***
Well, sorry this update took so long. I was intensely discouraged by some responses I got to this fic, insinuating that Kaoru was out-of-character and such... I almost stopped writing, but I read back over it again, as well as some of the good reviews I got, and decided that wouldn't be fair to either you guys or me. Besides, there is practically NO Kenshin yuri out there... At least, I can't find any. So I feel it's my duty to contribute something to the fandom that's served me so well.
So, here it is! Megumi/Kaoru, if anybody wants it...
***

It had been a week now...
Kaoru heaved a heavy sigh, staring down at the shinai she held. Kenshin had come to talk to her that night, and she had cried a lot, and he had held her and promised he wouldn't go anywhere, and she'd felt so much better...
He really did care about her. He did.
There was something reassuring in the fact that he had no attraction to her, she supposed. The horror stories one always heard about men... That they never cared for anything but sex and if they didn't want that from you, they didn't want anything from you...
Of course, both men she had always seen as disproving that were gay. So maybe it didn't mean anything at all. Maybe they were exceptions because they didn't like girls and...
she exclaimed out loud, tossing the wooden practice sword to clatter off the far wall, then roll innocently along the matted floor. She'd been thinking about this too long... in fact, she had done too much thinking about this in the past seven days.
It had taken some time for the wound to ease. It probably would never go away, and she was resigned to that. She couldn't blame Kenshin for not being in love with her. It wasn't his fault... and by his word, it wasn't her fault either. And he would always be there for her. They would always be family. And that was really the most important thing...
She'd seen him clinging to Sanosuke that night... and somehow, everything had made so much more sense. It had been a side of Kenshin she had never seen before... For once, he hadn't seemed untouchable, invincible... He'd been the one being supported, being protected.
Kenshin needed someone to lean on too.
And that was reassuring, somehow.
Kaoru exhaled heavily and pushed to her feet, padding across the mats to retrieve her shinai. It was going to take some getting used to... though not as much as she would have expected. It just seemed right to see them together... It was nice.
What a day this was.
Kaoru returned to her excerises, the shinai whipping through the air, beads of sweat trickling down her back beneath the gi. The familiar motions were calming, hypnotizing... And she closed her eyes, letting breath huff from her lungs in rhythmic sighs, thin shoulders rising and falling, bare feet rocking across the mat as she moved back and forth.. back and forth...
It seemed like hours, only swinging the shinai through the silent air, muscles burning in both her slender arms and thighs, the only sounds the gentle rocking of her feet and the air displaced by the mock blade.
Kaoru froze as her senses caught a sound by the door, arms stiffening and holding the shinai in place over her head in the second attack position she had been taught. She swiveled on the side of her foot to lock her eyes onto the doorway, expecting Yahiko there to complain about his chores again. Why he couldn't interrupt his busy schedule to sweep the yard was simply beyond her. Sometimes he was just such a little-
she gasped, the shinai slipping innocently through her sweaty fingers to clatter loudly on the floor behind her.
Don't let me interrupt your practice, Kaoru-chan! the older girl lilted, making her graceful way into the room, her pristine white socks avoiding every nail, every knot in the wood. I just came to drop off some herbs for Ken-san, don't mind me. She sat lightly on one of the rolled-up mats against the wall, crossing her legs and smiling engimatically.
Kaoru blinked at her silently. Megumi didn't break her gaze, her long black hair pulled back from her pale face, silhouetting the elegantly curved neck and sharp chin, coal-black eyes twinkling with something she couldn't identify.
she finally managed, staring at her feet.
She sounded smug, knowing, as she always did, and yet even more so, as though she had been expecting the question for some time now.
You said there was someone else who- who loved me. Kaoru couldn't lift her gaze, an uncomfortable fluttering in the pit of her stomach, heartbeat pounding in her throat. Ever since her utter humiliation had subsided, once she was reassured and secure in her family again... that thought had come back, seeing her face, so flushed with anger and emotion, and she'd never seen her like that before...
Did I say that? Megumi blinked at her demurely.
Kaoru lifted her head and stared at the girl for a moment. Megumi cocked her head, toying absently with a lock of her hair, porcelain fingers darting in and out of the glossy strands. she said more than a little sharply. Yes, you did say that, Megumi-san.
I suppose I may have. Megumi shrugged, exuding an air of not caring in the slightest.
Kaoru prodded, resisting the urge to stomp her foot in utter frustration.
Megumi blinked, as though startled out of some long contemplation.
So who is it? Kaoru snapped, fists clenching. She should have known it wouldn't be easy to get out of her. She should have known better. Megumi wasn't like Kenshin, who she could guilt into telling her anything. Not like Yahiko, who would tell her anything as long as it would make her mad. Not like Sanosuke, who would tell her anything out of affection. Megumi would keep her guessing as long as she wanted to, tormenting her and teasing her until Kaoru exploded. Or commited bloody homocide. One or the other.
Who is what? Megumi needled.
Who is it that LOVES ME?! Kaoru burst out, stamping her foot, eyes flashing with annoyance and real anger. God, you're so FRUSTRATING! I KNOW you think you're smarter than me, but that doesn't mean you have to TEST IT, dammit! With all your stupid RIDDLES and all that CRAP-
This felt good. This felt very good.
Who do you think you ARE, anyway? You're no better than me! Yeah, you're prettier! Yeah, you might be smarter! But that doesn't make you any BETTER THAN ME!
Of course not, Megumi soothed, standing up from her perch swiftly, padding over the wooden floor to her side, one hand raising to take her chin. Oh, of course not, Kaoru-chan, I'm no better than you...
You're NOT! Kaoru shot back, voice rising in both volume and pitch. Stop pretending to care, dammit! Stop pretending! I've never lied to you, never once lied to you, stop PRETENDING!
Her fingers tightened on her chin, painfully, harshly. I've never lied to you, Kaoru, she said softly, voice deepening, hoarsening, eyes flashing with that same emotion, that same anger, that same passion as that time, that first time, every time Megumi had struck her, every time Megumi had been serious with her... Don't think you've more morals than me. Don't think you're better than me. Her grip didn't loosen, her free hand falling to the back of Kaoru's gi, delicate and slender fingers clenching with a strength she'd thought it impossible for them to possess. And don't you dare ever think I don't care about you. Don't you dare think that ever again. And don't you ever dare say that to my face again, little girl.
I'm not a little girl, Kaoru whispered, shaking with subsiding anger and a fear she didn't want to think of... I'm not a little girl.
You are a little girl, Megumi purred, then pushed a fingertip into her chin until Kaoru was forced to look into her face.
Her pained whimper went unnoticed as the dark-haired girl kissed her forcefully, the hand on her back holding her still, holding her close, tightly and unforgivingly. Her lips were warm, and... soft, somehow, no matter how cruel and ungiving they were to hers. And she shivered in fear, unable to back away, unable to ignore the rush of adrenaline and heat that took her, unable to ignore the guilty pleasure that was searing her.
And she submitted meekly until Megumi saw fit to let her go.