Chapter Eight
Kenshin came back to the dojo later that week and things where strange at the dojo. Yahiko didn't know if he was happy or not that Kenshin came back and Kaoru was happy as a clam besides the fact that she had to take care of him whenever she came home from work. Kenshin still hadn't answered any one's question to how he got injured besides the fact that "He got careless." Was the only thing that he would say. He also never mentioned the kiss again, the one that he had given to her on the day that he came back. 'Is he still just playing around with me?' Kaoru thought as she did the laundry and stared at the red head rurouni. She had been hinting at him that she liked him for countless times now and had even told him that she loved him, but he wouldn't say anything about it. He did kiss her, but a kiss could mean any thing. She knew that normally a kiss on the lips meant that it was more then just friendship, but she didn't know, not with the way that he acted.
"I'm going now." She told the two males later that day before she left for the other two dojos. "I want a hot bath when I get home." She said to Yahiko and just glanced at Kenshin through the corner of her eye as she now headed toward the gate. 'Marriage… would that ever happen between me and Kenshin?' She thought to herself as she could still remember the kiss that he had given her that day when he came back. 'No, most likely not.' Was her own pathetic answer which made her sigh.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Once Kaoru was out of Kenshin's sight he turned to Yahiko. "What happened while I was away?" Kenshin asked noticing how Kaoru was acting strangely towards him.
Yahiko didn't really want to be involved with the two's affair but had was already involved the day that he first moved in. "Are you going to leave again?" He asked not wanting to tell Kenshin anything that might hurt Kaoru once again if Kenshin decided to leave.
"That depends…" Kenshin said and had that strange distant look in his eyes that he always has when he is thinking about something serious.
"Then I'm not telling." Yahiko said which made Kenshin look at him since Yahiko usually always told Kenshin what was happening and always did as he asked. "Normally I'd tell you but not since you won't give me a straight answer to how you got that injury. You could at least tell Kaoru."
"Sessha already answered Kaoru-Dono." Kenshin said to the young boy. "Perhaps Megumi-Dono taking me back here was a bad idea."
"Perhaps it was Kenshin, but I'll tell you this, if you leave again I won't forgive you." Yahiko said and then started to walk away. "I'll see you later, I got chores to do before practice."
Things really have changed around here with in the short time that he was gone. He wondered if him leaving was the only thing that made Kaoru and Yahiko act strangely around him, even Sanosuke hadn't been over since he had come back which was unusually strange. He couldn't stay here he realized, which would break his trust with these people completely, not as long as that man was still alive. A man with midnight black hair and dark blue eyes stared at him mockingly in his mind. "You are a disgrace to our master." The man said which made Kenshin stare at him coldly, that evil side of him coming out.
"That's funny, you where the one who had left our dojo before your training was finished." Kenshin said coldly to the man, his eyes flashing dangerously between gold to purple.
"You have abandoned your samurai ways and have become a mere rurouni, Himura, Kenshin." The man said and with drew his sword. A long blade with jagged edges and the blade at the end was broken off. His dark cloths matched the rest of him, and the only thing that was really noticeable besides the blade was his face, barely visible underneath that black cloak.
"What do you want Setsuna?" Kenshin asked as he tried to keep his calm rurouni side in tact.
"For you to suffer, Himura-San. Everything and everyone you care about to suffer painfully in front of your eyes, especially that damn woman that you've been living with for over the past year and that kid of yours." Setsuna started to say. "For you to loose everything and anything that you possibly own. Your famous name in history, you being a legend, your sanity, and eventually your life."
"That will not happen, Setsuna-San." Kenshin said calmly and could feel a crown start to surround the two of them. "This is neither the place or time to discuss it, Setsuna-San." Kenshin said as his eyes still flickered between colors dangerously.
"Oh but this is the perfect place to discuss it." Setsuna said as he with drew his sword. "If you do not fight me I will kill all of these innocent people."
"I know your style already Setsuna! This is pointless!" Kenshin said whishing that the people near by would move away, since Setsuna was a dangerous man from his past. Before Kenshin could react he felt Setsuna's blade painfully dive through his side, being lucky to miss any of his major organs. He then felt it slowly being pulled out and then Setsuna licked the blade before sheathing the weapon once more.
"Thanks for the drink, Himura-San. I will keep my promise however, those people will suffer for what you have done to me." Setsuna said as he now jumped over the crowd of people, using one of them as a footstool and then disappeared in to the crowd somewhere behind the screams of people as Kenshin now felt himself falling over and then hit the ground.
After that he was in someone's doctor's office with some strange male doctor and Megumi talking to one another and he could hear Megumi-Dono saying something about letting her take him back to Tokyo and this is where he was now. Sestuna was after these people, his friends and Kenshin wouldn't let Sestuna do as he pleased any longer. He stood up while Yahiko was busy doing his chores on the other side of the dojo and then started heading out. Once he got to the gate, Sanosuke and Megumi where there to stop him.
"Leaving so soon?" Sanosuke asked and then punched the rurouni in the face. Kenshin spun around clumsily and then fell to the ground. "ORO?"
"That was uncalled for you baka!" Megumi said to Sanosuke who blinked at her and expected to get slapped but wasn't. "However you do have the right idea in this case." Megumi said ignoring the strange look that she got from Sanosuke since she was actually agreeing with him for once. "You aren't even healed completely yet." Megumi said bending over and touched Kenshin's wound. "Is this any way that you want to thank me for saving your life?"
Sanosuke instantly picked up Kenshin and started dragging him back to the main housing part of the dojo. "Stop struggling you baka!" Sanosuke growled as Kenshin tried to escape Sanosuke's grasp. Sano knew that if it wasn't for Kenshin's injury, he would have been able to get away a little too easily.
