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Chapter 6

The two young women who had once been friends now stood on opposing sides and it was clear by the look on their faces, that one of them would loose their life at the end of their battle. Hitomi rushed at Taeya and brought her swords down on her but found that Taeya had the same attack. Taeya smiled inwardly at Hitomi's slightly angered gesture as she regained composure; 'She has no clue that I can read her like an open book.'

Their intense sword fight continued for what seemed like hours on end but was, in reality, merely five or six minutes. The clashing and banging of swords echoed through the air, the grunts and blood lingered in the air, and none of them were faltering. Hitomi began to get agitated when she noticed that Taeya was enjoying the fight; she didn't seem like she was trying. She had entered the battle with much confidence but it had quickly faded in the last two minutes.

Hitomi raised her katanas in the air and brought them down hard and fast but hit nothing but the ground beneath her. She hesitantly looked up to see Taeya coming down at her with her sword out in front of her. Hitomi rolled to the side to avoid Taeya's deadly attack but cringed when she landed roughly on the other side of where she stood moments ago. Her hand went to her right arm and she felt that it was drenched in blood already.

"It is quite obvious who the winner is, ne Hitomi?" asked Taeya coldly as she walked slowly towards Hitomi, who was slowly crawling away from her, fear evident in her light hazel eyes.

As Taeya walked up to Hitomi, her eyes seemed to darken and a feeling of pure hunger rushed throughout her body, a feeling she had not felt for a long time suddenly wanted to be known; the hunger for…blood. As she stood over Hitomi and held her katanas over her head to give a finishing move, she tried to force that feeling away but the only thing she did was calm it down. Taeya brought her katanas down fast for a nice clean cut but stopped when she heard a familiar scream; the swords halted less than half an inch above Hitomi's head.

"Ahhhh!" cried Misao as one of the masked men was able to sneak up behind her. Her eyes widened as she realized with full force that she would not be able to dodge him, 'I-I'm going to…to die!' she thought as she closed her eyes tightly, wishing the man to go away.

Misao opened her eyes when she heard a disgusting gurgling noise and felt something cold splash onto her bare legs and lightly on her face. Misao looked at the man, her eyes wide with amazement, and saw a sword sticking more than half way out of the middle of his stomach, blood dripping to the ground from his wound and from his mouth. Misao looked over at Taeya, her right arm was extended and the sword that she had held within her hand was no longer there. 'Taeya saved me,' thought Misao as she looked and Taeya and suddenly saw Hitomi grab the sword from the ground that Taeya had deflected and stood up. "Taeya, look out behind you!" she shouted out but was too late.

She watched hopelessly, almost in slow motion, as Taeya turned around to block Hitomi's attack but was too late. Misao visibly flinched as she saw Hitomi swing her sword to the side and then Misao slightly smiled when she saw Taeya jumped back. Taeya cringed in pain as the sword slashed her upper torso and felt blood spill to the floor as well as on her hands. As soon as she landed on her feet she lunged at Hitomi with her left and caught her off guard.

Hitomi's eyes widened in pain as she felt Taeya's sword pierce through her chest and suddenly couldn't breathe as blood spilled slowly out of her mouth. She felt Taeya remove the sword from her body, she fell to the floor and then…she was nothing more than a dead corpse lying on the now darkened grass.

Aoshi looked over at Misao and saw that she stood motionless, looking at Taeya who was kneeling on the grass next to a body that he figured was Hitomi. Aoshi rushed towards Misao and killed a masked soldier who was aiming some kunai at her. Sanosuke and Aoshi looked at Misao with concern, "Misao-chan, what's wrong?"

"T-Taeya-san…she's…"

Before Misao had finished her sentence, Sanosuke ran towards Taeya and knelt beside her. "Taeya…are you alright?" he asked as concern gripped his heart.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Nothing to worry …about," she said weakly as she tried to stop him from seeing the blood that stained her hands and outfit.

Sanosuke grabbed her hand away from her torso and froze. "Taeya…" he said as he helped her stand up off the ground.

"Sano…I'm fine," she said strongly as she gripped the side of her torso.

"You don't sound fine," said Misao with concern, guilt and pain stained her beautiful sea green eyes.

"Misao, don't you even think this is your fault!" said Taeya sternly.

"Demo…"

"Demo nothing Misao-chan. It's not…your fault," Taeya's last words faltered as her eyes became heavy and closed as she suddenly went limp in Sanosuke's arms.

"Let's get her back to the Aoiya to treat her wounds," said Aoshi as he grabbed Misao's hand and led her back to the Aoiya while Sanosuke picked Taeya up bride style and followed close behind. Aoshi opened the door to the Aoiya still holding Misao's hand and for a second he didn't do anything but stare at Kenshin and his friends. He quickly recovered, "Okina, call the doctor," he said as he slowly let go of Misao's hand and stepped aside so that Sanosuke could get through.

