Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Cabana Boy ❯ Chapter 14

 

 

 

 

I'm so sorry!! Life has caught up to me. Urgh!!! Last month was my birthday which apparently ended up lasting the entire month. Then this month was spent playing catch up. I got a new job about three months ago and now take work home with me. (God, I miss bartending sometimes!) Anyway, I'll try to be better. Just remind me!! I have no concept of time.

 

Okay, so here we go. The truth finally comes out, just as I promised it would. Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed. I love you all. I don't have much to say, so I'm not going to say it. I don't own the characters below.

 

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Kenshin stared down on the lawn. Fireflies dotted here and there. Somewhere in the recesses of his remembrance, the lightning bugs stirred something. However he could not come up with the memory. Briefly he wondered if it was even his and then let it go. Staring out into the darkness, he could just see his reflection in the window. He studied it. What was he doing here? In the ten years since he had stained his hands for the last time, he had been with a woman once. It had been eight years ago. He had spotted a woman who reminded him so much of Tomoe. He had tracked her down and a brief affair had followed. But after one night, he had known his wife was dead, no one to replace her. He had not sworn off woman so much as no woman had ever tempted him. Until he had met Kaoru.

 

The man staring back at him had changed drastically since the last time he had bothered to look at himself. Then he had seen a man just out of boyhood. He had not wanted to admit it at the time, but he really hadn't known much about life. Then he had been dealt the hard lesson, the value of life. It was the last time he had ever allowed the bloodlust to take over. So intent on slaying the man responsible for his broken heart, he hadn't even noticed the woman enter the fray. She had tried to refrain him from killing his target and in turn he had turned the blade on her.

 

When he realized Tomoe was the one to feel his sword as well as Nubiko, he had broken down. Despite the fact she had deceived him, he would never have hurt her intentionally. Swearing never to shed blood again, he had disappeared, severing all contacts with his previous life, save Hiko. Accepting his life as a peripatetic, a wanderer, he had traveled the globe, running form the memories that continuously threatened to overwhelm him. He had known of Enishi. Had seen him numerous times after marrying Tomoe. The boy had never cared for him, being only a few years younger than Kenshin. He personally had never cared for her brother either. But a close bond had radiated between the two and he had attempted to befriend the teenager for the sake of his wife if nothing else.

 

Something moved on the grounds below. Kenshin peered into the darkness, leaning forward trying to discern what, besides him, was still awake this late in the evening. He bowed forward more, hitting his head on the glass. He cursed softly and rubbed his forehead. Remembering there was a balcony, he hurried to the doors and swiftly opened them. Stepping out into the night he studied the lawn and the patio. Nothing stirred amongst the dark night.

 

The woman on the bed stirred and he glanced over at her. Quickly he crossed the room to her and sat down on the edge of the bed. The cascade of her dark hair hid her alluring profile. He touched her cheek, running his hand through her hair and down her back. Softly she breathed. She murmured something in her sleep and moved again. Languidly, her large blue eyes opened. She offered him a sleepy smile.

 

“Couldn't sleep?” She asked quietly.

 

“What of you, Kaoru-dono?” He brushed another strand of her hair from her cheek, savoring the silkiness of the strands.

 

“I missed you.”

 

He smiled at her and stretched out next to her, tracing his fingertips over her naked back. She extended her lithe body as she became aware of her surroundings. Her azure eyes watched him. “Are you okay?”

 

Kenshin looked up into her eyes. He took a deep breath, deciding it was time to broach the topic they had avoided the most. “May I ask you a question?”

 

“I already told you my favorite color.” She protested, her blue eyes sparkling.

 

He chuckled along with her though he saw the hint of dread that touched her when he had asked. He sighed, not wanting to ask the question and knowing it needed to be done. “Why haven't you asked me about my connection to Enishi?”

 

The laughter faded from her face. She propped herself up on her arms and stared at the pillow. “I know your connection. You were once married to his sister.”

 

“I killed his sister.”

 

Kaoru sat up abruptly. “I thought we covered this already.”

 

“We have covered my past, but not really discussed yours.”

 

“I don't want to talk about my past.” She hissed.

 

“Why not?”

 

She smiled seductively and allowed the sheet covering her torso to drop. She pressed her body against his, kissing him ardently. “You put your pants on.” She murmured against his mouth.

