Story Summary: Passing through the four seasons, here is a short story telling Kenshin and Kaoru's marriage, her pregnancy, the birth of Kenji and possibly life after that.
Seasons
By Ombre Rose
Chapter Two
- Winter -
I
Through the months that followed after Kaoru's baby announcement, Kenshin had thought of nothing else but of her and the child living inside. He tended to her every need, every complaint as she struggled with the woes of being a heavily pregnant woman. She was already eight months in, and in that long measure of time, he had come to realise how exhausting pregnancy was.
There were the typical symptoms, from bouts of morning illnesses, unpredictable mood swings to sudden food cravings, all of which came as no surprise to him. As the weeks evolved into months, however, the intensity of these tell-tale indications of his wife's pregnancy - besides her growing belly, had only increased tenfold. She was like a firecracker, one in which if he had his hand closed around it and set it off, he was going to hope he was wise enough not to have used his good hand. He knew he needed help - womanly help, and there was only one person who would know what to do in such a situation.
Takani Megumi.
Thankfully at his request, Megumi had agreed to attend to Kaoru personally, travelling all the way from Aizu to Tokyo to be with her these couple of months. Yet, while the doctor's presence here had made all the difference to him, there was still an uncomfortable premonition of fear looming over him as the baby's due date drew closer. The risks of childbirth frightened him, and he never stopped hoping in his heart that his wife and child would make it through the birth alive when the time comes.
Kenshin let out a sigh, exhausted from some sort of mental depletion. Approaching the large wooden gateway of the Kamiya household, he unlocked the doors and stepped into the courtyard, which was now carpeted white with freshly fallen snow. Like the zenith in the skies, inside all was motionless and still. Distantly came a rhythmical sound of snoring from one of the bedrooms, and he knew it to be Yahiko's. The boy had truly been a blessing, offering to go back to living at the dojo to keep an eye on Kaoru on days Kenshin had to work the night shift.
Work was a stranger to him, having wandered Japan for a decade surviving on nothing but a good head on his shoulders and his sakabatou in tow. He was a swordsman, and as a swordsman in the current Meiji era, there are only so many employment options available to him.
One day, he came across a notice posted by the police department. It had been an offer, a reward for the capture of any persons believed to be involved with the Bosozoku. The name had jolted a memory in him, being the same group of men who had previously caused trouble to Yahiko and the other students at the Kamiya Dojo.
He did not waste any time in accepting the offer and went straight to work. His employment with the police not only helped bring in more than half of the Bosozoku, but also bring the town's crime rate to an all-new low. He took on more police work, even finding himself working with Saitou from time to time. It was good money, but it also came with a price, taking him away from Kaoru on most evenings, away from a home that would soon be filled with the sound of a child's laughter.
Wishing to retire for the night, Kenshin made his way to the bathhouse. He fired up some chopped wood and drew himself a bath. He would wash quickly, he decided, eager to join his wife in bed.
Towelled dry and fully dressed in a sleeping yukata, he padded his way towards their shared bedroom. As he slide the shoji door open, the warmth emanating from inside the room buffeted his face against the chilly breath of winter in the air. He closed the door behind him, his gaze lingering on the sleeping figure before him.
Kaoru's tiny frame, even with the large swell of her belly, was absorbed completely in the dark and murmur of the night. She breathed deeply; the breath whooshing out through her slightly parted lips was as soft as the fallen snow outside.
He moved first to set the sakabatou aside by the hibachi*, barely making a single sound, not even a rustle. Yet, somehow as though sensing his presence in the room, Kaoru's blue eyes began to blink open.
"Kenshin?" She murmured, her voice threaded with sleep.
He smiled apologetically down at her. "Sorry, didn't mean to wake you, that I did not."
"It's alright. I dozed off for a little bit."
With a hand supporting her protruding belly, she tried shifting into a sitting position. Kenshin went to her, supporting her back as she sat up before joining her on the futon. Even in the dark, he noticed the cast of shadows under her eyes. "You should go back to sleep."
"I didn't mean to fall asleep. I was waiting for you to come home."
"You shouldn't have. You need your rest, that you do."
Stubbornly, she shook her head. "You've been on the night shift a lot lately. By the time you come home, I'm always already asleep. I just wanted to make sure I stay awake till you get home this time."
"I'm sorry for making you wait for me, that I am."
"No need to apologize." She lifted her parted lips to his. "Welcome home, Kenshin."
