Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the property of Nobuhiro Watsuki, Sony Entertainment Enterprises, and Shueisha Jump! Comics. All of the characters in this, previous, and future installments of this story are being used only for non-profit entertainment purposes. All original characters and ideas are mine to claim.

Note: Possible OOCness ahead. This chapter contains implied situations of abuse and rape. You have been prewarned.

This chapter told from both Kenshin's and Kaoru's POVs.

Save Me From the Darkness

Chapter Six: Seeking Salvation

Written by: Ice Angel Kaoru

-Kenshin-

It had been a month after the dinner that night at Kaoru's place. Busy work schedules put us out of touch with each other. I hadn't had a decent conversation with her since that night.

I stopped by the restaurant often for lunch and to hopefully get a glimpse of her. But a few weeks prior, one of her waitresses had given her resignation because she was moving to England with her parents, and so Kaoru was busy serving tables during the afternoon shift, which started at twelve and ended at five. She spent the time before that interviewing girls who were interested in filling the position. I rarely had a chance to talk to her because of it.

Enishi had receded to the back of my mind quite quickly, as I had no interaction with him. But from what I saw of Kaoru, things seemed okay. She was still the energetic Kaoru that I know.

I was going to learn soon, though, that her life was not really the bed of roses she made it out to be.

It was a drizzly Saturday morning, and I was trying to fall back to sleep in the cozy nest I call my futon. Unfortunately, my subconscious was no longer allowing me to enter so sacred a realm. Deciding I might as well get up, I tumbled out of my futon and onto the floor in a tangle of blankets and legs. Truth be told, I was still half asleep.

After brushing my teeth and getting dressed in a pair of old track pants and a gray UCLA sweatshirt, I decided that I would make breakfast. Kamatari was pattering around in his room by the time I was done cooking. It had been awhile since we had both had some good old American food, so I made chocolate chip pancakes with hash browns.

I'm not much of a cook [I could easily burn down the kitchen], but I have a few specialties. Chocolate chip pancakes with hash browns is one of them.

By the time Kamatari had stumbled into the kitchen, I had both our plates of pancakes on the table.

"Mmm... Kenshin, I dub thee the Pancake God," Kamatari said after taking a bite of breakfast.

"I'm glad you like them, Kamatari, though I'm sure IHOP does a much better job."

"Yeah, you're right about that."

We continued to talk, discussing our plans for the day, and what we wanted to do for dinner. Kamatari had decided that he would go to the boutique for a few hours, then come home. I was going to be at home all day, doing some paperwork I had brought home, and then being a couch potato for the rest of the day. Dinner was most likely going to be pizza.

By one o'clock, my paperwork was finished and I was enjoying a book on the couch, a half eaten sandwich and a half empty glass of juice sitting on the coffee table. Kamatari was still at the apartment, he was going to leave later. It was raining outside, and the world was wet and gray. The drizzle from the morning had picked up into a comfortable patter, making my apartment even more cozy.

As I was turning a page of my book [The Secret Garden], the phone on the side table next to the couch where I was sitting started to ring. I hit the "speaker phone" button, and immediately I heard several voices talking.

"Moshi moshi. Himura Kenshin desu."

"Kenshin! How's Japan?"

"Akira! Hey, it's nice hearing from you! Japan is nice, but it's raining today. The reports say it'll probably be a heavy storm by nightfall. How's LA?"

"LA is great. The weather is warming up here; y'know, turning into perfect beach weather."

"That's good. Where are you?"

"All of us are at our place. I have good news for you. Would you like to take a guess?"

"Sure, but let me call Kamatari out here to help me."

"All right."

I got up from the couch and hurried to Kamatari's room. Knocking briskly on the door, I called to him.

"Kamatari! Akira and everyone are calling from LA!"

"Coming!" was the muffled reply.

I returned to the living room and resumed the conversations with Akira.

"So are you ready to guess?" he asked.

"You got a promotion?"

"No."

"Tomoe's expecting?"

"As much as I'd love for it to be that, it's not."

"Ano...you finally got back at Makoto and Yumi for all the pranks they've played?"

