Heyloo peeps!
It's been forever, and i'm really sorry! Damn, so much has happened while i've been away. I sorta looked over this old story and decided to finally post the next two chapters. I'll continue at this speed, hopefully, and try to finish this dormant plot while i can. I'm in London right now for medical reasons, so I had some spare time between doctors to look over this ancient stuff.
Enjoy!
Chapter Three
The Sparks of Attraction
Yahiko returned as the sun was an hour away from setting. He wore a pair of green hakama and a yellowish gi, in a strange material Sanosuke didn't know of. Misao came bounding in after him, her usual smile on her face. When she saw Sanosuke, she charged into him before Yahiko could even attempt to get near him and wrapped her arms around his neck. From the doorway, Aoshi kept her in his range of sight with a protective, watchful eye.
"Rooster!" She cried gleefully.
"Weasel!" He said, his voice deep and lilting with fondness.
"It's been too long!" She cried. Sanosuke stared down at her and could not believe she would be a wife in a couple months' time.
"Far too long. I would have rather gotten the news in person than in a letter, you know," he said jokingly. He looked past her to Aoshi, who stood calmly but could not conceal the warning glint in his eyes. Sano gently disengaged Misao's arms and nudged her towards her fiancé. He understood perfectly that, being the kind of person Aoshi was, he did not tolerate having her act so intimately with him. His glare melted easily away when Misao looked his way and gave him a little smile.
"Where is she?" She demanded happily, poking Sano in the ribs.
"She's in the kitchen with our new boarder. Trying to learn how to cook." He winced as the others gave him knowing looks, and turned to the large house only to see Yahiko running frantically up the stairs to the interior.
Kaoru was standing at the stove with Kenshin, but was still far away enough to keep anyone seeing them from suspecting anything. She leaned over the pot, watching it with forced concentration. She would not let her food burn this time.
"Put in this amount of miso paste," He instructed, showing her the proper quantity in his hand.
"Yeah." She pulled off a chunk similar to his in size and dropped it delicately into the boiling water. As she reached out for a spoon to stir it with, Kenshin flicked his head around to the doorway, where he could sense a presence. A boy flew through the door, aiming blindly for Kaoru, and before Kenshin could shield the mistress of the house, the boy tackled her and hugged her tightly from behind. She let out a cry and knocked the pot out of place with her elbow, making it shift and splash all over the place. A blob of the boiling soup fell on her outstretched, uncovered wrist. She let out a hiss and turned frantically to her arm. Kenshin took her hand from her and observed the burn as she disregarded him and returned Yahiko's hug.
"Oh, Yahiko!" she cooed happily, a wide smile gracing her lips.
"Sanosuke… he told me Gohei had you, and…" His eyes glistened so she motioned for him to stop, ensuring that he didn't speak. She kept one hand on his back as he continued to hug her, and turned towards Kenshin.
"Is it bad?" She asked. "It doesn't hurt much, but… I'm used to burns," she said, slightly bitter.
"Not very bad, miss Kamiya." He said, forcing a comforting smile. "The doctor will have to check on it. I'll resume your lessons another time."
She nodded lightly to him in thanks and left, taking Yahiko with her. She looked back at her boarder as she stepped into the hallway. Though he was formal, his eyes were so… gentle. Compared to the way they looked when he killed Gohei, anyway. But all of the time, gentle or not, his eyes were beautiful.
As she stepped into the porch, shielding her eyes from the sunlight, she was pounced on yet again by her hyperactive best friend. "Misao!"
"Kaoru!" She cried. She wrapped her arms tightly around Kaoru's neck and squealed with the usual Misao glee that she always possessed. "You're all right? No wounds, nothing?" Her eyes clouded over with active worry. Kaoru's slightly rosy cheeks deepened in rogue.
"Nothing was harmed but her ego," Sanosuke said, giving Kaoru a subtle wink. She turned to Aoshi, who briefly embraced her, keeping a perfectly composed, almost sympathetic smile in place. Kaoru gave Misao a meaningful look and led her further into the courtyard where the others were out of proper earshot.
