Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Another Morning ❯ Chapter 9

A/N: So I'm back. Cartagena was really nice and my birth day was great. I want to thank everyone that review and specially the ones that whished me a happy b/day, it was really sweet of you, thanx. I also got b/day presents and my best friend gave me Kenshin so now I can officially say I own it, or at least the really cute doll my friend gave me :) Anyway here goes another chapter; I hope you'll enjoy it. Please review.

P.S: C-chan if you are really interested in helping me edit my fic please write me a mail at vivi_t22@hotmail.com it would be really nice, thanx.

* * *

Chapter IX

The sun light coming through the window began to wake her up. She moved a little and tried to leave the beautiful land of dreams so she could wake up to the world. She began to open her eyes slowly, not focusing in anything and seen only some spots of light. She stretched her arms as she closed her eyes again hoping for more rest. Then she remembered… Kenshin. She quickly opened her eyes and rubbed them with her hands and waited for them to get adjusted to the light. Then she saw him. He was sleeping in the floor near the door, away from her. Kaoru sighted.

"This is just like him. I should have known that he would never share a futon with me or let me sleep in the floor. He was probably only pretending to do so and waited for me to fall asleep so he could leave. That stubborn rurouni! He is the one injured and he still prefers the floor. Why does he always think I need protection?... Well I do most of the times; I'll be dead, crushed by that piece of wood if he hadn't helped me last night. I made him open his wound again, why am I so useless? I'm always getting him in trouble one way or the other and yes, he is always there to protect me but sometimes I wish I could do something for him."

Kenshin was awake. His eyes were close but he could sense Kaoru waking up. He just stayed there as he was waiting for her to move but she didn't. In his mind he was recalling the events of the night before. He had kissed her. He had waited so long to do that but now that it was done he could only feel remorse. He wasn't allowed to do that, Kaoru was special and he didn't felt worthy to touch her the way he did. Beside that remorse it was another felling that was getting the best of him. She responded to him. He knew Kaoru cared for him, but he always thought it was due to her warm heart, she was always kind to everyone and he just thought he was one of them, but the night and the kiss gave him a revelation: She cared for him in a different way. When they kissed he sensed that she felt for him the same he did for her. At firs he was happy, more happy than he could remember been in a long time but then his head started asking a lot of questions his heart didn't wanted to answer. "How long had she felt this way? Does anyone else know? How much did I hurt her when I left her? Is she afraid I'll leave her again? What am I suppose to do now?" One of them kept him awake all night long. "Am I worthy of her love?" He always thought Kaoru was someone he could contemplate and protect, nothing more. But now everything was changed. She loved him and he didn't know if what he thought was still correct. He was always thinking about her, but now he thought that he might hurt her if he stayed away. "Am I worthy of her love?" That question was torturing him. His heart screamed yes, but his head still had doubts, he couldn't forget what happened the last time he allowed himself to be loved by someone.

"What happened here?" Screamed a voice at the door.

Kenshin opened his eyes and turn around to find Sano standing by the door. Kaoru looked at Sano and then at Kenshin. ""What happened?" That is a good question."

"Sessha thinks the storm last night made that beam fall down."

Sano was confused, he walked over to where the bean was and he saw that there was a futon underneath.

"I can't believe this! Come on Jo-chan, this could have been you!"

Kaoru looked at Sano and smile.

"I know, but as usual Kenshin was there to save me"

"But Kenshin can barely move! He just opened his eyes two days ago!"

Kenshin remained quiet and Kaoru just smiled. Sano realized that he wasn't talking about just anyone, he was talking about Kenshin and he could do anything, he had witnessed it.

"Anyway Sano, what are you doing up this early, it's not like you"

"Well Jo-chan, to tell you the truth I just arrived. I went out last night and drank a little and I woke up just an hour ago in a street not far from here."

Kaoru and Kenshin just looked at him. It wasn't the first time they heard a story like that from Sano's lips.

"Well anyway I'm going to sleep…"

"No you are not!" Yelled Kaoru "We need to fix this and you are going to help. I am going to go get dress and you'll go tell everyone what happened so they can come and help to. Also remember Kenshin is still recuperating so try to be quiet. That reminds me, please go and tell Megumi that Kenshin need her to check her wounds"

"But it wasn't my fault the roof fell down and I haven't sleep and I am tired and…"

It was pointless to continue the argument. Sano noted that Kaoru had that -not even your Futae no kiwami would make me change my mind look- on her face so he dropped it. Kaoru left the room to go change and he smiled at Kenshin as she walked out the door.

"What was that all about" Asked Sano and Kenshin started to get nervous thinking he saw Kaoru smiling at him and that he somehow knew what had happened the night before. "Why do you need the fox lady to check your wounds? Aren't they healing already?"

Kenshin let out a breath of relieve as he answered.

"It's nothing; Kaoru-dono is a little bit worried because sessha opened a wound yesterday"

"How did that happened?" But one look at the beam answered his question. "I bet you move really fast to get her out of the way in time."

Kenshin just nodded and Sano left the room to go and tell the others about the accident. He didn't want Kaoru to get mad at him, he had seen Yahiko the day before and he knew what that angry girl was capable of.

He was outside Megumi's room and he knocked softly. Second later the lady doctor opened the door. She was already dressed and Sano thought she looked as beautiful as always.

"Hey foxy lady"

"What are you doing up this early rooster head? It isn't noon yet"

Sano didn't answer but by looking at him Megumi knew the answer.

"So you've been drinking late again. I hope that you didn't use your hand while you were drunk, I can't keep fixing it for you."

"My hand is fine, I just came here because Jo-chan told me to tell you to go and check Kenshin's wounds. He opened one again last night and…"

Sano couldn't finish because Megumi was already running to Kenshin's room. Sano putted his hands in his pockets as he watched her go. "She is always worrying about him. I wonder if she ever worries about me that way."

