As the group was departing the clinic, Sanosuke stopped Megumi at the door. “Sou, pay up, Fox! Hehehe!” he chimed, holding out his hand. She merely smacked him on the head. “ITAI!!”

”What are you talking about, Baka?? I’m the one who won the bet!!”

“Usou!! Kenshin and Jou-chan had a romantic evening after all! I mean, they kissed!!!”

“Hmp, so what?? That wasn’t the deal. I’m still the winner.” she replied, crossing her arms. Before Sanosuke could argue further, Genzai started calling for help. Chuckling she turned to go, “I hope you will pay up soon… OHOHOHOHO!!”

”TEME~!!” Sanosuke yelled after her, his fists waving in the air. Defeated, he decided to catch up with the others. Everyone was being so serious and quiet. “Oi! Knock it off! It ain’t like Kenshin’s gonna die right away!”

Misao elbowed him in the stomach and he started to gag in pain. “KORA!! It’s not nice to joke about death!!!”

“Minna, you’re all mistaken.” Kenshin said, turning towards their solemn faces, “Sessha isn’t dying de gozaru. It’s just Sessha isn’t going to be as strong forever. The injuries will take their toll and Sessha will have to make do with it and live on.” He so desperately tried to catch Kaoru’s eye, but she was gazing off into the distance. “Sessha isn’t going anywhere…”

”Aa,” Aoshi uttered, “If you take care of yourself as Megumi said, you will have less troubles. Battousai, now is the time for you to rest and save your strength for when you don’t have it.”

Kenshin stared at his hands, thinking, ‘Daga… there’s still one battle I have to fight while I still can… it’s something the others don’t understand, but I have to do it… it might be my last chance… however…’ He turned back to Kaoru, her far off gaze falling somewhere he didn’t see. ‘What is she thinking?’

“Nee Kaoru-san,” Misao said, going up to her friend, “You’ve been so quiet. What’s going on?? Hm??”

Kaoru blinked, waking from her daydream. “Oh… bezuni… eto… it’s about time for lunch. Is anyone hungry??” Everyone raised their hands. She folded her hands and smiled. “Jaa, let’s all go to the Akebeko? Nee, ikimasho?”

With the mention of food and the Akebeko, this got a very positive reaction: “OH!!! YATTA~!!”

On the way to the restaurant they had all cheered up and started talking about happier things. Yahiko was chatting with Sanosuke about the insane Daigoro boy, Kaoru and Misao about eating desserts, and Kenshin talked about washing laundry with the silent Aoshi. However, when they reached their favorite hangout, they were a little disappointed to find it closed for the day.

“Mou, and I was looking forward to chatting with Tae-san.” Kaoru sighed, “And I know Yahiko wanted to see his sweetheart, Tsubame…”

”NANI!!?” Yahiko exclaimed, redfaced, “USOU! Stop saying lies, BUSU!!”

”Yahiko,” Kenshin cut in, “Don’t call Kaoru-dono ‘busu’. It’s not nice de gozaru…”

Sanosuke’s whining interrupted. “Aaaaaannn! What the hell are we supposta eat?! I’m starving!!!” he cried, clutching his stomach, “I shoulda stayed behind at the clinic. I know that Fox cooks massive meals for that old man and his brats!”

Kaoru was digging for her purse. “Nee, after I go grocery shopping, I’ll be able to make a big enough meal to combine lunch and dinner.”

”YAMERO! Don’t let Jou-chan into the kitchen!”

“NANI!?!” she exclaimed, walloping him on the head with her purse, “What’s wrong with my cooking?! You ate it last time and I didn’t hear any complaints!”

”Dakara… I was rendered unconscious and rushed to the hospital…!!”

“Maa maa,” Kenshin said, walking in the middle of the fight, “Let’s just go grocery shopping de gozaru? Otherwise we won’t have anything to eat in the next couple days. That would be bad de gozaru yo!” He then caught Kaoru’s frown as she was looking into her purse. “Nan de gozaru ka?”

She replied, “It’s just I haven’t been working lately and we’re a little low on money. Gomen minna, I won’t be able to buy a lot of food… we’ll just have to live with what we got.”

Yahiko patted Kenshin on the arm. “Ya better go stay at Megumi’s place, Kenshin. If ya wanna keep your health decent, you need three meals a day and some good care… not the mistreatment and slavery by this dirt-poor, violent BUSU.”

