Burning Flyer Miles

By Manx Maiden

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or its characters. I also owe many other fanfiction writers for the ideas that inspired this story.

Authoress' Note: I tried to make this chapter a lengthy one. While it doesn't have much action, the next chapters will have a lot. I warn all of you that there is a very shocking secret that will be revealed about one of the characters towards the end. Please review and suggest ideas. This is one of my first fanfics, so flames are welcome.

Plot: Kaoru and her little brother have just inherited a dojo in Japan. All goes well, until her best friend and famous journalist drops in. Soon, Misao has them tangled in a web of revolution, government conspiracy, and two dangerously handsome men.

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Chapter I

Meetings of Fate

The flight was turning out to be a lot more pleasant than Kaoru assumed it would be. She had heard so many horror stories about the bizarre happenings on planes. However, so far no stewardess had knocked a drink in her lap, no one was snoring loudly, the plane hadn't crashed, and no sweaty fat guy had sat next to her. It was her first time in an airplane and she was really enjoying it.

Even Yahiko was behaving. There had been no "ugly" or "bad cook" comments, since they had left the airport. As of right now, he was silent having fallen asleep listening to his ipod. Although, how he slept through that head banging music she would never know.

Kaoru leaned back in her chair and looked out the window on her left. She had offered Yahiko the window seat she now occupied, but he refused saying that he would rather be closer to the inside of the plane. Yahiko had been on a plane once with their father. She didn't what had happened, but whatever it was, it made Yahiko paranoid of planes.

When he learned that they were moving to Kyoto, he had demanded that they travel by ship only. The only way she could even convince him to come on board was to give him her original aisle seat and promise him that she would give him her Parashoot if she had to. Yet, here he was sound asleep! Well, go figure kids.

She didn't really mind the window seat. In fact, the view was absolutely breath taking. Even at the time of night it was, Kaoru loved to gaze out of the window as the plane glided through the sky. It would be dawn again soon, so the view would be filled with even more amazing landscape and mountains.

Kaoru finally glanced away from the window and closed her eyes. She hadn't sleep at all so far because of her own nerves and overall excitement. But now, she was finally tired and didn't want to waste the last few hours of darkness. The tapping on her shoulder, however, made her realize that sleeping was going to be impossible.

She cracked a lazy eye open expecting it to be Yahiko. Instead, she found the pretty face of the tiny Asian stewardess smiling at her. Kaoru turned to her and the stewardess whispered something to her. It was to quiet for her to hear and the stewardess must have seen her confused look. The woman looked at Yahiko and realized that she was afraid to wake him.

"Oh, don't worry about him, miss. He can sleep through anything. See?" Kaoru gave her younger brother a slap to the head. Yahiko's reaction was to roll over slightly.

Giving her an amused look, the stewardess said, "I'm sorry to bother you, but one of our passengers asked if she could switch places with you."

Looking worried, Kaoru replied, "Well, you see, my brother here is kind of scared of planes, so…."

The stewardess continued in a pressing manor, "Oh. Well, this lady is the mother of the two little girls in front of you and her ticket was accidentally changed. She was originally supposed to sit next to her children in your seat."

Kaoru turned to look at the two little girls sleeping in front of her. She had had a very interesting conversation with them about ponies and dresses only a few hours before. They had been slightly nervous of flying at first, so she had done her best to try and calm their nerves. Kaoru had wondered where their parents were, but hadn't seen anyone come to comfort the girls.

Sighing, Kaoru realized how much of a softy she really was. "Sure," she told the stewardess, "I'll change."

Getting up and sliding around the slumbering Yahiko, she followed the pretty stewardess as she led her down the aisle. The woman stopped at an aisle seat and talked to what Kaoru assumed was the two girls' mother. She sighed and was already beginning to miss her window seat. Suddenly, her disappointment left and she realized that the view her new seat brought more than made up for the loss.

Her eyes went wide when the stewardess moved to the left and she caught a flash of red. In the window seat beside her new one, sat the most handsome man she had ever seen. She could tell he was Asian by his slanted eyes, but his fiery red locks that hung in a high ponytail said otherwise. Not only that, but his fierce amber eyes and slightly pale skin further hinted at mixed blood. She wondered if he too had had a white parent like she herself had.

