It was a beautiful night. The moon was full, and it illuminated the front yard with a soft, silver light. There was a faint rustling of leaves in the wind.
Kenshin stared up into the sky. "I wish Kaoru-dono were awake to see this," he said.
"Your wish is my command."
Kenshin turned around. "Kaoru-dono!"
She sat down next to him. "I couldn't sleep," she explained.
"Neither could I. I just didn't want a night like this to pass without somebody seeing it."
Kaoru rested her head on his shoulder. "You know what, Kenshin?"
"Hm?"
"Right now...it's just so peaceful, I feel as though you and I are the only two people on earth."
Kenshin smiled. "I was thinking the exact same thing," he whispered. His arm reached around her back and took her hand.
Kaoru squeezed it gently. "Kenshin."
"Hm?"
"What do you think happens when we die?"
There was a long pause. Finally, Kenshin answered slowly, "Nobody has ever asked me that before. I believe that when we die...we are all sent to a place where we can be reunited with our loved ones."
Kaoru closed her eyes. "And what if our loved ones are left here on earth?"
He shifted his position so that both his arms were wrapped tightly around her. "Once, when I was still wandering, I stopped at an inn not too far from here. I met an old man whose wife had recently passed away. Yet he was talking about her as though she were sitting right next to him. I asked why he kept on pretending she was alive. He looked at me and said, 'She is alive. She is waiting for me, and when I go home, we will be together again.' I asked him where his home was. He answered with a quote I'd never heard before:
"Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.
"By then, I was getting a little annoyed. I asked him what he meant by all that. He answered that his home was wherever the two of them were together. He and his late wife were both waiting for the day when he would leave this world and they would be by each other's side once again.
"When two people are in love, time has no meaning. Everything they feel when they are together is worth waiting for." He stroked her hair gently. "I'm willing to wait indefinitely to find the one I love."
Kaoru looked up at him. There were tears in her eyes. "Kenshin," she whispered.
"Hm?"
"Me, too."
For what seemed like hours, they sat silently, gazing up at the stars.
Kaoru closed her eyes again. She felt perfectly safe like this. Wrapped up in Kenshin's strong but tender embrace, she really did feel as though there was no one else in the world. "Love never ends."
Kenshin smiled down at her. "That's right."
They kissed.
There was no need for words anymore. What needed to be said had already been said. Nothing else was important. There would be plenty of trials for Himura Kenshin and Kamiya Kaoru. But those were all long before them. As long as their love lasted, they would feel no anxiety. And "Love never ends" also means "Love lasts forever." They fell asleep on the front porch that night. They slept peacefully, meeting in each other's dreams, bathed in the silvery light of the sole witness to this pure, deep love.
Kenshin stared up into the sky. "I wish Kaoru-dono were awake to see this," he said.
"Your wish is my command."
Kenshin turned around. "Kaoru-dono!"
She sat down next to him. "I couldn't sleep," she explained.
"Neither could I. I just didn't want a night like this to pass without somebody seeing it."
Kaoru rested her head on his shoulder. "You know what, Kenshin?"
"Hm?"
"Right now...it's just so peaceful, I feel as though you and I are the only two people on earth."
Kenshin smiled. "I was thinking the exact same thing," he whispered. His arm reached around her back and took her hand.
Kaoru squeezed it gently. "Kenshin."
"Hm?"
"What do you think happens when we die?"
There was a long pause. Finally, Kenshin answered slowly, "Nobody has ever asked me that before. I believe that when we die...we are all sent to a place where we can be reunited with our loved ones."
Kaoru closed her eyes. "And what if our loved ones are left here on earth?"
He shifted his position so that both his arms were wrapped tightly around her. "Once, when I was still wandering, I stopped at an inn not too far from here. I met an old man whose wife had recently passed away. Yet he was talking about her as though she were sitting right next to him. I asked why he kept on pretending she was alive. He looked at me and said, 'She is alive. She is waiting for me, and when I go home, we will be together again.' I asked him where his home was. He answered with a quote I'd never heard before:
"Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.
"By then, I was getting a little annoyed. I asked him what he meant by all that. He answered that his home was wherever the two of them were together. He and his late wife were both waiting for the day when he would leave this world and they would be by each other's side once again.
"When two people are in love, time has no meaning. Everything they feel when they are together is worth waiting for." He stroked her hair gently. "I'm willing to wait indefinitely to find the one I love."
Kaoru looked up at him. There were tears in her eyes. "Kenshin," she whispered.
"Hm?"
"Me, too."
For what seemed like hours, they sat silently, gazing up at the stars.
Kaoru closed her eyes again. She felt perfectly safe like this. Wrapped up in Kenshin's strong but tender embrace, she really did feel as though there was no one else in the world. "Love never ends."
Kenshin smiled down at her. "That's right."
They kissed.
There was no need for words anymore. What needed to be said had already been said. Nothing else was important. There would be plenty of trials for Himura Kenshin and Kamiya Kaoru. But those were all long before them. As long as their love lasted, they would feel no anxiety. And "Love never ends" also means "Love lasts forever." They fell asleep on the front porch that night. They slept peacefully, meeting in each other's dreams, bathed in the silvery light of the sole witness to this pure, deep love.