Disclaimer: Nothing is mine other than this story, capish?

A/N: Welcome back! ^^ Heart-to-heart conversations as the title of this chapter describes; you'll find out more about Kaoru's/Soujirou's/Aoshi's past. Soujirou gets to talking with Kenshin and action galore while they train against each other! And someone in the household knows something about the HalfSoul connection that Kenshin and Kaoru have!

*Reminder to readers new to the story.

Please please please PLEASE read the AUTHOR'S NOTES!!! _ I'm starting to get irritated by the way people keep asking 'Where's this person? Why isn't he/she there?' DARNIT, if you read the author's notes then you wouldn't be asking this question! It's all right there, ok? Yahiko is showing up next chapter, and Megumi will be along soon, so please stop pestering me! THANK YOU! /end rant

Reviewers' Space!

Nicky – Thank you! Yes, I thought about it for a week or more before finally deciding to put the thing on paper. I usually sketch out a rough idea for each chapter before writing it down. Yeah, sux to be Yahiko in this timeline, huh? Don't worry, they'll get him out of it soon enough. Yup, KxK all the way! Everyone's making preparations for the mission to come; which is what this chapter's about. Next chapter will be the retrieval mission itself. Thanks for R&Ring, and stay tuned for more!

Cute Emerald – Yup, Sou's a Hex. Sou's HalfSoul? Well, in the first place, they are pretty rare (I think I'm starting to sound like a curator or something), so it's kinda pure luck that Kenshin and Kaoru even ended up together. I have absolutely no idea who Sou will end up with, if he does end up with anyone; everyone's already paired off -_-; unless I do something like a Sou-Misao-Aoshi triangle or introduce an OC. Megumi will be along soon enough. Yahiko will be right as rain soon enough.

Chibi-chan – Thanks; I'm happy that you think so. Lol, dealing with the cast of Rurouni Kenshin is hard enough; ^^;; dealing with Weiss as well would be a nightmare (can you imagine how they'd all try to kill each other? Now that would be a scene to remember.)! Ah…opponents eh? Most of them are pretty normal humans, but well, a few of the more special ones will crop up I guess. Sorry if the HalfSoul concept is indeed tough to grasp o_O I myself am not sure of the full capabilities of their connection ^^;;; Thanks for R&Ring and I hope to see you 'round in future chapters!

Haruko – Thanks for reading! Yup, Yahiko will definitely be a lot happier where he'll be soon, and he'll (hopefully) be able to be a normal boy soon enough. Do stay around for more!

the squirrel! – I'm glad you like it! ^^ Thanks so much for the compliment, and I'll do my best to keep up my standards!

Baka-Ryu - ^^ Yesh, WAFFYness galore. Thanks again for the advice! See you around in the next chapter!

Dragona – *raises eyebrows* the others do kind of know already, considering the way that they tease the pair. Although it's not really blatantly obvious, they already know that there's something going on between the two. As to when their relationship becomes cemented, well… that's gonna take quite a while.

Rapyer2986-Malik's Mika – *waves Kenshin flag around* ^^ Hahha, he finally got her in his [literal] arms ^^;; Ran is just plain obsessed with Aya I tell you! Lol, what would you want with Microsoft anyway? It's just kinda boring, no offense meant. If I were a Hex, I'd probably go pry into my friends' computers or just drift around on the net. Yup, Yahiko-chan is the test subject. Well, the poor boy probably won't be up to call Kaoru any names considering the condition that he's in right now, but oh, we will! Hmm…not really sure about the team thing yet, but Black Dawn on their own are definitely a team unit. The Oniwa Banshuu ie. Aoshi and Misao join in if they wish to, or if they've been given orders to do so. ^^ Thanks for reading and see you again in the next chapter!

Randomanimefanatic – She'll be around soon.

Dragowolf – Glad you're happy! Yeah, Aoshi won't melt all that soon _ it'll take longer than that for him to melt *sigh* Thanks for R&Ring! I'll update as soon as I can!

On to the fic!

