Disclaimer: If only… but No… I am just happy that Mr Watsuki is not an anti fanfiction.
A/N: It's the middle of April. It may take a long time but I will not stop till this fanfiction end. Have a great day.
Chapter 21
'It is a code of honor for any warrior to save a damsel in distress.' The brown eyed man flinched as he suddenly remembered that Kaoru always thrown something at him whenever he had said those words. Sadly he had yet to find his damsel-in-distress from this all male and all boring country.
When he first came, he had hoped to gain more affection from the beautiful Lady Megumi. He did not see anything wrong on wanting to know the lady better and he was not above using his charm to lure the strict lady.
Muscled body, chocolate eyes that glinted with mischievousness, hair that defied gravity. There were many things of his physical attributes to be proud of and unfortunately Sanosuke Sagara was too much aware about these facts. Kaoru had taunted that he was too vain. Maybe… still it did not negate the fact that he was very delicious looking.
The second time he met Lady Megumi, he had intentionally used his best robe which was a red robe that matched his red bandana with the black kanji of 'Evil' in the back side. That truly got her attention.
"And how do you intend to get the Hiten warriors' respect when using such obnoxious piece of cloth?" the lady had said in high note.
"I can always punch them," he had said easily. Then the beautiful lady in question continued with the words barbaric, undignified, hurting the Queen's image, etc. His plan to use some of his purple and pink robes went to the drain as the lady continued to insult him so thoroughly with complicated words.
On that day, Sanosuke was clad in a black formal kimono with a white kanji of 'Evil' on the back side. Lady Megumi had insisted that he should look 'more dignified' since he was the queen's bodyguard.
'Damn… stuck in the boring colors then. What is actually the problem? I look great in any color anyway,' he thought grudgingly.
The brown eyed man was whistling as he walked toward the royal garden. Kaoru had summoned him. He had not wanted to leave Aoshi alone, so the boy was walking behind him. It had been a week since Aoshi came and the boy was legally his son.
After discussing with Megumi, just a day after they treated the boy's wounds, Sanosuke had gone to the Hiten's court to adopt Aoshi as his son. Through this process, the boy gained the status as a free citizen.
Sano had told Megumi that he should adopt Aoshi as a brother not a son, stating that he was too young to become a father. The brown eyed lady had looked at him disbelievingly and said, "You cannot legally adopt a brother only a son," she had said.
They both had explained it to Aoshi. The boy had been silent for awhile but for a short moment his ice blue eyes glistened and the boy bowed to his waist. "Thank you," he had said solemnly. Sanosuke felt great upon hearing those two words. Of course, he was fast on telling Aoshi to call him by name and not 'Father' or anything similar.
"No offense boy. If you call me 'Father', women will just assume that I'm married, not to mention old. I actually want to adopt you as a brother but it was not possible." Aoshi only nodded.
Since that day, the boy has been very diligent in cleaning the small room they both occupied. The boy even cleaned all Sanosuke's weapons, including his enormous Zanbato. "You're not a servant. You don't have to do any of that," Sanosuke had said. "I want to," the boy had said. He then continued on cleaning the Zanbato. There was awe in his usually expressionless face as he examined the texture of the giant sword. Sanosuke decided to let him do what he wants to do.
Sanosuke was thinking that he should train Aoshi in martial arts when his eyes saw a lady in a silk green gown. She was looking around as if she was lost. He smiled spontaneously and he reflexively ensured that his hair was still defying gravity.
"Well, a warrior can never ignore a damsel in distress." A small talk with a beautiful lady would always brighten his day.
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"Dear Lady you seem to be lost. May I help you?"
"I'm afraid you are wrong kind Sir. I am not lost," the lady looked at him and Sanosuke saw a pair of beautiful green eyes hidden behind a veil.
'The day keeps on getting better,' he thought happily.
"Have we met before Sir? I think this is the first time I've seen you in the palace," she said.
Sanosuke took a few steps closer to the lady. "If we have met my Lady, then I ensure you that I would have done anything to make myself memorable for a lady as lovely as you," he said flirtatiously. The lady blushed prettily.
