Author's Notes: Back for chapter eleven, eh? I haven't even posted chapter
ten yet! Anywho, I hope you like that one and I hope you'll like this one!
I'm not sure if this is the last chapter yet, because I haven't actually
written it yet. So enjoy it if it is....and enjoy it if it isn't, hehe!
Back to answer what you all were confused about, who died? Well, no one died..... the grave was for a bird, which insinuated was there, but was only added in to see if I could confuse you into thinking Kaoru died...even if it was only for a brief moment, eh heh heh! I'm so evil sometimes!
Title: The Scholar and the Princess
Author: KaBunny
E-mail: Alexandra_Miyoko@yahoo.com
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimers: IDNORK and I also do not own the song that is in here. It actually belongs to whoever wrote it, which is a mystery to me. It's a SM song if anyone wonders.
Chapter Eleven: Time to Wander
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I've waited all of my life
For the day when love appears
Like a fairy tale in days gone by
He will rescue me from my fears
And now, I feel him standing next to me
And how can I tell him what he means to me?
My heart stands still
Has he come?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kaoru's eyes fluttered open as she felt someone sit next to her and they set upon a blurry face. She reached up, rubbed her eyes, and set them on Kenshin again. A smile spread across her pretty face as he reached a hand up and gently touched her cheek. "Hi," was all she could think to say as her heart stopped for a brief moment at his touch.
"Hi," he said back. His manners were gone and suddenly, Kaoru realized that she was seeing Kenshin for Kenshin and not just his manners. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm all right," she responded, using her arms to push herself up into a sitting position. "How are you?"
"I'm fine," he answered, a smile spreading across his face as her took her hand in his. "Why did you do that?"
"He was going to kill you if I didn't do something," she stated, glancing down at their hands. She felt her heart skip a beat as she looked back up at him again. "I couldn't let him kill you."
He brushed her bangs lightly with his free hand and a smile creased his face again at their softness. He then ran his fingers through her long dark hair which, for once, was not up in its traditional ponytail. "I never want you to do that again, Kaoru," he said, looking into her dark blue eyes. "I thought I had lost you."
"I'm afraid that will never happen," she teased, giggling. "You can't get rid of me anymore!"
"That's a good thing," he replied, giving a small laugh. He gently stroked the top of her hand with his thumb as he leaned in closer to her.
His face was inches from hers and he stared into her blue eyes, as if searching for something in their depths. She stared back at his lavendar orbs, confused. "Is something wrong Kenshin?" she questioned, unsure of something... something that she couldn't quite put her finger on.
"I'm... I'm in love with you, Kaoru Kamiya," he muttered, giving her hand a small squeeze.
She could feel her face turn red as Kenshin leaned in and gave her a small kiss. She felt her eyes widen and her heart skip another beat before picking up pace.
She then heard someone calling her name, but faintly. She watched as Kenshin pulled away. It looked as though he said her name, but it was a female voice that came out.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Oh, starry night
Is this the moment I dream of?
Oh, starry night
Tell me is he my own true love?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Kenshin," the sleeping Kaoru whispered, Megumi giving her a small shake as a giggle escaped her mouth.
"Kaoru," she muttered, again. "If you don't wake up you'll miss seeing the real Kenshin. He's on his way here right now."
"Huh?" she murmured, sleepily. "What? What happened?"
Megumi rolled her eyes again. "It's about time you woke up sleeping beauty. Kenshin is on his way to see you," she replied, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "Instead of dreaming about him, I thought you might actually want to talk with him. You know, Kenshin....the REAL one." Megumi giggled again.
"Oh," she said, feeling her face turn red. She pulled the sheets up to cover her face partially as Kenshin stepped into the room. She was hiding her blush, not just from Megumi, but from Kenshin also.
"How are you feeling, Miss Kaoru?" he questioned, taking the seat by the bed that Megumi had set up.
Kaoru glanced at Megumi, who was still sitting on the edge of the bed. She smiled at the young girl before getting up. "I have to go get some more tape from the medical closet. If Aoshi wakes up, please inform me," Megumi replied, leaving the room.
'Thanks Megumi,' Kaoru thought, the sheet still covering her face.
