Disclaimer: RK is not mine, or Christian Louboutin.

78. Entrapment, 10. Engage

"It's all your fault!"

Kaoru's apartment door opened with a bang, startling the two guests who were sitting in her living room watching TV.

"... and the winners to a romantic trip to Hawaii are..."

The show that the two guests were watching announced happily in the sudden silence of the apartment. Only Kaoru's harsh breathing could be heard amidst the TV's cheers.

"You!..." She rounded the couch and pointed an accusing finger toward a wide-eye, innocent-looking Kamatari. "Should never visit me again overly pompous, conceited, machinating man!".

Kamatari blinked once, twice and just a third time for good measure, and then—as if divine understanding had suddenly dawned on him—smiled in triumph.

"And why is that, my lovely, dearest lovah?"

Misao, meanwhile, was trying to understand what was happening. Sure, it wasn't unknown that Kaoru could have rather violent reactions to things that were utterly unjust and horrifying. However, what had Kamatari done that had her panties twisted in a bunch?

'Well, aside from pretending that he's her lover and now he'll apparently be her fiancé... wait! How did she find out?!' Misao fretted since it had been just less than two hours ago that Kamatari had told her about his plan and he hadn't left her side to actually put his newest plan into motion. Unless he had already done so... Misao narrowed her eyes and looked at the exchange happening before her.

"If it weren't for you and your, your, your stupid ideas of how to get Kenshin back I wouldn't be doing this!" Kaoru began to pace along her already small living room. Four steps left, four steps right... make it five, back and forth.

"You must have planned this in advance. I don't know how the hell you managed it but I just met Soujiro and..."

"Oh! Lovely, sweet Sou is here?! How wonderful!" Kamatari interrupted clapping his hands in excitement. He looked more like a woman who had just bought a new pair of Louboutin and knew that she would be the it girl with them.

"No! No! No!" Kaoru stomped her right foot as if she were five again. "No! I just told him I have a fiancé to escape him and I know that he will contact me to meet up for coffee and I will have to keep the facade to keep him off my back! I wouldn't have said anything like that if I hadn't been influenced by you and your schemes!" Kaoru ranted and complained in one single breath. Astonishing really that she hadn't turned blue already.

Kamatari's smiled widened even more at hearing that. The gods must really be on his side. He didn't even have to start anything. Things had just unfolded on their own!

"But my dear, Kao, congratulations! Who's the fortunate lad?"

Kaoru's eye twitched at the fake British accent Kamatari used and she wished she wasn't so worked up so she could just punch him in that pretty face of his. Lord, she was really behaving and thinking like a teenager now. It was all his fault!

"You, idiot man! You'll be my intended now! ... What the?! Let me down now, Kamatari!" Kaoru screamed as she was suddenly encased between two arms, lifted, and twirled around.

The man holding her only shook his head and kept his arms strongly wrapped around her. His cheshire-grin was starting to scare her.

"This is wonderful!" Much better than I had originally planned! Kamatari thought with satisfaction. "We'll now live happily ever after!" The high-pitched tone he used made both women in the room cringe.

"It's just a pretend-engagement, idiotic, cocky man!" Kaoru said as she tried to push Kamatari away from her. "It's more like an accidental entrapment thanks to your annoying machinations."

"Nah-ah", Kamatari said sweetly, "you chose to tell him that. I won't take responsibility for this, but it's wonderful to know you thought of me first".

Kaoru closed her eyes and counted until five before she opened them again. Huffing, she rested her head against Kamatari shoulders—the man clearly wasn't letting her go—and stayed there until Misao's voice was heard in the background.

"Uhm... so, should I announce the... uhm... good news to everyone?"

Kaoru's head snapped back up and her blue eyes showed nothing but utter horror.

"What do you mean announce this to everyone?!"

"To keep the charade?"Kamatari supplied helpfully.

"This was just to keep Soujiro off if we ever get to see him again! Why should I tell everyone I'm supposedly engaged to Kamatari if it's not true?!" Kaoru explained, even more desperately.

Misao shrugged and plopped herself back onto the couch. Kamatari, on the other hand, untangled his arms from around her and went to sit on the couch as well.

"Well, what would happen if for some divine intervention Soujiro happens to meet someone within your group of friends? They'd like to know why he knows you're engaged while everyone else knew nothing, uhm?" He said casually—too casually in Kaoru's opinion.

'Divine intervention my ass', Kaoru thought as she narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "I'm sure that mere coincidence would be supported by some human intervention as well."

"Well, as long as that support comes with a fairly good reason..."

Kaoru could only sigh and shake her head as she tried to not pull her hair out.

xxxxx

"Dr. Himura, are you feeling well?" The concerned eyes of one of the nurses were directed at him and yet he seemed to not register what was being said. "Dr. Himura?" She repeated.

Blinking, Kenshin reluctantly nodded as he tried to remember what exactly he had to do with this patient... Oh yes, remove the stitches from his leg.

Looking at the threaded lines on white flesh, Kenshin began to maneuver trying to concentrate on the task at hand. It would be really terrible if he failed to do something as easy as that. But alas, his mind did not seem to completely agree with him.

'Engaged!' His mind repeated for the zillionth time since he heard Kaoru run out of the coffee shop screaming at a guy that she was late meeting her fiancé. 'Is it Kamatari?' It only made sense. Then again, nothing seemed to make sense today.

"Dr. Himura, you're done." A voice called distantly, or so it seemed. "Dr. Himura, Sato-sama is ready to go home".

"OK," he nodded, still half-lost in his thoughts.

"It seems you're not feeling well, Dr. Himura," a sudden imposing voice made him raise his eyes, "I command you to go home and rest."

Shaking his head, Kenshin tried to clear his mind only to find himself facing at the figure of his adoptive father and one of the board members of the clinic where he worked.

"Go home." Stern brown eyes stare at him and sighing in defeat, Kenshin acquiesced. Taking his gloves off, he left the room en route to his office. Unbeknownst to him, his father watched his moving figure with worry.

'Just what the hell is wrong with him to be this spaced-out? Will talk to him when I get out of this darn inspection tour.'