Disclaimer: Behold! The disclaimer. We laugh at how he looks to us. And yet, in moments dank and grim, I wonder how we look to him. Peace, peace thou disclaimer! -Ogden Nash. (except, hippopotamus instead of "disclaimer")

A/N: I'm really mad because I had to divide this into two chapters. The second half of this chapter has become chapter fourteen. Oh well, I guess it's better this way. :sigh: still. It's really annoying!

Oh, yeah, and I lied about a few things last chapter. This is completely centered on Kaoru and Aoshi (Kaoru, at least.) Because those "other important events" I had to save for next chapter. :cries: This always happens with Kaoru! I always think that her part is just going to be a small portion of the chapter but then I get carried away with whatever and it takes up the entire chapter! Aw, well.

Anyway, since I am way ahead with the next chapter and everything, I decided to update this rather quickly.

Tanoshimu!


Chapter 13

Kaoru: Hardships of a Woman

-

Heey—wait, that's not fair!" Naruku squeaked as Aoshi shoved her into her room.

"I'm sorry Koneko, but we all agreed. We can't have you looking for Enizu. Not now," Sano replied from the doorway.

Aoshi released Naruku once she was safely inside the room. Suddenly ridiculously unbalanced, Naruku hopped on one foot to stay centered. She rubbed her arm and glared back at Aoshi. "Jeez. You don't need to manhandle me."

"Sorry," he replied gruffly.

She didn't reply, but instead charged at the door, hoping by some strain of luck to get past Aoshi. Not a chance. Quickly seeing what she was up to, Aoshi seized her wrists and brought them together behind her back, as if handcuffing her. Even Sano helped herd her back into her room.

Angry and discouraged, Naruku hung her head and allowed them to lead her inside. She cast one desperate glance at Kenshin, who stood in the doorway, his lips pursed.

"I'm sorry Naruku-dono," he said. "This is best."

Naruku ducked her head, not wanting to look at him anymore. "I'm really upset that you guys won't trust me." She moved over to close the door, shutting Aoshi, Kaoru, Sano and Kenshin out.

Kenshin's foot slid in the way of the door. He nudged it back open just enough so Naruku could see his face. "Naruku-dono. I am willing to trust you. If you'll tell us, promise us that you won't go looking for Enizu, I will trust your word."

Naruku's lips twitched into a lopsided smile. "I'd really like to lie. I'd really like to say yes, you can trust me, I won't go looking for him. But I can't because…because I will go looking for him."

Kenshin nodded and turned on his heel, his foot vacating the spot where it had blocked the door.

He didn't bother closing the door, Naruku noticed. There was still a small gap where it remained open. But she knew on the other side was Aoshi or Sano. Even Yahiko or maybe Soujiro. Just standing guard. But not guarding from intruders, but rather guarding to make sure Naruku didn't get out.

She walked over and shut the door herself before collapsing on the floor in a heap. She didn't have the energy to cry, so instead she just sat there, legs folded underneath her and arms lolling uselessly at her sides. She let out a sigh. She recognized her defeat. She'd be rightfully trounced, and she knew it.

"Why?" a muffled voice asked.

Naruku jumped. She peered at the door. She'd been right. There was someone on the other side, guarding her room. It was Kenshin.

She scooted closer to the closed door. She could barely make out his silhouette. He was facing away from her, leaning on the door.

She did the same, resting her head on the rice paper right next to where Kenshin's leg was on the other side. "Why what?" she said.

"Why can't you promise not to leave?" Kenshin asked. He sounded like it was hard for him to get words out. "Why can't you promise not to go looking for him?"

Naruku closed her eyes, feeling her lashes brush against the rice paper door. It suddenly occurred to her that Kenshin hadn't said Enizu's name once since she asked him not to.

"Because," Naruku replied in a clear voice, so Kenshin could hear. "Even though I know it's probably a trap, there's a part of me that really thinks I can go and end this. It torments me everyday, knowing how many more people I've dragged into this mess. How many people Enizu can't wait to see dead just because they know me. If there's a chance to stop it, even a glimmer of something close to it, I'll take it." She trailed her hand across the door.

Kenshin was silent for a few moments. "And—why did you make your intentions clear to us, even knowing that we wouldn't allow it at any cost?"