"Kaoru, you kept this place perfect! It's just like I remember it! Do you still have that weird storage thing full of ice in the kitchen?"
"Yes, I do. But damnit, Misao, tell me how you won him over!" She cried with an ear-to-ear smile.
Misao smiled triumphantly. "He was the one who won me over, believe it or not."
Kaoru's smile widened impossibly. "But remember, Megumi has to talk with you. About… you know."
Misao laughed. "I feel superior to you for once, Kaoru. I have Okon and Omasu; they told me everything. VERY disturbing. If you can avoid such discussions, Kaoru, avoid them." Her voice, for once, was dark and serious, and so unfitting for Misao that Kaoru felt the urge to laugh in her face.
Kaoru, instead, only chuckled nervously. "I… well, I don't know what to say to that. But thanks for warning me."
Misao rolled her eyes. "How's that idiot of a boyfriend doing?" By that, Kaoru knew she meant Keisuke.
"I don't want to talk about him," she said curtly.
"What? WHAT? What happened? Tell me, Kaoru! Please?"
Kaoru's eyes held a wounded look, and she sighed deeply, trying hard to keep her tears inside. "He left me."
Misao's eyes held bloody murder. "Tell me."
"He's leaving to go to Kyoto to work because he thinks I'm too much of a distraction from his job."
Misao pulled her into a hug and breathed in her sweet scent. "Don't worry about it. You remember that guy in your class, right?" She held a playful look. "Oroido," she swooned. "He's been falling all over you for months now!"
"Him and half of the advanced class," Kaoru said dryly.
Misao shrieked with laughter. "You know, we stopped at a noodle shop when we arrived to feed Yahiko, and there were these teenagers from your advanced class, talking about you. They miss you a lot. And they started talking about your cleavage!" she laughed more, but Kaoru turned bone-white.
"Uh… what? What was that?"
Misao gasped for air and continued. "They were sitting around, wondering what happened to you. Then one of them said you were pretty, and the other said you were gorgeous, and they all agreed that whenever you did the stretches at the beginning, and your short-sleeved hakama is on, it kind of opens up and they can see your bindings and then…" she paused to take a breath, "they can see your cleavage."
She blushed deeply, and decided she would have to cover up more during class.
"Anyway, you little hotshot, let me see that sparkly training hall, and look at the new names on the walls!" She pulled a set of Kunai from the case strapped to her hips. "Aoshi bought me a practice set!"
"I'll train in there with you. Just let me get changed."
"Oh, who's this?" Misao asked, staring directly at Kenshin, who was at one of the sliding doors.
Kaoru smiled at him and walked over to him to take his arm in her hand. "That's the man who saved me from Gohei. He is staying here until his assignment ends." She turned to Kenshin and whispered subtly. "She's Misao Makimachi, the leader of the Oniwabanshu ninja group." Kenshin was startled to see that the girl who ran the Oniwabanshu, the most highly respected ninja clan in all of Japan, was such a tiny thing. He'd imagined a large, burly, muscular woman nowhere near Misao's petite profile.
He bowed. "It's an honor to meet you, Makimachi san." He said, his eyes still fixed strangely on her.
Misao laughed out loud, something he'd later learn was a Misao thing to do, not a tease or jeer in any way. "Misao is fine, Mr. Himura! I should be bowing to you, for rescuing Kaoru!"
Aoshi heard this, and went to him with Sano. "I thank you." He said. "For helping her. I wasn't able to get within two miles of the dojo without being swarmed by police. That is, when I actually got the chance. Kyoto's a mess at the moment."
Kenshin smiled, but got a big shock when Misao bounded to him and gave him a tight, affectionate embrace. "Arigatou!" she cried. "I'm so glad! I knew she'd get out somehow, and I'm glad she had someone to help her!"
"Umm…." Kenshin returned her embrace with a mild, brief one and disengaged her arms when he noticed Aoshi's protective glare. "No problem… I just went under cover and it wasn't that hard."
