A/N: OK peeps, here's chapter two! Thank you to all of you guys who reviewed this fanfic namely(Sabrina, AngelNaferty, MP, omochi, Ice-God, Genesis)..I really didn't think anyone would want a continuation but I'm so happy 'coz here guys are! And Ice-God..thank you so much for your review friend o'mine c see ya at the forum :D

KENSHIN the DRAGON HUNTER Chapter II: Kaoru and Yahiko

"Will you pleeeaaase walk faster Kaoru!" Yahiko shouted as he urged Kaoru on.

"Yahiko, I told you to call me just Kao. We're already near the town and people might get the impression that I'm a girl. It got really hard to hide that fact ever since I met you!"

"Awww c'mon Kaoru, you ARE a GIRL! Besides, you're the one who keeps on looking at ribbons and other girly stuffs every time we go to town, so don't go blaming me if ever you get caught!"

"Why shouldn't I blame you?" Kaoru said through gritted teeth. "Ever since you decided to follow me, you've been nothing but trouble."

"I did not DECIDE to follow you, you were so scared to go into the woods alone to find Dargove, you ASKED me to tag along!"

Kaoru, now a young girl of eighteen sighed. Yahiko was right of course, she was (in a way) the one who asked him to tag along two years ago. But only because Kaoru knew he had nobody else in this world to take care of him. And also, because just like him, she had nobody else too.

"How come you're suddenly silent?" Yahiko asked, worried, although he would never admit it.

"I was just remembering that time two years ago, when we met." Kaoru said quietly. Yahiko reflected for a moment too before saying,

"So now you agree that you were a real scardy pants!"

"Why you...!" Kaoru said raising a fist and running after the laughing Yahiko as they entered the town of Hundorf.

Two years earlier...

Dargove tried to fly steadily because his sensitive ear could hear that Kaoru was sleeping soundly on his back. He looked at the parched land below. "The land is dying," Dargove thought sadly, "and it's because of Shishio's blind ambition, and also the dwindling numbers of dragons."

He flew over a dead forest area to rest, and as he landed, the dead forest began to reawaken. The trees, the flowers, the grass, and even animals began fill it with beautiful sounds and scents, and sceneries.

"Thank you!" The winds whispered to Dargove. "Thank you!"

Now dragons are creatures that are not only a part of nature, but also a keeper of nature. It has been said that dragons are the guardians of the land, and the protector of the people. If Mother Nature had children, it would be the dragons.

But it has been likewise said, that all dragons know the day will come, when their time on earth will end, and people will have to learn to live on their own. It is every dragon's dream to fly up to the resting place of their souls in the stars, where they would live forever. That is why dragons do not fear death, for in their teachings, if there is even only one of them that would ascend to the stars, then all the other dragons' souls will be revived. They will cure the land of its sickness and peace will once again reign on the earth as they ascend to the heavens.

Dargove knew that the destiny of dragons, as well as mankind depends on Kaoru. However, he had grown to love this lovely girl as his own daughter and decided not to tell her of her fate… not until the time is right. A time when he and the other dragons would finally be free to fly towards heaven…

Dargove shook his head, smiled, and said "at least, for now, Kaoru will see a beautiful forest when she wakes up!"

Dragons are used to sadness, as they have seen so many hardships and sorrows, for they can live hundreds of years. "But this innocent and pure-hearted girl" Dargove thought of Kaoru, "does not deserve the sadness and hardships we dragons will be enforcing on her." He rested his head on one of his arms. He was getting old and tired, but he has a mission to fulfill, and more than that, he had Kaoru to take care of. So he forged on, roaming the earth until the time has come to correct the mistake that was made years ago.

Dargove yawned...or more like roared and then went to sleep deep in the heart of the newly reborn forest.

Kaoru woke up and saw that they were in the middle of a beautiful forest. She laughed softly as a butterfly landed on her knee. "Hi there preety butterfly!" Kaoru said smiling sweetly.

For some reason, she has been given the gift to communicate with animals. "Is there a town near here?" She asked the butterfly.

"Yes, there is a small town south of these woods, but you must be careful if you plan to go there for it is filled with thieves and criminals" the butterfly answered.

She stretched her arms and slid down Dargove's wing slowly so as not to wake her friend. "Poor Dargove, you must be tired" Kaoru said patting her sleeping dragon friend. "Thank you lady butterfly, I'll be on my way now."

She waved her hand, armed herself with her stick sword and she headed south towards the town.

"Bye and remember to be careful!" the butterfly shouted back and flew on its way.

At the edge of the woods, Kaoru took off her shirt and bandaged her breasts so they would look flat. She tied her hair in a single ponytail and put some dirt on her face. She had always done this to hide the fact that she is a woman. Women walking alone into towns seem suspicious, so she goes to town as a man. She didn't use to bandage her breasts before though, but they have grown. She smiled shyly at the thought of being a woman and put her shirt back on and continued towards town.

She hadn't gone far though when she heard a noise that sounded like men talking. Silently, she hid on some bushed and went nearer to take a peek. If these men were from the town itself, then at least she might have an idea about the people when she goes there.

Kaoru crept closer and saw five men and one young boy, about nine or ten. All of the men were smiling cynically at the boy. The boy stood straight, his fear not showing in his eyes, but Kaoru noticed sweat on his forehead.

"This is bad" Kaoru thought, as her hand went instinctively to the handle of her wooden sword.

