Disclaimer: NOPE!!! NO OWNAGE OF KENSHIN OVER HERE!!!
Author's Notes: AHHHH!!! I've been so wrapped up in writing 'Breaking Through' and coming up with all these story BEGINNINGS (all of which I have NO clues for where to go AFTER the beginning point) that I forgot about this one!! And I drew a picture for Dark Kishi's fic, 'Freedom' (GO READ IT!!) and guess what? I LOST IT AT SCHOOL!!! I think it's in one of my books but I don't remember which one, which means the hunt is on!! But I am now writing in this story. So congratulate me!!! I have been flooded with reviews so I don't think I'm going to be able to put those in. Plus someone reviewed and told me they were scary..... KRYSTALSAILORMOON, I mailed you the last part of TSFTSES, which means, fans of the 'side-story', if she writes me back IT SHALL BE CONTINUING IN THIS FIC! Oh! And Kenshin'sgrl, I'm thinking over your idea. If what I have started to somewhat plan out for this story doesn't work, then you will be seeing your idea. I like it. So we shall see, okay?
~Silhouettes of Shadows~
*** Chapter 5- Afternoon Visitors and the Promise***
"What do I have to promise you?" Kaoru questioned slowly, almost afraid of what his answer would be.
He sighed and stared at her momentarily, as if sizing her up. Kaoru squirmed beneath his gaze and finally he spoke.
"You must promise me many things, koishii." He explained, turning away from her to stare towards the brightly lit sky. "You must promise me that you will keep yourself safe."
"Of course."
"You must promise me that you will never love another the way you do me."
Kaoru turned towards him. "Never."
"Never promise or you'd never?"
"I'd never feel that way for another."
He nodded and then proceeded. "You must promise me---"
"Jou-chan!" came the screech. "Kenji's getting into the cupboards again!"
Kaoru looked at Kenshin apologetically. "I'm sorry, I have to go get Kenji. I'll be back as soon as I can."
She jumped up and ran off to help Sano. Kenshin sat there and sulked. So close. He had been so close. So close he could taste it, he could feel it in his bones. His entire body was awakened to the moment and now it was lost.
"And so I just wanted to give this to you." Kenshin continued, even though he knew she was gone, sarcastically speaking to the air. "Oh thank you Kenshin. You're so welcome. Yadda yadda."
Finally getting his sudden growing anger under control he strolled inside to help Kaoru with Kenji. He twisted through the hall and into the doorway, only to find a new bundle set into his arms. He nearly dropped it but he clutched the red thing quickly.
"He got into the rice.... we have to go up town to buy some more, so can you watch Kenji, Kenshin? Please?" Kaoru begged him, pouting.
Kenshin adjusted Kenji and nodded to Kaoru. She smiled and kissed his cheek quickly before walking out the door with Sano and Yahiko on her heels. Kenshin turned to Kenji who just stared at him with wide eyes.
"So.... what do you do all day?" Kenshin asked him, not exactly sure of how to act around his son.
Kenji grabbed a little bokken from the side and smacked Kenshin in the head.
"Oro!" he squeaked. "So that's what you do."
Bringing Kenji into the dojo he set him down and sat in a corner watching him as he played around the room.
"Why did I let Kaoru go to the market?" he asked himself. "Sure Sano and Yahiko are with her but why did I let her go?"
Unknown to him, Kenji had snuck up to him and was drawing closer to the katana that was still securely placed next to the new sakabatou, just in case he would need it. Kenji's hand hovered above the hilt, not sure what to do. He was too young to understand the difference between a real sword and the ones that his mother played around with, so he just reached out for it.
Kenshin felt something at his side and immediately pulled his swords toward him. He caught Kenji's hand in the process. Letting go and carefully removing Kenji's hand, he stared down at his shocked violet eyes as they stared back at him.
"No. You don't touch my swords." Kenshin warned. "These aren't wood, they hurt people."
Kenji pouted to him, hoping it would have the same affect on him that it did on his mother. For being on the verge of turning two years old, Kenji was very smart and knew how to get around things.
'He's kind of cute!' the rurouni said. 'Isn't he cute?'
'Yeah, I guess.' Battousai grumbled. 'Hey! What am I thinking? I don't think things are cute!'
Shaking his head he stared at Kenji and lifted him onto his lap.
"Daddy's swords are sharp." He tried to explain.
"Sharp." Kenji repeated, trying the word on for size.
