Warnings: None.
Honeysuckles and Moonlight Shreds
By Eden's Epitaph
Chapter 12: Of Morality and Mind Disorder
Yahiko laid back to the floor, legs against the tearoom's shoji frame, frustration and boredom a heavy burden. The 10-years-old still had mixed opinions over his new foster-father. It was hard to tell if the tall sake-lover was either a helpless narcissist with alcoholic behavior or just an 'ass'. The bulky man seemed to have taken a certain pleasure in angering his new charge and made sure to win every argument in a humiliating sort of way.
Since he set foot into the old dojo, Yahiko had been referred to as kid, brat, boy, whinny piglet, capital annoyance, lazy moron and many more, but his real name was rarely ever at use. Sanosuke was right; the damn giant was a tyrant. Out of frustration, the boy's flat of hand connected loudly with the wooden floor in a furiously resounding slap. It stung and he cursed flipping into a crossed-leg sitting position.
Yahiko was not used to do chores aside of keeping his room in a relatively clean state. Now, he spent all of his free time scrubbing the already sparkling floor of the dojo and house, dusting shelves and furniture while his foster father just sat doing nothing. The boy frowned. The stupid adult had a power that he thought only Tomoe held over him. A frightening authority.
The youth leaned back against the doorframe shifting to a pensive attitude. This place was not so bad when he thought about it with a cleared mind. The place was much more comfortable then the meek apartment Yahiko shared with his uncle in the less favored parts of Kyoto. Used to poverty, the young boy found himself rather impressed by the luxury of his new home. He would never miss a meal out of food lacking, his room was twice the side of his old one and filled with toys and gadgets a kid his age would die for. On the other hand, he rarely ever got the time to enjoy them.
There also was a certain feel of mystery surrounding the old kendo school. Yahiko had watched his foster father teach kendo to kids and adults alike and something about it felt odd. The man was extremely skilled and the boy could easily understand the respect the 'Sensei' got from his students. But the style he taught did not nearly look like what Kenshin performed. When the 10-years-old had inquired on the matter with his guardian, the man simply laughed calling the Writing and Literature teacher an untalented moron that had nothing much to do with Hiten Mitsurugi than a dragon fly.
Had Yahiko known more of analogies, he might have caught the shy praise underlying the insult.
There was another oddity in the Hiten Mitsurugi dojo but this one hid within the house. Upon his arrival, the narcissist man had greeted Yahiko by the gate, a western woman standing by his side with an amiable smile. She had a soft face gently framed by short red hair. Her skin was rather pale, as if she rarely ever faced the sun. Her name was Lily-Ann Randlett and Yahiko had all the troubles in the world pronouncing those foreign syllables.
Lily-Ann was a mysterious woman. Yahiko had trouble telling her age, she was distant most of the time, her face taking a daydream quality more often then not. She spent most of her time in the attic where the boy supposed her room was. Sometimes, when he was sweeping the dojo, he could see her thin features in the only window of the attic a far-away look on her pale face.
His foster-father spent a lot of time in her company. She was the only person he would speak gently to and oddly enough, was at her every attention. It almost seemed as if the man with an ego the size of Mont Fuji treated her like a queen of some sort. Not that Yahiko was jealous of her pedestal position but it all just seemed so strange. When he questioned his guardian, the man roughly pushed the matter aside.
Every night, Lily-Ann would dine with them. She ate little, but Yahiko suspected it was the comfort of a familial dinner that she enjoyed and not the food, which tasted like yesterday's garbage anyway. She would laugh at the kid's tantrums, highly entertained by his arguments with the tall kendo sensei.
"Yahiko." Said a soft voice, heavy in western accent.
Thinking of the devil…
"Yahiko." She repeated.
The boy sighed, turned his head in the woman's direction and had a moment of surprise. Through the week, he had seen the woman wearing simple garment such as long skirts and pastel colored shirts, nothing flashy or 'fashionable' but conservative and it fit her quite nicely. In all, it was quite difficult to notice what she wore upon her skin. Tonight was an exception. A colorful summer dress gave her a healthy glow that shown right into her earth colored eyes. She radiated a gentle joy.
