Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin. I could have come up with something much better than the Christian Arc (though it might have involved Arthurian legend!).

The fact that the Keep was not, in fact, a Keep, became immediately clear as she rounded the last bend. Instead of the stalwart, stark fortress she was expecting, an open and airy manse spread out before her, resting on a wide green sward of lawn, and beyond the high, peaked roof she could see the tips of oaks, pines and birches that made up the deep forest they had just traveled through. She thought she could hear the faint sound of a brook running near the path. The house was lovely--but it couldn't be the Keep, could it? This was probably just a stop along the way. She nudged Misao, who was riding beside her.

"Misao?" Her friend jerked out of her reverie and glanced up at the mansion.

"Oh, wonderful! We're home!" A wide grin broke out on her face. "I know that the Academy was like home to you, Kao, but I've always missed the place where I grew up.

Kaoru didn't trust Misao enough anymore to air her feelings on the subject, which, frankly, still creeped her out, so she changed the subject. "But…Misao…this isn't a Keep,"

"Oh! You weren't here for the joke behind that, were you?" She giggled. "Kenshin was a prodigy in the military, and so was Aoshi--but mostly in things I can't talk about--anyway, they were officially given a title and land, but the King didn't want either of them tied up with a District and all the business that goes with it--which would basically be peasants worried about weather for farming and petty land disputes--since unofficially he was setting them up to be his left hand. So, they got this place, which no one would bother to invade, doesn't need much in the way of servants, and, frankly, is a welcome haven. Of course, Saitoh, that wolfy bastard, teased them forever about being given such a stalwart keep. For some reason, the name stuck,"

"That makes sense," Kaoru murmured, and lapsed back into silence for the rest of the short trip to the manse.

The horses were collected by waiting grooms, and they left their rucksacks just inside the door. The entrance hallway was impressive, with the ceiling rising up through the three floors of the house. High windows poured sunlight into the hall and highlighted old and faded battle banners. The faded glory the room implied brought every fantastical novel Kaoru had ever snuck into her dorm to mind. While she stood there gawking, the Seasonal Mages were milling around her. Quickly, Misao grabbed her arm and led her out of the hall and through a myriad of slightly more modern rooms and up a few twisting staircases. Eventually, they arrived in a fairly small room. The walls were painted a rich, bright blue, while the hardwood floor was a blonde wood. The thickly woven, red as blood rag rug matched her curtains and bedspread. A simple desk stood in one corner, and a small but sturdily-made armoire stood across from the windows.

"Here's your room," Misao said. "I know its hard to find, but you'll get used to it--the Keep is such a maze, I'm surprised I still remember my way around it! Anyway, that's my room, there." She pointed at another door across the common room. "This suite of rooms is just for female trainees who are too old for the crèche. Right now it's just you, me, and Tsubame. Umm…The bathroom's down the hall, and there should be some hot water at this time of day--there are some clean dresses in your closet, they're free-size and should fit. Hopefully, we'll both get measured in a day or two.

"Are you planning on taking a bath too?" Kaoru asked lightly, but really hoping for a little privacy, for once.

"Actually, I have to check in with Aoshi about some lessons, and lucky me drew cooking duties again, so I'll have to grab a really quick one later." She sniffed her long braid. "Urk. I still smell like a campfire. Tsubame should be by in an hour and a half or so to show you to dinner--I've got to run--see you in a bit!" And she was off, trotting down the hallway.

Kaoru returned to her room slowly, as if in a daze, and selected a dress at random from her armoire. The dusky blue material was soft and worked with dark green vines around the collar and cuffs. She padded to the bathroom, turned on the water, set aside her dusty traveling clothes gratefully, and sank into the water as quickly as she could, but not before she set heavy Deltographic wards on the door. Finally, bolted away from the people she still didn't trust, she could relax. She let herself enjoy the pure pleasure that was hot water and cleanliness for a while, but her mind was too wound up to stay away from plotting for long. She wasn't terribly worried. These mages weren't particularly bright, or they wouldn't have put her in a position of trust like this or told her everything they already had. She was also valuable to them, which reinforced her own safety. They would not have bothered obtaining a fully-trained Deltographer straight from the Academy if they hadn't needed her specifically--but why did they need her? They had other girls that fit her profile--why waste Misao where she could have easily been caught and killed when she could have done what Kaoru was to do?

She toyed with the surface of the water. She didn't know why she was needed, and it bothered her. She could be used as a sacrifice in some horrible blood-rite, for all that she knew! And, after all, her loyalty lay with the Dean. Though this wasn't her mission, she was sure that he would appreciate knowing more about the political structure of the Mage's government, and especially the location of this manse that was the home of the Left Hand group.

