Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ The Catalyst ❯ The Catalyst: Part I ( Chapter 1 )

The Catalyst: Part I

By Jade Lightning_Wolf

 

Disclaimer: You thought Kenshin was mine? Bwuahahaha! *blink, blink* `Nough said. The incredibly handsome Kenshin belongs to Nobuhiro Wakatsuki and various other entities that are definitely not me.

 

Rating: I decided to go PG-13 (T) on this because of violence now and innuendo later.

 

 

Kaoru's spirits were high. Kenshin had made a rare appearance while she was practicing and had informed her that he thought she had finally perfected a difficult kata she'd been working on for the last two months. He'd then prepared a steaming hot furo for her, and the moment she emerged, lunch was served. Dr. Gensai and the girls were present, so they had ohagi as a treat, courtesy Kenshin. Looking out at the setting sun, Kaoru wondered how long her luck would last.

 

“Busu!”

 

Apparently that long, she thought to herself with a sigh. She faced her pupil as he trekked into the dojo from the street, slamming the gate behind him. “Don't call me busu, Yahiko-chan!” We should really try to come up with some different insults.

 

“Whatever.” Kaoru started. Normally, calling him Yahiko-chan warranted an immediate sparring match in which Yahiko, more often than not, found himself eating dirt, and lots of it. Kaoru narrowed her eyes. He was up to something.

 

Studying her pupil, she saw he was dusty, sweaty, and scratched. He carried a small blue bundle of cloth in his arms.

 

“What happened to you?” she said incredulously, crossing her arms over her chest.

 

“Well…you see…” Yahiko was interrupted as Kenshin walked around the corner. Almost as soon as he was in sight, he sneezed violently.

 

“Bless you,” Kaoru said absently. “What were you saying Yahiko?”

 

“Well, these guys were…and they kind of…” Kenshin sneezed again, so loudly it echoed in the courtyard.

 

“Kenshin, are you alright? You're not getting sick, are you?” Kaoru said, standing and taking a few steps towards him.

 

“Not at all. Sessha feels fine. Perhaps it's the dust in the air.” Sneeze. Kaoru fixed him with a killing glare. She was perfectly aware of the fact that Kenshin would never let it show if he felt sick, injured, or most other things for that matter.

 

“Maybe you should go see Dr. Gensai.”

 

“Sessha is fine, Kaoru-dono,” Kenshin said, raising his hands in a gesture meant to make him look defenseless. Fat chance, Kaoru thought as she eyed his sakabatou.

 

“Yahiko,” sneeze, “sessha saved some dinner for you, de gozaro ya.”

 

“Alright!” Yahiko ran past Kenshin and around the corner, safely saving himself from being questioned by Kaoru further. The shihandai growled her frustration.

 

“Kenshin, when Yahiko's done eating, don't let him leave the room. I need to ask him what he was up to, skipping lessons.”

 

“Certainly, Kaoru-dono.”

 

“Are you sure you're fine?”

 

“Of course. Someone must simply be gossiping about sessha,” he said, giving her a swirly-eyed smile and walking back around the corner to find Yahiko. A moment later, a resounding sneeze echoed through the courtyard.

 

~*~

 

Kaoru faced Yahiko from across the table. He was blushing faintly red as she waited for an explanation. She'd long since given up yelling at him and was now simply glaring at him with such anger that Yahiko found himself unable to move.

 

“Fine,” he said letting out a sigh that seemed to carry his resolve with it. “See, as I was walking home, I ran into some guys about my age. They were picking on someone, so I gave `em a piece of my mind. They were just stronger than I thought they would be.”

 

Kaoru raised her eyebrows. “Well, that's not so bad. Why were you so embarrassed about that?”

 

“Well…” Yahiko studied the ground intently. “The person they were picking on wasn't really a person.”

 

Kaoru felt dread rise in her breast. “What was it, Yahiko?” She almost feared his answer.

 

He proffered the blue bundle he'd carried in with him earlier. “This,” he said, sliding the cloth away from his rescued victim. Nestled in the cloth, fast asleep, was little ash-gray kitten.

 

~*~

 

“Come on, Kaoru! Please?”

 

“Absolutely not! I already have to feed you two free-loaders, not to mention all the guests we seem to attract almost every other day! We can't afford another mouth, even if it will eat less in one month than you do in a day!”