"Um… Hi Miss Lily-Ann…" he stuttered, still having difficulties in being polite, the word 'Miss' tasting rather strange in his mouth.
"Dinner." She informed him with a smile then turned about to leave. "Soon," she then added as an afterthought.
"Um… Miss Lily-Ann?" The inquiry made her stop and look at him. "Why you dressed up so nice tonight?"
She did some sort of a cross between a giggle and a laugh and started walking as she answered. "Guests."
He got to his feet and blinked. "Guests?"
Curious, the spiky headed pre-teen followed the redheaded woman down the corridor to the dinner room. A mouth-watering aroma tinted the air steering confusion for the 10-years-old. The worst part of this new living arrangement would probably be the giant man's cooking skills. Most everything was either over or under-cooked. Boiled rubber probably tasted better then the meals he served them. So if his guardian had not cooked, then who did?
Lily-Ann already sat at her usual place, kneeling such as only a true geiko would, elegant with an air of mystery surrounding her thin frame. It was surprising how a foreign woman managed to assimilate their culture so easily, becoming in an odd way a nearly perfect icon of the Japanese culture. It gave the boy a strange feeling of aw and discomfort like a mildly cold respect that he could not quite understand the foundation.
She stared at an empty plate at her left. Yahiko noted that the table had been set for five and that the fancy china was displayed for the occasion. A large basket of well-cooked rice set beside her, still fuming. The woman turned her head in his direction and smiled, motioning him to take a seat.
"Where's the mountain-guy?" He asked her. At her puzzled expression, the boy sighed. "Hiko." He corrected sourly.
"Restaurant."
"Take out?"
She nodded and smiled. "Back soon."
Yahiko sat and glanced into the rice basket with curiosity. "Who cooked the rice then?"
Pride seemed to swell in the woman's brown eyes. "Lily-Ann."
The boy raised a surprised eyebrow then shrugged and took his place just as his foster father walked into the dinning room. A towering pile of packages, each smelling even more deliciously then the other was kept in precarious balance within his arms. A slightly frustrated expression adorned his sharp face.
"Give me a hand, brat." He barked.
"I've got a name…" grumbled the kid, getting up none the less.
Soon, the take-out was displayed in a rather tasteful way upon the dinning table under the soft direction of Lily-Ann. As she put the last touch to the display, a voice well known to the young boy came from the lobby.
"I'm home, that I am."
Joy lit Lily-Ann's face. "Kenshin!"
Hiko smirked having recognized his godchild the second he heard the front door slid open -- the man had the most sensitive hearing Yahiko ever witnessed. And surely, not a minute after, the smiling face of the red-headed popped out from the dinner room door.
"Glad you made it, baka-deshi." Taunted the kendo master.
"Good evening Shishou." Politely greeted Kenshin.
"Kenshin?" Exclaimed a surprised Yahiko, not expecting the high school teacher to be the mysterious guest.
"Hello Yahiko, how are you?"
"…I'm… ok. What are you doing here?" he asked, bewildered.
"You didn't tell him?" The question was meant for Hiko. The man simply huffed, sat and poured himself a cup of sake. "This is my childhood home, that it is."
"I know that! The other idiot told me before I moved in… I meant…"
"Kenshin!" Lily-Ann had, meanwhile, gotten up from her seat and thrown herself in Kenshin's arms.
"Hello mother… I missed you to, that I did."
"Mother?" To the 10-years-old, that was the biggest surprise of the day, if not of his short life.
Of course, now looking at them, he could see the resemblance. The red hair, the fine features, the refined demeanors, they were very much alike.
"Um…" uttered a somewhat familiar feminine voice from behind Kenshin.
The youth turned his attention toward the doorway. Hiko raised an eyebrow in surprise --this would reveal to be quite interesting. There stood a black-haired and blue-eyed girl, her gaze -- usually confident -- soften by shyness. Yahiko recognized her almost instantly. It was, as the boy had secretly labeled her, Kenshin's pet-student, Kamiya Kaoru. Simply standing behind her teacher, twisting her fingers in earnest discomfort and looking everywhere but at them, the girl was rather aware of the oddity of her presence in the redhead's childhood home.
"What are you doing here, old hag?" scuffed Yahiko, not quite happy to see the young woman.
