As the week rolled on Kenshin heard the other students talking about the Fall Festival. Since he had no clue what there was to celebrate about Fall he asked the girls who bombarded him with questions about 'why he didn't know about it' as well as volunteering him for several events.
On Thursday Ikkaku announced that their new uniforms had arrived in time for their first kendo match of the season. What he saw when he opened the box, however, caused a large vein in his temple to start throbbing.
"I don't think I've ever seen that much pink on one box," Kenshin commented as he pulled out one of the uniforms. The kimonos, all oversized, were all a very light pink with a floral design while the hakama were a bright – almost neon – pink. While the entire team, girls included, griped about the uniforms and asking what had happened Kenshin vanished into one of the locker rooms. By the time anyone noticed he was missing he was already back out, changed into the new uniform though with a few alterations.
He wore his white practice kimono with the new flowery one draped over his shoulders and a sakkat on his head. Ikkaku had to stop himself from laughing at the resemblance to a certain Captain but admitted that Kenshin had managed to make the entire debacle a little better.
"Hang on. Where did the hat come from?" Minako asked while the rest of the club grabbed their uniforms and went to change.
"You really hang on the little details, eh Aino?" Ikkaku asked with a smirk. "If I'm not mistaken that's mine isn't it, Suzaku?" Kenshin nodded, gripping the edge of the sakkat with his thumb and forefinger as he did so. The bald shinigami looked to Minako who just sighed in defeat before going to change. "You really do look like Captain Kyōraku, you know that?" Ikkaku told his squadmate when he was sure they were alone.
"He might be kinda nuts but you gotta admire the man's style," Kenshin said with a grin. "Now please tell me you had nothing to do with these abominations. As a courtesy I'm warning you that I will punch you if you did."
"It must've been that ass of a Judo teacher," Ikkaku replied, grinding his teeth in anger. "I don't know what his problem is but I'm getting sick of it." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly as the rest of club came out, dressed like Kenshin minus the sakkat. Ikkaku looked over his team for a moment and - though his eyes were starting to hurt from all the pink - smirked, telling the team he thought they looked decent considering. "Oh yeah. I've got something for you as the captain of the team, Suzaku," Ikkaku remembered as he handed a bag with another uniform in it. "We ordered an extra uniform just in case but that's for you to wear instead."
"Hey, how come he doesn't have to wear pink?!" one of the other members complained as Kenshin looked in the bag.
"How the hell did you get this?" Kenshin whispered, trying to rein in his shock and mild anger. When he replied with 'a friend owed him a favor' Kenshin knew that he had gotten it from Urahara. Defeated, Kenshin went to change again and after a few minutes came back out.
The practice kimono and pink hakama were now replaced with a black shihakusho. He wore a white haori with black diamonds along the bottom over it with the kanji for "Fight Honorably" emblazoned on the back. He held the floral-patterned kimono and sakkat in one hand, mentally swearing up a verbal typhoon at both Ikkaku – for making him wear this – and Urahara – for giving Ikkaku the idea.
"Holy crap. That's actually pretty badass," one of the male students said, staring at Kenshin's outfit.
"That's actually what you were supposed to have, minus the haori," Ikkaku told them as they turned to their sensei. "I ordered that ahead of time to make sure they'd look good. Unless you guys really want to go with pink and flowery I'm putting in a replacement order." The class as a whole, after seeing how Kenshin had made at least part of it bearable, asked to keep the current uniforms.
With that settled he told them that the first match would be held at the school leading to them dueling with each other in their new uniforms, to the snickering of many members of the judo club. Their coach, who was also the advanced mathematics teacher, seemed unnerved that neither Ikkaku nor his students seemed to even care about their uniforms. While her teammates mocked the kendo club Makoto seethed at seeing the club that she had believed to be respectable act like petulant children. But as they watched she witnessed Kenshin in a shihakusho with Minako at his side as if nothing was wrong.
"Could it be that's just what they were all supposed to wear?" she thought to herself. Minako and Kenshin stood across from each other, their shinai held out in front of them. On a command the two began to spar, seemingly equally matched until Kenshin made a last-second step back to avoid Minako's downswing to which he responded with a hard strike to the top of her head. "And they're practicing without any of the safety equipment?! Is their coach out of his mind?
Ikkaku called out the point with Minako shaking off the strike like it was nothing as both she and Kenshin returned to their positions. They went at it again, their movements quick and fluid though Kenshin took the point again with ease. Even from a distance Makoto could tell that he was holding back, whether because Minako was his teammate or he didn't respect her as an opponent she couldn't tell. The Sailor Guardian of Venus, however, had become far more skilled with a sword than Makoto would have imagined possible in such a short time.
