Lchan: Late update, ne? Sorry. Our phone got disconnected and I couldn't go online. This chapter lacks a little on…say…substance? I dunno. Don't expect any action or sap, okay? It's still kinda slow. I'm very sorry! Please bear with my lack of ideas…sorry if this chapter's rushing at some points then lagging again at others, I'm really kinda short on plotlines and I'm not very good at naming Japan's cities and stuff…so you really can't expect too much detail when it comes to that.

Counter Strike

-After You

5:30 AM.

Kaoru stashed her swirling white kimono into a medium-sized suitcase, along with other balls of bland-colored, faded fabrics that could only be her training clothes, muttering under her breath things she still needed to pack.

Holding up a sequined neon sash from her wardrobe, she narrowed her eyes. Fancy, aren't we? She threw it aside. When exactly did I buy this crap?

Deciding that swanky ribbons had no business whatsoever with wandering and/or adventure, she proceeded to reconsider all things she had already placed in her pack, at the same time dismissing flashbacks of the old junkie peddler from whom she'd bought the neon sash yesterday when she was still in her seditious mood.

Yesterday seems like so long ago now. It feels kind of unreal… She threw in some toiletries, some medicine, and about a dozen rolls of bandages, bringing just enough to last her a lifetime.

Her eyes fell on the hundreds-worth kimono in her suitcase, barely visible underneath all the other paraphernalia, and rethought its worthiness to be brought along.

Well, hey, it's already inside, she thought, surveying the room for more packing gear she might have forgotten.

But because she chose to bring only the "barest necessities" to keep her luggage light, she figured she was done. She locked her suitcase and stood it upright.

She gave the windows, faucets, lights, and ovens a last check, briskly walking through her house while smoothing her tousled hair with a comb.

Her heart was pounding so hard and fast against her chest, that she could almost imagine the rapid thumps echoing off the desolate walls. Excitement and terror were constantly washing over her, and for a moment, she almost considered discontinuing her journey—and just lose her beloved Kenshin…forever…

Once she set foot outside the gates of her home, there would be no turning back. She would walk the streets and face obstacles alone—without Kenshin's sword, Sano's fist, Yahiko's bokken, nor Megumi's healing support to comfort and rescue her.

Nothing but vivid images of Kenshin's face and fragile faith on her own strengths inspired her to walk out into the world and brought potency and determination to course through her body.

What could happen anyway, Kaoru? You're just being paranoid.

Consoling herself that she was never going to be sure enough about the dojo's security anyway, she slipped the comb into a side pocket, grabbed her suitcase, and bulleted out into the street, determined to leave before sunrise.

A golden glow was just peeping from behind the horizon when she emerged from within her own empty home, cutting through the endless gray. Not a soul could be seen loitering the streets save those of the stray dogs' and cats' in the dusky orange of dawn.

5:45 AM.

She allowed a smile, happy with herself at her achievement. She lifted her slightly-heavier-than-light baggage and proceeded down the familiar alleys, pausing only later to stare around at unfamiliar grounds.

* * *

10:00 AM.

Kenshin gazed up at the sky through the leaves of the trees above him and sighed. He was totally isolated—alone—with only stupid regrets, wind, trees, and a whole lot of sun to accompany him.

Until now, he couldn't find a single reason WHY he hadn't just told Kaoru the truth—that he returned every bit of her feelings with perhaps more passion than she had for him. He couldn't find any little thing that could have stopped him.

I could have saved Ms. Kaoru and myself the humiliation…and Sano, Megumi-dono, and Yahiko wouldn't have had to be banned from the dojo. I sacrificed all our happiness for my stupidity and I don't see why I had to.

Kenshin gave another heavy sigh, trying to lose himself in the placidness of the sky and, hopefully, release himself if just for a little while from his guilt—only to drop his head a few moments later, admitting what he figured was richly deserved defeat.

He was never gonna be able to bring light to his stupid life…

"Well…at least it didn't rain last night," he murmured, sullenly, before trudging ahead, hiding his face from the world behind an empty, blank-faced mask.

Hunching forward, he dragged himself up a small hill's slope, suppressing a groan urged out by the heat of the sun and the amount strength he had to exert.

Reaching the top, he tried and failed again to seek solace in the stillness. Not a single fluff of cumulus was in sight to protect him from the sun's blaze—only skimpy bits of wispy cirrus. He dissolved his complaints into a heavy sigh.

He wasn't usually such a pessimist.

I deserve this. I deserve this. I deserve this. I deserve this. I deserve this. I deserve this…

The next village seemed miles away.

