Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Closed Doors ❯ Chapter 1

This story is quite different from the original story but still I have retained it original characters…

I have written this story in likeness to the endless love stories that has personified K&K together. So I hope you'll like this story.

I don't own Ruruoni Kenshin.

" CLOSED DOORS"

Chapter 1:

Kaoru picked up the big bouquet of expensive flowers from the corner of her carriage. Carrying the flowers with her right hand and a white candle on the left, she pushed the door of the carriage gently with her elbows to close it.

She feasted her eyes on the wide view of the place she was in. Taking in a long and hard breath, she felt the cold morning air entering her lungs.

Kaoru walked with no hesitation in the middle of the wet earth she was trekking. Her every step makes her slipper marked with small amounts of mud as her feet sank into them. However, it did not mean that she has slow down. She knows where she is going. Even if she has to walk here blindfolded, she still knows the way. Her feet had already 'memorized' every spot in that place.

From a not so far distance, there were two men who stopped in their work of cleaning a tomb to watch the image walking in the wide vicinity of the place.

"Oi, there she is again. Didn't we always see here in the cemetery? Who do you think she's visiting?"

"Her husband, maybe. I thought so because she would always come here alone. Seitsi-san told me that she had been coming here almost everyday by this hour for these past years now."

"Her husband's lucky, don't you think? She couldn't even forget him."

"Baka! It is because you and your wife nag each other! I think your wife really looks forward to your death day…"

"Idiot! You're picking up on me again. Will you stop getting drunk because I might be the one to dig your grave, you know…"

The soft air carried the loud laughter of the two.

Kaoru paused. She knotted her forehead. Did she hear laughter? She tilted her head a little and focused her ears to the slight rustling of the leaves of the old oak tree that was near her. She wailed her head afterwards.

She kneeled down upon entering a small sanctuary made up of wood. She placed the flowers on top of a tombstone inside.

Lighting up the candle, she positioned it beside the flowers. Moreover, with that, she closed her eyes to pray silently.

Afterwards she stood up and tried to make her gloomy appearance happy before she spoke.

"Hey Kenji, guess what? I had just finished having the Dojo remodeled. Yahiko and I are really getting big money so it only means that I also must work doubly harder, neh? But its okay, I want to be busy anyway. I-I need to be busy."

Her voice seemed to crack with the last words she said. She suddenly felt the prick of tears penetrating at the back of her eyes and enveloped her with overwhelming grief.

"You know very well, and that's what I've always been telling you before, that I'm willing to return these back--every material thing that I have at present--to Kami-sama… just to let you live again. If only I could just have had you for a long time. Why does Kami have to take you anyway…?"

A tear began to slip on Kaoru's cheek. She didn't mind to wipe it off. Always, everyday, no matter how she tried to control herself, it's always like this that her visit to Kenji would end up.

A single tear. It carried all her anguish, all her grief, all her missing and sorry.

Time was not able to heal her wound. Primarily because it was Kaoru herself who doesn't want to let go of the past. No matter how she wanted to, she really couldn't.

Just how could she forget the love of her life if the wound she carries in her heart is still fresh and aching?

She treaded back to the place she was before. If a while ago her feet had known where to go very well, now it just walks to nowhere.

Though there is no question whether she should be going back to the Dojo now, it's as if she doesn't even care.

The cold air passed again beneath the leaves of the big trees of the cemetery. Kaoru didn't mind. She was blind for all the beauty of nature. For her, life is just a never-ending journey in a dark and steep road that just leads to the grave where she and Kenji would see each other again.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Unmindingly, Kaoru shoved her fingers on her now short hair as she trailed along the direction of the Dojo. When finally came at it, she entered a big gate for which there was an engraving at the side of its wooden panel.

Kamiya Dojo

Head Master - Kamiya Kaoru

Teachers - Myoujin Yahiko, Tsukayama Yutarou,

Shinichi Kosaburou and Higashidani Outa

She was inside after a few steps. She looked at the wide surroundings. The small garden that used to be there was replaced by a beautiful landscape garden that her small students would play along.

Her feet took her further inside to a wide hallway where many students have already started practicing.

When the incumbent instructor caught sight of her, he signaled them all to stop. He told them to greet the head instructor. At his command, they all bowed to her and said "good morning". Kaoru replied by bowing to them in return and then nodded to the sensei for them to continue. She decided to head to her private office where large workloads of students wanting to enroll in her Dojo awaits her. But before she did so, Yutarou, one of the primary instructors spoke to her.

"Gomen, Kamiya-sensei. Yahiko-san wishes to speak to you but that you weren't around. Should I go and tell him you have arrived now?"

Kaoru seemed surprised, "Is that so? No, I'll be the one to go to him. Arigatou, Yutarou-san."

She saw the half-opened shoji of Yahiko's private office after walking past several training hallways. Settling herself outside while fixing her distraught self because of the 'unhappy' moments this morning, she suddenly asked herself why would Yahiko want to talk. Is there a problem? She forgot to ask Yutarou-san if he's impatient or what.

Brushing a few strands of hair out of her youthful face, she managed to take a deep breath as she smiled before pushing the shoji aside.

She saw Yahiko sitting in front of his table. And was all the more startled to see that there was a visitor sitting also in his front, but he was nonetheless not facing her when she came in.

"Oops, sorry. I thought you had no visitor…" was her apology.

