Unbroken Promises
Disclaimer: I do not rightfully own the anime/manga, Rurouni Kenshin, or any of the characters in it. The series is owned by Watsuki Nobuhiro. I'm not profiting off of this.
A/N: This is an alternate ending for the Kyoto Arc. I wrote this during my very short Rurouni Kenshin loving faze, I fixed it up a lot, and I hope you like it.
Unpleasant memories always start out with good fulfilling beginnings. If one were to never have a happy thought or moment in their entire life, how could they ever be sad? The truth is, that joyous and fond memories help create melancholia itself. The fact that someone isn't happy creates sadness and depression. So if you never knew happiness, how could you ever feel sad? You'd probably feel nothing. Most likely, you'd be numbed to the core. Though, is it even humanly possible for someone to feel absolutely nothing at all?
Ever since Kaoru was a mere child, she would often find herself musing that opinion. Anyone told of it could protest about it, but to her, it somewhat made sense. Feeling utter joy and happiness -much like everything else in life- has a price to pay. You attach yourself to something that makes you feel good, emotionally or physically, until one day it is ripped away from you, leaving despair in its wake.
It's hard to get over losses, but it could be considered possible. The only way to get over a loss of someone or something dear to you is by letting go. Well, that is the only way that won't in-turn, harbor more pain. The sad truth is, that most get over a drastic loss by attaching themselves to something else that makes them feel good inside; most are naive to the fact that the something else will someday also be taken away and cause them sadness.
Kaoru gazed up at the bright late summer sky, a tiny droplet of sweat creeping down her left cheek. Her eyes winced slightly from the brightness of the sun. Kaoru's shoulders hung low, and her arms limp from exhaustion. It felt as if every muscle in her body were on fire. She could barely stand to endure the aching pain any longer. Her dark blue kimono was torn to shreds. The many slashes in the material left areas of blood in between.
They had just defeated the three members sent by Makoto Shishio of the Jupongatana. Yahiko had shown such bravery, intellect, and skill for a mere boy, by beating Henya. The fight between Kamitari, Misao, and Kaoru had been a difficult one. Kamitari had proven to be a very formidable enemy indeed. Last, and certainly least, Iwanbo, the third member they had fought ran away in cowardice.
Kaoru let out a sigh and thought, 'Kenshin, we've kept up our part of the deal. I sure do hope you can too. I wish you good luck, and I look forward to going back to Tokyo with you.'
Kaoru was jostled out of her reminiscent thoughts by an earthquake-like force rattling the earth beneath their feet, and buildings between them.
It couldn't be. It just couldn't be another member of the Jupongatana! Kaoru spun on heel to see what the rest of her comrades expressions were like. Misao, and the others had a look of not only surprise on their faces, but also terror. The expression Kaoru was certain to have planted on her own face as well.
Suddenly, Kaoru and the other's attentions were diverted toward the sound of crunching. The building behind Kaoru was swiftly torn down the middle by the largest curved sword any of them had ever seen. The wielder of the sword itself was even more frightening; in fact, the thing wielding the sword was terrifying. It was the size of a two, maybe three story tall modern house. Its body was shaped like that of a normal human. Its arms were muscular, and for the size of its body it was lean and fit.
Kaoru felt a shiver run up her spine, and for a split second her whole body shook. This was truly the most horrific monster she had seen in her entire life. It was clad in thick sleeveless gray battle armor. Its face was covered by a mask that looked similar to that of a human skull, and it wore a metal dome shaped helmet atop its head.
The holes for eye sockets in the mask overshadowed the beast's real eyes. The mouthpiece of the mask had gigantic sharp canine teeth lining the hole. Kaoru couldn't peer inside and see the monster's real teeth from her position; they were also overshadowed by the mask.
In its left hand it wielded the curved-blade sword, and in the opposite it held a short bald man with rodent-like black whiskers for a mustache. He wore a simple red and black kimono, and was supporting himself in the palm of the giant's hand with a wooden cane.
