Only Briefly

How could she forget that face? Even if it had been about two years ago, that face still haunted her. No, it was the entire person that invaded both her dreams. Now, her daydreams too. Those lovely violet-blue eyes, those strong arms that saved her, and carried her gently. Long luscious red-hair that seemed to be burning flames. The fair skin that she wanted to touch, and that cross scar or 'X' shaped scar upon his cheek. However, his image that haunted her came something else even more frightening, the mangled bodies of her parents within the front of the crushed car. She remembered the blood, the limbs sticking at odd angles, and the frozen dead expressions of her two loved ones. An involuntary shudder shook her as she remembered the day. The memories overtook her in a sea of pain:

Kaoru sat in the back of the family's mini-van, there wasn't a need for one with only a family of three. Not that she minded it at all, she liked being able to sit back and stretch out. Now, within the back, she could barely hear the muffled chatter of her parents, knowing that they were once more talking about her birthday. They always enjoyed putting on an extravagant party for her, making sure that she would always remember the overly fancy event. Knowing that they meant well, they always told her 'Kaoru, you're our only little angel. We just want you to remember each of your birthdays as a special occasion, because every day with you is special to us.' And Kaoru's reply now was, 'Yeah, I know'. With a nicely placed eye roll, but a smile. , she always appreciated the kind words they gave her.

However, it was just a week shy of her fifteenth birthday, and she was now dozing in the back of the car. She was rather bored, and turned her MP3 player up.. Alright, it was an iPod ®, an iPod Shuffle ® from the company Apple ™. She did not want to hear their 'secret' plans about her birthday; she preferred it to be a surprise after all.

Next thing she knew, her seatbelt had broken, and with her weight, even if slight, was thrown against the side of the car. A scream ripped from her throat as a crack followed. Her arm… Her arm. Panic seized her completely as she saw what had happened to the car, another one, outside the window opposite of where she was… It… it was coming again!

Another ram hit the side, and the car spun around, a scream ripped from her throat as she shivered in terror, again her petite form slamming against the side. Another crack came from her rag-doll like body. Repeatedly the car continued to ram, but now the mini-van was against the cement guardrail. There was nothing she could do.

As if life was locked within some sort of time-stop, she glanced at her parents. And what she saw was something she would never forget. Two people were there, yes. She did not want to believe it was her parents, she could not… They…Two bodies were changed, from the happy and smiling parents she adored; now it was two corpses. Bones jutted from the skin, a pearly white hue. Yet blood cascaded all around, broken glass spread across the area. All she could see was the blood and gore…They had been fine just moments… moments…

Snapping out of her memory, she glanced up at her best friend, Misao, who stood there. She was a nice girl, short, actually shorter than her. And of course a year younger. Misao's hair was shiny in the late-May sunlight. Blue-green tinged black hair sparkled as she turned her head, an obvious pout on the other girl's face. But of course with the rapid mood swings that was Misao, a smile brightened and a sparkle came to azure eyes. Kaoru could not help a snicker when the younger girl tugged on her arm, whining, "Come on, we have to go!" It was finally after this day of school. This day marked two weeks from her seventeenth birthday, and a week from the accident.

Though, Misao had been her friend through this time, she knew that from now on she would be putting on a brave and happy face, just so she could forget. And for that, Kaoru was eternally grateful.

Still her mind wandered around, wondering about this and that, before she once more was jarred out of her musings by Misao, who had defiant ways, caused her attention brought back to reality, and an ice cream cone shoved into her hand. Muttering a thank-you, she licked at the melting ice cream; it was vanilla, her favorite!

Yet… she once more slipped out of her dreaming to realize that she was now at the park with her friend. It was a little odd walking from school to the local hangout spot and to not notice it. Of course, the group was there. Aoshi, Misao's 'secret' crush stood there, as stoic as usual. It always unnerved her to see that unmoving, unemotional giant of a man. She could not help but wonder what her friend saw in him. Perhaps it was because the two grew up together. Or was it his nice ass?

