It was mostly Kaoru's fault their rice had been carelessly discarded. Though she also blamed Ryuuto Tajima. Still, having Kenshin take the brunt of Yahiko's impending tantrum was something she was hesitant to encourage. Still, at this point there was little point in crying over spilled rice. "I'll have to go back out tomorrow and see if I can get us some more." With money tight, she had a feeling she'd need to do a few odd jobs around town before she could go back to the market and procure more rice. 

When Yahiko spotted them enter the grounds, he was quick to complain about how long he had been waiting.

"You're so ungrateful, Yahiko." Kaoru's face turned a slight red as she felt pretty embarrassed to have such a stubborn student. Kenshin chimed in by correcting Yahiko in a more calm manner. Kaoru couldn't help but give Kenshin a sympathetic look. Yahiko was her student but it was often Kenshin who had to even out the tension between her and her student. Still, Kaoru sighed and felt the temperature in her cheeks fall back to normal but that was quickly useless as Yahiko once again complained, this time about her cooking skills.

"You're lucky you're even getting chicken!" Kaoru snapped and charged after Yahiko who managed to evade her clutches. Before she got further sidetracked, she remembered she wished to aid Kenshin with preparing dinner. She just shook her fist at Yahiko who had gone into hiding. Kaoru knew someday he'd respect her, she just wished that day would arrive a little quicker.

Making her way back to where Kenshin was stationed, she seasoned the chicken and placed beside the vegetables which Kenshin had just placed on the small grill outside. Kaoru knew it would be about five or six minutes before she needed to tend to the meat so she allowed her mind to wander back to Yahiko and whether or not she was being the best teacher she could be. The last thing she wanted to do was to become someone like Tajima and resort to severe punishments. The notion of causing her own students harm as punishment was one she couldn't even grasp, as annoying as a certain brat could be.

Kenshin spoke up, asking her to be careful. She wasn't going in to be reckless but before she could assure the man sitting beside her, he continued. He mentioned that those she may be up against may surely try certain tactics forbidden by the rules in order to win. She gave a small nod in understanding. "That's why I'd really prefer if you helped me train for such unpredictable circumstances." She pointed out to him with another calm smile. 

Deep down, she was certain that if she was ever in harm's way, truly in harm's way, Kenshin would act.

But she also knew she couldn't count on his kindness in lieu of the possibility of her being unable to defend herself. Kaoru knew she would need to be level headed and decisive with her moves. She glanced back down and used the nearby chopsticks to flip the chicken so it could finish cooking. "Are you free tonight after dinner?" She asked him, unsure if he had other things to do. Sometimes he did wander off into town or elsewhere so she decided it would be easier to just ask directly than to assume one way or the other. Already she was thinking of a way to repay him for his time. Would she be able to bake something?