AN: I'm sick of the blanket scenarios where the girls are always passing out in the cold and the guys undress then and share their body heat, yatta yatta yatta. (EX: Kaoru- ugh, I feel faint ::passes out:: Kenshin- no! Kaoru! or Miaka- ::suddenly isn't behind Tasuki:: Tasuki- Oh no! Miaka! She's cold! _) So I'm doin' it my way ^-^ ::sings usher's my way:: With a lil twist. Let's see how guys like being helpless for once!

Kenshin/Kaoru ficcie, I don't own Rurouni Kenshin in any way. Kuso!

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"Mou, Kenshin! We need to get somewhere, and fast!" Kaoru whined, tugging on the rurouni's sleeve.

"H-hai, Kaoru-dono." Kenshin struggled to keep up with Kaoru's strides to get out of the ever-increasing snowstorm. Normally, he would have been fine and been able to keep up with the determined woman before him. Normally. Sometime within the past few days, he figured, he caught Sano's cold. His every muscle ached and he bit back hacking coughs that scratched at the back of his throat, begging to be let out. He didn't want anyone to worry. He was sure that it would pass over within a few days. Today, however, he made the mistake of going out with Kaoru on some errands. Seeing that a storm was approaching, he insisted they take a shortcut through the forest to get to town. Big mistake. The snow piled up so fast that before either of them realized it, they were fighting their way through the biting winds. Kenshin let a cough slip and Kaoru immediately came to his side.

"Kenshin, are you alright?" She placed a hand on his arm. Kenshin nodded, ignoring the soreness in his throat. Kaoru looked at him skeptically before starting forward again. Kenshin winced as he cleared his throat to disperse any coughs left.

"Kenshin, do you see that?" Kaoru pointed off into the distance. Kenshin squinted his eyes and nodded, relief washing over his features.

"Hai, it looks like a cabin, Kaoru-dono." He smiled despite his condition and started walking, Kaoru following closely behind.

After another five minutes, the two still hadn't reached the cabin and the storm grew harsher by each passing moment. Kaoru gritted her teeth against it and pushed forward. Kenshin, meanwhile, struggled to keep up. His toes were numb and his socks were wet. He watched as the scenery before him blurred. He stopped walking and clenched his eyes closed, willing it to go away.

"Kenshin?"

He could faintly hear Kaoru calling for him. He opened his eyes and was immediately filled with a nauseous feeling.

"Kaoru-dono…" He muttered before he swayed and pitched forward.

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Kaoru gasped as she saw Kenshin's body pitch forward. She rushed over to him and caught him, stumbling and falling with the sudden impact of his body. She sucked in a breath as she struggled to get to her feet with Kenshin in toe. After a few attempts, she finally got herself upright.

"Kenshin no baka. You should have told me you weren't feeling well." She hissed, throwing one of his arms over her shoulders. One arm held his waist close to hers while the other arm held his in place over her shoulder. Taking another few deep breaths, she began her walk towards the slightly visible cabin.

Kaoru had noticed that Kenshin wasn't acting like his normal self, but she didn't want to pressure him into talking. She frowned. She had her suspicions that he was sick, the constant clearing of the throat and the tiny sniffles he tried to hide. Shaking her head as she reached the cabin, she sighed in relief. She shifted her body so that her hip helped prop Kenshin up so she could grab the door handle. After it was open, she dragged the unconscious man in and kicked the door shut behind her.

"Ohayou!?" She called out. She was surprised to see no one was there. Shrugging, she gently laid Kenshin down on the ground and let a small smile play on her lips. She gently brushed some stray hair out of his face and gasped when she came in contact with his forehead.

"Baka baka baka!" Kaoru jumped up and began to panic. He was burning up, and she knew absolutely nothing about medicine.

"Where's Megumi when I need her!" She whined, pacing.

"Kaoru, this is no time to go crazy, just relax and think." She coached herself and stopped walking nervously around the room.

"Think, Kaoru, think!" She muttered, tapping her foot. Kaoru looked around the room and her eyes landed on the small door in the room. Her eyes lit up as she scrambled over to it and yanked it open. She pulled out a large wool blanket and a small brown box. Not even bothering to shut the small closet door, she rushed over to the young man on the floor. Smoothing back his hair, she sighed. What could she do? She nervously chewed on her lip and thought back to what Megumi had taught her. In the little time she knew the doctor, Megumi had helped her out in quite a few occasions.

"He'll die if I don't get him out of those clothes." Kaoru muttered, the first part of Megumi's training coming back to her.

"Gomen, Kenshin, but I'm gonna have to do this." She said before she slipped him out of his wet clothes. He shivered and Kaoru gasped. She slipped off his sandals and socks and blushed when she realized that the last thing left covering him was his underwear.

