Even the Bakamatsu can have a Happy Ending
By: Shiara-dono
Standard disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. Sadly.
Chapter 3
A week went by, and Kenshin felt himself growing steadily fonder of Kaoru, although he tried to deny it. Once he'd started feeling better, he'd gone into the shed to clean up the blood, only to find Kaoru had already done so. He'd spotted his daisho leaning against the wall. He hadn't seen it since the night he came to the dojo. Smiling, he closed the doors to the shed, leaving the daisho there.
He was content with his life at the dojo. He was experiencing a feeling of being relaxed, something he hadn't felt since… well, never. He enjoyed the friendship he had with Yahiko and Sanosuke. And then, there was Kaoru.
Kenshin sighed. Kaoru was an oddity to him. She was fiery-tempered and good with swords, but also honest, caring, and nonjudgmental. She was unlike any other woman he'd ever known, and perhaps that was what drew him to her.
A knock at the dojo gates shook him from his thoughts. Kaoru went to answer. She returned a few minutes later. "I got a letter from my father! He always sends me letters, to tell me how he's doing." She accepted the cup of tea Kenshin handed her, opening the letter with her other hand.
The cup slipped from her hand, shattering on the floor. Kenshin looked at her, startled. The color was draining from her face and her hands trembled. Tears were beginning to fall from her eyes. "Kaoru-dono?"
"My… my father… he-" She fainted.
Kenshin caught her as she fell, lowering her gently to the ground. He picked up the letter and read it, eyes widening.
Kamiya-san,
We regret to inform you that Kamiya Koshijiro was attacked and slain by the Shinsengumi. He fought bravely and died honorably. Again, our deepest apologies.
The Ishin Shishi
Kenshin reread the letter, eyes slowly turning amber with rage. Damn the Shinsengumi! Why?! He looked down at Kaoru. Kami, WHY??! Hasn't she suffered enough? He sighed. "Kaoru-dono? Kaoru-d… Kaoru?" He shook her gently. She whimpered, but didn't wake.
This worried Kenshin. He gently picked her up and walked outside. He hesitated, not knowing where the clinic was.
Yahiko solved his dilemma by showing up at that moment. "Kenshin? What happened? What's wrong with Kaoru?"
"Do you know where the clinic is?"
"Yeah, just go down that street a ways, and it's on the left. Why?"
Kenshin didn't answer. He was gone before Yahiko could blink.
Upon arriving at the clinic, he slammed the shoji open. Several people jumped in surprise.
"Hai? May I help you?" An elderly man asked.
Kenshin hesitated. "I… I need to see Megumi-dono."
Megumi walked into the room at that moment. "Ken-san? What happened to Kaoru?"
"She got a letter."
Megumi's eyes narrowed. "Dr. Gensai, I'll take care of it. Ken-san, if you would follow me?" She led him to one of the back rooms, where Kenshin gently laid Kaoru on a futon.
"Now. What happened?"
Kenshin handed her the note. "She read this and fainted. Yahiko told me how to get here. She… she will be okay, right?"
Megumi did a quick exam of Kaoru, then read the letter. She sat down and put her head in her hands. "We all knew this would happen. Even Kaoru knew. But she wanted to remain positive. She's always been the naïve, optimistic type. Her father hated killing, and avoided it, because it went against the Kamiya Kasshin ryu. Kaoru hoped that they would send him home because of his no-killing policy. Obviously, that will never happen now. Kaoru's in shock now, which is why she fainted."
She faced Kenshin, surprised that he regarded her with an intense amber stare. "Ken-san, I don't know who you are or how you came to the Kamiya dojo. But I do know this. It's pointless to avenge her father, and if you leave now, Kaoru will break."
Kenshin sighed. "Hai, Megumi-dono. Will Kaoru recover?"
"With time."
"Kaoru. It's time to wake up." A soft voice floated through the haze of grief.
"Megumi… san?"
Megumi chuckled. "Wake up, Tanuki. You're worrying Ken-san."
