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Characters: Kenshin Himura and Death City
Location: preeeetty much anywhere
Rating: PG/PG-13—I never know how to rate
Time: January 22nd, evening/nighttime
Description: In which Kenshin has a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day and whacks at collapsing structures (when he's not looking for people who might still need help from the earthquake). We are not responsible for anything that falls on you. Maybe.

A man who wasn't used to walking through life with as much weighing on his soul as Kenshin was might have gone crazy from the sheer amount that was dumped on him in the space of a day. He was struggling enough as it was: with the pain he knew Tomoe was in that he couldn't help, the earthquake that had damaged the entire city, and now the news from Saitou that Kaoru may or may not be dead in Japan—

Had Kenshin not had Kaoru's voice running through his head ("Kenshin Himura's life is not meant for atonement alone"), if he hadn't stood after the kishin attack on Tomoe with the determination to go through life protecting those before him, if there hadn't been people out in the city at that moment who might need his help—well, the chance he'd be on his feet at all if not for these things was slim. And he was still not fully himself; he was quieter than usual, his face more drawn, his attention less in tune with his surroundings.

It didn't matter whether Kaoru's death in Japan was faked or not. He'd clearly not been around to protect her to know the difference one way or another—but why? Kenshin gripped the hilt of his sakabatou, knuckles white. Who was out to kill her? What did he want from Kenshin? Saitou had mentioned an enemy in Kyoto and a criminal organization from Shanghai, but that created more questions than answered them.

He turned suddenly, whipping his sword from his sheath, smashing it into the brick side of a partially-collapsed building next to him. Once he'd been able to cleave completely through a concrete lamppost, might have left sizable damage to the wall; now the best he could do was leave a crack. If he couldn't protect Kaoru with his full strength in Japan, how could he do so without it in Death City? Kenshin made a noise of frustration, pulled his sakabatou from the wall and glared at it.

He'd forgotten that the building would be less stable as it was.

There was a moment's warning rumble, then Kenshin backpedalled just in time to see the mortar around the area he'd hit crumble and a section of the brick collapse further.

Oops. "Oro......."

[ooc: feel free to tag in prose or action! I just felt like tl;dr-ing the setup, but prose tags unnecessary from here on out o7]

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Calling it a long day felt almost like an understatement... and a cliched one at that! But between the quake, after shocks, rescuing Ryuzaki, helping Lili, fording the rivers in the commercial district to help clean up...

He was heading back to his apartment, ready for a nice hot shower and a long sleep when the starting to become familiar ominous rumble. With a yelp, he bolted, quickly scrambling to get out of the way of the crumbling brick, only to trip and go sprawling across the road, thankfully far enough out of the way so only small bits of orange-red that had bounced from the pile rained down on him, leaving his hair looking speckled.

This was happening far too often...!

The yelp caught his attention. Kenshin turned, actually letting out an unintended "Shit" when he saw a human form sprawled onto the ground. Luckily the collapse hadn't been too much more dangerous than it already was, but that didn't change the fact that it looked as though Bakura had only just leaped to safety.

Without even bothering to sheathe his sword, Kenshin ran to Bakura and dropped to his knees next to him. "Are you all right?"

"I think so..." Bakura's voice was a little shaken and worn sounding before he gave a deep sigh, shifting to carefully push himself up with just his right hand. "This is happening far too often today!" he said with a soft laugh before sneezing at the dust, another small cloud wafting up from his poor hair.

"That was this one's fault." Kenshin let out a sigh and dropped his head for a moment, taking time to steady his expression before looking back at Bakura and offering a hand. "I'm sorry. Quite a lot has happened today, that it has."

Bakura accepted it with his right, carefully leaning just a bit on Kenshin as he got to his feet. "Are you all right?" he asked as he attempted to dust himself off.

Kenshin rose with Bakura, dropping the other boy's hand when they were both steady on their feet. "All right?"

He looked honestly bewildered by the question for a moment. He was physically fine, and he was distracted enough by the thoughts of others' well-being—or lack thereof—that he wasn't understanding why the question was being asked of him. When he was able to process the question (after far longer than it should have taken), he shook his head.

"I'm fine. Just—tired."

In many ways.

