Chapter Twenty-Two

The walk back to the lab was slow. Kaoru refused to let Kenshin carry her, but clung instead to his hand for support. While she no longer appeared to be having as much trouble with her breathing, there were still moments when he caught grimaces of pain contorting her face. Whenever he questioned her, though, she would smile and pretend everything was fine. By his fourth such questioning, his mood was beginning to turn sour. In the back of his mind, he heard Tomoe's voice once more pointing out how Kaoru did not currently rely on him before anyone else.

Something like frustration and impatience flared inside of him, and when her slow steps caused her to stumble, he swung her into his arms without breaking stride. There was no telling what she would have said, if speaking was something she was able to do, but the surprise and slight indignation of her features caused him to glower. Though he kept his eyes forward, his expression must have affected her, because her mouth pulled quickly into a sad pout. Unfortunately, the look was mistaken for petulance and his mood sunk further.

Once inside the lab, he was grateful to find that Tomoe was still there. It wasn't very late, but she had no obligation to stay once her work was completed for the day. Upon seeing Kaoru still in his arms, she instantly directed him to sit her down on the couch.

"What happened?"

The tones of her gentle voice were more business-like than usual, and he appreciated her ability to stay calm. Especially when he was not. Before he could even respond, Kaoru was trying to deny anything was wrong. Scowling, his hand reached out to cover and stop her lie.

"Her chest started to hurt her, and then she couldn't breathe."

"What?" Tomoe was understandably shocked by his curt response, but more so by Kaoru's reaction.

Both of Kaoru's hands pushed against Kenshin's one, and she all but glared up at him from her seated position. Again, her hands demanded that she was fine. Mad that she was fighting him on this, he argued back.

"You are not fine! You said your chest hurt enough that you could barely breathe!"

Kaoru's hands flashed something too quick for him to catch, and then her head turned away from them both.

"Okay. That's enough." Calling for a truce, Tomoe settled herself next to Kaoru on the couch. "What has gotten into you two?"

"I don't understand why she's lying. She even tried to hide in bathroom at the restaurant. I had to send in one of the waitresses just to get her out."

Dark eyes glanced up at him and the clear distress on his face. "I see." A hand brushed next over Kaoru's crown. "Kaoru, Himura-san is very worried. Why would you try to hide your condition from him?"

"Especially since we don't even know what's going on."

Kenshin's input earned him a side look, and he crossed his arms but shut his mouth. In contrast, blue eyes were stubbornly refusing to look at Tomoe, but her chin did lower slightly.

"Were you afraid we wouldn't let you go out again if everything wasn't fine?"

Tensed shoulders relaxed, and finally those eyes darted a sad look up at Kenshin, over at her, and then down to her lap.

"Why would you think that?" Kenshin's arms dropped to his sides, and his angry voice was now surprised. "I told you, didn't I? If you ever want to leave, all you have to do is say so, and if you don't want to come back, we won't."

Irises as bright as a summer sky jerked up to him in shock, as if she couldn't believe he actually remembered that promise he had made over a year prior. In the stretched silence, Tomoe softly excused herself from the room to find a stethoscope. Kneeling before her, Kenshin covered the hands settled on her knees with his own.

"I'm sorry I raised my voice. It's just… I want you to feel like you can trust me, Miss Kaoru. Mostly, I don't want you to hide things from me. If something's wrong, then I want to help you fix it. Maybe I won't be able to, but…" His head bowed slightly forward, and his eyes broke contact. "If you at least want to tell me first, then… I won't feel completely worthless." Red lashes squeezed shut. "I know I haven't exactly helped you much. I know I've been away for a long time. And I know you don't have any obligation to tell me anything. But when you don't, it feels… lonely."

Slowly, her fingers slipped out from under his, and formed the sign for an emotion he had learned almost immediately.

"I'm sorry."

A small, understanding smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "It's scary, trusting someone else with everything, but if we work at it together, I think it could help make both of us stronger."

She chewed her bottom lip as she thought on his words, and then nodded in her more normal fashion of enthusiasm.

