Chapter 4
"Kaoru" Aoshi noticed that Kaoru was deep in thought while they were walking towards Kenshin and Misao's home "Kaoru"
"What?" she suddenly felt embarrassed because he caught her day dreaming and she forced the rush of memories out of her mind
"What were you thinking about?"
"Nothing?" she knew he wouldn't believe her
"Oh really? You really looked like someone who was in deep thought"
"Hey, you are making fun of me" she pouted although she wasn't really annoyed. She missed the way they used to tease each other in the past.
He laughed for a moment then he pulled her closer to him "I would never do that to you Kaoru" he said softly
They both fell into silence again and continued their walk without saying anything else
"I was thinking about that day" she said in a low voice
"What day?"
"The day you came to Tokyo to fight…to fight the people that I still don't know anything about…the day we both started this whole thing"
He smiled at the memory "the day I pushed you away from a fight that was going to cost you your life"
She knotted her eyebrows "I still believe that I would've beaten them up"
His hand that was resting on her waist squeezed a little before he had pulled her even closer to him and leaned to her ear "by the way..have you thought about forgiving me for what I did then?"
A beautiful smile spread over her face "don't even dream about it"
He kissed her on her cheek "I thought so" he pulled away and looked down at her "I.."
Kaoru was both puzzled and curious when he didn't finish what he was going to say "you what Aoshi?"
He shook his head "it's nothing. Let's just get in our way before Kenshin starts worrying about you"
She stopped walking "I'm not going any where before I know what's wrong" she said stubbornly
He turned to face her "nothing is wrong" he said softly
"Then why don't you want to tell me about it?"
He took her hands in his "because I don't want to ruin the little relationship we still have together"
She felt guilty for letting him go through all this, but she didn't want to get her self hurt again by admitting how she really felt about him.
"It's ok Aoshi.. You can tell me"
"Can I?"
She squeezed his hands "yes you can"
He put his hands on her shoulders and looked her straight in the eye "I heard you Kaoru…I heard you saying that you love me"
"What?" she was shocked
"That night when I was unconscious. I was starting to get up and I heard what the doctor said, what Kenshin and Yahiko said….and what you told me when we were alone and you thought no one was listening, but I wasn't able to open my mouth and tell you how I felt too"
"But…but"
He put his finger on her lips "I knew you weren't ready to say it again when I woke up so I didn't mention it. I didn't even want to mention it now either, but I want you to know that this is the thing that keeps assuring me that you love me"
"Why didn't you say anything then?"
"I gave you a chance to say it to me again but you didn't"
"You know how things were going on"
"Yes I know. But nothing can stop us now. The reason you didn't accept me for is now happily married"
"I know"
"So where does that leave us?"
"Listen Aoshi, I'm a little confused and tired now. Can we discuss this tomorrow?"
He stared at her for a moment then he took his hands off her shoulders "it's ok. We can discuss this later. Let's continue in our way shall we?"
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"You shouldn't have let her out at this time of night that you shouldn't" Kenshin said while he was cutting some vegetables "it's too dangerous"
"Kaoru you are so going to be in trouble for what you put me through" Misao murmured before coming close to Kenshin "I told you before. She wouldn't listen to me. I told her that it's not safe and that you won't like it but you know Kaoru Chan"
"Yes I know how stubborn she can be. I just hope that she arrived safely and that Aoshi is going to walk her back"
"Oh I know Aoshi Sama will"
"Still, she shouldn't have.."
"Kenshin would you just stop it" she circled his waist with her arms and rested her head on his back "she'll be okay"
He smiled softly at his wife and lover. He knew that it's not her fault but he couldn't help but worry about Kaoru
"Kenshin?"
"Yes darling"
"Are you sure that you love me?" she held her breath
His hand stopped cutting the vegetables and he put the knife away before turning around to face her "you shouldn't ask this now Misao. Not after what we went through to be together"
She had tears in her eyes "I know, but seeing you sitting here worrying so much about her makes me wonder. Maybe you two were meant to be together"
"No we weren't" he brushed away her tears "you and I are the ones who are meant to be together and I thank God every second for it. I love Kaoru dono but as a sister that I feel I have to protect, not as a lover or anything else"
"Are you sure?"
