Hello everyone! This is my first Rurouni Kenshin fanfic! Before we start, I'd like to clarify a couple of things, since I'm sure people will ask. First, I'm not a doctor, so treatment may not be exactly right, but it wouldn't be the same today anyway. Second, this is an AU fic but may have some reference to the American version of the manga. I haven't seen the anime, so I'm basing it on the manga. Thanks!
Standard disclaimers apply.
Chapter One – Of Attacking and Rescuing
"Why do you laugh?" Kenshin stared down at his fallen opponent through the eyes of a Hitokiri. "You'll never fight again; your hands are shattered." The man continued to laugh. "Tell me!"
"Because, Battousai," the man replied, still laughing, "My job is done."
"Your job?"
"Yes, I was to lure you away from the dojo." He began to laugh again. "Now, your precious 'Kaoru-dono' has fallen victim to my master!" At the mention of Kaoru's name, Kenshin's eyes softened.
"Kaoru-dono…!"
"Yes, 'Kauro-dono,'" The man sneered, mocking him. "Poor Kaoru-dono!" Kenshin slashed at the man's face, his gaze becoming amber.
"Do not come near Kaoru-dono or myself ever again. I will not hesitate to kill you for what you have done." Kenshin turned sharply and began running back towards the dojo, hoping he wasn't too late. As he ran, his eyes transformed from those of a Hitokiri to his own, and filled with worry.
Kaoru was just finishing cleaning up after dinner. Kenshin had left before eating, claiming someone wanted to meet with him. She decided to practice a few kata routines before going to bed and changed into her practice gi. She entered the dojo and found Yahiko beginning his own kata. She walked quietly so as not to disturb him and picked up a bokken from the rack. Just as she began her routine, the doors burst open. Both Kaoru and Yahiko spun to face the intruder.
"What do you want?" Kaoru asked, recognizing the man in the doorway. "My father turned you away years ago. Do not think that I will allow you in!"
The man made a noise that sounded remotely like a laugh before saying, "I am not here to learn. I am here for revenge!" A glint appeared in his eyes, one of which was crossed with a scar.
"Revenge for what?" Kaoru asked, stalling. She had heard that he received training elsewhere.
"For the shame you caused!" He moved forward and drew his sword. Kaoru's eyes widened; she knew her bokken would be no match for the real thing.
"I caused you no shame!" Kaoru backed up slowly, and began a slow circle to her right. She didn't want to corner herself.
"Your father is dead so I must get my revenge on you!" Again, he advanced towards Kaoru, following her circle.
"Yahiko! Go get Sano!" Kaoru continued moving away from the man. Yahiko did not cooperate.
"I can't just leave you here!"
"Yes, I'll be fine! Just go!"
"You will not be fine," the attacker laughed. Kaoru ignore him, turning angry eyes towards Yahiko.
"Go! Now!" Yahiko saw the urgency in her eyes and ran from the room. The man knew of the other dojo occupants and had brought others with him. Just as Yahiko exited the room, he was taken by surprise and captured.
The man lunged at Kaoru, sword first, and she dodged quickly to the side. Knowing the metal sword would chop her bokken in half, she continued to dodge the man's increasingly frustrated attacks.
Finally, with a move she was unfamiliar with, the man managed to slash her upper leg. She fell to the ground, dropping her bokken. Advancing quickly, the man raised his sword. He did not mean to kill her yet; that was not his revenge. As he brought his sword down, Kaoru rolled to the side, pushing off with her good leg, trailing blood as she went. The man anticipated this move and lashed out with his foot, kicking her in the side.
Kaoru felt a sharp pain in her side that followed a dull crack and knew the impact had broken a rib. Breathing became painful as she attempted to move out of the way of the next attack. Running on adrenaline, she managed to sit up and scoot backwards as he made a move to backhand her across the face. She dodged the backhand but not the punch that came as he swung his hand back towards her.
The strength of the punch sent her sprawling sideways. The force made her dizzy as she tried to sit up once again. She felt a large amount of weight on top of her and her arms were pinned to her sides. She opened her fear filled eyes and stared up at the man, wondering what his intentions were. The pain in Kaoru's excruciating and the extra weight made it unbearable.