Kaoru frowned and opened her mouth to shout some venomous retort but the gentle pressure of Kenshin's hand on her shoulder eased her anger almost instantly.
"I invited her, that I did." He explained. "There seemed to be…"
But an exclamation of joy from the short haired woman cut his sentence in half.
"Miss Tomoe!"
Merely a second spanned and Kaoru found herself in a strong, motherly embrace, nearly chocking and mouth agape. Was not Tomoe the name of Kenshin's wife? Dumbfound, the young high school student limply returned the affective gesture, stealing a glance toward her teacher.
"Mother… she's not…" Started Kenshin, but his mother's blinded enthusiasm could not be broken.
"Happy." She said, almost teary eyed. "Very."
"Err…" Stammered the young woman, blinking. "I'm not… that is… My name's not…"
Someone's laughter interrupted the madness. Questioning gazes turned to the muscular man sitting casually at the table, a pair of chopsticks in on hand, a bowlful of rice in the other.
"You are the famous Kamiya Kaoru." chuckled Hiko giving the girl an eye over.
"Oro?" Kenshin turned a surprised and not so surprised at the same time look to his godfather.
"The rooster has a too big of a mouth for his own good." Was the man's only explanation.
Lily-Ann blinked once, examining Kaoru's somewhat embarrassed face. "Miss Tomoe?" She inquired.
"Mother, this is my friend Kamiya Kaoru, not my wife." Explained Kenshin, his tone soft and reassuring. Kaoru could not quite understand why there was such confusion and simply stared at them both.
"Not?"
The young man simply shook his head. The short-haired woman seemed saddened for a moment. Her brown eyes sliding to the floor. Yahiko supposed she was thinking, Kaoru thought the woman would start to cry in her arms -- and issued a rather painful scene in the blue-eyed teenager's mind. Then the woman looked up and smiled, hugging the girl once more.
"Pleasure." She said sweetly. "Lily-Ann."
"K… Kaoru." Sutured the teenager, glancing toward her teacher, puzzled.
Her lips curved sweetly, the gentle glow in her eyes, almost admiring, Kaoru's confidence swelled and a glorious smile spread across her mouth. A rough cough gained their attention, Hiko had a plate of sweet teriyaki chicken and brilliantly cooked noodles, casually offering them the food, as if it was nothing more then simple, white rice.
"If none of you is hungry then I'll take this." His said in an aloof tone.
"Shishou!" exclaimed a slightly indignant Kenshin, lavender eyes wide.
The man smiled victoriously, Lily-Ann giggled and Yahiko growled before finding his seat to dive into the meal with a nearly desperate abandon. Grinning, Kenshin and his mother took their place, the teacher instructing the moderately stunned teenager to sit at the remaining plate beside the spiky headed boy. She blinked then shrugged, a mellow smile tugging her cheeks and sat down, reaching for her chopsticks.
"I heard some of you, Kamiya." started Hiko, eyeing the young lady.
"Really?" she looked up, puzzled. "From whom?" she barely knew a soul in Kyoto aside eccentric aunts, sweet teacher and stupid classmates. In front of her, she observed a slight discomfort in Kenshin's stance. Was that shock in his eyes?
"The brat's uncle."
Kaoru quirked an eyebrow, did she know that boy's uncle? From where… when?
"Sanosuke." uttered Kenshin, almost mocking his idiocy.
A flash of a gruff looking tall man pestering on Yahiko came to her mind. "Ah!" She exclaimed. "I only saw him once…" She said innocently.
Hiko chuckled. "His the idiot's best friend." He explained. " 'A crazy kicking girl with a temper of a tomboy' was his exact words."
Kaoru felt the red heat her face as anger gripped her guts. "I'm not a tomboy!" She defended childishly.
Yahiko snickered and Lily-Ann turned her attention to the black-haired girl instead of her eating tools, which she had some struggles with earlier. Kenshin observed, half worried, half amused. Hiko only taunted those he appreciated, but never before had he did so to a complete stranger. Come to think of it, the young man remembered to have opened quite easily to the sky-colored-eyed girl.
"I see that." Said Hiko, sarcasm apparent enough for Kaoru to slightly notice it, discovering the bait underneath it.
