Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ How the Past Can Change ❯ Unexpected Arrivals ( Chapter 15 )

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction by: bunny ;D

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Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

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AN: This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

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"Ok Kaoru, time to tell me exactly what you have been up to while you were gone." Kenshin said as they exited Yahiko's bedroom and began to walk back to Kaoru's room.

Kaoru got a sly smile on her face. "Well, you see Kenshin," she began, and then paused. "Oh, I forgot my sakabatou out by the front." She said. "I'll be right back, I want to go fetch it." She began to quickly jog out towards the front to get it.

Kenshin followed her, and noticed that the sun had finally set, making it difficult to make Kaoru out through the slight darkness. Then he heard it, she gasped. He felt the rise in her ki and instinctively he ran towards her and stopped right behind her as she stared at the front gate. Following to where her eyes were looking, only a foot in front of her, Kenshin saw what had made her gasp so loudly. Kenshin had to pause himself for a moment…'ARE MY EYES PLAYING TRICKS ON ME?!?!?' his mind screamed at him…

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Chapter Fifteen

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But then…he smelled it, that unforgettable scent…White Plum. It was…it was, she… Not for the first time that night, Kenshin's eye's bugged out. 'BUT, BUT, Tomoe is DEAD. I, of all people would know I killed her!! I burned her corpse and everything, this is impossible, isn't it?' He thought frantically, wondering if he had lost his mind, or was hallucinating. He could still remember it as clearly as the moment it had happened; yet here she was standing there. Looking at them, with a smile on her face.

"Hi, guys…" Tomoe said quietly raising her eyebrow at Kenshin's expression, lord, if the man didn't look like he'd just seen a ghost.

"T-T-Tomoe," Kenshin squeaked out. "W-w-what are you doing here?" he asked completely dumbfounded. Then finding his voice. "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE D---MUMPH." He yelled as Kaoru quickly turned and covered his mouth before he said anything stupid. She gave him a warning look and then turned back to Tomoe, a bright smile on her face.

"Tomoe-chan!!" she exclaimed as she opened the gate to let her old friend in, giving the older girl a tight squeeze. "Don't mind Kenshin, he's just in shock at seeing you here!" Kaoru continued noting how correct she truly was if Kenshin still didn't remember his new past.

Tomoe hugged her friend back and let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding. "I was worried that you didn't recognize me for a minute there," She confessed to Kaoru conversationally. She turned back and looked at Kenshin. "Although you're husband seemed to remember me, but you know," she paused and winked at Kaoru, "I suppose, I would never forget someone's face if they had given me a big scar on my cheek too." She grinned at Kaoru as Kaoru started laughing from nervousness.

"Hey." Kenshin growled from behind them, stopping their laughter. They both paused and turned to face him. "That's not funny." He said glaring daggers at Kaoru.

Tomoe's eyes slightly watered at his tone of voice and his look. "Himura-san, I thought you weren't sore about me cutting your face?" she asked him directly.

Kenshin turned his gaze to look at his x-supposed to be dead- wife and wondered if he was going insane? Not only was she here, and alive and well, she of course looked older, as he did, but she was ALIVE. And if that wasn't enough, she had referred him as Kaoru's husband, not hers. Yet, she still talks about the X scar she had completed on his face as if it was old news, and that everything was all well with the world. 'WELL IT'S NOT ALL HUNKY DOREY OK? That's it…time for some answers' he decided he'd had enough of surprises and guessing games for one day. Kenshin looked back at his "wife" and gave her a 'give me an explanation and it better be good,' look.

'Now what genius?' Kaoru asked herself at Kenshin's look. He looked like he was going to take off somebody's head, and that somebody was her. 'I guess he's not as different as I thought' she noted at the similarity to his behavior when he was younger. She sweat drop grinned at Kenshin and wished she had ESP so she could just tell him to hold on a little longer and all his questions would be answered. Then, pleading with her eyes for him to hold off on the chopping off of her head, she turned her attention back to her friend. "Tomoe-chan, let me get you inside and make you some tea. I hope you are planning on staying with us here at the dojo while you are visiting Japan? Or did you move back here already?" Kaoru questioned.

