by Suiren
I love you, too, Kenji. And I'm proud of you. Always.
It's the voice of my Father, either that or my imagination. My mother has stopped crying, but I feel a tear trickle down my cheek and after I'm sure that she's done with her weeping I walk over to her, and hold out a hand. She takes it and I slowly help her back to the dojo. The two of us are silent, alone in our grief. Hers for the love of her life that came back one last time; mine for the father I never got to know. Any way you look at it, we're both alone now.
~*~Sanosuke's POV~*~
I'm on the boat. And on my way. Kitsune, Jo-chan, Kenshin, Yahiko-chan, I'm coming back. And we're going to have one hell of a party.
~*~Yahiko's POV~*~
Kaoru leaves every morning to go to Kenshin's grave and cry for him. Kenji follows her, although he thinks I don't know it because he tries to be sneaky and silent. He's pretty good at it, but I haven't been getting much sleep these past few days anyway so I'm always awake to hear the quiet sounds of his shoes scraping the floor. Tsubame is coming by later today, and I'm glad, because around her things are different. I can't really explain it, it's just that death and sadness still loom over this dojo even though Kenshin is gone. When Tsubame's here, I feel like the weight is lifted from my shoulders, and I see things more clearly. It's like I'm in a dark room before she shows up, and then someone lights a lantern that makes everything visible.
Kenji's coming back with Kaoru, and I can tell she's been weeping again. He looks down before I can really observe his face but I think he's been crying too. I place a hand on each shoulder -- one of his strong, young shoulders, and one of her weakening ones, in an attempt to be reassuring and somehow Kaoru manages to smile for me. Maybe Megumi told her it was good medicine again. I think I'll go by Kenshin's grave before Tsubame comes to visit.
~*~Shinta/Kenshin's POV~*~
I wake up like I'm waking from a very good dream, and blink a few times. I've been sleeping, on a mat, in a very familiar room. I stand up and slip my shoes on, sliding the door open, and I come face to face with...the dojo.
Kaoru's dojo, only it's perfect and clean and in excellent condition -- this is what it must have looked like before her father died and she lost the students. I find myself standing in awe, listening to the silence. But if this is Kaoru's dojo -- then where is...
I hear the sound of footsteps outside and bound to the porch to come face to face with...
...
Tomoe.
"Tomoe?"
She smiles, and it's not like most of the smiles I've ever seen her smile with. Her old smiles were sad and small, but this one radiates with warmth and happiness I never saw her have during life.
"Hai, Kenshin."
She bows a little, white kimono swaying gently in the breeze which plays with her hair. Tomoe -- she's always been so beautiful, and so elegant, and I'm glad to see her.
"You were there."
"Hmm?" She asked, blinking as she faced me.
"All the time. Back..at the dojo...and the funeral."
She nodded a little. "Yes. That was me."
Cherry blossoms from a nearby tree brush past her face and she laughs as she stares at her surroundings, gazing wide-eyed as she spins, slowly, in a circle.
"Wow."
I'm a little confused at the apparent surprise in her voice.
"Oro?"
"Of all the places you could have picked for heaven, Himura Kenshin.." She said softly, stepping into the dojo, "You picked this place. Why?"
"I belong here. It's home. You can call me Shinta, you know."
"The man I knew was Kenshin. The man who is here...perhaps he is Kenshin, perhaps he isn't; but Shinta is not my name for him. That name belongs to his wife."
~*~Yahiko's POV~*~
I kneel next to the grave that holds Kenshin's body, alone with my thoughts. I let my fingers brush a little bit of the dirt, and close my eyes. Someone told me once that the dead can still hear you when you speak to them.
"Kenshin."
My voice is weak at first, but I close my eyes and organize my thoughts.
"We all really miss you, Kenshin."
This isn't working. I sound stiff, and not like myself. Gah!
"DAMNIT! Why'd you have to leave us?!"
I press both hands against the ground and squeeze my eyes shut.
"You were like a father to me....why'd you have to leave?"
A gentle hand touches my shoulder and as I turn to see who it is, I'm greeted by Tsubame's gentle face. She kneels next to me.
"Megumi said I would find you here. I know how much you miss him, Yahiko-kun."
"He was like my father..." I find myself repeating, voice cracking a little with the grief I'm trying to repress. I want to be strong in front of Tsubame. She reaches over to hug me and my eyes widen.
"You don't have to be strong all the time, Yahiko."
I bury my head against her shoulder, letting the tears escape. She sits silently for a moment, patting my back and letting her fingers drift through my hair. When I look up, her eyes were filled with tears.
"I miss him too, Yahiko-kun."
I pull her closer, whispering in her ear.
"Aishiteru, Tsubame."
She lets out a slight gasp, probably of grief and joy combined.
"Aishiteru, Yahiko-kun."
~*~Aoshi's POV~*~
I unfold the letter and read it silently, with Misao jumping up and down behind me to try to read it over my shoulder. Even though she's my wife, and I love her madly, the woman has too much damn energy sometimes.
"Kenshin's dead." I murmur softly. She stops jumping as I turn around and hand her the letter Megumi wrote.
"Poor Kaoru.." she whispers, and then she draws close to me, almost glomping me with a very tight hug. "We're going to see them, right?"
I do my best to keep my face emotionless.
"Hai."
~*~Kenji's POV~*~
My mother's sleeping, so I pick up my father's reverse blade sword and step past Megumi. She looks tired.
"Get some rest, Megumi. I'm going for a walk. My mother will be okay for a while."
She nods sleepily -- I know she hasn't slept much in the past few days, like the rest of us, and looking after my mother is difficult. I wait outside the door, listening to my Mother's ragged breathing. Then it dawns on me: Megumi is crying. She thinks I'm gone, but I hear her whisper.
"Sano.."
It becomes silent in the room, except for their duet of breath, and I leave the dojo. I go past the cherry trees and almost to the bridge, where I sit on the river bank and watch the sunset by myself. I try to focus only on the red setting sun and the golden clouds, try to clear my mind, try to break free of the lonliness that binds us all back at the dojo. Eventually my eyes close and I sink into meditation.
When I open them I am aware of a figure sitting next to me, just as calm and silent as I am trying to be, almost radiating tranquility.
"Chizuru-dono."
~*~Kaoru's POV~*~
I wake from a restless sleep and notice Megumi curled up a few feet away. Good. She should probably get some rest, I know it's been hard on her. I'm a stubborn patient, especially now that I've resigned myself to an extended death: life without Shinta. I get up and step past Megumi, noticing a pouch sitting next to her on the floor.
Her medicine pouch. I pick it up and step outside silently. Nobody else is home -- Yahiko is probably out with Tsubame, and Kenji...if I know my son, he's trying to clear his mind, trying to focus and be strong. That's one thing Kenji and Yahiko share that reminds me of Kenshin: strength. In body, mind, and character. Kenji will grow up to be a good, strong man. I know this.
I am his mother. I know this.
A/N: Yes, yes, it was Tomoe all along! The next two chapters, just to warn you all, are going to be by far the most depressing and tear-jerking chapters of this story if I pull them off right. I feel that this is one of the weaker chapters in this arc so far so I may go back and edit it. After that I'll have it all resolved, with perhaps an epilogue...and maybe even a sequel. Yes. A sequel. Don't ask how, but if you want to talk it over with me, catch me on AIM as "rainonyourday".