Disclaimer: Ah, we've been through this enough. Kenshin = not mine, capish? Ran = not mine either. Therefore, RK and WK = not mine squared. See? Simple math.

A/N: Whee, welcome back all ^^ XD It's time to ceeeelebraaaaate! Thanks to everyone who reviewed; NTK has now got over 300 reviews! *hugs everyone* Thank you thank you thank you! Glad to see ya'll again, and once again, thanks to everyone who R&Red. Must do some shameless self-advertising now, hehe *puts up a sign* Please, please, please go and have a look see at my new RK fic that I just put up recently, called Haunted. It's a supernatural romance thing, and hopefully, it won't be anywhere near as long as Need to Kill. NTK is still my primary fic, so don't worry about me leaving you people in the lurch and hanging off some evil cliff or something (XD although it would be mucho fun to do that! XD mwahahah~). So anyway, go have a lookie and see for yourself if you'd like that as much as you like this fic! ^^

Anyway, in this chapter, Kenshin enters Kaoru's mind to bring her back, only to find that she's in a rather sorry state of mind (if you'll excuse the bad pun). Lots of angst, hints of insanity, gore and blood here, you have been warned! This is a dark chapter! Rated R. Read at your own risk! OOCness abound. Please excuse any grammar or spelling errors in the later half of this chapter _ I was up until 4am last night typing it.

Reviewers' Space!

Linay – O_O OMG. ^^;; Lol, sorry for sounding so melodramatic, but I'm really flattered that you read my story! I really admire your writing style and how you can manage to keep your story so full of urm…story? ^^;; And I love how you express each character's emotions. Btw, congrats on winning the many awards at the RKRC; you certainly deserve them! Anyway, thanks so much for R&Ring, and hope that you'll find my fic interesting enough to read more!

Kitty kat – Wow ^^ it's nice to hear that you think my fanfic is the best that you've ever read; glad that you're enjoying what you've read so far, and hope that you come back for more!

Kouru22 – Ooh, you're Inu22's sister? ^^ Kewl! Thanks for reading my fic and hope you'll stay 'round for more!

Asuka-chan2 – Haha ;) Well, you'll just have to wait and see then, won't you? ^^;; I'm a bit of a prick when it comes to giving out information about how the story will progress because sometimes I'm not even 50% sure where it'll go, so I can't really tell you anyway. XD Lol, sorry! Anyway, thanks for R&Ring!

BitterSWEET-love – Lol, I'm glad to hear that you've been enjoying all the chapters so far. Chapter 19 was an absolute pain in the ass to write, and it took *FOREVER*! ^^;; You can't believe how relieved I was when I finally finished it. I think I wrote that chapter in one whole weekend, spending way over 24 hours on the computer. Fanfiction really is a killer to your social life :p not that I mind really. Anyways, thanks for R&Ring, and tadah! Here's the newest chapter. Enjoy!

Holly – Thanks for R&Ring both this fic and Haunted! ^^ You deserve to have lots of cookies!

Eeevee – Yeah, it *does* sound painful doesn't it? Kinda like a double-edged sword – saving someone else's life at the cost of your own pain or something like that. But if it really meant helping someone else out, then I don't think I'd mind all that much =) Yeah, good thing that Meg was there, otherwise Kenshin would probably have lost it completely again. ^^ Glad that you find her likeable, and thanks for R&Ring! See you in the next chapter!

KeNsHiN – XD Yesh, yet another cliffhanger it is. I'm feeling just a *teeny* bit guilty for plunking two cliffhangers consecutively for two chapters, but ^^ 'tis fun! Glad that you still like this fic enough not to abandon it though! Yeah, 2 pairs of HalfSouls we do have! Nope, unfortunately (and probably fortunately for me! lol) Misao and Aoshi are not HalfSouls, but well, they do share their 'Shifter abilities. _ Writing up two pairs of HalfSouls is tough enough, let alone all three relationships at once _ oh well. Anyways, thanks for R&Ring and see you again in the next chapter!

Aglaia102 - ^^ Kewl. I'm glad that you love it! XD Does wonders for writers like me. Well, here's the update and I hope it satisfies you! Thanks for R&Ring and thank *you* for reading!

Baka-Ryu – Lol, yes, Sano and his blabber-mouthedness. 'Tis only to be expected though. Already, he's gotten off on the wrong foot with Meg, but well, it was kinda remedied huh? ^^ Ah, just wait 'til she wakes up. Kenshin is out to save the day! Never fear! =) Thanks for R&Ring and see you again next time!

Rekka's Angel – Yep, Enishi's making more and more of an impact on their lives, however unfortunate it may be. =) Great evaluating skills you have there. Here's the next chapter and thanks for R&Ring! Ta for now!

Migo – Ooh, new reviewer! =) Glad that you're liking what you've read so far, and thanks for R&Ring! Hope to see you 'round in chapters to come as well!

Kaoru23 – w00t! ^^ Hey girl! 'Words from the worldly wise' huh? ^^ Much appreciated ;) Hyper at 1.10am? Don't worry, I've done way worse :p XD Yesh! Yet another cliffhanger! Lol, well, they *are* there to keep you hooked right? Hehe. Glad that you really enjoyed it and glad to hear that you enjoyed the other story too! XD Mwaha~ Thanks for R&Ring girl and see ya again in the next update!

