A/N - And this is the second chapter of Teenagers. Please note that throughout this chapter, I won't be using Kenshin's name, simply because most people only know him as Battousai or Himura.


Kaoru made a small grunt, scrubbing the wood floors with a brush, before dipping it into the bucket next to her. She squeaked as the soapy water splashed a little more than she'd hoped it to, earning herself a large amount of water on her coal gray robe, and more than enough suds to turn her once dry hair into a fragrant, damp, mess.

She shook her head, only to groan as water splattered everywhere, and continued to scrub the floors. At least she was safer in the hallway, scrubbing floors, than she was outside. Or, she could only imagine, in the dreaded meeting room. Boisterous laughter exploded from behind the thin doors, leading to a marching innkeeper coming from no where, to rap her fan on the door, "Be quiet in there!"

The men in the room immediately hushed up, and except for a few errant chuckles, it was calm. Returning to her scrubbing, Kaoru's mind wandered off, thinking back to the night before.

Once again, blue met amber. Her breath halted in her throat, and her heartbeat suddenly felt really, really loud. Her hands twitched, wanting to shield her face, her ankles turned slightly to the left, and her legs tensed, ready to flee. But even then, she knew it was futile, she was, in truth, rooted to the spot in terror.

The innkeeper sighed softly, and reached out to pat on Battousai's arm, shaking her head, "Now, now, Himura. This is going to be your roommate."

Both teenagers turned towards the woman, Kaoru having broken from her paralysis. "What?" the both exclaimed, before looking at each other, looking over the other. Kaoru's jaw tightened and straightened, and her chin tilted up, getting a look of defiance, before she spun towards the innkeeper.

Her willpower crumpled when she saw the older woman's look, giving her absolutely no room to argue. From Battousai's frozen facial features, his mouth halfway open in just the way hers was, she knew the argument was over.

"I'll just…sleep in the hallway," he muttered, after the innkeeper had begun to walk away.

"Um, okay."

She heard a man stand up in the room, and grabbed a small towel, beginning to wipe down the floor, so hopefully, no one would slip. She heard them say their last words to each other, and heard only one, articulated sentence from the bunch, "Himura, stay here."

Gathering her things in her bucket, she had just begun to stand up when men began to file out of the meeting room. Keeping her blue eyes on the floor, she tried not to acknowledge the grins from the warriors. The door was left open, and she waited patiently for the last two men, Battousai and Katsura to leave the room, so she could clean up.

To her surprise, or perhaps, horror, Katsura looked up and caught eyes with her, and smiled, beckoning her in. Her feet were planted on the ground, and her pose changed slightly, giving her the appearance of a person who would not move. She noticed how Battousai's pose shifted in just the same way.

Katsura rolled his eyes and chuckled, once again, waving her in, "Now come on, girl, I don't bite." He looked at Himura, grinning, and was greeted only by annoyed, violet eyes. The young woman, Kaoru, the innkeeper had said, took a few steps into the room, her eyes full of defiance. Such an odd pair they made, now that he saw them side by side.

Katsura motioned for them both to sit down, which they did quickly. Both of their figures were rigid, both glaring secretly at each other from the corner of their eyes. He bowed down before Kaoru, watching as she did the same, hesitantly.

"Now, Kaoru-san, I hear that you are sharing a room with Himura-san."

The young woman blinked in surprise, before nodding. Himura's eyes turned wary, and was about to open his mouth to speak, before becoming interrupted.

"I also hear that he's sleeping in the hallway now."

Both teenagers began to speak at the same time, Kaoru's cheeks tinged pink, Himura's expression in that of embarrassment. Katsura held his hands up in surprise, "Wait, wait, wait! One at a time!" Slightly off balance at the onslaught, he had to catch himself from falling over backwards.

"Katsura-san," Himura began immediately, "I volunteered to sleep in the hallway." He noticed how Kaoru nodded vehemently at the statement from the corner of his eye, and waited until both of them were still before he started to speak again.

"Himura, I hope you realize, that we need you sleeping in a room, on a futon. Especially now that it's starting to get cold again, the hallway is simply too-" Both voices began to interrupt him, and, once again off balance, he noticed how they both leaned forward in such a way, as though about to attack him.

"Battousai-san may sleep in the room," he picked out from Kaoru, "I will sleep outside in the hallway."

"I'll be fine in the hallway, I won't catch a cold, and even then.." he heard from the redheaded assassin.

A stern look from the older man silenced both of them, and both parties looked on the ground. The girl, he noticed, made a zipping motion along her lips. Taking that as a cue to continue, he started over again, "The hallway is too drafty for anyone to be sleeping out there, especially now that winter is around the corner."

Both Himura and Kaoru looked up at him, their expressions giving him the idea that they wanted to speak again. Holding up a hand, he continued, "Himura, you need to stay healthy, and even a small cold will burden your.. Job. And Kaoru-san, you need to work around the inn to pay off your stay here, and being sick will only put you further in debt to the inn."

He saw her jaw tighten, and made a rush to finish before either of the parties would try to voice their opinion again, "Share the room."

He tried to make a finishing glare, to cement his orders, but the effect was lessened by a few wolf whistles and clapping from outside.

Then there were cries of pain, as the sounds of fans against shoulders were heard, along with the innkeepers voice, "Get outta here, you perverts!"

Kaoru looked down, her cheeks flushing softly at the whistles, and the young Himura looked at her and sighed softly. Both glanced a look at each other, and bowed down, as though synchronized, "We'll share the room."


They had barely made it out of the meeting room before Kaoru lost her temper. "Is there a dojo around here, Battousai-san?" she pleaded as they began to walk down to their room. He looked down at her, surprised, "No, we all practice behind the inn."

