Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin.
"I'm so happy for Tsubame-chan and Yahiko," Kaoru said as she ate her food animatedly. Kenshin, smiling as usual, nodded. "It's not that old, considering some of the other women I've heard about..." she trailed off, somewhat reluctant to openly gossip about others. "I just hope the baby isn't too much like Yahiko." Except Yahiko. She could gossip about her student all she wanted.
"They are very lucky," Kenshin replied after swallowing the rice he had recently cooked. Ai nodded silently; Shinta merely ignored the topic conversation, more concentrated on the art of swallowing a noodle and finding a way to make it dangle from his nose. Kaoru sighed as she watched her son amuse himself. She then glanced over to Kenji, who ate his food silently. Upon sensing his mother's worried look, he offered her a smile; it did not compare to that of her husband's. It was very easily seen to be forced.
"What about you, Kenji?" she asked, smiling back. "You predicted how long Tsubame-chan had been along... did Kenshin tell you earlier?"
"No," Kenji replied after finishing his portion and setting the bowl aside politely. When he did not elaborate, Kaoru suppressed another sigh; was it just a stage? Kenji, being their first child and somewhat of a guinea pig when it came to learning about teenagers, baffled her sometimes. No doubt, he baffled Kenshin too. Even as she thought this, Kaoru could see her husband regarding their son with inquisitive eyes.
"How did you know?" she finally asked, loathed to let the silence linger. Kenji looked at her with quizzical eyes, his mouth in a straight line. For a moment, he did not speak, but when he did, his voice was that of a confused child's.
"Didn't you notice?" he questioned. "Ever since two weeks ago, I noticed Tsubame-san's pregnancy." After a pause, his eyes widened slightly, as if he couldn't believe that he was the only one who noticed. "Whenever we saw her, she seemed... strange. Like she had two heartbeats for every one." When a silence met him, Kenji repeated his former question, "Didn't you notice?"
"I didn't," Kenshin added cheerfully. "Not until we visited her today." Beneath his smile, however, Kenshin held back a barrage of questions and worries. Kenji had sensed the pregnancy before he had, and with no training in the matter of chi or any such thing. He merely knew. Such a thing hadn't come to Kenshin for a while after his apprenticeship with Hiko, which had probably been due to the hellishness of the training itself. Even thinking of the multiple smacks against his person made him sigh; Hiko had always been ruthless. And here was Kenji, who had never been forced into such a thing, and he could see it faster than his own father could.
It was a bit worrisome.
Sano, who had joined them for lunch (once again) merely sighed and sat back, making to put his feet on the table. Kaoru intervened with a glare, and the free loader stopped there, resuming a more polite position.
"I can't imagine Yahiko knocking her up," he said rather loudly, to which Ai looked away and Shinta laughed loudly. Kaoru smacked both her son and Sano on the head (Sano received a much more forceful smack) and waved a finger at the rooster.
"What did I tell you about talking like that around my kids?"
"Geez, Jo-chan, I wasn't swearing..."
"That doesn't make a difference! It's just..." she blushed slightly, trailing off. Sano grinned deviously towards her.
"What? Jealous that you're not gettin' so--" but before he was allowed to continue, Kaoru smacked him over the head again, then stood. She gathered Shinta and Ai's hands in her own, then proceeded to leave the dining area. Kenshin merely sighed as the shoji door slid shut behind her.
"Maybe you should avoid getting her so angry," Kenshin advised Sano, who merely shrugged and said something about Jo-chan's smacks being a sign of endearment. Kenji suppressed a laugh; if such things were signs of affection, his mother would have beaten him to a pulp by the time he was ten. Kaoru could be gentle when the time called for it... even if it was beyond common knowledge. Kenshin merely sighed and grabbed the dishes of his wife and children, then glanced up to Sano. "Are you done?"
"No," Sano said as he shoved a few more helpings of food down his throat with incredible speed. In a matter of seconds, the rest of the food had vanished; setting down his chopsticks and burping (without Kaoru to make sure he behaved), he nodded. "Done."
"It wouldn't be a bad idea to walk around Tokyo, would it?" Kenshin asked brightly. "After all, you've been gone for so long... people will have missed you." Sano merely snorted, to which Kenshin, who had attempted to make the mood bright, looked downtrodden. The former rurouni changed tactics. "If you don't come... Kaoru will finish the letter, and Megumi-dono will arrive in a few days. And Kaoru will make sure you're here to greet her."
Sano was immediately on his feet and walking towards the door. "Let's not keep Jo-chan and the kids waiting, Kenshin!" Then he turned back to Kenji, raising an eyebrow. "You comin' Kenji?" In reply, Kenji merely shook his head; turning on his heel silently, the youth left the room. Kenshin watched his son leave somewhat sadly, and Sano, once the boy was out of ear shot, grunted. "He's really polite."
