A/N: Hello everyone! I'm terrible at these timely updates aren't I? Well, we're almost to the end, so you don't have to wait too many more times… then again I'm sure some of you will end up waiting forever for the squeal's updates. Hehehe… I'm having a lot of trouble writing it. BUT! It should come off hiatus as soon as the last chapter to this is posted… I hope! ANYWAY! Nekotsuki the great did the beta work! THANK YOU Nekotsuki the great!
Reviewers!
lolo popoki - Well! I write to please! -grins-
droparmor - Well, I'm guessing that they'll kill Reizo. But I'm just guessing, it's not like I'm the author or anything! -grins-
Aobikari - Well, if it's Kenshin torture you like I have a whole C2 full of them! (Shameless plug!) Check out my Kenshin Torture C2 for plenty of well written Kenshin torture!
Hitokiri Musei - I see you enjoy my cliff hangers! -evil grin-
aznpuffyhair - Oh it will! And that is explained in the sequel to this fic. Violet Eyed Angel.
AuburnMoonlight - Sorry to say it will be ending soon. (If I update regularly. HA!) Only two more chapters left!
Shadow Wolf of the Blue Moon - Not to mention the fact that Reizo was covered to his elbows in blood and was rather frantic looking. That blood probably didn't sit well with the people he had just betrayed.
Chapter 26 - Deliverance
Neko stared at Kenshin's face, too afraid to look down again. "Kenshin…" She felt like she had to say something, but she didn't know what. "Kenshin." Silent tears fell from her eyes. Why did this happen? She'd thought all the mean men were gone, and yet this had happened.
Kenshin tried hard to understand what Neko was saying, but it was difficult to focus on anything. Blackness clouded his vision, and Neko kept blurring in and out of focus; it was so bad at times that he couldn't see her even though he was looking right at her. 'I'm so cold and tired,' he thought, as he stopped fighting his descending eyelids.
A violent shake at his side snapped him back. "Don't close your eyes!" A familiar voice yelled to him. "Don't die…"
'Who's dying?' He was very confused and very tired. 'Am I dying? Am I dead?' He tried to move his arm, but didn't have the strength to. They didn't feel like his arms. 'Who's crying?' Forgetting his unresponsive arms, Kenshin tried to place the voice with a face. So many crying faces invaded his mind.
"Please, Battòsai! Don't kill me!"
"Spare me! Spare my life!"
"I don't want to die!" Thousands of pleading voices begged him to let them live. Many were screaming, down on their knees, begging him to let them live.
He scrunched his eyes as an overwhelming headache joined the voices. "I don't want to kill you! I don't want to kill anyone!"
Now dancing on the edge of his vision, the pleading faces of victims were joined by women and children crying. The women he had made widows, and the children he had left fatherless. He had never met these people and yet he'd made them cry.
Please! Spare this child! That's right; Sakura, Kasumi, and Akane had cried too. They had cried so that his life might be saved from the bandits. So young, you couldn't possibly choose, you will be spared…live Shinta, for me.
Before the wedding he went to Kyoto. He saw Tomoe's tear ridden face. She had cried, and he had been the cause of those tears. And became a man never to return. He had not only made Tomoe cry, but Kiyosato as well. As he was reaching for something only his mind's eye could see the man had cried, cried for his lost love.
In the end, even he had cried.He could feel the cool steel of the dagger as it sliced easily through his skin. He had opened his eyes and a single, red teardrop had fallen. Gomen nasai. So many, he had caused so many to cry.
"Kenshin?" Neko shook him again. She was afraid. She thought he had died once; she didn't want to go through that if he really did die, especially if he was going to die right in front of her eyes. She became even more nervous when he started to cry and his eyes darted about the room. "Kenshin?" He started to mutter things to himself in a soft-spoken voice. She watched him and continued to cry. "Don't die."
The faces of those who cried started to spin in front of his eyes. The room was starting to become hazy and he couldn't make out any distinct shapes, except for those who were sobbing. They pushed closer to him, suffocating him. As they became clearer, the room became dimmer. He could hear their screams, their pleas, and their sobs. Don't die. A face broke out, clearer than the others. A young, sad little girl with dark hair and emerald eyes. She was crying, begging someone not to die.
