She instantly shut the door behind her to prevent the wind and rain from following her and muddying up the floor. She shook some of the water out of her hair as she removed her boots and kicked them aside. “I’m home!” Kaoru called out as she placed her coat on the coat rack standing next to the door. When no-one answered, she got a bit worried and hastened her steps. “Kenshin? Honey, are you here?”

She heard a soft rustling sound and turned around to see Kenshin sitting there, half-obscured by the book-shelf that served as divider between the kitchen and the living room, as he hurriedly stacked a heap of paper off the table. “Honey?” Kaoru took a few tentative steps forward. She saw the creases and worry lines that pervaded her husband’s face and noted how his face had taken a perpetually haggard expression for the past few months. “Kenshin what’s wrong? What are those papers for?”

She saw how he tried to smile; tried to break from the forlorn look he was wearing earlier just to give her a spark of his former self. Alas, he couldn’t muster enough energy to make his act believable, and Kaoru saw through his façade quite easily. With compassion, she took her place behind him and squeezed his shoulders encouragingly.

“You don’t have to hide anything from me,” she whispered tenderly. “Whatever it is, we will bear it together. We promised that on the altar, remember?”

Perhaps the problem really was great because Kenshin, who had always been her pillar of strength and courage, finally crumbled as his shoulders drooped and he buried his face between his hands to hide his shame from her.

Kaoru’s heart sank and she felt like dying upon seeing him so broken like this. With fear and anxiety choking her own heart, she knelt down and picked up the papers that Kenshin dropped onto the floor. Her eyes swam over the overdue notices, the bills, the demands, the eviction notice from the landlord, and instantly a sob escaped from her throat.

She cupped her hands over her lips, afraid that her anguish would only bring more pain to her husband, to her Kenshin… Fortunately, he was too wrapped up in his own misery that he missed that single sound of defeat that came from her.

She couldn’t afford to lose heart! Not when her own beloved Kenshin was slowly cracking under the pressure. For almost three years now, Kenshin was the one who uplifted her, cheered her up as they suffered through near poverty, with a smile on his face and courage in his eyes. Kenshin finished college, true, but getting a decent-paying job in Japan was hard during those times because of the economic recession that was going on. But through the months of long days in a hungry daze, and cold, bitter nights of restlessness- they persevered. Their love persevered! And Kaoru was determined that they’d live through this crisis with their bond intact.

So even though Kaoru was the one who was used to the finer things in life, she never complained. She didn’t want to burden Kenshin more by being unreasonable. Kenshin was grateful for this. But there would be times when her pained silence would draw more blood from Kenshin than if she had just screeched her heart out for all the suffering his deficiency was causing her. He bled for them; bled for his inadequacy to provide the happy, contented life that he promised her on the altar…bled for the unshed tears that his wife would not let free in his presence. Always bleeding. There was no assuaging the flow of discontent, and he felt like dying because of it.

So Kenshin tried to do the next best thing that he could manage: he was the one who stayed upbeat for the both of them. Whenever they were feeling low, he’d whip out the guitar she had given him years ago and would play the songs he composed; serenading and wooing her the way he did back when they were much younger and more naïve. And she’d kiss him, and they would take comfort in each other’s presence. They would hold hands and love each other all night, then wake up the next morning staring at each other’s eyes, feeling utterly helpless, but unable to look away.

“Oh honey,” Kaoru whispered as she threw the papers aside to envelope her husband in a warm hug. “Dear Cupid, everything is going to be fine. This is just a rough patch, okay. We’ll sail through this, no worries. I guess this will just mean a little more overtime work for the both of us, but we’ll pull through. We always do.”

Those used to be his words for her. But now she found herself using them to lift up the spirits of the one who had always uplifted hers.

She kissed his temple but he didn’t respond. All of a sudden, a feeling of foreboding gripped her and she waited for what he was about to say…

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Kaoru was unable to sleep that night. She kept staring at her husband’s sleeping face, noted how much he had aged in just a short span of time, and once more her tears flowed. She slowly and oh-so-lightly grazed Kenshin’s closed eyes with her fingertips as she painfully recalled the terrible news he had told her earlier.

“I’ve been let go…”

“-The company is fast on its way to bankruptcy.”

“-Tried to search for a new job the whole day.”

“-This blasted economy is not good for small businesses.”

“I’m so sorry…”

She bit her lips and shut her eyes tightly. Kenshin, who must’ve felt her silent torment, woke up and sadly stared at his wife’s tear-streaked face. Anguished by the sight of her pain, Kenshin hastily brought his own hands to her face to dry her tears, but Kaoru fended him off.

“D-don’t worry about me.” A ragged sob escaped her lips as she turned around so he wouldn’t see her wet cheeks. “I’m sorry if I roused you. I just…I just-”

She didn’t know what to tell him, and in the end she didn’t really need to. She felt him move closer; felt the warmth of his body as he hugged her tightly, his hands brushing her flat tummy as he did so. A sob threatened to erupt from her being once more, but she pushed her hands against her lips so that Kenshin wouldn’t hear.

