Autumn Leaves
by Uenki

Don't own RK.

"Although people had said that winter is the season of sadness,
I thought otherwise, because the leaves are falling from the tree in Autumn,
Lush greenery became orange, the color, green were there no more."

Kenshin, Autumn Leaves.

I am tired, I am so tired.

He sat there, as the soft breeze caressed him gently, causing wisps of burgundy to fly carelessly in the air. Kaoru, standing behind the door of the classroom, looked at him with such concern etched on her face. She had been his childhood friend ever since she knew what was going on around her; everything in her life was filled with images of Kenshin –her infancy friend and a certain stupid red head. However, she does not know that she was beginning to fall in love with such a stupid, yet caring childhood friend. She knew, she always knew, she was always looking out for Kenshin.

Yet he doesn't know that she was literary head over heels over him. He was too slow to notice it. Rolling her eyes at those flustering thoughts, she strode daringly over to the teen sitting by the window side and gave him a smack on his head –he was too slow again.

"Oro!" he cried, as he turned back and saw Kaoru. Rubbing his bun on his head, Kaoru handed him... a bar of chocolate. He looked at her, puzzled while she rolled her eyes. Mauve eyes peered up innocently like a little child, as she gave a withering sigh. She felt so much like a baby sitter.

"Stupid! Eat it, you'll feel better..." with that command, Kenshin peeled the foil off and took a bite of the chocolate. When he took it, the chocolate was bitter, but sweet syrup soon covered his mouth. Kaoru grinned, but faded slowly.

She saw the woman, Yukishiro Tomoe, fiancée of Akira Kiyosato. The woman that Kenshin was in love with. A sour feeling came, but she brushed it off. Kenshin smiled, as he noticed her gaze, he knew, he knew that she knew how he feels. It was all written on her face. Taking another bite off the chocolate, he stood up, and they both held eye contact.

Sighing wearily, "So, did you get over it?"

Kenshin chuckled, as she pulled her hand off his head. He grabbed her wrist and they ran off... and finally came to the school's balcony, much to the teacher's displeasure of them running in the school's hallways. Kaoru clasped her hands excitedly like a little girl upon seeing the carroty orange that filled the whole city of Tokyo, while Kenshin smiled warmly upon her reaction.

"Wow! I didn't know that it was soooo beautiful in autumn!" she exclaimed, her grip on the metal bars of the balcony tightened in excitement. Kenshin's smile widened upon seeing her enthusiasm, and sat down on the floor. Kaoru was still yapping away on the autumn, how beautiful it was... and she gave a sneeze. Pulling out a piece of tissue, she wiped it without haste. Kenshin, being a gentleman, took off his coat and placed it on Kaoru's shoulders.

"Eh?"

"Aa, Kaoru-dono will get a cold, that she will if it continues to be like this," Kenshin replied while Kaoru gave a cheery grin. Lavender gaze saw the orange-ness of Tokyo and he gave a little sigh.

"Don't you think that autumn is very beautiful, Kenshin? The orange-ness of it all?" Kaoru asked, her gaze was not on him, but the maple leaves that hung high up on the trees. Behind her, Kenshin shook his head softly, disagreeing, and Kaoru had not caught any of his movements.

"No," Kaoru turned back, surprised at Kenshin disagreeing with her, "although people had said that winter is the season of sadness, I thought otherwise, because the "leaves are falling from the tree in autumn, Lush greenery became orange, the color, green were there no more." Kaoru shook her finger as if coaching a child.

"You are wrong, Kenshin!" she chided gently. His attention was directed to her.

"Autumn is the end to everything, yet it gives a beginning!" she cried, but Kenshin was confuse. "Don't you know?" she asked as if she knew that he should understand what she was trying to convey, but to her dismay, he shook his head –and that earned him a little smack on his head.

"Stupid!" she yelled, glaring at him. "When the leaves fall, it means that winter is coming! When the snow melts, it will become spring!" she explained, but it was evident that she too, was confused. Kenshin placed his professor glasses on and took out a long, lecturer cane and a blackboard seemed to be appearing from nowhere.

"Oro... Kaoru-dono is wrong, that she is. When snow melts, it will become a puddle of water!" he corrected, but that added another bun into his collection.

"Use your imagination, idiot!" she scolded, but she was still smiling. Kenshin smiled too, because he knew that the stiff tension was beginning to break. He wouldn't knew what would happened if Kaoru was not there, perhaps he would not be here –but he wouldn't know, because Kaoru was always there for him.

"Thank you, Kaoru-dono," I knew you were worried about me, but it's all right now...

Kaoru put a fist on her chest and said smugly, "The chocolate was not expensive at all! You have no need to thank me!" Kenshin sweat-dropped as that was not what he was referring to after all. But still, a small smile came, but the chocolate was melting in his hands.

Maybe you're my spring after all, Kaoru-dono.

––––AN: Ahhh! The chocolate! Don't let it melt! Uh. No... nothing. This is a getaway from writer's block for Azure dreams. I hadn't been writing for weeks, and I thought that I might be rusty. So I write this little one shot, and I know that it's very confusing, but who cares? As long as I got my writing skills back. O.ox It was sweet, this fiction, wasn't it?

Awww, where is my spring? gleams at Chibi-battousai who was standing by the corner of the room