Punky1 - ^^ Thanks! I'm glad that you liked it! lol, I love supernatural stuff too XD That's why I use it so much! Addictive is it? ^^;; that's a good thing! Thanks so much for R&Ring and hope to see you in the next chapter too!

Ruriko2 – Nope, not this one, the pre-fic to this is on hiatus. Ah, gomen about the paranormal stuff, but don't worry, it won't get anymore confusing than this, so take your time ne? Anyway, thanks for R&Ring, and hopefully I'll see you again in the next chapter!

Shahrezad1 – Ah, I remember that scene well! XD Subaru and Kamui rock! Squee! Lol, fan-girlishness aside, yes I do know that scene that you're talking about. Even though I never really intended it to have anything to do with that, but now that you mention it, it sure seems pretty similar, huh? Well, for one thing, Kaoru's mind is nothing like that. XD Hah! Sano must know, after being told about HalfSouls so much by Kenshin and Kaoru. Ah…Meg, Meg, Meg ^^ 'twill be quite a roar when she discovers that it's really true! Thanks for R&Ring and see you again in the next chapter then!

DragonTamer9741 – Lol, ^^;; that's Sou-chan as always. He is a genius ne? Yesh, very helpful when studying. He's gonna help me make some Chocolate Rice Krispie Squares for my Charity Day thingy at school. XD He'll bring some over to you this trip to bribe you! Lol. Glad that you enjoyed the chapter, and lol, hope this chapter didn't take too long to come out! Thanks for R&Ring girl, and see you in the next chapter! *hugs*

Asuka-chan2 - ^^ Happy to hear that you enjoyed the Sano and Meg fluff. ^^;; ah, gomen for taking forever to bring her into the fic, but well, she's around for good now. :p couldn't get rid of her even if I tried! Glad that you're enjoying the story too, and well, I try my best, as always! Thanks for R&Ring and see you in the next chapter!

Inu22 – I know what you're getting at, but well, since everybody in the anime refers to him as Kanryuu, I thought that I might as well just follow it. Thanks for R&Ring and see ya in the next chapter!

Missaw – Nah, don't worry about the prologue thing. ;) Everyone will notice sooner or later! Lol. Wow, you really enjoyed this chapter huh? Glad to hear that! ^^ Always happy when my readers are happy. Yup yup yup, Meg and Sano are HalfSouls indeed (way more explosive than Oro-chan and Kaoru, I must say XD fiery combination indeed!), and I'll update ASAP! ^^ Thanks for R&Ring and see you again in the next chapter!

Irksome one – Ehen ^^ Thanks for your compliments. Glad that you really enjoy reading it so much and hope that the rest of my chapters don't disappoint you then! Thanks for R&Ring and see you 'round in the next update!

Aryanne – Ah, thankies. I wanted something significant as a symbol for Black Dawn, and then black roses came to mind. ;_; No, unfortunately, I never got to watch Daredevil _ they banned it! Grah, stupid censorship boards. Ooh, he really does that? Coo~ Glad that you like it though ^^ Thanks for R&Ring!

The Girl Who Cried Oro - ;) Ah, Kenshin will save her! Lol, that sounds so…cliché. XD Never mind! Lol. Mm…hopefully they *will* put up a SDK category; I'm itching to see fics written by other SDK fans! XD Ooh, I just got book 22 of SDK during the week, and it rocks! *hugs book* Kyo is the bomb! ^^;;; sorry for getting all fangirlish on you, but it's just sooooo grr ^^ Anyway, enough of my nutty raving, and thanks so much for R&Ring once again! ^^ I must remember to read your fic again sometime soon ^^ do continue ne! I'll update ASAP, and I'll see you in the next update then!

Flyinangel777 – ^^ Thank you! XD But it's the cliffhangers that make it fun! And never fear, I will update of course! ^^ Thanks for R&Ring and see you again in the next chapter!

CurlsofSerenity – Ooh, haven't seen you 'round in a bit! XD It gets even more brain numbing from here on, so hold on tight to that chair! Cliffies are an author's best friend and a reader's worst nightmare ^^;; Anyway, thanks for R&Ring and hope to see you again in the chapters to come!

Now…on to the fic!

Chapter 21: Lost and Found

Thoughts are in ' '

Speech is in " "

Telepathy is in italics.

Kaoru opened her eyes only to find that she was seemingly nowhere near where she had fainted at Takeda Kanryuu's lab. In fact, the only thing surrounding her was a blanketing darkness that seemed to have no end. Something seemed to quicken in her blood, and she found herself sweating profusely and her limbs feeling weak as she explored the black nothingness. Still, she continued to plod through the unending landscape; if she stayed here for too long, she knew that back in the real world her body would fall into a coma and she might never ever get back again. It was something that she had seen happen to a fellow telepath once, and the results were gruelling to say the least. Suffice to say that she didn't want to go through the same fate that he had.

She didn't know how long she was doing just that: wandering around in the eternal darkness; was it one second, one minute, one hour, or had it been one thousand years? Time passed by differently when you were lost in the depths of your own mind; a prisoner bound within the fetters of time. The toll of her incessant wandering was beginning to show, and her steps grew slow and heavy; her limbs felt like lead, and her vision was beginning to cloud. Kaoru blinked, trying to clear the spots she was seeing from her line of sight, but to no avail. Her mind felt as if it was shutting itself down. Still, the desperation to find a way out of the limbo she was in fuelled her on, albeit slower than before.

