Authors Notes: *clears throat and stands up in group therapy session* My name is Kaotic I. Deas and I have an addiction to fanfiction – Rurouni Keshin to be exact. I constantly check my favorite stories list for updates, search for new stories to read, and when all else fails I reread old stories. My attempts at weaning myself off of fanfiction have proven faulty and I repeat this never-ending vicious cycle continuously.

However, as of late, the amount of published stories for my two favorite characters has been dwindling over the years, thus aiding in the withdrawal from my unhealthy relationship with fictitious characters. Despite this, my craving for KK action carries on. So… in order to fix the depressing lack of updates/stories on fanfiction I've decided to take maters into my own hands and write a story!

This being said I would like to warn my readers I am in no way, shape, or form comfortable with the English language – despite it being my native (and only) language. Please excuse any grammatical errors. Furthermore, if anyone would like to beta, please let me know!

FYI: I am not here to clog up fanfiction with crappy writing that no one reads – Especially since writing does not come easily to me. This being said I will post one or two more chapters after this. But if I do not average an 8-10 reviews a chapter I'll throw in the towel. I will return to my faithful job of reading stories and leave the writing to our authors who are way more creative and cryptic than I can ever hope to be. Okayyy! I'm done explaining – enjoy!

Prologue: Forgotten Memories

The Sunday morning was cool and crisp. A light blanket of dew covered the ground, while the layers of wispy clouds that draped the sky began to glow red by the rays of the rising sun.

Kaoru took in the beauty of the morning while laying in the comfort of her bed, wrapped in a blanket of warmth and relaxation. She did this while attempting to feign off her growing interest in the delicious smells wafting into her bedroom from the direction of the kitchen. As far as she was concerned, it was too early to be doing anything other than lounging in bed on a peaceful summer Sunday. However, her body vetoed this opinion by bringing her empty, grumbling stomach to her attention.

Reluctantly rising from her roost, Kaoru went through the motions of her daily routine. Bedding tucked away and made, futon folded, practice clothes put on, and hair pulled up into its normal high ponytail with bangs and loose hairs falling to frame her face. Despite Sundays being her "off" day, Kaoru had much to accomplish. The gardens required weeding, she had promised to teach Yahiko a new kendo move, and the ever-daunting task of reorganizing the storage house was looming over her head… Yes. Relaxing day off indeed.

Rounding the corner into the kitchen, Kaoru was pleasantly surprised to see the lack of her dedicated pupil's presence. Excellent. At the very least she could enjoy her breakfast in peace without the harassment of being called ugly, fat, or any other creative nickname Yahiko could conjure up.

"Good morning Kaoru-dono! Sessha hopes you had a restful night."

"Good morning Kenshin! And I slept find thank you", Kaoru responded ceremonially. It was the same humdrum as every other morning. Kenshin would greet her with that silly rurouni smile, asking how she had slept, and she would reply with the same answer ritually. She was beginning to come to the realization their relationship had plateaued out at a close friendship and was not going to progress any further no matter how much she wished it… especially after the Enishi incident. Shaking her head to clear her discouraging thoughts she added, "Yahiko appears to be sleeping in this morning. Maybe we can enjoy our meal in peace, ne Kenshin?"

Chuckling, Kenshin placed the breakfast plates on the table and returned to the kitchen to retrieve their morning tea. "Hai Kaoru-dono, meals are much quieter with the absence of Sano and Yahiko's presence."

Nodding in agreement Kaoru thoughtfully asked, "Speaking of Sano, have you seen him recently? It's been nearly a week since his last visit to mooch a meal. I'm not sure whether I should be worried about him or to count my lucky stars and consider this a small blessing. I know our food pantry appreciates his absence."

"Maahhh, Sessha is confident that Sano can take care of himself, that he can. Though I will stop at the clinic on my way to the market to see if Megumi-san has heard from him if you would like…"

"Nie! That is fine Kenshin! But thank you. Just as you said, he is probably fine and completely capable of taking care of himself! He is a grown man after all..." Kaoru smiled innocently as she attempted to recover from her quick reaction to Kenshin's response. The last thing she wanted was for her Kenshin to go see the vixen by himself. Knowing Megumi, the fox would find some excuse to give the red-head a full examination, or request he visit her office weekly to undergo new therapy practices that had come to surface in the medicinal world.

