Blue Side of the Moon by Ravyn

Chapter Three

Kenshin frowned at Aoshi

Kenshin frowned at Aoshi. His friend’s expression was as stoic as he had ever seen it.

“When I signed my contract with you, it was clear that I worked alone.”

“We’re making an exception.”

“Explain.”

“He’s loosing his control.”

Kenshin froze. Tilting his head, he sat on his desk and crossed his arms. Loosing control. There was a hint of anticipation on Aoshi’s stance now that he knew to look for it; the knowledge that the enemy had given away its weakness.

The Oniwabanshu had originally been clan based and hereditary. Things had changed over the past two hundred years, but the main family still controlled the onimitsu. After the death of Misao’s father fifteen years ago, her uncle had taken over. Misao was the heir to the clan, and her relationship with Aoshi was being watched with interest by everyone. If her uncle was starting to loose his grip on the clan, then it meant Aoshi’s grip was slowly tightening.

Kenshin had heard the rumors of mistakes; had seen Kaoru deal with the aftermath of them. The Oniwabanshu couldn’t afford to show weakness to the yakuza that they dealt with. If there was a single moment of weakness, a single open mistake, Aoshi and Misao would assume control.

“What does that have to do with this?”

“We need to chip away at his base of power. There is a new acquisition to the clan that would give him the advantage necessary to regain his control. We cannot allow that.”

“Who?”

“A huntsman.”

Kenshin stilled. “What?”

“It was a surprising find. Ironic, really. Without his inability to control the lower ranks, we would never have discovered it. Once he discovers the breech, which he will, given time, he would exploit the talent until it ran dry. The only contract that he can’t touch is yours. If we attach the huntsman to you, then we can use that against him.”

Weaken his position. Gain enough control over the clan to change things as they wished.

“How long?”

Aoshi walked to the window. “That depends.”

“You owe me, Shinomori.”

“We’ll see.”

‘We’ll see.’

….

Kaoru hated her new apartment. It was cleaner, nicer and located closer to the middle of old Kyoto. Every morning she stumbled into the kitchen to see new tile she was reminded of why she was here. It was stupid to be morally offended, but there was something about knowing the men she was finding would end up dead.

Sano had told her that whomever Shinomori assigned her too, it was going to only be against mages who used forbidden arts. She had thought it interesting that he had made the distinction between Shinomori instead of the

Oniwabanshu. She wondered if it mattered. Either way, one day her services were going to be sold outside the Oniwabanshu and she was going to find herself facing someone who wasn’t in the dark arts. Yahiko had pointed out delightedly that they had all their own beds. Sano had made a comment about teenage boys, and the next thing she knew, they were trying to find ways to prop the obviously expensive coffee table with books none of them had interest in reading.

That morning she had woken up to a box sitting on her kitchen table. She wasn’t sure how it got there, and had ignored it until she had eaten a bowel of cereal and half a pot of coffee. Unfortunately, the box was exactly what she dreaded. Inside was a small file of papers. The name of her partner wasn’t listed; she didn’t even get a physical description. Just a short, neatly written note with directions on the back enplaning where and how to meet her new partner folded inside a dark folder.

Looking at her wristwatch, she sighed and picked up her jacket. The summers were starting to turn to fall and the evenings were chilly. Besides, the jacket helped hide the knife she had strapped to her spine. Sano and Yahiko were out on an assignment, so it was best to be prepared. Whoever had picked the meeting had set her boys up so they couldn’t follow her. She didn’t mind exactly, the place she was supposed to meet her contact was a brisk ten-minute walk from her apartment to an outdoor café.

The walk was relaxing, in the sort of feet dragging way. The sun was setting by the time she arrived at the café, and people were starting to mill around in larger groups now that strange tattoos or odd eyebrows were not quite as visible as before. Feeling uncertain, she hung out by the wall of the entrance, not daring to go in. Thick smells of cheese and onion sauce stirred her appetite, which she ignored. The last thing she wanted was something in her stomach right then. Sighing, she shoved her bangs out of her eyes, and looked around impatiently.

Surely, her contact knew what she… looked…

Her throat went dry. A familiar redhead was walking down the street. Covering her mouth with her hand, she stared at him. There was a sinking sensation in her stomach, and she swallowed. It had to be a coincidence. Himura Kenshin was supposed to be a businessman! It didn’t matter that she had seen his eyes spark with yellow, seen him with that sharp smile. He moved through the crowd with feline grace, comfortable in his own skin. Pressing against the wall, she watched him nervously.

