Disclaimer: Everything that does not belong to me, belongs to Nobuhiro Watsuki and associates (Jump Comics, Shueisha Inc. etc.) Everything that does belong to me, does not belong to you.

A/N: I am so sorry for the wait, again, but at least this time the chapter is plenty long. Also, this is the first time a chapter out of this fic has been beta-ed, so hopefully the number of mistakes will be decreased and the quality will be all around better.

Thanks Liem for betaing!

Oh, also, since this is the last chapter of part one, the title gets to be special, and therefore it is not following the pattern that has been set so far of it being a verb.

Enjoy!

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-PART ONE-

Black bird singing in the dead of night

Take these broken wings and learn to fly

All your life

You were only waiting for this moment to arrive

--The Beatles "Blackbird"

Chapter Ten

This Moment

The wedding of Sano and Megumi occurred one warm spring day. There was little preamble to it, and the audience was limited to only the current residence of the dojo and Outa.

The ceremony was simple, following the tradition of Shinto weddings. Everything was perfect and in place…except for the people attending.

Far from being the stoic on-lookers they should have been, Megumi and Sano's friends were all in varied states of euphoria.

Kaoru's head was bowed, though the task of hiding that wide smile was not so easily achieved. Next to her, Kenshin's expression was one of joy, a smile dancing in his eyes but not showing on his lips. But none was so unraveled in their happiness than Naruku, whose bright, delicious smile could have been in no stranger company than with the tears that poured steadily down her cheeks.

And yet in front of them, Megumi remained as poised as a picture-perfect bride as she drank from the nuptial sake cups. A smile was hidden coyly between her painted lips.

Beside her, Sano could not keep a loving smile off his face when they repeated a Shinto prayer asking for a long, fruitful marriage that would not be interrupted by hardship or disease.

But then Megumi's hand shot out, grabbing onto Sano's satin sleeve and a small smile of excitement surfaces as the ceremony ended, and they were married.

"It was a lovely service, wasn't it?" Kaoru ventured lightly, traveling back to the dojo beside Aoshi in the late afternoon sun. "I've never seen a wedding before…Sano and Megumi seem so happy. I'm sure they'll both enjoy traveling 'around the world' as Sano put it. Where do you think they'll go?"

Aoshi was silent and Kaoru got the sense that he was listening not a whit to her. She knew effortless chatter was not his inclination, but he had never outright ignored her before…

Her silent fuming was about to become a lot more vocal and frankly dangerous, when Aoshi spoke up.

"Kamiya-san, I'm afraid I can't give you what you want any longer."

It was his tone, the use of her family name and finally his words that made Kaoru stop short.

"W-what?" she stammered, barely trusting herself to stand. With just a few simple words, Aoshi had brought the world crashing down on the young shihondai. "What do you mean?"

"This life that you dream of. Marriage, stability, a husband. I can't give you that. I'm sorry."

He looked sorry, very sorry, almost as if his heart was breaking worse than hers. But it wasn't enough for Kaoru.

She was furious. "Don't presume to know what it is I want, Shinomori Aoshi!"

"I presume nothing," was the answer, the words hard and unflinching.

"Then how in the hell do you have the right to tell me what I dream of. A husband, marriage? You think that's what's most important to me? You don't know me at all." The livid expression on Kaoru's face should have made Aoshi realize how very wrong he was, but instead he was that much more persistent in his point.

"Your eyes in the shrine told a different story," Aoshi returned.

Kaoru was all too aware of how uneasy she was making him. He expected this to be a clean-cut conversation, a few last words before walking away forever. Instead it turned into this ugly exchange…

Just another thing to add to the list of things Aoshi was wrong about.

"No matter how happy you are now, Kaoru, you long for something more. Something I can't give you," Aoshi echoed. "I'm…"

"You know what Aoshi?" Kaoru's tone was brisk, businesslike. "This isn't about me. This is about you and your assumptions, your mistakes, and whatever's going on in that weird head of yours."

