Only With You

A/N: Hi! It's been a long time since I updated, huh? Sorry for the long wait.. Thanks for the support and the reviews, guys. Thanks to Jbella for helping edit this for me!

Chapter Fourteen

Kaoru woke up to a definite throbbing in her head, as if a horridly mediocre rock band with a doped up drummer was jamming inside her skull. She fought valiantly to hold on to the last vestiges of unconsciousness before her mind fully asserted its will to wake up, and she was pushed to the land of the waking. Damn, her head hurt. Kaoru forced her eyelids to open, but it was a hard battle since they seemed to have been glued shut. "Ugh…" she mumbled as lethargy and that damn throb swamped her senses.

"Kaoru, you awake?"

"Yeah…" Kaoru tried to say, but her tongue felt like soggy socks in her mouth and it came out more like a drawn-out sigh than anything else. She tried to ask for water and was grateful when the upper portion of her bed automatically inclined so that she was almost sitting up.

"Better?" Kenshin asked as he fiddled with the buttons that controlled the functions of the bed.

"Uhm…" Kaoru murmured in response. She felt a glass of water be held up against her lips, and she proceeded to drink from it ravenously.

"Not so fast, you'll make yourself sick," Kenshin cautioned as he tried to regulate her intake, brushing away stray strands of hair that fell over Kaoru's eyes and cheeks.

"Sorry," Kaoru managed to croak out. She cleared her throat a few times and took a few more sips before she was able to say a proper thank you to Kenshin. By this time, she'd already been able to blink the white spots from her vision and was able to see him and her surroundings more clearly. It wasn't much since her head felt so stuffy, and it was like she was viewing everything from underwater. "Where am I?" she inquired, even though she had a pretty good idea.

"At the hospital," Kenshin answered as he placed the glass of water back near the bed-stand. "How are you feeling?"

Kaoru eased back against the bed. It was still inclined in a 45-degree angle so that she was more sitting up than lying down. "My head hurts…but the pain is kind of dull, if constant. Like a throbbing, but from really far away…" she frowned. "Am I making sense?"

"A little bit. You're most likely doped out of your brain from the painkillers they gave you. Do you remember how you got here? What happened to you?"

Kaoru found it hard to concentrate, and it took her awhile to remember, but when she did, she covered her face with her hands in mortification. "Oh God…" she groaned miserably. I hope no one saw my underpants!

A pucker formed between Kenshin's eyebrows as he regarded Kaoru with concern. "Are you okay?"

"I knew it! I knew I should have bought some cycling shorts…" Kaoru muttered to herself. Her agitation was managing to make her head feel even stuffier, and the throbbing increased its pace. That stupid football player, this was entirely his fault! Damn it, and she wasn't even able to give him a piece of her mind. "Oh God, I blacked out didn't I? I fainted!" In the middle of a field with strangers and her panties probably showing!

Kenshin raised an eyebrow at the mild hint of hysteria in Kaoru's tone and the rapid rise and fall of her breathing. He reached out, prying her hands as gently as he could away from her face, and saw that she was flushed. "Kaoru, relax," he said as he gave her hands a gentle squeeze. "I'll go get a nurse, okay? You wait right here…"

Kaoru was too wrapped up in misery at the thought of having her 'delicates' be exposed to pay much attention. She replayed what happened over again in her head, but the drug-induced haze was making it difficult for her to grab on to her memories. "Stupid short skirts…" she mumbled irritably as she tried to recollect the events leading up to her blackout, but it proved too hard for her at her current state. Damn, it really hurt. She lifted her hand gingerly and tried to touch the sore spot and frowned when she felt a bump the size of a goose egg. No wonder it hurt so much. But how did she get here from the field? Kaoru made a mental note to ask Kenshin when he came back later. She snuggled in deeper against the cushions and closed her eyes to rest. Her vision had started to blur and swim, and she felt tired all of a sudden.

When Kenshin came back in with a nurse, Kaoru had already drifted off to sleep.