The thin veneer of business had been stripped away. His vibrant hair had been pulled high, bringing out all the sharp angles of his face and his eyes glinted like gold. Black jeans, a gray t-shirt, and a long black trench coat hugged his lean form. She tried to look away, to duck around the alley corner, but her legs refused to move.

She tried not to fidget as he paused, ignoring the people moving around him, eyes scanning the area. It was obvious that he was looking for someone and she bit her lip. Surely, Shinomori’s humor wasn’t this sick…

She stopped breathing when warm toffee locked onto her. Twenty feet separated them, but she could see the way his pupils narrowed into pinpricks with surprise. The way his eyes darkened into bronze. He stared at her for long moments. Then he changed. His stance, his eyes, the angle of his jaw shifted. One corner of his mouth curved in a satisfied expression that made her stomach flutter. Her mouth was dry as he walked forward.

“Kaoru, Kaoru, Kaoru,” he drawled, shoulder leaning comfortably against the wall, cutting her off from the people moving around them. “What a delightful surprise.”

She started at him, trying not to notice the way his eyes were swallowing her.

“I must have committed genocide in a past life.”

The bronze of his eyes lightened to a wheat gold. Fascinated, she caught herself starring and ripped her eyes away to watch the crowd moving around them. Dangerous to be with him like this, with no distractions.

“You’re the huntsmen,” he said, the words rolling off his tongue slowly, “this is a delightful surprise.”

She forced herself to meet his eyes again, her stomach twisting with butterflies.

“And who are you?”

He straightened, the edges of his eyes deepening into something of a smile. “Ah. So they hadn’t told you. It must have taken Aoshi most of the past week to work you into his spells.”

Leaning forward so that his mouth brushed the fall of her hair, he took a deep breath. Kaoru froze, hands tightening into fists to keep from reacting.

“My under cover name is Battousai.”

Oniwabanshu. Hunter. Battousai. The slight ache exploded behind her eyes into a full-fledged headache and she swallowed, hard. Maybe she should have eaten after all.

“Come on,” Kenshin, Battousai, murmured. “If I had known it was you I would be meeting tonight, I would have worked in enough time to sit down and discuss this. You never eat properly, but as it is, we need to go.”

“Go where?” Her voice hitched a little as he pulled away and she ducked, hoping he hadn’t noticed.

“There was a murder last night.” He said, fingers wrapping around her elbow as he started walking. She had to hurry to keep up. “We believe it was Jineh’s work. We need you to verify it.”

She swallowed, “Where?”

“In new Kyoto,” he said calmly. “We’ll have to be careful, but Aoshi has his agents working on it. We have two hours before someone shows up. That gives us an half an hour to get in and an hour to get out.”

“I walked over…” she started.

“That’s fine.” He said mildly. “I drove.”

Like every other male in this city, he drove a bike. She would have accused him of just wanting her to wrap her arms around him, but his reaction to her was too real. Too honest. He hadn’t known she was his partner.

It was a completely different experience hugging Kenshin than Sano. The men were built differently, but muscle was muscle and where Sano was thick and broad, Kenshin was lean and solid. She opened her eyes when the bike cut off. She hadn’t wanted to see the world she had left behind, knowing that if she saw the familiar exits and stores that it would upset her. Three months wasn’t long enough to let go of something you held close for twenty years.

“No lights?” Someone must have cut the electricity.

“Easier to move around unseen in the dark,” he pointed out. “We have half an hour before the power company turns them back on.”

She nodded. Just moonlight made it easier for many reasons. Buildings and houses became blurs, gardens and noises were strange echoes from places she couldn’t see. Unfortunately, Kenshin had decided the best way to handle the dark was to take her hand and pull her through some unseen maze. She was forced to dig her nails into the back of his hand in warning when his thumb rolled across her palm in a caress that made the hair on the back of her arms stand up.

“So feisty,” he murmured. “I won’t hurt you.”

She could just picture the flash of his teeth.

“Don’t.” She warned, fighting the urge to grab the ends of his hair she could just make out, and yank. There was nothing comforting about long fingers and calluses as she walked towards someone’s very messy death. Shaking off her unease, she lifted her chin and walked.

The back of the home held a thick gate that was familiar and she had to bite her bottom lip hard. There was simply no need to force her memories onto someone else’s gate. For one thing, the hinges would never have opened that soundlessly. She scooted around Kenshin again before he could find her hand. The crunch of stones also reassured her, since the stones at her place smooth and fitted, instead of cheap gravel.