Underneath that beautiful black hair and beyond those gorgeous blue…she shook her head vehemently. Stop it, Kaoru.

"You can't just decide that I've become obsessed with marriage just because my friends got married. I don't see how this changes anything. I really don't," her voice petered out and she knew if she said anything more, she'd cry. She hated that.

Aoshi bowed his head. "Kaoru," he was stern. "Whether or not you are thinking about marriage yet is not the issue. But the fact that Sagara-san has been recently married is enough to make me think about the future. And more importantly, your future, which will never blossom with me at your side."

"So what?" Kaoru snarled. "So now you don't love me anymore? So now, suddenly, you're not good enough to love me? What the hell am I supposed to say to that, Aoshi? 'Oh, thanks, this has been fun, why don't you go on your way and I'll go on mine!' No thank you! This is never going to play out like you want it to."

Aoshi seemed to realize that. He had also realized that, despite her fierce tone, there were tears in Kaoru's eyes. He struggled with himself, wondering if he should pretend like he hadn't seen them at all.

One salty drop rolled down her cheek and dropped under her chin and Aoshi couldn't ignore it any longer.

"I never meant to cause you pain," he stated quietly. "That, you have to believe."

She was full on sobbing and she hated herself for it. Couldn't stand that she couldn't calm down, couldn't get words out. "It's a little hard when I'm standing here with my heart torn to shreds and I don't even know why! Do you really not love me anymore, Aoshi? Did you ever love me? Do you just want to walk away and pretend like…" she drew in a deep, heaving breath. "Pretend like this—you and me, never happened?"

He looked her straight in the eye and answered without falter. "No, Kaoru, that's not what I want at all."

"Then what? Why are you doing this?" she was desperate, her anger slipping, replaced only with heartache.

Aoshi turned. He couldn't bear to see her, couldn't bear to think he was close enough to touch her, not without breaking his firm resolve. He began to walk away.

"Aoshi," the name was crisp, clear. It was said without tears, without desperation, without question. "The reason we were together…was it only because I wanted it?" Please…prove to me that it's not true.

"Of course not," the answer was short, his vowels clipped. Kaoru sensed anger in his tone. He had not moved, but he had not turned around either.

When Kaoru spoke again, her head was bowed and her eyes shadowed by her raven hair. "Then please…tell me why. Because I don't know anymore. And now you're…" she sniffled. She felt pathetic. She felt useless and hopeless in a way she never had before. Kamiya Kaoru was no pushover! And yet here she was, with seemingly no control over her life. Things were going to change, that she understood. But she never expected they'd change like this.

"Now you're acting like you never wanted me at all." Another sniffle. Another spasm of self-loathing. Her eyes on the floor, waiting.

But her vision jerked up suddenly as she felt hands grab her shoulders, roughly, hungrily, wildly. "There is nothing I want more than to hold you, love you, kiss you, Kaoru."

The reckless want and desire should have scared Kaoru, but it didn't. The ragged, craving way he said her name made her feel lawless and curious. So she stepped closer to him and threaded her fingers through his hair. His arms relaxed and dropped from her shoulders to her waist, holding her gently.

But then the contact was broken as he blinked and shook his head, stepping back from her. "I can't."

She closed the gap between them once again and reached up to touch his brow. He jerked back from her fingers and Kaoru was left standing, one hand raised. She felt as though she was stripped naked, bare. She wanted so much to love him, and his rejection left her shamed.

"I can't," he repeated, looking away.

"You said you wanted to kiss me," Kaoru whispered, her voice cracking with tears. "Why don't you?"

"It wouldn't be right."

Courage rising, Kaoru countered, "It was right yesterday. Why not today?"

"Things have changed," he sighed.

"Nothing has changed," she replied fiercely, her voice remaining quiet. Then it was she who took a step back, considering. "You're scared," she realized, blinking at him.

He said nothing.

"Yes, you are," she continued, as though he had said something to the contrary. Biting her lip, she inquired quietly, "What are you afraid of? Loving me? Marrying me?"

Aoshi finally spoke with the answer. "Failing you."

