For King and Country

Okay, so this chapter is coming out relatively quickly. DON'T GET USED TO IT. I don't have boundless amounts of time to spend on writing (alas; would that I did) and I also have two other stories I'm trying to write. I am sorry, but that's reality. That being said:

Thanks to all you who reviewed! You guys rock my socks.

Chapter 2

"Kenshin…" Kaoru said through numb lips. She stared at him, noticing that there was no sign of the wound on his chest but for the bloodstains on his clothing. This fit somehow, because she couldn't shake the feeling that this was all false. That it wasn't real.

'Could I be hallucinating for some reason?' She wondered, 'I am tired, cold, and I haven't eaten in three days. It's possible.'

It took her a moment to realize that the hallucination was talking again. She looked at him blankly. "Huh?"

"You have returned my heart to me and broken the geas. If I may serve you with the life you have restored to me, I will."

"A… life-debt?" She blurted in surprise, "No! That… that's not necessary. I…"

"Could use some assistance, if your appearance is any indication," he finished for her. He looked down at the ground, thinking, as Kaoru's face flamed and her mouth snapped shut. "You said you were a King's Messenger. Who is your King?"

"Katsura Kogoro is King," she replied, ignoring the perverse little corner of her mind that insisted she stop talking to her illusions. Then she frowned and added, under her breath, "… if he's still alive."

Kenshin turned, his golden eyes snapping back to her face and narrowing. In a flash, he was before her, hauling her up by the front of her gi. "What do you mean? Who threatens the King?"

"Ah!" Kaoru gasped, grabbing his wrist in both hands. She stared up at his furious face, inches from her own, and was terrified. Her mind scrambled frantically for the answer. "Sh-Shishio! It was Shishio!"

He glared at her, and hissed: "Impossible! That's impossible."

"No it's not!" She protested desperately, certain that he would kill her, life-debt or no. "I saw him! He killed my comrades and nearly killed me!"

She huffed in surprise as he dropped her. His eyes swirled with uncertainty. "But Shishio was dying… I wounded him. He should have died."

"Should have? Maybe. Did he? No," she groaned as she pushed herself shakily upright. "And 'dying' is not the same as 'dead.'"

Her mind caught up with what he'd said then, and her brow furrowed. "Wait…"

"Yes," he acknowledged, anticipating her question. "Shishio was the sorcerer who bound me to this hill."

"How long ago were you… Did it happen?" Kaoru demanded, "these remains are years upon years old!"

"They are five hundred twenty-three years old, to be exact," Kenshin told her faintly, his thoughts obviously in the past.

"Well that doesn't sound right either," she said, "if they were that old, they'd be even more decayed!"

"This field was touched by strong magic," he reminded her, voice returning to the cool emotionless tone of before. "You cannot expect it to be unchanged by that."

"Oh."

They were silent for a moment, then Kaoru said, a little forlornly: "I don't understand what's going on."

"I told you the tale of this field," Kenshin said.

"Well, yes, but…"

"You were the first person to ever correctly guess that the katana was what bound me here, that it contained my heart. I knew, of course; I could sense it. But I could not touch it, could not even hint at it, and all the others before you were not near as perceptive as you. I am… grateful that you were able to find it, and that you were so steady when I… reclaimed it," he told her, pausing every once and a while to search for the right word.

''Reclaimed', ha. Is that a euphemism for 'when I ran myself through'?' Kaoru wondered giddily. She was feeling kind of light-headed. "Steady isn't exactly the word I would have chosen. Did you have to throw yourself on the sword like that?"

He shrugged eloquently, "I needed to place my heart back within me."

Kaoru's limbs were shaking with fine tremors. She thrust her hands into her sleeves to conceal the trembling, and thought dazedly: 'Maybe I am ill…'

Then the world lurched and she crumpled prettily to the side, like a wilting flower. She was unaware of the jolt as her head hit the earth; couldn't feel the touch of dirt against her cheek.

)0(

Kaoru opened her eyes groggily, her entire body throbbing in time with her pulse. She felt so terrible; she was nearly paralysed with the pain. Through the haze, she noticed that she had been moved to the edge of the field, and was lying beneath the outstretched canopy of a tree.

"You pushed yourself too hard," said a dead voice from her side. With momentous effort, she turned her head to the side. Kenshin stood looking down at her. He'd found a sheath somewhere, and now wore his katana thrust through the ties of his hakama. Kaoru blinked at him.

"So it was real," she whispered, turning her head back and closing her eyes.

"You need to rest. Later, we can look for something to eat," Kenshin continued, pretending he hadn't heard her. He turned away. The words stirred something in her mind, something that had been buried by the events of the past night.

