Subject: [FFML] [Rurouni Kenshin][Draft] A Long Walk Together
From: "Kelvin Lee" <lynch@surfshop.net.ph>
Date: 2/11/2000, 10:23 AM
To:

Notes: Um.... hi everyone, this is a draft of something that
I've been working on for the past few days. The title and
several parts are subject to change, and any suggestions
concerning this fic would be appreciated! I hope you guys
can C and C this before Monday comes around, as that's sort
of my deadline for this.....  Anyways, thanks!


kelvin
C and C to lynch@surfshop.net.ph





�So it�s settled then?�

�Yes, my nephew finds her acceptable. She is a pretty lass,
a little headstrong perhaps, but I am sure my nephew can
deal with that.�

Dr. Ginsai nodded, although he frowned slightly at the
headstrong part.

Kaoru, who was sitting beside him, had her hands meekly on
her lap, and kept her head bowed. She chose not to look at
either man. She wasn�t sure whether she should be happy or
sad at the day�s events.

 She was finally getting married. But not to the man she
wanted.

Right now though, there was nothing much she could do, she
was in her mid-twenties already, and it had been necessary
for her to get married soon, while she was still pleasant to
the eye, as Dr. Ginsai said.  If she had let anymore time
pass, she would wind up an old matron, and right now, that
was last thing she wanted. Or so everyone kept telling her�.

Was it really so bad to be unmarried? To live alone for the
rest of her life? But that wasn�t the only consideration
now, was it? Dr. Ginsai and the others had prodded her to do
this, not only because they wanted to see her married, but
also because they feared for her financial situation.

The dojo wasn�t exactly a money-maker, and times had been
hard. She needed to be secure, both in life and financially,
and what better way to be stable and secure than by getting
married? And so, here she was now, in an omiai, being pushed
towards a man she didn�t know, nor want.

But� what choice did she have? It didn�t matter, her future
husband wasn�t all that bad-looking anyway, and he was
well-off. Very rich, in fact.

 It�s just that� she had long dreamed of marrying someone
she wanted, someone she chose and this wasn�t exactly what
she had in mind.  Especially considering that who she had in
mind had red-hair, purple eyes and a x-shaped scar on his
cheek. But he was gone now. He had left several years back,
leaving a note for her that had only two words on it.
�Good-bye.�

She never knew why he left, nor will she ever will, the way
thing were going.

********

LeeKing Works Proudly Presents:

A Long Walk Together

 By Kelvin �Lynch� Lee

********

The preparations for the wedding happened quickly. It would
seem that her husband-to-be was eager to get on with the
ceremony. Within a week, the news was spread all over town,
all over Japan, even.

Dr. Ginsai had even placed decorations around the Dojo,
despite Kaoru�s protests.

�We need to liven this place up, you are getting married
after all.� He had said.

�But it�s a dojo! Why the heck would you put flowers and
wreaths all around this place?� She protested.

�To liven it up.� Dr. Ginsai replied. �Besides, your fianc�e
and his family want it this way.� He added smoothly.

All she could do was sigh and look up at the nice blue sky,
singing softly to herself.

As the days passed, some of her friends started coming over,
wishing her well. Tsubahame came over with Yahiko tagging
along, and they had gossiped a bit, Tsubahame clearly
excited over the engagement, although Yahiko seemed to be
uncomfortable with the way Tsubahame kept glancing at him as
the two ladies talked about the coming wedding and the many
details surrounding it.

Even Sano dropped by, although he was plainly not in favor
of the whole thing. In his eyes, there was only one guy who
should have been for her, and he had left a couple of years
back. She had refused to discuss that, despite Sano�s
enthusiasm for that topic. He soon shut up though, once
several ricecakes were shoved into his mouth. It was
actually quite interesting to find out that one mouth could
actually hold up to 15 ricecakes if they were pushed in with
enough force.

Another old �friend� passed by the day after Sano visited.
Although she wouldn�t want to call him a friend.  After all,
Saito Hajime just dropped in, gave her  his congratulations
and left. A visit that lasted all of a minute. She didn�t
really like that man. Not at all.

