Disclaimer : Rurouni Kenshin is the property of Nobuhiro Watsuki, Shonen Jump, Viz, and Sony Productions.

Possession

Donna8157

Chapter 23 : As Equals

The next morning

"Mm . . water . ." Kenshin groaned and he slowly blinked his eyes open against the blinding sunlight that filtered into his room. As he moved his hand, he felt something soft between his fingers. Hair, he realized. Wait . . hair? His lavender eyes widened in shock when he glanced over and saw who it was lying next to him. Kaoru. Had she slept next to him the entire night? Kenshin quickly shot out of bed. He regretted it as soon as he did because a splitting headache came at him in full force because of the large amount of alcohol that he had consumed the other night. One by one everything that had happened yesterday came back to him. His actions towards Kaoru . . . his tears on her shoulder. As he remembered it, Kenshin's face turned a bright hue of red.

It was then that Kaoru began to slowly open her eyes, Kenshin's movements in bed had woken her up. The young man froze when he saw her and had no idea what to do or what to say so he just stood there awkwardly.

"Y-You're up, sir?" Kaoru asked as she sat up and looked at him with a serious expression on her face. Looking around, she realized that she must have fallen asleep while looking after Kenshin the other night.

"I . ." Kenshin's face turned red and quickly looked away as he pointed towards her chest.

Kaoru looked down and had forgotten that her shirt was ripped. A crimson blush stained her cheeks as she hurriedly closed up the front of her blouse.

"Yesterday . . I . ." His head hung low as he struggled to finish his apology. "I . ."

"Y-you should get ready to go to school, sir," Kaoru interjected quietly as she slid out of bed. Kenshin slowly lifted up his head and turned to look at her. Unexpectedly, there was a soft expression on her face as she looked at him.

At a loss for what to say, Kenshin just nodded his head.

As Kaoru turned away from him, a faint smile rose on her lips. She walked over to the closet and pulled out the shirt, jacket, and tie for him to wear to school. She was about to help dress him when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up.

"You can stop. I'll do it."

"No. I'll . ."

"No," he said as he took the clothes from her hands. "From now on, I'll do this kind of stuff on my own. You don't need to worry about it anymore." The voice that came out of Kenshin's lips was not a command, but a soft voice that sounded almost like a favor. He looked at her and his lavender eyes softened. From now on, I want to stand at an equal position with you.

Kaoru stood there a bit shocked by the kindness that she heard in his voice. "I . . okay, sir," she murmured as she turned around and left the room. The red-haired man watched her until she disappeared behind the door.

Kaoru let out a deep breath that she didn't know she had been holding as soon as she went inside her room. She walked over to her bed and sat down with relief while placing a hand on her forehead.

Mou, how did I fall asleep in his room? Her face turned red as she remembered seeing Kenshin's face in the morning when she woke up. Luckily, she had enough wits to act normally. After allowing herself a few minutes to regain her grounding, she got up and started to get changed into the school uniform. As she was changing, her thoughts drifted to what had transpired that night.

Flashback

Kenshin's apologies and silent murmurings that had seemed endless finally stopped when he had fallen asleep in the comfort of Kaoru's arms. The young woman looked over at him and felt surprisingly relaxed with the young man in her arms. Making sure not to wake him up, she began to gently lift him up onto his feet and laid him on his bed. After placing the blanket over his body, she looked at his face carefully for the first time.

"Mmm . . s-sorry . ." the young man whispered through his sleep. "I'm sorry . ."

Kaoru looked down at him and her eyes turned into a sorrowful blue shade. "Ssh . . It's okay," she whispered as she brushed back a few strands of loose red hair from his face and sat down next to him on the mattress.

As if hearing her words, Kenshin stopped and fell back into a peaceful sleep once more.