"More polite than you, although that really isn't saying much," Kenshin said defensively. Sano's eyes widened upon hearing the acid-like tone leave the smaller man's mouth, and, instantly regretting it, Kenshin sighed again. "Sorry. It's just... if anyone should understand Kenji, it's his father. But I find myself just as confused as anybody." He paused, looking a bit solemn. "I feel useless around him."
"Must be a phase," Sano offered in a drawl. "Teenagers act like that all the time, s'all." A silence descended upon them for a moment, and Sano, growing quite aware of it, clapped a hand heartily on the former rurouni's shoulder. "Let's move it!" However, in his haste to leave, Sano had forgotten his size and strength; Kenshin fell face-first to the floor, his eyes swirling. "Orororo..."
"You're not that useless," Sano said, once Kenshin had recovered and they were following Kaoru down the muddy road. "You were talking about him with Jo-chan last night, right? You're all about psychobabble, Kenshin." Kenshin merely "oro"ed again, and Sano laughed, taking this as encouragement. "Remember that Soujiro kid? His brain was going in circles by the time you were done with him! And Aoshi! It takes more than a stupid little ol' man to fix those kinds of situations!" As Sano ranted, Kenshin felt the urge to go swirly-eyed again, had he the ability to do it on purpose; none of those situations had been terribly easy to fix, but he had remedied them nonetheless. He knew what Kenji wanted: to travel, to find his own reasons for existence. The young man could not be satisfied with the humdrum routine life, despite the fact that his father had found that this way of living was a blessing. Kenji did not understand that the life he lived was in fact the calm in the middle of a storm. He could not grasp the fact that he was lucky. Even in the era of Meiji, horrible things still happened every day. Kenshin himself had been troubled with these thoughts, at first. But all the same, he kept to his own ideals: protecting the people around him was the most he could accomplish. He could not lift the weight of everybody's lives on his shoulders, but he could protect those he chanced upon.
Kenshin could not feel any of this coming from Kenji. His son had not lived through the Bakamatsu, and therefore he did not feel that he needed to protect an infinite amount of human lives. He did not have atonement motivating him. But all the same, looking out for people was something he would do, given the situation. Even with the ability to look after people, having nobody to constantly watch out for might have given Kenji a feeling of uselessness. Was that what his son wanted? Motivation? Something to protect?
The line came back to Kenshin so simply, so quickly, that he only recognized it after a brief moment of silence within his mind. Something to protect. Kenshin's mind immediately flashed to Kaoru, to Ai and Shinta, to Kenji himself... and to all of the people his life had been touched by. The need to protect had tied him down without him noticing it. It had made leaving for Kyoto all the harder; it had made seeing Kaoru's body, broken and bleeding against the dojo wall during Enishi's Jinchu all the more agonizing.
If Kenji were allowed to leave... if he were allowed to find something to protect...
Would it give him his answer?
As Kenshin and Sano caught up with Kaoru and the children, and as Kenshin twined his own fingers between his wife's, he knew that it was most definitely true.
xXx
Kenji envied Sanosuke.
He had envied him ever since the older man had arrived at the dojo gate, calling him by his father's name. He had envied him when he had been told of the various lands he had been to: Mongolia, America, Taiwan, and many, many more places... As he had learned of each and every one of these countries, Kenji had felt an irresistible urge rise within him. Even as he thought of it now, he found yet another person to be victim to his jealousy: his father.
Kenshin had wandered Japan for ten years. Why had he stopped? Just for his mother, just for the home that had greeted him with open arms? Had it been Kenji, he would have at least missed the adventure that came with wandering, but it seemed that his father was completely content with his home and family. Kenji had nothing against his family; no, he loved them more than any other living thing. But all the same, he would have secretly longed to be outside, to be free. He didn't need to be in Kenshin's position to wish for those things. He wanted them now.
And yet, Kenji hadn't dared to ask Sano about the finer details, although it almost pained him to refrain from such questions. His father probably already knew of his longing for something other than the dull life he led; that was perfectly fine with him. Kenji knew that his father would be silent about it, if only for the sake of comfort for others. But there would be a time when his father would corner him and worm answers out of him, answers that Kenji would not feel inclined to give. Kenji knew of his father's stubbornness; sometimes, he wondered if that was how he clicked so well with his mother. Both of them had the stubbornness of a mule, although Kenji would never tell Kaoru that (out loud). As long as Kenshin did not make his son's wishes public, he would be fine. There would be no need to worry about other's opinions.
