A/N PLEASE GO BACK TO CHAPTER 20 AND READ THE BEGINING AND END A/N's BEFORE REREADING THE CHAPTER. REALLY SORRY TO INCONVENIENCE YOU, DEAR READERS, BEAR WITH ME.

THANKS AND HAPPY READING

Edit: CHAPTER 21 IS OUT

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The bus ride from the residential district where Kaoru's students lived was quiet and left the sensei alone with her musings. It was a fulfilling session, the large compound she had visited full of cousins and siblings who were happy to get to resuming their kendo lessons. But they had once been students who went to the dojo after school or home lessons, and when she had asked the adults in the family to consider letting them resume at the dojo, they had politely but firmly declined.

The Kamiya Kashin School now had more at-home students than dojo attending ones. It was not... Kaoru's happiest development, to say the least. There had always been a tentative balance between the two in the past, but the presence of these new faces and all the adventures they brought with them had tipped the scales decidedly in favor of away classes. She loved the teaching in the dojo more, but she also didn't know how she would tell these new faces to leave her. They made her realize how much she enjoyed people being in her space. It was for the same reason she loved teaching on campus that she loved having Yahiko and the bounty hunters around. She didn't think she'd be able to bear the loneliness that would follow each day's classes if she were alone again.

Somewhere at the back of her mind, as she watched the world outside the bus blur, she knew that having two grown men around her home wasn't a feasible arrangement to leave at that in the long term, but she buried it along with the other things she never addressed, like how humid the room seemed to get whenever she and Kenshin were in close proximity.

Call it a bit selfish, but Kaoru was young. And human.

She was grateful to have them around and would worry about crossing other bridges when they got to it. She would focus on the bridges right in front of her, like her teaching arrangements and the adventures that kept affecting them.

Speaking of adventure... quickly, her mind returned to the conversation the group had at brunch. Kenshin had promised to give them details on the progress they made once she returned in the evening, taking it on himself to supervise Yahiko's schedule for the day. The boy had complained of course but put up no way near the fuss he would with Kaoru. She wished she could instill the fear of God in those boys the way the hunters did. She was excited to hear about Kenshin's progress, but she was also, to say the least, a tad bit suspicious.

Despite her confidence when she had told Sanosuke that Kenshin wouldn't dare pull the ghosting stunt that he had pulled in the past when it came to missions, she also knew that it was odd for Kenshin to be taking a back seat to let Sanosuke lead for once. She had never seen Sanosuke bring a potential mission to his attention and have one of them stay back while the other went to the forefront. Then again, those missions were beyond the Tokyo Sector, so maybe they felt the case too small to have both of them actively on the case in the same sector? To her, it felt like a stretch, after all, it had worked on the Hiruma brothers and the Yahiko affair no problem.

Perhaps she and Kaoru were the exceptions in the situations, but making exceptions like that was not pragmatic, and Kaoru had come to learn that not-pragmatic behavior was not the forte of the bounty hunters.

She checked her watch and then the phone to track the end of her ride. She was going to stop at a large market district to go grocery shopping. With Kenshin around, she was prepared to buy many more, and have him cook down everything before he and Sanosuke eventually left. With her luck, it would be a long time before she and Yahiko would have to depend on her cooking again. Hopefully.

When the bus slowed to a stop, Kaoru pulled her training gear from the overhead and made her way down from the bus. There were pick-up delivery bots already waiting at the bus stop, offering to carry the loads off of the commuters and deliver them to the desired destinations as the owners went about shopping for even more stuff that they'd have to carry.

Soon Kaoru was among the many pedestrians on the ground floor of Little Meiji Market district, buying groceries to stock up the pantry for weeks. She hadn't bought this much food since her father passed away, and it was a bitter-sweet feeling. He was the chef between the two of them, and after burning through what had been in the pantry in the wake of his demise, Kaoru had seen no need to buy food that she would either ruin or allow to go bad because of her cooking inexpertise.

But now, Yahiko was around and was far more decent in the kitchen than she had been at his age or in the present. Kenshin too could rustle up a delicacy from anything, and Sanosuke was the extra mouth to feed for his red-haired parter's talents. She smiled to herself as she paid for the tofu paste and the delivery service to take it home ahead of her. Despite repeatedly taking advantage of the delivery bots to go ahead of her with her many purchased goods, she still had some stuff on her hands. Thankfully, tofu was the last thing on her list of items to carry, so she didn't mind having to carry her bag of fruits all the way home.

Unlike the market district closer to her residential area, Little Meiji was far bigger and less familiar to her. It did make for cheaper bulk purchases, but seeing that the difference in market prices would be lost anyway between transit and delivery bots, Kaoru didn't usually see the need to go so far in the name of cheaper prices. It was crowded and noisy and rowdier in general, which tended to make her uncharacteristically anxious and on edge. It made it easier for pick-pockets to attempt to make a target out of her, a sensei whose face was unfamiliar in their community. But with Little Meiji just en route home, it made sense to take advantage of the pros and go all out anyways.

