Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. This piece is written without permission from the proper rights owners, which include Nobuhiro Watsuki, Sony, and Anime Works. Please do not sue, though I don't think you would get anything from doing so anyway.
Gossip
"Isn't that her?"
"Yes, I believe so…"
They were always whispered, respectful, and full of pity.
"They say he left for Kyoto…"
"Why would he do that? They could have been so happy…"
She didn't want to hear them. They said over and over what was already echoing in her mind. Soon their banter annoyed her, like a wasp flying near but never landing.
"I feel so sorry for her… I heard they were old childhood friends, but when he asked her to marry him, she didn't feel for him that way…"
"Does that matter? Marriage is marriage…"
"Yes, but the boy was a foolish one, always wanting to impress her, to be worthy of her…"
And then the whispers turned malicious. But never toward him, never, it was her who was wrong.
"Why would he do that? Stupid boy…"
"He knew her for so long, and yet he is blinder than the rest of us."
"A lady of honor, she is. She would never be so silly."
"He asked for the impossible."
They were lies. Lies!
"But still… Death is too strong a punishment for someone so young."
They were lying. No one had told her of this.
"How sad a fate… to die for something never to be reached…"
They were wrong. She loved him, truly. It was something stronger than she'd ever felt before, an emotion unhampered from outside forces. She loved him. She loves him.
Doesn't he know that? It was so clear to her, so wonderfully obvious, something she wanted him to know so desperately.
'Don't you know I love you?'
Why was it so difficult for her? To say a simple phrase that meant so much to the both of them? It could have saved him. She could have prevented this. She could have been married.
They could have been so happy.
"I hear…"
Now there was fear.
"I hear that a demon killed him…"
"A demon?"
"A demon that kills for the patriots… No one has ever seen him and lived, so no one knows who really killed all of those people…"
Impossible. Someone must know.
"He roams the streets of Kyoto at night, hunting Shogunate soldiers…"
"Nonsense. It takes planning and organization to assassinate people and remain unknown."
"I'm only telling what I've heard."
When a samurai was killed, his wife was obligated to take care of his death. She isn't his fiancé, she is his wife. She would find this demon. 'Vengeance' her mind said, but her heart knew better. She was the cause of his death, not this demon the whispers spoke of. The demon was the axe, and she was the executioner.
Her mind plotted, one step after another. She doubted she had the strength to kill, so once again, the role of the axe would fall to someone else. Once the demon was gone, she would be too. There would be nothing left in life, and she was already wishing to see her husband once more.
It was a simple plan, with a simple motive. He would have argued that vengeance wasn't worth the death of even a demon. He was always so kind, so foolish. Her life only had one meaning now, her mind only one though. And her heart was gone.
End
A few notes:
This is a different writing style than I'm used to. I've seen it in a few fics, or at least something similar to it. I don't know if it worked out well, but it was rather fun. This is another Tomoe/Akira piece. There's not too many of them, so I don't really know where I'm getting the inspiration for this, seeing as how I am primarily a Kenshin/Kaoru fan… Of course the feedback I got for my first Tomoe/Akira piece was quite a spirit-lifter. The word count is rather pathetic: 670 words. The page count is just barely over two pages, not counting the disclaimer or this last bit. Please tell me what you think. A big thanks to all of my wonderful reviewers! If you're anonymous and would like a reply to your review, leave an email address.
Oh, and this is probably the last installment, and I'm going to need a new summary in a few weeks or so. Suggestions are desperately needed!