"Kaoru-dono…"

She would not put Kenshin into such a position. The last thing Kenshin wanted was to be trapped by the Fox.

"Kaoru-dono…"

Realistically, he would be too dense to realize he was being cornered before it'd be too late. Kami had blessed her wanderer with god-like reflexes, but skimped out on providing him with common sense and self-preservation instincts in social environments.

"Kaoru-dono…"

"Huh? Sorry Kenshin, were you saying something?"

"Sessha was informing you of one's plans to go to the market. Sessha asked if you required anything from the vendors in town. But you appeared to not be listening… Are you feeling ill Karou-dono?" Kenshin asked wearily, while taking a step closer to inspect Kaoru.

"Sorry Kenshin! I was just thinking about today's plans. I'm feeling fine! I did not mean to drift off of you…" Kaoru winced at the lameness of her excuse.

"Are you sure Kaoru-dono? Sessha can stop at the clinic to bring you home some medicine if you…"

Choking on her food Kaoru released a hoarse sounding, "NO!"

Clearing her throat and wiping her face with a napkin Kaoru responded more evenly, "I am fine Kenshin. I promise. Thank you for the offer but I do not need anything from the market or the clinic for that matter," she finished firmly while adding a confident smile to pinch off any growing concerns Kenshin might have had developing.

"Hai Kaoru-dono, if you are sure…", Kenshin replied hesitantly, "Sessha will return this afternoon. However, if you are feeling ill Kaoru-dono, you should rest. Sessha does not want you getting sick."

The creak of the old storage room's door opening could be heard across the quiet dojo followed by an eruption of dust and moths. Kaoru sneezed as she assessed the near impossible task at hand. Perhaps putting off her spring-cleaning for this part of the property over the past year and a half had not been the wisest of choices... Covering her mouth with a cloth covered hand, Kaoru made her way into the dusty unit while waving her free hand in a miserable attempt to clean the air of the floating dust particles and lingering smells of mildew and grime.

Walking to the other end, Kaoru began to gauge her workload. If anyone were to asked her, she would swear on her life she threw away half of the storage room's contents after every cleaning. Yet, every time she opened the gloomy door into the storage unit she found more belongings than she remembered ever owning. It was as if junk sprouted from the floor during her absence in the room.

Sighing, Kaoru knelt down and began her assessment of each item's worth and whether she would leave it to its faithful job of collecting dust, or deem she was ready to part with whatever it might be and throw it away. Better yet, maybe she would find another painting from her Uncle that she could sell for a small fortune and be able to take the gang out for dinner! With the potential free dinner in the back of her mind, Kaoru began to shuffle through her belongings with an optimistic outlook.

It was nearly noon and Kaoru had only sorted through half of the material. The majority of if had been thrown in a pile for Yahiko to get ride of. Standing from her current storage box, Kaoru stretched her back and sore limbs. Rubbing her temples to relieve the growing pressure Kaoru began to walk out of the storage room for a break when an objected caught her attention from the corner of her eye. Shocked, Kaoru stopped and turned sharply on her heels to face the item. With wide eyes and an open mouth, Kaoru picked up the box that contained one of her most precious belongings – her hina dolls.

Forgetting about her lunch break, Kaoru sat down clumsily and opened the box, while traveling through her memories of the past. Despite the passing of time she could clearly remember begging her father to purchase a hina doll set for her before Hinamatsuri Day. Despite being a kendo-wielding female, Kaoru had latched on to the idea of owning a set when they had become popular shortly after Japan had closed off their trading routes with foreign countries. Her father, much to her dismay, had tried to logically talk her out of the desire to own a doll set. Realistically, what would Kaoru, the most tomboyish girl in town, want with a doll? Granted, he didn't say it as bluntly as that but had hedged around the fact. She was too busy beating up the boys who were bullying her for training with the sword, or was hard at work helping her father run the dojo. There was little time for such trivial things as dolls.

