Prompt: picture
Fandom: Rurouni Kenshin
Setting: Modern AU
Characters: Kaoru Kamiya, Kenshin Himura
Word count: 1000
"I can't do this!" Kaoru huffed, severely annoyed – and glared at the tiny laptop screen in front of her, displaying the image of a beautiful starlit sky and a person standing in a lake. "I have nothing, not a single tangible idea where to start writing this essay!"
"Surely the assignment cannot be that difficult, Miss Kaoru? Wasn't it just last week that you had several plot twists planned beforehand, that you did?"
Kaoru glanced up from her spot on the futon, and saw Kenshin looking worriedly at her – and instantly a small smile rose to her lips and her ire lessened. How could she stay angry at the computer, Kenshin's old and abused laptop no less, when faced with such blatant concern?
And in such a cute package, too! The traitorous little devil that was her libido whispered.Oh, put a lid on it! He isn't interested in me like that. Not while I'm still underage…
…but my birthday isn't that far off.
But even if I were already eighteen, what would I have that he could be interested in anyway?
"…Miss Kaoru?"
Erk! Focus, Kaoru! "…sorry, what where you saying?" Stomping firmly on her errant thoughts, Kaoru wrangled her focus to the present and the dangerously cute redhead whisking something in the tiny studio apartment's kitchenette. Kenshin was again wearing that ridiculous magenta t-shirt and white sweatpants while cooking. It was unfair how good it looked; shouldn't the combination be off-putting – especially on a 28 year old man?
Kenshin glanced over his shoulder again, and smiled. "Oro! Ah, this one was suggesting that you would take a small break in your writing efforts and see if a better idea will come to you later, that one did."
"If I had the time, I would! But the whole point of this exercise was to give us only this evening to write that thousand-word paper!" Kaoru declared and let herself fall to her back on the futon and rubbed her eyes. "Urg… and to think I was waiting for a chance to write an essay on free topic! I should have known that there was a trick to this assignment from the way Mr. Saito kept smirking!"
"Oh… but maybe if you were to just take one idea and start writing? This one is confident that anything you write will be perfectly fine, that it is." Kenshin suggested and smiled a bit.
"I'm not…" Kaoru stammered, remembering all the reasons why his unfailing trust meant the world to her. Because the fact was, Kaoru had been on the verge of being forced to repeat her whole semester just few months ago after her mother's death. She had been thrust into new country, transferred to a new school where the main teaching language was English – not Japanese – and suddenly everything had become impossible. Not to mention the issues at home with her father and his new family, especially that annoying Yahiko, who just wouldn't shut up…
If not for this unlikely friendship with Kenshin, Kaoru wasn't sure she even could have made it through these ridiculous tests that all affected the grade significantly. Sighing deeply, she thought over the assignment once more.
It wasn't that she didn't have plots or characters, but she had trouble keeping it realistic - having lived all her life in Tokyo, Kaoru had never seen the starlight sky, not without the light pollution obstructing the view. Maybe that was the reason why all her mind could manage was this really childish and fantasy-esque stuff that she knew her strict and sensible teacher, Mr. Saito wouldn't value at all.
"…Kenshin, did you ever see such a clear sky? Back there, I mean."
The sudden silence that landed on them was so thorough that she could have easily heard the pin drop as all noises from Kenshin's cooking were abruptly cut off. And Kaoru - hand over her mouth, and eyes wide with horror - stared at him.
I just mentioned Iraq to Kenshin… oh god, oh god, oh god.
The change in her dear friend was like seeing someone dying in front of your very eyes. It was like he had aged a decade in seconds, and the horrid slashes on his cheek stood out in deep relief. But the most significant change was to his eyes – the pale violet, usually so gentle and soft, became clouded and it was impossible to know what he was seeing. "…I did. Once. Before the attack in Karbala."
Kaoru swallowed and climbed to her feet awkwardly, trying to keep her movements steady and slow. She had seen Kenshin having flashbacks, and thought this didn't seem exactly like that, it never hurt to be careful. He would never forgive himself if he did anything to her in throes of a memory…
"…Kenshin, it's over. It was over and done with years ago…" Kaoru blundered on, in search of something useful to say, suddenly remembering how last time it had helped to remind him of the present; "We are safe here in your apartment. You are just a normal man with a job at the supermarket, there is no violence whatsoever… you are my friend, my only friend and I would never want to cause you any harm, and, and, and -"
Suddenly he blinked, shuddered deeply – leaning backward against the counter for balance. And Kaoru couldn't help the tears gathering in her eyes, "Kenshin, I, I –"
"…Miss Ka -" He stammered, looking up at her like a forlorn child, seeking something to ground him to reality. Without any hesitation, Kaoru rushed to him and hugged him with all her strength. "Kenshin, Kenshin, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to…."
And he swept his arms around her and petted her hair, softly, gently – always so gently. Up and down his hand stroked, and finally after an eternity he said, "Kaoru… Thank you for bringing me back. I… this one might be broken, but your voice will always bring one back. Always."