Disclaimer: Okay, I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, only the honorable Watsuki and evil horrid wretched corporate giants that creat

Disclaimer: Okay, I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, only the honorable Watsuki and evil horrid wretched corporate giants that created one if not the worst ending to one of the best animes in all of…..oh sorry; I started foaming at the mouth….

I came up with this idea while reading some books about puberty at the hospital. It strikes me as interesting to see how Kenshin would deal with his son hitting puberty and I actually had to research this because (blush), I'm a girl and have no such knowledge of no such things….so here goes!

A Voice Breaking

Every swing burned Kenji's arm and made him gasp a little in pain. He hadn't done anything wrong really. 500 swings and no stopping was a little harsh for just breaking the tofu vendors' stand. Hell the vendor should be thanking him for stopping the thief so quickly and effectively.

But no, all he had gotten in return for his heroics was a bill for the ruined vendor, and tofu, screaming from his mother, a lecture on being brash from his father, and the snickering of his married older brother. Oh and the 500 swings. His arms ached and he desperately wanted some water. But he clearly remembered his mother saying no breaks and no whining. And he never disobeyed his mother. Father, occasionally, mother never. So Kenji sucked it up and swung for the 250th time.

--

By the time he was done it was dark outside and he could smell dinner wafting from the kitchen.

"479" Dinner smelled so good.

"483" It smelled like his father had cooked…and that made the smell even better. Sometimes the dinner would smell good but then he would figure out it had been made by his mother, and by then he wouldn't have any time to run to Akabeko or his sister-in-law Tsubames house. Yes, even when it came to dinner his mother was tricky.

"499" Yes, so close. He could almost taste the Tsukemo, Domburi and Miso soup!

"500" Kenji shouted! Finally he could eat and take a long, long nap. Ugh. He sniffed himself. Oh and take a long, long bath.

Kenji walked to the shoji door, grabbing its handle and pulling fully expecting to be met with dinner and his futon.

What he was met with, was something much more sinister.

Kaoru Himura met Kenji's gaze at the shoji door, her blue eyes nearly on fire with anger.

"And where, exactly, Kenji Himura, do you think you're going smelling like that!" she screeched. She was still upset with her son for destroying the tofu vendors' stand in his attack on the tofu thief. She was deep down (deep deep deep deep deep down inside) infinitely proud of her 15 year old for his decision to take on the law for himself, like his father and older brother, Yahiko had done. But these feelings of pride were severely conflicting with the feelings of the price tag the vendor had put on the stand and tofu.

"O-Okaasan….I'll go take my bath right away!" Kenji started backing away slowly shaking slightly. He feared his mother more than anything.

"Not so fast, I'm not done with you yet" Kaoru said stalking toward her son like a wolf to a lone deer fawn.

Kenji visibly trembled. What would his mother do to him? Would she make him eat her cooking? Would she make him stay with Yahiko that night and experience pregnant Tsubames howling? Or would she maybe nearly fracture his skull with her bokken like she did father?

Kaoru was now only about an inch away from poor Kenji's face and she could see the pure unadulterated fear in his eyes.

"When did you get as tall as me?" Kaoru asked with a slight bit of sadness in her voice.

Kenji was taken aback. His mother hadn't hit him, she wasn't moping the dojo with his bloody corpse. Was she sad? She wasn't hitting him, so she wasn't angry anymore….what's wrong?

Kaoru shook her head at the clueless expression her son was giving her. It was her fault she had married a doofus anyway, and had a doofus son. But a hot sexy amazingly loving doofus none the less.

"Go take a bath Kenji then, come and eat dinner so me and your father can discuss how we're going to make you pay for the stand" Kaoru said with a slight frown.

"Me!" Kenji exclaimed with a face. He didn't even have a job, how could he pay for a new stand?

"Yes you" Kaoru said starting to get irritated again, "What you really thought I or your father would pay for something you've done? You must be out of your mind, did me or Yahiko hit you to hard during practice or something, what's wrong with you, go take your bath!!" The last word Kaoru nearly screamed at the poor teenager.

"H-Hai, Okaasan", Kenji could feel his mothers' ki raging and he knew that if he pushed it, she would teeter off the edge, "I'll just go to the bath…..?!"

What…what was that? Had his voice just squeaked…but he didn't feel sick..not yet anyway. Kenji grasped his throat and looked very confused before shrugging and heading off to the bathhouse.

It's lucky he didn't look at his mother before he headed off to the bathhouse, because he would've gotten the shock of his life. Kaorus face was scrunched up like she had eaten about 5 pounds of wasabi. The she broke into peals of giggles with a snort here and there.

Soooo, she thought, my little boy is growing up…finally me and Kenshin almost didn't believe he'd hit puberty, but I'm glad because that means we won't have to go all the way to Aizu just to get Megumi to check on him. Well, at least I've found the perfect punishment for him now, and with that evil tanuki glint in her eyes she started thinking up a plan.

Kenshin uncharacteristically snickered at his son's suddenly squeaking voice. He also sensed the huge mischievousness in Kaoru's ki after their son's departing. Tomorrow, he decided he would pay more attention to Kenji's voice!

--

That day turned out to be one of the worst Kenji ever experienced.

