She slipped underneath the covers next to him. It seemed like an
eternity since they were like this together.
Alone.
With nothing but each other for 'entertainment'.
"Kenshin..."
Kaoru barely got the words out before her lips were covered with his. She had
forgotten how strong this man's passion was...and how strongly he could display
it. But those thoughts were driven from her mind very quickly as she brought
herself closer to him.
This feeling...this warmth...she missed it so much. It was difficult to compare
this same man- her husband- to a man who took countless lives many years ago.
The same hands that held a bloodstained sword were now soft and warm on her
back. Those hands felt so contradictory to her. His small finely structured
fingers felt so wonderful and warm against her, yet she could always feel the
strength within them whenever he touched her.
And now she could feel that strength yet again.
But not everyone was happy.
Kenji sat on Sanosuke's shoulders, Yahiko walking alongside. Sano let out a sigh
of frustration.
"Why do we have to take care of the kid?"
"Like you wouldn't want us to do the same for you and Megumi if you ever decided
to have a child." Yahiko retorted.
"Hmph. That's highly unlikely."
"Everyone knows there's something between the two of you." Yahiko nudged him in
the side with his elbow. "Right, Kenji?" He glanced up at the redheaded youth.
"Uh huh." He tugged on a fistful of Sano's hair. "When're you and aunt Megumi
gonna get married, uncle Sano?"
"Try never, kid." A bead of sweat ran down his face from frustration. "Now, you
better be hungry, or both of you would have made me walk all the way here for
nothing."
Arms enveloped each other; the two faced each other, noses almost touching.
"You know how much I love you, Kaoru?"
She didn't need to answer. She knew. And he knew how much she did for him. Her
finger traced down the bridge of his nose, stopping on his lips, as if she were
quieting a child.
"And yet you still ask such a silly question?" She smiled lovingly.
He chuckled softly to himself. "Forgive me.... I just thought someone needed to
say something one time or another."
"Then let it be me."
Shocked at the third voice, they turned their heads to the direction of the
source. At first, they could see nothing but the dark corner. But the more they
kept their eyes fixed on that spot, a figure became more and more clear to them.
"How long have you been there, Yoriko?"
"Well, if you're asking me if I saw your little bed romp, 'father'..." She was
crouching, but she now stood to her feet. "...I left when I realized you two
needed your time alone...and returned when I thought you would be finished." Her
tone made their recent act sound more like a chore than an act of intimacy.
"Just think of it as my gift to you for telling your bitch one last goodbye." A
ray of moonlight found it's way through a small space in the wall and onto her
eyes.
They had returned to the faint familiar glow of a deep yellow.
Kenshin reached for his clothes so that he could make himself
more..."approachable". "Yoriko, please apologize to my wife. That isn't the set
of manners I taught you."
"Taught me!? What did you EVER teach me? You left me when I was merely a child!
The only thing you taught me is pain."
"That...that's not true." His head lowered, the moonlight casting a faint light
blue ring onto his hair, with the appearance of a tiny halo. He swallowed hard.
"Don't...don't you remember?"
"Remember what? The day you killed my mother?"
Those words caused his head to jerk up, his eyes meeting hers. Memories of his
first love returned to his mind, clouding his thoughts somewhat.
"You were never there! You don't know what happened! That girl is manipulating
you!" His voice wavered in a tone of anger, as he tried his best to control his
emotions from getting out of hand.
"Manipulating? Hmph. You're one to talk." She smirked, as her steps began
bearing down on the couple. A reflection of the moonlight on her sword caused a
thin purple line to appear across Kenshin's chest.
"Mmmmm..... that was GOOD!" Yahiko wiped the rice from his face with the back of
his hand. Sano had finished eating a long time ago and was waiting outside.
Kenji, on the other hand, had decided that his dinner would be better strewn
across the table and the floor (not to mention everyone's hair) than to be
eaten.
"You're welcome." Megumi nodded politely to him, brushing grains of rice from
her kimono into her lap so that they could be cleaned away easily.
"Would you mind..." Yahiko scratched the back of his head; the same way Sanosuke
did in his moments of embarrassment.
"What is it?"
"Would you mind if I had another serving?" He smiled, embarrassed.
"Not at all." She returned to the kitchen, bringing out more food to fill the
hungry boy's plate. Kenji was nodding off; he had made himself tired from
playing his 'game'. Megumi took the child and gently placed him on a number of
cushions across the table from Yahiko; someone needed to watch the child while
she 'took a break'.
She wandered onto the porch, only stopping a few feet from Sanosuke. The outline
of his form against the cloudless night sky was overwhelming...save the reckless
mess of hair.
"Sanosuke..."
"Foxy. What brings you here?" Immediately, his tone became defensive. She
journeyed the rest of the way to his side, turning to face him. Of course, Sano
kept his eyes forward, not really thinking of anything in particular. But that
didn't mean he wanted himself to appear that way.