"It wasn't that hard?" Sano asked. "Gad, now you're making me feel bad…"
Kaoru emerged from her room again, and she was dressed in a different outfit. Her hakama was blue, and her gi was different. Unlike the long sleeved, unrevealing and very closed yellow brown gi, she wore one in off white that was rather short sleeved and revealed her pale, toned and slightly muscled arms. Kenshin noticed at once that it was different. Not only were the sleeves far shorter, but the gi was a little big on her, and at the neckline gave a view of her breast bindings. She summoned Yahiko to the training hall with an excited smile.
"Why in the world is she wearing that gi now?" Sanosuke asked himself.
"She always wears that one when she's not planning on going outside the dojo." Aoshi said knowingly, shrugging at the pointlessness of this conversation.
"Oh. I didn't realize…"
"It doesn't matter, anyway. I want to watch the effectiveness of Misao's new kunai." Aoshi declared.
"Nice excuse. Admit it, Aoshi, you're going in there to gawk at Misao in her new outfit, not her kunai."
Aoshi glared at him, but said no more. Besides, what about it wasn't true? Misao had a new ninja outfit in the form of a short blue sleeveless top and a skirt with slits on either side that went up to her thighs. Because her top was so short and her skirt was so low on the hips, it revealed a lot of her stomach. When she and Aoshi became engaged, the Oniwabanshu recognized her as a woman and assigned her the more womanly outfit. Aoshi couldn't deny that he liked watching her in it.
The three of them retreated to the training hall. Megumi was already in there, and over Yahiko's battle cries and Kaoru's grunts as her bokken made contact with his, she tried to tell Kaoru sparring was a horrible idea. Kaoru stopped and threw Kenshin a smile as her eyes passed his way, then gave Sano a knowing look and flicked her eyes to Megumi. Misao, though, was already in action.
"Megumi, would you like to play target to my shiny new kunai?" she asked with a smirk.
"Would you like me to poison your soba?"
Misao rolled her eyes and watched as Kaoru and Yahiko's battle became heated. She attacked fast, ducking low when he tried to hit her legs and expertly dodging with her flexible body as strikes came her way. Yahiko was having a little trouble, though his excellence in swordplay excelled his years. Kenshin understood why the north wall of the dojo was completely covered with name plaques. In the middle of the wall was Kaoru's tablet, where her father's used to be. She was written under master, and Yahiko was making his way to assistant master. He looked back at her. From her expertise, he knew her title was well deserved.
When they were done, both Yahiko and Kaoru were only covered with a very thin layer of sweat. Yahiko's breathing was only slightly ragged, and Kaoru's breathing was simply unlabored.
Kenshin left the friends in the training hall to continue making dinner. That night, still in their training clothes, everybody sat down to a delicious meal.
"Lobster. Kami Sama, Kaoru chan…" Megumi chided. "I didn't know you could afford such things."
Kaoru and Kenshin snorted in disagreement.
She gave the two a perplexed stare, but let it drop easily. "Where did you learn to cook like this, Mr. Himura? Seeing you're not exactly the home making type…"
"My wife," said Kenshin, and he immediately felt a pang of longing. "She… well, since we don't talk much, we observe each other. A lot of the time I'm with her, she's cooking, and I guess I just picked up my skills from her."
"That explains it." Megumi said, her voice seriously lacking in subtlety.
"Explains what?" Kaoru asked, her eyes hardening.
"You didn't have a lovely, well cooking man at home all this time to observe. Your food is terrible!"
Kaoru bit back a growl. "Well excuse me for caring about things other than petty cooking and being the perfect zombie wife!"
Megumi rolled her eyes, a hint of good nature sparking in them. She smiled at Kaoru, who sardonically smiled back, her eyes narrowed with artificial fondness she didn't care to make more believing.
The others at the table looked on with interest. Yahiko, being a child still, stuck himself to Kaoru's side and didn't leave. Even if she used the outhouse he'd stand outside the door and wait. Same went for whenever she needed privacy. Presently, he sat himself right next to her, so close their sides touched. But Kaoru understood his reasons, so she didn't complain.
