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."

Kaoru opened her mouth to scream but he quickly placed a hand over her mouth to quiet her, his voice soft and reassuring, "It's alright, it's just me, little master."

Kaoru relaxed a bit upon hearing that name and nodded her head to indicate she understood. The man released her as she sat up, slight anger in her voice as she asked, "What are you d…"

The man shushed her again with a finger against her lips; "You need to be quiet, unless you want to awaken everyone."

Kaoru shook her head away from his hand and lowered her voice to an almost whisper, "What're you doing here?"

"You told me to come and see you later, so here I am."

"I didn't mean tonight! And not in my room!"

The stranger chuckled softly at her, "well you never specified as to when you wanted me to drop by and I figured I should check on you since you were attacked earlier. And I must admit, I'm glad I decided to come."

"Why is that?"

Even in the darkness Kaoru could see his golden eyes sparkle with mischief as they lowered to look at something. She followed his gaze and gasped in horror when she realized he was looking at her chest, which was painfully visible through her thin sleeping yukata. Kaoru shrieked and quickly pulled the covers over her chest, a flush coming to her cheeks, "you pervert!"

The man laughed at the reprimand, "now, now let's not be rude to one another."

"You're telling me no to be rude? I'm not the one sneaking into other people's rooms at night while they're asleep!"

He smiled at her in the dark, unaffected by her remark, "That is very true. How is your lip, by the way?"

"It's fine, thanks."

"It looks swollen, are you in pain?" he asked softly.

Kaoru shook her head, "no, I'm ok. It is throbbing a little bit but I'll live, I've had worse."

Suddenly Kaoru felt rough fingers on her chin, pulling her closer to her visitor. He gently stroked her lip with his thumb, his voice low and seductive, "would you like me to kiss it and make it better for you, little master?"

Kaoru flushed from her head to her toes and couldn't help but stare at the man. Had he actually just asked her that? "What?"

"I've always found that a kiss makes everything better."

Before Kaoru could say anything he began to lean towards her. Her body froze in place, unsure of what to do. Should she fight him? Should she scream for Kenshin? The stranger's eyes began to close and his lips brushed hers when, "Miss Kaoru?" Misao called from down the hall.

The stranger stopped and smiled at Kaoru, "It seems as though we're about to have company. I'll have to treat your wound next time. So long little master."

In a flash the man was gone, leaving her alone once more in her dark room, confused and shocked at what had just happened. Misao suddenly opened her door and came rushing in, kunai in hand, "Are you all right, Miss Kaoru? I heard you shout."

"Shout? Oh! Yeah, I um… just had a bad dream is all, Misao. Nothing to worry about." Kaoru smiled to make her lie seem more convincing and Misao put her kunai away, apparently believing the fib.

"That's good to hear. Well sorry to barge in like that, see you tomorrow."

Misao turned to leave but Kaoru stopped her, "wait Misao."

"Yeah?"

"Can… you stay with me?"

Misao arched an eyebrow at the request, "Why? Did your dream scare you that badly?"

"Um… yes! I don't want to be alone so, would you stay with me?"

Kaoru couldn't believe how much she was lying to her friend but what else could she do? She couldn't tell Misao that she had just had a strange man in her room trying to kiss her. Misao would surely start yelling and looking for the perpetrator, which would awaken Kenshin and then he would be upset. There was nothing worse than an angry Kenshin in the middle of the night when someone was in the dojo that shouldn't be there. Many enemies found that out the hard way but Kaoru knew that Kenshin was in no condition to fight anyone and she didn't want Misao to worry either.

Luckily Misao believed her and smiled down at the older woman as she shut the shoji screen back into place, "sure Miss Kaoru. Scoot over and I'll crash with you tonight."

"Thanks Misao."

Kaoru scooted over enough to where Misao could slip under the covers with her. Luckily Misao was a tiny girl so they both still had plenty of room to sleep comfortably even though there were two people sharing a single futon. Both girls laid down and closed their eyes to go to sleep. Kaoru looked around once more to make sure the man had really gone and let out a sigh before finally drifting back off to sleep, hoping things would be less strange in the morning.

The next morning everyone awoke and started about their routine. Sanosuke and Yahiko went into town to eat breakfast at the Akabeko, fearful of having to eat Kaoru's cooking twice in a row. Misao and Kaoru fixed a simple breakfast for themselves and Kenshin. Kaoru made a tray of food for the still sick red head and started down the hall to take it to him. As she left the kitchen door she saw Kenshin come around the corner, rubbing sleep from his eyes as he went.