"Yes. They hurt. " he continued. "Make people cry. So you don't touch them. No one but me touches them. No one else needs to touch these."
Kenji seemed to understand and Kenshin smiled at him. Kenji just smiled back and grabbed a bokken, hitting him again.
"Oro! You've been around your mother and Uncle Sano too long!" Kenshin complained, earning himself a giggle from Kenji.
A sudden rustling alerted his Battousai senses, and he sought out a ki. Grabbing Kenji and trying to find a place to hide him, he inched along the halls until he found a closet to stay in. He opened the door and set Kenji down, trying to keep him quiet.
"Shh." He said, kneeling on the floor so Kenji had something to grab onto.
He searched for a ki while slightly opening the paper door that contained them. His mind could feel the pressure of two or more men in the dojo, and soon his eyes caught sight of them, also. They were walking around as if they were inspecting the dojo, but the ki they gave off was strong, as if they were searching for a fight.
"So this is where Kamiya lives." One of them said.
Battousai growled within him. 'They're after Kaoru.... if they touch her I will kill them if you like it or not.' He warned his other halves.
"Kind of run down, don't you think?" another stated, walking along the wall and picking up the practice bokkens.
"What do you expect from a whore like her, anyway? She's only 20 and she has a kid, no husband, and lives with an ex-gangster and his younger brother, has ties to the Oniwabanshu, she's just asking for trouble." The first man stated.
"I thought she was with the Battousai."
"Battousai's dead, we all know that. He hasn't killed anyone in 2 years and the war is still raging, so he must have died somewhere along the line."
The other man turned to face the first. "Wouldn't it be fun to claim her as our own before we killed her? A spirit like hers would be fun to break."
It took a lot of control to stay in the closest after that comment. He hadn't minded them speaking about him, but no one was allowed to speak of Kaoru like that. Battousai's amber eyes gleamed maliciously towards the men who had no clue they were speaking about the Battousai's koishii in his presence. He kept quiet and continued to hope Kenji realized he needed to be quiet.
"That would be fun, but she won't go down that easy. And we won't have time. To get to her we'll probably have to use the kid."
"Her student?"
"No, her baby. She knows the kid can hold a fight, the gangster could probably kill us if he wanted, but the baby will be her defeat." The man stated. "If we could just find the baby...... she didn't bring him with her today when she left."
'They've been watching her? How long has this been happening? Why didn't I feel their presence earlier?' Kenshin wondered suddenly.
"Either way we can't attack until she's alone. One day when the gangster and his brother leave her alone. " the man continued. "It's going to be as painful as possible, also."
"Why are we doing this, again?"
"Her father refused to teach me this Kamiya Kasshin Ryu because it protects without killing, and I killed a student. They never realized how strong their style could be if they just used it to it's potential. I need to get revenge on them and destroy the Kamiya line. If she had only been in the dojo the first day when I burned it down. No, she had been off visiting and now she got back on her feet."
He walked over to the plaque on the dojo that stated the master's name and the style along with its ideals.
"Kamiya Kaoru, Adjacent Master, Kamiya Kasshin Ryu, The sword that protects life without killing." He read, his eyes scanning the writing. "Die Kamiya. But before we go, lets leave them a message."
By now Kenshin and completely closed the shoji, so he could not spy on what was occurring outside. He heard a lot of rustling and could only wait to see what had happened in the dojo. He felt their ki and waited for them to leave. Once they were out of his range, he opened the door to the stuffy closet and allowed Kenji to step out on his own before following.
The walls were covered in messages, the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu plaque lay on the floor. Kenshin lifted it up and read it, anger bubbling inside him. How long had these men been watching Kaoru? Why didn't they know that he had returned? They had a surprise coming for them if they thought that they could get to Kaoru.
He let his eyes travel back to the walls and read the messages.
SLUT.
DISGRACEFUL WOMAN.
DIE KAMIYA.
DOWN WITH KAMIYA KASSHIN RYU.
KENDO IS NOT FOR WOMEN.
LEAVE WHILE YOU STILL CAN.
The messages only angered him more. They had been splattered along the walls with ink, which was slowly seeping its way into the porous wood. Kenshin glanced over toward Kenji, who had fallen asleep on the floor. He left quickly to get a blanket and came back, placing Kenji on it before he started to clean the walls, thinking over if he should tell Kaoru, Sano, and Yahiko what was happening.
*********** ***********
"Kenshin!" came Kaoru's voice, twisting through the building. "We're back!"
