D/C: I don't own RK. Wish I did though!
A/N: WOW! Honestly people I'm very grateful for all those nice reviews; they're way better than I ever expected. Thank you very much, each and every one of you. I'll thank you one by one at the end of this chappie. I love you all.
IMPORTANT: Now, from this chapter and on, Kaoru and Kenshin might be a bit OOC, but that's what YOU would react and act if you were in a mess like they are. I know some of you are waiting for some action, so please be patient; there is some serious action later in the story.
So, without further ado, enjoy...
Chapter 2/ Mending An Angel's Broken Wings:
"Do you...know me?" Kenshin asked again, feeling a certain unreasonable attachment towards her.
Kaoru moved her jaw helplessly, clueless amidst the pain and confusion so as to what to say. She looked down wearily at herself and saw long, slim legs come out of her dress, legs that she was certain were hers. A sudden wave of pain took her off guard and she nearly screamed.
"Miss, I'll have to take you to the hospital," he said urgently.
For a moment the idea of proper medical attention was soothing, but then she looked down again at herself and moaned. There was only one explanation to those legs, her wish came true, some how.
"C'mon, hold onto me, I'll take you there," he told her, and then lifted her up.
She wrapped her arms loosely around his neck.
"No, please don't," she begged him.
"What?" Kenshin asked, nearly dropping her with surprise. "Why not?"
Kaoru forced herself to ignore the pain and think of a good reason. She couldn't possibly say: 'Because I'm actually an 11 years old. Didn't you recognize me? I'm Kaoru. What do you think of my new look, anyway?'
"Because..." her head throbbed hard. "I have a phobia to hospitals."
Kenshin considered this for a moment. "Are you sure?" he asked.
She nodded slowly. "You can put me down," she said. "I think I can walk."
Obediently, Kenshin set her gently onto her feet. She staggered and nearly fell but he caught her again.
"It's alright, I'm fine," she said before he could say anything.
He made a sound that seemed like a quiet giggle. "Of course, I can see that clearly," he said as he leaned her back against the wall and supported her by the shoulder.
She tried to smile at him but another wave of pain attacked and she let another muffled scream.
"Listen," he said softly, struggling to keep her straight. "I'm going to take you home with me; I can't leave you like that."
"Wha-" Kaoru started but he placed his fingers gently on her lips and she stopped obediently.
"I swear I won't hurt you, I'll only look after you, and you'll be free to leave once you get better," he told her.
She turned it over in her busy head for a moment. What other options did she have?
She nodded slowly.
Kenshin smiled as he took off his jacket and wrapped it around her skinny shoulders, then gracefully lifted her into his arms and walked all the way back to his car, avoiding going through the fair. All the while she grabbed the front of his shirt gently with one hand as he told her to hang on and that they were close to the car. She felt safe and warm. The buzz and neon lights from the fair seemed like a shadow from a different world. She could hear and see them but they didn't seem to be real. She enjoyed being so warmly close to him, hearing his heart beat and his ragged breath, hidden underneath his jacket and bumping gently in his arms as he ran. She realized bitterly that this was nothing but a temporary shelter and that he wouldn't carry her for long, but she just pushed all thoughts from her mind and forced herself to enjoy this care for a bit.
"Just hang on there, I can see the car." he told her, panting slightly.
She tightened her grip on his shirt. She doubted she had any serious injuries but she was still in a lot of pain and wasn't capable of tending to herself.
Kenshin nearly lost balance and dropped her as he shifted her weight on one arm while he fumbled to get the car key out of his pocket with the other and open the car door of the back seat. Then he gently laid her on the back seat and shut the door carefully before he got into the driver seat and revved the engine. He felt glad that they hadn't met anybody on their way; he knew how they might've been misunderstood. He drove as fast as he could, as long as he could manage it smoothly, trying hard not to swerve or stop too harsh for her and constantly checking on her in the rear view mirror. She was watching the outside world whirl through droopy eyes. He thought she might pass out again any second. Several times he thought of just dropping her at the hospital without letting her know, they could give her much better medical treatment there, but then again he was convinced that if she's phobic then it'd probably do her more harm than good. However, he decided that if things got out of his hands he'd have to hospitalize her no matter what. Finally he arrived at his building garage and parked the car.
"Is this it?" she asked feebly as he lifted her again towards the elevator.
