Sweet Mistake

Miscalculation

A/N: I have a secret and I'm not gonna tell you…

Disclaimer: headdesk

On a late weekday evening, Magdaria watched as the last of her students filed out of the room, waving cheerfully and thanking her for the lesson. Magdaria smiled and nodded, feeling as if there was no other job in the world for her. As she organized the music area, her boss, Miss Gina, peaked her head in the doorway.

"Miss Magdaria?" she said enthusiastically. Magdaria turned.

"Hmm?" she responded a little dreamily.

"You're the last one here. Will you lock up?" Miss Gina asked. Magdaria nodded.

"Of course I will. See you tomorrow."

"Goodbye!"

The glass door slid shut and Magdaria heard the energetic dance teacher leave, start up her car, and pull away. Magdaria was alone. Then she had an idea- once it hit her, she couldn't ignore it. Setting her bag down on the teacher's chair, she opened it and pulled out a cd and her worn canvas slippers. Once they were on, she dimmed the lights- this particular room had regular lighting and "stage" lighting, so that occasionally students could perform like they were on stage. She loved the stage lights, personally, and used them every chance she got. Now, the lights and the barre and the empty floor were calling her, and she hadn't danced, really danced, herself, since she was a student. Setting the cd in the cd player, she turned it on and walked over to the barre.

Magdaria began doing simple bar stretches and combinations as the soft music flowed in the empty studio. Unlike in a real class, she began to let her mind wander… she thought about her students, the dances she was choreographing, who should be sent to the Ballet Conservatory in Tokyo… and for some reason, her mind zeroed in on that vulgar man Sano as her feet went on auto-pilot into frappès.

Really, what nerve he had. To come in a refined studio dressed like a gangster with that ridiculous "bad" t-shirt… real men, like her brother, wore collared shirts. And then for some reason he had shown interest in her. She had seen it probably before he had, his interest. He had gone about it all wrong, she thought, her foot striking the floor particularly hard. She sighed, starting sur le cou de pied's, thinking that she was being too judgemental. It wasn't his fault, the way he was. She just wasn't used to people like him, and clearly he wasn't used to people like her. She laughed a little- Muto would not be pleased that she had agreed to see that brute for a date.

"Alright. So." Kenshin set his bokken in the correct hold, facing his student. Kaoru mimicked the stance and nodded. "I'm going to come at you with a set of varying attacks. After I try the one-handed thrust, for example, I want you to waste as little time as possible coming back at me with the one-handed thrust. We're testing the speed of your brain and the reactions of your body here- I want you to see the attack, recognize it, and hit me right back with it. I'll start off with more basic attacks, because this exercise is hard to get the hang of at first."

As he had said, Kenshin began with the one-handed thrust. He aimed towards her stomach, and she caught the blow easily with her own bokken, knocking his away with just enough time for her to return the thrust. She aimed for his shoulder and he knocked her bokken away, nodding.

"Yes," he said, pacing as he spoke, bokken ready. " Don't worry about landing hits just yet- remember, I know more or less what's coming. Just block and repeat."

Without warning, he flew at her with a reverse horizontal swing, which she blocked, and with some hesitation, returned.

"See, it gets hard." Kenshin said, smiling knowingly. They continued in this vein for awhile, and the attacks became more and more complicated, and Kaoru began having more and more trouble returning them in an appropriate amount of time. "Don't worry," Kenshin said, noticing Kaoru's frustration and scowling. "We're going to start over, starting the easy attacks and moving on up, but I'm going to use different attacks in a different order. See how much your timing improves the second time around." He sounded so cheerful, Kaoru couldn't help but agree even if the exercise was getting on her nerves. It took thought and concentration and effort, but not originality- Kaoru loved sparring, fighting Kenshin with no voice talking at her but her own. She had never beat him but she knew that someday she could… it was far, but she could see it.

