Path of Swords

Chapter Two: The Samurai Goes to Town

The day after Kaoru, Yahiko, and Yutaro returned, Kenji was invited by the young men to go to town with them. Kenshin and Kaoru gave Kenji the task of picking up a few supplies, but other than that he was free to do as he wished with the others.

In short, it was an opportunity to have a little fun with Yahiko and Yutaro, something Kenji rarely got to do lately. He remembered many days in his childhood when the older boys had watched over him while they ran errands. Little Kenji had always been quite popular in town, especially with the women. One kind vendor even gave him free fruit every time she'd seen him, despite Yahiko's offers to pay her.

"No," she'd say with a smile. "For such a sweet child, it's a gift. His smile's the only pay I need."

"Arigotto," Kenji would say, beaming with gratitude.

He had always stood out from the other children, and he'd always known it. It wasn't just his uncommon hair color—even his own siblings had dark hair, he alone had inherited his father's unique trait—but also the way he held himself. The swordsmanship training had given him a grace few people had, a confidence that showed in the way he walked. That, and the knowledge that his parents could easily defend him from any danger he could get into.

He'd always known that, too. Even if he still didn't know all the details about his father's past, he knew his father had been a fierce foe to reckon with during the Bakumatsu. His father rarely spoke of those days, however, and the look in his eyes had always kept Kenji from prying even though he was curious. He knew his father had a vow to never kill anyone, but still... His eyes held dark secrets, no matter how innocent and foolish he could make himself appear. His eyes could be scary, sometimes, but he would always catch himself and smile if he went too far.

Kenji wished his parents would tell him the whole story, even if it hurt. It couldn't be that bad... Could it?

As Kenji wandered into town with his elder friends, his thoughts drifted as aimlessly as his gaze. His eyes fell on the horizon, fixating on the smoke rising from one of the new factories they'd built. Such factories had earned mixed reactions from the people of Japan, with some embracing the western technology and many outright fighting it. Uprisings among the descendants of former samurai were not uncommon.

Kenji's parents, however, always said the same thing in response to the questions and conflicts. Time will never stop, and the changes brought by the future are things that must be accepted if life is to go on. However, it is equally important to remember the events that have happened in the past and honor the memories of days gone by. Kenji's parents were unique among the people Kenji knew, at once standing for both the past and the future.

Kenji smiled a little as his hand instinctively curled around the hilt of his bokken. He, too, was proof that the past and future could exist at the same time. And he was proud to wear both the old ways and the ideals of a new era.

"It's good to see a smile on your face," Yahiko laughed, snapping Kenji out of his train of thought.

"Oro?" Kenji stammered, which only cracked Yahiko up even more. Kenji sighed, flushing slightly as he frowned. "I was thinking, that's all."

"Seemed like a very deep thought," Yutaro grinned.

Kenji smiled a little wistfully. "Hai, I suppose it was. It's strange, how quickly the times change, isn't it?"

Yahiko and Yutaro both nodded, and Yahiko smiled. "You kids of this new era are going to grow up in a completely different world... Even the times I grew up in were very different from the way things are now. It's a hard time to be a swordsman..."

The bokken at his hip seemed to grow heavier as Kenji thought about it. Yes, the times were changing—and the government was doing all that it could to force the samurai to change with them, like it or not. Kenji suspected that his parents and their friends had dealt with a lot of the problems such futile attempts at quenching the spirits of these swordsmen had caused... Most of them weren't the kind of people who'd just sit quietly and agree to give up. The opposite, in fact.

Kenji himself felt rather angered with how the authorities were dealing with the uprisings—it felt wrong to him, completely wrong. Every time word reached his ears of another incident where the government stepped in to stop an uprising with violence, it fed the fire that was eating away at his heart. So many people wound up dead because of this stupidity.

It made Kenji sick. He couldn't stand the thought of so many people dying and suffering around him, he ached to stand up and do something... but Kenji kept his thoughts to himself, because he didn't know how his parents—especially his father—would react if they knew how he felt. Part of him knew he couldn't hide his feelings forever, though.

His father was far too perceptive sometimes.

Kenji frowned, then quickened his pace to walk beside Yahiko as they neared their first destination. Yahiko smiled as he opened the door to the flat where he lived with his wife, Tsubame, and their son.

Shinya was at the door in a moment, peering up at his father and Kenji. The grin that spread across his chubby face lit Kenji's eyes with happiness as well. It reminded him of when his little brother and sister had been toddlers like Shinya.

"Gojaru!" Shinya giggled. "Gojaru!"

Kenji grinned and knelt down to be more at Shinya's level. "Hai, de gozaru yo! Good to see you, Shinya!"

