Kabuki

A/N: Chapter 4. Only 2 months later than I planned. Oh, well. On with the story.

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Chapter 4




Earlier that day…



Kenshin had watched Kaoru walk down the road until she disappeared from view, then walked back to the inn he’d been staying at. He was going to meet Yamagata once more before he headed out of town. His old friend had a favor to ask of him.



As afternoon set in, Yamagata finally arrived, his presence causing a stir among the locals. Kenshin sighed; his preference for anonymity was something he had not lost since his years as a hitokiri. Yamagata didn’t seem to understand that part and much to Kenshin’s dismay, did everything in a showy fashion.



“I trust you haven’t reconsidered my proposal?” Yamagata commented as he approached Kenshin, who was sitting on the engawa that faced the front entryway of the inn.



“The answer is still no,” Kenshin confirmed. “I have no desire to take a position in the government.”



“The sword is useless in this era,” Yamagata argued. “This is an era where the real power is the government.”



“I suppose that is why Miss Kaoru was attacked last night,” Kenshin said, earning a confused look from Yamagata. “Nevermind. Nothing has changed about me since the war, Yamagata. Only that the hitokiri has become a rurouni.”



Yamagata sighed. “I had to try, one last time.”



“I know,” Kenshin said, rising. “Now, what was the favor you wanted of me?”



Yamagata took his place sitting down. “It has been brought to my attention of a…man in Kyoto that…needs to be dealt with.”



“Yamagata—” Kenshin started, but Yamagata raised a hand.



“I do not mean to have you kill him,” Yamagata explained. “He just needs to be…obtained. I have men in place in Kyoto, but they are continuously being killed. This man is a formidable swordsman and I think that it will take another of the same caliber to bring him in successfully.”



“So,” Kenshin summarized, “This man is a former hitokiri.”



“No,” Yamagata sighed. “This man is still a hitokiri. Just because the war ended and the government did not need him anymore did mean he stopped killing.”



“And just what does the Meiji government want with such a man?” Kenshin inquired. Yamagata did not meet his gaze.



“If you do not stop him, no one will,” Yamagata stated, ignoring the question. “He is more than just a menace who kills my men to pass the time. When my men are not around to entertain him, he goes after innocent people. He has a particular liking to young women, I’m told.”



Kenshin’s breath caught for a moment. Hadn’t he just sent Kaoru…?



“Where will I find this man?” Kenshin asked, the knots in his stomach growing. He had never wished to become a hitokiri when he enlisted to fight in the war, but if killing the hundreds of men he’d faced was what was needed to end it, then so be it.



He’d spent most of the years after the war wandering, looking for redemption for the hundreds of lives taken, but never finding an answer. Not since that little farm outside of Kyoto had he ever wanted to stay in one place. And how he’d messed that up…



“If you travel to Kyoto, I’m sure he’ll find you,” Yamagata said, bringing Kenshin out of his thoughts. “I have someone in place there right now that will be able to help you. He runs an inn across from a restaurant called the Shirobeko.”



“The Shirobeko?” Kenshin repeated.



“You know of it?” Yamagata asked. “Good. He will be there for no more than three days to wait for you. That’s his only window of opportunity.”



“Then I should be on my way,” Kenshin decided, pulling his small satchel over his shoulder.



“I could arrange for a carriage to take you,” Yamagata tried, but Kenshin shook his head.



“I would prefer to walk,” he called over his shoulder as he set out towards the city limits. “The scenery on the way is beautiful this time of year.”



Kenshin had not looked back, knowing that Yamagata was frustrated with him and would just pester him more. He’d wondered if he would meet up with Kaoru in the first town on the way, smiling at the thought of her. Maybe if he walked the night through…



Hours later, he’d regretted that decision when the rain began to pour and considered himself lucky that his satchel was waterproof. He knew he’d catch a fierce cold if he didn’t find shelter soon, but knew that the first town was still hours away. He remembered a small thicket of abandoned homes down one of the side roads that would probably be sufficient to stay the night in.



Kenshin could not remember how far off the side road was and wondered if he would miss it in the dark since the road was so little traveled. There was no one out to ask due to the inclement weather, so he trudged forth, hoping that a fever would not catch him.



He was thoroughly surprised to come across a man on horseback a few miles down the road. The horseman seemed to be searching for something, looking off into the foliage on either side of the road. He finally seemed to take notice of Kenshin, and pulled his horse to a stop.



