A/N: Now, how many of you thought I would leave you like this? I must write
a epilouge. (Mostly because I reread the ending and agree that something
has to happen. It also helps to have inspiration for the first time
since...about chapter 17 LOL.) Anyhow, let's get on to the writing with
less talking, ne?
Disclaimer: Not mine. None of it. I swear.
Some time later
In the time that Kenshin had been gone, many things had happened. Kaoru, having been treated early on for chronic depression, was finally beginning to get over the sadness of his passing and start moving on. The strangest thing had happened the day after Kenshin died, however. Upon arriving in his room to prepare the body for the final rest, Megumi had discovered it gone. Kaoru, however, had not been told this.
Sano now lived in the dojo, at first it had been to keep Kaoru from doing something disastrous to herself, but now because he felt it was necessary. One never knew when another one of those dreams would cast Kaoru into depression again. As of now, he was, as usual, doing absolutely nothing. Well except for watching Kaoru do the laundry, and Yahiko prancing about the dojo, proudly sporting his bokken on his back and declaring for all to know that he'd graduated to the next level of Kamiya Kasshin.
Up in the other plane, things were as usual, Hitomi and Fjork were forgotten weeks after their passing, and everything was back to normal. Well almost. Hiko had forgone his position as Voyridal, ceding it to a younger, less-weathered psychic in favor of returning to Kyoto. He now lived in his small cottage, blissfully alone and unbothered. Usually.
But right now, he was being bothered.
A hooded figure knocked on his door, their manner urgent and hurried. "Hiko, please open the door." a voice called. Inside the cottage, Hiko readied his usual response, "Go away, I don't need any clothes detergent!", but something about the way the voice plucked at his conscious mind halted the words in his mouth. He knew that voice...
"I need a 'port."
Hiko was on his feet and out the door immediately. "Where." Try as he might, Hiko couldn't penetrate the disguise cloaking the indiviual. Whoever this was, they knew his real identity. He knew who the voice sounded like...but it couldn't be!
"The Kamiya Dojo."
Kaoru sighed. Laundry was bad. She'd grown to hate it, first because it was the thing that Kenshin had done, second because it was so mind-numbingly boring! She supposed that to one who'd spent a good portion of their life killing people, it had seemed relaxing. But to her, Kaoru of the Kamiya Dojo, who had never killed anyone, it was boring. She caught Sano staring at her and stuck her tongue out at him. She was in an especially good mood today, and she really didn't know why if it wasn't for the nagging feeling that something wonderful was about to happen.
Someone was coming.
She just knew it. Company always promised happiness, and Kaoru turned over who it would be in her mind. As always, her first through was Kenshin, but she cautioned herself that he wouldn't be coming back, that he was gone away for a very, very long time. She even managed to do it without the prick of tears in her eyes! She smiled, proud of herself for the first time in forever. Maybe it was Misao.
Sano grinned to himself, watching a smile bloom across Kaoru's face. Kenshin had always loved her smile. Yahiko, still parading around, noticed nothing, that is until someone knocked on the dojo gate. "Kaoru?" Hiko called. "Let us in!" Yahiko was at the gate in an instant.
"I graduated to the next level of Kamiya Kasshin!" he said proudly, thrusting his chest out. Hiko regarded the young boy with a critical eye, taking in his appearance. After a minute he patted him on the head. "Congratulations." he then pushed by him, a mysterious cloaked figure behind.
Kaoru stopped in her laundry. The blood drained from her face as her eyes locked with those inside the hood of the cloak. She shakily stood, her eyes wide and brimming with tears.
Sano was on his feet instantly, scanning for danger. "Who is that, Hiko!?" he demanded, very uneasy about the cloaked figure. Hiko paused, looking at Sano. "That is...a very old friend of both of ours." he said, smiling.
The figure brought up both hands and pulled the hood of the cloak down. First thing to spring into evidence was flaming red hair. Next was a familiar cross-shaped scar, and third was beautiful violet eyes. "Ken...shin?" Kaoru whispered. It couldn't be! He...he died...
"Kaoru." he said softly.
That was all he needed to say. Kaoru took of across the dojo at a sprint, desparate to get to him. He met her half-way, wrapping her in his arms. "You have no idea how I've missed you, Kaoru." he whispered. "Yes Kenshin, yes I do." she said, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Where were you?"
Kenshin pulled back from her for a bit.