"Good morning, Kenshin."

He looked up at her and smiled, "Oh good morning Miss Kaoru. You're up early, that you are."

Kaoru smiled, he sounded like his old self again. Apparently the medicine really did the trick. His eyes were bright and his cheeks weren't flushed anymore and he looked like he felt ok, which made her happy.

"Yep, I figured you still needed rest so I was bringing some breakfast to you."

Kenshin laughed lightly, scratching his head in embarrassment, "You don't have to do all of that for me, Miss Kaoru, that you don't. I'm a burden enough without you having to bring stuff to me."

Kaoru huffed, "don't start that, Kenshin! I'm doing this because I want to, not because I have to. You would do the same for me."

"That I would," Kenshin came up and took the tray from her, his smile never faltering, "I appreciate it very much, Miss Kaoru. But I'd prefer to eat with you and Miss Misao if that's ok with you. It's lonely in my room, that it is."

Kaoru grinned at him, unable to suppress the urge to tease him, "You can always talk to Battousai."

Kenshin shook his head, "No, he doesn't say much, he just mopes around waiting to kill people, that he does."

Kaoru laughed and slapped his arm lightly, getting a chuckle from him as she scolded him, "Kenshin!"

"I'm sorry, Miss Kaoru. I guess I'm still not really myself yet, that I'm not."

"That's ok, it's nice to hear you joking around instead of being all serious all the time."

"That's good to know. Shall we have breakfast now? I'm sure Miss Misao is waiting on us."

"Sure, lets go."

Kaoru and Kenshin headed to the eating area and Misao greeted them cheerfully, "Hey there, Himura! You're looking better."

"I'm feeling a bit better, that I am. Oh by the way, Miss Kaoru, I wanted to apologize for my behavior last night."

"Huh? What do you mean, Kenshin?"

"You know, when I…yelled at you…"

Kaoru thought for a moment about what he meant before she understood what he was talking about. She smiled and patted his shoulder, "Oh don't worry about it, Kenshin. I forgot all about it until you said something. You were worried about me so I'll forgive you this time. But next time I'll have to hurt you, got it?"

"Yes ma'am!"

Everyone started eating and finished their meal in relative silence, aside from Misao questioning Kenshin about what he and Kaoru were just talking about. After breakfast the girls decided to chat on the porch while Kenshin went to clean the dishes. Kaoru had started to argue with him about it and tried to send him back to bed but he was persistent and won out in the end. Misao chattered about Aoshi and this and that but Kaoru's mind was elsewhere. She began to think about the stranger again.

She could clearly remember his voice from last night. She couldn't help but think that she'd heard it before. It was deep but soft and slightly feminine, almost like a teenage boy would have. Each time she encountered him Kaoru felt that she already knew the man but from where? And why did he try to kiss her last night? The last time they'd met she was little so that might have been part of the reason he was treating her so differently now that she was an adult. After all it had been ten years ago when…

"Miss Kaoru!"

"Huh?" Misao's voice snapped Kaoru out of her thoughts and she looked over at the dark haired ninja, "yes Misao?"

"What's up with you, today? Don't tell me you're still thinking about that dream you had last night."

Kaoru sighed, maybe she should tell her the truth. "No, and actually Misao, I didn't have a nightmare last night."

"You didn't? Then why did you want me to stay with you?"

Kaoru looked around to make sure Kenshin wasn't around and got up, tugging on Misao's hand to pull her into the nearest room to talk. She shut the shoji and turned to Misao, "you have to promise me that you won't tell Kenshin anything I'm about to tell you."

"I promise."

"Well you see… last night there was… a man… in my room."

Misao smiled devilishly, "oh you mean Himura finally grew a pair and came to see you? That's kinda creepy though, coming to your room in the middle of the ni…OW!"

Misao stopped in her tease when Kaoru smacked her upside the head, "That's not what happened, Misao! Kenshin wasn't the one in my room!"

"What? Then who was it?"

"I… don't know."

"You don't know? Why didn't you tell me this last night? I would've searched the dojo and killed the creep! Was it one of the guys that attacked you last night?"

"No, I know him from before but… oh it's a long story."

"Well tell me, I need to know so I can help you, Miss Kaoru."

"Alright."