"Don't doubt it" he whispered before leaning down "I love you very much Misao" he kissed her a loving kiss and she returned it back with all the love she had for him "I love you too Kenshin Himura. I love you too"
They pulled apart when they heard some footsteps approaching their gate "Kaoru dono?" he walked out of the house
"Yes it's me Kenshin"
He noticed that Aoshi was walking beside her "thank you for bringing her back Aoshi. We were so worried about her"
"I did what I had to do. It's not safe for her to walk alone in the night"
Kaoru rolled her eyes "I don't feel like hearing this again. I'll leave you two here to talk about the danger we can face when we go out alone in the night while Misao Chan and I are going inside to do…whatever"
"But this talk is supposed to be for you to hear Kamiya san, not for us. We already know about how dangerous this place can be at night"
Misao giggled and Kaoru winked at her "well Aoshi Sama, I don't think Kaoru is going to listen anyway"
"That's right Misao Chan and that's because.."
"You are so damn stubborn Kaoru dono" Aoshi nodded in agreement
"No, because I can take care of my self" she corrected sternly
"So can I Kenshin" Misao joined her friend, but when she saw the scary look Kenshin threw at her she looked at the house "or maybe not"
Kaoru laughed at this "oh Misao. I didn't believe that I will see this day" she looked at Kenshin "it's sweet how much you are protective of her Kenshin"
Kenshin smiled lovingly at his wife "I love her too much to let anything happen to her" he then looked at her "I love you too Kaoru dono and that's why you won't be leaving the house at night alone again"
"Way to go himura" Aoshi said in approval without caring about the death glares he received from the two women
"Kenshin no baka. I didn't come hear to have this conversation. I'm here in a vacation that I intend to enjoy if you don't mind"
"Kaoru dono, can't you enjoy your vacation at day time?"
Kaoru sighed. They would never listen to her anyway. Misao read her mind and nodded in agreement with her friend "don't even try to talk to them. They won't understand" she whispered to her
"I can see that" Kaoru agreed and looked at the guys again "I only wanted to see Aoshi San and now that I did, I don't intend to leave alone again. Is that settled now?"
"I guess so" Kenshin said
"Good. Misao, can we go inside now because you know it's late now and it's not safe to stay out here" Kaoru said and the girls entered the hose laughing at the way the men shook their heads in defeat
"Come in Aoshi, you are having dinner with us tonight"
"Thank you Himura san but I can't. I have somethings in my mind that I need to settle"
Kenshin nodded "I understand. Then I hope you can join us for lunch tomorrow?"
"I'll be here" he walked out of the gate "Good night"
"Good night and thanks for escorting Kaoru dono"
"Don't mention it Himura"
Kenshin looked at Aoshi until he disappeared into the night before going inside to join his two favorite stubborn women.
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Misao and Kaoru were drinking tea at the porch of the house the next morning while Kenshin went out to his work (Note: don't ask me what he does or where he works coz I don't know ? )
Kaoru noticed that Misao didn't move a lot the way she used to do. She also noticed that walking calmly around the house was the only action she would do "are you alright Misao chan? You don't seem to be acting normally" she asked in a concerned voice
Misao blushed a deep crimson color "ahh…the reason is that..mm..I'm you know..I'm pregnant"
Kaoru coughed "what?" she asked shocked "how come you didn't mention it to me yesterday?"
Misao put her cup in front of her "I wasn't sure that you'll accept the news well"
Kaoru understood what the girl was talking about. Everyone including her never thought that she would be happy about the progress of Kenshin and Misao's relationship. But her visit to her friends and to Aoshi made her realize that Kenshin wasn't the man holding her heart. She couldn't help but know how much Misao and Kenshin cared about her feelings. The thought of hurting her by telling her about their unborn child stopped them from announcing this wonderful news to their friends.
