As they continued to walk to the festival, Karou paused a moment, walking slower than Kenshin, then hurried to catch up. She gave his hand a slight squeeze, causing him to turn his head questioningly at her, but faced front again when he saw that Karou was smiling. They walked like that, hand in hand until they reached the marketplace where the festival was already in full swing. Shopkeepers, other couples, and tourists bustled about, paying no attention to the pair until an old lady with a face full of wrinkles and kindness in her eyes called out to Karou, "Flowers for you lady friend? Or how about a nice piece of jewelry instead?" Karou blushed furiously, but shook her head silently and Kenshin chuckled. 'So our disguises do work - maybe a little too well…' thought Kenshin as he peered around at all the wares that were being sold around them.
A hand grabbed his wrist, and he found himself being torn from Karou's grasp and facing someone he knew - Sanosuke. The lanky rooster-head was clearly still drunk, his movements slow, and swaying. "Hey ya pretty lady - wanna get togethor?" asked Sano drunkenly. Clearly, Sanosuke didn't either recognize him, or was too drunk to even notice that he knew the person standing in front of him, eyes widened. One of the women that had noticed the commotion from a nearby sake stand had sidled up to Karou, her eyes glinting mischievously. "You seem handsome enough - how much?" and placed her hand on the inside of Karou's arm. Karou's eyes blazed with anger, but she calmly shook off the women, walked up to Sanosuke (who was still holding Kenshin's wrist) and reached up and slapped him - hard. He staggered back a feet from them, and Karou growled out "Sanosuke - you BAKA! You have a WIFE AND KID if you don't recall!" rather loudly.
Sanosuke looked up in surprise and said "Missy? Is that you?" and visibly gulped when he saw whom he had tried to hit on. Karou snatched Kenshin's wrist and pulled him through the questioning crowd, leaving behind a very puzzled Sanosuke. After awhile of walking, Karou's temper faded, and she actually began to enjoy the rest of the festival - until they somehow got entangled within a couple's dance session. In this dance, the guys and girls would line up opposite each other, standing completely still, hands to their sides, facing each other. Then the guys would move - they would stick out a hand, offering it to the girl they liked as a promise of faith and love. If the girl took it, it meant that she accepted him, and is ready for either courting or marrige. If she refused, the guy would step back, and let another guy take his place to try his luck with her. At the end of the dance, all the girls who had accepted someone would try to steal a kiss for them, as if to seal the promise. Karou stood in line with the guys, shaking slightly - would he accept her?
When it was time, she hesitantly stuck her hand out - but would he accept her? He gazed at her, his eyes never leaving hers when he silently, and slowly reached for it. He firmly took it, and she stepped towards him, neither of them leaving each other's eyes. With an air of gentleness, he suddenly pulled her, and she landed in his arms, but she didn't struggle or pull away. She just stood there, and gazed into his amethyst eyes when he leaned and gave her a kiss. Her eyes widened, then closed, a light blush coming over her cheeks. They stayed like that, each of them not wanting to break away…