Title: In Memories
Rating: T
Disclaimer: I can sigh all I want; the rurouni isn't mine.
A.n.: The themes were taken from the community 1sentence on Livejournal (theme set Beta).
The OAV "Reflection" is considered canon - except for #12, 29, 34, 40, 43 and 50 to an extent - and the connection to the theme can be, ah, subtle. Please bear with me. ^^
A.n. 2: Daddy!Kenshin is one of the most adorable things ever.
#01 - Walking
He wants to help and protect at least as many people as he has killed - far, so far still from that number, the rurouni keeps walking.
#02 - Waltz
Kaoru hates clichés but watching Kenshin and Yahiko fighting - for the sake of simply moving, neither trying to win -, reacting to and following each other's moves, she has to admit that it does look like a dance - a dance that highly amuses Kenji, if the little boy's squirming in her arms is any indication.
#03 - Wishes
They are often alone together now that both Megumi and Sanosuke are gone and that Yahiko spends all of his free time at the Akabeko, and every time, no matter what they're doing, Kenshin wishes he could kiss Kaoru - until finally, at a not-so-special moment on an otherwise not-so-special day, he does.
#04 - Wonder
The son he never dared to dream of - in his arms for the first time; his wife - leaning against him, tired but smiling her bright, bright smile; he cannot breathe and the moment - oh, so perfect.
#05 - Worry
It had been weeks since the fight against Enishi and Kenshin still got worried looks that Kaoru didn't quite understand - Megumi and Tsubame, even Yahiko and Sanosuke searched his face when talking to him, looking for a reassurance of some kind -, yet she had certainly not expected the haunted look that appeared on her friends' faces when she asked what it was she had missed.
#06 - Whimsy
They're crossing the bridge on their way home after another dinner at the Akabeko when he takes her hand and kisses her lips when she turns to look at him - that it is not proper is the last of his thoughts: he loves her, has for years, and the rest of the world can just deal.
#07 - Waste/Wasteland
Rakuninmura was much too good a place for those who had failed - not once, but twice - to protect the woman they loved, but it would have to do: he did not have the energy to go any farther and maybe, if he slept, no one would try to wake him.
#08 - Whiskey and rum
After all of their disagreements, it is a small wonder he is still welcome at his master's cabin to enjoy a cup of sake - under the stars, if it is summer, or listening to the falling snow in winter.
#09 - War
Kenshin sets the -his, their- little house on fire and walks away and back to war, hands firmly gripping his swords, dreams of peace and not killing temporarily reduced to mere wishful thinking.
#10 - Weddings
Kenshin had already been in that position once but the main difference was that, this time; the woman kneeling beside him was actually happy and smiling.
#11 - Birthday
He receives a daisho from Katsura on the day of his genpuku: he is a man now, and officially Katsura's hitokiri.
#12 - Blessing
"Yes, Sano, I assure you Megumi will say yes if you propose to her", Kenshin answered, needing all of his self-control not to laugh at his friend's obvious embarrassment.
#13 - Bias
Kenshin knew Kaoru had probably not intended to fall asleep on his shoulder but, as she leaned more into him -innocently seeking warmth against the autumn night, for sure -, he told himself that the least he could do was to wrap an arm around her shoulders and hold her close - that he actually enjoyed it was a mere coincidence.
#14 - Burning
Coming of age was nothing: his spinning top burns along with Tomoe's body, and that is the death of his childhood.
#15 - Breathing
Inhale deeply, slowly exhale through the mouth, breathe around your movements - Kenshin can still hear his master's voice as he practices his kata, clothes heavy with morning dew.
#16 - Breaking
When Kaoru noticed the dark rash spreading on her husband's skin, her smile faltered for the first time in years.
#17 - Belief
He had stopped believing it was even possible: no blood, no remorse, no shame, not even guilt in his thoughts but only there, and then, and Kaoru in his arms.
#18 - Balloon
The children's immediate trust in him always surprised him - he was a hitokiri; his eyes, at least, had to betray him - but he was grateful for the carefree hours he spent with them - he would miss them when he and Tomoe went back to Kyoto.
#19 - Balcony
Though it may mean her death, Kaoru stares at the horizon from the balcony of Enishi's mansion, waiting for Kenshin's boat to appear.
#20 - Bane
He is a quiet man, even when nightmares come (his loved ones' blood flowing down his or his past enemies blades): there is no thrashing, no choked cries, yet Kaoru always knows - these are the only times he will roll away from her in his sleep.
#21 - Quiet
Remembering her lonely days and listening to little Kenji and his father playing and laughing in the snow, Kaoru wished her house would never be quiet again.
#22 - Quirks
Most of the people he met during his wandering years only ever knew him as "the wanderer" - or "Kenshin" at best, if they really insisted - and he liked the anonymity, liked thinking that they would not remember him for a name or title - his heart sank every time he saw the fear the name Battousai still inspired - but for the good he strove to do.
#23 - Question
"Everyone says you are the strongest man they know, how comes you're not even carrying a sword?", the question is in Kenji's eyes if not out of his mouth (yet), and Kenshin can't but look away from his son - the past has been brought back too many times already.
