Author's Note: Hello everyone! Back with another chapter! Thanks a bunch for reviewing, it makes me a happy little author! Anyway, I'm still working on getting this story back on track to its original plot line. That may not happen, but I hope you like the direction it's going in anyway. And fanfiction changed and now I can't use the normal dividers that I use... so I had to use those horozontal lines...Well, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I didn't own Rurouni Kenshin then, and I don't now. But no one can stop me from dreaming that I own it! Hahahahaaa!!!

Your Azure Eyes

Chapter 9: Flicker

"We're out of cereal," Megumi grumbled, shaking the empty box of corn flakes over her bowl, watching small crumbs of corn dust drift out of the box.

"I know," Kenshin answered from the windowsill. Megumi watched as he carefully opened the blue jay's beak with his finger, inserting an eyedropper into its mouth and cradling it gently as he emptied the contents of the dropper into its gullet.

"You have enough time to dig for worms and crush them up for that bird, but you can't get yourself to the store to buy food? The cabinets and refrigerator are practically bare!" Megumi yelled, angrily tossing the empty box into the trash.

Kenshin remained indifferent to her yelling as he continued to feed the little blue jay, "It's not that I don't have time to go to the store," He said quietly, so as not to upset the little creature in his arms, "It's that I don't have the money to buy any. I haven't worked in two weeks since Kaoru hasn't asked us to come in."

Kenshin placed the eyedropper on the windowsill, next to the makeshift nest in which he placed the bird. Straightening up, he walked back over to the table and sat down across from Megumi, regarding her with mischievous eyes.

"Miss Megumi, if you're so unhappy with the state of my kitchen, why don't you go out and buy your own food instead of eating all of mine?" He asked innocently. Not accusing her, but making note of the fact.

Megumi stared at him with cold eyes, "Need I remind you that most of my check goes back to the very same hospital I work at in order to pay the medical bill I racked up?"

Kenshin raised his hands in defeat, "Fine, fine. I'll buy food today on my way home from work. Kaoru finally called us back, and we're shooting a spread to advertise a new designer."

Megumi raised an eyebrow at this, "So she's well again, is she?"

"I suppose so," Kenshin nodded.

"Don't you find it… odd that she refused to be examined?" Megumi said, staring off into space in wonder.

"Yes, of course I do. But what can I do about it?"

"Well, isn't it obvious who did it?"

Kenshin shook his head.

Megumi sighed deeply, "It must have been someone she's close to. If it had been someone off the street, than she would have wanted to be examined to check for STDs and to make sure that she wasn't pregnant. Does she have a boyfre… Are you alright, Kenshin?" The woman trailed off as Kenshin's eyes suddenly flashed gold. His face had gone cold and harsh, and his thoughts seemed to be distant.

But suddenly, he was back to reality with the same pleasant purple eyes. With a slight smile and a nod, he excused himself from the table. "I have to go now."

Megumi watched him, confused, "Ooookay…"

"Alright then," Kenshin said brightly, grabbing his coat and opening the door, "Bye!" And with that, he left the apartment, leaving the woman at the table terribly confused.

Once alone outside, Kenshin allowed his anger to resurface. Veering off the sidewalk, he purposefully strode over to a nearby tree. Letting loose all of his rage, he balled his hand into a fist, and hurled it at the trunk. After making contact with the tree, he stayed in that position for a moment, trying to regain control. The pain that snaked up from his hand helped to fight the demon inside, but could only subdue it for so long. Slowly, he retracted his fist from the bark, seeing blood drip from the knuckles. With a terrible growl, he hurled it into the tree once more, feeling the rough bark tear his skin. The demon refused to stay behind the wall he had so carefully built up. It raged against him, desperate to break free.

Kenshin's eyes flashed golden as he stepped away from the tree, continuing his trek down the sidewalk. He clenched his fist to his side, feeling the blood pour from the wounds and drip down, leaving bright red splotches trailing behind him on the pale sidewalk. Teeth clenched, he could only snarl one name.

"Enishi."

"Kaoru! How are you feeling?" Misao ran up to Kaoru just as the young model walked through the door of the warehouse. The hyper girl stopped directly in front of her boss, smiling brightly, her eyes sparkling with sheer happiness at being able to work again.

