Sanouske and Kenshin walked along the dirt path leading back to the dojo; sacks of groceries from the market were slung over their shoulders and their arms were full of asorted brown paper packages. The tall cherry blossom trees that lined the edge of the path, afforded some welcomed shade from the hot afternoon son and the two men sighed in contentment, welcoming the soft breeze that blew every now and then.

"Sano, what gave you the idea to buy decorations and special food for the festival?"

Sanouske grinned candidly at his friend. "I don't know, I just figured that with everything we've gone through over the last year, time isn't guaranteed and we should start taking advantage of peaceful moments while we still can; live a little! 'sides, I think Missie, Fox lady and the kids deserve a bit of celebration, don't you?"

Kenshin smiled warmly at his friend; despite Sano's rough exterior, Kenshin knew the young man had a very soft side and a heart of gold—he'd changed so much since the day he and Kenshin first crossed blades and Kenshin couldn't help the swell of pride he felt. "That I do, Sano, that I do."

"So. I saw you given the missie little glances this morning when you didn't think anyone was watchin' what's the deal?"

Kenshin stopped dead in his tracks, his face reddening. "Uhnothingwhatsoeversanoabsolutelynothingyouneedtoworryaboutwhydoyouask?" The usually-calm redheaded swordsmen rambled off in one breath, waving both his frantically in front of him as he did his best to throw his friend off his sudden interest in Kenshin's behavior with Karou.

Sanouske rolled his eyes. "Com'on Kenshin I wasn't born freakin yesterday, what's the deal?! Look if you're afraid that Miss Karou's caught on, don't worry. The little missie is as clueless as ever so com'on! Give your old pal a piece of your thoughts 'cuz Kami knows, I sure as hell can't read your mind."

The two men walked on in silence for a while; the redheaded swordsmen suddenly deep in thought, violet eyes pensive and serious as his taller, dark-eyed friend waited patiently, knowing on a piece of fishbone. They came to the stream the flowed along the bend and behind the dojo and Kenshin suddenly left the beaten path and stopped at the riverbank. He lowered himself to his knees and scooped up a handful of the crystal clear water, splashing his face and neck. He sighed as the icy cold droplets dripped down his neck, leaving dark water marks on the color of his kimono.

Kenshin looked up then, his eyes gazing across the river to where the distant tree line of the forest that went on forever in rolling hills that soon gave way to distant mountain ranges. "Have you ever been in love, Sanouske?"

Sano's eyes widened. He hadn't expected a question, much less one that carried so much intimacy and personal weight along with it. He contemplated his friend for a long moment before answering. "Honestly, I can't say as I have, for sure."

Kenshin didn't move his back still to Sano as his eyes remained trained on the distant horizon. "I can't say I have myself but it is for a completely different reason, that it is. I deeply care about the people of this land, I value their lives and because of that, I have never allowed myself to become involved in anyone's life so closely. I may have put away my sword for ten years, choosing to live my life as a wonderer and not as Battousai the man slayer but as you know, Battousai still has many enemies that he does, enemies that do not care that he chosen a life of peace. Anyone that I am close to is risking their very life and the lives of their loved ones, just by knowing me. This is something that burdens me every day, that it does."

"And you think it's unfair to ask anyone to share that life with you, is that it?"

"Mm. But now I can't say for certain that I have continued to live my life with everyone at arm's length. In all my years I have always been very certain of where I stood and kept those around me safely out of my life and my heart." At this, he turned to look at Sano and a sad smile shown in his eyes. "But to be honest Sano, I think this point in my life has seen me more and more uncertain of that, every day; I am not certain at all about my heart, that I am not."

Sanouske smiled a little and crouched down to Kenshin's level. "You're referring to the little Missie aren't you."

Kenshin's eyes closed and warmth spread across his face, slightly reddening his cheeks. "Miss Karou…has done so much for me since the day we met, that she has. And she never once questioned me about my past; even when she found out who I was, she never once judged me and always treated me with such kindness and gentleness, that she has. I've never been able to fully understand why she looks at me the way she does."

Sanouske threw his head back and suddenly laughed out loud. "Oh Kenshin, if you can't possibly see what everyone else can than you're a lot dumber than I ever thought you were!"

Kenshin groaned and scowled at Sanouske but the young man didn't seem to notice and only chuckled to himself. "Hell, it's so completely obvious; the little Missie has been head-over-heels for you since day one! How else do you think it makes sense? She's not blinded to who you were and what you're still capable of but she trusts you because she loves you and she knows that you'll do whatever it takes to protect her and the people of this land, from anything and anyone that could harm them; more than that, she knows you'll do it the right way and that you'd never allow yourself to go back to being the Battousai."