"Yes, this is the building where I live," he said, smiling, as he struggled to press the buttons of the elevator.
Kenshin was never so happy to see the door to his apartment, although he was often very pleased when he did. He fumbled with the keys again and zoomed in with Kaoru still in his arms then laid her on the sofa carefully in the dark. She heard him lock the door and then disappear into a room after switching the living room's lights on.
So, this is where the Kenshin lives? This is where all the girls in school would die to be!
Kaoru scolded herself for those thoughts. It isn't right! The guy was kind enough to care for you, something no one else did in a long time. You should appreciate this instead of acting like a bitch.
A very tired and beaten up bitch, she corrected herself and placed his jacket neatly next to her.
Kenshin reappeared. He knelt in front of her and set a first aid box on the coffee table close to him.
"This might hurt a bit, but trust me, it's good for you," he told her as he poured some disinfectant onto a piece of cloth and grabbed her elbow. Kaoru saw her new arms for the first time properly. They were slim and fair. They were beautiful and perfect, except for the horrible cut in her elbow. It seemed as if it had been rubbed powerfully against brick wall.
She squinted her eyes as the memory flashed lividly in front of her. Those girls dragged her on the floor while she screamed and kicked helplessly.
"Miss, are you okay?" Kenshin asked worriedly, snapping the memory away.
Kaoru opened her eyes to look at him. She suddenly felt mildly surprised that he was actually there and that this wasn't all a mere fantasy that she fabricated in her head while being beaten up to ignore the pain.
She nodded even though she wasn't: he seemed truly worried.
Kenshin looked back at his work hesitantly and rubbed the cloth gently against her elbow. At first, it burned and seared, but after the pain she went through tonight it was barely tickling. Next, Kenshin attended to other wounds. She was bleeding from a cut on the left side of her forehead. The right side of her lips was bloody. She had scratches and injuries all over her body, as if she had been stampeded. Kenshin attended to them carefully one by one. However, he was clueless towards the bruises and didn't dare look at what could be hidden underneath the dress. He was relieved to see that no bones were broken. He finally finished attending to her last wound; a gruesome cut on her left knee. He wiped the sweat off his forehead in pride. He did a pretty good job.
He looked up at her and froze; he blue eyes were looking straight into his. Then, her eyes suddenly went out of focus and she shut them tight and shook her head as if to throw the dizziness out.
"Would you like a hot bath?" he offered genuinely.
Hot baths had an extremely soothing effect. It'd probably help her relax and speed up her obviously slow heart beats. One would do her a lot of good.
She gazed at him weakly.
"I'll prepare one for you," he told her gently.
She nodded, smiling weakly. "Thanks," she whispered.
He beamed at her and went to the bathroom to prepare the tub.
Kaoru felt as if she was throbbing into and out of consciousness. She watched Kenshin while he was attending to her wounds, her blurred version causing his red hair to move and flicker like camp fire. When he suddenly looked up at her, their eyes met, she briefly enjoyed looking into his lavender eyes and took the chance to hurriedly search through them, but soon, her vision blurred worse than ever and she thought for a second that she was passing out. Despite the chaotic situation she was in, being near Kenshin brought an odd sense of security.
"It's ready," he said from behind her.
She tried to turn to look at him, but his arms were wrapped tightly around her and he lifted her up, before she could.
"Don't worry about any thing," he told her sincerely. "I'm here to take good care of you, I promise."
She nodded slowly and rested her head against his chest.
He carried her into the bathroom and the scent of the bath foam greeted her. He set her down very slowly on the shut toilet seat and knelt in front of her.
"Can you carry on from here?" he asked, trying to sound jokingly, but she could feel his nervousness despite her haziness.
"Yes," she said quietly, grinning shyly.
"Good," Kenshin said, relieved.
He got up and walked towards the door. "I'll leave the door slightly open so that you can call me if you need any thing," he told her. "I'll try and get you some fresh clothes mean while."
She nodded slowly and he left, leaving the door slightly ajar.
It seemed to take ages for her to free her self from her clothes. She was surprised to see that her Mom's dress now fitted her perfectly. She felt a touch of pride as she unbuttoned it, then...
Yelp!
