Chapter 1
*
Promises and Swears
*
Disclaimer: you should see my bio for that, that you should
*
AN: there are HUGE and very sad spoilers from the 1st and 2nd OVA. So, if you don't like spoilers (especially sad ones) I suggest you don't read it. Unless you want to see what happens after WOS or you don't mind spoilers, both is good too, of course. Thank you SO much to all my reviewers from Waiting Out the Seasons. You really encouraged and inspired me, thanks again, Minna-San. And a special thanks to Rurouni Kaoru, Kenshin's Love for reviewing to EVERY chapter when she didn't have to and to Lexie-Chan for those great suggestions for chapter 9. Without you two, the story would have rotted away along with my brain. ^_^ Also thanks to my muses Vera-Sama and unspoiledrini, you always help whether you realize it or not. Oh, and sorry for putting both fics in one package, but it seemed easier than starting another fic...if that makes any sense
List of ages because I'm nice and did the evil math for you. ~_^
Kaoru: 23~35
Kenshin: 34~46
Kenji: 3~15
Sano: 25~37
Aki: 26~38
Their daughter (you don't get her name until the end of the first scene): 6~18
Misao: 22~34
Katsu: 26~38
Yahiko: 16~28
Suzuka: 34~46
Aoshi: 32~44
~thanks again for being patient, now here's the sequel ^_^
Scene: I tried to word this in narration, but I couldn't figure out how. So, in between chappie 9 and here, Suzuka and Aoshi have decided they're going to stay in Kyoto, Kenshin and Kaoru have gotten married, and Kenshin was called off to China. There you're caught up.
*
"Kaa-San," a small voice called, getting Aki's attention. "Why do we have to leave?"
She bent down and picked up the tiny black-haired girl. "I know you don't want to," she said, stroking her hair. "I promise we'll come back."
"Aki-Chan, please don't go," Kaoru pleaded, her red-haired son on her hip.
Aki handed Sano their daughter, and took her friend in a hug, crying on her shoulder. Kaoru bowed her head and did the same.
The girl looked from her father's shoulder to the small boy, now standing next to his mother. "Ja...Kenji-Kun," she said with a weak wave.
Kenji just blinked and hid his face in Kaoru's kimono.
Aki pulled back and wiped away tears. "Sayonara, Kaoru-Chan."
"Iie," her brown-eyed friend said, shaking her head. "Ja, Aki-Chan," she corrected, managing a smile.
"Misao, do you have everything ready?" Sano asked as the young woman walked out of the dojo.
"Eh," she said with a nod, setting suitcases on the ground. "Ja," the ninja said to Kaoru, also pulling her into an embrace. She even bent down and patted Kenji's head with a smile.
By, now Aki and Sano's daughter had begun to tear up, herself. Sano set her down and she ran for Kaoru. "Oba-San!!" she said, clinging to her legs.
Sano nodded and took Aki's hand. "I have one more thing to get before we meet Katsu." He smiled, let go of his wife's hand, and walked into the dojo for the last time.
As he walked in, Yahiko walked out. "You don't think I was going to let you get off without a goodbye, do you?"
Sano ruffled his hair. "Bye, kid," he said, walking the rest of the way in.
Yahiko shook his head and walked out to the departing group. Aki walked up and put a hand on his head. He knew what she was going to say, even after all these years that he had grown and matured, she was going to say the same thing she always did. But he let her. She was going to say—"Ja, Yahiko-Kun." He blinked. She wasn't going to say that!
"You've grown up," she said with a sad smile.
"Ja, Aki-San, thanks."
"Why do you have to go?" Kenji asked, still clinging to his mother. The youngest member of the Sagara family was born two months premature, so even though she was three years older than the boy, she about his size. She had mostly stayed in the dojo, being a little assistant for her mother, so she and Kenji were as close as siblings. "I don't want you to go," he said, taking her small hand in his.
The girl looked up from Kaoru to Kenji. "I'll come back," she promised. "I promise."
"Tou-San and Itoko-San have already left, you can't go!"
"Kenji," Kaoru said, putting a hand on her son's shoulder.
Aki walked over and bent down. "Kenji-San, when we get to China, I'll write whatever she tells me. And when it gets here, Kaoru-Chan can read it to you. So you can talk to her all you want. Would that be alright?"
Kenji looked around, trying to think that out. He finally looked back to Aki and nodded.
Sano walked back out with his zan-batou balanced on one shoulder. "Kenji," he said, ruffling the small boy's hair to get his attention. "Take care of Jou-Chan. Maybe even give her some cooking lessons," he said with a laugh, even though a tear soon rolled down his cheek.
He turned to Kaoru and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll personally make sure he comes back to you. I swear it. Ja, Kaoru."
His daughter gave Kaoru one more hug, reassured Kenji she'd come back, and took her mother's hand.
Kaoru smiled at her friends. "You'll always have a place here," she said. "Ja ne."
The group at the door said their last goodbyes and walked out of the entrance.
After they left, Kenji let go of his mother and ran after them. There was something that was just really eating at him.
"Souzouko-Chan!!"
The little girl turned at the call of her name.
The boy ran up and took her in one last hug. "Ja ne," he said. "I'll wait for you."
The wind picked up and Kenshin looked out at the coast of the Sea of Japan in China. He hoped his job there was over soon, he really wanted to get back to his family.
He smiled as the wind blew his hair. At least everyone was in a stable condition before he left. Yahiko wasn't a scornful pickpocket anymore and was maturing into a great young man. Sano had quit fighting for hire and had actually taken to helping Aki with her work instead of sitting at home. Aki had apparently inherited Captain Sagara's stability and wisdom Sano had gone on about. Misao was beginning to learn how to control her temper. Suzuka and Aoshi were happily settled down in Kyoto and were expecting from the last time he had heard. And Kaoru...
He couldn't help but laugh at that one. Kaoru-Dono had never changed, but that was one of the things he loved about her. "I'll come back, Kaoru- Dono, I promise."
"Kenshin-San?" a familiar voice asked from behind.
"Aki-Dono? What are you doing here, de gozaru ka?"
"I got a huge offer from a rich Chinese family that wanted me to be their family doctor. So, I figured, it would be the best for Souzouko-Chan and Sano if we took it. Katsu knows Chinese so he's willing to play translator and Misao wanted to help out, too."
Kenshin smiled and nodded. "I understand."
"Kenji...looks exactly like you, Kenshin-San. You can't tell the difference. He has your character, too. He almost didn't let Souzouko leave. Especially after you and Suzuka-San left the dojo."
The samurai put a hand on his forehead. "I never wanted to leave. In fact, I regret it more everyday," he admitted, a tear rolling down his cheek.
Aki hung her head. "You'll go back, Kenshin-San, you will."
*
The next day, Sano walked out of the inn everyone was rooming in. Katsu and Aki were off to talk to the Wang family and Misao volunteered to watch over Souzouko. He sighed as the wind washed over the ground, making the grass ripple. He walked until he found a high cliff overlooking the coast leading to the Sea of Japan.
For a few hours, he just sat there, thinking of what had happened in the last six years.
"It's ironic, isn't it?" Aki's voice asked behind him.
"What?" he asked as she sat next to him.
"That a place so beautiful can cause so much trouble for the people we left behind."
"Yeah, it IS an irony of its own."
"The Wang family said they'd find someone to build us two Japanese dojos. One for a clinic and one for a living quarters."
He turned to her. For a while now, there had been something he had been thinking about and now he had finally decided on it. It had just taken him until now to ask her.
She blinked in surprise as he picked her up and set her in his lap. "I want another one," he said, drawing her close.
"Another dojo?"
"Maybe this one will look like Captain Sagara, too, but it'll be a boy," he wondered, running fingers through her hair. "Or maybe it'll be another little girl and look like your mother."
She shook her head and wrapped her arms around him. "Who's to say it won't look like you? You know, Souzouko doesn't look EXACTLY like me, she has your eyes."
"Oh, come on, Aki, let's face it, I'm not the prettiest guy in the world."
Aki sighed and shook her head again. She pulled back and looked straight into his eyes. "If I thought you were ugly, I wouldn't have married you, baka."
"There was something else on my mind," he admitted.
"What is it?"
"Before you showed up again...I met this girl named Sayo." He looked up to see what her reaction would be. She was Aki, after all, she knew what was coming next. To his relief, she was listening patiently. Good. She wasn't the jealous type. He mentally laughed at that. She was Aki, after all.
"She was really nice. Kinda reminded me of you. She had converted to Christianity before we met. The only thing was...she came down with tuberculosis. She would have died anyway, but...she ran in front of a bullet to save someone and..." He really couldn't think of a way to put the last few words, but Aki got the picture.
"And? Don't stop now, you got me interested."
"And...if she had lived...I probably would have converted with her."
Aki smiled. "There's something I forgot to tell you that's something like that. My mother was a convert. She said I could have a choice of whether I wanted to be Buddhist like Tou-San or be Christian like her. I never really thought about it. But now that I have support, I think I know which one I want to be now," she explained with a warm smile.
*
The wind picked up again as Suzuka walked into a small building next to the Aoi-Ya. "Kaoru-Chan says Aki, Sano, Misao and Souzouko-Chan left the dojo two weeks ago to go to China. Itoko-Chan says he made it to China safely two months ago and he wishes us well."
Aoshi sighed. "So Kaoru is left to raise Kenji on her own?"
"She has Yahiko there to help her, but besides that, yes."
He nodded and went back to work. "The gods be with her..."
~12 years later~
"Aki," Sano said walking in one night. "I need you to see something."
"What's the matter?" Katsu asked.
"It's...it's Kenshin. I don't think he can last enough to get to Tokyo. I have his ticket, but...it's that disease."
Aki nodded. "I can't do much, but I can at least make sure he's well enough to get back to Kaoru."
"Sano, why do you have a tiger skin around your neck?" Misao asked with a blink.
"That shack at the coast is so far away from the city, Kenshin needed to closest food and the best he could get," Sano explained.
"I'm coming with you," Souzouko said standing up.
Aki shook her head as she stood up to face her daughter. "This is almost too much for me to handle, seeing Kenshin in the condition he's in. Hitokiri or rurouni, he was always strong in character and health. He's a complete shadow of what he used to be."
Souzouko met her mother's stare with one of her own. Even though, she had grown to be a strong young woman, those two months had still stunted her growth. But she didn't care if her mother was a few heads taller than her, this was important! "But I at least want to see Ojii-San once before...! Before..."
Aki nodded and walked out the door with Sano.
After Aki had nursed him back to enough health to walk, she, Sano, and Kenshin stood at the pier in front of a boat. "Kenshin, you get home to Jou-Chan and Kenji. If nothing else, at least do that," Sano said, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Put that herb in your tea before you get there," Aki reminded him.
Kenshin nodded. "D-domo...Aki...Dono." He said looking at her with a small smile.
"Donashitemashite," she said with a smile. Even though the medicine she had given him gave him strength his muscles, it couldn't do anything for what the disease had done to his lungs. It must've taken all he had just to say thank you.
"Aki, you have some mail," Katsu said, coming in a few months later, handing her an envelope.
"It's from Megumi-San," Aki said with a blink, opening the letter.
"What does it say?" Misao asked, leaning in.
"It says Kenshin made it home, but died shortly after...then after he died, Kaoru's own illness took a turn for the worst and...all it says after that is Megumi couldn't do anything."
Misao hung her head.
"Oh, you have some mail, too, Misao-San," Katsu said, handing her another envelope.