Naruku's eyes flickered open. "Because I can't bear to lie to you. Do you remember what it was like when Enizu first came here?"

"Yes," was Kenshin's swift reply.

"I was in agony every day, knowing that I was revealing more to him. Knowing that I hadn't said anything to prevent his attack when I knew it was coming. I just—I can't bear to hide things anymore. I'd make a mess of it, if I haven't already just by telling the truth."

"You haven't," Kenshin replied comfortingly.

Naruku hung her head. "I don't know."

After that, neither said anything. Naruku knew she couldn't feel angry at Kenshin for standing there, keeping her in her room. She felt somewhat comforted knowing that he was just on the other side of the wall and neither of them had to say anything to feel together.

It was even comforting knowing that Kenshin would do anything to save her, even if it meant keeping her from carrying out her own goals.

-

The absence of her hair ribbon is what tipped Aoshi off. She had on a long haori coat and in her cross-legged position it was hard to tell what was underneath, but Aoshi had suspicion that it was a pair of hakama pants.

"Kaoru," he said carefully to her. "In the interest of conversation, what is it you're doing today?"

Kaoru lowered her bowl of hot miso and blinked at Aoshi. "I thought I might try and take a walk today, just for some fresh air."

"Kaoru-dono—"

"I realize that we're supposed to be careful, but I just want to get out of the house for a little while," Kaoru said to Kenshin's unspoken precaution.

Aoshi nodded, trying to figure out where Kaoru was headed.

"And I won't visit any of our friends," she added nervously. "I'll just be…looking around."

Aoshi blinked. She didn't specifically say she'd be alone. Was he right to be suspicious? Was she meeting with someone? He glanced at her once again as she took a sip of tea. No hair ribbon. Definitely a pair of hakama pants peeking out from underneath her haori coat. Aoshi shifted his position slightly. Where her shirt scooped down slightly in front, Aoshi could see a sliver of the gauze material she used for breast bindings. Kaoru was definitely preparing for a fight.

He shifted again and noticed the presence of wood in Kaoru's hand. And she was packing.

Kaoru was suddenly all too aware of Aoshi's eyes on her. "Uh, well, I better get going. Want to be back in time for lunch and everything." She got to her feet and started out of the dining room.

Misao quickly jumped after her.

Once they were safely into the hallway, Misao grabbed Kaoru's arm and tugged her down to her level. "Was Aoshi just checking you out?" Misao asked in a loud whisper.

"Eh?" Kaoru replied awkwardly. "Um, I don't think so Misao-chan. Enjoy the rest of breakfast!" With that, she was zipping away, leaving Misao puzzled in the doorway.

-

Maybe the bokken was for 'just in case,' Kaoru thought. When she had taken to bokken with her earlier that day, she hadn't really thought about it. Just a second-nature thing. Going out? Why not take a bokken? Now even more so, with the threat of Enizu looming just behind every corner. Not, of course, that Kaoru was scared.

More…worried.

Kaoru felt bad about lying to everyone, but then she reminded herself that she hadn't technically lied. She said she wouldn't go see any of their friends. Momoru definitely was not in that category of people. But Kaoru couldn't get away from he guilt with small loopholes like that. An oblique lie is a lie all the same.

But Kaoru did feel bad for saying she'd be back by lunch. That didn't seem particularly possible at the moment. It was already past midday and Kaoru didn't even know where to start looking for Momoru.

"Let's see," she murmured to herself, ignoring the hustle and bustle of the marketplace around her. "If I'm a cocky, smart-ass sleaze ball, where do I go in the middle of the day? Gambling? Eating? …Whoring?"

"You know I could never pay someone to take your place, Kaoru-chan."

Kaoru whirled and was very close to saying to hell with her plan and just knocking Momoru's lights out. "Fancy seeing you here," she snarled at him.

"Kaoru, Kaoru," Momoru chuckled. "Why don't we find a more private place to talk, hmm?"

Kaoru, grudgingly, followed as he led her off the side of the road. When he tried to steer her by her arm, however, she viperously smacked him away. "Don't get cozy with me."

Momoru grinned but backed off all the same. Neither spoke as they walked, but Kaoru was quietly calculating in her head. What could Momoru be thinking about? Was he going over a recent meeting with Enizu? Was he trying to think of ways to get Kaoru on his side? Like that would ever happen! Or…

Kaoru shot a glance at him and grimaced. By the look on his face, he was probably planning how to get Kaoru in bed with him. The thought was enough to make Kaoru unsheathe her bokken and send a solid bust to the head.

