Gunshot Roses

Chapter Nine

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Day turned to night quietly as Kaoru Kamiya sat in her room, alone. She starred up at the ceiling, ignoring the incessant pains of hunger. I need to get out of here, she said in her head for the millionth time. Someone... Help me... No! No one is going to help me! I have to do this on my own... First thing: Get dressed.

She got up tiredly, and changed into a long skirt, top, and jacket. She then looked around her room. What can I use? She looked at the sheets on her bed and smiled slightly. That'd work...

Quickly and quietly, she tied the sheets together to form a makeshift rope. I hope it's long enough, she thought to herself. She tied one end to a post on her bed, and then threw the rope out the window, and down the side of the house. Can I do this? She starred out the window. A better question would be: Can I stay here any longer? Guess I have no choice...

She sighed deeply and climbed onto the windowsill, while holding on to the edge. God give me strength, she prayed. She took the rope in one hand and-

The door of her bedroom flew open with a bang. There stood Kanryuu, visibly full of rage. Kaoru's mouth hung open, at loss of what to say. He stomped over to her, his fist shaking in anger.

"Kaoru?!" he shouted. "What is going on here?!"

She could think of no words that would calm him. No words would suppress his rage.

The next instant was a blur to her. Kanryuu had grabbed her by the neck and was slowly squeezing the breath out of her. She gagged and his grip tightened. "You dare disobey me again?! You dare try to escape?!"

She clenched her jaw. His gripped tightened up again, and he then released her. She fell to her knees and began to cough. Wearily, she stood again, while mustering all the restraint she could. Kanryuu gave her a disgusted look, "You bitch." He punched her in the jaw and she fell to one knee. His foot came from the side and kicked the side of her stomach. She fell to the floor and began to breathe heavily. Kanryuu nudged her with his foot, "Done already?"

Kaoru spit out blood. She stood once more and wiped the blood from her mouth. Kanryuu smirked condescendingly and said, "Still defiant? You're too wild... we should tame you a bit!" He punched her in the stomach again. With a moan of pain, she slid backwards, and hit the wall beneath windowsill. Again, she stood.

This time, however, she had a plan.

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Kenshin slid off his horse and turned to Yahiko, "You stay here with the horses. We don't want anyone to hear us."

Yahiko nodded and Kenshin took off, with Sano and Misao at his side. They silently ran through the yard, undetected, and found there way underneath the window Soujiro had said was Kaoru's. Kenshin looked up and noticed the window was open and a cloth rope was hanging from it. Did she leave already? he wondered silently.

He heard someone groan and took a few steps back to see into the window. He saw Kanryuu, but then another figure blocked him out. He recognized her small frame in an instant.

Kaoru!

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"Kanryuu?" Kaoru said, while stepping onto the ledge of the window. Kanryuu's eyes got wide.

"Now Kaoru, don't do anything ras-..."

"Adieu."

She slipped out the window and gabbed onto the cloth rope. She heard Kanryuu shouting and she laughed slightly. She pulled her feet up to the side of the house so they gave her support. She sat there for a moment, trying to gain her balance.

Kanryuu suddenly stuck his head out of the window and startled her. She gasped and lost her foot-hold. She began to slide down the rope, not being able to stop. She looked directly down and realized that the rope was about to run out, about fifteen or twenty feet above the ground.

She closed her eyes and waited for the painful impact. But the pain never came.

Instead, two strong arms caught her.

She opened her eyes and looked up.

"Kenshin!" she cried. He smiled slightly.

Kanryuu roared form the window, "You again?! I'll kill you for sure this time! And get your hands off my Kaoru!"

Kaoru snorted, "As if I'm a possession..."

"You're hardly worthy to look at her, never mind own her," Kenshin said.

Kanryuu sneered, "And you're worthy?"

"No, but at least I wouldn't hurt her intentionally."

"Why you-!" Kanryuu began. "Fine. Have it your way" Kanryuu snapped his fingers and guards emerged from nowhere. Two first floor windows opened as well, and two men with guns appeared. "You see?" Kanryuu laughed. "You're trapped!"

