Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin
The night of the fireflies and reflections
Aoshi, Misao and Suzume were walking to the playground side of the festival. Suzume was holding Misao's hand and was showing her all the games that she wanted to play. Misao saw a game that involved kunais, so she suggested Suzume if she wanted to win one of the prizes that were there.
"Suzume-chan, would you like me to win you something from there?" asked Misao
"Misao-neechan, would you do that for me? I want the pin, I want the pin!" said Suzume
Misao went to the gamekeeper, and asked the man "Sir, I would love to play this game. What do I have to do to enter to the game?"
"You are girl, a pretty one for sure, but a girl. I don't like girls getting hurt in this game, this is a men's game" said gamekeeper
"Sir" said a deep voice behind Misao. Aoshi stood there, with Suzume in his arms "let her play, she will amaze you"
"As you wish sir, but under your responsibility of what might happen". Aoshi just nodded
"You did not have to do that Aoshi-sama, I would of handle it eventually, I am not a kid anymore, you know?"
"Ma'am. Please come with me if you still wanna play. Come here now"
Misao went running to the gamekeeper, and stood there, while the guy spoke to the crown
"Ladies and gentlemen, please come around here, we got a new participant, is a lady called" he turned around as if to ask Misao her name
"Misao, Makimachi Misao"
"Lady Misao. The game is simple, take down as many target's as you can and you will win". The guy took the kunais, old and very used and handles it to Misao
"No sir, is not necessary, I have my own" said Misao, taking from the back of his obi the kunais.
The guy looked amaze, but continued the show. "Well lady, at three. One, two and three"
The targets began moving in just a second, but Misao was a well-trained shinobi, so she just stood there and in a second, she took all the targets in a matter of minutes
The guy looked amaze, but recovered fast "well ma'am, what would you like to choose?"
"You should not ask me that sir, ask the girl there by the tall man" answer Misao
"Little girl, what would you like?" asked the gamekeeper
"Suzume-chan, go there and see what you want," said Aoshi, while Misao got to his side. Suzume got a little bit forward to look at the stand. "You have got quite good" said Aoshi to Misao
Misao's heart beat faster than before, but she answer, "I never stopped practicing Aoshi-sama, I miss our sparring matches" said Misao
"Aa"
"Misao-neechan, look the pin, I love it" said Suzume before she could say anything back to Aoshi
"I love it too" said Misao "good choice Suzume-chan"
"Aoshi-oji, could you win me something?" said Suzume
"Aa" said Aoshi picking up Suzume on his arms, and offers his arm to Misao, who took it blushing deeply.
They went to a stand near by, and looked at a game that was kind of interesting
"Suzume-chan, is there something that you would like to get?" asked Aoshi to Suzume, who looked right away and saw a beautiful white cup with dragons
"All right, Misao, could you wait with Suzume-chan here?" said Aoshi, while he walked to the stand "Sir, what do I have to do to win the cup?"
The gamekeeper looked at Aoshi skeptically "Sir, to win this cup you have to win the battle against one of our finest fighter, would you like to participate for something easier to win, and that you would not sustain you any damage?"
"No, sir, I want the cup, but make it fast" said Aoshi with an unfriendly look "Hey, wait what if I want the cup and little aqua marine ribbon there?"
"If you win to that guy" he said pointing a very huge guy "I will give you both"
Aoshi looked at the brute that the guy was pointing and answer without a second thought "All right, but fast"
"Ladies and gentlemen, please gather around as this fine man, whose name is…" the gamekeeper looked at Aoshi for a name, but when he did not answer said, "never mind. Here he will fight our champion, the great and fabulous Daigoro, the killer"
The huge guy turned around and when he looked at Aoshi laughed and said, "It will be my pleasure to crouch these insect"
He went towards with his fist raise, and threw a punch to Aoshi, while the crown holds a breath. The former Okashira just stepped aside from the blow, and threw a punch at the guy's back, which fell down, unconscious.