Chapter 10: Heart-to-heart

Thoughts are in ' '

Speech is in " "

Misao woke up to the sunlight glaring her in the face, and she buried herself under the covers, mumbling to herself. She suddenly realized that she wasn't home in her own room in the Kyoto Oniwa Banshuu headquarters and leapt out of a futon that was not hers. As she looked around the foreign room, she remembered where she was and relaxed slightly. One look at the other futon that had been folded up neatly told her that Kaoru was already up (1). She looked at the clock. 12am. Why hadn't anyone woken her up?

Closing the door to Kaoru's room softly behind her, she found the corridor was silent. The door across the corridor was closed, but Misao had no doubt that Aoshi was already up and doing something. She made her way down the stairs, following the sounds of the television. As she rounded the corner, Kaoru turned from the screen and smiled at her.

"Ohayo."

Misao returned the greeting with a sunny smile of her own. "Ohayo gozaimasu!"

"Onaka ga suita no?" Kaoru's question was answered by the soft rumbling of Misao's stomach, and the latter reddened slightly.

"Hai."

The two women made their way into the kitchen and Kaoru grabbed a bowl, and then ladled some miso soup out of a pot that was still on the stove. She set the bowl of soup in front of Misao with a bowl of rice and some pickles, and Misao muttered a hurried "Itadakimasu!" before digging in ravenously.

Kaoru watched on as the hyperactive girl ate. All the men had left the house early, including Sanosuke. She had found three notes in total: one from Aoshi, one from Sanosuke, and one from Soujirou and Kenshin. The okashira of the Oniwa Banshuu had taken it upon himself to check out the parameters and location of the lab, and told her to look after Misao to make sure that she didn't follow him when she found out. Sanosuke's messy scrawl said that he had gone off to meet a friend, who also happened to be an explosives expert in Shinjuku, saying that he'd be back before dinner. Her twin and Kenshin said that they would also be back for dinner, and they had gone to one of the Ishinshishi's selected dojos to train together.

Kaoru sighed inwardly. 'Men. Always gallivanting off somewhere and leaving the women to stay at home.' She didn't really mind staying at home all that much because she really wanted to talk to Misao and ask her what she thought about Aoshi. The glimmer in her eye spoke of mischief, but the girl who sat across from her was too busy indulging her appetite to notice.

Misao finished her late brunch with a smack of her lips and put the chopsticks atop the now empty bowl of rice. "Did you make this, Kamiya-san? This is the best miso soup that I've ever tasted!"

Kaoru smiled wryly. "No. Kenshin did. The boys are scared that I'll burn down the kitchen if I try to cook because I can even burn water. And call me Kaoru. Kamiya-san makes me feel too old. We haven't had the time to talk since everything started." She reached her hand across the table to the budding ninja. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name yesterday."

The genki girl took the proffered hand, shaking it vigorously.

"Makimachi Misao desu! You can call me Misao."

Kaoru smiled. She liked the girl already, and anyone who could get Aoshi that worried was a good thing. Grabbing Misao's bowls and chopsticks, she moved to the sink to wash them, still making conversation as she worked. "Aoshi's gone off to have a look at the lab and to relay some information to the Kyoto Oniwa Banshuu, but he'll be back soon, so you don't need to worry." She tilted her head slightly to face the girl. "And he gave me strict orders not to let you follow him." Misao sighed and made a face, but complied.

"So how long have you been with the Oniwa Banshuu?" Kaoru knew a bit about the spy organization that Aoshi was the head of, but he had never mentioned any names of any sort, let alone the name Makimachi Misao, and it was sufficient to say that she was more than curious as to why Aoshi would come straight to the Black Dawn headquarters for help when in fact he could have gone off to the Tokyo Oniwa Banshuu. It seemed that this girl was really that important for him to actually come knocking at their front down totally exhausted (and Aoshi never got exhausted, or if he did he never showed it) after having flown for hours upon end in hawk shape while carrying a girl who had been in cat shape. Some of the emotions that she had felt while she had been reading Aoshi's mind also hinted at more than just a platonic relationship, and she, Kamiya Kaoru was going to find out!

"My family have been part of the Oniwa Banshuu since it started way back in the 15th Century before the battle in Sekigahara. If I'm not wrong, we were there even before the Sanada Jyuuyuushi (2) were formed." Kaoru let out a low whistle. "My parents were also part of the Oniwa Banshuu before they died in one of the missions, and the Kyoto Oniwa Banshuu and the old okashira as well as Aoshi-sama raised me."