Three years. They were married for almost three years now and yet their life remained empty, their love unfulfilled and their family incomplete. She couldn’t have a child -they wouldn’t have a child- knowing full well that they weren’t financially stable for that. At this reminder, Kaoru cried more.

Kenshin held her tighter as he sensed her increasing agony. No words passed between them as they both listened to the haunting sound of the clock ticking away; reminding them of every minute that they spent together in discontent. Kaoru turned around and hugged him back and they closed their eyes to sleep. But it was a sleep that only dulled their pain for a while. They made slumber their temporary morphine; sleeping as if dead, and waking up the next day just as lifeless.

…The morning dawned and Kenshin awoke before Kaoru did. He had a dream the previous night, a dream that haunted him even as he gazed at his wife. A dream that gave the answer to their problems…but for a terrible price…

So he woke up and stared at her face; stared deeply and wretchedly and felt himself die inside. He wanted to touch her, and kiss her, and love her- anything to make the pain and misery go away. But he knew it wouldn’t go away. He knew their suffering wouldn’t disappear until he took responsibility.

And he would take responsibility, no matter how much it would hurt her…or him...

Because he loved her…

Because he loved her so much that he’d rather die a thousand deaths than for her to suffer a single second more with him…

Kenshin restrained his hand just before it touched her flesh. He wouldn’t torture himself more than what was necessary. He had made his decision, and there would be no turning back now…

Resolutely, he got up and left the bedroom.

Kaoru woke up hours later. She walked out of the bedroom to find a cold meal on the table and a note left by Kenshin saying, ‘Out looking for work’.

It was raining that day…

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“Um that’s great…I guess.”

She tried to sound casual as she said those words. Across the table, Kenshin interlaced his fingers in front of him and appeared to be thinking the matter over. Finally, he raised his eyes to meet hers and smiled. “That’s good. I’ll hook you up with Enishi as soon as possible. Hope you don’t mind waiting a bit, he’s quite a busy man you see…”

Kaoru nodded mechanically and felt a shadow of a smile starting to tug at her lips. It had been the day after Kenshin found her at the parking lot of a certain nightclub back at her hometown. She had been drunk and had come close to kissing her gay best friend when Kenshin spotted her. It turned out that he had been looking all over for her that day because of a very important matter.

At first she was so utterly mortified to be seen in such a state that she refused to see him altogether. Kenshin then explained to her that she didn’t answer his last letter. And so the situation -it being of such urgency- called for him to come in person to talk things over with her.

When Kaoru asked Kenshin what letter he was talking about, enter Kamatari with a sheepish look on his face as he confessed to withholding and burning the said letter some days ago.

So now here she was, having this meeting with her ex-husband in one of Tokyo’s most luxurious and most expensive hotels, as they talked about their divorce settlement. Now she understood why Kenshin was so adamant about taking care of it as soon as possible. He was, after all, due to marry anytime this year. The wedding invite he sent Kaoru almost two weeks ago was only a sample that had no date in it. According to Kenshin, it was Tomoe’s idea not to set a fixed date yet, giving allowance to the time needed for the separation process, so that there would be no legal hassles later on when they finally tie the knot.

As their conversation progressed about the legal matters to be attended to, Kenshin suggested that they call their respective lawyers to get clearer details. At this, Kaoru suddenly coughed vehemently and admitted, rather hesitantly, that she didn’t have one.

Kenshin patted her hand in understanding. “I can set you up with someone I know. He’s a good friend of mine who I met two years ago. He ranked number three when he took the BAR exam last year, you know.”

Kaoru coughed again, feeling terribly uncomfortable at this stage. She doubted that this friend of his would be someone within her price range. So with her cheeks burning and her voice lowered, she confessed that she might not be able to afford the services of such an excellent attorney.

The irony of the situation struck her suddenly and she almost laughed out loud if only she wasn’t embarrassed enough already. Their roles had been reversed now: with her having to work hard just to put a roof over her head and a diploma under her name, while her ex-husband was the one who could now casually set up expensive meetings like this, and talk about marriage settlements amounting to six figures, without so much as batting an eyelash.

“Don’t worry Kaoru,” Kenshin offered a kind smile to ward off her unease. “I assure you Enishi won’t ask you a single penny. My future brother-in-law is quite willing to work pro-bono…if it is for the family, that is. And since I’m soon going to be a part of his, so…”

“Oh.” She didn’t really like the idea that the one who’d represent her was someone related to Kenshin’s future wife. But what else could she do? She was in no financial standing to refuse such a generous offer. “Um that’s great…I guess.”

“That’s good-”

After he had his say, an uncomfortable silence descended upon them. They have ironed everything out for the planned proceedings and was left with nothing more to discuss. Because of this, Kaoru started to fidget uneasily in her seat, itching to leave. “Errr…so… I guess I should, um, get going and-”

“How have you been all these years Kaoru?”

