After Kaoru's departure, Kenshin turned back to his grim self again. However this time there was a spark of hope that they would meet again.
~ Time skip about a year, when Kenshin is in the mountain cabin~
( the man that called him had come to tell him about their headquarters
being invaded)
"Gotcha you little punk!" Kaoru said lifting up a scraggly boy of ten up by his shirt collar. "Hand it over!" A furious Kaoru demanded of the kid. The kid just glared back at her. Realizing that she wouldn't get an answer, Kaoru shook him furiously making the objects of her desire clatter to the floor. Lowering him back to the ground Kaoru picked up her money pouch and a curious amulet made of gold with a dragon and phoenix made of glittering precious gems. She studied the amulet face expressionless a while and put it back in its place. Then she handed the boy the wallet. "You can keep this, but next time you need cash ask for it or earn it." With that she let go of boy and started walking away.
" I don't need you charity ugly!" With that the boy flung the wallet as hard as he could at her head. She surprised him by picking the projectile out of the air effortlessly without turning around or by stopping. She continued walking and yelled out.
" That's Kaoru kid, not ugly." The kid dropped to the ground as if his legs couldn't support him and watched her retreating back speachless. After a while the kid noticed a shadow cast over him.
" So what have you got for us kid? " A nasal voice demanded putting emphases on the kid. The kid looked up to see to roughish men looming over him.
"Nothing, I don't want to have anything to do with you anymore. So get lost and my name isn't kid, it's Yahiko!"
"So the brat thinks he is a tough guy now. Well we'll teach him a lesson." One of the men groweled as he lifted his bat to strike Yahiko. Yahiko closed his eyes and waited for the impending pain. Nothing happened, so he opened his eyes. What he saw shocked him to say the least. The girl he had met earlier stood over him. Infront of them were the prone forms of the two thugs next to a broken bat.
" Are you okay?" Kaoru asked offering a hand. Yahiko took her hand cautious and was pulled firmly up.
" What happen?" Yahiko asked shocked. As he noticed the two still forms start to stir.
" I knocked them but your not going to believe that are you." She stated the fact as she watched his disbelieving eyes. When she noticed the moment of the men, she said. "Oh good your awake, go back to your boss and tell him if he wants the boy, he'll have to go through me first. Come on." She gripped Yahiko's hand and pulled him with her as they left the company of the two men. " I can't take you home because I don't live around here but you welcome to travel with me." At these words Yahiko felt total acceptance and happily shook his head forgeting she refered to him as a boy.
The next few days went along fine other then Yahiko's complaints of walking, his disbelieval of her being capable of fighting, and his insistance that he was protecting her. They dined off nature's bounty and in the few inns they passed as Kaoru had nothin to cook or cook with.
The started climbing a mountain. For some reason Kaoru never ceased to amaze Yahiko with her stamina. She could walk all day and run a marathon afterwards if she wanted. She was always the last of the two to go to sleep and when he woke in the morning she always seem to have been waiting for him along time. The only reason she seemed to stop was so Yahiko could catch his breath and rub his sore legs. He watched her jealous during one of these brakes ask she looked unfazed by their long trek. She looked in the sky and announced, "Its getting dark, we better look for shelter. Looks like rain." At this announcement Yahiko let out a low sigh. She smiled encouragingly and pulled him to his feet. "Come on you're a big kid, a short walk won't hurt."
Yahiko grimaced and mutted under his breath. " Short, ha yea right." Out loud he said, " I'm not a kid ugly!"
"Sure you are. I'm 16 and still considered a kid, you're 10 so go figure." This left him searching for a retort as she continued on her way. " Oh and I'm Kaoru, not ugly." She said off handedly, making him smile at her back. "Look over there, there's a cabin. I'll go on a head and ask for shelter while you catch up." She called over her shoulder pointing. At his nod she started running to the house making Yahiko shake his head in admiration, not that he'd ever let her know.
Knocking on the shoji (is that right?) door waited turning around to see Yahiko's progress. Foot steps approached the door and it slid open.
" Can I help you?" A gruff voice asked her.
" Yes, me and a friend of mine were seeking shelter for tonight and we wouldered if we stay here untill the rain passes. Ah, here comes my friend now." Kaoru said as Yahiko approached. She turned around and jumped back pointing. "It's you!" She accused. Yahiko looked to see who she was talking to and saw a teenager with red hair and blue eyes.
"
So we meet again. My name is Himura Kenshin." The red head said grinning.
Author's note: Thank you person who emailed me. Are my chapters long enough or should I make them longer? As you notice the circumstances are alter and the personalities. The reason Kaoru has so much stamina is because of her training. They used to put lead weights in the shoes of the kids making them light on their feet in China. That's why in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon those people seemed to fly. However they weren't that light on their feet. Think about it, if you had lead weights in your shoes most of your life then you had to run up and down the mountain and stuff like that. When you take the weights off you are going to have alot of stamina and feel alot lighter. However, Kaoru was dabbling with her training so she could finish it before she developed so she probably added weights or ran more. I'll probably have a chapter explaining her life before she went to Japan. Also Kaoru is probably not getting angry at Yahiko because she realises that he had a hard life and he is feeling awkward with her so he insults her.
