kenshin's turn to sigh as he tried to formulate what he was going to say next. "We all have our own ways of coping with all this, Katsura-sama. We have all developed a way for us to hold on to our humanities and to remember what we were all before all this. Kaoru, she's—" He stopped to control the shaking in his voice. "She's been my only reprieve from all this. She holds my humanity. She's all I have, Katsura-sama."_

"_I am also aware of that, Himura-san."_

"_Her innocence is what I've been holding onto to get through what _you_ put me through. She's aware of all that's been happening and Kami knows how much I'm aware of her desire to help. But she is innocent of bloodshed. She doesn't know what it's like to kill someone, and I cannot let you take that away from her." The redhead said angrily. His words were quiet, barely above a whisper, but he heard him loud and clear._

"_I cannot let you take that away from _me._" He continued. "She's all I have, Katsura-sama. She reminds me that not everyone has been tainted yet. Her innocence is what drives me to do what I do. It is the one thing I need to protect; which is why I can't let you do this."_

_The leader looked at his subordinate seriously. "What will you have me do, Himura-san? She is passionate for this cause, and I know you are aware of how much she wants to help."_

_The surprise that Katsura felt when he watched Kenshin fall down onto his knees and bend down so his palms were placed on the floor, his head bowed in a gesture of deep respect and desperation, was unlike any other. "Himura-san?"_

"_Don't let her." The redhead said pleadingly. "I am begging you to not let her do this to herself. I am begging you, Katsura-sama, to not take her innocence from me. Please, don't take her away from me."_

_Suddenly, Katsura felt all of his years crash down on him. This was more than unexpected, and he wasn't really sure if he could give into his subordinate's request. He kept saying that he understood what his underlings had to live with every day, but it wasn't until he saw this man—this warrior, down on his knees, begging for him to spare his love's innocence and humanity, did he realize how bad it all was. To see how much Kenshin was willing to risk was more than enough to break his heart, but his guilt was not something that he had time to deal with right now. Kaoru was obviously going to be an important asset for him, he did not want to let her go all because of one man's suffering._

"_Himura-san. Your sacrifices will not be forgotten, but this is one thing—"_

"_Please, Katsura-sama." He heard him say desperately. "I cannot let you do this do her too."_

"_I don't understand, Himura-san. You helped her through this. You were there for her and yet—"_

"_It wasn't until last night that I realized what could happen to her, Katsura-sama. I have never questioned your decisions, nor have I ever asked anything in return for all that I've done. But I cannot let you do this to her. I won't." He paused before continuing in a firm voice that allowed no room for questions. "Forgive me, but if you deny my request… then I'll have to leave. I -will abandon Ishin Shishi to take her away from here. I will do whatever it takes, Katsura-sama."_

"_Stand up, Himura-san." Katsura sighed yet again, his eyes closed when he heard the brief rustling of clothes as Kenshin stood back up. He knew his battle was lost when he heard the assassin's condition, but that didn't stop him from making a last ditch effort to get the redhead to change his mind. "You are willing to risk her trust, then? I assume you will not permit me to tell her of this."_

"_Forgive me for asking you to lie on my behalf, Katsura-sama, but your assumption is correct."_

_Staring down at his subordinate, Katsura placed the document he was reading aside and forced his better judgment out of his mind. If doing this one thing will help ease the burden that Kenshin was carrying, if it will help him get through all that he has, and will be, putting him through, then so be it. As much as he would have loved to work with Kamiya Kaoru, he couldn't afford to lose Kenshin._

"_Very well." Katsura decided. He locked his gaze on the redhead's pained gaze once again before continuing in a stern voice. "But I hope you know that this decision was made on your behalf, and yours alone. You are responsible for this."_

_Kenshin nodded._

"_I will speak to her tomorrow, Himura-san." He paused and took a more sincere tone. "I truly am sorry for all of your burdens. I hope this will help you retain a small semblance of peace within yourself."_

_He nodded again, and bowed in sincere gratitude before turning away to leave the room. Just as he was about to open the door, though, Katsura's voice echoed around him._

"_You are sure of your actions, Himura-san?"_

"_Yes, Katsura-sama. Thank you."_

* * *

The sudden sound of static that filled the room once the video ended was all she could focus on. Her wine lay forgotten on the table and she couldn't process anything else but what she heard and the harsh pounding of her heart as it threatened to beat its way out of her chest.

She couldn't believe it. She couldn't understand it. None of it made any sense to her, and she wanted to _un_learn what she witnessed. She wanted to burrow herself in a deep hole and never come out. She wanted to not face this, and to forget about everyone and everything. She wanted to forget _him_.

After everything they'd been through, after everything _she _had to live through, it was… It was _him_ who did this to her?

The thought rolled around and around in her head until she was filled with such anger and pain and anguish that she wanted to just shoot herself and get this over and done with. It was his fault. It was all his fault.

She wasn't unworthy. She was never _not _good enough. She was _not _weak, and never had she been weak.

She re-watched the video again and again and again as the hours passed by, memorizing the words that were traded between superior and subordinate until she could recite the words in her sleep. Everything they said branded themselves into her head and made her head reel; each syllable stabbing into her heart deeply every time she heard them, making it harder and harder for her to breathe.

When she heard the door open, she didn't turn her head. She didn't acknowledge him. Hell, she didn't even want to see him.

"Kaoru?"

She gasped at the pain that she felt when she finally heard his voice, cringed at his touch when he tried to embrace her. She stood up harshly and tried to put as much distance between them as she could, but her shaking legs only permitted her to take a few steps away from him.

"Jou-chan? You alright there?" Sano asked worriedly from his spot beside the now closed door. Her two drunken friends stood worriedly a few steps behind Kenshin, both of them curious as to what was making her behave this way when she was in a deliriously happy mood when they last saw her a few hours ago.

Her eyes never drifted away from the screen in front of her though, where the same scene that she's been watching again and again was still playing. It wasn't real. It _couldn't _be real.

"Kaoru, what—"

She briefly saw him direct his attention to the TV screen and froze, making her hate him all the more when his anguished expression killed the hope she had of this being a huge joke. The way his eyes widened in shock made her want to throw up. She could think of nothing else but his lies, his false gestures of support, his unimaginable betrayal. Never did she think that he could ever be capable of doing something like this, but she guessed she didn't really know him as well as she thought she did.

Suddenly, she felt sickened for ever believing that they were going to be alright. She was so disgusted with herself for loving such a despicable man, and it was only strengthened when she remembered all of the times that he told her he loved her and that he cared for her and that he would never _ever _hurt her.

This went way beyond hurt, but she couldn't focus on her breaking heart right now. She had to hold herself together if she wanted to get out of this. She refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing her break down because of what he was responsible for.

_He_ did this to her. _He _was responsible for everything, and she hated him far beyond everything and everyone she's ever hated her whole life.

"Kaoru, love… Kaoru, I can explain." He said desperately as he reached for her, his hands getting closer and closer to her tense form.

