A/N: Ack! This is so late! I'm so sorry! I wanted to post this chapter sooner but I forgot this weekend was the big Three Doors Down, Stained, Breaking Benjamin, and No Address concert. My aunt and I had a BLAST! We LOVE Breaking Benjamin. -grin- I got a t-shirt! I also have a bit of bad news. My computer is acting all weird and my hard drive supposable had a melt down. How I'm on right now is really a mystery sad to say this may slow the updates down if my computer suddenly crashes on me and decides to delete everything I have on it. Anyway…

…On to the reviewers!

tarnishedgold - I share your idea of there not being enough good authors on this site. It really is a tragedy.

FairyMage - He's suppose to make a good father at the end on the manga. NOT the anime. -glares at Reflections- Stupid people twisting the plot around.

Seigyoku Kiryou - Glad you at lest liked the first chapter. Not sure if you'll read this far into the story but thanks for the review!

Insane Chipmunk - Well, Violet Eyed Angel isn't going to be updated until I fix all the bugs in this story. Although, the one shot entitled After All These Years has been posted.

tsumesgirl05 - College is good, I just wish I had more free time.

lolo popoki - Hope you enjoy your class! And writing the part where Kenshin was carried was fun too.

drop armor - Hope you enjoy this chapter!

WolfDaughter - I'm glad to hear you thought he was captured again. That was the effect I was going for.

Shadow Wolf of the Blue Moon - I know it's common sense, but sometimes worry and stress will override that.

AuburnMoonlight - I'm loving the pictures so far! You're a really good artist!

Hitokiri Musei - Calm down! I updated! I updated!

Chapter 22 - Trust and Betrayal

Yasuo was not happy, but he did not make Kenshin move back to his room. 'Now, he'll know just how bad she is,' he thought, as he made his way to check on Neko. 'He was bound to find out eventually.'

But Yasuo wasn't the first person to speak to Kenshin this morning. Katsura paid him a visit.

"Katsura-san, is there something you need?" Kenshin asked, after Katsura entered the room and didn't say anything for a while.

"Is Neko asleep?"

"Hai."

"There's something I need to tell you." He sat down beside Kenshin, and in a low voice continued. "While you were gone, we found her uncle."

"Good, then she can…"

"He's dead."

Kenshin could feel his lungs stop. "Nani?"

"He's dead. He died in battle. I'm not sure when, exactly, but it was shortly before her parents died." Kenshin closed his eyes. "You know what this means. Not only is she an orphan, but she has no living relatives to live with."

"She's alone in the world." He remembered how empty he had felt right after his parents had died. That's when the slave traders had picked him up.

"She's not alone, Himura. I'm not going to send her away."

"She can't stay here. She isn't safe around me." He looked at Neko, who at the moment was looking very uncomfortable.

"I've already started to look for a suitable house that will take her in."

"Arigato, Katsura-san."

With a slight bow of his head, Katsura left.

Kenshin watched Neko for a while. She reached her hand up into the air. "Someone, help, help." She spoke weakly. He reached over and took her hand.

"I'm sorry Neko. You're alone, now."

She squeezed his hand. "Stay with me." She coughed a couple times. "Don't let the bad people get me."

Yasuo entered the room, and saw Kenshin quickly pull his hand away from Neko. Yasuo did his best to suppress a small chuckle. 'He really doesn't like to show his emotions. I can tell you care about her Himura, you can stop pretending.'

He knelt down beside Neko. "How's she doing?" he asked Kenshin with a smile.

"She feels hot."

"Really?" He said it with smile. Kenshin returned the smile with a slightly confused look. It was as if his face was asking: Aren't you the doctor? Again, Yasuo chuckled a little bit, but frowned once he felt Neko's forehead. 'This isn't good, she's getting too hot again.'

Kenshin saw the worry in Yasuo's face easily. "What's wrong?"

He hadn't wanted Kenshin to find out how bad Neko's condition really was, but now it looked like he had no choice but to tell him. He looked into the boy's face. 'This is Battousai, he's seen and caused more death than I'll ever see as a doctor. He can handle this.' He took one more moment to prepare himself. "Himura, she is very sick. Her fever is bad, and it won't go down." He pulled down the blanket covering Neko so he could start to cool her off again. "If this keeps up…"

"She's going to die, isn't she?" He sounded so empty and hollow that it surprised Yasuo.

