Chapter 24: To Go Home

Kaoru…

She had returned to her dreamland dojo, but now she stood alone.

"Hello?" She called. Her voice echoed into the distance. "I am… alone now…"

She felt hands slide around from behind her and wrap themselves in hers, but she could not turn or look down.

Closing her eyes, she sighed. "I want to rest now…"

"Do not rest…" A voice whispered in her ear. "You are not finished yet…"

"I am not… finished yet…" She repeated.

"You can go on."

"I can go on."

"Love will save you."

"Love will save me."

"You will go on."

"I will go on."

"You will wake up."

"I will… wake up."

Her eyes slowly opened, and all she could see was the sky looking rather gray. She felt weak.

Her entire body felt cold except for her stomach and hand. She slowly managed to lift her head, and what she saw made her want to cry.

Kenshin had his head down on her stomach, holding her hand. He looked so incredibly hopeless and lost. Never before had she seen him with that much life drained from him, but she knew he had looked that way before… she knew… that with Tomoe…

"My God," Soujirou's voice said to her right. She dropped her head again and rolled her eyes to the right.

"Himura-san…" Soujirou said, tears coming to his eyes. "Kaoru-chan…" A smile formed on his lips.

Kenshin lifted his head, and she watched him. He looked completely dead with his darkened navy eyes. As if chilled with ice, he turned towards her.

His eyes seemed to gain a new light as they widened at sight of her open eyes.

"…Hey…" She whispered, smiling weakly at him. "What's the matter…?"

Kenshin's face screwed up as tears spilled over his lower lashes. "Kaoru…" He sobbed. He scooped her into his arms. "KAORU!"

She laid against his shoulder, smiling softly as she closed her eyes. This was where she had wanted to be.

When she opened her eyes again, she saw Megumi standing there, covering her mouth with her hands and crying also.

"You did it!" Sano shouted cheerfully, throwing his arms around Megumi and spinning her. "You saved her, Megitsune! I knew you could! YEAH!" He stopped spinning her and put her down.

"I don't believe it. It's a miracle," Megumi said, smiling at Sano.

"Miracles come from miracle workers… WOO-HOO!" He spun her again. "I couldn't be happier right now, Megumi!" He then kissed her in mid-spin, froze, and blushed.

Kenshin pulled her away from his shoulder. "Are you going to be all right now?" He took her face in his hands.

She nodded. "Yeah… I'll always be okay… with you at my side… I love you…"

More tears stained his face, and he smiled. "Kaoru… Kaoru, Kaoru…" He leaned in and kissed her, and she could feel herself warming to him.

Soujirou looked away, smiling sadly. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" He whispered to Misao. "True love…"

"Yeah," She said, looking admiringly up at Aoshi who was standing on the other side of her. She took both of their hands. "I hope one day we'll all experience it."

Soujirou smiled at her, and for once, so did Aoshi.

Saitou, who was far away from the rest of the crowd, put a cigarette in his mouth, turned and started to walk away. "Mushy moments aren't really my thing."

Kaoru released her kiss and turned to the steps where Yahiko was coming down, looking horribly solemn with some clothing in hand. When he saw her, he dropped them and tears welled up in his eyes. "Oh, my god… Please tell me that I'm not dreaming…"

She smiled at him, and the grin on her face was so beautiful that it brightened the day.

Yahiko took off at a run. "KAORU!"

She got to her feet and held out her arms, and he threw his around her and wept into her chest. "I thought you were dead! I was so afraid!" He told her, his fingers shaking against her back. "How could you scare me like that! I can't lose you now! You're my family!"

Sano started crying. Megumi stared at him in shock. "I love moments like this," He whimpered. Megumi laughed and tugged his ear.

"You're so dumb, but I guess that's what makes you who you are."

"Yeah, and you can't change who you are."

"Yahiko," Kaoru said into his hair. "You're such a child."

"I know…" He sniffled. "I know… that's why… I can't have my sister leave now…"

Kaoru covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh, stop it!" She blubbered. "You're making me cry!"

The group of men had recovered from Kenshin's attacks, and they were all gathered at a corner of the field, staring fearfully at the scene.

Kenshin stood up and dusted himself off, then looked towards them, smiling. "Let's go home, shall we? Sessha believes we've been here long enough…"

"I couldn't want anything more than to go home," Yahiko said, "but even if we weren't… Kenshin… our home is here."

He looked back at him and gave him a bit of a confident smirk. "You're right, Yahiko. Kaoru is our home because without her, we'd still be without one, ne?"

"Isn't she your home too, Sano?" Megumi asked.

"Nah," Sano gave her a noogie. "I like you better." Megumi blushed. "Oh, the kiss didn't effect you, but now you blush."

Megumi chuckled and kissed his cheek.

"Himura-san," Soujirou said, beaming. "I'm afraid that Misao-chan, Shinomori-san, and I must be heading off. We have to go finish off those bastards in Kyoto, but we'll be sure to inform the government to get out here and clean up this mess. You go home and spend time with your family."

"I will," Kenshin said. "Good luck on your missions as well, Soujirou."

"Yeah, I'll be leaving the spy business after this. After all, what's a rurouni supposed to do but wander?"

Kenshin smiled. "You'll have to find out what you do for yourself."

"I'll send you some drawings," Soujirou said as the three marched off.

"BYE, HIMURA! SEE YOU! BYE, KAORU! BYE, YAHIKO! BYE CHICKEN HEAD!" Misao yelled, waving.

Sano pouted at the chicken head line but waved anyways along with anyone else. Kenshin lifted Kaoru into his arms. "You can rest now," He told her. "We'll be home soon."

