Chapter 7
Look Who I Found

Kaoru had been feeling better and with Megumi's blessing had been spending more and more time outside. It was getting colder each day, but she didn't feel the chill in the air as she would have thought. Kenshin and Misao were her usual companions out hiking, and she was glad. She was not used to the area and after seeing the large... thing... outside the window she was a bit nervous to be by herself. Misao and Kenshin were perfectly comfortable with the area and promised nothing was going to hurt her. She wasn't sure what either one of them would do against a large attacker, but she did feel better with their company.

It was Kenshin who brought up her fighting style, and asked if she wanted to practice with him. He professed to a knowledge of kenjutsu, but, he told her, it was thoroughly based in killing arts.

"If you would rather not, I understand, but I would be honored to help with a cause so noble." He said, slipping into a more formal way of speaking.

Kaoru looked at him, not saying anything at first, and then she smiled, "I would be honored."

-

Misao was sitting next to Aoshi, and had been unusually quiet. When he looked over at her, she had her eyes closed and was leaning back in her chair, looking worn out.

He sent her a brush of affection across their bond, and she slowly opened her eyes. "It's just I know I'm missing something." She explained to him. "I'm thinking too hard."

"Do you want to start from the beginning, or go over a lead?" Aoshi prompted. "Or... we could just take a break? You have been working non stop."

"I just feel that I'm close, and if she'd just let one more bit of information drop I could figure out who, and Megumi could work her magic. Kenshin may have started out playing the role, but he's seriously head over heels for her. I don't think he knows it yet. But she plays everything so close to the vest with him."

"You know how it is. Even Kenshin won't speak of To... his last bond mate."

"Yeah, at least Kaoru will call hers 'Jaan' even if that won't help much."

"Lion Man." Aoshi added.

"What?" Misao looked up.

"You mentioned that she called him 'lion man' during your party. You couldn't find anything or anyone referred to as a lion in any of her friend lists."

Misao went quiet and pursed her lips, letting her chin fall on her palm, deep in thought. Aoshi turned back to his computer, and brought up her facebook page, intending to go through and see how many people she had been friends with who had closed their accounts.

Misao stood up suddenly, and was leaning over his arm, taking over his mouse from his hands to scroll back up to the top. She hovered the mouse pointer over the profile picture of Kaoru, one of the only ones in the group of five thousand that showed her. And she was on a lion. When she clicked, they both read the caption together.

'I saw this and thought of you!'

There was no other message, and no comment, but Aoshi was already typing furiously, and soon he found what he was looking for. Kaoru had tagged him before he had closed out his account.

"Thank you facebook, for not deleting any information!" Misao laughed as they pulled up and old cached page. And there he was, smiling brightly up at them, all the information they needed, right there in front of them. Misao pulled out her iPad, entering information quickly.

"Look, Islamabad! Megumi can work with that and I can find the family name and Yaata!" She exclaimed, cheering in Japanese as they cross referenced information, they heard someone enter the room.

"Megumi, you won't believe what..." And then she looked up and let out something between a squeak and a scream, her hands coming up to cover her mouth.

There in front of her was Kaoru's bond mate, completely alive, and most certainly not dead.

-

It was only his reflexes that allowed Aoshi to catch the iPad Misao had let fly as he himself was a bit shocked that the person they had just discovered was standing five feet from them. He was the exact same in the photo. The only difference was a small scar that ran across the upper bridge of his nose. He was dressed in the loose style most dragons preferred, but his shirt was much more colorful with its rich blues than the neutrals that the clan here preferred. Plus the cut was different, with the shirt slightly longer than necessary and a high collar.

Sano was behind him, and it wasn't until he waved and offered a greeting that they noticed, not having turned their eyes away from the tall, dark haired and bright eyed dragon in front of them.

