Chosha's notes

Konnichiwa again! Welcome back to MHS! I had some extra time after my exam, so I thought I'd might as well get some more of the story done. That's the most thinking I did after that – my brain feels like mush. Anyway, I'll do this chapter even if it kills me! (Yes, over-dramatic, I know…)

Well, to get back on track, thank you reviewers once again. I'm glad to hear from you all. I'm also glad that this idea is well liked, even though I had only planned it as a side project with all the others I have on the go. Guess how long that idea lasted! And also thank you to any new readers who have started reading the story too. But, this story won't write itself, so…

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin belongs to Nobuhiro Watsuki-sama, Viz, Shonen Jump, etc. No infringement is intended.

Last time on MHS

Kenshin saved Kaoru and took her back to her home at the dojo. However, he finds himself in shock when Kaoru and her guardian, Dr Gensai, allow him to stay at the dojo…

Chapter Three

The Identity

The sun rose slowly above the earth, bringing light with it that spilled gently across the city of Tokyo. Outside, the occasional car drove passed the Kamiya dojo. From one of the nearby houses, you could hear music coming from an open window, though it wasn't exceptionally loud. From the garden behind the Kamiya dojo, you could hear the birds twittering as they welcomed the new day, but otherwise, it seemed like any normal, peaceful morning – well, as much as it could be in Tokyo, anyway.

Inside the house attached to the dojo, Kaoru was fast asleep, completely hidden under the sheets, making her look more like a lump than a human, until the alarm on the bedside began blaring with a sound that could only be compared to nails on a chalkboard. In seconds, Kaoru had slammed her fist on the switch to shut it up, even before she was fully awake. She then spent the best of half an hour just sitting and blinking a little stupidly until her mind caught up with her body.

One part of the day Kaoru always hated was the mornings. She really, really wasn't the morning person, and it usually took her at least an hour before she could mumble a coherent sentence. Then there was the fact that when she woke up; there was no one there just to talk with – always so quiet. Too quiet. However, something that morning was different and it slowly dawned on her what had happened that night. Himura Kenshin, the new boy at Meiji high school and the boy who had saved her life from the Battosai, had agreed to stay at the Kamiya dojo. That alone seemed to wake her up faster than if you had dumped a bucket of ice cold water over her. With a small giggle, she jumped out of bed, straightening the shorts and T-shirt she had used as Pyjamas that night and bounded from the room to make breakfast. Kenshin had bet that her cooking was just fine, and Kaoru wanted to prove it.

After about ten minutes, she carried a mug of tea and a plate of toast towards the room that Kenshin was now to use. Well, if toast was what you could call the bread that had been charred so much it looked as if it would crumble into ashes in a second. Okay, so breakfast wasn't her best meal to cook at…okay, so no meal was the best for her to cook at but Kaoru was in too much of a good mood to think about it. Humming merrily some random tune, she half skipped to Kenshin's room. The door was still closed. Could it be he was still asleep? She never would have thought the guy to be as bad in mornings as she was.

Resting the plate on the floor, Kaoru knocked on the door.

"Kenshin," she said cheerfully, "I've made breakfast!" She waited for him to answer, but there was no sound.

Don't tell me he's still asleep!

"Kenshin," she tried again, "wake up, or you'll be late for school!"

Still, there was no sound from inside. Kaoru felt her eyebrow twitch. All right, he asked for it… "Kenshin, I really hope your decent, cause I'm coming in!" she yelled through the door, before she realised what she said. She felt her face turned roughly the same hue as a fire engine at the thought of it. Oh, she hoped he wasn't the type to sleep naked…Pushing other such thoughts from her head, she threw open the door, walked in and paused in shock.

The room was spotless – better than it had looked last night. The spare room had not been used in ages, so it had gathered a rather thick layer of dust on the surfaces, but now they looked cleaner than she had ever seen them. There was no item of Kenshin's in the room that she could see (unless he had put them away in the draws). However, the bed was made and looked as if it hadn't been slept in at all. Kenshin himself was nowhere to be seen.