"There's no way any of them were that good last year," one of the judo club members said. "I mean, maybe Kiba but that's it."
His statement made Makoto remember that, as far as the school and students were concerned, Kiba and his family had just up and moved. There'd been no warning nor word from them since the move and everyone around them just seemed to accept that's how it was. No questions, no investigation into Kiba's disappearance, they just accepted it. Makoto thought that it might be something that the shinigami were able to alter people's memories but was it something that could be done on such a scale?
"Alright, you lot. Back to practice," the judo teacher said and his club nodded as they continued their training regimen. He looked at the kendo club one last time, cursing them mentally before following his club.
When the match came that weekend the visiting team couldn't hide their amusement at the Juuban team's uniforms. Kenshin, Minako and their teammates seemed to shrug off the laughs seeing as they were more interested in showing those present what they could do. The other girls plus Yoruichi and Urahara were all present as well to support their friends. The others in the crowd watched as the Juuban team handily defeated their opponents, not giving up a single point in the process.
At the end of the meet the team gathered for a photo shoot for the local paper. "Hey, is that what I think it is, Kisuke?" Yoruichi asked quietly as she saw Kenshin's uniform. The straw-haired man smiled and nodded to which Yoruichi chuckled. "You are an evil man, you know that?"
"It's the thought that matters," Urahara replied. "Ikkaku seemed to get a kick out of it when I showed him." His expression hardened briefly. "By the way..."
"Yeah, I've been feeling it too lately. Like there's something massive on the way," Yoruichi answered, her tone serious. "It might be too much for them to handle on their own."
"Don't worry. I highly doubt their ally will just sit by and do nothing." He glanced down at Kenshin to see the boy smiling. It was an impressive façade but Urahara had known him long enough to know when something was bothering him. Of course it wasn't just the sense of foreboding but also with how close he and Minako had become, not to mention the group of friends the girls had dragged him into. Kenshin had agreed to the mission with the understanding that he wanted as little contact with the Sailor Guardians as necessary in their civilian forms as possible. However, much of the information that he'd gathered was a direct result of his being around them.
"I'm more curious to know where this sudden desire to be her boyfriend is coming from," the former shinigami thought as he adjusted his hat. "I wonder..."
"You've got that look, Kisuke," Yoruichi said, interrupting Urahara's train of thought. He shrugged it off, saying he'd tell her about it later as they headed for the exit along with the crowd. The team went to the locker rooms and the other Sailor Guardians headed down to wait for their friends.
As the week rolled on it was clearly obvious to the girls that something was bothering Kenshin but he refused to say what. During P.E. and kendo Ikkaku gave Kenshin extra work to do to make up for his distracted thoughts but the fellow shinigami knew all too well what was on the boy's mind.
After school one evening all the girls met at Rei's temple for a 'study session', their euphemism for a Sailor Meeting. It was Rei who had called it this time and from the expression on her face something was seriously wrong.
"When I did my fire reading earlier I saw what I can only describe as an army on its way here," she explained when the others asked. "From the feeling I got I think they were Hollows but I've never seen any like these." She pushed a crude drawing into the center of their circle depicting a large black Hollow with a long pointed nose followed by several more just like it. At the bottom she had a small figure drawn as scale.
"How can something that huge even exist?" Usagi asked. "And just how do you beat something like that?"
"How close are they?" Ami asked along with Makoto.
Here Rei's brow furrowed. "I'm not sure," she admitted and the girls stared at her in shock. "Judging by the intensity of the reading it's like they're right outside our door but I should've felt something like this a while back." She turned to Minako whose expression was serious. "Now that I think about it Kenshin's been off lately."
"I was thinking the same thing," Minako said with a nod. "We know that he's spiritually aware but I didn't think it was on the same level as you, Rei. Then again..." She rubbed her chin in thought. "When he and I were ambushed by Kiba a few weeks back he knew the moment Kiba started following us. Then when we were attacked by the monster last week and he seemed to know that something was coming."
"And who can seriously fight like that guy can?" Makoto pointed out. "I've also seen him jump from roof to roof with a passenger like it was nothing." She set Rei's drawing down and crossed her arms over her chest. "So...I'm not the only one thinking that he's the shinigami that's been helping us, am I?" The looks on the other girls' faces was answer enough.
