The next day Kenshin woke to see Dr. Gensai and Megumi hovering over him expectantly. They smiled when his eyes grew wide.
"Good, you're awake." Dr. Gensai grinned.
"Take this." Megumi said simultaneously, handing him half a cup of a nearly clear fluid. Kenshin looked at her apprehensively.
"Drink it." Megumi urged, and he did, in one gulp. He would've spit it out, but Megumi clamped a hand on his mouth.
"Oh no you don't. Swallow it. ALL of it." She said sternly.
Kenshin grimaced and swallowed, a tortured look crossing his face.
"Oh don't whine. Now listen, you only had very minor burns, so it is all right for you to go home. Take these," she handed him a package of small bandages, and smiled, "Change them once a day. They'll probably only last for three days, but by then you won't need them. Now you can go home"
"And Miss Kaoru"
"Knew that was coming." She sighed, "She'll have to stay here for a bit. She won't be able to walk on her own for a while, so we'll keep her here for a few more days, and after that I'll come every day to check on her." She winked, "Making sure your being good to her"
Kenshin blushed and stood up, suddenly noticing his gi and hakama had suddenly disappeared, and he was dressed only in a yukata.
"Uh... Miss Megumi?" He asked tentatively.
"Oh yes, your gi and hakama were already in a sorry state, plus they were burned on the sleeve and other places here and there. So I trashed them, went out, and bought you new ones." She unfolded them and held them out for him to see.
"Green?" He gulped. He had liked his old gi.
"What? You don't like green?" She half-barked.
"Oh no, green's fine. I'll wear green. Green is good." Kenshin muttered, taking the gi and hakama from her and slipping into an adjacent room and putting them on. He then stepped out for Megumi's inspection.
"That's better." Megumi smirked, and gave him a light shove out the door.
Megumi was getting irritated with that over-protective rurouni. Everyday he came to the clinic, asking: "Today? Is Miss Kaoru coming home today"
So far, the answer everyday was a stern: "No, not yet." And then either herself or Dr. Gensai would send him home.
Kenshin was here again today, the fifth day, standing in a corner near the door. Megumi supposed he could feel her irritation, and was waiting to approach her. So she took a deep breath and calmed, telling herself that he was only concerned for Kaoru's welfare. Then she waited. Mere seconds later Kenshin approached her. He merely opened his mouth and Megumi spoke.
"No, Kaoru is not ready to come home yet." She looked up from the papers she was busily sorting into his concerned eyes. She sighed, "I suppose I should tell you about her condition"
The wanderer's eyes lit up, and he laced his fingers together in front of him. He then waited expectantly for her to speak.
"When the beam fell on Kaoru's right leg, it burned a good part of her calf. She'll probably have a limp the rest of her life, and her leg will never be the same. She has minor burns on her hands and arms, but they will heal. She has not yet woken up since she fell asleep in your arms. She's coughing all night and most of the day. Does that suit your curiosity"
He was silent a moment before speaking, "Thank you Miss Megumi. Might there be a chance, that I could... See her?" He asked quietly.
Megumi thought a moment, "Normally, I wouldn't let anyone see any of my overnight-patients, but because it's you..." She tapped her chin, "I suppose I could make an exception"
She led him into the one of the overnight-patient rooms. Kenshin showed no sign of surprise or grief, but he strode over to her bed and kneeled beside her; he didn't touch her at all, but stayed there watching her. Megumi blinked a couple times before exiting, leaving them alone.
Kenshin watched her breathing. Nothing was wrong with her in that aspect, except for a few coughs here and there. But her hands; her hands were wrapped in bandages, immobile. Kenshin almost let a tear leak from in his eye; he hated seeing Kaoru like this: lying on her bed, momentarily dead to the world. Yes, soon she would wake, but to see her suffer... that was almost too much for him to bear.
He brushed a lock of hair from her forehead, a small sigh escaping his lips. Suddenly Kaoru's eyes slid open, and they rotated over to where Kenshin kneeled beside her bed. Then her eyes widened.
"Kenshin? ... What are you doing in my... room? Where am I? ... This looks like... the clinic? Kenshin, what am I doing in the clinic?" Her eyes widened more, if that was possible, as she remembered. "Oh"
"Do you feel any pain Miss Kaoru? Do you need anything? Are you hungry?" Kenshin assaulted her with questions.
Kaoru grinned and leaned back onto the bed.
"I could use something to eat." She said.
Kenshin stood and rushed out of the room without further ado.
Kaoru smiled and gazed up at the ceiling. How long had she been asleep? And what had happened during that time? And was Kenshin okay? She hadn't noticed any bandages or anything. So he should be all right. She raised her hands before her eyes to scrutinize. They weren't so bad. As far as she remembered; she really couldn't feel anything under the bandages. It was her leg she feared to look at. She knew THAT was bad. She pushed the thought away and waited for Kenshin to come back with some food for her growling stomach.
Kenshin walked in minutes later with steaming, creamy-looking broth in a bowl.
"What is it ?" Kaoru asked he kneeled next to her.
Kenshin frowned, "I don't know Miss Kaoru, but Miss Megumi said it was all you could eat for a while. She wouldn't let me make you any miso soup." He said despairingly.
Kaoru laughed, and said, "Well, if that's all I can eat, then I might as well eat it. Which means I can look forward to your food later, Kenshin." He grinned at her.
Her mood swiftly changed when she found out she couldn't even feed herself. She let Kenshin spoon only a few mouthfuls into her mouth before she sat up in frustration, bringing on a fit of coughing.
When she recovered, she gritted her teeth, "I HATE this. I've just woken and I already hate this. How much longer does this have to go on"
"Until your hands are healed and you can feed yourself." A voice said at the doorway. They both looked up to see Megumi stride in.
"Kaoru, I know you're going to hate this; everyone does. But until you can feed yourself, you're going to have to live with someone feeding you." She smiled at Kaoru's fallen face, "All things take time, Kaoru"
Kenshin smiled at her logic and was about to feed Kaoru another spoonful, when Megumi stopped him with a hand and took both soup and spoon away from him.
"I've already let you stay longer than I had planned. It's time for you to go home and take care of the dojo for Kaoru"
Kenshin stood, gave Kaoru one last smile, and left quietly. Kaoru watched him disappear around the door.
"Mm-hmmm. That rooster told me something was going on. I didn't believe the loud-mouth, but I guess he was right." She teased.
"Oh hush." Kaoru said between mouthfuls.