Kenshin dropped the cloth he had been holding. He had finally cleaned off all of the graffiti and could safely keep the happenings of that afternoon a secret. Kaoru walked into the dojo and saw Kenji lying peacefully upon the blanket. She smiled and looked over at him.
"How long has he been asleep?" she questioned as she lifted him into her arms gently.
Kenshin watched, mesmerized, before answering. "A few hours, maybe two or three."
She starts to leave but stops. "Kenshin?"
"Hai?"
"What were you doing in here? Your eyes are amber." She told him.
Kenshin hadn't realized he was still in his angered Battousai mode from when the mysterious men had showed up and threatened his family. He shook his head.
"Must have gotten into my work. I wasn't really doing anything." He lied easily.
She nodded and walked off with Kenji, leaving Kenshin alone in the dojo to think over what had been plaguing him.
*********** ***********
The rest of the night flew by quickly. Sano and Yahiko argued over dinner and who was going to eat the last of the food, Kenji watched and tried to perform some of punches and kicks that Sano and Yahiko were exchanging on Kenshin, Kaoru got angry and added in a few words. Dysfunctional family, Kenshin came to think of them as, but a family nonetheless that he needed to protect.
Now he was sitting upon the roof, staring blankly at the stars that dotted the sky so lightly. He could hear Sano and Yahiko telling Kaoru that they would take Kenji for the night over to where Sano had been renting a home, and heard Kaoru's protests, saying it wasn't as safe place. Finally Sano had won her over and she had stomped back inside, presumably to go to sleep.
His thoughts wandered as he thought over what had occurred that afternoon. Maybe it had been good that he had not been given the chance to finish what he was trying to say to Kaoru. As long as no one knew he had returned, the safer Kenji and her were. He shook his head. No, he decided, he needed to ask her that.
A sound shook him out of his thoughts and Kaoru had joined him up on the roof, leaning her head on his shoulder as she sat comfortably next to him. Unconsciously he wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer but never taking his gaze away from the sky.
"Kenshin, the whole time you were gone, what did you do?" she asked.
"I trained, became stronger, made a vow never to kill unless it was to protect you." He answered slowly.
She glanced down towards their now intertwined hands. "I haven't allowed you to kill for me yet, so what makes you think I will now?"
"You never know when it will become necessary. I killed Shishio, didn't I?"
She shook her head. "I had no say in that. I was too weak to stop you and you were too far gone in anger to be stopped, even if I had tried."
"Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant before I left?"
"I didn't want to scare you off." She answered him truthfully. "I didn't think you'd come back if you knew."
He glanced over at her, shock on his face. "Why would I do that?"
"Battousai doesn't pass me as one who likes children or wishes to dwell upon the dangers and risks he would be putting a child into. So I kept it hidden and waited for to come back." She told him.
"You'd be surprised. Even when I was Battousai, I often played with children. They held and innocence I was never allowed to contain." He said solemnly.
"Kenshin, you're still Battousai. He's a part of you. But at the same time, you've changed who you are." Kaoru told him. "You can't deny that you never were the Battousai. That title is going to follow you forever. But you can admit it and repent for what you did."
He glanced toward her, shocked at her sense. "Which I wish to begin now, by finishing what I was trying to say to you earlier. Can I?"
Kaoru giggled. "Yes, go ahead."
He smiled. "You must promise me that you will allow me to protect you, for always."
She nodded to him. "I promise."
"You must promise to be truthful to me, to never hold anything away from me."
"I promise you."
He reached into his gi. "And you must promise me that you will wait for me."
"What are you doing? Are you leaving again?"
He shook his head. "No. But, I am giving you this ring. It's not an engagement ring, for I am not prepared for that commitment. It is a promise ring, to always hold those promises you just gave me."
He slipped it onto her right ring finger.
"One day maybe I will be ready to commit to you but now I am not. All I can do is hope this is enough."
"I promise you this is more than enough for now." She told him. "But you have to promise me something before I accept this."
"What koishii?"
"Kenshin-anata, you had better not ever leave me again."
"Hai, I promise koishii."
Author's Notes: Well......... there you go!!! My god I'm so tired...... my eyes are like dying. Hehehehehehehehehe!! Was that as sucky as I thought it was? Well, we're leading up to where I've been trying to get. Hope this works out correctly!!!
Since I have not much to say now......... and all I want to do is sleep, I will say GOODBYE!!!
