Disclaimer: I was just reading this book, How To Get Away with Writing in The Rurouni Kenshin Universe for Dummies. Turns out, all ya gotta do is pretend to be the creator. As such:

Hey, look, I'm Nobuhiro Watsuki!

Now, you may be thinking, "Ma'am, aren't you of the female persuasion?"

No, no, no. I'm Nobuhiro Watsuki!

Well…okay, maybe the title of the book was more like How to Get Arrested for Dummies.

A/N: Expect two more chapters up today, so I can finally start working on new stuff. (Some people will still not be able to review, which makes me mad at myself…)

Except for the beginning, this whole chapter is new stuff. It's like a completely new chapter! Please tell me what you thought of it (if Wonderpup on fanfiction gets mad at you, try to do an anonymous review or at very least e-mail me.) I don't know why, but I'm a little nervous about this chapter.

Tanoshimu!


Chapter 6

Naruku: Fear and the Question

-

Naruku was in a bad mood. No one, not even Misao, had bothered to wake her up when she slept in. So she had to eat her breakfast cold. And she had to make up her morning chores later in the afternoon.

But the real reason that Naruku was in a bad mood was that approximately half of Kaoru's kenjutsu class had showed up that morning after Naruku's cold breakfast.

"Go home! We told you that there isn't any class until Kaoru gets back!" Naruku tried shooing them away.

For the most part, they ignored her. They somehow knew that Kaoru was due to return that day, and didn't seem to keen on leaving until their sensei had arrived.

Yahiko appeared behind Naruku as she began mumbling to herself.

"Hey," Yahiko said after a little while. "Isn't that…?"

Naruku looked up and followed his gaze to the dojo gate. She caught a glimpse of Kaoru, and a few seconds later her raven-haired friend had come into full view.

But Kaoru was not alone. Next to her, supporting her weight was Aoshi.

Naruku brightened at seeing the two of them, and quickly jumped off the porch and ran through the crowd of students to where Kaoru and Aoshi stood.

Yahiko dashed across the courtyard after her and half the students turned to see where Yahiko and Naruku were going.

"Kaoru-chan! Welcome back," Naruku cried, carefully hugging her friend, taking care to avoid Kaoru's injured leg. "Aoshi, what a surprise! You didn't say you were coming. Misao will be happy," she turned back to Kaoru. "She's doing a lot better."

"Kaoru-dono!"

"Aoshi-sama!" Misao and Kenshin hurried over to where the rest of their friends were congregating.

Behind them, Kaoru's students stood, unsure of what to do. Somehow, in their minds, they thought they would be the ones to welcome Kaoru home. Instead they were standing awkwardly on the sidelines while Kaoru chatted amiably with her friends.

"Nice clothes, by the way," Naruku said, eyeing Kaoru's current state of attire.

Kaoru couldn't help but flush red. "Oh—um…yeah. Well, you see, there was this river, and I kind of fell in at one point…so Aoshi said I could borrow his clothes."

Behind Naruku, the entire group of Kaoru's students looked utterly aghast. They knew that Kaoru wore men's clothes all the time, but she had never worn clothes that actually belonged to another man.

Aoshi cleared his throat. "Kamiya begged me to take her to see you before we went to the doctor's clinic," he said.

"Doctor's clinic?" Misao cut in, sounding concerned.

Kaoru laughed shakily. "Yeah, well I cut my leg up pretty bad when I fell into that river. Aoshi had to carry me practically the whole way back to Tokyo."

This time Kaoru noticed the enraged looks on her students' faces. But she mistook it for something else. "I'm sorry, everyone," she addressed them. "I'll have to be getting a lot of help from Yahiko to continue teaching you. Please be patient, and I'll see you tomorrow."

With that, Aoshi scooped Kaoru up bridal-style.

"Can't we stay a little longer?" Kaoru pleaded, looping her arms around Aoshi's neck for insurance.

"Nope," was all the stoic, blue-eyed man would say.

"Bye everyone! We'll be back later!" Kaoru called over Aoshi's shoulder.

"Be careful Kaoru-dono," Kenshin replied.

Naruku cast a worried look at Misao as Aoshi and Kaoru walked away.

To Naruku's surprise, under closer inspection, Misao did not look jealous or hurt at seeing Aoshi and Kaoru together. In fact, there was a faint smile on the young ninja's face.

