A/N: I am SOOO sorry that it took me this long to update. Y'see, I had to focus my attention on school for a while because midterm exams were coming up and I was forced to study. X.X But the good news is they're finally over and done with and now I can continue on with my writing! I hope you like this next chapter! R&R! Enjoy!

DAY SIX

Kaoru POV:

It's about three in the morning from what I can tell… everything's been running quite smoothly and I haven't heard a peep from Kenshin the entire night… well, something's been making noise but I know that it isn't Kenshin. It's sort of a low humming sound… I don't know. Maybe it's an animal outside or something. Whatever. I really can't afford to lose sleep over some…thing. It's best I just try to ignore whatever it is that's making the noise.

My eyes close again and the sound fades for a brief moment. My lips curve upward into a smirk. Now finally, I might be able to fall asleep. I roll over onto my side and slightly open my eyes up to the point where I can faintly see Kenshin's shadowy outline. Even when it's dark, I feel comforted. It's because I can feel his presence near me. Actually, it's not even that. I just feel safe whenever I think about him. It is the presence of a man that puts me at ease. To know that Kenshin will always protect me makes me feel so warm and comforted. And yet I feel as though…I expect more from him. I don't know… it's just that we've been living together for so long and yet I feel as though we're drifting further and further apart. I know that sounds silly of me. And you're probably thinking, 'how can we drift apart if we live under the same roof?' It frightens me though. Just the thought of him being so far away from me… well I don't think that I'd be able to stand it.

Curiosity suddenly gets the best of me and I sit up to look at him. And no, I'm not a cat so I'll be just fine… Still, I can only catch a glimpse of his indistinguishable silhouette, and I wished upon the gods that I could somehow see more. But of course, I haven't necessarily been much of a saint so I'm obviously not being rewarded THAT much… Sitting up, I look at him and smile. He's so cute when he's asleep so I really couldn't help moving toward him to take a closer look. There was just that special something about Kenshin, and I really couldn't put my finger on it… it's just that--

Wait a minute… that noise. It came back… and it sounds like it's…

It's coming from Kenshin…? Hmm, now it's the same weird low humming sound… I raise an eyebrow as I crawl over, practically hovering over him. It comes out much more clearly. I bite my lip, wondering if I should wake him up… I don't know. It seems like I'm worrying about the littlest things.

Eh? What? …What is that?

I back away as soon as I feel something rub up against my arm. Something hard. W-what could it be? Fighting back my cowardice, I crawl over him and give him a good shake, firmly placing a hand onto his shoulder. And to my surprise… first of all, it's bare and second of all, he's covered in sweat. I can feel my heart pounding through my ears. "Kenshin?" I murmur just above a whisper.


There was a moment of silence… Not a cricket chirped, not a living thing stirred, and the raven-haired teenager could barely move. And Kaoru had heard something that she wished she hadn't. "Ohhhh Kaoru…" Her eyes widened equivalent to that of the size of saucers.

"I…err-uhh…errr…K-kensh…" Kaoru managed to stutter, backing away from the sight that she took in, the moonlight's gleam briefly illuminating the room. Dramatically raising her shoulders, even Buddha himself could predict what she was going to do next. Oh yes, it wasn't that complicated to figure out.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!"

Yahiko POV:

"Heh, heh, ohagi is good… food is good…" I mutter as I roll over onto my side, my cheek getting damp 'cause of the food that I can see in this--

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!"

"Mfft… what the heck was that…?" I groan as I hurl my heavy limbs upward, scratching my head. "Was that a dog or somethin'? Damn mutt! Can't you shut up? I, Myoujin Yahiko, future samurai and disciple of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu, needs to get some beauty sleep over here!!"

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!! HELP MEEEEEE!!!!"

Wait a sec! That's no dog…!

Kaoru.

Why would she be screaming in the middle of the night? What if something bad happened to her? What if someone broke into the doujo?! And more importantly, why the hell isn't Kenshin helping her?! Aaah, Kenshin no baka… I bet he's still sleeping!! Sure leave it to ME to go rescue her! "Kaoru hold on!!! I'm coming so hold your freakin' horses till I get there!"