She stopped just as she was about to lift herself from her seat. She looked at him, studying his expression, as she thought of what to answer him.

“Fine,” she finally hedged a bit. “I’m good. And you?”

She wasn’t interested in having this talk with him. It was all fine and well when they were talking about a matter as serious and as formal as their divorce. But now that he opened the way for a friendly tête-à-tête, it just seemed too rude and too obvious not to answer him and ask him the same greeting in kind. Proper breeding and blue-blood upper-crust teachings ingrained deep in her psyche just wouldn’t allow her to be the callous type, even if being polite would mean choking down a situation she’d rather run away from.

“Wait, forget that I asked,” Kaoru chuckled. “I can see the answer for myself.”

“It hasn’t been all that easygoing you know.”

She quirked her lips in disbelief. “There’s no need to be humble. It’s just me.”

He rolled his eyes at her. “You’re being sarcastic again.”

“Old habits die hard.”

Kenshin had to smile after that. “Some things just don’t change, huh?”

Kaoru refused to acknowledge the way her heart missed a beat after Kenshin gave her that tender look. She didn’t know how to answer his statement, so instead she finally opted for the coward’s way out and started to leave. “I really have to go Kenshin. Kamatari might be looking for me already and knowing him-”

Yes, Kamatari was with them. And yes, Kaoru dragged her gay best friend with her on this trip because, undeniably, she was afraid… She didn’t know what to expect or what to feel once she returned to Tokyo- the city full of sweet but often bitter memories…her memories. There were just too many of them for her to ignore. Every street, every vehicle, every person –no matter how foreign- was too familiar and too overwhelming for her that twice she almost came close to breaking down right in the middle of a busy intersection. She knew she was being overdramatic, but what else could she do? These things were beyond her control and she secretly hated herself for being this affected even after so much time had passed…

This was her life. This was a part of her that she could not shake off…

These were the reasons why she brought Kamatari with her. She needed someone- someone who was not connected to her past. Someone who could easily pull her to safety once she started drowning in the memories once more…

“Well let me at least walk you to your room,” Kenshin offered. He was the one who suggested that they stay in that same hotel. Kaoru tried to refuse earlier, but Kamatari managed to cut her off with a high-pitched squeal of excitement. And when Kenshin assured them that he was footing the bill, Kamatari’s squeal reached an entirely new and impossible crescendo that Kaoru was finally forced to accept just to shut him up.

She was already trying to wave him off. “Oh you know what? You don’t really have to bother, I mean you probably have important things to do and-”

He raised an eyebrow as he got up from his chair and stood beside her.

“Okay,” she breathed out. “I’d love the company…”

“So what have you been doing these past few years?” he started the conversation genially as they headed towards the gold-chromed elevators in the lobby. The elevator attendant tipped his hat in greeting and pushed the button to their floor destination after Kaoru told him where to. They stood side by side, not looking at each other, as the elevator started to rise.

“I thought you had me investigated?” she replied, not meeting his eyes.

“I had your address searched,” he corrected dryly. “I didn’t invade your private life.”

“Oh.” Why was it taking so long to get to her floor? “Studying, part-time job. Nothing exciting really.”

“Your part-time job… You’re working in that place where I saw you singing, right?

She nodded.

“I’m glad you never gave up on your dream to become a singer.”

The elevator doors opened to let in a few people. “It puts bread on the table,” she finally answered, although somewhat indifferently. “It’s not a career.”

“Oh.” He paused. After a short while, he asked nonchalantly, “You dating someone?”

“What?”

Kaoru’s head slowly turned in his direction, a puzzled look etched all over her face.

Kenshin shrugged, not meeting her stare as he continued to look at his reflection on the shiny, gold-plated walls. “Just curious.”

Well here was a dilemma. Should she lie? It just seemed kind of pathetic to look so, so…single…and alone, when he, on the other hand, had moved on. Anyway, he did say he didn’t nose around about her life…so he wouldn’t know if she’d lie a bit, right? “There’s this guy at the university. Nothing as serious as getting married within this year or anything. But he’s okay and I think there’s a possibility…” She had to bite down her own tongue to keep herself from gagging.

This time, he did turn to look at her. “Really? But Kamatari said you were single the last time we talked.”

Damn, damn, and double damn! Kaoru almost stuttered when she replied, “I met him fairly recently. Don’t you think a lot could have happened within the last two weeks since the two of you talked?”

Thankfully, the doors opened to her floor and before Kenshin could look at her closely to gauge the truth in her words, she was already out and walking briskly towards the room she shared with Kamatari. Mentally, she prayed that her gay friend was inside so that she could use him as an excuse not to talk to Kenshin for another minute longer.

Kaoru started knocking as soon as she got to the door of room 1208. Her knocks became more insistent when Kenshin finally stood next to her.

