End of A Weary Day--Formating Revised 12/21

A/N: Someone, who shall remain nameless, did not like my fic and it prompted me to reread this chapter. I have made several adjustments and republished it. There were a few spelling mistakes I had previously missed, and a couple of syntax errors as well. I hope all of THOSE corrections have been made. I apologize to those who have already read this chapter for the poor quality of the chapter previously published. I hope the quality of this current one is better.
Despite the \'adjustments\' the general gist of the chapter is the same, but it has been significantly altered. Please refer to my BIO for further UPDATED information regrding this fic. Thank you for taking the time to read my work. Sincerely, Tsuki-san.


Chapter Five

Kaoru\'s Dream

The great rounded sphere of the midnight moon was just reaching its central apex when Kaoru rolled over in her sleep. A soft moaning cry of distress fluttered from her pale pink lips as a deep furrow marred the beauty of her usually smooth brow. Her eyes were darting frantically beneath the fragile coverings of her thin eyelids, and one of her pale hands rose to touch the dampness of a tear that slid freely from the corner of her eye.

Kaoru was dreaming, and it was not a good dream.

She stanstanding at the edge of a great green meadow of knee high spring grass, and she could see the occassional pink, blue, and yellow wildflowers blooming randomly within its thick confinement. The air was warm and fragrant on her face, and the sky above her was the clear and cloudless blue of midmorning. It was a beautiful day, but Kaoru was not enjoying it. She had not even noticed it, rather, she was staring across the meadow at something standing on the rise of a not so distant hill. Her arm was raised high into the air, and she was frantically waving trying to get its\' attention.

It appeared to be a person.

It was a man. A man wearing white hakama and a pale magenta gi.

It was Kenshin who was standing on the otherside of the vast meadow, and he appeared to be looking far off into the distance. His traveling pack was hanging from one shoulder.

He was leaving.

He was leaving Tokyo.

He was leaving Her.

Anxiety rosgh agh and suffocating inside of Kaoru\'s chest and threatened to choke of her air supply, and she gasped raggedly her hand reaching for her aching chest as her heart began to pound painfully.

\'Why is he leaving me?\' Her mind was in a whirl of confusion. \'He promised never to leave again... Why is he leaving?\'

\"Kenshin!?\" She tried to call out to him, but her voice was no more than a squeak as it exited the tightness of her throat. \"Kenshin?\" She tried again, but it was no use, he could not hear her from that far away, and she simply could not yell loud enough to get his attention. In desperation, Kaoru reached down and gathered the skirt of her kimono in both hands and tried to run, but it was difficult in her uwazouri. It seemed, for some reason or another, that they did not fit her feet, and as she tried to run, they kept sliping and sliding beneath her. Kaoru continued to struggle valiantly, but when she looked up, her world seemed to come to a splintering halt.

Kenshin was gone. He no longer stood on the rise of the meadow hill. With an extreme effort, Kaoru at last made her way to the top of that gently rising noll and looked at what lay on the otherside. To her horrified dismay she found nothing. The empty infinity of oblivian stretched out before her in a never ending sea of swirling shifting mist and vapors, and Kenshin was nowhere to be seen. He had simply vanished into the nothingness that yawned before her. He was gone.

\"Kenshin?\" She called in a frightened voice as her dark blue eyes tried to see something through the empty gray nothing before her, but there was no answer. \"Kenshin??\" She called louder as panic began to tug at her heart, but there was still no answer. In fact, Kaoru could hear no sounds what so ever eminating from the world beyond the meadow. \"KENSHIN??!\" Her voice broke on a sob of terror, and it at last rose to a volume that should have carried a reasonable distance, but still Kaoru heard no response. Terror and panic were growing to enormous perportions as the reality started to settle that he was not anywhere she was going to be able to find him, and it was likely she would never find him... EVER.

\"Ooooh noooo...\" She crumpled to her knees as pain and grief seized her heart and the loss of his presance within her became a physical thing. \"Keennnsshhhinnn....\" She called into the void of gray mist as the tears began to pour freely down her pale face. \"Kenshin, where are you? Keennshhhinnn?\"

But he did not come back, and Kaoru curled into herself and began to cry.


\"Ken-ssshhin...\" It was the most mounful sound, a terrible sound, the sound of a soul slowly dying of some inconsolable loss, and as Kenshin woke up to the sound of it, his soul responded in kind by reaching out in deepest concern and heart-sick worry.

