"KENSHIN!!!!!!!" Kaoru screamed as she ran over in the torrential rain towards Kenshin who lie shaking in the mud. "KENSHIN! KENSHIN! KENSHIN!" Kaoru stumbled in the gritty mud falling down to the ground beside Kenshin, forgetting about her kimono. She was shaking his shoulder trying to get him to wake up. "KENHSHIN!!! KENSHIN!!!!" she cried into his soggy shirt. Sanosuke ran up behind her and looked down at the helpless rurouni, and the Kaoru that was weeping over him. "k…en…shin…" she whimpered between her sobs. Yahiko stopped short, staring, shocked, and then ran up and joined Kaoru in the mud trying to get Kenshin to wake up. Kaoru and Yahiko rolled him over on his back. His face was feverish, and he was breathing heavily. "Sanosuke…………," Kaoru said looking away from Kenshin and up at Sano, "help me lift him, we have to get him to Megumi's." Sano nodded and bent down to pick up Kenshin. …. He was heavier than had been earlier that day, and harder to carry, like a dead wet body.
They took off down the street, barely able to see where they were going in the heavy rain. Running past the Akabeko they caught a glimpse of Tae's face peering out of the door looking surprised, shocked, and questioning. They had no time to stop. It wasn't one o'clock yet so they couldn't give Kenshin the medicine. Kaoru had already thought of this. They needed Megumi, and quick. There was no time to catch Tae up.
Kaoru's breath was failing her. The events happening and the humidity from the torrential downpour were leaving her short of breath, and she was running with all her might with Sanosuke and Kenshin in front of her and Yahiko behind. There was a stitch in her left side, but she paid it no mind and kept running, and running, and running,…and running. Suddenly her lungs and her legs gave out and she sunk into the mud. Yahiko, just behind her, stopped to help her up but she shooed him away and said that she would catch up as soon as she could. He stood there for a moment, looking at Kaoru, then dashed off after Sanosuke who had slowed down a bit to see what was going on. When Yahiko caught up to Sano, he beckoned him to go hurry and leave Kaoru. Sanosuke did this and they ran off towards the clinic. Kaoru lie there, in the mud for a moment collapsed over in a ball, trying to catch her breath and calm down. She shivered and shook, crying tears that could not be distinguished from the rain.
Sanosuke and Yahiko were approaching the clinic when Kaoru finally caught up to them. She was very bedraggled looking and covered in mud. Her kimono was ruined, but she didn't care about that right now, there would be plenty of time to worry about that later. All she cared about now was Kenshin. Kenshin, to get him back to his normal self was her only concern. She'd go through hundreds of kimonos to get him well, cry hundreds of tears if only to see him smile, again. She stared up and saw the clinic so close. She knew Megumi could help. Even though she was a fox, and a sly one at that, she was still the best medical doctor she knew.
Sanosuke was the first to reach the door and he slid it away fiercely. "MEGUMI!! DR. GENSAI!!" he yelled and looked around. Yahiko was right behind him running into the clinic. He entered and stopped. It was so dark he could barely see. There were no lights lit, and there wasn't enough light from outside to light though the windows. When his eyes finally did adjust they snapped open and stared blankly inside. Kaoru finally entered and saw Sano and Yahiko staring frozen inside the dark clinic. She looked at them curiously and then stepped forward to see for herself what they were so startled by. She stepped in and gasped. The room was a complete disaster area. It was as if a tornado had charged through the room, rearranging and breaking everything.
Kaoru dashed past Yahiko and Sano, who was still holding Kenshin, and ran into the other room of the clinic. It wasn't as messy in there but it was still a wreck. As she was walking slowly through she heard a chink under her foot and she reached down and pulled up the broken base of a scalpel. Lightning flashed outside followed by a tremendous clap of thunder, and Kaoru was startled into dropping the knife. From the light produced by the lightning she caught a glimpse of piece of paper on the wall. She walked over and ripped it off. There was wording on it and she began to read.
Sanosuke set Kenshin down carefully on one of pallets on the floor and started to look around in that room. He saw many signs of a fight. There was a sword slash in one wall and some of the tables and chairs had obviously been hacked at by the same weapon. Many things just seamed to be carelessly knocked over, suggesting a struggle. He kept searching for more clues when he saw a small dark spot on a desk. He walked over to this and touched it with his fingers, pulled it up to his face and smelled it. It was blood. And right beside it was a small lock of fine black hair. Megumi's hair. Rage built up in Sanosuke he wanted to punch and destroy something, but there was nothing around that hadn't already been defiled in some way or another. That's when Kaoru dashed into the room.
"SANOSUKE!! YAHIKO!!" she yelled out helplessly, rushing over towards them. Sanosuke stepped quickly and caught Kaoru as she tripped over something on the floor, before she could fall down. She slipped out of his arms and fell gently to the floor, trying to hold back her tears and doing so poorly. She couldn't speak so she handed up a small, green piece of paper to Sanosuke to read. He took it out of her hands and read carefully. His eyes shot wide open and Yahiko pleaded him to tell him what it said.
