Teahouse

Title: Falling Slowly

Setting: Meiji and Bakumatsu, manga and OVA blend

Characters: Kenshin, Kaoru, Enishi, Tomoe

Type: One-shot

Genre: Drama, supernatural

Word Count: 1, 334

Floor

"It wasn't supposed to be like this." Kaoru watched the red creep across her dojo floor and outline the thin cracks between the smooth wood boards. It slid under her feet without a ripple.

"This isn't right," she said sadly. She stood several paces away from where her body slumped against the wall, pinned in place by a sword through her heart. She looked at the lethal wound, the blood that had saturated the cloth around it, and the pool that spread slowly out from under the body. With no heartbeat behind its movement, it trickled slowly across the floor at gravity's whim.

Her hand lifted to run fingertips lightly across her cheek, and she imagined she could feel the phantom wetness of blood upon it, a reflection of the wound carved into her corpse's face.

Her eyes closed. Enishi had cut the X into her skin while she was still alive, smiling happily into her face as she watched him with frightened and angry eyes. "This is a gift," he'd said. "For Battousai."

"He's stronger than you," Kaoru had whispered, refusing to shed the tears of pain that gathered in her eyes. "You'll never beat him."

"I don't have to beat him," Enishi had corrected her. "I just need to break him."

"Kaoru-dono!"

Her eyes flew open, un-beating heart lurching in her chest. "Oh no."

Kenshin stood in the doorway, frozen. Kaoru could see every minute detail of his face as he looked upon her dead body. She saw disbelief and denial slacken the lines of his face, and the crushing anguish that swept all life and sparkle from his wide, bright eyes. His sword fell from nerveless fingers, and he took one more step inside before he followed it to the floor, knees cracking against the wood.

"Kaoru…" his voice was thread-thin, breathless with pain.

The tears she had denied Enishi burned Kaoru's eyes, and she covered her mouth with one hand. "Oh, Kenshin."

She was moving toward him before she knew it, but her comforting hand passed straight through his shoulder. She went to her knees beside him, hurting all over even though she could no longer feel anything.

"I'm so sorry," he gasped. "Kaoru."

Choke

Tears slipped down Kaoru's cheeks as she sat beside Kenshin's crumpled form. He was on his knees, back bowed, head low. She could just see his eyes through the fringe of his hair—flower-petal purple, and blank.

Her heart was breaking.

His hands were in his lap, palms up, fingers curled loosely. Kaoru reached out to touch the scarred skin of his wrist, but stopped with her fingertips hovering over the fragile flesh.

She wouldn't be able to touch him.

She was dead. She was dead, and Kenshin was…

Kaoru buried her face in her hands and let out one choked sob before regaining a tight hold on her control. Weeping would not help Kenshin. Weeping would not help anything. But she didn't know what would.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this," she whispered again.

"You are correct."

Kaoru sat up and twisted around, shocked at the unfamiliar voice. A woman stood behind them, dressed in a white kimono with a purple shawl. She smiled at Kaoru, a soft, sad smile.

"Hello," she said, "Sister."

Kaoru recognized her even though she had never seen her before. She offered her own, small, sad smile and said: "Hello, Tomoe-san."

Tomoe paced forward with smooth grace, her gaze shifting to Kenshin. Her expression shifted, too, but her dark eyes were unreadable and Kaoru couldn't tell what she was thinking.

"You are correct, Kaoru-chan," Tomoe said, attention moving back to the other woman. The affectionate address had Kaoru blinking back more tears even as she wondered at Tomoe's words.

"I don't understand," she said.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," Tomoe said, with a small inclination of her head. "You were never supposed to die here."

"But… then…" Kaoru's brow furrowed.

"There were plans," Tomoe explained, "expectations for you… and for him."

Kaoru's eyes slid to Kenshin at the prompt. His eyes were closed now, and defeat was writ in every line of his body. She looked back to Tomoe, finding the other woman studying her expression.

"What will happen now?" Kaoru asked. She could accept that she was dead, but Kenshin was suffering and she could never accept that.

"That depends on you," Tomoe told her. "I am here to give you an opportunity."

Love

"I could go back," Kaoru repeated.

"Yes," Tomoe confirmed. Kaoru stared at her lap, running her fingers along a crease in her hakama. The offer was not anything she had expected, but then, she had not expected death to be quite like this, either.

There were stories about ghosts and restless spirits, but nobody really believed them. And yet, here she was, sitting beside Kenshin, her corpse against the wall across the room. Her eyes traced the line of Kenshin's bowed shoulders.

"Back to… to the revolution," she said, lips feeling numb. "Why? Why… then?"

"You were not supposed to die here. It has created ripples," Tomoe explained again, patiently. "To the future, in the present, even reaching to the past. They have not reached the time of the revolution, however. It is safest to send you there."

"Safest," Kaoru said, lips twisting. Tomoe inclined her head, acknowledging the irony of the statement. Kaoru's fingers smoothed over her thighs again.

"What about… What about you? If I go back then, won't that change what happens to you?"

Tomoe was silent a long moment, long enough that Kaoru looked up and sought out the other woman's gaze. "Tomoe-san? What will happen to you?"

"I thought you might ask," she said slowly, "though I had hoped you wouldn't. Kaoru-chan, do not worry about—"

"Please, tell me," Kaoru asked softly, her hands tightening over the fabric on her hakama. Tomoe paused once more.

"To give you this chance, I am giving up that life," she said finally. "I will not exist as I had."

Kaoru's head jerked up. "No! That's too—Why should you sacrifice—"

"I chose this," Tomoe interrupted her gently. "Do you understand? I want to give this to you, to Kenshin."

"I…I…" Kaoru forced out of a tight throat, "I… understand."

Tomoe nodded. "And your answer?"

Kaoru closed her eyes, but the specter lurked behind them, the spark of Kenshin's spirit snuffed, one too many tragedies smothering him, breaking him. There really was no choice to make.

"Send me back," she whispered.

Cold

Kaoru was at once hot and cold, burning in her own skin as cold rain sluiced down her face and stuck her clothes to her. She staggered, disoriented, and caught herself against a wall. Fingers flexing against the stone, she took a few halting steps, limbs feeling thick and heavy, spurred by some vague urgent sense. Pushing off the wall, she swayed, stumbling two more steps forward…

Something hot and wet struck her across her face and she flinched in reaction. It tasted of copper on her lips.

Blood, whispered something in her memory. It is the taste of blood.

She lifted her head, blinking rainwater out of her eyes until they presented her with the view before her.

Her breath caught in her throat. At the sound of her gasp, his head jerked up, water and blood dripping from his chin. His wide, wild gaze held hers and they both froze.

Blood… Blood on my face, on his face. On the ground, the walls. On his sword… A body behind him, twisted, torn nearly in twain… Kenshin… you killed that man. You killed him…

"You…" Kaoru gasped, and Kenshin flinched, grasp tightening briefly on the bloody blade in his hand… You killed him. You're so young. You… You're here. "You're… bleeding…"

Shock on his face, the sword clattered from his grip.

Kaoru's hand lifted, reaching toward his cheek.

The world swam, and she was falling, fainting.

The brief recognition of the warmth of his arms as he caught her…

Kenshin.