She shook off the thought as she saw the couple, Megumi and Sanosuke. God how the two of them were always at it, the spiky-haired gang-man Sano, and the well-to-do doctor-to-be, polished and elegant. How they were 'together', to be a little odd, but opposites do attract, as they say.

Aoshi was giving her a look, a quite unnerving one. What with those green-blue hues glancing at her, deeper than any jewel, she could not see anything in those eyes, but he could see through her. It was almost disturbing. A pale statue-like face peering into hers, the lovely color of ivory was etched into elegant features. He was tall, broad, with oddly cut-blackened hair like the night sky. Smiling a little, she tried to make him go away, to look somewhere else. But he did not. What was with this person?

Luckily, for her, the man lost interest and turned to the spat of Megumi and Sano, the two of them were of course fighting over something minor again. As if the fact Sano had bruised his hand in ANOTHER fight, she just could not help but fuss. Sano was acting like the tough-guy and attempting to keep her doctor ness away from him.

Kaoru did note they looked good together, what with the spiky deep-brown hair Sano possessed, and a rugged look, deep tan skin. Not to mention brown-hues that she could not help but notice had a little glimmer of pride, and of course manly arrogance. Yet when it came to his fighting skills, he had every right to brag…

Megumi was the opposite, smooth pale skin, a delicate look about her. And eyes that seemed to be soft, though an onyx hue within this light. Her hair was long, luscious and shiny; Kaoru sometimes had an envy of the older woman, who was in fact her friend, for the sole fact that somehow she could not get her hair to do that. It was not fair.

"Let me see it!"

"No, ya' damn fox!"

"What did you just call me?!"

"I called you a fox! You vixen-lady!"

It went on and on like this until Megumi had almost beaten Sano to pre-unconsciousness with her handbag, not that anyone expected any different, it was always the same routine with the two of them. However, it was a nice douse of hilarity that ensued every single time they gathered. Usually Kaoru would speak more, laugh… But this time she couldn't. It was the memories of what had happened long ago, was haunting her. Being so close to the anniversary of her parent's death, and her upcoming birthday. Her friends acted as if nothing were amiss, which she was quite thankful for. It was times like theses that she needed to be alone, thinking.

But with that loneliness, memories snuck up.

She paused in absolute horror as she looked at the figures of her parents, the two of them who had been laughing before, now had twisted and torn faces of gore placed upon their dead forms. Horror continued to creep over her being in more severe tones now; it was not abnormal for her to feel like this as she continued to stay there, stopped in a moment that was an eternity in her mind. That image would never leave her.

Yet another jolting of the car, being slammed in by another caused her to blink, and turn to the headlights that blinded her, even if in the middle of the day, the brightness caused her to squint. Barely being able to tell what kind of car it was, Kaoru tried to memorize every detail, and why the deranged lunatic was ramming.

All she could see, when the driver turned off the high beams, was a disfigured face, bandaged to the point where it was hard to tell if that was an actual person, or something else… Someone else?

Glancing around, her small hands grasped the seat, attempting to hold onto it to stop the slamming of her body against the side of the car. She felt something broken; at least, it might be… She was not sure what the wound was, but the warmth of blood flowing down her back was enough to let her know she was injured, and bleeding.

In an effort to stop the force of the pounding, she reached with one hand, grasping the handle of the door, all she needed to do was open the door and escape from this nightmare. Yet being jolted once more into the interior around her jolted such thoughts from her mind. She was going to die like this, wasn't she? The aches and pains within her body were minor compared to the severe pain in her neck. Luckily, Kaoru could still move, but for how long?

One other route of escape was revealed to her, as her eyes glanced up. The sunroof… It was open. The sunroof! Even if it was directly in-between her parent's corpses, that was the only way she could survive. She just had to climb up through it, and get off the car. Then, to try to get help somewhere… Maybe someone would save her?

