So, a few things. This is my first Fanfiction so ya. Also, I know I suck at grammar so bear with me if I don't catch all my mistakes.

Obviously I don't own Rurouni Kenshin and I will create characters as I need them.

Please RxR. Thanks.

The Meeting

Kaoru stood in her kitchen cooking dinner, or what she called dinner. Cooking wasn't her forte. When she had to cook, it usually involved frying some vegetables and putting it on rice. Give her some herbs and she could make anything, give her some food and she struggled to make it edible. Hearing a noise, she turned to look at the man lying on her couch. His flaming red hair and scar on his cheek made him rather easy to recognize. He had been unconscious for three days, she was starting to get concerned. If he didn't wake up soon then she would need to start looking for a way to get an IV.

Normally, she would call Megumi and have her patient transferred to the hospital and they would work out a way to pay for the medical care, but she couldn't really do that with a man wanted by the police. Since she had sworn to help all those that came to her for help, she got people from both sides of the law. It was her policy to never get her friends involved when she worked with criminals. The Battousai fell into that category.

His hand moved slightly telling her he was waking up. She would have sighed in relief if it weren't for the fact that he probably wasn't going to react very well to waking up in a strange place. Combined with the fact that he was one of the strongest fighters of the day and a skilled assassin, even when he fought with a sword against modern weapons, meant this was going to be interesting. Turning back to her stove she turned down the heat and turned on her electric kettle in preparation for what was about to happen. Slowly stirring her food, she waited, keeping her back to him. It was a sign of trust and would make him slightly less prone to attacking her first and asking questions later. She wasn't concerned about him hurting her. His injuries were far to sever for him to be able to move to where she was, let alone use his weapon. The most he could do right now was throw the sword at her, which she could probably avoide. A low grown followed by silence told her he was awake.

"I wouldn't do that," she said not turning around. She felt him hesitate at her words before moving again. Sighing she turned around just in time to see him fall to the floor. "Told you so," she muttered as she slowly made her way over to him. She had to give him credit, he hadn't passed out. Now he was watching her from the floor, even prone on the floor his fierce golden eyes were intimidating.

"I'm going to help you up. I would appreciate it if you didn't try to kill me." Not that he was in any shape to actually do so, she thought. She approached him slowly and knelt next to him. He was still watching her but hadn't moved. Whether that was by choice or because of his injuries she didn't know. Slowly she worked her arms under him, mindful of his injuries, and started the long process of getting him back on her couch.

Once he was lying down again she returned to her kitchen and pored the now hot water into a waiting tea pot. As the tea cooled she pulled out some of the bone broth she had made the day before. If he stayed awake long enough, she would try and get him to eat some, but the tea was more important because it would help with the pain. It wasn't great to have him drink the tea on an empty stomach but there was a good chance he would be asleep again before too long, so tea came first.

Once it had steeped for long enough, she added in a hefty amount of ice to make it cool enough for him to drink it easily. Grabbing a cup, she brought the pot to the table in front of the couch. Then she moved to help him into a sitting position. He flinched when she moved towards him, reaching instinctively towards his sword, which wasn't at his side.

"If I was planning on hurting you, you would think I would have done so while you were unconscious," She said. "And since you are probably wondering, your sword is right here," she said indicating the katana that was leaned up against the couch near his feet. Pouring him a cup of tea she took a sip before handing it to him.

"I figure you wouldn't drink it unless I proved it wasn't poisonous. This is just a simple willow bark and chamomile tea with a lot of honey. It will help with the pain. Drink it slowly." When she got up and he didn't move she added another commanding 'drink' before heading back to the kitchen to tend to her dinner. She didn't turn to check on him while she cooked, using her other senses instead.

He wavered for a while before taking a tentative sip. Once he discovered that it wasn't deadly he took a larger sip. Kaoru winced at this and turned off the stove, waiting. At first, nothing happened, and she started to wonder if maybe his strength was going to help prevent what she was expecting. But no, a few seconds later she heard the cup fall to the ground and the sounds of vomiting. Thankfully she had been prepared for this, her floors had long since been turned to wood and she had given him a plastic cup.

Hurrying over she quickly supported his weight. With one arm she massaged his back carefully, mindful of the injuries there. With the other hand she applied pressure to his wrist like she had been taught. His dry heaving's quickly stopped. She helped him lean back again and looked into his eyes. She almost pulled back in fright from the anger and ferocity she found in his eyes. If he wasn't almost falling unconscious from the pain the vomiting had just inflicted on him, she had no doubt that he would be trying to kill her right now. Thankfully, she wasn't about to find out if he was capable of such a thing in his current state.

