A/N: Sooo after reading longer into the book that Thomas Hardy wrote, I'm finding the ending is not what I predicted at all! But I'm going off an idea that I had after reading the first half of the book, so it will still somewhat be based off of it. Just a little notice!

I really hope you guys are liking the story! I haven't gotten many reviews...but just know that reviews are what fuel me to put out chapters faster.

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or any of its characters

Far From Home

"Are you a good cook?"

Himura looked at the ground with an odd look on his face. "Well, I'm not sure. I have cooked before and have not have many complaints, that I have not," he answered modestly.

It sounded like he was not the best cook; however, it did sound like he may be a better cook than she was. While he may have not had many complaints, Kaoru had definitely had more than one…every single time she cooked. Even when she was cooking for herself, she had a hard time eating everything she had prepared for dinner. Burnt rice balls, tough fish, and soggy vegetables were definitely something she could use a night away from. "If you are serious about returning my kindness, then buy the food and cook dinner," she commanded in her best authoritative voice.

Not a hint of hesitation crossed his face before his big, goofy looking grin burst out across his facial features. "Of course, Miss Kaoru!"

"You're new here, right?" she asked as he began to walk towards the dojo's gates.

He paused when he was next to her and tilted his head in question. "I am indeed. How did you know that?"

She chuckled, which only looked like it confused him further. "Let me accompany you to the market and you'll understand," she said with a smile. Gracefully, she turned and headed for the gate, sensing Himura a few leisurely paces behind her. She snuck a glance at him over her shoulder, only to find his amethyst eyes already watching her with a kind of sort of fascination. It was not a leering gaze that she had sometimes caught perverted old men ogling her with, but a genuine curiosity. She quickly returned her gaze ahead of her and cursed herself for the hot feeling on her cheeks.

"Assistant Master?" she heard Himura ask as they strolled through the gates. She turned back again to see him peering at the sign outside of the dojo that read "Kamiya Kaoru, Assistant Master".

Pride swelled within her as she nodded firmly. She could feel her face light up with pure joy as she puffed her chest out slightly and settled her hands on her hips. She could not resist boasting and chirped, "Yep! I told you my father taught me how to swordfight ever since I was young. He was the master of this dojo and taught his signature style: Kamiya Kassin-ryu! I trained under him since I was able to hold a bamboo sword, and I worked hard to earn that title."

When she finished boasting about her prideful achievements, she realized that he was looking at her again with a confused expression. "'Was the master'?" he repeated inquisitively.

She paused and her long lashes turned downwards instinctively when she refused to meet his eyes. "Yes," she answered quietly, suddenly the complete opposite of her previously loud, boastful presence. "My parents passed away a while ago."

There was an awkward pause among them, and Kaoru could feel his regret for asking even without words.

"Miss Kaoru, I-"

"But," she interrupted, meeting his worried gaze with usual determined, fiery blue. "What happened is in the past. I can't change it. I can only live on and do the best I can to pass on his teachings to my students here at the dojo." A smile graced her lips. She had suffered loss, but she was not one to be beaten down, and she would not let anyone think anything different. "I choose to look towards a bright future where my father will live on through the Kamiya Kasshin-ryu."

Himura smiled at her. "Yes, I think your father would be most proud to hear you say those words, Miss Kaoru, that I would," he said warmly. His eyes held the same curiosity as he listened to her. "It is going to be dark before I can finish preparing dinner if we do not leave soon, though," he reminded her gently.

Without a word, she turned and resumed walking again, Kenshin quickly catching up to her and matching her pace at her side.

They walked in comfortable silence until the large, wooden buildings of the main strip of the town came into view. Once they walked a little further, she began to see the merchants' stands that were shouting as people walked by, trying to get their attention to look at their goods.

"Get your tofu while it's fresh!"

"Can't go wrong with some plums!"

"Ginger root is almost gone. Hurry before we run out!"

As they began to walk down the street, Kaoru heard what she had been waiting for.

"Ah! Miss Kamiya!" a friendly voice called out to her.

She turned to see one of the vendors that she had come to befriend after many times of buying his rice for her unsuccessful cooking attempts. "Hello Mr. Takayashi!" she chirped pleasantly. "How are you today?"