The hand that settled in the small of her back was almost too warm.

“Twenty minutes. A little faster, Kaoru.” He chided softly, pushing her forward. “We need at least ten minutes to leave.”

“I have ten minutes?”

“You probably won’t need one.” Kenshin whispered back, his breath brushing her ear.

“Aoshi says the crew erased everything except what was inside the dojo. They’ll be cleaning the rest of it after we leave.”

Dojo?

Kaoru dug her feet into the gravel, and ignored Kenshin’s arm sinking around her waist.

“Dojo?”

“Kaoru?”

Her fingers found the front of his shirt and twisted the fabric around.

“What Dojo, Kenshin?” The muscles around her waist bunched. She ignored the fact that she had let his actual name slip, the gut wrenching unease making her desperate.

“It’s on the east side of town,” He said finally, his voice rough. “Over by the bridge, why?”

She felt sick. Letting her fingers slide free of his shirt, she took a wooden step away from his arms. He let the arm around her waist fall and she stumbled and caught herself. Turning away from Kenshin, she stared at the cheap white gravel under her feet and steadied herself. In. Out. Breathe.

“Kaoru?”

“We should hurry,” she whispered, moving further away from him. Now that she knew where she was, her feet knew the way. Five stairs up, four steps to the right, lift the screen up a little as you slide otherwise it grated…

“Kaoru, wait…”

The sensation was like being dropped in the middle of a frozen lake. Ice washed over her skin, goosebumps prickling over her body and she shuddered. Wrapping her arms around herself, she stared into the room and tried to see.

Kenshin’s hand burned as it grabbed her elbow. “I’ll go in first.”

She jerked out of his grip, her movement’s jerky, but waited for him to step inside. Something told her she already knew what they would find. She waited until she felt him move and then took a step inside the confines of the shoji screens. That step echoed up her spine and vibrated in her skull like a bell. It danced along nerve endings and rattled around in the space that had never before been hollow. Stumbling straight into Kenshin she panted against his back. Somehow the heat of his body made it easier to think, as if it was blocking the vibrations that were slowly making it hard to breathe.

“It’s the same.”

He stilled. “Are you sure?”

She nodded, slowly easing herself away and attempting to ignore the way those vibrations increased as she did so. Her stomach heaved a little and she dug her nails into her palms.

“I’m sure.”

He was silent for a long time.

“Who did he kill?”

“The owner of the dojo, Gohei Hiruma.”

The bottom of her stomach dropped out. A faint noise escaped her mouth and even as she took a step back, hot fingers settled along her jaw. He hissed.

“You’re freezing.”

“It’s cold in here,” she shot back, trying not to lean into his hand as a second joined the first. Thumbs brushed against her cheeks and she forced herself to remain still as a little of that uneven thrumming eased.

“Will you be able to find the person who left behind the spell mark, Kaoru?” His tone was soft.

She nodded, knowing he would feel the gesture and not trusting her voice when he was so close she could feel his breath moving her bangs.

“Our time is up,” he said, sliding his hands down her neck to her shoulders, so that she had to bite her lip to keep from making a noise. Her skin burned where he touched it.

She didn’t argue when he guided her out of the dojo and back to the bike. Shutting her eyes tightly, and leaning into him and the way it kept that painful buzzing from taking over her mind, she desperately tried to figure out what she was feeling. Gohei was dead.

Killed by what was obviously a monster.

Her eyes flew open at sudden silence and the lack of vibrations from the bike. At some point in the drive, she had slid forward so that her front was pressed into Kenshin’s back. The helmet couldn’t have been comfortable, so she shoved herself away from him. Looking around, she blinked when she realized they were not in front of the shop they had met at earlier. Pulling her helmet off, she frowned.

“Where are we?”

“When did you eat last?”

“None of your business.”

He pulled out the key. “You’re too pale and were shivering the entire time we drove.”

“That doesn’t mean I want to eat, it means I want to go home and sit in the bathtub.” She snapped, twisting her wrist as he pulled her off the bike.

“We also need to talk.”

“No we don’t.”

He stopped, turning so that she crashed into his shoulder and was still able to meet his eyes. There was a particular spark that reminded her of the night she had stumbled into him outside of the bar; just as it was then, her throat closed and she couldn’t find the air to argue.

“I will be reporting tonight to Aoshi,” Kenshin said firmly. “You only have to talk about it once, Kaoru, and it will be with me. You are still shivering, and since I feel that you will object to my taking you back to my place to drop you into my shower, we will eat something hot here.”