"Yes, that is a question I have been wondering myself. Please inform us why even the Gods said you were dead." Hiko said.
"That is a question for sitting." Kenshin said, pulling Kaoru towards the open dojo door.
Once inside and seated, all concerned waiting anxiously for where their rurouni friend had been hiding. Finally, he began to speak and tell his story.
"My mother, Hitomi, was a great goddess of Psychics." he explained. "Much as Hiko, my adoptive father once my real father passed on. I inherited her godlike speed, and the uncanny ability to change my eye color in battle. In a last-ditch attempt to contact me, she tried to teleport under the influence of a mind-wraith, Snae. He had also kidnapped Kaoru and killed Hitomi's love, Fjork. In attempting to teleport, she destroyed a link between my mind and hers. The resulting trauma is what nearly killed me."
Kenshin paused to think.
"I don't remember much about the next following days, but I remember extreme pain, a pain that couldn't be extinguished from the outside. I knew that by staying here, at the dojo, I would, and terribly soon, I might add, go insane. The incident had left me blinded, as well as unable to think very clearly. I left, and soon after Megumi discovered that my body was gone. She told no one, which was very fortunate for me. Because the knowledge of my missing body was contained in one mind, a very logical mind at that, one that knew beyond all shadow of hope that I was gone, it became reality to the gods. They could not see me through her eyes, because to her I was gone."
"For many months I wandered the wilderness, trying to remember who I was, what I was, where I was...it all seemed the same. I began wearing that cloak because people who met me seemed less afraid if I did. It all puzzled me very much, until a came upon, by chance, an unmarked grave stone in the bleak wilderness. I laid my hand upon it, and in an instant, my memories were back with a painful intensity. I had found my father's grave. Hitomi had bestowed a blessing of hers upon it many years before, and this shock of other worldy presence jolted my overwhelmed mind back into remembering. I knew I had to get back. By this time, rumors that I was dead were sweeping the land, and I chose not to prove them wrong by continuing to wear my cloak."
"As I said before, it also made people less afraid. In time, after journeying many miles, I arrived at Hiko's door, and from there...the rest of the story you know." Kenshin finished with a smile.
"I overcame death to get back to you once, Kaoru, why shouldn't I do it again?"
A/N: THIS IS THE REAL END! beams - You all knew I wouldn't leave you like that!
Disclaimer: Not mine. None of it. I swear.
Some time later
In the time that Kenshin had been gone, many things had happened. Kaoru, having been treated early on for chronic depression, was finally beginning to get over the sadness of his passing and start moving on. The strangest thing had happened the day after Kenshin died, however. Upon arriving in his room to prepare the body for the final rest, Megumi had discovered it gone. Kaoru, however, had not been told this.
Sano now lived in the dojo, at first it had been to keep Kaoru from doing something disastrous to herself, but now because he felt it was necessary. One never knew when another one of those dreams would cast Kaoru into depression again. As of now, he was, as usual, doing absolutely nothing. Well except for watching Kaoru do the laundry, and Yahiko prancing about the dojo, proudly sporting his bokken on his back and declaring for all to know that he'd graduated to the next level of Kamiya Kasshin.
Up in the other plane, things were as usual, Hitomi and Fjork were forgotten weeks after their passing, and everything was back to normal. Well almost. Hiko had forgone his position as Voyridal, ceding it to a younger, less-weathered psychic in favor of returning to Kyoto. He now lived in his small cottage, blissfully alone and unbothered. Usually.
But right now, he was being bothered.
A hooded figure knocked on his door, their manner urgent and hurried. "Hiko, please open the door." a voice called. Inside the cottage, Hiko readied his usual response, "Go away, I don't need any clothes detergent!", but something about the way the voice plucked at his conscious mind halted the words in his mouth. He knew that voice...
"I need a 'port."
Hiko was on his feet and out the door immediately. "Where." Try as he might, Hiko couldn't penetrate the disguise cloaking the indiviual. Whoever this was, they knew his real identity. He knew who the voice sounded like...but it couldn't be!
"The Kamiya Dojo."
Kaoru sighed. Laundry was bad. She'd grown to hate it, first because it was the thing that Kenshin had done, second because it was so mind-numbingly boring! She supposed that to one who'd spent a good portion of their life killing people, it had seemed relaxing. But to her, Kaoru of the Kamiya Dojo, who had never killed anyone, it was boring. She caught Sano staring at her and stuck her tongue out at him. She was in an especially good mood today, and she really didn't know why if it wasn't for the nagging feeling that something wonderful was about to happen.