"Misao chan. I'm so happy for you guys" she said and hugged her friend "you two will make a great parents"
Misao felt relived when she saw Kaoru's reaction to what she said "thank you Kaoru chan. You don't know how much that means to me…and to Kenshin"
"Well well, what a wonderful sight. Allow me ladies to interrupt"
Both women felt the danger when they heard the voice which was full of sarcasm. They turned to see that five guys were standing in front of their gate blocking the way out and staring at the girls with death glares.
Kaoru was alarmed. She knew that Misao would not be able to fight because of her pregnancy and she realized that saving her friend depended on her since no one was around to help.
"Who the hell are you?" she stood up facing the men bravely
The man that spoke at the beginning narrowed his eyes at the girl who stood confidently in front of them
"We are here to teach Battousai a listen"
Misao tensed at the mention of her husband and thanked God that he wasn't there with them "there's no one called Battousai living here" she answered trying to sound as calm as she could
The man laughed "trying to play with words aren't you princess?" he nodded to his fellows and they all lifted their swords ready to fight "he doesn't call himself battousai anymore. They say that he gave up killing people" he made fists with his hands "but that doesn't mean he didn't kill three members of my family"
Kaoru knew that reasoning with these guys will be impossible. Misao knew that too but she couldn't help but try to defend her husband "that was long time ago. He did many good things to people in the past years and that should be a reason to forgive him"
"I guess you are right. It's so simple. I'll kill him and expect his friends' forgiveness"
"You are not going to kill anyone" Kaoru said
"Yes I am" the man had a scary smile on his face "I'm going to take his woman and kill her. I'll make him suffer the way I did when he killed my family members"
Misao was frozen in her place and Kaoru prepared her self for the surely coming fight "why would you want to kill his wife?"
"I won't kill her right away. I'll take her with me and wait for battousai to show up. Then, I'm going to let him watch me kill her slowly" he took a step towards them "after that I'm going to kill him" he added in a angry whisper
He took his sword and pointed it towards them "so, which one of you two are the battousai's woman?"
"I AM" Misao didn't recognize her voice when the words came out because simply, it wasn't her voice.
Kaoru knew that she was jeopardizing her own life when she spoke the few words. But she couldn't allow them to hurt Misao and the unborn baby. She couldn't let them take Kenshin's family away from him. Not after everything he's done to protect her and save her in the past. She decided that this was the time to pay him back.
Misao's eyes teared up. She realized the big sacrifice her friend was making and she wasn't about to accept it. She knew that being pregnant in her second month won't allow her to fight or defend her self, but that didn't mean that Kaoru should be put in danger because of her "wait a minute.."
"I said that I'm the battousai's wife" Kaoru repeated insistently knowing what her friend was trying to do
"You are coming with us" the man ordered
"Misao chan, please hide as soon as the fight starts. If I die they'll take you in my place and I'll be wasting my life for nothing" Kaoru whispered to Misao as her eyes pleaded with her to do what she was told. She then turned determined eyes to the men.
"Trying to be brave ha?" the man said sarcastically
She walked slowly towards the men "I'm not trying to be anything" she answered calmly. She reached in her kimono and took out a short sward "and you are not taking me anywhere" she held up her sword and stood in a fighting position "not without a fight at least"
Misao instantly realized that it looks the same as Aoshi's and she wondered when Kaoru learned how to use it
"What do we have here?!" the man raised an eye brow as his men circled Kaoru "it seems that Battousai didn't waste time at all. It looks like he taught you how to fight"
she rolled her eyes "I know that a scum like you talks too much instead of fighting like real men so, you have two choices, either you leave this house now or swallow that huge tango of yours and fight me"
"You little bitch" he was trembling in anger "I'm going to torture you to death you stupid bitch. GET HER" he shouted angrily and his men moved.
They were strong. Kaoru noticed that as they were fighting her and for a moment she felt that she won't be able to survive for a longer time, but then she remembered how Aoshi told her many times while they were training not to give up "I won't let you down Aoshi. I'll make you proud of me"
She screamed and she ran to each of the men fighting them with all the power she got. Their leader was amazed at her speed and strength. Also, he didn't believe how she fought so well with a sword like the one she held.
