"Let me teach you how to fight at his level." Those words echoed through Kaoru's ears as she placed two cups and a teapot of freshly brewed tea on the table. The mysterious man sat across from her, his long legs folded under him and his hands resting lightly on the kitchen table. She knew that if a sudden situation arose, his right hand would be quick to draw his sword. Depending on his swordsman skill he displayed in the dojo yard and remembering what Kenshin told her about samurais knowing their skill, her skill was beneath his one.

With shaky hands, Kaoru focused all her attention of pouring the hotly tea water in the cups without spilling a drop but a sudden shake caused some liquid to spill from the rim to the side. The hot fluid spread across the table causing her eyes to widen. Mentally, she cursed herself for being self conscious around the man. Only Kenshin made her notice her actions because she tried to act femininely to attract him.

'I was such a failure at that,' Kaoru mentally scolded herself. 'Just like I am failure at serving tea like a simple hostess.'

She could feel the man's stare as she quickly stood up but the lash at her stomach caused her to flinch. The ache swelled at the side of her stomach, below her right breast. She cradled the side of her stomach with her hands as she slowly turned into the kitchen to get a towel to wipe the mess she made on the table. By the time she returned, he was already sipping his tea, waiting for her to sit down before discussing their conversation.

"Not bad," his voice rumbled. "You don't need to add a lot of water because you dilute the flavor of the tea."

Balling her fists on the table and gritting her teeth together, she hissed, "I added more water on purpose so I won't waste my precious tea on the likes of you."

The man chuckled as he put down his tea. Mirth twinkled in his dark eyes for a moment before dispersing. "I see you still have some anger left."

"So," Kaoru said defiantly. "What are you going to do? Take out your sword and slice me to pieces?"

His face darkened at her statement and Kaoru wished her anger didn't make her act recklessly. Kenshin, Sanosuke and Yahiko did spoil her silly with giving her the chance vocalize her opinions. Now that they were gone, she was at the mercy of a complete stranger.

"If I wanted you dead, I would have killed you the moment the boy walked out the dojo," he warned with a dark voice.

"Then why didn't you kill me?" Kaoru asked quietly, feeling the tension brewing in the atmosphere. They were finally getting to the heated part of the discussion where he revealed his true intentions.

"It would be a waste of my time," he answered simply.

Kaoru stared at him with wide eyes. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she tried a different tactic to get some answers. "Why are you still here? Ken- I mean Battousai left here a couple days ago."

"I know."

'Damn it!' Kaoru mentally swore. 'Was the damn stranger going to give her a detailed answer.'

There was a moment of silence as she watched the man's long fingers wrap around the steaming mug of tea. With a graceful movement she envied, he lifted the steaming liquid to his lips. He didn't bother to blow at the hot substance as he took three gulps before setting the cup on the table.

"Did you think about my proposal?" he asked, breaking the quietness that settled in the room. Kaoru still hadn't touch her mug.

"What proposal?"

"The one I mentioned about making you fight at Battousai's equal level."

All of a sudden Kaoru shook her head and began to laugh hysterically. The man watched her with an impassive face while waiting for her to get herself together. "You do realize you're asking for the impossible. Kenshin has been training with his sword style for many years." Kaoru purposely omitted the type of swordsmanship he practiced. "He's quick, accurate, intelligent and deadly with his sword. He's basically a master at handling it."

"Correct."

"And, there's no way in hell I can beat him! Not even if I trained for ten years to fight at his level!"

"You have a point." The man simply intertwined his lean fingers; both of his elbows were on the table. He casually rested his chin on his linked hands. His gaze darkened as he watched her, causing her to wince.

"And, well- you can't train me to defeat him. Okay?"

A small smile lifted at the corner of thin lips. His eyes sparkled with an unknown emotion before he put down his hands. Kaoru watched his actions warily. "I can train you and you can beat him."

"No way."

"Yes."

"How?" Kaoru found herself asking the same question again.

