Where was he? Why is it so dark? A fire came on in one corner of the darkness...

Narrowing his eyes, "Who's there? Come out now and face me!" The fire flared and spread across the darkness like wild fire. No matter how bright the fire was, the darkness hanged down like a blanket over the flaring fire.

Wide amethyst eyes widened as a gaping hole opened in front of him, as if to swallow him whole. But out came Enishi, with his Nihontou (a type of japanese sword), and a crazy look on his face.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA" Shishio's laugh rebounded around the darkness.

He tried to take out his sword, but his body would not move. It was pinned down by a huge mechanical arm.

He glared his deadly glare at the crazed Enishi before he lost his focus at the figure Enishi was approaching.

"Kaoru?"

Kaoru was backing away from Enishi. Enishi's face started to grow horns and his teeth blackened and he stretched out his hand. The hand got bigger and bigger as he moved forward to grab her. Kaoru tried to fight back, using her Shinai. But to no avail, the hand engulfed her.

"KAORUUUUUU!" He screamed. He struggled in vain against the mechanical arm. The demon laughed Shishio's laughter as he let go of her and disappeared into red hot smoke.

The arm suddenly let go of him and he ran towards Kaoru, her eyes lifeless, the sword impaled through her chest.

"How is hell for you?" Shishio and Enishi's voice merged together.

He touched Kaoru's head, cradling her back and forth. Her lifeless head turned towards him, "Kenshin..."

"KENSHIN!!!!"

His eyes flew open and there she was, Kaoru, worried and shaking him. He immediately grabbed her and hugged her tightly. "Kaoru.. Kaoru.." He repeated, stricken from the images in his head.

Sensing that he would not be able to process anything in that moment, she stroked his head and rubbed his back, murmuring repeatedly that "it was okay, she is here now." The violent tremors lessened and he sat in silence, hugging her for a long while. Kenshin's bangs shadowed his face and Kaoru could not see his distressed face.

"Kenshin?" Her hand reached up to stroke his face. She woke up to her husband's screaming her name and the trashing of his legs. His hands were so white from clenching. This was not just a bad dream.

He looked up at her, his eyes vulnerable and raw with emotions. His mouth clenched as if he could not talk. Her heart ached to see her husband so distraught and fragile.

Instinctively, as if her intuition took over, she gently kissed his cheeks, his eyes and his forehead. She pressed her forehead against his, allowing him to see the light in her sapphire eyes. As his jaw became unclenched, she gave small kisses along his jaw line. As if it was to clean the tension and stress away. As she reached the corner of his lips, they both kissed tenderly.

"Kaoru," Kenshin mumbled. He gave her a deep kiss, their tongues met and danced. He lowered her down to the futon, tenderly, as though she was made of glass. Burying himself in the nape of her neck, he took a deep breath of her scent. His lips brushed the warmth of her skin, kissing slowly, tenderly while embracing the warmth emitted from the skin.

" Please tell me you are real," he looked into her eyes hesitantly as if afraid, this was still a dream. She took his hand and cradled it over her heart.

"I'm real. Can you feel this heart beat? Can you hear it?" Her heart pulsed under his palm and fingers. "There is no way a dream can show how my heart beats." She placed both hands on top of his hand. "I am very real."

Unable to hold back any further, he kissed his wife deeply and hard. He needed confirmation. His hands roamed over her breasts, her sides and her hips. They ended up cupping her face.

"I love you, this one really do," he murmured, his amethyst eyes reflected back from her sapphire eyes. "I know," She whispered gently. He kissed her lips before his mouth explored the familiar terrain that he so loved. Relishing in every moan and gasp, he nips at her sensitive parts, travelling unbearably slow downwards.

"Kenshin..." Kaoru whimpered, hot and flustered as he took his time to lick her nipples one at a time, slowly caressing the flesh around them . The burning need between her legs was getting too hot. "Not yet, my love," he said tenderly.

Running his calloused hands over her soft thighs, he parted them and admired the blooming flesh before him. As he kneeled down before her, he looked at his wife's flushing face. Comforted to see her panting in pleasure and see blood pulsing though her face, he went down on her. Experience taught him how to use his tongue efficiently, knowing where to suck and where to probe. Kaoru writhed and moan, her eyes tearing from the pleasure.

