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 Six
It was one of the hardest battles he had ever fought,
ranking right up there with Shishio, Saitou, and Enishi.
Still, he refused to back down for anything. He would win
this fight, even if it killed him. Yes, it was the great
battle of the Battousai versus the baby.
And the baby was winning.
Come on, Mikomi-chan. Be a good girl and eat like you're
suppose to, Kenshin thought as he pressed the nipple
against her lips. She turned her head away from it and
kept screaming the same way she had been screaming for the
past two hours.
Kenshin sank onto the porch, his muscles sagging with
exhaustion. He tried feeding her, he changed her, he
bathed her, and he walked her. And walked her. And walked
her. Kenshin was convinced that he would go insane if he
had to walk Mikomi around the dojo one more time.
Still, she wouldn't stop crying and he was at his wit's
end. He couldn't detect any fever and from what he could
guess, she was too young to be growing any teeth.
Remembering what he had seen Kaoru do earlier, Kenshin
slightly rocked back and forth.
Mikomi's wailing started to subside.
"What?" Kenshin stared at the child. "You mean I did all
of that walking for two hours and all I had to do was rock
you?"
Mikomi stopped crying and stared at Kenshin.
He blinked at her. "Oro?"
Mikomi's lips curved into a smile.
"Oro!" She smiled! Pride welled up inside him. This
precious child had smiled at him! He couldn't wait to tell
Kaoru when she got back. He lasped back into silence and
kept rocking her.
Mikomi frowned, then started to cry.
Huh? He was rocking her. Kenshin kept rocking her, trying
to figure out what else he did to get her to stop crying.
All he did was rock and talk to her. Suddenly, he realized
that's what calmed her down. Mikomi wanted someone to talk
to her. During the past two hours, he had been silent as
he dealt with Mikomi, and she obviously didn't like that.
"You want me to talk to you, huh?" Kenshin said, settling
back against the support post. "I suppose I could tell you
a fairy tale or one of the old legends, but I don't know
any." He grinned. "I do know a lot of sake songs thanks
to Shishou, but I don't think Kaoru would like those too
much."
Mikomi gurgled at the sound of Kaoru's name.
"Aa, you like her too, don't you? Well, I can tell you
about the first time that I met her. That's a story. You
see, I've been wandering around for about ten years...why
was I wandering around for ten years? I'll tell you that
story when you're older. Anyhow, I was walking down the
street when I heard this voice. 'Stop right there, Hitokiri
Battousai!' it yelled. I turned around and..."
Mikomi yawned and closed her eyes, the rhythms of Kenshin's
voice soothing her until she fell asleep.
"So she asked me what my name was. And I said, 'Himura.
Himura Kenshin.' Kaoru said, 'Kenshin...why don't you go
on your way, Kenshin?' But, by then, I'd already decided
to stay. Back then, I had no idea why, but I think my
heart had already fallen in love with her. It told me to
stay while it waited for the rest of me to follow suit. It
didn't take long." Kenshin looked down at Mikomi and
smiled when he saw that she was asleep.
"Oh, Kenshin...that was so sweet."
Kenshin looked up to see Kaoru, Yahiko, Misao, and Aoshi
gathered together before him. He felt his cheeks burning
at his friends hearing his private thoughts about that.
"Okaeri," he said.
"Tadima," Kaoru replied, her eyes locked on Kenshin's. The
love she felt for him, confirmed by his story to the baby,
threatened to spill over. She swallowed, willing control
over her emotions while everyone was still around. Still,
she approached him and gently pried one hand from around
the baby and linked it with hers.
Misao felt tears stinging in her eyes. No matter how wrong
it was, it seemed that having Mikomi around was the right
thing for Kenshin and Kaoru's relationship. She knew they
could not see them now, that the world centered around
themselves and the child.
"Oi, busu. You and Kenshin are acting like you've gone
nuts," Yahiko muttered, not sure of how much sappiness he
could take. It felt strange to him, he almost preferred
the yelling, screaming Kaoru and the smiling, hapless
rurouni to this.
"Misao-chan?"
"KECHO KICK!" Yahiko sailed over the gates.
