Hi guys!

Please enjoy this Kenshin fanfiction. I'm truly enjoying writing it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kenshin. I only dream that I do and then write about it.

"Forgive me."

I stared at the floor, wide-eyed and heart pounding. His words echoed like a symphony in a dark cave: "I can't come back this time, Kaoru."

The brown carpet still had the indentions of each of his toes. It took seconds for him to fade away, as if he were never here at all. He was all warmth and skin and flesh and blood, and then he was nothing. He didn't even exist anymore. But the proof of his existence still lay strewn on the bedroom floor; his clothes, the deep blue kimono that I was sure now smelled exactly like pine needles. And his Katana! It was beside the nightstand. He put it there before we-

I stared widely down at the spot his feet last touched on the knotted, shag carpet, repeatedly counting the indentions from his toes, and then gasped for air. "This has to be a dream. I'll wake up any second and he'll be here." After counting to ten a dozen times, I slammed my eyes shut and counted again before blinking them open. My frantic search around the room produced a single red strand of hair off his pillow.

Despair gripped my chest like a claw, squeezing and ripping mercilessly. "Not yet!"

I could still feel the coolness of his lips at my temple. The tips of his hair still tickled my cheek. As if a mist on a warm day, he completely disappeared into thin air, leaving only gooseflesh where he last touched my skin. I sunk to the floor with body-wracking sobs as the realization hit me: Kenshin couldn't come back to me…

Kenshin couldn't come back to me.

But...

The tears stopped with an abruptness that surprised me. I dug my fingers into the rough carpet, suddenly knowing exactly what I was going to do. When my eyes cornered over to the sheathed Katana, a smile crept up on my lips.

Kenshin couldn't come back to me…

So I would find a way to him.

Six months earlier...

"That's greeeeat." I tried so hard to sound enthusiastic for the sake of those lovely brown eyes looking at me for validation, but this was one of my pet peeves. Megumi had been working for months on this commercial. The exotic, beautiful woman on the screen puckered her full red lips at the camera and said something about "Dreaming in bubbles" and I nearly slapped my forehead.

I genuinely hated perfume commercials.

But Megumi had worked so hard...

"I love it," I said, smiling in a way that I hoped looked convincing. "I really, really do."

The grin fell from Megumi's face and she stood up, brushing invisible lint from her black fitted skirt. When she looked down at me again, the light from the TV screen made little white boxes on her irises that made her look rather sinister. I was not a good liar.

"You hate it," She stated bluntly. "Just give me your honest opinion."

I cleared my throat and glanced back at the screen. The music playing had a good tempo, and the man kissing the model's neck was handsome, so I could honestly promise one thing: "This is at least in my top five all time favorite perfume commercials." My eyes cornered to hers, hopeful that she didn't sense how easy a feat that would be. "If that's not saying something, I don't know what is."

Megumi rolled her eyes and sighed, but the corner of her mouth twitched up. "Well, I can't make everyone happy so you'll have to deal with it, Kaoru." She reached behind me and grabbed a folder that might have weighed as much as I did, and I jumped when she slammed it on the desk in front of me, nearly crushing my fingertips in the process. "Edit away and make notes."

This meant I would have to watch and rewatch this commercial about 5 dozen more times, but I wasn't about to complain. "Yes, ma'am." With a deep breath and a faux salute I settled in to get to work.

Megumi opened the door, casting a ray of bright office light into the dark room. "Oh, before I go," she spun on her heels. "Sano said there was an extra wondering around the background that shouldn't be there. I think it's the second scene by the river. Can you edit him out?"

I squinted at her. By the river? "I thought that scene only had four people in it. How did a random extra manage that?"

Her padded shoulders shrugged. "Who knows. But 86 him." Her heals clapped against the linoleum as she called over her shoulder, "They need the finished product Monday."

The door clicked closed gently and I was once again shut into my shadowy office. Blinking absently at the screen, I couldn't help but feel a small sense of shame. Megumi was a good boss. She never complained when I was late, gave year end bonuses, and listened to my ideas when I rarely produced one. One time my ponytail got caught in the revolving door of the lobby. It took twenty minutes to get me free since the track got stuck. I strode into work looking like I'd just beaten off a beehive with my purse, hair strewn in every direction. I looked like a retired pop singer. Megumi just looked at me with one perfectly raised eyebrow, clearly amused, and complimented my baby yellow Maryjanes. Then she braided my messy hair for me while I caught up on paperwork, the product of my lateness. That beautiful, scary, motherly woman was my knight in shining armor.