The gamekeeper force himself to close his mouth, went to his man, and he said, "the gentleman won, Daigoro is unconscious"
"Yes Aoshi-oji, you won!!! You won!!!" said Suzume jumping to Aoshi's arm
The gamekeeper went to Aoshi with his prizes and said, "Here you go sir" He handles the cup and the ribbon, and turned around
"Suzume-chan, here is your cup" said Aoshi
"Thank you Aoshi-oji!!" said Suzume giving Aoshi a kiss on his cheek
Misao was a little behind looking at the scene with loving eyes 'Oh kami, he does look very very handsome tonight, no matter what, I wont give up on you Aoshi-sama'
"Misao, would you come here for a second?" asked Aoshi
Misao went to Aoshi's side and took a look at the cup
"Suzume-chan, that is a fine piece, is beautiful" said Misao
Aoshi took the ribbon on his hand, an aquamarine ribbon, and handles it to Misao with "This is for you Misao"
Misao looked at her side and saw a beautiful aquamarine silk ribbon, the same color as Aoshi-sama's eyes, and took it blushing madly "thanks Aoshi-sama"
"Come, let's go is almost time for the fireworks" said Aoshi taking Suzume in his arms and offering his arm to Misao once again
MEANWHILE, Kenshin took Kaoru's arm and began walking away from the festival to the hill top
Rurouni, let me out, let me take control for a while
Don't worry, remember that you can say anything you want at anytime you want, as long as you think about it first
I am way to anxious. Who would believe it? The legendary Hitokiri Battousai afraid and nervous of a kendo instructor, the assistant master of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu
Yeah is pretty funny
Kaoru was very nervous, but she was decided to tell Kenshin what she was feeling, but could not help to be anxious and very nervous
"How far are we?" ask Kaoru
"Not far at all. Are you cold?"
"Not right now Shinta, while we are walking I will be fine"
They continue walking for about three minutes, when Kenshin suddenly stopped and took Kaoru's hand to guide her a little away from the main road
"Here we are, there is the meeting place, and unless that they know where to look, no one will be able to see us"
Kaoru saw that Kenshin's eyes were of placid and warm amber, and found security in his eyes
"Hai Shinta, is a perfect place" she said with a wide smile on her face. He gladly returned the smile with one if his own, a real one, not a rurouni one
Kenshin sat there and made a motion for Kaoru to take a seat at his side
"Shinta, I would like to tell you something too" said Kaoru looking elsewhere than Kenshin's eyes
"Kaoru, would you allow me to tell you a few more things first?"
"Hai Shinta, whatever you want"
"All right, I will tell you about where I was born and how did I ended in the Ishin Shishi. Would you like to hear it?"
"Hai I would love to, but may I ask, why are you telling me all these?"
"Well you will understand later. I was born in a small village, not far from Kyoto. My family dyed when I was eight, of cholera" Kenshin's voice was emotionless, but his eyes told a different story, they were filled with pain "no one in the village wanted to host me after they knew that my parents dyed of cholera, even when the illness evade me. The slave traders took me in"
"While we were traveling, I meet three special women on my life, Kasumi-san, Akane-san and Sakura-san, who considered me as a little brother and took care of me. One day, we were near the Kyoto area, when some bandits attacked us. They began killing everyone, and soon the slave traders were dead. Then they turned to the girls and went to attack us. I, as the only living male, felt the necessity to protect them, so I took one of the slave traders katana that was on the floor"
His voice broke at this point, so Kaoru took one of his hands. He continue his story, felling supported "When I stood in front of then bandits, the girls took me and protect me with their bodies, begging the bandits to let me go. They did not care and began killing them one by one. When only Sakura-san was left, she said to me some words that I will never forget. 'Shinta, live. You are too young to choose your own path. Live, live for us, live our lives, Remember Shinta, always choose to live" A lonely tear was at his eye; witch went down his cheek to his scare one. Kaoru saw this, so she wipes it
"When the bandits turned to kill me, my shishiu appeared. He killed all the bandits and went away. The next morning, he returned to bury the bodies, and then he was surprise to see that the small kid that was really slim and weak looking, buried all the bodies, bandits and slave, during the night. He told me that he would teach me the sword art, but that I needed a stronger name, Shinta was way too soft, so he choose Kenshin, the heart of sword" he looked down, and Kaoru squeeze his hand
"I always thought that your name was weird, but I never realize that your name was compose of two names"
"Well yeah. There is it, you know the rest. I trained with my shishiu until I was fourteen, and then joined the Ishin Shishi. That was my reason, to protect the weak and to punish somehow the abusive regimen"
Kaoru now understood a little bit more of her rurouni. She now knew why he became an Ishin Shishi, and why he became a wonderer, but why tell her? She knew that it was painful for him to remember. There were several fireflies around them, giving the place a dream like scene.
