Kaoru was woken, rudely, by the sound of a sliding door and bright light. She let out a groaning noise and threw her blanket off of her.
"Careful Koishi, you don't want to sprain a muscle," Kenshin chuckled. Kaoru whirled around and saw him standing in the doorway. The sunlight shown brilliantly around him, giving him a halo effect. It took Kaoru's breath away; he was simply beautiful to her.
"You woke me up!" Kaoru pouted when her voice finally returned.
"You have to get up some time," Kenshin came closer and knelt down beside his wife.
"What's this?" Kaoru jabbed the tray Kenshin had been carrying.
"Breakfast," Kenshin gently placed the tray of food on the ground. "I thought that since you are carrying around an extra human being around you deserved to eat in bed today." Kaoru's smile grew soft; he was always so good to her. His amethyst eyes sparkled as they studied her up and down. Kaoru knew that look; he was making sure she was completely all right.
"You're wonderful," Kaoru whispered as she gently nestled up against him, gripping the cloth on his chest like a lifeline. His arms were around her in a flash, wrapping her in his tight loving embrace.
"Koishi," Kenshin buried his nose into Kaoru's her, causing her to giggle. Kaoru reached one of her hands up and briefly brushed the underside of his chin with slender fingers, causing Kenshin to arch his head up higher.
"You're like a cat," Kaoru giggled as she pushed her head up so her lips were positioned under his chin. "You always want attention." Gently Kaoru placed a soft kiss on the underside of Kenshin's jaw. She felt a shudder race through his body as he carefully drew her away to gaze at her face. Tenderly, acting slowly so he wouldn't scare her, Kenshin cupped Kaoru's face in his hands. Kaoru immediately shut her eyes, waiting. She wasn't disappointed. Kenshin lightly brushed his lips against hers. He did so twice before he engaged her in a real kiss. Kaoru felt the world tip off its axis, and then she realized that Kenshin was slowly lowering her back onto their futon, trapping her body underneath his. His kiss grew more intense and he began to rub his hand up and down her side. Kaoru groaned into his mouth, allowing him to deepen the kiss. Kenshin gently pulled away, then proceeded to kiss Kaoru's cheek, chin line, then making his way down her neck until,
"Kenshin!" Yahiko's voice jolted Kaoru and Kenshin out of their embrace.
"Are you going to make breakfast for the rest of us?" Sano called from the kitchen. "We're starving in here!"
"We'll have to finish this later," Kenshin smiled down at his wife, kissed her briefly once more, than got up.
"Join us when you're ready," Kenshin picked the tray up and placed it on Kaoru's lap. Kenshin climbed back to his feet.
"I love you," Kenshin had stopped at the doorway. Kaoru smiled brightly and watched him as he shut the door. Sighing out loud, Kaoru fell back onto her futon, remembering the past moment fondly. It had been so long since Kenshin had touched her like that.
"Why was I feeling so sad last night?" Kaoru asked herself. It seemed impossible that she had been so sad, especially since she felt so blissful now. She went through her day. Yahiko had been refraining himself from calling her names because of her pregnancy. Sano even helped out, a little. Then it struck her, like cold pebbles thrown in her face. Tomoe, she had returned. Even now she was within her dojo, eating her food and breathing her air. Tomoe was polite enough to Kaoru, but Kaoru still saw the longing glances the woman cast at her husband; she still heard what Tomoe would say to her husband in a whispered, seductive tone. Kenshin didn't understand; he was a blind fool. But Kaoru refused to let herself fall into a jealous rage, at least not in front of anyone else. No, she would keep her dignity and show Tomoe that she too was a good wife, good enough for Kenshin to stay with her. Kaoru sighed again and forced herself up. All feelings of happiness were gone as she dressed herself with great difficulty. Her clothes were much too small for her, but she still managed to squeeze in. Kaoru pulled her hair back and mentally prepared herself to face the world.
