Disclaimer: RK ISNT MINE hoho.

A/N: I have posted this story before but it got deleted over a stupid incident haha... Anyway it's such a waste to not continue this story, so I decided to post it again. The title used to be "His Role" but I want to give it a better (at least not half assed) title but I suck at giving titles. Seriously, if any of you have a better title please write it on your review. Super desperate for a good title here. Haha. You can expect at least 8-10 chapters ready for this story, so hopefully it won't take too long for me to update. I hope you enjoy this story, don't forget to review :)

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Man-made Men

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Kamiya Kaoru was indeed an epitome of perfection, a breathtaking beauty wrapped in intelligence and attitude, topped with a brilliant career, wealth and extraordinary achievements at her young age. She was a stunning model back in Japan, but when people told her that she couldn't be an international model because of her height, she decided that she would at least work in a place where she could watch the growth of fashion industry closely, for her love of fashion was the reason why she modelled in the first place.

She graduated from one of the best universities in Japan, moved to New York and worked her way to the top. By the time she was 27, she became one of the prominent names handling dozens of successful high end fashion brands from all over the world. She was a formulated success; not only she knew the trends, the marketing strategies and the right people to approach, she was also knowledgeable about the production, from the finest embellishments, fabrics, and materials to the secrets of handmaking all of fashion world's finest products. From her clothes, the car she drove, the parties she attended, she was known to have a first class taste in everything.

Well, almost.

That day she was forced to sit at McDonald's and pushed some soggy fries down into her throat while watching her boyfriend of 6 months fidgeting in front of her. She flinched as she swallowed the fries, not because she hated it, but because those soggy fries and fatty burger reminded her of how she struggled the first time she came to New York and the only thing she could afford was some cheap junkfood. Some days she couldn't even afford a burger, just the fries that she washed down with a glass of tap water. Kaoru sighed and gobbled up her coke to wash away the taste of the oil, and then she looked at her boyfriend and frowned.

"What's wrong, Houri-kun?" Houri-kun looked up and faced her with a nervous face.

"Uh, Kaoru-chan… I don't think it's good for us to be together anymore." He mumbled. Kaoru's eyes widened. Uh oh, another one. She never seemed to be able to get her hands on the right guy.

"Why? Why are we not good together?" She asked slowly.

"It's not that we're not good… But you know how it is... We live in New York, but we're still Japanese... You know how people talk when women are... career driven. I don't think it's bad, but family, society... they are not ready to accept a woman who is very career driven. It has to be the men who make the money." He explained in a rather roundabout way, but Kaoru understood what he was trying to tell her. It was an absurd excuse, yet she heard the same excuse over and over again, only from different men in different versions every time.

"You're intimidated by me." She concluded harshly, too tired to sugarcoat her words, and Houri looked up, frowning as if wanting to disagree but couldn't. That was their reality.

"It's my fault… I thought that I was going to advance faster in my career, but I'm stuck in the same position for nearly four years, while you have advanced so fast. I mean, last year when you first move into our office, we were in the same management level, but in one year, you have advanced much faster than I have… and now you are my boss! I am 32 years old now, I have to get married soon, Kaoru-chan, but I can't marry you… I'm not good enough for you, and you can find a much better person than me…" He desperately tried to justify his actions. Kaoru glared at him suspiciously.

"So, who are you going to marry then?" She asked.

"Uh…"

Kaoru remembered that beside her, there were only two other Japanese women working in the office. Komagata Yumi, who, albeit her shallow disposition, was a smart and resourceful woman. She managed to climb to the top through her great networking, and guys especially loved her. There was also a Nakamura, the girl who operated the photocopy and fax machines for the entire offices. Even though the suspicion seemed a bit narrow minded, Kaoru couldn't help but asked.

"Is it Nakamura-san?"

"…"

"She's the one you're going to marry, isn't she? You can't marry me, but you can marry her? Am I lacking in something compared to her?"

"Kaoru-chan…"

"Sure, she can operate the photocopy machines and send fax and circulate some emails, but come on! Dumping me, for HER?!"