"Miss Kaoru?" Kenshin inquired, confused as to why she hadn't answered him yet. He also couldn't figure out why she had the sheet covering her face.
"Sorry, Mr. Himura," she muttered, looking up at him. Her dark orbs caused Kenshin's heart to skip a beat. "I was distracted. I'm feeling just fine, thank you."
"That's good to hear," he said, smiling at her. "When will you arm fully heal?"
"Miss Megumi said that it should heal in about a month, but until then I should keep the cast on," Kaoru explained, finally pulling the sheet down and tucking it under her arms. Her lower right arm was in a cast that extended to her hand. "Had you not deflected Aoshi sword, I would most likely be dead. I may have gotten a broken arm from it, but I am grateful to you."
"I got you invovled in the first place, so no thanks is required," Kenshin murmured, and for the first time since Kaoru met him, he was looking embarrassed.
"No, I was already involved," she replied, shaking her head. "Aoshi planned to marry me from the start, remember?"
"That is true," he answered, looking down at his hands.
Silence encompassed the two as neither had any idea what to say to the other. Kaoru wanted to tell Kenshin how she felt, but didn't have the words for it. Kenshin was thinking about how to tell Kaoru that he would be leaving in a week. He knew that she wouldn't want him to go, but this was no place for him. Besides, he always had these strange feelings around her that he couldn't explain or control. They scared him. Emotions that he couldn't control always did because what would the world be like if he couldn't control his anger?
Kenshin's eyes flicked to Aoshi's bed as he saw movement. He tapped Kaoru's shoulder lightly and when she looked at him, he pointed to Aoshi's bed. Kaoru glanced over at his bed and her eyes widened. She leaned away from Aoshi's bed instinctively in fear.
The man sat up abruptly, his hair slightly mussed from sleeping for the past four days straight. His bare chest had a large bandage to cover the large bruise that Kenshin had made with his reverse blade sword after throwing the other sword he had been using, hilt first, to knock Aoshi's sword out of his hand. It had been Aoshi's hilt that had broken Kaoru's arm.
He glanced about the room confused and his eyes set upon Kenshin's before moving over to Kaoru's, the confused look still on his face. "Where am I?" he questioned, unsure of his voice.
"The medical wing," Kaoru answered, not sure what was happening, but not trusting Kenshin to speak to Aoshi.
"This, uh... may sound stupid, but who am I?" he asked, glancing about the room as if it had a new light.
Kaoru held in her laughter as she arched her brow and turned to Kenshin who looked quite startled. "That's some hit you got there, Mr. Himura," she said, a small smile on her face. "Go get Miss Megumi. I believe I'll be safe here."
Kenshin got up and left the room as Kaoru ordered. He left to search for the doctor. "What am I doing here?" he inquired, not bothering to wait for the answer to the first question.
"Your name is Aoshi Shinomori, and you're in the medical wing of Crysta Castle because you were seriously injured. We did not know until this moment that you would wake up with amnesia," Kaoru explained, smiling at Aoshi kindly. He was expressing emotion that she had never known him to possess.
"Oh," he muttered, finally setting his eyes on her. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"
"My name is Princess Kaoru Kamiya.....I am the daughter of the king of this castle," she replied, giving a small giggle as she leaned completely back onto her bed. "I'm here because I was hurt in the same battle as you. I got my arm broken from you."
She held up her casted arm to show him, but then she did something unexpected to him and herself, she held her hand out for him to shake. "This is awkward for me, but I'm sure that it won't be for you," she said, looking up at him again. Aoshi took her hand in his and shook it gently. "Nice to meet you... again."
"I'm sorry about that, but I don't even remember doing it," he answered, putting his hand on his head as if he was getting a headache.
"Mr. Shinomori, I advise you to lay back down," Megumi said from the doorway. She stepped into the room and walked over to Aoshi's bed briskly. "It's a miracle that you're even awake right now. You weren't suppose to wake up for another few days and this has been enough stress on you."
"Hurricane Megumi strikes again!" Kaoru said, giggling.
