Chapter Seventeen

"She's definitely a hugger." Kenshin chuckled in the quiet room that was left in the wake of Kaoru's departure. "I forgot how unexpected her actions can be."

Violet eyes focused on Tomoe who was still standing next to the door to the rec room. Briefly her perfect features were tarnished by an expression he couldn't quite interpret, but the creases between her brows and around the outside of her eyes smoothed away as her chin lifted. Her hands folded in front of her, and her quiet voice avoided his assumption.

"She is energetic, and very happy that you have returned."

Despite her normally gentle voice and calm demeanor, Kenshin felt strangely uneasy. While he had never felt completely comfortable around her, her presence had always induced a certain level of tranquility. This was not the same. Even Enishi's normal hostility had upped a notch since their last encounter, and Kaoru had appeared upset by something. Coming to the only conclusion he could imagine, Kenshin spoke up with a frown.

"Has something happened to Kaoru that I wasn't told about?"

This time the tinge of sorrow in the aversion of her gaze was apparent, but it disappeared with a slight swallow. "No, Himura-san. Besides our lack of progress in removing the seal on her tongue, nothing has happened. Although," her dark eyes glanced into the rec room, "we did find the couch had been pushed up against the door this morning, but I assume she must have been uneasy sleeping alone last night. She'll be much more comfortable with you here now."

She did seem a little frightened last night when she messaged me. Maybe it was relief and not anxiety she was fighting just now?

"Ok, then have I done something? Enishi looked even less happy to see me than normal."

"You have done nothing wrong. I will speak with him later." Small steps brought her towards him, and she stopped when they were shoulder to shoulder. "It's nice to see you again, Himura-san."

"Oh… uh… yeah." The awkward reply was strongly recognizable, and a part of him felt guilty for an unexplainable reason. Tomoe's head turned away from him as she continued her progression towards the outer door.

"Would you like to see what Kaoru has been working on? We thought showing you might be easier than telling you."

Jumping on the change in topic, Kenshin agreed readily and followed her out.

They journeyed to another floor and entered a small exercise room that was empty. Recognizable clacking noises could be heard coming from a separate room in the back, and Kenshin trailed behind Tomoe as she led him there. Once inside the door, he was surprised to see that his assumption about what the noise was had been correct. Enishi and Kaoru were both holding wooden practice swords, and were sparring quite intensely. After the initial shock dissipated, and his violet eyes relaxed, he studied Kaoru's moves carefully.

"Her form is excellent." The astonished statement was involuntary, and he crossed his arms as he continued to watch. "Enishi has done a good job teaching her."

This explains the formation of her lean muscle. Working out alone doesn't strengthen your full body the way sparring does.

"Actually… Enishi said she had perfect form from the start." Kenshin glanced over at her, and she smiled softly. "It seems as though Kaoru already knew swordplay. We were hoping she might remember something if she practiced it daily, but so far all it has done is sharpen her skill. She enjoys it, as well."

"I see."

"We've been trying to figure out if there is a specific style we can attribute her moves to, but Enishi has been unable to pin it down. Of course, he isn't proficient by any means, but we had hoped that if we could identify the style of swordplay she was taught, we might be able to learn who she is. Whoever taught her should know if she has any family, or at least where she comes from. I believe you said you practiced at one time. Do you happen to recognize her style, by chance?"

"I don't." Kenshin had made it a habit to downplay his knowledge and skill with a sword, and now only Hiko knew his proficiency with one.

To Kenshin, her sword style seemed unusually foreign. Most styles were rooted in the same basic principle, but it actually looked like there was something missing in her style that he couldn't put a name to. It was most definitely fierce even if it was lacking in power, and precise despite what appeared to be wasted movement. Removing his shoes, Kenshin stepped all the way into the room when the two finally paused.

"Do you mind if I give it a try for a minute?" Smiling harmlessly in the face of Enishi's frown, he accepted the reluctantly relinquished wooden sword and squared off with Kaoru. She blinked at him curiously, but raised the tip of her own practice sword when he readied himself.

"After you, Miss Kaoru."

Letting her lead him, he waited until she had relaxed back into a focused mindset, and then purposefully allowed an opening for her to attack. Without delay, she went for the hit, and he moved as if to parry to give the illusion of defending himself. At the last second, however, he stopped short so that her attack would land. Stinging pain shot up his shoulder, but his lack of defense had shocked her enough to relax her muscles. The result meant that there was not as much strength behind her sword as there should have been.

