Disclaimer: Nope, Rurouni Kenshin is not mine. *takes out katana and kills all the lawyers*
"Karen-san, would you like to come with me today?" Kaoru asked her over breakfast the next day. "I'm visiting a neighboring dojo. I though you might like to get out for awhile and see a bit more of Tokyo."
"That would be wonderful," Karen smiled and darted a mischievous look at Kenshin. "I guess Kenshin-san gets to do all the housework today."
"He's used to it," Yahiko answered matter-of-factly. "Kaoru never does the housework, especially the cooking part. Not if the rest of us can help it." He instinctively dodged Kaoru's flying fist.
"Oro..." Kenshin blinked, then grinned at Karen. "Don't worry, Karen-dono. Have a good time today."
"Today's my day at the Akabeko," Yahiko announced. "I'll be back after dinner."
They quickly finished breakfast and busied themselves by getting ready for the day. Yahiko helped clear breakfast and left for the Akabeko, Kenshin decided to start doing the laundry, Kaoru went inside to change, and Karen started to wash the dishes. She was drying her hands on a towel when a knock at the main gates sounded.
"Yes?" she inquired, opening the door halfway.
A chubby, oily looking man was standing outside, dressed in a Western-style outfit and holding a briefcase at his side. "I'm looking for Kamiya Kaoru."
"She's busy at the moment," Karen replied, giving the man a disinterested glance. "What do you want?"
"Who is it, Karen-dono?" came Kenshin's voice.
"I'm a representative for Mister Samuel Black, and I would like to speak to Kamiya-san directly about her property. Mister Black is very interested in this land, and he is willing to pay twice its worth-"
The man froze, his condescending tone fading off as he stared at Karen, who had suddenly given him a piercing glare with her dark eyes. Noting his discomfort, she quickly smoothened her expression. "Well, come in. Kaoru-san will be out in a moment."
Just as she opened the door for him to enter, Kaoru emerged from the house, a bag containing her wrapped shinai slung over her shoulder. She looked surprised at the stranger's presence, and her brow furrowed as the man made a flowery introduction, but once she understood what his message was, her face darkened in fury.
"I'm sorry, but I have no intention of selling this land." She planted her hands on her hips and glared fiercely at the visitor, who found himself wiping the sweat off his forehead at Kenshin's hooded gaze from his seat behind Kaoru. "That is my only answer, and even if you offer me all of Japan it won't change. So go away!"
"It's what I had feared," Kenshin murmured after the visitor had made a hasty departure. Kaoru looked at him, surprised. "Kenshin, what do you mean? Did you expect something like this to happen?"
"Who would want to buy this ol' worm-eaten dojo?" Sanosuke asked as he sauntered in, dodging the rock Kaoru hurled at his head.
"Not the dojo, but the land," Karen said thoughtfully. "It's right in Tokyo. If someone had the money to make something of it, they would earn ten times their investment."
"Well, it's more valuable to me than any amount of money," Kaoru scowled. Karen slipped an arm around Kaoru and squeezed her with a wistful smile. "I wish I had something I could say the same about."
Kaoru gave her a troubled look, but Karen quickly masked her expression with her ever-ready smile. "I'll get my katana, Kaoru-san, and then we'll go. Maybe I can learn a little today."
"She must be lonely," Kaoru said softly as Karen disappeared into her room.
"I don't see why, with those good looks," Sanosuke said appreciatively.
"Oro..." Kenshin nearly fell over at Sanosuke's comment, but his thoughts were not on Karen's physical appearance. She wasn't a bit surprised at that visit. She's not telling us something. But what?
Kaoru helped Karen grasp the hilt of the shinai and showed her how to plant her feet. "This is the basic stance of kenjitsu, Karen-san. You hold the shinai... no, grasp it a bit more firmly, but your arms must be loose, not tight. Now, hold it up and bring it down, smoothly."
Karen followed Kaoru's instructions and executed a fairly praiseworthy stroke. The other students of the dojo, mostly male, broke into admiring applause. Karen paused to give them a wicked wink, making many of them turn red in pleased embarrassment. Kaoru giggled.
"You are quite natural, Karen-san," Maekawa, the sensai of the dojo said approvingly. "It must be in your blood."
