Name

"Name her."

Yahiko blinked, struggling against the heavy scent of the incense that was gradually fogging his mind. Before him, the Spirit Lord knelt at Kaoru's side. To see the still form of his master—so feisty and bossy and loud and annoying and…and just so infuriatingly Kaoru—was unnerving at best. Her soul floated in a wispy mass above her center, hovering as if it were trying to decide whether to return to its body or to dissipate and rejoin a larger existence.

"Today, boy." The Spirit Lord reached up to swat an errant wisp back to its companions. "I'm the most powerful being in existence, but some things just aren't possible. She's going to die if you keep lollygagging."

He sucked a slow breath through his nose. He already knew Kaoru was fading, and that it was all his fault. However, it didn't make it any more obvious what her "true form" was. It was rare for mortals to attain a spirit form, much less be given one by the Spirit Lord. There was a part of him that wanted to simply shout the first idea that came to mind, but even he knew that this sort of thing didn't work that way. He couldn't imagine what sort of repercussions there would be for Kaoru, and he wasn't going to risk it. Still, any semblance of an answer eluded him.

"Yahiko." A gentle hand on his shoulder drew him out of his thoughts. "You already know, but perhaps Kaoru-dono herself can remind you. This one will assist."

Kenshin took one of Yahiko's hands in his own, then plunged them straight into the swirl of Kaoru's soul. Time stopped and Yahiko's last thought was that Kaoru would definitely survive because there was no way Kenshin would let her come to harm. He felt his consciousness melt away, and he started to see.

A/N: First chapter! As the story progresses, give me feedback on anything, especially the structure. I have a whole jumble of ideas and the story is set up to accommodate that (but I promise there's a method to the madness!). Here's hoping it'll translate well into writing :)

I must say, I was particularly inspired by the writings of broomclosetkink. I didn't think I could commit to writing a story until I read Power, Perceived and fell in love with the style. I've always wanted to do more than a oneshot, but wasn't sure I had it in me to do anything epic, either. Hooray for drabbles!