RuroKen Week | Day 4 Duel or Debate

A/N: Just so you know Seisohen/Reflections does not exist. Also, another warning for fluff because that's what's comes easiest when I'm writing against a deadline apparently.


"This one likes the sound of Kazue, that I do," Kenshin said, pressing his fingers into Kaoru's shoulders. She rolled her head forward, one hand resting on her swollen belly, to give him better access to her neck.

"'First blessing'?" Kaoru repeated, wincing as Kenshin's skillful fingers found a knot on her shoulder blade. "But Kenji was our first child."

"True, so it is. But this one will be our first girl. Strong and bright like her mother," he said, warmth in his voice.

Kaoru smiled as she pressed her hand against her side. A little heel kicked out against her palm. "Hmm," she said. "I don't think this one's a girl."

Kenshin released her shoulders and walked to where the tea tray was sitting just inside the shoji screen, bringing it out to sit between them on the engawa. The autumn evening was cool, but not uncomfortably so. Splashes of rich color blossomed from a few of the trees that grew near the walls enclosing the property. Soon they would all be draped in the colors of the late season.

"What makes you think this next child will be a boy?"

Kaoru tossed her head in a familiar gesture, and for a moment, Kenshin saw that girl of 17 again, leveling a bokken at his head.

"A mother can sense these things," she said in a lofty voice, swirling her cup of tea in her hands.

"Oro. You thought Kenji was going to be a girl as this one recalls." He chuckled as she aimed a swat at his shoulder.

"It gets easier to tell the second time around!" she sniffed. "Besides, he's big." She eyed the swell of her belly with a mixture of dissatisfaction and pride. Tiny people like Kaoru and Kenshin did not often produce large sons, but perhaps this one might be an exception. She glanced at her husband underneath her bangs, something shy and hesitant in her eyes. "I've thought of a boy's name... do you want to hear it?"

"Of course, that I do," Kenshin smiled, sipping his tea.

"I thought... Shinta."

Kenshin lowered his cup, staring at her, face unreadable.

Kaoru blushed and set down her cup of tea. "If you'd rather not—it was a stupid idea—forget I said anything."

"No," he said in a low voice, and slid his hand across the engawa to touch hers. "It is a good choice." He paused, shyly resting his other hand on her abdomen. "As you say, he is growing big already."

She smiled at the gentle joke. "Not too long now. Dr. Oguni said another two months yet."

Kenshin's eyes popped up to hers in surprise. "Really?"

She grimaced. "I know. I wasn't nearly this big with Kenji at this time. Oof!" She gasped as what felt like a little elbow had rammed into her lungs. Pressing against her belly, trying to get the baby to move into a more comfortable position, Kaoru wondered if she would last another two months.

"Still," Kenshin said, hiding a smile behind his cup. "This one thinks it'll be a girl, that I do."

Kaoru scowled. "Boy!"

"Girl, that it is."

"Don't think that because I'm carrying your child I won't wallop you a good one for arguing with me!"

#

The midwife had looked scandalized when Kaoru had insisted on Kenshin's presence, but the steel in his wife's eyes was as sharp as a katana, so the older woman relented.

Dr. Gensai was a calm and cheerful presence. He had assisted with the birth of Kenji and Kenshin was glad to have him at the birth of their second child. Their oldest son was currently with Yahiko somewhere at the other end of the house. Hopefully practicing katas or something that would distract them both from what had proved to be a long labor.

"Kaoru-chan, I think you're ready," the old man said with a smile from the other end of the futon. "Deep breath now... and push!"

Time passed in a blur of anxiety, Kaoru's hands on his arms, the murmuring encouragement of the midwife, and the yells torn from his wife's throat. It was normal, he found himself repeating over and over like a mantra. The midwife complimented Kaoru on how well she was doing, urging her along, and then Kaoru stiffened in his arms, her hands squeezing his so hard his bones ached.

"Congratulations," Dr. Gensai said with a smile. "You have a beautiful little girl..." He trailed off. Kaoru was still heaving, still straining, teeth clenched against a groan.

"Doctor!" the midwife's voice rose in sharp alarm and Kenshin's heart leapt into his throat. That fear, the old terror of losing her again rose within him like a tide, and he had to physically restrain himself from reaching for a sword that wasn't there.

"What is it?" he demanded of the two at the business end of the birthing bed. "What's going on?"

But they were focused on Kaoru and didn't reply. Wide-eyed, the midwife looked up at her. "You need to push... again!"

The world seemed to contract in a way that Kenshin experienced during battle: he could hear each breath roaring through his lungs, see the sharp outlines of the people against the walls, and Kaoru's ki seemed to press against his, strong and blazing like the sun. Then Kaoru slumped in his arms, drenched with sweat as she gasped, and Dr. Gensai's laughter filled the room.

Kenshin blinked, but what he saw did not change. The old man held a squalling, red-faced baby and so did the midwife.

"Oro?"

"Kenshin?" Kaoru struggled to sit up, her eyes also on the two bundles. "Am I... hallucinating?"

"Twins!" chuckled Dr. Gensai, passing over the baby in his arms to a stunned Kaoru. "You know, I thought this might be the case when you came for a check up a few months ago, but I didn't want to say anything in case I was wrong."

Beaming, the midwife also passed her bundle over the Kenshin who could only say "oro" again as he looked down in the face of a very red-faced... He blinked, realizing he didn't know the gender of his own children, but unwilling to unwrap his from the warmth of the blankets to find out.

"Oro... what... what are they?" he asked.

"You have the girl," Dr. Gensai replied, "And Kaoru-chan holds the boy."

They looked at each other, and Kenshin swallowed a laugh, feeling that it might not quite be appropriate, but Kaoru's eyes were bright with happiness, her face tired.

"Kazue and Shinta," she said. "I guess we were both right."


* Kenshin's "gentle joke": I'm not a Japanese speaker by any stretch of the imagination, so relying heavily on what the internet told me, "Shinta" means "cultivate," "develop," or "to grow big." If the kanji that forms Kenshin's original name means something else, feel free to correct me.