Kenshin held Kaoru tighter, "Sanosuke? Misao? Ready?"

"Yeah!" they answered.

"Let's go!"

"Fire!" Kanryuu bellowed.

The two gunmen fired, and the guards rushed to attack. Sanosuke punched out some guards, while Misao threw her knives at the gunmen. Kenshin ran with Kaoru towards the front yard. Sano and Misao kept the guards from following them, by keeping them engaged in combat.

Kaoru squirmed and shouted, "Put my down, you jerk!"

"Just hush!" Kenshin said, sighing heavily.

"Don't you 'hush' me! Put me down! I'll call my brother!" Kaoru kicked her feet. Kenshin said nothing, and just continued running. "I hate you!" she snapped.

Kenshin stopped dead. "Look! I'm trying to help you! Right now, I don't give a damn whether you hate me or not! I'm just trying to get you out of here, because there's no way I'm letting you stay in a place like this any longer!"

He started running again. She was quiet for a moment and then began to shout again. Kenshin reached Yahiko and the horses. Yahiko laughed at Kaoru trying to squirm away. "Kenshin's pretty stubborn," he said. "I doubt he'll let you go."

She wasn't listening. "Let me go, damnit!" Kaoru shouted.

Kenshin hoisted her onto a saddle, none to gently, "Don't make me tie you up, woman."

"You wouldn't dare!" she yelled.

"Watch me," he laughed tiredly.

Yahiko jumped onto his horse, "I'm telling you, he'll do it." Yahiko turned to Kenshin, "Where's Misao and Sano?"

"Right here!" Misao answered, running up to them, with Sanosuke at her heels.

Sano grinned painfully, "Let's get back to the fox doc... quick."

"Sano?" Yahiko looked over and gasped slightly.

Kaoru leaned over and saw that there was a bullet wound in Sanosuke's thigh. Sano put a hand over it and smirked through a pained face at Kaoru, "You seem to be banged up pretty bad as well. You ok?"

"Y-yeah..." she said, weakly. Kenshin and Misao helped Sano onto a horse. Misao got on the same horse, to help him ride, and Kenshin got on with Kaoru.

"Let's go," he said roughly, kicking the horse, and making Kaoru grab his waist in surprise.

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Kaoru stared at the door across the hall that was open a crack.

"Stop being such a baby!" Megumi chided.

"Ow! Ow! Oow!" Sano winced. "For a doctor, you're pretty merciless!"

"Hold still!"

Kaoru laughed slightly while listening to Sanosuke and Megumi. She then turned, somberly, towards Kenshin, who was getting some bandages from Megumi's mini-medicine box. Kenshin turned around and walked towards her, to help her with her wounds.

"Show me you're neck," he said emotionlessly, while never meeting her eye. She lifted her chin up. He placed some cream on her deep bruises. "Miss Megumi says this will help bruises heal faster. It's a family remedy, is what she told me."

"I see..." Kaoru said, looking at the wall. She closed her eyes, and fought the lump in her throat down. She winced when he rubbed over her sore.

"Sorry..." he said blankly. "Let me see you're cheek, please." She lowered her head and he rubbed a bit of the cream on her bruises.

He finished bandaging her up, which included wrapping up her abdomen, in silence. But he did notice, as he wrapped her stomach, that she was slimmer then usual, in an unhealthy way. When Kenshin finished, Kaoru went over to the other room, to se how Sano was.

"He's asleep." Megumi smiled warmly at Kaoru. Kaoru looked over and saw Sano sound asleep in one of the beds.

"Will he be alright?" Kaoru asked, quietly.

"Yes, he'll be fine." She patted a chair next to her, and Kaoru sat down. "Are you?"

"Oh, I'm fine. My wounds were merely scratches." Kaoru smiled and nodded.

Megumi gave her a serious look, "That's not what I meant."

