Kenji to the Rescue

Disclaimer: I don't own Kenshin, though I do own Kenji. Back away! He's mine!

Chapter 3: Living Nightmare

Kenji opened one sleepy eye and rolled around. He saw the face of his mommy and raised one hand to her cheek in an attempt to wake her up. She only stirred and muttered something in her sleep.

"Yahiko, you brat! How dare you call me an ugly hag! 500 swings right now!" she demanded. Kenji stared at his mother, surprised. His mommy had sounded so angry, but surely she wasn't mad at him; he didn't do anything wrong. Yet.

A passing breeze then chose to enter the room. Kenji felt the cool wind, it was as if it was taunting him; "Come outside to play"; it seemed to say. Before he knew it, he was at the shoji, with one hand outside the gap that Kenshin left. Kenji was just about to crawl outside when he reconsidered his options. Would it be more fun to play with the box of colored paints Auntie Megumi got for Mommy or to go outside? Last time he created a beautiful work of art on the bed sheets with a red stick thing. Perhaps today he would experiment with the blue and purple powder he found just a day ago. Just as he was about to turn around, another gust of wind came. "Dada just finished washing the clothes; they're all nice and clean, you know the perfect way to spend the afternoon," it commented slyly.

Kenji smiled and decided to get into trouble.

x x x x x

Outside, the wind was picking up. He watched as the various kimonos, gis, and hakamas flapped in the wind, as if they were trying to fly away from the clothesline that his dada had trapped them to. Kenji felt sorry for them and decided to help. He reached for the pretty pink colored cloth and tugged hard. It landed in a heap beside him. Kenji laughed. He liked pink. Pink was happy. Pink was nice. Pink was Dada.

Kenji reached this time for a long piece of yellow colored material, unaware of the pair of eyes that were watching him from the dojo gates.

x x x x x

Kaoru woke with a gasp. She felt her heard thudding against her chest. She took deep breaths and tried to calm down.

"That was such a bad dream," she said to no one in particular. Kaoru recalled the events that led up to the twisted ending.

It had been a regular day when the dream started, except it was before she and Kenshin married and Sano and Yahiko left. Kenshin was trying to wash the laundry while Sano kept dunking his head into the washtub. She couldn't remember why; something about fishing for a new fishbone. She was training Yahiko, who had, as usual, called her a hag. Then, suddenly, Sano gave a strangled yell and she saw that he had somehow managed to fish out Kenji with his mouth. Kaoru screeched at him but he refused to put Kenji down unless he got his fishbone. Kenshin jumped up and offered to buy a fishbone for him at the market. He agreed and spit Kenji out.

Before they left, Kenshin made her swear to protect Kenji, no matter what, and she promised. As soon as she turned to change Kenji into new clothes, he disappeared. She spun around just in time to see a shapeless figure plunge his sword into Kenji's chest. She screamed and tried to run, but for some reason, the ground seemed to suck her feet in. The more she struggled, the deeper she got sucked in. Just before her head was submerged, Kenshin came running. He was about to pull her up when the shapeless figure reappeared behind him. Kaoru tried to scream, but her mouth was glued shut. Kaoru woke up just before the man plunged a sword into Kenshin's back.

Kaoru shuddered and snapped back to reality.

"Calm down, Kaoru. It's just a nightmare. Everything's fine. Kenshin is at the market and Kenji is right here besides you," she reassured herself. Then, she turned around to see if Kenji had been kicking his blanket again. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized the little red- head was gone.

"Kenji? Where are you? Come out! Don't scare Mommy like this!" she called out desperately.

x x x x x

Meanwhile, little Kenji's head whipped around as he heard a rustling near him. His body grew tense, and although he was just a baby, the blood of the legendary Hitokiri Battousai flowed through his veins, and he had a feeling whatever that sound was, it was not good. He tightened his grip on the yellow cloth that had served as a blankie and turned around. There seemed to be no one there. He relaxed a bit.

Suddenly, Kenji felt himself being lifted up by the scruff of his neck.

"Well, well, well, it looks like I found the son of Himura the Battousai," a voice behind him drawled. The man twisted his wrist and Kenji found himself face to face to a black-eyed man.

"Hmm... daddy isn't here. Oh well, this is just as good. Let's see how he'll react when he finds his son dead," he continued as he unsheathed his sword. Kenji's eyes flickered amber. Although the child could not understand the words of the thug, he could sense the meaning in them. The man's body was radiating an intense emotion; yup, Kenji confirmed, he was definitely a bad guy.

x x x x x

Kaoru ran out of the room and searched wildly. The nightmare she had was still vivid in her mind, and she was terrified that she would find Kenji dead on the floor. She looked around, her eyes filled with despair, when abruptly; she spotted the figures straight ahead of her. There was a man, too tall to be Kenshin holding her son in the air with one hand and he held a sword in his other hand.

Adrenaline rushed through her body. Her eyes were glazed and wild. She was a mother bear, and when she saw her cub endangered, only one thing rushed through her mind: to protect. She grabbed the closest thing that could be used, a broom. Then, she rushed towards her child with a yell.

Kaoru displayed speed that excelled even Hiko's. Like many mothers before her, the sight of her child in her danger signaled something in her body that gave her the strength of ten men.

She caught the man off guard, and he was swept off his feet when the broom hit the back of his knees. He let go of his grip on Kenji, and Kenji managed to catch Kenji before he hit the ground. She jumped away from the man and cradled Kenji with one hand while holding the broom with the other.

"Bitch," he spat out as he wiped his mouth with his hand.

Kaoru said nothing, and she herself to think clearly.

