Author's Note: Chapter takes place over manga volumes fifteen to thirty.

Courteously Beta'd By: Scarred Sword Heart

Chapter 17

Quiet, Simple, and All too Short Lived

Dining had been a light fare as money was a little sparse again. Yahiko could be heard complaining about how a growing boy like him needed more food, but Kenshin and Kaoru knew he'd survive. A perfectly pleasant evening in truth. Life was meager, but everyone was happy.

Kaoru was in the middle of changing for bed when she heard a scraping sound and immediately giggled at it. After everyone else had gone to bed, Kenshin had taken to trying to wash the blood out of her indigo ribbon. She pretended to not hear him, figuring that he wanted to surprise her with a clean ribbon, but he really should've realised that blood stains could not be removed once they set. At best, he would only be able to get the stain to a dingy brown.

She finished haphazardly changing and made herself comfortable on her futon listening to the rapid rhythm of Kenshin working. Not quite tired yet, she squirmed and practised the face of pleasant surprise she would have when Kenshin gave her back the ribbon.

She actually lost track of time until her practise was eventually interrupted with Kenshin speaking to himself. Something about a smell. Did the ribbon now smell of blood too? Whatever it was, Kenshin seemed to resign himself for the night and went to clean up after himself.

He sounded so exasperated that Kaoru could not help but sit up and take notice. She went to the shoji and found him just as he finished putting the bucket away.

He flinch in surprise to see her. "Lady Kaoru, did I wake you?"

Kaoru shook her head but became uncertain of what to say. She knew he'd be even more upset if she let on that she knew what he was trying to do and spoil his surprise. That only left her with awkward banter. "I just needed some air. Is something bothering you?"

Kenshin offered his masking smile. "There is no bother. This one just remembered some forgotten laundry." There was an awkward pause. "This one should have guessed that you were not asleep yet since you were not heard singing."

Kaoru blushed. "You've been hearing me?"

Kenshin waved his hands to try and reassure her. "Do not consider it a bad thing. This one believes you to have a lovely singing voice."

Kaoru scowled. "That's not the point. You shouldn't be listening in on my private moments."

Kenshin walked over to her, unfazed by her hostility. "This one did not mean to offend by listening." He sat down on the deck, feet on the ground but torso turned to face her. "The song you sing is a Min'yo, correct?"

Kaoru mused cheerfully at his guess. "I take it you've been to Okinawa?"

"It was the first place this one went to at the startof the Meiji Era."

Kaoru tilted her head slightly. "The first place you go after the Bakumatsu is an island off of the main land. Why?"

"This one was looking for someone."

"Who?"

Kenshin shook his head. "This one does not know."

"How did you expect to find someone you've never met?"

"This one had met him during the war but did not learn his name."

Kaoru started to wonder if Kenshin was speaking exotentially. "Was it someone," she paused looking for the best words, "that you met as Battousai?"

Kenshin's smile deepened in gratitude at how gingerly she was handling the subject. "Not in a remorseful sense. The man was a warrior meant to serve under the guise of this one's kenjutsu master so as to avoid suspicion and assailment on the way to Kyoto."

"And you never got his name?"

"Such can be the way of war and espionage, this one was given a place of contact and was to refer to him solely by title. If one of us were captured, knowledge of the other person would compromise further operations… or, to guess his case, his family."

Kaoru took slow breaths to let the information set in. This was the closest Kenshin had ever gotten to telling an old war story, and she felt it pertinent to retain every word as it was doubtful he'd ever share of his own volition again. She leaned forward enough to almost crawl to him while Kenshin's eyes fell to jittery hands, drumming callused fingertips against the wood.

"In all honesty, after that one encounter, this one had nearly forgotten him. It was only after a," Kenshin averted his posture to a low hanging head over slumped shoulders staring at the ground, "painful realisation this one was found thinking of him again. There are vague memories of him telling this one something about dirtying hands so that other generations wouldn't have to; a hope for an open door for this unworthy one, that there was."

"But you never found him."

Kaoru immediately wished she had not interrupted him like that as he lifted his head and gave her a masking smile. The moment was over all because he gleamed the note of pity she had allowed to shape her voice.

"Lady Kaoru, this one is feeling quite tired now. If this one could have your pardon from this conversation, and we will continue it, perhaps, another time?"