The second time, the exercise went better. She felt her brain tuning itself to the pattern of see-block-repeat, and her hesitations were growing shorter. Satisfied, she smiled at Kenshin.

"Well, I'm not exactly an expert, but that felt better." She told him. Kenshin grinned, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

"Good," he said. "Now we're going to make you brain work hard in a completely different way- we're going to spar, and this time I'm not giving you your attacks." His grin was simply playful, knowing Kaoru loved this, and hers was devilish.

"You better watch out, Kenshin," she sang happily. "Someday I'm going to beat you!"

He laughed, setting his bokken for attack once more.

"I hope so, Miss Kaoru, that I do." He waited until she was in the proper stance, and they bowed. "Ladies first."

Surprised, Kaoru thought fast- Kenshin always made the first attack. But this was more fun. Seeming to burst from a standstill, she attempted the attack in which she leapt into the air to get the over-head advantage- Kenshin had taught her this especially because she was so small. Her bokken swung down towards his right shoulder, and he blocked it so firmly that she practically felt herself being pushed back towards her original spot. Before she had landed, Kenshin was coming at her with what looked like a regular diagonal slash- easy enough to block, she thought, catching the bulk of the attack with her bokken. As Kenshin pulled away she noted a smile of approval in his eyes, and she warmed slightly as she pulled the bokken up towards her ears and snaked it down to whack him on the side- he twisted easily, avoiding the blow, and advanced at her quickly with a side blow- she knew he used simple attacks on her because it was what her future opponents would use, because all the easy attacks required one to get close to their enemy, and Kaoru's size was always against her. Still- she brought her bokken up slowly across her body to protect her right side- it annoyed her that he didn't use something more- her eyes widened as she saw his weight shift to his right foot, and his bokken changed directions with blinding speed- in a desperate attempt to block, she swung her bokken up protectively. Both seemed surprised as his bokken collided with hers so violently that it was thrown from her hands. There was silence except for their heavy breathing and then, the loud noise of her bokken hitting the floor some 12 feet away.

They stared at each other for a few moments, catching their breaths.

"Excellent." Kenshin said finally. "But now you're-"

With a move that surprised even him, Kaoru came running at him. She leapt, so that her body was nearly horizontal to the ground, her feet aimed at him. Kenshin's eyes widened in surprise as he tensed his body for the hit, but she kicked hard instead the hand holding the bokken. She landed lightly behind him, and for the second time in those two minutes, they heard the loud clanking of a wooden bokken hitting the floor some distance away.

"-Unarmed?" she finished cheekily. She crouched, hands tight and arms prepared in front of her. Kenshin looked at her for a minute, grinned, and then got into position as well.

"You asked for it," he said light-heartedly. Kaoru grinned again- she had never had a training session that had been more fun. Moving stealthily towards him, she made the first move- a sharp blow intended for his face. Kenshin blocked the hit and returned one aimed toward her chest. Their nearness made her arms virtually useless, so she jumped back on her right leg, kicking her left leg up sharply in a hitch-kick to meet his blow. Kenshin nodded approvingly, and the two began a rapid exchange of blocks that went without pause like a well-choreographed dance. Kaoru's hair was beginning to fall out of her high ponytail in chunks, gracefully framing her rosy cheeks and getting in front of her eyes. Kenshin, who had quite long ago learned how to avoid hair becoming a problem, used this to advantage. Grabbing the arm that delivered a rather blind hit, he twisted it around her and pinned it to her back so that she was trapped. He heard her make a noise of pain, but she said nothing as she struggled against his hold. He grinned; as simple a move as it was, it was nearly impossible to get out of without hurting oneself. Kaoru knew this, of course- he had taught her himself. He could practically see her brain reeling inside her head, looking for a way out- and she found it. In a move that could've broken her wrist, she turned out away from him and grinned triumphantly.

