Love Is…
The One I Choose
By Seabreeze
A/N: Eh, not much to say. Angst chapter, kinda. Love to reviewers.
Disclaimer: See chapter two.
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When we're leaving dreams and rolling back the covers
All at once we're getting ready for the day
It's when you look at me in the mirror while you're shaving
Before I go on my way, you say
I'm in love with you
I'm in love with you
You're the one I choose
'Cause I'm in love
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Kaoru smoothed a hand over the covers of the bed she and Kenshin had shared the night before, satisfied that the task of making the bed was finished. Not that it was difficult, but she always wanted their made bedroll to look perfect. Shivering slightly in the winter chill that permeated the dojo, she hugged her winter yukata tighter around her shoulders and began looking for Kenshin. More and more lately, he had been writing letters to the man Nariakira, and more and more time had he been spending time in the city governmental buildings. She frowned, feeling that it wouldn't be long before they sent him as far away from her as they could. Padding as quietly as she could through the dojo, absentmindedly noticing how cold the wooden floor seemed on her bare feet, she quickly found her husband running a comb through unusually ratty fire-colored hair. He was muttering grumpily as he did so, and Kaoru couldn't help but grin.
"Need some help?" she asked, leaning in the doorway and biting her lip to contain an affectionate smile. Kenshin did not turn; he had heard her coming.
"If you can afford it," he said, voice more cheerful. "I've never had such trouble with this hair!" Kaoru moved into the room and knelt behind him, almost immediately comforted by the warmth emanating from their sudden nearness. She took the comb from him and began working through his hair, tugging gently at knots and running the comb through his red strands over and over, till his head shone from care.
"You make that seem so easy," he said with a sigh as she attacked a knot that kept coming back. Kaoru snorted softly, her hands gentle on his head.
"You should have this down by now, Kenshin, your hair's been this length for about 10 years longer than mine has been." She teased, now just combing for the pleasure it gave both of them. Kenshin smiled so that she couldn't see him.
"Yes, but maintenance was never really a great concern for the Hitokiri Battousai," he said. "If I had any problems with it, I'd just chop the problems off." For a moment, there was silence as she continued to comb his hair.
"Kenshin," she said thoughtfully after a minute.
"Hmm?" he asked absentmindedly, acting quite like a cat who enjoyed being groomed.
"Can I try something? With your hair? I promise it won't be too effeminate."
"Whatever you want." Kenshin replied, uneager to have the pleasant sensation of Kaoru's fingers running through his hair stop. Kaoru grinned and gathered the mass of red hair behind his shoulders, smoothing it and running her hands over his neck to make sure any stray pieces were had. Once this was assured, she began weaving thick strands of his hair into one long, dense braid down his back. When she was halfway done, Kenshin began to speak.
"I always wonder," he started suddenly, in a voice so quiet and a little hoarse that Kaoru paused in concern. "what it was in me that you saw." Kaoru sat in stunned silence, contemplating. Slowly, she began braiding again.
"You want to know?" she questioned, unsure of his reason for telling her so. He nodded, and she laid the unfinished braid against his back.
"I knew from the start that you had a past, a past you weren't happy about." She tucked an errant strand of hair behind his ear. "And even when I found out about Battousai…" Kenshin let out the tiniest of sighs and she leaned against his back, lying her face on the back of his shoulder as he spoke. "…even when I knew about Battousai, I just knew , without a doubt, like it was the only thing in the world that was true – that you were good." Kenshin chuckled and reached a hand over his shoulder to lay over her own, slightly trembling, hand.
"There are plenty of good men, Kaoru."
"Yes," she agreed sensibly, sitting back up and resuming braiding his hair. "But you are undeniably good. Imagine, Kenshin, a manslayer who, despite his former occupation, gives off the impression of being so good that he almost seems holy. That's you. It shows bravery beyond compare, that you live to repent for your sins instead of killing yourself in shame or hiding away for the rest of your life." She made a noise like her throat had become clogged as she tied off the end of the braid. Kenshin realized it was a small sob.
