Hello dear readers! I'm honestly surprised that people have actually read this and reviewed - it makes me very happy! Here's chapter 2 for you - although I will say that there isn't much screen time between Kaoru and Kenshin. I think I want to set up the story so it doesn't just seem like some plotless bucket of words - and if anything is confusing it will get cleared throughout the story (I hope). Also there is 'some' strong language - just a heads up in case it catches you by surprise. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the Ruroken universe.

Himura Kenshin watched in fascination as the newcomer's face changed three colours in a minute. Of all the people his shishou had to introduce him to – it had to be the strange woman he had met earlier who was so determined to get involved in affairs that were not her own. It had seemed quite rare for his shishou to come and find him for anything, even more so to introduce him to his "good friends". As far as he knew, shishou had no friends. And yet here he was, meeting Kamiya Koshijiro and his pretty little daughter Kaoru. Pretty? Kenshin mentally shook his thoughts away. He didn't know where that had come from.

"Met already? What do you mean?" Okina asked.

Kenshin glanced at Kaoru's wary gaze, looking longer as the blue of her eyes darkened with uncertainty…and maybe even a slight amount of fear. Ah, she must be confused as to why an apparent murderer would be visiting her. I wonder whether she will tell them about what happened earlier this evening. Seeing as she wasn't responding, Kenshin offered, "Kaoru-dono coincidentally ended up at my work place earlier this evening, so she did. Of course, I didn't know that she was Kamiya-san's daughter at the time, so I did not." Okina's eyes widened slightly at that, but Kenshin nodded slightly at him, a promise of a deeper explanation for later when they were alone.

"Oh, well, I suppose that saves you two the trouble of introducing yourselves. How about we continue this conversation after supper? I believe dinner is almost ready. Come, let's eat." Okina led Koshijiro and Hiko to the dining room, leaving Kenshin and Kaoru to follow. Kenshin started to leave when he was stopped by Kaoru's disbelieving chuckle.

"Of all the people, you were the last person I was expecting to see."

"I could say the same about you, Kaoru-dono, that I could."

"Do they know how you almost killed someone today? Would you even tell them?" Kaoru let out another exasperated chuckle. "Well, I suppose you wouldn't. You don't like people knowing about your affairs if they don't belong there, do you? Tch." She looked away from his violet gaze in disappointment. "You don't have to worry – I won't publicise your activities. Frankly, the less I see of you the better." With that, Kaoru left the room without looking back at the redhead. Kenshin narrowed his eyes at her retreating figure, his anger making itself known through the amber glint in his eyes. This woman had managed to anger him not once, but twice in a span of half a day. How infuriating! As if she knew what he was actually doing, what he had gone through not even 6 months ago. As if she knew what he was currently giving up to ensure the safety of this country – to ensure the safety of people like her. I do quite dislike it when people make assumptions, that I do. As if she would be the only one who would be happy not to see me. Kenshin sighed at his childish thoughts. But I suppose I haven't given her any reason to like me either, have I? He just needed to get through tonight without interacting with her too much, and then he would not have to see her again. At least, until the next time Okina invited them all for dinner. The less she got involved with him, the better. With that thought motivating his actions, Kenshin followed the woman out the door for supper.

"Himura, could you see me for a moment please?" Okina called in the redhead into his study.

"Yes, Okina-dono?"

"What happened today? I was surprised to hear that you and Kaoru-chan had already met."

"As was I. Somehow she managed to find herself in Kanryu's area – I don't know how. It was lucky that I was the one who she came across, and not any of Kanryu's other men. I do not think they would be as nice to her as I was, so they wouldn't."

"Kanryu's estate? How on earth did she find her way there?"

"She seemed lost – and because she isn't from here, she didn't seem to know to avoid those areas."

"Then she must count her lucky stars that it was you who found her. Did she see anything compromising?"

Kenshin sighed and thought back to their afternoon encounter. He had been so engaged, he didn't even know how much she had seen – but he did know that she had seen him almost kill a man. He wasn't actually going to kill Sagara – not really. He just wanted to make it clear that he could get killed for continuing to act so foolishly. Kanryu wouldn't need much of a reason to have prisoners like Sagara killed if he wanted to, and Kenshin wanted to make sure he eliminated that reason altogether.

"She…saw me while I was about to punish one of the prisoners. Of course - she misunderstood my intentions, but nonetheless, she knows that I am involved in unfavourable…activities."

Okina widened his eyes in disbelief. "She – she did? This is very serious indeed."

"She doesn't think highly of me, to say the least. She thinks of me as a murderer – at least based on what she saw today. It's only a matter of time before she finds out that I work for Kanryu."

"Hmm…well it's better of her to think that than to know the actual reason you're working for him, isn't it? I've explained your situation to Koshijiro, but Kaoru and the rest are to be kept in the dark about your mission. He'll make sure she doesn't find out."

