Enter Aoi Kasai

Amaya adjusted to life without her memory and with a full house of complete strangers as best she could. She gradually learned all the different personality types and became more comfortable around most of them.

Megumi was her doctor first and foremost, but was more like an older sister as well. She watched over Amaya and brought her in for a variety of tests at the hospital often. Megumi was very decisive but also pushy at times. She found that once Megumi made up her mind, there was no chance she'd change it.

Misao was the bubbling burst of pure energy that she would need sometimes to get through and exhaustive day of testing. She would come in to cheer her up and was like a best friend she'd seemingly known forever. The two would wander the grounds for hours and giggle away as Misao spoke about random happenings around the estate and Amaya would get more information about the people she was living with through their chats.

Sano at first seemed like the most annoying person in the house, but she quickly assessed that that title was saved for another individual. Sano wanted to be perceived as a bad-ass, but she would always see the sweet and charming side of him. At first she thought he was crude, and then she began to see that he was rather endearing, but ultimately she regarded him as an older brother. Perfect since it seemed he and Megumi had something going on.

Aoshi was probably the quietest and most reserved one out of all of them. He seemed lost in his own world sometimes, but Amaya quickly found out he was only observing and was quite well aware of everything around him at all times. In fact she picked up on all of their acute sense of perception. They always seemed to know how she was feeling and sometimes she wondered if her emotions were that transparent. "It's probably because I'm so damn lost in this place. They know where they are…its home to them. For me, everything's so new." Misao was completely devoted to Aoshi who probably could show a bit more affection in Amaya's eyes.

Next was Yahiko. He was a bit harder to figure out only because his outgoing and vivacious personality was so harshly countered by the one of his little mistress Ninna. Amaya could see the compassion he felt towards her but it was always quickly thwarted by the one person in the entire house she didn't get along with.

Ninna was something more of a two-faced swine in her eyes. Ninna had a very innocent and loving Yahiko wound tightly around her finger. She was constantly making snide and rude comments towards Amaya regarding her memory loss. On occasion she would even remark about Kenshin picking up random peasants off the rode and granting them charity. Amaya was never one to completely loose her temper, at first, but she just couldn't help herself. "The girl practically begs for it."

"Hmm, Kenshin…" He was definitely an odd one. Aoshi was quiet and reserved because that it was his nature to be calculating, whenever Kenshin would become very quiet, it would bother her. There was something about him that she just couldn't quite put her finger on. Clearly he was in charge of the household and everyone was very obedient and loyal to him.

She thought he was cocky and even dismissive towards her. At times he was interested in her daily activities and other times she wouldn't speak to him for days. He would probe her for answers about the night that she was attacked and how her therapy and testing sessions were going. She decided his peculiar behavior might be closely linked to the extravagant upbringing he probably had. Just walking around the estate with Misao, she couldn't believe that she was living in such a palace. "I'm no princess that's for sure. If I'd have been that important, someone would found me by now…"

The lifestyle wasn't exactly a bad one in Amaya's eyes. The three girls, including Megumi, Misao and herself, had gone shopping together and bought an entire wardrobe. Every brand and type of clothes, shoes, bags, coats, perfumes, and more was put before her. She'd felt awkward at first, and completely out of place at such posh boutiques.

She even resisted in buying so much clothing and seemingly unnecessary accessories, but Megumi had insisted it was Kenshin's explicit orders to do so. They spared no expense and lived in complete luxury. Yet they weren't affected in the least by the materialistic world around them, all except for Ninna.

Weeks passed from the moment she first gained her senses in the strange new world, but she still didn't know everything about the ones with whom she lived. They led normal lives for the most part, but there was something very different about them. They would always go out at night and insist that she stay home with at least one or two of them, and she couldn't help but think that she was being baby sat. She brushed it off thinking her already strained mind was playing tricks on her, but the monotonous daily routine was starting to weigh heavily on her.

It would either be Aoshi and Misao or Sano and Megumi. Sometimes even Yahiko and Ninna who would always complain over having to be stuck home because of her. "Argh, bitch…" she was really becoming annoyed by the girl's rude behavior. "What did I ever do to her?"

