Chapter 3: The Masqueraded

There they were. The moment had finally arrived, and she couldn't believe it.

Kenshin stood with Yahiko next to him. Sano was standing behind them along with Megumi. Yahiko's eyes were downcast. Sanosuke and Megumi were mumbling to each other, most likely about the dreadful subject.

Then… There was him. Kenshin was staring right at her, a pained look on his face. "Maa… Kaoru-dono," He said, barely above a whisper, though it didn't have his soothing smile along with it this time. "Sessha… He…"

Yahiko sniffled, not looking up. He really was no man by standards, but by Kaoru's thoughts, he had been the very bravest of all of them.

"Kenshin…" Kaoru said, stepping in front of him. "I…"

They stared each other down for a few moments, and finally, she just threw her arms around him and whimpered, "Say… Sayonara… Kenshin…"

"Say… Sayonara… Kaoru-dono… Sessha… will miss you."

"Hey," Yahiko said, and she turned towards him. He gave her a light squeeze, not looking at her, and not smiling. "While were gone, perfect that cooking technique of yours so we won't be poisoned when we get back, busu."

Normally, a comment like that would have sent her into a screaming fit of rage, but the tone of his voice seemed so lost and confused, and if anything, he was trying to make himself feel better.

"Yeah, Jou-chan! We want a fantastic feast when we return, and it's up to you," Sanosuke said, giving her a kind smile, the sort that he hardly ever wore, if ever.

She hung her head. "Good luck… to all of you… May your journeys be safe and short…" She looked in Kenshin's direction. "…and may you all come back unharmed…"

"Domo Arigatou… Kaoru-dono," Kenshin said. "Sayonara."

"Sayonara," Sanosuke, Megumi, and Yahiko all said in a low-toned, solemn unison.

"Sayo…nara…." She whispered as they exited the dojo's gate, quite possibly… for the last time.

She stood there, watching them fade farther into the distance as they headed for Tokyo. There in the town would all the men meet and be given their orders, then be swept away from their loved ones, maybe forever.

She dropped to her knees and silently sobbed, staring at their small forms as they finally disappeared. What she wouldn't give to hear Yahiko say "fooled you!" and have all of them run back towards her, laughing, while Kenshin scooped her up in his arms and explained how he'd tried to stop them.

A dim-witted thought, she believed. Her friends wouldn't stoop that low. She stared at the hand that Kenshin had held so gently with his callused fingers and wrapped so tenderly with not only his handkerchief, but his love. She shut her eyes in desperation and ripped it off. It hurt too much to look at.

"What do I do, Mother and Father?" She whimpered. "I can't let this go on… I know I'm a spoiled little girl, but I'm not asking much… I just want to make sure that my family is okay…"

She could hear policemen on horses riding down the streets, telling the men to start gathering their belongings. All must be in the town square within the hour or they would be dragged from their homes.

"Why couldn't I have been born a boy…?" She whispered, sitting and hugging her knees, burying her face within them.

Moments later, she rose her head, eyes wide with resolve. Her mind was spinning with the idea. Surely, it was crazy but… Well, at this point, no one was there to care if she lost her mind. Besides, it could work. Crazier plans had to have worked, right?

Standing and bolting into the dojo, she started rolling it over in her mind. She would disguise herself as a man and join the war, and then she'd be able to protect her family and keep Kenshin as the bumbling rurouni he had always been! She wouldn't have to spend her life alone! Surely she had to make some sacrifices, but no sacrifice was greater than her family! Either way, it was worth a shot, and what could they do if they found out?

She slammed the door of her father and mother's room open, a room that hadn't been used since they died. She knew that there had to be the clothing she would need in there.

She dug through the drawers, only to find that some were eaten up by moths, and the rest were grimy and dusty. Grimacing, she grabbed the garments that seemed to have the least filth on them and tossed them into the washing bin. She'd let them soak for a few minutes while she continued with her ensemble. After all, she only had an hour.