"Kenshin?" she asked tentatively, looking around the room in case he was hiding behind the furniture or something – until something caught her eye. On a desk by the window lay a piece of paper and a biro lying on top of it – something that had definitely not been there the night before. Confused, she stepped closer; noticing the paper had a rather rough handwriting on it. There were only for words.

Kaoru-dono, forgive me. Farewell.

Kaoru stared at the note and the cup of tea dropped from her hands as her happy mood was drowned out by the terrible weight in her heart. Kenshin was gone…

MHS

The midday sun shone golden-red on Kenshin's hair as he trudged along the road; his eyes down-turned as he dodged round several people walking in the opposite direction. His mind thought over what had happened - about the girl he had left back at the dojo with a heavy heart and how she had offered him a place to stay. Kami, it had been so long since, well, since anyone had ever shown him such a kindness before, and yet...and yet he couldn't do it, no matter how much he wanted to. But he couldn't say 'no' either, when her face had looked so expectantly at him. That was why he had left at night, leaving only a note asking her for forgiveness…

He closed his eyes with a sigh. He was a rurouni, a drifter, and always would be, it was as simple as that. But the least he could do for her in thanks for what she had done for him was to find this fake Battosai. He would clear, not only the name the impostor had stolen, but the name and style of that girl who had managed to break down his defences in only a few words by showing him a kindness he never though he would find again.

He had thought about it long and hard, during those few hours he had spent at the dojo, waiting for Kaoru to fall asleep so he could slip away without any obstacles, trying to place the large murderer with the suspects. He had realised in an instant after he had seen the impostor in the flesh that he had actually seen the man before. He had run over his memories thoroughly. Moments later, he realised where it was he had seen the man.

It had been on the day that Kenshin first got into Tokyo, before he enrolled at Meiji high School. Kenshin was just passing through the outskirts of the neighbouring town when he had walked passed a place that looked as though it had once been a dojo of some kind in a former life. However, now it looked as though it had been turned into some kind of gambling arcade and some rather unsavoury looking characters hanging around it. A sign out front read 'Kiheikan'.

It was as Kenshin was reaching the gate to walk passed when a large motorbike pulled up, revving loudly. Kenshin had paused – the man was huge, at least six foot tall. He was wearing what leather biker outfit and, when he pulled of his helmet, Kenshin noticed he had short, jet-black hair, but also had a thick beard and moustache which was a stark contrast to grinning white teeth. But the most noticeable thing about the man, at least to Kenshin, had been his eyes. They were cold, cruel and held darkness in them that Kenshin had not seen in a long time. The man had climbed off the motorbike and headed towards the Kiheikan, where the men that were hanging about outside jumped up.

"Boss"

The man they referred to as 'Boss' had walked towards the gates of the place, but noticed Kenshin and his eyes narrowed. "What are you sating at, boy?" he snarled. "Move if you don't wanna get hurt, kid."

Kenshin had moved out of the way. It wasn't that he was scared of getting hurt, but he just didn't want to draw attention to himself on what would hopefully be his new day at school again.

"Feh," the man snorted, brushing passed. Kenshin watched him go. Something had felt…off about the guy. Now he had a sneaking suspicion as to why. But the first thing he had to do was check out this Kiheikan place. If his suspicions were correct, then that would be where he would find his answers about this so called 'Battosai'.

It wasn't long before the place came into sight. It looked no different than it had two days ago, except that there were no longer any men hanging around outside the place. However, there were a couple of motorbikes parked over the yard and the gate was open, so he suspected someone must he in. With that, he set off into the yard. Best to pretend to be an idiot again, he thought. I really don't want to have to hurt anyone just because they don't tell me what I need to know.

Stepping towards the door and dropping is bag by his side, Kenshin took a deep breath, then hammered on it with his fist. "Hello?" he called "Hello. Hello. Hello…" He continued on like this, trying not to grin. Really, if he continued like this, he was going to annoy some people – no wait, that's what he wanted to do. He was already in a bad mood.

With a snap, the door was yanked back and a man with stubble growing over his chin, a toothpick of some kind sticking out of his mouth and a single gold earring glinting in his right ear glared down at him, a vein throbbing in his forehead. "Oh, shut up!" he snapped at him. "Who are you?"