"You already have the advantage over him. And that lies in the fact he can't bring himself to physically hurt you."

Kaoru paused before quickly replying, "You're already too late. He hurt me more than you can imagine."

"He didn't attack you with his sword."

"Well, he didn't have to. Leaving me alone and breaking my trust in him; that's the worst he can do to me." She never saw him move. In a blink of an eye, he was at her side, looming over her with his tall frame. He blocked the evening sunlight from the doorway, casting his shadow over her small form. Kaoru wasn't one to cower easily but with the man proving his lethal skills with handling a sword and the menacing waves pouring from his ki, she found herself scooting away from him. Her body trembled as her eyes widened. He knelt to the floor beside her, his hard hands catching her chin. He raised her head until her blue eyes were gazing into his narrowed black eyes.

"He might have hurt you emotionally but not physically. What I offer you is a way to make him see his greatest mistake." His voice was hard, which sounded like he almost hissed the words from his mouth. Then, the next words he said came out quietly. Kaoru almost didn't hear him. "The same way I did."

"What?" she gasped. Anguish flashed briefly in his eyes before he retreated. From his action, she knew instantly what he was doing. It was the same action Kenshin did when he distanced himself. Stepping back meant he was building walls to hide his emotions. But she wasn't going to let the man retreat behind his walls. He might have the power to take her life but he was still in her home and she had the right to demand for answers. "What do you mean the same way?"

The stranger startled her with his deep intake of breath. He slowly exhaled it when he turned his large back to her. For him to show her his back took guts but Kaoru was more interested in what he was going to say than to attack him. "Don't worry about it."

Kaoru sat up straight. Her sudden movement caused his body to go rigid. "I need to know."

Before she could react, she found herself with the hilt of his sword at her throat. His black eyes bored into hers, daring her to make another demand. Slowly raising her hands in a surrendering motion, she gulped as she waited for his next move. "Please," she begged him. "I am only trying to understand why you're here and why you're not after him."

"Leaving here will only make you more vulnerable," he said.

'Oh, not this again!' Kaoru wailed in her mind.

She tried another approach, proud of herself for keeping a steady voice despite her inner turmoil. "In order for me to make a decision as to whether you can train me, we have to come to a truce; establish a temporary trust between both parties." Finally, she looked at him with a pleading expression. Tears were pooling in her blue eyes. "I just lost my family. I am alone, frightened and I never met you once in my life. Please consider how I feel."

There was a bit of hesitation on his part; Kaoru could see him fighting an internal battle. The moment his hard gaze softened, she knew she gain some ground. He removed the hilt of his sword away from vulnerable throat and with a grace of a cat, walked back to other side of the table. He knelt down, his hands resting on his thighs. Finally, Kaoru let a go a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"How about we begin with your name?"

"Isao," he instantly replied.

Kaoru waited for a last name but he didn't make an attempt to fill in the blank spot. "And your reason for being here?"

"My first motive was to kill him but it changed over time. Now, I am fulfilling a wish that is long overdue."

"A wish?" She asked, perplexed at the sudden change in his motives.

His eyes lowered to the cup laying peacefully before him. She took the opportunity to curl her fingers around her mug and raise it to her lips. Tasting the contents, she was surprised to notice the flavor did not stain her tongue with a certain insipidness. She diverted her attention on him to the dark substance and silently agreed with his comment on how to improve her tea.

His voice tumbled out the next words, making her raise her lashes. "I promise a very special someone to search for a student worthy of training." He didn't elaborate any further.

"And you think this person is me?" Kaoru questioned, lowering her cup on the table. "I think you may have the wrong person. I am an assistant master of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu. It's this swordsmanship I will continue to train and master."

The man shook his head while a hard smile cracked his hardened face. "Your swordsman style is strong but you need to add more offensive attacks and add more dynamic skills to oppose Battousai's moves. Also, your ki is another factor we have to train."