Tomoe smiled. "Well, Kaoru-chan, believe it or not, I came all the way back to Japan just to see you two. You know, I never forgot you guys and what you did for me, Kaoru-chan. I'm so happy in China, but I do miss it here sometimes. Speaking of, you don't look a day older than I last saw you, how on earth did you stay looking so young Kaoru-chan. You have to tell me your secret!!" Tomoe finished as she followed Kaoru into the kitchen.

"Oh…well, I don't know. I really haven't changed much at all since I last saw you, you know, it seems as if it was just yesterday." Kaoru faked a laugh as she replied to Tomoe's question about her appearance. 'Yeah, no kidding! I don't look a day older because I barely am! Not even a year has passed since that incident at the inn.' Kaoru said to herself, noting the irony of it all. 'And poor Kenshin! He must feel like he's seen a ghost, he has no idea what's going on. WHY DOESN'T HE REMEMBER?!?!?!?!!!! How can Tomoe be here and Kenshin not remember the new past events? Oh God, help me! Help us all!!' Kaoru thought with desperation. 'And what if Kenshin decides he wants to go back to Tomoe?' Kaoru instantly became jealous and almost started crying as she began to boil the water for the tea.

Kenshin sighed in defeat and followed the women into the kitchen, figuring Kaoru would need his help if she were going to attempt to make tea anyhow. He entered the kitchen and noted Kaoru boiling the water. It appeared as though she had begun to make rice ball snacks as well, and she looked like she knew what she was doing? 'What happened to her in the past? And …what happened to me?' Kenshin wondered. He glanced at Tomoe who had already kneeled by the table 'And, God - what the hell happened to Tomoe!!! This is insanity. My entire life…all the things I've known…have all changed almost over night and I no longer feel like I know who I am.' Kenshin started getting depressed remembering the fateful day he killed Tomoe, changing his life and his outlook on life forever, and now…by some miracle, it had been forgiven him, because, there she was, live and well. Not being able to stop himself, Kenshin kneeled at the table across from Tomoe and took her hand in his own hands.

Tomoe gasped at the contact Himura suddenly and without warning initiated. She looked up to his face questioning what was wrong, and saw a dozen emotions painfully displayed in his violet eyes.

Kaoru hearing Tomoe's gasp looked up from her chore of making tea and rice balls to see Kenshin kneeling across from Tomoe holding her hand in his own. 'Oh no!! He's already starting to feel his attachment to her!' she cried to herself and felt the stabs of jealousy at her heart.

"Tomoe…" Kenshin began in a whisper. "I am so sorry for everything I've ever done to you. I'm just really happy to see that you are alive and well, and I'm really, really sorry Tomoe." He finished and started to silently cry.

Kaoru dropped the rice ball she was working on; it made a thump as it impacted with the floor. She had heard Kenshin's apology, every last heartfelt word, and it was tearing her up inside. 'Why?' her mind screamed. 'Why is he doing this to me? Why does it hurt so much? I've had more of Kenshin than 1,000 Tomoe's and yet, I'm still jealous…why? Why does this have to happen now? I knew something horrible would come of me going back in time…and now…here it is, right in front of my eyes.' Kaoru unconsciously let out a low growl to herself. 'The other Kenshin wouldn't have cared if Tomoe showed up one day!! The other Kenshin would have wanted to stay with me!! I want to go back to the past to be with him!!' her mind screamed in desperation. 'NO BAKA, that's no good either…you can't be in the middle of a war, wedded to the one known as hitokiri battousai, but how can it be so different for him? I thought that he was over her already…maybe I'm just overreacting…' her thoughts trailed off as Kenshin looked towards her in the kitchen, probably hearing the thump and low growl and wondering what the problem was. Kaoru scowled at him and furiously turned back to the food. She grabbed the already made rice balls and tea and brought them to the table on a tray. As she kneeled down at the head of the table, she watched as Tomoe took her other hand and placed it over Kenshin's.

