The Best Laid Plans

A Rurouni Kenshin story

by Jenn Jones and Amparo Bertram
inspired by Kimberley Low and Marcie Reynolds


Only a small "oomph" disturbed the quiet of the gentle afternoon. It wasn't even enough to cause the birds to pause in their singing.

"Well, that was simple," Yahiko whispered.

"Yeah," Sanosuke agreed. "Too simple."

Shrugging off his unease, the former member of the Seki Hou Tai shouldered his burden with no apparent strain and began striding to their destination.

plop, plop "Yahiko."

"Hai, hai. I've got them." Gathering their unconscious companion's footwear, he trotted along behind.

A creak of a floorboard within the dojo caused the unusual procession to freeze. After a tense moment, they continued on their way, convinced it was merely the settling of an old structure. Darting ahead, Yahiko slid the door open and glanced inside. With a nod of his head he indicated that it was safe to enter.

Five minutes later they emerged, mission accomplished. Sanosuke carried a wadded up bundle of clothing and Yahiko sported a wicked grin.

* * *

Kaoru groaned as she tried unsuccessfully to suppress her body's natural inclination to hobble.

I shouldn't have done that last set, she moaned inwardly. With all of her attention focused on attaining the privacy of the bathhouse and retaining as much dignity as she possibly could, she ignored the presence of Sanosuke and Yahiko squabbling over the intricacies of gambling. At that moment it would take more effort than she could spare to scold the former gangster for teaching her pupil bad habits.

Sliding the door closed behind her, she shut her eyes, anticipating the relief that a hot bath would bring her aching body.

While one hand fumbled with the belt of her robe, her eyelids lifted, and all thoughts of her discomfort disappeared in an instant as she blinked incredulously at the scene in front of her.

Silent moments passed as she tried to absorb the completely unexpected vision. Nothing could possibly explain the situation, and the only words that came to mind were, "Kenshin no baka!"

When her exclamation failed to produce a response from the seemingly peaceful man lying naked in the bath, she strode forward angrily. "Kenshin, what are you... Kyaa!"

The tentative prod of her finger had sent Kenshin sliding slowly but steadily under the water.

Modesty set aside as a luxury, Kaoru dove forward and managed to wrap her arms around his chest. Pausing a moment to assess the situation, her breath ruffling the hair above his ear, she firmly reminded herself that she should *not* notice how soft the bright, red waves felt against her cheek.

It seemed as though the best course of action would be to extract them both from this embarrassing situation as quickly as possible. Yet, with the lack of sufficient leverage, Kaoru doubted her tired muscles retained the strength to lift Kenshin bodily from the tub. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to release her hold without him sliding under the water, she contemplated the best way to shift her grip and not inadvertently wander into uncharted territory.

The silence became suddenly obvious as she knelt by the bath and realized that the only distinct noise was the drip, drip of the water falling from Kenshin's hair. The annoying background argument between Sano and Yahiko had disappeared, and in her mind's attempt to avoid the issue at hand--or rather, *in* hand--it occurred to her to wonder why. Neither of the two boys was the type to give in to the other without a long, drawn-out debate or some other physical settlement. (Although, sometimes Kaoru thought they picked fights so they *could* resort to violence.) That they had chosen this particular occasion to end the disagreement peacefully made her suspicious of what role they may have played in her current predicament.

Impatient with her inactivity, she struggled to her feet and perched on the side of the tub with the thought that this new position might be enough to pull him free--except that Kenshin chose not to cooperate and started listing in the opposite direction. With time only for a startled squeal, Kaoru found herself submerged in the bath. Spitting out a mouthful of water, she checked to make sure that her unconscious companion hadn't suffered adversely.

She allowed her head to drop forward and rest against Kenshin's back. "Oh, this is *much* better!" she muttered.

* * *

Violet eyes snapped open. Warm water. A woman's arms around him. Complete--he checked--and utter nudity.

"Kaoru-dono?"

"H--hai?" came the weak response.

He relaxed, slightly. "Anou..."

"Don't ask."

"Ah, sou de gozaru."

The last thing that Kenshin knew, he had been on his way to prepare Kaoru's bath and noticed Sanosuke and Yahiko involved in one of their endless rounds of bickering. One minute his arms were full of kindling for the fire, the next he found himself in a situation he never would have imagined.

