Kaoru watched in fear as Kenshin attacked Sano. She couldn't just watch her husband hurt her best friend. No, she just couldn't do it. At the last moment, she heaved herself up and leaped in front of Sano, pushing him out of the way in the process. She stared up at Kenshin, who looked down on her in complete surprise. "You won't hurt Sano. Kenshin, he's your friend! FRIEND! Kenshin, please, listen to me! You are Kenshin, not the rurouni, not the Battousai, not a hitokiri, but Kenshin. My husband, my friend, and the man I fell in love with. Pull yourself together!" Kenshin's eyes began to darken once again, but it was too late. The sword came crashing down on Kaoru's injured shoulder, and as it struck, she cried out in pain. "Aaahh!" It now bled freely, and was much deeper than before. "Tanuki-chan!" "Kaoru-koi!" Sano and Kenshin reached out to her, but she fell before they could reach her. She looked at Kenshin, deep into his violet orbs.violet? She smiled. Her husband was back. Her beloved Kenshin was with her again. Sorrow and guilt flowed freely through them, and he smiled at the forgiveness in her sapphire eyes. A tear trickled down her cheek and he wiped it away. She stole a glance at Sano's surprised face before everything went black.

Megumi finally managed to stumble to the clinic. She panted and she leaned against the wall of the establishment before going in and collapsing on the floor inside. Yahiko looked down worriedly at Tsubame's still form. She had fainted from the pain and he feared the worst. "Tsubame.hang on. We're almost there. Dr. Genzai will have you all better in no time. Please hang on, for me." he whispered. Finally, he saw the building and almost cried in joy. Flinging open the door, he found Megumi on the floor, breathing hard. "Dr. Genzai!" he yelled into the building, "We have an emergency here! Hurry!" The said doctor ran in and stopped at the sight of his patients. "What happened, Yahiko-chan?" he asked quietly. Yahiko didn't complain about the -chan. "They were kidnapped. The corpses were fake," he answered. "I thought as much," he commented thoughtfully, "But why are they like this?" His brow was furrowed in concern and slight confusion. Yahiko looked at them for a moment before answering, silently praying they would make it and that the doctor could help them. "Their kidnappers beat them. I think Tsubame-chan's in the worst condition," he stated. Dr. Genzai nodded and began to carry Megumi onto a futon. Yahiko picked Tsubame and placed her on the futon next to Megumi's. Dr. Genzai inspected Tsubame's cuts for infection then turned to Yahiko. "Boil some water, quickly. When that's done, bring it to me and go get a bag of ice." Yahiko nodded and went off to fulfill his duties.

Kenshin picked up Kaoru and ran as fast as his legs would go. Sano was close behind and when they reached the clinic, Kenshin brought Kaoru in, setting her down on a futon. Sano ran over to Megumi and refused to leave her side until she healed. Kenshin walked out and proceeded to drown himself in the river, but Yahiko noticed and dragged him out. "What do you think you're doing?!" he cried, then walked back into the clinic to stand by Tsubame. Kenshin just stared up at the sky. He sighed and got up. Kenshin walked into a bar and targeted the drunkest man immediately. He walked up to him. The man stood up. "Whaddya want?" he asked, his voice slightly slurred. "Think you're so tough?" Kenshin prodded. The man stretched to his full height, which was pretty tall. Taller than Kenshin, anyway. "I'm tougher than you, midget." Kenshin scowled, "Oh yeah?" The man scowled too, "Yeah. Wanna try me?" Kenshin grimaced, "I'd beat you in two seconds, so instead, I'll let you beat me up and I won't even fight back. Do what you want." The man stopped to consider this for a moment, and then smirked, "Sure. But you can't fight back at all. Heh heh heh!" The two men proceeded outside, and the drunken man beat Kenshin up badly, punching, kicking, twisting, and throwing him. Kenshin, to the surprise of both the drunk man and the onlookers, did not fight back at all, but kept a straight face and pretended to feel no pain. The man got annoyed and increased his onslaught eventually, Kenshin blacked out, and the crowd left him on the street.

It was night when Kenshin awoke to the twinkling stars above him. He got up and walked to the clinic, where to his utter surprise, Kaoru was up and moving. She could only walk, and just barely, but it was better than nothing. "Kaoru-koi?" gasped Kenshin, "You're-you're alive!" He ran to her and plucked her right off the ground to swing her about and hug her. She smiled and held on to him like she would never let go. Sano cleared his throat behind them and they stopped. Kaoru sat back down on the bed. "Glad to see you're back Kenshin, but Kaoru-chan has to rest. Kitsune's orders." Kaoru smiled and obeyed. Kenshin sat down on the edge of the bed and watched her. "Feeling better, Kenshin? It wasn't your fault, and you know that. You better not have done anything drastic. Where were you last night anyway? Kaoru was worried sick that you had committed suicide or something." He frowned at Kenshin. "Why would I do that?" he asked, but shrugged at the pointed looks his wife and best friend gave him. "I was.busy." Sano raised an eyebrow, but Kenshin refused to continue. Sano shrugged and left. "I'm sorry, koishii. Please forgive me. I should have been there. I shouldn't have given in to-" he apologized, but Kaoru placed a hand over his mouth. "Shhh.I don't blame you koishii. I'm alright. You're alright. Calm down. We worry too much over each other." She smiled softly at him and he melted. He nodded meekly, taking her hand in his. "I'll always be there for you, Kenshin. Always and forever." "I'll always be there for you, too, koishii. Always, Kaoru, always," promised Kenshin.

