Author's Note: I know, I know. It seems like it's been twice as long as last time since I updated. Well, that would be due to my slow e-mail. My beta readers edit it and then send the chapter back to me, but a lot of the time it doesn't come through! It's really very frustrating, Anyway…now that I've been able to vent all of my suppressed anger, I'd like to thank all of my gracious and faithful reviewers! You guys are too good to me! So Thank you! And once again great thanks must go to my two beta readers! I probably wouldn't have been able to continue this story if not for them! So thank you! I love you all! Well, I hope you all like chapter six (I can't believe I'm that far already)!

Disclaimer: I, in no way, shape, or form, own any of Rurouni Kenshin or its characters (tears). They rightfully and respectfully belong to Mr. Nobuhiro Watsuki.

Now, on with chapter six! I hope you enjoy!

Change of Heart

"Wh-Who…are…you?" Sano choked out.

"That doesn't really matter much now. But, if you'll come with me, I'll try to explain things," She said, walking over to Sano to make sure she hadn't done him too much damage.

"Like hell it doesn't!" He coughed as he shoved her away and struggled to stand on his own.

"Fine! Well, I guess if you really don't need my help in finding you friend, I'll just be on my way," she snuffed, turning heel to walk back towards the road.

"W-whoa! What do you mean?" Sano stuttered, now standing on his own. "Do you mean Kaoru? Do you know where she is! Is she safe!"

"You'll know soon enough, but only if you follow me," she warned.

"Conniving little wench…" Sano grumbled under his breath and began to follow her out of the trees when something tugged on his gi. It was Yahiko.

"Are you sure we can trust her? She seems fishy to me," Yahiko whispered, eyeing the young woman ahead of them suspiciously.

"Well, if she really does know something about Kaoru, then what else are we supposed to do? She's our only lead."

"Something still seems up with her, and I don't like it," he said crossing his scrawny arms over his chest.

"I didn't ask you, did I?" Sano said, picking up his forgotten bag of supplies and following the woman out to the road.

"Fine, don't listen to me. Just don't come crying when she sticks a fork in your back," he grumbled and trailed after Sano.

With her leading them, Sano and Yahiko found themselves in a small, remote village. The woman had told them they were almost 25 kilometers east of Kyoto's outskirts. She had said this was Shan village, home to the Shui people for over 400 years.

She walked them up to a small shack, which Sano rightly assumed to be a local restaurant by the faint smell of takoyaki. A small sign posted on the outside of the shack read 'closed'. The emerald-eye woman ignored it and reached forward to draw back the tattered curtain which covered the doorway with one hand and pushed Sano inside with the other. She then motioned Yahiko inside and, after quickly checking to be sure no one saw them enter, she followed him.

Upon entering the woman breathed in the familiar scent of takoyaki mixed with the stuffy smoke being circulated through the shack. A middle-aged woman coming out from the back kitchen caught sight of her and called, "Mis-"

The one leading Sano and Yahiko immediately held one slender finger to her lips to and used her other finger to point to the boys.

As though reading her mind the older woman nodded and retreated back to the kitchen.

She continued to lead the two boys to a small, isolated booth in one particularly dim corner of the restaurant. She waved her hand to it, signaling them to sit there. Once she'd removed her shoes and set them down she knelt down opposite Sano and Yahiko.

"Okay," she began, "first off, when you're here you must promise to be quiet and not say a word of what I say to anyone else. Got it?"

They nodded.

"Good. Secondly, once you know what I'm about to tell you, you cannot leave, you will know too much. So if you still want to hear what I know, then stay. If not, I suggest you leave now."

"If it's anything about who we're looking for, then we're staying," Sano replied, never once breaking eye contact.

"Alright, just had to make sure about that. Now, while we're here, keep your voices down or shut the hell up."

Sano nodded. "We got it. Right, Yahiko?"

"Hey, I'm not the one you need to worry about," Yahiko retorted.

"Okay. Now, before you start," Sano turned his gaze toward the woman. "Tell us your name. If I'm supposed to trust what you say, I should at least know your name."

"Well…" She can't say she hadn't expected this. After all, she ambushed them…well, not exactly, but she had been spying on them. They deserved to know who she was, yet, from what she'd always learned, a person's name was the most important, the most delicate information someone could posses.