However, despite her father's coaxing, Kaoru didn't let it go - couldn't let it go. While she'd never admit this to her father, let alone any other living soul, Kaoru had missed not having a mother to show her the feminine ways. She was clueless on how to run a household, how courtship worked, or the first thing about marriage. As a young girl, Kaoru latched on to the thought of owning a doll not for the materialistic value of it, but because it symbolized she was a girl. Granted, a sweaty, foul-tempered girl, who couldn't cook to save her life; but a female nonetheless.

Upon her eleventh birthday, Kaoru's wish had been granted. Her father had taken time out of his busy day to purchase the most beautiful hina doll set she had ever laid eyes upon. It consisted of the classic Emperor and Empress dolls. Yet - there was so much more to them. During all of her adventures to the market she had never seen such an exquisite set. The Empress sat eloquently next to her husband with her hands folded on her lap. She wore the traditional twelve-layered court costume of the Heian period. The layers of silken embroidered cloth were varying shades of red. What set it apart from the other doll sets she had seen at the market was the intense display of blue silk that clashed with the red on the last layer of the kimono. She was stunning. Next to the Empress sat the Emperor who wore a stern expression. His clothes were more subdued shades of red, yet were composed of finer stitching designs. Together they made a handsome pair and appeared ready to rule their people justly. The set was everything Kaoru had every wanted and because of that she cherished it with all her being.

More suddenly than young Kaoru would have liked, Hinamatsuri Day came, as it did every year on March 3rd. Distraught at the thought of sending her beloved hina doll set down the river - as was tradition, since the dolls possessed the power to trap bad spirits and fortunes – Kaoru had hid them in the storage room. Despite her childish desire to own a hina doll set, she was not naive enough to believe her dolls had the ability to trap evil spirits. In her heightened emotional state Kaoru reasoned that if her dolls could actually keep bad spirits confined, how would keeping the dolls permanently be bad? Their powers, if they had any, would not wear off over time, right? If anything, her dolls would fight harder to keep evil at bay if Kaoru did not betray their trust – Not that her dolls had emotions anyway… but if they did, wouldn't they protect someone who kept them safe and sheltered instead someone who sent them sailing down the waterway?

In an effort to keep her dolls, yet not expose her weakness to her father, Kaoru hid her treasured possessions in the storage room and went to the river by herself. There she watched the other young girls of her town carelessly float their hina dolls down the river along with the evil sprits they "supposedly" harbored inside. Kaoru returned home that day and for the very first time had lied to her father. It wasn't until her next birthday when Kaoru realized her father had known all along she had not sent her hina dolls away. For her birthday present that year he had purchased her a hina musha doll.

Laughing at her younger self, Kaoru could only imagine the look of surprise she must have worn on her face upon receiving her gift. Her father had informed her that any intelligent Emperor and Empress would not stole away in hiding without the proper safeguards in place. Thus Kaoru's secret doll set began to grow. Her musha doll was a young prince seated on a stool. He came with a bow and rack of arrows. The young prince wore a sage green kimono decorated with pumpkins and brown floral pants. To complete his attire he proudly wore a Kanata on his left hip, the sheath colored black. In addition to his attire, he wore a watchful expression and appeared ready to spring into defense at the slightest sign of danger posed to his Emperor or Empress.

After proudly displaying her hina doll set in her bedroom for years, Kaoru had retired them to the safety of the storage room after her 14th birthday. While she acknowledged she no longer needed the dolls at her maturity level, she was unwilling to completely part with them and opted to store them instead of sailing them down the river. How she had forgotten their existence was a mystery to her...

Chewing on her bottom lip, Kaoru contemplated on what course of action to take with the dolls. While she was a grown woman who should be willing to part with her dolls, they were a fond part of her childhood and held memories of her father. Lifting the box that contained her prized possessions, Kaoru carried them into her bedroom. At the very least, she could show respect to her containers of evil spirits by giving them a thorough cleaning. Afterwards she would decide whether to put them on display or return them to storage.

