DISCLAIMER: I do not own any RK… heck, sometimes I question whether I actually own myself or not…
Quick little message from author: My sincerest apologies for taking my sweet time to finally post the FINAL CHAPTER!!! The thing is, I had finals and had to do a lot of studying and such so, yeah… I'm sorry. Well, this is it then, the final goodbye- until the next story that is. Okay, thus "All I wanted" comes to a close, with me giving my all to this last installment of the story. I hope you guys enjoy, I hope it somewhat reaches your expectations and so on, and so on. Thank you all for your unwavering support, for making me smile and for believing in me.
Chapter 10: And then She Smiled.
English Translation
But there is Life
which is meant to be
intensely lived,
there is love.
Which must be lived
Till the last drop.
Without any fear.
It does not kill.
Original Version
Mas há a vida
que é para ser
intensamente vivida,
há o amor.
Que tem que ser vivido
Até a ultima gota.
Sem nenhum medo.
Não Mata.
(Clarice Lispector)
....And then she smiled, that crooked smile of hers, and all was well with the world again.
And then she cried, those sad lonesome tears of hers, and the once precious world grew dim as I tuned out all other sounds.
And then she laughed, that mirthful laugh of hers, and life was reborn, the world created anew in the warm hearth of her joy.
And then she was mine and I smiled, that tired smile of mine, I wept those wretched tears of mine, I laughed that throaty laugh of mine, and I was hers as well.
And then she was, she just existed and I, awkwardly but undoubtedly existed too, along with, by and through her.
And then she was real, no longer a fantasy, and I was driven to ecstasy, reveling in being alive once more.
And then she felt, she was, somehow she belonged; she was mine, she was the worlds: such a perfect gift.
And then, suddenly, out of nowhere, she smiled…
(Anna Iram)
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The rustling of feathers had him sitting up in two seconds flat. "Feathers?" He wondered dazedly, not quite sure of where exactly he had gotten the idea that feathers were swirling all about him.
Looking to his right, he found his answer: an angel was engulfed in deep slumber at his side; feathers were somewhat inevitable when dealing with heavenly creatures.
Relaxing, smiling and breathing again, he reincorporated himself properly beside her, making sure to tuck her back into the covers she had tossed off of her naked, creamy skin sometime during the night.
Gently, he stroked her tousled hair, a cascade of beautiful minerals, complex and varying in composition: the softest tourmaline on the face of the earth weaving its way through his nimble fingers.
He dipped his face into the long silken strands of ebony and breathed in as much of her scent as he could. He resurfaced dizzy, refreshed, the fragrant jasmine extract a reminder of sunshine all ablaze in the promising summer light.
It was autumn, winter would soon be closing in on them, but he held the secret of summer days and nights trapped in his arms, a sweet scented jasmine-like dream.
Closing his eyes, he urged himself to fall asleep again- like if that had ever worked before…
However, today was different. On this glorious morning he felt so at peace, so complete, that surely it wouldn't be long now before Morpheus claimed him into his serene and placid embrace.
Of course, Kenshin's "surelies" were always lacking in actual certainty, and thus sleep would not come to his restless soul.
Vexed, he stirred, opened one eye and glanced at his bedside companion, slightly jealous of her ability to softly snore the day away, unperturbed by unrest. At the same time, male pride got the better of him and a lazy smile etched itself across his frown: he had tired her out.
Beaming, though, soon was an over and done with matter, which lead Kenshin back to his state of "awake ness" and its likely culprit: unrest. Unrest of heart and mind. But why? Why now? He was genuinely content, so where the hell was this annoying, unnecessary uneasiness coming from? Answer: a nagging at the back of his mind.
What nagging? He didn't understand. Everything had already come full circle, things were as they should have always been, she smiled and all was well with the world… so why wasn't the world doing all that well right about now?
Answer nº2: technically, she wasn't currently smiling. More like drooling on the pillow, but not smiling… and then there was the future to think about…
"Future? Think Kenshin, think!" he mentally screamed while practically walloping himself. Truth be told, walloping had already proven ineffective before on the dense man's thick skull.
Nevertheless, the attempt was made, brooding over words like future, Kaoru, Kenshin and dojo was undertaken, and eventually, in true Kenshineske fashion, realization dawned.
Future. Kaoru. Kenshin. Dojo. Home. Kenshin. Kaoru. Unit. House. Family. Family unit. Marriage. Children. Work. One common futon. Marriage. Future. Relationship. Vows. Promise. Rings.