When he noticed that she knocked out three of his men he decided to join in the fight. He didn't care if he fought honorably, he wanted to win. He ran as fast as he could to her and she noticed him while she fought the last of his group. She barely avoided the sword that was heading to her back, but the man in front of her took the chance and buried his sword deep down her shoulder above her heart
"Kaoru NOOO" Misao shouted as tears ran faster on her cheeks
"Run away Misao. GO" Kaoru shouted
She tried to forget about the pain that shot through her arm and chest. And she tried to fight the dizziness "I have to fight. I won't let them get to Kenshin or Misao" she hissed in pain and she held her sword tighter and attacked once again.
Misao ran as fast as she could trying to get any possible help she can find
"Please God don't let anything happen to her. Hang on Kaoru chan, I'll get help"
She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw Aoshi coming toward her and she remembered how Kenshin said that Aoshi would join them at lunch. She felt pain in her stomach and she held it by her both arms and screamed as loud as she could "Aoshi HELP" and she fell to the floor.
When Aoshi heard Misao's scream his heart was about to jump out of his chest.
"Something must be wrong" he realized he was right when he saw her on the floor clutching her stomach tightly "Misao" he ran to her and he held her in his arms "what's wrong? Are you alright?" he scooped her in his arms "I have to get you to a hospital"
"No" she struggled in his arms "I'll be fine. It's Kaoru chan who you have to save"
Aoshi was going to explode at the thought of anything happening to Kaoru "what happened to her?"
"There are five men fighting her at my house. She was trying to protect me" she said and she started crying
"Oh my God" he whispered in fear and he put her down carefully "are you sure you'll be alright?"
"Yes. Now go help her"
Aoshi didn't need to hear more. He ran to Kenshin's house in unbelievable speed
"Oh my God" he repeated at the ugly sight that greeted him when he arrived.
Four men were lying on the ground unconscious. Blood was everywhere. Kaoru was on her knees trying weakly to defend her self from the man she's facing. Her kimono was soaked in blood and the man who was fighting her wasn't in a better shape. He was bleeding as Aoshi noticed. He knew what he has to do and he did it.
Kaoru looked at the man she's fighting. He was going to kill her. She knew it and she couldn't do anything about it. Her vision wasn't clear and she felt very weak. [So this is it. Now I'm going to die] she thought and she closed her eyes waiting for the painful moment. She heard a scream. She heard the sound of torn flesh and she heard a thud. But it wasn't her who screamed or fell. She opened her eyes slowly to see a killed man lying on her feet and she looked up to see Aoshi standing over her "You crazy stupid woman. What did you do to yourself" he fell on his knees facing her "you look like hell"
She saw concern in his eyes mixed with anger and fear "Kaoru, sweet heart talk to me" he said hugging her and kissing her forehead
"Aoshi" that was all she managed to get out. She felt pain go through her body and she felt safe now that she was in his arms "I want to sleep" and she went limb in his hands
"Kaoru NO. TALK TO ME DAMMIT. TALK TO ME" he shook her "I won't let you die on me DO YOU HEAR ME. You'll stay with me. Kaoru please wake up…please" and he buried his face in her neck. He has to do something. He won't give up that easily. He needed to get her to a doctor and that's what he did. He held her and he started running to the nearest clinic
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hi guys, i hope you liked this chapter. if you like tell me what you think (that means review.LOL). if you don't, it's ok i just hope you enjoyed the chapter
WhiteRabbit5: i love aoshi/kaoru together too but as i told you i can't find stories for them on the web. i tried to add some Misao/Kenshin for you here but in the next chapters there'll be more.
Aya45 - angelic-m - YukiCodeLoyko - SC Gurl: I'm glad you like the story so far and I hope you liked this chapter too
kawaii sakura-chan: Kaoru is afraid that she'll get hurt with Aoshi the way she did with Kenshin. but let's hope that Aoshi will convince her otherwise ;)
"Kaoru" Aoshi noticed that Kaoru was deep in thought while they were walking towards Kenshin and Misao's home "Kaoru"
"What?" she suddenly felt embarrassed because he caught her day dreaming and she forced the rush of memories out of her mind
"What were you thinking about?"