Tsubame came over to the door and smiled at Yahiko before speaking to Kenji. "Shinya really likes you, Kenji-chan." Kenji frowned a little at the "chan," but let it slide.

"Gojaru!" Shinya clapped happily, and Yahiko grinned.

"Tsubame, the three of us are going to run some errands in town—and I'm going to stop by the dojo later to give Shinichi some extra practice—he's going to be out of town for a couple weeks."

Tsubame smiled a little. "Alright, that's fine... but Shinya will miss you."

Yahiko laughed and bent over to mess up Shinya's hair. "You'll be alright, won't you?"

Shinya just smiled at Yahiko and nodded.

Yahiko stood up and nodded at Tsubame before he turned away, followed by Yutaro and Kenji. Yahiko turned to Kenji as they walked. "So, Kenji... What sort of errands did your parents give you, anyway?"

Kenji frowned. "They want me to pick up some bandages and medical supplies from Megumi-dono for the dojo."

Yahiko grinned. "Good, then. I've been planning to stop by her place for a while now."

The three of them made their way through the outskirts of Tokyo to Megumi's home. She'd moved back to Tokyo from Aizu after seven years of searching for her long-lost family without any luck. Since then, she'd gotten plenty of business from the students of the Kamiya dojo—though, to Megumi's relief, nothing really serious had happened to her friends lately.

As Kenji and his friends neared the front gate, they could hear Megumi shouting at her current patient.

"You idiot. I don't care what that bird-head tried to teach you, don't listen to him. He's the stupidest man in all Asia. Maybe even the world."

Yahiko whistled. "Boy, sounds like someone's really mad at Sano at the moment..."
"Wonder what he did this time?" Yutaro chuckled.

Kenji was the only one who dared to knock on the front door. "Megumi-dono, it's Kenji! I'm here to buy some supplies for the dojo!"

"Hold on a minute," she said, sighing audibly. A moment later she opened the door for Kenji and the others, who kicked off their shoes and walked in. Yahiko sat down by the wall, Yutaro leaned up against the door frame, and Kenji followed Megumi over to her supply cabinet. All three of them shot glances at the boy sitting on the treatment bed—a young boy with messy hair and a side-ways grin on his face. His right arm was bandaged from his hand to his elbow.

Kenji pouted, trying to hold back a laugh. "What happened to him, Auntie?"

Megumi rolled her eyes. "Don't even... The little idiot tried to imitate that bird-headed fool and hurt his arm. I told Sanosuke not to damn well teach Sozo anything that could hurt him. Does he listen? No."

Kenji shared a glance with the others as Megumi ranted about Sano's stupidity. Finally, she tied up the bundle of supplies and handed them over to Kenji with a sigh.

"Arigotto," Kenji said, bowing to her. Megumi, who seemed a little more calm, smiled at him.

"Dou itashimashite," she said. "You're welcome, kiddo. I'm sorry that I was in a bad mood when you got here. I'm still mad at that idiot. Especially considering how he ran off after dropping Sozo off with me."

"It's okay," Kenji chuckled. It wasn't exactly abnormal for Megumi to be mad at Sano about something.

"If we see him, we'll send him your way," Yahiko promised.

"You better warn Dad he's in for it when he shows up," Sozo laughed, wincing as he jarred his arm.

Yahiko shook his head. "Well, if he was trying to teach you what I think he was, then he kind of deserves to be talked to a little."

Megumi rolled her eyes, and Sozo looked at his feet bashfully. "He wasn't exactly trying to teach me... I was just imitating something I saw him do..."

"And I've told him not to do anything stupid in front of you," Megumi sighed.

Yahiko chuckled, leaning over toward Yutaro to whisper, "That'd be pretty hard for him, don't you think?"

Yutaro laughed. "Yeah..."

Megumi rolled her eyes again, walking over to Yutaro. "Alright, enough of that. While you're here, let me take a look at your arm, Yutaro."

Yutaro frowned, glancing down at his right arm—which he always wore in a sling against his body, letting the right sleeve of his gi hang empty to his side. "I don't think it's improved much, Megumi. I can move my fingers a little, but that's pretty much it."

"Well, at least let me see it for myself..." Megumi slid the right half of his gi off and undid the sling. The old scar from his injury was still prominent on his arm, and Kenji shuddered to think of how terrible the wound must have been.

Yutaro clenched his fingers a little, but his right hand was still obviously disabled. Megumi sighed, wrapping the sling back up. "Alright, it's not like I expected it to heal even that well. At least you're still doing okay, though."

Yutaro beamed at her. "Of course, I just have to work harder with my left, that's all. Besides, one-armed swordsmen are popular with the ladies."

Yahiko frowned. "Only because you keep bragging about the great battle you were wounded in."

