Rurouni Kenshin fic: Aftermath
Title: Aftermath
Character/Pairing: Kaoru
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Nope, all those royalties go to Watsuki-san, not to me.
Summary: After Kenshin's fight against Jin-e, Kaoru had some adjustments to make.
Note: First posted to 31_days, to the prompt: April 26th / such hands might carry out an unavoidable violence with such restraint, with such a grasp of the range and limits of violence that violence ever after would be obsolete.
Aftermath
Kaoru had been in the dojo since dawn. Her mind had been reeling, sleep had eluded her all night, and she had been feeling far too agitated to simply lie still.
Front hit. Now to the right.
There were guilt and shame that even the most advanced techniques of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu couldn't erase.
Again! Sharper!
She could hear her father's voice in her mind, could imagine the disapproving frown on his lips.
Faster! Stronger!
She had run into a trap, not caring of the consequences and now, because of her, Kenshin was hurt; worse, Kenshin had almost broken his vow.
She swung her bokken again, hitting her invisible opponent with a downward strike. The bokken, the strikes, her father's commands, they were her entire world in this sacred place, her body and weapon nothing but an extension of her own mind. She felt the weight of the wood in her hands, the weight of her feet on the ground, the weight of air in her lungs. The next hit would be perfect.
Sweat and aching muscles were not allowed to register.
Again. Again. Again. Again!
Kaoru repeated the move until it was perfect, then fifty times more for good measure. She was not weak. She would not be anyone's weakness. Kenshin would not have to be strong for her ever again. If anything, she would be strong for him.
She was not weak. She. Would. Show. Them.
Character/Pairing: Kaoru
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Nope, all those royalties go to Watsuki-san, not to me.
Summary: After Kenshin's fight against Jin-e, Kaoru had some adjustments to make.
Note: First posted to 31_days, to the prompt: April 26th / such hands might carry out an unavoidable violence with such restraint, with such a grasp of the range and limits of violence that violence ever after would be obsolete.
Aftermath
Kaoru had been in the dojo since dawn. Her mind had been reeling, sleep had eluded her all night, and she had been feeling far too agitated to simply lie still.
Front hit. Now to the right.
There were guilt and shame that even the most advanced techniques of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu couldn't erase.
Again! Sharper!
She could hear her father's voice in her mind, could imagine the disapproving frown on his lips.
Faster! Stronger!
She had run into a trap, not caring of the consequences and now, because of her, Kenshin was hurt; worse, Kenshin had almost broken his vow.
She swung her bokken again, hitting her invisible opponent with a downward strike. The bokken, the strikes, her father's commands, they were her entire world in this sacred place, her body and weapon nothing but an extension of her own mind. She felt the weight of the wood in her hands, the weight of her feet on the ground, the weight of air in her lungs. The next hit would be perfect.
Sweat and aching muscles were not allowed to register.
Again. Again. Again. Again!
Kaoru repeated the move until it was perfect, then fifty times more for good measure. She was not weak. She would not be anyone's weakness. Kenshin would not have to be strong for her ever again. If anything, she would be strong for him.
She was not weak. She. Would. Show. Them.