One jolt, another. She moved from the back, toppling unceremoniously into the middle seat. It took her three more jolts to gain her wits. Though, she looked at the other side of the car, it was pressed against the end of the middle seat, starting to press the thing into itself. She did not have much time, soon enough the metal would probably give way and she would be crushed completely.

A few more sensations of pain covered Kaoru's body as she moved around the seat, holding onto the headrests that her parent's heads once leaned upon. She stood upright, bracing her legs as she felt another impact. Looking down, she saw pieces of glass sticking out of her thigh. Whimpering at the sight, she had to get herself focused. She was almost there, wasn't she?

"Kaoru…? Kaoooru…? Kaoru!" Misao's voice called, getting her attention from the past and back into the current reality.

"Yeah…?"

"Geeze, you keep dozing off, what's wrong with you? Come on, its time to head home, we have a TON of homework from that jerk-teacher…"

Following her friend as she skipped at talked, from subjects of school, pains of life, and of course, her favorite ramblings of her love from Aoshi, it was normal. Just like it should be.

But these distractions didn't stop her from reminiscing of the past, not that it wasn't normal around this time, her birthday was too close. Misao was excited to talk about the upcoming party they were going to throw for her big bash. Kaoru did not mind, if her friend wanted to do that, then it was all right with her. Yet, sorrowfully it reminded her of her parents loving to throw big splendid parties for her…

Why did the reminding have to continue?

That was where she stood, glancing up into the partially distant light. The smashes continued to try to throw her, but she stood was firm as possible. One foot stepped in front of the other as if moved to the armrest in-between the corpses. She had to step on her dead mother's arm, or at least push it. Tears once more clouding her vision, she kicked the limp limb aside, the other that held her… Those that made her feel special…

Her feet firmly placed, her body sitting on the edges of two seats, she had to move quickly. Her form was swung to the side at a particularly hard thrust. The middle seat finally collapsed, she could see the nose of the other car behind her, it was smashed, and the metal of the mini-van was embedded into the front. The car pulled back, leaving the half-torn part of the twisted metal there, she could not help but gasp as she saw the charge forward, and quickly grabbed onto the edges of the open sunroof, tugging her in place as she felt the car ram again, the section that was torn now fully split off. The front part of the car tilted back, now at a rather steep angle, she struggled to keep her footing, and her grasp.

Pulling as hard as she could, she pushed herself up, her head peeking through; she saw that the car was directing it to fully slam into the back of where she was! In a panic, she rushed to pull herself through, barely being stuck for only a second before she sat fully upon the top of the car, exhausted. Though, she slid down the windshield, not looking back at the frontal view of her dear parents. She did not want that memory etched deep within her forever…

"See ya tomorrow Kaoru!" Misao took off to her front door. Again amazed at how far she had walked without noticing, she waved weakly as Misao slammed the door to her house, a ruckus sounding loudly as the shouting match of glee started. Oi, she did not want to stay around…

Setting off north, she made her way towards home, not looking forward to the future confrontation when she arrived home…

But while on the decently long walk, she was left to her own musings, again.

She was on the ground, limping and running as fast as she could as she left the scene behind her, still hearing the deafening bangs of the metal crunching together, being rammed repeatedly…

"HELP!" Finally finding her voice, she screamed as loud as she could, attempting to get someone, anyone to notice her broken form run. But no one came, she was utterly alone at this almost abandoned part of downtown, and what people she did see, the homeless and hobos of the world, just looked at her like it was nothing to worry about, quickly arriving back to their own personal affairs.

"HELP ME! PLEASE!" She could hear the sound of an engine behind her. Fearing it was the one trying who had killed her parents, she tried to go faster, once more the wetness of her eyes blurring the vision she had very little of.