"You are too generous, Maekawa-sama," Karen bowed. She was dressed in a loose dojo uniform, and her hair was tied over her shoulder. "But this has quite tired me out," she laughed at herself, wiping her damp brow.
"We must be heading back now, anyway," Kaoru remarked at the lengthening sunlight. The students sent a chorus of good-natured boos, but Maekawa waved them off sternly. "Come back soon, Kaoru. You know we always welcome you."
"It is an honor, Maekawa-sensai," Kaoru bowed respectfully.
The two girls were soon on their way back home, Karen garbed again in her usual kimono and her hair in a respectable bun. "That was fun, Kaoru-san," Karen commented with a contented sigh. "Those boys were rather cute."
Kaoru laughed at Karen's comment. "Karen-san, they were all over you. Would you like to come next time with me as well?"
Karen paused in mid-step, as if surprised, and gave Karen a curious glance. Kaoru returned the look questioningly, her blue-green eyes wide and sincere. An odd smile curled on Karen's lips. "I'd like that, Kaoru-san. Very much."
"Oi!"
At the rude greeting, both Karen and Kaoru looked up, to see about ten men, all armed with staves and short swords, standing in the middle of the road and blocking the way to the bridge they had to cross to get home. "Which one of you is Kamiya Kaoru?"
Kaoru moved to stand in front of Karen. "What do you want?"
"Sorry, lady," the one who seemed to be in charge sneered. "We've been paid to bother you a bit. See this contract here?" The man shook out a piece of paper. "If you sign this, we might just let you alone."
"What is that?" Kaoru asked suspiciously.
"A contract of sales," he said causally. "For your dojo."
"I told you I'm not selling," she snapped back. "You're wasting your time."
"Lady, you're confusing us with someone else," he shook his head with mock concern. "Guess that dojo of yours is pretty popular, ne? But you have to sell to us, see, or else you might just regret it."
"Who is us?" Kaoru demanded, pulling the string that held down the cloth wrapped around her shinai. She gave Karen a look, telling her to step out of harm's way, but Karen's face had gone blank, and she looked oblivious to Kaoru's signals.
"Are you going to sign or not?"
"How's this for an answer!" Kaoru snarled, whipping the shinai free of its wrappings and charging towards the man. She swiftly took him out, hitting him squarely on the knee and then on the neck as he keeled over. But the men quickly got over their surprise and surrounded her in an instant. Damnit, I can't win this fight, she thought desperately. I don't even have a bokken with me... "Karen-san, run!" she shouted, meeting the onslaught as best she could. "Get Kenshin-"
Kaoru was never exactly sure what happened after that. There was a moment of confusion, with shouts and curses mingling with cries of pain, and the next thing Kaoru knew, half their attackers were prone on the ground, moaning incoherently, and Karen stood with her katana drawn, dripping blood. A shallow cut had sliced through the cloth and skin on her left shoulder, but she seemed unfazed.
"What the-?!" someone began, but Karen raised her sword with an ease that surprised Kaoru and whipped through the remaining men in a dance of death, causing them to fall like blades of grass before the scythe. She paused with the last one, her blade pressing against his neck. He stared at her, terrified. "Who sent you?" she hissed, and Kaoru tried to suppress the shiver she felt at that cold voice.
"I...I don't know..." he whimpered. "I..."
Karen slid her blade across his skin and he crumpled to the ground. Karen gazed calmly upon the bodies before flicking the blood off her sword, then sliding it into her sheath with a practiced movement. For the first time, Kaoru noted that the sheath was dark red and gleaming, made of metal like Kenshin's. There was a tense silence as Karen met Kaoru's eyes, and Kaoru felt something familiar in her gaze.
"I..." Karen took a deep breath and let it out, long and hopelessly. "I am...very sorry, Kaoru-san. I lied to you, to all of you from the beginning."
"...Why, Karen-san?" Kaoru asked, but her voice was gentle. I know now. It is the way Kenshin looked at me, when I first found out he was Hitokiri Battousai. It seems it is my fate, to take in wandering hitokiris who turn out saving my life. She found herself fighting back a hysterical laugh.
"I will explain, Kaoru-san, and I will tell you nothing but the truth, but there is no time, not now." Her face hardened. "Those bastards. They were sent by somebody. They will stop at nothing to get your land now, Kaoru-san. We must catch them or you will lose your dojo, and more importantly, your life."
