When Yahiko woke that morning the dojo was uncharacteristically silent. Usually Kenshin was puttering around at this time. Cleaning this, washing that, keeping Kaoru out of the kitchen, and other boring things. Yahiko didn't understand how Kenshin lived his days in utter monotony and on top of that, how he seemed to enjoy it. Yahiko could only dream of being so strong and skilled in swordsmanship, and here was Kenshin playing housemaid to Yahiko's foul-tempered sensei. Yahiko promised himself that he would never lower himself in such a way. Once he mastered the sword, he would wander the countryside, saving innocent civilians and accepting their thanks in cash.

He was saving as much as he could for that very thing. As soon as he was sixteen (surely he would be a master swordsman by that time) he would say goodbye to his irritating sensei and walk off into the sunset. For the first few months, until word got around, he would use his savings to stay in various inns (nice ones) throughout his travels. The townspeople would hear that there was an impossibly strong and very humble swordmaster in town and they would throw themselves at his feet and beg him to dispatch the thieves and bandits and murderers that plagued the good citizens of this village. Of course Yahiko would say yes, it was his responsibility to keep the people safe in this new Meiji era. After a few years on the road he would come back to Tokyo and fetch Tsubame, who would have been waiting for him all that time.

Yahiko-sama, you're so strong! I knew you would come back for me!

And off they would go, across the country and perhaps abroad, and finally they would settle down back in Tokyo. Maybe he would open his own dojo, and that sensei of his could come and watch his classes and marvel at how fine a master he had become. Both Kaoru and Kenshin would gaze at him with pride and would gladly admit that he had far surpassed both of them. Maybe they would name their firstborn son after him.

Yahiko couldn't understand why the two of them dragged their feet so much. It had been obvious to him from the first that they belonged together. Kenshin and Kaoru, Kaoru and Kenshin. For all the teasing and insults he threw her way, he knew without any doubt that only Kaoru was strong enough to stand at Kenshin's side. A swordsman must have a strong, honest, hard-working, and faithful woman at his side. Everyone knew that. Everyone except Kenshin apparently.

Even Sanosuke agreed, the two of them had once spent a late evening at the Akebeko, shortly after the Shishio debacle. Sano deep in his cups and Yahiko inhaling his fourth helping of hot pot, they had sat and commiserated about how little sense the former wanderer and the bossy tanuki had. Yahiko commented that it was many a night that he had found Himura asleep sitting up outside the entrance of Kaoru's room.

"If he's so worried about keeping her safe why doesn't he just sleep with her?" Yahiko had asked. Sano had coughed loudly and a spray of sake narrowly missed Yahiko's face.

"Oi! Drink much?"

Sano ignored the sarcastic remark and banged his bandaged fist loudly on the table. The bowls on top of it rattled.

"I don't get that guy. First he tried to leave her behind and it didn't work at all. Even if she hadn't followed him we all know he would have come back eventually! You'd think he'd get it by now. He's stuck with her!"

Yahiko had agreed, and Sano continued his scathing review of the Himura and Kamiya drama.

"If I had a woman so in love with me that she pretty much abandoned her birthright and followed me to hell and back, you'd better believe I'd bed her quick and lock her down as soon as possible." Yahiko had turned red as a beet at this, and wondered why Sano always had to talk so loud.

And Kaoru. Kenshin didn't get it and that was utter nonsense but not entirely unexpected, but Kaoru. Now that was disappointing.

Sensei. What had been up her butt the night before? She'd looked like somebody had run their carriage over her cat. As usual, Kenshin had been staring off into space like an idiot, thinking about Buddha knows what. Yahiko could handle Kaoru's temper and the odd bokken to the face, but this was different. He'd had to leave the room. He was becoming disillusioned with Kenshin, his hero. First Rakuninmura and now this. He'd sat back and done nothing, even when that stupid busu was sad like that. After everything she had done for him!

