Chapter Seventy-Three

In spite of Kaoru's refusal, their first stop out shopping had been to buy her a pair of gloves, a scarf, and something to cover her ears. Since she had failed to bring anything of the sort from the lab, Kenshin had easily determined that her current clothing would need to be updated before anything else. There was something Kenshin found intrinsically wrong about the cold. As a fire demon, it was expected that he had never liked it, but after spending the fifty years that he had inside the Arctic Lab, he found even the slightest drop in temperature nearly detestable. Consequently, seeing her suffer from being cold, even if she claimed she was fine, upset him. With her now bundled to her ears, he was satisfied enough that she would not suffer a single chill while they did the rest of their shopping.

Upon Kaoru's insistence, they stuck strictly to bargain sales for her clothing. Tomoe had purchased her plenty of clothes, apparently, and since all she needed was something to wear before Kenshin went back to collect her things, she really didn't want to spend more money than necessary. Once Kenshin realized that clothes for ladies was somehow more expensive than clothes for guys, he quickly stopped insisting that she could get anything that she wanted anyway. While he had every desire to spoil her, he realistically wasn't well-off enough for that yet.

After embarrassing himself in the underwear section, which had been the final step to the clothes shopping, he steered her into a large home goods store. Now that she was staying with him, he had realized that it might be a good idea to pick up something specific to combat the open layout of his apartment. While there, he also planned to pick her out a hairdryer. That way they could avoid having a similar experience to the last time that he had tried to dry her hair by hand. Smiling as he remembered the way her hair had fluffed out, he glanced to one side to look at her, but found her gone.

Frowning, Kenshin looked both ways and absently put back what he had picked up to peruse. Fear tightened his stomach when she wasn't immediately in sight, and he jogged up the aisle he was in while thinking of every horrible scenario that could have happened while he was distracted. Adjacent to his aisle, however, was an endcap of some type of bright and pre-packaged promotional item. Standing in front of that endcap was Kaoru, as well as the person being paid to promote the item in question. The way she bit her lip to hide her delight said she liked what was there, and the worker was excitedly doing their best to sell the item to her.

Letting out a huff of amusement, and allowing the tension to relax from his shoulders, Kenshin came closer to stand behind her.

"See something you like?"

She jumped, and let out a peep of shock, before twirling to face him.

"N-no. I just… thought it was cute. Did you get what you needed?" She changed the subject quickly, and he narrowed his eyes at her.

"I think so. We just need to pick out a hairdryer."

"Ok. Hairdryer then groceries then home! Right?"

She searched around for the right sign before marching off to the bath and beauty section with one fist raised in the air, like a child playing follow the leader. Her goofiness had come out in full force, and Kenshin wondered if it had anything to do with her now being free of the lab. A sad part of him wished he had followed his instincts and taken her away sooner. With her back turned, he glanced again at the endcap to really look at what had caught her attention. Something between a laugh and uncomfortable yet resigned acceptance shook his chest, and he double-checked the price before holding his basket out to the promoter so that they could secretly place the items Kaoru had obviously wanted within. The friendly silk demon grinned and winked at him, and he turned slightly red while thanking her politely.

With Kaoru distracted, he was able to purchase everything without her noticing, and then they headed to the grocery store. By that time, they were already carrying multiple packages. The addition of their groceries was nearly more than they could handle, but Kaoru's giggling at how silly they looked made it bearable. Luckily, his apartment wasn't far from where he usually did his grocery shopping, and they didn't have to lug everything on the train.

Stumbling through the front door to his apartment, he laughed with her, mostly because her giggles were infectious. Fighting to maneuver around the ridiculous amounts of bags, they kicked their shoes off and then carefully squeezed down the hallway. Luckily, or unluckily, she didn't trip until they were in the main living space, which allowed her more room to fall a little more gracefully. Full on laughing on the floor, she leaned into him when he shed himself of his bags and helped her sit up. Sighing, which tipped her mirth over the edge, he relaxed fully into a seated position next to her. She, however, took the opportunity to lean in for a happy kiss.

"Everything's fun when I'm with you."

The joyful declaration warmed his chest, and he smiled while helping to remove her arms from the multiple bag handles. Once free, she turned to face him, and her features glowed like a full bundle of helpful energy.