At long last, the thought of rings put a close on the long scatter brain game where association of ideas was the main goal for promptly arriving at a conclusion.
Conclusion: Kenshin wanted Kaoru all bound in a forever, a.k.a marriage. To marry required a proposal and, along with corny words professing eternal love, cam a ring.
Everything was as it should be and internal dealings had long ago been probed and solved, except for the lingering matter that bedding a lady usually occurred after the exchange of rings and vows.
Well, seeing as their case scenario had somewhat differed from that neatly set out pattern, a ring was in order… AT ONCE. As soon as Kaoru opened her eyes, the band pledging commitment should be slipped onto her finger.
Minor setback: where was Kenshin going to find a ring in less than 30 minutes?
Oh well, he would just have to improvise; it wasn't as if he hadn't been cornered into that position before. After all, if once being the hitokiri Battousai could result in torment, self-inflicted pain, etcetera, then it was about darn time that at least the smallest of positive points was driven out of the alter ego's scheming, strategic, dare one say warped, mind.
Tiptoeing, he gathered his clothes, brushed her forehead softly with his lips and made a mad-dash out of the room.
Now, to improvise…
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
She was floating somewhere, dreaming somewhere, breathing somewhere. She belonged somewhere. Finally, at long last, she belonged.
Safety, happiness, joy- feelings she could finally say she experienced to the fullest of their capacities. Glass half-full or half-empty? Brimming, glass contents overflowing.
Because of all the gleeful energy flowing, or rather exploding through her, she couldn't help feeling that she was about to blow up into thousands of tiny particles, spreading her cheer and love all across the universe and beyond.
"Kenshin, Kenshin, Kenshin…" His name kept repeating itself inside her mind's eye like some sort of elusive tantra.
The previous night… she would never trade it for anything on this earth. That night would forever be carved into her heart, her own secret treasure buried deep within her chest, a memory to keep her warm through the coldest of winters, to cherish till the end of days.
Batting her eyes furiously, she awakened to the stillness around her, to this new form of life where her dreams and reality had miraculously fused into one.
She stretched sluggishly, happily, smiling broadly, then propped herself on her side, no longer resisting the temptation of seeing her love's calm, sleeping silhouette next to her.
When an empty left side of the futon revealed itself to her, her smile quickly melted away and her quickening heart sank to the pit of her stomach.
"Kenshin?" she called out in a hoarse whisper.
"Kenshin?" she called out to the empty room once again, bolting upright on the futon.
Searching the whole bedroom with desperate eyes and finding not even so much as a glimpse of his shadow in the near vicinity, she carelessly slipped on her yukata and skidded off nervously, hopefully to his encounter.
Kaoru didn't even bother to hold her yukata properly in place as she scampered into the kitchen, which earned her a pretty embarrassing moment with a certain ex-fighter-for-hire:
"Jou-chan?!!" dark brown eyes questioned in shock.
"Sano?!!" flustering cheeks inquired, embarrassed, angry and mortified alike.
The gaping mouth of the bewildered male was delicately drawn closed when a broom, born of thin air, made contact with his jaw.
As he fell into a contorted heap on the wooden floor, the disconcerted young lady made a run for it and sought refuge in the wanderer's room.
Once the shoji slid closed, pacing around the room, venting fumes and pent up tension, seemed like the both decent and natural thing to do. After all, it wasn't everyday that you were caught parading around your own home, half-naked, by a close friend.
It also wasn't a daily occurrence to make love with someone and then have them go missing after the nightly activities had been brought to an end. It wasn't a daily occurrence to make love with someone, period- at least not in her case.
Kenshin knew that. Kenshin knew that what had come to take place between them had never taken place for her before. He knew that she was bound to, on account of firsts, have certain reserves, certain insecurities; all she needed was certain reassurance. To be reassured not much would be needed but, for starters, having him around as soon as she opened her eyes would have been nice.
Sure, if it hadn't been for her outstanding display of courage and nerves of steel sex and intimacy would have never entered the equation, at least not unless Kenshin got bonked on the head and suffered selective amnesia somehow, but in the long run, all she was, was just a girl: tomboy yes, but not less of a girl with mushy, complex emotions for it!
With a loud oomph she flopped down against the mattress and sighed.
