Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Closed Doors ❯ Chapter 10

Standard disclaimers apply.

"Closed Doors"

THE LAST PART

Chapter X:

"So how was the trip?" was Yahiko's greeting to her that morning.

"Hai, we had a great time there. I will show you the blueprints the engineer gave me for the new dojo later, neh?"

"Aaa, demo… you still look worn out. You did not get any good sleep?" Yahiko saw the puffiness of her eyes.

"Sou ka… I'll be fine, don't worry."

He sighed. "Kaoru, don't force yourself to work too much. The dojo's in good shape, neh? Actually you don't need to work anymore. And I think its high time for us to take that vacation in Kyoto."

"That's exactly what I have in mind. Are we ready to travel next week?"

Yahiko nodded. But he still worries about Kaoru's condition.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'am, Yahiko. I'm pretty sure." she said putting up a faint smile.

"Oi, tori-atama came here yesterday. He's inviting us for lunch today. But I need to go with Tsubame so you'd be the one going with him."

"Hai. I have many things to tell him."

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

At the corner of the restaurant, Sano and Kaoru talked.

"So, you finally told him."

"H-hai…"

"What was his reaction?"

"Like what I've always prayed his reaction would be for years."

"Did you get any satisfaction from it, Jou-chan?"

She sadly wailed her head.

Sighs.

A long pause.

"You weren't able to talk again after that?"

"Hai. There was no chance. Kakuya and the others came after the rain stopped. Kenshin was still at the beach, sitting on the sand."

"On the trip back home, you didn't talk?"

"Iie. I don't know what to tell him. And maybe he also feels the same."

"What are you planning now?"

Shrugs.

Eyes questioning.

"I don't know, Sano. I waited for this to happen for such a long time. I prayed for it to happen. I waited to make him feel hurt. To see him cry. But I feel like I'm the one who's crying. Why is it like that?"

"Maybe because you still love him."

Sharp stare. Strong shake of head.

"You can lie about anything, Jou-chan. You can lie to anyone. But you can never lie to yourself."

Bading tears. She tries to prevent them from falling. But then…

"What will I do, Sano? I'm confused. I don't know what to do."

"I'll help you, Jou-chan."

"I don't want to get hurt again. I'm so tired about it…"

"Don't give up just yet."

"I don't think I can still make it, Sano."

"You've been through a lot, don't tell me you're giving up now?"

"He doesn't love me."

"And what makes you say that?"

"He refused marrying me, and he proposed to that onna…"

Sano looked confused. "N-nani?"

"I overheard them. I heard by my two ears that he asked her to marry him. And she did not turned down his offer…"

Sano remained quiet.

"I was so hurt, Sano. I was so hurt that all I wanted to do was to get away from it all. That's why I left for Kyoto without telling him…"

"…and when you wrote to me, telling me that he already left, it broke my heart all the more. It just proved that he never DID love me… how stupid of me…"

Sano leaned closer to her and embraced his crying friend.

"Hush, hush now Jou-chan. What you're telling me are baseless accusations. Kenshin doesn't love foxy! It was evident he was in love with you! Everybody knows that!"

She continued to cry in his arms.

"Oi, Jou-chan… I have a confession to make…"

Kaoru lifted up her gaze.

"You see, well… you told me and Yahiko not to tell anybody that you were going to Kyoto that day, right?"

Her head seemed to burst.

"But Yahiko thought you and Kenshin must've had some kind of a small misunderstanding that's why we…"

"You both did what, Sano?" Kaoru's voice was deep.

"We told him where you went."

"MOU! YOU TOLD HIM??"

Kaoru's eyes were blazing with anger. Sano felt a lump in his throat.

"But he forced us to! Believe me, Jou-chan. We just thought it would be best to tell him. But we thought he's going to fetch you there when he left. We didn't know he will not, actually."

Silence.