'I don't want that girl to be sad,' Kenshin thought sadly. 'But who's dying? How can I help her?'
The little girl looked up at him. Please Kenshin, don't die. She broke down and started weeping.
He recognized the voice as the one he had been hearing all along. He finally fit her face with a name. "Neko."
Neko practically choked when she heard Kenshin weakly call out her name. "Neko, don't… cry." He seemed to grow weaker with each word he spoke. She tried hard to stop crying, but couldn't manage to. "It… will… be…" He took a breath between each word, but couldn't finish what he was trying to say.
"Kenshin, don't," she muttered. "Don't." Tears slipped down her face.
"Neko, you…" Kenshin's eyes started to close.
"Kenshin! Don't!" Neko screamed, shaking him, but it didn't help this time. Kenshin's eyes kept falling. "Kenshin!" His eyelids fell shut and did not re-open. "KENSHIN!" she screamed, shaking him again. "Don't die, Kenshin! Don't die! Kenshin! Kenshin, don't die! DON'T DIE!" She shook the unresponsive man, but he was dead weight in her hands. "Kenshin!"
Takeo heard Neko's frantic sobs from outside. "Kenshin! Wake up! Don't die! Kenshin!" His heart nearly jumped out of his chest. Reizo had been telling the truth.
'Are we too late?' He ran up to the door. 'Please don't let us be too late.' He threw the door open and was appalled at the sight he beheld. Neko was frantically shaking and screaming at a very still Kenshin, who didn't even look to be alive. She was pushing against his side, holding what appeared to be a gi, now blood soaked, against his side, trying to stop the blood from spilling out any faster then it already was from the dangerously pale man.
Neko turned her head to the group of five who had just entered and screamed. She nearly threw herself on Kenshin, screaming at them to go away. Takeo quickly ran up to her, trying to calm her down. "Neko, it's me, Takeo-sensei? Remember?" He lifted her off Kenshin.
"Kenshin! Kenshin! Kenshin! Don't die! Don't die! You can't be dead! Kenshin!" She just screamed louder the further Takeo took her from Kenshin.
He could feel her body shaking in his arms. He sat her down so he could look into her wild, feral eyes. 'She's gone into shock.' He quickly diagnosed, feeling her forehead as he did so. 'And she's still sick.' He turned to the four men who had been willing to accompany him. "Someone grab one of those blankets and wrap her in it!" he ordered, and pointed to one of the blankets in the corner. "We don't have time to carry Himura-san back and she shouldn't be in here, so one of you take her outside. Try to calm her down!"
"Hai!" the men answered in unison. One quickly grabbed a blanket and wrapped Neko in it. He then picked her up and carried her outside as she continued to scream for Kenshin.
Takeo ignored her screams and moved to start work on Kenshin. He had brought his medical supplies with him; the description Reizo had given him had been bad, so he had prepared for the worst, and he didn't see how it could have been much worse.
The doctor placed two fingers on Kenshin's neck, checking to see if he was even alive. No point trying to save a dead man. He found a pulse; it was weak and shallow, but he didn't feel as happy as he should have for finding it, given how weak it was. He tossed Reizo's unrecognizable gi to the side and began working on Kenshin's side. Moving quickly, he attempted to stop the bleeding.
Kenshin's skin was ice cold, making Takeo worry and work even faster. He cleaned the injury first; no sense healing him if the wound got infected and later that killed him. He worked with quick and steady hands.
He felt hands touching him. He lay still, trying to figure out who was touching him; when the touch suddenly became painful, Kenshin lashed out. His eyes snapped open, and with adrenaline rushing through his body he reached out with his arm and punched Takeo's cheek.
The punch was weak. It didn't sting; it hadn't even made Takeo flinch, although it took the doctor by complete surprise. "Himura!" he yelled, shocked that Kenshin had woken up. He grabbed Kenshin's wrist and held it down before he had time to take another swing.
"What's going on? Let go of me!" Kenshin was trying to fight back against the man pressing him down; he still didn't recognize who it was.
"It's alright, Himura, lie still!" A couple of men came over to hold Kenshin down. One went for his struggling legs, but found those already being restricted by ropes. The other pushed down on Kenshin's shoulders so Takeo could get back to work.