Blue eyes were dampened by worry, but he laughed it off and suggested they continue. A few minutes later, he baited her again, and took a second hit to his thigh. A third burgeoning bruise was later earned on his left elbow, and he switched to using his right hand only. The distress on Kaoru's features only continued to heighten, and each hit was lighter than the last. By his fifth such diversion, Kaoru had had enough and his red brows lifted as she threw her wooden sword to the floor and stomped her foot in frustration. It was more than apparent she had caught on to the fact that he was allowing her to hit him on purpose. Enishi started laughing from the sidelines, but earned himself a scowl from the already irritated young woman.

"It's alright, that's enough." His hand reached for Kaoru's forearm, and she wrenched it out of his grip reflexively. Sharp blue eyes shot to him and scorched him like a blowtorch, before she remembered herself and relaxed the expression into an upset frown.

"I'm sorry, Miss Kaoru." His rejected hand touched her shoulder instead. "I wanted to see if I was correct about this style you use, but I needed you to react instinctively. You did nothing wrong, and I promise I'm fine." A light chuckle escaped him, and his hand lifted completely to flatten over the crown of her head. "I've gotten used to getting beat up over this last year."

"Are you trying to say you only learn from pain now, Himura? 'Cause if that's the case, why don't you spar with me next time?"

Whatever he thinks I did really seems to have pissed him off.

Deciding to ignore the offer, Kenshin bent to retrieve Kaoru's practice sword from the floor. "I merely wanted to test the target of your strikes."

Kaoru appeared thoughtful and skeptical at the same time as her eyes darted to and then away from him.

"Do you realize you're only targeting limbs and joints, or is that how you naturally move through the style?"

The frustration completely wiped from her face, and she blinked.

"Did you not realize that's what you were doing?"

A shake of her head confirmed. Kenshin smiled.

"This style you were taught is a non-killing technique. Your attacks are meant only to disable your opponent. Honestly speaking, you wouldn't even need a real katana to utilize it. Your practice sword would serve just as well… except you probably shouldn't pull back just before your attack lands."

She smiled sheepishly, but a deep inhaled breath spoke of happiness. Turning to Enishi, her hands moved excitedly, and Kenshin turned his head curiously to the stone golem for translation. Enishi's head nodded in understanding, and a rare genuine smile jerked at his lips.

"She said she's glad, because she has no desire to ever kill anyone."

"And so you should never have to." His smile warmed, but his eyes flickered over the braided hair charm he had given her. I will make sure of it.

"Then you recognize the style she uses, Himura-san?" Tomoe called out from the doorway, and they turned to include her in the conversation.

"Not the specific style. I remember my father talking to me once about a non-killing technique he had heard of, but it's been so long I've forgotten much of the conversation we had about it. I know it's not typical, at least. Hiko-sama might know, but I'll have to write him a letter. That old man doesn't own a phone."

X

"I really am sorry, Miss Kaoru." Seated cross-legged on the floor, he tried hard not to smile at the permanent pout that had taken over her face. She was not happy about his deception during their sparring bought, or the bruises he had earned from her sword as a result. Currently rubbing ointment on his shoulder, she offered him a side-glare in response to his apology. When she moved to his elbow, her fingers brushed against a faded bruise on his forearm.

"Ah, don't worry, that one wasn't you."

The frown on her face convulsed, this time with more concern, but she proceeded to smear the ointment on both the new and old bruise for good measure.

They were finally alone in the lab after a few hours of catching up with the others. Take-out had been ordered for their supper, and Tomoe had all but dragged Enishi away afterwards. When Kaoru had finished with her bath, she had insisted on treating his wounds. It felt strangely the same as when the komainu would bandage him up after training, which made him smile.

A tap on his arm focused his wandering attention, and he found Kaoru had finished with her first aid administrations. In quick succession, her hands flashed a few signs at him, and his brows drew together almost guiltily.

"I'm sorry, Miss Kaoru. I don't know what that means." One side of her mouth jerked, and he hurried on. "You'll have to teach me, if that's alright."

The smile that lit her face was eager, and he knew his reaction had been the correct one as she nodded. A thought suddenly occurred to her, and she walked herself a few steps to one side on all fours to reach for her phone on the desk. Shortly thereafter, his own phone dinged with a message.

"What was the master like?"

Kenshin laughed. "Like a grumpy old hermit, but he's fair and strong. Maybe even stronger than my dad."

Interest immediately brightened her features, and her thumbs flew across the screen of her phone.

"What's your dad like? Can I meet him?"

Sorrow tarnished his smile, and it took him a bit longer to look back up at her after reading the message. It wasn't her fault that she didn't know, since it was not something they had ever talked about before.