“You ain’t seen a girl come down this way, have ya?” he asked, squinting down at him.



“No,” Kenshin replied, curious. “I haven’t seen anyone for hours. I suppose the rain is to blame.”



“Yeah,” the horseman said, not really paying attention to Kenshin’s weak attempt at conversation. “If you see one and she asks you for help, don’t do it.”



“Why not?” Kenshin asked skeptically. There was something about this man that did not sit right with him.



“Because she’s a dirty rotten little thief,” the horseman growled, getting annoyed. “She’ll distract ya, then rob ya.”



“I’ll keep that in mind,” Kenshin told him as he continued on his way. He felt the horseman watch him for a while before continuing on, and Kenshin knew something was going on.



There was another horse up ahead, but no rider. Off to his right, he heard the slight rustling of leaves. He acted as though he’d not heard anything, but he knew someone was hiding in the woods. He decided to double back and check things out once he was out of sight.



Once he’d passed the horse, he tied his satchel at his waist and ducked into the woods, heading stealthily through the trees back in the direction from which he’d just came. There was definitely someone ahead, probably two people. He could hear one of them speaking, and the closer he got, the less he liked what was being said.



“…But I suppose that if I push hard enough, it will break skin…”



Kenshin placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, preparing to draw as he snuck up behind the grungy looking man that had been talking. He must have heard Kenshin approaching, because he paused and looked back, spotting him instantly.



Whomever he’d been threatening took off the moment the grungy man turned his attention towards Kenshin. The grungy man took one look at the sword and swung around with a very old looking sword. Kenshin dodged the swing easily, noticing that the blade was very dull.



Alarm struck Kenshin when he remembered seeing such a sword earlier that day and he turned around to send the man to the ground with one swipe of his sword. The man was down before he even felt the blow, and would not be getting up again for quite a few hours.



Kenshin resheathed his sword and picked up the dull one, hurrying out of the woods to the road just in time to see the horseman fly past him in hot pursuit of a young woman. Recalling his first instincts regarding the horseman, Kenshin chose to follow him and make sure he didn’t do anything he’d regret later. He had to jog to catch up to them, and again, he did not like what he heard as he approached.



“…I’m gonna gut you like a fish…”



The horseman pulled his arm back preparing to stab, but Kenshin caught his arm. He twisted it backwards until the dagger was dropped and Kenshin raised the dull sword up. He cracked down against the back of the horseman’s head with the hilt, knocking him unconscious.



The horseman fell to the ground with a grunt, splashing Kenshin with mud, but he didn’t notice. He was staring at the girl that was still fleeing, though she was terribly shaken and would not get far. Kenshin squinted through the rain and caught glimpse of little pink sakura blossoms on the fabric of the mud covered kimono.



“Miss Kaoru!” he called out to her.



She appeared to not hear him, still trying to run away despite her distressed state. He jogged after her and caught up easily, his satchel bouncing against his thigh. He reached out and clasped his hands over her arms before she fell, but she struggled against his grip.



“Miss Kaoru?” he tried again and this time she heard him.



She stopped struggling and turned to look at him, her eyes wide and bloodshot. “Kenshin?”



“What—what are you doing out here?” he asked somewhat breathlessly. Kaoru just stared at him, her eyes beginning to well with tears. Her eyes strayed behind him at the man lying in the road and began to sob.



“Kaoru,” he said again, placing a hand on her cheek and turning her gaze toward him again. “Are you alright?”



A single tear let loose from her eyes as her bottom lip began to quiver. Her hands gathered fists of fabric on his gi and she pulled herself towards him, burying her face into his chest as she broke down. Slowly, his arms wrapped around her shaking figure, half supporting her as her legs began to wobble.



“I had a bad day,” she cried into his chest and Kenshin smiled at the childlike whine in the statement, in spite of the situation.



“Let’s get out of the rain,” he whispered as he coaxed her legs into walking again and handed her the old sword. He led Kaoru down the road to the juncture that led to the small gathering of houses. Her sobs subsided as they reached the houses and Kenshin spotted a fire going in the nearest one.



“We’ll stay here tonight,” he told her, leading her into the shack. He was a little surprised to see the remnants of the care package on the floor near the fire.



“You’ve already been here tonight, haven’t you?” he asked even though he already knew the answer. She nodded and rubbed her arms through the soaked kimono. Kenshin untied the satchel from his waist, opened it and pulled out a one-person-blanket.