Aoshi also let loose a laugh that the new occupant in the doorway caught. Misao felt a smile tug at her face as she heard it. "Um, sorry to interupt the happy family scene, but has anyone seen my brother?" she questioned, the small smile still on her face.
Kaoru glanced around before looking at Megumi. "He was here until I sent him to get Miss Megumi," she said, turning to Misao.
"He said he was going off to see the king," Megumi responded, rolling her eyes at Kaoru.
"Thank you!" Misao replied, before running out of the room.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Every night I think of him
Here in my lonely room
Waiting for my prince to come
Wondering if he'll be here soon
And I sit patiently waiting for someone
And I hope that his heart longs for mine
He calls my name
Is he the one?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kaoru glanced at her reflection in the mirror as she picked up her hair brush. Her light blue nightgown was quite slimming and beautiful on her. It went lovely with her pale complexion and her dark blue eyes. The material was light, fit for the summer weather that had been occuring lately. It was off the shoulders and seemed to have an elastic in the top loop that wrapped around her arms and back. The sleeves were short and had small elastics that caused the material to wrap snuggly around her arms. A small dark blue bow was in the front and the rest of the gown went loosely to her ankles, flaring out as it went down.
Her hair was down as it was night time and she was alone in her room. She brushed her hair slowly and gracefully despite the cast still on her right arm. Yesterday, Megumi had finally let Kaoru out of the hospital and it had been a week since Aoshi had woken up. He and Kaoru had become quite good friends, making fun of Megumi and laughing at the stories that Kaoru told him of herself. He had even come to notice her feelings for Kenshin, again, as quickly as Megumi had noticed them.
He had changed completely, but it was only because he had lost his memory. Thanks to Kenshin's rather hard swing of the sword, Aoshi's head had hit that wall hard and fast. Megumi said that he would remember, but she didn't know when. Amnesia left when it wanted to and that could take weeks, months, or even years. Something would eventually be triggered and he would remember. Kaoru was planning on getting as much time as possible with Aoshi before he turned back into the old one, if he ever did.
Kaoru set the brush down as her mind wandered to Kenshin. It always seemed to wander to him whenever she was sitting alone anywhere. Most people would see her with that silly lovesick grin on her face and leave her alone. Yahiko asked if she was sick everytime he saw it and she always got him with a nice, hard whap after it.
She sighed as she stood up and wandered out onto her balcony to stare up at the stars. Her gown blew slightly in the summer breeze that felt quite good on her face. She leaned against the railing and cast her head upward to the shining dots in the sky. She placed a hand on her heart, tentatively, and sighed again.
"Miss Kaoru?" she heard from below.
She glanced down and her eyes widened. "Kenshin," she muttered, covering her mouth as soon as it slipped out. She then blushed as she realized that he hadn't heard her.
"Are you busy? I wish to discuss something with you," he said, looking up at her.
"Y-yeah... I mean, okay... I-I'm not busy at all. Come right up," she replied, looking down at him from over the balcony railing. She watched as he walked inside before glancing up at the stars again.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Oh, starry night
Is the the moment I dream of?
Oh, starry night
Tell me is he my own true love?
Oh, starry night
Is he the one that I dream of?
Oh, starry night
How will I know?
Will his love show?
Is he my own true love?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kaoru was still out on the balcony when she heard a light knock on her door. She glanced back as she saw Kenshin walking out to her. He was dressed in gi, as usual, but this time the top was a magenta color while the bottoms were white. He had his reverse blade at his hip and his arms were hanging inside his gi top.
"Good evening, Miss Kaoru," he said, shyly, from the doorway.
She had one hand on the balcony rail and she was turned back to him. Her gown and hair were blowing slightly in the wind and with the added effect of moonlight, Kenshin could feel his face burn. His heart skipped a couple of beats as it picked up in speed.
"Good evening, Mr. Himura," she replied, turning back to lean on the railing just like she had been when he first saw her and felt his breath catch in his throat, as it had when he first saw her that evening.
He walked over and stood beside her in a similar manner after puting his hands back into his gi's sleeves. He looked at her before glancing up at the stars like she was doing. They sighed at exactly the same time and Kaoru turned to Kenshin, a small giggle escaping her throat.
