Ange: Wow it's been awhile hasn't it? In that time I started college so I made a promise not to get too involved with fan fiction until next semester. I'll be surprised if anyone will still follow this story too. Procrastination will have to be one of my New Year resolutions but I just might wind up procrastinating about my resolutions too. After this I will try to get another chapter soon but if not then expect one during my Spring Break which I have no clue when mine is. Oh and I apologize if Tomoe is ooc, I had the hardest trouble writing hers.

Um, enjoy?

Disclaimer: Need I say more?

The Torture

Chapter Siete: A Love Unrequited

Riddle me this:

An impossible dream

A valued price

Unable to be weighed or measured

A lifelong treasure hunt

That cannot be taken at face value

For at times it can be disguised and masked

But when the truth is revealed it already has you

A silent feeling louder than a yell

A burning flame no cold can quell

More precious than jewelry

More wanted than wealth

It becomes real when you forget yourself

What am I…?

-

-

-

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…I am love

Kenshin woke up to the darkness with sounds of the night mutely echoed around him. For a moment he had trouble remembering where he was and why he was sleeping on the living room couch. Had Tomoe kicked him out of the bed? No, she would never do something like that and besides this wasn't their couch much less their apartment.

-

With his guard up, he carefully checked out his surrounding from his position on the makeshift bed. It wasn't until he noted a faint scent wafting through the air did he allow himself to relax as his memory returned to him. Kenshin drank in the aroma of Jasmine- Kaoru's signature scent. He never knew how she could naturally smell like a flower but ever since meeting her he never viewed a jasmine as the same again.

-

Feeling restless he left the couch, his need to see the owner of this house urging him on. He had been without her for far too long and it seems he could never tire at looking at her. Never again will he take her for granted. Never again will he be without her.

-

From the narrow hallway a door stood open calling out to him like a beacon. Stepping inside a room faintly lit by moonlight there laid his treasure in a deep sleep resting on her side. Her blankets were kicked away wrapped in disarray around her legs with her body halfway off the bed itself. She always was a messy sleeper and it was only with him could she settle down. That was proof enough that she shouldn't have left him.

-

Kenshin turned to leave but when he heard her murmur his name in her sleep he couldn't seem to make himself exit. In a matter of moments he was at her side. Seeing her in slumber she looked so unguarded and content, unlike the Kaoru she was earlier but rather more like the Kaoru she was two years before.

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The Kaoru he grew to love.

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Unable to resist the urge to be closer to her, Kenshin crawled in the bed pulling Kaoru to his side. Immediately she latched onto him even in the midst of her dreams. Brushing back her tousled hair he faintly kissed the crown of head, smiling as she turned to seek more warmth from him. Feeling drowsy Kenshin allowed himself to fall into slumber, the most peaceful one he had in the past two years. Yes, this is how it should always be. And with that stray his consciousness finally left him.

Kaoru woke up with her body urging her to drift back to sleep. She didn't have school today and didn't have to work until much later so she had slept in, enjoying the feeling of being in a half-awake half-asleep state. Days like these are too few for her so she'll enjoy this one while she still can. As she basked in the warmth of the risen sun her mind for those precious few moments were blank.

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Then she turned her head.

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There laid Kenshin right beneath her with his amethyst eyes calming peering up at her. With an honest effort she willed herself not to lash out even as she scrambled off him. Calming herself down she almost succeeded but then he grinned.

-

He was a dead man.

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Glaring at him from the opposite side of the bed Kaoru asked him a question that has been burning in her mind since she discovered him in her bed, "Just how long have you been up staring at me?" Before he had the chance to answer she held up her hand to cancel that query, "you know what forget I asked that. I really don't wanna know." The fact that he slept on her bed didn't bother her as much as she would've thought but rather it's that he looked so much at home being there that set her on edge.

-

"I thought we had an agreement," Kaoru bit out, "so was not listening to it a planned effort or a spur of a moment type thing?"

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But Kenshin's grin only widened and his eyes lit up with a familiar spark that had her from past experiences growing wary and suspicious. Still lying relaxed on her bed he answered her, amusement in his voice just as much evident as barely held restraint was in hers, "But I did koi and I clearly remember you saying that you didn't want to see my face until morning. Last I checked it is morning."