"Nothing?" she knew he wouldn't believe her
"Oh really? You really looked like someone who was in deep thought"
"Hey, you are making fun of me" she pouted although she wasn't really annoyed. She missed the way they used to tease each other in the past.
He laughed for a moment then he pulled her closer to him "I would never do that to you Kaoru" he said softly
They both fell into silence again and continued their walk without saying anything else
"I was thinking about that day" she said in a low voice
"What day?"
"The day you came to Tokyo to fight…to fight the people that I still don't know anything about…the day we both started this whole thing"
He smiled at the memory "the day I pushed you away from a fight that was going to cost you your life"
She knotted her eyebrows "I still believe that I would've beaten them up"
His hand that was resting on her waist squeezed a little before he had pulled her even closer to him and leaned to her ear "by the way..have you thought about forgiving me for what I did then?"
A beautiful smile spread over her face "don't even dream about it"
He kissed her on her cheek "I thought so" he pulled away and looked down at her "I.."
Kaoru was both puzzled and curious when he didn't finish what he was going to say "you what Aoshi?"
He shook his head "it's nothing. Let's just get in our way before Kenshin starts worrying about you"
She stopped walking "I'm not going any where before I know what's wrong" she said stubbornly
He turned to face her "nothing is wrong" he said softly
"Then why don't you want to tell me about it?"
He took her hands in his "because I don't want to ruin the little relationship we still have together"
She felt guilty for letting him go through all this, but she didn't want to get her self hurt again by admitting how she really felt about him.
"It's ok Aoshi.. You can tell me"
"Can I?"
She squeezed his hands "yes you can"
He put his hands on her shoulders and looked her straight in the eye "I heard you Kaoru…I heard you saying that you love me"
"What?" she was shocked
"That night when I was unconscious. I was starting to get up and I heard what the doctor said, what Kenshin and Yahiko said….and what you told me when we were alone and you thought no one was listening, but I wasn't able to open my mouth and tell you how I felt too"
"But…but"
He put his finger on her lips "I knew you weren't ready to say it again when I woke up so I didn't mention it. I didn't even want to mention it now either, but I want you to know that this is the thing that keeps assuring me that you love me"
"Why didn't you say anything then?"
"I gave you a chance to say it to me again but you didn't"
"You know how things were going on"
"Yes I know. But nothing can stop us now. The reason you didn't accept me for is now happily married"
"I know"
"So where does that leave us?"
"Listen Aoshi, I'm a little confused and tired now. Can we discuss this tomorrow?"
He stared at her for a moment then he took his hands off her shoulders "it's ok. We can discuss this later. Let's continue in our way shall we?"
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"You shouldn't have let her out at this time of night that you shouldn't" Kenshin said while he was cutting some vegetables "it's too dangerous"
"Kaoru you are so going to be in trouble for what you put me through" Misao murmured before coming close to Kenshin "I told you before. She wouldn't listen to me. I told her that it's not safe and that you won't like it but you know Kaoru Chan"
"Yes I know how stubborn she can be. I just hope that she arrived safely and that Aoshi is going to walk her back"
"Oh I know Aoshi Sama will"
"Still, she shouldn't have.."
"Kenshin would you just stop it" she circled his waist with her arms and rested her head on his back "she'll be okay"
He smiled softly at his wife and lover. He knew that it's not her fault but he couldn't help but worry about Kaoru
"Kenshin?"
"Yes darling"
"Are you sure that you love me?" she held her breath
His hand stopped cutting the vegetables and he put the knife away before turning around to face her "you shouldn't ask this now Misao. Not after what we went through to be together"
She had tears in her eyes "I know, but seeing you sitting here worrying so much about her makes me wonder. Maybe you two were meant to be together"
"No we weren't" he brushed away her tears "you and I are the ones who are meant to be together and I thank God every second for it. I love Kaoru dono but as a sister that I feel I have to protect, not as a lover or anything else"
"Are you sure?"
