Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ will to live ❯ chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or any of the Rurouni Kenshin characters and I never will.

Authors Notes: This is the third chapter of my first story. This chapter is written in Yahiko's P.O.V. R&R if you want to, because I appreciate the comments. "speech" `thoughts'

Sorry for waiting so long to update.

Last Chapter:

"So…you're the kid that thought he wanted to be a hero huh?" The leader snapped his fingers and Yahiko was pulled roughly to his feet by the other two. Yahiko looked at the leader, saw that his katana was sheathed and at his side, saw that in each hand he held a bodiless head. He saw the head of the mousy man, his eyes which seconds ago were livid with fear were now strangely glazed over. Then he saw the second head, a head he didn't notice before. The leader held the head of a young woman by her long raven hair

Chapter Three

Yahiko stared at the head, at the face he painfully recognized, and began to shake with anger. `You bastard, how could you do that to her!?' Yahiko's anger didn't go unnoticed by the leader. The leader smirked evilly, he was gonna have some fun with this kid.

"So little boy," the leader moved closer to Yahiko and brought the head horribly close to Yahiko's face, "do you like my new trophy?" He began to examine the head with a look of pride on his face. "Quite a beauty" he looked back at Yahiko, then he threw the mousy mans head across the room at the wall. What was left of the head slammed against the wall, blood splattered and streaked the wall. The head hit the ground, brain matter spewing out of a large crack in the skull. One of men began to chuckle as if the defilement of a dead mans head was absolutely hilarious while the man with the stony face remained impassive. Yahiko looked at each of the men, immediately sizing them up and giving them nicknames to identify them by. He looked at the laughing man `there's "Chuckles" who seems to think everything is funny. He doesn't seem to be much of a threat.' He glanced at the second man, `there's "Stony" who doesn't seem to have emotions. He might be a problem but this guy,' he glanced at the leader, `he's a big problem. "Leader" is the one I have to worry about.' He suddenly stopped thinking about his captures when his blood began to boil. Leader struck him in the face, the taste of metallic blood began to fill his mouth as the leader placed the woman's head in front of his face again.

"Kid, I asked you a question." Leader's voice was dark and low, dangerously low. "I don't like to repeat myself so I'll ask you one more time," he nodded at the Chuckles and Stony who released their vice like grip on his arms, "I asked you what do you think of my trophy?" Leader tossed the head at Yahiko who, instinctively, caught it. He stared at the head, too horrified and appalled to drop it. The head belonged to a young woman staying at the inn whom Yahiko and Kaoru had befriended when they protected her from a couple of thugs. She was a kind hearted woman, soft spoken and polite and not much older that Kaoru. She had long raven hair, dark eyes, a plump round face and an expanding stomach as she was several months pregnant with her first child. Yahiko was shaking with murderous rage, `these fucking bastards are gonna fucking die!! I'm gonna kill them for what they did to her, she was so loving and innocent and they fucking slaughtered her!! I'll kill them, they're gonna fucking die,' he thought with grim determination as he continued to examine the head. He held the woman's head, Sakura's head, in trembling hands. Sakura's face was covered in dried blood and large dark bruises. The lips were cracked and torn. The nose, swollen and completely broken, looked like a novelty hanging off her once beautiful face, but her eyes were the worst of all. The left eyes was completely mutilated, a chopstick had been shoved inside of her eye and broken off as Yahiko could still see part of the utensil lodged into her pupil. The eyelid around her left eye seemed to be completely torn, showing Yahiko just how large a human eye really is. The right eye wasn't torn apart like the left; instead it showed Yahiko the emotions she felt before she exhaled her last breath. In the eye he could see the sadness, repulsion, anger, hatred, but most of all the pure absolute horror of what was happening. Those emotions seemed to be frozen in time inside of her glazed, lifeless eye. Tears flowed freely down his face, dropping onto Sakura's lips and cheek. Chuckles noticed Yahiko's reaction first and promptly began to giggle wildly. Stony's face remained detached but his eyes shone with satisfaction and happiness at Yahiko's suffering.

"So the little baby is scared of my trophy." Leader snatched the head out of Yahiko's grasp, and spoke again in a mocking tone, "is the little baby scared?" He patted Yahiko's head like a dog, "I didn't want to scare the little baby but it seems he's too little to handle such a beautiful prize like this without crying like a little girl." The leader turned his attention to the other men, completely ignoring Yahiko's presence. "She was an awful good prize if I do say so myself." Yahiko noticed the emphasis he placed on his words and glanced up to see Leader make pelvic thrusts and he lost it.

