I dedicate this chapter to those of you who have been patiently waiting for some explanation to certain events. I promise the next chapter will have much good Aoshi/Misao…stuff. This story mainly centers on Kenshin and Kaoru, but that does not mean I will deny all the other couples their chance in the spotlight. And as always, your patience is a godsend, minna-san. ^_^

Disclaimer: If I owned Rurouni Kenshin, I can assure you that the last 40-something episodes would not have happened, and the Jinchuu Arc would most certainly have been realized in the anime.

A/N: As a little reward for all of my reviewers support, I've done some review-response at the end of this chapter for everyone who reviewed Chapter 13. Domo arigatou gozaimasu, minna-san! Reviews make me write faster… *hint hint*

//…// denotes thoughts

Desert Rose
By Lady Calliope

Chapter 14: Remembrance By Firelight

Kenshin sighed as one chosen to bear all the burdens of the world as he lifted his goblet to his cracked lips. In a way, that description was quite accurate. After all of his young yet infinitely old years of living, he had encountered so much bloodshed, hate, pain, suffering, and loss that it was nearly impossible to absolve himself of all blame. At least, in his eyes it was.

His eyes shifted around the circle of men gathered before the fire, each one's laughter echoing throughout the desert plains. The firelight danced on their skin and in their eyes, lending them an appearance of a much more jovial nature than that which they actually possessed. Kenshin studied each of his men silently, his mind quietly shifting through all of the memories and nightmares that had brought each of them before this campfire tonight. Some were tales of a lighter nature, while some—his eyes quickly darted to Sozou—were tales full of a great darkness.

Unbidden, his mind drifted back to that day three years ago that had forever bound Sozou's loyalty to Kenshin. It was not that the young man in question was under the contract of some kind of debt of the flesh, but rather he suffered under the harsh truth that he had no where else to turn. Unconsciously, Kenshin's callused hand made its way to the crossed scar on his left cheek, the one that had received its final slash that fateful night three years ago.

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

The air was typical of a Sumaktrian night: light and cool, laced with the barest hints of the faded sunlight's embrace. The evening was quiet, but not overly so. Every once in a while, the sounds of siblings shrieking in delight of play or the clattering of clay and metal as a woman cleaned the kitchen after a late dinner would drift through the air, reaching the ears of the three figures that walked about the city. Upon closer scrutiny, one could dimly decipher the builds of two young men, one shorter than the other, and a woman walking between them with an almost regal quietude. She had her left arm laced around the taller man's right.

Tomoe smiled in the smallest sense of the word as she listened to the two men quarrel. There was no malicious intent evident in either of their postures or voices, but she had known each of them for long enough to recognize the traces of annoyance in the taller man's voice; the shorter man was winning the argument. Her husband could be so transparent at times.

"…and even if they did stage an attack upon the city, there would be no hope of victory for them once they met the army."

"Sozou," Kenshin replied, a smile settling on his face as he shook his head. "Your trust and belief in the Kahaktrian army is admirable. But not even General Saitou's forces would be able to put an end to the Nihamran's march. They have control of the most powerful forces in all the provinces; you know this."

"They have the forces, yes, but we have the cunning," he retorted, smirking.

The redhead's smile never faltered. "Perhaps, but even the cobra cannot win against a hungry jackel."

Tomoe silently laughed at her husband's slightly annoyed gaze. He knew he had lost; yet, he would continue to fight.

"This is all inane babble, in any case. Nihamra would never attack us; they know of and respect the power that forged this kingdom, and even they have a sense of honor," Sozou asserted after a few moments.

"I am merely expressing my concern, friend. It is all too obvious the political and economic gains that would be won if Nihamra decided to storm us. I believe the royals are being too lax about the potential situation," Kenshin countered with a small glance of amusement in Tomoe's direction.

"Your words seem to resonate with my thoughts, Kenshin. I, too, have been worried about such an attack," she announced quietly, the smile fading from her lips but still evident in her voice.

Sozou's eyes widened a fraction in surprise at his wife's words. "You take his side over mine? Where is your matrimonial loyalty?" he mused, a small grin on his lips.

"Oh, fear not, dear husband. You still have my heart, but that does not give you sway over my mind. And in matters of politics and war, I tend to take the more precautious road, like Kenshin," she answered, her smile wide upon her countenance as she met Sozou's gaze.

