Hi everyone. ^__^ Time for an update. Keep reviewing everyone! Luff the ones so far! A/N:
1) Nope, don't own Rurouni Kenshin (if you didn't know that by now)
2) Some people were confused by the last section of Chapter 6. Here's some clarification: (remember, Genzai, Sano, and Kaoru were in the same room, and Yahiko and the policeman were talking together as well) The order was Kaoru, Yahiko, Genzai, Sano, the police officer, Kenshin, Genzai, the police officer, Kaoru, the police officer, Sano, Kenshin, Yahiko, Kaoru, Genzai, the police officer, Sano, Kaoru, Genzai, and finally Kenshin. Hope that helps a little.
Hope you like this next chappy! ^______^ Here it is:
~~~***~~~
"Kaoru! Where are you!?" Kenshin sat up in the futon.
A hand laid on his chest and gently pushed him back down. "I'm right here. Please, save your strength." She smiled and put a wet cloth on his forehead.
He studied her face. Kaoru's smile did not mask the bags under her eyes, the clothes she had been wearing since yesterday, her out-of-place hair, or her shaky hands.
"You're worried."
She said nothing.
"I don't want you to distress over my sake. I deserved what happened. Please, get some rest."
She shook her head strongly.
"Please, Kaoru. I'm fine now."
She took the cloth away and handed him some tea. "Drink this."
Kenshin sighed and drunk it down, clearly unhappy over her refusal. "What happened to the men that took you?"
"They're in jail now. Yahiko managed to persuade the police to come with him, where they discovered the mansion. All of the girls held prisoner were quickly freed, and now they're all serving a life sentence. Of course, they will take a long time to recover from the wounds you gave them." She smiled.
Kenshin gazed out the window nearby. "I don't really…remember much of it…what happened?"
Silence.
"Kaoru…" He turned to her. "…what did I do?"
"You rescued me. That's all that matters." She would tell him about the battousai part later. Maybe.
Kaoru watched him finish the tea, then handed him some soup. Kenshin shook his head at it. Her eyes widened in shock and urged the bowl into his hands.
"I'll take this if you promise to get some rest now." Kaoru put on her pouting face. Oh, how he loved that little face of hers. But his resolve did not waver. His expression remained stern, so finally she nodded and walked out of the room slowly. Kenshin smiled at his accomplishment and took the bowl she left.
A few moments later Genzai appeared in the room. "Glad to see you're awake, Kenshin. You've been in a coma for the past three days. You had some pretty serious injuries."
'Three days!? Kaoru was wearing the same clothes when I saw her last. Did she stay by my side that whole time!?' Kenshin put on his rurouni mask, saying "Thank you for attending to my injuries, Genzai-sensei. I feel much better."
"Wonderful. In about a week or so you should have a full recovery. In the meantime, get plenty of rest."
"I'll try to go back to sleep, that I will." He smiled.
"Great. Well, it looks as though my job is done here. Don't forget to change those bandages now and then." The doctor walked out of the room.
"Goodbye, and thanks again." Kenshin laid back into the futon, deep in thought.
~~~***~~~
Two weeks passed by. Kenshin's strength returned to him, and during the time he was rarely left alone, happily accompanied by Sano, Yahiko, Genzai, and of course, Kaoru. After much persuasion from him she would finally lie down and get some rest, but Kaoru insisted that her futon be moved right outside his room, so if Kenshin ever wanted anything she would be there. But he never DID want anything. Occasionally he would ask for new bandages or that the window be opened, but he only asked for this to busy Kaoru's mind and let her be more useful. That was what she wanted, he could tell.
But Kaoru was not completely naïve. She knew some days his injuries were exceptionally painful. She wanted to bear the pain with him, but obviously couldn't, so she tried to do everything possible for Kenshin. And, somehow, she felt responsible for what happened. But being the man he was, Kenshin never said anything about the pain. He would just smile his rurouni smile and say "Everything is fine, Kaoru. Please don't worry about me and get some rest."
Sano and Yahiko did their part as well. They made the atmosphere more pleasant for the most part with stories of the past, and of the present, like what happened that day. Sano mentioned how Yahiko had his eye on "A nice girl at the Akabeko" (Yahiko then proceeded to deny this furiously and bonk Sano on the head). Yahiko told Kenshin of how he caught an enormous fish while fishing that day (he illustrated its size with his arm length). Kenshin laughed at these stories and wished he could have been there to witness them.
And now, he was finally out and about again. Kenshin tried to make himself as useful as possible, but Kaoru would have none of that. In the end, he resorted to handing her ingredients while she was cooking.
A letter came to them one day from the police department. Upon opening it, the gang crowded around and read its message, regarding the men they fought in the mansion. It read:
Dear Residents of the Kamiya Dojo,
Thank you for helping us apprehend the criminals of the newly discovered mansion. For the past six months young women have been disappearing in this area with no reason or explanation. This led us to the theory that someone was kidnapping them. You can imagine how happy we were after six months of searching with no leads or results, that we finally found the gang behind all this (particularly the Chief, whose own daughter disappeared among the others).
We heard from the young boy one of your comrades was badly injured in the mansion from this. We offer our deepest sympathies for this man, as a token of our appreciation, disclosed in this envelope is a check of 1,000,000 yen, the reward money for these criminals.
Again, we offer our thanks.
Everyone turned their gaze slowly from the paper to Kenshin.
He stared dazingly at the words for a minute, then said, "N...nani!?!?"
"Congratulations, Kenshin." The others said breathlessly.
"But-but-" He sputtered.
"You deserve this, Kenshin!" Sano said to him. "After that fight you gave them, you deserve A BILLION yen!"
"Let's go on a vacation!" Yahiko jumped up and down excitedly.
"But...I don't need any money..."
"Well then," Kaoru said, "you could always give it away to a local charity. I'm sure they'd like that." He nodded.
"Aww, man!" Sano and Yahiko said at once.
"No, I think that will be best. I'll go into town and exchange the check for someone who needs it more." Without saying another word, he walked out.
"Kaoru!!" The two shouted at her.
"You two KNOW Kenshin would never keep that much amount of money for himself..."
"But...our vacation..." Yahiko mumbled in despair.
Kaoru smacked him upside the head. "You don't NEED a vacation, baka. See how healthy you are? Now then, back to your chores." She shooed him away. Sano laughed at this, then went outside to mooch around like always.
~~~***~~~
Kenshin returned an hour and a half later, smiling about something. 'He must feel pretty good, giving away all that money to places who need it.' Kaoru thought. They all ate dinner, then went to bed for the night.
…Well, that's all for now. REVIEW! ^^ Hope you liked it—tell me if you did, or otherwise! Heh heh, arigato! Ja ne!