It was enough to make Kaoru go silent.

"I've failed so many people in my life. Misao, Okina, Naruku, the Oniwabanshuu, Himura…but I can't fail you, Kamiya. I would hate myself if I did. So I'm sorry, but this can never work out. I can never be the man you want me to be," he finished quietly; his eyes on the ground and shrouded by thick black bangs. This was his final decision, his resignation. And it hurt worse than a thousand cold swords.

When Kaoru answered she was not pleading. She was not crying, she was not yelling, she was not arguing. She simply said, "There are two things I want—probably the only two things I have ever wanted, and ever will."

Aoshi raised his eyes to hers because this was the clearest she had spoken since the beginning of their fight.

Because Kaoru had never wanted to impress a point more thoroughly, nor had she ever confessed these desires to anyone before. "The first is to be loved. The second…" she paused. "The second is to never have to be alone again," she finished, looking Aoshi straight in the eye and regarding him carefully.

He could feel his resolve breaking with every breath he took.

"If you love me, and if you'll never leave me, then you are already the man I want you to be." She drew closer again, and this time he did not back away, though his eyes were full of uncertainty. Sighing gently, she leaned her head against his chest and whispered, "I only wanted you…as you are. Just Aoshi."

And then Aoshi knew that Kaoru was too precious to give up. Perhaps she deserved some more wonderful man, one who was perfect in every way. But then, did such a man exist? And if he did…Kaoru had already shown him she wouldn't want him anyway. That what she wanted was Aoshi. Scarred, flawed, hers…Just Aoshi.

He leaned his cheek against the soft down of her hair and encircled her slender form. "I won't fail you," he said fiercely, clutching her tightly to him. "I won't. Kaoru." Just Kaoru.

Blushing lightly, Kaoru relaxed in his arms. "Good," she murmured into his neck. "I know you won't."

All the world seemed to pivot on the gentle sway of their bodies as they moved together, forming a bond out of what was once a gap. There was no past, there was no future, there was only now.

Hours later, as Aoshi and Kaoru lay together in a tangle of sheets, Kaoru voiced her last worry to him.

"Is this a goodbye?" she asked, her words just a puff of air between them.

Aoshi frowned, tracing calloused fingers over Kaoru's flat belly, marveling at how the smooth skin seemed to mimic the moon in paleness. "Why would you say that?" he wondered, looking up at her flushed face.

Kaoru wriggled away enough to comfortably turn on her side. "It's just…you have the Oniwabanshuu in Kyoto, and I have my students here…you came here on a mission, but that mission ended a month ago. I don't mean goodbye forever, but we have different lives and right now—"

He silenced her, touching her lips lightly with his own. "It is true, I have my responsibilities in Kyoto, and you have yours here. But we also have a duty to each other."

"Because we made love?"

Aoshi quirked a lip at her foolishness. "Of course not."

"Oh," Kaoru was silent. "Why then?"

"Because I love you," Aoshi replied silkily. "And I assume you love me, too."

"Oh," she repeated, her face flushing further as she stammered for the right answer. "Oh. Yes, of course I do."

"Then we'll find a way to make it work," Aoshi told her, rubbing her cheek with his thumb affectionately.

"Yeah," Kaoru answered vaguely. "We will."

She was too blissful to even smile, so instead she tucked her head in the crook of Aoshi's neck and curled against him.

It would be difficult, she knew, balancing both their lives and each other. But Kaoru had never been more ready to make something work; she had never been more thrilled to try.

June arrived, dawning slowly on the residence and students of the Kamiya dojo. The winds of change picked up again, blowing the "Kenshin-gumi" as they lovingly called themselves, slowly but steadily apart. But as this one family dissolved, new ones were formed.

Within the first week of June Sano and Megumi had vacated their homes in Tokyo, moving far out to Aizu where Megumi continued to strive for the same thing she had been pursuing for years—her family. But now, it held a different meaning, one that included only the tall brown-haired man at her side as well as a little one that, by October, was well on the way.