Kaoru explained everything to Misao; from how she came to meet the mysterious stranger ten years ago to how he rescued her from the men last night to how he came to see her in her room. Misao's eyes were wide with shock when Kaoru finished her tale, "so… he just came onto you?"

"Yeah."

"Well we need to find out who this guy is and if he's dangerous or not."

"I don't think he's dangerous, Misao."

"Miss Kaoru, the guy snuck into your room last night and tried to kiss you! You don't find that weird? I mean he's only met you twice and he's already trying to get into your kimono!"

"I know what you're saying Misao but… I feel that I know him somehow."

Misao scratched her head in confusion, "Huh?"

"I mean… he feels so familiar but I can't think of where I know him from. I know I've met him since that first time I just can't place where."

"Well you need to figure it out soon. But don't worry, tonight I'm gonna stay with you again to make sure he doesn't come back."

Kaoru smiled and shook her head, "no need for that, Misao. I have a dagger in my room and besides, I don't think he'll come back again, at least not at night."

"I hope you're right, Miss Kaoru."

"Now remember, you promised not to tell Kenshin about this."

Misao smiled and gave her a thumbs up, "I promise, Himura won't hear any of this from me."

"Thanks."

Kaoru and Misao headed back onto the porch and saw Kenshin come out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on his hakama as he went, "there you two are. Where'd you go?"

"We were just gossiping is all," Kaoru explained with a wave of her hand to dismiss the matter.
Kenshin smiled, "you weren't talking badly about me, were you?"

"No, of course not, Kenshin."

Misao laughed, "No but Miss Kaoru was dreaming about you last night, Himura."

Kenshin and Kaoru both flushed, "She was?"

"Yeah, she said she had a bad dream so I figure she must've seen you naked in her dreams, OW!"

Kaoru slapped Misao across the back of the head, her flush growing brighter, "MISAO! You are such a liar! I do not dream about Kenshin naked!"

Kenshin smiled and decided to tease the flustered kendo master, "oh you just dream about me with my clothes on, Miss Kaoru?"

Kaoru huffed at him, "you wish, Kenshin!"

Kenshin placed a hand over his chest as if he'd been hit, "that hurts my feelings, Miss Kaoru."

"Good! Now that you two have had your fun I'm going to practice!"

Misao and Kenshin laughed as Kaoru stormed off down the hall to change into her workout uniform. She entered her room and shut the shoji tightly before quickly changing into her kendo gear. She opened her drawer and looked at the dagger there, the one that the stranger had given to her ten years ago.

Kaoru removed the blade from the solid black sheath and looked at the polished steel with a thoughtful smile. It had been ten years since she was given the dagger but it was still shiny, beautiful and sharp. She had been sure to take care of the blade, not wanting to let it get ruined. Kaoru began to see the stranger's smile in her mind and sighed, putting the dagger away before heading to the training hall to practice.

The rest of the day went by fairly quickly. Yahiko and Sanosuke returned after lunch and talked for a bit before leaving again. Yahiko decided to stay with Tsubame at the Akabeko while Sanosuke said he was going to hang out with some of his old gangster friends. Aoshi had returned also and Misao was more than ecstatic to see him. She cornered him and began to assault him with questions and stories about what she had been doing while he was away. Kenshin smiled as he watched his friends talk. He enjoyed these peaceful times with them.

He looked over at Kaoru and saw her starring off into space again, obviously with something on her mind. He sighed, feeling badly for her but not knowing what to do to help her. He had tried to get her to tell him what was bothering her all day, but every time he questioned her she would simply smile and dismiss the matter. He felt frustrated at her avoidance on the subject. Was this how he acted when Kaoru asked him about what was bothering him? If it was then he now fully understood why she was always so angry with him when he was troubled with something but dismissed it as nothing. After a few more minutes of listening to Misao's chatter he decided to start dinner.

As he was heading into the kitchen he felt a familiar wave of nausea hit him and his head began to ache again. Kenshin leaned against the wall and rubber his temples angrily, "not again! When is this damn cold going to end?"

Before he could dwell more on the matter he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. He turned around to see a worried looking Kaoru standing behind him, "you ok, Kenshin?"

He forced a smile, "oh yes, I'm fine Miss Kaoru, that I am."

"You're lying. Go to bed."

"I can't. I've gotten out of cooking for two days now, I need to start doing my duties around here before I become lazy like Sano."

