Disclaimer: I do not own Kenshin or any of his friends. They are the property of Nobuhiro Watsuki and anyone else who has partially ownership on them.

Author's Note: This story is going to have two chapters, so it is relatively short. Read and Review if you like, I do accept anonymous reviews, but Flames will be ignored! Thank you!

1

"Any man that does woman's work must be getting something special in return," the loud grating voice rang out over the market place, being joined by a thin reedy one.

"You're correct there, that guy at the Kamiya dojo is receiving something for all of his help and it's not a bed, not an empty one at least."

Kamiya Kaoru's face flushed red as she heard the insults and frantically she blinked her eyes, trying to control the embarrassed tears that threatened to betray the fact that she had heard.

She had to get back to the dojo before she did something rash.

She picked up her basket and took a few yen from her purse, placing them in the outstretched hand of the merchant while not fully meeting the cold glare from the merchant's wife.

These two men had been spreading terrible lies about her and a border at her family home, Himura Kenshin.

There was no truth in the lies but she couldn't challenge the men who were spreading them, because it would be her word against the fact that Kenshin was her border.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm herself as she walked back to the dojo as behind her the thin voice rang out, "Of course any man that does laundry can't be much of a warrior."

8888

The steam rose off the pot as Kenshin checked the stew he had told Kaoru he would make for lunch while she went to the market.

He was glad she was leaving the dojo, she hadn't gone out into Tokyo in almost a month and she seemed to become more grave and depressed as the days had dragged on,.

Yes, a trip into town would do her some good, that it would.

The door to the dojo opened and Kenshin looked up, expecting either Sanosuke or Yahiko to come in, claiming to be starving, but they hadn't come in.

"Aname, Suzume, what is wrong?" he asked when he saw the two girls tear streaked faces.

Aname ran over and wrapped her arms around Keshin's neck while Suzume contented herself with gripping his sleeve, neither girl attempting to explain what was wrong with them.

Aname kept crying for a few minutes before she was able to stammer out any explanation, "Some people were saying bad things 'bout you and Kaoru."

Suzume nodded empathically to her sister's statement.

Kenshin managed to pry Aname's arms off his neck and wiped her cheeks with the edge of his free sleeve, "What did they say?"

"They said that you used her, and that you did bad things together and that you weren't a warrior and you needed a woman to defend you," Aname hurriedly said as Suzume kept nodding in agreement.

Once Aname had finished, Suzume asked a question of her own, "It's not true, is it Uncle Ken?"

Kenshin shook his head as he maneuvered his arm so that he could see the both of girls' faces, "No it's not true, what you overheard were jealous people who were trying to make Miss Kaoru look like a bad person so she would leave. Just forget you ever heard it and don't tell anyone else or you will only be helping those people," he said in a firm voice.

Both girls nodded seriously and let go of him as the door to the dojo opened and again Kenshin looked up, expecting the other two but again he was wrong.

"Miss Kaoru? I thought you were going to eat at the market." Kenshin said as she placed her basket on the floor and began to walk towards her room.

"I decided to come back early, that's all."

Kenshin gestured towards the pot, "Would you like to eat or have you already?"

"I'm not hungry." Kaoru answered as she opened the door to her room and went in, shutting it tightly behind her.

Kenshin stared after her for a moment before he stood up from the floor and began to gather bowls and spoons, "Well would you two like to eat, as it seems no one else is coming?"

Two enthusiastic cheers greeted his suggestion which he decided to interpret as a "yes".

8888

The full moon shown down and lighted the gardens of the Kamiya dojo and the man who was walking in them.

Kenshin couldn't sleep, the information the girls had given him had also given him an idea of what had been bothering Kaoru.

The sound of someone weeping drew him towards the pond.

"Miss Kaoru, you should be asleep, that you should."

Kaoru started and jerked around, wiping the tears from her cheeks self-consciously, "Kenshin, I-I didn't hear you come up."

He walked over and sat beside her, "Is something bothering you?"

Kaoru looked back into the pond and heaved a sigh, "Kenshin, it's not fair. You're always so nice, and understanding and helpful. You're just a jerk!" She suddenly yelled, bursting into tears again.

Kenshin waited quietly until the outburst had faded and the only sounds were the crickets and Kaoru's slightly labored breathing, "Why don't you try to sleep? Whatever is bothering you might be gone in the morning."

Kaoru shook her head, "You're wrong," she whispered, "But I'll try to sleep."

Kenshin smiled and stood before helping Kaoru to her feet.

"You never know what will happen, that you don't." he reminded her.

8888

Two hours later, Kenshin sat up and gently eased off his futon.

Moving quickly in the dark, he changed into a dark blue shirt and strapped his sword to his hip.

He stepped into the hall and paused.

Yahiko's soft snores were barely distinguishable as Sano's louder snores echoed through the paper walls, covering any small noise Kenshin made.

Satisfied that everyone was asleep he walked towards the front door and eased it open.

There were some rumors that needed to be disproved and needed to be disproved quickly.

8888

Kaoru had lived in the dojo long enough to be able to distinguish any sound that was unusual so when she heard the door open, she instantly woke up from a restless doze.

Rolling off her futon, she grabbed an over-kimono and her boken in one smooth move.

She stepped into the hall and readied herself to face the intruder.

The only thing she saw was the door closing as softy as it had been opened.

Gripping her weapon tighter, she walked to the door and pulled it back open.

By the waning light of the moon she saw Kenshin opening the gate.

"Kenshin!" she whispered under her breath, a cold dread settling in the pit of her stomach.

He was leaving.

When she had first met him, he had warned her that he probably wouldn't stay long but she hadn't counted on how much she'd miss him.

Running towards the gate, she grabbed the edge of his sleeve, "Kenshin, what are you doing?"

Kenshin released the gate and turned to face her, "M-Miss Kaoru!"

"Are you leaving again?" Kaoru asked softly.

"No, at least not to go wandering."

Kaoru let go of his sleeve and stepped back a little, "But if you aren't leaving to wander again, then where are you going?"

"I need to finish a few things." Kenshin answered evasively.

Kaoru opened her mouth to protest when Kenshin suddenly hugged her, "Don't worry about me. Just stay here and I'll be back in a few hours."

Before Kaoru could argue or even answer, Kenshin had let go of her and walked out of the gate, carefully closing it behind him.

Running back to the house, Kaoru hurriedly got dressed.

Whatever Kenshin was doing, she couldn't let him do it alone.