Unmei no Haguruma: Jiten

(Wheel of Fate: Rotation)

Part X: Meddling

In the days since Soushi had reawakened, Kaoru couldn't help but to notice the dark circles under the doctor's eyes. She was sure that Kenshin would only dismiss her worries as unfounded; he would tell her it was not her fault. Part of her agreed with him, but most of her was convinced that, had the group that Yahiko still insisted on calling the Kenshingumi not been around, the incident at the apothecary would not have escalated so.

It had been Yahiko who noticed her brooding, and Yahiko who had snapped her out of it with an astute observation. "Hey, ugly," he'd said – a term of address he reserved for special occasions these days. "Don't you think that if it really was your fault, Megumisan would've said something?" He'd smirked. "She's never been one to let your faults go unnoticed."

Kaoru had been so startled that she laughed. Though she had her doubts, considering how preoccupied Megumi was with her own concerns, she could not deny the truth of Yahiko's words, and so she promised she would stop fretting – about that, at least. "Still," she'd added, "there has to be something we can do to make things better!"

Again, the youth had surprised her. "Just because we didn't make it worse doesn't mean that getting involved won't change that. After all, don't think I ever once believed there were cicadas in spring," he had teased, reminding her of the incident, Kenshin's favorite word, when he'd first met Tsubame. "Sometimes it's better to stay back and observe and be supportive, without getting involved."

Kaoru eyed her first student wonderingly. ~This kid… When did he grow up so much…? I don't think I'll ever really get used to it.~

Yahiko himself, however, had no intention of staying uninvolved. He'd never met Soujirou in Kyoto, having been engaged elsewhere every time the Tenken appeared, but he had heard Sano talk about the battle – more than Kenshin had, anyway, and he was more than a little curious. He just felt he could do better without Kaoru's fretful presence.

Unlike Sanosuke, he was not completely inclined to distrust the man now calling himself Semmai Soushi, but neither was he as willing as Kenshin seemed to forgive and move on. After all, though he wasn't quite as hotheaded as he'd been at ten, his personality hadn't changed that much… Unlike that of his quarry. The youth Yahiko remembered hearing about had been as casual as a spring breeze and as unrelenting as a typhoon, according to Sano; how could this hyperemotional, insecure guy possibly be the same person?

Though he'd never met Seta Soujirou during his time in Kyoto, Yahiko had heard enough from Sanosuke and the others who had. Misao in particular had been quite vocal on the subject of "that creepy guy with the grin" though she'd only encountered him briefly. With Kenshin and Sano the only survivors of the final battle at Mount Hiei, he'd had to extrapolate much of his information from the things they didn't say.

He was not satisfied, and in his heart he still felt his debt. Though Megumi had attempted to dismiss his concerns, saying that she owed him her life many times over, and that she was a doctor just doing her duty to him, he had never forgotten the battle with the Oniwabanshuu, and the poison dart he had taken for her. She also pointed out that the debt of a life ought to have been canceled in the same moment she saved his, since he had nearly given his saving her. He knew that she was right, logically, he still felt that he owed her in some way. She had long since accepted his stance, and many times had tried to convince him that some small favor restored the balance, but he would only shake his head, and even she would not try to argue when he wore that expression.

~All this time, she has been suffering. I know it took her a long time to get over Kenshin. I don't think she was even over him last year, when she visited… But she seems different now. Megumisan… Are you really serious about this guy? He doesn't look quite as wimpy as Kenshin does, but he's still nothing like I pictured him, back then. Not that that means anything… Still, I'm not going to let you get hurt.

~None of us are.~

It was easy for her friends to see that the incident had shaken Megumi's faith, but of greatest concern was that it was her confidence in herself that was suffering. Yahiko had not heard her admission to Kenshin before the incident, but he sensed her insecurity. Though he didn't know her as well as he might, seventeen year old Yahiko was far savvier than his already astute younger self had been. It was not so hard for him to guess at least some of her concern, and he was convinced that the situation was quite different. He had made it his mission to talk to the man who now held her heart.

Soushi looked up as the younger man knocked at his door. He had just finished getting dressed and was tying his hair back into a high ponytail. He normally left it down except when working, but something in the air left an old familiar tingle of anticipation in his blood. Now he suspected he knew what it was. "Myuojinsan."

"Semmaisan." Yahiko bowed in greeting, suddenly unsure of what to say. He could hardly come out and ask, could he?

The silence did not stretch for long.

He had sensed it as soon as he was aware of Yahiko's approach. ~This is it.~ "I know what you came for," Soushi said softly, addressing the younger man's need. "You want to know what I'm made of." He kept his expression neutral, drawing on his old training to mask his emotions. "You want to know more about the young man who was nearly a match for Himura Kenshin. And about the man," and here he let his mask slip, "who loves your friend."

Yahiko didn't bother to hide his own reactions to Soushi's statements. "Heh. You're pretty smart." He nodded respectfully. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Megumisan cares about you… But yeah. I used to be mad that Kenshin didn't take me with him."

Soushi cocked his head. "From what I heard, you acquitted yourself quite well without him."

Yahiko shrugged. "I'm not what Kenshin was." He couldn't quite keep the grin of pride hidden, so he didn't bother. "But I did learn a lot from him too."

Soushi nodded. "He's good for that," he said, almost ruefully. Then he quieted himself again. "Do you want to take this to the river?"

Yahiko's eyebrows rose. "The river?"

Soushi nodded. "You can't really tell me the others would approve of us facing off," he said with his old smile firmly in place. Inwardly, he was surprised how difficult it was to maintain the façade, now. It hadn't been that long since he'd truly dropped the mask, and the intensity of his recovered emotions was only beginning to settle, but the preternatural calm he'd once perfected came only with effort.

"You can't really tell me they wouldn't know about it as soon as it happened, if not sooner," Yahiko replied with a grin of his own.

Soushi grinned back, once again his recovered self. "And you can't really tell me that trying to pull it off anyway is at least half the fun for you."

Yahiko shrugged, not bothering to feign nonchalance. "Is that a problem?"

Soushi shook his head. "Not really." He sobered quickly. "Except that I'm sure that you aren't seeking conversation, and I will not use a blade."

Yahiko's grin did not fade. "No worries," he said as he reached out a hand to grab something – two somethings, as it turned out, that were leaning near the doorframe. "I brought shinai."

[AN] Remember that part where I told you about using the names to show different sides of Soujirou/Soushi? VERY relevant here; I hope you paid attention.

Something on my mind: I've been called to task in other writing styles for switching perspectives. I do it here in no small part because I'm writing as though for an anime or a manga, in which the perspective does shift because it's all external.

Yes, I know it's very short. But I wanted to make sure you knew I hadn't abandoned you. It's just that life got in my way for a while… I hope to be back in the swing of important things soon. Like writing. [/AN]