Despite his willingness, something held Kenji back. He hadn't given it much thought; he didn't want to decide against his current plans. But during the rare times in which he acknowledged it, he knew that it was his family keeping him. The people he loved were the sole reason for Kenji staying. They were the only thing standing between the young man and the outside. Kenji mentally hissed; it was such a pathetic thing, he realized. But all the same, it was something he did not wish to part with hastily.
As Kenji continued to contemplate these things (he felt like Aoshi Shinomori, whom he had known for a few years now), he noted to himself that parting with them would be extremely difficult. The seventeen year old man... no, the seventeen year old boy, who had not become an adult yet, brushed strands of brown hair away from his eyes and surveyed the sky above him. The clouds were the opposite of the ones on display in the morning; the only signs of there ever having been a storm lingered along the muddy roads in the form of puddles. Kenji nodded to himself, confirming his thoughts.
Leaving them would be hard.
But staying penned up would be even harder.
xXx
"Father," Ai began quietly, pulling on Kenshin's sleeve, "Shinta is still at the Akebeko."
"Oro?!" Kenshin croaked, whirling around and dashing in the direction from which they had come, leaving a stunned Kaoru and a silent Ai in his absence. It was very simple, really: Shinta + Akebeko disaster. It had been many a time when the troublesome boy had made a mess of the restaurant, and Tae, despite the fact that she and Kaoru were very good friends, had taken her rage out on Kenshin. For every time their son had trashed the place, Kenshin had cleaned it up. And if anybody knew how to ruin a place properly (Kenshin doubted that there was such an art before his second son came along), it was Shinta. Kaoru, having seen her husband run after their son many a time, merely sighed.
"Sometimes I wonder why you two are twins," she grumbled, gathering Ai's hand in her own. Her daughter merely offered a tiny smile.
"Shinta-nii doesn't act at all like me," she agreed, "but his difference makes our home all the happier." Kaoru's eyes widened slightly as her daughter spoke; sighing yet again, her shoulders slumped.
"My daughter is smarter than me," she muttered, crossing her arms. In reply, Ai merely closed the gap between the two and matched her mother's pace. The time it would take Kenshin to return with Shinta would vary greatly: if he was able to rescue the Akebeko before the child trashed it, he would be back fairly quickly. If Shinta beat Kenshin to his goal, then it would take hours; Kenshin would have to clean up the mess. As both mother and daughter evaluated this in their minds, both sighed (Ai doing so in a much more silent manner).
"Tae is doomed," Kaoru muttered as she opened the dojo gate and allowed her daughter in. Ai nodded. As the two reached the porch and removed their sandals, Kaoru caught a glimpse of Kenji's pale hand retreating into his room. "Ai, I'm going to go see Kenji." Ai murmured a reply, but Kaoru could not hear it; instead, she was more focused on the concern she felt for her first son. Kaoru silently slid the shoji door open, just enough to allow herself in. After entering the dark room, she closed the door behind her and scanned the room for her son. Her eyes took a moment to adjust to the darkness, but when they did, she easily spotted him. The teenager was sitting against the corner of the room, his eyes half-closed but not unaware of his current situation. Kaoru knelt down and leveled herself with Kenji, worry flashing through her features. His sitting position reminded her very much of Kenshin; although he had caught her watching him many times in his sleep before their marriage, Kaoru had caught glimpses of him. Sitting upright, sakabatou in hand; such a thing had taken a long time to change, but Kaoru was happy that it had changed all the same.
"Kenji?"
Kenji's eyes opened fully and he glanced towards his mother, offering her a small smile that seemed a bit forced. He looked to have been in deep thought.
"Yes, Mother?"
"Are you feeling all right?" she asked, reaching a hand out and touching his forehead. Kenji did not object. "You've been distant lately." In reply, her son merely shook his head, adopting another smile; Kaoru frowned, mentally noting that any child of Kenshin's should have perfected the goofy smile. Heck, Shinta had it by the age of two. Ai didn't have it, but... well, she was a girl. Kaoru liked to think that her daughter, being that she was a girl, was smarter than her more primate-like sons. She did love them. But there was no denying that Shinta was a monkey.
"I'm fine, Mom," he said, adopting a more casual tone. "It's nothing to worry about." But Kaoru's face said that she would indeed worry, as she had always done. Kenji noted that his parents were and would always be world-class worrywarts.
"Are you sure?" It was almost a routine for Kaoru to ask for reassurance; Kenji nodded again. Kaoru was suddenly reminded of the conversation she had with Kenshin hours earlier, and she inwardly grimaced. She loathed the idea of chasing her son away. What if he didn't want to leave? What if Kenshin's predictions were, for the first time she could remember, wrong? Even as Kaoru thought this, she knew that she was thinking far too childishly. "Kenji, are you..." she hesitated, apprehensive, "...are you unsatisfied?"