Kaoru blinked and looked at her. Megumi looked over at Kenshin, who was talking to Misao and Yahiko. "Oh..." Kaoru said quietly. "I don't know... I can't forgive him... I mean, I can, but I don't want to because I don't want to get hurt again..."

Megumi laughed, "That's right, the letter didn't get to you..." She knocked on Sanosuke's head and shouted, "Hey wake up!"

"Megumi!" Kaoru shushed.

Sanosuke groaned and opened his eyes, "What is it, fox?"

Megumi looked down at him sternly, "You own Kaoru an explanation for her wrecked love."

Kaoru's eyes went wide, "M-Megumi?"

Sanosuke coughed, "Oh yeah... that... Well, here's how it is, Missy: It's all my fault. I sic'ed that Yumi chick on Kenshin, and told her to be persistent... It was meant kind of as a joke... And you were never meant to know about it! I didn't mean to hurt your relationship... I just... I was trying to help... I-"

Kaoru bent her head down, "You did it? It was you're fault?"

"Yeah..." Sanosuke muttered, getting a bad vibe from Kaoru.

She suddenly grabbed his neck and started to shake him back and forth, "I'll murder you!"

"Kaoru! Kaoru! Calm down!" Megumi said, grabbing her shoulders. Kaoru stopped and glared daggers at Sano. Someone coughed behind her, and she turned to see Yahiko, Misao and Kenshin starring at her. She looked around the room quickly and began to laugh nervously as Megumi let go of her. She sat up in her seat and watched an imaginary object on the wall.

Kenshin took a step towards her and her stomach flipped. She starred at his feet, until he was standing right in front of her. He bent over and looked her in the eye, "We should talk."

She blushed, "Sure."

He walked towards a balcony that faced the desert. She followed and he closed the door behind them. "No listening!" he shouted through the doors. He heard feet scramble and Kaoru giggle. He stared off into the desert and sighed. "I just wanted to-"

Her arms suddenly wrapped around his neck, and he took a clumsy step back in surprise. He caught himself on the banister on the balcony. She sighed deeply, "It wasn't you! I mean, you didn't-! I-...ummm..." She stepped back and loosed her grip. She bit her lip slightly, "Um..."

He stared at her, and for the first time that night, really looked at her. She had bruises on her neck that were bandaged and her right cheek was red and a tiny bit swollen. He knew she had bandages wrapped around her waist. He smiled; she was completely beautiful, even like this.

He faced then became dark, "How can you forgive me? I was awful to you. I don't deserve you anymore then Kanryuu does..."

She smiled, "I should decide who's deserving of me or not. And anyway, it wasn't you! It was Sanosuke who hired that slut! I'm so relieved!" She hugged him tightly again. "Besides, how can you forgive me, I slapped you and got angry without hearing you out... and then I said I hated you..."

He pulled back and studied her face; his violet eyes searching her sapphire ones. She made a confused face and he pulled her towards him, while crushing his lips against hers. She squeezed his neck and her eyes fluttered shut.

He pulled back a few seconds later and smiled. Kaoru giggled, "Then we forgive each other?"

"Of course," he laughed.

"Why were you staring at me before?" she asked.

He grinned foolishly, "I was thinking whether or not I'd hurt your jaw by kissing you."

She tapped his arm playfully, "You're awful! What am I going to do with you?"

The same thought went through his head again: Marry me someday.

"Marry me someday," he blurted out.

She raised her eyebrows and smiled, "And why would I ever marry a dirty cowboy like you?"

"'Cause I'm the only one that would marry a girl like you!" he laughed, while picking her up, and spinning her around once or twice.

He set her down, her arms still locked around his neck, and she smiled, a bit somberly, "Kanryuu wishes to marry a girl like me..."

Kenshin rolled his eyes, "Why must his name come up every time I'm with you! I want to be down with him! I just want to take you and run away into that horizon!" he got out of her grip and leaned on the banister, while starring out into the horizon, where the sun was starting to rise.

