Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Standing Tall ❯ NIghtmare ( Chapter 5 )

A/N: Konnichiwa/Konbanwa/Ohayou, minna-san! You guys are really nice, you know that? Thanks to those of you who pointed out my spelling mistake with "happiness"...hehe. I guess I really should use that spell-checker, ne? Anyway, here's the newest chapter! I hope you enjoy! Arrigatou, Ja ne, and Review, onegai!

Disclaimer: *sakabatou still hovering* Still not mine.

As they days progressed, so did Kenshin's health. His wounds were healing quite nicely, and his strength was returning. Soon, three weeks had passed since the fight with Shishio, and the Aoiya was almost complete. But even so, the memories of that fateful battle were fresh in Kenshin's mind, and during the course of the night, he was plagued with nightmares.

Kenshin tossed and turned, kicking the sheets off of him. His face was contorted into a look of pain, and his hand kept going to his side, where Shishio had stabbed him through Yumi's body. "Kaoru-dono.." He moaned, his other hand reaching towards the ceiling.

Kenshin was standing in a field, the grass beneath him brown and rotting. The smell of blood lingered in the air like after a battle, and Kenshin winced slightly at the smell. As he looked around, he saw bodies strewn about the area, all mangled to the point where recognizing the person was nearly impossible.

Kenshin looked down at himself, gasping at his attire. No longer was he wearing the pink gi and white hakamas, but he was wearing his Ishin clothes, and a katana and wakizashi hung at his side. Kenshin's hand went up to his head, and he felt the high ponytail.

Battousai. Kenshin started walking through the field, his gaze going from one side of the field to the other. There must have been hundreds of bodies covering the field, ranging from middle-aged samurai to young men who just entered the war. Some faces were left intact, and Kenshin could have sworn he recognized a few faces.

He came to the end of the field, only to find a river of crimson. Kenshin noticed across the river were five other bodies, and these he recognized without a doubt. The rurouni gasped and jumped into the river, pushing his wave through the blood water to the other side. When he reached the shore, Kenshin was frozen.

In front of him laid the bodies of his friends, covered in blood. "How did this happened!?" Kenshin screamed, falling to his knees and covering his face.

"It's your fault."

Kenshin glanced up towards the voice, and found his friends standing before him, blood dripping from their fatal wounds. Kenshin's eyes widened and he stumbled backwards onto his bottom.

"It's all your fault, Battousai." The voice said again; it belonged to Sanosuke.

"If it weren't for you, we'd still be alive!" Yahiko said, pointing his broken shinai at him.

Megumi and Misao stepped forward, glaring down at him. "Because of your bloody past, we had to die, Ken-san." The onna-sensei said, crossing her arms. "I should have left you alone when I found out you were Battousai, Himura!" Misao yelled, placing her hands on her hips.

The next person to step forward was Kaoru. Kenshin felt tears streaming down his face when he saw the large sword slash going from her shoulder to her hip. Unlike the others though, her face wasn't angry, but it was sad.

"Kenshin, why didn't you protect me?" She asked, looking down at him.

"I thought you promised to protect me, Kenshin?"

Kenshin sat up on his knees, reaching up with his hand to touch Kaoru. Kaoru reached out to touch him, but as they came within mere inches, she disappeared. Kenshin gasped and stood up, looking around. "Kaoru-dono?"

"You said you were going to protect me...." A voice echoed across the field.

"Kaoru-dono!"

"Why didn't you protect me, Kenshin?"

"Kaoru-dono! I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..." Kenshin cried, collapsing back to his knees.

"Because you didn't protect me, didn't protect us...we were killed. And now, we have to suffer."

Kenshin glanced up to see two large ebony gates open, and in front stood Kaoru, looking at him again with tear-filled eyes. Behind her a dark, menacing figure stepped out, and with a large clawed hand, grabbed Kaoru around the waist and pulled her into the gates. He saw the creature's face, and he immediately recognized it as Shishio's, and the demon laughed as the gates closed.

"Kaoru!" Kenshin screamed, scrambling to his feet and running after her.

He stopped at the gates and pounded on them, tears streaming from his face. He could still hear her, still blaming him for her death. "Why didn't you protect me? You promised..." "KAORU!"

"KAORU!" Kenshin screamed, bolting upright. Kenshin looked around, and sighed with relief when he found himself in his room at the Shirobeko. Just a dream.. He thought, covering his face with his hand.

Suddenly he felt a hand cover the one resting on his thigh, and he looked up to see Kaoru, her face etched in an expression of concern. "Kenshin?"

Kaoru frowned when she saw his lower lip start to tremble, and immediately pulled him into a hug. Kenshin couldn't hold back the tears as Kaoru began to comfort him, gently rubbing his back to try and calm him down. "Shh...I'm right here..."

Kenshin wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. Kaoru rested her head on top of his, her embrace tightening a bit. He's having nightmares again...

Kaoru rubbed his back again he began to calm down, a small smile coming to her face. Soon, Kenshin's breathing slowed and became deeper, and Kaoru knew he'd fallen asleep. She gently laid him down, then covered him back up with the blanket. She grabbed his hand again and squeezed it lovingly. "I'll always be right here, Kenshin..." She whispered.

A/N: I don't know where this came from, but I couldn't get it out of my head. I personally think it sucks, but I felt I should include it in this little portrayal of that blank month. So uhm...tell me how bad it sucks in a review, okay? Ja!