\"Kaoru... Koishii, wake-up.\" He rose up and leaned over her huddled form as she lay on her side curled up into a tight ball of pain. Gently he reached over her and grasping herthe the shoulder, rolled her onto her back. \"Saiai,\" He gasped when he saw the look of utter sadness and the wetness of tears staining the pale cheeks of her sleeping face. \"Wake-up, Kaoru, wake-up Koishii... You are having a very bad dream.\" Gently Kenshin shook his lover in an attempt to wake her, but found it difficult to pull her from the clutches of whatever held her captive within the world of her mind. A frown of worry covered his face and he decided a more direct approach was needed if he was going to get her to come back to reality, so he sliped an arm beneath her shoulders and lifted her against his chest as he sat up. Proping her against his raised knee, Kenshin used his free hand to gently shake Kaoru and pat her face. \"Wake-up Kaoru.\" The voice he used was much firmer and louder as he looked intently into the anxious features of her face. \"You need to wake-up, Kaoru, you are having a bad dream, and you need to wake-up, Koishi Sti Still she offered no response to him, and Kenshin sighed in frustration. \"Kaoru!\" He half shouted at her. \"WAKE-UP! NOW!\" And then he gave her a fairly violent shake that jarred her whole body.

Kaoru\'s dark blue eyes flew open in startled shock and fear and her body jerked spasmatically in response to the abrupt treatment, but Kenshin had his arms around her and kept her from jumping to far. \"It is all right, Koishii. You are safe. It was just a dream, Kaoru... It was just a dream, My Love.\"

\"Just a-a d-dream??\" Her voice was no more than an ragged whisper of confusion and disbelief as she turned pain filled eyes and a stunned face to gaze into his gentle violet eyes. \"Just a d-dream?\"

\"Hai, my Angel. Just a dream. You are safe here with me, and I will not let anything happen to you.\" Tenderly Kenshin press sof soft comforting kiss to her temple, and then another to her forehead. Kaoru shuddered violently at the contact of his lips against her skin, and Kenshin\'s arms tightened in response bringing her closer to him and tucking her head into the curve of his neck. \"You were having a terrible dream, Koishii. One that made you so sad you cried my name. What were you dreaming, Saiai that was so sad it made you cry? What was so terrible you would cry my name in middle of the night and soak our bed with your tears?\"

\"You... you left me.\" She whispered into the warmth of his neck, and instinctively pressed herself closer against him. \"I tried to follow you, but you disappeared into a place that did not exist, and I could not find you, and you did not come back. You were just gone... Oh Kenshin... You left me... you left me forever, I think, and it hurt so much. It hurt so much I wanted to die. I called your name over and over, but you never came back.\"

Kenshis sat still for a long time as he held the trembling woman in his arms stroking her tosseled black hair in an effort to comfort her. The events of her dream puzzled him more than they upset him, because he had already promised her that he would never leave her again, and since that was an unquestionable truth, this dream left him feeling very confused. Why would Kaoru dream such a thing? Why would she suddenly be so afraid he would leave her and return to his wanderings, and what had brought it about.

Kenshin was very confused as he pondered the situation until he remembered the events of the day just past. Kaoru had spent the majority of the day with Megumi-dono listening to her lament over the straying Sanosuke and his \'other\' woman, had she not? His smooth brow furrowed in thought as he considered what sort of effects a conversation like that might have on his Kaoru, and eventually decided that they could not be good ones. Did he, himself, not rush home filled with anxiety and the need to make certain that she knew how important she was to him and how much he loved her after spending the same day with Sano?

Kenshin let a sigh of understanding lift his chest and he gently moved to better rest his cheek on the top of Kaoru\'s head. He needed to find a way to reassure her that the dream was in fact only that. A dream, and that he had absolutely no intention whatsoever of leaving her. Not now, not ever. His rurouni days were long over if he had anything to say about it, and he hoped he did.

\"Kaoru,\" There was a gentle tentative quality to his voice as he finally bega spe speak. \"I want you to listen to me very carefully, koishii. Can you do that for me?\"

\"I... I think so.\" A loud sniffle accompanied her answer and Kenshin smiled broadly in response. Sometimes she was just so amusing without even knowing it, and he really had to bite his tongue not to laugh because he knew if he did, she would no doubt clobber him with her bokkon.

