**Disclaimers- ;_; not fair! RK is not mine! ;_; ** **Sort of AU, Its basically Tomoe after she died and somehow fans of hers know her ghosty address. Yeah, weird afterlife. You get sent bills and ads. Harhar. :P Sort of modern too, as the fans come from the future, doi** **I really dunno what I'm doing. ;_; O well. *

"Fan" Mail

Tomoe Yukishiro-Himura sighed as she set down all of today's mail onto the kitchen table. Junk, junk, and more junk, she thought. She set aside the 6 letters that were ads and stared at the about 100 letters left: fan mail. It was troublesome.

Ever since Nobuhiro Watsuki had dug up some history and drawn the manga for "Rurouni Kenshin", based on her husband's life, Tomoe had been receiving tons of fan mail. Or hate mail. She didn't even bother with those.

Tomoe plucked one of the envelopes and tugged it open with her slender hands, and unfolded the note:

"I don't like you. I think Kaoru is better. HAHA!"

* -_-; * Tomoe's usually calm face twitched in annoyance. That was pointless. Well, I'm not exactly fond of you either... Tomoe glanced at the signature. Becca Rydish. Tomoe folded the note back up again and laid it on the far side of the table, the throw-away-stack.

,

.She opened another one:

"Dear Tomoe, I am one of your biggest fans. I think you and Kenshin should've lived happily ever after, and that Kenshin had never met Kaoru. Kaoru is the biggest b****!

Your's truly,

Carol Yunderam"

Tomoe's eyes narrowed a little as she frowned. Kaoru a b****? Tomoe tossed the letter to the throw-away-stack and sighed inwardly. Doesn't anyone understand? Kaoru helped Kenshin bury his grief and move on to a happier life. A life he could enjoy and not dwell on the past... Tomoe sighed again, for that didn't mean she wanted Kenshin to completely forget her. Not that he did, of course. And if Kenshin had never met Kaoru, she would've been killed and that Gohei would've commited more murders, not to mention the boy Yahiko and the former gangster Sanosuke would've lived unhappy lives. And the lady doctor Megumi. Tomoe smiled to herself. She couldn't help but feel proud of her husband for helping so many people. You truly have retributed for your sins, anata.

Smiling idly to herself, Tomoe opened another letter.

"Tomoe, I am a pretty nuetral fan. But I don't understand why you acted so cold towards Kenshin in the OVAs. I mean, Kaoru-"

Tomoe didn't bother to read the rest. She already knew what was coming. Kaoru is always so happy and perky. Why are you so emotionless? Because... He had killed Akira... Again Tomoe felt the slight twinge of guilt deep inside her heart. But it was very faint. She had gotten over it a long time ago. If you were living with the murderer of your fiance, would you be kind to him? Tomoe sighed, remembering those times. She tried to keep cool, hiding her emotions from Kenshin. They were all in a tumble anyway. The everlasting guilt, for not stopping Akira Kiyosato from leaving to Kyoto, the anger, fading everyday she spent with Kenshin, her confusion, the fondness, then the love spreading throughout her heart for the young murderer, new guilt, for earning Kenshin's trust when she had set out to kill him, and finally...peace.

Peace, when it felt as if she were floating, she ran resoloutely between Kenshin and the leader of the Yaminobu, grabbing the dagger from the leader's hand. The small triumph she felt from stopping the leader from wounding Kenshin quickly disappeared as she felt indescribable pain when his sword came from behind her and slashed down her shoulder. Thankfully, the pain was vanishing quickly as she lay in Kenshin's arms, and the triumph and peace entered her mind once more. She still had the dagger in her hands. What had made her raise her hand to cut Kenshin's cheek, completing the cross? Tomoe herself didn't know. She was already far gone. It was as if...

If I could just erase that scar... she had thought, as life faded from her body. Just get rid of it... And then, it seemed to her, she could just get rid of it, if she could just... The dagger swept against his cheek, the single slash, now an X. Tomoe smiled blearily as she saw her work and felt the tear drop onto her face. There. It's a cross now. I got rid of it... An X, to symbolize this is the end. It will soon be the end of the hitokiri. He will fight on, but at the end he will finally... Then Tomoe felt panic. The end already? Then she must tell him... "I love you..." He was crying. She smiled for him, to show him she was allright. "Please don't cry. For..forgive me." And then everything felt so heavy and the dagger seemed to weigh a ton, and as she faintly felt her hand fall to the ground, everything went black.

Tomoe stared into space as she remembered the moment. She remembered her first few moments in the afterlife, how she knew she was dead and tried to feel calm about it. Then she remembered a figure in front of her extending his hand.

....

"Deer Tomo Kenshin is the best and i think yu shuld hav comfortid him more but Kaouru is okayy too she helps but whaks him al the tim and so i think yur way is beter but-"

Tomoe sighed and crumpled up the letter in exhasperation. Really? Can't a person learn decent spelling? She gave a small noise of annoyance when the door opened and closed.

"Tomoe?" rang a voice, full of concern. Tomoe felt a smile grow upon her face. Kiyo... She spun around to meet her loved one. Kiyosato Akira stood there in the door way, giving her small, uncertain smile. "Is something the matt-" his voice broke off as he gazed at the pile of mail on the table. He gave her a grin. "I see."

He walked accross the room to give her a hug, and Tomoe returned the embrace and laid her head onto his chest, smiling to herself in contentment. Kiyosato held her back in his arms and looked at her face, a finger rising to stroke her cheek.

"I'm so glad to see you." He stopped talking but gazed at her with warm brown eyes, and the unsaid sentence rang in his gaze: So glad to see your smile... Tomoe blushed at the unspoken statement and turned away, reaching for some pans. "I'll cook dinner now that you're back..."

She busied herself getting the vegetables to prepare some soup for him. Kiyosato smiled fondly at her back as he turned away. As Tomoe got a small knife and began to cut the vegetables, she allowed herself a small smile. I've been smiling more and more....I'm learning, right, anata? she thought, to both Kiyosato and Kenshin, whatever he was doing now. No one knows how much it hurt not to smile, after I found new happiness with Kenshin. I wanted to show him I was happy now...I wanted to show Kiyosato I was happy when he announced our engagement...its funny that in the afterlife I'm finally learning to smile.

Tomoe stared off into space, as she set the knife down on the cuttingboard. I can't wait...till I can show Kenshin how easily I can smile now.... she blushed as she realized what that implied. *He'd have to be dead. Unless he was in real trouble and she was allowed to visit him in his dreams* But thats alright..Kaoru is there to give him her smiles. It's true Tomoe could not help but feel a little jeaousy, but who wouldn't? I was a little shocked at first, after observing Kaoru the first few days... Tomoe winced as she remembered Kaoru's blows to Kenshin's face countless times. Then she smiled again. Its just her way, the...playful fighting...True, a little more forceful than I would have done, but it worked out quite alright if I do say so myself... Tomoe stopped musing and began to brush the chopped vegetables into the boiling water inside the pot. After all, she had to get busy. She was cooking dinner for her fiance.

End

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Word from Author: 'Lo. At first I put lots of degrading stuff down here, but after I got such nice reviews, I decided to change it. Now, instead of being ashamed by my fic, I'm ashamed at myself! (See, I told you how much reviews affected me!). I'm very glad that some people liked it. I feel better about my fic, though I am still a little wary because I do think it is pretty strange. When I started writing this fic, the main point was to try and convey my guesses to why Tomoe acted the way she did and how she felt. Again, thank you, reviewers! I'm glad you liked it and got me out of my stupid self-flaming hole. Thanks!!