Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Third Impressions ❯ Because I Love You ( Chapter 8 )

Third Impressions

 

Part VIII

 

All over Gem City, people looked at the sky and wondered why it was suddenly green.

 

Some screamed of apocalypse, and others cried it was the Martians.

 

But a few knew it for what it was and trembled. Yahiko and Tsubame, waiting in Kenshin's apartment, held hands tightly. Megumi, arms held protectively over her stomach, prayed for her baby. Sanosuke involved in a brawl, looked at the sky and murmured, “You'd better not die out there, Jou-chan.”

 

The remaining Oniwabanshuu stared at the sickly sky and hoped that Misao and Aoshi were alive.

 

And then the mist spread over the city and the screaming began. All over the city, those who were trained to handle magical catastrophe ran to their stations to activate the defenses.

 

They couldn't stop it, but they could delay it. All they could really do was get people out and hope that whatever was causing this stopped soon.

 

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Kaoru had drawn another circle, this one in blood.

 

It was an extreme measure, but she had a bad feeling. Something very, very bad was about to hit them, and it was best to be prepared.

 

The three crouched in the circle, tense and ready to strike. It was eerily silent around them. The mob outside had vanished, and it was getting progressively warmer.

 

Closing her eyes, Kaoru went through every hymn she knew, singing softly under her breath. She clutched her vial of purified water tightly in one fist. There was no real cause for alarm, and yet something was terribly wrong. She could hear the doom approaching, ringing in her ears.

 

Suddenly, the three were bathed in a sickly green light from below. The floor was shaking, wide cracks appearing in the stone. The circle had no effect; the cracks went through it and opened under their feet. Tokio dug her claws into a wall, but that too was breaking. A rock hit Misao from behind and she tumbled down a hole.

 

The vial in her hand cracked in her tight grip, sharp shards, cutting into her skin, holy water leaking out and diluting the blood. Smearing her injured hand on the altar, Kaoru prayed fervently for strength. The gouges were spreading, and none of her songs seemed to have any effect. What she going to die here?

 

Call me, child.

 

“What...? Who...?”

 

Call me, my daughter. Call me and I will come.

 

“Mother...”

 

Call the light back, Kaoru. See the evil spreading and call the light back into it.

 

If anyone had been around or awake to see this phenomenon, they would have seen a woman knelling on the altar of the Goddess. A woman whose very skin seemed to radiate sunlight so brightly that you could hardly look at her without being blinded.

 

She could feel a presence with her, holding her hand. Power seemed to fill her to bursting, until it was all she could do to keep from exploding from the sheer strength of it. The pain was indescribable, more terrible then anything she could imagine. It hurt everywhere, as though needle were being jabbed into every inch of her skin and her organs had been set aflame. Her throat felt as though someone was scraping the inside of it with a saw.

 

There was blood running down her neck, leaking from the corners of her mouth, but Kaoru paid it no heed.

 

She was absorbed in the gargantuan task of directing the he flow of white0hot, pure energy that was coming from somewhere deep inside her.

 

The terrible green evil, oozing from the ground like the Devil's from an open sore on the surface of Hell, was receding, slowly, into a corner. The light burned it, destroyed it, conquered it. Kaoru grasped in one hand a broken piece of her vial, embedded into one palm. The evil, seeking an escape, poured into the piece of glass.

 

Kaoru fell onto her back, mouth still open in a song that was part huntress and part mother, part fire and part ice, part day and part night.

 

She couldn't see or even hear, only feel the light erupting from her skin and keep it from destroying her in its intensity.

 

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When greenish-black slime began to ooze from the ground, Kenshin knew that something was wrong. Especially when the sky turned green and an aura of evil pervaded the air.

 

“What the hell...?” Saitou asked as a tentacle of slime tried to grab his leg. “What is this?”

 

“Pure evil.” Aoshi replied. He threw a tuft o grass into the slime where it withered and then vanished, devoured by the thing.

 

“The walls are stopping it from spreading somehow.” Kenshin said, pointing. “It's coming through a crack in the ground.”

 

“We're not going to be able to plug this thing.” Saitou observed.

 

“No.” Aoshi agreed.