"You know Kanryuu would chase us..." she said, lacing her arm through his. "And I'm sorry, it's just.... I want to be rid of him too, and he's just always there. Every time I see you, I think how he might hurt you like he did to Sou... It's just... I try not to..."

Kenshin turned to her, "Then let's start over... Well, not from the beginning... How about from where I kissed you?"

She smiled, "You just want to kiss me again..."

He put his hands up, "Very true, I admit."

She looked up at him, playfully, "And what if I say no?"

"Then I'd die," he answered, grinning.

"You would not..." she was grinning too.

He raised his eyebrow, "How would you know?"

"No one has ever died from not being kissed!" she laughed, as she stared at him, unconvinced.

"Not true, my father came very close to it, when he was courting my mother, and she left him for a while," he said smugly.

"You are so dishonest!" she said, her smile as wide as her face.

"Am I?" he tested. "I'm feeling faint..."

"Stop it," she shook her head, unimpressed.

"But it's a dieing man's wish, so that he might live!" he begged. "How can you ignore a dieing man?"

"Very easily..." she said, starting to walk away.

"Don't make me do this..." he said mysteriously.

"Do what?" She turned around, intrigued, and he took her shoulders and kissed her. She pulled back after a second, "You play dirty..."

He shrugged and held her shoulders still, "I know... I do what I must..."

"Yes, because you know no other woman would want you but me, and I only want you cause you kiss well," she teased.

"Is that all I'm good for?" he laughed. "Well, then your right, no other woman would want me... Although that Yumi lady seemed very interested..."

Kaoru pulled him down to her and kissed him.

When they pulled away Kaoru eyed him, "Kenshin Himura, you are very deceitful..."

"I know..." he smiled and hugged her.

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From the other side of the doors, Misao giggled. "That's so cute!" she whispered.

"Kaoru is such a lucky girl!" Megumi laughed. "But she's also quite the seducer!"

"Oh Megumi, you're awful!" Misao giggled again.

Sano rolled his eyes from his bed, "You girls are hopeless!"

Yahiko chimed in, "Yeah, you're both just interested in love and romance and all that crap... it's kinda pathetic..."

A medicine box and a few knives flew his way. He ducked, and they hit Sanosuke behind him. Sano groaned and went into a knocked out state. Yahiko chuckled. And the girls sat down and started to talk again.

"I wonder when he'll tell her about you know what..." Misao sighed.

"I suppose when it's time... it's so great, but very sad at the same time..." Megumi shook her head. "She'll be subjected to things I don't know if she'll be able to deal with though..."

Misao smiled sadly, "She's a strong girl... I think she'll be ok... and the outcome will be a happy ending! Right?"

Megumi smiled back at the younger girl, "I hope so..."

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The next night, the world slept peacefully...

Yahiko dreaming of being a success....

Sanosuke dreaming of a fox doctor...

Megumi dreaming of Sano getting a brain...

Misao dreaming of Aoshi...

Kenshin and Kaoru in each others arms dreaming similar dreams....

The only one who didn't sleep was Kanryuu... he sat up, wide awake....

And mad as hell...

She will be my bride... She will be my bride... She will... Be mine...

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Sleep comes like a drug, in God's country, sad eyes and crooked crosses, in God's country...

-U2; In God's Country

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A/N:

Hey people! I hope you like! It was a joy writing this chapter! Especially the K&K scene! ::giggles:: I act like such a girl sometimes! Well, I can't help it; I'm a bit spastic... So, how did you all like it? I had wished it to be longer, but oh well... I hope you enjoyed it, that's the reason I write, to make people happy, or sad, or warm and fuzzy, or whatever I want to get through in the story!

Haha, I'm playing Jet, Are you gonna be my girl, and it's making me miss my friend who's in Brazil... haha he's such a dork!

In other news, the new story that I'm writing might or might not be released soon... I want it to be great, so I'm hesitant to release it... haha well, I will in a bit whether or not it's what I want...

And (much to Nkechele's dislike) this story will end soon... in about the next two or three chapters... probably two, then an epilogue....

Alrighty...

Ciao