Making a face at his back, and shoving down the temptation of sticking out her tongue, she dug in her heels. It did little good, and she soon found herself in a booth starring at a bowl of soup. She wasn’t entirely sure what it was, but Kenshin was tucking into a bowl as well, using slices of bread that was still warm to soak up some of the broth. She guessed she couldn’t complain about his table manners. Sighing, she finally picked up her spoon.

To her disgust, the minute she swallowed her first spoonful, her absent appetite woke up and her stomach rumbled embarrassingly. Kenshin didn’t say anything, she hoped it had something to do the glare she shot him, but finally accepted the inevitable and dug into the food. Some of the bone deep chill eased with her second cup of coffee, but her toes and the area in her sternum was still cold. Even so, that was none of his business, and she did not intend to tell him.

Once the dishes were cleared, and the coffee cups refilled, she found herself on the end of an assessing look.

“What?”

“You knew the dojo.”

She dropped her eyes, starring at the dark mug.

“I’ll talk to Sanosuke if I have to, Kaoru.”

She tightened her fingers around the mug and swallowed. Sano would tell Kenshin anything he wanted.

“The dojo was mine.”

She missed the way his eyes narrowed.

“Yours?”

His tone had her head lifting and she blinked at him. There was something sharp about the angle of his eyes and jawline that startled her.

“Kenshin?”

“Tell me about the dojo, Kaoru.”

She frowned at him, hesitating. His intensity made her nervous so she dropped her eyes and talked.

“The dojo was mine. I taught my family’s style with my father.” Her throat closed at the thought of her father, someone she had been deliberately avoiding thinking about since abandoning everything

“He died two years ago. I took over. Six months ago, someone approached me about selling to a different style and I refused. Things were a bit interesting after that, until the man who wanted my dojo finally just accused me of being a mage. I woke up to the mage symbol spray painted in front of my gate and I ran. I haven’t been back since.”

He shifted, something in his face telling her he wasn’t satisfied, and she glared at him. He wanted more information.

“I’m finished talking about it.”

The corner of his brow lifted. “Is that so?”

She scowled at him. “Yes.”

“Are you still cold?”

“What?”

“Are you still cold?”

“Why?”

“Answer the question.”

“Don’t bully me,” she returned, frowning at him. She tried to figure out why he would be worried about the air conditioning; it wasn’t as if he could do anything about it. The entire idea was making her head hurt, and the slowly fading buzzing behind her eyes kicked up again. Fighting the urge to reach up and press her fingers against her temples, she tightened her fingers around her mug.

Deciding to ignore the way he was watching her, that slanting glance that made her skin itch, she averted her eyes and stared at the tile. Now that she was thinking about the vibrations, they were starting to itch along the back of her scalp and down to the base or her neck. The soup had been a bad idea; it was starting to churn in her stomach. It was as if her entire body was attempting to align itself to those horrible erratic sensations, like a tuning fork.

Deciding to ignore the problem with Kenshin, she concentrated on figuring out those vibrations. She wished they didn’t burn along the back of her scalp and make it so difficult to think. Reaching up, she rubbed the bridge of her nose.

Warm fingers brushed over her knuckles and she jerked, spilling some of her lukewarm coffee over her fingers. She swore, reaching for the napkins and glared at him. His eyes were dark with amusement and scowled.

“What the hell was that for?”

“You looked a little lost.” He said as he wiped his fingers. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Well, don’t do it again.”

The edges of his eyes deepened. “Something is bothering you.”

“I just went back to my old life for the first time,” she growled.

“It’s not just that.” He said thoughtfully, those yellow eyes roving over her face slowly.

“You haven’t said a word about Jineh.’”

She tried not to flinch, but failed.

“I do not want to talk about Jineh.” She said softly.

“It’s the only way we are going to learn how to make things easier, Kaoru. You reacted twice. Once when the door opened and then once when we stepped inside. Why?”

“Why do we have to talk about this?” She demanded. “Isn’t it enough that I’m being forced to do this?”

She stared outside the window and ignored the way she could feel his eyes roaming her profile.

“I know you didn’t ask for this.” Kenshin said softly. “I didn’t know it was you when I agreed to be your partner, Kaoru. It’s important that you understand that.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t work with people,” He returned. “I am not particularly fond of protecting people I don’t know. What I do most people don’t care to acknowledge except for the horror of it, and I don’t have the patience to deal with people who don’t understand what I do. I don’t care to explain myself to idiots.”

She jerked around, her chin rising stubbornly. “I don’t understand it.”

