Disclaimer: I'm busy building a barbed wire fence around my yard to keep those pesky lawyers out. They somehow got the erroneous idea that I am doing this for gain and profit. Nope, sorry, just for fun!
A/N: Wow, it's been almost two weeks since my last update! I'm so sorry for the wait, but it was another one of those times when I had to make everything perfect. I hadn't quite decided what kind of ending I wanted for this fic, and I figured it would just, you know, come to me at the end. It so didn't so I ended up having to think it over for a few days. Tell me what you think. It seems like all my fics have such similar endings…
This will be my last review response for this fic. If you'd like me to respond to your review of this chapter, leave your e-mail address and I promise I will.
Justagirl8225: Thank you, I love the compliments I get from you. And I'm also secretly glad I am able to evoke such a reaction.
Crewel: Aww, thank you. I'm glad you think it's "worth waiting for" and I'm sorry for making you wait all those past times. I decided on that part for Megumi almost as a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing, and I loved how well it seemed to fit. I'm glad you liked it too.
Another Baka, Tiny Toon, Mischievous Lass: Thanks for reviewing.
Kie-san: I'm glad it turned out to be rather unpredictable. Gosh, poor Kenshin, huh? I'm so hard on him…
ZionCross: You're so mean. Funny thing, about that Outa comment…lol, I'm just kidding. Well, if you see your friend about to kill your other friend, what exactly would you do? I don't think it was a Mr. and Mrs. Smith moment (haha! That would be funny) but they both sort of panicked, Misao in particular.
Cathy Mark: Well, actually, she was never a killer to begin with, so she's only just…oh never mind. It is pretty harsh, isn't it? The sequel will be started soon, more information to follow after the chapter..
Flamer: That's nice. Why don't you go eat a floppy disk, hmm?
Babygirl: I'm glad you enjoyed last chapter…it is sad…actually, I dislocated Aoshi's shoulder. Soujiro's arm is fine. Last I checked. Aww, thanks.
Charming Woman: Thanks, I'm rather proud of it. Yup, this is the end, the last chapter!
One and Only: I know, but you secretly liked the suspense, huh? Did the image of them and all the chaos slowly start to make sense? Thank you so much for your compliments. Hmm…Naruku and Kenshin a couple. Maybe.
Seta Misao: Thank you. It is sad., aw…
Anyway, enjoy the last chapter of Digging Up a Buried Path.
Tanoshimu!
Chapter 23
Kenshin: Healing Words
-
The air grew thicker at castle Edo. Everyone, now, knew what had gone on there, past the thick wooden doors. The failed Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki, Enizu grabbing Misao, the tired, weak feeling that Kenshin had not been able to overcome and…Naruku's hand on the bloodied dagger. All of these things flashed up at Kenshin, encompassing his mind and taking him away from his friends.
He turned his head and saw with weary eyes the blood that splattered across Naruku. He closed his eyes.
Everyone knew, now, that Naruku had had a hand in Enizu's death. No. That was being too vague. She had killed him, and Kenshin could not protect her from that fact anymore than he had been able to protect her from Enizu.
He felt a cool hand on the back of his neck and opened his eyes to find a pair of glassy blue eyes staring back. Kaoru kneeled in front of him, quietly giving him her sympathy, slowly bringing him back to the world with just a hand on his shoulder.
He responded to her touch by standing up, lifting her to her feet as he did so. He surprised everyone by putting his arms around her, embracing her because he needed that comfort.
The stood like that for a few moments before Kenshin relinquished his grasp on her, turning to face his other friends. He did not smile, but somehow in the way he stood or the way his eyes gazed, he let them know he was grateful.
"Megumi-san," Misao said, walking to where the doctor stood.
Megumi turned to face Misao.
"You should…I mean…Naruku needs to be treated. If she's not she could…die," Misao went on quietly.
Megumi shook her head. "I'm sorry. I used all my supplies up."
Misao's eyebrows knitted. "On who?"
Megumi gestured behind her to the room that she and the others had been occupying for the better part of an hour. "On Rokuro's victims."
Misao seemed too surprised to say anything else.