"I can do this," Kaoru mentally cheered herself on as she forced herself to march forward, out of her room and to the kitchen.
"Good morning," Kaoru's voice sounded small, even in her own ears. Everyone looked up from their meal, including Kenshin. Kenshin immediately smiled at the sight of his wife, but it soon dropped.
"What happened to her?" Kenshin asked himself as he immediately picked up on how miserable she was. "She was happy just a minute ago!" Megumi had warned Kenshin how quickly moods could swing with a pregnant woman, but he never thought it could be so sudden.
"Sit by me," Kenshin patted the floor beside him. Kaoru instantly brightened up again, her face lit with her inner light. Kaoru loved to sit by Kenshin, he would always, in little ways, show her how much he loved her. His hand would often brush up against hers. His loving violet eyes would linger on her and he would graze hers whenever he moved. Kaoru loved it.
"Good morning," all eyes turned away from Kaoru and looked at the new woman who entered the room. Tomoe, she truly was beautiful. Her brown eyes were soft and loving and her hair was thick and luxurious. Her long ends would curve gently around her body, enhancing her curves. Kaoru always felt small and ugly when she entered the room.
"Good morning Tomoe," Kenshin brightly called, causing Kaoru's shoulders to slump a little. "How are you this morning?"
"Wonderful," Tomoe answered with a glowing smile. She took the seat beside Kenshin. Resentfully, Kaoru sat next to Yahiko.
"Why are you even here missy?" Sano asked suddenly. "Didn't Kenshin bring you breakfast in bed?"
"There isn't much else for a pregnant woman to do but eat," Kaoru replied as she started to pluck food off of Sano's plate.
"Hey!" Sano cried, outraged. "That's mine."
"You wouldn't steal from a pregnant woman, would you?" Kaoru asked as she popped the food in her mouth. Sano grumbled and continued to sullenly eat what was left of his breakfast. Yahiko laughed out loud.
"Kenshin," Tomoe spoke in her perfect and precious voice. "Would it be all right if I fixed myself a bath after breakfast?"
"That wench!" Kaoru thought angrily to herself, but keeping her poker face. "She knows Kenshin would never let her build her own bath!"
"Tomoe!" Kenshin pretended to be appalled. "I can certainly fix you a bath that I can."
"I'm sure you're busy," Tomoe gently tapped his hand with her own. "You have a pregnant wife to attend to."
"Its fine," Kaoru said in a flat voice, keeping her eyes dead. "I don't mind." Kenshin knew something was wrong, he could read Kaoru like a book even though her face was completely blank of any emotion.
"Thank you," Tomoe bowed ever so slightly in Kaoru's direction.
"Don't thank me," Kaoru shook her head. "Thank Kenshin; he is the one who will be preparing your bath."
"Kaoru," Sano came up behind her as she stood outside the dojo. Breakfast was over and Kaoru watched as Kenshin brought wood over to the bath house.
"Yes Sano?" Kaoru slapped her fake face on and smiled at him.
"You've got to cheer up," Sano slapped Kaoru gently over the shoulders. "You're going to be a mother soon, isn't that reason enough for you to be happy?"
"I am happy," Kaoru lied, it was easy. At first she had great difficulty lying to her friends, but she had done it so much recently that it now came smoothly to her. "I am perfectly fine," Kaoru stopped, something lurched in her stomach.
"Kaoru?" Sano stepped closer to her. "Is everything all right?" Kaoru ignored him, ignored his voice and all sounds. The world was now dead to her, all she felt was a pain in her abdomen. The pain began to grow, creeping up her spin and crawling down to her ankles.
"This isn't normal," Kaoru thought frantically to herself. "Something's wrong!" She numbly felt Sano supporting her weight. A noise grew in volume, and it took a moment for Kaoru to realize it was her, she was screaming. The world began to drain away from her as the pain grew.
I hope you like it. I wasn't exactly sure how to portray Tomoe, since I have a pretty narrow view of her.