“Kamatari!” she called out loudly when no one answered her knocks. “Oh geez…”

“Maybe he’s not inside.”

“No, no, no he’s probably still sleeping.” She prayed fervently that this was so. “Trust me, I know him. We had a pretty long ride after all and he tends to get really sleepy on long car drives.”

“Use your key.”

“I left it inside because I told him I won’t be gone for long.”

Kaoru wondered if Kenshin guessed the motive behind those words. She didn’t have to wait long for her answer.

“You’re not afraid of me Kaoru, are you?”

She gave up on knocking and started jingling the doorknob. “What are you talking about?” She refused to look at him as her heart started beating fast. “This is so stupid…!”

Kaoru didn’t see it, but his lips tore to give way to a smirk. He started to chuckle as he watched her exert herself over the door. Finally, he couldn’t help himself from stating the obvious, “You ARE afraid!”

Well she couldn’t very well keep on ignoring him if he was going to continue with that line of thought. So straightening up, she shot him her most sarcastic look and replied, “Afraid? Why would I be afraid you?”

“You tell me.” Kenshin stepped closer towards her. “Aren’t you?”

She folded her arms to her chest defiantly. “I’m not.”

“Then why are you so jittery?”

“I’m not jittery.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re shaking.”

“You’re immature.”

“Nervous?”

“Nope.”

“Dinner at eight, meet you at the hotel lobby?”

“Sure!”

“Okay.”

“Fine.”

They shared a dry smile together before Kenshin stepped away. He gave her one, last mischievous grin before turning around and heading down the hall towards the elevator. Once Kaoru saw the sliding doors close behind him, she let her body rest on the wall with a hand on her forehead as she groaned out, “What have I done?”

Right after her statement, the door of her room finally opened to reveal a sleepy-eyed Kamatari. “What’s with all the racket here and-” He stopped when he saw her defeated look. Curious, he asked her, “Oh hey Kaoru. Did I miss something good?”

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“Ow!”

Kaoru rubbed the spot on her arm where Kamatari pinched her and scowled at him through the vanity mirror. “That hurts!”

“And there will be more coming if you don’t stop moving,” her friend threatened back with a hairbrush poised dangerously in mid-air. “I won’t have you ruining the hair I’ve slaved over for the entire afternoon! Now sit still.”

“I don’t want this hair,” she grumbled as her gay friend continued to primp and style her up from behind. She stared at her reflection through the lighted mirror, saw the make-up Kamatari had carefully applied for the last thirty minutes, saw her raven-black hair in lustrous waves behind her, and groaned again. “I look-”

“-Beautiful? Ravishing? Angelic?” Kamatari finished for her with a flourish as he waved his magic wand –slash- hairbrush in the air, like a fairy grandmother who just transformed a plain-Jane girl into Cinderella. “I know, I know. Aren’t I a genius?”

She glowed with his words, but refused to show it. “I don’t want him to think that I went through all the trouble of being made-up just for this simple meeting and- Ow! Stop pulling!”

Kamatari was fixing her tangled hair and, after accomplishing the task, sniffed haughtily down at here. “Oh will you stop whining already? So what if he’ll think you bothered yourself looking pretty? I think he’ll be too busy being dazzled out of his wits by the sight of you to think or care anyway.”

“You ‘think’ a lot.” She laughed. “-And I don’t look THAT nice!”

“But I am THAT good. So shut up and turn around.”

Kaoru got up from her chair and faced him. Her cheeks reddened when she saw the look of barefaced approval on Kamatari’s expression as he raked her body up and down with his eyes. But she flushed even hotter when she saw his eyes rest on the modest cleavage being revealed by the spaghetti-strapped, midnight-blue dress that she was wearing. Upon seeing this, Kamatari clucked his tongue and disappeared towards another part of the suite. When he returned, he had a box of Kleenex in his hand with a goofy grin on his face.

“What are you going to do with that?” she asked him suspiciously. She started to back away.

“Oh c’mon Kaoru, honestly!” He blew up some air in exasperation. “A little cheating never hurts anyone. Except of course-” he started to grin, “-You’re planning to have a little more late-night activity after this so-called appointment.”

Kaoru crossed her arms to her chest. “Hounjou Kamatari! I’m meeting a committed man, or have you forgotten?”

“Surfboard!”

Kaoru squealed when Kamatari suddenly leaped over the chair that was standing between them to get to her. What ensued afterwards was a game of tag as he chased her everywhere across the room. Shrieking and laughing all at the same time, Kaoru gasped out, “Kama-chan, stop! My hair’s getting messed up!”

“So what? I thought you didn’t want to look too prettified, anyway?”

“That’s not even a word!”

“That’s what you know!”

Kaoru half-screeched, half-laughed when, with a jump, Kamatari managed to tackle her to her feet. They lay sprawled on the carpeted floor, wrestling for the upper hand, as he continued to tell her the wonders of a little artificial augmentation one could do for one’s self-esteem. One minute he was on top, the next it would be her. Finally, Kamatari gained the control and managed to pin her firmly to the floor. They were both laughing and breathing heavily with the exertion by the time they looked at each other.

