:waves: Hiya everybody! Well, I'm finally back with the last chapter! That's right; Layers of the Soul is finally coming to its dramatic conclusion. Sorry it took so long to put this up, but I had to do a few more things than I normally do before getting it posted. Since I decided to finish all my stories on the same day, I had to write and edit all of them before any could be posted.

It didn't help that I had a small case of writer's block over the weekend. Well, it was actually less of a writer's block and more of a lack of enthusiasm. In the time it took for me to get back to writing this, I'd written up two new songfics, and typed up six poems to post on Fictionpress. Anyway, there was something about working on them and listening to the song, "Lovin' Every Minute" that got me back into my stride.

Now, I have one more thing to say before you get to the story. Here is where I bore you with my reflecting. Be patient, it'll be short.

As with most authors, I believe my work could be improved upon. Also, as with most stories, it probably can. However, I have surprisingly few regrets when it comes to this story.

It has helped me develop my writing style and formation, and it also helped me write a lot more than I use to be able to. Before this story, I believed that 1000 words a chapter was just right. Talk about lazy, right?

Thanks to this story, and to you guys, I'm now much more confident in my writing abilities and can go on to write even better stories. For this, I thank you all.

Disclaimer :sniffs: All right, this is the last time I'll have to say this…:gulps: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin:breathes deeply: Thank goodness. I won't have to say that anymore.

Now, without further ado, the 11th and final chapter of Layers of the Soul!

Click.

Kazue's eyes shot open at the sound. Her jaw dropped, and she could have sworn she felt her heart murmur a bit. She pulled the trigger again, hoping against hope that it would work. Again, 'click' was all that was heard. No shot, no bullet, nothing.

For a moment, everything was silent, each of the three people present reacting their own way. Kazue was all but drowning in disbelief, while Sano's mind was shrouded with confusion. Kenshin too, gawked in bewilderment, unsure if his vision was working correctly.

Then, as the moment ended, Kazue's disbelief was replaced with panic. She frantically- and rather clumsily- forced open the chamber of the gun. To her horror, all of the bullets were gone.

"No!" she screamed hysterically. "I had six bullets! Where's the sixth one!" She snapped the barrel back into place and pulled the trigger several more times, even though she new what she would be met with. Sure enough, each time, she was met with the same stubborn clicking noise.

While Kazue was a frantic as she was, Sano and Kenshin were finally able to take a breath.

"I have it Kid," said Sano, pulling it out of his pocket and holding it up. Immediately, Kazue whipped around to face him, and her face took on a look of complete horror.

"You dropped it back at the dojo," said Kenshin, sheathing his sword and stepping out of the shadows. "Yahiko picked it up after you dropped that gun."

Kazue's eyes darted to look at Kenshin, then Sanosuke, then back and forth a few times. Slowly, she started shaking her head and took several steps backwards.

"What…what is wrong with you?" Kazue asked weakly, looking at Sano in particular. She held out a hand and pointed at him, her voice and actions filled with disbelief and helplessness. Her other hand, which was shaking terribly, let the gun drop the ground. "You destroy my life, and then you won't even allow me to die in peace? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?"

She planted herself back against the railing, looking almost fearful. She turned and attempted to climb over the railing, a last, desperate effort to finish what she had started. However, she was quickly stopped by an arm reaching out in front of her, blocking her from a watery grave.

"Sorry kid," she heard Sano say. Then, something smashed into her stomach, sending pain shooting through every present nerve. Her head lurched forward, the wind knocked from her lungs. She coughed once, and then everything went black.

Kenshin caught Kazue as she slid backwards off the railing, albeit with a bit of difficulty. Sano blinked at the girl in surprise, raising an eyebrow.

"I didn't even hit her that hard," he commented, massaging his knuckles a bit. "She's even weaker than I thought."

"The stress on her probably had something to do with it too." Commented Kenshin, doing his best not to drop her. Even if she looked lanky, her weight didn't mirror it.

The two of them stood there a moment, trying to access the situation. Neither spoke, the sloshing of the river the only sound they heard. 'What will happen from here?' thought Kenshin. 'If Kazue-chan has tried this two times, will she try it again?'

"Missy's probably losing her mind," commented Sano, suddenly breaking the silence. He looked off in the direction of the dojo. "She'll probably lynch us if we don't hurry up and get back."