"Alright. My name's Misao, and that's all you need to know about me for now."

"Thanks. Well, since you already seem to know us, start talking," he urged.

"Your friend is Kamiya Kaoru, right?" Misao verified.

"Yeah."

"I can tell you where to find her. I can even take you there, but once you're there you won't be able to leave. You have to be sure you want to know this," she warned.

"We want to know this, no matter what. Besides we wouldn't leave without her with us anyway. Now, just tell us where she is," Sano demanded.

"Alright…Kamiy- Kaoru is being held at an isolated inn just beyond the outskirts of Kyoto. It's almost fifteen kilometers from where we are now. Getting there on foot might take a day, if we rush, maybe quicker." Misao said. "I can't give away much more information than that. You already know too much as it is. Anything else I might tell you is classified. I can reassure you, though, that Kaoru is safe, at least, for the present."

"Please…Misao, please can't you tell us anything else? I'm not one to beg, but…we're desperate. Kaoru's like a little sister to me, she's family. Don't you know what it's like to lose someone you love? We just can't bear to think of losing Kaoru, or to think she could be in any kind of danger. She's been through more than you could imagine. She doesn't deserve this," Sano pleaded.

Misao wasn't sure, but she could almost detect…tears welling up in this strong man's dark eyes. She glanced over at the smaller boy. His eyes were shielded by his jagged, spiky black bangs, but she knew it wasn't a trick of the light when his shoulder began to harshly quiver. She knew he was crying, but was trying unsuccessfully to hide it. He was a strong boy, but even a strong boy could use a lift every once in a while.

"Oh, Kami…I know I'm going to regret this," Misao said to herself, stress evident in her voice, stress that someone her age should never have to deal with. "Okay, I'm not supposed to know this, even some of the higher-ups don't know this. I know why she was kidnapped, and as stupid as it may sound it makes sense under the circumstances."

"Who cares how stupid it sounds. Just tell us what you know."

No matter how hard she scrubbed, no matter how many times she rinsed, the blood just wouldn't come off the walls.

Kaoru had been able to sleep for an hour, no more and no less. When she had woken up she had immediately gone to the front room to find that the previous night had not been a nightmare, no matter how much she wished it had been. There were no more injured men sprawled across the floor and Tsukaname had- well, he had been taken away. However, the tangible remains of last night were still clearly evident. Muddy-brown blood mixed with water still stained the floor. Gore had been wiped on the doorpost from when the men first came in last night. Now that Kaoru was able to actually take in the sight, it made her stomach turn and she felt the need to vomit, but couldn't. It was sickening, utterly sickening. Never in her life could she remember seeing so much blood at once. Or maybe she had just blocked out those times when she had.

With help from a few other woman who had not been able to find sleep, or found very little if they had, Kaoru began to scrub away the blood on the floors. They worked for what seemed like hours in vain. About halfway through, Megumi had come to join in the cleaning effort. Through their combined work, it seemed they began to make progress, little though it was.

Dawn quickly came and went Kaoru had been offered food that morning, but she refused.

She couldn't have downed anything anyway. She just kept working, working so hard to clean the stains from both her floor and her hands.

The harder that Kaoru thought about the night before and what she could have done, the harder she scrubbed at the stain on the wooden floor panels. She blocked out all other activity around her and kept her gaze locked on her working hands. She felt isolated, no, detached, as if what was going on around her didn't matter right now. Though she didn't notice, she began to attract attention from the women around her as she scrubbed even harder. Her mind was racing, her heart was beating faster than she could feel, and her hands were working just quickly. She didn't even hear one of the women cautiously approach her and kneel down until she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. The hand belonged to Megumi.

"Kaoru…"

"Megumi! You scared me. Do you need help with something?" Kaoru said, placing a hand on her chest to calm her rapid heartbeat.

"No. Kaoru, I want you to take a break and come with me." The way she said it left no room for options.

Megumi picked herself up, knowing Kaoru would follow. And so Kaoru dropped the soaking towels into a bucket of luke-warm water and trailed after Megumi.