 

“We'll have to go straight to the source, then. Underground somewhere...” The aura of the greenish ooze touched his mind, and he shuddered in horror. It was something so evil that even its barest touch made him want to scream.

 

The other two men noticed his expression and looked slightly worried. Kenshin was not a demon who flinched at the sight of evil.

 

“Whoever made this slaughtered children to do it. I can hear their spirits screamed.” Kenshin hissed. “It was sealed. Who let this out?”

 

“How do you know it was sealed?” Saitou asked.

 

“The souls in this speak of freedom.” Aoshi replied. “They were trapped before.”

 

“Besh.” Kenshin whispered. “He must have done this; no one else would be stupid enough to unleash this on anything.”

 

“Forget who. They're dead.” Saitou said bluntly. “What's behind the wall that's stopping it from spreading?”

 

“Something pure enough to restrain it...a temple.” Kenshin replied. “This is a religious organization, after all. If anything could stop this, it would be a holy place.”

 

“It's glowing.” Saitou said suddenly. He motioned to the walls of the building. “Look.”

 

The building was indeed glowing, and they could hear something, loud and painful. Both Saitou and Aoshi had to grab their ears, which were bleeding form the force of the music. It was terribly wonderful and wonderfully terrible, and Kenshin could see that this was the source of the light and the cause of the evil's destruction.

 

He was unaffected by the song's power. Why, he didn't know, but he had a feeling that it had to do with Kaoru.

 

“Please be alive.” He muttered as he began searching for an entrance, hidden or otherwise.

 

And then the sun came out.

 

Bright light shone directly on the Order Headquarters from above, the sun several times too large. It was a cold sun, for there was no heat; if anything, it was colder. The keening sound of the singing increased, and a single phrase kept cropping up in an ancient language from which Geld, the common tongue of nonhumans, spring.

 

Light of love, shine from the heart and cleanse the sky of evil...

 

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It was uncomfortable, wherever she was. The ground under her wasn't hard, exactly, but she could feel blunt points poking her back. But the altar had been smooth. The altar! Memory returned in a rush. She had been in the temple, and that evil thing had been spreading, and then a voice had spoken to her and she had called out to her mother, or to the Goddess, and someone had apparently answered her because she was alive and reasonably well. Unless this was heaven, or hell, or some other form of the afterlife?

 

Opening her eyes, she slowly adjusted to the bright, harsh light of the fluorescent bulb overhead. It was a hospital, with medical machinery all around her. A monitor was beeping in time with her heart, and other charts measured things she didn't understand. The chart by her head was incomprehensible to anyone without a fancy degree.

 

What was going on?

 

The door opened, and Kenshin walked in. As soon as he saw she was awake, he closed the door behind him and came to sit beside her.

 

“Does it hurt?” He asked. She reached out and took his hand in hers, squeezing reassuringly.

 

“No, I feel great, actually.” She said, surprised. Her throat didn't hurt at all.

 

“You purifed several thousand miles of land in three countries. I'm going to be filling out paperwork for months.” He told her.

 

“How did I do that?” She asked, shocked. Several thousand miles? She thought I had only been the temple!

 

“I don't know. There are priestesses from the Temple of the Goddess here, saying you utilized divine power. You can talk to them later.”

 

“Later?”

 

“You should rest now.” He said seriously.

 

“I am a little tired.” She admitted.

 

There was something he wanted to say, Kaoru was sure of it. He kept watching her, as though waiting for her to ask a question. She didn't know what she was supposed to ask.

 

“Wait! The others- is everyone alright?”

 

“Your purification healed everyone in the area of everything, including cancer, AIDS, and diabetes. People are calling you a goddess now.”

 

Kaoru wrinkled her nose. “I'm not a goddess. I was just lucky.”

 

“More than just lucky. I shouldn't have let you go.”

 

“No, you should have. I would have found a way around you, and then you'd have worried even more.”

 

“You wouldn't have gotten around me. I'm good at forcing people to cooperate.”

 

“I'm stubborn.”

 

“I know.”

 

They sat in awkward silence for some time, while Kaoru tried to think of something to say that didn't sound stupid.

 

“Marry me.” Kenshin said suddenly.