\"Do you remember when I told you about asking Kami-sama to make me a fish?\" A muffled uncontrollable giggle sounded against his chest, and she nodded her head in response. \"Good.\" He bit back another chuckle. \"Well, I have long since decided that I do not want to be a fish any longer. I have chosen something else instead.\"

\"You have?\" Her voice was still a bit quavery from her crying, but the unmistakable thread of laughter could now be heard as well. \"What \'ever so humble beast\' have you chosen this time, Saiai?\"

\"Actually, I am torn between two of them. Perhaps you might be so kind as to help me choose which one would best suit OUR needs.\"

\"Suit OUR needs?\" She leaned away from the safety of his chest and looked into his mischief filled violet eyes. \"Where does \'OUR\' come into this equasion, Saiai? The metamorphasis is for your soul, not mine.\" A smile was pulling at the fullness of her lips, and Kenshin had to forcibly quell the impulse to steal a kiss from them.

\"\'OUR\' comes in, Koishii, because you will be the one to either reap the benifits or suffer the consequences of which ever I choose.\" Violet eyes danced with wicked playfulness as Kenshin mentally rejoiced in the single knowledge that he had been successful in diverting Kaoru\'s attention away from the negativity of the nightmare. The smile on her face and the twinkle in her eyes was proof enough of that.

\"Oh, I see. Good point.\" She snuggled up closer to his side and slid and arm around his waist so she could fiddle with the loose pleets of the hakama he had worn to bed. \"So tell me, what are your choices, Saiai, and I will tell you my opinion.\"

\'Thank-you Kami-sama.\' He whispered fervently in the depths of his heart as the final dregs of sorrow disappeared from Kaoru\'s voice. \'Thank-you for giving me this idea and the intelligence to make it work.\' \"All right, koishii, let us begin our discussion. Just remember how important it is. After all, this may have long lasting repercussions on our future together.\" He watched the expression on her face carefully as his words slowly registered in her mind, and he saw a light of peace and relief pass over its lovely features. \'Good.\' He thought. \'Very good indeed.\'

\"I understand. Just tell me already.\"

\"Be patient, Saiai. I am getting to it.\" He reached out and playfully tweaked her pert nose and then pulled back quickly as she swatted at him.

\"Kenshin! Cut it out.\" She was trying to sound irritated, but her words came out in more of a laughing tone than an angry one, so Kaoru just smile and rolled her eyes. \"Kami help me. I am living with a perpetual 10 year old.\" Kenshin laughed and hugged her close for a moment and then set back and looked into her dancing blue eyes.

\"An Eagle or a Wolf. Which would suit our relationship better, koishii? An Eagle or a Wolf?\" Suddenly the look on his face was fairly serious though there was still a definite glimmer of mischief in his eyes.

\"You are kidding, aren\'t you? An Eagle and a Wolf? The two don\'t even have anything in commen. They are two totally differnt species, Kenshin. One makes his life in the sky while the other is earth bound and dependant on his pack to survive. Why did you choose those?\" Kaoru looked completely dumb founded by his choices, and one thin black eyebrow rose questioningly as she conveyed her feelings to her smiling but serious lover.

\"Ah, but they do have something in commen, Koishii. Something very important.\" He replied in a genlt matter-of-fact voice as he met her qizzical gaze.

\"What? What could they possibly have in commen? They do not even speak the same language.\"

\"Perhaps not, but in essance, they live their lives governed by the same rules of nature, and neither can escape what they are compelled to do.\"

\"And... that would be...?\" Kaoru angled her head to one side slightly and opened her eyes widely as she sarcastically awaited his answer. Kenshin favored her with the indulgent smile of a very patient sensei before he continue.

\"They both mate for life, Saiai. They each choose a Mate, and then bind themselves to her for the rest of their lives. Should that mate die, oft times, the widowed male never takes another, but chooses instead to live out the remainder of his life alone.\" Kenshin watched as a look of surprised awe settled into his lovers fine features as she absorbed what he had just told her. \"So you see, they may not speak the same language, and they may exist in different planes of the Earth, but they remain governed by the same law of nature when it comes to the progeneration of their species, and in that sense, they are also very much like Man. Man is also driven to a Mate to spend the rest of his life with, and once he has, more times than not, he remains with that same mate for the rest of his life in reasonable contentment.\"

\"Reasonable contentment?\" Kaoru favored Kenshin with a sour look.

\"Yes, koishii, REASONABLE contentment. No relationship is perfect. Not even ours though we love one another very deeply and very passionately. We are bound to have the odd problem or trouble along the road of our life together. It is just very important that we always keep the singular thought foremost in our minds that we DO love each other, and then we will stay together dispite the difficult times.\"

Kaoru listened intently to every word Kenshin was saying, and even though the thought that they would not be forever blissfully happy left a cold spot on her heart, she knew deep down within herself that he was right. Nothing was perfect... but she decided right then and there that one could have a lot of fun trying to make it so.

