Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. FF is non-profit, meant for entertainment only. FF can be archived anywhere, just let me know where. Please send no flames, I'm sensitive. For all other comments 0_o you may contact me at kaoru_koishii@yahoo.com

Chapter Eight

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Kenshin sat up in a cold sweat. Some memories just couldn't leave him. He looked around the room. His wife was gone.

"Kaoru?" He said as he rose to go look for her but stopped dead in his tracks.

Jin-eh.

His eyes narrowed in recognition.

"Where is she?"

"Kaoru?" He called out again.

"Where is she?" He said more forcefully. "Tell Me." He commanded.

Jin-eh simply smiled. "She's dead don't you remember. You couldn't kill me and she was too weak to shake the Shin no Ippou off herself."

"Liar." That's not what happened. She had shaken it off and she'd saved him from becoming the hitokiri battoussai.

"I remember. . . . . . . ." Kenshin said as he struggled to understand what was going on.

"Battoussai, you passed out after she died. Your friends brought you here to her dojo. I've been waiting for you to wake up." Jin-eh was very pleased with himself.

"No! That's not true. Fucking liar," Kenshin said getting up.

"Tsk, Tsk, Tsk, battoussai where was that temper when your woman was still alive?" Jin-eh asked conversationally.

"Why don't you go have a look outside. I brought her with me." Jin-eh gave him a predatory smile.

Kenshin ran out of his room and into the yard. But there was no body. He stood alone. He turned at the sound of Jin-eh's laughter. When he turned though something splashed his face. He couldn't see. He just barely moved his head out of the way as the blade nearly took his ear off. He was wiping the substance out of his eyes when he felt the next blow. That actually pierced his skin, went right through the left side of his ribs. He still couldn't see. His heart was beating so fast. He struck out with his sword. He felt the blade sink through but Jin-eh was laughing. Kenshin pulled back, sliding his blade out with the movement. Finally he was able to see. He felt a trembling start deep in his bones. Jin-eh was off to the side looking very pleased. Kenshin's head started shaking in denial.

"That's two for two isn't it battoussai." The voice wasn't Jin-eh's. Something his mind screamed at him to notice. But he was so stunned. "Ka . . . "

He couldn't say it. He drew closer and knelt. "Kaoru," he whispered.

He let out a piercing scream into the night. He'd killed her. Just like before. He'd kill the woman he loved. She had stepped between him and Jin-eh.

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Kenshin's eyes snapped open. He looked to the right only to find his wife asleep. He gave a sigh of relief. Seeing Rijuuta brought back bad memories. Maybe it would be best if they never returned to the dojo.

He rose on shaky knees and looked down on her for a moment. He felt her neck for a pulse just to be on the safe side. He felt one. He proceeded to bundle her up. Once she was, he slid the door open and walked out with her. It was the middle of the night but he didn't want to spend another moment longer here. Too may bad memories. He placed her inside the carriage and closed the door. He took his seat not really seeing the dark empty road ahead. They left shortly.

Several hours later they were in Hyogo. He was glad. He stopped and sent Aoshi another message. The pigeon should arrive there pretty soon. He sat outside the restaurant having a drink. Saké is exactly what he need after all those nightmares. He kept his eye on the carriage. He was half way through his second bottle when he saw a slight movement. He rose quickly to reach her. She was just opening her eyes when the door opened. She shielded her eyes against the light.

She looked around. "The carriage? What time is it?"

"Breakfast time but dress first." He pointed across the seat to wear the burgundy kimono lay and then closed the door quickly. His anger was still visible in his eyes. The stress of the situation they found themselves in plus all the attacks were starting to rub his nerves raw. If anyone tried to take her away from him he'd kill them. He'd spent too much time protecting her to have her snatched away. The battoussai made her happy. Correction, he made her happy and as long as that was so he pledged his life, love and honor to keep her. She was his now, and the only way they'd be taking her is over his dead body. And even then, The fires of hell wouldn't be enough to keep him from her.