"Listen to me, Jou-chan. Listen to me and listen good. He doesn't have any other reason to come back here in Tokyo. And from what we're seeing, he has changed a lot-from his hair, his lifestyle, everything. He was not the same ruruoni we have met before! And what do you think is the reason why he tried to attain all of what he has now? Do you remember our good-'ol 'sessha' crap?"

"He did that for Megumi."

"Kuso. Where is Megumi right now, anyway? If they indeed had married, we probably would have known in the first place!"

"His dojo is expanding. We just don't know, maybe he thinks he's needed more here."

"Uso. Before he even came home, he knows what business he might engage with you that you will not even resist. Of all the things he can put up, why a school Jou-chan?"

"How did you learn all of these?"

"I just put all the pieces of the puzzle together."

"I don't want to hope for anything…"

"You need to believe first before everything comes true."

"Why are you so kind to me, Sanosuke?"

Because I love you. Words Sano prevented his own lips to say.

"Because… Because we're friends, aren't we? You'd do the same thing for me."

"Hai, mochiron."

"Good. You eat now. Everything will be alright."

A smile. From the heart.

"Sano…?"

"Hmm…?"

"Arigatou."

"Ow, that's nothing. Just list them all okay? Time will come for payback."

They both know, Sano would never ever ask for it.

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

A worried Yahiko came inside her office the next day.

"Doushita no, Yahiko?" Kaoru fearing asked.

"I hope not. Demo, Kenshin wants to meet us tonight for dinner. He said he's going to tell us something important. He's also with the other officers of their school. Do you know anything wrong that we did?"

"N-nani? Iie. Is he angry?"

"I don't think so. Its probably nothing, I guess. I'm just confused why all of the days he could meet us where I don't have any other meetings, too bad its now that he wants to do this. Well, anyway, we'll know later."

Kaoru only nodded. Questions were all over her mind. Did Kenshin got really angry with her and decided to take back all their compromises from her dojo? I hope not, Kaoru prayed. There's no connection between the affairs of the dojo and her personal life.

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

Kaoru almost choked silently from nervousness that night. Except from Kenshin's usual courtesy in greeting her, he did not take any chance to talk with her, not like what he seldom does.

After they have eaten, Kenshin opened the conversation.

"Yahiko-san, Kaoru-dono, maybe you're wondering why we asked you to meet us all of a sudden, neh? You have nothing to worry about. So far, our students have been enjoying their stay at your dojo and I'm sure they will be outstanding sword masters in their own right if this continues."

Kaoru heard a sigh of relief from Yahiko beside her. But why is she still sensing fear? Kenshin continued to speak.

"I have made a decision to go back to Yokohama soon. After all, I've been entrusting my dojo far too long with Takeyama-san, Shibasaki-san and Houshi-san," and he introduced his other companions. "And I bet there will be no problems in running the dojo. It will go on as before. But now, we're going to employ the use of the best sword-training-mastery school for our students. And rest assured we're going to stick it out with the Kamiya Dojo."

Everyone smiled. There are other few more questions Yahiko had asked Kenshin and his men. Kaoru was deaf and blind to the conversation. After Kenshin had mentioned his going back to Yokohama, her mind somewhat shut close and that information stuck to her consciousness.

The meeting was over and Kaoru barely knew.

The only thing she remembered when Kenshin bowed before they separated was his words, "I hope you can learn to forgive me, Kaoru-dono. Never had I wanted to hurt you."

Her throat was dry and her heart was aching. She did not manage to respond with what he had said until everybody said goodbye.

~õ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Kaoru rushed to the inn where Sano stays. Upon seeing him, she bursted into tears.

"He's leaving, Sano. He's going back to Yokohama."

"Have you talked to him already?"

"Iie. I don't want to insist myself on someone who doesn't like me. I don't want to be humiliated."

Sigh.

"You're really someone, Jou-chan."

"If he really loves me, then why is he leaving?"

Pause.

"What are we going to do now?"

"We're going to Kyoto tomorrow."