"Even if it's true, does it really matter?" Ami asked. "If he's just Kenshin then he's our friend. If he's the shinigami too then he's our friend and ally."
"But which one is the real Kenshin?" Minako muttered, remembering the shinigami's words to her when they'd met at Ami's apartment. The Kenshin she knew would never say something so cold and callous...or at least that's what she hoped.
Before they could continue a wall of pressure slammed into them, effectively pinning them down. "Whoa! What is this? Why can't I move?" Rei said as she tried to stand.
"It's like someone dropped a house on me," Makoto added as she struggled to her feet.
"I'm disappointed in the lot of you. This level of power you should be able to handle easily by now."
They all turned to the door to see Kenshin in his shinigami form, his face obstructed by the scarlet scarf around his head. On his right side he wore a katana with a crescent moon tsuba sheathed in a crimson saya. The pressure around them let up as they all took deep gasps of air. "That's all beside the point right now," Kenshin told them, a cold edge to his voice as well as a sense of urgency. "You need to transform and follow me right now."
"Hang on a sec," Usagi said, stamping her foot on the ground now that she could stand. "We don't just do what you-"
They didn't even see Kenshin draw his sword but the tip was pressed against Usagi's throat. "We don't have time for this bullshit," he ordered them, narrowing his eyes. "Either transform and follow me or stay here out of the damn way. Understood?"
Usagi nodded and Kenshin sheathed his sword. Moments later they were all transformed and outside with him in front of a conspicuously glowing round door. Before the Guardians could ask what it was it opened and Kenshin stepped through. The girls hesitated for a moment before following suit. A flood of white light filled their vision and when it cleared they were on the outskirts of the city in a large open field.
"That was amazing!" Minako said as the door closed behind them and vanished. "So what's the rush?"
"That." Kenshin pointed to the opposite side of the field where the air was twisting and turning before being torn open. A massive white boot shook the ground as it stepped through, followed by the massive black cloak of a Gillian-class Menos Grande. The girls froze, recognizing the creature from Rei's drawing, but also at the sheer size of it. Right behind it were several other Gillian, numbering just over a dozen in total.
"But how..." Usagi started but the words caught in her mouth. "But how do we defeat something like that?"
"Just like you have other Hollows before them," Kenshin said simply. "If you stop being intimidated by their size you'll realize they're fairly manageable." A noise off to the side caught his attention and he turned to see another group of Gillian stepping out of a Garganta. "It seems whoever's behind this isn't joking around. I'll let you ladies handle these on your own." He vanished, reappearing among the second group of Gillians with his sword drawn. He let out a crazed laugh before letting loose.
"Well, I'm not about to let myself get shown up by some punk," Makoto said as lightning began to arc around her. "Supreme Thunder!" The bolt of lightning shot towards one of the Gillian but the Menos Grande shrugged it off like it was nothing. "Umm, okay. So I guess we better kick it up a notch then."
"Venus Love-Me Chains!" Minako shouted, scores of chains reaching out from behind her to bind several of the Gillian together. "Jupiter! Let 'em have it!"
"My pleasure. Sparkling Wide Pressure!" The wave of lighting arced around the Menos Grande, the chains around them amplifying the attack. Even with that, however, the Hollows seemed more stunned than injured. "You've gotta be kidding me. I thought that shinigami said we could handle these things."
"Their size makes them harder to manage than the smaller ones," Ami said as numbers flew across her visor. "In terms of raw strength, though, they're far weaker than the last Hollow we fought. We should focus on only one at a time in order to increase our effectiveness."
"No need to tell me twice. Sailor Venus, give me a boost," Rei said as a flaming bow and arrow appeared in her hands. She let loose a shot and a beam of orange light appeared alongside it, both of them spiraling around each other before fusing and slamming into the massive Hollow's mask with the resulting explosion blasting the head clean off. "Alright! One down."
A fog appeared around two more from Ami's Bubble Spray and another massive bolt of lightning arced through it. The Hollows roared in protest until a second blast of lightning shredded their bodies. "Man, these guys are tough," Makoto griped though she was grinning like a madwoman. "It's been a long time since we've had such a good fight that I'd forgotten what it feels like."
"Cool your jets, Jupiter," Usagi told her friend as she looked to see how Kenshin was doing. On his own he'd already cut down two Gillian with just his katana. "We might be able to take these guys on but he's on his own. Chances are we're gonna have to bail him out." As she turned back to the Hollows at hand they had spheres of crimson energy forming in their mouths. "That...that can't be good."
