The Guardian

By: Wildfire Sky

Alright, go ahead and say it...you're a horrible person Wildfire! What the hell is wrong with you? Don't you know the meaning of UPDATE? Yes I do, but here's the REAL kicker...do I have TIME? Yes and no. It's my own fault for booking my schedule so tightly and the fans have to suffer for it. I'm sorry, but once my schedule blows over, I'll get back on track.

The Guardian

Chapter Seven

The young boy sat curled in a corner, listening warily as the newcomer towered over his keeper, eyes narrow and lip curled into a snarl as he hissed harshly at the would be rapist. The other man simply stood there patiently, taking the verbal beating as if it were nothing more than a casual conversation. Meanwhile, the boy was shaking like a puppy, each snapped word he flinched in fear, remembering his own abuse, both physical and mental, at the hands of his uncle.

"...you dishonor your family! These actions are disgusting and inexcusable in my eyes. What's the matter with you? Answer me!"

Finally, the boy's attacker spoke. "Akoshin-san, there is no excuse for my actions and wish for your forgiveness."

The boy started. He thought that his attacker was Akoshin, but apparently, the man was no more than a lackey from the abuse he was willingly taking. It was almost a relief to be attacked by a lowlife like him...at least it meant that he actually mattered to someone. That was more than he could say for most of his pathetic life with his uncle, always stashed away in the barn or the storage room should guests ever arrive, and he was quick to learn that emerging for even a moment held dire consequences. He had the scars to prove it.

Akoshin's voice snapped again, "Get out of here, Toshan, and do not return until you've found both your humanity and your masculinity."

There was a short length of silence before the boy heard the distinct sounds of footfalls and the rustle of fabric. He assumed that the attacker had left, but remained in his corner, listening desperately for any signs of Akoshin. He remained still for minutes on end, too fearful to move from his safe spot, his hands clutching the rags that made up his so called clothing. A cool breeze ran through the tent, causing the boy to shiver, goose bumps springing out over his skin.

"Oi, boy..."

The boy jerked away sharply, a cry escaping from his mouth as he clawed at the tent sides seeking escape. What kind of man could move without making a sound? Not even a rustle of clothing...just...silence. It hit him suddenly, only one type of creature could do something like that...an assassin. Fear gripped him in a tight squeeze, forcing the air from his lungs and causing his heart to slow to a near stop.

"Please, don't hurt me, onegai!" he cried out, curling into a tight, shivering ball, "I'll do anything you want, just don't hurt me!"

There was a low chuckle. "My name is Sai Akoshin, a member of the government and your new guardian. What's your name?"

The boy remained silent, glaring blindly in the direction of the man's voice. This time, there was the sound of movement as the man came closer, the boy could almost feel Akoshin's breath on his face, a stench of rice and fish wafting into his nostrils. Fingers gently ran over his blind eyes, and the boy flinched away again, frowning.

"I said, don't touch me!" he snarled, his body tensing as adrenaline rushed into his body, "Just get away from me, I don't need a guardian."

Akoshin laughed, "You don't have much of a choice in the matter, young man. In fact, you don't have any whatsoever, so I suggest you get used to my presence and persistence. Now then, so we might get to know each other better, let's start with your name."

The boy stiffened, "My name is..."

"It doesn't matter who you are, I can't let you in, sir! Now turn back and return to where ever you came from."

Tusume glowered at the guard in frustration, agitated that his progress was once again blocked by the weak. How dare someone as miniscule and pathetic as a guard try to push him in a direction that he had no reason to go? Obviously, the man was not aware of whom he was speaking with and the impact he held on his life.

The guard stared at Tusume awhile longer, his hand on the pistol at his waist. "Sir, please turn around and go or I'll have to escort you out myself."

Tusume stiffened at these disrespectful words, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "You will not lay one hand on me!" He adjusted the kimono around his shoulders huffily and pulled out a sealed, folded paper, handing it to the guard. "Just deliver this message then and I will be on my way."

