My thanks to those who reviewed 'I Will Remember You.' I wasn't going to continue with this fic, since I thought it was more or less a stand-alone story. However, Hana Himura got me thinking about what else I could do with this, so here it is! Sorry it's so short...



Here With Me

by jalana

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DISCLAIMER: Rurouni Kenshin is the copyrighted property of Watsuki Nobuhiro. The words and music of the song "Here With Me" are by D. Armstrong, P. Statham, and P. Gabriel. The song was recorded by Dido for Arista Records.

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**SPOILERS** This is set in the beginning of the Kyoto Arc...you have been warned!

~~...~~ song lyrics

'...' thoughts

"..." dialogue



~~Verse 1~~

I didn't hear you leave,

I wonder how am I still here.

I don't want to move a thing,

It might change my memory.

~~

May 14th. She stared at the calendar on the wall. May 14th. She blinked a few times, and looked again. May 14th. The date doesn't change.

"Ken-nisan! Where are you?" The piping voice of Suzume reached her ears. The sound of running feet echoed in the unnaturally silent hallways.

'Kenshin would be cleaning the floors right about now.' She listened for the soft swish of cloth against floor, but the only noise she heard was Ayame and Suzume calling for their Ken-nisan. She sighed, and stared at the wall. May 14th.

"Ken-nisan isn't here!" The plaintive sob resonated in her mind. Her eyes blurred as the tears started to fall. May 14th. 'If I stay in bed and don't move, I won't have to face the fact that Kenshin is...' She thought back to the previous night, to her last sight of Kenshin, amidst the fireflies.

'Kaoru-dono. Thank you for everything, and...good-bye.'

~~Chorus~~

Oh I am what I am, I'll do what I want,

But I can't hide.

I won't go, I won't sleep, I can't breathe,

Until you're resting here with me.

I won't leave, I can't hide, I cannot be,

Until you're resting here with me.

~~

"Kenshin..."

The tears slowly stopped. Her thoughts kept returning to Kenshin, his face when he left, the feel of his strong arms around her. The sudden need to be close to him caused her to sit up on her futon. Her lethargy suddenly vanished and she frantically rushed toward Kenshin's room. Another memory drifted through her mind, and she stopped in her tracks.

'He took everything...I already checked last night,' she recalled, her shoulders drooping. She forced her feet to start moving once more, her mind curiously blank of all thoughts. When she came to her senses, she realized that she had unwittingly walked into the dojo. Her body shook, and she slowly sank to her knees.

"Kenshin..." she murmured. Her eyes remained dry as images of the red- haired rurouni appeared before her. Kenshin, cleaning the floor of the dojo. Kenshin, repairing a hole in the wall with Sanosuke's help. Kenshin, giving Yahiko pointers. Kenshin, playing with Ayame and Suzume.

'I wanted to go after him...but I couldn't.' Her chest was tight with pain as she again remembered him walking away from her. The flickering fireflies had cast a peculiar glow, giving just enough light to see her heart abandoning her. 'I couldn't go after him when he left...because he said good-bye. That one word stopped everything.'

'Thank you for everything, and...good-bye.'

~~Verse 2~~

I don't want to call my friends,

They might wake me from this dream.

And I can't leave this bed,

Risk forgetting all that's been.

~~

She was still sitting there in the dojo, gazing at the phantoms from her memory, when Tae-san and Tsubame-chan arrived. The two of them looked at each other with worried expressions, then walked through the door.

"Kaoru-chan, what's wrong? What are you doing here?" Tae-san helped her to her feet and slowly led her from the dojo. "You know, everyone is worried about you. Yahiko came by this morning to ask us to look in on you."

She walked woodenly toward her room. Tae-san kept a death grip on her arm and chattered away. She barely noticed when Tae-san motioned to Tsubame, who immediated changed course for the kitchen. As they entered the room, her gaze automatically went to the calendar. May 14th.

'He left, and I couldn't follow.' She felt dead inside, numb, exhausted. The thought that had caused her heart to wrench in anguish just moments before did nothing to her now. 'Perhaps that's for the best. No sorrow...no pain...no Kenshin.'

Tae-san adjusted the blankets around her, still making inane comments that she didn't pay any attention to. She stared at her clenched fists, not looking up when Tsubame-chan entered the room, her small hands holding a tray.

"Please, Kaoru-san," Tsubame whispered. "You should eat something."

She transferred her gaze to the tray and felt repulsed by the steaming bowl of food. 'A feeling...I thought I was all out of them.' She swallowed hard, trying to rid herself of the sudden nausea she experienced.

"I don't want it." Irrational anger swept through her as the other two tried to convince her to eat. "I said I don't want to eat! Please don't bother me!" The unexpected surge of rage died out just as quickly as it began. "Just leave me alone..." she whimpered, fighting back a fresh wave of tears.

And then the door opened.

~~Chorus~~

Oh I am what I am, I'll do what I want,

But I can't hide.

I won't go, I won't sleep, I can't breathe,

Until you're resting here with me.

I won't leave, I can't hide, I cannot be,

Until you're resting here with me.

~~



Notes:

1) Obviously, this is what happened after Kenshin left for Kyoto, told from Kaoru's viewpoint.

2) Let me know what you think! ^_^

3) If I get enough feedback, I might do a third installment of this songfic "series." ^_~ *wink, wink* Hmm...maybe continue this with Megumi?