"Show me how you prefer the groceries be put away, and I'll do it for you next time."

His smile creased with uncertain amusement, but he willing stood to oblige her when she tugged on his arm.

"Don't worry, I did all the shopping and stuff for my mom. Since I can't cook, I had to make sure I was useful somehow."

Putting the food away was their top priority anyway, to make sure their cold stuffs didn't spoil in his warm apartment. Though she was a bit haphazard, she was eager to learn his preferences. After training her in the underground chamber at the lab, he knew she was a bit of a perfectionist when it came to anything that interested her. Cooking had apparently not been one of those things, and picking up after herself wasn't particularly high on her priority list, either. However, being with him seemed to be making up for her disinterest in household chores.

"I can do the laundry, too, that way you don't have to mess with the washer anymore. And since I'll be using the bath, I can clean it. I-I'll get better at cleaning up my messes, too, since I know you like things to be neat."

She said as much while they removed the tags from her new clothes and readied them to be washed. For a moment, their conversation felt slightly surreal to Kenshin. He had lived alone for hundreds of years now. Having someone else in his space, doing what he considered to be his chores, was a new and admittedly uncomfortable notion. It also somehow solidified that she was now going to be in his life full-time. Dropping his head to hide behind the curtain of his hair, he smiled down at the new shirt in his lap.

"What is this?!"

At the bottom of one bag sat the two promotional items he had purchased, and her shock at finding them disrupted his thoughts. Grinning at her reaction, but blushing awkwardly at what trying to please her had made him purchase, he closed his eyes to fake a harmless smile.

"You looked like you wanted them."

"I did, but… I didn't want you to spend any more money than you had to, and…"

Red lashes blinked open as he lifted one brow towards his left horn.

"And?"

Kaoru bit her lip hard to hide her laughter, and instead forced a pout.

"And I didn't think you'd wear them with me."

A long, suffering sigh left his lungs, and he overdramatized his resignation.

"If it will make you happy, Miss Kaoru, I will suffer through the humiliation. But you can never tell anyone, or they will disappear."

Nodding her head in mock seriousness, Kaoru finally snorted with laughter as she held up one of the matching, thermal pajama-sets. A pattern of red hearts covered the soft grey pajamas from top to bottom, and had been promoted as a set for couples to wear. Imaging Kenshin in one had tickled her amusement, but also a mushy part of her heart that wanted them to do more and more together. Being silly about it was simply her form of showing love. Luckily for her, Kenshin seemed to understand, and was even willing to tolerate it. Of course, his father had been goofy as well, so perhaps he was just used to it.

As the washer sloshed away, Kenshin picked up the last bag to head for the loft. When Kaoru looked at him curiously, he asked if she would mind giving him a hand. A wire clothesline was removed from the sack, and between the two of them, they stretched it across the windows that separated the loft from the upper portion of the main room. Directing her to hold it as close to the ceiling as possible, to make sure it wouldn't take their heads off when trying to go down the stairs, he pulled it tight and secured it with a hook to both walls.

"What's this for?"

"Privacy."

Handing her an extra sheet that he had, he stood on the bed to drape a second sheet over the clothesline. Copying him, she did the same with the one he had provided.

"We'll use these sheets for now, but later you can help me pick out some curtains." Helping her down off the bed, he smiled when she tilted her head at him, still confused. "This way you can change clothes without having to worry about being exposed to the lower room or the outside windows."

"Oh!" A blush darked her cheeks and neck, and she looked down. "Thank you." The expression of gratitude was meek, but her actions were more forward as she hugged him tight. "You're… really good to me."

"Of course." His return hug was gentle, and one hand touched the back of her head. "I did promise to take care of you." She didn't let go immediately, so he elaborated on the plans he had already decided on. "I have an empty drawer you can use for your clothes, for now. Once I've saved up some money, we'll find you a dresser. If you think of anything else, tell me. I may not be able to get it now, but I'll figure it out."

"Ok."

"I can't… promise you everything." The admission was upsetting, because he wanted to. He had also wanted them to be truthful with each other, though. That meant he had to be truthful as well. "But I can promise that you'll have what you need. My life is really simple, but I'll do what I can to make you happy."