"Hey, sup." Sano drawled, looking completely unperturbed at their reactions. "I ran into a friend of Kaoru's while doing my research into her family and he put me onto the search and when I found this dude, alive and kickin' I thought the Fox doctor might be interested, considering her research. His family name's Chaudry." He added, letting them know that they still had not shared names, and were therefore still bound by fairly strict protocol. Misao and Aoshi both gave a slight bow, which he returned, slightly deeper. Kaoru was partly right, he didn't just look young, he was young. Despite his height and human appearance, his eyes and mannerisms were that of a dragon who had just reached adulthood.

"I'm going to go get the Fox..." but before he could get out the door, Kaoru and Kenshin came into the room fresh from their earlier work out. They were joking about something that had happened Kaoru's face bright and flushed from exertion and her laughter. Kenshin stopped as soon as the walked in and he noticed the visitor, frowning slightly. Kaoru paused, and looked where he was looking, letting out a gasp.

"Asad, kya idder kr raha hey?" She asked without thinking, then blinked, "I mean, Asad, What are you doing here?"

-

Kaoru suddenly felt as she had in the car on their trip to town. The air felt much heavier, and a lot warmer. There even seemed to be a breeze. And she suddenly felt as she had when she was younger, completely confused as to what was happening around her. Kenshin and Asad had seemed to face off, with Asad not even turning to look at her and Kenshin stepping forward away from her. Both looked ready to fight if there facial expressions were anything to go by. Aoshi and Sanosuke had stepped back, away from her, but both look tense. The tension in the air seemed lessen as they stepped away, but things only calmed down once Misao stepped up next to her.

"Himura! Chaudry!" She said, biting out their names. "It's fine, I have her, drop it now. Sanosuke, go get Megumi."

No, Kaoru thought to herself, she had no idea what was happening.

The air got slightly more tense as Sanosuke passed her and Misao, but once he was gone she noticed her friend seemed much more calm.

"Too many men around you," Misao whispered in her ear. "You said he got protective. You weren't kidding."

Kaoru felt a deep flash of annoyance. He was married to someone else. Where did he get off deciding how many men around her was too many? She frowned at him, but he still wasn't looking at her, but at Kenshin. There was another stab of annoyance. He had not seen her in almost half a year and he was going to ignore her. Something in her was glad to see him, and another part was completely disappointed. It was hurting. Her heart was hurting.

"What are you doing with her here?" Asad finally bit out.

Kenshin went to answer, but Kaoru cut him off angrily, causing both men to finally look at her.

"I don't see how it's any of your business! What are you doing here? Megumi said you might have been dead, but even if you obviously aren't, you are married now!"

"You thought I might be dead? Why didn't you call me?" He looked kind of shocked, and Kaoru put her hands on her hips, ready to scold him.

"Let's think about this for a minute, yaar. How was I supposed to do that when you deleted every single account you had ever used, and even got rid of your cell phone once you left America! Even your friends were unsure where you had started work and didn't have your new numbers. A few of them are mad at you for not talking with them either, by the way. Let's see, how did you expect me to contact you since you made it so easy? And as to what I am doing here, I passed out at the airport on the way back and Kenshin found me and got me to Megumi who was able to help. How dare you accuse my friends of anything!"

Kaoru was livid and practically shouting at the end of her tirade. Something in her was hurt, broken, and she was disappointed and mad. She felt sick, and she was not sure what was causing it. She looked at her Jaan, and he looked sheepish and contrite, and while she was happy to see him alive, she wasn't completely happy to see him. He had left her, and even though she had known he would from the start it still hurt.

'Speaking of hurt' she thought wryly as she placed a hand on her chest and looked away from the two men in front of her. She was thankful for Misao's sudden support as she swayed a bit on her feet. She started to feel a bit like she had on the plane. Looking at the ground, she blinked and wondered why her chest hurt so much, and soon there were two people there to support her. Kenshin had come over, and was helping Misao help her sit on the ground. As she settled to the floor, the room still spinning slightly, she looked up to thank him.

When there eyes met she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye. Kenshin was too close, Asad was going to attack, and for a second, she was terrified for Kenshin, who was preoccupied making sure she was okay.