"A...Ah... Kenshin..." she moaned in desire. Her body vibrating in heat. She was very drenched, both with sweat and bodily fluids. Kenshin rose up, wiping her fluids from his mouth.

Kissing her tenderly, "I am going to go in now," He probed his forearm beside her right arm, his other free hand positioned himself before her sopping flower, and in he went and they were one.

Kaoru gripped her arms around his neck, she gulped under the heat.

"Oh.. Kenshin" her voice trembled weakly. Her eyes heavy with want.

Kenshin moaned as he rocked slowly. "Kaoru.." he moaned her name deeply, his chest vibrated with the deep tone. They rocked slowly as Kenshin buried his face into her chest, breathing in her scent, placing his ear to hear her heartbeat. Kaoru panting breaths confirmed her vitality.

When he could no longer hold back, he picked up speed. Both of them moved as one, moaning with each time their hips collide. Kenshin slinged his wife's legs over his shoulders and he started pounding her. Kaoru was screaming his name, overly stimulated from the previous activity, she came not once, not twice but three times in that one sitting. Kenshin gasped as his orgasm came, bringing his world to white for a while.

He rolled over and collapsed beside Kaoru, laying his head onto her chest, so as to hear her heartbeat as it slowed. The sun was slowly rising. He certainly took his time with the love making.

"Kenshin..." Kaoru stroked and played with his hair. "What happened? You were so distressed." Her voice vibrated in her chest.

"It was just a nightmare, there's not too much to worry about," he stroked her belly. His shoulders were tensed at the after thought.

Using her hand to tilt his head up, she looked into his eyes, "It had been a year since we married. This is not the first time you had the dream. It's not just a nightmare" Her brows were furrowed with worry. "You can't just tell me not to worry. We both know that doesn't work."

Kenshin sighed, sitting up, he pulled the blanket around them and curled his arms around his wife's waist. Propping the pillow up on the wall behind him, he leaned back with Kaoru on his chest.

"I dreamt of your death," he spoke folornly. "It was the same thing, Einshi took you away and you were stabbed. I heard Shishio's voice laughing in the background, talking about hell." He placed his hand over his forehead, his scarred shoulders felt heavy with burden.

"I was helpless. I couldn't save you. I couldn't do anything. And that was the scary part, to be helpless and watch you die," his hand tightened on her waist as he pulled her closer. Kaoru kept quiet, her blue eyes showed an assortment of emotions - attentiveness, worry, heartache for her husband and love.

"My body is no longer the way it used to be. Years of battle have taken its toll. And now, as time passed, I can feel it slowly deteriorating. And even so, I will still fight to protect the people around me. But what happens if I am not strong enough? What happens if I am helpless again? What happens if you.." He stopped, unable to continue. His amethyst eyes were vulnerable and unsure. His uncertainty that he held back for so long was breaking through as the cat got out of the bag.

Kaoru sat up and faced herself to him, "Kenshin," She placed her hand on his cross scar and stroke it, " I won't go down so easily. If anything happens, we will stand together to fight. That's why I am always training."

"You can't always be the sole protector of the people around you. We are human, we have limits. Sometimes these limits can be controlled and taken in by our own hands so we can blow past it. But other times, there are so many matters that we cannot control." She held his hands and stroked them. "And that is why you have not just me, but our trustworthy friends. Yahiko, Sano and Megumi who will run and do whatever they could to protect the same people you are trying to protect."

"If you think I am going to be a damsel in distress and sit around, then you got it all wrong, buster," she flicked his head in irritation.

"Oro!" Kenshin flinched.

"You are not alone anymore, Kenshin. You don't have to fight alone anymore. Because you will always have trustworthy friends and me to stand up and fight with you." She reached out to carress the cross scar again. "Even Tomoe who had crossed worlds, came back to help you. She had always been watching over you."

"You will never be alone anymore," Kaoru kissed his lips tenderly.

Kenshin felt his shoulders relaxed and his burden felt a little lighter.

"Since when have Kaoru-dono became so wise?" He teased, his amethyst eyes filled with love and admiration.

"Ever since I met you," Kaoru smiled sweetly and leaned on him, stroking his chest.

There was a quiet moment with them laying in the futon quietly as the birds started to chirp and the sun rays poured through the rice paper walls.

"Kaoru?" he murmured, finally feeling peace in a long while.

"Mm?" She hummed lazily.

"Thank you for staying with me..."