Even as Kenji heard the word, he knew what his mother was getting at. His gaze dropped to the floor and his lips moved, although no sound came from them. Receiving this talk from his father had been something he had expected, but getting it from his mother... that was the polar opposite of it.
"Of course not..." he began, but he knew that the words were useless. His throat went dry as he finished them. Kaoru's gaze also fell to the floor sadly, and Kenji felt a pang of guilt; he hated making his mother sad. He quickly evaluated his feelings on the matter and found, much to his chagrin, that Kaoru was completely right. But saying this would be cruel. Licking his dry lips, Kenji searched his mind for something that would satisfy the both of them. "Half..."
Kaoru's eyes widened slightly upon hearing yet another word from the past resurfacing, and she bit her lip.
"Kenshin, I followed you... are you mad at me?"
"...Half of me is. But the other half is... a little relieved."
So many things about Kenshin had resurfaced in Kenji, and such things would continue to do so. Kaoru had no say in the matter; attempting to keep them from happening would, in the end, be rejecting both her husband and her son. She could never bring herself to do that. Kaoru bit back a sob as she wrapped her arms around her son, rocking him gently back and forth. Kenji did not attempt to pull away. Rather, he placed his arms on his mother's shoulders, returning the embrace gently. Both were silent for a moment, and Kenji found himself dreading his mother's next words. Kaoru surprised him.
"Kenji, just... just be happy," she said, smiling at him despite her obvious emotions on the matter. "That's all I want from you, your father... from my family." Then she stood, and, offering her son another smile, exited the room. Kenji found that he had no words, but upon further thinking, realized that he had not planned to speak at all. His own mother wanted him to do what would make him happy. Why couldn't he indulge himself?
There was one more thing, however...
The sakabatou.
xXx
"Kenshin-san, I swear...!"
"Oro," Kenshin mumbled under his breath before putting on a smile and bowing deeply to Tae, all the while keeping Shinta latched firmly under his arm. "I'm truly very sorry, Tae. It won't happen aga--"
"Don't give me that," Tae spat, crossing her arms. "You've said that ever since the first time Shinta-kun trashed my restaurant, and it hasn't stopped." To this, Shinta sniggered; Kenshin, in a very uncharacteristic act, stomped on his son's foot while keeping his smile intact. Before the man was allowed to make any more apologies, Tae waved her hands, signaling that she was in too poor of a mood to put up with them. "Just put that kid on a leash! I feel sorry for Kaoru-chan!" Then she turned and, with the glare of a business woman who had just been seriously pissed, slammed the door behind her. Kenshin and Shinta were left in the dust.
"Shinta Himura," Kenshin said (attempting to maintain a calm attitude but failing) as the two walked down the street. "You have got to stop that... you're eleven. Not five." Kenshin could've sworn he heard Shinta "oro", which wouldn't have been such a surprising thing considering his son's appetite for his strange words, but no further words were given on the matter. "Why do you insist on trashing the Akebeko, of all places? If you have pent-up energy, then you could use it to train at the dojo..."
"I take beginners' classes at Mom's dojo," Shinta supplied, hands behind his head in a carefree gesture. The young boy seemed to be a cross of Sano and Yahiko for a second. "But they're not enough."
"Don't let your mother hear that."
"It's not like that," Shinta said. "I work hard, and I'm awesome at it." Kenshin mentally rolled his eyes; trust Shinta to have an ego equivalent to that of Yahiko's. "It's just not enough. I've tried joining other dojos, but they won't allow me in because I'm already a part of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu. I've also joined some clubs focusing on jujitsu, but..." He trailed off, sighing. "I've still got too much energy, and making ol' Tae screech is fun." He sniggered again. Kenshin rolled his eyes another time, neglecting any methods of concealing it. Shinta was, for lack of better words, a bomb.
"We're stopping by Yahiko's place before we get home," he explained as he took a direction different from that which would take them back to the dojo. "I would have done it earlier, but I had to clean up your mess." Shinta merely shrugged, failing to grasp the fact that he had caused his father a good deal of grief. Strike that: he either failed to grasp that fact, or he ignored it altogether. It was probably the latter of the two.
As the two reached the house, Kenshin rapped firmly on the door; this time it was Yahiko who answered, the usual quizzical look on his face. He smiled at Kenshin and looked cautiously at Shinta, who merely mirrored the look. For people who could act so much alike, they were very different in each other's presence. After a moment of silence, Shinya rounded the corner, obviously expecting to see Kenji. Upon realizing that it was Shinta, his look of irritation changed to one of devious happiness. Shinta followed the other boy around the corner without a word, and the two father's were left alone.
