Holy crap wow.....I never expected to get 6 reviews for the last chapter....I am quite pleased. I guess taking the time to improve my story writting skills has helped. I've had so much good happen to me lately. Sigh......anyways.....

I have a slight timeline alteration to do....at the begining of the last chapter I said this took place in Late fall 1863, well I'm changing that to early fall. I have my reasons......

Disclaimer: WanderingAimlessly (aka CiCi) dispite being believed to be Kenshin's reincarnation, does not hold the rights to her beloved rurouni. He (unfortunely for CiCi) belongs to Nobuhiro Watsuki and the other Corprate mongols who horde the rights. Do not sue this humble fan fic writer!


Chapter 2- One Step Forward

Karou breathed a small sigh of relief. Yahiko had found the doctor. Her friend and talented doctor Megumi had left to find her family in Aizu a few years earlier, and her old family doctor wasn't home that day, but the doctor Yahiko did find was one of his partners and a nice man with kind eyes and gentle hands.

He assessed Kenshin quickly and deemed that it was safe to move him so that he could be more comfortable.

Yahiko did as he was asked with out his usual complaints, as this situation required him to act like a man for once.

Karou spread the futon out on the floor and Kenshin was laid down on it carefully.

The doctor put his medicine chest down and began a closer examination.

The head injury turned out to be not as severe as it looked. He would just wake up dazed and disoriented. The fever was from a head cold that went unchecked, and had worsened due to overexertion. The swelling was the real problem.

"The tissue that pads his joints is deteriorating," the doctor said. "It's causing his bones to grind up against each other which is why there is swelling and he feels pain. Unfortunately there's nothing we can do about this. He'll just have to take it easy and let this run it's course. I'm recommending a lot of bed rest. In his condition, another fall like this could cripple him."

"Bed rest?" Karou thought out loud, wondering how well it would work. Knowing Kenshin's nature, it wouldn't be in him just to lay around idle. He'd want to get up and do chores around the house, and help with Kenji. It would take an act of kami-sama to keep him down.

"Gomen nasai Himura-san," he replied. "He's just pushed himself a little too hard. He's hurting himself and further activities could harm him even more. That ankle is very close to fracturing and if it got any worse he'd be robbed of the ability to walk forever. With the right amount of rest it could heal it's self."

Karou stared at the tatami mat floor, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Her world was slipping…

But the sound of movement brought her back.

"Easy there, don't strain yourself," she could hear the doctor say.

Kenshin was stirring.

Everything was blurry to him and he found trying to bring things into focus made his head spin even more. He felt hands grasping at his shoulders and he tried to brush them off. He struggled against the weight. His body was aching. It hurt to move.

He then felt something cold being placed on his forehead. Someone was wiping his burning face with a damp rag. He relaxed, opening his eyes and focusing on the face staring down at him.

"Karou?"

There were tears in the corners of her eyes. He knew that it was because of him. All he remembered was asking her to look at his ankle, which was bothering him, and then feeling dizzy.

"It's alright anata. You just had a bad fall. The doctor said you'll be alright. Just don't move your head," Karou said.

Her touch and care was comforting, but it still didn't banish the guilt he felt over making her cry. He had wanted to hide the fact that he was feeling ill from her. He had felt it coming for two weeks, but had never told her for fear she'd make a fuss over him. He didn't deserve to be worried over. He had murdered people, and for that he hardly even deserved a roof over his head, much less a wife and child.

But still, she clung to him, loving him despite his past. As she ran her fingers across his forehead and through his hair, he found her kindness hard to ignore.

"Karou, gomen na…" he started before she put a finger to his lips.

"Shhh, you don't have to say you're sorry, even though you did get yourself a rather nasty head cold and that ankle is a mess. No more laundry for you baka," she chided

Ouch, maybe if it's one thing he did deserve it was a scolding from his beloved. He let out a small sigh, which hurt his chest. Just breathing alone hurt. He took in a particularly sharp breath, causing him to start coughing.

Assessing his own condition, he concluded that his lungs were inflamed, his throat raw, his temples throbbed from the head injury, and he could feel the onset of a fever creeping up. Not to mention the pain he felt from his major joints, especially from the affected ankle. This was no casual matter. He could be out for weeks, he groaned inwardly. He had really out done himself now. And if there was anything that he hated more than being helpless, it was being a burden on Karou.

She patted him on the head and rose to her feet. Walking over to the cabinet in the corner of the room, she picked up a spare quilt and covered Kenshin with the extra layer. She then walked out of the room to get some final instructions and medicine from the doctor and escort him out of the dojo.

Yahiko was busy keeping Kenji out of trouble so she went into the kitchen and prepared a simple meal, trying hard not to burn it. He culinary skills were nothing to be proud of, in fact they were down right disgraceful, but she had gotten better under Kenshin's watch. In the past she had let him do most of the cooking, but that wouldn't be possible for a while.