…Bet you she saw a spider…


Frantically scrambling to her feet, Kaoru tried not to look at him for a second time. Even though it was dark, Kaoru knew for sure what she had seen. And Kami-sama, WHY did she even look his way? "Okay, okay, okay… even though you haven't been in these situations before, I'm sure that you could think of SOMETHING to do…to… stop looking at him!" Kaoru muttered to herself, chiding her previous behavior.

Inhaling loudly and clenching her eyes shut tightly, Kaoru had thought of just about ANYTHING to rid herself of such a sight. "Why?" She hissed through clenched teeth. "Why is Kenshin like this?" She could feel her heart pounding through her ears, the feeling of her chest getting so tight that it was difficult for her to breathe regularly. "Why is Kenshin…n…n-naked?!" She had finally gotten it off her chest, muttering the words as if they were profanity. But of course, waking up to a naked man, moaning and sweating, would just about leave any girl frazzled.

The moonlight had illuminated the room yet again, Kaoru trying her very hardest to turn away while simultaneously holding herself up against the wall. "I don't understand. I've never seen anyone like this before… why is he calling out for me…?" She closed her eyes and proceeded to hear his moaning, as if he longed to have her in his arms at that very moment. Perhaps, there was a hint of desire that had been triggered because of Kaoru's presence. The sort of insatiable longing that one could not just shake off as if it were a nightmare. No, this desire that Kenshin was feeling seemed to be much more than a dream. He was experiencing it throughout, as if the Kaoru in his dreams were actually tangible.

"But…" Kaoru muttered, unable to resist looking at him, in an unruly heap on top of his futon. Her eyes widened in shock as she noticed something completely erect, Kenshin in the meantime, clutching vehemently onto his sheets. His sweaty body glistened beautifully in the moonlight and she had wished that she didn't have to go through such torture. "Kami-sama!" Kaoru cried, suddenly feeling a heat like no other creep to her usually pale cheeks. "I wasn't supposed to see that!" She squeaked.

"KAORU! KAORU! ARE YOU OKAY!?" Came a voice too high pitched to belong to that of a man. It was also too low to belong to a female.

Yahiko.

"Yahiko, get back!!" Kaoru said, in fear that the youth would see something that he would soon…regret. "I'm fine, I just…saw a spider, that's all!!!"

"I'm coming in!" And with that stubbornly terse remark, the boy had dramatically slid open the shoji, light suddenly flooding Kenshin's room. And the silence from the ten-year-old had lasted for about…two seconds. "OH MY GOD!!! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO KENSHIN?!" Yahiko screamed, angrily pointing to the dream-ridden rurouni. Looking over at Kaoru in shock, Yahiko suddenly felt as though his feet would give way in a matter of seconds.

Kaoru was afraid that that might happen. After all, seeing the one that you looked up to drenched in sweat, contorted into positions that you wouldn't normally see everyday, and completely naked…well that would be enough to make just about anyone with a sane mind a tad bit uncomfortable. "Holy crap! I'm telling Sanosuke that Kenshin is a HENTAI!!!"

"Yahiko don't you dare!!!" Kaoru shot back, malevolently glaring into Yahiko's flashing chocolate eyes. "When I get my hands on you, I'm gonna make sure that your training is a thousand times worse than it already is! Do you HEAR me!?" Reprimanding the child was of no use, as Yahiko had desperately run out of the room by that point. Kaoru had placed a hand upon her left temple, an annoyed sigh following suit.

"I mean it's not like Kenshin MEANT for this to happen… but I just CAN'T let this continue!!!" Kaoru had suddenly made up her mind. Boldly walking toward the perspiring…unclothed…groaning… man…she did the only logical thing that a girl would do.

SLAP.

"KENSHIN NO BAKA!!!!"

"OOOOROOOO!!!"

Her work was done. He was awake and Kaoru had not wished to see him in that state any longer, running quickly out of his room, hoping to flush those… rather vivid images out of her mind.