When Kaoru came to once again, the first thing she saw was her father looking down at her with concern. He'd pulled a chair up to her bed and was holding her hand in his. "Hi daddy. Have you been here long?" she asked as she blinked, trying to get the blurriness from her eyes.

"I'm glad you're awake," Koshijiro said as he tucked the stray strands of Kaoru's hair away from her face. "I was worried when I heard what happened to you."

"Sorry I worried you," Kaoru said as she tried to sit up, but her head swam, and she feared she might get sick, so she settled back down with a groan.

"Don't strain yourself princess. How are you feeling?"

"My head hurts, and it feels like my brain is stuffed with soggy tissue paper."

Koshijiro brushed the tips of his fingertips over Kaoru's forehead, wearing a concerned frown on his face. "The doctors said you have a mild concussion. You'll be discharged tomorrow morning, but it's probably a good idea for you to take the rest of the week off from school and rest at home."

"Can't I just go home today?" Kaoru asked. "What time is it?"

"5:30 and no, you're not going home today. I'll feel better if you stay here, just in case anything goes wrong." The tone her father was using brooked no opposition, and Kaoru knew better than to argue.

"Kenshin was here earlier. Did he tell you how I got here?"

"He was the one who called me and said he was bringing you to the hospital."

Kaoru wondered how Kenshin knew what happened to her. Neither Misao nor Omasu could've told him because they'd never met him before. They most likely had no way of knowing that he and Kaoru knew each other. "Did he say how…"

"Let's worry about details tomorrow when you're more rested, alright? Don't worry about anything, okay? Your teachers were informed about what happened and that you won't be attending school for a few days."

Kaoru couldn't help a smile at that. "You're very efficient, aren't you, daddy?"

"Of course, it's what I do best. All there is to do now is call your mother and tell her what happened."

Kaoru blinked and smiled at her father. "I don't think you could sound any less enthusiastic even if you tried."

"Can you blame me? She'll flay me alive for letting this happen to you."

"No, she won't." Kaoru closed her eyes, still smiling. "But she'll be really worried, though. I've never been hospitalized and away from her before."

After the divorce, Kaoru hadn't had a chance to spend very much time with her father, traveling as she did with her mother. She had spent most of her time with Ayaname, and usually, whenever she was had some injury or minor-mishap it was Ayaname who took her to the doctor and cared for her when she was sick. Now, her mother was not here, and it felt different. Kaoru couldn't help but feel a little disoriented, and she felt bad because it was as if she was being disloyal to her father.

They sat like that in silence for a little while, each embroiled in their own thoughts.

"I'm sorry princess…" came her father's quiet voice after what seemed like an eternity.

"What for?" Kaoru asked just as softly. Her eyes remained shut, and there was a strange ache at the pit of her stomach, like an empty chasm that was expanding and making it hard for her to breath.

Koshijiro leaned down and kissed Kaoru on her forehead. "For everything."

It was several hours later when Koshijiro finally left Kaoru's hospital room for a few minutes to make some calls. His secretary had called him on his cellphone to inform him of some problem overseas that he'd have to get his troubleshooter to sort out for him since he couldn't go there himself. He felt wretched, stepping away from his daughter's room even for a few moments, but he needed to make the calls. His company employed a lot of people, and he was responsible for them too. Sometimes though, he wished that he weren't. He was lucky with his daughter, because she always understood about his responsibilities and didn't begrudge him the time he spent away from her. He closed the door and turned with a tired sigh, and was surprised to see Kenshin still seated on one of the benches laid out, holding a cup of coffee and staring into its inky depths as if lost. "You should go home. You've been here since this afternoon."

Kenshin gave a small smile. "There's nowhere I really need to be right now."

"You should get some rest. You still have school tomorrow."

"I'm fine, I can manage. How's Kaoru?"

"She's awake again." Koshijiro said, smiling at the redhead. Kenshin was a nice young man, and Hitomi was very proud of him. Koshijiro didn't miss the protective and gentle way Kenshin had with Sakura and Hitomi, and he didn't miss the fact that he was very brotherly towards Kaoru. Koshijiro could see that the redhead had adopted Kaoru as a sort of kid sister as well, and he appreciated that. "Why don't you go in and see her?"