"Kaoru, I will tell you now why I told you all these. All my life I have been quite lonely until you challenge me in the back of that alley, here in Tokio. Since that day, you have shown me how to live a normal life, where I don't feel soooo guilty, and I actually feel that I can find forgiveness and peace. But I need something else. I find my peace, only when I am near someone, and that someone is you. I want you to know that I am very grateful for your kindness, but I have one more thing, I need you to complete me. Kamiya Kaoru, Aishiteru, Aishiteru with all my heart and soul, I want to be with you for as long as I live, I wanna be by your side for ever, and even after death separate us"
Kaoru stood there in shock. Her wildest dreams were coming true, in a festival day, in a night surrounded by fireflies. Kenshin saw the shock on Kaoru's eyes and misunderstood her silence. His heart broke in thousand of pieces and he could not longer hide his pain
"Forgive my boldness, I am sorry, I should of keep it all to myself" he said with his cold voice, the voice full of pain, but cold of the Hitokiri. He went to stand up, when Kaoru took his hands and said
"Ie Shinta, I am sorry is just that I wanna make sure that this is not another one of my dreams. You see, I also want to tell you something, but will you sit down first?" He took his seat in front of her and she continue it "you see, when I meet you, you took the shadows of loneliness that were in my heart, you were the light that lighted my heart, and freed it from any kind of pain. You chased the shadows on my heart. You see, now is only fill with one emotion for one person, and that is love for you Shinta, Aishiteru with all my heart and soul. I also want to be by your side forever"
Kenshin stood there trying to figure out if he was in a dream, but when he saw her eyes, and the truth behind it, his now amber eyes showed her his love. He took her face on his hands, and he leaned to enclose her lips in his.
The fireflies were all around them. Kenshin had his hands on both sides of Kaoru's face, and Kaoru was in shock, it was her first kiss. Kenshin was filled with pride to be the first ever to kiss a woman this beautiful. He began kissing gently her lips, and he moved to her mouth. She began to respond to his kiss, wrapping her arms around his necks, bringing him closer. He took his tongue out to lick her lips, asking her to open her mouth, and she willingly did. He put his tongue in her mouth and began drinking the sweetness that was her mouth.
He then moved his hands to her hair ribbon and took it down.
"You have no idea of how long I have longed to do this" he said with a husky voice, still in her embrace and reluctant to leave it.
She then moved her hands to his hair and took his locks. "Shinta, you have no idea of how much I wanted to run my hand trough your hair, and to kiss your handsome face. I am a lucky woman indeed" she said while their lips where still together. He smirked against her lips and answer
"Kaoru, koishii, I am the lucky one" he took her mouth on a tender and sweet kiss "I can assure you"
They separate and sited side by side once again, enjoying each other's company. He placed his arm on her shoulder and brought her close to him. He then leaned close to her ear and said
"I don't have much to offer you, but I certainly give you all my heart and soul. Aishiteru Koishii… I just don't think that I could say it enough… Aishiteru"
She shivered because of the closeness and his breath on her ear, but she also leaned to his ear and said breathless "I will give you the one thing I have for sure, I will give you myself, my heart, my soul… I will always be there for you anata… Aishiteru mo Shinta-anata."
Oh god, her breath in my hear is causing struggles you know where
I am too happy to care, don't worry
I don't wanna scared her
You wont
"I particularly like how you say my name koishii" he took her mouth on his and purred all the love on that one kiss… and all happen in the night where the fireflies were around them, just like in Kaoru's dream. They separate from the kiss for some air and hugged.