 

“Kaoru-dono,” He pushed her away. “I won't let you run from this.”

 

Her azure eyes flared and she leapt from the bed. She grabbed her robe tossed over a chair and wrapped it around her shoulders. “I have not once asked about your past. I have respected your privacy, ignored the warning signs that were apparent from day one. You have no right to make me answer your questions. You of all people should understand.”

 

Her anger did nothing more than to aggravate his own emotions. He sat up and crossed his arms across his bare chest. “Why is that, Kaoru-dono?”

 

“Stop it!” She cried.

 

“Stop what?”

 

“Stop calling me that!” Kenshin sat back in surprise. She stood in the center of her room, her chest heaving, her eyes shinning with unshed tears. “Why do you have to be so damn polite? I feel like you're trying to keep a wall between us, even after what we've been through, what we've shared.”

 

He rose and crossed the room to her. “Forgive me.” He whispered, lightly gripping her upper arms. “But can't you see that I'm trying to breach that wall?”

 

She stared up at him. “What will discussing our past do?”

 

Idly he stroked her cheek. “Did it ever occur to you that I needed you to know? That I need to tell someone?”

 

The guilty look in her eyes told him she had not once thought it. He couldn't blame her. Until a few days ago, he had never thought to share his pain with another person for the rest of his life. But Kaoru had come to mean more to him and it wouldn't be fair to either of them if he didn't tell her of his previous life. She needed to know what kind of man he had once been. No longer did he fear she would turn form him. But she needed to know what she could be walking into.

 

Gingerly he took her hand and led her back to the bed. She sat down by the headboard, curling her legs underneath her. She picked up a pillow and hugged it to her chest. She sighed. “Do you want to start or shall I?”

 

Kenshin swallowed. “Perhaps I should. I know how it began.” She nodded her assent and he sighed, his shoulders dropping in defeat. He sat down at the foot of the bed and rubbed his temples. “I told you I was seven when I met Hiko. He took me in and slowly began teaching me his style of sword fighting.”

 

“You know the Hiten Misurugi?” She asked, a hint of awe in her voice. He nodded, forgetting she knew Hiko considerably well. “I thought that was an assassin style of sword fighting.” He raised an eyebrow in her direction. She colored and looked down at her lap. “Continue.”

 

“Hiko put me through school, though he wasn't around except for my lessons with him. He would come home late from whatever, sometimes not arriving back to the apartment until the sun had risen above the horizon. After a few months I began to attempt to stay up. Strange men would arrive at the place at odd hours for only a few minutes. Later I found out that Hiko's closest friend had departed from the organization, though at eight, I didn't fully realize there was an organization or what it was.” He paused reflecting on that. It would have been twenty-three years ago. Hadn't Kaoru mentioned her father had left about then? “I wonder if it might have been about your father.” He mused aloud.

 

“It's possible.” Kaoru speculated. He met my mother twenty-five years ago, but I think it was another year before he finally walked away and went to business school.”

 

“It most likely was, then. Anyway,” He shook his head, trying to focus on the story at hand. “That's the way it went for several years. I would go to school and in the afternoons, Hiko taught me the sword. Then after I would pretend to sleep; Hiko would go out, or people would come over. When I was eleven I followed him one night. In my foolishness, I thought I could get away with not being caught. I think Hiko always knew I was there and despite that, or perhaps because if it, he let me see just what he did. I saw him kill two men that night.

 

“I was frightened. Just what kind of a man had I come upon? I returned home and didn't sneak out again for nearly a month. By then the incident had seemed a dream. So I did it again. This time it wasn't Hiko who wielded the blade, but the result was the same. The next day he sat me down and told me what he knew.”

 

Kenshin sighed and rose. He moved to the window to stare out into the inky darkness. “Within a year I was running errands for the boys when they would come over. By the time I was fourteen, they actually sent me out on missions. Nothing more than giving out a warning here and there. I had been informed of our connections to the government, a secret faction for assassinations. At this point my blade had not yet tasted blood.”

 

Absently he ran a hand through his loose red hair. Behind him Kaoru stood from her perch on the bed. She came to his side and turned him so he faced her. “When- when did it happen?”

 

“I was fifteen the first time I killed.”

 

She swallowed. “How?”

