Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. Sorry for this taking so long, and sorry as well for the grammar mistakes. I do my best.

As warning: I mean no offense by anything I write in this story. It's kind of like a social satire in a way.

Oh yeah, what I call Battousai I find humorous because when I spell check the name, spell check always says his name is spelled wrong as it gives me a certain word that I use ( to try to be funny ) as the correct way of how to spell it. If that doesn't confuse you…

Eye-Candy
By: Espiritus

She isn't your typical beauty, but he isn't your typical knight in shinning armor either. KBK.

&&&&&&&&&&&

"Why do people call him Boathouse?" Kaoru asked innocently.

Katsu gave her a bored look that made her feel rather stupid while Misao chocked on her drink.

"I'm just curious as to why someone would want to be known as Boathouse. Why is that so damn strange!?" Kaoru replied angered by how they were looking at her. It was an honest to goodness question; Boathouse was a silly name.

Misao laughed flinging her head onto the bar counter and slapping it with her free hand.

"Not Boathouse, Kaoru - Battousai." Katsu answered straight-faced. Kaoru snorted rolling her eyes.

"Sounds like Boathouse if you ask me, Katsu." Kaoru said giving the man who started the conversation a one over. "Is he important or something?"

"Not to the pop-culture world. No."

Kaoru slammed her hands onto the counter a defiant, outrageous look on her face. "Not to the pop-culture world? Then this Boathouse man doesn't deserve my attention."

"Battousai," Misao corrected with one finger raised.

"Whatever." the other huffed taking a long drink and then promptly coughing as the liquid went down the wrong pipe as she explained she recovered from her near death experience, as she also claimed.

Closing his eyes Katsu continued cleaning a glass praying to God that Kaoru would control herself tonight and the nights that were surely to come. The girl never learned just to sit back and listen. Maybe she was A.D.D? Kaoru yelled at something. Katsu blinked and shook his head. Cross A.D.D, she was A.D.H.D and needed a good doctor other than Misao. No, he thought sadly, a specialist.

"Kaoru, if you would listen then you would know what I'm trying to tell you about this Battousai."

Kaoru leaned her head into her palm. "Yeah, yeah…then what about Boathouse?"

Katsu chose the high road and ignored his friend placing down the glass in his hand and saying: "He is the one, of the three, who is going to be protecting the models at your New York show. My friend, Sano, is apart of the detail assigned to protect them and is a close friend to the Battousai or Kenshin as he calls him. I just thought you would like to know."

Kaoru sipped her bitter beverage and nodded. "Well thanks for telling me I guess; as Shakespeare wrote, 'know thy enemy.'"

Misao's eyes narrowed. "I think you're thinking of someone else, Kaoru."

Kaoru waved her hand back and forth. "Whatever. Someone did say it, right?" Misao nodded. "Then I don't see a problem." The other girl merely shook her head before resuming her pervious activity, drinking.

"Katsu, when is Sano going to come?"

Katsu glanced at the clock above the tables on the opposite side of the bar. "Sano said he would be here at eleven with a guy named Aoshi Shinomori."

"What about Boathouse?" Kaoru chimed in.

"He won't be coming, business or something."

"Ah," Kaoru said licking her lips and waving as a few older men she knew ambled into the bar.

They looked tired from the work place because, most probably, their life energy had been sucked dry by the white cubical which was their habitat. Monkeys had tree, frogs their swamps, birds the sky, and humans had their cubicles. It was a sad life really, and Kaoru felt pity for them glad that she had chosen photography as a profession rather than accounting as her mother wanted her to do.

Misao slurped quietly on her drink glancing every few moments at the door anxious for Katsu's friend's arrival. Kaoru, on the other hand, couldn't quiet bring herself to care as she drained another wine cooler and asked Katsu for another one to make time go faster. It was a slow night at the bar, but Kaoru enjoyed the still atmosphere.

"So..." Kaoru began looking at the smaller girl beside her who only smiled. "How's what's-his-face doing?"

Misao's smile instantly turned into a frown and for a second Kaoru wished she would have thought about her question before asking it.

Misao had been in a relationship with some guy for nearly five months and all they seemed to do was argue about nonsensical things. She didn't approve of the relationship, or the man, but it was Misao's life and choice; thus, Kaoru chose to watch from the side lines as things, as she predicted, crashed and burned.

"Andrew," she yawned trying to feign apathy. "He's a dick, like always. Wanna guess what our latest argument was about?"

Kaoru gave her friend a cat-like smile. Over the past few weeks, a game had started between Misao and herself, a game of guessing their latest debates.

Blowing strands of hair from her face, Kaoru gulped down the rest of her wine cooler. "I don't know - the best video game?"

