Summer was in full swing.

The air was sweet and warm.

And Kaoru Kamiya was just finishing up some shopping at the nearby market. Many of the outlying farmers and bakers would congregate inside the bustling city of Tokyo every week and mothers and daughters would often flock to the market to procure their weekly bounty of vegetables, meat, fish, grain and other staples. Kaoru usually had Yahiko or Kenshin tag along to do the heavy lifting but when she had left hours ago, they were still busy cleaning and she decided she could go shopping alone.

It was a nice change for the dark haired girl but a part of her was curious if her dojo would still be standing when she returned. While she knew Yahiko was a good kid, she knew he could find trouble without even trying. Sano was off doing his own thing and Kaoru had a feeling he might be gambling or pestering Megumi who was helping Doctor Gensai. Thankfully her anxiety and worry was quelled by the knowledge that if anything went wrong, Kenshin would be able to handle it. She was so blessed to have crossed paths with the wanderer and she found herself being kept at night, from time to time, at the thought of him someday wandering off.

As the sun up above began to sink down towards the horizon, Kaoru passed by Tajima Dojo. The family had moved in a month or so back and Kaoru had only had sour interactions with the teachers and their students. Many of those who went ended up stealing and causing fights in the streets. To Kaoru, they were rotten and gave swordsmanship a bad name. There wasn't much the local authorities could do and most of the victims felt helpless to do anything themselves. Kaoru once had to intervene between a student from Tajima and an innocent father trying to get home with his six year old daughter.

In the end, she managed to get the student to back off but the incident never sat right with her.

It could have escalated and she was rather certain that next time, it wouldn't be so easy to calm the waters.

Kaoru glanced off as she heard the cries of students in pain. There were rumors that Takata Tajima abused his students and that alone only made things more complicated. How could someone intentionally harm their students was a concept far beyond her understanding. Kaoru forced herself to keep walking. She recalled he had a son, Ryuuto and a daughter, Satsumi. She worried about them but knew for now, she needed to get home before the sun set. As pretty as the walk would be, she knew she had hungry people waiting for her to get dinner made.

The woman passed by a sheet of paper attached to a building. The building itself was where people reported incidents and events but the wall outside was where people posted missing people, missing items, asking for manual labor and such. The flier which caught her eyes, was one saying there was going to be a tournament held in the next week and that anyone between the ages of 15-20 could sign up. There was space to do so and Kaoru noticed that Ryuuto Tajima had already listed his name. She swallowed hard and glanced around. As if on cue a tall man with long black hair walked down the dirt road, his sword in full view.

Immediately, Kaoru knew he was Ryuuto and noted his hair was swept down to cover his right eye and she wondered if it was hiding a bruise or other deep wound. He was alone and seemed rather confident, if not cocky even. When he saw her looking at the tournament, he smirked and walked toward her. "Little girls have no place among men." He sneered.

"My Kamiya Kasshin style is far superior to yours. Your family practices all sorts of criminal behavior and it's about time someone stood up to you and your horrible father!" Kaoru glared, not one to stand by and let someone mock her, much less females in general. 

"I could end your life right here and now and no one would care." Ryuuto began to pull out his blade.

Though her arms were full with groceries, Kaoru knew she could still get hold of her wooden sword which was slung behind her. Still, it was evident that Ryuuto was already holding an advantage over her. He positioned his slim sharp blade and pointed it at Kaoru's exposed neck. She had on her usual pink kimono and knew in his mind, she wasn't a threat. She would give anything to prove him wrong and remind everyone that her dojo needed members and was not making the world a worse place.