The guard took it carefully, his eyes untrusting. "I'll have it delivered, sir."

Tusume stared at him from the corner of his eye, "I'd like to see it delivered..."

"Not possible, sir..."

"Oh for the love of..." Tusume threw up his hands, turning on his heel with a snarl, "Fine then, give me the damn thing and go on with whatever the hell you were doing! Can't count on you to do anything now can I?" With a flare of his kimono, Tusume stormed away, his shoulders stiff. Always met with obstacle after obstacle...and what's worse, he couldn't do his job because of it.

Tusume shook his head angrily. "Damn him! Damn that Toorima!" He hadn't heard from Toorima in days and he had no idea whether or not the man's mission had been a success. He wanted to know...needed to know. Nothing grated his skin more than not knowing what was going on around him. For the time was he spending up all night, wondering if the mission was a hit or a bust...it was beginning to unnerve him. The thought embarrassed Tusume, his face turning red to the roots of his hair. Never in his life had he felt nervous, like at any given moment he'd be attacked. He was a first class samurai...a soldier during the Revolution, a man known to be steel in battle. But ever since he'd gotten mixed up with Battousai and Toorima, he couldn't relax.

And why that was, he couldn't figure out and that only served to disturb him more. Tusume slowly walked down the cobblestone sidewalk that lined the street running perpendicular to the large building that housed the family of one of the richest men in Japan and former assistant to a daimyo of the Tokugawa Era. Although he'd lost some privileges since the revolution, sensei Aki Gortu still had some influence in many circles of the upper class, influences that he shamelessly used to worm his way into government office, albeit a worthless one.

Director of Civilian Progresses was an office that few, if any, have heard of. He had no say in official affairs, save for the occasional reminder that the population of the Japanese race had not been wiped off the face of the planet yet. Gortu simply sat in his plain, but large office behind a desk that took up nearly half the room, reading the newspaper and praying that one of his many enemies might have bit it. Needless to say, he was quite happy when top man Genze had disappeared and was presumed dead, in fact, Gortu had invited Tusume over to his office for drinks at the news.

"Things are finally looking up!"

Tusume frowned deeply. Things weren't looking up anymore...no, not anymore. It seemed that with Genze's disappearance, everything had gone to hell. Politicians were scared shitless, refusing to leave the 'safety' of their homes, surrounding themselves by guards if they ever did leave, thus preventing the necessary work from being done. Even the public were being terrorized by these events, trading was down, the police were set lose, arresting and detaining any human being that looked suspicious, house raids, riots...no one was safe. And worse of all, Tusume couldn't help but grin; he had no idea who was doing it. Sure, he suspected Toorima, but what would be the purpose of that? His mission was to kill the Battousai, not kidnap politicians.

Tusume walked down the clearing, dusk lit streets, ignoring the people around him, tried of interacting with narrow minded, rude people...tired of obstacles. He wanted nothing more than to go home and think about all that has happened. He stared at the ground, tuning out the agitated exclamations from the few people he forced out of his way or simply ran into. The clattering of hooves caused him to move aside, but he never broke his stride.

"Tusume-san?" A light voice called, "Is that you?"

Tusume looked up and turned, watching as the carriage clomping up the street slowed to a stop beside him, a bearded man leaning out of the window. He wore a bright grin of perfect teeth, his neatly trimmed goatee spreading with the smile that seemed to reach his light, green eyes. The auburn hair that topped his head was blow into disarray by the breeze from the carriage movement. Tusume nodded at him approaching the open side door, accepting the silently offered ride. He smiled across at his friend as he settled into the plush seat, the carriage beginning to move again.

"Gortu-sensei...a pleasure as usual."

Gortu's grin grew as he winked at Tusume, "You looked pretty pathetic walking along like that, my friend. Dare I ask why?"

Tusume smiled, "Let's just say this hasn't been a good day. Speaking of which, I have something for you." He reached into his kimono and removed the folded slip of paper. "Here's the letter that you need."

