Thanks to everyone who reviewed and help me with my grammar: kenkaofan; Lydia the tygeropean; lhaine07; Icy-Kitty117.

As I said before, my chapters will be shorter, but i will post with more frequency.

I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Thank you everyone.

Chapter 12 – A Very Troublesome Night

Shishio watches as the object of his desire walks around the city. Every man turns their head as she passes. He couldn't visit her in the last weeks because Katsura asked him to keep track of Kaoru's action. So it was a bonus that today Yumi decided to take a walk and took Kaoru with her.

::

"You're a very beautiful girl, you shouldn't be this miserable because of a man." – It wasn't the first time she told Kaoru that, but the girl was so attached to Battousai… Maybe he was her first love… And if that's the case, pulling her away from him would be a problem.

"It's just that his words… the tone he used to talk to me…" – Kaoru took a while to answer, as if gathering courage to speak the words out loud: "Made me feel that he hated me. It hurts so much Yumi…" – Imagining that he could hate her was painful but also another feeling started to emerge: "That sometimes I feel so angry with him." - her fists clenched and Yumi knew she was reviving the scene in her mind: "When I saw him there, I was so happy, I thought he came back so that we could talk, but then he and Aoshi were facing each other like they were about to start a fight, and when I managed to stop them he treated me like he was disgusted or something…"

Yumi smiled. She was naïve for not realizing she was the reason of their fight… In what concerned to Aoshishe didn't believed him to be romantically interested on her. Yumi knew the "kind" long enough to realize that he was protective about her but that would be all… but Battousai however assumed that Aoshi's protection meant something else, and didn't liked the idea. Which only mean he was still in love with her… or it could be just possession…

Anyway Yumi decided not to let her know of her thoughts. Kaoru needed to learn on her own."Just forget about that for a while and enjoy the walk."

She chucked recalling the man that came last night asking her about Kaoru. Too good Kaoru was too absorbed in her own thoughts that didn't noticed.

Apparently he thought she was a geisha just because she was working late at night… so he came to askYumi if she could talk to her. What if Battousai knew about that? She was sure he would be mad. "You know, you've impressed last night."

"Uh?" - Kaoru glanced at her totally unaware of what she was talking about.

But when Yumi was about to answer a familiar face crossed her field of vision "Look, isn't that the girl that went with him to Otsu?" – she nudged Kaoru's arm.

Kaoru's eyes followed the same direction of Yumi's. Then she saw her, with the usual white kimono and long loose black hair."Yes, she is." – Something inside her chest was burning… she needed to admit she was jealous of this woman.

What was she doing here anyway? – Well Kaoru the place is public… - she reminded herself. It was then when Kaoru noticed something that made her confused. Tomoe walked with her head down as if she felt she was inferior to other, and she when she eventually looked up… her eyes… were full of regret and pain. And for a moment as their eyes met… Kaoru felt something was wrong.

:::

She had decided to take a walk alone. Sakura was a very friendly woman, but every time they talk that only reminded her about Kaoru and the guilt she felt in her death. Iizuka was a monster that only cared for money and she started to doubt her plan of revenge. They were all hitokiris, but Kenshin… he was so nice so calm… he just didn't fit the label of a slayer. God, I am wrong?

As she lifted her head to look up her eyes crossed with a ghost…. she was standing across the street staring back at her… as if she was alive! Are you here to condemn me? – she thought. Tomoe only noticedKaoru was not a ghost when saw another woman along her – the owner of the restaurant.

Her lips involuntarily curved into asmile.

As Kaoru continues her way ignoring her, Tomoe absorbs the pain that comes from the girl's eyes. And it doesn't matter how much she wanted to run after her, how deeply she wants to apologize, her feet are frozen… stuck to the ground by invisible nails… stopping her from moving.

:::

"He is back… Now is too late." - Iizuka rubs his forehead, Kenshin arrived two days ago and this way is going to be impossible to kill Katsura. "Also, I thought you'd already deal with that girl! But I heard she is as alive as I am. Even if I ask you simple things you're not capable of doing it!"