Sano sighted and looked as his hand.

"Maybe she does."

* * *

They had come to a conclusion. In the middle of the storm a ray had hit the beam and burned the wood so it collapsed. At the same time a thunder sounded so the noise of the beam touching the floor wasn't noticed by anyone. They were almost right but they didn't know that someone did notice the noise. He heard it and got up quickly, his senses alerted him and he wasn't fooled by the thunder. He took the kodachis lying next to him and left the room. He still couldn't explain why he did that but he went first to check Misao at her room. He knew the sound didn't came from her room and he knew from all of his training that he was supposed to go to the source of the problem immediately, but he still went to her room first. When he made sure she was fine he went to the source of the sound: Himura's room. He was about to go in but he stopped in front of the door. The room was silent, too silent. He knew the Battousai was in there and that even if he was injured he was able to defend himself. He wasn't sure what had happen but he felt that the Battousai and the Kamiya girl were fine. He relaxed and walked back to his room. He went inside Misao's room once more. She was sleeping soundly and now that he had nowhere else to go he could stay there and stare at her a little longer. It was strange but he was at peace when he watched her sleep. It was like his heart settle and all of his guilt and remorse weren't as important as her. It was like he had found in her a new reason to go on living, and this was a warmer felling than that of been the strongest. That was in the past but he remembered that as a consuming desire, like a heavy burden he had to carry and that only brought sorrow to his life. This was different, this new reason for living was nice, he felt comfortable and even though there were many sad memories in his life, there was also something nice life was giving him, something that made it worth it.

That something came crashing to his meditation time at the temple.

"Hello Aoshi-sama I brought you some tea and rice balls." Aoshi looked at the little girl in front of him. He didn't move at all but he was happy she was there.

"You wouldn't believe what happened at the Shirobeko last night! A beam fell on Himura's room and it could have killed Kaoru-san but Himura saved her and he reopened his wound by doing so, but Megumi-san says he'll be fine but she ordered him to stay still and not move again. Now they are all fixing the room, luckily the damage wasn't as bad as we thought. When Sea saw the room she almost collapsed but she was felling better when we told her that we would fix it. I was helping but there are a lot of people already helping and I don't think they really need me so I decided to come here and bring you some food. Since you left so early this morning I didn't know if you had something to eat and since you always return late …"

Aoshi was wondering when did Misao have time to breathe.

"… and then Sano said his hand didn't let him work but Megumi said that since she was her doctor she gave him permission to work, he wasn't too happy about this and called her 'evil fox' so she called him 'lazy rooster' and then he said she was…"

Aoshi didn't care much about what Misao was saying but he enjoyed her company and he even liked her voice. When she talked he felt her warm spirit and her joy and happiness were contagious. He never showed anything like that, he just stay still looking at the horizon and listening, but when he was sure she wasn't looking he watched her. She never saw him, for her Aoshi was still as cold as when he came back, she wasn't aware that she was actually melting the ice.

* * *

It was late in the afternoon and the son was beginning to hide behind the mountains. Kenshin was seating by the window looking at the sun set. He felt her presence approaching him but he stayed still. The door opened and Kaoru walked in the room. She seated beside Kenshin looking at the horizon quietly.

"The sunset always brings me back some memories"

Kaoru stared at the man beside her. Kenshin wasn't the type of person that liked to talk about the past and she could understand that. She didn't asked much but she knew his past was full of painful memories, it was no wonder why he almost never talked about it and when he did it was because he had to. He had never willingly started a conversation about the past.

"It was in a beautiful sunset like this when Shakku-dono gave me my Sakabato. I would never forget what he said: "Life, death and a sword, that is your only path. Take this… its too good for you even if it is reversed. Do what you believe using this sword. You´ll learn what an unrealistic dream you have. When this sword breaks and you still have the same dream, come and see me in Kyoto." I had already decided to stop killing people but Shakku-dono gave me the instrument I needed to keep protecting them." Kenshin hold his sakabato firmly in his hand.

"He said it was a dream, but ten years had passed and I live up to my vow. I made that dream real and I intend to keep it real"

Kenshin looked at Kaoru in the eyes. It was the tenderest look he had ever given her. She was breathless; she was lost in his eyes.

""Life, death and a sword, that is your only path" That's what he told me and it is true. I have seen more death than life but the sword has always been there by my side. That's the only live I've known and I can honestly tell you that the time I spent at the dojo was filled with life. Even though, the death part it's with me all the time and it would always be there."

He evaded her eyes for a second but then he stared back at her.

"Kaoru-dono, you have been a good friend, you were the first person that cared for what I am today and not for what I was before. But the truth is that my life is filled with death, it doesn't matter that it's in the past; my past will always be with me… and…and I can't let this past melt with your life."

Kaoru lower her eyes and she felt a warm tear slide down her cheek. She knew what Kenshin was saying, it wasn't that he didn't loved her, she had realized that the night before, it was his conscience, his guilt and his past that wouldn't allow him to be with her. Even after the night before there were still an invisible barrier between them. She knew he had opened up to her, but there were still very deep memories that were hurting him. She knew deep in her heart that he needed time, and that when he finally opened up to her he would allow himself to love her and to be with her.

She felt his hand in her cheek and she stared back at him. She gave him a warm smile and he instantly knew Kaoru understood him. As painful at it was he did what had to be done. He smiled back at her and they watched together the sun disappear behind the mountains and with the first start that appeared in the sky they both secretly made a wish.

* * *

A/N: I am sorry that it took me this long to update but I promise I would try to update sooner. I hope you liked this chapter and for the wish thing I can't tell you what it was, that is for you to think about.