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Chapter 3: There once was a very Dense Swordsman…

Out of the corner of his eye Kenshin took a glimpse of Kaoru. She was sweaty and drained from practice. She passed him by without even acknowledging him, without even requesting a bath. She simply slipped back into her room, most probably. Abated, he sighed. Could someone please explain to him what was going on?  Kaoru had been acting this way for days now and it was driving him crazy! Not that he would ever let her know about it; the last thing he wanted was to further add to her problems by pushing her but, somehow, he got the feeling that HE was part of the problem… Of course, he could be wrong.

Then again, she seemed to only be avoiding him. Why would she be avoiding him? What had he done this time?! And why hadn't a good bonking over the head resolved things between them?

Kenshin sighed yet again. He was doing that a lot lately, the sighing thing. He couldn't help it though. He hated feeling her so distant. He hated being confronted with problems that he could not solve, situations he couldn't fix. Being a swordsman was just so much easier than dealing with a temperamental woman like Kaoru. One swift strike and all was settled. The fight was over with a victor and an opponent now faced with a chance to reform. Well, that is if you didn't take evil maniacs hell-bent on taking over the world like Shishio Makoto, into account. Regrettably, that type of man would never let go of the demons inside of him, in fact he had just willingly given them free reign.

Putting disturbing thoughts of Shishio aside, Kenshin focused anew on the problem at hand. He just couldn't figure out what he had done to irk Kaoru. She didn't even seem angry. She didn't even seem like anything, actually. Her face now wore a perpetual blank expression and she always appeared to be deep in thought. He really couldn't figure things out.

Life at the dojo was as it had always been; their routine had not been modified in the slightest of ways, their conversations were pretty much the same… so where was the problem? Where was the false move, the wrong word spoken? What was he missing? What cruel joke had destiny decided to play on him again, and why did he get the feeling that his name was comfortably eased into the punch line?

Kenshin groaned. He really didn't like any of this at all; he was much more comfortable when his Kaoru-dono was on good terms with him, or at least, if she were in one of her darker angry moods, then her bokken would offer the best escape outlet for the pent-up tension and she would be back to being her sweet self again swiftly.

This was what was amiss. Kaoru-dono's temper tantrums were… gone. Kenshin suddenly began to feel very nervous. Yes, she still bickered with Yahiko and wore the poor boy down at practice, but… it just wasn't the same. She appeared to be really out of it lately and even her fights with Yahiko were half-hearted. Something was definitely wrong with her, he was sure of it now. He scowled. He needed to talk with her, figure out what was out of tune and place and make it all better again. However…

Maintaining a conversation with Kaoru, a real, emotional one, was hard for him. He feared he would reveal too much and have her abandon him. He knew that that was foolish though, that he was only making up excuses to cover up his lack of courage. That thought slightly amused him. The feared hitokiri Battousai was deficient in the courage department when it came down to… women. He was brave and defiant in the face of death but a complete wimp when it came down to, well, the things that really mattered, the things like life, love – in short, Kaoru, for she was all that mattered to him. She was his love, his life, his everything. If only she knew…

Kenshin shook his head. Of course she knew; she had to know, right? Granted his open displays of affection weren't that common, but if almost turning into the demon you once were to save a person's life wasn't a clear sign of fondness, to say the least, then he didn't know what it was. True, a simple hug could also go miles, no need to revert into cold blooded assassins of old to reveal one's feelings but, didn't saving a person's life once in a while and continuously vowing to protect them count for something? Then again, he had proved to be somewhat incompetent when it came down to keeping his promise by letting her get kidnapped, and he had broken heart abandoning her for Kyoto and his wandering ways. Still… he was certain, she knew.

Almost certain. Fairly confident. Slightly sure. Wavering… Damn! Come to think about it, she practically had to be a mind reader to understand his feelings toward her, especially after the ring incident.

