Chapter 2: Welcome Home


"An absolute pleasure to meet you…"

The man's words startled Yukita; not so much the words themselves, but who was saying them. Her father had just explained who this mystery person was, but her brain still had issues processing the information. Her older brother's barely concealed agitation – gods know why he was annoyed of all people – didn't help the situation much.

Everything about this man seemed…off. The white hair and the black stubble were no match for each other at all, his shirtless upper body showcased a thin yet well-honed physique, he was clearly used to working so hard. Yet, when she dared to gaze at his eyes, the entryway of the soul, she was immediately taken back. An endless concoction of negative emotions emanated from those eyes, chiefly a hint of bitter sadness. He certainly wasn't a threat, not an obvious one at least, otherwise big brother surely would have taken him out by now. But this man definitely wasn't your average worker.

"Hey," Kiyoshi yelled out, "you work for us, right?! What makes you think you can take that tone with us, hm?!"

She jumped at her brother's assertive tone. "Big brother," she pleaded, "please don't shout like that…"

"Eh-!"

"H-hey, now now..." their father interrupted just in time to prevent their squabbling to devolve into a full-blown argument, "come inside, I'll explain everything. You two must be a bit tired, we have water for tea as well. Enishi! Grab your tools and get to work, please?"

Kiyoshi glanced at the strange white-haired man before looking back at his father and giving a nod of recognition before letting go of his sister's shoulder and retreating into the house with his father. Yukita lingered outside for a moment, surveying the man directly in front of her, the way he slouched over and gazed at the ground before he slapped his knees and rose from the stump. She watched idly as he scooped his tools up from the tall grass and headed for the fields, not sparing a single moment to return her gaze whatsoever as his snow-white bangs cast an ominous shadow over his eyes. She mentally shrugged and turned around, taking strides into the house. She soon found herself sitting down at the table opposite her father, her big brother next to him taking sips from a cup of freshly prepared tea. She took the one directly in front of her and cupped it in her hands, taking periodical sips as he spoke.

"Strange to see you home so early in the morning!"

Before Yukita could even open her mouth, her brother was already speaking.

"We stayed at an inn about two hours away from here last night, it was getting late and Yukita suggested we sleep so we were well rested when we got home…we woke up extra early to get here."

"I see…how have your aunt and uncle been doing?"

"They're doing alright, father," Yukita answered with a clear tone whilst sitting tidily, "they appreciated the help we've given them for the past few months…"

"That's good to hear. Well, in any case, it's great to have both of you back."

"Where is Setsuko?" Yukita inquired. It was unusual for the family maid to be away from home, especially this early in the morning.

"Oh, I asked her to buy some supplies from town, she left just before you two arrived."

"I see."

"Can you please explain the man outside, now?! You didn't think to tell us of him via a letter or something?!" Kiyoshi bitterly snapped at his old man, who nodded and rested his arms on his knees.

"…About two months ago, a little while after you left, that man came to our doorstep. It was the evening, and the rain was absolutely dreadful that day – he was drenched from head to toe. He asked if I needed any help around the farm, to which I said I wasn't hiring anyone new at the moment. He said he'd work for free, he only asked for a place to sleep and enough rice every day to just keep him going. Of course, I could handle that...the rest is history."

"And you just let him in?!" Kiyoshi growled with subdued ferocity, making Yukita widen her eyes at her brother's aggressiveness. "What if he's like…a plant for the mob or something? What if he plans to take the farm from our cold, dead hands? Did you ever think about that, father?"

"He seems like a fellow I can trust and he was offering to work practically for free…how could I resist?"

"You always think with your wallet first, father…he could be dangerous!"

"He's been here for two months brother," Yukita interrupted politely, "If he had any ulterior motives, I'm sure he would've carried them out by now. I think he is right...we're safe. Father, why does he not except payment?"

He smirked at his daughter's question, shaking his head as if he were in disbelief. "Beats me, dear. I even tried to give him some compensation for his deeds and all he did was throw it to the ground. He just won't take anything!"

"How strange…" That man was a growing curiosity; each minute this mysterious worker became a more interesting character to Yukita. Father had hired workers before, he still did when it was a particularly burdensome season, but nothing quite like this had happened before. From the sounds of it, he was akin to a voluntary slave, he was being treated like one at least...voluntarily. How exactly did that work?