Kaoru sighed, "Of course, Kenshin." Kenshin stood, slipped his feet from his shoes, and went to adjourn for the night. Before he went into his room though, Kaoru verbally stopped him. "Kenshin, I hope you have pleasant dreams."

Kenshin bowed his head in appreciation. "Perhaps if Lady Kaoru sang something a little happier tonight, that would help."

Kaoru blushed and giggled as she stood. "If only I could. If my mother had taught me any other songs, I don't remember them." Kenshin's eyes widened slightly before he shook his head and laughed slightly. "What's so funny?"

"It is nothing," he assured. "This one just realised how deceitful assumptions can be."

Kaoru smirked. "You've been making assumptions about me?"

"Lady Kaoru is unprecedented in many ways."

"How so?" There was a sharp tone in her voice, mostly to tease him.

Kenshin put his hands up defensively. "In good ways. Just unexpected at many times."

"That's good to know." Kaoru was ready to go to bed herself when something occurred to her. "You know, I could ask some of the other masters about your Okinawan samurai master. Samurai from Okinawa were pretty rare. Perhaps someone who knew my mother knows of a line since she was a goze from Okinawa." Kenshin blanched at her statement, which only confused Kaoru. "What?"

"This… This one had not realised you had Okinawan roots."

Kaoru shrugged. "Small world, I guess. Did you want me to look into it?"

Kenshin hesitated. His expression hinted at cogs turning in his head. "That… is not necessary." He opened his shoji and stepped into his room. "Sweet dreams, Lady Kaoru."

Kaoru creased her brow at his sudden evasiveness. "Good night?"

Glory is a prestige gained through cruelty and pity to those who have gained it. For they are men that will die burdened and cursed. A student of Kamiya Kasshin Ryu may worry of dying in obscurity, but legacy comes from what you create in this world. Infamy is as transient as memory.

Yahiko looked up from Koshijiro's book and rubbed his eyes. Sleep had not yet left him, and his eyes were rebelling against this early morning focus. When he had started Kenshin had still been asleep but apparently the act of Yahiko moving from the futon to simply get the book had been enough to disturb him. Now, his older roommate was going through his morning ritual of stretching followed by cleaning up the room around the boy before going to wash up and dress.

"What's for breakfast, Kenshin?" Yahiko asked feeling famished after the flimsy meal the night before. Kenshin looked to the ceiling to ponder the question before rattling off the scraps he would cobble together in his usual overly polite manner.

"How's the studying this morning?" Kenshin immediately followed up with.

"Kinda intense. Master Kamiya apparently doesn't think that being famous is a legacy, which is weird. Kaoru really pushes history in my lessons. Isn't being a part of history a legacy?"

"Perhaps that is something you should address with Lady Kaoru for clarification."

Yahiko shrugged. "I… don't want to ask Kaoru." Kenshin narrowed his eyes in speculation that this was yet another disrespectful discussion masquerading behind Yahiko's pride before the boy continued. "It's just that, I always hate it when people ask me about what my dad was thinking when he betrayed the shogunate to fight for the emperor or how my mother felt about raising me alone. I mean, I knew them, but I wasn't them and since I knew them better it just makes me speculate on things that the person asking probably didn't even think of.

"I don't like lingering on sad memories, and I don't want to unintentionally bring them up for someone else. It sucks thinking about parents you knew and aren't there anymore, and you really can only feel comfortable talking about them on your own terms. Kaoru talks on and on about the school, but I've never heard her talk about her father, not to me anyways.

"That just gives me the impression that she just has a lot of bad memories that I could potentially kick up."

Kenshin blinked in genuine surprise, having never heard Yahiko be so thoughtful before, an expression Yahiko did not appreciate. "What?"

Kenshin smiled and shook his head. "It is nothing. This one should go and take care of breakfast."

"You can have that later," the low, familiar voice of Sanosuke interrupted. The two housemates had not even heard the man come in, but were only surprised to see him on account of it being so early. The tall rooster-head smiled anxiously. "Kenshin, there's something important I need you for at the Shuueiya. Get dressed and I'll meet you out front." With that, Sanosuke closed door to let Kenshin change.

Kenshin creased his brow in puzzlement. "Shuueiya?" Kenshin stood and went to immediately dress. "He seemed quite excited. Yahiko, this one had better look into it. Will you be alright to let Lady Kaoru make breakfast for you?"

The boy shrugged. "It's bad, but food is food."

