A/N: Hey there. I'm sorry for this late update. So here's the chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter 22: Let's go back to the past.
In a flash, the weekend came and Kaoru knew that she was to meet her friends again. She didn't mind their visits, except that her head had the tendency to ache when they are around. And true to Doctor Shougo's words, her body was still weak and so far, she hadn't been able to activate the powers they kept telling her about. Kaoru thought that it was good for her, it was her powers that got her into this mess in the first place.
Ever since the last visit of the friends from her past, she had been thinking a lot. She had been trying to remember, trying to figure their personalities but most of all, she had been thinking about Kenshin. Soon, she will see him again and now she should really just try to concentrate on deciding what she would wear. She had been standing in front of her wardrobe for a long time and still she had not pick out an outfit. She didn't have much clothes and Kaoru made a mental note on getting more clothes for herself.
Maybe she should just wear this pair of jeans with the simple green top. That will do…
This time round, their visit was less awkward and more relaxed. Megumi even gave Kaoru a warm hug when they saw each other at the door. Hiko and Okina did not come along this time round, they had other things to attend to. So it was just Sano, Yahiko, Megumi, Soujiro and Kenshin. They talked about other things, not anything related to Kaoru's past or what had happened before, then, the topic came to that of Kaoru's sickness. Doctor Shougo was called out in the progress.
"Doctor, how is Kaoru's condition now?" Kenshin asked.
"She is in a very vulnerable stage now, she has lost her memories and she can't seem to be able to use the powers that she has. I suggest that she rest as much as possible and that she should try to make her body healthier and stronger. Her asthma attacks are a problem."
Kaoru looked listened to their conversation nervously.
"What do you suggest?" Kenshin asked again.
"I suggest that she should try to set her mind on other things, try to relax and build up her strength. I think that she will progress better that way."
Kenshin nodded thoughtfully and turned his attention to Kaoru. "I know. How about we all go and have another vacation at the villa we were telling you about?"
"Well…" Kaoru said.
"I have lots of people who can take care of you there, the air there will be good for you. It will be a nice, relaxing vacation. And Misao will be there, she lives just next door. I'm sure that she really wants to see you."
Kaoru hesitated, it was true that she wanted to go and see the villa, but her intention was to remember her past, not to have a holiday there! But she really does want to see Misao. She wanted to put a name to the face of the girl they told her that she had been close friends with.
"Okay," said Kaoru, "but can we make a short stop at my house first? I think that I ought to see my own house first before I go anywhere else."
Kenshin nodded. "Sure, we will stop at your house first then we will proceed to my villa. How does that sound?"
"Yes, that will be fine." Kaoru replied, then, she smiled mischievously at Yahiko. "My house is the terrifying Witch House that you guys were telling me about, right?"
Yahiko nodded violently and began to tell her about all the freaky accidents that happened to people if they wander near her house. "I swear! It's your house, busu! Even I fell under your spell!"
Everyone laughed and then Kaoru asked, "Why do you keep calling me 'busu'?"
Yahiko looked away sheepishly and Sano smacked his head.
"It's all right," Kaoru said gently, "I'm not angry at all. I am just curious."
Yahiko turned back to her. "It is a habit. I always call you 'busu' before and you weren't angry too. Since you are not angry now too, I'll continue calling you that!"
They all burst out into laughter again.
They were to meet at Enishi's house on Monday morning at eight in the morning. Enishi was coming with them and he even persuaded Doctor Shougo to come with them.
So on Sunday night, Kaoru packed all her minimal belongings in a bag and she began to think about her house, the house described to be so frightening by Yahiko. She wondered, what did she do in there when she was still living there?
On Monday morning, her friends arrived right on time and they were to travel in two vans, making stops on the way. Enishi, Kaoru, Doctor Shougo, Kenshin and Soujiro in one van, Sano, Megumi, Yahiko, Okina and Hiko in another.
