"Always"
By: O. Juice

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin!

Summary:
A/U Kenshin and Kaoru are best friends. He develops a crush on her over time and when he finally gets the nerve to make his move, another man comes into Kaoru's already confused heart: Soujiro.

Author's Notes: Hi! This is my first Kenshin fic! Anyway, it's just like the summary says, it's an A/U. If you don't particularly like A/U's or a smidgen of OOC, then I think you shouldn't be reading anymore. If I get anything wrong, deal with it! JK! Tell me if something seems a little off. (Esp. with scenery or cities. I don't live in Japan, nor have I been there but I think the story should be set there because thats where Kenshin is from!)

Please review when your done reading! It would greatly motivate me to crank out the next chapter!

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Chapter 1
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Her blue eyes glazed over with a fresh coat of tears that she still refused to spill as she slammed her locker shut. Normally, she would cringe and shudder upon hearing the crash of metal on metal, but today was different.

Very different.

'Don't cry, Kaoru!' She scolded herself in her mind as she looked up at the ceilings of Tokyo High, 'He isn't worth one single tear. That jerk.'

She weaved past the crowds of people that were gathering in clumps along the hallway with an angry air surrounding her. Nobody dared wave hello, fearing Kaoru might snap and use her thick book to smash their heads in. Kaoru, although sweet and kind to her friends, was one person who you don't want to anger.

"Jerk." She muttered as someone pushed past her. "You're all jerks!"

It seemed that the reason for every girl's distress was a boy, or the lack there of. Kaoru's reason was Enishi Yukishiro, her boyfriend for four long years, who decided to dump her for the "new hot girl," as he had described her a few weeks ago when he first laid eyes on her. Kaoru and Enishi had been going out since they were both freshmen in Tokyo High, and now that they're both seniors, he decides it's time to move on. Two weeks before their four-year anniversary. Was the time they spent together worthless and meaningless? This simple question sent Kaoru reeling to the depths of despair.

"Kaoru!" She heard Kenshin call from afar. "Wait up, Kaoru!" He called again.

"I have to get to class, Kenshin." She called back as her walk sped up, "I'll see you at lunch."

Kenshin seemed satisfied with her response and turned to go to his class not noticing Kaoru's angry stomps to her room.

She pulled out her notebook, ready to listen to today's lecture with a newfound determination. Enishi will not cause her to be moping around like an idiot. Kaoru believed she was better than that. Much better than resigning herself to a life thinking of the things she could have.

As the bell rang, her Literature teacher, the always-smiling Mrs. Kim, clasped her hands before her and began to watch the room fill up with students eager to learn all about Romeo and Juliet and their powerful love.

Kaoru scoffed, 'Powerful?' She thought to herself. She stopped believing in that thirty minutes ago when Enishi had spilt her world into two distinct pieces. She used to be a strong believer in the whole soul mate theory, and would normally dream her long afternoons away but now she knew that her attitude about it would have to change.

Of course, Kaoru has had other boyfriends besides Enishi, but it was all in the seventh or eighth grade--nothing is forever in the seventh or eighth grade. Especially boyfriends, Kaoru concluded.

The hour and forty-five minutes of class were wasted for Kaoru as she bitterly thought of Enishi and the many ways a pencil can be accidentally jammed in his eye. As the lunch bell rang, Kaoru felt relieved not to have listened to one more minute of Mrs. Kim's jabber on love.

She went pushed past growing groups of people and sat down in her usual table, her good friend, Tokio, greeting her with a smile.

"Hey, Kaoru!" She smiled.

"Hi." Kaoru responded with a slight frown.

"So..." Tokio inched closer to Kaoru, "Did he ask you? You know, he's supposed to ask you. He told me he was going to ask you. I think he asked you." Her smile slowly wavered, "Oh no! Did he ask you all wrong? Did he not get you the flowers you like? Oh Kami-sama, did I just spoil it? Good going, Tokio!"

"No." Kaoru heaved a heavy sigh, "Do you know Asuka? Head of the cheerleading squad?"

