Chapter four
"I'll Never Walk Away"
Kenshin frowned as he twisted her in his hold and stared at her face. It was ash white, and even her pink lips had lost their color. She couldn't handle the things she used to, not yet at least. He should have known. He should have stopped her. Sanosuke would be pissed.
He picked her up and held her closely to his chest. His face was etched with worry.
A kindly old man reassured him upon seeing his face. "Don't worry. She'll be fine if she gets some rest. The poor girl must be scared out of her mind."
He nodded and gave him a smile of thanks for his concern. As he started to walk away, making sure the newly arriving police had that man under control, he felt a tug on his sleeve. A timid woman holding an even more timid boy by the hand was looking at the woman in his arms.
"Excuse me, sir, but, if you don't mind my asking… what style was that?" Her voice quavered nervously.
"Kamiya Kasshin Ryu, ma'am. I'm quite impressed, myself."
"Kasshin Ryu! I've heard about it! Is that the assistant master, Kamiya san, or is she just a student?"
"She's becoming master, but if you're asking who teaches it, she does."
"That's quite impressive. She's rather petite; that little trick at the end came out of nowhere!"
"Yes, it did." He agreed, because, really, he hadn't expected such strength from her either.
"Are there any classes going on right now? I would like a style like this for my son, a non killing one."
"You probably heard about the kidnapping. Ms. Kamiya needs to recover from this first, and then she'll resume classes. I'd say about two weeks." He told her. He knew she'd be angry that he held off her classes for a couple weeks, but she'll get over it.
"All right. Well, thank you for telling me, and I hope she recovers well." She turned away, but stopped suddenly and looked back at Kaoru's face. "She looks too delicate to be practicing this rough a profession," she commented. "Is she yours?"
This woman was far too bold. And he had the mind to think she was timid… But her question became an inside battle with himself. Is she yours? He frowned. No, she's not. Mine… mine is in Otsu. Remember that. Mine is living in Otsu, in our house, patiently waiting for you to return, and putting all her trust in you to let you continue your job. Mine has been with me for three years. But he couldn't help it. He stared at the girl in his arms. A beautiful face like that, being mine. A fiery spirit like that, being mine. A big, generous, beautiful heart, and an even more beautiful soul, being mine. Someone who is all of these things and more, being mine. Mine, and mine alone… Mine.
"Yes," he said, without really thinking. "Yes, she is mine."
The woman smiled. "You chose a beautiful girl." She left him standing there, staring at Kaoru's enchanting face. He saw things he'd never gotten close enough to see before. Her soft lips had slightly obvious bite marks, and a dark tinge encircled the outline of her eyes. She was very, very tired. But he'd thought she spent a lot of time sleeping. Her eyes… they were also slightly red rimmed from a night of heavy tears. It was probably Keisuke. Or bad memories. He wanted to memorize the scent of her body and texture of her skin and the beauty of her face. He wanted her to smile a genuine smile, not a cover up. He'd only seen it from her once.
When he came into the dojo, everybody seemed occupied in the living room, so he snuck quickly into her room and laid her down on her still unrolled futon. Her black hair fell all over the unusually large mass of feather pillows. He sat back for a while and watched her. She was so perfect in sleep. So dreamless. So carefree. She was more tempting than any geisha or escort could ever hope to be.
His eyes scanned the room. She had a dresser on one table. The only cosmetics on it were rosewater and the green ointment Megumi had given her. It was half empty already. A curvaceous pot was steaming with recently heated water, probably poured by Megumi so Kaoru could wash her face when she returns. Next to the pot was a hairbrush. It was deficient of any stray hairs and looked sleek, elegant, western and expensive. On the right corner rested a book. It had a lock on it, and he spotted the tiny key hiding behind the mirror. He couldn't help himself, and he crawled towards the dresser to unlock the book. A feathery brush and a bottle of black ink rested beside it. He turned to make sure Kaoru was asleep, pushed the key into the lock, and opened the book. He saw that her feminine calligraphy was written quickly, but also gracefully.
Sometimes I wonder what it is about me that has so easily attracted Keisuke. He gives me these pining, infatuated looks and smiles my way when he can. I still remember seeing him in the dojo on the afternoon when he came addressing me with a message from the governor last summer. The governor is one of Otousan's long time friends, of course. Keisuke was wearing light blue; a light blue gi and an even lighter blue hakama. His eyes… they're like a mix of amber and brown. So beautiful… I was in the middle of demonstrating a kata near the end of the advanced class. He waited until every one of my students filed out. When I turned towards him, he was admiring the way I moved my hair out of my face. At least, that's what he told me a moment later, when I frowned at him and asked for the message. It was an invitation to the New Year's ball. I was sixteen, and Keisuke was eighteen. He offered to show me the kind of dress I should buy. Instead of going to the market, we went to that fancy dress shop up in Shoji Avenue. It was filled with western dresses. I'd never worn one before, and I was pretty confused about how to get it on. I felt so stupid when the assistant had to help me… I felt like an idiot, especially in front of someone as charming and captivating as Keisuke. When I came out, I remember not being able to breathe properly. The dress was blue, with a tight bodice that showed off the contrast of my waist and hips. I was a little embarrassed, seeing that I'm supposed to be perfectly cylindrical, like a geisha, but Keisuke told me he'd never known a small waist to be so attractive.
He ended up buying the beautiful, unusual dress for me, as a gift from Okubo-kun, but I found out later that it was a gift from him, that he'd paid out of his own pocket. We danced together at the ball. People kept on staring. But I couldn't tell if it was because I was ugly, pretty, or wearing such an unusual dress.
About a week later, a deliveryman arrived at my gate with a box and flowers… apparently, Keisuke had sent them. In the box was a kimono so beautiful I feel I don't do it justice by wearing it. It's blue, like my eyes, and I'm looking at it now. To know that he sent me a kimono as a gift of goodwill… I have butterflies in my stomach. Many times, it's sent to reassure me a pending proposal will come sometime. Why he picked me, I don't know. But we became good friends, and we're closer than ever, now. Misao teases me about it in her letters. If he does end up proposing, I hope I'll be a good wife.
Kenshin flipped through the pages. Kaoru's beautiful writing showed that she was well educated. She wrote about Yahiko. He'd tried to pick her pocket as was his job, being a slave to the Yakuza, but she opened her house up to him and spent day and night for weeks on end getting the Yakuza to release him. She wrote about the times she spent with Keisuke after she'd won him over, she repeated every loving word he recited to her, she wrote of how she could feel herself falling in love with him. Then, he looked at a page near the last few. It was dated from around a week ago, when she first returned. She wrote that she needed to get these memories out of her system and uncork the bottled up feelings, and she apologized for writing so graphically.
