Her hand went to her knee while she was still half asleep, feeling a bit uncomfortable for reasons she couldn't pinpoint. With eyes fluttering open she managed to conclude that her knee was aching. She got out of the futon to inspect it. There was a dark bruise right in the middle of her knee cap. She took a moment to think, then remembered that she had landed on it when Kenshin was saving her.
Suddenly she was very alert. Kenshin had acted all weird yesterday. Was he back to normal and if not, how would he react if he found out about her knee?
'Don't be stupid, Kaoru,' she mentally reassured herself. Kenshin would probably be upset if he found out but she would get nothing more than a scolding. Still, a scolding from him sounded demeaning enough, she was going to take care he didn't find out.
Once dressed, she left her room to find everyone sleeping. Even Kenshin's head was lolled downwards while he was sitting down in the corner, looking almost like a humble warrior admitting defeat.
They had been satisfied with her cooking last night, right? Who would argue against her making breakfast? She remembered how much of her stew Kenshin had consumed and her heart fluttered at the thought of him eating more of her cooking.
She began by leaving rice to boil, then she grabbed her cooking knife and started slicing some pickled cucumbers and turnips to go with it. A figure came up from behind her. She startled back in surprise, until she realized it was only Kenshin. His calm smile charmed her into believing that he was over the shock from yesterday.
"Good morning, Kenshin."
"Good morning, Miss Karou," Kenshin beamed, "Shall I help you with cooking?"
"That's-" before she could decline, Kenshin took the knife and sliced the vegetables at an inhuman speed.
The strange behavior nearly left Karou gaping, he had never did something like that without first waiting for her answer. Frustration tugged at her heart but she was able to prevent herself from showing it. Kenshin cleaned the knife when he was done and stowed it away on the top shelf. A vivid memory of her parents placing dangerous things up there so she couldn't get to it crossed her mind. But it was different now. She would still be able to reach it, so maybe a Kenshin had no motives by placing it up there. Maybe he thought that was where it went.
She knew, however, that explanation was impossible. Kenshin had been cooking in her kitchen for ages so he knew very well where she stored all her things. This time she couldn't help but feel aggravated.
"Kenshin," she seethed.
The samurai didn't appear to notice her anger. He gave her an innocent look, purple eyes wide and questioning.
"Oro? Yes, Miss Karou?"
"You know I can handle a knife, right?"
Her anger twisted to slight fear when his eyes narrowed for no more than half a second. They calmed quickly but now Kenshin was frowning.
"Please do not be upset. To be completely honest with you, I was a little bit worried watching you use it last night. Your cooking has improved tremendously but your knife skills scare me."
That was an unusually cruel thing for Kenshin to say. Who was this man and what did he do with the real Kenshin. Kaoru's anger intensified.
"What about it scares you?"
"You hold it the wrong way, making it dangerous for you to use."
"Then teach me if you're so concerned!" Kaoru insisted loudly.
"Of course, Miss Kaoru. I'll be glad to teach you later," Kenshin smiled and waved his hands to soothe her.
Kaoru's outburst must have woken everyone else up. She heard them groaning awake and sitting up.
Sanosuke came in the kitchen first, glancing at Kenshin with a weird but knowing expression. Kenshin stared back and Kaoru knew that there was a silent exchange between the two of them.
The others came and breakfast was served. Yahiko and Sanosuke made quick work of most of it. Kaoru ate a little bit and Kenshin and Megumi ate the least.
Sanosuke set his water down, looking at Kaoru.
"I better get going," he announced, standing up.
Megumi followed him quickly, saying a quick goodbye. Yahiko stared at them as they left.
"They seem to be in a hurry to leave."
"Yeah," Kaoru agreed.
"They probably have to get an early start on some errands. Miss Megumi has been really working Sanosuke hard," Kenshin explained.
"Not hard enough," Yahiko grumbled then turn to Kaoru, "Are we doing the usual exercises today."
Kaoru opened her mouth to answer but Kenshin spoke suddenly.
"Maybe it's time you taught Yahiko some new moves. He seems more than ready."
The two stared at him. Kenshin wasn't one to rudely answer a question intended for someone else. Kaoru wondered for a moment if this was some plot against her. She shook the idea away. What motive could Kenshin have for her to teach her student new techniques?
"All right. Ready Yahiko?"
The two spent all day practicing while Kenshin did the usual chores. Kaoru's knee didn't give her any problems until sunset.
She went into her room to inspect the bruise. Her door opened suddenly and the next moment Kenshin was staring at her knee in concern.
"What happened?"
Kaoru had no time to recover from her shock. When did Kenshin ever open her door before knocking? Kenshin got on his knees in order to inspect hers.
"It seems you landed on it."
"Yeah," Kaoru blushed. She was still dressed but her bare legs were showing! And now Kenshin could see she was hiding from him. "But it's alright."
Kenshin looked at her seriously.
"We should get Megumi to treat that," it sounded more like an order than a request.
He left at godlike speed as if he were in combat. Kaoru stared after him with a sinking feeling that it was going to take longer for him to get back to normal than she first thought.