Disclaimer: This unworthy one does not own Rurouni Kenshin, she's just borrowed the characters for her own twisted purposes. ::muahahaha::

"Kaoru... Kaoru."

Kaoru stirred, feeling faint light press against her eyelids. For some reason they felt heavy, as she struggled to open them at the sound of her name. The voice was achingly tender, as if the owner was afraid she might not answer. She finally opened her eyes to look into two violet orbs, gazing into her own anxiously.

"Ken...shin?" she murmured, moving her hand. Kenshin grasped it, a smile brightening his solemn face. "Kaoru-dono, how are you feeling?"

"Like I rolled in the dust all the way back to Tokyo," she groaned, causing him to laugh. "Are you all right, Kenshin?"

"Most of us weren't hurt too much," he said reassuringly. "You breathed in a lot of smoke from the fire, but the doctor said you'll be all right. We're in the Aoiya. Aoshi-san received word and had us moved here as soon as he heard."

Suddenly the events of the previous day all rushed back to her, and she clutched at Kenshin in sudden fear. "Oneechan!"

Kenshin gently held both her hands in his own, trying to calm her down. "Don't move so suddenly, Kaoru-dono."

"Kenshin, tell me. Where is Karen-oneechan?"

"She's alive," he replied quickly. "Weak, but alive. She lost a lot of blood, but the wound was not fatal. If she makes it through tonight, the doctor says she has a good chance."

"Oh, Kenshin..." Kaoru said helplessly. "She'll be all right, won't she?"

"She is not shishou's daughter for nothing," he smiled. "She will recover."

Kaoru lapsed into silence as she sorted through a haze of thoughts. It had been only a week since she had first met Karen, but Kaoru felt strongly drawn to the older woman, in part because she seemed so much like Kenshin - a warm, caring person struggling with her identity as a hitokiri. Unlike Kenshin, however, Karen was still wandering, still fighting. Maybe I can convince her to stay with us, like I did with Kenshin, Kaoru thought hopefully, but something told her Karen wouldn't stay. Perhaps, after all, that "something" was the significant difference between Karen and Kenshin.

Several rooms away, Saitou was keeping vigil over Karen, his customary cigarette unlit in his hands. His eyes were narrowed and focused on the small form, watching her breast rise and fall in slow rhythm. She's survived worse than this, he thought, but at the same time he couldn't help noting how delicate she looked under the blankets, her face pale beneath her tan, her lips slightly parted and lacking their normal lustre. He ran a roughened hand over her cheek, his face betraying none of his mixed emotions as he gazed upon her face.

"Mmm..." she breathed, her eyelids fluttering. "...Sa...Saitou...?"

"Welcome back," he said, his stoic voice unable to hide his relief. "It's about time."

"Gods...I'm...so tired...." she muttered faintly. "I think...I'l...go back...to...sl...eep..."

"No!" he said sharply, bending over her and giving her a slight shake. "Hiko Karen, do you hear me? Don't you dare leave this place. What did Tokio tell you, you stupid girl?"

"She...told me...to..." Karen struggled against the darkness. "To take care...of you...old wolf. Because she...can't."

"You can't do that if you're dead," Saitou snapped, his face inches from hers. She essayed a small laugh that caught in her throat, turning into a cough. Saitou pressed his lips against hers in a sudden kiss, and Karen was aware of his hands moving, hot on her bare shoulders. For an instant both of them were caught up in the moment, and Karen moaned against Saitou's mouth, her tongue reaching out to taunt him. He pulled himself away with an effort, but did not protest when she slipped her small hand into his calloused one, and watched her until she fell into a deep, untroubled sleep.

"I always said we're an underpaid bunch," Karen said wryly a few days later. She was sitting up in bed, and some of the color had returned to her cheeks. "Of course, I never in my wildest dreams ever thought of bombs hidden in cakes. I think Mura-kun should get a gold medal for creativity."

"It turns out that Mura and Lawson were the real masterminds in this case," Aoshi informed the group. Like Saitou and Karen, he also worked as a secret agent when occasion demanded. "Black was just after the money, but Lawson turned out to be an agent of an underworld terrorist circle, and he convinced Mura to help. Mura, of course, was already planning something for his own personal revenge. I suppose the two of them...clicked."

"Ew," Sanosuke looked reviled at the implications of Aoshi's expression. Karen laughed. "Too bad this doesn't mean a raise for the rest of us."

"All that trouble just for some land," Kaoru said in disgust. "I'll never understand these people."

"Did all of them survive the explosion?" Kenshin asked.

"By some perverse miracle, yes, although Mura and Black are still in a coma. Lawson escaped before the explosions but they caught him before he got far." Saitou held a cigarette in his hand, unlit. "Of course, they're Americans, so they might get off pretty easily. Americans always do."

"Why?" Yahiko demanded.

"Don't ask, Yahiko-kun," Karen advised. "Some things are just too complicated for us to understand."

"You'll stay for awhile, won't you, Kaoru-chan?" Misao wheedled at Kaoru's elbow.

"I think we should leave soon," Kaoru said apologetically. "We've had enough excitement to last us a year. After all this fuss over my dojo, I think I need to go make sure it's still there!" There was general laughter at her remark. "Besides, all of us need rest, especially Oneechan."

"Oh, don't worry about me, Kaoru-chan. I'm perfectly fine now," Karen smiled. "Actually... I don't think I'll be able to go back with you to Tokyo."

"What?" Kaoru protested. "Oneechan, you're not well yet!"

"My wound will heal soon. Besides, I was only assigned to stay with you because of this investigation. Now that it's over..." Karen shrugged apologetically. "We always have enough to keep us busy."

Kaoru looked hurt. "Oneechan, are you saying you were with us only because it was your job?"

"Oh, don't be ridiculous, Kaoru-chan!" Karen reached over for Kaoru's hand and squeezed it. "You've been such a good friend to me, Kaoru-chan. I always wondered why Kenshin-sempai had stopped his wanderings, but now I don't wonder at all." Kaoru blushed, while Kenshin also looked faintly embarrassed. "But some of us just have to wander longer than others, sometimes forever. Don't look so sad, Kaoru-chan. Believe it or not, I enjoy wandering, more or less." She smiled warmly. "And now, I think I have a place I can go back to when I need to rest. Am I right, Kaoru-chan?"

For answer, Kaoru threw her arms around the older woman and hugged her tightly. "Come back soon, Oneechan." she whispered.

"I'll miss her," Sanosuke announced as they were on the train back to Tokyo. "It was nice having a woman around the place." Kaoru threw him her customary glare.

"What is her relationship with Saitou, anyway?" Yahiko wondered out loud. "Misao said she saw them kissing in the hallway, but I told her she was seeing things."

"She probably wasn't," Kenshin coughed gently. Kaoru's eyes widened. "Kenshin, what do you mean? I thought Saitou was married to someone else!"

"He is, as far as I know," Kenshin said uncomfortably. "But...some men have more than one wife, Kaoru-dono. If he met Ojousan when she was a geisha... there's a good chance that she left to become his concubine."

"Nani?" Kaoru gaped, feeling her cheeks turn red, while Yahiko's eyes grew to twice their size.

Sanosuke chuckled. "Lucky bastard. Imagine having two women to come home to every night."

"You are so perverted, Sano!"

"Whaat? What did I say?"

"I'm going to tell Megumi-san!"

"Why the hell does she come into this?!"

"Shut up, both of you, everyone's staring at us."

"Who are you telling to shut up, Yahiko-chan?"

"Ororo..."