Author's Notes:Hello everybody! I have not given you the next chapter of my story. (I hope you guy's like it so far. ) I'm really happy for the few reviews that I've got already; thank you. Oh, and I am also in the process of thinking up a second story that'll possibly be called "Fear". Since I started this first story, I've been having ideas flowing in almost non-stop; this is all just so much fun. Hopefully with each story I'll get better.  Well enough of this boring stuff, I'll leave you to your reading.

Disclaimer: Attention. I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or any of these characters (I wish ) though this plot is souly my own and I hope you all enjoy it.

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Chapter Four

By: BattousaiChic197

Kenshin came home late that night. After slaying the group of undeserving men, he came home to find Kaoru sound asleep in his bed. He sat in his chair, releasing himself of all stresses. Slowly Kenshin fell into a dreamless abyss that gradually slid into a gnawing nightmare…

Kenshin look around him but could see nothing but fog. He slowly walked into

Nothingness as the air closed in around him. A figure appeared and stood, staring at

Him. After realizing who it was, he tried to yell but couldn't. The air, there was not

Air, Kenshin felt as if he were being suppressed under water. He swam towards his

Lost wife and tried to reach her, but he was held in place. Kenshin was forced to swallow the water while he gasped for air; thrusting his arm towards the surface he noticed

The water turning red…blood red. The new color drifted all about him; he was drowning

In her blood. Her blood was haunting him, and soon he wasn't able to handle it. Kenshin's vision weakened and blurred…. "Tomoe…" his desperate whisper

Escaped into the water, then came Darkness…

"Aargh!" Kenshin' eyes shot open as he quickly sat forward, hands messaging his throat.

He tried to catch his breath, his blood red bangs clinging to his sweat-broken face. Pulling out his picture of Tomoe, Kenshin stared at it with amethyst eyes. "Baby…" he whispered. "Oh god baby, I miss you…" his voice choked as he tried to fight the tears. For hours, Kenshin sat in his chair looking at his beloved wife; wishing he were the one gone instead of her. He sat in the darkness, hating himself, blaming himself…despising himself…

The next morning, Kenshin woke to find Kaoru attempting to make a fire. She was dressed in a white robe she had bought the day before. She ran her delicate fingers through her slightly ruffled hair, and returned back to the small fire she had created. Her brows furrowed in concentration, and she slowly glanced over her shoulder at Kenshin; jumping slightly when she noticed Kenshin had been watching her through careful eyes.

"I..It was getting cold in here; so I thought I'd try to make a fire." Kaoru said after a moment of silence, casting her eyes away from the man observing her. When he didn't respond, she said "I also tried to make some breakfast, but there wasn't enough food," she stood up and moved her hands over her robe; flattening out any wrinkles.

"We'll go out for breakfast then. If you'll get dressed, I'll take you to the Pancake House downtown." Kenshin answered quietly, averting his eyes away from the form-fitting robe she wore.

Fifteen minutes later, Kaoru left Kenshin's room smelling of hair spray, and perfume. She was clad in a white, fuzzy sweatshirt with a pair of hip-hugger jeans. Her hair was up in a tight ponytail that just barely brushed her smooth shoulders. While Kenshin was dressed in the usual black shirt and jeans, along with his knee-length black overcoat.

"Do you ever wear anything other than black?" Kaoru asked.

"No." Kenshin answered before starting his leave of the apartment.

'Hmm…he must not be a morning person…' Kaoru thought, "I think that someday you should try something other than black." Kenshin ignored her last remark and shut the door behind them and led the way to the car garage.

Soon they pulled into the parking lot of the Pancake House. Once Kenshin was out of the car, he opened the back door for Kaoru. As they entered the restaurant a pretty lady dressed in a red outfit showed them to a table located near the back.

"So what do you want?" Kenshin asked when they were seated.

"Ummm…" Kaoru opened the long menu to look at her options. She slowly scanned the list and finally decided. "…I'll have the ….stack of blueberry pancakes. What'll you have?" she looked at Kenshin with gleaming blue orbs.

"Nothing." He said after a moment.

"What? You've got to have something…at least have some eggs or something." She insisted. Before Kenshin could respond, a different waitress approached the table and asked for their order; Kaoru took charge then. "He'll have two eggs, and I'll have the stack of blueberry pancakes." The waitress quickly took down the order and walked away before Kenshin could interrupt; he looked at Kaoru with cool eyes.

"Why did you do that?" he asked.

"What? Oh, you have got he eat something." She answered simply.

"Why would you care if I ate or not? I'm your captor…if anything you'd want me to starve." Kenshin said flatly, mumbling the last few words.

Kaoru perched up in her chair, "Because, it's not healthy if you don't eat, and I don't care if you are my captor I still don't want you , or anyone for that matter, to starve to death."

Kenshin ignored her simple explanation and leaned back in his seat. Changing the topic he asked, "so what can you do with this whole telekinesis thing? I want to see proof." He said with crossed arms.

Kaoru was surprised by his sudden question and thought a moment before answering, "I can move many things with my mind; chair, spoons, tables…I'm not sure about really big and heavy objects though."

