A/N: I've been chocked full of ideas lately. Although expect this one to be the last you'll hear from me for a while. I go back to school this Tuesday. U_U -should be doing her project right now- On a random note, I've been having the urge to call Kenji Keiji for some reason. XD
Disclaimer: RuroKen is not mine but Watsuki's.
"Kenji! Kenji, slow down! You're going to hurt yourself!" his okaasama called after him concernedly, although the little boy of age three could barely hear her cries over his own vociferous giggling. Kaoru and Kenshin had let Kenji officially out in the open (and not just the yard) for his very first time. They were visiting a small forest, one that had lesser amount of trees and bushes compared to others, and more open land for small Himura to run around on without the risk of harming himself.
Kenji was as inquisitive as the next three year old. That didn't bode well with Kaoru, who was very much the worrywart. She'd often badger Kenshin to get Kenji whenever she felt he was too close to looming danger and unfortunately it more often than not resulted in him receiving abuse from his provoked son, who didn't want Kenshin to lay a finger on his infantile body. Despite his detest for his father, Kenji was definitely Kenshin's son. Not only did he inherited his looks, but his God-given skills as well.
Kaoru was panting heavily, nearly keeling over trying to catch up to him. "My goodness…" she muttered, staring on ahead at Kenji who was practically hopping around nature's domain like a hyperactive rabbit. "Don't tell me you were like that at his age too, Kenshin…" she groaned and fell backward in defeat, only because she knew her husband was right behind. Kenshin caught Kaoru with ease.
He chuckled and looked down at his wife's beautiful face. "He's just having a little fun is all, koishii. You needn't worry so much."
"Mou." Kaoru had no choice but to reluctantly agree with her beloved. She wouldn't have been able to catch up to Kenji or call him back, anyway. She hated to make the comparison, but admittedly Kenji resembled the amaranthine energy of a young dog. Kenshin leaned his head down lower, and placed his lips softly on Kaoru's forehead. She smiled, and the married couple silently observed their rambunctious child from afar.
Kenji only spent a few seconds on each new piece of land he discovered; he was as easily distracted as he was energetic. If the part of land had anything to grab, he'd pick it. If the part of land had anything to taste, he pressed his tongue against it. The manic little boy was tearing up and destroying anything he could get his small chubby hands on. It was to the point that Kenshin and Kaoru were getting a little guilty.
Forgive us, daishizen…
Kenshin tittered at the sight, and Kaoru gave an exasperated sigh.
"Remind me to give him a talk about respecting nature…"
Kenshin nodded with consent. "Oi, yes. You should do that as soon as possible."
"Yay, yay!" Kenji cried out with jubilance, flailing his short hands around in the air. He was having the time of his life, and hoped that his parents would let him revisit this new playground of his soon. Even with a forest so minuscule for the orthodox size, in Kenji's eyes, it was boundless as the sea. Looking back behind him, he saw that his parents were no longer in sight. Instead of bursting out into tears, Kenji placed his short hands on his hips and broke out into hearty, mischievous chuckles. Hiko had told him when they first met that only real men laugh with appropriate posture and loud vibrato. Kenji wondered why his otousan didn't laugh like that, and Hiko had told him it was because Kenshin wasn't a real man. (Magenta or pink, his gi was still a fruity color, noted the master swordsman.)
Kenji felt triumphant, to say the least. He was free to roam by himself without having to anticipate when a stray set of hands would constrict his frame. His only concern now was that they had given up to his stubbornness and went home without him—which he doubted for the most part. In his mind, that older reflection of himself had ways of convincing his mother on matters, which he was rather scornful about.
Nevertheless, little Himura continued on the obscure path of the wilderness. They were going to have to find him, not the other way around. No, Kenji was going to milk this escapade for all it was worth. His energy level had died down a considerable amount, he was now going at a mere walking pace—although even that was fast for a three year old. His parents' genes did not fail him in the least. That having been said, it was expectant of Battousai's child to catch onto even the faintest of rustles in the bushes. Kenji halted simultaneously to the initial noise, and then proceeded to follow the direction in which it was recurring. It was the wriggling bush to his far left. Kenji tilted his head as he neared the mysterious being.
Okaasama? …Otousan? It was his initial thought, but Kenji soon came to realize that the bush was only a fraction of his parents' size. It barely reached a few inches above his head, so he knew that there was no way either of his parents could fit into such a tiny space without being easily seen from a distance. Kenji placed himself right in front of the locomotive plant. Normally brave and fearless, he hesitated to even poke at the anomaly. Last time he checked, plants did not move. Unless…he had just discovered a new type of plant that was capable of doing so? If that were the case, then Kenji would bring it home with him and train it to beat up his otousan whenever he got too close! Ah, what a wondrous idea…
Kenji stretched out his arms to the best of his ability, and was about to attempt to lift the entire bush off from the soil when suddenly something popped out at him. He let out a shriek and fell back on his tush. The creature before him—the one that was responsible for all the commotion—resembled something of a bandit. It had two black circles around both of its eyes, creating the illusion of a mask. Its grey fur looked very soft and fuzzy; so did its distinct, ringed tail.
Kenji raised his hands to his mouth and gasped. "Taaaannnnuuukkiiiii!" he exclaimed, pointing his finger at the forest animal.
