The wall of between the outside of the dojo and the inside collapsed with a large bang, and Kaoru watched as Kenshin's small form was enveloped with dust. She lost all sight of the Rurouni. A pained grunt came from within the haze and she gasped, hoping it had not been Kenshin. The dust cleared, but the neither the attacker nor the attack-e could be seen. Her eyes darted about the room and she finally saw them when she looked up. They plummeted down to the floor and their blades clashed, causing a resonating ringing noise to fill the room. Both Megumi and Sano had come running down the hall, Sano's hair still dripping and they both stopped and stared in amazement at the scene before them. Both men in the center of the room were panting and the assassin had a large welt running across his face. She guessed that he had been the one who grunted. His hair was long and unkempt, running in wavy rivulets down his back, his eyes were dark and sunken in and his cheeks were hollow as though he had not eaten proper food for a very long time. He was taller than Kenshin by a few heads and he was thin to the point that his bones protruded nastily. They started again and it was Kenshin's turn to grunt with pain as the man used his bony fist to deck him in the face, sending him careening backward. Kaoru ran to him, but he pushed her out of the way just as the assassin came down with his katana. Kenshin pulled up the sakabatou just in time to block the mighty swing. The man bounced back and swung at the same time. Kenshin pivoted and thrust, swerving to the side to avoid the point of his blade and catching his opponent in his side with the point of the sakabatou. It cut through the flesh before removing itself and Kenshin moved to the side to wait for his assassin's recovery.

"Sakaki-san sent you did he not?" Kenshin asked, his voice deadly. It caused Kaoru to shudder. The assassin's eyes widened and he moved back another step.

"Yes...and he sent me this gift for you." He told Kenshin, he had a very gritting voice, as though he had been yelling too much. Kenshin's eyes widened in surprise and then all they could hear was something signing through the air. Kenshin went flying once more and smashed into what was left of the wall that had been collapsed by the assassin. Kaoru gasped, and so did Megumi. Yahiko ran into the room suddenly and stopped in his tracks. Kenshin stood once more swaying on his feet, one hand over his shoulder, which had the end of a bolt from a crossbow protruding from it. No one saw Kenshin and in an instant he had the assassin on the ground, unconscious and bloody. He was breathing heavily and Kaoru ran over to him without a second thought.

"Kenshin..." She reached out gently to touch the shaft in his arm and he winced away.

"Don't touch it." He gasped. He looked very pale.

"Megumi?" The doctor was at their side in an instant, her expert hands reaching out to help Kenshin. He pulled away from her as well.

"Ken-san sit down and behave yourself!" She ordered. It made her jump. Kenshin sat as ordered and waited, not saying a word, simply staring at his would-be assassin. Megumi took a firm grip on the shaft and yanked with all her might. Kenshin jumped and yelp in pain. Megumi quickly reached into her jacket and produced spare wrapping, which she always carried in case of emergency. She rapped them around the wound quickly and tightly causing Kenshin to wince more, but he did not complain. Sano was probably the smartest out of them all though because he bound the assassin and lifted him over his shoulder, telling the two women that he was taking the man to the police station. He took the very stunned Yahiko by the collar and dragged him out of the dojo behind him.

"Kenshin?" Kaoru asked, her concern growing.

"Hai?"

"Are you alright?"

"Hai." His eyes were full of pain. She wanted to reach out and comfort him, hold him in her arms. But, she could not. He was so near and yet so very far away from her. Megumi finished wrapping the wound and let go of him. He nodded his thanks and got up. Kaoru watched as he trudged away, disappearing down the hallway, his footsteps inaudible. She sighed and looked over at Megumi. The doctor looked as tired as she felt and she smiled at her.

"Thank you Megumi." She told the older woman. She smiled as well, getting up and walking over to the counter to start helping Kaoru with preparations for the afternoon meal.

Kenshin sat in his room, his shoulder smarting. The arrow had caught him completely by surprise. It insulted him to know that the ex-Shinsengumi had hired an assassin instead of coming himself. He hadn't taken Saito seriously but the man had been right. Kenshin sighed heavily yet again. A slight tapping at his door caused him to jump.

"Come in." He said quietly. He heard the shoji screen slide opened and closed again and then felt the familiar presence of Kaoru as she came up behind him. He didn't turn and look at her, but kept staring at the wall in front of him. Despite the brightness of the day outside he felt as though the clouds were gray and a heavy rain fell. He felt, rather than saw, Kaoru kneel at his side and he couldn't help but feel a little guilty for her apparent suffering due to his own.

"Gomen nasai." He said quietly.

"Why? You didn't do anything Kenshin." She said, her voice filled with a reassuring cheeriness.

"I am making you suffer." He said. He felt her tense in surprise and then relax into a sad calm.

"Kenshin, that is not true." She said. He was surprised at what she did next. He felt himself enveloped within her arms. She had such a sweet and light scent, not heavy like Tomoe's had been, and it drew him in. He relaxed in her grip and buried his face in her shoulder, basking in the safety he suddenly felt.

"Where are Megumi-dono and Sano?" He asked, his voice muffled slightly by the fabric of her kimono.