But then something seemed to shimmer in front of her sight, and she clutched at her arms painfully, watching warily as a red door appeared. Why on earth did life have to be so strange? It was always the mind that went bonkers when you were trapped within a dream or a coma, and things were not always what they seemed to look like at first. Kaoru herself had had plenty of experience. One hand wrapped around the red knob of the door, but she hesitated to turn it. Just because it had turned out of nowhere just before her body had threatened to give out didn't mean that it was her ticket to leaving this mind limbo. In fact, other worse things could be waiting for her on the other side of the door.

She set her teeth, jaw taut as pain flashed through her body again, making her stumble slightly. Her thoughts were grim as she made up her mind, fingers tightening around the knob and turning it before pulling the door open; 'It's not like I have any choice, do I?' Kaoru took a deep breath, then stepped through.

Kaoru blinked; her hand fell through empty air as the door disappeared behind her, the doorknob disappearing with it as well. She could do nothing but stare blankly around at her surroundings; it was definitely not what she had suspected at all. For some unknown reason, the door had taken her back to the Black Dawn household, and she was currently standing in the hall, the kitchen in front of her while the stairs lay on the right, the living room to the left. The pain that had infused her body earlier in the black limbo had also disappeared, but she was still wary. Appearing back in her own home and having a plaguing pain disappear from her body all at the same time was more than just slightly suspicious to her.

A creaking sound came from the stairs, and her head instantly snapped to the top of the stairs where the sound had come from, hair whipping hard into her cheek. There was nothing else she could do other than go to investigate the source of the sound; maybe there was some way of getting out of here if she found whatever it was? Kaoru's feet made no sound on the staircase as she moved stealthily to the top floor. Readying herself into a fighting stance in case there was anything that she needed to fight, she snuck a peak round the corner, and relaxed slightly when there was nothing there.

The assassin stepped into the corridor, noticing that all the doors to the rooms were closed, and she was closely scrutinising the door to the room the Sanosuke and Yahiko shared. Then something red flashed in the corner of her eye, and when she turned her head towards it, she found the door to Kenshin's room was slightly ajar, and a sliver of light shone through the tiny space. Her eyes narrowed slightly; there was that sound again, the sound of something plopping to the ground, like water dripping or something. Kaoru's senses were practically screaming at her; she could sense that there was something wrong, but just couldn't seem to figure out what it was. The sounds intensified as she approached the door. Steeling herself for whatever it was that was causing the sound, she snap-kicked the door open, making it slam into the wall.

She stepped inside.

And she screamed.

~*~

A scream made Kenshin stop abruptly in his tracks, his head twisting painfully towards the sound as his heart clenched tightly within his chest. 'Kaoru.' Was the only coherent thought. It echoed all around him, making the memory crystals in their combined minds flare a blood red before returning to their normal shimmering colours. Entering Kaoru's mind had been an easy task, but finding her within the depths of her mind was harder than it looked. He had opened his eyes to find that he was indeed standing in Kaoru's mind after having pushed through the layers of mental shields; the crystals surrounding him more than confirmed that. His fingers itched to touch the shining orbs that held Kaoru's memories, but he suppressed the urge; that could come later, but right now he needed to find Kaoru before she actually lost her mind…wherever she was.

He had completely no idea where Kaoru had gone; she was not to be found within the usual space of her mind that they often spent time in, and so he was left groping around for clues in the dark. Kenshin's fingers clenched and unclenched into fists, worry making him anxious for his beloved, getting more desperate and frustrated at the moment, but still unable to find where she was. Every time he started to move towards the sound of a previous scream, a new one started, and he could barely discern where it came from. His nails bit into the skin of his palms, indenting it with half-crescent imprints of his nails, close to drawing blood. He tried to reach her with their mental link desperately. Kaoru, where are you?

The reason why the red head was having so much trouble was because he was depending solely on the mental link that he had with Kaoru as HalfSouls. The last time, he had been able to find Kaoru easily by DreamWalking, because she had actually been asleep; this time, she was in a half-awake, half-asleep state, and there was no way he was going to force her unconscious just for the sake of getting into her mind to find her. He called out to her again, hoping that he could reach her somehow, that the poison hadn't deteriorated her mind yet.

Kaoru! Koishii, please answer me! Kaoru!

Then he heard it. A small whimpering sound that sounded like someone crying. Kenshin pivoted around towards the sound, heart racing. Kaoru? He prodded softly. Worry raced through his mind as he felt a deep sadness coming from her through their mental link; he started slightly and winced at the amount of pain that was coming through; there was no doubt that something very distressing had occurred to make her this way. It was even worse than the time their mission had failed.

The answer was soft, a broken whisper through the mind crystals.

Stop…please! Don't take them away from me! Give him back to me! The words came to him in between heart wrenching sobs. …Please…give him back… His nails drew blood this time as they dug harder into his palms. What on earth was she talking about? Who was being taken away from her? Images flashed through his mind from Kaoru's. The worry he had been feeling earlier intensified; all he was getting her seemed to be filled with red liquid – blood, presumably – and he could feel sanity slipping slowly but surely away from his beloved.