She smiled and reached for a steaming plate of food. "Thank you." Kaoru said, amiably, no false in her tone, not admitting her defeat but leaving the battlefield for the moment.
Hiko smiled in return, all arrogance thrown away and plain friendliness on his sharp face. "I can see what my stupid god-brat sees in you."
The girl smiled. "I'll take that as a compliment." She said laughing before stuffing her mouth. The rest of the dinner was spent in playful talk and cheerful ambiance. Kenshin could remember the last time he had such a pleasant dinner with his family… back before he fell into some momentary madness.
"Kenshin?" Kaoru's soft voice steered him from his thought. Lily-Ann was looking at him with motherly worrying eyes and the feeling was similar in that of the girl sitting before him. "Are you alright?" She inquired.
Pulling on a smile, he scratched the back of his head. "I got lost in thought, that I did." He explained.
The raven-haired girl looked at him once more before returning to her plate. Hiko observed silently, Kenshin's mother bit her lips and Yahiko blinked in confusion. The redhead waved it off, starting the conversation anew with details of the last few months. Kaoru listened, noting that some parts were uttered in a secretive tone that only one involved in could discern. Was she suddenly part of a conspiracy she was not ever aware existed in her teacher's life?
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Later that evening, as the sun was about to set, casting orange and turquoise rays over the clouds, Hiko took his godchild apart. It was not unusual for Kenshin and Hiko to shut off in the tea room, but tonight something was off. Yahiko was outside with Kaoru, both bickering at each other over everything and nothing. They actually seemed to enjoy the evening quite thoroughly such as brother and sister would.
"I'm worried about you." Said the large man, pouring the tea Lily-Ann had brewed before joining the kid and the blue-eyed girl.
"Worried?" Inquired the redhead.
"Wasn't your wife supposed to accompany you?"
Kenshin blinked, "And I told you that she was away and not to be back in…"
Hiko arched a mocking eyebrow, hiding his smirk behind his teacup. "You don't even remember when Tomoe's supposed to come back."
The young man looked down at the green liquid swirling in the cup and smiled sadly. "Two months." He murmured. The older man stared at his godchild watching his distorted reflection on the swirling tea. "Tomoe will be back in two months, that she will."
"There is still no change between the two of you?" It may not be apparent, but Hiko cared a lot for the redheaded high school teacher who he raised such as his own son. He still wanted the stupid airhead to be happy.
"She's… colder. I don't think we can go on like this pretty much longer." explained Kenshin, feeling the weight of it all press on his shoulder heavily. How he wished his teenage years had been less reckless!
"Hum…" Hiko was thoughtful for a moment. "And the girl?"
"What do you mean?" Kenshin feigned ignorance, but Hiko knew that the slightly darkening of the violet eyes spoke otherwise.
"You're an adult." The tall man said, dismissively. "Just remember she's not."
Kenshin frowned stealing a glance toward the window. It was ajar and a soft breeze seeped in through the gap, along with a joyful and carefree laughter and growled insolence from an angered Yahiko. He realized, with a little help from the gruff kendo teacher he had as a father figure that he had come to a point where decisions were to be made. His situation, this situation if not taken cared of would be his complete demise… and that of his wife.
"And Yahiko?" asked Kenshin, starving for a less intimate subject to discuss, a headache about to be born.
"The brat's a real pain…" groaned the black-haired man, taking another swing of tea. "I don't understand why the Rooster wants to keep such an aggravation."
Kenshin snickered. "It's a family matter that we were all dragged into… But I believe it to be a good thing for Sano to keep Yahiko's guardianship." The redhead smiled, memories reeling back to mind. "It changed him in a very good way, that it did."
Hiko eyed him skeptically. "I doubt anything could really change that moron."
Kenshin shook his head. "You saw it too."
The bulky man laughed and finished his cup. "Maybe…"
A happy voice could be heard outside, a single word uttered joyfully from a woman who wished she could say more. Kenshin's purple gaze sobered and took a foggy quality. 'Watermelon' she had said and he heard Yahiko shout and a startled cry from Kaoru who, he supposed, had been rubbed of her piece of fruit.
