Shattered Reminiscences

By Scarlet Rayne

Chapter 9

"Are you ready?"

She stared blankly at him, and then looked away. "Ready or not, I would still have to go forth with it, do I not?"

He kept silent, as he carried her luggage and loaded them into the car. Shutting the boot, he told his driver to hold on, as he took her hand. "Ready or not, you are coming with me, Kaoru."

She pulled back her hand, and went into the car. In a whisper, she said coldly. "I'm tired, and I don't have the strength to wait any longer. Please, let us just go."

Everything was done in silence. The trip to the airport, the immigration process, the waiting hours.. She made it seem like she was struggling to restrain every fiber in her being to run away.

How would Kenshin react?

Would he hate her?

Will he find her?

The same questions played back over and over again in her mind.

She heaved a tired sigh.

There was no turning back now. Her past had came back and took her with him, taking her back to the familiar surroundings of Shanghai. She ignored him throughout the whole time, refusing to say anything.

She was so angry.

So upset.

So disappointed, and yet so heart broken.

Guilt was starting to slap her in the face, every time she thought of Kenshin. He had entered her life and fixed the broken pieces, the pieces of her broken heart. The one where Enishi himself had shattered.

And now she was going to destroy his, with him thinking that she was doing it as an act of betrayal. An act of betrayal for another man.

He would think that she left him for another, which was true literally. But she knew that he would never know that it was not out of willingness, nor would it ever be out of love.

It was one accusation and an excuse with a direct meaning, but things aren't always what they seem.

Oh, what she would give to tell him that.

Staring out of the window and into the clouds, she pressed her fingertips against the window.

Life was just so unfair.

Or to put it in another simple way,

Life was a bitch.

As she got off the car, she stared at the house in front of her. She blinked slowly, as a sense of familiarity shot through her senses like electric. Adrenaline rush was in her veins, as her mind brought her back to a journey of forgotten memories.

A journey of both beautiful and painful memories.

She pushed the gates open, earning a soft creak from the hinges. She walked though the garden, and she realized that her white lilies were still planted in the same places. Her eyes softened as she gazed at her favorite flower, but carried on walking until she reached the door.

Enishi came from behind, and turned to look at her.

He smiled.

He smiled that rare smile, that was only meant for her to see.

But she ignored it.

Even so, that did not stop him to say the very next words. "We're finally home."

She stood in Enishi's bedroom, looking at all the old pictures hanging on the walls. Old pictures of her and Enishi, in which she had totally forgotten about. Her hand reached out to touch a particular one, where she had kissed Enishi on the cheek, and he smiled goofily towards the camera.

Unknown to her, she let out a soft chuckle sub-cautiously, as she remembered that particular day. They did many whacky things together, laughing every second of every minute. They were both so happy then.

Then her thoughts drifted back to Kenshin, causing her eyes to harden.

Enishi entered the room, and said casually. "This would be your room now, so you'll be sleeping here. With me."

Why wasn't she surprised?

She was just so tired.

Too tired.

Too tired to say anything, too tired to think, too tired to protest.

She sat down on the edge of the bed, slowly leaned back and curled her body into ball. Ignoring Enishi's presence once more, she closed her eyes, and sleep took over her in the matter of minutes.

When she woke up, Enishi wasn't there anymore. His thick comforter was wrapped around her, and the room was extremely dark. She blinked, and got up. She left the room, and made her way to the kitchen.

Everything still looked the same.

Everything was still the same.

The position of the fridge, the placing of the pots and pans, the tiles.. It was as if… As if she never left. Then she wondered if someone was still here..

"Oh, my God."

Head immediately whipped to the owner of the voice, making Kaoru gasp in surprise. "Aya!"

The plump lady covered her mouth with her hand, as she quickly made her way towards Kaoru, and gave her a big, friendly bear hug. Kaoru hugged her back as tightly as she could, as she choked out her words. "I've missed you so much."

"How have you been?" Aya asked cheerily, as the both of them sat down at the counter. "Awful. Can you tell?"

Aya smiled.

"In a way I'm glad Enishi did what he did, or I would have never had the chance to see you again!"