In the months following the actions of that arrogant Enishi (Yahiko thought that man was unnaturally obsessed with his sister, it was creepy and gross) Yahiko had been positive that they'd finally get it together and just get married already. It was getting tiresome how the people in town were whispering about the impropriety of a grown single man living with a young single woman, with no parents or any older person around to ensure they kept things on the up and up. Yahiko was constantly defending his sensei's honor and it had gotten very old. Up until recently they seemed to be heading in the right direction, with Kenshin touching her all the time and never really letting her out of his sight and Kaoru staring at him all the time with that dumb look on her face.

But last night... That didn't bode well at all. If Kenshin had had any sense he would have demanded to know what had upset her so much and then beat the shit out of whoever had caused it. That's what he would have done if it had been Tsubame looking like her soul had left her body.

Yahiko, unable to ignore the growls of his stomach anymore, got up. He dressed and when he entered the courtyard it was empty. No Kenshin. He keened his ears to listen. He heard the familiar sound of Kaoru meticulously washing the dojo floor.

"Ohayo. Where's breakfast? And where's Kenshin?"

Kaoru didn't even look up. She continued at her task and answered Yahiko in a clipped tone.

"Out, and your breakfast is in the covered pot next to the stove." Yahiko glared at the woman suspiciously.

"Okay, and where did he go?" Yahiko was a little worried now. Had that bastard decided to try wandering again? Without him? Without Kaoru?

"I don't know. He left a note. All it says is that he'll be back in time to cook dinner."

Oh. Well that was fine. Nothing to get worked up about. So why did she look so sad still?

Yahiko didn't bother with breakfast. Tae was a big softie and she would feed him if he showed up hungry. He didn't want to be at the Kamiya Dojo any longer than necessary.

I hate it here.

Kenshin, hitokiri for the Ishin Shishi and nationally renowned master of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu, had never felt so exhausted in his life. He almost wished to be back with Hiko and his relentless sword training that toed the line between kendo lessons and child cruelty. At least he knew where he stood with his former master. Now he knew nothing of his place in the world that he had helped to build with his blood, sweat, and tears. That world had left him behind.

Kenshin had set off that morning with high hopes. There was work to be done and he was willing to do it. He would earn his way like any man should and Kaoru would finally be his.

He had sat up late into the night, long after Kaoru and Yahiko had gone to bed. He rested on the porch just outside Kaoru's room, trying to think of some skill he possessed that had nothing to do with fighting. Kenshin had resolved long ago, even before the end of the Bakumatsu, that he would never use his skill with the sword to make his living. He would not become like so many other former samurai, carving out his livelihood with a blade, reversed or not. Even if he would not kill, he would never shame himself, his family, or his former master that way. He would use his sword only when absolutely necessary and only to save others, never to put food in his belly. His ability with the sword had felt like a curse for much of his life, and to accept payment in exchange for it would lower him even further beneath Kaoru than he already was.

Kenshin had to admit that figuring out future employment was a bit of a struggle. He knew how to cook and how to do laundry. He could garden fairly well, though he wasn't a professional by any means. Farming could be an option, though that was mostly a family business. He supposed it wouldn't hurt to travel further out and offer his strong back to one of the farmers outside town, it would be time to harvest soon. Nevertheless he was hesitant to do so. Only because it meant two hours of brisk walking in the morning and two hours back in the evening, meaning he would be away from the Kamiya Dojo from well before sun up to well after sun down with no guarantee for its safety.

He had briefly sold medicine during his short respite with Tomoe. That also meant traveling, but he had always been home in time for dinner with Tomoe so that could work. Perhaps he could talk Yahiko into accepting fewer shifts at the Akebeko. If Kenshin was the breadwinner Yahiko would have no need to work. He could keep an eye on Kaoru for him. Kaoru would stay home for much of the day and that would make it easier for Yahiko to ensure her safety. No wife of Himura Kenshin would have to work, not if she didn't want to.

