When Kenshin had arrived at the meeting place, he was surprised to see that Kaoru had already arrived. But what startled him the most was her attire. He had been under the impression that she was just a commoner, but commoners did not have such attire unless they were an upstanding family that had lost all respect. Yet, that would only happen if the family had lost its honor – which meant death for the members of the family, though it was not unheard of that women would escape such a fate.

"Were you waiting long, Kaoru-dono?" He asked her, once he gathered his wits.

She shook her head and smiled at him. "No, not long." It wasn't a complete lie: yes she had been sitting there since sunset, but she hadn't really started to get anxious for his company until recently.

Kenshin walked over to her and stood just in front of her, while she had to look up from her sitting position to see him. "You are not all that you seem, Kaoru-dono." He finally sat down near her, but not necessarily next to her.

"Is that an observation or a fact?" The smile did not leave her face. While her natural beauty was quite stunning, she was beautiful still in the formal face make-up. Though it looked like she had taken some of it off.

"Both." He waved his hand over her attire. "Having only met you two days ago, I think there is a great deal you are not saying." He wouldn't say 'hiding' because he felt it would imply she owed him an explanation.

When she didn't respond right away, he was afraid that she misunderstood him. But before he could open his mouth to explain, she laughed.

"Why should I reveal everything at once?" She leaned closer to him. "If I told you everything when we first met, I doubt you would be here this evening."

Kenshin blinked slowly, taking in her words. There was some truth to what she said, but it still confused him. "Is that really why you keep so much to yourself?"

That seemed to stop her short. She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment in thought.

He instantly wanted to take back his words, and yet he didn't want to correct himself. He was curious to see how she would respond.

He watched as she exhaled, as if coming to some sort of conclusion. "I am still unsure of myself."

She didn't offer more than that, which made Kenshin feel worse. "I am sorry, Kaoru-dono. It was not my place…"

Kaoru shook her head and lifted her hand to stop him. "No, you have every right." She leaned her head back against the tree. "You haven't known me much more than a day, and I sought you out and asked you to meet me here, without so much as telling you more than my name." She closed her eyes and her face held such sadness, that Kenshin felt the need to rid her of that pain.

He tentatively touched one of her hands that lay in her lap, just enough to grab her attention. She was so startled by the touch that Kenshin succeeded in gaining her attention. "I believe I was the first to say that we would meet again, was it not?"

They sat there in silence for a moment, but finally Kaoru graced him with a smile and nodded to him. "Yes I suppose you did."

Kenshin returned that smile, and withdrew his hand. Kaoru suddenly missed his hand, but mentally smacked herself for thinking it. She shouldn't even be here!

"I still owe you an explanation." She said to him.

He shook his head once again, "you owe me nothing."

"You are a stubborn one, aren't you?"

The uncomfortable mood was washed away. "I suspect I could be a match for you." Their laughter filled the darkness around them.

-------

"Your master use to make you cook his meals?" Kaoru asked incredulously. "But I figured your house would have cooks to do that!"

"We do, and we did back then! But they wouldn't cook when he wanted. So as part of my training, he would make me cook." He paused as Kaoru laughed at his tale. "But I think that was just an excuse. I think he just enjoyed making me his personal slave. The cooks would also reprimand him for doing so."

Kaoru laughed some more. "The cooks reprimanded him? And he allowed that?"

"Oh yes. My master is probably one of the worst individuals to abide by rules, let alone pay attention to social classes."

"So that's where you get it from!" She poked him in the shoulder.

He grabbed his shoulder, mocking pain. "Get what from?"

"Your disregard for social classes and rules." She teased. "But I am thankful for it, or else we would not be here."

By now Kaoru had herself leaning in closer to Kenshin, one hand on the ground supporting the majority of her weight. While he had one leg stretched out and the other bent at the knee with his arm wrapped around it.

"I envy you though." She took a breath to catch up with some much needed air from her laughing. "I don't know how to cook a thing."

"Really?" Kenshin was genuinely surprised. "Isn't that something all women are supposed to learn?"

Kaoru nodded. "Yes, but I simply have a talent for turning anything so black you would question it was ever food once."

"How does your household survive?" He winked at her.

Kaoru grinned. "Well my mother cooked everything until the year she died, but after that my father ended up doing the cooking." She laughed, but it was the kind of laugh one used when reminiscing on happier memories. "We discovered that he was a much better student than I was."

Kenshin was about to ask why he didn't just hire some help, when he quickly remembered that Kaoru was, supposedly, not from a wealthy family.

"Your father must be an amazing man." Kenshin fiddled with a leaf that sat on the ground, envying the man that was Kaoru's father. He managed to work to provide food for the family and cook for his daughter. Kenshin had thought that his own life had been difficult, but Kaoru still seemed to be living the difficult life.