Then, a pair of arms encircled her, she felt herself lifted off the ground and carried. Her distraught mind could barely register what it was, or who. One look up, as she was carried like a precious bride, she saw… Red hair, flaming hair that whipped in the wind. The figure looked rugged almost, yet small as if she was. The scar was noticed, her eyes drawn to the cross. Was this an angel that had come to save her? Was she going to live…? Praying as hard as she could, that was her wish, to live, to survive. Even if she was in their strange man's arms.

As the man ran, almost flying off the ground, he looked at her, his precious bundle. A smile on his lips, trying to comfort with lovely violet-blue hues eyes glancing into her teary own. "It will be alright missing, I have you. You're going to be fine…" He whispered, all he could manage at this speed as he glanced behind himself, the car was still chasing, even though it was slowed down by the extreme damage it had sustained, it was still giving quite the decent chase.

"Hurry…" Kaoru urged weakly, the fear and fatigued was clearly shown in her words, she did not want to keep awake, she wanted to sleep. But the man would jolt every time she tried; she knew she had to… stay alive. Right?

Maybe death would be a nice alternative… Nice like sleep… Slipping away, Kaoru was once more jolted by the man, and he looked concerned "Please, don't die on this one." He asked, continuing his journey to the nearby hospital. He could see the building, and turned into a dark dank ally, infested with rats and other disgusting vermin, he made his pace quick as he heard a slam against bricks, yet luckily, it went away, to find another way around. He had bought some time, for now.

"Hold on miss, we're almost safe."

The blaring of sirens started within the background, Kaoru was dimly aware of this as she was mentally battling herself to stay away, she could hear the ramming of cars against one another, the sound of spikes popping the tires, the sound of the rims riding on the road, missing their protection of rubber.

The man checked on her again, shaking her into a decent state of consciousness, "You'll be safe soon."

"Pr...Prom…ise?" She asked, a dry scratch of her voice sounding, she seemed to be there, and wishing to fade.

"This one does."

The man ran as fast as he could, in the wide parking lot of the hospital, he jumped over cars, using a few as a stepping stone as he ran to the doors of the emergency room. And the squealing of rims was once more being them. The sound of police cars right behind, ramming and slamming the broke vehicle into parked automobiles. The heart rate in the man increased as he reached the end of the car-rows and slammed feet first to the sidewalk, jumping, he avoided that car from hitting him, the car backed up, ready to launch into the hospital.

Ramming into the doors, his eyes glued to the car, the scarred man was inside the emergency room, just in time to see the car slam into the glass, shattering all around, and hearing the screams of the patients that frantically ran, or at least those who could. Kaoru was barely aware of these events until she was once more jolted into reality, the car drove within the wide hospital expanse, knocking over chairs and people alike, no matter what was it the way. It just shoved it out of the way, and followed the two into the wide hallways, watching as screaming nurses, doctors, patients, and other patrons slip into the rooms, trying to stay alive.

Though, Kaoru was soon flung from the arms of the man, unconsciousness overtook her, but, she knew she was safe from harm.

Later, when Kaoru woke from her coma on the day of her birthday, police greeted her on the news of what had happened. Her parents were killed, she was the only survive. The man in the car was never caught, for he had abandoned his car, and among the confusion and ruins of the hospital, had escaped from notice.

Also, the man that her saved her life was also gone, without a single trace left behind except for a few strands of red-hued hair, which she was given tied in a little rubber band, they thought that she should use it as an item of luck. For she was very lucky to live…

Shaking her raven-blue locks, Kaoru looked at the crosswalks around her, wondering what had happened to the man that saved her life. She still had his hair, the long strands of bloodstained hue. They were tied into a tiny braid, and wrapped onto a key-chain on her backpack, they were quite the objects of luck, and she had to admit. After having wonderful friends by her side now, there was no doubt about it.

"I wonder if he remembers me." She muttered to herself.