_SLAP!_

No. He doesn't get to touch her. He will _never _touch her again.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Okay, so this may have been a bit unbearably long. I apologize! There were just so many things that I felt should be included in this chapter—especially since I wanted to establish how good Kaoru and Kenshin's relationship was prior to Kaoru finding out about the real reason behind her dismissal from Ishin Shishi.

I honestly don't know when I'll be able to update this again. I seem to be hitting a bit of a writer's block for this story, but hopefully a good night's sleep can help me find inspiration again. Although I'd like to give a quick shout out to **J Luc Pitard**: Don't worry, this story isn't ending yet. ;) I have a lot of plans for it, but I'm just having trouble with finding the right words for the next chapters.

I also seem to have developed a huge affinity with writing one-shots. I really enjoyed writing my first one-shot for Rurouni Kenshin (**_A Wonderful Affinity for Strawberries_**—please check it out if you have the time!), and I think I may want to write more of those. So if you guys could help me come up with themes or topics that I could write about, I'd really appreciate it. Just leave a review if you have any suggestions!

So… what did you guys think about this chapter? Unexpected? Clichéd? Too impossible? I'm really excited to find out!

Cheers!


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: **Okay, first of all, can I just say that you are all _awesome _reviewers? The reviews I got from the last chapter were so entertaining, and I'm really glad I was able to pull off what I did! Hahaha I'm sorry for blindsiding most of you, and I'm sorry for ripping our favorite couple apart again, but it had to be done. I hope you guys don't hate me too much for it.

Please be warned that this chapter will have a _lot _of cussing, and that (obviously) it will be really dramatic. I'm not sure how you guys will like it, but yeah. I had a hard time writing it because I really had to think about being in Kaoru's (and Kenshin's) shoes and I just let it flow from there. Anyway, here it is!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, nor any of its characters. All information in this story (especially those relating to the Japanese government and their public officials) are all fictional.

* * *

**It Is What It Is  
****Chapter 13**

"Kaoru—"

Her hand hung in the air, and she could feel the tingling of the skin on her palm which made contact with the redhead's cheek. Her breathing was heavy and erratic now, and she was forcing herself to calm down. It wouldn't bode well for her if she would let herself be carried away by her emotions since the situation was very sensitive, and one wrong move could make her break down into nothing but a pitiful, sobbing heap. She had to keep a level head if she wanted to get out of this with her dignity still intact. If not for her sake, then for the sake of her two friends who were standing a few steps behind Kenshin, looking at her with surprised—and slightly scared—expressions painted on their faces.

"Don't touch me." She said softly, forcing her voice to remain as expressionless as possible.

Kenshin flinched. "Kaoru, I just—"

"Stop talking." She breathed out, her feigned indifference starting to wear off. She had to get out of there, and she had to get out of there now. "Just… please. Stop talking."

She took a few deep breaths to ease her pounding heart into a calmer state. The room stayed deathly silent save for the video that was still playing on the TV as the three men watched her carefully for any signs of how she must be feeling. When the DVD player automatically restarted the video, she briefly saw Sano and Aoshi turn their heads to watch the scene that was unfolding before them. By the looks on their faces, this was the first time that they were being informed of what happened as well, and she was slightly thankful for that.

'_Small mercies'_, she thought to herself.

She remained standing and Kenshin did as well, but the difference was that while Kenshin's eyes were locked on her face, she was doing everything she could to not let her eyes wander to his. Calmly, she reached for the remote that lay innocently on the couch that she vacated and turned the TV off. She already knew the words that were said by heart, and she'd watched and heard enough for the night—for the rest of her life, even.

She heard Sano clear his throat from the other end of the room and her gaze swiveled to meet his. "Maybe… well—we're just gonna go now, okay? I think you two need to—"

"No." she said. "Stay."

"I just don't think we should be—"

"I said _stay_." She growled fiercely and took a breath before continuing. "I _need_ you two to stay because I'm forcing myself to be calm for your sake. If you leave… if you leave, I don't know what I might do. So I need you two to stay here."

Sano and Aoshi looked at her intently, trying to find nonverbal cues that would contradict what she was saying. When they saw the commanding glare she was giving them, they had no other choice but to sigh and sit down on the two chairs by the small table next to the sliding glass doors that led to their balcony. Once she was sure that they wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon, she bent down to pick up her cigarette pack from the coffee table in front of her.

"I'm going to smoke." She said to all three of them, but they all knew it was directed more towards the anguished redhead. "I'm going to smoke, and I don't want any of you to follow me. I'll be right out there so you can be sure that I wouldn't do anything stupid."

Stiffly, she walked out to the balcony, making sure that the glass door that she went through was closed when she stepped out. She placed her cigarettes on the round iron table that lay between four wrought iron seats and sat on one of the chairs, pulling it around to make sure that it wouldn't face the room she just left. Her hands shook as she gingerly plucked out a cigarette from its pack and lit it. It was chilly, so she pulled her legs up to try to keep as much warmth in her body as she could.

'_Breathe in, breathe out' _was her mantra, and she focused on repeating the phrase again and again in her head. She stared up at the sky, closing her mind off from any other thoughts aside from how beautiful the contrast was between the darkness of the night sky and the gentle glow from the moon and the stars. Three cigarettes later, she achieved her goal and her mind became blissfully blank.

She didn't know how long she sat there, and frankly she didn't care. All she knew was that she had her cigarettes, and she was away from it all. As long as everything remained quiet around her, then she could remain calm. If they didn't talk about it, then she could pretend that it didn't happen.

But alas, all good things must come to an end.

"Hey." She heard Kenshin say softly from behind her. "You've been out here for an hour. They're starting to get worried."

Kaoru said nothing and opted to inhale more smoke from her cigarette. She heard him walk closer to her and felt his warm fingers brush her bare shoulders as he covered her slightly shivering form with a coat. She muttered a brief "thanks" as he sighed and sat down on the chair adjacent to her.

"We need to talk about this, Kaoru." He whispered against the silence of the night. When he saw that she didn't react to what he said, he tried to get her attention again. "Kaoru."

She put out the cigarette she just finished, but didn't even pause before plucking another one from her pack. She gave Kenshin no sign that she was listening, but as he watched her light the stick she held between her fingers, he knew he had her full and undivided attention. It hurt him that she couldn't even look at him, but he was willing to take what he can get.

"I'm—I'm sorry, Kaoru." He started. He didn't hear anything but silence, but he didn't let that discourage him. Breathing in deep, he continued. "I'm sorry for what I did, and I'm so sorry that you had to find out this way. I never meant to—"

He paused to gather his thoughts. "I never meant to hurt you. At the time, I had no idea that the aftermath of what I did would be that bad. I just… I only wanted to protect you, Kaoru. I didn't want you to have to face the same ghosts that haunt me every day. I know what you believed in, and I knew how much of that you already had to give up for me. I didn't want you to lose more of yourself—not when I know I could've done something to prevent it from happening.