Unfortunately, Momoru was stronger than he let on and caught the sword without even looking back at her.

"We're here," he said calmly.

'Here' meant the place where they were going to talk. 'Here' also meant a broken down old bar. Or was it a gambling hall?

Kaoru tugged her bokken back and sheathed it again as they entered. She stepped warily behind Momoru, who seemed to know his was around very well.

There were very few people. The bartender, methodically cleaning cups, and several customers, all passed out or too drunk to utter anything close to comprehensible. Then there was a man in the corner who seemed to be just relaxing with a cup of sake. Momoru gave a small salute of greeting to each of these men, none of which was responded to.

Kaoru was getting more creeped out (not to mention grossed out) as they walked further and further into the bar. She could hear flies buzzing around, and as soon as they had stepped in she could practically feel the air getting heavier and more sluggish. Though it wasn't a sunny day outside, it was even dimmer inside. There was only one window that cast a pale ghost of light across the table that a drunken man sat at.

Kaoru delicately sniffed the air. It stank of alcohol and putrid vomit. She tried not to retch as Momoru led her across the entire room (which wasn't all too big) and opened a wooden door without thought.

She balked when she realized that behind the door was a staircase. Unconcerned, Momoru grabbed a lantern off a shelf that seemed to be sheathed in darkness. While Momoru lit it, Kaoru glanced around, wondering if she should just make a break for it.

But she had come that far. And she had already found him.

He led her down the stairs, and Kaoru noted how rickety and unreliable they seemed to be. Once they were at the landing, Momoru set the lantern down on an old table. Judging by the shadows, the room wasn't bit and it was furnished very sparsely. It was even darker in the cellar (that's where Kaoru supposed they were) than it had been on the ground level. She shivered again. It may have been musty and dank, but on the bright side it didn't stink quite so much in the cellar as it did up above.

"So what?" she broke the chilling silence, mostly because she wanted to get out of there as soon as she could. "Why'd you drag me down here?"

"You were the one who was looking for me," Momoru shot back with a taunting smirk on his face.

"Obviously I wasn't the only one looking. Don't tell me you just happened to be strolling past," she said warningly. A look of disgust came to her face. "You were probably following me since I left the dojo this morning!" she cried out accusingly.

"Not quite that early on," Momoru replied, laughing.

Kaoru's whole expression tightened, and she looked like she'd very much enjoy smacking him across the face. For the sake of brevity, she abstained. "No more of this petty squabbling. I think you know why I'm here."

Before he could make some lewd comment, Kaoru continued. "I want to know exactly where you got that note," she said flatly.

"Why, Kaoru, what are you talking about?" Momoru asked in an innocent voice.

She shot him a look of pure venom. "Don't toy with me, you bastard!"

"Language, my darling," Momoru said admonishingly.

"Are you in contact with Enizu or not?" Kaoru replied fiercely. She wanted to get down to business, but Momoru was making it increasingly difficult.

"Sorry honey, that's not something that I'll tell you for free," Momoru replied contemptuously.

"Don't put a price on information that I'm just going to force out of you," Kaoru told him, rolling her eyes.

"Force out of me how?" he sounded amused, and Kaoru knew at once why. Especially since Momoru moved forward swiftly and snaked an arm around her. Before he could get very far with this move, Kaoru took action.

With a resounding smack, Kaoru took down the offending arm. Had she been using a real sword, Momoru would forever have but one hand.

He stepped away again and shook out his hand, noticing how very quickly it welted up with red. "Maybe I know this Enizu person, and maybe I don't."

"If I wanted that answer I wouldn't have come at all!" Kaoru said shrilly. "So which is it?"

"How 'bout you spend the day with me and find out from there?" Momoru suggested. "I can be very nice."

"Save it," Kaoru said harshly. "How 'bout you tell me," she mocked him. "And then I won't beat your brains out…too badly," she added with a sneer.

Momoru chuckled. "I'm sure you've heard that you're cute when you're mad," he said, coming nearer. His next words he said in a low whisper. "But has anyone told you it's very…arousing when you yell?"

