"Okay girls!"

Kaoru silenced the chattering of the many girls lined up against the wall. She held her bokken across her shoulder. Kenshin and the others stood off to the side as she continued.

"You'll all here to try out for the newly established girl's kendo team," she put particular emphasis on girl's and glanced over to Kenshin. She could tell he noticed from the way he slightly narrowed his eyes and smirked in amusement.

"I am Kamiya Kaoru, and this is my second in command, Makimachi Misao," she gestured to Misao who smiled at the crowd of listening girls. "And we will be decided who makes the cuts today. The tryouts will go as follows, first for your amusement me and my associates will engage in some friendly competition and show you a few basic moves. Then one at a time you will come up and challenge either Misao or me. Tomorrow a list will be posted with the names of those who will join us at Monday's practice.

"Misao, will you show the girls some primary attack and defense moves?"

Misao walked to the center of the room as Kaoru walked off to the side.

"Right. I just want everyone to pretend they're holding a bokken in front of them," she said as she held out her actual bokken. The girls did as they were told and Misao was satisfied for the most part. "Now we'll start with simple attack moves. I'll show you the move first then together you will do the same. One! Two!"

Misao went on to showing the girls various moves and they all mimicked her, or at least attempted to. Aoshi watched her with interest, but he wasn't exactly paying attention to the lesson…

Soujiro, Kenshin and Kaoru were busy examining the few girls who actually showed some potential. Kaoru noted a couple who were for sure making the cut and Misao soon finished up with her quick lesson and returned to Kaoru's side as the girls kept on practicing.

"So Himura, think you're ready for a friendly match?" asked Kaoru shaking her bokken at Kenshin.

"If you are Miss Kaoru," he replied sweet as honey.

Kaoru and Kenshin walked out to the center of the room and the crowd of girls erupted in whispers and giggles as they realized that the dashing redhead behind their instructor was the famous Himura Kenshin.

Kenshin and Kaoru put on a facemask and Kenshin took a bokken from the wall.

"Now girl's here's a example of a advanced kendo match. I don't expect most of you to be able to be at this level but please do try to learn something from this match," announced Kaoru to the group.

The two took their stances and gripped their weapons firmly. A hush fell over the room as if the on lookers could sense the tension between the combatants.

You could here the minute hand on the clock tick as if counting down to the fight. One…two…three!

Kaoru gave a battle cry and was first to attack. She lunged her bokken at Kenshin's middle, a simple move that Kenshin blocked easily as he side stepped. Kenshin then swung to hit Kaoru's shoulder but she raised her sword and blocked. Each move got more and more intricate and both Kaoru and Kenshin were enjoying themselves immensely.

As the matched progressed past 5 minutes, much more than Kenshin had anticipated, he realized how skilled this girl actually was. For every well-developed attack he had, she too had one to match. But despite how good she was performing now, Kenshin felt she was somehow holding back, as he was. Perhaps she too was just trying to feel the out the other.

Finally Kenshin managed to break Kaoru's defense and lunged his bokken forward with force but stopped just short of a few inches of her facemask. Kaoru froze in her own attack.

The whole room gasped. Kenshin slowly moved his bokken below Kaoru's facemask and lifted it off sending it to the clattering to the floor. He took off his own mask but still kept his bokken to Kaoru whose expression was not at all like what he expected.

Instead of being upset with her defeat she had a mocking grin across her face. "Didn't think you got me so easy did you Himura?" she stated more than asked.

Kaoru hadn't moved from her final position either and wiggled her bokken. Kenshin's eyes widened in surprise and his face turned red as he looked down to his opponent's bokken. There it was, Kaoru had tapped it against the inner side of Kenshin's right thigh and fair way up at that.

He was speechless. This girl actually had managed to draw with him! Only a select few of his own teammates were able to do that.

Kaoru and him were both breathing heavily and she was first to bow. Kenshin snapped out of little moment of shock and bowed as well.

The whole room started clapping and Kaoru smiled at her crowd. Kenshin studied her. Perhaps I underestimated her. She can probably best at least half my team if not more…

Kaoru looked over to Kenshin beaming. "Good match Himura. I was very amused."

Kenshin smiled back at her quickly so it wouldn't look like he was staring at her so blankly. "Yes, it was wasn't it. I'm quite impressed Miss Kaoru. Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"My father taught me," she answered. "Ever since I was a kid."

Misao ran over to Kaoru with a two water bottles in hand, "That was a awesome match you two!"

"Thanks Misao," said Kaoru as she drank the refreshing liquid. "So Himura do you think you'll still be sticking around to help today?" she asked slyly.

Kenshin took a bottle too. "Ah, no I don't think so. I have to get back to my friend who's rather tipsy this morning."

Kaoru walked closer to him and lowered her voice, "Oh well that's too bad. We should do this again sometime soon. Well see you around Himura."

It was then when Kenshin really realized how pleasing Kaoru was to look at. She ran off back to her potential students along with Misao and proceeded with the tryouts. How did he not notice before now her sparkling sapphire eyes or attractive smile?

Oh jeez Kenshin, snap out of it!

Kenshin started to walk towards the door with Aoshi and Soujiro following behind him.

"What we're leaving?" asked Soujiro. "But I didn't even get to fight!"

"Don't worry about it. Kenshin's just a little shook up because a girl got the best of him," said Aoshi.

Kenshin glared at him while they passed through the doors, but no before taking one last glance at Kaoru. "Don't be upset with me Aoshi because you didn't get to flirt with Misao."

Aoshi went quiet and Kenshin looked up to his tall friend, "Don't think I don't notice that you stare at her whenever she's in the room."

Soujiro started laughing out loud, "Shinomori, the stone cold lover!"

"Shove it. Both of you," was all that Aoshi could manage to mumble in his slight embarrassment. "Besides Kenshin, if I didn't know any better I'd say by the way you and Kamiya were fighting you were both flirting."

Kenshin finally made it to his room and opened the door and smiled back to Aoshi, "Maybe I was Shinomori, and I sure as hell do it better than you." He stepped into this room and closed the door leaving the others outside in the hall.

Soujiro was a little dumbstruck at the moment, "Did he just say he was flirting with Kaoru?"

Aoshi almost gave slight chuckle and started back his own room silently with Soujiro jumping around him persisting with his unanswered question.

"Shut up squirt."

"WHAT?"

A/N: Okay sorry everyone this one came a little later, but it was because my internet was doing something funny. So anyway back to the story, I hope you liked it. This chapter was a bit ify for me, maybe not my very best but my little brain keeps having to keep up with three pairs and how they're gonna interact. This as you can probably tell, is my first story with more than one main pairing. So yeah I hope you liked it, read and review, its only proper manners. Toodles!