"Let us prepare tea," Aoshi said to Misao. She nodded and followed him in the dojo.
Kaoru sat next to Kenshin and he wrapped his right arm around her, keeping Mikomi cradled in his left. They gazed into each other's eyes and smiled. It was too late to turn back now. They both knew that they were in this for the long haul, with each other and Mikomi. One day, the day would come that Mikomi's parents would find her and they would face that pain together.
*****
Weeks passed and soon it was nearly two months since Mikomi
entered their lives. After three weeks, Misao and Aoshi
had returned to Kyoto. The day they left, Megumi arrived,
staying four weeks. During that time, the Kenshingumi
questioned every doctor and midwife they could find in
Tokyo and the surrounding countryside at least twice.
Still, there was no trace of Mikomi's parents.
"Most likely her mother died giving birth to her," Megumi
said. "Her father may have tried to care for her, but
decided he couldn't so he left her behind for someone else
to adopt."
"You would think he would leave her in town and not in the
woods," Kaoru replied.
"Who can question what people do? It's been almost two
months. I think it's safe to assume that Mikomi belongs in
your care now. Congratulations, Ken-san. Kaoru-chan.
You're parents."
Kenshin and Kaoru managed to give Megumi tired smiles.
Midnight feedings and colic had kept the entire household
up for several nights in a row, everyone capturing naps as
needed. Kaoru had fallen asleep in class one day and wound
up with a nice-sized goose egg thanks to a hard shinai on
the head. Kenshin caught himself toppling into the laundry
time on more than one occassion. Mikomi's naptime quickly
turned into the Kenshingumi naptime as well.
A month after Megumi left, she came back. Misao, Aoshi,
and the Oniwabanshu arrived from Kyoto. Together, the
entire Kenshingumi travelled to one of the shrines not far
from the dojo to witness Kenshin and Kaoru's marriage.
After the ceremony, the couple presented Mikomi to the
priest and announced their acceptance of her as their
child.
"I didn't think it would turn out this way," Yahiko
admitted to Misao. "Before Mikomi-chan came, those two
tipped-toed around each other like they were afraid to say
anything. Then, they found that baby and everything
changed."
"They do make a cute family," Misao observed, watching as
they chatted with the priest, Kaoru in her wedding kimono
and Kenshin holding Mikomi, who was doing her best to try
and teethe on his dark blue formal kimono. "But I don't
understand why Himura didn't go absolutely nuts over what
happened with Tomoe."
"Two things," Megumi spoke up. "First of all, he's spent
more than ten years atoning for killing Tomoe. In all of
that, his grief for what could had been with her also must
had come through. The second is Mikomi-chan. Perhaps fate
had a hand of placing that child in the right place at the
right time, but it reminded him of what was really
important."
"And that is?" Yahiko and Misao asked at the same time.
Megumi smiled. "The future."
*****
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 Six
It was one of the hardest battles he had ever fought,
ranking right up there with Shishio, Saitou, and Enishi.
Still, he refused to back down for anything. He would win
this fight, even if it killed him. Yes, it was the great
battle of the Battousai versus the baby.
And the baby was winning.
Come on, Mikomi-chan. Be a good girl and eat like you're
suppose to, Kenshin thought as he pressed the nipple
against her lips. She turned her head away from it and
kept screaming the same way she had been screaming for the
past two hours.
Kenshin sank onto the porch, his muscles sagging with
exhaustion. He tried feeding her, he changed her, he
bathed her, and he walked her. And walked her. And walked
her. Kenshin was convinced that he would go insane if he
had to walk Mikomi around the dojo one more time.
Still, she wouldn't stop crying and he was at his wit's
end. He couldn't detect any fever and from what he could
guess, she was too young to be growing any teeth.
Remembering what he had seen Kaoru do earlier, Kenshin
slightly rocked back and forth.
Mikomi's wailing started to subside.
"What?" Kenshin stared at the child. "You mean I did all
of that walking for two hours and all I had to do was rock
you?"
Mikomi stopped crying and stared at Kenshin.
He blinked at her. "Oro?"
Mikomi's lips curved into a smile.