He had heard Megumi-dono and Yahiko-chan call his okaasama this quite a few times. If okaasama was affiliated with the tanuki, then obviously this one was a friend! Kenji giggled, hopping up onto his feet again, and walked toward the raccoon. Sensing abrupt movement from something that was not of its own species, the raccoon scurried away. "Hey, wait! Wait, tanuki!" Kenji huffed. Why was his friend running away? Okaasama never ran away from Kenji before.
Undeterred, he decided to go after the undomesticated mammal with the speed he inherited from Kenshin. "Come back, tanuki, come back!" he cried after it. Kenji wanted to the haul the raccoon back to show Kaoru; surely she'd be pleased about it! Maybe okaasama will even let him keep it as a pet.
The daring three year old leaned forward, gripped the raccoon's precious tail, and gave it a good yank. The raccoon hissed and snarled viciously, snapping its body around to face Kenji. The harsh movement made him fall again, but it looked like this time the raccoon was going to chase him instead. Kenji whelped and hastily got on his feet again, and used them to run as alacritous as humanly possible for a Himura. However, the livid raccoon was showing no signs of slowing down. In fact, it was gradually speeding up! Kenji caught a glimpse of this, and screamed on the top of his lungs.
The tanuki was going to eat him! Why would okaasama's friend want to eat him?! Kenji felt mercilessly betrayed.
As the cat-and-mouse (or rather, tanuki-and-child) hunt was about to climax to an unfortunate end for Kenshin Jr., his tear stained eyes locked onto a decent length stick on the ground. Kenji's samurai instincts kicked in and he snatched it up. He held it much like he would an actual shinai, and pivoted to face the upcoming raccoon. It sprung up at him, its face fiercely contorted. A bloodcurdling snarl emanated from the pit of its chest - surely it was going to land a bite on poor Kenji!
The quick thinker he was (just like daddy), Kenji leaped forward and directly thrusted the stick right into…the raccoon's mouth! He withdrew a small distance away from the raccoon, which was now gagging and struggling to free itself from the makeshift weapon. Kenji smirked, a strong sense of smugness washing over him. It wasn't until the lat few seconds registered in his mind that he began to sob wildly again. If he hadn't found that stick in the nick of time...!
Kenji ran off, but he didn't know where he was going. He hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings in the first place! Such revelations only made his tears escalate even further.
"Kenji!" he heard a familiar voice call out. It was...okaasama (with otousan, but that didn't matter to him)! They didn't leave him all alone after all!
The hysterical child raced towards his mother. Kaoru held her arms out for Kenji, smiling warmly and prepared to soothe whatever it was that was troubling him. However, Kenji remembered what it was that had him sobbing in the first place.
What if okaasama is a tanuki in disguise?! He screamed bloody murder, and took a unexpected turn, heading for Kenshin instead.
"OTOUSAN!" Kenji jumped into his father's arm, nearly knocking him over.
"Oro!" Kenshin was just as astonished as Kaoru was.
"W-what? Kenji, why did you run away from me?" She tried to take him away from Kenshin, but Kenji slapped her hand.
"NO!" he wailed, "DUN TOUCH KENJI, TANUKI! BAD TANUKI, BAD TANUKI! BUSU TANUKI!" Kaoru's eyes widened. Tanuki? Not only did her son just call her a tanuki but a busu tanuki? …Oh how she wished Megumi and Yahiko were here right now, just so she could strangle them.
"Now, now, Kenji," Kenshin discouraged softly, "Your okaasan is not a tanuki, and she is definitely not busu either." But Kenji refused to listen, turning his head away from Kaoru and hiding it in Kenshin's gi.
It was obvious that all of them, especially Kaoru and Kenji, had enough of the forest for one day, and the small family decided to get on home. Kenji did not want to revisit anytime soon, and he no longer wanted a tanuki as a pet.
Kenji was still in Kenshin's arms, now asleep. One pudgy hand had a death grip on his father's gi, and the other one was amusingly stuffed inside his mouth. Kenshin was enjoying his temporary closeness with his only son, though it was unfortunately at Kaoru's expense. Sensing her despondence, Kenshin adjusted himself so he had a free hand while still maintaining Kenji's weight, and reached over for his wife's, interlacing his fingers with hers.
"It's okay, koishii," Kenshin assured, "He'll come around. Kenji was probably just frightened by something he saw in the wilderness." Kenshin never thought that he would have to say such things to Kaoru. Kenji had always resolutely favored her.
"You mean a tanuki?" she grumbled. "Why can't he just like the both of us, at the same time?"
Kenshin merely shrugged; their son was a mystery in many ways.
I…I guess this is what Kenshin feels like whenever he gets rejected by Kenji. Kaoru gave Kenshin's hand a firm squeeze, and rested her head on his shoulder. "You are…rather amused by all of this, aren't you, Kenshin?" She was glad to see that it was possible for him to hold their son without any hassle, even if it meant having her heart broken just for now.
In reply, Kenshin merely smiled at Kaoru.
No comment.
OWARI.
Daishizen = Mother Nature
Otousan = father
Okaasama = mother
Tanuki = raccoon
Busu = ugly