A/N: Thanks for all the support! I love all of the reviews. I promise you, after this, the chapters will begin to get longer.

Disclaimer: If I owned RK, there would have been a LOT more romance.

Beaches of Kyoto
KiahWMConnie
Chapter One: Startling Revelations

Kaoru slowly opened her eyes. She did not want to get up; the night before had been absolutely horrible. What little sleep she did get, it was filled with nightmares of Misao.Maybe Kaoru was just going crazy.

'That's the only explanation I can think of,' she thought.

She heard the sound of Kenshin's voice outside, along with two laughing little girls. Kaoru smiled lightly. Sometimes, that was her only comfort.

"Kenshin," she called out when he was done playing with the girls, "I'm going shopping today."

"Oro? Wouldn't you like one of us to go with you?"

"No," she shook her head, "I'd actually like to go alone. I'd get done faster by myself."

"Miss Kaoru?" Kenshin was shocked. Why would she want to go alone?

"It's okay Kenshin, I'll be alright."

"Be careful, Miss Kaoru," he smiled at her. She gave him a smile back, but it was slightly sadder.

She walked calmly through the hustling crowd of the market. Kaoru tried to clear her mind.

'Aoshi. It couldn't be. It was months ago when he died.'

Kaoru's heart ached in pain. No matter how she tried, she couldn't forget what had happened that day...She wiped away a single tear.

Then, something strange happened. As she was walking down the street, she felt a sudden vibe run eerily down her spine. Kaoru felt suddenly very cold. Out of instinct, she looked behind her.

Her heart stopped.

A small distance behind her, there was the same stone of a man, walking away. his back was turned to her, his long trench coat swishing in the wind. There was no doubt about it. Aoshi Shinomori...was alive.

At first, Kaoru had no idea what to do. Then, subconsciously, she began to follow him, carefully staying behind at a distance. She followed him for what seemed like forever. Eventually, Kaoru found herself on a narrow pathway, Aoshi not too far ahead. Suddenly, he turned and made his way into the deep forest. Again, Kaoru found herself following him. She knew it was probably dangerous, but she didn't care. Aoshi needed to learn the truth...

Kaoru, quiet as a mouse, creeped along in the shadows of trees and bushes that occasionally scratched her as she walked by. She spotted a small clearing with Aoshi standing in it, his back to her.

"You can stop hiding now," came a deep and icy voice.

Kaoru took a deep breath and did as she was told. No use in hiding now.

"What are you doing here?" he asked in a monotone voice as he turned to see her.

Kaoru glared at him with an icy stare that could've rivaled his own.

"I think I should be asking you the same question," her voice wasn't as deep, but definitely as cold.

Aoshi stared at her for a moment, then huffed, "What do you care?"

Kaoru clenched her fist, "You destroyed my best friend," she hissed.

He raised an eyebrow, "Misao."

She looked away and gnashed her teeth; tears began forming in her eyes, "It was because of you..."

He also looked away, "She's happy now. She won't have to worry about me anymore. If in her mind, I'm dead, she won't have to constantly look for me. Misao can finally reat easy at home."

Aoshi didn't think anyone would find him after the fight with Shishio. Guess he was wrong. Now, he would make it a point that his beloved Misao would never know the truth.

"She can't find out about me. I've finally found a way to make her happy-by not existing."

"You bastard!" She screamed, "She loved you with all her heart and soul. You were her sun and moon. When you 'died' she was crushed. You have no idea what it was like...to watch her cry and scream bloody murder, all in your name! I used to think that anyone deserved love, no matter what. But you crushed her! She gave you unconditional love, and you stabbed her in the back and told her that you never wanted to see her again. Well you got your wish!"

"What's that supposed to mean," he hissed. How did she know about that? The more she spoke, the more the anger in him flared.

Kaoru began gasping, she was almost hysterical.

"She's happy now. I can't hurt her anymore."

"You don't understand. After you told her that, she said that she didn't care if you ever came back from the fight!"

"So? We both got we wanted. She never has to see me again and because of that, she's happy."

"You asshole!" The tears rushed from her big blue eyes, "Misao is dead!"

A/N: AAARGH! Why do these end up so short! I'll start making longer chapters, I swear! There's a reason this is short though. I've been having some trouble with my compy and I wanted to get this in incase it crashes. Sorry about the cliffy. I'm evil aren't I? Don't worry, though. It doesn't stop here.