Dislcaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is not mine, nor do I make profit off of it.
Note: This takes place during the fight with Jinei in the final moments before Kenshin prepares himself to kill him for Kaoru's sake.
It's strange how at this moment I could only think of her.
I stood above Jinei, having just delivered what was to be my final threat to him and flipping my blade, raising it against the light of the full moon. Yet even as I calculated how to give this madman a quick and painless death (more time spent on the quick part), my mind was overcome with the nostalgia of a small cottage in Otsu, good sake, and the scent of white plums and blood.
I was betraying her. For a second time, I was betraying her.
The smaller part of me that saw the irony in all this wanted to chuckle at it.
So this is what ten years of atonement comes down to, huh? A whole decade of my life spent towards protecting life, only to have to take it away in one unexpected moment.
I wondered if she would forgive me for this. For shaming her memory so. For failing her a second time. For forgetting her so easily. …For not feeling I was going to regret this as much as I should.
"What's wrong Battousai?" Jinei's blood-dipped voice asked of me. "Killing me is the only thing that can save her now. Are you just going to let her die?"
In a choice between you and her, Jinei, that's really not a tough decision. But in a choice between her and…and…
Kaoru's breathing had stopped.
…
Ten years. Ha. It was all about to made worthless in less than ten seconds.
My hand gripped tighter around the hilt of my sword.
Forgive me.
I could not lose my resolve now after all.
Forgive me for killing again, and for…
My eyes bore menacingly into his.
…and for…
"To protect Miss Kaoru…"
…for caring about her this much.
"…I will become a manslayer once again!"
Jinei's laughter split through my reluctance more than his words did. I didn't even listen to half of what he said before I lost myself to the desperation that had so unexpectedly torn through me at the heavy silence coming from Kaoru's direction.
I would not let another woman die because of me. Hell is welcome to my soul.
"DIE!"
…Forgive me Tomoe. This is the third time I have betrayed you.
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End.
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A WORD FROM THE AUTHORESS:
The first betrayal was killing Tomoe. The second betrayal was what he was about to do: kill Jinei. The third was more a matter of the heart. I'll let you think about it.
I wrote this back in October 2002 after coming across one of the old RKRC 60-second challenges. The challenge was to take a moment in the series where a character pauses or hesitates, then write about what that character is thinking about. As you can see, I chose the scene where Kenshin is about to kill Jinei. And as you can tell from the wording, I used the English translation. Sorry, but I just didn't want to have to deal with explaining any Japanese wrods. For those who prefer the sub, just replace all the words or phrases you'd like.
Another serious one-shot from me. See? I have range. ...sorta.