"Not too bad! The Mrs. and I were able to sell nearly all of our bags of rice from the last harvest," he said happily. "We're hoping to do the same this time around! Are you out of rice so soon? I remember the last time you went through a whole bag of rice in a day trying to cook riceballs..."

Kaoru felt her face flush with embarrassment. "Actually," she said, a little peeved, although she knew he meant no harm. "Himura offered to cook dinner tonight." It was not until after she said it out loud that she realized how it might be perceived. "O-Only because I let him use my bathhouse!"

The wide eyes of Mr. Takayashi told her she did not help her situation at all. "Oh, I see," he said, looking at the red headed man. "Is this fellow your-"

"No!" she said loudly, cutting him off and feeling her face get hotter. She did not even chance a glance at Himura. "I thought he was homeless and was trying to help him out."

Mr. Takayashi raised a skeptic brow, but did not argue with her. "I see," he repeated. "You have always had a heart of gold, Miss Kamiya." He looked at Himura, put a hand next to his mouth, and whispered, "You're going to want to hang on to this woman, son. She's quite the catch!"

"I-It was a pleasure seeing you Mr. Takayashi!" she exclaimed, flashing a smile at him before continuing to walk to the next stand on the street.

"As always, Miss Kamiya!" he called after her.

They finished the rest of the shopping quickly, and Kaoru greeted each of the vendors they visited by name, asking about their families and how their sales were going. Some vendors even called out a cheerful hello as they walked by, to which she returned with a smile and a polite wave.

"Everyone seems to know you very well, Miss Kaoru," Himura mused as they were walking back. He shifted the bag of rice that he had bought from Mr. Takayashi on their way out, despite the blush that she had been unable to hide during the entire transaction. Thankfully, he did not say anything else to embarrass her again.

"Exactly!" she beamed, remembering her statement earlier. "The town is very small, and that everyone knows everyone here. That's why I knew you were new to the area. There is not one person native to this town that I don't at least recognize." The pride she had felt from earlier returned in a softer way. She looked at him and grinned.

"I see," was all he said in response. He looked relaxed, even while carrying the heavy bag of rice. She silently mulled over how heavy it was for her to carry, and glanced at him from the corner of her eye. It was hard to tell what his physique was like because of his loose clothing, but he was not even breathing hard with effort. And earlier at her practice spot in the lightly wooded area, that godlike speed...she could not even observe his style of swordsmanship.

"Hey Himura," she broke the silence. "You said you're new in town, right?"

"I am indeed, Miss Kaoru," he responded cautiously. He continued to stare straight ahead, but there was nothing purposeful or rude intended.

"Then, may I ask, where did you live before you came here?" she asked lightly.

He noticeably stiffened at the question. It was brief, lasting less than a second, but she saw it. After a slight hesitation, he answered, "I came here from Kyoto, that I did." He looked over at her and smiled warmly, but she could tell it was a guarded smile and decided it would be inconsiderate to press the matter further.

"One of my best friends lives in Kyoto," she said, trying to redirect the conversation to a less awkward topic. "Her name is Misao Makimichi. She would spend her summers here training to become a ninja with her mentor, Aoshi, and we got very close." She smiled at the memories of them playing together. She would train with Misao by practicing her new kenjutsu moves against Misao's latest shuriken trick. When the summer ended and Misao had to leave, she would always cry and beg her parents to let her spend the year in Kyoto, but her father would convince her to stay by telling her that she would not learn new kenjutsu moves and that Misao would beat her at their next practice session. Kaoru, being the competitive type, would instantly wipe her tears and console the non-stop crying Misao before seeing her and Aoshi off.

"Does she come visit often?" He asked as they walked through her dojo's gates, bringing her back to the present.

Kaoru nodded, the nostalgic smile still on her lips. "She visits about once every few months. She always tells me that if she doesn't come to visit me, I'll become a lonely old maid," she chuckled.

He chuckled with her and paused at the door as she slid the shoji door open and carried the few items Himura had been unable to carry into the kitchen. "I must admit, Miss Kaoru, that it is a little worrying that a young lady such as yourself lives alone," he said as they set the ingredients on the counter and the rice bag next to the half open bag in the corner.

"I can take care of myself," Kaoru huffed, glaring at him. "You even said yourself that my swordsmanship was impressive."

"That it is, Miss Kaoru," he agreed, not meeting her glare as he focused on beginning to chop the vegetables he planned to cook. "However, there are many bad men in the world that wish to take advantage of people that are trusting, such as yourself."