"So it wasn't enough to torture and murder a pregnant woman, you had to rape her also!!" Yahiko's sudden outburst had clearly surprised the men. "You fucking assholes! I'll fucking kill you! You sick sacks of shit gang rape a pregnant woman?! I guess that's the only way you get pussy you pathetic assholes. I swear I'll kill you so you three can rot in fucking hell! I swear-" Yahiko finished when a fist sunk deep into his stomach sending him to the floor gasping for air. Leader stood menacingly over him, his teeth were bared, and his eyes glowed with a thirst for blood that couldn't be satisfied. He placed a heavy foot over Yahiko's groin, his eyes daring Yahiko to speak again. "Kids shouldn't interrupt adults during important conversations," his foot pressed down slightly, "and it's very rude for kids to call us bad names, it's just not nice." His voice dripped with venom as his foot pressed down more. Yahiko body went rigid as waves of pain went through his body. Leader turned his attention back to the others while his foot continued to press down. "So where were we before I was so rudely interrupted? Oh yeah, we were talking about my little trophy weren't we?"

"Sure was," Chuckles answered stupidly, "we were talking about how good she was."

"Oh yeah, she was pretty delicious but I just wish that she put up a little more of a fight. I don't like it when my prey doesn't fight more, you know? I like a challenge." He licked his lips as he thought of how good it felt to be forcibly inside of her, to have that much power over another person.

"I liked her just the way she was." Chuckles began to make pelvic movements of his own, "I thought she was just perfect the way she was."

Stony spoke this time, "I'm surprised you enjoyed it that much considering you chose to take your turn after she stopped breathing. Got a thing for necrophilia?" His voice was laced with dry humor that made Yahiko want to puke up his guts at the fact that these people enjoyed what they did so much.

"So what if I like them quite and still? Unlike you two I don't like it when they struggle. I like it when they just lay there and let me do my thing, no complaining." He spoke defensively.

"I don't think she was gonna complain, after all, you fucked her after her heart stopped beating."

Chuckles was getting seriously angry while Stony made more cracks about his fetish. Leader had completely removed himself from the argument and spoke to Yahiko directly. "So kid, are you ready to apologize for being so rude to me earlier?"

"Suck my dick!" Yahiko spat, defiance and hatred danced across his features. The leader shook his head slowly then suddenly threw much or his weight on the foot that was already pressed on Yahiko's groin. "You're not gonna have a dick if you keep talking shit to me you little bitch." Chuckles and Stony didn't seem to notice what was happening and instead continued with their argument. Yahiko was paralyzed with pain that only became worse when Leader removed his foot and used all of his strength to dig his knee into Yahiko's abdomen, successfully cutting off Yahiko's oxygen. The leader continue to dig into Yahiko's body, threatening to rupture his organs with his hulking form. "I should kill you for being such a little asshole, but I'm not sure if my friend here," he motioned his head to Chuckles, "would like to have a little fun with live prey. In addition to necrophilia, he also really enjoys sodomy; don't ask me why, it's not really my favorite thing in the world." Yahiko's mind was racing, `I'm gonna fucking get murdered but before I go out some guy is gonna ass rape me?! Maybe I can still get out of this. I just have to figure out a way to get to the window. If I can reach the window I jump into the river below. I can make it pretty easy since it's been raining so hard the rivers bound to have overflowed a little. I can probably make it. I want to thank the guy who decided to build the inn so close to the river, not only is it a great tourist attraction but it just might save my life. But first I gotta find a way out of this before I suffocate to death.'

Then suddenly by some divine miracle the distraction he needed came up. Chuckles, who grew tired of Stony's insults, had attacked him, prompting intervention from Leader. Leader picked himself off Yahiko and rushed over to stop his men from murdering each other. Yahiko saw his opportunity. He picked himself off the ground, snatched his bokken which he had dropped earlier and rushed to the window ready to jump to his freedom when a familiar voice stopped him in his tracks. Kaoru's scream had vibrated through the hall and Yahiko had abandoned all thoughts of escape as he dashed through the hall, with the men at his heels, to the largest room at the end of the hall where he knew he heard the scream come from. He threw the door open to see Kaoru in the middle of the room clutching two wounds, one was a slice across her side that Yahiko had assumed was made early because of the dried blood on her gi where the wound was. The second wound was another large slice, this time it was across her right arm and was oozing fresh blood. Yahiko saw that her wooden sword was in pieces at her feet.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here." Yahiko looked to see where the voice had come from to see the man Kaoru was fighting. He was smaller than Leader, but the aura he sent off told Yahiko immediately that he was the true threat, that he was the actual leader of the men attacking the inn. He was only a little larger that Kenshin, with a long face, jet black hair and ice cold gray eyes.

