It was time for Kenshin to have his stitches out. He held perfectly still as Megumi cut and pulled the stitches out of his wounds.
"Another week and we'll be able to take your arm out of the sling, Ken-san," she said.
"Thank you, Megumi-dono. You're a wonderful doctor," said Kenshin, who was very glad to be rid of the noisome bandages and stitches.
Just a week after returning from Enishi's Island, Kenshin was well enough to travel.
Kyoto
Kenshin and Kaoru walked through the gateway into the quiet graveyard, shaded by lovely old trees and decorated by many stone gravestones on either side of the sidewalk they trod softly upon.
Kenshin's right arm was still in the sling. In his left hand, he carried a bucket full of flowers. At his side, walked Kaoru, who was equally excited and nervous about her impending "introduction" to Tomoe.
When they arrived at the small grave, their eyes widened in surprise at the sight of two buckets of flowers, burning incense, a hairpin and a small vial of haku baikou all laid out at the grave.
"Did Enishi come?" asked Kaoru.
"It would seem so from the flowers," said Kenshin as he stooped down and picked up the hairpin.
'What other relatives could Tomoe have had besides Enishi?' he thought.
"What is it, Kenshin?" asked Kaoru, made curious by the rurouni's silent appraisal of the hairpin.
"Oh, it's nothing," said Kenshin, gently replacing the hairpin.
Kenshin and Kaoru folded their hands together and spoke silently to Tomoe's spirit.
'Hello, Tomoe-san. My name is Kamiya Kaoru. I just wanted to thank you for watching over me while I was on the island with Enishi and keeping him from killing me. Kenshin told me about what you did for him and your love for him, even to the point of giving your life. I thank you so much for saving Kenshin's sanity and life so I could have privilege of meeting him and someday soon, being with him. I want you to know that I'll do my very best to care for Kenshin just as you would have if you and he had been permitted to be together. Thank you for everything! Kaoru.'
'Well, Tomoe, it looks like my second visit here came a bit sooner than I thought it would. I just couldn't wait for you to meet Kaoru, the woman I love with all my heart now. Remember that I will always love you and will never forget what you did for me. I thank you for coming into my life and restoring my sanity to me during my darkest days. I'm sorry for cutting your life so short after I had promised to protect you. Now, I must say goodbye to you so I can start my new life with Kaoru with no reservations. I will always love you and be eternally grateful to you. We will see you next Obon and every one after that. Kenshin.'
Kaoru ended her prayer, opened her eyes and looked up at Kenshin, seeing that he had also opened his and was looking back down at her.
"What did you say to Tomoe?" he inquired.
"Um, well... 'Thank you', I guess. During the dojo battle and on the island, Enishi couldn't kill a girl who was the same age as Tomoe-san when she died and then he ended up saving me. I also think that perhaps Tomoe-san was protecting me the whole time," said Kaoru.
Kenshin couldn't help but smile at the thought of Tomoe protecting Kaoru. It was something she would have done.
"So for that and many other reasons, thank you!" said Kaoru with a blush.
The two stood in silent contemplation over the small grave for a few moments, each thinking about the events of the past few weeks.
"Yukishiro Enishi, I wonder where he's gone to since then. When you fought each other, he said, 'The crime of murder must be paid for by execution'. But if you think about it, he himself killed people and he sold destructive weapons that killed even more people. I wonder if he killed himself," said Kaoru.
"No. He's alive. When time stopped for him 15 years ago, he couldn't realize it. But now that time has started moving again, Enishi will have to pay for his crimes, not with his death, but by living his life. If he doesn't do that, Tomoe won't smile. Until he pays and begins to smile, Tomoe won't smile in his heart," said Kenshin.
"That sounds so painful," said Kaoru sadly.
"But..."
Kaoru looked up.
"The real Tomoe was kinder than anyone I had ever known. She will surely watch over Enishi. She will watch over him through everything. At least, that's what I think," said Kenshin with a smile.
"Yeah. I think so too," agreed Kaoru with her own smile as she gently laid the flowers before the grave.
A pause.
"Hey, Kenshin. What did you say to Tomoe-san?" she ventured.
Kenshin fell silent, gazing down at the small grave.
Kaoru's heart began to palpitate. Perhaps she shouldn't have...
"The same as Kaoru," Kenshin answered suddenly, causing Kaoru to sigh inwardly in relief. "Thank you and I'm sorry... and farewell."
At this last word, Kaoru's eyes widened and her jaw actually dropped a little. It took all her effort not to drop the empty bucket.
Kenshin's eyes twinkled and he smiled at Kaoru's startled face and held out his bandaged left hand.
"Come. Let's go home," he said softly.
The couple fell silent as the wind whispered its commentary on their visit to the graveyard. Hand in hand, they left the cemetery together, their hearts beating as one.
September 15, 1878
Megumi gave Kenshin a checkup. Although he was still a bit underweight, his ribs and spine were more covered in flesh than before. The hollows in Kenshin's cheeks had filled out and his eyes were once again clear and bright.