\"I think I understand, My Saiai-Kenshin, but that does not mean we have to lament over something that has not happened yet, does it?\"

\"No.\" He grinned widely at her as he caught the gist of her words. \"No, there is no use planning or waiting for a difficult time to happen when one has not yet even occured. It is much more satisfying to enjoy the pleasures of the presant state of things.\"

\"Good. I am glad you feel that way because I do not want to choose either one of those beasts... I like you just the way you are.\"

\"Really?\" He was eyeing her mischieviously.

\"Yes, really.\" She retorted with a wicked smile.

\"And just why is that, Koishii?\"

\"You are enough of an animal on your own without getting any outside influences to help you out.\" The evil laughter that rose to gleam in her eyes told Kenshin that she meant every word she had just said, and he knew he was going to have to make her pay for each and every one of them. He decided he was going to enjoy that very much. That he was.

\"I am, am I?\" His outside hand snaked out in lighten speed and grasped her jaw in a firm but nonpainful grip. \"I guess we will just have to see about that, won\'t we, Koishii.\" The look that descended onto his handsome face was decidedly male and very explicit in its expression of the direction his thoughts had turned in. Slowly his eyes began to take on a golden tint, and Kaoru felt nervous butterflies start to flutter in her stomach.

\"B-battousai...?\" She said in a nervous voice as she stared into Kenshin\'s looming face.

\"Not yet, Little One, but very soon.\"

\"Ohhh.\" A shudder ran up her backbone. \"An... and w-what is he coming for, Kenshin?\"

\"You said I was already an animal, Kaoru, and that I did not need any outside infuences. I am just curious to see if that is really true, and it would appear the Battousai is as well.\" The wicked laciviousness of the smile on his lips was being reflected in his ever darkening golden eyes, and the primitive instinct of the preditor/prey relationship suddenly snapped into place.

In the blink of an eye, Kaoru pulled her jaw out of the Battousai\'s gentle grip, rolled beneath his arm, and was on her feet running for the fusuma. The surge of adrenaline that her body dumped into her veins drove her through the door onto the engawa where she leapt off in one graceful move, and then sprinted across the yard. She really did not know where she was going, but her feet were racing across the ground at break-neck speed as she fled the hungry man-beast she knew was right behind her.

By the light of the full moon it was easy to follow Kaoru\'s head long frantic flight from their room and out across the Dojo\'s yard, and the Battousai was, indeed, right behind her. She had surprised him by her sudden escape attempt, and it had taken him several valuable seconds to gather his wits enough to take up the chase after she had disappeared through the fusuma. But it had not take long at all to catch up to her using his natural speed and strength. A wolfish smile crossed his face as he reveled in the fact that he would have her soon, and then... The thundering sound of his own heart roared in his head as the thoughts of what he wanted to do to his precious lover spilled out over the visual planes of his mind. A groan of burning desire spilt over his lips, and he increased his speed reaching out one hand in an effort to grasp the back of her light green yukata.

Kaoru could practically feel Battousai\'s hot breath on the back of her neck he was so close, and instinctively she veered off sharply to the right and ran towards the bath house and clothesline. A wickedly satisfied grin split her lips as she heard a muttered curse of frustration behind her. Obviously he had thought he had her, but her abrupt change in direction had foiled his attempt. Kaoru jumped over the wash tubs that were setting beneath the empty clothesline and darted towards the Dojo.

\'Bad idea.\' Battousai thought as he watched the direction his lover took at the last turn. \'There is only one way into the Dojo, little tanuki, or have you forgotten we closed the other one to cut down on the cold during Kata practice?\" A shiver of male anticipation swept through his body as he watched the object of his desire disappear into the practice shrine.

\'KUSO!\' Kaoru screamed at herself. \'I forgot the door was barred shut.\' Frantically she looked behind her and wondered if she had enough time to get back out the door before Battousai came through it. \'Shimatta...\' She cursed as the wirey Samurai\'s darkened silouette appeared at the sho-ji. \'I should have kept running.\'

Silently the Battousai entered the Dojo, and looking side to side, he allowed a smirking smile to curl the sensuousness of his lips as his gaze finally came to rest on his nervous prey. \"It would seem, My Little Tanuki,\" He drawled in a sarcastically triumphant voice. \"That you have come to the end of your flight, have you not?\"

Kaoru looked around her frantcially in desperation trying to see a way around him, but could not find one that did not lead directly past him. \"Shimatta.\" She muttered in frustration as she met those smug golden eyes. \"I have not given up yet, Battousai.\" She growled as she crouched down and balled her small hands up into tight fists. \"I will not give in without a fight. That I will not.\"

Battousai could not help but smile as he caught Kaoru\'s unconscious use of one of Kenshin\'s euphemisms. \"We shall see then, Little Tanuki, who prevails in this hunt. You... or I\" And with that ominous statement, Battousai assumed the batou juttsu stance and locked eyes with the glaring woman in front of him.