She instantly realized why this woman had waited so long to trade seats with her. She had obviously enjoyed her seat next to the man, but Kaoru also instantly knew why she suddenly decided to move. Kaoru recognized the calluses on the man's hands. She also recognized the predatory way his eyes took her every action. This, no doubt about it, was a warrior. A warrior in what army she did not know. But, she knew that he was someone that you would never want to face alone. How alike she and this stranger were already. Interesting…

***************

Kenshin took in a sharp breath and praised the heavens when the lady beside him finally asked to move seats. He didn't know what disgusted him more. The simple fact that she had been practically draping herself over him for the past five hours, or the fact that her wedding ring was clearly evident. He was not at all surprised when she finally asked to change seats to be with her children. The woman was older and she was not exactly a tiny thing.

He had been very polite at first and even struck up a conversation with her for an hour or two. However, the moment her hand "accidentally" went somewhere it shouldn't, he had given her the cold shoulder. It hadn't worked though. Finally, he was forced to reveal his somewhat terrorizing hidden nature just to drive the hint that he was interested home. He didn't know if the woman was just dense or desperate, but his threatening attitude did its job and fear finally set in.

He didn't like scaring women really. What was the old saying though? That desperate times call for desperate measures? Well, this had certainly been one of those times. He just hoped that none of Aoshi's spies had seen his embarrassing situation. If he found out, Aoshi would never let him live it down.

Kenshin almost cheered when the stewardess came back and told the annoying woman that she could switch seats. He closed his eyes and sighed in relief as the woman got up and left. When he opened them, he saw that the stewardess and the annoying lady had left. Looking up at his new seatmate, his eyes lit up. Blue eyes with the wild spirit of the ocean stared back into his frozen amber ones. She was a vision.

This beautiful woman's heart shaped lips soon opened and words flowed out. He didn't hear them though. He was already in his own little daze and everything was foggy. Wow! He marveled at the fire he saw in her eyes when he didn't answer her. But, what was the question again?

For the life of him, he didn't know. He was in a tough situation because she looked like she might smack him if he didn't answer her soon. Instinctively, he did what any other man would do in his situation. He nodded. Smiling in relief as she sat down calmly, he racked his brains for something to say.

"So, what's your name?" Oh, yeah. That was really smooth.

She looked at him somewhat amused at his sudden question. Smiling she said, "My name is Kaoru. What's yours?"

Kenshin was somewhat taken a back. So, she was American after all. He assumed she had some Western blood because of her light eyes and snowy skin, but he had assumed her to Japanese like himself. Her Japanese was accented though, and he could tell that she didn't have the total mastery of the language yet. So, that was why she looked at him that way when he asked for her name. That is also why she gave him her first name, instead of the customary last name new Japanese acquaintances give each other.

Humoring her little error, he said, "My name is Kenshin. I apologize, I assumed you were Japanese like myself."

Tilting her head slightly, she confirmed, "My father was, but I am American myself."

Intrigued, he asked, "Where are you from then?"

"I come from a little town out in Montana."

"Oh, so I assume you are visiting family on this trip, then?"

Hesitating a moment, she replied, "Now, my younger brother and I are moving to Japan."

"You're younger brother? Are your parents there already?"

He could tell that Kaoru was over twenty, but it seemed strange for her to bring her little brother to live with her alone in a foreign country.

"No. Our parents are dead. I have custody of my brother."

Her answer threw him for loop. That was not what he was expecting. He felt as if he was prying to deep, but her reaction didn't send him any message that she was offended. Besides, he was impressed. How many older siblings would willingly become the stand in parent to their little brothers?

"I'm sorry," Kenshin apologized, "I didn't mean to ask such a personal question."

"That's ok. It's also a very normal question really. After all, it's not everyday that two siblings move to Japan together."

Her accented Japanese was like graceful music. Kenshin always thought that having romantic thoughts about a woman's voice was invented by writers to sell books to lonely housewives. Yet, hear he was reacting to the notes of her voice as if she were a snake charmer, and he the snake. Well, really that description wasn't too far off.

"I'm impressed," Kenshin, echoed his thoughts, "Tell me, why would you move all the way across the world though."

She hesitated again, as if deciding what her response would be. Her eyes seemed to search his in a suspicious way. Finally, her complexion abandoned her suspicious look.

"My brother and I have just inherited an ancient dojo from a distant grandmother. I thought the change might be a better environment for Yahiko."

"Yahiko is your younger brother, right?"

"Right," she said still smiling.

Kenshin smiled back and was suddenly very grateful that fate had given Kaoru the seat behind those kids.