Kenshin had come to with a slap to the face, wincing in pain as he suddenly opened his eyelids. "Mfft…where am I?" He muttered. The room was brilliantly lit, due to his shoji being opened completely, allowing the hallway light to flood in. Looking down at his sheets, he had realized just WHAT the problem was. His eyes widened uncontrollably. "My…my clothes!!" He said in a nervous breath, frantically covering himself with his bedcover. "What happened to me? Why am I unclothed like this?" Swallowing hard, he suddenly noticed the bulge emerging from beneath his quilt.

"No…" Kenshin's eyes narrowed. "I couldn't have been that foolish to… to…let my dreams take over. I have had self-control for all this time…so why? Why did I let my fantasies get the best of me? And when Miss Kaoru was in the same room as I, no less…?" It was then that the realization formed into his mind. "She must have seen me in this barbaric state… I cannot believe that I was unable to hold my ground while she was here… I know for sure that she must now think of me as nothing more than a pervert… Oroo…what a way to wake up…"


Hours passed and Kaoru had still been very uneasy from what had happened to her and to Kenshin. She had done her best to avoid him in every situation possible. She hadn't even looked his way when he forced a polite smile. Being a rurouni would not get him out of that situation and Kaoru knew it fully. Oh how she had wished that she spent the night at Megumi's again. If she had, there would be no confusion amongst the two and she would be living her life normally.

Kaoru had seen it as…betrayal…

Walking toward the bathhouse, Kaoru had let out a moan of dissatisfaction. Why had Kenshin done that? Kaoru had always believed that lust was not the answer to any sort of relationship. Instead of strengthening one, she thought that it caused nothing but deceit and lies. "Kenshin, do you believe that lust overpowers love? Do you not love me?" She couldn't help but feel disappointment in the pit of her heart. She had made it no secret that she loved that moronic redhead with every fiber of her being. So why hadn't he acknowledged her feelings?

Stripping down and deciding to take a nice bath, Kaoru had closed her eyes, allowing her entire body to become intoxicated with the steamy water that had already submerged the majority of her. "Jeez…now how am I going to face Kenshin? Now when I look at him, all I'll see is this…big… THING…"

Kaoru had contemplated whether or not he would come and talk to her first. She had known that Kenshin was very quick to apologize and so she knew that she would have to face him sooner or later. But the question was: would she really want to? "Ohh, I hope that I ca--"

The door to the bathhouse slid open with a loud crashing sound. Kaoru twirled her head around and cautiously sank lower against the tub, hiding anything that she did not want to be exposed. "We have to talk, Kaoru-chan!"

Enter, Megumi: the oh-so foxy doctor.

Wait…what was SHE doing here?!

"Sanosuke and I had decided to stop by and pay you a visit. And Sir Ken told me everything that happened!" The abrupt remark had caused Kaoru to cough violently. "You don't have to act so surprised. I weaseled it out of him. The poor man was so depressed and so, naturally, I used my femme charm on him and he had told me what went on this morning."

"Whaaaaaaat?! I can't believe that STUPID JE--"

"Yes, and he feels horribly about it, Kaoru-chan…" Kaoru's eyes widened in surprise. "He said that he didn't mean for you to see him in such a state and he even told Sanosuke of all people that he feels like nothing and doesn't even feel worthy around you anymore."

There was a pause and Kaoru placed two wet hands onto the edge of the tub, looking pensively at the floor. "I don't want him to feel like that…" She said in a forced whisper. It came out rather breathlessly, more like a feeble croak. "Miss Megumi… I didn't know that Kenshin was capable of such things… he's always been kind to me! And he's respected women above everything else!"

"Think about how HE feels right now. I am sure that he is hurting. And the worst part about it is that he couldn't prevent anything from happening because he was in a dream-like state. I am sure that if he knew what he was doing, he would cease to continue immediately! Sir Ken is not a pervert. And you most certainly know that men…do those sorts of things sometimes. So pinning the blame on him isn't necessarily the wisest choice…" Her sentence ended harshly, Kaoru fearing to look the doctor in the eyes.

"Megumi…what do I do?"

"You're spending the night at my house again. I think that a day apart may clear your head."

"But I don't want him to be upset about this…"

"I will let him know. Now hurry up and get out of that bath…" ---

A/N: I hope you liked it! We're almost done with this fic, unfortunately. This one is pretty fun to write! Please review! Thanks minna-chan!

Son Christine