“Oh god,” Kaoru wheezed as she struggled to free her wrists from being pinioned by his hands. Not surprisingly, she failed. “You’re a monster, Kama-chan. You’re just too much!”

“Well you’re not exactly a butterfly yourself either.” And at this, he winced slightly. “You punched me in the gut, you little witch. If I hadn’t moved, you would’ve probably zeroed in on my family jewels.”

A naughty smile started to tear at her lips. “I sometimes forget you’re still a man.”

His flirtatious side suddenly surfaced, and he smirked. “Maybe we should spend the whole afternoon reminding you of this fact then?”

“W-what do you mean?”

“We have been interrupted before.” He dipped his head to her side until his lips brushed her earlobe. He nibbled on her ear and whispered huskily, “We should probably pick up where we left off…”

The memory of what they almost shared last night, right before Kenshin came, instantly made her tingle and burn. Kamatari confessed earlier to have only been teasing her that time. But the recollection of the sensations that she felt that night, coupled with the delicious shivers that her best friend was causing her now, made her squeeze her eyes shut and bite her lips.

“Oh you’re terrible!” And just like that, all the tension ebbed away when his lips started to tickle the side of her neck. “You’re a pervert! Get off!”

They were laughing as they both straightened up and got up from the floor. But Kamatari’s laughter turned to a shriek when he saw the havoc their carelessness had caused on Kaoru’s hair. Frantically, he tried to get to her to fix it up, but Kaoru was already moving away from him and towards the door.

“Kaoru Kamiya! Your hair-”

“It will have to do Kamatari, don’t worry.” She laughed as she sloppily patted her hair in a feeble attempt to tame it down. “I’ll be late if I let you do it over.”

“But-!”

“Bye luv!”

Kaoru whistled happily as she closed the door behind her. Smiling, she hurried towards the elevator that was about to close. Holding out her hand to stop the sliding doors, she exhaled, “Wait!” before slipping inside and casting the only two people inside the elevator a sheepish smile. “Sorry about that…going down?”

The uniformed elevator attendant manning the control panel simply gave a polite nod in return. But the tall, white-haired man sporting a pair of blue-tinted glasses and a midnight-blue suit raised an eyebrow. Kaoru chose to ignore him though and stood opposite to the hotel attendant.

As the elevator started its descent, the ashen-haired man suddenly started to speak. “I didn’t know that the hotel is holding a Halloween party…?” the question was obviously for the elevator boy.

“Sir?” the serviceman turned to him, confused. “It’s April.”

The doors opened on the seventh floor and the tall man started to step out. But as he passed by Kaoru, their eyes met through the mirror-like exterior of the elevator and he muttered, “The mistake is not mine then…”

It took Kaoru three seconds before the insult finally sank in. But even if she had realized this much sooner, it wouldn’t have helped her any. By the time she started to sputter with indignation, the stranger was already gone and the doors had slid close to obstruct her view.

Kaoru then turned to her reflection against the elevator walls and wondered if, indeed, she looked THAT bad. Just a few minutes ago, she thought her hair looked just okay, not glorious, just decent. And she thought her slightly mussed up make-up wasn’t a detrimental factor. But now, after a complete stranger indirectly insulted her, she started to see her face in a whole new light. Her hair was a fright to behold and her features suddenly seemed too horrible for decency’s comfort! Aghast, she turned to the elevator boy and barked, “Back to the 12th floor!” When the man hesitated, her voice went up a few notches, “Now!”

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Kaoru had been practicing her excuse line in her head when she finally arrived to the hotel lobby. Redoing her hair and make-up, and choosing a new wardrobe (amidst Kamatari’s surprised protests), took longer than necessary due to the fact that she kept picking and removing clothes one after the other when she couldn’t find one that suited her. As she searched, it frustrated her to no end that one callous stranger’s snide comment suddenly reduced her to a ditzy, insecure fool that she’d never been as she threw out one dress after another in her closet. But she wasn’t half as horrified as Kamatari had been when her gay friend saw the way Kaoru butchered her newly-styled hair with the series of dressing and undressing that followed.

Because of all this, she ended up being forty-three minutes late. Her conscience and her proper breeding pricked her, but what else could she do? So instead, she consoled herself with the thought that it was only Kenshin she was meeting after all. He wasn’t a stranger to her. But just the same, she had never made him wait this long before- not even back when they were dating and had been more intimate.

She wouldn’t blame him if he had decided to blow her off. But as it turned out, she needn’t worry about that because she instantly spotted him near the reception area, glancing at his wristwatch every now and then, and looking more than just slightly impatient.

