Puppeteers

Note: ::bounces:: Everything about this story makes me happy… except the typos… which I will one day fix. When I'm bored enough. I'm so happy about all of you reviewing me… it's… a dream come true to have so many reviewers and fans… and so many reviews, period! I honestly thought this story would flop… especially because of the angst I had built the entire plot line from… In fact… I built this entire story off of the song 'Seven Miles From the Sun', which is a Maroon 5 song. Very cool song. This entire story is based off of that particular song… which spawned what was going to be a one-shot story about Kenshin watching Kaoru get married to the wrong man, but feeling too unworthy to say anything about it… and then I kept thinking about it, developing that one scene over and over. I debated throwing it away (and I actually trashed the idea for the story twice), until I was over at Rhi-chan's house one day, and she gave me a huge stack of one-subject notebooks and a pencil. My insomnia took over, and my muses caught a huge bout of inspiration. I picked up the pencil and wrote the first chapter in half an hour. Within two hours, I'd written the first three chapters into the notebook. I put it on hold until they were typed and posted. When they went up, I was surprised that they were doing well, and ended up rushing to get more done… eventually, I stopped using the notebook and just started writing the chapters straight onto the computer, cutting Rhi-chan's job out of the picture. Still, she was an essential part of this story, and it would not have been possible without her. This story was my solace from the agony of my Junior year (as I've said before), and became the outlet for my stress. Thank you all for everything, and I hope you like this final piece of my story! The next story appears to be 'The Samurai Wives', which is already up. Also up, as some of you may know by now, is what is going to be a short fantasy story titled 'Voix'. This one is different from the fantasy story I had in the poll, but I hope you all enjoy it, never the less.

Disclaimer: It's not mine… even though I love the characters so much. Please don't sue me!

cyberdemon- That night is supposed to be shrouded in mystery (I wanted everyone to use their imaginations as to what happened), but if you read the chapter afterwards, I do leave a few clues as to what I intended.

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Epilogue

'I cannot forget what it feels to regret, I'm so glad I met you. And you take my breath away, make every day worth all of the pain that I've gone through…'

-Maroon 5 'Seven Miles to the Sun'

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I tilted my head back to the sky, letting the sun shine warmly onto it. The dojo was quiet, with Sano off gambling, and Yahiko working at Tae's restaurant. The sweet bliss of peace blanketed over me, all the darkness of the past exactly where it belonged. In the past.

"Kenshin?" Kaoru's voice was soft as she stepped into the yard, where I was pinning clothes up to the line.

"Aa?" I replied, smiling as I turned to her. Her hair was loose around her shoulders, cotton yukata tied firmly around her waist.

She stepped into the yard and hugged me quickly. "I just wanted to make sure things are still real…"

It was a new tradition between us. Ever since our brush with eternal separation, she had taken to touching me every morning in order to make sure I was real. I smiled and touched her cheek tenderly.

"Yes, Kaoru… I'm still real… everything is still real… It has been for months now."

It was coming close to three months since Hiro had gone back to Osaka.

"Oh…" She smiled and held up a letter she had been holding. "Hiro sent a letter… it's addressed to you." She held it out to me, and I took it slowly.

"Thank you…" I slid it into my sleeve to read moments later. "But why don't you change into a kimono? Or at least your training clothes… it's getting to be too cold for a yukata."

She smiled and weaved her fingers between mine. "You sound like a mother…"

I smiled at her, squeezing her hand. "But if you get sick…" I trailed off.

"Then you can nurse me back to health, ne?" Her smile was beautiful.

I felt a pang of regret, knowing that I had taken some part of her innocence. A piece of her childish grace that had always been part of her personality. I regretted that it was I, the one stained with the blood of men, who was going to be spending his life with the lovely woman who believed in swords that gave life.

A smile was what I offered her, pulling her into my chest. "Right." I was complete, with her in my arms. Everyday of my atonement could be spent with Kaoru, and it would help to make my guilt bearable. In just three months of having her with me, loving me with no negative influences on our relationship, life was already considerably brighter.

I could see hope in the future for both of us.

"Kenshin?" She murmured from my chest.

I glanced down at her, stroking her cheek slowly with one finger. "Hai?"

She seemed content listening to my heartbeat, for she did not answer. Her eyes were closed gracefully.

"Why don't we read Hiro's letter?" I asked her, smiling.

She nodded, and we settled onto the floorboards outside the house. I opened the letter slowly and carefully, careful not to rip it.

I unfolded it and cleared my throat.

"Kenshin,

It was a pleasure to receive the letter containing the invitation to your wedding with Kaoru-chan. I do believe that I will be able to make it, and I look forward to seeing you both. I have complete confidence that you are taking care of her, just as you promised. You are not a man who would go back on his word, especially about something so important as your fiancée. My best wishes to you both in your preparations for the wedding to come! Once again, I look forward to seeing you at your wedding!

Regards,

Tsukino Hiro"

She smiled. "I think he's doing well." She paused. "I'm glad he's coming to the wedding."

I nodded, combing her hair out with my fingers. "So am I… Very glad."

She leaned against me. I had never imagined that life could be so… complete. Never in all my life. Even when I had lived with Hiko carving my true name in the bark of a secret tree. Not when I lived in the inn as an assassin, and then in the house of a farmer with Tomoe. When she was gone, the hole in my heart had widened to where all my hopes for the future were dashed.

I never thought life would get better again when I wandered for ten years, and at the end of ten years, I stepped into Tokyo. A young kendo instructor, a woman defending her school's honor, attacked me with a wooden sword. I went home with her to patch her up, and found myself living with her. I brought her a student, and I never knew the truth about her. She had never told me about her courtship with another man, and I fell in love with her. Maybe I would have anyway. She followed me to Kyoto to tell me I would be fighting another foe I hadn't expected, and we ended up tangled in Life's strings on us. Then we took control of ourselves, and became our own puppeteers.

I still should have known that something would have happened that night.

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Note: I think I'm going to cry… I didn't know how I was going to end the epilogue… but this just seems right. I'm overwhelmed by the sheer… emotion of this moment, as I write my final words to you for this story. As I keep saying, I have great emotional bonds to this story. When it first went over the highest amount of reviews I'd ever gotten (at 56), I was thrilled. When the reviews went over 100, I was ecstatic. As the number of reviews mounted, I began to see what a response I was getting… I was absolutely overwhelmed. Now, as I write this, the last time I checked my review count for this story, I have 202 reviews. This has been a dream come true for me, who has dreamed of so many reviews since I first joined ff.net with my original pen name (and another account), way back when (I think it was November of 2000). You guys are… incredible. ::hugs everyone again, handing them tiny Kenshin puppets:: Thank you all so much for making my dream come true with this story. Please return for my next story, and I hope to see you all there!

-Bando-Eido no Megami-sama