A gust of wind blew by...

* * *

A man stood outside the empty Kamiya dojo, scrutinizing the area carefully for signs of life. The wind was blowing gently, but the aura of the house was stifling. The atmosphere of an abandoned, empty residence surrounded it, even in the bright sunlight.

His face darkened as he surveyed once again the empty vicinity. No sooner had he again assured himself that no one living was in the house, he clenched and gritted his teeth.

A short humph of impatience and frustration rent the air, a loud curse following it with just as much prominence.

"Dang! Missed 'er!!!"

And he skulked away, muttering profanities.

* * *

Yahiko plunged his fork into the wood of one of the Akabeko's tables, chipping the surface with a dent. "She has NO right!!" he screamed, clenching his free hand into a fist. "No right at all!!"

The glare that contorted his face divulged all vexation.

The fork he had "abused" stuck obediently to the position he had driven it to, stiff and vertical, secured by its little dent. If it were a person, it would look pretty stunned. Three shadows crossed where it stood, displaying the existence of three persons around it.

"Yeah, she does. Hey, c'mon twerp, let 'er live her own life," Sano grumbled in response through gritted teeth and crumbling fishbone, sinking into his own cushion and emphasizing his scowl with narrowed eyes. "I checked the dojo and I'm sure as heck nobody's there. She's gone, and, hey, is that our problem still?"

"The rooster-head is using a bit of mind for once," Megumi agreed, tapping a finger against her chin, her eyes thoughtful. "She went by herself, she should know the consequences. After all, we don't always have time to look after the raccoon-girl…"

"But how come she left with no warning whatsoever!? That is so unfair! Even KENSHIN said goodbye, if only to us!" Yahiko sputtered on, hitting the table again with both palms. The fork fell with a soft clank.

"Can you be more stupid? She told us last night." Megumi blinked at him.

He flushed, but regained his composure after only a half-second's worth of considering. "Well, I didn't believe her!! And don't even ask me why!"

"Why?"

"'Coz she can't do it alone, duh!! What other reason could there be?! Hey, she knows it! I know it! EVERYBODY knows it!!" Yahiko puffed out some air, and, not without vehemence, he crossed his arms over his chest.

Megumi hushed him with a wave of her palm and a glare that screamed reproach. "DON'T do that. Are trying to create a commotion here? You don't JUST react, do you? If there's any possible way, you like overreacting to everything! Now, stop, because it's damn annoying!"

Sano nodded assent. "Right. Let US do the thinking for a while, kiddie-poo."

"Since when did you know how to think?" Megumi mused aloud, her voice touched with her usual sarcasm, which, in Sano's point of view, always received its healthy dosage of exaggeration.

Sure enough, as expected, the flicker of fire smoldered in his deep brown eyes. "Is that an insult!?!?" he raged.

The lady doctor sighed. "To shut you up—no."

"Then what is it!?"

She blinked at him. "Do you have to ask?"

Sano gritted his teeth. "It was an insult, wasn't it!? Well, it figures!!! That's really typical of you, fox-lady!!"

Megumi rolled her eyes. "Baka tori-atama—"

"Look, there's NOTHING to think about!!!" Sano shouted, letting the fishbone he'd been chewing bounce onto his plate as he rose a little from his seat.

First Saitou, then you, then this brat-kid, Jou-chan, and even Kenshin! I am NOT stupid!!! Why does everybody think I am??

Megumi's sly eyes narrowed, as if they pierced and saw right through him, and in reply, she calmly said, "And whatever happened to 'let us do the thinking', stupid rooster?" she smirked. Then shook her head and raised a hand before he could reply. "Don't talk. PLEASE don't. Go think all you want, I won't care anymore."

"But I—" Sano stopped before he could embarrass himself and silently raged. But I want you to, dammit! Way to go, Sano.

Yahiko drummed his fingers against his cheek, all the while watching the exchange with an impatient, arrogant aura that Megumi thought was definitely NOT in his grounds to use.

"I don't ever wanna grow up to be an adult if you're the kind of people I'm gonna turn into," he declared, curving his lips into a grimace as the fight died down.

Sano and Megumi stared at him, blank-faced.

"Well, I am SO glad I'm not a kid anymore," Sano muttered.

Yahiko became hysterical.

* * *

"Kenshin, why did you leave Tokyo?" Kaoru murmured to herself in vexation, wiping away beads of sweat that dropped down her temples. Her head was shifting from side to side on her craned neck, as she searched the ride fields that bordered the path she was walking on for any sign of her beloved's presence.

