This chapter is probably going to seem different then the others, I don't know, darker, maybe? Well, tell me what you think about it by reviewing, thanks! All responses to my reviews will be at the bottom of each following chapter! So I hope you enjoy this one!

Chapter 3: Dread



Blink. Blink. Blink. Was her eyes deceiving her? She shook her head no, she actually was in her room. One thought passed her mind as to how she got here, 'Kenshin...' She didn't know whether to be thankful or not, due to the fact that she would rather be alone. She didn't know exactly why, perhaps to collect her thoughts? She nodded to herself, yes that was why. She sighed as she got up, taking off her yukata and changing into a dark blue kimono with sakuras etched into the fabric of the sleeves and the hem. Her obi was a dark red to contrast, and her ribbon matched with her kimono. She had used some of the money she had gotten from training at that dojo to buy it. 'I wonder if Kenshin will like it...' Though he always said she looked good in any kimono, she knew he was just being polite. She sighed again, straightening out the little wrinkles that appeared.

Walking out of her room, she decided that she wasn't hungry, but would go in the kitchen to brew some tea for herself. When she got there, her brows knitted in confusion, as she did not see Kenshin. 'Ah... I must have slept late again,' Shrugging to herself, she began to mix some herbs into her tea, and took a sip.

"Kaoru-dono?"

Kaoru almost chocked on her tea. She spun around quickly, holding a hand to her heart, "Kenshin... You scared me..."

Usually he would give an apology, but when she looked up into his eyes she saw that they were narrowed into slits. She looked up at him curiously, "is something wrong, Kenshin?" Right after she asked that, she remembered, 'oh... Baka kaoru! You know he is going to ask you about last night...'

"Kaoru-dono," he said in a serious tone, "Sessha would like to know why you were out last night." Kaoru's eyes drifted away, avoiding contact with him, trying to find an answer.

"I, uh..." Kaoru sighed, "honestly, Kenshin... I don't know... I just... Felt like it..." As she was talking, Kenshin's mind wandered off to what happened last night...

Kenshin was leaning against the wall of his bedroom, eyes closed and head bowed, appearing as he usually slept. He heard someone's footsteps, knowing it to be Kaoru's, walking down the hallway. 'Wonder why she's up this late... Maybe she had another nightmare?' He wondered to himself.

When he did not hear her come back after a while, he started to worry. Tucking his sword into his belt, he stood and slid his door open. "Kaoru-dono?" He called. Silence was the only reply the night gave him, making him frown in concern. Walking out of the dojo, he looked around. He repeated her name, and once again the night was the only reply given to him.

He left the dojo and walked down the familiar dirt path that would forever be engraved in his mind. The fireflies a constant reminder of something, or rather someone he had left and thought he would never see again. And yet, ironically, here he was searching for that very person instead.

Faintly, his ears picked up a murmuring sound until silence once again claimed the sound and took it away. His pace quickened toward that direction, stopping short when he saw the form of a person lying against a Sakura tree. He walked up to the figure, watching the rise and fall of their chest as they breathed evenly.

"Kaoru..." he whispered, afterwords wondering why he had called her name, after all he didn't want to wake her. He gazed longingly at her face, watching the moonlight glisten over her pale skin. Something caught his gaze, and as he brushed away some of her bangs, he noticed her face looked tear-stained. That caused his worry to seep back into his mind, and he looked her over from head to toe, not noticing anything that would have caused her harm. He bent over and gently scooped her into his arms. Doing so caused her to move slightly into a more comfortable position, as she said something incoherent, and falling back into a steady rhythm of breathing. He smiled and began walking slowly back to the dojo.

"Kenshin?" Kaoru called, shaking him out of his thoughts.

His expression hardened, making it look like he was glaring at her, "Kaoru-dono... Sessha does not think it is wise that you go out in the middle of the night just because you feel like it..."

Kaoru's eyes widened and her mouth agape, 'Did he just?... No... Tell me he did not just tell me what to do!' Her mind screamed.

Her breathing became ragged and her eyes held a blazing fire of anger, burning in the depths of her sapphire orbs. "Kenshin," she said in a deep tone, "I think you need to rethink about what you just said..."

Kenshin's expression, however, did not change and if anything merely looked at her absentmindedly. "Sessha does not think he needs to repeat himself, Kaoru-dono..."

Kaoru's eyes widened for a brief moment and were once again narrowed with anger, "you can't tell me what to do, no matter how I feel about anything!" She half yelled and half spat back at him.

"Kaoru..-dono," he said, while drawling out the suffix that he choose to add to her name, "I believe that you would not have been that foolish as to go out in the middle of the night by yourself..."

"Foolish?!" Kaoru screamed at him, failing to notice the change in his speech pattern. Tears started to surface, threatening to spill out, and Kaoru not trying to let him win the argument, blinked them back. 'So he thinks I'm weak...' She thought bitterly. 'He thinks I can't protect myself...' Though, a voice in the back of her mind screamed, no, he's just trying to protect you, he cares about you! She ignored it, she wouldn't let that voice convince her that she was wrong. Before she let any second thoughts surface, she raised her hand...

And she smacked him.

An intake of breath slowed his movements as he held his cheek, never turning his head back to meet hers, as she was gone before he could even look at her.

She looked at him for a moment before she practically leaped out of the room, running toward the practice hall. When she got there, she slid the doors open, almost knocking them off the hinges in her desperation to get inside and she quickly closed them, making sure to lock them. She ran to the opposite side, grabbing a shinai and dropped to the floor with a thud.

Why was she so scared?

Kenshin would never hurt her. At least, physically speaking, she knew that. Unconsciously, she gripped the shinai until her knuckles turned white. Tears flowed down her cheeks, but she didn't care at the moment, there was nothing she could do to stop them. She immediately regretted her actions. 'He was just trying to protect me... I just had to blow it way out of proportion!'

She needed to apologize...

Kaoru knew that, but it would be so hard to confront him. Her stomach formed knots at the thought. 'Maybe I can avoid him for a few days...' It would be hard, but maybe that would work. She nodded to herself, using the sleeve of her kimono to dry her eyes, getting rid of any evidence of her tears. She sat there for a few moments, contemplating whether he would be out there if she left the practice hall.

While deep in thought, Kaoru finally noticed her hand felt... Wet and sticky. 'Tears don't feel sticky...' She thought as she looked down at her hand. She gasped. It was--

Blood.

Before she let any second thoughts surface, she raised her hand... And she smacked him.

As Kaoru recalled, she had slapped him on his left cheek. The cheek with his infamous cross-shaped-scar...

'Oh... Kami-sama!'

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What a cliffhanger! Haha. Please review and tell me what you think! Oh, and sorry about it being a little short, I'll try to make the next chapter longer!

Review Responses:

BLONDE GOTH - Thank you! Don't worry about it! Long, short, even a one-worded review will make me happy!

crystal-flame - That's great to hear! I'm glad your enjoying it! Aah, what she's dreaming is exactly what she's have this paranoia, she feels that her nightmares may come true... Does that make sense?

Midi Tenshi - I'm so glad you found this story and wrote a review! I'm curious, did you see my name before or something? Thanks, good to know I'm not making too many mistakes!

KenKao4eva - Good! So now your drawn in to my story? Aah, I cannot promise what chapter Battousai will make his appearence, but I can promise it will happen!