"What is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" she asked, leaning her head in her hand. It propped up quite easily because it was her casted arm. She made sure that her head did not lean it's full weight onto the cast as she would have a funny mark of her face if she did.
"I'm leaving tomorrow morning," he answered, not looking at her. His face was still turned to watch the stars.
"You know what I'll say," she responded, her face visibly sinking from the happy one she had on a few moments ago.
"Is there any reason that you can think of that has need of me here?" he questioned, standing up straight and looking down at her as she did the same, her hands dropping to her sides and his returning to their place inside of his gi.
She had so much to say to him, but all that came out was one word, "No."
Kenshin nodded as he turned away from her. He made his way to the doorway of the balcony and sighed as he set his hand on the frame.
"Kenshin?" she called after him.
"Yes, Kaoru?" he asked, not turning around. She moved up behind him and wrapped her arms around his chest as she hugged him from behind. Her tears were falling silently and she was sure that if he saw them, he wouldn't leave.
"I'll miss you," she answered, closing her eyes as she wished the world away. It was time to grow up and stop being a selfish child. If Kenshin wanted to go, then let him. Who was she to stop him?
"I'll miss you too," he responded, pulling out of her arms as he made his way to her bedroom door. "Good-bye, Miss Kaoru," he whispered, before stepping out the door.
"He's not my true love, and I can't be selfish," she muttered to the empty room. Her tears betrayed her true feelings.
She wiped them away as she looked at the closed door one last time before laying down in bed. She blew the candle out and rolled over for a restless night of sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, you'll be happy to know that is NOT the last chapter! Well, at least I think you'll be happy to know that.......So please don't kill me! I knew you would if I said it was the last chapter. I'm thinking of writing a sequel.....you know, for the Misao/Aoshi relationship...I dunno. I'm not very good at writing emotionless people. But, Aoshi is brainwashed for the moment because he has amnesia! Anywho, I hope that chapter met some of your expectations. And give me your ideas on the sequel....if I decide to write one that is. =)
Stay Tuned for Chapter Twelve: The Stars' Answer.......The story concludes. Will Kenshin go or will he stay? What will become of the memoryless Aoshi? And Misao?
Ja ne! ~KaBunny
Back to answer what you all were confused about, who died? Well, no one died..... the grave was for a bird, which insinuated was there, but was only added in to see if I could confuse you into thinking Kaoru died...even if it was only for a brief moment, eh heh heh! I'm so evil sometimes!
Title: The Scholar and the Princess
Author: KaBunny
E-mail: Alexandra_Miyoko@yahoo.com
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimers: IDNORK and I also do not own the song that is in here. It actually belongs to whoever wrote it, which is a mystery to me. It's a SM song if anyone wonders.
Chapter Eleven: Time to Wander
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I've waited all of my life
For the day when love appears
Like a fairy tale in days gone by
He will rescue me from my fears
And now, I feel him standing next to me
And how can I tell him what he means to me?
My heart stands still
Has he come?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kaoru's eyes fluttered open as she felt someone sit next to her and they set upon a blurry face. She reached up, rubbed her eyes, and set them on Kenshin again. A smile spread across her pretty face as he reached a hand up and gently touched her cheek. "Hi," was all she could think to say as her heart stopped for a brief moment at his touch.
"Hi," he said back. His manners were gone and suddenly, Kaoru realized that she was seeing Kenshin for Kenshin and not just his manners. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm all right," she responded, using her arms to push herself up into a sitting position. "How are you?"
"I'm fine," he answered, a smile spreading across his face as her took her hand in his. "Why did you do that?"
"He was going to kill you if I didn't do something," she stated, glancing down at their hands. She felt her heart skip a beat as she looked back up at him again. "I couldn't let him kill you."
He brushed her bangs lightly with his free hand and a smile creased his face again at their softness. He then ran his fingers through her long dark hair which, for once, was not up in its traditional ponytail. "I never want you to do that again, Kaoru," he said, looking into her dark blue eyes. "I thought I had lost you."
"I'm afraid that will never happen," she teased, giggling. "You can't get rid of me anymore!"