"No!" She croaked, struggling to sit up. Her haori, which had been draped like a blanket over her, fell around her in folds. Kenshin froze, and looked back. "No! They'll be coming! We cannot linger here! They are following, always following…"

She looked to the sun, and was dismayed to see that it was nearly set. She fought to stay upright, the weakness of her body distressing. Kenshin turned back around to fully face her.

"It doesn't matter. You aren't-" He stiffened, breaking off. Kaoru tensed as well, as his hand flashed to the hilt of the katana at his hip. His attention was completely shifted from her to their surroundings. "Something is out there…"

"Wha-" Kaoru screamed and brought her arms up to shield her face as he threw himself toward her, drawing his katana in a swift and smooth motion. There was a metallic clang followed quickly by a thunk as he parried the shuriken that had been aimed at her.

Kaoru lowered her arms and stared at the weapon embedded in the trunk of a nearby tree. Her gaze switched to the swordsman crouched in front of her. He was statue-still, but Kaoru could tell that he was prepared to move at any given time. He was merely waiting for his chance.

If there was a signal, Kaoru missed it. One moment Kenshin was there and the next, he was gone, the tip of his red ponytail disappearing into the gathering dark. She heard the clash of sword-on-sword, and then a gurgling cry.

'Ken…shin…' she mouthed his name soundlessly, suddenly afraid. She could not tell who had been the one to cry out. A soft scuffling sound behind her brought her head up, and she held her breath as the sound drew closer.

When the strange man stepped out from the trees, Kaoru wanted to scream, to call for Kenshin, to do something, but the breath leaked from her lungs in a soft gasp instead. The man grinned at her, and advanced, drawing a tanto from his waist. Kaoru twisted and squirmed, trying to get away, but her traitorous body would not cooperate. She managed to get herself on her back, facing the oncoming man. She watched as he towered over her, pausing as if he wished to savor the moment. He reached for her throat slowly.

Kaoru lashed out with both feet as hard as she could, catching him in the stomach. Desperation lent her strength, and the man stumbled back a step or two. But really, it was a futile show of resistance. All it could accomplish was to set back her death a few seconds. And now the man was angry, and Kaoru truly sapped of strength. He stepped forward again, face twisted in fury. She licked her lips and lifted her chin to bravely face her death.

The sound as the katana ripped through flesh and bone was disgusting, and Kaoru's surprise was eclipsed only by her revulsion. She flinched as blood sprayed her face. The anger on the man's face was replaced with shock, and he fell forward, his torso nearly sheared in half. Standing behind him was Kenshin, dripping katana held at his side. He flicked the blade, sending droplets of blood splattering, wiped it clean, and sheathed it.

He stepped forward and captured Kaoru's eyes with his own. "I think you had better tell me everything, starting with why those men were sent to kill you."

"They were Shishio's men," she said, disappointed with herself as her voice shook. "You see, I… I am the last of the King's Messengers. All the others are dead."

She grimaced as the memories of her comrades surfaced in her mind, but gamely continued. "We were giving the King information of Shishio's troop movements, and he didn't like that much. We also were searching for his weaknesses, if he had any. Perhaps we were getting too close to the answer, because Shishio made it a point to hunt us down. And, as you may know, once Shishio gets it in his mind to do something, he won't rest until his goal is accomplished.

"We fell quickly; seven in the first fortnight, and more and more as time passed. Four… four days ago, Shishio's men caught Tomoe and I on the Road to the capital. Tomoe saw them first, and knocked me off my horse as they fired the first volley. Her body and the horses' shielded me from the arrows. She told me to run, that one of us had to live for the King's sake. So I did, and I haven't stopped running."

Kaoru wasn't surprised that, when she put her hands to her face, they came away wet. The pain was still so fresh. She remembered so clearly the sharpness of the grief when, one-by-one, she learned of the deaths of her friends. Every day had seen one more lost. And she hadn't wept for Tomoe's death yet; she had been too busy fleeing from the assassins that had been doggedly tracking her. But now those assassins were dead, killed by a spirit swordsman who had faced Shishio five hundred twenty-three years ago. So the tears came, and Kaoru cried.

"Who was Tomoe?" Kenshin asked, quietly.

"My sister!" wept Kaoru brokenly.

TERMS

Haori- A long-sleeved overcoat typically worn over a kimono.

gi- Loose shirt worn by samurai.

hakama- Wide skirted pants worn over the gi.

shuriken- a throwing star. A sharp-edged projectile weapon.

tanto- a small dagger-like knife.