"Little… master?" Kaoru was so stunned upon hearing that name. Only one person had ever called her that but that had been ten years ago. Could it really be him? Could this be the same traveler that had helped her all those years ago? The one who gave her the beautiful dagger she still cherished?

The stranger chuckled softly, catching her attention, "you don't remember me do you? I'm not surprised. I wouldn't expect a little girl to remember a vagabond such as myself."

"What? No! I… I remember you! You're the swordsman that chased those boys away from me and then you took me home and gave me your dagger."

Even in the intense darkness that now encircled them Kaoru could see his satisfied grin, "so you do remember," he chided her softly.

The stranger came up to stand in front of her and she tried to look at his face but it was concealed by his long bangs. The only thing she could really make out was his mouth as he spoke, "you've grown up, little master."

He reached out and brushed some hair from her face with careful fingers, "you're not so little anymore."

Kaoru flushed as his finger lightly traced a path down her throat, stopping just about her collar.

"Um… I suppose I'm not."

She heard his laugh as he let his hand fall away from her, purposefully dragging the back of his hand along the front of her chest and stomach before letting it rest back at his side.

Kaoru took a cautious step back at this action. She licked her dry lips nervously, drawing his attention there. She gasped slightly when she saw his eyes. There were a deep gold in color, almost like those a wild cat would have. In those eyes Kaoru saw something she didn't recognize but that look was making her feel uncomfortable. That look reminded her of Kenshin when he was… wait! Kenshin! She'd almost forgotten about him!

"Oh no! I have to go!" she gasped, turning to leave.

The stranger caught her sleeve, halting her retreat, "what's the rush?"

"I have to get home to my sick friend! He needs this medicine! It was nice to see you again but I have to go! Come by later if you wish and thanks for the help!"

Before he could respond Kaoru pulled away from his grasp and was gone, hurrying down the darkened street at an impressive pace. The stranger watched her leave and a sly, secretive smile tugged his lips upwards, "come by later, huh? I may just do that."

Kaoru hurried back to the dojo as fast as her legs could carry her. When she reached the gate she charged inside, rushing down the hall to Kenshin's room.

"Are you awake, Kenshin? I'm sorry I'm late but…"

She paused as she opened the door, fear washing over her when she saw an empty room. The futon looked slept in but there was no Kenshin in it like there was supposed to be.

"Oh no! Where is he? Misao! Yahiko! Sanosuke!"

A few seconds later they came to meet her at the end of the hall, "what's wrong, Miss Kaoru?" Misao asked.

"Where's Kenshin?"

"In his room where we left him, Missy." Sanosuke relied non-chalantly.

Kaoru shook her head, "No he's not! I just went in to give him the medicine but he's not there!"

"Where could he have gone to as sick as he is?" Yahiko asked, scratching his head in thought.

"I don't know but let's split up and search the dojo for him. He could be hurt."

Everyone took her advice and split up to search for the missing red head. Kaoru looked everywhere he usually was. She looked in the kitchen, the courtyard, the training hall but nothing! It was as if he'd disappeared. Kaoru went to the front of the dojo and saw the gate open, "Oh no!" she thought frantically, "What if he went out to look for me?"

Kaoru poked her head outside the gate and called out, "Kenshin? Are you out here, Kenshin?"

No answer. She sighed and shut the gate back, worry beginning to overtake her. Then suddenly there was a hand on her shoulder, "Miss Kaoru?"

Startled, she let out a shriek and turned to face the person behind her, relief flooding her features when she met a familiar mop of red hair, "Kenshin?"

"I'm sorry to startle you, Miss Kaoru. Is everything all right? I heard you call for me."

"I'm fine but where have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you, Kenshin!"

Kenshin smiled slightly at the reprimand, "I got up to get some water and heard you shout for me so I came to see what was wrong."

Kaoru arched an eyebrow at his words. He didn't sound like Kenshin. He wasn't saying 'that I am' or anything like it like he usually did. And his voice, aside from the hoarseness brought on by illness, was a bit harsher and deeper, not like her Kenshin at all. She attributed it to his being sick and rested a hand on his shoulder, "well I'm glad you're alright. Let's get you some medicine now and put you back into bed."

Kaoru took his wrist and started to lead him back to his room but he didn't budge, "No, I have to prepare dinner, I can't go to bed right now."

"I'll cook dinner tonight, Kenshin. You need to take some medicine, rest and get well."

"I'm fine, really. I took some medicine earlier so there's no need to…" Kenshin paused as he raised his head slightly to where he could see her but was careful to keep his bangs covering his eyes. A frown suddenly came to his face and Kaoru cocked her head to look at him, "What's wrong, Kenshin?"

"What happened to you?"

"What do you mean?"

Kenshin raised his head to meet her gaze for the first time since she'd been home and she couldn't help the gasp that slipped past her lips. Looking back at her were the intense golden eyes of the Battousai. So that explained the sudden change in his speech pattern.