"Are you kidding? No! Not even close!"

"Then what is it?!"

"We're coming to visit you guys!"

"NANI?!"

"They're coming to visit us, Kenshin. Calm down," Kamatari said.

"When are you guys coming? And when you say 'we', who's included?"

"Next week. And 'we' includes all of us."

"What's the occasion?"

"Just because."

What was I supposed to say?

"WOO-HOO!"

There, I said it.

We talked for a while longer, and then said good-bye.

"I can't wait for them to get here. I can finally introduce them to all of the friends I've talked to them about," I said.

"We do have a problem, though. Where are they going to sleep. We only have two extra rooms, and Akira and Tomoe need one to themselves, considering that they are married. My room is also my studio for my designs, so that's off limits. The two of us share a bathroom. We have two more bathrooms, though, so the guys could share one, and the girls could do the same," Kamatari pointed.

"Well, we could fit everyone else into the living room, maybe. We'll just have to borrow a few sleeping bags from Kaoru and the others," I said.

"Eh, we'll think about it later. Right now, I'm heading to the boutique."

"Finally going to give your wheels a spin?"

"Yup."

Kamatari had finally gotten a car for himself--a comfortable 2004 Honda Civic, in a nice pearly white.

"Be careful driving, then. The roads are wet."

"You got it."

Kamatari left, and I had the place to myself. It was too quiet for my taste [silence is good, but sound is always better], so I decided to put on some music. One of my various burned CDs played Sakamoto Maaya's "Sanctuary". I repeated the song a few times, and by the fifth time, I was snoozing away on the couch.

Weekends are great.

I was awoken late in the evening, around eight o'clock, by the jingle of keys at the door. Getting up, I stretched and worked out the kinks from lying on the couch. Sighing in contentment, I went to the kitchen to make some tea. Since mint tea is my favorite, I decided to make a good kettle-full.

"The weather definitely turned for the worst. I doubt anyone would be caught dead out there," Kamatari said as he helped himself to the tea.

Looking out the window, I noticed it had started to thunder and bolts of lightning streaked across the sky, lighting up the world like the fireworks on the Fourth of July.

"Listen, I'm going to go get the mail really quick, okay?" Kamatari said.

"All right. I'll see you in a bit."

He walked out the door, and I went back to the living room. Switching on the TV, I channel-surfed until I saw an episode of Inuyasha running. Inuyasha had just turned human inside the demon's belly when my cell phone started ringing. I looked at the caller ID and noticed that it was Kamatari.

Why is he calling my cell phone? He's just downstairs in the lobby.

I humored him anyway and answered.

"Moshi moshi. Kamatari, why are you--"

"Forget the questions and come downstairs! There's something you need to see!"

"What is it?"

"I can't tell you on the phone! You have to come downstairs! It's urgent!"

Kamatari was frantic; it was obvious from his voice.

"Okay. I'm coming."

When I got downstairs, I met Kamatari by the elevator.

"Kamatari, what's going on?"

"Just follow me. You'll see in a minute."

We hurried outside onto the front steps of the building. See, the mailboxes are located next to the lobby doors on the inside, which gives whoever is at the mailboxes a perfect view of the front steps of the building. As we approached the doors, I could vaguely make out a body lyring on the front steps.

Leaving Kamatari behind, I hurried over to the body. It was a girl, a very familiar girl. She was lying on her side, diagonally across a few steps. Her long black hair was pooled around her form and covered her face. From what I could see, she was wearing a long jacket that went down to her ankles and tied in the front with a belt. I felt her hands; she had been soaked through to the bone. Watery red pools dripped off of her skin in various areas, and her coat had a dark stain in the lower region of her body.

I could only guess what had happened to this poor young woman.

Wanting to get a closer look at her face, I moved the long, inky strands away. When I saw her face, I gasped and my eyes widened.

An ugly black and blue bruise marred the pale skin surrounding her left eye and cheek, dried blood crusted a cut on her right temple, and her right cheek was red and swollen with a final cut also crusted with dried blood near her lips.

Oh Kami-sama... How could this have happened?