Kaoru slept most of time while she was on the car, she couldn't find the energy to do anything else. She couldn't even bother with the presence of the other people in the van with her. All she wanted was to reach her house, and maybe she could find some clues about who she was before. Despite the fact that Doctor Shougo said that she should think about other things, she could not think of anything else.
When they finally arrived in the town where she, Sano and Yahiko lived, Kaoru sat up straight in her seat and looked out the window, trying hard to remember.
"Seen anything familiar?" Enishi asked and Kaoru shook her head. She didn't seem to be able to recognize anything, everything were so foreign to her.
Then, they drove up to a huge house which was almost hidden away completely by trees and other plants. Somehow, Kaoru guessed that it was her house when they stopped right in front of the entrance. She now understood why it was called 'The Witch's House.' Her house sure looked creepy.
All of them got down from the vans gratefully and stretched their bodies after the long ride. The kids in the same neighbourhood stopped playing with their ball and looked at them curiously. Obviously, it was not often they see people around the abandoned house.
Kaoru walked in through the gate and the children gaped. She ignored them and proceeded to the large, wooden front door; surprised when she was able to turn the knob and pushed it open. She had expected it to be locked, she turned to look at the others enquiringly, "Didn't I lock the door when I leave?"
Sano shook his head. "You didn't, jou-chan. No one would dream of coming in here anyway."
Kaoru widened her eyes. "Well, that is rather silly of me. I should have locked it, I'm a bit of a klutz before, aren't I?"
"Nope, you weren't. You are the 'witch' living in 'The Witch's House'. There's no way that you are a klutz." Sano said, laughter lurking in his eyes.
Kenshin, Soujiro, Sano and Yahiko looked at each other. The Kaoru before was mysterious, cold, and reserved. Definitely not a klutz.
Kaoru shrugged at Sano's answer and walked into her house with careful steps. She didn't know what to expect. The rest followed behind her.
When Kaoru walked past the corridors looking at the photographs hanging on the walls, she felt even more uncomfortable with herself. It was obvious that the young, smiling girl with the hopeful blue eyes was her. But she could not recognize the older man and woman beside her in those photos. She supposed that they were her parents.
Then, she saw the magnificent paintings. There were so many of them, all of them so wonderful and vibrant. There were paintings of beautiful sceneries, the sunsets, and most of all; paintings of people she didn't know. Kaoru turned around and saw that the others were admiring the paintings as well.
Megumi turned to looked at her and exclaimed, "I can't believe that you painted all of these!"
Kaoru looked at her, confused. "What do you mean?"
Sano smiled and said, "You are the artist behind all of these amazing paintings, jou-chan. See? You wrote your initials 'KK' on all of them."
Kaoru looked close to where Sano was pointing at. "But that doesn't mean it was me who did all these paintings. The artist may have the same initials."
Sano shook his head. "No, it's you. You told me yourself last time."
Kaoru stared at him, unable to believe it. She was a painter?
Then, she felt someone took her hand. It was Kenshin. "I can bring you to the room where you work on your paintings if you want, Kaoru."
Kaoru nodded. It was that weird feeling in her heart again. Whenever she saw Kenshin or have any contact with him, her heart seemed to thump extra hard and fast. Kaoru didn't know what was happening with her.
The others took their cue and let Kenshin take Kaoru away without any of them tagging along.
Meanwhile, Enishi was mesmerized by Kaoru's house and her paintings. He had never been here before and it was not long when he wandered off to discover more about the house.
Kenshin opened one of the numerous wooden doors in the long corridor and Kaoru peered inside cautiously at the door. The whole room was a startling white, and it looked like a bedroom to her. Not an art studio.
"Are we in the right room?" she asked Kenshin.
Kenshin nodded and smiled reassuringly at her. "This is your bedroom, and also where you paint and keep all your art equipment. You haven't seen the whole room yet."
Kenshin went into the room and drew back all the curtains, lighting up the room magnificently and Kaoru blinked.
There was a bed, complete with white bed sheets, pillows and blankets. White wooden shelves filled with books that she didn't remember reading. White curtains. Even the wooden floor is painted white.
