RuroKenshin 1

There's a lot more yelling, and then what sounds like Kaoru hauling off and hitting Sano before a door slams, causing Kenshin to jerk. There's a hiss from Saitou's shoulder.

"Ow." There's a pause. "I forgot about that wound."

"Smooth." Kenshin's head leans back to pin Saitou with a glare. "What?"

"You are not nice."

"You'll note I'm not moving either. I know when movement hurts." Kenshin goes to protest, but the door slides open and Megumi and Sano walk in. Kenshin gives her a small smile.

"Welcome, Miss Megumi."

Megumi doesn't verbally respond, her eyes raking over both of them. "Okay, which one of you is the most injured?"

As one Sano and Saitou both speak. "Kenshin."

Kenshin pouts. "Why is everyone gaining up on me?"

"Because you deserve it, you moron." Saitou gently flicks him. "He's got a wound on his back that's bleeding again. It might need stitches."

"Okay, let's get him on his stomach and take care of that first." Between Sano and Megumi, they manage to maneuver Kenshin back onto his mat, this time on his stomach. Kenshin winces at the movement.

Saitou watches from the wall as Megumi removes Kenshin's top and cleans the wound. "Yep, this will need stitches. Sano, can you grab me my kit?"

"Sure thing, fox." As he leaves, Megumi looks at Saitou. "Do you need stitches as well?"

"After him."

Megumi and Saitou gently maneuvered Kenshin up to shed his shirt, and Megumi bit back a shriek. Kenshin was torn to shreds. She reached out and gently touched an uninjured part of his shoulder.

"How do you stand this?"

"I have no longer noticed. They do not hurt so long as they are not touched."

"I'm going to have to clean them. It's going to hurt."

Kenshin gave her a small smile. "I know. I do appreciate the warning, that I do."

Megumi nodded. "I want to stitch your back first, so stretch back out, okay?"

Kenshin nods, and gingerly settles with his arms and head resting against Saitou's good leg, Saitou's hand coming down to rest against the crown of Kenshin's head. If Kenshin had any complaints, he hid them, eyes sliding closed as Megumi began to work.

Kenshin tenses every so often as Megumi hits a tender spot cleaning. "Okay, Kenshin, I'm going to stitch these up now." she warns him. "You ready?" Kenshin nods, and she pulls a sewing needle out and starts to work. Kenshin manages to keep his body relaxed, but unnoticed by the others, he has a death grip on Saitou's pant leg. Saitou just keeps his hand on the top of Kenshin's head, providing what comfort he can.

No matter how often you have to have it done, stitches suck.

"Okay, done." Megumi moves back and turns to Saitou. "I want to give him a break before I move on to anything else, so I'm going to take care of your leg next. Is that okay?" Saitou nods, and Megumi moves to his other side, letting Kenshin stay where he is. Saitou uses one hand to pull up his pant leg.

"I don't think it's going to be pretty."

"Can't possibly be worse than Kenshin's back."

"I resent that, that I do." Kenshin murmurs weakly.

"Go to sleep, you moron."

"I'm beginning to think that's a term of endearment, that I am." Kenshin's voice is a thread of sound, pressed against Saitou's shin.

Saitou scratches lightly at Kenshin's scalp, encouraging the other man to go to sleep. Megumi very loudly says nothing.

Sano pokes his head into the room, and his eyebrows disappear beneath his headband. "Sishiou did a number on him, huh?" he asks, voice quiet.

"Yes." Saitou's voice goes tight as Megumi works her way down his leg. His gaze flicks to where she's working - the stitches are tight and small, and will dissolve within a few weeks. He takes a moment to admire her work before turning to Sano. "How badly were you injured?"

"Superficial wounds at worst. She'll have to clean them, but other than that, I'm fine." Sano smiles. Megumi finishes stitching Saitou's leg and looks up at him.

"Anywhere else?"

Saitou chuckles and sheds his jacket, revealing a nasty gash along the outside of his bicep. "I don't know if it requires stitches, but this and the one you just stitched were the worst." He settles back against the wall, his jacket discarded against the far wall.

Megumi nods and sets to work cleaning the wound. "You're right, there's no need for stitches." She glances down at Kenshin. "Do you know where else he's injured?"

Saitou shakes his head. "I know he has some scrapes and burns on his chest area, but as far as I know, they've been cleaned and are good. You would do better to ask Kamiya or Sano."

Megumi arches an eyebrow. "You're referring to him as Sano now?"

Saitou tilts his head. "Well, that's what Himura always calls him. I picked up on it. He hasn't complained yet."

