Symphony
MysticShadowWanderer

Disclaimer: And Duane E. Scott, elevator necromancer, said in return to Clovis, King of the Freaks, "Alas! For Marilyn Manson hath but a smallish place in my heart among the happy love filth deemed My Chemical Romance, which shall from this day forward be known truly for the sex that it is."...

2nd Symphony: Second Movement

"Pale angel, go away," Kenshin whispered to himself as he slowly forced his eyes open and dragged his mind out of that place between the conscious and unconscious realms of awareness and sleep. He only wished he knew to whom he was speaking. It used to be her that haunted his dreams, but it was both of them now. Kaoru had started to make her way into his subconscious visions. Indeed, she was even overtaking the ones of his past mistakes, of her.

His rational mind told him that he was not dreaming about Kaoru, because in the fantasies of his sleeping world the woman that he recognized as the beautifully shy genius he was teaching to play the piano (though at times it felt more like she was the instructor and he the confused pupil) looked and oftentimes acted nothing like her. But somehow he simply knew that it was her, as if her insatiable energy had transcended the physical and even psychological to brand her for all eternity. For he had passed many an epoch in his dreams, and Kaoru had been present in each. She had been called by different names, marked by different characteristics, yet without fail there was some unidentifiable trait that followed her, some type of essence that brought her to life. And all of this felt so very real to him, which was frightening in a sense yet inexplicably exhilarating at the same time. These dreams were too strange for Kenshin to contemplate for very long, though, and he pulled himself wearily out of bed. His sleep had not been restful at all as of late. These perplexing illusions had been haunting him for weeks, becoming more frequent with each passing lesson he gave to Kaoru. At times he arose feeling even more tired than when he allowed his body to take haven in the comforting blanket of unconscious bliss.

Kaoru stretched languidly and yawned, then glanced at the glowing digital clock next to her bed and swore vehemently. For the first time since she'd started attending classes at her college, she'd slept through more than half of her classes for that day. The numbers on the clock's face mocked her with their brightness, telling her that it was late afternoon and that she had failed herself for the day. Her eyes momentarily brimmed with tears, but she blinked furiously until they became a distant, unimportant memory. She firmly commanded herself to make the better of the situation and put the day to some sort of use. As she dragged her peculiarly heavy limbs from the wordless, endless consolation of her warm bed, she was determined to catch up on all of her work that day, for school and otherwise.

But as she padded quietly past her piano to the kitchen for the banana and glass of juice that would serve as her breakfast, she couldn't help but be drawn to its gleaming invitation of a magical wonderland. Food forgone, she sat at her bench wearing nothing but a button-down shirt, her hair still disheveled and her skin rosy from sleep. As her fingers, a bit clumsy at first but then gaining fluidity, pulled a melody from the air, she felt herself growing hazy, as though her mind were shutting down and letting her body take control. The song quickly escalated into that too-familiar piece that she and Kenshin had both played and her eyes closed completely as it thundered in her head. All thoughts that were not conducive to the musical madness were disregarded and whisked away.

Kenshin felt slightly guilty watching Kaoru through his window, but try as he might he could not shift his gaze from the sight of her playing. He noted her appearance fleetingly, but was more interested in the movements she was making, the near-convulsive way she was playing. It looked almost as though she were possessed, and he couldn't stop himself from staring.

In his mind he could hear it, the music she played, and it was heart-wrenching and understated, absolutely tormented. He had been noticing her descent into this darkness; each passing lesson saw her more shrouded, as if a heavy cloak had settled around her shoulders. The music had started eating away at her as they moved on from the Moonlight Sonata to the Czerny etudes to Mozart to Bach and more. The pace at which she'd devoured each piece was truly inspiring, if not a bit frightening. Sometimes Kenshin thought that Kaoru had to be some sort of higher spirit, haunting him beautifully. With a slight jolt he thought of her current favorite piece that she was playing with rather than studying, her newfound obsession with "Think of Me". She was indeed his Angel of Music, although she seemed to believe that it was the other way around. But wasn't that the way of the damnable fate of the Phantom of the Opera? And did she see his disfigurement, more than just the scar on his face?

Kenshin clutched at his head; this was all too confusing and interconnected for him to deal with. Just as he began to turn so that he might hide himself away in the land woven by his piano, his breath was released in a gasp as he saw Kaoru go limp and drop from the bench in a heap of silken hair and entangled limbs. Without hesitation, he leapt for the door to his apartment.

