This is a one shot. And this is my first Rurouni Kenshin story, so please be kind.
Wandering Aimlessly
Destiny does exist.
Kaoru woke from her sleep in a cold sweat. She had just had the most awful dream, or should she call it a nightmare. She ran her fingers through her hair and sat up. She threw off the blankets and got dressed into her 'training' kimono. She grabbed a small bag from her closet and tip toed to the kitchen. She filled that bag with rice balls and a small amount of money. She then strung it shut and tied it to her waist.
She quietly walked outside and into the storage room. She walked to the far back and pulled out an old trunk, she opened it and inside was her father's sword. It was smaller than normal swords but not small enough to be the same sword that Aoshi used. She took it from the trunk and tied it to the left side of her waist; opposite the bag of food.
She closed the trunk and pushed it back into its position. She quickly but silently walked to the front of her dojo. She opened the door and turned around to get one last look at her child hood home and to remember all the friends she was leaving behind.
She smiled at remembering Sano being pounded on by Yahiko. And she almost laughed, thinking about Megumi. She was leaving all of them behind and for what?
Her heart did flip-flops when she thought of the wandering samurai that now slept inside the dojo. And she almost turned around and went back inside. Her expression softened and silent tears ran down her cheeks.
"Wait for me, Kenshin." She said like he was there, and shut the dojo door behind her.
In the shadows unknown to Kaoru, Kenshin was watching. "Where are you going Miss Kaoru," he said sadly.
Kaoru ran as fast as she could after she shut the door. She didn't ever want to look back, or she might actually want to go back. Her tears continued to fall as she entered the path that lead through the forest and to the small town called Shinda. She slowed to a walk and looked straight ahead.
****
"What do you mean she's gone?" Sano slammed his fist down on to the table. Megumi sat patiently drinking her tea in the early morning across from him. Yahiko leaned against the far wall more hurt than angry.
Kenshin stood in the doorway with a solemn look on his face. "She left last night." He said.
"You saw her leave? Then why didn't you stop her?" Sano directed his fist at Kenshin.
"She left for a good reason, that she did." Kenshin nodded.
"You wouldn't happen to know what that reason would be?" Sano gritted his teeth.
"I do not." Kenshin shook his head.
"We're going after her!" Yahiko finally spoke.
"We cannot all go after her, I have patients to attend to." Megumi put her tea down.
"Yeah and it will be to dangerous for a kid like you." Sano put his hand on Yahiko's head.
Yahiko swatted it away. "I can take care of myself!"
Yahiko jumped on Sano's head and started to bite it.
"Ouch! Hey kid that really hurt!" Sano tried to pull Yahiko off.
"Everyone will stay here, that they will." Kenshin said.
Yahiko stopped biting Sano's head.
"What?" Sano said.
"Sir Ken?" Megumi stood.
"I will go after her." Kenshin smiled at the three. "I will find her, that I will."
Megumi said nothing and Yahiko returned to pouting in the corner. Sano stared at Kenshin trying to read his facial expression.
"Keep in contact." Sano said finally.
Kenshin nodded. "I will be leaving shortly." He walked into the kitchen.
"You are going to follow him, aren't you?" Megumi looked at Sano.
"Of course, how can you think anything else?" Sano smiled.
Sano walked into the kitchen and found Kenshin was nowhere in site. "That little bugger, trying to sneak out."
Kenshin reached the edge of the forest and examined the ground. The path that led into the forest was not often taken and there were fresh footprints in the dirt. "Miss Kaoru." He said.
Sano ran through the streets with an angry expression on his face. "Why that wanderer, I'm gonna beat him into a pulp when I find him." He grabbed the nearest person to him.
"Hey," Sano started. "Have you seen a guy about yay high," he motioned the height of Kenshin with his hand. "Carries a sword and has red hair?"
The scared man pointed off and into the direction of the woods. Sano let go of him and headed in that direction.
"Thanks!" He yelled after the man.
****
Kaoru sat on a rotting log along the dirt trail. The sun was setting and beautiful golds and reds danced across the sky. She opened the small pouch she had brought and grabbed a rice ball. She slowly ate it all the while looking at the ever darkening sky.
She saw a cloud form into the shape of Kenshin's face and quickly drew her attention to the small puddle in front of her. She blinked back the tears and took a bite out of her rice ball. The rice ball Kenshin had made. She quickly put the rice ball back into the pouch.
