Here's the next chapter. This didn't turn out how I planned but it turned out well. Hope you enjoy.
The Night
When she woke up it was dark out. She would have gone back to sleep, but she was hungry. Quietly she got up and left the room, determined to find the kitchen, where ever it might be. She hadn't really seen much of the place since arriving. All she had done was tend to Dr. Gensai and fall asleep.
Her search for a kitchen was cut short when she saw Kenshin sitting on the porch looking out into the night. She silently padded to where he was and sat down beside him. "How's your shoulder?" she asked.
"Better, Miss Tae is quite skilled. How are you Miss Kaoru?"
"Good, sleep does wonders."
"Miss Kaoru…"
"Kenshin," she said cutting him off. "You don't need to apologize."
"One still finds the need to," he said looking down at his hands, so his hair hid his face. His hands were fiddling with something she couldn't see.
She reached over and placed her hands on his, causing him to look up. His eyes held a deep sorrow that made her heart swell with love. It was proof that he cared about her. Not that she needed proof after the previous days events. "You made the right choice. You won the battle inside yourself." She said gently.
"I chose myself over you," he said, and she could see the self-loathing in his eyes.
"No," she said firmly. His eyes widened a little in surprise. "You chose me over you. If you had chosen yourself, you would have lost me, maybe not physically, but in every other sense. You knew that, and you chose me over your own feelings. You chose what I wanted despite the suffering it would cause you. I can't even imagine how painful that must have been. So, I am sorry, for making you feel such pain." She didn't know how to put her thoughts into words, she just hoped he would understand her and stop feeling like he had done something wrong.
He opened his mouth to speak but seemed unable to find any words, so he closed his mouth and reached up and touched her face. His thump ran along her cheek bone as if he was assuring himself she was truly there. She looked into his eyes and saw longing. A longing she was very familiar with. But he didn't move, didn't act. He never would. He would never take the decision away from her. She knew that and was thankful, too many people had done that.
So, she made the first move. Leaning forward she placed her lips on his. The kiss was soft, sweet, and beautiful. His hand found its way into her hair and the feeling sent shivers up her spine. There was a passion and longing that pushed them closer, but she resisted it. Now was not the time. She wanted to be with him with every fiber of her being, but right now they had a war to fight. When she pulled away he let her, his hand drifted lazily through her hair before coming to rest on hers. She was sure even in the dark he could see her blush.
They sat in silence, not finding a need to say anything. Content to simply be in each other's company. She was still reeling from what she had just done. She had just kissed him. Something she had only ever dreamed about. And he had returned the feeling. Her ki was buzzing with a feeling she couldn't quite name, but it was a good feeling. Great feeling actually.
After a while his soft laughter broke the stillness, "Miss Kaoru, I believe you are turning into a bee."
She hit him lightly in the arm but was laughing too. "You sure a bee? Not a wasp?"
"No," he said looking decidedly away from her. "A wasp is not nearly as cute." If possible, her face turned even redder. She would have retorted but her stomach decided to remind her, rather loudly, that it was still empty.
"You wouldn't happen to know where I might find some food," she said, failing to hide her embarrassment.
He stood up chuckling and helped her up, "I might." She followed him to the kitchen where she let him prepare a few rice balls. It wasn't that she couldn't do it herself, she just wasn't in the mood to cook…and it would taste a lot better if he did it. Once the food was done they returned to the porch to eat. She hated to admit that he was a better cook, but he even made rice balls taste better. Honestly, how did he do it? The ingredients were the same.
She finished eating and looked up at the sky, "What happens now?" She asked him. Only after the words left her mouth did she realize there could be two very different answers.
Kenshin let out a soft laugh before responding, "We know who's behind the slave trade," he said, understanding what she had actually been asking about. "So, we can make a move and hopefully end it."
"Do we know?" she asked.
"What do you mean?" he asked looking at her.
"I don't think Akira is the one behind the slave trade, or at least not the only one. Did you see the state of that place? There were few guards and he was using ropes instead of wire or chain to work the door. His palace is falling apart around him and he's trying to hide it with cheap tricks."
"But Eichi said Gohei gave you to the highest bidder. Akira must have offered a good deal of money."
"Or he was the only other bidder. Sure, catching you would be a big success but the chances were pretty low. Akira was desperate, and the others just sat back and watched."
"So, he is just one of many faces leading the slave trade. Who else could there be?"
"I think anyone who benefits from it is backing it."
"You think the entire upper class is involved."
"At least the heads of the major families." Kenshin was silent. "This is more than just the slave trade. The upper-class see's us as less than them so they think it's ok to do these sorts of things to us. It's like we aren't even the same species. How do we win a fight against class and ignorance?"
"You fight the war that needs to be fought," Kenshin said quietly.
"Causing more bloodshed. More innocent people will die," she said. She was caught between anger and sadness.
