Arigatou, minna-san, for the faves, alerts, and also reviews. So happy to be a part of this RK fandom.
And if you are wondering why Kaoru is so different in this fic, I remind you once again that this is based on the movie. If you already saw the live action movies, you can tell Kaoru is more mature than in manga and anime. The purpose of this fic is…well, it's only a fic filling the gap between the scenes. Imo, there must have been something happened before Kenshin gives Kaoru the leaf in the final scene.
As always, Rurouni Kenshin is not mine.
Kenshin slept the whole day. And while he slept, Kaoru worked on washing Kenshin's tattered gi and hakama, winching slightly when she remembered the wound on her left arm was not fully healed. Her heart also clenched when she saw the damaged gi. Kenshin must have endured an intense fight, and seeing Sano also in bad condition confirming the fact.
After finishing her laundry, she checked on Sano and Yahiko. To her relieve, both were fine and Kaoru went to seek Megumi, asking her help to tend her wound. The female doctor didn't say anything. Even if she had something to say, she didn't say it in front of the kendo teacher.
When the day turned afternoon, both Megumi and Kaoru woke the swordsman up. Kenshin, still groggy over the medicine effect, heavily opened his eyes and Kaoru carefully assisted him to sit. He leaned again on Kaoru's shoulder, eyes half-closed, while Megumi cleaned and tended the wounds. Kenshin's breathing was soft and peaceful and Kaoru instinctively caressed the red hair. Kenshin hummed softly and snuggled into Kaoru's embrace, causing the kendo teacher to blush. Megumi, again, only smirked.
"If you keep this up, Kaoru-chan, I bet Kenshin-san will heal in no time," her eyes glinted.
And Kaoru blushed even redder.
When Megumi finished, she handed Kaoru a bowl of miso soup and Kaoru carefully shook Kenshin's body to wake him up.
"Kenshin, can you stay up for a while? You need something to eat," Kaoru said gently.
"Aa," he answered.
Kaoru carefully fed the soup for the swordsman. Kenshin didn't protest or even argued. He even stayed leaning on Kaoru's shoulder, either he realized it or not. There were no words said between them, Kaoru even didn't realize Megumi already left the room. When the bowl was empty, still holding Kenshin on her arm, Kaoru gently massaged Kenshin's torso for helping him digest the food. After several massages, Kaoru carefully lay Kenshin back on the futon.
"Kaoru-dono…"
Kaoru stared at Kenshin's face, his eyes closed.
"Yes?"
"Thank you…"
Kaoru only smiled when she saw Kenshin went back to his slumber.
x
The ritual happened for next three days. By the fourth day, Kenshin was more focus and his strength finally returned. Even in his weakest condition, he was still a swordsman. He could sit and ate on his own, but he still wanted Kaoru's presence next to him whenever he ate. Being tended by Kaoru the first three days made Kenshin felt peaceful.
Watching Kenshin gained his strength back reminded Kaoru about her dojo. The news about her along with Yahiko helping the government gave a positive impact. Her dojo slowly increased its number of students, also keeping the money back to the dojo. Kaoru worked hard for she knew Sano and Kenshin were still healing and this was the best she could do for them. Megumi stayed at the dojo mostly for meal time. She also stopped teasing Kaoru over her bad cooking after watching the girl worked so hard to support the people in the dojo. Megumi also reminded Kaoru often to take her meal, just like she did this lunch time, a week after the fiasco with Shisio.
"It's time for your lunch, Kaoru-chan," Megumi said, holding a tray in front of the training hall.
Kaoru turned around, bokken on hand and still in her training outfit, smiled. "Arigatou, Megumi-san."
Megumi nodded. "Don't make yourself sick. I'm sure Kenshin-san wouldn't want that."
Kaoru blushed and bowed slightly. "Hai."
x
On the second week, Kenshin was able to get up and took a walk around the dojo. Megumi still forbade him to even look at his sakabatou. Sano, meanwhile, nearly healed completely. He began to wander around town and sometimes helped people fighting against bullying and blackmail. Yahiko sometimes helped Tae in Akabeko and still training diligently with Kaoru.
Since Kenshin wasn't fully healed, Kaoru, along with Yahiko, were doing the house chores. Kaoru mostly did the laundry, while Yahiko cleaning the dojo. Sometimes Kenshin watched Kaoru doing his chores and often said his apology, but Kaoru dismissed it. In the end, they started to talk about mundane things and Kaoru was happy to see Kenshin could smile or even laughed when she told him some silly things she did when she was little. Kenshin, in return, often told his adventure when he was wandering, but never mentioned his past and Kaoru understood. The thought about him wandering again after everything happened recently crossed in her mind. But, seeing his content and happy face, Kaoru was glad at least she could give the former hitokiri a little bit of happiness. And if wandering was the thing which could make him happy, Kaoru would gladly accept that.
No matter how hard it was for her.