Kenshin stood up and nodded.

"Thank you again, for taking care of my daughter," he said gratefully.

"I just brought her here, it's nothing," Kenshin answered as he bowed slightly to Koshijiro before entering Kaoru's room.

"Can you be any more puerile?"

Kaoru turned away from watching the cartoons on TV and stuck out her tongue at him.

"I see you're feeling better, huh?" he said as he walked into the room.

"A little," Kaoru replied. "They gave me another wonderful dose of painkillers so it isn't so bad."

"You know Kaoru, I didn't think you were the type to fall for a jock," Kenshin commented as he sat down beside Kaoru on the bed. "But you fell for him, hard."

Kaoru scowled at him. "Very funny."

Kenshin grinned, "Well you did."

"There's a chair you know," Kaoru said gesturing to the empty seat by her bedside that her father had left.

"I know."

She waited for him to change seats, but didn't make an issue of it when he didn't. He kind of looked…different. A smirk wasn't playing across his lips, and despite his joking banter, his eyes were shadowed. He looked serious, and for one paranoid moment, Kaoru wondered if her father had lied about the mild concussion and she'd suffered some major, irreparable brain damage. "What's wrong?"

"Aside from the fact that you're in the hospital?" he asked lightly.

Kaoru frowned as she looked up at him. "Neh, daijoubu ka?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that question?"

He's really worried about me, and he's showing it in his own weird, Kenshin fashion. Kaoru gave him a reassuring smile. "I'm fine. The painkillers are working like magic."

"Just don't get used to them. They're addictive you know."

"I know," Kaoru replied. "So, I didn't get the chance to ask you earlier. Who changed my clothes into a hospital gown?"

Kenshin glanced down at her and smiled. "Would it make you feel any better if I say I did it?"

She slanted him a look. "That would make me feel violated."

"Then the nurses did."

Kaoru made a face. "What is it with unconsciousness that makes people want to change your clothes, huh?"

"Excuse me?"

"Well you know, it's always the same thing on TV, movies, and even books. Someone's unconscious either by getting drunk, injured, or whatnot and suddenly, when said person wakes up, he or she is either naked or is wearing something different and decidedly flimsier. It's all conveniently under the guise of 'helping you get comfortable' but really, a person would be more comfortable waking up wearing clothes they fell asleep wearing in the first place, don't you think?"

Kenshin stared at Kaoru blankly for a few moments before a small, meandering smile made its way to his lips. "That football must not have rattled your brain too much since you can still mouth off pretty well."

She liked to see that smile, because it dispelled the shadows in his eyes. "That's because my brain is big; it doesn't have much room to jiggle around inside my skull like yours does."

He glanced at her for a long moment, his violet eyes searching. "You've got a concussion and a lump in your skull the size of Texas."

Kaoru blinked at the sudden change of topic and the seriousness of his tone. "Yeah well, getting hit in the head will do that to you." She waited for him to offer a sarcastic quip or a pun, but he didn't. "How did I end up here anyway?" she asked instead.

"That under-aged boyfriend of yours. What was his name? Subzero was it?"

"Soujiro!"

"That's the one."

"He's not my boyfriend."

Kenshin shrugged. "The football player who knocked you out brought you to the nurse's office and Misao followed. I met her. She's quite…energetic, isn't she?"

"Genki."

"Hn. Well, she called Soujiro and apparently, he saw me getting out of your car before and looked for me to tell me what happened to you."

"Good thing you were still on school grounds…"

"Yeah, I was just about to leave. I called your dad, of course, and he told me to bring you here to the hospital."

"That's the first time I've fainted in my life." Kaoru confessed. And God, please let no one have seen my underpants. "It's too bad I blacked out when I did. I was just about to flay the football player alive. So, who was the nice guy who got me?"

"The football player?"

