A/n Wow! I thought I had this story in the bag, but this chapter gave me issues for some reason. I always have such a hard time with the last chapter. Well, thank you all for joining me in this little adventure. I think I'll keep writing these little Mini fics more often. Happy reading!

A day went by, then a second and Kaoru found herself sitting at her desk, gazing off into space when she should be working. She was still bothered by the disappearance of her stranger. It hurt when he left, Kaoru had gone home that day and cried.

It was as if the pain of losing Yahiko had reopened. But this wound was different; the pain was in another place in her heart. It didn't hurt any less or any worse than when she lost her brother…it was just a different kind of pain. Kaoru let her pain come…she let it hurt and she cried. But when she exhausted her tears and her eyes dried up; the pain ebbed away with it. Now, the day after being shattered by his disappearance, Kaoru was back to work but she was less than functional. Her mind wandered elsewhere. Her red-headed stranger had always told her that the relationship they had was temporary. He had told her he always ended the relationship when things got too personal.

But he stopped her from leaving when he caught her trying to find his name in his mail. To Kaoru, that lit the tiny flame of hope that he liked her and he liked her enough that he would change. In his letter he said he liked that they were becoming personal…and that that was the whole problem.

Perhaps he had caught himself falling down that same slippery path that Kaoru had slide down early in their relationship. He was just stronger than her…he was able to catch himself and pull away before he landed at the bottom of the slope right there next to Kaoru.

Kaoru was able to pull herself together only because she didn't want to let what her stranger taught her to be in vain. What they had was just something for them to relax about, one less thing to be stressed for. Relationships were confusing, complicated and emotional draining. Especially if they weren't working out. What they had was a way for them to have what they needed without the attachment. Kaoru went into this relationship knowing this. She had agreed to it taken advantage of it and now it was time to let go.

Kaoru sighed and sat back in her chair with a lapful of fabric samples. She leafed through them many times for she was having trouble focusing on their colors and patterns. She needed to get her mind back on her work. But after a few minutes of struggling, Kaoru found her temper rising and she threw the fabric swatches on her desk and surged out of her chair. She couldn't say in these four walls anymore. Not today. If her stranger had taught her anything, it was to take advantage of the thought the moment you have it. And right now, she was thinking of taking the rest of the day off. So without thinking on it further, she marched out of her office, swiped her card to clock out of work and waved goodbye to the startled secretary.

Once outside though, she stood on the sidewalk and watched the traffic ebb and flow in front of her.

"Kaoru? Whatcha doing?" Misao asked as she walked up on her best friend. Misao was loaded down with plastic bags full of paper wrapped food and bento boxes. Looked like once again Misao was sent out to gather lunches for their floor.

Kaoru turned to her friend and gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry Misao. I just need to get away from here."

A worried look flashed in her eyes. "Is everything alright?"

Kaoru waved her worries away. "It's okay Misao, I'm just getting smothered in there. I need some air."

Misao nodded, relief in her eyes. "What are you going to do?"

"I was going to take a cab to the park maybe, but I don't feel like getting in a cab." Kaoru said cryptically. She sighed. "I need to get my car fixed."

"Pish, with all that's gone wrong with it, you should just get a new car." Misao turned. "I better get going while the food is still hot so they don't crucify me in there. Bye Kaoru."

Kaoru gazed off into the rush of traffic. "Bye Misao." Suddenly she had an idea.

… . . …

Kaoru had transformed.

Everyone noticed. Her family, her coworkers and mostly Misao. They watched her bustle around the office like an eager intern wanting to prove herself. Three accounts that she had been struggling on for weeks were done within days. Her clothes went from work casual to sexy professional. At the moment she was wearing a deep blue skirt that hugged her curves and ended just below her knees. Her blouse was silk and a deep purple wine shade that complimented the blue gems that were her eyes. With black wire glasses and her hair done up in a sloppy bun and black pumps she cut a startling different figure than she was seven days ago.

"So who is he?" Misao asked on Friday. The young woman perched herself on the corner of Kaoru's desk. A desk that was crowded, yet organized rather than sloppy, as it had been two days ago.

"What?" Kaoru gave Misao a confused look as she swiped a shimmering nude gloss on her lips.

"The guy who's caused you to…" Misao waved her hands over at Kaoru…. "change." She finished.

Kaoru's shoulders dropped a little. "You don't like it."

"No! no, no, that's not what I mean. I like it a lot. You look wonderful." Misao assured. "I just wanna know why. Did you meet a man?"

Kaoru relaxed. "No. I think I'm going to swear off men for a little while and just take care of me for a bit."

"Seems to be working." Misao smiled. "You're practically glowing."

Kaoru's cheeks colored slightly. She dressed to make herself feel good, she didn't really think about what others thought about it. Misao's words made her happy. "Yeah, though that creepy guy in office six keep drooling."

"Kaoru the women are drooling, look at you!" Her friend nearly squealed. "I'm glad you're feeling better."

"Thanks, I do feel great."

Misao grinned. "I heard you got offered a big account."

Again Kaoru blushed a little. "The boss-man liked my last job." She explained.

"Worried?"

"Nah, If I can't handle it, I'll just let them know so they can give it to another or get me some help."

Misao whistled. "Wow, you would have rather died than to lose a project."

"Normally yes, but that was the old Kaoru. Now I know there are more important things in life. And I'm not above needing help; this isn't something I need to stress over. I can't give it my all if I'm falling apart."