Bingo! He thought, but put on his most innocent face, knowing he probably looked no older than fifteen…at most. "Is the owner…?"

"Master Hiruma is out!" the man interrupted in annoyance. "Come back later!"

Kenshin tilted his head to one side with a soft chuckle and a silly grin. "Oh! So that's his name!"

The man blinked in surprise, looking down at him with an expression cross between confusion and thinking he was some sort of moron. "Y-you didn't know?"

Kenshin looked up at him with a small, sly smile. This was the moment of truth. "Oh, Sessha thought his name was 'Hitokiri Battosai'"

The effect was instantaneous. The man reeled back in shock, staring at Kenshin stunned. Kenshin fought the urge to smirk, however much he wanted to just then. It looked like…my guess was correct after all.

Suddenly, the door was yanked back harder, revealing several of the men that Kenshin remembered from the last time that he had passed this way. One of them, a man with a studied eyebrow and dressed in some sort of thick black jacket stepped forward. "What's the matter, Nishiwaki?"

Kenshin felt a trill of ki and glanced round as several more men, ranging from all sorts of disreputable types were coming from behind. One of them, a man with a punk-rock hairstyle and a missing tooth, he noticed, did a double take at him and sneered. "Who's the runt?"

The man, Nishiwaki, gazed down at Kenshin, his eyes glinting dangerously. "Not even a runt," he sneered. His dark grin widened. "Get rid of it."

Kenshin glanced round at the small group of men as he saw some crack their knuckles. Others, who had been holding bottles of some sort of vodka smashed them to make a sharp-edged weapon, a deadly grin on their faces, while two even drew out guns from somewhere about their person. Kenshin's eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second. Well, they seemed to have an advantage – but Kenshin was highly used to that. However, he attempted diplomacy. After all, he didn't want to hurt people he only just met. "Any chance we could discuss this?" he asked

One man, who was holding some sort of iron bar, tapped his weapon against his hand. "Sure we can talk – after we're finished with you!" and he leapt forward.

Kenshin sighed. Why oh why do they always have to go for the hard option? Before the man had got within arms reach of him, Kenshin scooped up his bag and jumped back, drawing his sakabato from within. As his foot touched the floor, he pushed off again and raced forward, striking the man across the neck, just hard enough to render him unconscious.

Kenshin paused, dumping his bag to the ground and glared at the people surrounding him. They froze at the look he allowed in his eyes: Advance and you will get hurt. However, the men didn't seem to be heeding the warning and the two guns were pointed in his direction. Kenshin bent his knees, sheathed Sakabato in one hand, watching like a hunting leopard. He saw them close their fingers on the triggers – and he darted forward, drawing his sword at lightning speed.

The first strike sent the gun flying into the air from the man's grasp, sending him staggering backwards in horror, the backstroke knocking him to the ground with a yell. Kenshin ducked as he felt a ki spike and another gun exploded from behind. The bullet whizzed passed where his head had been seconds before. He swung out a leg and knocked the man from his feet. He let out a cry, falling hard onto the gravel and his head smacked onto the floor, knocking him unconscious. Kenshin didn't pause; he swung the blade upwards as two men attempted to strike him with broken bottles. They only had time to widen their eyes before the metal crashed into them, sending them reeling. They, too, fell to the floor, the bottles rolling away.

Kenshin straightened and glared towards Nishiwaki, who looked as if his eyes were about to fall out of his head, and walked towards him slowly. He gulped and stumbled away, pointing at him in shock. "You…that hair…the scar…you can't be…!"

The redhead came to a stop in front of him, looking up at him with a small smile, though he knew the smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "Would you care to talk now?"

The man whimpered and fell to his knees. Kenshin crouched down, his face level with Nishiwaki's. "Tell Sessha, if you would, where did Hiruma-san go to?"

Nishiwaki looked as if he wanted to faint, sweat rolled down his face as he attempted to look away from those steely blue eyes. "H…he went…to Tokyo…" he gasped out.

Kenshin blinked, his eyes hardening. "Tokyo?"

Nishiwaki nodded desperately. "He went to the…the Kamiya dojo…to get r-revenge…"

Kenshin froze. Kaoru! Kaoru was in danger! Kenshin's eyes narrowed as he looked down on the man. "I think you had better take me there and, on the way, you can tell me everything."

