Hello dear readers. I am so happy to be writing this next chapter to you all. Lately I have been updating almost most of the stories online for Nicky9, after all I did promise to write the stories for her, to keep you guys going. I hope you really do enjoy this story. If you have any flames, suggestions, comments, and question, please leave them in your review.
Oh yeah about the last part of chapter twelve. I am so sorry if that confused any of you readers. If you read carefully, I told you as the writer that Aoshi put in a tape of a high school play in which Kaoru and Kenshin acted. The play brought old memories, and led her feeling uncomfortable. I described one part of the sconce, where Kaoru was waiting for Kenshin. Don't worry more information of the scene you read from last chapter will reveal itself in the next coming chapters. This play and her poem from earlier on chapters will play a big part to this story. Call it faith.
Enjoy! - Deseray
Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. I wish I did but I don't. : (
Revealing of a Kept Promise
Chapter Thirteen
Aoshi now stood in his father's office waiting for the members to walk right in. He knew it would take Kaoru several minutes before coming into the office. It all happened since that night he showed the videotape on purpose to get back the old Kaoru he knew. For some reason she was not herself. She no longer talked about her past, like she never had one. He understood they went through a difficult life growing up in their old neighborhood. He also knew how painful it was for Kaoru to leave a precious house that reminded her of so many memories of the past about her mother. Who ever said life could be fair? If it's anyone who deserved a contented life, that would be Kaoru.
Waiting patiently in his father's office at the department of AIO, Aoshi replayed the night's events when Kaoru got distressed. It was the first sign that helped Aoshi realized that the past was the key to her problems. The tape of the high school play not only brought back memories of old high school, but the people in it as well. But what astonished him the most was the knowledge of Kaoru loving Kenshin. When she didn't realized her feelings for Kenshin, he knew, however, he just through that fact aside, believing his mind was playing tricks on him. Now to know she really loved Kenshin, made everything so different. It made him realize why it took so long for Kaoru to heal. What ever did happen that last day of school? He also remembered when Kaoru brought her days of high school up that same night, when she left most of her family in the living room to finish watch the tape.
FlashbackAoshi saw how distressed Kaoru looked after watching some of the videotape. The motto "love never truly dies," was true. High school was long over and the past events still played in Kaoru's memories. He hit the core of Kaoru's problem. Since Kaoru never talked about her past, all of her emotions remained inside of her. Ifs she didn't communicate with anyone about her feelings, she might explode on a person one day, either at home, or at work.
Just about when he was going to get up to go into the kitchen, he saw his Aunt Tokio removed herself from the couch. From the distance from where he stood, he saw Saito's amber eyes inspected her as she moved into the kitchen where Kaoru disappeared. Aoshi picked up some saucers and trays to carry them into the kitchen. He was using the items as an excuse to get closer to the kitchen to overhear what Kaoru was going to tell Aunt Tokio. Usually Aoshi was not the type to sneak around listening to people's conversations, however, his concern for his sister overwhelmed his feelings.
As he got closer to the kitchen door, he heard light whispers surrounding him, effulging him with all of their revelations. He peeked though the door, watching one small figure sitting on a chair, pale small hands covered her beautiful face. Another frame stood over her. A gentle hand placed itself on the other figure's shoulder, acting like a soothing gesture.
"Kaoru I have never met anyone so strong as you. You don't realize that how these years have changed you," said Aunt Tokio lightly. She looked down intently on Kaoru, waiting for Kaoru to say something, but words never came. " I remembered when you first moved into this house. You acted everything out from your head, and not from your heart. When you began to think of the past, you found something else to keep you going. Do you remember when you were in college?"
Kaoru still didn't say anything. She was so subtle, the kitchen itself was dominated with silence. To break the silence Tokio began speaking again. "You went through a hard freshmen year in college just working on your studies and taking care of both your brother and your father. You kept them both linked to one another. Then in your sophomore year, you found out what they really were, and you worked hard at training in the academy, studying your studies at college, and taking care of your family. In your junior, you were working at your father's dojo, taking care of your family, and still studying in school. Your senior year was even tougher, because you worked your hardest, plus took good care of your family, and worked for both the dojo, and in AIO."
Kaoru still didn't say anything. Her pale hands never moved from her face. She never made a sobbing sound, nor did she ever make an attempt to peek through her fingers. Instead she remained hunched over on the table, her face buried, her raven hair tied in a ponytail fell to the side of her right, and her form remained very still. She looked so much like a statue.
"Then about two years ago, you finally mentioned to the whole family you were engaged to Soujiro Seta. You didn't know how surprise I was. I was so astonished, and so happy seeing you was finally moving on with your life. I saw you were finally letting go of your past by coming to a conclusion that you were going to marry that man. By doing this action, you were leaving your past love, and moving onto the future." Then Tokio's voice went softer. It went so soft, till it was like a mere whisper. "I wanted to congratulate both of you, only I noticed something was not right."
"What do you mean something was not right?" Kaoru finally whispered. She moved her hands away from her face to look at her Aunt.