"Oh, Kami-sama," said Kaoru as she looked over at Taeya's bloodied from. "Taeya-san."

"She'll be fine," said Sanosuke as he made his way up the stairs to their room, "just make sure that damn doctor gets here fast."

Kenshin and the others watched Sanosuke hurry up stairs with Misao close behind him. They turned to Aoshi for an explanation as he sat down next to them. Aoshi sighed, "Do you want me to tell you what happened to Taeya-san or do you prefer Misao to tell you?"

Misao was kneeling over Sanosuke who was kneeling over Taeya while he cleaned and bandaged her wound. It was only after Sanosuke was finished tying the knot on the bandage did Misao speak up. "Sanosuke…will she be alright?"

"Don't worry 'bout her itachi…she just needs to rest and recover is all," said Sanosuke while he stood up and was slightly surprised when Misao hugged him.

"Gomen nasai tori-atama. I didn't mean for her to get hurt and distracted because of me."

"Shh…it's okay itachi. Taeya wouldn't want you to blame yourself over what happened down by the river. She doesn't blame you, I don't blame you, so you shouldn't blame yourself either."

Misao let go of Sanosuke and smiled as she heard the door open and the doctor came in. "Should I start calling you 'brother' now or will tori-atama do?"

"Nani?"

"Don't 'nani' me. I saw you two last night," whispered Misao darkly.

"Misao," called Aoshi from the door.

Misao winked at Sanosuke and walked out of the room with Aoshi. 'Hrm, that little weasel,' thought Sanosuke as he knelt down next to the doctor and Taeya. "Will she be alright doc?"

"Hai, you did well in cleaning and bandaging the wound as fast as you could. The wound will heal in time, however, she needs to rest. She lost a lot of blood so she will be a little out of it," the doctor stood up and walked back out, "if there are any complications call me."

Sano sighed in relief as the doctor left, he looked down at Taeya and then at her arm, noticing for the first time that both of her arms were also bandaged. "You scared the shit out of me. Don't you ever think about doing that again."

"Gomen," came a soft and weak whisper.

Sanosuke looked back over at Taeya's face and saw that her green emerald eyes were now open and she was smiling weakly at him. "Taeya, you're awake. The doctor said that you would be out cold 'til tomorrow."

"Well…he was wrong, huh? Don't worry about me Sanosuke, these...are nothing but little…scratches to me."

"He, yeah right. You say that but you don't really mean it," said Sano with a light smirk.

Taeya smiled back, "How are Aoshi and Misao? They didn't get hurt or anything like that… did they?"

"Naah, Shinamori is fine and so is the weasel. They are really worried about you though, Misao acts like your little sister and Shinamori is actually acting like a big brother would. You guys act a lot like family, huh?"

"Yeah, we are really close so I guess that you can say that they are my brother and sister. At first I tried not to get to attached to them but…Misao-chan got to me." Taeya smiled and tried to sit up by herself but winced when she felt a sharp pain rip through her torso.

"Hey, don't be movin' around or you'll reopen your wound." Sanosuke put his hand behind her back to support her and then gently maid her lay back down. "The doctor said that you might get some cold and hot flushes through the night so I won't be going anywhere for tonight. Are you sure you're okay?"

Taeya looked at him with a little annoyed look and said, "Yeah I'm fine. You know, I think I am kinda tired."

"Then why don't you close your eyes and go to sleep?"

'Cause…" she started in a sleepy voice but didn't finish her sentence as her eyes closed and she drifted to sleep. "Tired," she mumbled out.

"He, yeah I know you are," said Sano while he stood up and walked out of the room and down the stairs to the living room but not before removing his white jacket and placing it over Taeya's sleeping form. "Oi, Misao, where do you guys keep your bandages and stuff around here?" he asked as he reached the bottom of the stairs and saw Misao look at him with a small smile.

"Here, I already have everything that you might need ready for you," said Misao as she handed Sanosuke a few rolls of bandages and a medium sized face cloth. "You are probably going to need some cold water too, huh? I'll go get some," she said as she picked up a small bucket and ran outside to the well.

"Arigato!" said Sanosuke and then looked down at Aoshi, "Oi, Shinamori, is she okay?"

"Aa…she is just worried about Taeya-san. Don't worry, she'll be fine."

"Aoshi-san, how did Taeya-san end up here at the Aoiya? She seems very attached to you and Misao-chan," said Kaoru as she, Kenshin, and Yahiko sat down across from Aoshi.