A small sigh escaped from Kaoru's lips when she watched him. She found her gaze shifting towards Kenshin's cross scar on the left-side of his cheek. For some reason, it seemed to draw her attention. She still had no idea how he had gotten it or when it had happened. Her eyebrows crinkled in concern while watching him. She reached out her hand slowly and moved it close to Kenshin's face. Very carefully, she placed the tips of her fingers on his cheek and lightly traced the scar.

Kenshin's face cringed as soon as he felt her touch. Kaoru quickly took her hand away and held her breath while watching his face, afraid that he would wake up again. After a few minutes, she realized that he was going to continue to sleep. She let out a breath of relief and was about to turn around to get out of bed when she felt something catch onto the hem of her shirt.

Kaoru looked down and saw that Kenshin's hand had grabbed onto it. She reached down so that she could gently pry his hand off, but his grip only tightened.

Mou, Kaoru sighed and sat back down. It was not long afterwards that she too fell asleep.

End Flashback

As Kaoru remembered the events from the last night, a small ghost of a smile graced her lips. Realizing it, she shook her head and quickly finished getting herself ready to go to school.

KNOCK KNOCK

"Come in."

Kaoru walked into the room when she heard Kenshin's response from inside. When she opened the door, she found Kenshin putting on his tie. She walked over to him and started to help him. Instead, he slightly pushed her hand away so that he could do it himself. Kaoru, who had nothing to do, stood in front of Kenshin and stared at his actions.

Why is he acting like this?, she wondered.

As the young man thought of Kaoru's sapphire eyes looking at him, he found himself not being able to move his hands as naturally. When the woman saw him fumbling with the tie, she reached out her hand again and started to put it on for him. Unknowingly, her lips slightly curled up as she thought about how he looked when he was acting so flustered.

And Kenshin didn't see it.

Soujiro stifled a yawn as he got out of his car and took out his backpack. Slinging his book bag over his shoulders, he turned to lock the car door. He was about to walk into the school building when he saw a familiar limousine pull up to the front. Soujiro's blue eyes widened in surprise as he recognized the two people that got out.

"Himura-san! Kamiya-san! You two are here earlier than usual," Soujiro exclaimed as he waved and walked towards the limousine.

"Yeah."

At hearing Kenshin's voice, Soujiro stiffened and thought himself in an illusion of some sort. His friend's voice seemed to be mixed with high spirits. He looked suspiciously over at his two friends and saw to his utmost surprise that Kenshin was taking the backpack from Kaoru's hands.

"I'll carry it."

Soujiro and Kaoru watched in silent befuddlement while Kenshin began walking into the school with the book bag in his hands. The two followed behind a little afterwards.

Himura-san seems to be treating Kamiya-san better now. That's good, Soujiro thought to himself. His gaze shifted to Kaoru who was walking next to him. The neutral expression that would usually adorn her face as she looked at the other man had become noticeably softer. The tense mood that had once been between them seemed to have changed overnight. As Soujiro continued to study the both of them, he noticed a red mark on Kaoru's neck. The boy stopped in his tracks and quickly turned away with his face red with embarrassment.

Hearing Soujiro's footsteps come to a halt, Kenshin turned around with a confused expression on his face. But when he realized exactly what Soujiro had seen, Kenshin's face turned a similar shade of crimson. He quickly walked over to Kaoru's side and put an arm around her neck to hide the tell-tale spot. The young woman looked between the two of them, not sure what was going on. As she looked up at Kenshin and saw how red his face was at the moment, she instantly understood.

The kiss from yesterday, it must have left a mark. Kaoru's face turned crimson with embarrassment. She put her hand on her neck and rushed to the bathroom with her head down low.

Soujiro stared at Kenshin who was standing next to him. When Kaoru was finally out of sight, the blue-eyed man turned over to his friend.

"Himura-san . . if you hurt Kamiya-san in any way, I won't forgive you."

"I won't hurt her," Kenshin replied assuredly. He turned around and walked away quickly to class without giving a second glance at his friend.