Kaoru had finally become aware of Yahiko's presence. "Yahiko! What are you doing here?! I told you to leave the inn!" She had trouble getting her words out before her knees buckled underneath her and she collapsed to the ground. "Kaoru!" Yahiko rushed to her side, heavily supporting her as she struggled to strand back up, "I couldn't leave Kaoru, not without you."

She smiled sadly, "that's sweet but very stupid. I told you to get out," she pushed Yahiko away from her so she could stand on her own, "please Yahiko get out right now while you still have a chance." Her voice wasn't demanding, instead it pleaded with Yahiko.

The true leader cleared his throat, catching Yahiko's and Kaoru's attention. "Well this is beautiful and all but I believe we have a fight to get to." He snapped his fingers and the three men who had been chasing Yahiko grabbed and dragged him to the corner of the room to watch Kaoru be slaughtered by the true leader. "Now that the children are taken care of," the true leader spoke to Kaoru, "can we finish what we started." It was a demand not a question. Kaoru nodded and positioned her hands to fend off the oncoming attacks.

"What a minute!" Yahiko intervened, "Kaoru doesn't even have a weapon! Let me fight you instead!"

The leader looked down at what used to be Kaoru's wooden sword, and then held out his hand to Stony who handed his katana. "Where are my manners?" He threw Kaoru the sword, who caught it with a quizzical look on her face. "It would be no fun to kill you if you didn't fight back." He said simply before he got into an offensive stance. Kaoru stared at the katana for a moment before tying it to her waist and taking up a defensive stance of her own. To Yahiko time seemed to stand still. He could do nothing but watch while his sensei would be murdered in this one sided fight.

"Yahiko, when you get out of here, tell everyone that I'm very sorry for having to leave them, that I love them all. Tell them that they have to go on and take care or each other because I won't be there." Tears rolled down Yahiko's cheeks as he soaked in Kaoru's word, "I want you to make sure Kenshin understands especially. Tell Kenshin that he can't blame himself for all the bad things that happen okay? And please tell Kenshin that I love him and that I always will. Can you do that for me, Yahiko? Will you tell them for me?"

"No I won't. I won't tell them, you will, because we'll get out of here together." Yahiko had barely managed to choke his words out but before Kaoru could answer laughter echoed in his ears.

Chuckles was becoming hysterical with fits of laughter. "You'll both get out of here? Yeah right! Unless a half dead woman and a kid," he smacked Yahiko in the back of the head, "can overpower us, you're screwed. Don't wish for any miracles kid!"

"That's enough!" The true leader's voice bellowed through the room. He faced Kaoru for another second or so before he charged. Yahiko saw what he was planning on doing. His sword was still sheathed but his hand gripped the hilt as did Kaoru. This fight was going to be determined by a contest of who could unsheathe their sword the fastest and Yahiko knew that Kaoru didn't stand a chance. The leader was seconds away from unsheathing his sword and decapitating Kaoru. On the other hand, Kaoru was perfectly still as if rooted to the floor. Yahiko had squeezed his eyes shut fore he already knew what was going to happen and he couldn't bear to watch. `I can't do anything except watch her die! It's because I'm not strong enough, it's because I'm just a kid. If I were older, I'd be stronger and I could save her, I could protect her, but I just can't do that now because I'm just a kid. Only a child, I'm only Yahiko-Chan.' He opened his eyes slightly, unable to keep them shut anymore. He was determined to watch Kaoru fight to the end, to die with honor, but Kaoru had other plans.

When the true leader unsheathed his sword and swung blindly at Kaoru's head with all the strength and speed he could conjure, Kaoru saw her opportunity and took it. She dove under the blade, past the leader, rolled to a squatting position and horse kicked the leader in the back of the knee as she picked herself up causing him to fall in a heap to the ground. Then, with speed no one dreamed she possessed, she charged towards a stunned Yahiko and three equally surprised men. Due to their surprise, the men's grip on Yahiko loosened considerably. He saw an opening and with a few well placed kicks in the men's groins, he was free.