“Since I don’t understand what you do, we’re even.” He returned, smiling sharply.

She clenched her teeth and glared.

“I don’t just kill indiscriminatingly.”

“I don’t care.”

“Jineh,” Kenshin said, leaning forward, “Kills because he enjoys it.”

She looked away.

“He will keep killing, unless we stop him.”

“I hate it.”

“It’s difficult for some.” He agreed. “That doesn’t make it wrong.”

“So you want me to help you kill.” She whispered.

“I want you to help me find the mages that hide behind their illusions and lies. Then I plan to kill them.” He agreed. “Jineh has eluded our spies for too long. Gohei deserved his fate. I would have done worse if I had known.”

She swallowed.

“Kaoru,” She reluctantly met his eyes. “You can do this.”

She didn’t want to believe him. She didn’t want to think anything he said was true. She didn’t want to depend on him, or trust him, or acknowledge that he had seen something in her she hadn’t. If they were going to be partners, she would have to. Feeling sick, she lowered her eyes to stare at the table.

“Have you ever been electrocuted?”

“Yes.”

“It’s like that.”

“How?”

“The bubbles are smaller, so it’s more of a vibration than anything else, at least with Jineh. The vibrations are erratic, scattered, they don’t seem to have a pattern and it hurts.”

“How does it feel different than everyone else?”

“The cold.”

Kenshin was silent for so long that she looked up.

“Himura-san?”

“Kenshin,” he corrected absently. “Are you still cold?”

“You keep asking that.”

“Jineh’s specialty is a spell that freezes the lungs of his victims, paralyzing them with their own fear. Before he went completely insane, we would find bodies frozen, having suffocated slowly. It’s harder to prove when the bodies are as scattered as he leaves them now, but from your reaction, it’s apparent he is still using it.”

“I’m not as cold as I was.”

He nodded.

“How long did it take for the effects to stop?”

“The cold is mostly gone.” She repeated.

“The vibrations?”

She swallowed. “I don’t know.”

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

She shrugged, twisting her fingers together as she stared at his shoulder.

“I’m tired.”

“Kaoru…”

“Grill me tomorrow, Himura-san. You have enough information to make your report to Aoshi. I want to go home and go to bed.”

Stubbornly lifting her eyes, she forced herself to look at the dark gold rim of his iris and not give anything away. The yellow-gold gaze was streaked with darker honey.

Nodding once, he slid out of the booth.

“Alright,” he agreed. “I’ll be picking you up tomorrow and brining you back to my place to eat lunch. I don’t trust Sano and Yahiko not to try to overhear.” The edge of his mouth curved.

“Fine.”

His eyes lightened. “I’m tempted to take you home with me now. You might sleep more.”

“No.”

“Eventually,” he warned her as they slid out of the booth, Kenshin pulling several bills from his wallet. “I won’t accept your excuses.”

“They’re not excuses,” she snapped. “I just don’t want to be around you.’

His eyes smiled and she looked away. His arm slid around her shoulder and steered her away from the bike.

“What are you doing?”

“Your place is close enough to walk.”

“So you just decided we were going to walk?”

“What where you planning on doing once you went home to unwind?”

She jabbed him with her elbow. “I don’t think it matters.”

“Walking,” he continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “Will wind you down and let you fall over into bed without doing a million sit-ups.”

She shrugged her shoulders, which he ignored.

“I don’t understand why you care.”

His fingers tightened on her shoulder. “I’ve told you, Kaoru. I like you.”

She snorted.

His breath ghosted down her ear. “You don’t believe me.”

She shivered. It was unfair when he used that tone, that slow rolling way he said her name. She didn’t want him to be telling the truth.

“Every time we meet, something happens goes wrong. I don’t think anything you have done can begin to mean you like me.” She glanced up to catch his lips curl.

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Hot lips brushed her temple and she jerked.

“What is it with you?”

He laughed. “Has anyone told you that you’re adorable when you’re grumpy?”

Rolling her eyes, she turned her gaze forward. She could have stepped out from under his arm, but he was warmer than the air and she had already expressed that she wasn’t interested. Of course, that hadn’t really worked well the last time. Frowning a little, she watched her feet and ignored the man next to her.

“Kaoru…” he stopped, his hand tightening against her shoulder, forcing her to stop as well. She wanted to berate him, they were standing in the middle of the walk path, but no one was around.

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

She frowned up at him. “Yes.”

He reached up and touched the corner of her eyes. “Your eyes don’t agree.”

