"This is it, Rin?" Ken looked at the little house made of wood. "Our own house?" She thought that he was disappointed, but on the contrary, Ken was overjoyed at the their new home.
"Yes Kenshin, this is our new home. We should be grateful for this gift," She said patting his little head of hair. She then turned around to bow at the old man who was paid to bring her to their new destination. "Arigato gozaimasu, for seeing to us in the long journey."
The old man smiled and patted her hair just as she did to her little brother. "Take care of yourself and your little brother. There should be enough food in this crate to last you two a couple of weeks, and don't you fret about anything, I am sure things will work out fine. Stay strong," He said and then hopped back onto his wagon and took off the direction they came from.
Rin looked at their new home. She clasped her hands together and prayed for the best. Although their home wasn't much bigger than any of the other villagers that she has seen, she was still grateful for it. It was, after all, their own home.
She looked around. Trees and more trees surrounded them. She sighed. It seem like her great-aunt enjoy living in solitude and isolation. Everywhere she turned there were trees, big tall, green trees. That was one thing Rin thought she didn't like. She love people and to be around people, but especially flowers. Oh how she love being in her last guardian's flower garden after a hard day of work.
"Rin look!" Ken exclaimed coming out of the house, "Wooden toys! Our great-aunt kept wooden toys!" His little body jerked to a bountiful of joyous laughter. His little hands cradle bundles of little wooden figurines that were forcing to drop out the side of his arms. "There's something else, come inside!" He said and then rushed back inside the house. She too turned her heal, took her sandals off and walked into the house.
There were tatami mats coving the floors and from the look of it, her great-aunt took great care of the mat for it was in good condition. The walls were covered in thick, rich rice paper.
Inside sat a small wooden table with four little mats placed around it. Little teacups were set neatly on top of the table and in the middle, a teakettle. There was nothing else in the room beside a small table set aside in the corner.
Everything in the home was neat and clean. There wasn't anything out of place, she assumed. She shivered a little, seeing that it was a little odd to be living under a roof where someone had just died.
As her little bother called her into the room, the thought died rapidly. She walked towards the direction of the sliding door and into the small room. On the right corner was a medium size futon draped in the most expensive silk. And on the other was another futon, a bit smaller than the other one, but was also with silk covering. Was her great-aunt informed of Kenshi? She looked over at her little brother as he tried to reach over a shelf to get his intended target.
"Rin look, the castle. Get it please?" He said as he tried again to stretch his little body up as wide as he could grunting at the same time.
Rin shook her head and gave a slight chuckled at the little form. She walked slowly to the shelf and reached her hand to pick up the small castle figure off the shelf. Her fingers wrapped around the small statue.
"Isn't it nice Rin? May I see it, please?" Ken reached up for it, but he was too small to get his hands on it. He frowned. Rin didn't take notice of her brother standing just mid-thigh to her; instead she was focused on the object.
"I have seen this castle before, but where?" She whispered more to herself. She brushed her fingers over the finery carved and painted castle. She cringed as she accidentally pricked her thumb at the tip of one of the castle's towers. A drop of blood trickles down her thumb and on to the white layer of paint and disappeared into the castle.
Suddenly the white castle in her hand started to radiate a soft glow. The castle in her hand grew warm. It was as if it had a life of its own.
"Rin what is it?" Ken asked as he saw his sister's eyes widen.
"Unbelievable," She said softy. But it did not escape her brother's ears.
"Unbelievable? What's unbelievable, Rin?" He asked a bit excited. "I want to know, please tell me." He tugged at her kimono.
She held the castle to her chest as if it could help her to remember something important. Her hand reached out to touch Kenshin's head; this in turn stopped him from tugging.
"It's nothing, Ken," She finally pulled her eyes away from the white castle and set it back to its original place on the shelf. She kneeled down and straightened her brother's old worn out kimono. "You should start to get ready for bed, hm?"
Kenshin nodded obediently and walked towards the little futon that he assumed was made for him.
"Silly boy, I asked him to get ready not to go straight to bed." Rin shook her head and walked outside to the well pump she saw earlier. Pulling a bucket out from the side of the house she started to pump the water out of the small pump. She always liked water in the kitchen when she wakes up in the morning to wash her face.
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TBC