Right, so… I haven't been getting email notices for reviews though there have been some, so I'm wondering if there was a break-down in communication in the other direction as well. So.

NOTE--- This is the second chapter I've posted in 2007. So if you haven't read the previous one, you might want to do that.

Anywho, one more thing: The verses Kaoru remembers in the beginning here are from a sort of ballad-poem I wrote about Rurouni Kenshin. The full thing is posted here on if you're interested in reading the whole thing (it's relatively short) it's listed on my profile.

Chapter 6

Kaoru fought the urge to jump to her feet and gape at Kenshin, but she managed to remain seated and listen to what was said. But her thoughts raced wildly. Kenshin was Hitokiri Battōsai! But she'd thought the Manslayer was only a legend, hundreds of years old…

And yet, there was Kenshin, five hundred plus years old, and Death on swift feet. Suddenly Kaoru's mind was filled with the stories and songs of the legendary swordsman.

'"As I stood frozen he perceived I was there/ And fixed me in place with his hot yellow glare,"' Kaoru looked at Kenshin. 'Hot yellow glare… check. Though it usually chills rather than burns… I have seen his gold eyes burn with fury, though.'

"It is perhaps wise to not call me by that name now. It would not be received well by some," Kenshin was telling Katsura. The King nodded agreement and understanding.

"Yes, I suppose some would be discomfited with the idea of the most deadly assassin of the Bakumatsu walking the streets of Kyoto," he mused. Kenshin inclined his head.

"There is that, but I also meant Shishio. I have had some…" here Kenshin paused "…altercations with him, and he may take exception to the fact that I am no longer bound to my hill."

"You don't mean to tell me that the Shishio who is now threatening my rule is the same sorcerer Shishio from the legends?" Katsura exclaimed, leaning back with a look of disbelief on his youthful face. Kenshin nodded solemnly.

"Yes. It is true. When we last fought, I gravely wounded Shishio, forcing him to go into hiding for all this time to heal and rebuild his powers. In the same battle, Shishio cast a geas upon me."

Katsura was silent for a long moment, thinking. Then he looked up. "So would this mean that you have some knowledge of how to defeat Shishio? Would you be able to cast him down in a second battle?"

"I know Shishio," Kenshin said. His eyes whirled bright yellow. "And I will kill him."

Kaoru suppressed a shiver at his tone. But she didn't let it distract her from the matter at hand. She spoke up: "I also lay claim to Shishio's life. He has taken nearly everything from me, and I want retribution."

Katsura studied the two vassals before him, solemnly. He captured Kaoru's gaze with his, reading what he saw in her sapphire eyes. His expression shifted slightly, so it seemed almost melancholy.

"Very well. I recognize your claims, and I sanction them. You have my leave to hunt him," the King said. That was a dismissal if Kaoru ever heard one. She bowed low again, and stood with Kenshin beside her.

"Messenger Kamiya," said Katsura softly as Kaoru turned to leave. She glanced back at him. "It joys me that you are alive. You were the youngest Messenger, newly come to your position. I am glad that you, at least, survived."

Kaoru bowed in reply, not trusting her voice. Tears pricked her eyes. She and Kenshin left the room, collecting their swords once they were outside.

"I was eleven when I came to Katsura-sama to swear my service to him. That was five years younger than the required age for becoming a Messenger, but he did not turn me away. Instead, he made me his personal runner, and I delivered messages within the palace and the capital city for him until I was old enough to be a Messenger." Kaoru informed Kenshin quietly as they walked slowly into the back courtyard of the dojo. She put her hands on the edge of the well, leaning against the wood. "He was… so kind to me. It was as if I had been a younger sister to him, rather than just some stranger."

"I can understand how you feel," Kenshin replied. Kaoru looked at him. "I was very young when I entered the service of my King. I was only fifteen when I received the name Hitokiri Battōsai. The King… had treated me with a kindness outside of the normal deference of ruler to subordinate as well."

"How old are you now?" Kaoru asked before she could think better of it.

"I am not sure. I was not… myself near the end. I no long paid attention to the passage of time." Kenshin paused. "I think I am twenty-four."

'Was not himself? What does that mean?' Kaoru blinked, but her thoughts were shattered by a shout from behind them.

"Missy!" Kaoru span, and was bolting across the courtyard in a flash. She leapt gleefully into the outstretched arms of the tall, brown-haired man who'd shouted.

