YAY! The next chapter is up, I editted a little, but not uch. Okay, I won't talk. Any other words I should say look back at chapter 1. So, on with it! XD

Glossary:

Iya "No"

Hai "Yes"

Souka "I see"

Nani "What"

Nandemo nai "Never mind / It's nothing"

Shikashi "But / However"

Rurouni "Wanderer"

Sugoi "Excellent / Extremely good"

Betsuni "It was nothing"

Sasuka "As expected of…"

Omae "You"

Arigatou "Thank You"

UNLESS YOU BELIEVE IN HIM, HE WILL DIE

Although the vegetables that were bought just yesterday were settled on the table counter, she absolutely didn't know what to do with them. Although it was Kenshin who bought all those ingredients, it could never be Kenshin eating her meals again. Never.

Choking on a small sob, she couldn't shake her desire to see Kenshin the way he was before again. The way he used to be, his smile, his laughter, his clumsiness, his touch and care, and even his use of "oro" was somewhat memorable. Smiling now, Kaoru could see how kind and protective he was and how close of a family member he was to her.

It clearly was a pain to see that he would never be the same again, not that he probably ever was truly that way anyhow.

She shook her head irritably. "Iya, that's not him. That was all…fake." He's the Hitokiri Battousai, she thought. He had never changed once.

"So you were here."

At the tone of the voice, she turned around, gasping, only to find Sanosuke leaning against the doorway, his furrows frowning a little with annoyance.

"Ah? Sano…"

"Hai hai!" he stood up properly, his hands tucked into his pockets and his eyelids closed. "You're quite a slacker today, Kaoru-chan. It's already nearly 3-o-clock, an hour since you've been in this kitchen. You're way too slow, woman!"

Though the joke was hardly a riddle, Kaoru found it extremely hard to laugh alongside. "Souka."

Sanosuke paused at the irrelevant response.

Sighing, he walked around the table and sat down casually on the seat closest to Kaoru. Eyeing her new companion, she could see the light in his eyes had diminished; he was quite serious in the matter of something new. Quite.

But tending to uninvited visitors into her private room, she ignored his presence and began to head outside.

"Humph!" she scolded. "You need more patience, Sano-kun."

The guy merely chuckled.

Putting on a mischevieous grin, she continued, "Or…hmm, I can just serve you fish bones for lunch, considerably that it is I who makes our meals everyday."

"Nani. Matto wo!"

"Phft."

Yahiko was first to finish, as always. His immense appetite ceased to degrade his unusually misinterpreted table manners, or more likely, it got worse. With a buffed stomach and a satisfied meal, he joyfully hopped back into the dojo for a quiet nap.

That leaves the two others alone.

That is, without Kenshin.

"So where'd he go?"

She stopped midway as her chopsticks dangled in the air. There was always a reason for Sano to have come join the family clan, not because he was invited really; the way they first met was not very welcoming, but because of his curiosity. He had a self-indignant for Kenshin, thus the fact that he was to use his sword as a means of protection wasn't convincing enough.

Of course, she was expecting him to notice his disappearance. The fight just yesterday had gone unclean and tangled in a mix of disorder. Plus, Sanosuke had a good eye on things, perhaps not as keen as Kenshin's, but the IQ is much more effective as many others still.

Noticing her lack of reaction, Sanosuke sighed. "Women. I'll never understand you."

This, on the other hand, caught her by immediate surprise. "Nani? What are you saying?" Glad to have her look of attention, Sanosuke shrugged playfully.

"I'm not a baka like you," he grunted out, placing the kitchen utensils and his bowl on the terrace. "The basement was a mess when I came back. I just wanted to see if you'd mention it."

She growled.

"And apparently, you didn't." He looked at her.

Crossing her arms, "Humph, why would I be telling you? Ladies prefer men with more gratitude and responsibility, these honorable kind of dignities which you obviously lack!" She pouted.

In response that Sanosuke merely smirked. "Maa, don't worry about it. I don't steal woman, especially his. I'd be dead then."

"Eh?"

He waved off the puzzled look in her eyes. "Iye, nandemo nai."

Standing up, she tried her best to refrain from beating him up with the broom right next to her. What a pervert! "I'm going in first, don't mind me. And remember to clean yourself up after you finish."

"Matte," he ordered, the mood in his voice suddenly factual. "What about Kenshin?"

Silence.

Unable to see her facial expression due to her back facing him instead, he stood up and pat his legs as the dirt fell off. Still, she refused to answer.

