A/n Woot! Another chapter, and it didn't take forever to update. Thanks for all your reviews. They were great motivation and many were so funny I just sat and laughed. You guys always make my day. :) Okay, so I'm not going to bog you down with a long authors note, so on to the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own RK or POTO

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Chapter 20

Kaoru didn't know what she was thinking when she said she was going to try and find Kenshin. She must have gone temporarily insane. Kaoru hadn't been wandering for long, but it seemed like hours. In and out of tunnels and around a maze of large boulders. Her eyes had grown use to the darkness so she stopped running into the walls and such, but she was still very, very lost.

"Baka.. You're a baka Kaoru." She spoke to herself to keep herself calm as she kept looking for the water. She was getting closer to it, but it seemed every turn would take her a little further away from the water, then closer again, and then away. "Kenshin is going to kill me." She whimpered as she turned down yet another tunnel. Kenshin wasn't really going to kill her. He was just going to be very mad at her.. very mad. But she was this far and she wasn't all too sure that she was going to be able to find her way back like she thought she would. There were just too many twists and turns, she had lost track of it all. Kaoru was sure that she was going in circles a few times.

Panic had slowly been setting in, and by now Kaoru was about to snap. Her breathing became quick and shallow. Adrenalin pumped in her system, making her heart race. Finally she couldn't take it any more, and against her better judgment, she bolted. Even though Kaoru knew she was alone, it felt as if some unseen danger was chasing after her. Her bokken came loose from its tie and fell. It clattered on the cave floor. Kaoru didn't even notice that it was gone. She just kept running.

Left, right..right.. left again… straight. She made her way though many tunnels. Suddenly the tunnels opened up to a larger cave, and smack in the middle of the cave was what she had been looking for.

"Water!" Kaoru cried in weak relief. She came to a stop at the foot of the small but swift moving stream. Overhead was another thing that made her body weak with relief. A single glowing white paper lantern hung over head. It seemed to be floating there in mid air, but Kaoru knew it was just another one of Kenshins' illusions. The lantern light was the most welcoming thing Kaoru felt she had ever seen. She looked straight up at it and smiled.

… . .

Kenshin was a blur of speed by the time he got back to the dojo. It was still early afternoon so he had to be careful not to be seen by people milling about the place. Yet he didn't even slow down as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop and landed just outside the Dojo wall. He paused here, taking only enough time to catch his breath and calm himself down.

'Kaoru is going to be fine. She's a smart girl.' The red-head turned and slipped into the drainage tunnel that he had been caring for all these years. In a blur of motion Kenshin was on the other side of the bars. If someone had seen him, they wouldn't be able to explain how he managed to get past the bars.

'She won't be fine once you find her.'

'I'm not going to harm the child' Kenshin turned and darted through to drain and from there was able to slip into his underground labyrinth.

'She's not a child… and you know that. The feeling you have for her is not what you would feel for a child.'

'It matters not 'Kenshin paused in the dark cave, trying to get his bearing back and to let his eyes adjust to the darkness. The stupid voice in his head just would not shut up and it was grinding on Kenshins' last nerve. The blood thirsty monster in him was starting to return after being tucked away these past few days. Kenshin had hopped he had rid himself of it. But no...here it was.

"Kaoru!" He called; his voice was full of warning, deep with worry and anger. It echoed back at him, mocking the silence that followed. When the echo died down Kenshin stalked deeper into the cave. He didn't run, he needed time to cool off before he found the girl. But he did hurry, for he didn't want to risk Kaoru getting hurt.

… . .

Kaoru back tracked for the second time. The first branch off the cave lead to a dead end. A very dead end. Bones where everywhere, they were far too old for Kaoru to tell what kind of animals they came from… or if they where in fact Human. Kaoru shivered at the thought. Was there a trap there? The bones did look pretty crushed. Kaoru didn't go anywhere near them, just to be safe. The second branch off the cave took her to a lovely waterfall fed pool that also emptied out into the stream in the center cave. There was only one way in and out of that little cave, the way Kaoru came, so she had to turn around.

"Just a processes of elimination." Kaoru said to herself as she hiked over to another tunnel branching off from the cave. The water vanished to some underground river but Kaoru didn't worry; as she walked away from the sound of the water, she came closer to another sound of running water. She was nearly running when she turned the corner and spotted an opening with soft lantern light glowing within it. With a smile, Kaoru heaved a sigh of relief and darted over to the opening. There inside was Kenshins home. There were only two lanterns lit. Kenshin must not be home.