"Why is it that you want to leave so badly?" Megumi said as Sanosuke put Kenshin down.
Kenshin didn't reply but got a surprised slap from Kaoru who had suddenly appeared from no where. "BAKA! You want to leave again? Why did you ask if you could come back home? Why do you want to get yourself injured again?"
"ORO!" Kenshin said. "When did you get back Jo-Chan?" Sanosuke asked Kaoru.
"Just now." Kaoru said angrily. "I came back from work early to make sure that you're alright and here you are wanting to leave again!"
"Kaoru-Dono…"
"Damn you!" Kaoru said and was ready to attack Kenshin again but Sano grabbed her behind the arms and held her back. "Damn it baka! Let me go!"
"Calm down Jo-Chan, he should give us a reason first." Sano said trying to calm the younger female down. Silence filled between the four grown ups as they waited for Kenshin to answer why it was so important for him to leave.
"I am a rurouni, a wandering samurai." Was all that Kenshin answered. Sano released Kaoru who slapped Kenshin again.
"It's time for us to leave, Megumi-San, I'll get Yahiko." Sano said and Megumi nodded in agreement knowing that the two needed their time alone. Sano could barely see sad eyes underneath Kenshin's long red bangs as he headed off in to the direction to where Yahiko was. Once Megumi had walked out of the dojo entrance and then Sanosuke followed her, carrying a struggling Yahiko on his back, the dojo doors where shut and Kenshin and Kaoru where left alone.
"You said that you wanted to come home, Kenshin." Kaoru said, with tears now streaming down her eyes. "Why, why did you say that if you just want to leave me again?"
"Kaoru-Dono I can't…"
"Stay I know, but at least give me a reason why. Especially after you kissed me I deserve a reason why. When a man kisses a woman on the lips like that it isn't just out of friendship Kenshin."
Kenshin got up and whipped Kaoru's tears away with his hand. "There's someone from my past who wants to hurt you, Kaoru-Dono…" Kenshin said trying to think of how to explain this to the younger woman who was now in his arms.
"How many times have I heard that line since I first met you Kenshin?" Kaoru asked in between sobs. "How many? I've lost track one too many times. There is always someone from your past who wants to hurt you Kenshin."
"He won't stop until everyone I cares about is dead, and he knows about you, Yahiko, and most likely Megumi-Dono, and Sano."
"You think of me only as a child don't you, Kenshin?" Kaoru asked sadly. "There's someone else that you like… as… a… woman isn't there?" Kaoru managed to say. "Someone older, closer to your age."
There was one woman in his past to who he had once loved when she lived, but she was gone now. "In the past yes, but she's been gone for a long time now, Kaoru-Dono."
Kenshin did have a woman that would explain to why he wouldn't want to be with her. Kaoru wanted to do something besides being held by Kenshin, she was already crying and she couldn't stop herself from crying. "That's why you don't…" Kaoru started to say but was silenced by the rurouni's lips.
"I don't want to be with you, because I don't want to hurt you if I leave." Kenshin said after the kiss which left Kaoru almost breathless.
"It's too late for that, Kenshin." She said sighing. "I…" She suddenly said but was silenced.
"This is as far that we should take it."
Kaoru was blushing brightly now, most likely as bright as Kenshin's hair. "I… I…" Her heart was beating fast being this close to him. 'Too close…' She thought but she wanted to be closer. "Could we…"
"Oro?" Kenshin asked oblivious to what Kaoru-Dono was getting at.
"We are alone Kenshin." Kaoru said almost in a whisper. "Let… let me be with you…"
"Kaoru-Dono…." Kenshin said not knowing how to respond as much as he wanted to do that, he knew that he shouldn't. That would make her his and that would put her in even more danger then she was already in.
"Just kidding!" Kaoru said as she broke free of the hug and turned around and tried to get her flushing face to calm down as well as her heart. "I'm just joking! Don't take everything I say so seriously." The truth was, was that she wasn't joking and that she wanted to be close to Kenshin, as close as he would let her be. He was a man of many secrets, his past, even his present was a big secret to her. She just wanted to be one of his secrets, even if he had a woman in his life before her, she wanted him to be her first. "I just wanted to see what you would act like if I said something strange like that." It hurt to say those words, but if he didn't want to, she wouldn't' force him.
"Kaoru-Dono…" Was all that Kenshin could reply. He was the man and should have been asking her that but instead it was the other way around. "I'll leave in the morning again. You are all in danger by me staying here."
'Doesn't he understand that we're already in danger because he knows about us?' Kaoru thought feeling rather depressed and embarrassed at the same time. 'As long as you are close to us in any way that man will want to hurt us. I.. I just want to be close to you and protect you.' Kenshin's past, why couldn't Kenshin's past just let them be? She wanted to be with him, every time he faced danger, she felt pain for him, and just wanted to take away all of his burdens, but he refused her every time with out realizing what she really meant. "Forget what I said about me wanting to be with you, it was some lame joke that Megumi-San said that I should play on you." Kaoru said as she managed to hold back the tears that wanted to come. Her eyes widened as she now felt Kenshin's arms around her once again.
"Sorry Kaoru-Dono…" Kenshin whispered in his ear. "But that is not one request that this one can forget." He lead her in to the bedroom gently which surprised Kaoru since he was still injured and was willingly to do this. "Sorry for this one's selfish actions."
"Ken…shin…" Was all that Kaoru managed to say before he pinned her down and kissed her. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Do do do do do. :evily grins: I do not write long lemons so you can get that out of your head you hentai bakas:pulls out giant mallet and baps you all with it that are hentai.: