Kenshin watched the silhouette of Kaoru formed against the sunset as she came kneeled in front of Kentaro's tombstone.
On her hands, she clutched at the letter given to her by his mother. Her eyes were closed and she tilted her head in order for the tears not to fall. She looked once again at the letter written by Kentaro's own hand, telling her in every detail about how he had died.
"My dearest Kaoru," it said.
"Please forgive me for not being thoroughly honest with you. I wasn't ever able to gather the courage to face you to fulfill our promise. A few months after I left, I begun feeling weaker as the days passed. I have caught on an ailment and I became paralyzed from the waist down. I was crushed and I was too ashamed to face you.
"They said everything would be fine, that I should live out my life and not think about it. My family encouraged me to come to you, they knew of your situation and they knew that you stay true to your promise and if you saw me, you will consent to marry me. But during those last moments that my life lasted, I never really had the conviction to come back to you. Maybe it was because I was afraid. Afraid that you would love me out of pity. I have set out to make a name, I cannot come back a failure."
"I had hoped that somewhere deep in your heart, I had a place."
"But I knew you couldn't love me as someone more than just a brother. As the days pass, I feel my spirit becoming weaker and weaker. I never wanted you to know. I didn't want you to pity me. I couldn't live out my life as a cripple. You might hate me for what I've done, that I have given up, that I died. I wanted you to remember me as the strong and carefree Kentaro that I was."
"Now, I know I might never see you again. Death is knocking at my door and there's no helping it. I hoped to see you one last time. It is my last wish. Will you at least shed one tear for me? No matter how small that tear is, I will hear it fall and then I'll know, I had a place."
Kaoru cried as she read the letter. Kenshin was now behind her and handing him a tulip. She received it and thanked him. Kissing the petals her tears went down to the very core of the flower. She offered it to Kentaro's grave and with Kenshin prayed.
When they both finished, Kenshin helped her up with one hand, which she willingly accepted. As they walked away from the grave, Kenshin closed his eyes. "Why are you closing your eyes, Kenshin?"
"This one is making a promise to Kentaro."
"What promise?"
"I cannot tell, it's a promise between two men."
Kenshin put her arms around her as they walked when they both felt a cold breeze. He looked back at the grave and thought he saw Kentaro standing above it, waving at them.
'Promise me that you will make her happy the way I couldn't...' he seemed to whisper.
'I promise.' he said. Then he looked at the woman beside him and smiled.
Kaoru felt Kenshin's lips touch her cheek, she felt herself blush.
"Uh... I was just checking if you really don't notice when someone steals a kiss..." As she looked at his face she knew she would be happy. The lovers left Kentaro's grave holding hands and leaning closer to each other than usual.
FINISHED! I'm sorry for the long wait. I'm afraid that this might be my last story posted here for a very long time... I'm going to college in a short matter of time and I just want to say, THANK YOU!
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