He made it impossible to argue when his eyes were flecked with that odd glowing gold. All Nishiwaki could do was do as Kenshin had ordered.

MHS

Kaoru walked home, her head bowed and she scuffed her shoe across the pavement in depression. Somehow, when she found that Kenshin had gone, the day had just seemed so much bleaker, despite the fact that the sun was out and birds chirped pleasantly. It was as if fate itself was laughing at her. However, she had gone to school, if merely with the hope that Kenshin would turn up. Then she would whack him one, find out just why he had left and everything would be fine again.

But Kenshin never turned up to lesson. She had glanced at the clock every few minutes, then at the door, just to see if he would come in late. He never came. Her heart sunk.

Kaoru hadn't been the only one disappointed. The Himura fan club looked depressed and spent most of the lesson whispering about where he might be. Was he sick? Had something happened to him? Or (they glanced darkly in Kaoru's direction at this point) had that Battosai from the Kamiya dojo got him?

That last comment hurt her more than any of the others she had received since Battosai's murders started. Had it been Kaoru's fault that Kenshin had left? It struck her so hard she couldn't even make herself angry at them. She just wanted to sob. However, she was not going to cry. Things were bad; they weren't going to get any easier. She was just going to have to face facts – she would always be alone.

Still, it didn't make her feel any better.

Pulling the key out of her pocket, she opened the gate to the dojo and stepped into the house, before hesitating. Somehow, the quietness of the hallway felt choking, so utterly silent. She could barely stand it. It had to be all Kenshin's fault, she thought, but somehow just couldn't seem to convince herself.

"Arrg! Alright, Kaoru, get a grip!" she growled to herself. "Stop moping around like a complete Baka and do something useful!"

Setting her shoulders, she headed to her room and her wardrobe and, after creating a storm of raining clothing, found her training uniform for kendo and started to change into it. At least if she practised kendo a little bit, she might be able to just forget everything for at least a half-hour or so. That in mind, she headed of to the dojo.

Stalking over to the dojo, she slipped off her sandals and headed off to the rack where the wooden swords were all lined up on the wall. But before her hand closed around the wood, the door was shoved open with a clack. Kaoru froze in surprise. Was that Kenshin, come back again? Or was it Dr Gensai? He sometimes just let himself in to visit – he did have an extra key to the house after all. She thought hopefully, turning round to see who had opened the door. However, the smile on her face died off when she saw who was standing there.

A tall, man stood in the doorway, backed by about five or six men. He was large, built like a bull and wore a jet-black T-shirt that showed off thick, bulging muscles in his arms. One hand was stroking a thick black beard; the other was holding a sheathed sword in a wooden casing, slung over his shoulder. Kaoru hazily remembered seeing the man before. Hiruma Gohei, if she recalled. He ran a sort of gambling place in the next town over from Tokyo. His thick, white teeth glinted as he grinned down at her, but somehow seemed quite menacing. Something in that smile set the alarm bells ringing. She took an involuntary step backwards, images flashing though her mind as something about him screamed 'danger' – then she remembered.

Her eyes widened in horror and she took another step backwards, hand rising to her mouth in recognition. "Y-you're…!" she forced herself to clam down and snatched a bokken from behind her, brandishing it at the monster of a man. "I know that you're that serial killer, the Hitokiri Battousai!" she snarled at the man, eyes narrowed "Give yourself over to the police!"

The man threw back his head and laughed, causing Kaoru to shiver at its coldness. He grinned coldly and pulled the wooden casing apart, revealing the deadly steel blade of his katana, letting the sheath fall to the floor with a decisive clatter and advanced towards her.

"And why would I want to do that?" he almost purred. "Now, when I am so close to reaching my goal."

"Your… goal?" she asked warily, her eyes fixed on the sword coming closer, she took another step back.

"You wanted to know why, didn't you?" the murderer growled. "I'll tell you now, so you know just why it is you're going to die. I began killing in order to denounce the name of Kamiya, in order to destroy your father's legacy."

