Diary of a Manslayer
A sequel to Kendo no Go
by Akai Kitsune ::: 15.Feb.2004
Chapter 02: Image of Bliss
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Sometimes Kenshin liked to go through Kaoru's special
belongings; never the ones she kept carefully hidden, things she kept secret
from even him, since everyone needed their own escapes - only the ones she left
out in the open, proud of their existence and willing to share with the world.
He loved looking at each one, knowing, feeling how deeply she cared for
it, how much it meant to her.
One such possession - her favourite, he was certain - was a collection of
paintings and photographs, taken over the years when they had a yen or two to
spare on frivolous things such as that. The image taken in Yokohama, the only
photo they had to remind them of Sanosuke... the charcoal sketches of himself
and Kaoru from Sano's friend Katsu... the one Tae had paid for after Kenji's
birth... his anniversary gift last year, a special picture of the family, just
the five of them...
Kaoru even admitted how smitten she was with the invention known as the camera.
Kenshin merely smiled at her, wishing with all his heart that the contraptions
weren't so complicated or expensive, or he would get one for her himself.
He asked a photographer once, but the man had begun an explanation in scattered
Japanese which made his head spin for days later.
'It's like asking shishou to explain pottery techniques,' he later
admitted, shaking his head in resignation, 'You can never get a straight
answer and it probably won't do you any good, anyway...'
The family photograph was a favourite of his own, if he was honest with himself.
Whenever the family was apart - when Kenji was traveling around with Yahiko,
hunting down the secretive techniques of the sword style his father wouldn't
teach him, or when Yuki was visiting friends in neighbouring towns, or even when
he himself was out of town on some mission from the police department - it was
nice to think back and see that image in his mind, forever imprinted, frozen in
time. His family.
He would have liked to take it with him sometimes, when he traveled through
Japan at the government's whim, but Kaoru wouldn't fare well with the idea.
Besides, certain missions carried too much danger to risk bringing such an
important item - it could be lost or ruined easily, and he dreaded facing his
wife's wrath if anything happened to it.
'Perhaps if I came home wounded in some way, she'd forgive it,' he thought ruefully, 'But if I returned in one piece?'
'She'd have my head. Better to leave it where it is, keep it safe for when I return.'
He was also forced to admit that it was often pointless to gaze at an inanimate
object when the people contained within it were so closeby. There was many a day
when Kaoru actually walked into their bedroom while he was looking at the
pictures, catching him off guard with an embrace.
"Again?" she murmured in his ear once, gazing past his
shoulder at the pictures he held. "You look at them more than I do, I think."
"Sorry," he apologized quickly, and she laughed.
"For loving your family?"
He smiled, reaching up to touch her hand as it fingered his hair. "For loving
you too much to really show it, sometimes."
Her fingers squeezed his in response, and she kissed his cheek - the scarred
one, her favourite for some reason.
"Never apologize for that," she whispered, brushing her free
hand along the edges of the photo. "Everything else, fine. But never that."
Kenshin followed her gaze, eyes softening. "All right."
He never did, after that.
~*~
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