"I thought it will still be next week?"

"I don't want to be here when he leaves, Sano. He had left me once."

"And now, you're going ahead of him? Will that make you happy?"

"Maybe its my destiny to be miserable in life."

"Kaoru no baka! See? That doesn't fit isn't it?"

"Mou! I've decided we all leave tomorrow."

Sigh. A sign of giving-up.

"Dame da, Jou-chan. Demo, its time you learn to stand up by your own decisions."

~õ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

The next morning, after buying their train ticket, Kaoru with the rest of the ex-Kenshingumi left for Kyoto. Nobody stopped her. Not Yahiko. Not Sano. Not even Kenshin.

Though early as expected, Okina greeted them happily as they came. Misao, who went ahead of them, prepared a feast in welcoming back their friends at the Aoiya. Everybody was excited. Even the icy Aoshi seemed glad to see them all.

Kaoru shortly forgotten all the hurt she is feeling with the love of all the people around her. The people she calls 'her family'.

But as night came, when she was at the rooftop of the house to get some air, it was there she felt the avoided sadness. She did not realize that Aoshi was already behind her. She was startled when he spoke.

"Do you have a problem, Kamiya-chan?"

She felt uneasy but managed to smile. "Iie, Shinomori-san."

"You look contained. Everybody's having fun downstairs, and here you are."

She sighed. "Believe me, Aoshi-san. Its nothing."

"Does that explain why Himura-san is not here?"

Kaoru looked directly at his eyes. "What do you mean, Aoshi?"

"You see we haven't heard from him for such a very long time. And for ten long years, you haven't even bothered to come here. Misao was almost living in Tokyo now."

Kaoru didn't speak.

"It would be best if you tell us everything, Kaoru-chan. From what we are seeing, everything seems different."

"You regard us your friends, neh? But we can't help you if you hide things from us."

Kaoru sighed.

"H-hai, Aoshi-san. I think I do owe all of you here an explanation with what has been going on now in Tokyo."

Long pause.

"Aoshi-san…?"

"Hai, Kaoru-chan…?"

"Was does it take to be happy?"

Aoshi looked intently at Kaoru gazing up at the night sky. He remembered a scene in the past, when Misao was still a little girl.

They were also at the rooftop, Misao was sitting on his lap. Looking up to the sky, she suddenly asked

"Aoshi-sama, just how many exactly are the stars in heaven?"

A simple question. But hard to answer.

He cannot remember quite well what he had answered in that question of the then-child Misao. All he know was that, she slept contentedly that night.

And now, he also don't know how to answer Kaoru's question. What indeed is the right path towards true happiness?

Kaoru led Aoshi to the others downstairs.

They all talked long that night.

After that emotional conversation, Kaoru slept peacefully that night. Like a sleep of an innocent child. She finally had it after long years of suffering.

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

The next morning, Sano left the Aoiya and told the others he just forgot something back in Tokyo.

When evening came, he came in a restaurant, walking straightly at a table in a corner.

"Konbanwa, Kenshin."

Kenshin was surprised to see that Sano was the one who invited him to talk in that place. "S-sano? Is that you? How are you?"

"Hai, its me. Cut the crap. So what now?"

"What do you mean 'what now', de gozaru?"

"Kuso, Kenshin! About Jou-chan, of course!"

"O-oro! What about her?"

"Kenshin no baka! As ever!" Sano sound annoyed. "As you well know, we left for the Aoiya…"

Kenshin's eyes danced amber. "Aaa… naze?"

"Because as frequent as not, she doesn't know what she REALLY need. You know too well that her pride soars high. And despite she feels hurt, she remains stiff."

"I do not know if I would like to believe you, Sano."

"Believe with what?"

"Believe with everything you're saying. Believe with the thing you said that she l-loves me."

"Know what? You're really meant for each other. You're both hard-headed."