The one person that never stayed with her was Kenshin. It was probably because he was so busy with work and wouldn't get in until late on the weekdays, and was always off on the weekends. She was told that he was president and in charge of a mega corporation and had a hectic work schedule.

On one such night, she and Sano sat in silence in the main room of the house. Where she'd often find herself speaking with them at length about her memory, or lack there of! She fidgeted and fussed on the normally comfortable sofa and finally decided she just couldn't concentrate on the book she was reading.

Setting it down and cursing to herself she looked up at the clock, "It's only 11 pm? Argh…I can't sleep, I can't sit still and read, damnit I can't even go out! What do they think I'll steal something and walk out? Sitting here like some god-damn child…Damnit…" she fumed.

"What's wrong Missy, you look pretty upset tonight" Sano quipped not looking up from his newspaper.

She was surprised at the question and wondered yet again how she could be so transparent. "Am I that obvious?"

Sano smiled to himself behind the newspaper.

"Well I…I just don't understand why I have to sit here and have you baby sit me. Why couldn't have I gone out. I mean not with them, just go out. On my own!"

"You know exactly why already, I'm sure Meg's and Kenshin explained it to you."

"Yea, yea, yea" she imitated the red-head in the deepest voice she could muster, "Amaya, it's for your own good that you not wander the city alone. Especially since you have no recollection of who was out to hurt you that night" she stuck her tongue out. "It just sounds like a bunch of bull to me."

"Well…those are the orders" Sano sighed and stretched finally putting his newspaper down.

"Keh, then what's with one of you always having to stay with me huh? Don't trust me? Afraid I'll burn the place down?" she was getting irritated.

He laughed and reclined back into the comfortable chair he was sitting on. He wasn't the one to always follow the rules himself, but these were straight-forward and exact orders from Kenshin.

"We'll you have quite a fiery personality" he grinned.

She feigned faint and keeled over on her side on the couch. "You're so damn corny!"

He laughed, "Why not just take it up with Kenshin?"

She sat back up and gave it a thought. "Well, it's not like he'll say NO, will he? He's not my keeper! He can't just make me do anything."

Sano cocked an eyebrow at the comments.

"You know what! I think I will take it up with him! Where is he anyhow? Still at work this late?"

"Ah well let's see. Its Friday night…hm…11 . Most likely out entertaining."

"Entertaining?"

"Yea, out and about. You know how it is."

"GEES, DO YOU EVER GIVE A STRAIGHT ANSWER?" she blew up. "I MEAN DAMN WHAT'S THE BIG SECRET? HE'S GOT A GIRLFRIEND? HE'S NOT 15 YOU KNOW! HE CAN HAVE A GIRLFRIEND…"

"I wouldn't exactly call them girl friends" he simply stated.

"WH-what?" she suddenly stopped her screaming. "What's that supposed to mean? Them?" She was highly interested now, since this was the most information she'd gotten about the elusive man in all her time at the house.

Sano chuckled, "They're all more like mutual acquaintances. You know, no strings attached type of deal."

"What the hell? Uh—OOH! Whoa! Really? Kenshin? Quiet, wier-I mean, Kenshin? Doesn't seem like the type…"

He smirked again and rose from his seat to stretch. "Well it's getting late and Aoshi and Misao said they wouldn't be too long…"

"Yea can't leave to me to my own devices. Don't know what I might do…" she sauntered out of the room and headed for her bedroom upstairs. "Again no straight answers! What is it with these people?"

Sano stood and watched as she shuffled off to bed. "I'll have to talk to Kenshin about this one, she's getting restless."

Meanwhile Amaya finished soaking in a warm bath and getting ready for bed. She slipped on her white, silk pajamas and carefully combed out her hair in front of the mirror. After that was done, she found her mind still wandering about the situation she was put in.

"Why is this happening to me? I'm just sitting here day after day…just vegetating…argh…I think I'm gonna go insane!"

She continued to think and strolled out onto the grand balcony. The moon was full and the air was warm and comfortable around her. The balcony was massive and entirely in heavy, stone with lush potted plants scattered around the perimeter. She stood out in the center and leaned on both hands as she looked out into the countryside.

