Kenshin's eyes, which were still flecked with amber from being mere centimeters away from passionately kissing Kaoru, flew open in surprise, then narrowed imperceptibly. "Enishi?" He stood up from where they still knelt on the bamboo dojo floor in one fluid movement, and faced the taller man standing just inside the shoji doorway.

So...was this the one Kaoru was talking about? The one who 'wasn't so careful' with her when they sparred together? Kenshin felt sure of it, but he didn't want to jump to conclusions. "Kaoru," he began, never breaking his gaze from Enishi's eyes, which were blazing furiously. "Is this a friend of yours?"

Kaoru rose silently to her feet and took a few tentative steps forward, placing herself rather awkwardly between the two men. There's no getting around it now, she thought to herself. "I…guess I should make introductions. Kenshin...this is...Enishi Yukishiro, my ex-boyfriend. Enishi, this is...Dr. Kenshin Himura, a friend of mine." She let out a slow breath, waiting for a reaction from someone...anyone.

Ah, Kenshin thought to himself. That would explain the "fucking asshole" comment; Enishi obviously still harbored feelings of protectiveness towards Kaoru...or ownership. He decided to try politeness, for Kaoru's sake. "Hey," he finally said, nodding once towards Enishi.

Enishi snorted. "Hey," he replied sarcastically. "No, man. We're not going to be friends." Kenshin raised his eyebrows. Well, I tried. At least now I can kill him with a clear conscience. Enishi shifted his attention to Kaoru. "So, this is who you're fucking now? I don't believe this...he looks like one of your little emo girlfriends. I can't believe you would pass on me for this."

Kenshin opened his mouth to let Enishi know that he should start running now, when Kaoru suddenly broke in. "Enishi, you and I broke up four months ago, and I haven't changed my mind about the decision I made to leave you. Do not talk about Kenshin like that; he's ten times the man you'll ever be, and a much better fighter—he can actually spar with me and not leave me black and blue, the way you always did."

Bingo. So, this was Enishi Yukishiro, the ex-boyfriend who liked to take his aggression out on Kaoru with a shinai...under the pretense of sparring. The thought of them together, practicing in a dojo like this, and then imagining Kaoru getting bashed with a thick wooden sword, made Kenshin's fingertips tingle with anger. "Don't talk to her that way," he grated through his teeth, causing Enishi to smile wryly. "No?" he asked, his voice teeming with arrogance. "Tell me something, Kenshin. Are you Kaoru's boyfriend? Are you the one who protects her from bad guys like me?"

Kenshin knew what Enishi was getting at, and he wasn't about to play into that trap. "Whether or not Kaoru and I are together is none of your business," he coldly replied. "Unless I heard wrong just now, she dumped you. And either way, I'm not going to let a skinny prick with white hair talk to her, or me, so disrespectfully." Kenshin felt a little stab of self-reproach; it wasn't his nature to take personal shots at people, even potential enemies. For some reason, this guy is getting to me, he realized.

The color drained from Enishi's face, and his eyes flashed dangerously. "Enough talking, then. You and me, right now. I'm going to make you regret underestimating me." He dropped his own canvas bag of equipment to the dojo floor where he stood, and moved to retrieve his practice weapons from inside it.

"NO!" Kaoru cried, moving in front of Kenshin defensively. "I'm not having this. Enishi, Kenshin and I are leaving, now. Our practice time is over, anyway. Just...forget it! Forget you saw me, okay? Kenshin, please." She spun around to face Kenshin, taking hold of his shoulders firmly and looking into his eyes, pleading, her dark hair falling haphazardly around her face. Get me out of here, her eyes seemed to say. He looked at her, questioningly, and then realized that she was genuinely afraid...but whether of Enishi, or what might happen if he fought Enishi, Kenshin couldn't tell.

"…Okay," he said reluctantly. He would have much rather dealt with Enishi then and there, but he also didn't want to further traumatize Kaoru. He shot a warning glance back towards Enishi. "This isn't finished," he said lowly, grabbing the handles of his training bag and hoisting the practice weapons over his shoulder. "If I ever see you again, especially around Kaoru..." he trailed off. To be honest, Kenshin wasn't sure what he would do...only that it would involve violence.