"Who?"
"Don't give me that. Kenshin brought you to the clinic."
Tears rolled down Kaoru's face. "But if I forget him, I can pretend my father… that he's alive."
A soft 'oro' could be heard.
Megumi's tone sharpened. "You silly girl! You know there is no truth behind that statement. Wake up now!"
"… hai…" Kaoru replied sadly, opening tear-filled blue eyes.
Kenshin's heart tightened with anguish. "Kaoru-dono? Do you want me to leave?"
Kaoru sat up in alarm. "Iie! Don't leave! I just… I just…" She broke down crying.
Megumi smiled and gently nudged Kenshin toward Kaoru, mouthing, "It's what she needs."
Oro?! He stepped forward and hesitantly extended his arm toward Kaoru. She latched onto him like a lifeline. He held her while she cried. After a bit, she calmed down enough to be taken home.
"Arigato." She mumbled while they were walking.
"… anytime…"
Kenshin had hoped his presence would help her deal with her grief, but over the next few days, whenever she looked at him, she started crying. He finally caught on. "It's the gi, isn't it?"
Kaoru nodded. "It was my father's least favorite, but…"
"Would it help if I changed? I could put my old gi back on."
Kaoru shot him a dirty look. "It's still stained with blood; I never got around to washing it." She sighed. "Iie. Wear that gi. Bright colors are good for you."
"Why do you say that?"
She countered his question with one of her own. "You're a hitokiri, aren't you?"
Kenshin paled. He didn't know how to reply.
"It doesn't matter to me, really, if you are." Kaoru continued. "But wearing bright colors will help you remember there's more to life than killing."
Kenshin sat down on the porch next to her, and looked at the ground. "Kaoru-dono, I… I'm happy. Being here with you makes me want to give up being a hitokiri."
Kaoru looked over at him, hiding her shock. So, he's a hitokiri after all. I didn't expect him to admit it. "Then give it up. And stay here."
He laughed bitterly. "Even if I give it up, nothing says it will give me up. And the longer I stay, the more at risk you become. I would like to stay here, and stop killing, but I don't know if that is possible. To be honest, I'm surprised they haven't sent search parties to look for me."
"Are you that important?"
"Without me, the new era might never come." He smiled sadly. "Whether we like it or not, Kaoru-dono, I have to leave in a few days." I wish I could say screw the new era. He sighed quietly. Perhaps when the fighting's done, I can return here. If I'm still alive.
The next day, Kenshin was going to cook for Kaoru and Yahiko again, but noticed they had used up the tofu. "Oro? Hey, Yahiko?" He turned to the boy.
"Hai?"
Could you tell Kaoru-dono that we need to get tofu before I can cook?"
Yahiko nodded, running off to find Kaoru.
A few minutes later, Kaoru came in. "Yahiko said we need tofu?"
Kenshin nodded. "Where is Yahiko?"
Kaoru grinned wickedly. "He hasn't yet learned to keep his big mouth shut. I set him to cleaning to dojo floor." She paused. "Ano, Kenshin? Would you like to come with me?"
"Hai. I would love to, Kaoru-dono."
They walked along quietly, almost to the tofu stand. Kaoru held her bokken at her side. She always took it, never knowing when or if she would be attacked. Kenshin was deep in thought. I have to tell her. She has to know how much I've grown to like her in this short time together. Maybe then, she'll be able to cope with my leaving. He opened his mouth to speak.
"Matte, Hitokiri Battousai!"
Kenshin froze. A murmur went through the nearby people.
"Hitokiri Battousai? Here?"
"Surely they don't mean that redhead? He doesn't even have a sword."
"Yeah, and have you ever seen a hitokiri wear a pink gi?"
Kaoru looked around and bristled. Three Shinsengumi were headed their way, swords already drawn.
"Kenshin. They don't mean you, do… they…?" The fierce amber eye color answered her. "Iie. You're Hitokiri Battousai?!"
