Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Prisoner of War ❯ At Last ( Chapter 17 )

^_^ - Sorry. Sano is dead. That chapter was to show as Nigihayami Haruko so aptly put it, Megumi's humanity. She is not evil. She has only suffered through a horrific loss and was trying to use Kenshin to forget.

Nigihayami Haruko - I love you! That was exactly what I was going for in the last chapter. And I have decided to go with my gut for the next story. The first ten chapters are already planned.

Bando-Eido no Megami-sama - Thanks! Sometimes little side chapters mean a lot. I was thinking about that after I read "The Blue Hotel" by Stephen Crane. He has something very similar to express a much more impressive point than the one I was trying to make, namely no one is wholly good or evil, and everyone has a past that influences their actions. His was more every decision one makes affects every other person in the world. I recommend reading it at some point.

Cattiebrie393 - Thanks!

Lilemmy - No, Sano is gone. But on a better note, I plan on writing "Letters From Home." It won't be very long, probably seven or eight chapters at most, but I will write it soon. Just for you.

Disclaimer: If I owned Kenshin I would spend too much time analyzing the nuances of his personality.

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((()))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) )))))))

It was cold, and her face hurt badly. She flinched as her fingers grazed the fresh wounds. She could ignore the bruises on her arms and legs. Even the pain in her stomach had faded. But her face throbbed. He'd hit her there before when she didn't know her place. He'd hit her for talking back, for not doing his bidding fast enough, for breaking his rules. She knew that pain well, and she knew that it would not fade for a while. She shook lightly. The tears running down her cheeks were not helping at all. She knew that when he found out, he would hurt her. Even as she ran to the hospital in the night, she knew. But she couldn't help it. When the man she had so diligently treated had promised to never leave her, she was desperate to taste him, to claim him as her own. The feel of his lips against hers, of his tongue reaching for hers as she invaded his mouth made any punishment she could receive worth it. She realized that night how she felt. She had been desperate when she thought she'd lost him. Her heart wouldn't let her rest until she was sure of his safety. She wanted nothing more for him than his happiness. She loved him. She loved him more than she ever thought possible. She had thought for a long time that she loved her husband, but that one kiss with a prisoner, a slave, had shattered that illusion. She cared for her husband. She even liked him most of the time. But she did not and never had loved him. He provided for her. He treated her better than most wives in Edo. He even allowed her to go out while he wasn't home. But nothing Captain Saitou could ever do would make her feel for him like she felt for Kenshin. Her life was changed. Her existence was altered, all because of that realization. When she entered her home that morning, he was waiting for her. She had watched in horror as the guard from the hospital brushed by her. She had never seen her husband so angry, nor had she seen him so violent. He had hit her and hit her. He had screamed the entire time about her duties as a wife and her responsibility to follow his guidelines. He had punched her in the face and professed his love for her at the same time. Kaoru hugged her knees to her chest and pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders. At least he was gone. He had to go back into battle. Petty domestic squabbles meant nothing to the army. They could wait for his return. He had told her not to worry, that he would be home soon. He had said that he would crush the opposition like he would crush her if she returned to the hospital. It wasn't as much a threat as a statement of fact. Had that been all, she would have gone back. She needed to see him, to make sure that he was all right. Her body yearned to touch him, and her heart ached at the prospect of never seeing him again. It hurt worse than any injury ever could. But that hadn't been all. Her husband had made himself very clear.

"And not only will I crush you, I will crush the Battousai. I will rip open his scars. I will slit his throat. I will gut him and tear out his heart. And I will make you watch so he knows who is responsible for his death." His face had been so serious. There had been fire in his eyes when he had spit those words at her. Kaoru hugged her legs harder. She would stay away. She would do whatever it took to keep him safe, no matter how much it hurt. The sound of her front door being flung open startled her. He was supposed to be gone. She pressed her face down so she couldn't see. She couldn't take being hit any more. Wasn't keeping her from her beloved punishment enough? She listened carefully to the footsteps coming down the hall. They weren't the usual slow and steady movements of her husband. No, these were frantic. Whoever was in her house was searching for something, and that person was coming toward her room. Fear began to rise in her as she heard door after door hurled open. The person was not bothering to close them. It was an intruder. He didn't seem to know where he was going. She shook harder. The one night her husband was gone, the one night she had been happy to see him leave, someone was trying to rob her. She quietly prayed to herself. She couldn't die. She couldn't leave the world without seeing her Kenshin again. The footsteps were outside her room. Her door snapped open. She tried to disappear as she saw the silhouette of a man. She clenched her eyes closed and prepared for the worst.