Using his legs to pin her arms, the man reached forward with his paw-like hands. His intentions became crystal clear to her as Kaoru felt her mouth and nose covered. She tried to turn away and free her mouth to breathe, but the large hands held her still. She began to panic as she felt her mind slipping away. The adrenaline faded from her veins, leaving her feeling even weaker.
"Kaoru-dono!" Kaoru barely heard the voice and forced her eyes open. A blur that she guessed to be Kenshin was running towards her. Relief swept over her as the man released her to face Kenshin. She gasped for breath but found she was still unable to get enough air because the man continued to pin her to the ground. Slowly, the darkness at the edges of her vision began to close in. Kaoru fought hard to stay conscious, but she was losing the battle.
Suddenly, the weight on top of her did not exist. Again, she gasped for breath. The pain in her side grew worse with each breath, but she was now winning the fight to remain conscious. The darkness began to slowly ebb away and Kaoru could see the blurry forms of Kenshin and her attacker. The two figures moved very fast, but the smaller one, Kenshin, seemed to have the upper hand.
The darkness cleared even more and she could see Kenshin raising a sword over the man. She squinted and noticed that it was not his sakabatou, but the man's katana. Kenshin was going to kill him!
"Kenshin…" Kaoru rasped out painfully. "Please…no…" He barely heard her, but the change in his eyes was enough to let her know that he had.
"Okay, Kaoru-dono…but why?"
"You…can't become…a monster…" Her words were laced with pain, tugging at Kenshin's heart. He sighed and dropped the sword next to its beaten owner. The attacker was unconscious and Kenshin left him where he lay. He walked over to where Kaoru was and knelt next to her.
"Are you in much pain?" He asked, surveying the flesh wounds. Kaoru nodded weakly. "Where?" She motioned to her broken rib and he understood. Kaoru's leg was still bleeding heavily, so Kenshin removed his haori and tore a strip of material from the bottom. He looked Kaoru in the eyes before slowly pulling up the hem of her hakama. She didn't seem to notice the act that would have been considered dishonorable under other circumstances; her eyes were glazed over and she seemed to be in a daze.
"Kenshin stopped with the wound was visible and wrapped it with the material from his haori. He applied pressure in an attempt to stop the bleeding, but to no avail; the blood soaked through. He left the first strip of material where it was so he didn't destroy any clots and tore another strip. Kenshin tied this one above the wound tightly, as a make-shift tourniquet.
"Yahiko," Kaoru suddenly mumbled, "where…is…"
"What about him?"
"I sent…and he didn't…"
"You sent him away when you were attacked?" Kenshin's eyes widened.
"To get…Sano."
"Okay, then what?"
"I…don't…know," Kaoru answered. "…didn't…come…back…"
"This one will be right back, Kaoru-dono." Kenshin grabbed his sword and stood up. He walked quietly through the door to the house and found Yahiko bound, gagged, and tied to a post. Kenshin had just untied his hands when he heard movement from inside the dojo. He turned and ran back inside to find Kaoru where he had left her, but the attacker was gone. Kaoru was staring out the door, but she was no worse than when he left her only a moment before.
"Kaoru!" Yahiko ran past Kenshin and dropped to his knees next to her.
"Yahiko…" she turned her head to look at him, "you're…okay…"
"But you aren't! I'll find him and-"
"This one thinks it's time to go back into the house," Kenshin interrupted. "Go on, Yahiko. This one will bring Kaoru-dono." Yahiko nodded and walked once more out of the dojo. Kenshin knelt beside Kaoru and she stared up at him. Her eyes were still glazed over, but not so much as before. She seemed to be regaining her senses.
"Kaoru-dono? Can you hear me?" Kenshin asked gently. She nodded a little. "Okay, this one is going to take you into the house before sending for a doctor. It's going to hurt, though…"
"Okay…" she answered, mindlessly bracing herself. Kenshin slipped one arm around her shoulders and the other carefully under her legs. He lifted her as gently as he could. She gasped as pain shot through her abdomen and he cringed at being the cause of her pain.
"Sorry, Kaoru-dono," Kenshin whispered. He walked as quickly as he could into the house, without causing her more pain than necessary. When he got to her room, Yahiko was waiting. He had gotten Kaoru's bed ready and added extra cushions. Kenshin eased Kaoru onto the futon and pulled the blankets over her. She had paled considerably and was starting to shiver.