"What are you doing here" she thought to herself. No response came, "…as usual, silence."

The lush dark forest looked back at her and she strained to see anything other than the confusing mass of tree trunks and branches. Finally she gave up with a loud sigh.

"Am I bored? Confused? Angry? What? As if it's not bad enough to not know who I am, now I don't even know how I feel. God damnit…Amaya…that's not even my name. Living this life, day in and day out, it isn't my life. And what a life…"

She continued to battle with her mind and didn't notice the figure silently walking up behind her.

"Pretty soon I'll become just like one of the antiques in this house" she muttered aloud.

"Is that what you're afraid of?"

She yelped and turned around with her heart in her throat. Kenshin stood before her, dressed in a black suit his hair tied low at the nape of his neck. His voice had come in and pierced the air around her as it found its way to her ears. It shook her completely and she mentally cursed herself for being so easily frightened by him.

He smiled and stepped a bit closer to her, "I'm sorry. I guess you were deep in thought. Sano said you were quite anxious tonight. What's bothering you?"

She looked at him and turned around to gaze out over the balcony once more. She wanted to think she did this because it helped her focus, but in truth she couldn't focus while looking into those amber eyes that pinned her in place.

"You mean besides the fact that I still have no memory, no past, no present, and pretty much no future?" she answered sarcastically.

Kenshin strolled up and stood besides her looking out into the night's sky. "I know all of this is very hard for you Amaya, but if you give up…"

"Who said I was giving up?" she turned to him. Her fiery blue eyes now watched him intently. "I just, I think I'll go insane if I have to stay here day in and day out and do nothing. I can't do anything, go anywhere, and sometimes I just-SIT there and wonder what the hell happened to me. I…I know you all are trying your best and I have no complaints, in fact, I owe you so much. But if I don't find something to do…I think I'll just start going nuts! And besides," her tone softened, "I don't want to be anymore of a burden without at least feeling like I'm earning my stay here…"

"So you're bored." he stated, "How do you feel about starting some sort of work?"

"What kind of work?"

"Maybe you'd like to work part time in one of our companies. I think an assistant position should be fitting for you just until we see how capable you are. How does that sound?"

"Um, I guess it sounds good. Anything to get out and about. I…What would I be doing?" she asked.

"Well nothing too out of the way. Filing, researching, running a few admin-related errands. Consider this your interview. Can you start Monday?"

She laughed at his comment and nodded, "Yes of course. I…thanks again Kenshin."

There was something about her that seemed new and unique to him. In the centuries of meeting thousands of different women, she was quite an oddity. Her aura emitted a wild and powerful pulse that he was truly tortured by. But it also drew him closer to her and he found it necessary to know everything about her.

He smiled playfully. "Tomorrow is Saturday which means you should be ready by 9 am sharp and meet us downstairs for training."

"Training? For what?"

"Martial Arts of course: karate, kendo, sword techniques things like that. Myself, Aoshi, Sano, Yahiko and Misao train regularly. I wonder how capable you are?"

"Kendo, sword techniques? What the hell?" she thought completely baffled by his statement. "I don't know, but you know what?" she brightened, "It sounds very interesting!"

"I think you'll enjoy yourself. I'll have some clothes sent up for you. Somehow I don't think Megumi and Misao helped you pick out clothes for that."

She smiled back at him entirely excited about that day ahead.

But before she could say anything else he promptly turned to her, "I think it's late enough for you now, until tomorrow then. Good Night." He lingered momentarily looking at her through long red bangs and fiery amber eyes, making her entirely nervous in her own skin, and then left.

She tried to respond, but found herself just staring behind him as he walked way. He disappeared into the room and then heard the door shut faintly behind him. Snapping back to reality, she thought "Wait! Didn't I lock that door?"

Shaking it off, she walked inside and climbed into bed. It was already late and she desperately needed to sleep if she was doing any type of physical training tomorrow. Yawning and stretching to a comfortable position, her last thoughts were about the past she forgotten and the future shrouded in uncertainty. Sleep didn't come easily and tossed about before finally her body shut down.

Even in sleep, she was haunted by her thoughts.