Kaoru shifted so she was sitting up, giving her arm a rest. "Yes he really was amazing."

"Was?" That immediately made him forget his thoughts.

She nodded again. "Yes...he died..."

Kenshin sucked in his breath at her confession. "I am so sorry Kaoru-dono."

She shook her head so hurriedly that he immediately knew she was struggling with a strong emotion. "You didn't know. So please...don't apologize." She hid her face behind her hand.

"Kaoru-dono..."

"I'm...sorry." She managed to choke out the words. "I can't..." She whispered.

Kenshin very carefully wrapped his arms around her. He was uncertain how she would react to it, but she didn't push him away.

Kaoru struggled to keep herself from crying. She continued to hope that Kenshin would remain silent. So long as he did, she would be able to regain her composure. She had thought she had moved past the death of her father by now, but her one confession to Kenshin had brought back all the pain as though it were a fresh wound.

Taking a ragged breath she pulled herself together and pulled away from him. "I'm sorry Kenshin. I thought I had moved past it all…"

He shook his head and lifted a hand to stop her from saying more. "It's all right Kaoru-dono. You have nothing to apologize for."

She took another breath and nodded to him. They both knew that she didn't agree with him. Placing a hand on her shoulder, she was forced to look at him. "The loss of a loved one should take time to accept." He smiled gently at her. "Take all the time you need."

Kaoru gazed at him as though he had given her something no one else had ever given her before. Tears welled up in her eyes but she quickly closed her eyes and turned away. She did not want to cry in front of him. "You speak as though you are one who has lost a great deal." She stated. Turning the attention on him helped a bit.

Kenshin hadn't expected her say that. She had surprised him again. It seemed she was capable of reading into his words straight to his soul. He wanted to deny her statement, but she deserved his honesty.

"Yes, I suppose I have." He finally said.

Kaoru lifted her head to the sky. "Do you remember your parents?" It was a rather abrupt question. It wasn't a complete change of subject but she wasn't going to address what he had lost. He was grateful for that.

Kenshin shook his head. "No. They died when I was very young."

"I see." She turned to face him again, her tears gone but the sadness remained. Yet the sadness he saw was not for her, but sadness for him. "That is unfortunate."

He couldn't help but smile at her. "How is it that you can be concerned for me, when you already hold such a heavy burden?"

Kaoru returned that smile, but it was softer than her usual glowing smiles. "Because it is easier to help others with their burdens than to deal with my own."

The statement held a great deal of truth, especially for him. How often did he go into town to help others with their problems or daily tasks in order to avoid dealing with his own?

Her voice broke him from his thoughts. "Thank you, Kenshin."

Turning his attention back to her, he noticed that she had stood up while he was thinking. It bothered him that he was so distracted that he had not even noticed her movement.

"Are you leaving?" He asked, knowing the answer but hoping he was wrong.

She nodded, her hands clasped together beneath the sleeves of her kimono. "I think it is best."

He stood up quickly. "Is something wrong?"

Kaoru smiled and shook her head. "No. Everything is fine now."

He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Is there someone waiting for you?"

"No." She stepped closer to him. "But I think I have taken up enough of your time."

He laughed. "You really shouldn't be so concerned."

Kaoru smiled, as she looked up into his face. "I believe that you do not give yourself much consideration. Therefore I will give you the consideration you deserve."

Kenshin chuckled at that. She was right. He rarely thought of himself, and was therefore often in trouble with his master for neglecting himself.

"Your master will be expecting you in the morning, will he not?" She asked him.

He nodded. "Yes he will be."

"Then this is where we will say good bye." Her smile softened, and then she turned to leave.

It was there in her eyes: she did not believe she would see him again. Or she didn't intend to. Which one, he wasn't sure.

Kenshin grabbed her shoulder gently to stop her from going far. She glanced at his hand, then him. "Yes?"

He decided that now was not the time to be reluctant. "May I see you again?"

Any doubt that either held, was wiped away with that one question. "Just tell me when." She answered.

"Tomorrow night."

"Then I will be here." With that she turned and left.

When she was no longer in sight, Kenshin returned to his own home looking forward to their next meeting.

------

So you all probably thought I died. I have become one of those authors that I dislike: updating once in a blue moon. Sorry to have made you wait.

This chapter was difficult to write, purely because it was yet another stepping stone for the rest to come but not a whole lot happened.

I have already started on the next chapter and hope to have it finished soon.

It looks like I do need an editor, so if anyone wants to volunteer please send me a note. If you are interested, please be advised that I need someone who can get the edits done within 2 days of my sending it to them. Also, if you think I have written something poorly, don't be afraid to tell me, but don't be cruel about it.

That's all!

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. If it hadn't been for you, I probably would have dropped this project all together with.

影雨