Shaking out of my stupor after recognizing her, I began to gently shake her shoulder while simultaneously calling her name.

"Kaoru! Wake up, Kaoru! Please, wake up!"

Her eyes opened ever so slightly, and she looked at me. Kaoru's eyes filled with tears when she saw me, her blue eyes glazed over with pain and sorrow.

I picked her up, brought her inside the building, and got Kamatari to help me take her up to the apartment. She had already fallen back into unconsciousness by then.

The rain was coming down in sheets, the lightning and thunder made loud noises, thus causing the once content atmosphere to be filled with tension and anxiety.

Kamatari helped me to settle her onto a futon in one of the guest rooms. Kamatari checked her temperature with a thermometer.

"She's running a fever, Kenshin."

I left the room and quickly made my way over to the phone in the living room. I punched in a few digits and waited for someone to answer.

"Moshi moshi. Takani Megumi desu."

"Megumi! Please hurry over here! It's an emergency!"

"Ken-san? What's going on? What happened?"

"It's not me, Megumi. It's Kaoru!"

"What happened to Tanuki-chan?"

"I'm not sure, Megumi. Though I have a hunch, I wouldn't say it on the phone. Please, just come over and take a look."

"Okay, I'll be there as soon as possible. I would ask you to bring her to the hospital, but I don't think Kaoru would have gone for it anyway. Now calm down and wait. I'm on my way over."

"Arigatou, Megumi."

We hung up, and I rushed back to Kaoru's room. "How is she doing?"

"She's running a fever, and yet she's freezing cold. I think she got soaked to the bone out there in the rain."

"How long do you think she's been out there?"

"Well, first off, I didn't see her car around, so she either took the bus, which is unlikely, or she walked here, considering she lives pretty close by. Her feet are totally rubbed raw, and she wasn't wearing shoes, if you might have noticed."

"I didn't notice that. Not until you just pointed it out, actually," I admitted. I stared at her blanketed form, her eyes closed to the world, her long hair pooled around her head like a halo, and her breathing shallow. Streaks of mud matted her hair, and finger-shaped bruises coated her pale neck as if someone had tried to choke her or keep her from screaming.

I continued to watch her for the next few minutes, never even realizing when Kamatari left the room to let Megumi in.

A knock on the bedroom door, followed by the muffled padding of feet alerted me to someone's entering the room. Looking up, I saw Megumi with her doctor's bag and what looked like a pouch full of a clear liquid.

She noticed how my gaze lingered questioningly on the plastic pouch, then said, "I wasn't sure if I would need it or not, but I brought the stuff I would need to assemble a makeshift IV."

I nodded. "Do you need me to leave?"

She nodded, then asked, "Do you want to stay?"

I looked at her, then back at Kaoru. It's true that I did want to stay, but would I be strong enough to face what was most likely going to be an ugly slap in the face by reality?

Probably not, but then I would face even my darkest fears to know that my loved ones were safe.

I looked back at Megumi and nodded. "Yes," I said. "I want to stay."

"All right. Let me take a look."

And so the examination began. I turned my face away several times to give some semblance of privacy to Megumi and Kaoru and because I'm decent that way. It would not have been right to have seen...ano...certain parts of the female anatomy.

"She has so many lacerations, it's scary. The majority of her body is black and blue, with cuts and what look like whip marks from a belt buckle or something of the sort. Along with all of these injuries, there's proof that she's been raped."

I looked at Megumi, half-shocked, half-saddened. Shocked because I didn't want to believe my hunch, saddened because deep down I knew the truth.

"If you'd like, I'll stay over tonight to help take care of her," Megumi offered.

"Arigatou gozaimasu," I said solemnly.

"Okay. First things first, let's get her cleaned up. Do you have a tub or shower?"

"Ano, this room has a tub."

"Good. I'll take care of getting her washed of all the grime. If you can find some old clothes that might fit her, we can get her into something dry."

"One of my neighbors might be able to give us a hand with that. I'll go ask after we get her situated for a bath."

"Okay."

