Disclaimer: The great Watsuki Nobuhiro and others too numerous to mention own Rurouni Kenshin. The idea that I could possibly own him or the other characters in his world is laughable in the extreme. I've just borrowed him so he can play with a few characters that seem to own me (and I'm still not sure how that happened). Either way please do not sue me. I don't even have enough money to be penniless.

Summary: Kenshin's past comes back to haunt him and a new danger starts to hunt in Tokyo.

Rating: R for the entire story if not chapter by chapter.

Info: I hope this chapter is alright. I've been sick and my brain doesn't work very well. The only reason I got this out was that it was already written and just needed to be edited a few times. Although I'm not sure how well I did as my brain has been mush for the last few days.

Further Info: The first half of this chapter exists because I believe that every RK story arc needs a scene like this.

A KILLING MOVE

By COLLEEN

Chapter 8a

Kaoru stood, hands on hips, contemplating the mess of water, laundry and now mud that lay in a heap around the well.

"Kenshin no baka, where are you?"

She was getting very worried about the kind-hearted rurouni. Even though he continued to keep up a cheerful facade she could feel a kind of despair squeezing him tighter and tighter.

"Baka, baka, baka, why won't he ever tell me what's wrong." Tears started to gather at the sides of her eyes.

"Oi busu, I know you can't cook but I didn't think you could screw up laundry this badly." Yahiko commented from behind her.

"Yahiko," Kaoru turned towards the young boy as she hissed his name through clenched teeth.

Yahiko, not being entirely stupid, took off running with an infuriated Kaoru in close pursuit.

Kenshin arrived home, deep in thought. Oblivious to the scene playing out inside the compound he opened the dojo gate to step inside. Quickly he tried to back peddled as Yahiko's small body dashed out the opening with an enraged Kaoru bringing up the rear.

"Oro?"

Kaoru eyes widened at the sight of the rurouni. Knowing she would be unable to fit through the space between Kenshin and the door she made a valiant but futile attempt to stop her forward motion. Too late, she yelled Kenshin's name as a warning before slamming into him, tumbling them both to the ground.

"Ooooooroooo."

Kenshin found himself on the ground with Kaoru on top of him, her face inches from his. Violet eyes looked into blue ones, both sets reflecting the surprise and shock that their owners were experiencing. They lay there a few more moments until, as one, their cheeks blushed red. Kenshin moved first, quickly righting himself before helping Kaoru to her feet.

"Gomen Kenshin." Kaoru said at the same time Kenshin apologized with a "Gomen Kaoru dono."

They smiled sheepishly at each other and a light blush reappeared on both of their cheeks. Kaoru started to speak again but was cut off by a frustrated howl from behind her.

"Let me go you rooster headed reprobate." Yahiko yelled from the embarrassing position of being slung over Sano's shoulder.

"Oi, Jou-chan. I think this belongs to you" Sano said as he unceremoniously dumped the young boy in a heap at Kaoru's feet.

"You jerk." An enraged Yahiko leapt off the ground, attacking Sano by biting at the brawler's head in an attempt to gnaw it off. A fist shot out and the young man found himself on the ground looking up into the livid face of his teacher.

"Maa maa" Kenshin interjected. His hope to stop the current fight was crushed as some further name calling from both student and teacher had the two of them once again chasing each other around the dojo's grounds.

Kenshin and Sano stood by the gate and watched as Yahiko and Kaoru passed them for the second time. Sano put on as bland a face as possible. No need to advertise that he could still find himself a little dazed by the goings on at the Kamiya dojo. Kenshin, however, just smiled in reaction to Kaoru and Yahiko's sibling like fight. To him his adopted families' arguing was one of the most wonderful experience he could imagine.

"Well, I should probably get dinner started, that I should," Kenshin said.

Kaoru looked up from where she was grinding Yahiko's head into the ground with her foot and said, "oh I almost forgot Genzai-sensei has invited us over for dinner."

"Great" Sano replied. "Free food that's actually edible."

"What?" A furious Kaoru turned her attentions from her student and aimed them at Sanosuke.