"I said drink slowly," she reprimanded after she got her balance back from his stare. There was surprise in his eyes now, at the fact that his stare did not cow her. "When I say slowly, I mean slowly. A giant gulp is not slowly. Now, try again," she refilled his cup and handed it back to him. "This time take small sips and make sure you aren't going to throw up before taking another. I would actually like to eat dinner instead of cleaning up after you ever two minutes."

Reprimand delivered, she got up to retrieve the cloths she saved for this specific occasion. Then she started the oh so familiar task of cleaning vomit off her floor, muttering under her breath about how many times this had happened. Thankfully, he took her words to heart and was in enough of a need to relieve the pain that he drank the tea, despite distrusting her.

"Who are you," he asked in a scratchy voice after finishing the first cup of tea.

"Kaoru," She said refilling his cup. "This is my home. I live in the east side. Now drink up, I want to get some soup in you before you fall asleep." His ki sharpened at this. She responded in a relaxed manner, "No, I did not drug the tea. You are badly injured, you were unconscious for three days. Your body needs rest. Its only because of how strong you are that you haven't fallen asleep again already."

"The police?" He asked, not relaxing and not drinking his tea.

She sat in silence and glared at the cup until he got the message and started drinking again. Then she got up to get some of the bone broth. "What part of 'you were asleep for three days' did you not get. If I was going to report you, I would have and there would be police here. I cure the sick and heal the wounded to the best of my abilities. That is all I care about. Anyone who comes to me for aid will receive it without repercussions." She walked back over and handed him the bowl. "I can't say the stuff tasted very good, but it has a lot of nutrients. Drink it slowly and only eat as much as you think you can. I'm not expecting you to get more than a few mouthfuls down. Don't push it. I would like everything to stay in your stomach."

He took a few small sips before putting the bowl down and picking up the tea again. His movements were becoming more lethargic, telling her he was going to fall asleep soon. Once the cup was finished she helped him lie down and he was quickly asleep.

She rejoiced. Since he had been able to stay awake for so long, there was a good chance he wouldn't defecate in his sleep any more. Not that that had been an issue since the first day he came, since his system had nothing in it. She would keep the sheets there just in case, but it was nice to know that she would probably just need to help him to the bathroom from now on.

Washing up, she reheated her forgotten dinner and ate before getting ready to change his bandages. Once her dishes were in the sink she pulled out the second set of dished she used for her herbs. Her hands quickly crushed the comfrey leaves she had dried a few weeks ago. She would need more soon because she kept needing large batches to tend to all his wounds. She used a few other herbs when tending to him, but comfrey was the main one. It helped with healing and that was his biggest problem. Once the paste was ready she carried it, a bowl of water with a sponge, a bucket for the dirty bandages, and new bandages over to the couch.

Then came the slow process of removing bandages, washing away the old paste, checking to see how each wound was doing, noting any changes in her notebook, remedying any problems she found, applying the new paste, and finally putting a new bandage on. It took a long time, but she knew better than to rush. By the time she was done it was near midnight. She washed up, put everything away, and then took up her position at the end of the couch. She leaned against the couch and closed her eyes, falling into a partial sleep she was used to. It let her body rest while her mind stayed alert, listening to any noise that would indicate a change in his condition. He was awake but not out of danger yet. There was the always prevalent danger of infection.

The next two days passed in a very similar way, he would wake up periodically and be confused. She would then have to tell him where he was and who she was. It was getting rather frustrating. Every time he woke up she had to go through the same speech and convince him that she wasn't trying to kill him or turn him over to the police. Then she would force tea and broth down him until he fell asleep again.

When he was not awake she spent her time making other remedies that other people needed. They would be left outside her door which told everyone that she had a patient inside and that she was not to be disturbed unless it was an emergency. It would be like this until she was able to get him into the guest bedroom. Once he was there people could come into her apartment again since the room had a door. The main reason for doing this was because she didn't want to get others involved when she was caring for a criminal. But she did the same thing for anyone, criminal or not, so it wasn't blatantly obvious when she had a criminal inside.

She hadn't put him in the guest bedroom to start with because there was a bed in there. It is a lot harder to maneuver him on a bed, so he would be on the couch until he regained some strength. As she expected, by the end of the second day he was able to sit up on his own. Learning the kind of swordsmanship that he practiced required a strong body. After he woke up for the third time that day and demonstrated that he could once again sit up on his own, she deemed him ready to move to the bed. Once he finished a cup of tea, to help with the pain moving would induce, she slowly helped him to the bedroom.

"Why do you do this?" He asked once he was situated and sipping tea again.

"I have the ability to help, why wouldn't I? You and your group work in the west side," she said. "You never come over to this side. We might not have as much crime over here, but we have a lot of poverty. Most people here can't afford medicine or to go to the hospital. A lot of people die because of that. What I do might not be as effective as modern medicine, but it is better than nothing."

"What do you ask in return," he said. Even after all she had done, he still didn't trust her. Which she understood but it still annoyed her that he thought so little of her.