Despite all the congratulations and �best wishes� that she
had received over the past few days however, she still wasn�
t sure about the arrangement. Of course she always told her
guests she was happy about it, that she had wanted the
engagement, playing the part of the excited blushing
bride-to-be, but sometimes, she wondered�. about how
different things could have been if that damned Rurouni had
only stayed.

As it was, only a few days were left before the ceremony.
The other rituals, such as the exchange of gifts had already
been done, and the most auspicious date for the wedding
itself had been chosen fairly quickly. She wasn�t really
looking forward to the wedding, but she was obligated now,
the gifts having been exchanged already.

She sighed again, something she seemed to be doing a lot of
lately.

Opening a window she sat there, at the edge of the window
and looked out the scenery it offered her. Perhaps that
would ease her mind, she had been so tense lately.

 She basked in the cool breeze that wafted from the window,
enjoying its light, cool touch as it rustled over her skin,
making her hair flutter gently as the wind continued to
blow. She closed her eyes and simply savored the moment. She
wasn�t sure how, but she knew that she would rarely have
moments of peace like this when she was married.

As she opened her eyes she saw several sakura blossom petals
from a tree spin around in the air, being buffeted by the
wind. Helpless, the leaves just went along with the breeze,
moving this way and that, following what the wind dictated,
mere puppets in the wake of a stronger force.

The simplicity in such an act of nature made her insides
freeze. It was like there was a cold ball of ice inside of
her, and it suddenly just exploded, jabbing her, stabbing
her heart. And just like that, the tears came. Droplets of
water slid down her cheeks and she began to cry, only a few
tears at first, but then more came, and she just couldn�t
stop, it was like a huge tsunami, unstoppable, unrelenting.

Wrapping her arms around her like a blanket, hugging herself
tightly, she continued to sob, unable to control herself.
The tears fell to the floor unabated, forming a wet puddle
on the floor.

She was so wrapped up in her tears, that she never heard the
knock on the door, never heard him call out her name in that
oddly high-pitched voice.

�Kaoru-dono?�

Only after he called out to her for the third time did she
look up. She saw who it was. She realized what was
happening.

She fainted.


****

She woke up.

 She was on her futon. How had she gotten here?

She saw him.

And she couldn�t believe her eyes.

�Ke�Kenshin? Is that you?�

And it was him. A little more scruffy looking than normal,
but it was him.

He was still dressed in the same thing that he always wore,
that pink and white ensemble that he never grew tired of,
with his reversed edge sword by his side.

He was looking at her with that same annoyingly caring look
on his face.

�Are you alright Kaoru-dono?� he asked.

WHACK!

The vehemence in her slap surprised even Kaoru. There was
now a nice red mark on his cheek, superimposing itself over
his x-shaped scar.

�WHY!?� She screamed at him in a voice trembling with fury,
her eyes overflowing with tears once more.

The Rurouni known as Kenshin rubbed his cheek, and just
looked at her. Oddly enough, he was still smiling that
insufferable smile of his.

�Let�s go for a walk.� He said, ignoring her question.

�What?!� She exclaimed incredulously.

�A walk.� He calmly replied. �One foot in front of the
other� through leaves�over bridges�.(1)�

�Why in the world would I want to go for a walk now of all
times?� She asked in a voice just barely below a shriek.

�It will be good for you.� He said simply.

The next thing she knew, they were out of the house, out of
the dojo. She wasn�t sure how, but they were now taking a
walk�. just like he had asked. They were in the woods near
the town, the ground littered with uncountable brown leaves
that crackled as they stepped on them.

At any other time, she would have enjoyed a walk through
these woods, especially at this time of the year, when the
leaves would start falling to the ground and the wind was so
cool and soft on her skin, and the sun would shine down on
her. Right now though, she was seething inside, where there
had been ice and pain earlier, there was now fire and anger,
almost all of it seemingly directed at the man beside her.

But at the same time�. The fire also seemed to be aimed at
herself, at her own inability to control her fate, her life.

They walked on in silence for a while, neither one of them
looking at each other. Kenshin just looking at the sky,
while she chose to look at anywhere except in his direction,
although she stole a glance at him once or twice, three or
four times.