Gortu's eyes lit up at the sight of the paper, his hand lashing out to snatch it from Tusume's hands. "Excellent! I've been waiting too long for this moment to come. Have you read it yet?"

"Of course not," Tusume said with a shake of his head, "It's your letter and I want nothing to do with it."

Gortu laughed, "But you have everything to do with it! After all, if it weren't for you pressing whatever throats you did, this never could have been possible. So, how did you do it?"

Tusume cast the man a sour look, "Actually, these kidnapping have nothing to do with me...at least not as far as I know. Are you going to read that thing or not?"

Grinning and laughing, Gortu quickly opened the letter and began to read. His face slowly changed from utter happiness to downright fury as his eyes swept over the characters lined down the parchment. Angrily, he crumpled the paper, throwing it to the floor of the carriage and sending a curling glare Tusume's way. He reached up, banging against the roof of the carriage.

"Stop here!"

The carriage ground to an instant halt. The dust settling to the ground again as the two men stared at each other. Gortu jerked his head towards the door, his sunny expression now filled with anger.

"Get the hell out."

Tusume couldn't help but smile. "Something not to your liking, Gortu-sensei?"

Gortu snarled at him. "Watch it, Tusume-san, you don't know who you're messing with. I will find out if you had anything to do with this...this...event, and if you do, I swear I'll make you regret it. Now get out of my carriage."

Tusume folded his arms, "Just what exactly did the letter say?"

Gortu stiffened, his eyes narrowing. "I've been summoned to appear before my superiors. Apparently they suspect that I'm somehow connected to both a local yukuza and these kidnappings...no doubt they think I killed the pig Genze too! Damn it all, how could they trace me back to the yukuza?"

"Perhaps you should learn to cover your tracks better, my friend," Tusume said with a laugh, "Then maybe this wouldn't have happened."

Gortu's face contorted, the only warning Tusume had, before he lunged across the carriage, his finger extended towards Tusume's throat. Tusume quickly dodged his hands, swatting them away with obvious annoyance.

"Calm yourself, Gortu-sensei, you're being irrational."

"I am not being irrational!" Gortu hissed settling back, his face flushed. "Damn it, I'm not being irrational at all! I've been summoned, baka! Summoned! You...you had something to do with this, didn't you? Admit it!"

Tusume sighed, opening the carriage door and dropping to the ground. He turned back, staring at the seething Gortu. "We will talk again when you've calmed down, alright? You know how to find me."

Gortu snorted, leaning back, his face covered in shadow as he watched with baleful eyes. "You can count on our meeting again, Tusume-san. Sayonara."

Tusume bowed and closed the door gently, standing back and watching as the carriage disappeared down the street and around the corner. It seemed that Toorima's mettling was affecting more than just some local yukuza.

And it was quite entertaining.

Kenshin sat across from Karou and Yahiko, sipping gently at the tea cup held in his hands. He hadn't touched his meal yet of fish and rice, a meal he'd made himself, instead content to watch Karou eat, the silence dragging between them both relaxing and pressuring. Ever since the attack by Toorima three days ago, the conversations between himself and Karou had begun to lose their appeal. For the first time he could remember since being with her, his frustration levels had gone to the point of outright arguing with her. Usually a bit a sweet talking or just holding her without speaking a word would calm her down and force her to see things from his standpoint, but now...now...

"Oi, Kenshin?"

Kenshin blinked, his eyes sliding over to Yahiko who sat with chopsticks poised at his mouth, an eyebrow arched. "Are you alright? You looked kind of...lost..."

Kenshin forced a smile, "Do I now? My apologies, Yahiko, I was thinking that I was."

Karou looked up at this, her eyes hard and accusing, "About what, Kenshin? How to escape and find Toorima?"