"Sano!" she cried happily. The tall man- Sano?- laughed and caught her easily. Kenshin blinked at the sight of the red headband that stood out against Sano's spiky brown hair. But, giving his head an imperceptible shake, he uneasily dismissed it as coincidence.

"Jou-chan!" Sano said, face shining. "You're alive!"

"Yes…" she sighed. "Only barely. It's really thanks to Kenshin that I made it back."

Sano looked up and met Kenshin's gaze. Carefully, Sano detached Kaoru from around his neck, and approached Kenshin. After inspecting the shorter man with thoughtful brown eyes, Sano bowed solemnly. "I thank you for accompanying the little Missy here back."

"I owe her a great deal," Kenshin said, bowing back. Sano suddenly grinned, and glanced back at Kaoru.

"Really? So do I. Don't worry, she'll definitely make you pay."

"Your debts to me are a little different, Sagara Sanosuke," Kaoru replied severely. "You've mooched food off of me for years."

"Just the three years you've been a Messenger!" protested Sanosuke, and ducked as Kaoru took a swing at his head with her fist. Kenshin watched their antics with a straight face, but then he stiffened, as Sano twisted to avoid Kaoru and turned his back to the swordsman.

The red strip of cloth tied around the tall man's head coupled with the symbol painted on the back of his jacket were too obvious a sign for Kenshin. Sekihōtai. The unofficial army that Kenshin's liege-lord had effectively condemned when he refused to send reinforcements when the army's need was greatest. The survivors had not looked favourably toward the King. If Sanosuke was a descendant of one of those survivors, what was he doing in the court of the King?

When Kaoru noticed that Kenshin's shoulders were tense and his eyes a pale gold (a colour she was beginning to associate with Kenshin at his most dangerous) she froze in her tracks. Sano halted in his flight from her wrath, glanced over at the redhead, and paled. Even not being familiar with Kenshin and Kenshin's expressions, Sano knew danger when he saw it.

"Kenshin?" Kaoru said hesitantly. A shiver ripped through Kenshin's body as he growled.

"Sekihōtai," he said. Sano tensed at Kenshin's low and angry tone. "What business have you in the court of the King?"

"Katsura-sama has paid full respects to the Sekihōtai and has made amends with the descendants," Sano said slowly and carefully. "Our King is great and wise; he has unified much of the country and forged alliances with all the groups estranged in the past. For this I have sworn myself to him. I am a King's Guard and I take great pride in this and I do not take my duty lightly."

"The survivors of the Sekihōtai opposed the King, and would attack his vassals whenever the opportunity arose," Kenshin said, still doubtful.

"That was centuries ago," Kaoru reminded Kenshin urgently.

"Katsura-sama has assuaged the injuries dealt to the Sekihōtai. I have no reason to wish harm to him," Sano reassured Kenshin. The redhead was slowly relaxing, but he still looked uncertain.

"You are… sworn to the King?" Kenshin asked haltingly. Sano nodded.

'For the sake of… It's like dealing with a wild animal,' Kaoru thought, watching the feral gleam dim in Kenshin's eyes.

"I… forgive me," Kenshin said stiffly. He knew that oaths taken before the King or to the King were powerful and binding, carrying more weight than just the words' meaning. There was Lesser Magic in those oaths; to break them was to risk one's own life.

"No harm done," Sano said, almost as stiffly. Then his expression eased and he added: "It's kind of… reassuring… that you are so defensive of Katsura-sama."

"Sagara-sempai?" A junior Guard looked around the corner of the dojo. "A man who says his name is Tsunan is at the back gate asking for you."

"Aya! I'd forgotten I'd told him to come by!" Sano clapped a hand to his forehead theatrically. He placed that hand then on Kaoru's head, looking down at her as she tipped her head up at him. "Try not to get into any life-or-death situations anytime soon, hey?"

Kaoru scowled. "Get lost, Rooster-head."

He grinned, patted her head, and was gone. Kaoru looked at Kenshin warily from the corner of her eye. He looked calm…er. That was a close call. Kaoru was afraid of just how close Kenshin had gotten to killing Sanosuke.

'Why is nothing ever simple and straight-forward in my life?' She wondered plaintively. 'Couldn't I have released a sane swordsman from a geas instead?'

She sighed. "I need to go see the healer. You can come, if you like. Or you could ask one of the maids to prepare a room for you."

