Cookies for Koniko-chan, MP1, and mysticdemon! You guessed right it is
Tomoe and Enishi! ::tosses cookies to them::
As always read, enjoy and review!
~LadyShiin
~*~
Kaoru stirred slightly as she woke - eyes fluttering, limbs stretching. Her body ached with day-old soreness, a souvenir from the day before. What had woken her up? If the darkness of the tent was any indication it was still far from dawn. So what had woken her up?
She stilled her motions as she heard a sound. a muffled sort of moan. Her head turned in the direction it came from and she saw Kenshin in the corner of the tent leaning against the mound of cushions his sword clasped tightly in his hand.
In sleep his face should have looked softer, gentler, more relaxed but it appeared his dreams would not allow him to relax. As she watched an emotion flickered across his face. What it was exactly she could not identify but it was full of pain.
Cautiously Kaoru got to her feet and padded over to him. Her muscles protested her moving and she winced at the ache. She stopped a few feet away indecision gripping her. He had told her not to wake him up, no matter what and she knew she didn't want a repeat of his sword against her throat. But it seemed whatever he was dreaming was not something that could be considered good. She couldn't just let him continue when it was obviously causing so much pain.
Kaoru chewed her lip, contemplating her options. Wake him and get beheaded or continue letting him sleep pain-filled dreams? Or. her eyes alighted on a nearby cushion and an idea formed. She bent down and picked it up and let it fly.
It hit dead center right smack dab in the center of his forehead. He was awake at once, hand whipping toward his sword and body tensing in anticipation of an attack. His golden eyes lighted on her, cold and sharp and decidedly not pleased.
Kaoru carefully backed up a good distance, "um. you were having bad dreams." Her voice came out as a squeak and she winced internally at the sound.
"I told you not to wake me." He said, his voice she noted though not exactly happy was not downright menacing either. It reminded her of the way one would talk to a rather dim child and she bristled at the comparison she drew.
"I didn't wake you - I just through the cushion that woke you up." Kaoru answered a bit shortly. Well, he hadn't attempted to behead her yet she noted (which was a relief). It was a definitely good thing in her mind. She balled her hands into tight fists at her sides and glared at him, she didn't regret what she had did at all.
He snorted softly and Kaoru could have sworn she caught a flash of humor in his golden eyes. Good, she thought in satisfaction you don't have to be so grim and distant all the time and you actually might just have a sense of humor in there underneath all that ice.
She grinned wryly at him, the glare fading from her face. "It's probably not the most pleasant way to wake up but it's effective. Whatever you were dreaming about didn't seem to very comfortable."
"No," he agreed. She felt a spurt of relief as she saw his hand lift from his sword. Who still wore a sword when they were going to sleep anyway? She wondered. No one she knew except Kenshin that was for sure.
"You want to talk about it?" She asked gently - it was the best and perhaps only thing she could offer him.
"No." And then almost as an after thought, "thank you."
"You're welcome." She replied. "Now," she said in a matter of fact tone of voice. "Its still late - early, whatever, so I'll be going to go back to sleep."
She gave him a nod and turned back to her little pallet and lay down. As tired as she was sleep didn't immediately reclaim her, she stayed awake for several more minutes, there was the sound of Kenshin settling down at the other end of the tent and few moments later relaxed even breathing. He had fallen back to sleep as well.
Raising her head she peeked at him quickly. The dreams that had plagued him before seemed to have vanished. He slept peacefully though his hand was still curled around the sheath of his sword - she supposed it was more of a comfort thing than really a weapon when he was asleep. Like a young child would clutch a much loved stuffed animal when going to bed.
The analogy brought a smile to Kaoru's face and for a moment she tried to picture what Kenshin would have looked like as a child - before his killing of his brothers had broken him. He must have been adorable, she thought wistfully, adorable and innocent, not pain-filled and cold.
Smothering a yawn Kaoru closed her eyes and snuggled under the covers. Sleep claimed her instantly and for once her dreams were not filled of the shadow-woman.
~*~
It was several hours later when Kaoru woke once more. Her eyes strayed to the corner where Kenshin had slept and she found it empty. A few displaced cushions the only indication someone had been there at all previously.
Kaoru got to her feet stiffly, her riding-sore muscles rebelling against her actions. Walking across the tent she ducked under the lantern that hung from the ceiling, pushed back the flap that covered the door and went outside.