To her surprise and for the first time tonight, Kaoru looked down at her 'new' body. She had a woman's body. A fully 'equipped' woman's body! She felt her face burn although she was sure neither Kenshin nor any body else was looking. As hurriedly as she could, she immersed her body into the hot foam that Kenshin had prepared for her; she wanted to hide this body quickly. A moan escaped her lips. The water worked her magic on her so quickly it was slightly painful at first, and then her pains seemed to be slipping away. She felt her body loosen like butter melting on a hot pan. The warmth rushed into her insides, the sweet aroma smoothly filling her up. She felt a tear rush down her cheek; a tear of relief. Then, every thing rushed back into her head, how did she get her self into this mess? More tears formed and spilled as panic rose in her chest, what happened to her?
"Miss? Are you okay?" Kenshin called behind the door.
She sniffed and wiped a tear, feeling slightly more awake and a bit more strength. "Yeah?" she replied, her voice choked with tears.
"I've found you some clothes for now," he informed her, stretching a hand carrying clothes from the door without looking.
"Thanks, I'll be out any second," she told him and he retreated silently after placing the clothes on the floor.
Slowly, she got out and washed herself with water then dried her body with a towel and took the clothes. Kenshin had left her a large pale grey sweater with 'New York' written on it in bold blue, a pair of black basket ball shorts, a pair of white socks and to her shock, a boxer still in its pack. She flushed terribly. He also left her a fresh toothbrush still in its pack. Quietly and gratefully, she put the clothes on. However, the shorts were too big for her tiny waist and it slipped off no matter how she tried to make them stay up. She finally gave up on it and was consoled by the fact that the sweater was so big that it was barely a few inches above her knees. She only realized how cold the floor was when she slipped the socks on, they were big for her feet but very soft and cozy. She brushed her teeth and put her own clothes away before she finally came out of the bathroom. She found Kenshin leaning against the wall waiting for her in the dark. He beamed when he saw her come out looking better than when he carried her in.
"Thank you," she said shyly, looking at the floor. She was still in pain and was still clouded, but greatly less than before. She felt the chill of the cold air and shivered then hugged her self.
"No problem," he said, grinning even wider.
Suddenly, Kaoru felt everything rush in, from the sudden death of her beloved Mom and the sudden 'metamorphosis' of her Dad, to being the lonely, nerdy kid and this mess. She stared hard at her feet as tears welled in her eyes.
A fallen angel...
Kenshin's smile was wiped off his face when he saw tears shimmer at the lower rim of her beautiful eyes. He froze; taken over by the sweetness and bitterness of the sight. She continued to stare hard at her feet, fighting to hold back her tears uselessly; the emotions were suddenly intense.
Kenshin hesitated, he didn't know what urged him to do it, but he felt it was more for him self than for her. Without any warning, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her towards him tightly. He expected her to resist or let a sound of surprise but she didn't. Instead, she let herself lean against him as if melting and her sobbing became louder. She felt oddly safe in his arms and let lose of all the emotions that she had been bottling since ages. She allowed herself to cry her heart out for the first time ever without a clear reason. She let her knees give way and he slowly slid down, still holding her. She wrapped her arms lightly around his waist as she buried her head into his chest. He stroked her hair gently in comprehension; it was a natural reaction to get emotional when you are exposed to cold air after a hot bath, although hers was rather extreme. She grabbed onto his shirt as she cried and sobbed aloud. Kenshin never complained or shifted, he just continued to stroke her hair gently till her sobs became less often and softer.
"Miss?" he whispered when she hadn't sobbed for a considerably long period.
She didn't reply. He grinned; she fell asleep in his arms. He felt like just continuing to sit there on the cold, hard floor, to just continue to hold her fragile body, protecting her from any possible harm, but he sadly knew that he couldn't.
There's something about this girl...some thing like her, like Tomoe, but yet so different, I want to protect her, I need to protect her...
He shook his head. What was wrong with him? What was is about her that made him like that?
He then, as gently as possibly, lifted her up and walked slowly to his bedroom. She shifted in his arms and sniffed like a baby and he smiled. She special, he was sure of it.
Carefully he laid her on the bed and placed the covers lightly on her. He turned to leave but she suddenly grabbed his hand weakly.
"Please, don't leave me," she pleaded sleepily. "I need you."
The words took Kenshin by surprise so badly that he thought his knees might give way and felt his heart skip a beat. Why did she say that? Three words that mysteriously described him so well. He gazed down at her, at loss of words. He knew that she wasn't fully conscious and was almost hallucinating with exhaustion.