"Nothing. I do not ask for payment from those who cannot pay. Many people chose to repay me through food or items like blankets. Some offer to help me pick herbs. If they decide to do this, they do it of their own free will, I do not ask it of them."

He didn't respond to this and after a few minutes of silence she left to go clean up the mess in her living room. Now that he was gone she could regain use of the space. She came back a few minutes later to find him asleep.

His body hurt. That was an understatement. He couldn't remember the last time he was in this much pain. The last time he had laid unconscious for three days. The tea was the only thing that helped. It had been four days since he had woken up in Kaoru's apartment. Experience told him not to trust her, but she had done nothing to harm him. Why he wasn't arrested was beyond him, she obviously knew who he was.

He didn't remember Kaoru at all, but somehow, she had gotten him from one side of the city to the other without being seen. It was over a five-hour walk. There was no way she had carried him all the way. He could tell she was strong by the way she held herself and how she didn't cow before him. If he had to guess, she studied a form of swordsmanship. But only someone like Sano would have had the strength and endurance to carry him for that long. So, he must have been conscious. But he didn't remember.

Kaoru was an interesting person, to say the least. Her long black hair remained tied up in a high ponytail. The fact that she had left his weapon within reach either made her very stupid, too trusting, or something he didn't quite understand. The sword lay next to him now, with the small string she had tied around it to lock the sword in the sheath. If he needed, he could break the string in an instant. He guessed it was there more to give him pause than to stop him from drawing it.

She knocked before coming in. He was sitting up in bed, which surprised her for a second, but she got over it quickly. "It's supposed to get cold tonight," she said in explanation for the blankets she was carrying. He couldn't help being confused as she laid the rather oddly colored blankets on his bed. She laughed at his reaction, "As I said, I get a lot of blankets from people. Electricity is expensive, which means heat is expensive. We use lots of blankets instead of a heater. The people in the city go through clothing about as quickly as they go through food, so there is always a lot of discarded clothing here. We take what is actually useful and turn the rest into blankets and other useful items. It works but things tend to look a little strange."

There wasn't a need to say anything, so he didn't. Once the blankets we layered on the bed she left and came back in with some tea. She moved to leave when there was a knock on the door. His hand moved instinctively to his sword and she tensed for a second before relaxing and smiling as a child's voice called through the door.

"Kaoru, Kaoru. Open up."

She smiled and left the room, closing the door. With the door closed the sounds were muffled. Partly out of curiosity and partly because he didn't trust Kaoru, he got up and made his way to the door. Cracking it open only slightly he watched what was going on.

Two little girls had attached themselves to her legs. Kaoru was laughing as she tried not to fall over. An older man stood in the doorway smiling.

"Well hello little Ayame and Suzume. How are you?"

"We going berry picking," The older one said.

"Ya, berry picking," the younger one echoed.

"We were heading to the forest to look for some winter berries and were wondering if you had a list for us," The older man said.

"I always do," she said waddling her way over to her desk with the girls on her legs. She glanced towards him, making it clear that she knew he was watching. Solidifying his theory that she had some kind of sword or martial arts training. A normal person would not have been able to notice he was there. Once the list was retrieved the three quickly left and the apartment fell into silence.

"Do you need help getting back to bed?" She asked as she turned away from the front door. Same direct tone she had been using with him the entire time.

"No," he said as he slowly made his way back. "Who were they?" He asked as she came in.

"That was Dr. Gensai and his two grandchildren Ayame and Suzume. Dr. Gensai is a retired doctor. He looks after his grandchildren now and goes to the forest every week to collect herbs for me."

"Did he teach you?"

"No, the old man did."

"Your father?"

"In a manner of speaking," she said with a tilt of her head. It was obviously not something she wanted to talk about.

"Do my men know I'm here?" He asked changing the subject.

"Not to my knowledge. I assume if they did they would be here. I would have offered you a way to contact them if I thought you would accept it."

"You would let me?"

"Ya, someone has to come pick you up. Besides if they are here then I would actually be able to get a good night's sleep…and a shower," she added to herself, but he heard. Looking at her now he could see exhaustion pulling at her shoulders. He couldn't help but wonder when she last got a good night sleep and if he was the cause of her lack of sleep. "I have a computer and a phone if you want to use them."

"The computer."

She nodded and left, coming back in a few minutes later with a laptop. "Here's my address," she said handing him a piece of paper and then leaving.

He booted the computer up. There was no lock screen. Opening up the internet browser, he quickly navigated to a sight they would be monitoring. He typed a short message that they would recognize as him, and sent it. Sano would be able to track the location the message was sent from so he didn't need to say the address. Then he cleared the browser history before shutting down the computer. Putting it on the bedside table, he finished his tea and laid down to rest.