Fanfic by blueroseulan

STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY! RK DOESN'T BELONG TO ME!

AN: I don't want to rant on so I'm just reminding you to leave a review afterwards k?

Previously on chapter 3:

And then, under the yellow bluish shadow the moon illuminated and the weeping sakura blossoms that swayed on the midsummer's night, he kissed her, uncertainty and fear dissipating in his lips. No words were needed, no permission to be asked. Everything was conveyed with the kiss they shared. Yearning and understanding fully felt and conveyed, both could only close their eyes and pull one another tighter, never wanting to let go and the mere thought of separation painful

K
N
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CHAPTER 4:

The streaming rays of sunlight were the first to touch her face that morning. Opening her sleepy eyes, Kaoru felt disappointment knowing that she would wake up with only a pillow by her side and not with the man she loved.

Wait a minute… loved?

Love?

Before she met Himura Kenshin, Kaoru vowed never to find herself in a dilemma most young prostitutes often find them in.

Loving.

It was silly. They should all know that whores are not permitted to feel. Something between a costumer and a prostitute is never ever allowed.

But with the Hitokiri in her life, Kaoru wasn't so sure anymore…

Her thoughts were all and intruded when she heard a loud rapping on her shoji. The love thing, she would have to put aside. For now, she had to pretend. Both for hers and his sake as well.

The disgruntled face of Maeba reminded her of the little tryst they had last night and Kaoru couldn't help but blush, remembering the hell of a show they had to put up.

"Ohayou Gozaimasu Maeba-san." She politely greeted, bowing her head in respect.

Instead of returning the greeting, the old woman just all the more frowned, making the younger woman a bit uncomfortable with the situation.

"Maeba-san, Gomenasai for last night… I didn't mean to be rude… I was just… too carried away…"

"Hmmph! You should well apologize with the behavior you had last night… But that's quite understandable Kamiya. Though that's not my priority right now." Maeba sneered.

"What do you mean Auntie?" she asked confusion clear on her voice.

"Takeda Shukuchi put an uproar last night. An uproar which sent whores scurrying in and of course, customers, scurrying away. H wanted to bed you last night. But you already left with the shorter man. To make all this holy crap short, he will be expecting you tonight."

All the other words that her aunt might have said were drowned in Kamiya Kaoru's ears. Fear and panic gripped her senses, making her knees weak and her head spin.

What do I do now? I totally forgot about Takeda Shukuchi! I was there… we were there when he came in… and I… oh god… what do I do now?

"You okay Kamiya? You look pale. You can't afford being sick tonight. Go down and have breakfast. Maybe you'd feel better." With that, Maeba walked out, trusting her niece to follow.

Kaoru was shocked, panicked, astounded and overwhelmed. Her mind went blank supplying no answers she desperately needed. Whatever she does, Takeda would still have her tonight. Even if Battousai comes, Maeba had solely sold her to Takeda. There was no other way to do things out.

She was hopeless.

The whole day, Maeba spent time fussing around her, making her try on fitted gowns and daring outfits, doing her hair and preparing the room they would share. The other whores stood beside, watching as the mother of the house fussed over their diamond. Everyone was whispering rumors. Talking about the luck of the woman who could get the chance to bed a government official and become rich for her whole entire life.

But amidst all these excitements, all these fussing, Kaoru could only stand weakly, Dread and fearful anticipation eating her whole being making her all the more sick and frail.

As the night approached, Kaoru could not find the heart tobid Bluerose to come out. Panic and fear overwhelmed her senses as she sat nervously on the edge of the cushioned seat of the private room she would share with Takeda. She was alone, with only the ticking of the clock echoing in her senses and as the tick tock reverberated in her ears, Kaoru found herself dreadfully wishing that the door might never open and that lightning may just strike her dead away.

And then she heard the footsteps.

Her heart beat wildly on her chest, as she felt nauseated with trepidation. But of course she had to pretend that she was sexy, confident and jaded. Draping her legs and baring her skin, she closed her eyes and bade her tears to stay in place, unsuccessfully trying to cover her face with a mask.

Any moment now…

Kaoru closed her eyes.

He would come in and the nightmare would start…

She bit her lip

Oh god…

Bowing her head and pressing her eyes tightly shut, Kaoru felt astounded when a warm palm encompassed her cheek.

Kenshin?

Looking up, she saw neither Kenshin nor Shukuchi. But instead a tall man with a muscular built and a white hanten with the kanji 'aku' on the back.