"I mean you're hurt," he reached out and lightly touched her still bloody mouth, "what happened to your lip?"

Kaoru suddenly remembered the fight and tried to think of a lie to tell him. If she told him she had been in a fight no doubt he would go out to find the thugs and give them a thrashing. She forced a smile, "Oh that? I was running looking for you and I bumped into Sanosuke and bit my lip, nothing to worry about, Kenshin."

That would be good enough, she thought. Kenshin never really called her out on a lie if he caught her and she figured since he was ill he wouldn't catch onto her lie. She looked back up at Kenshin and saw his eyes narrow slightly, his voice turning icy and low, "you're lying."

Kaoru felt a small twinge of fear course through her at the sound of that voice. She had heard it only once before when he was about to kill Jine. She never thought that that voice would be directed at her. And those eyes! The eyes that could freeze the bravest men in fear were now doing the same to her. They seemed to glow in the night and despite their harshness, held a tenderness there that was distinctly Kenshin whether he was Battousai or the wanderer.

Kaoru shook herself out of her trance and smiled up at him, deciding to change the subject, "Oh it's nothing. Now come on you need to get to bed and rest."

Kaoru tugged on his wrist once more but again he didn't move. She looked back and saw that emotionless face and blazing eyes, forcing a laugh, "See? You're so sick you've gone Battousai on me."

That backfired a bit. Battousai clearly wasn't amused by her joke as his eyes narrowed a bit more at her. Kaoru sighed, "What's wrong, Kenshin?"

Battousai suddenly twisted his wrist and turned his hand to grasp her wrist, pulling her closer to him with a sharp tug. Kaoru yelped slightly as she came face to face with Battousai, his voice stern and unwavering, "I don't like being lied to, Kaoru."

Kaoru felt her stomach knot up. There was something about the way he was looking at her and the sound of his voice that made her a bit fearful. Of course she knew he wouldn't hurt her but it was still intimidating to be staring Battousai in the eyes, especially at such close proximity to his heated body. Experimentally, she tried to pull her hand away but his grip was strong and unyielding. It wasn't strong enough to hurt her but there was no chance she was getting away from him either. She swallowed the lump in her throat and forced another smile, "It's nothing to worry about, Kenshin. I'm fine."

"Tell me what happened."

Kaoru sighed, knowing that he was as stubborn as she was and that she wasn't going to get out of this without telling him the truth. If this had been the wanderer he would've given up by now and let the subject drop, but not Battousai. As he said, he hated being lied to and he wasn't about to tolerate it from her. She groaned and turned away from his intense gaze, "I went to the clinic to get you some medicine and these guys attacked me. I ticked one off and he slapped me."

"Why were you out alone? Where was Sanosuke?"

"I told him to stay here and take care of you. Besides, it wasn't dark when I left and you needed the medicine."

"You could've been killed. You shouldn't have gone alone. Why didn't you…"

"Kenshin!" she interrupted him abruptly, her temper finally getting the better of her, "I don't need a lecture, Kenshin! You are sick and someone needed to stay and help you if you fell again! What was I supposed to do? Wait until Aoshi came back in two days and let you get worse? I'm fine, nothing happened! I managed to take care of it so don't act like my father!"

Battousai's eyes widened at her boldness. Not many people spoke to him that way, especially not Kaoru. She was usually timid around him yet now here she was yelling at him for worrying about her. He may not be as gentle as the wanderer but he cared for this young woman as much as his softer side and he wasn't about to let something happen to her, especially because of him.

Kaoru took a breath to calm herself, looking up at him with teary eyes as she continued, "I don't need a bodyguard Kenshin. You always look after me and the one time you need me I'm not going to sit around and do nothing! I don't care what happens to me as long as you're ok."

Kaoru looked away from him, unable to look into those eyes anymore. He could make her so angry sometimes. When she was the one in danger he never thought twice about what may happen to him. Didn't he know that she felt the same way? Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a hand on her chin, turning her face to meet his gaze, "Kaoru."

Kaoru allowed him to turn her head and gasped slightly when she saw his face. His solemn expression had melted into one of sympathy and understanding. His normally cold eyes were soft and his voice deepened a bit to a low rumble, ringing softly in her eyes as he spoke, "I'm sorry. It worries me when I'm not here to help you. Sick or not I should've gone with you. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you because of me."

Kaoru flushed slightly at his words. Battousai was never usually this soft spoken with anyone. Anytime he spoke to someone it was usually in battle and he was harsh and threatening but now he was as tender as the wanderer. If it hadn't been for the gold eyes she would've thought she was talking to the wanderer, not the fierce Battousai. She shook her head and laughed, "you're a jerk!"

"Hmm?" he asked confused.

"I'm fine. I don't need you to follow me like a shadow and protect me. I'm not a weak little girl, just a friend worried about you because you're sick. Now please, for once do as I ask! Let this go and go back to bed and rest."

"Kaoru, I need to…"

"Please Kenshin? For me?"

