~Here's another chapter for you all. I was away all weekend at my cousin's
house (annoying peoples! They don't have a computer in sight!) I managed to
get some work done on this story though. I was up till two at night
writing, when I should have been sleeping, but I couldn't stop! Ok, that's
enough of me babbling, I'll let you get to the story. ~
Chapter Twelve: Silence before the Storm
Kenshin left Kaoru alone to have a peaceful breakfast. He could tell that she needed some time to herself. A lot had been happening lately. Even he needed some time to relax and what better way to relax then by doing the laundry?
Kenshin tied back his sleeves and buried his worries in scrubbing the dirt off their clothes. He noted how worn and old their clothes looked. He paused, up to his elbows in soap suds, and looked around the yard. Everything around here seemed to be getting old and worn. It was really time that he got a job. He couldn't expect Kaoru to pay for everything around here, especially now that they were getting married. He wanted to be able to start rebuilding the dojo. He knew how much that it meant to Kaoru. Kenshin wanted to be able to get them all new things. He wanted more than ever to make them happy. Kenshin was so lost in his thoughts that he failed to notice a little envelope blowing slightly in the wind.
Kenshin sighed as he finished hanging the laundry. He headed inside to start on some more chores. He glanced down at the floors.
"Hmmm...the floor seems pretty dirty today...." He said absentmindedly.
Yahiko passed Kenshin as he walked out of the house and into the yard. He was deep in thought too. He didn't understand why Kaoru needed her breakfast brought to her this morning. It wasn't like she was sick or anything! He slowly wandered out into the yard, kicking a stone across the dusty ground. He was extremely bored. No one had been paying much attention to him lately, with everything that had been going on and all. He hadn't gotten any training from Kaoru in days because she had been too depressed about Kenshin's departure and now with the dojo burned to the ground!!! It wasn't that he minded being ignored and forgotten. It didn't bother him. What bothered him was that he was so bored!
Making his way across the yard he saw something in the corner of his eye. He walked over to it and bent down to pick it up. It was a piece of paper...no it was a letter. But who was it from and who was it to? He held it in his hand, just staring at it. Should he open it? He grinned and tore the letter opened. How could he be expected to resist?
"Curiosity killed the cat..."
Yahiko spun around. There was no one there, but hadn't he just heard a voice. He shrugged. Oh well, maybe he was imaging things. He pulled the letter out of its envelope and slowly scanned it. It looked like it had been written in a rush. It took Yahiko a while to decipher the writing since the ink had been terribly smudged.
It was from.....Yukimura. Yahiko gasped once he read its contents. He ran inside and skidded to a halt in front of Kenshin who was scrubbing away at the floor.
"What is it, Yahiko?" he asked cheerfully.
Yahiko didn't say anything, but simply shoved the letter into his hands. Kenshin read it over silently, his face turning grim. He clenched the paper harder, his knuckles turning white.
"He's going to kill himself!" Kenshin exclaimed, grabbing his sword which he always kept nearby.
"We have to stop him!" Yahiko said frantically as they both ran out the door and down the street. The letter fluttered to the ground forgotten.
"We may already be too late...do you have any clue where he could be?" Kenshin said his mind racing. No matter what Yukimura had done....no matter what crimes he had committed, he still did not deserve to kill himself. He had to work off what he had done. Kenshin was much less than happy about what he hand found out. He had a few choice words for this Yukimura, that he did. But still he couldn't let him kill himself.
"I think I might know. Yukimura mentioned something when we talked. But it's only a slim chance." Yahiko said.
"Then show me the way!" Kenshin said urgently.
Yahiko nodded silently. He was kind of amazed that Kenshin was rushing off to save someone he didn't know one thing about besides his name, the very person who had tried to date Kaoru and who had burnt the dojo down. How could he not be angry?
Yahiko was wrong, though. Kenshin was mad. He was enraged. But he also knew that it was his duty to save every life possible, no matter what sins that person had committed.
Kaoru finished her breakfast slowly, her hands moving at a snail's pace. She sighed and got up, pulling one of her kimonos. It was actually quite a beautiful kimono, made with a light blue silky material lined with an intricate midnight blue butterfly pattern.
She made her way out into the yard, looking for Kenshin. Everything was oddly quiet. The drying laundry blew gently in the chilly wind causing Kaoru to feel very uneasy. It seemed so wrong. Where was everyone?
Kaoru scanned the area. No one was in sight. Then she noticed something else fluttering in the wind. It was a piece of paper. She bent down to pick it up. Her hair, which she had not bothered to put up in its normal high ponytail, falling down her shoulders.
She began to read it:
Dear Miss Kaoru,
In the short time that I have known you so much has happened to me. Before I met you I was so cold inside. I thought I would never feel anything again. Life was so very bleak and hopeless. But then you came along and instantly I knew I was in love.