"Kaoru," Megumi said as everybody finished the last of their dinner, "You shouldn't wear your training clothes for too long. The sweat will only irritate your wounds further."
"I'll have a bath now," Kaoru said, resting her chopsticks on her now empty bowl.
"All right, then, the usual routine." Sanosuke said, looking over at Kenshin.
Kaoru, being the mistress of the house and the one who provided for all the boarders, was to be given extra priorities, especially after what happened.
"There's the whole 'men are better than women thing,' but don't overestimate it. It's a load of crap. The women carry us, give us distractions from the real world, remind us of beauty… they are not inferior." Sano once told him. "In this case, though, with the woman providing for us, and having recently taken such suffering and surviving it, she is superior. We need to help out where we can."
Kenshin grew used to preparing her baths. He would gather lightweight wood while Sanosuke filled the huge tub inside with water. Then, Kenshin would go inside when the bathwater is filled up and add the necessary soaps, also making sure she has towels and whatnot, while Sano gets the furnace working. The two men went through the routine every day, and usually got it finished by eight during the evening and two in the afternoon, depending on what time of the day she decides to take it.
But today, Kenshin moved with very slow movements. He wasn't focusing on anything he did. He rolled up his sleeves, reached into the water, and felt the bottom of the tub in case the fire below was too large, as he'd done every day for the past few days. He noticed folded clothing on the edge of the tub. Her yukata. He reached out to hold it and hang it on the hook by the wall, but the robe slipped from his fingers and tumbled into the hot water. Damnit.
Kenshin winced when he picked it out. How would he explain this to her? Leaving his other tasks, he walked outside to the clothing line. He would have hung it up with the rest of the clothes to hide his clumsiness, but the robe was soaking wet and would only get the other clothes more wet. Plus, she'd notice if every piece of clothing was dry but one of her robes.
He bunched it up, rolled it into a thick 'sausage,' and wrung the cloth with his hands. Water poured into a mud puddle at his feet. He would get the bathhouse dirty walking back inside. He quickly hung the robe on the line and did what he could about his muddy tabi. When he walked back into the bathhouse, it was with bare feet, and he was behind schedule. By now, he was supposed to be gone. He quickly arranged the soaps, checked the facilities, and scrubbed the floor of all excess dirt he left behind. As he stood to leave, the door to the first room slid open, and in stepped a feminine figure. Damnit… he was supposed to be gone already!
He heard her voice, smooth and angelic, as she hummed a beautiful, lilting, serious song. He could see her silhouette as she dropped the towel from her shoulders and proceeded to let her hair loose before the mirror, still humming that spell binding song. He saw her thick, long, lustrous hair shower over her silhouette's shoulders.
Kenshin found himself in a state between sleep and awakening. He couldn't speak, or move, or register the fact that Kaoru would kill him for being there right then. He was content hearing her voice and watching as she went about her business freely, thinking she was beyond the ears and eyes of all.
She was about to step naked into the back room containing the tub. She would be even angrier. So he did the first thing he could.
"Miss Kamiya!" He cried. He heard her let out a yelp of surprise, then a loud bang, then groaning. Her silhouette fell to its knees. He had too harshly surprised her, and made her jump. He scrambled up, ready to help her, but she yelled at him in a warning town.
"Don't you dare! I'm not wearing anything, so whether you want to help me or not, you can't! And what are you doing in here anyway? You're supposed to be gone by now!" She was incredibly angry, and there was a sharp, terrible pain in the back of her head.
"G-Gomen, Miss Kamiya… He said. "I fell behind schedule."
She tried to sit up, but she felt so dizzy she weakened and fell back. She groaned faintly to herself. Stupid Kenshin…
"Maybe I should help you. I'll cover my eyes."
"You'd better!" She warned. He slid the door open and stepped into the front room with a hand over his eyes. He secretly hoped his eyes would burn a hole through his hand.
Wait… What? You're married, Himura! Control yourself! He lectured.
"Wait!"
"Hai?" He'd almost dropped his hand at her loud yelp.