Tokio nodded, "Yeah, I met her a few days ago. I'm surprised she made it so high up when she just moved here. She's really nice." Tokio showed obvious signs of going on, but Kaoru's next words instantly shut her up.

"She's going with him."

"With who?"

"Enishi."

Tokio's eyes boggled out and her mouth slightly hung open in shock as she began to stutter incomplete words, "Wha-ho-no, wait-wh-?"

Kaoru rested her chin on her palms as she slightly nodded, "Tell me about it."

Her gaping mouth twisted into a frown and her eyes glittered dangerously, "That, that, that--JERK!" She cried out, causing people around her to jump.

"What did I do now?" Kenshin innocently asked as he sat down next to the fuming Tokio, "I didn't do anything. You should even ask Kaoru, that you should."

"Not you, you idiot." Tokio sighed.

Kaoru would have smiled at the amusing exchange before her eyes, but it was too hard for her to smile right now. Even if Kenshin's sushi split in the seams and spilled all over his pants.

"Where's Enishi?" Kenshin asked innocently as he began opening up his bento box.

"He's not coming." Kaoru said flatly.

"He isn't? I don't think there's football practice at lunch. Especially since the season just ended." Kenshin began to think.

Tokio shook her head as she started to explain, "We're mad at Enishi. In fact, new rule, don't even mention his name."

"We are? He's usually so nice." Kenshin raised an eyebrow, then turned to Kaoru with a slight realization. "Why? Did something happen, Kaoru?" He leaned in slightly as he whispered quickly, "Did he get you, you know, pregnant?"

Kaoru's eyes widened at the assumption, ready to slap Kenshin until his cheeks were raw. "No way! I'd rather die than have one of his disgusting fingers even touch me!"

"What happened?" Kenshin asked, eyes full of concern.

"He broke up with me."

::~::

As Kaoru lay in her bed, pondering many, many ways to get even, she couldn't help but feel so hopeless. Not the pathetic kind of hopeless, but the kind where things just came to a halt and stopped mattering. Kenshin offered to take her to Prom and other social events in the year if Kaoru didn't have a date, something Kaoru was thankful for. She wasn't ready to jump into the dating pool just yet.

She heaved her hundredth sigh of the day as she looked under her bed and pulled out a worn out shoebox.

Unknown to many, the shoebox held all Kaoru held near and dear to her heart and all the highlights of her love life. It contained emergency bars of chocolate for times like these, printed out emails and online conversations, diaries, pictures, wrappers from gifts and candies, movie stubs and in the very bottom was a crumpled piece of paper which could be easily mistaken for something to spit your gum in.

She carefully flattened the paper out, a small soft smile spreading across her face upon the recollection of Yun's fourteenth birthday slumber party.

(Flashback)

"Aw, come on, Kaoru! I know you want to try this out!" Yun squealed, handing everyone pencils and perfumed stationary.

"No, I don't actually." Kaoru rolled her eyes at the absurdity of what was going on.

"But it'll be super fun!" Yumi smiled, eagerly awaiting the instructions this "new hip magazine" has to give.

"Yeah!" Yun agreed, "In my opinion, you should do this to get a rough idea what 'Mr. Right' will look like!"

"Yun, I'm in the eighth grade. I highly doubt I'd meet Mr. Right anytime soon." Kaoru frowned, reluctantly taking the paper and sharpened pencil.

"Then do it for fun!" Hikaru urged. Kaoru hesitantly agreed.

"Okay, good!" Yun smiled, pulling out the glossy overly pink magazine. She cleared her throat, "Ahem. Item one, what is your ideal Valentine's Day gift?"

Kaoru sighed, this is going to be one very long night.

(End Flashback)

Unfortunately, Kaoru learned the hard way that there exists no person that would throw away all yellow markers because the color hurt her eyes, and nobody in their right mind would jump people who went to the candy vending machine to get the last bar of chocolate while she fumbled for change.

She frowned, "Maybe I'm setting myself up. Whatever it is, I'm tired of this."

She quickly stashed away her box after ripping up every picture of Enishi, hoping to God that she won't ever go through this again.

'Because as of today,' Kaoru thought bitterly, 'Kaoru Kamiya gives up all hope of ever finding HIM.'