Watsuki owns them
I just borrow for a while
No harm intended
Dreams I Dreamt Instead
Chapter 2: Old Friends Reunited
Once they were settled on the train, Sano was insistent in his questions. Grabbing Kenshin by the shoulders, Sano was shaking Kenshin and demanding, "What in all the great hells is it with you, Kenshin! I haven't been back in Japan for one lousy hour and we are already off on one of your…..adventures? Geez, I've really missed this! So what the hell is going on? Is Shishio back from the dead? Am I finally gonna get the chance to fight that bastard Saitou?
"I thought I had an interesting life, traveling to Mongolia, America, everywhere. Here I am thinking of you sitting at home doing laundry in the dojo, playing little domestic games with Jo-chan and Kenji. Shit Kenshin! Give it up!" Sano was shaking Kenshin pretty hard by this time.
"Oro?"
"Now there's a sound I haven't heard in a long time! Just tell me, Kenshin. What the fuck is going on?"
"No idea, Sano. I have no idea."
"Well, some things never change." Fortunately for Kenshin, just then the train began to leave the station and Sano became totally focused on the train and the surrounding area.
Once they had left the Yokohama station and the conductor had collected their tickets, Sano relaxed a little. He and Kenshin had a few hours to catch up on each other's lives. Kenshin encouraged Sano to talk about his travels. Sano began with his ill-fated ocean voyage upon leaving Japan. To his dismay, he had learned the first hand despair of seasickness. He had been too sick during the entire passage to appreciate any part of it. After two weeks, he had finally jumped ship in a Chinese port and found work as a stevedore. His strength was enough to help him find work anywhere. He detested China, and only worked there for a few days while he scouted out a new vessel headed for the Americas. He signed up to work for his passage to America and found that the more he traveled by ship, the more his seasickness eased. By the time they had docked in Hawaii, he had sea legs worthy of an itinerant traveler. He jumped ship in Hawaii on a whim and stayed for several months. The allure of the exotic islands was only satiated by the unrelenting sameness that paradise inflicted with the passing of time. He signed on to another ship bound for the Americas and landed in San Francisco. The burgeoning mining town had all the excitement and brawling a man of Sano's tastes could want.
Kenshin was greatly entertained by his hilarious stories about panning for gold in the Wilds of America. He was so bad at panning for gold he hadn't even been able to make enough to buy food. But he had loved the city of San Francisco, and given up his get-rich-quick gold panning to work at the gaming rooms in the San Francisco saloons. He was a wiz at poker, and even better at keeping the peace as a bouncer in some of the scruffier bawdy houses along the gold coast. After a couple of years he had learned to speak really bad Engrish with really good cursing. He moved on by taking the train across country to New York. New York had reminded him too much of Tokyo. It had all the rush and none of the flourish of San Francisco. He was astounded by the immigrants, on both sides of the continent, and shared his very astute observations with Kenshin regarding the recovery of the United States from their own civil war. Its parallels with their own bloody revolution were far too concise to be coincidental. They spoke at length about the whole slavery issue, an issue that had not yet been eradicated from the Far East.
Sano had gone south down the eastern seaboard before crossing inland to visit Texas. He had toyed with the idea of becoming a Texas Ranger before some bright soul had stated the obvious to him. No Eastern foreigner, no matter how big and strong would ever be accepted by the heirs of Sam Houston as a Texas Ranger. He then wandered into Mexico, but found the unrelenting poverty too great. The Maya civilization fascinated him, but the jungles wore him down. Moving back up the coast, he had returned to the sea from Los Angeles.
From the Americas, his travels had criss-crossed the Pacific, stopping at the exotic islands of Fiji and Samoa before he jumped ship at Singapore, finally traveling inland to explore the steppes of central Asia. Mongolia had been the last stop on his long journey and one of his favorite places. The expansive terrain and nomadic lifestyle had been the antithesis of the four-class system that had enraged his youth in Japan. It was a place so different that it allowed him to finally come to terms with his own culture and upbringing. His early life in Shinshuu, the experiences of the Sekihoutai, the years spent as Zanza, the fighter for hire, culminating in the time he had spent with Kenshin, helping him fight for the future of Japan were all coming into focus for him.
"I can finally come home to live in peace, Kenshin. If I can find a way to do so in Japan. Don't get me wrong, I still hate the Ishin Shishi, present company excepted. You and Saitou represent the same side of the most idealistic philosophy I have ever encountered. Yet you do it in such different ways, it has taken me years to see your similarities. You'd think I'd have noticed when both of you beat the crap out of me."
