Hey :] so guess what, I'm going to South Africa! I'm watching the semis and (maybe, please God!) the finals ;] ahhh I'm so excited! XD (I'm actually on my plane to NYC then heading to SA tmrw)

However, this may mean I'm not gonna write as often, so bear with me please.

One last thing: has any of you read 'Shiver' by Maggie Stiefvater? I just finished reading it, and it. Is. Freaking. Awesome. I swear, books make me feel more than real life :p The ending was beautiful. Actually, I want there to be more, but if there was more then it would just ruin the whole story...if that makes any sense xp seldom am I happy with the ending of a deliciously well written book, and I am ecstatic with this ending. Any other kind of ending would have ruined it.

And yah, I forgot to put in the name of Jin-eh's technique in the last chap, so I'll try to change that now. Maybe. If I feel up to it.

Kenshin helped Kaoru to her feet; she seemed unsteady, and she gripped his arm tightly. Kenshin had to literally shake his head to clear it from the Battousai-or what he assumed was the Battousai. Sano clapped a hand on his shoulder, his feet buckling by the force of behind it, though he knew it to be a friendly gesture. "Great fight, Kenshin." Sano's voice boomed throughout the desolate forest, and seemed to echo off of Jin-eh's body. Almost on cue, three pairs of eyes looked at the corpse at their feet, and Kenshin felt Kaoru shiver. Instinctually, naturally, as if he had done it so many times in his life, he placed a comforting arm around Kaoru and hugged her to his side. She turned her face into his chest and brought her hands to her face. Even Sano seemed to be in shock.

"What are we gonna do about it?" Sano's voice was soft, as if he was afraid to disturb the dead body. There was no question as to what 'it' was. Kaoru shivered against Kenshin's body, and Kenshin tightened his grip around her and glared at Sano, who just shrugged as if to say, someone had to say it.

"I think we should tell someone. The police maybe?" Suggested the red head, his voice soft as well.

"And say what? 'Oh officer, Kaoru was kidnapped by a psychopathic killer, but it's ok, Kenshin fought him and then he killed himself.'" He scoffed, and ran a hand through his floppy brown hair. "As if. I'll tell Aoshi, you take the Missy back home." Without another word, the tall fighter ambled away into the woods, whistling a song that sounded suspiciously like a Justin Bieber song-Kenshin shook his head in wonder-and his hands deep in the pockets of his white shorts.

Kenshin gave the manslayer at his feet one last look, and then led the sniffling Kaoru back to her home.

XxXxXxX

Yahiko was the one to greet them, and he seemed shocked at the numerous nicks and slashes that spread across Kenshin's arms. To his credit, he said nothing but instead helped Kenshin take Kaoru inside and onto a couch.

"I'll call Megumi." He muttered, fixing his sister in a worried gaze. Kenshin saw a depth of emotion in the younger boy's deep brown eyes-so unlike Kaoru's bright blue ones-that said a lot about his affection for his sister.

"I think you should also call Misao, that I do." Yahiko nodded, but his mind was obviously on another wavelength.

Kenshin sighed and looked at Kaoru. She was lying on the couch, her eyes closed. She seemed to be dozing, and her chest rose and fell regularly. Silent tracks of water streamed down her cheeks. Cautiously, so as to not wake her, Kenshin wiped away the tears and captured them on his fingertip. The tiny droplet of water showed a warped reflection of Kenshin's violet eye. Suddenly, Kenshin saw himself standing in front a mirror, his upper torso bare, and a woman's slender arms entwined around his waist. He couldn't see the woman's face, but as he stared into the mirror, bright amber orbs met him. He jerked out of the memory. He blinked, and a violet eye opened and closed in a mere second.

Violet.

Amber.

Kenshin.

Battousai.

He sighed and placed his suddenly heavy head in his hands.

He remembered the fight with Jin-eh, but not as if he were experiencing the fight but more as if he was simply an observer. It was not he that fought Kurogasa, it was the Battousai. The manslayer for the Isshin Shishi. And Kenshin didn't know how to stop it. He didn't want to remember his life before Maui, before Kaoru. He didn't want to kill anymore, didn't want to drown in rivers of innocent's blood.

"Oi, Himura! Whatchadoing?" Kenshin started at the high voice, almost tumbling off of the sofa, and a trilling laugh followed his response. He looked up into Misao's bright green eyes.

