Inkblot: Sooo, I made it to the first chapter. XD. That's a good thing. I modeled this scene after something that I imagined happening in my high school. Something crazy like this would definitely happen where I go. Lol.

Thanks to shadow61x for her (?) lovely review. It's nice to know someone does care about a prologue. .

Disclaimer: Don't own it, wish I did. Then Kaoru wouldn't be quite so annoying.

Dare You To Jump

Chapter One:

BAM! Kaoru's head spun as she felt the world slipping past her and the ground rushing up to meet her. Her forehead ached abysmally and she resigned herself to a sore bum and a raging headache even as the hard, tiled floors of her high school approached her faster and faster. She instructed herself not to care.

It was hardly her fault that she was clumsy.

She squeezed her eyes shut and hoped to God that it wouldn't hurt too badly. The resounding THWACK of body hitting tiles and pain never came. It was only then that she realized that yes, there were a pair of hands wrapped around her waist and that she had indeed stopped falling. The hands held her up easily, and the girl traced the hands to arms, the arms to shoulders and neck, and finally, to a face.

Large violet eyes examined her curiously, shadowed by a fall of fiery hair. Kaoru stared right back, and she and the stranger with the cross-shaped scar regarded each other for the longest time. The girl blinked suddenly, just realizing that she was still held in the red head's arms and that more than a minute had passed. She could feel her face heating up.

She scrambled out of the loose embrace as the boy snapped out his trance and blushed, and Kaoru felt her heart melt. Awww, he's so cute! She giggled and dusted herself off, glancing sidelong at the stranger as he fidgeted with his hands. He looked so adorable and lonely, like a poor lost little soul. "Thank you," she said finally, allowing herself to look him straight in the eye. "I can't tell you how many times I've run into people." She smiled apologetically. "I'm rather clumsy."

The strange eyes snapped to her face, called out his uncomfortable study of the floor. "It's quite alright," the boy replied lightly, voice surprisingly soft and comforting. It was a voice Kaoru could listen to all day. It seemed made for speeches and poetry and romance. "I wasn't looking where I was going."

Kaoru smiled again, somewhat surprised that he was so polite. Many people in this particular school were rude, crass, and the guys were, you guessed it, crude. "My name's Kamiya Kaoru. It's nice to meet you," she offered, bowing the tiniest bit. "Himura Kenshin," the red head replied. The girl was amused to note that his bow had been lower than hers, however slightly.

The bell rang and Kaoru cursed colorfully. She gathered her books and hugged them to her chest before taking off, calling a last, "Sorry I bumped into you!" until she was swallowed into the crowd of students, likewise hurrying to their classes.

Kenshin watched her leave, a strange expression in his purple eyes.

Kenshin sighed and rose slowly from his seat as the last bell rung, marking the end of the day. C'mon Kenshin! Let's go home! The boy smiled at Shinta's enthusiasm, stuffing his belongings into his backpack and swinging the heavy load onto his back. All right already, he said mentally, laughing to himself as Shinta bounced around excitedly. The boy really had too much energy for his own good. Jeez, Shinta, calm down. You're acting like you need a trip to the bathroom. The boy pouted endearingly and sulked as Kenshin walked the short distance to the library across the street.

Shinta, stop being so moody, Rurouni scolded gently from his place in the corner of Kenshin's mind. It doesn't suit you. Shinta gave up, impossibly wide purple eyes peeking through his host's in anticipation. Kenshin, read me a story? He threw in a pout for good measure. The teenager rolled his eyes and dumped his book bag on the floor. Which one? He asked, scanning shelves upon shelves of books for children. Shinta picked one that was colorful and bright with dragons and lions and even a dolphin at one point.

Rurouni smiled tolerantly as their host began to read the story, mentally of course, to the little boy, and even Battousai came out of the shadows to hear it. Shinta climbed into the hitokiri's lap and listened intently, giving off a light and warmth that didn't fail to touch the killer. Kenshin noted this all with amusement, but continued reading the story, his voice that seemed made for story telling rising and falling in the exact right places. Shinta sighed happily.