"The reason why I've decided to go back to Yokohama was that it was way too impossible for her to love me again after all she has been through. I wasn't there when she needed me."

"You had no way of knowing you had a child with her?"

"Hai. But to once who anguished and hurt too much, its almost unreasonable."

"And you just give up just like that?"

"Like her, I was also hurt. I loved her before, you… I mean EVERYBODY knows that. I was just too scared because she was too young back then and I'm unworthy of her. You know what I mean, Sano. But she left for Kyoto without even telling me. If it hadn't for you and Yahiko…"

"You wouldn't propose to kitsune?"

"Hai…. N-NANI???"

"That was the reason Jou-chan fled to the Aoiya, baka! I didn't know something was going on between you and Megumi, neh…?"

"Kora! Me? Propose to Megumi-dono?"

"Naze? You mean you don't 'know' you proposed to her???"

"I DON'T KNOW BECAUSE I DID NOT!"

Sano was dumbfounded.

"But you see… Jou-chan heard you offering marriage to kitsune…"

Kenshin's brow arched then thought for a moment. "Yappari, Sano! Now I know why she left me…"

"Nani?!"

"What she heard was right. That was a proposal."

Kenshin looked directly at the Rooster-head.

"But that proposal was NOT meant for her. It was supposed to be for Kaoru-dono… I mean for K-kaoru…"

Sano looked confused.

"You see, I invited Megumi inside my room because I wanted my proposal to be a surprise for all. And since Megumi was the 'expert' in this field, I wanted to check if how Kaoru would probably react to my offer, so I 'proposed' in front of her. And she thought it was good…"

Sano's jaw dropped with what he heard.

"… but just when I was ready to tell her what I feel the next day, I found her gone. And you told me she was in Kyoto."

"But you didn't come after her. You left not just her but all of us."

"H-hai… sumanu, Sano. But I thought to myself that after I had proposed to her, and we did get married, what comes after? I can't afford her to be the only one working while I don't. I want to look decent in front of her. When she becomes my wife, I want her only to be MY WIFE, and I'll do the working for our family…"

"That's why I left for Yokohama. I worked as security for a rich businessman's son there and when I decided to leave, he gave me a large sum-enough for me to settle down, actually. But then I thought what if I make a good investment out of it? That's why I decided to build a school. It may not teach the rest of the Hiten Mitsurugi sword technique, but its ideals and intermediate skills are enough to be discovered and learned by many. The rest goes from there."

Sano shook his head. "Gomen, Kenshin…"

Kenshin shrugged his shoulders.

"I've always loved Kaoru-dono right from the start. She gave me my new life, my faith and my very existence. While I was in Yokohama, I've encountered many problems. The government questioning me, the former hitokiri battousai, why would I build a school of my sword technique? Others would say that future hitokiris might just spring out from my school. It was long before I decided to go back here in Tokyo. But I wrote to Kyoto."

"You wrote to Jou-chan?"

"Hai. It was addressed to the Aoiya. But I got no reply from neither each of them. I gave up after sending a few more."

"She didn't received any."

Shrugs.

Long silence.

"Now that you know that she loves you, what are you going to do now?"

"Do I know now?"

"Don't be smart. I'm already telling you, why won't you believe?"

"Not until I hear it from her personally."

"Well, you can just bet, she wouldn't be the first to tell you that."

Pause.

"When is she coming back from Kyoto?"

"She said we'll be staying there for a week."

Kenshin nodded in agree.

"You're not going back to Yokohama?"

"Not until I talk to her."

"Ganbatte."

Pause.

"Tell me, Sano. Why are you doing this?"

If you only knew Kenshin. If you weren't the only one who's making her happy, I'd strangle you myself. Kusou. "What do you think?"

"You have come to love her?"

Sano didn't mind his question.

But Kenshin knew quite well what he's supposed answer was.

"Just promise me, Kenshin. Don't hurt her anymore. Not ever."

Looking directly at the eyes of both who has the same heart in love with the same woman.