Kenshin looked up as Karen and Kaoru hurried into the yard. "Did you have a nice time...?" he asked, then trailed off at the spatter of blood on Karen's kimono. His eyes widened, then narrowed. "What happened?"
"Karen-san saved my life," Kaoru said in a rush. "We were attacked but Karen-san defeated them all. She says the dojo is in danger. We have to trap them. I'm not losing this land to anybody!"
"Slow down." Sanosuke interrupted her hurried explanation. "What the hell are you saying? How could Karen-jousan save your life? She doesn't even know how to hold a sword!"
"She was lying," Kenshin said quietly. "Am I right, Karen-dono?"
Karen turned to look at Kenshin. "Yes," she said clearly. "I lied to you from the start, about everything. There is a man by the name of Kagaii who was indebted to your father, Kaoru-san, but he died with no children. I knew who all of you were before I walked into the Akabeko that day. My lie was designed so I could have an excuse to stay close to you."
"Why, Karen-san?" Kaoru asked curiously. "Why did you go through all that trouble to approach us?"
Karen paused, taking a deep breath before opening her mouth to reply. "I am a secret agent for the government. My true name is Hiko Karen, and I report to Inspector Fujita, otherwise known as Saitou Hajime."
"You work for Saitou Hajime?" Sanosuke and Kaoru shouted in disbelief. But Kenshin was concerned with another part of Karen's identity.
"Hiko Karen?" he repeated, his purple eyes staring at her incredulously. "You... you aren't ... by any chance..."
"I suppose I should introduce myself all over again," she said, looking amused as she bowed towards Kenshin. "Greetings, Kenshin-san. I am the daughter of your shishou, Hiko Seijuuro."
The group looked absolutely dumbstruck at this revelation, gaping at Karen silently. Karen shrugged and had the grace to blush, but before anyone could recover the power of speech Yahiko came strolling in with a "I'm starving! What's for dinner?"
The silence unnerved him. "No dinner?" he tried again. "Isn't anyone hungry?"
"Never mind dinner," Karen said briskly, looking relieved that she had nothing more to hide. "I will explain everything in detail, but we have no time for this. I was sent here because for several months we have been on the trial of a landbuyer who we suspect is using illegal methods to purchase Japanese land at a very low price. The Kamiya Dojo was pinpointed as an ideal target."
"We were bait?" Kaoru exploded, but Kenshin put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Was this Saitou's idea?"
"Let's just say we were running out of options," Karen said calmly. "In order to arrest this bastard, we must have more evidence. I am sure that we can lure them to the bait tonight, but I need your cooperation."
"Bait being us," Sanosuke muttered. "Hey, how do we know you're telling the truth? You could be one of them for all we know."
"Shut up, Sano," Kaoru retorted. "Karen-san saved my life, when she could have let me die and no one would have known it wasn't an accident."
Karen gave Sanosuke a half-smile, almost a smirk. "You are under no obligation to trust me," she said, affecting disinterest. "Sanosuke-kun is quite right - for all you know I may be a very well-informed spy...for the other side. The stakes are high, Kaoru-san. A mistake will cost you your land. What will you decide?"
Kaoru glanced at Kenshin, who smiled gently at her with meaning in his eyes. She could practically hear his thoughts. You trusted a stranger once - a wanderer with a past of blood and a history of guilt. Can you do it again, Kaoru-dono?
"I seem to be doomed to forever be putting my life into the hands of wandering strangers with swords," she sighed with mock despair. Kenshin chuckled with a soft "Oro..." "Karen-san, I trust you. You could have harmed us any time these past few days, but you never did. And... I saw the look in your eyes, Karen-san. You look exactly like Kenshin when he's trying to be dark and brooding." Yahiko guffawed, and Kenshin looked mildly indignant. "So what do we have to do?"
Karen marveled at the openness in Kaoru's pretty face, free of any cynicism or doubt. She felt a brief flash of envy for what this girl had, followed by determination: They will not have this dojo, not if I have anything to say about it! Aloud she said, "Yes. Then, listen closely, all of you. First, Sanosuke-kun, you must find where the idiots that tried to kill Kaoru-san came from. Contact whoever is in charge and tell them you want to deal..."