Kenshin ran through many possibilities in his mind and eventually he slept a little. He stayed outside Kaoru's door and dozed off and on, it was late summer so the weather was warm enough. He was just as comfortable there as anywhere else.

At five o'clock he prepared a bit of rice and tofu, and left it covered in the kitchen. Kaoru and Yahiko would want breakfast when they woke. Though it would be cold by the time they were ready to eat it, he didn't think Kaoru would have too much difficulty warming it up. He retrieved a bit of paper and ink and penned a short note so Kaoru wouldn't worry about where he had gone so early in the morning. He slid the note into the crack between her shoji doors and set off to town.

By the time he reached the city streets it was six-thirty. The sun had been up for an hour, it rose early in the summer months and it was mid-July. Some of the more motivated merchants were already setting up for the day. Kenshin saw a middle aged man with a bald spot, setting up his goods. Kitchenware. He set out his knives and cooking pots neatly, smallest to largest. Kenshin greeted him with a good morning. The man smiled at him pleasantly.

"Sir, might you be in need of help? This one is looking for work," Kenshin asked, bowing his head low. The older man hesitated a moment but replied pleasantly enough.

"I have no need. My son is help enough when I need it." Kenshin smiled warmly and bid the man a good day. He walked on to the next vendor and had a similar exchange. And then the next. And the next. After that, the same. By eleven o'clock he had asked almost every street merchant and every shopkeeper along the main causeway for a job, and had received the same reply from all. No one was looking for help.

Four hours and not even an "I'll think about it". Surely someone must be in need of an employee, but none had even bothered to ask him what rate he might charge. Kenshin would not ask for overmuch, but so far he'd had no opportunity to get that far.

He would not give up.

Further down was an apothecary. Perfect, Kenshin would tell the proprietor of his previous experience. Perhaps he'd even mention Dr. Gensai or Dr. Takani to sweeten the pot. At this point name-dropping was not beneath him. Kenshin entered the small shop, and a tiny woman with the thickest spectacles Kenshin had ever seen peeked up at him from behind the counter. She greeted him enthusiastically.

"Himura-san, of the Kamiya Dojo! Welcome, what are you in need of today?" Kenshin was a bit taken aback by her familiarity with him. As far as he knew he had never met the woman personally, but she seemed nice enough so Kenshin smiled warmly at her and bowed his head in greeting.

"This one is looking for work. Might you have a need for help in your shop...young miss?" The woman giggled.

"Miss? You flatter me. We have been busier than usual lately. Let me ask my husband!" No sooner had she uttered the word "husband" than the man himself appeared from the back room. Where she was small the man was exceedingly large. He towered over all, the top of his head barely clearing the ceiling. The sleeves of his yukata were several inches too short and the seams at the shoulders looked as if they might burst apart. He looked as if at one point he had been powerfully muscled, but now he was softening into fatness and his steps were marred by a slight limp. His eyebrows were thick and nearly formed a straight line across his face, but Kenshin could also see that there was kindness in his eyes.

"You have something to ask me, wife?" The voice matched the man. It was a deep, booming baritone.

"This is Himura Kenshin-san. You know, that man who helps Kamiya-san at her dojo? He wants a job, and you were complaining just the other day that you hadn't had a day off since March," she explained. Kenshin stood awkwardly in the middle of the shop as the diminutive woman's husband inspected him.

The shopkeeper grunted and took a step toward Kenshin. He bowed respectfully and when he straightened up and returned his gaze downward at Kenshin, he looked sorrowful. When he spoke again, his speech was flowery and surprisingly old-fashioned, almost poetic.

"Himura-san, I have heard talk of you and your skill with the sword. I hear that you carry a sword with no edge to protect others. I've also heard that you are a veteran of the Bakumatsu, though I don't know in which capacity. Like you, I fought for the emperor. Because we once fought for the same cause, though not shoulder to shoulder, I feel that I must be truthful with you even if what I have to say is unpleasant to hear.