The morning was cool but held the promise of getting hotter. Fog hovered above the ground blurring the shapes of tents and people and giving everything around her a rather surrealistic feel.
Kenshin was nowhere to be seen. Kaoru put him out of her mind and started getting ready to leave. Early as it was - the sun had yet to begin to rise - things were bustling around her. Tents were being dismantled and folded away, horses caught and saddled and a quick breakfast cooked.
Kaoru ducked back inside her tent and put her things together as quickly as she could. Her bags had been put inside the tent and their contents were still neatly stored since she hadn't had a chance to go through them yet. She found a brush nestled at the top of some fresh clothes and combed her hair, securing it with a ribbon. She gazed ponderingly at the clothes contemplating if she should change into one of them but decided against doing so. Who knew how long this journey would last? She wanted to make sure she at least would have some clean clothes at the end of it given the scarcity of water she had seen - small creeks and puddling streams, nothing near big enough to wash or bathe in and given all the trees around their water needs were probably fed by the sky.
She folded the pallet neatly but left it where it was, not quite sure what to do with it. Her bags she took with her. She found a pack horse with room for more bundles and after being shown how to tie the knots by one of the men in the traveling group secured her bags to the harness the animal wore.
Kaoru caught sight of Karuna among the gathering of saddled horses and didn't know whether to feel pleased or not. It was supposed to be her job to take care of her horse and she didn't' like the fact that someone had done it for her. It made her feel useless. Though, she supposed speed was the important thing at the moment and Kaoru wasn't quite adept enough to saddle and groom her mare as fast as the others were. She resolved to get up earlier tomorrow and from then on.
Breakfast was a quick affaire consisting of travel biscuits and a cup of old reheated ahvay. Not the tastiest meal she'd ever had. No sooner than Kaoru had finished chewing her biscuit and gulping down the cup of ahvay than the people began to mount up in preparation to leave. Kaoru scrambled to her feet and handed the plate and mug to one of the servants who had come along with a smile and word of thanks and rushed to mount as well.
~*~
Karuna felt revived and energetic beneath her as Kaoru settled onto her back. The mare tossed her head and sidestepped her head high and neck arched. Once or twice she gave a little buck of playfulness - that Kaoru easily sat through.
At the head of the group Kaoru saw Kenshin on Fiachra. They faced toward the little camp, watching everything that was going on. The stallion was pawing vigorously at the ground and his neck was bowed against the hold Kenshin had on his mouth.
Kaoru nudged Karuna towards them and then turned the mare around so they stood beside one another.
"Good morning," she said cheerfully.
Kenshin nodded to her, his eyes on the quickly assembling group before them. Obviously satisfied they were ready he raised his arm, the signal to move out. He swung Fiachra around and Kaoru followed suit. The horses broke into a trot away from last night's camp.
~*~
As the day progressed it grew hot. Breaking for the midday meal was brief - more traveling biscuits (which tasted like dust in Kaoru's opinion) and cold ahvay (which didn't taste near as good when hot or even when reheated - also in Kaoru's opinion).
The scenery that they traveled through began to change as they continued to ride. The wide open flatness began to slope upward gently into softly rolling hills. The sightings of trees and grass became more numerous and while Kaoru would not exactly call it a forest the trees provided ample shade and took the edge of the heat off.
Even as she began to grow accustomed to the shifting land around her Kaoru felt a start the first sight of the mountains. They rose up sudden and stark as if from the very ground itself without warning, glinting silver in the bright sunlight. Small gatherings of trees dotted their sides and it seemed void of snow - a sheer impossibility in Kaoru's mind - mountains always had snow, it was the way it should be. How it was supposed to be.
It was also in the direction of the mountains in which they traveled.
And as they drew nearer to the mountains the mode in the group altered -before it had been light hearted and cheerful. Jokes flew between everyone and laughter was almost always ringing in the air. Kaoru had even managed to understand most of them a proof of how quick she was learning the language. Silence was unknown.
As she reflected on it, the mood had seemed forced - having the feeling that it was a making the best of it while we can attitude instead of real and genuine cheer.
The silence seemed heavy now. The laughter and talking had disappeared. Now the mod was apprehensive - tense like the last few moments of calm before a storm broke from the skies and destroyed everything.
The thought brought an uneasy feeling to the pit of her stomach.
