Summary: Alternate Universe. Set in Meiji Tokyo, but with some differences. Kaoru meets a rurouni by the name of Himura Kenshin, but he isn't what he seems to be. What is he, really? It may not be easy, but Kaoru is determined to help Kenshin find peace in a world where he'll never belong, just as he is determined to protect her.

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin and related characters are copyright of Nobuhiro Watsuki. Chasing the Sky was inspired by Amanda Stott's album by the same name.

Note: Japanese glossary at the end. Character names are written last name first.

Chasing the Sky

Chapter 2 - Look Me in the Eye

Kenshin landed softly on a rooftop despite the extra weight he was carrying, his expression dark. He took a few swift steps and leapt into the air again, glancing down at the girl he carried in his arms as he did so, and his eyebrows knit together in worry at Kaoru's ghostly pale face. Her eyelids fluttered weakly as her body fought against the poison and he was almost glad to see it; it was the only sign other than her shallow, whispery breaths that she was still alive.

Kaoru-dono, do not give up de gozaru! A cold wind picked up, making him shiver, and he cradled Kaoru close to his chest. Her skin felt painfully cold to the touch and his heart clenched in worry. He had very little medical skill, although he had lots of practice dressing wounds, and--

And he had no idea how to deal with poisoning.

Kenshin cursed silently and abruptly changed his destination. It didn't make sense to bring her back to her home if there was no one to help her there. His hasty instincts had led him in the wrong direction. As Kaoru shuddered again in his arms, Kenshin left the rooftops and took to the streets, his red hair dancing behind him as he dashed through narrow alleys.

x o x o x o x o x o x

Kaoru awoke with a horrible jolt. The first thing she noticed was the sunset-orange sunlight of late afternoon that poured through the window and spilled onto the far wall, dying the room a golden red. She winced as she tried to lift her head. Her body felt numb and cold all over, and she had a pounding headache. What happened to me? Her body felt so utterly exhausted...

When she tried to sit up on the raised bed, she noticed the warm hand clasped loosely over hers. Carefully she turned her head to the side, and what met her eyes brought a smile to her face. For a moment she felt perfectly contented despite her battered body, her eyes quietly tracing the sleeping face beside her. It looked like Kenshin had fallen asleep kneeling by her bed, his hand holding stubbornly on to hers even as he nodded off to sleep and laid his head down on his folded arms. With his serene expression, eyes closed in sleep, he almost looked like a praying angel.

Kaoru shyly reached over with her left hand despite the dull sting from the wound in her left shoulder. Just as she brushed a soft strand of silky red hair away from her rurouni-chan's face - she couldn't stifle a giggle at the impulsive nickname - his eyelids slid open sleepily and she was once more drawn into their curious violet depths.

Kenshin opened his mouth in a silent oro as his eyes focused on hers. He drew his head off the bed and studying her with relied in his eyes. "Kaoru-dono, you're awake," he smiled. He was pleased to see the healthy blush on her skin - she had looked so deathly pale before.

"Oro?" He blinked as she suddenly looked away, and belatedly averted his eyes as well. He hadn't meant to stare at her so openly; perhaps that was a real blush he had been studying.

Kaoru stared resolutely at the ceiling for a minute before shaking herself and turning back to the rurouni with a small frown. "Kenshin, what happened? Where am I?"

"Kaoru-dono..." Did she really trust him, even after she woke to an unfamiliar room? "Do you remember the men that attacked you?" She encouraged him with a weak nod. "Sessha brought you to a doctor when you collapsed from their poison. It would have been unwise to leave you unconscious in the forest."

Was he lying to her? Kaoru pondered his words for a moment before deciding he was telling the truth. "I guess I owe you another thanks, Kenshin," she gave him a thoughtful look. Perhaps... "I know! You should stay in Tokyo a while before wandering again, so I can find a way to repay you." She didn't wait for his protest - she was sure he would - and rushed on, "You can live at my dojo, it won't be any trouble at all, and I wouldn't mind the company."

She was a little surprised when he didn't give an oro in response or something of the kind. Instead, he studied her for a second before looking down to hide his expression. She had caught a glimpse of doubt in his eyes, and maybe even some fear. Was the concept of settling down in one place was so frightening for him? Or was he worried that...