"That's a good thing," he replied, giving a small laugh. He gently stroked the top of her hand with his thumb as he leaned in closer to her.
His face was inches from hers and he stared into her blue eyes, as if searching for something in their depths. She stared back at his lavendar orbs, confused. "Is something wrong Kenshin?" she questioned, unsure of something... something that she couldn't quite put her finger on.
"I'm... I'm in love with you, Kaoru Kamiya," he muttered, giving her hand a small squeeze.
She could feel her face turn red as Kenshin leaned in and gave her a small kiss. She felt her eyes widen and her heart skip another beat before picking up pace.
She then heard someone calling her name, but faintly. She watched as Kenshin pulled away. It looked as though he said her name, but it was a female voice that came out.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Oh, starry night
Is this the moment I dream of?
Oh, starry night
Tell me is he my own true love?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Kenshin," the sleeping Kaoru whispered, Megumi giving her a small shake as a giggle escaped her mouth.
"Kaoru," she muttered, again. "If you don't wake up you'll miss seeing the real Kenshin. He's on his way here right now."
"Huh?" she murmured, sleepily. "What? What happened?"
Megumi rolled her eyes again. "It's about time you woke up sleeping beauty. Kenshin is on his way to see you," she replied, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "Instead of dreaming about him, I thought you might actually want to talk with him. You know, Kenshin....the REAL one." Megumi giggled again.
"Oh," she said, feeling her face turn red. She pulled the sheets up to cover her face partially as Kenshin stepped into the room. She was hiding her blush, not just from Megumi, but from Kenshin also.
"How are you feeling, Miss Kaoru?" he questioned, taking the seat by the bed that Megumi had set up.
Kaoru glanced at Megumi, who was still sitting on the edge of the bed. She smiled at the young girl before getting up. "I have to go get some more tape from the medical closet. If Aoshi wakes up, please inform me," Megumi replied, leaving the room.
'Thanks Megumi,' Kaoru thought, the sheet still covering her face.
"Miss Kaoru?" Kenshin inquired, confused as to why she hadn't answered him yet. He also couldn't figure out why she had the sheet covering her face.
"Sorry, Mr. Himura," she muttered, looking up at him. Her dark orbs caused Kenshin's heart to skip a beat. "I was distracted. I'm feeling just fine, thank you."
"That's good to hear," he said, smiling at her. "When will you arm fully heal?"
"Miss Megumi said that it should heal in about a month, but until then I should keep the cast on," Kaoru explained, finally pulling the sheet down and tucking it under her arms. Her lower right arm was in a cast that extended to her hand. "Had you not deflected Aoshi sword, I would most likely be dead. I may have gotten a broken arm from it, but I am grateful to you."
"I got you invovled in the first place, so no thanks is required," Kenshin murmured, and for the first time since Kaoru met him, he was looking embarrassed.
"No, I was already involved," she replied, shaking her head. "Aoshi planned to marry me from the start, remember?"
"That is true," he answered, looking down at his hands.
Silence encompassed the two as neither had any idea what to say to the other. Kaoru wanted to tell Kenshin how she felt, but didn't have the words for it. Kenshin was thinking about how to tell Kaoru that he would be leaving in a week. He knew that she wouldn't want him to go, but this was no place for him. Besides, he always had these strange feelings around her that he couldn't explain or control. They scared him. Emotions that he couldn't control always did because what would the world be like if he couldn't control his anger?
Kenshin's eyes flicked to Aoshi's bed as he saw movement. He tapped Kaoru's shoulder lightly and when she looked at him, he pointed to Aoshi's bed. Kaoru glanced over at his bed and her eyes widened. She leaned away from Aoshi's bed instinctively in fear.
The man sat up abruptly, his hair slightly mussed from sleeping for the past four days straight. His bare chest had a large bandage to cover the large bruise that Kenshin had made with his reverse blade sword after throwing the other sword he had been using, hilt first, to knock Aoshi's sword out of his hand. It had been Aoshi's hilt that had broken Kaoru's arm.
He glanced about the room confused and his eyes set upon Kenshin's before moving over to Kaoru's, the confused look still on his face. "Where am I?" he questioned, unsure of his voice.