"No, Kaoru-san… please stay. I really was expecting you. I want you to meet the head master of the Himura Training School," Yahiko smilingly said. "Himura-san, meet Kamiya Kasshin Dojo head Master and Directress, Ms. Kaoru Kamiya."

With that, the man who faced Yahiko stood up and turned around. He bowed his head in honor of meeting the head directress of the nationally-famed Kamiya Dojo.

The smile from Kaoru's face slowly disappeared against the stare of the man in front of her. She suddenly felt weak on the knees. Her hands held to the still opened shoji. But it was only in a moment for she returned the smile on her lips. But it didn't went up to her eyes this time. She stepped a few inches closer and she bowed also in return.

"It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Himura."

Kaoru felt her heart skipped a beat as their eyes were bound with each other. She felt like there was some kind of bird wanting to loose free from her chest.

She instantly looked at the other way, avoiding his gaze. With what she did, she somewhat saw a sly smile on his face. She felt insulted. All she wanted to do now was to listen to Yahiko, who was saying something to her now.

"He just came from Yokohama. I was actually joking that he might not be trusting our standards here so he thought of inspecting us personally," half-jokingly Yahiko said to his sensei.

"I already have told you, Yahiko-san… your school has a very good reputation and I trust my students being trained here," smilingly said Kenshin. "I just thought I'd see for myself how things would work out since this will be our school's graduates' first job."

Kaoru remained silently standing. She didn't trust her voice to speak. And any moments from now, she wouldn't be able to fake the smile she still has.

"Sumanu gentlemen, may I be excused?" her impatience seemed short.

Kenshin barely nodded while Yahiko surprisingly looked at her. Nevertheless, it did not stop her from leaving the room. He saw a glint of desperation in the eyes of his sensei. She may not be speaking but he could read her actions very well.

Kaoru was holding her head upon exiting the room. She suddenly felt it was aching. Her feet brought her straightly to her own private room. As she closed it, she weakly sat near the window. Misao, her friend has just in time came in to bring her food. Her friend automatically sensed something is wrong as Kaoru blankly looked at the horizon from her window.

"Misao-chan, please hold my appointments today. And please cancel all my meetings and classes for this morning."

Hesitatingly, Misao asked back, "Kaoru..? Douka shita no? Are you alright?"

Without looking at her friend, "Iie… I'm just tired, that's all."

Misao thought of leaving Kaoru to be alone for that is what her statement almost had meant. "Hai. Here's your food in case you get hungry okay?"

Once alone, Kaoru took a deep breath and looked at the spectacular view once more.

Life's really just like that… she thought to herself.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

A few moments later, she heard a soft knock at her door. She should have yelled at Misao for not heeding her request when out came Yahiko's form from the door.

Yahiko has grown up into a fine man she had always pictured him to be when he grows up. He was in his late twenties now and has two children with his wife Tsubame. As Kaoru's student, he helped her attain her ambitions for the Dojo. Together, they had attained the dream Kaoru had once only had: establishment of the Kamiya Dojo as one of the finest sword technique schools in Japan. And that they did not dreamed in vain. Until now, he still teaches because he loves it, not like Kaoru who has stopped teaching already because he had wanted to. He wanted her to sit back and enjoy her life a little, a thing she was deprived of before. Except from special classes and monitoring sessions, Kaoru doesn't do anything more than that.

There was worry in Yahiko's face when he looked at Kaoru intentfully.

"Do we got any problem here, Kaoru?" he sweetingly asked her.

Grave sadness was obvious in Kaoru's face. Her shoulders seemed to have suddenly lowered a bit, like there was a big burden she carries. She looked away from her window and faced Yahiko's questioning face.

She knows to herself that everything in the past was buried along with Kenji and that it will remain that way. But facing the man responsible for everything was still not right, yet. And it seemed that Yahiko had not recognized Kenshin Himura from the difference of the way he looks at present. She sighed and spoke, "Sorry Yahiko. It's just I was just surprised to see that Kenshin Himura, you know…"

"Do you know him? I mean, I myself really find his name sounding familiar…"

"I-ie. For a moment there I thought he was some husband of a friend back in those days… t-that had left her after he got her p-pregnant. But he wasn't after all. He just look like him," she lied to Yahiko. She avoided the looks of her student.

Yahiko came close to her and held her hands.

"It brought back bad memories?"

She nodded. After a few seconds she stood up and smiled at him.

"But I'm okay now, don't worry."

Yahiko also nodded silently. But said after, "Actually I was surprised to see him here. I'm afraid we'll be seeing more of this Mr. Himura whether we like it or not."

"Is he going to stay here long? He's not going back to Yokohama?"

"Not for the time being, no. He wants to see and know, first-hand, how their school's graduates will come out. He looks kind, neh? So if you won't let your prejudice get the better of you, I'm sure you two will get along fine," Yahiko smilingly said to her.

Kaoru smiled back at him. He shouldn't know her true feelings. And she won't let him remember who that Kenshin Himura is. She shouldn't be setting aside the aims of her Dojo just because of her personal affairs.

It has been many years that have passed… she told herself.

And many things have changed. I'm much stronger now. I will not let myself be hurt by just someone…

But in the back of her mind, there are still questions crying out and asking for answers. Is she now ready to open up the closed doors she had sworn to never open again? Has time really healed the wounds of her heart?