"Kaoru-chan, she's pregnant with my child…"

Kaoru's throat suddenly became dry. Of course it wasn't a sudden decision for him. He had been with that girl for awhile, and she could have known that if she wasn't too busy preparing for the next season. She shook her head, took her bag and was about to leave when Houri-kun called her again.

"Ano, Kaoru-chan…" His voice was trembling, and Kaoru stopped her step. "Please don't fire me…" He begged quietly. This time, Kaoru turned around and looked at him

"Well I can't do that, can I?" She said rather monotonously. "I had hoped you would spare me the pain of seeing you everyday and find another job, but you didn't intend to do that, did you?" Her voice faded as she turned around and left.

OOOOO

Kaoru drove a little bit too fast than she usually was. A bar, she thought. Any bar would do. She just wanted to drink until a little below the alcohol poisoning standard and then probably went home with anyone who was willing to take care of her for the night.

Kaoru parked her car in front of the first bar she saw and entered the place. It was quite a cozy bar, with big windows where you could see the never ending New York traffic, wooden floors, warm coloured walls, and some vintage posters on it. A gramophone was playing some jazz music and there were only two other customers in the bar, drinking and talking quietly in the furthest corner. The bar area was empty and the bartender wasn't there, but Kaoru decided to sit on the bar stool and waited. After awhile, a guy popped out from behind the bar.

"Yes, I'd like some…" Kaoru stopped. The bartender was cute. He had a long, dark red hair with the softest amethyst eyes Kaoru had ever seen. Well, it wasn't like she had seen anyone with purple eyes before. His well carved face was very friendly and he had the sweetest smile. Yet, with all of the sugary sweetness, he was still managed to look sexy. The white, worn out tee he wore that were his equally well-carved body, plus the scar on his cheek which added a contrast on his cute face played a role in making him looked both adorable and hot.

"Miss?" He asked gently with a smile.

"Ah, sorry… Gin and tonic?" Kaoru's mind went blank a little. What was she saying? She didn't even like gin and tonic. The bartender smiled and prepared the drink.

Kaoru sighed. Her taste in guys was never really that good. She was always attracted to these kinds of guys. Cute guys who could never surpass her in both wealth and career. It was always her secretary, her assistant, some nameless model she met in the show, her subordinate, an unemployed guy she met at a party, and now, a hot, thin t-shirt-wearing bartender who worked in a small bar.

She didn't really care about the money or the status. She didn't especially look for someone superior or inferior to her in the two aspects. It was always the guys who, at the end, blamed her success for the failures of their relationships. She mentally cursed herself, thinking about her tendency of choosing guys with inferior complex.

A bartender is good, Kaoru thought to herself. And it's not like I want a relationship. Kaoru assured herself and told herself that it was okay to make a move on him. Meanwhile, the bartender was smiling at her while giving her the drink.

"I hope you like it miss. To be honest, I'm not a bartender. I'm just a janitor. But don't worry, because sometimes I would help the bartender to make some drinks when the bar is packed. Taste shouldn't be a problem, and I did clean my hands before touching your drink." He said lightly while taking out his mop and started mopping. Kaoru's expression darkened as she mentally berated herself. He was a janitor? She was attracted to a janitor?

"So, janitor, what's your name?" Kaoru asked.

"Ah… It's Himura Kenshin, Miss…" Kenshin answered.

"Kenshin, give me that bottle." Kaoru ordered, pointing at a bottle of vodka. Kenshin gulped.

"Miss, I can fix the drink for you of you like, but I don't think it's a good idea to…"

"GIVE ME THE DAMN BOTTLE!" Kaoru screamed in frustration. Kenshin jumped and took the bottle, along with a glass. Kaoru ignored the glass and started drinking directly from the bottle as Kenshin looked at her in horror. She drank almost half a bottle in one go and sighed loudly, satisfied.

"Ano, Miss, are you okay?" Kenshin asked. Kaoru giggled. She was a tough drinker, so she wasn't drunk yet, but the alcohol had relaxed her system.

"So Kenshin, tell me… Do you like janitoring?" She asked in a serious voice.

"Janitoring…? Ah, yeah, I like cleaning…" Kenshin answered, a little confused. Kaoru giggled again.

"So, are you going to 'clean' for the rest of your life?"

