Promise Me Tomorrow

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Another piece of fluff with no real plot =) Hope it wasn't too bad and don't hesitate to let me know if you liked it/hated it/etc. The idea hit me as my friends and I were celebrating my birthday right before Fall Break *must be the effect of tons of brownies and white garlic pizza on my brain* Well happy reading everyone.

As usual, the standard disclaimers apply. Rurouni Kenshin and its characters do not belong to me but are the property of Nobuhiro Watsuki, Jump Comics, Sony, Media Blasters, and all those other talented people who I wish I were =) So that ends all the necessary legal stuff....and now on to the fanfic!
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The early afternoon sunshine glinted off the red hair of a male figure cheerfully bent over a washing tub as he continued to dip his hands into the soapy water. Himura Kenshin smiled to himself as he attacked the grass stains on Yahiko's white practice clothes, wondering how the boy always managed to get them so thoroughly dirty every day. An image of Kaoru and Yahiko's constant bickering silently floated through his mind, causing him to chuckle to himself. Contentment was rare in the life of an ex-hitokiri, and Kenshin found himself just enjoying the moment as he concentrated on the simple task and let the rest of the world slip away.

"Oi! What are you smiling at, Kenshin?" The deep voice interrupted Kenshin's thoughts and he looked up to see Sanosuke push open the gates and enter the dojo yard. Kaoru and Megumi followed close behind, each with baskets filled to the brim with fresh fruits, vegetables, and even some tofu.

"Welcome back," greeted Kenshin quietly. "Did you have a nice time shopping at the market?"

An annoyed Yahiko poked his head out from behind the paper doors of the dojo and grunted. "They're back already? Good! You guys have any food?"

Kaoru glared at her student, her bright blue eyes narrowing dangerously. "You stay away from this food, Yahiko, understand? We're cooking dinner for Misao-chan and Aoshi-san when they arrive from Kyoto tonight, and I won't have you ruining it!"

Yahiko scowled. "As if my eating it could be worse than your cooking it," he muttered under his breath just loud enough for the others to hear.

"Yahiko-chan!" yelled Kaoru as she violently shoved her basket at Sanosuke's hands mere seconds before taking off after her student, who had already slammed the doors shut behind him after disappearing inside the dojo. Shouts of "busu!" and "Yahiko-chan!" could be heard as the two continued to bicker, punctuated by the occasional thumps of furniture being overturned.

Megumi's elbow lodged in Sanosuke's ribs without warning, allowing him only a second to groan before another food-filled basket was piled up into his arms.

"Why don't you make yourself useful, chicken-head, and take this into the kitchen for us?"

"Don't be giving me orders, Fox," grumbled Sanosuke while shooting the doctor his best glare.

Megumi rolled her eyes. "Well, you have to do something with all those muscles."

Throwing Megumi a wicked grin over his shoulder, Sanosuke headed towards the dojo. "I can think of many more useful things to do with my muscles that you might enjoy. Care to take me up on my offer?"

"Not on your life, chicken-head. Now get going!" Sanosuke continued to grumble under his breath, muttering about pushy foxes while shifting the baskets to one arm. As he opened the paper doors, Yahiko went flying by the doorway, followed closely by a blur of yellow that could only have been Kaoru. In her determination to catch Yahiko, Kaoru never noticed the regard of gentle violet eyes as they followed her every movement until the doors slid shut behind Sanosuke.

"Ken-san, if you stare at her any longer, she'll begin to suspect that you like her."

Kenshin looked up in surprise and blinked, finding Megumi watching him with a knowing smile. He could practically see the fox ears poking out from under the abundance of glossy dark hair.

Bowing his head, Kenshin blushed slightly; the doctor was entirely too perceptive at times. "Megumi-dono" Taking his familiar seat on the dojo's wooden porch, Kenshin propped up the sakabatou against his side with a sigh, the laundry now forgotten altogether. Moments later, Megumi found herself sitting beside him and brushing non-existent wrinkles from the lavender smock she wore over her kimono.

"Don't you think it's time you stopped lying to yourself?" questioned the doctor without preamble.

"Oro?" Kenshin's only reply was his favorite phrase and an innocent expression of confusion. Wide violet eyes stared back with feigned incomprehension at the question, but it didn't fool Megumi for a second.

"Oh, don't "oro" me. You know very well what I meant." Tilting her head towards the dojo, she continued speaking before Kenshin could interrupt. "I'm talking about Kaoru. I think it's time you stopped avoiding the issue and told her how you truly feel."

Kenshin stared into his lap for a long moment before answering. "I have no right to feel anything for Kaoru-dono," he replied quietly, his voice reflecting a serious tone that was rarely present when Himura Kenshin played the role of a rurouni. It dripped with conviction, as if the man was trying to convince himself as well as Megumi that he had made the right decision.

The doctor waved her hand in an impatient gesture. Watching people put themselves through useless martyrdom was truly aggravating. "That's what you'd like to think, isn't it? She loves you, Ken-san, and I believe you return her feelings. What I don't understand is why you keep lying to yourself, telling yourself that you don't feel anything for her when everyone else knows differently."