Soujiro watched as the other left. What happened between them? What will Sagara-san do when he finds out about it? The boy sadly looked towards the side as he shook his head. With a sigh, he began walking to his own classroom.

Lunch Time

"Did you get hurt again, jou-chan?" Sanosuke asked with worry. The four of them had gathered together during lunch and had just sat down when Sano noticed the band-aid on Kaoru's neck. Kaoru's face suddenly turned crimson and she automatically lifted her hand to cover the spot on her neck. Her blue eyes looked downward, afraid to meet the other's gaze. Kenshin's face also began to glow a shade of red, however the spiky-haired man didn't seem to notice. Sano was at the moment too concerned about the girl's state of being.

Cough, Cough

Soujiro started coughing when he heard Sanosuke's unexpected question. He began to pound his chest as if he had some food lodged in the wrong tube. The brown-haired man turned around and quickly passed him a glass of water. Soujiro "calmed" down once he drank a few gulps of the refreshing liquid.

Heaving a sigh, Sanosuke turned his attention back to the girl who sat across from him. "Jou-chan . . why is there a band-aid on your neck?"

Cough, Cough

Soujiro began his coughing fit once more when he heard the question.

The tall man shook his head and pat Soujiro's back until his coughing stopped. "Soujiro, what's wrong with you today? Can't you even drink water properly?"

The blue-eyed boy returned an innocent smile as he scratched the back of his head, unsure of how to respond. Luckily however, because of his coughing, the answer to why the band-aid was on Kaoru's neck was left unanswered.

What will happen next?, Soujiro wondered with worry as he thought about how the situation would unfold from now on.

At the end of the school day

BRIIIING

The last school bell of the day resounded throughout school and students flocked out from their classrooms ready to go home for the weekend. Hearing the final bell, Kenshin got out of his chair and walked over to Kaoru's desk.

"Let's go."

"Yes, sir."

The young man waited for Kaoru to get up and then they walked out of the room together. Students remaining in the classroom looked at each other in surprise and began whispering amongst themselves. The way that Kenshin talked and treated her had become noticeably softer.

"Hey . . did you just see that?"

"Is that really Himura-san?"

"Sagara-san, what are you doing? Aren't you going to go?" Soujiro tapped Sanosuke on the shoulder when he saw the other sitting in his desk staring absent-mindedly into space.

"Huh? Oh. Let's go," Sano said as he was brought back out of his thoughts. He began to hurriedly gather his bags and books while avoiding his friend's worried blue eyes.

Soujiro watched him with concern, he wondered if Sanosuke was thinking about the incident at lunch. Maybe he did know what was going on and that was why he never questioned Kaoru further. Sagara-san…I know it's painful to bear, but I hope you know you have other friends around you. As the two of them were about to walk out the room, Sanosuke turned over to his shorter companion.

"Oi, guess who I saw that time at the hospital," Sano said as he slung his backpack over one of his shoulders.

Soujiro raised one of his brows in an inquisitive manner. "Who?"

"The fox."

The blue-eyed young man furrowed his brows in confusion, but after a few seconds realized who Sanosuke was referring to. "Ah . . you mean Takani-san?"

"Yeah."

"Takani-san has been volunteering at that hospital for the past two years now."

"Eh? How'd you know?"

"I went there some time ago to fetch some bandages for Shishio-san and ran into her."

"Oh."

"Oh and Sagara-san, Makimachi-san just informed that she was planning a surprise party for Kamiya-san for her release from the hospital. She wants to have it at your place tomorrow," Soujiro told Sano as he smiled sheepishly.

Sanosuke's mouth dropped open in surprise. "What? The weasel girl just volunteered my place for another party?" He crossed his arms in front of his chest as he let out a sigh of discontent.

Soujiro chuckled. "Maa, maa Sagara-san. Your place was the most reasonable choice. Shinomori-san also seemed to agree with her decision."

Sano shook his head in defeat. "Fine, but tell the ice man that he's the one that's buying food and drinks this time around."