"You give me far too much credit." He replied, unmoving. Kaoru scowled, a tear slipping down her cheek.
"Yeah, right," she said harshly. "Ask anyone. Ask Sano, ask Yahiko, ask Megumi, ask the people you've saved –"
" – Ask Enishi. Ask Tomoe. Ask the children whose parents I killed." His voice matched hers in hardness. Kaoru scooted around so that she was beside him, and leaned against his shoulder.
"I'm not saying it was right, Kenshin," she said, voice fluttering like a butterfly over his skin. Kenshin put an arm around her shoulder after a moment, drawing her slightly closer.
"Just wondering what kind of strange girl would pick me." He said. She felt a small urge to smack him for calling her strange, but it was a very small one indeed.
"I always wonder… why you… why you picked me too." She said in a rush. Kenshin smiled.
"You gave me the forgiveness I craved so much like you were handing me a tissue. You gave me a home, and you were so – I mean, you are so – naïve and passionate and idealistic, and you embodied everything I killed for when I was Battousai, and everything I live for now." Kaoru felt another set of tears stream down her face, this time in happiness. She turned into him, burying her face in his chest.
"Kenshin," her happy and tear-filled voice whispered. He stroked her head.
"Jin-eh had it right," he said, absentmindedly. "He saw right away that I had chosen you as 'my woman'. I was too much of an idiot to see that for myself at that time." Reaching behind him with his other hand, he pulled the braid Kaoru had worked on over his shoulder and fingered it.
"Do you like it?" Kaoru asked, touching it as he did. Kenshin chuckled.
"I feel like Misao-dono." He stated, and Kaoru lightly hit his shoulder.
"I think it looks good." She said, sitting up fully to survey his new look. He grinned and caressed her cheek lovingly.
"Maybe I will keep it so for today,"
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A/N: that didn't turn out how I planned it. Kenshin wasn't supposed to get upset, and neither was Kaoru. Hmmm. Oh well. Yeah, I'm not a fan of the angst that happened there. The only real reason I'm keeping that chapter is for the hair-braiding (hehehehe…), and because if I took this chapter out, the rhythm of the story would be off.
So yeah. I know it bites. :-P
Chibikenshin6490 – thanks so much, I am quite proud of my research. Thanks for the review!
Ice Angel Kaoru – I'm glad you think this is better than SM, 'cause I started it so long ago… so hopefully I've improved a little since then, lol. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as last chapter, though its not quite as warm… probably still as fluffy, though. Lol. Thanks for reviewing.
RK-128 – yes, sense of humor is necessary for fun. And I'm glad this story is comforting… or relaxing, or whatever you said… cause yeah, its kinda meant to be. Not too much action or gore or drama in this one. (But, I'm thinking, once you're married, you don't want very much gore in your relationship… S&M! It hurts so good! Lol) but later stories will be more exciting. And humorous, je pense. Thanks for the review, Aneue!
Royal blueKitsune – no, this isn't the sequel to SM. 'Cause SM's an alternate universe story, and this is set in the real RK universe. The sequel might take a while (not too too long, though) to get up, because after this story, I have one or two other stories to post – maybe Inuyasha, maybe Kenshin. So I dunno, but its already all planned out, and its not too long. Anyway. Thanks for reviewing, and I'm happy you're so looking forward to the sequel!
Lil-strange-person – thanks! Also thanks for stopping by and reviewing!
Lackwit - Seisouhen is really great, but yeah, it is kinda depressing too. I can't wait for the manga to get further along, 'cause it'll give us more info than we have now. On the tofu and rice - no, you are wrong, I am right. Haha, just kidding. Yeah. I knew tofu was usually carried in buckets, but I've seen it in sacks, too. That's probably still wrong for Meiji era Japan, but hey. And the bags in my mind were lined on the inside with some sort of water-proof plastic lining... shutup, PVC totally existed back then! But seriously, thanks for the review and the corrections.