”Iresai!” Kaoru exclaimed, clobbering him, “You’re a freeloader so you are in no place to make any comments!”

“Who made you EMPRESS?!”

The wind picking up, Kenshin chuckled to himself and watched with a smile. ‘Everyone is so lively and energetic, always so close-knit with each other regardless of the situation … this is my family.’

* * *
After grocery shopping, they carried the food inside. It was getting dark out already. “Yoshi!” Kaoru chimed, rolling up her sleeves, “I’ll get started on dinner!”

While she cheerfully went off into the kitchen, Kenshin noticed that the others were all standing by the gate. “What’s going on de gozaru ka?” he asked, going up to them.

Sanosuke patted him on the shoulder, “No offense to Jou-chan and her hard effort, but we’re all gonna skip this meal. Let’s go see what’s cooking over at Genzai’s…”

”D-Demo!” Kenshin cried, clamping onto his friend’s arm, “W-What will Sessha say to Kaoru-dono?! You guys just can’t leave de gozaru! She’s really putting her heart into this meal!”

Misao smiled. “Heki heki! You’ll stay here with her so she’ll feel better.”

Yahiko added, “It’s better this way. We can save some groceries for the rest of the week by not all eating together. We’ll be partying all night, so don’t wait up for us. We might just sleep there.” He then waved his hand and started to walk on, “Saa, ikuze!!”

“M-Matte!” Kenshin exclaimed. He had an inkling on what his friends were trying to do. “Sessha can’t…!” he cried, “You guys, don’t go!!”

Aoshi merely stared at him. “Battousai, this is the time for you to settle any unfinished business…”

Kenshin paused and slowly nodded. “Hai! Wakatta… Minna, arigatou de gozaru.” With a round of smiles, the group finally turned and disappeared down the road.

* * *
Standing in the doorway for a while, Kenshin couldn’t talk. All he could do was watch her – her cheerful face as she tried her best to make something edible. She had no idea that everyone had ditched her or that he hadn’t taken his eyes off her since he stepped into the kitchen. It wasn’t until the stove erupted in flames that he finally made his presence known.

”KYAAAAAA!!” Kaoru screamed, face to face with a mountain of fire, “HELP!!”

Kenshin rushed over, putting the cover over the fire and patting it down until it became tiny again. He then slipped his arm around the girl. “Daijoubu??” he asked, feeling her still trembling.

“Unh…” she stammered, “Arigatou…Kenshin…”

He chuckled, “What exactly were you doing? Hmm? Do you need any help?”

”I-Iya!” she cried, “I’m doing fine and everything’s finished! It’s just I burnt the appetizers…” The fried gyoza was now black mounds in the pan. Frowning a little, she stared at the disaster. “I hope everyone still enjoys it.”

”Actually, Kaoru-dono,” he replied, pulling her closer to him, “Minna… they all left de gozaru.”

”EH?! You mean they didn’t want to eat my cooking?! After all that work and … OH!!” She suddenly realized that Kenshin was holding her in an embrace. Calming down, she covered her face into his chest, “Kenshin… they left to give us time alone?”

”Aa,” he said, with a smile, “Sessha, more than anything, enjoys being in Kaoru-dono’s company. Jaa, Sessha will set the table and we will eat together.”

She too smiled. “H-Hai!”

* * *
Already it was dark out. After lighting some lanterns, Kaoru and Kenshin sat down to eat. Watching him take the first bite, Kaoru awaited his response. “Nee… dou desu ka??”

“Hm…” he uttered, still munching. He then grinned at her. “Tastes great de gozaru. It’s your best ever!”

”Mou, you’re just saying that…” she said, eying him over suspiciously, “Honto??” But he was too busy stuffing his mouth to talk. Laughing at him, she picked up her own dishes. “Kenshi-tada, you don’t have to impress me!”

“Oishii de gozaru!!”

”Usou da!”

Turning back to her own bowl, she blushed. ‘It’s two nights alone with Kenshin… really everyone is being kind. Demo… what if I mess up again like I did yesterday… and that news I heard today, Kenshin… he’s… he’s…’ She suddenly saw another bowl in her face. “Eh??”