Kaoru shook her head at him, "can't you ever just do as I ask?"

"Can you tell me what's bothering you?"

Kaoru gave him a confused look, "what? Don't change the subject on me."

"I'm worried about you, Miss Kaoru, that I am. You haven't been acting yourself today, that you haven't."

Kaoru laughed, "Maybe I'm getting your personality-altering cold, Kenshin."

Kenshin laughed with her, "maybe so. I would feel horribly if I got you sick, that I would."

"Well I know who to kill if I suddenly start acting like Miss Megumi or something."

"You would honestly try to kill me?" he asked with a grin.

"Of course. Why? Don't you think I could do it?"

"Well I am faster than you…"

Kaoru swung at him and he took off down the hall, missing the look she gave him as he disappeared into the kitchen, "you wait, Kenshin! I'll catch you while you're asleep!"

Kaoru heard his laugh even from down the hall and she shook her head. She really enjoyed being able to joke around with him this way. When he first came to stay with her he hardly spoke at all, let alone joked with her. Now he seemed to trust her enough to start being himself around her. She knew that there were parts of his personality that she hadn't seen yet but whatever they were she could handle them if it meant him being happy.

Later that night after dinner everyone decided to head off to bed early. Kaoru went to the well and got a glass of water and a packet of medicine from her room before heading down the hall to Kenshin's. She tapped on the door and waited for him to answer. The shoji slid open a few seconds later and Kenshin smiled at her, "Oh Miss Kaoru, is everything ok?"

"Yeah everything's fine. I just brought you some more medicine."

Kenshin looked at the little packet and scowled a bit, his smile turning to a grin, "You are trying to kill me aren't you, Miss Kaoru?"

Kaoru giggled and handed him the medicine and water, "just shush and take your medicine, I didn't poison it or anything."

Kenshin gave her a playful, questioning look, "how do I know you're not conspiring with Saito to get rid of me?"

Kaoru rolled her eyes at him, "I wouldn't work with Saito if my life depended on it now just take it before I have to get nasty."

Kenshin sighed and took the medicine, making a sour face when he tasted it. He forced himself to swallow the awful powder and handed the glass back to Kaoru, "there, happy now, Miss Kaoru?"

"Yes, now go to sleep and rest, Kenshin."

Kaoru started to turn to head to her room but Kenshin caught her sleeve and pulled her back, "wait, Miss Kaoru."

"Yes? What is it, Kenshin?"

"Do you want me to stand guard at your door tonight?"

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"I overheard what you and Miss Misao were talking about earlier today, about someone coming into your room last night."

Kaoru turned pale at that comment. How did he hear them? She thought they were quiet and she hadn't noticed him come to the door. "You were… eavesdropping on us?"

"Not exactly. I was coming to ask you two about something and all I heard was that someone was in your room with you. Is that why you're not acting yourself today?"

Kaoru sighed. She should have known she couldn't put anything past Kenshin. All the same she didn't want him to worry, "I'm fine, it was just a bad dream is all. Misao stayed with me and I was fine. You don't need to worry about me, Kenshin."

"But what if something were to happen to you? What if someone really does come into your room?"

Kaoru smiled, "I have a dagger in my room so don't worry about me, I'll be just fine, Kenshin."

Kenshin arched a brow at that comment, "You have a dagger? I've never noticed one before."

"I keep it in my drawer."

"Well, may I make a suggestion, Miss Kaoru?"

"Sure, what?"

"You might want to place it under your sheets with you. It will be within reach then and you won't have to worry about having to search for it if you need it."

Kaoru smiled. Whenever Kenshin explained about how to fight she listened. He was one of the best swordsmen in Japan after all, so if he told her to do something she usually always did it, knowing his advice would never lead her wrong. He had taught her a little bit of self-defense moves when they were playing around in the dojo as well, so she was fairly sure that she could handle herself if she needed to.

"I'll do that, thanks Kenshin. If I need you I'll come and get you, ok?"

"Alright, but if you change your mind and want me to watch over you I will."

"Thanks Kenshin, goodnight."

"Goodnight Miss Kaoru."