Kaoru nodded. "Yeah. I didn't see his face, and I wanted so much to give him a piece of my mind."

"Are you sure you can afford to lose the brain cell?"

"I'm not like you."

Kenshin arched an eyebrow. "The football player's name is Sagara Sanosuke. Fourth year high school, he's in class 4-E. Tall, brown hair, brown eyes."

"Next thing you know, you'll be giving me his astrological sign and blood type."

Kenshin smirked. "He's the captain of the football team and the quarterback. He's got a throwing arm right off the scale. That's why you were knocked unconscious."

"Excuse me for not being in the mood to heap him with praises for his football prowess."

"Understandable, under the circumstances," Kenshin said with a grin. "Oh, by the way, your dad was threatening to sue the whole entire school for letting you get injured."

Kaoru cringed.

"He's very protective of you, isn't he? It's almost…soap operatic…"

Kaoru gave him a glare. "I don't care what you say. I adore my dad, and I appreciate his concern."

"I do, too."

Kaoru glanced at him. She'd heard the soft rumble of his voice but didn't quite make out his words. "Sorry, I didn't quite catch that?"

"I said I wasn't making fun of him," Kenshin said softly. "I think it's nice your dad cares so much. It's rare now, to see that kind of…bond…"

Kaoru thought about her cousins, about Kamatari's dad moaning about having a cross-dressing son but jokingly giving him tampons 'just in case'. "I don't think it's very rare. I believe that it's always there. It just manifests itself in different ways. Sometimes you just have to look really hard before you see."

"But you can't really see what isn't there, can you? No matter how hard you look."

It was late the next night when Kaoru found herself back in her own room at the house. Hitomi had fussed over her and asked how she was doing. Sakura was already asleep but Hitomi told Kaoru about how worried the little girl had been. Kaoru sighed and walked out of the bathroom, toweling her hair. Hospitals made her feel weird, and she was glad to able to wash the antiseptic smell from her skin. She padded over to her bed, her bare feet making little noise as they sunk into the deep carpeting. There was a mug of hot chocolate at her nightstand as well as cookies, thoughtfully provided by Hitomi. There was also a bottle of meds left there for her, along with instructions for their use. Her father had insisted she not go to school tomorrow. Her head still ached, and she felt it more acutely now since she refused to take any more painkillers. She was like her mother in that regard; she preferred herbs and teas to synthetic medicine.

Kaoru sighed and ran a comb through her hair.

Her father had come to the hospital to pick her up, but not before they ran a series of tests just to make sure she was perfectly fine. Her mother had called to talk to her, and as Kaoru had expected, Ayaname was worried, but she didn't blame Koshijiro for what happened. Ayaname had wanted to fly to Tokyo to visit Kaoru, but she insisted that she was perfectly fine and there was no need. Ayaname then informed Kaoru to expect a package to be delivered soon. "Just some things I saw and thought you'd like. Please do take better care of yourself sweetheart…"

Kaoru missed her mother very much, but her father had stayed with her the whole day, and they'd spent time together, so it was okay, even if it had become a bit awkward at one point.

"I…haven't been spending much time with you since you came here, have I?" her father had asked.

The statement startled Kaoru, and she turned to look at her father. She opened her mouth to refute his words but found that she couldn't say a single thing. It was true; they hadn't really been spending much time alone together. It wasn't a big deal, it was status quo, but it was obvious it was bothering her father.

"We haven't really talked that much. I haven't even asked you if you liked being here."

"It's okay. I like being here, dad."

"Do you, really? Or are you just saying that because you don't want me to feel hurt?"

"I don't feel ignored, if that's what's bothering you. And besides, I'll be a hypocrite if I say I don't enjoy the fruits of your labor." Kaoru was well aware that her lifestyle was different from the average person. She was privileged enough to be able to travel the world and stay in the best hotels and eat at the most expensive restaurants. She knew it was because her parents were well off, and she didn't take that for granted. It was part of the lesson her parents had instilled in her, to always be grateful for her blessings. "I know how busy your work keeps you. It's okay. I understand."