His breath floated toward her. She was strongly reminded of how it had smelled upstairs in the bar. Her eyes watered. She never felt so violated in her life. Not just the stench or the feeling of his fingers creeping up her arm, but also every word he spoke to her. It was beyond clear that he didn't respect her in any way, not even the respect a young man has for a beautiful woman. No. Momoru was, to put it bluntly, the most disgusting person she had ever met in her life.

And that included Gohei, Jinei, Enizu and a number of other ill-famed men that Kaoru had the displeasure of meeting. Momoru topped them all with a revolting flourish.

"Kaoru…" he said in a singsong voice, grinning at the way she unconsciously shied away from him.

Kaoru's eyes widened as she realized how physically threatening her predicament was. He completely had the upper hand and Kaoru needed to hold her ground.

She lunged forward, hoping to catch Momoru in the gut with her fist. He caught her attack easily and when she swung her other arm up towards his face he caught that one too. He flexed and tightened each of his hands on each of her wrists.

Kaoru was absolutely defenseless. She could only wait for Momoru's next move.

-

Aoshi seemed completely unconcerned about Kaoru's whereabouts. He sat cross-legged on the porch, folding the laundry with methodic precision. Soujiro soon came out to join him, just for a chance to talk to the ninja man alone, perhaps.

"You don't seem particularly worried about Kaoru-san," Soujiro said lightly. When Aoshi didn't offer a response, he went on. "I'm sure you caught on that she wasn't just going out for a walk today."

Aoshi shifted his eyes over to Soujiro and stopped folding, but still said nothing.

"Himura-san, too," Soujiro went on, encouraged by Aoshi's acquiesce to the conversation. "He didn't seem very keen on stopping her from going out, even though it was clear she was up to something dangerous."

Aoshi cleared his throat. "Unlike me, Himura has no idea what Kaoru could be doing."

"Oh, so you know what it is Kaoru-san is doing?" Soujiro asked, his smile widening slightly.

Aoshi gave a curt nod.

"Dare I ask what?" Soujiro wondered.

"It is something that may or may not involve Enizu," was all Aoshi would supply.

Soujiro couldn't have looked for astonished if his jaw had dropped to the floor. "And you let her go, without even trying to follow her or stop her?"

"Kaoru can take care of herself," Aoshi said, picking up the sheet to fold again.

Soujiro took this as a signal to end the conversation, but he ignored it. "Forgive me if I'm getting the wrong idea here, but don't you and Kaoru have sort of a…special bond?"

"If you mean that I care for her, then yes," Aoshi replied placidly.

"Aren't you the least bit worried or—or protective in that situation?" Soujiro wanted to know.

"Protective, perhaps. I've become very good at choosing when to spend my energy worrying and when not to," Aoshi returned blandly. "This isn't one of those times." He paused before continuing again. "I have a great deal of respect for Kaoru. I respect her decision to do this on her own," he said calmly. "Whatever it may be," he added, perhaps just to remain evasive.

Soujiro nodded, but he was still not convinced. If Kaoru was anything like Misao, and Soujiro knew she was, then she was all too eager to do things on her own. "How do you know that Kaoru isn't just too stubborn to enlist your help when she really needs it?"

Aoshi thought a moment. "I respect her," he said slowly. "So that must mean I trust her to draw that line for herself. I am confident she would not hesitate to ask me for aid if she thought she needed it."

Soujiro wondered if Misao would come to him for help. He knew she was always trying to remain self-dependent, but maybe she wouldn't be so stubborn as to refuse his help even in instances when she did need it.

Aoshi let out a low chuckle. "Perhaps she might hesitate," he amended his statement. "But if it came down to it, I'm sure she would end up inviting my help."

-

Perhaps it was the dark, or the silence or just pure nerves that got to her, but suddenly Kaoru's mind became inexplicably fuzzy and her body just didn't seem to be operating correctly. She should be sprinting away—or fighting Momoru off!

Instead, she was just numb, almost ready to pass out. He held both of her arms away from her head in death grips and she seemed to be just suspended there, with Momoru's face leering down at her.

She closed her eyes, trying to clear her mind, trying to see anything but his face. Instead all she accomplished was provoking Momoru to do more than just stare. In seconds his lips came crashing down on hers and none too gently.

It seemed as though his aggressive actions had flicked on a light in Kaoru's head. She had movement and clear thoughts again, and she intended to use them to get Momoru and his repulsive display of unwelcome affection off of her.

