Innocence

By Boomerang-chan

A/n: Oh my gosh! It's been so long! I am very sorry!

Just in case! ^.^ Kaoru: 10, Kenshin: 16

Chapter Four: Disappearing Shades of Violet

Seijuuro Hiko glided his black car in the driveway, slick with the rain that beat a relentless tedium. He stepped out of his car after a long day of work, ignoring the raindrops that ran through his dark hair and soaking his long black trench coat.   

It seemed hard to believe this man was past his forties, with his looks and body. His dark eyes that rarely missed anything noticed the light glowing from within his house and the lavender and pink bike next to another that was blue and white stationed at the porch where the weather's fingers could not reach. That would mean Kaoru and Soujiro were visiting Kenshin. Again.

Shaking his head, Hiko strode over to the black mailbox, cold and doused. He quickly grabbed the mail stuffed inside, grunting at the amount of junk.

__________

"Baka."

Kenshin looked up from where he was sitting to see Hiko standing by the doorway. Kenshin sat in the living room, wrapped up in a red sweater and white jogging pants. His black and navy uniform hung off the arm of the couch his back leaned on. The glass coffee table had a stack of three books, papers, and some short pencils. The room was messy, but not as bad as when Kenshin's best bud Sano came over to visit.

"Uncle. Welcome back." The clutter was not what made Hiko stop at the doorway, a white dampened envelope hanging at his fingertips. His face betrayed nothing, but the corner of his mouth slightly twitched upward.

Sitting behind Kenshin on the couch was Kaoru, a fistful of red hair in her hands. Kaoru looked up and smiled at Hiko. Kaoru had pulled Kenshin's hair into two pigtails, and Kenshin did not appear to mind until Hiko came in, and a distinct blush lit up the teen's face. The pair of orange ribbons Kaoru had used clashed with Kenshin's hair terribly.

Soujiro has made ten paper airplanes, some of which had scribbles of math problems on them. Some were scattered about the room. Soujiro would pick one up, toss it, and run after it until he got it. Picking the one nearest to him, Soujiro tossed it in the air roughly, not aiming at all.

It caught in Hiko's hair. Kaoru burst out laughing, and Kenshin couldn't help but chuckle. Sighing, Hiko removed it from his hair and handed it down to Soujiro who jumped up and down eagerly to get it back.

"Something in the mail for you," Hiko said. He tossed the envelope to Kenshin who caught it easily in one hand. Tearing open the envelope, his fingers quivered in excitement. Kaoru who rested her chin on top of his head while watching, sensed this.

A smooth card fell into Kenshin's lap from his feverish grasp. The shredded envelope and its other contents fell to the floor. Kenshin picked up the card, turning it over. At the face and words that met him, he grinned.

But it diminished somewhat.

"What's that, Ken-nii?" Kaoru asked, she leaned in to get a closer look, and Kenshin's head bent from her weight.

"It's my driver's license," Kenshin answered.

Kaoru scrutinized the picture carefully. She began to laugh again. "You look funny in that picture. Why would someone send you a picture of yourself?" But her query was soon forgotten as she laughed even more. Kenshin's blush darkened.

The picture on the driver's license looked.......tacky. When the picture was shot, he was not prepared. The photographer was a weird old man, with too much energy for his age. His name clipped to his shirt with a tag read OKINA. Okina had pressed the shutter before Kenshin could even smile, and surprised, he had cried loudly, "Oro!"

And the results shone brightly back up at him from the picture. Kenshin looked like he had not even got past the first "O" of his favorite word, and his violet eyes were wide open and staring.

"Kaoru!" Kenshin called to the girl still rolling on the couch from giggles. Soujiro ran over, wanting to see what was so humorous. He glanced at the license before Kenshin could find it. He blinked and smiled up at Kenshin.

Obviously not finding it as entertaining as Kaoru, he just grinned up at Kenshin who looked at him strangely.

"Someone sent you a picture of yourself....must be nice."

Kenshin scratched the back of his head, loosing some of the bound strands in the high pigtails. Soujiro walked over to the coffee table and began to make another airplane. Of what looked to be an old test that had a grade of ninety-six percent.

A shadow fell over him and Kenshin looked up, only to have the driver's license snatched from him by Hiko. Studying the face of his nephew frozen in the picture made him smirk.

"Well, at least you can drive yourself, baka. I won't have to drop you and those brats all over town anymore."

Kenshin rolled his eyes.

__________

2 Years Later...

Kaoru leaned back on the gray leather seat, pressing down the button that slid the window of the car down. The welcome breeze billowed at her ponytail, bobbing it back and forth. Now at the age of twelve, Kaoru had had a sudden growth spurt, but of course not as tall as Kenshin yet.

Next to her, an eighteen year old Kenshin rested his left hand on the steering wheel, the other settled next to hers on the armrest. He smiled at her and she grinned happily, telling him about her day of fun with Misao. The two had walked around Kyoto as they pleased, stopping and going as they went.

