Look and See

By Bri-C123

Chapter 26

Together, Kenshin and Kaoru stand in front of her door. She shakily unlocks the door and pushes it open. The place looked exactly like how she left it. There were some empty dishes still left in the sink and the room was dark with the dying daylight. The walk here had been long and hard. A part of her didn't want to really show him what had happened in that room, but she knew she could not get those images out of her head by herself. Perhaps he would help her. Perhaps those images sent to her would help them find out who was behind all this.

Kenshin is unnaturally still at her side. She holds onto his sleeve as they step forward together. She can't really remember much, but the tension coming from Kenshin is enough to make her scared. In the silence, there is suddenly a shrill scream. Kaoru freezes. It is a very familiar scream. Kenshin is already on his way to the bedroom where the sound comes from. She knows what he is going to find.

He slams the door open and finds himself in a dark room with only the light of Kaoru's laptop shining. He steps towards the screen, watching it. It's Kaoru. Kaoru, in a dirty towel, sitting in a dark room. Kaoru, sitting on the floor in nothing but a dirty bathrobe. Kaoru clawing her scalp as she struggles to stay awake. All Kaoru.

Kaoru is already by the doorway. She feels like a little girl again. "Kenshin" she whispers.

He doesn't move. He's still trying to process everything. Still trying to find it in himself to not blame himself for causing her all this pain.

She steps towards him but feels the glass break under her foot. She steps back and her shoulder accidently hits the wall. The light turns on.

He can feel her ki spike up in terror and turns around to shield her. But she isn't in danger. She's staring at the walls of her room. Once a crisp clean room, now splattered with red. The pattern is like that of a murder, but there is no real blood here. He sees words written on a part of the wall not painted red.

"Remember me Kuramiko" he reads aloud.

There is a shriek and the sound of Kaoru bumping into the wall. Kenshin turns to see her scrambling to get away.

"Kaoru!" He turns the light off as he runs to her. "Kaoru, what's wrong?!" She doesn't answer. Instead, she's running across the apartment to her kitchen. She starts rifling through her cabinets. "Kaoru! What is going on?!" He forcibly pulls her to him and holds her. "Tell me!"

"Kuramiko… Kuramiko… must hide in the basement" she starts to whisper. She clenches his shirt as a headache starts to form. "Kuramiko mustn't be afraid of the dark." She starts to cry. "Kuramiko had to run away."

Confused, he can only hold her. "Kaoru, Kaoru, it's okay. I'll protect you this time."

"You can't protect Kuramiko." She turns to press her face into his neck. "Megumi… Megumi should know."

"What should she know, Kaoru?"

"About me."

There is silence as he takes it in. "Okay, shall we take you to Megumi then?"

"Megumi-nee knows about me. She helps me forget."

He isn't sure what to do and starts leading her to the door. "Everything will be okay, Kaoru."

They have to slowly make their way to Megumi's office. She is hiding her face in behind her long bangs. He doesn't want to push her. Really, all he wants to do is pull her into his arms so whatever is plaguing her won't bother her anymore. They stick to the alleyways and keep to themselves.

Once they reach the end of one alley, they move on to another. Kaoru stays silent and only follows where Kenshin leads her. Eventually they end up at a little clinic. A small and very familiar clinic. But they don't enter through the front door as Kaoru remembers, they enter through a discreet back entrance. "Kenshin" she whispers.

"It's fine, koishii. Just follow me." They enter a darkened room and just sit on the lone bed in there. Kenshin could feel Kaoru's hand shake just a bit in his. He strokes it, trying to sooth her. Her grip on him tightens. "Are you frightened?" He murmurs. She pauses and nods, just slightly. "Will you tell me what frightens you?" Her hand holds his tighter and she shakes her head. With her answer he pulls her onto her lap and hugs her. His arms are tight around her body, but not suffocating. "I won't let them harm you. Whatever haunts you, whatever you feel you need to be wary of, I won't let them hurt you."

Her tense posture relaxes and she leans into his body. "okay, I trust you, Kenshin." And for some reason, she really really does. Her small hands reach up and hold onto his arms, returning the hug.

They stay like that until Kenshin relaxes. His arms relax, but don't let go of her. He sighs into her hair. "Kaoru, I-"

The door opens, letting in light that blinds them. Kaoru hides her face in Kenshin's arms and he squints. Once his eyes adjust, he can see that Megumi is standing by the door. Her brow is raised, eying their position. "Oh my, this is not what I expected when someone told me you were in the safe room." She snickers.

