After breakfast, Kenshin led Kaoru to the same flower shop and bought three buckets of flowers. After this, he led her out of the city and even farther into the countryside. Even beyond the remnants of Kenshin's old village, they walked. Just when it seemed as though they had walked forever, they came to a large meadow with what looked like a makeshift graveyard. There were wooden crosses all over the place and in the center stood three stones, side by side.
Knowing that his young wife was bursting with curiosity about the graveyard, Kenshin proceeded to explain its significance to her.
"These are the graves of three young women who took pity on me when we were being transported in the slave caravan. Their names were Kasumi, Akane, and Sakura. They took an instant liking to me and I to them. They shared their food with me and held me in their arms so I wouldn't be frightened. For the first time since my family died, someone cared for me... The next day, that would all change. The caravan was attacked by bandits wielding swords. The slavers tried to fight them off, but were outclassed and quickly done in. The three girls shielded me with their bodies and died that I might live. Just as I was about to join them, a large man with a white cape and a sword as fast as the wind showed up and killed them all in an instant."
Kenshin paused to look at Kaoru, again with that sad little smile.
"Hiko-san," she said.
"Yes. Hiko Seijuro XIII told me that I would be cared for in the nearby village if I told them of what happened, then left," said Kenshin. "But someone had to look after all the bodies and give them proper burial. I couldn't find any flowers, however..."
"All the bodies? Even the bandits?" asked Kaoru.
"Yes, even the bandits," said Kenshin. "Once a person is dead, they're a body. It doesn't matter if they're a shogun, a samurai, a peasant or a bandit. They all go to the same place in the end. Even a murderer deserves better than to be left to the vultures. When Hiko returned the next day, he found me where he'd left me. It took me all night to do what I felt must be done. He asked me my name, which by birth was Shinta. He told me that Shinta was a child's name, too gentle for a swordsman. On that day, I ceased forever to be Shinta and took the name Kenshin. And the rest you already know," he concluded with another sad smile.
Without another word, Kenshin knelt down at the three stone graves and set down a set of incense sticks and lit them ablaze. Next he set down the long-delayed flowers in tribute to the lives that had ended so his might continue.
As the couple paid their respects to the three girls' graves, Kaoru mulled over everything she'd just learned. It made more sense to her now than ever before why Kenshin was as he was. As a child, he'd seen so many people he'd loved die or be cut down before his eyes. Each time he'd been helpless to do anything about it. When he learned kenjutsu, Kenshin had gained much power and had hoped to be able to use his new strength to protect. Because of his youth and naivete, he'd instead become a pawn that did little more than cut people down like the bandits had the three girls.
Kaoru found it quite sad that Kenshin had had to learn the hard way that a sword can't protect everyone in the nation. Kenshin hadn't truly understood the wrongness of what he'd been doing until his blade slashed through Tomoe's body and the second line of the scar had been cut into his left cheek, marking him forever.
Now though, there was a second chance. Kenshin had wandered Japan for a decade, seeking the answer that had been with him all that time. Now he, Kaoru, Yahiko and the absent Sanosuke would fight to protect the happiness and safety of the people around them and those who came to them for help. In this way, Kenshin would repent for his sins and continue to better himself. With that in his heart, the cruciform scar on his cheek would continue to fade as Kaoru noticed it was already beginning to do.
When they finished, Kaoru looked Kenshin over. In truth, she thought Shinta was a fine name for him. It matched his sweet face, huge violet eyes and that disarming smile of his. Kenshin was a fine swordsman's name and fit him well when he wielded his blade, but Shinta seemed just so right for him when he was at peace.
"Would you rather I called you 'Shinta' instead of 'Kenshin'?" she asked impulsively.
Kenshin smiled and shook his head.
"Shinta died in the raid on the caravan. Kenshin was born in his place to keep what happened to Shinta from happening to those around him," he said.
Kaoru could only nod solemnly and stare again at the three stone graves. She pondered all this in her heart as Kenshin led her away from the little graveyard.
The couple spent the next few hours walking around and taking in the sights. The countryside was very beautiful and not too built up, which made Kenshin rather happy. In truth he detested large cities and preferred the more rural areas. They saw sika deer eating timidly out on the meadows, ready to flee at a moment's notice. They saw a mama black bear foraging for food and keeping an eye on her two rambunctious cubs, ready to box their ears if they got into too much mischief. Kaoru privately thought about what it would be like to be the mother of Kenshin's children. She hoped this would happen sooner than later. But she knew that if she broached the subject, she would receive swirly eyes and an endless string of "Orooooos" as her only response.
As the sun got lower in the sky, Kenshin reluctantly decided it was time to leave his memories and return to Tokyo. Seeing the places he'd been to as a child had been bittersweet. If Kaoru hadn't been by his side, he could never have made that journey. It felt good though, to finally put these last old ghosts to rest. Now, he could truly move forward for good.
"Kaoru, let us live happily," Kenshin said at length as he gazed directly at her, nothing held back.
"Every day," said Kaoru, giving his hand a squeeze.
Side by side, Kenshin and Kaoru made their way back to Hiroshima and the ship that would take them home.
Owari