"Breath Kaoru, this is for his health." She repeated over and over to herself as she removed the last piece of clothing. Blushing profusely, she quickly threw the wool blanket over him. Sighing and wiping her brow, she smiled lightly. She had gotten him out of his clothes. After spreading them out so they would dry, she returned to the prone man lying on the floor.

"Mou, what do I do now!?" She whined, beginning to pace again. She accidentally kicked over the small brown box she had pulled out and its' contents spilled on the floor. Her eyes widened in realization as to what it was. Megumi had taught her all about plants, much to her reluctance at the time. If she was correct, and wasn't confusing the plants in her hands as the silent killer, then this plant would help Kenshin's fever. Smiling at her fortunate luck, she looked up at the roof of the cabin and clasped her hands together.

"Arigatou, Kami-sama!"

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After using the lid of the brown box as a bowl and her shoe to ground the leaves into paste, Kaoru made her way towards Kenshin, who still had yet to stir.

"Kenshin, onegai, wake up." She begged, feeling tears fill up in her eyes. His breathing came out in short rasped breaths, and it scared Kaoru. Mustering up her courage, she propped Kenshin up and held the tip of the box to his mouth.

"Open up." She whispered, using a hand to crack his lips open. She hesitated before pouring a small amount into his mouth. She jumped when he immediately began to cough, dribbling some of the medicine down his chin. She groaned in frustration and wiped it away before pouring some in her mouth. Grimacing at the bitter taste, she leaned over Kenshin and pressed her lips to his, passing the medicine to him. He coughed, but Kaoru was quick, and gently rubbed his throat with her knuckles. Once she was positive he swallowed it all, she continued to feed it to him until there was none left. Sighing in exhaustion, she propped herself tiredly up against the wall. Her rest was short-lived when she noticed Kenshin was shaking. She rushed to his side and gasped. His lips were blue.

"Argh! Will it ever end!?" She yelled to no one. Knowing what she had to do, she reluctantly removed her kimono and socks. Blushing so much that she rivaled Kenshin's hair, she pulled back the blanket and slid in next to him. She pressed herself tightly on top of him and tucked her head under his chin. After a few minutes, his shaking subsided and color began to return to his lips. She smiled and yawned, the days events catching up to her.

"Kenshin…" She whispered before falling asleep.

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"ORO ORO ORO!?" Kenshin cried as he noticed that he, as well as Kaoru, were stripped of their clothes and under the same blanket. His eyes were as wide as saucers as he tried to recall the past events. He remembered going out with Kaoru and then…the storm! And he passed out. He sat up, carefully placing the sleeping girl down next to him, the blanket still covering both of them.

"Did she….?" He looked at the fragile girl lying next to him. The only way he could have possibly been here was if she carried him all the way. He took this time to look around the foreign atmosphere. It was small, and he noticed both his and Kaoru's clothes lying on the floor, drying. He looked to his side and noticed the box lid filled with a green residue. He grimaced as the smell invaded his lungs.

"Mmmhm….Kenshin?"

Kaoru's voice caused him to look down at the girl, who had sat up and was rubbing her eyes. Kenshin blushed and turned away.

"Ano…K-Kaoru-dono, sessha thinks you might want to…"

Kaoru looked at him, puzzled. Then she realized what he was so embarrassed about. She squeaked and pulled the blanket up to cover her chest. Slowly, Kenshin turned around.

"G-gomen, Kaoru-dono!" He apologized. Kaoru nodded uneasily, not meeting his eyes. After a few moments of silence, Kenshin spoke.

"Kaoru-dono, what happened?"

"You passed out, so I brought you here. Then I realized you would freeze in your clothes so I….anyway, I found some herbs and thanks to Megumi's teaching, I made you some medicine." Kaoru nervously played with her fingers and Kenshin smiled. He thanked Kami-sama everyday for blessing him with this goddess. In his eyes, she was his everything. He could never forget the first day he met her. When she asked for the rurouni to stay and claimed that his past didn't matter, his heart had swelled, realizing that somebody wanted him, Himaru Kenshin to stay. Soft sniffles brought him out of his thoughts and he turned to face the young woman next to him.

"Kaoru-dono? What's wrong?" Kenshin gently used his hand to make her look at him. What he saw shocked him. He saw fear, relief, and what looked like love, shining in her eyes.

"I-I….I was scared. So scared. You weren't breathing right…and you were pale, and blue, and I'm no Megumi so I had no idea what to do and…." She broke off as her bottom lip began to tremble and tears fell from her eyes. Kenshin's eyes widened before he smiled his famous rurouni smile.

"Kaoru-dono, sessha is fine, de gozaru yo. Don't cry." He assured her as he gently pulled her against him. She sobbed into his chest, finally releasing the tension and fear that had filled her all day. After her cries subsided into whimpers, Kenshin pulled back slightly and gently wiped away her tears.

"I was afraid you'd…." She choked on the word she couldn't seem to get out of her mouth. Kenshin placed a finger on her lips, silencing her.

