*FAN ART ALERT*
Before any comments are made today, we just have to say…WE GOT FAN ART! Yep, one of our reviews we nice enough to do this for us! Thank you Phoe-chan! And just so we can show it off to all the reviewers, there will be a link to it! It is a picture of Soujirou getting kunai thrown at him. ^_^ And also, thank you for pointing out that Misao had already seen Soujirou when Kenshin's sword broke. For the sake of the story, well just pretend all of them have really bad memories so they don't remember that. -_-;
http://ayamari.fateback.com/art/meetingmisao.jpg
ArtemisMoon: I was so excited that we got fan art! I know we don't deserve it though, cause I have been so bad about updating. I am really sorry about that. I have this thing about not finishing stories more often that not. I guess I don't like seeing the story end. Or else just the fact that I go through 'phases' and at the moment I am on an Inuyasha phase, and not a Kenshin phase. Poor Ken-san!
Kajun Spice: Fan art!!! Can you believe it???? Thanks Phoe-chan!!! You did a GREAT job!!! Well, Artemis and I got together and wrote a nice fluffy poem for this chapter. She called asking me to write it then started giving suggestions. Turns out she wrote more of it than I did. I think it came out very good but I'm just a little bias! Sorry it has taken so long to get the last chapter out! I'm back in Louisiana and haven't had internet connection in a loooong while. I know, excuses, excuses. But thanks to everyone who has stuck with the story. Ya'll are awesome! Hope ya'll enjoy the story!!!
Thoughts are in { }
Author's comments are in ( )
Disclaimer: We don't own anything. Nothing, nada, zip…oh, except for Koishii! And well start the bidding at $100! What, no takers? Spoil sports, just because she's damaged goods…ooppss, I forgot, we do own the story and the poem.
Koishii
A lone lantern was still burning late that night. Misao had shut herself up in a room alone while she thought everyone else was sleeping, busy with her task. She worked steadily, ignoring the urge to just stop and sleep. What she was doing was much too important.
Little did she know, she wasn't the only one awake that night. In another room, Soujirou was unable to sleep as well. He stared sightlessly at the rice paper wall, thinking about the events of the day.
And still yet, there was one other person awake. But unlike the other two, he wasn't at all depressed. Sitting outside in the moonlight, our red-haired hero was writing something and smiling to himself.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The sun was just rising when Kaoru opened her eyes. The first thing on her mind was obviously Kenshin, and that helped her start the day off in a really good mood! Stretching and smiling happily, her arm hit the spot beside her pillow and she heard a crackling noise.
"What was that?" She murmured, not being quite awake enough to comprehend anything very quickly.
Sitting up and taking a moment to blink her bleary eyes, she stared dumbly at the folded piece of paper next to her pillow. It had her name on it in large, clear writing.
Her eyes suddenly widened when a certain thought occurred to her, and she voiced it out loud to herself. "Mou! Please don't tell me Misao-chan or Sou-chan decided to run away in the middle of the night!" (Hehe, maybe they ran away TOGETHER Kaoru…)
With this thought, she cautiously picked up the note and unfolded it carefully. She was more than a little worried about what the contents might be.
When it was finally opened, she scanned the contents and let out a startled gasp. "Nani?!?!"
My life changed forever that fateful day,
The moment I turned and looked your way.
The look in your eyes as you discovered my past,
Told me I'd finally found forgiveness at last.
You welcomed me in with arms open wide,
And helped me heal, for I was battered inside.
Your love has completed me and made me whole,
Now you are an irreplaceable piece of my soul.
From your side I could never depart,
For you are my life, home, love...and heart.
There was nothing else except the poem written on the piece of parchment, not even the name of the author or a clue as to why it had been written. But really, she didn't need anymore than that. The poem said everything it needed to.
Kaoru had to read the poem several times over, not at all sure she could believe Kenshin capable of writing poetry! This thought brought a smile to her face and made her laugh, even as she felt like crying because of what the poem said.
She sighed, thinking about their past and everything that had happened to them, good and bad. The poem expressed it all…exactly how Kenshin felt about her, the pain he had suffered, and how much he loved her now and what she had done for him. When they had met, and he had been so stained with guilt over the horrible crimes he had committed, he didn't feel like he was worthy of being loved.