"Minna-San," Souzouko said, running in. "I have five tickets to Japan, we can go home like we always said we would!"
"Should we tell her?" Misao asked under her breath.
Aki looked to Sano and shook her head. "Let Kenji tell her," she said to Misao.
"Sorry, Souzouko-Chan," Sano said, putting a hand on her head sympathetically. "Your mother and I can't come with you."
"Eh?" she asked. "Why?"
"We have some unfinished business," Aki explained. Upon seeing a confused look she added, "We'll come to Japan, but it can't be now, but you can go."
Souzouko nodded.
"I'll come with you," Misao said standing up, holding the open letter in her hand. "But I can only stop in Tokyo to drop you off. A friend of mine is on his deathbed in Kyoto and I need to get there as fast as I can. I'm sorry."
"I understand, Misao-San," Souzouko said with a sympathetic nod.
"I'll come to make sure you get there safely," Katsu said, handing Souzouko one last letter.
She smiled and took the envelope. In his last letter, Kenji said he was going to fight Yahiko in Kyoto for the saka-batou. The return address said that he was now in Tokyo. That was good. She opened the letter expecting a three page explanation of the fight, but it was a very small piece of paper that read nothing but "Lost".
"Souzouko," Aki said a few days later while everyone had gotten their things together and were saying their goodbyes at the door. "I have something that should belong to you now," she said, walking into her room and coming out with a covered sword, a long, dark blue kimono and a bright red headband.
Souzouko looked at her mother expecting an explanation. "The kimono, my mother gave me before she passed away. The sword and the headband were my father's."
Her daughter nodded, wrapped the headband over her forehead, and cradled the sword and kimono in her arms. She smiled and took her mother in a one- armed hug. "Arigatou."
"Come on, Souzou-Chan," Katsu called, taking his goddaughter by the shoulder. She looked at him. So that's why he called her by that name.
"Ja!"
*
Kenji stood in the middle of the Kamiya dojo, trying to figure out what had gone wrong in his fight with Yahiko. The Hiten-Mitsurugi couldn't have lost to the Kamiya-Kasshin! He retraced his and Yahiko's steps with the saka-batou. Then realized why it didn't work. The saka-batou WAS a lot duller than the katana, but this was the original one from the stories he had heard, growing up.
All of sudden, while retracing training steps, his step slacked. Why was he slowing down? There was something nagging at him, something he couldn't explain...it was in the back of the dojo's ground. In fact, there were two of them, side by side. He dropped his sword as hard reality sunk in.
Souzouko walked down the path of sakura trees until she found a familiar old building. This was it! After waiting twelve long years! "Kenji-Kun!" she called after setting her things at the front of the dojo. "Kenji-Kun?" she asked after there was no answer. She walked through the dojo until she found the classroom.
"Kenji-Kun! What's the matter?!" she asked, rushing over to her friend who was now huddled in a crouching position on the floor.
Kenji slowly looked up at her with a horrified expression. He hung his head again and slowly wrapped his arms around her neck so his head was on her shoulder. "They're gone," he said weakly. "They're both gone."
Souzouko her hung head, too, and drew him close. "I didn't really hate him," he admitted, his shoulders starting to shake. "I only said that because I thought it would make him come back..."
She sat there, not knowing what to say. She figured the only thing she could do right then was just sit there with him. "The worst thing is, now that he's gone, I can't apologize for hating him."
He tightened his grip on her and buried his face even more. "You won't leave me too, will you?"
She blinked away tears and shook her head. "I won't leave you again, Kenji- Kun, I swear."
~
AN: like I said, very, very, very, very sad spoilers. I didn't want to kill off Kaoru and Kenshin! I didn't!! They're my second favorite characters! I nearly cried way too many times while I was writing this! Anyways, how is the sequel going? Do you like it? Hate it? What? Review!! I know there's not much humor in here, that's why it's so hard to write...ano...yeah.
*
Promises and Swears
*
Disclaimer: you should see my bio for that, that you should
*
AN: there are HUGE and very sad spoilers from the 1st and 2nd OVA. So, if you don't like spoilers (especially sad ones) I suggest you don't read it. Unless you want to see what happens after WOS or you don't mind spoilers, both is good too, of course. Thank you SO much to all my reviewers from Waiting Out the Seasons. You really encouraged and inspired me, thanks again, Minna-San. And a special thanks to Rurouni Kaoru, Kenshin's Love for reviewing to EVERY chapter when she didn't have to and to Lexie-Chan for those great suggestions for chapter 9. Without you two, the story would have rotted away along with my brain. ^_^ Also thanks to my muses Vera-Sama and unspoiledrini, you always help whether you realize it or not. Oh, and sorry for putting both fics in one package, but it seemed easier than starting another fic...if that makes any sense
List of ages because I'm nice and did the evil math for you. ~_^
Kaoru: 23~35
Kenshin: 34~46
Kenji: 3~15
Sano: 25~37
Aki: 26~38
Their daughter (you don't get her name until the end of the first scene): 6~18
Misao: 22~34
Katsu: 26~38
Yahiko: 16~28
Suzuka: 34~46
Aoshi: 32~44
~thanks again for being patient, now here's the sequel ^_^
Scene: I tried to word this in narration, but I couldn't figure out how. So, in between chappie 9 and here, Suzuka and Aoshi have decided they're going to stay in Kyoto, Kenshin and Kaoru have gotten married, and Kenshin was called off to China. There you're caught up.
*
"Kaa-San," a small voice called, getting Aki's attention. "Why do we have to leave?"
She bent down and picked up the tiny black-haired girl. "I know you don't want to," she said, stroking her hair. "I promise we'll come back."
"Aki-Chan, please don't go," Kaoru pleaded, her red-haired son on her hip.
Aki handed Sano their daughter, and took her friend in a hug, crying on her shoulder. Kaoru bowed her head and did the same.
The girl looked from her father's shoulder to the small boy, now standing next to his mother. "Ja...Kenji-Kun," she said with a weak wave.
Kenji just blinked and hid his face in Kaoru's kimono.
Aki pulled back and wiped away tears. "Sayonara, Kaoru-Chan."
"Iie," her brown-eyed friend said, shaking her head. "Ja, Aki-Chan," she corrected, managing a smile.
"Misao, do you have everything ready?" Sano asked as the young woman walked out of the dojo.
"Eh," she said with a nod, setting suitcases on the ground. "Ja," the ninja said to Kaoru, also pulling her into an embrace. She even bent down and patted Kenji's head with a smile.
By, now Aki and Sano's daughter had begun to tear up, herself. Sano set her down and she ran for Kaoru. "Oba-San!!" she said, clinging to her legs.
Sano nodded and took Aki's hand. "I have one more thing to get before we meet Katsu." He smiled, let go of his wife's hand, and walked into the dojo for the last time.
As he walked in, Yahiko walked out. "You don't think I was going to let you get off without a goodbye, do you?"
Sano ruffled his hair. "Bye, kid," he said, walking the rest of the way in.
Yahiko shook his head and walked out to the departing group. Aki walked up and put a hand on his head. He knew what she was going to say, even after all these years that he had grown and matured, she was going to say the same thing she always did. But he let her. She was going to say—"Ja, Yahiko-Kun." He blinked. She wasn't going to say that!
"You've grown up," she said with a sad smile.
"Ja, Aki-San, thanks."
"Why do you have to go?" Kenji asked, still clinging to his mother. The youngest member of the Sagara family was born two months premature, so even though she was three years older than the boy, she about his size. She had mostly stayed in the dojo, being a little assistant for her mother, so she and Kenji were as close as siblings. "I don't want you to go," he said, taking her small hand in his.
