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A hand to hold on to…
"I've been staying at Kamiya dojo for one year, four months and six days. It doesn't seem like it's been that long. Himura is still grieving, even though he hides it well, his Ki is still no match for woman's intuition. I hear him swallowing the anguish he so desperately needs to shed. Tonight is no different… I wish so much that I could just whisk his pain away as if dusting off a piece of furniture. Even as I write I can almost feel the pain festering in him only one room away. He's been stabbed in the heart, But he can only pull the blade deeper in himself. Tonight…I must change things, I must do something to help the man who care's so much for others, yet so little for himself…"
Misao raised her head from her diary and stared blankly at the wall beside her. "Through that wall," She thought. "Lies a man who is dying from the inside out, suffocating in anguish.
She stood up almost involuntarily, and walked to the door. She slid it open as quietly as she could. Not quiet enough. She frowned at the silence. "If he would just release." She thought, remembering her own release in Kaoru's arms. That was the most trying time for her, when she thought Aoshi could be her enemy. She stepped up to the door and slid it open quietly, not totally aware of why she was doing it, or what she would do next.
"Misao Dono, do you need something?" He asked, softer than usual. She didn't respond, but entered the room sliding the door shut behind her. "Misao Dono?" He asked again, rolling over and looking up to see her soft face through the darkness.
"Am I slipping?" He thought. "I didn't realize she'd walked so far into the room." His thoughts were interrupted by the image of her small face descending toward him. Her warm hands closing gently on his bare arm, Her small frame pulling close to his side. He opened his mouth to speak only to find one of those warm little digits holding speech back.
"I can hear your tears, I can sense the pain you feel. You've been torturing yourself too long. You need to cry, to bleed the wound you've deepened in your heart. But you're special to me, and I don't want you to have to suffer in silence by yourself." She paused. "I will stay here tonight… If… If you need a shoulder… to cry on, or just a hand to hold on to…Kenshin, I'll be here. I'll be here tomorrow… and for the rest of your life if you need me…"
She could barely believe her ears, the word she heard were pouring out of her heart. "Could it be that I could love someone other than Aoshi-sama?" She thought, feeling him draw closer to her, his face resting near her shoulder. "I just told him I would stay with him for the rest of his life if he needed me…could that be love?"
She felt the wetness of tears seeping slowly through her soft silk kimono. "I am willing to stay, but could I be falling in love… with Kenshin?" A smile drew to her face as Kenshin drew his face deeper into her shoulder. "He's letting it out, finally." She thought, feeling tears at the corners of her own eyes. They lay there for a moment, Misao gently holding his head. "I think I could fall in love with him, I always felt he was a wonderful man." She closed her eyes, letting her thoughts roll into unconsciousness.
"Misao Dono…" She heard, softly.
"Nani?"
"The sun will be rising soon."
"Your room faces the sunrise, right?"
"Hai."
"If we sit up, we can watch."
The two figures sat up, still holding on to each other.
"Misao Dono," He paused. "Thank you, I think I did need a shoulder to cry on."
"I always figured you for the hand-to-hold type." She said, smiling.
"I don't think you have to stay any longer. I'll be alright now I think." He said.
"But…" She started, momentarily unsure of her words. "I want to stay…" She finally said, turning to face him. "I want to stay." She thought again, as she laid her head on his shoulder.
Kaoru smiled as she moved through the doorway.
"It is quite a thrill isn't it, to assure that the man you love has someone else?" A soft voice called behind her.
"Oh, Tomoe San." She said, looking down at the two figures holding onto each other in the warming morning air.
"It took me ten years to find someone to help him when I was looking.
"I was lucky, Misao had those feeling for him within her." Kaoru said, smiling.
"You've always thought I was picky about it didn't you?" Tomoe said softly. "I had to come and see who his new love would be, I didn't mean to intrude on your Dojo."
"No, It's not mine anymore." Kaoru noted, turning and walking down the hallway toward the exit.
"Who will inherit it then?" Tomoe asked, Her image seemed to fade with each step.
"It's not my concern anymore, I was just here for Kenshin's sake." Kaoru said as her voice grew dimmer and dimmer.
"They looked so happy together, it makes me happy. You did a good job Kaoru Chan." Tomoe said, as Kaoru and her own images disappeared into the morning mist.
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