Pairing: Kenshin x Kaoru, Kenshin x Tomoe

Rating: T for now, but it's rated M for future situations.

Genre: AU/AR, Romance, Fantasy, Adventure, Drama, Humour

Warning: Slow-building, English isn't my first language, some bad words, a little violence (not much), perhaps some OCCness peeking through.

Notes: I started this story ages ago and have been posting it on my LJ. I was going to wait until the story was complete until I posted it here, but I need some encouragement to keep on writing due to the dry spell I find myself in. So, I hope you will like this :)

Enjoy!

On the Wrong Track

Chapter 3.

Come morning, she found a safer location to occupy than the day before. She really needn't see Himura come out of his building, after all. As long as she stayed on the street he walked down to get to work, she would spot him, and know he wasn't off somewhere else. So she patiently waited, shouting out headlines to the few people passing by this early, trying not to be too loud. It wouldn't do to be chased off just because she disturbed someone's sleep.

"The Guild of Environmental Protection was rejected a position in the Council of Guilds, again! Old woman sued mage student! Fire in New City destroyed warehouse!" she called, pausing to take a breath when red filled her vision out of the corner of her eye.

"I seemed to have missed buying one yesterday," a now familiar voice commented, making her lower her arm which waved a newspaper around to catch attention. It seemed to have worked.

"Sir?" she said, trying to sound genuinely puzzled. Himura smiled, offering her three bronze coins with the City's emblem on it. She reached for them and quickly took them from his hand (ignoring the way his otherwise undetectable magic slipped over her skin at the contact), handing him a paper in return while he spoke again. "You're new here, aren't you?" She nodded, biting her lip. He smiled kindly, and if she hadn't been holding her breath it would've hitched. "Well, welcome to the neighborhood! I'll be buying your paper from now on, then. Good morning, kid."

And with a slight nod, Himura left. She called her thanks after him as he disappeared down the street, somewhat relieved. His eyes hadn't been eying her in a way that suggested he didn't trust her, he had been nothing but kind. Welcoming.

This was easier than what she'd thought. The only bad thing was that now, she would have to keep coming to this cover-up job of hers until the case was closed, at least, and she hatedearly mornings.

But she never said no to extra money like this. Maybe she should get herself a treat later, for a job well done?

oOo

"I still don't see why I need to do this."

"Shut up Sano, I'm not repeating myself for the tenth time, so just bear with it. And keep facing that way! Don't you dare look until I say so!"

"Yes ma'm," he grumbled, crossing his arms with a roll of his eyes. She had just showed him one of her boy personas; apparently this one was named Abe Kenji. He had known she used several identities, but had so far been spared to encounter any of them. Now he would be seeing two in the span of an hour, and for some reason he'd rather not discover, they weresiblings.

"Okay, you can look now!" And he did, slowly. Turning around, he was greeted with an unusual sight. The boy, Kenji, he could deal with. She often donned pants, loose-fitting shirts and different kinds of caps to make it easier to move around. Rarely did he see her in dresses, skirts or anything similar that was tellingly female. Now she stood before him in a simple, pale yellow dress – with white lace and ribbons and bows – that hugged her waist and complimented her bust in a way he found very uncomfortable. She wasn't the tomboy Kamiya Kaoru anymore, the crazy little Tracker mage he knew. This was…what was her name?

"Abe Mai, pleased to meet you," she greeted, head slightly titled downwards, loose hair spilling over her shoulders and her blue eyes peering shyly up at him as she curtseyed. Oh this was definitely not the girl he knew! Kaoru wasn't shy, she didn't curtsey, and was that make-up? He blinked, utterly stupefied. A thin, dark layer of kohl framed her eyes and a simple thickening spell had been cast on her lashes, which he personally thought was completely unnecessary. He suspected there was some gloss on her lips as well, but was already too disturbed by the fact that he was noticing so much about her already to even consider the possibility.

"So," she began, straightening and losing her seemingly meek posture within the blink of an eye, literally. He closed his eyes for less than a second, and the surreal notion of a stranger with Kaoru's eyes was gone once he opened them again. "Is there enough difference for it to be two different people, yet enough similarities for them to be two of the same blood?"

Sighing, he had to hand it to her. With such little use of magic, her transformation was professional.

"Yes, miss Abe, definitely."

Just be careful, he added in his mind, knowing it would do no good to voice it aloud. She would have his head, but it didn't stop him from worrying. He had known Kenshin for a while, known him enough to be aware of the older man's strength and way of thinking. And Kamiya Kaoru, playing the part of another or not – boy or girl – would catch even his eye.

If only because her magic was so…warm, and dangerously inviting, to people like him. People whose aches were soothed by the embrace of her magic.

People who hurt.

oOo

"Hello there."

Kaoru froze; looking up from her book to confront the sight she knew was coming ever since he entered the café. Stupid man and his stupid paranoia. She'd give her left arm if he wasn't here because he'd picked out her new face in the crowd of his favorite café.

"Hi." She decided to be short, at first, because he was supposed to be a stranger. He didn't seem to mind, easily slipping into the seat opposite of hers and eying her curiously. She briefly wondered what she looked like to him, in her mother's old yellow dress and painted eyes and lips, but quickly dismissed the thought. Instead, she went back to staring at her book, intently, somehow wishing he would take the hint and leave. It was easier to play the young maiden than she'd thought; perhaps she wasn't as boyish as people kept telling her. Or maybe she was just really looked the part, dressed up as she was.

