Disclaimer: Neither Rurouni Kenshin nor its characters belongs to me. Sigh.

AN: As always, please forgive any typos. I was falling asleep while typing some of this, which provided quite a bit of amusement in the morning when I tried to figure out what the heck I had written. I think I fixed all the errors and things that didn't make sense, but if I didn't, now you know why. But hey, it's a relatively quick update AND it's long. So there.

Also, I didn't really follow proper etiquette when visiting a foreign dojo…mostly because I didn't have enough time to research how that would be. So, I made it up. There are a few OCs, but as usual, they only serve to move the story along and won't be permanent additions.

You know the deal by now with the italics - they indicate emphasis but also thoughts sometimes. I figure it's pretty easy to tell the difference.

Terms used:

Zaru soba – cold buckwheat noodles, generally served with a dipping sauce (so delicious~)
Kamiya Kasshin-ryū – Kaoru's swordfighting style
Kata – a series of sequential choreographed movements, particularly applied to the martial arts (and swordsmanship, which is also referred to as a martial art)
Kenpō – a martial art (also called kempo) similar to karate and sometimes incorporated with sword styles
-san – Everyone should know this – general form of address, like "Mr."
-sensei – teacher, or sometimes master, depending on the profession
Shinai – flexible, light practice swords made usually from bamboo. Shinai are less brittle than the heavier, wooden bokken (sometimes referred to as bokuto,) which is why they are good for sparring
Kendo – everyone knows this, yes? The way of the sword. Used when talking about swordmanship

-Neomiko

P.S. I love my thoughtful reviewers~ （＾o＾）

Chapter 11

Over a dinner of zaru soba, dumplings, and vegetables, Aoshi told Kaoru more about the valley they were in.

"The towns of Magome and Tsumago attract many visitors in the fall. The area is surrounded by forest, so when autumn arrives the leaves change from deep greens to vibrant reds, yellows, and oranges."

Kaoru nodded, wondering if she would be able to return at that time of the year.

Aoshi continued, "I imagine you'll enjoy the town we are currently in: Kiso-Fukushima. It is also rather known for its hot springs."

Kaoru flushed, remembering the last time they went to a hot spring. Even though a hot spring meant a little bit of relaxation and indulgence, it also meant quite a bit of exposure and anxiety. She was at war within herself. On one hand, a hot spring meant being practically naked in front of strangers and Aoshi. On the other hand, it also meant a practically naked Aoshi.

Taking in her very red face, Aoshi asked, "Do I even want to know what you are thinking about?"

Kaoru squeaked unintelligibly, causing Aoshi to raise an eyebrow at her.

Taking a drink of tea and clearing her throat, she stammered, "Do uh… do you know if… uh… the springs will be separated? You know, one section for men and one for women?"

"I am sure we can find out. Were you uncomfortable around so many men at the one in Karuizawa?"

"N-n-n-no…" Kaoru stuttered. Just around you, she thought.

Aoshi's gaze was equal parts assessing and amused.

"Kaoru…"

"Yes," Kaoru sighed in resignation. Better to let him think I was uncomfortable with everyone else. Does he even know what kind of an effect he can have on people? On me?

"I can see if any of the local places have private baths, if you'd like."

"Would you… would we be sharing one?"

Aoshi blinked, considering. "Do you want to?"

Kaoru's mouth dropped open, at a complete loss for words. She had only wanted to know if she would need to mentally prepare herself, not to imply…!

"I'm only teasing you, Kaoru." Aoshi smiled.

Kaoru's her face burned scarlet. She stood up abruptly. "I need to go the restroom!"

"All right," Aoshi nodded.

Aoshi's eyes tracked Kaoru's form as she hurried as gracefully as she could from the table. He watched as she approached a waitress, exchanged a few words, and then headed off towards the back of the restaurant. To his great annoyance, Aoshi noted that he was not the only one watching Kaoru. A table full of men off to the side watched Kaoru's progress with rather too much interest, in Aoshi's opinion. He drummed his fingers on the table in an uncharacteristic display of impatience, tattooing a rapid beat while he thought.

Meanwhile, in the restroom, Kaoru took a small towel from a stack by a basin, splashed it with cold water, and pressed it against her face and neck.