They had visited since then, so the goodbye was hardly forever. As Sano, optimistically said, "If you want to see someone, just go see them." They always brought news from Aizu, about Megumi's work, or Sano's business, or the little one that they had lovingly dubbed Jin, before its sex was even decided.

When prodded for her thoughts on the matter, Megumi would merely smile in secrecy and whisper, "A mother always knows."

Sano swore it would be a baby girl, and, gambler that he was, stuck to that conjecture with the hardheadedness he had become known for.

One thing that had changed about Sano was his penchant for being completely broke. The shipping business was rapidly becoming quite lucrative because of all the new Western influence coming in from America, and while it took Sano away from his wife for several weeks out of the year, it also put them in a state of almost constant cash flow. This change in his freeloading ways was something that everyone had trouble adjusting to, and Naruku jokingly said it was even stranger than Megumi and Sano not living in Tokyo anymore.

And yet, despite that, for months afterward, life at the Kamiya dojo went on almost as usual. Kaoru's students quickly progressed, though none could give Yahiko a run for his money. Yahiko was striving to improve so much, it had almost become an obsession. He consistently challenged Misao, Kenshin, Kaoru and even Soujiro to sparring matches. But Yahiko was also maturing in many ways, and rather than feeling dragged down by Kaoru's students, he was always willing to help out.

Which was why, one hot day in August, Kaoru agreed to teach him the Kamiya Kasshin succession technique. Yahiko was diligent in his practices, and failed to complain under Kaoru's tyrannical thumb. Once she was satisfied with his dedication (as if she hadn't been before) she showed him the move.

For weeks he attempted to copy her movements, raising, crossing, sliding, throwing, but could never get it right. Yahiko had always been good at learning by example—his Hiten Mitsurugi homage moves were testament to that. But he simply couldn't get the succession move right.

Kaoru knew that, to him, learning this was like becoming an adult. It was a major passage in his life. And while it seemed Yahiko wanted nothing more than to be stronger and grow up, the thought was also holding him back.

Realizing that it had to be all or nothing for him to succeed, Kaoru gave him this ultimatum:

"If you can't complete the succession technique tomorrow morning, you can never wield a Kamiya Kasshin sword again," she told him solemnly.

Yahiko took this to heart, and would've practiced all through the night, but he was found in the evening by Aoshi.

"You've been doing it for two weeks," the tall, dark-haired man said. "You know it by now."

Yahiko growled. "But I don't! What if I can't do it? I need to figure it out tonight, I need—"

"You can't push for this. Not this time," Aoshi interrupted. "Be patient. Wait. It will come to you. Enjoy the night, and tomorrow you will succeed. Kaoru has every ounce of faith in you, as does Himura-san."

Hearing this calmed Yahiko. He put his shinai back, and for the rest of the evening, simply sat on the porch, looking up at the stars.

"Are you thinking about tomorrow?" Naruku asked, quietly coming to sit next to him.

Yahiko turned toward her, and she was surprised to see a faint smile on his face. "No," he answered. "I know what I have to do. I'm not worried."

He said this without a trace of conceit. His words, instead, sounded like the hopeful idealism of a child.

"Good," she smiled back. "I'm glad."

The next day in the drill hall, with everyone watching, Yahiko executed the Kamiya Kasshin succession technique without a single flaw. When it was done, Kaoru heaved herself off the floor and strode to him. When she reached him, she knelt down and gave him a rare hug. "I'm so proud of you."

Even more surprising than the embrace was the tear streaking down Kaoru's cheek.

Kaoru would soon find herself with more reasons to cry when two weeks later, Soujiro and Misao left. As they reached the cusp of August, Okina sent word from Kyoto that Misao, as acting Okashira of the Oniwabanshuu, was needed to perform a scouting mission across almost the entire Honshu island of Japan.

A day later, smiling subtly to herself, for she knew the mission was Okina's was of setting her spirit free, Misao and Soujiro set out into the countryside, where they belonged, neither knowing where the winds would blow them next.