Kenshin listened, nodding or murmuring something at the right intervals. Kaoru would soon be a teenager and he off to college. The school year had ended a while back, and break had whizzed by.

Kaoru stopped talking, looking at Kenshin. Though he was only listening he was quieter than usual. His violet eyes had taken a darker tone. And though he did pay attention to the road, his mind was somewhere else.

Catching her stare, Kenshin avoided it until he came up into the driveway. He quickly came out of the car and opened the door for her. Kaoru's curious blue eyes continued to pierce him.

Being the observant girl she was, she easily noticed the boxes and bags sitting on the porch.

Kenshin sighed and reluctantly met her gaze. It was now or never.......

Standing in the kitchen, Kenshin leaned against the pantry. Hiko stood by the stove, looking straight ahead with arms crossed.

"Have you told her yet?"

Kenshin frowned, shaking his head. He rubbed at the bridge of his nose in agitation. "Not yet," he sighed.

"You had better tell her soon. The more you delay it, the harder it will be, especially for her."

"I know," Kenshin hollowly responded. 'I'm sorry Kaoru' he thought....

Kenshin's eyes flicked around nervously before settling back on Kaoru. He never turned away, memorizing every contour and curve of her face. Bright azure eyes were fixated on him. Light skin framed by loose wisps of midnight, the rest held up by an indigo ribbon. Years had past, and she was still so pure and did not deserve what was to come next.

__________

"I'm leaving Kaoru."

He watched her eyes widen, before softening and a sheen of sorrow sliding over them. A pang of guilt stabbed at him, and he looked down, knowing if he looked into her sad face he would not have the will to go, let alone think of it. Kenshin kept his gaze on Kaoru's hands that were wringing together, anguished.

"Wh-what? ....And why?" Her breathless tone betrayed her, and he could sense the distress that threatened to spill and roll down her cheeks.

"College....Tokyo University...." he weakly blurted.

Why?

A drop fell on her hand, and it snapped Kenshin's stare back up to her face. Sniffling heavily, Kaoru threw her arms around his neck. He expected her to be racked by sobs and apologized profusely, biting his lip at the burning of remorse in his eyes.

"I'm happy for you." She simply stated.

"Forgive me Kaoru," he whispered, all the while committing to memory every apect of her being. The soft black tendrils that brushed his cheek. The subtle jasmine that overcame and ensnared his senses. To even her shudders that sent tremors to his twisting chest.

"Kaoru....." Kaoru pulled away slowly, and her hand lifted up. Kenshin looked down to the gray sidewalk, wondering if she'd hit him for telling her at the last minute. Instead, there was a gentle rustle and he saw just in time her dark hair cascade like a waterfall down her back.

The ribbon she released from her hair was a deep indigo shade, one that went well with her eyes. She put on the best smile she could.

"I want you to have this Kenshin.... and....a—and I want you to return it to me when you come back. You won't forget me, will you?"

"Of course not," Kenshin immediately answered. "I would never forget you." He took the proffered smooth cloth, and clutched it tightly.

"You're my dearest little sister." Grinning at his words, Kaoru hugged him again, and he pressed a small kiss to her cheek. A light blush colored her cheeks and she pulled back.

Always would she remember Kenshin. The distinctive red hair. That gentle smile that always warmed her soul.

To the deep violet eyes that shined at her.

Violet eyes she would never see again.

____________________

Okay! *cowers* Sorry for the long wait. I had writer's block. =( I meant to post this about a week ago, and I was waiting for my beta Icewings to send this back, but I've received no response, so I went ahead and posted this. Chapter 5 is in the works! =) So it'll hopefully not be as late as this one. Once again, sorry!

Galenahaiel: Hey Kate-san! ^_^ Good to see ya! Thanks for reviewing. If all goes well, then the tragic stuff should be next chapter.  

Silver Goddess1: Thank you much! I like your name...XD

KuTiExAzNxAnGeL: Yeah, a lil hard, but fun! I'm so easily entertained. O.O Sorry for the lateness. *bows*

Phoenix Dagger: I think so! O.O And don't apologize, I should be the one for the updating neglect... X|

Are-en1: You got an interesting pen name... Thank you so much! ^.^ Hm, K/K for sure! That's my obsessive pairing, though I have nothing against K/T. And by M/S do you mean Megumi/Sano or Misao/Soujiro? I was considering doing an alternate pairing of Misao/Soujiro. Sou-kun is so cute! *hugs and chokes a Soujiro plushie*

SilverKnight7: Okay! Here it is! Finally... @_@

Waterflash: Nikki-chaaan! =) I don't know about the cuteness stuff in this chapter, and I'm not sure about more in future chapters. Oh yeah, and I remembered you and me talking about what Kenshin would look like with pigtails, so I put it in here. XD Talk to you soon!

Now I'm off to get back to homework. @.@ For tomorrow: HAPPY BIRTHDAY HANNAH! (I'll bring a lemon to further taint your mind. Bwuhaha *cough*)