And the plot thickens. A little. This is definitely turning into a trilogy, and this is the end of the first book. But time reveals all, ne?

Comments: Lady_Tsunami@hotmail.com

Disclaimer: If you really want one, go read the one from Chapter 10. Nothing's changed since then, I promise ^-~

Desert Rose
By Lady Calliope

Chapter 11: Secrets and Conspiracies

Something was wrong.

She had noticed it when she had first entered the dining hall and taken one look at the room's two other occupants. At first, she couldn't really put her finger on what it was that urged her to take a second look. Then, it hit her like a sand storm. No yelling. No fighting. No flirting. No violence. The over-sexed emperor and fiery doctor were acting…civilized.

Something was very wrong.

Deciding that silence was wise in situations such as this, Kaoru didn't say a word about her suspicions during breakfast. After a while, and to her embarrassed pleasure, Kenshin entered the dining hall and took the empty seat next to her and across from the others. Yahiko was the only one missing, and Kaoru smiled at the thought of a meal without him. However, his presence would most certainly have alleviated some of the awkwardness in the dry air…

After their dishes had been cleared, she took action. Dragging her friend away from the others, she led Megumi out into the high-arched hallway. "What's wrong? Are you okay, Kaoru-chan?" the doctor whispered, sensing her friend's anxiety.

"Um…Megumi, did something…happen…between you and Sano last night?" she muttered, thoroughly embarrassed at the situation now that she had time to think her suspicions through.

Megumi raised an eyebrow, her interest piqued. "Why do you ask that, Kaoru?" she countered, her tone conveying her amusement.

"Well…it's just that…you guys weren't acting…normal at breakfast and…"

"Oh? So now I'm not allowed to be civilized nor am I allowed to consort with the emperor?" She was enjoying this all too much.

"No, no! I was…just wondering, that's all," Kaoru admitted sheepishly, blushing at her the implications of her statements.

A slight chuckle escaped her friend's lips. "I suppose I would have been suspicious myself if I were in your place," she smiled. "But last night…let's just say that my dislike of him has decreased dramatically."

"But, just yesterday you were telling me how much you hated him and how he's so much worse than every other man…" the petite warrior began, confused.

"My point exactly."

With that, Megumi turned and walked towards her room, that mischievous smile never faltering. By the time the dark-haired girl caught up with her friend, they were nearly to their quarters, and the doctor adamantly refused to disclose or discuss more of the details concerning her encounter with the emperor the previous night.

Kaoru had never been so bewildered. Megumi had never had so much fun.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Well, it was now or never.

"Hey, Sano. Can I ask you something?" Kenshin questioned casually as he gathered all of the dishes on the table. Despite the fact that he was in a palace, he always insisted on helping with the dishes. Sanosuke figured it had something to do with living in a camp with forty other men.

"Sure," the emperor replied, then grinned impishly. "As long as it has nothing to do with Megumi."

An empty chalice clattered to the floor, the echo resounding throughout the dining hall. Kenshin scrambled to pick up the goblet he had knocked over.

Sanosuke had had a hunch his friend's silence during the meal had something to do with the female doctor. Then again, that could be giving the bandit too much credit. The sovereign chuckled. For all his skills as a swordsman, Kenshin really fell short when it came to women. He could slice and dice with the best of the best, but put a woman in the picture and…

Recollections of his friend's slightly reddened face in Kaoru's presence came to mind, and Sanosuke began smiling anew.

He stopped laughing, however, when another thought entered his mind. Kaoru had been pretty quiet as well during breakfast, and the halls were empty now…

"What makes you think my question has anything to do with Megumi, Sano?" Kenshin quipped, trying to mask the fact that his friend had read him like a scroll.

Sanosuke just hoped Megumi's inquisition was going as pleasantly as his.

"If your question has nothing to do with her, then you won't have any problem asking it, now will you?" the emperor continued.

"Sano…"

"Because I know you have enough sense to realize that there is nothing going on between the two of us." Gods, look at him blush!

Kenshin threw his hands up in defeat. There was no point in being subtle about anything now. "I just wanted to know what happened last night when you went to speak with her. And," he began, effectively silencing the sovereigns counterpoint, "don't tell me nothing happened. You're behavior at breakfast this morning proved otherwise."

Well, Battousai sure did know how to ruin a good time.