"The scars on your face and the marks of battle you bear on your hands and your arms will prevent you from work that faces everyday townspeople. After war, the people want to forget how they came to attain peace. Those of us who fought for it and were so impertinent as to survive are often discarded. You remind them that the life they live was won by taking the lives of others, and they are too weak to bear that burden. So they turn away from you because it is much easier than to face what peace truly means and how much it costs. My left leg was shattered by the blunt edge of a shogunate katana and I was very fortunate not to lose it, and lucky enough that my scars can be hidden under a kimono. You bear yours for all to see. I'm sorry for this, Himura-san. I wish the world was different, that I could make these people see the error of their ways, but you and I know well that change is hard-won. I can ill afford to take the chance of employing you and scaring away much needed business. My family depends on me and my livelihood."

Kenshin found himself at a loss for words. He felt as though he'd been cleaved in two. There was no denying that the shopkeeper spoke the truth, and that truth was devastating. The large man saw Kenshin's conflict in the slump of his shoulders and jumped to offer some small consolation, like throwing scraps to a stray dog.

"You would have better luck with the carpenters or the farmers. If you go to the coast the shipbuilders as well. All that matters to them is that you're strong."

"This one thanks you for your time and for your...frankness."

With that Kenshin exited the shop.

"That poor man. Did you have to tell him all of that? Couldn't we have just given him work? Maybe in the back room..."

"Hinako-chan, my love. It is far more unkind to fill a man with hope for a future that may never come. He would learn eventually that the people would sooner spit on him than offer him a helping hand. That Kamiya woman was kind enough to take him in, but few others would do the same. As far as giving that man work...you know, being so much smarter than I, that charity and pity won't put food in our children's bellies." Hinako's husband reached for her and her small hand was lost in his.

"Those generals and officers taught us how to kill men, but never about how to live after they were dead."

Kenshin, following the advice of the forthcoming apothecary, had made his way to a decrepit looking inn that was under some intense repair. There he found a group of six (seven, one had snuck away unnoticed and fallen asleep under a nearby tree) carpenters.

When he approached them and asked to speak with the foreman, a man with gangly arms and skin so tanned by the sun that it resembled leather looked up from his work.

"That's me," the man indicated.

When Kenshin repeated, for the hundredth time that day, that he sought employment the entire faction of workers laughed (Kenshin even heard a muffled guffaw coming from the tall tree to his left) so hard that one nearly fell off the roof.

"You look like you could barely lift a hammer!" The foreman exclaimed. Kenshin explained that he was much stronger than he looked, and their answering laughter followed him for quite a distance as he walked away.

Kenshin desperately sifted through his remaining options. Perhaps a whaling ship. Months at sea. The rice fields. He would have to convince Kaoru to leave her dojo and birthright behind and move to the sticks. She would resent him for it, and he could never ask that of her. He could go by himself and send her his earnings, and visit a few times a year? Like the whaling ship, he would be abandoning her for months on end. Who would keep her safe? Yahiko would become a man eventually, and he would have to leave them and find his own way. Kenshin could not teach as she did, Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu must die with him and Hiko-sensei.

Kenshin, dejected, wandered aimlessly through Tokyo.

"Himura-san!" He was dragged from his ruminations by the cheerful call of Tae. In his reverie he hadn't realized that he was passing the Akebeko. Something in his face must have alarmed Tae, for her brow knit tightly in concern. Kenshin saw this and he slipped his mask on very quickly and efficiently. After years of practice he was a master at hiding his true self, far better at it even than the sword. He wondered if Kaoru would still care for him if he showed her who he truly was.

"You're dead on your feet, Himura-san. Come inside, Tsubame made far too much onigiri for our lunch. Even Yahiko couldn't finish it all. You can help us!"

Kenshin smiled. Tae was a soul like no other, and Kenshin was more grateful than he could put to words that Kaoru had such a friend. Though he was not hungry and his stomach felt as heavy as his heart, he followed Tae into the Akebeko. It was practically empty, the lunch rush was long over and the dinner rush was still an hour away.