Kenshin nodded. "Probably best to get Kazue-chan away from here before she wakes up." Kenshin paused for a moment, thinking. "How do we go about getting her there?"

Sano blinked, then took Kazue and unceremoniously threw her over his shoulder. "Problem solved," He said as he started walking away.

"Oro?" Kenshin said, a sweatdrop atop his head. Then, after a moment's pause and a shake of his head, he followed. As he did, he hooked his foot around the side of the gun- which still lie on the ground- and gently slid it into the water. The quiet splash of water that followed held a bit of finality to it, but Kenshin knew they weren't through yet. There was still the matter of preventing another such situation, and that was probably going to be the hardest part of all.

In the early hours of the morning, just as the birds began to sing the sun into the sky, a scream of terror and bewilderment echoed through the still air of the Kamiya dojo. Sanosuke's eyes snapped open at the sound, and a groan soon followed.

"Why does this kid have to wake up so early?" he griped, rubbing his forehead.

"You must have hit Kazue-chan pretty hard, Sanosuke," said Kenshin, who was already awake. The two were in Kenshin's room, where they had spent the evening. From looking at them, anyone could tell that they were in much different spirits. Kenshin, his back straight and rigid, was probably far from being at ease. Sanosuke however, who was slouched over and yawning, was the exact opposite.

"Whatcha mean?" asked Sano, stretching.

"This one is just surprised at how long she was able to sleep." Kenshin responded, giving Sano calm smile. From outside, the two could hear Kazue trying to force the door to her room open. However, since they had wedged a broom handle into the door's track the night before, it most likely wouldn't be moving any time soon.

Sano and Kenshin looked toward the door of the room they were in presently, then to each other.

"What's the plan?" asked Sano, brushing some loose strands of hair out of his eyes. Kenshin shook his head.

"This one isn't sure," responded Kenshin. "We have to calm her down someone, that's all this one knows."

The two looked down at the floor, both of them thinking. Outside, the rustling continued, accompanied by the sound of footsteps. Apparently, Kazue had gained Kaoru and Yahiko's attention. Abruptly, Sanosuke stood up and thrust one of his hands into his pocket.

"I'll take care if it," he said, turning towards the door. Kenshin blinked at the taller man.

"Are you sure?" he asked, sounding slightly doubtful. Try as he might, he couldn't see Sano as the type to give advice or comfort. However, Sano nodded nonetheless.

"I think I can calm her down," he said, opening the door and stepping out.

By now, Kaoru and Yahiko were standing at the door of Kazue's room. Kaoru was looking a little nervous, while Yahiko was doing his best to move the broom handle. Unfortunately for him, his best didn't exactly get him anywhere.

Sano shook his head, and with one hand reached over and pulled it from the track. Almost simultaneously, Kazue threw the door open, nearly losing her balance. Apparently, she'd been propping her whole weight against it.

When she saw the three people standing before her, she froze in place, her eyes wide and staring. Apparently, from the looks of her, she hadn't had a very good sleep. Her hair was tangled into a knot atop her head, flopping over at odd angles. Her gi was slipping off one shoulder, and her wide eyes were practically bloodshot. In a way, she looked like some sort of rabid hobgoblin. She slouched down and took a step back into the room, away from them.

"Kazue-chan…" Kaoru said gently. The younger girl turned to her, a strange mixture of sadness and caution on her face.

Sano looked over his shoulder at the two behind him. "I'll talk to her," he said simply. "Don't get worked up." Then, he looked back at Kazue, slowly taking a step forward. Just as he guessed, she backed up.

As he stepped into the room, he closed the door behind him, leaning back against it lightly. He didn't hear Kaoru or Yahiko leave, so he assumed they were still standing there, listening. If his guess was right, Kenshin was probably out there too. After all, these walls weren't all that thick.

"You okay Kid?" Sano asked, his voice no longer holding the cautious tone that it had the night before. Now, his voice was relaxed and level, the way it always was.

Kazue backed up against the far wall, glaring at him. "Stay away from me…" she commanded, her fingers squeezing the wood for some sort of handhold. Sano nodded and, as Kazue had instructed, didn't come near her.

Kazue stared at him for a moment, as if sizing him up. When she was certain he wasn't about to leap at her and rip off her head, she spoke. "Why did you stop me? Why didn't you just leave me alone?"

Sano smiled and chuckled to himself. "Just call me a sucker I suppose." He said, shrugging. "I couldn't let you do that to yourself is all. Didn't seem right, you going killing yourself because of Zanza, especially when it wasn't necessary."