"Yeah, yeah, alright," Sanosuke acquiesced. "But only because you could beat me real bad."

The redhead smiled at the comment, despite its fallacy. Finally, he was going to get some answers.

"Truth is, when I went out into the garden to find her, we started out talking. But then, these sparks that just went off between us and before I knew it…well, we were making passionate love like newlyweds on the ground in front of the rhododendrons."

Kenshin fell over with a shocked cry of "Oro!"

Sanosuke smiled devilishly.

Yes, he hoped Megumi was having as much fun as he was. Yes, indeed.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

The time was drawing near.

In less than a fortnight, all that Emperor Hiko and his delinquent son had strove to build would come tumbling down in one swift blow. War, rebellion, unrest, grief, death…he smiled viciously at the thought of such abundant opportunity.

"My lord."

His attention snapped to the man in front of him. Kneeling before him was his most faithful follower and fellow conspirator. The assassin's bandages were frayed and yellowed, giving him the appearance of a walking dead. Which he very nearly was, of course.

"All the final preparations are complete. We have acquired the necessary men and weapons, and secured the room you requested. It will be empty when we need it," Shishio reported, head bowed and right arm held across his chest. 

"Good. You have done well, Shishio. And you will be rewarded for your efforts as promised," he replied, his eyes glinting madly.

"Thank you, my lord. The way I've arranged everything, she'll never know what hit her."

"Neither will he."

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Sweat dripped from her forehead, stinging her eyes with that kind of momentary pain that only seems to heighten the senses. Her neck and hair were soaked, but she didn't care in the least. All she cared about at that moment was her form. Blue eyes focused, mouth tight and thin, she began the movements for the seventh time in an hour. Practice makes perfect.

This was the most complicated of all the forms she knew, and she had never been able to perfectly execute it more than twenty times in a row. However, she knew if she wanted to defeat stronger opponents and improve her skill, she would have to practice until she could successfully complete twenty-five repetitions without faltering once. Wooden practice sword in hand, she closed her eyes and leapt into action.

She never noticed that, all the while she was practicing, someone was watching her from the archway leading to the gardens from inside the palace. A small smile took up residence on his face as he watched her practice her form, his violet eyes shining in both amusement and deep respect. He knew, better than anyone, the sweat, blood, and dedication it took to become the best one can possibly become, and then some. As he continued his observations, unconsciously calculating her every move, his first impression of this young woman was re-confirmed. She was very different from any other woman he had ever met.

Perhaps that's why he felt so drawn to her day after day. She was the inescapable, quiet tenant of his mind: never leaving his thoughts but never dominating them either.

Ever since Sanosuke had announced the banquet, Kenshin had been noticing a peculiar feeling in the pit of his stomach. For days he had tried to put a name to this phantom and determine what was causing this tightening in his gut, but he had been rewarded with only partial success. This feeling…it was like a type of anxious, compulsive fear, similar to the feeling he got when he knew he was about to let a great chance pass him by for some reason or another. He had finally been able to describe this feeling, but as for the cause of it…

His mind drifted back to a conversation he had had with the emperor when this feeling had first surfaced. Sanosuke had immediately provided an explanation for the redhead's emotional disorder, and now, as he stood there watching the petite young woman practice, Kenshin began to think his friend might have been right all along.

"Let me spell it out for you: K-A-O-R-U."

It didn't seem so implausible now.

There was only one problem with these newfound feelings he was developing: he still didn't know that much about her. In the few weeks she had been in the capitol, there had only been a handful of times when the two of them could speak alone. And even during those times, his usual embarrassment and bumbling produced little fruit in the relationship. But, after living with guys for all of your life, what else do you expect to happen when a woman is concerned?! he reasoned to himself.

A small exclamation of joy brought his attention back to the woman across the garden. He smiled, his happiness for her too much to resist. She had completed twenty-five repetitions of the form. After her short verbal celebration, she walked to the nearest fountain and gingerly sat on its edge, dipping her hands in the cool water and refreshing her lightly burned, sweaty face. For some reason, water always seemed crisper, more invigorating after a successful, hard practice. She loved this feeling.

All had grown quiet in the fertile gardens; the soft churning of the water had replaced the grunts and yells she had been issuing before. And there she sat, eyes closed, face turned up to the warm sun above: the young deity of the desert.

