I should have stayed

Author's Notes: This would have been a one-shot but I can't write everything all at once. I'm having a bit of trouble so I'm going to do it in parts. At most, it's going to have three parts, I think. We'll see as I go along. But it won't be a chaptered fic. It would look it, though. And I'm being redundant.

The story is based loosely on a true-to-life one that I watched over on tv one night. It is set during the animé's time. I'm not quite sure how things were run under a Shogun's ruling, so what follows is basically patterned what was done here.

This is cross-posted at my GJ, and 30kisses.

Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters. It's Nobuhiro Watsuki's creations and I'm just borrowing. The themes from the LJ community 30kisses are: #1 - look over here; #3 - jolt!; #19 – red.

He was a samurai. He was one of the numerous tools the government uses to uphold peace and order, and to control opposition. He was sent to one of the farming villages in Yamanashi to oversee that the Shogun's orders were being followed and to eliminate any citizen going against the current government.

It was there that he met her.

She was ordinary farmgirl. Industrious and productive. She was unnoticeable for the most part, if not for her fiery temper and ever-changing moods.

She was chastising a co-farmer, a man taller and obviously stronger than her, when he first took notice.

"Sano, you big oaf! Watch where you're going!" she was shouting, her finger jabbing the chest of that Sano as she looked up at him. "You almost trampled on my harvest!"

"Oi, Jou-chan, stop poking," Sano said, a grin flashing on his face and it was apparent that he was trying not to laugh.

"Mou!" she said, hitting the tall guy on his arm in which Sano finally burst out laughing, before turning around to gather the vegetables into a neat pile.

He was just watching from afar, doing his usual rounds, when he felt compelled to interfere.

"Is everything alright?" he asked politely when he reached them just as Sano began putting the vegetables into one of the big baskets behind him.

"Who's…" she started in an irritated voice as she straightened up to see who was interrupting her work. When she saw that it was him, her blue eyes widened in recognition of his position before she hastily bowed down and said, "Gomen-nasai!"

"Oro?" he uttered in confusion when she apologized.

That Sano laughed more and only tried to muffle his laughter when she glared at him.

"Gomen-nasai, danna-sama," Sano said to him, bowing and then flashing him an amused smile.

"Oro!" he uttered again as he looked at them back and forth. He hasn't really interacted with any of the workers, only observed them from a distance. He makes the necessary orders through his subordinates so he was a little surprised by their show of respect to him.

"Anou, you don't have to be so formal with me," he said with a wave of his hand to emphasize his point. And to further illustrate, he introduced himself. "Himura Kenshin desu. Dozo," he told them with a slight bow, and then looked at them expectantly.

"Sagara Sanosuke. Sano for short," the young man said, also bowing. He turned to look at his companion, who was openly staring and wasn't saying anything. So he elbowed her lightly. "Oi, Jou-chan. Your turn," he reminded her.

He smiled politely at her, urging her to introduce herself.

"Anou… Hajimemashite. Kamiya Kaoru desu. Dozo yoroshiku," she said hurriedly, as if she was trying to convey that she was listening and she wasn't gaping at Kenshin just moments ago. She just can't get past the fact that he has flaming red hair and that it was tied high up in a ponytail. That his eyes were the color of lilacs. That he's shorter than Sano but he possesses a commanding aura. That there's a cross-mark on his left cheek that enhanced his features. And that he was handsome, not only from afar but more so up-close.

How could she miss someone with that shade of hair, anyway? He was always just watching, observing the peaceful and smooth flow of things. He has never issued an order directly to the villagers. It was always his right-hand man, Seta Soujirou, who would announce Kenshin's wishes, and the Shogun's too, if there was any.

So she was completely startled when he approached then and began talking to them, not even bother with the usage of titles.

"I saw the two of you arguing… Is there any problem?" he was asking them when she began listening again, looking at Sano and her alternately.

"Ano, Himura-sama," Kaoru started, but was interrupted with a, "Kenshin, please." She sighed. "Kenshin," she started again, a bit softly this time. "Sano here almost squashed the vegetables and I was just scolding him."

"Aa," he nodded.

"So, Kenshin-sama," Sano began, grinning when he was shot a disbelieving look by the person he was addressing. "How do you like our little village?" He was clearly already comfortable around the shorter but powerful man that he's starting to joke around. He didn't even wait for his answer as the taller man started gather Kaoru's harvest again to a big basket.

"It's peaceful and quiet," he answered as he observed the two working.

Another question, another answer, and soon, the three were talking in an easier manner. Although Kaoru still held back saying everything on her mind, it was the start of an unusual friendship.

They remained appearances, though. Kenshin rarely talks with them for more than five minutes after that when a lot of the other villagers were present or when his subordinates or superiors were in attendance. But before work is over, Kenshin would go ahead at a reasonable time before Kaoru and Sano, and then they'd all have dinner at Kaoru's home.

The first time he had a taste of Kaoru's cooking, he stared at his blackened rice, carefully placed some into his mouth, chewed a bit, stared at the rice again, then raised his eyes to Sano. To which, the taller man laughingly said, "You'll get used to it. I did!"

"Oi, Rooster-head!" Kaoru had growled and shot the young man a venomous glare. "Ne, Kenshin. Gomen. I try hard but they always end up like that," she explained helplessly to him as she pointed to the burned food on the table.

"Why don't you cook?" he turned to Sano again and he heard Kaoru snort.

Sano grinned. "Hers is actually edible. As for mine…" He didn't continue and just grinned again as Kenshin smiled in understanding.

"I'll cook then," he told the two.

"No, Kenshin. I'll improve," Kaoru protested.

"Yes, Kenshin. She's bound to learn sooner or later," Sano agreed.

He just shook his head. "I insist."

Last Notes: So, there's the first part. It leaves a lot of things hanging, I think. I'll try to write the next part quickly. But until then, I'll leave you with that. Ja!