Disclaimer: If I owned it, the second OVA wouldn't have been allowed. That said, I obviously don't own it, Nobuhiro-san gets credit for all. I only play with them for fun.

AN: Ah, the holidays are over. Hurray! Thanks for being patient with me, here's the chapter you've been waiting for.

The first bit is directly from the manga, to give a feel for where we are… It starts during the night when they go to meet Sano because he's leaving Japan…

Lemon warning

Kokoro Kara

By Lady Calllista

Chapter 10 - Eni

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"Remember me with smiles and laughter, for that's how I'll remember you. If you can only remember me with tears, then don't remember me at all."

-from an episode of Little House on the Prairie

OrOoRoOrOoRoOrO

"Are you really going?" Kaoru asked tentatively as her and Yahiko came up to the boat. Kenshin hadn't made it down the steps yet.

"Yeah, but I'll try not to make it goodbye for good. Make a kid or two with Kenshin, and show them to me next time we meet." Sano grinned at the girl he thought of as a little sister, which of course meant he had to tease her one last time.

"Wh…Wh..What are you saying?" Kaoru turned beet-red and fumed at him.

"Don't be so modest." Sano laughed, setting the fishbone that was always between his teeth swinging up and down. Then, ignoring a still sputtering Kaoru, he turned to face Yahiko. "And Yahiko, you'll be in the way at the dojo, so leave. I left the Gorotsuki long house the way it was, you can have it."

"Hey!" Kaoru protested, only to be stopped by Kenshin placing a hand on her shoulder. He smiled at her gently as he passed her, and she missed Sano and Yahiko's next statements as everything other than Kenshin seemed to melt away.

"Sano…" Kenshin approached the man he considered one of his best friends. They locked eyes for a moment, then slapped hands without saying a word.

"I'm going." Sano turned, pushing the boat away from the pier.

"Right."

And to Kaoru and Yahiko's amazement, both men seemed perfectly content with that goodbye.

"It turned out just like you said it would, Kenshin." Kaoru said quietly as he moved back a little to stand beside her.

"Hmm?" Kenshin turned to look at her contemplative face, even as he considered what Yahiko was thinking as the boy continued to stare at Sano's back.

"You said that Megumi-san and Sanosuke and everyone else, would someday walk their own path leading to their separate lives. But you said that these are not goodbyes…they are not the end, but beginnings…So it is a little lonely, but we have to bear it." She looked into his eyes as she spoke, a light sheen in her own that said she wanted to cry but wasn't going to.

"Yes," Kenshin smiled at her as he took her hand in his own. "It is lonely, but we must bear it."

Kaoru smiled as she squeezed his hand, then spoke more loudly, "Yahiko-kun, are you ready to leave?"

"I'm just going to stay here for a little while." The boy spoke without turning around. "Then I think I'll spend the night in the house he just gave me. You two go on."

Kaoru was about to protest, but Kenshin spoke up first. "Have a good night, then."

"I will." Yahiko's voice was firm as he continued to stare out over the water.

Kenshin turned to leave, pulling Kaoru after him. "Let him be." He said gently to her. "This is as hard on him as it is on you, and while you don't want to be alone right now, you must respect that he does want to be."

"No, I don't want to be alone." Kaoru clutched his hand as they began the short walk back to her dojo. "It's not like I don't have other friends here, or like I can't make more, but Sano was special. Misao and Megumi too, we were all like family. And now even Yahiko won't be with me…"

"They're still our family, koishii." Kenshin replied as he shifted to put his arm around her shoulders. "Just because we won't see them every day doesn't make us all less of a family. And you'll never be alone. I will always be here for you."

Kaoru slid her arm around his back, pulling him even closer to her as they walked down the path to the dojo. "I love you."

"And I love you." Kenshin replied as he opened the gate for her, and then closed and locked it behind them. "Would you like some dinner? Or a bath?" He asked kindly.

"No, I just want to go to bed. It's been a long day." Kaoru replied, noticing immediately how he tensed up on the first part of her comment. She knew what he was thinking. They were alone at the dojo now, with no worries about being interrupted. "Will you come with me? I don't want to be alone tonight." She looked up at him with eyes that showed both nervousness and anticipation.

Kenshin stopped walking, and turned till they faced each other, which slid the hand that was around her shoulders to the nape of her neck. His other hand came up to ghost over her cheek. "You are certain?" He asked, knowing how big a step this was.

"Hai." Kaoru breathed as she leaned up and kissed him gently. "Please, stay with me tonight. Wake with me tomorrow."

Kenshin shuddered even as he kissed her back, pulling her to him in a fierce hug. He released her after a moment, keeping his arm around her as they walked into the house and straight to her bedroom.

It was Kaoru who slid the door back, and she ushered him into her room with a smile that was both sweet and hesitant. Kenshin walked in and went immediately to the closet and began to set up the futon. She joined him and they made the bed without speaking, then both stood, unsure of where to begin.

Finally, Kenshin approached her, cupping her face in his hands. "Is it only sleep you want tonight?" He asked gently, looking into her eyes. "Do you only want to be held?"

Kaoru shook her head, caught up in the power of his eyes. "I don't want sleep." She whispered finally, when it seemed he wouldn't move unless she spoke. "I want you."

