His eyes slid open sluggishly. He blinked slowly, focusing on the ceiling above his head. All was quiet around him, a dead silence that pressed down against him. He studied the white washed ceiling for a moment before he slowly turned away, taking in the small empty room around him.

He was in a hospital.

A bird song pulled Kenshin's attention to the window, a small bird sat in the cherry tree just outside. It sang out again, flapping its wings as it fluttered around the nest it was building.

Tears entered his eyes as memory came flooding back.

Kaoru was…

He blocked his thoughts out, taking a deep breath, feeling the tight bandages against his chest and right hand. He lay there with his eyes shut for a long time, not daring to open them. He tried desperately to calm himself down. He was lying in an unfamiliar bed, the only sound was the twittering from the bird outside.

He slowly opened his deep lavender orbs, watching as the bird hopped along a branch. It sang out again as its mate appeared beside it, a twig clasped with in its beak. Kenshin immediately looked away, staring intently at the empty room.

This is how it had been the last time. No one was there when he woke up. Why did he expect this time to be any different? He asked himself bitterly.

Sano and Megumi- his only friends left. He shuddered, shaking his head slightly. No, they weren't his friends anymore. They knew he was Battosai now, Sano would hate him for it and Megumi would be scared, clinging to Sano for protection. Her eyes would be full of fear, just like Kaoru's- another wave of grief washed over him.

He couldn't hold back the tears. He rolled over, burying his face into the pillow. The muffled sound of his sobs filling the room. He could feel an ache from his chest on his left side. He wasn't sure if it was the wound or his heart.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hiko sighed as he closed the door of Kenshin's room. It was a beautiful summer day but the man hardly noticed it. The two birds sang happily outside the window just like always.

As for Kenshin, Hiko turned to look at the teen. He stopped dead, shock appearing on his face. Kenshin had shifted positions.

The redhead was breathing slowly, his face buried in the pillow. Hope rose in Hiko's chest.

"Kenshin?" he asked hesitantly, fearful that the teen wouldn't respond. Hiko took a tentative half step towards the bed.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Kenshin rolled onto his back, struggling slightly as he sat up.

There was a long pause, where neither spoke. Kenshin absently fiddled with his blanket, not daring to meet the man's gaze.

Hiko let his breath out, not realizing till then that he had been holding it. He didn't care that the redhead wouldn't meet him eye to eye. Kenshin was awake again and at that moment that was all Hiko cared about.

He came forward, pulling Kenshin into a gentle hug, being careful not to aggravate the teen's wounds.

"Thank goodness, what were you thinking you idiot," the words had been spoken gently, relief clear in Hiko's voice.

Kenshin felt tense in the man's arms. Hiko pulled away after a moment, gazing at the redhead. Kenshin averted his eyes immediately.

"You feel alright?" Kenshin merely nodded. The man sighed, "you're not going to talk to me, are you."

The redhead didn't give any response to that.

"We… didn't really leave off on a good note," Hiko began slowly. These types of talks were never his strong suit. "You take too many risks Kenshin. You almost got yourself killed back there. If Megumi hadn't been there then…"

That got a reaction. Kenshin's hands immediately tightened into fists, his face hidden behind its shield of fiery bangs.

Hiko decided to change tactics. "You've been in a coma for a while now. You missed the end of school. You're lucky Kenshin, really lucky."

He paused, glancing out the window at the birds. "We were all worried about you, even Sano."

Kenshin rolled over in the bed, placing the pillow over his head. Hiko sighed, the redhead clearly didn't want to hear anymore. Sometimes the teen acted so much like a child.

"I'm going to tell the doctor that you're awake." Hiko didn't believe Kenshin had heard that. The raven-haired man sighed as he quietly left the room, slowly closing the door behind him.

Kenshin slowly pushed himself up, sitting on the bed. He gazed out at the birds for a moment, before letting his eyes fall to his hands, his right bandaged around the knuckles. They sat limply on his lap, unmoving as he stared at them intently.

He twitched a finger on his left hand, watching it slide forwards before it fell still back into place. He watched it for a moment more before curling the hand into a tight fist. He saw the knuckles turn white, muscles being forced to constricte. He forced it tighter and tighter, allowing the nails dig into his palm.

Then, he released it, letting the fingers fall once again back into place. His hand ached, his palm stinging where the nails had dug into his flesh. He twitched his small finger, feeling the strain of what he had done.

He closed his eyes, shutting out the world. He took a deep breath before he opened them again. He pushed the blankets away, sliding out of the bed. He studied his attire, a shirt and pants of the wonderful hospital blue colour.

He passed by the window, not even glancing at the birds as he approached the door. He pulled it open, surveying the hall for anyone before quickly hurrying out.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

She hurried along the stone path, breathing hard. She was behind the hospital, within the small walking paths and gardens they kept for the patients staying there. She felt the tiniest flicker of pain in her chest, she took a deep breath, ignoring it as she dashed along.

She had to see him, Hiko had told her and she just had this feeling he'd be there. She raced along the path, passing under the group of cherry trees that hung together. She stopped once she reached the inner court that the trees kept hidden from sight.