The shorter man looked up skeptically at his friend. "And you were the one that bought them last time?" he asked in a sarcastic tone. "If I remember right, you still owe me money for that, Sagara-san."

"Oh . . well . ." Sanosuke sputtered trying to find something else to say while they walked along the hallway.

Soujiro sighed. Some things would just never change. "Sagara-san . ." he started, but then stopped when he realized that Sanosuke seemed to come to a stand still in his tracks. He looked up and at that moment he saw Kenshin and Kaoru pass by the door.

His brown eyes gazed downwards as soon as he saw the both of them. Luckily, Kenshin and Kaoru didn't see them and Soujiro made no motion to greet them. When they were out of sight, the taller man turned to his friend.

"I've got some things to do, Soujiro. I'll see you tomorrow," Sanosuke said with a wave of his hand as his footsteps increased in pace. He left walking in the opposite direction.

They were definitely hiding something from him.

Sanosuke had felt it during lunch time. Jou-chan wouldn't answer my question . . . and Soujiro seemed to pretend to cough to distract my attention from her. What's going on? He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't see the other person that was walking towards him until it was too late. They had run into one another.

"Sanosuke!" Megumi uttered partially in surprise. Her brown eyes later narrowed as she regained her bearings. "Why aren't you looking at where you're going?! I thought even rooster-heads had more sense than that."

"Che. Well, if you had been watching where you were going, fox, you wouldn't have run into me either."

"Hmmph. Anyway, how is Kaoru-san doing?"

At the mention of Kaoru's name, Sano's shoulders slumped a little, but the other woman did not take notice. "Uh . . she's doing fine. Thanks for taking care of her that time in the hospital."

Megumi's lips curved up as she shook her head. "Of course, it's my job. However, I still wonder what a female of the same species would ever see in a guy like you."

Sanosuke stiffened when he heard the comment and this time Megumi noticed his reaction. However, he quickly shook it off. "Yeah . . well, jou-chan is just a friend." He tried laughing off the feeling, but it still remained.

The woman raised an eyebrow as she heard his response. This was not like the usual flirtatious Sanosuke she had known since ninth grade and seeing his reaction made her feel a bit guilty for what she had just said. "You know . . I wasn't being serious when I said that," she said in a low voice.

Sanosuke cocked a sly grin as he heard her. "Really fox? Then tell me what is it that you see in me?"

Megumi became flustered at his sudden question and turned away from him so she could avoid his eyes. "Wh-what? Nothing of course."

"That hurt, Megumi."

The woman shook her head, feeling a bit awkward at the turn in their conversation. She looked down at her watch and saw how late it was getting. "Well, I've got to do some errands. Maybe I'll see you some other time."

"Yeah," Sano replied as he turned to continue on his way, but then quickly looked back when he remembered something. "Oi fox!"

Megumi stopped and turned around as she waited for the other to continue.

"Misao wants to throw jou-chan a surprise party tomorrow for her release from the hospital and I'm sure she would appreciate it if you would come."

A smile crossed the woman's lips as she nodded her head in response.

"We'll see you tomorrow then," Sanosuke said with a wave of good-bye and started walking the other direction.

The moment Kenshin walked into his house, he knew something was amidst. Misao was standing near the door with apologetic eyes when she saw both he and Kaoru enter.

"Himura-san, your mother wants to see you in her study," Misao said sympathetically.

Kenshin looked up a bit surprised by the request, but nodded his head as he trudged up the stairs toward his mother's room. When he arrived at the door, he heard his mother call out to him from within the room.

"Kenshin, is that you? Please come in."

The young man sighed, he wondered what exactly his mother would want to discuss with him that was so important. He turned the doorknob and stepped inside. His mother was standing next to the window with her arms crossed in front of her chest, wearing a light rose business suit. As always, his mother seethed elegance.

"Mother?"

The woman turned around, her hazel eyes flashing. "Is that how you address your mother?"

Kenshin smirked ruefully. "I mean . . good afternoon, mother."