"Where is he you dimwit!" the man with long black hair (who seemed to be their leader) asked the kid as he grabbed the collar of his shirt.

"Yeah!" another one said "you were supposed to lure that merchant here so we could uhmmm...SHARE his gold!"

The kid shook his head. "He doesn't have any money! Let me go!" he said trying to break free of the man's grasp on him.

"No money!" the man with long hair roared and threw the poor kid a few feet away. "I saw the bag of gold in his belt you fool! Do you really think I'm that dumb! Now get up and go fetch him before I forget that you're my sister's son and have your hide for my dinner tonight!"

The kid stood up slowly and shakily but he faced the five men and said "No! That money is for his sick daughter. If we take it then he might not be able to buy her medicine and bring it home before it's too late for her!"

Despite everything, Kaoru found herself smiling at the kid's words... "Good for you kid!" she applauded silently, but her elation was short-lived for the leader(and apparently the kid's uncle), looking murderous, brought out a short dagger from his belt. The rest of the men followed suit and they all walked towards the boy.

"Hold it right there!" Kaoru said in a low voice, jumping out of the bush, holding her wooden sword. "If you don't want to get hurt, I suggest you leave the boy alone!"

The boy looked at his skinny wanna-be-savior and thought "He's crazy! He's short and skinny and no doubt, he's the one whose going to get hurt, or worse...even get killed! I gotta do something...and fast!"

"Listen," the boy shouted to Kaoru, "I don't want your help so you might as well leave!" But his uncle and his gang has already turned their attention to the newcomer.

"Well, well...What have we here? People who interfere with other people's business should be taught some manners, don't you think?" The gang leader said licking his dagger, letting Kaoru know that he's thirsting for blood.

Kaoru's eyes narrowed. She's good with her sword. Dargove taught her well and she was pretty sure she could handle these men long enough for her and the boy to escape into the woods.

The sun was beginning to set and the air was getting colder but Kaoru didn't notice it. All she saw was five sharp daggers pointing towards her. She also saw the kid behind the men picking up some stones on the ground.

Again she was amazed. Any other kid would have run away already, and not that she would blame them if they did. But this one was different. He was brave, and quite honorable for a young boy.

Kaoru waited as the kid aimed at the leader's head and threw the stone with all his strength... and hitting his mark. "Arrrgh!" the leader said grabbing his throbbing head.

This provided Kaoru with enough distraction and she proceeded to knock down two of the gang members with her wooden sword before jumping up high and using the leader's head as a leverage to go to where the boy is.

"Okay, nice move… so what's next?" the boy asked looking at Kaoru. "Uhhm… I haven't thought that far." Kaoru said apologetically.

"Dumb!" the boy said as he placed a hand on his face.

"I heard that you brat!" Kaoru said as she watched the leader and the other two who were still standing come near them. Kaoru fought well, blocking, dodging and hitting, but the leader got his chance and with a swing at his dagger, cut off Kaoru's wooden sword in two.

The young boy, fighting with his bare hands froze as he heard the sword broke.

Both Kaoru and the boy slowly backed away from the gang. The two Kaoru had previously knocked down was up already and joined in trying to corner them.

"On the count of three let's run into the forest ok!" Kaoru whispered.

"Oh man, you really are crazy!" the boy said. "Look I know you're not from around here so you probably don't know that this forest was dead just yesterday and look at it now so alive and green! There's some kind of black magic going on in there. I'd rather face these men than go in there!"

"Well suit yourself, but I'd rather face this 'black magic' of yours than face them!" Kaoru said gesturing to the fast approaching men with daggers. "I really don't want to die just yet."

"Aren't you scared?" the boy asked and Kaoru would have told him no, and that it wasn't black magic, that woke the forest but she bit her tongue and smiled slyly before acting out.

"Of course I'm scared kid but like I said I don't want to die just yet!" Kaoru looked anxiously as the men drew nearer and nearer. Kaoru held up her broken sword, prepared to fight still. "Kid, will you hurry up and decide if you want to come with me or not!" Kaoru said.

"Alright!" the kid said, "but remember, I'm only doing this because you're such a scardy cat!"

"Fine!" Kaoru said and not bothering to wait for the kid's response as she grabbed his hand and they both fled deep into the woods.

It would have been a perfect plan if the 'black magic' rumor had worked, but the leader and his men decided to follow them. "I have no choice." Kaoru thought. "I must ask for Dargove's help on this one."

As if on cue, a great flapping of wings was heard and Dargove circled overhead twice before landing next to them. The five gang members all shook with fear as they saw the great dragon's size and heard his deafening roar.

"Ahhhhh... I guess the dragon will errrr... finish the job for us" the long-haired leader said and the rest of his gang unanimously agreed, so they all fled instantly.

The boy too began to run, but when he saw his savior standing beside the dragon, he stopped and went back, picking up a stone on his way. He saw the dragon's paw closing in on his friend and so for the second time that day, the boy threw another stone, hard, hitting the dragon's paw.

"Ahhhrrrrr!" The dragon roared, and the boy trembled with fear. Still, he ran to his friend and tried to pull him away from the beast.
"What the heck are you standing here for, run or that dragon will swallow us both whole!"

Kaoru laughed suddenly, her respect for this young boy's courage and heart, increasing.

"Aaahh!" the boy said more out of frustration! "You ARE crazy, but you saved my life and now I'm going to save yours, now MOVE!"

...to be continued(c",)