It was a small clearing, a group of cherry trees lining the sides. The stone path widened out, circling a calm pond of glass water.

There he was, kneeling by the water on the far side. He hadn't even noticed her yet, staring so intently at his reflection. A barrier of fire-red hair hid his face from her, his clear lavender eyes only visible from the surface of the water.

"Kenshin," she called, coming forwards.

His head immediately shot up, eyes going wide. Kaoru smiled at him, a look of utter disbelief on his face. He backed a few steps away, shaking his head slowly. She felt a pang of hurt from that but she wouldn't let it show.

"Hiko told me you'd woken up. He's been by your side almost every day."

She tried to take a step towards him but he retreated to the far side of the pond, letting it sit between them. She sighed, slowly moving to a wooden bench that sat on the edge of the patio. She made sure not to make any sudden moves, he was watching her like a hawk from behind his wild crimson hair that hung loosely around him.

"We're lucky… to have gotten away with our lives." She watched him intently from where she sat.

A breeze picked up, pulling his bangs away, neither spoke as their eyes meet for that brief moment. Her breath caught as she stared into his lavender orbs. They were so child like, not a trace of the empty gaze that had always been there before.

But what she saw now chilled her to the bone. They were filled with an overwhelming pain, which hurt her so much to see. There were so many other emotions swirling in his eyes as well, many she couldn't put names to. He looked… lost. What had she meant by that? But before she could puzzle the thought out, he slipped his gaze from hers, looking away.

"Kenshin…" He didn't respond to her atall. She took a deep breath, trying to keep her voice even. They'd hurt each other enough already.

"I'm sorry," she laughed nervously then. After everything that had happened, after all they'd been through, those were the only words that would come to her. When he'd told her the truth, that he was Battosai, this must have been how he'd felt when she looked away from him, no longer able to hold his gaze.

"I… I acted like a jerk… when you told me," she whispered. Why was she stuttering so badly? She wasn't scared of him anymore… was she? "It's just… I-I didn't know what to say. I was shocked. It's a poor excuse, I know. It's the truth though. I've never heard of you before Sano told us what Battosai was like. You're not like that at all, Kenshin. When… you left me, sitting there… I could have stopped you. Maybe that's why… the reason why I went after you, because… because…" she didn't know what else to say. "I… couldn't leave things the way they were." That had been it but not the way she had wanted to express it. "I don't care that you were Battosai-"

"Shut up!"

She started, looking up at Kenshin. He'd tensed up, hands clenched at his side. He was trembling as he spoke. "How can you say that? How the hell can you say that!"

"Kenshin…" she rose to her feet, taking a step towards him. He didn't move but his violet eyes rounded on her, a fierce look that ordered her to stay away. "I don't-" her voice froze in her throat, unable to escape. She couldn't move. She couldn't escape his blazing eyes that glared at her with the purest rage. Her heart was banging against her chest, her fear rising with it.

"You don't what?" he snapped, frustration building. "You don't care about my past? Is that it? You think that you can just say that I'm not Battosai and everything will be alright? This one is both, Kenshin and Battosai."

Kaoru opened and closed her mouth several times, struggling to speak. His gaze never left her. She couldn't breathe. Tears began to fill her eyes. She swallowed hard, trying to find her voice. "I-I told you, I don't care about your past."

"What the hell do you know? You don't know what this one is like, what this one can do. You don't know anything! I wanted to kill Shishio, with every fiber of my being." A cold look entered his eyes, it sent a shiver down her spine. "You don't… understand anything." His voice grew quiet as he stared down at the waters of the pond. It was a long while before he spoke. "This one slipped so easily back into acting as I use to," his voice was still quiet but with a deadly edge to it. "I didn't lie when I said to you what would happen. I'm neither here nor there, and this one, the one that spoke to you on that night, doesn't exist anymore."

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Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday dear Alatus, happy birthday to meeeeeeeeeeeee! (puts on a party hat, throws confetti) Could never hit that last note properly.

Since it's my birthday I thought I'd let you guys join in with the celebration and have another wonderful enjoyable chapter to read.

Anyway birthday celebrations aside I have an important question for you guys. There's something like 5ish chapters left, (starts to cry) I'm on the final stretch. My question is, who would be interested in reading a sequel to this story, if I wrote one? Please drop me a message if you're interested between now and the last chapter. On the last chapter I'll decide if I write a sequel.

Big thanks to my wonderful reviewers!

Summer Star: You're just going to have to wait and see. D

MikaylaMae: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I worked very hard on it. I was thinking of leaving it hanging for another chapter if Kenshin lived or not, but I thought this would be better.

Reignashii: Sort of a cliffhanger on this one. I swear I'm just writing them to be annoying now.

Anonymous but very interested: (got the user name right this time -grins-) I'm glad you appreciated that cliffhanger I put a lot of work into that one. As for Tomoe that will be explained… sort of… I think… well just reading and all will be explained! (laughs nervously)

Well till next time my wonderful fans! (Starts munching on a piece of chocolate birthday cake) yummy!