"Yes, unless she gets better soon." He placed the cold clothes on her body; her teeth began to chatter. "Her leg is also bad. I don't know if we can save it."

Kenshin looked up at him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, we may have to cut her leg off. She has no feeling in her foot. If she doesn't gain feeling back soon, I'm going to have to amputate it. And you, I want to know if there is anything wrong with you."

Kenshin didn't like the way Yasuo had said that. "What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing, from what we can tell. Hiroko's poisons worry me."

"His poisons?"

Yasuo stopped what he was doing. "We don't know if they will have any long term or permanent effects on your body." Neither noticed Neko's breathing becoming steady. "They may not do anything to you. Probably won't, but it still makes me worry."

"Wou-could his poisons have taken something away from me?" he asked, thinking about his distorted senses.

"Take something away?"

Neko gave a soft sigh, that went unnoticed.

"Something like…" He had no idea how to explain this. "Never mind, I was just curious."

"Himura, what's wrong?"

A half moan, half yawn broke their conversation, and the two looked down at Neko. Her right eye opened a little bit, and she looked at Yasuo carefully.

'Who is he?' She was cold and confused. Fear began to take over and her eye widened and her other eye barely opened. "Who are you?" she asked, her voice breaking. "Where am I?"

'She's awake.' Yasuo could hardly believe it.

"Who are you!" she asked again. "What's going on? Where-where's Kenshin?"

"Calm down. It's alright." Yasuo went to place a hand on her forehead in a comforting gesture. Kenshin could only stare.

Neko misread Yasuo's movements. "Leave me alone! Go away!" She weakly raised her arms and attempted to bat his hand away from her. "Where is Kenshin?"

Yasuo looked towards him, beckoning him to move closer. Slowly, so as not to hurt himself, he moved towards Neko. He reached out and took her hand. "I'm right here."

She turned her head towards him. "There you are. What happened? Where are we? Where's Kanai? Who's the old guy?"

"It's alright, Neko. We're safe and Kanai is at his house. That's Yasuo-sensei. He's a--"

"I don't feel good. And it's cold."

"Yasuo-sensei is a doctor, he's going to make you feel better." She nodded her head slowly, her eyes starting to glaze over slightly.

"Just rest, you're safe now," Yasuo said softly, seeing that she was falling asleep again.

"Kensh..." She didn't have the strength to finish saying his name.

"I'll be right here." She smiled slightly and went back to sleep.

Yasuo was smiling until he felt her forehead. She was still too hot. Her fever hadn't broken yet. "She's not out of this yet," he warned Kenshin. "But if she keeps coming around like this then she may have a chance."

Yasuo stayed with Kenshin and Neko until her temperature became more manageable. He had completely forgotten that Kenshin had even mentioned anything about the poisons. A while after he left, there was a knock on the door. "Come in." The door opened slowly and Reizo popped his head in.

"Hey Himura, up for a visitor?" He said it as a joke, but he meant it to be serious. He came in when Kenshin didn't protest. "I have something for you," he said with a bit of a smile.

"For me?" Kenshin didn't attempt to hide the confusion on his face, his eyes trying to see what Reizo held behind his back. 'What's he up to?'

Reizo's smile widened when he saw the confusion written on Kenshin's face. He knew he didn't normally show emotion, so seeing any meant a lot to Reizo. To him, it meant some basic trust had grown between them. "I've been taking care of these for you." He brought his hands out from behind his back.

"My swords." Reizo pushed them forward so he could take them. Gently, Kenshin picked them up as if they were fragile and would break if he wasn't careful. He looked them over; he hadn't held a weapon in almost two weeks. He was surprised by the sense of fulfillment that came when he held them again. He didn't feel as vulnerable or exposed now, although he suspected that they wouldn't be much use to him in his state. It didn't matter, he had them back. "Arigato."

"No problem." Reizo sat down across from Kenshin. "I guess Neko-chan is asleep."

"She's sick."

"I know, I carried her back here, remember?"