*************

Kaoru was really agitated. He was treating her like a porcelain doll. He was constantly hovering and never letting go. She wouldn't have minded but it was the way he did it. He was acting like the bodyguard. There, only to protect her but not touch her. Not love her. It was like he was trying to separate that part of himself. She sat in the back of the carriage no longer aware as the scenery changed. Troubled by her thoughts as to why. Why was he acting like this?

Ever since . . . . . Kyoto. When they had left in the middle of the night. They hadn't been attacked, so it was something else.

She was so busy with her thoughts she never felt the carriage come to a stop. The door was opened and that's when she finally looked up.

Icy blue met steely blue.

"What," she asked with narrowed eyes. Her tone was more than annoyed.

The statement didn't affect him. "We're here." He said stepping aside so she could get out.

Finally after almost a week of travel they were here. She stepped out and looked around, there wasn't much to see. Her eyes came back to his when she heard him set a trunk down.

"Take out your Uchikake."

Was he kidding? "We're already married." She explained in a snappy tone.

"This is were I want to marry you." His voice had dropped several degrees.

At this point she welcomed mad. He had barely been speaking to her in the last week. She was angry, so why shouldn't he?

"I married you in Kanazawa."

He didn't want to fight with her. Lately everything had been making him angry. It wasn't her it was him. It was his fear. He looked off to the side. The atmosphere here was very calm. He stood there for a trying to rid himself of his stress, letting it be washed away with the calmness of the surroundings. He heard the rustling in the background. He didn't smile. He didn't feel happy.

Kaoru pulled the stuff out of the trunks. He infuriated her. What did it matter that he'd barely even looked her way in the last couple of days. What did it matter that she wasn't happy. When she had all her things she looked at him. He still had his back to her. For a moment she had urge to throw something at him. "Where do you want me to change?"

He finally turned. He saw she had set out his things as well. He picked them up and they made their way to the shrine.

The wedding seemed to take longer then the first one. The ride to town was always filled with silence. He acted like her servant. An insolent one but still a servant. Suddenly she felt fear grip her heart. He still hadn't said he loved her. She looked to see her hands were shaking. He had always acted like he did so she had never questioned it. But the matter was he hadn't said it. She felt like she was going to break down.

The carriage came to a slow halt. Kenshin dismounted and made his way to the side of the carriage. He opened the door, to a frightful sight. She was pale. He approached her quickly. "Kaoru?"

She didn't seem to hear him. She had always assumed he loved her too. But the rurouni had abandoned his Kaoru-dono so what made her think that the Battoussai wouldn't leave his . . . . . . . .

"Kaoru!" He yelled.

Her head snapped around. Her breathing was shallow. It took her a bit to calm down.

"Are you all right?" He said feeling her forehead.

She couldn't answer him with out her voice giving her away. She nodded and he pulled her out of the carriage slowly. He watched her step off slowly. He grabbed her hand and they walked into town.

Kenshin noticed all the decorations. Today they were supposed to have a festival. They'd stay in town tonight. Tomorrow they'd head further north to Mt. Daisen. Their new home.

Kaoru was battling her inner demons. After a while her mind seemed to settle just enough to notice the decorations. She allowed her mind to wonder. She didn't want to think.

The first shop caught her eye. They had a lot of hair accessories. She saw a burgundy one that would go with the last kimono she'd bought. She felt her hair pins being pulled out. She turned to find him running his finger through her hair. She frowned. He held a pink ribbon in his hand. She stared at it a moment before she took it. She looked at him what was she supposed to do with it.

He saw her puzzled expression. "Put it on," His tone was different than before. It was silky.

She held it with her teeth while she gathered her hair into a high ponytail. She pulled the ribbon tight around the hair into a large bow. She smoothed it out and looked down.