Smiling herself, Naruku turned around to the disgruntled Kamiya Kasshin students. "All right everyone, you heard the woman, come back tomorrow!"

Some of them sneered at her, but most all of them headed toward the gate anyway.

"Naruku-dono," Kenshin said, nudging her. "Don't you think we should clean up so Kaoru-dono can come back to a clean home?"

"An excellent point," Naruku agreed. "You can help, too, Yahiko."

-

Kenshin was sure that Aoshi's arrival two days ago was not entirely about Misao. He knew it also could have been about seeing Kaoru, but Kenshin knew there was more to it. Aoshi was not a man of impulse, not even when driven by his own desire for something. Or someone.

So what did Aoshi know about what was going on in Tokyo? Was there anything going on?

Kenshin tried not to worry about it as he sat peacefully on the river's bank, Naruku practicing behind him. She made exuberant battle cries and lunged with precision. Kenshin whistled quietly, counting Naruku's footsteps.

Eighty-seven…

Eighty-eight…

He turned and glanced at her. Still going strong, though her breathing was harsh and sweat poured off of her face and neck as she surged forward. He turned back around, stretching his legs in front of him.

Skk-shuu. Ninety-two…

Skk-shuu.

Kenshin tapped out a rhythm on his knees, and an intrigued black dog stuck his head in front of Kenshin. Makkou had still not stopped following Naruku, even though the girl claimed she hated him. Kenshin rather enjoyed Makkou's peaceful company. Dogs were simple and straightforward. Dogs never tricked or betrayed. They got to their point quickly and bluntly. I want to be fawned over. I want to be fed. Leave me alone while I bask in the sun. I want to chew on this particular sock at this particular time. The simple candidness reminded Kenshin of Naruku.

Ninety-eight.

Ninety-nine. Skk-shuu.

One hundred!

Kenshin stood up, much to Makkou's aggravation. "That's enough Naruku-dono," he said lightly. "You can stop that exercise."

"Why?" she asked.

Kenshin glanced at her. "Because. One hundred is enough."

Naruku furrowed her eyebrows. "Kaoru makes Yahiko do thousands of drills. How am I supposed to believe I am learning the Hiten Mitsurugi, revised as it may be, when I do less work than a thirteen-year-old kid?"

Kenshin scratched his head at that. "Well, the Kamiya Kasshin has its way, and I have my way."

"Well I bet Hiko-san made you do a million lunges a day," Naruku retorted, mocking the immaturity she was presenting.

"Ano…you're strong, like Yahiko and I, but you are also a girl…" Kenshin inwardly winced.

As he expected, Naruku stomped over to him until she was two centimeters away from his face. "Look me in the eye and say that again Himura Kenshin!" she raged.

"Do you want to be doing a thousand drills a day?" Kenshin asked weakly.

"Maybe," Naruku replied, backing off a bit. She closed her eyes and raised her chin in an admonishing fashion. "You never asked me." She grinned.

Kenshin sighed. "Well, now I'm asking. How many drills do you think you should do each day?"

"A hundred," Naruku replied, her voice resolute and serious, topping it off with a strong nod.

"Oro…" Kenshin moaned. Things could go in circles for hours with Naruku.

"Now," Naruku went on, flexing her fingers. "When are you going to teach me the Ryukansen?" Her expression was almost too hopeful to crush.

Kenshin smiled and guided her forward with his hand on her back. "Not today," he replied smoothly.

Naruku pouted and turned to rid herself of his arm, but he only laughed and evaded her swipes as they headed back to the dojo.

"Misao-dono is probably done making dinner," he told her.

Naruku looked thoughtful. "You'll teach me tomorrow, then?"

"We'll see."

-

It was after dinner and Sano had just left. Naruku stood in the kitchen with Kenshin, drying the clean dishes that he passed to her. In the other room she could hear Aoshi and Kaoru talking quietly. They sounded very serious.

Naruku smiled in satisfaction as she set down the last dish. Kenshin stood silently next to her for a few more moments, his hands submerged in soapy water. It was nice, just standing and not having to talk. Their silence was comfortable, there only because neither of the two felt like talking.

"Naruku-dono," Kenshin began softly, wiping his hands off.

Naruku turned to him, but before she could reply she caught sight of Aoshi and Kaoru standing in the doorway, looking solemn.