"Don't doubt it" he whispered before leaning down "I love you very much Misao" he kissed her a loving kiss and she returned it back with all the love she had for him "I love you too Kenshin Himura. I love you too"
They pulled apart when they heard some footsteps approaching their gate "Kaoru dono?" he walked out of the house
"Yes it's me Kenshin"
He noticed that Aoshi was walking beside her "thank you for bringing her back Aoshi. We were so worried about her"
"I did what I had to do. It's not safe for her to walk alone in the night"
Kaoru rolled her eyes "I don't feel like hearing this again. I'll leave you two here to talk about the danger we can face when we go out alone in the night while Misao Chan and I are going inside to do…whatever"
"But this talk is supposed to be for you to hear Kamiya san, not for us. We already know about how dangerous this place can be at night"
Misao giggled and Kaoru winked at her "well Aoshi Sama, I don't think Kaoru is going to listen anyway"
"That's right Misao Chan and that's because.."
"You are so damn stubborn Kaoru dono" Aoshi nodded in agreement
"No, because I can take care of my self" she corrected sternly
"So can I Kenshin" Misao joined her friend, but when she saw the scary look Kenshin threw at her she looked at the house "or maybe not"
Kaoru laughed at this "oh Misao. I didn't believe that I will see this day" she looked at Kenshin "it's sweet how much you are protective of her Kenshin"
Kenshin smiled lovingly at his wife "I love her too much to let anything happen to her" he then looked at her "I love you too Kaoru dono and that's why you won't be leaving the house at night alone again"
"Way to go himura" Aoshi said in approval without caring about the death glares he received from the two women
"Kenshin no baka. I didn't come hear to have this conversation. I'm here in a vacation that I intend to enjoy if you don't mind"
"Kaoru dono, can't you enjoy your vacation at day time?"
Kaoru sighed. They would never listen to her anyway. Misao read her mind and nodded in agreement with her friend "don't even try to talk to them. They won't understand" she whispered to her
"I can see that" Kaoru agreed and looked at the guys again "I only wanted to see Aoshi San and now that I did, I don't intend to leave alone again. Is that settled now?"
"I guess so" Kenshin said
"Good. Misao, can we go inside now because you know it's late now and it's not safe to stay out here" Kaoru said and the girls entered the hose laughing at the way the men shook their heads in defeat
"Come in Aoshi, you are having dinner with us tonight"
"Thank you Himura san but I can't. I have somethings in my mind that I need to settle"
Kenshin nodded "I understand. Then I hope you can join us for lunch tomorrow?"
"I'll be here" he walked out of the gate "Good night"
"Good night and thanks for escorting Kaoru dono"
"Don't mention it Himura"
Kenshin looked at Aoshi until he disappeared into the night before going inside to join his two favorite stubborn women.
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Misao and Kaoru were drinking tea at the porch of the house the next morning while Kenshin went out to his work (Note: don't ask me what he does or where he works coz I don't know ? )
Kaoru noticed that Misao didn't move a lot the way she used to do. She also noticed that walking calmly around the house was the only action she would do "are you alright Misao chan? You don't seem to be acting normally" she asked in a concerned voice
Misao blushed a deep crimson color "ahh…the reason is that..mm..I'm you know..I'm pregnant"
Kaoru coughed "what?" she asked shocked "how come you didn't mention it to me yesterday?"
Misao put her cup in front of her "I wasn't sure that you'll accept the news well"
Kaoru understood what the girl was talking about. Everyone including her never thought that she would be happy about the progress of Kenshin and Misao's relationship. But her visit to her friends and to Aoshi made her realize that Kenshin wasn't the man holding her heart. She couldn't help but know how much Misao and Kenshin cared about her feelings. The thought of hurting her by telling her about their unborn child stopped them from announcing this wonderful news to their friends.