***************

At first, the warning bells went off in Kaoru's head when this man began to ask so many questions. She soon relaxed though, when she realized that his questions came from genuine curiosity. He was actually a rather good conversationalist. They spent the next few hours talking and she learned some interesting things about him.

He had traveled quite a bit and knew several languages. He admitted that he dabbled in swordsmanship and that he had a cat named "Mike". He knew a little bit of English and she had a good laugh as she tried to teach him a few phrases. He tended to have a hard time annunciating her words. He got his revenge, however, every time he said something in Japanese that she didn't understand. After a little while of the language battle, they both called it a tie.

She also found out that he too was an orphan and was raised by an old family friend. He told a few cute stories of his childhood and she in turn told of few of her own. She told him about her dream to teach Kendo full time becoming a reality and even told him about her fear of mice. There was one subject that he had avoided though. She had ignored it at first, and then blatantly refused to ask it.

She knew that this man could no doubt be very dangerous when he wanted to be. He seemed rather social though, and she certainly didn't think him to be one of the men hunting for her. If she did, she would never have answered his questions and would have attacked him in the first minute they met. However, she just had to ask the question now nagging at her brain.

Taking in a breath of air, she finally asked, "So, what is it that you do for a living?"

"Oh, me? I'm a journalist."

There, it was spoken smoothly, calmly, and perfectly. It was without a doubt a rehearsed lie that he himself must come to believe sometimes. Although he was fun to talk to, she knew that she would never want to know what Kenshin really did for a living. He was, no doubt, the kind of man that did not make friends very often. Especially, not the female kind anyway.

Still, she had no problem spending the last remaining hours talking to the very handsome and charming man. After all, it's not like they would ever see each other again. Right?

***************

Yahiko was in a far less pleasant mood than Kaoru when he got off the plane in Kyoto airport. True, he had had a great nap. However, he had been woken up by a strange woman in Kaoru's seat yelling at the once cute girls in front of him. They had been so polite earlier when they talked to Kaoru. When she had left, they become loud, obnoxious brats. To top it off, he gotten a rather rude "she moved" when he asked the strange lady (who he assumed was the kids' mother) where Kaoru had gone.

The rest of the flight was a mixture of the kids yelling and the woman's annoying questions. He swore that the old lady was flirting with him. Him! Sure, he knew he was cute. Down right handsome even! But she was like twice his age! Not to mention, he was a little under age and illegal over here! Now, where was his legal guardian, you ask? He had looked around the plane to find her laughing it up with some pretty boy a few rows back! Was there no loyalty anymore?

Yahiko moved quickly to get out of the way of the crowd to wait for his sister. The airport was packed and he was hit by various pieces of luggage several times. Finally, he found a less crowded spot and leaned tiredly against a railing.

Suddenly, someone in the crowd bumped into him sending the ipod in his hand flying into the crowd. Yahiko immediately dived into the mass of people to rescue his only beloved ipod. He hissed in alarm as he watched his most prized possession being kicked and knocked from one place to another. He dodged past person after person; all the time shouting "Watch out!" or "Hey! That's mine!"

Finally, he was relieved to see that his ipod skidded to a stop in front of a pair of black boots. Looking up, he realized that they belonged to a tall Japanese man dressed in a trench coat with a black suit underneath. He had black cropped hair and harsh blue eyes that seemed to see through Yahiko's very soul.

The man stared at Yahiko a moment. Completely still, Yahiko watched as the man picked his ipod off the floor and handed it to him. Yahiko quickly grabbed it and uttered a "thanks". Yahiko wrapped his headphones around it and placed the newly recovered ipod into his hoodie's front pocket. Looking back at the guy who rescued it, he finally realized that there was another tough looking guy that stood behind him like some sort of bodyguard. Ok, this would be the time to make his exit.

Luckily, Yahiko was saved as his sister rushed up and grabbed his arm. Yelling at him for walking off, she smiled at the man in front of him and dragged Yahiko off to get their luggage. Yahiko briefly looked back at the two obviously dangerous men. He briefly saw them greet a guy with red hair before the crowd blocked Yahiko's view.

***************

Kenshin was in high spirits as he got off the plane. He had said goodbye to his pretty seatmate and wished that he had gotten her last name. Oh well, he knew that nothing could come of their meeting anyway. Women (no matter how stunningly beautiful, interesting, or enticing they were) were always an unwelcome and often lethal distraction in his world. Ah, but spending time with Kaoru had been a great way to pass a rather boring flight though. It's not so very dangerous just to talk to a pretty woman after all. Besides, it wasn't like he was ever going to see her again, right?