Kaoru paused before approaching his line of vision. She held her breath as she gazed at him. Her husband, no, her former husband looked so heartbreakingly handsome wearing a grey, zipped-up turtleneck sweater under a black coat and grey pants that she instantly swelled with pride. A frown was tearing at his lips, and his violet eyes flashed arrogantly, but he was a sight to behold nonetheless.

Kaoru suddenly became self-conscious. Earlier, she finally decided on a strapless red silk dress with a flared hemline just above her knees (it was Kamatari’s idea to bring one whole luggage-full of evening wear; as if he knew beforehand that their coming to Tokyo will require Kaoru those outfits). Her hair, unlike before, was now pinned-up with only a few tantalizing tendrils snaking down her cheeks and chin to accentuate her slender neck. Kamatari had said she looked positively, irrevocably, and without a doubt- gorgeous, and at first she thought so too. But now, gazing at Kenshin from across the lobby as he looked perfectly like the man who could own the world with just a smile, Kaoru wasn’t so sure anymore…

Almost out of nowhere, a blessedly-‘endowed’ blond woman approached Kenshin and gave him flirtatious smile. Kaoru snapped out of her reverie when she saw this, and quickly, she started to walk towards them.

The blond was in the middle of asking Kenshin to join her for drinks when Kaoru slid in between them and, without thinking, kissed her ex-husband on the cheek. Breathlessly, she murmured, “Sorry I’m late.”

Okay… So the fact that Kenshin’s brain, to put it simply, short-circuited the moment he laid eyes on her could be considered natural. After all, what hot-blooded male wouldn’t have had his wits snatched away from him by the mere sight of his stunning ex-wife. So what if the blond, busty foreigner left after he ignored her? She wasn’t very interesting anyway. And so what if he didn’t get around to showing Kaoru his immense ‘displeasure’ on her being late. No one really cared anyway- least of all him. Not when he was looking at the Kaoru Kamiya that he had never seen before. The coy and pretty teenager that he once fell in love with was nowhere to be seen, and was instead replaced by this ravishing and achingly-beautiful woman…

Amazing what time and experience could do to a person…

“I,” Kenshin faltered. He mentally kicked himself as he tried to regain his composure. “You…you look-”

She gave him a hopeful and somewhat expectant look. He grappled mentally for the right things to say. But the word that slipped out of his lips disappointed even him.

“-Nice…”

Nice?! A hug by a casual friend is nice. An ice-cream cone after dinner is nice. A warm bath after a long day is nice. But never do you call a woman -especially THIS woman standing in front of him who looked so amazing right now that she could undoubtedly render even the most worldly and most mature men into frustrated adolescents with uncontrollable wet dreams- nice!!

“Oh,” she wanted to castigate herself for sounding disappointed. She didn’t expect (nor wanted) him to bubble with praises or odes. She was neither a foolish dreamer nor a conceited fool. But bloody hell! Nice?!

“Uhrm,” Kenshin coughed to clear the silence that descended upon them. “You’re late…”

Kaoru was prepared to apologize profusely to him minutes before. But after that ‘nice’ comment, she suddenly thought that he didn’t deserve anything more than a casual: “Time got away with me.”

“You could’ve at least informed me.” He didn’t like her unrepentant expression one single bit. “If you had called the receptionist, she would’ve told me.”

“Oh…”

A frown started to form when he saw she wasn’t even going to pretend that she was sorry. “It’s a good thing Enishi didn’t just up and left. He’s still waiting inside the hotel restaurant.”

Well that got her attention! It was one thing to be late for an appointment with someone you’re familiar with. But to make a total stranger wait -especially when that stranger was a lawyer willing to work pro-bono for you- then that could be bad for you…very bad indeed! “Oh Kenshin!” she gave him a stricken look. “I didn’t mean to-”

“Let’s just get inside before he –actually- decides to leave.”

They kept their distance from each other as they walked inside the restaurant. Kenshin turned to talk to the maitre d’ while Kaoru worriedly scanned the elegant room stretched out before her. She was never this unprofessional before. And with a lawyer no less! If this man decided to bail on her because of her tardiness, she only had one person to blame.

-that arrogant, contemptuous, silver-haired man from the elevator!

A few seconds later, Kenshin held her elbow and steered her towards an exclusive corner as he whispered in her ear, “Hurry. We’re late enough as it is.”

They approached the table furthest from the entrance. A lone man sat there, his back turned to them, reading the newspaper. Kaoru slowed her steps when she saw that the man possessed a familiar shock of snow-white hair. He couldn’t be…?!

Kenshin went ahead and leaned down to whisper in the man’s ears. After that, the silver-haired man started to rise and Kaoru felt her stomach drop when she saw that he was exactly as tall as-

“Kaoru let me introduce to you my good friend and future brother-in-law, Enishi Yukishiro.” Then he turned to the other. “Enishi this is my estranged wife, Kaoru Kamiya-Himura. She’s the one I’ve been asking you to represent.”