Women, he thought to himself. "I saw him."

Immediately stiffening, she gulped. "You…you saw him?" She bit her tongue. He's still out there right? Of course, he never leaves his prey without getting what he wants. He had never changed.

"Hai, this morning, I saw him, at the nearby forest right outside of the town. Don't worry, I didn't approach him because he didn't look too well, and plus, he's a man of his own life, doesn't need anyone else." He had a hunch that attention was finally starting to divert to him.

However, she still didn't move.

"Kaoru…" he began, irritation starting to climb up his spine.

But then, she whirled around.

"IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU!" she screamed back.

He swallowed hard. Taken aback by her rubbish shriek, he stared dumbfounded at the face she presented to him. The only thing Sanosuke typically realized was the look in her eyes. Hurt. Pain. Tears. That was all he saw. That was all that was there for him to see, the fact that Kaoru was wounded; in her heart, someone had stabbed it and right now, it's bleeding soundly.

Kenshin, what did you do? What did you do to her?

"He…almost killed me," she unknowingly answered. Tilting her head to the side, she winced at the terror she had gone through just yesterday.

He didn't know what to say.

Gaping at her, he suddenly discovered that she'd never acted like this before. She had never been so broken, so weak and fragile. For a woman, her tough, arrogant side had always dominated her innocence, but those close to her witnessed her childish manners once in a while. No matter what happened, she was strong and she believed in the sword style of her father, the kind that protects people and keep the society ordered.

But now…

Something inside of him glowed in fury, angered at the one cause of this girl's solemn heart. Kenshin, he thought, you fool.

Wrapping an arm lightly around her shoulders, he watched her fight back the memory passively. "It's okay, you don't have to tell me about it."

She sobbed, small gasps of hiccups mingled in sweat and salty teardrops. Agreeably, she nodded.

"Shikashi, I want to tell you this…"

And so, she listened.

It was yet another day, and he still hadn't come back.

It was remarkably achievable to fool Sanosuke, she found out. He never noticed her wounds, or at least, he never asked about it. The robe she wore covered the bandaged cut, which was then wrapped in a wet towel, eventually replaced with a firm strap knot.

Lying on her bed, she closed her eyes and breathed smoothly. Ever since morning, Sanosuke's words infiltrated her mind until she didn't know exactly what she was thinking anymore.

"Chaos exists in every second of time. At some point, friendship just wouldn't be enough."

That was the first to succeed in confusing reality for her.

"You have to make a decision, Kaoru-san. You can bring back the rurouni you picked up that fateful day, or you can revive the legendary Hitokiri Battousai. It all depends on your love."

That was humorous, she thought sarcastically, I would one day fall in love with the man who was bound to kill me someday. Smart.

"But don't pity him, don't throw away your sense of self as he did long before he met you. In your world, the most important thing should be your life."

At the verge of screaming at herself, she dug her nails into her pillow. "I don't pity him," she scowled. "I-I just…I just want…"

I just want Kenshin back, not the Battousai.

Not the manslayer.

Just Kenshin…just him…

But a part of her knew, a part of her knew, yet denied, that the two were one and the same. He would always be Kenshin, yet he would always be the Battousai as well. One man with two souls, two sides, in which one will protect and the other would kill.

The last of what Sanosuke said, it didn't quite soothe her.

"Unless you believe in him, he will die."

He will die…?

The wind howled and the leaves rustled. Small whispers of the eerie night bristled through the yard, a speck of red, but dulled under the dark sky, flashed into the open. The shadow kneeled quietly on the middle branch, stealthily watching the girl by the upstairs window.

A briskly sigh escaped his mouth, cold and dry in the wintry air. His right hand rested upon the handle of his sword, tucked in his katana.

Apparently, she wasn't very much in sight, but by sixth sense, he had a feeling she was in bed, despite that the candlelight wasn't out yet. As she suddenly sat up and stretched, yawning while her arms reached up, he found it only amusing enough to smile, a weak sorrow locked between his lips.

He saw it all, and he knew one thing: she didn't tell Sanosuke about it. And even if she did, there would be one thing she would leave out. The kiss.

He really didn't know why he kissed her at all. It just…came to him, all of a sudden; there was no explanation for his daring action that time. He didn't have half the mind he knew what he was doing really. Yet somehow, it felt good. Those lips he had stolen and pressed, beating both their hearts with the greatest speed…

…it had felt so good.

