Editted on 2/24/05 because I was silly.

Note: From now on, I'm just keeping this little layout simple. I don't need to tell you...but I am. XD I love you all, thanks for reading, please review, and of course enjoy!

Love and Peace or Else
By Shizuka3

Chapter 2: The Little Helper

Kenshin made his way toward the kitchen, and Kaoru walked in a few seconds later. "I'm going to wash up before dinner," she stated.

Kenshin turned to her with an amiable look. "Okay, Kaoru-dono."

As she walked past the open shoji door of the kitchen, her eyes glanced over Kenshin's figure. She headed into her bedroom and slid the shoji shut.

Kenshin placed some chopped vegetables into a pot of boiling water and added some soy sauce into a frying pan while the fish sizzled. He looked into the water as his thoughts began to race. What exactly were his feelings for Kaoru? No, he already knew the answer to that; he did not need to worry. If it were really love, could Kaoru feel the same way? Love a man as tainted as he? Tainted. . . Blood. The blood on Kaoru's kimono was an awkward and unexpected sight. The stain seemed too—no, an absurd thought. Still, once he saw that she was hurt he wanted to take her hand and hold it. Hold her finger until it stopped bleeding. Make her feel better. During that moment, he realized he felt warm on this chilly day.

"Oi! Kenshin!"

A familiar voice. Kenshin turned his head to see Sanosuke standing in the kitchen behind him. "Hello, Sano. What brings you here?" As if I don't already know. . . The rurouni smiled.

"Hey. . .," Sanosuke sniffed the odor coming from the pan, "smells great! Maybe one day you can teach Jou-chan to cook like this."

Kenshin took the pot and pan off the oven and gathered the plates and utensils to set up the dinner table as Sanosuke continued talking.

Scrubbing with all her might without tearing the threads of fabric in her kimono, Kaoru sat with a wet rag in her hand and one mission: get the blood stain out. She looked at her kimono, now with a large water stain. She sighed. Then she remembered.

He dodged with a quick twist to the side, and then thrust his katana back towards her chest. He was swift, almost too swift for her. Her training paid off at this moment. Kaoru threw her sword upward, flung the sword away, and then quickly made her move. She leaped off the ground and took her form. She held her katana to her left side, hands in position, when something didn't feel right. She looked down in mid-air and saw the sword coming out of her right thigh. How could she be caught off guard? She continued to follow-through with her attack and hit the man in the middle of his torso, a pressure point, just enough to knock the man out and yank out his sword from her leg. Kaoru landed on her feet while she squeezed her muscles in her face, cringing from an uncomfortable pain. Her leg had its own heartbeat. She put her hand over the pierced flesh and flinched. It's deep. She thought. Damn it!

Maybe she should've changed the bandage on her leg sooner, she thought.

"Kenshin, did you hear?" Sanosuke took the utensils from Kenshin's hands as he helped to set the table for a change.

"Hear what?"

"You mean you still haven't heard from Chief Uramura? There's been someone sending criminals to the police station. They've all been found while they were still unconscious. Some of them even had wounds from a sword," said Sanosuke as he looked to Kenshin for some kind of reaction. "The police are a little suspicious, but they're grateful for whoever has been finding them." He stopped for a breath and to check Kenshin's reaction. "I heard that the guy who's been going around and abducting women in back alleys has been captured too."

Kenshin fumbled around with some napkins as what Sano said caught his attention. "I guess the police force of Tokyo have a little helper, don't they? Although there's an anonymous person working for the police, it's not something we should get ourselves into, de gozaru. We shouldn't involve ourselves in any trouble."

Sanosuke thought for a moment. "All right, buddy."

Just as Sanosuke finished and got ready to sit to a delicious dinner, Kaoru appeared in the room. "Dinner is ready, Kaoru-dono," Kenshin spoke.

Kaoru took the scent into her nose and replied, "It smells great, Kenshin!" She sat down next to Kenshin just as everything settled into smooth conversation.

SLASH SLASH!

In two flashes, a wooden chair around a table full of over-muscled, drunk men blew into three pieces. A man laughed. "The legendary Hitokiri Battousai? HA HA HA HA HA HA HAA! Uramura, quit jokin' around!" said the big butch man waving his sword as an act of showing off.

"Ryuusuke, I can assure you, Battousai is with us." Uramura adjusted his uniform jacket. "He is stopping by very soon. He should be finished eating dinnerabout now. I told him that I needed him to do some work for some of our higher officials." He paused and looked around warily. "But of course, you know our real plan. We'll take down Miyamoto, whether Himura likes it or not."

A wave of laughter and cheering filled the alcoholic atmosphere of the bar in the back of the police building; outside the moon was peering down and the crickets called. The brisk winter wind howled as the men heard a door in the front of the building fling open and swing back shut again. The footsteps halted once a delicate-looking man made his presence in the room.

"Aa, Himura. It's nice to see you." Uramura stood to greet Kenshin.

"Good evening, Chief Uramura. I understand you wanted to see me."

"Yes," turning to the men, "Men, if you'll excuse us. You're dismissed to go now."

The burly men snorted as they laughed. "This is public property!"

"OUT!"

As soon as the men filed out the door, Uramura grabbed two chairs and motioned for Kenshin to sit as he did so too.

"You see, Himura," Uramura began, "the Meiji government is in another state of emergency, I'm afraid. Miyamoto Toshiya is running an underground business. You could say he's trying to be like yakuza, but saying that, as of now, might be going too far. We must stop him, however, before he reaches his final objective." A sincere look swam in Uramura's eyes.

Kenshin furrowed his eyebrows. "And you'd like my help?"

"Precisely. My men have several leads, but not many. I'll inform you of any more leads, naturally, but you need to take out their henchmen as we find them. They are very spontaneous. Himura, they will eventually come after bigger and bigger governmental officials. I beg you, please take on this duty." Uramura placed his hands together in a pleading fashion.

"I'll see what I can do," Kenshin replied as he nodded.

Author's Notes:
Since I finally have my ideas for this story set straight, this chapter should've been better than the last in how it was written. (Sorry if I seem scattered all over the place, but I love subtleties.) And about Kenshin. The characters are OOC to my liking, meaning that they are OOC for whatever purpose I want them to be at any moment, or the whole entire time. And what in the world is going on with everyone in this story?

Thanks for reading! Please review!