Kenshin had a distinctive limp as he walked, a mark,
perhaps, of a recent battle. He still had that smile of his
pasted on his face, the same smile that had made her decide
to let a Rurouni stay in her dojo all those years ago�.

�A lot has changed here.� He said while still looking
upwards, interrupting her chain of thought.

�Yes.� She replied without much emotion. What did she care
about what had changed here? �A lot.�

�I�ve really been gone a long time, I guess.�

Unable to contain herself any longer, she whirled towards
him. �Then why did you leave?!�

They had stopped walking.

Kenshin looked at her, with a somewhat quizzical but
thoughtful expression on his face.

�Because I had to.� He finally replied.

�That�s no�� She began to say.

�Let�s keep walking.� He interrupted, as he limped forward
again.

�Wha?� By the time she blurted that out, he had already
walked several feet away, he was deceptively fast, despite
the limp. It took her several long, forced strides to catch
up to him. Her face was a thunderhead.

�Kenshin! I will not put up with this! Why are you here!�
She asked him as they walked at a clipped pace.

He answered almost immediately. �I heard the news�.�

She was quiet. Her demeanor changed almost instantly.

�And I wanted to say congratulations.�

�Oh� was her reply in a monotone.

They walked on, this time in an uncomfortable silence.

�You�ll make a beautiful bride.� He said softly, almost like
a whisper. �I hope your husband-to-be will take care of
 you.�

A few moments of silence as they continued to tread on.

�Kenshin, why did you leave?� She asked again in a voice
just as soft as his had been.

More silence between the two of them.

 Bird chirped and the wind blew, rustling through the leaves
of the trees.

�I didn�t want to. � He looked at her with a tender gaze.
�But I had to, there were too many people after me, too much
risk, too much danger. If I had stayed, someday,� He shook
his head slightly. � Something would have happened to you,
and I couldn�t possibly bear it�.�

�Kenshin�� She started to say.

�Ssshhh�.� He hushed her gently. �Look.� He said, stopping
and  quietly pointing towards a tree where a pair of birds
was chirping at each other. And, as if his pointing at them
was a signal, they began to sing, in the beautiful warbling
cry that only a bird could do. The melody was sweet, simple,
and simply breathtaking.

Kaoru listened and watched the birds as they sang, losing
herself in the moment.

 She spared a quick glance at Kenshin, and saw that he was
looking at her, rather than the birds. Their eyes locked and
for a moment she was drowning in his eyes, they were so
deep, like the limpid water of a pond, you could spend an
eternity just gazing into those pools.

She turned away quickly.

The singing stopped, the birds, frightened by the sudden
movement, flew away.

�You�re so beautiful.� He said in that soft tone of his.

She didn�t reply. Her insides were churning too roughly for
her to think of anything to say.

�There�s another reason why I came back, you know.� Kenshin
said to Kaoru�s back, as she still refused to look at him.

�Kaoru-dono�. I love you.�

Hearing this, Kaoru whirled to face him, anger again on her
face. �How could you!�

Kenshin was taken aback a bit from the outburst.

�You know I'm getting married in less than a week!� She told
him as her eyes welled up. �Its not fair t o tell me this
now�. Not now�..� Sobbing a bit, she told him in a trembling
voice. �You�d better leave.�

�Let�s keep walking.� Was Kenshin�s only reply, as his hand
came up and indicated the path.

�No, no more, no further Kenshin. You should never have left
me in the first place. It�s too late now. Too late�� She
trailed off.

�Walk with me a little bit more, please?� He asked this with
such an earnest expression�. She just couldn�t say no.

They kept walking, over leaves, under the tall trees of the
woods, towards a particularly large tree with a huge trunk
and whose height seemed to stretch upwards and upwards.
They stopped at the foot of the tree.

 �Kaoru-dono?�

�Yes, Kenshin?�

�Do you love him?�

�Who?� She asked in a bemused fashion.

�Your fianc�e.�

�Oh.� She was quiet for a while.

�I'm marrying him, aren�t I?�  She finally said, somewhat
indignantly. �Wouldn�t that mean I love him?�

Kenshin merely nodded, in a manner that indicated he was �.
sad? �Did�. Did you ever love me?�

Kaoru looked at him eyes wide with surprise. It took her a
moment to answer.

