~Chapter 2: Morning's Light~
"Kenshin, everything alright? You seem preoccupied and a little pale." This was the fourth time Kaoru had caught the swordsman lost in thought while he did chores around the dojo.
"I'm alright Miss Kaoru, that I am" the swordsman replied reassuringly with one of his trademark smiles. Kaoru wasn't convinced, he only became this pensive when he was worried about something. The glint in his eyes betrayed him. Still, she let it go for now. She didn't want to pry; after all, it could just be past memories coming up, something he didn't like to talk about.
Truth be told, Kenshin was feeling the slightest under the weather. Nothing he couldn't handle, and nothing he needed to worry Kaoru about. He started feeling bad a few hours ago. He assumed it was just a small flu.
"Alright, but if there's anything, you'll talk to me, right?" She asked in a concerned tone. She worried about the wanderer; she worried that he might get up and leave her alone at any time. If he ever left, Kaoru didn't know what she would do. Kenshin had become a deep part of her life now.
It was late morning, the sun was shining brightly giving off warmth in the early Springtime day. Kenshin had finished many of the chores already including the laundry, which he had just hung out to dry. Breakfast had been made and the floors polished. All that was left was going into town for supplies, and drawing a hot bath for Kaoru. It was getting close to noon, if he wanted to make it he would need to leave soon, everything else would have to wait.
"Do we need anything from town? I was going to go buy tofu for dinner tonight, that I was." Smile still plastered to his face. His dodging of the question didn't slip past the young woman, but she chose, once again, to ignore it for now.
"No, actually I just sent Yahiko for supplies. He wasn't focusing on his lessons and you took care of everything else, I figured he needed to do something around here to earn his keep. I'll go with you to make sure he didn't get distracted." She turned to go with him. He had to come up with something fast, otherwise his plan to sneak away would fail.
"It's okay Miss Kaoru, why don't you stay and enjoy this beautiful weather we're having? I won't be long. I'll even make sure Yahiko isn't goofing off, that I will." Kenshin said once again reassuringly. He was hoping that he could prevent a fight from actually occurring, and if he couldn't, that it wouldn't take much time. He hated worrying his friends.
"Okay" She said hesitantly. Kaoru thought about arguing, but seeing that look in his eyes kept her from doing so. Maybe he just needed to be alone to think.
"I guess it would be nice to take a breather from everything. Why don't you hurry up and you can do the same when you get back." A small smile graced her lips at her brilliant idea. Kenshin worked very hard to keep everything in order at the dojo, he was the one that deserved a break.
"That does sound nice, that it does. I will be back shortly." He went inside to grab the Tofu bucket before he headed out. Kaoru watched him leave.
The moment the gate closed, the smile dropped and turned into a serious look. He would make it to the shrine just in time. The rurouni went in the opposite direction from town, heading for the forest shrine and his unknown opponent. Overhead, clouds began to shroud the morning light.