"Because you scared him away, Kaoru," she chided herself, in continuation to her self-scolding, making her own temper rise again.

She dropped her head and proceeded a few feet with her eyes to the ground. "How could I have been so stupid?" she murmured, miserably. "Why did I kick the man I love out of my dojo—?"

Then she stopped as memories flashed inside her head, and she quickly tried to erase the latter words. Her lids hooded her eyes into a softened expression. "Sou…the dojo's yours too, Kenshin…"

A tear streaked down.

On the way home from the traumas of Shishio's madness, the Kenshin-gumi paused at the part of the road where he had made known to her that he was to become a wanderer again, and he would train to stop the tyrant's reign of terror for all of Japan's sake.

The place wasn't dark anymore this time. It was illuminated by day, and the fireflies weren't present—Sano and Yahiko had taken their places. Kenshin raised his head as he reminisced the memory that had remained vivid in his head since the moment it was over. After all those times, it never faded, never blurred, was never forgotten.

And Kaoru watched him, her azure eyes softening as she too recollected what had happened between her and Kenshin in that particular space. Then, in an almost instinctive manner, her hand reached out to him.

His soft, innocent, and childlike violet gaze shifted to stare at her outstretched palm, rose to meet her own sapphire eyes with a definite flash of confusion, and, as she spoke, widened—an effect everyone noted as a most memorable expression.

"You are now an official member of our family. Welcome home, Kenshin."

"Well, promises are made to be broken!" she waged with herself, shifting the weight of her luggage after wiping off the lone trickle from her cheeks with her kimono's sleeve. "Only it wasn't a promise, it was…something that was not a promise, that's all."

She sighed and raised her head from the ground, braving the world with a healthy dose of assessment, her eyes roving about. She was walking on a path with rice fields to either side, some men following her form as she strolled past and the women's eyes evaluating her presence in curiosity.

"Can I help you? You seem a little lost…"

Kaoru blinked before the man's face came into focus and within her calculating radar. Tall around thirty with bottomless brown eyes and a smile that seemed rather forced, he nevertheless managed to look concerned. From his clenched, mud-caked hands protruded a few curly roots from plants Kaoru hypothesized were hidden underneath his fist.

"Well, you can answer one thing for me, if you won't mind my asking," she started, her heart thudding in her chest as she prayed for the most perfect answer the man could give her: yes, a red-haired swordsman passed here just recently. In fact, he's still in the village. Just walk straight ahead.

"I'll do what I can," the man shrugged.

"Well, I just want to know…by any chance, did a red-haired swordsman pass by here? One with an x-scar across his cheek…? Which way did he go, and have you had the opportunity to talk to him?" Kaoru pleaded with her eyes. "What did he say?"

A glint crossed the man's eyes. "Well…I'll answer you with a question, if I may. Was he wearing pink?"

Kaoru brightened. "Yes!"

The man rubbed his chin and caused a streak of brown to cover part of his face. "Yes, I believe a man by that description did pass here hours ago. He was the cause of uproar and made a riot as he passed. Cranky Gataharu-san has this rebel-thing going against wannabe-samurais, so you can just imagine how he reacted. This friend of yours carried a sword, ne?"

"Yes. Did you get to talk to him?"

"No, I'm sorry. I only got as far as apologies directed to his back. He never once looked anyone in the eye. I couldn't even decipher whether he was conscious of anything…"

"Were his eyes still purple or amber??"

The man blinked in an estranged kind of way. "Well, I couldn't really see his eyes—"

"Has he left already?"

"Hours ago."

"Which way did he go?"

"North."

Kaoru was silent, and as long seconds passed, a bellowed interruption broke from behind them and cut their conversation short just as she was about to thank him and go. "Oi, Seta! Get back to work!!"

The man shrugged, apologetically. "I'm sorry. You heard, right? I gotta go now."

"Thanks for your…" Kaoru trailed off as the man dashed away. "Help…" she whispered, and then she raised her eye to the bright heavens.

Hours ago… she reminisced, dropping her head in frustration. Hours ago…it spells miles away… What makes you think you can catch up with him, raccoon dope?

She sighed. "This is hopeless…"

* * *

tbc

Lchan: The chapter lagged, ne? Yes? Well, I assure you, though this chapter may seem empty, it's a fat contribution to the coming surprises. Send me some ideas anyway, won't you, please? Please? And some cheer-up reviews would really help. Of course, I'd still understand if you want to flame but I won't stand for that if you don't have good reasons. Sorry again for the late update. I love you.