Enishi gave a nasty little smile. "You'll see me again," he replied, watching as Kenshin and Kaoru's backs as they exited from the opposite side of the dojo.

*****

Slurrrp! Misao blushed at the loud noise coming from her large polka-dotted cappuccino mug, which held the remains of a new, delicious concoction she had never tried before. She and Aoshi were sitting across from each other at Fizz, the small coffee shop that Dr. Shinomori had suggested they visit for an espresso. Misao had been delighted by the slightly funky décor and mismatched chairs; it gave the place a very bohemian, cozy feel. She picked a small, round table in the corner by a large window, and they sat quietly together, Aoshi sipping a double espresso in a small demitasse cup, and Misao trying to wrap her mind around the deliciousness that he had surprised her with.

"Aoshi-sama, what is this fantastic creation called again? An aphrodisiac?"

Aoshi almost choked on his espresso, and Misao could swear she heard a chuckle. "Um…not quite. It's called an affogato. It's a scoop of vanilla ice cream with hot espresso poured over it. Good, isn't it?"

"It's amazing! It's the perfect combination of sugar and caffeine…I may never go back to my regular triple latte again!"

Aoshi smiled a rare smile. "It's really supposed to be a dessert. Doesn't it seem a little too rich to take with you to your early morning classes?"

"Hmm, maybe you're right. Well, it's definitely my new favorite dessert, then. Why didn't you order one for yourself?"

Aoshi took another sip of his espresso. "Definitely too sweet for me, but…" He lowered his voice confidentially. "Sometimes I put a lemon twist in my espresso."

Misao pretended to look appalled, and she clutched her heart dramatically. "Careful, Dr. Shinomori! You don't want to go overboard with all that flavor!"

Aoshi's smile faded a bit, and he looked down at the table. "Still carrying on with the 'Dr. Aoshi-sama' business? I don't think I've ever heard you refer to me as just 'Aoshi' before."

This time, Misao's look of shock was genuine. "Um…are you serious? 'Aoshi-sama' is a term of endearment! I only call you that because you made a joke about it on our first clinical day at the hospital, remember? And when I call you 'Dr. Shinomori'…I guess it's just to change things up. Do you…want me to just call you Aoshi? I'll do whatever you want, just…stop frowning at me!" she finished awkwardly, blushing slightly at the serious turn their conversation had suddenly taken.

Aoshi gazed at Misao, his dark, mysterious eyes unreadable as they studied her curious, uncertain expression. "I'd like for you to feel comfortable with me," he finally said slowly. "You can call me whatever you like, as long as you're not doing it because you're afraid of me."

Misao's heart nearly stopped, and any remaining doubts she harbored regarding the intensity of her feelings for Aoshi vanished like a puff of steam rising from an industrial-grade espresso machine. She let out a short, nervous giggle, and before she could stop herself, she was talking. "Afraid of you? Oh my God, Aoshi…are you aware that I'm kind of obsessed with you?" She clapped a hand over her mouth, but it was too late; the words were out. She stared across the table at Dr. Shinomori with wide blue eyes, and suddenly found that she didn't know what to do with her hands. She folded them uncomfortably on the table in front of her.

"I…actually just said that, didn't I?"

Aoshi looked stunned. "You did," he replied.

Misao bit her lower lip. She could either plead insanity and take it all back, or she could put everything on the line; after using a word like obsessed to describe her feelings for Aoshi, there was really no doing things halfway. She let out a slow breath. "Okay. I…know I should probably feel more embarrassed, but there's really no hiding it. Dr…Aoshi, I think you're the smartest, most beautiful man I've ever met, and in a strange way, you're also one of the kindest. There. I just told you everything! What are you going to do about it?" She posed the question a bit rhetorically, not really expecting an answer considering the stupefied look on Aoshi's face. A few moments passed, and he finally raised an eyebrow.