"Saitou and I were more alike than you know, Sano. If you had known me as a hitokiri, you would have seen the differences between the Shinsengumi and Ishin Shishi during those highly charged emotional days of patriotism. The sacrifice of the Sekihoutai was only one of the first mistakes made by the Ishin Shishi. When I look back now, I wonder if Katsura recruiting me as a hitokiri wasn't the very first mistake. Recruiting Shishio Makoto as my replacement was probably the second."
"Dark days of our past as a nation, Kenshin. Traveling the world has helped me to gain a perspective on it. My beliefs haven't changed, and I hope one day to get "Bad" on my back again. But it is no different elsewhere. Some have it better, some worse. I didn't see a less corrupt government anywhere. And believe me, I looked."
"Will you stay in Japan then? We'd love to have you back in Tokyo."
"I don't know yet, Kenshin. I'll need some time to sort it out. Maybe this emergency in Kyoto will help me figure it out. Or maybe it will give me a new perspective on Japan." Sano was quiet for a long moment before he continued. "For certain, I do not want to go back to the aimless life I had in Tokyo. The friends were great, but the only time I was happy was when we were fighting. You've found more than that to fill your life and I want more than fights in my life, too."
"Your travels have served you well, Sano. Life hands you what you need at the most unexpected moments."
"Yeah, in your case, for sure. I've met her, remember?"
The two old friends smiled warmly, both thinking of their shared home in Tokyo, the Kamiya Kasshin dojo.
"So catch me up on Tokyo, Kenshin. How's your laundry? Has Kaoru learned how to cook?"
"Fine and no. But I have no complaints, Sano. I have found a happiness I never felt I deserved after the horrible choices of my youth. The past never goes away, but it has receded. And with Shishio dead, Earthly Justice finished and Saitou moved on to other adversaries, most of my fights are behind me. And a good thing, too, since my abilities have not improved. Megumi-dono was correct in her assessment of my future. Now I travel a quieter road, without even my sakabatou."
The men lapsed into silence, giving them enough time to notice that they had reached Kyoto. It was late in the evening as Kenshin and Sano left the platform and began walking towards the Aoiya. Sano commented on Kenshin's last observation, surprising him a bit.
"By the way, you look naked without it. And you walk funny, too. I suppose Yahiko has it? For Genpucke?"
"Yes."
"I'm glad, Kenshin. And glad to be home, too. Do you miss it?"
"Only a little." A little, like my arm is gone, Kenshin thought to himself.
"Let's hurry to the Aoiya, It's too late for dinner, but I'm sure Misao-dono will have food waiting for us, and hopefully a good explanation for this sudden trip."
"How is weasel-girl? She made any progress with that block of ice she thinks walks on water? What a funny little girl she is…"
"Misao-dono was fine the last time I saw her. I haven't seen her since our picnic in the spring; both she and Shinomori were fine then. Somehow I don't think this message is from either of them."
"Well, I'm sure we'll hear all about everything from weasel girl the minute we get there. That little girl can talk your ear off without takin' time to breathe!"
"She's not a little girl anymore, Sano. You have changed, and so have all of us who stayed here in Japan."
Kenshin and Sano made their way to the Aoiya. It was not a long walk, and the two old friends made their way quickly. They were both focused on the possible emergency that had brought them to Kyoto and were anxious to see Misao.
Okina was in the reception area to meet them. He welcomed both of them warmly, and they all turned as they heard Misao coming to greet them.
"Himura! Did you find Sagara or just pick up the first bad smelling ruffian you met down at the docks?"
"Hey, to you too, wea…Misao-san."
Both Misao and Kenshin turned to look at Sano, who was staring pointedly at Misao.
"Sagara, get Kenshin to show you to our bath house before all the paying customers start asking why we are keeping dead skunks in the reception desk. Didn't they have any water in Mongolia? And whoever told you that you looked good in that beard lied. I'll have Okina get you some shaving stuff."
Kenshin and Sano exchanged looks. "Misao-dono, would you please tell us why we are here first?"
"Sure. Not that it will help. Take a look at this." And Misao handed Kenshin a small folded piece of paper.
Kenshin opened it, with Sano looking over his shoulder, and read: Get Himura. Now.
"Shishou," Kenshin said.
"Yep. It arrived in this," Misao said, holding up a large, finely glazed vase with exquisite flowers on it.
Sano took the vase and turned it over. The signature read: Niitsu Kakunoshin. So it was from Hiko Seijirou, the 13th Master of the Hiten Mitsurugi Style and Kenshin's master.
"I'll go first thing in the morning. Come on, Sano. I think Misao is serious about getting you out of the public rooms. I just noticed some of the other guests leaving by the side doors."
"Yeah, what the hell happened to her anyway?"
"Oro?"
"Geez, don't start with that Oro crap already, I just got back. What's up with Misao?