Kaoru reached the men, unsheathed her sword and attacked. Yahiko couldn't believe what he was seeing. Kaoru, who have vowed to protect with her sword, was killing three men right in front of his eyes. She had broken her vows, betrayed the Kamiya Kasshin, the sword that protects was now being used to kill. She decapitated Leader, stabbed Chuckles in the stomach then the heart. Then she turned her sight to the unarmed Stony. She raised the sword high above her head, preparing to slice the mans face in half with her blade, but seeing him there in a pool of his comrades blood, unarmed, begging for his life caused her to waver and lower the sword. She walked away from the broken man over to Yahiko.

"Are you all right?" She asked gently, not wanting to upset Yahiko anymore, especially not after all he's been through.

Yahoo stared at Kaoru with disbelief in his eyes. She had just slaughtered two men and was now covered in blood, some which was hers own. With a flick of her wrist she shook most of the blood off the blade before placing her sword in its sheath and asking Yahiko how he felt again. He didn't answer her, he only stared at the two dead men, a sickening feeling filled his stomach. `I wanted to kill those men for all that they did but actually seeing them be killed made thinking about it fucking ridiculous. Did I really want to kill them? If I did then why do I hate the fact that they're dead? Is it because Kaoru killed them? Why did she kill them anyway?' Yahiko continued to contemplate their deaths until Kaoru gently shook him back into reality.

"Yahiko, are you okay?" Yahiko looked up at her to see her face full of worry and concern.

"Why did you kill them?" They were the only words he could speak. "Why? You killed them when you always told me to protect with a sword, not kill. Why?" He needed to know why, to know what had drove Kaoru to such extremes.

"Because," she knelt down to look him in the eyes, "because in the most drastic situations, sometimes the only way to protect the innocent, to protect life, is to take life away. Do you understand?" She had prayed that he would understand why she killed them.

"No I don't understand! How can you say that in order to protect you have to kill? You're not making any sense! If you're going to protect life then you don't take it away!" Yahiko just couldn't grasp what she was trying to explain to him.

"The most drastic way to protect someone is to eliminate the person or thing that threatens their life. Do you get it? If I didn't kill them then after I died they would have murdered you and I have to protect you. Sometimes in order to preserve life you have to take it away. Get it?" She stood back up and looked away with tears brimming in her eyes. "I killed them to save you because I couldn't see another way. I thought that was the only way to protect you but that doesn't mean I enjoyed killing them. Taking away another life is probably the worst thing any person can do." Tears began to roll freely down her face causing Yahiko to want nothing more than to wipe away those tears, to stop her crying, but no matter what he did to help her it would never alleviate the guilt she felt for killing those men even if they were incredibly evil. She continued to speak "now I think I can understand the pain Kenshin feels. The guilt for taking away another life just hurts so much." Yahiko leaned in to hug her but in the corner of his eye he could see that Stony had taken the sword off of Chuckles dead body and the true leader had long ago recovered and was preparing himself for another attack but Stony had beat him to it and charged at the emotionally distraught Kaoru.

"KAORU, LOOK OUT!" He turned Kaoru around who saw Stony charging with his sword drawn. In the seconds before he killed a startled Kaoru, a sword went though his back and out of his stomach. Stony dropped his sword to grab the blade that was grossly sticking out of his belly. Blood sputtered out of his mouth as he struggled to breathe. He dropped to his knees and the sword was yanked roughly out of the man before it was plunged repeatedly into his back. The leader stepped over the man he had just killed and began advancing on a slowly retreating Kaoru who had pushed Yahiko behind her to protect him with her body.

"I wasn't gonna let him kill you," he spoke viciously, "I was gonna save that pleasure for myself. No bitch survives humiliating me like that and fucking survives to talk about. If my superiors found out that some stupid bitch dodged my attack, tripped me and them proceeded to kill my men I wouldn't live to hear the end of it." He continued to advance, backing Kaoru and Yahiko into the corner of the room. Yahiko looked around desperately, looking for a way out when thunder began to sound and Yahiko was suddenly reminded of his earlier plan to leap into the river. He looked around to see that they were only a few feet from the window.

"Kaoru," he whispered quietly, "if we get to the window we can jump into the river. We'll be safe." Kaoru nodded slightly then repositioned herself so that she was backing Yahiko towards the window more instead of the corner. The leader continued to speak about the tortures he was planning on performing on Kaoru but she paid no attention to him and instead prepared herself to throw Yahiko out of the window.