A week later, Kaoru, Megumi, and Tsubame were up and about. Tsubame had returned to the Akebeko, though Yahiko had gone and checked up on her every day since. Megumi had returned to her duties as a doctor, and Sano had made the clinic his temporary home. Kaoru had returned to the dojo and continued with her daily activities. Kenshin remained by her side the entire time.

One fine summer day, soon after her recovery, she found Kenshin hanging up the laundry. Sneeking up quietly, she grabbed him around his waist to surprise him. He had heard her, as she had expected, but he winced slightly. She felt his flinch and was immediately worried. "Kenshin, what's the matter?" she interrogated. "Nothing Kaoru. Don't worry. It was nothing. You just, uh, surprised me so I jumped a little." He answered, almost succeeding in remaining calm. Kaoru, however, noticed the flinch as one of pain and was not fooled. She scowled, "Kenshin, tell me what happened. I know you're lying to me. I'm not that gullible. If you don't tell me now, I'll find out for myself." Her tone was demanding, but Kenshin stood his ground. "It's nothing, Kaoru. Trust me. Sessha is just fine." This time it was his turn to scowl. He grimaced for a split second, and Kaoru didn't notice. But Kaoru had already seen his mistake. "Sessha?" she inquired, "Kenshin, you're hiding something and I know it." Kenshin knew she had him figured out, but still he denied all facts. "I'm just fine. And that 'sessha' was just a slip of the tongue. Nothing more. That it wasn't." Kaoru frowned, then grabbed his arm and dragged him over to their bedroom and set him down upon the futon. Kenshin struggled, but Kaoru's hold was firm. "Stay still, Kenshin. I'm not going to hurt you. Baka, just stay still, won't you?" she cried exasperated, through gritted teeth. Finally, she had succeeded in ripping off his shirt and there, right where she had hugged him was a large purple bruise. "Kenshin?! Was that from.me?" she whispered. Kenshin nodded his head. "Who did this? I'm going to kill them! Nobody hurts Kenshin except me! You hear that out there? Nobody but me!" she screamed into the air. Kenshin grasped her waist and pulled her down beside him. Sitting up, he placed a hand gently on her mouth. She pouted, but all sound was muffled by his hand. Finally, he released her and she remained quiet. Suddenly, she stood up and walked out the door, seeming very determined about something.

"Sanosuke Sagara! Come here right now. If you don't come here right now, I'll force to stay away from Megumi for a whole week. And you know I can do that. Baka rooster, get out here!" yelled Kaoru, quickly growing impatient. In a last effort, she mustered up the rest of her patience and waited silently. Sano came out a few moments later. "Yeah?" he asked. He looked quizzically at her angry expression. She scowled, "Somebody has beaten up my poor Kenshin and I'm going to kill the person who did it. He refuses to tell me, so I want you to tell me." Sano looked at her strangely, and then opened his mouth. "You know, do you? I want to know exactly who did it. Don't keep anything from me." Sano quickly responded before she could start yelling at him, "He thought you were dead when he brought you in, so he left and Yahiko-chan said he was trying to drown himself. Yahiko-chan saved him and then walked back into the building. I went to one of the bars later on and found Kenshin there, picking a fight with this huge drunk guy." But he was interrupted by Kaoru's cutely fuming face, "Kenshin would never pick a fight with anybody. Never." She stared at him suspiciously, as if believing him to be lying. He backed up a step, waving his hands in front of his face, "You wouldn't expect me to lie about such a serious situation, would you? Anyway, the big guy agreed to fight him because Kenshin said he wouldn't fight back. The drunk guy just beat him to a pulp and left him on the streets. It's a good thing he woke up. I had to go back to see Megumi, so I didn't see him, otherwise I would have picked up on my way to the clinic. I think he was 'punishing' himself for 'killing' you. He was going to do this the next night, too, if you hadn't awoken and proved to him you weren't dead. You won't be able to find the guy who beat Kenshin. Trust me. Yell at Kenshin for provoking him." Kaoru nodded. "Thanks, Sano," she grinned. Sano nodded, "No prob. Guess I'll be seeing you 'round. Heh heh," he chortled merrily.