“Seconds, onegai de gozaru!” Kenshin chimed, having scooted closer. As she went to refill his bowl, he studied her over. She wasn’t usually this quiet. He knew she was nervous and wanted to calm her somehow. ‘Oro, but how?! I’m the one making her nervous… and I’m nervous too!’

“Douzo.” she said, giving him back the full bowl. She then watched him eat for a while. He strangely had a big appetite today. Soon the sounds of munching filled the room. After three or four bowls, the two of them couldn’t eat anymore. “I’ll clear the table now and wash the dishes. You can go rest your stomach outside, ne?”

”Iya! Sessha will help!” he gasped, scrambling onto his feet and taking the piles of dishes from her, “Datte, Kaoru-dono cooked so…”

”Sou? Kenshin, when you cook, you also clean up. Let me do my part. I can do this by myself…”

He shook his head firmly. “I want to.”

Dumbstruck to hear Kenshin refer to himself not as ‘Sessha’ (this unworthy one), but as ‘I’, Kaoru gave up trying to stop him and let him take the pile away. Face flushed, she wiped the table and picked up their trays. “Ano… Kenshin…” she said in the doorway of the kitchen.

“Hm? Nan de gozaru ka?” he asked, wearing one of her frilly aprons as he scrubbed each plate.

Grinning mischievously, she put her hands on her hips and giggled at him. “Baka, you look like a kawaii housewife in that getup… fufufufu~!”

“O-RO!” he grumbled with a roll of the tongue. Slanted eyed and hands full of lather, he turned and splashed her with the soapy water. She, screaming and laughing at the same, tried to get away, but he caught her with one arm, the other continuing to splash her with the soupy suds.

“K-Kenshin! Dame yo!! Stop it!! Don’t…!!” she cried, already sopping wet. His hold was unbreakable and there was no escape. Bubbles everywhere, she gave up her resistance and sighed, “You’re being so bad. My kimono’s all wet and I better go change before I catch cold. So, could you release me please??”

“S-Suman de gozaru! Didn’t mean to go so far!” he gasped, putting his hands up. He blushed a little as he saw the mess he had made and that Kaoru was shivering and sneezing now. “Sessha will clean this all up. Kaoru-dono, please change into some warm.”

“Hai hai!” she said, backing away to the door, “Demo ne, I’ll be back for revenge!! Watch out, ne!”

Kenshin dropped his head and sighed, ‘Oro, I better get a hold of myself. Things were getting out of hand just then… demo, it sure felt good …’

* * *
Megumi wasn’t so pleased at first to see the amount of guests showing up at her door. “What are you all doing back here again?? I don’t have enough food for all of you!!” she grumbled, glaring at Sanosuke especially, “Fine, all of you can come in, except the Tori Atama.”

”NANI!?” Sanosuke exclaimed, “What’s with the cold shoulder!? Everyone came to eat just as I did!! “

Misao chuckled, “Dakara, Sanosuke is not welcomed because he’s sooo annoying. Hmhmhm!”

Megumi pushed the girl off to the side and latched onto Aoshi. “Now that I think about it, the rooster and weasel can eat elsewhere. Yahiko, Aoshi – please come inside with me!”

“KORA!!” Misao exclaimed, waving her fists, “AOSHI-SAMA IS MINE!!!”

“Cheh, ireze, Weasel-girl.” Yahiko said, going to close the door, “Yer getting uglier with yer face like that. At this rate, you’ll never get married.”

”NANI!!? I’M GONNA KILL YOU, BRAT!!!”

Genzai came outside nervously. “Shh shhh, I just got the patient back to sleep. Please keep it down and I’ll let everyone into the house, okay??” With that everyone shut up and went with the old man.

Even the girls were quieter than usual. “Sono nii-chan ga… k-kowaii!” Suzume uttered, holding onto her older sister, “He’s so scwary! I don’t wanna go near him!”

Megumi started serving everyone. “Hmp, I just hope his family or friends come get him soon or we’ll turn him over to the asylum. Tonikaku, what brings you all back here??”

Sanosuke grinned. “Jou-chan and Kenshin are going for night #2. Let’s see if something happens this time.”

Yahiko socked him in the head. “I’m eating here! Don’t make me throw up!”