The word home… Her heart wrenched at the sound of it, and as she closed her eyes, she could see it in her mind. She could see her family all out on the porch, enjoying the sakura blossoms while Ayame and Suzume played in the yard. Yahiko and Sano were arguing over the last rice ball, and Kenshin would say oro when Yahiko's elbow collided with the back of his head. Kaoru herself would be standing by the sakura tree, watching them, and Kenshin would smile at her and summon her to sit next to him. She would, and they would hold hands and watch the sky.

Her eyes opened again, and above her were trees. The road was shaking below her, and she realized that she was in the back of a wagon, her head in Kenshin's lap. He was stroking her hair. She'd been put in a pair of clothing that included a lavender gi and dark purple hakama. She could tell that she was feverish just by waking up, and she figured that was from blood loss. Kenshin smiled down at her. "Go back to sleep…"

All the men were sitting and looking at their feet, some wrapped in blankets, some eating food that had been supplied, but most were just sitting there. The only one not looking at their feet was Yahiko who was looking out the side of the wagon towards where they were headed. She knew that he was imagining Tsubame waiting for him in Tokyo, and he was itching to get back to her.

Sano was asleep against Megumi's shoulder, and she was asleep against his spiky hair.

"Kenshin…" She whispered, tugging on his sleeve.

"What is it?" He asked kindly.

"Where is Saitou…?"

"I guess he didn't want to ride…" Kenshin shrugged. "I saw him earlier. He's not really a crowd person."

"Yeah…" She said, falling asleep again. Kenshin leaned back on the back of the wagon and shut his eyes.

-

"I see it! Everyone look! It's Tokyo!" Yahiko yelled, snapping them out of their slumber. "Look!"

Kaoru pulled her head up.

There it was… The place they had all yearned for. It was the place where they could forget about all that had happened and concentrate on the future, but for some reason, Kaoru was suddenly unsure about all of this. She didn't say anything about it of course, afraid that she would worry someone.

"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" Yahiko cheered, jumping over the edge as soon as they reached town. Everyone else seemed to follow.

Kenshin helped Kaoru down out of the back. "Do you want to go home?" He asked.

"There's something I must do first," She told him. "Wait for me."

"I will."

-

She had to run to keep up with Yahiko, and he burst through Akabeko's door.

Tsubame looked up from the table she was serving just in time to be engulfed in a hug. "TSUBAME!" He shouted.

"Yahiko…" She whispered, then starting to cry. "I was so afraid you wouldn't come back…"

Kaoru stood in the doorway, watching the two young lovers hug each other.

"Hello, may I help you?" Tae-san asked, appearing in the doorway.

"No," Kaoru said, smiling. "I just came to talk to you, Tae."

"Who are you?" She asked innocently. Kaoru realized that she must not have been recognizable.

"It's Kaoru…" She said, blushing. "It's a long story for another day…"

"Tomi is gone… isn't he…"

Kaoru looked up, shocked. "How did you-"

"A woman always knows," Tae replied, winking. "Besides… he didn't have long anyways…"

"He told me… to tell you to love again… and that he'd wait for you up in heaven… He didn't want you to mourn him."

Tae-san nodded. "Of course not… He was always that way, always so full of hope without a single doubt in his mind… I guess he knew that even in death, he would still live on in my heart, and I could find someone else to care for me until we met again."

"I'm sure you will…" Kaoru said. "You'll meet again, and… I'm sure that person who will care for you will show up soon… I bet he's right under your nose."

"Hey!" The door was shoved open. "Has anyone seen a guy with spiky hair and answers to Sanosuke?" Kaoru recognized him as Tsukioka Katsuhiro. "All the guys are back everybody!"

"Did you come all the way from another town to tell us that?" Tae-san asked, looking surprised to see the one and only Tsukioka Tsunan.

"Yeah, I ran the whole way!" He said as if it was some brave accomplishment.

All the women in the Akabeko shoved passed Katsu and onto the street. Kaoru looked out as they all threw their arms around their men whether they be their husbands or sons, and they kissed them and hugged them as they had never before.

"I've got to go now," Kaoru said. "I'll leave Yahiko to his business…" As she walked out, her smile faded.

"I wonder what's the matter with him?" Katsu asked, then glanced at Tae. "Hey, what's the matter with you? Why are you crying?"

"My man isn't coming back," Tae replied, hanging her head.

"Oh…" Katsu mumbled, looking as if he really regretted saying anything. "Hey… err… if you describe him for me… I'll draw you a picture of him so that… you can always see his face…"

"That… would be really nice," Tae said, looking up into his eyes and smiling tearfully. "Thank you very much, Tsukioka-san."

"Please," He said, putting his arm around her. "Call me Katsu."

-

Kaoru walked with Kenshin back to her home, hand in hand, but she did not say anything. Something was itching in the back of her mind.

Kenshin sighed in relief when they opened the gate. "Look… it's just like it was when we left…"

"Things are different now though…" She said letting go of his hand and walking forward. "I'm… gonna go to bed… I really need some sleep…"

"Go ahead," He told her, walking towards the tree.

She looked back to say something to him, but she couldn't when she saw him, spinning around underneath the cherry blossoms, then falling down on his back. "I never thought I'd see this place again!"

She smiled slightly and walked inside.

Feeling home again took over her instantly. She dropped to her knees and burst into tears, looking around the room that she had so desperately longed for. Every room…

Yet, something in her… was not right, and it was not a good feeling…

Kenshin rose his head and then the rest of his upper body and looked at her back as she stood up and walked away toward her room. He thought maybe she was tired, but in the deepest part of his heart, he was concerned that something else entirely was wrong. Yet, he was not about to question her when he knew that she would come to him if she needed him… at least… he hoped…