"Idiot. I like simple." Loosening her hold on him so that there was enough space between them to look him in the eye, she smiled like someone that had just won the lottery. "Who says I wanted 'everything' anyway? There's only two things that I want." Her hand let him go to lift two fingers in the air. "For you to keep looking at me, and for you to keep loving me just like this." Her smile faltered, and she looked abruptly indecisive. "Well… I guess maybe I want three things." Bashfully holding up a third finger, she ducked. "Your cooking is sooo good."

The addition made him chuckle, and she grinned.

"Look at me, love me, and feed me, and I'll be the happiest girl in the world."

Light fingers touched her jawline, and the mirth in his violet irises melted into affection.

"Sounds easy enough."

Satisfaction both deepened and softened his voice at the same time, and the giddiness of her features slowly transitioned into a shy type of expectance. With the hanging sheets blocking the already muted winter sunlight, and the loft feeling cozy and private, the atmosphere that had settled around them hinted at intimacy. The type of intimacy that was suddenly overwhelming. Kaoru's bright sapphire eyes glowed within the dim lighting, and they studied him just a bit impatiently. Her limbs, however, also trembled innocently as a reminder of the origin of her hesitation.

"…I… know I'm not going to be as… as experienced as others you've been with."

Swallowing harshly, he leaned forward to press his lips over hers, and the action was purposefully clumsier than any kiss he had ever initiated before. She seemed taken aback at first, and her hands pushed against his chest as her muscle tensed uncertainly. Breaking away, but leaving his forehead pressed into the side of hers, he wrapped his hands gently around the back of her neck and skull.

"I… I've never been with anyone, either, Miss Kaoru." The confession was quiet, and he clenched his eyes shut when he felt her intake of breath. "Only you."

"R-really?!" Her arms came up around his neck, and his head pulled back when she hugged herself to him tight. "Then… I get to have all your firsts?" Her voice was a little giddy and breathless in his ear, and he had to hold her up when she briefly hung all of her weight from his shoulders in open delight.

"C-careful."

When she let go and took a step back, her expression was a mixture of embarrassment and earnesty.

"I-I would have been okay either way, because the past is the past, but… it did upset me a little to think I had to share this part of you." Her delight dampened sheepishly, and the hands holding onto his shirt pulled back to ball against her sternum. "I know it's selfish and it doesn't make sense, but… I still wanted to keep you all to myself."

This was not how he had expected her to react at all. Truthfully, Kenshin had begun to understand the trepidation that had led Kaoru to confess her own inexperience to him. That in turn had led him to worry that she would be disappointed when her first such time wouldn't be with someone who knew what they were doing. He sympathized with her current feelings on the matter, however. Somehow, the thought of sharing her with someone, even someone from a past that no longer mattered, twisted his heart and stomach.

"Now we can figure it out together."

A worried frown won dominance over his face, and he didn't fully share her excitement. Not because he would have wanted to be with anyone else, but because he felt responsible for making sure she was taken care of properly. The hands at her neck lifted to tangle in her hair, and he pulled her back closer.

"But… what if I hurt you?"

Affection softened her expression, and her skin blushed warm and pink.

"I trust you, Kenshin. I know you won't hurt me."

Her arms slid back around his neck, and their kiss was much more natural and warmer than the clumsy kiss his nerves had previously produced. Just like every other kiss they had shared up to that moment. Humbled and fiercely pleased by her spoken words of trust, he let go of his concerns to allow the moment to burn purely and organically like slow, all-consuming flames.

X

Yahiko lay on his back with one hand pushed up under his head to cushion his skull from the hard floor. After weeks of confinement, Yahiko's mind had begun to rail against the inactivity. Performing physical workouts only lasted so long, and still left him with most of the day to fill. Luckily, three weeks into his capture Yahiko had discovered something curious to occupy his time. Something that he had kept to himself.

Directly at the center of the building, up under the rafters, was the seal keeping him imprisoned. It was invisible to the naked eye, and extremely intricate. It was by pure coincidence that Yahiko had found it, and strange that he was able to see it at all. The seal not only locked him within the wide-open cell, but also suppressed his sky demon powers completely. Or so he had thought. In order to see the seal at all, he had to be using some of his power. It was only a minute amount, but that didn't matter. If he could use it at all, then that meant he had more options than he had first believed.

