Attitude Adjustment

Kyochi threw his lamp across the room when his father walked in. He was out of control. His father tried to calm him in vain. He had to call some guards to restrain him. When he cooled down, his father asked him what was wrong. Kyochi handed him the letter and he read it out loud.

"We have captured your beloved Kaoru Kamiya (1) and intend to keep her alive for the time being. If you ever want to see her alive, you will give up the city of Edo to the Meji army and leave. We will allow you to decide for two months. Send up a red and blue flair before you leave, and you will meet your love on the banks of the Edo River. If you do not leave the city, we will send you Miss Kamiya's head in a box. It is your choice. Captain Katsura." Kyochi growled at the message. "They must be insane if they think I would order my forces to abandon Edo. I would never…"

"Tell your troops to pack up," Kyochi ordered. "I want to leave in the morning."

"But we can't," his father argued. "If we let them take Edo, then they could easily win the war."

"I don't care! I want my wife back!" Kyochi's father grabbed his son's shoulder.

"I will not let my city be taken by these rebels. You will have to go without her for now." His son kicked at a chair. "I know it is hard, but you have to keep a cool head if you ever want to be the shogun. You must look at all your options carefully. I will send my troops out to search for her. If we don't find her in two months, we will leave Edo. Can you wait till then?"

"I suppose. Thank you, father." His father left him to himself. How could he just stand there while his Kaoru was being held hostage? What if they were torturing her for information about the shogun's army? He might have to deal with her when she got back.

Kaoru woke up in her cell. She could smell fresh miso soup and rice balls. She sat at a table and ate greedily. She hadn't eaten since her father died, except for the small piece of bread that Kenshin had given her. After she finished, she noticed a package on the ground next to the door. She opened it up and gasped. It was a beautiful light purple kimono with a brilliant red obi. There was also a red ribbon for her hair to match (2).

When she took her shirt off, she looked at her bandages. They were fresh. She didn't care who changed them. The only thing that mattered was that the pain was gone. She threw off her torn purple kimono and tried the new one on. It was a perfect fit. The obi was the exact length and she used the ribbon to tie her hair into a high ponytail. But for some reason, she took it out and tied her hair into a low ponytail, leaving one strand of hair on each side of her face dangle in front of her ears. She decided that since she was going to stay here that she should try something new.

Kenshin walked up to the door and greeted her. "Good morning, Miss Kaoru." His voice trailed off when she turned around. She looked so beautiful in the blue kimono. The color brought out her dark blue eyes and made her pale complexion look more delicate. The thing that he noticed the most was the way she wore her hair, a low ponytail with two stands of hair hanging loose. That's how Tomoe had always worn her hair.

"What are you staring at? Is there something on my face?" she asked.

"No. I see you have tried on the kimono that I bought. Katsura wants to see you." He unlocked the door and let her walk out. She noticed that Shishio was standing against the wall.

"Hey, cutie," he said teasingly. Kaoru ignored him as they led her down the long corridors. Kenshin kept trying to bring her into conversation, but she simply gave him an answer and then looked away.

"How's you stomach wound?" he asked.

"It's fine," she answered back.

"Did you have a good night's sleep?"

"Yes." She walked ahead of them a couple of feet. Shishio finally addressed his partner.

"Give it a rest, Kenshin. I'm sure she doesn't want to talk to you since you…you know." Shishio was right, Kenshin thought. She had watched him kill her father and then taken her prisoner. It would be a while before she would talk to him if she ever did. He couldn't get her off his mind. She was so beautiful, but she also warmed his heart. He promised himself that he would never love again. Then why was he acting like this?

They finally reached Katsura's office. Kaoru bowed to him politely. She figured if she wanted to stay alive, she should probably treat them with respect. Katsura smiled at her courteousness. He then caught Kenshin sneaking a look at her. He was definitely blushing. But then Katsura looked at Kaoru. She didn't glance at the red-haired samurai once. It was as if she and Katsura were having a staring contest. He decided to break the silence.

"I have just sent the shogun a message about your capture. If he fulfills or requests, we will return you to him unharmed."

"And what would those requests be?" Kaoru asked.

"He and his forces are to leave Edo and allow us to control it within two months. You will then meet him on the banks of the Edo River."

"I am not sure that you will be able to return me. If I know the shogun, he will not be scared so easily." Katsura smiled at the comment.

"The shogun's son is a spoiled brat. His father gives him whatever he wants. If I know the shogun, which I do, and if his son loves you, he will leave Edo as soon as possible. Then you can go to your fiancé and marry him."

"I am not sure I want to return to him," Kaoru protested.

"How dare you speak to Katsura like that!" Shiro scolded. "It doesn't really matter what you want. If I had it my way, we would be sending the shogun your head on a steak to show him that we will stop at nothing to overthrow him!" Kaoru started shaking at the harsh words but kept a firm face. She didn't want to, no, she wouldn't to give them the pleasure of seeing her terrified. She would hold her ground until the shogun's army pillaged the fortress and saved her. She could only pray that they kept her alive long enough.