She was running as fast as she could go through old, run down city streets. The rain beat down on her but she kept running for fear of what might happen if she stopped. She ran past old buildings and was desperate to find someplace safe to hide. "From what?" she thought, but kept on going. A desperate and nauseating fear crept into the pit of her stomach. The rain cast its black and gray shadows all around her and she didn't know where to turn.

Her legs pumped harder and burned for a need to rest, but something told her to keep going. Ducking in and out of old and abandoned building, she seemed to leap and jump up and down stairwells with an ease that was surprising to her. She expected to fall flat on her face at any moment, but instead she glided rapidly forward. Her mind tried to figure out where exactly she was headed to, and again from what she was running.


The night's air was cold and each rain drop bit icily at her skin as she ran outside. Looking behind her several times while still keeping a steady stride, she could only see only the night. She'd run seemingly for miles and wished everything around her would fade away. Her breath came in gasps as her lungs struggled for more air.

She didn't even know where she was running to or from what, but urgency surged through her to keep going. Finally it became too much as she slowed her pace and finally stopped. She turned and looked around her as the rain only beat down harder. "Where am I?" she thought.

The city streets had melted away and she was surrounded by thick brush all around her. She was standing at the side of a stretch of lonely road with only trees and shrubs around her. She was turning about looking every which way in an attempt to figure out where she was, when she spotted him.

He stood just feet away, and she shuddered uncontrollably in fear at the sight of him. She strained to see his face, but her vision became blurry. She wiped at her eyes and readjusted them to try and see who he was. The night, the rain, and blinding fear all descended down on her. Slowly she backed away from him as her body and mind screamed to get as far away from him as possible. "Why are you following me? Who are you?" she wanted to ask, but the words never made it past her throat.

His silhouette was tall and he was of a large build. He seemed to have short, dark hair, but she couldn't make out more. She struggled to see was his face, "What do you want?" she thought.

He took a few steps closer to her and she looked around in a panic trying to find someone to help her. But she was utterly alone with him out in the middle of nowhere. She grabbed the closest object she could get her hands on, a twisted and fallen tree branch. She held it firmly in both hands and in a stance that came all too naturally. She wondered where the automated response came from.

Her heart beat grew more erratic as he grew closer and she struggled to get a scream out as she prepared for the attack. "Who is he? What does he want?" she screamed and struggled in her mind. Finally just as he grew nearer and she thought she would see his face, her world faded to black.

She snapped upright in bed and sat up looking all around the room. It was quiet and to her relief, empty. Her heart was still beating hard against her chest and she struggled to figure out what had just happened. Clutching the bed sheets in her hands, she continued to scan the room for any perpetrators and concluded it had just been a dream.

The room was slowly being filled with the first, fresh light of the new day. "What a night" she mumbled as she hazily climbed out of bed. Looking at the time, she saw that it was nearing 5 am already. She'd hardly slept, but was wide awake now and decided on washing up for breakfast and her training. Her mind was foggy and still buzzed with the fear that coursed through her. "Just a dream" she muttered.

Meanwhile in his room, Kenshin struggled to make sense of what he'd just seen in his vision. He'd heard her heart beat grow erratic during her sleep and sensed the fear she felt.

Stealthily he'd crept into her room and watched over her as she dreamt the nightmare. Her thoughts were his and he silently observed the sequence of events from the shadows of her mind completely unbeknownst to her. He'd seen her running like mad through dark city streets in a pouring rain and eventually she found her way outside the city limits. She continued to run and look behind her every so often to see if she was safe from that man. Kenshin struggled to see the man that had stood before her, but he couldn't make out his features.

Just before she woke from her sleep, he'd slipped out of room and made his way back to his. He leaned against the doorway to his balcony trying to make sense of her dream. Wild red hair flowed around his face and he kept his eyes closed in deep concentration. The fresh morning breeze flowed over his bare chest and he finally made a conclusive assessment.

"The same man from the first vision. Yes, I'm certain." He would have to figure out how this man was tied to her.

One interesting note he'd observed was her the perfect stance she took with the tree branch in hand. "Fight or flight" he mumbled to himself, "typical human reaction to danger. But I see she has an aptitude for combat. Hm, today should prove more interesting than I thought."