"Don't give methat." She hissed, glaring at him.

"We're a lot alike you know," said Sano, ignoring Kazue's previous comment. "I didn't realize it 'till you told me your whole story, but we do have a lot in common."

"Like what?" Kazue snapped. "I'm not some psychotic murderer."

Sano raised an eyebrow, giving her a strange look. He was tempted to say, "Yes you are," but realized that it probably wouldn't help the present situation. Instead, he shook his head. "That's not what I meant." he said, "I was talking about our pasts."

"Hmph," said Kazue, crossing her arms over her chest. "Like you can actually understand what I've been through." She said. However, despite her words, Sano could sense a bit of curiosity in her voice.

"Of course I can," he responded, running a thumb along his forehead. He held up his fingers and started counting them off as he spoke.

"Your parents were killed by circumstances beyond your control. My captain was killed by circumstances beyond my control.

"Your mother had to work as a whore, and your family name was tarnished. My captain was dubbed the leader of the false army, and my name was tarnished.

"We were both left alone to fend for ourselves. You drowned yourself in your revenge, while I drowned myself in fighting."

He looked up at Kazue, whose features had changed slightly. She blinked her eyes in obvious surprise. However, she quickly shook herself out of it. "So?" she asked, "What are you trying to prove?"

"That you don't have to kill yourself," Sano responded bluntly. Even though the answer was frank and simple, it left Kazue even more confused than she had been before she'd asked. Sano, who saw this, took this opportunity to continue.

"A few years ago, I bought a fight with a patriot. He was legendary, but I was sure I could take him. It was sort of an act of liberation, but it was more for revenge than anything."

Sano shut his eyes, smiling to himself. "I over estimated myself though. He beat me bloody, and then some. The doctors said I was lucky, and that I should have died. What they don't know is that I actually did die."

Kazue stared at him, eyebrows raised in surprise and confusion. "What?" was all she could say, and with a certain level of exasperation.

"Well, I didn't die. Zanza did though."

"Wait, wait, wait…Zanza's dead?"

Sanosuke nodded and smiled at her. "Yep. It was a rebirth sort of thing. All that's left is Sano now."

As Sano spoke, something clicked into place in Kazue's mind, and the gears slowly started to turn. She put a hand to her forehead, trying to let this theory sink it. Of course, it wasn't nearly good enough. Her family was still dead, and there was nothing that could bring the dead back to life. Still, say Sano had really been reborn; there was no reason for her to die, even though this was the fate she had chosen for herself. Maybe, with this knew insight, she might be able to escape her decision. In simpler terms, this was one hell of a loophole.

However, Sano wasn't quite finished talking yet.

"I think the same thing happened to you," he continued. "Last night, when you pulled that trigger, you didn't die, but that one part of you did. That part of you that wanted revenge so bad."

Slowly, the bewildered Kazue looked up at him, obviously confused and unsure. She was probably having trouble believing him, and Sano didn't blame her. After all, how was she supposed to accept that without question? Sano would have doubted her stability even further if she had.

"Come out whenever you feel like it," he said, turning around and opening the door. Kaoru, Yahiko, and Kenshin, who all had their ears to the door, nearly lost their balance, but quickly stood up and gave Sano sheepish smiles. The taller man blinked, a sweatdrop forming on the side of his head. He sighed, and then turned back to Kazue.

"These weirdoes will probably want to talk to you themselves, so don't stay in here too long, okay?" And with that last thought, the man stepped through the door and closed it, leaving the overwhelmed Kazue to pull herself together.

Starting that day, time began to pass quickly again, seemingly returning to its old speed. Days went by just as swiftly as the always had. Those days began to turn into weeks, and soon enough, an entire month had passed. The residents all kept an eye on Kazue, watching as she slowly regained some stability. After her episode of insanity, they were all on their toes. However, she didn't display such madness again. Then, roughly one month after the incident, Kazue finally made an important decision.

Early that morning, she up and disappeared, leaving no note and not telling anyone where she had gone. Just as the group had begun to worry for her safety, she'd reappeared through the gate. She was covered in dirt from head to toe, an equally dirty and somewhat rusted box clutched at her side.

"It's the money we were saving for Okinawa," she'd said, showing them the inside of the box. Sure enough, the box was filled with money. "Mama and I buried it where we'd ripped up the floorboards. I never thought about going back for it until now.