She sat like that in blissful splendor for quite some time before she noticed the sound of quiet footfalls approaching her from behind. Somehow, though, she had sensed his presence all along. She slowly opened her eyes, and the friendly smile she wore perfectly masked the frantic pace her heart began beating at the sight of him.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

What was he doing?! How had he let his mind wander so far as to allow his feet to carry him right in front of her? When she smiled that innocent smile of hers, all coherent thought proceeded to turn to mush in his mind. Well, he reasoned, it could be worse. I could have forgotten my own name.

"Good afternoon, Kenshin! What brings you out to this part of the palace?" she ventured at conversation, noting how his eyes were continually darting this way and that. He seemed on edge about something.

Great. It just got worse. "Me? Well, I was, um…just looking for a place to practice for a while. I needed to get out," he replied hastily. At least his excuse sounded plausible; this was good.

"What's bothering you so much that you needed a break?" she questioned, motioning for him to sit beside her. They rarely got a chance to speak like this, and she wasn't wasting it no matter how nervous she may have felt.

"It's nothing anymore," he answered. He contemplated telling her about his suspicions of Sanosuke and Megumi's behavior earlier that morning, but decided against it. If Kaoru hadn't said anything about it at breakfast, then maybe it was just his imagination after all. Although, he had been quite embarrassed at the emperor's fantastical, detailed stories of what had happened between himself and the female doctor. He hadn't needed to know exactly what went through his friend's mind when it came to women…

Sensing he didn't want her to push the issue, she let it drop. "You said before that you were looking for someone to practice with. Would you mind practicing with me? It's been a while since I could spar against an actual opponent," she offered. What better way to prove herself a mature, graceful woman than to show him her skills with the sword?

He wanted to laugh at the irony of the situation. Here she was, practically royalty, asking him, the most wanted criminal in the land, if he wanted to spar with her. However, he knew that he had to keep that side of him a secret from her; the last thing he wanted was for her to discover he was the infamous Battousai. To her, he was just Kenshin, Sanosuke's friend and frequent visitor to the palace. And that's the way things must remain, for her safety as well as his own.

"Yes, I think that would be perfect," he responded, standing and drawing his reversed-blade sword. She followed suit and picked up a metal blade that had been lying next to her wooden practice sword, taking the proper stance directly opposite from him. 

"And don't hold back just because I'm a woman. I want a real fight," she told him, smirking a little.

"Believe me, you'll get a fight."

And the two commenced, the clashing of metal on metal filling the gardens bound within the palace walls.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

They had been sparring for over an hour now, each one enjoying it immensely. There was one thing that was bugging Kaoru, though: her redheaded friend seemed to be holding back his full potential. She could see it in his swing and in his stance. Offended that he wasn't pitting everything he had against her, she stepped up her technique to the best she could possibly put forth. However, as the fight became more serious and the moves more advanced, Kenshin began to sense something was wrong.

It was a feeling that started in the pit of his stomach and slowly spread to his extremities. A sense of panic began to rise in his throat as he realized what was happening.

Not here, not now!

Their swords met deftly as they held, jockeying for the advantage. Suddenly, Kaoru leapt back to distance herself from him, and then prepared to run at him for the final blow. Kenshin foresaw her move even before she had landed, and knew all too well what would happen if she charged him. The feeling would overtake him completely, and he would be powerless to stop to the consequences. There was only one thing to do.

Before she had even covered half the distance between them, he dropped his sword and fled. She snapped back to reality when she heard the dull thud of his weapon on the grass, and she looked in time to see him turn and run inside the palace. Puzzled and shocked beyond belief, it was all she could do to just stand there and watch his retreating back disappear inside the massive structure. What had she done to make him leave so suddenly? Shaking her head, she thought back upon the events of the past while and could come up with no explanation for his sudden departure. Suddenly, she recalled something in the way he had looked at her before he had turned and fled.

For one instant, she could have sworn she saw his eyes flash amber in the early evening light. There was only one person she knew of that had such eyes. It couldn't be…

But as she looked back towards the palace once again, everything suddenly made sense: his sudden disappearances in the middle of the night, the whispers he and Sanosuke shared when they thought she couldn't hear them, why he had held back during their fight…

Kenshin was the legendary Battousai, leader of the Hitokiris.

Well, this complicates things a little…