"It's the same attack that other Hollow used!" Ami warned as she held her arms out. A wave of bubbles spread out and formed into a curtain of ice. Bubbles kept flowing from her hands, forming an even thicker layer of ice as the Gillians fired their cero. The blasts slammed into the barrier, pressing down further and further through until they finally broke through. Just before it hit the girls a barrier of light went up, blocking the remaining wave of destruction.
"We're the Sailor Guardians!" Usagi shouted at the Gillian, her Eternal Tiare glowing. "You won't take us down that easily!" The lead Gillian responded by charging another Cero and a bead of sweat ran down Usagi's temple. "Whoa, hang on. It's not like that!"
"Your barrier can't take another hit like that, Sailor Moon!" Ami said just as multiple beams light streaked though the air, piercing the Gillian and one next to it, causing them to crash into the ground.
"I don't think...I can do that...again," Minako panted. "And that's...barely half."
"Don't tell me that this is the best you can do," Kenshin said, appearing next to Usagi, causing most of the girls to jump in surprise. His sword and shihakusho were both covered in blood though none of it was his. Ami and Usagi turned to where his battle had been to see the Gillian cut to shreds. "Think of them like trees that fire powerful death beams."
"There's a big damn difference between these things and trees!" Rei shouted at him as she fired several more rounds from her bow.
"You know, that's not a bad way of thinking," Usagi said with a smile, ignoring Rei's protest. She swung the Eternal Tiare around and several discs formed in the air. "Let's chop some of these bad boys down! Moon Tiara Barrage!" She pointed the Eternal Tiare at the Gillian and the discs went flying towards them, some of them just cutting deep and eliciting roars of pain while other lopped off entire limbs or, in the case of one, their heads.
"Bubble Spray Freeze!" Ami shouted, aiming for the wounds of the cut Gillian. The bubbles entered the cuts and from there the Gillian began to freeze solid. One of them began to crack under its own weight and chunks of frozen Hollow fell to the ground with a resounding crash.
As Kenshin watched the girls fight he could feel his anger boiling to the surface. Was this all these humans were capable even when facing an opponent such as a Gillian? "I suppose being able to fight the Gillian up close is more of an advantage than I thought," he told himself as he let out a sigh.
Usagi let loose another Moon Tiara Barrage but this one broke up when they hit the Menos Grande, dealing no damage. "I can't keep this up," she whined, falling to her knees. Ami was the next to drop followed by Rei. Judging by their expressions Makoto and Minako weren't far behind but both were too stubborn to give in. "Hey, aren't you going to help at all?" Usagi asked the shinigami as he sighed again.
"I suppose I don't have a choice," he admitted, drawing his sword. His eyes narrowed on the Gillian as they tightened their formation. "Well well, looks like someone's giving the big guys directions. These things aren't smart enough to think strategically." His grip on his zanpakutō tightened, knowing that he couldn't just use the sealed state like last time. He could probably use a single blast of kidō to wipe them out but If they were being directed then giving away the full depth of his power would come back to bite him. "To think that a bunch of damn Gillian are forcing me to use this," he said disdainfully, spinning the katana in his hand. "Very well. End their pathetic existence, Hisan Kusari!"
The girls watched as Kenshin's katana glowed brightly and began to change its shape. A second blade formed in his right hand before both twisted into oversized kusari-gama, the tsuba from the katana now completely gone. The chains extended into the sleeves of his shihakusho and the light dissipated. The tsuka was almost twice as long, each leading to the blades of the kusari-gama which were shaped like scythes.
"Whoa, that's pretty badass," Makoto said.
Kenshin said nothing, using shunpo to put him at the same level as the Menos Grande. As it raised its hand to swat him away he let go of his zanpakutō, letting out the chains before grabbing them and spinning around, slicing up the Gillian like it was nothing. He swung them again, each latching onto the side of a Gillian's head, and he pulled himself in, slamming his foot into the Hollow's mask and forming a massive crater. He heard the sound of a charging Cero behind him and vanished just as it fired, incinerating the Gillian he'd just been on. He reappeared in the middle of the remaining Gillian.
"I'm gonna regret this later," Kenshin muttered to himself as he began focusing his energy. "Oh well. Hadō #33 – Sōkatsui!" He spun like a top, letting out Hisan Kusari as blue flames rushed down its chains. With a roar Kenshin gave one last spin and a halo of blue-white flame reached out, slicing through the Gillian and searing the wounds shut at the same time.