"Good," he said, squeezing her wrist pointedly. "But not good enough." Looking down, Kaoru scowled and tried to yank her arm back to herself, but Kenshin refused to let go. She was still trapped. Kaoru had a fleeting image of herself running madly about the dojo with Kenshin oro-ing dizzily after her, but that didn't quite seem like the way to do it. However… smiling, Kaoru bent her knees and began turning back towards him. Before the confused Kenshin could react, she had pulled her leg up fast and hard as high as it would go from that position, and struck him squarely on the shoulder. Surprised, Kenshin reacted before he knew what he was doing, and rolled towards her to the floor, dragging her with him. He had luckily let go of her wrist as he did so, but now she was pinned awkwardly beneath him, his knee painfully resting on her hip. She let out a yell of pain- his knee had been on a nerve on her hip, and it had been excruciating for a moment or two- and he pulled back in surprise. Seeing her moment, Kaoru pounced, throwing all her weight towards his shoulders, and knocked him into his back on the floor. She grinned, pressing as much of her weight as possible into her hands resting on his shoulders and breathing heavily. Kenshin let the surprise leave his eyes- he had always known she was a creative fighter- and chuckled, before easily switching their positions.

Kaoru looked positively shocked to have been forced from the winning position, and scowled.

"You wouldn't teach me wrestling," she growled as an excuse. Kenshin laughed a little.

"Physics says its useless, Miss Kaoru," he explained. Kaoru glared at him and brought her hands up to the arms pinning her down by the shoulders and began to struggle. Kenshin shook his head, having little trouble to continue holding her down. They both knew she was fighting a losing battle, but Kaoru couldn't seem to admit defeat just yet. She squirmed beneath him, seeing if her legs were of any use to her from this position- no. She would have to rely on her upper body strength and her cunning alone. As she struggled, she thought frantically for a way-any way- to win this. Eventually her strength wore out, and her brain too had exhausted all possibilities. She had lost.

Kenshin watched her struggle, watching the fierce concentration on her face, and felt himself melt. Like any samurai warrior of the past, losing was not an option for Kaoru. She was so ferocious, so determined. She may not have been as skilled nor as talented men he had fought in the past, but her spirit shone so brightly that he closed his eyes for a moment.

Kaoru stopped scowling when she realized that Kenshin's eyes were closed. Was he okay, she wondered? He hadn't hurt himself or anything… or maybe he was mad at her… she watched his face intently for a sign. When his eyes finally opened, they did so slowly, revealing soft but intense purple eyes. For moments, they just stared at each other. She had never noticed the flecks of bright blue and the hidden streaks of dark gold in his eyes. She had never noticed his scent- well, she had noticed it, but hadn't ever taken the time to think about it. It was comforting and exciting at the same time, a mix of laundry detergent and fresh air and cooking and sandalwood. She inhaled, hoping he wouldn't notice, loving the strange but beautiful scent.

Kenshin, too, took notice of his companion as they both caught their breaths. He had always known- from the moment he saw her, actually- that she was beautiful. But until now he had distanced himself from her. He had been right to, he saw- now that he was this close, he wondered how he'd ever get away. There was something about her messy hair, flushed cheeks and eyes dancing with adrenaline…

The battle was long forgotten by now, and both Kenshin and Kaoru had relaxed. He moved his hands off her shoulders and put them on either side of her head, eyes never leaving hers. She watched in fascination as his eyes began to change, to shift…they changed slowly and beautifully from their usual lavender color to a deep blue several shades darker than her own…

Below him, he could feel her breathing. It was deep and relaxed but slightly held back- he looked to her mouth to see if it would tell him more about her air intake.

Deadly mistake. Once he saw them, he knew what he was going to do and there was no way to stop it- the tiniest drop of sweat had gathered in the small indent right above her top lip. Slowly and without warning, he bent over her and pressed his lips against hers. The kiss was amazingly soft- the humidity in the room must've had a hand in that, or maybe her lips were just always that soft.

