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 Four
Kaoru fought the urge to run aftr him, to demand what was
wrong. But, a small whimper from the basket reminded her
that her place was here in the dojo. She walked back to
the porch and sank down next to basket and noticed that
Suzume was gone. Somewhere in her mind, Kaoru vaguely
recalled seeing her run off to play while she was talking
to Kenshin. She sighed as a second urge welled up inside –
the need to cry.
"Say, did you talk to him?" Yahiko asked, approaching the
porch.
"Not really," Kaoru admitted. "I found him, but then we
found something else," she said, indicating the basket.
Yahiko looked inside and whistled when he saw the baby.
"Man, talk about ironic timing. Whose baby is this?"
"We don't know. She was out there for at least a day. She
was starving."
Yahiko sat on the other side of the basket. "How's Kenshin
taking this?" he asked.
"Odd. He acts fine at times, and now...," Kaoru sighed.
"Gods, what are we going to do with a baby here?"
"I don't know. Maybe Misao can help once she gets here."
"Huh?" Kaoru stared at Yahiko.
"I send word to Misao about Kenshin. I figured with her
cheerfulness and Aoshi's healing through meditation
combined with you and me could help get Kenshin through
this. After all, they're part of the Kenshingumi too,"
Yahiko said.
Kaoru smiled. Yahiko had grown up so much during the time
she was gone, and she knew from the worry on his face that
as long as Kenshin was feeling down, he would be as fretful
as she was. She pondered about leaving the baby with
Yahiko so she could find him.
She stared in the basket. Poor little thing. Kaoru's
heart melted as the child snuggled up to the folds of the
gi, grabbing one corner in her fist and sucking on it.
They needed to start looking for the child's mother, and
soon. She knew deep within her heart that the longer they
had this child, the less she wanted to let her go.
Kaoru's head snapped up, her eyes focused on the crowd
outside the open dojo gates. She was willing to bet that
she wasn't the only person struggling not to fall in love
with the baby. Kenshin's odd behavior became clearer.
Obviously, he had feelings for the baby, but didn't want to
give into him. Like her, he would love the baby
unconditionally and then have to stand by as the real
mother took her away. It would be a double blow for him in
such a short time.
It's a good thing Misao and Aoshi are coming, Kaoru
realized. With them helping with the baby, it would keep
Kaoru away from her somewhat. Then, she wouldn't fall into
the same trap Kenshin was trying to avoid. She couldn't
speak for Kenshin, but she knew that if that baby grabbed
her heart, she would not be able to let her go.
*****
Kenshin walked down the street as fast as he could, not
bothering to be polite as he pushed his way through the
crowd. Perhaps...perhaps if he got out of town fast
enough, they would not see his grief. They would not see
him cry.
He made it to the bridge leading out of town and leaned
over the railing, griping it like a life line. Tears fell
unchecked to the water below, making rippling waves. He
did his best to control it, after all, Shishou was bound to
be sitting in Kyoto laughing his head off at his baka deshi
sobbing like a girl.
Then again, Hiko never killed his own child.
He remembered vividly the last two times he cried like
this. The first had been when Tomoe died, the second when
he thought Kaoru had been killed.
Kemshin stumbled out of town, close to the clearing where
he and Kaoru found the baby just a few hours earlier. He
sank onto a stump and willed hiccupping sobs to come,
anything to release the grief and the horror of what he
did.
He looked up to see clouds gathering on the horizon,
blotting out the setting sun. He smelled rain in the air,
yet made no move to find shelter. Instead, he hung his
head. How fitting it would be raining on a day like this,
much like the night he first met Tomoe. Gods, had it only
been earlier this afternoon that Enishi confronted him with
the diary? It felt like an entire lifetime had passed
already.
It was strange. No amount of imagination on his part could
conjure a picture of Tomoe holding his child, feeding his
child, or caring for it. Instead, images of Kaoru doing
all of that sprang up. He thought back to the time when he
was a hitokiri. What if Tomoe had told him that she was
pregnant before she died?
Kenshin watched the gathering storm grow closer. He would
had been estatic, of course. He had loved children ever
since he was barely into adulthood himself. He loved to
see them be happy, and he knew that he would make sure that
his own children would be the happiest of them all. They
would never know the sorrow and pain he had gone through.