"Yahiko," Kenshin began, "had Shinya and Kenji been born in the same year, the matters of the sakabatou would have been decided already. But now is a good time. Shinya is thirteen and Kenji is seventeen... both are two years away from fifteen." Yahiko nodded. Fifteen was the traditional age that both fathers had planned on handing down the sakabatou. It had been unofficial, but it was obvious that Shinya and Kenji would need to fight for it. Both wanted it badly enough. Kenshin continued. "Kenji is planning on leaving soon." Before Yahiko could express his surprise, he pushed on. "He'll return, but I want him to be able to protect himself... it's the Meiji era, but still..." Yahiko nodded, understanding completely. Both felt that the so-called era of piece was a bit of a farce; Kenshin was reluctant to say so due to the fact that so many had sacrificed for the era. Yahiko would say nothing because he had not lived through the Bakamatsu, which was the target of comparison to the Meiji. To the both of them, it was easy to tell that there was too much crime to call the era completely peaceful.
"When is he leaving?" Yahiko asked.
"I don't know exactly," Kenshin admitted. "But I know that it will be soon." Another silence descended upon the two, and Yahiko, realizing the gravity of the situation, sighed.
"If that's the case, we'll put off any competition," he said. Kenshin was about to interject, but Yahiko held up a hand. "Shinya might follow Kenji. I can't guarentee that he won't. But Tsubame, being pregnant and all... he won't leave until she has the baby. And he'll probably get attached, so he may stay even longer. So..." he turned and ran into the house, coming back quickly with the reverse-sword in hand. "...Kenji will have plenty of time with it." Kenshin was almost reluctant to hold the sword; he had held it for so long many years ago, but now, it seemed alien to him. As he closed his fingers around the hilt, Kenshin felt the familiarity of the blade greet him, and he couldn't help but smile.
"Thank you, Yahiko," he said. Yahiko merely grinned, although he did seem somewhat sad to let the blade go.
"It was your's to begin with," the younger man said. Kenshin nodded silently.
It had served him well... would it do the same for Kenji?
xXx
The rain was coming down again.
Kenji sighed irritably; as he had noted before, he hated the rain. Although he had been hardly active before, the current weather restricted him back to his room. Despite his loathing for the weather, the first son of the Himuras found himself itching once again to be outside - to be alone. It was only a minute after this feeling began that Kenji went against his better judgment and grabbed his parasol. They were, as Sano said, girly; and Kenji's figure, along with that of his father's, was somewhat girlish. With the rain as it was, he would be lucky to avoid contact with any men who made... mistakes.
He had wandered a good distance from the dojo when he took a path off the road and into the forest. The sound of raindrops hitting the foliage above covered for the thinning of the rain. Kenji closed his parasol in order to prevent it from snagging on the branches; he twitched slightly upon being struck by sparse droplets, but did nothing in order to prevent it.
Kenji's peaceful surroundings were shattered as the sound of labored breathing met his ears, accompanied by the squelching of the wet mud beneath the newcomer's feet. Fear invaded his senses, a fear that was not his own, but obviously that of the person behind him. Kenji made to turn - he did not do so quickly - and felt something slam into him harshly and fall back. He turned to see a young girl with long, dark brown hair lying in the mud. She looked exhausted; she had been running fast and far, no doubt. Her chest rose and fell and her eyes, misted over by nothing other than a fever, fluttered weakly. Kenji extended a hand.
"Walk much?" he asked coldly. The girl seemed to register the question - her condition was not yet bad enough to impair her - and her brow furrowed. Blue eyes that reminded Kenji of his mother (although those of the girl had a darker shade) glared at him and she refused the hand, staggering to her feet. Kenji was somewhat impressed; she still retained a fearful air about her, but she managed to effectively cover it up. There was no mistaking the fear radiating from her, however.
The girl made to run past him without a word, but another person's labored breathing came to Kenji's hearing; the young man extended an arm, preventing her from moving any further. She pushed at it desperately, but her grip was weak due to the fever. Kenji found the young woman leaning more on his arm than pushing it. Slightly perturbed, he withdrew it, and she fell forward into the mud.
"Chizuru, you...!" A man came into the clearing and upon seeing Kenji, swallowed his next words. Kenji rose an eyebrow quizzically. The girl (Chizuru, most likely) was still lying in the mud, breathing heavily. The older man instantly adopted a more mild attitude as he walked forward, smiling at Kenji.