"There's been a lot going on, ne?" Bakura smiled with a small nod, noting the befuddled delay. Something like Death City was stressful enough to the average person, but for someone who came from a farther off era.... not to mention all the non-madness and kishin related troubles in the city...

"I suppose that's the best way to classify it." He made a valiant attempt at his best smile, but the strain would be evident to someone observant. "It's not often quiet here, is it."

Or to someone who often used the same defenses. "In both good ways and bad, un," Bakura nodded. "Though I think something like this is almost a relief. One of my friends thought it was an attack at first. Saying something was 'just an earthquake' sounds a little silly, but..." he laughed faintly. "You don't realize how much everything all is until you find yourself saying that, you know?"

"An earthquake is preferable to other alternatives, that it is." Kenshin mused. "A natural disaster rather than the cruelty of man, or another hand. But danger is danger..."

Another nod. "Un... Hopefully things will be quiet soon. I think we all could use a break." Bakura looked over at Kenshin with a faint smile. "Especially those of us who are carrying so much already."

It was a subtle attempt to acknowledge how stressed out Kenshin looked without placing any blame for it. One he hoped would be at least a little clear.

Again Kenshin had to take a moment to blink at Bakura. He wasn't used to cracks in his facade, having people see them and call him out on them; it was unsettling, and yet at the same time, there was something very—reassuring about people's being able to read him that he couldn't understand.

He smiled then, a small smile, but it was a little less strained than his expression had been before. Kenshin made a noise of agreement. "Especially for you, then, Bakura. You seem to be having a most... eventful time, that you are."

"Aaa--" Bakura laughed, rubbing the back of his neck with some embarrassment. "It hasn't been too bad, really, just a lot of close calls and embarrassing falls! I think I've been pretty lucky with this. I even managed to help rescue one of my friends." Something he was rather grateful for. To have found out Ryuzaki had been trapped like that and to not have been able to help... everything with Leo was already gnawing at him enough to have that one more thing added to it.

"A good nights sleep and I should be all ready to help out even more in the morning!"

"From the sounds of it, you do have a friend in luck," Kenshin agreed. "But you ought to make sure you rest, too, that you should."

He was silent for a moment. It was interesting, he thought, that Bakura spoke as though the rescue wasn't something he necessarily had thought he should have been able to accomplish, but had done it nonetheless. "Your friend isn't hurt, I hope?"

It was rare when Bakura was in a position to be able to truly help his friends. Even rarer when he didn't have to suffer dearly for the ability. To have been able to manage to help without serious injury or death ~~or selling his soul to his own personal devil~~ or both-- it was an amazing thing!

"Only a little, nothing that he wouldn't be able to recover from, thankfully. He should be back to normal by tomorrow, I'm sure."

Regardless of what had been said, Kaoru could only move forwards. So she did.

Walking down the street she could only watch and stare at the rubble around her with furrowed brows. "So many homes ruined..." She murmured quietly to herself, hands folded in her kimono.

Her face for the most part had healed, a purpling bruise on her left cheek, nothing but a dark red line near her temple that was already beginning to fade. Wounds like that could always heal.

But wounds caused from the sobs of a little girl were a different matter entirely. Wounds caused by words that may or may not be necessarily true-that held consequences that could not be fathomed--especially not to the one in question..those were different.

It was getting late, and Rangiku was probably out drunk as usual, so it would be her and Yachiru in charge of making dinner. She hadn't..really seen Kenshin since the broadcast. Too much uncertainty.

But now---

Her head lifted at the sound of steel hitting something hard; the sound of something heavy falling.

Standing in the street, under the lamp-post Kaoru could all too easily notice who it was. The 'oro' the red hair. Almost unbidden, she began to smile, her eyes crinkling a little as she stood under that lamplight; shaking her head in faint exasperation.

"..Kenshin?" She called simply, not moving too close to him, simply staying where she was. Kaoru knew..somehow, that he did know. Maybe that was what kept her from making those few steps to his side..either way, she stood, offering a gentle smile.

"I don't think they're going to appreciate you wrecking what's already damaged, you know. This isn't my dojo wall, after all." It's light and teasing and there isn't any fear in her posture. She's holding it together.

Because she can't die.

That's all there is to it.