Every day was a living hell. Gohei gave me to a few of his friends at a time. They tied me to the table, spread eagled me, and tried all sorts of things. They didn't seem to understand that I can't take more than one person at a time. It scares me to think of this, but I believe I was losing my sanity bit by bit. They strung me up and burned holes in me, they slashed whatever markings they wanted into me with their swords. I've never felt so much hate and disgust before.
Kenshin could see smudges where her tears had fallen all over the place. She seemed to be fine when they got to the house, but, of course, she was the kind of person who kept all her burdens to herself.
I had to take the torture, the rape, the pain, everything… I don't want to pity myself, but I have to do it somewhere, where no one else can see it. Do you know what it's like? Will anyone else ever know what it's like? Though I would feel less alienated, it would be the worst thing to wish for. No. I don't want anyone else to go through what I went through. I don't want anyone else to be humiliated and degraded and tortured in ways worse than any death. People say nothing is worse than death, but I know now that there is worse.
I feel so… alone. I feel lacking in some places. Sanosuke… yes, he would comfort me, but he would go insane afterward and kill every one of Gohei's men in a night. I don't want him to become a murderer because of my petty need for comfort. But I can't stop myself from wishing I had someone to share this with. Not to give them half of my burden, but to let them feel it for just a moment, so they may better understand me. If only Okaasan and Otousan were still alive… then everything would be easier for me. I told my father I couldn't do this on the day we said goodbye. I told him I couldn't bear the weight of the dojo and it's honor. He took my tear-streaked face in his hands and told me I could. I wonder now… was he wrong? Am I wrong? For wanting to share my troubles with somebody?
She proceeded to write on about it, and he could hear the pain in her voice and see the sadness in her eyes. When he closed the book, his eyes were blurred and watery. He turned towards the sleeping girl on the futon. He noticed fresh tears running down her cheeks from her closed eyes. She let out a sob that was so full of agony, even in sleep. The sob turned into sobs, the tear turned into a rain. She trembled, and being asleep, cried freely. He placed himself next to her and did the first thing he could. He pulled her into his arms, pressed his lips gently to her ear, and whispered, "I'm here. I'll be here for you. Tell me your troubles and I'll carry them for you." Kaoru's chest stopped jerking, her sobs died away, and the last of her tears dropped from her cheeks. She fell into a peaceful sleep. Kenshin pulled back to watch her. Seeing that she was fine, he laid her on her futon again and reluctantly left the room. He couldn't let himself get close. He couldn't.
When Kaoru woke up about twenty minutes later, she woke up from the most peaceful sleep she'd had in weeks. In the beginning, it was terrible, but suddenly the nightmares subsided and she woke up lacking an aching back and pillows wet with tears. She crawled out of bed, still in her kimono, and went on hands and knees to her dresser. She rested a hand on the pot of water. It was still very warm. She pulled the basin from under her dresser and poured it in. Because the clay pot was built thickly, and with very dense clay, the water stayed warm for much longer. She rested her now water filled basin on the dresser and took off her kimono. She gathered the rest of her hair into a bun at the back of her head, pinned back her bangs, and dipped her face into the warm water. When she raised her head again, she sighed with pleasure and only then noticed the note by her hairbrush.
I took you back to the house after you fainted. I'm out right now to get the supplies we originally left for. Whether you want to tell the others about today or not is up to you. I haven't said anything, and they haven't asked any questions, so your secret's all right for now. The guy you fought is in prison. They got the location of Gohei's mansion from him, and about half the men have been arrested. I thought you'd like to know that his right hand man, Reishijiro Ken, the one who organized the torture, has been arrested.
Kenshin
Kaoru sat back. She was quite relieved to hear that those men had been caught, especially Reishijiro. She still remembered him pressing the cigar tips and coals into her and carving all sorts of things into her thighs. She felt like soon enough, she'd be able to heal. It would begin with resuming her classes. She went through her class schedule and spent an hour writing notes to the parents that her classes would begin in two days. She had many students, so she had many notes to write, and she had gotten halfway through the numbers. As she opened the gates to have the mailman deliver them, she walked straight into a hard, warm chest. Ginger and sandalwood assaulted her senses. When she pulled back, she saw Kenshin staring amusedly at her, shopping bags in his hands.
"Yes?"
Kaoru glared at him. "What were you doing? Standing behind the door like that…"
"What are those?" He asked, pointing to the bundle in her hands.
"These are envelopes."
"To who?"
"To the parents or household of all my clients. I'm resuming classes in two days, so notices need to be sent out. Now if you'll excuse me—" She pushed past him, but gasped at the feeling of a firm arm around her waist.
"You're not resuming classes in two days. You're resuming them in two weeks."
"Who says?" she asked impatiently.
"I say."
"You don't have a say in anything."
"Yeah. I don't have a say in whether you get home or stay and get tortured," he remarked sarcastically. She glared at him. That had hit a nerve. She tried to push past him, but he was so strong only a flick of his arm sent her stumbling backwards. He grabbed the neckline of her kimono and hauled her back to her feet.
"Listen, I have a right to start my classes when I want, and I choose to start them in two days."
"No. Sanosuke would never allow it. Neither would Megumi-dono, or me."
"Well Sanosuke, Megumi, and you do not own me or my school."
"But we care about you, Kao chan," Megumi showed up out of nowhere, and behind her trailed Sanosuke. "You're not starting in two days. You'll faint." She continued.
Kaoru looked shocked. "But… I just fought someone today, and I was fine!"
"No you weren't!" Kenshin piped up. "You—" He was cut off when Kaoru slammed her elbow into his stomach. He choked on his last word.
"You FOUGHT somebody?" Megumi demanded.
"Yes, I fought one of the men from Gohei's mansion, and I won! So HA!"
Megumi glared at her. "You're so childish!"
"So what if I am? I still managed this dojo and fifty students and three classes a day being childish, didn't I?"
"We're not saying you can't handle it," Sanosuke said, seeing that Kenshin was still winded and couldn't talk. "We're saying that right now you can't handle the physical demands."
"Whatever." Kaoru huffed. "I could handle a fight with one of Gohei's men today, so I can most definitely handle beginners, level two, and advanced classes, don't you think?"
"Come on, Jou-chan, try to be reasonable," Sanosuke almost demanded.
"I've BEEN reasonable! I've been reasonable by not killing myself out of shame like any other person would have!"
