I made someone cry... ano sorry... but thank you... that means I'm doing better than i thought. Ok, more lovey stuff on the way and a chapter I'm a little nervous about posting. Hopefully things will clear up for those that are still confused... Thank you so much for reading... you make me happy. Alright, on with the show... and the demented stuff...

Disclaimer: Not mine... not mine... not mine...sigh

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Chapter 4

Kaoru hummed happily to herself as she boiled some water for tea. Having Yahiko there helping her was a little confusing, but since he was making sure nothing disastrous happened (like I burn down the kitchen, she thought with a roll of her eyes) then she figured it was ok.

Standing in the kitchen, waiting for the water, she let her mind wander back to the events of a few minutes ago. Something about the fact that Kenshin had been crying was getting to her. I've never seen him cry before, especially not like that. Was that really for me? Kaoru thought about what had been happening before she'd heard him start crying. Then frowned when she couldn't remember. I must have been asleep or something. We were in my room, so maybe I took a nap. I definitely feel tired enough.

Shrugging her shoulders, she took the water off the fire and made a tray to take back to the room Megumi and Kenshin were in. Funny that I actually left Megumi with him alone like that. A chuckle escaped her, causing Yahiko to look at her weirdly. Something's different between us, though, I can feel it.

Finishing up with the tray she went to grab it when Yahiko stole it out from under her nose.

"Let me carry that for you Kaoru."

"But…"

Yahiko walked away without a backward glance, leaving Kaoru to either follow or stay in the kitchen and fume, or stand in confusion as she seemed to be doing. Shaking her head wonderingly, she followed. What's gotten into this boy? Did he do something wrong that I don't know about? Kaoru stared at his back with narrowed, suspicious eyes. Well, he has been giving me worried looks. I can't really come out and ask him though, that would be rude and he'd probably deny it, so I guess I'll just have to wait.

Kaoru sighed before walking into the room that Yahiko disappeared into. Megumi and Kenshin were talking quietly while Yahiko poured out the tea and passed it to them. When they noticed her in the doorway they stopped and looked at her, each with a smile on their face, but she could see a small stab of sadness in Kenshin's eyes. Oh my God! Something's wrong! Is he dying? What…

"Kaoru-chan, Ken-san's worried about you and asked if I could give you a check-up as well." Kaoru watched in confusion as Kenshin gave Megumi a shocked side look. Megumi just smiled knowingly at her confusion and the rurouni's shock. "He's just afraid you weren't treated properly while you were taken away."

"But, nothing happened to me. Enishi ignored me for the most part." She pleaded.

"That's what I'm afraid of, Kaoru-chan." Please forgive me for this next one. "Who cooked for you while you were there for those weeks? Surely not yourself?"

"Hai, I did." Kaoru felt the heat rise in her face and knew it had nothing to do with embarrassment. Sure, take a stab at my cooking why don't you, you little fox. Maybe I should ask what you were doing with my rurouni the whole time that distracted him enough to leave me there for so long. Oh, that was horrible, Kenshin would never do that, would he?

Megumi sighed. "That's what I thought. Well, get over here. I just hope you didn't get food poisoning."

"Megumi-dono!" Kenshin said in disbelief as he watched the tears shimmer in Kaoru's eyes. Ones of rage and despair, he noted. If she doesn't watch it, Kaoru's going to either beat her into the ground or become an emotional wreck again.

"You were the one concerned Ken-san, so just stay out of it." She shot him a warning look, that held a little bit of an apology.

Kaoru merely dropped her head and walked over to her futon, before plopping down on it and not looking at anyone. Megumi shooed the boys out of the room, telling Yahiko to take the tea with him and make Kenshin drink some of it. Kenshin, after a moment of hesitation, leaned over and kissed Kaoru on the cheek before whispering in her ear, "Arigato," and then leaving as well. Kaoru stared after him in disbelief, touching a hand to her face where his lips had left an imprint on her skin.

"Alright, Kaoru-chan let's get a good look at you." Megumi came closer and brushed the hair out of her face, examining her eyes and the inside of her mouth. Kaoru obeyed meekly, still hurting over the idea that her cooking could be so deadly, and wondering if there was anything wrong with Kenshin.

Megumi continued poking and prodding on her, asking her questions about how she felt and if anything hurt her. I wish she could remember the past year because if she could tell me if her cycles have been off that would really confirm her unhealthiness. Then again, all you have to do is look at her and know that she's malnourished.