 

“What?” Kaoru stared at him? Clearly the stress had gotten to him. Had he just proposed to her? In a thoroughly unromantic fashion, too.

 

“Marry me.” He repeated, looking her straight in the eye.

 

“Why?” She whispered, feeling like she'd missed something along the way here.

 

“Because I love you.”

 

“Okay.” Kaoru said, her throat suddenly dry. Tears were welling up in her eyes. She hugged Kenshin tightly, crying with happiness. “I'll marry you.”

 

“Why?” He asked into her hair. She scowled into his shoulder. This had to be the either the best or worst proposal of all time.

 

“Because I love you, too.” She buried her face in his shoulder. It was warm and safe in his arms, and Kaoru secretly wished she could stay that way forever.

 

“So, when do I get a ring?”

 

“Soon.” He promised. She was about to kiss him when the door opened to reveal Sano, Megumi, Misao, and Tokio, carrying flowers and balloons. She gave him a questioning glance, and Kenshin shook his head. No, he hadn't told then anything.

 

“Hey, Jou-chan! How are you feeling?” The rooster-haired Thing asked in a loud voice. Megumi winced, muttered under her breath about bedside manners, and then clamped one perfect hand over Sano's mouth before he could say anything else.

 

In a voice more appropriate for a patient on their deathbed, Megumi asked, “How are you, Kaoru?”

 

The siren glared. She was not an invalid. Loud noise wouldn't cause her to die. Looking at her other visitors, she saw that neither Misao nor Tokio sported any injuries. Misao jumped on her, hugging her tightly until she couldn't breathe. When she finally let go, Tokio hugged Kaoru while the weasel tied balloons to the bars on her headboard. They bobbed cheerfully above their heads, making the boring room seem more cheerful.

 

Kaoru sat up straight, leaning against the cold metal of the headboard. Mourning the loss of Kenshin's body heat, she let go of his hand and hugged her knees.

 

They then proceeded to exhaust the topic of Kaoru's little stunt in the temple. Every possible detail was wrung out of her, and she was forced to describe the disembodied mother who she'd spoken to several times. After a heated debate on who the “mother” was, they moved to the power she had wielded. After speculating on that, they began discussing the political ramifications of the purification. Since it had touched everything in a several thousand mile radius in more than one country, there were all kinds of political and diplomatic problems.

 

When the subject was finally dropped, they sat in an awkward silence. Kaoru was holding Kenshin's hand again, and Megumi was sitting in Sano's lap next to the bed. Tokio and Misao were perched on the footboard, each wearing visitors badges on their foreheads in bright green.

 

“Did you know?” Kaoru finally asked suspiciously. Everyone exchanged confused looks except Kenshin. “That he,” she pointed at him. “was going to propose?”

 

“Propose?” Misao asked, jumping up and grabbing Kaoru's wrists in her hands. She quickly checked her fingers, sighing with relief when she didn't see anything new. “No ring.” She assured Megumi and Tokio.

 

“Better luck next time, Kenshin!” Sano laughed, clapping Kenshin on the shoulder. He and Kaoru exchanged odd looks before mutually deciding to just go with it for now. The three women expressed their condolences at Kaoru's supposed rejection, then exited with Sano in tow, promising to return the next day.

 

“They think I said no.” Kaoru said, now using Kenshin as a pillow. “Stop wiggling,” She added snappishly. He complied, lying still so she could lean on him comfortably.

 

“Are you going to correct them?”

 

“Nah.” Kaoru cackled evilly. “All the ribbing you'll get will be good for your character.” She yawned then. Pulling the covers up to her chin, she rolled onto Kenshin, using him as a bed instead of a pillow. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and said, “Good night.”

 

But she was already asleep. Smiling to himself, he stroked her hair and fell asleep himself.

 

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“Kaoru.” Kenshin nudged her. “Kaoru, let go of me...”

 

Nothing happened. A few minutes ago, two of the volunteer nurses at the severely understaffed hospital, Tara and Yara, had informed him that wasn't allowed to be in Kaoru's room until nine, and wasn't ever allowed to stay overnight in her bed. Now he was attempting to remove himself, but his fiancée was making it difficult.