"Yeah, but, Jou chan…"
"Yeah, but what? People I know, who were friendly with me before, have looked at me like I'm a whore ever since I returned. Today, people I know and love, who were close enough to me to hear about the torture, suddenly look at me like I've been… I don't know, selling myself!" She yelled. "You don't know how that feels. I know you, Megumi, were forced to make Opium, but the only one who looked down on you was Sano, and he got over it in a couple of days! You have no idea."
"Of course I have no idea, Kao chan, but still, please understand—"
"All I want is to get back on track and pretend this never happened! That's not hard to understand."
Megumi couldn't say anything. Instead, she looked at Sano. "Sanosuke," He nodded.
Before Kaoru could react, he grabbed her neatly piled envelopes and proceeded to take them inside.
"Wait!" She cried. She did what her instinct told her to do, and jumped Sano with all the speed she had. She clung to the back of his jacket and pulled him back, letting his movement drag her along the ground. He stopped long enough for her to try steadying herself. "I spent two hours writing all forty eight of those notes!"
"So? It was your time wasted, not mine." Sanosuke shrugged smugly.
Kaoru wanted to slap that stupid smirk off of his face. Using all of her speed and defying Sanosuke's excellent reflexes, she reached for the envelopes and pulled them to her chest.
"Jou chan!" He reached out for them, but froze when she placed the bundle into the neckline of her kimono and let them rest inside her kimono shirt. She smirked at him.
"You can't touch them now, can you?" She mocked.
Sanosuke jumped her before she could move away, pinned her down on the ground, and held her kicking form as one hand fished through the clothing for her envelopes. But… something froze inside her. The hand on her chest seemed to tighten her lungs, and all of a sudden she couldn't breathe.
"Sano…" she whispered. She started panting furiously, feeling as if even the air wasn't enough, and black dots appeared in her vision. Kenshin looked on with horror and Sano frowned. What had just hit her?
"You baka roosterhead!" Yahiko yelled, furiously hitting Sanosuke's head with his bokken, "Don't you see what you're doing to her?"
Sanosuke realized exactly what he meant then, along with everybody else, and stumbled backwards. Yahiko pulled Kaoru off the ground and tried to follow as she stumbled from them, a hand on her heaving breast. Kenshin recognized what was happening to her in a second-Tomoe had had panic attacks often when they first met.
She felt like she would collide with some other dimension of the world, and her heart still raced, her chest still heaved, and her vision still blurred. She couldn't even think by the time somebody placed firm hands on her shoulders and did her balancing for her. She couldn't even protest when one of those hands cupped over her nose and mouth.
"Breathe," a voice, comforting and soft, whispered into her ear. "Don't stop breathing. Keep on, keep on…"
Slowly, the vines that seemed to wrap around her ribs slid away, and she sagged with exhaustion. Sanosuke came for her, worried and obviously apologetic, and she instantly threw herself into his arms, knowing he offered the best comfort. Everybody watched confusedly. Wasn't he the one who made her upset? Isn't he the one she's angry with?
But Kenshin understood. She was upset with the memories, not with him. He noticed that the sun was setting and walked inside to cook dinner.
Everyone sat around the long dining table and waited for Kaoru before beginning. She didn't show up. So Kenshin stood, saying he would get her, and nobody objected. When he slid the door open to her room, what he saw made him blush.
Kaoru was sleeping on her side. But her yukata had completely fallen on one side, and he could clearly see the rippling muscles in her shoulders and back. Though having muscle was a manly thing, hers fitted her so perfectly they became something that made her look even more womanly. He knelt down beside her and took hold of her yukata neckline. He placed it gently on her shoulder again, and watched as she turned over onto her back, looking so enchanting he wondered how Keisuke could ever have left her.
"Miss Kaoru," he said to her. She groaned slightly and shifted into another position. Her lips parted and she exhaled through her mouth. Even though she'd vomited earlier on, her breath was strangely fresh and cool and inviting. He remembered that she grew mint leaves in her garden and chewed on them from time to time.
"Miss Kaoru," he tried again, but her hand only settled beside her left cheek. "You need to wake up and have dinner, that you do…" She didn't move. "Miss Kaoru," he nudged one of her shoulders. She was out cold. With a fond smile on his face, he softly touched her lips, and then ran his fingers over her cheek. There was something about her that was so refreshingly unfamiliar… already he felt a fondness for her. It was then that she decided to open her eyes.
He jumped back. "Miss Kaoru!"
She frowned at him, turned slightly as her head sunk into the huge, unusual pillow, and stretched. She looked absolutely adorable. "Yes?"
"Dinner is ready. Everybody is waiting for you."
"Oh! I'm sorry, I kept you waiting…" She jumped from her blanket and folded her yukata more tightly around her. When she moved to leave, he frowned.
"Aren't you going to change…?" He'd never heard of a lady going to dinner in her sleeping yukata. Tomoe never did. Then again… Kaoru wasn't exactly a lady.
Kaoru frowned at him. "No… I don't need to change. Everyone here is close, and I don't need to be so formal." He looked even more confused. "I could go to dinner with them in a bathrobe if I wanted to."
"Oro… are you serious?"
"Yes. Misao did it the last time she visited with Aoshi. Nobody threw her a second glance. We're all friends here; there's nothing much to hide, right?"
He wordlessly followed her out. This was very strange…
And she was true to her word. When she came inside, nobody threw a second glance at her outfit. They just addressed her with smiles and their eyes were always on her face. The only eyes at her waist belonged to Sano's, and he watched the gentle inward curve with an intense longing that only Kenshin's instincts could identify.
Before bed that night, he quietly slid Kaoru's door open to offer her a cup of tea. Misao and Aoshi were already together in the spare multi purpose room at the training hall, for one reason or another, Sanosuke was awake with his precious sake in the kitchen, Megumi was asleep, and Yahiko was having one of his very rare and occasional baths in the bathhouse. He hadn't checked on Kaoru since dinner.
Her garden door was closed, the curtains were drawn over the windows, her back was to him, and she was sitting before a kimono hanger, staring hard at the garment hanging there. It was probably the most beautiful kimono he'd ever seen. It was blue, like her eyes. The colors on it were more beautiful than the actual picture. There were black blues, navy blues, pale blues, moderate blues, and some moderately dark blues here and there. It depicted a dark, beautiful night, above a waterfall. The stars were silver, the night was royal blue, the trees were teal, and the waterfall, starting below the hips of the kimono, was extremely luminescent, as if they'd installed lights between the threads of silk. The pool ran to the bottom of the kimono, with rocks here and there, and grassy slopes edging either side. Probably the most amazing thing about this kimono, though, was the yellowish dots at the trees and the top of the waterfall. They were fireflies, and they literally glowed. Their light spread throughout the fabric in little taints and sprays. Usually, in an affordable kimono, the light would be a bright yellow dot. This, though, was the next level.