"Thank you, Tomoe. I'm glad one of the royal family members has some wits about them," Kenshin laughed. "However, your hot-tempered brother currently sitting on the throne does not seem to possess the same sense as you."

"Indeed, he does not. It seems that only one of the three was born with His Highness's clear head. That's why I married her, after all."

"You, married me? It seems, Sozou, that the events preceding our union have fled your memory. It was I who married you. And I can assure you, if Kenshin here had not interceded and made right a few misunderstandings, you would be without a wife today," she rejoined, a slight smirk gracing her face.

"It is not my fault that my leader happens to be more articulate than I, and furthermore…"

Their conversation died as the breeze. Kenshin's eyes had narrowed, his blade unsheathed before Tomoe could blink. Sozou's back was to her, guarding her from any frontal attack as Kenshin stood behind her. Both men had instantaneously traded their formerly good-humored nature for that of skilled swordsmen on the defense. She had not heard anything unusual, but then again her two protectors could sense things that normal humans could not. As bandits, the world of shadows was their bloody home.

Suddenly, a rustle of cloth, steel slicing through air, the cold wetness of a wall as her back connected with its hardness. She had been pushed away from the fray, by which one she knew not, before any danger had registered with her senses. Shakily, she rose to her feet and watched, breathless with fear, as the battle raged.

The inky blackness surrounding them made recognition of their assailant impossible to her. All she could gather was that this man—was it a man? Or beast?—was as quick and skilled with the blade as both her husband and friend. Both men attacked the dark shadow simultaneously, but to no avail. The attacker blocked Kenshin's downward swing with his sword, and a dagger seemed to materialize in his hand to stop Sozou's sword from connecting with his right side. He held the position for a moment, then scraped his weapons along the edges of theirs as he threw his body forward, flipping and landing on his feet.

He wasted no time. Almost faster than sight, he was upon the two men again, swinging and slashing fiercely at them both. And yet, it seemed to her that all of his focus was directed at Kenshin, and only a fraction of his attention was being spent on Sozou. It was like he viewed her husband as an annoyance…or an obstacle. The bloodlust and animosity of his heart seemed to roll off of him in waves palpable even to her. In an insight wrought by fear, she realized their battle was rapidly approaching a point where desperation would prevail…

Suddenly, she caught a glint in her friend's eyes that made her blood freeze. It was brief, but there was the smallest flash of amber in Kenshin's normally violet gaze. After that, his strikes seemed to increase in ferocity with every swing.

//No…//

Another flash of gold as Sozou was slashed deeply across the chest. She reached out a trembling hand to both her injured husband and tormented friend.

//No…//

Sozou fell to the ground, unconscious, as another of their aggressor's edges caught him across his thighs and up his right arm. It was just Kenshin and their assailant now. The amber in his eyes grew more permanent, swirling with the violet as he flipped his sword. He meant to kill.

//NO!//

She left the safety of the wall and ran to her red-haired friend, intending to stop him from transforming completely. She'd be damned if she was going to let his curse shatter his vow if there was something she could do to prevent it. His eyes had almost completely lost all traces of violet.

Their foe blocked Kenshin's sword once again, while at the same time slashing at the right side of the redhead's midsection with his dagger. However, while Kenshin foresaw and easily blocked the second weapon, he did not predict the kick from his left side. The sharp pain of cracking ribs stole his breath for a second, a mere second, but it was all their attacker was looking for.

His sword swooped down from its stalemate above Kenshin's head, its intent clear as blood to her.

//NO!//

Kenshin gasped as his back connected with the sandy earth, his eyes wide. He felt his side, realizing he was not dead, not even injured. Then he remembered a flash of pale skin before he flew backward, and the dark assailant that he had fought. There was something coldly familiar in his fighting style, something that reminded him of another friend killed not so long ago by a mysterious assassin…

Raging, he jumped up from his position on the ground and stared at the site before him, intending to drive his blade through their attacker's heart.

Tomoe was lying, face in the blood-soaked earth, a deep, irreparable laceration gouged into her left side. The assassin was nowhere in sight.

All traces of amber vanished from his eyes as he scrambled, kneeling by her side. He gently held her head in his lap. Her eyes fluttered open briefly, smiling in recognition, before closing again. She whispered a few words to him, but the effort too much for her body to handle.

Her head dropped to the side, her last breath escaping her pale mouth forever.

"Your vow has been upheld; I'm glad. Watch over him for me." 