“Here, use this,” he said as he draped it over her shoulders. “I’ll go get some more wood.”



Kenshin left her to go next door to see if there was any dry wood kept in the old shack. If nothing else, he could start breaking apart the walls and use them as fuel for the fire. He didn’t find any wood but did find a half-decent looking blanket. The house across the road had a few pieces of wood, but not enough to last through the night.



When he returned, he saw Kaoru sitting close to the fire wrapped in the blanket. Her clothes were dangling from her swords, which she’d jammed into the wall so they’d hang. Kenshin smiled at her innovation, understanding her wish to get out of the wet clothes.



“No wonder your blades are dull,” Kenshin commented, leaning his sword against the wall.



He shook out the blanket he’d found, sending up a cloud of dust around him. It had a weird smell to it, but Kenshin was too cold to care about that as he stripped away his gi and inner layers. He wrapped his own blanket and sat across the fire from her. He let a few minutes of silence float between him before his curiosity got the better of him.



“So, what happened to you since you left Tokyo?” he asked. She did not meet his gaze, more intent on examining a pile of dust on the floor. “Did you get lost?”



“I stepped off the road, okay?” Kaoru snapped, though she didn’t mean to. “It was just so hot, and I could hear the river, and then there was the bear…”



Kenshin had been trying not to laugh as she rambled on, but his attention was caught at the mention of the bear. “You were attacked by a bear?”



“Kind of. More of it attacked my belongings,” Kaoru muttered as she gestured to what was left of Dr. Gensai’s gift. “So I had to wash my clothes to get the bear smell off of it and I didn’t want to go walking down the road half naked.”



Kenshin was again trying not to laugh, but his shoulders shook in spite of himself. Kaoru noticed this and gave him a dark look.



“I don’t see what’s so funny,” she huffed, crossing her arms.



“You don’t?” Kenshin half laughed, and finally managed to entice a smile to her face.



“Well, maybe if it had happened to anyone but me,” she said, fighting her own urge to laugh at herself. When Kenshin burst out laughing Kaoru could contain herself no more, and laughed until her sides hurt.



Once her giggles had subsided, she stretched out over the dirty floor once again as she yawned. It had been a long night for her, but with Kenshin with her, it all seemed to melt away. She was asleep in no time but again, it wasn’t for long. She woke up when a cold wind nearly blew the blanket off of her.



The rain hadn’t let up yet it seemed, and it had driven the temperature down quite a bit. The fire had also begun to die out, and Kaoru saw no wood to rekindle it. Her eyes rested on Kenshin, who was resting peacefully despite the cold and uncomfortable floor. If her clothes weren’t still hanging to dry, maybe she’d…



Another gush of wind, this one colder than the first, had her gathering the blanket around her and crawling over towards Kenshin. He woke at the sound of her movements, blinking rapidly in attempt to rid himself of the sluggishness of sleep.



“What’s wrong?” he asked, sitting up.



“I’m cold!” she whispered, sitting next to him.



He smiled at her and laid down again, watching her do the same. He scooted up next to her as close as he thought decent and watched her fall asleep again. He knew that there was only a few hours until dawn and all hope of sleep would be lost, and they had a long walk ahead of them still. At least now they could take the short route to Kyoto.



The rain was gone and the sun had just risen over the horizon when Kaoru woke again, hearing a voice whispering in her ear. She saw that the fire had died out completely, but she was strangely very warm. When an arm tightened around her waist she became instantly aware of why.



Kenshin had pulled her tight against his chest in the course of sleeping. She half smiled, feeling him cover her hand in his and lace his fingers with hers. Strangely, she didn’t feel all that apprehensive in the arms of this man. He had the gentleness in his touch that instantly put her at ease.



“Tomoe…”



Kaoru’s smile went away when he whispered that. She’d heard him call that name before in his sleep, but this time it sounded peaceful, not pained. Kaoru briefly wondered who that person was, until she felt something press against the back of her neck.



At first his lips just brushed against the nape of her neck, then a soft kiss was placed there. The sensation sent a shiver down her spine and Kaoru’s breath quickened slightly. The arm around her waist began to slowly travel upwards and as Kaoru’s breath quickened she decided that it was time to stop.



She dislodged her hand from his and pulled away, clutching the blanket as she crawled out of his arms and over to where her kimono hung. She turned around to see if he was watching her, but found that he was still asleep so she took that moment to put her clothes back on. She was messing with her obi when she heard movement behind her, and turned to see that Kenshin had woken up.