"As if that explains anything!" she spat, glaring at him in a way that could heat metal. "What did my dad ever do to you that you hate my family so much?"

Gohei smirked. "Oh yes, dear old daddy would want to keep his little girl in the dark about what he did, wouldn't he?" he sneered. "Your father once worked for the government. I once worked in the same department as your father, years ago. One night, We were ordered to go bust a ring of drug dealers, but when I killed a few of the guys, cause they wouldn't give us move information, your daddy, decided to stop me and he broke my hand. I couldn't hold a gun or even a pen in my right hand again! Then he had the gall to report the incidence to our superiors and got me fired! Since then I've been living in the bowls of hell for years, training with my left hand, planning ways to get back at him. And what way's better than to denounce his legacy and take down his only child?"

Kaoru readied her Bokken. "I won't let you!" she yelled. "I won't let you ruin my dad's style any more, you monster!" And she darted forward, swinging her bokken round with all her might.

Gohei caught it him the palm of his hand.

Kaoru stared in horror as Gohei grinned at her. "Your strength is all in your little-girl dreams!" and he swung down, crashing his fist hard into the bokken and struck her shoulder. Kaoru gasped in pain. The Battosai, however, was relentless and yanked her into the air by the collar of her training gi, making her choke. Gohei sneered "Heh, now I will exact my revenge on you, little girl, and make your father pay for his actions!" Gohei grinned madly and ran the flat of his blade against her cheek. "Your blood tastes so sweet."

A clack as the door was pushed open a second time made him pause. Kaoru opened an eye to look. It was a man with short, dark hair and stubble on his chin who stood there in silence. Kaoru's heart leapt. Perhaps…perhaps he was coming to help her?

Gohei's eyes narrowed. "What is it, Nishiwaki?"

Kaoru's heart plummeted.

The man, however, looked something close to scared and unnerved. He opened his mouth to say something. "H…him…" Suddenly, he stiffened. His eyes rolled up into his head and he fell forward with a bang. A figure from behind him lowered his arm, looking up at them with hard steely blue eyes, his red hair brushing softly against his face and, in one hand, he held a sheathed sword. Kaoru stared, unable to believe what she was seeing.

"K-Kenshin!"

Kenshin glanced at the man on the floor for a moment. "Sorry I'm late. He told me everything." He looked up, his eyes hard. "You will put her down gently, de gozaru."

Kaoru stared, her smile fading slightly. Something was different about the guy. Although his quirky way of speaking remained the same, his manner seemed oh so different. He seemed…harder, sharper, more focused. Sort of how it had seemed when he was facing the Battosai when he saved her in ruffian row.

"You again?" the Battousai said, surprised. He sneered "So, the new kid's here to save the day. Wait a moment, boy, while I tend to this chickadee. You'll meet your death soon enough. You're becoming a pain. I would have finished all this yesterday if you hadn't stuck your nose in, and after I went to all that trouble to get that note into your locker as well…"

Kenshin's eyes narrowed and he shook his head. "I knew I should have taken care of you back then."

Kaoru almost choked on that. W-what? She watched as he slid his sakabato into his belt, his right hand hovering over the hilt dangerously as he walked forward like a tiger ready to pounce and moved towards them with a graceful ease.

"Che, are you gonna start preaching to me about all that 'sword that protects crap? You're as cowardly as her old man."

Kenshin looked at him, just looked, but it made Kaoru feel cold. "No. It doesn't matter what you say. A sword is a weapon and it was made to kill. What she says…is nothing more than a sweet, naive lie." Kaoru felt her eyes watering up. Even him…was even he against everything her father had believed? But suddenly, he beamed up at her. Kaoru stared in wonder at the expression. "But, you know, with that awful truth, that lie of hers sounds so much better. If Sessha had a wish, it would only be that that lie could become the truth, for everyone to live by."

Gohei growled. "That guy is beginning to become annoying." He told the other men standing behind him. "How about you go play with him?"

The men laughed and turned round to face Kenshin, drawing daggers from within their leather jackets. Kaoru couldn't breath. What is that idiot doing? He's going to get himself killed!

"Kenshin, no!" She cried. "Please, Kenshin, run!"

