Yay! Chapter 9 is up… Well I hope that you enjoy the story. I do not own any of the characters… I wish I did though…well except Matakashi…

Coming Back

Weeks had passed and Kaoru had fully recovered from the wound on her back, but not completely from the effects the poison had on her mind. She would have terrible nightmares that would leave her gasping for breath and thrashing around in the arms of anyone that tried to hold her down. Megumi checked her over mentally whenever she could, but she saw no signs of the old Kaoru. Kenshin and Yahiko were the most patient with her and Megumi was thankful for their patience. She knew that this would bring their Kaoru back; their patience would pay off eventually.

Kaoru sat under the sakura tree in their backyard, it was finally spring again, and yet she couldn't feel the joy for the season like she used to. Sighing, she stood and went into her room for a little time away from all the happiness in the world that she couldn't grasp. She decided to change from her kimono into her old training outfit. She noticed that someone had stitched it up in the back and that you really couldn't tell that it had been slashed. Grabbing her bokken, she left her room and went into the forest that her mother and father's shrine was in. She sat with her back against the shrine and closed her eyes to the world. She needed peace, to find the happiness that she once had. She sat there for the longest time, her bokken resting across her lap, and her hands on either end of it. Her eyes stayed closed, but her demeanor changed and became more relaxed.

Kenshin and the others watched from the shadows as she stood, still with her eyes closed, and let her bokken hang loosely from her hand. Tensing, she grabbed her bokken and stepped into position of defense. Through all of this her eyes stayed closed and she kept them closed through all the rest.

She struck once left then right. She kept repeating the same attacks over and over again until she suddenly started to pick up the pace. They watched in awe at the way she moved when handling her bokken. Kenshin could almost see the person she was sparing with, because that was what she was doing. He could tell by the way she moved that this was a spare and not a training exercise. He knew from her past that she used to spare with her father and mother. He knew that she was relieving a match between her and one of her parents.

Looking at Yahiko he noticed that the boy's eyes were wide with shock and understanding. He looked back at Kaoru and noticed that her eyes had opened, but they were fogged and unfocused, but that wasn't what he was looking at.

A clear transparent figure was sparing with Kaoru. He looked between the others and that figure, but Yahiko and he seemed to be the only ones that noticed the presence of that figure. Looking closer at the figure he noticed that it had a slightly feminine build to it and deducted that it could only be Kaoru's mother.

He saw the resemblance between the two as they seemed to move as one as they spared. He saw the grace that she had passed onto her daughter and watched in silent awe as they continued on. Finally, Megumi grew worried and tried to go out there and stop her, but Kenshin held her back.

"Let her finish, she will be fine. It's a way to feel closer to her parents now that they are gone from this world. She's remembering a time when her and one of her parents were sparing. Let her have this time to herself, she needs it to cope with what has happened to her." Kenshin explained quietly to her. Megumi looked skeptical, but didn't argue with his explanation and decided to go back to the dojo. She dragged Sano and Yahiko along saying it didn't take them all to watch out for her. They halfheartedly agreed and went along with her.

Kenshin watched as she spared with her mothers spirit for hours, nonstop, until she finally dropped onto the ground in exhaustion. He stayed in the shadows as he watched her mother walk up to her and kneel in front of her. He saw her lips move, but heard no sound come from them and he knew that he wasn't supposed to. What she had said was meant only for her daughter and not the ears of anyone else.

Her mother's eyes met Kenshin's and he was lost in their piercing blue depths. He watched as he saw her lips move and heard the words she spoke to him in his head.

"Take care of her; I give my and my husbands blessings to you. Please, take care of her." And then she was gone.

Kenshin smiled in the wake of her departure and walked over to the exhausted Kaoru. Picking her up, he smiled when she didn't put up a fight at being carried, but instead snuggled closer to him. He looked down at her with warm, soft eyes and smiled softly when he heard soft sleeping noses coming from her. Laughing softly, he carried her to the dojo and laid her down on her futon. He watched her for a few moments before he got up to leave, but a small hand stopped him. Looking down, he saw that Kaoru had awakened slightly and that she had latched unto his hand.

"Please, don't leave me alone." She begged quietly. He couldn't refuse her pleading voice and so he stayed next to her as she slept soundly and for once without nightmares. He made her a silent promise that he would do anything in his power to help her come back to them. The old Kaoru would be reawakened and he could finally tell her how much he loved her.

Over the next few weeks they all noticed the change that had come over Kaoru. She had started to say more things and a smile would light up her face more often than a frown. It still wasn't the old Kaoru, but she was starting to show signs of returning to them.

Kaoru was in the backyard watching as Sano was sparing with Yahiko. She had told them that she wasn't up to sparing that day, but that Yahiko needed to be introduced to a different type of fighting style. She had asked Sano to introduce Yahiko to his type of fighting style and he had agreed grudgingly to it.

Surprisingly, Yahiko was picking up on the style very quickly. Kaoru smiled at her student and gave him a thumbs up when he looked towards her.

"You're doing very well Yahiko." She called to him as he traded punches with Sano. He smiled at her as he ducked a punch from Sano and landed one on Sano's left side. Sano grunted and continued to instruct him where to hit when the opponent wasn't protecting that area and how to deal the most damage. Yahiko was learning fast and his punches started to get a little harder once he became more confident with what he was learning.

Kenshin watched with a small smile as Kaoru's face would light up when she watched her student successfully catch onto what he was learning and use it against the larger man. He was proud to see the fiery spirit he loved returning to her as the days went on and he could only hope that she was finally coming back to them once and for all.

Here you guys go, I should have the conclusion to this up in two or three chapters, hope to hear from my readers! Thanks for staying with me!