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

Status of this chapter: revised – 02/2005

Whenit Rains

Chapter 2

Kenshin watched Kaoru and Yahiko training at the dojo. After their talking yesterday, she had been avoiding his eyes as though she were afraid to look at him. However, he knew the real reason; she was hiding something from him, which surprisingly, made him feel angry. Though unexpected, the feeling was as clear as water.

Although he was angry with her for not trusting him enough to open up to him, Kenshin also was angry with himself for having built a wall between them, the same wall she was now using against him.

In addition to the anger, Kenshin felt an unknown fear growing inside of him, disturbing his thoughts. The fear of losing her to an enemy he could not see, an enemy his sword could not reach.

For some reason, Kaoru had pushed him away. Maybe, he considered, it was just a reflection of his own actions in which he would push her away whenever a trouble arose or whenever his past got in the way. Kenshin briefly considered Sanosuke's words. You shouldn't take her for granted. Had he? And if he had, could he fix it? Kenshin sighed inwardly.

"Hey Kenshin! I'm talking to you, ya know?" Sano was sitting next to him, apparently very angry for being completely ignored.

"Oro, Sano! Sessha was listening you!" the rurouni lied, waving his hands.

"The hell you were! What was I talking about then?" Sano demanded, eyes narrowing in defiance.

Kenshin was caught by surprise; he had no idea as to what the street fighter had been chatting about. His brows knotted as he made an effort to think up something quickly.

"Um... you were saying that..." he trailed off. What was the most likely subject his friend could have been babbling about? He scratched his head, and then it hit him.

"You were saying that you're very hungry and you wanted to know what we're going to have for lunch, that you were!" Kenshin blurted out, almost forgetting to actually breathe in the process.

Sano opened his mouth once, then twice, before pressing his lips together, annoyed by the redhead for correctly answering him. "Oh, well that was a great shot. Lucky bastard," he muttered.

"See, sessha was paying attention" Kenshin smiled at him sarcastically.

"So?" the ex-gangster asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"So, what?" Kenshin returned the question a little confused.

"Oi! The lunch, of course!" Sano yelled, short-tempered.

Yahiko, whose stomach was already growling, became very interested in their conversation, "Yeah, Kenshin, lunch is a great idea. I'm starving... Hey, ugly what did you do that for?" Kaoru had just hit his head with her bokken.

"Pay attention to your practicing, kid!" She scolded him.

"I'm not a kid, UGLY!"

"That's it! Five hundred swings now or no food for you today!"

Yahiko began to swing his bokken with an amazing speed, cursing under his breath.

Pushing his worries aside, Kenshin walked towards the kitchen and decided that preparing the so wanted lunch was probably the wisest thing to do.

Kenshin was chopping a radish and humming to himself when Megumi showed up.

"Good morning, Ken-san!"

Kenshin turned his head around to look at her. "Good morning, Megumi-dono," he greeted her, his usual smile upon his face.

"How are you today, Ken-san?" She asked, walking towards him with a strange look on her face as if she was looking at her prey.

"Sessha is fine, Megumi-dono. What about you"? Kenshin asked politely.

"Oh! I'm feeling great today. You see, I had a wonderful dream last night." She said, a mischievous grin spreading over her face. Walking closer to him, she went on. "Do you want to know what I've dreamed about or, even better, about whom?" She put one hand at his shoulder, but he broke away from it by walking backwards.

"HOHOHOHO. Ken-san, you silly man. In my dreams you weren't that shy! Oh, no you're very..." She trailed off as Kaoru strode into the kitchen, eyes narrowing as she stared the two of them.

"Hi, tanuki-chan! I was just talking with Kenshin about the dream I had of him last night, but I think you're just too young to hear about it. HOHOHOHO" She winked at Kenshin"Don't worry Ken-san I'll tell you the rest later, ok"

"Oro, Megumi-dono. Sessha is not so sure if he wants to know about it either," Kenshin promptly said as he saw Kaoru casting a furious look at them. The last thing I want right now is Kaoru-dono getting mad at me, he thought and was rewarded to see Kaoru smiling her approval to him. Believing he had said and done the right thing, Kenshin resumed cooking. "Lunch is almost ready, sessha prepared... Ouch! Megumi-dono, why did you pinch sessha?" he asked indignant and blushing.

Kaoru's face also turned red only it was with anger, all of which was directed toward the older woman.

