Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Prisoner of War ❯ His Scars ( Chapter 11 )

Thanks for all the reviews! Keep them coming. Okay this chapter is kind of surreal. I hope you like what I was going for here.

Disclaimer: They are still not mine.

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Kaoru sighed inwardly as she felt the large arm of her husband move from around her as he slept. She was grateful when she heard the rustling of the sheets and the creaking of the floor beneath their mat that told of him rolling over to face away from her. She hated being in bed with him. Ever since earlier that week, she had felt awful sleeping by his side, like a sinner. Ever since the incident with Aoshi Shinomori. Ever since she admitted to herself that she loved Kenshin, that she had loved him from almost the day they met. Lying in her husband's arms, feeling her husband's hands against her skin made her feel adulterous somehow. As if she was betraying Kenshin, who never spoke of his feelings for her, with her own husband who, for all intensive purposes, owned her. She closed her eyes. She was so tired. Sleep had not been coming easily for her lately. If she could just get her mind off of him for even a moment, then maybe she could get some rest. But, then again, if she had to stop thinking about him, was rest really worth it? She felt her husband shift again so they were facing the same direction. Her face was to the wall. His was to her back. In the past, it would have been romantic, but now, it felt wrong for his breath to be tickling the fine hairs on the back of her neck. She moved a bit to escape it, which must have awoken him, for he pulled her back to him and began nuzzling her neck. But something wasn't quite right. They weren't the demanding touches she was used to. No, he was being gentle. He sprinkled kisses on her neck and shoulder. He rubbed his face against her like a kitten in desperate need of attention. It was surprising, and it felt wonderful. He moved to kiss her cheek, and something tickled her nose. She dismissed it as his overly long bangs until she felt it again. She grabbed it, and opened her eyes. There, in her hand, shining more beautifully than ever in the soft moonlight, was a lock of red cherry scented hair. She turned quickly to look at him.

"Kenshin?" Her voice was barely a whisper. His long, slender fingers began to dance across her pale soft skin. He swooped down and kissed her neck. It was an amazing feeling to have his warm tongue against her skin, but something was nagging at her. Something about Kenshin was wrong. Something was missing. She reached for his face and tilted his chin toward her. His bright violet eyes and unblemished face stared back at her, smiling. Kaoru began to panic. She practically tore the gi she had spent so much time making off. She heard the thread tear apart at the seams, but she didn't care. She ran her hands down the vast, smooth, hard expanse of his chest, and he shuddered in blissful approval. He felt just like she remembered. Except one important thing was missing. There were no scabs from the arrow wounds that had brought him to her, and she had tended so carefully. There were no ridges from the countless swords that had grazed him in failed attempts to save their masters' lives. She spread her fingers out and dragged them down the soft skin of his back. There were no frightening lines from the whips that forced him to be everything he hated. There were no scars, no burns, no slowly healing wounds. There was only the smooth white skin of a perfect man. She looked up at his flawless left cheek and started to cry. This was not her Kenshin. This was not the slave who had spent his life suffering and killing. This was not the man from whose hair she had washed away the blood that kept him from rest. The hands of the man that were sliding along her spine were not the hands of the ma she loved. They were the hands of the man he could have been. Had fate not sent him on his unfortunate path, this would be him. She reached a hesitant hand up to his face. He kissed her fingers. His lips were warm and wet. She placed her finger gently on his left cheek, near his eye, where his scar should start. Then she recoiled as if she had been burnt. She watched in horror as the scar began to reappear, not as a long healed injury, but as a fresh wound. Then, all of the scars she knew from hours of silently memorizing and worshipping his small frame opened, one by one. He was a terrifying bloody mess. His face was contorted in pain. Suddenly, he was pulled away from her. She tried to grab his hand, but it slipped through her fingers because it was so slick with blood. She stared in desperation as she realized what was happening. Her husband held an almost limp Kenshin against him. He jerked the soldier's chin up and held a dagger underneath his right ear. He dragged it slowly down and around throat to his other ear. Kaoru cried out, not because of his pain but because those peaceful violet eyes were brimming with an emotion she didn't want him to have ever again. Acceptance.

Kaoru's eyes flew open. She was breathing hard and sweating. She held her hands in front of her face. They were clean of blood. She sat up quickly and looked down next to her. Her husband was lying with his back to her and breathing peacefully kin the dark. She stared at him for a moment. He was the same as he always was, no blood on his hands, no twisted vengeful smile on his face. But she couldn't shake that picture of him from he mind, holding Kenshin's head, dagger at his throat. Kaoru slipped out of bed and rushed to where her kimono was hanging. She hurriedly put it on and ran. She ran past the lake, past the small grove of trees that she had taken Kenshin to earlier that day to practice, into the hospital. She ran until she was at his side. Until she could see his face. He lie there under his blanket, chained arms on top. His gi was in tact and covering most of him from her sight. But she could see his face. He looked like he was in pain. She reached out and touched his cross-shaped scar. She had to be sure that he was real. That her Kenshin was unhurt. His eyes flew open, and he cried out. She withdrew her hand quickly and held it to her chest.

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A/N: Well, please review. I think I'm going to open the next chapter with the dream Kenshin was having when Kaoru woke him up. Then, I'm going for some boss fluff. I think it's kind of neat when you all guess what's going to happen in the future of the story. Just so you know, most of you are wrong. Someone, though, keeps exposing my secrets. Review, my pretties! Review!