Author's Note: This next one's a turning point. No big earthquakes or anything, but sit back, relax, and see what happens next.

Standard disclaimers apply. "Rurouni Kenshin" (c) Watsuki Nobuhiro, Shuiesha, Shounen Jump, and Sony. I do not own RK, pray as I might, every night, it just wouldn't happen that way. No matter how many candles I light, no matter how many chickens I decapitate…

Desuke watched his master for a reaction to his report.

Yasanari did not look pleased, but she was not in despair either, just extremely annoyed.

"They're on to us, beloved," said Taka from his mirror prison, a disturbed expression on his face.

Yasanari frowned. Her husband could be such a fool sometimes. "I'll wager they were on to us from the very beginning, idiot. That was almost a given, but the point was, I made certain that none of my acts could warrant an arrest, and I managed that perfectly, thank you very much. I could even handle the Revelation of that sorry bitch, but I didn't expect that they'd be able to meddle so soon."

"So what do we do, Yasanari-sama?" Desuke asked humbly.

Yasanari sighed. "I'll just have to do a Dream Weave to absorb the effect of the Meddling. Ugh! I hate doing that!" She said in absolute distaste, her lips curling.

"But that's blatantly illegal, Yasanari-sama!" Desuke protested. "They'll arrest you for sure!"

"Nobody has been arrested for weaving true, Desuke dear," Yasanari said with a patient smile. "Only false weaving is considered actionable."

A curious look crossed Desuke's face. "I never asked you why you weren't arrested for the False Memory Potion."

"Dream Weaving is a kind of magic that has to be administered directly by a Mage," Yasanari explained. "It is not something that can be handed over for somebody else to do, therefore, if the Dream Weave is false, the Mage applying it is directly responsible. On the other hand, potions can be given over to another person. When a Mage hands over a potion to somebody else, it ceases to be the responsibility of the Mage who created it and the same Mage cannot be blamed for any of the consequences in the use of the potion thereof. Now if that potion is handed over to a Walker, like you, then it goes as far a ceasing to be in the jurisdiction of Mage Government. Understand?"

Desuke nodded, then grinned. "How wonderfully penetrable Mage Laws are."

Yasanari smiled placidly. "Quite," she agreed with satisfaction.

Kaoru stared at the vial in her hand, examining its contents curiously.

It glowered green against the darkening dawn, casting an eerie light on her hand. It did not seem like any ordinary medicine. With so many strange things happening, she was willing to bet that the Mage Government had something to do with this.

She uncorked the vial and drank its contents. It tasted sweet, like strawberries, then it fizzled slightly as it went down her throat. Interesting, it was her favorite flavor.

"Kaoru," Kenshin said as he sat down beside her on the porch.

"Yes, Kenshin?"

"Are you alright?"

She nodded, taking a deep interest in the empty vial in her hand. She stiffened as she felt the delicate touch of his fingers on her cheek.

"Please, love. I want to see your face," he said softly, his fingers trailing to her chin to coax her to look at him.

Kaoru pulled away and set her gaze in the opposite direction. "I'm sorry, Kenshin. I can't right now."

Kenshin's face contorted in pain, but he was determined for the sight of her eyes. He moved closer and touched his forehead to her temple as he whispered in her ear. "Why…"

She shook her head but could not pull away from his delicate touch, her love for him overcoming most of her shame.

He planted a soft kiss on her cheek and she closed her eyes.

Kenshin contained his sigh of frustration and tried a final tact. Ever so gently, he caressed her lips with his own.

The feel of his mouth against hers sent a shock through her system, and like a parched throat given a draught of clear water, she drank of him, kissing back with a sudden ferocity.

Kenshin had not expected such an intense response, but his longing for her ignited like a torch. He cupped her jaws in his hands, savoring the feel of her tongue entangling with his.

When they slowly parted, his breathing was ragged. Summoning his self-control, he looked at her face.

Her eyes were still closed, and gently resisting his hold, she lowered her head. It was the only time she permitted herself to open her eyes again.

Kenshin sighed softly, exasperated at his failed efforts. It was then that he noticed the porch was thoroughly illuminated. The lamps, which had been dead just a moment ago, were now bobbing with merry flames. It was uncanny, but it was as if someone had lighted all four lamps in five heartbeats, while they were kissing!

He brought his gaze back to Kaoru who insisted on staring at nothing but his gi.

First this morning in the kitchen, and now the porch lamps! What was going on?

"Kaoru…?"

"Yes, Kenshin?"

"Did you…?" He began, then suddenly shaking his head, he waved his hand. "Nevermind…" It was ridiculous. How can he suppose Kaoru was doing it? Silly.

