Chapter Two, people....let's hope doesn't & it up again. (This was supposed to be up yesterday, but and/or my computer is completely retarded....I'm working on chap. 3, I've got up to chapter 7 planned out)

Reviewers- Hugs! You guys are awesome. The chapters should be getting a bit longer after this.

Ciao, bellas!

Queer as Kenshin

Kaoru paused in her sweeping, straightening her back and wiping sweat off of her brow. It was almost summer, and the sun seemed to be getting hotter. Or perhaps it's just the exertion, she thought to herself. Mentally shrugging her kimono-clad shoulders, she returned to her chores, if not with gusto, then with at least enough enthusiasm to see them finished. After sweeping, she got out wax and polished the floor of the deck.

Finished, she stood back to admire her work. Straightening her pale green kimono, she stood in the middle of the courtyard, impressed with her own handiwork. See, she told herself. Kenshin is not the only person in this household who can get work done.

With that thought, Kaoru looked up, pondering the whereabouts of everyone's favorite rurouni. He wasn't in the yard with her, doing laundry, and there were no sounds or smells coming from the kitchen area. Besides, they had just had lunch an hour ago, it was way too early to start dinner, especially these days, as the days were getting longer, and night fell later. The residents of the Kamiya dojo tended to spend more time than usual outdoors, practicing, or in Kaoru and Yahiko's cases, arguing, before retiring to dinner and bed.

Kaoru stretched, enjoying the feel of the warm sun browning what little skin she showed. She turned her face upwards and closed her blue eyes, and let her mind drift for a moment. Days like these, with friends close at hand and good times seemingly around the corner, she felt a weight lift from her, as if she had regressed back to her childhood days of simple cares. Shrugging off her thoughts, she turned and headed towards the bath house, wondering if perhaps Kenshin was preparing himself, or better yet, her, a bath.

Squealing in anticipation, Kaoru broke into a run, jogging towards the bath house in the early afternoon heat. Crossing to the side where the fire was kept, she noticed that it had burned down, and no new logs were replacing it. All that remained in the fire pit were ashes, slightly gray and muddy from the rain that had fallen during the wee hours of the morning.

"Hmmph," Kaoru pouted, placing her right hand on her hip. It looked like he wasn't here either. And so much for the bath. But what on earth could he be doing? Ruminating on his strange behavior, Kaoru entered the house.

"Kenshin!" she called. No answer.

"Oh, Kenshin, where are you?" Again, her only answer was the echo of her own voice from the wooden walls and rice paper screens.

"OI! KENSHIN!" At this point Kaoru was getting quite angry, her face grew red and drew into a scowl. She began to stomp towards his room, then paused in mid-step.

Wait a second. Yahiko went to town to work at the Akabeko today. Kenshin must have followed, perhaps he was buying something in the market.

With that thought, Kaoru squealed and ran excitedly to her room, wondering if perhaps Kenshin was purchasing a present for her at that very moment. But I don't have anything to give him, she thought sadly.

Sighing, she sat back for a moment, considering her options. Nothing came to mind, and her thoughts progressed to those of the rurouni himself, wandering quietly around the marketplace.

She pictured his smile, his flowing red hair that seemed like nothing but tamed licks of flame, the soft skin of his face. She paused when picturing his worn out pink gi, and decided to let it go. Continuing, she let her mind's eye sweep over his white pants, and pink socks...wait a second, pink socks?

Kaoru tried to picture Kenshin more closely in her mind. Maybe his socks are white...no, no, they're definitely pink. But why would he color coordinate his socks with his gi? That's so, well, girly. What strange behavior. Feeling uneasy, Kaoru shifted about. She struggled within herself to understand what color-coordinating might imply for a man. Trying to ease her mind, she decided that she would have to convince herself once and for all that his socks, were, in fact, white, and not pink as she had thought. She must have been mistaken.

Standing up with determination, Kaoru resolved to look through Kenshin's clothes while he was out. She paused at her door, trying to shake the residuals of guilt that kept trying to cling to her conscience. It's not like I'm snooping, she argued. It's only his socks. Besides, I'm not taking anything or looking at something personal. If I get caught, I'll just tell him...well, I'll tell him something.

With renewed vigor, Kaoru shut her door firmly and paced down the hall to Kenshin's room, reaching it all too quickly. Pulling herself up straight, she opened his door and stepped inside, only to stand, gaping, unable to move at what she saw.

"K...K..Ken..shin?" she managed to question.

"Oh! Miss Kaoru. I did not hear you, that I did not," Kenshin replied, smiling his sunny, oblivious smile, impervious to her stare.

"What...are you doing?" She forced herself to spit out.

"Oh, that, well...I'm brushing my hair. You see, it gets very knotty, that it does, from all of the tasks I do around the dojo."

"But why, um, why do you have it in pigtails?!"

In truth, Kenshin's hair actually was in pigtails, one secured on the left side of his head, another on the right. His red locks framed his heart-shaped face, giving him the appearance of a pixie. The entire effect, combined with his pink gi, and his socks; which were, in fact, pink as well, caused him to look like a little girl dressing up for a playdate.

Kaoru's eyes almost fell out of her head.

"Oh, that, ehehe," Kenshin replied, shifting uncomfortably, and not meeting Kaoru's eye. He fiddled with his white pants for a moment before continuing. "Tying it this way allows me to brush all of my hair, including the part that normally would hang over my back, without pulling painfully at the roots when I catch the brush on a snag."

"Oh," Kaoru replied thoughtfully, trying to accommodate the new information into her view of Kenshin. I suppose that makes sense. It does hurt something fierce when I brush my hair and catch a snag. Especially with that large, hard bristled brush...

"KENSHIN! What are you doing with my hairbrush?!"

"Ehehe, well, this unworthy one broke his own brush, that he did, and thought, that well, you had so many, you wouldn't mind missing one for a little while."

"But you took it without my permission!" Kaoru sighed, exasperated. "Next thing I know, you'll be sneaking in my room, stealing my make up!" She paused, looking at him suspiciously.

Luminous purple eyes stared fixedly at the wall, and Kenshin smiled his foolish rurouni grin up at Kaoru, pretending he hadn't heard.