Author's Notes: I LIVE!!! WELCOME TO THE LAST CHAPTER!! WOOOHOOO!! FINALLY, BABY! OH YEAH. . . I FEEL GOOOOD. . . . Okay, now that I've got THAT out of my system. PLEASE REVIEW EVERYBODY!!! This is the LAST chapter. EVER. There will be NO sequel, and there will be NO epilogue. No way. This is it. Finally. And for those of you who own Rurouni Kenshin on dvd or whatever, listen to the Japanese. When Kenshin says, "Oro" he actually pronounces it like, "Oru".
Disclaimer: If I owned Rurouni Kenshin, do you think I'd be writing a romance between Kaoru and Kenshin and posting it on the internet, instead of actually drawing it and adding it to the series? I DON'T THINK SO!!!
Chapter Thirty-Five
The rain, which had once pounded outside, no longer fell. Days had passed, and the company of the Aoiya were starting to get homesick. It was on the day that Soujiro woke up that the Kenshin-gumi left for home.
Misao sat in Soujiro's room quietly. The clock made a tick tock sound and Soujiro was snoring softly in his sleep. Misao was having an inner battle, trying desperately to decide which man she should choose. She knew that she would have to choose someday. 'Oh, if only somebody could choose for me!' she mentally cried.
It was then that Soujiro opened his eyes. ". . .Misao-chan?" He watched her look up with a bright smile on her face. When she asked him how he felt, he sat up straight without hesitating. "I feel great, Misao-chan," he winced a little. "Well. . . almost great."
"What a relief!" Misao giggled awkwardly. She sat down on the bed. Soujiro put a hand to her lips and shook his head. Misao nearly burst out in tears right then and there, "But Sou-chan. . ."
"No," Soujiro told her. "I have been thinking in my dreams about our predicament." He took a deep breath, "I am a wanderer, Misao. I became a wanderer to search for true love. I thought I had found it, but in order for love to be true, it must work both ways. My love for you is true, but you have already fallen in love with Shinomori-san. I cannot break that love. Therefore, I will continue on my journey with you always in my heart."
Misao was shaking her head through the entire speech. "No, Sou-chan. You are wrong! You're wrong!" She continued to sob and Soujiro could only watch her, holding her hand in his.
From the door, Okina watched them with an expression of utmost relief, sadness, and joy, all at the same time. He turned to glance at Kenshin, who sat at the table in the dinning room. "Well, I think everything is going to turn out alright." He slowly sat down next to Kenshin. "Are you sure I can't drive you home? Or call a taxi for you?"
Kenshin smiled, "No, no. The train will do quite well. It's much better than running the entire way, that it is."
(That it is,) Battousai mimicked with a sour face.
"If you say so. . . I remember back in my day when the. . ." Okina went on and on about what happened to him when he was Kenshin's age but Kenshin didn't pay special attention. He was too busy spying on Kaoru, who stood outside on the porch with Megumi. They were chattering about something extremely girly, and Yahiko didn't fail to mention it when he walked by.
"Busu can wear blue at her wedding for all I care," he snorted. "It's not like she's going to get any guy to fall in love with her any time soon," he cackled at the thought until he was bonked on the head with a stick, which Kaoru had picked up from. . . somewhere. . .
Kenshin blinked at the word 'wedding'. "Oro. . ." he whispered. 'Wedding? Married? Love?' the three words rang in his ear. That's when he realized exactly what he wanted to do. Or at least ask. . .
(I'll ask, that I will. . .) Battousai mimicked once more with a humph.
-"Himura-san, are you listening to me?" Okina asked, waving a hand in front of Kenshin's face. Kenshin simply continued to stare at Kaoru, thoughts of just how beautiful she looked in the sunlight skipping through his head. Okina sighed and thoughtfully wondered what kind of thoughts Kenshin was thinking, but decided that he better not venture there.
Yahiko grinned knowingly as he walked past Kenshin.
Sanosuke stepped into the room, "Oi, Kenshin. The train is going to leave without us if we don't hurry up!" He watched as Kenshin smiled at him and stood up. "Oi, Fox! Your huge bag is in the front and I ain't carrying it!" Sanosuke called to Megumi. She stuck her tongue out at him and he smiled, "Oh, no thanks. I use toilet paper."
Kenshin poked his head into Soujiro's room. "Misao-san, we're leaving soon. Be sure to get all of your stuff ready." Pulling his head back out of the room, he noticed Aoshi standing next to him. Kenshin's silly-composure vanished and he gave Aoshi a hard look that meant 'You better stand up and be a man'. Kenshin turned around and walked down the hallway. He poked his red covered head into Hiko's room, which was full of laughter, "Master, the train is leaving soon and I know you don't like long goodbye's so I'm saying goodbye now. Are you sure you don't want to come with us, Rafu-san?"