Kaoru's eyes had fluttered shut automatically; the thought to stop him had never crossed her mind in the slightest. He was so gentle, she thought, sinking into the scent and feel of the man above her. For the moment they kissed, she felt her heart contract. It felt so good to kiss him that it almost hurt. She wondered what his heart was doing, and silently moved a hand up to his left breast to feel its heavy rhythm. Kenshin shifted his weight to his right hand and moved his left hand up to cover her own over his chest, caressing the back of her hand and pressing it into his skin.

Then, suddenly, he froze. It hit him- he had pinned Kaoru to the floor. He was straddling her hips in a way that no teacher should, and, worst of all- he was kissing her. Kaoru felt beneath her fingers the rhythm miss a beat, and Kenshin pulled away, looking horrified. The feeling was contagious, and Kaoru felt terror filling her stomach as she watched his eyes go back to an almost chilling shade of purple. He scrambled to get off of her- had the moment been less serious, Kaoru would've realized that she had never seen him so graceless before. He immediately stuck out his hand, offering Kaoru help up. He seemed panicked, and she certainly felt panic, but for more reasons than one. She took his hand nervously and let him pull her up. For a moment, they stared at each other, scared to death, until Kaoru realized she was still holding onto his hand. She started, pulling her hand back and blushing. Kenshin watched her for a moment, eyes glazed with emotions she couldn't see. Then he turned and gathered their bokkens, long forgotten, from the floor, and set them in their respective holds on the wall. Kaoru felt her heart beating painfully in her throat- a million times more painfully than when he had kissed. Had they done something wrong? Had she used her body unknowingly to get a reaction like that from him? Would he ever talk to her again? Did he regret it? She felt her heart nearly stop at the next thought- had he not meant it?

She felt her eyes fill involuntarily with tears as Kenshin set the bokkens up.

"I'm going to sleep in the apprentice's shack tonight," he said, voice strange. He was trying to sound normal, she could tell, like he slept outside of his own house regularly. She didn't trust herself to respond, and he hurried so quickly from the dojo that she expected that he hadn't wanted her to say anything.

'Oh, gods, what have I done?'

Oh, just the scent of you, it makes me hurt…

A/N: Wheeeeeeeeeeeeew. Gotta admit, that chapter contained some of my favorite things in the world- dance, action, and sexual tension. It was definitely fun to write, but took forever… hope it was up to par?

Thank You's:

Shikaku zetsumei – you have amazing foresight to have figured out something like that was gonna happen, but then again you can't just walk away from something and have it never show up again… don't worry, I won't forget Sano and Magdaria, they're my second favorite couple in the series! I can promise you now, though, she's not gonna die in my story. Thanks for reading!

Lynn-Minmay – I hope you like this chapter as much as you liked the rest of the story! Thanks so much for reading and taking the time to review!

Royal blueKitsune – I'm sorry I missed you! I could've sworn I wrote back, but I guess I forgot. I love every type of Kenshin, lol. You can't NOT love the guy. And I'd say he's been falling for her slowly for awhile… heh, hope this was the fluff you wished for! Thanks for reviewing!

ASKInfinity – The main focus of this story (clearly) is Kenshin and Kaoru, but you haven't seen the last of dear 'ol Akira yet. Drama is the best, I agree. Well, it ties with action and comedy. So basically I like everything. And yeah, the guest house seen was based a lot on the Jin-eh thing. Though I didn't really picture her attacker in spandex… he didn't quite have the body type for spandex, unfortunately. Speaking of spandex, dance! Lol. Yeah having one audition isn't cool. I messed up the audition to be on the school's team big time, but I don't think I would've liked it anyway. I hope you get to compete with your Irish dancing! My friend does it and has been since she was little, so I hear a lot about it. Its so different, but it looks so fun! I'm so excited to be taking at least 5.5 hours of dance a week this year- balancing school work will NOT be fun! But I'm taking 3 ballet classes, a jazz, and a lyrical. Although the ballet will most likely kill me… oh well. No, I've never seen that show, but I want to. Thanks for the long note ;)