And now, to make things worse, Sanosuke had just seen a little too much cleavage and it would be days before she got over flushing and masking the embarrassment behind an angry façade, complete with mood swings and those of the bokken-kind as well! If only Kenshin had been there when she returned to the conscious world, none of that would have gone down.
"Kenshin no baka!" she fumed, a vein dangerously popping on her forehead.
It was all Kenshin's fault and she wouldn't let him live it down that easily!!! Why, as soon as he set foot in his room and Kaoru let him in on the morning's happenings, she would- Kaoru froze. She would what? More like what would he do?!!
One nervous gulp and a few flashbacks told her that maybe she ought to let go of this particular feud, or else Sano's life would be left hanging by a very thin thread as soon as Kenshin became acquainted with the "naked truth" regarding morning meetings in the kitchen; it was one thing to see amber eyes consumed with passion and desire and a completely different one to see them glowing with another type of lust, which usually resulted in blood, accompanied by the regulars: guilt, apprehension, shame, self-imposed torture, guilt yet again, and the rest of the "Sessha wa rurouni" plight.
Kaoru hunched her shoulders in defeat and took in the simple, silent room instead. "Where was Kenshin?" she thought with exasperation. She tried to fight the tears that were starting to prickle and sting at the corner of her eyes, but it was all in vain. She wanted to be strong, relaxed and mature about it but… WHERE WAS KENSHIN?!!
Why hadn't Kenshin waited for her to wake up? Where had he gone off to in such a hurry? Had the other night really been so terrible for him?
Kaoru sniffled and attempted to contain herself. She would not cry. She would not let him see her cry. No one could see her cry, not again. She was tired of being the weakest link; she knew she had it in her to be tough and composed… Who was she kidding?! Kaoru buried her face in her hands and cried like a baby.
Yes, she was brave. Yes, she could hold a shinai in her hands and fight. Yes, she could help Kenshin exorcise his demons (if he decided to let her, mid you). Yes, she could be an annoying, responsible big sister to Yahiko. Yes, she could eventually let go of the teasing that normally took place in honor of her dreadful cooking skills and Kenshin's aloofness. She could do it all with a smile on her face and a punch here and there. She was strong.
But, in the long run… he was a boy and she was a girl. The boy held her heart in his hands and being careless and thoughtless by nature, he broke the girl time and again.
He was just a boy, she was just a girl, and so, she cried…
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
So much for improvising… Where was something even remotely similar to a ring when you needed a dead ringer, if not the real thing? Kenshin groaned and flopped down on the tall grass by the brook. He needed to think, but he didn't have all day!!! He was running out of time here and still… no ring within sight.
He had done the fishing thing again, to no avail. Sure, when you were least expecting it, a catfish opened it's gapping mouth and regurgitated a perfectly beautiful ring, the stone a perfect match for her eyes and everything. Then, having no intentions of changing your marital status from widower to married -for the second time-, you gift the precious piece of jewelry and get into trouble for being too dimwitted to think of the consequences.
Now, when you actually wanted a few modifications, when you had at last grown tired of being single and felt you could ease your way into settling down, no magical ring-swallowing-catfish made its grand appearance. Cursed "things never go the way you want them to" life theorem…
Yanking at a blade of grass idly, Kenshin shut his eyes and focused on the memory of her closed eyelids, the rhythm of her easy breathing, the thumping of her steady heartbeat, her long and perfect lashes, balancing the entire world on their curled tips. How could he walk back into their bedroom and have nothing to offer her but himself?
Kenshin popped one eye open and stared miserably at the bouquet of irises and bellflowers clutched in his right hand.
"Okay, so make that me plus a bunch of stupid flowers" he growled.
"Still not good enough…" he thought to himself. "Maybe some pastries as well?" Apparently, right by Tae's place a new bakery had been installed. Sweets were sure to get him… where exactly? Flowers were pretty, desserts were yummy, but neither of those things could possibly compare to a gold band with a precious stone on it.
Kenshin sighed and raked his brain for some idea, some bright plan that would provide him with a ring in less than 10 minutes. Apparently, his brain was momentarily out of service, because no mind boggling thoughts came to him and he was left still stranded in his current dilemma.