Neither held weapon one, nor did they really intend on causing each other harm. On the contrary, this was battle about escape and eluding capture. Could The Crafty Tanuki successfuly circumvent the speed and cunning of the Battousai thus making it to the sho-ji and the freedom of the wide open spaces beyond? Kaoru\'s mind was already calculateing what she was going to have to do in order to avoid Battousai\'s lightening fast movements in order to escape being captured in his arms. Battousai, on the other hand, knew better than to under estimate Kaoru, and so he was preparing himself for a feinted run followed by a quick dodge in the opposite direction. He felt that was the only real option she had to try in order to get around him and successfully reach the door. But, he also knew, the woman was as intelligent as he was which made her capable of anything. A genuine smile of pleaure and amusement crossed his face as he continued to hold her diamond sharp gaze. He was enjoying this... and by the wild fluxuations he could feel in her ki... she was too.

\'I can do this.\' She thought to herself over and over as she let her gaze bore into those sharply intent golden eyes. \'I can beat him and make it to the door. I really can... I can do it.\'

Battousai watched as Kaoru\'s eyes narrowed into mere slits, and then he felt the rush of adrenaline as it pushed her ki outward hitting him in the chest, and causing him to stagger ever so slightly. \'She is coming.\' He thought as he felt a rush of his own adrenaline pump through his body. \'She is coming NOW... must be prepared... must watch... must...\" Kaoru sprang from her crouch with an astonishing speed that surprised the Battousai, and he found himself almost caught of guard as she sped towards him dead center of body mass.

\'What is she doing? Kaoru??\' He feinted to the side turning his body sideways and prepared to grab her as she flew by him, but at the last second she she pealed away from him in the opposite direction further widening the space between them. \'Shimatta!\' Battousai\'s mind swore as he saw the genius in her stradegy and threw himself at her with both arms out stretched hoping he could grasp a piece of her yukata as she past him, but he missed and Kaoru sailed out the open door.

Cursing in disbelief and shock, Battousai darted out of the sho-ji and followed her swiftly along the engawa. His mind and body were burning with a consuming need to possess her, and he was done with this chase. This cunning little Tanuki belonged to him, and he would have her now whatever it took, and Battousai surged forward with his God-like speed and caught Kaoru just as she was about to round the corner of the engawa. One strangled cry of surprise was the only sound she got to make before she was shoved violently up against one of the corner posts, and Battousai covered her mouth in a hard passionate kiss that made her head swim and her knees turn weak as water.

A loud but short-lived ripping sound was heard as impatient hands tore the belt of Kaoru\'s yukata in half and then tossed it carelessly to the side. Then those self-same hands were roughly pulling the front of that yukata open and bareing the pale flesh beneath to the ever watchful moon and the cold night air.

\"Netsuai, Kaoru-Saiai.\" He groaned heavily against her bruised lips and then pulled away to bury his face against her breast.

\"Ken...\" Kaoru\'s head arched back against the thick wooden post as Battousai\'s mouth closed cruelly over the taut erection of her pink nipple. He sucked hard and pulled at the nubby pebble with his teeth while his other hand pinched and rolled the opposite nipple into the same aching hardness. Kaoru was shuddering beneath him, and the sobbing cries that were falling from her lips only seemed to inflame him more, and Battousai raised his head and bit down hard on the softness of her exposed throat.

\"Nuuuuaaaaaa.... what are you doing? Kenshhhinnn? Oh God...\" Her hands fluttered across his back, and her head dropped weakly onto his shoulder.

\"Whatever the hell I want to.\" Was the arrogant reply as his strong hands slid down her body and cupped her buttocks squeezing them hard enough to make her cry out in pain yet she did not make any move to stop him. \"You belong to me, Saiai-Kaoru. You belong to me and no other for the rest of our lives. Do you understand?\" His voice was cruel sounding and sharper than Kaoru had ever heard it before, and a twing of fear crawled up her spine as she nodded her head. \"That is good for you to agree with me, My Meito. It would not do for you to ever dispute my claim to your love... or your body.\" And with a menacing growl, Battousai grabbed each of Kaoru\'s thighs and lifted her roughly up along the post until he could press the long hard length of his aching desire for her against the quivering core of her sex. \"No other man will ever know the pleasures of your body, My Angel.\" He groaned against her throat even as he pinned her tightly against the wood with the full weight of his body leaving his hands free long enough for him to untie the belt of his hakama. \"No other man will ever possess what I claim as mine and mine alone.\" And as his swollen manhood pressed against the slick entrance of her sex, his voice became almost gentle; almost tender. \"Do you know why that is, little Tanuki? Do you?\"

\"N-no.\" Kaoru\'s voice was a hoarse croak as she shuddered violently beneath the mouth that nibbled and sucked at the sensitive flesh of her throat.