Kenshin shuddered as his eyes slid shut, and when he opened them again Kaoru saw the burning flecks of amber beginning to manifest. "Always remember that if you want this to stop, it does." He whispered, his voice already gone deep. Then without further comment he leaned in and kissed her hungrily.

Kaoru found herself pulled against him so tightly she could barely breath, yet clutched at him just as tightly as their tongues dueled with each other. She let her hands wander over his arms after a moment, as fascinated with the play of muscles as she had been the first time she'd done this. And since he was moving now, not just sitting placidly receiving her caress, she got to feel the muscles bunch and flex impressively as his arms shifted and his hands moved over her back.

She was almost lost in the sensations of his kiss when she felt his hands catch the sides of her obi bow and freeze. Kaoru broke the kiss and pulled back to look into his face. She'd never seen that combination of passion and tenderness in anyone before, and seeing it on his face now gave her the courage to reach her own arms behind her back and guide his hands into how to untie the bow. And when it released he simply dropped it, causing the partially unwrapped garment to slid down her body until it hit the floor.

Kenshin slid his hands down to her waist and picked her up easily, lest she trip on the length of cloth still wrapped around her feet. He spun around and set her next to the futon, using his hands to gently part her kimono and let it slid down her shoulders, leaving her clad only in the plain light green hiyoku.

Although her cheeks heated as she was slowly disrobed, Kaoru kept her eyes locked on Kenshin's, and reached out to help him out of his gi. She let it slide down his arms exactly as he had done with her, and gently caressed the skin revealed.

Kenshin's eyes grew even hotter as she touched him, and he had to remind himself to take things slowly. Still, the urge to see her naked before him was strong, and he pulled her into a kiss even as he untied the belt of her hiyoku and slid it off of her.

Kaoru gasped into his mouth as the slightly chilly air of the room hit her now exposed flesh, and he responded by pulling her body tightly against him, molding her to him until she wasn't sure where she stopped and he started. The feel of naked flesh on naked flesh was amazing, and almost without thought her hands went to the ties of his hakama, unfastening them so that the last garment between them joined the pile on the floor.

Kenshin groaned as they pressed against each other, and slowly urged her down until they were both on the futon, still wrapped around each other and kissing for all they were worth. He slowly gave his hands free reign, and was rewarded with gasps and shudders as he slowly explored her body and taught her the wonders of making love. His lips soon followed his hands, and by the time he slid a finger lightly over her core she was already wet and aching for him.

Kaoru gasped, then almost sobbed when he finally touched her where she most wanted him to. Her hands clenched at his back as the finger slid slowly inside of her, and she sobbed out his name, feeling like her body was flying apart and not knowing what do to about it.

Kenshin lowered his lips to her chest, sucking slightly roughly on one peaked nipple even as he began to move the finger that was inside her back and forth slowly, then more rapidly, over the spot that seemed to give her the most pleasure.

Kaoru's hands slid from him to clench the futon, and her body arched as his hands and mouth played his magic on her. And just when she felt like she couldn't take it any longer, a warmth gushed up from her belly and her world exploded.

Kenshin looked up at her face as she flew over the peak, awed at the beauty before him, then quickly settled himself between her legs and pushed in. He heard her gasp even louder, but it didn't seem to be with the pain he knew this would have caused her. She was still flying so high the pain didn't seem to have registered, which was what he had hoped would happen.

Kaoru felt the ache of pressure between her legs, and by the time she managed to start breathing again and slid her eyes open, knew it was because he was inside of her. After their night in the bath, she'd hesitantly spoken to Tae of what went on between a man and a woman, and she knew it should have hurt and was relieved that it hadn't. All she saw when she opened her eyes was Kenshin's violet ones, looking at her with more love than she'd ever imagined.

"Kaoru, are you okay?" He asked gently.

Her reply was to throw her arms around him and flex her hips slightly. "I never knew anything could feel this amazing." She whispered in reply.

Kenshin smiled and shifted his hips a bit, watching her as her eyes shone even brighter. "You are so beautiful." He whispered as he slid out of her slightly, then back in gently. Watching her eyes and face as he braced himself over her, Kenshin set a gentle rhythm that left both of them quivering from sensations. And when she peaked again, when he watched her face go slack with pleasure, he gave in to his desires and pushed himself into her harder, crying out her name as he flew over the edge with her.

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"To caress her body and touch her soul, for together two become a whole.

The love they make is deep and true, and in this embrace their love renew.

When all is done and all's been said, upon her breasts he rests his head.

And hears her heart beat for him alone. A greater love, he's never known."

From "Angel and her Lover" a poem by Kathy P.

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AN: Was it worth the wait?

Glossary: (alphabetical, if it's in a previous part it will not be here.)

Eni: Fate, destiny (as in the mysterious force binding two people together)

Hiyoku: an "under-kimono" if you will; if you look at the neckline of almost anyone in period kimono you will see a plain color of a second piece of clothing underneath the main kimono. This was called a hiyoku, and today would only be used on very formal occasions, although it was once the norm. Traditionally it was styled exactly the same as a kimono, but would normally be a solid color and possibly a less expensive material.