He didn't speak for a while, letting moments of uncomfortable silence pass. She steeled herself, knowing he would say something and it would be best to be prepared of whatever it would be. She had found, through experience, that lying through her teeth was very easily detected. When she covered it with half-lies, or spoke the truth with a lot of omission, or even made herselfbelieve in the lie, it worked a lot better. So when Himura finally broke the silence to ask if she, by chance, had a younger brother working in the area of Earlstreet she found herself thinking more about Yahiko than she ever had.

"Depends on who's asking," she replied, because young girls were supposed to be suspicious of strange men that settled down opposite of the table you're at in cafés. The fact that she knew very well who was asking would merely make him suspicious so she tried her best to play the part. Think about Yahiko; yes, he's the brother, not your alter ego. Yahiko, Yahiko he works with news papers, so that's not a lie. He might as well be my brother too, so it's not a lie, see?

"Oh, pardon me! I'm Himura Kenshin," he said, a sheepish grin in place that made her look away for a moment before steeling herself and giving him a nod in reply, not yet ready to give him her name – even if it was a fake one. "Really? Well, I thought so. I bought a paper from him this morning, you see, and you were awfully alike. I though, you just had to be related!" he explained, the grin on his handsome face widening. She sighed, thinking it was a close call, before retuning his smile.

"Really? I hope it wasn't a hassle, Himura-san! News boys can be, you know? But my brother is usually very polite…" she trailed off; hoping the frown on her face was a worried one. By his reaction, it was.

"Oro! He was the perfect gentleman, miss! I saw him last night, as well, waiting for you. It would seem as if you have a very good brother, miss! Indeed, it does!" he assured her, and she suppressed a snort at the thought of Yahiko. Had it really been him Himura encountered, she wouldn't have been assured at all.

"I see," she said, smiling, before standing. "Well, I think I've been here long enough. If you'll excuse me, Himura-san, I need to get going. I thank you, on behalf of my brother, for buying the paper. Good evening."

With that, she left, ignoring Himura's weak protests and apologies. It was getting complicated now. He had met both her personas, in the very places she could successfully spy on him.

Perhaps it was time for that infiltration.

oOo

"Did you get rejected, Ken-san?" the pretty waitress of the Akabeko asked, a twinkle in her eyes. "I didn't know you were interested in such fresh meat in the first place."

"Oro? Miss Megumi?" a startled Kenshin yelped, more caught off guard by her statement rather than her presence. He'd felt her watching him ever since he hesitated in the entrance of the café before approaching the young lady who had just turned tails and run. Albeit gracefully and undeniably polite, it was still an obvious retreat. He felt slightly guilty for scaring the girl, having only realized the oddity of the situation he'd forced on her when it was too late. Even after several years, he was finding it hard to interact with strangers appropriately. But something about the girl's magic had been…inviting, and suspiciously familiar. Her confirmation of her relation to the paper boy had soothed his worries though, if only a little. Both siblings seemed to possess an uncannily open aura, embracing their surroundings naturally. He still remembered the boy's acceptance of his magic earlier than morning, puzzled by how easily it had been teased to the surface.

"What, my dear Ken-san? You know I was joking. But then again, things aren't really okay with Tomoe, are they?" Megumi said once she believed him to have gotten over the shock her words had provoked, interrupting his train of thoughts successfully with the knowing tilt of her head. Sitting up straighter, he frowned.

"What are you talking about, Megumi? Tomoe is wonderful and I—"

"—I'm not saying she's not wonderful; she is. Eerily perfect, if you ask me," she interrupted once more, pausing to sigh but resuming her speech before he could speak up again. "However, no happily committed man willingly spends so much time at work as you do, or argues with his boss when he demands you to take a few days off! You must hardly see her at all! I might even dare to say you're seeing more of me, and I'm not saying that's a bad thing…" She trailed off, winking at the conflicted expression on his face.

"Oro!" he exclaimed, taken aback by the nerve of this woman. How dare she imply…? She didn't even know..! His eyes narrowed, losing the confused edge her bluntness had caused. "My relationship with Tomoe is my business, Miss Megumi. Leave it be."

She merely raised a brow, and he bristled silently at the whole situation. Time for distraction. "You don't happen to know who the girl that just left was, do you, Miss Megumi?"

"Changing subject, now are we?" she shot back, amused. "Well, Ken-san, I'm not sure who she is. But really, approaching a young girl sitting alone and then inquiring of her identity from a waitress? If you keep it up, I might start thinking you're paranoid. She's just a new face in your comfort zone, Ken-san."

He sighed, slightly embarrassed at her words but too used to her way to be offended. "So you don't know her name?" he couldn't help but ask, since he didn't really like the fact that the girl had managed to escape with his full name while he was left with nothing but pretty blue eyes and the lingering of warm, inviting magic in the air.

Shrugging, Megumi grinned. "If she returns tomorrow, why don't you ask for yourself? She seems like a nice little thing. A bit clueless to fashion, but no one can be perfect like me, you know?" Patting his shoulder, she turned to leave but paused to look over her shoulder. "Be sure to use some of your charms next time though; the poor thing looked terrified by your sudden attention."

Opening his mouth to protest, he was cut off by her laughter as she walked away and waved her hand in a dismissing manner.

"Don't worry; I'm sure you haven't lost your touch!"

He didn't know what made him the most uncomfortable; the fact that Megumi, and most guests sitting near enough to overhear their conversation, thought he was flirting with a girl who looked no more than fifteen, or the simple notion that he really wanted to know her name. Tough decision.

oOo

End Notes: Please review! :D