When their eyes met, she saw that he was quite as taken aback as she had been upon their recognition of each other, although only for a moment. His lips moved, but his voice was barely audible. “I see…”

And then, he stepped forward and bowed slightly. Kaoru was still so shocked by the card that fate dealt her with that she wasn’t able to react when Enishi took her right hand and slowly raised it to his lips.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance…Mrs. Himura…” His eyes were deep and turbulent with an expression she couldn’t read. His touch was warm, firm, and his lips felt like silk. She blushed when his stare intensified. “Or should I call you Ms. Kamiya instead?”

“Whatever your sister would prefer, Mr. Yukishiro,” she managed to hit back a sarcastic retort amidst her unease. She did her best to take her hand back without looking too eager or too abrupt. “And the pleasure is mine as well.”

He straightened up and a mocking grin started to play at his lips, challenging the honesty of her words. Mercifully, Kaoru mused, he said nothing more and left it at that. Otherwise, well…perhaps it would be better not think of it.

Thankfully, as all three took their seats and gave their orders, the evening progressed peacefully enough without Kenshin catching wind of the hostility ensuing between the two. After their meals and the legal talk, Kaoru was relieved to realize that they could finally wrap-up this meeting and then she could go back to the safety of her room; safe and away from the dangerous stirrings in her heart caused by these two men sitting next to her.

“Gentlemen,” she started as she pushed her chair back to rise. Kenshin tried to stand up and pull her chair back for her but she politely waved him off. “If there is nothing more to discuss, then I will go ahead. I’m a bit tired so if you will excuse me-?”

Both men stood up after she did. Enishi instructed the waiter for their bill to be forwarded to his room, while Kenshin gave her a concerned look. “You do look pale. Are you all right?”

She didn’t know what to tell him, and in the end she didn’t need to, because at that moment his mobile phone rang and he instantly answered it. While Kenshin’s attention was averted, this gave Kaoru and Enishi an opportunity to freely show their discontent for each other. Enishi raised a condescending eyebrow in her direction and she frowned in return. How was she going to work with this man? He was so bloody infuriating!

Their genial expressions returned instantly the moment they heard Kenshin close his mobile phone. He looked a little worried. “Guys, I’m so sorry to run like this but that was my secretary just now and I’m needed at the office immediately for a-”

“Go,” Kaoru interrupted him. He cast her a confused look at first, so she smiled. “Go already. It’s alright.”

Slowly, his lips broke into a grateful grin and he turned to Enishi for affirmation. The silver-haired man nodded in return. So with their goodbye’s said, Kenshin was gone in a blink.

As Kenshin hurriedly walked out of the restaurant, Kaoru watched him with a thinly-veiled despair. Taking a deep breath, she slowly turned to her companion and started to speak. “I guess I should get going too.”

He looked at her and said nothing. She didn’t expect him to, anyway. Without another word, she turned around and left him.

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As Kaoru waited in the lobby for the elevator, she couldn’t help but feel sorry that she got all dressed up for nothing. Or rather, she got all dressed up like this to assure her self-esteem, only to have it poorly received by two morons. Kenshin was a hopeless idiot, she resigned wearily, while Enishi was nothing short of a bloody ass. And there was just no helping those two.

The elevator doors finally opened and just as she entered, a man came up running and managed to get inside before the attendant pushed the close button. Kaoru looked up, startled by the activity and the sense of déja vu, only to be surprised even further when she realized that it was none other but her conceited lawyer who just came in.

“You in a hurry or something?” she commented dryly. He looked slightly flushed from the effort, and he shot her a look that clearly expressed how much he appreciated her observation- which was not at all.

“Ms. Kaoru-” he started.

“Mr. Yukishiro?”

For a while he looked hesitant. Finally, he muttered, “It was rather rude of me to let you go unescorted. So-” he straightened his back and returned to his usual arrogant stance. “-I’m rectifying that mistake.”

It was her turn to raise an eyebrow; mentally debating the honesty of his words. “Oh-kay…” she drawled. She motioned to say something particularly nasty, but in the end, decided not to waste her breath any more than necessary. “Whatever.”

Kaoru crossed her arms to her chest and turned away from him. He was insufferable! After he insulted her a few hours ago, here he was playing the righteous and good-hearted gentleman. He was turning out to be an even bigger ass than she thought.

“Hey Kaoru you look- oh, can I call you Kaoru by the way?”

She turned to throw him a bored look and said nothing as she waited for him to continue.

“-You look beautiful in that dress.”

Now who would’ve expected that? Her eyebrows met at the middle and she sputtered, “What?”

Unfortunately, they have already arrived at her floor so Kaoru had to wait for Enishi as he tipped the elevator attendant first before she could get her answer. When their eyes met again, her heart started to pound and she suddenly felt awkward as he made no bones of looking at her whole body thoroughly.

“Why are you so surprised?” Enishi quirked an eyebrow down at her. “Good God! You’re not one of those silly, self-depreciating women who magnify little faults into glaring blemishes and then go out into the world proclaiming their hideousness, are you?”