"Who… are … you?" she could only whisper…

"Sanosuke Sagara. Sano for short." He said, bowing hastily.

Surprise and confusion spread on her face as she tried to comprehend the situation. Not Takeda, not Kenshin… who then?

Noticing the look she had on her face, Sano could only smirk.

"Takeda couldn't come in. Had to do something very important in the government. I already talked to Maeba… that miserable old slut. Robbed me off me money…and then…"he stopped, finding out that the girl was far too flabbergasted to understand his words. "Oh well… it's exactly not my money…"

Kaoru couldn't interpret anything that the man was saying. All but the last part of his sentence. Not his money?

"Excuse me… I don't understand… what do you mean not your money?" she could not help but ask.

"Oh well, I mean it's not my money… It's somebody else's." He admitted rather sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

With this, her heart began to beat wildly, but now, not with trepidation but with anticipation.

"Of course… I know that… but whose money?" she asked a bit impatiently.

Before Sanosuke could even answer, Kaoru heard her aunt's footsteps approaching their room and she quickly ran to the door, loosened her kimono and popped her head out.

"Auntie, I'm at work. Don't bother. Okay?"

A wide-eyed Maeba could only nod and walk away as Kaoru hastily ran back to her guest to confirm her suspicions.

"Oh… well I don't think I should tell you. And I think we're running out of time. So hop on."

"Hop on?"

The man nodded with affirmation. "Trust me with this one miss. I won't hurt you."

She looked at him, straight in his eyes and then nodded. After all, she really had no choice. Climbing onto his back, Sagara Sanosuke flung open the wide British-styled window and threw their forms out in the cold summer's air.

They landed with a hard 'thud' on the ground. Much less graceful than when she landed with Kenshin. But she was all right. And her anticipation was already paining her. He led her towards a clearing and then abruptly stopped, tensing her at once.

"I should leave you here now. Miss Kamiya. My friend would be here any time. Ciao." And before Kaoru could even mouth a thank-you, he was already out of sight. Looking around, she noticed that she was unfamiliar of the place, making her all the more wonder with the sudden twist of events the night held for her.

"Kaoru!"

He saw everything from the drop to the window to the run to the woods. Mentally reminding himself to berate Sanosuke for having landed on the ground with less cared grace, he advanced towards the lone girl, standing in the middle of the large clearing.

"Kaoru!"

She looked up, searching for the voice. When she did, her face held a thousand emotions he could not place…

"Kenshin!"

In a flash, she was running towards him, her hair whipping wildly on the wind and her hand clutching her kimono tightly on her chest.

Their distance was a good distance apart and he wanted to meet her halfway. But he noted the heaviness of her steps and the sudden paleness her skin showed and he fastened his pace—

--Which was a good thing... Because had he been a few seconds late, he would not have been able to catch her when she fell towards the ground. Catching her in his arms, he was more than shocked with what had happened. Seeing her unconscious form, his hand automatically whipped to feel her pulse. Thankfully she had one—or else he wouldn't haven known what to do if she didn't—but it was weak and shallow. Nevertheless, it was still there.

Carrying her towards a big wide tree of maple and settling his body between the widely spread roots, he cradled her frail form, the light of the moon illuminating her face and giving him the chance to study her features.

She was deathly pale. And her eyes were tightly shut, eyebrows knitted into a frown and her lips pouting downwards. He didn't know what exactly happened and what exactly to do. Sure he was an assassin, and he knew what was the right thing to do with his body… he had to, for he had to use it as his advantage. But he was used to treating himself when he was wounded and bloody, tired and exhausted after a battle was won. But Kaoru was not at all wounded, nor was she bleeding and it made him all the more alarmed knowing that the complications may arise, inside her body and cannot be seen by the naked eye.

Soon the object of his scrutiny began to stir and Kenshin could not help but sigh in relief. Seeing her eyelids slowly flutter open made him relax knowing that she was already awake, safe from the demons that may torment her when she was asleep. Cool amber orbs gazed into clouded lapis lazuli as she slowly tried to blink away the hazy mist that shrouded her eyes.

"Kaoru… Are you okay? What are you feeling right now?" his voice was filled with worry, making her smile a bit, only to have it replaced by a frown.

"Ugh… My head hurts like hell.." she murmured.

"What happened?"

She shook her head negatively. "I honestly don't know why… Maybe it was the tension…" she replied, sitting up with his help and slightly wincing in pain.

