Chapter 11

By Crystal

Author's Notes: I'm most likely not going to post on Tuesday because I need to sleep at about like, nine o'clock that day, got to get up at five for my camping trip. *groans*

*Screw the disclaimers ^^;;*

Kenshin had refused to let Megumi-dono to look at the wound. She wouldn't find out what was wrong anyhow. It's been bleeding non-stop most of the time, for a whole week now. He knew what was wrong... Someone was after him.

Kaoru was worried. Kenshin was getting farthur and farthur away from them every minutes. 'He would either look at the sky while touching his bleeding scar or he would do his chores quietly. Kenshin...you never tell me anything. Even your fake goofy rurouni smile is gone. It's always replaced with a frown and your eyes don't seem to be paying attention to anything except your own thoughts. I'm really worried, won't you ever tell me what's wrong, Kenshin?'

His eyes weren't always the usual clear amethyst anymore, most of the time, he would have a kind of lifeless amethyst eyes, deep in thoughts, with hints of amber. 'Kenshin...your scar, Tomoe-san...Does this have anything to do with Tomoe-san? You never tell me anything. I just want to know. Why do you always have to keep your secrets hidden? I want to help, Kenshin.' Kaoru looked at Kenshin in front of his laundry, scrubbing the clothes.

Sanosuke, Yahiko and Megumi were just as worried, he talked to them less and less now, his eyes always far away and lifeless, his mouth always moving, but never saying something loud enough for them to hear, no matter how near they were. All four of them had noticed the yellowish coloured eyes. The three of them had even less idea of what was happening to Kenshin. They never knew he had a wife, they never knew he killed her. The only thing they knew was that he was the Hitokiri Battousai long time ago, and they had accepted the fact.

The former Battousai once again reached up and touched his cheek like he has been for the last couple of days every minute. Other people might've thought the infamour Hitokiri Battousai was a cold-blooded murder, not caring who he killed, but they were wrong. He, himself knew better than to believe that, sometimes, he did wish they were right. If he didn't care, he wouldn't have these killing headaches, if he didn't remember, all was going to be fine, or not... But... Those memories were going to stay engraved in his memory forever, whether he liked it or not. Nothing in the world would wash it off.

He still remembered clearly his first assasination. He remembered how Kiyosata Akira had given him the first scar, how he had met Tomoe on the streets, how Yukishiro Tomoe, no, Himura Tomoe had completed the cross scar on his left cheek. How he had killed her, how she had said with her last breath and what she called him...

*Anata...*

How he vowed not to kill anymore. His wife, his precious Tomoe... She understood him, unlike all the others. She had thought of him as a human, one that feels pain, love and sorrow. He was not only a killing machine made from skin and flesh, unlike other people, she saw him as a human. And she had loved him, at the end, she had truly loved him. Even though he had killed her fiancée, even though at first she had come on a mission to kill him. But she didn't, instead, she gave him a chance by risking her own life to show him happiness and life. It was kind of like what he did to Soujiro, he was proud.

God how he missed her. Thirteen years... He hasn't seen her face nor heard her voice. He didn't know how he was still sane. Just then... he felt a tap on his shoulder and imidietaly fell back to his Battousai personality and unsheathed his sword and put it near whoever's throat it was. 'Jasmine......Kaoru-dono!' And stopped. "Sumanai."

Kaoru fell on her bottom, with fear as the other three looked at Kenshin unbelievably. Sano helped Kaoru up, and looked up to Kenshin, but he had already zoomed out again, his eyes cold. But he was saying something loud enough for them to hear. Kaoru signaled everyone to be quiet but couldn't keep the thought out of her head, 'He had turned into the Battousai, and he had said 'Sumanai' instead of something more polite, like 'Gomen nasai...''

"It's getting cold... You were near the window... That's what you said, ne, koishii? After I pushed you down along with the stack of books?" He smiled slightly, a painful smile as his eyes soften, "Gomen nasai, Koishii... I never told you that, did I? And I have to say arigatou too." He smiled bitterly, and shook his head. Kenshin kept mumbling to himself.

Sano dragged all three of them in the dojo. "Kenshin has snapped, he's gone insane. Koishii? He's never had a wife! What the hell is he talking about?!" Megumi and Yahiko shook their head, having no idea at all, and he looked at Kaoru. "Jou-chan? You know something?"