"Ah." She wraps his arm and moves back. "Well, you're all done. As long as Kenshin isn't bleeding from anywhere else, I'll let him sleep and deal with the rest when he wakes up. Now, Sanosuke - " here she turns to Sano, who merely grins at her " - your turn. Get over here."

"I'm fine."

"Shut up and let me be the judge of that."

Saitou snorts. "Yes, Sano, shut up and let the lady judge that."

Sano gives him the finger. "Go screw yourself."

"That gets boring. Sure you're not volunteering?"

"Please save the mental scarring for later." Megumi laughs.

"And for Kenshin." Sano tacks on, shedding his jacket and unwrapping the bandages around his chest. He grins and waggles his eyebrows at Megumi, who merely rolls her eyes.

"You're cute, Sano, but you're not my type." Megumi says, bending her head to take a look at Sano's wounds.

"What? Why not?"

"I prefer brains, not just muscle." Megumi says primly, dabbing one of the nastier wounds with disinfectant, earning a pained hiss from Sano, Saitou watching with thinly veiled amusement. Sano gives him a dirty look, and Saitou merely smiles, his hand never leaving Kenshin's hair.

Megumi glances over at him. "How long as that been going on?"

So much for keeping her silence, Saitou muses. "Not long."

"So very recent?"

"Understatement. We've talked about it, but this is the closest to PDA we've come."

Megumi nods. "So basically, Kaoru doesn't know."

Sano laughs. "No. She's so freaking clueless."

Megumi glances at Kenshin again. "Well, it's nice to know I'm not the only one who's out of luck there." she sighs. "I wonder why he hasn't said anything to Kaoru yet."

Saitou grins. "He doesn't know."

Megumi pauses. "Say what?"

"He doesn't know. As far as I can tell, he's so uninterested in women, that he doesn't have a clue that Kamiya is interested in him." His grin turns sharp. "I'm actually looking forward to what happens when he figures it out."

"But he protects her!"

"Yeah, because she can't defend herself against most of the people who come after us." Sano points out dryly. "Kenshin does love her, but as a friend - or maybe a little sister. He hasn't quite figured out that's not how she sees him."

"So who's going to be the one to enlighten him?" Megumi asks.

Saitou merely smirks. "Oh, she'll make a fool out of herself soon enough, I imagine."

Megumi turns to pin Sano with a stare. "Are you planning on stopping her?"

"Why should I?" Sano shrugs. "I know where I stand as far as my feelings go. I don't think I have the right to try and tell her otherwise. It wouldn't end well, and she wouldn't listen to me anyway."

Megumi nods. "I suppose so. But we can't let her go on thinking that Kenshin might return her feelings."

"She sees what she wants to see." Saitou murmurs. "We can't change that. She'll only listen to one of us, and he's currently passed out against my leg."

"But maybe if we tried - "

"We'd fail." Saitou points out. "We can try to protect her feelings, but in the end they're going to get hurt once she realizes that Himura does not feel the same."

"But - "

"I understand you want to shield her." Saitou says evenly. "But it is bound to happen eventually. Whether it's sooner or later is up to her."

Megumi sighs. "I hate it when you make sense." she mutters. "I just hope he says something to her. It would be better if he never knows she loves him. He won't want to hurt her."

Sano starts to say something, but Saitou holds up a hand to interrupt them. "You are refusing to stay asleep for any length of time just to annoy me, aren't you?"

From his leg, Kenshin chuckles. "I wouldn't want to miss anything, that I would not."

"You're not." Sano laughs. "We're just talking about how beat up we all are." Saitou nods approvingly. Sano flashes him a grin. "Although if you're not gonna go back to sleep, Megumi may just patch you up more."

"I am fine, that I am."

"Yes, fine. Try selling us that lie when you can sit up and look around like normal." Saitou retorts. Kenshin turns his head a little and cracks one eye open to glare at him. Saitou smirks. "Yeah, that doesn't count, Himura. It's not very intimidating."

"I'll be intimidating later."

"I'll notice you're not even attempting to move."

"I fear Miss Megumi's wrath, that I do."

Megumi smiles as she continues to work on Sano. "That's a good answer."

Kenshin hums in agreement then pauses, lifting his head briefly to look at Saitou properly. "When did you take your jacket off?"

Saitou grins. "Some time ago - Megumi cannot clean wounds through fabric, and my jacket was in the way."

Sano snickers. "He made a real production out of it too. I'm sorry you missed it."

Saitou sighs and shakes his head. "How could I make a production out of it? I thought that in order to do that I have to actually be able to move." His fingers thread through Kenshin's loose hair. "My movement is fairly limited right now."

Kenshin's eyes narrow. "Where else were you injured?"

"My right arm. Are you going to start worrying again?" Saitou meets the narrow gaze evenly. "I am fine - Miss Megumi said it does not need stitches."