"We need to get her to the clinic," Megumi said resolutely, casting her eyes back to Naruku.
Without waiting for another word to be spoken, Kenshin turned and stepped over to where Naruku lay, slipping out of consciousness. He knelt and gathered her torn and blood-soaked form into his arms, silently accepting her and what she had done.
He felt disappointment, yes, sadness, and even fear, but he could never forsake Naruku and who she was to him. She was still Naruku, and still human, and still capable of mistakes, of uncontrolled anger, of death. Just as she was capable of laughter, determination and strength. Of life.
Kenshin nodded to both Soujiro and Misao as he carried Naruku across the ballroom towards the main entrance. The others followed silently behind him.
He passed Enizu's body without a second thought as he went on his way home.
-
It was late afternoon and Kenshin could practically feel the sun going down and the sky growing dimmer. He stood, leaning against the wall with his eyes closed and his head tucked to his chest, ticking off the seconds, the minutes, that Naruku had been inside that room. Without him. She was still unconscious, perhaps even dying, and only Megumi could possibly save her.
It pained Kenshin to be outside, apart from the suffering Naruku had to endure because of the aftermath of the battle. It was a strange feeling…being so far away from her. To be so healthy, almost untouched by the battle he had taken part in. Instead it was Naruku with the walls around her, laying in Megumi's operation room, keeping everyone out and having them worry.
Naruku had killed Enizu, and that was a misdeed that could haunt her forever. It was a burden that could fit so easily into Kenshin's heart, but it would consume Naruku completely.
Kenshin remembered the first time he had fought Enizu. He had been so ready to kill then…but Naruku had held him back, told him that Enizu was not worth it. Not worth going back on his vow.
He had been worth it to Naruku. Part of Kenshin knew why…part of him didn't want to know.
She was silent, so quiet it was scary. Enizu descended upon her, a resounding smack sound echoing his strike. Naruku didn't move. Enizu growled and launched himself toward her, thrashing her upon the wall. Naruku wildly scratched at him and he laughed. And laughed.
"Kenshin…" he could hear her voice. "Kenshin."
Hands and knees pushed roughly against the floor. She could not give in. Red across her back, her face warped into a scream. Carved into her, she unable to break free. A breath trying desperately to surface, but held down again, pinned to the floor. He had found her, tore her away and she released a terrible scream.
With a jolt, Kenshin's eyes opened and he felt himself pitching forward. Without taking even a second to take in his surroundings, he lunged for the door, clawing his way inside.
-
Megumi closed her eyes as she shook the remaining water off of her hands. Sighing in exhaustion, she reached one hand up and tugged the cloth from her head, letting the inky locks fall loose.
Naruku was not in good shape. Aside from the two wounds that still bled, she had serious bruises and abrasions all over her body. Nothing was broken, but…Megumi shuddered to think what had happened to her at Castle Edo before Kenshin had arrived there. It was the place of Megumi's nightmares, and now it was the place of Naruku's.
Megumi could only hope that when she woke, Naruku would be able to handle the anguish and the pain. For her sake…and for Kenshin's.
A sudden clatter startled Megumi out of her thoughts. She jumped and saw that Kenshin had thrown open the door and was hastening to get inside.
Megumi rushed to him. "Ken-san!" she cried, trying to push him back outside. "Ken-san, you have to stay out—Ken-san!"
He struggled fiercely against her, forcing himself through the door as he pushed past her.
"Sano!" she shrilled, her voice rising into hysterics. Her screams could not reach Kenshin, so instead she called for help. "Sano!" she heard no clamor of footsteps.
She flung her arms around Kenshin's torso in attempt to calm him, stop him from struggling. "Ken-san, listen, Naruku is—"
He went limp in her arms.
"Still sleeping…" Megumi finished in a whisper. The commotion had ceased and now it was just Kenshin and Megumi. She supported his weight carefully in her arms. A single tear raced down his cheek, and Megumi understood.
It was the first time Kenshin felt he couldn't reach someone. That they were just too far away…too far from his grasp.