Kaoru did not respond. Inwardly she was berating herself and her carelessness. She just knew her shishou would be calling her idiot-pupil when she taught her again. If she taught her again. Shishou did not seem like a very patient…being.

"I'm going to sleep now," Kaoru said, quietly standing up. "I'm tired. I shall see you in the morning, Kenshin."

Kenshin looked at her longingly but nodded. "Goodnight, my love."

"Goodnight, Kenshin," she whispered back as she disappeared into her room.

Kaoru groaned sleepily, feeling a faint draft coming over her. Curling up into a tighter ball, she tried to pull the covers of her bed close around her. She tried to palm for her blanket but could not seem to find it. Shifting slightly, she sat up to find the elusive blanket but was met by a very hard object stabbing at her hip.

"Ouch!" She hissed, opening her eyes to see what it was. She was jolted out of her sleepy haze by what her eyes beheld. She was no longer in her room, no longer in her dojo. She was on a familiar looking riverbank, a rock pressing against her back in her awkward position.

How did she get here? Her gaze darted frantically to her surroundings. Mou! More magic!

She hugged herself against the cold then thoughtfully constructed tendrils of flames around her body. The warmth surrounded her like a mantle.

"My, you must have had a very successful first day of training," said a voice she had heard before. "By the way your shishou complained, you'd think he was teaching an idiot or something."

Kaoru turned and saw the green-haired Mage.

"Nania-sama!" Kaoru exclaimed, inadvertently missing something in what Nania had said in her astonishment.

"Hello Kaoru," said Nania, smiling at her gently. "Are you ready to know the truth?"

Kaoru stared at her blankly. More surprises? When will it end? "Truth about what, Nania-sama?"

"About what really happened," Nania replied, going to Kaoru and reaching out a hand to help her up. "I told you once that not everything is what they seem. You shall see in a moment just how much I meant those words."

Kaoru extinguished the flames surrounding her and took Nania's offered hand to get to her feet.

Nania led them through the fog until they came upon a shack.

Something twisted in the pit of Kaoru's stomach. She knew that shack, and she almost knew who would be inside. Turning around in the opposite direction, Kaoru just wanted to run away, but Nania held her.

"You must see, Kaoru," Nania told her gently. "The truth shall liberate you from you wretchedness. Trust me."

Trembling, Kaoru nodded and complied.

As they neared the shanty, they could hear voices. Two voices. One demanding to be released while the other immensely enjoying himself.

"Bastard! Let me go!"

"You're as foul mouthed as that lover of yours, girl."

Kaoru froze in her tracks and shook her head. "I -- I can't go in there. I can't go through with this again."

"The truth is not always easy to come by," Nania said sympathetically. "But in it, you will find redemption. Do not throw this opportunity away. A Truth Potion can work only if you are willing to know the truth."

"Truth Potion…" Kaoru whispered in wonder, then she spoke out loud. "The medicine Megumi gave me! That was a Truth Potion? Goodness, is Megumi a Mage?"

"No," Nania replied. "She was merely an instrument, made to deliver something she knew nothing about, but she had pure intentions, and that's what made it possible. Right now, this is the image the potion stirs inside you. I exist outside the potion, and was sent merely to guide you through your journey. Now let's go. Let us see what truths were hidden."

Nania gestured ahead of her and Kaoru nodded. They walked through the walls of the shack like ghosts.

Kaoru tensed at the sight of her past self being viciously beaten by Bushio Desuke. It was bad enough being at the receiving end of his punches and kicks, but to watch it happening all over again was ten times more horrible. Several times, Kaoru had to close her eyes against the brutality of the scene, or else her eyes would be roving to Mitsumo Yasanari's still figure.

Finally, it came to the part where Desuke pinned her to the floor and sliced her obi free. "N-No!" Screamed her past self. "Please! Stop! Stop!"

Kaoru turned away, her heart beating relentlessly against her chest. "I cannot look."

Nania coaxed her to turn back and watch. "Bear it, Kaoru. Be brave."

Desuke would call her a beautiful bitch, and then express a desire for what he saw. Kaoru would try to fight back, but was not proof against his strength. Desuke cut the undergarment on her womanhood open and she wailed. The next moment, Desuke was forcing the liquid down Kaoru's throat, then she passed out.

Kaoru braced herself for the scene of the rape but Desuke stood up, chuckling. "Well, that was easy. I should have prolonged it," he said.

Yasanari would speak for the first time. "You did well, as always. Phase one is done. Now all we have to do is wait."

"Can't I do her just once, Yasanari-sama? She's really…desirable," said Desuke.

Yasanari looked severely displeased by his words. "Touch her and you'll never be able to get it up again, you hear? I can't have her tainted."

