my 1st rurouni kenshin drabble
kenshin/kaoru
kenshin has to leave koaru, yet again
note : must have some background knowledge of the anime series, no real spoilers, set some time after kyoto arc, and no, i do not own rurouni kenshin (367 words)
Fall
"I have to leave, Koaru-dono. Tonight."
Kenshin kept his gaze on his hands, clenched in his lap; guilt making him unable to lift his eyes to the sight of her calmly sipping tea across the table.
Silence stretched at his softly spoken statement, only to be broken by the small sound of her setting her cup down on the table. Then Koaru's calm voice followed. "I see."
Koaru pushed herself away from the table and walked casually to the door, Kenshin's worried gaze trained on her slender form. He straightened quickly as he realized that she intended to just walk out of the room without another word.
"Koaru-dono, wait!" Kenshin called out urgently, his hand reaching out as if to stop her, even though she was out of reach.
Koaru paused at the door but did not turn. "Kenshin," she said in a monotonous tone, "I know nothing I say will have any effect on you." She slid the door open.
"But Koaru-dono, I – "
She turned her raw, haunted eyes to his, effectively stopping his words. "Kenshin, you have left many times before. Every one of those times, you have been forced to fight… to the point where Battousai would take over. I never could stop you from crossing that line. Not even once." She paused and continued in a resentful whisper, looking away.
"When you were fighting Saito, all those years ago… I begged you to come back. I cried then, and every time since, because my voice could not reach you. I couldn't pull you back. All I could do was watch helplessly - every single time."
"Kaoru-dono…" Kenshin whispered hoarsely, sensing some finality coming and the panic had him raising himself to a crouch. As if he could rush her to stop… stop whatever was coming.
"Kenshin, the next time you step onto that dangerous edge, I don't want to be there to see you fall again. I've had enough. The next time, Kenshin…" she paused and drew a deep breath, as if to steel herself.
"Fall. But I won't be waiting there to try to pull you back." Kaoru stepped out and slid the door close behind her with a soft thud.
end
just to make it clear, i love kenshin/kaoru. it's just that with all i've been reading about them on the net, i don't think they'll get a happily-ever-after.