She sighed deeply and stood up. "I will be strong." She said. She stepped in the puddle and walked off along the trail.
The water waved violently, the red of the sunset reflected in it, till it slowly settled down, revealing the red had been Kenshin's hair. Kenshin watched Kaoru walk away with a worried expression.
"Where are you going Miss Kaoru?" He repeated his earlier question. He stepped around the puddle and slowly followed her.
Sano ran off the path and took a short cut in the woods. "I'm not lost." He said. He looked around the dark forest. "I AM NOT LOST!" he yelled. The trees shook at the loud scream and several birds took flight.
****
Kaoru yawned as she walked slowly down the path. "If I walk all night." She narrated for herself. "I'll get there by day break." She started to drag her feet. She had been walking since sunrise, and she wasn't used to walking so much.
She heard a crack of thunder and gave the sky a weary glance. "Oh, I hope it doesn't rain." She hugged herself and continued to walk. She felt a single drop of water hit the tip of her nose. There was another crack of thunder and rain began to fall at an alarming speed. Kaoru just kept walking. "If I walk all night…" she paused, "In the rain, I'm going to get sick." She stopped walking and found a large tree near the edge of the path.
"That will have to do." She walked to the tree and sat under it, only a few drops of rain made it past the large branches. Kaoru still shook; her clothes were already drenched and stuck to her skin. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep as best she could.
It took all of Kenshin's will not to go to her and keep her warm. He never thought it would be so hard to just stand and watch. Why was he standing and watching, why didn't he go to her?
She must have had a very good reason to leave, and Kenshin wanted to figure out what it was. If he approached her now, she may never get to do whatever she needed to do and he was sure she wouldn't tell him. He sat under a tree himself and lightly slept, looking up now and then to see if she was all right.
****
Sano walked in the forest, immune to the rain because the branches were thick and blocked the water. "KENSHIN!" he yelled. He punched a tree in his anger, knocking it down. This revealed the sky, making rain pour down on Sano. "KAORU!" he yelled to the sky.
****
Kaoru woke to the sun hitting her eyes. She blinked and wiped her eyes. Her clothes were still soggy but were drier than before. She sighed and stood up. "If I walk all day, I'll make it by night fall." She said. She was not tired just sad. "If I run I'll make it in half the time." She started to walk along the trail.
Kenshin saw her stand and talk to herself. He smiled at hearing her voice. He got up and walked in the forest, following her.
She stopped walking and put her hand on her chin. "Run then walk it is." She said.
She then started at a fast jog down the trail. Kenshin saw her fast movement and had trouble keeping up with her and dodging the trees and bushes in the forest at the same time. He closed his eyes and increased his pace; when he opened his eyes again he was in the forest out of view, running next to her.
He saw the determined expression on her face and slowed down, as to not reveal himself.
Kaoru ran for several hours before her shins hurt so much they felt like they were about to explode. She stopped quickly and leaned her hands on her knees. Her stomach grumbled and she reached into her pouch and pulled out a rice ball. She was about to bite into it when she stopped and looked at it.
"Thank you." She said. She gobbled down the rice ball. "Thank you, Kenshin."
At hearing his name he froze. Had she spotted him? No, she was just talking to herself again. Kaoru started walking and Kenshin knew she had been talking to herself.
Sano decided if he kept walking in the same direction he would have to hit something sooner or later. He was right.
"Ouch." He rubbed his head and looked up, there was nothing there that could have hit him. "I'm going crazy." He said and continued to walk. He heard some heavy breathing up ahead and started to walk faster. "Kaoru? Kenshin?" he said.
He saw light and saw a person through the trees, he smiled. "Hey-blug" he got tackled to the ground.
"Hey," a hand covered his mouth. Sano noticed the hand belonged to Kenshin. Thank god, he wasn't lost anymore.
"Shh," Kenshin removed his hand. "That is Miss Kaoru, that it is."
"So let's go to her!" Sano pushed Kenshin off of him and stood up.
Kenshin grabbed Sano's shoulder. Sano turned around and looked at him.
"She left for a good reason." Kenshin said.
"So, she should have told us she was leaving, we could have gone too." Sano yelled.
Kenshin shook his head. "She would have asked if she wanted us to come, and if she had told us, she would have not been able to leave, that she wouldn't." Kenshin explained.
Sano said nothing. He just put his hands in his pockets and looked off to the side.