"Sano...It's not my story to tell. But you'll find out, I think." Kaoru stood up and heard a knock at the gates. All three of them went to investigate with Kenshin following them, it seems like he's gone back to earth...for now.

As Kaoru opened the door...

"Hello Himura, Kaoru, Tori-atama, Yahiko-chan, Megumi-san!" Misao yelled at them.
[Minna, Misao calls Kaoru, Kaoru, Kaoru-san or what? I kinda forgot... ^^]

"Hi Misao-chan!" Kaoru greeted her, the others were pretty quiet.

Misao looked at them and raised her eyebrow, no argueing about calling Sano Tori-atama? No insults coming from Yahiko for calling him CHAN? Megumi san looked tired. And Himura...amber...blood...from his cross scars. What the hell was wrong? "What the hell is wrong?"

"Kaimu." They all replied.

Kenshin went back to his room like nothing happened. This was certainly pissing all of them off, excluding Misao, since she was confused.

Misao had been planning to stay here for around five days, but things in the dojo weren't going any smoother, and Kaoru wanted Misao to stay, since she said things were really quiet in the dojo, without Kenshin and his usual 'Oro's and without the four of them insulting each other. Misao agreed, she sent a letter to Jiya telling him he would be back in a few weeks, just saying that she really liked having Kaoru's company. Even though she would miss her Aoshi-sama.

Misao has been staying in the dojo for a week now, cheering everyone up, and it had worked very well with her bouncy and cheerful personality, except on Himura though. She had noticed he had gotten even colder and his scar wasn't doing any better. Today, she had found him in his room as he sat with his back leaned against the wall with his eyes hidden by his long bangs and he was holding tightly onto what seemed to be a diary and a tanto. He was too deep in his thoughts to notice she was there anyhow, and she had told Kaoru she was going to the market.

The truth was, he felt Misao there and had struggle to keep the tear from rolling down his cheeks, once Misao had left, it was already freely moving down. 'I wish you were here right now, Tomoe. Only now did the scar bleed, had the memories feel so vivid, so unlike most of my dreams. It feels real. Is someone after me? Or are you coming to see me, since I'm dying soon? Is that why the scar you and Akira left are bleeding? I'm still scared to open your diary, after that one single time before I came to the mountain to kill you, I've been scared, afraid that if I do, I'll endanger one of my loved ones. It's been thirteen years...Why can't I still open it up? The blood from my scars are still in your diary, I'm sure...'

* * * * *

All of a sudden, when Misao was in the market, she heard someone scream something before someone clamped their hands over whoever screamed's mouth. It was something like "SOU-!" Following her instincts, she jumped on the roof and followed the sound she heart a few seconds ago and saw three men in an alley with a woman, one man has his hand clamped over her mouth.

"Stop that right now, if you want to live."

Misao turned to the familiar voice and was surprised, his smile was still there, but there was a hint of anger in them, she hissed, "Tenken no Soujiro."

He looked up, "Oh! Hey! You're that girl with Himura-san an year ago!" Then he looked back at the three men with a smile on his face, "Leave her alone. Now." He unsheathed his sword.

"Hey boss, that's Tenken no Soujiro! Best of the ten swords from Juppon Gatana! Count me out on this!" the man said, and ran away, the second one followed quickly as scared as a rabbit.

"Wimps. And you?" Soujiro looked at him, he gulped.

"I'll leave your girl alone!" And scampered off.

Soujiro gave a grin at Toshiko, "Daijoubu ka, Toshiko?"

"Soujiro! Where the heck were you?!" Toshiko yelled at him.

"Maa, maa, gomen! I was just trying to find out where Himura-san lived!" Soujiro put his hands up defensively.

"Tenken no Soujiro." Misao hissed and jumped off the roof.

"Aa...What's your name again?" He asked innocently.

She glared at him, "Makimachi Misao. And don't you forget it. Leave this town before I kick you out."

He held his hands up defensively again, "Gomen, Makimachi-san, I just want to find Himura-san."

"You are coming in THIS TOWN to find Himura? Don't you think you've been enough trouble to him, TENKEN." Misao spat.