Perhaps it was really how they were meant to be, traveling simply in each other's company where they could be truly happy, but it was nevertheless a bittersweet day for those still at the dojo, made more so by Yahiko's pronouncement that he was moving out and into Sano's old flat.

This, he explained cheekily, was to get out of the way of any goings-on at the dojo, and a way to ensure that Kaoru would finally get married like a normal girl. That earned him a couple dozen smacks in the head, but he got his way, and the next week, he was gone from the dojo.

Whenever he was there again, either hanging around in imitation of Sano or actually doing something useful by helping with the students, he often made insinuations that Kenshin and Naruku should find a place of their own, to give them and Kaoru and Aoshi privacy. These remarks were met with several minutes of scuffling and a pain in the morning that could rival a bad hangover for Yahiko.

But Yahiko's continual hints soon bloomed into the truth when, one day early in September, Aoshi and Kaoru were married.

There were exactly seven people in attendance, Tae, Tsubame, Yahiko, Kenshin and Naruku, plus Megumi and Sano who had made the trip down from Aizu just for the occasion.

Kaoru's smile was as infectious as it was luminous that day, spreading her happiness wherever she happened, and making the world smile with her, be it a street vendor in town or the innkeeper that allowed Kaoru and Aoshi stay that night on the way to Kyoto.

Since he had mastered the Kamiya Kasshin, Yahiko was able to take over classes effortlessly. While the students were unhappy about their teacher being taken away by marriage, they were quickly assured she would be back soon. And, Yahiko decided to add cruelly, if they hadn't completed their two new kata by then, she would be angry.

Far from being angry, when Kaoru returned she was ecstatic to start classes again. Though slightly upset that Aoshi stayed behind in Kyoto for three days, it didn't daunt her enthusiasm very much at all, and when Aoshi returned it was painfully obvious to Kenshin and Naruku how very excited they both were about their new marriage.

Still, in the following months Kaoru split her time dutifully between her students and her husband, and he did the same with her and the Oniwabanshuu, only going to Kyoto when absolutely necessary. The time they were apart, Kaoru sulked as little as possible, but their reunions were mighty and made up for the separation. They said they would make things work and they did, entering each day with as much gusto as the last.

Naruku and Kenshin still refrained from moving out. One reason was because they didn't want to have to leave Kaoru all alone in the house, once filled with so many friends, when Aoshi was away. Another reason was that they still hadn't talked about marriage or what was to come. They were in an utter stagnant state, excruciating for those around them, but perfectly comfortable to both Kenshin and Naruku, who enjoyed the simplicity of their lives as they were.

But the changing tides left little alone, and soon Kenshin and Naruku would have to take that last big step.

The chill of December had long since set in, and, listening to the howls of the wind outside, Naruku was quite content with her situation in the kitchen, sitting on a counter next to the stovetop flame. It had become her custom to sit there during these cold days, occasionally helping Kenshin with the meal he was preparing.

The rest of the dojo stayed completely empty on these afternoons, for it was one of the rare weeks out of the year that Kaoru accompanied Aoshi to Kyoto instead of remaining behind with her students. So Kenshin and Naruku were left to their own devices, and often that meant simply sitting like this in the kitchen.

"Naruku-dono, you're going to get burned," Kenshin warned, looking up as he chopped up the onions to go into their soup.

Naruku turned her head away from the window where she could see a tree in the yard being violently blown by the wind. "What?" she said hazily. "Oh. Yeah. I'll be careful." She scooted away from the flame of the stove and watched languidly as Kenshin carefully dumped the green onion into the pot. Indeed, several flecks of boiling water jumped out, landing on the counter beside Naruku.

"Will you get the tofu?" Kenshin asked her, without glancing up from his work.

Again, Naruku's attention was elsewhere.

"Naruku-dono? Tofu?" he repeated, this time looking up at her.

She blinked. "Yeah, of course. I'll get it." She slid off the counter, plopping on the floor next to Kenshin, and strode over to where the tofu bucket sat, its contents wriggling and bouncing with her footsteps.

