Epilogue

Kaoru sat on top of the rail of the fence, watching as Kenshin instructed their three-year-old son in the art of horseback riding. Kenji was every bit a Wild Boy, from the untidiness of his long red hair to the way he talked. He was listening attentively now as his father explained that he must hold the reins lightly but firmly, never letting them go slack so that he lost contact with the horse's mouth, never jerking on the reins.

Kaoru's heart swelled with pride as she watched them. The time had gone quickly and they were happy. The farm was thriving. They had several hundred head of white-faced cattle, a half dozen well-bred horses, as well as a the usual number of pigs and chickens. They had a dozen rabbits to please Kenji. Her garden flourished under her loving care, and their vegetables were eagerly bought by many of the people who lived in town.

Her eyes strayed to Kenshin. It hadn't been easy for him, learning to be a farmer. During the first year, he had often been restless, and she had still secretly feared that she might wake and find him gone, gone back to the mountains or the hills or the valleys where he had seemed to belong. But, gradually, he had come to love the land as she did, to think of it as his, at least while he lived. Most of the people in town had come to accept him, especially the females once they had actually gotten a look at him, much to Kaoru's irritation. Still, it had to be better than before, considering. There were a few who still remained standoffish, some who still wouldn't speak to them entirely, but she had learned to live with that, believed that, with time, hearts might become unshuttered.

Nara and Miki remained very dear friends, visiting often. A lot of people had changed their minds about Kenshin because of them. The older couple were well-liked and respected, and if they found no fault in a the Wild Boy, then there was simply no fault to find.

Kenshin eventually gave up buck and wolf skins for clothing and started wearing a gi and hakama at her coaxing. It irritated him at first how the long sleeves were always getting in his way, but he got used to it. In time, he even admitted these clothes kept him cooler than his old ones. Only his long hair remained unchanged.

"I can't cut it," he'd once said with a small smile. "For one thing, I'm still a Brother of Dragons. We've always worn our hair long. But more importantly, my sister would kill me."

Kaoru had smiled. Truly wise, was his Taura.

They got news from Hiko every so often. He wrote that most of the elder dragons, including old Mareo, and most of the pups had already gone into crystal sleep, several thousand lying dormant already, and more coming in from faraway lands to sleep in safety. Some of the younger dragons were resisting, but perhaps that wasn't altogether a bad thing for a few to be left awake. The master himself still lived in Himura, looking after most of the Wild People who weren't ready--if they ever would be--to try to join into the New People's world.

Hiko figured in time there would be no New People and no Wild People. In time, at least that one distinction would be no more. There would just be, well, people.

Perhaps, it really would be for the best, in the end.

Kaoru sat there, basking in the sun, content to watch her husband and son as they circled the corral. Kenji sat erect, his legs resting at the horse's sides, his hands holding the reins as his father had taught him. He grinned and waved as they passed by her, and she waved back, but it was Kenshin who held her attention. She never tired of looking at him.

Kenshin felt her gaze and his eyes found hers. A slow smile spread over his face, and Kaoru felt her insides grow warm as his love crossed the distance between them, caressing her.

I love you. Kaoru mouthed the words as she dropped her hand over her abdomen. A new life rested there, just beneath her heart.

Kaoru knew it would be a girl, in the same way she knew that Kenji would be a boy. She thought they might grow the little girl's hair very long and braid it with colorful ribbons. She had already decided they would call her for Kenshin's sister. She hadn't told him this yet, but she had a feeling it would please him. It was, after all, a very beautiful name.

Kenshin led the horse around the corral one more time, then he lifted Kenji from the mare's back and the boy ran off toward the barn and the new kittens that were sleeping there.

Kenshin crossed the corral to stand by Kaoru, his arm circling her waist. Their eyes met and held hers and the love they shared passed quietly between them, as strong as the mountains that protected the sleeping drakes, as sure as the sunrise.

Kenshin felt a tug at his heart as he looked on her. Much in his life had changed, but his love for her remained ever the same, and though he no longer hunted in a dragon's way in the shadows in the valleys of the higher lands, and no longer rode the trail of war, he knew that, in the eyes of his woman, he would always be a warrior.

He put his hands around her waist, lifting her from the fence into his arms. She smelled of sunshine and soap and a little bit like the soy sauce from dinner.

Gently he placed her on her feet, his eyes never leaving her face. She was his woman, his wife, more precious, more beautiful, with each passing day.

Forever was promised, and forever it was going to be. This woman who had needed love now had all the love she would ever need, he mused.

And he was free now, Kenshin realized. Truly free, more free than he had felt in a long, long time, since the day of his sister's death. Or maybe from longer than that, maybe from that day Taura had carried him from the mountain the very first time they were forced from their homes. He felt free from any bitterness. Free from the constant need to fight, to find the elusive justice he had been seeking. He felt now that he had been looking in all the wrong places.

A powerful gust of wind caught them by surprise, and out of reflex, Kenshin reached out and caught something flying toward them. The wind stopped just as suddenly as it had started, and Kenshin opened his hand, blinking at the object he had plucked from the air.

It was a long, thin, and faded piece of cloth. His lips parted with wonder as he stared at it.

It was a simple yellow ribbon.