Bursting into her kitchen area, she found the first aid kit and began looking for anything she could use. In the end, she removed a roll of cloth bandages. They would be handy, definitely. She placed the roll around her wrist as to not lose it and turned towards the mirror.

No, she wasn't ready to do that yet, she decided, and then headed out to wash her 'new clothes'.

The clothing was still nasty, but with much effort and several minutes of scrubbing, she managed to make them clean and perfect, hanging the black hakama and light blue gi out on the line. Luckily it was a warm day, and they hopefully wouldn't take long to dry.

Standing inside, she looked deep into her mirror, trembling slightly. It was now or never. She entered the kitchen once more, but this time, she lifted up the sharpest knife that she owned. It was used to cut vegetables and meat, but she often found Kenshin sharpening it, probably lost in the days of the revolution.

She stood in front of the mirror and lifted her ponytail up a ways. "Everyone will recognize me… if I keep this…" She muttered, shutting her eyes tight and swiping it through.

As her saddphire eyes fluttered open, and her hand loosened its grip, she watched as long, perfect strands floated to the floor. She shut her eyes, trying not to think about itand nipped off the two chunks that hung in front of her ears. As she opened her eyes and slowly came to acceptance about the beautiful tresses were at her feet, her eyes welled up with tears.

Hair wasn't too important, and compared to losing her family, it was quite trivial, but… It was her mother's most prized possession. She'd grown it out because her mother loved nothing more than to brush it, to run her fingers through it, to put it in all different styles. Even though she was gone, it still broke her heart.

"Please forgive me," She said. "I can no longer be selfish."

Looking into the mirror, she saw before her, not a lovely young woman, but a boy. Her hair was short and somewhat messy, and was an easy foolery. She hardly even recognized herself for a moment. Funny how a hair cut could completely change a person.

She walked out onto the porch and stared at the clothing. It wouldn't be long before they were dry.

Busying herself with a bit of clean-up was enough time to get them to dry. She only had ten minutes left before she needed to be there.

She dropped her clothing, obi, kimono, and all until she was standing with nothing covered except for her place. She unwound the cloth bandages and slowly and accurately began to wind them around her breasts, flattening them to pull off the part of a man. It was tedious and uncomfortable, but it had to be done should her costume be pulled off correctly. She did it as quickly as possible and managed to finish with seven minutes left.

She quickly threw on the clothing, slipped on some socks, and put on her father's shoes. It was now time for this woman to become a man.

Grabbing her small pack of essentials, she took off in the direction of the town. "I'll be strong, Mom and Dad… I promise I won't let you down or dishonor you… I… promise…"

-and thus, Kamiya Kaoru was missing in action.

-

As she arrived in town, right on time, she saw many gathered around in a crowd. Some women were screaming as they were pulled away from their beloved husbands, brothers, or sons. It was depressing, and she couldn't say that she hadn't been in the same boat an hour ago. Right now though, she couldn't help but beam with pride. She'd managed to do the impossible and become someone else within an hour's time. How good was she!

It was only as she entered the crowd and found herself surrounded in the sea of males that she began to feel like the black sheep. They all seemed so much taller, more muscular, more… manly. Maybe her disguise wasn't so good after all.

What if she was more obvious than she thought? They'd surely make her stay behind, and her family would never let her live it down… that is, if they even came back.

"No, no, I can't think of those things," She told herself. "I can do this… I can do this…. I can-"

BAM! Her face collided with something as strong and as hard as a rock. She rammed into it so fast that the force dropped her onto her bottom. "Ow…" She muttered.

"Little brat! Go back to your mommy!" A gruff voice yelled.

She looked up to see a man that had to be at least a foot taller than her and twice as wide because of his muscle. His eyes were steely and sinister, and his matted black hair made him look like a wild man, straight from the woods. He was quite far from attractive (though she couldn't say she hadn't seen worse), making her wince a little.

The crowd around him was laughing.

"What, did you get lost in the crowd, little boy?" He mocked.