The girl looked up from Kaoru to Kenji. "I'll come back," she promised. "I promise."
"Tou-San and Itoko-San have already left, you can't go!"
"Kenji," Kaoru said, putting a hand on her son's shoulder.
Aki walked over and bent down. "Kenji-San, when we get to China, I'll write whatever she tells me. And when it gets here, Kaoru-Chan can read it to you. So you can talk to her all you want. Would that be alright?"
Kenji looked around, trying to think that out. He finally looked back to Aki and nodded.
Sano walked back out with his zan-batou balanced on one shoulder. "Kenji," he said, ruffling the small boy's hair to get his attention. "Take care of Jou-Chan. Maybe even give her some cooking lessons," he said with a laugh, even though a tear soon rolled down his cheek.
He turned to Kaoru and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll personally make sure he comes back to you. I swear it. Ja, Kaoru."
His daughter gave Kaoru one more hug, reassured Kenji she'd come back, and took her mother's hand.
Kaoru smiled at her friends. "You'll always have a place here," she said. "Ja ne."
The group at the door said their last goodbyes and walked out of the entrance.
After they left, Kenji let go of his mother and ran after them. There was something that was just really eating at him.
"Souzouko-Chan!!"
The little girl turned at the call of her name.
The boy ran up and took her in one last hug. "Ja ne," he said. "I'll wait for you."
The wind picked up and Kenshin looked out at the coast of the Sea of Japan in China. He hoped his job there was over soon, he really wanted to get back to his family.
He smiled as the wind blew his hair. At least everyone was in a stable condition before he left. Yahiko wasn't a scornful pickpocket anymore and was maturing into a great young man. Sano had quit fighting for hire and had actually taken to helping Aki with her work instead of sitting at home. Aki had apparently inherited Captain Sagara's stability and wisdom Sano had gone on about. Misao was beginning to learn how to control her temper. Suzuka and Aoshi were happily settled down in Kyoto and were expecting from the last time he had heard. And Kaoru...
He couldn't help but laugh at that one. Kaoru-Dono had never changed, but that was one of the things he loved about her. "I'll come back, Kaoru- Dono, I promise."
"Kenshin-San?" a familiar voice asked from behind.
"Aki-Dono? What are you doing here, de gozaru ka?"
"I got a huge offer from a rich Chinese family that wanted me to be their family doctor. So, I figured, it would be the best for Souzouko-Chan and Sano if we took it. Katsu knows Chinese so he's willing to play translator and Misao wanted to help out, too."
Kenshin smiled and nodded. "I understand."
"Kenji...looks exactly like you, Kenshin-San. You can't tell the difference. He has your character, too. He almost didn't let Souzouko leave. Especially after you and Suzuka-San left the dojo."
The samurai put a hand on his forehead. "I never wanted to leave. In fact, I regret it more everyday," he admitted, a tear rolling down his cheek.
Aki hung her head. "You'll go back, Kenshin-San, you will."
*
The next day, Sano walked out of the inn everyone was rooming in. Katsu and Aki were off to talk to the Wang family and Misao volunteered to watch over Souzouko. He sighed as the wind washed over the ground, making the grass ripple. He walked until he found a high cliff overlooking the coast leading to the Sea of Japan.
For a few hours, he just sat there, thinking of what had happened in the last six years.
"It's ironic, isn't it?" Aki's voice asked behind him.
"What?" he asked as she sat next to him.
"That a place so beautiful can cause so much trouble for the people we left behind."
"Yeah, it IS an irony of its own."
"The Wang family said they'd find someone to build us two Japanese dojos. One for a clinic and one for a living quarters."
He turned to her. For a while now, there had been something he had been thinking about and now he had finally decided on it. It had just taken him until now to ask her.
She blinked in surprise as he picked her up and set her in his lap. "I want another one," he said, drawing her close.
"Another dojo?"
"Maybe this one will look like Captain Sagara, too, but it'll be a boy," he wondered, running fingers through her hair. "Or maybe it'll be another little girl and look like your mother."