He was puzzled by her actions. He grabbed her hand again and continued to the next shop. After twelve shops she seemed in a better mood. She grabbed him by the hand and they ran into a new shop. "They take pictures here." She said to him. It was the first time she'd talked to him since the ceremony.

"Can I help you?" Said an elderly man.

"Do you take pictures out doors?" She asked the man.

"Yes, I do. Did you want to take some during the festival? I'm going to be down by the river."

"Because of the fireworks," she said.

"Yes," the man broke off into a smile. No one really understood his creativity. But this girl seemed to think along the same lines as him. But his smile faded a bit. She was with someone.

Kenshin met the man's cool gaze. He still held her hand. Something the man had missed when he first turned to her.

"When do you think you'll be down there? I'd like to have our picture taken?" She watched the man return his attention to her.

"I'll start moving my things right at sun down." He said not as cheery as before.

"All right we'll see you down there." She smiled at the old man and they left.

"Are you hungry yet," she asked him as they passed a cart selling noodles?

They were leaning towards there, so they might as well eat. He ordered and took their food to where she sat. She smiled as he approached. "Thanks." She said. "Are we going to stay here tonight?"

He nodded in response.

"When do you think we'll get to Nagasaki?" She said between bites.

He paused mid bite. Hadn't he told her yet? "Matsue is where we'll live."

She frowned. "But my . . . . . This isn't . . . . . What about Tokuma?"

His eyes narrowed. "What about him?"

"Well, don't you think he's going to come looking for me. He's really protective. It's why he hired you." She said as she played with the noodles.

"I went to that house to get you, not be his servant." His voice was curt.

Suddenly her head came up making eye contact with him. "Why did you come?"

"Did you want to stay there?" He openly scowled at the idea. "Did you?"

"That's not what I said. I said I want to know why you came. Why?" She asked

He snorted. "Why?" Wasn't it obvious by now?

"Do you feel responsible for me? Someone you need to take care off. Is guilt what drove you to Tokuma's house?"

For someone not in their right mind, she kept her thoughts straight. It's true, he had always felt guilty for all the things that happened to her. All because she'd invited him to live with her. Somewhere along the line though, he'd fallen in love with her. He'd been force to leave her with the threat of the new war. Sano had told him what had happened to her in his absence the first time. This second time had been much worse for her. All because of the way he'd left her. That and the fact that it took him a bit over a year to come back. A small part of him argued that this was the reason he'd come back. Because it was his fault she was sick. Though he'd been reluctant to start anything with her before, well now that she was sick it was the least he could do to make her happy.

Another part of him argued differently. She had a mean-vengeful streak that lured him. Her innocence was a deceitful mask. She was possessive because she had already laid claim on him. And though he had done everything possible to deny this. He had laid claim on her long ago. She was his woman. And no matter how much the other part of himself argued about his hands being to stained to be with her, there was no way he'd ever let someone else have her.

The sound of the fireworks broke him of his thoughts. His head turned up towards the sky.

She watched him; he had seemed lost in thought. She rose and his head turned. "I want our picture taken," she said as she turned her back to him and they walked down the busy street.

Her thoughts kept turning everything over. She wasn't wrong. He loved her. He did. Even if he hadn't said it. He wouldn't respond to her the way he did if he didn't.

She unconsciously reached for him when he came closer to her.

So this brought her back to the same question what had happened in Kyoto. They continued walking down in silence till they reached the river.

He dreaded moments when she became completely quiet. It meant she was plotting. He watched out of the corner of his eye as a smile spread over lips lighting her whole face.

They stood in front of the old man waiting for him to take the picture. "Smile anata," she said turning slightly to the side. "I want to show this to our children."

He felt his heart grow light. A small grin appearing on his face.

*************

Kenshin shielded his eyes as the glass broke against the wall next to him.

He gave a deep sigh.

"We will." She hissed.