Then she did the most outlandish thing a person could do in such a situation.

Both of her hands curled into the hem of her shirt, and lifted straight upwards. Just as the bottom of her white bra peeked back at him, his own hands moved on pure, terrified instinct. Locking his grip over her fisted fingers, he forced her arms back down into her stomach.

"W-what are you doing?!"

The expression on the face not far from his own appeared to be asking the same question. As if he was the crazy one.

"What is going on?" The hint of sharpness in Tomoe's voice made him start guiltily, even though he had done nothing wrong. Shooting her a helpless look, he found the coal demon was reacting to the situation much like anyone walking in on a man clutching the bottom of a struggling lady's shirt would. Instantly, his hands shot up into the air to plead innocence, but once Kaoru was freed from his restraining grip, she again lifted the shirt up. Slamming his hands back down over hers before he could see more than her exposed belly button, he felt desperation grip him like never before.

"Stop it!"

"Kaoru." Thankfully, Tomoe's voice had gentled, and she seated herself next to their blue-eyed ward. "You're going to give Himura-san a heart attack." Placing her own hand over the shirt to take over, she smiled when Kenshin immediately retreated. "You're being quite willful this evening. Why don't you tell me what's going on?"

Releasing the shirt, Kaoru tried to explain herself through sign language, but with no luck. Unfortunately, Tomoe had gotten too used to Enishi translating for her, and Kenshin was still in the process of learning. Sighing, Kaoru dug her cell phone out of her pocket and painstakingly typed out her reasoning in a message to Kenshin.

"Yes, I did say not to hide anything from me, but… I didn't mean you should expose yourself." The lightest darkening of red stained high on his cheeks as he turned away. Tomoe, however, frowned in thought.

"Can you show me what you were trying to show to Himura-san?"

Pink lips pursed, and her head tilted to one side.

"I can explain it to him, so he won't have to be embarrassed."

Kaoru shrugged after a moment, and again lifted the shirt towards the ceiling. Kenshin turned his back quickly, and Tomoe watched as she stopped with the hem at her collarbones. Square in the middle of her sternum, was a large burn scar that covered most of the internal curvature of her breasts. It was partially covered by her bra, but its size was still discernible.

"Wha…" Touching a finger to the puffed and uneven skin, Tomoe's shock turned to accusation. "Did you do this?"

"What is it? What's going on?" Curious, and thinking Tomoe's question had been aimed at Kaoru, Kenshin shifted his weight and continued to stare at the far wall.

"Kenshin! Did you do this?!"

It was not often that Tomoe called him by his given name, mostly because it made him uncomfortable. The anger in her tone overruled that emotion this time, though, and instead his mind responded with alarm.

"Do what?" He turned, because whatever she was accusing him of was suddenly more important than modesty. Still, once his eyes connected with Kaoru's bared torso, they promptly flitted up and away. It took a second longer for his brain to recognize the unexpected image of a large burn on her chest, and then his eyes shot back.

Rage darkened his face, but most noticeably, his voice.

"Who did that to you?"

"It wasn't you?" Tomoe's voice turned to puzzlement.

"Of course not! Why would I do that?"

"Of course not." She softly repeated his declaration, and slowly swung her gaze back to the scar. "Then where did it come from? It wasn't there that first day. We've bathed together and I haven't seen it until now." Taking Kaoru's hand, her words became insistent. "Who did this to you? How long have you been hiding this?"

Chewing her lip again, like a child in trouble, she explained how the scar had appeared one day without warning, and slowly grew in size.

There's only one explanation that fits her time frame.

"Sojiro."

Blue eyes shot up to him, and the fear on her face twisted something deep in his chest. Tomoe's gaze was a little more meaningful, as if to remind him they had agreed not to tell Kaoru about his presence there a year before. Keeping his own violet eyes trained on Kaoru, he swallowed and knew he had to tell her everything. Otherwise, what was the point of asking her to trust him?