"Ah." Kaoru's simple reply belied the thoughts that were going on in her mind. 'You certainly are sly dear cousin. Practically raising the girl and you never even told us! What a relative.' She wiped the bowls down, then returned to the table at which Misao sat.

Misao was totally unprepared for Kaoru's next question.

"Are you in love with my cousin?"

The colour in her face suddenly resided in her cheeks and she sputtered, flapping her arms about while trying to explain herself. "I-that is- he- I-" Kaoru smiled. 'Bingo!'

She beamed at the girl, trying to get her to calm down. "Don't worry, I won't tell him. That ice block needs someone to melt him anyway." Misao calmed down enough to stop sputtering, but the red colour still remained in her face. Her eyes met Misao's. "I can tell you that he'll come around, although it might take quite a bit of prodding." Kaoru wasn't too surprised to see her eyes widen, and her mouth opened into a perfect little 'o'. "Me and Sou-chan grew up with him, so we kinda know what to expect." Her eyes took on a lighter blue hue in reminiscence.

"Even when Sou-chan and I were kids, Aoshi never really displayed much emotion. He hid everything under that icy mask of his. He came to live with us when he was 6; my father told me this, Sou-chan and I were only 12 months old at that time, so of course we didn't remember. He was like the older brother that we never had, always the worrywart-" Kaoru chuckled slightly. "Even though he didn't seem to show it. But we knew he cared. I remember losing my favourite hair ribbon when I was 5, and I cried the whole day when I found out that it was gone. Aoshi would never admit to this, but he bought another one for me the next day, with the same sakura petals on it and the same shade of blue, and I found it in my room when I got home from school." She looked at Misao seriously.

"Just because he doesn't say anything doesn't mean that he doesn't care." Misao nodded silently. "He might take a long time to express himself, but all I can ask for you is that you be patient. He definitely cares a lot more for you than he lets on; it was obvious the way that he exhausted himself when you were poisoned. I've never seen him do something like that for someone." Kaoru smiled at Misao encouragingly.

"Dakara, ganbatte ne!"

Jade eyes met sapphire as she nodded. "Hai!"

~*~

The resounding echoes of hardwood against hardwood echoed throughout the dojo as Kenshin and Soujirou smashed their bokkens (3) together, muscles straining, neither willing to yield. They leapt apart, only to disappear into individual blurs of blue and black as they sparred against each other. The men were matched in strength, but in terms of speed, Soujirou could easily top Kenshin. His Shukuchi had left gaping holes in the dojo's floorboards, but the overseers of the dojo were more than used to such occurrences; Katsura provided the money for the repairs.

Kenshin swerved around to block a blow to his neck with his own bokken, arm jarring slightly from the rough impact. He leapt back, then lunged forward to jab at Soujirou, who twisted his body slightly to avoid the blow. The younger man swung his bokken in a downward arc towards Kenshin's head, who parried the attack quickly, a loud 'thwack' sounding as Soujirou's bokken connected with his. They leapt apart again, standing aways from each other, sweat running down their faces, chests heaving slightly with heavy breathing; Kenshin was the first to sink down into a battoujutsu stance, 'sheathing' his bokken, and Soujirou soon followed. Silence reigned as the men kept their positions, neither willing to make the first move.

The bokkens cracked hard against each other as they 'unsheathed' their wooden swords, leaping across the short distance easily to intercept each other. Kenshin and Soujirou stood there unmoving, their bokkens still crossed, a hairsbreadth away from each other's ears.

A hairline crack developed along the bokken that Kenshin was holding, and seemed to widen all over the sword; the bokken shattered into tiny wooden splinters a few moments later. Kenshin stepped back from the mess, Soujirou's bokken still a hairsbreadth away from his ear. A good-natured smile touched his face as he proclaimed.

"You have won this match."

Soujirou withdrew his bokken and returned his smile. "Iie." Was his pleasant reply. Kenshin looked up at him, more than slightly confused; Soujirou held out the bokken to him, and he took a closer look; he had worn away a good part of the bokken, cutting deeply into the wood and leaving a sizable dent in it; there were other similar marks on the rest of the bokken.

"It's a draw."

