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/ Make You Sick /

&&

Makimachi Residence

The door swung open, revealing a disheveled Misao, her blue eyes wide. She slowed down her breathing, calming down when she recognized Aoshi and Kenshin standing in her living room. Several other men littered her home, Misao watching them closely as they searched the house. She closed the door quietly, looking to Kenshin for answers since he was closer than Aoshi.

"Where's Yahiko and Kaoru! My aunt called and my boss let me leave work as soon as possible after I told her that there was a family emergency. Then some dumbass cut me off on the road, causing a little accident with another person so I had to sit in traffic—"

"Misao," Kenshin interrupted gently, motioning upstairs. "They're both upstairs with Megumi. They're both sleeping, for now."

She neared them, frowning when a man covered the pictures with paper. "What happened?" She reached for them, but Kenshin stopped her. "It's my house! They're my cousins, I deserve to know what happened!"

"Just calm down," he told her gently. "Kaoru received mail today, an envelope full of pictures. They know she's here, so she can't stay here any longer. For their safety and yours. You understand, don't you?"

She nodded slowly, fear biting at her senses. They, she assumed, were the people that killed her aunt and uncle. It didn't comfort her knowing that they mailed something to Kaoru. She shifted uncomfortably, not bothering to ask what the pictures were of. She had a feeling and she didn't want to see them anymore. Her curiosity quickly dwindled down. Aoshi watched the small girl, emotions flashing through her eyes as she stood silently in the room, her purse hanging loosely from her fingers. He cleared his throat, breaking the silence. "Miss Makimachi—"

"Misao," she corrected quietly, lifting her gaze to his. She ignored his good looks, quite certain that if he had attended her high school, he would be considered 'God' and have a fan club.

"Misao. We'll do our best keeping your cousins safe and for now, you will also have to be watched over. You're their cousin and you're close to them. People may try to get to them through you and we wouldn't want any more lives taken in this situation."

'Aunt and Uncle, I miss you so much!' "..I understand." She forced a smile to her lips, an action she didn't normally have to force onto her face. "Um, I'm going to go see them now," she spoke gently, waving slightly before turning her back to them and hurrying upstairs to her cousins, leaving the men by themselves. She wasn't sure if she should worry about herself so much, not wanting to become paranoid about every little thing. She feared more so for her cousins that were now leaving and she didn't know where they would go or if they would be safe.


&&

"Aunt Megumi," Misao spoke delicately, cracking the door open and poking her head in. Megumi flinched in surprise, looking over her shoulder to see her small niece. A small smile came to her ruby lips, motioning for her to step into the darkened room. Misao obeyed, closing the door quietly and glancing at the drawn curtains over the window, blocking the light from outside. Her eyes drifted to Kaoru and Yahiko in bed, gnawing on her bottom lip.

"They're okay, Misao. I gave them something to let them sleep—they needed it. They should be awake in several hours. After they wake up, Kenshin said he would talk to Kaoru and explain what they would do now." She looked to Kaoru, brushing her bangs away from her closed lids, hoping that she was sleeping peacefully along with her brother. They didn't need any more nightmares haunting them.

"Did he tell you the plans?"

"No, he didn't. I think they're still trying to figure things out," she told her, removing her hand from Kaoru.

Misao took a seat on the end of the bed, resting her hands on her bare knees. Comfortable silence formed between the two, their breathing the only noise in the room. Misao closed her eyes briefly, only guessing at the pain they both must feel. She wanted to help them, make them truly smile. Megumi glanced at Misao when she heard her sniffle, her shoulders slouching as her hands gripped her knees angrily.

"I'm scared," she admitted quietly, tears escaping her eyes. "It's all too much—what if they get a hold of them and—"

"Misao, even in the worse situations, you should always think positively." Her tone was clipped, upset that Misao would say such a thing, but didn't scold her. In truth, she asked her husband the same thing, unsure of what the future held. She lost her sister and she wanted to lose no one else before his or her time. She was consumed with rage, cursing the people that took the life of her sister and brother-in-law so brutally, leaving their children orphaned.

"You're right," she replied after several minutes of silence. Her wet cheeks were wiped dry with the back of her hand, getting control of herself. "We should all be strong for them, like Kaoru. She's been strong through this whole thing, never sad."

'Never sad? Impossible. This silly raccoon girl hides her feelings, which she shouldn't do. She needs to take down her front,' Megumi thought to herself, getting up from the bed. She caught Misao's attention, motioning for her to follow. "We should leave them and wait until they awaken," she spoke quietly, waiting for Misao to stand. They left the room together when she did so, Megumi placing a hand on her shoulder as they made their way down the long hall.


&&

"This is bullshit," Kenshin hissed, tossing the pictures back onto the table.

Aoshi let his brows rise in interest to his reaction. "Continue."

"There's no evidence—nothing. Cho isn't speaking! He hasn't even made a peep ever since he was arrested and it's getting to me." He ran a hand through his red hair, letting a woman come and place the pictures in a plastic bag, walking away after receiving a nod from Aoshi. "I'm—"

"Then get information out of Mr. Sawagejo," Aoshi told him simply, their eyes locking briefly. "If he won't speak, then make him. You know what to do."

He didn't get a chance to respond to his partner, hearing footsteps. He turned to see the two, Megumi giving him a small smile and a nod to Aoshi. She folded her hands in front of her, her brown eyes drifting back to Kenshin. "For now, would you two like anything to eat or drink? I wouldn't mind making something," she offered quietly, Misao standing next to her in silence.