Luv and hugs,
Crystal Renee
Author's Notes: AHHHH!!! I've been so wrapped up in writing 'Breaking Through' and coming up with all these story BEGINNINGS (all of which I have NO clues for where to go AFTER the beginning point) that I forgot about this one!! And I drew a picture for Dark Kishi's fic, 'Freedom' (GO READ IT!!) and guess what? I LOST IT AT SCHOOL!!! I think it's in one of my books but I don't remember which one, which means the hunt is on!! But I am now writing in this story. So congratulate me!!! I have been flooded with reviews so I don't think I'm going to be able to put those in. Plus someone reviewed and told me they were scary..... KRYSTALSAILORMOON, I mailed you the last part of TSFTSES, which means, fans of the 'side-story', if she writes me back IT SHALL BE CONTINUING IN THIS FIC! Oh! And Kenshin'sgrl, I'm thinking over your idea. If what I have started to somewhat plan out for this story doesn't work, then you will be seeing your idea. I like it. So we shall see, okay?
~Silhouettes of Shadows~
*** Chapter 5- Afternoon Visitors and the Promise***
"What do I have to promise you?" Kaoru questioned slowly, almost afraid of what his answer would be.
He sighed and stared at her momentarily, as if sizing her up. Kaoru squirmed beneath his gaze and finally he spoke.
"You must promise me many things, koishii." He explained, turning away from her to stare towards the brightly lit sky. "You must promise me that you will keep yourself safe."
"Of course."
"You must promise me that you will never love another the way you do me."
Kaoru turned towards him. "Never."
"Never promise or you'd never?"
"I'd never feel that way for another."
He nodded and then proceeded. "You must promise me---"
"Jou-chan!" came the screech. "Kenji's getting into the cupboards again!"
Kaoru looked at Kenshin apologetically. "I'm sorry, I have to go get Kenji. I'll be back as soon as I can."
She jumped up and ran off to help Sano. Kenshin sat there and sulked. So close. He had been so close. So close he could taste it, he could feel it in his bones. His entire body was awakened to the moment and now it was lost.
"And so I just wanted to give this to you." Kenshin continued, even though he knew she was gone, sarcastically speaking to the air. "Oh thank you Kenshin. You're so welcome. Yadda yadda."
Finally getting his sudden growing anger under control he strolled inside to help Kaoru with Kenji. He twisted through the hall and into the doorway, only to find a new bundle set into his arms. He nearly dropped it but he clutched the red thing quickly.
"He got into the rice.... we have to go up town to buy some more, so can you watch Kenji, Kenshin? Please?" Kaoru begged him, pouting.
Kenshin adjusted Kenji and nodded to Kaoru. She smiled and kissed his cheek quickly before walking out the door with Sano and Yahiko on her heels. Kenshin turned to Kenji who just stared at him with wide eyes.
"So.... what do you do all day?" Kenshin asked him, not exactly sure of how to act around his son.
Kenji grabbed a little bokken from the side and smacked Kenshin in the head.
"Oro!" he squeaked. "So that's what you do."
Bringing Kenji into the dojo he set him down and sat in a corner watching him as he played around the room.
"Why did I let Kaoru go to the market?" he asked himself. "Sure Sano and Yahiko are with her but why did I let her go?"
Unknown to him, Kenji had snuck up to him and was drawing closer to the katana that was still securely placed next to the new sakabatou, just in case he would need it. Kenji's hand hovered above the hilt, not sure what to do. He was too young to understand the difference between a real sword and the ones that his mother played around with, so he just reached out for it.
Kenshin felt something at his side and immediately pulled his swords toward him. He caught Kenji's hand in the process. Letting go and carefully removing Kenji's hand, he stared down at his shocked violet eyes as they stared back at him.
"No. You don't touch my swords." Kenshin warned. "These aren't wood, they hurt people."
Kenji pouted to him, hoping it would have the same affect on him that it did on his mother. For being on the verge of turning two years old, Kenji was very smart and knew how to get around things.
'He's kind of cute!' the rurouni said. 'Isn't he cute?'
'Yeah, I guess.' Battousai grumbled. 'Hey! What am I thinking? I don't think things are cute!'
Shaking his head he stared at Kenji and lifted him onto his lap.
"Daddy's swords are sharp." He tried to explain.
"Sharp." Kenji repeated, trying the word on for size.
"Yes. They hurt. " he continued. "Make people cry. So you don't touch them. No one but me touches them. No one else needs to touch these."