The least I should be able to do is compliment this laughable horror of a commercial!

"Stop it, Kaoru!" I growled to myself. I slid my palms down my cheeks, making a fish face with my puckered lips. "It's not that bad."

Four hours after my initial viewing and I was officially a zombie. My eyes were burning and felt swollen, but I finally spotted the person Megumi said snuck into the river shot. It was 12 seconds in, and for only a moment, but there he was, on the other side of the flowing river bank. He was facing away from the camera, crouching deeply to the ground. I didn't know who the heck outfitted him but the baggy clothes clashed so terribly with the scene that I was glad Megumi hadn't seen him yet. Thankfully, he was pretty blurry so it would be a relatively easy edit. The only physical feature I could make out was his hair. It was long and bright, probably mirroring the glassy water and sunlight. I remembered that day of the shoot being excruciatingly hot. The water blinded me as I scooped it up in my hands and splashed it on my pink cheeks. The feel of it streaming down my neck was heavenly.

I sat back in my chair and chewed on my pen thoughtfully. Today was warm, but not hot. It would be a great day to sit by the water and listen to the tiny trickling waves while I ate my lunch.

I blew my bangs out of my eyes and tried blinking away a faint headache. Just one more screen shot. I clicked forward on the paused screen and something flashed like a tiny bolt of lightning. It was sticking out of the man's side; shiny, bright and long. I squinted at the screen. "Is that a sword?" Cameras picked up all sorts of glares and orbs that could make even the most reasonable person believe a ghost was trapped in the lens.

Chuckling at myself, I stood, stretching up to my tip toes and rolling my neck. Good grief I was sore! Not one more screen shot. I needed that break now! Relief washed over me as I stepped out of my cave and the happy sigh I let out had several of my coworkers peeking out of their cubicles to laugh at me. I smiled bashfully and scurried past.

"Megumi?" I found her at the receptionist's desk, tapping her long nails on the auburn-colored wood, and arguing with the timid teenager about a message she forgot to give her.

"Yes, it's time for your break," Megumi said, breaking from her chastising to check the silver watch dangling from her graceful wrist. The receptionist sunk deeper into her seat, probably hoping to disappear into the cushion. "Bring me a latte on your way back, will you?"

"Sure." I gave the girl a pity glance before heading out. I'd bring her back a mocha Frappuccino or something. Being the object of Megumi's tantrums was not a pleasant experience.

The cab ride to the river was a nice escape. I used that time trying desperately to allow the hum of the engine and sounds of street cars drown out the mental images and music from that darn perfume commercial. It was lunchtime, and people crowded the streets. Still, the da da da da dum of the commercial music ran circles in my brain like a carousel. I rubbed tiny circles into my temples, feeling suddenly exhausted.

We stopped at a light and I watched a guy walk past with purple-hair and one eye tattoo. "That's ridiculous." The thought leapt from my brain. "If you're going to tattoo one eye, why not the other? Now his face is all lopsided."

"Because kids nowadays have no sense of self-respect."

I had been following this guy's movements as he crossed the street, but at the sound of that voice, my head snapped forward. Brown eyes met mine in the rear-view mirror. I hadn't realized I had spoken out-loud.

I chuckled, embarrassed. "Yea, maybe so."

The driver smiled. He was a thin, middle aged man, with dark hair that was graying just above his ears. His smile was pleasant, crinkling his eyes. "Long day?"

My smile froze a little. Asking if it's been a long day was a lot like saying "you look tired," which translated "you look terrible."

"Yup." My eyes still burned. This wasn't an inaccurate observation on his part.

"What do you do?" He asked, sounding genuinely interested.

I shifted in my seat a bit. So much for getting away for an hour. "Video editor. I've been staring at a screen all morning. What do you do?" I bit my lip and instantly grimaced. He's a taxi driver, genius. It wasn't the first time that day that I'd wished I were just a tad less awkward when talking to strangers. "I meant, what uh... what do you think of purple hair?" My eyes rolled back so hard at myself that my headache pulsed painfully.