But Kaoru never saw him that way, even at the beginning. Kenshin was Kenshin. Nothing that he had done mattered to her, and it never would as long as he stayed with her. She didn't think she could ever be happy without him.
Carefully folding the paper up, she slipped in it a box that contained special items. It was black with gold trim, and had a small gold lock on the front. Inside, her mother's favorite hair comb, and some dried flowers given to her by her father rested together, tangible memories of the most special people in her life. Now Kenshin had his own special place in her memory box.
Smiling, Kaoru got dressed, eager to talk to Kenshin and thank him for the poem. No one had ever done something so sweet for her before! In her happy haze, she had forgotten all about the drama from the night before.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
He was a nervous wreck! How could he have gone and done something like that? Maybe the moonlight from last night had gone to his brain or something, because now he felt like kicking himself! What if she hated it? Or worse, what if she laughed? He would never be able get over it if that happened!
Moaning, Kenshin buried his face in his hands and ignored the breakfast that was burning. For once, his food was looking much worse than anything Kaoru could ever concoct! Fretting about that poem is going to get him food poisoning…or bodily injury when the other Dojo occupants are told they are going to have to eat it, and they try to kill him!
Because of his preoccupation and misery, he failed to hear Kaoru's bare feet headed towards him until it was too late.
"KENSHIN!"
"OROOOO!"
She tackled him, and both went flying off the porch and into the dirt. At least he hadn't been standing directly in the kitchen at the time, or they might be sitting in a boiling pot of rice right about now. ^_^
"Thank you for the poem Kenshin! It was so sweet!" Kaoru had a death grip with her arms around his neck, and the poor guy was gasping for air.
"Sessha's…glad you liked it!" He squeaked, using the last of his precious air supply and his eyes began to swirl.
Taking the hint when his entire body went limp, Kaoru finally let go so she could look him in the face, and started apologizing profusely, not that he was conscious enough to hear her.
Hmm, maybe it would have been less painful if she hadn't liked it, after all…
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Soujirou smiled as he witnessed the little scene between Kenshin and Kaoru. They made such a cute couple, and the sight of the two together could never fail to cheer him up, even after such a miserable, sleepless night.
He was standing on the porch outside the room Misao had shut herself in the night before, and he could still hear her, awake and mumbling quietly. He couldn't catch anything she was saying though, no matter how hard he tried.
Finally decided it would be best to go ahead and talk to her, he cracked the sliding door open slightly.
She was sitting with her back to him, hunched over and looking pretty pathetic. A burned out lantern wasn't far from her, and she had something in her arms.
"Misao-chan…"
She put down whatever was in her arms, and turned towards him. Her hands were twisted nervously in the front of her shirt where he couldn't see them, dark circles were under her eyes, and she looked very tired. Or maybe weary would be a better word.
"Hai?"
He gazed at her with concern, noticing how sad her voice sounded.
"Misao-chan, can we please talk?" He smiled at her.
Her eyes widened slightly at the smile, but she only nodded silently.
Making himself comfortable on the floor in front of her, he smiled at her once more before he began in a quiet voice. "I didn't sleep very well Misao-chan."
This caused her to hang her head. "Why? Because you missed Koishii?"
"No! I mean, please just listen to me first, okay?" He waited for her nod, and tried again. "I couldn't sleep last night because I was thinking. And I was thinking about you and me, not Koishii. I realized something really important. First of all, I wanted to say I'm sorry."
This caused Misao to open her mouth in protest again, but he silenced her with a look that said 'You promised to let me say what I want, now deal with it!'
"I wanted to apologize, because I realized a teddy bear is nothing compared to someone I love, and I shouldn't have let it come between us like that. Can you ever forgive me Misao-chan?"
"You…you said…someone you LOVE?" She was sure she hadn't heard that part correctly, and her face showed her shock.
"Ah." He nodded in agreement.
Still she had doubts. "Are you talking about me?"
Smiling even wider now, he teased her a bit. "Who else would I be talking about, Yahiko?"