Several hours later Amaya found herself dressed in a traditional blue keikogi and black hakama that was sent up for her. At first she didn't know what to make of the clothing, but luckily one of the maids assisted her. She tied up her thick black hair into a high pony tail and walked downstairs. At first she fussed with the clothing, and even thought it looked silly to be wearing such attire. "What the hell am I doing?"

She walked downstairs and waited anxiously at the foot of the large staircase for the rest of the group. Moments later Misao and Aoshi joined her followed by Sano, Yahiko and lastly Kenshin who all wore similar uniforms.

"What's that on your back? The writing, what does it mean?" she inquired of Sano.

"Oh that. It means Evil" he grinned. She wrinkled up her nose and shot him a confused looked.

"Why Evil?" she asked.

"Just…because" he simply answered.

She rolled her eyes at the typical beat-around-the-bush type of answer he always gave her.

"What about Megumi?" she asked purposely leaving Ninna out since she had no desire to see the girl.

"She doesn't really spar Missy. But let's see what you're made of hm?" Sano smiled.

Amaya brightened at the thought of actually being able to do something new for a change and was strangely becoming more comfortable even in the new clothing. The group walked towards the back of the first floor of the estate and Kenshin walked along side her.

They walked until finally entering into an impressive training facility. "Right in your own backyard" she muttered utterly shocked to see such an expansive room. It was more like several different rooms with different training circuits designated for each one. A collection of weapons were arranged on the walls all around and still more were laid out in wooden stands and cabinets.

The others walked past her but she was transfixed by the ancient weapons and the training spaces. It all seemed familiar to her, but she couldn't understand how.

"Come on, this way" Misao led. Amaya followed the girl into a large well lit area in one of the rooms. It was massive with bright light lamps hanging from the ceiling. She was instructed to wait with Sano, Yahiko and Misao at the perimeter of the large mat. In the middle stood Kenshin and Aoshi.

Kenshin looked towards her and smiled. He then turned his attention back towards his opponent and narrowed his gaze. The look on his face was stern and more serious than she'd usually see. They bowed and began the sparring.

Amaya stood in silence and admired both men as they fluidly moved about in hand to hand combat with each other. The fabric of their gi's snapped with each sharp movement. Every gesture was done with grace and great ease by both men, and she could sense the overwhelming power each one exhibited.

"Wow…" she whispered to Misao, "They're really good!"

Misao smiled proudly, "That's my Aoshi-sama!"

"Wait till you see Kenshin with the sword. Then you'll be speechless" Yahiko whispered.

After several more minutes of sparring, Aoshi and Kenshin bowed to each other and turned to the rest of the group.

"Misao, shouldn't you be practicing?" Aoshi stated barely out of breath.

"I…ah, I was waiting for you!" Misao whined playfully.

"That was, really something else" Amaya complimented.

Kenshin waked towards her and she noticed that he'd barely broken a sweat. "Wow, businessman by day, superhero by night. What can't you do?" she quipped.

"Misao, Yahiko lets go you two. We have to get through your routines for the day" Aoshi instructed as he walked out of the room.

"What about Amaya?" Misao asked.

"We'll have to see just what her level is. Might be a very novice beginner…" Sano teased.

"What?" Amaya fumed.

"Calm down now, I was just saying that you don't really look like much of a fighter and we'll need to go easy on you."

"Either way," she fired back, "I bet I could kick your ass!"

Misao and Yahiko smiled and looked towards Sano who seemed unaffected by the threats. "Okay Missy, whatever you say. And how long have you been training? Oh right, never."

Just as she thought about beating the tall man senseless, Kenshin intervened. "Now we don't know that for sure do we?" he smiled. The anger in her eyes amused him as he thought back to her dream. "You all go about your usual practices. I'll stay with Amaya." With that the room emptied and she was left standing with Kenshin alone.

Suddenly she was nervous and her anger left just as quickly as it had risen. "Okay…don't end up looking like an idiot!"

"Don't worry we'll start with really basic stuff alight?"

