Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The GW Survival Contest ❯ Pinkbeard Strikes!! ( Chapter 4 )

[ A - All Readers ]

I reread the 3rd chapter and I am afraid that I may have led it in a
bit of a cliché direction. I hope that this final installment brings

things back into the realm of uniqueness in:

Enishi and Kaoru: The Strange Dynamic of the Chinese Dress

Chapter 4

Kaoru's initial impulse was to deck him as hard as she could, but the
look on Enishi's face, as well as his tight grasp on her,

prevented her from doing so. She was livid with his boldness and
astonished at her naivete regarding her captor's feelings. She

studied his face; his countenance reflected joyous hope mixed with
terror of rejection, moving her to pity the lonely, unloved man.

However, when she thought of the suffering he had caused her friends,
especially Kenshin, her feelings grew cold and her

expression hardened.

"Just how selfish are you?" she spat. "You really are a psychotic
bastard." She pushed him away, got up, and walked down the hall

with as much control as she could muster. As she got closer to her
bedroom, her pace increased and she brushed the

already-flowing tears from her eyes with the back of her hand.

"But . . . but I hoped you could change that," he sighed, too late for
her to hear. Enishi remained kneeling, his arms still

outstretched. The entire time she had been on the island, then, had
been an illusion and a waste. Like his frozen embrace, he felt

utterly empty. He was exhausted from the emotional gymnastics and
managed to stand up and stumble to his own futon, leaving

the room a mess.

= = =

For the next several days, the two avoided each other like the plague.
Enishi stayed away from Kaoru's wing of the house save

once to replace her bathrobe outside her door, and Kaoru only came out
to cook. She certainly did not go to eat with him; instead,

she left his plate out where he could find it so that he would not
starve.

Enishi, whose elaborate plans had included getting Kaoru to forget the
Battousai and convincing her to accompany him back to

Shanghai, found himself caring not at all about what would happen
next. As far as he was concerned, he had already lost her; he

ceaselessly replayed their kiss in his mind, often rewriting the
conclusion in a more satisfying way-similar to his image of Tomoe,

whose glowing visage only served to make him feel more morose than
ever.

The breaking point was when his messengers reported that Battousai had
not only awakened from his wretched reverie, but had

also discovered that Kaoru was still alive. It was reported that he
and his comrades were already seeking her location fervently.

Enishi clenched his fists and vowed to annihilate the man who had
stolen his happiness once, and who was in the process of doing

so again. It was then that he thought of Kaoru, of whom he had only
seen traces for several days. With this latest development, he

knew he could avoid her no longer.

Kaoru had spent the days attempting to sort through her myriad of
feelings. Her mind felt tangled; every time she tried to unravel

things calmly and rationally, the knot snarled even more. Avoiding her
only companion was difficult as well; her loneliness

combined with her self-doubt and confusion caused her mental state to
deteriorate rapidly.

That night, she finally realized that allowing her mind to run in
circles was only contributing to her descent into insanity. To clear

her head, she decided to simply enjoy one of the last evenings of
summer by the sea. Though she had her bathrobe with her, she

felt strangely compelled to don the garment that had brought
everything to a head.

Enishi found her contemplating the ocean on the long balcony. He was
surprised to see her wearing the ill-fated dress, but allowed

himself to admire her form. He approached her silently, but cleared
his throat as he drew near, causing her to start with surprise.

"Things may be changing soon," he stated without greeting, "for both
of us." He moved closer to her and placed his hand lightly on

her shoulder.

Kaoru interpreted his cryptic message correctly; he must have heard
some news of Kenshin! She almost blurted, "I knew he'd

come for me!" but one look at his pained face brought that
interjection to a screeching halt.

Though she said nothing, he could see her obvious joy as her eyes lit
up. His heart sank, but he continued, "You know how I feel

about you. This request is a lot to ask from you, but . . ." he
cautiously slipped his arm around her waist, "I just want to hold you

for a while."

Kaoru turned to look at him, reading the many years of pain etched
plainly on his face. Sympathy for the little boy who watched

his sister die overwhelmed her.

"Please, just for tonight . . ." he started again, but she silenced
him by placing a finger to his lips. She took his head between her

palms, pulling his face down toward her. Standing on tiptoe, she
placed a gentle, motherly kiss on his forehead.

"Just for tonight," she responded quietly. Overcome with emotion, he
clasped her tightly to him and buried his face in her neck.

Kaoru reached up to run her fingers soothingly through his hair. "Just
for tonight," she whispered again, looking up into the starred

heavens and wondering what the future would hold for them.

~Fini~

++++++

Author's notes: It's finished. I decided to steer away from a clear
ending, because to me, the whole thing about this pair is the

ambiguity. Please tell me what you thought of it.

Next on tap: Either a lemon, if I can muster up the cojones (which
could be difficult-I DID go to an all-girls Catholic school, ya

know), or perhaps a re-meeting of the two several years after the end
of Vol. 28.

Thank you all for your enthusiasm on this fic! It has been a great
pleasure writing for you all.