Overall, according to Misao's opinion, he looked quite similar to a rat. By the looks of it so far, his personality probably matched his profile. The man wasn't very frightening; in fact, he wasn't intimidating anyone at all. Though, the monster that was holding him struck enough fear into the onlooker's hearts for the both of them
The rat-like man leered at those before him. He was disappointed to say in the least at what he saw. Two battered up raven-haired young girls stood the closest; behind them were a few more men and women, an old man with a poorly made eye-patch, and an unconscious young boy.
'These were the people Lord Shishio sent me to kill? How pathetic!' he thought in disgust, though, he did have a lust for spreading their blood about the earth below him building up inside of his very core. 'I suppose this will do for at least that purpose,' he thought, chuckling to himself.
"Fuji, look what we've found here," the man said in an annoying high-pitched voice. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Saizuchi of the Jupongatana. I am the master and savior of the brilliant beast you see before you, Fuji, and we are going to send you to your deathbeds!"
"Oh no you won't!" disagreed Misao. "I don't care how big your friend here is! You are going to pay for insulting me, Misao Makimachi, the leader of the Oniwabanashu group, and the rest of my comrades by boasting that you can beat us!"
"Feisty little girl aren't you?" jeered Saizuchi.
"What?" exclaimed Misao enraged, skillfully flipping out a set of her favorite weapons, the kunai, between her fingers. "How dare you? I'm not a little girl! I'll show you!"
She made a move to throw a few of the sharp dagger-like weapons at Saizuchi, but immediately collapsed to the ground as her knees gave way to a sharp pain immobilizing her body for a split second. She had completely forgotten about the serious injury that had been made to her stomach thanks to Kamitari.
She grunted out in pain, but quickly forced herself back up, and stood tall. The fall had made a big dent to her pride, but she refused to let that show.
"Dammit all!" she hissed, "We were the ones winning until these guys showed up. It's not fair!"
"Are you okay, Misao?" asked Kaoru in worry.
"I'm fine, Kaoru, don't mind me. All that I need to do is be careful not to put too much strain on my abdomen when I move to attack," reassured Misao. "I'm not out of this fight yet, not for a long-shot!"
"Good, because I'm not through either! I'm not giving up no matter what! I made Kenshin promise we'd all return to Tokyo together: Kenshin, Yahiko, Sanosuke, and I!" spoke Kaoru in a determined voice. "Though, by the looks of it, I'm not sure if things will all work out." she continued, her resoluteness faltering slightly.
"They will!" shouted Yahiko from behind the two, gaining everyone's attention.
Everyone had thought Yahiko to be unconscious and out of it, but once again, Yahiko had proven them all wrong. He was just as determined as Kaoru to keep that promise. He had also given Kenshin the promise that he would protect everyone at the Aoi-ya, both Kaoru, and the Oniwabanashu group. He had kept his promise so far, nearly killing himself, but he did. As far as he was concerned, he would be damned if he let Kenshin down now!
"Kenshin is going to beat Shishio, and all the rest of his goons, you'll see! He's going to come back for us. Kenshin's the best swordsman out there, he won't let us down! So I won't stand for us letting him down! We won't lose! I won't allow us to!" snapped Yahiko.
"You poor thing, you don't seem to comprehend where you stand in this battle. None of you do! Lord Shishio never loses. He will strike down the Battosai! He has no chance against the great Shishio with his mere Hiten Mitsurugi Style. He will be crushed without even causing Lord Shishio to break a sweat!" explained Saizuchi.
"Also," continued Saizuchi, "I will admit it is amazing that mere women and children beat three powerful Jupongatanas, but that was surely out of luck. Plus, all of you are injured, and exhausted, how do you expect to even scratch my Fuji?"
"It doesn't matter what you say! We're still going to beat you! We aren't down yet, so don't you dare count as out!" shouted Yahiko, completely enraged.
"Sorry, kid, but that isn't how the world works. You need to open up your eyes and see that none of your farfetched dreams will come true! Himura will die at the hands of Shishio. He won't come back for you, and he surely won't be able to save you. You are going to die today by Fuji's blade, or you might just be trampled upon, after all, you aren't much of a threat," ridiculed Saizuchi, cracking up at his own words.
