It was late afternoon in the normally busy town of Kyoto. But it wasn't busy at all now. There were barely a handful of people out in the market place and it was late spring, so it wouldn't be getting dark for a little while, which meant the weather was no reason for the absence of the people. No one would walk around without at least one other person with them and they would barely walk around outside anyways. People were afraid to be out nowadays because of the recent assassinations that were taking place all over the country. Important yet corrupt figures in the government were being killed and it was no secret who was killing them.

It was no secret who was killing them either, though not much was being done to stop the assassins because everyone was too scared of them. The band of assassins that was led by the infamous Battousai and all of them were known for their amazing fighting abilities. It was also no secret where their hideout was either, because the band had been very open about it. It was a large castle that lay between Tokyo and Kyoto, that's why the people of Kyoto were so on edge.

Only one of the people walking around the market was walking by themselves and it was a young woman that everyone was staring at, not surprised, but warily. Her name was Kaoru Kamiya and she ran the dojo on the outskirts of town all by herself since her father had died. She had never quite fit in around town and she had few friends, so the people were always watching her when she came around. Most people didn't approve of her teaching kendo to the children of the town, even though only a few boys bothered to go.

Today she headed for the small bookstore next to the Akebeko that was empty except for the bookseller and a hooded man who was looking at the shelves on the wall. Hooded cloaks were nothing suspicious in the city anymore, since everyone had suddenly decided that if they wore the hoods of their cloaks up, they would be spared if they were threatened by the Battousai and his gang.

Kaoru pays no attention the hooded man as she walks up the bookseller with a smile and pulls a book out of her bag, handing it to him. "Thank you for lending me the book, Hinzen. You were right; it really was a good book."

"No problem Kaoru, but I just gave you this book, don't tell me you finished it already." Hinzen the bookseller said jovially, taking the book back and putting it back in its place on the shelf. Normally he didn't give out his books, but he and his wife had been friends with Kaoru's parents before they died, so he knew he could trust her with the books. He glances at the man browsing the shelves before turning back to Kaoru. "What can I do for you today?"

"Well, I need two books. One is the epic tale of Katsu, you know, the history of kendo. And the other is a book I've never heard of before, but that one of the boys told me I should read. It's called Hiten Mitsurugi, I think. It's all about a sword style and it's supposed to be very interesting." Kaoru explained, not noticing the hooded man look up when she mentions the name of the book.

"Hiten Mitsurugi? Well, that sounds vaguely familiar, why don't you wait here and I'll go look." Hinzen said as he disappeared into the back of the store.

Kaoru looks around the bookstore with a smile; she had always felt safe here, especially after her parents had died. Hinzen and his wife Mai always treated her like she was one of their own and had always looked out for her when she hit a spot of trouble with any of the townspeople.

"What has you interesting in the Hiten Mitsurugi book?" A smooth, deep voice broke her out of her slight daze. Looking around, she sees that the hooded stranger had turned to look at her, his unique golden eyes showing his curiosity and interest. Kaoru looked over his face with a soft blush, noticing that he was pretty handsome, even with the scar of an X on his left cheek. Everything about him seemed unique as she noticed his bangs were a dark natural red.

"Oh, well, one of my students said that it was an interesting book on the fighting style, so I thought I would give it a read." Kaoru explain, remembering that he probably expected an answer instead of being ogled.

"Ah. And what kind of students do you teach that would want to read about fighting?" He asked. This woman had caught his attention and his interest, which was not an easy thing to do. Even blushing, he could tell that she was able to take care of herself if need be.

"I'm a kendo teacher. I teach the Kamiya Kasshin style." She said, looking at the guy a little suspiciously. Most people when they learned this, turned rather nasty, so she was on her toes, ready for it. The answer she got surprised her more than anything.

"That's interesting. What kind of style is that?"

No one had ever asked her that before, they just slide into snide remarks about how a woman shouldn't be teaching children to fight. You could have knocked Kaoru over with a feather. Blushing softly again, she looks at the man with a small smile and starts to explain it to him, completely forgetting that she was waiting for Hinzen to bring her the books she wanted because she was enjoying talking to the stranger. And he actually seemed interesting about it, taking off his hood to show his flame red hair tied back in a pony tail and moving over to her so she wasn't shouting across the room, which he noticed with a small amount of pleasure, caused her to blush again.

Hinzen walks in in the middle of their conversation and clears his throat to make his presence known; smiling softly at the fact that Kaoru seemed to be happily chatting away with the stranger.

"Here are your books Kaoru, and I found the book you were looking for sir." Hinzen said, handing each of them their respective books and taking their money. He smiles as they walk out of the store together before going upstairs to his and his wife's little flat above the store to tell her about it.

In the street, Kaoru and the stranger continued to talk on their way to Kaoru's dojo, almost walking past it before the stranger notices it has the same name as the style they were talking about and pointing it out to her. She flushes a little in embarrassment at missing her own home and stands in front of the door with him.

"It was very nice talking to you Miss…"

"Kaoru. Kaoru Kamiya." She said, introducing herself and holding a hand out to shake his.

"Kaoru. Well, it's very nice to meet you Kaoru." He said, taking her hand and leaning down to kiss it softly, causing her cheeks to flame up again and her to smile.

"It was very nice to meet you too Mr.…"

"Kenshin. Kenshin Himura"

"Thank you for walking me home Kenshin." She said quietly, still blushing as she pulls her hand away softly and hugs her books to her chest and turning to the door. He smiles and nods, waiting for her to go in before starting down the road again. Now that he had met Kaoru, his plans had changed just a little.