Kenshin propped himself on his elbows and blew a few bangs away from his eyes. As if it weren't bad enough that he hadn't managed to restrain himself and had acted out of sheer impulse like some hormone-ridden teenager, he didn't even have a proper, romantic anything to sweep Kaoru off her feet and make her remember the day he proposed to her until they had grown old and gray together. Now there was a thought…
After the Bakumatsu's messy bloodbath all Kenshin had ever wanted was to die; not that he could allow himself to indulge in that sweet fantasy, considering he didn't have a right to an easy way out, but he had at least hoped that he could die of natural causes, or something, fairly young. After one night with Kaoru, all he wanted was for time to slow down, to savor every single moment, gesture and word spoken, and to live it all out to the very end, an end tucked away far off in time.
"Kaoru…" he mused. He loved her. He loved everything about her. She was perfect just the way she was. She deserved so much…
Kenshin stood up and gazed out at the brook. The reason he so needed the moment to be perfect was basically resumed in that one thought.
She was perfect and she deserved something that could measure up to those standards. Not that he ever would be able to size up, but at least the moment, it should be everything she had ever dreamed and more, because that was exactly what she deserved.
None of this was for him, as far as he was concerned wedding vows were somewhat irrelevant –that was experience talking- but he knew that she would want the vows, she would want the ring, she would want a loving, albeit simple, ceremony and he would be damned if he could not give her all of that!
He was already so puny and insignificant in comparison to the girl with the bright eyes and pure heart and he had for so long known that he was unworthy of her, that, he had to make it up to her somehow. She had chosen him, unworthiness cast aside, but he knew- he just knew- no matter what she said, he wasn't enough for her and he had to compensate for that in any way.
"Kami-sama, can't you see that I don't deserve her, that I am not enough? I need something, anything, to try and compensate, to make her happy!!! I need to set things right for her, to start things off the way they should have always been.
I don't have much to offer, but what I have she will readily take; I know that because she loves me. I don't know how it happened, or why you Kamis even bothered to grace me with that opportunity and miracle after everything I have done…
Nevertheless, you did: you gifted me with her love and now, now you have to help me out! Not for my sake, but for hers. She is too good and too kind to not have her every dream come true!
So now, do your job and fix this!!! Fix this for her, help me make her happy!!! Do you hear me?!! You HAVE to fix this, you HAVE to make her happy, you HAVE to let me make her happy!!! So, DO SOMETHING!!! GIVE ME A SIGN, ANY SIGN!!! GIVE ME SOMETHING, GIVE ME ANYTHING, BECAUSE ALL I NEED IS HER SMILE!!!" Kenshin screamed out to the gods in despair.
It was the truth: all he needed was her smile. He wanted her smile, her laughter, her every emotion. He wanted a ring, he wanted the right words to come to mind, he wanted perfection; all just as long as she would smile for him.
"Whoa!!! I have to slow down or else I'll wind up like Enishi… not that I'm ever going to let anything happen to her. She will be safe. On my life I swear she will always be safe, I'll see to that." He thought to himself.
Well, waiting for heavenly forces to suddenly speak out to you and hand you the answers of universal knowledge- don't hold your breath. All powerful forces that are unseen are tricky like that- they don't exactly walk up to you, shake your hand, introduce themselves with a "hello, I'm God; you had a question for me?" sentence. In fact, they most likely don't show up at all and leave you to ponder at the unlikeness of their existence. In spite of that, the myth of miracle has existed since the very beginnings of time… a well founded myth, might one add.
This Kenshin came to find out, as he sighed and shook his head when the only answer he got after his little, and very unusual for the quiet man, rampage, was complete and utter silence.
He could literally hear the noise the wind made as it swished through the grass and made ripples on the brook's surface. He could hear the fish swim in the shimmering pool of water. He could hear everything that was happening within a mile from where he was standing, but what he so desired to hear, the response he so badly needed, it never came… at least not in the form of something audible.
Suddenly, he sneezed: "Oro…Who could be talking about me?"
Shrugging off the thought, he slumped back down on the ground and hunched his shoulders in defeat. No ring, no perfection, nothing he couldn't do without…
Averting his eyes from the blinding reflection the sun was casting on the body of water, Kenshin turned to picking at the grass again, deciding to blame it for all the confusion and things gone wrong. Stupid "where are any of the Kamis when you need them?" life fact…
Twirling a small blade of grass round his finger and tugging it out of the cool earth, Kenshin's eyes landed on something small and delicate and- PERFECT! Well, perfect would have been an actual ring, but this could do. It was romantic, thoughtful, silly, kind of teenagey and corny- yep, this was perfect!!!
Carefully he knelt by that particular patch of grass, cradled his answer in his hand and ran off at lightning speed.
