Path of Swords

Prologue: Path of Swords

It was a bright day in late autumn, with a clear sky the most beautiful shade of blue, but Kenshin hardly noticed. He stood out under the sakura trees near the dojo's entrance, trying hard to ignore the cries coming from the house. Not that it was unusual to hear shouts echoing down to the entrance—it was a dojo, after all, and in the time since Enishi's Jinchuu the dojo had finally gained a following. Yutaro was back from Germany, and even though his arm was still in a sling, he was capable of fighting.

Kenshin tensed up as another scream reached his ears. These cries bothered him. They were not grunts and shouts of the pains of practice, but of pure, unrestrained agony.

Kenshin rested his hand on the hilt of his sakabato, trying to relax. It might be easier to bear if he could not hear Kaoru's screams. Perhaps he should have done as Megumi requested and gone to town for a while...

In his heart, Kenshin knew better. Even if he could not hear her, he would not be able to forget what was happening here. That was the reason he had stopped at the entrance, still within earshot. If something went wrong, he wanted to know right away. He wanted to be by her side if...

No. Kenshin refused to think of that. Kaoru would survive. She had survived so much, gone through so much hardship, so many battles... This should be easy, by comparison. She could not die now, not after having lived through everything else.

Kenshin couldn't stand the thought. But, even so... If Kaoru-dono does die, it will only be my own fault. I am the one who put her in this position. I am the one who...

Kenshin put a hand to his temple as yet another cry—the loudest and most agonized yet—echoed off the walls around him. He leaned up against the large doors, suddenly feeling faint. He couldn't take much more of this. "Kami," he whispered, praying it would end soon.

Think of other things, he told himself. Think of all the happiness she's brought you.

It was rather hard to think of all the joy they'd shared, though, when he was still tormented by her pain. It was worse than anything he'd felt before, not only because her pain was his fault, but also because it was not something he could protect her from. It was not a foe he could fight, or defeat. This was up to Kaoru, and Kaoru alone, and there was nothing Kenshin could do about it.

He'd never felt more helpless in his life.

Kenshin sighed, and sat down beneath the sakura trees, closing his eyes and trying to clear his head. It will be over soon.

His thoughts refused to settle. He found himself thinking of all sorts of crazy things. The day he met her. The day he left for Kyoto. The day they returned home—the day Kenshin first realized that the dojo was, in fact, his home now. The day he thought he'd lost her forever—and all the days that bled together after that day, the days he spent wishing he, too, was dead. The day he found out she was alive, the day he finally got to see her smile again.

The day he asked her to marry him, and also the day they said their vows at the shrine in Tokyo. The night that followed, and many other such nights.

Kenshin didn't regret any of them, despite knowing that one of them was to blame for the pain Kaoru was feeling. He knew the happiness he'd given her outweighed the burden of any pain he'd caused her. She'd told him once that she wanted to be with him, forever. And he felt the same way for her.

As scared as he was at that moment, the happiness he felt deep down made it worth it. Kenshin sighed, leaning back to let the tension free itself from his body. His shoulders relaxed as he centered himself on that deep-down happiness. Calm, Kenshin thought, be calm.

Such actions came not a moment too soon, as one final cry sounded in his ears. It was awful to hear, even if it wasn't as loud as some of the others had been. Kaoru sounded exhausted, and that frightened Kenshin, too. She hasn't had any rest for hours... Kaoru-dono...

But his worries all-but vanished when another sound echoed down from the dojo. A sound that warmed his heart.

It was the sound of a newborn's cries.

Kenshin was on his feet in a heartbeat. It took all the strength he had to walk calmly to the doors of the house he shared with Kaoru, rather than rush headlong with his god-speed. He hadn't even put a hand up to open the door when Megumi slid it open, meeting his anxious gaze with a weary smile.

"I'm sure you'll be happy to know that both of them are fine, Ken-san. Kaoru's a bit tired, of course, but she did very well, considering it was her first time."

Kenshin went past Megumi, her words only registering in the back of his mind.

When he walked into the room, his gaze fell onto Kaoru's form where she lay propped up against the wall. In her arms was cradled the tiny infant. When Kaoru looked up and met his gaze, her eyes were full of pride.

"Kenshin... Come and see him."

A boy, then. Kenshin thought as he wandered over to them and knelt down on the wooden floor. Kaoru held the boy out to him, and Kenshin gently took him from her, cradling the baby in his own embrace.

He's so little... Kenshin thought. He'd seen babies before, of course, but somehow it was different when it was his own child.

"Isn't he perfect, Kenshin?" Kaoru asked, her voice almost a whisper.

"Hai," Kenshin said, smiling broadly in agreement. "Look, Kaoru-dono... He has this one's hair."

Kaoru smiled. "I know," she said, eyes full of happiness. "I was thinking we'd call him Kenji, after you."

Kenshin nodded his agreement as he looked down at their son in silence. Kenji. Path of Swords. A fitting name for the son of a swordsman, and the descendent of a long line of samurai.

When Kenji stirred in his arms, Kenshin was suddenly overcome by his pent-up emotions. Kaoru blinked in surprise when she saw the tears running down his face. He smiled at her even as he wiped them away quickly. "It's okay, Kaoru-dono. This one is just... happy. So very happy. It is something this one never thought would happen. That... this one could help create a new life. This one... who took so many lives away."

Kaoru's nodded her understanding as she embraced her husband, tears shining in her eyes as well.

Kenshin smiled down at his family, so happy to love and be loved. His life had now come full-circle. As a hitokiri during the Bakumatsu, he'd taken many lives away. But now, a new life existed because of him.

It was not something he had dared to hope for before he'd married Kaoru.

But now, it was something he would always treasure.

Kenji.

Author: Long time, no see!

I wrote a short story a while ago, "Heart of a Sword," and promised that the story begun there was not the entire story I had in my mind. Heart of a Sword went over a lot better than I could have hoped, and I'm grateful to everyone who read and reviewed it. If you're one of those people, then I hope this one is as enjoyable. If you haven't read Heart of a Sword, it's not really crucial to the plot of this one... But it does explain the presence of certain people. So I leave it up to you whether you read it or not.

However, where "Heart of a Sword" was a happy story with a lot of sweet moments that did touch upon more serious themes on occasion... "Path of Swords" is a much darker story. It will follow an older Kenji as he tries to find his place in the world. (That said, it's nothing like the "Reflections" OVA. I want it to be as true to the manga as possible, at least as far as themes go.)

As far as Japanese terms go, I'm not fluent. If I make any glaring errors, I apologize. On the other hand... If there is ever a term that confuses you as a reader, please don't hesitate to ask me about it. I will explain anything that confuses anyone as best as I can.

One final note: In "Heart of a Sword," Kenshin's speech pattern was based upon his anime incarnation. I'm going with the manga in this one, that I am. (It's difficult for me to pick between the two, though, because I like both for different reasons. It's one reason I'd really like to become fluent in Japanese. So I could read his speech in it's original form. But I get the gist of it, so I try to stay as true to that as I can while using English.)

I look forward to writing more of this! Reviews are, as always, appreciated. I enjoy hearing back from my readers.

See you next time, de gozaru yo!