Kenshin watched quietly from the corner of the studio, pretending to be enthralled in cleaning the camera. He stared as Kaoru smiled weakly at Misao, nodding as she said, "I'm much better now, thank you."

The young girl in front of her brightened up more, if that was even possible, and began to lead Kaoru to the dressing room, chatting away about something or other. As they passed, Kenshin caught some of what she was saying:

"… that must have been some case of the flu. Two weeks in bed…"

But Kaoru was paying no attention to her. The young model's gaze instead rested upon Kenshin as they walked by. Their eyes met for one breathless moment, but it seemed as though time had stopped completely. She was wearing a dark blue, long sleeved shirt, with a rather high neckline. Jeans hugged tightly around her hips and thighs, flaring at the bottoms around her delicate feet adorned in glittering, high-healed sandals. Her raven hair flowed freely behind her, waving back and forth as she walked.

But all too soon, she disappeared behind the dressing room door. Kenshin stared after her for a moment before letting out a heavy sigh and returning to his already spotless camera.

"Hey, Kenshin!" Sano came up behind him, patting him harshly on the back, "How goes things?"

Kenshin shrugged, straightening up after being stooped over the tripod for so long, and smiled slightly, "I'm alright, Sano. I suppose things could be better," He shrugged again, "But anyway, how are you?"

"Alright… Alright…" Sano said, dropping his voice to a whisper, "Hey, where's Missy? Is she alright?"

Kenshin stood still for a moment, staring at the bodyguard, trying desperately to form words to explain the situation. Should he lie as Kaoru had obviously done with Misao? Or did Sanosuke have the right to know the truth as Kaoru's protector?

Sano rose an eyebrow in question, waving his hand in front of Kenshin's face, "You okay, Kenshin? You spaced out there."

Quickly choosing one of the two options, Kenshin replied, "Yeah, I'm okay. Kaoru was sick with a bad case of the flu. I guess she's better now," He shrugged again, at a loss for anything better to do.

And, as if on cue, out stepped Kaoru from the dressing room adorned with the first expensive outfit of the day. Kenshin's breath caught in his throat as his gaze fell upon her. The dress she wore was from a rising new designer in New York who had just begun to create a name for herself with her flattering and beautiful designs. The woman, Monique Vengretta, had humbly asked Kaoru to be the first one to wear some of the designs she had created, and of course the young model had accepted. Three weeks later, five outfits had arrived at the studio, fitted perfectly for Kaoru's frame.

The dress was black, with a loose halter-top neckline that seemed to swoop from her shoulders to her bust line in a 'v' shape. The dress stopped just above knee length, where it flared out slightly, so that it swayed gently with each step the woman took. Underneath the bust was tied a large strip of deep red cloth that looked much like an obi. The designs on it were oriental in nature and accentuated the dress beautifully.

No one could have looked more beautiful in that dress, Kenshin decided. It was as if it had been made for her… Well, actually, it had been made for her, but that wasn't the point.

"Breathe," Sano helpfully smacked Kenshin on the back to urge the photographer's lungs to suck in air. Unwittingly he had deprived himself of oxygen long enough to cause his face to turn a pale shade of blue.

Kaoru stopped in front of Kenshin, and the echoing of her black high heels suddenly stopped ringing throughout the warehouse. "How is it?" She asked, turning once around for him to see all sides of the dress. Kenshin seemed mesmerized by the twirling fabric of the hem of the dress around her thighs. He watched it float out and aloft, plunging down and flipping up.

Although his words came out rather shaky and crackly, much like a rusty hinge, Kenshin managed to find his voice long enough to say, "Beautiful," And saved some dignity by forcing a smile, though it came out rather lopsided.

"Well then," She said with a strained, lopsided smile of her own, "How do you want me?"

"Er…" He slurred, walking over to the background they had set up. The photographs would be set in a gallery, as if the lovely Kaoru had been admiring artwork. Though Kenshin planned to make it seem as if she were part of the gallery herself, as a beautiful piece of living artwork…

"Try standing in the center, next to that vase," he said, referring to the blue vase setting on the short, white column in the center of the area they had set up, "No, better yet, take the vase off and rest it by your feet. Now position your arms on the column. Yes, like that." He then strode over to arrange her hair in front of her face, giving her that trademark mysterious look.