"Take it easy…" - Koijiro took a sip of the sake – "I'll take care of her, don't worry." – he place the sake on the table and stared at Iizuka: "But, she is not as easy as you say… she is always surrounded by people… And by people I don't mean just the neighbors or the clients…. I mean people like Shinomori Aoshi and his comrades, and sometimes even Haijime Saito…"

"Saito?" – That may turn into a problem… I need to talk to Saotome and warn him about Saito, if he suspects that there is a spy inside of Shinsen we will have a huge problem. "What kind of connection do they have?" – he asked but as the other shrugged his shoulders he continue: "I don't care… I want her dead by the end of the day, before she causes us even more troubles."

:::::

"Are you sure of what you just asked?" – Yumi says as she sees Yahiko leaving with Kaoru's letter.

"Yes." She had thought about Saito's offer for a two days… But seeing Tomoe in the morning only speeded her decision. He was the only way for her to get Tomoe's diary.

Yumi got up and started to walk away: "I will need you for another night, so you should go and rest."

"Does Haruka still sick?" – Kaoru's eyebrow lifted in concern.

"Yes… Doctors don't understand why she is like this. But they can't bring down the fever." – Yumi sighed, one day her friend was talking about how proud she was of Yahiko and they were laughing together and in the next day she was so weak that end up fainting in the kitchen.

Kaoru realized that Yahiko was quiet than usual but she thought he was just tired because of his new job. "That's why Yahiko seems so worried..."

"Yes he is. She is very weak and she throws away everything she eats… What doesn't hel her to get better."

"Maybe it's a virus." – Kaoru said, but the geisha shook her head negatively :"No… If it was that they would take her to the hospital so that she couldn't infect anyone else."

"I understand. But then… what could it be?" – Kaoru asked

"They don't know yet. But if they don't find soon… I fear the worst." – she had never seen Haruka so fragile. Her face was discolored, her eyes didn't have the same vivid color anymore, and most of the times she was delirious because of the fever.

"No…" – she thought about her own situation and how lonely she felt when her parents left: "Yahiko… she is going to fight for him. She is going to get better, you'll see." – her words were more a wish than anything else.

They stared at each other in silence for a while. They didn't knew what to say… Life and Death aren't things humans could control as they wish…

Kaoru heard footsteps approaching the entrance as she saw that it was Yahiko, and he had a letter in his hands.

"Thank you, Yahiko-chan…You must go and see your mother." – he didn't even complain when she called him chan and he immediately left without saying a word.

"Saito will come here tonight, as you asked." - Kaoru heard Yumi saying as she was still looking at Yahiko's back as he walked away.

:::::::

Katsura walked side by side with Kenshin. He felt that the samurai's soul was troublesome, but then, Kenshinalways seemed to mind things others didn't care… Except that for this time, he was sure he knew what it was."Whoever this person is… he is very close to us."

The red-haired man didn't turn his head to answer: "Maybe he is not close… Maybe he used Kaoru because she was close to us… or maybe she used her to be closer."

Kenshin was a hard man to read, so, he really needed to ask: "Do you trust your words? Or is it just logic?"

Kenshin glanced at Katsura with a strange look on his eyes. He wasn't expecting this kind of question coming from him. Also he was still trying to understand what he was demanding to know. Kenshin always tried to keep his logic above his feelings, that's what he does when it comes to kill. His heart tells him it is wrong, but his head says that it every death has a purpose… Ishin's purpose, a new era of equality for everyone. Now he assumed that in some way Kaoru was working against this ideal so it doesn't matter what he feels towards her… he needs to put that aside to meet their goal. Do I?

Facing Kenshin's silence Katsura continued: "You know… My logic says that I should trust the evidences and that shows her guilty… but this… other part of me that keeps whispering in my ear that I have not that much evidence about her involvement in this."

"Which one will you follow?" – Kenshin's answer was so rush, that Katsura's only conclusion was the samurai really wished her to be proved innocent.

"The logic one… as far as I have full evidence… which I don't." – he stared at Sakura a few feet away from him. A sixth sense as she says…

:::::::::::::::

Once again the restaurant was full at night, and once again she was "forced" to use those expensive clothes. The way men looked at her made shivers run down her spine. She felt she was the center of everyone's attention, as a prey among predators… One of them even tried to touch her hand, but she quickly went away pretending she didn't notice his advances upon her. I am only helping Yumi… she gave a home… If I followed Kenshin's advices about not working here, I wouldn't have a place to stay by now…But important than the reasons that led her to work, Kaoru needed to focus on what she was going to say to Saito. So she asked Yumiko to take her place for a while. She needed fresh air.