He let the man hold him down, all his strength gone again. He starred at the man that was causing him pain, finally recognizing him. "Neko, where…" He couldn't finish. He suddenly felt very light headed and weak.
"She's outside, she's okay," Takeo said calmly as he worked.
"Reizo-"
"Don't worry about that right now." Takeo began to rub a cleaning solution into the injury and Kenshin hissed. "You've lost a lot of blood," Takeo told him, rubbing more of the solution into the wound.
"I…" He hissed again "…know." He was quiet a few moments. "I'm going to die, aren't I?"
Takeo's face faltered, but his hands never paused. "I don't know," he said softly. Kenshin gave a small, single, uncaring laugh that sent shivers down the doctor's back.
He continued working, getting ready to stitch the laceration. When he finally started, he apologized to Kenshin for not having time to use any sedatives, and began to stitch the injury back together. Kenshin groaned a few times during the beginning, and then passed out again from the pain. Takeo worked diligently; he was able to close the wound, but that didn't mean Kenshin was going to be alright, not by a long shot. He moved on to cleaning and re-stitching Kenshin's other bleeding areas.
Finally finishing hours later, Takeo sat back and rubbed the tiny beads of sweat that had formed while he had worked. 'Now to look at Neko-chan and let Himura-san rest.' He went outside to check on her.
He found the man who had taken her outside was holding her in his lap and rocking slightly. Neko was clutching the blanket tightly, her eyes red and puffy from crying. She was still violently shaking, but she had at lest stopped screaming. Takeo looked in her eyes and checked her temperature. She would be all right until they got back. Right now, he was more worried about Hiroko coming back; they needed to get out of there, but he really didn't want to move Kenshin.
He took a few moments to think about what he wanted to do. He finally came to the conclusion that he wanted to get all of them out of danger. He looked to the man holding Neko and he looked back, blushing slightly. "She reminds me of my daughter at home," he said with a slight smile, holding Neko tighter.
Takeo smiled back at the man. "I need you to take her to the new safe house. We'll be along shortly." The man nodded, and carefully stood up.
"Um, Takeo-sensei?"
"Hm?"
"Is… is she going to live?" He held Neko tighter. He didn't want someone so young to die.
Takeo gave the man a tired, comforting smile. "She'll be fine." The man gave a quick nod and took off down the road, carrying Neko with him.
Takeo was going to watch him a while longer, but a man came out and told him Himura had woken up. Although once he was inside, it was easy to see that Kenshin was hardly awake; his eyes were open, but they were unfocused. Takeo took a cloth and wiped away the sweat that had developed on his face. "We're going to move you soon, Himura," he explained.
"Neko-"
"I told you she's fine."
"-doll. Her doll." Takeo could only stare at the man lying before him for a moment. Then he smiled and looked around the room, quickly spotting the doll.
"This?" Kenshin gave a weak nod. "I'll make sure she gets it back." Again Kenshin gave a weak nod, and his eyes seemed a bit more distant. Takeo decided to let him rest while he thought of a way to move him without injuring him further. He eyed the table. 'Well, we wouldn't have to move him as much as he's already on it.' He thought about it a bit more, and then decided. Turning to the three remaining men, he explained what he wanted done. "We're going to carry him using the table, so pick up the ends carefully."
The two men who had helped hold Kenshin down picked up either end of the table. They lifted the table carefully; Kenshin's blood began to slowly run towards his head as the man holding the table by Kenshin's feet lifted it a bit higher then the man holding it by his head. The other man quickly compensated and lifted his end higher.
Kenshin did his best to stifle the moans that kept threatening to escape his throat, as the men began to move him. He closed his eyes, the movement making him dizzy. 'How could I let this happen?' he asked himself. 'How? How could I let this happen!' He was angry.
"Just try to relax, Himura-san," Takeo said softly, seeing the tension settling on Kenshin's features. "We'll get you back on your feet in no time."
They left the little shack quickly. Kenshin passed out fairly early on the journey.
Katsura sat at his desk, papers stacked around him, his mind anywhere but business. 'There hasn't been any word of an attack yet.' It was still early, but all this waiting was starting to get to him. He couldn't help but worry constantly for Neko's and Kenshin's safety.