"Kami, you sound like a grown-up." Misao laughed.

… . . …

The work day was over, it was the weekend, Kaoru stood and stretched. She gathered her fabric samples and placed them all safely in her work bag before clocking out. Once on the ground floor Kaoru walked out the revolving glass doors at the front of the building. Her high heels clicked loudly in the silence of the main floor. Seems everyone started the weekend early. Warm air hit her once she reached outside. She smiled, closed her eyes and turned her face up at the rapidly setting sun. In truth…she was happy for the things her stranger had taught her in the short time they were together. Life was about the simple, uncomplicated things. Like the sunset.

Opening her eyes, Kaoru turned to the parking garage where her new Suzuki Wagon waited. She finally turned in that beat up old car for something reliable. It was small, and painted metallic blue and it was perfect for her. However, something red and flashy caught her eye. Glancing to the side, Kaoru felt her breath catch and her heart came to a stuttering halt.

A bright red sporty looking car sat on the side of the road and standing on the curb, leaning against the car, was her red-headed stranger.

Kaoru turned to him, but found herself frozen to the spot. It had been so many weeks since she had seen him last, but he was just as she remembered. Surprisingly he was in casual jeans, with a black polo. His hair was tied at the nape of his neck and he wore dark sunglasses. He stood there, leaning against the expensive looking car with his arms crossed and a guarded look on his face.

Kaoru took a breath, placed on a smile and started walking towards him as if he were an old friend.

Her stranger's lips tipped upward and he pulled off the sunglasses and tucked them away. He pushed away from the car while Kaoru came to a stop an arm's length away.

"Hello, Stranger." The irony didn't escape her. She prayed she looked as confident as she could with her legs shaking and sweat beading on her skin.

"Hello." He started. He cleared his throat and took a half step closer. "I'm sorry I've been absent."

Kaoru shrugged. "You have nothing to be sorry about." She said truthfully. "What we had wasn't supposed to be permanent."

"Heh, that's true." Her stranger gave a slight laugh.

Kaoru glanced to the side. "You have a car…and I nice one too."

For a moment he looked a bit sheepish.

"Why do you ride around in a cab if you have such a great car?"

"I don't like traffic." He gave a shrug. "And riding in a cab is more adventurous."

Kaoru leveled her eyes at his amethyst ones and tried not to fall too deep into them. "Really?"

"Well it was how I met you, that it was."

Her heart was pounding hard in her chest and she hoped he couldn't hear it. He was just as wonderful as she remembered. She realized, with a jolt, that it was the first time she had seen her stranger out in the daylight. His hair was life fire under the light of the swiftly setting sun; his eyes were much bigger and brighter than she remembered. His skin was in fact fair and delicate looking. He was pretty in the most masculine way. The silence stretched longer and longer between them and Kaoru panicked, not knowing how to break it. Then, with a mental slap she took a page from his book, just be truthful.

"So what happened to you? I went to see you…" she paused. "Wait," she held up her hand. "You don't have to tell me anything."

"No, No." He lifted his hands and caught hers. "No I want to tell you, that I do."

"But-"

"No, just listen." He licked his lips and shifted his weight quickly. He drew her hand to his body. "I want to get personal."

"Excuse me?" did she hear him right?

"I want to be personal. I want to share things with you…things about me. I want to know more about you."

"But what about just having fun and moving on?" Kaoru wanted to take her hand back, but couldn't bring it to herself to pull away from his grasp when it felt so good.

"I don't want to let you go." Again he licked his lips. "Being with you, it broke all my own rules." He broke eye contact and looked up at the sky for a moment, a small laugh escaping him before he looked back at her. "I never should of let you come back after that first night." He ran his hand though this hair. "I wanted to see you again, I wanted to know more about you…that was against my number one rule, to never get attached." He took a breath, seeing the bewildered look on her face. "I was doomed when I let you get in the cab." He said with a sigh.

Kaoru took a breath…he wanted to know her more? But then... "Where did you go?"

"I had things I needed to do. Strings to tie up before I could allow myself the be personal with you."

"You moved out of your apartment. I thought you were gone."

He winced. "I didn't like that apartment anyways."

"Well, where are you now?"

"I bought a dojo."

Kaoru's eyes went wide. "A dojo?"

"I like to teach." He shrugged one shoulder. "It's a large place, I would like to show it to you. Maybe after dinner?"

He sounded so hopeful. Kaoru relaxed. "I would like that. I didn't know you could teach swordsmanship?"

"I taught for a while, years ago. It's full of moving boxes right now." He said with a laugh. "You'll just have to visualize what it'll look like when it's done."

Kaoru grinned. "I can visualize. I also know a great place not far from here that makes a really good beef hotpot."

Her stranger grinned. "A date?"

"A date." She said with a nod.

He took a step back and held out his hand and took hers. "Hi…I'm Kenshin Himura."

Kaoru had to blink to keep the stubborn tears from welling up. "I'm Kaoru Kamiya… Nice to meet you Kenshin."

a/n I hope the ending wasn't too simple. I wanted to leave it very open to give it a feeling of new and hopefulness. I'm glad I was able to share it with all of you. And I enjoyed all the wonderful reviews. Really you guys are the best for reviewing and putting up with my procrastination in this and all my other stories. I do this for you guys, really. Your reviews are my payment for these chapters; it's what makes it all worth it. I hope to continue writing these mini fics as they seem less overwhelming than a full blown epic fic. Love you guys! Thanks for reading and reviews are loved!