"I'm sorry, has my daughter bothered you? She has a fever. She was quite delirious, and before we could administer the medicine, she ran out. Has she inconvenienced you?" Although the man radiated malice towards the girl, Kenji merely shrugged and grabbed Chizuru's elbow, hauling her up none too gently. The girl in question hissed between her teeth, but said nothing. The older man took her from Kenji's hold.
"She bumped into me," Kenji merely replied. "It was nothing." The man bowed, giving his thanks. As he turned to leave with the girl dragged behind (she still seemed adamant on escaping), Chizuru looked back, rage in her blue eyes. Rage directed at Kenji.
"Bastard," she hissed in a very unladylike tone. Kenji merely shrugged and grabbed his parasol, making to leave in the direction he had been going at. If she was a frigid young lady, it was really none of his concern. It all boiled down to how her "father" raised her. And judging from the malice Kenji had felt, that man was not her father. But the young Himura was not about to stick his neck out for any passerby. That was an aspect that made him very different from his father.
The girl was soon written off as a mere passerby as Kenji continued on the small road through the forest. The path turned back in the direction from which it had come and Kenji, passive to where it actually led, began his walk back to the dojo. About half an hour passed before he found himself back at the dojo gate; Kenji closed his umbrella, a small, satisfied sigh escaping his lips. As he opened the gate and walked in, he was greeted with Kaoru's glare.
"Where were you?" she demanded. When Kenji replied innocently, her eyes narrowed. "You could've left a note..." Kenji saw relief flash through her eyes. Their talk about his leaving supplied the answer for him: she thought he had already left without a word of goodbye. As she was about to continued berating him, Kenshin placed a calming hand on her shoulder.
"It's all right, Kaoru," he murmured, giving her shoulder a light squeeze. Kaoru sighed and nodded, eyes downcast. It was then that Kenshin pulled something from behind his back; Kenji's eyes widened considerably. Both of Kenji's parents stood and neared him (Kaoru doing so a bit more hesitantly). Kenshin held out the sakabatou, a confident smile on his face. "It's two years late, but... your Genpuku gift." Kenji's eyes widened yet again as the word registered vaguely in his memory. Both Kenshin and Yahiko had told him of a time called Genpuku - when young men came of age according to samurai. It was usually at fifteen, but as his father had just told him, it was two years late. The time it had taken did not matter to Kenji as he reached out hesitantly, gripping the hilt with shaky fingers. It fit his hand perfectly, as if it had been made to do so.
"Kenji," Kaoru suddenly said, her voice shaking slightly, "I know you plan to... l-leave... but..." She was obviously sorting through her mind, looking for anything that might stall the inevitable. "How about Kenshin and I make a big meal tonight to..." She stalled again. "Celebrate" did not seem like the proper word. "...send you off." Kenji merely smiled and embraced his mother, an embrace she returned instantly.
"That'd be great, Mom," he murmured, and Kaoru smiled. He was leaving soon - it was widely known among his family, and he felt a little guilty about it - so he would indulge each of them.
"That's peachy," Sano said, opening the gate with a little difficulty due to the numerous bottles under his arms. "I needed an excuse to bring out the sake." Kaoru sighed, clapping a hand to her forehead, and Kenshin smiled nervously. There was a devious glint in Shinta's eyes, but Kenji was the only one to notice it. He wasn't about to deny his little brother the "joys of sake", as Sano put it... well, to be blunt, Kenji really didn't mind. Shinta acted like he was drunk all the time.
"Where did you get that?" Kaoru asked suspiciously. Sano merely shrugged.
"Katsu. Said it was a 'welcome-home-for-the-time-being' gift." To this, Kaoru merely rubbed her forehead. Katsu was suddenly behind Sano, smiling ominously; Kenshin's eyes narrowed slightly, but he said nothing. Katsu merely said "Yo" and was silent.
"It'll be a big party!" Sano said, grinning and making to open one of the bottles of sake. Kaoru rolled her eyes and jabbed the man sharply in the stomach, causing him to double over. She took the opportunity to relieve him of the numerous bottles. As she stumbled into the house with her burden, Sano, who was no doubt coming up with many ideas about Kaoru's uses for the alcohol, cried after her desperately. "Jo-chan! C'mon! You can't deny a guy his goodies!"
"I'm not," Kaoru spat. "It's just stupid to open them outside... in the rain, no less!" As she managed to open the shoji door with Ai's help, Sano leaned over and whispered something best left unheard into Kenshin's ear. The former rurouni paled. Kaoru, having caught fragments of the whispers, turned to both men with her hands on her hips. "What?"
"Just telling Kenshin how I feel bad for him," Sano sneered. "Sake is poison for you, Jo-chan."