Kaoru felt her heart sink. She went through all that and he wasn't there. "Kenshin?" she called into the cave. She didn't get an answer. Kaoru looked over her shoulder. There was no way she was going to go back. Kaoru was going to be smart and stay there. Kenshin had to come back sometime. She started down the stone steps that led down to the lair. Without the many torches and lantern to light the area up, the pool of water that sat between her and Kenshins' home looked almost black. Kaoru could hardly make out the faint glimmer of gold just under the water.

Kaoru approached the water and was just about to hop onto the stepping stones when a memory returned to her.

"Stay off the stepping stones…and stay away from the other side of the pool."

Kenshins' voice echoed in her mind. She remembered the warning he had given her. Well, she was already on the other side of the pool. Nothing had happened to her….yet. Nervously, Kaoru looked around her. Nothing seemed different. Over head the cave was so high that most of it vanished in shadow. No amount of light would be able to reach the very top of the cave. Anything could be up there. Kaoru wondered if a wrong step would send something large careening down to crush her. Suddenly moving didn't seem like such a good idea.

But she was going to have to move at some point. She couldn't stand there for who knows how long till Kenshin returned. Kaoru closed her eyes and took a deep breath. If she could make it to the water all would be fine. She wasn't even going to try the stepping stones; she was just going to swim to the other side. Kaoru opened her eyes and ran, trying to keep to what looked to be a path that Kenshin used. When the pool was close enough Kaoru jumped and sailed through the air and landed in the deep inky water with a splash.

… . .

Kenshin found Kaorus' bokken and scooped it up without even slowing down. He could feel the girls' ki. She was near, and thankfully, she was alive. But he wasn't going to relax until he found her. She could still be very hurt. With bokken in hand, Kenshin stalked onwards, yellow eyes glowing and his lips pressed into a thin line. His sword bounced on his hip with his every step, each bounce added to the anger he was feeling. How dare this girl do this to him.

Look at what she turned him into. His whole world had turned upside down because of her. She made him weak. He had been caught with his defenses down far too much. That was unacceptable. He had killed grown men for far less than what she had done to him. Her twice damned beautiful blue eyes always seem to burn into his very soul. She was a siren leading his to demise.

'She must be taught a lesson.'

'I won't harm her.'

'You are getting too soft. What happened to that Battousai spirit?'

'I'm not Battousai anymore.'

'Pitty, At least Battousai got respect.'

Kenshin was nearly growling when he reached to steps of his cave and saw Kaoru. All his anger vanished and was replaced by joy and relief to find her alive and well. Then, once the relief was over, all the anger came rushing back. His eyes burned to an almost orange color.

Kenshin lost his temper.

… . .

"Kamiya Kaoru!"

Kaoru jolted out of her daydream and turned on her heal. There, standing in the center of the stepping stones was Kenshin. And he looked mad….very….very mad.

Kaoru was perfectly fine. After landing in the pool she swam to the other side and crawled out. Her wet clothes dragged her down, but she just sat there and waited for most of the water to run and drip off the clothes. She then removed her gi, and set it up to dry. She stood there in nothing but wet hakama pants and wet chest bindings that stretched from her belly to just under her arms.

"Kenshin!" Kaoru was ever happy to see him, but the look on his face kept her nailed to the floor. His eyes were glowing bright golden amber as he crossed the stones and slowly walked up to the wood platform of the cave dojo. With a flick of his wrist, he sent Kaorus' bokken flying at her. Kaoru caught it with ease, and was surprised that she hadn't noticed it was missing from her hip. She looked up to thank Kenshin, but the words died in her throat. Kenshin removed one arm from the sleeve of his gi and then another. He then yanked the gi from his pants and tossed it away.

"K-Kenshin?" Kaoru took a few steps back. Kenshin followed, stepping forward. He shoved his hair away from his face. It was the first time Kaoru had ever seen him full on, with nothing over his face. Kaoru suddenly realized what Kenshin intended to do. He was going to fight her. The only way Kenshin knew to express his anger. Kaoru turned and tossed her bokken to the side of the cave and rushed to the edge of the dojo mats and retrieve a much stronger bokuto. Kenshin waited till she returned before attacking.

Kaoru knew she was no match for Kenshin But she surprised herself by holding her own for much longer than she thought. But then Kenshin sped up. Now he was a blur, and Kaoru knew she was in trouble. Kenshin darted behind her and caught her just across her lower back with the dull side of his sword. He had expected her to fall to her knees like most do, but Kaoru was able to keep on her feet long enough to turn on her heal and slam the point of her wooden sword in Kenshins side.

… . .

Kenshin didn't expect Kaoru to keep on her feet. So when she turned and knocked the air out of him, well… he was surprised. So surprised in fact that he doubled over from the force. He recovered fast though and wrapped his arm around Kaorus' waist as she finally started to fall from the pain of his attack. As upset as he was, he couldn't bring himself to watch her fall to the ground. But, he was still upset. He used his thumb to press against her wrist, hitting a pressure point that made her drop the Bokuto. He then turned her around to face him.