"Damnit." He cursed softly under his breath. He needed to find her and find her soon, otherwise the consequences would be dire. If he didn't hurry up, there would be no Kaoru anymore. Kenshin could feel frustration building up within him; it had been a long time since he had felt any of these conflicting emotions, but it didn't make them any less intense or urgent. "There has to be someway where I can get to her faster than this!" The sudden flash of insight showed itself to his mind. 'The silver cord!' He realized. It would definitely lead him to Kaoru. He berated himself silently; why hadn't he thought of it before?

As if needing only to be prompted, what look like a piece of silver wire appeared in his hand. It was almost invisible to the human eye, but when you looked at it in a certain way, it showed up. Kenshin clutched the cord tightly; it was his only way towards finding Kaoru, and there would be no telling how he would be able to find her if he lost it. From the length that lay in his hands, the silver thread trailed off onto the floor and continued on into the darkness, and he followed the trail, moving along the silver cord as he walked.

'Wait for me, Kaoru! I'll be there soon!'

~*~

Sleepy chocolate brown eyes opened only to stare back at eyes that matched the same colour. Megumi started slightly, but was stopped by Sanosuke's calming hand on her forehead and she relaxed, remembering where she was. Turning her head to the other couch, she found Kenshin hovering above Kaoru's body, knees on either side of her legs, body propped up only by his arms. She frowned slightly. If she hadn't known better, she would have thought they were two statues; her eyes widened, and this time she bolted up suddenly, knocking her head into Sanosuke's chin.

"Hey! That hurt!" The spiky-haired man protested, rubbing at his sore chin. "What was that for?"

In response, she pointed towards Kaoru and Kenshin on the other couch. "What's happening to them? They look as if…they're frozen or something." She lifted her feet off the couch, approaching the pair on the other couch. Her hand had almost touched Kenshin's when Sanosuke's arm on hers made her look up at him.

"Don't." He shook his head.

Megumi felt a flash of indignation as she frowned at him. "What do you mean 'don't'? Both of them are my patients and I need to know what's happening to them! Now I can't even touch my patients?!"

He sighed. "I didn't mean it that way, Megitsune. Let's just say that Kenshin isn't uh…really in his body right now."

She was puzzled. "What do you mean? He's right there." Megumi obviously knew nothing about telepaths or HalfSouls, and Sanosuke scratched his head slightly, wondering how he would explain it to her.

"Well, you see, Kaoru went into a fit after you fell asleep, and started screaming bloody murder, but the thing was that she wasn't awake. It obviously had something to do with the poison that was on the dart earlier, because the pain transmitted to both Kenshin and Sou as well." he inclined his head towards Kaoru's twin who seemed to have fallen into what looked like a restless sleep, Aoshi and Misao on either side of him. "So, to bring Kaoru back from whichever part of her mind she was lost in, Kenshin had to go directly into her mind to do that." His thumb jerked to the pair. Megumi was still rather confused.

"So, what you're saying is that his soul left his own body to go into hers to bring her back? How does that work?"

Sanosuke sighed; he had never figured that he'd have to explain so much technical stuff to someone before. "The thing is that Kenshin and Kaoru have what is called a HalfSoul connection. Which means that they're kinda made for each other, and each one can feel what the other is feeling. Anyway, they can also read each other's minds, and it's also possible for them to go into each other's minds. Which is what Kenshin is doing right now. Before he 'left' he gave us strict instructions not to touch either him or Kaoru until both of the woke up." He stretched his arms behind his head. "See?"

The Healer nodded her head silently, apparently deep in thought. She had never imagined that such things could exist; they were unexplainable by science. She smiled wryly to herself; wasn't her own Healing ability unexplainable by science? Sometimes the things that were strange were the most believable things. Her curiousity about why Kenshin and Kaoru looked as if in frozen motion was sated, but the thing about HalfSouls still intrigued her…as if it was something that she had to know.

As if it was a part of her.

Megumi's eyes turned to the spiky-haired assassin again.

"So. What about this HalfSoul connection thing you were talking about? Can you tell me more?"

Two words formed in his mind.

'Oh, shit.'

"Well, uh, you see, it's like this…"

~*~

With one hand, Kenshin clutched at the red doorknob, while the other held a firm grip on the silver cord that connected him to Kaoru. It disappeared under the door, and apparently, that was where he would find her. As he followed the silver trail, it had shortened more and more, taking him closer and closer to his HalfSoul. He took a deep breath, trying to steel his nerves hard so that he wouldn't be unprepared for whatever lay inside. The knob turned easily in his hand, and he walked in; the seemingly normal sight of the hall of the Black Dawn headquarters made him start slightly. However, his senses soon snapped backwards towards the door he had come through as it slammed itself shut, disintegrating into nothing, as if it had never been.

His eyes narrowed, violet pupils rimmed with amber. Kenshin's gaze drifted up the staircase as the silver cord strained upwards; he no longer had any need to depend on the cord, for he could feel Kaoru's presence upstairs. Her sobs seemed to have died down, and this made him worry more. Anything could have happened to her. Sprinting up the stairs lightly and swiftly, he made no sound, only the muscles in his legs bunching and releasing to bring him closer to his beloved. The silver cord shortened again as he got closer to his destination, and he was slightly surprised to find that it led towards his room. Still, it was no time for questions, for the answer lay behind that particular door. He could almost feel the relief flood through his veins, displacing the worry.

The red head put his hand on the door, and it creaked open slowly; a foreboding sound to his senses. His irises contracted in shock, eyes returning to wide violet; his hand falling from the door at the sight of the room.