He was so dazed by the kimono that he hadn't realized Kaoru still thought she was alone and had begun to slip her yukata from her shoulders to quickly towel off. Kenshin blushed hard, and though he had half a mind to stay and watch as he saw her pull her arms from the sleeves and let it fall to her waist, where it was still tied by the sash. He saw the muscles in her back more clearly now. They were nice and toned, and somehow suited her slight form. Her skin was pale and luminescent, though marred by burn scars and slashes in a few places. He winced. The girl had gone through so much… and she was still there, alive, living for her friends and her boarders and providing for them without a single complaint. She turned her head slightly and he jumped, thinking she'd see him, but her usually sharp senses were dulled at the moment. She'd merely looked sideways to dip her washcloth into the hot water basin. He saw, on her cheeks, glistening, grief stricken tears. He turned away. He knew he wasn't supposed to see that. He wasn't supposed to see her crying. He felt like he was invading something incredibly secret of hers, something no one was meant to see but her. She didn't cry in front of people all that often; she was the kind of person who didn't fiercely appreciate the existence of a petty, oversensitive woman who would cry at dead plants.
Kenshin winced. Tomoe once had, when they were still staging their marriage. It was when it rained, and they were in the land where their crops were growing. She kneeled on the ground beneath his standing form- beneath the parasol's shelter, and took one of the plants in her hand.
"Oh no…" She said sorrowfully, running a finger over the dying plant's brown, drying leaf. "You worked so hard…"
"They're plants," he said firmly, his voice monotone. He was still the cold, insensitive Battousai back then.
"But…" Tomoe lowered her head. He saw water drops that were not the rain splash onto the green and brown leaf. "I hoped…" she sobbed. "I prayed."
Kenshin snorted, but couldn't help gazing at her in wonder. As pathetic as it was, he had seen then what was missing from his life. Everybody he'd known had taken everything lightly. The people surrounding him were all insensitive and hard and strong. He looked at this weak, soft, over sensitive woman kneeling by his feet. She was crying over stupid plants, yes, but wasn't it a great change from all the coldness and lack of any sensitivity? Of course, crying over plants, in his mind, was pathetic, but when Tomoe did it, it worked for him. He'd lacked a lot of pathetic softness in his lifetime, so a woman brimming with it could make up for all the hardness around him. He was sure she was the missing puzzle piece. Every time he doubted life, or love, or any difficult situation, he pictured that moment and remembered that when he came home, he'd be surrounded by softness again, pathetic as it was to men like him.
Kenshin closed the door to Kaoru's room softly enough so she wouldn't hear it and walked to the kitchen with his tea tray. Tomoe's face was engraved in his mind. Despite the problems their marriage had been suffering recently, he still missed her.
Misao was throwing up again.
Kenshin didn't really know what was wrong with her; she'd thrown up several times since she arrived with Aoshi and Yahiko. It was still dark outside, but the sounds of her violent retching had stolen him from sleep. Kenshin woke Aoshi, who fled to the outhouse with him. Misao was slumped exhaustedly at the toilet, wearing her western terrycloth sleeping outfit and her hair in a braid. While Aoshi pulled her up by the waist and took her to the kitchen to wash out her mouth, Kenshin made himself useful and brewed tea for her. As soon as she'd finished with it, she fell to her futon and was just about ready to fall asleep.
Kenshin found Kaoru up as the sun was rising, gazing wistfully at the hazy, pale blue sky. "I hope you didn't spend the night awake," he said to her.
She jumped at the sudden voice and turned angrily to meet his eyes with hers. "Stop sneaking up on me! Remember what happened last time?" She growled.
"Yeah… I'm sorry, Kaoru dono. I'm just really used to it." He realized then that her eyes were red rimmed and a little bit puffy. He looked at the bundle she was holding to her chest and saw that it was the kimono from yesterday. "That looks quite beautiful." He commented.
"Do you want to see it?" she asked, spreading it out on the walkway.
He nodded politely and eyed it more closely as he sat down next to her. The details were amazing, and the ingenious color blending was surely by the hand of only the finest artist. "It's very beautiful." It does you justice, he was tempted to say.
"It is. I just love the luminescence of the fireflies and the moon… I kept wondering how much it had cost…"
"Which mercilessly seduced, head over heels nobleman gave you this one?" He asked jokingly.
Kaoru glared at him. "Mercilessly seduced? Do you take me as a whore, Himura Kenshin?"
Kenshin's eyes widened. "No, no, no, I don't. I was joking! Don't worry!" he babbled nervously. But he felt a need to lighten the mood, and continued to speak in a cheerful voice. "I don't think you purposely seduced them… it could've been an accident! I mean… the way you walk IS a little suggestive and all," He added with mock seriousness. But he didn't know Kaoru long enough to see her explosive side.
Kaoru elbowed his chest so hard he fell back with a constricted groan. "Congratulations! So many people since I got rescued have given me the look that says it, but you're the first person to actually tell me to my face!" She shot angrily to her feet, gathered up the kimono, and walked briskly into her bedroom, muttering angry things about stupid, quick to judge people who have decided she's really a whore when they don't know anything about Gohei at all.
As she was about to close the door, she turned to Kenshin, who had his arms wrapped around his stomach and was still partly grimacing from the memory of her hard blow. "You don't know what happened in that place. What you saw wasn't even half of it. So don't be like everybody else and call me a whore. Even if it is a joke, you don't know. So stop acting like you know!" She slammed the door and furiously wiped her eyes. She cried all the time now, and she felt so pathetic about it. She didn't want to do more of it.
Kenshin watched the door for a few seconds more and started banging his fist into his head, calling himself all sorts of expletives.
She's just been rescued from Gohei, who treated her not only like a whore, but cut her up and burned her with coals. She was gang raped too many times to be counted. Her 'friends,' friends that she trusted, have turned their backs on her and looked at her like it was her fault. People who know about her and Gohei only from gossip have jeered at her and whispered things about being a whore to each other and to her. Here she is, in the comfort of her own home, which she has opened up to several others with bad pasts, and she can't escape from it even then, because the guy who owes her for being allowed to stay around has called her a whore like the others. Stupid Kenshin. Stupid retarded stupid know-nothing stupid Kenshin.