"I…I'm going to go to Okinawa. Like I told Sano, my father's family lives there. Mama and I might not have been their favorite people, but we're still family. I'm pretty sure they'll help me out."

Now, several hours later, the group stood on the dojo's walkway while Kazue stood on the ground before them, now much cleaner than she had been that morning.

"Thank you so much for taking care of me," Kazue said earnestly, bowing. The contents of the box shifted and rattled about inside. "I'm sorry I caused you so much trouble…" she trailed off, not yet standing up. Her shoulders were hunched slightly.

"Not at all Kazue-chan," said Kenshin, waving his hands as if to brush the comment away. "Trouble seems to enjoy knocking at this door."

From either side of him, Kaoru and Yahiko both grabbed one of his cheeks, stretching them out.

"And whose fault is that?" they asked him. Sano, Kenshin, and Kazue all sweatdropped.

"Well," said Kazue, rubbing the back of her head. "Still, thanks for putting up with me for as long as you did."

She looked up at all of them, forcing a smile onto her face. "I'm going to miss you guys." She bowed deeply once more, sniffing. It didn't take a genius to tell that she was about to start crying. "I hope I get to see you guys again."

"We'll look forward to it." Said Kaoru, smiling. Of course, all five of them knew that the chances of them ever meeting again were very slim. An entire sea separated Okinawa from the mainland, almost as if Okinawa were a completely different country. Though it was likely that Kazue would return to Tokyo at some point, it could be years from now, decades even. With the way life panned out for the Kenshin-gumi, it wasn't certain they'd even be in Tokyo when that time came. However, they could still hope. There was always hope.

Kazue nodded in response. "Well…goodbye." She said, and then quickly turned away. As she walked toward the gate, she put her hand up in the air and waved goodbye to them.

"Do you guys think she'll be all right?" Kaoru whispered as Kazue reached the gate. The men's faces too on a look of uncertainty as each of them considered how to answer. None of them could really know of course, and at this point, even guessing was difficult. She was still recovering from her attempted suicide, she wasn't entirely stable, and her life wasn't yet on track. Even though she had made it over her most recent hurtle, there were so many things that could still go horribly wrong for her. Knowing this, none of them were sure how to answer Kaoru's question. Fortunately for them, a moment later, Kazue answered the question for all of them.

As she stepped through the gate, Kazue turned and looked at the group one last time. From where they stood, they could see that tears were streaming in torrents down the girl's face. They were easily visible, glittering in the mid-afternoon sun. More noticeable however, was the smile. It wasn't a weak, forced smile. It was sincere and thankful. Not just that, but it showed a happiness they'd never seen from her before, even in her most cheerful moments there. Apparently, whatever had kept her from smiling a genuine smile before had disappeared. And then, the gate shut, and she was gone.

After another moment, Kenshin turned to Kaoru with a smile on his own face. "I think so Kaoru-dono," he answered. On Kenshin's other side, Yahiko nodded his agreement.

"Yeah, that rock head is too stubborn to mess up again," he commented.

"The kid'll be fine." Sano added, stretching his arms out. "So, who's making lunch?"

Well readers, there you have it: the conclusion to Layers of the Soul. How was it? Too sappy? Too unrealistic? I really thought so. I was rather disappointed in myself for this ending, for I don't think I did it justice. :sigh: Well, you do what you can I suppose.

However, overall, this turned out just the way I wanted it. It's much longer than any of my previous stories, and in my opinion, much better and more thought out. This chapter alone is over 3000 words (without the author's notes), and is nine pages long, which is quite a feat for me.

I thank all of you so much for seeing this through 'til the end. I especially thank those of you that left reviews for me. You were what kept me writing this and kept me going. Plus, you helped me make the story that much better.

Usually when I get a lot of reviews, I get nervous about not doing well enough and letting my readers down. This is what happened with Left in the Dark, which was put on hiatus for quite a while, losing me some readership. However, I knew no reader deserves that, especially when they are as supportive of a bunch as you guys.

For being such great people and helping me so much, I'm dedicating this story to all of you:

RabidTurtle

WhiteRabbit5

Gaby(hyatt

Telly

Bunnyfluff

And anyone else who read my story.

Love you guys, and again, thank you. As Kazue says, "I hope I get to see you guys again." Sayonara!

Sincerely,

Animeangelash