"No. He… passed away a long time ago." One of her hands wrapped around his wrist, and when his gaze lifted the deep blue of her eyes were as saturated as a gas-fueled flame. "I think he would have liked you, though. He enjoyed life in much the same way that you do; all in and with open arms."

Her teeth chewed her bottom lip, and then her gaze dropped back to the device in her hands.

"Did he look like you?"

"A little bit."

She responded with only a grin, and then changed the topic.

"Did you get any stronger?"

"Ah, I thought you would never ask. Would you like a demonstration?" He winked, and she nodded impatiently. "Alright, stay right there."

Pushing himself to his feet, Kenshin flipped off the lights to the rec room and threw them into a muted darkness. Waiting for his eyes to adjust, he knelt back down in front of her and held out both of his hands for her to take.

"Now lay down on your back." Her brow lifted at him curiously, but she didn't hesitate to follow his command. With her situated in the middle of the room, Kenshin carefully laid down opposite her so that his head was next to hers but his feet were pointed in the opposite direction.

"Ready?" The sound of her hair scraping against the floor agreed. Rubbing his palms together to create friction, he lifted his flattened hands to his lips and blew air between his thumbs and into the crevice his hands created. The force of the hot air whooshed out the other side, and with it, thousands of tiny red sparks burst towards the ceiling. A gasp rushed into her mouth as the sparks faded in color to a soft yellow and turned to pinhole lights that spread out to cover the entire room. They then hung suspended above them like a multitude of faraway stars.

"This is what the sky looked like up on the mountain." Letting his voice lower to a whisper, he stared up at the condensed specs of fire. "I worked on it every day to make sure it was perfect… so I could share it with you." Swallowing, Kenshin rambled on. "The flames are harmless. They don't even create heat. Just light. The fluctuation in the air even makes them look like they twinkle. If we were in the forest, they might look like fireflies dancing."

Out of the corner of his eye he caught her looking not up but over at him. Turning his chin to meet her gaze, the gentle glow of her blue irises seemed to swell with suppressed joy. Simply because he was looking at her. For several long seconds she did nothing but stare, and then her head turned back towards the ceiling and she smiled at the beautiful gift.

They both seemed content to lay there in the dark and quiet under the fake sky he had created. After a while, her hand reached up between their ears in search of his, and without thought, he did the same. As if they both needed the contact to confirm they were indeed there together. Calloused fingers curled around her smaller structure of bones, and then her temple tilted into his knuckles comfortably.

It wasn't until a yawn overtook him several minutes later that he glanced over again, and found that exhaustion had already claimed his companion. Warmth spread down his chest, and he lifted his free hand palm up to collect the specs of light and meld them back into his own fire. Gently, so as not to wake her, Kenshin hefted her into his arms and carried her to her room. For a single moment before he released her onto the cot, he didn't want to let go, and he realized that she was not the only one who had been lonely during their separation. Frowning at himself, he tucked her into the bedclothes, and was about to turn away when something else captured his attention.

On a small table next to her was the coiled length of braid she had removed before bathing. Remembering he had meant to ask her for it earlier, his hand reached for it and hefted it between the grip of his fingers. Almost instantly something deep within it fought him, and his red brows shot up in surprise. Responding in kind, Kenshin pushed steadily back with his powers to make sure the charm recognized him as the source of its creation. It gave in, though reluctantly, and he frowned at it curiously before leaving the room.

You already prefer her to me? I'd say traitor, but… that is what I wanted from you.

Chuckling under his breath, Kenshin seated himself once again cross-legged on the floor of the rec room, and wrapped the length of braided hair around his fingers. Now that he had better control over his own flame and he had strengthened it considerably under Hiko's tutelage, it was time to set the protective spell in the manner it was meant to be set in to begin with. When he was finished, the charm would be much stronger and even better able to keep Kaoru safe on its own. Not that he believed she would ever need it, since he had no plans to abandon her going forward.

X

"Come in and have some tea with me." Tomoe's gentle voice may have sounded normal to anyone else, but as her younger brother, Enishi could tell that she was not offering him a choice. Frowning, he followed her up to her apartment. Without a mother, Tomoe had practically raised him, which gave him an unfortunate viewpoint and understanding of his sister that no one else had. It was also the very reason he was overly protective of her.

