Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Scars ❯ Struggles ( Chapter 2 )

"Oh God…" Sanosuke said breathlessly.

"Kaoru…" Kenshin said frozen in place as she was pulled out of the ambulance.

~*~*~

"Dr. Himura! We need you now!" The E.M.T said impatiently wheeling Kaoru into the E.R. Kenshin stood there in shock as Sanosuke raced over to the next ambulance pulling up.

"Kenshin! Wake up! Megumi and Misao are probably in these next two ambulances! Go help Jou-chan! NOW KENSHIN!" Sanosuke yelled. Kenshin snapped out of his daze and ran into the E.R. He went as fast as he could to the trauma room and burst through the doors. Three nurses were already setting Kaoru onto the table and Kenshin immediately ran to her side.

"Kaoru?" He called to her checking her pupils. He pulled out a small flashlight and pulled open her eyelids.

"Pupils normal, run a dialysis on her head trauma!" Kenshin said to one of the nurses.

"Kaoru can you hear me?" He said softly into her ear. Kaoru's eyes wrenched themselves open at the sound of his voice.

"K-ken…shin…?" Kaoru choked. Kenshin smiled at her watering eyes.

"Don't worry Kaoru. I'm going to take care of you. Tell me where you hurt." He said placing a hand right below her chest. Kaoru winced as Kenshin's hand slowly pushed down on her stomach. He moved his hand to her right side and Kaoru cried.

"There! There!" She said sobbing. Kenshin brushed the hair out of her face and turned to one of the nurses.

"Get her up to surgery right after I deal with her shoulder. I want Aoshi Shinomori working on her, no one else. Understood?" He said. The nurse nodded and hurried over to the phone and called the O.R.

"Kaoru I need to check your shoulder. Tell me if you feel any pain okay?" He asked. Kaoru nodded and began to breath heavily.

"Is it your asthma Kaoru?" Kenshin asked her alarmed. Kaoru nodded.

"But-I-only…have-a-small-case!" She gasped.

"Get me an oxygen mask." Kenshin said still looking at her. A nurse rushed over and put a mask over Kaoru's mouth and she began to breath normally.

"Here?" Kenshin asked touching her shoulder. Kaoru nodded quickly with the pain rushing through every vein in her body. She wanted to scream out. Her arm hurt, her head ached, and there was a throbbing pain in her side.

"I'm in real deep shit aren't I?" Kaoru tried to laugh. Kenshin smiled softly at her and shook his head.

"No, you're going to be just fine." He said going back to Kaoru's shoulder. He examined it as gently as he could. More tears ran down Kaoru's cheek and she bit her lip to try and contain her sobs.

"It's just a fracture. Now we have to get you up to surgery." He said as the nurse signaled him they were ready. Kaoru grabbed his hand.

"Don't leave me Kenshin." She pleaded as they started to wheel her out. Kenshin kissed her hand and looked to the nurse.

"Tell O.R. I'll be joining them." The nurse nodded and returned to the phone. Kaoru then noticed she was hooked up to an IV and a respirator. Tubes leading into her wrist giving her medicine and painkillers finally made Kaoru realize what was going on.

"Gods, I'm a doctor and I'm scared. How wimpy is that." Kaoru said softly.

"Not at all Kaoru-dono. I'm a doctor and I'm scared too. I'm scared for you and Megumi-dono and Misao-dono." Kenshin said squeezing her hand. Kaoru's eyes widened as she was wheeled into an elevator.

"Oh my God! Misao and Megumi! Kenshin, are they all right? Please tell me they're alright!" She cried trying to get up, but only to be pushed back down by Kenshin.

"I don't know Kaoru, but as soon as I know, I'll tell you. Right now you need to relax." He said comforting. Kaoru's eyes became wet with even more tears and Kenshin wiped them away.

"I won't leave you Kaoru-dono." Kenshin said as the elevator doors opened. Kenshin saw Aoshi rush towards them and look directly at Kenshin.

