Disclaimers: Rurouni Kenshin was created by Nobuhiro Watsuki. I don't own anything.

Author's Note: It's been over a year and to be honest I didn't expect to come back to this story or any other for that matter. I decided to rewrite this story because, frankly, I was very displeased with a lot of aspects of it. Also the first chapters were terribly written. I hope to make it better now… For those who read it before, it will have some changes, but the plot hasn't changed.

Important note: I wrote this fic under another penname - Saby-chan - long time ago, but the fic is still mine. lol Just in case... :)

Especial thanks to CrismHeart for beta reading this chapter for me :glomps Chris-chan:

Status of this chapter: revised - 01/2005

When it Rains

Prologue

Kaoru woke up from her nightmare, panting hard with sweat all over her face. Sitting, she made an effort to even her breath and to put herself together. However, the images from her dream, too clear and real, kept flashing before her eyes, blurring her vision.

She wished in vain that it had been only a bad dream. Just an ordinary bad dream anyone could have had. However, she knew that reality was not that kind. It could never have been a dream when those images were part of a memory she tried to forget. Conjuring all of her will, Kaoru had successfully buried all those unpleasant memories very deep in her mind for a while by replacing them with her daily routine, such as practicing her kendo and fighting to maintain her father's dojo all by herself. After meeting Kenshin and the others, it became so much easier. She had not only the dojo but also a new family to look after. And that role had pleasantly become such a part of her being that, only now, had she realized how deep she had buried those terrible memories.

However, as Kaoru had bitterly realized, one of the most aggravating and distinctive qualities of an unwanted past is to knock on one's door when least expected. When that dreadful, sometimes soft, knock happens, there is no turning back. The person can either face it or run from it. Kaoru's secret had literally come to her on her doorstep. Earlier that day, Kaoru had received a letter addressed to her.

In the dark room, she got up, needing to see it again, the very cause of her distress. Kaoru walked over her closet. She grabbed a little wooden box and opened it to find the letter carefully kept. Kaoru touched it slightly, almost as if she was afraid, and read it for the twentieth time that day. In vain, she wished this time the words had changed. Only a misunderstanding, she pleaded inwardly, though she knew in her heart that it was not.

Kaoru remembered feeling excited upon first receiving the letter. She thought it was probably from Misao who planned to visit them soon or maybe from Yutaro. With a smile on her face, she hurried to open it, only to freeze in shock afterwards. Her smile quickly faded. Only now did she realize her luck for being alone at that particularly moment. If she had not, her friends would undoubtedly have noticed her shock and dread upon reading the letter and demanded details she was not ready to give. She wondered, for that matter, if she would ever be able to provide the answers.

Kaoru's blue eyes widened at each word read. Her hands trembled as she held the paper, Not now! Not after all this time when I thought that I could leave all those terrible memories behind. I thought everything had ended after his death. Why? Who?

But she forced those thoughts away when she heard voices and footsteps approaching. She quickly hid the letter in her sleeve. I don't want them to know. They cannot find out!

Yahiko, Sano and Kenshin were back from their earlier fishing. After their arrival, a typical scene, Kaoru barely noticed, took place. As the spike-haired boy and the tall man were arguing about something like they usually did, Kenshin, wearing his classic rurouni smile on his face, was trying to put an end to the quarrel.

"Calm down, Yahiko, sessha doesn't really think that Sano was trying to drown you on purpose. I'm sure he was just playing around."

"No he wasn't! And if you haven't gotten there in time I would be dead right now"

"Oh! Don't be so weepy, Yahiko-CHAN! You've gotten what you deserved for calling me chicken-head"

"Stop calling me chan, that's what started everything. If you would respect me as the MAN I am then I wouldn't keep calling you rooster-head" Yahiko replied, raising his chest with pride.

After hearing that, Sano's cheek visibly inflated, his entire face reddening at the effort to hold the cackle that was ready to burst. He looked once more at Yahiko's offended face and, not being the kind of man who could easily restrain his mood, Sano burst out laughing without any delay.

Yahiko was the epitome of indignity itself. That was the last straw for him. He jumped on Sanosuke, crawling his way up to the other man's head. Blocking the taller man's view, Yahiko began to bite him senseless.

Sano, unable to see, yelled things at Yahiko that would make even "chan" seem like a very nice compliment to him. Sano dragged them both without a set direction, hitting and stumbling anything they met ahead.

Kenshin heard the noise before it actually hit the ground. Unfortunately, he was too far away to prevent it. Kaoru's favorite vase was on the floor turned into irreparable pieces, but at least the broken vase brought the fighting pair to a halt.

Both Sano and Yahiko knew they were doomed and if there were only the slightest chance of salvation against Kaoru's rage, it would be granted to the first to prove his innocence. Looking at each other, they incoherently started.

"Jou-chan, ya saw everything. It's his fault. The little brat was aiming at your vase the whole time. He even told me that yesterday."

"Ugly, it wasn't my fault. You know he started it. Besides, he must have had his early amount of sake and was tripping over like a drunk."