'That's right.' He had forgotten; well, he hadn't tried to recall that day, but now he did. "Arigato," he said again. "If you hadn't come, then --"

"Don't worry about it." He reached into his pocket. "Here, you can give it to her when she wakes up." He handed Kenshin Neko's doll.

He took it and looked it over. "Did you wash this?" He was amazed, Reizo had managed to get just about all the blood off it. In a couple of small areas you could see the stain of faded blood, but it wasn't noticeable. He had even patched it in places where it had already started to get worn.

"Some of the women around the Inn helped me, I thought Neko would like it washed. Forgive me, Himura."

"Nani?"

"I should have tried harder. It's just she… she ran away. I couldn't catch up to her. She was so fast. I don't know why she ran back. I'm sorry! I should have caught up with her. If I had caught her then Hiroko could never have done this to you two." He seemed a bit tired once he finished. He had been wanting to say that to Kenshin for a long time, and now it felt like a great weight had been lifted from him.

Kenshin was speechless a moment. "Reizo, you did nothing wrong. You tried to stop her." He paused a moment. "How-how's your arm?"

"Hm?" It was Reizo's turn to be confused.

"Didn't you hurt it, trying to find Neko?"

"Oh, yeah, it's fine. It wasn't hurt bad. I'm surprised you remembered." Reizo smiled. 'Does this mean he cares about me?' He felt a little awkward inside, but it was a good awkward. 'Battousai cares about me.'

Reizo stayed with Kenshin for a while. Kenshin had a lot of questions about what had happened while he had been gone. Although not much had happened, he felt better being informed.

"Daddy?" They both whipped their heads around at the sound of Neko's voice. "Pick me up higher, daddy!"

"She's dreaming," Reizo whispered softly.

Her head rolled towards him and her eyes opened a crack. "Reizo?"

"Yeah, it's me." He was speechless when she smiled at him.

"I missed you."

Kenshin tapped Reizo on the shoulder. "Here, give her this." He handed him Neko's doll. Reizo took it carefully, then handed it back to Neko.

Her eyes lit up. "My doll! Thank you, Reizo! Thank you! I thought she got lost and I would never see her again!" She reached out weakly for her beloved possession. Reizo moved it closer so she could grab it. Once she had it she snuggled it close to her chest. "Thank you," she said, drifting back to sleep. "I have to show…" A yawn. "...daddy."

Once she had fallen back asleep, Reizo said goodbye to Kenshin so that she could sleep in peace.

Hiroko waited impatiently for his spy to arrive. "He's late."

At long last, the door was slid open and his spy walked in. "Why are you calling me here like this? You are endangering my mission, I will give you my report when I can." He was obviously upset.

"How are the Battousai's injuries?" Hiroko asked, ignoring the spy's disrespectful comment.

He was surprised. "How… how did you know that the Battousai is where I'm--"

Hiroko began to laugh. "I guessed. Be careful, you're slipping. You should never let on that you know more than someone else." The spy merely scoffed; he didn't like being told how to do his job. "So, he's there. Good. And Katsura?"

"I-I haven't seen him."

Hiroko snorted, disappointed. "Doesn't matter, I only care about the Battousai." He picked something off the table. "I'm going to need a couple of days to gather some good men. Here, I want you to take this." He handed the spy a needle.

"Sir?"

"In four days, I want you to use this on the Battousai."

"Will it kill him?"

"No, it will just make him very tired. I will be the one to kill him. It doesn't matter where on the body you use it, arm will be best. I want the Battousai out cold when we attack."

"This will blow my cover! I can't do this!"

"You will, or I'll blow your cover. I'll see you pay if you fail me. Understand?"

"I understand." The spy bowed to leave.

"Remember. Four days."

Night was beginning to settle in the sky. The doctors had been in on various occasions to check on Neko and to make sure Kenshin wasn't doing anything to upset his injuries. They had also changed his bandages to make sure infection wouldn't settle in. They had checked Neko's temperature and were happy to report to Kenshin that it hadn't risen. Although it hadn't lowered any, the fact it hadn't risen was an improvement.

Now, Kenshin was alone with the still-sleeping Neko. He looked down at the end of her bed, where he could make out where her feet were by the rise in the blanket. He scooted himself down by her feet, Yasuo's warning of amputation on his mind.