He shook his head and banished all the thoughts of the intriguing woman he had just met. Looking around, he spotted the favorite trench coat of his close friend and comrade. Smirking, he walked up to a man with piercing blue eyes and threw the duffel bag he had been carrying on his shoulder at the blue-eyed man.

"About time you got here, Aoshi."

The silent man's eyes thawed a little as he raised a single eyebrow. Catching the flying bag, Aoshi stated, "I assume this means you had a pleasant flight, then?"

Kenshin looked from Aoshi to the man behind him. He was a rather handsome man almost as tall as Aoshi. Few but Kenshin would ever know that the handsome face was simply one of this many masks. Literally. This man, Hannya, was perhaps the best spy Kenshin had even seen and he had even saved Kenshin's life on several occasions.

"Very pleasant," Kenshin replied, "I see you brought the whole cavalry."

Saluting the older man, Kenshin asked, " How's it going, Hannya?"

Hannya simply nodded back at him and then walked off to get the rest of Kenshin's bags at the luggage area. To tell the truth though, Kenshin wasn't at all surprised that Aoshi had brought his second-in-command with him. There was no telling what would happen when Kenshin arrived somewhere. He was already on the radar of most of the government's agencies. While they didn't really know what he or his brothers in arms actually looked like, there was always the chance that they all could be recognized somehow. Therefore, there was no need to be caught unprepared, now was there?

Aoshi smirked at him. "Well, if you can talk, then you can carry your own bags." He tossed the bag back to Kenshin.

Catching it, Kenshin watched as Hannya brought the rest of his luggage and tossed piece by piece to the golden-eyed man. Catching each suitcase, Kenshin shook his head and begin to follow his two long-time comrades. People cleared out of their way as the three men headed out of the airport's glass double-doors and out to Aoshi's limbo waiting on the curb.

***************

The cab ride from the airport was filled with loud shouts of "ugly" and several cries of "show some respect". The cab driver up front tried to look small as Yahiko yelled at his sister for leaving him to sit next to "that crazy old bat". She in turn at first apologized, but soon grew angry as he continued to yell. The cab driver was at a loss at what to do when Kaoru and Yahiko's argument turned into a full-fledged fistfight in his back seat.

Needless to say, the poor man was thrilled when they pulled up to the used car dealer and the siblings piled out of the cab. His tires screeched as he drove off. Not paying a bit of attention, the Kamiyas walked into the car dealer.

It wasn't but a few hours later that Kaoru was driving the green jeep she and Yahiko had picked out. Yahiko was the one who first spotted it, but Kaoru instantly fell in love with the beautiful car. Kaoru had always loved jeeps and had had one back home. It was past its expiration date though, so she decided to sell it and get a new jeep once they arrived in Kyoto.

She was soon very glad she not just bought some sissy girl's car because the drive out to their new dojo turned out to be a muddy, mountainous one. Their new home was about an hour outside of the city in a place that seemed untouched by time. The roads were all dirt and apparently no one had been that way in some number of years. The view was beautiful though, since there was nothing but trees, meadows, and all sort of wildlife for miles.

Interrupting the silence, Yahiko commanded, "Remember that you have to meet the head master tomorrow, Kaoru. So, don't wake up late!"

Temper now raring up, Kaoru fired back, "I never wake up late, Yahiko-chan! It's you that we're always waiting on!"

Grinding his teeth, Yahiko snarled, "Don't call me that! I hate that word! Darn it! Out of the words in Japanese that you can't remember, why can't that word be one of them?"

"It's just your luck, I guess," Kaoru giggled.

Yahiko was quick to launch another attack on her cooking though, and they fight continued all the way to the dojo. When they finally reached the dojo, Yahiko and Kaoru were red in the face from yelling. However, the sight of the dojo left them speechless. It was a moment that all the now petrified wildlife were grateful for. That was certainly lucking for the two loud siblings because the dojo was obviously home to most of the animals in the area.

The roof was falling apart, windows were broken out, and the front gate was almost completely unhinged. The place looked like the creepy old houses in all the horror movies where the main stars raise some dude from the dead who tries to kill them all. The two siblings gulped as they went inside. Thankfully, the inside was a little bit better. It was relatively clean and the furniture still had protective covers over them. Yes, the house did have a funny smell. And yes, the smell was coming from the basement along with some weird noises. Still, it's nothing some strong scented candles could kill, right? Hopefully?