 

“Kaoru!” Yahiko tailed her to the outhouse and pestered her through the door, even as she finished her business. When Kaoru left, she whipped the door open so quickly it slammed Yahiko in the face, more specifically, in his nose.

 

“OW! Busu! I'm keeping it!”

 

“You are not and that is final!”

 

Kaoru stormed towards her room, intent on preparing for bed. However, halfway down the hallway, she bumped right into Kenshin. He was elbow deep in suds and had just emerged from the kitchen. Most likely, he'd just been doing dishes.

 

“Kaoru-dono,” he said, steadying her as she teetered against him, “what's all the yelling about?”

 

“Yahiko brought home another mouth to feed,” Kaoru complained, pointing an accusatory finger behind her like a child having a temper tantrum.

 

“It won't eat much!”

 

“I don't care.”

 

Kenshin ignored their argument and studied the bundle of fur in Yahiko's arms with a mixed look of horror and affection. He was surprised when the boy turned on him and quickly tried to focus on the conversation.

 

“Kenshin! Tell Kaoru I can keep the cat!”

 

“Now, now, Yahiko. This is Kaoru-dono's home. It should be her decision.”

 

“Well, it's your home too, and you're a lot older than she is.”

 

“Sessha may be older, but…but…Achoooo!” Both Kaoru and Yahiko were stunned into silence. Kenshin was not a big man, but his sneezes seemed as though they should come from a dragon.

 

Kaoru raised her eyebrows and traded glances between a blushing, runny-nosed rurouni and the tiny, gray fur ball that Yahiko was still clutching.

 

“I know why you've been sneezing Kenshin.”

 

“You do?” His voice was nasally and he was sniffling lightly.

 

“You're allergic to cats aren't you?”

 

“Sessha has never had a problem with cats before.”

 

“You're just saying that. That decides it,” Kaoru said, turning on Yahiko. “Kenshin's allergic to it, so it can't stay.”

 

Yahiko struggled to find an argument, but could think of nothing. Hanging his head in defeat he mumbled “fine” and turned to walk away. Kenshin felt his heart go out for the boy. Pets had never even come up with his shishou. There was absolutely no argument. Kenshin had never been allowed a companion in his studying with his master.

 

“Wait, Yahiko,” he said, surprising even himself. “Kaoru-dono, surely one tiny mouth to feed will not hurt us. It would be good for Yahiko to have something to look after. It will teach him responsibility.”

 

Kaoru pinned Kenshin under a glare that clearly said, “You're supposed to be on MY side.”

 

“Come on, Kaoru. Please?”

 

Quite suddenly, she was caught between two pleading sets of eyes, one crystal brown and the other sparkling amethyst. She let out a huff that made her bangs rise momentarily in the air. No is no, she told herself. She opened her mouth to tell them as much, but just then the kitten opened its eyes.

 

Kaoru was frozen under the most adorable gaze she'd ever seen. The kitten's eyes were pure blue, as clear and bright as the sky at noon. Its little slit pupils dilated, adjusting to the light, and it blinked several times. Then it yawned. Kaoru was not the only one who gave a hushed “awwwwe.”

 

Again, she found the pleading gazes fixed on her. Damn it! I'm too damn nice, she thought angrily.

 

“Fine! It can stay. But you two are the ones taking care of it. I won't lift a finger for it. You have to clean it, clean up after it, feed it, and stop it from destroying my home. I find even one pile of doo doo, it's gone.”

 

They both nodded solemnly. Suddenly, Yahiko's face turned ugly. “If Kenshin's allergic to this thing, that means I have to do everything for it!”

 

As if in answer, Kenshin gave another resounding sneeze. “You got that right!” Kaoru said, giving him a very evil grin.

 

~*~

 

“Yahiko!”

 

“What is it, busu?”

 

“Don't call me busu, and get your damned animal out of my room!”

 

Yahiko came running around the corner to find his cat happily ripping Kaoru's bedding to shreds. As it heard him come, it looked up and both teacher and student were caught in the power of its sad kitty eyes.

 

“Sorry, Kaoru. I don't know how it keeps getting in here.”

 

“It? You mean you don't even know what it is?”

 

“No,” he said defensively, gathering the kitten up in his arms.

 

“Oh for the love of…give me that thing.”

 

“Why?”

 

“So we can stop calling it it!”