She didn't even acknowledge him as he stepped in. Kaoru was propped up against a wall, tearstains running down her cheeks and eyes open in a listless stare. Her lips were moving, but no words were coming out of them. Blood was smeared across her clothes and skin; her hands completely bloodied as if she'd soaked them into a puddle of the crimson liquid. He stood there in shock, could do nothing but stare at the state of his HalfSoul. A normally vibrant, cheerful woman, reduced to…a mere husk of herself…like a haunting copy of her. There, but not really there.

His room was bigger than he remembered it had ever been. He looked at his feet, and realized that it wasn't his room at all, but was the dojo that he had first saved her from when he first DreamWalked into her dream. Even though he wasn't one to be horrified at blood and bodies – he was an assassin after all, he had seen more than enough – the corpses on the dojo floor made his stomach want to turn, and bile threatened to rise up in his throat.

It wasn't so much the sight of the corpses that made him feel like retching; more like what had been done to them. Some of the bodies had been hacked to pieces; chunks of innards splattered all over the floor and blood sprayed over the once pristine white walls. Flesh had been ripped to shreds and there were a few headless bodies lying around, heads nowhere to be seen. As an assassin, he had only killed people with a single blow, giving them no lingering moments to die; even if they were filthy criminals, they were human after all, and if he did the same as they did in the act of killing them, then he was no better. Torture had never been his pleasure. There was no need to treat the dead in such a brutal and dishonourable manner.

What unnerved him even more was that the features on the few faces left were indiscernible although the few elements of the broken bodies he could pick up upon were far too familiar for his liking. The squelch of the puddles of blood under his feet was a monstrosity to his ears as he made his way carefully over to his listless HalfSoul, avoiding the large pools of blood, bodies and flesh as much as he possibly could. It seemed as if it was a long journey, almost as if the gods were playing his games with him, and with every step he took towards Kaoru, she seemed to be further and further away from him.

Finally he reached her after – how long had it been? Mere seconds? Minutes? Hours? Days? Weeks? Months? Years? – an unfathomable sense of time had passed, legs protesting at the uncountable distance he had walked. The red head crouched down beside her, gently touching one of her hands; so pale, so starkly white against the blood that stained it. 'Her hands are so cold.' He realized. 'So, so cold. As if it were winter.' He rubbed them slowly, trying to instil some form of warmth back into them. Still, it was as if he wasn't there; her countenance never changed, and she continued to stare off into space, lips moving soundlessly. He bit his lip hard drawing the coppery taste of blood, half in anger, half in desperation; how could a tiny bit of poison cause so much damage to the one he loved?

"Kaoru," Kenshin spoke softly both mentally and vocally to her. It was a soothing caress to her tortured mind, and he desperately hoped that it would reach her; if he couldn't reach her, then no one else could, and Kaoru would be lost to him forever. "Kaoru. Can you hear me? It's me, Kenshin. I'm here, right here. Can you hear me, Kaoru?"

Her fingers tightened slightly around his, as if in recognition, but her eyes never slid to see him, her head never turned towards him. "Ken…shin…" He felt slightly hurt at the way she pronounced his name; as if she was saying it for the first time, testing it out on her tongue to see how it sounded, as if she never knew him at all. Berating himself mentally for the thought, he told himself that it was no time to be thinking of such matters right now; Kaoru was what mattered.

His free hand went to cup one of her cheeks, smearing the blood there, but turning her head gently so that her eyes met his. Blank azure eyes turned obsidian by sadness and loss met his gently but anguished violet rimmed with gold. Part of him wanted to reach out to her and tell her that everything was alright; the other half wanted to murder whoever had been the one to blow the dart. He smiled a small wry upturn of his lips at her.

"Yes, koishii. That's my name; it's me and I'm right here. Can you see me? I'm right by your side." He brushed her bangs away from her face, barely noticing his fingers had also been dyed dark crimson by the blood there. "Come back to me Kaoru. Come back to us."

"Come…back?" She whispered softly. She could remember nothing, see nothing but the black ridges of pain that rode through her bleak mind. Images of a man with amethyst eyes and a warm smile seemed to taunt her, but she couldn't seem to remember who it was. A deep sadness seemed to fill her, and she knew that he was important to her. But who was he? What was he to her? And go back where? "Go back where?"

"Back home, Kaoru. Back home where we belong. Where everyone is waiting for you. Do you remember them?" The red head pulled her head into his shoulder, his eyes closed in sorrow as her hair brushed by his temple. Even though the blood marred her skin, the scent of jasmine that often lingered in her presence was kept clean, kept pure, unmixed with the scent of copperbloodfear, and he was thankful for that. A tear ran from his cheek onto hers, mingling onto the dry tear tracks that were on her face.

"Remember?" More images filtered past her mind; a spiky-haired man with a rakish grin smiled at her; a young boy who could have passed as his younger brother was looking down at a bowl of rice, his eyes downcast; a blue-eyed man who was always smiling, even if the smile wasn't always true; another azure-eyed man with a small smile on his face as a bouncy teenager with a long braid and emerald eyes accompanied him; a young girl with large brown eyes and short hair. A hand came up towards her forehead as she grimaced; pain came along with the memories, and she had no names for the faces. "Who are they?"