Yet, why, why couldn't he see Tomoe being a mother? In the
months they were married, he loved her and they slept
together as man and wife. He knew of the consequences of
that. But, he never dreamed of Tomoe being the mother of
his child. It didn't seem natural. Yet, to think of Kaoru
pregnant with his child almost seemed like second nature to
him.
Kenshin held his hands out in front of them. They were
rough with calluses, nicks and scratches covering them.
Any child he brought into the world would have the stain of
the Hitoriki Battousai blotting him from the moment of
conception. Gods, what if he had become a parent 10 years
ago? The thought made his blood freeze into ice. There
was no way he could care for a child on his own, not with
the mental state he was in after Tomoe's death.
His hands slowly closed into fists as images of the child
he and Kaoru found in the clearing earlier filled his mind.
Just a couple weeks old, born right after the start of the
year. Kenshin's head snapped up. Tomoe had died on
January 2nd. Could it be possible that this child...no,
there was no way. A sad smile crossed his face briefly.
No, this was a child whose mother either lost of abandoned
her. She needed to be loved.
Much like the way he needed love after his parents died.
Kenshin thought about his behavior toward the baby. He
didn't want to feel anything for this child. Normally, he
would care for it, but something seemed to tie his heart to
the tiny one. Looking into the baby's eyes was like gazing
into Kaoru's. He felt like he was drowning in emotions he
didn't want to name, didn't want to admit.
Dear Gods, he really was falling in love with this
child...just like he'd already fallen for Kaoru.
Kenshin drew in a raspy breath, his throat clogging with
emotion once more. Neither he nor Kaoru brought up the
topic of finding the baby's mother. Normally, it would be
the first thing that they would do. Yet, caring for this
child seemed so natural, it was like second nature. He
fought the growing feelings in his heart, but knew it was
useless. This child...he would protect it with his heart,
his soul, his life. Until the day they found the baby's
parents, he would be her protector.
No, not just himself. He and Kaoru. He smiled, a true
geninue smile. They would work together. They would find
the baby's parents together and care for her until then.
He thought back to Kaoru's request from earlier. She
wanted him to name the baby. Well, they couldn't just keep
saying "aka-chan, aka-chan" all the time. The child
deserved a good name. Suddenly, his mind clicked, and the
right one lept to the tip of his tounge. His smile grew
wider as he got up and headed for home, just as the rain
started to fall.
*****
Kaoru watched as the rain poured from the sky, as if
someone decided to upend a bucket over Tokyo and watch the
residents scramble for cover. She held the baby close to
her as she waited for Kenshin to come home. He had been
gone for over an hour. Yahiko was in the kitchen, trying
to come up with something to eat. In the meantime, the
baby needed changing and she was now trying to rock her
back to sleep.
She stared at the child's face, relaxed in sleep, and a
shaft of longing pierced her. She so wanted to be a
mother. Kaoru often felt like she was playing pretend when
Ayame and Suzume were around, games preparing her for the
real thing. Even though this child wasn't her own, Kaoru
felt like the baby's natural mother in some unexplainable
way.
Kaoru pressed her lips to the baby's soft skin. "Oh, how I
wish you were mine," she whispered against it. "Mine and
Kenshin's."
"Mikomi."
Kaoru looked up to see Kenshin standing before her, his
hair plastered to his head from the downpour. She quickly
rose to her feet with the baby in her arms. "Kenshin!
I've been so worried," she said.
Ignoring her for the moment, Kenshin stepped onto the porch
and took the child in his arms. Her eyes blinked open and
focused on his, much like the first time he saw her. The
small bundle radiated warmth and penetrated his chilled
body.
"Her name is Mikomi," he whispered, not bothering to check
the tears that mingled with the raindrops on his face.
Tears filled Kaoru's eyes and spilled over. She hastily
wiped them away with her kimono sleeve, but more kept
coming. This time, she didn't bother to wipe them away.
She wrapped her arms around Kenshin, hugging him close to
her, and leaning her head against his shoulder. Mikomi.
It was the perfect name. It meant hope.