"Oh, shut up, brat. She knows it takes a lot more than my early amount to get me drunk. Besides, Jou-chan, he called you Ugly! Hah! I won!"

"It's okay, Sano, Yahiko. It's just a vase anyway. Don't you guys worry about it. I'll clean it up."

Of all the things they were expecting to hear from her, that, for sure, had not been on the list. It took them a moment to recover and when they finally did, she was already leaving the kitchen.

"Ugly"

"Jou-chan"

"Kaoru-dono"

"W-what"

"I don't know what surprised me the most— the fact you didn't care for the vase or the fact you yourself will clean it up." Yahiko said shaking his head.

"Did you eat of your own food, Jou-chan? That can be dangerous, ya know"

"Is everything all right, Kaoru-dono"

Realizing that her actions would only make them worried and suspicious, she tried to clean up her mistake. She would, for their sake, put on a mask.

"Here I am, trying to show my endless mercy for you guys, but instead of being grateful you choose to insult me! You do not deserve my compassion. Especially you, Yahiko-chan, who keeps calling me names! And you Sanosuke Sagara, who thanks to my unlimited kindness, gets fed every single day. Instead of thanking me, what do the two of you do? Break my vase and get on my nerves." Kaoru yelled at them, mysteriously finding in the middle of her speech a nearby bokken to emphasize her rage. "Yahiko, I want you to do five hundred swings before lunch and five hundred more after. You're getting too lazy with your training! And Sano, if you want to eat here today, you better start helping with the chores. You can begin cleaning the mess you just did." She said pointing to the thousands of pieces of the broken vase.

Cursing loudly, Yahiko went to the dojo to start his practice without saying a single word after seeing the look of pure death shimmering in Kaoru's eyes.

Sano, not seeing a way out nor wanting to spend the day without food, started to recoil from the broken pottery, grumbling from start to finish.

Kenshin, on the other hand, with brows knotted, stared after Kaoru, a tinge of concern rising.

For the rest of the day, Kaoru tried her best to keep her mind away from the letter and the problems that would come along with it, but she found incredibly hard to do so as her thoughts kept betraying her. For that reason, she went directly to her room after dinner, hoping to avoid any questions Kenshin might have concerning her unusual behavior that day. Also, being left alone meant to letting all pretenses drop.

And there she was now, staring at the letter in her dark room, after only a few hours of sleep. She closed her eyes; a single tear fell down her cheek. Memories of a stormy night flooded her mind.

Rain.

Thunders and lightning.

She was running, shaking her head, trying to shove away the images she had just seen. But it was impossible; they were now attached to her soul.

Her father

Her hero

How could he do something like that?

That day, everything she believed and learnt was crushed into a lie. Heartbroken, Kaoru felt the ground being pulled away from beneath her feet.

Blood was all over her despite the rain, its smell assaulting her senses.

She had never seen so much blood sprayed. It produced a pool of a red liquid on the ground. Then again, she had never seen someone dying before either.

And all she could do was to keep on running.

Kaoru's eyes snapped open. She was back in her room and she couldn't hold back the tears any longer. She cried until there were no more tears left.

How could you do that father? How could you betray everything you claimed to believe in?

Yokohama

A man was sitting in a bar, lost in his thoughts. He was wearing western clothes, a gray over coat and a black hat, which he didn't even bother to take off as he drank sake. The stranger kept staring at the letter he'd received that very day.

I wonder if the others received a letter like this one too or if... she did. This last thought made him stir up a little. The idea of her being hurt or threatened was something he couldn't and wouldn't allow. With that in mind, he decided he would have to protect her, even if she did not want him to.

She's almost nineteen now. I hope everything with her went fine during these past years. I wonder if she's still a stubborn girl like she used to be or if she's learnt how to cook, a grin spread on his face, but it faded away when he glanced the letter one more time.

"Excuse me, sir? ... Hmm... Sir? Hey, sir?"

The bartender voice finally reached him"Um...Sorry I didn't hear you."

"Oh, I'm sorry, sir, but we're about to close and you..."

"It's ok I was leaving anyway."

"Are you ok, sir? I mean, you looked lost a few minutes ago" the bartender said casually, wiping up the counter with a white cloth.

"I'm fine, thanks."

"I noticed you're not from this area. There's an inn just across the street if you need a place to spend the night. It's very nice and not at all expensive."

"That won't be necessary, I'm leaving this town already."

"Oh, really? Where to, if you don't mind me asking." the bartender asked, filling his glass one last time.

The man drank all the sake at once. "Tokyo"

The bartender chuckled and asked "Tokyo? What for"

The man put down the glass and turned around to leave. He whispered only one word too low for anyone else to hear, just a name.

"Kaoru."

... To be continued ...

Glossary:

Sessha: this unworthy one, it's how Kenshin refers to himself in first person.

Bokken: wooden sword

-dono: miss/sir

AN 2: Thanks for reading! I really would love to know what you think of this chapter

Oh! English is not my first language so if you find some odd sentences or anything else unusual, please let me know. I would really appreciate it, since that way I can improve my English. I find that writing fanfics it's a great way for me to practice it :)