Chapter 4

A/N: Hi all, Happy New Year! Can't believe it's already 2017! Oh well, I know this update has been slow, but life got in the way with all my finals and projects due at the end of the semester, and gosh it was tiring. But hopefully, since it's vacation time, I'll get some time to write up the next few chapters. Thank you to all you reviewers/followers/favourite-rs, your support is much appreciated! Again, unbeta-ed so all mistakes are mine. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Nope don't own RK

"I'm home!" Kaoru called out. She was exhausted from her lessons at the Maekawa dojo. It had been a little over two weeks since she had started teaching there, and so far each day was a challenge for her. As expected, Maekawa-sensei's students hadn't taken nicely to the fact that their new teacher would be a woman – even less favourably to the fact that she was only a few years older than they were. The first three days they had given her a hard time by ignoring her or performing poorly on purpose just to annoy her. But Kaoru stood her ground and kept her temper in check, patiently teaching them the katas and correcting their forms despite their grumbling. Kaoru lucked out the fourth day, when one of the rowdier students threatened to leave the dojo. In order to keep him from leaving, she challenged him to a match to prove her worth, which in the end, she had ended up winning easily. But this not only made that boy very embarrassed, but also won the respect of many of her students; finally giving her the respect she was looking for. By now they were picking up very well on her directions, and Kaoru was excited to see how much they improved while she was there. Maybe if her father set up their own dojo soon, she would have students of her own Kamiya Kasshin-ryu. They would learn to protect life in these peaceful times of the Meiji...Kaoru thought. There need not be bloodshed – not anymore. At least that was the best she could hope for. The war had brought upon too much suffering to the people caught up in its webs, whether willingly or not. Kaoru was suddenly taken back to the memory of Kenshin's pained eyes during their last meeting. Ever since she had found out about his identity as Himura Battousai, she had conflicting thoughts about him. On one hand, she was terrified of him and of his past. How he could sleep at night, after having done what he had during the Bakumatsu? Did the ghosts of those he had killed come to haunt him every day? She couldn't, and didn't want to imagine. But on the other hand, she could slowly start to understand his actions. Maybe the first thing that came to his mind was to kill – a sad default action left over from the last few years of the Bakumatsu. In that way she could understand why he went to kill Sano on their first meeting – but that didn't mean she liked it. But somewhere in her heart she knew she didn't hate him, even though his past terrified her. In that brief conversation with him, she instinctively knew he didn't enjoy killing, if his pained expression was anything to go by. As much as she didn't hate him, she wasn't quite sure whether she liked him either. Look at you, thinking so much about someone you don't even like. Kaoru shook her head and continued walking towards her father's room.

"Father, are you in?" she called out again after getting no response the first time.

"Ah, Kaoru – come in to the tea room would you? We have a guest."

Kaoru followed her father's voice to the tearoom and almost walked right back out after seeing a mop of bright, unruly red hair.

"There you are, Kaoru. Himura-san just dropped by to congratulate us on the new house."

"I…see…" Kaoru stood frozen in the doorway, looking everywhere but at the man in conversation.

"Well, won't you greet him Kaoru?"

"It-it's a pleasure to see you again, Himura-san." Kaoru bowed, stuttering from the shock of seeing the man in her thoughts in front of her in person. Baka – it's not like he can read your thoughts and find out that you were thinking about him!

"Kaoru-dono." Kenshin bowed back slowly.

Kaoru stiffened. K-K-Kaoru-dono? Did he just call me by my name? Since when has he done that? She felt her cheeks heating up at his greeting.

"Why don't you take a seat, Kaoru?" her father asked.

"I-I think I might actually retire early this evening, Father."

"Are you unwell, Kaoru-dono?" Kenshin asked, his voice tinged with a subtle hint of worry.

"N-no…" Surprised, Kaoru met his gaze and found that his eyes looked a deeper blue, almost similar to her own, swirling with unexpected concern. She looked away.

"Well, at least have a cup of tea with us, Kaoru. I'm sure you'll feel better after that."

Never one to disobey her father, she sat as far as possible as she could from Kenshin, choosing a seat diagonally across from him. He watched her intently, noting her attempts at avoiding any eye contact. She could feel his gaze on her face, which was slowly heating up again. How mortifying! Why am I feeling so self-conscious all of a sudden?

"Are your classes at Maekawa-san's dojo going well, Kaoru-dono?"

Kaoru jumped slightly at the question and tried to distract herself by pouring everyone some tea.

"Yes, they're going well. The students have much to learn."

"I'm sure they enjoy having you as an instructor, that they do."