"Well, I don't think so…" Kenshin muttered. He came out of the bar and sat beside her. He put a big chunk of ice into the glass, took her bottle and poured the vodka into the glass, diluted it with water and gave the glass to her. "…Here, if you want to drink…" Kaoru smiled, her face was a little red.

"I love my job, you know. I love fashion, and I am good at those stuff. I picked the best models, I arranged the best fashion shows, and I carefully selected the best clothes for the collections myself. I'm good at what I do." Kaoru blabbered. Kenshin smiled.

"Of course you are." He assured her. She smiled and sighed.

"Will you marry me?" She asked. Kenshin frowned.

"Are you proposing?" He asked back. Kaoru giggled and smacked him.

"No, silly! People said I can't marry some janitor… I have to marry other people who have the newest BMW and live in a mansion… You don't have those, by any chance, do you, Kenshin?" She asked. Kenshin laughed.

"No, I don't, Miss."

"Stop calling me Miss. My name is Kaoru."

"Okay, Kaoru."

"Do you like Japan, Kenshin?"

"Yeah, I came from Kyoto." Kenshin said. Kaoru gasped.

"Japanese! With that hair and those eyes and those clothes I can't believe that you're Japanese! Japanese has black hair and black eyes and yukata…" Kaoru trailed off, taking another gulp of her diluted vodka. Kenshin chuckled.

"Well, the colourings are natural." Kenshin confessed. Kaoru snorted.

"Ah, you lied. This is only our first meeting, and you've already lied to me." Kaoru said. Kenshin frowned.

"What…?" Kenshin muttered, confused. Kaoru had stopped blabbing in English. She had finished her vodka bottle and took a few bottles of beers from the nearest pantry behind the bar, the only place that she could reach without moving her butt from the seat. She drank more and was slurring in Japanese.

"Ne, Kenshin, as a woman, how can I be worthy if I don't get married? I'm 27, you know… When I was younger, people were asking me about my job. When would I get a promotion, when would I get a higher pay… Now they don't seem to care about it anymore. They were asking me about marriage, and family, kids… Suitable husband…" Kaoru mumbled. She dropped her head on the table and sighed. Kenshin smiled patiently.

"I think someone's worth can't be measured by those kinds of things. You know, like, your career, your marriage…"

"That's because your job sucks!" Kaoru replied and giggled, while opening another bottle of beer. Kenshin sighed and took a bottle of beer for himself, when finally the bartender came in from the back door with a grin on his face.

"Oh, Kenshin, so you finally get a girl?" He asked, scratching his spiky hair while letting out a mischievous chuckle from the back of his throat. Kenshin frowned at him.

"Where were you, Sano? You were supposed to be here, making the drinks!" He said. Sano grinned.

"It's a slow night tonight, so it doesn't really matter if I'm here or not! I'm not like you; you can entertain yourself by mopping and cleaning this dusty bar and man I do NOT want to go anywhere near that filthy mop of yours!" He retorted, looking at Kenshin's mop, before his gaze moved towards Kaoru. "Anyways, are you trying to get her drunk and take her home? Man, you've stooped so low!" Sano continued while snickering evilly. Kenshin sighed with a displeased frown.

"Don't be silly. She came and finished a bottle of vodka in one gulp, and then she started mocking my job, and… God, Miss! Careful!" Kaoru fell from the chair, but Kenshin caught her before she landed face first on the floor.

"I wanna pee." She said with a sleepy voice. Sano laughed while Kenshin took her to the bathroom. He waited outside and soon she came out, wobbling around and sat on the bar stool again. She didn't seem as drunk as before, but still quite intoxicated. She looked at Sano. "… Ah, Tori Atama! Get me some tequila shots!" She shouted happily and Sano grinned.

"Sure, Jou-chan, coming right up."

"SANO!" Kenshin screamed. Sano grinned.

"What? It's not everyday that a rich Ojou-san would come and waste her money here! We'll just have to make sure that she's a big tipper." Sano said while preparing the tequila shots. As soon as Sano finished preparing it, Kaoru gulped them one by one until eight shots were finished. Sano laughed in amusement, while Kenshin looked at her in horror. How could a small body hold such a large amount of alcohol?