"It's ok, Himura-san, it's all in the past anyhow right? Really…that was years ago…and you and Kaoru-chan are my friends." Tomoe replied. She gave his hand a pat and then extracted her other hand and pulled away from him. Tomoe gave Kaoru a look like 'what's wrong with him?!?!'

Kaoru shrugged in response to Tomoe, and then glared daggers at Kenshin as she began to pour the tea.

'What is bothering Kaoru?' Kenshin silently asked, noticing the looks Kaoru had been giving him. He raised his eyebrow at her in question. Kaoru just continued to glare at him. Kenshin shrugged. "What's bothering you Kaoru?" he asked.

Kaoru's eyes widened in surprise that Kenshin asked her aloud. "What are you talking about?" she denied.

Kenshin figured she didn't want to talk about it just then. So he shrugged again. "Well, I'm going to bed. Good night," he said and exited the kitchen, heading to his room. Then on second thought, Kenshin headed to Kaoru's room, hoping he would have the chance to talk to her.

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Kenshin didn't have to wait long before Kaoru came into the room, quietly sliding the door behind her. She turned to Kenshin and gave him a sheepish grin. "Ok, Kaoru, time to tell me about what happened." He sternly said to her, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Kaoru looked at Kenshin standing in the room with his arms crossed and grimaced. He reminded her so much of the part of him that was the assassin she met, when she first arrived in Kyoto. "Well, Kenshin, it all started the day of our wedding." Kaoru began.

"Right, I remember that, you disappeared just before the ceremony. What happened, honey?" Kenshin finished softly.

Kaoru looked taken aback for a moment. 'Well…he still considers me his love,' she thought. She smiled and sat down, motioning for Kenshin to do the same. He sat down next to her, his eyes still questioning. 'He looks exactly the same when I look into his eyes…' she thought and then burst out laughing, and crying at the same time.

"What's wrong?" Kenshin asked, putting his arm around her.

"Oh nothing, you are just so much you, and I just am seeing the you in you, you know?" Kaoru said.

"What?" Kenshin asked, completely confused.

Kaoru laughed again remembering her argument with her younger husband on the mountain, trying to say the same thing, and how he had given her the exact same expression. Kenshin glared at her. 'When is she going to tell me already?!!' he yelled in his mind.

Kaoru stopped laughing and began again. "Well, you see Kenshin, right as I was about to step outside, I was engulfed in a bright white light…just like when I came back here." She paused and Kenshin nodded that he got it, so she continued on. "I called out for you, but my scream was lost, because I had been transported, to another place, and as I later discovered, another time as well." She took a deep breath, and pushed on. "When I arrived, I was standing on the top of a long staircase…and there were samurai, with their swords drawn, going all the way down the staircase. Then I noticed that they were dropping -"

"Dropping?" Kenshin asked cutting her off.

"Yes, they kept dropping to the ground, one after another. Then I saw it, there was this figure, flying up the staircase. It was blue and white, and I saw the flash of a blade as well, but this figure was moving too quickly for me to make it all out. All I noticed was that it was headed towards me, so I jumped off the stairs and hid behind a tree."

"Kaoru, please tell me, that wasn't the night I think it was." Kenshin said interrupting her.

"It was." Kaoru answered.

"What did I do?!!!" he asked taking both of her hands, and look of worry on his face.

"Y-You called out to me, and then I gasped because I recognized your voice. And thenyouputyourswoardtomythroat." She said quickly.

"ORO!!! I almost slit your THROAT!!" Kenshin exclaimed.

"Y-yes." Kaoru choked out.

"!!!!!!!" Kenshin just sat there stunned, and squeezed Kaoru's hands. He couldn't believe that he could have ever put a katana to Kaoru's throat, even if it was his past self.

