Authors Notes: Ok people! Time to update my waterfall story! I updated my Goal by heart so it would only be fair to update this one too!

Thank you all for the reviews!!

Chapter 22: To claim what is yours

Kenshin's eyes widened as he heard the reply from Katsura. The war was actually...beginning? Kenshin then looked at Kaoru who was looking at him with eyes filled with sadness. Everyone around them rushed into the base, grabbing their weapons and rushing out to the porch in a defensive stance.

Kaoru also ran in following Kenshin, and grabbed her shinai. She walked out to the porch where everyone was all located in their defensive stance. Another bang was heard as everyone's faces grew stern and cold. Kaoru's head was flying in all directions, trying to seek out the enemy, yet finding no sign of them anywhere. Kenshin stood beside her with a relaxed form.

"Just relax. They won't just come charging at us with loaded guns." Kenshin said in a low whisper. Kaoru just nodded, but the tension still wasn't subsiding. She had a horrible gut feeling...and she didn't think it was the war.

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Somewhere in the forest just beyond the Ishin shi shi base, a group of soldiers were all gathered together with a plan boiling in their minds.

"I heard that they have an assassin that is invincible!" One of the men shouted out.

"Yeah but he's a young one. Either sixteen or fifteen. Not sure which. Even though they may say otherwise, they all have a heart. Do you follow?" Another said within the huddled group.

"Yeah! We get you Jasaki. So do you know where his heart lies? Or what his name is?" The man who spoke earlier asked the man known as Jasaki.

"His name is Battousai! He is the most powerful in their group. His heart lies within a girl staying there. She's around his age, and she is the closest to his heart." A booming voice spoke up out the group.

"L-lord Kaguchi!" The group all nervously replied in unison.

"It's not really our fashion to go and immediately make plans like this, but this enemy is powerful. I heard from some passing rumors that she has black hair, and sapphire eyes. What we want to do, is try to distract the boy by doing something to the young lady. That way, while he's distracted, we can defeat his comrades." Kaguchi said in a chilling voice. Another bang was heard in the distance as the birds flocked away in fear.

"Lord Kaguchi. How do you know so much about her?" Asked a man in the back of the group.

"To get an upper hand in war, you must know important things about your greatest opponent. The war has begun! We must prevail! Find the young miss and bring her back to our hideout! We'll see what the Battousai will do once his precious girl is in the hands of us! The Shinsengumi! Now go!!!!" Kaguchi shouted as his group all scattered off in the direction of their destination.

What the group didn't know was that for years Kaguchi had been searching for Kaoru. Only a year before had he succeeded in finding her village. He knew of her beauty, and greedily wanted her for himself. (A.N: eew! oo;) When his fleet had destroyed her village and returned with no Kaoru in hand, he grew enraged and wouldn't forgive the soul who stole his prize.

He would finally get revenge on Battousai for steeling her from him. (A/N: Now we all know Kenshin got her first! Fare and square! :D)

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Kenshin stood in his stance as Kaoru stood beside him. His eyes began to warp to a glittering gold as the scent of battle was hovering in the winter's air. He scowled as he heard distant battle cries emit into the once peaceful silence.

"And the battle begins." Battousai was now fully in control, and muttered the words darkly. Slowly, figures began to come into few in the forest. All his comrades, including Kaoru, knew they were the enemy, and were charging full speed into the first battle of a long war.

The soldiers charged into their base without hesitation, and started fighting like rabid wolves would over a scrap of salty raw meat. Skillfully, yes. But rabidly as well. Kaoru was also fighting with the men, and surprisingly doing quite well. A couple of hits were exchanged, but she still didn't fall.

Kenshin fought by her side, not risking to leave a precious angel in the middle of a blood bath. He hated the fact that this angel had have her wings to bare crimson stains to survive this horrible thing called war. The minutes slowly dribbled away as the war continued. Most of the Shinsengumi members had been slain, and only a few Ishin shi shi comrades were injured. He glanced over to the pile of unconscious idiots that Kaoru had beaten, and laughed.

Kaoru had just finished with the last guy buy bashing him over the head harshly. She turned her head to where she heard laughter to find Kenshin, laughing at the unconscious pile of Shinsengumi members by her. She glared and marched up to him.

"And what are you laughing at?!" Kaoru asked as she put her hands on her hips. Kenshin just put his hands up in defense.

"I just can't believe that these guys could be so easily knocked out! That's all!" Kenshin said waving his hands back and forth. Kaoru's eyes then narrowed even more so.

"Are you saying that because I'm a woman, I can't fight!? Is that is?! If that's the case, then you're wrong buster!" Kaoru said as she poked a finger on his chest as she told him off. Kenshin just chuckled.

"What ever you say sweet." Kenshin then turned smiled when she looked at him with a numb expression. She then caught on that he was only sucking up. She 'hmph' ed, and turned her back to him, crossing her arms over her chest. Kenshin turned around with a smile plastered on him face. He then saw the sight of all the dead bodies of the enemy. His smile then slowly slipped into a frown. He always dreaded the day that he would have to kill.

He then sank to one knee, and lifted his hands together, and began to pray. He prayed that their souls would rise to the heavens, and that Kami-sama would forgive him of the sins he would commit. He didn't dwell on their deaths too much. He looked at it as they were soldiers and they knew they were either going to die, or live during this war. He turned when he heard a slight ruffling of clothing to face Kaoru who had gone silent. When he glanced over his shoulder expecting to see Kaoru standing there in the falling snow, he saw nothing but the wilderness and violent scenes around.

His eyes widened as he jumped up from his kneeling position. "Kaoru?!!!" Kenshin yelled her name and began to panic when he heard no response. "KAORU?!!?" Kenshin shouted this time, praying he would hear something.

"...Kenshin...!" He heard her faint cry of his name. His eyes then widened more as he started to run towards the voice he had heard. Everything was too out of the ordinary. All his comrades seemed to have disappeared.

"...Kenshin help...!" He heard her cry again. He ran to where the woods started. He then stopped dead in his tracks. One of his comrades slowly stumbled out of the bushes, bloody and bruised.

"S-soujiko!" Kenshin stuttered out his name as he gazed over his friends state.

"I...I couldn't save her...they...took her away...and beat me..." His voice was raspy as he continued to inform Kenshin on what had happened to him. Kenshin's eyes then glazed over with glittering gold.

"Who took her?! WHO?!?" Battousai yelled the question at him as he clenched his fists with pure hatred and furry.

"The...the shinsengumi...they said...they have come to take...what was stolen from them..." That was the last Battousai got out of Soujiko until he collapsed in from of him, unconscious.

Battousai's eyes were shining with furious hate and anger. They took her when he wasn't watching. How dare they! They were planning this from the very beginning! Then his face then grew questioned. What did Soujiko mean by ' come to take what was stolen from them' ? He then shook his head to clear his mind of those thoughts. His eyes narrowed into little slits as he passed his unconscious friend, and trudged through the thick forest.

'Kaoru just hang tight. They'll pay for capturing you...they...will pay...dearly...' Battousai thought as his image disappeared into the dark woods.

(That's all for now! Please review! :D)