A/N: Early update, so no one hurts me over the cliff hanger last chapter. ;) Also, I'm dedicating this chapter to my younger cousin and his best friend, as well as a half dozen cherry bombs and a homemade daisy chain of fire crackers that took out the old dog house. And the garden hose, bless it, if hadn't been for said hose I'd have lost my lavender bush. Teenage boys and explosives, oh the havoc the combination can cause.
Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin.
"But Kenshin!" Sanosuke is whining loudly, messy hair flopping in his eyes, snow melting cold patches through his clothing. "We were just messing around!"
"There are fields," Kenshin is a study in exasperation, one hand flung outwards, gesturing towards said wilderness. "River banks, or woods. You two aren't blowing up the dojo."
"We wouldn't blow up the dojo," the rather handsome young man with Sanosuke gives Kenshin a wide smile. "We know better than that."
"You are not dropping bombs down the well." Kenshin orders flatly, folding his arms across his chest even as he levels with them a look that Kaoru's father had often worn. Both Sanosuke's and the other man's shoulders slump, and - as a united pair - they lock mournful eyes on the scowling Kenshin.
"But jou-chan always wants the ice broken off the top," Sanosuke attempts hopefully, "And they're little bombs -"
"Very little," his friend agrees, heading bobbing vigorously. "Barely a boom at all."
"No."
"Told you he wouldn't let us," Sanosuke's long haired friend mutters, both of them fidgeting like two children caught behaving badly. Which, Kaoru admits, isn't too far from the truth. "He never lets us."
"We're adults," Sanosuke mutters back, "Don't see why we have to listen to him anymore."
Despite his large claims, both men shuffle off, a distinctively sullen air about them.
"What -" Kaoru starts to ask, before blinking and shaking her head. "Who -?"
"Katsu," Kenshin says simply, before slanting a sideways look at her. "You've heard of Tsukioka Tsunan, I assume? The artist?" He waits for her nod of confirmation.
"He and Sanosuke are old friends," Kenshin pauses, a small but warm smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. "I met both of them when they were just boys in Kyoto. Katsu has always had an unfortunate fondness for explosives."
"But the well - why would they want to toss bombs down our well?"
"Little boys," Kenshin says knowingly, a faint smile playing at his mouth, "Have very little common sense when it comes to things that catch fire and make loud noises."
That is when Kaoru realizes that despite the trust Kenshin places in Sanosuke, he does not see the brash younger man as a man at all. Instead Kenshin still views him as a little boy that he half-raised amid blood and war and, apparently, quite a few incidents involving explosives.
Word Count: 399