Understood.

He called a waiter.

"Two cups of sake, onegai."

~õ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Kaoru almost read the letters for the tenth time now in her bosom. Okina gave the letters to her after the night she had opened her problems to them. Misao admitted that she was the one who told them to keep the letter from her because it will just confuse her. She was now living quietly in Tokyo at that time. She doesn't need Kenshin anymore. And she came back to Tokyo upon learning that he had left, hasn't she?

Kaoru was able to tell the others about everything that has happened to her. She had managed to ask for their forgiveness and was not in vain. She felt lighthearted as she decided to go back to Tokyo soon. Everybody was happy as they usually were.

Last but not the least, now she holds in her palm the evidence that she indeed love Kenshin. And if she were to believe Sano, he still loves her too. She was full of gladness in thinking about it. After so many years, her fight with grief was now over. Now she has a reason to wake up in the morning and face the new days ahead.

~õ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Kaoru was left alone at the Tokyo train station. Yahiko and Sano excused themselves to get their carriages. Tsubame and the others were told by Kaoru to go home ahead of her.

She irritatingly fixed her short ponytail from behind. She felt the warm atmosphere clinging on her skin.

Mou! I should have gotten my own ride in the first place! I'll beat the heads of those two, I promise! she whispered to herself.

She was wailing her head when she heard someone called her name. Turning around, she couldn't believe who she saw.

"Kaoru…"

Her heart was singing, but there was still fear, she does not know if she should smile of what to Kenshin. She tried to distort her face but her eyes were glistening with joy.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm fetching you, de gozaru na."

"Naze? What about Yahiko and Sano, where could they be?"

"I told them I'd be in charge of you now."

"You're in charge of me? Who gave you that permission?"

"Aishiteru, Kamiya Kaoru. Now, do I have to get a permission?"

"Nani?"

"I said 'I love you'."

"Aaa… I thought I heard something else."

Kenshin took her other belongings from her hand. They walked towards Kenshin's carriage. He spoke suddenly.

"Aren't you going to tell me something?"

"Is there any that I should tell you?"

"I don't know. But I don't care, I can wait."

"Are you still the persistent ruruoni I know?"

"Hai."

"You can wait even for a long time."

"If needed, then I will and I can."

"And, what if I told you that you might not have to wait that long?"

Kenshin stopped walking. He put down the bags. He held her shoulders and looked inside her eyes.

"I'm waiting, Kaoru."

"I said you wouldn't have to wait. Aishiteru, Kenshin."

His fear and anxiousness disappeared all of a sudden, Kenshin embraced Kaoru tightly. For a long time.

He kissed her hair softly, Then gazed in marvel of the beauty in front of him. Kaoru returned his look with love in her eyes.

"I love you too."

"What 'too'? You were the first to admit. It was I who should be saying 'I love you too'."

Kenshin laughed aloud. He got her things again at their feet.

"Sano knows you very well indeed."

"Nani?"

"I said aishiteru."

"I love you too."

They walked laughingly hand-in-hand to his carriage. Before they left, he looked outside the window and blinked one eye to a coach nearby. Kaoru did not see him.

A few minutes after Kenshin and Kaoru had left, when the coach began to move also.

"I never thought he was REALLY Kenshin, Sano."

"That was because you still possess a brain the size of a pea, Yahiko-CHAN…" Sano smirked.

"Kiena! Who would EVER think he's the Himura we've known before?"

"Well, all of us did…"

"That busu have a lot of explaining to do when we get home…!"

"I pity you, Yahiko."

"SHUT UP TORI-ATAMA! Oi, what about you? When are you going to marry, anyway? Want us to go to Aizu to fetch kitsune?"

Sano's eyes were glaring with mischief.

"At last, you made sense…"

THE END

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

That's it! The end of the story. I hope you liked it. Thanks for all the reviews! It was all worth it. THANKS! Watch out for the next. Ja ne!

^_^