 

He closed his eyes, recalling that night when his meeting had not gone quite as planned. The sounds reverberated in his ears, the smell of blood filling his nostrils. “I was there to threaten an informant. He was linked to possible drug dealings and refused to cooperate. I was to rough him up a bit. Except the actual informant had already been killed and the dealers had sent someone high up to take care of the messenger. I walked into a trap and didn't even realize it. I had little choice but to draw my sword.”

 

“And now?”

 

He opened his eyes, the violet depths searching her face for something. “I would not be here now if I had not.”

 

She sighed and licked her lips. He pulled away from her and moved to the other window, her presence scattering his wits. “How did you meet Enishi?” She finally asked.

 

He rubbed his face, regretting his demand to tell her of his tainted history. So much had happened in the course of the past few days and he wasn't sure if he was ready to dredge up these memories from a life he'd rather forget. But he couldn't forget and for that he plowed on with his tale. “After the first time, they began to send me on more missions. Hiko and I argued incessantly about it. He didn't approve and I did it anyway. I slew drug dealers, mobsters, other assassins, and even crooked politicians. The legend of Battousai came to life and I wasn't even technically an adult yet.

 

“When I was seventeen I was given a really big assignment. The only problem was it involved me going undercover. We had theories of a notorious arms dealer and drug lord, though nothing concrete. But he had wreaked enough havoc on the innocent people of the country and it was time to do something about it. Due to my age and my deceiving appearance, he would never suspect I was the help by day and the feared assassin Battousai by night. I was to infiltrate his circle and gather proof he was a bad guy. That man was Yukishiro Nubiko.”

 

Kaoru gasped. “Enishi's father.”

 

He nodded and began to pace, the emotions tied into his recollection beginning to rise to the surface. “He was a hard man to please. I was nothing more than one of two maintenance men. I found out later there was no one who worked for him in his house who in turn didn't work for him in his other business. The boy who had previously occupied my position had been eliminated. Yukishiro enjoyed bringing in outside help and training them to be his puppies.” He said bitterly. “He took to me right off. I couldn't hide my sword and he knew I trained in the art, though not to the extent. However, I couldn't really do any other work. I hadn't earned the man's trust and I grew restless. I used to lose myself to the throes of the bloodlust and it bellowed to be released. Just when I thought I couldn't take it any longer, I met Tomoe.”

 

Kenshin paused, sucking in air, as his breathing grew ragged. He glanced at Kaoru who had moved to the bed, gingerly resting on the edge of the mattress. Warily her blue eyes watched his agitation. She opened her mouth to ask something but closed it again. She nibbled on her bottom lip waiting for him to continue.

 

He didn't make her wait long. “I detested her the moment I first met her.” The azure eyes blinked. He chuckled, the noise sounding brittle to his ears. “She was an arrogant and snotty bitch. She did nothing but belittle me, continuously telling her how worthless I was. Slowly she began to tease me. She would flaunt around the poolside in her skimpy bikinis and ask for my opinion on her attire before going out. I lusted after her. One evening she had some friends over. I couldn't handle it anymore. All that pent up rage finally broke free. I punched her boyfriend, breaking his nose. Ironic it was that conduct that finally drew the attention of her father.

 

“I became a gopher, a job I despised. I was better than that. I was the notorious Battousai and here I was running errands for some lowlife. Occasionally I would leave and stalk down some unassuming thug in the middle of the night.” He sneered. “And all the while Tomoe was slowly seducing me with her sultry looks. My lust turned into desire until all I could think about was her. It was during this time that I met Enishi.”

 

Once more the redhead glanced over at the woman, brushing his flaming hair from his face. “He had been at boarding school and had come for the holidays. He and I did not get along from the beginning. I hated everything he had come from and he was jealous of my relationship with his sister. Tomoe and Enishi were very close.”

 

“He mentioned you I think. About his sister's boyfriend who worked for his father.” A frown creased her brow. “But he never said he hated you.”

 

“He must have been talking about Akira.”

 

“Who was he?”

 

“Tomoe's boyfriend.”

 

“But didn't you just say that you had taken care of him?”

 

“Enishi hated me, that he did, make no mistake.”

 

“Only after you………after.”

 

“No, always.”

 

 

“Then who-“

 

“Her boyfriend was a ranking man in Nubiko's organization, one of his most reliable enforcers. He and I didn't get along either, obviously since I had hit him. He finally crossed the line with me and we got into a fight.”