"Someone, call one of the doctors! Hurry!" a voice called out from behind the closed door. Katsura quickly stood up and slid the door open; maybe this was the news he had been waiting for.
Moving quickly down the halls, he promptly found the man responsible for all the yelling. In the man's arms was a large bundle that was shaking, Katsura quickly identified the bundle for what it was. "Neko-chan…" he was speechless for a moment. "What happened?"
"Takeo-sensei asked me to come with him because he thought he knew where Himura-san and Neko-chan were. I followed him and he was right."
"Himura, where's Himura?" Katsura was doing his best to control himself.
The man cast his eyes down. "He's hurt bad, I don't know what happened, all I saw was that…" He paused, trying to find the right thing to say. "…he was lying there, bleeding badly, and when I first saw him I thought he was dead."
Itsuo came running up, interrupting their conversation. "Neko-chan! What happened?" He beckoned the man to follow him back down the hall.
"I'm not sure," the man said, beginning to follow the doctor. "Takeo-sensei is coming soon with Himura."
"So he's alive?" Katsura quickly asked, before Itsuo took the man into a private room so he could examine Neko better.
"Yes, for now." The man slipped into the room and helped Itsuo with Neko's examination.
It was a fairly quick assessment. "She's in shock." Itsuo explained, lying Neko down on a futon and covering her with a light blanket. "There's not much I can do for her, but keep her calm. I'm just glad her fever hasn't return or worsened while she was gone."
"Kenshin…dead…" she mumbled, squirming a little in her bed. Itsuo was about to say something when a commotion was heard outside the door. Rushed and worried voices were yelling out instructions.
"Where's Itsuo-sensei!" Itsuo quickly rose to his feet, telling the man to come get him if there was any change with Neko before he left.
He ran out into the hall and towards the front door; Yasuo was already there. "What's going on?" he asked the older man, as he walked up to him.
Yasuo pointed outside. "Himura's back. Apparently he's very injured, he'll need our help."
Itsuo looked outside and saw a small group of men gathered around a table. They were, from what Itsuo could see, cutting a man's legs away from a table that was too big to fit through the front door. When they finally, and carefully, lifted the man off the table, Itsuo caught a good glimpse of the man's red hair. "Himura-san."
Kenshin was carefully carried into a separate room where the three doctors could work in peace. "I did the best I could." Takeo explained to the other two with a sigh.
Yasuo put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You did a great job, but you seem tired. You've done enough, and I don't need your exhaustion to bungle anything up. So go, and let us worry over Himura-san now."
He started to protest, and then stopped. He would admit he was tired, a break would be nice. "Arigato Yasuo-san." He gave a slight bow and left the room. He thought about finding a place where he could lie down and take a well deserved rest, but he had one last thing he needed to do.
He found Neko's room easily enough. "Hello, Neko-chan," he said softly, kneeling down beside her.
"Dead…Kenshin…" He couldn't help but let out a sad sigh. He reached into his pocket and pulled out her doll.
Holding it out in front of her he spoke in a soothing voice. "Neko, it's your doll. Himura-san wanted to make sure you had it."
She stared straight out in front of her, looking past the doll that was being held in front of her face. Takeo was about to just set the doll beside her when she spoke. "Kenshin…doll…my…" She reached out for it. "Kenshin…dead…doll…Kenshin…"
He patted her head gently. "He's not dead."
"Kenshin…dead…not…Kenshin…" She hugged her doll closer to her. "Kenshin, don't… don't die." She shut her eyes and was quiet again.
"Let me see him!" Katsura shouted at Itsuo as the doctor blocked his entrance into Kenshin's room.
Itsuo put up his hands, a little afraid Katsura was about to push him away. "Please Katsura-san, he needs to rest!"
"I don't want to wake him! I just want to see him!" Katsura was getting frustrated with Itsuo.
"Please, Yasuo-sensei needs time to work! He-"
"Let the man in already Itsuo. When I told you to keep people away from the door I didn't mean Katsura-san." He reached out and lightly smacked the younger doctor on the head with two fingers. "Baka."
Katsura quickly side-stepped Itsuo and looked, almost pleadingly, to Yasuo. "How is he?"