"Kenshin?!" The teenager whirled around, carefully schooling his face into neutrality as he faced a confused, black haired girl. Kamiya Kaoru, Shinta helpfully supplied. I think she's pretty. Rurouni shushed the boy gently, watching cautiously as the girl approached his charge.

"Kamiya-dono," Kenshin greeted carefully, straightening slightly from his seat on the red beanbag. "I didn't expect to see you here." The girl appraised him frankly, bright blue eyes flicking down to see the picture book held in his hands. "Neither did I," she said, much more openly, cocking her head slightly to the side. "Good read?" she asked, nodding towards the book.

The red head blushed slightly, feeling a slight wave of panic wash over him. What do I tell her? He wondered. That I'm reading to a five year old that lives in my head? "I'm still a child at heart," he replied lightly, though Kaoru swore she saw a hint of distrust flit through his eyes. It must be a trick of the light, she decided.

"So what is Kamiya-dono doing here, if I might be so bold to ask?" Kenshin was unwittingly copying Kaoru's earlier pose, his head canted to the side in curiosity. The girl's eyes lingered on the long mass of hair spilling down his back. He had the longest hair on any boy she'd ever seen.

"Kamiya-dono?" Kaoru snapped out of her daze instantly, blue eyes wandering back to his pretty, almost-feminine face. She smiled slightly. "It's Kaoru," she told him bluntly. "Kamiya makes me feel old." The boy nodded, silently acquiescing to her wishes.

An uncomfortable silence followed. "Do you wanna walk home with me?" she asked suddenly, impulse overtaking good common sense as it often did with her. "It's not far from here." Kenshin hesitated, debating whether he should or not. Finally, he nodded with a smile. "Sure," he agreed. "Why not?"

Fifteen minutes later found them trudging through the woods that cut through Kaoru's neighborhood. The girl stumbled over a protruding rock and twigs constantly caught in her raven black hair. She grumbled to herself, risking look at the slender boy who followed her. Kenshin drifted through the trees as easily as mist and looked completely undisturbed. She grumbled again.

But then he smiled at her, purple eyes glinting at her in the golden light of afternoon. She smiled back, narrowly missing a tree. She flinched away instinctively. "My home's not far from here. We're pretty close," she explained to the red head. And sure enough, the Kamiya dojo, that the girl called home, loomed up ahead.

Kenshin's eyes widened in awe. "You live in a dojo?" he asked, halting for second in his trek. Kaoru nodded over her shoulder, tossing a teasing, "Have a problem with that?" at him. The boy shook his head, resuming his progress. She pushed open the screen door, neatly kicking off her shoes and slipping into a pair of house sandals. "Tadaima!" she called. A muffled, "Okaeri!" answered. Kaoru handed Kenshin a pair of sandals much like her own and he followed her example, taking off his sneakers to replace them.

"Busu, close the door behind-oh…" A small boy of maybe ten years burst into the room and Kenshin regarded him lazily. He had a hair of spiky black hair and snapping brown eyes flew between Kaoru and him. "Who's this busu, your boyfriend or something?" he asked insolently. The girl growled and swatted him across the head. "That's no way to talk to visitors, Yahiko-chan! And he's not my boyfriend!"

That clinched it. Yahiko had to be Kaoru's sister. Their mannerisms were too similar for them not to be. Kenshin smiled tolerantly, echoing Rurouni's gesture. Kaoru disregarded her younger brother breezily, smiling at her new friend. "So," she asked. "Want the grand tour?"

Yahiko followed them out, for lack of something better to do. His homework could go to hell for all he cared and tormenting his sister was always fun. He glanced at her red headed friend. He looked like some pansy pushover that couldn't even carry his own weight. He snorted disdainfully. He hated anyone who he considered weak and incapable.

As if he had heard him, Kaoru's friend, Kenshin or something, glanced back at him. He raised an eyebrow silently and Yahiko scowled darkly at him. He turned back to his sister, nodding politely and smiling as the busu went on and on about God-knows-what.

Yahiko watched as the plaques on the far side of the dojo caught Kenshin's attention. He crossed over curiously, eyeing the wooden planks. "Kamiya Kasshin Ryu. Assistant Master Kamiya Kaoru." He glanced at the two of them. "Who's the Master?" he asked inquiringly. It was Yahiko who spoke.