"I know it hurt you, but you have to believe me when I say that it hurt me _more_. I didn't want to be the reason for you feeling the way you did and having to go through what you've gone through while you were away. I can't even imagine how you must've dealt with everything. I wanted to be there for you—I wanted to follow you to Kyoto, but I knew I didn't have a right to do that. I was so torn up with guilt and every day I thought about what _I _was responsible for. I could barely live with myself, but—and I'm sorry to say this, Kaoru—if I had the chance to go back and do things all over again, I wouldn't have done otherwise. I would still make the same choice I made, because even though I know it hurt you, it protected you; and that's enough for me. It tore me apart, but I knew you were better off for it."

"When you came back, and you told me about everything that happened to you while you were away, I felt better about the choice I made; because you found something to give you the fulfilment you needed without having to go through what I do whenever Katsura would give me an assignment. Then we—" He paused again and watched her light another cigarette. "Then we got back together, and everything was great. Things were going so well and I didn't—I was scared to ruin it. You were finally happy, and I didn't want to disrupt how you were feeling by telling you about some stupid thing I did in the past. I would've told you about it eventually—" He heard her scoff and his heart clenched painfully in his chest, but he continued. "I _would've _Kaoru. You have to believe me when I say that. But I was… I was just so _scared. _I just got you back and I didn't want to lose you again. I didn't want to tell you _yet _because things were still so fragile and new between us and I knew something like that would've broken what we had—have.

"And then Katsura came in to talk to you, and I heard everything that you said, and that scared the shit out of me even more. But that was when I finally understood you fully and I _budged_. I've changed, Kaoru. I'm better now. You have to believe that. I'm _better _now."

He leaned his elbows down onto his knees and placed his head on his hands for a while before looking up at her. He tried to reach for her but she flinched, and he quickly pulled his hand away from her. Anguished, he said. "I _love _you, Kaoru. My world revolves around you, and there's _nothing _that I wouldn't do for you. You may not agree with the choices I've made, but they were all for _you._ I'm really sorry I hurt you, and Kaoru, love—if you'll just let me, if you let me be with you, I _promise _I will do everything I can to never hurt you again. I can't lose you, Kaoru. Not again."

He stopped talking and watched her mull over what he said. Her eyes were glazed over, and he had absolutely no clue what she was thinking. Every second of silence stabbed into his chest, but he knew he deserved it all. He was _shit _scared, and the best he could do at the moment was to pray for her understanding.

She closed her eyes and lifted her head to face the sky. After a few moments of staying like that, she finally looked at him with her sapphire orbs and nodded shakily. He would've been thankful for the gesture, but he knew it didn't mean what he wanted it to.

"Do you… do you understand me now?" he asked quietly.

She nodded and looked away. His breath caught at what he knew his next question should be, but he _had _to know the answer.

"So… what happens to us now?"

She sighed. "I…don't know."

Silence reigned over them and he wasn't sure how long they both sat out there, unmoving despite the cold wind that was blowing around them. He could see Sano and Aoshi throwing them wary glances every now and then, and he suddenly felt nervous about having to face them again. He shrugged it off, though. Kaoru's opinion was the only one that mattered to him. He could survive anything as long as he had her by his side.

"I need to leave." Kaoru announced as she pushed her chair away from her and stood up. "I need to think about this, and I need you to not be there while I do that. I can't—I need to leave."

She was still expressionless and her voice was so damn indifferent that Kenshin was starting to lose control of himself. He didn't want her to leave, but he'd let her do it as long as she gave him _something_—anything that he could hold onto while she was away. He followed her inside and briefly saw his two friends sit up in surprise when they saw Kaoru walk past them, but he didn't bother to stop and talk to them. His anger was building and he was trying everything he could to not do or say anything that would provoke her.

She walked into their room and he saw her get her travel bag from their walk-in closet. That was the last straw. He thought she was just going to stay with Enishi or Sano for a couple of days, but what he was seeing now was exactly the same as what he saw two years ago. What he did was stupid—unbelievably so, but he'd punished himself enough; and he didn't want to lose her _again _over something that happened in the past. She _has _to understand that.

Finally giving in to his emotions, he blurted out. "Don't go, Kaoru."

Sighing, but still refusing to meet his eyes, she replied. "I have to."

"You don't, though!" he exclaimed. "If you go, I can't—we have to make this work. We can talk for however long you want us to talk. We can deal with this however you want us to. But don't go. If you leave—"

"I _need _to leave."

"I thought you said you understood me, Kaoru. You said you understood."

"Just because I understand doesn't mean I forgive you for it." She replied stonily as she continued to pack her clothes.

"Will you, though?" He asked desperately. "Will you ever forgive me?"

He tensed and waited for her to answer. He heard her sigh and his heart broke when she spoke. "I… don't know."

The way she said it with no emotion at all triggered his anger, and instead of fighting it, he gave in. He needed _something _to let him know that she still cared about him—if not him, then at least their situation. He needed to know that he still mattered to her, and he was going to do whatever he had to do just to get some sort of reaction from her. He needed to see how she was feeling. He just _needed _to.

"How long are you going to make me wait this time?" he growled.

She was startled by his question, and she paused from calmly—but quickly, packing her clothes that were now laid out on their bed. "Excuse me?"

"I said," Kenshin said a bit firmer. "How long are you going to make me wait this time? Two years? Four?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Bullshit!" he saw her flinch and his heart stopped. She'd always been more honest when she was mad, and he thought that that was they both needed at that moment. Angrily, he slammed the door closed behind him before walking closer to where she was standing by their bed. "You know exactly what I'm talking about 'cause you're doing the same damn thing that you did two years ago!" He took a deep breath and brought his voice down. "You're running away again."

"You don't know what the fuck you're talking about." She said scathingly. "So I suggest you shut the fuck up."

"I won't because I'm not letting you do this to us again, Kaoru. I won't fucking let you."

"You're blaming this on me?" she gasped, surprised.

He stayed silent and watched the anger build in her eyes and some sick side of him was delighted at seeing the negative emotion. He was so angry, and he knew she was too—the difference was that he was being more upfront about it. If she remained behind that damn mask she had on, he knew they weren't going to get anywhere.

"You're blaming _me _for what happened two years ago?" she said darkly, her hands clenching by her sides as she glared at him. "Are you _motherfucking _serious?"

"I wasn't the one who left."

The dam of emotions she was trying to repress during the whole time that he's been talking to her finally broke. There were a _lot _of things she wanted to say to him, and fuck him for making her lose all civility. He brought this onto himself.

"I left because I was falling apart, you bastard!" she screamed. "I left because I _knew _what I needed to do to fix myself! I left because I wanted to stop hurting _you_!"

Kenshin scoffed and she felt the raging fire within her burn brighter and hotter. "No you didn't."

"What?" she hissed.

"Why don't you just fucking admit it, Kaoru?" he said sardonically. "You left because you were _jealous_. You wanted to be like us—you wanted to be out there doing everything you could to make a fucking _difference_, but you knew you weren't good enough."

Part of her was hurt at what he said, but she couldn't deny that some of it rang true. She _was _jealous—but damn her to hell if she was ever going to admit that to him, because that was _not _the only reason that she did what she did. It may have been a part of it, but it was a very small part and it didn't even deserve to be acknowledged.

