For the Love of a Child
by DQBunny
*****
DISCLAIMER: Rurouni Kenshin and its characters are the
property of Nobuiro Watsuki. I'm just borrowing them for
awhile. This story is set after the Jinchu Arc of the
manga and relies heavily on information gathered in that
arc for those who do not wish to be spoiled.
*****
Part Three
"Yes, to Machimaki Misao, Okashira of the Oniwabanshu in
Kyoto," Yahiko said, handing the note he composed to the
old woman. "And hurry, please."
"If you'll wait a few minutes, I'm sure Misao-chan will
send you a response," the woman said, placing the note in
the beak of a speckled piegon. "She's been coming here for
correspondence the times she has been in Tokyo. I know the
okashira well."
"Arigato," Yahiko said. The woman led him to a table and
served him tea and rice cakes. He absently took a rice
cake and began to chew on it. This news was too big to
keep from Misao. Besides, through her, they could find out
more about Tomoe's pregnancy. Maybe they could speak with
the doctor who diagnosed her or...Yahiko sighed. There was
no use in even trying. He glanced outside, praying that
Kaoru had found Kenshin.
*****
Kenshin stared at the perfectly formed child squalling in
the basket. It appeared to be a little girl, although he
wasn't going to check under her diaper until they found
something to change her into. Black tuffs of hair stuck up
on the top of her head, and she wore nothing but a soiled
diaper.
"Kenshin, are you just going to stand there gawking?"
Kaoru said, lifting the basket. "We need to get this baby
out of here."
"Perhaps her mother is nearby," Kenshin said, scanning the
trees. He had been here for almost half an hour. He
hadn't seen anyone coming through the area. Why didn't he
notice the basket?
Because you're wallowing in your grief too much to pay
attention, his inner voice replied.
"I don't think so," Kaoru said. "Look at her. Her ribs
are showing and I highly doubt she's been changed in
awhile. Poor thing. She must had been sleeping, then
crying, then sleeping again. I don't think she's more than
a few days old."
The child opened her eyes, the small brown orbs locking on
Kenshin. Her crying subsided and she reached out with a
small hand toward him. Without thinking, he stretched out
his index finger and held it above her. The baby grabbed
onto his finger and squeezed tightly. Emotion choked in
his throat, nearly robbing him of the ability to breathe.
This child...would his child had looked like her if he
hadn't killed her?
"There's a stream near here," Kenshin said, carefully
extracting his finger from the baby and taking the basket
from Kaoru. "Let's wash her there and wrap her in my gi.
It's not far to the dojo."
Kaoru followed Kenshin to the stream and unwrapped the
diaper from the baby without trying to touch as little as
possible of the filth. One look confirmed the child as a
girl. She carefully placed the child in the stream,
splashing water on her as she squawked unhappily. Kenshin
took off his gi and wrapped the baby in it. The warmth and
smell of the garmet immediately calmed the child down and
she snuggled into it.
And promptly soaked it, wetting his chest.
Kenshin sighed. Kaoru started giggling. He shot her a
look and she pasted an innocent smile on her face. She
knelt and rummaged through the basket, yanking a blanket
from under the soiled diaper. "I don't see anything else
in here but these," she said. "Let's take the blanket.
It's the only thing this child has."
She straightened and stared at Kenshin, who seemed absorbed
with the baby. Her heart went out to him. How strange,
she realized. Just after hearing that he lost his own
child, we find this one. "Kenshin, do you want me to take
her?" Kaoru asked as gently as she could.
"No, I have her," he replied. Kaoru smiled, recognizing
the protective edge to his voice. Kenshin gave Kaoru a
small smile and she hugged the blanket to her chest.
"Let's go home," Kaoru whispered, laying her hand on
Kenshin's arm.
*****
Suzume peered into the basket, watching as the baby
squirmed inside Kenshin's gi. "Is this yours and Ken-nii's
baby, Kaoru-nee-chan?"
Kaoru nearly dropped the bottle that Genzai-sensei had
brought her to feed the baby with. A warm feeling
blossomed in the pit of her stomach. If the gods smiled
upon her, perhaps one day the baby lying in the small
basket that she had laid in as a baby would be hers and
Kenshin's. The smile died as she watched the baby.
