angelstarhikaru: Thanks for the suggestions! As you can see I named Megumi's boyfriend Hiroshi and I took your advice about changing Kenshin's mom's name. Thanks so much for that. I was wondering, do you have any more name ideas, more for girls names this time? Again thanks for the help!

allin656: Here's the Kenshin/Kaoru intro you asked for. Sorry that it took a while for me to update, but I wasn't sure if I had this chapter written alright. I decided to just post it and see what everyone thought of it. I have a little bit about Kenshin's past in here, so I hope you like how it turned out. Thanks for reviewing!

Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin

Protector

Chapter 9

"I will see you later then, Himura." Koshijirou said and hung up the phone. He leant back in his chair. He narrowed his eyes at the phone and thought to himself. 'Yes. We have many things to discuss. Such as why and how you have resurfaced after so many years.'

Kaoru got out of the car. Her house loomed against the skyline. She wouldn't be allowed out of it or off the property until her father found a new bodyguard and until she was mostly healed. Hopefully Ms. Megumi would visit and they could talk some more. She had mentioned her boyfriend, Hiroshi. Kaoru didn't know why, but the idea of Ms. Megumi having a boyfriend seemed strange to her. Maybe it was just Megumi's independent nature that made the whole concept seem odd.

She walked into the house, closely shadowed by her temporary bodyguard. She didn't know his name and she hadn't asked. He would remain anonymous, as the rest of her bodyguards had been. She walked up the staircase to her room. The small window on her wall was still slightly open; the way she had left it the other day. She moved over to it, pulled it firmly shut and latched it securely. Her fingers lingered on the glass pane for a moment before she moved away.

The next thing she did was walk into the bathroom and start running water into the large tub. Warm steam began to fill the room and fog the windows and mirror. She opened the window and welcomed the light breeze, before pulling the curtains closed. They billowed out slightly in the breeze before settling down.

Her bodyguard disappeared and for that she was relieved. She scrubbed almost every inch of body, trying to rub away the countless memories. Tears dripped down her face. She had allowed herself to cry before, but she needed to rid herself of the pain in a more physical way. An ache she didn't even know was there seemed to disappear as she finished and sank back, into the gently steaming water.

When she emerged, she was dressed in shorts and a tank top. Her normally pale skin was flushed from the heat and the vigorous scrubbing. At least, the best she could have done with one arm. She glanced at the clock while her stomach informed her that it was time for lunch. Thank goodness she wouldn't have to eat anymore hospital food.

Tae was in the kitchen. She was bustling around, most likely preparing dinner. "Welcome home." She said upon seeing Kaoru and hugged her gently, mindful of her injuries. "You must be hungry."

Kaoru returned the hug. "Yeah. I'm just going to grab something to eat." She told Tae. She moved over to the counter and pulled out the ingredients to make a sandwich. She industriously put them together and sat down to eat it. Tae continued to move around, keeping an eye on the girl, but remaining quiet.

Kaoru finished and put her plate in the dish washer. With a goodbye to Tae, she left the kitchen and made her way to the indoor dojo. Megumi had said that she wasn't allowed to do any strenuous work with her right arm, so she would work with her other body parts. She would use this as an opportunity to strengthen her left arm. She wouldn't do anything too hard, just a few light exercises, just to pass some of the time.

By the time she had finished, it was around three in the afternoon and all she wanted to do was sleep. The physical and mental toll on her body was becoming too much.

She left the room and tiredly made her way through the halls, not watching where she was going, but never expecting to crash into anyone.

Kenshin got out of his car. The security was tight around the house, he had observed on the way in. But, surprisingly, he had been allowed in with no questions asked. If he got the job he would have to do something about that. Security shouldn't be like that. The only reason he could think of was that Koshijirou had told them to expect his arrival, which showed great trust on the man's part, because he didn't know anything about Kenshin.

Speaking of arrival, he was almost late. He should have been more prompt for the three o'clock appointment. 'It's not my fault there was traffic.' He thought to himself as he walked up to the front door. 'Yeah, well you need to act more professional. It would be good for you o have a job again.' Another part of his mind contradicted. He pushed the doorbell.

Soon after the door was opened by a stern looking man that Kenshin could only assume was the butler. "Good afternoon, sir. Mr. Kamiya is expecting you." He allowed him to step inside. "Wait here a moment and I will tell him you are here." He left Kenshin standing in the poorly lit foyer.

He glanced around, taking in what surroundings he could see. There was a hall and a staircase. Double doors lead to a large dining room on one side and an open archway lead to a living room on the other. There were multiple doors opening off of the long hallway.