He knew they couldn't stay in the bath forever and decided that he should make the first motion toward extricating them both. Leaning forward, he braced one leg underneath him and started to rise.

It wasn't until he had halfway completed the action that he realized he probably should have communicated his intent. "Kenshin, don't..." she exclaimed as her hands slipped on his water-slick skin and momentarily dipped lower than either of them was prepared for. The warrior found himself abruptly back in the water with Kaoru plastered against him.

He waited for the waves to settle a bit, wondering whether he should bring up the topic of how he was pretty sure there was more of her bare skin touching his than there had been earlier.

"Umm, Kenshin, could you move forward--slowly?"

"But I was trying--" he began, confused.

She interrupted him, "The water caused my robe to..." she trailed off.

Mentally connecting her words and the sensation against his shoulder blades, his eyes widened, and he silently complied. The fabric of her yukata brushed across his back as she folded it into place. "Daijoubu de gozaru ka?"

"Hai. I'll close my eyes now," she hinted.

He stood, taking extra care not to provoke any further mishaps. Once firmly on dry ground, he searched in vain for a trace of his clothing. The only remaining form of cover was the towel Kaoru had brought for her hair. "May I use your towel?"

She hastily granted permission, and he wrapped the rectangular cloth around his waist. The sound of sloshing water informed him that she was making her own exit from the tub. He turned to face her, his gaze involuntarily traveling all the way from her bare toes up to the soaked robe clinging to every curve of her form, leaving very little to the imagination.

He tightened his grip on the towel.

Hoping to take both their minds off her sodden state, he attempted to piece together what had brought them to this. It wasn't long until he reached a conclusion, and her question proved she wasn't far behind. "Did Sanosuke have anything to do with you being here?"

"And Yahiko, I believe," he confirmed.

"*Why*?" she demanded, clearly channeling her embarrassment into anger.

Kenshin took the precaution of maneuvering to hide her supply bucket, a potential projectile, from view.

"Was it just a prank?"

He shrugged in answer. "That's as likely a reason as anything else."

"But they could have hurt you!" she protested.

Kenshin smiled. "They went to a lot of trouble to set this up, but I know they would never hurt me. I think we can frustrate whatever plans they had by ignoring this happened."

She nodded reluctantly, then grinned. "I'll just make sure that Yahiko's training session tomorrow is more strenuous than usual."

He walked over to the door and slid it open. "Kaoru-dono, it's dark enough for you to return to your room unseen."

She slipped by him and made her way quickly to the house, busily plotting ways to make Yahiko's life miserable.

Kenshin stood leaning against the doorframe as he contemplated the evening's events. He did feel badly that Kaoru's only time of the day to relax had been spoiled. Perhaps he could do something about that.

* * *

Dressed in a dry yukata and sitting comfortably on her futon, Kaoru brushed out her long hair. Soft steps outside her door made her pause.

"Kaoru-dono?"

"Hai, Kenshin?"

"I'm sorry that your bath was ruined. I wondered if you would let me take you to dinner?"

Surprised, but very pleased at the gesture, she accepted. After they agreed to meet in ten minutes outside the dojo, his footsteps receded.

* * *

"What did he ask her?" Yahiko whispered loudly.

"I think he said something about dinner," Sano replied, then looked appalled. "They're going out to eat without us!"

"Well, you *did* knock him unconscious," the boy pointed out helpfully.

"You helped!" Secrecy forgotten, the gangster tried to set the record straight.

"I only picked up his shoes. That shouldn't count," he groused.

"You heated the bath water."

"You stole Kenshin's clothes!"

"I put them in his room," came the righteous response.

"It was all your idea, anyway. Why shouldn't I get to go out to dinner, too?!"

"Jo-chan probably has another reward in mind for you."

Yahiko's face lost all color. "She'll make me breakfast?"

Sano smirked, "Only if you're *lucky*!"

The two stopped talking as Kenshin escorted Kaoru past them. The recently bathed sword masters had taken special care in their appearance, and they made a striking pair.

After they left, Sano elbowed his companion in the arm. "If they get married, do you think we'll get the credit?"

The young boy's stomach growled. "Who cares about credit?" He rested his chin on his hand, still staring after the departed couple. "*I* just want them to bring us something to eat!"

The End

[Anime]
© 1999 Jenn Jones and Amparo Bertram