"That's enough!" shouted Kaoru, becoming aggravated by this man's foretelling. "Okay everyone, this is it. I say we give it our all and attack him in sync with each other. We need to work together, that will be our greatest chance."
"Right!" replied everyone in agreement.
"Yahiko, let's make Kenshin proud! Let us show these two how great the Kamiya Kasshin-Ryu style is!" yelled Kaoru in determination.
"Yeah!" exclaimed Yahiko enthusiastically, "Those guys are going to pay!"
All at once, the Oniwabanashu group, Yahiko, and Kaoru attacked the beast before them. Each were terrified as they did so, but intent on winning, on freeing Japan of that monster. They all had their goals set high. They all wanted to rid Japan of the Jupongatana.
Kenshin, Sanosuke, and Saito Hajime had the job of getting rid of the rest of the Jupongatana members that hadn't attacked them, including Shishio.
Yahiko swiftly dodged Fuji's sword for what felt like the fiftieth time. He was hurt and already tired when this new battle had begun. Now, he was basically running on empty, as were all of the others. They proved themselves still quite capable of their task at first, but they were losing footing, and fast.
Still, although a bloodbath was soon to ensue, they all kept on fighting. All of them literally being beaten to a pulp, but they kept bravely, and honorably trudging on. The fight seemed useless, but promises had been made, and they were not going to break them!
The townspeople who hadn't fled, watched in awe, wondering why this group of people were writing their own death-sentences. Though, after awhile, they found themselves becoming inspired by their acts, and soon joined in.
The spectators that hadn't joined in, moved toward the boundaries of Kyoto to get help from those who had evacuated. They pleaded for their assistance. A good half of the people who had fled came back to aid the cause, in hope of salvaging their city and homes.
Soon, tons of people were fighting against the gigantic beast of a man. Nearly all of his armor had been ripped off, though that had only proven to make things worse. His armor had slowed him down because it was heavy, now he proved to be more agile in his movements.
Before Fuji could regain the upper-hand, Misao saw an opening she couldn't turn down, an opening to rip Saizuchi off of his post! She did exactly what she had planned, and gratefully disposed of him. Without Saizuchi to tell Fuji what to do, Fuji became confused.
Fuji could no longer hold off the people without his Master's keen intelligence, and quick thinking. He was beaten down, and was soon pinned against a corner of buildings. A look of pure terror and fear reflecting off of his deep red eyes, now shown to the entire world from behind his torn up mask.
He huddled in the corner, and surprised everyone in the crowd by whimpering like a scared little child. His body shook visibly, causing the ground to rumble. Some of the crowd stood completely still, and kept quiet, not knowing what to think of this new action. While others still wanted to tear apart the beast, limb from limb. There were also quite a few who felt pity for the poor thing, seeing another side of it.
Just as an angry portion of people from the crowd was about to attack Fuji once more, Kaoru stepped before them and held up her hand for them to stop. They became silent as most of them complied, though, some argued.
"Listen to me! Can't you see that the man named Saizuchi was controlling this giant? Can you not realize that Fuji himself isn't evil? Before, I couldn't, but now I look into his eyes and see torment. He's no monster. He was just born into a larger form than us. People must have thought of him as a monster his whole life, and Saizuchi used that against Fuji to control him," explained Kaoru, almost positive that what she was saying was exactly on par with what really happened.
"You don't really want to hurt anyone, do you Fuji?" asked Kaoru kindly.
"No," whispered the giant, his whisper the equivalent of a normal human's yell.
"That's what I thought," muttered Kaoru, she could picture visions of this man being kind and gentle, a lover of nature.
Yahiko caught on to what was happening, and realized the awful truth; the truth that humankind itself created that beast that Saizuchi took advantage of. If humans hadn't hurt and mocked him, he would never have turned out this way. It was time to make things right again.
"We human beings caused such horrible torment, we should let him go. We should allow him to be free once more. We should make sure no one ever ridicules or injures him ever again just because he's different!" stated Yahiko.