Beside her Kenshin was silent. H is face was set in grim lines, back ramrod straight. Before while he had not taken part in the jokes nor laughed and had spoken little she had gotten the feeling that was at ease and maybe even enjoying himself. That feeling had vanished along with everything else.
The feeling of uneasiness in her stomach intensified.
The ground rose sharply upward and the mountain loomed overhead, foreboding and stern. Despite the heat Kaoru shivered.
"Where are we going?" She asked Kenshin.
"To visit the breve-saol," He replied shortly.
Kaoru's brow furrowed in confusion at the unfamiliar word, she had fallen into picking up of the language spoken around her with relative ease. When she thought about it, it wasn't so different from the Kasshin tongue. Her collection of words and phrases that she knew had grown but breve-saol - this was as term she did not know.
"They're half-souls." Kenshin said. The words till did not make sense. "Zombies. I guess you would say."
The folklore mythical image of a half-alive half-dead reincarnated flesh eating corpse sprang into Kaoru's head and she shuddered it away.
"Why are we visiting the. them?" She could not quite bring herself to say the word "zombie."
"Because we need to," Kenshin answered cryptically and Kaoru sighed. S he had to be content with that answer - she had a feeling she wouldn't get a better one.
Kaoru lapsed into silence and asked no more questions. Everyone else was quiet as well; the only sounds to be heard were the footsteps of the horses, the scrape of hoof against stone, the creak of saddles and the airy whisper of the wind.
Kaoru played with the strands of Karuna's mane that had spilled over her knees. The silvery hairs were damp with sweat, curling slightly but still felt like silk to her fingers. She twisted them around her fingers and then let them go to fall back into place with the rest of the palomino's mane.
Karuna had lowered her head as the climb upward grew steeper and Kaoru let the reins slip through her fingers giving the mare her head and trusting her judgment and surefootedness.
Instead of getting cooler as she would have expected it would as they started to climb up the mountain, it only grew hotter. The reason for it Kaoru guessed was the trees were now almost completely gone and they were riding upward - getting closer to the sun. Her thoughts felt sluggish and incoherent, she could just imagine the heart cooking her brain inside her head and turning it to mush - a very unpleasant image to be thinking of.
The scream of a falcon overhead brought Kaoru out of her semi-alert state and reflexively she looked skyward. The falcon was unlike any bird she had ever seen before.
Though it was a good distance above them in the sky Kaoru could see it clearly. It was a medium sized bird with long narrow white wings that were tipped with silver. Its cream colored breast was speckled in black and its hooked beak opened as it gave another haunting cry. Its golden black-rimmed eyes glared at them in an almost baleful manner and Kaoru mentally laughed t herself for giving it an angry intent towards them. A bird was a bird. It did not bear grudges.
Kenshin she saw was watching the bird as well. His golden eyes were opaque and shuttered any trace of thought or emotion locked away securely. He looked unruffled but his hands gave him away - they held the reins in a tight white-knuckled grip and Kaoru wondered at why the sight of a bird could provoke such a reaction from him.
Tentatively she reached across the few feet separating them to touch his arm gently.
His eyes jerked from the sky and toward her face. They were blazing gold as feral and wild and eerily inhuman as she had ever seen them.
"Kenshin," Kaoru's voice came out sounding muted. "Are you all right?"
Something flickered in his eyes and Kaoru couldn't identify what it was, "I'm fine."
"If you're sure," Kaoru murmured not quite convinced but unwilling to push the matter. She removed her hand from his arm. For some reason she felt slightly shaken.
Kenshin didn't answer; he was no longer looking at her but at something else. Kaoru followed the direction of his gaze and blinked suddenly not quite sue of what she had just seen.
Just ahead of them the ground leveled out and there was a thick grove of trees as near to an actual forest as Kaoru had ever seen here. It seemed strange to see a literal forest growing right out of the side of a mountain - but this was a strange land she had come to understand and some things no longer shocked her.
Emerging from the trees ahead was a figure. It looked blurred and Kaoru raised a hand to rub at her eyes to make sure wasn't just seeing things because of the brightness of the sun.
As the figure grew closer the edges solidified and the figure became more distinct and substantial, losing its blurred hazy quality.
It was a man, Kaoru saw now.
His hair glinted frost-white in the brightness of the sun and turquoise blue eyes glared over the rims of small glasses perched on his nose.
"Battousai," his words were directed toward Kenshin, his voice like ice.