She nodded and was irritated with that fact that he'd read her nervousness so easily.

They two stood in the middle of the large mat under bright lights. He looked at her trying to figure out how exactly to go about testing her without causing too much pain.

"Alright, why don't you show me some defensive tactics first? This is pretty much out of any self defense class" he smiled warmly towards.

"Okay" she nodded a bit ticked off that he was being overtly soft with her.

Kenshin looked downright menacing with his hair tied high up on his head and dressed in his uniform, but he purposely kept his tone silky.

"I'll come at you from behind" he stated before disappearing just behind her.

He was out of her vision and she stood there feeling like she didn't know what to do except for anticipate something sudden and painful coming at her at any moment.

The lights were too bright to cast any immediate and effective shadows that she could use as he approached her. Deciding it was too distracting to use her vision, which was of no use to her at the moment anyway she closed her eyes and concentrated.

Her hearing and sense of smell heightened and she could sense him not too far from her. He wasn't charging yet, but knew that he would be quick. After seeing his techniques with Aoshi, she was well aware of his agility and speed. Her mind was clear and calm for a change as she awaited his attack.

Kenshin looked at her curiously and was surprised that her mind was completely free of all distracting thoughts. She was nervous to some degree, but at the same time openly anticipated his attack. "You're giving her too much credit. Of course she's anticipating it you told her you would attack from behind." He shook free from his own thoughts and focused completely on her.

He decided to go easy on her, "Just a little. I wouldn't want to hurt her in the very first session."

With that he ran silently across the mat and leapt into the air just over and behind her. It took all his control and focus to not give off all of his power and energy.

Just then she heard it, or sensed it, she wasn't sure. But something told her to move and she did. "KIAI" she yelled from the pit of her stomach just as his arm came from and behind and she threw him over her shoulder in one fluid movement.

Of course his reflexes made up for the suddenness of the move and he merely flipped over and jumped on his feet and stood before her.

Her eyes wide with amazement at her own agility but there was something more as well. The precision and detail of her simple move was not that of a novice. "No, there's definitely more than meets the eye with you" he thought.

He looked into the intensity of her blue eyes and saw the fire just beneath them. The usual confusion and anxiety was gone and replaced by certainty and strength. She knew what she was doing the moment she stepped on to the mat, even if it was subconscious. "Maybe I don't have to hold back so much with you. Let's see."

With out another word he charged her again. He focused on holding back just enough to truly test her abilities. Again and again she countered most of his basic offensive moves almost expertly. He enjoyed the dance as they continued to spar and stopped just inches away from completely making contact with her each time he executed a different technique.

She matched his stamina and speed and was toe to toe with him the entire time. Of course he masked his true immortal strength from her, but she was no weakling by any measure.

Finally he grew tired of the sparring and easily took her down to the mat holding her beneath him. She panted for air as beads of sweat formed on her brow. Her skin glowed even more under the sheer coat of perspiration.

Her eyes were still wild and untamed as she looked up at him. The weak woman he'd found weeks ago along the side of the road was no where to be seen. "Fire and ice, I don't know what to expect from you" he thought.

He hovered above her for several seconds and smiled, "It seems you have quite a knack for combat." He stood up and extended a hand to her. She clasped onto his and he easily helped her up.

"I…" she started, "I don't know where that came from! But that really kicked ass!" she added triumphantly.

"Interesting" he thought.

Kenshin laughed and looked at her inquisitively. She'd gone to take a towel and wiped at her face and neck. She looked up at him, "What?"

He snapped from his thoughts and walked over to the nearest weapons cabinet just off the edge of the mat. He removed two bokutōs and handed one to her. She looked at him as she took the sword.

"Do you know what it's called?"

"I…um, no I don't" she replied while turning the wooden sword in her hands.

"It's called a bokutō or sometimes a bokken" he handled his expertly.

Amaya looked at it and turned it over in her hands several times before finally getting a comfortable grasp on it. "Bokotu" she repeated to herself.

"It's wooden!" she replied in surprise.

"Yes, it's used for practice since it's safer than say a katana would be. So you don't hurt yourself or other while practicing katas."