Everything was too perfect to be true and I was soon to find that out. It was just my luck that your heart was taken by another. So I seeked out advice from another, advice that I should have never taken. I was somehow under the impression that it would make you love me.
Now I know hat love can't be forced and sometimes there isn't a happy ending. There is something else I need to confess. I wish I had the heart to tell you all this in person, but I am a coward. So I just have to say it in this letter. It was me who set the dojo on fire. If you ask me my reasons now I would not know how to answer. I can't understand why I did it anymore, but somehow I was under the impression that I could use your sadness to bring you closer to me.
Looking back on that horrible thing that I did, I wish now more than ever that I hadn't done it. I know how much you must hate me now, but I am not finished yet. I feel that you have the right to know the real me, the one behind all the lies. Before I met you I was so different, so very different. I could not control my greed. When I wanted something, I got it, not matter what the price, even if I had to steal, cheat, or in even one case to kill.
Just a year ago, when my selfishness drove me to kill the one person closest to me, that's when I woke up from the dream, that dream that everything was mine for the taking. When I lost something so valuable to met, the very one I was in love with, I realized what my greed was leading me to do. I knew that I had to stop. I knew that I had to escape the vicious cycle which I had drawn myself into. I went back to living a simple life. I bought only what I needed and gave the rest to help other people in need. It seemed that my life was going back to being a just one, but I was still so terribly lonely. Then I met you and it seemed like my world had suddenly brightened. When I was with you I forgot all the horrible things that I had done in the part. Then my greed overtook me again when I saw that you couldn't be mine...could never be mine.
I am not writing this letter to make up excuses or to lay the blame on anyone. I simply wanted you to know. It is your choice to feel what you feel and there is nothing I can do to change that. I wish you the best of luck with your future and I hope you will be happy with Kenshin. I truly mean that from the bottom of my heart. Now I am sure of what I must do. There is no possible way to repent or pay you back for the horrible way I have wronged you. I have decided to take my own life so that in the future I will not be able to hurt anyone anymore.
Goodbye,
Yukimura
The paper dropped from Kaoru's fingers. She couldn't move, she couldn't speak. All her emotions were running through her at once. First an intense uncontrollable anger that made her want to reach down and tear up the letter into tiny shreds, but as soon as she reached to do it, something else reached through her angered haze. A touch of sadness, a wave of sympathy for him. She knew one thing....She had to find him....she had to find him before it was too late.
~ Don't take the voice Yahiko heard seriously. It's just part of my pathetically weird sense of humor~
Chapter Twelve: Silence before the Storm
Kenshin left Kaoru alone to have a peaceful breakfast. He could tell that she needed some time to herself. A lot had been happening lately. Even he needed some time to relax and what better way to relax then by doing the laundry?
Kenshin tied back his sleeves and buried his worries in scrubbing the dirt off their clothes. He noted how worn and old their clothes looked. He paused, up to his elbows in soap suds, and looked around the yard. Everything around here seemed to be getting old and worn. It was really time that he got a job. He couldn't expect Kaoru to pay for everything around here, especially now that they were getting married. He wanted to be able to start rebuilding the dojo. He knew how much that it meant to Kaoru. Kenshin wanted to be able to get them all new things. He wanted more than ever to make them happy. Kenshin was so lost in his thoughts that he failed to notice a little envelope blowing slightly in the wind.
Kenshin sighed as he finished hanging the laundry. He headed inside to start on some more chores. He glanced down at the floors.
"Hmmm...the floor seems pretty dirty today...." He said absentmindedly.
Yahiko passed Kenshin as he walked out of the house and into the yard. He was deep in thought too. He didn't understand why Kaoru needed her breakfast brought to her this morning. It wasn't like she was sick or anything! He slowly wandered out into the yard, kicking a stone across the dusty ground. He was extremely bored. No one had been paying much attention to him lately, with everything that had been going on and all. He hadn't gotten any training from Kaoru in days because she had been too depressed about Kenshin's departure and now with the dojo burned to the ground!!! It wasn't that he minded being ignored and forgotten. It didn't bother him. What bothered him was that he was so bored!
Making his way across the yard he saw something in the corner of his eye. He walked over to it and bent down to pick it up. It was a piece of paper...no it was a letter. But who was it from and who was it to? He held it in his hand, just staring at it. Should he open it? He grinned and tore the letter opened. How could he be expected to resist?
"Curiosity killed the cat..."
Yahiko spun around. There was no one there, but hadn't he just heard a voice. He shrugged. Oh well, maybe he was imaging things. He pulled the letter out of its envelope and slowly scanned it. It looked like it had been written in a rush. It took Yahiko a while to decipher the writing since the ink had been terribly smudged.