Misao shook her head her voice turning bitter. "No. My hair style."

Kaoru's shock was quickly replaced by laughter having Misao glare at her; Kaoru could only shake her head. Misao's hair, for as long as she could remember, had always been in a long, tight braid; for Misao it was practical, efficient, and showed off her pixie like attitude. Kaoru couldn't picture the woman without it. Besides doctors had other things to worry about other than hair Misao once explained.

"You were right, Kaoru. He isn't good boyfriend material."

Kaoru patted Misao on the back and smiled. "What man is? Why don't you just leave him?"

There was a strange quirk in her mouth as she answered. "Amusement sake. Sometimes I laugh when we argue - it's not something he likes. That's the only reason I'm still with him."

Kaoru snapped her fingers. "Break it off like you usually do."

"Katsu already calls me a man-killer."

"So what?" said Kaoru twisting her bottle in circular motions glancing at the door, straightening when she saw two tall men enter. "It's not like you like the man."

Misao only shrugged, flipped open her cell phone, and to Kaoru's amusement called Andrew on the spot and broke up with him. She could hear the man's stuttering on the other line, his anger and confusion, but Misao only said, "We're through. Sorry, but I can't change my hair style," and hung up.

"He'll probably call me tomorrow all pissed off," she explained with the phone dangling from her fingers.

"That was fast," Kaoru mused with a drink hanging from her fingers. The two men were already at the bar taking a seat. They were new, handsome, but Kaoru thought it wise to stay away.

"Why hold if off when..." Misao's voice drifted off as she caught site of the taller of the two men before shaking her head. "There are so many other fish in the sea."

Kaoru followed her vision and rolled her eyes. "Misao, that man is probably a total icicle. He looks like he has something rather big stuck right up his ass."

The man gave her a quick look before turning away from them both. Kaoru blinked. He couldn't have heard her, could he? because that would have been freaking impossible and awesome at the same time.

So while Kaoru was busy musing over the pros and cons of excelled hearing abilities she never noticed Katsu amble over to the two men and pat the brown haired one on the back affectionately and shake the other's hand.

Misao did though.

"I think those two guys are the ones Katsu wants us to meet." Misao said barely able to contain her excitement.

Kaoru managed only a dull, "Huh?" before Misao explained to her again what she just said.

Kaoru crossed her arms over her chest looking at the three men approaching men. Damnit! They were the men Katsu wanted them to meet. She hated meeting two people, especially if the people were young, attractive men. Kaoru wanted to gag at the upcoming night; it would be filled with awkward conversations and a flirting Misao. Perfect.

Kaoru was just about to stand and join the middle-aged men of society when Katsu shot her a look as if to say 'shut up and sit down and behave.'

Rather insulted by the obvious silent communication, Kaoru decided right then and there it was best to say nothing. She knew where Katsu lived. She would shank him in the night or something.

"Kaoru. Misao. This is my old friend, Sanouske Sagara, and his business associate, Aoshi Shinomori." Turning to the two gentlemen he motioned Kaoru and Misao saying, "Sano. Aoshi. This is Kaoru Kamiya and Misao Makimachi, the annoying girls who come here almost every night."

Misao, bubbling with pent up energy, eagerly shook both men's hands and began a conversation, or tried to that is, with Aoshi. Kaoru smirked to herself as the man didn't seemed fazed or interested in Misao in the slightest. He was an icicle and a jackass.

The other man, the brown haired, stupid looking one, sat next to her and smiled a type of smile that surely made lesser women (maybe sluts?) swoon.

"It's Kaoru, right?" he began.

The woman addressed raised her wine cooler in greeting.

"Sano, right?"

He nodded looking proud for no certain reason.

Glancing quickly between the two men, Kaoru cursed her life. She would be seeing these people for the whole trip to New York, but maybe if they did their job right she wouldn't have to actually see them. She would have to go to church in the morning and light an extra candle.

"Nice to meet you," she chocked out.

"That's unusual." he said after a moment. Kaoru's eyebrow shot up.

"Huh? What do you mean?" He was clearly insane.

He smiled down at her and laughed. "Women usually feel more than 'nice' to meet me."

Kaoru felt her mouth fall and stared at the man beside her with wide eyes. True he was handsome, but he certainly wasn't exquisite. And the nerve he had to say that to her of all people!

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Katsu try to say something to her but it was far too late. This Sanouske Sagara needed to be taught a lesson in talking to one Kaoru Kamiya.

"I don't see why not," Kaoru shrugged. "You're definitely no Adonis."

"What?" he asked clearly amused, that or he didn't get the allusion. Kaoru bet on the latter.