She shook her head and wrapped her arms around him. "Who's to say it won't look like you? You know, Souzouko doesn't look EXACTLY like me, she has your eyes."
"Oh, come on, Aki, let's face it, I'm not the prettiest guy in the world."
Aki sighed and shook her head again. She pulled back and looked straight into his eyes. "If I thought you were ugly, I wouldn't have married you, baka."
"There was something else on my mind," he admitted.
"What is it?"
"Before you showed up again...I met this girl named Sayo." He looked up to see what her reaction would be. She was Aki, after all, she knew what was coming next. To his relief, she was listening patiently. Good. She wasn't the jealous type. He mentally laughed at that. She was Aki, after all.
"She was really nice. Kinda reminded me of you. She had converted to Christianity before we met. The only thing was...she came down with tuberculosis. She would have died anyway, but...she ran in front of a bullet to save someone and..." He really couldn't think of a way to put the last few words, but Aki got the picture.
"And? Don't stop now, you got me interested."
"And...if she had lived...I probably would have converted with her."
Aki smiled. "There's something I forgot to tell you that's something like that. My mother was a convert. She said I could have a choice of whether I wanted to be Buddhist like Tou-San or be Christian like her. I never really thought about it. But now that I have support, I think I know which one I want to be now," she explained with a warm smile.
*
The wind picked up again as Suzuka walked into a small building next to the Aoi-Ya. "Kaoru-Chan says Aki, Sano, Misao and Souzouko-Chan left the dojo two weeks ago to go to China. Itoko-Chan says he made it to China safely two months ago and he wishes us well."
Aoshi sighed. "So Kaoru is left to raise Kenji on her own?"
"She has Yahiko there to help her, but besides that, yes."
He nodded and went back to work. "The gods be with her..."
~12 years later~
"Aki," Sano said walking in one night. "I need you to see something."
"What's the matter?" Katsu asked.
"It's...it's Kenshin. I don't think he can last enough to get to Tokyo. I have his ticket, but...it's that disease."
Aki nodded. "I can't do much, but I can at least make sure he's well enough to get back to Kaoru."
"Sano, why do you have a tiger skin around your neck?" Misao asked with a blink.
"That shack at the coast is so far away from the city, Kenshin needed to closest food and the best he could get," Sano explained.
"I'm coming with you," Souzouko said standing up.
Aki shook her head as she stood up to face her daughter. "This is almost too much for me to handle, seeing Kenshin in the condition he's in. Hitokiri or rurouni, he was always strong in character and health. He's a complete shadow of what he used to be."
Souzouko met her mother's stare with one of her own. Even though, she had grown to be a strong young woman, those two months had still stunted her growth. But she didn't care if her mother was a few heads taller than her, this was important! "But I at least want to see Ojii-San once before...! Before..."
Aki nodded and walked out the door with Sano.
After Aki had nursed him back to enough health to walk, she, Sano, and Kenshin stood at the pier in front of a boat. "Kenshin, you get home to Jou-Chan and Kenji. If nothing else, at least do that," Sano said, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Put that herb in your tea before you get there," Aki reminded him.
Kenshin nodded. "D-domo...Aki...Dono." He said looking at her with a small smile.
"Donashitemashite," she said with a smile. Even though the medicine she had given him gave him strength his muscles, it couldn't do anything for what the disease had done to his lungs. It must've taken all he had just to say thank you.
"Aki, you have some mail," Katsu said, coming in a few months later, handing her an envelope.
"It's from Megumi-San," Aki said with a blink, opening the letter.
"What does it say?" Misao asked, leaning in.
"It says Kenshin made it home, but died shortly after...then after he died, Kaoru's own illness took a turn for the worst and...all it says after that is Megumi couldn't do anything."
Misao hung her head.
"Oh, you have some mail, too, Misao-San," Katsu said, handing her another envelope.