"Bend over and feel on the floor in front of you. There's a damp towel on the ground."
He found it where she told him it would be and threw it towards her. She immediately slipped it around her as decently as she could. "Ok," She said in confirmation.
"Can you stand?" He asked, eyeing the beautiful mess slumped against the wall.
"I don't know. I tried to just now, but my efforts don't seem to make a difference."
"Try again," he said, not making a move to help her. She attempted it, getting up on trembling legs and using the wall to guide her, glaring at the floor angrily all the while, but she looked like she was ready to pass out. She reached out to grab something, and that something happened to be Kenshin's gi. Then, she crumpled to the floor.
"Kaoru!" he cried.
"I'm fine, I'm fine, I just need to make it to the bath and I'll feel better." She said.
"Okay, then I'll help you." He said.
To Kaoru's dismay, he swooped her up into his arms. She was not in the mood for so much body contact… from anyone.
Kenshin sat her safely on the edge of the tub. "Okay?" he asked.
"Okay." She said. "Now get out."
He nodded and fled. That was a terribly awkward experience. So awkward, he'd left in a rush. He was so rushed, he didn't notice the blood on the back of her head.
He stopped, realizing he'd forgotten something. There were only wet towels in there. Damnit… He ran to fetch some more and returned reluctantly to the bathhouse. When he reached the first room, the scent of jasmine assaulted his senses.
"Ms Kamiya," he called, "I forgot the towels. They're all here."
No answer. He snorted. She was probably still angry with him over the previous incident. "Ms Kamiya?"
No answer. The atmosphere was eerily silent. Something was wrong. He slid the door open cautiously, hoping she wouldn't hit him with the first thing she got her hands on. But no. She wasn't even there. He didn't see a head poking out of the bathtub, or hear her humming that beautiful song. Perplexed, he walked into the back room. What he saw horrified him. She was in there all right. But she was lying in the water-brimming bathtub. Her eyes were closed, her head was submerged, and blood had formed a cloud around her head as it hovered between settling and floating. Her legs were spread eagled, and her arms were slumped on either side of the tub. Her towel was still wrapped around her. Kenshin's heart stopped.
She was drowning.
He ran desperately towards the bath and leapt inside, not caring for the water that spilled over the tub with his added mass. "Megumi san! Sanosuke! Somebody!" He cried. He got too his knees and pulled her head from the water. She was out cold, and the towel was still tight around her. She had probably fainted as she tried to get in, maybe even as he left her sitting on the edge of the tub.
He called for the others again just as the door to the bathhouse slammed open and Megumi ran in with Sano.
"Kami sama!" She cried. "What happened?"
"I think she fainted as she was sitting on the edge…" he said, panting.
Sano wasted no time in ripping her from the water and laying her down on the wooden floor. Water pooled in all directions, but the three of them knelt in it anyway. Megumi felt her pulse. It was slow and weak. "Kenshin, you breathe into her. Sanosuke, count presses into her chest."
Kenshin was taken aback when he saw Sanosuke immediately respond to Megumi's orders, without even a moment's hesitation. Kenshin worked with the same efficiency as Sano and closed his mouth over Kaoru's, vehemently ignoring the awkwardness of the situation. He blew air into her to clear her system. Sanosuke immediately started hammering her chest. She didn't breathe.
"Keep going!" she ordered.
They kept trying. She didn't wake up. Sanosuke was a nervous wreck. "Keep going!" Megumi ordered again, her voice stronger and louder than before.
Sanosuke hammered her chest. Kenshin pumped air into her. When he was about to pull away, Kaoru's body jerked and she coughed, and his mouth filled with water. Without a second thought, he sucked the rest of it up from her open mouth, giving her the strangest sensation, and swallowed it himself without removing his mouth from hers. Her lungs were suddenly cleared. Then, he breathed air into her one more time before pulling away. Her eyes opened and gazed up at him. Her chest rose and fell, and turned red where Sanosuke had hit it. Her lips were red where Kenshin had pressed his own. They were parted as she gasped for breath. In that moment, as she gazed up at him, he became the angel that had saved her life. To Kenshin, she became the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. More importantly, she became the thing he'd saved, the person whose life he returned. Kenshin broke into a smile just as Kaoru did. He gently touched her bottom lip, and sparks flew.