He felt very much like he'd insulted Kami himself and had been turned into a piece of dirt that was now being stamped into the rest of the ground. I think I hate myself, he thought. I think I'm a stupid prick. I've made her feel bad about herself. I've probably made her cry now. She's been mistreated so badly and still bears the scars of her torture, and she's still early in healing, and you make it worse by suggesting that she's a whore. Even though you were joking, of course, it's still not right. Stupid Kenshin…
He got up. He walked to the door. He slid it open a little bit. Kaoru was sitting in front of her dresser, brushing her raven hair and observing her face closely in the mirror, her free hand unknowingly on one of the burn wounds at her collarbone.
"Miss Kaoru?" He said softly. She was brushing her hair, and the sight was so perfectly beautiful half of his mind didn't want her to stop and acknowledge him.
"What?" she asked sharply.
"About earlier… I'm very sorry. It wasn't right to joke about it, especially after…"
Kaoru put down her brush and studied him for a long time. Her scrutinizing eyes never left his face. "I'll accept your apology." She said. She gave him a shallow nod and continued to brush her hair, but the hurt was still in her eyes. Kenshin felt worse.
"Kaoru dono, Megumi and Sano and I talked last night, and we'll allow you to send out the notices. The day after tomorrow you can start teaching." And I can start watching, he added silently to himself.
Kaoru looked up at him. A ghost of a smile lingered on her lips. "I'm glad." She returned to her brushing and the corners of her mouth returned to going straight.
Kenshin froze. Being the bubbly, cheerful girl she is, he'd expected more than an 'I'm glad.' She was still upset.
"You know, I saw a new fabric store in the market yesterday afternoon. It's top notch and very classy. We missed it while we were, um, running…"
Kaoru looked at him and nodded cautiously.
"As an apology for my foolish moment, I'll take you there. I'll spend as long as you want to in there, too."
Kaoru smiled genuinely at him. "And I thought you had terrible apologies…"
They walked down the street in the same manner as before; side by side instead of one behind the other. Kaoru wore a white kimono with a dark blue and grey obi, tied into a butterfly knot. She stared at stall after stall until they reached the fabric store, and Kaoru hurried in to admire the fabrics and the setting's graceful ambiance. The floors were polished wood, the kimono were on polished wooden hangers, and the place was painted tastefully in a light purple shade. He had wondered for a moment if she'd afford it, but then remembered the case full of money in her bedroom. As she picked out kimono after kimono, Kenshin had even decided to be helpful. He wanted to bring her smile back to her face, and would give up all dignity for a moment or two to do so.
"I really like this one," Kaoru said, holding up a violet kimono of slightly thicker autumn satin, bearing designs of birds inked to exquisite perfection.
"It would look very nice on you, Kaoru dono. But I think you should wear blue more often." And it was true. He remembered how, when she held the blue bundle of silk in her arms that morning, it had pulled her eyes even more into view. On the day of the fight, too, her blue kimono had given her eyes an even more striking look.
"I guess so… I don't know. But I love this one." Then she smirked wickedly. "I can always buy several more blue kimono when I'm done trying this one on."
"How long will it take?" He asked her, his voice quavering slightly.
"As long as I want, your exact words." She said with a sardonic smile.
Kenshin hid his dread and decided that the crown molding lining the purple ceiling was awfully interesting.
Kaoru disappeared into the changing room. When she came out around ten minutes later, with an assistant to help with a nicely coordinated obi, she looked beautiful. The obi was black, making her tiny, curved waist look even smaller, and the swell of her hips fit the pad free kimono nicely. He'd realized, like Keisuke, that curves on a woman, especially like Kaoru's, were more beautiful than any pillar shaped geisha in Kyoto. She shook her head when the assistant offered her the contoured pillows to fill out her waist.
"I want people to see me the way I really am. Plus I can't stand how hot they make me on a sunny day."
Kenshin stared long and hard at her as she carried out a small conversation with the assistant. She made every other woman in the store look like a wallflower. She did catch many eyes, particularly the eyes of men passing outside or buying kimono for their waiting wives. That reminded Kenshin of his wife. Don't get too close, he told himself. Don't. If you do, then… you'll wreak havoc. Besides, Kaoru's a tomboy, pretty faced or not. She's not the woman you'll want to be with. She can't cook, she only knows how to clean floors and dishes, she doesn't sew, or arrange flowers, and her gardening is a mess. The only things that ever survive in it are her mint leaves. Tomoe does all these things well. She takes small, proper steps, walks two proper paces behind a man, stands perfectly straight, keeps reserved and calm, and when you tell her to do something, she'll do it, no argument. Unlike Kaoru, who jumped Sanosuke trying to get her letters back.
Although he wouldn't lie. He rather enjoyed watching her attack Sano. But, he would have enjoyed it more without being elbowed so hard in the stomach.
Either way, funny or not, Kaoru's not a lady. Ladies get married. Whatever she is, those kinds of people don't. Unless their husband is very quirky, young, and loves to have a ton of fun without the work, she won't work in a marriage. But she is pretty mature sometimes… and her voice is the voice any person would want to hear if they were to get to sleep. It was soft, but lilting and rolling and passionate. She could guide a person to sleep over the hills and valleys in her articulate and well-paced speech. When she raised it, it sounded beautiful, not shrill or eardrum bursting. She has a comforting way and comforting means. He could tell, from the way she wears her heart on her sleeve, that before she needed the comforting, she gave the comforting.
Kaoru looked his way and snapped him out of his pondering. "Well?" She asked. "What do you think of it?"
"It's very pretty." He said lamely.
Kaoru smiled at the assistant. "I'll take it."
The assistant nodded at that and got ready to pack it up, but Kaoru stopped her and said she had more to buy.
Two hours and twelve kimono later, she settled with the violet satin kimono, three light gauze silk kimono in a beautiful mix of blues, and a deep red and gold kimono boasting white and blue flowers that was just as strikingly passionate as her. She added a few obis to her list. The assistant and shopkeeper were very surprised to see her buy so many in expensive satin and silk, considering she was a young girl in a very drab, starched white kimono with a solid blue obi and grey lining buying kimono that added up to more than the amount for a western dress. But she obviously had the money. When she took out her wallet and they got a sneak peek inside, it was crammed with yen. Kaoru was currently eyeing a beautiful silk kimono that was way out of her price range. It was the kind that belonged in an antique collection.