Kenshin had disappeared shortly after finding Kaoru's
basket in the shed. She didn't blame him for not wanting
to be around the child. Kaoru closed her eyes and sighed.
As badly as she wanted to help Kenshin, she needed to feed
the baby.
Kaoru carefully poured the heated milk into the bottle
imported from England. She placed the strange rubber
nipple on it and picked up the baby.
"How old is the baby, Kaoru-nee?" Suzume asked.
"It's hard to say, Suzume-chan. Your grandfather thinks
she's a couple weeks old," Kaoru replied, carrying the baby
outside. She settled on the porch and leaned against the
support pole. She offered the nipple to the child, who
latched onto it eagerly.
Suzume watched the baby, her eyes wide with delight.
"She's hungry, isn't she?"
"She sure is," Kaoru smiled.
"What's her name?"
Kaoru frowned. "She doesn't have one that I know of."
"You and Ken-nii need to name your baby," Suzume stated.
"She's not our baby," Kaoru gently corrected her.
"But, you came home together with the baby. Ayame said
that when a man and a woman go out together and come back
with a baby, that means it's theirs."
"Kenshin and I aren't married. You need to be married to
have a baby."
"Why aren't you and Ken-nii married?"
Kaoru blushed. "Well...it's not something that little
girls would understand."
Suzume frowned. "Don't see what's hard to understand.
Ken-nii always looking at you. He uses his sword to keep
bad guys from hurting you. He always stands next to you
an' stuff like that. Why aren't you married?"
"Well...," Kaoru stammered. Yeah, why aren't we married,
Kenshin, she thought. Baka, she chastized herself. She
couldn't think selfishly at a time like this. Kenshin and
this baby needed her.
"What's her name?" Suzume's voice interuppted her thoughts.
"Huh?" Kaoru blinked at the little girl.
Suzume pointed at the baby. "The baby. What's her name?"
"I don't know," Kaoru replied, lifting the child to her
shoulder so she could burp her. "She doesn't have one."
"Let's give her a name! But, not Notaro."
Kaoru laughed. Thankfully, Sano wasn't around to lend his
thoughts to what the child's name should be. The baby
burped, then closed her eyes. Kaoru rubbed the baby's back
and hummed an aimless tune. She stood and started walking
around the yard with the baby.
Suzume leaned against the post and yawned, then shot up.
"Ken-nii!" she cried.
Kenshin walked in the yard carrying a small bundle and
froze when he saw Kaoru walking the baby around in a
circle. His gaze seared her from head to foot as he
admired her mothering skills. For a moment, his vision
darkened, as he tried to picture Tomoe carrying a child
around like that. He couldn't produce the image.
Kaoru turned around and Kenshin gave her a sad smile.
"Tadaima, Kaoru-dono," he said, softly.
"Okaeri," Kaoru whispered, walking over to him. "I just
got her to sleep."
Kenshin dropped the bundle without thinking as Kaoru
approached him. He peered into the folds of his gi to see
the baby nestled peacefully inside the soft cloth. "I
thought she messed up the gi."
"She did. But, after I changed her, she wouldn't accept
any other cover. So, I rinsed out the area where she
spoiled it and wrapped her back up so the wet part dried
easily," Kaoru said, admiring the dark blue gi Kenshin had
done when they came home. "You do look nice in that."
"Arigato," he replied, still staring at the child. He
hesistantly reached out and ran a callused finger down the
baby's soft cheek. She stirred slightly in her sleep and
nuzzled his finger. He smiled. This child was so
innocent, so trusting, like all children.
"Oh," Kenshin picked the package off the ground. "I got
these for you, Kaoru-dono. I figure you'd need them." He
pulled apart the edges of the blanket to reveal a stack of
cloth cut into squares and a paper-wrapped object."
"Diapers! Yes, we'll need those and then some. Hate to
say this, but having this baby around doubles the laundry,"
Kaoru teased him. "What's that?" she asked, pointing to
the other object.
Kenshin walked over to the porch and placed the diapers on
the clean surface. He held the paper-wrapped object in his
hands, staring at it.
