Next!! Thank you very much for your reviews, it's great to know when people enjoy your work. ;) Now, as promised, I present to you, the next chapter of Bended Shadows.

WARNING: Possible spoilers, if you haven't seen or read past the Kyoto Arc, don't read this. And also, big surprise: I have no rights to Kenshin or his friends; those belong to Watsuki Nobuhiro, Shueisha, Sony Entertainment and Jump Comics. Please review, flames accepted with a tolerant smile. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.

Last time, in Bended Shadows :

Sano and Yahiko stood frozen in place, Blood was everywhere. Kaoru's eyes were wild, at last, the man's sword went flying through the air and he knelt in front of Kaoru.

Kaoru looked up at them, no recognition in her eyes. They started to step forward, "Jou-chan. What happened?" her eyes widened for a moment, and then she looked back at the man kneeling before her. She narrowed her eyes at him, and then thrust her sword through his heart. She smiled.

Sano gasped. The man had been unarmed! Yahiko looked dazed over.

"Kaoru-" Sano started

She looked up at him; the sunlight filtered through the trees to highlight her hair, and caught her blade as she preformed chiburui, blood rushing off the blade and splattered into the red stained grass. She smiled at them. "They will not use me to hurt him again."

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she crumpled to the ground.

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"Kaoru!" Yahiko ran to her side, gathering her head in his arms. He looked up at Sano, his eyes were wide, confused, and brimming with tears as he looked to his friend for support.

Sano looked from Yahiko and Karou to Kenshin, to the bodies scattered around them. He didn't know what to say. He knelt at Kenshin's side, listening to his chest, for some sign of breathing. He sighed with relief, "He's still with us, let's get them to Megumi and Dr. Gensai"

Yahiko nodded his agreement; He stood up, wrapping his teachers arm around his shoulders, drawing her up next to him. He looked up as Sano started to take her in his arms to carry her, he shook his head slightly. Let me, please, I need to do this. For her.

Sano looked away, picked up Kenshin, and they slowly, silently, made their way back to town.

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The moon shone brightly over the city of Tokyo, Sano stepped back into the small office, his normally white outfit looked a strange rust color, mud and dirt and blood covered every last inch. "That's it then, it's done, I buried them all."

He set a katana down on the table next to the sleeping Kaoru, and took her hand in his before looking up at Megumi. "Any change?"

Megumi shook her head sadly, "No, I expect she will wake up soon though. Kenshin, on the other hand, is a different matter. His body took even worse of a beating than it did against Shishio, simply because his strength lies with his spirit, not his body, when he let that spirit go to-" She broke off with a sob. She buried her face in her hands.

Sano wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly, as much for his own comfort as hers, though he would never admit it.

Yahiko came running through the doorway, "Hurry! It's Kenshin!"

The three took off toward the other room, finding Kenshin trying in vain to sit up, his eyes were wild, and he looked around the room, not really seeing. "Kaoru-dono . . .? Kaoru!?"

Megumi moved swiftly to his side. "Kaoru-chan is alright Ken-san. She is alive, and safe, you saved her." She pushed very lightly on his shoulder, forcing him to lie back down.

Kenshin closed his eyes for a moment, trying to sort through the images floating in his brain. Kaoru: being held at Enishi's side. Tomoe: dead in front of him, by his own sword. His promise to never take another life. Karou: held by Nakao Fumihiro, a sword pressed against her neck. Blood flying all around him, rage flowing through him, blood had covered his eyes again. How? What had happened? He remembered throwing his sword aside, and kneeling before this man, he remembered fixing his eyes on Kaoru and begging for her life. Everything after that was a blur.

"Wha-" he swallowed "What happened?" He asked, his eyes still closed.

Yahiko, Megumi, and Sano looked at each other. They all silently wondered, what do we tell him?

Yahiko stood up quickly, determination in his eyes, and walked over to Kenshin. "You saved her Kenshin, you distracted the men, and it gave Kaoru enough time. She was great, she would be here with you now, but I called her busu again when she was upset, and she stormed off, she'll be back soon though!" I hope . . .

Kenshin was having a hard time understanding what they were saying, but he caught the general idea. Kaoru is safe, she was bickering with Yahiko, that must mean she is okay. I'm so tiered . . .

Yahiko looked up at the two quiet figures in the shadows, holding each other tight, "I'll wait with them tonight, you two need to go get some sleep."