Yasuo sighed. "He's very lucky; had Takeo-san taken any longer to get to him, then… well, no one knows for certain." He felt that what had been avoided didn't need to be spoken out loud. "Let me make this clear. He's alive, barely. We're going to have to keep a close eye on him. He's very weak right now. Too much stress may kill him." He waved his hand into the room, inviting Katsura to enter.
He looked into the room. He could see a form lying quietly on the futon. A soft rise and fall of the blanket covering the sleeping figure eased Katsura's fears slightly. It meant that the person was still alive. The man's red hair had been taken down, the scarlet tresses a dark contrast against his deathly pale features. "I understand, Yasuo-sensei."
"Good." The old doctor patted Katsura's shoulder. "Let's let him rest. He needs it."
Katsura nodded. "Yes, I have work that needs to be done anyway." They left the room, shutting the door so Kenshin could rest.
Plans were made for that night. Kenshin was to remain undisturbed until morning, with Yasuo and Itsuo occupying the rooms on either side of Kenshin's. That way, either of them could hear Kenshin if he yelled for anything. Takeo was going to sleep in Neko's room. Seeing how stressed she was, they thought it best for someone to remain with her at all times.
The night slowly quieted down as people made their way to bed. The sound of crickets was soon the dominating sound with a light trace of snoring in the background.
Everyone was sleeping rather peacefully, except one. Neko's eyes slowly opened, and she looked around her room. "Kenshin?" she asked softly. She saw someone sleeping not too far away from her. "Kenshin!" Neko whispered excitedly, crawling towards the man. When she could see it wasn't her Kenshin, she got discouraged. "He's not Kenshin." Stumbling because of her bad leg, she rose to her shaky feet and looked around the room once more. Spying the door, she staggered towards it and slid it open. "Kenshin?" she asked quietly out into the hall.
Not getting an answer, she took a few awkward steps to the closest room to her. Sliding the door open, she poked her head inside. "Kenshin?" She inspected the body sleeping peacefully in the room. Discovering it wasn't Kenshin, she shook her head sadly and moved on to another room.
She checked room after room, and came upon a room occupied by a man named Ryuji. He was about the only one still awake, having a problem with insomnia; he was understandably surprised when a young girl opened his door and looked inside. The two looked directly into each other's eyes, just staring at each other until the girl sighed and said, "He's not Kenshin." Then she turned and started to walk away.
"Ma-matte!" Ryuji scrambled out of bed and followed Neko in her pursuit for Kenshin. "Shouldn't you be in bed?" he asked, once he'd caught up to her. She said nothing, but opened another door, looked inside, and called for Kenshin. Finding he wasn't there, she turned and moved on to the next door. "Hey kid, are you listening to me?"
Neko turned and stared at the man with dull eyes. "Kenshin? Kenshin, where is he? You're not-" She shook her head sadly and opened the next door.
"Himura? Himura-san's sleeping right now. You should be sleeping, too." Neko either ignored him or didn't hear him. She called for Kenshin again and started to walk away when she was sure he wasn't in there. "Come on kid. Time for bed." Gently, Ryuji picked her up and carried her down the hall, noting that all the doors had been opened from here to partly down the hall.
Deciding to try the first open door, he found Takeo still sleeping inside. He set Neko down in the empty futon, guessing it was hers. "Now stay here and go to sleep," he said, covering her.
"Sleep." Neko kissed her doll. "Sleep," she said again, closing her eyes.
"Good girl." Ryuji patted her on the head before leaving, shutting the door again.
A few seconds after the door had been shut, Neko opened her eyes. She looked around the room carefully. "Kenshin?" She looked and saw Takeo sleeping again. "Kenshin!" Neko whispered, even more excited this time, crawling towards Takeo once more. When she could see it wasn't Kenshin, she pouted. "He's not Kenshin." She looked towards the door and opened it, stumbling out into the hall once more.
Ryuji had nearly closed all the doors, when he heard a shoji behind him being opened and a soft voice whisper. "Kenshin?" He whirled around just in time to see Neko shake her head sadly and say, "He's not Kenshin," before she moved on to the next door. She had already re-opened one other door, moving faster and not taking as long to decide if the person was Kenshin or not this time.
"KID!" he yelled, running and stopping her from opening another door. "I thought you wen-" He stopped when her sad eyes fell on him.