Rolling her eyes, Kaoru had no qualms about instructing him. "In the common tongue, you idiot, I'm saying that you aren't handsome at all to me!"

If he was hurt he didn't show it. Kaoru praised him for that fact; she could admire a man for hiding his emotions.

"Hold your horses, Missy; there is no need for name calling here."

Her eyebrow twitched. He didn't just call her 'missy' did he? Forget shanking Katsu, this man would die instead.

"Listen here, Rooster-head," Kaoru said eyeing his hair style and noting with satisfaction how his eyes narrowed. Note to self: hair style is a soft point. "I will call you whatever I damn well feel like calling you."

"Kaoru!" Katsu said rushing into the conversation. "Don't get so upset. Sano is just teasing."

But neither Sano nor Kaoru were listening to reason; instead, they were glaring at one another wishing for the other's demise.

"It's not that free of a country, raccoon."

Kaoru clenched her fist. Raccoon! She hadn't been called that since sixth grade when she kicked that boy's ass and his tag-alongs when they felt like bothering her.

Standing on her feet Kaoru glared down at Sanouske feeling somewhat happy despite her anger and annoyance. It was quite a surprise when she realized that she was actually having fun with this whole conversation.

"I don't follow those rules. I make my own."

"Are you lesbian?" he asked suddenly catching off guard. Kaoru couldn't resist this opportunity though she might regret it later, but what was life without a few regrets every now and then?

"And what if I was, rooster-head?" He looked caught off guard as well and then laughed.

"If you were then I would ask if I could watch."

"Watch?" Kaoru whispered clearly not understanding. Sano rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, watch you and your partner get it on, if you know what I mean."

If Kaoru had been a normal girl she might have yelled and hit Sano for asking such a thing in her presence, but thankfully for the insaneness of this story Kaoru isn't that type of girl. She was having too much fun to put a stop to their argument, so why not play along? If she was known from now on as being lesbo maybe men would stay far away from her and make uncomfortable conversations happen less frequently.

"It's a deal as long as I can watch you and your girlfriend go at it." For the second time he look startled, "Equal trade off after all, Sano."

Kaoru was fairly sure that Katsu was dying in the background but she wasn't worried. Misao was a doctor after all, and speaking on that girl where was she? Looking around she spotted Misao still trying to talk with that Shinomori guy and the whole thing clearly wasn't going anywhere.

Sano noticing her gaze smirked. "Your friend isn't going to have any luck with him."

Kaoru flashed him a quick-silver smile. "Clearly you don't know Misao, Sagara."

The man laughed. "You're the first woman to ever call me by my last name. You're okay for a chick."

Taking no offense at the comment, Kaoru shrugged her attention on Sano once more. "It's because I'm a lesbian."

"No you're not," Sano said shaking his head.

"How do you know?" Kaoru challenged not knowing exactly why she was trying to prove that she was one when she clearly knew she wasn't.

"Because you don't look like one - I can always spot those vixens a mile away." Kaoru laughed. Sano was an alright kind of guy; he was funny at the least.

After a comfortable silence surrounded them Kaoru found herself asking, "So you work with that Boathouse guy?"

"Who?" Sano asked confused.

"She means Battousai." Katsu put in smartly from the other side of the bar.

"Oh," Sano said laughing to himself. "I'm sure he would love to hear that."

"Who, Boathouse?" asked Kaoru.

"Yeah," Sano nodded.

"Is he really as deadly as Katsu says?" Kaoru questioned deeper.

"Sure why not."

Kaoru narrowed her eyes and huffed. "I don't believe it! Why is he wasting his skills with protecting models in a New York fashion show?"

"Money." Sano replied without thinking. "Protecting people isn't that simple of a job, Missy."

"Then if ya'lls skills are so above par go protect people in Iraq or something!"

Sano was quiet for a moment until he opened his big, stupid mouth and said, "I think he'll like you."

Kaoru placed her head on the table and groaned, "Just great! I love it when people like me."

Sano looked questionably at Katsu who shrugged in response.

"Kaoru is a strange girl, Sano," Katsu began hearing Kaoru mumble something incoherently. "You see she doesn't like it when people like her because that means she has to talk to them."

"Makes sense." the other man mused.

As long as Kaoru the photographer was with him on this trip maybe the job wouldn't seem so long or bad. She was amusing to say the least.

&&&

Sano told her last night, the night before they left for New York, that the Kenshin Himura, the Boathouse...Battousai...whatever...had flaming red hair.

Kaoru had asked if the man himself was flaming which Sano answered in the negative after a hearty laughter. Kaoru thought it was a grave lost because she preferred homosexual orientated men because, well because, that was the fashion now a days. The cute item girls had to have to be considered a girl.Kaoru thought the whole thing was stupid, but she had to follow society's rules sometimes. And she was in the fashion world; she had to have friends like that.