She thought Kiyoshi's suspicions were, whilst well-intentioned, slightly ill-warranted. The arrival of a suspicious hard working white-haired man did reek of strangeness, but she saw no danger, no ill-intent in that man's topaz-blue eyes. Instead, she saw someone detached, dejected, apathetic, slightly broken. He hadn't the willpower to harm even a fly.

"Well, I for one don't trust-!"

Kiyoshi was promptly interrupted by an unknown object bashing into Yukita's back at high speed. It wrapped what looked to be arms around her shoulders and buried its head in her back as it screamed "Sister! You're back!"

Yukita turned around to face the one calling for her after they let go; upon seeing the subject of the intrusion she instinctively brought them into an overwhelming bear-hug, using her hand to make waves in their brown messy hair.

"Kensei-kun." She breathed out, relieved to see her little brother again. He leaned into her gentle and warm touch, savouring the moment to the best of his abilities. His necked craned upward as she changed position to hold his cool yet soft cheeks soothingly in her hands, she stared into his delicate brown eyes and gave him a smile. He beamed back at her, a subtle blush rising in his face, before burying his face in her chest and bringing his tiny arms around her again.

It had been like this since their mother passed away so many years ago. He had been left as a little baby boy with no mother, no one to cling to, no one to shower him with the love and affection he so desperately needed. Whether she wanted it to happen or not, she had become the dominant figure in his upbringing, she looked after him when no one else could. In a sense, she had become both a sister and a mother to him. She closed her eyes; she could hear nothing but his gentle breathing against her chest. At that moment, nothing but the two of them existed, their frantically beating hearts almost in perfect harmony together.

She withdrew from their embrace and placed her hands squarely on his shoulders. "How have you been, little brother?"

"Um…I've been okay…b-but I've missed you so much!" He grasped the sleeves of her kimono as she smiled at his childish pining. "It's…been lonely without you."

"Good morning to you too, Kensei." Kiyoshi intruded into the conversation, noticeable irritation in his speech.

Kensei addressed him unenthusiastically."Oh, hello big brother." He quickly turned back to his sister, leaving Kiyoshi speechless.

"But father and Setsuko have been looking after you, right?"

"Mm", he nodded, "but they're so...boring. They won't play with me like you do…"

Yukita huffed in amusement and placed a chaste kiss on the crown of his forehead before turning to look back at her father, "Has he been well behaved?"

"He's been fine, he's just missed your company. Please don't be too harsh on him about it, it gets lonely here."

"I see…thank you." She turned back to gaze at her younger brother, who looked back up at her expectedly, a mystical and innocent gleam in his eyes. "I have an idea."

"What is it, sister?"

"Father, is there work to be done?"

"Hmmm," she couldn't see him rub his stubble in thought, "well, there's laundry to be done…Setsuko hasn't gotten around to that, yet. There's quite a lot to be done."

Yukita nodded in response, "Why don't you help me with the laundry, Kensei-kun? It will give us time to catch up?"

"Okay!" He replied giddily and excitedly, jumping to his knees and racing outside.

Yukita dusted herself off before joining him. It was a lovely morning, warm yet a pleasant breeze in the air which softly brushed against the greenery of the farm and her thick, brown hair. The sleeves of her kimono thwacked against her sides as she rolled and tied them up, exposing her elbows. She smiled as she saw her brother run quickly up to her with two buckets. My my, he was getting so strong! She bent down and graciously accepted one of the buckets and both departed for the nearby well…but not before she took a curious glance at the fields. Her eye caught the mysterious white-haired man, this 'Enishi', sparing a glance at both her and her brother, before bending back down to continue digging away with his farming tools. She shook her head and hurried off with her brother to the well.