Kaoru laughed. She laughed, and continued laughing, and slowly her laughter turned bitter. Eventually it evolved into sobs, and broke into mighty tears. Crying and pouring out her heart to Aya, she blurted out everything. Everything from the day she left, to how she met Kenshin, to the wedding, till where Enishi appeared back into her life.

Aya remained silent and gave her encouraging nods, smiles that made Kaoru felt like she still had a friend to back her up. "I don't know what to do," Kaoru said at last.

"I hate him so much right now, for doing this to me." She continued. "It's not fair that he dominates me so much. It's just not fair."

"Nothing's fair anymore, Kaoru." She paused. "I bet Kenshin must be wailing about the same thing right now."

For some reason that made Kaoru break into a small smile, giggling a little. "Oh, Aya. I don't know what I would do if you weren't here. You're so much more than a maid."

Aya gave her a warm hug. "And you, you're so much more to me than my employer's lover."

"Ex." She corrected on reflex. "Ex lover."

Many days passed by slowly, and she missed Kenshin terribly. He seemed to be haunting her thoughts every night. She always dreamed of him in her dreams, and he would always float about in her mind.

She sighed.

Enishi was treating her well. He never offended her once, and he was indeed very patient. To her he was talkative, someone who often smiled when they were alone. He was someone the world would never see, displaying his true emotions and feelings only for her eyes.

He was acting like how he was, when they went out.

When they were in love.

But she would not say anything every time he spoke to her. She simply refused. She would pretend to not bother, but it was just so hard to not pay attention. She did listen to every word he spoke, but she was so pretentious that it was hard to tell that if she was listening.

When she was alone in the house, Aya running errands and Enishi out to work, she would wonder around the big, empty house. Bare feet walking on cold marble floors, she made her way to Enishi's study room. It was like a mini library in there, racks full of books, and his table full of papers.

She looked around, and was about to make her way out when an old, wooden box hidden behind a few books caught her eye.

Her eyes widened when she realized what it was, and quickly went to where it was. Pushing the books away, she slowly pulled out the old wooden box, with a picture of a beautiful white lily painted on it.

She dusted the dust away from the wooden box.

Her wooden box.

Sitting herself down on the couch, she place it on her lap. Fingers brushing past the surface, she stared at it for the longest while, as recollections of this particular box washed through her.

It was a gift.

From Enishi.

It was very similar to a secret box, because there was no opening. Only he knew how to open it, and he had shared that little secret with her. Her clever hand roamed to the right side of the box, opened a small compartment, and pulled the gadget that was hidden under there.

She heard a click.

Closing the small compartment that camouflaged with the texture, she opened the box, and what greeted her eyes made her heart skip a few beats.

Photos.

Tons of photos of her and Enishi. Some of her necklaces she left behind, some hand made cards, a few neatly folded notes, and her blue shawl. She opened one pink note, and it said:

"I went to the market to get some ingredients to cook dinner. If you sneak out now I swear I'd track you down and shove the food up your ass!

PS: Love ya.

Kaoru."

She laughed heartily when she finished reading, as she started to remember what happened when she got home. He had immediately gone to bed and pretended to be asleep, so she dragged him out of bed despite his protest. Because he had choked and thought her "whip cream" was hard rock candy, she got annoyed and made him do the dishes and the laundry for the following three weeks.

Aya was happy for the break, of course.

She opened another one.

"I went out to snag another man. I'll be home before 10 o' clock, I promise!

Kidding.

I went to buy some books, silly. I made chocolate cake! It's in the fridge.

Love, Kaoru."

She smiled with laughter in her heart when all the old memories ran through her mind. But then she started to remember the times where he would accuse her with hurting words, where he started to hit her. The fear that he forced into her system, the anger that he built within her towards him.

She snapped the box close, and glared angrily at it. She got up, shoved it back into the dark, and placed back the books to its original position. Shoving her memories behind the dark corner of her head. She was still angry at Enishi. She still hated him. For doing the things he did. She would never forgive him.

Sighing, she left the room, closing the door behind her. It was time to visit someone, someone she hasn't seen for such a long time.

AN: I'm sorry if my grammar is wrong, but it's so difficult to get a beta reader. I'm also apologize about my rant on top, but I just had to let it out. Anyway, I got another idea, so this story is going another way. Thank you so much for the reviews, they were much appreciated :)

Review please!