"Megumi" Kenshin murmurs her name, embarrassed. "She's here, Kaoru."

Kaoru opens her eyes. "Megumi-nee…"

Megumi's eyes widen at the name. "K-Kaoru…"

"Megumi-nee, why did you let me forget?" Kaoru's eyes fill up. "Why did you keep me in the dark?" Kaoru stands but doesn't have the strength to keep herself up. Kenshin ends up catching her as her knees give out. "Why did you turn me into Kaoru?"

Megumi reaches out, as if to comfort Kaoru. "You were hurting…."

"You made me forget everything!" Kaoru's tears fall. "I forgot about them. I stayed in the basement this whole time, and you didn't let me out."

Megumi steels herself. She had prepared for this for a while. "I was protecting you. That is my job, Kaoru. I protect you from your memories."

"Look at where that got me" Kaoru laughs. "It got me taking meds everyday. It got me scared of anything at brings even the slightest memory of discomfort. And now look at where I am. I'm always trying so desperately to forget, Megumi, when I should have been remembering all along."

Megumi flinches with Kaoru's harsh words. "Kaoru, you were traumatized, and no one thought that you should remember such painful things."

"But every night, I remembered anyway!"

The both of them are silent, and Kenshin just continues to support Kaoru. The silence is thick with tension. Eventually there is a knock on the door.

"Megumi?"

"What is it?" she snaps.

"Hiko-san is at the front…"

Kenshin tenses. "Bring him back here" Megumi orders. The sound of footsteps walk away.

"I need to stop taking the meds, Megumi" Kaoru finally says. "I can't stay this way forever."

Megumi remains silent.

"Please, Megumi. I need to remember. There is something important I'm missing, and I think it's time for me to know."

Megumi sighs. "I know. I've known for a while. I can't keep increasing the dosage. You are getting too reliant on it…" She looks at Kaoru. "It's going to be hard for the next couple of weeks. You've been taking those everyday but now you're going to stop…"

Kaoru nods. "I know. I'm strong enough to handle it." Megumi looks skeptical.

"I'll watch over her, Megumi." Both women look at Kenshin. "I'll look after her" he repeats.

"Well…. If Ken-san is there…."

"No." Eyes turn to Kaoru. "I can handle this by myself. I don't need you to do this, Kenshin."

"Kaoru…"

"Kenshin just… this is my problem and I need to be able to get through this myself. Okay?"

He just stares at her. When he finally opens his mouth the door bursts open. Hiko, with his big looming mass, only stares at her.

"Kuramiko…"

Kaoru stiffens at the name. "You knew…"

The large man turns his nose up. "Of course I knew. Who do you think I am?" His whole demeanor softens. "Well, you probably don't remember who I am."

Kaoru and Kenshin tilt their head in confusion. "What?" they ask simultaneously.

"I knew your father."

"Papa?" The endearment leaves her lips even though she hasn't called for him since he died.

"No, not Kamiya."

She doesn't even remember what she used to call her true father. She looks down in shame. Kenshin strokes her hair to comfort her.

"Let me tell you a story, Kuramiko."

Kaoru grips the hem of Kenshin's shirt and glares at Hiko. "I'm Kaoru Kamiya now." She turns and sits back down on the bed, unconsciously dragging Kenshin with her. "But I'll listen."

Hiko nods and sits on a chair by the wall.

Kuramiko, it's time to come out of the basement.

Aaaaand I'm going to leave it there. Thank you for the support, as always! I hate to end it there, especially since I cannot tell you exactly when the next update will be, but I hope you'll continue supporting me!

I can tell you, though, that answers and the ending will be coming soon. I think I may keep this to 30 chapters, although I really won't know until I finish it up. I don't want to rush this too much. But its already been four years in the making. Such a long time!

Kinishra22: Thank you for reading! I hope you continue to keep up with this story :3

Reignashii: I'm so glad you enjoy this! I'm hoping things will clear up soon~ I hope I'm not making this too long for you. But thank you for keeping up with this for all these years! Can you believe it? It's been four years. Certainly too long to keep you waiting …

And to everyone one else who follows this story, or just found it, thank you! I hope you will stick with me to the end~