At the end of the room, Kaoru saw a large white marble table and several paintings covered by a piece of white cloth. What she saw surprised her, was she really such a boring person? Someone who chose to decorate and make everything white in her own room. Who she was before must have been very different from who she was now.
Kenshin kept himself at a distance, but he was watching her, his eyes never leaving her.
Kaoru sat down on the white chair and the white table, trying to decide whether if her body could remember any of this. When she felt no sensations of tingling familiarity, she sighed and pulled one of the drawers opened. She gasped.
The first drawer was filled with packets of medicine, lots and lots of them. Kenshin came to stand next to her and he too seemed surprised by her new discovery. Kaoru read the labels on the packets and found out that they were mostly pills for diseases of the chest and her lungs. Some were sleeping pills, some were for calming of the nerves. Kaoru shuddered, thinking of how sick she must have been before.
Kenshin could see the fear in her eyes and he felt extremely sad for her. He had been into this room before, but he didn't know about all these pills, he didn't know how sick she really was. He kneeled down to the floor and looked into her eyes, cupping both of her hands in his.
"Don't worry," Kenshin said, "I'm here for you. So is Doctor Shougo. Together at my villa we'll make you strong and healthy and you will never have to depend on these things anymore."
Kaoru looked at him and then at their entwined hands, his hands were so cold and much bigger than hers but she felt safe. She nodded at him, a small smile on her face.
Kenshin smiled back her and the smiled took Kaoru's breath away. His amethyst eyes crinkled with amber sparks within them and it made her shudder again. There was a strange and unfamiliar sweet feeling at the end of her stomach. She wondered, why did Kenshin's eyes change colours?
"Let's go and look at all your other paintings, shall we?" Kenshin said, standing up and still smiling at her. He was still holding her hands and Kaoru didn't know why but it felt so right for them to touch each other intimately this way.
He pulled her to the paintings on the floor leaning neatly against the wall on pull out a painting at the front. Kaoru's eyes widened.
It was a painting of Kenshin and it was wonderful.
"Yes," he said, "you painted me and you told me that once you finished it you will showed it to me. Well, it is finished but the master wasn't there to introduce her masterpiece. Why don't you present it to me now?"
Kaoru bent down and used her feather-like touch to trace the lines of Kenshin's hair in the painting. Here, his eyes were a bright and vibrant amethyst, unlike the constant swirling of amber and purple of his eyes now.
"I don't even remember drawing this…" she murmured. "And although this is you, it doesn't look like you…"
Kenshin understood what Kaoru was saying. That portrait of him was done when he was just Kenshin, when he had just arrived in this town, when he thought he had the Battousai under control. Then, the Aorta appeared and everything he had tried so hard to build up was destroyed. Now, he did not know if he would ever completely get rid of the Battousai again.
It was a part of him for so long and now that it had resurfaced again, it didn't want to go undercover again. Besides, he thought that a bit of Battousai would be good for him. Just the Rurouni alone would never manage to seduce and make Kaoru fall in love with him.
Kaoru picked up the painting gingerly. "Well, since you said that I painted it, I will just take it as you say. This painting is of you, Kenshin and I would like you to have it." She handed it to him.
Kenshin took it and stared at the painting and was even more determined in doing whatever he could to make it up to Kaoru.
Once the painting left her fingers, Kaoru quickly walked away to the wardrobe she wanted to explore ever since she stepped into this room. But the truth was, the painting was making her uncomfortable, something wasn't right but she didn't know what it was.
In the wardrobe, she found several white kimonos, simple yukatas, thick cloaks and jackets. There were also so demure dresses and a few elegant tops and skirts. There was no sign of much more casual clothes like jeans or funky t-shirt. Kaoru decided that who she was before was not who she knew now.
"You could pack some clothes for your stay in my villa if you want to," Kenshin said, "though you did left some clothes in your room there already."
Kaoru turned to look at him. "You and the others never talk about how I was like before, it was always about what happened…so could you tell me? What was I like?"