He merrily skipped along the path as she continuously warned him of the consequences of such complacency. After all, father would be furious if the bucket fell out of his hand and were to be damaged. He gasped and cheered at all the butterflies and exotic shrubbery. Eventually, they found themselves at the well. Yukita drew the water out of the well as Kensei held the buckets in place whilst she carefully filled both to the brink with water. She watched and suppressed a haughty laugh as her little brother's face turned bright red whilst he picked his bucket full of water back up. He pulled a face as if to say he could handle it before he marched onwards, his big sister following closely behind him. Once they reached the farm, they poured the water into a washing basin and mixed it with soap before Yukita went inside to grab the pile of laundry to be done for the day. She went back outside and knelt back over the basin with her brother, brush in hand. They were parallel to the fields, the new[CS1] 'worker' completely visible.

"The new man is kinda weird…" Kensei uttered as he scrubbed one of his father's kimonos. She continued to stare off at him.

"Does he scare you, Kensei-kun?"

"N-no, not really…but why is his hair white? That's not supposed to happen, right? Only old people have white hair! Right?"

"Right...I suppose it's not normal, not for someone that young. But it's best not to pry into people's lives like that, okay?"

"Okay…"

Yet she couldn't help but take a gander at that worker again. He certainly knew his way around farming tools; his body moved with such grace, his hips swinging to draw out maximum power and his hands gripped tightly on the sickle. Particles of soil jumped up into the air and covered the sky and bright yellow sun before descending back down to the earth whence it came. It was a rhythmic dance of agriculture that was being performed by that strange. His snow-white hair was a scrambled unkempt mess that sat atop his head, some of it nearly reached his shoulders. His bangs cast a protective shadow over his eyes, denying entryway into his soul. In that state, it was almost impossible to guess what he was thinking. Just as before, he occasionally looked over to what she and Kensei were doing, before shaking his head and hurriedly going back to agricultural activities.

It must have been nice…to be free, Yukita thought. This man, 'Enishi', could leave whenever he wanted to. He was under no obligation, no binding contract to stay here. If the next morning he felt like he had done enough, he could pack his things and leave. Yukita, on the other hand, had no such luxury. Oh, she loved her brothers, father and even Setsuko dearly, but she couldn't help but feel a hint of isolation. She was now nineteen years old and felt tethered to this farm, her older brother Kiyoshi had been repeatedly teasing her to get a husband already, something which their father agreed with (despite her big brother not even considering courting anyone yet). To leave one life of servitude to enter another…she couldn't fathom making that choice unless it was of her own accord. Plus, she wasn't quite ready to leave yet…she had to take care of Kensei, right?

"…Hey, sis?" A high-pitched voice brought her out of her intense meditations, she immediately went back to scrubbing the rag in her hand before tying it to the laundry line right above their heads. She took another piece of the laundry from the pile and went back to cleaning. He raised an eyebrow at her odd behaviour. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing much," she replied earnestly as she continued to scrub, "your big sister is just thinking about things."

"What things?"

She opened her mouth speak and then paused before closing her eyes in thought. Eventually, she opened them back up and looked down to Kensei, a radiant smile overcoming her lips. "What've you been up to whilst I was away?"

"I made a new friend from the village…"

"That's nice." She patted his head with a wet, sudsy hand. Kensei grimaced and pulled a face as if to say knock it off. "Are they nice?"

"Of course, I wouldn't be friends with her otherwise!"

Her, is it? She grinned wryly at his response. "Looking for a girlfriend already, Kensei-kun? You're still so young, I'd guessed you'd be a stud."

"N-no! I hate girls!" He clenched his fist as his cheeks went rosy red once again.

"So you hate me, then? And Setsuko? And your new friend?"

"Except you two…and I don't like my new friend because she's a girl or anything! Girls are gross..."

Yukita took the rag both of them were wiping and hung it up on the line. Kensei reached over the bucket for another piece of dirty clothing and dumped it into the bucket, his kimono getting splashed slightly by soapy suds.

"Oh, Kensei…" Yukita sighed, "you got your kimono wet."

"It's not that bad!" He protested, pointing at the admittedly trivial amount of water that landed on his light blue garb. "With this heat, it'll dry up in no time!"

"Just be careful next time."

She couldn't help but notice the mysterious white-haired man take a glance at them yet again from across the field. He obviously saw something of interest in their interactions, something which drove him to gaze upon them so intently. But this time his eyes – despite the fact she couldn't see them – lingered on the two of them longer than ever before. His aura wasn't threatening or off-putting, not in the slightest, just slightly odd. As if he was…missing something...

