Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or creations from Rurouni Kenshin. But I do share ownership of the original characters with other authors/readers. There's my disclaimer, so… have a nice day… or night.

The Black Sakura – The Birth of Warriors – By Cherry Chibi

Chapter Fourteen

~*~

 "Did you kill Tomoe?" Battousai asked.

 "No."

 "Then what did you do?"

 "I took away her magic."

~*~ 1/ Shadow Gates ~*~

 "I took away her magic…" Kaoru covered her face with her spare hand. She could sense the slight disappointment coming from Battousai. She knew that he wanted Tomoe dead but the thing was, Tomoe was already dead and therefore she couldn't kill her. Not that she wanted to anyway.

The ceiling was above them was slowly smoothing out, returning to its duty of reflecting the outside world's sky. However, the beautiful scenery that had once surrounded them no longer existed. Something had happened.

Sculptures, arts, waterfalls… all of the creations that Kaoru had created using her friends' items had vanished. They had gone. Kaoru whimpered with pain as she shifted to get up. Battousai helped her into sitting position. "We have to save the others…"

Battousai shook his head slowly. "You need to rest." Before Kaoru could retaliate he placed a finger on her lips and the words which were forming in Kaoru's mind died away. "There's no point going if you're already exhausted like this." He turned her around and led her towards the exit.

Kaoru stumbled out of the chamber. Battousai's hand rested on her shoulder as he led her out. They were both exhausted from earlier but out of the two, Battousai didn't show it. He couldn't afford to rest. At times like these, the Black Sakura was under danger of being killed. He couldn't ever let that happen.

There was a peaceful and much needed quietness for a stretch of time. "Batty…" Kaoru said with a light yawn, "Nothing else going to happen tonight. You should rest too." Once again Kaoru has read his mind like a book. "I'm sure of it." She gave him a assuring smile that always brought comfort. He would've objected. Except with her smiling like that to him, he didn't think he could deny her anything at all.

 "I suppose that we should rest." Battousai said in a quiet tone. He pushed open a black door with one hand that allowed them to enter Kaoru's bedroom which was much like the Black Sakura's Chamber except it was much more normal.

Casually, Kaoru slumped on her bed and covered the blankets over her. She didn't bother with anything else. Her body felt like solid stone. Maybe her fight with Tomoe had really taken a lot more than she thought. "But we should wake up as early as we can…" Kaoru said with a yawn.

 "I suppose." Battousai said in an automatic reply. He really wasn't planning to wake her up early – he couldn't even wake up during the day, it was usually Shinta who did. 'Shinta hasn't been around…where did he go? I can't sense him anywhere?'

 "Shinta? I think that he's asleep somewhere nearby…" Kaoru mumbled. "…well, good night, Batty." Battousai smiled at her. He wasn't prepared to sleep yet. Just awhile longer of being awake wouldn't hurt.

He leaned heavily against the wall with his head rocked back. No other sound besides the gentle even breaths. Nothing disturbed the atmosphere. It was completely still. The dark was calm and enticing. He glanced over once more to Kaoru to check on her. After he was assured that there weren't any other beings around that would be any threat towards them, he closed his amber eyes and allowed himself to sink into a shallow sleep.

~*~ 2/ Gates of Light ~*~

The two Guardians of Light knelt before the translucent silvery sphere. They chanted their incantations for the required transformations. Seems like they were able to speed things up. However, such incantations and summoning were unpredictable.

 "Away from night

Darkness to bright

Wake the resting beings

From death to birth

Hence rise on earth

Bring them to service

Souls of great fire

That rid any mire

Warriors shall they be…"

~*~ 3/ Shadow Gates ~*~

Kaoru shifted in her bed, left to right, left to right. Her breathing was increasing and she wasn't waking.

~*~ Kaoru's Dream ~*~

Kaoru ran up to the shadows of her friends. "Everyone?! You're all alright!" She was about to reach them when suddenly a golden glow exploded, blinding her sight for a while. She shaded her eyes with her hands. "What's…?"

 "Calm and graceful,

Yet raging and powerful,

Warriors will they be…"

She saw Sanosuke, Misao, Aoshi walk away and fade. "Wait!" She turned to the others who were also following suit and fading one by one. "Hang on!"

"Serve the Black Sakura

Serve for her will and right

Warriors of loyalty will they be…"

Kaoru stumbled over and her hand was caught by another.

"Protectors of peace,

Bearers of truth,

Warriors until the end."

"Batty…?" Kaoru was confused. She couldn't understand what was happening. She felt her tears swell in her eyes. "Why…? Where…? Everyone…"

Battousai hushed her. "Don't worry Kaoru." He pulled her into an embrace and in her ear he whispered. "I'll protect you. I'll protect your happiness."

~*~

Battousai gingerly brushed Kaoru's raven bangs from her closed eyes. Her whimpers had woken him and he had worried a bit. "You'll be alright Kaoru." He muttered. He wasn't sure if she was going to hear what he was saying but he felt that him being by her side had made some sort of impact.

A thin ray of sunlight broke through the cracks of the ceiling and sprayed across the room. A couple of blinks and Kaoru's eyes opened. She sat upright with a yawn. "Morning Batty." She smiled dreamily. She watched him cock an eyebrow and hoped that he hadn't felt her cheeks heat up. "How long have you been up?"

 "Not long."

~*~

AN: Gomenasai minna! *bows* I'm sorry for not updating for so long… and for this short chapter. However, there is only one more chapter until the end of Book 1. ^-^ After that, I'll start working on Book 2! (how exciting!) Well, thank you all for supporting me through this! I really appreciate it! Even if you're not reviewing, you're still reading it! Think of that makes me really happy! ^-^

Until next time!

Cherry Chibi.

PS. If anyone is worried, I will not stop writing, I won't leave something unfinished, that is unless I get a huge writer's block and end up deleting the story… which I doubt would happen. /sighz/ I may have to get another operation… on my left eye this time, so if a vanish for like two months, you guys will know why.