Kaoru would be thankful for that judgment call before she got home. But not quite at the moment, when someone rudely bumped into her and nearly sent them both tumbling to the ground. Kaoru and her fruits were nearly departed from each other, but her quick reflexes caught the majority of them in her basket, just in time to stop the perpetrator from getting by her quickly.

'What is wrong with you?' the sensei scolded the stronger, who seemed to be in a hurry and unrepentant. 'The least you could have done was apologize and offer to help m-?'

'I don't have time for this, I'm in a bloody hurry kid!' The stranger snapped, her lips in a scowl as she avoided looking Kaoru in the eyes. She tried to push past her again, but Kaoru got in her way.

'Who the hell are you calling a kid, you hus-!' Kaoru's eyes widened as recognition flitted across her mind. She glanced at the tall woman once over. Her lips and the voice were from her memories, but the nails and the demeanor rung back to the descriptions of another woman she had heard that morning. Kaoru's face furrowed in confusion. 'Sensei?'

From the way the woman stiffened and sharply turned her head to obscure her face from view entirely, it was clear the woman had recognized Kaoru from their former chance meeting. The lady doctor was a far cry from the refined and graceful figure she had met at the bus stop weeks ago. The younger sensei did a double-take. Her hair was frizzy and dry, probably from running. This was odd to Kaoru because, despite the woman's obvious haste, it seemed clear that she wasn't particularly being pursued. Her skin was slick with sweat, which matted her bags to her forehead, while her clothes looked like she had gotten into one hell of a bar fight and opted to crawl away from the heart of it, rather than stick it out and win. On the tip of Kaoru's tongue was an "are you okay?", but before she could ask she heard a familiar voice call from farther down.

'Kitsune!'

'Shit!' The woman cursed suddenly as she glanced back, the vulgarity shockingly uncharacteristic to Kaoru, even with how rugged the woman looked. Kaoru looked in the same direction, spotting Sanosuke's towering frame powering through the throng of pedestrian shoppers as though they were not there. She gaped in disbelief as the elusive memory from hearing Yahiko talk about his gun wound made its way to the forefront of her mind, and everything else fell in place.

'Well, I'll be damned.' By the time Kaoru returned her gaze, the woman had already gone. Cursing she turned to catch a glimpse of her and quickly made haste to follow her before she disappeared from sight. 'For fuck's sake, I didn't actually think this kind of coincidences happened unironically!'

'What the hell are you talking about?' Sanosuke shot at her as he pulled up to her side while running.

'I met her a while back by complete chanc-' Kaoru's head whipped to her side. 'When did you even get here?' But Sanosuke was already overtaking her, his laser focus locked in on the mysterious woman that he had been chasing. Despite her arms being full, she picked up the pace, hoping to catch up to them both on time. She cursed her average height, in the face of these giraffe of a damn pair of people. 'Stupid long legs.' She managed in puffs and mutterings under her breath.

Before she could really start to feel the strain of trying to catch up to tall people though, Sanosuke was already slowing down. The edge of the district was along the main roads that took one to the other districts, and it was in Sanosuke's sights. Kaoru caught up to him fast enough to see the woman talking to a couple of dressed-up, heavy-built men. They were by an old-fashioned armored jeep, all black with tinted windows. They seemed to be trying to intimidate the woman, but to the doctor's credit she faced them down with a completely calm and collected disposition, unflinching even as they seemed to sneer and leer at her. Kaoru could once again see the dignified and regal aura she had first encountered in their initial chance meeting, despite her physical appearance.

'We should go help her Sanosuke-!'

'Don't fucking move, Jou-chan.' The bounty hunter spoke with a voice as edged as steel, which was so uncanny that Kaoru listened to him and watched as the men seemed to motion for her to get into the car. The doctor did not move, save for a raised eyebrow. The bigger man invaded her personal space, and it was obvious he was cursing her out despite being out of earshot and the observers in the midst of a crowd. Sanosuke's fists clenched and Kaoru glanced worriedly between him and the scene before making her way to them. Sanosuke seized her by the arm and squeezed tightly. 'Kaoru, there's a basket of fruits in your damn arms,' he hissed viciously, glaring at the girl who didn't even have the grace t be embarrassed. 'You'll only make things worse.'

'They're harassing her!'

'No one can harass Kitsune,' the remark came out in a bitter laugh, and Kaoru watched as the slimmer of the two men talked down the man trying to wrangle their captive. The masked, tall man seemed to glare at the doctor, who smirked and took a step back. The heavy-built man scowled, and with disgust on his face, opened the jeep's backseat door for their captive to get in. Sanosuke couldn't help the grin on his face as he watched. But it was short-lived, with what, the masked man pulling "Kitsune" out long enough to whisper something in her ear. She froze and seemed to stare at him in horror, all the color draining from her face. The masked man turned his head in the direction of Kaoru and the bounty hunter, and Sanosuke froze as the red and black-suited man saluted them and shoved the woman into the car, before slamming the door shut. He and his companion entered the front seats of the car and drove off. Kaoru suddenly felt cold, as the air around Sanosuke seemed to drop by a few degrees.