"I think I've decided what to do with it," Naruku declared as she returned.

"The tofu?" Kenshin wondered, taking the bucket from her.

"No, baka," she reprimanded, throwing an irritated look at the redhead. "The money. Remember?"

Of course he did. She was talking about the reward money she had gotten for Enizu's death. It had been a common topic of discussion between the two of them for quite a while, slipping deftly into their conversations from time to time. It was a sizeable amount of money, and the debate of what to do with it had been rolling around in Naruku's head for almost eight months now.

But this was the first time she had ever sounded anywhere close to reaching a conclusion about it.

"What do you want to do?" Kenshin asked, abandoning his soup for the time being and focusing all his energy on Naruku.

She scratched at a grain of wood on the counter idly before replying, "I want to use it to… make a safe place. To give people what you and Kaoru-chan gave me. I want to build the dojo, but bigger. A place for people at the edges of their lives to brush themselves off and start standing on their own two feet. I want to help stop the suffering."

Kenshin was silent after this proclamation, mulling it over in his mind before speaking. "That sounds like a good idea, Naruku. I know it will make you happy, but…in order for that to work, we need to have some source of revenue. The reward money can only start us off."

Naruku was surprised by the use of the word us. She knew he would support her with this decision, but he spoke as though he had every intention of going into this project with her—like a partner, or even…she raised her chin, fighting off a blush. "I know that. I haven't quite thought everything through yet, but I keep thinking of when I was a kid, and my dad used to take me to see plays and performances. I thought…" her hasty speaking broke off.

Kenshin knew what her thought was. It was a great risk, unlikely to work, and yet…

Something clicked into place.

"Naruku-dono," he said, his tone now urgent. "I want to show you something."

He walked quickly and purposefully past her and into the hallway. Surprised, Naruku straightened up and followed him. It took her a few seconds to realize that they were heading towards Kenshin's room. She observed silently as Kenshin slid the shoji door open. Hesitant, but curious, Naruku followed him inside.

Kenshin crouched next to the neat stack of futon bedding. From inside one of the many folds, he relinquished a simple black book.

Naruku's eyes widened and a gust of breath escaped her. She recognized the book. Within her first month at the dojo she had gotten that black book on a whim for Kenshin. Now it had fallen back into her life. While it once had been blank with crisp rice pages, it now had ink from cover to cover, the pages wrinkled with use.

Tentatively, Naruku reached out and took it from Kenshin's outstretched hands. "Can I…?"

Kenshin nodded in affirmation, amusement shining in his eyes. "I'll be in the kitchen," he said finally, bowing out of the room and sliding the door shut behind him.

Listening to his footsteps die away, Naruku sat down on the ground and began to read. She poured over it, each character on the page transfixing her. She turned the pages gently, realizing quickly that this was Kenshin's life—it was his life told from his own eyes, written down for hers. From beginning to end, like a story, or a play.

I don't remember my parent's faces, but every now and then I think I hear their voices…

She read about his training with Hiko, about meeting Tomoe, about his life as an assassin, though that was brief.

No matter how far away I am from those days, it still pains me to speak of them.

She read about his year of bliss away from the war, about Tomoe's tragic death, about the Shinsengumi, about his oath, about his wandering.

There are details I can't remember, but the feeling of numbness was with me for my first years on the road.

And then there was that life-changing event for him, the day he had met Kaoru. Then about his battle in Kyoto, and this was where the details became more vivid, facts more elaborate. With each word, she felt more and more as Kenshin had then. Each victory was hers to claim, each setback hers to overcome.

Her gaze locked onto the ink characters as she read of her own arrival in Kenshin's life. She was so surprised. It seemed so far away, but here it was in front of her.

Putting a hand to her mouth, Naruku swallowed thickly, tears prickling the corners of her eyes. Reading about herself from Kenshin's heart and mind…it was unnerving, but also…elating. It seemed he had loved her almost as long as she had loved him.

I have come to care about her…more than I can express in words. I don't know what this means, but I know that, when she returns, I will protect her as I have protected everyone in my life. That, I promise.