Of course…the Academy had brainwashed her, compelled her very mind (it occurred to Kaoru that the brainwashing could be the source of the strange 'attacks' that had caused Misao to be her keeper in the first place). But she had only the Mage's word when it came to that. Kenshin could have removed something else entirely from her mind while she was drugged. Kaoru surged up out of the water, goose bumps forming immediately, and wrapped herself in a long, thick towel. The mages certainly didn't deprive themselves of any luxury! Her thick hair, though blissfully clean, was still sopping wet, and she didn't want to drip while spying, so she carefully set the Deltographic parameters she wanted for water extraction, leaving her roots alone. Pull water from your scalp and you got dandruff, pull it from your brain and you died. The resulting ball of water floating above her palm she sprinkled in the little houseplant sitting in the corner, toweled her roots and braided her hair in the same severe braid around her crown, and slipped the loose dress over her head. After belting the sash to make her look as proper as possible--nearly impossible in the outlandish costume--she began weaving true invisibility around herself. She thought longingly for a moment of her particular brand of see-me-not, which merely made the eye turn away and the mind disregard, but decided against it. She had no idea how much that spymaster could perceive, and she didn't want to take chances with what could be her life. When it was finished, she ghosted out of the bathroom and down the hallway Misao had taken. She wasn't such a poor spy that she couldn't memorize a path she had taken through a house. That and rudimentary life force sensing should lead her somewhere interesting.

It was always more than a little disconcerting to walk around invisible (especially on stairs), but she had done it before, back at the Academy, before she learned her see-me-not trick. She found her way around much more quickly than she had thought she would. The tracking spell she was using was merely supposed to tell her where people were, but these mages burned brighter than anyone she had ever seen this way--so bright that she was getting personality indicators and even thoughts. The sensory overload was nearly painful, so she lessened the power to the spell until she could see again. It was no surprise to her that Kenshin burned the brightest, or that Aoshi came close behind. They were closeted in what seemed like a conference room, with the door shut and locked by more than iron. Still, it wasn't warded against Deltography, so she pinched off a bit of the sound of their voices and routed it directly to her ears.

"…you've got your prize now," Aoshi's voice came through, clear and cold. "When are you going to tell her the full story?"

Kaoru's heart beat faster, and she pulled her knees to her chest in an attempt to calm her fear and excitement.

"I was planning full disclosure once we got here," Kenshin replied. "We didn't have enough time for any sort of private discussion on the trail, and there was enough for her to adjust to in the safe house."

"What are you going to tell her about Enishi? Do we trust her enough to tell her the full story on that?"

"No." Kenshin's voice was flat and cold. Kaoru would have been hurt if he wasn't right. "I don't trust her. Even though we removed the compulsion from her, her loyalty still lies with the Republic and the Academy. If she could reverse loyalties that easily, I would trust her even less--but there's no way in hell I'm sending her into Enishi's holdings uninformed. I'm thinking that if she's a quick study--as Misao's reports have shown--then we can get her out of here in a month, and under Saitoh's eye. All we have to do is make sure that no one associates her with us and that she gets the training that she needs."

Kaoru could practically hear Aoshi's nod, with all the weight it held, and she was sure that the discussion was over. She scrambled to her Invisible feet and padded away as quickly as she could without making a sound, holding her loose skirt up so it wouldn't rustle, on the grounds that it wasn't immodest if she was invisible. Once she had traced her way carefully back to her room, she let the Deltography drop. She flopped back onto her bed, and rested there, seemingly inert, but her mind was racing the entire time. They needed her--she had confirmed that much. Kenshin had mentioned a man named Saitoh, as had Misao. Kaoru suspected he was their…well, there wasn't quite a word for it, but "person launderer" came to mind. She didn't think she would be used for any sort of virgin sacrifice, as they were going to bother to inform her of her situation. If Misao had been reporting back her specific talents and she was going to be dropped into the court of someone they considered an enemy, she suspected she would be playing her spy role there, too. That suited her just fine, as she would have an excuse to spy there as well, and she could report back to the Dean information on the victor. She was also going to be glad to get away from Kenshin. He was entirely too attractive to her, and if she developed feelings for him, she could compromise the mission. She stood up, shook out her full skirts, and retied her sash. If she was any judge of time, Tsubame would be here in a few minutes.

Her sense of timing was accurate, but instead of Tsubame, Misao showed up, jolting her heart rate back as high as it had been. Had she been caught? But no. Misao had traded her cooking duties with Tsubame so that she could have a break. Her friend (there was no use denying it, even if she was squeamish about it) looked more than a little bedraggled, with stray wisps coming free from her long braid and her pale cheeks flushed with exercise. She stopped for a moment to rebraid her hair and chat. It was so like the Academy that a painful homesickness swept through Kaoru--but she hid it, chattering brightly when all she wanted to do was curl up and cry. It was weakness, and as much as she loved her friend, she wouldn't betray a single weakness in her presence.

