Battles of the Heart
Chapter 6: Catfight!
Kaoru jumped up. She refused to sit any longer. Kenshin was capable of getting jealous; it just took a bit more than for most men. Luckily, she knew just what to do. She grabbed Saitou's hand and ran for the market to pick up a few things. Kenshin, of course, followed shortly after he noticed their absence.
Panting slightly, she reached the food stall and began to pick out a few bags of rice, some vegetables, among other ingredients. Sensing Kenshin nearby, Kaoru linked her arm with Saitou's and pulled closer. "What would you like for dinner, Saitou-kun? Tofu and…?"
"Tofu and vegetables is good." He gruffly muttered.
"Of course!" She paid for the food and kissed him on the cheek. They began to walk back to the Aoiya as Kaoru giggled profusely.
All of a sudden, a young woman appeared. Her long black hair fell to the small of her back, and her deep green eyes glittered with fire. Her soft, firm face was red with fury and confusion was suddenly in her face. Uttering a cry of surprise, Kaoru jumped as the woman began shouting in their faces, "What do you think you're doing? Get your filthy hands off of my husband! And you! Why haven't you like sliced her or something? She's taking advantage of you, you know!"
Kaoru just stared. The woman began to lose her temper; apparently she hadn't completely lost it before. "I thought I told you to get your hands off of him!" Her hand came swinging out of nowhere.
Kaoru stumbled backward, tenderly holding her stinging cheek. The force of the young woman's slap surprised her. The realization of what had happened finally sunk in.
"Hey! What did you do that for? No one slaps me and gets away with it, Grandma!" Now while the young woman was older than Kaoru, she wasn't that old.
"How dare you! If I am a grandma, you should show more respect!" She slapped Kaoru on the other cheek. That did it. Kaoru ran forward with her bokken in hand, and charged the woman. She, in turn, got into a fighting stance, and began to block all of the bokken's blows with perfectly coordinated kicks and punches. They exchanged blows, bokken to hand, and soon enough both women had broken out into a sweat. Their yells carried them further and further from the market and into open ground. Saitou and Kenshin kept a close watch on the battle. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the young woman dropped down to the ground and kicked Kaoru's shin. This resulted in both women lying upon the ground. Kaoru stood up first, and swung her bokken down. The woman rolled onto her stomach. Kaoru pulled her bokken out of its dive, proving that it had been a feint all along, and smashed it down on the woman's back. She arched in pain and Kaoru smirked.
Saitou drew his sword. Worry filled him for the woman's sake. He ran in and prepared to slice her. Only his conscience saved Kaoru, and he sliced slow enough for her duck under its swing. But his conscience faded and she now faced not Saitou Hajime, policeman of the Meiji government, but Saitou Hajime, great swordsman of the Revolution. Her eyes filled with fear and her muscles lost all contact with her mind. As much as she tried to escape, the sword seemed to follow her. She was cut all over in a short time. Her arms, back, and waist were seared. She froze in fear as the sword swung into her shoulder. As it entered her flesh, a searing pain filled her arm, but just as quickly, the sword was pulled out. It scraped along her skin until it no longer touched. Something was pushing it away. The identity of her saviour was revealed as she stared into a pair of amethyst eyes. Kenshin parried Saitou's next two blows, and in the space of a moment, jumped up and brought the sword down onto Saitou's back in a Ryo Tsui Sen. Finally, the pain made itself known. She collapsed into the waiting arms of her rurouni.
With gentle hands he wiped her tears and held her hand. "Ken…shin…did you follow me…all the way…here? Why?"
"Shh," he whispered, placing a finger over her lips, "I just wanted to make sure you were okay." Kaoru lay back, closed her eyes, and smiled. Maybe, just maybe, he likes me…
Saitou helped the young woman up tenderly. Kaoru and Kenshin watched them curiously. Saitou tentatively asked, "Are-are you okay?"
"Okay?" she yelled, "What do you think, baka? What were you doing anyway, Saitou?" Kenshin and Kaoru stared. How did she know the former samurai's name? Saitou whispered something into her ear, and she immediately relaxed. She even smiled. Getting up, they walked over to Kaoru. "I'm Tokio, Saitou's wife." That got them.
"So you're Tokio? I admire you, Tokio-san, for surviving this long."
Saitou's eye twitched, "What's that, Battousai?"
Tokio giggled, "Oh, I know, but deep down he's such a sweetheart, you know. Though I'm sure you'd never guess." Kenshin and Kaoru snickered at Saitou's red cheeks.
"Come, Tokio; it's time to go home."
She sighed dejectedly, turned and followed Saitou. But not a moment before, she sang, "I'll be seeing you all quite soon I'm sure!" And with that, they were gone.
Kenshin and Kaoru were silent for a moment, but the spell was broken with Kaoru's words. "They belong together. I can see it in their eyes. Married couples are so cute! I wonder what it's like to be married…" She blushed, but Kenshin didn't appear to notice, and before she could stop her herself, she found herself saying, "Have you ever loved somebody, and wanted to tell them with all your heart, but wasn't sure if they loved you back?" She clasped her hands over her mouth when she realized what she had just said.
Kenshin smiled, and placing a hand on her arm, replying, "Don't worry, Miss Kaoru, I'm sure one day you'll find the courage to tell this special someone your true feelings, and besides, how can they not love you? I would not be able to understand why anybody wouldn't love you, Kaoru-dono." He smiled reassuringly.
Kaoru smirked mischievously, "So, Kenshin, does that mean you love me?"
Kenshin was speechless, as if trying to find the right words to say. He couldn't just say, 'Yes! I do love you!' It just wouldn't be right. She shouldn't have to live with someone whose hands are as bloody as this unworthy one's. She's so pure and sweet; this unworthy one wouldn't be able to live with himself if she was tainted by him. Though, he'd rather she was tainted by him than another man. Woah! Where did that come from? Kenshin mentally shook himself. Now is not the time to be thinking of such things.