\"Because, My beautiful Angel, you belong to me and me alone, and I would surely kill any man who tried to possess you besides me. You are the Meito of my soul, Kaoru. I cannot live without you any more than Himura or the Ruruoni inside of me can. We could never leave you. It would kill us. We need you too damn much.\"

\"Ba-battousai.\" Kaoru started to rain tiny kisses across the naked flesh of his shoulders and neck, and felt him tremble at her touch. For a moment he stood still reveling and pliant under her ministrations, and then in one violent move, he buried himself deep inside of her. \"NAAAAAAAAAA!\" Kaoru\'s voice rose high as he hit bottem within her and a feeling she had yet to experience exploded within her. The tight virginal opening of her cervix was split as the head of Battousai\'s shaft rammed its way through.

He stood still for a long moment letting her grow accustomed to the deepness of his penetration, and then, when he could not wait another second, Battousai pulled out of her moist heat and slammed into her again burying himself just as deep as he had the first time. His head lolled back in purest exstasy as he felt her inner muscles contract around him tightly, and his perception of reality slipped away into the world of need, desire, and passion. Gripping her thighs in his strong hands, and bracing himself against the post with one knee, Battousai held Kaoru up and began such a vicious and violent rhythem between her thighs that it jarred the wooden support behind her.

Kaoru had never experienced anything like this in her lovers arms before, and though she had felt a twing of fear, she had been unable to deny the fact that it had excited her as well. The thrill of the hunt, the chase, the capture, the devouring. She felt as though she were in another world instead of this one, and at the moment, she felt as if she never wanted to leave. A feeling so primitive and so wild was emerging from deep within her, and she felt almost glorified in it. As the violence of her lovers rhythm increased and the sensations of primitive climax loomed before her, Kaoru found herself swallowed by the instinct of her own animalistic qualities and dug her nails deeply into the exposed flesh of Battousai\'s shoulders.

The pain in his back registered as Battousai realized Kaoru was gripping him so tightly she could be drawing blood, but he did not care. His only goal and only thought was to reach the end of this thing they had started. This incredible wild coming together that was unlike anything he had ever known. His full inner self had been unleashed in all of its violent, terrible glory, and he had savagely ravished his beloved without a care for her person or well being. A small voice inside of his head was fiercly chastising him for his foolishness and his selfishness, but there was another voice that was desperately trying to be heard. And as Battousai carried himself and his whimpering lover over the edge of a primitive bliss neither had ever known before, the tiny voice finally broke through to his clouded mind and spoke a startling revelation to his guilty heart.

\"She was there with you, Himura. She went with you willingly, and was not afraid. Nor did she try to pull or push you away. Instead, she held on and went with you into that place of wildness and primitive thought.\" His head dropped limply into the tender curve of her neck as he struggled to control the harsh and rapid pace of his breathing. Slowly he lowered her legs until her feet touched the ground, but found he had to wrap his arms around her immediately as he knees buckled beneath her. Her fragile arms were wrapped tightly around his neck and shoulders, and her tear-wet face was pressed snuggly into the warmth of his throat. She was trembling violently against him, and suddenly Kenshin was very worried about her.

Gently and with the utmost care, he lifted her exhausted body into his arms and carried her back to their room and laid her tenderly on the futon they shared. Quickly he shut the fusuma and closed out the cold night air, and then swiftly returned to her side with a very worried look on his face.

\"Kaoru?\" He whispered her name in a soft anxious voice. \"Koishii, are you all right?\" A gentle hand reached out to wipe the stray strands of ebony that streaked across her flushed cheeks, and then it softly cupped her face. \"Kaoru? Can you hear me?\" Kenshin was becoming more anxious and worried by the moment when she did not open her eyes. \'Oh God... What did I do?\'

She could feel the rising alarm and worry in her lovers ki, and Kaoru decided she was going to enjoy it for just a couple of minutes longer. After all, did he not deserve a little old fashioned come-upance for all the times he had mercilessly teased her and made her feel foolish? Of course he did, so she lay passive and soaked in Kenshin\'s anxiety like a big sponge, but because she had never really been a person who could stay vengeful for very long, Kaoru could not hold up the ruse for longer than a few moments. Besides, the tone of Kenshin\'s voice had begun to wear on her conscience and she started to feel guilty.