Megumi closed her eyes peacefully. She knew how it hurt Kenshin. It was the same hurt that she and Kaoru and all the others had to endure every time Kenshin got too far away from them, too deep into his pain.
Megumi heard Kenshin steadily breathing against her shoulder, his body and mind so wracked with weariness. He would learn that there was nothing else he could do but stay by Naruku, be there for her when she woke up and when she dreamed of nightmares. He would learn that sometimes…protecting someone was not enough. Not good enough. That loving her was the only way to bring her back to him.
-
Kenshin made his way down the hallway; his head hung low, eyes closed in thought. It was the day after his fight with Enizu, and he had just arrived back from the clinic. Naruku had still not awakened and Megumi was doing her best to take care of her.
Kenshin reached the front door and slid it open, stepping out onto the patio. To his right Sano sat, legs crossed and arms out behind him to support his weight, his eyes gazing out toward the horizon where the sun was disappearing.
On Kenshin's other side, Aoshi leaned against the wall, his head turned now to acknowledge Kenshin. At Aoshi's feet was Kaoru, who sat comfortably with her legs tucked beside her. At her side Outa was curled with his head lying against her shoulder, sleeping soundly. Outa had been taken away from the clinic to give time to rest. He had done so much for Megumi and Dr. Ogura the past couple days, but he was a child and Megumi felt it would be better for him to spend time at the dojo.
Kaoru had one arm wrapped around the young Higashidani boy, both of them looking very content.
On the grass in front of the porch, Soujiro and Misao sat entwined, tired but at ease. A few feet away from them was Yahiko, his knees pulled up to his chest and his hands picking at the grass beneath him.
Kenshin surveyed the scene of his weary friends and then sat down in their midst. Silence encompassed him for a few moments, and in those seconds, everything was fine.
"So how is she?" Yahiko croaked.
Kenshin turned to him. "I think she'll be fine. Megumi-dono doesn't seem worried for her life, that she does not."
Yahiko nodded. "Well we always knew she wouldn't let go without a fight."
"Has she woken up yet?" Aoshi wanted to know.
Kenshin shook his head. "Megumi-dono says there's no reason she should still be unconscious…She didn't loose too much blood. I think it may be because Naruku-dono is unwilling to wake up."
Kaoru bit her lip at this news, but said nothing. Kenshin had been unwilling to talk the day before, and hadn't left the clinic until Megumi kicked him out and forced him to go home with the others. She didn't want to pressure the red-haired swordsman, but she knew he would have to start talking eventually.
"I just don't get…" Misao began, her voice doleful and upset. "Why it had to be like this. Why did he have to use her…like he did before." Her eyes flickered downward and it seemed like Misao almost regretted the words that came out of her lips.
Kenshin shook his head. Part of him wanted to avoid the subject. The other part wanted to let it all out. But this…he didn't even know the answer.
"Enizu-san always spoke of possession," Soujiro spoke up, surprising almost everyone. "When I was…allied with him." He gulped.
"But you were acting on our behalf," Misao protested.
"True, but still had to do his biding. He always spoke about ownership and control…one could almost say he was obsessed with it. As I'm sure you know," he nodded to Aoshi at this, "He took Naruku-san from her father after Enizu had killed him. He called her his 'souvenir…' And it was the same for you, Himura-san. He wanted to have Naruku as a prize for…for defeating you. There were three main men that Enizu wanted dead from the start, for their misdeeds to him. Katsura Kogoro was one, for not choosing him to go to Kyoto as he chose Himura-san. The other was Shishio-san, for taking the place of Katsura's assassin, just as Himura-san had done. And then, of course, Himura-san himself. He had Naruku-san as a souvenir from Katsura's son…and then later he regarded her as a prize for Himura-san. And he had me, a souvenir from Shishio-san."
Kenshin did not seem to be affected by these words at all. "It's funny…that both of his conquests…ended up betraying him." He turned to stare Soujiro directly in the eyes as he said this.
"That is a little strange," Soujiro said with a small laugh. "But for good reason. Enizu-san was not a man you could find sympathy with. The way he spoke about people…especially his enemies. Even Shishio-san would never say the things that Enizu-san constantly muttered. He hated you, Himura-san, above all else. And it was a hatred without respect."