"The medical wing," Kaoru answered, not sure what was happening, but not trusting Kenshin to speak to Aoshi.
"This, uh... may sound stupid, but who am I?" he asked, glancing about the room as if it had a new light.
Kaoru held in her laughter as she arched her brow and turned to Kenshin who looked quite startled. "That's some hit you got there, Mr. Himura," she said, a small smile on her face. "Go get Miss Megumi. I believe I'll be safe here."
Kenshin got up and left the room as Kaoru ordered. He left to search for the doctor. "What am I doing here?" he inquired, not bothering to wait for the answer to the first question.
"Your name is Aoshi Shinomori, and you're in the medical wing of Crysta Castle because you were seriously injured. We did not know until this moment that you would wake up with amnesia," Kaoru explained, smiling at Aoshi kindly. He was expressing emotion that she had never known him to possess.
"Oh," he muttered, finally setting his eyes on her. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"
"My name is Princess Kaoru Kamiya.....I am the daughter of the king of this castle," she replied, giving a small giggle as she leaned completely back onto her bed. "I'm here because I was hurt in the same battle as you. I got my arm broken from you."
She held up her casted arm to show him, but then she did something unexpected to him and herself, she held her hand out for him to shake. "This is awkward for me, but I'm sure that it won't be for you," she said, looking up at him again. Aoshi took her hand in his and shook it gently. "Nice to meet you... again."
"I'm sorry about that, but I don't even remember doing it," he answered, putting his hand on his head as if he was getting a headache.
"Mr. Shinomori, I advise you to lay back down," Megumi said from the doorway. She stepped into the room and walked over to Aoshi's bed briskly. "It's a miracle that you're even awake right now. You weren't suppose to wake up for another few days and this has been enough stress on you."
"Hurricane Megumi strikes again!" Kaoru said, giggling.
Aoshi also let loose a laugh that the new occupant in the doorway caught. Misao felt a smile tug at her face as she heard it. "Um, sorry to interupt the happy family scene, but has anyone seen my brother?" she questioned, the small smile still on her face.
Kaoru glanced around before looking at Megumi. "He was here until I sent him to get Miss Megumi," she said, turning to Misao.
"He said he was going off to see the king," Megumi responded, rolling her eyes at Kaoru.
"Thank you!" Misao replied, before running out of the room.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Every night I think of him
Here in my lonely room
Waiting for my prince to come
Wondering if he'll be here soon
And I sit patiently waiting for someone
And I hope that his heart longs for mine
He calls my name
Is he the one?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kaoru glanced at her reflection in the mirror as she picked up her hair brush. Her light blue nightgown was quite slimming and beautiful on her. It went lovely with her pale complexion and her dark blue eyes. The material was light, fit for the summer weather that had been occuring lately. It was off the shoulders and seemed to have an elastic in the top loop that wrapped around her arms and back. The sleeves were short and had small elastics that caused the material to wrap snuggly around her arms. A small dark blue bow was in the front and the rest of the gown went loosely to her ankles, flaring out as it went down.
Her hair was down as it was night time and she was alone in her room. She brushed her hair slowly and gracefully despite the cast still on her right arm. Yesterday, Megumi had finally let Kaoru out of the hospital and it had been a week since Aoshi had woken up. He and Kaoru had become quite good friends, making fun of Megumi and laughing at the stories that Kaoru told him of herself. He had even come to notice her feelings for Kenshin, again, as quickly as Megumi had noticed them.
He had changed completely, but it was only because he had lost his memory. Thanks to Kenshin's rather hard swing of the sword, Aoshi's head had hit that wall hard and fast. Megumi said that he would remember, but she didn't know when. Amnesia left when it wanted to and that could take weeks, months, or even years. Something would eventually be triggered and he would remember. Kaoru was planning on getting as much time as possible with Aoshi before he turned back into the old one, if he ever did.
Kaoru set the brush down as her mind wandered to Kenshin. It always seemed to wander to him whenever she was sitting alone anywhere. Most people would see her with that silly lovesick grin on her face and leave her alone. Yahiko asked if she was sick everytime he saw it and she always got him with a nice, hard whap after it.