She struggled wildly against him, trying to twist either of her wrists free. All she got for her exhausting endeavor, however, was Momoru's body completely pressed up against hers and his hands clutching her wrists to the point of breaking. His lips began moving against hers in a way that was supposed to be erotically charging.

Kissing Momoru was nothing like kissing Aoshi. The two could not even be described as the same action at all. Momoru was not kissing her, he was attacking her.

Though she thought her arms might snap off, Kaoru wrenched her face away from Momoru's. He quickly grabbed her chin and yanked her lips back up to his, pushing her violently into the wall. He now had her collarbone and neck area in a deathly iron grip, his other hand working on restraining both her wrists.

With barely any space to move, Kaoru could do almost nothing but whimper in resentment as she braved a strong wave of nausea.

A second whimper sent Momoru reeling. His hands pushed against her whole body, finding new places to grab and squeeze. Clearly he had forgotten about the whole needing to hold her down part.

Before Momoru could get very far in his effort to make a grab, Kaoru's right fist flew up and collided with his left temple. The blow was packed with enough force to send Momoru crashing into the wall, desperately seeking away to keep his balance.

It felt like centuries since Kaoru had not felt his vile, rubbery lips against hers. What had been a few seconds of struggle seemed like hours. But Momoru was not ready to give up so easily. With a feral growl, he lunged at her again, only to find Kaoru's elbow sailing toward his nose. In seconds he had the bloodiest nose any girl had ever given him.

"Who do you think you are, you bastard?" she cried incredulously. "You can't just attack people like that, sicko!"

Momoru bellowed in rage. He lunged yet again, this time his hands aimed as if to choke her. Kaoru was too quick for that and quickly had her bokken out. She ducked and delivered a clean hit to his kneecap.

She let loose an onslaught of attacks, hitting arms, legs, thighs and his ugly head most of all. Momoru fought back as best he could, being much stronger than he had let on when he used to be a part of the dojo. But he was no match for a very pissed and nearly traumatized Kaoru.

In seconds she had him pinned against the wall, her bokken pressing against his throat in a threatening way. Her blue eyes seemed to burn into his.

Kaoru was surprised to see Momoru looked very frenzied—even scared. This was the least composed she had ever seen the greasy slime ball. And that made her lips twitch in delight.

"Now," she said very clearly. "Regardless of whether you've had contact with Enizu or not, you're never to speak to him or anyone that might be associated. Furthermore, if I see you near me or anyone I know, I will personally give you the worst beating you've ever had. If you have a broken collarbone now, just imagine what could be broken next time."

Momoru nervously nodded. He could feel the solid bokken pressing into his Adam's apple. It wasn't exactly a pleasant sensation.

"Also," Kaoru went on with relish. "You're to consider yourself sterile. No more sexually harassing young girls, got it?"

Again, he nodded.

"Now, how do I know you're going to abide by these rules?" she questioned. "Because you're scared of me. Even if it's against my integrity to kill you, I know some people who wouldn't be quite so hesitant. In fact, I'd say they're rather eager to inflict some fatal harm on you." She smiled at him sweetly.

Momoru tried to work his voice. He stuttered uselessly before rasping out, "I'm not scared of a woman." Even with his weak voice and fearful eyes, he managed to sneer.

Kaoru blinked and then shrugged. She removed her bokken from where it was pressing on his throat and let it drop to her side. "Fine," she said. Then, without warning, she jerked her knee up and kicked him where it truly hurt. "That's for molesting me."

With that, she flounced away, bokken swinging jovially at her side.

Momoru let out a groan. Before Kaoru reached the stairs, he moved forward and grabbed her arm.

She spun around immediately and smashed her bokken into his head. "Don't touch me," she warned in a low voice.

He didn't answer. Whether it was out of fear or the fact that he was unconscious, Kaoru didn't care. She marched up the stairs, and she couldn't help feeling just slightly victorious.

-

Aoshi paced around the porch, impatiently running his fingers through his hair. It was already dark and Kaoru still had not returned. It wasn't so much that he thought Momoru had hurt her but the sheer anxiety of the situation really got to Aoshi.

"Really now," he muttered. "There's no reason to be worried."

He immediately backtracked as he realized he had been consoling himself.