"Shhh, sessha is fine." He assured her. She nodded and sniffled. He gently pulled her back to his chest and stroked her back. She sighed, contented and unconsciously let one little word slip from her mouth.

"Aishteru."

Kenshin froze as he heard the whisper leave Kaoru's mouth. He opened his mouth, but closed it again. He wasn't denying his love for Kaoru. He loved her with all his being. He had made a vow, since the first day he came to the dojo. And that was that he would protect her with his life. Kenshin's tense form alarmed Kaoru and she pulled back, still clutching the blanket to her chest. She could see the turmoil in  Kenshin's eyes and she panicked. She knew she shouldn't have said that. She turned away and wrapped her arms around her knees. Kenshin, noticing the sudden lack of warmth, looked over at Kaoru. He felt his heart break. He didn't deserve her. He, who had stained his hands so many times, and she who had yet to witness the blood of innocent. He growled in frustration and hit the ground with his fist, causing Kaoru to jump.

'Kami-sama, why? Why did I kill so many? Why can't I be happy? Get rid of the guilt? Be with Kaoru?'

Kenshin swore he could hear a small voice at that very moment, telling him to go to her.  And in that moment he knew what he was going to do.

Kaoru gasped as a pair of arms encircled her from behind. She dropped the blanket and blushed as Kenshin drew her back into his chest.

"N-nani?"

"Kaoru, Aishteru." He whispered in her ear. Kaoru's eyes brimmed with tears as she heard the two things she had wanted to hear for the longest time. A-her name without honorifics, and B- that he loved her.

"Aishteru, Kenshin." She smiled and cursed the tears that slipped past her eyes. Kenshin lovingly wiped them away. He turned her around so she was pressed against his chest, then laid down, her on top. Slowly, Kenshin's hands found her favorite indigo ribbon ( He washed it ^-^) and in a tug, her hair tumbled sexily onto her shoulders. She blushed shyly and leaned into his hand as he cupped her cheek.

"Kenshin." Kaoru sighed as his finger traced her jaw line. She gently took it in her hand and kissed the back, lacing her fingers through his. She leaned down and kissed the corner of his mouth before pressing her lips firmly against his. He responded by running his hands through her hair and deepening the kiss.

"Oi, Jou-chan, Kenshin, think you can do that when you're alone?"

"ORO!?"

Kaoru and Kenshin immediately separated. Kaoru quickly wrapped the blanket around her torso and glared at Sano. Kenshin struggled to keep a piece of the blanket covering himself as Megumi appeared.

"M-Megumi? Sano? What are you doing here?" Kaoru asked, nervously running a hand through her hair.

"Well, since you and Ken-san didn't show up, we got worried. And for your information…you could have come home." Megumi stated, folding her arms across her chest.

"And just how could we do that?" Kaoru challenged, her eyes narrowing. Megumi and Sano stepped out of the way of the door and pointed to a building not to far in the distance.

"Oro?"

Kenshin rubbed his eyes, then rubbed them again. Sure enough, the Kamiya dojo stood not even a mile away from the cabin.

"Kenshin no baka!"

"Oro?!"

"I told you we passed that rock before! We were probably walking in circles right next to the dojo for hours! 'Let's take a shortcut' he says." Kaoru pouted angrily. Kenshin smiled. She looked so cute like that.

"So… Kenshin finally admitted his feelings for jou-chan? What happened?" Sano grinned mischievously.

"Well, believe it or not, sessha heard a voice telling me to go to her. So sessha did." Kenshin stuttered, unnerved by the look the two were giving him.

"Oh, that was the fox, over here." Sano thumbed over to the grinning doctor.

"Nani!?" Both Kenshin and Kaoru exclaimed. Fox ears appeared out of Megumi's head as she laughed.

"Ohohohohoho!!! I thought you two would need a push in the right direction!" Kaoru sweatdropped, but silently made a note to thank Megumi later. Sano cleared his throat.

"The storm died down over night, so we can go home. Umm, we'll leave you two to get dressed."

Kenshin and Kaoru nodded as the door shut. Kaoru went to grab her kimono, but Kenshin stopped her.

"Where were we?" He whispered huskily. Kaoru giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her lips to his.

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"So, how long do you bet they'll be in there?" Megumi asked, leaning against the cabin door. Sano shrugged, chewing on a fish bone that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"I say…three hours." Megumi put in her bet.

"All day." Sano challenged. An evil gleam appeared in Megumi's eyes as she nodded.

"You're on."

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AN: Okay, I know Kenshin was a little out of character, but hey, I think sexual attraction can do that to a guy ^-^ Anyway, who won the bet? The fox or the gambler? Let's just say neither won, because Kenshin and Kaoru didn't come out until the next morning ^-^. ::grins evilly:: Read and Review please!

~*Neoshipper*~