Standard disclaimers apply.

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Kaoru felt her heart pounding fiercely in her chest. Her breath was coming in hot, strangled gasps. She was sweating heavily and felt slow and cumbersome - even wearing her practice hakama! In her arms, Kenshin had began to cry. Obviously he didn't appreciate all of the jostling.

She slapped twigs and branches out of her face, trying to pick the easiest trail back up the cliff, and overall; back to Tokyo and the relative safety of the Kamiya Dojo.

She wanted to twist around and see how close Rizzu was....... She had heard him following her almost as soon as she started running. But lately she wasn't hearing anything from him. That meant one of two things was happening. One, he was moving faster then her and setting up an ambush somewhere. Or two, Misao had retaliated as soon as she realized she wasn't being followed. Kaoru didn't like the sound of either of them.

She broke into the clearing with the cabin several seconds later. Then she stopped, trying to tone down the pounding of her blood pumping loudly in her ears. Kenshin's cries and her own heavy breathing prevented her from hearing anything.

She scanned the downward path with sapphire blue eyes, looking for signs of pursuit. Spotting a flock of birds scattering from somewhere in the valley below, she felt horror flicker across her features. Misao hadn't run after all. She had attacked Rizzu.

She started back and then stopped. She couldn't afford to let Kenshin get caught by the deranged priest again. What if she wasn't able to get away with him again? But how could she abandon her friend? She hadn't even meant to drag the shinobi into the mess..... it had just happened.

"And now I'm split again," she murmured aloud to the baby in her arms. She was trapped between her feelings for her baby and the desire to help her friends. But picking one would mean she would lose the other..... if not both.

She remembered suddenly - with a surge of irritation at the truth behind the words - something that her father had told her once. She had been throwing a tantrum because she wanted to learn to cook and perform kendo. He had laughed and said without even thinking; "Those who want everything will end up with nothing."

But what could she do? Kaoru wanted everything. She wanted her friends to accept the situation as it was. She wanted to finish her wedding plans with Enishi - something she was actually starting to look foreword to........ She wanted to protect Kenshin, her baby, from any and all harm - physical or mental. And she didn't want to sacrifice her friends to do it.

"Misao!" she shouted. "Hold on!" She wasn't sure if her voice had carried, but that didn't really matter. The only important thing was defeating the man who had stolen Kenshin's technique and ...... staying alive - that was important too!

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"Nani?" Enishi asked sharply. He was sitting up on the hospital futon, looking at Tsubamme with intense turquoise eyes. "Where is Kaoru?"

Tsubamme half hid behind her tray. "Kaoru-san and Misao-chan went in search of the Shinto priest, Rizzu. He kidnapped Kenshin-san..... er.... Kenshin-chan....... and they're going to rescue him."

Enishi didn't even bother sitting back anymore. He stood up. "And where's Sagara?" he asked, looking around and finding his clothes suspiciously not present. "And where's my clothes?"

Tsubamme resisted the urge to cower behind the tray too much. "Enishi-san, the girls are probably in danger. Aoshi-san says that Rizzu has the technique of the hitokiri battousai......"

Enishi stopped rummaging through the drawers in the small dresser. They were full of medical supplies...... nothing for him to wear in them. "What did you say?" he asked, knowing full well what the waitress had said. "He has Battousai's...... skill?"

"Hai!" Tsubamme confirmed.

He cursed. "I need to get to her!" he shouted, bare feet slapping the wooden floor as he shoved the door aside. He was starting to feel oddly panicked. He had lost Tomoe to Kenshin - the hitiokiri Battousai. Now he was going to loose Kaoru to his technique? It wasn't fair.

He felt a buzzing in his ears, the angry noise of a million bees. It was making it hard for him to think. Fury at the injustice of the universe was tearing at his body, making him want to spill the blood of his enemies. His vision was distorting with the need to destroy. Mindlessly, he put his fist through one thin paper wall.

He heard a squeal of delight. "Uncle Enishi!" Suzume exclaimed. She climbed to her feet and ran over to him, hugging his leg while her sister hugged his other leg. "You're all better now!"

"All better!" Ayame cheered. She detached herself from his leg and picked up a handful of wilting dandelions.

"We picked a couple of flowers for you," Suzume said, handing the wilting blossoms to him.

"Play with us!" Ayame suggested, picking up an entirely new conversation thread. "I wanna play ball!" She held up a brightly colored ball and gazed at him imploringly.

Enishi's vision cleared and he dropped to his knees in front of them. "I gotta go see Kaoru right now. I'll come back and play with you later, okay?"

Both girls shrugged. "Okay," Suzume agreed.

"Kay," Ayame echoed.

Enishi quickly stood up and hurried out the door. Catching sight of Tsubamme with an armful of clothes, he hurried over to her. "Tsubamme-chan, where did Rizzu take Kaoru?" he asked.

"We don't know. Misao-chan tracked them from the Akabeko," she answered.

"You said that Aoshi went too?" Enishi asked, disappearing behind a door and pulling on the white hakama and blue gi that she had given him. He tied the sash and stepped into the hallway, feeling awkward preparing for battle without his regular clothes.

"Hai!" Tsubamme agreed. "He left as soon as he realized it was Rizzu. Sano-san and Yahiko-chan both went with him."

"And you don't know where?" Enishi murmured, more to himself then to her. He was going to have trouble getting to where Kaoru was. He wasn't a shinobi like the Kyoto group......

He smiled suddenly. "Who all came from Kyoto?" he asked slyly.