-

Kaoru internally berated herself for arguing with a lawyer. Feeling too angry to be self-conscious she got out of her bed and stormed towards the bathroom but not before throwing yet another ultimatum at him, "And this time Kenshin I don't want to find you still here when I get out!" Let's see him try to weasel his way out of that one. Slamming the door on his responding laughter, Kaoru leaned heavily against the barrier trying to rationalize the feelings she got from hearing him calling her koi after so long. And it was in the midst of this inner turmoil that she realized with a sense of awe that his eyes weren't golden today.

-

They were purple.

Tomoe woke up to the night, the emptiness of the king-size bed chilling her. Without thought she walked through the rooms and bathed the whole apartment in light. Shrouding herself in a down blanket she settled by the kitchen table. This was the warmest place in the whole house but yet the shivers still tormented her.

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He was out again this was nothing new. He was probably just looking for that Kaoru woman that left him. Why couldn't he forget her? Why couldn't he come to her? Didn't he realize that she…that she'll always… No, this train of thought was pointless and only left her more miserable than before.

-

But this time his absence felt more absolute like he wouldn't be coming back to her anymore. This sort of fear is ridiculous of course. The only reason he wouldn't return would be if he found her and after two years of searching why would today be any different? Even so, Tomoe couldn't rid herself of this ominous feeling looming over her head or the depressive funk that she couldn't seem to pull herself out of.

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And the only cure would be for him to return back to her.

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Tomoe gravitated towards the fridge trying to see what she can whip up to eat, her primal urges unable to be denied anymore. She had slept through the day so ignoring the call to hunger any longer would be indulging in an idiocy quite unlike her. Although chasing after a man already caught by another is an idiocy unto itself.

-

While searching amidst the scarce contents of the fridge, a wafty aroma pulled her towards the stove. Surrounded by the metallic confines of the stove, a meal nestled in a heated covered dish was waiting just for her. Returning back to the kitchen table she consumed the whole thing but hated each delicious bite. It was little things like this that made it impossible to hate him.

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And that only made her more miserable.

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Taking her dishes to the sink she proceeded to wash them. It was while blankly gazing at the window above that she noticed a flash of red from the apartment across this one. Looking closely she realized it was red hair, red hair that could only belong to one man…Kenshin.

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Speechless, Tomoe mindlessly resumed washing the dishes she abandoned when she had noticed the red flash from the other apartment. She needed something to take her mind off what she had witness, but washing plates was too repetitive a job for that. Well as long as her hands were occupied it would be all right for once they stopped she would have to face the truth and finally admit defeat.

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And so she continued washing, fruitlessly trying to make a quick task stretch on, but all too soon the dishes had been dried and placed away. With that diversion done Tomoe raised up her white flag of surrender as she with leaden feet set off to erase her existence. Packing her belongings she reflected on the fact that she could've prevented this from ever happening.

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Within the first month of moving into this place, she found out that their across the street neighbor was in fact the Kaoru that Kenshin had been looking for. But she didn't tell him, she couldn't. Even though she knew it wasn't right, she wanted to be selfish for a little bit longer. She wanted him for herself a little more. Was that too much to ask for? It had occurred to her countless times to convince him to leave this place. It would've been so easy too. But she didn't act on these urges. She didn't want him to hate her if he found out.

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She could live with his neglect but hatred she wouldn't be able to bear.

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Finished packing, Tomoe relocated all her luggage to the front door but couldn't bring herself to leave just yet, couldn't bring herself to relinquish her hold to another. And so picking up the phone, she assigned that duty to someone else. She then dialed a number she hadn't used since she began following Kenshin, connecting her to the only person who she knew could help her.

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"What?" a brusque voice demanded. A voice she would have recognized even if rendered deaf.

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"Enishi," she replied her voice flat and dead even to her ears. A voice that both masked the depth of her emotions and laid it bare to the listener, "come take me home."

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To be cursed with love is to be condemned for ages she realized. And if it's a one sided deal then you'll be in torment this life and the next.

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And with that revelation, the tears flowed.

Noir: Yay I'm done and though it doesn't seem as much it's the longest chapter. I feel like changing my writing style though because mine takes so long to get a chapter out. You guys are probably getting impatient with how slow this story is going though. Truth I'm thinking of changing the storyline but that's still a work in progress so if you see any new surprises, it'll be a surprise for me too. So, happy New Year! Oh and I'll try to respond to everyone soon too. Thanks for all the reviews!!