But it was too late. They ran towards him, daggers glinting dangerously. Kenshin looked at them for a moment, then rushed forward. Only a blur could be seen! Kaoru stared. What the-! Kenshin blurred into view as his sakabato arced out, striking the blades from their hands and throwing three to the floor in one swing. The other men stared in horror, but Kenshin wasn't finished, he took them all down, all fell to the floor unconscious. Gohei stared in shock, looking at him as if he had never seen the boy before. Then again, Kaoru was having problems comparing this powerful fighter with the gentle new boy.

Kenshin stopped, passing his sakabato to the other hand and glanced over at Gohei with a cold look, though his eyes somehow held a slightly devilish expression, as if trying to tell the man just how much of an idiot he was. "Oh, there is…one little thing." He said, calmly. "Battosai doesn't use Kamiya Kasshin-ryu or whatever style you're using. He uses Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, ultra-sonic sword techniques that will not fail to slay any opponent," he smiled coldly. "Unless, of course, you use a sword like mine."

It hit her like a fist to the stomach. Gohei had never been the true Battosai at all. The true Battosai was…but that couldn't be! This kind and gentle young man was the real Hitokiri Battosai! Yet, somehow, the way he stood, that stance, it was terrifyingly beautiful, something every swordsman strove for, the heart of their techniques where sword and man were one.

If her father could have seen it, she was sure he would have switched to firearms on the spot.

Gohei seemed to realise the same thing only seconds later. "So you're him…who would have thought a boy like you was that assassin five years ago." He ginned and threw Kaoru to the ground. She immediately scrambled away. She had no idea what was going to happen, but she needed to call the police as soon as she could. If Kenshin lost…she grasped the phone, but before she could even dial 110, Gohei hacked through the cord with a vicious swipe of his katana.

"It looks like your death has been postponed, chickadee," he leered. Kaoru glared up at him, clutching the now useless phone, feeling utterly helpless. He turned back to Kenshin – or was that Battosai now? – With a dark glare. "Che, I should have finished you off last night." He raised his katana. "But it doesn't matter now - Play time's over, Battosai!" He lunged forward with a roar, bringing up his katana to slice down toward Kenshin's head. Kaoru froze, unable to even scream.

Kenshin vanished!

Gohei stared as if trying to find out where the boy had disappeared to desperately, until a voice cut through the air above like a knife.

"Over here."

Gohei's eyes widened in shock and both he and Kaoru gaped up towards the ceiling. Kenshin was up in the air as high as you could get without smashing through the roof. His sakabato was raised and he glared down at Gohei with eyes that almost seemed to glow. In one fell swoop, he swung downwards. There was a sickening crunch and the floor exploded in pieces of wood and debris as they both crashed to the ground. Kaoru covered her head with her arms to avoid it getting in her face. After a moment, she looked up from her arms slowly and gasped.

The body of Gohei was sprawled across the floor, his head hidden underneath a pile of wood chipping and broken planks. The only way she knew the guy was still alive was that he twitched still, but he was most definitely out cold. Kenshin landed light as a feather next to him. He flicked the sakabato sharply, flicking off stray bits of dust and sheathing it in one swift movement. "Sessha doesn't have an attachment to that name, but…" He looked back onto the form of the man darkly. "I can't let someone like you use it, either. You won't be able to hold a weapon in either of those hands now."

He looked over at Kaoru and his eyes softened slightly. "You aren't hurt, are you, Kaoru-dono?" he asked gently. Kaoru couldn't speak. She just shook her head mutely. Kenshin smiled, causing her to blink a little. "Sessha is glad, de gozaru." Kaoru watched his eyes, how they looked, just then, so sad. "Gomen na, I didn't mean to lie to you about that, but…its better if it isn't known." He brushed off his loose-fitting sweater and, with one last smile, turned towards the door again. "Well, take care, 'kay?"

And he walked away. Kaoru watched, trying to find a way to stop him, but she couldn't think of what to say. Just as he was about to reach the door, she yelled the first thing she could think of. "BAKA!"

"Oro!"

