Kaoru's thoughts: '.'

Kenshin's thoughts: /./ and \.\

To Be Free

Chapter 3: A Restless Night

/Where am I?/ Kenshin opened his eyes to total darkness. As his eyes adjusted to the lack of light, he noticed he was laying on something soft. /A futon?/ He looked around the room, recognizing it to be the room he was lead to when he arrived. /This is "my room". How did I get here?/ Then, he remembered the conversation between him and Kaoru. /She told me I was free! That can't be. I was probably dreaming./  He sat up and sighed. /It was a dream. at least it was a pleasant dream. I guess I should try to go back to sleep./

He crawled over to a wall and sat up, leaning his back against it. /I doubt I'll be able to get any more rest tonight./ By the time he thought the last word, he drifted off in a restless sleep.

*****

Kaoru abruptly awoke to a loud noise. 'That sounded like a cry!' she thought as she sat up on her futon. 'It's the middle of the night! Who could it be.' She stood up and made sure her yukata was straight. Picking up her bokken, she ran out of her room, not exactly knowing where her destination was.

She heard the cry again, but this time it sounded different. She abruptly stopped. 'Pleading.' Kaoru realized. 'Was that Kenshin? It came from the direction of his room! Why would he cry out like that?' She quickly drew a conclusion, 'A robber?! They better not touch him!' Angrily, she ran as fast as she could towards Kenshin's room. 'I'll make that robber regret he ever stepped inside this dojo!'

Shoving the door to Kenshin's room aside, she entered, ready to bash some unlucky robber's head in, only to find the room strangely empty. 'What? Did he take Kenshin somewhere? Ooh, when I find him, he'll wish he was never born!'

Kaoru was about to leave the room when she heard a muffled sound coming from a dark corner. She turned around and saw Kenshin sitting up against the wall in an extremely uncomfortable looking position. 'Kenshin.'

The look of his disheveled appearance was what made her temporarily speechless. Pain, despair, and hatred clashed together, while his jaw was clenching and unclenching sporadically. He was sweating profusely giving him the look of a drenched rat, his hair plastered to his face and neck. He took in shaky breaths, in which the body responded with a shudder.

'He's dreaming? Nobody is here. just him. oh, Kenshin!'  Kaoru rushed over to him, her main objective to stop his suffering. The only way she could think of was to wake him up. So, she called his name softy. "Kenshin!  Wake up!" That didn't work. She started to shake him gently but immediately stopped when his only reaction was an agonizing cry. Kaoru realized she was only adding to his nightmares instead of relieving him of them, for now he lashed out at anything that touched him and, to add to that, he was muttering something intelligible.

'How can I get him to - wait, what did he say?' She barely caught any words between his screams. The one most repeated was stop. '"Stop"? Stop what?' She wondered. 'Mou! Just wake him up, Kaoru!' Her mind screamed. 'Think, think, think. I know! Hang on for just a little longer Kenshin!' She ran out of his room and into the yard towards the item of desire: the well.

*****

Kenshin awoke feeling soaking wet and freezing. /What? The dream./ He shuddered at the remembrance. /But why am I soaking wet?/ Then he noticed the presence of someone in the room with him. He flinched. /Not now, please, not now./ he begged silently.

He expected a beating, which never came, but instead came a gentle embrace. He flinched again. He never liked people, much less physical interaction with them. The only thing it ever brought him was pain.

Kaoru was confused. 'He flinched. Why would he - Oh! Physical contact! Damn those slavers.' She slowly let him go and sat next to him. 'Now you're soaked, too! Smart, Kaoru, smart.' The self-conscious part of her mind told her. 'Oh well.' "Kenshin? Are you alright?" Kenshin looked up at her and nodded slightly.

"Gomen nasai for waking you." He said in a soft tone.

Kaoru looked surprised. "Why are you apologizing? You shouldn't apologize when you have done nothing wrong."

Now it was Kenshin's turn to look surprised. "Demo, Sessha woke you up." He pointed out carefully.

"That's ok, really. Oh! I should be the one apologizing! I just dumped a bucket of water on you! Gomen!"

"You should not apologize to Sessha, Master." Kenshin said, bowing low. "If you will tell this unworthy one what his duties will be, then Sessha will start now."

'M. master? Doesn't he remember?' "Kenshin, you have no duties," She said quietly. Kenshin looked up, surprised once again. "Do you not remember what I told you earlier?" she asked. Kenshin wasn't sure, so he simply shook his head. "Kenshin, I told you that you are free. You will have no chores or duties around here and I will not be called master. Just Kaoru, ok?"

/It wasn't a dream? She's really is freeing me!/ \Don't listen! Please! Don't listen to her! She's going to hurt you. please.\ /Demo, she is different, as I told you before. I know she isn't lying!/ Kenshin argued with the now begging voice of warning in his head. He looked up into Kaoru's eyes. /She's too sincere to lie./

"Kaoru-dono," he couldn't say her name alone. It sounded disrespectful. "Are you really going to free sessha?" She nodded, determined to get him to trust her. "Why. why sessha?"

'Why did I chose to free him, out of all the other slaves?' she wondered. 'He was the first one I saw. No, I chose him because he looked as if he had given up all hope.'"  Because, Kenshin. You looked miserable! Your spirit seemed broken. as if you had nothing to live for." Kaoru said, trailing off at the end. She stared at the floor in silence.

Then, she heard Kenshin speak quiet and slow, making it sound like he was talking more to himself than Kaoru."What did sessha have to live for?" Kenshin asked, his shaggy, wet hair covering his face.

That question shocked Kaoru. 'He. he really doesn't have anything.' "Kenshin. I'm sure there is something! Maybe family? I'm sure they would love to know you're alive and well! Don't you have any siblings or friends?" She asked anxiously, the words bursting from her mouth in a desperate attempt to brighten the gloomy mood that had settled over the two. "Maybe we can go to the police and try to track them and -"

Kenshin cut her off .  "Iie, I do not have any family." Kenshin said curtly, hatred apparent in his voice.

"I am so sorry! I shouldn't have said anything!" Kaoru apologized immediately although she was a little frightened by the tone of his voice. Her apology went unanswered. 'That's odd. Doesn't he usually say "sessha"?' After studying his tense form for a minute, she spoke. "Kenshin? Are you sure you're alright?"

Kenshin relaxed, then apologized quickly, bowing low to the floor again. "Gomen nasai, Kaoru-dono. Sessha should not have interrupted you." He tensed again, out of habit, expecting some form of beating.

"It's ok, Kenshin, really," she said. After a few moments of silence, Kaoru decided it was a good time to change the subject.

"Look, since you don't seem to remember what I told you, then I'll say it again. You are free. You can leave here any time you like, but until you are ready for that you can stay here, ok?"

Kenshin nodded. "I understand Kaoru-dono."

"Good!" She said cheerfully. "It's going to be hard to get back to sleep tonight. do you want me to stay with you just in case you have another nightmare?" She asked Kenshin.

"Iie, sessha will be fine." He answered quickly. Kaoru nodded, bid him good night and left his room. /I may have just found something, or rather someone, to live for./ He smiled to himself in the dark and slept peacefully for the rest of the night, pushing to the back of his mind the thoughts that warned him, again, of trusting her.

To Be Continued.