Surprisingly, her hand ran up his arm of his sleeve to his shoulder and then to
his cheek. A faint pink rose to his cheeks.
"You still have some rice on you." She brushed a few grains from his hair, and
then fished one out of sideburns close to his ear. She tried her best not to
smile at the hilarious scene of a blushing Sanosuke.
"Her fingers...damn them!" Sano had closed his eyes, an attempt to hide what his
thoughts were. That one moment...her touch near his ear...a sudden hot-cold
tingle shot from his neck to the base of his back. He gritted his teeth, telling
himself not to think about it...only that didn't last for very long.
She was bearing down on him, her glance remaining unchanged; Kenshin's did as
well. Kaoru was left to herself to watch the terrible conflict between father
and child.
"Stop it!" she let out a shrill scream. She couldn't stand this anymore. She had
already gone through enough stress with Kenshin's previous encounters.... and
injuries. She couldn't deal with again...not anymore. Her eyes were close to
tears when she spoke. "He's sorry.... please...stop this."
Murasaki's eyes darted to her, as if she were noticing her for the first time,
unaware of her presence. "You think it's that easy? That he can just apologize
and make everything better? Do you even know what's it like to be forgotten? DO
YOU?!" The golden glow faded as a bit of Murasaki's sensible returned to
consciousness.
"I keep telling you, I didn't forget..." But Kenshin was cut off.
"I was talking to her." Murasaki's scowl wiped the rest of his words from his
mind.
Instead of fighting, Kaoru decided to simply talk to her. That might even calm
her down to her senses. Or even better...distract her so that Kenshin could pry
the weapon from her hands.
"Not forgotten exactly..." her head lowered as the memories returned. "I
was..."abandoned" is more the word." Her gaze lifted to Kenshin's back.
Without turning around, he knew she was referring to the moment he told her
goodbye...that he decided to return to wandering once again.
"I'm so sorry, Kaoru. I..."
"Yes, Kenshin. I forgave you for that a long time ago." She nodded. "You had
your reasons, and I understand."
He chuckled to himself, despite his predicament. "It took you some time,
though."
She smiled in return. "You deserved it."
"Enough of this idle chatter! What are you trying to get at?" Murasaki had
broken the small amount of joy that the two had just shared. "What's your
point?"
"Is something wrong?" Megumi glanced up at him quizzically, disturbing the
silence.
Sano coughed nervously as he returned from his thoughts. He disliked these kinds
of situations...and yet...he wanted these moments alone with her so much.
"No...everything's alright." He tried changing the subject. "The kid asleep?"
"Yes. Yahiko's watching over him."
Silence
Could he convince himself to say the words that dwelled in his mind for so long?
"Sanosuke..."
"Yeah, Foxy?"
Her tone changed to anger, to Sanosuke's surprise. "I'm tired of this..."
"You could go to bed." Sano said, ignoring the tone in her voice, as well as
what she was trying to insinuate.
A stinging sensation crossed his cheek where Megumi's hand met his face. Both
stood facing each other in silence, as Megumi lowered her hand to her side.
"Good night Sanosuke." She turned to enter the house. But Sano's arm on her
sleeve stopped her.
"Just forget it..." She didn't get a chance to finish her words. Sanosuke spun
her around by her sleeve, pulling her towards him at the same time.
"I...I know what you're talking about. But don't think that I haven't tried
before to show you."
"Well, show me now. Show me what you've been wanting to."
His hand traced her delicate jaw line to her chin, urging her lips towards his.
"My point is that your father has his reasons for what he did. And you should
try to understand that." Kaoru finally brought herself to her feet, the bed
sheets wrapped around her.
"My 'father' abandoned me for his own selfish reasons." She had stopped her pace
towards Kenshin. Now she only stood a few feet away from him, but her face was
on Kaoru.
"Have you asked him his reasons?" Kaoru crossed her arms, knowing that Murasaki
still had no idea about the truth of her mother.
Kenshin could pick up on Kaoru's idea of trying to distract her. Slowly, he
gradually neared himself closer and closer to Murasaki, without her notice.
Hoping that the plan had worked, his hand lashed out for Murasaki's wrist,
hoping to render her harmless with a simple twist to place her in an arm lock.
Surprisingly, Murasaki was able to notice the movement in the corner of her eye
and managed to avoid the grip just in time. She glared at Kaoru; obviously she
could guess what this girl's plan was.
"You....!" Her eyes narrowed on Kaoru.
"Yoriko, no!" Kenshin leapt in the way. "Your little tiff is with me."
"2 birds with one stone, as they say." She charged towards him, knowing that
when this man was dead, she would take the life of his loved one as well.
"NO!"
Blood sprayed into the air, the droplets finding their way to the floor, forming
a beautiful but morbid design of a crimson rose.
eternity since they were like this together.