He chuckled, sensing my struggle. "Purple hair, huh?" A long finger grazed his chin. "Can't say I'm pro purple hair."

"What's the strangest experience you've had on the job?" Besides trying to hide my embarrassment, I was very curious. No doubt he saw a lot of questionable things doing this for a living.

The booming laugh that followed had me jumping out of my seat. "Well, just yesterday this one guy leapt into the cab in such a hurry you'd think the Devil was chasing him! He said something about a red-haired demon that tried to cut him open with a sword at Riverbend Park, and then disappearing into thin air. Poor fellow was still shaking like a leaf when I dropped him off at his house."

My nose scrunched up. I think I expected him to say something secretive about an actor or politician or something. "Creepy."

He let out a short "Hmph" in agreement and took a long pause to think before continuing. "What's really creepy is this guy pulled it off without a hiccup," he said thoughtfully, scratching at his chin. "When he told his story, I got shivers up my arms. He was just so adamant! And the details…" The edge of humor dropped completely from his voice and I stiffened, feeling my body grow cold. "Golden eyes, the chill that swept through him as the blade grazed his skin… I almost drove off the road."

He chuckled then, breaking the trance I hadn't realized we'd both been in.

I blinked. "He was at the park?" The park I was currently journeying toward?

"Sure was." He shrugged, no longer a slave to the memory. "I don't know what kind of game he was playing but that creeped me out so bad I quit for the day. Oh look, we're here!"

My throat dropped into my stomach as I glanced out the window. "Already?"

Sure enough, the green park came into view. It was the time of year when cherry blossoms fell like pink snow to the ground. A beautiful layer of petals coated large patches of soft grass as far as the eye could see.

The cab came to a slow stop. The river was about an acre down a very empty park. My skin erupted in goosebumps. 'Where is everybody?' My hands shook a little as I took money out of my purse to pay for my ride. It's just a story Kaoru! People make up crazy stories all the time.

"Hey, I'm sure it was just a trick." He said, echoing my thoughts. He handed me his business card along with my change. "If you get stranded out here, give me a ring."

I nodded absently and stepped out to gaze toward the water. A gust of wind blew my bangs away from my forehead. Across the river, that was where the wondering extra was... crouching and bright haired andholding a sword?

'Don't be crazy, Kaoru.'

"Thank you." My ponytail brushed my shoulder as I turned and bowed politely. He nodded back, driving away with incredible slowness. It was possible he was giving me a chance to change my mind in the event that I was totally creeped out, which, in all fairness, I kinda was.

The river's watery music was the only sound left when he was gone, so I took a breath and followed it's call, careful not to trip on the knotted grass.

And that's when I heard it, the sharp clink of metal hitting metal. It all happened so terribly fast.

With a gasp, I spun on my heel and came face to face with two cat-like golden eyes, slanted in such unadulterated hatred that I completely stopped breathing. The red-headed demon was there, not two feet away from me. Those terrifying eyes were glassed and red with tears that had yet to fall. Hair like a flame feathered in the soft breeze across his forehead. My eyes followed a fresh trail of deep red blood dripping down his left cheek. As we stared at each other, the blind rage faded with aching slowness from his eyes; like fog lifting from a lake. Realization settled in his features and he blinked. A single tear poured out, diluting the blood on his cheek, turning it pink and dripping soundlessly from his chin. His bangs were wet from exertion and caked with dirt and other things I didn't want to think about. They drifted lazily into his face as he looked down and his mouth dropped suddenly open in shock. I followed his gaze, feeling the thump, thump, thump of my heart rapidly choking all my questions. The hand that held the hilt was beautiful, long fingered and thin, but clearly very strong. That's what I focused on, because the pain never came.

"Tomoe," came his startled whisper.

But I was too shocked to feel the sword's blade that had slid so easily through my chest.

"It... It d-doesn't hurt." My body went heavy as stones and I understood with remarkable clarity that I was about to drop. But, given the grave circumstances, I found I was unreasonably concerned with the fact that he gotten my name wrong. "Who's Tomoe?"

The earth rushed at me, and the stranger moved to catch me before everything went black.