"Kenshin?" she said quietly, "Look, um, if this is about..." A spirit...sessha is a spirit. Kaoru pressed her lips tightly together. She...really had no idea how to broach the subject with him, when he had seemed so happy when she chose not to pursue the subject in the forest.

"Gomen nasai, Kaoru-dono, but sessha desires no compensation, nor any pity. This one appreciates Kaoru-dono's offer, but I believe there are many people far more deserving of your kindness than one such as myself," he paused and looked up at her with clouded eyes. Coming to a decision, Kenshin released her hand and stood up, sliding his sakabatou back in place. "Kaoru-dono, do not trouble yourself for this one any more. You should not try to burden yourself with a stranger."

With a polite bow, Kenshin turned to leave the room, but a slender hand reached out to grasp his magenta sleeve tightly. "No, Kenshin," came the whisper, so quietly that he almost missed it.

He turned around to look at her, knowing it would be his undoing but helpless to stop himself. Her eyes were hidden in shadow. "Kaoru-don--"

"Don't 'Kaoru-dono' me!" Kenshin suddenly found himself confronted by a pair of piercing blue eyes. "First of all, I don't pity you! Should I? Kenshin, you don't have to be alone! I don't know if this is some sort of self-inflicted punishment or just plain stupidity, but it can't go on forever! This isn't about what you are or what you think you deserve, I don't want you to leave." The fierce determination in her voice brought a small smile to his eyes, even though he felt trapped by her words. He suddenly felt very, very overwhelmed.

"My father taught me something before he left. In order to search for their own happiness, a person has to face their fears eventually." Her voice softened. She suddenly looked at her hand still curled around the cloth of his magenta gi, as though she only just realized what she was doing, and abruptly released him. "I think..." she hesitated. Kenshin was staring at her hand, but his eyes were distant. He was looking somewhere very far away, perhaps not even listening to her, and yet...she had to try, not only for him but for herself and for her father.

"I might not know anything about you, Kenshin, but I think you deserve to be happy. I...truly believe you deserve to be happy."

There was nothing physically keeping him by her side anymore, although it took all of her self-control not to grab his sleeve again just to reassure herself that he couldn't just walk away from her, walk out of the room. She wanted to believe in him, wanted him to prove her fears wrong. He wouldn't leave without at least giving her some kind of warning...

Kaoru felt her heart sink as he walked away in silence and tried to focus on anything but the mocking sound of his footsteps. He didn't even think her worthy of a reply at all. She clenched her fist around her blanket.

"Will you...tell me your name, de gozaru ka?"

Kaoru's head snapped up with surprise. "My name?" He hadn't walked to the door, he was standing in front of the window...smiling at her? Her heart suddenly felt ten times lighter even as she fumed at the distress he'd caused her. Why, that...mou, he did that on purpose! "You know my name already, Kenshin," she paused and quirked an eyebrow at him, "Wait, that's right, how did you know my name in the first place?"

Kenshin turned the full charm of his cheerful rurouni look on her, complete with wide violet eyes and innocent smile. "Sessha only picked up your first name at the Akabeko de gozaru yo. The lady called you Kaoru-chan, did she not?" He walked back to the bed and knelt down so they faced each other at eye-level. "If sessha were to stay, he would very much like to know Kaoru-dono's full name."

She tried her very hardest to frown, but it was very, very difficult to stay angry when he acted so silly. "Fine," Kaoru stuck her tongue out at him. Oh if only she still had her bokken with her, she'd show that rurouni just what happened when he tried to tease Kamiya Kaoru so unfairly, "but only because you told me yours!"

"Oro," he told her with a grin.

Now that was just unfair! How was she supposed to keep the smile off her face when he was trying so hard to make her laugh? "Kamiya Kaoru. My name is Kamiya Kaoru," she said, feeling a lot happier than she had in a long time.

"Kaoru-dono," he smiled, "sessha will be inconveniencing you from now on de gozaru yo. A rurouni never knows where he's going or for how long, but if you don't mind that," Kenshin watched with affectionate amusement as the girl's eyes fluttered, "this one will stay with you awhile."