"I should hope so." Kaoru reached out to give the teacup to Kenshin when she accidently brushed his fingers. At the touch, an electric jolt ran up her arm, making her drop the cup onto Kenshin's lap.

Kaoru gasped and immediately started apologising. "Oh my, I'm so sorry, Himura-san! Are you all right? Should I get you a cloth to - " She stopped when she looked at his expression, because his eyes were wide with surprise, the deep blue of before changing to a light purple colour.

"Oro?"

It was Kaoru's turn to be surprised at the short exclamation on his part. Did he just…? Without warning, she giggled out loud, surprising Kenshin even further. Any annoyance Kenshin would have felt at her laughing at him was forgotten as he listened to the tinkling sounds of her laughter. He noticed that she had come closer to him in an attempt to wipe the tea she had dropped on him, which meant that her face was close enough for him to see her blue eyes sparkling with amusement. Suddenly he was overwhelmed by her presence around him, and needed to get away from her before noticing any more than her eyes and laughter.

"No - no need for anything, I'm alright. I think I have overstayed my welcome for today anyway. I should be leaving now." Kenshin replied gruffly, getting up to leave. Getting up to leave from her.

"Oh not at all Himura-san, I'm so sorry for my daughter's clumsiness. Please don't mind her - at least get cleaned up before you leave."

"Kamiya-dono, I do not mind a small tea stain. But I'm afraid I need to get back to work. I hope we can talk again sometime. If you'll excuse me." Kenshin bowed and left without a second glance to the slightly surprised Kaoru, who stared at his retreating figure.

"Kaoru! That was very rude! Did you have to pick that moment to be clumsy? Now Himura-san will think twice before coming here." Koshijiro admonished his daughter.

"But Father, I apologised! It was Himura-san who was being rude in refusing to clean up here."

"Kaoru." Koshijiro warned.

If only he knew it was the Battousai he was chatting with so chummily, then he would have second thoughts about who to invite over for tea. He would never have imagined initiating any contact with the Battousai, considering how much he hates violence – sometimes even more than I do. Kaoru thought sourly. "Goodnight Father." She sighed and left the room.

Kaoru retired to her bedroom and slowly dressed for bed. As she brushed out her hair, she thought back to Kenshin's funny little outburst. That had been really unexpected – to hear something so innocent by someone so…deadly. It hadn't fit his reputation at all! She giggled again before thinking back at the source of his outburst. She touched the part of her hand that had touched his by accident, still tingling from earlier. The only explanation she could come up with was that she was scared of the Battousai – which is why his touch had shocked her into losing her grip. What other reason could I possibly have other than the fact that his past scares me? Yes, that must be it. She braided her hair into a plait and set out her futon for the night. As she laid down on the futon, she kept thinking back to Kenshin's hasty exit behind her closed eyelids. But why did Himura-san get so annoyed anyway? It was just tea, for Kami's sake! Did he get angry just because I dropped some on him? That's so - so petty! She rolled over to find a more comfortable spot on her futon, trying to forget about that evening's events. She stared at the tingling area of her hand and then shook herself, forcing herself to sleep.

Himura Kenshin was brooding. He sighed for the umpteenth time, trying to forget the sound of Kamiya Kaoru's giggles from their last meeting. He kept trying to convince himself that her giggles were too high pitched, or too strangely paced, but he knew heart-of-heart that Kaoru's laugh was perfect. More than perfect actually, considering how it kept replaying in his head over and over again to remind him of her – but he liked to use 'haunt' instead. Yes, she was haunting his thoughts. He didn't want to think about why her presence had overwhelmed him that evening. No, that kind of contemplation would lead him down through darker paths he did not want to consider right now. He hadn't meant to let that expression escape him – Kami knows it had been years since he had last said something like that in front of other people who now considered him to be the greatest assassin in all of Japan. But something about Kaoru just made him feel like he was back to being Himura Shinta, and not Himura Battousai. But what had she done? She had gone ahead and laughed at one of the most terrifying people in Japan. Kenshin wondered if that was how Kaoru would ever view him. Either she hated him, or at best she found him laughable. She would never like him, at least he didn't think she would. And this was why Kenshin felt a sort of heaviness in his heart he did not know existed before this revelation. She would never like someone like me – she already dislikes me, and she doesn't even know about my recent past as the Battousai yet. If she found out…she would probably never even look at me again…

Kenshin willed these treacherous thoughts to disappear as he caught sight of some movement down the deserted roads leading to Kanryu's main residence. As Kanryu's personal guard, he had the right to keep a track of those who went in and out to meet Kanryu, but he knew that what he was doing now was less for Kanryu's sake and more for his undercover assignment. Okina had told him to keep an eye out for anyone who seemed to have any connection to the drug business – especially those connected to the opium supply chain. So far Kenshin hadn't been able to find anyone in direct contact with the chain, but he was hoping that one of these nights he would be able to track one of Kanryu's suppliers in or out of his several "secret" meetings. He was about to follow the moving figure when he saw that it was none other than Kanryu's woman. Was she called…Takani? Kenshin relaxed his form a little as he watched her pass his hidden position in the shadows. There was no point following her, because he doubted Kanryu would tell her anything about his underhanded activities. As boastful as Kanryu was, Kenshin knew he wasn't stupid enough to go blabbering whatever he was doing to anyone but those involved, especially when others could be easily taken hostage for information.

