This is the last chapter in the series, hope you enjoy it. Please keep the reviews coming, good or bad. I appreciate them all. Thanks!

Kenshin and the others have the antidote, but will it be in time to save Kaoru?

The Final Battle

"Miss Megumi, Miss Megumi!" Yahiko rushed into the dojo and ran down the hall into Kaoru's room. So great was his haste, he almost fell entering the room, though he managed to recover himself in time.

'"Careful, kid, you'll break the bottle!" cautioned Sanosuke.

"Here you are, Miss Megumi." panted Yahiko, trying to catch his breath. He handed her the bottle.

Miss Megumi took it, but instead of looking happy, her expression was still grim.

"Is something wrong, Miss Megumi? You look upset, you do." A look of horror came over everyone's face.

"She isn't…?" Kenshin asked, turning pale. He was seized by a nameless dread.

"No, she's still alive for now, but the poison has been in her system too long in spite of all our efforts. I don't know if this antidote will work now. If we could have given it to her earlier…" She shook her head and knelt by Kaoru's bed to give her the medicine, then sat back with a sigh..

"All we can do now is wait and pray it works. We should continue the ice and water treatment in the meantime."

Kenshin resumed his position by Kaoru's bed and looked at Miss Megumi.

"Miss Megumi, you look tired. You should go get some rest, you should. I will look after Miss Kaoru myself.."

"Thank you. I could use some rest. Call me immediately if there's any change." She rose to her feet and padded softly out of the room.

"I'll get some more water." Sanosuke said and left the room. He stopped behind Kenshin and put his hand on his shoulder in a gesture of support, then left.

"I'll go to the ice house and get some more ice." Yahiko said. He looked as if he wanted to say more, but finally turned and left also.

So preoccupied was Kenshin, he hardly noticed their departure. He looked at Kaoru for a moment, then lifted a hand to her face and gently brushed back a tendril of hair from it. His hand lingered there and he gently stroked her cheek with his thumb. He thought about the first time he had met her, how she had attacked him in an effort to protect her school. From the very beginning he had been impressed with her courage and strength of will. Then he withdrew his hand and continued to watch her.

"Miss Kaoru, you must not give up. You should fight with all of your strength, that you should." He whispered to her.

"We need you, Miss Kaoru, that we do. I wonder if you realize how important you are to all of us. You often speak of the loneliness in your heart. I know how that loneliness feels, for I have felt it, too. I did not realize how much until I met you. You remind me of sunshine, how it warms the earth in spring when winter has passed. It brings new life to all that feel it. If you die, the world will be a cold and bitter place." He took her hand in both of his and lowering his head clasped her hand to his chest. "Without you, my heart will cease to beat. We need you." Then, in a barely audible whisper, "I need you." A lone tear escaped from Kenshin's eye and fell on the hand he was still holding. He remembered the pain and grief he had suffered when Tomoe died. He didn't think he could stand to go through it again. He feared the madness would overtake him once again.

Kaoru looked around her in bewilderment. She was at the dojo, but somehow things seemed different. It looked just as it did when she was just a child. There was the table in the corner with the vase of flowers and the sign with her father's name on it, proclaiming him Master of the Kamiya Dojo. She heard voices outside, a rich, deep one and a much higher pitched childish one. She walked over to the open door, looked outside and gasped with surprise and delight. In the courtyard was her father. With him was a young girl of about seven she recognized as herself. She realized she was seeing a scene from the past. She could recall that day as clearly as if it were yesterday.

Little Kaoru charged at the pieces of wood her father had hung there to practice with, but missed the target and fell to the ground instead. Her father spoke to her:

"Kaoru, you must learn to focus your energy or you will never become master of the Kamiya Kashin technique. Now try again. And this time, concentrate."

"But Father, I have tried ten times already. I'm tired, my arm hurts and I want to go play!"

Kaoru's father knelt down in front of his daughter and put his hand on her shoulder.

"I know, Kaoru, but there is an important lesson here that you must learn and that is not to give up no matter how difficult things are. You will face many obstacles in your life, you must learn to fight and overcome them like a true warrior. The Kamiya Kashin style gives us the strength and discipline to do this."

"All right, Father, I will try." With that, she took her stance again, and with fierce concentration, charged at the targets again. This time she successfully hit the target, sending it spinning in the air.

'Very good, my daughter. You did well this time." Her father said, his voice filled with pride. Kaoru was filled with warmth at the memory.

The scene shifted and changed and suddenly she on the ship when the pirates had attacked, but this time Kenshin, Sanosuke and Yahiko were no where to be seen. The pirates attacked her and she fought them off, managing to knock one out and pitching the next one over the rail. Where was everyone and why was she left here to fight all alone?

Then the scene shifted again and she was back in Kanryuu's house fighting off his mercenaries. Once again, she was fighting alone, the others nowhere in sight. By now she was starting to feel exhausted. "I don't think I can go on fighting much longer. I'm tired and I want to rest. Please, Father. I'm sorry, but I'm so tired."

Then the scene shifted again and she was back in the dojo again. It was the day she had first met Kenshin and he was standing at the door speaking to her just like before.

"You'll never know when I may have to go wandering off again…again…again…" His voice echoed around her, then slowly faded away.

As she stood there and watched, he turned and started to walk away.

The dojo had melted away and only Kenshin and Kaoru were left. Kaoru started to run after him, stretching out her hand in a vain attempt to catch him, but no matter how hard she tried, he always seemed to stay just out of reach, even though he was only walking.

"Kenshin!" she called out, crying now. It was getting more and more difficult to run, but she kept on running, the fear of losing Kenshin driving her on.