Sano glowered. "He stooped too low to respect his enemies. Dragging Koneko into the fight? Only the weakest of fighters would fight that dirty, just for revenge."
"There was…something else, though, besides revenge. Wasn't there?" Kaoru said slowly.
Kenshin bowed his head. "It seemed like it, when I heard the words he spoke. It was as if…he blamed me for letting myself have a peaceful life after the Restoration. It seemed like he wanted to do the one thing that would take that happiness away. He told me…" Kenshin paused. He did not want to speak those words, nor hear them, ever. "He said Naruku should have died at my hands. He knew it was the one way he could destroy my life as badly as his was destroyed."
There was silence and pursed lips following Kenshin's words.
"But…" Kaoru spoke up again. "But the only reason his life wasn't as normal and as peaceful as ours…is because of the revenge he wanted on you. And…and it's almost as if he's blaming you for crimes he wish he had committed!" she cried. "That doesn't…how can he believe that?"
"I don't pretend to understand the mind of a man as twisted as Enizu," Kenshin said. "But I believe there was something even deeper going on, something Enizu was not aware of. It could be that…it was himself that he hated. And by channeling his self-disgust into hatred for me, he could find peace."
"Finding peace in his own chaos," Aoshi grunted. "Fitting, I suppose, for a man such as Takeda Enizu."
Kenshin nodded at Aoshi's dry words. As the Oniwaban Okashira stood up to go back inside, Kenshin spoke again.
"Even your fallen comrades had lives that could not find peace. But they had something to fight for, and someone to believe in. Enizu had nothing."
The two men exchanged significant glances before Aoshi exited.
Kenshin turned back to the rest of his friends, some of whom were standing up and stretching, ready to follow Aoshi and retreat indoors.
"I'm going back to the clinic tonight," Kenshin announced.
"Why?" Kaoru questioned, still sitting peacefully with Outa at her side. "You just came from there. Can't you go tomorrow morning?"
Kenshin smiled. "I could, Kaoru-dono, but I am going tonight."
"Kenshin…" Kaoru said, a little wistfully as the others quickened their steps to get inside, sensing the two friends needed to be together.
"Kaoru-dono, I don't mean to make you worry," Kenshin said. He was being straightforward; he knew it was the best way to make her understand. He had learned that from Naruku. "But I…need to be there."
Kaoru nodded. "I understand, but part of me is worried, Kenshin. I fear how this is affecting you and whether you're going to start shutting me out…again."
Kenshin shook his head. "Please don't be bothered Kaoru-dono. My priority right now is making sure that Naruku is…safe," he nodded to himself.
Kaoru let a small smile trace her lips. "I know. It's always your priority. But I just hope that you aren't going over there so you can continue feeling sorry for yourself." Her expression tightened and she gave him a look of mock-anger. "'Cause if you are, I know where my bokken is!"
Kenshin chuckled appreciatively. "Thank you Kaoru-dono. I'll keep that in mind, that I will."
She reached up an encircled his neck with her arms. Leaning her head against his shoulder, she whispered the same words she had said two nights before. "Just bring her back."
Smiling, she released him and watched as he walked through the gate, out onto the pathway.
-
Megumi didn't say anything when Kenshin arrived back at the clinic late that evening.
"It's all right," Kenshin said. "I have Kaoru-dono's permission, that I do."
Megumi pursed her lips. "Hmm. Don't do anything I wouldn't do," she said as she vacated Naruku's room, leaving the unconscious girl and Kenshin alone together.
"What does she mean?" Kenshin wondered, an innocent smile on his face as he watched the lady-doctor leave the room. He slowly kneeled down beside the table on which Naruku lay. He closed his eyes and suddenly felt very tired. Opening his eyes and raising his head, he took in Naruku's sleeping form, the soft breaths that escaped her parted lips, the gentle rising and falling of her chest.
He hoped she was dreaming of him.
-
Light filtered through the east-facing window in the room. The rays of the sun made kaleidoscopic patterns across Naruku's hair, making it look bright and coppery and deep crimson.