Sano looked over Megumi's head to smile gratefully at his friend, then he gathered her into his arms, and left.

Yahiko signed, and went to Kaoru's room, to sit down next to her. He took hold of her hand, his face paling slightly at the small bits of dried blood still present on her skin. "Kaoru. I was scared for you today. When we saw the blood . . . and you and Kenshin were both gone . . . I thought for a moment we had lost you. I don't know why this feeling, today, felt any different than any of the other times someone has gone missing. But it did. It chilled my soul Kaoru. I know I tease you a lot, but- well, I don't know how you're going to handle everything once you wake up. But, I promise . . . Oneesan, that I will always be here for you. No matter what."  He laid his head down on her arm, and closed his eyes for a moment . . .

And that was how Megumi found them a few hours later, when she went to check on her patients.

(A/N: Oneesan is a form of address basically meaning "my elder sister")

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Kaoru dreamed of her father that night. "The sword that protects life, Kaoru. Most people believe that a sword is only to kill people. That isn't true. We can use it to protect people as well. Every life is sacred, no matter who they are, or what they have done, they all deserve another chance at life. That is the true essence of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryuu. Take that into your soul my daughter, and live your life that way, a true child of the new world." Suddenly her fathers smiling face started to break open, blood pouring down his cheeks, his kind eyes tilted at an evil angle . . . she let out one, loud, long piercing scream.

Sano and Megumi charged into the room, to find a suddenly very alert Yahiko staring at Kaoru in shock. "I dunno, she just screamed." He said to them, before shaking Kaoru's shoulder. He needed to wake her up, whatever she was dreaming, it wasn't good: her whole body shook.

Yahiko continued to shake her, "Kaoru!!! Wake up!!!!"

She sat up suddenly, startling Yahiko has he toppled backwards and did a quick summersault to stand upright again.

She looked up into the faces of her friends, concern very evident in their eyes. "Kenshin?"

Megumi smiled at her, and Kaoru felt her shoulders relax some, "Ken-san is alright, he's resting now, but he's going to be fine. Thanks to you."

Megumi sensed a moment too late that that was the wrong thing to say, as Kaoru's body tensed again.

She looked over at Sano, tears welling up in her eyes. "Did I –" She shook "Did I kill them?"

Sano closed his eyes, wishing he could lie to her. Wait! That's it! I can lie to her! He glanced at Megumi quickly, and she shook her head no. Sano signed and took a deep breath. "You didn't have a choice Jou-chan. They would have killed you both. Yahiko and I never would have made it in time." He said bitterly, Why did I just have to play that one last game, why- Sano sighed, this wasn't the time for that. His friend needed his help, not his own self-blame.

Kaoru looked down at her hands, staring at the flakes of dried blood on them. I killed them. I really killed them. I don't even remember picking up the sword . . .

"Yes, I did have a choice Sano, It was a choice between one life, and 15. I chose to save one, and murder 15."

"Two."

Kaoru looked over at Yahiko. "Two what?"

"Two lives. They would have killed you too Kaoru, and no matter how ugly you are, we still want you around." He waited . . .

She only stared down at her hands, not even looking up at Yahiko's name calling. One single tear rolled down her cheek.

"If you had-" Yahiko's voice broke, "If you had died, we would have hunted them down, and if we didn't kill them, they would probably kill us, in the end, more blood would have been shed."

Kaoru closed her eyes "Thank you, Yahiko, Sano. But I still don't think so. I've worked my whole life to teaching the Kamiya Kasshin Ryuu. I taught the Sword that Protects Life, and now, even my own student is trying to justify what I have done." Tears fell over her cheeks "How can he not hate me after this?"

Megumi shook her head, "If there is anyone who can understand Kaoru-chan, its Kenshin."

Kaoru just shook her head, tears falling silently. "Just leave me alone for a bit, please?"

The three friends looked at each other quickly. Then, nodding, they all silently withdrew from the room.

Kaoru sat, tears wracking her small body. Finally, she claimed control again. She looked around the room, her eyes setting on the katana next to her. She picked it up, and slowly unsheathed the blade . . .

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A/N: I really wanted to show how much Yahiko is grown up, he still teases her of course, but its more habit than anything, after more than 2 years, I figured he would be able to admit his real feelings for Kaoru, even if only to himself. This was a hard chapter to write, middle ground between plot points has never been my strong point! Just stay with me, and I'll get it going again soon. Thank you all again for your reviews, they mean a lot. :-)