After the tenth shot, Kaoru went green. Kenshin dragged her into the toilet to throw up; he just didn't like cleaning up someone's puke. He glared at Sano.

"She's driving back home, you know. She could get alcohol poisoning too!" Kenshin said. Sano grinned.

"Well, take her home then! She'll pass out in no time anyway." Sano suggested.

"I'm going to try and sober her up." Kenshin said stubbornly. She took Kaoru out from the back door and made her sit on one of the old chairs. After awhile, Kaoru didn't look too bad anymore, even though she was still hyper.

"I'm alright, Kenshin. I can drive home… To…" Kaoru stopped her words and gulped because she didn't remember her address. Kenshin sighed.

"I'm going to take you home with me." He said. Kaoru giggled.

"Are you going to take care of me?" She asked with a baby voice. Kenshin flashed a smile because she just sounded so cute, like a puppy or something.

"Sure."

"Are you gonna take care of me real good? I like it good…" Her voice changed from the cutesy baby voice to a low seductive one and her lips curved into a sexy smile. Kenshin was caught off guard.

"Oro?"

Kaoru jumped on Kenshin and kissed him fully on the mouth. A zap of sour, awful taste came into his mouth, but disappeared as soon as it came. Kenshin sighed as he tried to move away, but stopped as Kaoru sucked his bottom lips and he found out that he liked whatever she was doing to him. Kaoru pushed them and he fell on one of the old chairs while she climbed on top of his lap. His left hand pressed Kaoru's body towards his so that she didn't fall from the chair, while his right hand was holding her head as he reluctantly decided to deepen the kiss.

"See? It's a good evening for all of us." Sano interrupted with a big grin. Kenshin broke the kiss and looked at Sano, confused, while Kaoru was kissing his jawline and neck.

"I think I'm drunk as well." He said, almost out of breath. Sano laughed while looking at Kaoru trying to unbutton Kenshin's jeans.

"Seriously, Kenshin. Take her home."

"I can't. I'm not even sure whether I can stop her from licking me…"

"Then just do it here. See, she's taking your pee-pee out. Well, good night, Kenshin." Sano went back in and locked the door. Kenshin sighed as he moved Kaoru to another chair. He stood up and buttoned up his jeans properly before looking at Kaoru with troubled face.

"I don't even know how I can take you home with my bicycle." Kenshin muttered.

"Bicycle?" Kaoru asked innocently. "… Man, you're so poor…" She continued with a big giggle.

OOOOO

In the morning, Kenshin was about to pour himself a cup of coffee when he heard a noise from his bed. It was Kaoru, whose groan sounded dry and hoarse. She was moving around uncomfortably before giving up and stayed still on the bed. It seemed that she couldn't get herself up because of her headache, so Kenshin got her a glass of cool water and some painkiller. After a glass of water and two tablets of painkillers, she seemed to finally get a better idea about where she was and what happened to her.

"Ah..." She looked at Kenshin, trying hard to remember him.

"I'm Kenshin, the janitor from last night…"

"Right, Kenshin… I remember you…" She looked around idly before gasping in horror. "Oh my GOD! Did I say anything offensive? I seriously didn't mean anything I said!" She said frantically with a panicked face. Kenshin frowned and then smiled. He was expecting something like 'what did we do last night?' or 'did we do it last night?' Instead, she was asking him a completely different question.

"No, I don't remember being offended by you. Don't worry, Kaoru-san."

"Ah… I see. Good, then. I sometimes say hurtful things when I'm drunk." Kaoru sighed and smiled. Kenshin looked at her, waiting for her to say something else. She didn't say anything anymore. She looked pretty relaxed in his shabby t-shirt and boxer.

"Aren't you gonna ask about last night? What did we do and stuff? Aren't you wondering why you're wearing my clothes?" Kenshin asked. Kaoru smiled lazily and waved her hand, as if saying everything wasn't a big deal.

"I probably slept with you and it was probably not the best lay you've ever had. I probably smelled and tasted like puke and I gave out some annoying remarks but you went for it anyway. And now in the morning you feel like getting rid of me as soon as possible because you have to go to work and I have to go to work and you can't stand being with me anymore…" She talked so fast, as if to hide her embarrassment. Kenshin laughed.