 

“And?” She prompted when he didn't elaborate.

 

Kenshin shrugged carelessly and then cringed when he comprehended his action. He did care that he had slain the man, just not at the time when he had run the man through twelve years ago. “I killed him.”

 

 

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Kaoru pressed her lips together, uncertain of the casual way the man had just uttered those words. His eyes had darkened to the cold shade of blue and she was anxious. His entire demeanor seemed to have changed and she wondered if he would hesitate to kill in the frame of mind he was in at this moment. She swallowed.

 

“So you killed him? Just like that?” She asked.

 

“He had discovered who I was and had come to throw it in my face before he ran off to Nubiko. At the time I had no choice.”

 

“And that was it?” She inquired softly, her voice close to breaking.

 

“He did cut me.” He murmured his fingers straying to his cheek.

 

Kaoru rose and crossed to him, seeing pain on his face. Gingerly she caressed the marred cheek. He flinched away from her touch. He refused to look at her and she felt a slash of pain. The point of this was to get the man to turn towards her, not away. Kenshin moved once more to the window. “I thought I was caught then. Instead I was offered his place.” He murmured, placing an arm on the window frame and resting his forehead on it. “It was the perfect opportunity. Finally I was let inside. I was told secrets and given jobs. And slowly I began to thin out the man's establishment. The best part was he had no clue it was I. That's what I was led to believe.

 

“Due to my foothold in her father's association, Tomoe all of sudden decided I was worth a damn. She began to seduce me in earnest instead of teasing me. Lord knows I'm nothing more than a weak man. I was nineteen. Isn't that the sexual peak for males?” There was bitterness in his voice and Kaoru cringed, tears fighting to break free. She sat down once more on the bed, not wanting to feel the sting of him pulling away from her again. “I finally succumbed and then told her of her father's secrets. I convinced her to elope with me.”

 

“Nubiko was furious. I had taken his daughter away from him, away from Enishi as well. He still wasn't aware of who I really was, or so I thought. It was six months before the order came down to eliminate Yukishiro. I should have known better than to trust her. I loved her, I did. Because of that I told her the truth one rainy night. Turns out she had always known, her father had always known. Her father had used me to clean out those that were cheating him. Ultimately his plans were to reform me to become his own personal assassin. I was the fool for thinking I was clever. I thought I had managed to fool them all.” He spun around and pressed his back against the wall. “She pleaded with me not to hurt her father. I told her I couldn't do it. She professed her love, her undying devotion when all the while she had been reporting to him behind my back. We fought bitterly and then she left me to warn him.”

 

Kenshin fell silent, his shoulders heaving. Kaoru bit her lips, torn with what she should do. The man lifted his head, his eyes unseeing, his breathing growing more and more frantic as he spoke. “I went to kill her father. I didn't know she was there until the duel had begun. He struck me, the only man to ever mark my back. After I don't even know how long, I saw he had begun to weaken. Looking for an opening, I faded back, waiting for a chance to attack. I was consumed with my anger, the bloodlust roiling in my senses. The opening came, just as Nubiko thought he had one. And I launched my final assault.”

 

He buried his face in his hands and Kaoru timidly fell off the bed. Tentatively she crawled to where Kenshin had slid to the floor. “I have no idea how long she called for us to stop. She couldn't penetrate that façade. So she did the next best thing to gain my attention.”

 

“She came in between you.” Kaoru murmured, finally seeing the truth.

 

Kenshin nodded. “Even now I don't know who she was trying to protect. It didn't matter. Her father stopped his blade, but I didn't. I was too overcome with the bloodlust and the desire to destroy. I killed them both.”

 

He fell silent, his words hanging between them. He leaned his head back, his eyes closed. A lone tear slowly trailed down his cheek. “Afterwards, I swore never to raise my sword to harm another again.” He whispered. “Hiko had my sword made specifically for me, knowing that the spirit of a swordsman is always lingering in the blood.”

 

“Your sword?” She murmured, her breath barely audible, not wanting to break the spell Kenshin had weaved about them.

 

“It can not kill. The blade is on the reverse side.” He swallowed and sighed. “I wandered working odd jobs during the summer months and traveling during the winter months. I have never stayed in the same place for more than a few weeks. I search for closure, but it seems it might have actually found me.”