Kenshin took a deep breath and began talking. "For twenty years you have almost no human interaction and all those years, you stayed in this house alone. When I first knew you, you were calm, silent and reserved. You were also very mysterious and for a while I felt a bit threatened by your powers and intimidated by your manner."
"Then," Kenshin paused, swallowing a lump in his throat, fighting the temptation to tell her their story. "then…we became friends, all of us became friends and you were very nice, witty and warm."
"I certainly don't look like a witty person," Kaoru said, smiling a bit, "look at this room. It is completely white. And look at my clothes, they are too old for my age. I think that I must be a boring person before."
"No, you weren't boring," Kenshin contradicted her, "in fact, you are the most intriguing person I've ever met. Like I told you, you were just reserved and though we've all become friends already, there was always a shadow hanging over you, a worried look in your eye. I like you before, Kaoru. And I like who you are now even better."
"Thank you, Kenshin."
Then, Kaoru took out some clothes from the wardrobe and put them into a big bag she found in a draw. Together with Kensin, she walked out of her room to join the others, and just when they started walking on the corridor, they heard excited exclamations and loud talking.
"It seemed to be coming from upstairs," Kenshin said. In fact, he knew that they must now be in the large training room where the Aorta had attacked the last time.
Turned out that he was right about where they were. Enishi, Okina and Hiko were all looking at the numerous weapons while Yahiko told them about what had happened the last time they were here.
"Kaoru! Kenshin!" Sano exclaimed when he saw them.
Soujiro smiled at the pair and said, "Kaoru knows how to use all of these weapons."
Hiko, Okina and Enishi looked at her, surprised.
"Is that true, Kaoru?" Enishi asked.
Kaoru looked at Soujiro and then at Enishi, she didn't know what to say. Instead, she walked to where the weapons were kept and looked at them. She picked up a long sword and unsheathed it easily. The rest watched warily. The truth was, they knew about the legendary skills of Kamiya Koishijiro and according to Kenshin, Kaoru had perfected the skills as well. But they have never seen her or her father use their fighting skills before.
Suddenly, Hiko picked up a sword as well. He walked in front of Kaoru and unsheathed it, his eyes never leaving hers. "We'll try it out, shall we?"
Kaoru looked at him, alarmed. What is he doing?
"What are you doing?" Kenshin asked, his eyes a bright amber.
"I just want to see what she can do, Kenshin," Hiko replied, "the Kamiyas are known for their special and unique sword fighting skills. This technique alone had managed to kill so many people, and yet no one could read into their movements. I am curious, Kenshin."
"You can find out later, father! She is sick, for Christ's sake. She might not even remember how to fight!"
Kaoru looked at the exchange between Kenshin and his father and forced herself to stop trembling, she gripped onto her sword tightly and turned back to look at Hiko. Maybe it was a good idea, maybe she could unleash her memories this way.
"It's okay, Kenshin." She said, "I want to try this out."
"But…" Kenshin said.
Kaoru nodded her head firmly at him. "Don't worry. I need to do this, Kenshin."
"I won't hurt you, Kaoru." Hiko said and then he turned to Kenshin, "I won't hurt her, Kenshin, so you don't have to worry."
Kenshin reluctantly backed away but he did not stop worrying. If Hiko hurt even just a hair of Kaoru, his own father was so going to pay for it.
For a while, Kaoru and Hiko just stared at each other. Hiko's eyes were serious and narrowed and Kaoru began to doubt if he really meant not to hurt her. She focused her eyes on Hiko's, unflinching; she was tired of being the weak one. She was tired of Shougo, Enishi and Kenshin watching over her and protecting her all the time, treating her like a glass doll. She knew that she wasn't a glass doll, and even if she looked and acted like one, she was going to change that.
Hiko charged at her all of a sudden and Kaoru felt herself stepped back, she was ashamed of herself when she did that. She was being weak and she hated it, she forced her feet to move forward and hold the sword upright in front of her face, she didn't know what she was doing. She was just doing everything to protect herself this time round and get of this 'test' without being hurt.