She sighed as she stood up and wandered out onto her balcony to stare up at the stars. Her gown blew slightly in the summer breeze that felt quite good on her face. She leaned against the railing and cast her head upward to the shining dots in the sky. She placed a hand on her heart, tentatively, and sighed again.
"Miss Kaoru?" she heard from below.
She glanced down and her eyes widened. "Kenshin," she muttered, covering her mouth as soon as it slipped out. She then blushed as she realized that he hadn't heard her.
"Are you busy? I wish to discuss something with you," he said, looking up at her.
"Y-yeah... I mean, okay... I-I'm not busy at all. Come right up," she replied, looking down at him from over the balcony railing. She watched as he walked inside before glancing up at the stars again.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Oh, starry night
Is the the moment I dream of?
Oh, starry night
Tell me is he my own true love?
Oh, starry night
Is he the one that I dream of?
Oh, starry night
How will I know?
Will his love show?
Is he my own true love?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kaoru was still out on the balcony when she heard a light knock on her door. She glanced back as she saw Kenshin walking out to her. He was dressed in gi, as usual, but this time the top was a magenta color while the bottoms were white. He had his reverse blade at his hip and his arms were hanging inside his gi top.
"Good evening, Miss Kaoru," he said, shyly, from the doorway.
She had one hand on the balcony rail and she was turned back to him. Her gown and hair were blowing slightly in the wind and with the added effect of moonlight, Kenshin could feel his face burn. His heart skipped a couple of beats as it picked up in speed.
"Good evening, Mr. Himura," she replied, turning back to lean on the railing just like she had been when he first saw her and felt his breath catch in his throat, as it had when he first saw her that evening.
He walked over and stood beside her in a similar manner after puting his hands back into his gi's sleeves. He looked at her before glancing up at the stars like she was doing. They sighed at exactly the same time and Kaoru turned to Kenshin, a small giggle escaping her throat.
"What is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" she asked, leaning her head in her hand. It propped up quite easily because it was her casted arm. She made sure that her head did not lean it's full weight onto the cast as she would have a funny mark of her face if she did.
"I'm leaving tomorrow morning," he answered, not looking at her. His face was still turned to watch the stars.
"You know what I'll say," she responded, her face visibly sinking from the happy one she had on a few moments ago.
"Is there any reason that you can think of that has need of me here?" he questioned, standing up straight and looking down at her as she did the same, her hands dropping to her sides and his returning to their place inside of his gi.
She had so much to say to him, but all that came out was one word, "No."
Kenshin nodded as he turned away from her. He made his way to the doorway of the balcony and sighed as he set his hand on the frame.
"Kenshin?" she called after him.
"Yes, Kaoru?" he asked, not turning around. She moved up behind him and wrapped her arms around his chest as she hugged him from behind. Her tears were falling silently and she was sure that if he saw them, he wouldn't leave.
"I'll miss you," she answered, closing her eyes as she wished the world away. It was time to grow up and stop being a selfish child. If Kenshin wanted to go, then let him. Who was she to stop him?
"I'll miss you too," he responded, pulling out of her arms as he made his way to her bedroom door. "Good-bye, Miss Kaoru," he whispered, before stepping out the door.
"He's not my true love, and I can't be selfish," she muttered to the empty room. Her tears betrayed her true feelings.
She wiped them away as she looked at the closed door one last time before laying down in bed. She blew the candle out and rolled over for a restless night of sleep.
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Well, you'll be happy to know that is NOT the last chapter! Well, at least I think you'll be happy to know that.......So please don't kill me! I knew you would if I said it was the last chapter. I'm thinking of writing a sequel.....you know, for the Misao/Aoshi relationship...I dunno. I'm not very good at writing emotionless people. But, Aoshi is brainwashed for the moment because he has amnesia! Anywho, I hope that chapter met some of your expectations. And give me your ideas on the sequel....if I decide to write one that is. =)
Stay Tuned for Chapter Twelve: The Stars' Answer.......The story concludes. Will Kenshin go or will he stay? What will become of the memoryless Aoshi? And Misao?
Ja ne! ~KaBunny