“Good morning,” she greeted cheerfully.



“Morning,” he replied quietly. “You’re up early.”



At that moment, her stomach growled. “I didn’t get to eat anything last night.”



“I see,” he said, standing up and walking over to his own clothes. “There used to be gardens here when this place was populated. There might not be much out there, but if you want to check, they were over there.”



He pointed out behind the shack, and she followed his instruction. She found mostly overgrowth there, but just when she was about to give up, she spotted some color amongst the lavish greenery. There were a few berries and a small melon that had not been scavenged by the animals yet, and Kaoru gathered the meager findings while popping a piece of fruit in her mouth as she went.



“Did you find something?” Kenshin inquired as he emerged from the shack. Kaoru showed him her findings, and they had a small breakfast before they started on their way again. Kaoru was surprised when they began heading along a new route.



“Kenshin, where are we going?” she asked as she tied her swords at her side. She’d decided to leave her other things behind since they were pretty much useless to her now and just a burden to carry. The humidity in the air also promised a long and hot day walking, and by the looks of it, they were taking the back roads.



“To Kyoto,” he replied. “This route is quicker than the one I originally sent you on. The only reason I didn’t send you this way is because it is easy to lose your way if you don’t know where you are going.”



“Kenshin,” Kaoru said, stopping. Kenshin stopped as well and turned to look at her. “You don’t have to take me to Kyoto.”



He smiled at her, walked over and took her hand. “I know. But I am going to.”



Kaoru smiled back and they began walking again. The morning seemed to fly by while they walked together, sharing small conversation every now and then, but mostly just enjoying each other’s company for the time being. It seemed that they had barely begun their journey, but it was almost midday when they came upon a town.



“I didn’t think we’d make it to a town anytime before evening,” Kaoru commented as they stopped at the edge of the community. “The first one on the map looked to be at least half way to Kyoto.”



“Actually, we have made it to the second town on the map,” Kenshin informed her, taking his sword from his waist. He opened his satchel and pulled out the blanket, unfolding it on the ground. He laid his sword in the middle of it and turned to her. “Give me your swords.”



“What for?” she inquired, but did as he said anyway.



“I know from personal experience that this town has little tolerance for swords,” Kenshin enlightened. “Best to keep them out of sight while we are out and about during the day. The same goes for Kyoto.”



“When will we get there?” she queried as he rolled the blanket and lifted it over and rested it on his shoulders.



“We should be in Kyoto tomorrow afternoon,” he told her as they began walking into the small town.



“That quickly?” Kaoru asked as she fought the crowds of vendors and shoppers to keep up with Kenshin. “Why does it take so long to get to there using the main roads?”



“Ah, here we are,” Kenshin told her as they entered a restaurant. “Time for lunch.”



After they sat down and placed their orders, Kenshin explained, “The main road to Kyoto is very long because it interconnects with roads to smaller towns. It veers out of the way a lot. I’ve found that the best way to get where you want to go is to stay off the main roads.”



“How did that philosophy come to you?” Kaoru chuckled, sipping her tea. “If I may ask.”



“I am a wanderer,” he replied, absent-mindedly watching a young boy clear tables as other customers left. “I have wandered Japan for many years. I’ve come to know the best way to go anywhere. The problem is that when you are a wanderer, you have nowhere to go.”



“A wanderer?” Kaoru repeated. “I thought you were a samurai.”



“I was trained with the same principles as samurai are, but my master had no connection to any damiyo...and unfortunately, I did not complete my training with my master before I left to fight the war,” he told her, his gaze returning to the table only to start staring at his tea. Kaoru said nothing to this, partly because he seemed to not want to talk about it, and partly because their food came. They ate in silence, all the while Kaoru thought about what he’d said to her.



‘Many men went to fight in the war before completing their training, and many of them died because of it,’ Kaoru thought, remembering the tales her father told her from his times in the war. No one in the war had come out of it the same. In the ten years since…



‘Wait a minute,’ Kaoru thought as her head snapped up and looked at Kenshin. ‘It’s been ten years since the war ended. That would mean that he’s as old as my…’



“Is something wrong, Miss Kaoru?” Kenshin asked. Kaoru squinted her eyes at him.



“You fought in the revolutionary war?” she demanded, but did not wait for an answer. “Then that would mean you’re at least thirty!?”