The others watched her with wide eyes. They saw the gleam in Hiko's eyes and their hearts almost jumped out of their chests when they saw him charged at her, they didn't know that he was this serious. They also saw the fear in Kaoru's eyes and the way she stepped back, then, they also saw the gleam in her eyes, combined with something they had never seen before. They saw her feet moved into a stance that they had never seen her do before, and then, she raised the sword she was holding up.
She was holding the sword with unbelievable ease, it looked so huge in her grasp and yet she was holding it so gracefully, her wrists bent in an odd angle; their eyes were wider now. The Kaoru they were looking at was different. They weren't sure if she knew what she was doing or that if she knew that she was holding the sword and standing in a peculiar position which looked like a fighting stance to them.
Finally their swords crashed, Hiko's blade smashed onto Kaoru and they heard his angry growl as he failed to break all of Kaoru's defenses. Kaoru was terrified now, her eyes no longer focused but wide and scared.
"Stop it, Hiko!" Okina yelled, "Can't you see that she couldn't take it?"
Hiko ignored Okina and slashed at her again, Kaoru barely managed to block it and she was using all of her strength and remaining courage to hold on. Hiko was obviously not going to let her off easily. He was being cruel by doing this to her, and she was already beginning to feel weak, not only emotionally but also physically. But really, she should just blame herself; Kenshin had tried to get her out of this but she had contradicted him and told him that she could handle it.
Well then, since Hiko wanted to play, she would oblige.
They almost screamed when Kaoru suddenly pushed Hiko's blade off her own. It wasn't a weak, ill attempted push, not the one they were expecting from the small Kaoru.
Hiko looked like he had been blown off, Kaoru's sword had swung hard against his, throwing him hard against the floor.
Hiko smashed onto the ground and got up, smirking at Kaoru. "Good. Now, we are really doing this right."
Kaoru looked at him but didn't say anything. Instead, she charged at him, and for a moment, they couldn't see her.
The next thing they saw was Kaoru and Hiko taking turns in slashing at each other. They watched the two people, never taking their eyes off them. They noticed that Kaoru was no longer afraid, instead, the unrecognizable gleam in her eyes was brighter than before and Hiko was fighting hard to keep up with her speed and strength. It seemed to them that the longer the fight was going on, the stronger Kaoru was getting. However, she still wasn't able to break through Hiko's defenses.
Finally, it seemed to them that Kaoru was tired of her slashing at Hiko and him blocking and vice versa. It was getting boring and she wanted to finish the whole thing. It didn't matter to her even if she hurt Hiko, her mind wasn't hers anymore.
They gasped when Kaoru leaped into the air, bright purple light radiating from her hands and that light was traveling up the sword. Sano, Soujiro, Yahiko and Kenshin looked at her in horror. They knew what was coming next, and they knew that if she continued on, even the all of them could not stop her.
"Hiko!" Kenshin shouted, "Stop!"
Hiko didn't listen to him and he leaped into the air as well, preparing to take on Kaoru.
Kenshin, picked up a sword and unleashed it quickly, jumping in between them, his sword slashed at both of theirs, pushing them away from each other. Hiko landed on the ground with a loud thump while Kaoru landed on the ground gracefully without a sound and in a second, she was up again, ready to fight again.
Kenshin turned to her and saw that her eyes were beginning to change colour as well. This was not good.
"Kaoru…" he said, "put down your sword. No one is going to hurt you here."
Kaoru looked at him but she didn't let go of her sword. Kenshin moved closer to her and Kaoru brought her sword up again, pointing it straight at him, daring him not to come any closer.
Kenshin put his sword on the ground. "Put your sword down, Kaoru. We're your friends, remember?"
The rest watched them in tension.
Kaoru's eyes slowly returned to their original blue colour and they saw the bright purple light coming from her hands were slowly diminishing as well.
"Kenshin…" she murmured before she dropped the sword and she fell too, unconsciously next to it on the floor.
