May 14th

One-shot

Rurouni Kenshin does not belong to me. Neither its characters nor its story. I do this for entertainment, not for profit. However, the story itself is mine.

MAY 14th

by Blankaoru

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She stood beneath the cherry blossoms, their petals forming a pink rain upon her. The sun had set some time ago, and the sky was shifting from grayish blue to dark blue. But she didn't care if night began to embrace her. A firefly flickered, then another. And another.

She clasped her arm and watched the river flow with its gentleness, carrying away the petals that fell upon its waters. Despite the calm of the moment, something ached within her. The wind enveloped her, stirring her hair and the ribbon that held it.

She didn't know how she had walked there. She had simply felt the need to leave her house without asking for company and set off. And so, lost in thought, she sensed someone approaching along the path. Kenshin.

"What a beautiful firefly," Kenshin said, greeting her.

Startled by the broken silence, she turned to him, a smile forming on her lips.

"You came," she murmured.

Kenshin said nothing and, standing beside her, reached for her hand. Kaoru let him take it and leaned against him, her breathing calm and her smile curving sweetly.

They remained like that for a while, silent. Perhaps words weren't always necessary, because sometimes, even when full of affection and care, they could hurt in a relationship. Because it had hurt her to know in that moment that she hadn't meant enough to him to stop him. Because she had discovered that what they had was like something in its infancy... if it even had any. He, for his part, couldn't tell her that her laments had followed him all the way to Kyoto, like a deep pain buried in his chest. They didn't need to say that one had caused the other sadness when that hadn't been the intention.

There was no need to say such things because they were together. They shared a life and a surname, a futon and the bathroom. The anecdotes of the day as night fell and the first glance at dawn. They shared a beautiful life that one day could have been forever separated at that moment.

"But it didn't happen. That's why I'll never stop being grateful that she came looking for me," he said suddenly. "She saved me."

He turned his body slightly toward hers and hugged her.

"Thank you for everything, Kaoru."

Closing her eyes on her husband's shoulder, she let him embrace her. And when he let go, she didn't know how to respond to his words. She wanted to continue being held, but Kenshin had other plans.

Enveloped by darkness and surrounded by fireflies, Kaoru felt her husband's lips on hers, responding with the love and tenderness he always lavished upon her, while he murmured how important she was to him and how much he loved her.

THE END

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Originally published: May 14, 2021

Revised: December 21, 2025