Alone.
With nothing but each other for 'entertainment'.
"Kenshin..."
Kaoru barely got the words out before her lips were covered with his. She had
forgotten how strong this man's passion was...and how strongly he could display
it. But those thoughts were driven from her mind very quickly as she brought
herself closer to him.
This feeling...this warmth...she missed it so much. It was difficult to compare
this same man- her husband- to a man who took countless lives many years ago.
The same hands that held a bloodstained sword were now soft and warm on her
back. Those hands felt so contradictory to her. His small finely structured
fingers felt so wonderful and warm against her, yet she could always feel the
strength within them whenever he touched her.
And now she could feel that strength yet again.
But not everyone was happy.
Kenji sat on Sanosuke's shoulders, Yahiko walking alongside. Sano let out a sigh
of frustration.
"Why do we have to take care of the kid?"
"Like you wouldn't want us to do the same for you and Megumi if you ever decided
to have a child." Yahiko retorted.
"Hmph. That's highly unlikely."
"Everyone knows there's something between the two of you." Yahiko nudged him in
the side with his elbow. "Right, Kenji?" He glanced up at the redheaded youth.
"Uh huh." He tugged on a fistful of Sano's hair. "When're you and aunt Megumi
gonna get married, uncle Sano?"
"Try never, kid." A bead of sweat ran down his face from frustration. "Now, you
better be hungry, or both of you would have made me walk all the way here for
nothing."
Arms enveloped each other; the two faced each other, noses almost touching.
"You know how much I love you, Kaoru?"
She didn't need to answer. She knew. And he knew how much she did for him. Her
finger traced down the bridge of his nose, stopping on his lips, as if she were
quieting a child.
"And yet you still ask such a silly question?" She smiled lovingly.
He chuckled softly to himself. "Forgive me.... I just thought someone needed to
say something one time or another."
"Then let it be me."
Shocked at the third voice, they turned their heads to the direction of the
source. At first, they could see nothing but the dark corner. But the more they
kept their eyes fixed on that spot, a figure became more and more clear to them.
"How long have you been there, Yoriko?"
"Well, if you're asking me if I saw your little bed romp, 'father'..." She was
crouching, but she now stood to her feet. "...I left when I realized you two
needed your time alone...and returned when I thought you would be finished." Her
tone made their recent act sound more like a chore than an act of intimacy.
"Just think of it as my gift to you for telling your bitch one last goodbye." A
ray of moonlight found it's way through a small space in the wall and onto her
eyes.
They had returned to the faint familiar glow of a deep yellow.
Kenshin reached for his clothes so that he could make himself
more..."approachable". "Yoriko, please apologize to my wife. That isn't the set
of manners I taught you."
"Taught me!? What did you EVER teach me? You left me when I was merely a child!
The only thing you taught me is pain."
"That...that's not true." His head lowered, the moonlight casting a faint light
blue ring onto his hair, with the appearance of a tiny halo. He swallowed hard.
"Don't...don't you remember?"
"Remember what? The day you killed my mother?"
Those words caused his head to jerk up, his eyes meeting hers. Memories of his
first love returned to his mind, clouding his thoughts somewhat.
"You were never there! You don't know what happened! That girl is manipulating
you!" His voice wavered in a tone of anger, as he tried his best to control his
emotions from getting out of hand.
"Manipulating? Hmph. You're one to talk." She smirked, as her steps began
bearing down on the couple. A reflection of the moonlight on her sword caused a
thin purple line to appear across Kenshin's chest.
"Mmmmm..... that was GOOD!" Yahiko wiped the rice from his face with the back of
his hand. Sano had finished eating a long time ago and was waiting outside.
Kenji, on the other hand, had decided that his dinner would be better strewn
across the table and the floor (not to mention everyone's hair) than to be
eaten.
"You're welcome." Megumi nodded politely to him, brushing grains of rice from
her kimono into her lap so that they could be cleaned away easily.
"Would you mind..." Yahiko scratched the back of his head; the same way Sanosuke
did in his moments of embarrassment.
"What is it?"
"Would you mind if I had another serving?" He smiled, embarrassed.
"Not at all." She returned to the kitchen, bringing out more food to fill the
hungry boy's plate. Kenji was nodding off; he had made himself tired from
playing his 'game'. Megumi took the child and gently placed him on a number of
cushions across the table from Yahiko; someone needed to watch the child while
she 'took a break'.
She wandered onto the porch, only stopping a few feet from Sanosuke. The outline
of his form against the cloudless night sky was overwhelming...save the reckless
mess of hair.
"Sanosuke..."
"Foxy. What brings you here?" Immediately, his tone became defensive. She
journeyed the rest of the way to his side, turning to face him. Of course, Sano
kept his eyes forward, not really thinking of anything in particular. But that
didn't mean he wanted himself to appear that way.