Her escorts were only two today. No one of any competence. Kanryuu was getting complacent: good. She turned to the herbalist that absent-mindedly filled her order. A skinny little girl that obviously thought nothing of the ingredients she handled. She must have been, at least, two heads shorter than herself Megumi observed. Eyes tracing over the small shop, at the back entrance, Megumi glanced a high shelved jar of dried mandragora.

She pointed to the jar. "I'll need that as well."

The girl saw the jar with a frown. Her words were polite but not her tone. "Yes ma'am. Let me just finish this and then get a stool to get it for you."

Megumi confidently stepped around the counter, thankful that neither of her escort had caught on yet. They were too lost in worlds of picking at their own beard hair and pretending to watch the front door. "Nevermind, I'll get it myself." She strode over to the shelf and then, with care to make it look accidental, knocked the jar to the ground in the path of the door.

"Hey, come on, lady!" the girl began to chide but Megumi cut her off.

"I'm so sorry! Here, let me just go to your back and get a broom to sweep that up," she said as she stepped over the broken glass and out the back exit.

"Hey, I have a broom up here. Where are you going?" the girl yelled after her.

It would be ten seconds until the escorts would catch on. It wasn't much of a head start but it was better than nothing.

How could he bring a woman like that back to their home? Kaoru had never met a more vulgar woman in her life. It felt like the prostitutes she had rescued from the brothels of Osaka had more shame.

She sat in the cold bath water wanting to wash away the dirty feeling of that vixen with all of her pawing over Kenshin. The claim that they won her at the gambling house had to be a lie, it just had to. It just wasn't in the nature of her Kenshin to pick up women like that.

This was all Sanosuke's fault. His influence! That moocher was to get no more free food from her.

Doubt plagued her mind though. Kenshin was an adult, and no person was without vice. He had agreed to stay with her when she had no one else but had also offered to leave once Yahiko had come. What if Kenshin had more lustful motivations to stay than she had anticipated?

The loud clang of the gate was heard. "Lady Kaoru?" she heard Kenshin call.

"Oi! Little Missy, we're back!" Sanosuke bellowed.

Kaoru bit the inside of her cheek in annoyance. They really had some nerve coming back here so soon. She pulled herself out of the tub and went to dress herself. She would find out what those perverts were up to.

He just couldn't do it today. Sanosuke wanted to go to the dojo and check on Yahiko; to see if the little punk was feeling any better, but that damned opium woman was still there. Part of him was grateful that she had been able to help Yahiko, but honestly, that just made him hate her more. The kid wouldn't have been poisoned if she wasn't around, but if he went to the dojo he would have to go a play nice and smile at the person that made the drug that killed his friend.

No, he was better off going to the Akabeko again today. Tae would bring him news on Yahiko's condition and if Kenshin or the Little Missy needed to find him it would be easy to do so.

The restaurant was busy that day, as per usual, and with a pretty rowdy bunch. It made Sanosuke feel a little better about his decision as he could, at least, make himself useful be throwing out Tae's riff-raff for her. Who knew, maybe she'd be grateful enough to knock a hundred yen or so off his tab this time.

"No, now please leave!" Tae demanded. Sanosuke congratulated himself on his perfect timing.

"Listen, girlie, our boss would just like you to deliver this letter for him," the thug complained.

"You might as well tell your boss to throw his letter on a fire, because that's what I'm going to do with it," Tae said.

"I don't think that's a smart move," the thug sneered.

Sanosuke came up and tapped the guy on the shoulder. "Oh, and why is that?"

"Stay outta th-" The man whirled around only to immediately recognise Sanosuke and make the wonderful, slack-jawed expression of a man that had once fought Zanza. Sanosuke may not have recognised the man, but he knew that expression and nostalgia made him forget that he had probably been annoyed with the boredom of the fight at the time to revel in the recognition.

"This guy bothering you, Tae?" Sanosuke asked cracking his knuckles.

The man sputtered some nonsense about a letter, but Sanosuke only had to place his hand on the guy's shoulder to make him forget his purpose. He probably would have run out if his shaking, tiny friend hadn't of cut in. "Hey Zanza! Don't you recognise me? I worked with you for Yuuta once."

"No," Sanosuke said. "What's Yuuta doing here?"

"He's calling on all the best fighters he knows. Apparently, he knows of something big going down in Kyoto. You'd be in for that, right? I'm sure there's some good fights in it for ya."