"Kenshin?" She took a moment to look at him. "He's not Kenshin."
Ryuji was getting annoyed. "Listen kid, you should be in bed."
"Kenshin's not dead." She had misheard him. "Where's Kenshin?" She looked up at him with pleading eyes.
He sighed; he wasn't used to dealing with kids. "Come on, kid. I'll show you Himura-san, then you'll go to sleep."
Ryuji was momentarily stunned by the look of pure joy that quickly spread over Neko's face. "Kenshin!" she said breathlessly. "He's not dead! Kenshin!"
"Right, not dead," he said, picking her up. "He's in this room." He took her to Kenshin's door and set her down so he could open the door.
Neko wouldn't wait, she pushed pass Ryuji and threw the door open. "Kenshin?" she asked, inspecting the person sleeping in the room. "Kenshin!" she shouted, nearly jumping up and down, stumbling a bit from her sore leg. She moved to rush inside when Ryuji held her back.
"You can't go in there," he said, turning nearly as pale as Kenshin. "That's Himura's room. If we wake him up…" He paused a moment. "…no telling what he would do!"
Neko looked up at him with sheer confusion. "Kenshin," she said, pointing to him. "Kenshin." This time she tugged away from Ryuji, trying to get to him.
He lifted her off her feet. "He's dangerous, so leave him alone." She started to let out a soft, whiny groan as he carried her back to her room. "Go back to sleep." He entered her room and tucked her once more into bed. "Now stay here."
"Kenshin," she moaned.
"Go. To. Sleep." He waited for her to close her eyes, before standing and once more shutting the door behind him.
As soon as the door shut, Neko lifted her head and carefully crawled to the door. She almost giggled when she reached up to open it, but when she pulled it, it wouldn't move. She gave a surprised squeak and pulled harder. Still, it wouldn't move. Harder; again, it wouldn't move. Soon, she was frantically pulling the door and making soft moaning noises.
"I said go to sleep, kid," Ryuji said softly, as he felt her tug on the door he held shut once more. "Before you wake up Takeo-sensei." He could hear her faintly crying behind the paper door. He felt awful, but he knew it was for the best. Everyone understood – you didn't just walk up to Himura while he was sleeping. Even if he was near death's door. At long last, he heard her crying cease. He opened the door and saw she had fallen asleep next to it, her little doll clutched tightly to her. Ryuji picked her up once more and set her in bed. He finished shutting all the doors Neko had opened, and finally went back to his own bed and fell asleep without even trying.
Neko didn't sleep as soundly. "Kenshin?" she spoke with a yawn, waking up. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Kenshin?" Looking around, she spotted the door that led to the hall. She got up and wobbled towards it. She was overjoyed when she slid it and it opened. Practically falling over herself, she made her way down the halls, stopping in front of Kenshin's door. She pulled it open and looked inside. For the last time she asked her question. "Kenshin?" Looking at the man sleeping peacefully inside, she easily distinguished that he was indeed her angel.
"Kenshin." With a sigh she entered the room, not bothering to shut the door behind her. "Kenshin." She repeated, nearly collapsing next to his right side. Her leg was so sore, but she didn't even think about it. She had found her angel, and after a few minutes of watching him breathe, she was able to safely assume he was indeed alive. "Kenshin, my angel," she mumbled, snuggling up next to him, subconsciously mindful of his injuries.
Takeo wearily awoke in the night, not sure why he had been pulled from such a restful sleep. He looked over to where Neko should have been sleeping. His heart began to race when he saw that she was gone and the door was wide open. 'Not again!' he thought frantically. 'Wasn't Reizo the spy!' He jumped out of bed and ran into the hall.
He suddenly felt very cold and weak when he saw the door to Kenshin's room was wide open. 'Oh please, no,' he begged, as he slowly made his way to the door. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl and it seemed like what would only take him a couple seconds, lasted forever.
When he finally reached the door and looked inside, he nearly collapsed from sheer relief. He even laughed a few times when he saw Neko snuggled up against a sleeping Kenshin, doll pressed between the two, both looking quite peaceful. Takeo was beside himself; he never felt more relieved or touched at the same time. He smiled and retreated from the room, coming back with a blanket and covering Neko with it.