"As I said before, we will not harm you as long as you behave. If you do what we tell you to do and keep up you courteousness, you will be treated well. I suppose that you need to exercise. You'll probably get aggravated if we make you sit in that jail cell. I will allow you to walk around the prison as long as Kenshin or Shishio are with you. Just remember, don't try anything you'll regret. Kicking one of them in the groin will not prevent them from hurting you. You may go." Kaoru bowed again and left the room, Kenshin hot on her heals.

Kaoru wished she could be alone, but she was stuck with this stupid samurai. She was getting pissed because he kept making passionate glances at her. Now he was following her. She finally exploded in the grand hall in the mansion above the prison.

"Why are you doing this?" she yelled.

"I was ordered to watch you," he answered nicely.

"Yes, you were ordered to watch me, not stalk me! Ever since yesterday, all you have been doing is gaping at me! It's getting really annoying."

"I'm sorry you feel that way," he said trying to keep his cool. He wasn't exactly happy about the situation either.

"Well I'm sorry that you are such an idiot! I'm sick of being here! I'm sick of being told what to do! And I'm sick of you!" Kenshin couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed Kaoru by the wrist and held her up. "What are you doing?" He then drew his sword. Kaoru's eyes became wide in terror.

"You need an attitude adjustment," he said as he put her over his knee. He then took the dull side of his sword and started spanking her. With each swing he said one word. And with each swing, she would let out a yelp of pain. He didn't care. He wanted her respect, and that's what he would get.

"You…need…to…stop…acting…like…a…child…and…start…acting…like…a…lady." He finally let go of her. She stared back at him with tears in her eyes. She hadn't been spanked since she was five. "Are you ready to act your age?" he asked as he sheathed his sword. Kaoru knew he was right.

"I'm sorry," she said with a bow. "You are right. I shouldn't treat you like this. It's just…" She started crying again. "It gets hard, you know, when your father wants to marry you off to someone you don't love. Then all of this happens. You are thrown around like a rag doll without being able to say a word about it. It gets sickening." Kenshin walked to her and gave her a smile.

"I'm sorry about your father. If I had a choice, I would abandon this life of death and misery. But I have a promise to fulfill. If you need anything, anything at all, I am here for you." Kaoru gave him a gentle smile. She decided that this might not be too bad. She would try to forget what had happened in the last couple of days and try to make the best of things. She would try to treat the samurai with a little more respect. "We should go back, Miss Kaoru. It's almost time for dinner."

"If you wish, you can just call me Kaoru. I kind of hate being called Miss Kaoru. It makes me sound so formal." Kenshin laughed at the comment.

"Alright, Kaoru. If you wish, you may call me Kenshin. I do not like being called an idiot. It makes me sound so stupid." Kaoru laughed at the comment.

"Alright, Kenshin. So you're a samurai?"

"Yes, I use the Hiten Mitsurugi style. The basic of it is being able to predict an opponent's moves."

"Well, can you predict this?" Kaoru wound up and, to her surprise, landed her fist against his cheek. He fell backwards in surprise. Kaoru ran to his side and knelt down trying to get him up. "I'm so sorry! I thought you would dodge that!"

"That's ok. We should get back so I can put some ice on my face." Kaoru laughed and lifted him to his feet. They smiled and laughed all the way back to her cell. From that day on, Kenshin and Kaoru got along just fine.

There's a long one for you guys. Hope you liked it. Kaoru and Kenshin should start getting along a lot better now. I got more reviews and questions. For the first three chapters, I think I'm doing ok. Here are some more footnotes and reviews.

1. In Japan, they put the family name first and then the name of the person. For example, Kaoru Kamiya would actually be Kamiya Kaoru. I will keep it in American form, but I thought you ought to know.

2. Tomoe does have similar clothing to the ones that Kenshin gives Kaoru, although I think she use a white ribbon instead of a red one. I thought I would make the connection a little stronger.

Paige: Why don't I write the whole thing? Believe me. I expect this story to be pretty long, about ten to fifteen chapters. It was going to be in one shot, but it got too long. That means if I wrote it all in one shot, it would be about forty-five pages long.

Larie-chan: Sorry if I didn't have the clothing right. Didn't they tuck their shirts into the bottom half of the kimono and use an obi to cover the crease? The kimono was probably a one-piece outfit, but I didn't want Kaoru to take her whole kimono. I should have probably waited with Kenshin telling Kaoru about her father. But now she knows that he was just doing his job and she won't hold much of a grudge. She's going to go around treating him like crap because of it, but not for long.

Anyways, thanks for all the reviews. If you have any questions at all, ask them and I'll answer.