Edited 2012-02-06 08:16 (UTC)

Kenshin jerked at the sound of his name in a voice that was all too easy to recognize, turning just enough to see Kaoru standing in the lamplight. He could read nothing in her that might indicate she was upset, just calm and confidence.

Still, that didn't mean he didn't take a moment to stare, frozen, naked sword still held in his hand. He'd nearly convinced himself she was already dead, even knowing she wasn't, at least not in Death City; so seeing her was more of a shock than he'd expected.

It was that look that caused Kaoru to falter. Her shoulders slackened a little; her face revealing for a split second a look of despair.

He already thinks I'm dead.

It made words hard to come by when the person you cared for had already begun to doubt your existence.

Still, Kaoru had prepared herself. So instead she squared her shoulders again and started walking towards him. She stared at the rubble he had created--at the sword in hand. Blue eyes lifted to stare at him.

"I heard, you know. Everything. " Her brows furrowed.

"Kenshin. I--you know it could very well be fake, don't you?" Don't you?

Kenshin followed her gaze to the sakabatou, keeping his own gaze trained down when she lifted hers back. He stayed silent a moment longer, moving only to finally return the sword to its sheath, before he looked back up through half-lidded eyes.

And reached for her hand and pulled her closer.

Kenshin wasn't looking into her eyes, but he spread her palm flat, ran his thumb over the insider of her wrist, felt her pulse. He moved up, brushing along her arm until he could feel the pulse in her neck instead, let his hand stay there, shift to cup her jaw, feel her breathing, feel her warmth.

"...I know."

And then he gasped and staggered backwards, images flashing unbidden through his mind: bodies, blood, snow, the need to protect that warmth and that pulse he'd felt, the uncertainty of what he would do if he couldn't—who had done it, why wasn't he there, what hadn't Saitou told him...

It grew harder and harder to watch him as he quietly drew into himself. As he began to unravel before her. It hurt Kaoru to see him like this. It hurt worse because she knew it was her fault. Somehow--she had been involved and somehow--there was a chance that she'd disappear. It was fifty/fifty--but that amount was enough to make everything veer sharply into a territory neither of them could ever want.

Or bear.

So Kaoru kept still, moving instinctively closer to him as he spread open her palm, her eyes lidding as she gave her consent--they closed as he reached her jaw, her throat bobbing with a swallow as strands of hair fell into his palm.

And then Kenshin plummeted into that place that neither of them wanted.

Kaoru's eyes widened--her throat constricting as she reached for him, her hands going to his face--pressing close to him.

"Kenshin." Her voice was pleading--yet somehow softly firm--as she stared at him.

"Look at me. I'm right here."

He grasped onto her voice like a lifeline, her hands on his face bringing him back, keeping him from reaching a place where he wouldn't be capable even of standing. He hadn't even seen the body, and it was already like this; just knowledge that they had wound up in a situation in which they didn't even know whether a death was faked, no witnesses it seemed to make the call—worse, that Kenshin hadn't been there to keep the uncertainty from occurring at all.

She was here, he'd felt her pulse. He could still prevent this.

And then his hands were on her own face, his lips on hers, urgent. There was her breath, there was something that couldn't be faked, something tangible and real. She wasn't a memory, wasn't a ghost, no reminder of his past or sins he had committed, she was simply there and now. And she was alive.

Kaoru opened her mouth to speak--try to say words that would somehow take away the knowledge--the single memory of that broadcast--but it couldn't be erased.

Instead Kenshin's lips were melding onto hers, urgently--without reserve--the rawness of it was something she had not expected from the man who always tried to look in control.(To those that didn't know him anyway--this was all he was. In control.)

It was as much desperate on Kaoru's part as she pressed her body close to him, trying to enforce the fact that she was alive with every move her hands made in his hair, his face, her lips pressing hard against his mouth--carving fierce reminders of her existence with her lips--tongue, hands.

That distant that had been between them that day--when Saitou had disrupted the peace---it was unbearable. Being apart from him like that--more than ever, he needed her. More than ever, she needed him.

Always, always--..

One hand left her cheek to wrap around her side instead, palm flat against her back as he pulled her as close to him as he could. He had lost control, those walls he so carefully guarded broken down around him. It was so easy with her, wherever she was involved. She could break through. And now here he was, kissing her desperately as though the feel of her body against his, the taste of her, was the only thing that could assure him that she was still with him.