'Sanosuke-'

'Not now Kaoru.'

'Sanosuke.' She said again firmly, and the tall man forced himself to look at her. His eyes were much too dark for a man whose disposition was always jovial and open. She frowned and let out a tired huff, her arms tired from carrying her fruits. 'We need to get back to the dojo and tell Kenshin.'

...

Sanosuke paced the dojo, as Kenshin worked on his holo-tablet on the files and coo-ordinates that he had been pulled since their morning conversation. Yahiko was training in the compound, while Kaoru stood in the doorway of the open shoji, one eye supervising her pupil and the other on her older house guests.

'Kenshin, they know I'm here. It's only a matter of time before Shinomori puts two and two together and the entire Oniwanban follow his lead to take you on!'

'They don't know that we are still partners, Sanosuke.' Kenshin said calmly, without being distracted from the work he was doing. Dare I say, these folks think I'm dead, no?' He looked up to flash Kaoru a disarming smile. 'The legendary Battousai. Myth? Dead' His tone turned heavy as he returned his attention to his work. 'The manslayer has been more legend than a man for years. Shinomori is not a man to jump to unlikely conclusions on mere speculation.' Kaoru, who had been blushing from the smile, now looked thoughtful.

'What does it matter? Your being the Battousai and this Shinomori guy, I mean?'

'Sanosuke fears that being involved in the matter of his lover may draw unwanted attention to me, by virtue of my reputation,' Kenshin replied, 'of course I can't let that stop me from aiding my friend-'

'I don't need you to help me with my problems!'

'There are many factors to consider, apart from the sentiment of saving your lover, Sagara-san,' Kenshin's tone was still patient, though the telltale sign that said patience was nearing its end rang in Sanosuke's last name. 'The potential bounties involved for one, and the general sense of justice to help this person out of her predicament. Reasons for this aforementioned, loathe as you are that I am acknowledging them as reasons.'

'Why are you being stubborn about us helping you out anyway?' Kaoru prodded, folding her arms as she turned to face them, following Sanosuke pace the dojo with her eyes.

'Cause he's a thick-headed rooster-head,' Yahiko piped up from behind her. 'That's why.'

'Get that kid outta here before I kill him.' Said rooster-head snapped irritably, as the sensei turned to her nosy student in exasperation

'Yahiko adults are talking! Get back to training-'

'But I'm right!' The child protested. 'And you're not an adult,' he muttered under his breath before continuing, 'he's being stubborn about this! From what I hear it sounds like he just went to chase the broad, instead of getting information about the broad! He clearly needs more heads on this case to keep him from getting distracted by emotions and shit.'

'Language!'

'Hypocrite!'

Sensei and student sneered at each other, while Sanosuke shot his partner an exasperated look.

'Ah, how the tables turn.' Kenshin shrugged and smiled warmly. 'Just a while back he was at the end of your ruthless tongue lashing when we picked him from the streets.'

'Shut up Kenshin,' Sanosuke groaned tiredly, but his partner gave an uncharacteristic eye-roll at Sanosuke's dramatics

'Oi, Zanza. Quit being stubborn,' Kenshin scolded his partner firmly but gently, 'your lady friend has gotten herself pulled into a word of trouble. And you need help to get her out of it. I'm obligated to help you, but these two are offering their support for free. Let them help you.'

Everyone paused to give a double-take at the redhead, who was oblivious to the irony of it all.

'That's rich, coming from you.' Kaoru snorted and smirked. Kenshin's face instantly reddened as he picked up on the mood. Yahiko snickered and even Sanosuke couldn't help but smirk.

'We should have recorded him,' Yahiko grinned, trying not to snort as well. 'Get him documented so we could throw it back at him or something.'

Any attempt to look dignified on the scarred samurai's end failed, and he hung his head in defeat.

'My point stands regardless,' he managed in a sulk and Sanosuke stopped pacing to clap his partner's back heartily.

'Yeah yeah, you're right Ken-man, thanks.' he said finally, a reluctant smile on his face. 'So what's the plan?'

Kenshin lifted his head up and then looked at the youngest in the dojo.

'While you two were out, Yahiko made an interesting proposition about a certain Pa Okei's?'

Hullo. Cue operation defrosts Maria Carey's voice for Christmas.

What can I say? I sold my soul to capitalism so I could live a little longer. Also. Love is a beautiful thing. Long-distance, not so much.

Glad you all liked the addition! Hope this chapter did well too.

I'm sorry, for what it's worth. Can this chapter make up for it? I would appreciate feedback, and reviews are always welcome if you would have my audacity to ask after failed promises hahaha.

Seriously. Gomenesai.

=,UwU,=