A/N: Hi guys, there have been a few revisions made to the previous chapters. I decided some things needed to change. I made Kenshin into a bad guy, well I don't like him as a bad guy, so I fixed that. Aoshi is no longer Kaoru's twin brother, but her step-brother. They don't look that much alike. I thought of doing a complete re-write, but I'm too lazy for that. So feel free to re-read the beginning, but considering that I'm updating after a 17 month hiatus you probably will anyway! BelleDayNight

Through with You: Chapter 5

Sano pulled at the sleeves of his suit. It was one of those fancy Italian suits and he was pretty sure it cost more money than he'd ever had in his life. Shinomori apparently hadn't cared for this white shirt ensemble and called in an immediate favor from a man by the name of Kamatari, who owned an Italian clothing store. He caught a look at his reflection in the front doors of the Oniwabanshu Corporation's main office.

He couldn't help but grin at his own dashing appearance. How could anyone resist his charm? He snapped out of his self-appraisal when he noticed he was standing alone on the sidewalk and that both Shinomori and Jou-chan had entered the building.

Sano rode the elevator up with the two siblings, all the way to the forty-second floor. When the doors opened it revealed quite a fancy set up. It was all black and whites and full of modern art. He felt as if he had stepped into an old movie from the days before techni-color. "Looks like we're back in Kansas," he muttered.

Aoshi gave him a funny look but didn't comment as he slid his arm over Kaoru's shoulders and led the way off the elevator. She seemed to be searching the floor for someone with an eagle eye. Sano was about to ask who she was looking for when a rather creepy man walked up in front of him and stood like a sentinel.

"Hannya, this is Sagara, the man I told you about," Aoshi greeted. Sano stared dumbstruck at the man wearing the mask with tusks. Who would wear such a thing to work? He was wearing a suit and tie, but he had on a monstrous mask.

"Come with me," Hannya ordered. Sano followed afterwards but cast a last look towards Kaoru and Aoshi as they continued to walk away from him. Hannya led him to an office on the opposite side of the floor. He pointed out the break room on the way. Sano was already plotting ways to find excuse for the break room. Saitou did say he was to hang out by the coffee pot. How else would he discover the undercurrents of the company?

"You'll be working here," Hannya explained as he pointed towards an economical desk with a top of the line computer system. There was a large mass of paperwork piled on the corner of the desk. "You'll input data into a spread sheet." He looked Sano over, "Might as well have you do something useful even if it is a redundant task."

Sanosuke sat himself down in the large leather chair behind the desk. He resisted the urge to spin around in a foolish circle. Hannya walked into his office next door and shut the door. He really needed to chew something. There was a pencil jar on his desk so he took out pen and began to gnaw on the end, careful to not snap it and eat ink.

He then set his sights on the computer. He'd never really used one before. How was he supposed to spy on this Yukishiro character if he didn't know who he was and if he couldn't fit in?

OOOOOoooooOOOOO

Kaoru sat in the chair across from Aoshi's desk in his private office. His phone rang almost immediately upon entering the room and he'd been engaged in conversation after conversation ever since. Her eyes landed upon the two framed photos on his desk. One was of their family, the last Christmas they had shared together while his father was alive five years ago.

The other picture was of his deceased fiancé, Misao. Kaoru didn't really know the young woman well herself, they had only met twice. And she didn't know the details upon her death, but it was something strange that always nagged at the back of her mind. It never did quite add up, but she didn't want to question the facts.

There were a couple of files sitting on Aoshi's desk so she helped herself to a glance through them. He didn't seem to mind. They seemed like pretty big deals to her that could result in some large capital gains. It was the third file that particularly caught her interest. It was for Kaiba Corporation and the anticipated sell was in aeronautics. She looked up from the file and caught Aoshi's eye.

He signaled for a moment longer and she patiently waited. After he hung up she pounced. "This isn't Kaiba as in Seto Kaiba is it?"

Aoshi's lip twisted up, "The very same."

"We were such good friends growing up, before he was adopted," Kaoru added.

"I remember," Aoshi said quietly with a thoughtful expression. "I would let you work on that project, but Yukishiro is the one in charge of the aeronautic division."

Kaoru stiffened, "I can handle him," she stubbornly declared.

Aoshi gave her a brief nod of the head in acceptance and then picked up his phone as his secretary patched through another call. Kaoru took the folder and stood; she'd take the file into one of the conference rooms and brainstorm. She smiled confidently as she closed Aoshi's office door behind her. She could certainly convince Kaiba to purchase his material for his planes from their corporation.

She had only taken approximately ten steps out the door when Enishi came up to her. He fell in step beside her and smiled down at her, his eyes hidden behind his dark glasses. "It's a pleasant surprise to find you here Kamiya," he greeted with a sly smile.

Kaoru nervously tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Aoshi insisted I come with him," she explained.

"Yes, I heard about Himura. Shame really," Enishi clucked his tongue. He then reached out and grasped her wrist, Kaoru was ready to rear back her other hand and slap him when he pulled the folder out of her grip. "You're working on my proposal?" He asked mildly surprised.