Kaoru carried the baby over to him. "Kenshin?" she
whispered. She gently placed the baby in the basket.
Kenshin kept staring at the object, then slowly unwrapped
the object. The paper fell to the ground and Kenshin still
stared at the now unwrapped object. Kaoru peered over his
shoulder to see a small rag doll in his hands. She smiled
at him. "Kenshin, that's so sweet of you," she said.
"Sessha...sessha thought she might like it," Kenshin
whispered, placing the doll in the basket within the baby's
reach. Instinctively, the child reached out in her sleep
and brushed the doll's legs with her fists.
He honestly didn't know what possessed him to buy the doll.
Diapers were an essential, he knew that. But, once at the
market, his eyes locked on that doll and he knew he would
come home with it. Buying diapers was a given. But a
doll...a doll was something a father bought for his
daughter.
"Kenshin?"
Kaoru's voice brought him out of his daze. Her hand was on
his arm and instinctively, he wrapped the arm around her,
hugging her close to his side. He absently stroked her
hair.
"Genzai-sensei said that she's a couple weeks old, born not
long after the new year," Kaoru said, trying to remind her
lungs that they needed to function. She looked up at him.
"She needs a name, Kenshin. Why don't you name her?"
The arm dropped from Kaoru's side and Kenshin quickly moved
toward the laundry tub, his back to her. "Whatever you
decide is fine with me, Kaoru-dono."
Kaoru marched over to Kenshin and grabbed hold of the back
of his gi. "No, I think you should name the baby," she
insisted.
He turned on her. Kaoru fought the urge to gasp as the
pain that radiated from his violet eyes, the guilt and the
loss that swirled around in an endless loop. "No, Kaoru,"
he growled. "I will not name that child." Kenshin pulled
her hand away from his gi and marched out the gate, nearly
running into Yahiko. He skirted the young man and headed
down the street.
*****
Please send any comments to dqbunny28@aol.com. Also, please
visit my website at http://www.geocities.com/weaver_stories/index.htm
for my other works ::bows::
by DQBunny
*****
DISCLAIMER: Rurouni Kenshin and its characters are the
property of Nobuiro Watsuki. I'm just borrowing them for
awhile. This story is set after the Jinchu Arc of the
manga and relies heavily on information gathered in that
arc for those who do not wish to be spoiled.
*****
Part Three
"Yes, to Machimaki Misao, Okashira of the Oniwabanshu in
Kyoto," Yahiko said, handing the note he composed to the
old woman. "And hurry, please."
"If you'll wait a few minutes, I'm sure Misao-chan will
send you a response," the woman said, placing the note in
the beak of a speckled piegon. "She's been coming here for
correspondence the times she has been in Tokyo. I know the
okashira well."
"Arigato," Yahiko said. The woman led him to a table and
served him tea and rice cakes. He absently took a rice
cake and began to chew on it. This news was too big to
keep from Misao. Besides, through her, they could find out
more about Tomoe's pregnancy. Maybe they could speak with
the doctor who diagnosed her or...Yahiko sighed. There was
no use in even trying. He glanced outside, praying that
Kaoru had found Kenshin.
*****
Kenshin stared at the perfectly formed child squalling in
the basket. It appeared to be a little girl, although he
wasn't going to check under her diaper until they found
something to change her into. Black tuffs of hair stuck up
on the top of her head, and she wore nothing but a soiled
diaper.
"Kenshin, are you just going to stand there gawking?"
Kaoru said, lifting the basket. "We need to get this baby
out of here."
"Perhaps her mother is nearby," Kenshin said, scanning the
trees. He had been here for almost half an hour. He
hadn't seen anyone coming through the area. Why didn't he
notice the basket?
Because you're wallowing in your grief too much to pay
attention, his inner voice replied.
"I don't think so," Kaoru said. "Look at her. Her ribs
are showing and I highly doubt she's been changed in
awhile. Poor thing. She must had been sleeping, then
crying, then sleeping again. I don't think she's more than
a few days old."