Kenshin felt his anger flare again. She was starting...that accusing glare was evidence of it. Karou was utterly convinced that Kenshin would try and sneak out to find Toorima and no doubt get killed in the process. Having no idea where this thought had come from, he had no choice but to endure the initial attack on his morals before attempting to quell her ridiculous fears. The last time he'd left was to assist the police in capturing a serial rapist. Of course, there was little to no danger, and in the end, Kenshin's help wasn't needed in the arrest, but when he'd come home the next night, Karou was standing there at the entrance dressed only in her nightgown and looking like she was ready to kill. Unfortunately, for him, the ground was very cold in the winter.

"Iie, Karou-dono, I am trying to sneak out again..."

Karou simply huffed into her teacup, causing the warm steam to splash over her face. Her eyes were closed as she sipped, refusing to look in his direction. Yahiko looked between the two for only a moment before declaring that he was full and was going to practice, leaving Kenshin and Karou facing each other in uncomfortable silence.

Clearing his throat, Kenshin stood, picking up his bowl of fish and rice, "Well now, Karou-dono, I will get started on the dishes, that I will."

As he reached for Karou's bowl, her hand gently fell on his own. "Kenshin, can I ask you something?"

Kenshin froze, his eyes sliding closed at the electric shock her hands were sending through him, "Of course, Karou-dono, ask me anything."

Karou took a deep breath, licking her lips, "Why don't you trust me?"

It felt like Kenshin had been hit with his own sword, the air rushed from his lungs and his heartbeat skipped. Trust...it was something he was still coping with when it came to humans. After being alone for most of his life and having every type of person take a swing at him at some point, aiming to kill, well such events didn't instill rousing trust towards mankind. Sanouske, Megumi, Yahiko...Karou...they were all helping him learn to trust again. It was a slow process, his past continually pushing him back for every move he made forward. And now, here was Karou, asking him why he didn't trust...try as he might, a reply just couldn't form in his mind.

Karou sat there, watching Kenshin stare off at some point just over her shoulder. She knew his struggles, and deep down, she knew the question wasn't fair, but with everything that was happening in both her life and the lives of everyone in Tokyo, such a thing needed to be answered. So she waited, the silence stretching between them. Outside, she could hear bells tolling and carts moving down the street as vendors and shop keepers went home for the night. As the minutes dragged on, she felt her patience slow ebb away. Everytime Kenshin didn't want to talk about something, no matter how important it was to her, he would go into withdrawal, turning into a silent statue that only came to life once it benefited him.

Sighing loudly, Karou took her hand from Kenshin and, placing both down on top of the table, pushed her body up from her cushion. Turning towards Kenshin, she stared at him, watching for a reaction of any kind, yet he remained frozen, his arm held bent from after she'd removed it, hand still poised in the air. Her eyes narrowed at the sight before her. "Fine then..." she said, snatching up her bowl from Kenshin's reach. "This entire ordeal has thrown everything apart and you're really not helping me."

At this Kenshin's gaze fell back on her, his lips tightening. "Karou..."

"Oh no you don't," Karou snapped, holding up a hand. "Don't you try and talk me out of worrying about you. You've lived with me for years, Kenshin, years. And it's taken you so long to tell me even half of what you're thinking all the time, and now, with Toorima, and the murders...things have gone down hill. You don't talk to me anymore...you leave me in the dark...Sano hardly knows what's going on, and you two are always together..." Karou could feel tears forming behind her eyes and she scrubbed at them, angry with herself for getting so emotional over a little thing like this.

But it's not so little...

No, it wasn't. Her feeling towards Kenshin only made things more difficult. Something had happened to him and she didn't know what. He'd come back late a few days ago, saying that he'd fallen asleep in the woods, but he was keeping something from Karou, something that she'd tried to pry from him with no avail. He'd simply told her that she should get some rest...he always said that. Sometimes, she could tell he was really worried about her, but others it seemed like he was trying to avoid her questions, or just her. Glancing at Kenshin through reddened eyes, she locked gazes with him.