 

He tried to sit up and she dragged him back down, hands fisted into his shirt. When he managed to pull himself halfway upright, she punched him in the shoulder and then continued to shove him down again. This was beginning to look like an epic feat.

 

“Dammit, Kenshin, stay still.” She mumbled against his chest. When he kept moving anyway, she yanked him down by his shirt front, pulling so hard he was afraid she was going to rip his shirt off. He gave up after another valiant effort that was of no avail. Lying back down, he wrapped his arms around her. The nurses would have to deal with it. Kaoru really wasn't going to let him leave.

 

Unless...

 

Whispering into her ear, he muttered, “I can appreciate you wanting to rip my shirt off, Kaoru, but this isn't exactly the time-”

 

She let out an embarrassed muffled squeal and then tugged sharply on his hair. Then she rolled off of him, almost falling off the bed.

 

“Shut up.” She told him, rubbing her eyes sleepily. Her ponytail had come undone, strands of hair falling into her face. “Is it early?”

 

“It's seven.” Kenshin informed her, getting out of bed. “I have to work. I'll be back in half an hour.”

 

“Fine.” Kaoru groaned, looking around for the bag of clothes Misao had brought her yesterday. It was partially under the bed. She picked it up and went into the bathroom. A muffled thump was heard as she slammed into the sink.

 

Kenshin left her room silently. It was time to get the ring.

 

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“What about this one?” Kaoru asked, holding up a long nightgown in pale yellow.

 

It was Misao and Kaoru's annual nightwear shopping trip. Megumi was at a medical conference and Tokio had to work, so the four friends had decided to go dress shopping later on. For now, Misao and Kaoru looked through racks and racks of fancy nightgowns, slips, pajama sets and other random things like fuzzy slippers.

 

“It's a maternity gown, Kaoru. I know you like to be comfortable, but...” Misao shook her head sadly. Kaoru was a wonderful person, but her personal style tended to border on the extremely casual. Honestly, how that girl bagged any date or any man without her help...

 

“Oh, you don't know?” Kaoru asked with feigned surprise. Here was the moment she'd been waiting for. She pulled out another gown, this one short and in pale green, than frowned and grabbed one in dark blue. Kaoru held up her nightgowns in Misao's shocked face. “What about these?”

 

“Forget the gowns!” The weasel-girl yelled. Kaoru was not implying what she thought she was implying...was she? Was she? Grabbing the gowns and dumping them on the floor, Misao broke a hanger. “What don' I know?”

 

“I'm pregnant.” Kaoru smiled sweetly, reaching out for a rack behind Misao and choosing a few nice pajama sets. Standing there with surprise prominent on her visage, Misao didn't notice the rings catching the department store lights on Kaoru's hand at first. There were two- a sapphire embedded yellow gold and an unusual ring of black gold with a flawless sparkling diamond. An engagement ring...and a wedding ring? She had not!

 

“You-what-how-when-when did you...” Misao trailed off as she realized the truth. She dropped all of her shopping bags on the floor, letting clothes and other things spill out onto the floor. “You said no!”

 

“No, I said yes. You just never asked.” Smiling brilliantly and smugly, Kaoru tossed her a mocking look before scooping up all her maternity nightgowns and another small bag. She turned on her heel, her arms full, and walked away, presumably to the register. Misao stood there trying to process the information. At first she couldn't comprehend the idea of Kaoru, the man-hater, the heart-breaker, ever getting married and having kids. Then it all seemed to click. One important, life-altering detail stood out in her mind above all others.

 

The small bag Kaoru had taken with her!

 

“Hey! Kaoru! Stop! You stole all my chocolate! Kaoru!”

 

Finis

 

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And that's all, folks. I know it's both abrupt and short, but I had always planned to end it this way. TI is finally finished. My next project is Fever, the third in the Garden of Heaven series, and then Mentoring, the sequel to...TI. Yes, there is more. Mentoring is really more about the Himura family dynamic. It'll be very short, just a peek into their lives.

 

I've really enjoyed writing this, and each and every person who reviewed this helped me in some way. Having someone even say “update soon” means something to me. Thanks to everyone who read this strange forage into the world of RK AU.

 

This has been chickentyrant5.