This is so exciting! A new story in such short notice? I'm really trying here for you guys. I hope you like the new plot line. Most of mine will be similar in some sort of fashion. If you don't catch it, I'll try to remember to bring it up in the last chapter. Happy reading. :)

As always, I do not own Rurouni Kenshin... if I did, it probably wouldn't be as awesome as it was originally.

Running through the rain in nothing but a blue jacket, old drenched jeans and sneakers that had definitely seen better days, Kaoru Kamiya tried to find the house that her friend, Misao, had instructed her to go to. She had been looking for it for what seemed like forever. Running through expensive neighborhoods looking for one house when they all looked alike... she was about to give up. "Just a little bit longer." She whispered to herself. Looking at houses left and right, she finally came upon a strange house that definitely stood out. Not in size or in shape, but there was something about it that she couldn't put her finger on that made it different from the ones around it. Taking a closer look, she sighed. This was it; the house she'd been looking for.

She quickly made her way into a dry area. Ringing her hair out, she tried to make herself presentable. She'd washed her clothes this morning, not that that had done any good. She wanted to look at least decently presentable. Kaoru took a deep breath before pressing the doorbell, sending a loud ring through ears. Not expecting it, she took a surprised step back before straightening herself and approaching the door again. At first, she didn't think anyone would answer. Slowly but surely a figure approached the door, eventually opening it to her.

He gave her a glance and then looked back inside the house. "Please stop running around up there!" He shouted and then faced her again. "Can I help you, young lady?" He gave her a small but guarded smile.

"Umm, I.. uh, I'm here about a job..." She whispered, avoiding his eyes by looking at her shoes. She could hear the laughter in his tone when he responded to her.

"I'm sorry. You'll have to speak up; I didn't quite catch that."

"I was told that there was a need for a babysitter here..." She spoke a little louder, still not meeting his gaze.

"There is, actually." He paused.

His hesitancy made her look up, into his amethyst eyes. She noticed him looking her over. She gave him a quick once-over as well. He wasn't tall at all, which surprised her, but was surprised her even more was his long flaming mane. He looked like he was dressed to go to a funeral; a black suit and tie. He looked nice; very professional.

"There you are." He gave her another smile, drawing her attention from her thoughts. "Like I was saying; there is a need for a caregiver for a child here. I'm a little surprised to see someone so young applying though. Not to be rude, but I was expecting someone with a little more experience."

She sighed. Did she really look that young? "Sir, I'm almost twenty-two years old... do you really think that's too young?"

His eyes widened at her confession. "I apologize." He looked over her again. "I must say I'm surprised."

She smiled at the sincerity she heard. "I have an ID if you'd like to see it."

"That won't be necessary." He replied. They stood there in silence, before he cleared his throat. "I'm being incredibly rude." Taking a step back, he cleared a path for her. "Please, come in."

She walked past him and into the foyer of the house; it looked normal enough. "Thank you."

He closed the door and walked ahead of her before turning towards her. He opened his mouth to say something, but a crash sounded throughout the residence. "Damnit." He cursed under his breath. There was stomping from upstairs, a few shouts from a woman, and before she could move, a small figure flew down the stairs and into her body, making them both crash to the floor. She wrapped her arms around the figure, taking the weight of the fall; knocking the air out of her.

She bit back the curse that threatened to pass through her lips. Looking down at what was on top of her, she noticed a young boy with black hair and brown eyes. He stared back at her with suspicious wonder.

The man was at her side in a second, kneeling beside her. "Are you alright?" He asked her and the little boy.

"I'm okay. Are you okay?" She asked the child, attempting to sit up, her arm still supporting his weight.

"I'm okay." He replied. "Are you?" He slid off of her lap.

"I'm fine, really, thank you." She took a deep breathe, making sure nothing was hurting. She looked back at the young boy. "You're sure you're okay?"

"Yahiko!" The voice from earlier shouted. "Don't you dare run away from me."

Kaoru looked up to see a snobby middle-aged woman who looked like she was attempting to be a hooker more than a babysitter. Her shorts were half way up her butt and and her cleavage showed way too much for a child to see. She dressed like she was hoping she'd pass for a woman in her mid-twenties... and she failed miserably. She grabbed the boy, Yahiko, by the arm, yanking him off the floor.