 

Her heart ached for him. She closed her eyes, her own tears finally breaking free. She twisted so she could lean against the bed. He had spilled his heart to her. It was only fair she do the same. With a shuddering breath she opened the door to the agony she had attempted to bury. “I think it was Enishi's pain that first drew me towards him. It was one of the few tales of his past he actually shared with me. How his sister had been brutally murdered by the one she loved. You'd never think it to look at him. I personally thought he was an arrogant jerk-off when I first met him.” She sighed. She rested her head back on the bed frame, her eyes closed.

 

“How did you meet him?” Kenshin asked after several moments.

 

Wearily she rubbed her head, the stirrings of a headache plaguing her. “I met him at a party. He asked me to dance and I said no. He wouldn't leave me alone. Sanosuke finally intervened.” She clenched her eyes. “I should have seen it then.” She whispered.

 

“Seen what?”

 

Kaoru shook her head and laughed bitterly. “I never wanted to see the signs of his behavior. Enishi was very good at concealing his violent nature from me. It came out in other ways and I was a fool for not seeing the signs.” She fell silent and opened her eyes. Kenshin studied her, his amethyst eyes watching her every nuance. “He did not approve of my relationship to Sano.”

 

“It's not surprising considering Enishi's possessive nature.” He murmured.

 

“They got into a fight one night. It was terrible.” She clenched her eyes. “Megumi had pointed out to me I had no friends and I was pushing her and Sano and Misao away. I told her she was crazy. If they couldn't accept Enishi then maybe we should part company. But it got me thinking and I asked Enishi why he never let me out with my friends. He wept, claiming he needed me, that I was the only person who understood him. Then he left. I was heartbroken. I mourned his departure.” Tears streamed freely down her cheek, but she let them fall unheeded. “When he came back, he seemed different. He let me go out with Meg and Misao one night without him. I came home for the first time in nearly a year. Sanosuke and I spoke to each other and it seemed that things would work out.

 

“I didn't know Enishi was threatening them still.” She choked back a sob as she recalled that night when she'd crossed the line. “Sanosuke came over to his apartment to pick me up for a movie. Enishi was furious. Sano, in a fit of anger threw in his face our past history.”

 

“Your past?”

 

Through a haze of tears, she saw Kenshin sitting just to her left. “Sano told him we had once slept together.” Kaoru buried her face in her hands. “They got into a fight. Appalling doesn't even begin to describe it. Sano was nearly unrecognizable before I intervened. Enishi would have killed him had I not come between them. And I chose him!” She cried. Her shoulders shook uncontrollably. She felt a hand touch her and she jerked away. “I told Sano to leave and not come back if he knew what was good for him. I feared for his life. Enishi swore he would kill the man if he came near me. I didn't know what to do. I was trapped. It had been bad before. Now it just got worse.”

 

“I threw myself into school. I would stay on campus until the library would close and I had to go home. Except home was where he waited. He would demand to know my whereabouts and if I'd seen Sano or anyone. Then he would toss me on the bed and have his way with me. Sometimes he would tie me up and not let me go anywhere.” She cried hoarsely. “He ruined my identity until I didn't know where he ended and I began. He would emotionally and mentally abuse me, telling me I was nothing without him. I belonged to him! And I believed him!” Her shoulders shook and she couldn't fight the tears any longer. They coursed down her cheek and she struggled for breath as she recalled the emotional turmoil in which she had existed for over a year. “He would torment me, never allowing me any satisfaction. I was so afraid of him. More importantly I was afraid of what he would do to my friends.”

 

“That's why you stayed.” He murmured.

 

She rose to her feet when she felt the arm snake around her shoulders again. She whirled, not seeing Kenshin sitting there. “He never beat me, but what he did was worse. I was a slave to his antics. I drove everyone away, fearful of the power he wielded over me and what he could do to them.” She hugged her arms to her body closing her eyes. The hot tears coursed down her face and she absently wiped them away. Kaoru took a deep breath, trying to regain control.

 

“It had finally reached a point where I couldn't take it anymore. I needed to get out but I didn't know how. So I called Sanosuke. He was the one person I had always turned to before. And despite the awful things I had done to him, the terrible things I had said, he dropped everything to see me. He told me to leave, that I needed to get out.” She closed her eyes, her chest heaving with her emotion. “I was livid. I hadn't called him to lecture me. I wanted a shoulder to cry on. And even though I knew he was right, I told him he was jealous.”

