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Because
by: MrFoshizzlePro
Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin. It is proudly owned by Nobuhiro Watsuki it is :)
Sanosuke had just arrived at the Kamiya dojo when Kenshin suddenly appeared around the corner of the dojo with a folded piece of paper in hand. The lanky gangster arched a brow.
"Goin' to the market for the little missy?" he inquired.
The red head slipped the paper into his gi and looked at Sanosuke with his usual smile. "Indeed I am," he replied. "Miss Kaoru says we need more rice and tofu-" Kenshin picked up two buckets off the ground, put them on the pole and hoisted the pole upon his shoulders effortlessly. "-so sessha figured he would run the errand for her, I did. That way she doesn't have to go herself."
Kenshin turned his back to Sanosuke and was preparing to leave. "Hey, Kenshin-"
"Oro?"
The rurouni swerved around to face Sanosuke, puzzled.
Sanosuke sighed. I'm probably gonna regret askin' this later...
"-would you...like me to come with you? You know, just to keep ya company and what not."
Kenshin smiled, dipping his head. "Sure," he chirped, closing his eyes. "Sessha very much appreciates the company, indeed I do. I suppose it wouldn't do any harm to have you come along." He whirled back around and headed out the gate. "Well, let's go!"
Sanosuke followed slowly behind. "Yeah, yeah," he muttered. "I'm comin'."
I can tell this is gonna be a long day...
Kenshin and Sanosuke were making their way back from the market just as the sun had risen high in the sky. Sanosuke had kept quiet nearly the entire trip, but Kenshin didn't seem to mind a bit.
I wonder what he thinks about sometimes, a thought suddenly occured to Sanosuke as he studied Kenshin's cheerful face in curiousity. For a guy whose been through crap like the Bakumatsu and junk, I'd guess he probably has a lot on his mind. Sanosuke decided he would ask just to get the nagging questions off his mind.
"Kenshin?" he started.
"Yes, Sanosuke?" Kenshin glanced up sideways at him with those normal happy eyes. Reluctantly, Sanosuke went on and asked, "What's on your mind as of now?"
He blinked as though he hadn't heard the question. He replied, "What do you mean by that?"
Sanosuke sighed. "Well, I mean, when you always go quiet all the sudden...it...kinda makes me wonder what's on your mind, that's all." Quickly, he added, "But...if you don't feel like sayin', I'll accept that. So, don't feel like I'm putting you on the spot or nothin'."
Kenshin smiled. "Alright, Sano." He gazed ahead and stayed quiet for a moment longer. Then, he began.
"Sometimes I reflect a little on my life during the Bakumatsu. I think about all the sins I committed and all the bloodshed I caused." His smile faultered. "And...sometimes...I think about Tomoe."
Sanosuke nodded, knowing already the tragic story of Kenshin's late wife Tomoe, but understanding what Kenshin was telling him.
"Life back then wasn't easy, was it?"
"No...it wasn't."
"Back during the Bakumatsu, one had to fight to survive. There was no turning back the moment you took your side in the war. It was killed or be killed. That was the true way sessha lived and fought during those times... and that was the true way that the Hitokiri deep within me lived as well."
A prolonged silence stretched between them. During this time of silence, Sanosuke thought, I may not have gone through all the things he has, but yet, I can still relate a little bit with what he's saying...
"So...let me just ask you one more thing, if you don't mind."
Kenshin shook his head. "No," he assured Sanosuke. "Sessha does not mind answering whatever is on your mind, that I do not. Go ahead and ask anything at all."
"Are you...happy with the life you live now?"
Sanosuke didn't notice the rurouni had stopped walking until he was about a foot away from him. Glancing back, he was bewildered by the look on Kenshin's face, solemn but seeming to hide a certain emotion.
Kenshin smiled. "Yes," he replied simply. "Sessha is most certainly happy with the life he leads now, that I am." Sanosuke wasn't convinced. "For a guy who says that, your eyes sure don't show the same thought."
Perplexed, Kenshin stared at the gangster with wide eyes in silence. Then, he sighed and finally spoke.
"Sometimes I wish things could have turned out differently back when it all began. Some days I wish that Tomoe were alive and living her life happily as she probably would have if it were not for sessha killing her fiance in cold blood...However..."
Kenshin stroded up to Sanosuke and halted in front of him, staring him directly in the eyes. "No matter what I may wish for, my biggest wish of all is to live each and every day with the friends I've made along the way in my life. Because of you, Yahiko, Miss Kaoru, Miss Misao...because of all of you...sessha can live his life as a normal being with people who do not care about his past and the sins he has committed. I can be happy knowing I have such great friends who I know will always be there for me when I need them most."
Kenshin started to walk past Sanosuke, but all the while, not once did his smile waver across his face. "So, to answer your question...sessha is content with the life he lives now. And honestly, if I were to relive everything that happened over again, I would...just to know that in the end, I'd wind up with best friends like you."
Sanosuke smiled. "Yeah...so would I."
He followed the red head and took the pole of tofu onto his own shoulders. He told Kenshin as the rurouni looked questionally up at him, "Don't give me that look. It's the least I could do." Sanosuke smirked. "Afterall, what are friends for?"
Kenshin dipped his head. "Alright."
And so, the two men walked off down the path, back to the Kamiya dojo to where they both belonged, knowing there awaited the people who meant the most to them.
Owari