But as he gently positioned each separate strand of hair, Kenshin couldn't help but notice the shadow of a bruise looming on Kaoru's shoulder. It had obviously been well covered with makeup… nothing that the camera would pick up. But where had it come from? Had she been attacked again?

Attacked by Enishi?

"Kenshin… What happened to your knuckles?" Kaoru asked quietly, without moving her position even a centimeter. Kenshin's hands froze by her face.

"Nothing… Just a little accident on the stairs," He lied, willing his hands to move again. She regarded the photographer questioningly with her soft, blue eyes… but shifted her gaze to the wall opposite him when he noticed she was staring.

The shoot had gone well, meaning everyone could go home happy for the day. Sano chewed on a toothpick as he threw on his coat and walked nonchalantly out the door. Misao stayed to chat with Kaoru for a few minutes, but soon realized that she was once again crossing that line between friendly and annoying. So she too left, leaving Kenshin developing the photos in the dark room, and Kaoru changing in the dressing room.

Kenshin had only been in the dark room for a few minutes before he heard a light knock on the door. Quickly, he jumped up and opened the door a crack, finding Kaoru standing in her former jeans and a red tank top she must have found in the closet.

"Can I come in?" She asked, though it was muffled as she had a hair tie in her mouth. Taking her hair in one hand, she took the twisty tie in the other and secured the ponytail.

"Sure," Kenshin replied, opening the door slightly more, using his body to shield the photographs from the light as she stepped into the room.

Kenshin had found that the red light in the dark room enlightened everything in a strange new way. In most cases, it accented shadows, making curves of the female body more predominant. But in some cases… it seemed to illuminate things that would have otherwise gone unnoticed.

"You have a bruise on your shoulder," He announced, touching it lightly with his forefinger. It was obvious in this room; too obvious to ignore.

Kaoru winced as if he'd hurt her, but he knew that he hadn't touched it hard enough to cause pain. "I know," She mumbled, bringing a hand up to cover the mark, "I ran into a door."

Kenshin raised an eyebrow at this, "A door?"

Kaoru smiled weakly back, refusing to meet his gaze, "Yeah, a door."

Slowly, Kenshin's hands snaked up her arms until they rested lightly on her shoulders. He moved closer to her, forcing her blue eyes to meet his violet gaze.

"Please, Miss Kaoru," He pleaded with both his voice and his eyes, "Tell me who did this to you."

Kaoru turned even further away, until she was almost facing the wall, "No one did it to me. It was a door."

Kenshin spun her around, more roughly than he had intended to, but still more gentle than what she had been expecting. Kaoru shrank back, recoiling under his slight grip as if he were about to strike her.

"Look at me, Kaoru," He demanded, his voice commanding, yet still gentle. Kaoru slowly turned to look upon his face, her eyes meeting his. She was startled to find them a molten golden color.

"Whoever did this to you… we must stop them. They have no right to hurt you, they…" He trailed off as Kaoru took a step closer, wrapping her arms around his firm waist and pulling him close to her. In response, he took his hands off her shoulders to wrap them around her small frame.

"Kenshin… I don't know what to do." She said quietly into his shirt, her voice muffled slightly by the fabric, "He'll kill me. He'll kill you."

She pulled away, willingly looking Kenshin in the eyes. He watched her for a moment, watched her pain filled eyes moisten slightly with tears that she refused to let out. She had such a strong spirit.

It seemed as though they were being magnetically driven together. Gradually, they came closer and closer, until they were but a breath apart. Slowly, Kenshin lowered his lips upon hers. Kaoru froze for an instant, and so they remained unmoving for what seemed like a blissful eternity. And then, Kenshin felt the young model melt into his arms, as if letting all of her muscles relax at once. Kenshin released her mouth and she parted her lips slightly, taking in a shuttering breath as he gently kissed the corners of her mouth and her bottom lip. Soon, their lips found each other again, and they were locked once more in the gentle embrace of a kiss.

Suddenly, the door swung open. The abrupt harsh light invading the room caused Kaoru to yelp and jump back, nearly tripping over her own two feet. But Kenshin held her steady in his arms, willing his eyes to adjust as quickly as possible to the new light.

In the doorway stood Enishi, his dark eyes ablaze with fury.

Extra Author's Note: Another cliffhanger. I personally love cliffhangers, but I suppose that's just me… Well, whether you love them or hate them, please review! Thanks a bunch!