He sat at the table that Tae indicated, removing his sakobatô and propping it against the wall next to him.

"This one thanks you Tae-dono, but this one only needs to rest. You should save your onigiri for yourself and Tsubame-dono, for when you are hungry later."

"I won't hear of it. Eat, and tell me why you look as if you've walked all of Japan in a single day." Tae set the food in front of him, and Kenshin forced himself to eat it. He wouldn't hurt Tae's feelings for all the world. At Kenshin's arrival Tsubame had drifted over from the far table she'd been wiping down and the three of them sat together. Kenshin ate, and the two women watched him carefully though they made an effort to look as if they weren't. When Kenshin finished eating Tae spoke.

"Now, what have you been up to, Himura-san? Whatever errand you've been on for Kaoru-san must be a complicated one." Kenshin contemplated for a moment that perhaps he should just affirm Tae's assumption, lie and tell her that indeed he had only been on an errand for Kaoru. He discarded the idea, firstly because Tae was no fool and would see that he carried nothing with him but his sword and secondly he was far too weary to attempt subterfuge. His exhaustion went far deeper than merely physical.

"This one has been out to look for employment, but prospects are few. This one has had no luck so far." Through his weariness he forced himself to plaster on his fake smile. He would do that much for Tae and Tsubame.

"Employment! A job?" Tsubame blurted out and immediately blushed at her outburst. Tae shot her a warning look.

"Yes, now that things have calmed somewhat, this one has decided that it's time to earn a living. It's improper for a man to live in a woman's household and not to contribute to it in any way."

Tae thought about Sanosuke and all of the bills he'd skipped out on.

"You say prospects are few?" Tae asked curiously. As far as she knew (and she knew very well indeed) the Japanese economy was doing fairly well.

"Hai. This one has suffered many disappointments today."

"But Himura-san, Darcy-san doesn't have a real job either! Elizabeth didn't seem to mind!" Tsubame exclaimed.

"Who?" Kenshin and Tae asked in unison and Tsubame's face flamed once again.

"No one. I'm going to...go over there for a little while," she mumbled and returned to wiping her tables. Tae and Kenshin looked after her curiously.

"Himura-san, you should have told me earlier that you were looking for work. I could use another set of hands here." Kenshin smiled ruefully and touched the scars on his cheek.

"You are very generous, Tae-dono, but this one would be bad for business," he replied. He stood then and, securing the sakobatô to his hip once again, he bid the ladies farewell. He made his way back to the Kamiya Dojo.

He had failed.

A little over a week had passed since her encounter with Cho-san and Kaoru was growing restless. The ancient woman's advice echoed in her thoughts constantly. Her words tugged at the corners of her mind and she couldn't help but feel like a disappointment. What would Cho-san think of her if she knew that Kaoru had still done nothing, was still sitting around and waiting for someone else to do it for her?

It had grown awkward between her and Kenshin. He had gone for the entire day last week, and there had been something different about him ever since. He acted the same, completing his usual chores and mediating between Yahiko and Kaoru to keep the peace but there were new shadows behind his eyes. He couldn't fool her no matter how much he tried.

Kaoru wondered (obsessed was a better word) over what had changed in him that day. Had it been her depressed mood the night before he'd gone? Did he think that she was tiring of him?

Was he thinking of wandering again?

Kaoru didn't think she could bear it this time. If he left her again would he go where she could not follow? If she did, would he send her away? Had he grown tired of her?

Kaoru decided that it was now or never. Though she had no feminine wiles to speak of and she knew she couldn't cook worth a damn or be a silent and meek wife and that Tomoe had far surpassed her in beauty, Kaoru was still a Kamiya. Her father would have been insulted by her lack of fortitude and the honor of her family and the legacy of her father was almost as important to her as Kenshin was.

No one is going to just hand it to you.