A small and peaceful smile graced her lips as her eyes finally closed with a sigh and she dozed off, tucked neatly in the bed.

Kenshin waited a few minutes before rising carefully from his crouch, moving to the window in absolute silence so as to not disturb the sleeping girl. He stood there for a while, his hands resting on the windowsill as he stared up at the waning moon that hung in the late evening sky. The eyes that studied the stars were full of doubt and uncertainty, and he berated himself for the foolishness and selfishness of his decision. And yet...in some small corner hidden deep inside his mind, he couldn't help but hope...even a little bit...

Several hours past midnight, Kenshin finally fell asleep sitting upright beside the bed with his back against the wall, one hand clutching his sakabatou to his chest. The other hand gently held onto Kaoru's hand on the bed, as though she was a lifeline from kami that he dared not grab onto too tightly, but feared to let go.

Tomorrow would be a new beginning.

x o x o x o x o x o x

Kaoru felt a gentle hand brushing a lock of hair tenderly from her face and stirred slowly in her sleep. "Kenshin, what time is it..." she mumbled sleepily.

"Kaoru-chan?" answered a decidedly feminine voice that definitely did not belong to Kenshin. If it was Kenshin, he would have Kaoru-dono-ed her.

Silence, then--

"Tae-san!" Kaoru cried in shock and bolted upright in the bed, her mind flashing from sleepy to wide-awake in the span of a few milliseconds.

A crippling headache immediately assaulted her. Her left shoulder burned like the way her finger did the last time she burned her hand when she tried to cook, and her side felt like it had split open and got stitched back together with knitting needles. All in all, she felt about ready to die. If she were Kenshin she would have oro-ed painfully, but she didn't feel it would be right to steal his trademark exclamation. Instead, she settled for a less unique but heartfelt, "Gyahhh..." She would have tumbled blindly off the bed if Tae hadn't caught her.

"Kaoru-chan, how are you feeling dear?" asked Tae as she patted the girl sympathetically on the back. She helped Kaoru settle back on her head cushion and fussed like an old hen the entire time, but once it looked like she was no longer in life-threatening pain, a shrew look crawled into the older woman's eyes. "So, who's Kenshin?" she teased with a big smile. "Is he a boyfriend you haven't told me about?"

Kenshin! she suddenly remembered. He couldn't have left her, not after he promised to stay...Kaoru's eyes darted around the small room but she calmed when she saw Kenshin sitting cross-legged in the corner. He gave her a small wave and a sad smile as he shook his head. Tae-san...really can't see him? She blushed when she remembered the woman's question. "No, he's just...a...friend..." That you expect to wake up next to, real smooth Kaoru. Better change the topic. "What time is it? What day is it, Tae-san?"

Tae sobered a little from the seriousness of the situation. "It's early morning, Kaoru-chan, just after breakfast, and it's been five days since Megumi-sensei treated you. She found you outside her clinic in the arms of a redheaded swordsman in the middle of the night." At this, Kaoru started visibly and looked at Kenshin, but he avoided her eyes. Wait, back up. Five days! She had slept for five whole days? "Megumi-sensei said it was a very odd thing, that swordsman," Tae mused, oblivious to the girl's distress.

With perfect timing, the door opposite to the bed slid open and a woman in her early twenties stepped into the room. Cool brown eyes studied Kaoru carefully as the lady doctor made her way over to the bed. "Kaoru-san," she greeted the girl with a professional nod, "I'm your doctor, Takani Megumi. You should be ready to go home today, but I need to give you one last examination."

As the longhaired doctor checked Kaoru's temperature, she pursed her painted red lips. "You're very lucky, girl, you very nearly died from the poison. If the police found you along with the yakuza the next morning, it would have been too late to help you. Whoever brought you here saved your life."

After a few minutes of silent examination, Megumi turned to the door and tossed her hair behind one shoulder. "You're free to go now," she informed Kaoru with an unreadable glance, "just don't strain yourself or move too quickly for the next few days and you should be fine."

