Shocking, is it not? See the difference in Shinsei and Baka? (ha ha, I'm just kidding baka...we love you) Anywho, this is Shinsei here, with the next part! yee-haw! (sorry, inner texan coming out there...) I was suddenly really motivated to write, so I just finished this chapter! The next chapter should come out...hmm, sometime...no clue. It's baka, she's lazy...what more can I say? ha ha ha...enjoy the chapter!

Till Death Do Us Part

Chapter 14 (by shinsei)

Katana drew in a shaky breath as she creaked open the rotten wood door. The aged door resisted, as if not wanting to open, not wanting her to return after eight long years. But Katana shoved it open anyway and stepped inside the abandoned building. Instantly, she was blasted with a wave of stale, moldy air and a whirlwind of memories flooded through her mind. The very force of the memory wave made her knees buckle and eyes water.

She was home.

"SOJIROOOOO!"

The screaming blur whizzed passed Okina and tackled the travel worn Sojiro to the ground.

"Uh…nice to see you too Misao-san," Sojiro smiled up at the girl and she whole-heartedly returned it. She then bounced back to her feet and helped him up as well. Over the girl's shoulder, Sojiro cringed slightly at the death glare he was receiving from Aoshi.

"Soooooo….whatcha doing here Sojiro-kun?" Misao asked, ushering him inside the Aoi-ya.

"Well it's a long story…I'm here in Kyoto with Kenshin and Sano looking for someone…and I thought the Oniwabanshu could help…"

"Who?" Okina asked, calmly offering Sojiro a cup of tea.

"Her name's Katana--"

"KATANA!" Sojiro was nearly knocked back to the ground as the entire Oniwabanshu (minus Aoshi) suddenly jumped at him, bombarding him with questions about Katana.

"I'm guessing you know Katana-san…?" Sojiro managed to say.

"Know her! Of course we know her! She just left less than an hour ago!" Misao exclaimed.

"Really?" Sojiro inquired eagerly. "Where is she now? Do you know where she's headed?"

Misao's eyebrows shot up. "Why do you wanna see her so bad?"

Sojiro, not catching on, shrugged off the question, "Long story. Look, it's really important that I find her as soon as possible…" He trailed off, noticing the sly looks passing between Misao and the other Oniwabanshu.

"Oh, we understand," Omasu giggled, winking at him. Sojiro stared back at the shinobu, completely lost.

"She went north." The entire room jumped at the sound of Aoshi's voice. Sojiro swung his gaze to meet Aoshi's. "She left earlier today and headed north of here, toward Kanson."

Sojiro immediately stiffened, his breath caught in his throat. She went back there…to the place where her family was slaughtered?

A loud thumping noise brought Katana out of her daze. This house…this entire village…has been abandoned for eight years! Who could possibly be…

Katana strode across the room toward the sound, and kicked the door down. The small group of men inside jumped and turned to stare at her, dropping the few valuables they had found and were stuffing into bags.

How dare they! She thought, her blood boiling, how dare they come here – to my home and defile it! Katana opened her mouth to give the thugs a piece of her mind, but was cut off from a voice behind her.

"Well, well…what have we here?"

Katana whirled around, her hand flying to her sword, but was knocked to the ground before she had a chance to pull it out. Groaning and clutching her throbbing stomach where she'd been kicked, Katana eased her eyes open to find a tall blonde man glaring down at her. Without another word, he kicked her again and again, over and over on the stomach. After a few moments, he stopped and watched as she coughed up a fair amount of blood on the floor before him. Smirking, the man crouched down and stared her straight in the eyes.

"It's called karma, bitch," the blonde man from the train hissed. He stood again and pulled a kunai knife out from his pocket. " 'What goes around, comes around.' Now its time to get what's coming to you, you little bitch! Payback from the train!"

Katana squeezed her eyes shut and braced her self for the attack…. but it never came.

"I believe Katana-san has been through enough hell to make up for any little grudge you may hold against her."

Katana's eyes flew open in disbelief at the voice that echoed in her ears. Sojiro stood a few feet away from her, his sword blade pressing against the blonde man's neck. Noticing her staring at him, Sojiro offered her a reassuring smile.

The rest happened in a blur. The other men freaked out at the defeat of their leader and fled. The blonde man collapsed and somehow managed to scramble out of the room, leaving Katana in a daze, not really sure what had just happened. All she was sure of was the man she wanted so desperately to kill was now cradling her head in his lap as he examined her injuries.

"W…Why?" Katana managed to choke out with the last of her strength, blacking out before she could hear his answer.

"Because….I don't want you to die."

"Does she get off on pain or something?"

Katana blinked her eyes open at the sound of Misao's familiar voice.

"Finally decide to join the living again?" Misao smirked down at Katana as her wounded friend slowly rose to a sitting position.

"How are you feeling?" Katana jumped and turned to find Sojiro looking at her with concern in his eyes.

"F-fine," she stammered, suddenly finding herself embarrassed.

Misao looked at Katana, then Sojiro and back again, a devious grin forming on her face. "Well make yourselves comfy, cuz you're both sleeping in here for the night."

Sojiro and Katana nodded…then caught themselves, the full meaning of Misao's words sinking in. "WHAT!" They both cried in unison.

Misao looked back at the flustered pair innocently. "Well the other rooms here are all full of guests so…seeing as you two both aren't paying…you'll sleep where I put you!"

Sojiro and Katana kept their mouths shut, knowing full well it was useless to argue.