Kenshin slowly raised his eyes to Megumi's face, and the sad look of resignation in their purple depths caused her breath to catch in her throat. But it was gone in an instant, the appearance of emotions so brief that Megumi had to wonder it had been the products of her imagination.

Taking a deep breath, Kenshin spoke. "Megumi-dono, I don't deserve her. Kaoru-dono needs someone better, someone who won't constantly put her life in danger." He stopped, silently fingering the cross scar on his cheek before continuing. "I'm just a former hitokiri who has found a temporary place to stay. I have nothing to offer her, and I can't expect anything more than what she's already given me."

"Ken-san!" exclaimed Megumi, her voice rising in admonishment. "You know very well that you've made the Kamiya dojo your home. In fact, the rest of us have done the same; it has become our home the same way that it has become yours."

"It can't be my home," whispered Kenshin, lowering his head and hiding violet eyes under his unruly red hair. "I can't allow my enemies to hurt Kaoru or any of you in an attempt to gain revenge on the hitokiri battousai."

Megumi's face grew pensive as she watched Kenshin struggle to explain. "I could never live with myself if something happened to her because of me," he continued in a more controlled tone.

"And what if something did happen to her?" challenged Megumi in a hard voice, her flashing brown eyes meeting Kenshin's stricken violet ones. "Suppose your enemies succeed in taking her away from you. If that day comes, would it be easier to know that you pushed her away to protect her, to have Kaoru continue believing that you don't care for her?"

Kenshin blinked as Megumi's blunt words finally registered. Would denying his feelings for Kaoru truly work to protect her? Or was it himself and his own heart that he was trying to protect?

Megumi nodded in satisfaction, noticing that her words were finally being understood. "Ken-san, a wise man once told me that we cannot bring back the lives we've taken. We can only atone by protecting and ensuring the happiness of those who still live."

Kenshin smiled as he remembered the words he himself had spoken so long ago at Kanryuu's mansion.

Megumi's gaze sharpened as she delivered her final point. "You've made protecting people and their happiness your mission, your purpose in life. Would it be such a bad thing to make Kaoru happy by telling her how you feel? Especially when she's done so much for you, and for all of us here?"

Kenshin remained silent, his eyes losing focus in the attempt to organize his thoughts and rectify the confusion caused by Megumi's words. The doctor smiled and stood up, realizing that she had probably given the swordsman enough to think about for one afternoon. As she entered the dojo, she stole one last glance at Kenshin before softly closing the doors and leaving him to brood over their conversation for a while. She was silently congratulating herself for a job well-done when a firm but gentle grip settled on her arm. Looking up, Megumi found herself staring into deep brown eyes and the face of Sagara Sanosuke.

"You did good out there, Fox."

Megumi bristled at the implication of his words. "You were eavesdropping, weren't you?" she accused hotly.

A twinkle appeared in Sanosuke's eyes and he flashed her a cocky grin. "It wasn't my fault you two didn't see me. But I meant what I said, it's about time one of us knocked some sense into Kenshin."

Megumi rolled her eyes. "We actually agree on something this time! Well come on chicken head, let's get back before Kaoru manages to set the kitchen on fire. I have no intention of listening to you grumble about how horrible the food is tonight."

Sanosuke open his mouth to protest, but she cut him off with her next words. "And he who doesn't help with the cooking doesn't get to help with the eating. Understood?"

"Damn fox," muttered Sanosuke, but he couldn't quite hide the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he followed a laughing Megumi back into the kitchen.

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"Kenshin?" Kaoru's soft voice caught Kenshin's attention, dragging him away from the many tangled thoughts that occupied his mind. He looked up in surprise to realize that it was already early evening. Kaoru stood next to him, her eyes fixed on the setting sun framed by shades of pink, blue, and orange which were splashed across the sky in a mosaic of pastel colors.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she asked.

Kenshin nodded, murmuring a soft word of assent. But it wasn't the sunset that captured his attention but the woman standing next to him. The setting sunlight danced across her hair, causing the dark locks to shine almost exactly the same color as her eyes. Her skin glowed in the fading light, the effect enhanced by the slight pink color on her cheeks. Turning in Kenshin's direction, Kaoru gifted him with a bright smile.

"Let's go inside, Kenshin. Aoshi-san and Misao should be here any minute and we should get ready for dinner." Kenshin barely understood the words and his eyes remained locked on her retreating form as she walked back into the dojo. An unfamiliar surge of emotion came over him without warning, causing a painful tightness in his chest.

The time had finally come to accept the truth, though he wasn't worthy of her at the present moment. The past was still a difficult barrier to overcome, but maybe that no longer mattered. He could make a different future, a better one.

"Kaoru-dono," he whispered, "I can't change my yesterdays, even though I often wish I could. But I promise that from this moment, all my tomorrows will belong to you."

The End

Hmm...I've always liked Megumi =)