 

Hands were on her arms and she blinked through the tears to see Kenshin shaking her. “But you managed to walk away. You got out of the relationship and Sanosuke has forgiven you.”

 

Kaoru shook her head vehemently. “You don't understand, I didn't want to, even after he struck me. I tried to go back several times, but no one would let me. That's how deranged I had become, how much I lived in terror of him! I went home and when Enishi found out where I was, he hit me! He might have beaten me within an inch of my life if the phone hadn't rung. I ran out and called Aoshi.” She wept.

 

“Still, you did find the strength to walk away and you're a stronger person now.”

 

“Really?” She looked up at him. “Then how come all my friends saw it fit to leave me in the dark when he began attempting to contact me?” She sneered. “I'm so strong and yet none of them trusted me.”

 

“I trust you.”

 

The words, so simple yet sincere cleared her mind. Kaoru stared at him and then felt her knees weaken. She crumpled to the ground, Kenshin's arms secure around her. He had trusted her. He had told her of his past, shared with her memories of his childhood. And he had been the one to come clean when it came to Enishi. She clung to him, desperate for human contact. She didn't know what might have happened if Kenshin hadn't entered her life. “Tell me you won't leave me.” She pleaded, burying her face into the soft skin of his shoulder.

 

“Kaoru-dono, I will be here for as long as you need me.” He told her softly. He stood, cradling her in his arms and moved to the bed. Gently he stretched her out and lay down next to her. He started to pull away and she cried out at the loss of warmth.

 

“Shhh, I'm right here.” Swiftly he moved once more to her side. He wrapped his arms protectively about her and Kaoru snuggled into him, feeling safe and secure for the first time in a long while.

 

 

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As sleep finally slipped away from her, Kaoru was pleased to notice the warmth that surrounded her. Unlike the previous morning, she was not alone in her bed. The arms tightened slightly about her frame as she murmured in her sleep, snuggling deeper into the comfort they offered her. Over thirty-six hours had passed since she had seen Enishi, over half a day since he had called her. He had yet to make good on his threats and she accounted that to the man whom she shared her bed with.

 

She felt drained and exhausted. She remembered expunging her fear of Enishi. In turn Kenshin had told her of his past. Briefly something else that had occurred the night before touched her memory but she could not recall. All she knew was that Kenshin had shown her just what she meant to him. She reluctantly rolled onto her back and opened her eyes.

 

Amethyst orbs watched her and she offered a small smile. “What are you doing?” She asked lethargically.

 

“Watching you sleep.”

 

“Why?”

 

He shrugged and brushed a hair from her forehead. “Because I can.”

 

She bit her lower lip and blushed. She rolled over slightly, only to be met with restraining arms. “Don't.” He pleaded before nuzzling her neck.

 

She giggled and turned her lips towards him for a kiss. He complied.

 

She wrapped her arms about his neck, her fingers trailing through his red locks. She relished the feel of his skin against hers, noting how well they fit together. He nibbled gentle kisses down her neck. Suddenly she sat up abruptly, throwing him off of her. “We were supposed to meet my father!” She cried.

 

“What?”

 

“My father! And Hiko! We were supposed to meet them for breakfast.” Kaoru explained to him.

 

In a flash, Kenshin was out of bed, scrambling for his clothes. Meanwhile, she reached for her robe and dashed to her closet searching for anything that would be appropriate for her breakfast date. She exited the closet, adorned in khakis and a dark blue top before it occurred to her Kenshin would be wearing exactly what he'd worn the night before. Their eyes met as he waited for her and she knew he thought the same thing. Cursing, she ran for the door and placed an ear there.

 

"What are you doing, Kaoru-dono?”

 

“I don't want my father to know that you spent the night here.”

 

“Thanks.” Came the somewhat bitter reply.

 

She threw an exasperated glance his way. “I don't know about you, but personally I don't need my father to know I'm having sex under his roof. As for you and me, the whole world could know and that would be fine by me.”

 

His gaze softened and she leaned towards him to press a kiss to his mouth. “I'm not ashamed to be with you; age, your past, even your current position of employment means nothing to me. All I know is………that I care about you.” She told him, not quite ready to admit her feelings lest she frighten him away. She opened the door.

