Warnings/Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, as much as I would love to. This story is for personal growth as a writer only- not for any financial gain.

Summary: "Kenshin no baka," she whispered, "Can't you see that I'm doing this so that nothing will happen?": After another battle in which Kaoru feels useless, she decides to take matters into her own hands. One-Shot.

Tenacity by MarkyMarquee

If there was one thing that Kamiya Kaoru was not, it was weak. Years of daily kendo training had left the petite shihondai's hands calloused, arms muscular, legs fast, and her will as strong as iron. There were few punches too strong for her to take, few words too harsh for her to brush off, and yet, standing on the edge of yet another field of battle, watching the spiky haired ex-gangster and the red-headed ex-ruruoni fight it out with yet another ghost of Kenshin's past, Kaoru felt inadequate. She watched as their opponent, a former member of the Shinengumi, dropped his stance low and swung his sword up, from right hip to left shoulder, barely missing Kenshin's arm, and gripped her bokken tightly. Any more close calls such as that, and she would no longer be able to follow the rurouni's direction to stay put.

"Maa, maa, Kaoru-dono," he had said, once their unwelcome visitor had made his intent clear, "Sessha will take care of this man with Sano, de gozaru. You wouldn't be safe, with your bokken. Please wait for us to finish."

She had just been finishing up practicing her own kata when the man had arrived, breaking down the front shoji of her dojo. Kenshin and Sanosuke had been there in an instant, ready for battle. She had wanted to help, too, but Kenshin had simply patted her on the head and sent her off to wait in the corner while the men settled things.

Sano was thrown backwards against the wall, blocking an attack meant for Kenshin. Suddenly, their opponent's feet shifted from an on-guard stance to one more neutral- feet shoulder's width apart, pointed in the same direction, shoulders squared to center, sword in front and raised roughly hip level. Kaoru knew she'd seen this particular stance before; it was one that was taught at a dojo across the city, in preparation to unleash an unexpected attack, a stab straight to the enemy's stomach. The neutral stance would throw Kenshin off. In fact, he was moving towards the man, right in the way of the attack.

"Kenshin! Watch out!" she shrieked, hoping that perhaps her voice would stall Kenshin's progress.

It was too late. The sharp thrust of the sword ran through Kenshin's left side before he even knew what hit him.

Kenshin's sakabatou fell from his limp hands and his opponent kicked it across the dojo floor, where it spun and hit Kaoru's knee. The man chuckled heavily as Kenshin sunk to his knees. As Sano struggled to get to his feet, the man raised his sword to strike the final blow.

"Say sayonara, Battousai."

Kaoru didn't even think. She grabbed the hilt of the fallen sakabatou and raced across the floor, her hakama bustling as she ran, yelling, "Matte! STOP!"

"Eh?" the man raised his head, but did not move his sword.

"You still have one more opponent," hissed Kaoru, hoping that her voice sounded stronger than she felt.

"Oh?" he replied.

"Yes. Me," and with that, Kaoru raised the sakabatou and dropped into the fighting stance that the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu was known for.

"Iie...no... Kaoru-dono..." Kenshin wheezed, gripping his side. Blood poured from between his fingers and on to the dojo floor. Vaguely, she could see Sano trying to stand.

"My, my, this has gotten interesting," the man replied. And then, he charged.

Kaoru met him blow for blow, blocking and striking smoothly, but was shocked to discover just how much heavier the sakabatou was than her own bokken. At this rate, she knew, she'd only last a few minutes at best. It wasn't fair! She knew how to defeat him, she had been watching the whole battle and had not only identified his style, but his weaknesses as well. It was ridiculous to think that her favorite rurouni was going to die simply because she'd never bothered to practice with anything heavier than her bokken!

Sensing her fatigue, his strikes started coming quicker, and Kaoru was forced on the defensive. Unable to do anything except block, the man began to force her to move backwards, towards the center of the dojo floor. As they moved, Kaoru was able to see Kenshin, not far away, fighting against all reason to stand. Sano had nearly reached him, and he was using his sheath for balance as he staggered upright in his blood soaked tabi. His left hand still gripped his side, and his face was deathly pale, amethyst eyes shining in stark contrast against his white face and bloodless lips. He faltered, hitting his knees once more, and closed his eyes.

'NO! YOU WILL NOT LEAVE ME AGAIN!' Kaoru thoughts screamed as she, in a complete break in her form, leapt forward and shot the back end of the hilt up into the man's jaw, knocking him unconscious and sending him sprawling across the mats.

She dropped the sword and raced to Kenshin's side, just as Sano got there.

"Go!" She hissed, "Get Megumi to clean up Kenshin! And get Saitou-san to clean up the rest of this mess!" For once, Sano didn't argue. Hauling himself up to his feet again, he raced off in search of help.

