Welcome back my lovelies! I'm going to go ahead and say this. I have no idea where I'm going with this story. Though, by the time you read this I probably will. I'd like you to get the behind-the-scenes, in my head and all that whatnot. It's midnight and I'm starting a new story. We'll see where this takes us. This is my second Rurouni Kenshin fanfiction... I still don't own Rurouni Kenshin... damnit. So for everyone who read my other fanfictions, you're all dolls and I love you. I would like to take a moment to say thank you to Kokoronagomu for her wonderful and inspiring review. I don't know what she said that made me start writing this fanfiction, but he's part of the reason. Anyway, welcome to my fourth and hopefully just as amazing story. Enjoy the ride.

I need to see you. Please come over.

This was not the message that Kaoru expected to get from one of her best friends at five in the morning.

Wrong person, Tomoe. She sent the message and tried to fall back asleep, only to have have the device vibrate next to her head. Sighing, she opened one eye to read the words.

Kaoru. Please... I need you to come over. I don't know what to do.

This definitely wasn't what she was expecting. Had she broken up with her boyfriend? Was she pregnant? All these ridiculous ideas popped into her head at one time. Sighing, she replied: I'm on my way. Give me a few minutes.

Quickly rolling out of bed, Kaoru made her way to her dresser, pulling out a set of underclothes and making her way to the closet; pulling out a pair of jeans and an indigo tank-top, she made her way to the bathroom. Ten minutes later, she was dressed, her make-up was on, her teeth brushed and her hair in a ponytail. She was ready to go. As quietly as she could, she made her way downstairs, only to run into her father.

"Where are you going?" He asked, blocking her path.

She sighed, wanting to push him out of her way. "Tomoe text me. She needs someone to talk to. I think she broke up with Kenshin or something." Surprisingly, that was enough for her father. He stepped out of her way, telling her to let him know how it went. She ran to her car and squealed out of the driveway, making her way to Tomoe's house.

Pulling up to her huge, brick house, she noticed that she was the only one home. Kaoru stepped out of her car and made her way to the house's front door, her keys dangling in her hand. They had been best friends since they were little kids, so it was only natural that they had a set of keys to each other's house. Stepping inside, she closed and locked the door behind her. "Tomoe!" She called out into the empty house.

"Upstairs." She answered as Kaoru followed her voice.

Stepping into the room, she froze. There was a small group here already. Where the hell were their cars? "What's going on?" She looked around and saw their little group, including Kenshin. Well she didn't break up with her boyfriend.

"Kaoru, I have some bad news." Tears fell down her best friend's face.

"What happened?" She asked, as she made her way to the crying girl. Kneeling beside her, she took her hand and gave a quick squeeze, letting Tomoe know that she was there for her.

"I had my doctor's appointment, remember?" She looked at Kaoru, but she was talking to everyone. Kaoru nodded. "I know what wrong with me. I have cancer." Her voice broke as the confession was voiced. She sobbed uncontrollably as she pulled Kaoru into a tight hug.

Kaoru wrapped her arms around the girl, her mind and heart numb. Cancer? She wasn't sure how to react. What kind of sick joke was this?

Kenshin rubbed a small part of Tomoe's back. "They can't do anything for her anymore. It's spread too much." He paused and looked away, disgusted. "All they can do is make her comfortable."

Kaoru pulled back and looked at them. "I refuse to believe that." Tomoe only cried harder, this time leaning into her boyfriend's shoulder.

This was not how their lives were supposed to go. This was their senior year. They were so close to graduating. They were all supposed to graduate at the top of their class. Tomoe, validictorian, was supposed to give the speech of a lifetime, motivating others to be great; to live life to the fullest. They were supposed to go to college and grow old being the best of friends. Tomoe and Kenshin were supposed to get married and have lots of children... and lots of grandchildren. No, this was not how life was supposed to be.

"Kaoru." Megumi touched her shoulder and shook her head. "Not here."

Not here? If not here, then when? When were they supposed to talk about this? When were they supposed to complain that fate had been wrong in doing this to them? Her heart was breaking and she couldn't do anything about it. Tears threatened to fall but she had never shown such a weakness to anyone before. Pulling her shoulder out of Megumi's grasp she made her way to the door.

"Kaoru!" Tomoe cried her name. "Don't go."