"You've gotta be kidding me," Makoto said as the Sailor Guardians stared in awe. "He took them out like it was nothing while we barely took out half."
"He is trained for this kind of thing, I guess," Minako offered just as Kenshin landed. Hisan Kusari glowed once more, turning back into a katana so Kenshin could sheath him. His arms were smoking even through his shihakusho and, though they couldn't see it, he was in a great deal of pain. "Are you okay? I don't think your body is supposed to smoke."
"I'm fine," Kenshin lied, gently slapping her hands away. "What I'm more concerned about is the fact that you Guardians should've been able to handle a small group of Gillian like that with ease. Instead I had to come bail your asses out."
"Hey, we didn't ask for your help!" Rei fumed, getting in the shinigami's face. Kenshin said nothing; he just put a finger to her forehead and gently pushed, causing Rei to fall back onto the ground.
"You wasted your energy while fighting them, leaving yourself open to annihilation," he explained as Rei tried to stand on her own. "Out of all of you Sailors Moon and Mercury probably managed the best." When Rei muttered about them not fighting Kenshin grabbed her by the scruff of her uniform, lifting her up until they were eye-to-eye. "If it wasn't for their quick thinking we wouldn't be having this conversation, you stupid brat! You all owe them your lives."
"That's enough." Usagi firmly gripped Kenshin's shoulder, her eyes hard as she stared at the shinigami. "I don't know how you do things where you come from but that's not how we treat each other here. We do what we do for each other because we're friends, not out of some sense of obligation. Sailor Mars doesn't owe us anything for save her life; we're teammates so it's expected."
"This is why I can't stand you humans. You think everything is about love and friendship," Kenshin said, releasing Rei. "That's how the weak think. If you're not willing to fight then you'll just end up getting yourself or someone else killed." The sound of another Garganta opening stopped him before he could say anything else. "Another one? Hmph, good. I could use the exercise."
"Well I've got my second wind now so I say we bring out the big guns," Minako said confidently though it faded when Kenshin said nothing. "Hey what's wrong, Mr. Shinigami?"
"Those aren't ordinary Gillian," he said through clenched teeth. From where he stood he could see that none of their masks were the same, indicating they were all capable of evolving into Adjuchas and also more powerful than their counterparts. "Hey, girl," he said, turning to Minako and drawing his sword. "If you've got your second wind then give me some supporting fire. These things aren't to be screwed around with."
As the words left his mouth the ground began to quake as a ringed sphere of energy tore through the ground, slamming into one of the Gillian. The resulting explosion consumed several more in addition to the one hit. A pressurized wave of water sliced through several more, all of them letting out roars of pain as they died. "Is that who I think it is?" Usagi asked as a searing white light surrounded the remaining Gillian, followed by a massive explosion that incinerated the Menos Grande. "It is! It's the other Sailor Guardians!"
"Other?" Kenshin thought as the dust began to clear. "Are there more than just these five?" He got his answer as three figures walked through the dust cloud, each girl wearing a sailor uniform like the other Guardians. The tallest of them, a woman with short tan hair and a yellow ribbon on a blue uniform, stood in the middle while another with turquoise hair and teal uniform stood on her left. On her right was a much smaller girl with black-violet hair and a blue-purple sailor uniform carrying a large glaive. "Nine planets, nine Guardians," Kenshin muttered to himself, cursing his oversight. "Which means that one decided to either not step forward or not bother coming."
"So who's this guy?" Sailor Uranus asked, pointing her thumb at Kenshin. The shinigami seemingly ignored her as he sheathed his zanpakutō again.
"It's a long story," Usagi replied with a sigh. "Is that the last of these Gillian-things?"
"I'll say 'yes' for the time being," Kenshin answered as he closed his eyes, sensing out the area and attempting to find the one who'd been issuing the orders. "Damn, slippery bastard got away when these three arrived."
"We have names, you know," Haruka Tenou stated, putting her face right in Kenshin's even though he didn't budge. After a moment she backed down, impressed by the shinigami's nerve. "Since there aren't any more of those things coming I figure we've got some time to sit down and figure a few things out."
"And what makes you think I care, girl?" was Kenshin's response, causing a vein to bulge in Haruka's temple.
Michiru Kaiou, Sailor Neptune, placed her hand on Haruka's shoulder. "He's egging you on, Sailor Uranus," she told her partner. "Besides, I don't think we're in much shape after taking on those creatures." Haruka realized that Michiru wasn't just holding her back but also supporting herself.