“You keep doing this,” she scowled. “Asking questions I have already answered. I’ll be fine. I told you.”

The hand at her at her temple slid under her chin and he stared at her.

“It’s cold outside, and I think I’ve spent enough time freezing tonight. I am tired, you’re being a pain. Let go, Himura.”

Those strange eyes narrowed.

His mouth was warm. Kaoru’s spine went rigid in shock as his lips brushed hers. The kiss was soft, and she staggered away from that mouth in surprise, but he kept in step with her, his lips leaving hers for a moment before they returned. Back hitting a wall, she opened her eyes wide to stare at him. His cool fingers slide along her jaw until his thumb rested behind her ear, fingers tangling at the base of her neck as he sucked her lip between his teeth and nibbled.

Her eyes shut as something pleasant vibrated down her spine, and out towards her shoulder blades, all the way down to her fingertips and toes. An arm slid around her waist and she pressed into the warmth of his sweater, letting him tilt her head back to deepen the kiss. He tasted like coffee and heat.

When he pulled back to rest his head against her temple, and her head cleared, she discovered she had wrapped her arms around his waist, under his coat, and the collar of his jacket brushed her cheek as she panted against his shoulder. He didn’t seem to be in a hurry to pull away, fingers rubbing lightly against the base of her neck, and she realized her headache was gone.

“I should take you home now.” He murmured, something about the brush of his fingers against the base of her neck told her more than words. He didn’t particularly care to let her go.

“I can’t believe you kissed me.” She mumbled, refusing to lift her head when she felt him shift a little. She considered unwrapping her arms from around him, but decided until he answered her question, it was probably safer not to.

“There is nothing wrong with kissing you,” he returned, his voice bemused. “In fact, I’m hoping to do it again fairly soon.”

“Why?”

He went to pull back and she refused to let him move, tangling her fingers in his sweater. His body vibrated in what was probably laughter and she kept her head ducked.

“I mean it, Kenshin.” She told him firmly, still staring at his collarbones. “If this is your idea of getting me to cooperate on this stupid mission…”

His hand slid under her jaw and she found her head tilting back almost painfully as his crushed his mouth against hers. Everything about this kiss was more forceful than the last, from the way he pushed her up against the wall, free hand hooking under her knee to lift her that inch it took to match their heights, to the way his body fitted against hers. When he pulled back, she gasped for air, staring at the eyes that were so close to hers.

The yellow had swallowed the violet whole.

“I will only ever kiss you because I want to, Kamiya Kaoru,” he drawled. “Make no mistake about it. I want you to trust our working relationship, but be comfortable? The only thing you need to be comfortable with me is as a man.” He shifted against her.

“In fact,” his voice lowered to a thoughtful purr, finger stroking down her throat. “There are many interesting ways to make you decidedly uncomfortable.”

She swallowed and stared at him. “You’re making an awfully big assumption.”

A red brow tilted. “Am I?”

A breath rattled out of her chest. “Yes.”

She hoped so…

Instead of putting her down and stepping back, he leaned forward so that his mouth rested just below her ear. She could feel the way his lips curved into a smile along her jaw.

“Oh, I believe I am going to have a great deal of fun showing you otherwise,” he mused, pressing his lips against her skin, smile deepening as she shivered. “I won’t even hold your love of hot water against you.”

“Put me down, Kenshin.”

“I suppose I should,” he agreed. “Otherwise you’re going to end up in my bed tonight after all.”

She jabbed him with her thumb when he didn’t step back, “Now.”

“As you wish,” he sighed before kissing her cheek and setting her down carefully, helping her rearrange her coat. “Let’s get you home and into that bath.”

She glared at him. “Will you stop?”

He lifted a brow. “I am very interested in this bath of yours. I am curious to find out how much bigger mine is than yours.”

She growled at him and picked up her pace. “No.”

“I didn’t expect anything less,” he agreed, his tone amused.

She snarled and kept walking. If she were honest, she would admit kissing Himura Kenshin was a very pleasant. Even if he walked around as one man during the day and occasionally spent nights hunting down insane mages under a completely different identity. She could even admit that she was attracted to the man.

Honesty wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

When they finally made it to her door, she was a little calmer. Digging around for her keys, she eventually unlocked the door. The sounds of Sano calling a greeting relieved her. Opening the door to a cold house at this point would have rattled her.

“Good night, Kaoru.” He murmured as she stepped inside her the apartment. “Think of me.”

She didn’t even bother looking over at him; instead, she shut the door firmly and threw the lock into place. Stupid, stupid man!