"Misao chan. I'm so happy for you guys" she said and hugged her friend "you two will make a great parents"
Misao felt relived when she saw Kaoru's reaction to what she said "thank you Kaoru chan. You don't know how much that means to me…and to Kenshin"
"Well well, what a wonderful sight. Allow me ladies to interrupt"
Both women felt the danger when they heard the voice which was full of sarcasm. They turned to see that five guys were standing in front of their gate blocking the way out and staring at the girls with death glares.
Kaoru was alarmed. She knew that Misao would not be able to fight because of her pregnancy and she realized that saving her friend depended on her since no one was around to help.
"Who the hell are you?" she stood up facing the men bravely
The man that spoke at the beginning narrowed his eyes at the girl who stood confidently in front of them
"We are here to teach Battousai a listen"
Misao tensed at the mention of her husband and thanked God that he wasn't there with them "there's no one called Battousai living here" she answered trying to sound as calm as she could
The man laughed "trying to play with words aren't you princess?" he nodded to his fellows and they all lifted their swords ready to fight "he doesn't call himself battousai anymore. They say that he gave up killing people" he made fists with his hands "but that doesn't mean he didn't kill three members of my family"
Kaoru knew that reasoning with these guys will be impossible. Misao knew that too but she couldn't help but try to defend her husband "that was long time ago. He did many good things to people in the past years and that should be a reason to forgive him"
"I guess you are right. It's so simple. I'll kill him and expect his friends' forgiveness"
"You are not going to kill anyone" Kaoru said
"Yes I am" the man had a scary smile on his face "I'm going to take his woman and kill her. I'll make him suffer the way I did when he killed my family members"
Misao was frozen in her place and Kaoru prepared her self for the surely coming fight "why would you want to kill his wife?"
"I won't kill her right away. I'll take her with me and wait for battousai to show up. Then, I'm going to let him watch me kill her slowly" he took a step towards them "after that I'm going to kill him" he added in a angry whisper
He took his sword and pointed it towards them "so, which one of you two are the battousai's woman?"
"I AM" Misao didn't recognize her voice when the words came out because simply, it wasn't her voice.
Kaoru knew that she was jeopardizing her own life when she spoke the few words. But she couldn't allow them to hurt Misao and the unborn baby. She couldn't let them take Kenshin's family away from him. Not after everything he's done to protect her and save her in the past. She decided that this was the time to pay him back.
Misao's eyes teared up. She realized the big sacrifice her friend was making and she wasn't about to accept it. She knew that being pregnant in her second month won't allow her to fight or defend her self, but that didn't mean that Kaoru should be put in danger because of her "wait a minute.."
"I said that I'm the battousai's wife" Kaoru repeated insistently knowing what her friend was trying to do
"You are coming with us" the man ordered
"Misao chan, please hide as soon as the fight starts. If I die they'll take you in my place and I'll be wasting my life for nothing" Kaoru whispered to Misao as her eyes pleaded with her to do what she was told. She then turned determined eyes to the men.
"Trying to be brave ha?" the man said sarcastically
She walked slowly towards the men "I'm not trying to be anything" she answered calmly. She reached in her kimono and took out a short sward "and you are not taking me anywhere" she held up her sword and stood in a fighting position "not without a fight at least"
Misao instantly realized that it looks the same as Aoshi's and she wondered when Kaoru learned how to use it
"What do we have here?!" the man raised an eye brow as his men circled Kaoru "it seems that Battousai didn't waste time at all. It looks like he taught you how to fight"
she rolled her eyes "I know that a scum like you talks too much instead of fighting like real men so, you have two choices, either you leave this house now or swallow that huge tango of yours and fight me"
"You little bitch" he was trembling in anger "I'm going to torture you to death you stupid bitch. GET HER" he shouted angrily and his men moved.
They were strong. Kaoru noticed that as they were fighting her and for a moment she felt that she won't be able to survive for a longer time, but then she remembered how Aoshi told her many times while they were training not to give up "I won't let you down Aoshi. I'll make you proud of me"
She screamed and she ran to each of the men fighting them with all the power she got. Their leader was amazed at her speed and strength. Also, he didn't believe how she fought so well with a sword like the one she held.