Kaoru headed off to her room and shut her shoji before taking down her hair to brush it. Once she finished she slipped into her sleeping yukata and tidied up her futon. As she was fixing the blanket she heard soft footsteps, liking someone sneaking around, approaching her room. She suddenly felt a bit anxious and looked to the door. Was the stranger coming back? Would he actually risk sneaking in again? She saw a shadow appear on the other side of her shoji and Kaoru quickly opened her drawer and held her dagger close, ready to fight if she needed to. Her fears vanished as she saw the shadow sit down in front of her shoji, hearing the soft clank of a sword touching the wooden floor as they did so. She couldn't help the sigh of relief that left her, it was just Kenshin.

She had told him not to stand guard for her; she wasn't some high-ranking government official that needed his surveillance all night. Even so, Kaoru couldn't help but feel a bit of admiration for her handsome swordsman. He was still sick and didn't feel well but he was willing to put his health at risk by staying out in the chilly night air to protect her against the dangers of the night. She loved him for his selflessness but there were times she wished he would worry more about himself, especially now when he was still ill.

Kaoru shook her head and got under the covers. She felt safe now. No one would get past Kenshin so there was no reason to worry about the mysterious stranger that had re-entered her life, although she couldn't help but think about him again. She could still see those eyes of his. They were gold in color and seemed to glow when emotions stirred within him. They were piercing yet gentle when they looked at her. They were unlike anything she'd ever seen.

Oh she had seen golden eyes before, of course, but not many people had them. Saito had them but his were empty and frightening. And of course Battousai had them, she had encountered those eyes the night before. She enjoyed looking into those golden depths, even though they ran a chill down her spine. Battousai was a very strong and feared man, yet when he looked at her she felt safe, knowing that Kenshin's darker side was fond of her but to what extent she didn't know. Kaoru knew that Battousai cared for her but just how deep did that emotion go? Did he see her as a sister? A friend? A daughter even? He was much older than her but she never took their age difference into consideration. But did he? Whenever she looked into the Battousai's eyes she saw a hidden emotion there that was unfamiliar to her, it was the same look she saw in the stranger's eyes.

Both men had the same eyes but the stranger wasn't Battousai, she knew that for certain. Battousai's voice was deep and husky; the stranger's was soft and charming. When he had fought off the men he sounded a bit different but she had learned not to judge men by their battle voices. Kenshin could change his voice from his high-pitched cheery voice to the deep and threatening voice of the Battousai in less than a second, so a voice wasn't really a good way of identifying someone. Nonetheless, she felt that she knew that voice and it was driving her insane that she couldn't remember him.

Kaoru's thoughts were interrupted when she heard Kenshin cough lightly outside, groaning slightly as his throat became raw from the act. A sad sigh left her and turned onto her side. She wanted to tell Kenshin to go to bed but she knew he wouldn't. He probably wouldn't even acknowledge her unless she stepped outside to face him, that's just how he was. When his mind was set on doing something he was going to do it, no matter who stood in his way, not even her. Kaoru sighed once more and closed her eyes, forcing herself to drift off to sleep.

Meanwhile, outside, Kenshin listened to her toss and turn for sometime before she finally settled down and went to sleep. He had followed her to bed, not wanting her to be alone tonight but it wouldn't be appropriate for him to actually stay in the room with her. So he decided to sit outside her door and keep watch over her. She had insisted that it was just a dream but something told Kenshin that he shouldn't believe her. Kaoru didn't act the way she did because of a dream. Even if it were just a dream he wasn't going to take the chance of it really happening and letting someone get into her room to hurt her.

A light breeze came up and he shivered a bit. It had been awhile since he'd had guard duty. In the revolution he did it all the time. There were many times he sat out in the rain and cold to protect one of his leaders or some important official that feared for his life. Then he had no choice in the matter but now he did and he didn't mind the cold if it meant keeping Kaoru safe from harm. Prolonging his cold would be worth it if Kaoru awoke rested and carefree, as she should be. Shortly after he'd settled down the throbbing in his head began to return and he felt a light sweat on his brow but he ignored it, "Another fever? I thought the medicine was supposed to help get rid of this. Oh well, I can deal with it. Right now Miss Kaoru needs me and I won't let anything keep me from protecting her, no matter how bad I start to feel."

Kenshin adjusted his sword to a more comfortable position on his shoulder and leaned his head against the wall, which helped to relief his headache a bit. He could feel sleep tugging at him but he refused to go to sleep, he couldn't. About an hour or so later Kenshin felt his face flush with fever and his mind began to dull. He tried to keep his eyes open but eventually his tired body overpowered his will to stay awake and he drifted off to sleep.