Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Don't Let Go ❯ Why I Live ( Chapter 1 )

Hola! How is everyone? Well if you're reading this then you must have liked the prologue of my story! yay! ^_^ So I'm just gonna say thanx for comin back and let's get started shall we?

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, never will ;_;

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Don't Let Go_by Sephiress

Chapter 1) Why I Live

The sun was melting into a golden horizon as the rain drizzled lightly. The last of the orange leaves of autumn were falling like sakuras in late spring. As the night set in, the heavens came out of hiding and began to blanket the night sky in peaceful bliss.

He seemed out of place, in this vision of quiet serenity. He with his sakabatou gripped loosely in an arm that dripped blood. Flaming red hair and a cross shaped scar that told tales of past battles. His body was toned with light muscles beneath the tanned skin, all of which was marred with scars. His small frame was taut and breathing erratic from the done battle. But if you looked close enough, you could see his eyes. Those eyes that filled with anger, madness, and a flicker of bloodlust.

And yet... he could not do it. At least not while she was still breathing.

He could not kill him. This pitiful man that had fallen at the feet of the former Hitokiri Battousai. He could not kill him, because she would never forgive him. The woman he kept dearest to his soul, she would never forgive him.

Kenshin looked down into the mud-colored eyes of the man who had kidnapped her. Her...

"Kaoru...dono", he whispered. That name, it spilled like fine sake from his lips. His tongue cherishing every syllable.

And all the while, she watched. She, of course, had been watching everything. Gasping when her savior had appeared from the shadows, Kaoru had seen the two men do battle. She had seen him gracefully defend her, tears falling slowly from her alabaster skin as the blades clashed. She had seen Kenshin cringe in pain when his opponent's blade tore across the redhead's arm. It cut her heart to watch, as though every swipe of the katana had pierced her.

Until finally, it was over. He won.

And now, he sank to his knees, the victim of his blade fainted. No, he would not kill him. It was against his vow, against everything he stood for. But she did not know what he was feeling right now. That hot, murderous, revengeful thinking that belonged to the amber-eyed demon was bubbling beneath the gentle rurouni facade.

But he was used to this, this feeling of pure rage. It happened everytime one of his enemies came to fight. No, it wasn't the battle that drew the Battousai out of him. It was her...

"Kenshin..."

They always used her. She was his weakness, the thing most precious to his heart. It was clear as day, his love for her. Or at least to his enemies it was.

"Kenshin..."

Even the mad-man Jin-eh had notcied it. He had called her the Battousai's woman. Oh, how he longed to make that statement a reality. Have her belong to him... It was his greatest desire to know she was his. To feel himself claiming her as she writhed beneath him in the darkness of his room.

"Kenshin!"

Kenshin's head snapped up and met the subject of his thoughts. She stared at him with concern. It warmed his heart to know she cared for him. Maybe one day...

"Are you alright Kenshin?" she asked peering at down at him.

For a moment, he couldnt answer, his thoughts and emotions swirling into a mirad of color. And it wasn't helping the way she appeared before him. Her midnight eyes filled with concern and her torn robe nearly falling off her petite form due to the heaviness of the rainwater.

'The gods must hate me', he thought as he felt the pull of the Battousai's desire grow stronger. He turned his face back at her with his perfected Rurouni smile on. "Hai, Kaoru-dono. I'm alright. Are you okay though?"

A small smile touched her lips. This man, this wonderful man, despite his pain and injuries, still worried about herself over him. But she knew where that feeling of protectivness had stemed from. He still believed he was so tainted and she was so pure. He never cared for his well-being above anyone else's. It hurt her to know he still had not forgiven himself for the things he had done in the Bakamatsu.

'Oh Kenshin...', she thought. 'Why do you do this to yourself? To the people around you? I can't stand to see you suffer while I can only watch. I want to help you, but you keep pushing me away."

She knelt down to where he sat in my sodden ground. His eyes still held a flicker of amber, but it was nearly drowned out by the concern of the rurouni.

"I'm alright." It was a mere wisper from her lips.

They sat there in the drizzling rain. Ameythst eyes gazing into sapphire depths that seen to go on forever. He did not care that his hakama was soked with mud. She did not worry about her new kimono, torn and battered. They just sat there, looking at each other as though the world had disintegrated.

"Kaoru-dono.."

She blinked.

"I...I..."

Her breath halted.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry this happened. It's my fault."

'...Oh Kami-sama, not again', she thought.

His eyes drifted away from hers as he continued. "This never would have happened if I wasn't here. All I do is put you and everyone in danger. I shouldn't-"

"STOP IT!!!!!"

Kenshin looked up at Kaoru in shock. Her dark eyes had turned stormy in anger, but at the same time, a small tear leaked its way onto her cheeks.

"Kenshin...", she began, sinking down to her knees. "Kenshin, please stop doing this. Stop blaming yourself for everything that happens. It's not your fault!"

"But Kaoru-dono-"

"NO!" Tears were streaming down her face. "Kenshin, please! I don't want to leave me again!" She had been through this with him over and over, but his mind could not grasp the fact that she wanted him to stay. What was wrong with her? Why did everyone she loved have to abandon her?

"Gomen nassi, Kaoru-dono. But this is the only way you'll be safe", he whispered. His eyes dropped again, not wanting to see the pain he caused her. He was always causing her pain, and this is the only way it would end.

She stopped crying for a moment. 'Oh Kami-sama, don't let him leave me. I can't take it any more. Kaasan, Otousan, Koga...everyone leaves me...' She couldn't stand it if he left her as well.

"Kenshin, look at me." She placed her hands on his face and pulled it to look at her. She could see the pain it was causing him to say all this. It was clear in his violet eyes. "Kenshin, I have never felt safer with anyone except you."

Kenshin's eyes widened in shock. After all that had happened over the years, Jin-eh, Kyoto, and all the kidnappings, she still wanted him to stay. Her eyes held no deception as she spoke and he found himself leaning against her soft hands as his eyes drifted close in sweet serenity.

It felt so good, so right, to have her hold him like this. Maybe, just maybe, she felt the same way he did. He wanted to show her his feelings right now, but maybe they could stay like this just a little longer.

The rain slowed to a drizzle around the two. The wind had stopped blowing and the moon peeked out from the clouds. It was as though nature itself was watching the scene play out, like a mother watching over her children.

"Kaoru-dono..." he whispered. "I just want you to be happy." His eyes held a glow that resembled the stars. It made Kaoru's breath stop, they were so enchanting.

A small smile appeared on her coral lips. "And do you think I would be happy if you left?"

He did not know how to respond to that. He certainly hoped she wouldn't celebrate at his departure, but he did not expect mourning.

"Of course I wouldn't be happy", she chuckled. "I want you here...with me."

His eyes widened. Kami, it was hard not to just kiss her now, her lips so wet from the rain. But the words that came from them tasted sweeter then any kiss he could ever dream of.

"Kaoru..." She nearly gasped. Her name, free of honorifics. It sounded so wonderful, so free, like birds in the spring.

"Kaoru, arigatou for letting me stay. It's just..." He looked into her bright eyes with hope. "...I couldn't imagine hurting you in any way. I want to be the one that protects you."

"Kenshin..."

"Kaoru...I..." He had to say it. It was now or never.

"I think I'm in love with you."

End of Chapter 1

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mwhahaha! i bet every1 hates me now! Will she say yes? But the next chapter is crucial so it'll take a few days to get out, be patient! it'll all be worth it. so send me a review! if i get a lot i just might send it out a day earlier...lol

much luv
*Sephiress