"Gomen." He muttered, eyes on the Shinsengumi.
"But then… when we were talking… when I said-"
Kenshin gave her a half smile. "I didn't know what you would say if you knew who I was. Don't tell Sano. I don't want to fight him."
Kaoru gasped. "Your daisho! It's in-"
"The shed. I know. I saw it in there. I meant what I said, Kaoru. I really don't want to kill anymore. But it's not letting me go so easily." He shielded her behind him.
The Shinsengumi members surrounded them. "Hitokiri Battousai!" One spat. "We knew if we stuck around we'd find you again!"
"Are they the ones that almost killed you, Kenshin?"
"Hai." He replied softly.
Kaoru growled, anger slowly rising.
Kenshin spread his arms. "As you can see, I'm unarmed. Will you still attack?" He looked challengingly at the one he thought was their leader.
"You killed our comrade."
"The fight was fair."
"Enough! I doesn't matter, because you're still going to die!" One of the others maneuvered around Kenshin and grabbed Kaoru. The leader sneered. "What if we kill her first? Will that anger you?"
Kenshin growled, about to give a scathing reply, but he looked at Kaoru in surprise. Her normally blue eyes had turned a dark stormy gray and her swordsman spirit was spiking. She gave him the smallest nod.
He smirked. "I'm not worried. I don't believe you've met Kamiya Kaoru. Her father was just killed by one of your squads. And, as far as I'm concerned, you've already lost."
"What do you mean?"
"He means, THIS!" Kaoru swung her bokken down, catching her captor on the knee. He grunted and released her. She swung again and caught him on his shoulder. He went down. She turned to the other two. "Who's next?"
"N…nani??" The leader asked in surprise. "But, she's a girl! And her sword's only wood!"
"I've got news for you." Kenshin said, smiling. "She's a dojo master. And rage can sometimes be helpful."
Kaoru lunged, getting within striking distance of the remaining two. She eyed them coldly. "I just want to know, why?"
"Huh?"
"Why, dammit?! Why did you kill my FATHER?!!" She dashed forward, the tip of her bokken pointed at the nearest one's heart. It was going to be a very painful death for him. He gulped in sudden fear.
Strong arms gently wrapped around Kaoru, halting her attack. "That's enough, Kaoru."
She struggled. "Let me go, Kenshin! They deserve to die! My father was innocent!!"
"And so are they, for the most part. By their own admission, they've been in town these past two weeks. They couldn't have killed him. Your father wouldn't want to turn hitokiri, especially on these three."
The fight went out of Kaoru. She slumped into his arms.
The three Shinsengumi began to breathe again. "You haven't seen the last of us, Battousai!" They ran off.
The crowd that had loosely gathered muttered something about the Shinsengumi being lunatics, and went back to whatever they had been previously doing.
Kenshin tilted Kaoru's face up, and gently wiped away her tears. He grinned. "Now that that's over. Shall we go get the tofu?"
/sighs/ I hate family emergencies. They drive you nuts and frazzle nerves. And make me late in posting this. Anyway, it's done now. I'll get the next chapter up sometime next week, providing we don't have another emergency. Next chapter, Kenshin leaves. Will Kaoru follow him? Stay tuned to find out. Ja ne!
Glossary:
daisho: a set of swords that a samurai wore, usually a katana and a wakizashi
dono: 'miss.' Kenshin uses it. It's more formal than -s
shinsengumi: the side opposing the Ishin Shishi
ishin shishi: the side that Kenshin was on
kami: god
shoji: door made of rice paper
hai, aa: yes
ken-san: Megumi's name for Kenshin. It means 'Sir Ken'
kamiya kasshin ryu: kamiya kasshin style, Kaoru's sword sytle
iie: no
arigato: thank you
gi: a type of Japanese shirt that allows easy movement
hitokiri: manslayer
matte: wait
Battousai: what Kenshin was called during the revolution, so named because of his Battou jutsu
nani: what