"Sanosuke Sagara at your service my lady." He tenderly held the lady's right hand.
"May I know your name my dear lady?" he said while kissing her hand.
It was just a moment before Sanosuke felt a cold sharp metal pressed into his neck. "Let go of my wife," an eerie voice said.
The rooster head was frozen; he was too scared to move. If only a certain baby did not decide to cry at that time, it might just be the end for the self proclaimed God's gift for women. Even years after, Sanosuke would always thank God earnestly every time he remembered the moment.
"Misao dear," the green eyed lady was the one who took her hand away. Sanosuke no longer felt the sword in his neck and he took a deep breath of relief.
He turned around and saw the lady trying to calm down a crying blue eyed baby. A lean tall man who was holding a sword in his right hand was also attentively looking at the baby. His left hand was patting the baby's head.
"Calm down Misao… Mother is here... Hajime, you scared her," the lady reprimanded.
The man's expression changed into something akin with regret before he pierced Sanosuke with deadly eyes.
"You!" Hajime Saitou said while grabbing Sanosuke's collar.
"No. Don't hurt Sano."
Both men looked downward. Aoshi was standing between them with a determined expression. Sanosuke was quite surprised due to the action and because it was the first time the boy had said his name.
"Hajime don't be ridiculous. He was just offering to help me when I was looking for you and Misao. Where were you anyway?"
"Misao saw the butterflies in the entrance of the flower arch and loved it, so we stopped there for awhile."
Tokio only sighed. The fiercest general he was but his infant daughter got him wrapped around her little fingers.
"Let the poor man go. Don't scare the boy. You have to help me to stop her crying. We have to meet the Queen soon."
Suddenly the cry ended and the baby started to laugh. "What now Misao? What make you so happy?" The baby was looking straight at the boy. Her face lighted with delight.
"Aaah you like the boy." Tokio knelt to take a closer look on Aoshi.
"What a handsome boy. Good taste Misao. He can be a good candidate for your future husband."
"Tokio, she is a baby," Saitou groaned.
"And I was just kidding," Tokio replied with a laugh.
"What is your name young man?" Tokio asked.
Aoshi was silent. He looked intently at the baby in the woman's arms with curiosity. The baby was holding her hands out, trying to reach the ten year old boy.
"She wants you to hold her. Do you want to hold her?"
The boy nodded. Carefully, Tokio put Misao in Aoshi's arms. The blue eyed baby laugh became louder.
"Her name is Misao," Tokio said. Somehow, the green eyed lady took an instant liking to the boy. The way he was holding Misao was very tender.
"Hai Misao," Aoshi said. "My name is Aoshi." The boy smiled. This smile reached his often expressionless eyes.
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Fortunately for Sanosuke, Kaoru and Megumi soon arrived on the scene. After several explanations, several laughs (including a baby laugh), the jealous husband with a sword decided not to kill him out of respect for Jou-chan. Still, that did not stop Hajime Saitou from saying, "I don't like you. Stay away from my wife."
Megumi rolled her eyes. It served the rooster head right. The buffoon must learn not to flirt with anyone in a skirt, especially not the wife of the most feared general in Hiten.
After leaving Misao and Aoshi under the care of few handmaidens, the five adults went to the living room. Kaoru gave a brief explanation about the royal edict that she had received and explain her first plan.
"I have checked the curriculum in the schools for female nobles and apparently they do not even learn health, especially the health of reproductive organs. There are also no explanation about what women should expect during pregnancy and how to take care themselves during the period.
"No wonder the death rate on birth has become a major problem in Hiten. These girls are expected to marry when they are 15th and they do not even know that women under 20 have higher risks for miscarriages," Kaoru explained.
"They do my queen?" Tokio asked.
"Well, actually a female's body in her 15th year is already quite developed to give birth. Yet, mentally most females at that age are not ready to give birth. The academicians in Kamiya said that a person does not really become an adult before he or she reaches the 18th year. Most people before that age do not really understand the consequences of their actions. Even after reaching that age, it would best for her to wait to her 20th year to get pregnant. There are detailed explanations about why it is so," Kaoru said.