"Enishi," Kenshin replied in kind.
As always read, enjoy and review!
~LadyShiin
~*~
Kaoru stirred slightly as she woke - eyes fluttering, limbs stretching. Her body ached with day-old soreness, a souvenir from the day before. What had woken her up? If the darkness of the tent was any indication it was still far from dawn. So what had woken her up?
She stilled her motions as she heard a sound. a muffled sort of moan. Her head turned in the direction it came from and she saw Kenshin in the corner of the tent leaning against the mound of cushions his sword clasped tightly in his hand.
In sleep his face should have looked softer, gentler, more relaxed but it appeared his dreams would not allow him to relax. As she watched an emotion flickered across his face. What it was exactly she could not identify but it was full of pain.
Cautiously Kaoru got to her feet and padded over to him. Her muscles protested her moving and she winced at the ache. She stopped a few feet away indecision gripping her. He had told her not to wake him up, no matter what and she knew she didn't want a repeat of his sword against her throat. But it seemed whatever he was dreaming was not something that could be considered good. She couldn't just let him continue when it was obviously causing so much pain.
Kaoru chewed her lip, contemplating her options. Wake him and get beheaded or continue letting him sleep pain-filled dreams? Or. her eyes alighted on a nearby cushion and an idea formed. She bent down and picked it up and let it fly.
It hit dead center right smack dab in the center of his forehead. He was awake at once, hand whipping toward his sword and body tensing in anticipation of an attack. His golden eyes lighted on her, cold and sharp and decidedly not pleased.
Kaoru carefully backed up a good distance, "um. you were having bad dreams." Her voice came out as a squeak and she winced internally at the sound.
"I told you not to wake me." He said, his voice she noted though not exactly happy was not downright menacing either. It reminded her of the way one would talk to a rather dim child and she bristled at the comparison she drew.
"I didn't wake you - I just through the cushion that woke you up." Kaoru answered a bit shortly. Well, he hadn't attempted to behead her yet she noted (which was a relief). It was a definitely good thing in her mind. She balled her hands into tight fists at her sides and glared at him, she didn't regret what she had did at all.
He snorted softly and Kaoru could have sworn she caught a flash of humor in his golden eyes. Good, she thought in satisfaction you don't have to be so grim and distant all the time and you actually might just have a sense of humor in there underneath all that ice.
She grinned wryly at him, the glare fading from her face. "It's probably not the most pleasant way to wake up but it's effective. Whatever you were dreaming about didn't seem to very comfortable."
"No," he agreed. She felt a spurt of relief as she saw his hand lift from his sword. Who still wore a sword when they were going to sleep anyway? She wondered. No one she knew except Kenshin that was for sure.
"You want to talk about it?" She asked gently - it was the best and perhaps only thing she could offer him.
"No." And then almost as an after thought, "thank you."
"You're welcome." She replied. "Now," she said in a matter of fact tone of voice. "Its still late - early, whatever, so I'll be going to go back to sleep."
She gave him a nod and turned back to her little pallet and lay down. As tired as she was sleep didn't immediately reclaim her, she stayed awake for several more minutes, there was the sound of Kenshin settling down at the other end of the tent and few moments later relaxed even breathing. He had fallen back to sleep as well.
Raising her head she peeked at him quickly. The dreams that had plagued him before seemed to have vanished. He slept peacefully though his hand was still curled around the sheath of his sword - she supposed it was more of a comfort thing than really a weapon when he was asleep. Like a young child would clutch a much loved stuffed animal when going to bed.
The analogy brought a smile to Kaoru's face and for a moment she tried to picture what Kenshin would have looked like as a child - before his killing of his brothers had broken him. He must have been adorable, she thought wistfully, adorable and innocent, not pain-filled and cold.
Smothering a yawn Kaoru closed her eyes and snuggled under the covers. Sleep claimed her instantly and for once her dreams were not filled of the shadow-woman.
~*~
It was several hours later when Kaoru woke once more. Her eyes strayed to the corner where Kenshin had slept and she found it empty. A few displaced cushions the only indication someone had been there at all previously.
Kaoru got to her feet stiffly, her riding-sore muscles rebelling against her actions. Walking across the tent she ducked under the lantern that hung from the ceiling, pushed back the flap that covered the door and went outside.