After a much needed debate, it was determined Fuji would be set free, back to his previous home. He would be left alone to himself to once again admire nature's beauty without interruption.
Some point during the clean up of the village, Kaoru wandered to the roof of the Aoi-ya building they had all fought so hard to protect. Many roof tiles had been crushed, and there was a large sword slash -thanks to Fuji- that ran through the right side of the building.
She felt slightly refreshed, now adorned in a nice and clean violet kimono. It had a blue hair-tie ribbon to match, holding together fragments of her dark raven hair in it. Her wounds had been cleaned and wrapped. Although she felt slightly refreshed, she also felt terrible at the same time.
She felt worried for Kenshin's good will and safe return, hoping to see him defeat Shishio without losing something important. She also felt resentment for not going along with him, though, she knew she would only prove to get in the way if she had. Still, the fact of her being with him would have made her feel a lot better.
Kaoru's dark blue eyes then fell upon a wavering half-mast Japanese flag. Even though it had been lowered by the living to commemorate the dead, in Kaoru's eyes, it appeared as if the dead were weighing it down instead.
Fuji may not have really meant harm, but he certainly had caused a lot of it. So many people died that day, so many spirits ripped away from their loved ones. The five Jupongatana members and Shishio's mini army accompanying them had killed off a lot of innocents. This truly was a day of despair that would not be forgotten.
Kaoru huffed, causing a small strand of her black hair to climb up into the air, only to fall back into its original position once more. So many deaths were a bad omen, and it worried her even more about Kenshin's safety.
She leaned back, and gazed at the clouds, daydreaming about a memory she wished she could forget:
Kaoru watched the fireflies outside the Kamiya Kasshin dojo dance about in the nighttime air, bringing light to the nature all around them. The firefly's light reflecting onto the small lake before Kaoru was really quite gorgeous. It would be perfect, if only Kenshin were there like he had promised.
Kaoru let out a small sigh. Who was she kidding? She had nearly forced Kenshin into agreeing to watch the fireflies with her, intent on her keeping him from journeying to Kyoto to take on Makoto Shishio as he was asked by Lord Okubo. She was so worried. Up until that moment, she had never thought of Kenshin leaving her and the others. She had believed they could all stick together forever, but that was a dream completely unrealistic, it seemed…
She should have realized it would happen sooner or later. Kenshin was a wanderer; he wasn't one to stay in one place for long. Who was she to keep him away from what he wished to do? How could she have actually thought Kenshin had changed, and wanted to settle down? She shouldn't have let herself fantasize about her and Kenshin together, raising a family, and continuing schooling people attending Kaoru's dojo. All good things must come to an end.
"Those fireflies are beautiful, that they are," spoke a light voice from behind her.
Immediately, Kaoru recognized the voice, and turned around to face who had spoken, full to the brim with joy. "Kenshin!" she exclaimed happily.
"Miss. Kaoru," greeted the red-haired man, though, unlike usual, he didn't wear a meek smile on his face as he did so. "Lord Okubo was assassinated earlier today by one of Shishio's men."
"No..." murmured Kaoru in disbelief; she could already tell where this was leading.
"I can't let this action go unnoticed. Lord Okubo was a virtuous man, and was a good influence on all of Japan. Shishio must be dealt with," spoke Kenshin, all the while, keeping his tone of voice submissive.
Kaoru felt tears well up in her eyes; she tried her best not to cry. She would agree with Kenshin's choice. Showing that she was upset would only cause him unneeded worry.
"I'm going to Kyoto," stated Kenshin, his voice taking on a somber feeling.
"Kyoto," repeated Kaoru, "The place that holds many memories of a retired manslayer of ten years ago. Will you go back to your old ways?"
Kenshin frowned and responded, "I don't know," he turned his lavender eyes up toward the night sky, gazing at the stars above, "I've fought an inner battle for ten years now, Miss. Kaoru. An inner battle determining whether I return back to the old manslayer, the Battosai."