The last thing Kaoru remembered was the way her hands felt as though they were disconnected from her body, then glorious darkness. It seemed that there was no solitude in her lack of consciousness, however, for she soon was surrounding by swirling music; sixteenth notes fluttered past her on shimmering wings created especially to torment her with their all too ethereal and fleeting beauty. As if watching her physical body from somewhere else –she felt as if she were sitting on a far away cloud, watching with more disinterest than anything other singular emotion– she saw her hands cupping her ears, clutching desperately in her hair as her body tightened into a ball in a pitiable attempt at escape. She wondered passingly just what she was coming to.

When her eyes opened, Kenshin was peering down at her with a frightened expression staining his features. Kaoru reached a hand up to touch his cheek tentatively, as if to assure herself that he was real. His hand caught her fingers and slid down her palm in a near caress, but before she could protest she noticed that he was anxiously taking her pulse.

"I was having the strangest dream..." she murmured, her voice quiet and slightly hoarse. "The piece I was playing... You would have loved it."

Kenshin gave her half a smile, but she could tell that his heart really wasn't in it. Something about the way he kept glancing at her, the strange questioning in his eyes, told her that he'd had some sort of a revelation, but she could think of nothing that he might be concerned with.

"I saw you," he said softly. "I was... worried about you."

"Why?"

Kenshin blinked once, simultaneously incredulous and perplexed. "You fainted... I saw. I thought you might be injured."

Kaoru's face reddened as she mumbled a 'thank you.' Gaze shifting quickly, she immediately saw that he had somehow managed to break her door in. Her eyes started to roll back in her head at the thought of him bursting in on her as she lay in a heap wearing nothing but a shirt, but the gentlest tapping of his fingers on her burning cheek –obviously as much of a slap to her senses that he could bring himself to administer– brought her back to herself.

Kenshin stared down at her, carefully taking in each of her reactions and movements. For the first time, he allowed himself to look directly in her eyes; there was something old, something wise, in their depths. It made him feel like a child, yet at the same time awakened a part of him that he couldn't name, some emotion that he didn't know existed. What did she know that he was still struggling to grasp?

Under the intense scrutiny of his gaze, Kaoru blinked furiously and moved to sit up, thankful for the steady hand on her lower back when her head began to spin again. The spark in his stare told her that he was beginning to understand things that she didn't think she could find the courage to discuss.

"Here, I'll help you back to bed," Kenshin offered as he held out his arm to assist her to stand. "You look pale; I think you need to rest. Are you feeling well lately?"

"Apparently not," Kaoru said with a tiny, sheepish smile. "Thank you."

She couldn't convince Kenshin not to coddle her as he helped her hoist herself up into bed and then proceeded to pull her thick blankets up under her chin. Her face burned hotly when, during the task of tucking her in, his fingers brushed almost-casually against the soft skin of her neck and face. The somewhat strained look on his face told her that he was uncomfortable, but she couldn't help but appreciate his kindness.

"Thank you," she said quietly, snuggling deeper into the pillows. "I guess I just need a bit of rest."

Kenshin nodded to show his understanding. "I'll get you something to eat, and some juice. Is there anything in particular that you want?"

"Oh no, you don't have–"

"Don't worry, I insist. What's your favorite breakfast?"

"I usually just eat a piece of fruit and have some juice..."

With a hand gesture that struck Kaoru as both an agreement and a dismissal, Kenshin left the room, gently shutting the door behind him; within minutes she could hear him shuffling about the kitchen, moving pots and pans, opening and shutting cabinets and drawers. She couldn't be entirely certain of what he was up to, but it sounded suspiciously like cooking.

A full breakfast and several hours, Kaoru was lying listlessly in bed with Kenshin nervously looking on from a chair in the corner. At times she wished he'd leave, because the silence between them was more than a bit uncomfortable, but then she'd begin a coughing fit and he would immediately fetch her a glass of water, or she'd be struggling to get up to make the short trek to the bathroom and his hand would quickly be at her elbow to assist her, and she was inestimably glad that he was there to take care of her; she'd never felt so weak in all her life.

