Sheath
"The name Kenshin was given by my master. It is for a man of swordsmanship, but that name has past me now, and that name is no longer appropriate. The name my parents gave was different. Shinta. That is my real and true name." Kenshin remembered of how Hiko-sensei had renamed him after the bandit attack that cost Kasumi's, Akane's, and Sakura's lives. He closed his eyes briefly, and recalled Sakura's last words to him. Live, she had said. "I suppose my parents had wanted me to carry that name until now," Kenshin said to Kaoru. "They were good, simple, and kind people. Cholera had taken their lives when I was nine years old. It pained me to see my beloved mother and father dying before my eyes. Yet, I felt a guilty sense of relief as they exhaled their last breaths."
"What happened to you?" Kaoru asked.
"I was sold into slavery. I was treated terribly by the slave traders, and I felt so cold, and I was despairing inside. I had never felt so alone. About a year went by, and I meet three young girls that were also sold into slavery. Their names were Kasumi, Akane, and Sakura." Kenshin paused as their beautiful faces came into his mind again. "They treated me like I was their own. With such kindness and tenderness they had for me. A hole had appeared in my heart when my parents died, and the only home that I knew was burned and taken from me before my eyes. Now I felt as if the hole had healed. I was given a top, the first present that I had owned. I treasured the top until the day Tomoe died. For the first time that day since my parents died, I felt protected and loved as long as Kasumi, Akane, and Sakura, were with me. Even when I knew I was to be sold into prostitution, I was no longer alone. They were my sheath."
"Sheath?" Kaoru repeated.
A small smile played on Kenshin's lips. "A sheath that will protect you, and shield you from madness. The girls that took care of me were my sheath at that time. My tears and pain had stopped. Kasumi and Akane gave their lives to me when bandits attacked our group. They were instantly slaughtered. Before her death, Sakura told me this. "'You must not die now. You must live. Life a full life for the sake of those who died tonight. Please live. Live, Shinta. Live for me.'" I tried to hold a sword to protect them, but I couldn't save the three girls that had saved my life. They were gone."
"Is…that when Hiko-sensei found you?" Kaoru whispered.
"Hai. He found me that night. He taught me the swordsmanship that I believed would protect and defend the weak. I vowed to protect those of misfortune, for I could not save onesan. Sometimes I saw Kasumi, Akane, and Sakura in Tomoe. Like them, she became sheath, even after she died, even after the Bakumatsu…until I met you, Kaoru. I see them in my sleep sometime, protecting me all these years. I see them in you too, Kaoru," Kenshin said with a small smile. "I see them in you every day, for you too are my sheath. Tomoe was my sheath to stop killing, and you are my sheath to stop wandering. Kaoru?" Kenshin whispered. He held his wife's hand tenderly.
"Hai?"
"Arigatou."