It was past the time to act and Kaoru prayed a silent apology to her mother and father, wherever they were, for her lack of action thus far. She had played it cool with Kenshin, letting him make the first move. He had far more in his past to deal with than she did and Kaoru had deluded herself that soon he would come to the conclusion on his own that he belonged with her. That idea hadn't worked, and Kaoru was not well known for her patience.

She took deep breaths and willed her limbs to stop shaking. She had never been more terrified in her life, and that was saying something.

It was ten in the morning on a Tuesday, so he would be at the laundry basin, scrubbing away at her sweat stained gis and Yahiko's foul smelling kendo hakama.

"Kenshin." She had said his name thousands of times but this time she uttered it like a prayer, clinging to it like a life raft. Kenshin, who had of course heard her coming a mile away, liked to provide her the illusion that she could sneak up on him or catch him unaware. He found that most people were uncomfortable when a man was always still and focused, ready and lying in wait. So he whipped his head up from the wash with a surprised "oro".

Kaoru felt cold and clammy and worried that she would actually faint before she could accomplish what she had set out to do. So she steeled herself and wiped her sweaty palms on her hips. Before her brain had a chance to catch up with her mouth and ruin everything, she spat it out.

"I love you!"

She screwed her eyes shut and clenched her fists, as if awaiting the killing blow.

The silence that hung between them, though only about twenty seconds long, seemed to stretch on for an eternity. There was neither exultation nor outright rejection from Kenshin immediately. Why wasn't he saying anything? Didn't he know how fucking hard this was for her?!

Kaoru opened one blue eye to peek at him and when she did she saw that he had cast his eyes away, looking at anything but her. When he spoke his voice was so soft that Kaoru strained to hear it.

"This one cannot offer what you seek, Kaoru-dono. It would be best for you not to set your hopes on this one."

July turned to August turned to September. Megumi had arrived in Tokyo nine days before and Sanosuke two days after her and Tae had remarked to Tsubame that even though they had a very important job to do, it was still nice to have everyone together again. Tokyo just wasn't the same without Megumi and Sanosuke. Tsubame agreed wholeheartedly, and had enjoyed Yahiko's pleasant astonishment at their arrival immensely.

She had done well keeping their secret up to that point, as difficult as it had been.

But, Tsubame was bound to break sometime, and break she did. It had actually taken very little to do so.

"Dr. Gensai! Dr. Takani! Welcome, welcome!" Tae greeted the two enthusiastically and seated them at one of their best tables.

"Impeccable service," Dr. Gensai had commended, flashing his most charming smile. It was definitely not as charming as it had been twenty years ago when he'd still had all of his teeth, but Tae and Tsubame were pleased nonetheless.

Megumi seemed a bit distracted that day so Dr. Gensai found that he would have to be the more sociable of the two. Dr. Gensai suspected that it had something to do with that Sagara fellow dropping by the clinic earlier that morning and the fact that he had stripped off his shirt and asked Megumi to examine a medium sized knot that had formed on his abdomen, just below his waistline.

"Dr. Gensai, I hope you've had a pleasant day so far. Were the two of you on your way to call on Kaoru-chan and Himura-san?" Tae couldn't help the loaded glance she cast toward Megumi when she asked this, though Megumi herself paid her little mind.

"Tomorrow. Though I did run into Yoshimia Shoko-san in town today. She told me that Ikeda Asahi-san is back in Tokyo, and that he looks extremely well!"

"Ikeda-san? Do we know him?"

"Oh, probably not. He's been away for five or six years. He lived at the Kamiya Dojo for a time. I'm surprised he's stayed away this long, I expected him back as soon as he reached adulthood with a proposal for our Kaoru-chan. No, I can't imagine what took him this long, Shoko told me the man is exceedingly wealthy these days, a far cry from when he was kept by Kamiya-san out of charity! The man can travel anywhere he wants to."

"P-proposal?" Tsubame stuttered as she set their food down. Was the room spinning just now? And why was it so hot all of a sudden?