The child opened her eyes, the small brown orbs locking on
Kenshin. Her crying subsided and she reached out with a
small hand toward him. Without thinking, he stretched out
his index finger and held it above her. The baby grabbed
onto his finger and squeezed tightly. Emotion choked in
his throat, nearly robbing him of the ability to breathe.
This child...would his child had looked like her if he
hadn't killed her?
"There's a stream near here," Kenshin said, carefully
extracting his finger from the baby and taking the basket
from Kaoru. "Let's wash her there and wrap her in my gi.
It's not far to the dojo."
Kaoru followed Kenshin to the stream and unwrapped the
diaper from the baby without trying to touch as little as
possible of the filth. One look confirmed the child as a
girl. She carefully placed the child in the stream,
splashing water on her as she squawked unhappily. Kenshin
took off his gi and wrapped the baby in it. The warmth and
smell of the garmet immediately calmed the child down and
she snuggled into it.
And promptly soaked it, wetting his chest.
Kenshin sighed. Kaoru started giggling. He shot her a
look and she pasted an innocent smile on her face. She
knelt and rummaged through the basket, yanking a blanket
from under the soiled diaper. "I don't see anything else
in here but these," she said. "Let's take the blanket.
It's the only thing this child has."
She straightened and stared at Kenshin, who seemed absorbed
with the baby. Her heart went out to him. How strange,
she realized. Just after hearing that he lost his own
child, we find this one. "Kenshin, do you want me to take
her?" Kaoru asked as gently as she could.
"No, I have her," he replied. Kaoru smiled, recognizing
the protective edge to his voice. Kenshin gave Kaoru a
small smile and she hugged the blanket to her chest.
"Let's go home," Kaoru whispered, laying her hand on
Kenshin's arm.
*****
Suzume peered into the basket, watching as the baby
squirmed inside Kenshin's gi. "Is this yours and Ken-nii's
baby, Kaoru-nee-chan?"
Kaoru nearly dropped the bottle that Genzai-sensei had
brought her to feed the baby with. A warm feeling
blossomed in the pit of her stomach. If the gods smiled
upon her, perhaps one day the baby lying in the small
basket that she had laid in as a baby would be hers and
Kenshin's. The smile died as she watched the baby.
Kenshin had disappeared shortly after finding Kaoru's
basket in the shed. She didn't blame him for not wanting
to be around the child. Kaoru closed her eyes and sighed.
As badly as she wanted to help Kenshin, she needed to feed
the baby.
Kaoru carefully poured the heated milk into the bottle
imported from England. She placed the strange rubber
nipple on it and picked up the baby.
"How old is the baby, Kaoru-nee?" Suzume asked.
"It's hard to say, Suzume-chan. Your grandfather thinks
she's a couple weeks old," Kaoru replied, carrying the baby
outside. She settled on the porch and leaned against the
support pole. She offered the nipple to the child, who
latched onto it eagerly.
Suzume watched the baby, her eyes wide with delight.
"She's hungry, isn't she?"
"She sure is," Kaoru smiled.
"What's her name?"
Kaoru frowned. "She doesn't have one that I know of."
"You and Ken-nii need to name your baby," Suzume stated.
"She's not our baby," Kaoru gently corrected her.
"But, you came home together with the baby. Ayame said
that when a man and a woman go out together and come back
with a baby, that means it's theirs."
"Kenshin and I aren't married. You need to be married to
have a baby."
"Why aren't you and Ken-nii married?"
Kaoru blushed. "Well...it's not something that little
girls would understand."
Suzume frowned. "Don't see what's hard to understand.
Ken-nii always looking at you. He uses his sword to keep
bad guys from hurting you. He always stands next to you
an' stuff like that. Why aren't you married?"
"Well...," Kaoru stammered. Yeah, why aren't we married,
Kenshin, she thought. Baka, she chastized herself. She
couldn't think selfishly at a time like this. Kenshin and
this baby needed her.
"What's her name?" Suzume's voice interuppted her thoughts.
"Huh?" Kaoru blinked at the little girl.
Suzume pointed at the baby. "The baby. What's her name?"
"I don't know," Kaoru replied, lifting the child to her
shoulder so she could burp her. "She doesn't have one."