We headed to the bathroom with me carrying Kaoru with me making sure to look straight ahead or only at her face. Megumi switched on the lights and headed over to the tub. I set her down inside, and ran to get some towels to role up and use as a support for her neck. After that was done, I headed out of the apartment and went down the hall to apartment 623.

I knocked briskly on the door, and waited for an answer.

"Coming!" came a muffled cry.

The door opened to reveal a young woman around around my age, with black hair tied up in a bun and brown eyes half-open.

"Gomen nasai for disturbing you so late, Toki-san, but I needed to ask you a favor."

"No, it's no trouble. I fell asleep on the couch anyway, so it's good that you woke me up. What can I do for you?"

"Ano...a friend of mine had an accident today and is staying at me place. I was wondering if I could borrow some old clothes for her to wear? She's about your size."

"Sure, no problem. Come with me."

I followed her inside and waited in the living room while she went to get the clothes. She came back carrying two pairs of sweat pants and two sweatshirts.

"This should help," she said.

I thanked her and hurried back to my own apartment. Kamatari let me in, and I went to the guest room that Kaoru was occupying. Knocking a few times, I called to Megumi to ask if she was done. She replied with a yes, and I went inside.

Kaoru was bundled in a green bathrobe, compliments of Kamatari, and lying on the futon. I handed one of the pairs of sweatpants and one of the sweatshirts to Megumi and turned around so that she could change Kaoru. When she was done, I turned around again, and helped Megumi to set up the makeshift IV pole. With some quick thinking and Kamatari's help, we turned the coat rack that stood by the front door into an IV line. Megumi stuck the needle into Kaoru's arm with deft fingers, and sat back with a sigh.

"I've bandaged all of her wounds and cleaned the areas that needed cleaning," she started.

"How long do you think she's going to stay unconscious?" I asked her, quietly taking a seat by Kaoru's futon.

"I don't know, Kenshin. I can assure you, however, that when she wakes up she'll be extremely weak. She's been 'forced against her will', so to speak, on top of which she has many lacerations and she's sick. I don't see her really moving about again for about a week and a half, maybe less if she wakes up soon," Megumi explained.

I nodded and looked at Kaoru. Her face had been cleaned of the blood and looked much better, even though it was marred by a large bruise and cuts; the blanket was pulled up to her collar, giving a clear view of her slim, bruised white neck. Kaoru's ebony hair was soft and shiny in the lights from the room and the moonlight pouring in from the window; while before it had been a mess, it was now comfortably braided and lay on the futon near and around her head. She did not smile in sleep, but she didn't frown either; her face was calm and emotionless, and at that moment, I saw a more fragile, quiet beauty that I had never seen before. Her image reminded me of the Kaoru who'd gone to the hospital after fainting at school one day because she'd stopped eating.

My heart hurt when the realization hit me that I had not kept my vow to protect her.

How could I have let this happen? Why did it have to happen to her? Of all people, she deserved it the least.

No...

She didn't deserve this at all.

Why has this happened? Why wasn't I there to protect her? Why wasn't I able to see that she was in trouble?

Why? Why does she always suffer? Why is she always hurt? Why am I always too late to do anything?

But besides all of these questions, there was something more important that kept spinning around my head.

Why didn't she tell me she needed help?

If I knew, could I have prevented this?

Yes.

Maybe she was too scared to tell me. Maybe she was afraid that I wouldn't give a damn.

Or maybe...

Maybe she didn't want help. Maybe she wanted it, but didn't know how to ask.

Or even...

Maybe she didn't know she needed help.

I never even realized when I fell asleep curled up against the wall.

-----

-Kaoru-

So much pain... It hurts...

My eyes opened slowly to a room with sunlight filtering in from the curtains covering the window. I slowly turned my head to the side, looking around.

Ken...shin...?

There Kenshin was, leaning against the wall to the right of the futon I was lying in. I weakly lifted my right arm to see myself wearing a sweatshirt that wasn't mine.

Who changed me?

I heard Kenshin yawn and stretch. Turning my head slowly, I watched him rub the last remnants of sleep out of his eyes. Finally awake, he looked at me. A soft smile lit his face as he looked at me.

