AN: this is a continuation of the last scene, also from from Chapter 4 of "All His Colors"- essentially part 2 out of 3.

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"…suuu….. oii…! …na be late! …hear… me?! Hey, BUSU!"

The pounding on the gate matched the ferocity of what assaulted her temples, and Kaoru roused with a groan, hand clutching her forehead.

"Oi! BUSU, COME ON, did you forget?!"

Ugh…what…? What time is it?

"HEY, COME OUT, WE GOTTA GO!"

Yahiko. Right. The training session with the Norimatsu boys was today. Barely three hours must've passed after Kenshin limped home and they both crashed into bed. Sliding back the shoji door, the shihandai stumbled out haphazardly, shielding her bleary eyes from the afternoon light that felt unbearably harsh. When the pounding continued she called out with a voice that croaked with more hoarseness than she expected. "Okay, okay, I hear you - I'm coming, hang on!"

The banging finally ceased and Kaoru's aching head shot high praises to the heavens. Unlatching the wooden bolt, she pushed the gate open to find her star pupil pacing around and huffing with arms folded across his chest.

"Geez – finally! You said you'd bring me along today so I can spar – "

He stopped when he caught a glimpse of her, chocolate eyes widening.

"Whoa. I didn't think it's possible... but you look even uglier today than usual."

The wind rustled some trees, and the soft lapping of the river could be heard in the background.

Kaoru had no doubt the meager interrupted bouts of sleep and the buckets of tears she spilled had left dark craters under her eyes along with other unflattering marks, but even so, by now a bokken should've materialized in her hand to whap the boy senseless. Her silence hung a second too long and his face began to pale. Cursing inwardly, she swiftly corrected the mistake with a solid punch to his head, but what connected was pathetic and they both knew it. He rubbed his temple, one eye still trained on her, and she looked away, hoping the expression on her face resembled something more akin to irritation than heartbreak.

"You're the worst," she sniffed. "I came down with a massive cold from the late night yesterday and passed it on to Kenshin, so we both need some rest. I'm sorry Yahiko, but can you please tell the Norimatsus that we have to reschedule?" Kaoru fought the twitch building on her lip as she spoke.

Her protégé's eyes narrowed as he studied her, clearly not buying it. When the wind blew again, it seemed to seep right under her skin and a sneeze sprung from her lungs. She clutched her suddenly shivering arms, before sneezing again. At least now she was only partially lying.

Yahiko rolled his eyes and heaved out an exasperated sigh. "'Kay, fine, I'll tell them. You better recover quickly and don't go dyin' on me too early, ya hear?"

Kaoru didn't fail to notice the split-second grimace and clenching of his fist before he turned around, the bad joke having no doubt triggered his memory of a certain traumatic event. Her heart tugged. She caught his arm.

"Hey – look at me," she said, prompting him to turn his head. "I'm not going down that easily."

Her ocean eyes bore a determined stare into his. She'd meant every word and didn't let go of his arm until she was convinced he'd felt it. Yahiko nodded, frowning as he swallowed his lump, and looked away as if in shame for displaying even a shred of concern. "Good, you better not! You owe me one. And… y'know, just holler if you need food from Tae or somethin'..."

The little swordsman scratched the back of his head and marched off quickly before his lips could spout other mushy nonsense. Kaoru straightened up and brought a hand to clutch at her collar, lips curving up slightly. For all his macho pretenses, she knew her practically-adopted-little-brother was a good kid. "I will. Thanks, Yahiko," she called out softly to his retreating back.

Once he was out of sight, every nerve and muscle of her body screamed to regain her attention. A nasty throb still plagued her head and the weight of twenty sacks of rice seemed to settle on her limbs and back. She wasn't sure how long she could keep up this ruse, but she'd give it her best shot since she absolutely wouldn't drag Yahiko down into -whatever this was - that was going on between her and Kenshin.

Speaking of which…

The raven-haired woman closed the gate and shuffled back inside, wiping her nose. Taking small steps, she curled her fingers around the frame of the shoji door that was left ajar, peering into the room she'd shared with her spouse for the past three months. There he was, still lying on his back, snoring lightly, chest rising and falling under his half of the blanket with loose flaming locks splayed in a mess underneath. Dirt stains and bits of crushed leaves clung to the clothing he didn't bother to discard before collapsing onto the futon.

Kaoru's face fell and she sank slowly to the ground at the doorway, fingers wringing together on her lap. The chill under her skin didn't bother her now that there was a lump in her throat and frost closing around her heart. Typically, the mere approach of Yahiko's ki, much less the ruckus he'd shouted and pounded, would've instantly roused her husband and brought a small smile to play underneath his gentle violet eyes. And while she was never quite as attuned to others' energies as he was, the closeness they'd shared after marriage had made it easier for her to recognize the warm aura he exuded. But now, all she felt coming from him was a gaping miasma.

He looked so frail. His cheeks were gaunt and the skin on his flesh a sickly pallor. There were only two other instances when she'd seen him like this: in the aftermath of fighting Shishio and Enishi that had left him hanging on to the thin rope of life. Except this time… what reduced him to this form… was her?