Neko gave a soft sigh and pulled the blankets closer to her. "Angel, Kenshin. My angel," she mumbled, moving closer to him. Takeo smiled again and closed the door so the two of them could get some much needed sleep.
When morning came and dawn was rising, Yasuo awoke from his sleep. He stretched and yawned as he stood up, shuffling out the door. He skipped Kenshin's room; all that boy needed right now was plenty of rest. Besides, there wasn't anything he could do for Kenshin now. They had done all they could. Might as well make sure Neko, who could be helped, didn't need it. He quietly opened the door to the room Takeo and Neko shared, not wanting to wake anyone inside. When he saw Neko's futon had been folded and was sitting quietly in the room without her, he was just a little concerned. He walked into the room and began to shake Takeo. "Takeo, Takeo, where is Neko-chan?"
Being roused from a deep sleep, Takeo took a few moments before he spoke. "She's with Himura," he said, sitting up.
"Himura?" Now Yasuo looked a little annoyed. "Please tell me, Takeo, why is it whenever I leave you alone with those two you can't keep them in their own rooms?"
"I'm sorry, Yasuo-san," he said with a small, tired grin. "But they just refuse to be separated."
Neko woke later that afternoon, happy to find Kenshin was still there. "Kenshin," she said softly, moving closer to him. She rested there until Yasuo poked his head into the room to see how the two were doing.
"How are you feeling, Neko-chan?" he said with a smile, when he saw she was up.
"Okay."
He came into the room and squatted down near her. "Neko, will you look me in the eye?" She sat up and did as he asked. He checked her pupils to see if they were dilated or looked abnormal. He also had her follow his finger as he moved it in various directions. 'Mild shock. She'll be fine now,' he concluded, standing up. "So you feel fine?"
"Well," she started, rubbing her splinted leg. "My leg hurts a little and it itches."
"Itching is good. It means it's getting better. I'll go get you something to make it not hurt so much, okay?"
"Okay."
"And I'll have Itsuo-sensei bring your futon in later." He left and came back with some medicine for Neko to take.
"Yueack!" Yasuo smiled at the funny face Neko made to the awful taste. Her face fell so suddenly that it caught Yasuo by surprise. "Why won't he wake up?" she asked, looking over at Kenshin.
"He got hurt pretty badly, Neko. He needs to rest and get better."
"But… but he will get better. Right?" she asked, looking up at the doctor with sad eyes.
Like Itsuo, Yasuo hadn't had many child patients, but he'd had a few before. They never ceased to amaze him with their uncanny ability to understand when something was wrong. They always seemed to know that something was wrong, even if they didn't understand it. "Sure, he will."
Neko brightened. "I know he will!"
They also surprised him with how much they would believe what they were told.
'Please don't make me a liar, Kenshin,' he thought, as he checked Neko's leg to make sure it hadn't been injured during her walk last night.
The days passed lazily. Kenshin slept through them all. Color had started to come back to his features, and he seemed to be sleeping less deeply than before. Moaning and murmuring in his sleep from time to time, according to Neko. "He tricks me! I think he's waking up, but he just keeps sleeping," she informed Katsura, who was making his daily visit, one day. "He sure does sleep a lot! I wish he would wake up and play with me." Katsura thought about the day he had caught Reizo, Neko, and Kenshin coming inside from the rain, covered in mud and couldn't help but to grin.
So Kenshin slept the days away. Neko was looked after by the doctors, who made sure she was comfortable and her leg was healing properly. They would also take time to visit her, just to keep her company. Neko waited patiently for her angel to wake up, praying that he would awaken soon.
The first sound that came to his ears was that of laughter. Pure, genuine laughter. He hadn't listened to a laugh like that in so long. So full of happiness and joy, he had almost forgotten how peaceful it could be to hear a sound like that. It warmed him inside. Slowly opening his eyes, squinting against the harsh light that invaded them, he turned his head to see where that sound was coming from.
The sight that met his eyes was Neko sitting on a futon beside him, tears streaking down her face as she shrieked with laughter. Itsuo, the culprit of her giggles, was tickling her left leg. She was shaking her head back and forth and during one of those shakes she stopped, and whipped her head towards him. "Kenshin!" she said joyously. "You're awake!"