Author's Note: Please be warned that this is going to be a dark fic. Possibly the darkest story I've ever written, and something that has a lot of rape and other violent triggers. I'm writing this story as a form of therapy for myself and because my shrink thought this could be a productive way of moving on and facing the demons that have been haunting me after what I have experienced a few months ago.

I'm telling you this because I know that not a lot of you are fond of reading stories like this, but like I said, this is mostly for myself. Of course, I am also posting this here to help people become more aware of what happens to the people who are affected by such tragedies. I'm not going to say "I hope you guys enjoy this". Instead, I would like you all to have an open mind as you go through this chapter and the rest of the story.

This will not be completely negative, though. This also aims to showcase the depth of friendship and love that our favorite group share and how they will all deal with the tragedy that has befallen the Kamiya Dojo. It's a semi-canon fic, and it's something that has been running through my head for quite some time now. After all, fiction is one of the things that I escape to whenever I have nightmares.

Thank you.

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin.

Rise
Chapter 1

She was late.

Sagara Sanosuke was not a man who was prone to worry. Quite the contrary in fact, since he rarely thought about what could go wrong—choosing to focus on the here and now when he thought about whatever circumstance he was currently involved in. There were only a few instances when he would be ready to kill himself just so he would stop the disgusting feeling of wrongness and fear that came with thinking about what was happening or what lies ahead of him—and most, if not all of these instances involve the people whom he had now come to think of and treat as his own little dysfunctional family.

After the death of Sagara Souzou, the man he thought of as his father and mentor, he never really bothered to involve himself with other people. Instead, he chose to face the world on his own to avoid feeling torn down or upset should anything happen to anyone else aside from himself. Hell, he didn't even care if anything ever did happen to him. He was a strong guy and he was fully capable of taking care of himself and his own problems; and he would've been happy to live the rest of his life with nothing else but booze and his fists. After all, it's already gotten him so far, so who says he would ever have to change the way he was living soon?

So what if he had baggage? He wasn't bothering anyone else with it, so he didn't think it was anyone else's business but his. So what if he was more violent than other testosterone-filled human beings? He hasn't killed or hurt anybody—well, not anyone who didn't deserve it, at least; and most of the people who ended up on the receiving end of his strong punches almost always provoked him, so his reactions weren't completely unfounded. So what if he loved to drink and gamble? He was a man, and men were all entitled to their own vices so long as they didn't make anyone else's life worse.

He was content. He was happy—relatively, at least. But all that changed when he met Himura Kenshin, the wanderer who just couldn't help but get involved in other people's businesses—including his.

To be honest, he didn't even notice when he started to actually give a damn about him and the people he surrounded himself with. At first, he hung around the redhead's strange group mostly because the man hit a chord or two when he talked about principles and priorities and all that other serious shit while they were fighting the first time that they met. Then, he reasoned that he kept coming around the slightly run-down dojo that Kamiya Kaoru owned 'cause he had nothing better to do and so he could get a bunch of free meals for little to no effort at all. It wasn't until he's had to actually exert effort into keeping the dojo's occupants alive and unhurt did he realize just how deeply the four oddballs and the small family of three managed to worm themselves into his heart and his life.

In a way, he found that it was their complicated and trouble-filled pasts that bound hem together in ways that they never would've expected. All of them were lonely, and all of them had something that they needed to forgive themselves for, so he guessed that it was only fitting that they all find comfort in being together and supporting each other as they faced their demons. Misery loves company and all that. They've all been damaged by the war and its subsequent events that becoming whole was something they felt that they would never be able to be again. Well… almost all of them.

Kamiya Kaoru was the strange one in their small group of oddballs. He didn't really understand how Megumi, Yahiko, Kenshin, and himself always seemed to gravitate towards her without any of them even being aware of it. Perhaps it was her innocence—the fact that she was far too pure to have ever been tarnished by the darkness of the war, that made them crave her presence. Maybe it was because her mere existence made them remember their own days of carefree youth, and made looking back at their pasts just a little bit easier. Whatever the reason was, all he knew was that she was their beacon—not just to them, but to others who were like them as well. She was their stronghold, and it pained them all to admit that they never would've realized it if it weren't for the complete and utter bullshit that Yukishiro Enishi pulled a year ago.

They were beyond crushed when they thought she was dead. It was like her disappearance made the hope that lit up each of their hearts simmer out only to be replaced by the actual weight of the baggage that they held—the heaviness of which, they realized, was slowly disappearing as they spent more and more time with each other. When they thought her dead, it was like the full brunt of that weight slammed down onto each of them, making it far too unbearable for them to bear. So they did what people who have lost their drive to fight usually do: They ran.