"Kenji come out here and train with me and Yahiko!" Kaoru yelled from the dojo. She knew her son would come out in, oh, say, 10 minutes. She had already informed Yahiko of Kenji's 'condition' and he had agreed to help her tease the shit out of him.

"Okay, Yahiko, you know the drill" Kaoru whispered to her student/little brother.

"Yea, yea busu, we'll get Kenji to talk as much as possible and see how much his voice cracks" Yahiko whispered back evilly. Not only would this be hilarious but it was good background information for him and Tsubames oncoming child (who he was convinced would be a boy).

Kenji came into the dojo hall rubbing his eyes sleepily. Why was he so tired all of a sudden? It's like he never got enough to sleep or eat.

Walking into the training hall, Kenji noticed his mother and brother acting very….suspicious. They were standing side by side and smiling at him like two Cheshire cats. Kenji walked to the bokken rack and grabbed his bokken without taking his eyes off of those two.

"Kenji deary could you please tell me the purpose of Kamiya Kasshin Ryu?" Kaoru said innocently. Sometimes she made him repeat it, to burn it into his head.

"Ummm, yea…" Kenji said facing his two mentors, "To protect the we….!?" It happened again! His voice hit a new pitch and squeaked like two wagon wheels that needed a good oiling. His face blushed considerably. No, something was not right with him.

Yahiko could barely contain his laughter at the confused look on his little brothers' face. He had to bite down on his lower lip to keep from howling and rolling on the floor.

Kaoru's eyes crinkled a bit and a large tanuki smile spread across her lips. Oh, this would be fun.

Kenshin sipped his tea in the kitchen, listening in on his son's impending torture.

--

About 3 hours later

--

Kenji's face was blushing like a ripe red tomato. His face nearly matched his hair color. Every time his voice cracked his mother and Yahiko burst into laughter and it sounded like they were edging it on.

"Ummm, Kenji what is your best friends name again?"

"What? Okaasan, you remember its Tor….!?"

"Oi, Kenji, what do you think I should name my kid?"

"What? Why should I care? That's for you and Tsubame to deci…..!?"

From squeaks to croaks to peeping to honking it was like his voice was out of control! One minute it was high, the next low. And it seemed like mother and Yahiko knew all about it and he didn't.

Finally Yahiko couldn't hold it any longer, it was getting to funny.

"So, it seems like my little brother is growing up ne? Are you finally a man Kenji-chan?" He was rolling on the floor, squealing in laughter.

Kenji scowled and looked to his mother for an explanation but she was on the floor holding her sides and trying hard to keep breathing.

"I'm done training" Kenji said and left the two of them in the training hall, still laughing their heads off. Kenji had to find his father and ask him some questions. Of all people he knew he at least wouldn't laugh at him.

He didn't have to look long till he felt a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry Kenji, it's all apart of growing up. Your voice is just getting deeper, it should be over soon" Kenshin said trying to reassure his anxious son. He could feel the confusion in his ki.

"But how soon tousan?" Kenji asked, "I don't think I'll be able to endure okaasan and Yahiko for long".

"About a few weeks to a few months son…but it won't happen all the time. In fact I think the worst is over" Kenshin said with a smile, "And I'll talk to your okaasan, Yahiko you'll just have to deal with".

"Thank you tousan" Kenji said and with that, he bounded off to the kitchen looking for something to eat. He was so hungry.

Kenshin smiled after his son, trying to remember his teenage years. They were all so bloody; he didn't even remember when his voice changed. Or had it always held that low battousai baritone? Kenshins smile widened when he felt his son's ki fluctuate from happy (Kenshin had saved some lunch for him on the table), to disgusted (he forgot to mention Kaoru had made it) to sick (once again….Kaoru made it).

--

About 2 weeks later

--

Kaoru knocked on Kenji's door. That boy slept like a log! He should've been up by now for training!

"Kenji get your lazy butt up and get to the training hall now!" She shouted into the room, opening it. She usually didn't like to intrude upon Kenji's room without knocking first (for obvious teenage boy reasons), but he had to get up.

Kenji tossed in his sleep….some thing was screaming…was it an owl…it sounded like a cat dying. Nope he thought as a foot collided with his stomach. It's just okaasan waking me up.

"Ahhh, okaasan, that hurts, you didn't have to kick me that hard" Kenji said getting up with a smile, "I would've woken up on my own eventually"

"Well maybe if you got up when I knocked…hey wait, why is your voice so deep?" His voice was no longer the high reedy voice she recognized; it was a deep luxurious bass…almost eerily enough, like battousai Kenshin.

Kenji looked confused at first then smiled.

"Hmmm, okaasan, looks like my voice is done changed ne? Okay, I'll be up in a minute!"

Kaoru nodded her head and shut the shoji door behind her. One of these days she thought that voice is going to make a girl fall head over heels in love with him. I know a voice like that turned me on ….ohhhh, hentai thoughts. Kaoru blushed and went to prepare Kenshin for Kenji's new voice.

Ohhhhh, All done! I kinda wrote this on a whim, as I said, as soon as I got home from the hospital I started on it.

Did the characters seem a little ooc? I hope not, I really tried to keep them in character the way Watsuki would want it not, those whores at Sony…oops I'm foaming again! And now I'm done! And I didn't even need my muses help for this one!

(As I smile and laugh, Meridia and Marjani slowly take out their knives, readying themselves behind my back….I didn't even see them coming….)