(no subject)
Title: Choices
Characters: Kenshin, Kaoru (KK hinted) a little bit of Yahiko
Rating: Cleaner then the edited dub
Spoilers: Up past Jinchuu
Luck. Sheer luck was the only reason she was alive right now.
Kenshin sat behind the wash tub watching Kaoru scold Yahiko for trying to cheat on his swings again.
The image of the doll flashed painfully through his mind again. When Enshi had blocked the bullet for Kaoru it was clear why he had gone through the trouble of the elaborate plan of the doll instead of simply killing her and much more effectively destroying him. He saw Tomoe in every young woman and that trauma was the only thing that had kept Kaoru safe.
Kenshin turned back to his washing. He had fooled himself into thinking it would be different, that Kaoru was too strong for collateral damage. After all, she had broken Jin-e's spell and defeated Kamatari in his absence and it had lulled him into a false sense of confidence that she would be ok.
He should leave.
Could he leave?
Would it even do any good?
His soul and body were exhausted from years of wandering and battles. Simply sleeping upright with his sword on his shoulder like he had done for so many years left him aching the next morning. The physical pain would be nothing compared to the loneliness of leaving his new family, especially Kaoru. Enshi's revenge had left him with the horrifying realization of how deeply she had managed to burrow into his heart in such a short amount of time. With the loss of her all the steps forward he had made into finally healing from his past crashed down with her.
Would she really be any safer if he left anyway? Enshi had found him, Saito had come for him before that. It was a reasonable assumption that others would have gotten the news that he was staying here by now, and even if that was followed by news that he left it would be the first place that someone would look for his location. It didn't matter if he told them or not, why would the thugs believe them?
Kaoru was strong but not strong enough. Yahiko, while still unable to defend against some more dangerous opponents that would chase the name of the Battousai, was steadily improving due to the battles he had fought. Kenshin hadn't allowed Kaoru the same opportunity for improvement. He couldn't stand the thought of a single scratch on her perfect skin.
He sighed defeatedly. Nothing but bad choices.
Yahiko attacked the dummy outside while Kaoru had returned inside and was disposing of a shinai that she had broken over her students head when Kenshin walked in.
"Kaoru-dono." He said quietly. His head tilted so his bangs covered his face, not wanting her to see the conflicting emotions in his eyes.
"Kenshin, is something wrong?" Kaoru asked with worry in her eyes. He had been acting strangely since they got back from that horrible island prison and she had been fearing another goodbye for weeks.
"Yes." Kenshin turned to the wall where the had been pinned touching it. "Did anyone tell you… why we took so long to come?" He asked quietly, already knowing the answer to the question.
"Why? It was a random island in the middle of the ocean and Enshi ran off in a smoke screen with no clues right? It would take a long time to find."
"He made a doll. You remember Gein's original Iwanbo doll and how life like and human it seemed?…. He made one of you." Kenshin's voice wavered a bit at this point as he recalled the events. "When this one finally got here, you, it, had been pinned to the wall by Enshi's sword with a matching cross scar on your cheek. We thought… we thought you were dead Kaoru-dono."
Silence. Kenshin waited for it to sink in.
"This one cannot such things to happen to you in the future Kaoru-dono. Next time it will likely not be a trick. This one must unfortunately do something he does not want to…"
He could feel her dread. Dreading him telling her he was leaving again. Instead he walked over to the wall that held the shinais and picked up one.
"Kenshin…?"
He turned and gave her his classic rurouni grin. "You've been asking this one to train with you since the beginning ne? Do not expect much as this one will be holding back as far as possible…." It was the only option. He could not do anything more to protect her so she must be able to protect herself, and he couldn't stand the thought of anyone in else doing this in his place.
Kaoru's eyes lit up and smile broke across her face as she picked up her own shinai. "Prepare yourself Kenshin, here I come!"
Characters: Kenshin, Kaoru (KK hinted) a little bit of Yahiko
Rating: Cleaner then the edited dub
Spoilers: Up past Jinchuu
Luck. Sheer luck was the only reason she was alive right now.
Kenshin sat behind the wash tub watching Kaoru scold Yahiko for trying to cheat on his swings again.
The image of the doll flashed painfully through his mind again. When Enshi had blocked the bullet for Kaoru it was clear why he had gone through the trouble of the elaborate plan of the doll instead of simply killing her and much more effectively destroying him. He saw Tomoe in every young woman and that trauma was the only thing that had kept Kaoru safe.
Kenshin turned back to his washing. He had fooled himself into thinking it would be different, that Kaoru was too strong for collateral damage. After all, she had broken Jin-e's spell and defeated Kamatari in his absence and it had lulled him into a false sense of confidence that she would be ok.
He should leave.
Could he leave?
Would it even do any good?
His soul and body were exhausted from years of wandering and battles. Simply sleeping upright with his sword on his shoulder like he had done for so many years left him aching the next morning. The physical pain would be nothing compared to the loneliness of leaving his new family, especially Kaoru. Enshi's revenge had left him with the horrifying realization of how deeply she had managed to burrow into his heart in such a short amount of time. With the loss of her all the steps forward he had made into finally healing from his past crashed down with her.
Would she really be any safer if he left anyway? Enshi had found him, Saito had come for him before that. It was a reasonable assumption that others would have gotten the news that he was staying here by now, and even if that was followed by news that he left it would be the first place that someone would look for his location. It didn't matter if he told them or not, why would the thugs believe them?
Kaoru was strong but not strong enough. Yahiko, while still unable to defend against some more dangerous opponents that would chase the name of the Battousai, was steadily improving due to the battles he had fought. Kenshin hadn't allowed Kaoru the same opportunity for improvement. He couldn't stand the thought of a single scratch on her perfect skin.
He sighed defeatedly. Nothing but bad choices.
Yahiko attacked the dummy outside while Kaoru had returned inside and was disposing of a shinai that she had broken over her students head when Kenshin walked in.
"Kaoru-dono." He said quietly. His head tilted so his bangs covered his face, not wanting her to see the conflicting emotions in his eyes.
"Kenshin, is something wrong?" Kaoru asked with worry in her eyes. He had been acting strangely since they got back from that horrible island prison and she had been fearing another goodbye for weeks.
"Yes." Kenshin turned to the wall where the had been pinned touching it. "Did anyone tell you… why we took so long to come?" He asked quietly, already knowing the answer to the question.
"Why? It was a random island in the middle of the ocean and Enshi ran off in a smoke screen with no clues right? It would take a long time to find."
"He made a doll. You remember Gein's original Iwanbo doll and how life like and human it seemed?…. He made one of you." Kenshin's voice wavered a bit at this point as he recalled the events. "When this one finally got here, you, it, had been pinned to the wall by Enshi's sword with a matching cross scar on your cheek. We thought… we thought you were dead Kaoru-dono."
Silence. Kenshin waited for it to sink in.
"This one cannot such things to happen to you in the future Kaoru-dono. Next time it will likely not be a trick. This one must unfortunately do something he does not want to…"
He could feel her dread. Dreading him telling her he was leaving again. Instead he walked over to the wall that held the shinais and picked up one.
"Kenshin…?"
He turned and gave her his classic rurouni grin. "You've been asking this one to train with you since the beginning ne? Do not expect much as this one will be holding back as far as possible…." It was the only option. He could not do anything more to protect her so she must be able to protect herself, and he couldn't stand the thought of anyone in else doing this in his place.
Kaoru's eyes lit up and smile broke across her face as she picked up her own shinai. "Prepare yourself Kenshin, here I come!"