Wow! You all are so great! -tears- I can't believe I've gotten this many reviews for just one chapter, that hasn't happened before-with the exception of my other new story. Thank you all so much!
Also, to explain a little-I have had a little trouble in deciding where I'm going to go with my story, so I'm going to warn you right now that updates may or may not take a while on this one. It's very different from any other story I've written to date, so I'm a little unsure of myself.
Anyways... that being said-I've decided on having them visit 12 worlds, jfyi. That ought to give me a good number of chapters, etc. Hopefully this chapter won't disappoint anyone...

Disclaimer: -plucks flower petals- Own, don't own, own, don't own, own... darn it-don't own it.

-o-

--Plains of Thunder-World I--

-o-

Thunder flashed and lightning roared as two figures emerged from a large rend in the sky. Kaoru gasped in shock as she felt the world sway dizzyingly beneath her feet. Closing her eyes tightly, she wrapped her arms about her slim body, willing the unpleasant sensation to cease.

Opening one crystal blue eye warily, her mouth thinned in fright as she noticed they were in the midst of a vast ominous plain with no shelter of any sort in sight. Lightning pierced the air with its white, blazing, jagged blades. Thunder roared in fury as rain pelted the newcomers unmercifully.

Kaoru felt completely and totally miserable.

There was no sea.

No magic.

Nothing. At least, nothing she could feel in this immediate area.

She shot a heated glare towards the red-headed man who had just happened to get them tossed into this world. At the moment, Kaoru hated him.

He just had to pick this place.

The woman jumped as the sky lit up in a bright crescendo of lightning and thunder. Turning her reproachful gaze upon the fiery-haired man, she was surprised at first to see a smirk upon his face. Surprise quickly turned into anger as she was tempted to swing a fist at him.

"There's nothing to be afraid of." he stated as he walked forward, his gait smooth and steady-easily giving away the fact that he was a swordsman of superior caliber.

Kaoru shook her head, unconvinced at his bold words.Of course, he probably didn't have to worry about anything. She fingered her dripping locks that were beginning to stick to her skin. Contemplating whether or not it would be worth her while to pick a fight with the man, she decided to stay silent for the time being. 'He ought to consider himself lucky.'

Going against her better judgment, the woman followed the cloaked figure who strode confidently-almost arrogantly in front of her. She could feel her teeth begin to grind against each other in anger, who did he think he was? Kaoru huffed and kicked at a small rock, in an effort to release some of her growing irritation.

Suddenly, the rock had teeth. Long needle-like teeth oozing with a slimy green substance. 'Rocks should not have teeth!' Kaoru panicked inwardly as she immediately backed up and turned to run-ignoring the sounds of it hopping heavily behind her.

By the time she caught up with the red-head, her breath was coming in labored pants. She tried to quickly conceal the mild fright that still lingered on her expressive features as she walked alongside of him.

'The man's going to pay for this.' her thoughts growled hatefully.

"There's an inn within a few miles of here. Keep an eye out for it." he commanded in a brusk tone, his amber orbs searching the plains.

Kaoru growled something in response that caused a dampened red eyebrow to arch quizzically.

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After they were both soaked to the bone, Kaoru especially, they finally came across the inn.

It was a small place, but it looked pleasant to the eye after the awful place they had been walking. The woman shivered, at least she hadn't come across any more of those rocks... though she hadn't tried kicking at any more. Intelligence being the better part of valor of course.

The fiery haired man opened the large wooden door and walked inside, not bothering to see if Kaoru would follow. She snorted in distaste and followed, making sure to close the door securely behind her.

"Welcome! Did you and you wife need a room?" the large man behind a small wooden counter greeted cheerfully, oblivious to the stunned look then death glare he received from the raven-haired woman.

Her companion, however, seemed to take it all in stride. "Yes." was his over-whelming response as he dropped a handful of gold coins on the counter, causing the man's eyes to widen.

He looked at the pile, then looked up into amber orbs. Shaking his head, he singled out three coins from the relatively large pile and pushed the rest back towards the warrior. "That's all I'll be needin', this'll pay for your room, supper, and breakfast tomorrow."

Looking almost surprised for a millisecond, he pushed three more coins towards the inn-keeper and pocketed the rest. "For your honesty." he stated flatly, then took the key the astonished man proffered.

Leaving a dripping trail behind him, he turned and stalked off to the room.

Kaoru stared after him, a very important detail coming to her mind. "Wait a second!" she called out after his retreating figure. Seeing that he wasn't about to pause until he got to the room, Kaoru stomped her foot in irritation before bolting after him.

Seeing the man open a door and walk inside, she darted in after him. "We can't share a room!"

For the second time since they arrived, the man's eyebrow rose into a delicate arch.

"It's not proper." Kaoru crossed her arms over her chest, eyes darkening.

"If you have any money with you, go rent another room. If not, then make do." he responded, unfastening his cloak and letting it drop with a sploshing sound to the floor. "I don't force myself on women-I prefer my partners willing." the man stated calmly.

Her eyes darkened even more as a heated flush washed over her face, but she realized the truth to his words. Sighing, she plopped down on the floor. Being unhappy with her wet state, she focused on removing the excess water and sending it out of a crack in the window-accidentally-on-purpose spraying him with some of the excess drops.

He shot a heated glare her way before he started to dry his cloak.

Kaoru slowly stretched and stood up, feeling much better now that she wasn't soaking wet. "By the way, I'm Kaoru. You probably already knew though, didn't you?" she sent a curious glance his way.

Neither agreeing with nor denying the statement, he continued to dry his garment.

"You never did mention your name." she pushed.

"Kenshin." was the short reply. For some reason, he felt it somewhat peculiar that someone had asked for his name. It was the first time in years... not counting the ones that had been trying to kill/hire him. He raised his amber orbs to find Kaoru staring out of the window, her eyes clouded over in musing over past memories.

Unintentionally, he found his gaze roaming over her figure. Tearing his gaze from her figure, he concentrated harder on his garment. Maybe he would have time for that later; seducing her would take a lot of time and effort that he was unwilling to part with at the moment.

Kaoru sat listening to the sounds of the rain, thinking back to when her father and mother had still been alive. A small lump rose in her throat at these thoughts. Shaking her head to remove the memories before she started to react further, she paused as she felt a wave of ki. A wave of distinctly unpleasant and very strong ki.

Seeing the way Kenshin had stiffened, Kaoru knew that he had sensed it as well-and knowing him, had probably sensed it a little while back.

She didn't need to wonder what they were looking for, it seemed it had found them.
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--END NOTES--

Please forgive me for the wait! I'm cramming for tests, etc. and so forth-so it's hard to update quickly. -bows in apology-
This chapter was necessary for setting them up in the new world... so if you found it boring, apologies... -retreats to secret hiding spot-