"Ms. Karamura, I do believe I told you not to use physical force against my son." The man who let her in growled as he gently took Yahiko away from the woman.

'Wait, his son? What?' There was no way he was old enough to have children... let alone one so young.

"Dad..." He said before the woman could reply. "Who is she?"

They all looked back at Kaoru, who was still on the floor, not sure what to do.

"Who indeed." He smiled, humorlessly. He extended his hand to her.

She took it and helped herself up. "I'm Kaoru Kamiya." She held her hand out to the young boy. "Nice to meet you."

Yahiko gave her hand a distasteful look, earning a gentle flick to the ear from his father. "Don't be rude."

He reluctantly placed his palm against hers, wrapping his fingers around her hand, giving a single shake before letting go.

She gave him a small smile before offering her hand to his father. "Nice to meet you as well."

He gently grabbed her hand, gave a sad excuse for a hand shake and then let her go of her hand as well. "It's nice to meet you too."

"Mr. Himura, I would've gotten the door, but Yahiko has been so rambunctious lately... I couldn't get to it fast enough. I didn't mean for you to have to have to deal someone like her." The disgust the woman felt for Kaoru wasn't hidden at all.

"Ms. Karamura, don't worry yourself. I'm happy I answered the door."

"But... sir, look at her."

Huffing, Kaoru crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at her. "Excuse me? What about the way I look?" She looked down at herself and tried not to cringe.

"You look like a homeless rat." She sniffed.

"You're almost right..." She sighed, causing both adults to stare at her in disbelief. "I'm homeless, but I have never nor ever will be a rat." She hadn't always been homeless, just for awhile, once hard times had fallen on her. She was trying to pick up her life though, and this job, had she gotten it, would've been the first step. Now she was going to have to start all over again. Kaoru looked at Mr. Himura, and gave a slight respectful bow. "I'm sorry for wasting your time."

She turned towards the door, but noticed the woman try to grab Yahiko again. She looked back at them. "Physical punishment doesn't work on children, by the way."

"Don't pretend to know how to treat a child."

"Ma'am, I think I have a better clue than even you do." With that, she opened the front door, walked through it and closed it. She looked up at the sky; it was raining still. Sighing, she took off, heading towards the closest public place with outside shelter.

She didn't get far though, maybe two blocks, before a black car pulled up in front of her. She took an unsure step back before the window rolled down, revealing Mr. Himura. "Get in."

She looked at him, uncertain. "What?"

"Do you want the job or not?" He asked, already rolling up the window. She didn't waste any time in getting in the car.

"But... Ms.-"

"She's already broken my rules, I was just looking for a reason to fire her. You gave me that reason."

"Mr. Himura..." She began.

"It's Kenshin." He interrupted. "Only people I can't stand and businessmen call me by my last name."

"You don't know me, though."

"Then I guess you'll know when I make up my mind on if I like you as a person or not." He kindhearted smiled at her. "You don't believe in physical punishment, huh?"

"No, I don't. What's the point? All you're doing is hitting your children. What's the chance that they're actually going to understand what they're getting hit for? I believe in little taps but not actual hitting. Children need to learn responsibility, even at a young age. They need to be told what they did was wrong and why."

He nodded as if understanding her reasoning as he pulled into the driveway. He parked the car and turned to look at her. "How do you know so much about children at such a young age?"

She placed her head against the window, looking out at the rain the rolled down. "Because it's the same rules I use on myself when it comes to my daughter."

I'm trying a different anime this time, so it's kind of nerve-wracking. I don't want the characters to be too original. I want the to be how they are in the series, but keeping up with everything is so difficult. Sigh. Anyway, tell me what you think so far.

Ms Karamura is a very minor character, so don't overthink her part in this story, I just needed her so I could set the stage.

P.S. I know a lot of you want longer chapters, but if I did that, my suspense places wouldn't be right, so stick with me here and we'll see how it goes.

I'm not going to lie, I feel as though this fanfiction is going to move pretty fast, though I still hope you really enjoy it.

-K