 

Yahiko blushed and pushed the little gray ball into her arms. The kitten turned in her grasp, digging claws into very sensitive spots, but she immediately forgave it its sins when she met those darling eyes. Gently, she lifted the cat by its armpits and studied its belly, trying to distinguish the definite difference between a male and a female. After a moment, she handed it back to Yahiko.

 

“It's a boy.” Yahiko looked at the cat disappointedly.

 

“A boy?” he whined.

 

“What, you wanted a girl?”

 

“Hell no!”

 

“And what's wrong with girls?” Yahiko quickly backed away from Kaoru's simmering rage. After trying to come up with an answer and failing, he ran. Behind him, the swish of a bokken was clearly audible.

 

~*~

 

Kenshin was bent over the laundry as usual when he felt something brush against his back. He jumped away from the intruder, hand reaching for a sakabatou that was not there. He neatly fell over at his own stupidity when the little kitten mewled at him. Then he sneezed.

 

I don't understand. I've never had a problem with cats before. What makes this one…Ahh…ahh…ahhchooo! so different?

 

Kenshin was not enjoying existence that involved permanent congestion and sneezes so loud that half of Tokyo had stopped by asking if an oni was in the area. Cat hair was also very hard to get out of clothing.

 

Kenshin brushed himself off and resumed the laundry, now under the interested gaze of the kitten. The cat circled him, rubbing against his legs as he went. Kenshin couldn't help but grin at the little kitten. He reared up on his paws, gazing into the washtub. A tiny pink tongue flitted out before Kenshin could stop him, and he took a rather large drink of suds.

 

Sneezing softly, and a in a manner a great deal cuter than Kenshin had, he wandered to the other side of the tub and sat down facing the rurouni. He gave a plaintive mew as Kenshin sneezed again and a tiny soap bubble took flight from his open mouth. The rurouni smiled slightly at the kitten and tried again to scrub an oil stain out of one of Yahiko's gi.

 

Clouds slowly moved over the warm summer sky, throwing the courtyard into shadow. Kenshin studied the gray clouds, wondering if it would rain. He decided it was likely and moved to take the drying laundry indoors.

 

Suddenly, a growl emitted from the kitten. Kenshin started. Such a threatening noise shouldn't have come out of such a small creature. If he hadn't known better, Kenshin would've started searching for a tiger. As it was, he turned to look at the kitten and was thoroughly surprised.

 

The little gray feline was exactly the same size, but he suddenly seemed a thousand times more threatening. His silvery fur stood on end and his body was drawn into an arch that made Kenshin envious of his flexibility. His tail stood straight on end, and his claws were extended into the soft dirt of the courtyard. However, more disturbing than his threatening stance, were his eyes. They had turned as brilliant shining golden as Kenshin's could become.

 

Kenshin slowly side-stepped away from the tub and the cat's gaze followed him. The feline began stalking towards him, ears laid back, teeth showing in an evil grimace. Kenshin took a step back before stopping himself. It's only a kitten! he scolded himself. What would people say of this? The most feared hitokiri of the Bakumatsu was scared by a kitten!

 

Kenshin stopped retreating and held his ground as the cat stalked forward. The beast's amber gaze pierced him and he growled again, showing more fang. When he was within a foot of the rurouni, he reached out a paw. Kenshin could see the extended claws flying at him, but at the moment when he would have moved, a flash of lightning streaked across the sky, blinding him for a moment.

 

Pain exploded through his leg. Kenshin blinked spots from his eyes and looked down. Four gouges, about an inch apart, decorated his leg. What the…? Kenshin stared unbelieving. The little claws had ripped straight through the fabric of his hakama and sliced the skin beneath as neatly as a katana blade. And he was quite sure that the kitten's paw was not big enough to leave the sizable cuts he'd just received.

 

Slowly, his gaze fell back to the cat. He was sitting some distance away, licking a paw and looking entirely innocent. However, when he felt Kenshin's gaze, he gave him an amber glare that was vaguely reminiscent of Saitou. Kenshin looked back down at his leg as the first drops of rain started falling on the courtyard.

 

Slowly, he registered the feel of water dripping down his arms. Ahh! The laundry! Hurriedly, forgetting the cat for the moment, Kenshin gathered the drying laundry in his arms and dashed inside, utilizing his god-like speed in a desperate attempt to save the clothes from getting wet again. Once inside, he slowly inspected the clothes. Damn it! Every last one of them was soaked through again.