Megumi took Kaoru outside to a small flower grove on the edge of a still pond. She sat down on a bench under a blooming sakura tree and waved her hand for Kaoru to sit next to her.

When Kaoru had taken her seat, Megumi said, "You know,you worry me."

"What? What do you mean 'I worry you'?" Kaoru asked, legitimately confused.

"Just back there, you worried me. It's like you weren't even with us anymore. You couldn't hear me, or if you did you weren't listening. You remind me of someone else, that is before we lost him," Megumi replied.

"Well, it wasn't anything to worry about. I was just thinking to myself."

"For you sake, I hope it wasn't anything," Megumi said. "Kaoru, you've never been right there when someone's died before. You've never felt what it's like to not be able to save someone; to have them die because you weren't quick or efficient enough. I'm a doctor; I see it all the time. So I know how to handle things like last night, or at least better than some. You…you've never had that happen to you before. And now, for it suddenly to be thrown at you, it's not fair, and no doubt it's hard. You didn't even ask for it. Yet, here you are."

"I don't think I see where you're going with this."

"Oh, come on. You're a smart girl, you can figure it out," Megumi said, turning to face Kaoru- to make her understand. "What I'm saying is that you just can't keep doing this to yourself. You can't punish yourself for something you couldn't stop!"

"But- Megumi, I know I could have done something… I just know," Kaoru whimpered, feeling more helpless than she'd ever felt before.

"If you keep blaming yourself, it will start going to your head, and you'll go somewhere that few people ever come out from. I don't want you to work anymore today. You need to eat, and you need to rest," she said.

"But, I haven't finished in there- "

"Oh well, the rest of us will just have to finish it. I'm a doctor and it's my job to help my patients. As of today you've become a patient," she said, wiping her hands on her apron. "Now, if you can find Satsumi she'll give you something to eat."

Megumi stood and, after giving Kaoru one last empathetic look, walked back toward the inn to finish cleaning.

Kaoru didn't bother finding Satsumi for food. She just sat there on the bench by the water, pondering what Megumi had said. She felt like such a child, so weak and helpless. First, she couldn't save a man, then she just wallowed in self-pity. She hated this feeling. She wanted to be strong, she wanted to be able to save the next man who came to her for help.

After sitting there for what seemed like hours but was probably only minutes, Kaoru lifted herself up and started walking away from the direction the inn was in.

She wasn't even noticing where her feet were leading her. When she finally did stop, she found herself in the same clearing where she'd trained with Battousai nearly every day. Kaoru shuffled over to the nearest tree, another blooming sakura. She moved to the shadowed side and slid her back noiselessly down the semi-smooth trunk. She just sat there nearly unmoving, save for her light breaths. Some who passed might have thought she'd fallen asleep. However, sleep, right now, was probably the furthest thing from Kaoru's mind.

She just needed to think, no more than that; she just needed to think. Think of last night and the thoughts it had stirred up. She couldn't, or wouldn't, hear the weightless footsteps of someone coming close.

"You know, you should learn to get used to nights like the last. You'll probably see a lot more of them."

"Battousai," Kaoru breathed. She needn't even turn her head to know it was him.

As noiselessly as Kaoru had, Battousai slid down the trunk of the same sakura tree on the opposite side, the side facing the sun. "If you let it get to you every time a man is killed you won't last. You'll rot from the inside out."

"If I let what get to me?"

"The blood," he answered simply.

"It isn't the blood that hurts, it's the life lost." Kaoru shifted herself ever so slightly in order to see the edges of his flame-colored hair out of her peripheral sight.

"The more life lost, the more blood that stains your hands. And so it's the blood that hurts."

"Why are you trying to help me? Or at least that's what I assume you're doing," Kaoru suddenly asked, changing the topic. She turned her gaze straight ahead again.

"I'm not trying to help you, wench!" He spat.

"Why do you always call me that, or some other sort of insult? I have a name you know! And I'd appreciate it if you would call me by it!" Kaoru hissed vehemently, with enough venom in her words to match his.

Time almost seemed to stand still then as they both tensed from the awkward silence.

"You never asked to be called by your real name, and so I didn't," Battousai simply stated.

"Well, start calling me by my real name. Start calling me Kaoru."