"No we won't." He didn't understand why he bothered. They'd been fighting for almost an hour. He really didn't want to continue this conversation but if he turned his back to her and walked out, it would only get worse for him. So he stayed. They'd been in Matsue for almost three months. He hardly ever let her go into town. When ever he did though he was always with her. So he could see why she wanted to celebrate out of Matsue. He gave a sigh. He wasn't angry anymore, just tired.

He moved slightly as the book flew by his head. He watched as she stomped her foot. That always amused him.

"Don't you give me that grin. If I had wanted to stay someone's prisoner I would have stayed with Tokuma. At least there I had servants." She watched in satisfaction as the statement wiped the grin off hid face.

They hardly ever mentioned Yasuyoshi but when ever the name came up the fight only got worse.

He felt anger bubbling in his veins. He knew she often said things to make him angry on purpose his own fault she'd scream for making her angry first. His eyes glittered with hatred for the name. "I said no and that is FINAL." He mumbled through gritted teeth.

She gave a small snort. "I don't know WHO, you think you're talking to but I'm not gonna just stay here because you wish it."

"Yes you will." He said grabbing her by the arms forcefully. "You are mine . . . . . . . "

She struggled under his grip. "I WILL NOT!!!" She roared. She pounded on his chest but his hold didn't lessen any. "I'm not your property," she screeched loudly. All the commotion might have been a problem for anyone else but not for them. They had no neighbors. Alone on this side of the mountain. No one around for miles.

"Let ME GO!!!! You son-. . . . ." She felt the floor give away.

Kenshin watched in horror as her eyes rolled back and she went limp in his arms. "Kaoru." He eased her down to the futon. "Koishii," He said a little more desperately. He rushed out to get her a cold washcloth. He came back and put it on her forehead. "Koishii, can you hear me?"

Her eyes were slow to open. She'd been having dizzy spells lately. She tried to rise but he held her down.

"All right," we'll go he said hugging her to him.

*************

The air was becoming cooler, a sign of the approaching autumn. Okayama looked very large.

She scenery changed as the carriage rode by. She had wanted to sit on outside with him but he hadn't let her. Afraid off her getting too much sun. She looked through the bag she'd brought with her. Looking for the one package she'd bought in Fukui. Thinking back they'd gotten attacked there. The man with the long swords. Her face contorted into a frown. They hadn't gotten attacked at all in Matsue. Was that why he hadn't wanted to leave. She felt the carriage come to a stop. She threw everything into the bag and took her seat again.

He opened the door to let her out. Hmm, she looked guilty. Of what thought. He took a quick glance as he helped her out. He still felt uneasy.

They walked to the inn to where they were going to be staying. One hand on the small of her back while the other gripped his sakabatou. He had this foreboding feeling that something wasn't right.

Kenshin slid the door closed with a soft click. The man at the desk had seemed surprised to see him. That meant he knew who he was. He watched as she started to set things up. They were going to be here for three days. Maybe.

*************

She walked down the street a couple of feet ahead of him. Sometimes he felt he needed to tie her to him to keep her from wondering. He trailed behind her with the things she'd bought so far.

She stopped in front of a restaurant waiting for him to come to her side. "When are we going to go back to Tokyo?" She said as they were seated.

That really took him by surprise. She had gotten better in the couple of months they had spent together. Probably because it was just the two of them. "You want to go back?"

She nodded.

"To the dojo?" He said a little disbelieving. The rurouni and his Kaoru-dono had lived there once. He thought she might never want to go back there again.

She nodded again. She was more than half way through her meal. Her appetite had really increased in the last couple of days.

"Did you just want to visit?" He asked. At the moment it was better if they stayed away from other people at least till she got better. But if she wanted to return, that was by him. Everyone had been taking care of the dojo in their absence.

Her head turned to the side.

His head turned to the side as well.

"Battoussai!"

Kenshin's face-hardened as he got up. She grabbed him by the hand. "Wait, where are you going?"