"I am following her, to see what it is she needs to do." Kenshin removed his hand from Sano's shoulder.
Sano looked at Kenshin with a sour expression. "So I guess you want to be with her."
Kenshin was never one to come right out and say how he felt. He had actually never really thought about that reason, but now that he did, it seemed the only reason to follow her.
Kenshin's silence was all that Sano needed. He nodded. "Which way, is the way home?"
Kenshin smiled and pointed down the road. "Thank you."
` "Yeah, just bring her back." Sano walked away from Kenshin and down the road home. Megumi was probably worried sick.
"I will." Kenshin whispered.
****
Kaoru saw the small town up ahead and started to power walk. It had been farther away then she had thought, it was after sunset and the only thing that lighted the night were the stars and the full moon.
She saw a large man walking through the street of the town and purposely avoided him. The large man saw this and walked towards her.
"What's a pretty lady like you doing in a place like this?" He smiled.
Kaoru kept walking.
The man whistled.
Kaoru didn't stop.
Now the man was agitated, he walked to her and put his hand on her shoulder.
Kaoru whipped around and knocked the man to the ground. Now he was angry.
"Why you little wench."
Kaoru grabbed her sword and pointed it at him. He easily grabbed her wrists with one hand and held them tight, and took the sword with his other hand. He threw the sword aside and pushed Kaoru to the ground.
"I'll teach you for your rudeness." He whispered in her ear. He started to reach down her shirt with his free hand. Kaoru tired to scream but her voice had left her.
She was going to get raped and there was no one to save her. She closed her eyes and kicked her legs, although that did no good; the man was sitting on her.
She felt the man get up and his hand leave her chest. She closed her eyes tighter and whimpered. She felt him let go of her hands and she covered her face with them.
Kenshin ripped that man off of her so fast, that he got whip lash. The man looked around for a second trying to comprehend what had happened. Kenshin didn't give him the time. He unsheathed his reverse blade sword and hit the man between the eyes, knocking him out cold.
Kaoru curled around on the dirt ground and started to crawl in the opposite direction the man had been pulled. She whimpered and silent tears were running down her cheeks.
Kenshin returned the sword to its sheath and saw Kaoru crawling away. He had to go to her.
Kaoru felt something touch her shoulder. She screamed grabbed the man's arm and flipped him over onto his back.
"Miss Kaoru!" Kenshin yelled before she started to punch him.
She stopped her punch in mid-air and looked at him quizzically. Her expression softened and she hugged him. Kenshin sat up and he wrapped his hands around her back.
"I thought you were that man!" She cried into his shirt. "I thought I was going to be raped!"
"It's okay now, Miss Kaoru." Kenshin put his hand in her hair. Kaoru picked her head up from his shirt and looked at the man behind her.
"You," she said. "You followed me?" she was glad he did.
"Sorry." Kenshin stood, pulling her up with him.
She looked into his blue eyes. "Why did you follow me?"
"To protect you Miss Kaoru." He still held her.
Her eyes started to water and she held him tighter. Kenshin was slightly surprised at her movement. He thought she was going to hit him.
"Thank you, Kenshin." She whispered into his ear.
Kenshin smiled. "Why did you leave?"
She let go of him and stood alone. "I had a dream."
"What was it about?" he asked.
Her cheeks started to blush. "In the dream, I left the dojo and came to this small town. Shinda." She motioned to the buildings around her.
Kenshin nodded.
"And…" she turned her head and looked away from him. "When I arrived you came and…" she blushed a deeper red.
"What is it Miss Kaoru?" Kenshin edged her on.
"And." She looked at him.
Kenshin saw something spark in her eyes and he knew what she was going to say, he knew what she had dreamed. And it was all about to come true.
"You." She tried to finish but was cut off when Kenshin gently put his arms around her and kissed her firmly but sweetly on the lips. She was surprised at first but quickly leaned into the kiss.
He broke away from the kiss and looked into her eyes.
"Kenshin, my dream…in my dream…" you said you loved me. Kaoru just couldn't get it out. And we lived the rest of our lives together.
"Shh." Kenshin put his finger to her lips. He knew what she was going to say. He removed his finger and kissed her longer and more passionately. Kaoru melted into his arms.
This time when he pulled away he leaned in and whispered in her ear. "Dreams do come true, that they do."
***
Good? Or bad? Review and tell me what you think. And remember I do not own these characters. That I don't.