As Kaoru looked into Kenshin's eyes before she could speak or cry out a warning she saw his eyes narrow, and then she was worried about Asad despite the disparity in their size.

-

Megumi walked in to the room, to see Kenshin standing over a tall, but young, dark skinned dragon who looked a bit shocked, but was still grimacing. Misao was leaning next to Kaoru who, Megumi could tell was having problems with her energy levels. If that was her bond mate, then the broken bond would be taking more energy, trying to reform. She had not believed Sano when he had come into her room to tell her, but as she picked up her medical bag they both felt the surge of magic and raced to Aoshi and Misao's study.

"Misao, stay with me and Kaoru, everyone else, out!" She barked as though she was oblivious to the fight that had just happened. She marched in, sat her things down next to Kaoru and began to pull out what she would need. The idiot males could sort out their fight in another room for all she cared, but she had to help Kaoru before she got worse. She could see blood droplets forming on her shirt over the scar.

"If I look up and there are still people in this room I will incinerate you all myself, get out now!" She was too busy to feel gratified at the sound of a rush of bodies towards the door. As soon as they left, Megumi could feel Kaoru's energy stabilize a bit, but it was still dangerously low.

Misao leaned over Kaoru, holding her into a sitting position so Megumi would be able to give her more potion.

"So..." she said, in a light tone, "Do you still think he's too short?"

Kaoru smiled and laughed a bit, and then grimaced as she spoke.

"At first I thought Kenshin was done for, and then I thought he might kill Asad! I've never seen eyes glow that bright. Like fire. Will they be okay in there alone?"

"Kenshin will control himself. He wouldn't do anything to upset you." Misao was saying as Megumi gave her something hot to drink.

"It's a good thing Aoshi always has a pot on for tea..." Megumi said distractedly as she started mixing up some other powders. "I'm afraid your friend won't be able to spend much time with you. It's disturbing your energy levels."

"Energy levels?" Kaoru looked confused as she leaned against Misao.

"Kenshin did say he would explain once Sano got back. I'm afraid I haven't been completely truthful as to what we have been treating. I will let him explain." She added, seeing Kaoru's expression. She looked over at Misao who had gone still, closing her eyes and concentrating.

"Well, one of us should go break it up." Misao finally said, and at Kaoru's start, corrected herself. "They are just arguing! No fighting yet. But I will go see if I can settle things down. Men." She huffed the last word as she jumped to her feet, and darted away.

"Why are they fighting?" Kaoru asked Megumi.

"Territory. Your friend still sees you as his, and sees Kenshin as a threat."

"What an idiot. He's married."

"Still, he probably sees himself as responsible for you. Especially if he let the bond be destroyed and he feels guilty." Megumi was distractedly looking through her bag.

"Bond? You said that before. What is going on?" Her voice had started to shake a bit.

"I believe it is now time for me to explain everything," a warm voice told her from the doorway.

-

It had taken a lot of self control for Kenshin to not throw the young dragon through the wall. He was sure he would have survived the physical abuse, but that one look from Kaoru had stopped him. He settled for knocking him over and keeping him down. He was glad when Megumi ordered them out of the room. Kaoru looked terrible and he needed to calm himself.

As they made there way into the kitchen, marching stiffly from Megumi's order, a comment from the young dragon, Asad, Kaoru had called him, had Kenshin gritting his teeth and rethinking his desire to introduce him to the other side of the wall. Violently.

"She will come back with me."

"How do you figure that?" Kenshin asked, with an even tone that did not hide the fire in his eyes, nor his clenched jaw.

"She is my responsibility. If what Sano says is true about the bond, it's my fault and I should fix it."

"Speaking of the bond," Aoshi cut in, saving Kenshin from retorting, "How did it sever. Normally only death causes something like that."