….

“Why are we out here again?” Yahiko demanded. His hands were shoved in his pockets to block some of the wind, and Kaoru just couldn’t tell if was the wind or the lack of a brush that was making his hair so… so…. Sano.

Stubbornly, she shoved open the door to the antique shop. They had already had this discussion and she didn’t feel like repeating herself. Lying was bad enough, but lying multiple times to two people she was starting to care for irked her. She wouldn’t even be in this position if it had been for Himura. Blowing out a calming breath, she turned and watched as her two disgruntled boys walked over.

“Really, Jou-chan, is this necessary?”

“I need things and so do you,” she returned. “They said I was getting a pay raise, so we might as well get what we need while we can afford it. For all we know, they might decide I am horrible at my job and I need to be demoted again.”

It was another lie, but a slightly more believable one than her sudden desire to go shopping for a replacement bokken in the middle of what was turning out to be a dreadfully cold day. At least Yahiko wasn’t making too much noise. She had a hunch that it was because he was conserving energy to stay warm. She didn’t blame him a bit. If she had her way, she would be in bed and hiding from the weather as well.

‘Another thing to blame on the redhead…’

She hadn’t slept well. Tossing and turning, hot and cold by turns, she had finally pulled herself out of her bed and into the shower. Jineh cold vibrations had haunted her only when she wasn’t remembering the heat and taste of Kenshin. Swallowing, she stared hard at a selection of warding spells and took a careful breath. She was here to look into getting a bokken and those spells Sano was insisting she needed to have engraved into the wood. The only way she was going to agree to that was if she could be assured the wood wouldn’t be compromised and easily broken.

The sounds of low, unhappy voices pulled her out of her mental ravings. Turning, she found Yahiko and what appeared to be the shopkeeper in an argument. Sano was moving in quickly from the back, and she went to join them.

“Is there a problem?” Sano spoke, beating her by a few steps to the scene.

“We do not serve his kind here.” The man said firmly. “This is a mage only shop.”

Sano’s fist tightened until the knuckles turned white. “Why the hell not?”

“We don’t serve trash.” The man responded, his face impassive.

Yahiko’s face was tight with anger. Knowing where this was going, she reached over and grabbed the back of his shirt.

“Then we will be taking our business elsewhere,” she interrupted before either of them could say something. Apply pressure she lifted him right off his feet, and shoved forward. Sano followed, but he was swearing under his breath.

“I’m sorry Yahiko,” Kaoru apologized once they made it outside.

He shrugged, a tight, jerky movement of his shoulders.

“Man, Jou-chan,” Sano growled. “Why didn’t you at least let me hit him?”

“Because that wouldn’t have solved anything,” Kaoru pointed out. “If we had wrecked his shop, it probably would have just proved his point. There are other, better ways to deal with people like that.”

Yahiko’s eyes were dark. “Right. Whatever helps you sleep at night, Princess.”

She slapped him in the back of the head. He snarled at her and she lifted a brow.

“Use the head you have, Yahiko. You have contacts within the Oniwanabshu who probably won’t be overly thrilled that someone refused to help one of their agents. See what Misao can dig up on the shop owner and then we’ll decide how we want to deal with it.”

“There are too many shops that won’t serve witches,” Yahiko shot back. “You’re fucking idealistic.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Again, you’re not thinking.”

“I’m thinking just fine.” He returned.

“No, you’re not.” She rounded on him, hand going onto her hip.

“Why don’t you try walking into a witches store sometime,” Yahiko shot back.

“Alright, let’s go.” Kaoru returned, eyes narrowing.

“Okay, enough.” Sano said, stepping between them. “You two fighting isn’t going to solve anything. I do happen to know a shop near here that should have what we need and they don’t mind witches or mages.”

“Fine.”

“Whatever,” Yahiko said, shoving his hands back into his pockets.

Teenagers. Now she understood why her father had handed her a bokken.

The shop Sano was referring to was only a short walk from where they had parked the bikes. The entrance was actually an alley, and there was crooked sign she couldn’t read with a black cat painted onto cracked wood. It smelled like hot spice and something green.

“Yo! Meg!”

There was a brief silence.

“Dammit, Sanosuke, you had better not have broken something again, or I swear to my gods…”

To Kaoru’s surprise, it was the pretty healer who had come out once or twice to mend wounds and the cleanup from their more interesting fights. She had on an apron stained with something blue, and her hair was pulled away from her face, but she looked at ease.