The clattering of plates could be heard from the kitchen of the Kamiya-san dojo with the accompaniment of voices and laughter.

"So needless to say after rescuing her cat from the tree, the lady graciously invited me over for dinner to repay me for my good samaritan deed", Sano completed his story with a cocky grin.

"Oh get off your high horse Sano! There's no way that is the reason you've been skipping out on dinners around here," Yahiko exclaimed. "I could see you taking up a lady's offer for on free meal… but for the past two weeks you've been gone! You're leaving out a crucial part of the story. I can feel it."

"Chill out lil' man. I told you what happened. Ain't no reason to go diggin' further. What are you… my nanny or something?" Sano rebutted.

Grinning cockily Yahiko replied, "Nice try Sano, but you aren't distracting me with that weak insult as bait. I know there's more to the story. I bet the lady was pretty… real pretty… and that's why you haven't been around. I bet you've been pestering her every since you rescued her cat. Or better yet. I wouldn't be surprised if you put her cat in the tree to begin with just so you would have a reason to talk to her! Admit it! There's more to the story than you're letting on!"

"You've got to admit Sano, Yahiko is right. Your story has a few holes in it. What are you holding back from us?" Kaoru asked inquisitively. "If you're in trouble or need our help you can let us know. We're family and we are all here for you," Kaoru paused as she noticed the defensive posture Sano was beginning to take on, "Or if you did meet a beautiful lady, as Yahiko believes, you should invite her over for dinner sometime! We'd love to meet her," Kaoru back-peddled, after sensing the rising tension in the air. She was happy to see Sano after his prolonged absence at dinner, but noticed something was off after he attempted to explain why he'd been away for so long.

"Kaoru-san, if Sano has something he is hiding from us, who are we to pry? That is not how friends are suppose to act. Though I understand your lack of social grace, you should at least know this of all things," Megumi interjected coolly.

Kaoru stared at Megumi as if she was a deer startled in a field. While Megumi was always looking for a way to slide in an insult in Kaoru's direction whenever possible, she had never intervened to aid Sano. "Megumi is right Sano. We didn't mean to pry. I just wanted to make sure you realize we're here for you if you need help. Or if you've met someone special," Kaoru added for safe measures.

Shruging it off Sano replied, "No worries Missy. I know you guys are here for me. I'm just a little hurt none of you believe my story." Sighing sadly for extra dramatics Sano stood and stretched. "Well, I think it's 'bout time for me to hit the hay. You want me to walk you home fox?"

"I am more than capable of walking myself, thank you very much. However, I am heading out as well," Megumi replied with her normal attitude.

"Shessa thanks you for coming over tonight for dinner. It was great to catch up with everyone," Kenshin concluded.

"Yup, cya round Kenshin"

"Have a goodnight Sir Ken"

Yahiko and Kaoru watched with eagle eyes as the pair left the Kamiya-dojo. As soon as they were out of eyeshot Kaoru and Yahiko looked at each other, gave a short affirmative nod to one another, and retreated back to their normal positions.

Yawning, Yahiko stood up to leave. "Welp, goodnight you guys. I'm whooped."

"Goodnight Yahiko," Kaoru stood and started to clear the dinner plates away. "Sleep well… and be prepared for more training tomorrow. I went easy on you today, but that's not going to happen again tomorrow. We need to find away to channel your frustration and not let it distract you in combat." Yahiko's retreating form could be seen waving dismissingly at Kaoru's comment.

Turning to Kenshin, Kaoru smiled and continued to clean up the dirty dinner plates.

"You were awfully quiet at dinner Kenshin, is everything alright?"

"Yes Kaoru-dono, Sessha is fine. One was merely enjoying the company of everyone being together. This one realizes you have had a long day. Why don't you go to bed while Sessha takes care of the rest of dinner?"