A man who had been in there, looking distinguished and rich, had had his eye caught by the blue-eyed beauty in the corner. Her hairstyle made her look more mature, because instead of a sporty ponytail, she'd put it into a chopstick bun. She looked older and more refined.
"Excuse me, Miss," The man said, his tone and accent sickeningly posh.
Kaoru turned to him and smiled politely. "Hello."
"I see you're admiring that kimono up there. It is, I'm sure, a replica of the one given to the niece of the last Shogunate."
Kaoru raised her brows. "How do you know this?"
"I possess the original. This one's almost an exact replica; same fabric, same colors, same depiction… but the original is the original. Would you like the copy?"
"Oh, I appreciate your generosity, but it's your money, and I've already bought five kimono. Another isn't necessary, and neither is a gift." She bowed.
The man smiled down at her. "Take it as a gift. You do know, don't you, that you might not always like the gifts you receive, but you should accept them anyway? I'm sure, though, that you will like this gift."
Kaoru smiled at him. "It isn't necessary. But thank you for taking the trouble to consider it." She pushed past him towards Kenshin, holding her shopping bags tightly to her side as he went through the men's kimono rack.
"You all right?" he asked her.
"Hai. Thank you for accompanying me." She replied.
"It was no trouble." He said, pulling out a dark blue men's kimono with silver embroidery.
"Do you want it?" She asked him.
He was about to look up at her and refuse, but a box blocked the view of the woman he was escorting
"Here you are," the man said. He smiled at her and gently handed her the slim, low box for storing kimono.
Kaoru smiled at him. "Demo… I can't accept this."
"You can, and you should. You will like the gift, I know you will, and it's polite to accept gifts given." He said, smiling fondly.
Kaoru smiled back. "I thank you very much, sir."
"Anything for a lady," he said. As he turned to leave, Kaoru called him back.
"At least tell me your name, sir?"
He smiled. "Bosuyaki Uchida, the president of Imamura Corporations."
Kaoru froze. The president of Imamura Corporations had just bought her a kimono. She smiled warmly at him and bowed low. Kenshin, on the other hand, didn't know what to feel. Jealous? Protective? Angry? Upset? Did he have a right? He was relieved when Kaoru decided to leave and return home, clutching the box closely under one arm while her shopping bags occupied the other.
"Kaoru dono," Kenshin said politely.
She turned to him. "Hai?"
"Up in the hills, there's already snow. It's quite far away from here, but I was wondering, if you are still upset, if I could make it up to you by bringing you there to see the lake?"
Kaoru smiled genuinely at him then. "That would be nice. I'll think on it sometime."
When they got back, Kaoru shut herself in her room again and tried on the kimono Mr. Bosuyaki had given her. It was a work of art, truly something that deserved to be hung on a wall, not on any female body, no matter how lovely the woman. She tried on the others. She realized, with quiet uncertainty, that she found the one Kenshin had picked out was much more beautiful than the antique.
Pull yourself together, Kaoru, she told herself. He's married. His woman is a proper lady. She's probably exquisitely beautiful and very refined. She probably never raises her voice and waits on his hand and foot. She's probably perfect.
Then Kaoru shook her head. Would you want to be a speechless, surrendering woman who waited on her husband's hand and foot? "No way." She said aloud. With that, she pulled the kimono off, hung it up in her closet, and changed into the one Mr. Bosuyaki had given her. She needed to give Kenshin the impression that she wasn't interested. She feared she'd shown more of her attraction than she would have realized. And, she put it on to flaunt into Megumi's face how beautiful men thought she was; so beautiful, in fact, that they would buy her silk antiques just to see how beautiful they would be on her. Megumi always talked about being the prettier one. Of course, she was much more womanly and ladylike compared to Kaoru's both girlish and tomboyish style, but many had told her that she had the more beautiful face. She shrugged. She wouldn't be able to judge. She was jealous of Megumi and her cylindrical, small hipped body; one desired by so many women. She envied her ability to stay womanly and ladylike and prim throughout all obstacles. And what about her? When Kenshin first saw her face… her first impression on him was probably drab, dirty, and ugly.
She shrugged and slid the door to her room open. She didn't care. Or maybe she did… she just shouldn't. Ok Kaoru. Get over it. Think of… umm, Keisuke. Not. Mr. Bosuyaki. Not. That guy who was part of the group that raped her but always hung back and helped her when she needed it. Not. Bad memories. Ummm… "Sanosuke!" Ummm… Not. Then, she burst out laughing. No way!
"What is it, Jou chan?" Sanosuke called from somewhere in the house. Kaoru covered her mouth and trembled with barely concealed but silent laughter.
"Nothing," She called out, and she traveled down the walkway to the kitchen, where she suspected Sanosuke would be sticking his head into the pantry, larder, or bucket of chicken teriyaki from today's lunch.
Instead, she found Kenshin, pulling out a box of the horribly misshapen turnips she'd grown from the pantry to the counter.
He looked at her and smiled. "Do you want to help?"
Kaoru blushed and shook her head. "I'm a terrible cook. I'll ruin what you're making.
"It's all right." He said reassuringly. "Do you want to observe, then? Like Megumi dono had said… observing someone at work will help you improve faster."
Kaoru nodded and began to watch him. He suddenly became nervous knowing he was under her watchful eyes. He thought he would mess up and repel her. But why would he care if he repelled her? He had Tomoe. It shouldn't matter. But it still did.
Kaoru, though, was the furthest from repelled. She was caught up in the grace of his movements and the concentration in his features. She stared at his eyes. They were doubtlessly beautiful. When it was over, she was so taken by the smoothness of his guiding movements that it took a few seconds before she could respond to his call.
"Kaoru dono?" Kenshin asked.
Kaoru shook herself and met his eyes with hers. "Hai?" Her voice trembled slightly.
"It's ready. The rice is finished, and the miso has been boiled properly. But before I finish with the fish and the beef, would you like me to add teriyaki sauce or just Beef Misobu?
"Umm… Teriyaki for the fish and Misobu for the beef," she said dazedly. He turned his questioning glance from her face to the pot. What was she thinking about? Probably that man, Mr. Bosuyaki. She was wearing his kimono, anyway.
Kaoru pulled away from the kitchen and ventured into the yard. Yahiko almost dropped his bokken at the sight of her. "You're… you're wearing an antique?"
Kaoru smirked at him. "Yes, I am."
He snorted. "What old and blind rich man bought the kimono for you this time, busu?" he asked her.
It was Kaoru's turn to snort. "He was rich, yes, but he was also young and could see quite well. He's the president of Imamura Electric."