He flipped back the sheet, which was there for comfort more than for warmth, and looked at her legs. Her right was wrapped in bandages; he reached out and touched that leg. It was cold, a sharp contrast to the rest of her body. Someone had explained this to him once; cold meant there was no blood pumping into the area. Not knowing what else to do, he began to rub her foot, trying to warm it and help her circulation return.

Kenshin rubbed Neko's foot until night fell and his arms were sore from the constant movement. Fatigue settling over him, he covered her leg again and crawled into bed. He slept for a few hours, until Neko's screaming woke him up.

"Stop! Please don't! Kenshin! Don't kill! KENSHIN!" Her arms were flying in the air, and she was tossing from side to side. "Don't kill him!"

Kenshin reached over and grabbed her shoulders, to stop her thrashing. "It's alright Neko, I'm right here. I'm not dead!"

"Please stop! Don't do it! Kenshin! Don't do it!"

"I'm right here. Calm down, I'm fine."

"PLEASE DON'T KILL HIM KENSHIN!" Kenshin snapped back away from her. "Please, Kenshin, please. Please stop!"

'I'm not the one dying in her dream.' He backed away from her a little. 'I'm killing, I'm the one killing.'

"Kenshin don't kill him! Why, Kenshin, why?" Tears squeezed their way through Neko's closed eyes. She started to shriek as she witnessed terrible events behind her closed eyes. "Kenshin, stop! Stop it!"

Kenshin couldn't stop his hands from shaking. 'She sees me as a killer. I am nothing more then a murderer to her.' He should have known; no child could love someone who kills. He could never be the angel Neko wanted him to be; he couldn't be the angel she needed.

She screamed, loud and long; it pierced the once quiet night. When she ran out of breath she lay quiet once again. Her chest heaved and her body was shaking. Tears ran from her eyes, down the side of her face. "Ken...shin." She huffed out with a ragged breath. Once her breathing steadied, she stopped moving and seemed to have fallen into a peaceful sleep again – but Kenshin would not.

He sat and watched her. 'She's seen me kill.' He thought back to the day where everything had gone wrong. He had killed, right in front of her. Dashed all her thoughts of him being an angel, with a simple slash of a sword. He remembered her, standing there, blood from a man he had killed splattered all over her. He remembered the fear he had seen in her eyes, how she had flinched at his touch. 'She just wants the protection I give her. She doesn't care about me.' He suddenly felt very empty and cold. He also felt foolish. 'Who could care about the Hitokiri Battousai?'

The next morning Takeo noticed the tired look in Kenshin's eyes. "Rough night?" Kenshin didn't give an answer. He just kept nibbling on the rice Takeo had brought in for him to eat. He really wasn't hungry and he really didn't feel like eating, but he knew that in order to get his strength back he needed to eat. "I heard Neko screaming last night," Takeo mentioned casually as he checked her temperature. Kenshin paused in mid-chew. "I figured she kept you up most of the night."

"What did you hear her say?"

"I couldn't make out what she was saying. Did she wake up or something?" Kenshin shook his head. "Ah, I only heard screaming, but it was over pretty quick so I thought you could handle it yourself and I didn't bother to come." He finished what he was doing. "She's doing much better." He smiled at Kenshin. "Perhaps knowing you're here is making her feel better." The doctor shrugged when he didn't get a response from Kenshin. "Just give a yell if you need anything," he said, before leaving.

The day passed slowly enough. Kenshin attempted to get the circulation going again in Neko's leg. He was visited a couple of times by one of the three doctors or Reizo. He didn't really say anything to them, his mind never far off from the events of last night. 'She was dreaming that I was killing someone. I am a killer in her eyes.' Nothing seemed to be able to pull Kenshin from his depression.

Almost nothing.

The day had just about passed; Itsuo was changing Kenshin's bandages when Neko started to scream. She wasn't even saying anything, she was just screaming. Kenshin and Itsuo quickly went to her side, trying to calm her. She began to thrash; instinctively Kenshin pressed down on her shoulders to keep her from injuring herself. When she could not thrash her arms she started to kick her legs. Both of them. Itsuo was the first to notice the movement in Neko's leg.