He didn't look at her just continued on his way. "Wait." She said getting up to go after him but the waitress stopped her.

"Your bill." She said to Kaoru.

Kaoru stuck her hand into her purse and handed the woman a hand full in her hurry out the door. She rushed out but he was gone. She looked both ways but there wasn't anyone there. Maybe they're in the alley she thought.

"Battoussai," he sneered. "I heard you were in town. Been looking for you.

Katana-gari, Cho.

Kenshin recognized the man very well from before. They had fought ones. He noted Cho was still using the same blade as before. Satsu-Ji-Keu (Murder Sword) Haku - Ji- no Tachi, It's got the strongest possible blade for as thin as the blade was made. It's why it can be controlled so easily.

Cho noticed the Battoussai looked slightly different. Aside from the clothes. It was his expression. He'd seen him fight recently. His attacks were a bit more savage then the first time they'd met. He also killed now when his woman was threatened. He gave the battoussai a nasty smile. He knew something the other didn't.

Kaoru ran around the corner and slammed into someone. She was surprised to say the least.

"Kaoru-chan." He said with a very small smile.

"Tokuma," she smiled back. "What a surprise. What are you doing here?" She said backing a bit from the embrace he still held her in.

"I came looking for you." He said his smile disappearing.

She openly frowned. "But the . . . . ."

"The letter. I got it." His lips formed a thin line. "Funny thing I heard almost after you left." His mouth felt dry. Seems your battoussai was once a rurouni." His hand started shaking in suppressed anger.

"Tokuma," she explained calmly. "I thought I explained it all in the letter. I wished to be free. I thanked you for your kindness but I could never love you that way. My heart belongs to someone else."

He looked at her. She had always been very beautiful. But seemed that the older she got the more beautiful she became. She was worthy of becoming his wife. He nodded to someone behind her.

Kaoru felt someone grab her from behind. She struggled but she wasn't able to see who it was. "Let me go. Tokuma what are you doing?"

"I'm taking you home," he said. His voice wavering slightly. "Will marry and we'll forget this nonsense."

"You can't." She struggled harder. "I'm not leaving him. Stop it. Stop this Tokuma." She was feeling desperate. Tears were starting to flow freely. "KENSHIN!!!!" She screamed loud into the air. Hoping he would hear.

Tokuma slapped her hard across the face. He was so angry. He shook all over.

Kaoru's face stung. She'd bitten the inside of her cheek. She felt the blood in her mouth. She turned her head back to Tokuma defiantly. She spat into his face.

"Kaoru." He whispered. There was so much hate coming form her.

"I'm already married." She told him with much disdain.

He went pale for a moment. He shook his head. "You may have been married Kaoru-chan but today you will become a widow."

"What do you mean?"

"What have you done? I swear if you hurt him I'll kill you." She struggled against the man that held her.

"I'll Kill YOU !!!!!" She shrieked.

He turned his back to her. So he wouldn't have to see. He turned when he heard the thump.

Kaoru's last thought was on her husband . . . . .

And the baby.

Ok, I'm sorry this took so long. There were a couple of books I need to finish reading. But alas here it is. This might not be as long as I would have like but this was a good place for me to stop.

Small Note: They have finally made it to Matsue. This is where Kenshin felt was safe enough to be their new home. We finally know the blond guy with broom like hair is Katana-gari, Cho. (Uses a lot of bad language and has very little respect for anything or anyone other than a sword. Episode 40) He hates Kenshin. Thinks Kenshin's a relic from the past. At least he thought so the first time he fought Kenshin. Kenshin nearly took his head off in the first fight.

Tokuma's back for Kaoru. And he's very angry. He knows Kenshin was her rurouni.

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Please remember, when you see these dash things over dialogue it means they're dreaming. In this chapter it was Kenshin. Last chapter ended with a dream, but often when people have a nightmares they don't usually wake up. They jump into another dream. It's what happened here.

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Thanks for reading. Please review :P

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