"How does she do?" Kenshin suddenly asked, both men knowing to whom the she referred.
"She isolates herself less often lately. I never really knew what she does in there. She'd never spoke of it. That woman's secrecy is as irritating as your ability to attract problems." said Hiko sarcastically.
"She seems happy though."
"Since the brat came in, it's as if you had returned in some way." He explained. "She wants to cook more often but I simply can't let her do too much or else she would strain herself. It seems to sadden her some but… Well… Lily-Ann had been a mystery to all of us, even before her stroke."
"Yeah…"
"Sorry…" Whispered a soft voice from the doorway.
Kaoru, feeling somehow as if she had finally returned home, had wandered around the dojo and house. Her eyes had darken, less shining like a warm cloudy summer night, as she stumbled upon Kenshin and Hiko's discussion. It seemed she heard something that made her feel uncomfortable for as soon as the men turned to look at her, the girl's cloudy gaze had retreated to the tatami covered floor.
"Miss Kaoru?" murmured a surprised Kenshin.
Hiko smirked -- that girl had a similar particularity with his godchild.
"I didn't mean to intrude… But… um." Kaoru stumbled over her words, cheeks reddened, ashamed of her curiosity.
"I'll see if there's some of that watermelon left… if the piglet hasn't devoured it yet." announced the older man. He smiled knowingly at the girl as he walked by her to step on the porch, only to see a slightly puzzled expression on her face.
"You don't have to apologize." Kenshin had returned to a more casual position, his hands cupping his drink to take a sip of the refreshing tea. "Would you like a cup?" He then offered.
"Gladly…" She walked to the table and sat where Hiko once throne, the redhead handed her a fresh cup of mint brew. "Can I ask you a question?" Her inquiry was soft but not pressing.
"Of course." He said, completely at ease.
"How did it happen?"
Kenshin looked at her then back at the open shoji and the ruffling greens of the trees surrounding the backyard. "The doctors truthfully don't know, I always had my suspicions." He started.
Kaoru held her breath tying to keep her tongue from asking more. The teacher rarely ever talked of himself. She, on the other hand, had more than once retailed memories and facts of her most private life without even a thought. If Kenshin did not talk much, there was a reason and she had to abide to it. But he continued.
"My father disappeared when I was 4. Not a warning, not a suspicion, nothing. As if he vanished into thin air. Shishou says it was in his nature." The redhead sighed and smiled sadly. "Suddenly, my mother, who was unemployed, was alone with her son and no income. With her foreign origins she had trouble to find and keep a job. I don't know how many she did…" He marked another pose remembering some tiny moments. "When I turned 10, Shishou picked me up after school, for the usual kendo classes… but never drove me back home."
Kenshin took a sip and gave Kaoru a reassuring look. She smiled, her fingers dancing over the smooth porcelain of her cup. He continued.
"My mother was a cook for a rather good restaurant back then. Shishou told me that she collapsed while she had been working. At first I thought stress has gotten to her, I didn't even know what a stroke was, that I did not."
"Was the lump around the memory aria?" Kaoru asked.
He nodded. "And the motor control as well. For years she had to relearn everything and regained only a fraction of what she can do."
"You…" Kaoru murmured, "think it has something to do with all she did for you…" Again the redhead shook his head. "Idiot!"
He blinked, not expecting such a forcefully shouted insult. "Oro."
The girl took a calming breath and, her eyes bright and clear, looked at him. "She's much stronger then that." Said the raven-haired girl. "Don't you see she still work so very hard for you and how happy you made her when we arrived?"
Delicate strands of midnight silk slipped and veiled her gaze to him, but her voice… her voice changed so much. "I never saw a mother with so much love in her eyes. When she looks at you it's as if her whole world turned suddenly brighter as if…" she paused a moment and Kenshin realised he was entranced by her voice. She sounded older, wiser and that sweet undertone of tenderness touched and warmed his heart. "It's as if she was relieved of all worries and… she looked proud and happy."
"Miss Kaoru…" He stuttered, "I…"
"'Desuki desu'"
Purple eyes widened and blinked, had he uttered such words? He had no idea what it was he meant to tell the young woman. But Kaoru was not looking at him. Kenshin was not the one who to declare affection for his colourful student. Her pretty head dotted to the left, her cerulean depths mirroring his expression before a smile stretched her lovely features.
