Disclaimer: I claim no ownership to either Rurouni Kenshin or The Courtship of Lady Tokio.

The Funny Threads of Life

by Arget Cross

Rurouni Kenshin fanfiction, inspired by Misaki-Toyodome's "The Courtship of Lady Tokio"

In the bustling streets of Tokyo, a child weaved and ducked through the crowds as his harried father, arms full of an afternoon's shopping, chased after him. His mother had entrusted his father that morning with the difficult task of looking after the rambunctious boy as she left to teach at another dojo on the other side of town for the day. It had been fine then, for the boy knew to stay in their house and busied himself with playing with the shinai when he thought his father was not looking. And after the boy complained of hunger and accosted his father for food, they had found out that while they could scrape together a lunch, there certainly wasn't enough in the stores for dinner. So it was off to the market and he couldn't very well leave his son alone for the several hours it took to do the shopping. At the time, he had had the foolish notion his son could somehow help him carry some of the groceries.

Now, the feared demon of the Bakumatsu realized how badly he had failed to understand anything about little boys and busy markets. 'It was almost ironic,' he thought, for he had been an excellent and silent tracker in the streets of Kyoto. Yet, now the former Hitokiri Battousai bumbled through the oppressing thongs of people that shoved him this way and that, and he could barely follow the bobbing auburn head of his son, Himura Kenji.

It did not help that over the years Tokyo had become more and more overwhelmingly crowded. Five or six years ago, Kenshin thought ruefully, he would have had no problem; people typically gave a wide berth to men carrying swords, leaving him a clear line of vision despite his short stature. Now, with a plain bokken on him and food to feed a family of four (Kenshin had no doubt that Yahiko would trail back home with Kaoru-dono after such a long day and he was happy to feed the young man too) to balance on his person, Kenshin found that trying to evade foot-traffic only led to being jostled by stray elbows and other bags. He craned his neck and raised his head, looking out from under his reddish bangs to search for his son.

To his relief, Kenji had stopped in front of what looked to be a bakery. In the shop windows were rows of Anpan, the popular new sweet bread that the Emperor had supposedly approved. Then, as the crowd thinned a bit, Kenshin saw a mother with her own son standing by Kenji. Even from this distance, he could see the excited way the two boys conversed, jabbing their fingers at the display, as the mother looked worried and her eyes flickered around the crowd, searching for the younger boy's guardian. That was his cue and Kenshin took a couple longer strides toward them. He appeared behind his son and leaned over Kenji.

"This one has been very worried. You shouldn't run off like that, Kenji." he said, towering over his boy in the way Kenji hated.

Kenji jumped a little and scowled as he looked up to see his father smiling down at him. With a whine, Kenji elbowed his father in the stomach and scrambled out of Kenshin's shadow. As he looked back, he seemed dismayed that Kenshin had anticipated the sharp little elbow and shied away from the blow, and was now looking sternly at his son. Well, as sternly as Kenshin ever looked at his son, which, according to his wife Kaoru, was like a warm breeze in the fall. She was always the disciplinarian.

This gave him an idea.

"I won't tell Oka-san that you ran off, if you don't do it again." Kenshin suggested to his son, who turned a little white at the mention of his mother. Hesitantly, Kenji gave a little nod and turned back to the shop window, contemplating the sweets.

"I'm glad you found him. I was worried when I found him all alone here out in the streets." The mother had spoken and Kenshin looked up from his son to thank her.

She looked a little familiar, like an old memory that was struggling to rise to the surface of his consciousness. Perhaps it was just one of the faces he had passed on the street at one time or another. So he bowed and said,

"This one apologizes for causing you trouble with his wayward son." Adding a gentle smile he'd picked up from his rurouni days and meant to set people at ease, he did not expect to see her pale before his eyes at the sight of him. The mother's hand strayed to her own son, a boy who looked a good deal older than Kenji, perhaps in his mid-teens, and pulled him in a little closer. Years of reading emotions in body language led Kenshin to feel uncomfortably her shock and alarm. His smile never faltered, but his left hand twitched and the old urge to cover up the cross shaped scar swelled up.