 

Quietly they stole own the stairs without running into anyone. They still had to bypass the dining room and Kaoru paused, Kenshin coming to a halt behind her as she heard voices within.

 

“Personally, I'm quite ashamed. I thought my stupid apprentice would have learned better by now.”

 

Kaoru recognized the voice of Hiko. He had to be talking of Kenshin and she glanced at the man behind her to notice he too had heard the man's comment.

 

“Obviously you have slipped in your old age. Maybe he isn't as worthy as you claim him to be. I don't think I want him fraternizing with my daughter at all.” That voice belonged to her father and now her curiosity was peaked. What were they talking about? She had thought her father approved of her relationship with Kenshin. He had stated he'd wanted it in the beginning. Why was he saying such a thing?

 

“I'm getting old? I think it might be your daughter teaching him bad habits.”

 

“Are you speaking ill of my child?” He father demanded.

 

“Why yes, I believe I am.”

 

“So what you're saying is that perhaps my daughter is not worthy of the company of your `idiotic pupil?' You're the one who supposedly taught him everything he knows.”

 

“He has been out of my supervision for the last thirteen years. Particularly since he left the organization, influenced by your previous actions, the boy has fallen out of practice.”

 

“As I recall you highly recommended him for the job, claiming he was so astute, he would not have become lackadaisical even after all that time.”

 

“As I said before, your daughter has seduced him. She is the culprit here.”

 

“Seduced! Your charge had known her for only a few hours before he had her swooning at his feet. I say the one who planned the seduction was him.”

 

“Regardless, your daughter obviously can not handle herself and has made the boy grow soft.”

 

“Look here. Though I haven't played the game in nearly a quarter of a century, Kaoru is capable and can handle herself, even against your student.”

 

“And yet they have made more racket this morning than they bothered to make the night before. In the heat of passion nary a word was heard and now they act like two bumbling fools attempting not to be caught.”

 

“Let's not talk about that, please. I still prefer to live in denial about my daughter and pretend she isn't having sex.” Kaoru colored as she realized they spoke of her and Kenshin, not in the sense of the propriety of mixing classes, but of exactly why they had snuck downstairs in the first place. Her father knew Kenshin had spent the night. Now it seemed as though he and Hiko were arguing over the nature of why they had been discovered. It almost appeared as though they bickered over who had been the better teacher.

 

“Why don't you say something to them and let them at least come and sit down.” A third voice chimed, one she knew belonged to Sanosuke. How the lazy ghet managed to get out of bed this early in the morning was beyond her.

 

“Now where would the fun in that be?” Hiko asked.

 

“And then there is the matter of you, tori-atama. I hold you responsible for all of this.”

 

“Me?!”

 

“If you hadn't taken the girl's innocence all those years ago, her sexual ardor wouldn't have been awakened and perhaps we wouldn't be having this inane argument with the two of them outside listening.”

 

“You know about that?” Sano asked his voice stunned. Kaoru herself was astonished. She had not realized her father knew of the night of comfort that had ended with Sanosuke taking her virginity.

 

“There is very little about my daughter I do not know, including why she tried so valiantly to sneak this idiot's apprentice out of here.”

 

“You're not going to start that up again?” Hiko asked exasperated. “My eggs are getting cold. They've already failed.”

 

She turned to glance at Kenshin. He had buried his face in his hands and he shook his head. Slowly he glanced up at her, a sheepish grin on his face. “I'm sorry, that I am. I didn't know this would happen.” He whispered softly to her.

 

She touched his face. “It happens.”

 

“So are you two coming or not?” Sano called. “I personally don't care to listen to them bicker any longer.”

 

*************************

 

 

And there you have it. I just want to say that I chose to have the back-story resemble that of the anime. I'm not sure why, I just did. It's there; you might utilize it to a certain degree. Besides, Kenshin has the scar. He just isn't the same without it and he had to get it somewhere. Anyway, at long last things might seem to make sense now. And for those of you waiting on edge for Enishi, things are about to shift into high gear. Kaoru and Kenshin are pretty solid right now though neither has openly professed his or her love. Now's the time when one must disrupt the good times. But that is for next time. We'll find out just what Enishi has been up to the last few days. Until then, kisses!!

 

And don't forget to let me know how you think it's going!