She smirked proudly. It wasn't as if she hadn't dealt with muscle-heads like this before, and besides… he'd called her a little boy! Normally, that would've been an insult to men, but she wasn't, but she WAS passing herself off as one!

"I'm here…" She said, then coughed, lowering her voice. "I'm here because I was told to be by the government."

"Poor little boy had to be forced into it, eh? I came all the way from Kyoto just to take part!" The muscle-head laughed proudly, and his group of equally muscular and equally ugly men joined in.

"Woopty-frickin-ding-dong," She said, rolling her eyes. "So you like to show off your muscles. So what? I bet…" She realized that to be passed off as a man, she had to act tough and show her stamina, like Sanosuke. This was the way men became friends! "I bet you still have to pay for your women, and even then they'd rather go with a cheaper customer than suffer through those two seconds."

"OOH!" The men behind her chanted, obviously listening in. The muscle-head didn't look pleased. She crossed her arms and smirked even more widely.

"You little horror. You want me to take this blade and kill you!" He threatened.

"Nah, just looking at you is doing it for me," Kaoru said, not losing her confidence.

"You think you're so tough because you talk trash-"

"-and you-" She interrupted, "think you're so tough because your arms are the size of cannons. Who cares? In the end, I bet the smallest, skinniest guy of the bunch can out-drink you, you wuss."

The man grabbed her by the front of her shirt and lifted her into the air. "You got something to say to me? Then say it to my face!"

"Then put me down, turn around, and bend over," She responded, squinting at him with the toughest look she could muster. This was easy. Trash talking was simple.

The man threw her to the ground, and she yelped out when her back collided with the hard earth.

"It's too bad you don't have a weapon, eh, little boy?" The man said, drawing his blade. "Not that you could put up a fight against me."

She was unable to speak, terrified. Maybe she needed to do some more research on trash talking. This was apparently NOT how men made friends.

"Not talking so tough now, are you boy?" The man smirked, enjoying her paling face. "You shouldn't act like that. Jeez…" He kicked her a bit. "You're a skinny little stick. Plus you have that washed and prettied hair and pale skin tone. Why don't you just put on a kimono and call yourself a WENCH!"

It was better not to say anything about her being in a kimono an hour ago with even longer prettied hair and without dirt on her face. She was a girl… but she was no wench.

"Son of a bitch!" She yelled, getting up, ready to fight him to the death with her hands alone, but her wrists were grabbed, holding her back.

"That's enough… both of you…" A familiar voice said in her ear.

"Look at that, boys. He's even got manicured nails," The man joked.

"I said…" The voice said, more threateningly. "That's… enough."

The crowd silenced for a moment until a wave of whispers erupted from them, all talking about this man.

She slowly turned her head to see, even though she knew who it was.

"You…" One of the men in the crowd said. "You're Himura Battousai!"

"Kenshin," She whispered so quietly that she wasn't even sure if she actually said it or thought really loudly.

He released her wrists and looked into her eyes. "Are you all right?"

"Ye-" She caught herself and lowered her voice. "Yeah."

Kenshin gave a disgusted scowl at the muscle-head. "Go off somewhere and behave yourself or something."

The man glared at him and marched off, his little cronies following.

"You shouldn't get into fights like that. It's the worst thing to do, make enemies with the ones who will be sleeping in the same place."

"I'm sorry…" She muttered, blushing in humiliation.

"Don't apologize to sessha. You didn't insult him. It's probably best if you don't say anything at all to that man."

"I'd rather not get near him anyways," Kaoru muttered. "Thank you---"

"Himura."

"Is there a first name with that?" Of course she knew it, but she had to pretend.

"It's Kenshin. This one's name is Kenshin, but you'll be referring to me as Himura or sir, understood?"

"Y-yes… sir…" She said, somewhat surprised. Kenshin really didn't seem to be the type to like being called sir, though she had heard people call him Himura or Himura-san before. She only hoped she wouldn't slip up and call him Kenshin for fear of what they might do. Honestly though, it couldn't be too bad.