"Wow, Ken-san, it was a medical procedure."

(cough) "Liar." (cough) Sano had just joined them in the kitchen.

"Oh... shut up rooster head! Sorry, Ken-san, it's just that it looks like you've lost weight. I'm concerned about you. I mean, nobody takes care of you here, and you have to do all the work. Have you been eating properly? Tanuki-chan hasn't been cooking for you, has she?"

"Megumi!" Kaoru growled, clenching her fists. She was going towards Megumi when she saw Yahiko and stopped abruptly. He held a letter in his hands and was reading it. Her eyes widened and blood drained from her face.

"Yahiko what are you doing? Give me that." She went to the boy and hurriedly took the letter away from him. "You had no right!" she scolded him. Now what am I suppose to do, they will find out.

"Hey, busu! I was reading that, you know. What the hell is wrong with you? It's just a letter from Okina telling us that Weasel is on her way to Tokyo. It's not like it's a secret or anything." Yahiko grumbled.

"W-what? From Okina?" Kaoru asked confused, raising the letter to read. It was, as Yahiko had said, a letter from Okina telling them about Misao's plans to visit. From the date of the letter, she would be coming by tomorrow.

"O-oh, I'm sorry Yahiko," she said embarrassedly as she realized that everybody was staring at her. "I thought it was..." but then she stopped. I thought it was another threatening letter? Yeah, they will just love to hear that, won't they? her mind scolded her.

"Hey Jou-chan, don't tell me you have a secret admirer you didn't tell us about?" Sano said playfully, completely missing the glare Kenshin shot him.

"Don't be silly rooster head! Who would send Tanuki-chan here a love letter?" Megumi asked with a cruel, teasing voice.

"N-nobody, look I'm sorry I don't know what came over me, ok?" Kaoru said, finding it difficult to hide her pain over the doctor's careless words. "I'm tired from the training. I think I'll take a quick bath before lunch." She hurried herself out of there, heading for the bathroom, but Kenshin's voice stopped her.

"Kaoru-dono, I'll heat the water for you." He was in front of her within a second.

"It's not necessary, Kenshin, I can do it myself. I'm not gonna take too long anyway. Plus, Megumi's right. You do too much already." Kaoru said, gazing at him and smiling brightly.

He wanted to disagree, to say he did not mind doing things for her, but instead, he nodded his head in agreement. "Alright." He watched her set off towards the bathroom.

"Don't mind her, Ken-san. Come here and let me tell you about the dream I had."

"Oro!"

Kaoru sank her entire body into the water's tub as thoughts filled up her mind Mou! I've got to be more careful. I almost gave myself away from the way I acted there. She raised her head out of the water.

When she saw Yahiko reading the letter, she was alarmed, and her first reaction was to take it away from him, preventing him and the others to find out about the threat. She knew she would have no way out except explaining the whole story to them. Everything about her father would have been revealed, and she did not want that. But now, with warm water soothing her tired body and mind, she felt surprisingly disappointed. Had that letter not been from Misao, everything would have ended there — all the hiding.

It was harder than she thought it would be, keeping it all to herself, especially where Kenshin was concerned. Kaoru closed her eyes tightly, memories of her previous night filling her mind. From the day they met up till now, Kenshin had hardly ever let down the wall between them the way he had been inclined to last night. And Kaoru, instead of welcoming it, like she thought she would, pulled away, afraid of his closeness. Would it be so bad to tell him the truth? She pictured him, knowing the truth; his face would be full of disappointment. To see him looking at her like that would be something she could not bear. She knew then that she was not ready to let him or the others find out the truth.

"Did you enjoy your trip, Misao? Kaoru asked her newly arrived friend as they made their way to the dojo followed by Kenshin and Sano.

"It was great, but I wish Aoshi-sama had come with me," Misao said, pouting.

"Smart man," Sano muttered under his breath.

"What was that, rooster head?" Misao demanded, glaring at him.

"I said...er...that's too bad. I mean he's always sooooo communicative I'm sure I could have a long talk with him!" Sano taunted.

"Oro!"

"Aoshi-sama is a very reserved man. He wouldn't waste his precious time talking to a rooster head like you!" Misao replied, narrowing her eyes in defiance.

"We could all have dinner at the Akabeko tonight!" Kaoru offered, trying to stop the quarrel. "What do you think, Misao?" she smiled widely. "Isn't it a good idea, Kenshin?" she added.