\"Kaoru? Saiai? Please open your eyes and talk to me? Did I do something to your head? Did I beat it so hard against the post that I knocked you unconscious? Kaoru?\" He was gently patting her now pale face with trembling hands, and his voice was beginning to border on the edge of hysteria. Kaoru could not stand it anymore. She had gotten enough revenge on him. It was time to put him out of his misery.

\"I have changed my mind, Saiai.\" She whispered very softly, and then opened her shining diamond blue eyes to look into his worry ravaged face. \"You are most definitely a Wolf, My Ajiou, but you are not a lowly dependant member of the pack.\" She reached up and smoothed the worry lines away from his beautiful face, and then tenderly stroked the outline of his mouth with her index finger.

\"I am not?\" His voice was a ragged sound in his throat.

\"No, My beautiful Aman. You are most definitely the Leader of the Pack. You are the Master Wolf, and all others will bow down before you in supplication... all except me.\" She grinned at him in wicked mischief, and then raised up and pressed a tender kiss into his gently smiling lips. \"I do not bow down.\"

\"I am beginning to truly see that.\" His voice took on an accusing tone. \"Were you playing with me just now, Little Tanuki, or were you truly unconscious?\" Violet eyes twinkled with a dangerous glint.

\"That depends.\" She responded as she caressed his cheek.

\"On what, if I may be so bold as to ask?\"

\"On whether or not you are going to punish me?\" Her eyes danced with undisguised mischief.

\"That is what I was afraid of.\" He started to chuckle and leaned down to her and captured her smiling lips with his. \"I will beat you after the Sun comes up, Koishii. I am far to exhausted to do it just at this moment, so it will have to wait.\" She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck and returned his kiss.

\"Kaoru?\" He pulled away and looked down at her with questioning eyes.

\"What?\"

\"UMMMM, may I ask you something, Koishii?\"

She looked at him as if he had grown another head. \"Of course you can, Kenshin. You can ask me anything you want to, you know that.\"

\"Perhaps, but this is not just any question that I want to ask. It is a rather... delicate question.\" Kenshin bowed his head, and Kaoru could have sworn he looked... embarrassed. Now she really wanted to know what he wanted to ask her.

\"Go ahead, Saiai. Ask me.\"

\"Will you promise me to tell me the truth? The absolute truth?\"

\"Oh for Kami\'s sake, Kenshin. Just ask me the question.\" Her voice sounded irritated and when he looked at her, her face looked just the same as her voice sounded.

\"All right, but you must tell me the truth.\"

\"I promise, Ok. Just ask me before I die from curiosity already.\" He smiled a little self-consciously, and then took a deep breath.

\"Did you... ummm, did you like what happened?\" He dropped his eyes and refused to look at her.

\"What happened?\" She sounded confused. \"What happened when, Kenshin? What are you talking about?\"

\"Tonight, Kaoru. Did you like what happened tonight... what we... I mean, what I did to you. Did you like it, or did I frighten you?\" The note of worry in his quiet voice tugged at Kaoru\'s heart strings and she lifted a hand to cup his chin forcing him to look at her. The look in his eyes was one of self-reproach and guilt, as well as hope.

\'How I love this beautiful man.\' She thought to herself. \'How very much I love him.\' \"Kenshin, Koishii... I will not lie to you. It did frighten me a little, but it excited me too.\"

\"It... it did?\" Anxious violet eyes searched her gently smiling face as his hand moved to capture hers and bring it to his lips for a tender kiss.

\"Yes. It was a scary excitment. I-I did not know it could feel like that... and even when you hurt me...\"

\"I HURT YOU???\" He looked completely horrified and immediately gathered her into his arms. \"Oh no.\" He whispered brokenly. \"I am sorry, Saiai. I did not mean to hurt you. You know I would never hurt you intentionally... Oh Kaoru. My beautiful Angel. Please forgive me. Please... I am so sorry. Oh God.\" Kenshin was cradling Kaoru against his chest with her face pressed tenderly into his neck. One hand held her body close while the other gently stroked her long black hair in his anxiety. Kaoru was so shocked by his reaction to her that she was completely speachless for several moments, but then she realized she had to do something before he swallowed himself up in a guilt that was totally unnecessary.

