CHAPTER 18- EMPTY GRAVES

It has been almost 10 years since Hotaru's last battles in the Bakumatsu era. A young woman now, she lives quietly in the countryside where only the children and animals tend to her loneliness

The quiet of one morning was shattered by the excited shouts of racing children.

"HOTARU! COME OUT HOTARU!!"

"WHERE ARE YOU, NEECHAN??"

The pack of kimono-wearing children rushed up the small incline to the house and pretty much smashed open the front door. "HOTARU!!"

There she sat, in the quiet solitude of her parlor, a well-grown Ami purring at her side and cloth and needle in hand. But the sudden entry of those kids caused her to prick her finger with shock. "Ack! Um, hello children. What's the matter?"

Normally, they didn't come until after lunch and would pull her out to play until the sun set. It was a daily routine that had gone on for years.

Little Hideaki finished catching his breath. "Nee-tan! You have a vititor!"

"A visitor?"

Akino continued on. "Yes, in the city. My father said he asked for you."

This caught the young woman's interest. "Oh? What did he look like?"

"He's got red hair!" Seinosuke declared.

"Yeah! And a cross-scar!" Machi added.

"A cross-scar and red hair?" Just then, it registered in Hotaru's memory. She smiled a huge smile. "Himura...!"

............................

A short time later, Hotaru pulled up her colt Tori within the familiar surroundings of Kyoto. For a moment, she stopped to wipe the sweat from her brow. "Tori-kun, you are such a handful." Perhaps Sora, his mother, had been like that as a filly. No matter though.

Sliding down from the saddle and tying the horse to a post, she proceeded down the road. The spring breeze awakened senses she thought she'd buried with her warrior ways. She had no clue where her feet were taking her, but she knew it would be to her old friend.

Sure enough, as she entered an old graveyard, there he was. Red ponytail flapping in the wind, he stood with his back towards her, apparently praying over one of the smaller stones. Hotaru knew that was where Tomoe lay. Quietly, respectfully, she tiptoed down the path towards him.

Sensing her presence, he turned and faced her. His face lit up in a cheerful grin. "Ah! Hotaru-dono! It is good to finally see you again!"

Hotaru couldn't believe how much his face had changed over the years. What had happened to the dark, amber-eyed warrior she had known? How could he have switched over to this bright, purple-eyed, young man?

Still, she smiled and bowed slightly. "It's been a long time, Kenshin."

Kenshin. That name, though she had remembered to call him that upon their reunion, seemed so foreign to her.

A short while later, the former comrades were sitting on a log near a small creek, catching up with long conversations. Actually, it wasn't the length of their speeches that took up the time. It was the long periods of silence in between as they recollected some scattered memories.

"Kenshin, this was my first time here in the cemetery." Hotaru brought up softly. "How often have you come here to see Tomoe-san?"

Kenshin was quiet for a moment. "I assume not enough times. But over the past years, I've come twice or maybe three times."

"Did you happen upon the graves of the Katsura family?"

She was of course referring to Katsura Kogoro, their old leader, as well as Tokaji.

"Kogoro's grave is a large, well-marked piece close to the center of the graveyard." The rurouni replied, gazing at the gently flowing water before them. A school of minnow happened by, bringing ripples across his reflection.

"And Tokaji's?"

Kenshin shook his head. "No, there are no records of him here." He glanced over at her. "You were sure that he had been killed on that day, five years ago?"

Hotaru nodded, a deep sadness welling up into her expression. "Yes, I was certain. Otherwise, he would have come back to me."

As she began to cry, Kenshin placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don't cry, Hotaru-dono. Perhaps hope still shines for you somewhere. You shall see."

After a pleasing dinner at the nearby Shirobeko, Kenshin and Hotaru said their goodbyes and parted ways. The rurouni promised he'd return the following year to visit, but in the meantime, the lonely roads of the new Japan called for him.

Hotaru watched silently as she watched him leave. 'Himura Kenshin, you traded your bloody katana, a sword that takes lives, for a sakabatou.' She smiled thoughtfully. "But until my selfish desire is fulfilled, only a piece of me can follow your footsteps."