Kenshin hurried to her and picked her up, cradling her against his chest protectively.
"Is she okay?" Yahiko asked worriedly.
"She's fine." Kenshin replied and he turned to looked at Hiko, who was still on the floor. "Are you hurt?"
Hiko was drenched in sweat and he looked at Kenshin with distracted eyes. "Just a few cuts, that's all."
Kenshin looked at the Kaoru in his arms, and noticed that she had no cuts and did not sweat at all. Her powers were slowly returning.
When Kaoru woke up, her eyes were so heavy that she could barely open them. Someone was standing next to where she was lying down but she could not see who that person was. She remembered fighting Hiko and seeing Kenshin before she fell to unconsciousness but she could not really remember what had happened. However, during her unconsciousness, she dreamt. She saw images and people. Her friends and she saw a lot of Kenshin. In her dream, she was dancing with Kenshin in a yellow dress and she saw small girl with shoulder length hair but a long braided hair hanging behind. In her dream, she was talking happily to that small girl. She had never seen that small girl before.
When she finally opened her own eyes to see her surroundings, she struggled to keep her eye lids open, why was she this tired.
"Kaoru?"
Kaoru turned her head slowly to the side and saw Kenshin looking back at her.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, touching her forehead gently.
Kaoru opened her mouth to speak but her throat was so dry and painful that she basically croaked at Kenshin. Kenshin helped her sit up in the bed and handed a glass of water to her. Kaoru was surprised that she had the strength herself to lift the glass of water. She actually felt immensely weak. She drank down the water hungrily and looked back at Kenshin warily. They were dancing in her dreams, and it was like as if she was feeling something more than friendship for him. In her dreams, they were looking at each other with love in their eyes. And yet, seeing this image of her and Kenshin while she dreamt made her sad. Why?
"Where am I?" she asked.
"My villa," he said, "and you've been unconscious for two days, down with a slight fever. And right now you are in your own room here in this villa, the one you've used before. You will find that all your belongings are still here. We haven't touch anything since you left."
"When did I leave?"
"About two months ago, roughly around there."
"Is that when I lost my memories?"
"Yes. You lost your memories shortly after you left this villa."
"But I didn't bother to pack my things and leave? Why would I do that?"
Kenshin paused, not knowing what to say to her.
"You were coming back soon, and so you didn't bother to pack anything. We didn't know that you would lost your memories when you left, everything happened very unexpectedly."
Kaoru looked at him dubiously and reluctantly nodded. He was not telling her something. And she was beginning to suspect her past relationship with this man. Why did she see images of them dancing so happily together? And if they were so in love with each other, why did they all say that they were only friends? And what are they trying so hard to hide? They told her that the outburst of her powers caused her to lose her memories but what caused that outburst in the first place? They told that it was because of the The Aorta but she was beginning to think otherwise. Things were more than they say it was and she knew that her memories were coming back to her and she didn't need them to tell her about her past anymore.
Soon, she can figure everything out herself but now, she had to be careful with them. What if they are not who they say themselves to be? What if they had something to do with her illness and memory loss?
"For now, you will rest and once Doctor Shougo thinks that you are strong enough, we'll begin training." Kenshin said.
"Training?"
"Your powers came back when you fought Hiko at your house. However, your body is not strong enough to take the strain of your immense powers. We'll have to build up your strength, that way, your powers won't take over you completely and so you can control them."
Kaoru nodded. "What kind of training?"
Kenshin smiled gently at her. "Don't worry. We'll start with something simple and we'll slowly build it up. What do you think?"
"Okay." Kaoru replied.
"All right, I won't disturb you anymore. Go back to sleep." Kenshin said softly. He helped her to lie back down to her bed caringly.
Kaoru watched him leave, his fiery hair gently swaying behind him.
She closed her eyes…
A/N: Well, there. This is the end of this chapter. Please do review to let me know what you all think! Only through feedback would I know where I can improve. I apologize if there are any typos or errors. Coming next: Kenshin's training with Kaoru and how Kaoru slowly regain her memories.