The morning was cool but held the promise of getting hotter. Fog hovered above the ground blurring the shapes of tents and people and giving everything around her a rather surrealistic feel.
Kenshin was nowhere to be seen. Kaoru put him out of her mind and started getting ready to leave. Early as it was - the sun had yet to begin to rise - things were bustling around her. Tents were being dismantled and folded away, horses caught and saddled and a quick breakfast cooked.
Kaoru ducked back inside her tent and put her things together as quickly as she could. Her bags had been put inside the tent and their contents were still neatly stored since she hadn't had a chance to go through them yet. She found a brush nestled at the top of some fresh clothes and combed her hair, securing it with a ribbon. She gazed ponderingly at the clothes contemplating if she should change into one of them but decided against doing so. Who knew how long this journey would last? She wanted to make sure she at least would have some clean clothes at the end of it given the scarcity of water she had seen - small creeks and puddling streams, nothing near big enough to wash or bathe in and given all the trees around their water needs were probably fed by the sky.
She folded the pallet neatly but left it where it was, not quite sure what to do with it. Her bags she took with her. She found a pack horse with room for more bundles and after being shown how to tie the knots by one of the men in the traveling group secured her bags to the harness the animal wore.
Kaoru caught sight of Karuna among the gathering of saddled horses and didn't know whether to feel pleased or not. It was supposed to be her job to take care of her horse and she didn't' like the fact that someone had done it for her. It made her feel useless. Though, she supposed speed was the important thing at the moment and Kaoru wasn't quite adept enough to saddle and groom her mare as fast as the others were. She resolved to get up earlier tomorrow and from then on.
Breakfast was a quick affaire consisting of travel biscuits and a cup of old reheated ahvay. Not the tastiest meal she'd ever had. No sooner than Kaoru had finished chewing her biscuit and gulping down the cup of ahvay than the people began to mount up in preparation to leave. Kaoru scrambled to her feet and handed the plate and mug to one of the servants who had come along with a smile and word of thanks and rushed to mount as well.
~*~
Karuna felt revived and energetic beneath her as Kaoru settled onto her back. The mare tossed her head and sidestepped her head high and neck arched. Once or twice she gave a little buck of playfulness - that Kaoru easily sat through.
At the head of the group Kaoru saw Kenshin on Fiachra. They faced toward the little camp, watching everything that was going on. The stallion was pawing vigorously at the ground and his neck was bowed against the hold Kenshin had on his mouth.
Kaoru nudged Karuna towards them and then turned the mare around so they stood beside one another.
"Good morning," she said cheerfully.
Kenshin nodded to her, his eyes on the quickly assembling group before them. Obviously satisfied they were ready he raised his arm, the signal to move out. He swung Fiachra around and Kaoru followed suit. The horses broke into a trot away from last night's camp.
~*~
As the day progressed it grew hot. Breaking for the midday meal was brief - more traveling biscuits (which tasted like dust in Kaoru's opinion) and cold ahvay (which didn't taste near as good when hot or even when reheated - also in Kaoru's opinion).
The scenery that they traveled through began to change as they continued to ride. The wide open flatness began to slope upward gently into softly rolling hills. The sightings of trees and grass became more numerous and while Kaoru would not exactly call it a forest the trees provided ample shade and took the edge of the heat off.
Even as she began to grow accustomed to the shifting land around her Kaoru felt a start the first sight of the mountains. They rose up sudden and stark as if from the very ground itself without warning, glinting silver in the bright sunlight. Small gatherings of trees dotted their sides and it seemed void of snow - a sheer impossibility in Kaoru's mind - mountains always had snow, it was the way it should be. How it was supposed to be.
It was also in the direction of the mountains in which they traveled.
And as they drew nearer to the mountains the mode in the group altered -before it had been light hearted and cheerful. Jokes flew between everyone and laughter was almost always ringing in the air. Kaoru had even managed to understand most of them a proof of how quick she was learning the language. Silence was unknown.
As she reflected on it, the mood had seemed forced - having the feeling that it was a making the best of it while we can attitude instead of real and genuine cheer.
The silence seemed heavy now. The laughter and talking had disappeared. Now the mod was apprehensive - tense like the last few moments of calm before a storm broke from the skies and destroyed everything.
The thought brought an uneasy feeling to the pit of her stomach.