Misao folded her hands together, her eyes big red hearts. “I wonder when Aoshi-sama and I will have a romantic night together. Aaaa~! That would be heaven~!!”

Meanwhile, Megumi was feeding Aoshi with her chopsticks from her plate. “Oishii ne?? Ohohohoho!!”

“OI--!!!” Misao exclaimed, starting another rage trip, but then Sanosuke and Yahiko tackled her and hushed her quiet. “Oh, right, that lunatic, Daigoro… demo, that fox is flirting with MY Aoshi-sama!!”

Sanosuke then pointed at Megumi. “Heh, Fox, wanna renew our bet?? Something tells me Kenshin is finally gonna get together with Jou-chan.”

”Ara, what makes you think so? Ken-san isn’t going to do something so foolish. I’ll see to your bet, but only to add onto what you already owe me.”

He rubbed his head nervously, as he actually didn’t have the money to pay her at all. “Hold on a moment! How about double or nothing?? If I lose, I pay you twice what I owe, and if you lose, my debt is clear!”

“Mattee~!” Misao cut in, “I wanna bet too! I know for sure Kaoru-san will make Himura accept her feelings tonight! Let’s say if I win, the Fox pays me!” She suddenly felt a tap on the shoulder. “Hm? Nani, Aoshi-sama??”

Aoshi somberly uttered, “Okina said you shouldn’t gamble. Do you recall what happened last time?? We almost lost the entire Aoiya and Omasu to some yakuza. Do you really want to go through that again??”

“What are you talking about?” she argued, “I’m not betting with some yakuza. I betting with this fox bitch…”

Fire burst all around Megumi. “NANI!? What did you call me?!!”

In their huddle, Aoshi continued on his morale preaching. “Something bad always happen when you gamble. I just don’t want to see you get hurt, Misao.”

”A-Aoshi-samaa!” she gasped, blushing, “I’m just going to bet the money we have left; it’s not even a lot.”

”Daga, it’s all that we have. If we lose it, how on earth will we get back to Kyoto??”

“Heki heki, I’ll win for sure! After all, you’re my good luck charm!”

He frowned a little, “I sure hope so.”

* * *
Kaoru stepped outside in her yukata and robe to see Kenshin waiting for her with some tea. “It’s still very hot de gozaru. Don’t burn yourself.” he said, as she settled down next to him. He noticed that her hair was slightly damped and that it was down, rather than in a braid of ponytail. He watched as she picked up and the cup took a moment to blow at it. She than took a sip. “Dou??”

“It’s perfect. Arigatou, Kenshin.” she said cheerfully. After a couple more sips, she held up her book. “Shall we continue where we left off?”

“Aa,” he said, moving closer to her. He then put his arm around her, something that she had gotten used to. Both of them relaxing, they opened up the romance novel and started to read.

Kenshin was absorbed and couldn’t take his eyes off the pages. ‘I’ve never been so interested in such a story. I wonder if it’ll end happily or tragic… I worry that I will be disappointed… that all I had hoped for won’t come to pass… but I can’t stop, I have to keep going, because…’

“Kenshin?” Kaoru asked, turning to him, “Can I turn the page yet? We’re just about at the end, don’t you want to hurry this up?”

”Iya,” he said, moving his hand over hers and closing the book, “Sessha feels tired de gozaru. Perhaps it’s time to go sleep now.”

“M-Matte!” she cried. He just stopped and stared at her in surprise. She took hold of his sleeve and blushed at the floor. “Can I… stay with you…?”

Kenshin instantly got a nosebleed. “K-Kaoru…dono…??!”

“Not that way, baka!” she said, pinching his cheek, “I just want to be in the same room with you. Is it all right? All I care about is being near you, Kenshin. I promise I won’t bother you or anything…”

He gazed at her timid face and smiled. “It’s okay, Kaoru-dono. You won’t be a bother at all. Jaa, let’s go move your futon into Sessha’s room.”

”Hai!” she chimed, happy that he didn’t turn her away, “Arigatou, Kenshin!”

* * *
While Kaoru set up her futon, Kenshin changed behind the screen. ‘We’re staying together… in the same room. Oro!! The last time I stayed with a woman in the same room… we made… oro!!! When was that anyways?! Who knows? Who cares?? Demo, this is an entirely different feeling…’

Kaoru poked her head behind the screen, “Nee, Kenshin are finished yet?”