 

Kenshin hung the laundry, ignoring the feel of blood slowly trickling down his leg except to ensure that it didn't get on the floor. He walked back outside to cover the laundry tub. The rest could wait until the rain had ended. However, sitting outside the door waiting for him, was Yahiko's cat.

 

The beast fixed him with a brilliant golden stare that glowed in the encroaching darkness of the storm. Slowly, the cat stood as though it was his utter intent to move and it had nothing to do with Kenshin. However, once the rurouni was out of the room, the kitten raised a forepaw and pointed deliberately towards the training hall.

 

Kenshin raised an eyebrow at him and turned to get the laundry. Only his attuned senses warned him to move as the cat swiped for his leg again. He leaped upward and neatly flipped over so that he was facing his furry opponent. Said creature made an impatient noise and pointed at the training hall again. Slowly, the rurouni stood from his crouch and took a step towards the hall. The kitten nodded encouragingly.

 

Kenshin took another few steps, testing the cat's limits. He only nodded some more. With a sigh, Kenshin took off for the training hall. He could feel the cat tailing him, but it made no move to injure him again. He winced as the rain hit the cuts and stung. He'd have to treat them soon.

 

He could see that Kaoru had lit a few candles inside the hall. Their flickering light threw her shadow against the shoji screens, and he could see she was not practicing. He approached the door and opened his mouth to announce his presence, but the prickle of claws against his leg stopped him. He turned and eyed the cat incredulously. The silver beast shook his head at Kenshin and twitched his tail angrily.

 

Understanding the threat, Kenshin reached to the door and slid it open, silently berating himself for following the orders of a cat. He was even more annoyed that said cat was roughly 1/16 his size and was definitely smarter than any cat had a right to be. However, all coherent thought was quickly driven from his mind.

 

Kaoru stood with her back facing him and seemed unaware of his presence. She'd shrugged her gi off, leaving it hanging from the waistband of her hakama. She was rolling her left arm in a wide windmill and her right hand rested against her shoulder. Beneath her splayed fingers, Kenshin could make out a brilliant purple bruise. Kenshin was forced to cease studying the rest of her body as his demand to protect her took over. However, he made careful notes of the beautiful sway of her back, the strength in her shoulders, her narrow waist, and the hint of curvy hips that peeked over the sides of her hakama.

 

Carefully, as though he'd just entered, Kenshin slid the shoji loudly and said, “Kaoru-dono I…” He trailed off his voice in expert acting and let a blush creep up his cheeks, though he was sure it had already been there. Quickly, he turned his back on her even as she looked over her shoulder. Kami but her neck is beautiful.

 

“Kaoru-dono, please forgive me,” he said, letting his voice get deliberately high pitched. “Sessha was unaware of…your…current state of…”

 

“It's alright, Kenshin,” she said, interrupting his stammering with something that bordered on impatience. “You wouldn't have known. You can turn around now.”

 

He did so, leaving the blush in his cheeks even as his disappointment made itself evident in the back of his mind. His careful show was not for nothing. While he did find Kaoru beautiful…in fact alluring, he knew perfectly well that he was far too old for her. And aside from such a severe age difference, he was less than she deserved. Only through sheer force of will did he keep himself from rushing to her and kissing her senseless, though the darker parts of his mind demanded it.

 

“Kaoru-dono, sessha couldn't help but notice your shoulder,” he said, pointing as he did so.

 

“This?” she said, rolling said shoulder experimentally. “It's nothing. I tripped and fell on it.”

 

“It did not look like nothing,” he said, his voice growing sterner. Just because he couldn't make her his, that did not mean he wouldn't protect her.

 

“Kenshin,” she said, using his name as an expression of exasperation. Just as she looked as though she'd resolved to allow his ministrations, Yahiko's cat walked in, rubbing against Kenshin's injured leg as it went. He couldn't withhold the wince as cat fur detached itself into the clotting blood.

 

“You're one to talk,” Kaoru said as she looked down as saw the blood-stained hakama. “You're hurt worse than I am.” Worry creased her face as she rushed forward and knelt down to study his leg. His slightly less than controlled mind turned the position into all sorts of things that brought the blush back to his face.

 

“We need to treat this,” Kaoru stated, not even aware of the nature of his thoughts. She stood and took him by the wrist, leading him to her room where she kept the first aid kit. As he turned to follow her, he couldn't help but catch the cat's satisfied amber gaze.