"Sugoi. I didn't know you were around until she left," the voice reached his ear before the speaker was able to comprehend, but he chose not to respond. Sanosuke stopped at the bottom of the tree and looked up at the figure above him.

Sanosuke smirked. "As the usual, you're never surprised."

A light rustle in the trees told him that Kenshin received his message, but there was no indication that he was planning to come down.

At last, "Your words were intriguing, Sano."

"Hmm? Should I be flattered?" he laughed, leaning against the tree trunk as he crossed his legs. "I know you too well, Kenshin, but whatever happened between you two, I can't help."

He shut his eyelids. "Sano…"

"Don't tell me, I don't want to know about it," a naughty smile spread across his face, the bandana hidden under his bangs.

An epidemic serenity dominated the night. Kaoru had already gone to sleep, the light in her room dimly watched over by the caressing moon. Though feeling a little molested at the silence between the two, Sanosuke found pleasure in watching the stars up so high.

I wonder why I've always found the night so mysterious, he thought.

"Sano."

He didn't move. "Mm?"

"It's…a complicated matter, you know."

The pause that followed almost convinced Sanosuke that the red head probably did not hear him, yet of course, the legendary swordsman was more sensitive than he seemed.

But then, he continued. "Love is sweet and tender; it's eternal and comforting, its legacy never dies. That's how I learned it when I met Tomoe."

Hesitation was in the air. "But such gentle love, I realized, just isn't for me."

It was shocking, the sorrow in his voice. Although Saonsuke couldn't see him, he could feel the agony that the man was in. It was full of the gloomy Tokugawa days, but it was also mixed with hurt, the kind of hurt that only comes when love is broken and injured. "Kenshin…"

"The Hitokiri Battousai was only a manslayer. Perhaps that was all he was destined to be, that was all he was meant to become, a man who kills." Kenshin winced. "But…Sano…"

His friend looked up.

"Sano…sometimes, I just wished I was never that Hitokiri Battousai."

Sanosuke lifted up a half smile. "Demo, Kenshin, you had the determination as that of any other samurai that time, to bring about a new era. You weren't the only one."

"True, Sano," Kenshin sighed. "But once you slay a man, you're already become a killer. The Battousai, I, could never rid that guilt, that kind of murderer still inside of me. Sano, you wouldn't understand what it is like to be the manslayer, to be known as one. The Battousai can never lead a life, a life he wants, a life he will enjoy and treasure until he leaves the world. He cannot roam the cities without the accusation of a murderer in his heart and he cannot escape the consequences of all those he had killed. It will only live on in his days, the Hitokiri Battousai."

"Sano." Suddenly, he stood up, balanced well on the branch.

The bandana man turned his head to the side. "Yeah?"

He jumped swiftly onto the ground. "Thanks for listening."

The other man smirked, surprisingly; after such words that he had just heard from his pal. "Betsuni. Someone needs to be there when you chatter like that." He elbowed the tree. "So anyways, you're here…because…?"

"I came to see her, just to watch over her one last time before I leave," Kenshin replied, nearly emotionlessly.

Sanosuke quirked his eyebrows. "Before you leave?"

He nodded. "Hai, the government called for me again, last week that is. I didn't know how to tell you guys and I wasn't sure whether or not to go."

The other man jokingly scratched his head. "Maa, it's only a request I believe. How long will you be gone?"

"I told you. I'm leaving. I won't be coming back for this time."

"Nani!" Sanosuke jerked his head around to face the red head.

Nevertheless, there was no reaction; sasuka Kenshin. "It's in another town, about 8 hours away by vehicle. The commander said that if I agreed on this mission with them, I shouldn't be planning to come back. It's too far off."

"Demo…doushite, Kenshin? You really don't want to go, right? You got us here, in the dojo, for too long to just go off again."

Kenshin nodded, a bit on the solitary side. "If she doesn't welcome me here, I will go." He looked hastily up at his friend and grinned. "The Hitokiri Battousai learned what it felt like to lose his wife and slay thousands, he's gotten used to this. It won't be long."

Though he wanted to protest, Sanosuke pushed that aside and instead, let out a gasp of exhaustion. "Omae…" he grinned back. "Go on, I won't watch."

The other sadly closed his eyes halfway. "Arigatou, Sano. Arigatou."

Notes: Comments? I know it's a bit laggy I suppose, but I think the next chapter should be the final one, so it's just a plotless short story, eh? P