"Apparently, I was!" she yelled, turning around and running a frustrated hand through her hair. Her eyes were flashing with hot coals of pure, unadulterated fury when she faced him again. "_You _made me think I wasn't good enough! _You _ruined my reputation by making them believe that I wasn't worth trusting! You _broke _me, Kenshin, and fuck it all if you don't go to hell for it!"

"But look at where you are now!" he screamed back, trying to get her to actually _hear _him and _understand_. "Look at what you've accomplished because of what happened! Kaoru, don't you see? You told me yourself that you're stronger now and that you're finally happy. You told me what happened brought you to where you are now."

He sighed. "You told me you were _happy_. And now you're going to throw all of this away just because of some stupid thing I did in the past?"

"Fuck you." She growled. "Don't you dare say or even fucking _imply _that I should be thankful to you for what you did to me. You don't get to tell yourself that you were a part of the two years I've been building myself back up. Not when you were the one who broke me in the first place." She gave a loud grunt before giving in to what she really wanted to tell him, the source of all the hurt that she's been feeling. "I fucking _trusted _you, Kenshin! I trusted you to never _ever _hurt me, and what you did went far beyond the point of hurt. You _broke _me, and you had absolutely no part in what happened to me after you did. Fuck you for even thinking that."

"I was only trying to protect you!"

"I don't and never did I need your protection! Can't you see that I'm fully capable of protecting myself?!"

He sneered. "Like the way you protected the baby?"

The door burst open and Sano sauntered in with rage clear on his face. The couple, though, didn't even seem to notice his loud entrance. He angrily walked towards Kenshin and grasped his collar as he pushed him into a wall. "Goddamn it, Himura. I swear to fucking god if you don't take that back, I'll fucking hit you 'til you do."

It wasn't until Sano saw his friend's face that he knew he didn't need to threaten the redhead. It was clear that he regretted what he said before he even finished talking, and the anguish and desperate plea for forgiveness that shone bright in his eyes made him realize that he wanted to take it all back.

But the damage was already done. Kaoru's legs were shaking so bad that she had to sit on the bed. What Kenshin said almost made her head explode with all the repressed memories that she forced into a box in her brain. Suddenly, she saw herself sitting in a pool of blood in the middle of their bathroom, trying desperately to clean herself off and repeatedly denying what happened.

Uninhabitable uterus, they told her. That's why she lost their child. That's why their dreams of having a little, redheaded child running around their house to make things better for them were instantly erased and burned out of their minds and hearts. For a long time, he kept telling her that what happened was in no way her fault, and that he still loved her the same. He _promised _her that he didn't blame her for anything. She scoffed internally at her stupidity and naïveté for believing in him.

"Get out." She growled out as she held herself to try to stop the shaking that was starting to wrack through her body.

Sano was surprised at hearing her voice, but nonetheless tried to help his friend by trying to drag Kenshin out the door to give her a moment of peace. The redhead was stubborn though, and pushed him away to kneel in front of Kaoru's crumpled form.

"I didn't mean that, Kaoru." He said desperately. "You _know _I didn't mean that. You _know _I never blamed you for anything. It wasn't your fault, and I never thought it was your fault. I didn't mean what I said. Please, you have to believe that—"

"You know," she chuckled darkly as she wiped off the tears that were trickling down her cheeks. "I somehow knew you blamed me for miscarrying. You kept telling me you didn't, but I guess that was just another lie, wasn't it?" She looked up at him then and he visibly cringed at the tears that were flowing freely down her face and the empty look in her eyes. "You're so full of shit, Kenshin. Get the fuck out of this room."

"She's right, man. Maybe you should just leave her alone. Just… cool down for a bit." Sano sighed as he moved closer to Kenshin, making to help him off the floor and out of the apartment.

The redhead didn't move and continued to cover her tightly clenched hands with his, willing her to understand that he didn't mean even one word of what he said.

"Fine." Kaoru scoffed and shoved him away before roughly standing up. She grabbed her half-open bag and walked out of the room, barely acknowledging Sano as he stepped aside to let her through.

Kenshin swore as he chased after his love, leaving Sano rushing to hold him back. He was too fast for the tall detective though, and managed to grab Kaoru's arm just as she was about to open the door. "Don't leave, Kaoru. I—I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean anything. Just—let's talk about this, okay?" he pled. "We're getting married and I—"

She raised her brow at what he said and looked back at him blankly. "Seriously? You still think this sham of a marriage is going to push through? You must be more of an idiot than I thought you were."

"You can't do this." He said, shaking his head at her anger and resolve to leave him. "You can't. Not again."

Angrily, she pulled away from him and turned her back as she harshly pulled the ring from her finger. She faced him again and raised it so he could see it clearly before throwing it as hard as she could as though it was nothing but a piece of trash that she wanted to get as far away from her as possible. "There's your marriage, Kenshin. There's your fucking relationship."

She saw his eyes flash with hurt, and for a moment her heart thudded painfully in her chest for being the cause of it. But then she steeled herself away from the pain and by the looks of it, he did too.

He swallowed at seeing the display of fury that Kaoru put on. "I'm not going to wait for you anymore." He warned gently as he stepped away from her. "Once you walk out of that door, we're done, Kaoru."

She sneered at him before opening the door, picking up her bag in the process. "I can't believe that despite all of this, you still have the nerve to try to tell me what to do. You know what? Fuck you, Himura." She stepped out, but the desire to hurt him as much as he did her overtook her and she paused to say one last thing. "I may be your world, Kenshin, but I don't need you in mine. Not anymore."

She walked away from him after finally having said her piece, but each step away from her apartment made her feel more and more lost and unsure of what just happened. The day started out great for them—hell, the past few months were incredible. So the rush of emotions that she felt that night was completely unprecedented and was driving her insane.

Her hands shook harshly as she tried to open the door to her car, and she was gasping horribly for air as the sobs that she were trying to fight off fought their way through her chest and left her raw and bare. Her vision was clouded with the amount of tears that kept flowing down her face.

She was a bit startled when a hand covered her own and took her keys from her. Warily, she glanced up and found Aoshi's towering form looking at her warningly as he silently told her that he will be driving her to wherever she wanted to go because she was obviously incapable of doing so without ending up hurting herself. She let him guide her into the passenger's side of the vehicle and gave into the maelstrom of violent emotions that she tried to tamp down. She didn't even feel the car move, nor did she know where he was taking her. She just… didn't care anymore. She couldn't.

She didn't know how long it took, but the next thing she knew was that Aoshi was banging on someone's door with all his might as he tried to support her still sobbing form while holding her bag with his other hand. Five minutes later, she heard Enishi's disgruntled voice.

"What the fu—Kaoru?" he gasped. The sleepiness in his voice disappeared completely when he saw Kaoru sobbing against Aoshi's chest.

Aoshi gently pushed Kaoru's shaking form into Enishi's arms and watched as the blonde journalist wrapped her in his warm embrace.

"What the hell happened?" Enishi asked the stoic man who was currently placing his friend's travel bag beside his door.

Aoshi shook his head before turning to leave. Before he took another step forward though, he cast another worried glance at Kaoru before directing his attention to the man who was now holding her.