"Sometimes it needs to be done, that it does," Kenshin said sadly.
"Does it?" She asked. "My father fought to make the world better. So I could grow up in a better pace. He fought but he didn't kill, he wouldn't kill. Every life was precious, even that of the wrongdoer."
"He's beliefs are honorable, and I hope one day more people will believe that, but sometimes it is not enough," Kenshin's voice was strained as he tried to explain to her while the concept of more fighting disgusted him as well. After all, he had vowed to never kill again.
"Even if you are right and we start a war that needs to be fought. What then? What happens when we win? Removing a problem doesn't always mean things will get better. We are not leaders." Kenshin stayed silent so she continued. "I want things to change. I want Ayame and Suzume to grow up in a better world. But am I so naive to think that justice can be found without a war being fought? That innocent people don't have to die for a new age to rise? That a sword can be used to protect instead of kill?"
"A sword is a weapon. The art of swordsmanship is learning how to kill. That is the truth," Kenshin said looking up at the sky. "What you say is sweet and innocent talk that only those whose hands have never been stained with the blood of men can believe." In the silence she deflated, he was right, she didn't know. The darkness she knew was different from the one he knew. When it came to making a difference, he knew better. In all these years he and his friends had done something. Sure, their reach was limited to this part of the city, but this part of the city was safer than the other areas. All she had done was hide in her apartment and protect her little bubble of neighbors.
"But," Kenshin said continuing. "To tell you the truth, I much prefer your sweet and innocent talk over the truth, indeed I do." This made her smile faintly. He was right, but he also believed in the way she wanted to fight. He would help her. Help her find a way to win without unnecessary bloodshed. At least he would try.
"Thank you," she whispered.
His mind was still spinning. She had kissed him. It was something he never expected. In that moment he had wanted to. Every fiber of his being wanted to, but he couldn't move. He couldn't believe she still cared for him after what he had done. He had chosen to let her die and she had kissed him. They had sat for a long time once they were done talking, her head on his shoulder, just looking at the sky. Eventually she had started to fall asleep and he had told her to go back to bed.
"You're getting soft boy," Master Hiko said sitting down next to him. Two visitors in one night, he was a popular man. Though he much preferred Kaoru's presence.
"Is that such a bad thing?" he asked his master.
"It's certainly not going to help you hold you liquor any better," Master Hiko said and he saw the bottle of sake his master had in tow. Where his master found the alcohol was beyond him, but he always seemed to have a full bottle with him.
"Not all of us can be like Sano," he said. His master just grunted.
"Is your woman alright," Master Hiko said.
He sighed, "You overheard enough of our conversation to know the answer, and she is not mine. I think you will find Miss Kaoru will not take kindly to you calling her such."
His master waved his hand in a dismissive manner, taking a swig from the flask. "Do I need to worry about you running off again?" Master Hiko asked. So that was the reason he was here, to make sure his student was alright. Although he would never say so out loud.
"No. One…I did not break my vow," he said softly.
"I'm impressed," Master Hiko said and his voice did hold a small ounce of pride. "You saved your woman and kept your vow. I didn't know you possessed such control. She's good for you. Strong. At least you can do something right," Master Hiko joked. Then he became serious, "That's when you know you've found the right one. When they accept the good and the bad and make you want to be a better person without saying anything. Better make sure you don't lose her."
"I do not plan to." He said, Master Hiko grunted in approval. It was an odd statement coming from his master, too sentimental. He never knew of any love in his master's life, but there was much of Master Hiko's past that he didn't know. "Master?" he asked when there was no response he continued. "How did you find out where they were being kept?"
"It was simple really. I happen to be in possession of a rather rare brand of sake. Gohei's lackeys were more than willing to tell me in exchange for a taste."
Of course, because that made complete sense. He really should have figured that out. If it wasn't sake, his master probably would have found a way to win them over with pottery. His master's hobbies always confused him, but they had come in handy more than once. If only they could win this fight with sake and pottery. Even that might be too much for his master.
"Of all the things I have taught you," Master Hiko said. "And you only seemed to pick up how to swing a sharp piece of metal around. You really are an idiot."
"What does that say about the one who taught the idiot," he said cheekily.
"That he's an old fool," Master Hiko said taking another swig. "An old fool who expects grandchildren one day now that his idiot apprentice has found a decent woman." He choked on the cup of tea he was drinking which only made Master Hiko laugh.
"If you want to get something off your chest," Master Hiko said after a wile of silence. "I have plenty of sake to drink." He smiled faintly and began to speak, telling his master everything that had happened the previous day. Master Hiko didn't say anything, it wasn't his way. But he listened, he let Kenshin say what he needed to say.
When he was done he got neither approval or anger from his master, but he felt better. Master Hiko simply grunted and poured him a glass of sake. They sat in silence and drank.