Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Prisoner of War ❯ Rude Awakening ( Chapter 8 )

I was in the ER last night because I am always sick, and I banged half of this chapter out. I just finished it so, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I may not own Kenshin, but I do call his name out in my sleep.

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Kaoru was so focused on her sleeping patient that she didn't notice her husband's approach until he was already next to the bed. Kaoru stood and bowed her head in a well-practiced gesture of submission.

"I'm sorry, Captain. I did not see you to greet you sooner." Saitou stared down at the red head grinning in his slumber.

"Were you too busy admiring this murderous dog to notice your husband?" Kaoru kept her head down. Her bangs had fallen forward and hid her face. She was glad for that. Her husband was a well-seasoned veteran and would have noticed the look of guilt that flashed momentarily across it had that curtain of hair not been there. Truth be told, she had been admiring him. She had never seen a man like him before. It wasn't just his striking red hair that was much softer than she had at first supposed. She ran her fingers through it a lot, fixing imaginary tangles, unbinding and rebinding it just so she could watch it break free of its bond and spill over his shoulders and down his back. It wasn't just his remarkable eyes that shifted between peaceful violet and frightening amber, both of which were uniquely Kenshin inasmuch as she had never seen eyes like his before. Brown, blue, green, hazel, gray, even black, yes. But not amber or violet, those were only him. It wasn't even just his small body, the thinness of his arms, how he was only an inch or two taller than her at most, the way she could trace the bones of his hips, his collarbones, his ribs, and his vertebrae but still see the well formed muscle that covered his body and tensed when she treated his wounds. Many times since he'd arrived she'd wondered how someone so dainty in appearance could be so deadly. She'd treated many men but none that had killed so many or were so small as he. It wasn't just one thing about him. It was everything. The scars that littered his body, his long eyelashes, the fear he inspired in others, his own fears, the way he called her Miss Kaoru, how soft his voice became when he would speak of his past, the way he'd shake his head to get the bangs out of his face and the way he'd smile when she did it for him, everything about him fascinated her. She couldn't help being enamored with him. He was new and different. Kaoru tried to shake these thoughts from her mind.

"I'm very sorry, Captain." He looked back down at the sleeping soldier. His eyes narrowed at him. Before Kaoru could even comprehend what was happening, he'd thrown the blanket off of him and grabbed the young man by the throat. Kaoru gasped as Kenshin's eyes flew open to greet her very angry husband. Saitou grinned at the flustered man.

"Good morning, Battousai." Kenshin started to choke as the Saitou's hand crushed tighter around his neck. Saitou threw him down on the bed and smiled as Kenshin turned as much as he could on his side and started coughing. He looked up sadly at Kaoru who just stood there. When Megumi had been treating him so poorly, she had rushed to his aid, but now her husband was close to killing him, and she did nothing. She looked down at him from underneath her bangs with apologetic eyes. Kenshin looked back to the captain. He was laughing.

"Battousai, my wife obviously hasn't told you yet because she didn't want to wake you. I have no such care for trash like you. While she is around, I will allow you to be unshackled so that you may practice in order to be worth something to me. She has assured me you won't run. If you do, I have no choice but to show her how I feel about liars. Then, I will hunt you down and kill you. It will not be a quick merciful death, I assure you. There is a wooden sword outside for you to practice with eventually." Saitou then turned without acknowledging Kaoru. He was almost to the door when he turned to face them again.

"One more thing, Battousai. If you lay so much as one finger on my wife, I will dispatch you like the dog you are. Don't think that I did not notice your ambiguous answer, wife. You did not deny your admiration of him. If you value your life and the freedom that I grant you, you will not continue with your girlish crush. The beating I gave you last month was nothing in comparison to what I will do if you let this continue." Kenshin looked at Kaoru as Saitou was saying these words. He watched her shudder in fear and not lift her face. Saitou smiled and walked out the door. Kenshin decided that moment that he hated that man more than anything else in the world. More than the guard, more than his father, more than everything. He didn't know why he felt so protective of Kaoru. Perhaps it was because she treated him well or that she smelled like his mother. Either way he didn't care. He would not allow that man to hurt her, ever. Kaoru sat on the bed next to him. She tentatively reached out a hand and grabbed his. She pushed the small metal key she had been clutching and turned it with a satisfying click. Kenshin was speechless as the irons fell to the floor with a clang. He rubbed his wrists and looked from them to Kaoru and then back again. Kaoru held out a white hakama and Kenshin happily stood up to put it on. He stretched his arms above him, behind him, to each side, grateful for the release in the pressure of being stuck in the same position for so long. Kaoru smiled at him and held out the piece of pink material that he had been watching her sew for two weeks. Kenshin unfolded it and stared in awe.

"It's a gi. I made it for you so you wouldn't be cold. You couldn't put it on before." Kenshin happily pushed his arms through the sleeves and tied the hakama over it. It was a perfect fit. He looked up at Kaoru and she answered his unasked question.

"I made the pattern from your old gi. I thought pink was a very nonviolent color." Kenshin laughed out loud at her.

"I agree, Miss Kaoru. Thank you so very much." He sat down in the chair that she had sat in beside him for so long. Kaoru smiled at him.

"You're welcome. Well Kenshin, how does it feel to be free?" She regretted the words as soon as she saw his smiling face turn somber. Her heart broke as he looked up at her and spoke with great sincerity.

"Miss Kaoru, although it is nice not to have my hands bound, I never have and never will know the joy of freedom."

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A/N: Awwww. Please review and I'll keep writing. I'm thinking about putting Aoshi in this story. What do you think?