Author's note: This is the final chapter!!

I do not own Rurouni Kenshin. I wish I did, but I don't.

Defiance

By: Shiara-dono

Chapter 8

-One year later-

Blood sprayed as Kenshin's sword slid effortlessly through the man's flesh. Droplets landed on Kenshin's face, and he wiped them away with disdain. He left a slip of paper with 'tenchu' written on the body and turned to walk away. Finally, I can be rid of this awful job. Well… almost rid of it. There's still one annoyance to take care of. After walking a few feet and deciding the annoyance wasn't going to go away on its own, he turned. "Why don't you come out in the open and fight me?" He challenged the presence, eyes narrowed.

Something was thrown at him and he dodged, turning again to face his attacker as they stepped from the shadows. One of his eyebrows raised in surprise.

It was a woman, dressed in formal ninja wear. Her cool blue eyes glared at him from behind a mask.

"Who are you?" Kenshin asked coldly. "Why do you attack me?"

She offered no explanation, but attacked again.

He deflected her kunai, studying her movements. She moved with feline grace, but something told him kunai were not her weapon of choice. He cursed as he got too close, and she slashed his arm with a razor sharp kunai she had been holding between her fingers. He slashed back at her with his sword.

She jumped back, pulling out a sword. As their swords clashed together, Kenshin managed to get a good look at her sword. What the-? The blade's on the wrong side! How's she going to kill me with that?! … unless… He staggered backward, thrown by the cold triumph in her eyes.

His head felt funny and hot. He looked back at her with blurred vision to find her slowly waving the razor sharp kunai in front of his face. No… the kunai… she poisoned me! With that thought, he fell into the welcoming darkness.

--

He awoke some time later, head pounding. His hands were tied behind his back and there was a blindfold over his eyes. The bandage he could feel on his injured arm perplexed him. Why had she doctored him? And why was he still alive? Moving slowly, he began to ease his hands free of their bonds.

Soft, almost silent footsteps alerted him of her presence. A sword point touched his throat. "Kidnapping me was foolish." He threatened quietly. "You must not know who I am. But you might want to kill me quickly. You'll regret it if you don't."

Her voice was as quiet as his as she responded. "I know exactly who you are, Hitokiri Battousai. If I had wanted to kill you, I would have used a stronger poison. What I have planned for you is not quick, but I won't regret it. And I think Katsura-san will be okay with having you kidnapped, once he knows I'm your captor."

Kenshin froze. Though much stronger sounding than the last time he had heard it, he'd recognize that voice anywhere. "Ka… Kaoru??" Having worked free of his bonds, he brought his hands up and removed his blindfold.

Kaoru stood before him, glaring down at him. She had changed for the ninja outfit to a gi and hakama. The sword she held against his throat was actually the bokken he'd given her, although the tip had been sharpened.

He continued to stare at her in disbelief. "Kaoru?" He breathed again. He pushed her bokken aside and started to stand.

She moved quickly, and her bokken came crashing down on his head, hard enough to cause him to fall back down. "BAKA!" She yelled at him, holding her bokken in front of her. "Do you have any idea how long it's been?! A year! A YEAR, dammit!!"

Kenshin looked at her, wide-eyed, holding his head. "That hurt." He growled.

"Good. It was supposed to."

He stared at her. She was breathing hard from her little rant, her eyes glittering dangerously as she glared at him. All in all, he found her beautiful. "Please, Kaoru… may I hold you?"

Kaoru's glare softened a fraction. She sighed and nodded, lowering her bokken.

He moved cautiously, in case she decided to hit him again. He gently closed his arms around her, amazed to find she was real and not, in fact, a ghost.

It took him a few moments to come to his senses. When he did, he shoved her roughly away. "What are you doing here?!" He asked, eyes hard.

"What am I-?!" She fumed. Did you honestly expect me to stay there?"

"I left you there to protect you!"

"Protect me?!" Kaoru screeched. "Baka, you deserted me! I managed two months by myself. Two! And I only stayed that long because I thought you would come back for me."

Kenshin growled, deciding he'd come back to that subject later. "You didn't have to attack me."

"Yeah, I did. You wouldn't take me seriously otherwise. Sorry about poisoning you, but I didn't think you'd follow me willingly."

By kami, she was using sarcasm! On him! He growled again, irritated and yet, a little amused. "You think I'd take you seriously with that broken sword?"

"For your information, it's called a sakabattou. And I got it for you. I was just seeing how well it would do in a battle."

That startled him. "For me?" He repeated. "What do I want with a sword like that?"

"It's for when you decide to give up killing. You live by the sword, so you need a sword. But that one can't kill, at least, not easily."

Kenshin shook his head. It was too much to think about right now. "You said you only stayed two months. Where did you go after that?"

She sighed. "Back home. My father was happy to see me, but I didn't stay long enough for him to gamble me away again. Turns out we have some ninja as distant relatives. I went there and stayed with them, learning wheat they could teach me. I learned far faster than they expected. Anyway, despite the training, I was bored there, and still ticked at you. So, I started looking for you."