"What is wrong with me? It's barely been two weeks since I left Tokyo. Am I really so foolish as to fall in love with any man who shows me kindn…" Kaoru stopped, dropping the towel. "Oh my god."

Kaoru returned to the table shortly, no longer bright red, but rather pale. She stood by the table, hands clasped tightly over her stomach. How could I fall in love with him? He tried to kill Kenshin once. Yes, that's right. But he has apologized for it, and he seems to be moving forward with his life – wait, that's not going the right way. OK. Uh… Misao's been in love with him for ages. There's that. Friends don't go after the guys their friends are in love with. Kaoru shook a mental fist at Megumi. So, yes, definitely a no-no. Girl code, or something. Right, yeah, OK, so… I can only be friends with Aoshi. For some reason, her argument with herself made her stomach feel terrible.

Aoshi stood immediately, concerned. "Are you all right?"

Kaoru avoided eye contact. "Y-yes, I'm suddenly a little tired and my stomach hurts. Could we call it an early night?"

"Of course. It has been a long day, and we've still got traveling ahead." Aoshi agreed.

Aoshi stepped up beside her, placing a hand at the small of her back, just below her obi, to gently guide her out of the restaurant. She looked up at him, a little surprised at the familiar gesture. For some reason, it eased the nauseous feeling in her stomach, but ignited a strange, lightly burning sensation in its place. There is something seriously wrong with me, she thought. Aoshi glanced down in response, one eyebrow slightly raised. Seeing her questioning expression, a corner of his mouth quirked up with the barest hint of a reassuring smile.

Kaoru returned the smile with a shy, little one of her own, and faced forward again as they walked out. Over her head, Aoshi took the moment to lock eyes with each of the men at the table to the side in a vaguely challenging manner. None of them could look at him for more than a second. Satisfied that he had made his point, Aoshi's hand flexed against Kaoru's back. Ninja intimidation, indeed.

# #

# #

After a night of tossing and turning, fretting about her newly discovered feelings, Kaoru woke fairly late. Rushing to get dressed, she threw open her door intending to look for Aoshi, only to find a note with her name on it at her feet.

Stooping to sweep up the note, she retreated back into her room and sat down. As she unfolded the note, a tiny wildflower fell out. Picking it up and sniffing experimentally, she detected a light fragrance. Twirling the flower with her fingers, she began reading Aoshi's surprisingly elegant script.

Kaoru,

I hope you have rested well. I came by earlier this morning to see if you wished to have breakfast, but you were fast asleep and I didn't have the heart to wake you. If you are up before lunchtime, you will be able to find me in a dojo I noticed while we were exploring last night. Just exit the waki-honjin, turn right, and go up the street. You will see the dojo on the left-hand side within a few minutes. It has a large front window. If you do not make it there, I will be back for lunch, if you would wait for me.

Aoshi

P.S. If you come to the dojo, don't talk to strange men along the way. We are in an unfamiliar place and I am not with you. I know you can take care of yourself, but I would prefer if you did not have to.

For some inexplicable reason, Kaoru could feel tears welling up in her eyes. She must really be pathetic, she thought, if a simple, considerate note could move her to tears. Taking a deep breath, she folded the flower carefully back into the note and set it by her pillow. This, she allowed herself, she would always keep. Swiftly, she stood and began to change the kimono she had hurriedly put on for her training clothes (which she never seemed to be able to leave home without.)

If Aoshi's training a little, I should too, Kaoru decided. Perhaps a little exercise, the comforting routine of the Kamiya Kasshin-ryū kata, would help clear her head.

And maybe her heart.

# #

# #

A few minutes later and Kaoru was walking quickly down the street. Though a few people glanced curiously at her attire, she ignored them all in favor of looking for the dojo. Just when she thought she had spotted it, to her dismay, she saw a small crowd gathered outside, watching whatever was happening on the other side of the huge glass window. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that quite a number of the spectators were female. Heart sinking, Kaoru navigated her way to the front, earning a couple of dirty looks for her effort.