"Kaoru-chan, are you sure you got much to eat at all? You are way underweight and your body's fighting just to keep you awake. When was the last time you had anything to eat, hun?" Woops, that last one kind of slipped out. Oh well, moment of truth.

"Why, we just ate breakfast this morning…didn't we?" Kaoru screwed up her face in concentration, then opened her eyes wide in shock when she couldn't remember, a small panic seizing her and making her breath quicken.

"It doesn't matter, Kaoru-chan." Megumi spoke up hastily. "We'll just make sure that you get something good to eat now, ok? Oh, and I need your help getting Ken-san to eat as well. He's in the same condition, what with letting himself waste away after you disappeared. The poor man was completely heartbroken." The girl's eyes cleared of the panic, latching onto her worry over the rurouni instead, like she hoped she would.

"Is that what's wrong with him, then? I thought he looked a little sickly, but I didn't think it was that bad. Will he be ok?"

"He'll be fine, Kaoru-chan. Now why don't you go find him and try and convince him not to do any chores around the house, I told him that he shouldn't do anything strenuous, but you know how he is. Get Yahiko to do it for him. Oh, and nothing tiring for you as well, ok? You both have strict orders to take it easy, and if I find out otherwise, then I'll lock you both in the clinic and leave you there under a twenty-four hour watch." Megumi gave her a mock stern look that made Kaoru laugh.

"Ok, Megumi-san, I'll try." Kaoru gave her a small smile before leaning forward and hugging the shocked older woman briefly. "Arigato gozaimasu. You've been such a good friend."

"Yeah, well," Megumi sputtered, feeling very flustered, and guilty. "You guys have done so much for me, it's all I can do to repay you for it."

"You know you don't have to though, Megumi-san." Kaoru waved a hand in the air before standing up. "I'll go look for Kenshin now. I suppose this means I should stay out of the kitchen." She sighed minimally. "Who's going to cook though?"

"I will, Kaoru-chan, and it's ok for Kenshin to if you or Yahiko help him out. Just no heavy lifting, and if either of you feel tired you need to sit down immediately."

"Ok." With that Kaoru happily left the room, leaving Megumi to think over what else they needed to do with the girl. They had to tread carefully with her. If she suddenly reverted to another time without any of them noticing then they might be in trouble if someone accidentally started talking about something that hadn't even happened yet. Sighing tiredly, feeling very much like she was older than she really was, Megumi packed her things and followed the girl out of the room.

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Kaoru sat next to Kenshin on the engawa, both wrapped in the safety of their thoughts, neither touching the other as they watched with only half interest as the stars twinkled merrily. The day had passed slowly, since they weren't allowed to do much more than walk around by themselves, and usually Kaoru would find herself with a shadow always close by. Halfway through the afternoon she'd given up on avoiding him and decided that she would just save them both the trouble and stay near. Kenshin didn't really seem to mind at all, in fact he'd smiled more at her in the last few hours than he ever had before.

Megumi had left for the clinic only an hour before, after cooking them dinner and supper and helping Yahiko with the chores. Strangely she found that Yahiko hadn't done anything wrong, as nothing seemed out of place around the dojo and he even did his chores without complaining. Still, he must have worn himself out as he went straight to bed after eating, and neither had heard anything out of him since except for the deep snores that were issuing from his room.

Kenshin sighed tiredly next to her, and she found that she could only sympathize. Even if they hadn't been told that they shouldn't do anything tiresome, they wouldn't have anyway. Kaoru found that she wore out easily just by walking around the yard once, or simply standing up too quickly. Similarly she found Kenshin pausing for periods of time to collect himself, though he seemed to be affected a lot less by it then she was. Which she found distinctly unfair.

"Kaoru-dono, we should probably go to bed now. You need your sleep if you are to get any better." Kenshin couldn't help the little bit of disappointment that slipped into his voice, because although he knew they needed to rest, he just wished to spend as much time with her as he could. Knowing that he wouldn't get to stay in her room with her again was hurting him more than he thought it would.

"Ok, Kenshin. You need your sleep too, and I shouldn't have insisted that we stay out here for as long as we have. Gomen."

"You shouldn't apologize, Kaoru-dono. This one wanted to be here with you." He smiled happily at her, and she contentedly smiled back before accepting his hand and letting him help her up.