Beside her Kenshin was silent. H is face was set in grim lines, back ramrod straight. Before while he had not taken part in the jokes nor laughed and had spoken little she had gotten the feeling that was at ease and maybe even enjoying himself. That feeling had vanished along with everything else.
The feeling of uneasiness in her stomach intensified.
The ground rose sharply upward and the mountain loomed overhead, foreboding and stern. Despite the heat Kaoru shivered.
"Where are we going?" She asked Kenshin.
"To visit the breve-saol," He replied shortly.
Kaoru's brow furrowed in confusion at the unfamiliar word, she had fallen into picking up of the language spoken around her with relative ease. When she thought about it, it wasn't so different from the Kasshin tongue. Her collection of words and phrases that she knew had grown but breve-saol - this was as term she did not know.
"They're half-souls." Kenshin said. The words till did not make sense. "Zombies. I guess you would say."
The folklore mythical image of a half-alive half-dead reincarnated flesh eating corpse sprang into Kaoru's head and she shuddered it away.
"Why are we visiting the. them?" She could not quite bring herself to say the word "zombie."
"Because we need to," Kenshin answered cryptically and Kaoru sighed. S he had to be content with that answer - she had a feeling she wouldn't get a better one.
Kaoru lapsed into silence and asked no more questions. Everyone else was quiet as well; the only sounds to be heard were the footsteps of the horses, the scrape of hoof against stone, the creak of saddles and the airy whisper of the wind.
Kaoru played with the strands of Karuna's mane that had spilled over her knees. The silvery hairs were damp with sweat, curling slightly but still felt like silk to her fingers. She twisted them around her fingers and then let them go to fall back into place with the rest of the palomino's mane.
Karuna had lowered her head as the climb upward grew steeper and Kaoru let the reins slip through her fingers giving the mare her head and trusting her judgment and surefootedness.
Instead of getting cooler as she would have expected it would as they started to climb up the mountain, it only grew hotter. The reason for it Kaoru guessed was the trees were now almost completely gone and they were riding upward - getting closer to the sun. Her thoughts felt sluggish and incoherent, she could just imagine the heart cooking her brain inside her head and turning it to mush - a very unpleasant image to be thinking of.
The scream of a falcon overhead brought Kaoru out of her semi-alert state and reflexively she looked skyward. The falcon was unlike any bird she had ever seen before.
Though it was a good distance above them in the sky Kaoru could see it clearly. It was a medium sized bird with long narrow white wings that were tipped with silver. Its cream colored breast was speckled in black and its hooked beak opened as it gave another haunting cry. Its golden black-rimmed eyes glared at them in an almost baleful manner and Kaoru mentally laughed t herself for giving it an angry intent towards them. A bird was a bird. It did not bear grudges.
Kenshin she saw was watching the bird as well. His golden eyes were opaque and shuttered any trace of thought or emotion locked away securely. He looked unruffled but his hands gave him away - they held the reins in a tight white-knuckled grip and Kaoru wondered at why the sight of a bird could provoke such a reaction from him.
Tentatively she reached across the few feet separating them to touch his arm gently.
His eyes jerked from the sky and toward her face. They were blazing gold as feral and wild and eerily inhuman as she had ever seen them.
"Kenshin," Kaoru's voice came out sounding muted. "Are you all right?"
Something flickered in his eyes and Kaoru couldn't identify what it was, "I'm fine."
"If you're sure," Kaoru murmured not quite convinced but unwilling to push the matter. She removed her hand from his arm. For some reason she felt slightly shaken.
Kenshin didn't answer; he was no longer looking at her but at something else. Kaoru followed the direction of his gaze and blinked suddenly not quite sue of what she had just seen.
Just ahead of them the ground leveled out and there was a thick grove of trees as near to an actual forest as Kaoru had ever seen here. It seemed strange to see a literal forest growing right out of the side of a mountain - but this was a strange land she had come to understand and some things no longer shocked her.
Emerging from the trees ahead was a figure. It looked blurred and Kaoru raised a hand to rub at her eyes to make sure wasn't just seeing things because of the brightness of the sun.
As the figure grew closer the edges solidified and the figure became more distinct and substantial, losing its blurred hazy quality.
It was a man, Kaoru saw now.
His hair glinted frost-white in the brightness of the sun and turquoise blue eyes glared over the rims of small glasses perched on his nose.
"Battousai," his words were directed toward Kenshin, his voice like ice.
"Enishi," Kenshin replied in kind.