"Our friends, koishii. Your brother, and your cousin as well. All of them are waiting for us. Waiting back home." His fingers brushed over her hair slowly as he rocked her slowly back and forth in a comforting embrace. "So won't you come home with me? We miss you so much, koishii." Kenshin wanted to take the pain away from her, a pain from a memory that had been created by the poison, but he would only be able to do that if she let him into the particular memory; even at such a critical stage, he wouldn't just push into her privacy; it would have been too much like violating her.

"Home." The word sounded comforting on Kaoru's lips. Some of the light came back into her eyes; obsidian changing into a navy blue. But there was something that was keeping her here. Something that had caused all the hurt and pain and loss. Something had happened here in this place. Then her eyes caught sight of the blood and the bodies behind him and something clicked in her memory.

She remembered. The tears fell again.

"No!" She pushed him away hard and he was too surprised to do anything but stare in shock. "No!" She repeated, shaking her head wildly, ebony locks flying every which way. "I can't go home anymore! I can't! I can't!" Kaoru wrapped her arms around herself tightly as she sobbed. She looked up at him, eyes wide and frenzied with pain.

"Kaoru, please!" He reached a hand out to her. Just what the hell was going on?! Desperation was surging through him and he hated seeing her so scared, hated seeing her in so much pain. There was no way that she'd be willing to go back like this; he had to make her tell him so that she'd realize that there actually was a place for her to go home to. "Why can't you go home? Everyone's waiting for you, for us to go back! Let's go back koishii." The red head pleaded softly with her, willing her to come back to him.

The bitter laugh that filtered out of her mouth scared him. "Because I can't! There's no home to go back to anymore! There's no one to go back to anymore!" Her words were becoming more choked with tears, and then her voice seemed to become tiny. "He killed them!" A voice choked with emotion.

"He killed them!" She shrieked, clawing at herself, nails biting into tender skin, red welts forming on them.

'Kami-sama, why are you doing this to her!' He wanted to scream at the heavens; what had he done to the gods that made them spiteful enough to hurt his HalfSoul? He could stand it on more, and he threw himself at her, wrapping his arms tight around her, and pulling her hands away from herself so that she would stop inflicting pain on to her already battered mind and body. "Stop it, Kaoru! You're hurting yourself!" He shouted, still holding her close. She continued to sob hard into his chest, fingers digging hard into the flesh of his back as she cried; the pain was overwhelming, and she needed to find a way to release it. He hissed slightly in pain as her nails dug hard into the tender flesh.

"But it hurts! It hurts so much! I can't go back there! I don't want to go back only to see them dead! I can't!" The front of his thin sweater was drenched with her tears. "He killed them right in front of my eyes; Yahiko, Sano, Aoshi, Misao, Sou, and he killed, he killed Kenshin!" She still hadn't recognized him yet; she still thought he was dead! He had to make her see that he was still here with her, still alive, still waiting for her!

He pulled away slightly from her, only to grip her shoulders tightly, and he made her face turn upwards towards him, holding her chin in a firm but gentle grip. Her eyes were shut tight against the pain, refusing to see anything that would just hurt her more. "Look at me Kaoru." He demanded, voice tight and low. She shook her head, tears scattering like raindrops; eyes remaining closed. "Open your eyes and look at me, Kaoru!" Steel had crept into his voice, desperation making him snap at her unintentionally; he hated himself for deliberately scaring her like this, but to get her back, it was the only way to do so.

She finally opened her eyes, albeit slowly. Amber eyes continued to meet her gaze as he watched her blue eyes wide with fear and tears stare up at him, then shock and disbelief entered her gaze as one of her hands reached up to touch the skin of his cheek. "What do you see, Kaoru?" His voice was soft once again; he could tell by the ki in her aura and the look in her eyes that she recognized him. Her finger ran across his lips and he kissed it softly.

"What do you see?" He repeated again, watching her watch him in wonder as her hands trailed over his skin, over the crimson locks of his hair as she seemed to regain some semblance of sanity.

"Kenshin…" She whispered, really seeing him for the first time, really recognizing him for the first time. Soft violet-gold eyes looked down at her as her hands ran all over him; his skin, voice, hair, everything about him was so real…but she had seen…had seen… Her voice was hesitant. "Is it…really you?" Could it be that he was actually alive? Was he actually here with her? Actually holding her close to him, actually talking to her? Or was it just a dream, just a figment of her own imagination due to the bleak pain?

He smiled warmly at her; she was back at long last, but it wasn't over yet. The hand holding her chin up left to stroke a finger across her cheek. "What does your heart tell you, koishii? Use your senses, use our connection. Am I really here? Do I actually exist? Tell me what your heart tells you, koishii." Her hands ran through his bangs slowly, dragging through the red mass of hair in wonder. She closed her eyes, using her senses to prod at him. The ki was definitely his, and it was his signature aura. But was it actually possible? Had he come back from the dead?

Her azure eyes finally met his, but a tiny sliver of uncertainty was still in them. "My heart tells me it is you, but I saw…with my eyes I saw…" She broke off, not wanting to relive the pain again, the pain that had been so real. Kenshin's smile widened; he was awfully relieved that she had come back to him, but if she still needed to verify that he was actually there, right in front of her, then so be it.

