Hello! 'The Reunion' is done so all my efforts will be directed to this one! Read on and hope you enjoy!


Kaoru...the Saiyan??

Chapter 15: Meditation? STILL??


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Kaoru stared at the Old Kai as he stomped in circles. True to his word, he had been doing so for approximately two and a half hours. Kaoru leaned her head on her palm, wondering how in the world she allowed herself to get talked into this. She was willing to do almost anything to further her training knowing everyone was counting on her, but patience was not a strong point for Kaoru.

To pass the time more favorably, she decided to watch Kenshin.


Kenshin went back to his training. Jumping, dodging, counterstrikes, it all melded into one for the swordsman, old instincts taking root once more. Kaoru watched as Kenshin breathed deeply, re-sheathed his sword and sat down to meditate. She was entranced.


Is that how Battousai was? During the Revolution is this how Kenshin kept his skills sharp? He's so much quicker than he usually is.


Aoshi went over to sit next to Kenshin. "Battousai."


Kenshin tensed at the name. It usually didn't bother him too much when Aoshi said it, but with the name being so close to the surface he didn't want it lured out anymore at the moment. "Aoshi. I presume you have something else to say."


Aoshi's eyes widened slightly. Kenshin was usually overly polite and just now he was close to rude. Aoshi had never faced the actual manslayer in battle. Kenshin Himura, yes. Battousai, no. Aoshi felt he was looking back into the past for a second. He composed himself and answered. "Actually, I was thinking we could spar. Everyone else seems to be doing just that." He glanced into the sky to see all of the Saiyans minus Kaoru blazing through the air.


Kaoru rolled her eyes, expecting Kenshin to decline just as he always did. When he nodded his head slightly, Kaoru almost fell over. She watched in amazement as the two men fought each other. Sure it was sparring and she had seen more magnificent moves with the Saiyans, but when it was the man she loved being his past dangerous self it was a lot to take.


Okay, Kamiya. Best course of action right now is to concentrate on YOU. Kenshin will be fine, Aoshi will be fine. Just don't watch. Easier said than done. Kaoru couldn't tear her eyes away.


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Misao sat on the room's floor, panting. "Dende, this is tiring. Can't I take a break?"


The young guardian smiled at Misao. "You are taking a break."


Misao's eyes bugged out. "You can't be serious! I'm just catching my breath right now. I want a REAL break where I can eat and take a nap. A SHOWER would be great too!"


Dende shook his head, a small smile on his lips. "Misao, how do you expect to take care of everyone in battle when you can't even get through training?"


Misao huffed. "Oh, that'll be different. It's not that I'm exhausted, it's just that it's getting really hard to gather energy. I think I'm almost out."


Dende sighed. "Alright. You can take a break. But, when we hit the six month mark, I want you to be able to gather and channel energy even when you're exhausted. You will get tired on the battle field, but you have to be able to overcome that and remember why you're there."


Dende prompted her to state the reason. Misao hung her head. He was right, as usual. "To keep my friends alive."


Dende gave her a huge grin and went into the kitchen to prepare dinner.


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Aoshi watched as the clock ticked. He and Kenshin had sparred a few times now, Kaoru was in the 18th hour of meditation. Two more hours and he could see Misao. Kenshin nudged him and he turned to look at the smaller man.


"Aoshi, do you realize that Misao-dono will be one year older when she emerges? She'll be closer to being an adult." The rurouni had regained most of his previous control and smiled at the spy.


Aoshi seemed to realize Kenshin's observation for the first time as his eyes widened and then narrowed like he was thinking.


The Saiyans had gone home to sleep for a while and were just now returning. Gohan sighed as he looked at Kaoru's cross expression. "Don't worry, Kaoru. It'll all be over soon. Just two more hours."


The glare Kaoru shot him could have killed instantly. "Shut up, baka."


Gohan chuckled. "Hey, I've been there, done that. I can joke a little with ya!"


Kaoru opened her mouth to retort, but a magazine bonked her on the head. "No talking! Concentrate!" The old kai put his magazine back down and started reading again.


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Misao looked at Dende solemnly. She had been channeling her energy with great ease over the past month and it seemed as though her finals were here. Dende had materialized all sorts of animals and had Misao heal them. She had done a wonderful job of giving off just enough energy and now it was time to practice on a real person. Dende smiled at Misao.