It was obvious that she recognized him. And, as he took in her age (old enough to have been there, a part of the Bakumatsu), with a painful understanding, he knew that whatever thoughts she had of him, they were not happy ones.

He nodded respectfully, for it felt wrong to linger and turned to coax Kenji onto the road back to the Kamiya Dojo. He placed his hand on Kenji's shoulder, who turned around and took in the faces of all those present. Then, the boy announced loudly with a frown,

"Otou-san, we should bring back anpan for Oka-san." And I'll eat most of it was the implicit addendum.

The mother gave a breathy laugh, shaky and faltering, but to Kenshin's eyes, she seemed to have relaxed a little. Taking advantage of his father's inattention, Kenji broke free and entered the store. Through the glass, Kenshin could see Kenji shouting orders at the shopkeeper. The other boy looked a little wistful, but when he raised his eyes to his mother, she nodded and gave him a little push towards the door. Her son's face brightened immediately and thanked his mother before heading into the store as well. Although the glass muffled any sound, Kenshin saw the two boys jabber over not only the anpan, but the other sweets inside. Kenshin thought worriedly of the dojo's finances when-

"Hello again, Himura Battousai." She spoke and pierced him with an analytic look. This woman appeared uncertain, from the way she clutched her sleeve, but she was certainly not terrified and her eyes were filled with a steely resolve that reminded Kenshin of Kaoru-dono's ferocity, except far muted. Again, he had a feeling that he had seen that exact stare, from a woman wrapped in finery on a cold day, who had not met his gaze as levelly as she did now.

Now, perhaps, Kenshin was more unsettled than she was. It was not like him to forget faces, and oh, he had seen so many faces come back to life, more than he would have ever thought possible. He did not dream of the past as much nowadays, living in the ever present chaos of his son and the warmth of his wife and home, but that was no excuse. Out loud, he said in his pleasant and disarming voice that betrayed little of his confusion,

"This one no longer uses that name. It is a name for the past. Himura Kenshin, if you would please."

She nodded understandingly, a little too understandingly, and said as she looked towards Kenji,

"Himura-san, you have a lovely son." Then, she turned back to him and said in a voice one adopts when pondering the past, "You have changed very much since I last saw you. Or perhaps you have changed little, from what I've heard; you are still a terribly compassionate man. But you seem far more at peace with yourself now. And your hair is short as well! There seems to be no place in the Meiji Era for the ponytails of the swordsmen."

All of a sudden, Kenshin knew who stood before him: the young Aizu woman (although she was no longer young) who had been in Matsudaira Katamori's palanquin so many lifetimes ago. She who had sat by him in front of that cold tea house, when he had been delirious with grief and pain after the loss of Tomoe, probing and poking into wounds that had not had a chance to heal. Kenshin had almost become accustomed to people from his past popping up into his present, but he was still taken aback. The woman, who had worked for the Shugosoku two decades ago, had walked back in front of him.

Seeing this mother with her child, he found that he was so happy, that of everything he had done, at least, on that night he had stayed his sword. For he had not only spared her life, but this future of hers with her family as well. And then, his heart fell again as he thought of Megumi and of Aizu.

"This one is sorry for your loss, for the loss of Aizu. This one wasn't there at the time, but the people of Aizu have suffered too much." He told her with all the sincerity he had as he thought of Megumi and her tribulations again.

She lowered her eyes; although the hurt could not possibly disappear, she mastered it easily and nodded. In a heavy voice, she said,

"I thank you for your sympathy, Himura-san. This new era has not been kind or even fair to its opponents and we have lost many good men and women and children, even after the war had ended."

She paused and Kenshin interjected lightly.

"If this one may, what should this one call you?"

"Oh!" she exclaimed, looking genuinely shocked, "How rude of me. For me to know yours and- Well, my name is Fujita Tokio, but I used to be Takagi. Takagi Tokio."