Kaoru had her hands clasped in front of her light-blue kimono, her cerulean eyes looking downcast. "I'm afraid we have some rather, ah, upsetting news," she said lightly. "Naruku."

Aoshi moved forward slightly. "I found out from Hiroji about a week ago," he said. "Akeri-san is no longer living with her sister and husband. She was sent to a psychiatric ward in Hokkaido three and a half weeks ago."

Naruku's eyes seemed to hollow at the words he spoke. It was the last thing she had expected to hear. She hadn't had much contact with her friend and one-time enemy Akeri Hinode, and to learn that she had broken down was quite a shock. It scared Naruku, too, because she and Akeri were so much alike.

Akeri had been working for the crime-lord Nishiwaki in order to protect her little sister, Toki. Naruku had met up with Akeri when the former had been going to Kyoto to fight against Nishiwaki's forces. At the time, Naruku hadn't known of Akeri's involvement with Nishiwaki, but while the rest of the Kenshin-gumi were fighting his forces, Akeri had turned on Naruku. They fought, and due to the Ryusosen attack, Naruku had won, but she did not come out unscathed. During their fight, Akeri had managed to slash Naruku with her dagger, forming a scar that Naruku still carried around, almost six months later.

When the chaos of the fight against Nishiwaki had died down, Akeri returned to Naruku one last time as her friend once again. Akeri told the younger woman of her plans to marry Hiroji and raise her little sister Toki in the right way.

Now Naruku knew that these plans had never pulled through. It scared her that Akeri had been unable to live like she wanted to. Naruku could only guess what made Akeri so disturbed that she had to go live in a psychiatric ward. She was pretty sure it had to do with the way Akeri had lived under Nishiwaki, and how much she loathed him.

And that terrified Naruku, because she harbored the same kind of loathing for a different man. Akeri's demon was Nishiwaki, and he was dead. But Naruku's demon still existed in the living world.

Naruku didn't say anything as her mind raced over everything Akeri had ever said to her. She was confused, very confused, and afraid and sad, too.

From behind the heart-broken girl, Kenshin reached for her arm and held her lightly, his cheek resting on the top of her head in a gesture of comfort. Naruku's stance was stiff and she shook fiercely before breaking down and turning around into Kenshin's embrace. Her forehead rested on his shoulder and her hands were buried in the folds of his gi.

Kenshin patted her back and ran a hand through her dusty red hair soothingly, noticing how he heard no muffled sobs or sniffles. She wasn't crying.

"I feel really awful," she told him, her voice barely comprehensible through the cloth of his gi.

"I know," he responded. "But this is the truth, that it is. You had nothing to do with it. There was no way you could have fixed it."

Kenshin swore she let out a dry chuckle after that. "There's never anything I can do, is there? I'm powerless against everything."

"Not all things," he told her seriously. "You aren't powerless against yourself."

Naruku pulled away and stared up into his eyes, which were searching her face. For Kenshin, it wasn't hard to figure out what Naruku was thinking.

"I'm worried I will end up like her. Why is he doing this to me? Can I just hate him and be done with it?" she asked, not breaking her stare. Her voice became quieter than a whisper. "I hate the power he has over me."

"Naruku," Kenshin spoke. "You are not like Akeri. You have us, your friends."

"And Akeri had her husband and Toki. What's the difference?" she asked.

Kenshin glanced over at Kaoru and Aoshi, who were politely taking their leave.

Kenshin dipped his head down so his mouth was right next to Naruku's ear. He drew in a small breath to speak, but no words came.

Again, Naruku's face was pressed into his gi. She laughed, the sound a little lighter than it had been a few minutes ago. "It's okay to say you don't know, Kenshin. You don't have to know everything. I know you are used to having all the answers. It's all right that you don't, just this once."

"And you know what?" Naruku went on. "I think I'm going to be all right." She gave a slight smile, a natural upturn of her lips, and stepped out of his grasp, whirling down the hall to her room.

-

Kenshin knew that Naruku meant what she said. She believed she would be fine, because she always was.

But it didn't stop Kenshin from pausing by her door later in the evening, peering through the small gap where it remained open. He just had to make sure, because sometimes Naruku didn't know what was going on in her own mind.