"Kaoru." He snarled as he gripped her by the arm and shook her violently. "What the Hell were you thinking? Do you have any idea how much danger you put yourself in? I can not believe that you made it here unharmed." The red-head ignored the scared look in eyes as he dragged her over to the wall of mirrors and slammed her back against them. She yelped as Kenshin pinned her against the wall. "You are so very close to pissing me off Kaoru Kamiya!" He shook her again, still ignoring the surprised and scared look on her face.

"I'm tired of this Kaoru!"

"Of what Kenshin?" Kaoru whimpered.

"Sensei!.. I'm your teacher. I didn't have any problems when I was your teacher." He shook her. "Call me Sensei!" He snapped

…. . .

"Kenshin!" What in the world was the matter with him? Kaoru had never known Kenshin to be this mad. "I'm sorry." Kaoru tried to pull away but his grip held fast. His eyes burned deadly golden amber and held a crazed look about them. It scared Kaoru to death, but she wasn't going to give up on Kenshin. "I said I'm sorry! I wanted to talk to you." She swallowed hard and fought back tears. "I needed you." She choked out, turning her head to hide the tears that escaped. Kenshin growled slightly and backed away but didn't let up on his grip.

"You sorely tempt me, girl." Kenshin grunted though clenched teeth. He lowered his head, but he didn't have his curtain of hair to hide behind. "You do it on purpose."

'Nani!' "Are you saying that I'm turning your world on purpose!" Kaoru shrieked. Now Kaoru was never one to lose her temper but she had never been more insulted. Here she was trying to help this man fight his inner demons, to let him know she loved him and here he was insinuating that she was making his life hard for kicks! "Kenshin Himura you ungrateful, greedy, foul tempered man! I'm trying to help you, what the Hell?"

Kaoru snapped her mouth shut. What the heck was she doing? Kenshin finally let her go, balled his hand in a fist and swung. Kaoru knew she couldn't duck in time so she just closed her eyes and braced herself. But the hit never came. There was a sickening sound of shattering glass. Kaoru snapped open her eyes and looked over just inches from her face. Kenshin had punched the mirror, cracking it from the force. He shook the glass from his hand and grabbed Kaoru by the chin and turned her head to face him. Kenshin pulled her close till his face was just a hairs' breath away from Kaorus'.

"I told you Kaoru… I would rather harm myself than harm you. But you try my patience, and my temper." Kenshins' voice, though dripping with anger and so deep it rumbled in Kaorus' chest, caused her to shiver. Heat washed over Kaoru. She knew she should be afraid, or even mad, but she wasn't. And for some twisted reason, she wanted to push the demon further. Kenshin would never harm her. Not the way he feared.

"Then why are you standing there half dressed sweating all over me? Let me go." Kaoru dared, setting her jaw stubbornly as she tried to wiggle away from between Kenshin and the broken mirror. Kenshin growled and let go of Kaoru but then grabbed the front of her bindings and jerked her away from the mirror. He pulled her to the center of the dojo area and shook her by her bindings.

"Kaoru! Don't push me." He warned yet again, sharp teeth flashed and his burning eyes had Kaoru struggling for breath.

"Or what'll happen Kenshin?" She wrapped her small hand around Kenshins' wrist and tried to make him let go of her bindings. If the man pulled any harder, he was going to rip them right off. And as confident as Kaoru was feeling right then, she knew it wouldn't last if she was half naked. Kenshin yanked her close and grabbed her hair by the ponytail and held her head in place as he leaned down closer to her face.

"I won't be accountable for my actions." His hissed.

Kaoru paused a moment. 'It's now or never Kaoru, you got to show him how you feel.' Kaoru quickly caught Kenshin in a kiss. The man tensed up even more, if that was even possible. He growled loudly in his throat and Kaoru paused. Perhaps it was a bad idea to push him so. She tried to pull away but Kenshin dropped his sword on the ground and wrapped his arm around her and held her too him in a crushing embrace.

He returned the kiss. Kenshin was rough, and harsh, nearly bending her back from the force of his kisses. Kaoru struggled for air but he was ruthless, taking all that he wanted from her lips. There was the sound of renting fabric and her bindings fell lose. 'Oh kami, what did I unleash?' Kaoru stopped her weak struggling; it was no use against him. Then and only then did Kenshin break the kiss.

"Ken-shin!" Kaoru protested as the red-headed demon lifted her off the ground.

a/n .:sits in silence for a moment:. So… you wanna know what happens? Review!

Reviews are loved.