"Can I see?" Kenshin asked.

Kaoru set her spoon in the middle of the small table and stared at it with pure concentration. Kenshin watched with a hint of amusement crossing over his handsome features. As Kaoru continued to concentrate, the spoon slowly started to move and wobble. Kenshin's eyebrow slightly arched as he watched the spoon move across the table with ease, and then shoot up into the air; leveling with the tip of his nose. Kaoru laughed as Kenshin quickly pushed the spoon back down to the table; looking around to see if anyone had noticed.

A few moments of peaceful silence passed, when finally the waitress showed up with their food. Kaoru gratefully started to lavish the hot pancakes with butter. While she drowned her pancakes in syrup, she asked, "so, what happens now…umm.."

"Kenshin, you can call me Kenshin." Slowly he started to cut at his slightly burnt eggs. "what do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, what about my family, friends, and school…surely they'll know something's up. And what about me? What will I be doing in the meantime?" Kaoru asked.

"You will be helping me and a few other 'comrades', if you can call them that, to banish the criminals and clans that lurk in the darkness of Kyoto. Miss Kamiya, your help could be very essential to bringing Kyoto into a new, better era…" Kenshin paused to eat a small parcel of his egg, "You could help by distracting the guards of their clubs, while I sneak through the back and do my part of the job. Or you could get hold of their papers that consist of their future plans…anything would be helpful." Slowly he took a sip from the glass of water the waitress had just handed him. "And as for your family and friends…I'll figure something out. Maybe I can get you to visit every once in a while and you can still go to school; unless we need you. You'll be staying at my apartment, so if we allow you to go to school, one of us will be with you; just to make sure you don't run off, or do any crazy shit like telling someone what we're doing…" he said with a small smirk.

Kaoru closed her eyes, taking in all that he was saying. She took a deep breath, "fine. But I demand to see my cousin Yahiko, and my best friends Takani Megumi and Misao Makimachi. I want to be able to hang out with them without feeling as if I'm a prisoner because of my 'guards'' presence." Kenshin just continued to eat his breakfast. "are you listening to me!" she exclaimed.

"You are quite a demanding young girl Miss Kamiya. And yes, don't worry; your guard will not be in the way, he is just merely there to make sure you don't screw up our plans. And why are you so insistent about your cousin?" he asked.

"Because, he and I are very close. My mom's sister adopted him; his family abandoned him when he was only a baby. I can sort of understand how he feels. My mom is in the hospital with leukemia and my father…well you already know, he's dead…so I never really have someone to talk to, unless it's Yahiko or my friends." Kaoru looked down at her half-eaten pancakes, which were now growing cool. As if pulling herself out of her depressed state, she jumped up in her seat and exclaimed, "and I am not young! I'm seventeen! And may I ask how old you are!"

Kenshin's lips curled up in a small smile as he watched her beautiful appearance and persistent personality glow in front of him. Teasing her, he answered, "Guess."

Kaoru smiled back. "umm…nineteen?"

"No."

"Eighteen?"

"Nope, higher."

"Oh,…twenty-one?"

"No."

"What! C'mon!" Kaoru looked at him in disbelief.

"What? I'm not lying. Go on." He smirked back at her, their eyes meeting for a few delicate seconds, but then they were interrupted by the waitress.

"Will that be all for today? May I take your plates?" she softly asked. Kenshin nodded and the women walked off with their plates, coming back with their check seconds later. He quickly paid and started for the door with Kaoru following close behind.

As if they had not been interrupted, Kaoru perked up, "Twenty-two? C'mon tell me!"

Kenshin chuckled to himself and waited until they had reached his car to respond. He opened the back door of his slick Ferrari, "Twenty-eight."

"What! No you're not! I don't believe you!" Kaoru walked passed Kenshin and sat in the front passenger seat. Kenshin stared after her in plain amusement, still holding the door wide open. He chuckled to himself once again and shut the door; seating himself in the driver's seat he put the car in gear.

When the two returned back to Kenshin' apartment room on the fifth floor, Kenshin was not surprised to find his 'comrades' waiting for him.

Aoshi stood from the chair he was sitting in. He put his hand out towards Kaoru to shake hers, while introducing himself. "I am Aoshi Shinormori, I am Kenshin's fellow assassin." Kaoru hesitantly shook the man's hand, looking at Kenshin to see his expression. Indicating the man standing in the shadows near the fire, he said, "And he is Saito Hajime. Don't mind his cocky, sarcastic attitude."

"Fuck you, Aoshi." The assassin left his leaning position on the wall and walked towards Kaoru. Kaoru unconsciously hid behind Kenshin, as the man towered above them both; giving off an intimidating aura. "This little bitch is supposed to be of help to us? All she'll do is get in the way, we should just dispose of her now, somewhere in the streets; she knows to much." Saito looked thoughtful for a moment, "then again…" he quickly grabbed Kaoru's wrist and pulled her into him with a vice-like grip. "she could make a nice little toy for me, my last one broke, I need a new one." He pouted. Kaoru whimpered as she struggled to get out of his sick embrace.