"That man is much bigger than me, so he's stronger too. He has a sword for a weapon, while I only have a broom. Plus, I can't let go of Kenji, which gives me only one free arm. The only chance I have is to attack him from behind when he lunges at me. It looks heavy, so it should take the man a longer time to swing it than my broom. I could beat him; if I'm fast enough."

Kaoru almost groaned. What wouldn't she give to be as fast as Kenshin right now?

Meanwhile, the man was preparing to attack.

"Get ready, girlie," he yelled. Kaoru prepared herself to jump. She timed it perfectly. Just when his sword was about to connect with her wrist, she jumped back, still holding Kenji in her arms. Right before she landed, Kaoru aimed the broom handle at his head and struck with all her might.

The man turned around and grinned sadistically.

"Gotcha now!" he yelled.

Kaoru saw a flash of silver near his waist and realized the truth. She sprang back as far as she could and escaped with only a grazed shoulder. She landed and panted heavily. The jumping had taken a toll on her because of the extra weight she carried.

"You almost fell for it!" the man sneered, "I'm not as slow as I look."

Kaoru couldn't help but agree.

"So this is his plan; he attacks me with the heavier and more powerful sword, but if I dodge it, he uses his other hand to wield the lighter blade. He's fast enough not to be confused with those two. Eventually, I'll get tired from dodging all his attacks, and then…" Kaoru grimaced. She didn't want to think about what would happen after that.

"What's wrong? Am I too good for you?" her opponent teased.

Kaoru gritted her teeth and held her broom handle with a firmer grip. No, she wasn't about to surrender.

The man dove for her again, this time with more speed. Kaoru whipped out of the way, but the man lashed out is other sword, aiming for her chest. Kaoru jumped up, but couldn't avoid the slash on her right leg. She winced in pain.

"I'm not going to give up, I can't give up," she chanted in her mind. Kenji started squirming in her arms. Kaoru just held him tighter. The last thing she wanted was to have Kenji fall. Kenji seemed to understand and stopped moving.

The black- eyed man charged at her, but Kaoru was prepared this time. She dodged the first assault with the broom handle, which split in half in the process. Then, she flicked her wrist and hit the man's face with full force before he could draw out his other sword.

"You bitch!" he cried.

Kaoru couldn't help the triumphant smirk as she watched the huge indent across the man's face turning a deeper maroon shade by the minute.

"Just for that, I'll kill you right now! No more playing around!" he shouted angrily as he attacked with his swords. Kaoru was getting tired, and she tried to block his two swords with the two pieces of her broom. She reacted a second too late when the man went for her legs, which resulted in a painful slash at her calf. Kaoru buckled onto the ground, her injured leg unable to support her weight. Kenji whimpered and clung closer to her. Kaoru could hear the man's angry footsteps, but her shoulder started throbbing. He was only a few feet away now. She didn't have time to react; only instinct told her to cover Kenji's body with her own as she prayed to the Gods that he would survive this horrid ordeal. She felt the rush of wind as the blade came down and then-

The sound of two swords clashing.

"If it's the Hitokiri Battousai you want to fight, then have at me, you coward," a voice that Kaoru immediately recognized called out. The words were spoken evenly, with no rush, but the tone was cold and dark. It was the voice of Death himself.

Author's Notes: Wow! I can't believe that I finally got some reviews! I'm totally ecstatic! Thanks so much, you guys who reviewed! (I'll have a Reviewer's Corner at the end of every section from now on). Chocolate to all six of you guys! I actually jumped out of my chair when I saw I had reviews (I know, kinda desperate, isn't it?). As for the rest of the people, please click that little button on the bottom right hand corner. It really makes me happy.

A couple of notes on this chapter: 1) In the beginning of the chapter, the "box of colored paints" is actually a make- up kit. I hope I didn't confuse anyone! 2) Yeah, as you can see, Kenji didn't really do anything to get rid of the "bad guy" in this chapter. That doesn't come till the end. On the other hand, Kaoru did kick some ass! 3) In honest opinion, what did you guys think of the fight scene? It was kinda hard for me to write. Please give me some feedback on that one.

P.S. Would you guys do me a favor and check on my profile? Is it still very blank? I wrote like 3 paragraphs full of stuff, but my text won't upload. Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong?

REVIEWS MAKE MY DAY!

Reviewer's Corner

WhiteRabbit5- Thanks for being my first reviewer! Yeah, you saw my major mess up with the tenses. I tried to be more careful this chapter, but the words just fly from my brain to the computer screen, and I really don't edit much, so, I'll keep trying! I love Kenshin when he's being over polite, but I think he would act more like, well, himself when he's around the people closest to him: Kaoru and Kenji. Think of it this way: The Battousai is the id, the Rurouni is the superego, and Kenshin is the ego. (if I'm confusing you, e-mail me). He acts like a Rurouni most of the time because he's trying to hide his id- the Battousai, but I think he would be more comfortable when around his family, so he is the ego when interacting with them.

Peacebunnie- Aw, you thought it was adorable? Thanks. And I'm glad that you decided to review. You make me smile.  FOR THE REST OF YOU 27 NON-REVIEWERS… REVIEW! Learn from her, she decided to forget about laziness and make me happy.

crazyanimefan101- Thanks, Wendy, Love you! .

Myks- Thanks for being so understanding! You're right; having no reviews makes me feel insecure. I would review your story too, except I can't read Spanish…

Gabyhyatt- Yeah, a lot of people thought the first two chapters were cute, but I guess this chapter is a little scary… thanks for reviewing!

Ridia-san- Thanks, I thought it would be a good idea to put in some father- son bonding time between the two red- heads.