It wasn't much more then a twitch now and then, but it was movement. He laughed. "Himura-san." He pointed to her legs. "Look." He saw, but didn't see what was making the doctor laugh. He looked at Itsuo, telling him he didn't understand, without words. Itsuo read what Kenshin was trying to say with his expression easily enough. "She's moving her bad leg. If it was dead, she shouldn't be able to move it at all."

Kenshin's eyes widened. "That means, you're not…"

"We're not going to have to amputate." Itsuo finished Kenshin's question for him. "If she can move it then we can fix it!" Kenshin let a smile grace his face. Her leg could be saved.

Reizo came to visit later in the day. He brought a book with him. "I thought you would get bored having to sit here all day. So I brought this for you," he explained, handing Kenshin the book. He stayed and chatted for a few minutes. "You must be itching to get up and out of bed. I think I would get bored hanging out in bed all day."

In truth Kenshin didn't want to get up. His injuries kept him from wanting to stand up; it just wasn't worth the pain. Reizo didn't stay much longer. When he left, Kenshin reached over and picked up the book that Reizo had left for him. A killer doesn't need to study. He gave his head a violent shake, trying to forget; forget the day he had attacked Tomoe by mistake.

Are you going to continue killing people forever? But the memories wouldn't leave. The only person who hasn't found a safe place yet is you. You're the one who can't sleep without your sword ready.

I've been doing this since I was little. I even saw people killed right in front of me.

You're going to continue killing.

That's my role. It won't last long. I don't need you worrying about me. Without thinking, he reached up and touched his left cheek, staring deeply at the book's plain brown cover. 'Tomoe, you saw me kill as well. Did you fear me?' He closed his eyes momentarily, remembering the warmth Tomoe had given him. 'No … at least, you didn't keep fearing me.'

He flipped the book open. 'A killer may not have need to study, but maybe, someday, I-I could be something more than a...' He couldn't finish the thought. 'Maybe that day, I could be more of the angel Neko wants me to be.' He started to read and didn't put the book down until late into the night. By then his eyes were heavy, and he could hardly keep them open. Setting the book down, he fell asleep thinking about what he had just read instead of the memories that normally plagued him at night.

In the morning when Yasuo came for a visit, he happily declared that Neko's fever had finally broken sometime in the night. "The next time she wakes up, she'll have her mind clear. Looks like she's going to pull through this." Yasuo smiled. "I have to admit I didn't think she would make it, but she just seemed to turn right around once you started to sleep in here with her."

Kenshin closed his eyes for an answer. He didn't think so.

Later that day, while Kenshin was simply resting, he heard a soft moan. Sitting up he saw Neko rubbing her eyes. She gave a small groan. "Kenshin?" She tilted her head from side to side. "Where's Kenshin?"

'She's looking for me?' He sat up a bit more. "Neko?"

She turned her head towards his voice, her eyes brightening, and a wide smile grew on her face when she saw him. "Kenshin!" She reached out her hand, wanting to touch him. He reached out and held her hand. "Are you okay?"

Kenshin was surprised. "I'm fine." He was even more surprised when she started to cry.

"They hurt you. They hurt you because of me." She squeezed Kenshin's hand tighter. "I'm so glad you're okay." She looked at him and smiled.

He didn't know what to say. She looked at him with eyes he hadn't expected. They held no fear or anger at him, only love and caring. There had only been one other person who had looked at him with eyes like those, but those had been forever dipped in sorrow. A sorrow he himself had created. Neko's eyes, they were different. Full of something he couldn't name. Hope? Joy? Excitement? He couldn't tell what it was. Not knowing what else to say, he pulled his hand free from her. "I need to tell the doctors you're up."

"Okay," she said, disappointed that he wasn't holding her hand anymore.

Kenshin stood, and waited a moment as a wave of vertigo washed over him. His legs felt weak underneath him and his injuries screamed at him to stop moving. His movements were a bit more jerky and wobbly than he would have wished, but considering that he hadn't stood in over twenty-four hours and that he was hurt, he was rather steady for someone in his condition. He slid the shoji open and was glad to find someone walking down the hall. He called out for the man to get one of the doctors for him.

