******************
**patterpatterpatterpatterpatterpatterpatterpatterpatterpatterpatter**
Spring rain struck the roof with gentle force, running down in small rivulets that accumulated at its edge. There they turned into a growing drop of water until it became big enough to break free and to fall with a quiet **splash** to the ground. Together the drops of water became puddles, and puddles little rivers that ran and eddied in ever-changing patterns. Quiet. Calm. Perpetual. Lovely.
Kenshin leaned back against the porch post as he watched the rain continually fall, making a sound like a distant waterfall and leaving a smell of freshly growing grass. The air was slightly chilly, but only slightly. No wind aggravated it. It was nice.
Kenshin's purple eyes that were ever-changing like the little rain-water rivers lifted briefly to the sky. It was fairly early; it couldn't have been any later than seven o'clock. His eyes crinkled in a warm smile at where the sun would be at that time of day. He loved early morning.
A slow stretch made Kenshin change his position, but he
didn't take his eyes off the falling rain. It was so peaceful, so calm.
Things were never calm in the Kamiya household, except when everyone was
asleep.
Kenshin took advantage of these times to think - and
remember.
**patterpatterpatterpatterpatterpatterpatterpatterpatterpatterpatter**
Spring rain echoed itself, echoed itself, echoed itself,
again, again. It sang a song of near-silent beauty that was so quiet it
deafened. Kenshin found himself listening to the peaceful song, and then
he was
humming, humming to the beat of the of the rain and the
melody it made against the roof and ground.
~*~
Kaoru woke up groggily to the sound of falling rain. Slowly she sat up and yawned, listening to the quiet tapping of each individual drop on the roof. How lovely, that sound. How calming, how peaceful.
Abruptly Kaoru found herself wondering what time it was.
No later than seven-thirty or so, she decided, pushing to her feet and
wrapping a robe around her thin nightgown. No one else was up, it seemed.
Perhaps she would surprise everyone and make tea.
As she set a pot full of water on the hearth to boil, she realized another sound was intermixing with the steady drumming of the rain. It sounded like. . . humming.
Following her ears, she traced the noise silently to the front of the house. What she saw there surprised her no end, but she did not make a sound.
Kenshin was sitting against the bottom post of the porch, his eyes closed, a small smile playing across his face. Rain was beginning to drench his hair and gi, but he didn't seem to care. He didn't move upon her approach, and Kaoru almost wondered whether he was awake.
However, what surprised her most was his voice. A deep,
rich sound that belied his quiet speaking voice resonated from somewhere
deep in Kenshin's throat. His lips were slightly parted, and a patternless
melody floated out from between them. It matched the
rain: ever-moving, ever-changing, but always there, beautiful and almost
unnoticable unless you stopped to pay attention.
Kaoru put a hand to her lips to keep herself from speaking as she backed up until she was inside the house. The melody of his deep singing rang in her ears. She had walked in on a private moment, but somehow could not regret it.
Kenshin was spring rain.
**patterpatterpatterpatterpatterpatterpatterpatterpatterpatterpatter**
Karou slowly turned to the hearth, where the water was
just beginning to bubble. Slowly she ground the ingredients of green tea
into the boiling mix. Kenshin was going to need something to warm him when
he
came back inside.
********************
Author's notes:
I swear, my notes could end up longer than the fic itself! ^_^
Actually, I wouldn't go so far as to call this a fic. It's not; it's more of a snippet. It's just a cute insight into Kenshin's personality and Kaoru's views on Kenshin.
Originally I was going to have Kaoru join Kenshin on the porch and it was going to get all mushy and WAFFy at the end, but when I looked back over the fic early on, I realized that it wouldn't work very well. So, instead I made it a personal moment for Kenshin. We don't get very many of these in the actual RK; sure, some flashbacks, but are those really personal moments? (Personal anguish is a better way to describe it, IMO.) I wanted to look at something else, something Kenshin would probably enjoy more, and that is just enjoying the present. He's so busy doing penance for the past; surely he looks beyond it on occasion and relishes the beauty of his surroundings.
Of course, who could really fathom the mind of the ultimate Hitokiri- gone-Rurouni? This is just my happy little attempt at the impossible.
Thanks for reading.