"Even In Death"

Author's Notes: Again, I don't own anything but the story. So. This is sort of Kenshin's end of the whole deal. Hopefully I've explained a little bit of why he couldn't have gone and rescued her—even though he really wanted to. (He did have others he had to protect.) The plot thickens here, so stay tuned!

Rating: Eh. PG probably. Nothing too dramatic. Just a lot of feelings—I guess.

Synopsis: Kaoru comes back to the Dojo, sure. But what has Kenshin been doing while she's been gone? What happens when they see each other for the first time?



Give me a reason to believe that you're gone
I see your shadow so I know they're all wrong
Moonlight on the soft brown earth
It leads me to where you lay
They took you away from me but now I'm taking you home

Kenshin hadn't slept in four days. So the war had hit Japan. It had been raging in the West for so long Kenshin had thought it would never make it this far, but somehow, it did. And now, his beloved was gone.

It was Aoshi who brought him the news. "She's been taken." Was all he'd said. He would not look Kenshin in the eyes. Kenshin would have gone after her, but there was a bounty on the head of the Battousai. Every day, there were people attacking the Kamiya dojo, the Akebeko, and any other place that Kenshin or his friends had been spotted. Even Megumi's office had been bombed. Luckily Sanosuke was there to help her and any injured to safety.

Now they were holed up in the dojo. All of them sleeping under one roof. And Kenshin prayed that his beautiful one would return safe from harm. He knew she was a warrior. But if she fought the wrong men, she would die mercilessly against their cold steel. Others would choose to make her their personal slaves. Kenshin could not think what might have happened to her in one of those prisons. Especially if any of the personnel found out that she had anything to do with him.

He began to hate himself to bringing himself into her life. But Aoshi took pity on him, and reasoned with him that if he were not here, worse things might have happened.

"She is alive, Battousai." Aoshi said, one night, on the porch of the dojo, just before making the rounds. Kenshin stared at him.

"I know she is." He said, but he could not smile.

The moon was bright as Aoshi stepped off the porch and walked about the grounds checking for signs of intruders. Kenshin walked back inside the house. After pacing the halls, he stopped at the room no one had been in in four months.


I will stay forever here with you
My love
The softly spoken words you gave me
Even in death our love goes on

He went to her futon and knelt beside it. 'If you're not dead, Kaoru, it must be worse than death.' He thought and felt a pain in his chest rise.

He heard the crickets chirping outside her window and he remembered how he used to stand outside and listen to her moving. Listen to her talk to herself when she thought no one was listening. He used to walk the halls at night and he'd stop at her door and he could just hear her breathing—if he held his breath and closed his eyes.

Kenshin reached out and touched her pillow softly, and then in one heavy movement, fell forward and planted himself on her bedroll. The tears came for him, and rolled unbidden down his cheeks. 'I should have told you a long time ago how much I loved you.' He thought helplessly to himself. 'I realized that you're important to me; I realized I can't live without you; and now, I realize that…' but he never finished his thought. Aoshi was outside the window.

"Kenshin. There's someone here." He said in a hushed tone. "You'd better come see this."

He didn't want to move. But if it was an intruder, and Aoshi was acting like this, it must be something serious.

Some say I'm crazy for my love, Oh my love
But no bonds can hold me from your side, Oh my love
They don't know you can't leave me
They don't hear you singing to me

Still silently lamenting over Kaoru, he rose from her bed and wiped his face. Stepping from her room hastily, he made his way silently to the front door. Aoshi met him there and lead him to the practice arena.

"Kenshin." Aoshi whispered, stopping the man with his arm. "You aren't prepared for this."

Kenshin looked the tall man in the eyes and tilted his head. "What ever it is, Aoshi, I am ready to defend Miss Kaoru's land."

"Kenshin." Aoshi stressed. "It is Miss Kaoru."

Kenshin's breath caught in his throat, and he peered through the small slit in the doorway.

I will stay forever here with you
My love
The softly spoken words you gave me
Even in death our love goes on

Sliding the door open drew her attention. 'There he is. I knew it wouldn't take long.' She thought, eyes narrowing. "Battousai."

Kenshin was unfamiliar with that name falling from her lips. He glanced at Aoshi who shrugged. Kenshin's eyes shone in the dark, and as the open door's light struck Kaoru; Kenshin saw just how the prison had changed her.

Kenshin's heart fell to his feet. 'She's been broken.' He thought angrily. 'I should have gone for her. Damn all the odds.' Then he heard it. The chink of a sword leaving the holster. Not a bokken, but a real sword. Kaoru had been sent to kill. Kenshin stood still as she raced towards him; no noises were uttered, other than the air swishing through her clothes and hair. Kenshin leapt up at the last instant, and her blade met Aoshi's instead. But Kaoru was uninterested in fighting Aoshi; she was there for one man only.

"Battousai. I have come to exact my revenge on you." She growled, low, alien to her own, naturally sweet voice.

Kenshin stumbled, shocked that this sound was once his beloved. What had he done to her?

Aoshi asked his question.

"He betrayed me!" she yelled, "He took from me." Her voice was quiet. Almost uncertain. Her brow furrowed. "He… raped… me…"

Kenshin looked astonished. Never in his life had he laid a hand on a woman in lust. "My god. Aoshi. They've—" But Aoshi already knew.

And I can't love you, anymore than I do

Kaoru fell to her knees against Aoshi and Kenshin ran to her. "Hurry, let's get her inside, she needs to rest." Kenshin said, and Aoshi agreed picking up her sword and placing it back where it belonged in her father's collection. Kenshin carried her inside the dojo and into her old room.

Misao and Megumi met him there, and Megumi began to look her over. "Dear God, Kenshin. This girl's been torn apart." Megumi looked over her bruises, her scars, and her lacerations. "None of these look like they were self-inflicted either. Kenshin, she was tortured. Badly." Megumi said, looking up at the Battousai who was fuming at the foot of the bed.

Aoshi sighed. "They found out she knew you. Probably that she loved you. And they've sent her back to kill you—to get you out of their hair." He finished.

"We'll see who wins this war." Kenshin muttered. "It's personal now. She thinks I…" He swallowed. "I'll show her. I will prove my love to her. And then, when they come for us, I'll make sure they wished they'd never been born." His eyes were amber, pure, glowing, angry, amber. This was war, all right. And he was one dangerous man to be reckoned with.

People die, but real love is forever.

Well, we're half way there and things are getting juicy!

Stay tuned for part three!