"Oro." His tone belied his surprise at her proximity; how did he not hear her or sense her or whatever? She was practically on top of him!

She winked. "Secret ninja skills." She whispered conspiratorially, as if she had read his mind. She sat next to him, oblivious to the term 'personal space'. Her eyes took in Kaoru's prone form and Kenshin's wounds, and immediately her eyes became worried. "What happened?"

In short, clipped sentences, Kenshin described all that happened within the past hour or so-was it really only an hour? It had felt so much longer. Misao nodded in the appropriate places, her eyes and posture thoughtful. Her finger tapped her chin as she turned over the information in her mind, looping through possibilities and running through information and data that she, as a part of the Oniwaban, were privy to.

"Kurogasa. Jin-eh. I know his name." She frowned off into the distance.

Kenshin waited expectantly as she muttered unintelligibly to herself. Suddenly-so suddenly Kenshin did fall off the sofa with a mumbled 'oro'- she stood and snapped her fingers. "I know! He's one of the assassins, hitokiri, whatever, for the Isshin Shishi! But I heard he recently moved to the Shogunate...how odd...what was he doing here?" She began mumbling to herself again as Kenshin rubbed his sore rear end and sat on the sofa again.

"Misao?"

"Hmm?" Her tone made it apparent that she was still in her own world.

Kenshin paused before asking, wondering if she was present enough to even hear his question. "How is it you came so quickly?"

Misao waved her hand dismissively as she answered. "Oh, Aoshi was out on Oniwabanshu business, and I didn't want to stay at the Aoiya." At his blank stare, she huffed impatiently. "The Aoiya? The inn that Gramps owns and acts as headquarters for the Oniwaban?" She explained, as if expecting Kenshin to know what the hell she was talking about. She sighed again and gave up on the explanations, certain that the words 'headquarters for the Oniwaban' sufficient for the clueless former hitokiri.

Seriously, how did such an airhead gain a fearsome reputation? Wondered Misao. It seemed inconceivable that the Kenshin sitting in front of her-rubbing his head and mucking his low ponytail with such an innocent, almost naive, look on his face, could even kill a fly, let alone numerous people.

A sound made Misao turn her head in Kaoru's direction. She seemed to be stirring, and Misao almost raced Kenshin to her side. Even though he was there first, Misao beat him to the punch to ask her how she was feeling.

"Kind of woozy." She admitted, a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. She lifted a hand to her head, and Kenshin couldn't help but admire the almost blue-black of her hair. She gave him a quizzical glance, and he realized with a blush that he was staring.

"Could you sit up?" He asked, trying to cover his embarrassment. She nodded, and with effort, raised herself into a seated position. Kenshin wasted no time in sitting next to her and placing a supporting arm over her shoulders. She leaned into him, and he couldn't help but inhale her jasmine scent.

Misao looked at the cuddling couple, a grin across her face. She was glad to see Kaoru finally moving on from Sano-she never saw what Kaoru saw in the big goof.

Yahiko walked into the room, and made a disgusted face when he saw the red head boy-man, Misao was still having a hard time believing he was in his twenties-and the cerulean-eyed girl so close together, and Misao openly laughed at his expression. She didn't, however, miss his look of relief when he saw his sister sitting up.

"Hey weasel, why didn't ya answer your phone?" He asked, his tone accusatory. Misao immediately bristled at her nickname-she did not look like a weasel, yet no matter how hard she beat both Yahiko and Sano for it, they didn't abandon Saitou's nickname for her. Crossing her arms, she lifted her chin in the air.

"None of your damn business, Little Yahiko." Her jibe was accompanied by a triumphant smirk.

"I'm not little!" He yelled, balling his hands into fists.

Misao stood and made her way next to him, measuring him with her eyes. She made a big show of looking at him and measuring his height against hers-not much of a difference-with a thoughtful and calculating look on her face. "No, I would say you're definitely little." She announced after her examination, her tone serious and professional.

"Shut up, you old hag!"

"Brat!"

"Weasel!"

"Little!"

Kenshin chuckled as he watched the two quarrel. "They fight almost as much as you and Yahiko do." He whispered in her ear. Kaoru rolled her eyes.