The men bowed to each other, signifying the end of the match, and stepped away from the mess they had created. Kenshin rubbed his head in embarrassment; there was no doubt that the overseers of this dojo would have a cow when they saw the mess that both he and Soujirou had created. "Eeto…" He looked up as he heard footsteps towards the hall, and found one of the overseers there. "Ano…" He started. The overseer cut him short with a wave of his hand.

"Don't worry about this. Katsura-san told us in advance, and has already given us the money for the repairs." He paused momentarily. "I've never seen such an amazing match before. You are welcome to use this dojo for practice at any time." He bowed to the pair before disappearing again.

Soujirou picked up the sports bag he had brought along and fished his watch out of it. 4pm it read. They had left the house at around ten o' clock in the morning, and it had taken about a 2 hours ride even on the bullet train (4) to a very secluded dojo on the outskirts of Okinawa. They had had to walk to the dojo after that, and that had taken a good 20 minutes. By the time they had gotten ready, it was already half past noon, and they had sparred for a good two hours before breaking for a late lunch and then continuing again. If they took the next train back now, they could make it back to Tokyo at about 6pm, and then make a short trip to the Aburaya (5) bath house and still be back in time for dinner.

Kenshin grabbed his bag as well, and followed as Soujirou as he walked out of the dojo.

~*~

"From the information that we gathered from our last mission, we can safely conclude that there will indeed be a slave auction next week (6) in a disco behind the Ikedaya Teahouse, called Carousel." Aoshi sat cross-legged atop the tatami mat in front of Okina, the former Okashira of the Oniwa Banshuu. He had returned to Kyoto to tell Okina about the information that Misao had eavesdropped on during their mission earlier in the week. Plans of the facility and the location had already been taken, and so this was his last stop before he returned to the Black Dawn headquarters. "I think we should go along with the plan. We should put one of our contacts there to spy for us, and then we'll use the effects of a blackout to take out our targets."

Okina nodded silently, stroking his goatee while deep in thought. "It would however, give us an inside look at the place if we could put one of our spies in as a 'slave' and then attack from both within and externally." He looked up at Aoshi seriously. "It may be more dangerous, but we would have a better chance of taking all these potential 'clients' down at once." Aoshi was trying his best not to let anger take over his judgement; he couldn't help but feel like snapping at the old man; their youngest member was of course Misao, and he would die before he allowed her to go on such a dangerous mission.

His voice was stiff. "We should inform the head of the Ishinshishi first before deciding on the course of action that we will take; he may 'see' another solution for us." He got up from the tatami mat, brushing invisible lint off his black pants. "For now I will return to the Black Dawn headquarters and prepare for the mission that we will be taking tomorrow night with the team." He bowed to Okina, and promptly left.

The old man heaved a sigh as soon as the lanky man was out of hearing. "We carry a heavy burden, and it will not get any lighter as we work. I hope you understand that one day, Aoshi."

The only response was the sound of the wind chimes ringing in the wind.

~*~

"Kenshin." Soujirou's quiet voice broke Kenshin out of his sleepy thoughts as he basked in the heat of the furo.

"Hai?"

"I'd like to ask you a question."

"Aa." Drowsy purple eyes closed again in consent.

"What exactly do you want with my sister?" Soujirou went straight for the jugular.

Kenshin's eyes popped open with the unexpected question. "Oro?" Was the confused reply.

Piercing dark blue eyes regarded him as he repeated the question. "What do you want with my sister?"

"I don't quite understand your question." Kenshin was clueless.

"Let me put it this way. Are you in a relationship with her? Or are you just fooling around with her?" There. There was no way he would be able to get around that.

"Ah." He turned in his seat to face Soujirou. "I have to say that, no, we are not exactly in a relationship; we are slightly more than friends if you want to be explicit, but are still trying to figure things out." He shook his head seriously. "I respect your sister too much to fool around with her, and our connection is far deeper than that. I would never do anything to intentionally hurt her, and I hope you can take my word for that."

Soujirou broke into a grin. "You don't have to get all serious on me, Kenshin. I just wanted to make sure that you weren't just treating her as some kind of one-night-stand or something like that." He took on a serious tone. "I will, however, hurt you if you ever hurt her. She has gone through too much, and I do not wish to see her go through all that pain again." The smile returned again. "Just so you know."

Kenshin returned the smile. "You are a good brother to her." He wasn't prepared for the soft response.