Before Kenshin slipped out the door behind Tae and Kaoru, he heard the lady doctor talk to herself as she stood at the window. "I wonder what happened to that swordsman..." He paused in the doorway for a split second before bowing his head and disappearing down the hallway after Kaoru.

x o x o x o x o x o x

"Mm," Kaoru let out a satisfied squeak as she stretched her arms over her head, "finally! I know Megumi-sensei said I have to be careful," she pursed her lips together in a frown, "but Tae-san was trying to confine me to my room for the next year! Mou, really! I can take care of myself."

"Kaoru-dono," Kenshin started.

The young woman swung around to face him, brandishing her bokken in the air. "No Kenshin, don't say it. Don't you dare agree with them!"

"Oro," replied the redhead, staring back at her with a wide-eyed innocent look until she turned around and resumed walking. "But Kaoru-dono, sessha thinks you should listen to Megumi-dono and Tae-dono de gozaru, they're only--"

"Look here, Kenshin!" The rurouni suddenly found himself faced with a pair of boiling blue eyes. "I'm a grown woman, I really don't need an escort and I can take care of myself just fine. If you insist on coming along, then please don't try to lecture me."

Before he could blink she had already turned and continued walking down the road, and he could think of nothing to do but follow quietly like a dog on a leash. Kenshin sighed to himself. It looked like Kaoru-dono could not be persuaded to rest and regain her strength in the comfort of her own home. As soon as Tae had left them, Kaoru had changed into her training outfit, grabbed a new bokken and walked out the door before Kenshin could protest her recklessness with even an oro.

Now he watched her back with apprehension as they entered the market and one hand strayed to the hilt of his sword to calm his own nerves. He instinctively felt uneasy around crowds, even though they would provide some sort of security for a young woman travelling alone. But today he was almost convinced it'd be safer to travel to the Maekawa dojo by a less populated route; he could sense hostile ki in the market that morning, and it put him on edge more than the crowds did.

Suddenly a foolishly brash, unashamed fighting ki caught his attention and drew his eyes off Kaoru-dono to a tall figure lounging in the shadow between two buildings. In the midst of his distraction however, he heard Kaoru cry out in surprise and his attention snapped immediately back to her. Kenshin turned around in time to see a small figure lifted by the collar and slammed into a wall by a giant fist.

"You damn brat!" snarled the giant man, pressing his face close to his victim. "Thought you'd get away with pocketing my things, did you? You picked the wrong pocket today, kid. Hiruma Gohei does not forgive easily."

Kenshin's eyes were narrowed as he began to draw his sakabatou, but someone else was quicker. 'Hiruma Gohei' let out a surprised grunt before a fist slammed into his face and sent him flying back. He crashed through several fruit stands, frightening high-pitched shrieks out of passing shoppers. Two men by his side immediately stepped forward with raised fists, but they were quickly sent sprawling by a hard kick and punch to the gut. Kaoru stood with her bokken raised in front of the unconscious men, her eyes wide open in surprise as she stared at the man who had beaten her to the punch.

The symbol aku stared her in the face as the fighter bent down to lift the kid out of the dust by the back of his collar. "Hey Yahiko, you alright there?" he smirked.

Once the boy regained his footing, he stomped venomously on the fighter's foot. "What the hell was that, Sano? You took your sweet time getting here!" His face crumbled in pain and he suddenly clutched his foot, a small pouch still gripped tightly in his hands. Lesson number one: kicking Sano is much like kicking a brick wall; not a good idea.

Sano watched him, unfazed, with a wide grin. "Hey, don't hurt yourself, Yahiko-chan. What matters is I got here in time to save your lousy butt," he cracked his knuckles loudly in satisfaction. "Show some appreciation, will ya?"

Yahiko had his mouth open with a retort when Sano's eyes suddenly narrowed. "Oi, kid," he interrupted, "looks like the excitement isn't over yet. We've got company."

Kaoru stood unacknowledged at the side, her bokken raised uncertainly, and watched with a sinking feeling when the street filled with armed men from the shadows and side alleys. The child and young man stood with staggered feet and their backs to each other as over a dozen men surrounded them.

Gohei staggered to his feet with crushed fruit covering one side of his face and wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of one hand. He unsheathed a sword as he rounded angrily on Sano and Yahiko. "You stupid, arrogant brats," he snarled, "I'll tear you limb from limb!" With one wave of his large hand, his men lunged forward with ragged battle cries.