Kaoru loosened the grip of Kenshin's hand, for a moment and trying to comfort him, she continued. "But, I said 'Kenshin?' to you and you backed off and demanded how I knew your name."

Kenshin smirked. "I totally flipped out on you didn't I?" he asked her.

Kaoru knowingly grinned back. "Yeah, pretty much. I noticed that your scar was a single slash and realized that I had somehow been transported to your past. Just as I was figuring this all out, you picked me up and dragged me back to the hideout at the inn, and started questioning me."

"Did you tell me who you really were?" Kenshin asked, and then jumping ahead of himself, he added "Is that why Tomoe thought that we were married when she got here!?! That's it isn't it! You went into my past and changed it all around. How could you do that to me?" he asked, getting a little angry with her.

"Are you upset now, because she's alive and you can't be with her?" Kaoru asked, her own voice rising a little.

"What!" Kenshin exclaimed back rising to his feet. He couldn't believe this. Never had he been in an argument like this with Kaoru, and it was un-nerving him to no end. Where did she get the idea in her head that he wanted to go back to Tomoe? True, Tomoe may have saved him in the Bakumatsu no Doran, but he was a different person then, now…Kaoru, she was his light of hope, his new life, and his true love, how could she discredit herself like that? Didn't she know how much he loved her?

"You heard me!!" she exclaimed. "Your mad aren't you!! Because she thinks we've been married for years, and now that she's alive and you don't remember what happened, you want to go back to her don't you!!" she accused, her eyes flashing.

Kenshin threw his arms up in disgust at her behavior. "It's NOT LIKE THAT!!" he yelled and then quickly exited the room, slamming the paper screen door behind him as he slid it closed. He walked out to the courtyard of the property, wanting to have a chance to gather his thoughts. He wanted to explain to Kaoru that he didn't have those kinds of feelings for a Tomoe that was completely different from his Tomoe, and that even if his Tomoe was around, she, Kaoru, his Kaoru, sweet carefree Kaoru, would be the only one for him. He took a deep breath of the fresh air and looked up at the stars wondering what he could say to make her understand.

Then Kenshin sensed it, a completely unfamiliar, and yet, strangely familiar ki…it was close by too. He averted his gaze from the nightly sky to inspect the grounds, to track down the person interrupting his thoughts. He didn't feel any hostility, but he was still leery, as always of strangers lurking around his property. He smiled to himself, His property. Yes, his and Kaoru's. "Where are you?" He called out. "You can come out now, I won't hurt you!" he yelled again.

Then in his peripheral vision, he saw a figure step out of the shadows. "I wasn't worried about you hurting me." The figure replied.

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Ok, this seems to be a good stopping point. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I'm not telling!! I'm not telling!! =P

I have so many ideas of where I want to go with this, and I'm sorry that it's taking me so long to get each chapter out, but I want it to be good, and I don't want to have bogus chapters ya know?

Anyhow, I wanted to say the following to a few reviewers:

Keao - sorry you didn't like the last chapter ^_^;; I tried…

Omochi - thanks for not ruining it for everybody J

sync*in - r u going to say the same thing this time? I'm just full of surprises huh?

Lesly - Okies, here is the next chapter, common girl, where is yours already? I'm dying!!!! I want to know what happens next, and I did post your ficcy on my webbie, I'm soooo happy you let me ;) Here is the URL if you wanna see it :D

http://angelcities.com/members/littlebunny/fanfiction/

Firuze Khanume - thankies for your long comment. I think I got where you were going with most of it (time travel is soo complicated ^_^;; ) but you are on to something, however, the answers are coming!! In the next chapter ! :D

Rurouni Angel () - ::heheh:: I'm NOT TELLING!!! ::hehe::

And thanks to everyone else, because you are sooo encouraging to me!! I just love reviews, so please review this chapter too. I worked REALLY HARD ON IT!!

And Please visit my webbie!!

http://click.to/dreamsofrk

Ja mata,

Bunny ;D