"I-I can hold my own drink, thank you!" she stuttered, although the blush on her face was evident enough. It had been more than once that she had acted a little (or a lot, depending on the current status of their relationship) more intimate towards Kenshin under the effects of sake. Sano had only seen this happen a few times, due to his travels, but those few times had been enough for him to fantasize. It didn't take much imagination for the rooster to bloat the facts and make them seem worse than they really are. With these thoughts running through his mind, Sano turned to Kenshin for confirmation.
"How crazy does she get nowadays?" he asked, a grin on his face. Kenshin visibly blushed, but after a sudden surge of boldness, grinned stupidly. Sano practically howled in laughter at the reply he received; Kenshin often gave stupid grins away, but there was a devious meaning behind this one. Kaoru's blush intensified. As Ai and Shinta assisted her with the bottles of sake, she grumbled something about stupid men.
"Oh, yeah," she said, looking over her shoulder with an eyebrow raised. There was no doubting that she adored every second of the news she was about to deliver. "Turns out I never had to send that letter. Megumi-san was coming to Tokyo for a surprise visit. When I saw her at the market earlier, I told her you were just dying to see her." As Sano's jaw dropped, Kaoru sniggered. "She'll be by in a few minutes."
"Dammit, Jo-chan! What was that for?"
"What was what for?" Kaoru asked, feigning innocence. "You don't want to see her?" Before Sano was allowed to shake his head, Kaoru closed her eyes, brushing away imaginary tears despite the fact that her arms were already dangerously full. "Do you hate her?"
"I never said tha--"
"Then you shouldn't avoid her," Kaoru said as she turned her back and proceeded into the house. "Even if she probably thinks you're not worth it."
"Not worth it?" There was no mistaking the indignance in Sano's voice.
"Well, obviously," Kaoru sniffed. "You're a mess." Then she closed the door behind her primly. Sano turned to Kenshin, baffled.
"Something on my face?" he asked. Kenshin sighed; it really wasn't his position to tell Sano how a woman would see him. It was at that moment that another loud knocking noise came from the gate, followed by Megumi's irritated voice.
"Tanuki-chan, it's raining cats and dogs out here!" she snapped. As she made out the vague forms of Sano and Kenshin standing in the yard, her expression changed. Both men could've sworn they saw fox ears pop up on her head. "Oh, Ken-san! Would you mind on opening the gate for me?" Kenshin sighed lightly but nonetheless complied with the doctor's orders. Sano was completely stiff;any party ideas had obviously been forgotten. As Megumi closed her parasol and daintily removed her shoes on the porch, she sniffed indignantly at him. "You haven't changed."
"And that's a bag thing?" he suddenly burst out, a wily sneer on his face. Megumi sniffed again, but made no direct denials.
Apparently, Megumi wasn't the only one coming to the party.
Yahiko, Shinya, and Tsubame had come along and Kaoru, loathed to keep any one of them (except maybe Yahiko) out in the rain, allowed them in without a second thought. Ayame and Suzume, who had both grown into beautiful young women, had come along. Megumi looked rather miffed as Sano gawked, asking Kenshin if the two little twerps that insisted on playing with "Ken-nii" were really the women sitting in the house. Ayame had cut her hair to the shoulders, preventing it from growing too far. She had also filled out rather nicely. Suzume, on the other hand, had grown her hair out and abandoned the pigtails that she had worn before. Although she was somewhat skinnier than her older sister, the future held promise for her... or so she insisted. Both girls were infinitely fond of Kenji (in a sister-like way).
Everybody partook in Sano's sake, with the exception of Tsubame (she refused on behalf of her pregnancy, but she had never been partial to sake to being with). Even Shinta and Ai, who were far too young for such a thing, tried it out; Ai stopped after a few sips, but Shinta insisted on chugging the sake down until it was literally ripped from his hands by Kaoru. Kaoru herself had one bottle before an all-too-familiar gleam came to her eyes, and she would've dragged Kenshin into their room had there been no company. After Sano pointed this out, Kaoru merely grinned drunkenly and grabbed a few unopened bottles, then vanished. When she returned empty-handed, everybody knew that she had stocked up for a time when she would have her husband to herself. Kenshin himself was quite capable of holding his drink, but after a few bottles (some of which having been shoved down his throat by Sano), he did seem much more swirly-eyed than usual. Shinta had long since passed out; Ai watched the party go on while she sat vigilantly by her brother.
"Kenji-kuuuun," Suzume chirped, her cheeks red. She had obviously undergone the transition from sisterhood to girlishness in her drunk state. She wrapped her arms around his neck, smothering him with wet kisses. Ayame did the same; Kenji hardly managed to push the two of them off without insulting them. 'Girls are scary,' he resolved as he stared down at his torn gi.