The way they felt and the actions that they took when they found out that she was actually alive and was being held captive by the white-haired bastard was completely justifiable, in his book. If his Jou-chan only knew what thoughts ran through their heads, he doubted that she would've approved of any of their original ideas; and she most definitely wouldn't have approved of the way that they all went their own ways when they were still living on the assumption that she was already gone. Still, that didn't change the fact that he wanted to kill Yukishiro for even thinking about hurting her and those he cared about. He wanted to murder him, and he wanted to go right on to hell with him just so he could keep beating the bastard up for the rest of eternity for putting them through what they had to go through because of his insanity.

He still doesn't understand where Kenshin managed to pull out the amount of control that he showcased during their confrontation at the island. If it were him, he wouldn't have let anything stop him from making sure that Yukishiro could even so much as gasp in pain after he was through with him. Then again, if that did happen, he doubted that Kaoru would've ever treated any of them the same way. Surely the selfless little idiot would've found some way to blame herself for whatever burden would've been added onto their list of sins. It was a trait he was quite sure she got from the redhead she so admired, and he was certain that it was one of the other things that tied the two of them together so strongly.

In the end, he had to make do with the decisions that have been made. It took a while, but the annoyed feelings and the cravings for justice that he secretly kept to himself eventually faded away and were replaced by the relief and joy that he felt at being surrounded by people he cared about once again. They were finally at peace, and although they still had nightmares that they had to fight against every now and then, life was more bearable for all of the occupants of the Kamiya Dojo.

Sano growled and slammed his palm onto the wooden beam that he was leaning against in an effort to shake off the morose train of thoughts that plagued his mind as he stared up into the dark, starry sky. He always got like this whenever he'd start worrying about something that involved his little group. Kami knows he was never like this before, but ever since he became a part of the group that resided in the Kamiya Dojo, he noticed that he was becoming more and more of a worrywart—and he absolutely hated it. He had too much balls to be acting this way! Buddha help her, but the moment he saw the little shihondai's pretty little face that night, he'd make sure that she'd get an earful from him. It was one thing for him to come home later than expected, but it was a whole new other thing for her to be the cause of his worry. Whatever she may say about being able to take care of herself would be used against her because damn it she was still a woman and men with no good intentions still roamed the streets at this time of the night.

He shoved his hands into his pockets and thought back to when Kaoru was talking to him about her whereabouts for the day. He remembered her telling him about how she was invited to teach at the Maekawa Dojo, but that should've been over hours ago—back when there would've still been enough sunlight to ensure that all the students would get home safely. She also told him about how Tae invited her to have dinner at the Akabeko so they could both catch up on their gossip, but he was pretty sure that whatever they would've had to talk about couldn't have possibly lasted that long. It was close to midnight now, and there were no establishments open this late at night—at least none that would be suitable for a woman like her.

The tall man leaned against the wooden beam he was hitting earlier and stared up at the sky to try to control his rapidly rising temper. At this point, if he didn't see that brat Yahiko escorting his Jou-chan home, he would not be held accountable for the number of bumps the boy would be sporting the next day.

The sound of one of the shoji doors sliding open made him turn his head to watch a very familiar redhead amble his way over to where he was currently standing. Somehow, he wasn't surprised that Kenshin was still up. If he was worried, then that must mean that his best friend must be close to having an aneurysm by now.

"Is Kaoru-dono still not home?" The samurai asked him quietly, his stance betraying nothing of the amount of worry that was visible in his amethyst eyes.

"What the hell do you think?" Sano grumbled. "Did she say she was going anywhere else aside from the Maekawa's and the Akabeko?"

Kenshin shook his head and looked out at the still closed gate.

Sano muttered a string of curses and ran a hand through his messy black hair. "I swear I'm going to kill that idiot when I see her. Who the hell does she think she is to be wandering around at this time of the night?"

"I'm sure there is no need to worry, that I am." The redhead replied in a placating manner. "Perhaps she has been held up by Tae-dono and has decided to spend the night there."

His brow twitched. "And she couldn't even be bothered to send word to us?"

"She must've had to do something important and forgot, that she has. Perhaps we're only overreacting, Sanosuke."

He scoffed. "Tell me that again when you start believing that load'a crap you're spewing."

He felt a small amount of achievement when he saw the mask that Kenshin was wearing disappear and be replaced by a more serious and somber expression. He saw the smaller man tighten his grip on his sakabatou and angle his body towards the still closed gate.

A minute later, the two worried men started hearing faint whistling as someone pushed the gates open. The brief relief they felt at thinking that it was the woman they were waiting for were dashed and replaced by twice the amount of worry that they were feeling earlier when they saw that it wasn't Kaoru who was entering the dojo.

"Oi Kenshin, Sano." Yahiko greeted cheerfully as he pushed the gate closed and walked towards where his two friends were. "What are you two still doing up? Planning on grabbing a couple bottles of sake before heading to bed? I could use a cup or two." He sighed. "The Akabeko was damn crazy tonight."