A chuckle came from her lips at the thought of just randomly seeing him again, though it wasn't a bad thought after all, since those years ago she had been rescued by that man, her thoughts traveled back to him in one way or another. Not that she minded daydreaming about her red-haired samurai, with a code of honor, and a fancy for saving damsels and distress. Ah, how she could imagine a time within the Era of Meiji, of what could happen if he and she were there like this, right before the samurai fully disappeared.

It was an interesting dream that she had been continuing for quite awhile. She was the owner of a Dojo, one that had a special purpose; it was 'The Sword that Saves Lives' and not that of death. She quite enjoyed the imaginations, like of how that man was a fearsome battotsai and turned into a rurouni to repent the sins of slaying thousands during the Bakamatsu… And then Yahiko, the nice kid he was, not. He was her apprentice, but of course wanted to learn the deadly style that the man had. Sanosuke was a fight-for-hire turned into a friend, it didn't surprise her. He always drank and gambled too much, not to mention did other things that she didn't approve of, like freeloading and other things. Oh, and Megumi was a doctor! Aoshi and Misao were of a ninja clan. It was just an interesting concept… And sometimes, sometimes it felt real.

But that was a silly part, wasn't it? She always laughed at her silliness at the idea that such imagined things that could be read, wasn't that what a child did? Maybe she was a little bit of a child on the inside too; it wasn't a bad thing after all.

Though, her daydreams were things that became both happy and sad, tough times followed the group, and of course many dangers. In the end, the story always came out right. That was how fairy tales like this one were supposed to end, with a happy ending. She hoped that her own tale would end up with a happy end, for so far, at least in her opinion, it had a very crappy part to deal with, that needed some sort of balance that she just quite couldn't find.

Kaoru looked up at the streetlight as it told her she could walk, quickly taking her steps across the path, she couldn't help but stop and look around as she noticed how far the sun had set and panicked, she was screwed if she didn't get back soon! Bolting into a run, thanking herself for that stubborn choice to stay within track even if she was a bit clumsy, her pace was faster, sprinting. The wind flew through her ebony strands, causing her to feel a bit chilled, even in the warm May air. Though, true to the name of clumsiness, she tripped over air. AIR! Her arms in front of her for the impact, there was surprise as she was caught by stronger arms than her own. Opening one eye to peek open, she was quite amazed that she was not making friends with the pavement below. She looked up a bit dazed, a pair of blue-violet eyes stared back at her.

Her mind did not register. Looking at the man, she blinked a few more times, still within a state of shock about not hitting the cement below her feet. The man helped her stand fully, in the sunset-light it could be seen he had fiery red hair, but that changed hues every single time he shifted just a little. It was a breath taking, and made her want to reach out to run her fingers through those strands. And she wanted to touch that scar she saw.

"This one hopes you are alright." The man spoke, a sweet voice carried into her ears, causing a nice little blush to cross her cheeks, "Th-thank you…" She said, and the man smiled. "Your welcome. This one hopes you do not make friends with the pavement anymore. Good day, miss!" He said, and with that, since she was taken care of, he left without a single trace. Still within a state of being dazed at the odd encounter, it took her a time to gather herself to realize who it was that she had just met. Putting two and two together, she turned around wildly to see if he was still there, but to her luck, there was not a single remnant of her hero.

At least, she thought it was him. How many men had cross shaped-scars and wild fiery red hair? He was the only one she had seen so far, right? This put her into a fit of thoughts, causing a sigh to escape her lips, then the sense of 'oh shit' as she looked at the sky seeing that it… well, it was not a good sign. It was dark already, and the first stars of the night were speckling the tapestry of space. Even if in the more urban areas it was harder to see the stars, there were still a few that managed to peek out through the clouded sky, filled with whatever that blocked the light.

A smile even lit up her face as she thought of him, her hero, her rescuer. He was the one that had saved her from her untimely end, and for that, eternally she was in his debt, and revered him as her angel. It was a little foolish, like a child's dream in her own mind, but, it didn't seem to faze her. It almost seemed to make her joyous at the prospect of meeting him again. Yet, there was quite the nagging doubt at just the whimsical musings of the sort.