Someone was coming.
She just knew it. Company always promised happiness, and Kaoru turned over who it would be in her mind. As always, her first through was Kenshin, but she cautioned herself that he wouldn't be coming back, that he was gone away for a very, very long time. She even managed to do it without the prick of tears in her eyes! She smiled, proud of herself for the first time in forever. Maybe it was Misao.
Sano grinned to himself, watching a smile bloom across Kaoru's face. Kenshin had always loved her smile. Yahiko, still parading around, noticed nothing, that is until someone knocked on the dojo gate. "Kaoru?" Hiko called. "Let us in!" Yahiko was at the gate in an instant.
"I graduated to the next level of Kamiya Kasshin!" he said proudly, thrusting his chest out. Hiko regarded the young boy with a critical eye, taking in his appearance. After a minute he patted him on the head. "Congratulations." he then pushed by him, a mysterious cloaked figure behind.
Kaoru stopped in her laundry. The blood drained from her face as her eyes locked with those inside the hood of the cloak. She shakily stood, her eyes wide and brimming with tears.
Sano was on his feet instantly, scanning for danger. "Who is that, Hiko!?" he demanded, very uneasy about the cloaked figure. Hiko paused, looking at Sano. "That is...a very old friend of both of ours." he said, smiling.
The figure brought up both hands and pulled the hood of the cloak down. First thing to spring into evidence was flaming red hair. Next was a familiar cross-shaped scar, and third was beautiful violet eyes. "Ken...shin?" Kaoru whispered. It couldn't be! He...he died...
"Kaoru." he said softly.
That was all he needed to say. Kaoru took of across the dojo at a sprint, desparate to get to him. He met her half-way, wrapping her in his arms. "You have no idea how I've missed you, Kaoru." he whispered. "Yes Kenshin, yes I do." she said, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Where were you?"
Kenshin pulled back from her for a bit.
"Yes, that is a question I have been wondering myself. Please inform us why even the Gods said you were dead." Hiko said.
"That is a question for sitting." Kenshin said, pulling Kaoru towards the open dojo door.
Once inside and seated, all concerned waiting anxiously for where their rurouni friend had been hiding. Finally, he began to speak and tell his story.
"My mother, Hitomi, was a great goddess of Psychics." he explained. "Much as Hiko, my adoptive father once my real father passed on. I inherited her godlike speed, and the uncanny ability to change my eye color in battle. In a last-ditch attempt to contact me, she tried to teleport under the influence of a mind-wraith, Snae. He had also kidnapped Kaoru and killed Hitomi's love, Fjork. In attempting to teleport, she destroyed a link between my mind and hers. The resulting trauma is what nearly killed me."
Kenshin paused to think.
"I don't remember much about the next following days, but I remember extreme pain, a pain that couldn't be extinguished from the outside. I knew that by staying here, at the dojo, I would, and terribly soon, I might add, go insane. The incident had left me blinded, as well as unable to think very clearly. I left, and soon after Megumi discovered that my body was gone. She told no one, which was very fortunate for me. Because the knowledge of my missing body was contained in one mind, a very logical mind at that, one that knew beyond all shadow of hope that I was gone, it became reality to the gods. They could not see me through her eyes, because to her I was gone."
"For many months I wandered the wilderness, trying to remember who I was, what I was, where I was...it all seemed the same. I began wearing that cloak because people who met me seemed less afraid if I did. It all puzzled me very much, until a came upon, by chance, an unmarked grave stone in the bleak wilderness. I laid my hand upon it, and in an instant, my memories were back with a painful intensity. I had found my father's grave. Hitomi had bestowed a blessing of hers upon it many years before, and this shock of other worldy presence jolted my overwhelmed mind back into remembering. I knew I had to get back. By this time, rumors that I was dead were sweeping the land, and I chose not to prove them wrong by continuing to wear my cloak."
"As I said before, it also made people less afraid. In time, after journeying many miles, I arrived at Hiko's door, and from there...the rest of the story you know." Kenshin finished with a smile.
"I overcame death to get back to you once, Kaoru, why shouldn't I do it again?"
A/N: THIS IS THE REAL END! beams - You all knew I wouldn't leave you like that!