"Aa, Misao and Taeya-san are a lot like sisters. At first Taeya-san didn't mean to get so attached to any of us but…Misao got to her…just like she got to all of us at one pint or another."

Kaoru smiled, "At least Taeya-san found a home among people she can relate to and feel comfortable with. Aoshi-san, why did Taeya-san go to Tokyo if she was at peace here with you?"

"Because of Himura," said Misao as she walked towards Sanosuke with the cold bucket of water and set it down at his feet. "One of the many things Taeya-san and I have in common is that we don't give up." She sat down next to Aoshi as she continued, "After I told her that you helped me find Aoshi-sama and how you defeated Shishio she wanted to find you sense she finally knew that you were really alive. Himura, you were the very first person who ever showed Taeya-san how good people can be if she gave them a try. You were there for her when her parents were murdered and you helped her recover from her injuries when she fought against her enemies."

Kenshin nodded his head, "Aa…Taeya-dono will be fine, ne Sano?" asked Kenshin as he tried to change the subject and alter the serious but depressed mood that hung in the air.

"Yeah, she'll be fine. I'm going to go back up stairs to make sure that she is fine and doesn't need anything," said Sano as he picked up the small bucket full of water and walked back up the stairs and into Taeya's room.

Misao smiled and wrapped her arms around Aoshi's arm, "Aoshi-sama, that ahou is in love with Taeya-san. It is so easy to tell how it is that he feels about her, ne?"

"I wouldn't be talking if I were you Misao. I'd say it's pretty damn obvious that you're in love with Aoshi, ne?" said Yahiko tauntingly as he glared mischievously at Misao.

"Yahiko, watch your mouth!" hissed Kaoru.

"Rrrr…you pipsqueak! I'll-"

"Misao, calm down," said Aoshi smoothly, "don't forget that Taeya-san and Sagara are upstairs and they are most likely asleep."

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot, gomen. You know, I think I'll go and make everyone some dinner and I'll make something special for Sanosuke…he must be hungry." Misao stood up and walked over to the kitchen to start cooking.

Sanosuke closed the door behind him as he entered Taeya's room and then sat down next to her while he reached out and put his hand over her head. Noticing that her temperature had risen, he dipped the small face cloth in the cold water and draped it over her forehead.

The moment the cold cloth made contact with her skin, Taeya let out a small moan and slowly turned so that she was lying on her side. 'She shouldn't be lying on her side like that. She might reopen her wounds.' Although that was what Sanosuke was thinking, he didn't even attempt to mover her into the position she was in only moments before. He removed the towel from her head and re-dipped the cloth on the cold water and then placed it back on her head.

Taeya moaned again and that was when Sanosuke noticed that she no longer had her hair in her usual ponytail, it had come undone somehow and was fanned out on the floor underneath her. His hand cleared her of some of the shorter locks of hair that were covering her lovely face from his view. Although he had cleaned her hair from her face, his hand remained on her right cheek and, without his consent, his hand began to slowly caress her cheek.

The door slid open and Misao slowly walked over to Sanosuke with a ray in her hands. "Sanosuke, I brought you some food and some sake. I thought you might be hungry since you missed dinner."

Sanosuke looked a little startled, 'Missed dinner? Shimatta, time sure does fly by when you're busy with something doesn't it?' "Arigato Misao, I was getting a little hungry. Oi," his eyebrows rose as he looked down at the ohaki, "Jou-chan didn't make this did she?"

Misao smiled, "He he he, no she didn't. I made it all by myself."

"You? You made these?" he asked as he pointed down at the Ohaki.

"Yeah I did. You got a problem with it?"

"Well no, no I don't. I just…never thought that you could cook," he grabbed one and began to chew it with light caution. "Hey, these are really goof. At least we all know that Shinamori won't go hungry after he marries you, huh?"

Misao blushed a light shade of pink; "Oh shut up tori-atama! But thanks for the compliment I guess," she said as she stood up.

"Oi Misao, could you bring me a blanket or two with a pillow?"

"Yeah sure. Hold up, I'll be right back in a second." Sanosuke looked back down at Taeya as he swallowed down some sake, 'I think I know why you didn't why to leave. Misao had a lot going on, no parents, no siblings, and no grandparents. She was alone; like you. You wanted to at least try and give her the happiest life she could have since you couldn't. You did a great job Taeya.'

Misao came back in the room with the blankets and pillow and set them down at Sanosuke's side. "Is the water still cold?"

Sanosuke dipped his finger in the water and then pulled it back out, "Yeah, it is still cold. Arigato Misao."

"No problem. You know, if you weren't here then I would be the one looking after her and treating her wounds. Just make sure she's comfortable, okay?"

"Alright, goodnight itachi."

"Humph…goodnight tori-atama."