Battousai looked into those deep blue eyes and sighed. He couldn't deny her anything anymore than the wanderer could. She was his ultimate weakness whether she realized it or not. He sighed, "Alright, if you'll feel better I'll go to bed."

Kaoru's face lit up and she gave him a beautiful smile, pulling her hand free to grasp his and pull him along, "thank you. Now come on."

Battousai let her lead him back to his room and Kaoru made him lay down as she got a glass of water for him. She handed him a packet of the medicine and he took it quietly, making a disgusted face when the bitter powder hit his taste buds, "if the illness won't kill me that stuff will."

Kaoru laughed lightly and gently pushed him down, pulling the covers over him, "I know it tastes bad but it'll make you better. Now get some rest. Goodnight Kenshin."

Kaoru stood to leave and turned to shut the shoji screen, hearing a faint, "goodnight" as she closed it. She headed off to find the others, her mind racing with thoughts of what had just happened. First Kenshin turned into Battousai and then Battousai turned soft on her. What was going on with him? Kenshin had been acting strangely for days ever since he first started getting sick. He became more sarcastic, distant and even a bit harsh. It was nice to see Kenshin loosen up a bit but these drastic changes all at once were beginning to get strange. Most of all she couldn't believe that she got Battousai to listen to her. Normally he would've fought her tooth and nail to win the argument but this time he gracefully relented to her and that wasn't like him at all. Was it all because he was sick? But why would Battousai appear when he's ill?

Kaoru stopped her musings when she saw the others in the living area talking. Yahiko noticed her first and called out, "Hey Kaoru. Did you find Kenshin?"

"Yes and he's in bed now."

"Where was he?"

"He said he got up to get a drink and heard us calling him and came to see what was going on."

"Well we looked at the well and we didn't see him." Misao added.

"It's been a long day and Kenshin is fast even when he's sick, maybe we just missed him." Sanosuke thought out loud.

"Maybe. Well, thanks for looking after everything. You all go ahead and relax a bit and I'll fix something for dinner."

"Kaoru's cooking tonight? Great now we'll all be as sick as Kenshin." Yahiko joked.

Kaoru flushed with anger and hit him across the back of the head, ignoring his cursing at her as she headed off to cook dinner. She managed to make some rice and a bit of veggies without hurting herself or burning down the dojo and she was satisfied with it. It wouldn't be as good as Kenshin's but it would do until he got better.
Everyone ate in relative silence, except for a few nasty comments from Yahiko and Sanosuke about Kaoru's cooking that is. Once everyone was finished Sanosuke and Yahiko headed off to bed while Kaoru and Misao started the dishes. As they were cleaning Misao noticed Kaour's lip and crossed her arms at the kendo master, "All right, spill it, Miss Kaoru."

"Huh? Spill what, Misao?"

"What happened to your lip? And don't tell me you fell or something."

Kaoru smiled. She couldn't put anything past Kenshin and she couldn't put anything past Misao either. She put away the last of the dishes as she explained, "I got into a fight on the way home. Nothing major just a busted lip. Now I'm tired and I'm sure you are too, Misao so go to bed and stop judging me."

"Oh fine! But did you at least nail one where it hurts?"

Kaoru couldn't help but chuckle at her malevolent friend, "I think I managed to hit one where he'll remember it."

"Good for you, Miss Kaoru. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Misao."

Both girls headed to their rooms to settle down for the evening. Kaoru changed into her nightclothes and slipped under the covers with a tired sigh. It had been a really long day. Maybe things would be better tomorrow. Now that Kenshin had some medicine he could get better and get back to his old, cheery, "that I am" self. As she lay there Kaoru thought back to the fight and couldn't help but think of the stranger. She had never seen his face, neither at their first meeting or tonight. He was very careful to stay in the shadows to where she couldn't see him and his bangs always covered his face. She was never able to tell the exact color of his hair but she knew it was a bit lighter than hers the way the shadows cast on it. The only thing she had ever really been able to see was a small scar on the bottom of his cheek and his charming smile.

"He seems so familiar but I can't think of where from. I know I met him ten years ago but I feel that I've known him since then. Who are you?"

Before Kaoru could think further on the matter she felt her eyelids grow heavy and before she knew it she drifted off to sleep.

Later that night Kaoru's shoji screen quietly eased opened and a dark figure stepped inside, shutting the door behind them. Kaoru stirred slightly in her sleep and rolled onto her back to get comfortable as the figure knelt down next to her. Moonlight gently peaked into the room through the small window and cast a silvery glow on the figure's face, illuminating the smile playing across their lips as they watched the sleeping woman on the futon. A hand reached out and moved some stray hair away from Kaoru's face, tracing the lines of her delicate features until she stirred.

Kaoru opened her still groggy eyes and looked up, trying to focus on the person beside her. When her vision cleared she saw a dark haired man sitting next to her. Her eyes went wide as a masculine chuckle left his throat, "hello Kaoru."

YEY! I finally updated! Thanks for hanging in there gang! Next chapter will be up soon so stay tuned!