Kaoru frowned, considering Isao's words on what she should train if she were to face Battousai. The only problem was if she wanted to see him again. "Maybe if you asked me two days ago, I would have said yes."

"And now?"

"I don't know if I have the heart to see him again. He did something more terrible than anyone could do to me. He betrayed my trust."

"No," Isao's response stopped her from saying anything else. "The worst anyone can do to you is take away your life." He removed his sheathed sword from his side and placed it gently on the table. "A samurai lives by the sword and dies by the sword. However, with the end of Edo era, samurais' swords were forsaken, their livelihoods lost." He gestured to his sword. "This is my livelihood as Battousai's sword is his one."

"If taken, then..."

"We both lose our way. This is the path we have chosen. And the question remains what you want to do with your life."

For the first time, Kaoru really stared at the mysterious swordsman in front of her. She was reminded of herself as a child taking philosophy lessons with her father when he first began teaching her the importance of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu. "Why does my choice matter?"

"For one, Battousai is an idiot to leave you alone, thinking you will be protected without his presence in your home. His enemies already know who you are and you have become a target for them. And two, you now have the freedom of choice."

Her face scrunched up at the man's words. "Hey! What are you trying to say?"

"Think of it in this manner. How many times did Battousai allow you to participate in any of his fights? How many secrets have he kept from you? Most of all, are you sure your feelings are reciprocated?"

Kaoru's hands clenched into fists as she stood up. She glared daggers at the swordsman who seemed to know a lot information on her but she knew so little about him in return.

"As I see it, you will benefit more from the training than anyone else."

"Why do you say that?" Kaoru asked through gritted teeth. She tried her best to keep her temper in check but her hands itched to have a bokken so she could smash Isao's head with it.

"Because you have two options in your favor." His next words diffused her fury. "You can improve your swordsmanship to face Battousai as a rival or you can learn swordsmanship to gain your independence. It's your pick."

He stood up from the other side of the table but she was too astonished by the points he made during their discussion. Simply, he glided passed her, his larger frame whisking by her. "I will return to find out your answer," his words rang in the open air.

Twelve years ago Isao was a man with a narrow mind. He ate, slept and trained all day with his sword. Living people were second to him. Only the ghosts of those who died during the Bakumatsu haunted his dreams. He had one desire and that was to slay hitokiri the Battousai with his own bloody hands. But first he wanted to master a special swordsmanship that rivaled the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu. It took a combination of observing other battles, whether it was watching fist fights, sword duels or watching how ninjas blended within the shadows. During his study of other techniques, he realized he had a photographic memory and with the evaluation he was able to combine different attacks to make complex ones. However, he wasn't ready to face Battousai in a head on battle. There was something missing from his swordsman style; passion, fury, spirit. He didn't know what it was so he decided to trace Battousai's whereabouts and follow him from the shadows. During his watchful times, he was astounded and disappointed to discover what the red haired swordsman had become; a samurai spouting meaningless ideals for a peaceful era.

What peaceful era?

How does a sword protect people without killing enemies?

So Isao turned his back on Battousai, deeming the samurai was an unworthy opponent. He hired a trained warrior to keep tabs on the worthless rurouni while he continued to train to get stronger. In Kyoto, he met another man with another ideal, "the strong live and the weak die." This ideal sounded superb, close to the motto samurais followed but he still felt there was something missing in his swordsmanship. And then he found the answer in one swordswoman. To fight, to become stronger, a person had to have the willpower to live. The willpower was considered to be the person's spirit or also known as ki. If one could master ki, then anything in fighting could become possible. He had seen some miraculous events with exploding a person's spirit, freezing their lungs, slicing objects and putting them together, and more. He made a bargain with her to learn about ki. In the end, she was another tool to get what he desired.

After mastering ki, he left her without glancing back. One year later, he discovered a rumor about her horrible death and for the first time since the death of his family, his heart stung. He mourned over her and visited her grave to check if the rumors were true. Even now, saying her name felt like a weight was pressed on his chest.

