Even the Bakamatsu can have a Happy Ending

By: Shiara-dono

Standard disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. Sadly.

Chapter 2

When Kaoru walked back in carrying a tray of food, Kenshin was asleep. She smiled, and set the tray down next to him. She sat there a moment, wondering who he was and why someone wanted him dead. With a sigh, she quietly left the room.

She wandered over to the shed, armed with soap and a bucket of water. She was determined to clean up the bloodstains. Her eyes lit upon Kenshin's daisho lying on the floor. Kaoru had removed the swords to make it easier to carry him. She gulped, turning toward the dojo. Again, she wondered who he was. Well, he was in no condition to fight, so she set the daisho against the wall. She'd give it back to him, if he asked. She rolled up her sleeves, tied them in place, and got to work.

"Hey, Busu!" A voice sounded a while later. "I'm here for my lessons!"

Kaoru groaned. That could only be her charming student, Yahiko. He was being so loud she was afraid he'd wake Kenshin. "Yahiko, I'm in the shed!" She called.

A young, spiky-haired boy walked in. "What are you doing, Busu? Hey, cool, swords!"

Kaoru gave the floor one final scrub. "Leave them there; they aren't to play with." She stood, brushing dirt off her yukata. "I'll meet you in the dojo, Yahiko. Start practice swings while I go change."

Kaoru quietly walked into her room, trying not to disturb a still sleeping Kenshin. She grabbed her gi and hakama and went into the other room to change.

Kenshin awoke slowly, his body protesting. He didn't want to admit he still needed sleep. He hadn't felt this pathetic in a couple of years. He turned his head and noticed the food tray. Haltingly, he sat up, and took a bite of the now cold food. He grimaced. Well, it's not the worst I've ever had. With a sigh, he forced himself to eat the rest. His ears caught the sound of battle. He gasped. Had the Shinsengumi located him? Eyes a blazing amber, he leapt to his feet, ignoring the pain, and threw open the shoji.

There was no one there. Still wary, he followed the sound to the dojo, where he peeked inside. Oro?

Kaoru was there, breathing hard, a bokken in hand. Sweat caused her bangs to stick to her face. Her gi had come open, clearly displaying the bandages she used to bind her breasts. Facing her was a young boy, also holding a bokken and also breathing hard.

Kenshin stared in awe. She's beautiful. He groaned inwardly. No! I'm only here for two weeks. I have no time to be involved!

Kaoru brought her bokken into attack position and charged. The boy dodged, then countered. This went on for a few minutes until the boy noticed Kenshin. "Who the heck is that?!"

Kaoru paused, turning. "Oh, Kenshin!" She blinked. His eyes… they were… She blinked again. Just the violet, albeit that was an odd eye color. "Yahiko. This is Kenshin. He's, uh… he's a friend. He's staying at the dojo for a couple weeks. Kenshin, this is Yahiko, one of my students."

Kenshin bowed stiffly, smiling. "Nice to meet you, Yahiko. Gomen, Kaoru-dono, for interrupting your lesson."

"That's okay, Kenshin. We were just finishing. Yahiko, are you staying for lunch?"

"No thanks, Busu. I don't wish to be poisoned."

Kaoru growled, advancing on Yahiko, who gulped and ducked past Kenshin, swiftly leaving the dojo.

Kenshin chuckled. "Ano, 'busu?'"

Kaoru sighed. "It's his choice word for me." She set her bokken on the rack. Then she whirled. "And what are you doing out of bed?"

Kenshin stubbornly refused to quail under her angry gaze. "I heard fighting. I thought the people who were chasing me might have come back."

She folded her arms. "And I suppose you thought you could defeat them this time? They tried to kill you!"

Kenshin laughed harshly. "They'll be sorry they didn't."

"Nani?"

"Never mind. So, what style of swordsmanship was that?"

"Kamiya Kasshin ryu. My father founded it."

"And you use wooden swords to teach it? Why?"

Kaoru flushed. "Because it's not a sword style that kills! It's used to protect people."

Kenshin shook his head, amazed. She's living a lie. To learn the sword is to learn how to kill. He looked at her, eyes carefully neutral. How can she remain so pure in an era ruled by chaos? "Perhaps we can spar when my wounds heal?"

"Perhaps." Kaoru agreed. "Now back to bed!"

"Hai, hai…"

A sound awoke Kaoru that night. She listened carefully. Hearing it again, she slid out of her futon and exited the bedroom she was currently residing in. The sounds were coming from her room, where Kenshin was sleeping. Quietly, she opened the shoji. Kenshin was laying on the futon, covers thrown off. He was breathing raggedly and muttering something.

Kaoru knelt down next to him and listened, but could only make sense of a few words: hitokiri, blood, and die. Her eyes widened in surprise. She decided to wake him. "Kenshin?" She called quietly, touching his arm.

His hand shot out and grasped her wrist so tightly she heard her bones creak. She hissed in pain. Kenshin glared at her with deadly amber eyes. Suddenly, recognition flashed through them.

"Kaoru… what-?" He released her arm as if it had burned him.

Kaoru massaged her wrist, wincing. "I just wanted to wake you up. You were having a nightmare."

Horror still reflected in his now violet eyes. "Kaoru-dono. Sumimasen! I didn't mean to-"

Kaoru smiled thinly at him. "Iie. I should have known not to wake you up." She paused. "Bad memories?"

He ran a hand through his hair. It had come free some time in the night. "You could say that. …sumimasen."