Finally he moved away from her lips, trailing his own down her jaw, stopping where he could one more feel the pulse on her neck. He shut his eyes tightly, holding back the tears that threatened to spill from behind his eyelids.

"I will not let it happen." That was said hoarsely, roughly. He had to believe his own words. "I swear to you, Kaoru. I will protect you with every living breath."

Kaoru had always wanted Kenshin to really let go. To be himself fully around her. She was glad that she could provide this for him--she was glad he wasn't hiding behind the fake smiles she had figured out from week one.

He was glad he acted on the fact that she saw him and continued to hold out her arms invitingly--offering her presence.

She was here. She had promised sincerely to be by his side throughout anything. Did he know that now? A part of her knew he didn't completely yet. But there was time. She'd fight hard to make time--to stay alive in this world and in the other.

Seventeen years of life was nice, but she wanted more years. She had just been given something to truly live for--and she wouldn't give that up.

As his lips trailed down to her pulse, a faint shudder not far from pleasure melted the base of her bones--her eyes lidded, her hands going to press his face safely hidden from the world against her throat to where the girl's vibrant life thrummed steadily inside her skin.

"Yes, " She breathes simply; a silent sound of agreement in her throat as Kaoru spoke gently, " I will always be here, Kenshin. I won't leave you, ever..--I did make a promise to you, after all." She pressed her lips to the top of his head.

"We've got to stay together, right?"

She was the one supposedly dying, and yet here she was, supporting him instead. He was the one falling apart, not she. It was completely ironic, really, that he was promising to protect her as she held him together.

His eyes remained shut as he kept his mouth against the curve of her neck, her hand in his hair. He stayed silent a while longer, breathing and feeling and smelling and holding, taking solace in her presence.

"Together."

He could not lose her. She'd given him a reason to keep moving forward after all he'd already lost, a life he'd never thought he'd have; a life he had to protect, no matter the circumstances.

Her heartrate sped up. In truth Kaoru deep down, was frightened. If she was wrong even if she devoutly believed otherwise--the reprecussions were already before her. A Kenshin who could barely meet a person's gaze--who could barely live let alone function.

If I do die..he has his answer--to bring happiness to those before him. But his personal happiness is what I want most of all. And Yahiko--he's so young--he's lost his parents already--I can't think like this. Or I really will die.

As he indulged in the five senses, the feel of her, Kaoru indulged in the feel of him once more at her side. The man who soothed her nightmares not too long ago was now living in one not yet fulfilled--and if she had a choice it would never be.

"Right. Because if we aren't together, then we won't be happy. Because we're each other's happiness, right? " A gentle murmur.

"..So we won't be seperated. That's all there is to it. And--" She buried her face in his hair, finally feeling moisture prick her eyes. "Besides--if what I want most of all is for you to be happy--then I can't allow anymore sad things to happen to you. I can't. And I won't let myself be the cause of it, either. I'll be alright, Kenshin."

Edited 2012-02-09 05:54 (UTC)

"I am already the cause of so many sad things." His lips tickled her skin; he pulled back to look at her but didn't let go. "In that matter, Kaoru could never be a cause, herself."

Even in Death City only pain continued. There was Tomoe, whose life was even harder than it had been before and for whom Kenshin could do nothing to help, and now Kaoru, who'd not only lost the innocence of a girl who'd never seen death, had learned of the possibility of her own. It followed him no matter where he went.

And yet with this girl in his arms... he could forget about that, just for a little while.

Kaoru felt tears fill her eyes, as she pulled back as well--shaking her head. "But never to me. You will always be the happiest thing to ever happen to me. " She said earnestly, her face flushing as pressed his hand to her heart, where it beat.

"Kenshin--how can I show you? How happy you make me..how it will be alright--.." She leaned in, her eyes lowering as she gripped the collar of his gi, eyes lowered beneath her eyelashes. She pressed a kiss to the side of his neck, a bit bolder than usual but at this point she just wanted to be near.

"How can I make you see..--" Her voice grew softer with each word, as she trailed a kiss from his neck to the side of his face, breath ghosting his skin.

"That every moment since I met you..that I've lived with absolutely no regrets..."

Her voice died to a faint, breathy whisper.