A further search found the bedrooms to be huge. There were six total, and there was one large hall with futons lined across the far wall. Kaoru assumed that live-in students must have slept here at one time. Kaoru journeyed into the kitchen to see a pure disaster. Broken plates were everywhere, the table had some sort of bugs nest in it, and the stove was the old gas kind that you had to actually light with a match to even get a flame. That was okay though. It wasn't like anyone actually cooked in their family anyway.

Finally, Kaoru found the most important part of the dojo; the training hall. While it too needed repairs, it was still the most beautiful thing Kaoru had ever seen. Ancient swords were used in combat now laid dormant on the walls as decorations. Ancient scrolls sat on stands and the names of the dojo's students from years ago still hung on the wall covered in layers in dust. Opening a closet, Kaoru found dozens of padding and practice armor.

From what Kaoru understood, no one had set foot on this dojo since before World War II. That meant that every ounce of equipment had been around for quite some time. Some of these things might even date back as far as the Meiji Era! While, yes, that did mean she had to test the equipment first to make sure it could still be used, she was sure that Yahiko was more than up to the task.

Yes! This was Kaoru's dream! Sure, it needed some paint, some wood to fix the holes in the wall, and some form of something to clean up that green stuff growing in the corner, but it was still her dream! All she had to do was survive off their savings and rent from the other dojo in Tokyo, until she could fix up this dojo and open her own Kendo school. She had never been so happy in all her life!

"This place is a dump!" Well, that feeling didn't last long…

"I can't believe that we flew all the way around the world just to live in this trash heap! Is the other dojo in Tokyo this bad? No! It's in the city! People actually take care of it!"

"Yahiko!" Kaoru snapped, "We can't move to the dojo in Tokyo because the city is too dangerous! There are rebel gangs everywhere there! There's nothing like that here in Kyoto! Besides, we don't belong in the city anyway! We're staying, so deal with it!"

Yahiko growled. "Fine! But when the cockroaches kidnap you and make you their queen, don't ask me for help!"

Kaoru watched him stomp off in a huff and sighed. It was going to take a lot of work, she knew that. Still, they could make it work. They had too. They had survived too much not too. They worked too hard and long not to. They had nowhere else to go.

***************

It was bizarre really. Most people would think that the highways would be deserted at night. Then again, most people don't make running for their lives a habit. But hey, everyone needs a hobby, right?

Horns blared and drivers shouted, even in the pitch-black hour of the night. Tires screeched and cars slammed on their brakes. All of this was proving to be very distracting to a certain red head and his blue-eyed companion.

"What on earth is going on out there?" Kenshin demanded angrily.

Aoshi simply shrugged his shoulders. It had been a long day and everyone in the limbo was beyond tired. Yet, the two boys were still burning that mid-night oil. They had been going over blue prints for hours. They had to figure out some way to enter the next target and destroy it without having to fight the two hundred soldiers guarding the place. This little meeting only consisted of Kenshin and Aoshi now though. Hannya had said that he had someone to go see. Kenshin could only assume that Aoshi had sent him on an errand of some kind.

Kenshin looked at the clock. It was well past midnight and he was sure that he was going to pass out the minute they got to the Aoi-ya. You can't destroy a military base without losing some sleep though. It was well worth it to, since the mission had gone off without a single hitch. They stopped their beloved and corrupt government from terrorizing citizens, and they even got some pretty new weapons in the process. All's well that ends well. After all, it beat working hours on end at some office somewhere.

"Kenshin," Aoshi broke into his thoughts, "This next target is going to be very heavily guarded. It isn't some pathetic post out in the middle of nowhere like tonight's target was. This next place is going to be Shishio's birthday party. He'll have not only his best men, but also the best of society around him. Anyone without the appearance of blue blood will stick out like a sore thumb."

Kenshin faked insult. "Aoshi! Are you saying that you don't think that I can be cultured? I'm hurt!"

"Well," smirked Aoshi, "I do have my doubts after watching you eat ribs last week, but that wasn't what I was talking about."

Aoshi's smirk faded and his gaze turned solemn. "What I meant was…."

"You meant that we're going to have to kill someone on Shishio's tight guest list just to get in," Kenshin interrupted him.

Aoshi was silent for a minute as his eyes searched Kenshin's .