Kaoru shrugged and tried unsuccessfully to re-attain the folder. The conference room was empty and looming in front of her and she didn't want to be in there alone with Enishi. She wanted to know how he knew about Kenshin, but was afraid to ask. Then, like a beacon of light to a wary sailor she saw Sanosuke standing in the break room, helping himself to some coffee.

She hurried away from Enishi and took hold of Sano's arm. "There you are! I was just about to go over the proposal and wanted your input," Kaoru said with a pleading look in her eyes. Sano set aside the coffee pot and picked up his mug. He glanced past Kaoru towards the hostile man standing a few feet away.

Sanosuke gauged him to be about the same height and build as himself, except he had startling white hair. He was dressed in a fancy suit too, but Sanosuke seriously doubted that he had been forced to wear it by the big boss. The man was simply cultured and he hadn't even spoken a word yet.

Enishi's cell phone began to vibrate on his hip. He cast Sano a mistrustful look before walking away to answer it.

"I don't actually know anything about proposals," Sano started after taking a soothing drink from his hot coffee. It was saturated in sugar and cream, just how he liked it.

"It doesn't matter, just look like you're bored and it's a burden that you have to be consulted," Kaoru whispered as she led him to the conference room.

Sano continued to scan the floor, but really didn't see too much activity that looked like it needed investigating. But then, whatever he was looking for probably wouldn't be something obvious that he'd find on the first day on the job. "How am I supposed to know what's going on if I'm in here with you?" He sat down heavily in one of the leather chairs and spun in a circle before stopping and kicking his feet on top of the table.

Kaoru stared at him, her mouth hanging open in disbelief. He couldn't help but think it was cute. Sano was used to women staring at him like that. It was obviously because he was devilishly handsome. He grinned lazily up at her. "Might want to close your mouth Jou-chan or something might fly in," he teased.

Kaoru's mouth snapped shut and she reached across the table and knocked his feet off, causing him to lose balance and come dangerously close to toppling over in his chair. "Show some manners," she hissed, face flushed a bright red.

His face lost all jovial expression. "Fine," he bit off short-tempered himself. He yanked the manila folder out of her hand and flipped through it. A frown marred his handsome features as he perused the contents. "We're supposed to advertise for some airplane manufacturer?"

Kaoru pulled the folder back out of his hand and looked through it herself. "No, we're supposed to look busy," she corrected him.

"Do people that work for Shinomori usually just prance inside the building and take over the conference room?" Sano asked. He didn't think it would be too easy to blend in if he started off in his role acting suspicious. No one would believe some guy straight off the streets was suddenly placed in a position of importance, the data entry he was supposed to be doing earlier, maybe. He thought he'd be serving as some sort of gofer.

"No one questions Aoshi," Kaoru chided him, as if he were stupid.

Her tone didn't sit well with him. "Look here Jou-chan," Sano began but cut himself off abruptly when the door to the conference room opened. Belatedly, he hoped that the walls had been sound proof. The man from outside the break room stood in the doorway.

"Sorry about that Kaoru," the highly educated voice greeted. He smiled a brilliantly white smile at Kaoru, which she returned weakly. He then looked at Sanosuke, blue sunglasses obscuring his eyes. He extended his hand, "Enishi Yukishiro," he introduced.

Sanosuke took the offered hand in his own and shook it, squeezing his hand and making certain to crush the other man's bones. "Sanosuke Sagara," he answered. He was impressed despite himself when Yukishiro didn't so much as flinch under his abusing handshake.

Yukishiro released Sano's hand and pulled out a chair beside Kaoru. "So the two of you would be working on the Kaiba project?"

"Yes," Kaoru agreed as she opened the folder once more and began to spread the contents over the table.

"Good, that's my project." He grinned at Kaoru once more. "When I told Aoshi I wanted fresh minds working on this with me I hadn't expected him to call you in," he said in a softly, seductive tone.

Sano's dark eyes narrowed. Enishi turned towards him and Sano quickly changed his expression into casual boredom. "Yeah, he even called me in on it all the way from the satellite office in Tokyo." Sano gave himself a mental pat on the back for his smooth fabrication.

Enishi nodded at him before digging into the paperwork. He and Kaoru began to toss back various ideas. Sanosuke watched silently. This guy was creepy but he certainly didn't seem like he was trying to bring down the corporation.

If anything, it seemed more like he was trying to lay claim to Shinomori's sister especially with the way he would manage to find ways to brush his fingers against her hand or rub his knee against hers. He wasn't sure why he was feeling such an overwhelming need to protect her from falling prey to his type. He recognized the moves all too well, seeing as he had perfected most of them.

"What do you think Sanosuke?" Kaoru asked, breaking him out of his thoughts.

He stared at her blankly.

"About the pitch regarding the fuel efficiency?" Kaoru prompted.

Sanosuke nodded, "Sounds like a good idea."