Thankful that he didn't have to go searching through the Inn for one of the three, Kenshin sat back down. Itsuo was the first one who came. Not knowing what was wrong, he had run all the way here. "Himura, what's wrong?"

He pointed over to Neko. "Neko's awake."

Itsuo moved over towards Neko, a smile on his face. "Hello, Neko." Neko looked at the strange man breathing heavily in front of her. Instead of answering his greeting, she pulled the cover over her head in an attempt to hide. Itsuo was surprised by this and looked over at Kenshin for help. "What's wrong?" He asked Kenshin.

He gave a half shrug. "Neko, are you afraid?" There was a movement that looked like a nod from under the covers. "Why? He's a doctor, he's going to make you feel better."

She pulled the cover away from her just enough to look at Kenshin then back at Itsuo. "He's a doctor?" She pulled the blanket back over her. "I'm fine. I don't need a shot."

"He's not going to give you a shot." He looked up at Itsuo, to confirm this.

"I won't give you a shot, I promise." Neko peeked her head out. "I'm not that scary, am I?" he said with a goofy smile. "Now why don't you come out of there?"

She seemed to be thinking about it, finally she pushed her blanket down. "My tummy hurts," she said sadly. Kneeling down next to her, Itsuo asked her where it hurt. "Here," she said, pointing in the general area.

"Aw," he said, rubbing the spot she had pointed to. "I'll make you something so it won't hurt anymore." Neko made a face at the thought of having to take medicine. Itsuo dug into his pocket and took out a package. Neko leaned over to see what was inside, and he moved it towards her so she could look inside. There were a couple of little round balls that looked like marbles. There was a wide variety of different colors. "If you behave and take your medicine, I'll give you one of these."

"What is it?" Neko asked, memorized by the pretty colors.

He smiled. "It's candy."

"CANDY!"

Itsuo laughed. He had bought these just for Neko. He thought she would like them. He had never had a child as a patient before, only soldiers. "But only if you're good."

"I'll be good!" Neko said, wanting the candy.

"Now, I need to know what kind of medicine to make you. I need you to tell me how you got sick, okay? I need you to tell me what happened when you and Kenshin were separated."

Neko froze, all thoughts of candy vanished from her mind. "You … you want me to tell you about Muroi." She was shaking. "I don't want to!" She grabbed the cover and pulled it back over her head.

Itsuo tried to bribe Neko out with the offer of candy. It wasn't working. By then, Takeo had heard that Neko was up and came to help. "Itsuo-san, stop. There's only one way to get her to talk about something like that," he said, stepping into the room. He was looking straight at Kenshin.

Itsuo turned and saw Takeo looking over at Kenshin, and understood what he meant. "Himura-san, would you ask her?"

He looked over at the bundle that was Neko. He really didn't want to, it had been hard enough for him to explain what had happened to him, but he knew these people. Neko didn't, and that would make telling them what happened harder. He knew they had to find out what happened to her leg, and he wanted to know what had happened to her. "Neko, please, will you tell us what happened?"

The blanket was quiet for a little while. "Okay," she said, starting to come out. Once she could see she pointed at Takeo. "Who's he?" she yelled, frustrated by yet another face she didn't know.

"I'm a doctor."

"Another one!" It took a few minutes before Neko finally settled down again, and Kenshin asked her again to tell them what happened to her. "Do you want me to start after you fell asleep?" Kenshin nodded, not exactly sure what she was talking about. "That man…" She thought a moment, digging the man's name from her memory. "Hiroko and Muroi tied me up after you fell asleep. Then he took me back to his home." Tears were already falling from her eyes. "He took me out back and, and, and there were dogs. And he pushed me at them. And the dogs, they bit me." She started sobbing. "They bit my leg and were shaking me. They shook me and shook me! But Muroi stopped them and he took me inside and locked me in a room."

Drying her eyes a little she continued, telling them how Akina had come and helped her, but Muroi hadn't liked that. She told them how he had beaten her when she didn't tell him who had helped her. "I was able to get my hands free and I scratched his face. I tried to run away, but…" She started to cry again "But he grabbed my hair and pulled it. Then he stepped on my leg and it hurt really bad. Then he and Akina told me you were dead." She looked over at Kenshin. "I thought you were dead, even Akina said you were." She sat up and slid over to him. "I'm sorry I thought that. I'm sorry." She fell on him, hugging him as tightly as she could. "But they told me you were dead."