"But how can they prevent themselves to get pregnant if they are already married," all these ideas were very intriguing for Tokio. She was married when she was 15 years old. Luckily, she gave birth to Misao when she was already 20 years old.
"Well… in Kamiya we have some ways to prevent pregnancy which we call contraceptive methods. The women can also count their fertile days and try not to have sex during that period of time."
"They could? Their husbands will allow it?" Megumi voiced disbelievingly.
"Yes. Having sexual intercourse is an agreement between man and woman."
The idea of a woman able to refuse her husband's sexual advance was mind boggling for Megumi.
"However, all contraceptive ways can fail. The best thing to do is that a woman should not marry before they are 18. If I can make a law, I will make it a law that no woman under 18 year old is allowed to be married," Kaoru said.
"And you will also rule them not to get pregnant before 20 Jou-chan? Then you better not get pregnant in the next two year," Sanosuke chided.
Kaoru cringed a little. She did not think that would ever be a problem, not since the day she left the king's bed.
"Well, the problems for women after 18 lay mostly on whether they are mentally ready. The case could differ. At that age, they are already able to make the decision whether they want to get pregnant or not. So no Sanosuke… I will not make it as a ruling though I will like to recommend it to all women," she added.
"Said the woman who Tae instructed to look for a husband since she was 12 years old," said Sano.
"That was different Sano. You know that Kamiya law forbade marriage under 18 except for the royal family. The exception was done to ensure the bloodline continued. I was thinking to abolish the exception since my 18th birthday… but then I had to come to Hiten," Kaoru said. Her sapphire eyes glazed as she remembered her past and her dreams. Remembering Kamiya had always been bittersweet for her.
"Anyway that is in the past. I propose that the first step is to make health, especially reproductive health, to become part of the girls academies' curriculum."
Sanosuke whistled.
"Do you want me to explain about the wonders of the human body to young unmarried ladies? Count me in Jou-chan," Sanosuke grinned.
"I thought people in Kamiya are all well educated." Megumi sniggered.
"Sano used to skip the classes," Kaoru said.
"Hey I take offense on that," said Sanosuke. Kaoru just smiled.
"No Sano. I love you and I want you to have a long live. I don't want you to be killed by an angry father or male relative because of your flirting."
"I don't prey on little girls Kaoru," Sano was truly offended.
"Maybe not the girls but there are teachers and many older female relatives also often visit these academies."
"You have such a low trust in me Kaoru."
"In this matter yes because unfortunately I know you too well," she added with a mischievous smile.
"I am expecting to recruit Lady Tokio, Lady Megumi and myself to become the teachers for the girls. This is a sensitive issue and I think it will take a long time before any man is allowed to become a teacher for any woman in Hiten."
"I think this is a wonderful idea Your Majesty. I will be very happy to be part of this effort," Megumi said. Her eyes were shining with anticipation laced with sadness. It was a very provocative idea for her. Not to mention, it could save many lifes. Still, a part of her remembered the day when she lost her baby. She had lived most of her life mostly by going with the motion and she was sick of it. To be part of something so important was a dream comes true for her.
"I would also love to do it if Hajime doesn't mind," Tokio said. She recalled the time when she gave birth and she felt very thankful that Kaoru was there at the time. But many women were not as lucky as her.
It was easy for the Tokugawa Lord to make a decision. The process of Misao's birth had been engraved in his mind for forever. "I agree Tokio. This is a very honorable deed. I will be very proud if you take part on it," Saitou said.
His wife beamed with happiness. Her green eyes shone with affection.
"Oh how I love you Hajime," she said before embracing her husband. Saitou was blushing and a bit embarrassed but spontaneous displays of affection was one of the reasons why he loved Tokio.
Kaoru cleared her throat since the focus of the room had turned onto the lovely couple. Two single people and one unhappy wife were feeling a bit jealous to see the display of affection.
"Is there anything I can do to help Your Majesty?" Saitou asked, trying to diffuse his awkwardness.
