Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin

A/N: koaruca, good spot, the incidents are within the same year in the manga. However, for this storyline to work, I needed Kaoru to be twenty, so I took creative liberties. pmaverick, your comment made me laugh, that's exactly how I describe my own writing style, lol. everyone, all of the reviews you guys have done really touch my heart and encourage me to keep going. Thank you so much! This is just a quick chapter to help the plotline transition. On to the story

Kaoru woke up feeling rested for the first time in quite a while. Her thoughts were clearer and she found that she was centered, at peace with herself in a way that she hadn't been for weeks. She smiled and stretched slowly, she always forgot how good she felt after her birthday meditation. Her stomach grumbled and she suddenly realized that she was starving. She hopped to her feet and dressed swiftly, praying that Kenshin had made breakfast. She felt her good mood falter at the thought of him, but quickly shoved it aside. She'd made her choice and she'd abide by it. She would be Kenshin's friend, nothing more.

This thought made her pause abruptly. It was a good plan, but how was she supposed to go about it? She didn't have the first clue on how to treat him as just a friend. Everyone would notice if she suddenly changed her behavior and treating him like Yahiko or Sano just wasn't feasible. After a moment's thought, she shrugged. She would take it one day at a time and leave it at that.

Absently humming one of her father's favorite songs, she made her way to the kitchen, her stomach's grumbling increased tenfold as she caught a delicious scent wafting from the kitchen. She paused, mortified, when a giggle suddenly escaped. Her embarrassment lost in surprise, she tried to compose herself, but another giggle bubbled out before she could stop it. The more she tried to repress them, the more they spilled out, accompanied by the steady rumbling of her stomach. She felt her legs start to weaken from the force of her laughter, so she hastily leaned against the wall. She knew that the laughter was the result of feeling so many emotions over the past few days, but it felt healing, cleansing, so she decided to just let it spill out unhindered.

It was the sight of Kenshin and Yahiko peering curiously at her from the kitchen that finally helped her get her laughter under control. Knowing that they probably thought she'd lost her mind by laughing so hard after brooding for days, she pushed away from the wall and gave them her brightest smile. "Is breakfast ready? I'm starving!"

She saw Kenshin relax slightly, but the concern lingered in Yahiko's eyes. She had to work hard to keep her grin from turning evil, thinking that Yahiko was smart to be concerned. He'd had two days off and it was time for them to get back to training. She was going to enjoy this. Kenshin's voice caught her attention, breaking into her plans for Yahiko, "If you'd like to sit at the table, Kaoru-dono, breakfast is just about ready. I had a feeling that you'd be hungry today, that I did."

Deciding that it was time to start her plan, she knew instantly what she had to do. Normally, she would duck her head and do as he asked, trying to hide a slight blush. No more avoidance. Meeting his gaze squarely, she smiled and asked, "You sure there's nothing I can do to help?"

Yahiko groaned and shouted, "Busu! We don't want your clumsy self in the kitchens, I'd like to live until lunchtime."

Pulling out her shinai, she thunked him firmly on the head. "We'll settle this in practice, Yahiko-chan." Turning back to Kenshin, she rolled her eyes, "I wasn't going to touch the cooking. But do you need me to set the table or anything?"

He stared at her uncertainly for a moment, both of them ignoring Yahiko's murmuring. "No, no, Kaoru-dono, just sit. Yahiko already prepared the table, that he did."

She shrugged and turned away, satisfied that they had it under control. She knew that Kenshin had noticed something different about her, but decided not to worry about it. However, when she turned away, she had missed the brief flash of amber in his eyes.

With minimal fuss, they were all seated around the table, enthusiastically eating breakfast with Kaoru and Yahiko trading good natured barbs back and forth while Kenshin watched. Seeing that she was about to thwack Yahiko again, Kenshin hastily inquired what they'd like for lunch.

Kaoru laughed, shaking her head at her absentmindedness. "Oh, lunch today is my treat, at the Akabeko. It's tradition. So don't worry about cooking."

Kenshin was about to speak when Yahiko jumped in, "What tradition? There's nothing on the calendar, did one of the students at that other dojo hit you on the head or something?"

Her eyes flashed dangerously, but she kept the shinai in her lap, "500 strokes. And for your information, it's a Kamiya family tradition. On your birthday, you meditate for the entire day. On the day after your birthday, you go with your family to your favorite restaurant for lunch to celebrate. Thus, my treat to you guys, my family, at Akabeko."

Both of the men looked shocked, their mouths open in surprise. Yahiko was the first to recover, "Yesterday was your birthday? Why didn't you say anything, Busu?"

Seeing the hurt in his eyes, she chose her words carefully, "I wasn't trying to hide it. But it's hard for me to talk about. My mother died when I was very small and my father raised me by himself. Most of my memories involve him and I really miss him around this time. However, I wanted to share these traditions with you two, my new family. I know that he would've loved both of you." She reached out and ruffled Yahiko's hair affectionately.

The tension eased and he batted her hand away playfully. "Oy, as long as it's not your cooking. So, how old are you anyway?"

She sighed, but answered anyway, "Twenty."

Yahiko crowed with laughter, "So, you are a hag, I was right!"

Eyeing the remnants of breakfast, she decided that she'd had enough and rose to her feet. Facing Yahiko squarely, she raised her shinai and said calmly, "Five."

"Huh?"

"Four."

Eyes widening with realization, he scrambled to his feet and took off with her hot on his heels.

