Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or any of the characters (sighs)

(Squeals) I loved all of the wonderful reviews, thank you! This is the most I've gotten for one chapter ever! I'd love it if you reviewed again (Hint, Hint) (You really don't have to though)

Matters regarding last week's chapter: I know Misao was just a bit too bubbly but she will calm down a bit more now!

Thank you so much Anonymous but interested! I put your suggestion in here and I really appreciate the feedback!

Here it is! The chapter everyone's been waiting for!

Chapter 7:

Kenshin heard footsteps quickly coming towards him and he swerved around. He was expecting it to be one of Hiko's men coming to get him.

Instead he saw a petite woman in traveler's clothes with sweat plastered all over her small face and seeping into her long ebony hair. The woman stopped and gave him a strange look. It was like the look of someone trying to remember someone they hadn't seen in a long time.

Kenshin stared at the girl in front of him. Who was she? He was sure he had never seen the girl before, but something told him that he had maybe seen her in an alternate universe. There was something about her that was pulling on his mind.

'Who is this girl?'

Kaoru frowned. The man in front of her had fiery red hair that she had seen somewhere before, but she couldn't remember where. Also, something about his eyes slowly drew him to her like an age old enchantment.

As the two stood there, the threads of fate were twisting and the prophesy was about to start.

Sayo stood and looked through the window as she watched the King Hiko pace nervously in the courtyard.

Sixteen hours had passed and there was still no sign of the prince or princess.

She sighed. Katsu had gone with the rest of the armies' to search and she was left to dust the furniture. So many things had happened at the castle in the past few hours.

The prince was nowhere to be found and the same could be said about the princess.

When the King Kamiya was given the news, he collapsed.

The rest of the castle didn't question it because they all knew that he loved his daughter more than anyone else in the world. They all said he must have gone into shock from the loss of his daughter.

But Sayo was suspicious. He was a strong king and he might have been a little ill, but from what she had heard, he had never done anything close to this during the late Queen Kamiya's death.

There was something wrong about how he had collapsed that scared her too. When he had collapsed it looked more like he had eaten something bad instead of going through the grief of his daughter's disappearance.

All of this could have been a coincidence, but the really strange thing was Hiko's behavior. When he heard the news about Kenshin he seemed mildly disturbed, but he seemed to have know more then anyone else. When Kaoru left he was a little more on edge. But when King Kamiya collapsed, he got more jumpy and it appeared like he lost all control of the situation.

Sayo had a feeling that someone was planning this; someone evil. But Sayo couldn't say anything. She knew that if she did she might end up like the king. But maybe she could talk to Katsu about this. She stopped looking out the window and continued doing her work.

After what seemed like hours of uncomfortable silence, Kaoru finally spoke up.

"Did a horse just go by here?"

Kenshin had been so sure that she was a mute that he was really startled when he heard the girl speak. "What?"

Kaoru was not in the mood to deal with this. She was hungry and tired and that horse could have been a quick and easy trip to the Aoiya. "You know, a horse! That animal people ride to get places! I know the horse must have run past you! Don't lie to me!"

The whole time Kaoru was stepping closer and closer to Kenshin's face. The closer Kaoru stepped the more Kenshin backed up and he eventually ran into a tree.

Kenshin was cornered and he finally answered, "There was a brother and a sister who used the horse to go to the nearest town ten minutes ago. I gave them my horse!" He didn't want her to touch him. This woman really scared him.

The girl's face scrunched up and she glared at him. She looked like she was about to sock him but she just screamed and stomped her left foot.

At this point Kaoru didn't care if she impressed this stranger or not. In her whole life she had never cared about anyone's opinions and she didn't see why she had to start now.

"Damn it to hell! If I could have gotten on that horse and I might have been able to get some food! But no! I had to give my horse to Misao and I had to walk for twenty damn miles to the damn Aoiya! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"

Kenshin's eyes grew wide, 'Is this what all women outside of the castle are like? Is Tsubame going to grow up to be like this? Am I going to survive this outside world?'

Kaoru was thinking and suddenly thought rashly that, if she could outrun the horse, she could catch the people and ride along with them. Kaoru wasn't thinking clearly and was totally being driven by the prospect of food so she left Kenshin and ran down the road as quickly as she could.

Kenshin watched this insane girl run off. He closed his eyes and shook his head and thought that he would never see her again until he heard a sharp yelp of pain.

He quickly opened his eyes and ran to the girl who was now on the ground clutching her ankle to her chest. She seemed to have tripped on a loose root in front of her.

Kenshin kneeled close to the girl and gently whispered, "Let me see it."

"I can take care of myself!" She snapped.

Kenshin didn't listen and took her right leg into his arms.

She flinched as he poked around. She didn't speak for a while and started to notice that this mystery man was kind of cute. But her pride got in the way and she would never admit to it.

His piercing eyes looked up at her and he simply said, "It's not broken."

"Oh, well I guess I can go then," she attempted to get up but he gently pulled her down.

"No, it's still badly sprained."

"Well what do I do then?" Kaoru huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest because she wasn't very patient.

'This girl is impossible!' Kenshin thought as he gazed at the girl with the challenging and fierce look.

"Get on me."

Kaoru's face turned ten shades of red. "What the hell are you suggesting?"

