She shook her head and walked out into the darkness, into the forrest. She walked along the well-worn path, the one that led to her school and to town. She spotted light close by the path, but she could see it was a fire.
She walked silently toward the light. Creeping along at an ungodly patience. When she reached the clearing she saw the boy from before curled against a tree, his side was bleeding, and he looked too pale.
She padded into the clearing, putting out the fire, she picked the boy up, stumbling because he was too heavy for her, and walked back toward her house.
When she got inside, there was a cop waiting for her, sitting on the couch. "Miss Kamiya, I have to take you to a safe place." He said when she walked in, not even looking up.
"Saito. Help." She asked, surprising herself as she collapsed under the boy's weight.
He was lifted off of her in a matter of seconds. "Hey, who's he? Why are you carrying him?" He demanded.
"He's my roommate, now. I am in a safe place." She said, taking him from the taller man.
She lay him on the couch and checked his breathing. Her father had taught her everything he knew. almost. She tilted his head back to clear his airway before she began taking off his clothes.
"Kaoru." she heard Saito say.
She ignored him and checked his other wounds, making sure that there was no others but the apparent one.
"Kaoru, listen to me." He said, growing agitated.
"Go away, i am fine here. I have company, now leave." She didn't look up from applying the salve, but he could hear the cold threat in her tone, even though he was almost a foot and a half taller than her, he left.
She bandaged his wound again, not bothering with stitches, that is what got the boy in this mess in the first place. She picked him up and took him upstairs and into the guest bedroom. She drug out a robe and laid it on the chair near the bed and left.
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Kenshin woke suddenly, he found himself in odd surroundings. He had gone to what he had been calling home, a clearing in the woods, and had tried to practice with his katana, but it didn't work and he had busted the stitches in his side.
He had placed his sword in it's hiding place and had curled against a tree to watch the fire, when he found himself here.
The door opened and a raven haired girl with a tray walked in. He stared at her for a moment until he found out that it was Kaoru. He remembered the promise.
"It looks as if i owe you, that it does." he said, smiling up at her.
"Don't try to sit up. i didn't stitch you up, i only bandaged you so you have to stay in bed till it heals up more." she told him plainly. "I'm not a good cook, but i made you breakfast." she laid the tray on the table.
She pulled him up and stacked pillows behind him before setting the tray on his lap. Then she walked silently out. He could hear her pad down the stairs before she disappeared. He looked down at the covered tray in confusion.
He opened the tray and found himself amazed. Eggs, pancakes, rice balls, rice pudding, milk, orange juice, and whipped cream were crammed onto the small tray. He stared down at the food and thought that this surely wasn't for him only.
When she didn't return, he ate everything. Breathing it all in. He hadn't had a good meal in a year.
The doorbell rang and he heard the door sqeak open downstairs.He heard mumbled voices then the door shut and there was nothing.
A while passed, and he heard her pad up the stairs and the door to his room opened quietly.
"You ate it all." she said, taking the tray. He detected a sense of happiness from her that disappeared quickly. She walked back out, leaving him alone again before he could even speak.
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When Kaoru came back in, he stared at her. "Thank you. It was verry good, that it was." he said, grinning.
"You're welcome. I guess. Tomorrow is christmas. You are coming down stairs for breakfast." she told him before she left. leaving the tea on the table within his reach.
She walked downstairs and smiled at her efforts. She was always silent, but this silence was happy. She stared at the tree that had been delivered earlier, the one that she had decorated alone. She watched as the lights twinkled merrily.
Her expression turned blank as memories of years before came into her mind. She blocked them out, leaving them locked in the back of her mind. She made a few phone calls, then hung up. They would be there in a few minutes.
When they knocked on the door, she opened it and let them all in. Saito, Tokio, Aoushi, and Gensai. her father's friends.
"You told me to call if i needed anything. Can you do something for me?" She asked quietly.
They all nodded in silent agreement.
She handed them the clothes, "These are his clothes, i think they are about a size too small, though." then she handed them an envelope. "get him new clothes, and some accessorys, get some groceries with what's left. Please. I can't drive, and he can't be left alone in his condition." she whispered.
