Disclaimers: Same as the last chapter - ain't mine until that movie. :)

Notes: Apparently, I didn't make it as soon as I thought I would. Not very many notes this time, but thank you for the heartwarming reviews. It's good to see some of you again! They make my day. I love reviews... they make me feel loved. :D



Contemplation

By Sean Montgomery





Three weeks later Kenshin found he had to watch himself when he was around Kaoru. When he realized how much the assistant master meant to him he had impulses he would have acted on... if it weren't for they weren't courting.

That bothered him later on. With Sano gone and Yahiko moving out of the dojo, they had the place to themselves. He knew the rumors that must have been going around the city about the instructor and the former manslayer - himself getting most of the negative attention - but he didn't want to ask her to do anything with him simply because of some things people had been saying.

He smirked to himself. Maybe that's why he insisted on getting everything from town lately.

Taking a deep breath of the cool night air, Kenshin looked at the countless amount of stars over his head. Small, yet beautiful, decorating the dark sky, making it seem a slight blue... blue, like her eyes.

"{Now, now.}" he thought, shaking his head. "{I can't be thinking like that. I haven't even suggested the idea to her, that I have not.}"

Almost bashfully, he looked at the sky again.

"{But it's really tempting.}"

Using his right hand, he rubbed his eyes, trying to think about his current situation other than the things that reminded him of the woman who was sleeping in a room not very far away. He knew he liked her - that was plain enough. And he knew he wanted to marry her ("{Courting comes first!}" he reminded himself). It was just getting past the hard part. Asking her.

While he wasn't the most romantic man in the world, he knew all she would ever want in his question was sincerity. He knew he could do that, he just didn't know if the question would come out before he fell into a fit of muttering 'oro's while trying. That made him gulp. What if he mumbled? What if he took so long getting his words out that she hit him?

...What if she said 'no'?

He hung his head and groaned. He was nearly thirty, for goodness sakes! He was acting like a fifteen year old!

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and forced himself to relax. He had to think things through. He was thinking about starting a relationship that he very much wanted to end up in marriage. He wanted to be with her, not just living with her, but have the assurance that she'll be with him as long as he lived. The thought suddenly made him think of white plums. Tomoe. What would she think?

"What do you think, Tomoe?" he asked aloud, looking at the sky once more. "Do you think that I've been living alone long enough? It's been a long time, that it has. Would you agree with my courting again?"

His mind's eye saw it clearly. He could see Tomoe in the same place she died, but she was still as lovely to him. She wasn't marked with the wound that killed her, but standing with her hands folded, staring right at his eyes. And in them, he saw nothing but approval, and her smile told him everything. In his own way, he smiled back.

"Thank you." he answered. "Don't think this means I'll forget you. I could never. I'm just making room in my heart now for Kaoru."

"Kenshin?"

"Oro?!" The sound startled him so much he nearly fell over. Looking over to the left, he found Kaoru struggling to make her way onto the roof. "Why are you up here? You should be resting!"

She stood before him and took in his clothing, noting he hadn't changed into his yukata yet, meaning he had been up there for a while. She also noticed his left arm in the sling, and confusion was on her face. "*How* did you get up here?"

He smiled. "It isn't very hard, that it isn't. You made it up here, didn't you?"

She sat down next to him, pulling her robe closer around herself. "I meant how could you do it with a sling?"

"Well, that isn't very hard either."

She shook her head. "Never mind. What brings you to the roof?"

He looked at the sea of stars again. "I needed to think about some things."

"And you couldn't think on the ground?"

"Important things. Crucial things." he turned to look at her and noted her slightly frustrated face. "I like it up here anyway. You can see so many things." he shrugged. "It's just easier to think."

"What were you thinking about?"

His eyes widened.

"If you don't mind my asking."

Oh, he didn't mind her asking. *He* was the one who needed to be asking! How ironic that she would choose that very moment to come on the roof so innocently and ask him what he was thinking about. He could say many things; 'you', 'us', 'our future together' came to mind. Swallowing a bit of nervousness that threatened to shake him, he took a breath and said the honest truth. "You."

"Me?" she said, a blush lightly staining her face, while her eyes widened in surprise. "Why me?"

His stomach fell with that question. He hoped his palms weren't shaking. "I was thinking about how long we've known each other, how so many things have changed."

"That's true. Many things have changed."

"And that Enishi's revenge made me think about something." her silence told him to continue. "That after all we've been through together, with Ji'neh, and Saito, Shishio and now Enishi, it was being without you that hurt the most."

A blush had returned to her face when he turned to look at her again. "{Deep breaths.}" he thought. "{Deep breaths.}"

"Kenshin?"

"I know I'm being bold again, and I hope you'll forgive me again, but I don't think I'm being fair to you if I keep..." he stopped suddenly, trying to gather his thoughts. "{Just get it out!}" part of him screamed. "{Just say it!}"

And say it he did.

"I like you, Kaoru."

Looking at her, he could honestly say she was shocked. But the joy and relief in her eyes gave him hope. Blushing slightly, she answered, "I like you, too."

His smile was warm. "Really?"

"Kenshin no baka. I've liked you for quite a while. Hasn't it been obvious?"

He thought back to many times where he remembered he thought she was acting strange, and realized it was. The smile broadened. "I've been thinking about this for a while now, and... well..." he took another deep breath, unaware of Kaoru's analyzing gaze, realizing just how adorable he was when he was nervous. "I would be honored if you'd allow me to court you."

There. He had said it. It was that moment when he thought that the loudest sound he had heard in his life wasn't the sounds of war, but his own heartbeat. The silence continued, and he took it for rejection. The light in his eyes fell and his form slouched. "I understand if...oro?"

He hadn't expected on seeing her tear-stained face. Her smile told him everything behind them. His nervous expression must have stayed on his face, for she suddenly shook her head and scooted closer to him. "Kenshin no baka." she whispered affectionately.

He had never realized his insides were trembling with the intensity of his emotions and the fact that she hadn't really answered his question. "Is... is that a yes?"

She giggled, the tears of joy still pouring. A gentle hand came and wiped them away. She opened her eyes and saw in his everything that he was feeling.

"Is it a yes?" he asked again, slightly more urgent this time.

"Kenshin no baka!" she nearly laughed, scooting closer to him again and looping her hand through his arm, cursing the sling that prevented her from holding his hand, something she wished she could have been doing. Looking at the sky, she smiled when she felt his hand cover hers on his arm, the callouses brushing against the soft skin.

She closed her eyes. "It's a yes."





This might not be complete yet. I'm not sure if this was quite the way that I wanted this part to go, but I'm satisfied with it. I'll put a note up if it ends up being revised.

What did you guys think? Feed back would be greatly appreciated, especially since this chapter was difficult to keep in character.

By the way, I finally saw 'Reflection' over the weekend. You guys were right - I cried all through the end. I also saw 'Trust and Betrayal'. That was pretty cool too, and helped inspire the little part up there where Kenshin asks Tomoe about courting Kaoru. I thought that, since he had such a deep relationship with her (according to what little we see conveyed in the OAV), he would want to remind her that he's not forgetting about her but 'making room in his heart for Kaoru'. Aww....

See you next chapter!