"Doubt it, shrimp. Now, about you harassing my favourite waitress."

The men sped off and out the door faster than piss to a bucket.

"Thank you," Tae said.

Sanosuke shrugged. "No problem, but what was that all about?"

Tae looked to the ground. "Um, well…"

"You'd rather not say."

Tae nodded her head slowly.

"Hey, if you got mob debt or something, I can swing over and take care of it for ya."

Tae flung her hands up in protest. "Debt! The only one that owes money around here is you to me."

Sanosuke grimaced at the mention of his tab and decided to drop the subject. "Have you heard about the little guy today?"

Tae nodded. "Oh, yes. Kaoru stopped by to let me know. She still seemed a little worried, but apparently he is awake now. Just can't get out of bed yet. It sounds like your lady doctor friend has been watching him day and night."

Sanosuke caught glimpses of customers obviously wanting Tae's attention, so he thanked her and went to find a table for himself. "Day and night, huh? Yeah, definitely better I not go today. I'll check on the little punk myself tomorrow. Better I stay here I find out what Yuuta wants with Tae."

Megumi knew making contact with the right people to get her out of Japan would be difficult, but she had anticipated having to worry about her letters being intercepted by Kanryuu's spies. Being nearly baby-sat by the residents of some go-no-where dojo had not been something anyone could anticipate.

She looked over the names of powerful business owners with foreign contact and refused to do business with Kanryuu she had accumulated over the years. It was sadly sparse. No one from the major port cities like Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe, or even Nagoya all the way down south. The man even had strong business dealings in Hong Kong.

The ones that she did have could probably only smuggle her to the Netherlands or France - where she knew nothing of the language. Still, having to learn a new language through complete immersion was better than the alternative, and both countries did boarder the Germanic Confederation - where most of her medical text books had come from. Hopefully the languages were similar.

Leaving just this time had been out of the question for multiple reasons, however. She came to find that caring for this boy, Yahiko, had been the least objectionable. He had been her first patient in years and it felt good to, at least, pretend to be a doctor for a while.

She found her mind wafting back to her times at university; back when translating German texts was her most demoralizing task. She never quite understood how the rest of her family made it look so easy, but she also remembered the reassurance that it wasn't only her.

Yahiko sifted from discomfort and grumbled at her. "I hate that medicine. It makes me feel like I'm gonna barf."

Megumi gave him a mirthful laugh. "That's why I told you to take it after you eat, not before."

"It makes Kaoru's food taste better."

Megumi burst out into laughter at that. "Tell you what. If you feel better tomorrow, I'll make Ohagi."

Those three really expected her to sleep? She should have gone with them. With a shinai in hand was where she was useful, not with a kitchen knife. She went over to check on the rice. It looked like the water was boiling out a little too quickly. Without thinking, she grabbed the pot handles to douse the fire a little but only burned herself.

"Yeowch!"

She dropped the pot to the ground, spilling rice all over the floor. Even her tabi were soaked enough to burn her feet slightly. She removed her footwear and went to get a towel to clean up. That was when she heard to gate.

Excitement getting the better of her, Kaoru went to greet her friends. "Welc-" The face was familiar, but not pleasantly so.

"Why thank you for the warm hospitality, Miss Kamiya," the older man greeted. "My, you have grown. Who would have thought that scrappy little girl could clean up into such a beautiful young lady."

"Leave Yuuta," Kaoru ordered.

"My, my. I guess all that hospitality wasn't for me. Tell me, was it for the Battousai by any chance?"

Kaoru's eyes narrowed. The old gangster knew about Kenshin, but how? She brushed the curiosity aside. How he knew didn't matter. What he planned to do with the information did. "Whatever you want, the answer is no," she stated.

"But I haven't even made my proposal." He feigned his disappointment, but he posture remained controlled and his tone jovial. "I really feel like I should wait here to let the master of the dojo hear this."

"The master of the dojo is no longer part of this world."

"My condolences. Then I shall simply give this to you." Yuuta pulled a thick envelope out of his haori and presented it to Kaoru. "I'd suggest you have a look over it."

Kaoru looked around Yuuta. He stood with complete confidence but had no bodyguards. Something did not sit right. "I don't need to read it."