"Yukishiro." He called. Enishi looked up at him and he locked his icy-blue gaze with his worried green orbs. "Take care of her."

Enishi nodded seriously at what he said and took a breath before closing his door to lead Kaoru into his bedroom.

* * *

Yukishiro Enishi is what you would call a compulsive smoker.

It's not something he's particularly proud of. In fact, there are times when he's quite ashamed of the fact that whenever he gets the urge to smoke, he just _has _to. It's a lot similar to how shopaholics feel whenever they'd see something pretty that's on sale—they just _have _to buy it, otherwise, they'd die; not literally, though. Just, you know, die _inside_.

He started smoking when he was a sophomore in the university he studied in. Like all other students, he was not alien to having to pull an all-nighter in order to beat a deadline—so he found a way to keep himself up while he studied. Nicotine is a known stimulant, and when you pair that with coffee? It's like sex for a crammer; the breakfast of champions. Once that stick is in your mouth, you feel powerful and brave and _cool_. Eventually, he equated dealing with stressful situations with opportunities to smoke more. Breathing the toxins into his lungs gives him a sense of peace, calms his turbulent mind, and helps him think of a game plan that he could use to beat whatever monster is in front of him.

So, given the recent behavior and state of his best friend, plus the amount of work they were currently dealing with at the office, and his _apparent _involvement with the underground organization that Kaoru dragged him into, he felt that his high cigarette consumption record was perfectly justifiable. It's _perfectly _reasonable for him to never leave his house without at _least _two packs of cigarettes ever since Aoshi left a sobbing Kaoru in his arms three months ago.

Kaoru is one of the few people that he feels the most comfortable with. Their job isn't really something that would help them meet a lot of helpful and trustworthy allies, so getting a chance to work with her was probably one of the best things that's ever happened to him. She annoys him to hell and back, and often makes him think that she's more hassle than she's worth, but she just spices his days up so much that he can't imagine ever getting rid of her—despite what he often says to her and their new teammate, Seta Soujirou.

Although people see him as nothing else but an aloof, easy-go-lucky pretty boy, he actually takes the happiness of those he holds dear very seriously. Take his sister as an example. Since they were orphaned at an early age, Tomoe and him had no one else to rely on but each other. She was older than him, yes, but his inner chivalrous heart made him feel like it was _his _job to take care of her. So when she started dating this bastard of a man who knew nothing better than to mooch off of his darling sister, he was the one who found a way to get rid of him. Of course, he had to make sure that his sister wouldn't know that _he _was responsible for their heartbreaking break-up so Tomoe wouldn't want to disown him or anything along those lines. It involved a lot of scheming and excellent timing, but it all worked out in the end—quite brilliantly, if he may say so himself. At the end of the day, he saved his sister from a tragedy by getting rid of the guy who she thought was her hero at the time.

So when he started becoming really close with Kamiya Kaoru, it was only understandable for him to want to shield her from anything that would make her cry as well. He loved her—hell, he was even _in _love with her at one point, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to provide her with the love that she really needed. He wanted to try it out with her once, but when he weighed the good versus the evil of asking her out, he backed off. In essence, he protected her from himself because he knew that he wouldn't be able to make her happy. Eventually, he was able to look at her like he would a kid sister, and things went smashingly well from there. He loved her, he needed her, and he never ever wanted to see her hurt.

Which is, really, the reason behind all the stress he's facing right now. He knew she was hurt as hell because of what happened with the shit-eating bastard that is Himura, but at the same time, he also knew that the bastard is still the _only _person who could possibly make her as happy as she was before all hell broke loose because of the damned DVD that was sent to her apartment _anonymously. _When he saw the video, he was torn between wanting to fucking eat the pansy-ass bitch who didn't even have the courage to give the DVD to Kaoru face-to-face so he could see the damage he did, and shooting the shit-eating bastard that was _on _the video.

He was helpless. For the first time in his miserable life, he couldn't think of anything to do to make his best friend feel better. The icing on top of the fucking cheesecake was that the redheaded detective felt the need to bug him _every damn day _about how Kaoru was doing—as if he had a right to. Well, he did, actually; and if it weren't because of the fact that he knew that the bastard would be the only cure to Kaoru's misery, he wouldn't even bother replying or calling him back. But then just talking to the redhead posed complications for him as well. I mean, seriously, if Kaoru found out that he'd been updating Himura on her progress, he doubted he'd still have his testicles within five minutes of her discovery.

So he had to be sneaky about it. He told Kaoru to live with Soujirou so she could hide from Kenshin better—since Kenshin didn't know where the creepy-ass reporter lived, so it'll look like he didn't want her to have anything to do with the man who broke her heart; which gave him the freedom to talk to Himura and their other overprotective friends. He was going bat-shit crazy, but to make Kaoru happy, he would gladly do this over and over again. Although he wanted to keep her in a box and throw her all the way over to Tajikistan so they'd never lay a finger on her again, he saw how happy she was when they all got back together—and to be honest, he saw Himura's point. What happened was in the past, and she's all the more better for what happened. He's actually a bit thankful for it because if the lying asshole didn't do what he did, he never would have met the feisty little reporter. The big challenge now, really, was to get them to trust each other again. The issue here isn't what he did, it's all the lies that stand between them—at least, that's what Enishi thinks.

Things were going so well—relatively, at least. Their living arrangements were fine, they were all still working on the child prostitution thing, and Kaoru was actually starting to look like an actual human being again. She still got drunk every now and then, and he almost always ended up having to clean up after her pathetic self, but those were small prices to pay for the respite that they were all being given. But, like everything else in his life, another complication rose that completely blindsided him.

The complication? Seta Soujirou—that conniving, creepy-ass bastard.

"Yo." Enishi greeted as he stepped out onto the small balcony in Soujirou's apartment. "Where's Kaoru?"

Soujirou smiled. "She's still sleeping, I think. Long night."

The blonde journalist sighed and watched his breath form a cloud in front of him. It was too cold to stay outside for too long now, but that never really stopped him from going out anyway to smoke a cigarette or two. Apparently, Soujirou felt the same way, and he knew that once Kaoru was up, she'd go straight out to the balcony to join them.

He pulled a stick out from his pack and asked the blue-eyed man for help with lighting it since his hands were gloved. "How's she doing?"

"Better than before." Soujirou said happily. "She's still working her ass off on the case, and every time she'd get a break, she'd take shot after shot of tequila until she passes out. At least now, she gets at least two to four hours of sleep at night. When you brought her here, she didn't sleep at all."

Enishi nodded. "She been eating alright?"

"That sounds like something a worried mother would ask." The cheery mused with a quirked brow.

"Fuck off and answer the question, Seta."

"She has. I've been making sure of it, don't worry."

He scoffed. "Sure you have."