"Tokio-dono-" Kenshin froze as the name sounded familiar. The last name of Fujita caused Kenshin to exclaim before he could stop himself, "Oro…Saitou's wife?"

Tokio-dono chuckled a little at the expression on Kenshin's face. She seemed to enjoy the idea that her husband left…well, strong impressions.

"I must say, I've thought of your words many times since we met in Kyoto, but I never thought I would see such an expression on your face. Yes, I am Saito Hajime's wife. He has spoken much about you to me. And, he by far the best man I have ever met." Her eyes shone as she spoke of him and as Kenshin tried to reconcile the defiant woman in Kyoto with the man he had tried repeatedly to kill and who had just as eagerly returned the favor: Saitou Hajime. He shook his head and tried to wipe the astonishment off his face.

"Thinking back, this one is sure the pair of you two would be terrifying." Kenshin murmured and Tokio smile was far too practiced altogether. "Your son, this one thinks he takes after his mother's kinder temperament. He is a handsome boy and will be a fine man." Kenshin said, nodding towards the bakery where he could see Tokio-dono's son watching as Kenji paid for his purchases (when did his son take his money?).

"His name is Tsutomu and I am very proud of him. He is quiet, but he looks up to my husband and dreams of making him proud." She said, looking fondly at her son, "As for my temperament, well, Himura-san, you are being charitable to speak of kindness. I certainly had no intention of being kind in Kyoto." She spoke of the past with a tone of respect, but also with less bitterness than Kenshin usually did. He recalled how sharply they had spoken to each other, him out of anger and her out of indignation and pride in her beloved Aizu.

Still, as Kenshin saw the funny threads of his life unfurl in front of him once again, he asked,

"Tokio-dono takes care of Eiji-kun, does she not? This one sees that as a grand act of kindness. How is he?"

She looked happy at the inquiry and softened at the compliment. "My husband was right. You are a smooth talker, Himura-san. Eiji is doing well. He's lived with us for many years now and I consider him family."

The store door banged open as Kenji and Tsutomu exited, Kenji's arms filled with two boxes while Tsutomu had a more modest one box.

"Why do you have two boxes, Kenji?" Kenshin asked and his son snatched them out of his father's grasp.

"One for Oka-san and one for me. And I guess Yahiko-kun can have some too." Kenji explained and Kenshin knew the exclusion of his name was not unintentional. But, then, after glancing at Tsutomu who nodded at Kenji, his son turned back to Kenshin and muttered, "And Otou-san can have a little."

Now Kenshin smiled, serene, and looked up at Tokio-dono.

"We must be going. Kaoru-dono will be home soon and this one has dinner to prepare. Again, thank you for…" For what? Kenshin settled for a simpler, "Thank you for your kind feelings. Toward this one's son, toward Eiji, toward that man from Kyoto."

Tokio-dono's eyes widened for a fraction of a moment before settling into a knowing smile.

"Ah, of course. We should go too. Himura-san…I am glad you found happiness again."

Kenji looked questioningly from Tokio-dono to Kenshin. His father remained his normal, smiling self as they said their goodbyes, and yet, there seemed to be a tinge of sadness, of something strange in the air as Kenshin steered him down the road back to Kamiya Dojo.

"Otou-san, did you know Tokio-san?" Kenji asked his father as they walked past the field back to the dojo. In his appreciation for his father's lack of protest over the extra sweets, Kenji also carried some of the groceries.

His father seemed a little spaced out, which, if Kenji was honest with himself, was really not that unusual. His mother would usually pinch his cheeks playfully to get his attention. He hoped she had not already come home to the empty dojo. The anpan he bought had to be properly stored as a surprise. Preoccupied with his own thoughts, Kenji didn't realize his father had been speaking until then.

"…Tokio-dono many years ago. She had been very angry with this one at the time, or rather; she didn't like this one very much. Whether the years have changed her mind, or Saitou has, though this one doubts that possibility, this one doesn't know, but regardless, this one is glad she survived the Bakumatsu and found happiness. Even if it is with Saitou." It was a strange concept that this wife actually existed and Kenshin wasn't quite sure he had wrapped his mind completely around it. However, what Kenshin didn't mention, or rather, had no wish to mention was that he had not been a man worthy of being liked and that he must have murdered many of her comrades.