Kenji seemed to understand and Kenshin smiled at him. Kenji just smiled back and grabbed a bokken, hitting him again.
"Oro! You've been around your mother and Uncle Sano too long!" Kenshin complained, earning himself a giggle from Kenji.
A sudden rustling alerted his Battousai senses, and he sought out a ki. Grabbing Kenji and trying to find a place to hide him, he inched along the halls until he found a closet to stay in. He opened the door and set Kenji down, trying to keep him quiet.
"Shh." He said, kneeling on the floor so Kenji had something to grab onto.
He searched for a ki while slightly opening the paper door that contained them. His mind could feel the pressure of two or more men in the dojo, and soon his eyes caught sight of them, also. They were walking around as if they were inspecting the dojo, but the ki they gave off was strong, as if they were searching for a fight.
"So this is where Kamiya lives." One of them said.
Battousai growled within him. 'They're after Kaoru.... if they touch her I will kill them if you like it or not.' He warned his other halves.
"Kind of run down, don't you think?" another stated, walking along the wall and picking up the practice bokkens.
"What do you expect from a whore like her, anyway? She's only 20 and she has a kid, no husband, and lives with an ex-gangster and his younger brother, has ties to the Oniwabanshu, she's just asking for trouble." The first man stated.
"I thought she was with the Battousai."
"Battousai's dead, we all know that. He hasn't killed anyone in 2 years and the war is still raging, so he must have died somewhere along the line."
The other man turned to face the first. "Wouldn't it be fun to claim her as our own before we killed her? A spirit like hers would be fun to break."
It took a lot of control to stay in the closest after that comment. He hadn't minded them speaking about him, but no one was allowed to speak of Kaoru like that. Battousai's amber eyes gleamed maliciously towards the men who had no clue they were speaking about the Battousai's koishii in his presence. He kept quiet and continued to hope Kenji realized he needed to be quiet.
"That would be fun, but she won't go down that easy. And we won't have time. To get to her we'll probably have to use the kid."
"Her student?"
"No, her baby. She knows the kid can hold a fight, the gangster could probably kill us if he wanted, but the baby will be her defeat." The man stated. "If we could just find the baby...... she didn't bring him with her today when she left."
'They've been watching her? How long has this been happening? Why didn't I feel their presence earlier?' Kenshin wondered suddenly.
"Either way we can't attack until she's alone. One day when the gangster and his brother leave her alone. " the man continued. "It's going to be as painful as possible, also."
"Why are we doing this, again?"
"Her father refused to teach me this Kamiya Kasshin Ryu because it protects without killing, and I killed a student. They never realized how strong their style could be if they just used it to it's potential. I need to get revenge on them and destroy the Kamiya line. If she had only been in the dojo the first day when I burned it down. No, she had been off visiting and now she got back on her feet."
He walked over to the plaque on the dojo that stated the master's name and the style along with its ideals.
"Kamiya Kaoru, Adjacent Master, Kamiya Kasshin Ryu, The sword that protects life without killing." He read, his eyes scanning the writing. "Die Kamiya. But before we go, lets leave them a message."
By now Kenshin and completely closed the shoji, so he could not spy on what was occurring outside. He heard a lot of rustling and could only wait to see what had happened in the dojo. He felt their ki and waited for them to leave. Once they were out of his range, he opened the door to the stuffy closet and allowed Kenji to step out on his own before following.
The walls were covered in messages, the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu plaque lay on the floor. Kenshin lifted it up and read it, anger bubbling inside him. How long had these men been watching Kaoru? Why didn't they know that he had returned? They had a surprise coming for them if they thought that they could get to Kaoru.
He let his eyes travel back to the walls and read the messages.
SLUT.
DISGRACEFUL WOMAN.
DIE KAMIYA.
DOWN WITH KAMIYA KASSHIN RYU.
KENDO IS NOT FOR WOMEN.
LEAVE WHILE YOU STILL CAN.
The messages only angered him more. They had been splattered along the walls with ink, which was slowly seeping its way into the porous wood. Kenshin glanced over toward Kenji, who had fallen asleep on the floor. He left quickly to get a blanket and came back, placing Kenji on it before he started to clean the walls, thinking over if he should tell Kaoru, Sano, and Yahiko what was happening.
*********** ***********
"Kenshin!" came Kaoru's voice, twisting through the building. "We're back!"