He was speechless. Kenshin sat there, unsure of what to do. He was too shy to hug Neko back with Itsuo and Takeo watching, yet he longed to do it. He put his hand on her head. "It's alright."

She gave a loud snuff before she was able to continue. She told everyone that Muroi still expected her to do chores and that night she had woken up with him on top of her. "He kissed me, over and over. And he touched me softly, he didn't hit me this time."

Itsuo's mouth was open, horrified. 'He raped a little girl?' He let out a sigh of relief when Neko added that before it went any further, she had kicked him in the groin.

"When I woke up I was outside, it was raining and the dogs were there." She explained how she spent the whole night outside in the rain and the next morning Muroi had tried to take her back to the man he had originally bought her from. "I tried looking for my friend, Makoto, but a lady told me they had killed him." Angry tears fell from Neko's eyes. "They said he was useless. He wasn't useless! They didn't need to kill him!" She waited a while, giving herself time to calm down before she went on. She continued with Muroi and how he had beaten her as soon as they got back, and Akina had tried to stop him. How Kenshin had come and killed Muroi, saving everyone.

She moved onto how she had dragged Kenshin through the forest, how Makoto showed her the way. The doctors figured that was when the fever had started to settle into Neko's system. She explained how Kanai had found and helped them. Kenshin's face turned red as Neko explained how they had changed him, and then nearly drowned him while he was out. "He just kept coughing and coughing! I didn't know what to do! Kanai was the one who suggested flipping him over. We tried again, and then we got him to drink!" she said, proud of herself. She finally ended with how she had sent Kanai to find Reizo to get help, and what she remembered from the morning Reizo had arrived.

When her tale was told, Neko was very tired. Itsuo had made a bitter tasting medicine, which she drank with a wrinkled nose. As promised, he gave Neko a piece of the candy and once she had finished sucking on it she fell asleep again.

Before they left, Takeo and Itsuo checked Kenshin's injuries. "They're healing nicely," Takeo stated as he tied off the bandages. "Although, I have something I can give you if you're in pain," he offered, taking out a needle, showing it to Kenshin.

"No, I'm fine."

Takeo frowned. "You sure?" Kenshin nodded. Shrugging, Takeo put the needle back with his other supplies. "Well, please give a yell if you need anything, or change your mind."

Neko woke up once more before the day was over. She wasn't feeling very well so she kept rather quiet. Kenshin was tempted to ask her about the dream she had about him killing someone, but he could never find the right words.

It wasn't until Kenshin had blown out the candle and settled down to sleep that Neko finally spoke. "Kenshin, what happened to Hiroko?"

"I don't know."

"He scares me." She hugged her doll closer to her. "Thank you for saving me Kenshin."

Kenshin lay quiet for awhile. "Oyasumi nasai." It was the only way he knew how to respond.

"Oyasumi, Kenshin." She yawned, already falling asleep.

Neko was feeling a bit better the next day. Her skin didn't feel quite as hot, and she stopped complaining she was cold. She still complained about feeling sick, but she was on the mend. Kenshin could tell she was getting better; she was talking more.

She liked to talk. She explained in more detail to him how she and Kanai had tried to help him. "We did a good job, didn't we?" she asked, looking up at him with those bright green eyes.

He smiled and patted her on the head. "Yes, you did a great job."

She brightened. "Really?"

"If you hadn't sent Kanai to get Reizo, we might be dead right now."

"So I did a good thing!" she said, clearly proud of herself.

"That you did." Talking to Neko in this manner confused Kenshin at first. She didn't act scared of him. She always seemed to be looking for his approval and was always worried about him not feeling well. The thought of her screaming for him to stop killing someone drifted away to the back of his mind while he was able to talk to her like this. Although he didn't realize it, she was accepting him and that was making him feel calmer.

Reizo came and visited the two of them. Neko was overjoyed to see her friend again. The two of them talked as Kenshin listened. Neko asked Reizo to tell her a story. He told one about a princess who had anything she could ever want. One day she fell in love and they lived happily ever after. The day passed, uneventful.