"I mean something was just not right. Even though you've learned a tough experience from the past Kaoru, and even though you care for Soujiro, I saw something else I didn't expect to see," Aunt Tokio said softly.
"What did you see?" Kaoru kept her sapphire eyes focused on her Aunt. Her heart lurched in fear. It felt like she knew what her Aunt next words were going to be.
"I saw there was no love for Soujiro in your eyes. You may feel deeply for him Kaoru, but there was no love shining in your eyes. At times when you didn't look into his eyes, and you thought you were alone, I noticed the look of despair that flickered in your eyes."
Kaoru looked away from her Aunt and stared at the floor. She felt her cheeks flushed, while her body trembled with the revealing truth. Aunt Tokio was right. Just by marrying Soujiro, Kaoru thought she could run from her past, continue with her new life, without ever thinking of her past, without ever thinking of him. But she was wrong. She just didn't how to explain everything her heart felt at the moment. She didn't know how to explain feelings for one, and devotions for the other. Once a knot was formed between a man and woman, there was no way of untying that knot. Kaoru had known Soujiro ever since she first started working at AIO. She took her time when she decided to go out with Soujiro, and after his proposal to marry her, she took two years to have their engagement day set. Her final decision came with a promise of having no regrets, yet as the days passed her by she grew uneasier. With the newest and latest mission, she felt something was going to change everything. She just didn't know what as yet.
"Do you love Soujiro?" asked Aunt Tokio. Kaoru looked up at her and never answered her.
"Do you love Soujiro?" she repeated again.
Kaoru didn't know how to explain, but she let words form from her aching throat. Her feelings alone overwhelmed her. "I have worked so hard for this day." Tears formed from her eyes as there were tears in her throat. "Kenshin and I were friends in the past. He was the best friend whom I admired, the one I looked up too, the one I supported all my childhood years. Everyone was against him, especially Aoshi and my father. They didn't want me around him for some reason. They said it had something to do with him having a deadly side. I hung around, provoked, and yet he was always so gentle, his eyes was a neutral steel blue color. Kids would tease him for having a girl like me as his best friend, yet whenever he went down or I went down we both helped each other to get back on to our feet again. When he lost his mother, I cried at the funeral for his lost when he could not . People said he was obdurate and I was the opposite, more like his feelings on the inside. They just couldn't understand what I saw in him what other couldn't see. Did you know why I was so very fond of him?"
Tokio shook her head, while listening to Kaoru's hurtful words. Through this emotional side of Kaoru, she saw the same vulnerable Kaoru she saw a long time ago.
"He had a gentle side in which he would only show me. When he smiled, he would only smile for me. When he was sad, he would only reveal it to me. I was the one he confided with. Never would he tell anyone but me. Not Misao, not Sano, he would talk to. He would only talk to me. The love I had for him was pure innocent love, a love a sister would have for a brother. It was almost the same type of love I held for Aoshi, except it was different in ways and a little bit stronger. And then she came. Tomoe. I can't remember her last name. Well why does it matter? Now it's Tomoe Himura. She made me realized how much I really did love Kenshin. I had him so long for myself, I could not accept the fact that the same attention he used to give me was no longer there. Instead he gave it all to her. I didn't fight, for I knew I was going to lose the battle. I wanted Kenshin to be happy more then anything, even if it meant that I had to sacrifice my own happiness. In the ending, he gave me up."
Tokio then embraced Kaoru. She saw so many tears, many years of emotions slipping out from this young woman. She despised Kenshin at this moment. Kaoru was willing to give her happiness so that Kenshin could live his happiness, but what he did to Kaoru was not right. He was enjoying his life, while Kaoru suffered her life because of him. To have a woman love a man, as Kaoru did, was a sin to nature. When a woman loved, she loved deeper then the ocean, and when she hated, she hated deeper then the sky. A man was known for physical strength. A woman was known for emotional strength. He lived happily, and here Kaoru suffered. The real problem for Kaoru was not only her past, but she grew up into an adult way too fast.
"I loved Kenshin, and I always will love him," Kaoru whispered as she broke away from her Aunt. Now she looked up at the ceiling, letting all her tears, all her emotions she felt a long time ago come back to her. That video, just that one appearance from him stirred everything she felt for him from the deepest core of her heart. The memories flooded her head and her body trembled so much. This is what love is all about. It never truly dies.
"But the past is the past, that makes who we are. I tried to run from it, only to fail. And now I am, who I am today, because of it. I will marry Soujiro for better or for worse."
PresentThose words what Kaoru spoke astonished Aoshi's ever being. She did care for Soujiro, but was only marrying him so that she could finally move on with the future. She didn't want be held back by possibilities of her heart. That was the main reason why it took her such a long time to adjust to their new life. It explained her coldness toward others, who were not her family. But in the first time for almost a decade, he saw the same old Kaoru he knew a long time ago. He only hoped that she knew what she was doing to her future.
He let his mind leave his world of thought as he saw the members of AIO came to meet him at his father's office.