His lips descended upon hers, gentle at first, suckling slowly at her lips as he watched her through half-lidded eyes. Her lips moved in response to his and her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer to her, and his arm wrapped around her, crushing her body to his so there was no space in between; he could feel her heart racing, and he was certain she could feel his. He made the kiss more intense, tilting her chin up with the other hand as his lips demanded more of hers, tongue moving into her mouth to tangle with hers. Kenshin's eyes turned completely amber as his hands moved up and down her back, her hands doing the same as she pulled at his hair. Breaking away from the kiss, he laid open-mouthed kisses against the skin of her neck, feeling the throbbing pulse of her heartbeat under his lips.

"Kenshin," She whispered, and his lips returned to cover hers again, conveying all the pent-up emotions – desperation, love, passion – fuelling the intense kiss. Out of breath, they finally ended the kiss, but they didn't pull away from each other. Just like the time they had kissed for the first time in Kenshin's room, their foreheads rested against each other, breath mingling, eyes open and watching each other. A pink blush covered her cheeks as she rubbed her nose against his, smiling, overjoyed that he was actually real, actually there.

He responded by planting a chaste kiss on her passion-swollen lips, whispering across them slowly. "Was that real enough for you?" The lazy half-lidded gaze made her feel like melting as she nodded silently. Kenshin drew his knees up, then pulled her inside his embrace, holding her tight against him as his cheek rested on her soft hair while she rested against his shoulder. They stayed like that for a long while, and the bloody room disintegrated around them, returning them to the surface depths of their minds. The blood disappeared from their clothes, unnoticed by the couple as they continued to take comfort from each other. A hand ran up and down her back slowly, making her feel sleepy as she held onto him like one would a lifeline.

"Will you tell me what happened now?" He whispered lightly to her. "What made you forget? What was so painful that you would want to forget us? Forget me? I'm right here, koishii, and I'm not going anywhere. Didn't I tell you that I'd share your pain with you? Give me the pain, Kaoru. We'll make it through together."

Her hands tightened in his hair as she spoke in a ghost-whisper. "It was…so real. I was walking and walking and walking for so long. And then I found this red door. The door opened, and it seemed to lead home, and there was no other way out of that dark place, so I went inside. But, something wasn't right. I heard a dripping sound from the upper floor, so I went to see." She gulped and he soothed her, rubbing a warm hand down her back.

"It was coming from your room, so I went inside. But then… but then… he was there, and I saw… I saw him kill you…all of you. It was…it was that man with white hair from my dream." She looked up at him, scared he would suddenly disappear. "It was so scary. There was…there was this look of insane, manic glee on his face, and I could do nothing but watch as his sword rose and fell against everyone. He enjoyed killing." Tears started to build up in her eyes again, but he kissed them away softly. Kaoru smiled gratefully at him as she continued; he was here now, and there was nothing to be scared about. "I saw them scream, I saw the blood spray across the room. I saw you fight against him, but he…he raised his hand at you and you flew back against the wall. Then suddenly he was in front of you and he…" She stopped. The sluggish pain was leaving her, and she relaxed slightly, Kenshin channelling the hurt away from her, shuddering slightly at the bloody memories. 'Enishi again.' He thought. Why did he always seem to be the root of all the problems they were going through?

"He killed me." Kenshin finished for her. He closed his eyes guiltily; if only he had been there earlier, then she wouldn't have had to go through so much pain and suffering. "If only I'd been there earlier. Sumanu, Kaoru. Sumanu." The touch of her fingers under his chin made him look up at her.

"Kenshin no baka. There you go again, blaming yourself for something that wasn't your fault." She kissed him softly, blue eyes soft. "I'm just glad that you're alive. For a moment, I was lost, but you came, and you found me." Her arms wrapped tight against his neck as she tucked her head into the nook of his neck. "Thank you, Kenshin."

"Now who's the baka?" He chuckled slightly at her; she always knew how to make him feel better. "Of course I'd come for you. I told you back then didn't I? That I'd walk to the ends of the earth to find you if you were ever lost. Anywhere you go Kaoru, I'll find you." He nuzzled her neck. "You can't get rid of me, ever!" Kenshin smiled jokingly.

"Why would I ever want to get rid of you? I want you by my side always." She was serious though. "Say that you'll never leave me? Tell me that you won't just disappear? I…I'd die, inside, if that ever happened."

He ran his hand through her ebony locks. "I'll never leave you, Kaoru. I'll be by your side, for always, forever." It didn't matter to him that fate could always pull a cruel joke over them; it almost always did, but he was resolved; he would be by Kaoru's side for now, forever, for always. "And we'll build that forever one day at a time."

She nodded her head in mute silence; it was times like these when no words needed to be said, emotions and actions alone were enough to convey what they wanted to say. Fatigue blanketed her mind, making her sleepy and she tried to hide a yawn in Kenshin's chest. He stood up, pulling her up as well before hooking an arm below her knees and placing the other just below her breasts, and she squeaked, locking her arms tight around his neck for fear of falling. He grinned at her as he started to walk back to their reality, to the home that awaited them.

"Let's go home, koishii."

"Un!"

~*~

"Hey! They're finally awake!" Yahiko's voice called the sleepy adults awake, and their eyes snapped open to find that Kenshin was moving off the couch to kneel on the floor beside it, and Kaoru was opening her eyes. It had almost been a half the day since Kenshin had entered Kaoru's mind; dawn was coming through the windows and lighting up the house. At some point during the night, they had feared for Kaoru and Kenshin, as well as Soujirou as the twins started screaming again, but Kenshin's firm orders kept them from touching the pair, and they breathed easily again only when the screaming had died down.