Another groan escaped him. Now that had been embarrassing and simply screwed up. Poor Kaoru, thinking that he was finally doing what he should have done a long time ago! Poor him, being tricked into giving her the ring without fully knowing what it was meant to represent. Maybe he should get her a new ring, and this time he could place it on her finger gladly accepting the implications of that act.

Silly rurouni! What was he thinking?! Being a husband for Kaoru wouldn't do…But he loved her and he wanted her to be his, all his. Suddenly, his possessive side began taking over. Sure, he felt unworthy, but that didn't mean that another man could have her. That would tear him apart, not to mention what fate could befall the poor man who approached her if he got on a jealous rampage. Hmm… there were many sword-related ways of getting rid of a man that dared try anything with his Kaoru. In fact, now that he gave it proper thought, there was no need to worry about another man at all: a pair of glowering amber eyes would be enough to send the unlucky soul that dared cross his path to happiness packing. His path to happiness… yes, holding tightly onto Kaoru's hand he would surely reach that final destination, and it thrilled him to think of what could be, what could come out of all of this if he finally got what he truly wanted.

But he wasn't ready.   To have her, he would have to let her know everything, reveal all he had done, expose her to such horrible things, memories that still haunted him.

Kenshin looked down at the basin filled to the rim with water. As soon as he dipped his hands into the tub and began scrubbing a clothes item, the water turned to blood right before his eyes. He wasn't ready, ready to let her see who he really was and all the dreadful crimes he had committed. He was not open to the idea of sharing his own personal little hell with her and he knew that if he somehow mustered up the guts to speak his mind to her, she would want to know everything. She thought she could take it, handle everything he would have to say, but that was precisely what was so beautiful about her; her naïve expectations regarding life, regarding him.

Kenshin was drawn out of his thoughts by a light feather touch on one of his hands. He inspected the trembling fingers, gently stroking his hand and instantly looked up. Kaoru's watery eyes stared back at him.

"Kaoru-Dono…"

"Please stop." She interrupted.

"Stop?" he questioned, staring at the hand that now struggled to separate his own from the clothing article floating in the basin.

"It won't go away. Not like this."

Kenshin carefully inspected the fabric gripped tightly by his calloused hand and realized all too soon, what she meant.

"Don't worry Kaoru-dono, sessha will get that stain right out! Please don't cry! Sessha does not know why this garment is so dear to you that you would cry for it, but sessha promises that it will be stainless once sessha is finished here." He said giving her a wide comforting grin.

To his surprise, Kaoru began to twitch her eyebrows and her eyes practically fell out of her sockets.

Huffing and muttering underneath her breath she stormed back into the dojo, leaving Kenshin to wonder about the only words that he managed to make out from her little spout.

"Strongest swordsman in all of Japan…Densest man in the entire world…"

What was that supposed to mean?! What had he done now?! Oh well, no matter. She was pulling mood swings again and soon she would have her prized garment stainless and impeccable, at least if he had any say in the matter.

Now, out damn spot!

Reviewer responses:

To Venus Smurf: Thank you so much for all your wonderful words!!! You made me blush quite a lot by praising me so much. I'm really happy about your   enthusiasm regarding this story, my first attempt at fanfiction of any kind. Your words are true inspiration and I will do my best to try and keep you hooked. As for long reviews… I'll take 'em with a huge grin on my face and avidly read them!!! So, if you please, keep 'em comin' and I'll try to keep posting new chapters for you.

To Misato-Katsuragi: Hi! Thanks a lot for reviewing! It made me really happy to see that you like the story! Don't worry, the story isn't over yet. I don't know how many chapters long it might be since I'm pretty much making it up as I go along, but it's definitely not over as of yet; I still have to get those two thick headed lovebirds chirping together. Please keep on reading and reviewing as I would love to hear what else you make of this.

To mvdiva: I know; why can't they breach that gap? That's what I'll be working on. On bringing those two together and shoving their stubbornness aside, bit by bit. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Keep reviewing because reviews keep me happy and inspired.

Again, thanks so much you guys and… it's off to the next chapter (writing it, that is).