Maybe he should have let Kenshin go out to look for Kaoru like he'd wanted to, Aoshi thought irritably. Maybe Aoshi himself should just go.

But he didn't he waited. Waited because he trusted Kaoru. Because he had faith in her. Because even though he couldn't wait to see her grinning face again, he couldn't break a promise, even one he had made to himself.

And because he was standing watch for Naruku, making sure she didn't try and sneak out or anything. He sighed, knowing that Naruku had probably gotten that silly idea out of her head already. Tomorrow, he decided, they would start to trust her again.

His thoughts were interrupted by the dojo door slowly creeping open. Aoshi whirled around. Just as he thought, it was Kaoru trying to sneak back in as if she hadn't done anything wrong or made anyone worry.

Aoshi rushed toward her.

Kaoru jumped at Aoshi's sudden movement. Looking at his face, she could tell that he had been very anxious and upset over her absence. She took a deep breath and clasped her hands in front of her forehead, asking for forgiveness.

"I'm sorry, I know I'm really late and I shouldn't have been out especially due to the circumstances, but I ended up taking more time than I thought and then I was hungry from well— from being out all day so I stopped at a restaurant," she said this very quickly, in a way that made Aoshi think she'd been preparing her little speech since she started walking back to the dojo. "I know, I know, I should have come home but—"

He held up a hand. "You don't have to keep talking."

She looked up at him and her arms fell to her sides again. Aoshi silently turned his head and looked at an irregular marking on one of her arms. It looked like a bruise…a handprint.

Realizing where he was staring at, Kaoru looked very abashed and quickly slid her arm behind her back to hide the bruise from view. "Aren't you going to ask where I was?" she asked, biting her lip.

Aoshi's gaze returned to her face, illuminated by the faint starlight.

"No," Aoshi replied. "I know where you where. I think you realized that."

Kaoru had to admit that she knew she hadn't been subtle enough to hide anything from Aoshi. "So…are you mad?" She looked up at him, her blue eyes reflecting the moonlight.

Aoshi chuckled and put an arm around her, wordlessly guiding her back to the house. "No," he said. "I'm not mad. Noting that you're still quite intact, I'd say that I'm actually very proud."

Kaoru looked down, hoping that the darkness would hide the blush that spread across her face. "You really did know where I was, didn't you?"

"Yes," Aoshi replied as they walked up the steps. He stopped in front of the door. "And I must say—your method of dealing with Momoru is probably much more effective than mine."

His eyes twinkled teasingly.

Kaoru managed a sheepish chuckle. Inside, her heart was pounding. "Yeah, well, you know. Some people need more than just a good talking to. A good kick in the—"

"Kaoru," Aoshi said warningly, though his tone was light.

Kaoru ducked in apology. "Well, it's definitely what Momoru needed." She froze as she noticed Aoshi moving closer to her. Was he going to…?

"You smell odd," Aoshi said, laying his face on the top of her head. "Like alcohol."

Kaoru lowered her head and stepped away from him. Aoshi looked down at her questioningly, his hands resting gently on her waist.

Kaoru's lips began to part as she stared up at Aoshi, an odd but strangely mesmerizing expression in her eyes. She pressed her lips back together and without preamble reached up and tugged Aoshi's collar, causing his head to lurch down at hers.

Their lips were inches apart. Kaoru's eyes bore into his, waiting to see if Aoshi would take the bait or shrug it off. Without hesitation, Aoshi closed his eyes and pressed his lips against hers as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Kaoru yielded to the gentle but longing kiss, her own blue eyes closing and her hand creeping up to rest flat against his chest. She couldn't explain it, but after Momoru's unwelcome attack earlier that day, she couldn't stop her desire to feel a proper kiss again. One that filled her with love like Aoshi was currently doing.

Her whole chest seemed to expand as a wonderful feeling came over her. Their first kiss, months ago, had been one of hope, and now it was the same. Only this was more intimate. As much as Kaoru cherished their first kiss, she had a feeling that this was the one she would always remember.

Only when Kaoru began to deepen the kiss did Aoshi pull back. In Kaoru's experience (well, okay, from what Megumi told her) women were the ones that held off, leaving their men wanting more.