Kaoru was sitting up, and rubbing her eyes, smiling at the sight of her family, relieved they were all alive. Kenshin had a similar look on his face as he regarded the others, still holding one of her hands in his. The group crowded the couple, talking all at once in relief that their friends and family were safe, asking numerous questions.

"Kaoru-san! We were getting so worried!" Misao peered at her.

"Damnit, jou-chan, don't scare us like that!" Sanosuke pulled her into a bear hug before releasing her.

"Glad to have you back, Kaoru." Even Aoshi had a heartfelt relieved smile upon his face.

"Kaoru-san! Thank goodness! I thought…I thought…!" Tsubame smiled happily, while wiping tears from her eyes.

Soujirou was there as well, and he too pulled Kaoru into a hug, even though he looked very tired and harassed and there seemed to be blood on his lips. "You sure caused a big ruckus Kaoru. But we're all glad that you're back."

Long raven coloured hair entered her vision and Kaoru blinked a few times before recognizing the woman as their retrieval target. Megumi smiled warmly at her, all while checking her temperature and pulse. "I'm glad that you're ok, Kaoru-san." She started to pull away, but then the younger woman held onto her hands, smiling gratefully up at her.

"Iie, thank you Takani-san. Without your help, I wouldn't have survived." Kenshin had sent a mental message to her, and she was personally indebted to this woman whom they had saved, and who had in turn saved her life. Kenshin bowed from his seat on the floor to Megumi. "We are in your debt, Takani-san."

The doctor smiled at them. "Please, I am the one who should be thanking you for taking me out of that gods-cursed place." Already she liked the pair, especially Kaoru, who could still smile despite all the pain that she had gone through tonight, and she marvelled at Kenshin and Kaoru's relationship. The red head looked far more fatigued than he had been when he'd entered her mind, but even then, he'd had enough energy to be joking around with everyone else. It was clear to anyone with two eyes that the two were meant for each other. Was that what being a HalfSoul meant? Sanosuke had explained the HalfSoul concept to her, and it seemed as if some of the characteristics of being HalfSouls applied to both the spiky-man and her, and she wondered if they would actually ever have a relationship like Kenshin and Kaoru's.

A light tap on her head made her look up at the man in question. "I can hear what's going on in your brain too, Megitsune. Is that what you want?" His dark eyes regarded her seriously; already he could feel something more than platonic between them.

"Hmph!" She wasn't just going to fall for him like that so easily! "Who would want to be with a baka tori-atama like you?" Her tone was teasing, so he would know she was actually joking, and not being sarcastic.

"Oh yeah?" He grinned down at her, eyes holding a challenge.

"Yeah!" She glared at him, albeit playfully.

Aoshi's polite cough made them look back at the rest of the household, and they found that everyone was staring at them with knowing smiles on their faces, especially Kenshin and Kaoru. Sanosuke and Megumi turned red simultaneously as they watched them. The red head nodded at the spiky-haired assassin, as he drawled innocently.

"I see…"

"Oi, Kenshin, wait! It's not –-! I mean, no, it's not what you think!" His protests went unheard as they started chuckling at his red face.

"You're just making it worse!" Megumi whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

They started bickering like an old couple, which made them laugh more, but eventually the laughing riot died down, and Kenshin got up from his seat, gently cradling Kaoru into his arms.

"As entertaining as it would be to watch you two argue for the whole day, Kaoru" She covered a yawn with her hand at this point, "and I are extremely tired and need to get some sleep." If they thought there was anything weird with Kenshin carrying Kaoru bridal style they said nothing…everyone that is…except Sanosuke.

"Oh. Ok, I see all right." The mischievous grin lit his face as he threw Kenshin's words back at him. The latter rolled his eyes at the comment as he went up the stairs towards his and Kaoru's room, laying her down on the open futon. He slipped under the covers with her, and she instinctively pulled him close, nuzzling her head into his neck; he wrapped his arms around her waist as he rested his chin at the top of her head.

He pressed a kiss to her lips before closing his eyes, finally able to rest now that his beloved was back in his arms.

"Oyasumi, Kaoru." She was already half-asleep as she muttered her reply.

"Oyasumi, Kenshin."

The pair soon fell into a restful sleep, entwined in each others' arms; the night's events had only served to pull them closer together, the bond between them stronger than ever, thicker than blood or water, something eternal that would last forever.

Something they had found even in the midst of bloodshed, loss and desperation.

A bond to last forever.

Dictionary

Koishii – beloved. Affectionate term used by a man to address his wife/girlfriend

Ki – aura

Sumanu – male informal way of saying 'I'm sorry'

Baka – idiot

Un! – Yes

Tori-atama – Rooster head

Megitsune – vixen

Kami-sama – God

Jou-chan – literally 'Little Miss'. Sano's nickname for Kaoru.

Oyasumi – Good night

A/N: Phew! Finally! 12 pages this time, that was 3 pages more than the last chapter, and its 7102 words, if you really want to know. Mucho angst, but also fluff, no? Hope you pple enjoyed that chapter and I'll see you all again in the next update! If you like it, then R&R please! And ooh, please read my other story as well! Btw, I'll be really busy at school for the next week or so, so the next update will only be able to show up in about 2 weeks time. So... would it be too evil to ask for 340 reviews? ^^ I need time to write, so please do review, ne?