A pained smile graced the younger man's face. "She is all that I have left. I will not make her decisions for her, but I also will not hesitate to hurt anyone who has or will hurt her in anyway."

Silence reigned in the furo after that, both men lost in their own thoughts.

~*~

Kaoru and Misao were preparing dinner in the kitchen; it was easy-to-cook Japanese curry, and thankfully, it was one of the things that Kaoru couldn't burn. After the heart-to-heart that she had had with Misao, the two women had trained in the backyard in a flurry of punches and kicks, taking a relaxing shower after that, and were presently preparing dinner for six people; the four men and themselves. Kaoru sucked on the thumb that had accidentally dipped itself into one of the bowls of curry.

"Ne, Kaoru-san?" Misao's lilting voice made her look up.

"Nani, Misao-chan?"

"Ano…" the younger girl blushed quickly before rushing on with her question. "WhatisyourrelationshipwithHimura?"

Kaoru blinked. "Can you say that again?"

Misao coughed slightly. "What is your relationship with Himura?"

It was Kaoru's turn to blush. "Relationship? What do you mean?" The bowl of curry on the table was looking very interesting.

"I mean…" She hesitated for a while before going on. "The living room…"

Kaoru turned as red as a tomato. "That was just an accident! We weren't doing anything at all! All I was trying to do was to get information out of him! I swear we weren't doing anything!" She realized she was babbling, and Misao was trying hard not to laugh at the expression on her face.

"Mou!" The embarrassed girl exclaimed.

"Ah, gomen gomen, Kaoru-san." She looked at Kaoru's red face and said seriously. "Demo ne, what is your relationship with Himura anyway?"

Kaoru had calmed down slightly, the reddening in her cheeks fading slightly into a crimson blush. She twirled a finger in one of the strands of her ponytail.

"Well, we are friends." Memories of the kisses came back to her. "Slightly more than friends." She amended. "And this might sound strange, but…somehow I feel connected to him. Whenever he's around, I get this tingly feeling, and every time we make contact, it's like--" Her fingers waggled around as she tried to explain her connection with Kenshin. "There's some electric current or something. And a silver cord."

Misao's eyes widened slightly at the mention of a silver cord.

"A silver cord, you said?" Kaoru nodded.

"I don't know whether this is true or not, but I remember hearing a legend about the soulmate principle before, which involves a silver cord." Kaoru gestured for her to continue. "It is said that there is supposedly, one person for everyone; a soulmate for each person. The thing that binds these two people together is a silver cord."

Kaoru was shocked to the bone. 'Could it be that Kenshin and I are…soulmates?'

Her thoughts were interrupted as the front door flew open.

"Tadaima!" It was none other than Sanosuke himself.

"Okaeri." The women replied, as he dumped the two huge plastic bags that he had brought home on the floor and proceeded towards the kitchen. He eyed the bowls suspiciously. "Oi, jou-chan, did you cook this?"

Kaoru turned a glare on him. "It is edible, and if you don't want to eat it, then make something for yourself!" She humphed and turned away from him.

Misao smirked. "Don't insult the cooks if you want to get food, tori-atama."

"Nani! Look who's talking, you itachi-musume!" Sanosuke was outraged; no one called him tori-atama and got away with it!

"Tadaima." Chorused two voices from the gaping front door that Sanosuke had left open. They turned to see Kenshin and Soujirou enter. Aoshi was behind them, as he too uttered a quiet "Tadaima." before shutting the door behind him.

"Okaeri, everyone." Kaoru stepped out of the kitchen beaming now that the person of her affections was home. "Did you all have a good day?"

A muttered chorus of 'hai's answered her question.

"Kenshin and I had a great workout at the dojo today," Soujirou was the first to recount his day. "But we made a mess of the dojo."

One of Kaoru's eyebrows rose. "'We?'"

Kenshin nodded sheepishly. "There were holes in the ground, plus two totally unusable bokkens when we left."

Kaoru turned an accusing glare at her brother. "Sou-chan!"

He raised his hands to defend himself. "Ehe. It was one of the best matches that I'd ever had in my life!" He sweatdropped at the vein that was threatening to pop in Kaoru's forehead. "Even the overseers thought so!"