"Go get Sano," Kenshin directed Yahiko without looking up. Yahiko left the room and returned several minutes later with a rather grumpy Sano.
"What happened?" Sano demanded at the sight of Kaoru. A large purple bruise was forming where the man had hit Kaoru in the face.
"There was an attack," Kenshin answered, staring at him coldly. "Where were you?"
"I…" Sano had never seen Kenshin like this. "I was sleeping."
"Go get a doctor," Kenshin said instead of replying to Sano's excuse.
"What? Is she that bad?"
"Yes!" Kenshin raised his voice. "A broken rib and a wound on her leg that won't stop bleeding. Now go!" Sano turned and ran fro the house to get a doctor.
"Is she going to be okay?" Yahiko asked, sitting down next to where Kenshin was kneeling.
"This one thinks so. Kaoru-dono is in a lot of pain-just breathing hurts. This one is also worried about the amount of blood she has lost." The two sat with Kaoru in silence until Sano came back, leading the doctor to Kaoru's room. Kenshin quickly explained Kaoru's wounds.
The doctor checked over Kaoru's bruise to make sure her jaw wasn't broken before turning to the three and saying. "All of you out. I need to assess her other wounds." Kenshin, Sano, and Yahiko walked quickly out of the room and Kenshin slid the door shut. Sano and Yahiko sat on the floor, leaning against the wall opposite Kaoru's room.
"She's going to be fine, man," Sano said, rolling his eyes. Kenshin had been pacing back and forth since they were told to leave. "Why are you so worried?" At this question, Kenshin stopped and stared at Sano.
"This one…does not know," he answered finally. "Perhaps it is because Kaoru-dono was forced to fight alone, first by choice in sending Yahiko away and then against her will by the lack of alertness of another." The words stung Sano; he stood up and walked away, sending a glare at Kenshin.
"This one is at fault as well," Kenshin said to Yahiko. Sano heard as he rounded the corner and paused to hear the rest. "This one left this dojo unprotected. "Sano shook his head and kept walking. He returned to his room and attempted to get more sleep.
Meanwhile, Kenshin continued to pace. Yahiko was getting annoyed and was about to tell him to stop when the doctor opened the door. He motioned for Kenshin to follow him back into Kaoru's room.
"Kaoru-san needs more blankets," the doctor said to Yahiko before turning back into the room. Then, he addressed Kenshin. "She indeed has a broken rib. I set it, but it will take time to heal. The bleeding from her leg has stopped. The wound is clean and it should heal very well. The bruise on her face will go away on its own, but a cold, wet cloth will make it feel better."
"Will this one need to change her bandages?"
"If she will let you, go ahead. Otherwise, I'll do it when I come back in a couple of days," The doctor replied. "Until then, she is to stay in bed. She can sit up a little, but only when she eats."
"What should she eat?"
"Soup or rice will be okay. Water is best to drink. The wounds will be sore and the painkillers I gave her will make her dizzy, so she will need help to the bathroom."
"Alright," Kenshin answered, then, looking over at her, he asked, "is she awake?"
"Yes, but the medicine will make her groggy for a little while." He handed Kenshin a bottle full of liquid. "That is the pain medication. She will need more around midday tomorrow and again around midnight."
"This one will see that Kaoru-dono has everything she needs."
"Good. If you need anything, send for me."
"Thanks you," Kenshin answered, the doctor moved out of the room and Yahiko entered, carrying the extra blankets.
"What did he say?" Yahiko asked, handing the blankets to Kenshin. Kenshin explained the doctor's orders as he spread the blankets over Kaoru. "Oh…okay. What should I do?"
"You can go to bed. This one will stay with Kaoru-dono. She won't need anything until morning." Yahiko nodded in reply and left the room, returning to his own.
"Ken…shin?" Kaoru whispered. Kenshin turned back to her and knelt down.
"This one is right here," he answered, taking her hand. As he gently massaged the soft skin, he asked, "How do you feel?"
"Tired."
"Then sleep. This one will be here if you need anything." Kaoru seemed comforted by his words and soon fell asleep. Kenshin also found himself feeling drowsy. When he was unable to keep awake any longer, he laid on the floor next to her futon and fell asleep, her hand still in his.
Please let me know what you think so far! I have several more chapters written already, so depending on the reviews I get, the next update should be quick. Thanks for reading!