A fallen angel...
"I won't," he assured her, squeezing her hand. "I'll be right outside."
She frowned slightly.
"I can't be so close to you right now," he told her. "If I did I might do something wrong that I'll regret for the rest of my life."
His words came from a place he never knew existed in his head. He said them sincerely, only realizing what they meant as he heard them.
Kaoru nodded slowly and her hand descended next to her head. She closed her eyes and immediately fell asleep. He found him self kneeling on the floor.
"I'll be outside on the couch if you need me," he whispered in her ear, although he was sure she was already fast asleep and couldn't hear him.
He gazed at her pretty face up close, subconsciously inching closer till he could feel her soft, sweet breath on his lips. For a second he thought of leaning a bit more and kissing her plump lips, but he quickly scolded him self mentally and hurried out of the room.
His cold hand felt unexplainably very warm where she was touching it a few seconds ago.
He paused at the door, considered it and nodded in approval of the idea. He turned the door lock from the inside, took one long look at her sleeping and then closed the door quietly. He didn't want to give himself the chance to enter again during the night; he knew the temptation to watch her in her sleep would soon easily win over his logic and self-control.
Also, he needed a good night's sleep; he had a very important assignment first thing in the morning. He looked uncomfortably at a sheathed sword resting against the wall in the far corner of the living room, almost hidden in the dark. It gave the impression of a slave demon waiting for it's master's orders; Kenshin's orders. A light shone from outside the balcony momentarily and was reflected by the hilt of the sword. It made it glow angrily. Kenshin knew that the sword was thirsty for blood and must be fed soon. He'd have to feed it soon. He'd have to feed it first thing in the morning and he had just the victim for it.
So, how was that? I'm really eager to know so please leave a review behind to tell me what you thought of the story and what you'd think would make it better. If you have some serious suggestions then feel free to e-mail me, I'm almost 24/7 on my PC. By the way, I'll update on weekly basis, so you can comfortably expect a new chappie every Saturday or so.
Before I say good bye for now, I really need to thank these wonderful people:
Zen: I know how hard it must be for you to review me. Thanks and please stop letting everyone know that you know what's going to happen.
Jisusaken: I know that doesn't seem like enough time, but sometimes a few seconds can do all the magic. Thanks.
Anomie: You're one of the very few people that actually told me some comfort words for my depression. You're very sweet. Don't worry, even if takes very long, Kaoru will get her revenge. Thanks.
Vixenia: That was very nice of you. Thanks.
Royalbluekitsune: Sorry for the freak e-mail. Thanks.
Tkdl: I just did! Thanks.
Jeez: I know that. But be sure that I'm on Kaoru's side so don't worry, eh? Thanks.
Clueless Girl: Welcome back honey. Thanks.
Ss1128: Aww, you're incredibly nice. Yeah, I see the similarity too, but this very different and a lot darker. Thanks.
Aldailyn: Your review made a nice job of making me feel better; I just loved it. By the way, Zen just updated and good luck in high school. Thanks.
Ymir-chan: I feel a lot better now. You know, your review was really touching; we have so much in common. I used to get bullied too and I wouldn't fight back. It hurt like anything. You're a really nice person and I hope to hear from you soon. Thanks.
Silent Tears of Agony: Nah, you're not insensitive at all; you cared. Thanks.
Firalyn Tiatra: Don't worry I'll keep on writing and I really hope you'll like it. Thanks.
Reignashii: I can't wait to publish that part myself but I guess you'll just have to be patient. Thanks.
Roseofthedesert: Yeah, it would be really cool wouldn't it? Thanks.
Liladrablepie: I will, don't doubt that. Thanks.
TheFunkyRaccoon: YUP, he sure is! Thanks.
Crystalz Tearz: I know some people like that too. I guess when it's love nothing can really stand in the way. Thanks.
Up In Arms: I hate them too. Their only purpose is to be a pain the 'bleeeeep'. I'm so glad that we agree. Thanks.
Abubi-chan: I just did, I hope it was quick enough! Thanks.
Also:
Ice Sakura: Awww, you're such a good person, you made me feel so much better about my writings. Thanks
And, BlueberryStain: You better find your way to a PC somehow, I really miss you!
Thank you all, love ya loads.
-Shimmering Tear