"NOW, YAHIKO, GO!" At her command Yahiko sprinted the short distance towards the window, however the leaded sword was drawn and he was prepared to stop Yahiko's daring escape.

"I don't think so you little fucking prick!" He yelled as he brought back his sword then thrust it forward at Yahiko's head.

"Watch out Yahiko!" Kaoru leapt, shoving Yahiko out of danger. The leader's sword sunk deep into her left shoulder and into the wall behind her, successfully pinning her to the wall. She grabbed the blade, attempting to pull it out of her shoulder but instead only managed to slice up her hands. She screamed in agony at her two new fresh wounds. The leader only laughed before the back of his hands swept across her face, his fingernails broke her skin and small beads of blood made a trail down her face. Yahiko turned around, rage shook his body. He had to save Kaoru, he wouldn't leave without her.

"Leave her alone asshole!" Yahiko yelled and charged but Kaoru's desperate plea made him stop in his tracks.

"Don't Yahiko!" She sobbed, "Just leave! Go and live on! Please don't die trying to save me, just go now! PLEASE, I'M BEGGING YOU! JUST GO!" She pleaded with him to leave but he refused. `PROTECT HER!' His mind screamed, `SAVE HER!' He charged towards the man, pulled his fist back and struck the man in the face with all the strength he could muster and prayed that he would go down even if it was just for a moment.

"Is that the best you can do?" The leader spoke mockingly as he wiped the blood away from his mouth. His right arm shot out shoving Yahiko to the wall next to Kaoru. His strong hand wrapped around Yahiko's throat, lifting him up off the ground as he squeezed mercilessly. He balled his fist and prepared to beat Yahiko's face in. "Now let me show you what I can do." Yahiko shut his eyes preparing for the worst, while he listened to the man's throaty chuckles and Kaoru's whimpers of pain and desperation.

Suddenly the door had been thrown open, Yahiko looked to see who the visitor was, hoping it would be Sano or Kenshin but instead it was another man clad in black, breathing incredibly hard as if he ran a marathon.

"Sir!" He breathed as he ran towards his leader. "Sir, the dynamite's been lit. We have less than a minute and 30 seconds before the inn is destroyed. Lets get out of here while we still have a chance!"

The leader had dropped Yahiko to the ground to cough and gasp for breath before turning his murderous hatred to the unfortunate man who had just entered the room. "You fucking idiot! I never gave you fucking orders to ignite the dynamite! I told you to wait for my order! We don't have enough time to get out of the inn you damn idiot!"

"But sir, I was-`' his excuses were cut short when the leader yanked the sword out of Kaoru's shoulder and turned it on his man.

"Shut the hell up!" He ordered as he decapitated the scared man. The body collapsed to the floor while the head rolled in front of Yahiko before it was kicked away by the angry leader. Then he turned back to Kaoru and Yahiko. "All I need is a minute to take care of you two." Yahiko looked to his side to see that Kaoru had fallen to the floor after the blade had been removed from her shoulder and was now clutching on to her wound. `I won't let this happen,' determination filled Yahiko's thoughts, `we'll get out of here. I won't let us die. I WON'T!!!' Yahiko tackled the man, shoving his shoulder into the leader's thigh while his arms grabbed his legs and pulled him up. The leader fell to the ground on his back; his katana fell out of his hand and was now several feet away from him. Both the leader and Yahiko stumbled to their feet, but while the leader went to retrieve his sword, Yahiko had pulled Kaoru to her feet and was now half dragging her to the window.

"C'mon Kaoru, we're almost there." He threw open the window, cold rainwater splashed his hot, bloodied face. "All right, let's go!" He reached over to help Kaoru jump out of the window but was stopped when she began shoving him out instead.

"You first Yahiko, you go first." She pushed him a little more.

"All right, here I go." He jumped on the window sill then looked out to the river below, deciding that he would barely have to jump to reach the water. He turned to face Kaoru again to determine if she was fit to jump on her own when he saw a sight that turned his blood to ice water. The leader was on his feet, his sword over his head, charging Kaoru while she had her back turned.

"KAORU, BEHIND YOU!!!" Kaoru seemed to sense the attack because she was already unsheathing her sword.

She looked Yahiko in the eyes; fear filled his while sadness filled hers. "Goodbye." She said sadly then used most of her remaining strength to shove Yahiko out the window and into the river before she turned around swinging her completely unsheathed sword.