Inside the dojo, Aoshi was practicing his kenpō. He probably doesn't want to use his swords in front of strangers, Kaoru thought. Though he was not in the middle of the floor, even in the back of the room his precision, control, and economy of movement clearly marked him as superior. His fluidity, long, lean limbs, and clean lines made him mesmerizing to watch, and every time one of the many women staring through the window gave a titter or a sigh, Kaoru's temper flared.

One woman in particular, a beautiful, buxom woman with a porcelain complexion, continually made comments about how handsome Aoshi was, and how she would very much like to meet him. Feeling inferior and unable to control her temper any further, Kaoru's ki jumped with anger and jealousy.

Aoshi stopped in the middle of a kick suddenly, feeling Kaoru's ki spike nearby. He had been preoccupied thinking about Kaoru, and letting his body go through the familiar motions of kenpō. He looked around, confused as to why she had not made her presence known to him yet. Where is she?

He finally spotted her in the window, standing outside the dojo, glaring for all she was worth at a woman who, Aoshi was a little startled to notice, was staring rather intently inside. Is that woman staring at me? Slightly puzzled, he waited until he caught Kaoru's eye before beckoning her to join him. He was not unaware of the fact that the woman Kaoru had been glaring at just moments ago was now glaring at Kaoru.

As Kaoru stopped by his side, he couldn't help but ask, "What's going on in front?"

Kaoru frowned. "You cannot tell me that you didn't notice."

Aoshi frowned back. "Notice what? I've been focused on my kenpō."

"Really? You mean to tell me that you didn't realize you've got a captive audience out there? One full of women – beautiful women, I might add – admiring how handsome and dashing and athletic you are." Kaoru seethed.

Aoshi's puzzled expression smoothed into a slightly calculating one.

"Why should I care who watches? They do not matter. I was waiting for you."

"That's not the point! I mean, they're just staring and analyzing you like… like, some sort of market special! It's… it's so… Ugh!" Kaoru couldn't find the words to express her irritation.

And then she realized what else he had said. A little warm feeling tingled in her solar plexus. "You were waiting for me? How could you be certain I would come?"

"I'd like to think I've gotten to know you during our time together. I doubt you would miss the chance to practice your skills." Kaoru blushed prettily. Was she that transparent?

"The spectators do not bother me, Kaoru, and you should not let them bother you. We're only here for a short while. Perhaps a friendly spar will help work out your… aggression?" Aoshi suggested.

Kaoru let out a long breath. "That sounds good. Let's use shinai so I don't accidentally break one of their bokuto or something."

Aoshi looked at her with a little concern, but only said, "All right."

As they went to grab a couple of shinai, Aoshi introduced Kaoru to the owner of the dojo, Matsumoto-sensei. Appalled that she had forgotten her manners while she was irritated, she bowed deeply to the owner. Aoshi went to collect the wooden practice swords while Kaoru conversed with Matsumoto-sensei. Some of the students in the dojo stopped to watch them.

"I apologize for not paying my respects when I first entered, sir. I'm very thankful you have been so generous in allowing my friend and me to use your dojo and equipment."

The old man simply laughed and nodded. "Now, now, young lady. It is quite all right. Your friend has been most entertaining to watch. And are you really a female swordsman? I must say you two have certainly brought quite a bit of attention to my little dojo." He waved a hand towards the crowd outside.

"Yes, I am the adjutant master of the Kamiya Kasshin-ryū. I took over running my family dojo in Tokyo after my father passed away."

"Well, I'm certainly interested to see what you can do. Your young man has offered nothing but praise for your sword-fighting style this morning."

Kaoru's head whipped toward Aoshi. "You talked about me?"

"Now don't be upset." Matsumoto-sensei interrupted. "Some of the students asked Shinomori-san why he was here in town, and he told us that he was traveling to Kyoto with a fellow swordfighter. When he said the name, 'Kamiya-san,' I did not realize that he was referring to a woman."

"Oh… I see…" Kaoru was unsure of what to say. She certainly couldn't be rude and say what she really thought about his preconceived gender notions, that was for sure. She stood for a moment, fidgeting under the old man's appraising stare.

Out of the corner of her eye, Kaoru caught Aoshi returning to her side, gripping a couple of shinai. He started to bow, so she hastily did the same.

