Samurai's Heart. Battosai's Heart.
Chapter 9
Sano walked quietly into his house, peeking around before closing the door and lighting a small lamp. He saw that his futon was not laid out, and heard Slip's steady breathing. He didn't mind too much that she had not put out his bedding as she had said she would, but in a way it did. She seemed the type to try to take care of people, she had, after all, taken the drunken Yahiko home and put him to bed.
What worried him was her lack of cheer and then her not following through on her words of putting out his bedding. He looked at the floor and saw skid marks all along the floor leading from his table to the wall. Had she kicked it? He looked behind the screen she had erected in front of her own sleeping area and saw a candle burning next to an unfolded letter. It looked like some of the ink was smeared in places, as if she had cried on it.
'Well, I can't go reading her letters. Wait, it that Saito's name? How is she getting letters from Saito?'
Against his own thoughts against snoops who read other people's letters, he knelt down and began to read. When he got to the part about Slip's little daughter Koito, he covered his mouth to keep from making any noise. Slip had a six year old daughter? Who would take somebody's child? And why did Saito sound more like a kidnapper than a concerned guardian?
"What are you doing Sano?"
Sano jumped and turned to see Slip sitting up, a blanket wrapped over her shoulders. Usually, he would have found the picture she made almost cute, but the glare she was giving him and the ice in her voice made him consider picking up the table and using it as a shield.
"I was…er…I saw Saito's name…uhm…"
Slip let out an angry sigh and stood, leaning down and scooping up the letter as she passed. Sano watched her patiently as she paced the room a few times, knowing that she was thinking. He had seen Kenshin do the same thing on many occasions. Sometimes he wondered if he had picked up her habits, or she had taken up some of his while they were in the patriot army together.
Finally she stopped and let out a slower sigh, sounding less angry and more tired.
"I had hoped to leave here and have my own home before I told any of you about Koito. I left her with Hajime a few years back, saying that I feared for her safety. He attacked me then… It was part of his job… But as I ran away, I heard him call that he would take Koito in. He has done just that apparently, up until now."
Sano was silent for a moment, then asked a question that he knew would hurt Slip.
"Who's daughter is Koito?"
Slip turned to look at the tall man, then sat down, her eyes obscured by her pale hair.
"I don't know. Back then, there were a lot of things going on that I am not proud of. I had to eat, you know. It was winter, and…"
She fell silent again, her hands balled into fists. I don't have to explain myself to him. I don't have to explain myself to anybody! She bit her lip and looked up when she heard a faint thump, half expecting him to be throwing her clothes into a box, to be preparing to turn her out into the street.
To her surprise, he was standing with a rucksack over his shoulder and a small smile on his face.
"Well, I'm ready to go when you are. Are we taking Kenshin with us?"
"Uhm…"
"Well, you can explain things to me a little more as we go. Come on, we'll take Kenshin with us, he may be helpful."
Slip looked down at her hands for a moment, then stood slowly. Sano was a little worried when she began to walk toward him, but his fear went away when she smiled up at him – her real smile – and put her arms around his waist. He could feel her tears soaking through his clothes…
"Thank you, Sano."