No matter how many times he heard her say those sorts of things, Kenshin was always taken aback by the sincerity in Kaoru's voice. He could only stare at her, eyes flying open wider at the kiss to his neck and the teasing brush of her lips along his skin.

And then he was kissing her again, hands clenched in her kimono so tightly that they had turned white with the amount of control he had to hold on himself. Brought out of his panic, he was now aware they stood on a street corner, that this was not the place for such things; but after only the briefest of moments, when he brought his hands up to her face once more, he asked, "Stay with this one again tonight."

He needed her. It was his turn to be protected from nightmares—and it was his answer to her question.

Kaoru at this point just wanted Kenshin, period. She wanted him to know that distancing themselves because of some stupid policemen was not okay and mostly she just--she wanted to be near him. She wanted to chase the shadows in his eyes away--and then his mouth was on hers again and she could feel the crackling of fabric against her kimono.

Her heart stopped beating for a split second as she felt a warm feeling pool and begin in her stomach--spreading out. This feeling--it was new and strange and--

--she kissed back, her hands going to his back, wherever she could find a place to latch on.

Stay with this one again.

Somehow--this time it sounded different than before.

Kaoru's eyes lifted to his face, her cheeks going bright pink as she trustingly held her face in his hands.

"...I will." Her heart was racing in her chest but she could not bring herself away from him--couldn't take a step of uncertainty. She wanted him.

All of him.

Kenshin and Takuto weren't on the best of terms after their meeting in the woods, but Takuto considered the man an ally of sorts. Still, he was losing valuable good guy points in Takuto's book by attacking the already weakened structures for no apparent reason. The younger redhead had to step in--he wanted to step in, too.

"What do you think you're doing." It wasn't really a question.

He had a feeling that this destruction was somehow related to Kaoru's mood. If Kenshin turned out to be the cause of her worries, then he's got a promise to make good.

Kenshin jumped again, dropping his sword at Takuto's accusatory tone reaching his ears. He held onto it, though, and turned to face the other redhead. But the typical rurouni face that he could usually put on despite how he felt inside, Kenshin couldn't reach for once. Even his tone was distracted as he responded, looking from the sakabatou in his hand to the youth and back.

"Ah... much... on my mind."

"I can see that." He says that pretty dryly because it's obvious, Kenshin, and more than a little worrisome. He's kind of hesitant to get too much closer, since he's aware of Kenshin's skill with a blade and also very much aware that Kenshin is holding one.

"I think you should put your sword away now." Even though in theory, the sword was supposed to be unable to cut, it was pretty clear it could still do quite a bit of damage. With difficulty, Takuto's expression softens and he exhales. "You want to tell me what's up?"

Kenshin takes a deep breath, doing as Takuto suggested and sliding the sakabatou back in its sheath. He keeps his head down, but he brings a small smile to his face. He has to stop this. It hasn't even happened and he's letting himself fall apart.

It won't turn out like Tomoe. He won't let it.

"It's been a long day, that is all. There have been lives lost, people hurt."

...It's not so far from the truth.

"Lives lost?"

He just echoes Kenshin's words. He hasn't heard that there were any deaths caused by the earthquake.

Kenshin responds without missing a beat. "Lives can be lost through ways other than death." He looks down, then back up, and he gestures at the partially-collapsed building. "Loss of home, maybe."

Takuto shrugs. He's not going to disagree, but he doesn't entirely agree, either. He can't really related to someone who thinks that the loss of a building--even if that building houses precious memories--is anything like the loss of a life.

"How's your place? Holding up?"

Kenshin didn't mean it quite as he said it—or he meant more than just the words—but it bypassed his slip well enough. "It was stable when I left it, but I haven't been back since the quake first hit. There are more people who ran into trouble in areas hit harder; I'm not ready to return until I know others are safe. And Takuto?"

"My place is perfectly fine." He shrugs. He'd been lucky, but he also had earthquake-proof habits and very few possessions.

There's a sound like a canon going off as an quick aftershock thuds through the area. It's not strong enough to send anything raining down on them, but some of the power lines throughout the city sway for a minute afterwards.

"And I hope it still is."

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I am going to feel like your stalker now..... ;)

/FILES RESTRAINING ORDER

/stalks anyway, evading the police~

(bah)!!!

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