"If you don't mind us imposing on your dojo a little longer, I believe Kaoru and I would like to engage in a friendly spar." Aoshi said.

"Really?" Matsumoto's skepticism was clear on his face.

"Yes, we've sparred before." Aoshi answered calmly.

"Then by all means, take the main floor. I am quite looking forward to it." Matsumoto said. "I'll clear the area when you're ready."

Aoshi nodded and turned, leading Kaoru back to where he had been practicing earlier. "You can warm up here, and…"

"Why did you do that?" Kaoru interrupted.

"Do what?"

"That!" Kaoru gestured vaguely towards Matsumoto-sensei. "Now he's going to expect some sort of show, and we both know you're way better than I am."

"Kaoru, we've been over this. Have faith in your abilities." Aoshi chided.

"I do have faith in my abilities. I also have faith in yours, and therein lies the problem." Kaoru grumbled. She began her usual warm-up routine.

"It'll be just like it was at your dojo, I promise." Aoshi laughed.

"Yeah, well, if I get embarrassed, it's not like I live here. I can just run away and never come back."

"You're overreacting, Kaoru. Don't worry."

"You're not the one who's going to have to deal with the whole 'girls shouldn't play with swords' thing," Kaoru muttered, too lowly for Aoshi to hear clearly.

"Pardon me, did you say something?" Aoshi asked.

Kaoru only grinned (which actually looked a little more like a grimace) and shook her head. Aoshi looked at her a moment longer before continuing his own warm-ups, testing the weight and balance of his shinai.

After Kaoru felt sufficiently warmed up, she nodded to Aoshi. He looked to Matusmoto-sensei, who had been watching them, and nodded to him. Matsumoto-sensei clapped once, sharply, and the dojo grew quiet.

Matsumoto-sensei announced, "As you all can see, we have some guests visiting us today. I promised them the use of our facilities, so I must interrupt your practice for a little while so that they may use the main floor. However, this is a good opportunity for you all to watch new fighters in action. It is a rare occasion for us. Pay attention."

The main floor was cleared, leaving Aoshi and Kaoru standing in the center.

"Are you ready, Kaoru?" Aoshi asked.

Kaoru nodded. They stood facing each other. She cleared her throat self-consciously, acutely aware of the other students in the dojo watching them, as well as the crowd outside the window. She had never had so many strangers – well, strangers to kendo – watch her like this before. To her chagrin, all the women in the window hadn't left, their eyes still trained on Aoshi, whose eyes were trained on her. Kaoru wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but she thought she could feel the hostility in their gazes when they looked at her, particularly that of the loudmouthed woman she had been standing next to earlier.

"Remember, Kaoru, there's no time to be nervous."

"Let's give them a show then, shall we?" Kaoru smiled, looking more calm than she felt.

Aoshi smirked in return before launching into an attack, and then the spar was on.

As before at the Kamiya dojo, Aoshi moved like water, flowing effortlessly between attack and counterattack. Kaoru's deflections and counterstrikes came more quickly, feeding off of Aoshi's strength and movement. Having faced him once already, she knew she would have to be on her toes, to let her body react without over-thinking, and trust in the hours and hours of training she had put her body through.

Aoshi left no time for Kaoru to be self-conscious; she was too busy defending while trying to find an opening. Once again, Kaoru could tell that he was not using his full strength, but he was pushing her limits of flexibility and reflex. She soon realized that she'd be unable to keep up this pace for much longer. Unfortunately, his speed and agility proved an almost perfect defense, and Kaoru was having a hard time finding a chink in his armor.

Aoshi lunged forward suddenly, spinning his shinai in a move Kaoru instantly recognized as the one that had beaten her before. Instead of trying to deflect as she did in their previous spar, she let her wrist and arm go slack, but maintained her grip on the shinai with her fingers. The tip of her shinai bounced off the floor and she used the momentum to propel it back up, stopping just under Aoshi's chin. He froze, blinking in surprise at the shinai at his throat. Kaoru blinked back, seemingly equally surprised. As he lowered his shinai, an appreciative smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. An answering smile bloomed on Kaoru's face.