*****
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 Four
Kaoru fought the urge to run aftr him, to demand what was
wrong. But, a small whimper from the basket reminded her
that her place was here in the dojo. She walked back to
the porch and sank down next to basket and noticed that
Suzume was gone. Somewhere in her mind, Kaoru vaguely
recalled seeing her run off to play while she was talking
to Kenshin. She sighed as a second urge welled up inside –
the need to cry.
"Say, did you talk to him?" Yahiko asked, approaching the
porch.
"Not really," Kaoru admitted. "I found him, but then we
found something else," she said, indicating the basket.
Yahiko looked inside and whistled when he saw the baby.
"Man, talk about ironic timing. Whose baby is this?"
"We don't know. She was out there for at least a day. She
was starving."
Yahiko sat on the other side of the basket. "How's Kenshin
taking this?" he asked.
"Odd. He acts fine at times, and now...," Kaoru sighed.
"Gods, what are we going to do with a baby here?"
"I don't know. Maybe Misao can help once she gets here."
"Huh?" Kaoru stared at Yahiko.
"I send word to Misao about Kenshin. I figured with her
cheerfulness and Aoshi's healing through meditation
combined with you and me could help get Kenshin through
this. After all, they're part of the Kenshingumi too,"
Yahiko said.
Kaoru smiled. Yahiko had grown up so much during the time
she was gone, and she knew from the worry on his face that
as long as Kenshin was feeling down, he would be as fretful
as she was. She pondered about leaving the baby with
Yahiko so she could find him.
She stared in the basket. Poor little thing. Kaoru's
heart melted as the child snuggled up to the folds of the
gi, grabbing one corner in her fist and sucking on it.
They needed to start looking for the child's mother, and
soon. She knew deep within her heart that the longer they
had this child, the less she wanted to let her go.
Kaoru's head snapped up, her eyes focused on the crowd
outside the open dojo gates. She was willing to bet that
she wasn't the only person struggling not to fall in love
with the baby. Kenshin's odd behavior became clearer.
Obviously, he had feelings for the baby, but didn't want to
give into him. Like her, he would love the baby
unconditionally and then have to stand by as the real
mother took her away. It would be a double blow for him in
such a short time.
It's a good thing Misao and Aoshi are coming, Kaoru
realized. With them helping with the baby, it would keep
Kaoru away from her somewhat. Then, she wouldn't fall into
the same trap Kenshin was trying to avoid. She couldn't
speak for Kenshin, but she knew that if that baby grabbed
her heart, she would not be able to let her go.
*****
Kenshin walked down the street as fast as he could, not
bothering to be polite as he pushed his way through the
crowd. Perhaps...perhaps if he got out of town fast
enough, they would not see his grief. They would not see
him cry.
He made it to the bridge leading out of town and leaned
over the railing, griping it like a life line. Tears fell
unchecked to the water below, making rippling waves. He
did his best to control it, after all, Shishou was bound to
be sitting in Kyoto laughing his head off at his baka deshi
sobbing like a girl.
Then again, Hiko never killed his own child.
He remembered vividly the last two times he cried like
this. The first had been when Tomoe died, the second when
he thought Kaoru had been killed.
Kemshin stumbled out of town, close to the clearing where
he and Kaoru found the baby just a few hours earlier. He
sank onto a stump and willed hiccupping sobs to come,
anything to release the grief and the horror of what he
did.
He looked up to see clouds gathering on the horizon,
blotting out the setting sun. He smelled rain in the air,
yet made no move to find shelter. Instead, he hung his
head. How fitting it would be raining on a day like this,
much like the night he first met Tomoe. Gods, had it only
been earlier this afternoon that Enishi confronted him with
the diary? It felt like an entire lifetime had passed
already.
It was strange. No amount of imagination on his part could
conjure a picture of Tomoe holding his child, feeding his
child, or caring for it. Instead, images of Kaoru doing
all of that sprang up. He thought back to the time when he
was a hitokiri. What if Tomoe had told him that she was
pregnant before she died?
Kenshin watched the gathering storm grow closer. He would
had been estatic, of course. He had loved children ever
since he was barely into adulthood himself. He loved to
see them be happy, and he knew that he would make sure that
his own children would be the happiest of them all. They
would never know the sorrow and pain he had gone through.