Soujirou turned towards him with that creepy smile painted on his face again. He was getting used to that, but what worried him was the weird glimmer he had in his eyes that he started seeing around two months ago—about a month after he sent Kaoru to live in his apartment. It was that damn glimmer that was starting to be a complication that he didn't know how to deal with, but he sure as hell wasn't going to _not _try to get rid of it before it causes Kaoru any damage. His best friend's one of the strongest people he knows, but she has a tendency to beat herself up over things that aren't even really her fault—i.e., when she turns down acquaintances who end up liking her a little too much. Every sane person knows that unrequited love is something that almost everyone has to deal with every now and then, and that although tragic, it's not really either party's fault when it does end up in flames. But Kaoru? Bless her little heart, because she actually feels horrible for not feeling the same way as one of her admirers—hell, she even _cries _when she turns them down.

"Excuse me?" Seta asked him curiously.

He looked at his teammate warily, making sure that his face was completely serious as he spoke. "Nothing. I just… be careful there, Soujirou."

The blue-eyed man lit another cigarette before tucking his hands tightly in his coat pockets. "What do you mean?"

"Stop acting like an idiot. I know you know what I mean." He scolded. He watched the other man's face stare at him blankly and he took another drag of his cigarette before leaning against the wall of the balcony and continuing. "I know that look."

"What look? Are you feeling alright, Enishi?"

He sighed. "Look, I've been there before, okay? So I know the signs. And I'm telling you now, you don't have an ice ball's shot in hell with her, so get it out of your head _now_ while you still can."

"I still don't know what you're talking about." His teammate replied calmly as he exhaled the smoke that he ingested.

"I know you're starting to like her." He said bluntly. "Hell, you might even love her already with the way you're acting around the girl."

Soujirou grinned. "That's a bit of a stretch, don't you think?"

"Fucking asshole." He muttered. "Look. I told you. I know that look. I fucking _had _that look before I realized I'd never be able to match up to Himura. So, as a friend, I'm telling you _nicely. _Get that stupid thing off your face and out of your head. You do _not _have a shot with her."

"I didn't know you had that much faith in Himura." The blue-eyed journalist mused.

He scoffed. "I don't. But I know Kaoru… and I know she's saying a lot of shit about him now, but believe me, they won't be able to stay away from each other for too long. What he did was fucking terrible, but what they have? It's a lot stronger than any of us think it is—it's something no one else but Himura can ever give her. So don't bother trying to win her over. It's not going to work."

Soujirou looked at him contemplatively for a while, and he was feeling a bit uncomfortable under his intense scrutiny. He was about to say something more, but his teammate beat him to it. "Is that why you didn't bother trying? 'Cause of Himura?"

"Of course not." He said firmly. "It's because of what I _know _Himura will be able to give her that I won't. At the risk of losing my balls here, I know he's the only guy who can make her happy. That was enough for me and that should be enough for you too."

"Well, that's where we're different."

The simple, but confidently spoken statement made him raise his brow in response. Soujirou seemed like a pretty meek guy, so he didn't think that he'd be the type of guy that would fight against all odds just to get what he wanted.

"_I _don't think Himura can make her happy, so I'm not going to let myself lose to someone like him. Seems to me that if someone can do something like that to her, then he doesn't deserve her any more than you or I do. So it's fair game."

Enishi sighed. "It's not as simple as that okay? You know those two have a… complicated history."

"Oh?" Soujirou asked with a raised brow.

"You don't know their whole story, so you can't judge their relationship based on what you've seen recently. Those two have been together for _years _before you and I even came into the picture, and the shit they've been through is more than enough for anyone to kill themselves over. They may not want to admit it, but they keep each other strong. They _need _each other, and that's never going to change."

"That may be the case now, but how do you know it won't change? Have you ever even seen her at least _try _being with someone else?"

The blonde-haired man stayed silent as he watched his teammate warily. He _really _didn't want to be dealing with this, but he knew that if things got out of hand, they'd end up facing more unnecessary drama. Not to mention what the others would do if they get a hint of what's happening. Sano, personally, would make sure that Soujirou never sees the light of day again, and although his colleague creeped the hell out of him, he didn't want to lose a valuable teammate.

"If what Kaoru needs is strength, then I can give her that. If she needs comfort, then I can give her that too. I can be anything she wants me to be, Yukishiro." Soujirou continued. He craned his neck to watch a flock of birds fly by the cloudy sky, smiling at both the simple beauty of the view and his line of thought. "I'm not asking her to return my feelings. I know that at this point, it'd be stupid of me to do so—contrary to what you believe, I do know how strong her connection is with Himura. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to try. From what I can see, she's trying her best to forget the guy. He hurt her too much, and I know you know that too." He sighed and shook his head.

"I've waited years to meet someone like her, and I'm not going to just stand by the sidelines while I watch that bastard tear her up again and again. If she ends up deciding to forgive him and be with him again, then I won't stop her. But until then, I'm going to be here for her, and I'm going to do everything I can to make sure she never cries again. I'll be everything she needs, Yukishiro, and you can't stop me."

Soujirou locked his eyes with Enishi as he said the last part of his speech, baring his serious intent to the man beside him. The green-eyed man held his gaze for a bit and tried to gauge just how deep the other's feelings were for his best friend. He had to admit that he felt a bit jealous of Soujirou's obvious dedication to his feelings, and he grudgingly admitted to himself that maybe this creepy-ass guy was actually more of a man than he is. After a few more moments of sizing each other up, Enishi looked away and chuckled.

"I may not be able to do anything, but those goons of her might not be as friendly as I am. You've seen how they act around Kaoru. Especially Shinomori—he's a quiet guy and all but god forbid the person who tries to mess with his little group. They're all practically a family and I don't think they'd be open to you taking Kaoru away from them."

The blue-eyed man shrugged. "Maybe they'd be more inclined to offer me their support once they see that I won't hurt her as bad as Himura did."

"You're forgetting that Himura's a _part _of their family. They're—_we're _all just waiting for the two idiots to get their heads out of their asses and just get married already. Aren't you worried that they'll see you as a threat?"

"I'm not rushing anything, Enishi. I know it's gonna take some time to get them to trust me, but right now I'm not really worried about that. What's important now is that Kaoru's getting better—and I know they can see that since they all kidnap her from the office almost every other day to talk to her. Let's just see how this goes, yeah?"

Enishi sighed. "Your funeral, Seta. But don't tell me I didn't warn you. And don't come crying to me when they do get back together—which they will. I swear I won't do anything else but laugh at your pathetic face." He paused before turning serious and threatening eyes to the man beside him. "But if I ever see or even smell you doing something that would hurt Kao just to tip the scales in your favor, I swear to Kami I will shoot you myself."

Soujirou smiled and didn't say anything more, opting to enjoy the rest of his cigarette in peace. Enishi followed suit, but he made sure to give the man beside him scornful looks every now and then just to further reinforce the point that he made. Yes, he fucked around often but that did not mean that he couldn't be serious about certain things; and he sure as hell did not take his threats lightly. When he says something, he always pushes through.

The opening of the door that led to the balcony signaled the complete end of the conversation for the two reporters. There was only one other person who was currently in the apartment with them, and they knew that that person also shared the same penchant for smoking that they did.