Weeks of studying the seal had led him to discover that most of its strength was linked to spatial manipulation. Spatial powers were high-tier, and confirmed that the seal had been created and was maintained by the Sky Emperor. Since Yahiko was able to access some of his power, though it wasn't enough to do much with, he had begun to wonder if the Emperor was distracted. It didn't seem likely, but any weakness was something to be exploited, especially in his current situation. Testing the perimeters of the seal had resulted in nothing, unfortunately, but every morning Yahiko tried anyway. In the afternoons, he studied the seal for different purposes.

That old man was the strongest demon in Neo-Japan. Yahiko hated to admit it, but facts were facts. He didn't have to like that they were related, or like that the Emperor was powerful. Liking the example had nothing to do with learning from him. Just from studying the different properties of the seal, Yahiko had learned plenty. It was frustrating that he couldn't put what he was learning to practice, but he tried to at least flex his suppressed powers in the manner necessary to keep his reflexes in shape. It hurt, because of the seal, but he had begun to tolerate the pain without noticing.

Lifting his free hand into the air, he traced out a portion of the seal with his index finger. The spatial manipulation was by far the hardest to grasp. It didn't make sense to him, as it had less to do with manipulating physical space and more to do with manipulating a space Yahiko didn't understand. Yahiko had tried reasoning through all types of unrealistic ideas that he had heard in movies, such as it using a parallel dimension or even just pure speed. Halfway playing around with direct imaging, he twisted the design he was creating with his finger, and suddenly found himself floating on the other side of the cell directly under the roof.

Gravity kicked in fast, and he didn't have time to be surprised as his head slammed into one of the wooden beams. Hitting the floor hard, he struggled to catch his breath while staring cross-eyed up at the guard that had turned to see what was going on. The stern looking sand demon glowered down at him, and told him off for goofing around. Giving him a thumbs up, because he couldn't speak just yet, he let out a strained breath and relaxed limply into the wood.

What the hell was that?!

One second, he had been lying on his back at the center of the structure, and the next second, he had been in the ceiling directly next to the outer barrier.

Grinning slowly, he decided he'd better try that again.

By dinnertime, he had exhausted himself by forcing the use of his powers and dodging the eyes of his guard. Still pleased by what he had learned, Yahiko grinned at Yuna when she brought him his supper. She returned his smile politely, if not a bit confused, and folded both hands up into her opposite sleeves. A small sheet of paper and a pen was withdrawn and placed on the floor before her knees. His dark eyes glanced at it then up at her face, and his expression turned serious.

"I will retrieve this when I bring your morning meal tomorrow."

The words were soft and low, and he nodded silently to confirm he had heard her.

"The Emperor is moving forward with his plans earlier than we expected. We don't know why yet, but something must have happened."

He nodded again, and glanced at the sand demon now dozing against the pillar. The sand demon was known to be laxer than the other guards, and his gambling no doubt did cut into his sleep schedule. However, it was pretty strange that he seemed to sleep a lot harder whenever Yuna showed up. Suspicious, he jerked his head.

"You do that, don't you?"

Yuna's lightly brown eyes widened slightly in innocence.

"I don't know what you mean."

But her lips twitched softly, and, for the first time, Yahiko thought that she really was his sister.

X

A/N: A shorter chapter, but things are really going to start happening from here on out. I'm hoping I have some more time to spend on writing, for now, so I should be a bit more regular with my posting for a couple of weeks at least. Moving is going to be another headache and a half, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. Hopefully it won't take too much away from my writing. This really was just a soft and mushy chapter for Kenshin and Kaoru to enjoy a day together without any interference from the plot, lol. Their silly, innocent love in this story makes me so very happy. Yahiko's development was a lot of fun to come up with, though, so I was very pleased with that. I hope everyone continues to love this marathon of a story. I really do appreciate your wonderful reviews and words of encouragement! Please continue to be your beautiful selves! Next chapter, Yuna ventures outside of the palace.