”ORORORO!!” he cried, turning red and falling to the floor. “Not yet de gozaru! Give Sessha a couple more minutes!”

“Mou, you’re mostly dressed – and nothing was shown. I don’t get you sometimes. Tonikaku, I was wondering if everything was locked up and secure outside?”

”Hai de gozaru. Sessha handled it.” he said, getting up and walking to her, “Daijoubu, everything is safe, Kaoru-dono. You don’t have to have a fear in the world.” She just stared at him, with a strange look in her face. “K-Kaoru-dono??”

She suddenly moved against him, wrapping her arms around him tightly, “Kenshin…”

He felt a giant lump in his throat. ‘ORO!!!’ Wide-eyed, he fisted his hands at his sides and stared at the wall. “What’s wrong, Kaoru-dono?” he squeaked.

“Nothing is wrong. Everything is so right…”

“Sou de gozaru… Kaoru-dono, you sound like you’re really happy.”

“I am, because of you Kenshin… you make me feel this way.” She lifted her face to his and exclaimed, “Kenshin, aishiteru!”

At this, Kenshin became dumbstruck. ‘Did she just say ‘those’ words?!?! OROOOOO!!!’ Worried when he didn’t respond her, but gazing off into oblivion with that dying look in his face, she started to cry. This quickly got Kenshin’s attention. “Kaoru-dono! What’s the matter?! What has Sessha done now?!”

She shook her head tearfully. “You haven’t done anything… Kenshin, please do something! Tell me I’m being stupid, that I should just give up you! Tell me to grow up and move on! Leave if you want… just do something!!”

He gazed into her sad eyes and saw that she had suffered enough. And he had suffered as well, not giving into his own needs. Moving closer, he lifted his arms around her and brushed his lips against her cheek. “Kaoru-dono… Please cheer up. Sessha wants you to stay. Soushite…”

”Soushite…?” she uttered, watching him, anticipating his every movement, “Nani, Kenshin??”

“I… want… to…” he stammered, leaning their foreheads together, “To kiss… you…”

”Then, why don’t you?”

“Datte… it’s been years… I’ve forgotten how.”

”That’s no excuse. I’ve never kissed anyone before and I gave it all I got. To tell you the truth, I was scared out of my mind, but it felt so right to.” she replied, lifting her hands to touch his face, “Please, Kenshin… Kiss me.”

”H… Hai.” he said softly, slowly tilting his head. At last, he captured her mouth. A sweet taste filled his senses and he moved deeper insider. The room fading away, he tightened his hold and concentrated only on her, the one who had made such a desire grow in his heart. This continued on for the longest time, until they had ran out of air.

Kaoru clutched her chest and fell on her knees. “S-Sugoi…” she gasped breathlessly, “Kenshin, that was… amazing!!”

“Aa,” he uttered, sliding down to the floor as well, “I’ve never kissed someone so passionately before…”

“Sou na! Didn’t you say you’ve had lots of other girlfriends and wives?? Hmm??” she teased him, putting her arms back around his neck, “It’s no wonder you’re so romantic!”

“Hold on a minute! That’s not so!” he laughed, “I wasn’t some great lover… those times were mishaps, and love-starved women were the ones taking control of the situation. I don’t have a clue about romance at all.”

”Ya could have fooled me.” she said, leaning her head down onto his shoulder, “Can we be like this always? I want something more in our relationship. I want us to be close like this.”

”Kaoru,” he uttered, lifting his hands to stroke her back, “You’re so important to me, demo I can’t give you an answer yet.” She gazed up at him a little surprised. “Don’t misunderstand. Its just there’s something I have to settle first… before we can be together.”

”I-iie… I was just a little astonished you’ve stopped referring to yourself as ‘Sessha’ and started dropping the ‘dono’ in my name…”

“Hm? Chigao de gozaru yo! Sessha didn’t do such a thing, Kaoru-dono!”

“Baka!!” she said pointing her finger in his face, “I know what I heard! Don’t play this game with me!!!” He just grinned mischievously and started tickling her. “AA! DAMEE!!” she cried, laughing and falling over onto one of the futons. Although she tried to fight him off, he kept it up, their laughter filling the room. “KENSHIN NO BAKAA!!”