Kenshin was about to leave his hiding place when he heard a soft sob coming from the direction of the woman who had left. She stood on the bridge over one the smaller rivers that ran through the estate, looking into the water while silently holding back her tears. She looked miserable to Kenshin, and he stood still, not knowing whether to make his presence known to the woman. The woman leaned over the bridge, as if checking the water's depth, and then rested her hands on the railing and closed her eyes. Kenshin's eyes widened as he realised what she was trying to do and rushed towards without a second thought. Just as she was about to lift herself off over the railing and jump into the water, strong hands grasped her shoulders and pulled her back onto the safer side of the bridge.

"No, let me go!"

"Miss, are you alright?"

"Let me go!" She turned around and hit Kenshin on his chest, trying to struggle out of his grasp.

"Miss, please calm down. Tell me what's wrong." He didn't let her go, and it wasn't until she got a good look at his face that she stopped struggling and merely trembled in his arms.

"You…" Her knees gave out under her, and Kenshin caught her before she could fall to the ground. She seemed shocked, so Kenshin decided to seat her on the side of the bridge. She turned her head away the moment he let go of her, making no attempt to stop her tears now. "Why did you save me? You should have let me fall. You have to kill me now anyway."

"Why would I kill you, Miss?"

"If you won't kill me now, I assume you'll just tell Kanryu about what I tried to do and then he'll be the one to kill me. I suppose it doesn't matter really."

Kenshin looked at her in quiet disbelief of her confession. "…I won't tell him, Miss."

It was her turn to look surprised, before the look melted away into one of disgust. "Himura-san, as much as I would like to believe you, I'm afraid your position as Kanryu's personal guard doesn't give me much to believe in."

"You know me?"

She let out a cynical laugh. "Everyone knows who you are, Himura-san. Or should I say, Battousai?"

A flicker of anger and sadness passed through Kenshin's eyes before he focused on her again. "Why were you trying to kill yourself, Miss?"

The woman sighed a heavy sigh and looked towards the estate, a deep sorrow masking her features. "I suppose telling or not telling you will make no difference to my fate, so I might as well. I have done…things that I'm not proud of, Himura-san. Things that should have never been done. I'm the reason – the reason this country is going to be ruined. It's my fault. It's all my fault."

She broke down in tears once more, curling into herself to block out Kenshin's presence. Kenshin looked at her in confusion and slight sympathy. It seemed that this woman was more than just Kanryu's lover. Was she involved in Kanryu's drug ring? No, it couldn't be. What use would she be to the operation? But whatever her role, she was obviously terrified of Kanryu enough to kill herself. Kenshin's long-present protective instincts resurfaced looking at her curled frame and he decided that if he was going to expose Kanryu's dirty deeds, he would have to protect Kanryu's woman too. But first he needed information. Kenshin didn't know how she was going to ruin the future of Japan, but it seemed that she knew more about Kanryu than he currently did. He needed to ask her more, but their time was running out as he sensed a few guards nearby heading their way. First he needed to get her away from them so as to not raise any suspicions to Kanryu.

"Miss, I think you should be heading back now. There are more of Kanryu's guards coming this way."

The woman looked up at him and then at the guards who were still at a distance.

"Why…why are you helping me?"

Kenshin looked down at her and helped her stand up.

"Go. You were never here. Kanryu has nothing he needs to know about."

The woman stared at Kenshin, confused that he had avoided her question, but grateful of his assistance. "Thank you, Himura-san. You're not as bad as the monster the rumours have made you out to be." She turned to leave, but Kenshin stopped her.

"Miss – it's only fair I know your name since you know mine."

She turned around and gave him a broken smile.

"Megumi. Takani Megumi."

A/N: Wow two A/Ns in one chapter I'm killing it. But yay a new (well to this story at least) character is introduced, so some development there. I tried to make a heart racing scene with the teacup scene but I honestly don't think it was up to that standard. Oh well, let's see what you think. Let me know how you liked (or disliked) it!