"What am I going to do about it? Is that a challenge? Fine, then." He reached forward and placed a strong, slender hand over Misao's. The young girl felt her senses catch fire, and she experienced a rush of feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Wha-…what are you doing?" she asked, her voice wavering slightly.

Never breaking his gaze from hers, Aoshi lightly grazed the soft, pale skin of her own small hand with his callused thumb, and then lifted it off the table gently. Leaning forward, he dipped his head down to place a small, barely perceptible ghost of a kiss onto the backs of her delicate fingers, his dark hair falling over his eyes, and then turned her hand over, exhaling slowly and placing another gentle kiss into her palm. Raising his head to gaze at Misao again, he finally spoke. "I would have chosen a different word, such as…infatuation, but…you could say the feeling is mutual."

Misao thought she might die, literally, right there in the coffee shop. "You're interested in me? I can't believe this! I mean, of course I'm confident and plenty of boys love me," she said with a self-reassuring little hand gesture, "But you must think I'm some silly kid! I've been drooling over you for months!"

Aoshi considered the best way to respond. Finally, he decided to use Misao's own tactic. "Misao, you're intelligent, and fun, and…you're very beautiful. Why wouldn't Ibe interested?"

Misao couldn't argue with that.

*****

Kaoru had been silent all the way from the dojo to her subway stop, where Kenshin was waiting with her for the 5:15 train to arrive. Her usually warm, happy expression was stony; her lips were pressed firmly together and her brow was slightly furrowed, as though she were deep in thought. Kenshin kept stealing side glances at her, wanting to talk about what happened at the dojo with Enishi but not wanting to make her feel even more uncomfortable than she already did, and not knowing how to broach such an awkward topic. Finally, he reached out, and placed a hand gently on her shoulder. Kaoru flinched, as though surprised that he was still standing next to her, waiting with her for the train. Did she forget I was even here? He wondered.

"Kaoru…about what happened with Enishi…" Kenshin sighed. There was no easy way to say this.

"Kenshin, don't." Kaoru interrupted. "You don't need to say anything. I feel…so embarrassed that you had to meet Enishi like that, and see the kind of person that he is. I really….can't believe I ever dated him, even for six months." She stared straight ahead, not able to look Kenshin in the eye.

Kenshin was surprised. Was she expecting him to scold her for dating Enishi? "I wasn't going to give you a hard time about being with that…total dick, I promise."

Kaoru turned to face Kenshin fully. "How could you not? Ugh, that whole encounter was so horrible! And what happens if we ever run into him again? I don't know what he would do!"

The amber flecks were back in Kenshin's eyes, glinting dully in the fading light of the late afternoon. "That's what I wanted to tell you, Kaoru. You don't…you don't have to worry about him. I know I can't watch you every second of the day, so I don't mean to sound like some creepy bodyguard, but…whenever we're together, for whatever reason…I'll take care of you, okay? I promise."

Kaoru gave a little shudder as a breeze swept up under her skirt. "You…you just don't know Enishi, Kenshin. He's crazy. I know you're an amazing fighter, but…sometimes I think he would be willing to kill to get what he wants."

Kenshin didn't know how to respond. He didn't want to tell Kaoru that he had been holding back quite a bit at the dojo and undermine her considerable skill as a swordswoman, and that she actually had no idea how amazing of a fighter he really was, nor did he want to scare her by assuring her that he would have no problem killing anyone who tried to hurt her…in a matter of seconds. So, he settled for reaching out and pulling her slender form against him, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and settling his face against her temple, breathing deeply and evenly. Her mingled scent of jasmine and sweat that filled his senses was heady and arousing, and his ever-present desire to protect and claim her as his own flared from deep within him.

Kaoru had been surprised by Kenshin's embrace, but as he stood there holding her, she gave into the warmth and comfort that seemed to radiate from his presence. She slowly slid her arms around his waist and buried her face into his chest, trying to resist the urge she felt to cry from frustration, and fear…and relief.

For long moments, they continued to stand there like that, until they heard the sound of Kaoru's approaching train from behind them.