There was a pause as Kenshin thought. Then, tucking his hands into his sleeves comfortably, he said: "I will accompany you."

"As you like," Kaoru shrugged. She walked around the dojo to one of the east-facing rooms. Opening the shoji, Kaoru glanced around eagerly. Upon spotting a dark-haired woman in one of the corners of the room, her face lit up.

"Megumi!" The dark-haired woman turned, saw Kaoru, and smiled.

"Kaoru! You're alive!"

"That I am," Kaoru replied. "But I'd like you to take a look at a wound I received a while ago… It's not too bad, but it's not healing as it should."

"Must you always be injured whenever I see you, tanuki?" Megumi asked, exasperated. Kaoru blushed.

"Er…"

"Nevermind; sit down," the healer waved vaguely. Kaoru sat, and as she did so, Kenshin edged a little further into the room. Megumi looked at him speculatively.

"And you are…?" she drawled, lifting one perfectly shaped eyebrow. Kaoru glanced up at her tone, noting the way Megumi eyed Kenshin.

"Kenshin, Tanaki Megumi. Megumi, Himura Kenshin," Kaoru said, and nearly choked as she registered the tone of her own voice.

'Shit! I am not going to get all jealous and territorial!'

"Hmmm," said Megumi with a knowing look at Kaoru. "And are you wounded as well?'

"No. I am uninjured," Kenshin replied quietly. Kaoru fought off the blush as Megumi's eyes flicked between the two of them.

"Then please be sure to stay out of my way as I work," the healer finally said. Kenshin shifted so that he was tucked against the wall, well out of the way of everything. Megumi turned to Kaoru, who slipped one arm out of her gi to reveal the wound. She felt a little self-conscious doing so, even though she knew that only her shoulder and arm were revealed; the other side of her gi and the cloth binding her chest covered everything else.

"When did you receive this wound?" Megumi asked, taking Kaoru's upper arm in her hand gently. There was a linen bandage wound around the arm just above her grip.

"Um… When… when I first escaped Shishio and his men," Kaoru replied, grimacing as Megumi unwound the bandage. She tried not to think too hard about the circumstances which had led to her receiving the slash on her shoulder.

The wound, which had not healed completely even though it had been many days since it was slashed into her skin, broke open when Megumi pulled the linen away. The healer hissed softly as she saw the wound and the blood that seeped from it. Against the opposite wall, Kenshin went rigid, head lifting and eyes flashing. In the space of an eye-blink, he crossed the room, neatly shouldered Megumi out of the way, and seized Kaoru's arm in a grip like iron. She flinched back automatically.

"What do you think you're doing?!" said Megumi, furiously.

"That hurts!" Kaoru protested over Megumi's outburst, wincing as Kenshin squeezed the flesh around the wound with cold fingers. Blood oozed out, dripping down the bare flesh of her arm. Kenshin didn't seem to pay attention to her, staring down at the wound with cold eyes. He lifted his other hand and touched the tips of two fingers to the blood, and put them to his lips. Kaoru watched, feeling almost as if she were in a trance, as he smelled her blood and tasted it. Confused into silence, Megumi stood with one finger raised and her mouth open in the middle of a rant.

"What…?" Kaoru started.

"Why did you not tell me you were injured?" Kenshin demanded, his fingers tightening around Kaoru's arm. She winced, looking pointedly at his hand.

"It wasn't important!" she said. "The wound wasn't serious, even though it wouldn't heal all the way. I thought I'd just keep it bandaged and then see a healer when I got back!"

"There's no healer that can help you in this! This wound was inflicted by Shishio; it is poisoned by his magic!" Kenshin snapped, his words like a slap in Kaoru's face. She stared at him with frightened eyes. "You need a wizard to treat this wound."

"What?" Kaoru said, "What?!"

TERMS

Dojo- a building where a martial art it taught.

jou-chan- means 'little missy' essentially. Sano's fond nickname for Kaoru.

Sekihōtai - The Sekihōtai fought for the imperial alliance at the end of the Tokugawa regime. However, the Meiji government accused the Sekihōtai of impersonating the imperial army and spreading false allegations about low rice prices. This setup was engineered by Shindō Tatewaki, a former officer in the imperial alliance. The Sekihōtai were designated scapegoats and to be executed.

Shoji- sliding doors, made out of wood and paper.

Tanuki- 'raccoon-dog.'