"Kaoru."

She hesitated before saying anything. She had honestly expected him to retort or even slap her for standing up to him, but he just said her name: Simply Kaoru. "T-thank you," she stumbled. She wasn't sure about his reaction to what she would say next, but she dared it anyway. "U-umm…You know my name, now…so…tell me, what's yours? And I don't mean 'Battousai'. All of Japan knows that. I asked you once before and you never answered. So, what's your real name; your given name?"

He was actually taken aback. He can't say he hadn't expected it, but it still took him by surprise. No one, or very a few someones, had ever asked him his name, his real name. Most were even afraid to look him in the eye, let alone ask him such a private question. Or at least for him it was a private question. Yet, he felt compelled to tell her, and he had no idea why. "K-Kenshin."

Kaoru wondered when the last time was he had heard that name spoken? It was probably foreign, even to his tongue.

"Kenshin." Kaoru whispered softly.

And, for the first time in what seemed like years to her, she smiled. She whole-heartedly and genuinely smiled.

"Sir?"

"Hm?"

"A spy's just returned. He says that he has some information that you might find…in-interesting," A young boy, probably no more than fifteen said, trying hard not to stumble on his words.

A low, raspy chuckle echoed across the room to where the boy stood. "Heh-are you afraid, boy?"

"N-no, s-sir."

"Oh, don't lie," the voice coaxed. "I would be afraid, too, if I were in your position."

"S-sir?"

"Never mind, just let in the informant," he commanded.

The lad couldn't even find words to reply. He made a shaky bow and exited the room. Moments later, a much older man stalked haughtily into the office, bearing with him a thick stack of smoke-stained paper in a plain manila folder. He carelessly tossed the folder onto the empty mahogany desk. The papers slid partially out.

The man sitting behind the desk picked up the top page and quickly skimmed it over. He began to chuckle once again. The more he read the deeper the chuckle grew.

"I think…we might be able to bend this to our will."

To be continued…

Author's Note: Hallelujah! Chapter six is done! I've been working on this one for quite awhile and it still didn't come out as well as I had wanted it! I knew what I wanted to do, but I had trouble putting some of it into words. Anyway…I would once again like to thank my dedicated and wonderful beta readers, ShirubaNeko and Onyx Dawn! I can never thank them enough! Without them I know for certain you wouldn't be able to understand a thing in my stories. I also must give a huge thanks to my readers and especially those of you who review! I can't tell you how much that means to me and how much I appreciate it! Anyway…I hope you liked chapter six (even if it was kind of flat) And remember to Read and Review! -

Review Responses:

Bradybunch4529: As always your review made me feel so loved! I'm so glad you liked the chapter, and there shall be more twists to come! Thank you! -

Xxbeast-boyxX: Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I don't know how many times I can say that! But, I really mean it! You said I'm a good writer and that made me feel very loved! Hope you liked this chapter! Buh-Bye! -

erica6060: I'm glad you like! And if you continue reading you'll definitely find out what it is that Kaoru holds! However, I warn you, it probably won't be what a lot of people expect! Then again I could be completely wrong-heh. ( I hope I didn't give to much away there) Anyway, I hope your stories are coming along nicely! They sound like great plots! Anyway hope ya liked this chapter! -

Onyx Dawn: Thank you! I love you! (like a sister of course) I'm sorry I had to kill him! I honestly didn't want to either, but I was trying to put a little angst in there, I don't know if I succeeded. Well, chapter six is finally here! So, please don't kill me! You are probably one, if not my most faithful reviewer! So thank you so sososo much! LYLAS! Buh-Bye! -

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Please Read: Okay for any of you out there who like CCS or Harry Potter I highly suggest you go read some of Onyx Dawn's stuff! She's a totally awesome writer! Her works amaze me! For any of you who had be reading Guilty As the Arctic Winds don't worry it's not gone for good. She's just taken it down so she can rewrite it and make it better. She has other stuff up though and it's really really really good! I should know! I've read most of it. She's really good! She just doesn't get as much credit as she deserves! So please read! Thank you! -

Author's Note: Thank you all for reading, I hope you liked chapter six! Please Review! Thank you so much! Buh-Bye! -