"Oh and Kamis… thank you for the visual-aid."
Miracle is myth for a reason: hard to believe in them, but they happen, even if people never do the thanking out loud and the deed goes unnoticed by the rest of the world…
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Kenshin passed by the kitchen and saw a crumpled Sano on the floor. Immediately he sprinted into the bedroom and found… Kaoru nowhere to be seen. Heart pounding violently in his chest and amber flickers shining through the amethyst of his eyes, he yanked the shoji of his bedroom open crying "KAORU!!!" at the top of his lungs. What he found inside shell-shocked him and made even the flowers in his hand wither downwards in dismay. The dream was over…
Rocking herself back and forth, Kaoru swallowed down the lump in her throat and succeeded in croaking something out before speech abandoned her entirely:
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cry."
Kenshin's heart shrunk. So, she regretted everything… Well what was he expecting, for things to finally go his way for a change? Not likely. Fate had to torture him; it was his destiny to be let down time and again. It was his destiny to live in despair, never nestling what he so loved and wanted within his grasp, but always having it out of reach instead.
Slowly, the rurouni slid his body to a sitting position next to hers on the futon, flowers clutched tightly in his hand, his knuckles white. The fact that when she spoke she had not looked at him, had not gone by unnoticed. And so this is how it goes…
When Kaoru felt movement beside her she gasped, never expecting for Kenshin to come by so close, not after leaving her the way he did. Instantly surprised by his action she turned around and gaped at Kenshin's grave face. She bit her lip trying to hold back another wave of tears; her suspicions had been confirmed.
Out of the corner of his eye Kenshin saw her bite down on her lip, trying to contain the flood of tears that shook her uncontrollably. He closed his eyes and sighed; he felt too weak to say anything, too weak to move.
Kaoru waited impatiently for him to say something, anything at all to ease her mind, but his words never reached her expectant ears for he refused to speak.
"I should go" she exclaimed softly, but found herself in her previous predicament: unable to move. When she had started weeping in his room she had attempted to leave, to retire herself to her own room and hide there for the rest of eternity. Yet, her wobbly knees had made the whole 'walking away' process an extreme impossibility. Now, she commanded her legs to get a move on but, like before, she just stayed there inanimate, her feet rooted to the thin mattress.
"Here" he said at length, handing her the bouquet of flowers without so much as glancing her way.
"Flowers?! Why would you be giving me flowers?" she asked, too shocked to even accept them.
"I thought you might like them." He said with a shrug.
"That's thoughtful of you; at least I get some flowers…" she trailed off. Baka flowers in exchange of baka Kenshin.
"Sessha is sorry Kaoru-dono, sessha knew you would regret this-"
"What?!" she bellowed out in bewilderment. Is that what he thought, that she regretted sleeping with him?!
"Don't you? Don't you regret this?" he wondered aloud, hope rekindled within him.
"Iie!! How could you think that I would- I told you that I love you that I don't care- is that what you think, that I would- how could you think that I would- I could never regret last night, I could never…" She choked out.
"Then why are you crying?" His momentary relief turned into instant concern.
"Because you left and I didn't know where you were, and then Sano found me running around half-naked in my yukata, and then you still wouldn't come back and I started to think, and then I naturally assumed-"
"What did you assume?!" he asked cutting her off, trying to steer clear from the thought that Sanosuke had seen his Kaoru half-naked.
"Well, I assumed that you… that you didn't… that I wasn't-"
At the sound of those words, Kenshin covered her mouth with his. He knew what was coming and he didn't ever want to hear her pronounce those words, he didn't want her to ever doubt that she wasn't anything but perfect in every way.
Kaoru pulled back gently, catching her breath. She looked up at him, her yes wide. So it hadn't been that bad for him…
He smiled into her eyes and smoothly brushed a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. He then pulled her into a warm embrace and whispered "you were wonderful" in her ear, nibbling at it softly.
Kaoru blushed and giggled a bit, just a tad giddy- who knew love and sake could have such similar effects on her? Of course sake made her more rowdy and violent, whereas love simply made her happy and dizzy and maybe queasy, all at the same time.
Prying himself from her Kenshin decided to play with her, just a teensy bit:
"So, what's that about Sano and a revealing yukata?" he asked, eyebrow arched.
"Oh, that! Well, umh, nothing important really, nothing that couldn't accidentally happen to anyone actually. Really Kenshin, there's no need for us to get into that, in fact, forget that I said anything!" she rambled nervously.