She knelt next to the rurouni, brushing his fiery mane out of the way with careful fingers. He was still kneeling, still holding his side, head bent, his eyes wrenched shut with pain and his right hand supporting himself, fingers splayed on the floor.

"Hold on, please, don't go..."

In the week following the attack, the Kamiya dojo was full of activity. The police, particularly Saitou, came and went several times, gathering evidence, speaking with her and Sano, and asking about Himura. Sano was away, more often than not, doing god knows whatever in an attempt to avoid Kaoru's cooking. Yahiko picked up several extra shifts at the Akabeko to avoid the chaos at home.

Kenshin did not move. He lay on his futon, the door ajar, unconscious. Megumi said it was for the best- he'd lost a lot of blood, and his thin frame needed time to heal. In the meantime, Kaoru did all of his chores.

Something had changed, however. Somewhere in between the endless laundry and scrubbing, cooking and dishes, Kaoru decided she'd had enough. She was going to grab the bull by the horns on this one, and fix the damned problem herself. She was never going to be pushed off to the side again.

The first time she stole the sakabatou was on day five of his unconsciousness. She crept into his room and lifted the sword from where it lay by his futon. She watched him sleep in his white yukata, his chest rising and falling slowly, and briefly, she entertained the notion that he would awaken as soon as she touched the sword. Gingerly, she laid one finger, then two, then five on the scabbard and lifted it, tip toeing out of the room.

That day, she only managed a hundred strokes before her arms fell limp and she was forced to return it.

The next day, and each day thereafter, the sakabatou became a part of Kaoru's daily practice ritual. By day eleven she was able to manage a thousand strokes and the first three katas of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu.

On day twelve, she completed five hundred swings, and then decided to attempt kata number four. Her arms were now much more accustomed to the sword's heavy weight, and her movements flowed smoothly from one stance to the next. First offence, now defense, change feet, and repeat. She was nearly finished when a voice made her drop the heavy sword.

"Sessha believes that that weapon does not belong in your hands, de gozaru yo."

The sakabatou clattered on the hardwood practice floors of the dojo. Kaoru looked up at Kenshin, who was leaning heavily against the shoji entrance, still in his white sleeping yukata. He stared at her, his amethyst eyes unreadable.

"Kenshin," she began. "You should be laying down, you're not ready..."

"Sessha awoke and saw his sword was gone, and began to worry," he interrupted her effortlessly, "Sessha had to come find it. Sessha does not believe that Karou-dono's hands should ever hold such a weapon, de gozaru."

Kaoru walked swiftly across the dojo floor to where he stood, and helped him move to sit on the engawa. His forehead was beaded with sweat, and he was pale and shaky. Kaoru sat next to him and gripped his hand tightly.

"I can't just stand to the side anymore and watch you fight. You nearly died, and it would have killed me too if I hadn't been able to help. I've been borrowing your sword so that, next time, I can help without being a burden."

Kenshin just shook his head, "Kaoru-dono, I would never be able to forgive myself if anything were to happen to you. I can't..."

"Kenshin no baka," she whispered, "Can't you see that I'm doing this so that nothing will happen?"

He hung his head, "Sessha should be able to protect you. If Sessha can't, and trouble is coming here looking for sessha, then..."

"Don't. You. Dare." she snapped, with such ferocity that Kenshin's head snapped up, "If you leave me, I will follow you. With my bokken. I will wander too- I'll wander to follow you. And if I lose sight of you, I'll keep wandering until I've found you again. Then I'll beat some sense into your head, and drag you back to Tokyo. Period."

Kenshin smiled sadly, "Kaoru-dono, you still can't borrow my sakabatou anymore. You should've in the first place, de gozaru."

"Then I'll buy my own katana. You aren't going to stop me. I'm never going to stand by on the sidelines and watch someone murder you ever again," Kaoru growled mulishly.

Kenshin's eyes widened, "Kaoru-dono..."

"Don't you Kaoru-dono me. Now, let's get you back to bed."

She didn't steal his sakabatou again. Now that he was awake, Kenshin kept a firm grip on his sword to prevent her from running off with it. Nor had she had any luck with finding a katana. She'd asked everyone that she could think of who might know of someone who might be selling one, to no avail. She'd even approached Saitou, only to be met with a raised eyebrow and a quick dismissal. She tried tying weights to her bokken, to simulate a katana's weight, but it never turned out quite right, and it was much harder to practice with them on. Still, Kaoru remained determined.

One day, a month after the attack, Kenshin wandered in while she was practicing. Her weighted bokken moved through the kata clumsily, and she felt her face redden as he watched. At the end of the kata, he beckoned her over.

"Here," he said, producing a long, thin package from behind his back. Kaoru's eyes widened as she opened the gift, and pulled her very own sakabatou from its sheath.

"Sessha only has one request, de gozaru."

"What...what is it?" she stammered.

"That you let Sessha teach you how to use it."

~Owari~

A/N: Please R&R