Kensei called out to her. "The man's looking at us…why?"

"I don't know, Kensei-kun. Maybe we're distracting him from his work?"

"Oh…should we be quiet, then?"

"I think it would be best."

"Okay."

Both brother and sister quickly went back to work, precious few words were exchanged after that.


"What do you think of the new servant, Setsuko?" Yukita asked the family maid curiously, as both scrubbed the plates and bowls left over from dinner.

"Hmm? Oh, the white-haired fellow? I don't really think much of him really. He's hardly a servant as it is."

"What do you mean?"

"Servants usually do get a paycheck, dear. Or at least, compensated adequately for their efforts. This gentleman - Enishi was it? – he doesn't even get given money. He doesn't want money. He's happy to just work and work all day in exchange for the bare necessities so he can keep on working the next day."

"Why do you think he does that?" Yukita's brow narrowed as she contemplated the information she was given. Odd, indeed.

"Who knows? I can't even begin to fathom what goes through the heads of men like that. I say if you're good at something, don't do it for free. And he's very good at helping around the farm. He could lighten up a bit as well. Every time I see him, he's so incredibly gloomy and brooding…he ain't done anything to offend anyone here, he's just…miserable to be around."

"Hmm…I see…"

"Anyway," Setsuko quickly tapped the top of her head with her brush, "you haven't even told me anything about you yet! How have you been?! How's the rest of the family?!"

She glared down at all the dirty dishes."Oh…things have been fine, I guess. Nothing really exciting happened when big brother and I were there…maybe it was because I didn't choose to go there...I had no choice in the matter. If you were to ask me, I would've rather stayed here. Do you ever get that feeling where everyone just tells you what to d-"

The stupidity of her words dawned on her as she blushed intensely, hurrying back to her work. Setsuko began laughing uncontrollably.

"Didn't even need me to tell you how stupid you sound, do I?! Good lord girl, sometimes you need to think before you speak!" She howled whilst patting Yukita's back affectionately. She smiled back at her weakly.

Ever since mother had died giving birth to Kensei, it had been like this. Setsuko made it her personal mission to help in raising Yukita into a fine young woman; it was from the family maid she learnt her manners, to cook, to sew, to clean, to do anything that was required of her. Yukita may have been like a mother to Kensei, but Setsuko…she was everything she could ask for from a mother. Which was adequate, because she was only just over twenty years her senior.

Yukita closed her eyes and took a deep breath before addressing Setsuko once more.

"But you know what I mean right? I'm always told what to do by father and big brother…they want me to get married soon before I become too 'old' to be desirable. 'Before the apple rots', they say. I just…I just…"

"Just what?" She put the brush down and gently placed her hand on her shoulder.

"I don't know...I just want to be able to make my own choices. One day, I want to leave this farm and live life on my own terms…get married on my own terms…you know? Sorry, I'm rambling..." Flustered, Yukita went back to the dishes.

"Don't worry about it, it's only natural. You're young, you've got your whole life ahead of you…just remember that nothing's ever set in stone."

Yukita beamed whilst twirling one of the locks of her hair. "Thanks…"

"Don't worry about it. I'm always here if you need someone to talk to...to vent your frustrations. I used to be just like you in fact-"

"Sister…" A drowsy voice called out, interrupting the conversation. Yukita glanced over her shoulder to see her little brother, donned in a snow-white sleeping gown, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"You're tired?"

He nodded. "Mhm."

"I'll finish the dishes dear," Setsuko reassured her, "there are only a few left, anyway. You tuck him into bed."

Yukita nodded and grabbed one of the blazing candles before gliding over to Kensei, taking his hand and walking with him to his room. When she reached it, she quietly slid the shoji open and her candle lit up all the corners of the small box of a bedroom. He watched as she placed the candle on in the corner and laid the futon on the floor tidily before reaching for a blanket in the nearby chest. When she turned around, he was already laying in his bed, looking up expectedly at her. Yukita knelt over his exhausted form whilst she pulled the extra blanket over him. He hummed pleasantly to himself as he closed his eyes.