She removed the stitches from Kenshin's right shoulder. Kenshin moved his right arm around and flexed it gingerly, testing it. It was stiff from being in the sling so long, but not at all painful. As he put his gi back on, Megumi gave him a stern lecture about not overdoing it with his right shoulder.
"Don't even think about picking up a sword for at least two weeks, Ken-san. Your shoulder is weak from having not been used in so long. I want you to work gradually back into swordsmanship," she said firmly.
"I promise not to even look at a blade," said Kenshin.
Megumi was unconvinced. Kenshin was a warrior by nature and would start pushing himself faster than he should as his shoulder started to feel stronger.
"If you don't keep it, you'll re-injure your shoulder worse than it was before, even to the point of not being able to use your arm," she warned severely.
While Kenshin was getting dressed, Megumi emerged from the bedroom and said a few words to Kaoru.
"He's going to need at least two weeks before he starts wielding a sword again. If you see him even looking at the Sakabatou, beat him senseless," she said.
"I'll keep a bokken on me at all times just in case," said Kaoru. "Thank you, Megumi-san."
Kenshin came out of the room silently behind Kaoru and snaked his arms around her waste. Kaoru flinched a bit, but quickly relaxed into Kenshin's embrace. It was the most wonderful feeling in the world. What a wonderful feeling, to be fully held by the man who had become the focus of her world.
That night Kenshin and Kaoru lay under the covers of her futon. Kaoru wore a sleeping yukata and Kenshin wore just his hakama, preferring to sleep bare-chested, which Kaoru didn't mind at all. The time had finally come to get to know this man in both mind and body. Kaoru's hands began their relentless exploration.
September 20, 1878
The wind bore a slight chill on its gusts now, a reminder that summer was over and autumn was in full vigor. The leaves on all the trees were turning to their polychromatic reds, browns and yellows and falling from the tree branches, borne gently to the ground by the chilly gusts of wind.
"What do you mean you're going back to Aizu?!" screeched Kaoru.
The Kenshingumi, plus the Oniwabanshuu were sitting in the clinic conferring with Megumi, who had just finished her final examinations of Kenshin and Yahiko and pronounced them fully recovered.
"It's not like I just decided this yesterday. I've been asked to open a clinic in Aizu. Now that everything's over and Ken-san and Yahiko-kun are better, I've decided to leave Tokyo in a week," answered Megumi.
"Kenshin!" said Kaoru, hoping Kenshin would ask her to stay longer.
"It will be a bit lonely around here, but this is Megumi-dono's choice. Those of Kamiya Dojo will gladly see you off," smiled Kenshin.
"Thank you," said Megumi.
Then a look of sadness passed over her face. There was something that she had known for some time and had kept to herself. It was time to tell all.
"Ken-san... I've kept quiet until now, but as your doctor, there's something I must tell you," she began.
"Is it perhaps about my body?" asked Kenshin.
The others stared at him.
Megumi raised her hand to her mouth in shock.
"Then you knew..." she gasped.
"It is my own body, so a little. I first felt something wrong right after the battle in Kyoto. And now, each time I fight, it gets a bit worse. It was so faint, I thought I might have been imagining it, but I can feel something stagnating inside my body," said Kenshin.
"Between the time I examined you in Kyoto and when I examined you today, your condition has worsened," confirmed Megumi.
"It was probably triggered by my mastery of the secret," said Kenshin.
"By its nature, Hiten Mitsurugi is a superman's kenjutsu, meant to be used by giants like Hiko with big muscles to shield their bodies from the impact. Ken-san, you're just too small, despite your great talent. The more you use it, the more severely your body will be affected. You've seen the slight damage already," warned Megumi.
"I knew I risked my life when I chose to master Hiten Mitsurugi. I have no regrets, no matter the cost to my body," said Kenshin with a forced smile.
Then the smile fell and Kenshin gazed at the lady doctor earnestly.
"But please, tell me honestly, what will happen to me in the future?" he asked.
Megumi's hands clenched in her lap and she closed her eyes, willing away the tears.
"The damage to your body is still slight. If you take it easy, wielding swords won't be a problem. However, no matter how careful you are, in four or five years, you will no longer be able to use Hiten Mitsurugi," she concluded sorrowfully.
The good friends Kaoru and Kenshin were coming to see as their surrogate family all went their separate ways. Misao and Aoshi left for the mountains to collect their fallen comrades for burial in Kyoto. Megumi left for Aizu. Sano, set up by the corrupt politician Tani Jusanro, was chased from Japan and set off to see the world. The Wolf migrated north to Hokkaido. Yahiko moved into Sano's flat on Ruffian Row, leaving Kenshin and Kaoru alone in the dojo.
Time flowed on and the story continued. There are no endings of people's stories until they are dead. Kenshin, Kaoru, Sano, Yahiko, Megumi and the others were bound to have more adventures, laughter, tears, love and hate. That is the flow of time, that is the course of life.
Where the first story ends, the second picks up.
~Owari~