Disclaimer: Once upon a time, in a land far, far away...
Theme 021: Angel
"Ken-chan, are you an angel?"
Kenshin blinked as he looked down at the sweet, adorable seven-year-old child hanging onto his hand. He smiled softly.
"Kenshin," he corrected gently as they walked through the park. She huffed, planting both feet firmly on the ground, forcing them to stop.
"Ken-chan," she insisted, "You didn't answer my question. That's rude."
Kenshin chuckled, kneeling down so he could face her eye-to-eye, "I was just thinking about why you asked, Kaoru-dono."
"'Cause you're pretty. Mommy says that men aren't pretty unless their angels." Kaoru glanced at him expectantly, her deep blue eyes shining, "Are you an angel?"
Kenshin chuckled to himself, deciding to sit rest against the closest tree. Instinctively, Kaoru climbed into his lap.
"You really want to know, Kaoru-dono?" Kenshin asked her, and Kaoru nodded, glancing up at him with wide eyes. Kenshin sighed. "Well, some people do call us guardian angels," he told her, and she squealed.
"I knew it!" She hugged him firmly around the middle, "Now I can tell Mommy that you're a garden angel, not a 'maginary friend!"
"Kaoru-dono," Kenshin's voice was hard yet, at the same time, soft, "I said some people call us guardian angels. Not all. Some people, like your mother, call us imaginary friends."
Kaoru's grip on his waist loosened a little as she glanced up at him, her eyes shining with unshed tears. She asked in a small voice, "Which one is right?"
"Both and neither," Kenshin told her, "We're told to guard people, but we're not really angels. And even though we are real people, those who don't believe anymore can't see us."
Kaoru sniffed, "Mommy... Mommy says that one day, when I'm bigger, I'll be too old to have a 'maginary friend, and that I'll forget about you and you'll go away." She gripped his shirt in her two small hands, "I don't want you to go away, Ken-chan. Promise me you won't go away?"
"Oh, Kaoru..." he hugged her gently, "Is that what you're scared of?" She nodded into his chest, "Kaoru-dono... Kaoru, look at me." Kaoru shook her head. "Please, Kao-chan?" She blinked, raising her head at the rare nickname. Kenshin locked his eyes with hers, speaking slowly, "Even if you can't see me anymore and all you can remember is the shape of the scar on my cheek, I will always – always - be there with you."
"Always?" She questioned, her eyelids drooping and a tired smile growing on her face, and he nodded as she drifted off to sleep.
"Always."
This is kinda an idea I have for a multi-chapter fanfiction of mine. Kenshin's a guardian angel, devoid and lifeless and virtually soulless, until he's assigned for the first time to a person from infancy, ordered to protect her with everything he is.
I know it's kinda a really weird AU Fantasy-like thing, but I liked the idea, so here's the one-shot that captures their relationship when Kaoru's seven. Though it's not very romantic, I thought it was cute and caught a new look at a possible relationship.
- WS