"What did I tell you about your style being adaptable?" Aoshi asked, bowing to Kaoru and signaling the end of the spar. "I see that you remembered that move from before, and changed your response to it."

Kaoru bowed in return. "I don't know how well that would have gone in an actual fight, but it worked here so I can't complain."

"Always know your environment and use whatever you can to your advantage."

Kaoru laughed. "Everything's always a learning experience with you, huh?"

Suddenly, they found themselves surrounded by spectators, clamoring for attention.

Kaoru was bombarded with questions, laughingly trying to answer them all: Where did they learn how to fight like that? How could Kamiya-san keep up with Shinomori-san so effortlessly? (For this question, Kaoru wasn't sure who that kid thought he was watching – it took loads of effort on her part to keep up.) Where does Kamiya-san teach kendo? How long have they been practicing? Have either of them been in a real swordfight before? Is Shinomori-san single?

Kaoru did a double-take at the last question. Who had asked that? Instantly annoyed, Kaoru discovered that the loudmouth looker had pushed her way inside the dojo to try to get closer to Aoshi. However, he was surrounded three-student deep, so apparently the woman thought that Kaoru would be her best bet for an introduction. Kaoru's temper flared, nearly all traces of her previous good mood gone. Though the woman was gorgeous, Kaoru couldn't help but feel that the beautiful exterior hid a rotten interior.

Of course, that could have just been the jealousy talking. No Kaoru, of course you are NOT jealous.

This woman sidled up to her as if friends, as if Kaoru didn't remember how she had been behaving (what she had been saying) earlier. Some of the students around Kaoru backed up, feeling her ki rise. Aoshi's head snapped up as soon as he felt it, searching for Kaoru and the source of her distress. His eyes narrowed when they landed on the woman from before.

"You didn't answer my question, girl. Is he single?"

"I'm sure it would be inappropriate for me to comment on that to a complete stranger," Kaoru snapped, struggling to rein in her temper.

"Oh come now, I'm sure he wouldn't mind, seeing as how I don't want to be a stranger for long." the woman purred. "Anyway, you must know. You are his sister or cousin, are you not?"

Kaoru's mouth dropped open. "I most certainly am not-"

"You most certainly are not what?" the woman asked coyly.

Kaoru felt trapped. How do I answer that?

"Kaoru? Is something wrong?" Like a ghost, Aoshi seemed to materialize directly behind Kaoru.

"Oh, I was just asking your cousin here about you." The woman flirted shamelessly, batting her eyelashes at Aoshi.

"Kaoru is not my cousin." Aoshi looked offended. "Kaoru is my… She is my…"

"Pray tell, what is she, then? Relative? Student? " the woman sneered.

Aoshi looked at Kaoru, who stared back with wide eyes and pale face. His face grew set, as if he had decided something.

"Kaoru is my concern, not yours."

The woman faltered. "Oh…uh… well, I never!" She turned in a huff and stormed out of the dojo, embarrassed at being so publicly rejected.

The rest of their audience watched her leave, and then their eyes swung back Aoshi and Kaoru. She whirled on him.

"What was that?" she asked, voice shrill.

Looking unaffected, Aoshi said, "I did not like the way she was addressing you. You deserve respect and decency. Clearly that woman could not grasp my indifference, so I sought to make it rather plain."

Slumping a little, Kaoru said, "Well, I suppose you did just that."

Before anyone could begin questioning the pair anew, Matsumoto-sensei stepped in.

"Well, I do think that has been quite enough excitement for today." He turned to Aoshi and Kaoru. "Shinomori-san, Kamiya-san, please forgive the impertinence of some of our townspeople. I pray it does not leave an unfavorable impression of our humble town with you."

"Of course not," Aoshi responded smoothly. "Your hospitality has more than made up for the trespasses of one individual. Perhaps we will come here again, the next time we are passing through."

Matsumoto-sensei smiled. "We would enjoy that very much. We wish you well on the rest of your journey."

Kaoru, still peeved, managed a tight smile and a deep bow. "If there is a next time, perhaps we can host a proper exhibition of skills."