"Wow, you're talkative for someone who has such a heavy hangover." Kenshin said. Kaoru smiled tiredly.

"Thank you for taking care of me." She muttered.

"No worries. I still think that I'm obliged to tell you that you didn't taste weird, and I didn't sleep with you even though we did kiss a little. I changed your clothes, and I like your company when you're decent in the morning, which means that I am not trying to get rid of you." Kenshin assured her.

"Aren't you such a charmer." Kaoru giggled.

"So, do you want some breakfast? I can make some food if you like." He asked politely, and Kaoru shook her head.

"I hope I can stay for breakfast, but I have to work soon. I can't believe that I actually forgot about this morning's presentation. Same old presentation." She said with a lazy sigh. Kenshin stood up.

"Don't go yet. It's still early. I have coffee in the kitchen and some fresh clothes that you can wear. I'm actually washing your shirt because it was filled with your vomit. I'll run downstairs and get some food, in the meantime you can use the shower." Kenshin said sweetly. Kaoru nodded and looked around. It was the tiniest studio apartment she had ever seen. There was one small kitchen, one futon, small TV, small, run down cupboard, and another partition which was actually a toilet and shower. As soon as Kenshin left, she took off Kenshin's clothes and stepped into the shower.

Kaoru was a bit worried about the clothes. She was always trying to keep her appearances in front of her clients and colleagues. She couldn't go to the presentation wearing Kenshin's old t-shirt she wore last night. After showering, she ransacked the cupboard and was kind of panicking since most of the clothes were t shirts, jeans, shorts and jackets... Some of them were freebies from some promotions or, Kaoru suspected, from the charity centre. After a minute of going through his stuff, she finally found a suspicious plastic bag shoved into the cupboard.

"Shit." Kaoru couldn't help but cursed when she saw the plastic bag. Inside the bag there were one brown Hugo Boss jacket, a pair of couture Armani suit and dress pants. The highlight was a dark blue limited edition shirt that came out six years ago. The shirt was a work of art for those who knew fashion and its craftsmanship, and it was the most wanted and the most valuable collector's item to date. They were the original items, Kaoru's eyes and hands could recognize real quality right away since she was dealing with these stuff everyday. What kind of janitor could afford brand name clothes? Right when she was about to put everything back in the place, Kenshin came in.

"I'm sure you like those." He said with a big grin. Kaoru looked at him with a rather nervous smile.

"Yeah. The blue shirt is… Well, no offense, more expensive than your one-year rent…" She said. Kenshin's eyes widened.

"No way…"

"Yeah… It's a collector's item."

"Those clothes were given to me. But man, crazy things that people do when they're obsessed. I mean, it's not like that shirt is made from diamond or something." Kenshin commented and Kaoru looked at him with a frown.

"Well, for your information, the fabric is a type of rare, special silk which are hard to produce and the thread they used to sew it together is basically a diamond. The substances they used to make the thread are similar to those in a diamond." Kaoru said defensively, a little annoyed by the fact that Kenshin couldn't appreciate the shirt. Kenshin grinned and took the shirt from the plastic bag, and gave it to Kaoru.

"Even though I don't really understand, but I guess you can wear this. It's quite small and it will fit you just fine." Kenshin offered. Kaoru took the shirt reluctantly. The shirt was in a good condition, and even though it would look a little loose, it went nicely with her pencil skirt. Besides, it's not like she had a time to go home and change, and her shirt was still wet because she threw up on it and Kenshin was kind enough to wash it for her.

"Thanks… I will return it soon…" Kaoru said. Kenshin smiled.

"Right, then just leave your shirt behind, I will dry it for you."

"You can't use dryer for that, you have to…"

"I know, I am known as a laundry expert. Don't worry." Kenshin cut her words. Kaoru smiled apologetically.

"I seriously owe you one, Kenshin." Kenshin laughed and folded the futon bed and took out a small folded table. Apparently that was the dining table. After having some chicken sandwiches and two cups of coffee for breakfast, Kenshin took her to the bar with a bicycle because Kaoru's car was still there in the parking lot. Kaoru smiled and bowed.

"Thank you, Kenshin. I'll come back tomorrow."

Kenshin waved as Kaoru's car disappeared on the other side of the road.