So as she was boarding the private jet carrying both the photographers and the models and numerous others, Kaoru caught a brief glance of a man wearing all black with deep red hair, but she couldn't see his face because when he turned she was already inside the plane and Kaoru thought it a shame because he looked quite appealing from the backside.

Loading the rest of her camera equipment onto the overhead bin, Kaoru found herself near the front of the plane with all the noisy minxes in the back chattering away about something or another. Grabbing her carry on bag beneath her feet, she then snatched out her iPOD and turned it on to the point where she was almost deaf. Serenity by Godsmack was blessing in disguise.

Kaoru was so absorbed in her music and at looking at the preparations for the plane outside that she didn't notice someone drop a bag onto the seat next to her nor did she notice the man next to the bag who was completely ignoring her and giving orders to one named Sanouske.

It wasn't until the tall brown haired man pulled out her headphones that Kaoru turned and found herself looking into two blue-steel eyes of the red haired man.

"If it isn't, Kaoru Kamiya," Sanouske said smiling; "you look like shit."

Kaoru looked down at herself and couldn't bring herself to deny the statement because she felt like shit as well. Who in the hell woke up at four in the morning? No one! But she had to for this beautiful, sunny day. It sucked.

Trying her best to ignore the red haired, exquisite example of maleness who, she guessed would be sitting with her much to her ire (she wanted the seat to herself), Kaoru placed down her Time magazine and said: "I feel like shit too, Sagara, but at least I don't smell like it like you."

"Ouch, Missy! I see the intake of alcohol you consumed last night didn't have any affect on that bark of yours."

Kaoru smirked. "Would you rather feel my bite?"

"Are you trying to get me into bed, Missy?"

"No, no," Kaoru said shaking her head innocently, "I wouldn't do the bed the injustice."

"Sano," the red haired man interrupted intensely as if annoyed and amused at the same time, "you are to head to the back of the plane. Shinomori will take the middle, and I will remain up front."

"Right, Kenshin." Sano said nodding. "Oh, by the way, Kaoru, this is Kenshin Himura."

The two looked at each other at the same time and Kaoru felt herself smile in greeting though she felt the complete opposite on the inside.

Did she really have to sit with him? Maybe he wouldn't talk to her! Yes, maybe. She could only hope to avoid awkward situations. What did it matter if he was the most handsome, beautiful man she'd ever seen? He looked like he came with a lot of baggage which meant that somewhere in that handsome frame a teenage emo lurked.

Kenshin didn't smile back but nodded. Her smile never wavered because right at that moment she was looking for empty seats anywhere in the front. The women in the back were ogling him and she didn't want their eyes anywhere near her. Kenshin Himura was bad for her over all invisibility plans! At that moment, she spotted a seat two rows ahead of her and smiled even more.

"So," she started when it was made clear that she had to make the first step in conversation. Sano, it looked, seemed eager to see what she would say to him. He was a bastard. "You're the one they call the Boathouse."

He frowned. "Excuse me?" He didn't look pleased really.

Sano snickered but stopped when Kenshin glared at him with those steely blue eyes. "Kaoru, you mean Battousai."

Kaoru waved her hand as if to brush away the thought.

"Boathouse, Battousai...sounds the same to me. Anyway," she said looking at him and then at his bag. "Look, whoever you are, could you move your crap over to that seat over there," she said motioning to the open seat two rows ahead.

Sano gawked and cringed at the same time seeing Kenshin's eyes flash dangerously. The man didn't like to be ordered around by anyone especially by women who were supposed to be under his control, in a sense.

Kaoru waited for him to say something but when a few moments passed without a word Kaoru became a strange mix of frustrated and flustered. Yes, the man looked somewhat mad but so was she.

"Look, Boathouse, move your stuff over there! I don't want to sit to you for the whole damn plane ride!"

He then did something neither Kaoru nor Sano expected: he smiled a real smile. If Kaoru was a lesser woman she would have probably fainted.

"No." he said simply and promptly sat down.

A/N: So what did you think? I know this story is a little insane, but that's what makes it fun to write. I hope ya'll enjoyed it.

Sorry this took so long to come out! I would also like to apologize for the delay, long delay, in my other stories. I haven't felt inspiration for them in a long while. Hopefully they will be like this one and just turn out in one night.

Oh, the note: the cute item. For those who have seen Ouran High School Host Club, you know exactly what this cute item is. Basically, for those who don't know, it makes serious or mean-like things seem nicer or sweeter in a way. For Kaoru, it would make her seem to have a softer side.

Espiritus