"That's just it, I don't think you should have to understand." Koshijiro said. "I've only got this one year with you before you go off to college, and I'm not making much use of it, am I?"

"These past few weeks have been the most I've seen you in a long time, daddy," Kaoru had said reassuringly. Unfortunately, her statement had only seemed to make her father sad.

It was so strange, maybe it was because of the bump in her head or something, but her perception of everything today seemed just off. Even Kenshin wasn't acting the way he was supposed to. He wasn't even at home when she got back from the hospital. Speaking of which, that little 'moment' at the hospital yesterday made Kaoru feel distinctly uncomfortable, like she did not know him at all. There were so many little things he said that didn't quite add up to what he showed the world. She wondered what it was exactly that had happened to him but knew that there was a distinct possibility that she may never know the answer. Looking back, Kaoru realized she'd tried to ask him, delve into his past a little. Not to pry, but the simple things people ask when getting to know a friend. Almost all the time, he managed to evade her questions. He did it so skillfully that Kaoru hadn't even realized it until now. "Maybe that's what Sayo was trying to tell me. Kenshin's so amicable all the time you don't realize that he's really keeping you at bay. I guess I don't really know much about him at all, do I?"

The thought was decidedly unsettling, especially since she somehow now considered Kenshin as a friend, family, a sort of semi-permanent fixture in her life. Kaoru couldn't remember exactly when that had happened, she supposed it had been a gradual thing, but there it was. She hadn't seen him at all today, and she wondered if he was avoiding her. It was just as well, she was kind of still disconcerted by the whole thing. She wondered what was going on inside that brain of his. It was scary when she thought about it. About how easy it was for him to hide his feelings behind a smile. Only now and again would another part of his personality show through and then, only briefly.

There was a small knock on her door and Kaoru walked over to open it. She was surprised to see Sakura peering up at her, wearing a worried expression that didn't suit her face at all. It seemed too adult an emotion to see on a little girl's face. "Hi…what are you doing still up?" Kaoru asked as she knelt down to be at level with the little girl. "Were you worried about me?" she asked as she reached out to stroke Sakura's curls.

Sakura nodded, her bottom lip trembling and her large, luminous eyes staring at Kaoru with a mixture of worry, fear and anxiety. Sakura's arms were fisted and trembling at her side, and Kaoru noticed it just before those tiny arms lifted and Sakura threw herself in Kaoru's arms, sobbing silently, her arms around Kaoru's neck and her face buried in Kaoru's hair.

"I-It's okay…I'm fine," Kaoru stammered, a bit startled to feel Sakura's tiny body shaking with little sobs. "It's okay sweetie…" she whispered soothingly, feeling helpless. She had no idea what to do except hug Sakura and whisper that everything was okay. This didn't feel normal at all. Kids weren't supposed to cry like this, their bodies shaking but hardly making a sound. They were supposed to wail and make noises and Kaoru didn't know what to do but just to hold on to Sakura, whose hands were clutching at her shirt as if she would never let go.

Why?

Why the fear?

Why the silence?

Kaoru liked her father's new family. Sakura, Kenshin, Hitomi, they were all very nice people who never made her feel like an outsider or an interloper. But she was only now beginning to realize that no matter how welcome Hitomi, Sakura and Kenshin made her feel…

She really didn't know them that much at all…

A/N: Hope this chapter was worth the wait. There, a step has been made to give way to more revelations. Hope you enjoyed reading, please review!

Kenshin: That last line kind of sounds like something from a Gothic Romance Novel

Scented Candles: It Does NOT!

Kenshin: Yes it does. Plus, how come you're making my family sound so creepy?

Kaoru: Yeah, I'd actually like to know myself. What's with them?

Scented Candles: (smiles benignly) Wouldn't you like to know?

Kaoru: Yes I would actually.

Scented Candles: Kenshin, I believe that's your cue…

Kenshin: I'm out of here….

Scented Candles: Don't forget to review!