It was from.....Yukimura. Yahiko gasped once he read its contents. He ran inside and skidded to a halt in front of Kenshin who was scrubbing away at the floor.
"What is it, Yahiko?" he asked cheerfully.
Yahiko didn't say anything, but simply shoved the letter into his hands. Kenshin read it over silently, his face turning grim. He clenched the paper harder, his knuckles turning white.
"He's going to kill himself!" Kenshin exclaimed, grabbing his sword which he always kept nearby.
"We have to stop him!" Yahiko said frantically as they both ran out the door and down the street. The letter fluttered to the ground forgotten.
"We may already be too late...do you have any clue where he could be?" Kenshin said his mind racing. No matter what Yukimura had done....no matter what crimes he had committed, he still did not deserve to kill himself. He had to work off what he had done. Kenshin was much less than happy about what he hand found out. He had a few choice words for this Yukimura, that he did. But still he couldn't let him kill himself.
"I think I might know. Yukimura mentioned something when we talked. But it's only a slim chance." Yahiko said.
"Then show me the way!" Kenshin said urgently.
Yahiko nodded silently. He was kind of amazed that Kenshin was rushing off to save someone he didn't know one thing about besides his name, the very person who had tried to date Kaoru and who had burnt the dojo down. How could he not be angry?
Yahiko was wrong, though. Kenshin was mad. He was enraged. But he also knew that it was his duty to save every life possible, no matter what sins that person had committed.
Kaoru finished her breakfast slowly, her hands moving at a snail's pace. She sighed and got up, pulling one of her kimonos. It was actually quite a beautiful kimono, made with a light blue silky material lined with an intricate midnight blue butterfly pattern.
She made her way out into the yard, looking for Kenshin. Everything was oddly quiet. The drying laundry blew gently in the chilly wind causing Kaoru to feel very uneasy. It seemed so wrong. Where was everyone?
Kaoru scanned the area. No one was in sight. Then she noticed something else fluttering in the wind. It was a piece of paper. She bent down to pick it up. Her hair, which she had not bothered to put up in its normal high ponytail, falling down her shoulders.
She began to read it:
Dear Miss Kaoru,
In the short time that I have known you so much has happened to me. Before I met you I was so cold inside. I thought I would never feel anything again. Life was so very bleak and hopeless. But then you came along and instantly I knew I was in love.
Everything was too perfect to be true and I was soon to find that out. It was just my luck that your heart was taken by another. So I seeked out advice from another, advice that I should have never taken. I was somehow under the impression that it would make you love me.
Now I know hat love can't be forced and sometimes there isn't a happy ending. There is something else I need to confess. I wish I had the heart to tell you all this in person, but I am a coward. So I just have to say it in this letter. It was me who set the dojo on fire. If you ask me my reasons now I would not know how to answer. I can't understand why I did it anymore, but somehow I was under the impression that I could use your sadness to bring you closer to me.
Looking back on that horrible thing that I did, I wish now more than ever that I hadn't done it. I know how much you must hate me now, but I am not finished yet. I feel that you have the right to know the real me, the one behind all the lies. Before I met you I was so different, so very different. I could not control my greed. When I wanted something, I got it, not matter what the price, even if I had to steal, cheat, or in even one case to kill.
Just a year ago, when my selfishness drove me to kill the one person closest to me, that's when I woke up from the dream, that dream that everything was mine for the taking. When I lost something so valuable to met, the very one I was in love with, I realized what my greed was leading me to do. I knew that I had to stop. I knew that I had to escape the vicious cycle which I had drawn myself into. I went back to living a simple life. I bought only what I needed and gave the rest to help other people in need. It seemed that my life was going back to being a just one, but I was still so terribly lonely. Then I met you and it seemed like my world had suddenly brightened. When I was with you I forgot all the horrible things that I had done in the part. Then my greed overtook me again when I saw that you couldn't be mine...could never be mine.
I am not writing this letter to make up excuses or to lay the blame on anyone. I simply wanted you to know. It is your choice to feel what you feel and there is nothing I can do to change that. I wish you the best of luck with your future and I hope you will be happy with Kenshin. I truly mean that from the bottom of my heart. Now I am sure of what I must do. There is no possible way to repent or pay you back for the horrible way I have wronged you. I have decided to take my own life so that in the future I will not be able to hurt anyone anymore.
Goodbye,
Yukimura
The paper dropped from Kaoru's fingers. She couldn't move, she couldn't speak. All her emotions were running through her at once. First an intense uncontrollable anger that made her want to reach down and tear up the letter into tiny shreds, but as soon as she reached to do it, something else reached through her angered haze. A touch of sadness, a wave of sympathy for him. She knew one thing....She had to find him....she had to find him before it was too late.
~ Don't take the voice Yahiko heard seriously. It's just part of my pathetically weird sense of humor~