"I trust you, Misao. You've done a fine job. Now is not the time to freak out about this. If Kaoru is injured on the battle grounds you have to keep your head on your shoulders and calmly and quickly heal her. If you start to panic, she'll most likely die. Can you handle this?"


Misao nodded. "Where my friends lives are concerned, I can do anything asked of me."


Dende nodded, satisfied with this answer. He pulled a knife out of his sleeve and stabbed himself in the stomach.


Misao's eyes widened and then she rushed to his side. This, she wasn't expecting. She put one hand on his chest, the other near the stab wound. She closed her eyes and directed her energy into him. Slowly, Dende could feel the warmth surround him and he felt proud of his pupil.


Misao moved her hand over the knife and yanked it out, earning a groan from Dende. She put her hand directly over the wound and continued to heal him. She looked down as Dende's eyes started to flutter open and she looked down at the fast disappearing wound. Once it had fully diminished, she stopped channeling and glared at Dende.


"YOU IDIOT! IF YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN, I'LL JUST LET YOU DIE!!!"


Dende scratched the back of his head. "I had to test you!"


Misao just glared. "A little over the top, don't ya think?"


Dende decided to change the subject. "Are you ready to emerge?"


Misao felt her eyes tear up. This year without her beloved Aoshi-sama had been painful. She tried to throw herself into her training to not feel it so much, but it didn't work that well. "I wonder if Aoshi-sama will have missed me."


Dende rolled his eyes. "You've only been gone for one day to him."


Misao giggled. "Yeah, but he better be ready to be nice to me. It's been a year for me!"


Dende moved over to the beds. "Let's rest up and then we'll emerge tomorrow. We have just one day left."


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Kaoru watched the minutes tick away on the clock behind the old kai. She was leary of what he had said about unlocking her powers. She sure as heck didn't feel any different. She heard the door of the room open and wanted to run and hug her friend, knowing it had been a long time for the ninja, but her meditation wasn't up yet.


Everyone rushed over to see Misao. The Saiyans greeted her with pats on the back or remarks about how she had grown. Kenshin gave her a quick hug and Aoshi stopped dead in his tracks. She had filled out considerably. Gone was the skinny tomboy who had entered a day ago and now was a young woman with plenty of curves. Misao started to cry and then ran up to him. "Aoshi!! I've missed you!" She latched herself onto his neck and he returned the embrace, still in shock about her development. She pulled back and kissed him, hard. Aoshi's eyes widened and then he grinned slightly, returning her enthusiasm with his own. Everyone looked away uncomfortably and when they seemed to have no intention of stopping, they all left the two alone.


A loud shout from the old kai made everyone look up. "Okay, Kaoru! You're done. Unleash it and show us what you've got!"


He went to stand next to a pole and everyone did the same. Kaoru waited for a signal. Goku and the other Saiyans stood in front of the rest. "Okay, Kaoru. We'll shield them. You do your stuff."


Kaoru nodded at the Saiyan and began to power up. Higher, higher, higher. It was amazing how much more power she had. And she kept powering up, never hitting Super Saiyan. Her loud shouts rang out around the Lookout, reverberating through the halls. Kenshin looked on in amazement while he gripped a pole, trying hard to keep his footing. The Saiyans did a wonderful job of blocking the rest of them from the force, but it was a bit more than they could handle and everyone had to hang on for dear life.


Vegeta smirked as his sister kept going. Kaoru was now stronger than any of the other Saiyans and still hadn't hit Super Saiyan. She glanced at her friends who were about to be thrown from the Lookout and stopped. "Sorry! That was just half of what I can do. I didn't want to lose anyone."


She grinned and everyone began to cheer, the idea of defeating Nakago not so far off anymore. Misao ran up to hug her friend. "Kaoru! That was so cool! You're going to beat him for sure."


Kaoru nodded. "I have no intention of losing."


Kobitoshin smiled slightly. "It's time for your second year, Kaoru. Let's go."


Kaoru nodded and hugged everyone including Kenshin. "See you in a year, baka."


Kenshin smiled at the lack of venom in her insult. She wasn't angry, just a bit frustrated with him. He was eager for this whole ordeal to be over with. The sooner Nakago was defeated, the sooner he could be with Kaoru and let her know his true feelings.


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A/N: Short, I know. But, I've been trying to write this chapter for a while and it just didn't want to be written. So, I just decided to go with the short version and post it so I could move on to the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed and please leave a review! Hugs & Kisses!