She shook her head. "It's okay. Oyasumi, Kenshin."

"Oyasumi…"

A few days later, Kaoru and Yahiko were in the dojo training. Kenshin was feeling better, so he decided to make lunch for them. He was pulling out the things he would need when he heard a sound outside. His eyes narrowed, and he silently made his way to the back of the dojo. He saw a man climbing over the dojo fence. With lightning speed, he had the man pinned against the fence. The taller man struggled, but stopped when Kenshin raised amber eyes to stare him in the face.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Kenshin asked quietly.

Kaoru and Yahiko appeared, having heard the commotion. "Sanosuke?"

"Jou-chan! Get this madman off me!"

Kenshin growled low in his throat, effectively silencing Sanosuke. "You know this man, Kaoru-dono?"

"Hai. That's Sagara Sanosuke. You can let him go Kenshin." She turned to Sanosuke. "I suppose you were going to sneak food again? Maybe now you've learned to use the dojo gates like everyone else!"

Kenshin let the taller man go and plastered an apologetic grin on his face. "Gomen, Sanosuke-san. I thought you might be a hitokiri."

Kaoru started giggling. "As if a hitokiri would come here. Can you just imagine Hitokiri Battousai attacking this dojo?" She giggled some more.

Kenshin lowered his head, hiding his eyes behind his bangs. What would she say if she knew I'm Battousai?

"Battousai better come here if he knows what's good for him." Sanosuke said angrily. "I'll kill that damn Ishin Shishi myself!" He stalked inside, Yahiko following.

"Oro?"

Kaoru smiled sadly. "His rage isn't directed toward Battousai. He hates all Ishin Shishi. He just found out his brother was killed not too long ago by the government. He was the captain of the Sekihotai, and because of that, he was murdered. Sanosuke has some real anger issues, but he's a good friend, even if he is a freeloader."

Kenshin hesitated. "Kaoru-dono. What's Yahiko's story. Where are his parents?"

She sighed. Yahiko's father was killed in the war. His mother sold herself as a prostitute to buy food for Yahiko, but she got sick and died. The local Yakuza were using him as their dog before I took him away from there."

A deep sadness filled Kenshin. They've all had their lives changed because of this war. Is… is it really worth it? Is the new era really worth all this pain and bloodshed?

"Kenshin?"

"Gomen, Kaoru-dono." Kenshin mumbled.

"For what?"

"Never mind. Just… gomen."

Something was bothering Kenshin. Kaoru wanted to help, but she had a feeling Kenshin wouldn't open up to her. At least, not yet. "Why don't we go inside now? It is lunchtime."

A smile slowly returned to Kenshin's face. "It is. And today I would like to cook, if you don't mind."

"Really, Kenshin? That'd be great!"

Kenshin chuckled as an enthusiastic Kaoru led the way into the kitchen.

"By the way, Jou-chan. What happened to your wrist?" Sanosuke halted in looking for something edible to nod his head toward the fading reddish-purple bruises.

"It's nothing, Sanosuke!" She said hastily, but he had noticed Kenshin's guilty look.

Sanosuke narrowed his eyes and cracked his knuckles menacingly. "You did that to Jou-chan?"

Kenshin's eyes blazed amber, but his lips curled in amusement. "Do I take it you want to fight me?"

Sanosuke nodded. "Let's go outside, Pretty Boy."

Kaoru looked at Kenshin and shivered. His eyes. They're the same as that night. Hitokiri eyes? She decided to step in. "ENOUGH!!" She bellowed.

The two turned, startled.

"Sanosuke, I appreciate your concern, but it was an accident. You are not to fight him. And you!" She said, turning to Kenshin. "You are still recovering from almost dying. The only thing you are going to do right now is cook, GOT IT??!" She eyed him coldly.

"Hai, Kaoru-dono." He mumbled.

"Good. Now go cook."

Kenshin's culinary skills amazed them. They agreed that his was the best food they'd had in a long while. Lunch ended with Yahiko making a snide remark about Kaoru's cooking, and Kaoru chasing Yahiko out of the dojo.

/bows low/ Gomen, gomen! I didn't mean for it to be so long between chapters. I got caught up in school. I'm studying veterinary medicine, and it's been a lot of grueling work. I'll try to post the next chapter later this week or early next week. Thank you to those who have read this story. In the next chapter, Kaoru gets a letter from her father and the Shinsengumi return! Ja ne!

By popular demand, I am putting a glossary of the Japanese words used in each chapter. Sorry about not doing that earlier. I tend to not realize when I'm writing some words, because they are so natural to me.

Glossary:

daisho: a set of swords that a samurai wore, usually a katana and a wakizashi

busu: Yahiko's name for Kaoru. It means 'ugly'

yukata: summer kimono or nightwear

gi: a type of Japanese shirt that allows easy movement

hakama: same as above, only they're pants

shoji: door made of rice paper

bokken: wooden sword

gomen, gomen nasai, sumimasen: sorry. Each is more formal than the preceding one

ano: um

nani: what

kamiya kasshin ryu: kamiya kasshin style, Kaoru's sword sytle

hai, aa: yes

hitokiri: manslayer

iie: no

oyasumi, oyasumi nasai: night or goodnight

jou-chan: Sanosuke's name for Kaoru. It means 'missy'

ishin shishi: the side that Kenshin was on

sekihotai: an army of farmers formed by/ for the ishin shishi, later killed by them

dono: 'miss.' Kenshin uses it. It's more formal than -san