He continued to pursue Battousai but on a more discrete level and within the last year, he finally settled down in Tokyo, near Akabeko joint. He was able to keep his enemy close as he watched the red headed samurai built a family, rescued the weak and established a place called home. And within the one year, Isao had grown to hate the man because he realized how much of a fool he was. Enishi Yukishiro's actions, a fellow accomplice, had taught him how useless his attempts of revenge became. Even if Isao was fortunate to kill Battousai, he couldn't revive his lost family, or change the years he wasted with training, and he certainly regretted leaving her (the name was too painful to say) more than anyone else. He lost his chance at making his own family.

"You really are a fool, Battousai," he mumbled. Isao blended in the shadows as he made his destination to the restaurant Battosuai frequented with his companions. There was a huge crowd of people cheering, chatting, eating and drinking gaily. The noise could be heard through the wooden panels of the restaurant. He walked to the main sliding door where a waitress greeted the customers in front of him. Gathering the ki around him, he manipulated it so she wouldn't have noticed him. She let him follow the couple she led to the section they would be dining, but to her, he was another customer already eating at one of the other tables. He took the table in the corner, where one server was designated to wait on the customers. People shoved by, not noticing his presence; except one.

A familiar ki brushed his own, like a flutter of butterflies. He lifted his head, his black eyes narrowing on a young brunette waitress timidly making her way through the room. She must have felt his gaze because she turned to face him. But instead of seeing fear flash through her brown eyes, there was a warmth that he thought he would never get from another living person. She smiled and made her way to the table, maneuvering herself in tight spaces to get to him.

Her ki shimmered brightly, pulsing against his own. He began to cough, his body stiffening as his hand covered his mouth. A frown appeared on her young face before she reached into her apron's pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. "Are you okay, Mr. Isao?" the young waitress asked.

He took the handkerchief from her awaiting hand and coughed lightly into it. Discretely, when his coughing subsided, he folded the handkerchief and put it into his gi. He briefly smile at the pretty girl as not to cause her to worry about him. "I'm fine."

She stooped down to inspect him carefully before a smile blossomed on her pink lips. "Okay. What will you like to order?"

"The usual, " he said. "Except add an extra side order of stew beef."

The brunette girl frowned again. "Are you going on one of your missions again?"

"No," he replied. "I will be taking it for someone else."

The girl's astonishment flittered on her pretty face, because he always attended Akabeko alone. "Oh, okay."

The girl turned around and was about to go into the kitchen to announce his order to the kitchen staff but Isao stopped her. "And thank you, Tsubame."

Akabeko didn't get rowdy customers until nightfall. The young waitress was fortunate to retire for the day and let the grown women handle the tough customers for the late shift. Sometimes, Tae, the owner of Akabeko had Sanosuke, a rough street fighter, in the restaurant to keep thugs in their place. However, recently he left, leaving Yahiko to act as a bodyguard for the night shift workers. Tusbame eyebrows scrunched together as she wondered how he was doing. He returned to Akabeko looking sick and pale. When Tae asked him what happened, he excused himself to one of the private bedrooms Tae kept for her workers. He hadn't come out of his room since then.

Tsubame was about to remove her apron when she felt a familiar presence walked into Akabeko. Instead of taking off her apron to give to Tae, she walked back into the main room where customers were enjoying their meals to see the mysterious man she had grown to know for the past year, sitting in the shadowy corner of the room, observing everything from a safe distance.

Knowing the layout well in Akabeko, Tsubame used the safest route to get to the man's table. She squeezed through hordes of drunk men, passed a cheerful group of women until she made it to her destination. But his coughing fit alerted her that something wasn't right. It wasn't her first time giving him a handkerchief. She had given him some before and he always made it a habit to return them to her after they were cleaned. Although, during his recent visits, he had been coughing more. Whenever she asked him about his health, he said it was nothing. She hoped he was okay, because he was one of the best customers she had the privilege to interact with.