It was obvious that the newcomer literally just rolled out of bed. The two men watched amusedly as Kaoru stumbled her way over to them, dressed in nothing but a plain white shirt and a pair of wool pajama pants that were covered by a relatively thin, dark blue robe, and a pair of black slippers. Her pixie-cut hair was disheveled—since she never really brushed it anymore ever since she got it cut back to its short length two months ago, and her skin was pale in the morning light. The dark circles under her eyes were a testament to how tired she was, and it was even more evident than usual because of the lack of make-up on her face.

"Hey." She greeted them, pressing a chaste kiss on each of their cheeks as she stood between them. "It's fucking freezing out here. Has it snowed yet?"

"That's because you're wearing a damn robe, you idiot." Enishi scolded. He dragged her to him and tucked her under his coat so they could share his warmth. "Where's your coat?"

"It's inside. Wasn't really thinking there, sorry." She giggled as she plucked a cigarette out from the pack that she brought out with her and lit it quickly. It took a bit of maneuvering on both their ends for her to be able to move, but it was something that they'd done before, so they were able to arrange their limbs properly after a minute or two. She turned to smile at the blue-eyed man standing beside her. "Hey, Sou. Have you been up long?"

Soujirou nodded. "Yeah, around an hour or two. I got a call from Hiko earlier. He said he wants to see us at around 10."

Kaoru's brows met in confusion. "Did he say why? We didn't miss a deadline or anything, did we?"

"No, it's nothing like that." Enishi interrupted. "He called me too. The meeting was Saitou's idea."

"Saitou? What could _he_ possibly want from us now?" she asked curiously.

Both men remained silent, and she huddled closer to Enishi as she sought for his comfort and reassurance more than his warmth. That silence could only mean one thing, and she was sure that the other two knew that she didn't like it. She frowned. "I already gave Sano and Aoshi copies of all the info we got over the last month. I don't see why he thinks we still need to meet face-to-face. It's not like he's stupid enough to not understand how everything ties together."

"That's not what the meeting's about, Kao." Her best friend said quietly.

"Oh? Then what did they say it's going to be about? And why the hell's Hiko involved with this?"

He sighed. "Hiko's getting tired of waiting around for one of us to find something that'll help. He wants all of us to work together so we could get this over with as soon as possible."

"Haven't we been doing that for the past, I don't know, three months or so? There are a _lot _of districts, you know, and there are only three of us."

"Not if you count Sano and the others."

"I can't really count them if they're forbidden to share what they have with us, can I?" Kaoru grumbled before taking another drag of her cigarette.

"That's what I'm trying to tell you, Kao. Hiko wants _all of us _to work _together_." Enishi explained warily, keeping his arms tight around the petite woman in his arms to prevent her from causing him bodily harm due to what he's going to say next. "Apparently, Katsura's out of the country, and he will be for at least a few months or so. Hiko's taken full responsibility of Shishi in his absence, so everyone's under his beck and call. His first order of business is to get us all to work together to speed things up. He doesn't want to watch two different groups work on the same case. He says it's not a competition, and since we all have the same goal, he doesn't understand why we can't combine our efforts."

Kaoru paused to mull over his words and silently agreed with Hiko's logic. It was actually one of the reasons why she's been so annoyed with Katsura. The arrangement they currently have did nothing but waste resources and create unnecessary grudges, but she knew that although the politician knew that was the case, he just wasn't the type of man who'd back out on his word. Her anger towards her ex-fiancée surged in her chest again, but she forced it out of her head. There were bigger matters they had to address that day.

"How does Katsura feel about this?" she asked warily.

Enishi shrugged. "No clue. But then, Hiko never really did care about what others thought, and you gotta admit his reasoning's pretty solid. We all knew this was coming."

"And he explained all of this to you, did he?" Kaoru teased. "Did you talk about this over tea and cookies?"

"Oh yeah. I was even braiding his hair while he was talking about his feelings." Her best friend scoffed. "No, you idiot. I found out from Sagara. I called him after Hiko called me last night."

She sighed. "Which means that this has probably been brewing for a while now."

"We all know it has, Kao. To be honest, I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner. From what I heard, everyone's been bugging Katsura about it ever since he told you to fuck off."

Kaoru scoffed. "Everyone?"

Enishi held her tighter. "Everyone. Sano told me Himura's been the one who's been pushing to get you involved, actually."

"Probably to get back in her good graces." Soujirou interrupted.

The blonde reporter threw him a warning look before changing the topic immediately. "Anyway, he wants us there 'cause Shinomori found something yesterday. And fox lady's got a lead to. Guess we can all expect a little action sometime soon."

Kaoru's body tensed at the thought of going on another assignment in the near future. It's been a while since she's had to do something as intense as what she did a few months ago, and she was torn between feeling excited and scared at what was going to happen.

She took one last drag of her cigarette before casting it off and making sure it was completely dead. A cold gust of wind blew across the balcony and made her shiver violently against the chill.

"Your lips are turning blue, Kaoru." Soujirou chuckled as he moved to open the door for all three of them. "We have an hour before we have to leave, so I suggest you start getting ready. I made breakfast and coffee."

The pixie-haired woman smiled as she rushed inside to get away from the cold. Once they were all inside, she gave her two friends a bright smile and made her way to her room to start doing as she was told.

"_I made breakfast and coffee."_ Enishi mocked once Kaoru was out of earshot.

Soujirou grinned mischievously. "Everything she needs, Yukishiro."

The rest of the morning was spent preparing themselves for the upcoming meeting. Enishi took care of organizing all of the files and documents they'd need to make sure that everyone will be well-briefed on their current status so they could make an appropriate game plan from there, while the other two journalists showered, ate, and got dressed. Since Kaoru and Soujirou would be going back to the same place anyway, they decided on just riding together in Soujirou's car while Enishi trailed behind them since Kaoru was the only one who knew where the venue was. They got to the run-down inn that Ishin Shishi used as their headquarters at around 10:05, but it took them another ten minutes to weave through the dim hallways that led to the organization's main conference room.

They could hear Hiko's booming voice all the way from the end of the hallway. Kaoru grinned at the discomfort and slight fear that was evident on her teammates' faces because of their tardiness, but she knew that they wouldn't dare show their superior just how much power he had over them. Her mischievous grin disappeared the moment they stepped in front of the door though, and she had to focus on her breathing and on keeping herself calm before any of them even moved to open the wooden barrier. From what they could hear, all of the other attendees were already inside and most likely waiting for them to enter so they could begin with their business.

"You ready, Kao?" Enishi asked her quietly. He watched her face carefully for any signs of crashing, but her eyes remained fierce as she stared at the door that blocked them from the room's occupants' views.

The dark circles under her eyes were carefully covered with two layers of concealer, and the rest of her face was covered in light make-up to make her look relatively normal. She made sure to dress impeccably well that day without looking like she tried too hard so no one would think that anything was amiss with her. She knew that everyone—or at least, most of the people—in that room were worried about her since this would be the first time that she would be seeing her ex-fiancée face-to-face again after their fallout three months ago, and she didn't want to make it look like it was a big deal. Maturity was key in situations like these, and given that they would all be working together in a very sensitive and dangerous case, she didn't want anyone to doubt her skills and her emotional state. She was embarrassed enough by what happened, after all.