"But she isn't a virgin! Battousai's had his way with her already!"

Yasanari was now angry. "Idiot! Battousai does not make her impure. He loves her too much, but if you rape her, she will be violated…"

Kaoru listened, unbelieving, growing numb at what she was seeing.

After exchanging a few more words, Yasanari took a knife and wounded the privates of Kaoru's past self.

"That'll do," Yasanari said, rising to join her companion. "Let's go. It's time for Battousai to find her."

Yasanari and Desuke disappeared into thin air, leaving Kaoru alone.

It was at that split second that the Kaoru on the floor opened her eyes and gave a blood-curdling scream. "NOOOOO!"

A few moments later, Kenshin burst through the door.

The scene faded and Kaoru found herself back in her dojo yard. Nania stood expectantly beside her.

"The rape…?" Kaoru asked, turning to Nania for an answer.

Nania shook her head. "It never happened. What Desuke gave you was a False Memory Potion. It made you believe you had been raped, and Yasanari's surgery convinced your doctor too. It's a very potent potion. Anyone can fall prey to it."

"But…why didn't you just tell me? Why is Yasanari doing this?"

Nania gave her a faint smile. "If we had just told you that you weren't raped, would you have believed us? You wouldn't have. A Dream Weave wouldn't do either. You'd have just taken it as a dream. Besides, things happen for a reason. It wouldn't do to just meddle whenever we felt like it. We had to comply with certain requirement before we can administer anything. As for Yasanari…she needs something from you. From your fiancée actually. She wants his dragon."

Nania turned to leave.

"W-Wait!" Kaoru cried.

"That's all for now, Kaoru. I shall pray for your success," Nania said, disappearing into the night.

Kaoru frowned. Why did these mages have to be mysterious all the time?

A few moments later, the truth finally sank into her: She hadn't been raped.

It still felt weird, after all, she had been truly devastated by the belief of it, but this definitely changed things, for the better.

A small, tentative smile formed on her lips. Now, the real healing began.

"Stop!" Kenshin cried.

Kenshin's amber eyes flew open, his forehead and body bathed in sweat, his breathing ragged from fury. He sat up from his futon and placed his head in his hands.

It was so real. The dream was so real. Seeing Kaoru, hearing her plead for mercy at each brutal attack as he stood by, unable to move, unable to reach out and slit Desuke's throat with his sword. It was too much to bear.

"Oh Kaoru…" he whimpered to himself. "Was it like that, love? Oh God!"

The glow of the Hitokiri remained in him, and unable to stop the onslaught of emotions, he left his futon and went to her room.

He saw her sleeping peacefully in the center of the bed, curled up in a fetal position.

With the gentleness of the rurouni, he settled himself behind her and put his arm around her waist. She uncurled at the sudden comfort his presence had provided. She sighed but continued to slumber.

Kenshin pulled her closer against him and buried his face in her hair, tears streaming from his golden eyes.

Kaoru felt an unbelievable comfort when she woke up to her shishou's summons.

"Get up! I've got things to do," said Shishou.

"Yeah, yeah…" Kaoru said drowsily.

She took a moment to enjoy Kenshin's embrace, snuggling a little closer to him, sighing in contentment. Joy was now suffusing her miserable heart. The truth had indeed set her free, as Nania had promised.

"Hurry up!" Shishou yelled. "God-dammit, what do I have to do to start on schedule here?"

"How about showing yourself?" She snapped back, leaving her corporeal body reluctantly.

"Great! Hundreds of new mages and I get the one that's not only stupid, but has a mouth on it as well!" Shishou growled.

"Hey!" Kaoru yelled, seething. "Nobody talks to the Kamiya Kasshin Master that way!"

"My, you're a fiery little adjutant master today," Shishou remarked, unaffected. "Oh, I get it. You found out about the truth, didn't you?"

This changed her mood in an instant. A broad smile spread across her face as she rose from the futon. "Yes. It's good to know the truth. I'm worthy of Kenshin after all!"

Her Shishou scoffed. "It's more likely that idiot-pupil was never worthy of you!"

Kaoru glared, hoping her Shishou can see her. "What? You shut up! You know nothing -- what did you call him?" Her tone changed. Something had struck a chord.

"I haven't got time for this," Shishou said impatiently. "Come out to the yard or I'll drag you out."

Muttering curses, Kaoru stomped out of her room to begin her lessons.

Author's Note: Tee…hee…getting ideas? Well, here's a teaser. Next chapter, there's going to be a lemon to make up for this very short chapter, so stay in touch. I'll try to make it good. Remember that I promised I'd never do a back to back? Well, I won't break that promise, but I'll release Chapter Seven sooner than my usual one-week interval. How's that? I'll see ya'll soon.