They smiled at her. "Is that all?" Gensai asked, wrapping her hands in his wrinkled ones.
"Aa." she said, bowing her head.
"Sure, we'll do it. No problem. Call if you need anything else. We'll even get the stuff wrapped." Tokio said, hugging her firmly.
"Thank you all." Kaoru said as they left, promising to be back in an hour or two.
She smiled blankly, she had spent what was left of her allowance to clothe the boy in the guest room. Now she had to live on what her father's insurance had given her.
She checked the phone, and saw four messages. two were from her father's friends offering meaningless condolances, and two were her classmates. Sanouske Sagara had called, telling her that she could come live with him. Sano lived alone, his parents and brother had been killed on a freak accident during a hunting trip. The second call came from Yahiko Miojin, two years her younger. She had protected him when Crypt ganged up on him. They feared her as well. They feared her emotionlessness, which amused her.
"Kaoru, i'm sorry for your father, my parents died recently, too, so i know how you feel. if you wanna talk, call me. I'm gonna come by on christmas, okay. Bye." His message said.
Sano had also said that he was going to come by.
She sighed and crouched against the wall. She hated this. She hated it soo much.
She felt her eyes sting, and the tears began to swell in her eyes when a sound from outside startled her.
She silently raced to the door, looking through the peep hole. She unconsiously grabbed the sword hanging on the coat rack by the door. she flung open the door and raced out into the darkness. She lept into the tree and searched the darkness with her senses for the intruder.
The brittle grass near the corner of the house rustled and she caught the sillouette of a broad shouldered man. Growling, she attacked him, the sword flashing from it's sheath with a slight swoosh.
She knocked the man out, then pulled out her pen-light and checked who it was. Jin-ei. A senior at the highschool she attended. Narrowing her eyes, she kicked him in the side and rolled him into a garbage can.
Then she sat the can beside the door, where she could watch him for movement, and went inside.
She sat at the table and thought about what she was going to do.
She had delivered supper twenty minutes ago. She went back upstairs to retrive the tray when he stopped her.
"Why did you save me?" he asked her, his honest violet eyes searching for hers.
"I found you, and you needed help. So i helped you." She said, simply.
"Why won't you keep me company?" He asked, hurt.
"I am waiting for someone, i will spend time with you tomorrow." she said, pulling the pillows out from under him. "Now, get some rest."
She walked out and downstairs again.
There was a soft knock at her door and she realized that it was the others.
She peeked out to check, then opened the door.
They walked in with giant boxes, giant cardboard boxes. They sat them down on the floor near the tree and came back with more. Finally, there was about nine four-and-a-half foot boxes crowding her livingroom.
They didn't say anything, but just left wordlessly, even Aoushi had a slight smirk on his face.
Kaoru stared after them, then at the boxes. She opened the first one and found food. Canned food, cerials, meats, drink mixes, and even sweets occupied three of the boxes. She pushed them into the kitchen to put them up. When she reached the bottom, she found the envelope. Inside was all of the mony she had given them, and a note.
"Keep it. We were glad to pay for it. You need a break." it said. It was signed by all of them, which surprised her. She lay the note aside, pushing back the waves of relief and emotion.
The rest of the boxes were filled with other boxes of all sizes. The thing that surprised her the most, though, was that her name was on half of the boxes.
She frowned slightly as she lay the presents under the tree.
The night was cold, freezing. She glanced out at the snow, the peeping tom had been arrested, but she knew she was still not alone.
She waved the presence to the animals in the woods, and finished her task. The cristmas tree was beautiful, and it looked as if a family of five lived there.
Blinking sleepily, she stretched and turned off the lights, the boxes flattened and put away, and went up to check on her patient.
He was asleep when she walked in. She lay the heavy blanket over him, making sure he stayed warm. She closed the door and walked back to her own room and crawled in bed. shivering until her own body heated the covers around her. She slipped into sleep with a slight sigh.
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Next episode: Christmas.
Die! Die! Die! -everyone i know.