 

~*~

 

Kenshin sat on the floor of Kaoru's room nervously. The shihandai hadn't bothered to light a candle and the half light was making him think of things he'd much rather save for his own darkened room. Kaoru had retrieved the medicinal kit and now knelt before him, slowly rolling up the pant leg of his hakama.

 

She hissed as she saw the damage. “Kenshin, how did these happen?”

 

He blushed faintly and mumbled, “The cat.”

 

She fixed him with an incredulous stare. “The cat? That little thing probably couldn't do more than give you a little scratch. Besides, I find it hard to believe that you didn't feel him coming. What really happened?”

 

“Kaoru-dono, sessha is not lying. It was Yahiko's cat.”

 

“Fine!” she said, brandishing a small bottle of Western alcohol called brandy, “Don't tell me then. I'll just make sure this hurts. A lot.”

 

Setting a clean washcloth under his leg, she poured the brandy over the cuts. It stung like hell, but Kenshin kept his face impassive. He would not give Kaoru the satisfaction of a wince. Kaoru took water to the cuts, cleaning out the cat hair and dirt that had worked its way in. Her gentle hands were a sharp contrast to the angry look on her face.

 

As she reached for a sealing poultice she quietly said, “I wish you'd trust me.”

 

Kenshin felt as though he'd been struck with Saitou's gotetsu. He trusted Kaoru completely. How had she ever gotten the impression that he didn't. He told her as much as she smeared cool cream over his leg.

 

“Kenshin,” she said, stopping her ministrations to meet his eyes, “it's not trust when you hide yourself from a person. There are things about you that you won't tell anyone. You never let any of us see what you're feeling, except sometimes when you're really angry. You always put on a smile and brush us aside, even when you're hurting.”

 

Kenshin could find no answer for her. After all, what she said was true. He always hid away his past from his friends, and especially from Kaoru. The truth, the blood, would only be another stain he could add to his heart. He would hate himself for taking away the small bits of innocence she had left. He treasured that innocence as he treasured his sakabatou. It was a small sign of the fact that times were finally changing.

 

“I just wish…” Kenshin was startled to see that there were tears falling from her eyes. “I wish you'd open up a little.”

 

“Kaoru-dono,” he started, unsure of what to say. She began wrapping his wounds in thick linen bandages. As she tied off a knot, he touched her shoulder, making her look up at him with slightly red eyes.

 

“I will try, Kaoru-dono.”

 

She gave him a watery smile, sniffling a little. “Thank you, Kenshin.”

 

They sat still for a moment, simply enjoying each other's company. The mood, unfortunately, was completely ruined when Kenshin sneezed unexpectedly. Kaoru sighed and mumbled something under her breath that distinctly sounded like, “Damn cat!”

 

~*~

 

Before he left, Kenshin insisted on looking at Kaoru's shoulder. He sternly told himself it had everything to do with her health and nothing to do with the elegant lines of her neck and back. She of course, was arguing vehemently. Finally, Kenshin was left with no choice but to give her an ultimatum.

 

“Kaoru, either you let me look at that shoulder now, or I will drag you to Aizu to Megumi's when the rain lets up. It's you choice.”

Kaoru blinked at him, going slightly owl-eyed. He called me Kaoru. Not Kaoru-dono. Just…Kaoru. And he said “I” instead of “sessha.” Kaoru could also see little golden flecks swirling in her rurouni's eyes. He was losing patience, something that was very uncharacteristic in Kenshin. Carefully she stored this information. Either he was taking her request seriously, or he was simply fed up for the day.

 

With a sigh, she acquiesced. Gently, Kaoru slid down the sleeve of her gi to reveal her swollen, bruised shoulder. Kenshin studied the skin with a critical eye, carefully touching the wounded area before making Kaoru move her arm about to test mobility. He circled around her, looking at the shoulder from the front. It was just as purple.

 

Gently, Kenshin prodded her collar bone. Kaoru bit her lip in an attempt to stop sound, but she couldn't help but hiss. He raised an eyebrow at her as he fingered the bone, hoping she didn't notice that his hands lingered a little longer than was probably necessary. Finally, he pulled away, delving into the kit for some bruise balm.