Kenji only really understood some of what his father said, and at eight years old, the Bakumatsu seemed as far away as the Warring States Period. So, instead, he tried to imagine the smile on his mother's face when she saw the anpan and told his father,

"Tsutomu-kun is smart and he says his father has all sorts of swords. We don't even have the sakabatou now. Maybe we could visit them sometime?"

How strange it sounded, for an Ishin Shishi to simply bring his son over to a house of a Shinsengumi captain and an Aizu woman on the mere account of a boy's play date! Kenshin smiled again at the strange ironies of life and when he didn't respond, Kenji frowned and elbowed his father in the ribs.

"You're thinking too hard and ignoring me again." His son said, scowling.

"Sorry, sorry. Aah, perhaps it really is not such a big deal after all."

Author's Note

This is a rather long Author's Note, but I did pour a lot of my feelings into it, including where this story came from and reasoning behind some of its elements.

So, this was really a fanfiction of a fanfiction of a series I hold near and dear to my heart, Rurouni Kenshin by Nobuhiro Watsuki. As it says up top, I read Misaki-Toyodome's The Courtship of Lady Tokio (readable here: s/2049030/1/The_Courtship_of_Lady_Tokio ) and was utterly blown away by the level of quality in her writing.

To summarize, The Courtship of Lady Tokio takes place during the Bakumatsu, a period in Japanese history when the Ishin Shishi or nationalist patriots rose against the Tokugawa shogunate, eventually to overthrow this 300 year old reign and restore the Emperor to power. The story is the romance between Saitou Hajime, captain of the Shinsengumi, who defended the streets of Kyoto against the Ishin Shishi, and Takagi Tokio, daughter of an Aizu retainer and the scribe under the Lord of Aizu.

This is by no means a comprehensive explanation of the politics, sword-fighting, and romance, all tied into this tumultuous period. If you ever wanted to learn anything about Japan and the Bakumatsu, read this. If you ever wondered how Saitou could possibly have a wife, read this. Misaki Toyodome nails everything. Go read it first. I'll wait! ^^

Now, about this story! As I said, this is really fanfiction of her fanfiction. I chose an indeterminate time in the future, past the end of the manga and all the extra epilogues, where Kenji is eight and it is probably around the year 20-something of Meiji. We're going to ignore the OVAs.

Several considerations really motivated me to write this sort of chance encounter. I felt it was important to show that even though the new era has come and in the rising of this newer generation, people's lives have moved on and changed, the past is by no means easily forgotten by those who suffered through it. After all, a good portion of RuroKen is how the past has then continued to ripple and disturb the present, from Kenshin's past as a hitokiri bringing violent phantoms such as Shishio and Enishi to life.

Then again, the world, unlike people, does not spin itself to death on the past, and that was important for me as well. The funny thing is, child of the new era, Kenji, can easily share camaraderie with Tsutomu (to be honest, I had considered having Eiji walking with Tokio, but not only is Eiji probably nearly eighteen in this time frame, it would have ruined the surprise!).

But again, for Kenshin and Tokio, even if they have a sort of strange understanding, full of delicate sticky feelings, this would never really translate into any sort of emotional intimacy or close friendships. They have happy lives utterly apart from each other, after all.

Finally, on Kenji and Kenshin's relationship, I understand a lot of people took the father-hating aspect of Kenji to heart, but I wanted to write a more realistic narrative, especially considering that Kenji would have grown up surrounded by loving people. If anything, Kenji loves his father but that doesn't stop him from trying to get what he wants at Kenshin's expense and being a little insensitive about his father's feelings. He is only a child and heavens knows what children subject their parents to! Hopefully I did it all justice!

TL;DR The Courtship of Lady Tokio is excellent, go read it, and the past makes everything awkward.