Thank you for the reviews, guys! I am hoping another chapter will enable you all to get a better idea of where I intend to go with this! Hope you like it!

I do not own Rurouni Kenshin.

To Bare Witness

Ch. 2

"Guys, you're squishing me! Sano, move your big butt! I get to sit next to Aoshi-sama!"

Grinning and grumbling and bumbling around like a bunch of idiots, the five people taking up space on the two twin mattresses pushed together in Aoshi's room finally rearranged themselves to the petite girl's wishes. Kaoru shook her head and grinned with mirth. How a girl such as Misao had such control over these boys was beyond her, but she supposed Kaoru must include herself in on that as well, now.

"Himura, your head's in the way!" Misao grumbled out, and Kaoru was beginning to wonder if they'd get to watch any of the movie tonight.

"Ah! I'm sorry, but there is no room for me to move, that there is not," Kenshin replied sheepishly, his tone sounding slightly panicked at the thought of evoking the small woman's wrath.

"There is too room! Look! Kaoru has the entire edge of the bed over there to himself!" Misao flopped over Kaoru's lap, motioning to the mere six inches of space on Kaoru's other side. "Stop sitting at our feet and join us!"

Hanging his head at the girl's tone, Kenshin cast a sheepish look at Kaoru before crawling his way across the bed and over to her. Fighting desperately to keep her blushing down, Kaoru poked and nudged Misao's side until the girl was practically squished against Aoshi's side, and loving every minute of it. Kaoru felt heat in her cheeks as Kenshin situated himself up against her side, keeping her head ducked until he finally settled.

"I am sorry if I cause any discomfort to you, that I am," he murmured softly, to which Kaoru quickly shook her head.

"It's okay, Kenshin." She wouldn't meet his gaze, but could feel his heatedly boring into the side of her face. Her steadfast stare remained directly before her, and she tried to focus on what it was they were watching. Kenshin's shoulder overlapped and pressed against her own—which had to have been in no way comfortable for him. For Kaoru, on the other hand, it was agonizing torture. Feeling the heat and nearness of the young man she was attracted to teased her frazzled senses. As time ticked by, however, the slight throbbing pain from her tightly bound chest transformed into intense stabbing pain where his weight leaning into and against her. She soon found herself wincing at the discomfort and holding her breath, wishing for nothing short of a thorough stretch and lengthy reprieve.

Maybe she should excuse herself, and take advantage of her roommate's absence to unbind her chest while he was gone?

Stupid. She couldn't take chances like that. What if he came back early to her room? She couldn't allow herself any small chance at exposure.

Movement at her side pulled her from her thoughts, and Kaoru leaned forward a bit unconsciously as Kenshin made a big move to stretch bunched muscles. When his arms can down once more Kaoru relaxed back into position—only to stiffen slightly and wonder at the arm braced around her back. She sat frozen, brow furrowed as she took stock of her and Kenshin's new position, before casting a surreptitious glance his way, scanning the planes of his face for any sign of thought behind those eyes of his.

She must have stared for longer than she intended, because Kenshin finally sighed and moved his face close to her ear, his eyes never leaving the screen of the television before them.

"You were getting sore, that you were. That position wasn't comfortable for either of us. Please relax and enjoy the movie…"

Biting the inside of her cheek, Kaoru scanned the faces of their companions and realized the softness of Kenshin's voice in her ear must have gone unnoticed. She didn't try to stop the blush spreading over her face—she simply hoped the near darkness of the room would allow her time for it to subside on its own. She nodded into Kenshin's shoulder, and forced her muscles to relax against him. It was nice—this feeling. It made the blood in her veins tremble in an entirely pleasant way.

She wouldn't put too much thought into the situation. She wouldn't look into things that weren't there. She didn't realize, halfway through the movie, that she had turned into Kenshin's warmth and closed her eyes. She didn't realize she had fallen asleep, nor did she see Kenshin's gaze soften as his lids slid closed in response to her even breathing.

….

"Shhh! You're gonna wake him!"

Kaoru felt funny. Her consciousness drifted in and out as she heard voices whispering and someone positively cackle.

"It's late. The poor little guy probably got really tuckered out at his kendo practice. Huh."

Something wasn't right with that statement, And Kaoru's brows scrunched together with a frown as she debated refuting that comment. She had studied kendo for years after all! She was an assistant Master! But… it seemed like too much work to open her eyes, to say anything at all. Besides, something seeming particularly like a warning tickled her tired brain, and so she pushed all thought aside. She would say nothing at all.

The furrow to her brow eased at this decision, and Kaoru seemed quite content to allow sleep to overtake her tired form.

"I'll take him. Sano? If you'll get the door?"

A loud guffaw nearly made Kaoru start, and her face once again scrunched in on itself. She desperately wanted to sleep. What was with the racket?

"You'll carry him? No offense Kenshin, but you're…" The unruly masculine voice trailed away and Kaoru shivered at the eerie feeling that suddenly tightened around the room.

"I may be small in stature, Sanosuke, but I am definitely strong enough to do this simple task, that I am."

Kaoru felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand down, and she relaxed. Suddenly the world titled and a weird sound escaped the back of her throat. Silence permeated the room, and Kaoru smiled and sank into the silence and warm arms supporting her thankfully.

"Besides, someone must unlock the door to your room, that they must, and you are the only one here who can do that."