"Our father," he said shortly, forestalling any more questions. "He's dead." Kenshin glanced at him briefly, something akin to sympathy in those weird eyes of his. "I'm sorry to hear that," he replied quietly. Kaoru shifted uncomfortably.

"Hey!" she brightened up. "Let's have a sparring match. You against me!" The younger sibling rolled his eyes at his sister's enthusiasm. "Eh heh, no thanks," Kenshin said uneasily, backing away from the girl as she grabbed two shinais from the rack. "I'm not one for wooden swords." "Oh come on," Kaoru said dismissively. "It'll be fun, and I'll go easy on you." The red head inched away discreetly. "Really, I must decline."

"Stop being such a wuss," she exclaimed, shoving the weapon into his hand. "It's okay if you've never done this before." The teenager shook his head violently. "That's not what I meant, I-" Kaoru charged aggressively, her war cry echoing through the dojo. Yahiko settled down, expecting a relatively short fight. His sister was good; she was the assistant master of their father's style after all.

Kenshin dodged lithely, flipping out of her reach in a blur of speed. Yahiko's eyes widened in utter surprise. He'd been so fast that he hadn't been able to even see the movement, except for the wake of wind. Kaoru slid to a stop, facing him. She looked incredulously at her friend.

"So you have done this before," she stated, eyes flicking to his hands where they grasped the hilt of the bamboo sword with long practiced ease. His stance was perfect too, and one that Kaoru didn't recognize. Kenshin shrugged helplessly. "I tried to tell you."

She smiled at the challenge gleaming in his eyes and attacked more cautiously, her blows calculated and strong. Kenshin parried them all evenly, not even budging from his set stance. Kaoru growled, control slipping as she unknowingly let all thoughts of "going easy" on him slip out of her mind. Kenshin smiled oddly, then twisted his sword past her defenses and sent her shinai spinning out of her grasp. Kaoru froze.

Kenshin caught the extra sword, presenting the hilt to the girl with a bow. The smile had not left his face. Yahiko could feel his jaw hinge unscrewing. "Wow," he said. Wow didn't quite describe it.

Kaoru was panting and Kenshin took pity on her. "It was a good match," he offered lamely. Her brother snorted. "Some match," he interjected. "Where did you learn kenjutsu like that? It's way cooler than the lame stuff Kaoru's been teaching me." The girl's eyes blazed angrily. "Kaoru-dono's style isn't 'lame,' Yahiko. Our styles have different goals." The boy merely sneered.

Kenshin sighed, facing Kaoru. The last thing he wanted was the girl to question the details of Hiten Mituruugi Ryu. The last thing he wanted was the girl questioning his life. A pair of very blue eyes was demanding an answer.

I liked her, Shinta stated stubbornly. She's pretty and she's nice. Rurouni snorted. She's also very nosy. He scowled darkly, contemplating the implications of actually having any kind of relationship with the bubbly girl, friendly, romantic, or otherwise. Kenshin rolled his eyes, slouched against a mentally constructed wall. He had retreated inside his head sometimes after he got home.

I think you guys are over thinking all of this, he said exasperatedly. I just ran into her at school, literally, and she was being friendly is all. Shinta and Rurouni looked at each other, a small red head and a taller one. Nah, they said in unison. Kenshin groaned. Battousai emerged from the shadows, icy amber eyes softened by amusement at his host's predicament. Kenshin glanced at him pleadingly. Help me, he whined. Shinta and Rurouni are being mean.

Battousai's lips curled up into a gentle smirk. For once I agree with the both of them. She definitely likes you, and if I'm not mistaken, you're taken with her. Kenshin let out a muffled scream. He glared at all three of them, two of which were grinning unabashedly and one of them regarding him with cold amusement. You like torturing me, don't you? He asked dryly. Yes, all three of them chorused. He groaned. I hate you all.

We know, was all Shinta said, large eyes sparkling maliciously.

finis

dono- honorific attached to a person's name. Not commonly used anymore.

Tadaima- translates to "I'm home!"

Okaeri- translates to "welcome home."

Kenjutsu- swordsmanship

Busu- hag, ugly

Inkblot: As always, please be as kind to leave a review. Or several of them. Whatever bloats your goat.