Kenshin dropped the cloth he had been holding. He had finally cleaned off all of the graffiti and could safely keep the happenings of that afternoon a secret. Kaoru walked into the dojo and saw Kenji lying peacefully upon the blanket. She smiled and looked over at him.
"How long has he been asleep?" she questioned as she lifted him into her arms gently.
Kenshin watched, mesmerized, before answering. "A few hours, maybe two or three."
She starts to leave but stops. "Kenshin?"
"Hai?"
"What were you doing in here? Your eyes are amber." She told him.
Kenshin hadn't realized he was still in his angered Battousai mode from when the mysterious men had showed up and threatened his family. He shook his head.
"Must have gotten into my work. I wasn't really doing anything." He lied easily.
She nodded and walked off with Kenji, leaving Kenshin alone in the dojo to think over what had been plaguing him.
*********** ***********
The rest of the night flew by quickly. Sano and Yahiko argued over dinner and who was going to eat the last of the food, Kenji watched and tried to perform some of punches and kicks that Sano and Yahiko were exchanging on Kenshin, Kaoru got angry and added in a few words. Dysfunctional family, Kenshin came to think of them as, but a family nonetheless that he needed to protect.
Now he was sitting upon the roof, staring blankly at the stars that dotted the sky so lightly. He could hear Sano and Yahiko telling Kaoru that they would take Kenji for the night over to where Sano had been renting a home, and heard Kaoru's protests, saying it wasn't as safe place. Finally Sano had won her over and she had stomped back inside, presumably to go to sleep.
His thoughts wandered as he thought over what had occurred that afternoon. Maybe it had been good that he had not been given the chance to finish what he was trying to say to Kaoru. As long as no one knew he had returned, the safer Kenji and her were. He shook his head. No, he decided, he needed to ask her that.
A sound shook him out of his thoughts and Kaoru had joined him up on the roof, leaning her head on his shoulder as she sat comfortably next to him. Unconsciously he wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer but never taking his gaze away from the sky.
"Kenshin, the whole time you were gone, what did you do?" she asked.
"I trained, became stronger, made a vow never to kill unless it was to protect you." He answered slowly.
She glanced down towards their now intertwined hands. "I haven't allowed you to kill for me yet, so what makes you think I will now?"
"You never know when it will become necessary. I killed Shishio, didn't I?"
She shook her head. "I had no say in that. I was too weak to stop you and you were too far gone in anger to be stopped, even if I had tried."
"Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant before I left?"
"I didn't want to scare you off." She answered him truthfully. "I didn't think you'd come back if you knew."
He glanced over at her, shock on his face. "Why would I do that?"
"Battousai doesn't pass me as one who likes children or wishes to dwell upon the dangers and risks he would be putting a child into. So I kept it hidden and waited for to come back." She told him.
"You'd be surprised. Even when I was Battousai, I often played with children. They held and innocence I was never allowed to contain." He said solemnly.
"Kenshin, you're still Battousai. He's a part of you. But at the same time, you've changed who you are." Kaoru told him. "You can't deny that you never were the Battousai. That title is going to follow you forever. But you can admit it and repent for what you did."
He glanced toward her, shocked at her sense. "Which I wish to begin now, by finishing what I was trying to say to you earlier. Can I?"
Kaoru giggled. "Yes, go ahead."
He smiled. "You must promise me that you will allow me to protect you, for always."
She nodded to him. "I promise."
"You must promise to be truthful to me, to never hold anything away from me."
"I promise you."
He reached into his gi. "And you must promise me that you will wait for me."
"What are you doing? Are you leaving again?"
He shook his head. "No. But, I am giving you this ring. It's not an engagement ring, for I am not prepared for that commitment. It is a promise ring, to always hold those promises you just gave me."
He slipped it onto her right ring finger.
"One day maybe I will be ready to commit to you but now I am not. All I can do is hope this is enough."
"I promise you this is more than enough for now." She told him. "But you have to promise me something before I accept this."
"What koishii?"
"Kenshin-anata, you had better not ever leave me again."
"Hai, I promise koishii."
Author's Notes: Well......... there you go!!! My god I'm so tired...... my eyes are like dying. Hehehehehehehehehe!! Was that as sucky as I thought it was? Well, we're leading up to where I've been trying to get. Hope this works out correctly!!!
Since I have not much to say now......... and all I want to do is sleep, I will say GOODBYE!!!
Luv and hugs,
Crystal Renee