“Not this time. I’m actually looking for some spells.”

“You’re not putting it on your tab until you pay off the other one.”

Kaoru stepped forward, wondering if Sano had a tab everywhere.

“I’m paying.”

Dark cinnamon eyes raked her over before she nodded. “Alright. Give me a moment to clean up.” She eyes landed on Yahiko. “Don’t break anything.”

To Kaoru’s surprise, Yahiko’s face turned dull red.

Seemingly satisfied, the taller woman spun around and disappeared behind a simple cloth door. Feeling slightly bewildered, she let her eyes roam what shelves she could see. Most of the shelves behind the thick counter looked to be latent spells and wards, and behind glass cases there were small packets of ground herbs and brightly colored stones. Bigger items were put onto shelves and what she could see of the back wall was covered in thick books.

“What is this place?”

“Meg started it after she joined the Oniwanabshu,” Sano explained. “She makes most of the potions and dry spells, but she hires out witches and mages to make the wards.”

“Oh.” She cut her eyes to Yahiko. “What did you break?”

“None of your business!” Yahiko snapped, moving away from her to disappear in one of the rows. Smiling, she moved to look around.

“Don’t you dare try to order something for me,” Kaoru warned as she walked towards that wall of books.

“Awe, come on Jou-chan…”

“No.”

She studied the volumes and sighed. What was the point of getting something if she couldn’t read the kanji?

“They are spelled to read English.”

She stilled at the sound of Himura’s voice. Turning her head, she swallowed at the site of him leaning up against the wall next to her. When had he gotten here and why the hell hadn’t she noticed?

“If they’re spelled to read English,” she shot back, “then why can’t I read them?”

“You’re looking too deep,” he returned, pushing off the wall and moving to stand so close his leather jacket brushed against her shoulder.

“That’s ridiculous.”

He smiled, mostly teeth, and she hid a shiver. She wanted to step away, to leave and pretend she had never seen him, but that somehow seemed to be giving in and admitting defeat.

“You look tired.”

“That happens when you’re up all hours of the night.” She returned, looking back at the books. Looking too deep? What did that mean?

“I’m not so easy to lie to as the others,” He warned. She took a step to the side in surprise when warm fingers brushed hair behind her ear. “Don’t try.”

“Yo, Jou-chan, if you don’t want me ordering, get up here!”

“Looking for something particular?”

“That’s…”

“Kaoru.” His eyes were serious now.

Right. Partner. Damn how he could remind her of everything just by saying her name. The name she had never given him permission to use!

“My bokken.” She snapped.

“Ah.” He took a step forward and she had to work to keep from stepping away from him. He lowered his head until it rested right next to her ear.

“Ask Megumi for your package.”

“Excuse me?” Her voice sounded strained to her own ears.

“I’ll be waiting for you outside.” Kenshin said, stepping away from her. The right side of her face felt cold.

“For what?”

“You agreed to join me for lunch.”

Before she could remind him that no, she hadn’t agreed to anything, he had told her, he was walking away from her and towards the door. To her utter shock, Sano and Yahiko just nodded. It was as if they didn’t even realize he was Himura Kenshin.

“Kaoru! Hurry the hell up!”

Reaching up to rub her ear, she walked forward. “Right, right, sorry.”

“Jeez, what were you doing back there?” Sano asked.

“None of your business!” Kaoru growled. Hesitating, she finally looked at Megumi. “Do you have a package for me?”

The tall woman’s eyes swung to the door where Kenshin had gone, a frown on her face. “I’ll check.”

Sano frowned at her. “Who would have sent you a package?”

Kaoru just crossed her arms, shifting her weight nervously. What would he have given her? Curiosity ate at her, and she tried to ignore it. Blowing her bangs out of her eyes, she studied the floor.

“I apologize, I wasn’t aware this had been left or I would have given it to you when you first arrived.” Megumi’s voice cut through her thoughts and she looked up.

She was holding a familiar package wrapped in brown paper. The length and width of the wrapping told what it was even before she had it in her hands.

‘Did you leave anything behind?’

‘My bokken.’

When she pulled the paper away, to her surprise, the wood had a row of carefully drown symbols down the side. Sano peered over the top of her head and whistled.

“Damn, Jou-chan, those are expensive.”

She was going to kill him! Rolling it back into the brown paper, she turned and headed to the door.

“Hey! Where are you going?”

“I’ll catch up with you later!” Kaoru said as she opened the door.

“Hey, you still need to pay.” Megumi called.

“Put it on Sano’s tab!”

 

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