When he noticed that she knocked out three of his men he decided to join in the fight. He didn't care if he fought honorably, he wanted to win. He ran as fast as he could to her and she noticed him while she fought the last of his group. She barely avoided the sword that was heading to her back, but the man in front of her took the chance and buried his sword deep down her shoulder above her heart
"Kaoru NOOO" Misao shouted as tears ran faster on her cheeks
"Run away Misao. GO" Kaoru shouted
She tried to forget about the pain that shot through her arm and chest. And she tried to fight the dizziness "I have to fight. I won't let them get to Kenshin or Misao" she hissed in pain and she held her sword tighter and attacked once again.
Misao ran as fast as she could trying to get any possible help she can find
"Please God don't let anything happen to her. Hang on Kaoru chan, I'll get help"
She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw Aoshi coming toward her and she remembered how Kenshin said that Aoshi would join them at lunch. She felt pain in her stomach and she held it by her both arms and screamed as loud as she could "Aoshi HELP" and she fell to the floor.
When Aoshi heard Misao's scream his heart was about to jump out of his chest.
"Something must be wrong" he realized he was right when he saw her on the floor clutching her stomach tightly "Misao" he ran to her and he held her in his arms "what's wrong? Are you alright?" he scooped her in his arms "I have to get you to a hospital"
"No" she struggled in his arms "I'll be fine. It's Kaoru chan who you have to save"
Aoshi was going to explode at the thought of anything happening to Kaoru "what happened to her?"
"There are five men fighting her at my house. She was trying to protect me" she said and she started crying
"Oh my God" he whispered in fear and he put her down carefully "are you sure you'll be alright?"
"Yes. Now go help her"
Aoshi didn't need to hear more. He ran to Kenshin's house in unbelievable speed
"Oh my God" he repeated at the ugly sight that greeted him when he arrived.
Four men were lying on the ground unconscious. Blood was everywhere. Kaoru was on her knees trying weakly to defend her self from the man she's facing. Her kimono was soaked in blood and the man who was fighting her wasn't in a better shape. He was bleeding as Aoshi noticed. He knew what he has to do and he did it.
Kaoru looked at the man she's fighting. He was going to kill her. She knew it and she couldn't do anything about it. Her vision wasn't clear and she felt very weak. [So this is it. Now I'm going to die] she thought and she closed her eyes waiting for the painful moment. She heard a scream. She heard the sound of torn flesh and she heard a thud. But it wasn't her who screamed or fell. She opened her eyes slowly to see a killed man lying on her feet and she looked up to see Aoshi standing over her "You crazy stupid woman. What did you do to yourself" he fell on his knees facing her "you look like hell"
She saw concern in his eyes mixed with anger and fear "Kaoru, sweet heart talk to me" he said hugging her and kissing her forehead
"Aoshi" that was all she managed to get out. She felt pain go through her body and she felt safe now that she was in his arms "I want to sleep" and she went limb in his hands
"Kaoru NO. TALK TO ME DAMMIT. TALK TO ME" he shook her "I won't let you die on me DO YOU HEAR ME. You'll stay with me. Kaoru please wake up…please" and he buried his face in her neck. He has to do something. He won't give up that easily. He needed to get her to a doctor and that's what he did. He held her and he started running to the nearest clinic
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hi guys, i hope you liked this chapter. if you like tell me what you think (that means review.LOL). if you don't, it's ok i just hope you enjoyed the chapter
WhiteRabbit5: i love aoshi/kaoru together too but as i told you i can't find stories for them on the web. i tried to add some Misao/Kenshin for you here but in the next chapters there'll be more.
Aya45 - angelic-m - YukiCodeLoyko - SC Gurl: I'm glad you like the story so far and I hope you liked this chapter too
kawaii sakura-chan: Kaoru is afraid that she'll get hurt with Aoshi the way she did with Kenshin. but let's hope that Aoshi will convince her otherwise ;)