“Oro?”



**



“So, these men are the one’s who have been terrorizing the locals traveling to and from Kyoto?”



“Yes, Lieutenant Fujita-sama,” said a young man in police uniform. “They were picked up this morning by the patrol that has been transferred to our section from Kyoto.”



“Odd that they were so easily apprehended,” Lieutenant Fujita replied as he strolled past the men who were strung up by their ankles. Both men trembled in his presence, cringing and closing their eyes in fear. Fujita snorted. “Cowards.”



“It appears that both of the men were found unconscious, one of them bearing the same wound as some of the officers from the Kabuki raid,” the young man read from his report. “A single long bruise, probably caused by being struck by the dull side of a sword.”



“Interesting,” Fujita commented, turning to the young officer. “What is said about the search of the surrounding area?”



“Two horses were found near these men,” the officer told him. “There are a few small gatherings of abandoned houses near the junctures along the road that these men are suspected of robbing. We believe that these places are the series of ambush points. They are being searched as we speak.”



“Bring the resulting report to my office when it is completed,” Fujita instructed the officer. He again looked over to the two men hanging by their ankles. “Put them in shackles and lock them up for now. I will think of a proper punishment for them later.”



**



“I can’t believe that you don’t remember how old you are,” Kaoru muttered as she shook her head. Kenshin just smiled at her as he reached into his gi for his money pouch.



“I told you, I’m twenty eight,” Kenshin replied as he paid their bill. “I just didn’t remember right away.”



“My father fought in the war,” she said offhandedly. Her voice changed to that of sad irony. “My father, who once taught the Kamiya Kasshin, the sword that protects life, was forced to kill to protect those that he loved.”



“Did you say Kamiya?” asked the owner as he handed Kenshin his change. “Your name isn’t Kaoru, is it?”



Before she could answer, he disappeared to the back room. He came back with a folded piece of paper and handed it to her. Kaoru stared at him skeptically for a moment before unfolding the letter.



Kaoru,

I have brought you up to be a resourceful young woman

and with that in mind, I will trust that you can make it

this far without much difficulty. We will wait for you in

Kyoto as long as we can, but if you cannot meet us in

time, stay there. Do not continue to follow us. A friend

of mine at the Shirobeko has agreed to take care of you

if you should not be able to join us.



I wish I could be there with you, but you are a grown

woman now and I know you will be okay. If it happens

that we do not meet in Kyoto, be patient. I will come

back for you, as I‘ve always promised, as I always have.



A loud crash ripped Kaoru from her thoughts and she glanced over to see the source of the disturbance. The young boy who had been cleaning tables had dropped one of the tea glasses. Not without apprehension, the spiky-haired busboy looked over to the owner.



“Boy, you are as useless as tits on a boar,” the owner hollered. “Get that mess cleaned up right now and go out back!”



“We should go,” Kenshin suggested as she refolded the letter. She followed him out into the street and the afternoon sun, dreading the walk in the heavy heat, but not wanting to be left behind again. She waited for Kenshin to lead the way out of town, but he seemed preoccupied with something off to his right. Kaoru followed his gaze and saw the boy from the restaurant being pushed out the back door with a bag over his shoulder.



“I have done my duty with you,” the restaurant owner grumbled. “I’ve done my duty and then some. You cause me more problems than you’re worth, so now you’re on your own.”



“Yeah, well don’t lose any sleep at night over it,” the boy yelled as he began walking in the opposite direction. “I don’t need you. Or anybody.”



The crowd that had stopped to watch this altercation lost interest not long after the boy walked off and the restaurateur back inside. Kaoru watched the back of the young boy as he kept walking, a small sadness creeping into her chest.



“Just because he broke a dish, he’s getting kicked out?” Kaoru asked rhetorically as she and Kenshin continued on. “If my family was like that I would have been kicked out years ago.”



“That child was probably indentured to him,” Kenshin explained as he headed for the edge of town. “He is old enough now that he should be okay on his own, though.”



“I guess it just bothers me,” Kaoru mused. “I was raised on the idea that you don’t just toss someone away because they’ve become a burden to you.”



“Then you were raised on good values,” Kenshin told her as he guided her out of the city. The afternoon sun was stifling as they made their way to the second town. Silence had taken over their journey and though it made her uncomfortable, Kaoru didn’t break it. Her small glances at him gave her the impression that his mind was elsewhere.