\"Kenshin, Kenshin,\" She pulled away and cupped his distraught face in her hands. \"Stop. Stop this now, Saiai. Do not do this to yourself when it is needless.\"

\"Needless??\" Violet eyes filled with guilt and pain looked into her face with added confusion. \"How can you say that?\"

\"Because, Saiai, you did not \'hurt\' me the way you are thinking.\"

\"I-I did not?\"

\"No. You did not. It was a ... different kind of hurt. It was... strange and... it made me want you to do it more. I-I found out that there is a bit of the wild-animal inside of me, and it responded to you like a primitive thing.\" She pulled him into her and gently kissed him. \"I cannot explain it any other way. I was more compelled to respond to what you were doing than I was desiring too. I had too. Does that make sense to you?\" His eyes closed and he leaned over to press his forehead against her.

\"Yes. Actually, it makes a great deal of sense... because... because I felt the same compulsions. I had to have you, Kaoru, and love and desire had nothing to do with it, yet... deep within myself I knew how much I loved you. I still knew.\"

\"Me too.\" She whispered and pressed another kiss against his mouth. \"Kenshin-saiai?\"

\"What, Koishii-Kaoru?\"

\"Aishiteru.\"
He smiled and pulled back to look into her tender face. \"Aishiteru, My Angel. I meant every word I said.\" He rubbed his nose against hers. \"I will never leave you. I would die if I did. I can no longer live without you, Saiai. You are the heart and soul of every side of me.\"

\"What about the part where you said you would kill any man who dared to touch me besides you because I belong to you and you alone? Did you mean that too?\"

\"Yes.\" His voice was quiet but deadly serious.

\"You would forsake your vow to never kill again for that reason?\"

\"Yes.\" The same simply spoken cold answer, and Kaoru learned something new about Kenshin in that moment. Despite all the things he had left behind in his past, and despite the vow he had sworn, the strength and power of his love for her could and would make him capable of anything. It was an unsettling revelation. That is was.

\"What would you do, Kaoru. What would you do if you discovered me in the same position Sanosuke is in with Megumi? Would you believe me, or would you believe what the person relaying the information told you she saw?\"

\"I-I don\'t know, Kenshin. Why do you ask me that?\"

\"Because, there is something wrong with Tae\'s story, but I cannot quite figure out what it is.\"

\"You mean you think Sano is telling the truth? Even though Tae is a good friend and has been for many years, you think she might be lying?\" Kaoru sounded defensive.

\"No. I do not think she is lying. I am just not altogether certain she saw what she thinks she saw.\"

\"How can you miss see seeing a woman sitting in a man\'s lap?\" Now she sounded sarcastic and skeptical.

\"You cannot. But, you can mistake the situation if you are not privy to the circumstance.\"

\"What are you getting at, Kenshin?\"

\"Sano knew many people long before he became associated with any of us, both during his days as a rebel and as a fighter for hire. We have no idea who or what this woman might be to him. But I think it is in his best interests if we find out.\" Kaoru was silent for some time as she considered the point of view Kenshin had just shown her. Finally she spoke, and her words surprised him.

\"I think maybe you might be right, Kenshin. It would be in HIS best interests if WE find out who she is. Otherwise, Megumi might never forgive him.\"

\"WE?\" He rolled over and looked at her quizzically. \"Since when is this a \'WE\' project, Koishii?\"
\"Since just now. Since I decided I am going to help YOU figure this out. If you don\'t like it... tough.\" The tone of her voice was firm and determined, and Kenshin knew there would be no talking her out of it, so he just gave it.

\"All right, Koishii. You can come along. But don\'t get in the way, Ok?\"

\"Get in the WAY? Kenshin, you rotten rat!\" Kaoru squealed in fury and rolled on top of him completely intent on pummeling his face into pulp, but he deftly caught her fists and rolled over pinning her beneath his superior defenses. A devilish gleam filled his eyes, and before she could even manage a squeal of protest, he bent down and covered her mouth with his. \"Kenshin... Aren\'t you exhausted from... I mean, we already...\" Kaoru\'s voice trailed off into a pleasureable moan as she felt the tip of his tongue trace a heated pathway along her exposed shoulder.

\"That was the Battousai, Kiobito. Now it\'s MY turn.\" And with a decidedly wicked chuckle, Kenshin Himura proceeded to make-love to his Saiai-Angel. The discussion about Kaoru joining him in his search for Sano\'s \'green eyed\' woman could wait.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


And as always, take care and God bless
Tsuki-san.
please read and review.
much thanks.