"Hey, sister?"

"What is it?" She asked curiously.

"Are you wearing perfume?"

"Yes. Cherry blossoms."

"It…it suits you really well. It's really good to have you back..."

"Thank you. Goodnight, Kensei-kun...sleep well." She bent down and smooched his forehead before standing back up. She took the candle from the floor and closed the door quietly behind herself after taking one last glance at her younger brother. As she walked back to the kitchen, she contemplated what Setsuko had said about this 'Enishi' person.

Both she and father had called him such a hard worker, yet he was barely (if ever) compensated for his efforts. He may not have been the most well-dressed person she had ever met, but the sheer amount of work he had done seemed to be insurmountable, it was admirable. It was he who supposedly ploughed all of the new land so far, and whilst Kiyoshi had lent his hand in helping around the farm again, it was Enishi who still did the most work that day. Maybe big brother was just tired today…maybe.

She recalled the unfathomable misery both she and Setsuko had spotted emanating from that man. Whilst he worked hard, he never outwardly expressed any joy in it. When he had finished his work for the evening, he quietly retreated to the spare storeroom on the opposite side of the farm, disappearing from sight in the blink of an eye. She couldn't help but wonder how lonely he felt…did he have a family out there somewhere? Were they all lost? Is he all alone? Is that why he had been reduced to a voluntary servant? Basically a slave? If that was so, she felt a twinge of pity for that man…maybe that was why he was so melancholy to be around, according to everyone else.

To hell with it, she thought, I'm too nice for my own good. As she found herself in the now empty kitchen – Setsuko must have taken her leave and gone to bed – Yukita reached for a few empty bowls and scooped up some leftovers from dinner. He may not accept payment or even a genuine meal most of the time, but she just couldn't stand to see someone go properly uncompensated for their efforts. It was just intended as a gesture of goodwill; perhaps the stranger would appreciate a good breakfast for once.

She placed the bowls of rice, eggs and cold meats on a tray before heading outside with her candle to cross the farm. Her plan was simple; quietly enter the storeroom as he slept – she had been told that he went to sleep early as he was required to wake up before anyone else – and quietly leave the food for him so he would find a nice surprise for breakfast. Maybe that would help improve his mood? To let him know there were people who were at least slightly concerned with his well-being, even if that gesture was to give him the most basic of subsistencies that people require every day. How pathetic.

She reached the door and sighed deeply before the sounds of wailing and screeching reached her ears. Shocked, she deciphered that the screams were coming from the storeroom. She hastily opened the shoji door and gasped at what she saw. The man was wailing in his sleep! He tossed and turned, hysterically crying out as if someone were plunging a knife into his heart. Hastily placing the tray on the ground, she rushed over to his futon. It seemed like he was calling out to someone…he repeatedly cried out for 'sister'…. his sister? He had a sister? Where was she?

Hesitantly, She knelt beside him as he thrashed around, nudging his side to coax him out of his state.

"S-sister, help! Don't leave me again!"

"H-hey! Enishi-san, are you okay?!" She asked desperately, lightly shaking him by the shoulders. "Please, talk to me! Are you hurt or something?"

"NO!"

Sweaty eyelids darted open and she was greeted with wild, topaz-blue eyes partially shielded by snow-white bangs. He immediately shot up and sat upright as Yukita collapsed backwards to sit, propping herself up with her elbow. Sweat flowing down his face, he slowly turned his head to glare at the one who partially pulled him out of the depths of his agony before hastily looking away from her to the ground beneath him, perhaps too ashamed to confront her directly.

Yukita gulped.

"You…you're the old man's daughter, aren't you?" He spat out coarsely.

"Y-yes...hello...are you alright?"

To be continued...


AN: So surprise, there are alternating POVs. The idea is to alternate between each chapter, but things might change if they need to. Enishi only says about two lines in this chapter so if there's anyone disappointed by that, I apologize. I just want to develop the other characters, especially the female OC.

Enishi has a very obsessive personality, it's probably his biggest flaw as a person, so I thought post-manga he'd be completely hopelessly obsessed - at least for a time - with punishing himself and cultivating his own self-destruction, much much more than Kenshin. That's what gave me the idea for his current state.