Reflections on Relationships
AN: Hi all!! This is the first Kenshin fanfic I've written in years, so I hope it's not too bad. This will be a collection of one shots where Kenshin reflects on the different people in his life. Hope you enjoy!!
Part 1: Kaoru
Kenshin Himura sat outside the Kamiya dojo, the waning evening sun shining on his face as it sank slowly behind the trees and rooftops of Tokyo. The laundry he had just finished swung slightly in the breeze, his old magenta gi included. Since they had been married Kaoru had forced Kenshin into some new clothes, and he currently wore a hunter green gi she had picked out for him. It had gone well with his hair, she had told him.
A relative peace had fallen upon their lives as of late, or as much peace as Kenshin and his friends had seen in their years together. Violence had invaded their lives in various and unyielding forms; Jinei, Shishio, and Enishi, just to name a few. But somehow their love and faith in each other had pulled them through every incident, scarred yes, but stronger in an even more united front. Kenshin's gaze drifted to Kaoru, who was supervising some of 14-year-old Yahiko's advanced training in the yard, her long raven hair tied back as ever with one of her favorite, ribbons, this one indigo. Kenshin recalled the time he had bloodied one of her previous indigo ribbons in his fight with Jinei, and she had chased him across the bridge and all the way home. He couldn't help but smile at the memory.
She was glowing today. Being a mother, he realized, suited her. It put more color in her cheeks and an extra sparkle in her blue eyes. She had put 1-year-old Kenji down for a nap an hour ago, and even such a small task with her child had brought a huge smile to her face. She glanced over at Kenshin for a fleeting moment, sending over the smile he knew was reserved just for him. He smiled back, the ruroni smile he knew she adored. It was because of her, he mused, that he had been able to really, truly, become the ruroni, instead of wavering between his former self and the man he was now. Then again, could he really call himself a ruroni when he felt no desire to wander? He supposed labels were no longer important. Because of Kaoru, he could simply be Kenshin Himura, father, husband, and friend. Perhaps he might throw in 14th master of the Hiten Mitsurugi Style, but while Hiko lived he felt strange referring to himself as such. For once, he realized, his life was relatively normal. Not that he would take it for granted of course. He knew better.
"All right Yahiko that's enough for now," said Kaoru to her mischievous but much beloved apprentice. "We'll work on it more tomorrow."
"Geez," said Yahiko, his voice deepening with age. "I thought you were trying to kill me."
"Not quite," said Kaoru with a laugh.
The two engaged in their usual sibling like banter, and Yahiko went off to take a bath while Kaoru went to sit next Kenshin. She settled down next to him, their shoulders touching. He wordlessly took her hand, treasuring its warmth, its life.
"Hello there," she said. "Any sign of Kenji waking up?"
"Nothing yet," he replied, smiling at her, and at the thought of their son.
"He seemed tired when I put him down for his nap," she said. "Oh and I forgot to tell you!" Her eyes went wide with excitement.
"Tell me what?" he asked, grinning at her exuberance.
"I had a letter from Misao today; she, Aoshi, and Okina want to come visit! Isn't that wonderful? We haven't seen then in a few months."
"That's wonderful koishi, that it is," said Kenshin. "When do they want to come?"
"In a couple of weeks," said Kaoru.
A contented silence fell between them. Kaoru reached up to twirl a strand of Kenshin's distinctive red hair between her fingers, each lost in their own thoughts, but absolutely secure in their love for one another. To Kenshin, it was small moments like these that made him the happiest. They had been through so much together in the years they'd known each other. There had been countless life and death situations, countless times when they weren't sure they would ever see each other again, countless times the image of her face in his mind had brought him back. She was his will to live. He felt a smile creep onto his face.
"What are you thinking about over there?" asked Kaoru with a laugh.
"Someone special," he said, his violet eyes meeting her blue ones.
"Oh?" she asked playfully, leaning closer. "And who might that be?"
"She's one of the most intelligent, determined, kind, and beautiful women in all of Japan, that she is," he said.
"Is she now?" asked Kaoru. "You must be a lucky man. Or she's a lucky woman."
"Oh, I think I'm the lucky one," he said, with a chuckle.
"Depends on who you ask," she responded, her hand resting on his knee.
He slid his hand against her cheek, leaning in to kiss her. His lips met hers, gentle but passionate. Her arms soon slid themselves around his neck, pulling him closer.
He flashed back to the first kiss they'd shared, moments after they'd admitted their feelings to one another. Both of them had been shy about it, but each for different reasons. For Kaoru, it was because it was her very first kiss, and it came with all those normal concerns. Kenshin hadn't kissed a woman since Tomoe, and although he had surely loved Tomoe, he loved Kaoru more. He loved her more than he had ever loved anyone, loved her more than he could have ever explained with simple words, and he hadn't wanted to ruin their first kiss. But the shyness had quickly faded away, especially after their marriage. But Kenshin was, as ever, a gentleman.
He broke out of his reverie, focusing back on the bliss that was the present. They broke the kiss, and he rested his head on Kaoru's shoulder, closing his eyes. She wrapped her arms around him, her chin resting on his shoulder. They were gloriously alone.
He breathed in and the subtle scent of jasmine filled his nostrils. Kaoru saw through any and every façade he tried to put on, could read him in an instant. No one else had ever been capable of that. He could read her too, and not just her sword movements, but her emotions and her thoughts. He could tell in a moment when she was upset or trying to hide something. They were absolute soulmates.
"Thank you," he said suddenly.
"For what?" asked Kaoru in a whisper.
"For saving me from myself," he said, his voice equally as soft. "Your love saved me. Everyone's love did. But yours especially."
"Then I should thank you too," she said.
"For what?"
"For saving me from my loneliness. For coming back to me in Kyoto. For saving me from Enishi. For taking me seriously and seeing me as something other than a silly girl."
"You're not a silly girl. You're a brave, spirited, moral minded woman," he said. "But even if you were, you'd be my silly girl, that you would."
Both sat up and she hit him good-naturedly.
"You and your violent tendencies," he teased, violet eyes twinkling.
A cry could be heard from their position outside the dojo. It was Kenji's signal that he had awoken from his nap. Kaoru made to rise, but Kenshin held out a hand.
"Let me do it," he said. "You rest. And I'd like to visit with him."
She smiled thankfully at him, and they shared a swift kiss before Kenshin went to tend to their son.
"I love you," said Kaoru suddenly, as though she needed to convince him it was true.
He gazed at her with his violet eyes, drinking in the sight of the woman he loved, this woman who had never left his side. The woman his heart would never wander from. The woman he always wanted near, the one he would do anything to love and protect.
"I love you too my Kaoru. That I most certainly do."
AN: The next chapter will be about Yahiko. Sano, Kenji, Hiko, Misao, and several others will also be included in future chapters. The one-shots aren't connected chronologically or anything like that, but they'll all most likely be after Kenshin and Kaoru's marriage and Kenji's birth. I'm not paying the Reflections OVA any attention for this because I didn't like it (although I highly recommend Trust and Betrayal), and will just go with the ending Watsuki-san gave in the manga; a happy one.