"You told him?"

"Yes – I think he'd be a valuable asset to have. After all, he is a great swordsman. And I trust him to cooperate with us."

"If you say so, Okina-dono." But Kenshin still sounded unsure about this situation. There were more liabilities than he was comfortable with handling, if he were honest.

"Any other news from Kanryu's?"

"Yes. The rumours about the underground drug trade seem to be true. It seems that Kanryu has been experimenting with selling opium through the teahouses in Gion. Soon he will move his operations to Tokyo if his trading is successful enough. There have even been talks about shipping it out of Japan."

"Teahouses, eh? Any idea where he's getting this opium from?"

"Not yet, but I'm looking into it right now. I will have the information soon enough, so I will."

"Alright, good work Kenshin – let Aoshi know that I need to speak to him, would you?"

"I will do so, Okina-dono. Goodnight, I will be leaving first." With a low bow, Kenshin left the old man in his study. I wonder whether shishou has left already. I need to get back to Kanryu's otherwise he might get suspicious as to why I've been taking so long. As he crossed the corridor to get to the entrance of Aoiya, he noticed Kaoru sitting out on the engawa, looking up at the stars. She was lightly smiling at them, her mind far away from the present. Her soft expression was startling to Kenshin – the whole time he had been in her presence, she had always been angry. But now she was peaceful, almost…beautiful. Kenshin shook his head. Beautiful? He studied her again, focusing on her eyes. Perhaps her eyes could be considered beautiful. They were such a deep blue, it's almost as if they held the universe itself in their depths. Kenshin sighed and stopped his thoughts from progressing any further. Instead, he walked past her and bowed slightly as a farewell.

"I bid you goodnight, Kaoru-dono. It was a pleasure meeting you today." He straightened up and left without waiting for her reply.

"Oh-" Kaoru looked at his retreating figure in surprise. He had come out of nowhere, and before she even had a chance to react he was gone. He could have waited till she said 'goodbye' at least! What did he mean – "pleasure"? He's just mocking me now. I haven't met a man like him in all my twenty years of life. It doesn't matter – it's not I have to see him again anyway. Or so she hoped.

"I trust this place is more or less acceptable, Kamiya-san?"

Koshijiro looked around at the house and the adjoining dojo in resignation. It was much smaller than their house in Tokyo, and the dojo was half the size of their dojo back home. But it would have to do, considering the government was so hell bent on discouraging kenjutsu after the war had ended.

Ever since the war, the Meiji government had strongly looked down on the existing kenjutsu schools because swordsmanship went against their idea of peace and prosperity in this new era. In response to this, there were some lone samurai who had acted out violently, which had led to the government banning the kenjutsu schools altogether. Although this change was for the whole of Japan, so far it had only taken hold in Tokyo – and that meant Koshijiro had to close his dojo and move elsewhere if he wanted to keep earning an income. If only I can establish the Kamiya Kasshin-ryu as a sword that protects – the Meiji government would not be so intent on closing me down. I hope I have enough time for that before they enforce the new laws here in Kyoto too. The older Kamiya gave the house a final glance before he turned towards the man selling him the house and nodded in approval.

"Very well Kamiya-san. We'll have this ready for you and your family as soon as possible."

Koshijiro simply nodded. This would have to do.

It had been a week since they had moved in to their new house, and Kaoru was slowly familiarizing herself with her neighbours and the surrounding markets and merchant stores. The house was much smaller than their house in Tokyo, but Kaoru didn't mind as long as she had her dojo to practice in. As she walked around the streets of Kyoto, she reflected back on the last year of her life in Tokyo. Even though the war had ended and her father had been relatively unharmed during the war, they had lost a lot of students as they disagreed with her father's opposition to the Shogunate. And then when the rebel samurai had started exercising their skill for violence, their dojo had to be shut down. Kaoru sighed. This was why she didn't like samurai like Himura Kenshin. They were too hot-blooded, too caught up in their own justice to pay attention to the value of the lives they were taking. Kaoru shook her head to rid herself of these thoughts. No use dwelling on them now. At least she could look forward to training new students in the Kamiya Kasshin-ryu. With that thought momentarily lifting her spirits, she looked around and realised that she had no idea where she was. Again. I must stop doing this, really. How do I manage to get lost every time? She tried to spot some townsfolk who could get her back to the main road, and came across a group of men who were speaking in hushed tones.

"Excuse me sirs, but would you be very kind as to showing me the way to the main road?" Kaoru asked with hope.

The men stopped their conversation and looked at her curiously.

"Are you lost, little girl?"

"Uh, - yes, I just need to find my way back…" Kaoru suddenly realised that she had made a mistake. These men didn't look like they wanted to help her at all.

"Oh look Miura, she's quite the looker isn't she?" The other called "Miura" snickered at this.