She snorted, her temper beginning to rise. "I've lived alone this long, so I think I'll be just fine. You don't know my strength, and you are not someone I know closely; therefore you have no right to judge my personal life," she remarked, her glare deepening.

He paused halfway through a chop of the last vegetable. He seemed to take a beat and realize he was out of line before softly saying that he was sorry. "You're right," he added, "it is not my place to advise you on such matters. I was only offering my opinion, that I was."

Her flaming temper was quickly snuffed out, and she allowed her glare to soften. "Will you be alright if I go take care of some chores around the house before we eat?" she asked, feeling a bit awkward.

"Yes, feel free to do whatever you need to while I prepare dinner," he said, casting her a warm smile before he went back to deboning the fish. It seemed that he felt a bit awkward as well.

"Alright," she said. "Thank you Himura." With that, she strolled out from the kitchen and out into the courtyard area to gather the clothes that had been drying on the line while the sun was hot during the day.

As she unpinned a pair of training hamaka from the line, she let her mind begin to wander. She thought over his words of the dangers of living alone. She had survived well until now but had it truely been because of her swordsmanship skills and independent abilities, or had she just been lucky? Maybe she should ask Himura to develop some kind of signal when she needed assistance. But how could she after she argued so childishly about it? She took a deep breath and smelled a funny tinge in the air. The oddity snapped her out of her head and she then realized a fine, grey cloudiness was slowly wafting from behind her. She turned around and yelped in surprise.

The kitchen door had been left open a fire was steadily brewing from the room. Flames had already engulfed her kitchen's interior and the readheaded man was not visible from where she was.

Kaoru shrieked and filled the wash bucket with water as quickly as the well pump allowed her to. She thanked the gods for the rigorous sword training exercises she had disciplined herself with that allowed her to pump out water faster than most women. With the bucket half full, she grabbed the sides and rushed to the house as fast as her wooden shoes would take her, dousing the room with the bucket's water. It wasn't enough, however, and new flames quickly replaced the old ones that had been washed away.

She looked around wildly to figure out what she needed to save from the kitchen and spotted Kenshin's white hamaka, which she followed up his body to see his eyes closed and posture slumped. His crimson hair blended in with the deadly fire, as he sat, somewhat propped up against the back wall.

"Himura!" she gasped, feeling the sting of smoke on her dry throat as she did so. Ignoring the pain and the intense feeling of heat, she rushed in and grabbed him by the arms. With a lot of effort, she managed to slowly drag the man through the room as fire licked at her hands and face. Her eyes began to tear up from smoke and shock as she managed to get him through the open door and off the porch. Not a second later, a large ceiling beam fell, blocking the door with a fiery wall.

Neighbors began to pour through the gates with buckets that the filled up at her well individually and began helping to douse the fire as Kaoru had before.

"Don't worry, Lady Kaoru! We'll help out with the fire!" one man exclaimed determinedly while filling up his bucket.

"Thank you so much!" she called back, a tear slipping down her cheek from dry eyes and heat.

As the neighbors' efforts began to dull the fire down, Kaoru turned her attention to the man lying next to her. His flame-red hair was charred on some tufts and smokey deposits dirtied his face and clothes. Immediately, she checked for a pulse and breathed a strangled sigh of relief when she found his heart was beating strong.

"He probably collapsed due to the amount of smoke he breathed in and overwhelming heat," an alluring female voice remarked coolly.

Kaoru turned to face the voice and saw it belonged to an elegant woman with long, raven hair and striking, sharp eyes. She couldn't help seeing the image of a fox as she looked at her, even with everything going on. "W-what?" was all she managed to squeak out.

With a small smirk, the woman knelt beside her and nudged her slightly out of the way.

Kaoru was about to protest, when the woman looked at her with a stern expression. "I'm Megumi Takani, Dr. Gensai's newest apprentice. I need you to move out of the way so I can examine him," she said with authority.

Kaoru nodded with a dumbfounded expression and stood. She looked at her kitchen once again to find the flames were gone, yet all that was left of her kitchen was a black, charred mess. Some of the neighbors were still putting water on it. Her guess was they were making sure to get the last of the embers so that the fire would not start back up again.

"Ay, Jou-chan. Looks like your awful cooking finally caught up with you," an all too familiar voice teased.