Kenshin realized what she was thinking and his face turned the same color. "No! I don't mean that! I mean get on my back and I'll take you to wherever you want!"

Kaoru was on guard, "Why would you do that?"

Kenshin sighed, "Do you really have any other choice?"

She closed her eyes and thought for a while and finally replied, "Fine!"

Kenshin pulled off his pack and kneeled in front of her and she climbed onto his back. He stood up picked up his pack in his hands and started walking.

A few seconds later Kaoru's stomach gave a ferocious growl and Kenshin had to try to hold in a chuckle. 'So this is why she's in such a foul mood.'

"Are you hungry?" He asked as he turned his head over his shoulder to look at her.

"You think?" she snapped.

"You could have asked me for food to begin with. I have food with me."

Kaoru's eyes widened and she frantically asked, "Could I please have some?"

Kenshin raised his eyebrows. Her personality had changed so quickly in a matter of seconds. He lowered her to the ground and let Kaoru get off. He reached into his bag and pulled out a big old piece of bread and he handed it to her.

Kaoru quickly grabbed for it and started to chomp on it. When she finished it she sighed and looked up at Kenshin.

She blushed, "I'm really sorry for the way I treated you before. Will you forgive me?"

Kenshin smiled, "Only if you tell me your name."

"It's Kaoru Kam…" She hesitated. She couldn't tell him her full name. "It's Kaoru. What's yours?"

Kenshin had had the same thoughts, "Its Kenshin."

"Kenshin, nice to meet you," She smiled.

It was the beginning of a wonderful friendship. And it was the beginning of a friendship that might grow into something else.

"The plan is progressing nicely isn't it, Yumi?" A man covered in bandages asked the woman who was sitting on his lap in a slightly skimpy dress.

"Of course it is, Lord Shishio." She said in a dark sultry voice.

They sat in a dark room in the Azuna castle with only a candle to shed light.

"But really, I must thank the gods of fate for a lot of this success. After all, the plan works so much better since the prince and princess have decided to leave us alone on their own free will. Those foolish children didn't even know that, because they left, their precious countries will be completely controlled by me!"

His sinister laugh filled the dark room and the candle blew out.

Kenshin and Kaoru where back on the road and were having light conversations on how beautiful the day was and talking about the latest political issues.

Kenshin knew that if the princess he had been proposed to would have been anything like this, he would never have left.

Kaoru was really passionate about her views on how the kingdoms should help the poor. She spoke her mind and she didn't care what other people thought of her. The whole situation was kind of ironic though because the girls name was the same as the princess he had left. He was positive that it was just a coincidence though.

Kaoru was having similar thoughts on Kenshin. He was so genuine and caring. If only the prince she was engaged to was like this. But something bugged her. She could have sworn she had seen his hair before and she knew that she had heard his name before, but she didn't know where.

The whole time Kaoru was also wondering where this perfect man could have come from. She wanted to ask him and didn't want to ask him at the same time because she knew that if she asked, he would ask the same question back. After many moments of contemplation, the curious side won the battle.

"Kenshin, where do you come from?"

Kenshin came to a halt and he stared into space. After many uncomfortable seconds he finally answered, "I'm a runaway."

Kaoru was so surprised! This made her response easier!

"Me too! I really thought that I was the only one! Why did you runaway?"

"It was a prearranged marriage that I didn't want."

"Me too! Wow! Who would have thought? The gods of fate must be having fun!" Kaoru was so happy she didn't notice the sun setting in the distance.

"Miss Kaoru, I think that we should stop for the night."

Kaoru saw the sunset and got off of Kenshin's back when they reached a clearing.

Kaoru sat down on the ground as Kenshin got a fire ready. She looked through her pack and realized something. She had forgotten her blanket in the morning!

"Damn it!"

Kenshin glanced at the frustrated girl who was hopelessly dumping out her pack and double checking.

"What's wrong?"

"I forgot my blanket in the last place I slept and there is no way that I'm going back!"

"You can use mine," the prince simply replied.

"No! There is no way I'm going to do that! Anyway you must be aching because I've been on your back all day!"

"But I can't let a lady…"

"I'm no lady!" She crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly.

"But I couldn't live with myself!"

"Well I wouldn't be able to live with myself!"

Their stubbornness was equally matched and neither one of them was going to back down.

"Let's compromise. We'll share the blanket!" Kaoru finally said after several moments of thinking.

"No way! That's completely immodest!"

"Too bad! That's the final offer!"

In the end Kenshin gave up and went decided to take the up her offer. He wasn't going to let a girl sleep in the cold without a blanket. He was going to get out of it once she was asleep anyway, so it would be okay.

They both settled under the small blanket and rested their heads against their bags. Kenshin waited for her to fall asleep for a long time because the ground wasn't the slightest bit comfortable and she kept squirming.

But the comfortable place she finally reached and fell asleep on was Kenshin's chest! He knew that he should probably move but he looked at her peaceful face and couldn't bear to do it. He stayed up a while longer but when fell asleep his arms were protectively holding the girl and they both slept serenely under the stars.

A/N: So... Was that enough K/K moments for you? It was so fun to write!

Question for everyone! Should I focus more on K/K relationship or the plot next week? I could do either, but I need to put some now evil pyromaniac plot in here soon!

Thank you for reading and please review! I put a lot of work in this to get this out for you and I'd really appreciate it!

-rm/bo