"I still do not have much of an idea on how to fit you and Sano in my plan. For now, please gather information on how the nobles react after we implement this first step. I know there must be people that will disagree. I want to know their opinions and their plans. It might not be easy since the public knows that you have sworn loyalty to me. However, you also have many loyal soldiers and retainers," she said.
"How about me Jou-chan? I can be the bodyguard of the three of you when you're teaching in the girls' academies."
Kaoru rolled her eyes. Her childhood friend was surely a hardworking flirt. "No Sano. I love you and you're not coming to the academies. The royal soldiers can guard us."
Kaoru pondered a little before she said, "I think I have a good idea. The king has promised to me to make child birth clinics for the commoners and slaves. Please check whether it's already done. Now, Lady Megumi and Lady Tokio please follow me to the library. I want to give you some materials that you need to read first."
The queen and the two noble ladies walked away and since Sanosuke still valued his life he went straight out of the room, leaving the Tokugawa Lord who was in reflective mode.
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Saitou was actually feeling quite perplexed. His admiration toward the Queen had grown in leaps and bounds at such a short time.
His decision to swear loyalty to the Queen was motivated by both gratitude and shrewd considerations. His own father had repeatedly told him to swear fealty to Battousai, citing that the red head could execute the whole family when he had lost his patience. Yet Saitou was his own man and he was too proud to kneel to his rival.
By swearing loyalty to the queen, the red head's hands were tied since it would be considered foolish of him to resent any of them. In Hiten, it was taken for granted that all women must be under the absolute power of their husbands. So, the king did not really have any valid reason to object.
Fortunately, since their first encounter, Saitou had measured that the Queen was a strong willed woman. She was a very kind and intelligent woman who had saved both his wife and daughter. He trusted that she would not misuse his trust and loyalty.
She also had considerable power over Battousai. Never had he seen the red head being so possessive over any woman that he used blatant words to show his jealousy.
So he had sworn his fealty both to protect his family and also to protect the queen from any possible attacks from the other nobles.
What he did not expect was that the Queen exceeded all his expectations. He did not have any idea how the woman was able to make the arrogant Battousai to play to her tunes. Never had there been a queen having a royal edict that granted such great power.
The talk in the room also made him reflected on many things. People could talk about killing and torture for hours with him and he would not even flinch. Yet, thinking about sex and women's reproduction made him feel very… odd.
He was a good husband and never forced Tokio to do anything she did not want. Yet, as any man in his society, he took it for granted that women must always obey their husbands and male relatives. He despised men who abused women but he always felt that he could not do anything about it since that was within their rights and their own personal businesses.
But then… Misao was born.
As he remembered her birth, he remembered Tokio's pain and blood. The experience had made him cherish his wife and daughter so much more.
But Misao would grow up and she would marry. And to imagine that her husband could hurt her without any retribution made him really mad. While Saitou was still alive, any husband of Misao could be sure that he would meet his Maker if he dared to lay a finger on Misao. But then Saitou knew that he would not live forever. Then what would happen to Misao?
The Lord of Tokugawa was more than willing to support the Queen's plan. The Queen had said that she wanted to make a law to ensure that women do not marry too early. Saitou thought that it was possible for the Queen to influence Battousai to do so. She had proven that her power over the red head only increased with time. She had her heart and brain in the right place. It would not be hard to persuade her to make a law that will ensure protection of married women and especially his precious Misao.
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Kaoru screamed her frustration along with the flow of the kata she moved with. It was good to burn all her frustration away. Her movements were smooth yet strong and fast. Her breath was steady and rhythmical.
The movements of Kamiya Kashin Ryu aimed to preserve energy. Since the principle of Kamiya is non killing, most fights using this style will take longer time. Therefore, the user had to preserve energy and maintain stamina because an opponent who would fall but is still alive could likely strike again.
"Most inexperienced fighters just want to be fast and strong. Many weakened in the few first minutes. Kamiya style grew stronger as time passes," her father had said.
"You cannot run forever." Two golden eyes piercing into her with plead, passion, and pain.
