Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin.

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My beloved Kenshin,

You so often try to hide from me that I've begun to wonder if I hurt you more than I try to help.

Your sad smile…

Your distant eyes…

The endless nights of being plagued by dreams of your past…

I know you're hurting, and I want nothing more than to take your burden from you and hold you close. I wish I could take away just a little bit of your pain…

But you won't let me. You always pull away from me and hide yourself away.

You don't need to hide from me. I want to help you, Kenshin.

I know that you feel as if you must atone for your past, but you have already done so much, yet…

You refuse to leave it behind you…just as the scar on your cheek refuses to disappear. You still blame yourself for Tomoe's death and it's killing you little by little. I can see it in your eyes.

Kenshin…must I die before you see me here? Must I die as Tomoe did before you love me? Before you see me and smile at me from the bottom of your heart?

I would die for you…gladly… but you won't let anybody die for you like she did…like Tomoe did…

It would make her less special wouldn't it?

Kenshin…I know that someday, you will see me…and then my love will reach you…

Until the day when you can truly find rest, I will be here for you…

Every time you go away on one of your missions, I will wait for your return and be there to welcome you home…I will never take my eyes away from you…I couldn't. I love you too much.

You once told me that you were a rurouni with a bad past. I remember saying that it didn't matter, that no matter what you would be welcome here. I was gravely mistaken.

I never realized how much your past meant to you…how much suffering it has caused you.

I will always welcome you…even if you don't feel worthy…even if it means I must wait forever for the moment you return.

Even now I wait for you as I am writing a letter I know you will never read. Even so, my feelings remain unchanged as the years go by and I wait. I have faith in you.

You always return, always come back to me. You have always come for me. That's why I know you will come back to me now. I know that you will come back when all has been accomplished.

Until that day, I will wait for you, day and night. I will await your return with a smile with the hope of seeing your face, free of your cross, smile back at me.

That is a day worth waiting for…my Kenshin…

Forever Yours,

Himura Kaoru

As I finish signing my name at the end of my letter, I hear the hum of a familiar voice and my heart leaps with an inexpressible joy.

"Tadaima, Kaoru," I hear you say to me. I stand and turn from my seat at the end of the docks and see you standing there through teary eyes.

"Okaeri Nasai… Shinta." I smile at you, welcoming you home. I feel the hands on my face brush away my tears as more fall from my half-lidded eyes. When I am able to suppress my tears long enough to see you, I begin to cry again, only this time I am overwhelmed by the emotions running through my body and feel my knees buckle. You catch me before I reach the floor. I knew you would; you always do. I look up at you again to make sure I wasn't dreaming. When I saw your beautiful face…I knew it was true. You had finally come back to me. I just wanted to stay in this moment forever. I wanted to always this moment… the moment you could see me with eyes unclouded by your past… the moment you would smile at me from the bottom of your heart… the moment you came home… finally.

>< Owari ><

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