"Oh, okay. Is that what you use? A katana?" she inquired remembering Yahiko's statement.

"I can. As well as a sakabatou, it's a reverse blade sword. Why don't we try a few techniques with these?" he stated calmly.

"Wait! WAIT! I don't know how to use this thing!"

"Well, you did pretty well with everything else. Now…" he raised his sword, "fight!" He brought his sword down in an attack and instantly her body tensed. Senses sharpened once again she automatically blocked with her sword. They stood in that stance swords crossed together, and looked at each other.

He smiled proudly at her, "Not bad."

They separated and she stood in shock over her reflexes. She stared at the sword in her hands for several seconds and looked back towards Kenshin. "This is really getting weird."

"Do you remember or at least think you remember to how wield it?"

She shook her head and he placed his bokutō back on the shelf and walked over to her. "Alright, lets see" he stood behind her.

She didn't know what to think at first and before she knew it he brought his arms around her and held her hands. "Alright, start out by holding it in both hands like this…" he instructed as he moved his hands and hers around the sword. Her cheeks burned with the touches and she could smell the musky gingery smell that radiated from him.

His voice was soft and his breath hit her ear and neck in waves of warm air. Her back and shoulders were against his chest and her heart raced so hard she swore he would her it. "Focus, focus" she concentrated.

Kenshin smiled discretely as he continued to instruct her on different moves and techniques. He knew it wasn't necessary to hold her so closely in order to demonstrate the sword techniques, but found himself drawn to her. She smelled of a mix between sweet jasmine, and the salty sweat that glistened on her skin. He could clearly hear her heart beat rapidly and the warmth she exuded.

At first she was completely nervous and anxious over him being to close to her. The concentration took all her focus and slowly she began to be at more ease with the bokken. He gradually let her go as she became more confident in her movements and marveled at how quickly she reprised the techniques from memory. He knew that her past hid something more than just an average young woman plucked from an average little life.

After the initial rigid movements, he watched her as she moved gracefully and tactfully about the mat. Her gaze was concentrated only on the imaginary opponent, and she'd seemingly forgotten that he was watching her. In fact, the rest of them: Aoshi, Sano, Yahiko, and Misao had entered the room and stood watching in amazement.

Aoshi: "What do you make of this?"

Misao: "Oh wow, finally! Another girl who knows how to kick butt! And here I thought I was the only one!"

Sano: "Looks like she does know what she's doing."

Yahiko: "Kenshin! You taught her that?"

Kenshin: "No, I didn't. And honestly I'm not sure what to make of it right now. She's obviously been trained, but doesn't seem to remember until she's sort of pushed into the techniques."

Misao: "This is awesome! Finally another female to spar with!"

Kenshin thought to himself as he continued to watch her, "Beautiful blue eyes and yet you hide something dark under the surface." She seamlessly completed a kata and stopped with the sword still in hand.

She stood there baffled and wondered just where all that came from. "Oh my gosh! I-I did that!"

Misao broke the silence and clapped as she ran up to her. "That was really good! Wow! I didn't know you knew any of that!"

"I-I didn't know either" she muttered as she walked to the shelf and replaced the bokotu back in its place. Amaya looked at her audience and swallowed hard as a flood of confusion hit her. Catching her breath, she wiped the sweat from her brow just as Keshin's gaze caught her attention. She looked at him in wide-eyed surprise and then Sano spoke up.

"Not bad Missy. I take it all back!"

She smiled triumphantly and reveled in the compliment.

"I think you deserve a kick-ass name. Hm" he thought, "what to call you?"

Before anyone could answer, Kenshin spoke, "Aoi Kasai-Blue Fire" he simply stated looking into her eyes.

She looked back at him smiling approvingly and fighting another blush.

"Kick-ass! Maybe this isn't so bad after all!" she thought.

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So how was it? I really liked the whole Kao aka Amaya flipping Kenshin over her shoulder thing. Very nice, neh? LOL

So review and let me know what you think and stay tuned for the next chapter soon enough.

Reignashii, hope you like it!

Thanks to Kamiya.Reflection for giving both my fics a read and reviewing!

And thanks to everyone that's read and reviewed so far! MUAH!