"Sojiro snuck into the lab last year by hiding in my shadow." The flowing material of her shirt scrunched and twisted between her fingers, and she continued to stare as if frozen. "Nobody knew it, until he was gone. Megumi-san discovered him on the security tapes. He…" A steadying breath pulled into his lungs, and he used a hard swallow as an excuse to clench his teeth. "knelt next to you while you were sleeping, but we couldn't see if he did anything because his back was to the camera." Watching the terror he had hoped to destroy come back to life in her eyes finally became too much, and his lashes fell closed. "I'm sorry, Miss Kaoru. I was right there, but I didn't protect you."

"The seal." The thought must have come to Tomoe unexpectedly, because she stood. "There's a seal right under where that scar is on your chest. He must have done something to the seal, but we never thought to recheck any of them." Holding out her hands for Kaoru to take, she helped her to her feet. "Come. Let's get you into your gown. We need to take some more imaging."

Megumi was informed of the extra testing, and came down to the lab before they were finished with the imaging. When the scans came through on the monitor, Tomoe's theory was proven correct as the once whole seal that had been on Kaoru's chest was now crumbling and faded.

"Interesting. Let's check the other seals, too. Just to be sure."

The four on her limbs were still bright and intact.

As Megumi and Tomoe discussed the imaging results, Kenshin stared through the glass window at Kaoru still lying prone on the radiology table. Ever so lightly, shivers were racing up and down her legs, and her hands were curled and shaking into the material of her gown.

"Are you done with the imaging?"

Cinnamon irises barely spared him a glance, but a dismissive hand from the fox said to do whatever he wanted.

"Yes."

Kaoru moved only to look at him when he opened the door, and almost gratefully wrapped her arms around his neck when he picked her up to sit her back on her feet. Her shivers were intense, and he was reminded of her drop in temperature at the restaurant. Increasing his own output of body heat, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and hoped it would alleviate her discomfort.

"Don't worry, Miss Kaoru. Megumi-san has maintained a barrier around the building. No one can enter without her permission or knowledge." She glanced up at him, as if wanting to believe his words were true. "And nothing will harm you while I'm around. I'm more certain of that now than ever."

She smiled, although it was small.

"Girl, let me see the scar." Megumi marched over, but Kaoru frowned and clutched a hand over her chest protectively. It was an amusingly normal reaction to Megumi's presence. The fox tapped her foot impatiently. "Hurry up before I force you down and strip you naked."

While Kenshin turned his back once more so that Megumi could take some pictures of the scar, he found himself unable to fully leave when one of Kaoru's hands stayed fisted in his shirt. To distract himself from the situation, Kenshin began to uncomfortably share more details about their incident as a way to work out what Megumi thought was going on.

"She was cold at the restaurant, while her chest was hurting. I'm not sure if it was unnatural for her or not, but she seemed to do better when I warmed her up. As if her body is intolerant of the cold. She could breathe easier and the pain even lessened."

A noncommittal hum was his only response.

"Do you think the seal on her chest is restraining her demon abilities? She hasn't displayed any yet, right? What if they were sealed and that's why she can't feel any?"

The fox's red-tinged eyes stared at the back of Kenshin's head, and then darted a glance at Tomoe. Letting the gown drop back around Kaoru's thighs, she turned away.

"Maybe."

No speculation. No denial.

It was a strange reaction coming from the five-tailed fox.

"I'll definitely note it in her file. For now, we should monitor her closely for any other symptoms or differences in behavior. I'm not sure what that little bastard thought to accomplish by weakening this seal only, but I imagine he thought it would surprise us. Now that we know about it, we can plan accordingly. So far, it only seems to be affecting her, but let's not rule out some kind of environmental influence or remote trap."

Violet eyes darted over to watch Kaoru circle him. Her features were subdued and almost sad, and he didn't have the heart to stop her from slipping her arms around his waist and hugging herself tight to his chest for comfort. Returning her embrace lightly, he lowered his voice.

"It's better that we know now, Miss Kaoru. Hiding it would have only made things worse. You did the right thing." She nodded against his shoulder, but continued to shiver uncontrollably.

"Himura-san, can you please take Kaoru to her room? I'll be there in a bit to help her bathe."