^^^^

As Kenshin sat by Kaoru's bed, he noticed that she seem to be stirring, her movements agitated. She shifted restlessly and was muttering something in her sleep. Then, as he watched, she sat up abruptly and stretched out her hand trying to reach out for something, her eyes open, staring at a scene only she could see.

"Kenshin, come back! Don't go!" she cried out, her voice desperate and anguished.

Kenshin pulled her into his arms and spoke to her in a vain attempt to calm her.

"It's all right, Miss Kaoru, I am right here. You must calm yourself, that you must."

But it was as if she could not hear or see him. She continued to call his name, her voice growing more and more agitated and desperate

" Kenshin, please, don't leave me!" she cried, still reaching out for him. She was crying in earnest now. She struggled against him and Kenshin held her tightly in his arms as he tried once more to break through her nightmare.

"Please, Miss Kaoru, I am here. You must calm down. You will injure yourself if you continue this way, that you will." Kenshin spoke to her soothingly, though inwardly he was growing more and more alarmed.

Suddenly Kaoru stiffened and gave one last despairing cry, a look of horror on her face.

"KENSHIN!"

Then her body slumped against him, her head resting on his shoulder. Kenshin lowered her head so it rested on his left arm and looked at her face. It had gone slack and she hardly seemed to be breathing. An icy terror gripped his heart and he called out to Miss Megumi.

"Miss Megumi, Miss Megumi, you must come quickly! Something has happened to Miss Kaoru!" He laid her gently on the futon, his hands shaking, filled with fear.

Miss Megumi ran in and knelt by Kaoru's bed. Sanosuke and Yahiko, on hearing Kenshin call out, followed close behind.

"What is it, Kenshin." Asked Yahiko asked, sounding alarmed.

"She is dying and there is nothing I can do to save her." Kenshin replied. His voice cracked and tears ran down his face. He buried his face in his hands.

"No, it can't be." Sanosuke whispered. He fell to his knees, his hands fisted at his side, as if he wanted to fight, only there was no enemy to fight.

Yahiko's eyes widened in shock, then he turned and buried his face in Sanosuke's jacket, crying. Sanosuke put his arm around him, but his eyes were staring off in the distance, wide with shock and disbelief.

In the midst of there grief, they heard Miss Megumi speak.

"Well, Sir Ken, you're a better swordsman than a doctor."

"Huh?" Kenshin responded, looking up in surprise.

They all looked up to see her smiling at them.

"She's not dying she's only sleeping. Her fever's broken, she'll be just fine, but it will take time for her to recover."

It took a minute for the news to sink in, then everyone reacted at once.

Yahiko looked up, stunned by the news, then cheered and Sanosuke smiled.

"That's a relief. Wow, Kenshin, you really scared me. Don't ever do that again!" Sanosuke said.

"Yeah, Kenshin, that wasn't very nice." added Yahiko, smiling happily.

Kenshin smiled happily.

"Thank you, Miss Megumi. We all owe you a great debt. It is largely due to your efforts that Miss Kaoru survived, that it is."

Miss Megumi smiled at him.

"I'm just glad everything turned out all right."

She rose gracefully to her feet and headed for the door.

"She'll be all right, for now, she just needs some rest. I'll get some clean bedding, then I suggest all of you get some rest, too. It's been a long night. Oh, and Sir Ken, from now on, leave the diagnosis to me."

"That I will, Miss Megumi, that I will!"

A few days later at the dojo, everyone was celebrating. It was Kaoru's first day out of her sickbed and what a time they had had getting her stay there that long! Everyone was amazed at how fast she was recovering her strength.

Sanosuke opened the door of the dojo and Kenshin came out, carrying Kaoru in his arms wrapped in blankets.

"Really, Kenshin, it isn't necessary for you to carry me. I can walk by myself."

"Now, now Miss Kaoru. Miss Megumi said you should rest for a while. You mustn't overdo or you could have a relapse, you could."

He settled her in a comfortable spot on the porch where she could see everything going on. Yahiko was practicing in the courtyard and Sanosuke was sitting on the porch smiling at her.

"You don't have to worry about your students, Miss Kaoru. Yahiko has taken over your classes until you are able to resume your duties. You should be proud of him, he is doing very well, that he is." Kenshin said proudly.

"Well, I may have to promote him from apprentice to second assistant master!" she said, smiling happily.

Sanosuke got up, went over to her and handed her some money.

"For you, to help pay for some of the meals I've eaten around here." He stood there scratching the side of his head, seemingly embarrassed by the whole thing, then went back and sat down.

Kenshin explained. "Sanosuke got a job helping to build the new school. He wanted to help you out until you recover."

Kaoru's eyes got even wider.

"Saonsuke got a job?"

"Yeah, well, it's only temporary, don't expect me to make it a habit!" With that everyone laughed.

"It is good to see you feeling better, Miss Kaoru." Kenshin said smiling at her.

"Yeah, you gave us quite a scare, there." added Sanosuke.

"Yeah, I'd miss having you around even if you are an ugly girl" said Yahiko.


"Yahiko, your swordsmanship may have improved, but your manners sure haven't." retorted Kaoru, her eyes narrowing.

"Oh, yeah, well, you're still an ugly girl!"

Kaoru picked a nearby bucket and threw it at Yahiko, hitting him in the head. He fell over backward, then sat up rubbing his head.

"Hey, I was trying to be nice! You didn't have to hit me, you know!" snapped Yahiko, glaring at her.

"Well, I guess Kaoru is feeling better." observed Sanosuke.

"It would certainly appear that way, that it would." said Kenshin, but he was smiling.