Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Sunrise ❯ Sunrise ( One-Shot )

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Sunrise

By: Serenity-chan


*Souzou*

It was a beautiful May morning and for once I woke early. Careful not to wake Midori, I slipped out from under the blankets. I dressed quickly and headed for the kitchen. When I opened the back door I saw that the sky was starting to go from pitch dark to a beautiful blue. The early morning air was pleasantly warm, not humid or uncomfortable at all. It was still about half an hour before sunrise.

'Toshio hasn't ever seen a sunrise, has she?' I thought.

As far as I knew, she hadn't. Even if she had, she might want to watch one with me. That settled it in my mind and I walked out of the kitchen, not even bothering to shut the back door. Quietly, I made my way to the bedroom again.

Sliding the shoji open without a sound, I went in, once more being extra careful not to wake Midori. Still silent, I knelt by my daughter's side. Gently easing her into my arms, making sure not to wake her, I settled her close to my chest. In a few minutes, her bright violet eyes, so very like her mother's, fluttered open.

"'Morning, Daddy," she said softly, rubbing her eyes with one small hand.

"Shh," I whispered, smiling at her. "We can't wake Mama, alright?"

She smiled up at me, nodded and cuddled closer. Still making no sound, I stood up, my three-year-old daughter safely held in my arms. The two of us headed for the kitchen. We went out to the back porch to wait.

"What are we doing, Daddy?" Toshio asked, violet eyes blinking in curiosity. "What's the big secret?"

I smiled at her as we sat on the porch. I pointed to the horizon.

"Have you ever seen a sunrise, Toshio?" I asked her, raising an eyebrow.

She shook her head and looked up at me with a question in her eyes. I loved that about my little girl's eyes. She could say so much without a word because those big, bright eyes were so expressive. I had always hoped my daughter would have her mother's eyes... Lightly, I tapped the tip of her nose with one finger, earning a happy giggle.

"Well then you're going to watch one with me," I said firmly, kissing the tip of her nose.

"Yay!" she chirped, laughing.

"Settle down, settle down," I said, acting only half-serious.

It was nearly impossible to be totally serious around Toshio. She was such a happy child, almost never cried. That also made it incredibly hard to say 'no' to her. She mostly took after me, but I could definitely see her mother in her too. Both could just about melt my heart with those pretty eyes and sweet smiles.

Toshio finally settled in my lap, resting her back against my chest. I held her close, leaning back against one of the poles that held up the roof of the porch. It was still amazing to me that she could be so small yet have such an outgoing, spirited outlook on life. Everything just seemed so much bigger than her.

*Midori*

I woke up a few minutes before sunrise to find that Souzou wasn't with me. This was extremely unusual. Normally it would be close to eight before I could wake him. I sat up and looked around, puzzled and slightly disturbed by the situation. Within seconds, I realized that Toshio wasn't there either...

Panic made my nerves tighten. I called my daughter's name over and over and got no answer. My heartbeat was racing; I didn't know what could have happened or where she could be. I wasn't too worried about Souzou. He could handle himself.

'Alright, get a grip,' I told myself firmly. 'She's three years old, for God's sake! She can't have gotten far...'

I ran from room to room, trying to find Toshio. She had done this before, so I checked all the places where she had been hiding. No luck at all. Finally I came to the kitchen and saw the back door standing wide open. That scared me.

'She wouldn't... would she?' I thought, ready to seriously panic.

Without another thought, I made straight for the open door.

"Toshio?" I called again. "Are you--- out... here...?"

My voice trailed off as I got a look outside the door. I nearly fainted at what I saw. There were Souzou and Toshio, looking about as cute as I had ever seen them. Toshio was in Souzou's lap with his arms around her. I almost hated to disturb them...

*Souzou*

I knew Midori was there and I knew I probably should have said something, but I was too comfortable to do anything. She tried to be quiet coming up behind Toshio and me, but I heard her anyway. I tilted my head at her, letting her know she wasn't fooling me. Toshio obviously knew as well as I did, though she was much less subtle about it.

"'Morning, Mama." she said happily.

"Good morning, Toshio," Midori replied, not sounding quite as happy...

I probably should have told her about getting up early to watch the sunrise, but I don't think too clearly early the morning...

"'Morning, Midori," I said quietly. "Honey, I'm sorry. I didn-"

She shook her head, cutting me off. Then she smiled. I was surprised when she came and sat beside Toshio and me. Toshio smiled at her mother and recieved a smile back, along with a quick kiss on her forehead.

Midori settled close to my side, snuggling against me and holding Toshio's hand. Slowly, carefully, trying not to disturb either of them, I shifted so that I could drape one arm around Midori's shoulders. I leaned over and kissed the sensitive spot behind her ear. She leaned up to kiss my cheek, then laid her head on my shoulder. I let my head rest against hers.

"Look!" cried Toshio, sounding very excited. "The sun's coming up!"

We all looked out at the eastern horizon and saw the clouds turning crimson. So slowly we didn't notice it happening, crimson turned to pink. The pink clouds were bordered by purple as the sun continued its journey into the sky.

"It's so pretty!" whispered Toshio, awe in her voice.

Midori snuggled against my shoulder.

"I love you so much..." I whispered softly, thinking no one could hear me. "Both of you..."

But someone did hear me.

"I love you too, Daddy," whispered Toshio.