Kenshin stared wide-eyed at his companion, his amethyst eyes betraying his shock and surprise. "You—you think that Miss Karou—"

Sanouske immediately shook his head. "No. no I don't think Kenshin, I know."

The two men stood in long silence, staring at one another. Just then they were interrupted by the sound of a voice calling, "Kenshin? Kenshin!" They turned back towards the road and spotted Miss Karou off in the distance, running down the road, holding up the skirt of her kimono in one hand, calling Kenshin's name.

Sanouske smiled broadly as he picked up his large nap sack and slung it over his shoulder. "Well would ya look at that; seems that fate has it in for you and the little Missie, Kenshin—seems she's lookin' for ya right now." He winked knowingly at his friend but Kenshin sighed somewhat heavily as he stood to his full height.

"Well I'm not certain if what you say is true, Sano, that I am not; I've always seen Miss Karou take very great care of everyone who is close to her and her compassion is never isolated towards myself, that it is not." The swordsman smiled as his friend scowled at him for his lack of faith but Kenshin just couldn't bring himself to think of this—not now. Regardless of what she or he himself felt for her, the situation was not so simple as that—nothing was anymore.

"Well Sano, I just hope that your concern with myself and Miss Karou has not caused you to neglect the feelings of your own heart, that I do."

"Hey—wait what are you talking about, Kenshin?!"

Kenshin merely turned a smiling face towards his friend. "It seems to me that for someone who claims to see the obvious thoughts and feelings of others, you are quite oblivious to the desires of your own heart, Sano that you are!"

Sano stared after Kenshin, his lips parted as he watched the ex-Battousai walk ahead of him up the road to meet the little Missie. But once he joined the two and the three of them reached the dojo, he spotted the beautiful face of the raven haired bright eyed Kitsune standing on the engawa and something clicked in his head, spreading to his heart. The fighter closed his eyes and smiled warmly to himself. "…Well I'll be. Looks like Kenshin isn't as dumb after all."

The next three days were filled with non-stop activity. The Kamiya dojo was scoured from top to bottom, the yard was cleared and landscaped with fresh cherry blossom trees and traditional Japanese lanterns hung from their branches as well as the engawa ceiling. The inside of the dojo was decorated ornately as well with streamers, lanterns and an assortment of Japanese charms hung from the ceilings and railings that stood for Love, Passion, Lust and good fortune. Karou spent the majority of the day in the kitchen, cooking for the last two days; she and Megumi had met and discussed the menu and they'd decided that they were going to make this year's festival feast gourmet of the highest quality. Nothing would be spared expense when it came to tonight's feast and both women agreed that though extravagant, they had all more than earned a night to spoil themselves. Megumi had promised to come the day of the festival to help Karou finish up any last minute cooking that she needed done and as soon as noon hit, the starry eyed doctor kept true to her word. "Well Miss Karou! I must say I am very much impressed! You have really come a long way in the cooking department, everything looks positively scrumptious!"

"Thank you, Miss Megumi! But I have to say if it wasn't for you and your patient cooking lessons, I wouldn't have gotten anywhere near this far!" Karou turned to her friend and her eyes squinted quizzically. "What's in those large paper parcels, Miss Megumi? I'm almost positive we bought all the groceries we needed yesterday."

"Oh we did! These have nothing to do with the feast really. They're our costumes for this evening."

"Costumes?"

"Well of course! I thought that in honor of tonight's festivities, we could do ourselves a favor and dress up! I went to one of the newest shops in town—a good friend of mine from Hong Kong recently moved to the area and she's an excellent seamstress! She owns the shop and just so happens to specialize in hand-made formal kimonos. They're positively exquisite and I was passing by it this morning and couldn't resist!" At this, Megumi unwrapped one of the large parcels to reveal a stunning elegant white silk Kimono with vibrant amber Maple leaves and red flowers etched into the material.

Karou gasped at the sight of the elegant Kimono as Megumi held it up to herself. "Oh Megumi…it's absolutely stunning!"

"Isn't it? I couldn't help but think it matches my eyes and compliments my hair quite nicely, don't you think?"

Karou nodded adamantly.

Megumi re-folded the delicate silk kimono and rewrapped it. "And this one I bought because it is just perfect for you!" She pulled out a soft misty rose colored Kimono with intricate butterflies hand-stitched into the cuffs and lower portion of the skirt in white silk thread. It also came with a matching ribbon for Karou's hair. "I have to admit though, I personally think you should wear your hair down, you rarely ever do!

Karou's eyes misted over as she help up the stunning Geisha-style Kimono to herself. "Thank you—so much Megumi—I love it."

Megumi's eyes softened at the sight of the younger woman looking so overwhelmed with gratitude; she pulled Karou into a tight hug. "You are very welcome—my dear friend."