***OVA (Trust/Betrayal) SPOILERS***

A/N: Hey, minna-san! This ficlet is going to be from Tomoe's POV, and I must admit that this is a first. I don't think I did too badly, but I know with practice, I will definitely improve.

WARNING: Angst. Read at your own discretion!

Disclaimer: Not mine. Never has been. Never will be.

Rating: PG-13

POV: Tomoe

Time Period: Bakumatsu

~*~*~*~

"Sweet Rapture"

It is painful.  I will admit that, if nothing else.  Still…the sting of your cool blade in my shoulder isn't as bad as I thought it would be.  Perhaps the frozen winter air has dulled my sense of pain. Oh, but don't worry, it's not too cold.  No, the warmth of my blood is making up for the chill.

Hold on to me love
You know I can't stay long

Not much longer. I can feel myself slipping away, even as your strong arms hold me tight.  Ever since I first met you, I knew it was likely a fate such as this was likely—a fate in which I greeted my death.  After all, I was to be betraying the cruel hitokiri, Battousai.  Even if I didn't follow through with my original plans, I am suffering the consequences of my intentions.


All I wanted to say was
I love you and I'm not afraid

You're blaming yourself. Of course you would. It was your sword that spilt my blood upon the pure snowy ground.  I'd change your mind if I had the ability, but as I know such is not within my grasp, I will give you my only comfort. My love. 


Can you hear me?
Can you feel me in your arms
Holding my last breath?
Safe inside myself
Are all my thoughts of you

Akira was my first, and he still is, the object of my affections, but you…you.  You are the second man whom I have grown to love, though not as deeply as Akira, but I love you nonetheless.  My love for your is pure and devoid of fear, and to tell you would only hurt you, my Kenshin. To tell you would be to inspire so much more guilt, and so, I hold those sweet words inside and portray what I can through my eyes, though you cannot see it.  You only see my pain as I breath my last precious breaths of air, and the threads of my life unwind.

Sweet rapture and life,
It ends here tonight.

Is this how it is supposed to feel, this time, these moments? So beautiful and peaceful, death is.  My pain is ending, and my rapture is bittersweet. The bitterness of your guilt and my betrayal are the only things which mar this sweet ending to my miserable life.


I'll miss the winter
A world of fragile things
Look for me in the white forest
Hiding in a hollow tree

Look for me, Kenshin. My spirit. It will be around, always, protecting and watching you.  The supernatural will do far more than this frail earthly body could ever do for you.  I'll be watching, Kenshin, always watching.

I know you hear me,
I can taste it in your tears.
Holding my last breath
Safe inside myself

Are all my thoughts of you.

Your eyes…I know…you know what I'm thinking. I can see your thoughts through those windows to your very soul.  You know how much I care, Ken--…are…are those? They are. You're crying for me, for this. Those salty droplets are few, but present.  Imagine, the heartless Battousai is crying for a woman who betrayed him.  I would have thought it ironic when I only knew you by the legends, but now I see that I should have expected such from you.  I'll take this secret to the grave.

Sweet rapture and life,
It ends here tonight.

I'm so sorry, Kenshin.

Closing your eyes
You pray your dreams will leave you here,
But still you wake and know the truth -
No one's there.

Now you're closing your eyes.  Are you ashamed, or simply running from the truth?  Oh, Kenshin.  When you open your eyes, I will be gone.  Nothing can change that, nothing can keep you from being alone and without actual human company, but I will be here. I will be in the shadows, watching you, as long as you keep my memory alive.  I know you will, because this cut which I give you will remind you always.  Let the cool steel be a reminder of this one you lost, and let it remind you that she is always there.

Say goodnight, don't be afraid
Calling me, holding me, as you fade to black.

My body is going limp.  I can't even hold the dagger anymore.  I can hear it hit the snow, followed closely by my hand.  You whisper my name as your eyes open in realization.  You wish to say something more in these last seconds, but you don't. You don't.  You only hold me, knowing that your image is slowly disappearing from my sight, fading to darkness.  Don't fear for me, Kenshin.  I'll be alright.

(Say goodnight) Holding my last breath
(Don't be afraid) Safe inside myself
(Holding me) Are my thoughts of you

My last breath is more exhilarating than any I've ever taken in my life.


Sweet rapture and life,
It ends here tonight.

And so it ends.

The curtains are drawn over the stage of my life.
~*~*~*~

A/N: Yeah, I know, I know. Not too Tomoe-like, but I'm learning. ^_^ Also, I do know that there are run-on sentences scattered in this ficlet, but they are there on purpose, for the flow that I was trying to achieve. Thanks for reading!

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Muse

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