"Ok, Kao chan…" Megumi sighed. "You're all right! But you didn't cough up the water… I don't understand—"
"She was about to cough it up, but I sucked it out all at once and swallowed it. I'm not sure she'd have had the energy to cough well enough," He explained with a blush.
Megumi smiled, and Kaoru watched from her position on the ground, her head on one of his knees. Kenshin had saved her life. Again.
"Thank you…" Megumi said, bowing low. Kenshin blushed even harder.
Kaoru tried to sit up, but found she couldn't. Pain filled her again. "What exactly happened?" she asked, her voice still hoarse.
"You fainted at the edge of the tub," Kenshin said, almost wincing at the memory. "You fell into the furo and almost drowned in two feet of water. It may be because you hit your head earlier…"
"You hit your head?" Megumi demanded. "And you didn't come to me first?"
"The water's red." Sanosuke said. "It bled profusely. No wonder you fainted."
"I'm sorry…" Kaoru said softly.
"Don't worry, Kao-chan…" Megumi said. "You'll go to sleep now, ok? I'll help you."
On her collarbones, her burn marks were clearly visible. Even though his awareness of her torture wounds blocked any surprise, he still felt anger surge through his entire body.
In the early morning, Kaoru woke up. She dressed quickly into her inside training clothes and woke Yahiko to join her in the dojo. Kenshin was already awake, cleaning up in the bathhouse.
"We need to start training again," Kaoru said, walking across the polished wood of the training hall to the far side. Somewhere outside, she could hear Misao in the outhouse, retching as she threw up again. It had happened so many times already, and she was desperately worried for her friend's health.
Yahiko's face lifted excitedly.
"Not yet. We won't spar yet, so don't get too excited. Remember the yoga I made you perform? The one that, after you mastered it, made you able to finish that kata?"
"Hai," Yahiko said disappointedly.
"Okay, good. There's a new kata I want you to learn. It's incredibly effective. But your balance and flexibility will need to be better than they are now."
As Kenshin walked across the yard, he heard her voice. He snuck to the training hall doors and took a peek inside.
"Okay," Yahiko said. "Fine. Show me what I need to do."
Without any warning, Kaoru jumped up and landed on her hands. Her forearms were pressed to the floor, and so was her chin. Her legs were straight in the air. Kenshin stifled a gasp. She was well skilled to do it so easily.
Even more to Kenshin's surprise, Yahiko effortlessly repeated her move and landed in the same position. Kaoru smiled proudly. She straightened out her arms so that only her palms touched the floor. Yahiko rose to the challenge and did the same, his arms trembling a little bit. Kaoru smiled at him.
"Very good, Yahiko! I'm impressed! Your arm muscles are getting stronger and you're getting lighter. Last time you couldn't do it." Yahiko returned her praise with a genuine smile.
His smile disappeared, though, when he saw what she did next. Kaoru spread out her legs and did the splits, keeping her arms perfectly still and her form perfectly poised.
Yahiko couldn't do the splits, but managed to replicate it well enough, keeping his knees bent to match his ability. Kenshin didn't notice, though. His eyes were trained on the woman teaching him.
Kaoru smiled, pleased enough with his attempt. "This may be easier for you. We don't need to do the splits." With absolute care, she lifted her stronger right arm from the ground and reached forward with precise definition. Kaoru kept her back in the same position when she moved her right leg over her shoulder and touched her foot to her jaw. Then Kenshin gasped. That was amazing.
Yahiko was just as baffled, and when he tried to do the same, his arms buckled and he fell in a tangle on the floor. Kaoru giggled and expertly untangled herself, landing gracefully on her feet.
"You can't expect me to do that," Yahiko said.
"I don't. No worries. I was just demonstrating to you what I can do, and what I want you to be able to do sometime soon. So let's get to work!" She said with an ear-to-ear smile.
