Wanderlust
Summary: Kaoru worries that Kenshin will begin to wander again…
Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin.
A/N: Hm, it's been awhile since I wrote for this fandom. I still have to update For a Good Laugh, but this little snippet of a story just had to be written down. (^_^)
~oOo~
"I'm concerned for him, Yahiko," Kaoru whispered softly, sapphire eyes widened as she watched her husband walk briskly away from the dojo. This was the umpteenth time in the past month Kenshin had risen from their bed in the midst of the night. Consequently, he was restless and terribly sleep deprived; yet, the good-natured rurouni refused to admit to his young wife that something was eating away at him on the inside. Kaoru was not blind. She knew.
Her rising apprentice Yahiko Myojin roughly rubbed the sleep from his eyes, yawning. He blinked owlishly, watching Kenshin adjust the sakabatou on his hip and cut across the lawn. Within seconds his silhouette was engulfed by the overhanging shadows of Tokyo.
"I need to go after him," Kaoru said, glancing around the room for her sandals. She was only in her sleeping yukata, but perhaps if she hurried now she could catch him before he went too far.
Yahiko groaned. Just perfect. Raccoon-girl had pressured him into staying up all night, just to wait for the moment when Kenshin decided to make his midnight detour. With all due respect to the sensei, but this big boy needed some rest. "Look," he grumbled, scratching his head. "Kenshin wouldn't go out to find trouble. He probably just needs some air. Go back to sleep."
Kaoru grabbed him firmly by the collar of his haori, shaking violently. "This isn't normal! He tells me everything! I'm his wife!"
"Watch it!" Yahiko growled, prying himself away from her white clutched fists. "Don't freak out on me now!" He gently pushed her hands down to her sides, squeezing them lightly. "In your condition, you shouldn't be stressing out." His eyes dropped to the small bugle of her belly. At the mentioning of her unborn child, Kaoru smiled. Anything created by Kenshin was beautiful.
Until recently, the rurouni had been the same as ever – happy. His new life with Kaoru was refreshing, peaceful, and everything he could have asked for in a successful marriage, which was why she could not fathom his sudden impulses to leave their bed at night. What exactly did he find so intriguing that he could not share it with her?
Kaoru exhaled heavily, glancing back through the window to the spot where he had vanished. "I just can't help myself."
"You love him," Yahiko said wisely. The past few years had taught him much. "A guy likes to be by himself once in awhile, ya'know?"
"Yes, I suppose you are right." She prayed he was.
She prayed with every fiber of her being that the love she harnessed for that redheaded ex-hitokiri was enough to keep him at rest. That he would realize … perhaps everything he ever wanted was here. Maybe the baby that grew within her womb would help him realize whatever he had done in the past - all the people he had killed – didn't matter anymore. Kenshin was needed as a father, a husband, and a friend.
It would break Kaoru's heart if he decided to wander again.
~oOo~
End