By nightfall, Neko's stomachache had grown worse and she was complaining a lot more. "It hurts really bad," she complained to Yasuo when he came to check on them for the last time that day.

"Hmm." Yasuo thought a moment, before mixing up a drink. "This will help you sleep tonight, and it should calm your stomach down." Neko drank it quickly, pleased that it was almost tasteless. "What about you, Himura-san? Would you like something to help you sleep?" He had just finished changing Kenshin's bandages and knew Kenshin had to be feeling pretty sore. Kenshin simply grunted a replay as he was lying down.

Kenshin's eyes opened in the dead of night. Someone was at the door; he couldn't tell who, but it was someone. Closing his eyes again, he pretended he was still asleep. He listened as the door was slowly opened. Clutching his sword closer to him, he waited, trying to figure who and what this person was planning. He was thankful that Reizo had returned his swords, he always kept them close.

The person was walking quietly, trying not to wake anyone in the room. He was slightly startled when the figure moved towards Neko instead of himself. He opened his eyes slightly; amber eyes stared at a person's back, a person he thought he recognized. "What are you doing?" Kenshin spoke coldly, still clutching his weapon.

Reizo spun around, surprised by the voice. "Himura! I-I thought you would be asleep."

"What are you doing?" Kenshin repeated, just as coldly.

Reizo looked confused. "Didn't Yasuo-sensei tell you? He wanted me to give Neko a bath."

"This late?"

"No one is up, Yasuo-sensei realizes how Neko is around people she doesn't know. It will be less stressful now. He's getting old, he probably forgot to tell you I was coming tonight."

"Why doesn't he do it himself?" For some reason, he couldn't get his hands to relax and release his death-like grip on his katana.

"He said she would be more comfortable if I did it. She knows me a lot better then him." He watched Kenshin carefully. "If you want, I don't have to."

Kenshin forced himself to relax. This was Reizo; out of all the men here he trusted Reizo the most and so did Neko. "No, it's all right."

"I'll try not to wake you when I come back." He picked up Neko and was a little surprised that she didn't wake up. "She's a heavy sleeper."

"Yasuo-sensei gave her something to help her sleep."

"Ah." He rearranged Neko in his arms. "Sleep well Himura, I'll try not to wake you when I come back."

Kenshin stayed awake for a little while longer. 'I felt him at the door.' The thought of his senses returning made him feel a bit better. He fell asleep with that thought.

Once more Kenshin's eyes snapped opened when he felt someone at the door again. He was a little startled to find that it was morning, sunlight spilling into the room. 'Did I sleep through Reizo bringing Neko back?' He looked over her bed, but she was still missing.

"Himura-san, are you up?" Itsuo's voice called from behind the shoji.

"Hai." Itsuo entered. "Where's Neko?"

"Neko-chan? Isn't she – why isn't she in bed?" He rushed over and looked at the empty bed. "Where is she?"

"Reizo went to give her a bath last night! He said Yasuo-sensei told him to!"

"What did I tell who to do?" Yasuo stepped in after hearing his name. "What's going on?"

"Yasuo-sensei! Did you tell Reizo to give Neko-chan a bath?" Itsuo asked, still looking at the empty bed, like Neko would pop her head out from under the covers if he waited long enough.

"No! Why would I tell him to do something like that?"

"Well, I don't know!"

"Who said I said that anyway?"

As the two doctors began to argue, Kenshin tried to think. Suddenly a conversation he had with Reizo about four days ago came back to him. "Did anyone tell Reizo what happened to me or Neko?"

Both turned and looked at Kenshin. "No, we wouldn't say anything without your consent," Itsuo said quickly. "Why? Does it matter?"

Kenshin cursed himself. Why hadn't he caught it earlier! Reizo had called Hiroko by name. He had known it was Hiroko, even though no one had told him what had happened.

"Reizo," he growled, "is a spy."

PS:A/N: I forgot to mention up top, but for those of you who read Under the Weather there is now a one shot companion fic posted for it. Check under my name for it if you're interested or search for a fic called After All These Years. It's a one shot and will be staying like that, so I'm sorry to those who already reviewed and asked me to update… er… it won't be getting updated.