"No, I'm just surprised I didn't notice."

"Well, in your defense, you have had other things to be worrying about." Sano points out. "Namely getting out of that hell-hole alive." Kenshin chuckles weakly at that.

Saitou's fingers tighten in Kenshin's hair. "Will you please go back to sleep?"

"My body won't give me a choice in the matter for much longer. You worry too much about me, that you do."

"I could say the same thing about you." Saitou retorts.

Sano decides now is a good time to divert the topic. "How did you survive that? I wasn't sure we were gonna manage it, and you were on the wrong side of the bridge when it went down."

Saitou winces. "It was mostly luck. There was a ledge that I managed to catch on the way down. That's how I got the slice on my arm - debris got me as I was pulling myself up."

"Damn lucky break." Sano notes.

Saitou smiles. "Quite. What about you? I lost sight of you during the fight and didn't see you again. What happened?"

((It's way shitty, but it's up.))

"Aoishi and that map you gave him." Sano says with a tight grin. "And a pretty healthy helping of luck along the way as well. Kenshin was out cold, so we took turns carrying him while we ran. The whole complex blew right as we got out."

"I do not remember that." Kenshin murmurs. It's hard to hear his voice, and the group knows he's finally losing his battle with sleep.

Saitou gently scratches his scalp while Sano chuckles. "You were unconscious, stupid. I'd be surprised if you did."

"I remember . . . Saitou getting left behind."

"Yeah, that was just bad luck. Not like we meant to."

Saitou snorts. "I should hope not. I'd hate to think that you'd just leave me behind like that."

Sano grins. "I dunno, I might next time you piss me off."

"Well, it was nice knowing you." Saitou says with a grin.

"What do you mean by that?" Sano demands.

"Kenshin'll get you." Megumi chimes in, grinning. "And with that, I want all of you to get some sleep! You need it."

"Kenshin's already out." Saitou murmurs.

Sano nods and stands up. "I'll leave so you can rest as well. C'mon, fox, let's get some sleep." Megumi nods and follows him out of the room.

Saitou watches them go and closes his eyes, falling into a light sleep.

/-----/

A shadow sneaks into the Aoiya, knife held in his hand. He manages to get past Yahiko and Kaoru, who have fallen asleep guarding the front. The other Oniwaban guards are too injured to be roused from sleep. Without making a sound, he sneaks into the room he's looking for.

He'll kill the red-headed bastard who killed Lord Shishiou.

Kenshin wakes at his presence, but doesn't move. He can't raise himself up without help yet, and any movement on his part will alert the intruder. Instead, he subtly taps on Saitou's shin.

Saitou's eyes open a sliver, his hand tightening on Kenshin's head in response. The intruder steps closer, and Saitou's other hand closes on the sheath of his sword.

"I would stop right there, if I were you." Saitou says, voice cold.

"I'm not here for you." The intruder takes another half-step forward, then freezes as Saitou draws his sword and points it at his chest. "Would you really attack me?"

The sword flashes, opening a gash along the intruder's arm, causing him to yelp. "Yes." Saitou gently manuevers Kenshin off of his leg and stands, planting himself very firmly in the intruder's path. "If you want to get to Himura, you have to get through me. And you're not going to succeed."

The boy glares at him. "Why protect an injured man? Clearly, he's weak, and the weak deserve to die."

Saitou's lip curls. "You're one of Shishiou's men. Let me drive something through your scull." He takes a step forward, driving the intruder farther away from Kenshin. "The weak may die, but only if the strong allow it. It's the duty of the strong to protect the weak. Men such as myself and Himura have always understood this." He raises his sword. "Shishiou was never strong. He was a bully."

"You're wrong!" The intruder lunges at him. "I'll kill you both!"

Saitou strikes him with the butt of his sword. "You're young. I'll let you live because you're stupid. But don't expect such mercy a second time."

As the boy lunges, Sano bursts in and grabs him by the scruff of the neck, pulling him out of Saitou's reach. Saitou's mouth twitches.

"Nice timing."

"Hard not to have it, given how much noise you were making." Sano looks down at the kid in his hand. "How did you get in here?"

"I snuck by the girl out front."

There's a muffled groan from the floor behind Saitou. "Miss Kaoru. . . ." the last syllables of her name end in a whine.

Saitou glances back at Kenshin before turning to Sano. "Do you want to talk to her, or should I?"

Sano snorts. "All things considered, I'll do it. We don't need you terrifying her into never sleeping again."

"It'd get the message drilled into her thick skull." Saitou grumbles.

"Still. She's gonna feel bad enough about this as it is." Sano glances down at the boy in his hands and sighs. "All right - let's get you out of here before Saitou loses his temper."