"Will Kaoru-dono be staying with Tae-dono tonight, then?"

Confused, Yahiko stared up at his seniors. "What? You mean she's not here yet?"

"You mean to tell me you're letting Jou-chan walk home alone at this hour?!" Sano yelled, grabbing the boy by the lapels of his shirt and raising him to meet his eyes, his anger and frustration evident in the tone of his voice and the tightness of his clutch.

"What?! No! Put me down you stupid rooster-head!" Yahiko yelled back angrily. "She went home hours ago! She barely even dropped by 'cause Tae was so busy!"

It was like a bucket of ice water was splashed down the heads of the two older men when they heard their friend's admission. They paled and shared worried glances as Sano dropped Yahiko's struggling form unceremoniously onto the ground.

"Sanosuke." Kenshin said worriedly.

"Yeah, I got it." He nodded. "Yahiko, stay here and wait for Jou-chan, will 'ya? If she gets back here before we do, make sure she doesn't go anywhere!" He called out as he and Kenshin rushed out the dojo to search for the missing woman.

It's been two hours since they started looking for the elusive shihondai and they were still not anywhere close to finding her. The worst part was that by this time, Sano knew that no one but drunk bastards and petty thieves were sneaking around the close-to-empty streets, and no matter how much Kaoru knew how to defend herself, she could only do so much against a group of men who were stronger than her and who would have no qualms with hurting a woman like her. Her beauty was an even bigger source of worry. He knew that some of these men had little to no honor and would do anything to have her writhing and screaming and fighting her way out from under them.

'Fucking goddamn woman. See if I ever let her out of that dojo ever again.' He thought angrily to himself.

Then again, there was the chance that either Kenshin had already found her or that she was already back over at the dojo with Yahiko. The thought brought him a tiny bit of comfort. If that was the case, then he'd have been wasting his time running around the shadier part of town—and there was going to be hell to pay courtesy of the wild sermons that he'd be issuing his Jou-chan.

"Oi!" he called to yet another drunk asshole who was making his way home. He smelled disgustingly of alcohol and sweat and he held his breath as he stepped closer to the man to address him privately. It wouldn't do any good if any one of the shady men walking around would overhear him asking about a woman walking around by herself at this time of the night.

The man turned bleary eyes up at him and he took it as an invitation to continue. "You seen a woman with black hair and blue eyes, about yay tall," he held one of his hands up to illustrate her height, "in a yellow kimono, walking around here?"

"No—hic" the man mumbled before his grin turned into a malicious one. "But if I did, I wouldn't mind checking how—hic—talented she is, if ya—hic—know what I mean."

Annoyed, Sano hit the man square on his middle, his force making the stranger stumble and fall.

"What the hell was that for?!" the man screamed up at him.

"That's just 'cause I don't like you." He growled. "And this," he said before kicking him on his side. "Is for being a disgusting son of a bitch."

He left the man struggling to get up and moved on. That was the third stranger he had to approach to ask about his missing friend, and he was itching to punch someone else due to his frustration. He turned another corner and continued and increased his pace to a light jog, his eyes continuously zooming around his immediate area to find clues.

Suddenly, he was accosted by the sight of at least three men running towards the opposite direction of where he was heading. Curious, he grabbed one of the men by his collar and shook him to get his undivided attention.

"Where 'ya headin'? He asked gruffly.

The stinky man locked his eyes on Sano's and tried to pry his fingers off of his shirt. Sano shook him again to imply that he wasn't letting go until his question was answered. Frustrated, the man replied. "There's a fight goin' on. Four men against a guy with red hair. The redhead's pretty tiny, but they're sayin' he already knocked two men down and we wanna go see what'll happen next!"

Sano's eyes grew wide and he pushed the man he was holding away from him. His eyes holding not even a small amount of remorse for treating him so roughly. "Where?"

The stranger scrambled his way to his feet and started running towards the direction that his other companions had taken. "Not far from here!"

The two of them broke out into a run and the tall fighter could feel the cold wind slapping onto his face and making his open, white gi flapping around behind him. His breathing was erratic not because of the effort he was exerting to get to wherever it was they were heading, but because of the implications of what the stranger had said. He was pretty sure there weren't any other men with red hair in the small town they were living in—so it must mean that it was his friend that was wreaking havoc. And if Kenshin—who wasn't one to resort to violence unless it was absolutely necessary—was beating someone up… then that could only mean one thing.

It only took them a couple of minutes of sprinting before he found a group of people huddled around a scene that they were watching. Briefly, a flash of annoyance flooded his system at the thought that not one of these bastards were even bothering to help or at least try to stop the fight. Then again, when Kenshin was doing something like this, there were only a few people who could get him out of his violent haze and he so desperately hoped that for this night, he could be one of them.