"I've managed to keep that person from returning, but my fight with Saito reminded me that deep inside, the manslayer will always remain, and will never change," he explained.
"But you've always been able to return to normal, Kenshin!" argued Kaoru, even though she had convinced herself she wouldn't, "No matter how many times the Battosai tries to resurface, you will always still be the peaceful wanderer, Kenshin Himura."
"It doesn't matter. Shishio will send his men after me if I don't leave soon. I can't stay in Tokyo any longer. I'm putting you all in danger, that I am," replied Kenshin calmly.
Kenshin faced Kaoru, and spoke once more, "When I had first met you, you said my past hadn't mattered," he paused, smiling slightly, "That made me happy. It made me truly believe that I could change."
Kenshin then surprised Kaoru by pulling her into his tight embrace, "Thank you for everything, Miss. Kaoru, but I am a wanderer. It is only expected that I must wander once again."
Kaoru didn't hold him back; her arms fell limp to her sides. That was it, he was leaving her, and she could do nothing about it. Her lower lip quivered, and the tears she had tried so hard to keep back tumbled down her face. Kenshin let go of her gently, taking one last glance into her eyes.
"Goodbye," he muttered, before turning and leaving into the darkness.
"Kenshin - " she whispered, feeling as if a large weight had been put on her shoulders, "Kenshi - " she repeated between sobs.
She couldn't move. She was glued in place, and it felt as if the whole world had collapsed, yet she could do nothing to help it.
"Kenshin - "she whimpered one last time before her knees buckled, and she fell to the ground in despair, giving up completely.
Kaoru was jostled out of her memory, and back into real life by the sound of shouts. She glanced in the direction of the yells, her eyes widening in utter surprise.
"It's Sanosuke, Saito, and Aoshi!" exclaimed Kaoru, "They've come back! Then Shishio must have been defeated - But - Where's Kenshin?"
Kaoru's heart suddenly seemed to drop through her chest, and into the pit of her stomach. Kenshin was lying in a heap, being carried by Sanosuke. Kaoru let out a low whimper, and her entire body began convulsing.
'Kenshin, he's hurt!' she thought in horror.
She climbed off of the roof back into the Aoi-ya building, and found her way outside as quickly as possible. She stopped before Sanosuke, and walked alongside him in long strides, panting heavily.
"Sano, what's wrong with Kenshin? What happened?" she demanded. Suddenly, she let out a gasp of horror and shouted, "Why is he bleeding so profusely? Is he going to be okay?"
"Calm down, Kaoru," instructed Sanosuke, carefully laying Kenshin down on a mat inside of the Aoi-ya. Kaoru immediately sat right next to Kenshin.
Soon, Misao and Yahiko were acting the same frantic way. Everyone was confused, and scared for Kenshin's sake. But after a few minutes, Sanosuke finally demanded they be quiet.
"Kenshin defeated Shishio," he stated plainly, then took on a look of pity, "Though, he didn't beat him without a cost. We brought him to all of the doctors we knew of in Kyoto. All of them had the same response," Sanosuke paused as if too pained to continue. He diverted his attention away from the others and gazed at Kenshin with a sullen expression.
"Kenshin's bleeding internally. He'd lost too much blood to be helped by the time we had reached a doctor. He is going to pass on very soon," explained Saito in a deadpan voice.
"He fought hard. You should all be proud," spoke up Aoshi in a low whisper.
"I should have helped him more. Dammit, I should have stopped Shishio!" hissed Sanosuke in shame.
"Kenshin," murmured Yahiko. The poor boy couldn't take it all in at once. He just couldn't find it in himself to believe that his hero was going to die, "No, you're all wrong! Kenshin can't die! He just can't..." he sobbed, wiping tears off of his face, "He made a promise!"
Yahiko bent down on his knees, and grabbed a bundle of Kenshin's torn up kimono, "You hear me?" Yahiko screamed, "You made a promise Kenshin! You can't die on us! We have to go back to Tokyo... Together."