He turned slightly. He had heard a soft sound from the hallway and he moved away from the doorway. Suddenly, the person he had heard approaching walked right into him. Both lost their balance and grabbed the closest thing to stay upright. In other words, they grabbed each other. It didn't make the situation any better and they both ended up falling over.

Kenshin hit the ground first, his swordsmen instincts taking over. He attempted to land underneath the person to cushion their landing. Softness brushed against his face and there was a light breath on his cheek. Definite feminine curves were pressed against him.

Kaoru looked down. She hadn't expected anyone to be standing right by the stairs. She was mortified that she had walked into the person. For all she knew it was one of her father's important visitors that she was never allowed to meet. A mass of red and black obscured her vision. She pushed her own hair aside and embarrassed blue eyes met startled purple ones and held.

A stinging in her right arm notified her that she had landed awkwardly on top of the stranger and her arm. She blushed when she realized that neither of them had moved for a good few seconds. She hurriedly rolled off of him and sat up. She cradled her arm and looked away as the man sat up as well.

Still looking down, she muttered, "Sorry about that. I wasn't watching where I was going."

"No, it was my fault. I should have realized that someone was coming and gotten out of the way. I should have tried to make myself more unobtrusive." He responded.

She looked at him skeptically, the blush fading. "I walked into you and you try to take the blame? You are no way at fault for this." She told him, releasing her right arm to gesture with it. She winced slightly and rubbed the pained area.

"Is your arm alright?" He asked, apparently deciding that it was better not to get into an argument with her.

"Yeah, it's fine. I just hurt it the other day." Kaoru said. She didn't want to tell a stranger about her injury. Then something clicked. "Why are you here, in the house, by yourself, anyway?" She asked.

"The butler just left me here. He should be coming back soon though." He stood up, brushed himself off and offered her a hand. She took it and allowed him to pull her to her feet.

"Thanks." She said and pulled her hand away quickly. The butler came back and announced that Kenshin could follow him. She moved quickly up the stairs, silently, when the man's head turned to the butler. At the top she glanced down and the man was gone.

"Mr. Himura. Thank you for coming to see me." Koshijirou Kamiya said as he stood up to shake Kenshin's hand.

"Thank you, sir." Kenshin replied.

"I just wanted to ask some more formal questions and discuss some things with you. I have already decided that you will be the best person for the job, if you accept. You can ask any questions you feel necessary." Koshijirou said.

"I would gladly accept the job, sir. I was just wondering," Kenshin paused. "Who is the head of security here?"

"Normally that would be the person best qualified for the position. That would be you. Is there a problem that needs to be addressed?" Koshijirou responded.

"No. I just feel that security should check any visitors. I was allowed in without question." Kenshin explained.

"An, yes. There is an explanation for that." Koshijirou folded his hands in front of him. "I am now a government official. You know this, right Himura?" Kenshin nodded, unsure of where the conversation was headed. "When the new government took it's place, eight years ago, a job for them was my reward. I aided in it's success while it was bringing down the old government. I was one of the coordinators, one closer to the top. I also served as the bodyguard, on occasion, for Katsura." Kenshin took this information in slowly, trying to figure out what it could mean. "I know you know what I am speaking of, Himura. I know who you were ten years ago."

Okay. Apology time. In my last chapter I said that I would be updating soon, but I lied. I also said that I had most of chapter nine typed. That was true. Just, when I reread it, I didn't like what I done at all, so I went back and deleted a lot and tried to rework it. Sadly, what resulted was major writers block. So, if anything seems a little strange, I probably missed it when I was editing and stuff. I know that this chapter is shorter, but it was part of the longer, now trashed, chapter nine and it works much better for the story development.

Now, in this chapter, you find out a little more about what went on in the past, at least for Kenshin and Koshijirou. Not much about Kaoru. I also had Kenshin and Kaoru meet, which I know that everyone was waiting for. I have this habit of making people crash into each other and fall in love. I really don't know why I love these kind of introductions, but I do, so there's not much I can do about it. Sorry. When I wrote the scene I didn't even think about the fact that I had already had Misao and Aoshi meet in the same exact manner. But, I liked how it turned out anyway and decided that I didn't want to change it.

Also, I am taking angelstarhikaru's advice and changing Kenshin's mom's name to Kagami, instead of Serenity, like I had it. Just so people aren't confused when I talk about her in later chapters.

So, enjoy reading and I hope that you'll leave behind a review because I love getting them!

Keta Himura