The tall dragon shifted a bit uncomfortably. "I am not sure. I had no idea there was a bond, because none of the family rituals had taken place. After I bonded with my intended, this scar formed. He pointed to the bridge of his nose where the scar ran from above his left brow, across where the nose met the forehead, and the slightly under the right eye. The elders told me a bond I had formed before had been severed. I didn't understand what bond, didn't realize it was Kaoru. The elders told me it didn't matter because who ever it was, was probably dead. I just thought it was a mistake until Sano found me. When I knew she was alive, I knew I had to come and take her back to make it right."

"You aren't just going to come in here and take her back. You have already rebonded!"

"I can reform the bond. I think I can, anyway, with my family's blessing."

"And what makes you think Kaoru would choose that? We have been helping her here."

"Why wouldn't she?"

Kenshin knew his dragon was quite close to the surface of his skin, knew that it was only his extremely practiced control that kept him from changing and ripping out the young dragon's throat. Or using his fire element to incinerate anything in a five foot radius. But he knew he had a point. Would Kaoru want to go back to the dragon she had spent so much time pursuing? If they could reform the bond, would she want to? He looked up as Misao came in with a report.

"She's doing fine, apparently being too close to her old bond mate was causing the bond to try and drain her of energy to try and reform. Of course your new bond was keeping that from happening, so it was just killing her more quickly. You can't go see her I'm afraid." She turned to stare up at the tall new dragon, "Megumi has her stable again, but she hasn't worked something out to let you in the same room as her." And then she turned back to Kenshin. "She still doesn't know about anything. Megumi has let some stuff slip, but you did say you would explain everything to her."

Kenshin nodded. "Chaudry has expressed interest in taking her back to reform the bond. I will explain it to her." and with that he left, frowning. He couldn't help feeling slightly pleased that he would be the one to take to Kaoru, and not this other. Though even that feeling was overshadowed with the thought that he might lose her. Though he needed her for his own selfish reasons, to save his life, he found he had grown fond of her, and his dragon instincts were very disinclined to share.

A/N - Yay! Drama! A clash of cultures, and other fun things. Plus Kaoru gets a chance to go back to her bond mate. Even if he is married. How will she take that?

A bit of info here! The name Asad means 'lion' and is where the nickname 'lion man' comes from. All the dragons have different elements, though they won't come into play much. Kenshin is fire, Aoshi is ice, Sano is earth, Misao is water, Asad is air. Megumi is actually not a dragon, but a medium or witch. She had been studying energies, especially bond energies between dragons. She was working on energy manipulation when Kenshin found her and asked for her help. Megumi helps Kenshin, and now Kaoru, keep their energy stable while their broken bonds are raw and are basically acting like an energy drain. She can only help them so much, until the strain will finally kill them. I tried to make that apparent, not sure how well that's coming across.

Dragon culture is fairly conservative, based on rituals and energy. Asad's dragon culture is very, very conservative. It's this strict separation of male and female dragons that made it possible for a bond to form from something as simple as focus and a kiss. It's also why he kind of freaked out with all the dudes surrounding Kaoru. Because he's so young, he responds to age, which is why Misao was able to snap him out of it. She, while young herself, is still older than he is. Plus, he's a lot more calm with a female protecting Kaoru. Misao was able to pick up on all this because she's been studying the area and its customs for Megumi. Energy is not stable and she needs to understand as many nuances of the area as possible to help Kaoru with her bond. And if Kenshin and her decide to bond, she needs to make sure it's done correctly. Let's just say when Kenshin asked for her help he was pretty near death himself and had a pretty rough time with Megumi using him as a lab rat. Might write up that as a little short.

I'm not sure if this chapter really counts as drama, but I tried to deliver a bit :D Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I am very glad everyone seems to enjoy the modern elements (I like them too!) and I've made corrections to the last chapter and I'll update it tomorrow. I've been doing a lot of work, so I haven't had much time to write, but I'm trying to stay on top of everything. Y'all's really nice reviews keep me motivated and I keep taking time out to write 3 Until next time!