Kenshin's Little Girl
Chapter 3
As Kaoru entered her fourth month of pregnancy, Kaen uttered her first words. Not long after she started talking, she was left with her 'uncle' Sano and 'cousin' Yahiko for a few hours of the afternoon. Kaoru was tired and so was Kenshin, both finally agreeing that a few hours without their daughter would be good for both of them. When Kenshin opened the door of Sano's small shack, he had no idea that his daughter would have learned a new word. The best word a baby could say if front of her father after she had been watched by his close friends the whole afternoon.
"Basta'!"
Kenshin had scooped her up and was holding her eye level when she let it fly. His eyes went wide and he tipped his head, not quite sure he had heard right.
"Yahi'o, basta'!"
Yup. He'd heard right. The red haired rounin turned a glare on Sano and Yahiko, both of whom looked away immediately. He took a slow step forward, making the rooster haired man take a step back while the short teen looked around hastily for a retreat route.
"Yahiko… How did Kaen come across that word?"
Yahiko muttered that he had gone into town at one point and had taken the little girl with him. He stopped after a moment, his eyes on his feet. Kenshin saw his young friend's cheek was scraped and he had a slight black eye, along with a swollen lip.
"You got into a fight, did you?"
"A f-fight? No, what gave you that idea?"
The words flew out of Yahiko so fast that the rounin was mildly surprised that he didn't get tongue-tied halfway through. The older man sighed and turned away, deciding that it would be a waste of energy to try to drag the whole story out of the boy.
Shifting Kaen to a more comfortable spot on his hip, he leveled another glare at the pair.
………………………………………………………………………………
(five months later)
Kaen sat on the floor of the clinic, playing quietly with a brightly painted top, occasionally looking at the door that hid her mother from sight. She would look at the door with an almost bored expression, then smile up at her father. The red haired man would give her a wan smile, then continue his worrying.
The little girl yelped in surprise when Sano's large hands wrapped around her and scooped her up onto his knee, turning the girl so she was facing him. When he smiled, she laughed and twisted herself until she saw her father's profile.
"C'mon, kid. Daddy needs to be alone for a little while. Let's get something to eat. How does grilled eel sound to you?"
Kenshin smiled at his daughter's enthusiastic reply, nodding to Sano as they left. The older man knew that Kenshin was worried, and that his temper could sometimes get the better of him when he was in this state. Kaen, with her child's impatience, had been complaining of boredom and hunger for the past two hours, and Kenshin wasn't sure what would come out of his mouth the next time she started talking.
Twenty minutes later, Kenshin looked up when he heard the cries of a baby. He was already halfway to the door when Megumi came out to fetch him. She laughed and stepped aside to let the man in.
Kaoru smiled, her face shining with sweat and pride. The redheaded man looked at the bundle in his wife's arms and nearly tripped.
Inside was a little boy with black fuzz growing out of his head, which was the size of a large apple. He looked larger that Kaen had been when she was born…
"So, Kaoru, I named our Kaen. What will you name our son?"
Kaoru smiled down at the little boy, her lips pursed in thought. Finally, she ran a hand over his tiny scalp and spoke.
"Genro. His name is Genro."
Kenshin took the baby out to show the others, smiling when Kaen and Sano came in, each holding a bowl of steaming eel. The little girl tipped her head at the baby, her nose wrinkling.
"Kaen, this is Genro. He's your little brother, little bird."
The girl sighed, then nodded at the baby, her eyes unreadable. Kenshin didn't like his daughter's silence and closed expression. He had thought his daughter would be thrilled to meet her brother… She was certainly excited when her parents told her that the baby would be coming soon. He resolved to talk to her when the two went home while Kaoru stayed the night at the clinic.
Back at their house, Kenshin sat next his daughter while they ate their dinner. He looked over and raised his eyebrows in surprise. Rather than eating with her usual gusto, she had taken only a few small bites before setting her food aside. Knowing that Kaen was never one to turn down food, he began to feel worry worming it's way into his heart.
"Is there something wrong with your food, little bird?"
Kaen shook her head, then looked up at her father with the most serious expression he had ever seen on the girl's face.
"Will Genro… Take my place?"
"Oro? What do you mean? This one doesn't understand what you're asking."
The little girl stood, picking up her bowl and setting it in the kitchen, where she knew her father would pick it up. When she came back, she wouldn't look at him when she spoke, preferring to talk to her feet.
"Genro's a boy. You'll love him more than me, won't you? I know Mama does, but… so will you."
Oh, so that was what was bothering her. She thought that the arrival of a son would take his affection away from her entirely. He smiled and pulled her onto his lap, snuffling her ear, making her shriek. The girl was so ticklish, he was surprised that her mother and he could bathe her without causing a fit of laughter.
Turning serious, he looked her in the eyes, violet meeting violet, and smiled.
"If I tell you a secret, will you promise not to tell anybody?"
The girl nodded, her smile creeping back onto her face. Kenshin leaned slightly and whispered in her little ear.
"Even though Genro is a boy, you're my favorite. You're my little bird, right?"
He sat up again, smiling at his daughter while she thought on what he had said. Keeping silent, she made a twisting motion with her hand in front of her tiny mouth, as if turning a key in a lock. He smiled and nodded.
"Now, little bird, it's time for you to go to bed."
"Awwww, Da-aaddy!"
He laughed, then helped her change into her sleeping clothes, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead before closing the door behind him as he left her room. He knew that she would grow to love her little brother, and whatever siblings happened to come along after.