Staring at her back as she unlocked her door, he wondered bitterly, for what was not the first time, why his sister's life had to be so lonely. From a young age, his sister had represented to him what the perfect lady was: poised; graceful; soft-spoken; intelligent; beautiful; and respectful, to name a few. Others had thought they could overpower her soft voice with their own, but she was not easily cowed, either. Her very presence demanded respect from those who knew her, and those that did not know her were entranced by her beauty. If she had a flaw, it was that she insisted on putting everyone else before herself.

"Sit. I'll only be a moment." Her hand gestured gracefully at the small table in the middle of the room, before she deposited her things in her bedroom and returned to the kitchen to make tea. A few minutes later, and she returned with a tray, her good tea pot, and two small cups.

"What did I do?" His deep voice broke the tension in the air as she patiently sipped at her tea. Carefully her hands settled the teacup back onto the table in front of her, and she folded her hands into her lap before replying.

"I would ask that you be nicer to Himura-san. He has done nothing to earn your scorn, and you were quite rude to him this afternoon."

Snorting, Enishi turned his head to one side and sipped his own tea. "What, did he cry to you about it?"

"No, I was there, Enishi. He was only concerned that he had done something to upset you."

"Maybe he did." The statement was scathing, but he kept his eyes averted.

A slight crease formed between her brows. "What do you mean? He only just got back after being away for a year."

"And the first thing he did was upset you." The words were heated and rough like course steel. "I can't be mad about it? Am I not your family?"

"I-I wasn't upset. You're mistaken."

"Am I?" Folding his arms onto the table and leaning forward, Enishi's frown turned to a glower. "Am I?" He asked again, and her dark eyes lowered.

"You are." But her voice wavered, and something vile turned over in his stomach.

"I guess I missed it then. The moment he greeted you as happily as he greeted Kaoru." Laughing cynically, Enishi pushed himself away from the table so that he was seated upright once more. "I mean, it's not like he'd be dead now if it wasn't for all the times you looked after him. It's not like you wasted about a hundred and fifty years of your life putting him back together or anything. You don't think I haven't noticed that you can hardly use your powers anymore?!"

The coal demon's chin dipped toward her sternum at the mention of her powers, but Enishi continued on without pause.

"The least he could manage is a 'thank you', or maybe a 'it's nice to see you' after all this time. He full on ignored you for her. You can't look me in the eye and tell me that you aren't upset about that. By how he treats her. In front of you!"

She swallowed, but her eyes finally lifted, and they were as cool and calm as always. "I can, because I know it's different. Our relationship has always been complicated, but he has always treated me like an equal. Kaoru is young and fragile. It's only natural to pamper her more, especially after everything she's gone through. If anything, her presence has brought us closer together. Like a child might."

"A child?!" His voice was getting louder with incredulity, but he ignored the inconvenience they were probably causing for the neighbors. "Is that what you've been thinking all this time?! Dammit, sis! Are you really this naïve?!"

"Don't take your anger out on me, Enishi." Tomoe's voice finally took on a hint of sharpness. "If you're mad at him, let it be for your own reasons. You've spent just as much time with Kaoru as I have this last year. Perhaps you should look in the mirror before you start reflecting your jealousy onto me."

For several long seconds they glared at one another, but only Enishi's chest heaved with suppressed anger.

"Fine. You're right. I didn't like the way she threw herself at him, but at least I understood from the beginning that I had no chance." Standing up, Enishi's deep voice dropped to a growl. "And truthfully, I'm not even mad at him. I'm mad at you."

Tomoe's chin stayed level, but her eyes no longer looked at him.

"Stop putting yourself last. You deserve better." She refused to respond anymore, and the tension in the air threatened to choke him. Sensing that they both needed space, Enishi sighed.

"I'm going home. I'll call you tomorrow."

Heading for the door, he stopped with his hand on the knob.

"For the record, he doesn't see her as a child."

X

A/N: I'm so happy to have Kenshin and Kaoru back together again. It seems to make writing easier when I get to write their interactions, probably because it's what I look forward to the most. I did enjoy getting to write a bit more of a serious conversation between Enishi and Tomoe. Families don't really mince words, or at least mine never has, lol. But it keeps us close, and I've always liked that we can be so honest with each other without getting irreparably pissed off. XD Family love is just as important, if not more important, than romantic love. Since romantic love usually turns into family love.

There are so many other things I'm looking forward to in this story, though, and it's getting hard to contain myself. I hope you'll all continue to stick around with me on this journey, and that it will continue to entertain you. Most of all, I hope it will fill you with warm fuzzies and chill excitement! Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews. I am humbled this story is important (even if for just a brief moment) to anyone. Not to sound repetitive, but please remember you are all loved! Up next… Kenshin finds a job, and Sojiro reveals a secret?