Author's Note: Yes, at last I finished this chapter. Was experiencing writer's block at first. Then later I felt that what I write was just not…it. Okay, I don't know what I'm talking about either. Putting all trivial matters aside, this chapter is how Kenshin and Kaoru interact in the short time they have together. Kaoru is going to tell him some things about herself and if you read close enough, you'll realise that nothing much is said about Kenshin. That's because I feel he should just be kept a…dark, mystifying secret. Not like he really actually is one. Oh well,

She could never forget the crazed look in his glassy, desultory eyes. There was a held back ferocity which was tamed by the walls of his soul as he fought the sexually deprived Todoro. Kaoru could only stare in awe before trepidation sank in as she realised whom it was she'd thrown derogatory remarks at.

With a startled jump, she realised that he was looking at her with an indifferent face. He grabbed her arm, pulling her up onto her feet roughly. Biting back a gasp, she forced herself to adjust to his quick pace as he dragged her out of the restaurant and away from the entrance where a curious crowd had gathered.

Their pace soon escalated into a run and they ducked past several stores and ran past scores of people strolling about in the bright weather. He only slowed down when they crossed the bridge and arrived at the river, where a few children could be seen swimming in. Kenshin let himself fall onto the soft grass and roll down until he almost reached the base of the slope. Kaoru jogged down along with him, unsure if she should actually be following him but with nowhere else to go, decided to simply wait and watch what would follow.

Kenshin spread his arms wide open. He always loved feeling the breeze after a run, when his body was all worked up and he felt warm and bothered. Thelight windwas a cooling agent, which calmed his nerves down and helped settle his mind. He felt the grass bend under the weight of another person- the girl.

She was staring at the river, watching the two children chase after a school of fishes which just happened to swim by. "Why?"

"What?"

"Why did you save me?"

Kenshin regarded her with an irritated expression, as if saving her was the most obvious thing anybody would have done. "You looked like you needed help."

"I didn't," she insisted. "You've gotten me in trouble now. My father needed the general's help for his next project and you've just ruined the relationship between them." A seed of distrust had been planted when Kenshin had claimed that Kaoru was his woman.

"Whatever," Kenshin shrugged uncaringly, turning his attention back to the wind." I did what I thought was right. It's not like I will be affected in any way."

"Obstinate bastard," Kaoru muttered under her breath, hoping he would hear her. Silence was his answer, if he did catch hold of her cursing. She tried to goad him further. "What are you waiting for? You wanted to kill me last night, didn't you? So just go ahead and finish me now!"

He frowned; irked by all the troublesome questions with conspicuous answers that she was throwing at him. "I'm an assassin, a murderer who takes lives. It's my job. Besides, I still have a few hours left for your case."

Kaoru's vehement determination to provoke him abated and a soft, wistful light replaced the spiteful spirit in her eyes. She seemed to be reflecting in deep thought. "If you're a murderer, then I wonder what that makes me…?"

Kenshin surreptitiously shifted his eyes to study her as the atmosphere underwent a quick metamorphosis into a contemplative, silent one. There was more to her then met the eye. Behind the beautifully painted amethyst kimono; under those dark silky locks of hair; beneath that face of near perfection, there was something she guarded carefully from the world. A concealed secret hidden from even the most prying eyes. If she didn't want to tell him, Kenshin couldn't care less. He turned to lie on his right, away from her.

"Have you ever played in the river before?" she asked, indicating the two kids who were now waddling in random directions, not worrying about getting their clothing wet.

She was really asking him weird questions, Kenshin decided, as he rolled his eyes skywards. She started again.

"My father broke the news to me last night that he was going to make me marry one of his business acquaintances. Not General Todoro, mind you," she added when she noticed the questioning gaze he gave her.

Kenshin felt enraged; even though her father had promised somebody else her hand, he'd let his own daughter be touched by another man. Kamiya-san sure didn't keep his promises very seriously. If the general didn't know who Kaoru's fiancé was, he was now sure to think that her suitor was Kenshin. That's my woman you're touching… Kenshin recalled his words with much irony.

"My threats of running away from home didn't have my desired effect…so I decided to end-" she stopped, as if suddenly realising who she was talking to. Her spirit seemed to deflate; her firm, steady posture collapsed into a tremulous wreck. "N-never mind. Forget what I was about to say."

"Do you hate your father?"

Kaoru nodded without even needing time to consider. But if she felt any anger at the mention of her father, she didn't show it. "Of course. From the bottom of my heart- I know it sounds cheesy but it's true. He showed his true colours after my mother died of a fever." She folded her legs to get into a more comfortable position. "He blames me for her death. Said that if I'd not gone out to play and gotten myself lost, she wouldn't have worried herself sick and died as a result.

"What's the point of telling me your life story?"

"Dunno. I guess I just wanted to tell you to make the best out of your life."

Are you trying to tell me that I shouldn't waste my life being an assassin working under people whom I don't even know?

"I used to play in the river with my mother…Let's go," she stood up and locked her fingers around his elbow, pulling him further down the slope till she reached the water.

"Whoa-whoa- what the hell are you doing?" His arms flapped around furiously as he tried to get her to let him go but to no avail. "You- damn it- argh-" His words were cut off as she stepped into the waters, and he fell into the shin-deep river. She let her kimono get soaked as she walked deeper and deeper before she released her hold on him; he fell backwards, and was inundated by the piercing cold waters.

He quickly stood up and was hit by a cold blast of wind. Cursing, he sat back down in the river again. Kaoru laughed when she realised that the cold water had chilled him to the bone when he'd stood up.

Kenshin growled. "Don't laugh like we're friends."

Kaoru scooped up a handful of crystal-clear water; then dumped it over the unaware Kenshin, who blubbered frantically, waving his arms around in a poor attempt to escape. "We're not. You're an assassin. I'm your victim."

"Not yet."

"Not yet," she agreed.

She seemed…lighter, if there was a word for the change in her appearance. A pressing burden had been lifted off her shoulders and she was able to walk with a strange ease, as if she was more of floating now instead of fighting to take a step forwards. It was also strange, he concluded after much thought, how she wasn't afraid of him, although she did prove that statement the night before when she insulted him with names. Still, she was happily playing with him. In a river.

"Why aren't you terrified of me?" he asked, when curiosity finally got the better of him.

She paused, hands half in the water, about to pour more over him. Straightening her back, she frowned in concentration. "Well, you did tell me you still have until evening. So we have about an hour more."

"That doesn't answer my question," he said with a deadpan.

"I don't know. Perhaps it's because you don't intend to kill me."

"I do."

She tilted her head to a side in a girlish manner. "Well, yes, but the one who wants me dead isn't you. It's somebody else; you're just doing your work professionally."

"Oh." Kenshin found that he was at a loss for words.

As he was grappling for something to say, she spoke up, "Let's head for that place."

That place…?

"You know," she said matter-of-factly, as if she could read the inquisitive stare he was giving her, "the place where we had our first unarranged rendezvous."