One could almost see a sadistic smile flicker in Sano's eyes before he ducked his head and dodged under the wild path of a dagger, throwing his right hand into the man's ribs. His swift and smoothly efficient movements revealed he was an experienced fighter, but bare hands could fend off swords for only so long.

His partner, Yahiko, knocked the sword out of a pair of hands with a quick snap of his wrists, before lunging in for a hit to a vital body part with the shinai he handled familiarly. For a boy who looked no older than 10 years of age, he fought with a shinai surprisingly well...but grown men with lethal weapons would quickly overwhelm him. Things did not look good for the pair.

Kaoru was about to step in - pickpocket or not, he was still a little boy - when she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. She had forgotten about Kenshin. She was about to protest, but the swordsman frowned and cut her off with a shake of his head.

"Sessha will fight in your place, Kaoru-dono. You cannot risk reopening your injuries." With a polite nod allowing no room for argument, he was gone.

Kaoru observed her redheaded swordsman for the first time in battle, and it shocked her. He moved with unnatural speed and catlike grace, his ponytail dashing one way then the other as he carefully and discreetly dropped his opponents unaware, always moving toward the barehanded fighter and the young boy. Kaoru gradually realized the reluctance in his eyes was not a trick of her imagination, and after that it quickly became apparent that Kenshin took no pride in the advantage his invisibility gave him. A skilled swordsman like him, she knew, had a keen honour that preferred a fair fight. Something Tae had said suddenly bothered her, but...

There were too many men, they were outnumbered. Gohei and Sano were locked in combat, hardly a fair fight between a man with a sword and one with nothing but bare fists, but the tall fighter with spiked hair was holding his own. However, Yahiko was hard-pressed defending Sano's back from the lackeys, and evidently had even more trouble defending his own life. All things considered, Yahiko was fighting very bravely, his forehead lined with wrinkles of concentration and one eye closed protectively against the line of blood that trailed down from a cut in his eyebrow.

Then a brief gap in the attacking men let them see just how severe Yahiko's injuries were. The boy was covered by bleeding lacerations and he was barely avoiding fatal strikes from his opponents. Kenshin immediately stiffened and vanished from Kaoru's sight, but she barely noticed -- she was already preparing to enter herself into the fight. The kid was going to die if this went on.

As she moved toward the fight, a flicker of red in the sky stopped her. Kenshin...he had somehow launched himself into the air with an unbelievably powerful jump, and now he was letting gravity pull him rapidly toward the ground. He was going to try to land beside the boy, to take him away from the reach of hacking blades.

Then bare hands caught and pushed aside a backhanded sword swing, sending Gohei sprawling backward with his balance and concentration lost. Sano whirled around quickly, finally able to take his attention off the dangerous man for a second.

"Yahiko! Jump!" he roared.

The boy obeyed automatically and Sano caught him by the collar of his shirt. Kenshin and Kaoru watched in astonishment as Sano swung around and in one fluid movement tossed Yahiko out of the circle of men that had them cornered. Kenshin landed lightly from his jump, having just missed Yahiko's airborne departure by a second, but had no time to worry about the boy as he immediately had to fend off several attackers who lunged forward toward Sano's unprotected back.

Sano pitched forward and ground a hard fist into a man's face, his punches still as forceful as before even though he was bloodied and unsteady on his feet. "Yahiko, make a run for it! Get away from here."

Kaoru watched uncertainly as the boy climbed excruciatingly slowly to his feet from where Sano's rough toss had landed him, his hands clasped tightly over the small money pouch that was the cause of the fight. It was hardly important now, Gohei was out for vengeance and only blood would satisfy him. She wasn't sure if the boy would accept help from a stranger; pickpockets were often wary of people. Then she saw the knife aimed at his head from behind, and it spurred her into action.