"Let's give her a name! But, not Notaro."
Kaoru laughed. Thankfully, Sano wasn't around to lend his
thoughts to what the child's name should be. The baby
burped, then closed her eyes. Kaoru rubbed the baby's back
and hummed an aimless tune. She stood and started walking
around the yard with the baby.
Suzume leaned against the post and yawned, then shot up.
"Ken-nii!" she cried.
Kenshin walked in the yard carrying a small bundle and
froze when he saw Kaoru walking the baby around in a
circle. His gaze seared her from head to foot as he
admired her mothering skills. For a moment, his vision
darkened, as he tried to picture Tomoe carrying a child
around like that. He couldn't produce the image.
Kaoru turned around and Kenshin gave her a sad smile.
"Tadaima, Kaoru-dono," he said, softly.
"Okaeri," Kaoru whispered, walking over to him. "I just
got her to sleep."
Kenshin dropped the bundle without thinking as Kaoru
approached him. He peered into the folds of his gi to see
the baby nestled peacefully inside the soft cloth. "I
thought she messed up the gi."
"She did. But, after I changed her, she wouldn't accept
any other cover. So, I rinsed out the area where she
spoiled it and wrapped her back up so the wet part dried
easily," Kaoru said, admiring the dark blue gi Kenshin had
done when they came home. "You do look nice in that."
"Arigato," he replied, still staring at the child. He
hesistantly reached out and ran a callused finger down the
baby's soft cheek. She stirred slightly in her sleep and
nuzzled his finger. He smiled. This child was so
innocent, so trusting, like all children.
"Oh," Kenshin picked the package off the ground. "I got
these for you, Kaoru-dono. I figure you'd need them." He
pulled apart the edges of the blanket to reveal a stack of
cloth cut into squares and a paper-wrapped object."
"Diapers! Yes, we'll need those and then some. Hate to
say this, but having this baby around doubles the laundry,"
Kaoru teased him. "What's that?" she asked, pointing to
the other object.
Kenshin walked over to the porch and placed the diapers on
the clean surface. He held the paper-wrapped object in his
hands, staring at it.
Kaoru carried the baby over to him. "Kenshin?" she
whispered. She gently placed the baby in the basket.
Kenshin kept staring at the object, then slowly unwrapped
the object. The paper fell to the ground and Kenshin still
stared at the now unwrapped object. Kaoru peered over his
shoulder to see a small rag doll in his hands. She smiled
at him. "Kenshin, that's so sweet of you," she said.
"Sessha...sessha thought she might like it," Kenshin
whispered, placing the doll in the basket within the baby's
reach. Instinctively, the child reached out in her sleep
and brushed the doll's legs with her fists.
He honestly didn't know what possessed him to buy the doll.
Diapers were an essential, he knew that. But, once at the
market, his eyes locked on that doll and he knew he would
come home with it. Buying diapers was a given. But a
doll...a doll was something a father bought for his
daughter.
"Kenshin?"
Kaoru's voice brought him out of his daze. Her hand was on
his arm and instinctively, he wrapped the arm around her,
hugging her close to his side. He absently stroked her
hair.
"Genzai-sensei said that she's a couple weeks old, born not
long after the new year," Kaoru said, trying to remind her
lungs that they needed to function. She looked up at him.
"She needs a name, Kenshin. Why don't you name her?"
The arm dropped from Kaoru's side and Kenshin quickly moved
toward the laundry tub, his back to her. "Whatever you
decide is fine with me, Kaoru-dono."
Kaoru marched over to Kenshin and grabbed hold of the back
of his gi. "No, I think you should name the baby," she
insisted.
He turned on her. Kaoru fought the urge to gasp as the
pain that radiated from his violet eyes, the guilt and the
loss that swirled around in an endless loop. "No, Kaoru,"
he growled. "I will not name that child." Kenshin pulled
her hand away from his gi and marched out the gate, nearly
running into Yahiko. He skirted the young man and headed
down the street.
*****
Please send any comments to dqbunny28@aol.com. Also, please
visit my website at http://www.geocities.com/weaver_stories/index.htm
for my other works ::bows::