"Have you heard about Misao?" he asked hopefully. Kenshin shook his head sadly.

"Alright then. Internal bleeding is it? Nothing to worry about Kaoru. You're in good hands." Aoshi said putting his mask on. He looked to Kenshin. "Well Himura? Are you coming or what?" He asked. Kenshin nodded and let go of Kaoru's hand.

"I'll be right back." He reassured her. Kaoru nodded as she was led into the Operating Room. The phone rang from the side of the room and Aoshi answered it.

"Yes?…I have another patient right now but I can take Misao after her…no, I want to be her surgeon, so don't call in Yuzume. Thank you." He hung up and let a sigh slip past his lips.

"How is Misao-dono?" Kenshin asked.

"Sagara worked on her. Her lungs collapsed, but they were able to help her. They want me to make sure they did everything right. He said if he hadn't done it himself…it's likely she wouldn't be alive right now." Aoshi finished. Kenshin nodded, as he got ready for surgery. He scrubbed, put on a mask and entered the operating room. Kaoru was almost under when Kenshin came to her side. She looked at him dreamily and reached for his hand. Kenshin took her and sat down on a stool.

"Don't…leave me…Kenshin Himura…" Kaoru said before closing her eyes. Kenshin kissed her forehead and moved the hair out of her face.

"I promise I won't Kaoru…" Kenshin said as Aoshi came in. "I promise."

~*~*~

Kaoru's eyes felt like weights as she tried to open them. She moaned at the throbbing pain in her head. She tried again to open her eyes, and got a little crack of light. She groaned at the brightness and began to hear voices. Finally, Kaoru was able to open her eyes and was greeted by a blurry vision. She focused in on a figure. She saw long red hair. Kaoru smiled.

"Kenshin." She said in a quiet voice. Kaoru could make out a smile and heard him talk.

"Sano, Kaoru-dono has woken up." He said in his cheerful voice.

"Well whadda ya know! Looks like sleeping beauty finally woke up!" He teased. Kaoru tried to ball up a fist but could barely bend her fingers.

"Why can't I move?" She asked, her voice coming back to her.

"Painkillers. You had a lot of them, so they left you pretty weak." Sanosuke grinned. Kaoru's vision finally came back to her and she could clearly make out the room she was in. The sun shone in from a window somewhere meaning it was clearly morning.

"How long have I been out?" She asked suddenly.

"About three days. Don't you remember waking up after the surgery though?" Kenshin asked her. Kaoru shook her head and tried to sit up.

"OUCH!" She grasped her arm.

"Careful Jou-chan you shouldn't try and use all your energy." Sanosuke warned pushing her gently back down. Kaoru massaged her arm that she just noticed was in a sling. She groaned and pouted.

"Mou. This isn't fair." She grumbled. Kenshin laughed and sat down on an armchair. "But wait. You said I woke up after my surgery? And why was I out for so long?" Kaoru asked bewildered.

"Yeah, you woke up for about five minutes after surgery. You didn't do much except look around the room. Then you called for Kenshin once and well, you sort of went into this comma like state." Sanosuke said looking over to Kenshin. He grinned at his friend who had fallen asleep in the chair in a matter of seconds.

"Comma? How?" Kaoru asked again.

"It had to do with something during your surgery. Aoshi said that sometimes when there is internal bleeding, you develop blood clots. And that's what you got, but we were able to fix ya up." Sanosuke said yawning. Kaoru smiled at him and removed the oxygen mask she had on.

"Bleach. I feel like crap." She complained rubbing her head. Sanosuke grinned.

"You really had him worried you know." He said. Kaoru looked to him puzzled.

"Who?" She asked.

"Kenshin of course. I doubt he slept a wink. Was next to you every minute you were sleeping." Sanosuke stretched. Kaoru blushed and her eyes widened in horror.

"Wait, what about Misao? And Megumi too! Oh Sanosuke are they alright?" Kaoru pleaded.