The low voice vibrated against the side of Kaoru's face, and she wondered why her warm pillow was talking. She nuzzled into her pillow, feeling soft heat caress her nose and lips, and sighed, hazy mind not picking up on the two arms that tensed and gripped her just a bit more tightly.

"I guess… he's even littler than you are…" The brotherly voice grumbled, and soft noises were heard before there was a shuffling and the opening of a door.

"Misao. Stop this immediately. I know you are awake, and it is time to go to your own dorm room."

Silence.

"Misao."

"Hmm? Wha-? Oh. Is the movie already over, Aoshi-sama?"

"Hn."

"I guess… I better be going, then…"

She sounded so sad…

…

"Sanosuke…"

"So. Do you…"

"I don't think…"

"….ahaha…"

"…oro?"

Sounds penetrated, but meaning remained unclear. Kaoru's mind drifted, and she felt as though she was a sea vessel floating on the smoothest of waves, on the warmest of nights. She smiled.

"Ah, Sano… I really don't think…"

"Aw, come on. It's no big deal. The little guy will probably have a fit if we don't…"

Something prickled at her sleeping mind. Her warning signs were blaring, instead of the simple tickling sensation from before. Perhaps she needed to pay more attention. But her brain was so exhausted…

"It's just clothes, Kenshin. Besides. We're all men, here."

Warning! Warning! Warning!

With a gasp, Kaoru realized she had best not stay asleep for the rest of this. It took her three tries to get her eyes to pull open, and when they finally did…

Cool air caressed the skin at her legs. Sano… had just pulled down her pants!

"Sanosuke you idiot! You—you pervert! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Thank kami she was wearing boys' boxers! She wanted to kill him!

A very unapologetic chuckle commenced. "What? You were asleep on your feet. All I was gonna do was remove your pants and shirt so you could sleep in your boxers. I was being nice, thinking you'd want to be comfortable!"

Her mouth opened and closed like a gaping fish. Sanosuke clearly didn't seem to think there was a problem. Which must have been good in some small aspect, since it meant her cover hadn't been blown. If she hadn't woken when she had, however…

"You…idiot! Don't go unclothing people unless you have their permission! You… blockhead! Go… unclothe your girlfriend or something, and stay the hell away from me!"

Sanosuke was merely chuckling at the situation however, and Kaoru was afraid that if she didn't turn her attention from her sordid roommate then, she would see another dead body during her lifetime, and this time she'd be to blame.

"You!"

So… she rounded in on the only other person present in the room.

"O-oro?"

She stalked towards the poor red-haired man, very awake now, and glared darkly as she pointed her finger into his chest and poked and prodded him with each of her enunciated words.

"What exactly were you doing when all this was going on, huh? What did you do to stop the situation?"

Kenshin was beginning to look very uneasy at the situation, and actually found himself backing away from the enraged person before him, his heart doing odd flips inside his chest.

"Th-this one… was…"

"I thought so! You did nothing! I was at my most vulnerable, and he could have done anything he wanted, and you did nothing!"

"Now wait just a minute," Sanosuke started, tone deepening into something to be considered almost a reprimand.

At that same moment, Kenshin stumbled over his own words. "But… it wasn't anything untoward! He was merely helping you get changed, that he was. It's like he said, he only wanted you to be comfortable—"

"Ugh! No one undressed me but me, got that?" She demanded, throwing her hands into the air.

"Is that how it is?" Kaoru didn't like the sound of her roommate's tone just then. Slowly, she turned to glance warily at his easily smirking form. "Was there a challenge in that somewhere, tanuki?"

She gulped. "I don't…I don't know what you're talking about."

He slowly stalked toward her. "You're being awfully secretive lately. And you freak out at the most minor of things." He closed his eyes with a pained twisting of his lips, and cracked his knuckles. "Does someone need to be taught a lesson?" He opened his eyes just then, and Kaoru paled visibly at the look he sent her.

Her.

"Now Sano…" And then Kenshin was between her and her roommate, and Kaoru shook with relief. She never considered how dangerous it could be to get on the wrong side of Sanosuke Sagara. He's never hurt a girl, true, but… he didn't know that's what she was. She shuddered.

"Get outta my way, Kenshin. The tanuki here needs to learn some respect. Or—" And he lunged around the shorter man, grabbing a fistful of Kaoru's shirt instead of her shoulder as she attempted to duck and twist away. "At least let me get even!"

The threat of possible discovery, along with the horror-filled memories of Sanosuke's version of 'getting even' caused Kaoru's frazzled mind to pitter out for all of three seconds, before she grabbed her shirt at her chest and clung to the fabric with every ounce of strength she had.

"Stop it! This isn't funny, Sanosuke!" Mind reaching for something, any tangible excuse, Kaoru finally clenched her eyes together tightly, feeling the first beginning of tears threaten, as she yelled out, "I have scars!"

…

That seemed to do the trick. A little too effectively.

Sanosuke's energy plummeted, and all sound and movement in the room came to a halt. Finally Sanosuke's soft voice reached out to her, and she really wished it hadn't.

"…Is that true, tanuki?"

She bit her lip. Could she deal with the questions they might ask her? The looks of pity that might come along in response to her lie?

She sighed. If it saved her life, then yes. Besides. It wasn't a complete lie. She might have one scar. On her back. She was too terrified to check and see.

"Yes…" Her voice was whisper-soft. Defeated.

Kenshin Himura's eyes burned gold.