"Do you mind?" he asked finally.

Kenshin averted his gaze to the window to watch the darkness roll by. "No. If I stop now, then everything I've done so far will be for nothing. I will find another way to live someday, but now is not the time. I can't just abandon all my beliefs. She wouldn't want that….."

Aoshi felt a pang of sympathy for the man. He rarely mentioned her anymore. Not that he had talked about her all that much to begin with.

"Very well then. I will start making the preparations."

"Aoshi," Kenshin said surprised, "Normally, you have every mission planned in advance right down to the times where I can use the toilet. You're losing your edge old friend."

"It's nothing. I'm just losing sleep worrying about how you're going to screw our revolution up."

Kenshin opened his mouth to reply when the limbo suddenly stopped. Sending Aoshi a cautious look, the other man was quick to explain.

"Our driver just getting gas. Nothing to grab your sword over," Aoshi said as he climbed out of his seat and over to the door.

Kenshin got up to follow him. Spending five hours in a car didn't do wonders for your bladder. Even a guy could only hold it for so long. And Kenshin really didn't like the thought of climbing out of the car in the freezing dead of night just to take a leak on the side of the road.

Aoshi opened the door and started to get out. In a matter of seconds, he was thrown back inside the car on top of Kenshin. The two men went down in a loud heap and Kenshin's chest was crushed by Aoshi's weight. Aoshi's legendary instincts kicked in though, and he was up and off the smaller man in a flash. Pushing himself off the floor, Kenshin was surprised to what had knocked them down.

The mysterious boulder was actually a very petite young woman. She was probably the tiniest thing Kenshin had ever seen. She was also probably one of the most shockingly dressed women he had ever seen as well. She was dressed in head to toe in black leather. She wore a tight halter top that a blind man would have noticed and had on little shorts that exposed most of her well-toned legs to the two men. Her leather jacket and 5" inch stiletto boots were the finishing touch that would make most men stop and stare.

She wasn't exactly the exotic beauty men dream about, but she had short hair that framed her face in midnight locks and green eyes that could have lighten up the darkest of rooms. What was most noticeable about her though, was her bloody nose, the quickly spreading bruise on her cheek, and the death that she promised in her eyes.

Kenshin looked over at Aoshi and could have sworn that the man had frozen. He could also have sworn that some spark had appeared in the stoic man's eyes that Kenshin had never seen before. He didn't have time to figure out what it was though, because a huge man came threw the limbo door and tackled the nameless woman to the ground.

***************

The poor little woman had just managed to get up and off the seat the seat that she had landed on before the man tackled her again. Coughing up blood, she flew back against the seat as the larger man's fist collided with her face again. She wasn't down for long though. The huge man made a sound of surprise when her small fist collided with his stomach. He seemed even more surprised when she slammed her two fisted hands down on his back.

Kenshin and Aoshi watched amazed as she pinned the man down. She seemed to have immobilized the man, but he soon got his second wind. In a flash, the woman was the one pinned and immobilized. Aoshi, now alert again, was about to lunge for the man when he heard a resounding crack. Aoshi grimaced as he watched his best Champaign bottle free its contents on the skull of the aggressive man. The mysterious woman had seemed to get it out of nowhere and the man on top of her never saw it coming. "Well," Aoshi though, "I guess someone finally found an occasion to open it."

The blow hadn't been hard enough to kill her attacker, but he was certain to at least have a concussion. Blood to continued to flow over the man's shoulders and he remained unconscious. Aoshi looked at his assailant with raised eyebrows. Finally, she dragged those pools of endless green from her victim to look up at him. Her eyes widened a bit as if she didn't even realize that she had had an audience in the car. The two simply stared at each other for a moment.

Finally, Aoshi broke the spell and pulled a handkerchief out his pocket. He held it out to her and she looked at it confused.

"For your nose," he said emotionlessly.

The woman brought a hand to her nose and felt the blood there. With wide eyes, she said astounded, "Oh, I didn't even know I was bleeding. Thanks."

Giving him a lazy smile, she brought it to her nose and threw her head back. Letting the blood flow back down her throat, she carefully climbed out of the car and began to walk off. The two startled men in the car looked at each other and then hurried after her.

Climbing out into the parking lot, they watched as she hopped onto a black motorcycle. Kenshin stood there amazed and at a loss as what to do. She started her bike's engine, but Aoshi grabbed her hand.