"She looks great; she's turned into quite the beauty. But her voice is different. Her words are lighthearted, but there's something wrong with her and it shows in her eyes, too."
"I don't know, Sano, we'll see her later," Kenshin replied, but he was already planning to see her alone as soon as possible. Something wasn't right in her ki. There was a huge undercurrent of sadness. Kenshin cleaned up and went off to look for her.
He found Misao in the back garden, outside the kitchen. She was looking downcast, sitting with her shoulders hunched over. She was alone, so Kenshin moved to join her. She looked up as soon as she heard his approach. Her face was sad, but she immediately smiled at him and invited him to join her.
"I have tea and sandwiches for you and Sagara, Himura. Please join me and help yourself. How was your trip?"
"It was fine. Misao-dono, you seem sad about something. Something must have happened since the spring, when you seemed fine and happy at Mount Ueno. Can you tell me what's wrong? Is there anything I can do to help you?"
"No, Himura, there's nothing you can do. And if you think I'm sad now, you should have seen me during the summer. I suppose you will find out anyway, so I might as well tell you myself. It all started on the way home from that springtime visit.
"Aoshi-sama and I were returning to Kyoto, and I decided to ask him about becoming our Okashira again. I have been acting as Okashira, but I always believed that he would return to us and resume his position. Aoshi-sama informed me that he would never resume the position of Okashira. He stated that the Oniwabanshuu was outmoded, had outlived its usefulness in this Meiji Era, and was a dead organization. He said that was why he had adopted western dress, not the uniform of the Oniwabanshuu, which he assured me he would never wear again.
"I'm sure you can imagine how shocked and upset I was to hear this, but Aoshi-sama did not stop there. He looked me straight in the eyes and declared that he would never love me the way I wanted him to. He said that he could never return the love I wanted to give him. He suggested I try to find a life outside of the Oniwabanshuu and allow him to meditate in peace. He intends to spend the rest of his life meditating and doesn't need or want my company – or anyone else's.
"So you see, Himura, I have failed you. I am not the one who will make Aos…Shinomori smile." With this last, a few tears dripped down Misao's cheeks.
Kenshin reached out to wipe her tears away, seeking to offer some small comfort to his broken-hearted friend. "Please don't cry, Misao-dono. I am sorry this happened. It is always painful to lose someone you love."
"Yes, well you are privileged, Himura. You have seen the last of the tears I will ever cry over Shinomori. I cried everyday all summer and it is no use. I am twenty now. I am the Okashira of the Oniwabanshuu, and I do not want to spend my whole life grieving for a man who cannot love me.
"I have decided to try to breathe new life into the Oniwabanshuu, Himura. I have been thinking about what we can do in the Meiji Era that could keep our group intact and that would also allow us to grow and prosper. I think we will move in two directions, inn-keeping and protection or bodyguard services. We have made a great success of the Aoiya, so the idea of more inns here in Kyoto and elsewhere in Japan is a natural, but I do not want to abandon our skills as ninjas. We can offer protection for the newly wealthy Meiji just as we offered protection for the Shogunate. What do you think?
"I am impressed. I think your ideas are excellent and could succeed with a lot of hard work and planning. But are you sure you want to continue the Oniwabanshuu? It will be lots of work and recruiting new members will not be easy."
"Yes, I am certain that continuing the Oniwabanshuu is the right thing to do. And my feelings for Shinomori really have nothing to do with it. Don't forget that my grandfather was the Okashira before Shinomori. This is my family's heritage and I don't want to be the last Okashira. I've shared my ideas with the others and they agree. We are going to go forward with our plans immediately. The first step will be to find another location for a second inn in Kyoto. Once we staff it and have it up and running, we intend to make our customers at both inns aware of the protection services we will offer. I believe the two avenues can feed new customers into each other. If we are successful here, then we will expand to Tokyo and other cities."
"Will being the Okashira be enough for you, Misao-dono?"
"For now, it will have to be. I can occupy my time and my considerable energy with rebuilding. But I want a family, Himura. I do not want to be alone my entire life, so I am determined to go on with my life and while my heart may not be fully mended, I know my future is not with Shinomori. Someone else will be the father of my children.
"But enough of this sad tale…tell me about Kaoru and Kenji. How is your little family? I want to hear all about them…"
Misao and Kenshin spoke at length about Kaoru, Kenji, Yahiko and Tsubame. Kenshin noticed that talking about the happiness he had found, and the happiness they were sure Yahiko would find with Tsubame seemed soothing to Misao's shattered feelings. She knew both Kenshin and Yahiko had overcome great losses to find happiness again. Her eyes shined with the hope that she, too, would find a new love to fill her own life with joy.