For a moment, Kenshin's eyes stayed on the two scientists, but he finally nodded and led Kaoru out. Once they were clear of the door, Tomoe stood to get closer to Megumi.

"You're not going to tell him yet?"

The fox sighed, and scratched a hand against one of her upright ears. "No. I want to figure out these other seals first as well as the anomaly we found. There has to be some reason why that shit left her here without even trying to take her back. I'm afraid I know the answer, and I'm not going to give him the satisfaction. I worked too damn hard on Ken-sama."

"But he's so much calmer now that he's had someone to help him learn control over his flame. He's more confident, too."

"Are you willing to test it?" Dark eyes lowered, and Megumi sighed again. "Me, neither."

X

The new doll was much more resistant than Kaoru, but in different ways. Kaoru's seals had been set to allow her personality to remain, which unfortunately opened up the chance of her resisting his control through willpower. Which she had accomplished a time or two. His newest experiment was stronger in terms of raw power, and to counter-balance that strength, Sojiro had purposefully cut off its access or ability to form an individual personality. He wanted it to be obedient.

While controlling a dragon required a lot more concentration, the end result was well worth it. Soon, he would have enough control over it to take it outside for a test run. Its power was amazing, and the possibilities were endless. It confused Sojiro as well, though. How did such a powerful being lose any fight, even to Master Shishio? Clearly it had to have been his moral shackles that had kept him from winning. How else could his death be explained when a mere finger could decimate the city.

"Master Shishio is back, Sojiro-sama."

Gien's head poked into the room, and Sojiro smiled.

"Great. Let's make sure he doesn't come here, though. I wouldn't want him to remember anything… painful. Is that the right word?"

"He's growing used to his demon traits." Ignoring Sojiro's inability to empathize, Gien stepped out of the way. "His skills are getting sharper as well. It was good that we let him out." Shutting the door after Sojiro, Gien tucked each hand into his opposite sleeve and followed the shadow demon down the hall.

"Yes, he seems to be enjoying himself. He hasn't thrown a fit in a while, either, over Kaoru's absence. Things are going quite well."

"I heard Kaoru left the lab." Prodding him carefully, Gien studied the lack of change on Sojiro's face.

"For a little while. They're getting comfortable with her. It's a… beautiful thing, isn't it?"

"Yes, Sojiro-sama. The betrayal will be all the sweeter."

"My perfect little doll. I wonder if she even suspects how much damage that fire demon could do to her? But she should not worry, ultimately, he will be the one to suffer the most damage. With him out of the way, our newest companion will be free to locate the Kagu-tsuchi for me. There is evidence that it was used at least once over two hundred years ago, but no one knows where it disappeared to afterwards. It really is quite a mystery."

The smile on Sojiro's face stayed in place as they walked into the room Shishio had returned to. Behind his skull mask, Gien grinned as well. The Kagu-tsuchi was a mythical blade that was said to have the power to remake the world. Those who were capable of wielding it gained power beyond any other lifeform on the planet. Depending on how it was used, it could destroy or create. Gien believed he knew Sojiro's simple-minded desire, but he had an agenda of his own. And he, unlike Sojiro, knew who had the sword.

"Master Shishio." Sojiro bowed. "Shall I ready a bath?"

Blood dripped off the bandages covering Shishio's torso, and the grin that twisted his burnt features was wicked and cruel.

X

A/N: I keep having to push back what I thought I was going to be able to get into these last two chapters. Ah well. With all this out of the way, I can genuinely promise myself that the start of the next chapter will be what I've been promising, lol. There's a few more things I want to get to before any solid revelation about Kaoru, so please bear with me. I'm hoping it won't be too much longer, because I'm pretty excited about it myself. However, I still need to work through Tomoe's feelings, and some more solidification of Kenshin's feelings. As well as some general fun stuff. This story was supposed to be fun and centered more on love, so I will work to deliver. Thanks for continuing to stick with me, I hope everyone still likes reading this story, and Happy Independence Day for my US readers! Much love!