'If I see him again, and soon, then I definitely WILL talk to him this time! And… I'll thank him for everything.'

What Kaoru didn't realize, was the fact she had already fallen in love with this hero of hers.

Blood. It rained around her like the pounding droplets that fell during the spring. Though, this was thicker, warmer. It felt nice, almost, yet, it felt horrid. A sickening sense of dread flooded… The growls and snarls of a pack sounded. It was hell, wasn't it? The scorching heat on her flesh, the freezing innards that were not her own, what was it? She couldn't… was it truly her? With nothing but darkness… Darkness that faded.

Kaoru woke up with a start, covered in a cold sweat as she glanced around the room, wondering what had happened to her during her dreams. Not remembering it, but only the feeling of dread that shook her for a time, she readied herself for the weekend ahead.

This time was spent without much though, the joyful times with friends and family as the approaching summer made itself known at the warmth that covered the whole city. These precious times were always spent together with the ones cared for, but not a person noticed a little white car that seemed to be where ever Kaoru was, watching… waiting.

The day came. Summer had started Kaoru, and to enjoy this joyful time, she made sure not a moment was wasted. Though, this day put an abrupt pause on what it was, the anniversary. Her day was spent alone, as she walked to the graveyard, the place where her parents lay together for all eternity. This place was one she hated with a passion, sapphire eyes locked on the gates, as the memories of her sobbing form in a heap before the gravestones flashed before her mind. It was what had happened to her, the broken innocence. Before then, she had never known the cruelties of the never-ending cycle, but now, she knew. She knew this, quite well, and hated it.

Though, she was now kneeling in front of the joined tombstone, reading etched letters that had not faded away. The names caused her eyes to blur too much to read, but the last phrase was clear in her mind.

"Two joined forever in Heaven, who in life loved their daughter, and left her behind, wrapped in their never-ending love. One day, all will be joined again. Rest in peace." She read allowed, eyes half-lidded as a finger traced the etchings.

Sitting there for a time, looking at the graves, the sudden urge to talk hit her. Even if it seemed stupid, she couldn't very well just sit here…

"Well, mom, dad… It's me. I'm almost seventeen. I know you would've thrown a big party but, my friends are, so your… tradition hasn't died. Remember that red-haired man that saved me? He did it again, a car almost hit me. I miss you, I always have and I wish there was a way for everything to turn out right. Though, then… Would I have ever met him?" A frown crossed her lips at imagining a time where she didn't have her samurai to fantasize about. "Hm, well… I'd love for you to see all I've done lately; I bet you'd be proud of me, huh?

"Though, today is a sad day for me, I'm happy that you lived as long as you did. I know you loved me, both of you did more than anything. It was because of the two of you that I'm the way I am, and I don't want to be any other way. So please don't worry about me, I'm doing fine. One day, hopefully not soon, I'll join you two in Heaven, and we can be together again."

Her visit lasted until sunset. Hours had passed as she discussed things, from happy to sad, and what caused her anger, among many other emotions. These things caused her happiness, in a way. She did confess her love for that man, that little crush she had held for so long… It, it… It was hard for her to admit it, of course. Though, she didn't notice the car parked outside that seemed to wait for her that, and only that escaped her attention.

Rising to her feet, she walked upon the sidewalk. Her feet treading the familiar path, the one that she knew that would take her to 'home'. Yet truly, the place was not where she considered home, yet it was shelter. It was what she needed until the time she could live on her own. Though, she had about a year to wait, a little more than that.

The sound of a car starting and moving along didn't startle her. It was normal for cars to be driven around here; many had loved ones buried and came to visit. Oddly, this car didn't pass her automatically. It disturbed her to a degree as she frowned, her lips pressed together as she wondered what was wrong with the car behind her. Yet that thought fleeted for a moment, footsteps were also behind her. Not bothering to glance behind her, she let her memories help her ramble as she was lost again in those Meiji daydreams.

