Kenshin was naturally suspicious of the new woman in Akira's life, and he felt that, as the best friend, he had to make sure that Akira wasn't heading into a painful relationship with her. What he didn't anticipate was the feelings she'd create in him.

As a scout of the Nightingale, Sparrow went about her duties obediently enough: doing exactly as she was told, never to influence events by herself. She trained herself to be detached from any emotions or thoughts about her work, lest they affect her performance. But the explosion at the Temple of Sacred Ashes, and the events that follow it, make detachment a bit too difficult.

My take of the Kenshin-Jineh fight... In prose form using Kenshin's POV. He held in his mercy the person I have sworn to protect, and to save her, I needed to be who I fought hard to repress these ten years. "To protect Kaoru-dono, I will become a hitokiri once again."