Kaoru couldn't think of a way to respond. The words Saito had just said ripped at her insides. She had attached herself to Kenshin too much. Now, she couldn't think of a world without him anymore. She could feel her own warm tears begin to roll down her cheeks, and drip off of her chin. She winced as she tasted the warm saltiness of a teardrop reach her mouth. She stretched out a trembling arm to him, pleading telepathically for him to wake-up and hold onto it.
She begged every god of every religion she had ever come across to please save his life. Only a miracle could do that, and miracles were hard to come across. Finally, she gathered up enough resolve to face the others again.
"Please," Kaoru begged, "May I be alone with him?"
"Sure thing, little lady," answered Sanosuke, trying his best to muster a somewhat happy looking smile, but failing miserably.
With that said, everyone began to leave the room. Yahiko was the last to leave, he stopped mid-stride as he approached the door's arch, then turned around. He strode back to Kaoru, and took a seat next to her for a moment.
"He'll never be forgotten once he's gone," mumbled Yahiko, a look of revelation taking place on his face.
Kaoru clenched her fists tightly at her sides and snapped, "Don't you dare act like he's a dead man, Yahiko. He's not gone!"
"Yet," finished Yahiko, the one word sending an agonizing blow to not only Kaoru's, but his own heart too, "He was a man of many fulfilled promises, Kaoru. Sooner or later he was bound to come across one he couldn't meet. In my eyes, he will always be the best swordsman that ever was. And I, Yahiko Myojin, of the Kamiya Kasshin-Ryu style will become a great swordsman just like Kenshin. I will make him proud!"
With that said, Yahiko stood up, and left the room in silence. Kaoru listened to the pitter patter of Yahiko's feet as he walked down the corridor outside the room Kenshin lay in. Kaoru began dressing Kenshin's wounds in hope of helping ease the pain and loss of blood. She longed to believe that if she took good care of him that he wouldn't die, but deep within her mind, she knew that wasn't what reality would bring.
After finishing the task of wrapping up his injuries, she began to stare at the blank expression on his face, trying to picture him smile one last time. As she did so, a fond memory came back to her:
Kaoru watched Kenshin, Saito, and Sanosuke walk off toward their destination. She was troubled by the possible outcomes of their oncoming fight with Shishio. Kenshin paused for a split-second, for he could hear Yahiko hollering out to him to stop from behind him.
Yahiko came running up beside Kaoru and whined, "Kenshin, I want to come with you and Sano. I want to help! I'm a part of the group too. You can't just leave me hanging here!"
Kenshin smiled at Yahiko kindly and replied, "I'm not leaving you out Yahiko. I want you to stay with Kaoru and the others for a noble purpose, that I do."
Yahiko let out a loud huff, and crossed his arms stubbornly, "Just what do you take me for?"
Kenshin's eyes widened in surprise at the accusation, and waved his hands before him, shaking his head no, "I was not being sarcastic, Yahiko. I want you to stay here, and protect Kaoru and the rest of the women. I want you to help fight with the Oniwabanashu group if Shishio were to send any of the Jupongatana members here. Protect the Aoi-ya, and the people that reside within it. I trust in you, Yahiko, that I do," said Kenshin honestly.
Yahiko smirked, and shoved Kenshin playfully, "I promise you I will protect them, Kenshin. You can count on me. I won't let you down!"
Kenshin merely smiled. He turned to leave again, but paused as a hand rested upon his shoulder. The hand gently turned him to face its owner; Kaoru.
"Kenshin, I want you to promise me something," she said, smiling gently.
"Yes, Miss. Kaoru. What is it you would like me to promise?" replied Kenshin.
"Promise me that when you defeat Shishio, you, Sano, Yahiko, and I will all return to Tokyo together. Promise me," she repeated.
"I promise you, Miss. Kaoru. We will all return to Tokyo together, that we will," answered Kenshin, smiling brightly at Kaoru.
"I'll wait eagerly until the day we are to return," stated Kaoru, returning the smile. The weight she previously felt lifted slightly, knowing that he always kept his promise.
