NOT MINE! *huff*
None.
None.
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Kendo no Go
In the Language of Kendo:
A Fanfic in 100 Chapters


by Akai Kitsune

76: Mask

 

~*~

Kaoru, taking into account his past, wondered why Kenshin wasn't particularly bitter about his experiences. He certainly had his share of regrets, but it was nothing further than an extensive case of self-loathing - something she was working on. But his lack of anger surprised her from the very beginning.

'Men like that are usually so grim, aren't they?' she thought to herself, watching him work around the dojo. 'They sit and brood and curse their fates, fantasizing a time when they were free to fight and kill as they pleased.'

'Aren't they?'

She failed to acknowledge the fact that she had never really met or known a man like Kenshin before. However, the memory of their first meeting came all too easily to her mind; she always recalled his first word to her.

"Oro!"

'It's so silly,' she mused, fondly reviving the sight of his tumble into the worn-down merchant's shed, shattering both the storage box and his Battousai image with one misplaced foot.

He seemed so cheerful, a never-ending mask of happiness and, of course, ignorant bliss.

'But that's exactly what it is... just a mask.'

She puzzled over this for ages, agonizing over the thought - almost a betrayal - that the sweet, perfect rurouni was not his true personality.

There were plenty of situations which proved it to her; the battles with Jin'ei, Saitou, and, to an extent, Shishio all showed clearly that there was a darker half lurking beneath the guileless violet eyes. Another person entirely from the man she thought she knew.

Each of them viewed this person much differently. Kenshin thought of Battousai as a monster, Kaoru considered him a mystery, Sano assumed he was a ghost of Kenshin's past, and Yahiko saw him as simply a manifestation of the wanderer's repressed temper.

Which of them, in the end, was the wisest?

 

After Kenshin learned the ougi, mastering his sword style and succeeding his shishou, Kaoru noticed a new change in him, something she had never seen before. His confidence of self seemed to have increased a great deal, and, while still fairly restrained, he was no longer so carefully guarded around his friends. He would share - to an extent and a limit which he followed almost religiously - his knowledge, his power, his authority, and of course his boundless compassion. He changed so much that she wondered if this newer, stronger Kenshin was yet another mask, another guise to conceal the true soul of the man known as Himura Kenshin.

Eventually Kaoru realized - though she wasn't sure precisely when - that his masks were not just masks; as if anything connected to Kenshin could be so simple. They were, instead of covers to hide his true self, merely appearances of what was his true self. They were shards of his hidden soul, revealed in very different, yet still appropriate situations, in order to protect him from the world that wished to bring him harm.

From the wide-eyed "oro" to the gleaming amber death, the soul of Himura Kenshin was always revealed - and carefully obscured, still - in his eyes.

~*~

I'm so glad to be home! ^_______^ Did y'all miss me? Ne? Ne?

These are actually my views, for the most part; so many fics portray Battousai as another person, entirely separate from Kenshin. While the manslayer is immensely different from the man who we all see Kenshin as, he's still part of Kenshin, so he had to come from somewhere. Deep down he still has the same heart, and is obviously capable of the same emotions. But he does have different ways of showing them.

The original title is "Bitter". I was originally going to call this one "Nigai" (Japanese for bitter) but then I realized that chapter 43 already has Bitter as the title... O_o I suppose I was tired.

And now, a very important message to my new friend cho: While I thank you graciously for your (however LOUD) opinions, I'd enjoy your comments a little more if you didn't use my review space to scream and rant about things you hate. I doubt for a moment you bothered to read the fic, so I don't know why I'm placing this on the next update, but damn. I felt like pissing someone off, because your lovely message made me want to. Perhaps an inclusion of a vocabulary with more than one word would improve your less-than-gentle ravings, and make it seem less like you're obsessed with sexual intercourse. On another note, congratulations for becoming my first shameless spam message. I was thrilled. ((Waste my review space again and I'll go Jinchuu on your ass.))

In fact, I encourage everyone to read cho's lovely review and send him/her your opinions, just as he/she asked. Right here: hancookmansue@yahoo.com. I'm sure he/she would be happy to hear from you.

Now I shall move on to those reviews I deem as actually *important*.
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