“Of course not!” she finally snapped, losing her cool. “Mr. Yukishiro, I’m merely surprised because I didn’t expect such a remark to come from you, that’s all!”

“And why’s that?” The jerk! He was grinning and was obviously starting to enjoy her display of indignation. “Because of the ‘Halloween’ comment earlier, is that it?”

“You don’t insult a woman in one minute, no matter how indirectly, then suddenly sing her praises in the next, you bloody ass!”

“I wasn’t singing. And complimenting you on your looks now -compared to your earlier disastrous appearance- is hardly a crime.”

She couldn’t believe his arrogance! Kaoru made a choking-surprised sound at the back of her throat and asked him, “You have a surprisingly high opinion of yourself, don’t you?”

“Being top at the BAR certainly gives someone bragging rights.”

“I’m sure those rights you are talking off aren’t in any constitution or law books so-” Kaoru returned her arms to her side and hissed out, “-spare me.”

She walked past him and towards her suite. But before she could reach the door to her room, Enishi spoke up once more. “Why did you marry him?”

Kaoru cast a look of despair at the ceiling before turning around to answer him. “Will I be asked that question in court?”

“Most probably not.” He dug his hands inside his slacks pockets.

“Then why ask?”

He walked over towards her and stopped just before she’d get a neck cramp. Angling his head, he said to her casually, “Daughter of Senator Kamiya and business magnate Mr. Kamiya elopes with the nephew of ex-convict Hiko Seijurou.” He paused, removed his tinted glasses and placed them inside his coat. “Did I get the headline correct?”

“I see you’ve been poring over ancient gossip magazines.”

“It was a national sensation.”

“Oh well. I forget sometimes that Tokyo is no L.A.”

His gaze didn’t falter amidst the sarcasm. Audaciously, he repeated his question. “Why?”

She turned away, unable to face him. Why? Was the man daft? Why should he be asking such a stupid question when the answer was so simple and oh-so-obvious?

“I was a young girl, Mr. Yukishiro…and Kenshin was my first love,” she finally answered him after a period of pregnant silence. “My parents, my peers and even my friends were all opposed to our relationship. It was bound to happen sooner or later.”

“So it was an act of defiance as much as an act of…” he lingered with his next word before he let it out, “-foolishness?”

She laughed hollowly after that. “You’ve never fallen in love before, haven’t you Mr. Yukishiro?”

“Love and idiocy are synonymous, Ms. Kamiya.”

“Oh, so now I’m Ms. Kamiya?” She just had to grin after hearing him say her maiden name. Putting her hands to her hips, she asked him in amusement, “And exactly when did you decide this?”

It took Enishi a while to answer as he stared at her unwaveringly. His eyes took note of every nuance, every feature, and every inch of her angelic face. He was aware of the small gap between their bodies, and the closed door behind her leading to privacy. He was aware of the sensation slowly heating his blood the longer he stared at her pretty face. And he was also aware that if he didn’t do something soon, he was going to do the unthinkable and damn the lawyer-client taboo all to hell.

Straightening up, he answered her smoothly, “If you want to be called by something else then it is no problem of mine. I just assumed your maiden name for aesthetic reasons.”

“Aesthetic?”

“Mrs. Himura doesn’t suit you.”

He didn’t mean it as an insult, truly he didn’t. Unfortunately, that was how Kaoru interpreted it. And quick as lightning, her smile turned to a scowl and she acidly bit back, “And I suppose your sister is the only one worthy of the name?”

Enishi didn’t bother to answer her; his lips lifting a bit to form a somewhat sly grin. Turning on his heels, he started towards the elevator. He wasn’t going to explain himself. Situation called for a little professionalism and all that hypocrisy. In time, she’d know what he meant by those words. And as soon as she’d get that final separation from Kenshin, he’d show her exactly what he meant…

“Enishi Yukishiro, you’re a pompous jerk!” Kaoru called out to him peevishly just as he stepped inside the elevator. He turned his head to give her a sideways look, and he replied in a low voice, “You’ll change your mind…”

As the doors closed behind him, Enishi took his glasses from his pocket and raised it to perch on top of his nose. But just before he could fully adjust it, he caught a glimpse of his reflection against the gold-chrome walls and was surprised to find a smile etched on his lips.

“Kaoru Kamiya,” his lips soundlessly mouthed out as he stared at himself. He watched his smile grow bigger after mentioning her name. “You’ll change your mind soon enough,” he murmured.

In his mind, he was already mapping out the game plan so that her case would be the fastest divorce proceeding in history…”

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A/N: Hooray for long delays (well maybe not), long chapters and Christmas vacations. Got me a brand new Wacom tablet so I’ll be doing more drawing than writing this holiday season. Hugglez to all my readers and happy holidays to everyone! You guys aren’t mad at me for taking so long, now are you? (quickly ducks incoming rotten eggs) Well, guess that answers my question… (sighs)