Kk

Kenshin rose early after another night of fitful sleep. Her ki had seemed calm last night, but Kaoru had never appeared for dinner. Expanding his senses, he quickly found her ki and was relieved to see that it was still calm, she was obviously asleep. Getting to his feet, he stretched as he made his way to the kitchen to make breakfast, determined that she would eat today, even if he had to feed her himself. He felt his face heat slightly at the thought, but quickly shook it away, the lack of sleep obviously affecting him more than he thought.

He started by drawing a bucket of water from the well. The crisp air of the morning invigorated him, so he took a moment to just enjoy it in. He had always enjoyed mornings, the clean, fresh feel of them. Everything always seemed more hopeful at the start of a new day. Straightening from where he had been leaning on the well, he firmed his resolve. He would talk to Kaoru today and get to the bottom of whatever was bothering her.

He returned to the kitchen and was soon drawn into the familiar rhythm. He didn't even pause when Yahiko stumbled bleary eyed into the kitchen, just directed him to the task of readying the table. He was putting on the final touches when something caught his attention. Pausing, he waited to see if it was repeated. It sounded again and this time, he recognized it as a giggle. Meeting Yahiko's puzzled gaze, he shrugged and made his way towards the noise. Peeking into the hallway, he saw Kaoru leaning against the wall, shaking with laughter. Concerned, he quickly scanned her ki and was both relieved and amazed at the brightness of it. Her ki was shining like nothing had ever dimmed it in the first place. Right then, she saw them and straightened, getting her laughter under control. She smiled brightly at them and his heart jumped. It was beating so fast that he almost missed what she said.

Relieved that she had her appetite back, he directed her to sit down, hoping for a minute to pull himself together. That's when he first noticed that something was, off, about her. Not a morning person, she was usually content to wait for him to serve breakfast so she could eat and wake up. Instead, she had smiled at him and asked if she could help. But there was something different with her smile and gaze, something was, missing. Yahiko had rudely interrupted, giving Kenshin the time he needed to hide his puzzlement. She swiftly handled Yahiko, where did she even hide her shinai half the time, and turned back to him, rolling her eyes. To his mortification, he'd almost stuttered, but his words had thankfully come out steadily enough. When she turned to go to the table, he felt the Battousai stir restlessly, uneasy over her behavior.

Thankfully, breakfast was quickly served and they all settled in to eat. Yahiko and Kaoru were squabbling like they used to before Kaoru's recent withdrawal, bringing a sense of normalcy back to the dojo. However, he noticed that Yahiko was pushing Kaoru's patience farther than usual, having become complacent by dealing with Kaoru's subdued temperament over the past few weeks. Wanting to save the boy a few lumps, he hastily asked Kaoru what she'd like for lunch. He was relieved that she was easing back into her good natured self and wanted to please her so she would stay that way. He hadn't realized how much he had missed her bright laughter until he had heard her laughter this morning in the hall.

He wanted to protest eating out, knowing that she worried about money, especially since Yahiko seemed to be outgrowing his clothing every few weeks anymore. However, when she cited tradition again, his curiosity resurfaced stronger than last time she'd mentioned it. Before he could get the words out, Yahiko had chimed in disrespectfully. Her eyes had flashed dangerously and he winced in sympathy for the blow, but she'd held her temper, surprising him and causing his uneasiness to grow slightly.

The last thing he'd expected was that it had been her birthday the day before. His heart fell at the realization that he hadn't even known when her birthday was and that she hadn't even bothered to inform them. While his thoughts churned tumultuously, he heard Yahiko ask her why she hadn't told them, the hurt obvious in his voice although he was striving to hide it. Her explanation had eased the hurt slightly, even though he disliked even the thought of Kaoru hurting. However, he had a feeling that that was not the only reason that she hadn't informed them.

Still, when she said that she considered them family, he felt his thoughts settle slightly, although he had to wonder if her father would have really liked him or sent him straight on his way when he first arrived at the dojo. Returning his attention to the other two at the table, he heard Yahiko ask how old she was. His attention focused on her intently, suddenly dying of curiosity. She seemed reluctant to answer, a slight tinge of pink creeping over her cheekbones and he smiled internally at how adorable she was.

When she'd finally admitted her age, Yahiko had burst out laughing, leaving Kenshin puzzled. Why was Kaoru being twenty something funny? Yahiko's outburst finally succeeded in pushing her over the edge and she chased him from the room, shinai firmly in hand. Kenshin glanced at the table and was satisfied to see that they'd both cleaned their plates. Listening absently to the yelling/training they were doing, he started clearing the table.

He frowned as he made the trips back and forth, puzzling over Kaoru's behavior that morning. He had obviously missed something and it was making him restless. He hated feeling useless, unsure of what was going on. However, he didn't know who to turn to. It wasn't like Kaoru was suddenly going to spill all of her secrets to him or explain why turning twenty was so odd. If anything, she'd seek out a friend, a woman, to talk to. Someone like Tae. Realizing where his thoughts had led him, he recognized that he did have someone he could ask for help. He knew that Tae and Kaoru talked sometimes. They were going to the Akabeko for lunch, if he planned things just right, maybe he could get Tae alone and ask for her help. Tae was such a sweet, understanding woman that he was nearly certain that she'd help him out. Maybe she'd explain why twenty was so important as well. Starting his daily routine, he mentally planned out his next course of action.

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