"Seta Soujiro...Makimachi-san. And this is Yukishiro Toshiko. I promise I come in peace, you can hold my katana too if you want. Toshiko wants to see Himura-san for some...personal reasons, and it has nothing about fighting, she can't fight." He held his katana out for Misao.

Misao sighed, "I'm sorry for snapping at you, I'm just in a bad mood. Himura isn't in the best mood, which puts everyone in a miserable mood. Sorry Seta-san. Here, come, I'll bring you to Himura." She turned around to looked at Toshiko, "Yukishiro-san." She bowed.

Toshiko bowed back, "Makimachi-san. You say, Himura-san's in a bad mood, how come?"

She shook her head, "No idea. Been like that since I came from Kyoto to visit them."

The two girls walked back to the dojo chatting happily while Soujiro stayed behind them and listened to them, sometimes participating in the conversation if it included him. Just when Misao opened the gates, Kenshin walked out with the Sano, Kaoru and Yahiko and saw them.

"Soujiro!" Kenshin said happily, back to the old rurouni, then turned his gaze beside him. "Tomoe..." All three of them certainly heard him clearly. "TOMOE!" and he ran towards her.

Toshiko looked up in shock at a red haired man running towards him, then embracing her. What in the world? She looked at Soujiro how was just as confused, and so where all the others that saw the scene, except for one, a woman with her raven hair tied up in a ponytail, she knew what was happening and came towards me. "Nice to meet you...Tomoe-san."

"NANI?!" Toshiko and Soujiro shouted at once and the red haired main with the bleeding cross scars on the left side of his face pulled back. "TOMOE-SAN?! What the heck are you talking about?!" Toshiko said. "I'm not Tomoe! I'm Toshiko, Yukishiro Toshiko. Tomoe's younger sister."

Kenshin stood dead in his tracks as reality sank in. "Toshiko...I never knew...Tomoe...had a sister..."

Toshiko jumped up excitedly, "Are you neechan's husband?"

Sano, Yahiko, Misao and Soujiro stood there, even Megumi who had just arrived to watch the scene had stopped breathing waitng for the answer.

Kenshin didn't know what to say, 'Am I Tomoe's husband? Well...I was! But...Keyword...WAS. But technically...I still am...since she still is Himura Tomoe.' He looked at her square in the eyes knowing that he'll be regretting this, he going to have to tell her about his sister's death and who caused it, and it's going to be one pain the in ass. "Himura Tomoe...yes, she's my wife."

Sagara Sanosuke, Myojin Yahiko, Takani Megumi and Makimachi Misao didn't know what the hell to say and all came up with the same sentance, "WHAT? You had a wife?!"

Soujiro wasn't as surprised because he was expecting that. Kaoru just nodded, "Tomoe-san is Kenshin's wife." And they all looked at her as if she was insane.

Kenshin didn't say pay attention to their response, "Toshiko...Could you come here? I have...something to explain to you."

Toshiko nodded, "Can Soujiro come with me?" She had a bad feeling about this, none of his close friends knowing that he had a wife. She wanted at least someone she was familiar of to come. Kenshin nodded his head and signaled them into his room.

Once they disappeared, they all asked Kaoru the same question, "How the hell do you know if she's Kenshin's wife?"

Then she answered simply, "He told me." And turned around to walk back to her room, she was not going to cry now. 'Wait till you get to your room, Kamiya Kaoru!' What the others didn't know was, she knew something like this would happen the very day Kenshin's scar started to bleed, and from that day, she's been crying herself to sleep everyday...

Author's Notes: By the way, no matter how much I like Kenshin being with Tomoe, this is NOT a K/T fic. I am a K/T fan, like most of you know, and I might do something with that. But this should, I think be a K/K fic. Enishi probably should have the diary, but whatever =p I'm sooo sorry I won't be able to write tomorrow, like I said at the top! Sowwie! Hope you like this, I just didn't know what to write, keep blabbing on and on like a parrot =p I hope you enjoy this chapter! *Finally! Toshiko meets Kenshin!*

Sumanai - I'm sorry
Arigatou - Thank you
Tori-atama - Rooster head [Sano's nickname, as you all know ^^;;]
Kaimu - Nothing
Tanto - Tomoe's dagger
Daijoubu ka - Are you all right?
Gomen - Sorry