"I'll come back." She said without looking back. She ran down the stairs of the house and out to her car. She touched the door handle, planning to open it, but quickly let go and slammed her foot into the door. Over and over again, hoping that any anger she felt would make this go away. Make it as though as it never happened. The tears that fell down her face were soul shattering. She gripped the door as she fell to her knees; she cried out in pain.

In the back of her mind, she knew that her friends could potentially see here, as Tomoe's window faced where her car was parked. Knowing that they were too busy worrying of Tomoe, she let herself stay there. The tears couldn't stop pouring down her face and finally someone came up from behind her and pulled her into an embrace. Not caring who it was anymore, she turned in their arms and weeped against their shoulder. "It's not fair!" Her scream was muffled by the fabric of their shirt.

Her tears finally dried up some time later and she pulled back from the person who had come to console her. Kenshin.

"Tomoe wanted to know that you're okay."

She gave a disgusted noise at the back of her throat. "I'm crying and she has cancer. Sorry, but I don't think that it matters if I'm okay or not."

Kenshin sighed as he stood up and held his hand out for her. "You're one of the most important people in Tomoe's life. What you feel and how you are matters to her. There's nothing we can do but make her comfortable. So how about we try not hurting her feelings."

She took his hand and hoisted herself; letting go immediately after she had her feet. "I would never hurt her feelings."

"You did when you walked out." He replied, sounding a little angered. Kenshin had always been protective of her. Anyone who made his girlfriend cry would wish they never saw the light of day again.

She leaned against her car and rested the base of her skull against the hood. "I'm not strong enough for this..."

"What, you think she is? She's dying. One day she won't wake up." He gave her a repugnant glare. "From where I'm standing, and obviously from where she's standing, you've got it pretty fucking good. So don't give me that shit about not being strong enough."

"Fuck you." She sighed, not looking at him. She was too emotionally drained, too early in the morning to even try to fight him on this. Her phone rang before he could reply. She answered and placed it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Kaoru, are you still here?"

"Yeah, I am. I'm talking to Prince Charming right now." Sarcasm drenched her last sentence.

"I understand what you're feeling. Go ahead and go do what you need to before school. I'll see you there."

"No, I'm not leaving. That would be so wrong of me, on so many levels." She just needed a few minutes to herself.

"It's fine. Everyone is leaving anyway. I need to have a little alone time with Kenshin."

"Then I'll send him up for you."

"Thank you. I love you."

"You're welcome. Love you, too. I'll see you guys at school." She hung up her phone and looked at Tomoe's Mr. Perfect. "Tomoe is calling you. She wants to have a little alone time before school starts... and I'm sure before all of this gets complicated."

He sighed. "It's already complicated."

"You know what I mean."

He nodded and turned to go inside to Tomoe. "See you at school." He told her and kept walking.

"Yeah..."

Kenshin entered Tomoe's room as everyone was leaving. He said his good-byes and told them all that he'd see them in a few hours. Tomoe really was perfect. Even as her world crumbled around her, she was not going to give up on her life. "Are you sure you're up to going to class today?" He asked, leaning over to press his forehead to hers.

"Yes." She smiled sadly. Her features had always been pale, but somehow, with this news out in the open, it just made her look even more pale. Incredibly sick. Her black hair framed her lovely features, almost hiding the truth that they all knew.

He shook his head; his red mane slightly flowing over his shoulders. "I can't believe Kaoru walked out like that." He changed the subject, not so subtly.

"Don't judge her too harshly." Tomoe leaned in against him.

Wrapping his arm around her, he asked her how she could say that? "She left you in here so she could grieve. Somehow she made this twisted thing about her and how it makes her feel."

"Yet you went down there to comfort her." She smiled faintly.

"Had you not asked me to, I wouldn't have." He assured her. He only tolerated Kaoru for Tomoe's sake. In all honesty, he couldn't stand her. She was too outspoken for his taste, and she was definitely the trouble maker of the group. He was the heir to a major corporation; as was Aoshi. Megumi was by nature very mature, while Misao and Tomoe had adapted to the lives of their boyfriends. Sanosuke was kept in line by Megumi. Kaoru was the only one who ran free and wild.

"This isn't her first time dealing with this... I doubt it gets easier, no matter how many times you're faced with such difficult news." She muttered.