"Tension? Why so?"

Scooting closer to his form and nestling her cheek on the base of his neck, she said seriously,

"Well… I was scared..."

"Scared of what?" his voice held an impassive tone.

"Scared of facing Takeda Shukuchi… I was almost suffocated with the thick air blanketing the room I was going to share with him… I don't want to share my body with him… that pig…" she glared with disgust and anger.

He lifted an eyebrow and only held her closer to his form. "And what made you think that I would forget about tonight?" he asked matter of factly.

This time, a heavy crimson blush crept all over her cheek even as she tried to hide her face in the shadow of his muscular built.

"I don't know… I honestly thought you were too busy with your work and you forgot about it." She answered rather sheepishly.

He shook his head. "Baka Kaoru. You should always put in mind that you're my first priority. First. Always. Work could come later, but your safety is my top concern." He declared, resting his chin atop her head and breathing in her jasmine scent.

"Oh Kenshin, I forgot to ask you," she perched up, twisting her form to face him, "Who was that man who helped me reach you? The tall person with a hanten that wrote an 'aku' character on the back?"

He grinned, rubbing the back of his head. "That was Sanosuke. He's my best friend.. I could see that he isn't that very much practiced on his landing." He observed, his gaze directed to the slight patches of bruises that ran high on her knee.

"Well, he's not as good as you are. But the very fact that he rescued me from Takeda… I should thank him…but wait, what exactly happened to that man? Sanosuke-san told me that he had to do something very important… What was it?"

He grinned impishly, one that Kaoru rarely saw and treasured. His face wore a look of pure mischief but she had no heart to reprimand him.

"I… Well you see… I sorta arranged his departure. "

"You what?" she shrieked.

"Er… well… I snuck up on the local office of finance and well… I hid a very large sum of money in his cabinet, alerted the guards and took off… Leaving him in trouble…" He admitted; a bit scared with the reaction she had on her features.

"Kenshin Himura! Did I ever tell you to go that far for me! Now the poor pig's in a big big mess!" she almost yelled.

"Exactly! So that you won't bed him and you can stay with me." He declared triumphantly.

Shaking her head violently, she stood up suddenly, surprising him and automatically enabling his hand to whip towards her arm.

"Are you mad? Kaoru?" he asked, panic overlooking his visage.

The woman sighed; very well knowing that she couldn't stay mad for long with the man. It was the only way he could think of, no matter how brutal and uncanny it may be but nevertheless she was touched. Touched by the lengths he was willing to overthrow for her sake and with the concern he had always tried to show even during the very first time.

When he saw the look of exoneration that passed on her face, he almost smiled. Glad that he was pardoned. He was just about to stand up when he abruptly felt her ki die and her frame fall limply on his arms. At once panic coursed through his spine, once again confusing him from what was the right thing to do. Like before, she had a pulse but weaker from what was normal and it frightened him, making the growing ache in his heart pain.

It took a longer time for her to regain consciousness than usual—but she did—and Kenshin was far more than grateful. He was totally unsure of what might have happened. Both physically and emotionally to the woman but it alarmed him. Cradling her thin form in his arms, his palm caressed her pale face while he spoke, trying very hard to calm his voice.

"Kaoru… I don't understand what's happening… But I'm sure you need rest… I should take you back…" he started, attempting to pull him on his own feet, this time with her body in tow.

Her touch was soft to his skin and her voice was so soft he hardly even heard her. She had huddled closer to his form, closing her eyes and whispering,

"No… don't go… Please stay here… with me…"

She looked so beautiful, so angelic, with her head cradled at the crook of his neck and her perfume wafting in his senses that he had no heart to deny her request. The way she clung to his gi made him all the more convinced that he should give in to what she wanted. So, settling back to his earlier position, he adjusted her, where she would be more comfortable, and contented himself with just watching her fall asleep, his own eyelids falling heavy, and mentally noting to wake up before the sun rises in star-lit canopy.

TBC…

AN: Sano made a brief appearance in this chapter (Aww sorry for all those Sano lovers out there… he only had an eensy weensy part on the fic) But if you review… well, I could put him in the next chappies (WINK WINK)

Don't forget to review!

JA!

BLUEROSE

PS:

For those of you who are reading 'Open your Eyes and See me', I'd be updating within this week… please bear with me… and do continue reading it… I've put a lemon and a plot on the next chapter so that would be teaser enough…