Okina had given Sano clothes and shaving equipment. He had also arranged for Kuro to cut Sano's hair. Sano had some misgivings about cutting his hair, but was generally pleased to return to his former appearance. His trademark garments were long gone in his travels, and he donned the Oniwabanshuu uniform they provided without comment. He looked good in blue, even using the same color for his headband.
Sano joined Kenshin and Misao in the back garden, and Misao rose to meet him. She walked around Sano twice, looking him over like a chicken in the marketplace.
"You'll do. It's weird to see you in my colors, but I gotta admit it suits you Sagara. You clean up pretty good. Welcome home, and by the way – No Gambling on the premises."
"Nice to see you again too Wea…Misao-san." As Sano sat with them and helped himself to some sandwiches, he muttered to Kenshin, "Yep, she looks great, but something is different."
"She's grown up while you were gone. If you can't get used to Misao-dono, how are you going to deal with Yahiko? He is quite a young man now."
Kenshin sat on one side of Sano and Misao sat on the other. Members of the Oniwabanshuu came and joined them in the garden to say hello to both Kenshin and Sano. They were very protective of Misao, but that didn't stop them from teasing her relentlessly about almost anything. For this evening, the sight of Sano and Misao sitting together in nearly matching outfits was the source of much comment and amusement – never mind that every one of them was dressed the same except for Kenshin. Aoshi, of course, did not appear.
Kenshin talked very little, which was not unusual for him. Sano regaled everyone with tales of his exploits in Mongolia. His stories of his adventures on horseback were especially funny. Just the specter of Sano on a horse was enough entertainment, but he described his exploits at learning to ride – usually when the authorities were after him - in hilarious detail. His travels had been exhaustive and exhausting, and he had clearly gained much in maturity and languages. Kenshin was amazed in the subtle changes that time had wrought in his friend. Before, his youthful impulsiveness had brought him many fights and more problems. Now, his travels had given him time to think, time to mature, and time to appreciate the talents of those around him.
As the evening wore on, the other Oniwabanshuu drifted out leaving Sano to entertain Misao and Kenshin with his tales of foreign intrigue, follies, and fun. Misao was entranced, but at last she left the two old friends together.
"I've missed you, Sano. And so have Kaoru and Yahiko. And I can't wait to introduce you to Kenji – he's sure to like you." He's bound to like you more than he likes me, Kenshin thought.
"Hey, we'll leave for Tokyo just as soon as we figure out what Hiko wants. I'll go with you and we can talk on the way. No reason to stay here unless I want to take up meditation with Shinomori. What's with him, anyway? You'd think he'd at least come out of his trance long enough to say hello to you. What a jerk. Is that what's got Misao all weird? Has she finally given up on that guy? It's about time. What's she supposed to do, wait forever?"
"I think she is very busy with all the plans she and the others have developed to expand the group. She and Shinomori are…just…friends."
"Just friends, huh? Well, I'm sure that's a story and a half …"
"I'm going to sleep. I'll see you in the morning. And welcome back, Sano, it's great to have you back in Japan."
"Yeah, it's great to see you again, too, Kenshin. Get some rest, I'll be along soon."
Sano went out on the front porch of the Aoiya, taking some sake with him. It had been far too long since he had enjoyed Japanese sake, and he was savoring the taste. He no longer drank like he used to; learning at last that a life lived fully needed no artificial enhancement. He thought of Misao's admonishment against gambling and snickered to himself. He still enjoyed gambling, but now it was a pastime, not an avocation. He didn't regret or belabor his youthful tastes or indiscretions, but at twenty-three, he was more interested in building a life for himself, and determining if that life was to be had here in Japan, or if he would have to look elsewhere. He sighed at that thought. He was still against asking Kenshin for help with the Ishin Shishi. He gritted his teeth. Time had not diminished his distaste for the ruling "patriots", nor had anything he had seen or learned in his travels led him to believe that other governments were any better.
He had, however, learned the value of working. Honest labor had been a balm to his loneliness during his time away from Japan. And working was a great teacher. He had learned more about people and countries in his travels by shared hard work than any philosophical conversation could have conveyed. He had worked at lots of odd jobs, just as he had worked on the ship for his passage back to Japan. He had mixed feelings about being back in Japan, but he was really glad to see Kenshin again.
After a while, Misao joined him on the porch. "Having trouble sleeping, Sagara?"
"No, I just want to enjoy the sounds of a Japanese city again. It's been a long time since the voices around me were speaking Japanese. I kinda missed it. How about you, Misao? What's keepin' you up nights?"
"Dreams, Sagara, dreams. See you in the morning, sleep well."
Author's Note: Thanks for reading and reviewing: Susan, Midori Natari Himura, Firuze Khanume, Ro-chan, Lizzie, Prudence-chan, q3ozLizh, KitKat, & Crystal.