"He aggravates anyone with estrogen." She muttered. Kenshin laughed at this, his laughter rumbling through his body and, though their close proximity, through Kaoru.

Flushing, she realized just how close they were. Kenshin's arm was casually draped across her shoulders, and his chest was in the barest contact with her arm. Their thighs were touching, and Kaoru had a sudden urge to place her hand on his thigh.

The strangest thing was that she liked it. It felt as natural as breathing to have Kenshin sitting next to her, as if they were a normal couple laughing at the squabbling ninja and apprentice. Her stomach clenched in anticipation and she was slightly breathless, and she was distinctly aware of every part of her body that was in close contact with Kenshin.

So where did that leave Sano?

Kaoru was very unsettled at how fickle her feelings were.

In order to distract herself from her feelings, she allowed her eyes to roam the room, but they were still drawn to the man next to her. Abandoning her better judgment, she unashamedly ogled Kenshin. The sleeves of his pink shirt showed his arms, which were wiry and defined with muscles you would never guess were there. The shirt clung to his body well, hinting at a well formed physique under it. His hair was bright, as bright as any flame, and looked so silky soft that Kaoru had to order her hand to not stroke his hair. With appreciation, she noticed that the hair was shaggy in the front, which could cover his eyes if he wanted, and continued until it was tied at the nape of his neck. And his eyes. Kaoru had never seen someone with such captivating eyes, either in the color or intensity of his gaze. Luckily for her, his eyes were currently trained on Misao and Yahiko still.

A wave of guilt overtook Kaoru as she saw the rips in his shirt, blood tainting the edges, and at the cooling sweat upon his brow. She also knew that his burns must still pain him; they were very severe and she doubted they were fully healed. And yet here he was, despite his injuries, comforting Kaoru who had simply gone through shock. She felt so insignificantly wimpy.

She shrugged her shoulders, a non-verbal cue fro Kenshin to remove his arm. As he did so, she stood, fighting the wave of nausea and forced herself to not waver. Ignoring Kenshin's concerned gaze, she went to the bathroom and the first aid kit.

Before he could protest, Kaoru grabbed the edges of his t-shirt and yanked it off his head. "You could have done it bit more gently." He yelped, covering his bare torso. She rolled his eyes at his adorable modesty. "Or ask me to do it." He muttered rebelliously.

Kaoru flashed him a flirty smile. "Oh, but it was more fun taking it off." His face turned redder than his hair.

"Himura, you should see your face!" Yelled Misao, collapsing into a fit of giggles. Even Yahiko had a broad grin on his face.

Kaoru ignored the two of them, her focus on Kenshin alone. She dealt with his many, if shallow, cuts before looking at his bound chest. "I have to redress your burns." She said, wincing. The burns had started to pus a little, making pulling the bandage off painful as the pus would dry and hold the white cloth to his body in a vise-like grip. It was worse than ripping off a band-aid. However, Kaoru knew that the wound had to be sprinkled with the powder Dr. Gensai and Megumi instructed he use to dry it out, and rebound.

Kenshin's hand on her wrist stopped her before she took it off. "I'll do it." She nodded, and he stood and went into his room so he could deal with the wound himself. Kaoru's azure eyes followed him until his door closed behind him.

She heard a condescending sigh behind her and she spun around to see Megumi, her hands propped on her hips. "It would be nice if you told me that your affections had changed." She accused, though her tone was friendly. Kaoru blushed, and for once, couldn't find an appropriate retort.

I love how I made Sano a Justin Bieber fan :p it was, in my opinion, an ingenuous flash of inspiration lol Just to get things straight-I love Justin Bieber's songs, but not the shrimp himself. He's like a little girl.

Oh, and I'm introducing Kenshin's adorable 'oros' from here on in, to kinda signify a change in his character. As he tries to become less like the Battousai, the more of the Kenshin we love will appear ;]

It really is getting tiring to name all these chapters. Some, like the last one, kinda name themselves, but for others, like this one, I have to struggle to find an appropriate name. So howz bout I just leave these hard-to-name-chapters unnamed, and you suggest titles? ;] ;] whatcha think of that idea? I think of it as a stroke of genius xp

Any thoughts? Comments? Criticisms? Like it? Hate it? Love it?

R.e.v.i.e.w.

Please?

;]