"There was something...wrong with those creatures," Hotaru Tomoe, Sailor Saturn, added. "It felt like there was some unquenchable hunger in those beasts." She turned to Kenshin. "Care to fill us in?"
"Not particularly," he replied as he started to walk past them. Just as he was about to step past Hotaru she lowered her Silence Glaive to stop him. "Little girl, don't draw your weapon against me unless you plan to use it."
The other Sailor Guardians panicked, waving their hands to try and tell Hotaru not to take him up on it, knowing that between the two of them there wouldn't be much of Tokyo left afterwards. "I don't get you," Hotaru said, her glaive unmoving. "You had no issue helping Sailor Moon and the others but you act more like it was an inconvenience. If that's the case why didn't you just let them die?"
"Because I was ordered to not let that happen," he replied simply. "So long as they don't die I couldn't care less what happens to them." He looked the Soldier of Silence in the eye, his gaze cold and hard. "But that's them, not you. And since I'm feeling so generous I'll give you one more chance to remove your weapon before I make you."
"Just who the hell are you, pal!?" Haruka asked angrily, grabbing him by his kimono. Her tone changed when she felt the blade of his zanpakutō against her neck.
"Someone who'll cut your throat open if you don't let go of me right now," he replied. Haruka looked him in the eyes for several seconds before realizing that he wasn't joking. When she released him he sheathed his zanpakutō once more and turned to leave. "I appreciate the value you place on your life." With that he was gone.
"Hey! Aren't you at least going to take us back?!" Rei shouted into the space where he'd been. "Damn that guy!"
"I knew he had a stick up his ass but this is going way too far," Makoto said, unconsciously rubbing her throat. "To threaten you like that, Haruka. You okay?"
"A little shaken but, yeah, I'm fine," was her response as she plopped down on the ground. "So what on earth is going on? First these giant monsters then some psychopath with a sword. Just what exactly did we miss?"
"Well, since we've got a bit of a walk home we'll explain on the way," Usagi said as their transformations faded. "Man, my mom is gonna kill me."
It was after eleven o'clock by the time they arrived back at the shrine and by that time the Outer Guardians were filled in with everything they knew so far about Hollows and shinigami. Usagi had also managed to come up with, what she felt at least, a reasonable excuse for her mother as to why she'd been out so late. By the time they climbed the stairs they were exhausted from their ordeal that night and said their good nights before heading home.
"Crap! I'm late!" Minako shrieked as she flew out of her house, toast in mouth and her neckerchief half-tied. She sped past Kenshin who was in casual clothes carrying several boxes out of Urahara's store and into the bed of the truck.
"Yo', Mr. Whiskers! Where's the fire?" he shouted. Minako froze when she heard her nickname and she quickly ran backwards.
"Why aren't you at school already? Do you have any idea how late we are?" she asked frantically.
Kenshin just scratched his head, oblivious as to why she was panicked. "So what, did you not feel those earthquakes last night?" he asked her. "The school cancelled morning classes today just in case it was a symptom of something else. We don't have to be in until after noon." Minako stared at her boyfriend, completely baffled at what she was hearing. "You slept right through it last night, didn't you?"
"Uh, yeah. I guess," she said, knowing she couldn't tell him what the quakes actually were. "So...I'm freaking out over nothing?"
"Well, not exactly," Kenshin admitted as he looked her over. "The neckerchief is one thing but I would at least consider buttoning your shirt correctly before running around in public." Minako blinked several times before looking down, now seeing that she had missed several buttons and put others in the wrong holes resulting in her chest being semi-visible.
The shriek she let out temporarily caused those in the immediate area to lose some of their hearing for several minutes. Kenshin let her into the shop so that she could fix her uniform in private. He closed the shop door behind him and let out a heavy sigh before returning to work. When Minako came back out her uniform was as it should be though she was still blushing. "I'm really sorry about all this," she apologized, hanging her head.
Kenshin pulled her close and stroked the top of her head. "Well, I suppose the right thing for me to do would be to make an ass out of myself so that you can't be the only one embarrassed," he told her. Her body seemed to relax as she squeezed his chest. "You gonna be okay now, Mr. Whiskers?"
"I had almost forgotten about that name and I was kinda hoping you had too," Minako admitted with a smile. "Just don't let the other girls in on it. They'll never let me hear the end of it." Kenshin promised that he would do his best but the smile he gave her didn't inspire much confidence in the young blonde. As soon as he was finished with the boxes Kenshin made them both lunch before they headed off to school for a shortened day.