"Because you wanted to fight me?"

"Part of it." Kaoru admitted. "You really know how to piss a girl off. But I also realized I want to be with you."

"You… what?"

"Is it really so hard to believe?"

"But… I'm a hitokiri."

Kaoru sighed again. "You know, you use that excuse a lot. It's starting to get old. Besides, if you want to get technical about it, I'm a hitokiri too."

"You… you are?!"

The look Kaoru gave him was priceless. "Kazaki, remember? You didn't kill him that night… I did."

"That's different! The number of lives I've taken, the amount I have to atone for…"

"And I have to atone for the life I took." She paused. "We should go. Katsura-san will start to worry if you don't return soon."

Kenshin shook his head. "I quit. This was my last assignment."

Kaoru's eyes widened. "They let you go? Wow. What will you do now?"

"I told you. I have to atone for the lives I took."

"I see. Well, at least you won't have to do it alone."

"Kaoru, you can't come with me." His voice was harsh and said argument wouldn't be accepted.

Kaoru argued anyway. "Why not? Dammit Kenshin, I care about you! I'm not going to let you disappear from my life again! And I can hold my own in a fight."

"I know you can fight, you've proved that. But…" His voice dropped. "I'm not worthy."

"What's that have to do with anything?!" Kaoru snarled. Internally, she sighed. He wasn't going to budge, not tonight anyway. She'd start again tomorrow. "What ever happened with I'izuka?"

Kenshin's eyes clouded with hate. "I caught up with him. He won't bother you again."

"Oh." Kaoru walked closer, lifting her hand to his face. "Is he the one who cut you?" She asked, her fingers lightly tracing the horizontal slash across his vertical scar.

Kenshin forced himself to remain still, even though every ingrained instinct told him being touched was bad. "He is. But like I said, he won't do it again."

She nodded, absently tracing his scar again. She felt a yawn coming and turned to hide it.

It didn't work; Kenshin still saw. "When was the last time you slept?"

"Um… three days ago?"

"Then you should sleep. Is this place safe?"

"Yeah. This is an old ninja hideout. And I'll only sleep if you do. And not against the wall, either."

He eyes her, voice cautious. "Then where?"

"On the futon, with me."

Kenshin stared at her blankly. "… you're not going to bend on this, are you?"

She grinned. "Nope!"

He sighed and helped her set up the futon. He lay down on it, his back to her as she changed into a yukata.

Kaoru lay on the futon, facing him, watching his posture. "You're tense. Do you want me to help you relax?"

He felt a blush begin to stain his face and averted his eyes, looking at her hands. He could see several crescent shaped scars, testimony of the last time he'd slept near her. He closed his eyes against the sick feeling he still got whenever he remembered the night of the fire. "No." He whispered. "I'm fine."

Kaoru frowned. She propped herself up on her elbows and leaned toward him, reaching around him to free his hair from its tie. "Not very convincing." She muttered.

He gave a small laugh that was both hollow and shaky. He opened his eyes as she lay back down, watching her as she began to play with his hair. "Why do you want to be with me?" He asked quietly.

Kaoru shrugged, not answering at first. "Is it so hard for you to believe someone actually cares about you?" She finally asked.

"Yes."

Kaoru sighed. "Well, get used to it. I don't plan on leaving here alone. Now get some sleep."

Kenshin continued to watch her a long time after she fell asleep. He shifted his weight so that he could softly brush his fingers against Kaoru's cheek. Her response was to shiver and snuggle closer to him.

He almost bolted backward off the futon, but managed to restrain himself. Barely. His eyes were wide and a true blush turned his face flame red. "I… I care about you, too." He murmured in a hesitant whisper, brushing stray strands of hair away from her face. Possibly even love. "I'm not worthy of you, but someday, if you stay with me, I… I might be able to show you that. For now, that's all I can offer.

Kaoru sighed. "I know." She replied in a sleep laden voice. "I couldn't ask for anything more."

Kenshin's jaw dropped. He hadn't realized she was awake. As Kaoru looked at him with her clear blue eyes, he favored her with a gentle smile, an unheard of gesture. He pressed closer to her and closed his eyes. "Thank you." He whispered, warm breath ghosting across her face. "I am glad you followed me. Thank you."

-Owari-

Ne, I'm done! Thank you everyone who read and/ or reviewed this story. Your comments mean a lot to me. Until next time, minna-san, ja ne!

Glossary:

tenchu: Heaven's justice. Battousai left this on all his killings

kunai: weapon used by ninja. It is similar to a throwing dagger

hitokiri: manslayer

Battousai: what Kenshin was called during the revolution, so named because of his Battou jutsu

-san: Mr., Mrs., Ms. It's the polite way to address someone

gi: a type of Japanese shirt that allows easy movement

hakama: same as above, only they're pants

bokken: wooden sword

baka: idiot

kami: god

sakabattou: reverse- blade sword

futon: Japanese bed. It's more or less padding on the ground

yukata: summer kimono or nightwear