"It's a very good one, that it is, Kaoru-dono."

"Misao?"

"I'd love to, Kaoru," Misao said, turning to face the other girl, but not before of casting one last glare at Sanosuke.

"Stay away from my food, brat!"

"Knock it of, you rooster head! That was mine!"

"Gimme that, kid!"

"No way!"

Kaoru, Kenshin, Megumi, and Misao watched in awe as Sanosuke and Yahiko fought over the food.

"I'm so glad you're here, Misao," Kaoru said with a smile, trying to ignore the fighting for food across the table.

"Me too, Kaoru. This time we'll get to visit all the cool places I missed the last time I was here!" Misao said cheerfully.

"We'll do that! Certainly you have now a complete list of the places you want to go to. I remember you and Okina love to plan tours around Kyoto, right?" Kaoru exclaimed, slapping Yahiko's hand to prevent him from stealing her food.

"You bet I do! And I also want to go shopping. Okon said there's this great market in the east side the city, next to the police station. Now that I mention it, Kaoru, that kimono you're wearing is so beautiful." Misao's eyes sparkled with enthusiasm, her brain working over the many ideas that had arisen.

"Oh! Thank you, Misao. You know, if you like it, I can go with you and buy one for you!"

"Uh, I don't know if it would look good on me." Misao replied with her voice down.

"Nonsense! Tomorrow we'll go. I think I saw one that will perfectly match your eyes." Kaoru said, smiling brightly.

"Really? OK, we'll go tomorrow!" Misao agreed, her usual vitality back to her voice.

"Weasel and Ugly shopping! That should be funny" Yahiko provoked them amidst bites.

"Hey, Weasel, am I less ugly with this kimono?"

"I don't know, I'm such a weasel."

He spoke in a very thin voice, trying to mimic them, only to regret afterwards when two powerful fists came crashing brutally against each side of his face.

"Sessha thinks it's a great idea, Kaoru-dono. It might cheer you up a little." Kenshin said, meeting Kaoru's blue eyes. Despite her current cheery outlook, there was a shadow hovering over her face.

"Why? Is something wrong Kaoru?" Misao asked curious.

"Nah… Jou-chan just found herself a secret admirer." Sano said teasingly.

"It's nothing like that!" Kaoru exclaimed, glaring at him. Then, she turned to Misao, smiling. "I'm fine, Misao. Kenshin is overreacting, really."

"Yes, but, now that he mentioned it, you do seem a little down." Misao's voice held a hint of worry. She abruptly turned to Kenshin and asked accusingly "What did you do to her, Himura?"

"Oro?" Kenshin blinked several times.

Megumi rolled her eyes. "Oh! There's nothing wrong with tanuki-chan. She's just wants to get people's attention," she said sharply.

"Hey! It's nothing like that at all!" Kaoru huffed angrily.

"No? So why are you acting so weird lately? What could possibly be wrong with you? Look around, you have nothing to complain about."

"Megumi-dono, maybe..." Kenshin began, but the doctor cut him off.

"People who get things in life the easy way always end up spoiled. You shouldn't worry people over nothing, really!" Megumi finished, flipping her hair back.

Though noise could be heard coming from the rest of the restaurant, the space around their table fell in silence. Everybody stopped whatever it was they were doing: Sano's food stopped in midway to his mouth; Yahiko's hand stopped in halfway to Sano's food; Misao's mouth dropped open; Kenshin's hand stopped in midair as he had been holding them up in attempting to pacify thing between the women. Their eyes instinctively turned towards Kaoru, expecting a predictable violent reply. It never came. Kaoru kept her head bowed, hidden from their views.

"Oh! Please, don't tell me you're gonna cry now, tanu..." Megumi trailed off when Kaoru raised her head to look at her, surprised by what she found.

There were no tears. No anger. No pain.

Her face was strangely calm but her eyes, different from the usual warm they held, looked as cold as ice as she stared at the doctor, a bittersweet smile curving her lips.

"Have you finished?" Kaoru asked in a low but unwavering voice

No answer; there was only silence and surprise in Megumi's eyes.

"Good."

Then, she got up, and began to walk away.

"Kaoru-dono, where are you going" Kenshin called.

"Jou-chan, don't take it so seriously."

"Yes, I'm sure…" Misao trailed off.

Kaoru, however, ignored all of them, only turning around once more to gaze at Megumi.