"Did I hear someone say my name?" Megumi walked in on crutches. Kaoru sighed and smiled at her.

"Hey, Fox! I thought I told you to stay in your bed!" Sanosuke said jumping up from his seat next to Kaoru.

"Calm down rooster. I'm not a baby. I just broke my leg that's all!" She fought standing her ground.

"And you got a concussion too!" He yelled back.

"A milled one. Nothing huge." She sniffed at him.

"Would you guys shut up? You're giving me a headache!" Misao's voice screamed. She flung open the curtain hanging down next to Kaoru's bed. Her face was disgruntled until she saw Kaoru. Her face lit up and she pulled out her IV tubes.

"Hey! Took you long enough to wake up! Needed some beauty sleep huh?" Misao winked.

"Weasel! Put your IV tube back in and lay down! What is it with you guys today?!" Sanosuke yelled. He finally persuaded Megumi back into her own room and got Misao settled.

Later That Night

Kaoru yawned and watched Misao be wheeled out the door.

"See ya in recovery Kaoru!" She said cheerfully as Aoshi reminded her to lie back down. Kaoru waved and sighed. She looked over to the armchair. Kenshin was still sleeping. She reached behind herself with her good arm and pulled out her pillow. Kaoru threw it at Kenshin who immediately woke up.

"Oro?" He said half asleep. Kaoru giggled and snapped her fingers.

"Over here Kenshin." She called. Kenshin looked to her and smiled. He picked up the pillow and walked over to her.

"You should be resting." He whispered. It was 9:00 at night and the halls in the hospital were quiet. Patients in a lot of the rooms were already starting to fall asleep.

"I've rested for three days." Kaoru teased. Kenshin chuckled and propped her pillow behind her head.

"Kenshin? Thank you for staying with me. I was just so scared when I saw that I was in the E.R. on a gurney and freaked out." She said softly. Kenshin pulled up a stool next to her bed and shook his head.

"I would have stayed with you even if you hadn't asked." Kenshin whispered. Kaoru blushed and smiled at him.

"You should go home Kenshin. Sanosuke told me you haven't slept at all since my surgery." Kaoru frowned at him. Kenshin shook his head.

"I want to make sure you're treated correctly." He said taking her hand. Kaoru smiled at him and squeezed his hand back in return. "Kaoru, I know this probably isn't the best time to ask, but can you remember what happened? At the accident I mean." Kenshin asked her. Kaoru's smile faded and she looked down.

" All I can remember is that Misao, Megumi and I were on our way back to the hospital. It was still pretty slick out from the rain we had earlier. We were on the highway. I almost made it to the exit…" Kaoru trailed off. She breathed in slowly and continued on.

"Then, there were two bright headlights right in front of us. We all screamed…and…that's all I remember." Kaoru said softly. A tear fell from her cheek onto the bed and Kenshin sighed.

"I'm sorry Kaoru-dono. The police told me to ask you what you remembered. I really didn't want too…" He pleaded. Kaoru only smiled at him and shook her head.

"Don't worry. I understand. It's just…before everything went black…I saw the man in that car that hit us…Kenshin he was terrible. A huge grin across his face! Like he was going to enjoy hitting us!" She choked. Kaoru broke down and began sobbing. Kenshin pulled her into his arms and rocked her gently. He whispered words of comfort to her, hoping she might feel better.

"I-I didn't mean to make you cry Kaoru-dono…I'm sorry." He whispered to her. But Kaoru didn't hear him. She had fallen asleep in his arms and was resting peacefully against his chest. Kenshin smiled and kissed her gently on the cheek. He prayed she wouldn't wake up as he laid her back down onto her bed and covered her in blankets. Kenshin took his seat in the armchair and watched her sleep silently until his own eyes began to droop, and sleep washed over him.

Please review my story. The last I saw, I got twenty hits, but no reviews. I really want to get at least five until I go onto the next chapter. Thank you!