A/n: I'm in love, inspired and all that fluff. But I'm in the mood for a one-shot angst. So…here it is. Spoilers ahead. Standard Disclaimers Apply.
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Nani ga Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu da?
Nani ga Himura Kenshin da?
Ore ha mata...ichibantaisetsu na hito o mamorenakatta...
Kaoru...dono...
Kaoru.
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I looked for her as quickly as I can.
As fast as I can.
Only to smell a very familiar scent. It wasn't jasmine. It wasn't Kaoru's.
It was hakubaikou.
White plum. Tomoe's scent.
His face showed evil and total revenge… it was like he knew he already won. It was like he was able to get his revenge.
I had that sudden dread fill my body. Again, in my life, I felt this strange kind of fear. This fear…
His face made me feel fear. Not of him but… of something else. Something I couldn't even bare to say. I was…I was…
I ran…
Not away from him, but towards the very familiar scent of white plums.
"Kaoru-dono!"
I screamed her name.
"Kaoru-dono!"
I can hear him telling me to wail, to scream, to repent from afar.
I ran faster. No. No.
No.
…Yes.
My dread. My fear.
It became reality.
Kaoru.
There she was. She lied by the wall. His sword stabbed on her chest. Blood.
Her face. There was blood on her face. And a scar. A cross-shaped scar.
It was my scar.
I dropped my sakabatou.
Dead.
My fear. It came true.
I can faintly hear voices calling me. Calling my name. Kenshin.
They stopped as well. I didn't bother looking at them. The body laid in front of me took my last ounce of strength. It took my will to live. It took my life.
What is my worth?
I couldn't protect her.
Again.
What good am I?
Again, I failed to protect the one person who is most important to me.
The one I love most.
…
I fall on my knees.
Kaoru's dead.
Her name rolled from my lips for the last time.
Kaoru's dead.
I let go of unshed tears.
"…Kaoru."
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What good is Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu?
What good is Himura Kenshin?
Again…I failed to protect…the one person who is most important to me…
Kaoru…dono…
Kaoru.
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(( Scene: Volume 24, Rurouni Kenshin. Nobuhiro Watsuki )) Please Review.