"I like you too, Miss Lily-Ann." She said, standing to stride the few steps separating her from the frail looking foreign woman and warped gentle arms around her.
Kenshin's mother smiled. She seemed, for that moment, thoroughly happy and satisfied. Affectionately, she kissed the younger girl on the forehead and he could see thee pride Kaoru spoke of in those warm brown eyes as they turned on him.
"Kenshin," she said. "Lucky."
Before the young man could inquire into the meaning of his mother's words, someone else's voice broke in from the yard. It was childish, it was mischievous… it was disrespectful.
"Hey! Old hag, come quick before I finish off your watermelon pieces!"
The red rose to Kaoru's face such as magma would a nearly bursting volcano. "Little worm!" She cried and stormed away, a violent onslaught of venomous words in mouth, all of them directed to a single target, and just about ready to act on them.
Lily-Ann laughed a laugh his son had not heard in a long time. "Spirit…" she muttered enigmatically and walked away.
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Bug life chirped cheerfully in the back yard of Hiten Mitsurugi Dojo and the soothing calm of the night pressed against five individuals like a warm comforter on a cosy bed. It was comforting, thought Kenshin, listening to Hiko's larger then life stories puncture every now and then by Yahiko's sharp comments.
Earlier, the crimson-haired man had accompanied his student to a tour around the house. He had shared with her some found memories of his sporadic childhood. Kaoru happily added some of her own. The dojo was last to be showed and the young woman marvelled at the collection of training boken and ancient katana, wasashi and kodashi displayed over the walls. Rows of wooden plaques sporting, in careful hiragana, the many names of students lined the wooden walls.
"Our dojo had nearly half as much…" She had murmured, impressed. "Ah! Isn't that your name, Kenshin? No wonder…" and her cheeks tinted, such as his.
Yahiko's rash interruption happened to be quite welcomed when Kenshin's evil memory summoned vivid images and sensation of an afternoon not so long ago. A playful argument morphed into a boken lesson for the spiky headed boy and the high tempered poetess -- and kendo instructor. Surprisingly, the boy showed more talent then the redhead had imagined but none the less ended up harshly admitting defeat to a beaming Kaoru.
When Hiko barged in to announce that Onogiri was waiting for them, the girl stole a glance at her watch and exclaimed, rather surprised, that her aunts were probably back home and probably worrying over her absence. Yahiko was ordered, to his utter frustration, to lead the girl -- who had earlier humiliated him with a wooden sword -- to the telephone. Task done, the spiky headed youth had returned to stuff his face on the rice cakes with a nearly wolfish appetite.
"Kenshin."
Looking behind him, he found Kaoru, trouble swarming her eyes. "Is there a problem Miss Kaoru."
"I called home and there was a message for me on the answering machine." When she started to twist her finger, he knew there was something bothering her. "They won't be back before tomorrow."
Now that was… unexpected. "Ah…" He stuttered. What should he do?
"They left a number I could call if I had trouble with something." There was uncertainty in her voice that troubled him. "I think I'll call them and maybe Tae or Sae will come and unlock the door for me…" And now embarrassment clung to her voice. Kaoru was about to turn and make the call she seemed reluctant to do.
"You can sleep at my apartment." He blurted out, almost unaware he did and wondering why he could not stop himself from offering -- something told him it was a very bad idea at the moment.
"I could…? It won't be too much trouble for you?"
Kenshin smiled, shoving the looming feelings aside. "I have a very comfortable couch, that I do."
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I had a fair amount of fun writing this chapter, I remember. It was just barely after I started to walk out of a particularly hard moment in my life and it had felt wonderful to write a bit of silliness. Of the three Original Characters that I had to create for this story, Lily-Ann is one of my favourite. She is not exceptionally important and acts more like a clue for Kenshin's past than anything else but I must admit that I find her quite intriguing. I must thank a friend – who is now probably near or already picking coffee beans in Peru – for lending me his family name. So thank you Kev, even though I know you'll never read my 'crap'.
Eden's Epitaph
Edited by Guardian Forever