I do not own RK. It belongs to the great Watsuki-sama, whose work I admire. I'm just a humble student. Some thanks also goes to Taku Iwasaki, who wrote the beautiful RK OVA music that inspires me when I am writing.

I've taken some liberties with the storyline. It ignores parts of Jinchuu(manga ending) and Seisouhen (the last OVA). I like them both, but certain details from those sections have to be ignored/ changed slightly for this story to work properly. Kenji is in this version, but is away with Hiko. If you don't know what I'm talking about, don't worry about it.

I also hereby solemnly swear that this work of fan fiction is not a Mary Sue.

My Date with the Battousai's Daughter

Chapter 1- The Amazing Translucent Gi

Kenshin awoke to a smell coming from the kitchen. He looked out the window and realized it was late, much later than he usually arose. Seeing the position of the sun, he guessed it was eight or nine in the morning. This may not sound late to most people, but the former wanderer was accustomed to getting up at five or six with the sunrise.

"I must be getting old." Kenshin thought amusedly as he felt Kaoru stir in his arms. Stroking her soft black hair, he gently moved her head from his chest to one side, trying not to wake her.

Without moving or opening her eyes she murmured sleepily, "Just a few more minutes Kenshin. You always get up so early."

He smiled at his wife's petite form as she pulled the covers, rolled over, and curled into a tight ball. Shaking his head, Kenshin rose and dressed in his usual magenta gi and white hakama. Remembering that Kaoru had been trying to get rid of the old gi recently, he wondered where he could hide it until something else in the house absorbed her attention. It was patched and threadbare, but he'd worn it for so many years he just couldn't part with it. He looked around for a tie for his long, red hair, finally borrowing one of his wife's ribbons, though he was careful to choose one that was not her favorite.

"Dad, could you help me with this?" Sakura called. "I need your opinion on this seasoning." Kenshin rose and went to the kitchen, thanking Kami-sama once again that though Sakura had inherited her mother's lovely blue eyes and black hair, she had received his cooking skills. Walking to the stove and tasting the miso with a ladle, he advised her to add salt.

"Thanks Dad," She said with a smile, "and good morning, you sure slept late. I can't remember ever beating you to the kitchen before."

"There's a first time for everything." He said smiling. He and Kaoru had stayed up late last night; talking and doing those things which married couples were meant to do. He marveled at how Kaoru could send him into such a peaceful, dreamless sleep, without the torment of the nightmares that usually haunted him.

The smell continued to waft through the house, finally rousing Kaoru. She briefly wished Kenshin were still there to cuddle before the rumbling of her stomach commanded her sternly to get up. Letting out a yawn, she stretched as she rose. Walking over to the dresser, she dressed in the training clothes for the class she was planning to teach that afternoon: cloth bindings for her breasts, and the white gi and navy blue hakama of the Kamiya Kasshin Kendo School. As she walked towards the kitchen she grabbed her blue hair ribbon and began tying her hair back into a ponytail.

"Good morning everyone." Kaoru exclaimed. She took a seat between Sakura and Kenshin. Yahiko sat across from her.

"Good morning busu." Yahiko said with a teasing smile. Kaoru growled at the customary insult and looked around for her bokken to deliver the customary response: a knock to his insolent head.

Before she could respond, Sakura spoke up. "Now, now Yahiko," she said, "You know Mom hates it when you do that."

"Oh I know," Yahiko said with a smirk, "but with a face like that I just couldn't help it." Kenshin and Sakura exchanged a smile and a commiserating look as the bokken found its mark.

"Yahiko, when will you ever learn?" Sakura asked. Everyone laughed, except for Yahiko, who was busy rubbing his head.

Suddenly Kaoru's face became strangely forbidding as her gaze came to rest on Kenshin a moment. "Kenshin, what are you wearing?" She asked, her voice pleasantly dangerous.

"Oro?" Kenshin asked, trying to deflect the comment through feigned confusion.

"Don't 'oro' me Kenshin." She said, grabbing a corner of his gi. "That gi is so threadbare I can see through it. It's actually translucent!"

"Oro." Kenshin said again, wondering how he would save his gi this time. "But this is this one's favorite gi."

"It's your only gi." Kaoru observed. "Kenshin! You look like a homeless man!"

Kenshin grinned and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Well technically was that not true once?"

"That was fifteen years ago!" Kaoru yelled, waving the cloth in her hand and with it, her husband. "Kenshin, it's ridiculous! A grown man can't have just one shirt!"

"Actually…" Sakura began with a small smile.

"Yes Sakura?" Kenshin asked quickly, trying to shift himself from the center of attention.

"Well…it happened when I was at the marketplace the other day..." She began.

Sakura had been browsing around amongst the various kiosks lined up on the street when something among the assortment of food, pottery and knick-knacks had caught her eye.

Seeing her stare, the elderly shopkeeper walked over. "Can I help you?" Pausing, he noticed the direction of her gaze. "Oh, you're looking at that thing!" He exclaimed with exasperation. "Don't ask: it came in a shipment a few months ago by mistake. Though what kind of idiot would wear it or even make it…"

"I'll take it." Sakura had interrupted.

Back in the present, Sakura walked to her room and came back with a brown paper package. Handing it to her father, she sat back down with an amused expression. Casting a wondering look at her, Kenshin's fingers quickly tore off the paper to reveal a brand new magenta gi, exactly like the one he was wearing in all but age and condition.

"Just great," Kaoru growled under her breath, "now I'll never get him out of magenta."

"Thank you Sakura-chan." Kenshin said, smiling widely. He studied her for a moment, before asking, "Now…what is it that you wish to speak to us about?"

Sakura cursed her father's sixth sense. There was indeed something she wanted to talk to them about. Deciding now was as good a time as any, she began, "Well it's about this guy who asked me out..."

Kaoru's head popped up to stare at her daughter. "Dating? So young?"

"I'm fourteen." Sakura protested. "Some girls get engaged at my age!"

"Some," Kaoru said, "but not you."

Growing indignant Sakura yelled, "Of course not! He just wants to take me to dinner!"

Kenshin sighed, thinking, "My little flower is growing up." Aloud he replied, "You must be careful Sakura-chan. Tell me, who is this man and from where do you know him?"

"He's the son of one of the shopkeepers we always buy from." Sakura explained, rolling her eyes at her father's paranoia. "The Asakuras?"

Kenshin nodded. He knew the Asakura family to be a kind, generous one. "We will still have to meet him first."

"Of course." Sakura answered, smiling and nodding happily. Piling the dishes to be washed later, she ran to her room to dress.