45th//Voice & Action Post

[notatanuki]

[Have some coughing, and a panicked voice yelling. She's near the carousel and her eyes are still stinging from the smoke.]

Megumi-san! Megumi-san, did you find him?! [More coughing]

Where could they have--

[A pause as Kaoru catches her breath and realizes her surroundings.]

...Oh, no.

[ooc; Updated to chapter 206, right before Enishi grabs her.]

Comments

1/2

[crossshapedscar]

K...Kaoru...

2/2

[crossshapedscar]

Kaoru, where are you? Are you alright?

[notatanuki]

Kenshin! You're still here.

I'm near the carousel.

You...are you alright?

[crossshapedscar]

...

Aa. This unworthy one is fine... He will be there shortly.

[ooc; he lies, but compared to how he was when she last saw him he's the model of health hur hur]

[notatanuki]

Don't worry; I'll meet you halfway.

[crossshapedscar]

Hai.

comment log;

[notatanuki]

[Kaoru made her way quickly towards their apartment. She was still a little wheezy from the smoke, and on edge from everything that had just been going on. It was a relief to know that everyone was still here, though she wondered how long she had been gone for.

She also hoped that no one had gotten into any trouble while she was away.

On top of that, Kaoru wasn't sure if she wanted to tell him everything that had just been going on. It would only anger and worry him more, and since there was nothing they could do here, what would be the point?

Needless to say, she wasn't looking too happy at the moment.]

comment log;

[crossshapedscar]

[He knew he shouldn't have been happy that she was back in the City. He knew that he should have been upset that she would be there and subjected to everything that always happened in the City.]

[But at the same time he had been so miserable since she had disappeared that he just couldn't. However... even so she had sounded distressed over the network. Of course... it could have been nothing... but from what was happening the last time he was in their world...]

[He moved quickly, easily ignoring the pain in his legs from where he had been burned fighting with Kimblee. He didn't care. He just wanted to see her and know that she was alright.]

[When he caught sight of her he managed to resist the urge to run. However he saw that she was wearing her training cloths... and had her boken...]

[And she didn't look like it was because she was teaching a class.]

Kaoru! [He gave in and rushed forward to her.]

[notatanuki]

[It seemed as if everything had happened so fast; she felt rushed and anxious as she continued towards the apartment.]

[Kaoru then saw Kenshin, and her heart sped up a bit. Just minutes ago he had been severely injured fighting, and she had been terrified.]

[Without a word she hurried forward, throwing her arms around him and holding him tight. Both relieved and apprehensive at the same time she pulled back, inspecting him.]

What happened to you?!

[crossshapedscar]

[He embraced her, relieved to see that she was unharmed despite what he had feared by the sound of her voice on the network.]

[When she pulled away he found himself at the opposite end of that uncomfortable and all too familiar injury explanation. There wasn't really any need to give all the details. No reason to upset her over something she could do nothing about.]

This unworthy one was injured during a recent curse...

[He lifted his hands and caught her jaw to keep her looking at him, his brows knitting in concern.]

What was happening, Kaoru? You sounded... you look distressed. What was happening?

[notatanuki]

I leave for less than a week and you have to go and get hurt! [She sounded relieved and annoyed at the same time.]

[When he lifted her chin she looked away. She hadn't made up her mind whether or not to tell him yet, and she felt guilty about it.]

We can talk about that later. Let's get back home first.

[crossshapedscar]

[He gave a slight smile to her comment about his injuries, but it was short lived at her avoidance of his question. Granted... there was a chance that it was nothing. Occasionally she would react as such to something... that was really nothing to be upset about...]

[But he could tell that this wasn't one of those cases... Something legitimately bad had been in progress the last she was in their world...]

[He nodded.]

Aa.

[notatanuki]

I think I'll take a nice hot bath when we get home.

[She planned on waiting as long as possible before saying anything. It would give her time to think, and maybe she could rid herself of a bit of the stress.]

[Kaoru went to grab his hand, then noticed the ring.]

What's that? [She pointed, glad to have something else to focus her attention on for the moment.]

[crossshapedscar]

[He lifted his left hand, glancing at the ring again. He had forgotten that he was wearing it.]

Oro... [He reached into the sleeve of his gi, fumbling until he found what he was looking for. He had been keeping it on him since he bought it, for when and if she did return.]

We... had talked about getting them before you left... [He pulled out a small velvet bag, and out of it, the ring he had chosen for her after her disappearance.]

[Blue. Like her eyes.]

[He took her hand and gently set the ring in her palm before curling her fingers up over it.]

This unworthy one bought them after you were gone... so that we had them if you came back...

[notatanuki]

[She watched as he took out the bag with the ring in it, suddenly realizing what it was. Sure, they were already married and this was a western tradition, but it still meant a lot to her.]

...You didn't have to get them...

[As he placed the ring in her hand she forgot about all the trouble that had been going on in their world and quickly looked at it up close.]

It's beautiful!

[crossshapedscar]

[He lifted a hand to move the hair from her eyes.]

He... wanted to...

[He gave a tired, relieved sigh before leaning forward and placing a chaste kiss on her forehead, not caring that they were in public view.]

Let's go home...