A smug smile adorned Mrs. Seijuro's lips as she tilted her head up. "That's better, dear. Now, what is the business with this girl? I hope that you're finding her useful."

His jaw tightened as he heard her mother referring to Kaoru in such a way, but he held it in and smiled. "Yes, thank you."

"Hmph. Personally, I just cannot understand why your father did such a thing. That . . that thing is definitely not worth three million. Sometimes I just wish that I was never put into this damned arranged marriage. "

The mother let out a sigh of regret as she shook her head. She waved her hand nonchalantly towards her son signaling for him to leave her alone.

"Good bye, mother," he said as he gently closed the door behind him. He let out a breath that he didn't know he had been holding as soon as he walked out. It amazed him that when he was young, she was the one person that he needed to feel acceptance from. Hiko had always been kind to him, as much as a biological father would be towards his son, but her . . she had always given him the cold shoulder. He tried to gain her acceptance and acknowledgement by getting the best grades at school and behaving the best a young boy could, but it was to no avail.

There was no changing her mind.

To her, he would always be some vile boy that Hiko picked off the streets.

Kenshin smirked to himself. There was a period, a very long period of time in his life when he would have believed that statement. He turned around and began walking upstairs, making his way to his room. But as he got to the door, he thought about Kaoru and her mother.

She must miss her.

Next morning

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP

Kaoru moaned as she forced herself to get out of bed. She turned to look at the clock and saw that it was only 8:00 am. With a tired sigh, she picked up the receiver.

"Yes?"

"Get ready to go out . . . and the . . the weather's a little cold so dress warmly."

Kaoru widened her eyes when she heard Kenshin's words. "Y-yes, sir." She put down the receiver and a small smile appeared on her face as she remembered Kenshin's slightly abashed voice. Rolling out of bed she couldn't help but wonder where he wanted to go this early in the morning.

When Kaoru walked outside, a black sports car skid towards her and stopped right in front. The window on the passenger's side slowly rolled down.

"Hurry up and get in." Kenshin gestured towards her from the driver's seat.

Kaoru hesitatingly opened the car door and sat down.

The red-haired man smirked when he saw her expression. "Don't worry, I didn't fire the chauffeur. I just felt like driving today so you can erase that worried look from off of your face."

Kaoru nodded and felt a little relieved by his words. Kenshin looked at her face and a small, almost unnoticeable smile graced his lips. Studying her, he leaned over towards her. Feeling shocked by the close proximity, Kaoru quickly shrunk back as his face came closer.

"I'm confident in driving, but just in case . ."

Kenshin hesitated for a moment when he saw her reaction and then reached out his hand to put her seat belt on. Kaoru's face burned a fresh red hue when she realized that she had misjudged his actions. She glanced at him through the side of her eyes and for some reason, she felt that he looked . . different.

2 hours later

"Where did Himura-san go with his cell phone turned off?" Soujiro wondered aloud as he looked at the phone in his hands. He had already left ten messages on the phone.

"Why isn't he home?" Sanosuke asked while he came out of the kitchen with a glass of water in his hands.

"Himura left early in the morning," Aoshi replied.

"With jou-chan also?"

"Yes . ."

Sanosuke's shoulders drooped noticeably when he heard Aoshi's response. The other three in the room saw it, but didn't know what to say.

"Maybe they'll come back soon?" Misao interjected hopefully.

Kaoru turned her head and watched Kenshin driving down the long, winding road. He hadn't said a word about where they were going since they left the house. At that moment, Kenshin's eyes glanced towards Kaoru. She quickly turned her head away and looked out the window when her eyes met with his for that brief moment. Familiar scenery came into her view as she looked outside.

It couldn't be . .

Kaoru turned back to face Kenshin. A small smile spread on his lips as he felt her surprised gaze on him.

If I'm right . .this road leads to . .

From afar, the mental health clinic came into view. Tears began to brim around Kaoru's eyes as she realized that she would be able to see her mother again.