His twin sighed in defeat, then turned back to the kitchen, and muttered something under her breath which sounded like "Men!" to Kenshin's ears. "Whatever the case, dinner's ready, so come eat."

Aoshi paled slightly at the announcement, and Soujirou's smile wavered slightly. Kenshin, being Kenshin just shrugged and dumped his bag on the floor, moving forward to the delicious smell in the kitchen. Misao and Kaoru glared at the other three men who refused to move from their spots near the front door.

"Come. Eat. NOW!" Her intimidating growl was enough to get the still standing men to the table.

Dictionary

Oniwa Banshuu - The spy organization that Aoshi and Misao are in.

Ohayo gozaimasu – Good morning

Onaka ga suita no? – Are you hungry?

Hai – yes

Ishinshishi – group that Kenshin and co work for.

Itadakimasu! – Bon appetit (said before meals)

Sekigahara – a famous battle site in Japan. One of the major battles took place there er…a long long time ago, even before the Bakumatsu. Whatever.

Sanada Jyuuyuushi – Sanada Ten Braves. Something akin to bodyguards of the Sanada clan.

Okashira – Chief/Head [of an organization/group]

Dakara, ganbatte ne! – So, keep it up!

Bokken – wooden sword

Shukuchi – 'Reduced Earth'. A technique that only Sou-chan uses. The swordsman uses powerful legwork to 'reduce' the distance between himself and his target. This move surpasses the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu's godspeed. (definition found at Psychotic RK)

Battoujutsu – Literally means 'art of drawing a sword' (according to the translator that I have, anyway). When a swordsman draws his sword from it's sheathe at a very high speed.

Iie – No

Eeto/Ano… – Um…

Tatami mat – Japanese straw floor coverings

Aa – Yes (mens' informal way of speech)

Oro? – Kenshin's cute way of saying 'Huh?'

Mou! – Kaoru's little exclamation that she usually uses when she's exasperated.

Gomen – sorry

Demo ne – but

Tadaima – I'm home

Okaeri – Welcome back

Jou-chan – Sano's nickname for Kaoru. Means 'little miss'

Tori-atama – Rooster head. Sano's nickname as coined by Saitou, and now Misao.

Itachi-musume – Weasel girl. Misao's nickname as coined by Sano.

Nani? – what?

Notes:

(1) Kaoru let Misao stay in her room, while Soujirou and Aoshi shared Sou's room. Returning to Kyoto and then coming back again for a mission is a bit too much hassle, so they've stayed on at least until the mission is over before returning to Kyoto.

(2) Sanada Jyuuyuushi – Legend had it that there the Sanada clan had the Ten Braves, who were skilled as both ninjas and fighters, and it was said that the strength of one of them rivalled the strength of a 1000 men. Best ninjas ever or something like that. At least that's what I got from Samurai Deeper KYO. If anyone knows the true history about them, then please do enlighten me.

(3) The boys are using bokkens because there'd probably be lots of questions asked if they carried katanas around in broad daylight. They do have licences for their swords, but well, it's easier and there are no questions asked if they travel this way.

(4) I'm just making this up, ne? But rides on bullet trains are usually pretty fast; one hour tops, so the 2 hours thing is just emphasizing how far they are from Tokyo, somewhere in the cahoots of Japan or something. God knows.

(5) Haha! Anyone watched Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Spirited Away)? I stole the name from there.

(6) Refer to the mission that Aoshi and Misao were on back on Chapter 6 if you don't remember. Aoshi's just relaying the information in person because you never know whether the phone lines are tapped or not.

A/N: O_O Yow. Long chapter. 3500+ words… I think it's the longest one so far _ Yesh, heart-to-heart talks about Kenshin, Kaoru and Aoshi ^^ Aren't you happy? As you can see, Kaoru's cooking ain't that great, in comparison to Kenshin's. ^^; The boys (even Aoshi!) are terrified of Kaoru's cooking, but Kenshin obviously ain't (smart guy!)! Now Kaoru has a small little inkling as to what the connection she has with Kenshin is, so she ain't that clueless anymore ^^ Of course, Misao isn't entirely accurate, so Katsura will have to tell them sometime. Next chapter is the retrieval mission! Here comes Yahiko~! Hope you enjoyed this chapter and see you guys around next time!