Kaoru panted. Okay, she had his attention, now talk fast! "So, you're not even going to stay and make sure Hiruma gets put in jail?" she demanded. "He's still a threat, you know! And I need help with all this!" she waved her hand at the dojo, where a group of men all lay swirly eyed from Kenshin's attacks.

Kenshin looked round, something flickering in his eyes before he smiled nervously. "Well, uh, I really don't think it would be a good idea if you have the real Battosai here when the police come, de gozaru…"

Kaoru ignored that. "And what was with you leaving in the middle of the night anyway, without even telling me, Himura Kenshin!" she growled. "Besides, I asked for Kenshin, not Battosai to sta-I mean…" good lord, what was he going to think of her! She spun round "It doesn't matter!" she snapped, crossing her arms with a huff. After a moment, she said, "Well, If you're going to just do a vanishing act again…at least…let me say thanks, for helping me."

"There's no need for thanks," his voice answered softly.

Seconds later, the door slid closed.

Kaoru sighed, letting her arms drop to her sides. So, he was gone…and somehow, even though the room was littered with a lot of still living people she felt so utterly and desperately alone.

"You know," a voice behind her drawled, "I have been wandering around for several years now…" Kaoru drew in a quick breath, Her eyes shining as her spirits flew. She spun round to be greeted by Kenshin's smiling face. "It would be nice to settle down for a bit." The corner of his mouth twitched a little more. "But, I'm something of a drifter, so you'll never know when I've got to hit the road again"

"Of course," Kaoru agreed. She felt like laughing, she was unable to stop grinning. If you had asked her something just then, she would have been willing to agree, even if you asked her if her cooking was bad!

"But, people might talk if they hear you've got some stranger living at your house," he warned, gauging her for her reaction.

"I don't care what they say," she declared brashly, her hands on her hips as she beamed at the redhead. Actually, it was going to be hilarious when the Himura fan club found out just who was staying at her place!

Kenshin seemed to relax, his violet eyes sparkling. "Then, I'd love to stay for a while, Kaoru-dono." He smiled back at her.

Kaoru beamed contentedly. Suddenly, a though struck her. "Wait a minute…if you were that agent who worked for the government five years ago…just how old are you anyway?"

Kenshin stared for a moment. "Oro?"

She had to fight a giggle at the sound. "Just what does that mean anyway? But, I mean, your still in high school, so you cant be that old – I mean, with a face like that…"

"Uh…How old…? Um… I don't…know? Hang on…" and he began to calculate his age…on his fingers!

"You don't know how old you are!" she exploded.

TBC

Japanese Translations

Dojo – training hall

Sessha – this unworthy one (an archaic version of "I")

Hitokiri – manslayer

Battosai – a name meaning, "master of Battojutsu"

Sakabato – reverse blade sword (a katana with the sharp side on the place where it is usually blunt and vice versa)

Baka – idiot.

Katana – Japanese long sword

Bokken – wooden sword

De gozaru – usually translated to 'so says this humble person'

Gomen na/ Gomennasai – I'm very sorry

Oro – Kenshin's version of 'huh'

110 – the Japanese form of 911 (American) or 999 (British) – the number for emergency services.

Chosha's notes

(Sits back with a grin.) Way! I've done the first part of MHS – and to think, on the anime and manga, it only takes one episode. Oh well…

Anyways, just a few notes to clear up on. This chapter was a rather large mix of both Manga and Anime, seeing as I told Kenshin's half of the story as well as Kaoru's. Well, in the Anime, you never find out just what Kenshin actually did after he left, so I decided to expand on the brief part on the manga. I also tried to make it different from the normal anime/manga, make it more now-like, but I'm not sure if I managed it or not. Well, it couldn't be helped. I promise, though, it will be a more modern setting as things go on, but I do want to stay as close as possible to the manga/anime for the character introductions. Should be interesting to see how that works out, huh? Oh yeah, I might also be adding little bits of my own in it, to fill up some of the time gaps, but they will lead back to the story, so don't think I've gone completely AU on you guys. But anyways…

Next time on MHS

With the fake Battosai gone, Kaoru and Kenshin begin to get accustomed to living with each other and another familiar face makes his first appearance. Next Episode: Fitting In

But for now, Ja ne!

Chosha Kurenai xXx