Kenshin gave Aoshi a glance before shaking his head, "No, but thank you. When do you think Kaoru and Yahiko will be awake?"

Megumi lifted her wrist to gaze at her watch, "It's three now, so I'd say around six or seven. Maybe a little later. They needed the sleep, so do be patient for now. I would like to stay here until they wake up, so if you two want anything to eat at any time, let me know."

Kenshin nodded slowly, "Thank you, Mrs. Sagara."

Misao glanced at her aunt as she left the room, returning her gaze to Kenshin. "I have a question," she murmured softly, fidgeting when she snuck a peek to Aoshi to find him staring at her. Men happened to be her weakness. "Will they be all right?" She asked quietly, asking the question to herself more than to the two men. She was starting to have little faith in the police and detectives, well aware of many cases never being finished due to dead ends. "They'll be okay, won't they?" She asked a bit louder, taking a step closes to the redhead.

Aoshi opened his mouth to speak, but Kenshin beat him to it.

"Yes," he spoke determinedly, sending Aoshi a glance. He felt his stare on him, reading his expression without any trouble.

What the hell are you doing? Was written on his expressionless face. Over the years, Kenshin didn't need to ask his partner any more questions as to what he was feeling.

He forced a smile to his handsome face, his eyes landing on Misao after ignoring Aoshi. "Yes, I'll do all that I can to make sure they will be all right."

Misao stared at him, uncertainty in her large eyes momentarily before a smile broke out on her face due to the sincerity in Kenshin's voice. Aoshi stared at his partner a bit longer before letting his gaze drift to the young girl, shaking his head.


&&

"Kenshin, you shouldn't give her false hope."

He rubbed his temples, the sudden urge of coffee hitting him. Maybe even some Advil. "Aoshi, what do you want me to tell the family?"

"The truth." He paused, "That there is no leads, they are probably keeping a close eye on the siblings, they could possibly want them dead-"

"No one will get near them."

"I've never seen you so strong-minded over a case. Normally, you would spend a few days on it before handing it over to someone else. You never really took a victim to the zoo either," he slowly trailed off, reaching into the pocket of his pants. Pulling out a lighter, he stood up from his sitting position on a chair, "I'll be outside. Just think about how close you're getting to this girl. It's silly and dangerous. She's just a victim, Kenshin. Once this is all over, either they'll both be dead or we catch the people behind all of this."

Kenshin didn't bother to respond to his partner or watch him leave the house for a smoke, his words slowly settling in. He knew Aoshi was right. There was no room for getting emotionally attached to cases, but he couldn't fight down the urge to protect the siblings, couldn't find himself blocking out the image of Kaoru in his mind.

When he thought of the possibility of them ending up hurt or worse, it made him sick to his stomach.

Those two were getting to him.


&&

She watched his large smile spread across his face, his dark brown eyes having the natural shine to them once again. Gods, she had missed his smiles. Yahiko was always a happy boy, so everyday that passed without him smiling pulled her deeper into her depression. She watched as his figure disappeared into the darkness, one of her slender hands rising to reach for her younger brother that was once there.

"You think you can protect them?"

She spun around, once again met with darkness. That voice. She couldn't put her finger on who it belonged to, but it was so very familiar.

"Kaoru!"

Tears came to her sapphire eyes as she heard the voices of her parents, reaching up to grip her hair. She shook her head. "It's all a dream. They're dead. Wake up, Kaoru." She closed her eyes tightly, letting them snap open as she heard gunshots, her eyes landing on the limp bodies of her parents.

The day she walked in their room to see their bodies was recreated all over again. Her heart clenched painfully and she closed her eyes once again, slowly opening them to see that the bodies were replaced with Yahiko's standing figure, his eyes dull as he stared at her. He was so sad and there was nothing she could do to make it better-

Her breath caught in her throat as a bullet flew through his forehead, her eyes widening as she let a scream erupt from her mouth. She fell to her knees.

Would she fail in keeping Yahiko safe?

What if he—

She screamed at the thought of him dying, trying to banish the thought permanently.

"Kaoru!"

'…Red hair?' She felt strong hands grip her shoulders, instantly smacking at the person that had grabbed her as she was starting to wake up from her nightmare. She felt a tear slip down her warm cheeks, choking on a sob as she let her eyes flutter open, her vision blurry before adjusting in the darkness. Her untangled her fingers from the soft hair she currently pulled, attempting to fight off the person entering their room.

"Kaoru, it was just a dream."

The masculine voice that reached her ears let her muscles relax instantly, "Kenshin?"

"I heard you scream from the bathroom down the hall—"

"It—I was—" She turned her head to see Yahiko shifting in his sleep, oblivious to her screaming while they were sleeping. He rolled over onto his side, his face now facing her and at that moment, the image of him with a bullet wound in his forehead raced through her mind. Her hand flew to her mouth as she tasted the bitter flavor in her throat, pushing Kenshin aside as she tumbled out of the bed.

She found the bathroom easily a few inches from the bed, turning on the light and making it to the toilet just in time. Tears stung her eyes, but she didn't allow them to run freely as she emptied her stomach into the toilet, Kenshin standing in the doorway.


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Meh. Not a lot in this chapter. It would've been out sooner, this chapter. I've been trying to contact my beta, but didn't get a response so I posted the chapter. It may have mistakes (SORRY), but may be edited when I have the time. Sorry that it has been so long. Hopefully the chapter was enjoyed. I would respond to reviews, but I have a cold and I want to lie down I want the cold to go away and stay away. I always get colds during season change and…people who don't have allergies are so damn lucky. Review please!