This got a small laugh out of her, but she still sounded unsure. "I…I'm sorry to, Sou-chan. I should have just asked you about it and not snuck around like I did. I hated feeling like I couldn't trust you!"
"Do you still not trust me?"
She shook her head furiously. "Not anymore!"
This made his heart feel so much lighter, although he knew everything wasn't resolved quite yet. "What were you doing in here all night?"
This caused Misao to pause, and a bright blush stained her cheeks. "I was going to show you soon. I felt so bad about what happened, cause you love Koishii so much. So…"
Pulling the mysterious bundle out from behind her back, she held it out to Soujirou, not daring to look at him. Instead, she stared steadily at her lap.
When she had moved to hand him the object, he finally got a good look at her hands, which had previously been hidden in her clothes. Several of her fingers red and had dried blood from tiny spots that looked like pinpricks. That caused him to ignore the bundle completely in favor of her hands.
"Misao-chan, what happened to your fingers!" He grabbed her hands and she dropped what she was holding, surprising her enough that she looked up at him.
"Don't you want to know what that was I just gave you?"
"Iie, that's not important right now. We need to bandage your fingers, and you need to tell me why they are like this." The look on his face was stern, a very UN-Soujirou like look.
If Misao's face had been red before, it was nothing compared to now! Her cheeks were practically on fire as she stuttered an answer. "M-my fingers are o-kay, I've just never been t-that good with sewing…"
This gave Soujirou a pause, and the look on his face was priceless! "Sewing? What were you doing sewing in the middle of the night?"
"Mou, you are so clueless Sou-chan! If you would just look at what I gave you, then you might know!"
Reluctantly, Soujirou let go of Misao's hands and reached for the lump of cloth that had been dumped in the floor. With curiosity getting the better of him, he unwrapped it quickly.
His gasp was quite loud and audible! "K-Koishii!"
His poor little teddy bear hand been 'nursed back to heath' by not very capable hands. His stomach had been carefully sewed back together with messy stitches, and the stuffing inside pooched out in an awkward looking bump. Over the stitches some bandages had been wrapped and tied, causing it to look like a little wound.
"I'm sorry it looks so bad, but I never had anyone teach me how to use a needle…so you see- EEPP!"
Whatever she had been about to say was lost when Soujirou jumped up and hugged her, causing her face to turn as red as a tomato once again!
"Koishii never looked better Misao, because you cared enough to fix her. Now I can always think of you when I look at her."
Misao melted right then and there! Wrapping her arms around him as well, she hugged him tightly, never wanting to let him go. They stood like that for several minutes, neither wanting to be the first to move away.
"Misao-chan?" Soujirou's muffled voice finally spoke from where he had his face in her hair.
"Hmm?"
"When I first came in here…were you talking to yourself?"
Misao paused. "Not exactly…"
Soujirou smiled, able to guess where this was leading. "Who were you talking to then?"
"Ummm…"
"She listens really well, doesn't she?" Soujirou laughed lightly.
This caused Misao to relax, happy that he understood. "Hai. After talking to Koishii myself, I think I finally understand you better."
"You do?" He voice was hopeful.
"Uh huh…I finally figured out your crazy, talking to stuffed animals like that!"
This made him smile with a hint of mischief. "Since you were talking to her too, then we must belong together, cause that proves your just as crazy as I am!"
"Hai. And Sou-chan?"
"Nani?"
"I love you too…"
ArtemisMoon: Oh my God, it's OVER! I think I am gonna die of shock! Oh wait! I forgot! We have the bonus ending that Kajun wrote, something I wrote, as well as thank you's to all our readers! I can never say thank you enough, but I am gonna try to say something to each and every person who reviewed! You deserve it soooooo much more than I can say for putting up with my procrastinating! I hope you enjoyed the story. Please review, even if you just yell at me for taking so long. I know I deserve it. Thank you!
Kajun Spice: YAY!! It's finally over! Wait, why am I so excited? A good story has finally come to an end. How depressing! I think I am going to cry! ~sniffle~ (Don't mind me...too much caffine!) At least we still have the two endings Artemis and I wrote! I haven't even read hers yet. Thank's again to everyone who read, reviewed, and gave pointers! We live for ya'lls reviews!!