"KAORU!!!" Yahiko screamed as he slammed into the freezing water below. The cold dark overtook him as he blacked out for a moment. He opened his eyes when the oxygen he held in his lungs escaped through his mouth. All he could see was darkness, all he could feel was the cold water. He couldn't breathe; he couldn't find his way to the surface. He was going to suffocate as the river's strong current pulled him along. Before he could slip completely into darkness strong hands grabbed him and dragged him out of the freezing water.

"Yahiko, wake up!" A familiar voice yelled. He opened his eyes to see the world spinning. He could see many people who had evacuated the inn watching in fear as the police fought some of the men in black had escaped the inn before it blew. He looked up to see who the voice and hands belonged to when he saw a man dressed in white with a red band around his head. The man closely resembled a rooster. Then he turned his attention to the man with flaming red hair and a scar on his left check.

"Yahiko, can you hear us? Answer us!" The rooster demanded.

"Sano? Kenshin? Is that you?" Yahiko was almost completely detached from the real world.

"Yeah it's us! What the hell the matter with you? What the hell's been happening?" Sano was hitting him with a barrage of questions but Yahiko still wasn't sensible enough to answer any of them until Kenshin asked him a simple, urgent question that threw Yahiko back into reality.

"Yahiko, where is Kaoru-dono?" He spoke urgently, worry dripped off every syllable.

Yahiko was suddenly hit with memories of the events that had just occurred, but one memory stuck out most of all. The last thing that he saw before he entered the river burned in his mind. He remember seeing Kaoru turn around to face her attacker with an unsheathed sword aimed at his abdomen, while the leader was bringing his own sword down on Kaoru.

"The inn! She's still inside!" With his god-like speed Kenshin was dashing towards the inn determined to rescue his Kaoru, but before he could reach the entrance the dynamite in the inn was finally reached by the burning wick and the inn went up in flames subsequent to the explosion. Yahiko could hear Kenshin scream out Kaoru's name in hopes that she would appear but to no avail. Yahiko could hear Sano silently weep and he soon followed suite. He opened his teary eyes to stare at the inn engulfed in flames. The image of that fiery inn, the thought of Kaoru's body covered in flames would forever haunt Yahiko until the day he died. He drew in a deep breathe and bellowed out her name.

"KAORU!!!" Yahiko screamed as he shot up out of his dreams. `Why do I have to remember that horrible night when I sleep!? Will I ever get some peace, will my memories ever stop haunting me!?' Yahiko looked around his room in the dojo. `It's been three years since Kaoru died but it still feels like yesterday.' He closed his eyes and remembered the days after the inn exploded. The fire had eventually been put out thanks to the river and rain and several bodies had been removed from the rubble but they were all burnt beyond recognition. After a while the people helping with the cleanup of the inn stopped looking for bodies to turn their focus to punishing the men who had attacked the inn. The men who had been caught refused to give any information about their group, leaders, or why they had attacked the inn so after being tortured for several days they were executed. The Kenshin-gumi still searched for Kaoru in the hopes that she had managed to strike down the leader first, and then proceeded to jump out the window into the river. Their hopes were slim and depended on a scenario that probably didn't happen because most likely, Kaoru had been murdered by the leader in the inn and her body was burnt with the others but they still searched for days. Kenshin searched nonstop without food or sleep until they had finally given up on finding her alive and instead shifted their focus on recovering her body but unfortunately Kaoru's body was never found. For nearly three months Kenshin was in a deep depression. He stayed in his room, barely eating or sleeping, keeping himself on the brink of death. The only thing that had managed to keep him alive and snap him out of his depression was the message Kaoru had asked Yahiko to give to everyone.

Yahiko rolled over onto his stomach, `Kaoru, why did you have to leave us? We need you so much. Why did you leave us?' Then all of the suppressed feelings that Yahiko had held inside of him for nearly three years came out. He sobbed into his arms. His cries were violent, wracking his body uncontrollably until the sudden release of so many powerful emotions began to slowly put him asleep. He was crying so hard that he didn't notice that his door, which had been open for several minutes, was slowly being closed by the man who had just witnessed Yahiko's breakdown.

Author's notes: That's the end of chapter 3. Reviews are appreciated, so if you want to review go ahead. Sorry for waiting so long to update. The next chapter will take place in Kenshin's P.O.V. The next chapter will shed some new light on Kaoru's "death" before the real adventure begins. Also, I just want to warn you right now that this story is still just beginning so it's going to be very long and if you're not the kind of person who is into long stories then you should just stop reading. Thanks for the reviews!