Through the crack in the door, Kenshin quickly spotted Naruku who sat in the corner, wrapped up in her own embrace. Her face was buried behind her folded arms, but somehow Kenshin knew she was crying. He reached for the handle of the door and was about to push it open when Naruku moved. Kenshin froze, not wanting to alert her of his presence.

Inside her room, Naruku looked up and wiped her eyes, peering across the room at something Kenshin could not see at his angle. Silently, he shifted his position as Naruku walked to the other side of her room. She kneeled down, staring down at the bare wooden floor. She placed her palm over one of the floorboards and then slammed it down.

Kenshin watched on as Naruku reached down below the floorboard and extracted something that had been hidden there. His eyes widened when he realized what it was.

Naruku sat demurely, staring at a suntestu dagger, which lay perfectly balanced on her palm. Tears had stopped flowing and her expression looked as though she had stopped thinking all together. She only saw the small dagger, an opening to possibilities in her hand.

Kenshin recalled that when Akeri had announced her choice to marry and become a normal wife and sister, she had given up her only means of defense—her suntetsu. She had given it to Naruku, saying that neither of them would need it, but it represented a time in Akeri's life that she didn't want to remember. Naruku had graciously accepted this, and it looked as though she had buried away the dagger, so she could remember Akeri, her friend, and not her enemy. Until now.

Naruku clenched her fist around the dagger, her eyes remaining impassive. She reached out and unsheathed the suntetsu, her eyes following the light that reflected off of the metal surface.

Her movements almost hypnotic, Naruku slowly raised the dagger to her hand and drew a line on her palm with the tip. The movement was light, just enough to feel slight pressure but not enough to break the skin. She moved her palm to see it more clearly in the light, and there was no mark.

She set the blade on her hand again, her eyes never moving.

Kenshin inhaled joltingly and pushed the door to her room all the way open. "Naruku-dono."

The soft sound of his voice made her look up, breaking her spellbinding gaze on the dagger. She stared at Kenshin with hollow eyes and let the suntetsu slip through her fingers. It landed on the floor with a soft thump, but she gave no recognition to the sound. She continued to stare at him, her green eyes round and sad.

Kenshin didn't say anything, but looked back at her silently, wondering what she would have done had he not spoken. He did not like to think of that, so instead he focused on her face, usually so sweet and full of life.

Two teardrops fell from her eyes, and Kenshin saw confusion there, and also fear. Naruku had been wrong before. It wasn't okay that Kenshin didn't have an answer, because she was so desperately in need of one.


A/N: There it is. The mysterious, upsetting news that Naruku has to deal with. If you are still wondering about Akeri, even after I tried my best to summarize her character in the fic, go checkout Walking on Mirrors, especially the chapters11 and 12. (Resigning to Tomorrow and Fields of Innocence.)

I'm actually kind of surprised, thinking back and to now, how many people approve of Naruku. It's just the nature of a lot of people on this site to hate OCs. It makes sense though, I guess they're thinking things like, "well, what right do you have to invade the Rurouni Kenshin world with your own creations?" But, you know, whatever, I know there are plenty of open-minded people out there.

Like my lovely reviewers for instance? (You guys rock my socks and make my pants dance!)

Smiley: Thank you for reviewing and saying you like it. Of course I'll write more! I'll never stop. (heehee)

Zioncross: I'm sorry for making you waste time looking through the anime for Naruku. But I'm secretly pleased that you think she fits in with the RK cast so well…enough to think she's actually from the anime! I'm going through a bout of speedwriting or something…so you can definitely expect new chapters coming very quickly. Thanks for the heads-up on your fic, by the way!

I should be back up at my tenth and eleventh chapters some time between next week and the one after that, depending. So for all of you who are having a difficult time sending reviews, I'm sorry! Especially for myself, because I benefit a lot from your comments. And they make me happy.

Oh, and just as a general question, did anyone else get a review from some unnamed person saying nothing other than "you suck?" I actually saw this review quite a lot in other people's fics, and this girl that I beta for talked to me about it…anyone have any idea what it's about? I doubt the unnamed person read the majority of the stories they reviewed, so I guess they were just saying "you suck" for kicks. I forgot about it for a while, but I just saw a new one on someone's fic, so I'm just wondering what the deal is.

Anyway, I shouldn't talk so much about such trivial things, so I think I'm done here. Thank you for reading, and please review!