She lost her steps and fell away. Her father had said that whenever she lost her center, she would fall. It was one of her main problem being the emotional girl she was. She often regretted her own temper.
It has been a week and Kaoru had not received her answer. She had asked him once whether he had made a decision; Kenshin was silent for awhile, and then said that he had to tend urgent matters before he went away.
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Kaoru thought of her words. At that time she was very sure of it. That she wanted him to let her go. But did she really? Her religion did not acknowledge divorce and she had promised that nothing short of death would separate them.
She tried to investigate her own heart. Finding it bleeding in pain and doubt. Would she be a coward if she just wanted to run away from all the heartache?
'But then will I really find the cure for this heartache if I run away?'
His declaration of love triggered her fear and self defense. She quickly built the barrier to protect herself from the pain and she took the first chance to find a way to run away.
She closed her eyes, remembering his expression. His kisses were sweet. His words sounded sincere.
Kaoru realized that he was not the man she thought. She had been trying to make an image of him as a prince charming since the day he showed kindness to her, closing her eyes to the differences between them. She wondered why she did it. Maybe it was her way to survive.
She felt like a broken hearted girl as she realized that the man she was infatuated with did not exist. The real man was a man who had sleep around and had killed and was arrogant.
'And brave enough to admit it all' her conscience added.
It was an irony how the fact that he had slept around bothered her more than the fact that he had killed. Again, Kaoru realized that she was as selfish as any woman could be. If Kenshin had not betrayed her, she might even turn a blind eye on his violence and bloodied hands.
Moments like this made her wondered whether she truly was a believer or just an impostor.
'Let the one without sin casts the first stone'
Kaoru sat. Still not finding the answer, still inconclusive.
'Forgive him'
She took a deep breath. Somehow, acknowledging that she was not all innocence, made a small part of her anger melt away. She found a little bit more courage. She had not made the decision to forgive, not yet. Still, somehow she could not hate him as much as she had.
To Sessha Kenshin: I am taking a challenge by not making the cliché of good against bad. Wish me luck then. By the way, I like your story Regression. The shy yet sincere love of KaoKen is very endearing and real.
To hapiflower: Yup, one of the reasons I make Tomoe POV in the previous chapter is to make the readers understand more about the whole storyline. I think almost all the good stories that I had read had the elements of riddles and mysteries. I plan to uncover more mysteries in the next chapters.
To CherryWillow19: I hope you will like this chapter. I tried to put the humor factor and I hadn't practice much to write anything funny. It might be a bit cliché and not so smooth. Still… I think it's worth the try.
To kaoruca: To love is to have a spring in your steps… To feel warmth seeps in your veins and your heart soaring to the sky… To seize today and be grateful… A loving woman is so beautiful and endearing. A loving man brings warmth to all women (even the ones who are not in love with him). Happy new year too for you dear kaoruca.
To teshichan: I'm still in awe over the peaceful rally in Paris on Monday (12th January 2015). Hopefully, the people of France will be wise enough not to put the blame on the Muslim.
I am a Christian living in Indonesia in which the majority is Muslim people. Sure, it is not easy to live with differences. That is the fact even for husband and wife. Still, most people in Indonesia respect the freedom of religion and the tolerance for each other religions had helped Indonesia to walk through many hard times.
A Muslim friend once told me that she chose not to listen to people who advocate violence. It is a choice people made every day, whether to love or to discriminate.
To Yira: Yup, with Tomoe, Kenshin knew for sure how he felt. With Kaoru… it's like a walk into the storm. Happy New Year too. God bless you.
To kleinegirl87: Yes, Tomoe's voice is another case for feminism. Every time I think of it, I feel grateful for the women who were 'crazy' enough to fight for women's rights. They open the sky for the women in the next generations. They break the oppressing 'normal' for women.
When we see how women were treated in the past, we will be horrified on how such unfair things happened.
Even Christian religious leaders in the past justified it because Eve was guilty for eating the forbidden fruit first. I can easily answer now that Jesus said "It has end" in the cross. He had died in the cross also to end the oppression against women and no woman should ever again be blamed for Eve's sin.