Enishi regarded him suspiciously. "I'm so glad Shimomori decided to bring you in all the way from Tokyo for your expertise," he remarked sarcastically.

Sanosuke's hands slammed palm down upon the table as he stood and loomed over Enishi's sitting form. "I had a long night, don't test me," he warned. Enishi's lips turned up in a sneer as he pushed back from the table.

"Why don't you two report to me the idea at the end of the day? I've important matters to attend," Enishi said as he stood to match Sano's height. They engaged in a staring contest before he turned and left.

Kaoru crossed her arms over her chest and glared up at Sanosuke. He felt like a little boy that had been caught throwing a cat across the yard by the tail, not that he had ever done such a thing! Slowly he sat back in his chair. "You're going to have a hard time serving as a spy when you act like that."

Sano shrugged. "I'm not a spy, it's not my style."

"What is your style?" Kaoru asked, she sighed and let her shoulders drop back.

He felt immediately guilty. She'd had a trying day and he just made it worse. But it wasn't really his fault. "I prefer to be blunt."

Kaoru smiled softly at him, "Yeah, you don't seem like you'd be a very good liar."

He wasn't sure why he felt so offended at that. "I can be a very good liar. I'm quite deceitful when I want to be. Why, I can twist people around my finger and make them do pretty much whatever…" he trailed off. Maybe he shouldn't have said that last part.

He cast the manila folder a distasteful glance. "Obviously I don't know anything about advertising and selling an airplane. And I'm not going to be finding out the inside information today." His dark eyes twinkled in invitation. "Why don't we skip out early and get something to eat?"

Kaoru blinked at him, obviously at a loss for words. "We can't just leave," she whispered, aghast at the idea. She looked towards the door nervously, afraid that his suggestion might have been overheard.

Sanosuke walked over to her, reached down and grasped her by the waist. She was lighter than he thought she would be as he lifted the woman to her feet. "Let's go."

She pushed herself away from him. "And go where, exactly?"

Sano shrugged. "Your place?"

"Excuse me?" Her face was becoming dangerously red again.

"You look like you could use some more sleep and I'm hungry."

"So now you're saying I look bad?" Kaoru asked in one of those dangerously quiet voices. He was very familiar with that tone of voice. It was like the eye of a hurricane, and the fierce winds always followed.

Instead of getting his head bashed over by a nearby chair he settled on the obvious reason. "We both had a rough night, I didn't get any sleep. I doubt if you got much more."

OOOOOoooooOOOOO

Kaoru glanced back at the main office building for the Oniwabanshu Corporation as it seemed to grow further and further away from her. She still couldn't believe that she had allowed this thug that she met last night to convince her to leave. Aoshi was going to kill her!

Well, more like he would kill the thug that convinced her to leave without informing him. But she was pretty sure he would be disappointed and upset with her for letting herself be coerced into such actions. "Why aren't we taking a taxi?" Kaoru asked after they had walked several blocks.

Sano arched his brow and looked down at her like she was insane. "I can't afford a cab, those things are expensive!"

She rolled her eyes and planted her feet in the ground and waved her hand for a taxi. She didn't see any, but they would come soon enough. She began to root around in her purse, and Sano seemed to finally realize she wasn't still walking beside him and turned around to stand near her. "What you doing?"

"Looking to make sure I've enough for the fair," Kaoru explained. The concept of making sure one had enough money to cover costs was fairly new to Sanosuke so he watched somewhat fascinated.

At least, that's the excuse he gave himself for not noticing the little pickpocket that came out of nowhere and stole Kaoru's purse right out of her hands. She whirled around and almost caught a hold of the boy's shirt. "Come back here you little thief!" She yelled as she took off after him.

Sanosuke took off after the two and quickly caught up to them. He grabbed the boy by the back of his shirt and held him in the air with his feet dangling a foot and a half off the ground. Slowly, with a timid smile, the boy handed Kaoru back her purse.

"What did you think you were doing punk?" Sano barked out fiercely, causing the boy's eyes to widen in fear.

"I needed some money for food," he said quietly.

Kaoru reached up to ease Sano's arm down and set the boy on his feet. She slipped her purse over her shoulder, securely, and then placed her hand on his shoulder comfortingly. "What's your name?"

He looked up at her, eyes narrowed, not sure whether to trust her or not with his identity. "Yahiko," he said proudly, defiantly.

"Well Yahiko, we were about to eat lunch. Would you care to join us?" Kaoru invited with a sweet smile.

Sanosuke had to do a double take. How had she transformed from victim to vengeance seeking to charitable in the span of less than a minute?

Yahiko's expression melted into one of blank confusion. "Huh?"

Kaoru slung her arm over the boy's shoulder; he couldn't have been more than twelve. "Come on, we were just about to catch a taxi to my brother's house. We can feast until we're stuffed. Sound good?"

"I guess," Yahiko reluctantly agreed. He swallowed thickly when his eyes met Sano's and he made sure that when he was in the taxi, Kaoru was sitting between them.