"Can you three idiots stop fucking around and just get in the damn room already?" They heard Hiko call from inside the room.

Kaoru chuckled at her superior's impatience and grabbed Enishi's hand before opening the door to the conference room with a smile glued onto her face.

"Sorry we're late." She greeted once the three of them stepped inside, keeping her eyes locked onto Hiko's as she spoke. "Got a little held up back at the apartment."

"Jou-chan!" Sano greeted warmly as he stepped up to give her a bear hug.

Kaoru giggled as she returned his enthusiastic show of welcome and saw Soujirou walk towards the table on the right side of the room where Saitou was currently watching everyone else with mild distaste in his eyes as he smoked his customary cigarette. Hiko sat back down on his seat at the head of the conference table and glared at her for causing such a ruckus, but he made no move to stop her friends from approaching her.

"I was with you the other day, Sano. You're acting like you haven't seen me in years." She chuckled as the tall detective put her back on her feet.

"Yeah, well I missed ya anyway." He replied happily, keeping his arm around her as they both turned to face the rest of the room.

"Hey girlie!" Misao greeted happily from where she was seated beside Aoshi—who was currently tinkering with his laptop, but gave her a brief nod when she walked in. "I have your dress in my car. I want to see you in it before you leave, okay? I need to make sure it fits right."

"Sure." The petite journalist replied calmly.

Despite her friends' efforts to make her feel as comfortable as possible, she could still feel the palpable tension in the room as its different occupants waited to see what would happen next. She took a deep breath and prepared herself for what she would see next—because surely they weren't walking on eggshells around her if _he _wasn't in the room.

Enishi stood lazily by her side, but she knew that he was watching her intently and silently offering her his never-ending support. She loved how he understood her and how steady he was despite knowing of her inner turmoil. Sano was very much the same, but he was a bit more physical in terms of how he showed her that he had her back. It only took her a moment to draw her strength from their stable presences and look up to scan the rest of the room and lock her gaze with a pair of familiar amethyst orbs that she hasn't seen in three months.

Kenshin sat silently with his legs crossed as he reclined on a black leather, single sofa that was placed in the left corner of the room. His position gave him a clear view of the entire conference area, which meant that wherever she may choose to sit, he would always, _always _be able to watch her.

His gaze held no malice, and she took a moment to take in his complete appearance. His hair was piled neatly in a high ponytail, and he was dressed casually in a deep green knit sweater and a pair of dark jeans. She saw a brief glimmer from the silver watch that he was wearing on his left wrist, and her chest constricted painfully when she realized that it was the watch that she gave him for his twenty-fifth birthday. He looked a bit more tired than usual, and she understood the reason behind it perfectly well—after all, wasn't she living through the same thing that he was living through?

At that moment, she gave into her weakness and mentally admitted to herself that she _missed _him. Despite all that's been said and done between them, she couldn't deny that she still had strong feelings for this man, and she craved his attention and intimacy like a drug addict craved their poison of choice. She was still angry with him—unbelievably so, but her anger could never make her forget everything that they've been through together, nor could it erase the memories of the past months that they spent together.

The time that she spent away from him didn't lessen the hurt that she felt over his betrayal. Every night, she still replayed the conversation that he and Katsura had two years ago again and again in her head just so she could hold on to her anger and her hurt, because she knew that if she somehow lost sight of those two emotions, she'd go crawling back to his side. Her friends think that it's a matter of pride—that she's doing this because her pride was torn apart, and she was never known to not commit to her decisions and actions once she's made them; but they didn't understand that she'd gladly throw her pride away if she and Kenshin could just get one more shot at being together.

No, at this point, she knew that they would only do more damage to their already battered relationship if she decides to try and work this out with him. Too much lies and betrayal stood between them, and if they forced themselves on each other now, she knew that the issue would just keep coming back until they'd both burst with so much resentment with each other that they'd ruin what they have completely. And she didn't want that. Deep inside, she still held on to the hope that everything would be okay in the end. Just… not now.

They held each other's gazes for a couple of seconds before his eyes finally started to express a softer emotion. He gave her a soft smile, and she did too—because she couldn't help herself, damn her—before they both looked away and waited for the meeting to start.

Sano tightened his hold on her and led her to the sofa near the table that Saitou and Soujirou were hovering over, and she was glad for it because this meant that she was close enough to the smoking side of the room so she could light a stick if ever she felt too uncomfortable.

"Are we done wasting our time now?" Saitou drawled. "Or are there any more sentimentalities that we have to get out of the way?"

Hiko grunted and gestured for Megumi to stop talking to him so he could preside over the meeting. "Alright. Since my three insubordinate employees are here, I'm taking it that all of you have enough common sense to understand that you'll all be working together from now on." He looked around the room to see if anyone would oppose his first motion as the organization's standing commander-in-chief. Upon seeing everyone's brief nods, he continued. "Good."

"From what I understand from Saitou's last report, you idiots have been working on this case for close to three months now following a lead that's uncertain at best." He sighed. "Now, I drag all of you together just so you can fuck around and dawdle and _bond_. Right now, what I want is for us to finally figure out how to stop this as soon as possible. We've wasted enough time and resources on this as it is, and we cannot afford to let this issue drag on. There are over fifty kids in that website that are _still _being sold to pedophiles all over Japan, and I want them out of there and back where they belong by the end of the month. Is that clear?"

The room stayed silent and Hiko took it as a sign that his subordinates all agree with what he said. Satisfied and sure that he had everybody's rapt attention, he turned to Aoshi. "Shinomori. Report."

Aoshi stopped typing immediately and looked at their leader seriously, his body tensing as he prepared himself for the reactions that he would get from what he was about to say. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth, his voice clear as day as he announced the general summary of his findings from his investigation the previous day

"Udo Jin-E is dead."

* * *

**Author's Note: **This was… hard for me to write. There were a few more details that I wanted to include in this chapter, but I felt like it's heavy enough as it is, so I'll have to include them in the next update instead.

I know the miscarriage thing came out of the blue, but it's something that I've been planning on including from the very start of this story. It's really the main reason behind why Kenshin is so overprotective of Kaoru, and it's also one of the reasons why Kaoru can't completely hate Kenshin for what he did—she somehow blames herself for what happened too. I won't be elaborating on it anymore though, because I feel like to do so would be a bit of an overkill since their situation's fucked up enough as it is; although it would be an element in one of the future events of this story.

The next chapter will be extremely plot-heavy, but I think it might take a while before I can post it since I need to make sure that it won't have any loose ties or anything. Soujirou and Kaoru will be interacting heavily in the next update too, because I need you all to realize that he really is in love with Kaoru (as mentioned in the chapter above).

Anyway, I hope this chapter was clear enough, and I hope you all liked it—despite all the drama and cussing (mostly thanks to Enishi's lovely POV).

I'm looking forward to hearing what you all think about this one! Again, thank you thank you thank you for all the support!

Cheers!

**PS** I have another plot bunny that's niggling the back of my head, so please don't be too surprised if you see another story up in a few days or so. It's going to be canon this time, and it's going to be another dark/dramatic one. Tee-hee.


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