"What does it say?"
Sanosuke, looking away from the sheet of paper, stared blankly ahead of him. "Divine justice*….. and it's addressed to, Hitokiri Battousai."
Yahiko gasped, and looked over at the heavily breathing Kenshin that lie unconscious, drenched in rain, on the pallet. The mud dripping off of his cloths gave an eerie resemblance of blood to Yahiko, and he shivered. Kaoru stood up in front of him from her spot on the floor where a small puddle of water mud was. And she walked into the other room returning with some bandages and some clean dry cloths. "Sanosuke, Yahiko. Kenshin doesn't need to be in those wet cloths. Put this on him," she said tossing him a white robe. "And here's one for you and Yahiko. I'm going to change over here so don't come this way." She said turning around and walking into the room she had come out of. Sanosuke and Yahiko nodded and went over to help Kenshin.
Kaoru slowly slipped off her wet and heavy kimono, and used a towel she found to help her dry off. After doing so she used it to dry her hair. It was gritty and muddy and felt to dirty to bear, she went over to the wall where she found several buckets of water and she rinsed her hair off. She examined the white robe before putting it on, it was thick and warm, but also loose and comfortable, then she wrapped it around her and tied it with a piece of bandage cloth she found lying around. She stepped back over to the door and knocked once to see if everyone else was dressed. Sanosuke called back and gave her an ok to enter. She slid the door back and saw Sano and Yahiko both in the white robes, not liking it at all, and looking rather silly, and Kenshin was dressed in his robe with a blanket wrapped around him. All of their cloths was hanging on a temporary rack made from various and other things. She walked in right past Sanosuke and Yahiko and went to sit by Kenshin. She felt his head and he was burning to the touch. Standing back up she went back into the other room and grabbed on of the other buckets of water and another cloth and went back to Kenshin were she started to dab his forehead with the cool water. She soaked he cloth and blew on it to cool it off and set it over his eyes and left it there.
"What time is it, Yahiko." Kaoru asked looking down at Kenshin, pulling his hair out from under the cloth. With out replying, Yahiko stood up and walked over to Kenshin's wet cloths and pulled out the small medicine bottle Megumi had given him earlier that day. He then walked over to Kaoru and handed it to her to give to Kenshin. She nodded in appreciation and unplugged the cork at the top of the bottle. She set it down, pulled the cloth away from Kenshin's eyes and lifted his head up into her lap so that he wouldn't choke on the medicine. . She parted his lips with her fingers and poured a few drops into his mouth. Subconsciously feeling the wetness in his mouth he closed his lips and swallowed, and opened his mouth again and started to breathe a little lighter. Kaoru sighed and after putting the cork back on the bottle relaxed. Her still damp hair flopped over her shoulder and brushed against Kenshin's cheek. His eyes fluttered slightly and went still again at the touch. Kaoru pulled Kenshin further up on her lap, off of the pallet on the floor, and she sat there for a while, rocking him back and forth.
Sanosuke had gotten up and found a candle to light the rainy dark room. He set it on a table in the center of the main room and sat back down beside Yahiko, who was looking sadly at Kenshin and Kaoru. Normally Sanosuke would have said some sort of remark here, but he decided to be quiet and let Kaoru have this moment with Kenshin. He stood back up tapping Yahiko on arm suggesting he do the same and the two of them went outside to sit under the roof and look at the rain, leaving Kaoru and Kenshin inside together.
She noticed that they had left, but she wouldn't have cared even if they had stayed. She bent over to shelter Kenshin with her warmth in a gentle hug, his face resting just below her shoulder, and her face resting on his head. She stroked his long wet hair and silently cried into it adding to the wetness. Her hair slid off of her shoulder and landed on top of Kenshin's. She bit her lower lip, and trembled with tears, whishing he would just wake up, wishing. She could feel him breathing and could feel his heart beating so she knew that he was still alive. But he wasn't really there, and she wanted him to be there so she could really comfort him, not just give him an empty hug, but really comfort him. Not just his body but his soul. Yet she wasn't sure who she was trying to comfort more, Kenshin, or herself. She was scared. Things had happened before that had frightened her but now that Kenshin was sick, she didn't know what to do. So all she could do was weep and beg him quietly to come back to her.
Shortly after her prayer was answered, and Kenshin's eyes slowly opened. He felt Kaoru wrapped around him and he blinked slowly and smiled. He moved his head so that he was looking up at her face. Her eyes were looking back at him, soft and tear filled. He reached his hand weakly up and wiped a tear off of her cheek. She smiled and looking down at him… his face was still flushed with fever, but he wasn't afraid, not like her…..
…To be Continued…
*~~~~~For those of you who don't know, divine justice was a concept held the Ishinshishi (Imperialists) that they were caring out the will of the gods. Whenever Kenshin as the Hitokiri assassinated anyone a note with the characters for divine justice was left on the victim.