Another banal and therefore excellent evening. Megumi's inside the kitchen with Kaoru. Therefore there's nothing to worry about. Laundry's done. Bandages and wounds checked. Enishi nowhere to be found.
Kenshin looked straight into the nearly set sun with the rhythmic sound of Yahiko's swinging his bamboo sword as background music, and suddenly remembered Hiko once said to him, "The setting sun is very infatuating, right? But looking at it every day will hurt your eyes. You will be blinded by it before you get back to the earth. But that's better than going back to the earth too early."
Kenshin turned his eye back to the well beside him. Half consciously, he turned and yelled towards the dojo, "Kaoru-dono, I am going out to have a little walk."
"Be careful, Kenshin," yelled back Kaoru. Although Kaoru's yelling, Kenshin could feel the care and sweetness in her sound. Now, normally, good Japanese girls didn't speak loud at all. (editor 262501: that is the 'moral' standard in the late 1800's.) But Kenshin knew that there was no other girl better than Kaoru in the whole universe. Kenshin smiled in his heart, but his face showed nothing.
A few steps out the dojo, Kenshin noticed that someone's standing behind a sakura (japanese cherry) tree. Just as Kenshin reflexively tensed up, he discovered that it's Sanosuke.
Kenshin showed a leisurely smile on his almost pale face and did a small swing with his red bangs. He did noticed that his own hair wasn't as red as when he left Hiko.
Sanosuke immediately understood that Kenshin was asking him to take a leisurely walk with him. He threw away the fish head he was chewing into the grass in a mindless manner and stepped out of the shade of the tree.
The two walked in the warm, soft red rays of the sun silently.
After a minute, Sanosuke couldn't help bearing the fact that Kenshin was looking way too often at him.
"Did I got a stupid sticker somewhere on me?"
Kenshin smiled again, looking away. This time, the smile was a little bit sad.
Sanosuke noticed and frowned. He grabbed at Kenshin, and half dragged him into the shade of another tree beside the road. It wasn't a market day, and it was cooking time. The road was empty.
Kenshin obediently let Sanosuke drag him aside. The pairs of brown eyes met with the pale bluish purple eyes.
Sanosuke's sound was low but firm, "I don't know what's on your mind, but please treasure what you have gotten."
Kenshin nodded. His eyes stared like a scanning ray into Sanosuke like he wanted to absorb the tall strong man.
Sanosuke froze. Now he realized that what had been on Kenshin's mind was actually about him. Weren't they friends? Just very good friends? Sanosuke had heard of some cases of two men...
Suddenly a wild smile appeared on Kenshin's face and cut Sanosuke's line of thought.
"No," said Kenshin, and both sighed at the same time.
The synchrony of their sighs brought their eyes together again. This time, Sanosuke broke the tie, "Well, you know, Kenshin, you are the only friend that I have ever had."
Kenshin waited for his explanation.
"Uhm, you see, back then, I was, ah, so weak that the ones who cared for me had to try to protect me. And then after sometime, those around me could only demand protection from me. I really don't like that neither," Sanosuke swiped his upper lip with his tongue quickly.
"You are the only one which I feel, when we are together, that we can be equals, and help each other in equal ways... something like that. I am not good with words."
Kenshin nodded. Hiko had told him that mutual respect was the only thing between two real friends. Kenshin had never understood the 'only' part, but he understood what is 'mutual respect'.
For respect cannot coexist with sympathy, nor fright.
Kenshin had never met someone whom, during fights, he could trust wholly. Sanosuke might lack a delicate mind, but he had the mind of a lion. Something like that. And he was a lion.
At this point, Kenshin looked at the pointy hairs of Sanosuke and broke into a little laugh. But Sanosuke suddenly darkened his face, "Kenshin, I thought I have got you there. You were thinking of the fact that one day we would leave each other? I... well, veryone will leave each other some day."
Kenshin didn't like this topic. Hiko's voice sounded in his mind immediately, "You could flee away from enemies, but not reality."
"But, departing for a bright future would be an even better denouement, wouldn't it?" said Sanosuke, with a little trembling in his voice, for, both of them had sensed that departure was near. They've both got good animal instincts.
"Say, we make a promise?" smiled Kenshin suddenly. Sanosuke didn't noticed the subtle twist in Kenshin's smile.
Kenshin held out his sakabatou (Japanese sword with "reversed-blade"). Sanosuke sandwiched the blade with his bandaged fists. Then the two stared at each other's eyes, waiting for the other side to make the promise.
One second passed. Silence.
Two second passed. Silence.
10 seconds passed. Silence.
At the 20th second of silence, Kenshin carefully drew away his blade and put it back into the socket. Sanosuke stood there awkwardly.
"...?"
"You!" Sanosuke yelled out. "You know I am not good with words and therefore I would like you to make the promise first, giving myself time to think about the proper words to use, and so, you... no! Do it again. I, Sanosuke..."
Kenshin tucked his fingers into his ears and put a wide smile on his face. "No. No. Sanosuke. We have already made our promise."
"What?!?!"
"We just made a promise that we won't break. Isn't that the best thing on earth?"
Sanosuke stood awestruck. Kenshin withdrew his fingers from his ears, and straightened his bangs.
Sanosuke thought for a while, and smiled. Smiled with a confidence that he had never had.
Kenshin took a step towards the direction of dojo. Sanosuke gave a smile which meant 'food' and moved his legs in the same direction.
The two went home for dinner, satisfied and happy.