To kyoandyuya: Yeah, it's tiring to read the hate filled story. Life is already hard enough without hating other people. Hopefully, I can portray the innocent relation between Misao and Aoshi to my readers' satisfaction.
Kaoru is a person who is always trying to do the right thing. Sure, she is not perfect. Who is perfect anyway?
Elizabeth… hmm I don't know much about her policies during her reign but I will try to look it in google.
To Kirin Hino: Really (blushing with pride). Thank you. Tomoe character is very intriguing in the manga. Tragic yet strong willed. She was not weak at all. I think portraying her as so will make the story much more interesting.
To devafiend: Well to be honest, in the past Kaoru was the 'after thought' woman. The Kenshin in the beginning of this story had gone a long way before he admitted his love for Kaoru. It is still a long way before Kaoru could really understand about the relation between Tomoe and Kenshin and the hidden facts in the relation. I mean… it is complicated.
I think the cliche story of how a kind woman must patiently let herself be trampled upon is downright sick. What kind of value does that teach to the future generation? That is not forgiveness… that is craziness. That is self hurting.
If someone intentionally hurt you, stop him or her. You can either fight back or just go away. There is a reason why God give each of us brain and a body that can move away.
To shadowneko003: Just like I've written in Chapter 17
"I have no knowledge of other people life but I know my life. Without my God, the days will just pass away like the sand fallen between my fingers. I will not wish to dream for there will be nothing worthy enough. I will not even have any reason to be happy. For everything will be just passing illusions."
I thank you for your kind and respectful review. For me, there is no other God and no other truth than Jesus Christ but I don't think it is any useful to coerce other people to become Christian.
Each person faith is unique and so personal. Each person, in my belief, should search and find God by themselves.
Other people can try to convince us. It is basic human right that people are allowed to voice their faith and of course each person also has the right not to listen. My Muslim friends have the right to tell me the beauty of their faith and religion. So do my Hindu friends, my Buddha friends, and my friends in other religions. Indeed, I had even read some of the sacred texts of other religions and they are in many parts enlightening.
As I have the right to tell the beauty of Christian faith through this fanfiction (as imperfect as my writing is), it is the right of people in other religion to do the same.
I just read a strong opinion article about Charlie Hebdo event that I will like to summarize like so:
"Supporting freedom of speech does not mean supporting the derogatory cartoons about religions that were depicted in Charlie Hebdo. Not supporting the cartoons does not mean supporting violence in the name of any religion.
It seems that many had sent the messages to the Muslim people that if you do not allow the media to depict the Prophet in any way they wanted then you are supporting the killing done to the journalists.
Must the Muslim people forsake what they believe as sacred in order to show that they are peaceful people? If it is so than we are just widening the gap and the hate. We are igniting prejudice and hurting people that are living their faith."
During my college time, out of curiosity, I seek the cartoons from Jylland-posten that had caused many controversies. I asked my Muslim friends whether they want to see it and because they were also curious, they said okay. We looked at the cartoons together and my Muslim friends said that the cartoons were insulting and outrageous. They truly hated the cartoons because it identified Islam only with suicide bombers. But then one of them said "I hate it but if other people want to draw and see them then that is their own business."
So again there is always the choice either to breed hate or to build understanding. Many of the so called modern, intelligent, and free from religion people often forget the simple fact that there are still many people that honor their faith with their daily lives.
Marc Gopin, a Jewish rabbi, wrote in his books that many conflicts arise because of the simple facts that we often choose to undermine other people values especially the religious ones. Just like you wrote, "I think everyone should be respectful, civil, and understanding of each other. We all share this Earth. So let's make it a good one."
To Guest: Thank you. I work hard to build the moment. Sometimes, I worry that I described the situation too much rather than writing about thrilling actions.
To pmaverick: Thank you for loving my story
To rebekfanai06: I'll try to update sooner but my laptop (in which I have chapter 22) had just crashed. Therefore, be patient for the next chapter.