Yutaro glared at Yahiko. "Shut up!"

Yahiko grinned and went on. "You know that if Kenshin hadn't been there, you would've died."

Kenji perked up at the mention of his father. Of course, he'd heard this story before—about how Kenshin had come to Yutaro's rescue when the boy had gotten into trouble with Raijuta. Even such a simple story seemed to have pieces missing from it—secrets his parents and their friends wouldn't tell Kenji.

It bothered him greatly. He was almost a man. Why couldn't they trust him with the truth?

"Kenji?" Yahiko asked, concerned. "Are you okay?"

Kenji nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." His tone of voice was clipped with buried anger. He couldn't keep that from bleeding through, even though he was trying to keep his cool. Yahiko and Yutaro moved aside as he passed by, sharing a worried glance.

"I'll see you later," Kenji said to them. "I better get these supplies back to the dojo."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Yahiko asked, but Kenji walked off without answering.

He ran off down the streets of the city, hoping to find something that would make him feel better or take his mind off the thoughts that made him so angry... but it seemed like everything he turned to see disappointed him.

No one understood him. No one had the same spirit he did. No one could help him find his way. Even his parents—who stood behind him in everything he did—did not fully trust him. He knew that was a fact—he'd seen the fear in his father's eyes on occasion when watching Kenji practice.

What was he so afraid of?

Why wouldn't he just tell Kenji?

Finally, Kenji found himself sitting beside the East River, gazing into the waters at the fish swimming by. He held his bokken up against his body, his hands clenched so tightly around the wooden blade that his fingers had turned white.

He sat there for quite some time before picking up the bundle of supplies and heading homeward. The bustle of the city streets on the way home did distract his mind a little, at least. He needed that.

Vendors selling varied goods shouted out to people wandering the streets. As evening fast approached, the innkeepers searched the crowd for weary wanderers. People gathered in groups to talk about events of the day or news from other parts of the country.

It was only when Kenji's sharp hearing picked up on the word murderer in one conversation that he stopped to listen in.

"...up in Hokkaido somewhere, so I heard. Several officers have been killed, as well as ordinary citizens. Women and children, even."

"What a monster!"

"What's being done about this?"

"I don't know, I heard the police were searching for him. At this rate, though, they'll never track him down."

"Someone needs to take him out before he does any more damage..."

Women and children, even... Kenji's face darkened in disgust. A monster, indeed. He shook his head and walked on. He almost wished he hadn't overheard that bit of news...

...But, part of him wondered if he'd heard it for a reason.

Author: I'm sorry for the wait between chapters, but I've been pretty busy lately and couldn't find the time to work on this story. I've decided to try updating my fanfictions in a cycle from now on, so the wait for the next one shouldn't be so long as this last one. Also, since the action in this story really picks up from here I think it will be easier to write.

Notes on this chapter? In case it's not obvious, Sozo is the son of Megumi and Sano, named after Sanosuke's mentor and hero, Captain Sagara Sozo. I imagine him to be about seven or eight. Shinya is a character Watsuki-sensei himself said would be the son of Yahiko and Tsubame. His nickname for Kenji, "Gojaru," is also what Iori called Kenshin in the actual manga as a play on his catchphrase "de gozaru yo."

Also, if there had been a fourth arc for the Kenshin manga, it would've been set in Hokkaido... where Saito was actually said to be stationed in the end of the "Cherry Blossoms in Spring" short. So, yes... This story of mine is a shout out to that idea as well.

Yutaro's injury, as far as I'm concerned, would have been rather impossible to heal in the Meiji era. If his nerves were cut, he'd be lucky to even be able to feel or move his hand, much less be dexterous with it ever again. I kind of like the idea of him wearing his arm in a sling all the time and fighting one-handed... As he states in this chapter, that alone makes him pretty skilled. In the actual manga Tae and Tsubame both wanted Sano to buy them a popular print of a one-armed samurai. I don't doubt that being badass enough to fight with only one arm would make a guy popular with the ladies... especially if he plays up the story about how he "lost his arm." Yeah.

...

Japanese words in this chapter:

Arigotto; thanks/thank you.

De gozaru yo; Kenshin's catchphrase in the manga, which Kenji (apparently) picked up from him. It adds politeness to the sentence. It's the older and more formal version of "desu" which is used nowadays.

Dou itashimashite; you're welcome.

...

Scarred Sword Heart: I'm glad that Kenji's skills are up to your standard. ^^ Hope you enjoy reading about his further exploits in this story, because I have plenty of action planned for him!

Queen Emily the Diligent: Thanks! I want Kenshin's ending to be happy, too... He absolutely deserves happiness!

DarkestAngel1808: Thanks!