Kaoru stared up at Aoshi, searching his eyes. He seemed to be in an ultimatum with himself. Seconds, but it felt like hours later, Aoshi lowered his lips back to Kaoru's, kissing her very softly but with enough emotion to knock the wind out of her. But as he delicately kissed her again, Kaoru understood.

He wanted more from her, there was no doubt. But for whatever reason, it wasn't the time.

They separated again and Kaoru felt like her body had been lifted clear off the Earth and she was now stretching toward the skies. A soft, almost inaudible sigh escaped her lips as Aoshi wrapped a warm arm around her shoulders. She leaned against him, laying her head on his shoulder lovingly.

He opened the door and together they walked inside. Both of them were ready to drift to sleep the rest of the night with blissful dreams.


A/N: This is what we call a mad-dash to add more fluff in before it's too late.

Here's a kiss count to keep the feeling going. This includes all fics in this series:

Soujiro/Misao: 2 kisses

Aoshi/Kaoru: 3

Sano/Megumi: 2 "on-screen," many more off! (These two are the only ones who have done "the deed")

Naruku/Kenshin: 0 kisses! whoops. They lose!

Just for a couple more statistics: I am averaging 15.25 reviews per chapter. That is definitely a very good thing. Thank you so much!

Also, just in case this freaks anyone out, I have submitted a total of 1,060 signed reviews. Is that a lot, do you think?

Q: Would Momoru have…er, gone further had Kaoru not managed to stop him?

A: Probably. The man's very despicable, isn't he? But I think Kaoru's just too damn kick-ass for the likes of him. 8)

The main point of this chapter was to get rid of Momoru. But also in such a way that would exhibit one of my number one points about Aoshi and Kaoru. This was discussed in detail on the MeijiTales Forum (Topic: Aoshi and Kaoru). But basically, it's the fact that Aoshi would not be stifling to Kaoru. He would be able to protect her in his own way without being overprotective. And that, I think, is very important with someone like Kaoru.

Zioncross: I guess we don't really realize how good at playing dumb Soujiro can be. I mean, he did it that time in Kyoto, remember? He's very good at keeping secrets from even his own comrades! Wow, I'm glad you got that perception from Kenshin (concerning Yahiko.) Because otherwise I would feel pressured to have Kenshin confront him. I think Yahiko hasn't said anything else because he believes it's in Kenshin's hands now. Naruku's really strong to say something like what? Anyway, I'm glad you like her. I obviously do too. :hides: Sorry! I told you Outa wasn't very important. It was just to get Megumi an apprentice and for Sano to have some family in Tokyo. Important for next fic, I swear!

Erica Mandarine and Another Baka: Thanks, guys! I'm glad you like it.

Love in War: I think this is pretty "as soon as possible" don't you think. Yeah, Sou is acting very odd. More of him next chapter!

10 Question Marks: No, I don't. Sorry. Thanks, though!

Smiling Blue-Clad Wanderer's Obsessor: I'm glad you think Aoshi and Kaoru fit well together. Especially since this whole chapter was Aoshi/Kaoru…

One and Only: I'm glad you are liking this. Misao's pretty strong, so I'm sure she could stand to have her heart stomped on a few more times…kidding, kidding! You're right, Kenshin did stop her.

Cathy Mark: Sorry! The SouMi happiness isn't going to last a whole lot longer…eheh…anyway, hope you liked the AK in this chapter. Kaoru's just so damn cool.

Leona Westley: Let me tell you a secret—I think Enizu is a bastard too! Wow. I'm glad you hate him. You're supposed to. (I wonder if you think Momoru is "vile" now, too?) The SouMi is going to get very dramatic, so it may be too late already…but it's all good.

Seta Misao: I know. Yahiko's obviously under a lot of stress. I was really happy to see that you noticed the whole Soujiro-didn't-kill-the-caterpillar and realized what it meant. Kudos! Megumi should be okay…I think she'll appear the chapter after next.

Also, thanks to Kei-san who is slowly but surely making her way through Walking on Mirrors and Entropy's Forsaken Crusade. She, as well as many of you, has been very good to me. For that I thank you all!

I think most of you understand how truly delightful it is to recive reviews. It really can make my day, and I don't use that term lightly.

Important: this chapter was Kaoru/Aoshi. Next chapter will not have a lot of romance. It will be labeled as "Naruku/Kenshin" but it will remain under the character listing Kaoru/Aoshi.