"Megumi has decided that she will make lunch today, and Sano and Yahiko are still out." She answered. He nodded as best he could. Suddenly he realized what he was doing and he drew back quickly, blushing furiously. He cleared his throat and looked away from Kaoru who was also blushing. They sat a few feet away from each other, neither speaking for a very long time. The silence grew awkward and finally Kaoru broke down and spoke.

"Gomen ne Kenshin." He put on the best smile he could and shook his head.

"It is quite all right, that it is. This one is just as much at fault." She was still blushing furiously, and it made Kenshin want to laugh. He suppressed his laughter, however, and looked down at his sheathed sakabatou. The sheath was worn from long use and the handle was fraying and sweat stained. He had had that weapon for so long that he could not remember a time when he had not carried it, whether it was a katana or a sakabatou it had always, in truth, been the same blade. He looked up again and found that Kaoru had moved closer to him and also stared at the sheathed steel, her blue eyes filled with questions.

"How old were you the first time you held a blade of any kind Kenshin?" She asked quietly. He considered this for a moment and then, finally, the answer surfaced.

"I was six." He remembered that night as though it were only the day before. The bandits attacked, they killed all of the slaves and their sellers. The three women who had adopted him as their brother only the day prior...and then their deaths. He had tried to protect them, but he couldn't. That was the first time he met his master.

"What about you Kaoru-dono?" She looked at him in surprise and confusion. "When was the first time you held a real weapon?"

"I never have Kenshin." She told him. His eyes widened in his surprise. "My whole life I have only used bokken or shinai, I have never even unsheathed my father's sword."

"Then...you are even stronger than I ever was or will be." He told her. A knock on the shoji screen grabbed their attention.

"Hey, lunch you two." Came the loud voice of Sanosuke through the door. It was followed by his footsteps travelling down the hall, back toward the kitchen. Kenshin smiled and stood, offering Kaoru his hand. She took it and he pulled her up.

"Let's go quickly, I smell Megumi's ohagi." He said. She frowned mockingly at him.

"I thought you said my cooking had gotten better." She told him.

"Yes...better, not excellent."

"How dare you!" She cried. Kenshin took off Kaoru close on his heels. He laughed truly for the first time in a very long while at her futile mission to seek and destroy him. This was a part of life he had come to love.

Sanosuke surveyed the other two that sat across from them, his dark eyes taking in every detail they possibly could. He had listened to quite a bit of their conversation and had been surprised that Kenshin had taken up the sword so young. No wonder he was a master. He wasn't quite sure what they had been doing to both become so flustered at that one point though. He decided that he was going to let them believe that he had not heard a thing. Kenshin seemed in a lighter mood then he had been throughout the course of the day though and that was quite all right with him. Kenshin could be rather frightening when in a foul mood. He suddenly noticed something on Kaoru's right wrist and squinted to see it better. There were a series of bruises all around it, almost like fingers.

"Oi, Jou-chan what happened to your wrist?" He asked. He saw her looked down at it and then quickly draw her hand off the table.

"It's nothing Sano, I just startled Kenshin out of his sleep this morning and he jumped." She told him. Kenshin? Even when he was asleep he was careful when he woke up not to hurt people. He had done that once and came out unscathed. His face had become ashamed. Sano's brow drew into a deeper line and he looked at the two of them. Kaoru seemed fine, but Kenshin had grown quiet again. He swore to himself and closed his eyes. He had just caused him to sink back into his bad mood. He jumped when Megumi groped his ass and looked at her discretely. She gave him an impish smile and he got the signal. He smiled back smugly and turned to Kaoru and Kenshin who were still not talking to each other and seemed to be awkwardly trying to avoid looking at one another. He cleared his throat to get their attention.

"We're done, see you at dinner." He announced and got up hurriedly and pulled Megumi up with him as he went, hurrying down the hall and to one of the spare rooms.

Kaoru watched them go, blushing at the thought of what they were about to do. She looked over quickly at Kenshin, who had stopped eating and then away before he caught her looking. She turned her gaze over to Yahiko who was sitting at the end of the small table. He hadn't seemed to notice anything he was still too busy stuffing his face. His appetite had not diminished since he had grown, in fact it had grown considerably and he devoured half the food they bought every week alone. She sighed and looked back over at Kenshin to see that he was looking at her too. He seemed to stare at her for an eternity and she stared back.

"Kaoru-dono?" She blinked.

"Yes Kenshin?"

"This one is going to face Sakaki-san tonight...I will not be back soon I think." Her eyes widened.

"No Kenshin...you ca-" He stopped he in mid-sentence with a look and then stood.

"Do not worry Kaoru-dono, this one will be back soon, I hope to simply be able to speak with him." With that he exited the room and she heard the grating slide of the dojo's front door as it opened and then closed again.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters that reside within this fan fiction, in exception to Sakaki-san and the assassin. If you wish to use any of these characters please ask me. All rights reserved to Nobuhiro Watsuki, and Shonen Jump comics.

I really didn't like this chapter that much...I hope I can do better on the next one-- Anyway I hope you enjoy...

Oh yes and thanks to Lucky7gurl for the comment...-

BTW this is going somewhere...just not been able to communicate ideas this week, bleh. Artistic blocks galour.
And I know this isn't a very long chapter but as I said...writer's block. .