Kenshin leaned back against the car as he waited for Kaoru to come back with her mother. Minutes later, he saw her and a nurse come outside wheeling a woman towards him. A gleam of sorrow rose in his eyes for a moment as he looked at the scene before him. He stood up straight when they came within talking distance.

"This . . is my mother, sir."

A frigid ache suddenly developed in Kenshin's heart when he saw the forced smile on Kaoru's face as she introduced her mother. His violet eyes lingered on her for awhile before looking over at her mother. The woman that he saw in the wheelchair only bore a vague resemblance to the smiling and warm woman in the picture. If Kaoru had not introduced her as her mother, he may not have even recognized her. The woman's eyes that were bright and vibrant in the picture only seemed to look into empty space now.

Kaoru leaned over to her mom's ear and began whispering to her. "Mom . . I told you, right? This is the person that took . ."

"I'm Himura Kenshin . . . Kamiya-san's friend."

Kaoru froze as she stopped talking and looked over at him in surprise. Kenshin ignored her gaze and bent down on his knees so that he could be at eye-level with her mother.

"Until now, I've only brought your daughter pain. But from now on I will never hurt her or give her a hard time. I will take care of her. I promise." The young man softly embraced the mother's hand.

Kaoru lowered her head when she heard Kenshin's earnest words. Tears began to sting her eyes.

"Kaoru-san, it's getting a bit chilly out here. I think I should bring your mother back inside," the nurse said.

"Oh . .yes . .I'll take her in," Kaoru stuttered, still a bit taken aback by what Kenshin had said earlier. She grasped the handles of the wheelchair and turned it around towards the building. At that moment, she felt warmth around her shoulders. She turned around and saw that Kenshin had taken off his jacket and placed it over her. Kaoru looked up at him and saw that his lavender eyes were fixed on her own. They were trusting . . . and strong eyes. Kaoru slowly moved her gaze away from the red-haired man and carefully began wheeling her mother back inside the mental hospital.

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- To be continued

Author's Notes:

Thanks for reading and I'd be grateful if you would leave some feedback on this chapter. Sorry it took so long for me to update. I have to blame it partially on not working properly so I couldn't upload it in the first place. Anyway, I expect there to be only 4-6 chapters left for this story. I hope you'll all stay with me until the end.

Special Thanks to Eternal-Senshi-S, Ice Angel Kaoru, Atlas, MizzLee, flyingwithoutwings, Jade Catseye, Kaoru Gal, misakililin, Zackire, Mademoiselle Anime, kirie-kun, S3R3nity, KawaiiChica, moderndaybattousai, Ryoga, Reignashii, InuLimbo, El Capitan, Angel of lonelyness, rain angst, Nakashima-Michiyo, Brittanie Love, samuraduck27, Peachie-chan, The Hitokiri Battousai, kodaku, Katana Midori-Fading Shadow, JaneDrew, Mallory, RKfan86, Chibi Kiki, Kaleia, Angela Himura, erica6060, Anonymous T, nobody, Ochanoko, HitokiriSky, Mika, kimi.the.water.spirit, LegolasEstelstar, kik-ting, AngelsAngel, flaming-amber, Shizuka3, Vejitagurl, tintin-chan, Ookami-Hitomi, ;) britty, BabyKaoru-Sama, Yukipchan, tesuka-chan, F0X, nirada, psychotic-catster, AmayaSaria, shibichibi, ariel, vyki, Eden, De Lazy Lime, Lendra-chan, saotome, nicee, Darkygurl11, Spike-Faye, OniTokage, Mz. Amber Eyes, Coodle, Chin, Sakura22, Shenyu, kagome (Crazyperson), Amber Fyre Riddle-Snape, Guacamoli, cutie-chan-XD3, bonessasan, angelic-kuti, and cyjj for reviewing! Thanks so much for your support. ::passes out fish bones from Sano's private stash:: hehe