Kenshin eyed her seriously and took something out from the sleeve of his gi.
"I'm guessing that whatever there is no reason to even discuss is why Sano is an unconscious bag of bones on the kitchen floor at the moment, correct?"
"Umh, kind of… See? No need for us to go over the matter since it's already been handled… personally."
"Is that so koishii? I don't think it has been handled personally enough!" he stated dangerously, standing up and heading towards the shoji, purposefully resting his hand on the sheathed sakabatou by his side.
Kaoru stood up in a flash and tugged at his arm, desperately trying to make him reconsider.
"No, Kenshin, wait!!! Please leave this be!!! It wasn't intentional and I was the one that ran into the kitchen in such a disheveled state anyway! Please Kenshin, he didn't do anything wrong and I- wait a minute… did you just call me koishii?"
Kaoru let go of his arm and focused on his handsome, smiling face. He never did have the intention of beating Sano senseless did he? He was just… playing with her?!!
Silently, Kenshin took a hold of her hand and twisted the stem of a daisy round her finger, the white petals staring up at her incredulous expression.
"Wha…" she gasped, unsure of what this meant.
"Just until a real one can be afforded. For the mean time, this is all I could find that seemed suitable. Please, forgive me for not offering you something better, but I promise I will make it up to you, Kaoru."
At this point, Kaoru flew into hysterics and had a full-fledged mood swing crisis. This was exactly like everything she had always dreamed. This was perfect. Well, except for the groom to be running off and the potential best man getting a real good look at the bride to be, and the best man getting sucker-punched by the potential bride, sporting a black eye now, most likely. Apart from that, perfection had been attained. Okay, so this wasn't the sapphire ring she has always wanted but, it really was ingenious and thoughtful and romantic, slightly corny- all in all perfect.
Tears streamed down her cheeks and she began to whimper practically collapsing on the floor, were it not for the helpful hand that steadied her. Laughter rose from the tips of her curled toes to the roots of her hair and exploded in such a way that she had to hold her sides. This was amazing!!! This had to be a dream!!!
"Pinch me!" she, all of a sudden, demanded, in between a fit of laughter.
"Hunh?"
Kenshin had been taking in every single one of her reactions with fascination; he had never known that such an outburst of different emotions could bubble out of a person, all at once, all tangled up, one with the other. Then again, he had never known anyone like Kaoru…
"I have to make sure that this is real." she explained.
With a warm smile plastered on his face, he picked op her hand and planted a butterfly kiss on her open palm. Unable to resist this wonderful man any longer, Kaoru leaped into his arms and kissed him ardently. With their mouths inches apart, her eyes focused on his lips, she whispered something, something that would always be part of his fondest and most beautiful memories of her:
"Ask me…"
"What?"
"Ask me…"
"…Be my wife…"
"Took you long enough."
Kenshin couldn't take it any longer and he instantly closed the distance between them with a hungry, demanding, loving kiss. She was his…
Kaoru buried her head in his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. She wanted to stay in the embrace forever, never letting go.
"I love you…" Kenshin whispered, the soft rumbling of his chest as he pronounced said words engraved in Kaoru's heart until her dying day.
Lifting her head, her eyes sparkled in absolute bliss, and then, she smiled…
THE END
The long list of thank yous:
To Jen: Yes she finally kicked some sense into the stubborn man. Sorry for the update delay. Thank you for supporting me and this fic
To koishii_touya: Okay, first off: thank you for the praise. Second: you tell me if this one was better off than chapter 9, it took me a really long time to write, that's for sure. Also, I am planning a new story (as much as I can actually plan these things) and it will be a k/k, so stay tuned. Finally, thank you for your encouragement and see you at the next fic? ^_~
To ShilviGrl/Amyjenc1: If this was actually as great as you hoped it would be, that's pretty much up to you. Did I, however, put in as much effort as I could to this chapter? 100% guarantee!!! I am also sad that this is the end… but, the good news is I'll have a new story up and ready soon so, if you like, feel free to check it out (when I actually post it, that is). Oh, and another thing: HE SAID I LOVE YOU!!! Thank you for your encouraging reviews, without them, this fic would never have felt as special to me as it did and I would not have been as motivated to write it. Thanks again.