"The temper is already lost."

"Not helping, wolf!" Sano laughs at him and walks out the door, carrying the protesting kid with him. Saitou growls to himself and returns his sword to his sheath.

"I'm not sure how I feel about that." Kenshin murmurs.

Saitou returns to his spot and helps Kenshin sit completely up. "About the boy or the girl?"

"Both. Sano is right, Miss Kaoru will not be happy with herself, that she will not."

Saitou snorts. "I'm not happy with her either. She should have had someone take over for her if she was getting that tired."

"She doesn't know."

"She really should. How many fights has she gotten involved with because of you and Sano?"

"Fair point." Kenshin groans again and lets his head rest against Saitou's shoulder. "This is not going to be good."

Saitou smiles. "If it's any consolation, I already promised I wouldn't talk to her - I'm leaving that to Sano."

"She will not react well to being lectured, that she will not."

"It's either that, or have me point out that her negligence nearly got you killed. Again." Saito points out.

"Again?"

"Remind me, how did you get those wounds again?"

"The sarcasm isn't necessary, that it isn't."

Saitou raises an eyebrow. "Sure it isn't." He sighs. "I need a cigarette."

Kenshin chuckles. "Lean me against the wall and go get your spare pack."

"How do you know I have a spare pack?"

Kenshin grins. "I know you, that I do."

There's a quiet tap at the door. Both men look up to see Kaoru standing there, face pale, watching them with trembling hands. "Kenshin, can I talk to you?"

Saitou glances down at Kenshin, then sighs. "Guess I'll get that pack after all." He gently moves Kenshin and stands up, wincing a little as the stitches pull on his leg. At least he hasn't torn them. That's good. With a small smile to Kenshin to reassure him, he leaves the room.

Kenshin looks up at Kaoru. "You are pale, that you are."

"I never even heard him come in." Her voice is barely a whisper. "I'm so sorry. You must hate me now."

That earns her a small sigh. "I do not hate you, Miss Kaoru, that I do not. I could never hate you." It's all he can say.

Kaoru nods. "I'm glad for that." She starts to say something else, then pauses, clearly thinking better of it. Kenshin tilts his head to the side, curious. It's not often she stops herself from speaking.

"Miss Kaoru?"

Saitou limps into the main room, and finds Sano on the deck out front. He pauses to dig in his bag for his spare pack, then joins the other man. "Mind if I sit?"

"By all means. I heard the missy walk back there. Is she talking to Kenshin?"

"Yes. I thought it best to leave, since I suspect she's going to confess." Saitou takes a pull on his cigarette, the exhaling. "I didn't think she wanted an audience."

Sano smiles. "No, I don't think so either. When do you plan to go back in?"

"Once she leaves." Saitou smiles. "I'd hate to interrupt." he pauses and looks around. "What happened to the boy?"

"Megumi's tending to him. You did cut him."

"Not deeply. I'm not a complete monster."

That makes Sano burst out laughing.

"Kenshin - you know I love you, right?"

For just a moment, Kenshin stares at her. Then realization dawns in his eyes. "I had been hoping that my inexperience was making me read you wrong, that I was."

Kaoru hesitates. "Read me wrong?"

"You are my friend, Miss Kaoru, that you are. Nothing will change that you are special to me. You and Yahiko were the first to accept me despite my past." Kenshin offers her a small smile. But I'm sorry. I do not love you."

Kaoru's eyes widen. He can see the tears building, but he refuses to flinch back. This isn't something he can protect her from, no matter how much he wishes he could. "Because I'm just a loud, sweaty girl?"

"No." He keeps his tone as gentle as he can. "It is no fault of yours. Love is not something you can force, that it is not."

She smiles weakly. "I suppose not. But - do you love someone else?"

Kenshin considers that. Saitou won't appreciate him saying anything, not until they're ready, but Kaoru deserves to know at least a little. Besides, neither of them have actually said the words, even though Kenshin doesn't doubt it.

"I believe so."

Kaoru nods. "Okay then." With that she turns and leaves the room before her tears can fall.

The sound of the door shutting behind Kaoru has both Sano and Saitou leaning back to look inside. The sight would have been comical to her if Kaoru's heart hadn't just shattered.

She gathers herself up and pastes a small smile on. "Sano, do you know where Megumi is?"

"Uh, I think she's still stitching the kid up. She should be about done."

"Thank you." She turns and walks away. Saitou and Sano exchange a look as she rounds the corner.

Sano sighs heavily. "I'm going to go out on a limb and say that didn't go well."

"I didn't expect it to." Saitou carefully stands. "I'm going to check on Himura."

Sano nods. "Tell him not to worry about Kaoru too much. She'll bounce back. She's tough."