Disclaimer- I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or any of the characters mentioned in the story below.

Author's note- This is my very first fan fic ever. I decided to do it on this anime because it is one of my favorites and I love the characters from this series. I hope you enjoy it.

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"I won't survive this fight", the battousai thought to himself. He was losing blood at an alarming rate. He had never been wounded like this. He could see the slight grin of his opponent. The ninja knew what the battousai was capable of, but by using explosives and fighting in a forest, he had the advantage. Through the pain and the taunts of his adversary, he could only think of one thing, Tomoe. The woman he had grown to love and marry. He never imagined he could love, or that love would feel so good and hurt so much at the same time. He didn't want to lose that feeling. All he needed was a single attack; just one blow and the ninja will fall. He frantically searches for where he should strike his sword and decides that the ninja's heart is the appropriate place. Maybe then his enemy can feel the pain going though the battousai's heart. He launches the attack straight at the assassin, but as he strikes he smells the familiar perfume of white plums that Tomoe has grown accustomed to wearing. By the time he notices that Tomoe has put herself between him and his attacker, it is too late to pull back. The battousai does something he hasn't done in years, he cried; for he has defeated his opponent, but at the price of his only love. In the chaos, the battousai failed to notice the dagger in Tomoe's hand, or the horizontal slash it has left on his face, completing the cross-shaped scar that will forever remind him of this night. The battousai held Tomoe in his hands as she dies, and knowing there is nothing he can do to save her, he brings her closer to him just to feel her soft cheek on his. Tomoe gently touches his scar and tells him that it is better this way and that he shouldn't cry. The last thing she did was smile, something she was not accustomed to doing, and at that moment, the battousai wishes it were he that died and not she.

"Kenshin, wake up", whispered a voice. As his eyes slowly opened, he realized it was still dark out. He searched for the voice, but it was too dark to see.

"You were having a nightmare, are you okay?" asked the soft voice. Finally he noticed whom the voice belonged to. "You were groaning and shouting all night, so I thought I would check up on you", continued the voice. The voice belonged to Miss Kaoru, the assistant master of the Kamiya Kashin Dojo.

"I'm sorry for waking you Miss Kaoru, it won't happen again", retorted Kenshin. This is the third time he had had the same dream this week. Why are these memories coming back to him? He thought he had forgotten about the incident, but it has come back to haunt him. For so long he has tried to keep his sanity by pretending it was all a dream, that he never had a wife. That he wasn't the one responsible for her death. For a while he even believed it, but now he recalls what happened as if it had occurred yesterday.

"Kenshin, what's on your mind?" asked Kaoru, "You haven't been eating properly, you seem lost in thought all the time, it's like your body is here, but your mind is on another planet. Do you want to talk about it?"

Kenshin raised his head, and looked straight at Kaoru with a smile, "it's quite alright Miss Kaoru, I was just having a bad dream nothing to worry about really, so you can go back to sleep now. I'll walk you to your room if you'd like?" With that said, Kenshin stood up and Kaoru followed him to her room. They were careful to walk slowly and quietly so that they do not disturb little Yahiko in the other room. By the time they neared the door, Kenshin noticed that Kaoru had begun to breathe a little harder and faster. He turned around to look at her, and what he saw caught him by surprise. There were tears streaming down Kaoru's face. It hurt Kenshin so much to see her this way. She had cried many times before, but never like this. There was a look of torment in her eyes. It seems his nightmares have had more of an effect on her than on him.

Kenshin moved in closer to her, and put his arms around her. If he weren't holding her, she would've collapsed then and there. Her legs were quivering and her heart was beating so fast that it seemed like it would jump out of her any second.

Kenshin waited several minutes until Kaoru finally calmed down so that he can ask her what was wrong. But before he could put a word in, she began telling him what exactly was on her mind. "I've been worried sick about you, you won't talk to me anymore, and it kills me every time you ignore your dreams. If you don't want to tell me what you are dreaming I understand completely, but please, stop pushing me away from you. All I want to do is help you, and I can't help if you don't allow me to get close to you."

With that said, Kaoru could feel new tears on her face, Kenshin was crying with her. This made Kaoru feel worse than before, she had never seen Kenshin cry. She was so used to seeing him drop bowls of rice all over the ground and do nothing but smile. This was a new side of him that she had never seen, and she wishes she had never seen him this way.

"I've been denying it for so long now, hiding it for so long, and because of that I haven't allowed myself to love again. You have treated me with compassion when no one else would, you allowed me into your home despite my past, and you have stood by my side even if it meant your life. And what have I done? Nothing" At this point, Kenshin legs weakened and he collapsed. He continued "All I've done is bring chaos into your life, I have been too much of a burden, and still you dismissed it as if it hadn't had an effect on you."

"You have not been a burden, it is the complete opposite, I don't know what I would do without you. I fear for your life every day. All I ask is that you stop pushing away your emotions."

"Okay, you see years ago during the war, a young lady by the name of Tomoe had witnessed me kill a man, and she had fainted when she saw the act in question. Now, nobody is supposed to witness a battousai kill, so I carried her back to my inn I was staying at. After that she refused to leave my sight, she was convinced that there was more to me that just an assassin. In time, we grew to love each other, and we married shortly after. I decided to quit being the battousai and we moved near a forest. It was very private and out of the way, I was sure we would be safe there. For about six months we lived there, until I was attacked by a group of ninjas. By the time I had defeated the minions, all that was left was the leader. The fights already weakened me and I was sure I would not walk out of there alive. But I didn't want to leave my dear Tomoe alone, so with one final attack, I killed the ninja, but at the expense of my wife. She had gotten in between the both of us and by the time I had noticed her there, I couldn't pull back from the attack. That was the last time I had ever cried since today, and I swore I couldn't love again."

Kaoru was left speechless, she had not known of this, and it breaks her heart to make Kenshin tell her. Before she could apologize Kenshin continued; "I have loved you for so long, but because of this I never told you, I couldn't allow myself to even make it known. I never imagined I could love again, not after what had happened to me. But now, I can finally admit it."

Kaoru was not ready for what Kenshin had to say next. "I love you Miss Kaoru". And without giving Kaoru a chance to reply, he moved in closer and kissed Kaoru. The kiss she has been waiting forever for since he had entered her life. She had been waiting for so long for Kenshin to return the love she had for him, and she finally had it. She felt as if she could float on the very air they were breathing. Where their lips finally parted, they just stared into each other's eyes as the sun began to bring light into the dojo. This was a night that neither of them was soon to forget.