Yuuta's grimaced a little in annoyance but quickly regained himself, sliding the letter back in his pocket. "Idealistic as ever, I see. I had hoped that all the favours I did for you and your former lover would warrant some trust, but I can see that my good deeds will yield me nothing but venom from the Kamiya family.

"As to be expected, the late Mister Masumoto Gendo said it was much the same in dealing with your father. It is no matter. This was my last stop on my business here in Tokyo anyway."

"What other reasons were you in the city for?"

"If you will not even hear out why I am here to see you, I see no point in telling you of my other affairs." Yuuta turned to leave. "Just know, Miss Kamiya, that you have turned away my word of protection against all future dangers, and my word would have gone even further than your Battousai's blade."

"I doubt that."

Yuuta laughed as he left. "You don't know of the power my allegiance has gained. Good day to you." The gate clanged shut behind him, and Kaoru was left in the silence that followed.

She was caught in mixed feelings of what to do. There must have been some sort of gang war coming, but Yuuta used the word allegiance, not allies. Meaning he was no longer at the top of the gang like she had once thought him to be.

Returning to her task of fetching a towel, Kaoru decided to brush it off for now and not tell Kenshin. With all this drama around Megumi, Kaoru did not need the added worries of her own past coming back to bite him. Not if she could avoid it anyway. If she just kept her ear to the ground, she could deflect any upcoming dangers on her own.

Lady Kaoru must have been up all night worrying again as not even Lady Megumi's teasing allowed her to stay up all through the breakfast she had made. He had wanted to clean up and store away the abundant food, but Lady Kaoru had dozed off leaning against his shoulder, and Kenshin had no desire to disturb her.

He was quite grateful that Lady Megumi had taken it upon herself to clean up, though he wished she had not thrown the food out. He voiced as much to her.

"Consider it a favour," she said with a slight scoff. "The sweaty little girl can be sweet, but saving that awful food spares only her feelings. She's a big girl, Dear Ken. She'll get over it."

Kenshin spoke just above a whisper. "Lady Kaoru's feelings were actually not the reason this one asked you to save it. Money is quite limited within this home, and this one would prefer to not waste anything."

Lady Megumi creased her brow, and it became apparent to Kenshin that, despite her hard life, true hunger had never been an issue for her. Kenshin was beginning to suspect that only Yahiko and himself had ever dealt with it. He couldn't help but feel a little envious.

Megumi brought her palms together by her cheek and laughed. "Dear Ken, the food was wasted the moment Kaoru touched it." She only laughed for a moment before she took notice of the worry lines on Kenshin's face. She sighed, "Don't worry, now. If there is anything good I can say about Kanryuu, it's that he understood how to pay for services. I had saved up quite a bit of money to get myself out of Japan. Considering how that isn't necessary anymore, I'd say footing your grocery bill for a while is the least I can do for you."

Kenshin bowed his head. "You are very kind, Lady Megumi."

Lady Megumi flirtatiously touched the tip of Kenshin's nose with her finger. "For you, I did say it was the least I can do."

Kenshin felt Lady Kaoru stir against him, but she did not wake. He patted her cheek gently to try and stir her to waking so that she could go to bed and get some proper sleep, but the touch seemed to have the opposite effect as she relaxed more into him.

"When was she stabbed?" Lady Megumi asked in a very dry tone. Having no idea what she was talking about, Kenshin could only look at her quizzically. Lady Megumi knelt down and pointed at Lady Kaoru's shoulder.

Kenshin was surprised at how he never noticed it before. Perhaps it was because Lady Kaoru's clothing obscured so much of it from view, and now that he paid attention he could see that over the cuff of Lady Kaoru's kimono was the beginnings of a long, wide scar. He resisted the curiosity to adjust the kimono to give him a better look at it. "This one… does not know," he replied.

Lady Megumi seemed to pick up on the mild distress her question had caused and tried to backtrack. "Oh well, I may be wrong about it being from a stab wound. Naive, little thing like her probably got it falling out of a tree," she tried to assure.

Kenshin's muscles remained tense. Perhaps on another day, he would have taken Lady Megumi's assurance, but the more time he spent with Lady Kaoru, the more obliged he felt to her… and to her father.

To face war without hope for a home to look forward to is too depressing for a boy like you. After the war, you're welcome to come and live with my family.

Remembering those words, Kenshin said a silent prayer to thank the spirit of the man that had said them. Guilt also wracked him though, in more ways than one.