Kaoru drifted out of the surreal reminiscence of her happy memory. Of course, all of the dreams and goals that had been made in that memory didn't come true, but at the very moment Kenshin's promise had been made. Kaoru couldn't have been happier.
Now, the once fond memory was fowl. Kenshin would still not be returning to Tokyo to live with Kaoru and the others once more. She could never fantasize the two of them raising a family together ever again. She found her whole world crumbling apart around her, and she had no idea how to fix it.
Kaoru's attention jerked back to Kenshin's face as she heard a soft pain-filled grunt escape his lips. His eyes fluttered open slowly, and his knuckles whitened as he balled his fists. It was a miracle that Kenshin could even go as far as regaining consciousness. Kaoru could feel her own heart rate increase, and could have sworn she could hear the rhythmic thumping of her heart as it was stimulated.
"Kenshin," she whispered in wonderment.
"K-Kaoru?" Kenshin stuttered, following the sound of her voice, and gazing up at her face. He let out a small smile, but soon, it turned into a frown.
His eyebrows scrunched together in bemusement as he asked, "Why do you look so forlorn, Miss. Kaoru?"
Kaoru could already feel a new set of tears well up in her eyes as she replied, "I don't want to lose you again, Kenshin."
Kenshin winced while trying to move his arm. It hurt terribly, but he forced himself to drown out the pain in order to lift his arm, and brush Kaoru's cheek with his finger-tips affectionately.
"You'll never lose me, Kaoru. I'll always be with you, and everyone else, watching down upon you. I won't break my promise, I will return with you to Tokyo," comforted Kenshin.
"But you can't," whispered Kaoru, just barely audible, "You won't be alive. It won't be the same. I need you, Kenshin."
"As long as you live on, I'll keep on living through you, through our memories together. I promise you Kaoru, I'll never leave your side, that I won't. Just look inside yourself when in doubt, I'll be with you," assured Kenshin, treasuring the warmth he felt by touching Kaoru before lowering his arm.
Kenshin cherished his last moments on Earth. He took in the beauty and depth of everything that was Kaoru, he even savored her scent.
He gazed into her deep blue eyes one final time, murmuring, "Promise me, you'll be happy, Miss. Kaoru."
Kaoru gasped slightly, the question had certainly taken her by surprise, "I - "she began. How could she make a promise like that, how could she be happy after Kenshin was gone? "I - "she repeated.
Her eyes widened as she saw Kenshin's eyes close, and his body become completely limp. Was he dead? No, he couldn't be. She didn't get to make her promise. After all of Kenshin's fulfilled promises, how could she break the only one he ever asked of her?
"I promise you, Kenshin! I promise I'll be happy!" she yelled.
She watched for a response, anything would do: a twitch of the nose, a finger moving, an eyebrow raising or lowering... Anything. Kaoru frowned, he must not have heard her. Guilt began to take hold of her mind. How could she have not been quick enough to answer him? It was his final request! Kaoru kept staring at his face with hope. She needed to know he had heard.
"Please, Kenshin, show me you heard! Give me a sign, anything..." begged Kaoru, trailing off, on the verge of losing all hope. "I promise you Kenshin! I promise!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.
Just as she was about to turn away and give up, she caught a glimpse of him smiling. He had heard her promise, he understood.
"Oh thank you, Kenshin! I promise I won't let you down!" she spoke in determination, smiling slightly to add more effect to her promise.
Kaoru Kamiya had forgotten how true the fact she often thought of really was. Unpleasant memories always did start out with good fulfilling beginnings. The feeling of happiness -much like everything else in life- truly did have a price to pay. She had been naive, and attached the most vital part of her emotions that helps to create the most extravagant happiness to one single man, her heart. That was one thing she could never get back by attaching herself to other people and things that make her happy.
Kenshin Himura had died, and had taken her heart with him, and with him it would forever stay. Kaoru could now choose one of two things: Either, wallow in her self pity, or move on with life and keep Kenshin's promise.
Kaoru brushed aside a red strand of hair from Kenshin's now-cold face and whispered, "I won't break your promise, Kenshin," she smiled, then bent down and kissed his forehead, letting go.