Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Rurouni Kenshin.

Flying High
by Uenki

Chapter 3: Memories

Kamiya Kaoru stood on the floor of the Kamiya dojo, with no one in and not even a pin drop was heard. Silence, silence was slowly consuming her. It was all so peaceful and scary, why? Has she traveled back in time to that dreaded day where her parents left her, when she yelled and yelled and no one came to her rescue?

Pain… It was all pain that day, when Kamiya - Yukishiro Kaoru was no longer a virgin. Those endless pains she has felt, it is even more painful than the cold steel stabbing into your heart.

She hoped, she struggled to be free, she wanted no whips no daggers and no men to touch her body. She felt dirty, all over, every part of her. They did not let her be. They did not let her be after they had finished tortured her… They, those scumbags threw her to the slave traders… And that was when she had met her sister, for the first time of her life.

Her hair was tied up loosely behind her back, hair dropped onto her face. Those eyes shone with innocence, and purity. Tomoe at the age of 16 held out her hands to me, although I am none other than the slave of Yukishiro's. But she changed it all, she became defiance against her parents and she told me that if I could be her sister, the little sister that she wanted for so long.

And soon, I am one of the many members of the Yukishiro's; I stayed with Tomoe and Enishi, whom he referred to me as his 'Kao-neechan'.

Kaoru laughed at that certain piece of memory, she tried so hard to forgot about the part of her memory which was never 'clean'; she wanted to remember it so hard as it was the same day that she had met her, Tomoe. Her sister taught her many things, even though none of them knew what had happened to her before. They never questioned, they just accepted her in their lives.

"Kaoru, my dear little sister…" she hugged me close to her chest, this was the day that she had been waiting for so many years… She finally got engaged with her fiancé, Akira. I am so happy, her smiles were so beautiful, and Enishi and I soon joined in their joy and happiness. However, the bad news came soon enough; Akira was murdered by the man who is an assassin. Tomoe was heartbroken, she refused to say anything to anyone, but only to Enishi and me.

A day after she went out and came back, she came to me. She told me that she went as a spy; she told me that she wanted revenge; she told me everything that I couldn't possibly believe, in my wildest dreams.

She sat down on a mat, and I did the same.

"Kaoru, you must know that you are no longer a little girl…" So much for a little girl, she didn't even know that I was raped before she found me. But her seriousness reached me, slowly, I nodded my head.

"I knew that being a spy doesn't have a happy ending," a small smile came, after all those days, "I wanted to be with Akira, Kaoru." My eyes widened, but why has all these things being a spy got to do with Akira?

"I know what you're thinking… You should know. Being a Yukishiro had its name and a certain authority," her voice was sharp and it rang into her ears, "I detested it." She took off the engagement ring and slipped into my finger, smiling.

"You know that I want to be free… You're the closest with me, and you know me best. I love you very much, you must know." She hugged me and sways me to and fro, like a rocking chair. She planted a peck on my cheek, and she stood up.

She headed for the door, without turning back, "I always wonder how the birds feel like to be free in the sky…And…Enishi loved you." And I think I do agree with what she was doing… It was not Himura Battousai after all, it was always Tomoe, who was planning everything in the dark, though I knew that she was still hesitating at the last moment, and she jumped out. The long, cold steel thrusting into her, blood were spilled and stained the white snow.

Deep in my heart, I knew that she reached her dreams; I knew that she was free. Akira and Tomoe loved each other, very much so. But I felt guilty, I felt guilty when I, hiding inside the woods, saw Himura sitting there, weeping. And Tomoe gave him the scar.

I think I pitied him for loving my sister so dearly, yet her heart was not with him. Still, what is love really?

"Gomen-nasai, Kaoru-dono!" a soft apology caused her to fly back into reality, and she saw the familiar man with the infamous scar slide open the door of her room.

"You did nothing wrong, Kenshin, why are you saying your sorry for?" Kaoru questioned, her mood becoming snappy.

"If sessha made Kaoru-dono upset, please tell me, I would leave right away!" he said, while Kaoru laughed, more precisely, Kenshin saw her laughing, which brightens her up.

"You're wrong, I am not upset because of you, you little idiot." She said, still laughing and chocking on her laughter.

"If sessha can make Kaoru-dono laugh, sessha won't mind being called an idiot." He replied, smiling cheerily as it is the first time in this week that he had seen her smiling, expect for the day they first met.

"Oh Kenshin!" Kaoru moaned, still laughing away, it seems that she was trying to laugh away all her troubles, "you're always so cheerful, Kenshin!" she smiled.

The landlady and the cute, sweet, little Rurouni sat on the porch, and Kenshin was concerned about her. "You know, Kaoru-dono, this one saw you walking in and out too much today, you should know that you are injured, especially being sat on by six men…" his eyes narrowed, while Kaoru gave him a full time smack on his head.

"Oro!" he cried, and Kaoru seemed confused.

"What did you say again?" she asked, and soft uttering of 'orooooos' came. It was the second time she laughed on this day.

A/N: Woah, sorry angelic, I did not receive your e-mail for the BETAed version, so sessha just went on with it, gomen-nasai! [Bows to angelic-sama continuously]

This weeks' topic

MATURED KAORU VS TOMBOYISH KAORU

You guys know what? When Autumn Shadow said in her/his review and said that he/she likes it when author's portray Kaoru as an matured adult much to a tomboy.

Actually, personally, I think Kaoru is matured, but sometimes… She can just blow over the top and went a little "racoonish"… Well, I would try to make her in-character as much as possible, and I would try to let her be a matured adult… Yes, she is 24 in the story if you are wondering about her age… So, she gotta fake innocent doesn't she? Heh...

Hints of some chappies is starting to drop on yer guys like timebombs!