Yahiko gaped at her before turning away to continue his swings. Kaoru inwardly smiled. He'd returned to his old, bratty, insulting self.
"You have no idea how weird it is." Sanosuke said, walking into the porch to admire her kimono. "To see my little Jou chan getting hit on by so many men." He said.
Kenshin heard him from inside and smiled. Maybe she would get married, and be okay in it, too. He didn't know her well enough to judge yet.
Kaoru gave him a playful shove.
"And you have no idea how weird it was to go to my rooster head's house in the morning and see him waking up with some girl."
Sanosuke was tongue-tied. Yahiko's jaw dropped. "Really? Was she from that place you took me to where you told me about what Tsubame and I would get to do on our wedding night?"
Kaoru covered her mouth and turned a deep shade of red. "Sanosuke took you WHERE?"
Sanosuke raised his hands nervously. "Now, now, Jou chan, just think about it for a second!"
"Think about what?" She cried, bearing down on him despite the fact that she was half his size. "He says you took him somewhere and told him all sorts of things about what he'll do to Tsubame on their wedding night!"
"It's actually pretty gross. Especially the way Sanosuke talked about it. I mean, I thought it was just kissing, but…"
Kaoru fumed. "Sanosuke! He is ten years old, his ears are young, and he's grown past his age enough already! You have some explaining to do!"
"I- it sounds worse than it is, Jou chan!"
She turned red and purple from anger. She turned to look at Yahiko. "Yahiko, where did Sanosuke take you?"
Yahiko shrugged, a tinge of pink touching his cheeks. "There were women dancing. Except their kimono were on really loose and the only thing keeping them together was a little chord. And whenever they twirled, the kimono opened up, and… they had these strap things on their legs, and men would slip cash into them."
Kaoru turned, shivering with anger, to where Sanosuke stood, looking at her nervously. "Jou chan?"
She was very, very angry. "Was that the time you told me you were taking him to the amusement park last month?"
Sanosuke nodded mutely.
"I'm gonna KILL YOU!!!" She ran for him. Sanosuke looked on and decided he'd probably be able to hold her down. But he was wrong. Her fist went flying to his face and struck him in the jaw. He flew back and landed at Kenshin's feet just as he opened the door to question the screaming.
Kaoru suddenly blushed. Kenshin would think she's a banshee now that he's seen that, and he'd be afraid of her. "Umm…"
"What did he do now?" Kenshin asked.
Kaoru mumbled something incoherent, keeping her eyes to the floor and trying to hide her red tinted face.
"What was that?"
"He took Yahiko to a Jorou Ya, all right?" She covered her eyes with one of her hands, feeling terribly embarrassed. He'd think this dysfunctional excuse for a family was relentlessly intoxicated.
But he didn't think anything like that. He broke into laughter.
Kaoru dropped her hand and glared at him. "It's not funny, all right? Yahiko could be scarred for life, or worse, he'd become addicted to it!" She blushed furiously.
"No I wouldn't, busu!" Yahiko piped up. "Tsubame would kill me!"
Kenshin laughed while Kaoru fumed. Again. "Yahiko," she said, advancing towards him in such a persuasive manner he had the mind to step back. "If Sanosuke ever offers to take you somewhere, tell him not to!"
With that, she turned furiously and walked into the house through Aoshi and Misao's bedroom. Misao was sitting up, reading a magazine, and when Kaoru entered she put a finger to her lips and motioned to Aoshi's sleeping form beside her. Kaoru smiled and nodded.
"Afternoon nap?" Kaoru whispered.
"Hai."
"Aoshi must be tired, then."
Misao gazed at her fiancée's face. "Very. I'm not quite sure why, though."
Kaoru nodded. "Well, I might take one myself. I'm pretty tired. Besides, I have classes to teach tomorrow, and if I don't rest, Yahiko and Sano are bound to give me white hair early in life."
The next morning, Kaoru was overwhelmed by the amount of students pouring in. Word about her dramatic fight with that man had gotten around, so she had several new students. As she chatted to a few of them about what they'd been up to while she was gone, she felt a playful poke in her ribs and, being the extremely ticklish creature she is, she cried out and hugged herself, whirling around to catch the culprit. "Oroido-san!" she cried.
Oroido was a little older than she. He was the best student in her advanced class and sometimes stayed to help out with the beginners. Though she was his sensei, she had deep respect for him.
"You all right?" he asked, smiling his usual smile and holding her at arm's length by the shoulder to observe her. "No bruises, no bleeding, no scars?"
"Not anymore." She said.
"Good."
"Anyway, we have a beginner's class to teach." She looked over the dojo filled with kids. She had a lot more students, now.
After her classes were done and she'd bid Oroido farewell for the day, she looked happier than Kenshin had ever seen. Maybe it was a good idea to let her start again. He loved the way she smiled so freely. She was sweat streaked but still smelled freshly of jasmine when she came inside. Yahiko was eyeing her suspiciously when she walked through the walkway to her bedroom.
"What's the busu so happy about this time?"
"Nothing," she said, shrugging. "It just feels good to teach again."
"Jou chan!" Sanosuke called from the kitchen. "Wanna go fishing?" He poked his head through the doorway and revealed a food stuffed face with a single stalk of shadow benny hanging from his lips.
Kaoru frowned. Where had the idea of fishing come? "Umm… okay. I guess."
"Busu, you're holding it wrong!" Yahiko growled. "It's a fishing rod, not a bokken!"
"Well I'm sorry! I don't fish seven days a week like some of you!" She said angrily. Yahiko had been complaining since they got to the river, and she was dead tired of it.
"I don't go fishing seven days a week…" Sanosuke said, scratching the back of his head.
"Neither do I! Busu doesn't know what she's saying, OR what she's doing."
Misao glared at him. "Brat."
Yahiko shot her a killer stare.
"Fishing always gets you into a bad mood." Kaoru grumbled. "Maybe you should go home. Let the patient adults do everything."
At that, Yahiko vehemently refused.
Kenshin was sitting peacefully at the bank between Sanosuke and Kaoru. She had her kimono separated and folded up to her knees so she could rest her legs in the water. His line of sight kept going back to her legs. How could someone be so perfect? She didn't even know what she did to him. He laughed at himself for being so pathetic. This time it was out loud. Everybody gave him a confused glance.
He froze and put on an innocent smile. "It's nothing," he said, smiling a strained smile.
Kaoru felt a tug on her rod and gasped. "Yes!" She flung the string out of the water with ease. On the end was a giant, live, and angry lobster. "Oh god…"
"RUN!" Yahiko cried, watching as the lobster fell through the air, heading straight for Kaoru. It latched onto her obi with it its claws.