Katsu, who had also obviously had too much sake, sauntered over to Kaoru. "Kamiya-sa-... no, Kaoru-chaaaan," he drawled. His hand wandered; Kaoru stared down at her thigh cluelessly as he rubbed it. Kenshin did not hesitate to knock him out with the blunt edge of his sakabatou. As Kaoru stared, somewhat mortified and very clueless about the whole thing, her husband led her to the other side of the room. Sano merely snorted upon seeing his prostrate friend.
"He was gonna pass out anyway," he said simply. He was not yet fazed by the effects of the sake; he had partaken so much in the past that it took more than a few bottles to get him.
Yahiko had not gone to the point of making a fool of himself, but it was quite obvious that he was influenced. He directed a smoky gaze towards Tsubame, who blushed every time she made eye-contact with her husband. For most of the party, the young man was unusually silent. He seemed perfectly content just watching his wife fret with the children.
Shinya was lying next to Shinta, having passed out earlier. Kenji made a mental note to use this against him, if he ever needed it.
"Arright," Megumi slurred as she stood, half-empty bottle in hand. She pointed staggeringly at Kaoru, who immediately took the challenge and stood (after staggering a great deal more than her rival). "Weee're gonna end this righ' here, Tanushiii-chan!"
"Bring it on!" Kaoru cried, her slur equal (or even more so) to Megumi's. "Washit gonna be?" Megumi was silent for a moment, obviously having failed to think of what she was challenging Kaoru to before announcing it; after glancing over to Kenshin and Sano with glazed-over eyes, a foxy sneer made its way to her lips.
"Shnogging contest!" she cried, pumping a fist in the air. Kaoru planted her hands on her hips.
"You ain't shnogging my husband," she declared, to which Megumi shook her head. It was then that it became almost painfully obvious who she was planning to use; Sano backed away slowly, but Megumi already had a firm hold on his hair. Kaoru had already caught Kenshin before her husband could think to run... although it was quite obvious that Kenshin, in his current state, did not mind. He looked like he was about to enjoy it.
"Kenji!" Kaoru shouted to the boy, being that he was not drunk. "Time us!"
Kenji sighed, but complied.
"Ready, set... go," he said simply. Then he began to count.
The party was only beginning.
xXx
Nobody had left the dojo, but that did not mean they were invited to stay the night. By one in the morning, nearly everybody had fallen asleep against the walls in many uncomfortable positions; Tsubame, being that she had not had any alcohol, had taken charge of putting Ai and Shinta in their room. After that, she had attempted to wake her husband and son up in order to leave, but found that she could do no such thing. Finally resigning herself to her exhaustion, the wife of Yahiko Myogin fell asleep.
Kenji allowed himself the freedom to finally open his eyes; he had long since been expected of sleeping, but in order to spare Tsubame any unwanted grief, he had kept up the facade until he was sure she was also asleep. The young man stood; he could not ignore it anymore. As he walked towards the door, he felt eyes upon him. Turning, Kenji met his father's gaze evenly.
"Are you leaving?" Kenshin questioned. Kenji nodded. "They'll be angry with you. Only your mother and I know you're leaving."
"Stalling for goodbyes would make it harder," Kenji said, almost coolly. He was desperately trying to reject any sadness that threatened to stop him. The young man walked to the wall and grabbed the sakabatou from its place. Shouldering the weapon, he quietly slid open the shoji door and grabbed the bag he had left on the porch. He had been preparing to leave. Kenshin murmured a silent goodbye as he closed the door behind him, bag, sakabatou, and parasol in hand. Kenji smiled at his father; it was something he rarely did, but he found that Kenshin had given him many things that he had taken for granted. As Kenji was about to open the gate, he heard frantic breathing accompanied by the splashes of puddles; almost expecting to see the girl from earlier running towards him, he turned around. Ai.
"Kenji-nii," she croaked as she grabbed his gi. Kenji was silent. "Where are you going?" Kenji read her worries in an instant, then smiled reassuringly, patting her head. Ai's eyes widened. "You're... you're not..."
"It's not forever," he promised, his smile never wavering. "Keep an eye on Shinta, will you?" Then he hardened his heart and turned away, ignoring the pleas of his little sister. They soon died down to silence.
Kenji continued walking down the road, never looking back at the dojo. 'Does this make me like Father?' he suddenly thought, slightly perturbed. He then shook his head, banishing his worries. The feeling of freedom removed any matters from his system, and he felt the smile creeping back onto his lips.
Rurouni Kenji.
It had a strange ring to it.
to be continued...
A/N: Woah, the party scene was SO fun to write... xD But it's my first party scene. It's not like I adore making people waste themselves, so don't misinterpret me. It was just... fun. Ha ha.