 

“You've bruised your collar bone Kaoru-dono.” He missed her disappointed expression when he reapplied the honorific to her name. “You're going to have to be careful with it for a while or it will snap.”

 

Kaoru snorted her disbelief, turning her nose up at him. He smiled at her derision, and his eyes sparkled, still possessed with a tinge of amber. “I'm not lying. When sessha had just started training with the sword, sessha got a bruise such as this. While doing a kata the next day, sessha's bone snapped like a bamboo poll. Shishou was most unpleased.”

 

Kaoru gave Kenshin an open gaze of assessment. Since when had he ever talked about his training? A smile lit her face as she realized he really was trying to be more honest, more revealing around her.

Kenshin smoothed an acrid smelling balm over Kaoru's shoulder, rubbing it in until her skin glistened. Occasionally Kaoru let out a hiss when he touched a particularly sensitive spot, and always he softly apologized to her. She found herself enjoying his ministrations. A secret part of her mind was wishing that he was not simply doing them because of a wound.

 

Reluctantly, Kenshin pulled his hand away. If he continued much longer, Kaoru was sure to notice that he was massaging parts of her that were most definitely not bruised. He'd tried not to let his eyes linger on the swell of breast hidden beneath her cloth bindings. Instead, his eyes had wandered elsewhere. Kaoru's arms were well-toned from exercise. The lean muscles made graceful lines that moved in the most fascinating ways as she windmilled her arm again.

 

The column of her throat and the thick muscle of her shoulder had quickly become a point of fascination for him. He was well aware that he would daydream of them later, along with the various things he might be able to do to them to make Kaoru a happier woman.

 

Again his eyes wandered downward and he was forced to avert his gaze, this time looking into Kaoru's face. She seemed not to have noticed that he was surreptitiously appreciating her body. Her sparkling sapphire eyes had affixed on his hands, which were still packing away the supplies of the medical kit. He took advantage of her distraction to better memorize her face. It was rare that he got this close.

 

Her eyes were a point of pride for him. Despite what she'd seen in his company, her eyes remained determinedly pure and carefree…well as carefree as one could get with three mouths to feed and little money. The ebony silk of her hair was constantly falling into those oceanic depths and made his fingers itch to push it away. The ivory of her skin was only interrupted by the warm peach glow of her cheeks, a sure indication of life and fire that dwelled beneath her surface.

 

Unconsciously, his eyes fell to her lips. Her lower lip was red and slightly swollen from her biting it for so long. The darker parts of his mind quickly showed him other ways to get her lips to such a state. He banished his thoughts and tried to move his gaze, but he was already too late. As he raised his eyes, he realized Kaoru had been staring at him.

 

Kaoru was enthralled with Kenshin's hands. They were elegant and long-fingered. She could not help but admire the deftness with which he handled all things, not just his sword. And their movements were flowing and beautiful, like an artist's hands, or maybe a musician's.

 

She managed to tear her gaze from them to look at his face. Kenshin looked deep in thought, and he was staring at her. More specifically, he seemed to be staring at her lips. Why would he…? Kaoru's thoughts trailed off as possible answers presented themselves. A blush crept up her cheeks even as his eyes rose slowly to hers.

 

Kaoru had never kissed a man or been kissed in her life. Nor had she ever been curious about what it would be like until Kenshin had come into her life. After that, she'd dreamed about it more and more, until a large chunk of her brain was consumed with curiosity; the curiosity however, had never threatened to overwhelm her until now.

 

“Sessha should start dinner now,” he said quietly, though he made no move to get up.

 

“Umm...that…that's probably…a good idea,” she mumbled, cringing at her own stuttering. “I don't think I'm gonna eat tonight.” Her voice had lowered to a whisper. She was unsure how long she could be in the same room as this man before her curiosity broke her like a twig and satiated itself. She dropped her eyes from his face and refused to look at him, fearing the results of any prolonged eye contact.

 

Kaoru felt him move and was utterly grateful. If he wasn't there to tempt her, there was no way to give in to that temptation. She nearly jumped out of her skin when, instead of leaving immediately, he crouched in front of her so his knees were in her direct line of vision. I must be dreaming, she thought, even as she felt his hand slide across the line of her jaw, lifting her gaze to his. Is he going to…

 

Kenshin cut off her thoughts by leaning across the scant distance between them and gently pressing his lips to hers. It was a kiss in the most polite sense of the word, barely a brushing of lips. But electricity shot between them as though lightning had struck the house.