For the next hour, Kaoru worked on getting Yahiko to do it properly. She stood by his side and guided his limbs, keeping a firm hold on him as he shifted from one position to another. When she finally got Yahiko to do her last move with her support, she slowly let go of him and moved away. For a moment, he was stuck in space, but he started to topple. Kaoru pulled him back and showed him the proper way to untangle himself and land on his feet.
When their hour-long session was over, Yahiko was getting there, but not completely used to it yet.
"It's okay. I didn't expect you to get it in one day," She said. Kenshin revealed himself after watching. "Good morning, Mr. Himura!" She chirped with a sunny smile. He felt something jump inside him, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
"Addressing me as Kenshin is a fine, Ms Kamiya," He corrected with a weak smile, angry at the breathless touch in his voice.
"Well then Kaoru is fine, too, Kenshin," She said.
"I'll be going to the market after breakfast, Kaoru-dono. There's enough food for everything right now, but I didn't buy as much as needed last time."
"Well, that's fine. But if we're going to stock up, you'll need help carrying everything."
Kaoru insisted she go with Kenshin to the market this time. He rather enjoyed his alone time, but seeing Kaoru was always so cheerful and enthusiastic about everything without being suffocating, he didn't mind.
She wore a plain dark blue kimono with a black obi bearing indigo designs. The colors were a little whitewashed, but nevertheless complimented her eyes tremendously. When they set off, she strayed two paces behind him, as a polite lady would, but Kenshin nervously beckoned her forward. "We'll be able to talk easier." She frowned at him as she easily quickened her pace to match his. "I mean… about what we're going to buy."
A few people gave them questioning glances, but got over it soon enough. She was looking around for a fruit stall, but got held back by the amount of friends and acquaintances greeting her. To her dismay, some of them looked at her with belittling or disapproving eyes.
"Kamiya-san," A calm, cool voice called. She turned to it.
"Yes?" She asked.
"You're back," An elegant, poised woman stepped out of the crowd and made her way towards them. Her calmness and composure made Kenshin think achingly of Tomoe.
"Yes, I am…" Kaoru kept a suspicious frown in place.
"That's good to hear." Her voice was monotonous, cold, slightly cruel and very scrutinizing. "And who is this handsome man next to you?" She asked, looking directly at Kenshin.
"This man is Mr. Himura, the one who saved me. He's a temporary boarder at my house for now." She made an emphasis on the word temporary.
The woman's glare hardened. She shook it off and managed a tight-lipped smile. "Well… I hope to see you soon. My son still insists on taking your lessons, though I don't know why of all people, he picked you to be his sensei." A smirk marred her features, making her look even more enchanting. She bowed and left them. Kaoru turned away, her hands fisted, and began to walk.
Kenshin followed and rushed to keep up with her. "Who was that?" He asked, seeing the affect she had on her.
"Just… something of a rival. Nothing big."
"She angers you?"
"Not often. Most of the time it's me angering her, but it's never on purpose."
"What makes her angry?"
"Its such a long story, I won't go into it now. She's just overtly proud because she used to be a concubine of the Emperor."
Kenshin snorted. "Well that's something to gloat about…" he said sardonically.
Kaoru smiled in agreement. While they proceeded, they couldn't help being held back for a greeting or two. Occasionally, he would lean over and ask, 'do you know him?'
She would smile and say 'yes,' and identify them, or smile just as brightly and shake her head as she proceeded to walk on. One man, incredibly good looking with gentle brown eyes and blue black hair, gave her an approving smile as his eyes trailed over her body from the ground up. There was something creepy in that smile, but Kaoru, being as good natured as she was, smiled shyly in return since he'd done nothing wrong and tried to walk away. He pushed himself off the wall and trailed in the crowd behind them.
"Did you know this one?" Kenshin asked her.
"Not at all. But I swear, I think I've seen his face before."