Her scent and taste, which were as supple and sweet as a rose in bloom, had him spell bounded. His body ached for her—depended on her for sanity and strength alike. With the slight movement of his fingers, he tilted her head back a little more, deepening the kiss as their lips meld in perfect union. Reluctantly, he broke the contact, and his heart swelled with love when he saw that her smile was linked with a contented sigh.
"That reminded me of how much I missed you today."
He traced the line of her cheekbone with his finger, doing his best to repress the impulse that was guiding him towards her mouth again. "I missed you too, that I did."
"Will you hold me, just for a little while?"
Obliged, he shifted, adjusting his legs around the sides of her, then drawing her into the warmth of his arms so her head lay back on his shoulder. Reaching out for the sleep covers pooled at the foot of the mattress, he brought it up to them to lay it over their legs, warming them against the nippy cold. Her cold fingers slipped over his forearms, and he heard her sigh in appreciation at how his heat surrounded her this way.
"Better?" he asked.
She rested her cheek against his. "Yes, much better now."
She ran her fingers lightly along the length of his arm in rhythmical movements, silently marvelling at the taut, wiry muscles underneath them. "Did you catch any bad guys tonight?" she asked.
"Aa."
"Were they a lot of trouble?"
"No." He leaned in, enjoying the smell of her. His breath added warmth against her pale cheek.
A tired smile graced her lips. "Good. As long as you're home and safe," she decided, but her words were shortly followed with a vanquished and longing sigh. "I wish you didn't have to work so hard. I don't get to see you as much as I'd liked."
"I only want to make sure you're happy and well taken care of, that I do."
"You'll make me much happier if you spent more time with me."
Hearing the unhappiness in her voice, he sighed against her hair. "I'd loved to, that I do. But someone has to take care of the household expenses, and you're certainly in no shape to see to that right now, that you are not."
He knew the battle was half won when she submitted into an uncharacteristic brooding silence.
"Maybe we can ask Tae to split Yahiko's allowance with us," she suggested a moment after. "He can consider that as payback for the times he lived here as a freeloader."
He chuckled. "You don't mean that. Besides, I lived here freely as well, that I did. You can consider this as my payback."
"That's nonsense. You've done so much for me since your stay here." Inside her mind, she recounted all the things he did around the dojo. "You did the laundry, cooked us delicious meals on most nights, prepared my bath water almost every day. And lately, you've also been helping Yahiko and the other students with their training. So with all things considered, it is I who should be paying you back, not the other way round."
"You already did," he told her earnestly.
She turned her head to look up at him. Her eyes, which were as deep and blue as the ocean, held gleams of curiosity. "What do you mean?"
"You agreed to marry me," he said, surprising her. "I could and will never be worthy enough for you, Kaoru. It is for that reason alone that I will do everything in my power to ensure your happiness."
"You're wrong, Kenshin," she murmured determinedly. "There is no other man in the world who is more worthy of my love than you. I love you, more than you can ever imagine."
He buried his face in her hair. "I haven't earned you," he said quietly.
She huffed. "Silly man, I'm not a wage or a prize to be earned. I wouldn't– oh!"
"What is it?" His body jerked at her sudden exclamation, prepared to haul her – swollen belly and all, into his arms and take her straight to Megumi's, when she pressed a hand to her stomach in an action that was purely reflex. "Is the baby giving you trouble?"
"No, no. The baby's moving again. A lot this time." Thrilled, she grabbed his hand and laid it over her middle. "Do you feel it? It's like a rippling inside me."
Panic shifted to awe, filling his eyes, his heart as he felt the unborn child stir inside her. "I feel it," he announced, feeling somewhat breathless. "I feel it, that I do."
Her eyes were glimmering like stars in her pale face. "Seems like our baby doesn't want to be left out of the conversation. Yes, little one," she soothed, soft and sweet as a tune that one knows so well as she stroked her rounded tummy tenderly. "We know you're there. And your mommy and daddy love you very much. Don't we, Papa Kenshin?"
"Yes." There was a hint of huskiness in his voice, his breath caught in his throat at the look of wonderment and love in the depths of his wife's sapphire blue eyes. "Yes, we do."
From Wikipedia: *Hibachi (火鉢 'fire bowl') is a traditional Japanese heating device. It consists of a round, cylindrical or a box-shaped open-topped container, made from or lined with a heatproof material and designed to hold burning charcoal.