Faith

"You shouldn't have forced him Kenshin. It was wrong to do so."

Kenshin glanced up at Kaoru. She was tying a square cloth over her hair. The front yard needed dusting and Kaoru had come armed with broom to tackle the problem. She would have delegated the task to Yahiko but she suspected that no amount of wheedling, coaxing or threatening would get him to do what she asked. The boy called her 'Busu' of all things. Busu! She was known as the Kenjutsu Beauty, darn it! Silly boy.

"I do not recall forcing anyone to do anything Kaoru-dono." Kenshin replied with an air of perplexity. He continued to chop vegetables for the afternoon meal. After several days of Kaoru-dono's cooking, he had pretty much forced himself into the kitchen, declaring that he couldn't allow her to waste precious time slaving away cooking. Thankfully, she had offered no resistance.

Kaoru drew a deep breath. "I know you're just trying to help Kenshin but refusing to teach Yahiko your sword style just so he'd pick up Kamiya Kasshin Ryu is little more than forcing him into my school."

Kenshin hands stilled on the knife he was holding. "I do not intend to pass Hiten Mitsuryugi to anybody Kaoru-, but Yahiko is keen to learn."

"Perhaps, but he is not keen to learn from me. He thinks I'm just some bossy woman who doesn't know what she's talking about."

Kenshin smiled. "Perhaps you should let him know then."

"It's not that simple Kenshin." She scowled. "How am I supposed to teach anything to a boy who doesn't want to learn. He doesn't respect me."

Kenshin swept the chopped vegetables into a bowl and stood, "Yahiko may act tough, but he has a pure heart. He will follow you truthfully Kaoru-dono. It is better to have one student who will stand for your teachings and remain steadfast to your beliefs than to have a dojo full of people who turn and run at the first appearance of trouble, don't you think so Kaoru-dono?"

"Yes, but…"

"Give him time Kaoru-dono. You will not be disappointed."

A/N

Hey everyone,

So I'm feeling a little depressed. I am way behind schedule for studying for my entrance exam. My muse for various fics is stymied because she is giving me tons (I mean, tons) of material which I am unable to put to paper ...or computer whatever because there's no time! Ugh! And I seriously think I am messing up my DeiSaku fic and that's not a good thing becasue I love this pairing and want to write a good one but I don't know. I'm not so confident writing Naruto and it's driving me insane. Anyway...yes the rant is over.

Oh and there is something funny happening with the 'F' key on my laptop. Excuse typos.

Please comment.