#24 - Quarrel
He had expected her to put up more of a fight - a well-aimed blow to his head, for instance - and was surprised to get none of that (maybe he had shocked her, or maybe she was selfless enough to understand why he had to go), yet it only made leaving for Kyoto more painful.
#25 - Quitting
The decision has been a long time in the making: he cannot use the sakabatou anymore but the sword has too much meaning to simply be put to rest on a stand so, a then ten-year-old boy's wish still fresh in his mind, Kenshin calls Yahiko to the dojo on the day of his genpuku.
#26 - Jump
He used to jump out of bed at the crack of dawn but now found he actually liked sleeping in, Kaoru curled up against him.
#27 - Jester
Kaoru knows he was Battousai, yes, but she doesn't understand what that means, not really, so, for both their sakes, he keeps pretending he is nothing more than the goofy rurouni - because it would be nice to stay, if he could.
#28 - Jousting
They both try to attract his attention in their own way, insisting on areas in which the other has no talent: Kaoru practices her kendo; Megumi makes dinner.
#29 - Jewel
It is their first winter as a family and the three of them are snuggled together close to the fire, enjoying the moment in silence when Kaoru sees it for the first time - Kenshin's real, untainted smile.
#30 - Just
Kenshin had always had perfect timing - his sword was never a second too early or too late - but that morning in a snowy clearing, he hadn't even had time to scream before it was over and he was far, far too slow to react.
#31 - Smirk
When they meet again, Kenshin talks and talks and talks for hours on end about his family - how generous and understanding Kaoru is, how fast Kenji learns and grows - while Hiko merely smirks.
#32 - Sorrow
Kaoru's grief vanishes quickly after the truth of Kenshin's death sinks in: the disease is spreading under her skin and there is no need for sorrow, her husband will be coming back for her soon enough.
#33 - Stupidity
Hiko had once threatened to tell everyone how Kenshin had earned his nickname of "baka deshi" and though he had not followed it through, the look of pure, abject terror that had appeared on his apprentice's face had definitely been worth it.
#34 - Serenade
On their wedding night, they sit in silence on the engawa, listen to the crickets and watch the fireflies: Kaoru used to like their bright green blinks and, tightly holding Kenshin's hand in hers, she can finally reconcile with them - Kenshin has promised not to leave her behind ever again.
#35 - Sarcasm
Kenshin had never liked Iizuka: his jokes of dubious taste and sarcastic comments were so out of place in this revolution - honestly, what was there to laugh about?
#36 - Sordid
Another black envelope had come; his spinning top lay abandoned on the floor - that night, the clouds would rain blood.
#37 - Soliloquy
The little boy is all ears, eyes wide and hands tightly gripping his sheets, completely enthralled by the stories his father tells him at bedtime - the hero travels, sees wonders, fights, never kills, saves lives, makes loyal friends and then… Kenji will have to wait until tomorrow to hear the rest, or will dream it tonight.
#38 - Sojourn
When he was in China and the pain felt like acid running through his veins and burning him alive from the inside, he held onto one thing: he could not die there, so far away from home, and would find a way back.
#39 - Share
Mingling breaths, lips on lips and whispering to skin, hands holding tightly and there is Kaoru's voice, clear and begging in his head: "Please share all of your burdens with me."
#40 - Solitary
After ten years on his own, Kenshin sometimes felt the need to retreat to that little, quiet clearing behind the dojo - he loved his friends, he really did, but their constantly loud presence was sometimes too much to take.
#41 - Nowhere
She dreams, after his death, dreams the rest of her days away, too weak for the living; she dreams of a white, bright nothingness, of a voice behind her and there he is, looking young and healthy again, eyes soft and loving, no scar marring his cheek.
#42 - Neutral
For all of his courage, Kenshin knows much better than to take sides when Kaoru and Yahiko - or Megumi and Sano, for that matter - argue.
#43 - Nuance
Battousai was long dead, even Kenshin's days were gone - they all called him Shinta, now.
#44 - Near
Crackle of dry leaves,
The white plum slowly withers
- Soon, the snow will come.
#45 - Natural
He had spent ten years on the road helping everyone he could; it was really no surprise when, once settled at the Kamiya dojo, he began feeding feral cats.
#46 - Horizon
It was when Kaoru told him that she wanted them together as a family that he realized that his quest for redemption did not have to control his whole life, that he too could stay, love and belong.
#47 - Valiant
Left, right, left, right, one foot after the other despite his darkening vision and increasingly weak legs, Kenshin valiantly keeps moving - Kaoru is awaiting his return.
#48 - Virtuous
Hiko himself was too much of a misanthrope but the boy, with his good heart and fast-developing skills with the sword… he would live up to the Hiten Mitsurugi school's ideals.
#49 - Victory
"Victory!" the Patriots shout all around him, ecstatic, yet his voice does not join theirs - victory tastes like blood and sweat, like death to him.
#50 – Defeat
Kaoru would not budge: her beloved husband was sick, maybe even dying, so if he thought she was going to let him out of the door to go to the continent and risk what was left of his life and be gone for who knew how long… well, he had another thing coming - he wouldn't know what hit him.