"You think you know me so well, don't you? You think you have everything figured out. Well, you don't. None of you do. What do you actually know about what I went through in the past? Or do you think my life began when I met you all?" Kaoru's voice held a surprising bitter tone.

Megumi said nothing as Kaoru gave her one last cold look and turned around to leave.

"Kaoru-dono, wait I'm going..."

"Please don't. I'll be fine on my own," she cut him short, without even turning to look at him, and without saying any other words, she left.

Something in her voice, in the way she asked him not to follow her, brought him to standstill state, as he stared at her retreating form. There was something in the way she said none of you do, that troubled him to a great extent

"You went too far this time, fox." Sano said. Misao and Yahiko nodded their agreement.

"Nonsense! I just..." But she stopped abruptly when she saw the cold narrowed look Kenshin was giving her; his eyes were changed, very different from the sweet rurouni's look.

Megumi gasped, "K-Ken-san"

Kenshin's voice matched the coldness in his eyes, "She's the kind of person who keeps everything to herself in order not to worry anyone else. She thinks she can do everything on her own and that's what she's doing right now. Your words didn't help. They didn't help at all."

Kaoru was walking by the river, trying to sort out her feelings. She was angry with Megumi for saying all those things to her, but she was also angry with herself for behaving in a way that had made everybody worried. She didn't want that; her problems shouldn't be a burden for anyone else but her.

Her past. Her burden. They would never know.

"Tssc, tssc. You know, it's not safe for a young girl as yourself to walk all alone. Who knows what could happen?" came a scratchy voice.

Kaoru looked around to find its source, but saw no one. "Who's there? Show yourself now!"

"Personally, I think your friend was pretty rough on you. With friends like that…"

"How do you... Who are you?" Kaoru demanded brows furrowed she had took a defensive stance.

A huge bald man showed up, getting out behind of a tree, he had an evil grin on his face, and was holding a katana. "I was very curious to know you. You're not bad, maybe we can have some fun together, what do you say?"

"Stay away from me, you pervert." Kaoru yelled.

The man laughed at her. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna try anything like that. I'm just gonna try to kill you. No… I should rephrase that. I'm not gonna try... I will kill you, Kamiya."

Kaoru froze and stared at the man, realization hitting her, "YOU! You are the one who sent me that letter! What do you want from me? What did I do to you?"

"You? You did nothing, your father, on the other hand, ruined my life, and since he's not here because some lucky bastard already killed him, I'll have to content myself with killing you. It's a shinai, right?"

"What?" Kaoru asked confused

"What you use to fight, I mean. Here, take it," he threw a wooden sword at her. As Kaoru looked at it in question, the man impatiently rolled his eyes. "Take it, you know how to use it, right? So what are you waiting for?"

"You can possibly be thinking that I..." but she stopped when she saw the man running towards her with an amazing speed, a sword in his hand, ready to strike her. She almost didn't get the shinai in time to defend herself, but when his sword came down to her she was able to block the attack with her own. The man stepped back, smirking, "Not bad. Now it's your turn, come!"

He's playing with me. How dare he? Kaoru was furious with the man; he obviously didn't think she was a match for him. Deciding to show him differently, Kaoru summoned all her anger for her next attack. She lunged forward to strike him right on his face, and surprisingly she was able to do so very easily. She smiled to herself I guess he's not that strong. She turned around to face him and her eyes widened, he had a big grin, satisfied and evil, on his face, as if he had not even felt the strike.

"Is that all? I guess you don't have your father's skills. Now, it's my turn." The man ran forward even faster this time. He brought his sword down at her; she blocked, but her shinai broke in two pieces. The man didn't stop, and this time his sword struck her flesh. Kaoru fell on the ground, her eyes wide with pain, blood dripping from her body. She grasped her stomach in an attempt to stop the bleeding The same smell of blood on that rainy day filled her senses; only now, the blood was her own.

The man approached her, and she closed her eyes tightly for his last blow, but it never came. Instead, the man grabbed her chin and raised her head to look at her. "That, my dear, is how it's done. I said you'd die, and believe me, you will... Soon, but not yet." He shoved her back to the ground, and walked away.

Author's Notes: Especial thanks to CrismHeart for beta-reading this chap for me :)

I realize Megumi is a little out of character in this chapter (believe me, she was even more on the previous version), but bare with me. I needed someone to play the role

Like always, thanks for reading and comments / constructive criticism are always welcome :)