"Miss Kaoru?" Her head whipped up. It was him. He had come to her. He was disheveled with his gi barely hanging onto him. His hair was everywhere, and his skin was pale from being out in the snow.

"Kenshin! How did you find me? Are you okay?" He moved toward her and fell to his knees in front of her on the bed. He stared at her, and she noticed a change in his eyes.

"Kenshin?" He reached out his chained hands and pushed the blanket off of her. She was wearing a white sleeping yukata. She watched in confusion as tears formed in his eyes. His fingers ran along her injured cheek and down the opening of her garment over a few fresh purple bruises. He looked into her eyes, and his emotions were so apparent that she wanted to turn away. She wanted to grab the blanket and cover herself back up. She didn't want him to see her in the state she was in. But his gaze held her still.

"Did he do this to you?" Suddenly, she couldn't find her voice. She nodded dumbly, and he bolted upright. There seemed to be anger radiating off of him.

"Where is he? He cannot do this to you! I will make him pay for what he's done!"

"He's not here." He looked down at her.

"Then where is he? Please tell me, Miss Kaoru."

"He is on the battlefield. He will not be home for a while." Kenshin turned to the door and began to move away. He would get him. He would show that man real pain for how he treated the only woman beside his mother to ever care for him. Kaoru stopped him, though. She launched herself to him and grabbed onto his leg.

"No, Kenshin! Please don't go! Please don't leave me!" He dropped back down beside her. She wrapped her arms around him and held him to her chest.

"He can't do this to you."

"He can. I am his wife." She could feel the warrior shaking against her.

"He doesn't own you."

"He does." She felt his tears dropping onto her collarbone. They rolled down to the valley between her breasts. They were warm against the cold air. Kenshin's breaths were ragged. His voice was rough and cracked.

"He can't. He has no right. He just can't. I won't let him." He struggled against his irons, and she unlocked them, causing him to cry even harder. She smoothed his hair as his hands slid around her waist.

"I will punish him for you, Miss Kaoru." She grabbed his chin and tilted it toward her.

"Please don't." He became confused, and he searched for a reason.

"Why not? Why won't you let me help you?"

"Because you'll get hurt."

"But you would be all right."

"I could never be all right without you." Her grip on his shoulders tightened. She felt like he could slip away from her like water through her fingers. He stared hard into her eyes.

"Why do you say such things about me? I am nothing. I am not even a man." She was overcome by emotion.

"Don't say that! Don't you ever say that again! You are a man. You are the man I love!" She felt him go slack in her arms. All the fight and need for vengeance just went right out of him. Her lips sought his and he responded. She was overwhelmed with happiness as she tasted him again. They broke their kiss and stared at each other.

"I love you, Kenshin." He clung to her like a small child.

"Oh God, Miss Kaoru. Oh God, I love you too!" He reached for her mouth and kissed her again.

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((()))))))))))))))))))))))))) )))))))))))))

A/N: That was the longest chapter I have written for this story. Well, it's official. I will write Kenshin Slave Fic 2 next. I will probably post "Letters From Home" first though. I have KSF2 planned to be VERY long. I'm talking 10 or 15 parts with 7 or 10 chapters each. I want to get a bit written before I start posting. Plus, I need a good title. If you don't mind me spoiling the plot for you and you want to help me with the title, drop me an e-mail. Please don't forget to review. I swear I'm like a kid at Christmas every time I check my e-mail.