"Minna-San," Souzouko said, running in. "I have five tickets to Japan, we can go home like we always said we would!"
"Should we tell her?" Misao asked under her breath.
Aki looked to Sano and shook her head. "Let Kenji tell her," she said to Misao.
"Sorry, Souzouko-Chan," Sano said, putting a hand on her head sympathetically. "Your mother and I can't come with you."
"Eh?" she asked. "Why?"
"We have some unfinished business," Aki explained. Upon seeing a confused look she added, "We'll come to Japan, but it can't be now, but you can go."
Souzouko nodded.
"I'll come with you," Misao said standing up, holding the open letter in her hand. "But I can only stop in Tokyo to drop you off. A friend of mine is on his deathbed in Kyoto and I need to get there as fast as I can. I'm sorry."
"I understand, Misao-San," Souzouko said with a sympathetic nod.
"I'll come to make sure you get there safely," Katsu said, handing Souzouko one last letter.
She smiled and took the envelope. In his last letter, Kenji said he was going to fight Yahiko in Kyoto for the saka-batou. The return address said that he was now in Tokyo. That was good. She opened the letter expecting a three page explanation of the fight, but it was a very small piece of paper that read nothing but "Lost".
"Souzouko," Aki said a few days later while everyone had gotten their things together and were saying their goodbyes at the door. "I have something that should belong to you now," she said, walking into her room and coming out with a covered sword, a long, dark blue kimono and a bright red headband.
Souzouko looked at her mother expecting an explanation. "The kimono, my mother gave me before she passed away. The sword and the headband were my father's."
Her daughter nodded, wrapped the headband over her forehead, and cradled the sword and kimono in her arms. She smiled and took her mother in a one- armed hug. "Arigatou."
"Come on, Souzou-Chan," Katsu called, taking his goddaughter by the shoulder. She looked at him. So that's why he called her by that name.
"Ja!"
*
Kenji stood in the middle of the Kamiya dojo, trying to figure out what had gone wrong in his fight with Yahiko. The Hiten-Mitsurugi couldn't have lost to the Kamiya-Kasshin! He retraced his and Yahiko's steps with the saka-batou. Then realized why it didn't work. The saka-batou WAS a lot duller than the katana, but this was the original one from the stories he had heard, growing up.
All of sudden, while retracing training steps, his step slacked. Why was he slowing down? There was something nagging at him, something he couldn't explain...it was in the back of the dojo's ground. In fact, there were two of them, side by side. He dropped his sword as hard reality sunk in.
Souzouko walked down the path of sakura trees until she found a familiar old building. This was it! After waiting twelve long years! "Kenji-Kun!" she called after setting her things at the front of the dojo. "Kenji-Kun?" she asked after there was no answer. She walked through the dojo until she found the classroom.
"Kenji-Kun! What's the matter?!" she asked, rushing over to her friend who was now huddled in a crouching position on the floor.
Kenji slowly looked up at her with a horrified expression. He hung his head again and slowly wrapped his arms around her neck so his head was on her shoulder. "They're gone," he said weakly. "They're both gone."
Souzouko her hung head, too, and drew him close. "I didn't really hate him," he admitted, his shoulders starting to shake. "I only said that because I thought it would make him come back..."
She sat there, not knowing what to say. She figured the only thing she could do right then was just sit there with him. "The worst thing is, now that he's gone, I can't apologize for hating him."
He tightened his grip on her and buried his face even more. "You won't leave me too, will you?"
She blinked away tears and shook her head. "I won't leave you again, Kenji- Kun, I swear."
~
AN: like I said, very, very, very, very sad spoilers. I didn't want to kill off Kaoru and Kenshin! I didn't!! They're my second favorite characters! I nearly cried way too many times while I was writing this! Anyways, how is the sequel going? Do you like it? Hate it? What? Review!! I know there's not much humor in here, that's why it's so hard to write...ano...yeah.