Kenshin reached up and encased one of Naruku's small hands in his own. It was cool to the touch. His eyes flickered out to the window and then he felt a small squeeze on his hand.
His eyes slowly came back to Naruku and he saw her moving, rousing from her two-day sleep. Her eyes flickered open and she stared up at Kenshin with eyes of a newborn.
"Hey," Kenshin said quietly.
"Hey," she returned in a whisper, her voice almost too hoarse to speak. She slowly lifted herself to a sitting position, letting her legs dangle off the edge of the table in front of Kenshin.
"How long was I out?" she asked after a few moments of silence.
"Two days," Kenshin said. "It's April first."
Her eyes flickered downward, making her realize that she hadn't let go of Kenshin's hand since she had woken up.
"Sanosuke dropped by earlier," Kenshin said. "He brought this." From somewhere at his feet he produced two big chunks of watermelon. He handed on to Naruku and took the other for himself.
Naruku took it gratefully, staring down at the crystalline fruit, dotted with black and white seeds.
"It's the first of the season," Kenshin said. He stood up and went to Naruku's side, slowly lifting himself onto the table beside her.
She said nothing, but dipped her head into the melon to take a luscious, juicy bite. "You're not going to leave, are you?" she asked thoughtfully, a ruby-red droplet of juice trembling on her lip, about to dribble down her chin before she licked it back in with her tongue.
"No," Kenshin answered, taking another bite of watermelon. "Are you?"
Naruku craned her neck, staring upwards pensively. "No," she agreed. "I'm home."
The two of them sat side-by-side in silence, their shoulders brushing against each other, their hands interlaced. There was so much that could have been said in that silence, but nothing needed to be. Their doubts and questions waited patiently within their minds, allowing the two of them a moment where everything was exactly how it should be.
The blank white walls of the room pressed in at them, but somehow it didn't matter. In each other's presence, simply eating watermelon, they could have been anywhere, outside where the sun was shining and the grass brushed against their bare feet.
"Hey, Kenshin?" Naruku said after spitting out the last of her black seeds. All that was left of her watermelon was the crispy white rind.
"Yes, Naruku-dono?" Kenshin, who still had plenty of juicy watermelon left, replied.
"Thank you," she said sincerely, thoughtfully gazing down at her finished melon.
Kenshin set his rind down behind him and put his arm around Naruku, gently pulling her into a tight embrace. She exhaled softly in surprise but then let a secretive smile light her face as she laid her head against his chest.
Kenshin rested his cheek against the top of her head, her hair brushing against the smooth skin as he held her tenderly in his arms.
Maybe she didn't have to suffer anymore, with Kenshin at her side. Maybe things could be all right, would be all right in time. Their hearts could heal together, and in the meantime, they could find contentment just by being together, side-by-side.
Owari
A/N: That's it, that's the end. I hope you've enjoyed this fic the whole way through, and thank you guys all for giving me a chance and reading what I have to write. I appreciate every review I get from you, and really, just, thank you.
The sequel is not yet in the works, thought I have it almost completely planned out. It will be the last of Naruku's Canon Series, and will basically be an epilogue to my fics so far. That doesn't mean there won't be more action and romance and character development, however. I have no idea how long it will be, but I know it will be divided into three parts.
The title will be Forever Wandering. Since school is starting in a number of days, I may not have it out as soon as I'd like, but worry not. Eventually it will be there, so be on the lookout.
Unofficial synopsis: Only part of her had begun to let go, but the other felt the full-blast of guilt and betrayal. Only part of him had begun to forgive her, for the other, acceptance may come too late. And around them, their friends, the lives they had been entwined with for so long, rise from the rubble of the fighting and pain, and start on their journey to begin a new chapter of their lives. The problems that follow take shape in the late years of the Meiji, showing them that in order to overcome, they must remain together in spirit.At the end of every tale comes a beginning.
Okay, so it's totally vague and completely cornball, but I'm in that mood, you know? Anyway, there won't be very much fighting, because I don't plan to introduce any new villains or anything like that. I hope it sounds interesting enough...
Thank you for reading, and please don't forget to review! Endings are the hardest.