"--out of the way!" Kaoru yelled hoarsely as she dashed forward with bokken in hand, ignoring the painful tear in her side.

x o x o x o x o x o x

Sano froze in mid punch at Yahiko's cry, feeling his blood freeze. Then he cursed when his opponent's sword bit into his side and snapped his attention rudely back to his own fight. He growled angrily as he swung a fist vehemently into the jaw of the idiot who dared mess with him. There was a satisfying crunch as Gohei hit the ground, this time for good, but Sano was deaf to the sound. Yahiko, you stupid kid! I told you to get away! The men trying to stop him were no match for the fury of his blows, but he was taking them out too slowly to get to his friend in time.

x o x o x o x o x o x

Yahiko was shoved roughly to the side and he cried out when he landed painfully on a shredded arm. He looked up in astonishment as a young woman blocked a blow that was meant for him and watched in confusion as she traded blows with the man until she finally knocked the dagger out of his hands with a merciless bokken. Who was she? She'd just saved his life, nearly at the cost of her own.

The assailant slumped to the ground, unconscious, but Kaoru had no time to celebrate. The side of her white training gi was stained red with blood from her reopened wound and she could feel her head pounding nauseatingly from the pain. She had just raised her bokken defiantly at the men advancing on her when Kenshin suddenly appeared beside her, his bangs hiding his eyes from her. He looked furious...with her? With the attacking men? Or...was he angry with himself?

Kenshin could sense Kaoru breathing painfully beside him and it took all of his control not to shake with rage. He had told her not to fight, she should have just left it to him...but regardless, they had a problem on their hands. Kaoru couldn't fight in her condition - no, he wouldn't let her fight in her condition - not when her side had started bleeding so mercilessly. Nor was she in any shape to be moved quickly and spirited out of harm's way, not to mention the attention something like that would draw, and he couldn't risk leaving the boy behind either...so grab, jump and run wasn't an option. He'd have to fight alone was the obvious answer, but as an unseen attacker...would he be able to protect Kaoru-dono? The men had seen blood...they were already launching themselves at what appeared to be an injured boy and young woman and were quickly closing the distance.

His last resort...he almost wished he wouldn't have to do it.

Kenshin didn't look away from the advancing men when Yahiko suddenly cried out in fear and shock from where he lay on the ground. He focused all of his attention on the threat.

"You will not take a single step closer, de gozaru yo," he informed them darkly, with just the right tilt of his head to cast his eyes in menacing shadows. The men had stopped their advance as he had hoped they would. "Please remove yourselves from this place. Sessha would prefer to solve this incident peacefully, but I will not allow another drop of innocent blood to be shed no matter what it takes." His hand gripped the hilt of his sword tightly in the ensuing silence.

Kaoru looked away from Yahiko's frightened eyes and stared at Kenshin.

What's going on? They can see him, they can hear him...

They can see Kenshin...

x o x o x o x o x o x

Glossary

-dono - an honorific used at the end of someone's name, extremely polite; roughly translates to "mister" or "miss"

de gozaru ka/de gozaru yo/de gozaru - very old-fashion, polite phrase that Kenshin likes to add at the end of his sentences

oro - Kenshin's cute little exclamation/expression of surprise

sessha - Kenshin's way of referring to himself; translates literally to "this unworthy one", but Viz shortens it to 'this one' (I occasionally use 'this one' in my story, simply because it flows better)

sakabatou - a sword with its blade on backward, so the dull edge is where the cutting side normally is

gomen nasai - I'm sorry; more formal/polite than just 'gomen'

mou - Kaoru's expression of frustration/exasperation

rurouni - a word made up by the creator of Rurouni Kenshin that roughly translates to "wanderer" or "wandering masterless samurai"

Akabeko - the name of the restaurant

bokken - wooden sword

kami - god

-chan - an honorific used at the end of someone's name, usually used with small children or younger women; can be considered a term of endearment when used by friends/family

-san - an honorific used at the end of someone's name, roughly translates to "mister" or "miss"; normal people use it instead of -dono

-sensei - an honorific used at the end of someone's name, usually indicates a doctor or teacher

ki - the Japanese term for "life force" (also written as chi, which is the Chinese form)

aku - bad, evil

shinai - bamboo sword

Hey everyone! Sorry, this chapter took several days longer than I had planned, and it's also several pages longer than originally planned. Unfortunately, the chapter quickly got out of control and Kenshin didn't get a chance to explain 'everything' to Kaoru, so many questions remain unanswered. Hopefully next time my planning will be better, ne? Gomen! I never meant to make everyone wait so long for an update.

- San-chan