"Here are the futons," Misao said, digging though the nearby closet and tossing out two bundles, which nearly hit Katana as they sailed across the room. "Well, good night then!" She said cheerful, making her way to the door.

"What!" Katana exclaimed, "Why so soon!" Please don't go. Please don't leave me alone with him. Please please please please please!

Misao slid the door open and stepped out in the hallway. Turning slightly, she offered the two a wink. "You know what they say! Three's a crowd…especially in a bedroom." The door slid shut, leaving the two alone, Misao's words causing third degree burns on both their cheeks.

Katana quickly got a hold of her self and she whipped out her sword and drew a line across the floor. Sojiro watched her, his confusion showing plainly on his face.

"Cross this line tonight and die," Katana explained simply. "Understand?" Sojiro gulped at the look of seriousness in her face and quickly nodded. As Katana unrolled one of the futons and curled up in it, Sojiro noticed his futon was also over there. On the other side of the line.

"Uh…Katana-san?" Sojiro started quietly. "Uh…my futon is on your side of the line…can I get it? Or can you hand it to me?" Katana merely rolled over facing the wall and ignored him.

Sojiro sighed. The cold floor it was.

Ok…she must be asleep by now! Sojiro thought, staring at Katana from across the room. For four hours he had sat and waited for the girl to fall asleep so he could cross the line to retrieve his bed. Quietly, Sojiro crawled across the floor and stopped right before he reached the line.

Oh please! He mentally kicked himself. As if she'd know if I crossed the line while she slept! With newfound confidence, Sojiro reached across the line, over Katana's sleeping form, his fingertips brushing the top of the bundled futon.

Suddenly, Katana flipped around on her bed, her sword inched away from Sojiro's face. Sojiro jumped back in surprise, bracing himself for Katana's unleashed fury. After a few tense moments, Sojiro slowly let out his breath and inched back toward Katana, only to find her still sleeping.

Sojiro let out a sigh of relief. He then quickly snatched his futon and scrambled as far away from Katana as possible. Curling up in the warm bed, Sojiro sank into an uneasy sleep. What a freaky chick…

A little past midnight, a cry of pain snapped Sojiro out of his slumber. He jumped up in his futon and blinked several times, his eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness around him. Another whimper from across the small bedroom told him the source. Taking a deep breath, Sojiro slowly crawled across the cold wooden floor to where Katana was fitfully sleeping.

He gazed at Katana, wondering if he dared cross the line a second time that night. Surely, she'd kill him this time. Katana whimpered again, this time louder. Is she faking? Is she testing me to see if I'd actually cross the line? Katana's soft whimpers turned into aching groans as she restlessly tossed about in her sleep. I can't take that chance, he decided, and bravely crossed the line, taking yet another chance with death that night.

She soaking with sweat, Sojiro thought, gazing down at her unconscious form. Feeling her forehead, he realized she was burning up with a high fever. Acting quickly, he stripped off her blankets and loosened her clothes to allow her to cool down. As he loosed her shirt, he noticed it was soaking wet with blood. Oh crap… he thought, panic rising in him. Without a second thought, he yanked her shirt down the rest of the way and examined her bloodied, bandaged stomach.

He jumped up to the nearby closet and managed to find a few rolls of bandages. Carefully, Sojiro peeled off the dirty bandages and wiped up as much of the blood as he could before gently wrapping the fresh bandages around the wound. Then he pulled her shirt back up a bit, but kept it loose enough so she could cool down. It seemed to work for a moment as Katana's whimpers ceases, but a second later she was shivering and shaking violently with cold.

Desperately, Sojiro tightened her clothes around her again and jumped to his feet, hurried across the room back to the closet and took out all the blankets he could find. Then he covered the extra blankets on her freezing form. Despite all his efforts, Katana seemed to be immune to warmth of the extra blankets. Without thinking, Sojiro threw back the blankets and climbed into the futon next to Katana, pulling her closely against him.

Gradually, Sojiro felt Katana's shaking slow and her body seem to warm up next to his. Sighing, he began to pull away, but Katana's arms locked around him, keeping him close to her. Instantly Sojiro felt his face heat up as Katana snuggled closer to him, mumbling incomprehensibly in her sleep.

After a few more moments of struggling, Sojiro finally gave up trying to resist against Katana's death grip around his waist. He settled back down on the futon, deep in thought.

Sojiro's mind whirled with thoughts. Deep in thought, he didn't realize he was absently stroking Katana's hair. Then he caught himself and felt like bashing his head through a wall.

What was I doing! It's bad enough that I'm in the same bed as her! Even if I was trying to help her, she'd never believe that…if she were to wake up now…Nervously, he glanced down at Katana's silent form beside him. Oh god... please don't wake up…please don't wake up…

Katana yawned and stretched her arms, the early morning sun pouring into the room and bathing her in its warm rays. She began to get out of bed when she noticed a crumbled letter beside her. Curious, she opened it and read. Sighing, she laid it back down and jumped out of bed. So Sojiro wants to get going back to the Kamiya dojo today…I guess I can't argue with that…

Katana took a deep breath as she began to get dressed. And I guess I should thank him…

You like?...or no... anywho! At the very end, Katana is refering back to when Sou-chan saved her from the thugs at her house...she doesnt know that he took care of her the night before when she had a fever. Just thought I'd clear that up...hmm, nothing else I guess! Hope you liked it! Please review and tell me (us) what you think! Thanks! Oh-- and thanks to all you awesome peeps who reviewed last chappie!

Ok, one more thing! Big thanks and many hugs to the peeps who added this story to their favs! WE LOVE YOU!