Under normal circumstances Kaoru would have argued and stayed to clean up with Kenshin. However, the events of dinner were pressing on her mind and she had much to do before bed. Stretching she replied, "Thank you Kenshin. That's awfully nice of you. I am beat after the day and would appreciate going to bed early. Have a good night and I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight Kaoru-dono"

After returning to her bedroom Kaoru grabbed her jacket and jumped out of the window. Tiptoeing stealthy, she made her way to the gate while making sure to keep in the shadows. The last thing she wanted was to get caught by Kenshin. Climbing over the gate she leapt down and sprinted into the shadows of the alleyway. Ducking into the alleyway, Kaoru attempted to catch her breath, before she nearly screaming with a hand grabbed her on the shoulder.

"Relax Ugly, it's just me. What took so long?"

"Yahiko! You gave me a heart attack! I had to at least start to clear the dinner plates before leaving. Kenshin would have known something was up if I left for bed immediately."

"Yea, yea… let's go. We're already way behind them. "

Starting at a brisk jog, Yahiko and Kaoru made their way down the alleyway. "Did you see how weird Sano was acting throughout his corny story? And then the way Megumi came to his rescue? There's something funny going on between those two. And if it's way I think it is…"

"Then you've lost your bet ugly and I will be declared victor," Yahiko finished smugly.

Glaring out the corner of her eye, Kaoru couldn't resist the urge to push Yahiko into the corner they were rounding. Snickering as he stumbled she added, "Tsk tsk Yahiko-chan. I hope you haven't forgotten Misao's buy in to the bet as well. If our two little love birds have finally admitted their feelings to one another I believe the time frame falls under her chosen dates, not yours."

Smirking at the realization dawning on Yahiko's face Kaoru slowed their pace to a walk as they neared the clinic.

"Yea… well maybe they're just hanging out and haven't actually made any moves. After all, what's that little weasel know?" Yahiko countered weakly.

"Not so confident now, are you Yahiko-chan? And I hope you realize it's a ninja's job to be able to read people and predict their actions. You should have more faith in Misao's ability to use her natural skills. After all Aoshi has been training her again."

They both came to a stop roughly a hundred yards from the clinic. They sat carefully in the shadows and waited. Both lost in their thoughts of Sano and Megumi, wondering if they had admitted their feelings for one another.

The waiting continued for another fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes soon turned to thirty minutes. After the passing of forty minutes both were beginning to fidget and feel restless.

Yahiko stood from his seat and stretched, "You don't think we missed them, do you? We took all of the shortcuts and ran here. There's no way they could have beat us. Especially not walking and we both know Megumi is not one to jog home for the heck of it."

"Gosh, I don't know Yahiko… Regardless of which way they came they should have been here by know. Even if they had taken a stroll by the river, they should have been here by now. Is there anywhere else they could have gone?"

Pondering Yahiko suggested, "Sano's…?"

Standing from her seated position Kaoru chuckled. No matter how far into their relationship Sano and Megumi were – if they were even in a relationship – there was no way hell Megumi would step foot into Sano's disgusting apartment. On a good day the stench of his flat was equivalent to that of ten sweaty men with nasty body odor accompanied by the hint of rotten food.

"Negative Yahiko. I've only seen a glimpse of Sano's place, and I never want to experience that again. There is no way Megumi would risk disease and infection by stepping a toe into that disaster of a room, let alone spend a night there."

"I suppose that's right. But where in the heck could they be? …though I guess it isn't that big of a deal. It just means we are one day closer to the time frame I betted on instead of the weasel's."

Sighing in defeat Kaoru stood and turned in the direction of the dojo. "I suppose you're right Yahiko. Either way I'm tired of sitting. Lets head home and strategize better for our next mission."

Nodding in agreement Yahiko followed Kaoru back to the dojo.

Welp! There it is! I hope you enjoyed it :-) Or at the very least I hope I didn't waste too much of your time. I know it's kind of a long chapter – but I wasn't sure where to cut it at. Please leave reviews if you feel that this chapter was worthy enough!