How Could This Happen To Me
By: Hitokiri Musei
Rated: T
Summary: In the days of the Bakumatsu, blood was a common factor. But now, in the peace of the Meji, it holds only fear. Kenshin remembers those days, and Kaoru helps him through them. One-shot KK.
A/N: Me no own RK! (sighs) But I can dream can't I?
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Kenshin looked around him calmly. It was a beautiful day, but something still felt off to the redhead's sharp senses. He closed his eyes, allowing the sun to warm his face and the breeze to lift his long hair from his shoulders. With a contended sigh he raised his face to the sky, breathing deep of the summer air. His brows suddenly twitched together as his senses were drawn to the dojo, only a few moments walk away from him. There was a shining star of ki there, Miss Kaoru. But wait; there was another flash of ki, someone Kenshin didn't know. Kaoru's ki became turbulent in his mind's eye, full of fear.
His violet eyes snapped open and he leap down from the tree he was perched in, heading at full speed for the dojo. 'I'm coming Miss Kaoru!'
Kenshin ran as quickly as he could, still focusing on Kaoru's ki and the stranger within the dojo. He narrowed his eyes. The path just seemed to be getting longer, the dojo getting farther and farther away no matter how fast he ran. His eyes widened as Kaoru's ki flared, then flickered. "No!"
Suddenly the dojo was in front of him. He instantly ran to where Kaoru's dim ki was, within the training hall. What he saw he would never forget.
Kaoru lay still on the floor, blood surrounding her lithe body. Her raven hair was caked in the liquid, her yellow kimono stained crimson. She was barely breathing, her skin pale as snow. She opened cloudy sapphire eyes and looked his way, a smile flickering onto her face. "Ken-shin…."
Kenshin was by her side in an instant, lifting her head into his lap. "Miss Kaoru….." He fell silent as one of her hands came up to wipe away a tear he hadn't known had escaped.
"It's – okay- Kenshin…." she whispered painfully, wincing slightly. "Ai-aishiteru….." Her hand fell to the floor and her eyes fluttered shut, never to open again.
Kenshin's violet eyes widened. "Miss Kaoru?" There was no response from the woman on his lap. "Kaoru?" he whispered. Tears tracked their way down his cheeks, and he bowed his head, sobbing over the dead body of the woman he loved. "Aishiteru my Kaoru…." Raising his head, Kenshin screamed.
He screamed for all he was worth, tears streaming down his face and his hands clenching in his hakama. His cries of pain and anguish filled the dojo, echoing off the walls. His hands came up to fist in his red hair, and he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the images rushing through his head.
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"Would you marry me? Really?"
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"I figured out who the traitor is. It's her."
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"TOMOE!"
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"I'm—sorry---my---love……"
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Still Kenshin screamed, letting out the terrors of his life in one horrifying cry. He held his head and cried, trying and failing to stop the pictures. He fell to the floor on his side, tears still flowing from his violet eyes, not caring about the blood that began to seep through his clothes.
'I'm broken,' he realized, his hands falling from his flame-colored hair. 'I'm not…useful…..anymore……'
He lay silently on the floor, eyes dull and lifeless. He no longer tried to stop the images of his past, he simply watched as he relived the horrors of his past. The face of every man he had killed ran through his mind, each fearful look flashing before his eyes. Tomoe, with her bottomless eyes and gentle smile, looked at him with love. He choked, and then tears started anew as Kaoru's loving face appeared before him. She smiled, her beautiful eyes lighting up and sparkling.
Both women stood before him, smiling and seemingly happy. They spoke as one, their voices gentle.
"Aishiteru anata….."
The scene shifted, and both were covered in blood, their faces sad and fearful. Tomoe's eyes were pained, and Kaoru looked as though she had been betrayed by him. Again they spoke as one.
"Why Kenshin? Why did you abandon us?"
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Kenshin shot up on the futon, eyes wide and breath heaving in his chest. Sweat slicked his skin, his red bangs stuck to his forehead. He brought a shaking hand up to his face, covering his eyes and gasping for breath.
He pulled his hand back, surprised to feel wetness on his cheeks. He had cried in his sleep. He bowed his head, trying to wipe the horrible image of Kaoru's dead face from his mind, of both her and Tomoe standing before him covered in blood.
He drew in another shuddering breath, and then opened his eyes slightly to stare at the pale blue of his yukata. 'Where do these dreams come from?' he thought. 'Why do these images haunt me? Why is it that I always see their faces……' He twisted his hands in the cloth of his clothing. The sound of footsteps outside of his door caused him to look up in surprise.
Kaoru opened the door timidly, her face worried in the soft light. "Kenshin? Are you okay? I heard noises….."
Kenshin looked down again. "I'm fine Miss Kaoru. You have no need to worry over me."
Kaoru came closer anyway, kneeling beside the rurouni's futon. "Kenshin, you don't need to lie to me." He looked up, violet eyes wide and startled. "I can tell something's wrong Kenshin. Your voice gives you away."
He looked down again and then was startled again when Kaoru's gentle fingers slipped under his chin and lifted his face. Her eyes were worried as she used her other hand to softly wipe away his tears. "Please Kenshin. You can trust me."
He bit his lip, and then opened his mouth. "I saw you……You were….dead…." He closed his eyes, holding back more tears. "I was so alone….."
He was shocked when he was enclosed in a warm embrace. He felt Kaoru's breath ghost across his neck, her raven hair just below his nose. "I'm here Kenshin. And I'm not going anywhere, I promise you that. Not if I can help it." She squeezed his shoulders tightly.
Kenshin sat silently for a moment, simply sitting still in Kaoru's gentle loving embrace. He slowly raised his arms, wrapping his arms around her shoulders in a returning hug. "Arigatou Miss Kaoru. I'm truly grateful, that I am."
She pulled back slightly to settle her head on his chest, sighing in content. "You know I'm always here for you, right Kenshin? I'm always ready to listen to whatever you need to talk about."
Kenshin smiled gently and nodded. "I know Miss Kaoru." He settled his nose in her raven hair, breathing deep of her jasmine scent. "I know….."
She fisted her hands in his gi, looking up at him with shy sapphire eyes. "I've been meaning to tell you Kenshin….." Kenshin's eyes were wide in anticipation, but he said nothing. "Aishiteru Kenshin…."
Kenshin simply smiled and hugged her tighter, placing a kiss in her hair. "Aishiteru my Kaoru. I will…." He paused, and then spoke those words, the same ones he had spoken so long ago. "I will protect you……."
Kenshin slept the rest of the night without nightmares, Kaoru's warmth in his arms chasing away the terrors of his mind