After their little conversation, she couldn't help but be surprised at the fact the he asked for an extra side order of food for someone else. Usually he ate alone. Maybe he made a new friend. As she entered the kitchen, she saw the kitchen staff moving brusquely while preparing food. She announced the order to the staff, who nodded their to notified her they heard her.

"Aren't you going to retire for the night, Tsubame?" she heard a feminine polite tone inquired.

"I will after I deliver the last order of food to a customer," she replied with a small smile as she looked at her employer.

"I think you should take the rest of the night off. You've been working here since sunrise," her employer suggested.

"I know but I will serve this one last customer and then head upstairs," she assured Tae. The woman, dressed in a plain gray kimono with an apron over her womanly form, appeared displeased. Then a voice broke their conversation.

"Ms. Tsubame? The food is ready." Tsubame was about to grab the tray with the food when Tae beat her to it. Lifting the tray, she hurried out with it in the main dining floor. Tsubame rushed after her employer, persisting that she would serve her last customer.

"Where is your customer?" her employer asked as she surveyed the whole area. Tusbame pointed into a certain corner of the room. Tae nodded and headed toward the shadowy area but she paused. Tsubame noticed when the older woman stopped walking.

"What happened?" she asked with concern marring her face.

"I don't see anyone sitting there?"

"Are you sure?" Tsubame questioned as she walked beside her employer. "I know he was sitting there a moment ago."

"Well, he isn't there anymore," Tae assured her. Tsubame grabbed the tray of food from her employer and returned into the kitchen. There were questioning glances from the kitchen staff as she searched for containers and cloths to put away the food. Once she finished wrapped the food containers with the cloths, she removed her apron and put it aside. She piled the food on top of one another before wrapping her arms around them.

"What are you doing? Where are you going?" Tae urgently asked her. She stepped in front of the young waitress.

"I'm going after him," Tsubame replied simply.

"You can't go out there right now. It's getting late!" Tae protested. She held out her arms to stop the girl from passing her. "Besides, how are you going to find him?"

"I have to at least try to give him his food," Tsubame said as she walked around her employer.

"Tsubame!" Tae warned, but she was already too late. The brunette girl with an armful of food dashed out into dark streets looking for an unknown customer.

Hello readers. Thank you so much for your comments on the first chapter. There were two reviewers I couldn't respond to and I apologize about that. I will like to say thank you Starrlighter and Guest. To Starrlighter's comment, I understand how you feel about Kaoru's pain. I felt sad when Kaoru had to deal with Kenshin leaving the dojo to go to Kyoto, although I think this one was more painful because Kenshin didn't say goodbye in person and he left with Sanosuke and Megumi. Yahiko did have the hurtful remarks coming to him because Kaoru lashed at him when she was feeling hurt. To Guest's comment, thank you so much for your encouraging review. Although this chapter did have a lot of dialogue, I hope you still enjoyed reading it. In fact I hope all of you, as readers, enjoyed reading it.

Also, Isao is my own original character and he has a past that is intertwined with Kenshin's past. You will see what I mean in the next chapters. I just wanted to add some mystery but at the same time I reveal some stuff about him so you can understand his character. I hope you like him. I think he's a pretty cool character.

Plus, thank you so much to the readers who added this story on their favorite and follow list. As a personal note, I plan to have the next chapter posted by Sept. 20. And I have posted a new Rurouni Kenshin story on Wattpad under d-d_dreamer, which I won't be able to post here due to the mature content that I will include in it. The story is called "Kyoto Arc" and is basically a darker version of Kaoru having a dark family past that is discovered by none other than Shishio Makoto. Soujiro sets up a plan to have Kenshin meet Kaoru in Tokyo, which puts Kaoru at a conflict to choose Shishio's side or Kenshin's side during the Kyoto Arc events.

Thank you for reading. Please review.