"Oh yes, for sure! Ikeda-san promised Kaoru-chan that he would return and marry her. Kamiya-san had already started to look at the boy as a son, so he was more than approving. Kaoru-chan was absolutely heartbroken when the boy left, she all but pined for that boy for an entire year!"

Megumi, Tae, and Tsubame all paled at the same time, as if on cue. Dr. Gensai, who had started to dig into his hot pot, didn't notice.

"Do...do you think he still wants to? Marry Kaoru-chan, I mean?" Tae tried to sound casual, but her voice pitched an octave on the word "marry".

"Only he knows. All I know is that he plans to visit the Kamiya Dojo very soon, and I can't imagine it's for any other reason than to see Kaoru-chan, what with Kamiya-san having passed and all."

Not good. Not good at all.

Back in the kitchen Yahiko was busy at work with his dishes, and he would never say it out loud to anyone but he actually kind of liked dish duty. It was a good way of clearing his head a bit and temporarily switching off whatever anxieties were plaguing him at the time. Dishes helped him think. He didn't understand yet but a year down the line he would realize that he and Kenshin were very similar in that way. Yahiko with his dishes and Kenshin with his laundry.

When Tsubame entered the kitchen she was breathing a little bit too fast and her left eye twitched. Yahiko knew that this was her "tell", the one that made it glaringly obvious that she was anxious. Not that Yahiko needed any hints, Tsubame was so easy to read. He liked that about her.

Yahiko was disturbed by her unease, but he was certain that he could simply fix whatever issue had caused her so much concern.

"Tsubame? What's wrong?" She jumped, as if she hadn't seen him sitting at the dish basin directly in her line of sight and as if she hadn't seen him there about four other times that day, him having been in the exact same spot for the last hour and a half. Anxious and distracted.

"Y-yahiko! Nothing! Everything is perfectly fine and great and not a disaster! I just needed to grab...um...this." She picked up the nearest object, which happened to be a single broken chopstick that Yahiko had tossed aside for the garbage later. His eyes narrowed.

"I see. You'd better be on your way then, now that you have what you need."

"R-right. Uh, okay. See you later."

"See ya." Yahiko returned to his dishes and whistled a tune. Five, four, three-

"Yahiko what are we going to do? Oh everything is ruined!"

"What's ruined, Tsubame?" Yahiko was very calm as he was sort of used to Tsubame's tendency to overreact to very minor issues. She had once had a crying fit when she had drifted off into a daydream and overcooked the rice. She'd insisted that she was not fit to work for Tae and that she would immediately confess and turn in her apron. Yahiko had convinced her (it took him the better part of an hour) to simply throw out the offensive rice and start over, and that telling Tae about it was a waste of time. Tae wouldn't care. Tsubame had done it anyway. Ugly-crying, she'd taken off her apron and held it out toward Tae with shaky hands, confessing to the crime. Tae had simply patted her on the head with a very firm "get back to work".

"Kaoru-san and Himura-san! The plan is ruined! Me and Tae were just going to give them a little push so they would figure things out and get together, we weren't meddling or being nosy or anything! We were gonna get everyone back in Tokyo and then Kaoru-san and Himura-san would get married for sure and we already have the seating arrangements written out, and the menu, and-"

"What plan?" Yahiko interrupted, mostly out of concern that Tsubame hadn't taken a breath in over one minute. Tsubame glared at him as if he was one of the stupidest people she'd ever met.

"I just told you!"

"You were going to get everyone back in Tokyo and then what?"

"Then...we-I mean.. I-oh. I guess we didn't really...talk about that." Tsubame's face took on a strange greenish tint.

Really extremely not good.

Author's note:

Phew! That was a long one, I actually exceeded the character limit on my writing app lol. I had to copy and paste this in two parts so if you notice anything off in the flow let me know! I proofread this several times so hopefully I didn't miss anything.

Thank you to those who left such lovely comments!

Coming up, we're back to Kenshin. I hope you're not too angry with him right now! I'm sure he'll make it up to us (and Kaoru-dono).