It was written back when Naruku had left the dojo after the first fight with Enizu…only a little over a year ago.

She closed her eyes briefly before stretching her back and turning to the next page. The destruction of the dojo, battling Nishiwaki's forces, Kaoru's illness, traveling up to Yosai Mountain… these events sprawled on the pages in front of her, reminding her, calling her.

She then reached the confusion before Enizu's return, the determination Kenshin had to protect her, and the grief after, when she had been too mixed-up in herself. She tried not to be ashamed as she read on. A smile lit her face as she reached the telling of their first kiss. Kenshin's words sunk into her, each word like a marble dropped into an endless, clear jar.

And finally…

December 25

Meiji 13

Today's date.

The weather outside is storming. The wind is shrieking with its own voice, and the sky is a ghastly color. And yet I know Naruku will look outside and see another adventure, beautiful in its changing course.

Everyday with her is its own journey, and this one will never come to an end. But today, I think, we can start on a different path. It's time to change course, and keep moving forward. Today, I know, I will be ready to show her this, my life.

And I want to know if she will share the rest of it with me.

Naruku looked up. Those were the last words in the whole book. Three blank pages followed them.

She looked back down. The words were the same.

Naruku picked herself off the floor, Kenshin's journal still in hand. She headed to the kitchen, for she was hungry—but not for food. She was hungry for answers.

She strode down the hall quickly, her feet struggling to keep up with her racing thoughts. She slid the door to the kitchen open and stopped.

There stood Kenshin, his back to her, hunched over the counter. His posture was tense, anxious. He turned at the sound of the door, his expression welcoming, warm.

In the doorway, Naruku fought for words. Finally, her voice settled and she said, "Kenshin."

A tear streaked its way down her cheek. Kenshin took in breath as they gazed at each other, touching and communicating just through their eyes.

"Oh, Kenshin," she cried finally. "It's beautiful."

Naruku held up the book and chewed on her knuckle as her vision blurred from warm tears. She wiped them away roughly, unable to stop the onslaught of tears or the assault of sensation in her heart.

He strode forward, closing the distance between them in two steps. His arms encircled her waist, supporting her, holding her intimately.

She wiped more tears with her palm of her hand before throwing her arms around Kenshin's neck, too overwhelmed with compassion and love and the small, selfish knowledge that it had been her who had unleashed Kenshin's book, who had given him a push to write it all down for good.

"It's beautiful," she murmured again.

Kenshin turned his head and caught her lips in an innocent, loving kiss. The book slipped from her grasp as amorous warmth filled Naruku from the pit of her stomach, even as Kenshin broke away.

"Kenshin," Naruku exhaled, her eyes still softly closed. "Did you mean it? Did you mean…what it said…what you wrote today?"

Kenshin's fingers ran the length of Naruku's short brownish hair. "Naruku," he eased, but his tone was serious all the same. "Nothing in that book is a lie. I want to be with you…for good."

His eyes had turned a deep plum, a color she had never seen in them before. Had she been the least bit hesitant in her decision, she would have faltered under such a stare. Instead she let a beatific smile spread across her face, even while tears streaked down her face. It was like seeing the sun during rain.

And quietly, though her whole body was shaking, she knelt down and picked the book off the floor, offering it to Kenshin, her eyes never leaving his.

Without a word, he took it, and flipped to the end, where his last entry was.

And below it, a simple two word answer. Yes. And also, forever.

The black book dropped between them and this time it was she who moved forward, stepping over it and sweeping Kenshin into a fervently passionate kiss. Behind their entwined bodies, Kenshin's book lay open, forgotten for the moment as its creator and his muse shared the beginning of the rest of their lives.

Part One--end

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A/N: I am going to try to finish some chapters of other fics before I move on to part two of this one. But when the next chapter does come out, this fic will be getting somewhat of a makeover. New summary and new pairing category (Aoshi/Kaoru) so look out for that.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, as sappy as it was, and that you'll stick around for part two, coming soon I hope.