I do not own Rurouni Kenshin. If I did, he'd stop calling Kaoru 'dono.'

Note For purposes of this story, just believe that Kaoru's dojo has a stove and that you can run from Aizu to Tokyo in a day.

A Rurouni Sickness

By Shiara-dono

Chapter 1

"A… A… ACHOO!!" The force of the sneeze shook the dojo walls, startling the occupants awake.

Kenshin Himura sighed, his body tired from the sneeze. It had caught him unaware, so he'd had no time to stifle it. He heard the sound of running feet outside his room. Three… two… one…

"Kenshin?"

Kenshin smiled as his shoji was slid open. Kaoru Kamiya stood there, eyes worried. "Yes, Kaoru-dono?"

Kaoru flushed slightly, realizing the red headed Rurouni was still in bed. "Um, I… I… I heard you sneeze." Who didn't? "Are you okay?"

"Yes, Kaoru-dono, I am. However, I think someone must be talking about me, that they must." He paused and smiled again. "I will be out to make Kaoru-dono's breakfast in a moment."

Worry was replaced with irritation. "I could make my own breakfast, you know."

"No, no! I insist. I like making your breakfast, that I do."

Kaoru blushed, shook her head, and hastily backed out of the room.

Kenshin sighed again, angry at himself for lying to Kaoru. He knew the sneeze was in fact him being sick. It had started the previous night with a tightness in his chest. Now he had the sniffles, and sneezes, apparently. That's what I get for going out in the rain, and not drying off soon after. He pushed himself out of bed, groaning as his body protested.

As he started breakfast, his mind reminded him of Kaoru's worried eyes. He winced. The last thing he wanted was for Kaoru to worry about him. She had too many other things to worry about, without adding him to the mix. So, he decided to hide his being sick from her. He would sneak out later to see the doctor, when Kaoru went to teach at a neighboring dojo.

Yahiko looked from Kaoru to Kenshin and back while they ate breakfast. Kaoru was obviously worried, and Kenshin appeared paler than usual. He narrowed his eyes. What's wrong with Kenshin?

Kenshin saw Yahiko looking at him and smiled. "Something the matter, Yahiko?"

Yahiko shook his head, wondering if he was just imagining it. Kenshin seemed alright, after all. He hurriedly finished his meal and stood up. "I'm off to go see Tsub… I mean, I'm going to go help out at the Akabeko. I'll be back after lunch." He dashed off.

Kaoru hid a grin behind her hand. "He's really taken a liking to Tsubame-chan."

"It seems so, that it does."

Kaoru helped Kenshin clear the dishes away, watching him out of the corner of her eye. "Are you feeling okay, Kenshin?"

Kenshin bit back a groan and plastered a smile on his face. He turned toward her, unaware his eyes were now fever bright. "Kaoru-dono worries too much. Lunch will be ready when you return, and should anyone come with a challenge, I will clean up the damage, that I will."

Kaoru blushed furiously and hastily stammered her good-bye. Of course Kenshin would be alright. He was a grown man, after all. His only drawbacks were thinking himself unworthy, and being extremely dense.

Kenshin sighed, slowly walking to the clinic. It was harder to hide his sickness from Kaoru and Yahiko than he'd thought it would be. And it was getting worse. His head was warm and pounding, and yet, he was chilled. He shivered, despite the summer heat.

Upon arriving at the clinic, he made an unfortunate discovery. Megumi was still in Aizu, that much he had known. But Dr. Gensai was called away on an emergency and wouldn't be back until the next day at the earliest. Kenshin had to deal with this illness on his own. He hoped it would burn out soon.

By the time he returned to the dojo, lunch needed to be fixed. Kaoru would be home before too long and would definitely be hungry. He turned the fire on and closed his eyes against the sudden flare of pain in his head. Working automatically, he pulled out the things he needed to prepare lunch, not realizing he was setting them too close to the fire. He opened his eyes to find the room spinning. The pain in his head increased, and with a pain filled 'oro,' he toppled backward, unconscious.

Kaoru walked tiredly down the street to her dojo, dragging her bag of equipment along the ground. Her pupils had been rather rough with her today, so she was looking forward to a quiet lunch with just her and Kenshin. Her mind reminded her of Kenshin's earlier paleness and over bright eyes. She frowned, hoping he was alright.

A shadow darkened the sun. Kaoru looked up and gasped. Her dojo was on fire! She dropped her equipment and shed her outer layer of clothing, dashing to the well. She drew up a bucket, pouring the cold water over her body. The she filled two more and rushed inside. Smoke made her cough as she made her way to the kitchen, where the flames seemed to be coming from. "Kenshin?" She called, voice raspy from even the little bit of smoke she'd already inhaled.

The flames were everywhere in the kitchen, dancing higher than her head. She made her way over to the stove, and turned it off, killing the source of the fire. He foot touched something on the ground, and she bent down, trying to see through the thick blackness. "Kenshin!!" She screeched. She fell to her knees and checked that he was still breathing. Luckily, he was. She dragged him out of the fire's most obvious path, and then returned her attention to the fire. She knew if she thought about Kenshin now, the dojo would burn to the ground. Again and again she ran outside, filling buckets full of water from the well. After what seemed like hours, but was probably only minutes, she got the fire out. She collapsed next to the well, coughing and hacking, barely able to draw up another bucket. She managed, though, and drank some of it to try to stop her coughing. Kaoru dragged herself to her equipment, glad she always carried a first- aid kit with her. Picking the half- full bucket of water up on the way, she walked back in to the dojo. Tears filled her eyes as she knelt next to Kenshin's unconscious form and began treating his wounds.

Kenshin awoke to something tugging on his hand. He struggled to open his eyes, and drew in a gaspy breath. A young woman sat next to him, gently holding his hand. Worry was written all over her face, and there were tear trails on her soot- covered cheeks. Her hair was steaming, the ends of it and her clothes singed. She said something, but her voice didn't reach him.

She was a vision of ethereal beauty to him, and he wanted to do something, anything, to erase her worry. He reached up with his other hand to touch her face, looking at it in disgust when he realized it was bandaged. He opened his mouth to speak, but great, hacking coughs erupted from him.

The girl moved, dipping a cup into a bucket of water. She carefully helped him drink some water. When his coughing subsided, he tried talking again. Nothing. No sound emitted from his mouth. It was as if his vocal chords were paralyzed.

The worry on her face increased, and Kenshin's heart ached at the thought of being the cause of her worry. Wanting somehow to show this vision that he was alright, he did the only thing he could think of. He reached up with both bandaged hands and gently pulled her down, kissing her tenderly.

Quite suddenly, he was aware of a pounding behind his eyes. He tried one last time to say something before he lost consciousness. His voice, barely a whisper, was very hoarse. "You are… beautiful."

Kaoru blushed, touching her hand to her lips. Kenshin had just kissed her. And said she was beautiful. Tears cascaded down her face as she looked at the sleeping rurouni, worry quickly resurfacing. Kenshin was breathing hard and sweating, his normally cheerful face very pale. She realized with a start that his eyes had still been over bright. Hesitantly, she pressed a hand to his forehead, yanking it back almost immediately.

He had a fever. A very high one, if she was any judge. The idiot had tried to hide it, not wanting to worry her, she realized. She sighed, suppressing her anger as she stood and dragged the rurouni to his room. She grabbed a towel, dipped it in the cold water, and set it on Kenshin's forehead. Then she went to try and clean up her ruined kitchen.

Yay!! I'm back! Not bad for a first chapter. So, tell me what you think about it. Anyway, next chapter some familiar faces show up and what does delirium do to Kenshin? Stay tuned to find out! Ja ne!