"Ohayou, Kaoru-dono. How do you feel?"

I tried to smile in return, but my face hurt. In fact, my entire body hurt from my head, to my back, to my stomach--all the way to the area between my legs.

Just thinking about the pain caused me to remember the incident that caused my injuries.

Oh Kami-sama...

How could you do this to me?

Why Enishi...?

Why have you broken me...?

I turned my head away when I realized I started crying. Using my right hand as a support, I slowly and painfully sat up in the futon.

"I-I feel ill," I choked through my tears and quickly put my hand to my mouth, trying to keep down the mixture of noxious substances that was causing me discomfort.

"Hold on Kaoru-dono! Don't let it out yet!" Kenshin said and then hurried into what I perceived to be the bathroom. He came out half a minute later with a bucket.

"Here you go. Go ahead; it's okay," he said.

I didn't have to be told twice. Leaning over the bucket, I gave in and let out what my stomach couldn't handle. Kenshin was kind enough to keep my hair out of my face through it all.

Ugh... I hate being sick.

Once I was done, he took the bucket away and returned with a bowl of water, a washcloth, a small empty bowl, and a bottle of mouthwash. After setting down the stuff he brought with him, Kenshin put his hand to my forehead. His hand felt cold to me and sent shivers down my spine.

"Your fever is still pretty high. Don't worry, though. 'The cool cloth treatment' might help bring it down. But you might want to wash your mouth out with this first. Here," he said, and poured some of the mouthwash into the cap of the mouthwash bottle.

Up until then, I'd been using my right arm as a support to keep myself sitting up. Unfortunately, my arm gave out and I pitched sideways. Before I could hit the floor, however, Kenshin caught me with his free hand. I looked at him silently.

He just smiled. "Gotcha."

Still helping me to sit up, he brought the mouthwash to my lips. I took some of the green colored liquid into my mouth, and immediately my mouth tasted like mint. A few seconds later, he brought the empty bowl to my mouth and I spit out the mouthwash. My mouth felt quite a bit better; it felt clean.

After setting down the bowl with his right hand, he lay me down on the futon again so that he could move the bowl of water and the washcloth closer towards himself. Once that was done, he helped me to sit up again with his left hand and used his other hand to dip the washcloth into the bowl of water and squeeze out the excess. Gently, Kenshin cleaned my face, neck, and hands with the washcloth. He was careful with my left hand and I noticed a needle connected to transparent liquid-filled tube leading up to clear plastic pouch hanging on the coat rack that originally stood next to Kenshin's front door.

Kenshin's no doctor. Who helped me?

"Megumi was kind enough to come by and help fix you up a little bit. She set up the IV," Kenshin explained, answering my unasked question.

He lay me back down on the futon, then continued to wipe my face and neck. A few minutes later, he checked my forehead again.

"Ah, see? It worked. Your fever went down a few degrees. In the time you've been sleeping, your temperature's been fluctuating between high and slight fevers," he said.

"How long have I been asleep, Kenshin?" I asked softly, my throat a little sore from being sick earlier, and the bruises that were there previously.

"You've slept for four days now."

"Oh."

"You know... When I saw you that night, I was scared," he admitted, turning his head to face the window while his hands lay curled around the washcloth in his lap.

Oh Kenshin...

"I couldn't help wondering what kind of monster would do something so horrible to someone so great, but I was also angry at myself because I wasn't there to protect you," he said, his voice cracking slightly.

There was a moment of silence between us.

"It isn't right for you to blame yourself every time I get hurt," I said softly.

He looked at me abruptly, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"Especially this time," I continued. "You had no idea. And me... I was just stupid to keep hoping he'd get better. But the truth is...I...I really loved him..."

I sat up again, and leaned forward on both arms while painfully tucking my legs under myself. My eyes burned and blurred as tears poured down my face and my shoulders shook with sobs.

"I feel...like I've been soiled...because of...what he did to me..." I choked out.

I felt Kenshin wrap his arms around my waist and I collapsed into his embrace.

"Why did he hurt me like this, Kenshin?" I asked, still crying.

He remained silent, and simply held me.