Kenshin pushed Saito harshly into the wall behind him; holding his hand firmly into his foe's throat. "You will keep your fucking hands off of her." he said in a dangerous, threatening tone, "if you touch her…I will kill you."

Saito pushed Kenshin away, and lurked back into the shadows, "are you gonna tell me you never thought about it, Battousai?" he smirked.

"I would never mistreat Miss Kamiya!" Kenshin said through grit teeth.

"Right, we'll just see about that. I'm curious to see how you could handle yourself when you're alone together. You're manly desires bursting uncontrollably; with no one to stop you…"

Kenshin stayed silent for a few small moments while Kaoru watched him in confusion; slowly becoming uneasy. Suddenly without warning, Kenshin lunged after Saito and landed a harsh blow into his stomach. The force of his punch was strong enough to push Saito hard against the wall opposite him. "Get out…" Kenshin said dangerously. "And if you ever come near Miss Kamiya, I will kill you with no hesitation what so ever!" his amber eyes clashed against his foe's black ones, and they flickered against the small light of the fire; as if they were dancing to an erotic melody. Kaoru backed away, hiding from the tall assassin's lustful glare.

"You are already this protective over the little bitch? I'll say I'm not surprised. But I'm also going to say that I will always be here, and I will not stop trying to make her mine, Battousai." Saito said dangerously and began his leave.

"Then you will find yourself in the depths of hell before could ever lay a finger on her!" Kenshin yelled after Saito, who was now just out of the apartment door, slamming it shut.

Silence filled the room along with heavy tension and uneasiness. Kaoru shifted uncomfortably and decided she needed to get some time to herself. "Kenshin, I'm going to go take a bath. Is that ok?" she asked. Kenshin nodded his approval, and Kaoru walked down the hall into the dimly lit bathroom; gently closing the door behind her.

Aoshi and Kenshin stood in silence for a few more moments, wondering what to do next. Finally Aoshi started the conversation, "So how's it all coming? What's your next move?"

Kenshin padded into the small kitchen and pulled out a couple of glasses, "it's ok I guess. The girl showed me what she could do and she could be of some good use to us." He grabbed a clear, glass bottle of Vodka, "want any?"

"Sure, why not?" Aoshi answered as he walked up to Kenshin to retrieve his glass. He slowly brought the glass to his nose, inhaling the intoxicating smell of the liquid he loved so much. "So tell me, do you find her attractive?" he pressed with a slightly mischievous expression.

Kenshin did not reply immediately, he waited so long to reply that Aoshi thought he would not answer. But after a few more seconds Kenshin did answer with a quiet, guilty tone, "yes…but Tomoe is my wife, I would not dishonor her-"

"Was" Aoshi cut in.

"What?" Kenshin looked up at his fellow assassin.

"She was your wife. She's no longer alive and it has been a year now; move on. I'm not saying you have to cease your plan of revenge but that longing revenge will not bring her back." Aoshi stated coolly. He poured himself some more Vodka, and seated himself on the leather couch; leaving Kenshin his leather chair so they could talk.

"I know but still-"

" 'Still' what? Do you think you'll dishonor Tomoe if you move on?" Kenshin's fellow assassin leaned back against the couch after seeing that he had no reply. "C'mon Kenshin. Quit being a pussy."

Kenshin sat in his chair silently thinking about his colleagues' words. He did in fact think that if he moved on he would dishonor his wife. Tomoe had meant the world to him, and he doesn't think he'll ever be able to move on without feeling guilty.

Aoshi stood up and set his glass on the counter. "I'm leaving. You may sit here and think about having a life and moving on, but nothing will ever happen. She's not coming back, so you just have to deal with that and move on." The wise but strong assassin left Kenshin to himself, alone in the dark.

Kaoru closed her eyes and fell into a tranquil sleep. The hot water encased her in a relaxing world that she so loved to escape to in times of confusion and uneasiness. Times of need when no one was around to comfort her. Steam filled the bathroom, blanketing the mirrors that hung on the walls, leaving Kaoru alone to herself in a safe distant fantasy. Slowly though, she was coming back to reality and noticed the water was Luke-warm. She was guessing that about a half hour had passed while she was dreaming peacefully in her own small fantasies. Reluctantly, Kaoru lifted herself out of the bathtub and wrapped a towel around her that had been hanging on the wall. After drying herself off, she grabbed her clothes and began to put them on once more. Leaving the bathroom, she noticed that Kenshin had fallen asleep with a pained look on his face. She walked up to the man cautiously and watched him through blue concerned orbs. Stepping closer, she reached out one of her slender hands and stroked his cheek. 'Poor Kenshin. I can only imagine what you go through every day.' Kenshin's expression relaxed a little bit, and she wondered if it was because of her touch. After looking for a blanket, Kaoru returned back to Kenshin and gently placed the blanket over his limp, exhausted form. She sat on the couch opposite Kenshin and watched him as he slept.

"Oh Kenshin," she whispered, "I'm so sorry for what you have to go through."

Read on to Chapter Five…