"Should I kill it?" She asked, trembling with disgust.
"Use this," Kenshin said, taking his sword from the sheath. She quickly stabbed the sword into the lobster's torso and it fell still.
Yahiko walked to her and lifted it from her obi. "It's so huge!" He looked like a boy who had found his long lost toy. "Kami Sama, it's huge!" He said.
"Yeah, yeah, we know it's huge." Sanosuke said. He quickly grabbed it from Yahiko's loose hold and lifted it out of his reach. "I guess selling this will pay off half of my debt to the Akabeko. Maybe."
"Hey! That's my lobster! I caught it!" Kaoru cut in angrily.
"There's way more in the river, Kaoru," Misao said. She held up Aoshi's hand. In it was a meager, tiny lobster about the size of a crayfish. "There's plenty like this one!"
"That's the most pathetic lobster I've ever seen." Kaoru said, placing a hand on her hip. Kenshin laughed. "The one Sanosuke STOLE from me is huge! And it's not pathetic!" She turned towards him. "Give it back!"
Sanosuke stretched the lobster to the sky. Even if Kaoru jumped, she wouldn't reach it. So she tackled him.
"Kaoru!" Megumi cried, slightly mortified by this terribly unladylike behavior. Kaoru straddled his hips, disregarding the fact that her kimono had separated and her right thigh was clearly visible as it settled around his waist. She reached out and grabbed his arms, trying to wrestle the lobster from his hold. But it didn't work. He flipped her onto her back and kept it away as she kicked and lashed out. He used his knees to pin her arms to the ground.
"This is war." She said dangerously.
Yahiko's eyebrows cocked in an annoyed manner. They were in such a suggestive position… "Agh. Can't you guys get a room next time?"
Kaoru and Sanosuke looked up, turned red, and decided to disregard his comment. That was a clear sign that they were aware every moment of what they were doing.
"God! They always do this! It was better off when Keisuke was with Kaoru and she didn't do all that in front of us!"
"They've done this before?" Kenshin asked.
"Yeah. All the freaking time until Keisuke came along." He grumbled. "Play fighting is their thing."
Kenshin could see a potential romance between the two. For now, it was just friendship, but what if it turned to love?
Kaoru was still beneath Sano. Sano was still straddling her hips. Her kimono was still open, and her bare, pale leg was still protruding from her garb. Still, nobody noticed how suggestive it was but him. Everybody else looked at it like it was… normal. Sanosuke and Kaoru, wrestling one on top of the other, with their clothes slipping off their shoulders was normal?
Hmm. Maybe that potential romance was already in bloom.
Everybody was either watching and laughing or watching and rolling their eyes. "Perhaps you two should have satisfied yourselves before you decided to take it out into the public," Aoshi said. Everybody stopped. Kaoru stopped struggling and Sanosuke stopped laughing at her. Megumi stopped frowning.
"Did… did Aoshi just crack a joke?" Megumi asked.
"Wow." Misao muttered, staring in mute surprise at her fiancé. "Now I've seen everything." Then, in only a second, she completely changed face. "You can joke! You can joke! Our marriage will be so much more fun!" She'd already leapt into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. Aoshi raised his eyebrows, but it was clear that he enjoyed it, even when her tackle threw him to his back on the grass.
Sanosuke was still blinking into nothingness. Kaoru took that advantage to fling her hips sideways and topple him over. In a flash, everyone's eyes were on Kaoru as she ended up on top again.
"Give-me-back-my-lobster!" She demanded, trying to pull it from him.
"It's not about the lobster anymore," Sanosuke said. He tried to remove her, but she stayed put and kept her hold on the lobster.
"Well, you started it! I WAS fighting for the lobster, but now I'm gonna kill you." He flipped her onto her back again. She fumed. "And I'm going to make it hurt!"
"Kaoru, calm down. I'll give it back when I'm sure you won't hurt anybody!"
"You will?" She dropped her arms and smiled innocently, waiting for him to give it back.
He just sat there smiling.
"Well? Hurry up!"
Sanosuke snickered. Before Kaoru realized anything was happening, she found Sanosuke's knees pinning her hands to the ground and the lobster in his sleeve. He smiled triumphantly.
"Sanosuke…" She growled. "GIVE IT BACK!!!" She tried to kick him, but her attempts were fruitless and she may as well have been wrapped around his pinky finger.
"Kaoru…" he warned.
She fell still. Kaoru was one who'd always had random thoughts buzzing around her head. And one of them hit her now as she stared up at his face, charming smile, rather gentle eyes, his hands, though firm, were gentle on her arms and he was positively flirting. He was waving a lobster in her face that both knew she'd never be able to catch, for others wanted it, too, and it belonged not only to her, but to everybody else, in more than one way. It would never be hers… not really. She saw Sano, and all she saw was a lobster she couldn't ever catch.
"Ass! You're being just like Keisuke now!"
"How?" Sanosuke asked, shocked. Where had that come from?
Kaoru glared up at him. "All you do is charm, flirt, and walk away! And I've known you for five years, so don't tell me I'm wrong! And what's worse, I'm one of the many girls you do it to!"
His eyes were mysteriously resolute as he bore down on her. "But know it's only you I'll never walk away from." She managed to slip her hands from under his knees, but he grabbed her wrists and held her back. Then, to everyone's astonishment, he suspended them above her head, lowered himself to her level, and kissed her.
Megumi clapped her hands over her mouth. Kenshin froze. Aoshi and Misao stared. And Yahiko felt like throwing up.
"GAD! HOW GROSS! Sano and Busu!" He cried.
Kaoru was just as shocked, but at the same time, incredibly pleased. She'd never felt so many sparks fly. Not even with Keisuke. She found herself pulling him down to kiss her harder.
When they pulled apart, they stayed frozen in place, staring at one another like they were seeing each other for the first time. Kenshin noticed that one of Kaoru's hands was in his hair, and one of Sano's thumbs was making circles on her arm. His eyes peered into hers. "I've wanted to do that for the longest time," he said in a low tone.
"Oh… I knew it was going to happen! What did I tell you, Kaoru?" Megumi laughed.
Kaoru and Sano reluctantly pulled apart. The look on her face when she tried hastily to unwrinkle creases in her kimono sent everybody into bursts of laughter.
"You know," Megumi said, sitting up and biting slowly into her black plum with a smile, "I think this could be the beginning of something big." But even though her smile was wide and devilish, Kenshin could see the briefest flash of envy in her eyes.