To tanpopo: Well, the end, at long last… how d'you like it? So, she still didn't apologize; somehow I get the feeling he really stopped caring about that a LONG time ago (hehehe). Thanks for the great reviews and inspiration. When the new fic comes out, I hope you take a look-see. Bye!!! *waves madly like sugar-high five year old.*
To Momori: *blushing, flushing, all flustered up, that I am!* Thank you for the sweet words. You are right chapter 9 was very poetic, especially in comparison to this chapter. This was a bit more comical- interlaced with the regular dosage of angst- and not quite as overly fluffy. Then again, the ending can totally refute that statement by slapping me on the forehead. Thanks.
To Mewberries: To one of my favorite reviewers in the whole wide world: well, the adventure is over. Not to worry though, a new one is in the works. It won't have anything to do with this one except for the k/k pairing, though. To you I send my gratitude. Your reviews were really important to the completion of this fic and always managed to bring a smile to my face. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Did I mention that I would so much like to thank you?
To Yami Yue: I'll take you up on that offer!!! As soon as the new fic is up, I expect to find a review from you. Thank you for your kindness and comments. I hope you found this chapter worthy of the rest of the story and that, in your eyes, it was brought to a proper close. Thanks again.
To Orora: *bows low* Your review was amazing!!! Don't worry, your writing was perfectly understandable. All of your comments did the trick to get me up and ready for writing this last chapter; I'm telling you, your encouragement was really the incentive. Thank you for the praise, I'm glad that you like the way I write, in fact, it thrills me to know that you enjoy the way I write. My teachers aren't all that fond of my punctuation, although they say it's pretty unique. Thank you, one more time and look up my next fanfic when it comes out!!!
To Kiki: Well Kiki, sorry if you didn't like the fact that the characters had sex…
To OCEAN FISH: Okay, just to clarify; chapter 9 wasn't the end, this is!!! I loved your review, in fact I love all of them. Hey, do you have a fic up yet? I would love to see some of your writing. Thank you for the continuous incentive, reviews like yours are what make writing these things a real treat. Let's hear that one more time: THANK YOU!
To Daughter of Magic: I hope you actually reach the end of the fic- well if you are reading this it is because you did. *grins sheepishly*. Thankx for he review.
To aerogirl401: Well I kept the story up, till the very end might I add, so yey!!! I'm not one to usually finish what I start but, check me out; first fic and I actually completed it. Thank you for the review and thank you for liking my story.
To mvdiva: First off, you were one of the few people who commented on the sound sequence: I really wanted to know what people thought and it pleased me enormously to see that you enjoyed it. Second, I want a review for chapter 9 as well as chapter 10!!! As one of my favorite reviewers, I expect no less from you. Just kidding on the whole command front, finals must have me stressed out and acting bossy. Thank you for sticking through this with me, every step of the way. It is a truly wonderful thing to have people like you on the sidelines cheering me on. When I have the next story ready, it would be an honor for me, if I happened to find a review from you. Thanks again and bye, for now.
To faeri-chan: Reading your review made me overly joyous. To see someone who truly appreciated this in all it's immensity, and a fellow writer no less, was fantastic, thrilling, energizing and too many adjectives for me to go on rambling. From the bottom of this heart that I sort of put out there for the fic readers to see, thank you.
To Jen: (the one who only read to chapter 3) thanx for considering this humble piece of work as fab and thank you or dropping a line.
To A.R Frederik: A special thank you note goes out to you. I am in debt of you for your kindness, for your critical analysis of this piece, for motivational words, for… just for everything. Thank you so much, I will be sending you a mail soon, I haven't been up to it, with finals and all, but I would like to very much keep in touch with you. I have a little idea gnawing away at my brain for a second fic, it would please me to no end if, when it is finally a part of the fanficiton.net system, you take the time to read it. One more time: thanks.
To Venus Smurf: What can I say? It's over. You were my first reviewer ever and I expect to see loooong reviews from you tumbling in as soon as that laptop is once in again in your hands. Thank you for the advice, the challenge and the really kind reviews. This fic was going to be a one-shot and, because of you, there are so many people out there who actually got to experience this interesting story that I didn't even know I had in me. I'm not the only one who owes you a thank you; all the readers of this fic owe you one as well. I will come up with a second fic soon and I'm counting on you to inspire me like you did before. Take good care and consider this chapter, dedicated to you.
As for the others, meaning those who dropped reviews at random intervals and I didn't thank in this long list, and those who read but don't review, my gratitude. It makes me smile to know that people out there read this and like it.