Surprisingly, her hand ran up his arm of his sleeve to his shoulder and then to
his cheek. A faint pink rose to his cheeks.
"You still have some rice on you." She brushed a few grains from his hair, and
then fished one out of sideburns close to his ear. She tried her best not to
smile at the hilarious scene of a blushing Sanosuke.
"Her fingers...damn them!" Sano had closed his eyes, an attempt to hide what his
thoughts were. That one moment...her touch near his ear...a sudden hot-cold
tingle shot from his neck to the base of his back. He gritted his teeth, telling
himself not to think about it...only that didn't last for very long.
She was bearing down on him, her glance remaining unchanged; Kenshin's did as
well. Kaoru was left to herself to watch the terrible conflict between father
and child.
"Stop it!" she let out a shrill scream. She couldn't stand this anymore. She had
already gone through enough stress with Kenshin's previous encounters.... and
injuries. She couldn't deal with again...not anymore. Her eyes were close to
tears when she spoke. "He's sorry.... please...stop this."
Murasaki's eyes darted to her, as if she were noticing her for the first time,
unaware of her presence. "You think it's that easy? That he can just apologize
and make everything better? Do you even know what's it like to be forgotten? DO
YOU?!" The golden glow faded as a bit of Murasaki's sensible returned to
consciousness.
"I keep telling you, I didn't forget..." But Kenshin was cut off.
"I was talking to her." Murasaki's scowl wiped the rest of his words from his
mind.
Instead of fighting, Kaoru decided to simply talk to her. That might even calm
her down to her senses. Or even better...distract her so that Kenshin could pry
the weapon from her hands.
"Not forgotten exactly..." her head lowered as the memories returned. "I
was..."abandoned" is more the word." Her gaze lifted to Kenshin's back.
Without turning around, he knew she was referring to the moment he told her
goodbye...that he decided to return to wandering once again.
"I'm so sorry, Kaoru. I..."
"Yes, Kenshin. I forgave you for that a long time ago." She nodded. "You had
your reasons, and I understand."
He chuckled to himself, despite his predicament. "It took you some time,
though."
She smiled in return. "You deserved it."
"Enough of this idle chatter! What are you trying to get at?" Murasaki had
broken the small amount of joy that the two had just shared. "What's your
point?"
"Is something wrong?" Megumi glanced up at him quizzically, disturbing the
silence.
Sano coughed nervously as he returned from his thoughts. He disliked these kinds
of situations...and yet...he wanted these moments alone with her so much.
"No...everything's alright." He tried changing the subject. "The kid asleep?"
"Yes. Yahiko's watching over him."
Silence
Could he convince himself to say the words that dwelled in his mind for so long?
"Sanosuke..."
"Yeah, Foxy?"
Her tone changed to anger, to Sanosuke's surprise. "I'm tired of this..."
"You could go to bed." Sano said, ignoring the tone in her voice, as well as
what she was trying to insinuate.
A stinging sensation crossed his cheek where Megumi's hand met his face. Both
stood facing each other in silence, as Megumi lowered her hand to her side.
"Good night Sanosuke." She turned to enter the house. But Sano's arm on her
sleeve stopped her.
"Just forget it..." She didn't get a chance to finish her words. Sanosuke spun
her around by her sleeve, pulling her towards him at the same time.
"I...I know what you're talking about. But don't think that I haven't tried
before to show you."
"Well, show me now. Show me what you've been wanting to."
His hand traced her delicate jaw line to her chin, urging her lips towards his.
"My point is that your father has his reasons for what he did. And you should
try to understand that." Kaoru finally brought herself to her feet, the bed
sheets wrapped around her.
"My 'father' abandoned me for his own selfish reasons." She had stopped her pace
towards Kenshin. Now she only stood a few feet away from him, but her face was
on Kaoru.
"Have you asked him his reasons?" Kaoru crossed her arms, knowing that Murasaki
still had no idea about the truth of her mother.
Kenshin could pick up on Kaoru's idea of trying to distract her. Slowly, he
gradually neared himself closer and closer to Murasaki, without her notice.
Hoping that the plan had worked, his hand lashed out for Murasaki's wrist,
hoping to render her harmless with a simple twist to place her in an arm lock.
Surprisingly, Murasaki was able to notice the movement in the corner of her eye
and managed to avoid the grip just in time. She glared at Kaoru; obviously she
could guess what this girl's plan was.
"You....!" Her eyes narrowed on Kaoru.
"Yoriko, no!" Kenshin leapt in the way. "Your little tiff is with me."
"2 birds with one stone, as they say." She charged towards him, knowing that
when this man was dead, she would take the life of his loved one as well.
"NO!"
Blood sprayed into the air, the droplets finding their way to the floor, forming
a beautiful but morbid design of a crimson rose.