"Wait," he commanded, "We need to take you to a doctor."

"What on earth for?" she asked almost amused, "This isn't the first bloody nose I've gotten and it certainly won't be the last. Besides, what could a doctor do anyway?"

"You could suffer a dizzy spell and have an accident," Aoshi stated. "It isn't safe to drive at night. Especially, if you are wounded."

"Well, we don't all have the luxury of traveling in limbos, blue eyes. Some of us have to wing it to make it in this world," she said in a sassy tone.

Aoshi opened his mouth to respond when he heard the click of a gun. Reacting on pure instinct, he lifted the petite woman off her bike and threw himself on top of her. Bullets whizzed passed them as they hit the ground and Aoshi wondered what kind of people this little minx had tangled with. Waiting a minute, he heard the gun run out of bullets and he sprung into the air. Without any effort at all, he tackled the assailant and slammed the man's head against the gas station wall. The effect was immediate and the man fell into a deep and unwilling slumber.

Aoshi turned around to see the mystery woman hopping onto her bike again. He raced over to her to catch her before she took off. He rushed over to her ready to give her an ear full. Suddenly, any words he might have said left him almost immediately as warm, unfarmiliar lips collided with his own. Her kiss was chaste, but it was still enough to set his blood on fire. One gloved hand held his collar as she steadied him in place. Suddenly, his senses were filled with the taste of her.

Finally, she released him and he took a moment to catch his breath. He hadn't even realized that she had started her motorcycle again and was beginning to move. She gave him a cocky smile and tossed something into his hands.

"Thanks, blue eyes," she grinned, "I guess you're not just some rich boy, are you? Call me up sometime. I'm a journalist and detective of sorts, and your kind is always in need of people like us. See ya!"

And with that, she was gone as fast as she had appeared. Aoshi watched her leave as if in a daze. He stood there for several minutes looking like, at least what he was convinced must have been, a complete fool. Finally, he looked at the object in his hand. It was a sliver lighter with her name on it. Misao Makimachi. He marveled. Aoshi never marveled. Now, where had he heard that name before? Aw, well, it didn't matter anyway.

Breaking out of his trace, Aoshi suddenly ordered, "Come on, we need to leave here soon."

Kenshin, who had been silent until now, just smirked at him. "Sure thing, blue eyes."

Kenshin hissed from the kick Aoshi dealt him and the solemn man walked off.

'Interesting,' Aoshi though, 'Very interesting. Yes, I think we will meet again sometime Miss Makimachi.'

With a smirk, Aoshi tucked the lighter away in his coat pocket and walked into the gas station.

***************

Kaoru was so not a happy camper. It was only four in the morning and someone was already knocking on the door. Well, it was more like banging really. All right, she was surprised corpses weren't rising from their graces the noise was so loud. Looking at the old place, she was sure that the dojo had some hidden graves somewhere.

There shouldn't have been anyone there at this hour. The nearest neighbor was at least four miles away. Kaoru quickly cringed. She sincerely hoped that they didn't have the kind of neighbors that got up at the crack of dawn and just came over to visit. They wouldn't be visiting long if they did.

Yawning, Kaoru yanked open the dojo gate and got ready to yell at the person behind it. Her mouth slammed shut, however, when she meet of pair tired green eyes. Kaoru was shocked. Standing before her, was none other than her crazy best friend.

"Misao! I thought you were in Africa!"

The tired woman smiled and said, "I was, but that assignment is over now. Believe it or not, I'm working on a new story in Japan now. It's a real shocker, too. Um, Kaoru…. I was wondering… could I crash here for a while?"

Kaoru's thrilled reaction was to latch onto the smaller woman and practically drag her happily giggling across the yard. Misao's desperate pleas of "what about my bike?" were ignored and she was locked safely in the house. Kaoru happily ushered her into her bedroom and, worse, into the light. Kaoru's shout could be heard for miles.

"Misao Makimachi! What happened to your face?! I told you, no more FIGHTING!!!!!"

"Ow! Darn it, Kaoru! No it's started bleeding again!"

"Well, serves you right!"

Once again, animals scurried away in fear.

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Well, the first chapter is done and I expect some reviews! I honestly didn't originally plan to have Aoshi and Misao meet in this chapter. I also didn't plan to have Misao hit on him either, but boy was it fun to write! Although, most of this chapter didn't go according to my notes, so I'm guessing that the twists and turns of this story will be a surprise even to me. Yahoo!