"Why did he break me this way? Why? Why did he propose to me, if this was going to be the outcome? Did I do something wrong? Did I anger him so much that he went this far?"

"I wish I had an answer to all of your questions, Kaoru-dono, but I honestly don't," Kenshin finally answered. "But you can't blame yourself for his actions towards you. They were wrong, and it is solely his fault."

Still in tears, I looked at Kenshin. He looked at me with sad violet eyes, and he looked like he wanted to cry as well. I looked down again and leaned my head against his chest.

"He said that one of the reasons he loved me was because I was strong. But how can I be strong, if I'm so broken? How did he change into someone like what he is now? What happened to the guy I fell in love with? Why did he turn on me? Why did he break me like this? Why did he shatter my heart this way?"

Again Kenshin said nothing as I continued to weep. He simply held me tighter, and I clung to him as if holding on for dear life. I continued to cry for quite a while longer, half in pain of what was done to me, and half in sorrow of the love I'd lost.

In the early hours of that Wednesday morning, I fell asleep to the feeling of tears coursing down my cheeks and the sound of a soft heartbeat against my ear.

As I drifted into the realm of the subconscious, I remember Kenshin's soft tenor whispering to me: "After this ordeal, you won't have to deal with him or his torture anymore, I promise."

I don't know when or how the engagement ring I'd been wearing up until then fell from my limp hand.

-----

Wake me up inside,

Wake me up inside,

Call my name and save me from the dark.

Bid my blood to run,

Before I come undone,

Save me from the nothing I've become.

Bring me to life...

-----

A/N

Ice: Well! How was that for dark angsty drama?

Kaoru: I need sugar! SUGAR!!! ::finds a box of chocolate Pocky:: YAY! ::jumps up and down:: ::falls::

Kenshin: Orooooo! ::passes out::

Kamatari: YAY! I GOT TO HELP BE A HERO! ::jumps up and down::

Megumi: ::self-satisfied smirk:: I'm such a good doctor!

Sano/Yahiko: You keep leaving us out!

Enishi: ::wearing a frilly pink dress:: I'M SO PRETTY!

Everyone: ::looks at Enishi:: Uhh...Riiiiigghht... ::thinking-"The guy's a crazy nut. Why isn't he in an asylum?"::

Ice: Oookay...

Anyway, this chapter is probably going to be updated here in India as well. Hope you liked it. I'm also hoping that the quote from Evanescence works at the end here. Tell me what you think about that.

I've discovered a really cool channel here called Animax-Anime 24/7! It's great...sorta.

They ruined the dubbing for RuroKen!

They got Richard Hayworth to do Kenshin's voice again, which is good [I'm pretty sure Megumi's voice actress is the same as the one in the US dub as well, just like Mr. Hayworth. I like the US dub; it's really well done compared to other things I've seen.], but that's about the only upside; all the other voice actors are different and horrible. Besides bad voice actors, they've named the characters and the series incorrectly. It's so bad; they call Kaoru 'Kori' and 'Hitokiri Battousai' is 'Battousai the Slasher', not 'Battousai the Manslayer' as it should be! And when the names are correct, they mispronounce them! Even Viz knows the word 'Hitokiri' is translated to 'Manslayer'; they have it right in their manga productions! And the series isn't called 'Rurouni Kenshin'; they're calling it 'Samurai X'! You'd think these people could learn to differentiate between the OVA and series names.

So why do I watch it if it's dubbed so horribly?

Because I can't get enough of my little redhead, that's why.

Yes, I am pathetic.

Another thing that's bad is getting sick overseas. For the past three to four days, I'm had a high fever and stomach problems. Luckily, I've gotten a lot better and I'm moving around again.

But really, being sick is just plain BAD.

Okay, I'm done ranting.

Review and have a VERY happy Ice Angel Kaoru!

Oyasuminasai! I'm off to get a rest.

--Ice Angel Kaoru [Signing out: 6:11 PM PST, 07/23/04]

PS: I calculated the time difference between LA and Tokyo using the time zones on my Laptop. It's a difference of sixteen hours. Long, ne?