Fireflies

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, and if I did, Kenshin certainly would have never left Kaoru *cracks knuckles* Yah, Kenshin, I'm talking about you.

Author's note: This takes place moments after Kenshin left Kaoru to go to Kyoto. You know, the firefly scene in the dark.  It's from Kaoru's POV

"It's time for me to wander away again." Kenshin said.

I couldn't see his face, but I didn't want to either. Somehow I had already known he was going back to Kyoto, but who am I kidding? I was wearing extremely thick rose colored glasses. I guess, some little hopeful voice told me Kenshin would never really leave me, even for a battle.

I was just about to say something, plead with him not to go, tell him he wasn't being fair. I really don't know exactly what I was going to say, but I wanted just to be able to have a chance at stopping him. I knew if he left, and I let him, he would never come back. It would be the end of it. As Kenshin began to let go, tears began to slide down my face. Not little tears, but streams of water.

He let go. The tears fell harder. He didn't look at me. Maybe he couldn't. Maybe seeing my face would make him feel the need to stay, or maybe he would be weighed down with guilt. Whatever it was, he didn't dare look me in the eye. I started to speak again, forcing myself into believing this was my final chance.

Speak Kaoru, I ordered myself. Tell him he can't go, not just yet...but nothing came out of my mouth. Nothing even registered to my mind. I couldn't think of anything.

Only one thought raced through my mind. Kenshin is leaving. Kenshin is leaving. Kenshin is leaving. Kenshin is leaving. Kenshin is leaving.

I closed my ears to let more tears come down, and when I opened them again, Kenshin was gone.

Gone. Not coming back. Ever.

I fell to my knees and began to sob. Harder than I had ever cried in my life. Even when Father died I hadn't cried this hard. Kenshin was just so special to me. So important.

But I obviously wasn't that important to him. He knew he'd become a blood thirsty soldier again. His kind gentle Rurouni would be gone. Forever. And still, he left us. Sanosuke, Yahiko, Megumi, Ayame, Suzume...and me.

He had left me.

Gone.

Just like that.

Maybe I wasn't alone. Afterall, he did wander for ten years. Maybe there were more girls he had betrayed. Just like me. Many girls, each and every one of them sobbing hysterically because the man they loved, and thought he loved back, just left them. Maybe, I was just one of them.

The thought didn't comfort me. I had to be special to Kenshin, in some way. I had stoped him from killing before, in his man-slayer form. So, I had to be close to him in some way, didn't I?

I wiped away a few more tears, even though I knew they would start falling again within seconds, and looked at the many fireflies hovering around. An eerie, beautiful glow surrounded them. Even as they blinked off a few times, their light would always come back on, eventually...

The End

Author's note: Well, that was made to be sad, so I hope it was. I know how much Kaoru loves Kenshin, but I didn't exactly want to hint that she was going after him. R&R please! It'd make me feel special!