"My, my what do we have here, eh? You must not be from around here, eh?" The third man walked closer to Kaoru as she inched back, towards the house behind her. Great, now I have these men to deal with. Kaoru wasn't as scared as she was worried. She wished she had her bokken with her, but she could still put up a good fight if she wanted to. The only problem was that she was outnumbered and running wouldn't be great tactic if she didn't know what she was running towards. The three men cornered her with sneers, their eyes giving away their excitement. The first man struck out, trying to grab Kaoru by the shoulder, but she dodged him and crashed into Miura instead. Momentarily winded, Kaoru was too slow to get away when the third man grabbed her wrist and dragged her up, bruising her in the process.

"Tch tch, well she's a feisty one, isn't she?"

Kaoru huffed in annoyance and slammed her free palm into the man's nose, effectively breaking it. The man immediately let go of her hand and swore at her.

"Damn – this bitch!" Just as he was about to launch his opposing attack, a hand shot out and punched him in the face, hurting him enough so he fell on the floor and crouched in pain.

"You should have left the Missy alone. Tch, you're not even worth the fight."

Kaoru looked up at the new man who had entered the fight. He was a tall man with a head full of spiky brown hair, with a chewed out fish bone in his mouth. He looked young, around Kaoru's age, and had bright chocolate-coloured eyes that held his excitement of the oncoming fight. He wore all white, except for the character "evil" written on his back. He seemed familiar somehow…

"Why'd you butt in Sagara? This isn't your fight."

"You should be ashamed of yourselves – fighting a girl? And getting beaten up by her? I'm sure I just saved you the humiliation of losing to her." The newcomer just smirked at the three men. "Now get going before I decide to report you to the police."

The three men, seeing as they had no chance against Sagara, left the scene grudgingly. Sagara turned towards Kaoru in concern.

"Are you alright Missy? They didn't hurt you too bad, did they?"

"No – I, I'm quite alright. Thank you…" Suddenly, Kaoru realised where she had seen him before. He was the one Himura Kenshin was about to kill that day!

"Sagara Sanosuke at your service. I'm glad I was passing by. You shouldn't be in such parts of town, they're still not the safest to walk around alone as a girl."

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, Sagara-san." Kaoru replied curtly. But then again, he did get me out of trouble…

"I have no doubt about that, Missy. Call me Sano." He grinned widely, and Kaoru found that she could forgive him for that comment.

"I'm Kamiya Kaoru. I suppose I should thank you for helping me out, Sano."

"No problem, Missy. Aren't you glad I was nearby?" He smirked at her, and Kaoru found herself smiling back at him. "Do you need help getting back home? It seems like you were a little lost."

"Eh, I think so." Kaoru smiled sheepishly at her saviour as they started making their way to the main road.

"So Missy, it doesn't seem like you're from around here, are you?"

"Uh, no - I've just moved here from Tokyo."

"Tokyo? Huh." He was lost in thought for a while.

"Why, is that surprising?"

"No – I guess not. I don't know why Missy, but I feel like I've seen you before – so I was just thinking that it would be impossible because I haven't stepped foot in Tokyo for months."

"Ah." Kaoru thought back to her meeting with Himura-san. He probably doesn't remember – should I tell him? "I think we came across each other earlier this week – under less than favourable circumstances I'm afraid. I'm glad Himura-san hasn't hurt you since then."

Sano widened his eyes and stared at her in shock. So that's where I'd seen her! This small slip of a woman, rushing in to save him - a stranger - against the deadly Battousai. He couldn't decide whether she was brave or just careless. "Huh. That's funny."

"What is?" Kaoru asked in confusion.

"Look here, Missy – next time, don't go running in to any house you find and, even worse, don't try to stop people like him. You may be the one to get hurt instead." They had reached the main road by now, and Sano stopped their little walk.

"People like him? I don't understand."

"Go home Missy. It's time I get back too."

"Wait – I want to know what happened that day. I want to know…why Himura-san was acting like that." She looked at him for any sign of answers.

Sano sighed. The less she knew about Battousai and Kanryu, the better. But then, she had seen something that perhaps the Battousai wouldn't let go of as easily either – she had almost seen too much.

"Please – I just want to understand what was happening that day."

Sano eyed her, but then finally relented. "I suppose you could come back tomorrow and find out."

"Really?"

"On one condition."

Kaoru looked at him in confusion again. "What condition?"

"Get me some nice food, and then I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

Kaoru giggled at this. "Alright."

"Great! See you later Missy." With that, the tall man left her to go back into the maze of houses they had just come from.

"See you…" Kaoru said to his retreating figure and smiled. Sanosuke seemed like a good person. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to get to know him better. Still smiling to herself, she turned back and started walking towards her new home, happy that she had managed to befriend someone. As she walked back, she hummed in anticipation of tomorrow, blissfully unaware of a certain redhead's gaze following her through the crowds.