Yet, why, why couldn't he see Tomoe being a mother? In the
months they were married, he loved her and they slept
together as man and wife. He knew of the consequences of
that. But, he never dreamed of Tomoe being the mother of
his child. It didn't seem natural. Yet, to think of Kaoru
pregnant with his child almost seemed like second nature to
him.
Kenshin held his hands out in front of them. They were
rough with calluses, nicks and scratches covering them.
Any child he brought into the world would have the stain of
the Hitoriki Battousai blotting him from the moment of
conception. Gods, what if he had become a parent 10 years
ago? The thought made his blood freeze into ice. There
was no way he could care for a child on his own, not with
the mental state he was in after Tomoe's death.
His hands slowly closed into fists as images of the child
he and Kaoru found in the clearing earlier filled his mind.
Just a couple weeks old, born right after the start of the
year. Kenshin's head snapped up. Tomoe had died on
January 2nd. Could it be possible that this child...no,
there was no way. A sad smile crossed his face briefly.
No, this was a child whose mother either lost of abandoned
her. She needed to be loved.
Much like the way he needed love after his parents died.
Kenshin thought about his behavior toward the baby. He
didn't want to feel anything for this child. Normally, he
would care for it, but something seemed to tie his heart to
the tiny one. Looking into the baby's eyes was like gazing
into Kaoru's. He felt like he was drowning in emotions he
didn't want to name, didn't want to admit.
Dear Gods, he really was falling in love with this
child...just like he'd already fallen for Kaoru.
Kenshin drew in a raspy breath, his throat clogging with
emotion once more. Neither he nor Kaoru brought up the
topic of finding the baby's mother. Normally, it would be
the first thing that they would do. Yet, caring for this
child seemed so natural, it was like second nature. He
fought the growing feelings in his heart, but knew it was
useless. This child...he would protect it with his heart,
his soul, his life. Until the day they found the baby's
parents, he would be her protector.
No, not just himself. He and Kaoru. He smiled, a true
geninue smile. They would work together. They would find
the baby's parents together and care for her until then.
He thought back to Kaoru's request from earlier. She
wanted him to name the baby. Well, they couldn't just keep
saying "aka-chan, aka-chan" all the time. The child
deserved a good name. Suddenly, his mind clicked, and the
right one lept to the tip of his tounge. His smile grew
wider as he got up and headed for home, just as the rain
started to fall.
*****
Kaoru watched as the rain poured from the sky, as if
someone decided to upend a bucket over Tokyo and watch the
residents scramble for cover. She held the baby close to
her as she waited for Kenshin to come home. He had been
gone for over an hour. Yahiko was in the kitchen, trying
to come up with something to eat. In the meantime, the
baby needed changing and she was now trying to rock her
back to sleep.
She stared at the child's face, relaxed in sleep, and a
shaft of longing pierced her. She so wanted to be a
mother. Kaoru often felt like she was playing pretend when
Ayame and Suzume were around, games preparing her for the
real thing. Even though this child wasn't her own, Kaoru
felt like the baby's natural mother in some unexplainable
way.
Kaoru pressed her lips to the baby's soft skin. "Oh, how I
wish you were mine," she whispered against it. "Mine and
Kenshin's."
"Mikomi."
Kaoru looked up to see Kenshin standing before her, his
hair plastered to his head from the downpour. She quickly
rose to her feet with the baby in her arms. "Kenshin!
I've been so worried," she said.
Ignoring her for the moment, Kenshin stepped onto the porch
and took the child in his arms. Her eyes blinked open and
focused on his, much like the first time he saw her. The
small bundle radiated warmth and penetrated his chilled
body.
"Her name is Mikomi," he whispered, not bothering to check
the tears that mingled with the raindrops on his face.
Tears filled Kaoru's eyes and spilled over. She hastily
wiped them away with her kimono sleeve, but more kept
coming. This time, she didn't bother to wipe them away.
She wrapped her arms around Kenshin, hugging him close to
her, and leaning her head against his shoulder. Mikomi.
It was the perfect name. It meant hope.
*****
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::