As she crossed the road, she felt a push, causing her to stumble forward. A gasp of air was let out as the familiar sound of metal and flesh meeting, one that haunted her nightmares and daily musings. She turned as the coppery smell of blood entered her nostrils. A shake came over her figure as she felt the smell waft over her, blood spattered her form. And she saw it… Something that she prayed to never see.

A man of red hair, slowly he fell down, eyes of violet widened in disbelief, as blood slowly as it seemed flew from the wounds, and a trickle of the metallic liquid flowed from his lips. She watched the scene before her, the man that fell backwards, a gasp escaping her lips. And the blood flowed, it just flowed. It sprayed like a water fall, the… the crimson waterfall.

The car had stopped, and she lunged herself for the body. Grasping the form, she pulled in close to her, torrents of the gushing liquid spilling upon her. But not a care was there as she gazed down into the eyes of that man, the dulling violet eyes turning to a lilac hue. Tears fell upon his face as she shook him, she begged him to live, and she told him everything would be alright. Yet, he still faded, words attempted to form on his lips, but they couldn't be spoken. It seemed to take everything he had to breathe, and to look into her own eyes with his. It seemed he faded faster, the sirens wailed in the background. It was burred, time slowed around them. Nothing seemed to matter as Kaoru tried her best to save her hero, and now, after so many years of imagining him as that. It seemed as if this was all just a nightmare. Nothing more than a mere fantasy of the mind that she wishes would fade into the darkness where nightmares belonged.

Yet this was real.

"Please, please don't go. I… I haven't thanked you for saving me!" A rough jaunt was given to the form, but to no avail, a smile now on his lips, still his eyes going duller and duller. "Please… don't…"

"T…th…this… one…." He muttered, trying to gasp through the pain as he coughed, more blood flowing from his lips. "Mis…s…se…d… Mis…sse…d…" He struggled to speak, more blood flowing from his now stained lips.

"Shh! Don't talk! Just don't speak, okay? You'll be fine, just wait awhile." She wiped her tears with her sleeve as she cradled his broken form, limbs poked out at an odd angle, and white shown. Yet, the young woman ignored that as she tried to keep his eyes open.

"K-kao…ru." He muttered, forcing himself. "I miss…ed y-you." He coughed blood as he said this, the smile on his eyes in lips. "I… w-wish… W-w-we had m-more… t-time… now." Continuing to sputter, he looked at her with his violet eyes, and reached his unbroken arm, with a strong hand to stroke her cheek. "Next-t-t… time." He spoke, speaking to her things that she couldn't seem to understand. What did he mean?

"Please, save your breath. I don't know what you're talking about! The ambulance will be here shortly, alright!" A smile was on her lips, trying to comfort this dying man.

"We… will, Kaoru…" More strength was found within him as he spoke, smiling still, as he kept his hand upon her face, she joined it with her own, feeling that warmth was fading fast.

"I… love you."

And suddenly that hand let go, it fell to the ground, out of her gentle grasp. Lilac eyes closed for a final time, as she took the limp form of her hero, who, who she knew from a long time ago, it seemed.

"Oh, Kenshin…" She whispered the tears flowing from her eyes as she hugged the broken form closer to her own, sobbing now with the grief of her love. Why did he have to die now? They had just finally been reunited after so long of a time. He was gone from her again, and this time they couldn't leave together. Neither did they last time. Perhaps for once they could truly spend their whole lives together, just maybe.

"I'll see you again Kenshin, I know I will…" She sobbed trying to stop herself from what she was saying; it was her, but… not. Something speaking from another time… Someone. "And we can be happy…"

Her voice was a whisper, and for her, everything faded.

Sapphire hues opened, a young girl looked into the cloudless sky, a smile on her lips at the warm sunshine.