Kaoru brought a trembling hand to cover her mouth, lids shutting out tears that threatened to form yet again on the edge of her lashes, heart pounding. She gripped her collars tighter. She wanted nothing more than to kneel by his side to wipe off his sweat with a cool cloth and stroke his cheek tenderly, but her body wouldn't move because at this point, does he even want her? Where does she begin to sort this out? How was she to mend something when she couldn't even discern what exactly was broken?

Get a grip, Kaoru! Her palms came up to slap her cheeks, breath seething between clenched teeth. Really, what good would it do to crumple down for another miserable second? The shihandai exhaled a large puff and knotted her brows together. She had to take care of herself first. A nice hot bath would burn away her cold, and with luck, also dispel the heavy fog settling into her mind.

Closing the shoji door gently, she headed over to the wood pile stacked behind the bath house. She'd need flint stones to start the fire, and - where are they kept, again? After searching around the area and rummaging through the storage shed, she found them tucked neatly underneath the porch slats adjacent to the pile. Of course. Grabbing a couple of split logs, she crouched down in front of the opening on the wall and stacked a small bonfire. Then she brought the stones crashing together, drawing sparks. It took some time before the wood caught aflame, and as she blew on the growing embers a wrenching feeling twisted in her stomach.

When was the last time she'd had to fire up her own bath?

Certainly, it had been at least three months. Stretching all the way back to the day her red-haired rurouni arrived at the dojo, not accounting for the times his injuries put him out of commission or when enemies engaged him in drawn-out combat, she could probably count on her fingers the number of times she'd done this chore for herself. Her faithful companion had cheerfully taken it on, day in and day out.

The flame crackled, dancing as she stoked the hot embers, and in the blazing flares she saw the phantom of his amber eyes.

He had seemed so terrified, exasperated, and pained, as he looked right at her. Why was he so desperate to push her away? And why would he bring up his first love?

What if…?

A sharp, stabbing pain drove through her chest, and she forgot how to breathe.

What if deep-down, he regrets marrying me…?

She bit her lip, vision blurring with liquid.

With a cry she flung the flint stones away and they bounced hard on the ground before hitting the wall of the gate. Clenching her teeth, she brought her hands to the sides of her head, shaking it to try and dispel the negative spiral of thoughts. Stop it, stop it! Her hands raked a trail from her temples to her jaw. Get a grip, Kaoru. Calm down. She rubbed up and down her arms, ripping her glare away from the fire, breathing in, breathing out.

Shutting herself in the bath house, Kaoru quickly undressed, tied her hair up with a towel, and dipped her toes into the water. The heat was a tad too much for her liking, but she resolutely plunged in the rest of her feet. When she lowered herself down to the pool of warmth, her eyes squeezed shut as she stretched her body out, letting her aching bones unload some of their burdens. She leaned her head back on the rim and focused her attention on the steam wafting over her face. The chatter between her ears still buzzed to a deafening degree.

Sucking in a deep breath, she dunked her head below the water in one swift motion. There, with nothing left to do but to count the seconds before her lungs burned for air, she was free. It was a habit she'd developed as a young child whenever the world seemed to be spinning out of control. She did it when she'd been humiliatingly bested in her first sparring match. She did it when she'd learned her father would never again come home. She did it when her a vengeful former student had besmirched the name of Kamiya Kasshin Ryu by rampaging the streets, spilling blood, pretending to be…

Oh, for cryin' out loud - Mou!

Kaoru's head burst out of the water as she gulped in large intakes of breath, fingers tightly gripping the edge of the tub. Reflexively her head turned towards the door, and, still heaving, she couldn't help but stare at it in a mixture of hope and longing.

He had barged in on that day, amethyst eyes full of worry as he tried to stop what he'd thought was a suicide by drowning, before the sight of her and the dawning of his mistake spread a flush of red over his face. Not realizing the depths of his pure intentions then, she had punished him by locking him away in the storage shed, but his only retort was that of words filled with kindness and empathy. "I'm sure what your father wished for was your happiness, that I do," he'd murmured, gentle eyes curving up to a smile. Her happiness. After she'd called Hitokiri Battousai a bloodthirsty murderer to his face.

Her chest ached.

This was the man she had vowed to spend the rest of her life with. The same one who'd made an equally solemn promise of never leaving her side again.

She closed her eyes and built up a resolution.

No matter what enigmatic battle raged within his heart, Kenshin had come home today, taking up the invitation of her outstretched arms that his amber-eyed consciousness refused in the night. And in his eyes… the hollow, lost, pained look in those amethyst eyes…

Kaoru splashed warm water over her face, keeping her palms up for a second. When she lowered her hands, a new spark glimmered in the twin sapphire orbs.

Hours later, when Kenshin stirred in the dead of night, all he felt were soft hands on his cheek and the coolness of the cloth dabbing away sweat from his forehead.

"Did you sleep well, Kenshin?"

Cracking open his vision, he beheld nothing but the sweet smile of ocean blues.

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P.S.: Kenshin's line quoted in italics was taken directly from Episode 1 of the anime. Also, I should mention that when I saw none-other-than Mamoro herself had reviewed these pieces, I nearly died of happiness.