 

Without a word, Kenshin rose and left. Kaoru was left in the darkness of the room with only her thoughts and the memory of his lips. Slowly, she raised a finger to touch the burning flesh. He really kissed me.

 

~*~

 

Kenshin wandered through the house in a bit of a daze. He found himself in the kitchen only by pure accident, though that had been his point of destination originally. He gazed at the room as though it was the first time he had seen it. Everything seemed fresh and utterly new. Even in the dim light of the storm, colors jumped at him in ways they never had before. Everything from the orange of the carrots to the lacquered gold of the wooden screens was a feast for his eyes.

 

Part of him was in wonderment at his own audacity. Perhaps Kaoru had been right in believing he was getting sick. Under normal circumstances he would never have allowed himself to appreciate Kaoru's beauty, let alone show her his appreciation by kissing her.

 

The sensation of her lips still lingered against him. He licked his own lips at the thought and got the faintest taste of her; some mixture of tea after practice as well as a sweet taste he couldn't quite place, though it seemed velvety and wonderful. Her lips had been as satin soft as he imagined, but he hadn't expected the sudden jump of electricity down his spine that she had managed to elicit from him with only one square inch of her skin. What would it be like to have her body pressed against his? He could only imagine.

 

Kenshin shook his head sharply and turned to the vegetables set out for dinner. He needed his wits about him, or he'd wind up losing a few fingers, not to mention several days of consciousness courtesy of Kaoru's bokken when she found out of his stupidity.

 

As Kenshin set to his task, he noticed that Yahiko's cat had wandered into the room. He jumped to the counter with ease and sat primly, staring at the rurouni with the disdain only a cat could exude. If Kenshin didn't know better, he would have thought the creature was aware of what had gone on in Kaoru's room. However, the cat had definitely not been present.

 

Kenshin turned back to the vegetables, ignoring the ash-gray beast as best he could. The cat gave a meow that sounded a great deal like a human sigh, but then started washing himself. Kenshin raised his eyebrow at the beast, wondering what he was up to.

 

Yahiko bounced in a moment later.

 

“Kenshin, you're not done with dinner yet?” he asked, the whine plain in his voice.

 

Kenshin smiled gently and said, “Kaoru-dono hurt herself. Sessha needed to look after the injury before he started supper.”

 

“Oh…she's ok, isn't she?” The boy's grudging worry was evident.

 

“Kaoru-dono will be fine as long as she goes easy on her right shoulder. Please make sure she does when she's practicing, Yahiko. Sessha is trusting you.”

 

Kenshin pinned Yahiko under a gaze that made the boy squirm slightly. “She won't hurt herself under my watch, Kenshin. I promise.”

 

Yahiko nodded and sat against the wall to watch Kenshin cook. A moment later, his cat crawled into his lap, yawning.

 

“Have you named him yet, Yahiko?”

 

“Huh…oh, yeah. I decided to call him Youkai.”

 

“Youkai?” Kenshin questioned, turning to gaze at the boy.

 

“After what he's done to the house already, I think it's pretty fitting.”

 

Indeed it is, Kenshin thought as the weight of the bandages on his leg became more evident.

 

 

 

Japanese glossary

 

kata: traditional set of exercises in martial arts

 

furo: bathhouse

 

ohagi:

 

sessha: this unworthy one

 

de gozaro ka:

 

shihandai:

 

busu: ugly or hag

 

bokken: wooden sword

 

oni: ogre

 

gi: shortened kimono that Kenshin usually wears (Kaoru too when she's training)

 

hitokiri: formal title for an assassin

 

Bakumatsu: the Revolution that occurred ten years prior the series and which Kenshin participated in

 

hakama: traditional set of loose fitting pants that can be a skirt or a split style pant

 

katana: traditional Japanese long-sword (like Saitou uses)

 

shishou: Master (Kenshin is referring specifically to Hiko Seijiro)

 

A/N: Look, you found this story! If you're still reading at this point I am amazed indeed. Most people just don't care about the glossary.

 

Saitou: Then why did you put it in?

 

Authoress: Because I remember being a newbie and not knowing what any of those words meant without guessing. I'm being compassionate.

 

Kenshin: You weren't being compassionate when you sliced my leg open.

 

Authoress: Now, now Kenshin. No need to get hasty. Just put the sakabatou down.