Soon they left for dinner, Kaoru trailing after Misao as if she wasn't sure of the way. Dinner was more formal than she had expected, and many of the table customs were slightly different, but she muddled through. The food was quite good, though several of the spices were unfamiliar, and the dishes often had a sweet, tangy taste where she expected savory. Kaoru remained quiet and still, speaking only when spoken to and soaking up information like a sponge. There wasn't anything technically valuable, but it was amazing how much a spy could learn from average group dynamics. These people, however, confounded Kaoru's best efforts to determine who was powerful and who was unimportant. The seating arrangements were a motley thing, and shook up all of Kaoru's expectations. The table itself was a large, round one, throwing away "pride of place" clues. Kenshin and Aoshi sat apart with Aoshi sitting by Misao and monitoring her practical lesson--performing all mealtime tasks without her hands. Misao was completing the lesson admirably, if a little slowly. Kaoru guessed she was developing finesse and control. Kenshin was, of all things, sitting between the cook and the youngest student, Tae and Tsubame, respectively, and listening interestedly to a story of a low-level kitchen fire. It was baffling. People in power shouldn't act like that! It went against everything that she knew. Kaoru continued her brooding for the rest of the night.

Author's Notes: Well, now. Another chapter, and just a few months in between. Rawr, I need to get better at this whole "update schedual" thing, don't I? No promises as to when the next chapter will be out, as they seem to come faster that way. I'm sooo dysfunctional! Anyway, as an added bonus, I have received a beauteous omake from my beloved beta reader Torikkusuta. I found it amusing, and obtained her permission to post it here. As thanks for this pretty lil' thing, she gets A Dangerous Man who is also Cuddly.

Spring, Winter, Summer, Fall: An Omake

By Torikkusuta

Based off Thistescratch's idea

The small group of seasonal mages had been on the road for several days, and Kaoru's lessons were moving along rapidly. Admittedly, most of the lessons had been a general theory of how a seasonal mage's powers worked. But today was THE BIG DAY. Today was Kaoru's first practical lesson.

The group had stopped for their evening meal, which was accompanied by the typical(ish) arguments between Kaoru and the young mage Yahiko. From the moment they had met, they had bickered back and forth like siblings. Poor Kenshin often found himself in the role of peacemaker during these escapades—usually because everyone else was laughing so hard they couldn't breathe.

The sun was starting to set when Kenshin beckoned to Kaoru, ready to begin the evening's lessons. They walked a little way farther into the woods to find a clearing in which they could begin working.

"Now, Miss Kaoru," Kenshin began, indicating that Kaoru should take a seat, "we shall begin a few quick exercises, mostly in attack and defense."

"Erm, Kenshin? I don't know any spells for defense, unless you count Deltography," Kaoru said, wondering not for the first time why she had agreed to take these lessons.

"We've been over this, " Kenshin said. "All you need to do is concentrate, and we should see some results. Now, begin."

They waited in silence as the minutes crawled by. Feeling awkward, Kaoru said, "This is going to sound weird, but I don't really want to attack you. This is hard."

"Do you really need a reason to strike out at someone?" Kenshin asked, sounding truly curious.

Kaoru nodded in the affirmative. Kenshin thought for a moment longer, and then came up with a rather devious idea. Even if it didn't work, it was certain to be amusing. He feigned thoughtfulness for a moment longer, and then said, "What was it Yahiko called you at dinner tonight, Miss Kaoru? Busu, was it?"

Kaoru almost got up at that, wanting to smack that infuriating man upside the head.

"No, don't get up. Hold that anger, and focus it," Kenshin said.

Kaoru sat back and focused. 'I'd like to smack him. Or fry him. That would work, too ,' she thought, her anger building like the heat of the noontide sun.

"Ow! Um, ow, Miss Kaoru, could you stop focusing please?" Kenshin asked after a few minutes, sounding pained.

Kaoru's concentration broke, and she slowly opened her eyes. The sight that greeted her was most peculiar. Kenshin was wearing a decidedly uncomfortable look. Upon closer examination, the source of his discomfort became apparent. Every inch of exposed skin was a stunning shade of scarlet, usually only achieved by getting particularly bad sunburn. In fact, a few spots looked like they were beginning to blister.

"Oh, Kenshin! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" Kaoru asked, sounding truly concerned.

"No, it's okay. I'm sure Megumi will have something for it."

"Or you could have Aoshi freeze you," Kaoru muttered under her breath.

"What?"

"Nothing"

"Right. Why don't we head back, now that we have an idea of where your skills lie." With that, Kenshin gingerly got up, and began to lead the way back to the main camp. As they walked down the quickly darkening path, Kaoru took a glance at her sun burnt teacher and had to suppress a giggle. Kenshin looked at her questioningly.

"It's just…your sunburn really clashes with your hair," Kaoru said, choking on her laughter. At Kenshin's puzzled look, she lost it completely, and sat down because she could hardly breathe for laughing.

Once she had calmed sufficiently, they continued in relative silence until they reached the camp. Then they parted ways, Kaoru off to tell Misao about her lesson, and Kenshin to get aloe from Megumi.

As Kenshin gingerly made his way to the healer's tent, he passed Yahiko. Yahiko stopped the older man and asked, "Kenshin, what happened to you?"

"Yahiko, do yourself a favor," Kenshin said to the young mage. "Don't call Kaoru busu any more."

Yahiko watched wide eyed as Kenshin walked off, and he vowed to stay on Kaoru's good side, at least until he could learn to block Kaoru's newfound talent.

fin