He roughly pushed people away so he could get in front of the group to see what was actually happening. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw that two people were indeed already lying unconscious on opposite sides of the struggle, their faces bloodied and copious amounts of bruises already blooming across different parts of their body.

However, it was the sight of what Kenshin was currently doing that made him freeze.

The redhead was straddling a man who was already on the brink of consciousness, fear shining clear as day on his battered face. He was sporting a broken nose and he was coughing up blood from the abuse he was receiving, and if Kenshin didn't stop soon… Hell, Sano didn't even want to think about what would happen if he wasn't able to stop his friend.

With a grunt and a huge amount of willpower, he pushed himself to move so he could grab his friend from under his armpits to pull him off the unlucky straggler. It was only then that he noticed that the redhead was topless and that his sakabatou was sheathed completely and hanging by his side. This meant that he dealt with the three men with nothing else but his fists—which was completely unusual for the samurai.

"Kenshin!" he screamed. "Goddamn it—will 'ya stop and tell me what happened?!" The redhead was still struggling and kicking and his elbow was hitting his middle with such strength that he was sure he'd have a couple or so of bruises the next day. "Oi! Fuckin'—stop it already will 'ya?! You're gonna fuckin' kill the goddamn man!"

He felt his friend slowly cease from the violent hits he was issuing, only to be replaced by shaking so violent that he feared his friend would collapse if he lets go of his tight hold on him.

"Sa—Sanosuke?" Kenshin whispered.

Sano sighed. "Yeah, it's me. Now can you tell me what the fuck is goin' on?!"

"Sanosuke… Ka—Kaoru." He replied brokenly.

The tall fighter froze yet again and the way that Kenshin said Kaoru's name without an honorific and the tone that he used in saying it made him feel like a huge block of ice was dropped onto his stomach. Warily, he looked around the area—past the unconscious bodies and past the small patch of trees that were located on his left side.

'There', he thought when he spotted the familiar cloth of his friend's maroon gi.

Slowly, he let go of Kenshin's arms and made a move to see what happened to urge the samurai to resort to such violent actions. He shook as he took one step at a time and he could hear not the whispers that surrounded them, not the rustling of the leaves that moved along with the wind, but his own heartbeat thudding heavily in his ears.

He was getting closer and closer and with one last step, he was standing right beside the tree that covered the sight of his Jou-chan from the view of the night's stragglers and busybodies.

Ever so slowly, and his chest painfully constricting, he brought his eyes down to look at his friend. What he saw made him stumble back, but he swore that the sight would be burned into his head for the rest of his miserable life.

Kaoru was curled up against the tree, tears streaming down her face and her face ghostly pale but sporting a couple of bruises that were already turning a sickening shade of blue and green. Blood was running down the corner of her thin and slightly swollen lips, and she was clutching Kenshin's gi so tightly that her hands shook with the effort—or maybe it was because of the violent shakes that were running all throughout her petite body. Her legs were pulled up against her chest, bare and tarnished by the scratches and bleeding wounds against her creamy skin that were extremely visible under the moonlight.

It was her eyes, though, that made his legs collapse from under him and stare at her in a mixture of immeasurable fear and shock. Her sapphire orbs used to be so alive. They used to be so expressive that one look at them could immediately tell you what she was feeling, no matter her actions or non-verbal gestures, the emotions in them were always so blatantly obvious and honest that everyone she met were easily drawn to the sheer amount of life that they held.

Now, though… now, they held nothing. The brightness he so adored were gone, only to be replaced by a haunting amount of nothingness that made the sparkle she usually held disappear. They were dull, almost lifeless, and she was staring somewhere far away—somewhere that he doubted anyone would ever be able to reach.

He shook himself out of his stupor and tried to reach out to her… so he could at least try to let her know that there was someone there to help her through this—but most importantly, someone there to take her home. He stretched out his arm and shakily tried to get her attention.

"Jo—Jou-chan…" he whispered softly so as not to spook her. His hand was nearing her body now, and her face swiveled over to meet his. He flinched, and not even a moment later, she screamed so loud that the rest of the world seemed to have stopped making sounds to make way for the loud screeching noise that was coming from her throat.

Kenshin rushed forward to where they were to try to pull her against his chest as a gesture of comfort and protection, but she curled in further into herself and pushed her body back against the tree, her head pushing itself down in the space between her legs and her torso as though this action would lock her entire being away from the rest of the world and into her own bubble.

The two men shared a look of absolute terror as they tried to figure out what to do to get her to calm down, but both of them had no clue as to how they should deal with this.

Fuck damn the world, was the only thing that was running through Sano's mind as he tried to think past the screeches and screams of "please don't"s and "no more, no more".

Someone was going to pay and he would leave all of Tokyo in a pile of rubbles and ashes if that was what it took to find and hurt and fucking murder who did this to Kaoru.

Someone was going to pay.

Author's Note: There it is, and here we go.