As she left, she saw Yumi walking along with a man. The way she looked at him was different… and Kaorufound it odd…

She breath heavily finally reaching the door at the back of the restaurant. The cold breeze of the night was what she needed to take away from her nose the intoxicating smell of Sake and tobacco. She wasn't sure of what she was doing, but doing nothing wasn't an option.

Kaoru looked at the stars in the sky as memories of her Misao and Sano filled her mind… She stood there for a while before a voice spook away her happy thoughts:

"Finally you came to me." – a man appeared from the bushes and slowly approached her. Kaoru ran to the door, but he reached it before her and captured her fist: "You've been hiding for so long. I won't let you go away again."

"Who are you?" – she released herself from him as he stared at her surprised. Probably wasn't expecting her to have such strength, what made him angrier: "I am the last person you're going to see… that's all you need to know."

"Why?" – she stepped a few feet back when she recognized the face of the other man who appeared behind her attacker.

He took his sword from the shield and stopped staring at her: "You're a loose end… that they want to tie." – he didn't noticed Saito was behind him: "Do you know what makes angrier than loose ends…" – he turned when Saito talked only to feel the wolf's sword slash his stomach. "Cowards."

Kaoru stares in shock as she watches the body hitting the floor.

"Who was he?" – Saito's voice seemed so far away…

"I don't know." – she answered her eyes stood focused on the dead man.

Saito noticed she was too shocked to answer, so he tried to say something to awake her: "I think I've pay my debt with you saving your life."

Kaoru glared at him. Was all for nothing? She lost her upper hand, the right to ask him to do something for her. her mind worked furiously trying hard to find something that would catch his interest: "What I thought of asking you can give you the name of this man." She looked down at her kimono, dirty with blood.

"Really?" – he didn't knew if that information could be useful … what he really wanted to know was the reason why assassins were sent to kill her. But he knew she wasn't going to tell him anyway. "What do you need?"

::::::

As Kenshin couldn't get Katsura words out of his mind he decided that he needed to talk to her. What he didn't expect was that In his way to Aka, he would find Saito. He had planned to ignore him, but as they pass each other Saito couldn't resist:

"We shouldn't postpone this much longer"

Kenshin stopped a few meters away: "I am in a hurry." – his hands weren't on his sword showing he had no intention to fight. Not tonight.

Saito understood his plans and changed into a relaxed position: "Yes… you always arrive late, isn't it? And today is no exception."

Kenshin that had already started walking again stopped:"What?"

"Well…" – Saito enjoyed his time seeing the apprehension on the other man's face: "I had to save her from being attacked again, if she was waiting for you, she would be dead by now, because you always arrive too late."

"Saito…" – he ignored the scorn on his tone: "Where is Kaoru?"

"At the restaurant, safe… Because of me."

Kenshin ignored Saito and started running to the restaurant.

:::::::::::

She didn't call for Yumi, because she suspected her to be with that man… So she grabbed a bowl with water and a bandage and went to her room. Kaoru wanted desperately to clean the blood from both her face and neck that spilled from the man Saito had killed. She hated doing that and as she did it, she felt disgusted as tears run down her face. How could someone kill like that?

She tried to clean that image of her mind.

:::::

Kenshin took the stairs to the place he thought to be her room, he knew her ki well, so it would be easy to find her. She is here. The samurai stopped behind the shoji and tried to understand the reason behind his actions. Was he doing this only to find the evidence Katsura asked him to? Or was he doing this because he couldn't accept her betrayal?

::::

I can't be alone in here, If I am alone, then it's easy for them to find me.– Kaoru was nervously thinking of what to do. She couldn't call Yumiko because she was alone with the geishas serving the clients, and she couldn't call Yumi neither… I need to go downstairs and have people around me.

Decided, she quickly made her way to get out of the room.

The moment she opened the shoji their eyes met.

:::.

So... What do you think?

Please review.