Strangely he didn't let go once she was standing, but she couldn't complain overly much about it. Though he did seem to be trying to crush her fingers the closer they got to her room. Awkwardly they stood facing each other outside her doorway, and Kaoru found herself thinking about his kiss earlier and wondering if it was just a slip on his part or if he would try and take a step further in their relationship. Leveling her gaze back to his she caught him staring past her into the room beyond with a wistful but resigned look on his face.

"Oyasumi nasai, Kaoru-dono." Kenshin whispered softly to her, trying to mask the pain in his voice by being quiet, but as attuned to his feelings as she was, it was like a loud speaker in her ears.

Suddenly she felt breathless and her heart beat raced in her chest. As he turned and walked away she felt the disappointment at not receiving any other sign of affection weigh down on her and mix with the anxiety his hurt had caused. Confusion knitted her brows and tangled her emotions, throwing them around inside her mind until she felt she would be thrown apart with their forceful frolicking. Bile rose up in her throat as the room spun around her and instinctively a hand came up to stop it, but she miscalculated her body movements, which were drugged and slow, overbalancing her already shaky equilibrium and she fell forward flat on her face.

Vaguely she felt her other hand tear at the wooden edges of her door for support, but her loose muscled fingers slipped off without giving any resistance. A small grunt escaped her as her body slammed into the unyielding wood floor, and for long moments she lay there, mind free of any thought but the coolness beneath her skin and how wonderful it felt to just lie there. Then the world came crashing back down on her with the sound of his voice.

"Kaoru! Daijoubu de gozaru ka? What happened?" Kenshin frantically pulled her up off the floor and into his lap, forgetting his supposed distant manner in the face of her accident.

"Kenshin…" The pain came back again, but seemed to be lessened this time. He was here, he was back, and he had stayed the night with her. He said he was staying. He said that they would talk. But she didn't remember talking to him. That didn't matter. She shook her head. All that mattered was that he was with her now, and she was not going to let him out of her sight. Something inside told her that she couldn't.

One small hand snapped out to grab his gi, and the look of despair that crossed her face briefly was enough for him to tighten his grip in fear that she was about to relapse back into how she was before. When Megumi had burst through the door with Yahiko.

"Kenshin, you can't leave me." She sounded so desperate and wounded, but she knew his name, knew who he was. That had to count for something. Right?

"This one will never leave you, Kaoru. Please, stop worrying." He pulled her closer, relishing in the fact that she fit right under his chin when she was like this.

"Then will you stay with me tonight? Onegai…I know it's not proper, but I don't want to be alone."

"Hai, this one will stay wherever you want him to." The arms around her tightened further, his face burrowing into her hair. A sensation of weightlessness overcame her, and she realized that he had picked her up and they were moving back into her room. Carefully he held her to him as he slid the door shut behind him with his foot then he set her down gently on the wooden floor. Kaoru watched with a frantic fluttering inside her stomach as he rolled out her futon and made sure everything was ready before picking her up again and tucking her in. Her heart beat forcibly against her ribs while he blew out the lights and returned only long enough to kiss her forehead and whisper in her ear.

"This one will be right back, ok?"

"Where are you going?" Kenshin winced at the fear in her voice and the way she desperately held onto him when he tried to leave.

"This one is going to his room to change, koishii. It won't take a few moments, ok?" He pitched his voice low and soothing as he brushed her fingers out of his clothes and tucked them back under the blanket.

"Hurry back." The breathless whisper came and he felt her shake under the blankets as he promised to hurry. It was probably the fastest he'd ever changed to go to sleep, and with a sigh he wished it was for different reasons and not because she was so afraid.

Snuggled together in the futon, she curled herself against him, burying her nose in his chest and fisting her fingers into his yakuta. In turn, Kenshin wrapped her in his arms, and felt his heart break at each tremor that ran through her body.

"Shh, koishii. This one will stay here all night. I'll never leave you again."

Kaoru lifted her head to look at him, wariness of his words still shining in her eyes, but she nodded. Accepting his words as the closest truth she would get from him. In her mind, if she had him in sight at all times, then he would not go anywhere. She trusted her sense of touch and sight, she did not trust her ears or heart at the moment. So, Kaoru held herself against his warmth and fell into an uneasy sleep with his whispers sounding in her ears and his fingers brushing delicately against her skin.

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A/N: R&R please... thank you.