Tsubamme looked startled. "Why everyone," she said. "He..... ck I even think Master Hiko might be on his way......" It was the longest drawn out heck that Enishi had ever heard. Clearly the shy waitress had nearly cursed. The news that Hiko was possibly on his way was making him want to curse, but he had found out what he needed to know.

"Arigatou," he said, patting her on top of her head gratefully. He pushed open the door leading outside and waved briefly before disappearing down the street.

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Okon was feeling flirtatious. She was dressed up in a brand new silk kimono and knew that she looked hot. Even the ever elusive Hiko would have to admit she was a knock-out. She sighed contentedly, imagining how he would react to her new attire.

"Okon.... of the Oniwabanshuu?" a man's voice asked behind her.

"Er.....hai!" she said automatically, turning and looking at none other then Enishi Yukishiro himself. She restrained a startled yelp and suddenly realized the flaw in her outfit. It didn't have room for her weapons, so she had left them behind.

"Good, I need your help," Enishi said. He hadn't thought it would be so easy to find a shinobi, but she had been the most colorful girl in the crowd.

"With what?" she asked suspiciously, alerting him that she didn't have a clue about what was going on.

He rubbed his hand through his spiky white hair. "Kaoru Kamiya is in danger. I have to save her." He debated telling her more then that, but decided against it. She didn't need to know anything that might make her not want to help him.

"Does Aoshi-sama and Misao-chan know?" she asked, stepping closer to him. She couldn't decide if he was lying or not.

"They left while I was still unconscious," he explained. "We'll talk on the way. I need you to trace a kidnapper."

"Someone kidnapped Kaoru-san?" Okon asked. She got a steely tone to her voice and her eyes had started sweeping the crowd for any signs of danger.

"Rizzu, a Shinto priest, kidnapped our son. Kaoru went after him," Enishi offered as an explanation. "Kaoru and I are to be married."

Okon didn't say anything for a long moment. Finally she spoke. "I'll need a trail to follow."

Enishi nodded and took her to the Akebeko.

His heart was starting to really hurt. What if something bad was happening to Kaoru right now? What if she died? Would he be able to recover? It hadn't been very long since he had arrived in Tokyo, but somehow he didn't ever want to leave again.

Kaoru was what he needed. She was his medicine...... the one thing that staved madness from his soul. He found her presence soothing and rarely even thought about revenge in her presence. And she understood about the baby. She felt the same way that he did.

Thinking of her made him feel strange. It made his heart beat faster and slower at the same time. He knew that know..... he just didn't know how long she had had that effect on him.

One thing he did know; he loved her.

"Hang on, Kaoru," he whispered. As they started towards the cabin on the mountainside at a brisk pace.

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Aoshi felt cold inside. Frozen and on the verge of despair. Misao was probably dead by know. Rizzu, armed with Kenshin's technique, would be unstoppable. They were all probably dead by now. All he was going to accomplish would be killing Rizzu and avenging their deaths.

He tracked Misao's trail almost effortlessly, she had left a lot of broken twigs as she left; obviously expecting to be followed eventually. He had a clear trail to follow and was making good time, but still......... Would it be enough? Would he ever get to see her again?

He pushed the thought out of his mind. He couldn't let himself think like that. He just couldn't. Not if he wanted to be able to keep going. Then the trail disappeared.

He scanned furiously, his worry causing him to skip over several barely noticeable clues. "I lost them," he said, his voice emotionally cold while fear and despair coursed inside of him.

Sano and Yahiko stopped walking, trading looks before starting to look for the trail themselves. "We'll find it," Yahiko said firmly.

"The little weasel and raccoon are counting on us," Sano added.

That is, if they're not already dead. Aoshi let the thought slide across the icy expanse of his mind. "Let us pray that we are not to late."

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Kaoru couldn't take Kenshin into combat, so she did the next best thing. She carried him into the woods on the other side of the cabin and hid him in a hollow tree trunk. She laid a blanket down around him and game him a couple of wooden spoons to play with. Then she headed towards the battle that she knew was taking place.

She had retrieved a solid boken from inside the cabin and was making good time over the now familiar trail leading into the valley. She felt fear and uncertainty slip away. She wasn't going to fight Kenshin..... she was going to fight Rizzu and he wouldn't be able to stop her from winning.

The old confidence was back in full force. She would win because he had to. The lives of Misao and Kenshin were hanging on the line.

As she drew closer, she heard the sounds of battle. She heard Misao calling out the names of her techniques while Rizzu called out the names of Kenshin's techniques. Kaoru didn't make any noise. She was going to use surprise to her advantage as much as she could.

She burst into the small clearing. Her body tingling in anticipation of the upcoming battle. Her eyes took in everything: Rizzu, standing over a crumpled and bleeding Misao, the blood spurting from his smashed nose, the fury causing splotches of rage to appear on his neck and temple, Misao's scattered kunai and the awkward angle of her body lying on the ground.

"Hold it right there, Rizzu!" she exclaimed. "You have to fight me now!"

The priest turned slowly, a grin playing across his face. "I'll do more then that," he promised. "I'll kill you."

"We'll see about that!" Kaoru exclaimed. Then she attacked.

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Author's notes;

Glossery of Japanesse terms;

Chan = little

Sama = lord

San = Mr. or Mrs. or Miss {It can mean any of them.}

Kunai = small little daggeres used by some ninja instead of shurkien {thowing stars}

Shinobi = ninja

Nani = what

Arigatou = thank-you

Although, I'm not 100% certain that I spelled them all correctly right.

Thanks for reading,

Kissa-chan