She nodded, seemingly lost in thought as they continued to walk. A silence wafted over them, letting Himura think for a few moments.

"Himura, stay here," Katsura looked straight at him, beckoning him close. Himura walked over cautiously, and Katsura stood up, putting a firm hand on my shoulder, and pulling me close, unexpectedly. He whispered harshly into my ear, "This girl shouldn't be here, but we can't let her leave. She knows who you are.. Make sure she stays here until I say so."

He pushed me back, his features hard. He sat down and I did the same, about to ask a few questions, when I heard him beckon in the girl outside.

Kaoru stopped in front of their room, walking in without a second thought, and over to the closet. The young man behind her barely had enough time to stutter out a "What are you doing?" before she flung open the closet, reaching in a looking through his clothes.

"Wow, why are all your clothes so tattered?" he heard her mumble, pulling out a gi and hakama, looking at him seriously, "Do you have any cloth bandages?"

She blinked as he ran forward, taking his clothes away from her arms, "Are you serious? You are not using my clothes." He watched in annoyance as she stomped both of her feet, planting her feet on the ground, "I can't practice kendo in a kimono."

He couldn't help but sneer at her, "Learn your gender, little girl. You shouldn't be playing swords anyway."

She put her hands on her hips, and leaned forward, smirking, "I could tell you the same thing, girly-man. Haven't hit puberty yet?"


Himura pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing softly as he heard her rummage around inside of the room. How the hell she had won that argument, he would never know. All he knew, was that in a matter of minutes, he was scurrying out of the room, licking his wounds and picking up the pieces of his shattered ego.

The door slid open, and she walked out, tying her midnight black hair into a ponytail, the high from her victory making her eyes sparkle, and her mouth lift up in an elated smile. Sure enough, his clothes fit her perfectly, and she shot him a grin, and pointed down the hallway, "Onward, Battousai!"


He watched her as she swung his sword, and hid his face under his red hair as a few of the other men shot his amused looks and laughed. He'd lent her his sword without a fight, his ego and confidence wary and hurt.

Ready to unleash full payback at what he guessed would be mediocre skills, he was reduced to nothing but a sad puppy, watching her skilled body handle his sword with practice and ease, in a style which he had never seen before.

Something he had managed to pick up, was the fact she'd yet to make any finishing moves during her practice. He stealthed forward, grabbing his other sword, turning it over so that, if he actually hit, it would be with the dull side. She looked like she could take the hit.

She turned towards him and ran, without hesitation. He raised his sword with ease, although in shock, "What is your name, Battousai?" she asked, not moving her sword away from his.

He pulled his sword back and attacked, fast enough that he didn't expect her to raise her sword in a fluid block. "What is your name, Battousai?"

He jumped back and rolled his eyes, "What's that style you're using?"

He watched her eyes light up and her smile, "It's a style my father made after he left the Imperial Forces."

Kenshin attacked again, and she squeaked, getting out of the way. She grinned and jumped forward, swinging for his shoulder, only to be blocked. "What's the style that you use, Battousai?"

He chuckled and whispered softly, "My adopted father taught it to me, it's a style that's been around for hundreds of years."

He watched as she leaned forward, using all of her weight to press her sword harder against his. He returned the technique, until the only thing keeping both parties up was the force of their swords pressing together. Their grins turned into hard lines, as they both began using more force, each trying to get the other to pull back.

"Himura! Himura!" Their concentration was broken, and both teenagers pulled back, looking at the man running towards them. "I'izuka-san." Kaoru and Himura turned towards the running man, each making small bows.

I'izuka returned the bows, and held out a small parcel for Battousai. Kaoru barely saw what was handed to him before Himura placed it in his sleeve. From what she could guess, it looked a lot like an envelope. A black, envelope.

His jaw clenched and he looked at I'izuka, "Get it done, tonight." Nodding, he looked at Kaoru from under his hair, seeing her shock. Grinding his teeth together, he looked at her, and jerked his head toward the inn.

She nodded and walked briskly across the small courtyard, until she was right at the door. The two men were conversing lowly, so low, in fact, that she couldn't hear a word, only tones. She entered the inn, and went around a corner, waiting for the two men to come back inside.

The man named I'izuka came inside first, and didn't notice her.

Five or so minutes later, Himura had yet to come back inside.

Curiosity got the better of her, and she walked back into the courtyard. The sun was getting further down into the sky, the clouds beginning to turn a deep red. In a panic, she realized what the envelope was for, and everything clicked.

"Get it done tonight."

"Himura!" Kaoru yelled and began to run towards the street. It was only maybe six o'clock, perhaps, maybe, he hadn't left yet.

There was a sound of splashing, and she looked towards the bathhouse. And, sure enough, the was a silhouette in the shape of a young man. Or perhaps a young woman wearing men's clothes. She decided to chance that it was Himura.

Stealthing over to the bathhouse, she opened the door and gasped at the sight in front of her. No longer was this man the Battousai, no longer a killer of men.

He was a broken boy, of perhaps fourteen years, washing and scrubbing his hands in a pail of water, his back arched, his chest shaking, tears dropping down his cheeks and dripping into the water.

"Himura-san!" Kaoru ran forward, falling onto her knees next to him, feeling the hakama she was wearing start to soak up water that the young man had spilt on the floor.

"Kenshin.." she heard him murmur, "My name is Kenshin."


A/N - I'm sorry if that last part confused anyone. Seeing as Kenshin is only fourteen years old at the time of this story, I feel like assassination would have been a bit too much for him at such a young age, and so breaking down, I feel, isn't too out-of-ordinary.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, why both Kaoru and Kenshin had such a tense relationship with each other (i.e. glaring), isn't everyone a little tense when they have to share a room with someone? *giggle*

Read and review!