Pulling back to look at her face, he frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Tomoe looked into his eyes. "I thought you knew about this." He shook his head. "Kaoru's mother died from cancer... five years ago." She shook her head. "It was a very slow and painful thing to watch. They had plenty of treatments, and I think that's what killed Kaoru. She couldn't deal with the fact that she still lost someone."

"You having cancer isn't about her." Kenshin stated.

"It's not, but I understand the selfish things that she's doing to hide how much she hurts."

Kenshin couldn't comment and Tomoe refused to push. They stayed there in silence; basking in each other's company.

He was going to miss this. Honestly, he didn't know how he would go on without her.

"You can do it." He could tell that she was smiling.

"What do you mean?"

"You'll make it without me." She turned and kissed his cheek before getting up. They had to start getting ready for school, she informed him as she walked out of the room.

"No, I won't." He whispered to himself.

Kaoru wiped away the tears that had somehow managed to form and fall. She had made her way back to her house, though she wasn't sure how.

Walking in, she saw her father at the kitchen table with his girlfriend, Tae.

That was a sharp reminder of what was happening. His girlfriend was nice and Kaoru liked her, but today... today she brought up painful memories.

She walked towards them as her father looked up and smiled. "What'd she have to say?"

Again, tears began to fall. How was she ever going to get through this?

"Kaoru?" Her father was on his feet in an instant and had his arms around her. "What is it?"

She wrapped her arms around her father's waist. "She's dying, dad." She cried out in pain. "Just like mom."

Unexpectedly, she felt another pair of arms encircling her. Looking up, she saw that Tae was there, holding her. Just like a mother would. She wanted to push her away, but she couldn't. Taking one arm from around her father, she wrapped it around Tae, pulling her close. They both stood there, holding her as she let out all the pain that she could.

She finally pulled back. "How do you get over this?" She asked them as they all sat down again.

"You don't, sweetie." Tae reached out and touched her hand. "It gets easier as time goes on, but you never get over it."

"We've come so far in world. Why the hell can't we figure out how to cure cancer?" She wanted to slam her fist down on the table, as though demanding justice.

Her father and Tae looked at each other, worried. "Maybe we should all stay home today." He suggested.

"No." Kaoru looked up. "If Tomoe can go to school through all this, I would be a horrible person to not attempt to." She stood up and looked at the clock. She knew she was going to be late. She said she'd go, not that she'd be on time.

Grabbing her things, she kissed her father's cheek and hugged Tae. "Thanks, you guys." Walking out the door, she made her way to school. Pulling in, she noticed her friends were sitting outside, even after the bell had rang. Stepping out and walking over to them, she was greeted with glares from the men of the group.

"Tomoe's upset that you didn't weren't here." Sano commented.

"Well I'm here now, aren't I?"

"You're late."

"Where is she?" Kaoru asked, brushing off his comment. She got here, hadn't she? They needed to get off her back.

"Inside. She's waiting for you." Kenshin replied, opening the door for her.

"Don't make her cry." Megumi scowled at her.

Without turning around, Kaoru gave them the finger. She walked in and immediately saw Tomoe. "Hey."

"I was afraid that you weren't going to show up." She smiled.

"I was trying to figure out how to make it through the day without crying and hugging you everytime I saw you." She lightly joked and they both smiled. Kaoru never cried in front of anyone if she could help it.

"I'll gladly take the hug, but I don't need you to cry. I would end up crying too." They embraced. "I'm scared, Kaoru."

"I know..."

"I'm not going to live... how do I cope with that? How do I make the best of all of this?"

"By being with the people you love..."

End chapter one. This is depressing, yes? I think so. Luckily, I don't know the first hand of experience of what cancer patients go through as they die, but my heart goes out to the people who do.

My heart also goes out to the people who do have family who are or who have died of cancer. That I know well. My grandmother died of cancer when I was very little, and my aunt passed earlier this year. I think, in a way, she also inspired this story. She was so strong, until the very end.

Anyway, onto the actual story: I'm not sure how I feel about Kaoru yet. She is kind of making this about her, but it's bringing up painful windows. Tomoe isn't an ice cold bitch, which I like... not that i like her dying of cancer or anything, but it suits the purpose of my story. Kenshin's a dick (yeah, I said that) and their posse has a lot in store (in my mind anyway). I hope you enjoyed chapter one.

Reviews please. I really want to know what you thought.

-K