Kenshin watched Kaoru's shallow breathing from under his thick bangs; he knew he was very worried about her, but he was unsure why. Though he tried to tell himself that he would care for any of his friends in this manner if they fell ill, he knew that wasn't entirely true. Then again, he also knew that he didn't have many friends. So what was it about Kaoru that made him hold her in such high esteem? He found that he couldn't be entirely sure.

"Kenshin?"

He had to admit, although he would never say it aloud, the husky tone of her sleep-laden voice made the pronunciation of his name entirely too delicious; shaking his head a bit he denied the shivers that skated down his spine. "Yes, Kaoru?"

"Kenshin... would you... could you, please..."

"What do you need?" He couldn't tell if she was hesitating because she was embarrassed or because it was hard for her to speak. He prayed it was the former.

"Would it be too much trouble for you to play the piano for me?" she asked, her voice just a shade higher than a whisper.

A soft smile appeared on Kenshin's face; she had been embarrassed, then, thank the heavens. "Of course, it would be my pleasure."

Leaving her bedroom door wide open, he took a seat in front of her very nice, extremely expensive piano. After briefly questioning her about where she bought it and how much it cost, although he felt slightly rude in asking, he realized that Tanaka-san had given her quite a deal, and his smile widened a bit. He had always held a certain fondness for the little old man.

"What would you like to hear?"

"Anything," Kaoru breathed. "Oh... anything."

This time Kenshin did shudder at the sound of her voice, but promptly ignored the feeling. Settling his fingers over the keys, he closed his eyes for a moment, then began to pick out a melody with his right hand. He followed suite with the left, simply improvising as he went; this was his favorite way to play. It felt so expressive to him to paint his own musical masterpieces, and then tear them to pieces and start anew.

He had long ago learned that he could play through almost anything, and that he especially loved to challenge the thunder that sometimes raged at him, but when he heard Kaoru's quiet sobs, he almost faltered. Despite the overwhelming urge to leap up from the piano and take her in his arms to offer her comfort, he played on, knowing that she would be mortified if she thought he could hear her. With a start, he realized that it was his music that made her cry.

'I can't take all the credit,' he rationalized. 'The piece is sad, yes, but there has to be something within her that it touches to wring such a response from her. I wonder...'

His fingers danced wildly across the keys, attempted half-heartedly to brighten the song for Kaoru's sake, but he found that while he could drag himself into a slightly lighter mood, his hands seemed to crash back into the minor keys as if they knew no other home. When his wrists began to ache dully, he stopped, noticing that her crying had ceased.

Kaoru was fast asleep, and while the rise and fall of her chest not quite natural, it seemed at least a little improved. The smile that arose at her state of relative comfort disappeared when Kenshin noticed the pale streaks that showed him where her tears had dropped so carelessly. As if resisting his own will, he traced a finger ever so lightly down her cheek, not surprised at how alike to silk her skin was. As he bent to pull her blankets more snugly around her body, he couldn't resist dropping a kiss like a whisper against her forehead. He sighed in relief when she stirred but didn't awaken. Something about this woman was driving him mad, and he wasn't sure that he didn't like it.

A/N: Holy "hola," it's been a while since I worked on this story. It feels good to get back to it, I shall admit. I had stopped progress on all fics to write "Haligh, Haligh, A Lie, Haligh" (yes, that was an entirely shameless plug, by the way), but now I'm back! I'm going to be busy, what with school starting for me on the 23rd. (Yay for only one more year!) However, I'm starting at a new school, the Fitton Center for the Creative Arts, so there's no telling how much work I'll have to actually do at home. Most likely not too much, since school is centered around visual and performing arts, so here's hoping. I'm a bit sad to be leaving AP English and AP European History behind at my old school, but I think this will be better for me, and it'll certainly help me with college. (w00t, art major) In other news, in case anyone actually cares, my band is going strong again after going through some turbulent times and huge problems. My horse and I kicked ass at the American Quarter Horse Regional Experience, and life at the moment seems pretty good. Oh! And I saw Coldplay in concert on Tuesday and they were AMAZING. So I'm going to go listen to Fiona Apple and chill out for a while, love you all!

PS What's with this "no responding to the readers" thing? I got a petition, but my computer was like "RAURGH! YOU CAN'T SEND ME!" so I didn't do it. :shrug: I'm not sure exactly what the new rules are, but let's face it... I don't seem to be complying. Hm.