She dished the rice out to her hungry student and son, and then dished out another bowl which she brought to Kenshin and helped him eat. He took small bites as his strength aloud him, but halfway through the bowl he gave out and couldn't eat anymore with out choking.

After that she went out into the courtyard and did the laundry that he would have done if he had been feeling better.

Night fell and Karou took a sleeping Kenji and lay the small chibi on his futon in the corner of their room. At just over one year old, he was still having sleeping issues. She just hoped he wouldn't disturb Kenshin's rest, knowing how much the boy loved to climb all over his Tou-chan.

He reminded Karou so much of Kenshin. The resemblance was almost uncanny except that the boy's hair was a dark brownish red and his eyes were bluer than Kenshin's amethyst. But he had Kenshin's energy and vitality, and was already showing qualities befitting of a swordsman.

Smiling she turned to where Kenshin was now asleep and crawled onto the futon next to him.

Morning came and she was woken by Kenji crawling over her towards Kenshin. She scooped him up amid his squirming protest and carried him to the kitchen to make breakfast.

It appeared as if Yahiko had gone back to his own rowhouse that he occupied for a friend, Sanosuke, while he outran the law in China. So Karou just made rice and miso for the three remaining dojo occupants.

Yahiko returned mid morning for lessons and to help out around the dojo, knowing he'd have a hard time getting her away from Kenshin.

The days at the dojo continued like this for the next month, and much to Karou's horror Kenshin's condition only got worse. At first he protested to his path of treatment, but soon he began feeling tired and sunk into depression at finding himself rendered completely useless. His fever persisted and his coughing grew worse. Karou had nothing left to do but write to a certain doctor friend in Aizu.

As soon as Takani Megumi heard she gathered her belongings and hopped onto the next Tokyo bound train accompanied by her apprentice of sorts, a young woman named Yuyami who was rather skilled at cooking and other house wife-y skills.

Their arrival couldn't have come at a better time. And soon Megumi with her typical foxy smile and teasing attitude was hard at work getting her "Ken-san" back.

And he did come back, although the found that his condition had compromised his legs and he couldn't stand for extended periods. Thankfully he had taken up quieter and less exhausting chores like mending and helping Megumi mix medicines for the practice she started up at the dojo. He wore out easily though and went through periods where he'd sleep for most of the day.

And that day in early fall, as she held his head up and helped spoon the miso soup into his mouth, she knew this period was no different. At least Megumi had said he'd probably be up in a few days time with his easy going smile and natural gentleness.

That was reassuring.


Ahhhhhh so nice to have another chapie done. I was delayed in writting this for some odd reason. Sigh.... the personal issues.

Well I said before I broke up with my bf of over a year, Johann-sama, and then we got back together as friends but he as seemed to have forgotten the friends part....and well I'm just to friggn' nice to hiim. But I think I bent the poor guy's nose out of shape over Christmas Vacation. I was rather annoyed though....he insisted on calling far to many times than a normal friend calls. And he talks about nothing....so I well told him (kinda forcefuly) that I was ticked off and he started yelling at me saying I never call him.....akkkk! I just don't use the phone cause I don't like to....I never have....me and my dad are allergic to the phone.

But aside from that I got a scanner for Christmas so I have gotten some art up as well as my Kenshin fan site Yume No Rurouni (link in bio) Not only that but Shaza from the amazing site is thinking of considering my site for site of the month and asked me to scan some of my domestic RK DVD collection.

Anyways before I start using this as a blog, I should thank my reviewers:

WhiteRabbit5: I always look forward to your reviews most of all because you actualy leave coments and some critizems for me! Hmmm the word "anata" I looked it up in a dictonary and it does mean "you" which when I think about it and the fact that some Japanese forms of the word "you" have the conotation of "bastard" it makes sense that an other form might mean affection. And I've heard actualy RK characters use anata in the sense of "honney". I'm glad you like the story and my pace because I've been working hard on improving my style so that my chapies flow better. I'm sorry to disapoint you with Kenshin, I didn't want to get into his head quite yet but I hope you liked him in this chapter.

Unicornfan: Well....I dunno the translations were so unclear about it that it was left to my imagination, and I've asked a few RK friends about it and they seem to agree, so for my story I made it that.....yeah Seishouhen shudders I like that movie except for the fact that they don't stick to the RK story line at all......sigh....And Yeah I know about Kenshin's hair, it's just well...I got complaints in my last story for cutting it.....and also for my own selfish reasons...I just love his hair! I fixed the thing with Yahiko....I just needed him to be there in the begining of the story. And I got the site up so you can see the scans!

And to the others I thank you as well too.

I hope to have the next chapter up soon...Kenshin will get more screen time comeing up.....and I'm hopeing to enlist Johann-sama's help (if his noise isn't to bent out of shape) to help write a certain impending Kenshin fight sceene.....unfortunelty people who've read my previous story might know what happens.......

Ja ne!