Kenshin stared at her a moment longer before bowing his head. "Karou...I do trust you, that I do...but things have become more complicated and it would be better if you didn't worry about it."

Karou strode over, staring up at his slightly taller form, "Worry about what Kenshin? Toorima? I don't care about him anymore!"

Kenshin reached down, clasping her hands in his, "That's precisely the problem, that it is. Assassins do not give up so easily and you would be a fool to believe it."

Karou blinked, her head tilting as she tried to formulate the words. "What did you just call me?"

Laughing, Kenshin brought her hands to his lips, kissing them gently in an act that stole Karou's breath. "Do not take offense, Karou-dono, onegai. I meant nothing by it. You just need to know that Toorima is still out there, no doubt waiting for the right time to strike again. It's a tactic that I've used many times before...wait for the target to drop their guard and then move in for the final strike." He shrugged one shoulder, "In all honesty, if he wanted to kill me on that first night, he could have done so easily...quite easily actually..."

Karou frowned, "Kenshin, you're the best samurai..."

"Not anymore Karou." Kenshin interrupted, "That much is quite obvious, not only this time, but many times before. Time and again, it's been shown to me that my skills are being more and more dismal in these days. I can not defeat something stronger that me, that I can't."

A heavy silence fell over them for a moment, Kenshin standing with his arms at his side and head bowed, Karou watching him stare at the floor. Briefly she wondered when he'd become so pitiful, but the thought came back with a vicious rebound. The same could be said of her. Any other time, she would not have hesitated to force her way into Kenshin's affairs whether he wanted it or not, helping him in anyway she could. Many times, it benefited everyone, others, she admitted to herself; she caused more harm than good. However, she only did it in Kenshin's best interests...and maybe her own at times.

Karou slowly extended her fingers towards him, gently brushing his fiery bangs from his face. Kenshin started at her touch, raising his eyes to her face, drowning in her deep orbs. A smile crossed her face at his deep gaze and she stepped closer until their bodies were only centimeters apart. She stared up at him, tracing the lines of his face. Hesitantly, she brought her other hand up to pull on Kenshin's face bringing it closer. The ex-warrior shivered slightly at the closeness, his eyes hooded.

"Karou-dono...what are you doing?"

Karou shook her head, and quickly brushed her lips against Kenshin's cheek. Kenshin inhaled sharply, trying and failing to keep from pressing his face closer. He wrapped his arms around her. "Why did you do that?"

Laughing dryly, Karou shrugged, "Because it knew it was the only thing you'd trust me to do...right?"

Blinking, Kenshin stepped back, holding her at arms length to examine her. Shaking his head, Kenshin gathered her back into his arms, tucking her head beneath his chin and slowly rocking as he stared wistfully over her. "Karou, I want you to understand something, that I do..."

"And what's that Kenshin?" she asked, her voice muffled against his chest, noting the absence of an honorary.

He paused, gathering his thoughts, "...I...don't mean to make you worry as much as I do, that I don't. But I sometimes it's necessary in order to keep you out of harms way." His chest vibrated with a chuckle, "Even though you throw yourself into it just to make me worry. However...if it really does hurt you so much whenever I don't talk to you..." He sighed, his arms tightening, "Then...then I will try better, that I will."

Karou frowned against him, moving her head to look up. "Try better to do what?"

Kenshin smiled down at her, and instead of answering immediately, he bent down, pressing his lips against her's briefly, and as he pulled back, he whispered gently into her ear. "I will try to love you better, Karou...that I promise."

Karou beamed, squeezing her eyes shut and laying against him again. "You promise?"

"I promise..."

Guess what...finally...after so many chapters the moment has arrived! Besides the fact that I'm building Kenshin and Karou's relationship, and forgive me if it was a bit too sudden in this chapter (I'm a little wired right now...actually, I have a screaming hangover so I think I did pretty good), but in the next chapter, Kenshin will have a little trouble with his eye sight after a midnight visit from Toorima. Thanks and enjoy!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

Look out for my next chapter!