Rafu grinned at him, "I'm sure. Utena and I are going to live here in Kyoto. Somewhere close to Hiko." He smiled at his newly found friend.
Hiko looked up at his stupid apprentice. "I'll see you later, baka deshi."
Unbeknownst to everybody else in the room, Utena was whispering to somebody at the window. Enishi smiled, "You mean, you really do love me?" He watched Utena smile back at him and they kissed.
"Of course. . ." Utena told him, and she truly meant it.
Kenshin nodded with a smile and walked back down the hallway. Everybody was there, waiting. Sanosuke, with his deep voice, said, "Um, is there even going to be a Tokyo to come back to? Didn't it burn down?"
Megumi whacked him upside the head. "Not all of it you idiot! Kaoru bought a new apartment in the part of town which didn't burn down. She's letting us all stay there until we buy our own homes. Isn't she nice? . . .even though she's still a tanuki-girl. . .Ohohohoho!" the expression upon Kaoru's face of dislike made Megumi laugh.
Kenshin smiled at Kaoru, his violet eyes warm with love. The train ride seemed to last forever and yet it felt like a moment later and the Kenshin-gumi were walking down the street towards the new apartment. The river flowed happily next to the road. Kenshin stopped walking to peer down at it, staring at his own reflection.
Out of corner of his eye he saw Aoshi and Misao talking, and he secretly smiled at the expression Misao had on her face. It was that of love. 'So she finally realized who she really loves. I suppose Soujiro must have talked to her more than I had overheard,' he thought.
-Soujiro sneezed, coughing out the tea he had been drinking. The waitress of the restaurant he was at blinked at him and he blinked back. She smiled.
Kenshin felt a presence near him. He turned to see Kaoru standing next to him. "See that little fish, Kaoru-dono?" he asked her, pointing into the river. "It looks different than the others but it's swimming just as fast." He decided to get to the point, "Kaoru-dono, over the past few days, I've talked to Hiko. I'm not really a robot. I'm human. Ten years ago, when I was the Hitokiri Battousai, I couldn't go on. I let Hiko use my body in his experiments. I can't tell you everything, Kaoru-dono but. . ."
(Some time while I'm still young please. . .) Battousai grumbled.
Rurouni merely smiled, To be married to Kaoru-dono. . . His voice drifted on as he dreamt of the possibilities.
Kenshin raised his hand to her cheek. "I can tell you that I love you. I'd die for you. . . Kaoru. . .so please. . ." he gulped as he tried so hard to get the question out. He saw Kaoru cock her head in confusion.
Kaoru silently licked her lips and stared deeply into Kenshin's violet eyes. 'If you ask me Kenshin, I'll say yes. Yes! Oh please ask me!' she screamed mentally. She continued to stare into his eyes. 'What is going on behind those violet eyes?' she wondered. Kenshin suddenly dropped down to one knee and held Kaoru hand tightly in his.
Kenshin took in a deep breath, "Kaoru. . . will you marry me?"
-Owari-
-The end-
Author's Notes: The end! Please review minna-sama! I had such fun writing this! I'm sorry if this chapter was slightly short. . .and I'm also sorry that it was kinda rushed. I tried really hard not to make it seem rushed though I'm sure it was. I'm also sure you're all wondering whatever became of Enishi and Utena, and Misao and Aoshi. That is for YOU to decide. Thank you to all my loyal fans and my not-so-loyal-fans-who-occasionally-bash. I love all you guys so much! (hugs and kisses) Thank you!
No one knows what it's like
To be the bad man
To be the sad man
Behind violet eyes
No one knows what it's like
To be hated
To be fated
To telling only lies
But my dreams
They aren't as empty
As my conscience seems to be
I have hours, only lonely
My love is vengeance
That's never free
No one knows what it's like
To feel these feelings
Like I do
And I blame you
No one bites back as hard
On their anger
None of my pain and woe
Can show through
But my dreams
They aren't as empty
As my conscience seems to be
I have hours, only lonely
My love is vengeance
That's never free
When my fist clenches, crack it open
Before I use it and lose my cool
When I smile, tell me some bad news
Before I laugh and act like a fool
If I swallow anything evil
Put your finger down my throat
If I shiver, please give me a blanket
Keep me warm, let me wear your coat
No one knows what it's like
To be the bad man
To be the sad man
Behind violet eyes