�Of course I did, but you never did anything about it! All
those years Kenshin, and you didn�t do anything!� Her voice
rose with every syllable, until she was practically
screaming at him again. �We�ve never even kissed!�

�Then perhaps�. I should fix that.�

�Ken�mmpphh!?� Those were her exact words, just as Kenshin
moved with the same quick speed that he used while fighting.
He maneuvered himself in for a kiss, his arms encircling her
waist and pulling her to him, and his lips were on hers, and
for a moment, for one sweet passionate moment, they were
one.

Kaoru resisted at first- she was going to be married soon,
to someone else no less- but she soon melted into the kiss,
molding her body to his,  her arms also encircling him,
tightening their embrace. She had wanted this, wanted this
for so long. Her entire being went into this kiss, her first
and perhaps only kiss with Kenshin, all the passion, all the
pain, all the love she had locked up inside herself for the
past few years, all came rushing out in this one kiss.

Time was at a stand-still. Neither one of them knew how long
they kissed, nor did they care at this point. The kiss was
all that mattered.

But all things must come to an end, even something as
ecstatic as this kiss.

Kenshin was the one who broke off  the kiss, but he still
held her against him.

�We�ve kissed now.� Was his simple pronouncement.

�So we have.� Kaoru managed to breathe out huskily.

�What now?� Kenshin asked, while still holding on to her.

�Now�. You let me go�� She said reluctantly.

�Oh.�

��

�Kenshin�

�Hm?�

�You can let go now.�

�Ah� right.�

They broke away from each other.

�Kaoru-dono��

�Yes, Kenshin?

�Will you marry me?�

�I�. No.� She said that last word with more force than was
needed. �It�s too late Kenshin.�

He nodded and looked at her with a resigned look on his
face.

�We part ways here then?�

�Yes.�

�It�s time for me to begin wandering again, to be a Rurouni�
He told her. �I� hope you will be happy.�

�I will be.� Her expression said otherwise though.

He nodded, turned and limped away quickly. Kaoru watched him
leave, and she hoped against hope, that he would turn and
call out to her, for if he did, she knew that she would be
on him instantly, she would go to his arms, and marry him.
That much she knew.

But he didn�t, he walked on, farther and farther away, until
she could barely see him.

 And she knew that she would regret her decision for the
rest of her life.

Unable to stop herself, she called out to him. Called out
his name.

He was by her side in a blink, and their arms were around
each other once more, and Kenshin the vagabond, Kenshin the
Rurouni, ceased to be.


END


Author�s notes: Based on the short story A Long Walk to
Forever by Kurt Vonnegut, in fact, I literally stole a
phrase there, the one marked with a (1).  Heck I practically
stole the plot! So please, no flames about being unoriginal,
I KNOW that I am being unoriginal. Think of this as the
Rurouni Kenshin adaptation of Mr. Kurt Vonnegut�s short
story.  Anyway, this is my offering for this year�s
valentine�s day. ^_^ Not that I have anyone to celebrate
that damned holiday with�. Not yet anyway�.


Omake:

She woke up.

 She was on her futon. How had she gotten here?

She saw him.

And she couldn�t believe her eyes.

�Ke�Kenshin? Is that you?�

And it was him. A little more scruffy looking than normal,
but it was him.

He was still dressed in the same thing that he always wore,
that pink and white ensemble that he never grew tired of,
with his reversed edge sword by his side.

He was looking at her with that same annoyingly caring look
on his face.

�Are you alright Kaoru-dono?� he asked.

WHACK!

The vehemence in her slap surprised even Kaoru. There was
now a nice red mark on his cheek, superimposing itself over
his x-shaped scar.

He rubbed his chin slightly.  �I�ve longed to be able to see
you for so long, to be able to touch you again, and now, you
�ve� slapped me. I�ll cherish it forever.  And now, I must
go.�

Kaoru stopped him, �Kenshin�.. don�t leave��

WHACK!
WHACK!
WHACK!

�Now until I�ve slapped  you again. There,� she said with a
sweet smile on her face, �I�ve slapped you a lot of times,
that should make you feel better.�

Kenshin, his face full of bright red slap prints said only
one thing. �Oro�..�

Really the end this time.





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