The light began to fade quickly hours later as the bugs came out in full force. Kaoru quickly became distracted from the silence to the seemingly never ending bug attack. With her skin quickly becoming covered with small, itchy bumps, she decided to ask the inevitable question.



“How much farther?” she whined, itching her arms furiously. Kenshin looked to her and smiled at her predicament.



“We will be in the next town soon,” he assured her as he leaned down to grab a handful of mud. Kaoru eyed him warily.



“What’s that for?” she inquired uncertainly.



“Put this on your arms,” he instructed as he reached for her hand. “It will stop the itching and the bugs won’t bite anymore.”



The look of disbelief must have been evident on her face because when he caught her hand he did not let go of it. Not that Kaoru minded at all, though. She knew that she must have looked like a street pauper to begin with, but adding the mud all over her arms made that much more believable. But at that moment, she really didn’t care.



“We are being followed,” Kenshin murmured to her as he stepped closer. Kaoru stared at him for a moment, trying to comprehend what he had just said. “We have been since we left town.”



“What do we do?” Kaoru whispered back. She figured that it would do them little good to make a run for it. She had a suspicion that Kenshin had no intention of doing that. The look in his eyes confirmed it.



“I believe there is only one person. The next town is not far from here,” he explained as he began walking again. “We will get a room for the night, and I will wait for this person to show himself.”



Less than ten minutes later the edge town could be seen. Kenshin lead her through the labyrinth of streets in a hurry until they came upon an old, but well kept inn. Kenshin had her wait outside as he went in to arrange a room for the night.



Kaoru leaned against the outer wall of the inn as she waited. She watched either direction for a while before giving up on spotting their follower. She wondered if in the rush through town they might have lost their pursuer along the way. A cold wind blew and broke her from her thoughts and when she looked up Kenshin was approaching her.



“We can go in now,” he informed her, leading her inside. “I’ve borrowed a yukata for you so you can go take a bath.”



“What about you?” Kaoru asked as they reached the room. She sought out the yukata as Kenshin dropped the blanket that had acted as a camouflage for their swords, removing his.



“I think we managed to lose our follower, but I want to be sure. While you are in the bath, I am going to take a look around and see if I can find us some dinner,” he told her, handing her the robe. “Don't worry, I will be back soon.”



“Alright,” she murmured as he left. She set off to find the bathhouse, planning to take a long soak before dinner. As she scrubbed the dirt out of her kimono, she knew that she should finish quickly and try to get as much sleep as possible, considering the night she’d had before. But the promise of food from Kenshin is what got her out of the bath as quick as she did.



As she entered the room carrying her damp kimono, she knew something was off. There was something wrong with the atmosphere. She walked over to hang up her kimono to dry, goosebumps beginning to cover her arms. She moved to light a candle, grabbing an extra candle holder in her other hand. After lighting the candle, she turned suddenly and hurled the holder. She heard a thud and crash before her eyes adjusted to the low light.



In the corner of the room was a small figure rubbing their head as they stood over the partially opened blanket. Her two swords were half way out of the blanket and at the feet of the intruder. Upon closer inspection of the figure, she saw it was a scrubby looking young man with spiky hair.



“You’re the boy from the restaurant,” she observed, amazed at his ability to get as far as he did. “You’re the one who’s been following us.”



“Yeah, so what?” he retaliated. “I didn’t feel like staying in that dump of a town anyway.”



“So what are you doing here?” Kaoru asked, crossing her arms.



“I was just…” he started, before reaching down and grabbing a sword. He took off towards the door, but never made it out. He fell backwards after impacting with a figure in the doorway.



“You didn’t answer her question,” Kenshin commented as he blocked the doorway. “What are you doing here?”



“I saw at the restaurant that you had three swords,” the boy said, getting up. “You don’t need that many, so I thought I’d take one off your hands.”



“Is that so?” Kenshin questioned. “Fine. You may do so.”



Kaoru gave him a dangerous look, but before she could start her argument, Kenshin continued.



“If you can beat Miss Kaoru,” he added, smirking. The young boy returned the smirk as he turned to Kaoru.



“This is going to be easy,” he grinned.

---

A/N: Well, if you get a chance, YIM ladylime748 and tell her how wonderful she is for being my beta, motivating me to write my chapter, being honest when it sucked, and getting rid of my writer's block. Oh, and ask her what she thought of the baboon's speech. Chapter 5 sooner or later. Peace.