The old neighborhood never changed. Everything remained the same. Houses stood tall, the worn age never showing a difference. The blocks weren't quiet, for kids were outside playing. Cars parked either against the curves of the sidewalk or in the open drive ways. The grass in front of every house remained as green as ever, as the following season spring arrived at the corner. Beside Sano, Misao walked. He could see her mind was somewhere else then rather on the little adventure she assisted him to accompany her with.
"I don't know how you do it Misao. I would say we wouldn't get anywhere with this stupid idea," said Sano with mockery in his voice.
Misao just glared at him. If looks could kill, she would have killed him a long time ago, well after his wife killed him first. "That's the third time you told me that for today! I'm sorry for almost taking a decade to figure this one thing out! I just didn't remember until the other day!"
"Okay, Misao, you don't have to yell for a matter like this one. I didn't mean to upset you in anyway," said Sano innocently. He lifted both his large hands in the air to ward of any of Misao's attacks.
"You're lucky you have a wife, or else I would have murdered you a long time ago! How does Megumi put up with you anyways?" Misao looked over her shoulder, to find Sano smiling a weird smile. And automatically she regretted her question. "I just take that question back."
"I thought you would," said Sano with a sardonic look on his face. Misao for the rest of the journey never said anything, or at least that is what Sano noticed. He smiled to himself. After completing college, he was afraid of Misao and him separating, just going their own ways, however, they never did, because of the promise she made to Tomoe. Sano really enjoyed her friendship, for it was the same like they had in high school. He looked at Misao as a little sister since he was two months older then her. Because of her trusting nature, her innocent views of the world, he took extra precaution on looking out for her. Those naïve, compassionate ways, reminded so much of Kaoru.
Finally they reached at the ending of a block, which lead to a commercial area. Sano and Misao walked down the commercial blocks looking for a strange restaurant called Akabeko. There, Misao mentioned to him, was where they could find some old relative of Kaoru's.
"There it is, it just right there at the end of the street corner." Sanosuke pointed at the ending of the block, happy to have spotted the restaurant before Misao could have spotted it. She just gave him an annoyed look. He smiled, a cheerful glint in his light brown eyes. He was the only person who could ever annoy her so well.
"Brat," she muttered under her breath. They walked all the way to the ending of the street, to a beautifully decorated restaurant, covered in rich colors like gold and silver. Walking inside the restaurant, many people sat eating Japanese food. The smell itself in the restaurant was intoxicating and only made Sano hungry. Some tables didn't have anyone. From the beautiful set displayed of plates lining together, Misao and Sano watched in awe. Yes they were used to luxuries, but the way in which this place was set up, it looked like an interior decorator came in here and fixed the whole place up.
Just then a beautiful, soft, professional voice muttered a greeting. The woman who stood before Sano and Misao was a beauty. She wore an elaborate kimono, with flowers embodied on the silky material. It clung tightly to the curves of her body. Her light brown hair, coiled around her heart shaped face. A gentle smile plastered on her face.
"Um. um. hello. We came here to speak to Dr. Gensai if he is available," replied Misao nervously aware of how she looked. She was nothing compared to the beauty in front of her.
"My name is Tae. I'm the manager of this restaurant. May I ask what is your reason for seeing my grandfather?" asked the woman lightly. Her perfect smile left her face. Her face now showed a serious expression, her eyes never leaving both Misao and Sano. Still she looked beautiful.
"We are friends of his grand daughter named Kaoru. We just want to ask some questions," replied Misao again, this time earnestly.
"I'm sorry both of you wasted your time to leave your home to come here, for he is not available right now at this moment." But before she could say anything more, an old man appeared beside her. He laid a perfectly calm hand on her shoulder, letting her know it was okay for Misao and Sano to question him about Kaoru.
"You are Misao. Kaoru talked very much about you. I am her grandfather, related to her on her father's side. Her father is my son. Tae here, is Kaoru and Aoshi's adopted sister. And over there as you see two kids in the corner of the restaurant eating are both Tae's daughters, making them my adopted great grand daughters," said Dr. Gensai quietly. A smile never left his face.
Tae smiled pleasantly, then left to continue her work back at the restaurant.
"It's good to meet you sir. Look, we are Kaoru's good friends. Really close friends, however, almost a decade ago she left, without one word. She never told us where she was going. We have looked everywhere, and have not found her," said Sano trying not to muster anything to dangerously.
"Well I'm not surprised at all," said Dr Gensai looking at the astonished looks he received from both Misao and Sano. "In fact I thought you were going to come earlier, more like years ago. Instead you came in later then expected."
"We didn't mean to come in late, it's just that we hadn't realize, I had forgotten most of the information about Kaoru's family. Only a strange occurrence made me remember about you," said Misao feverously feeling ashamed of not knowing things she was supposed to know so well. The old man expected them a long time ago, but they never came.
"What strange occurrence happened?" asked Dr. Gensai.
"Well um. we are holding a special business party next week, and a guest of ours came over to add in some name for his Fiancée. His name should remain private. But his mentioning of a certain name made me remember you," stated Misao too nervously.
"That is very interesting, however I am sorry I could not relay the where about of Kaoru." What Misao heard next made her heart jump to her throat. "Because for nearly a decade she has not kept in contact with me at all."