He smiled and pulled away again, to a respectable distance. "All right, then." He was about to reassure her when he caught a rushing figure from the corner of his eye. He turned and saw that man, pushing hurriedly past the people in the crowds towards them. "Miss Kaoru!"
Kaoru looked Kenshin's way, her eyes filled with fear. "I remember where I've seen him now. He was in Gohei's mansion… he was one of the men who…" her eyes clouded over and she looked like tears were very close to coming.
"He's rushing to us. But don't worry, miss Kaoru, I'll keep him away—" he stopped short when she bolted from his side. He watched mesmerized for a moment at the speed she ran, and how graceful she looked when she ran. Then he took off after her. He looked back and saw the culprit break into a run behind him. Kenshin went faster. Even with his incredible speed, it wasn't exactly effortless to catch up with Kaoru. When he turned around, the man was still running towards them. He grabbed Kaoru's hand and led her onwards at a faster pace. She felt like her legs would give out if she wasn't careful. Her kimono opened up to her knees at her need to run. When their legs started to burn and their lungs felt like they would burst, he swerved to a stop and flung her behind him. The offender stopped in his tracks, too.
"Finally…" he drawled. "I have found the little girl again." He made to walk to Kaoru, but Kenshin stepped in the way.
"You will fight with me before you get within two feet of her." He said, not really caring that a crowd had formed and Kaoru was opening her kimono. She opened it up to the middle of her left thigh. Strapped to her leg was a bokken. Without any warning, she pulled it out and shoved right past Kenshin. She leapt at her former assaulter and knocked him right off of his feet before he could react. As she moved to strike again, he lifted his sword to block her and leapt back up to his feet. She ran at him immediately, getting a hit in on his side, but one that only made his left arm falter.
"Bastard…" she spat. He smirked at her and moved to attack. She threw her bokken to Kenshin and caught the coming blade in the palm of her hands. She smirked at his irritated glare. He ripped the sword away and attacked again. But she ducked and ended up behind him, and at that same moment, Kenshin threw her bokken back to her. She caught it easily in her right hand and hit her opponent with a surprise strike to the neck as he turned to face her again. He let out a strangled cry and ran at her faster. She kept one hand on the hilt and grabbed the tip of the wood with the other, and crossed her bokken over her head as the attack came. With all the strength she could assemble, she sprang upwards and forced his sword back with her bokken, at the same time having it broken in two. She held the two pieces in her hands, thinking of a way to improvise. He swung downwards again, but was surprised when she caught his blade with both pieces of her broken bokken. Kenshin watched in awe as she used her hidden strength to throw him sideways and twist his sword from his hold. With graceful expertise, she caught the flying blade by the hilt. When the opponent got to his feet, he met the blade of his own sword in her hands, at his neck.
Breathing heavily, and with trembling breaths, he raised his hands in surrender, but Kaoru made no move to take the tip from his neck.
"I could kill you whenever I want, you know. I have you cornered." She threatened, much to the man's incendiary fury. "Unfortunately," she continued, taking his sword from his neck and handing it to Kenshin, "I don't kill."
The man let out a relieved breath, but when he sucked it back in, it came out as a laugh. "Foolish, foolish girl… You will not get anywhere without killing."
"You're wrong. I've gotten quite far without taking a single life."
"Then your technique is stupid."
"It's not stupid. It's the sword that protects." She rolled her eyes and stepped away from him. The crowds that gathered started to cheer, and excited words mixed with the clapping.
"Did you see the way she disarmed him?"
"So much strength…"
"Such expertise!"
"And she did it in a kimono…"
"…If she's a woman, then she shouldn't do this…"
"I hear that's Kamiya Kaoru, the master of Kasshin Ryu…"
Kaoru blushed. She turned towards Kenshin, who was smiling proudly at her. The sight, strangely, was achingly welcome, and it gave her relief to see. She wanted to get that look of pride from him more often.
"That was quite a fight. Are you all right?"
She looked queasy. She felt queasy. Her legs ached from the way she had to move with the kimono. She was about to reassure him when she stumbled forward. Her head spun. All she saw was black. Kenshin caught her in his waiting arms.