Kenshin tiptoed out of range as Sano raised his hands in a warding off gesture and said, "I mean I hope Megumi will be there. I haven't seen her for awhile."

Kaoru growled in her throat but decided to let it go, for now. Yahiko got up grumbling but after taking one look at Kaoru's face decided to curtail further insults. It would be safer to wait until tomorrow for the chance to even things up.

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Chapter 8b

Kenshin sighed as he stared down at the muddy mess of laundry that he had left behind earlier in the day. He cleaned out the tub, refilled it with soap and water and dumped the laundry in. It could soak until he got back from Genzai-sensei's place. The others had gone on ahead and he had told them that he would catch up later.

He figured he had at least until after supper before Kaoru started to interrogate him about where he had been. He'd have to decide how much he would tell her. He also needed to give a discrete warning to Yahiko and Sano about what was happening. Either of them could be targeted by the murderer if the killer decided they would make for a challenging game.

Kenshin scrunched up his face as another thought struck him. The killer seemed to be working his way up the danger list. The victims running from a boy who had just reached manhood to a career criminal.

Kenshin sighed (again). This meant that he had better warn Kaoru as well. Just because the killer hadn't struck out at a woman yet didn't mean he wouldn't. Kaoru, other than being female seemed to fit his victim profile. She was a swordswoman as well as the assistant master of her family's style and would therefore be a worth adversary. He just hoped she would be willing to be a little more careful for a while. He didn't want anything to happen to her.

"You love her, don't you?"

Kenshin started and spun around to find himself nose to nose with the cold and distant face of his other ongoing problem. Startled by the closeness he pin wheeled backwards to get some distance between them. Forgetting that the wash tub was behind him he snagged his heal on the basin and lost his balance. A plaintive "Orooo" escaped his lips as he fell backwards, this time into the laundry tub, its contents once again spilling onto the muddy ground.

The Sea Green Lady looked at him in amazement until, as if a dam had broken inside of her, she started to laugh. The laughter became almost hysterical as Kenshin struggled to get himself out of the tub. The young woman spoke painfully around her laughter, "I have really got to(gasp)stop doing that to people." Still giggling she reached down a hand to help him out. He stared at it for a moment then grasped it, suppressing a shiver at how cold it felt.

After being hauled out of the water Kenshin flapping his arms in an attempt to rid his sleeves of the liquid they had soaked up "I was not expecting to see you yet, that I was not," he told her.

"Gomen, I noticed you were alone and came to see if we could speak now." The Sea Green Lady explained. "I didn't mean to surprise you that badly."

Kenshin's eyes narrowed at her continued mirth at his impromptu dunking and wondered if she hadn't surprised him just as much as she had wanted to. The Lady, amused at his expression, turned away from him in an attempt to avoid laughing in his face. With humour still colouring her voice she told him "you had better change out of those wet clothes. The nights aren't all that cold yet but soaked like that you could catch a chill.

Kenshin, still trying to wring the excess water from his clothing, nodded and slogged into the dojo to change into his only other set of clothing. "I will be right back, but we will have to talk later. If I do not join the others for dinner soon they will be worried, that they will."

"Later is fine. I'm in no rush; in fact I have all the time in the world."

Kenshin grimaced at that remark but didn't comment and entered the dojo to retrieve his blue gi and grey hakama. He shed his sodden clothing; glad to exchange them for drier apparel and gathered up the dripping mess to take it out to soak with the rest of the laundry.

He stepped back out of the dojo, wet clothing held out at arms reach to avoid soaking his only dry clothing and stopped in shock. Clean and white the laundry hung from the poles. Kenshin walked over to look at it closer, noting that not a speck of mud clung to anything. The wash tub had even been cleaned out and refilled, awaiting the outfit he still held in his arms.

Kenshin shrugged and dumped his clothing into the tub before looking around for his visitor. "Later." The word, a body less sigh, wound its way through the hanging sheets, making them sway in a hypnotic motion that Kenshin decided to ignore.

"Later," he said, nodding. He headed out of the dojo's grounds looking forward to the simple and uncomplicated act of joining his friends for dinner.

End of Chapter 8