Matsumoto-sensei laughed. "My dear girl, you've given us quite a lot to think about for a while. Such a skillful female kendo instructor! It seems the times are changing, indeed. Perhaps we ought to start recruiting for a female class. Goodness knows we clearly need some more discipline in the town." Matsumoto-sensei winked at Kaoru knowingly.

Kaoru flushed, not knowing how to respond. Aoshi took her elbow.

"I'm afraid we must take our leave, Matsumoto-sensei. It is drawing close to lunchtime, and we will need to be on our way."

"Of course, of course. May we see you again soon!"

"Come, Kaoru. Let's get cleaned up and see what this town has to offer in the way of lunch."

# #

# #

Clean and refreshed and ready to eat, Kaoru and Aoshi wandered the town to find a place to eat.

"I'm sorry about earlier. I don't know what came over me." Kaoru apologized.

"Don't worry about it, Kaoru. I may have been overstepping my bounds by saying such a thing."

"While I won't lie and say I wasn't a little but smug about that…that woman's face turning purple, aren't you worried? People might have the wrong idea about us."

"Is that so bad? Let them have the wrong idea if it gets them to leave us alone."

Kaoru pondered as they walked. Is it really so bad? Like Aoshi said, we're only passing through. The odds are very good we will never see these people again.

"Well… if you think so. I suppose it's not a terrible thing." Kaoru reluctantly agreed. In truth, she couldn't see too much wrong with it, aside from the fact that it wasn't technically "proper." But then again, when was she ever the picture of conservative decorum?

Aoshi spotted a place that looked pretty good. Casually placing a hand on Kaoru's back, he led her towards the little shop.

Kaoru looked up at him again when she felt his hand on her back. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Or did he always do it, and she was only noticing it now? Did he know how familiar that felt? No wonder people got the wrong idea. Cool it, Kaoru. He probably doesn't even realize what he's doing.

Contrary to Kaoru's inner thoughts, Aoshi knew exactly what he was doing. His mind was calculating the likelihood of Kaoru actually commenting on his somewhat overly familiar behavior. He figured the odds were in his favor though, since she had yet to say anything about it.

After the revelatory conversation the other day, Aoshi decided that he was going to court Kaoru. He had already sent a letter off that very morning to the Aoiya informing them of his intentions – it certainly wouldn't do to show up in Kyoto with a hysterical Misao awaiting them. He had every confidence that Okina would handle the girl; and if he couldn't, it afforded Aoshi enough time to correspond in letters prior to their arrival.

Of course, Kaoru wasn't aware of his decision yet, which meant that devising the perfect plan was of paramount importance. He had four key points in mind so far:

First – get Kaoru used to the idea that men found her desirable. Aoshi frowned a little; this point wasn't terribly difficult, judging by the way men looked at her in the places they'd already been. But sweet, naïve Kaoru didn't notice, even when the young men of Matsumoto-sensei's dojo were vying for her attention with inane questions, and for that, Aoshi was a little grateful.

Second – get Kaoru comfortable with him. If he could get her used to his touch, he could start taking a lot more liberties in the near future without her necessarily realizing it. However, he could take a little masculine pride in the way Kaoru's pulse would jump when he touched her. It meant she wasn't unaffected by him, and that was a good thing.

Third – get Kaoru to recognize that Aoshi is a single, available man. On this point, Aoshi was pretty sure he had at least some of Kaoru's notice, if her reaction to the pushy woman in the dojo earlier was any indication. This made Aoshi smile a little to himself. Realizing what he was doing, he glanced down at Kaoru from the corner of his eye; thankfully, she was preoccupied with looking at the shop's menu posted by the front door.

Fourth – get Kaoru to realize that she and Aoshi would suit, far better than anyone else out there, and certainly much better than she would have with one wandering swordsman. Aoshi nodded a little to himself as they entered the shop; in his opinion, they would suit very well, indeed.

# #

# #

As they sat down at a table, they were served hot tea immediately. Aoshi traced the rim of his cup with a fingertip, casually commenting, "So, since we have the afternoon open, would you like to find a hot spring?"

Kaoru promptly fumbled her tea cup, nearly dropping it.

To Be Continued…

Sorry, sorry, I couldn't resist that bit at the end. – Neomiko