He lifted his hand to his cheek to wipe away the tears, but it came away warm and smelling of copper as well as salt. He moved his fingertips over the cut he had received in the fight. It crossed with his old scar, forming a perfect "X".

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-   

 Kenshin shook his head in an effort to clear his clouded eyes and mind of those events. After that night, they had informed the royal family of Tomoe's murder and left the details of the burial to her brothers. Enishi had gone into a rage after learning of his beloved elder sister's death; he vowed revenge on everyone whomever had killed her, and his accusations ran everywhere from the palace's servants to Nihamran assassins. No one spoke to him for weeks after her funeral, and he was never seen outside of his room during that period.

Sozou could not continue living at the palace. The walls seemed to whisper to him all of the sweet nothings the two of them had shared, and his bed was cold like the dirt of a grave. The only person he could turn to was Kenshin, his friend and leader, the man to whom all his loyalties were bound. Kenshin invited him to come back to the Hitokiri camp with him and the rest of his men. He had friends there, and it was as far as Sozou could hope to be from the place that haunted him.

Their preparations were made covertly and hastily. None of the royals would know of Sozou's departure save one small boy. His son, Yahiko.

Leaving his only child behind was something he never thought he would have the strength or conviction to do. He was all the remembrance of Tomoe that Sozou had left, and he desired nothing more than to take his son and leave Sumaktra behind forever. Yet, he knew deep inside that he did not want Yahiko to grow up as a bandit's son; he wanted him to mature as the youngest of the Yukishiro royal family. Sozou could not return Yahiko's mother to his weeping son, but he could give him the chance to live the life Tomoe had worked hard to secure for him. And to his much-overlooked credit, Yahiko shed no tears the night his father and Kenshin slipped from the security of the capitol.

He had to be strong for his father, and for the family he once had.

Kenshin finished the last of his wine in a single swallow and excused himself from the Hitokiris' nightly ritual. He made his way back to his tent, silently opening and fastening the flap behind him to block the bitter chill of the darkened desert.

His eyes fell immediately to the sleeping form lying in his bed. Her ebony hair was loose and scattered wildly around her face, a few stray strands settling themselves across her slightly parted, rouge lips. A slight blush colored her otherwise pale skin, testament to the poison her body was working to drive from her system. The beautiful dress she had been wearing at the banquet was stained, ripped, and bloody, and perspiration covered her face and certain places on her clothing. Somehow, the soiled, soft, torn picture she presented made her infinitely more precious to him and so much stronger. The valor of her heart and her resilient spirit would have remained hidden had she still resembled the desert goddess from the previous evening.

The woman he had been entranced by at the banquet was one of an intangible, ethereal dream. The woman before him now was the true Kamiya Kaoru. She was the one who possessed a fighter's fire and a courageous beauty: the one he had sparred with in the palace gardens.

The one with which he was steadily, despite all his vain efforts, falling in love.

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tbc…

MP: thank you for the good approval. ^_~ I'm very happy that you're enjoying this little story of mine. And I won't give up on this story; you can be sure of that!

Tiian: I've enjoyed your past reviews, and it makes me excited to know that I have faithful reviewers like you. I'm trying to get more action/romance going here; I hope the plot thickening is not too complex as the story progresses.

kyanos: I'm glad you like my descriptions/character interactions; it's one of the things I worry most about. ^-^ Your enthusiasm is wonderful! And I agree with you whole-heartedly; Saitoh is most definitely what I'd call the "good villain."

Ezra: I tried to update faster this time; sorry if it was still too long! And I'm very excited that you like my Arabian theme. This story was actually inspired by the song "Desert Rose" by Sting; that's where the theme came from. ^-~

Atlantis: Wow…that was one of the most wonderful and inspirational reviews I've ever received. *sigh* I wish this baby had over a hundred reviews…But, I'll be just as happy if the few people that read my story like it as much as you do. Thank you very much for the support! ^_____^

Dragowolf: Eep! I'm writing, I'm writing! It's very hard for me to turn out chapters quickly as: a) I don't have a lot of time to write b) it takes me about 2-3 hours to write one chapter b/c I edit and re-edit it before I post it. I'm sorry there was no A/M in this chapter, but fear not! That's what Chapter 15 is for…^_~  

à That's it for this edition of "Calliope's Review Responses"; to get a response, just review this chapter and tune in for the next one! On an aside, I dearly love and thank all the people that take the time to read this story even if you don't leave reviews. Domo arigatou gozaimasu, minna-san! ^____________^  ß