"Oro!" She smiled! Pride welled up inside him. This
precious child had smiled at him! He couldn't wait to tell
Kaoru when she got back. He lasped back into silence and
kept rocking her.
Mikomi frowned, then started to cry.
Huh? He was rocking her. Kenshin kept rocking her, trying
to figure out what else he did to get her to stop crying.
All he did was rock and talk to her. Suddenly, he realized
that's what calmed her down. Mikomi wanted someone to talk
to her. During the past two hours, he had been silent as
he dealt with Mikomi, and she obviously didn't like that.
"You want me to talk to you, huh?" Kenshin said, settling
back against the support post. "I suppose I could tell you
a fairy tale or one of the old legends, but I don't know
any." He grinned. "I do know a lot of sake songs thanks
to Shishou, but I don't think Kaoru would like those too
much."
Mikomi gurgled at the sound of Kaoru's name.
"Aa, you like her too, don't you? Well, I can tell you
about the first time that I met her. That's a story. You
see, I've been wandering around for about ten years...why
was I wandering around for ten years? I'll tell you that
story when you're older. Anyhow, I was walking down the
street when I heard this voice. 'Stop right there, Hitokiri
Battousai!' it yelled. I turned around and..."
Mikomi yawned and closed her eyes, the rhythms of Kenshin's
voice soothing her until she fell asleep.
"So she asked me what my name was. And I said, 'Himura.
Himura Kenshin.' Kaoru said, 'Kenshin...why don't you go
on your way, Kenshin?' But, by then, I'd already decided
to stay. Back then, I had no idea why, but I think my
heart had already fallen in love with her. It told me to
stay while it waited for the rest of me to follow suit. It
didn't take long." Kenshin looked down at Mikomi and
smiled when he saw that she was asleep.
"Oh, Kenshin...that was so sweet."
Kenshin looked up to see Kaoru, Yahiko, Misao, and Aoshi
gathered together before him. He felt his cheeks burning
at his friends hearing his private thoughts about that.
"Okaeri," he said.
"Tadima," Kaoru replied, her eyes locked on Kenshin's. The
love she felt for him, confirmed by his story to the baby,
threatened to spill over. She swallowed, willing control
over her emotions while everyone was still around. Still,
she approached him and gently pried one hand from around
the baby and linked it with hers.
Misao felt tears stinging in her eyes. No matter how wrong
it was, it seemed that having Mikomi around was the right
thing for Kenshin and Kaoru's relationship. She knew they
could not see them now, that the world centered around
themselves and the child.
"Oi, busu. You and Kenshin are acting like you've gone
nuts," Yahiko muttered, not sure of how much sappiness he
could take. It felt strange to him, he almost preferred
the yelling, screaming Kaoru and the smiling, hapless
rurouni to this.
"Misao-chan?"
"KECHO KICK!" Yahiko sailed over the gates.
"Let us prepare tea," Aoshi said to Misao. She nodded and followed him in the dojo.
Kaoru sat next to Kenshin and he wrapped his right arm around her, keeping Mikomi cradled in his left. They gazed into each other's eyes and smiled. It was too late to turn back now. They both knew that they were in this for the long haul, with each other and Mikomi. One day, the day would come that Mikomi's parents would find her and they would face that pain together.
*****
Weeks passed and soon it was nearly two months since Mikomi
entered their lives. After three weeks, Misao and Aoshi
had returned to Kyoto. The day they left, Megumi arrived,
staying four weeks. During that time, the Kenshingumi
questioned every doctor and midwife they could find in
Tokyo and the surrounding countryside at least twice.
Still, there was no trace of Mikomi's parents.
"Most likely her mother died giving birth to her," Megumi
said. "Her father may have tried to care for her, but
decided he couldn't so he left her behind for someone else
to adopt."
"You would think he would leave her in town and not in the
woods," Kaoru replied.
"Who can question what people do? It's been almost two
months. I think it's safe to assume that Mikomi belongs in
your care now. Congratulations, Ken-san. Kaoru-chan.
You're parents."
Kenshin and Kaoru managed to give Megumi tired smiles.
Midnight feedings and colic had kept the entire household
up for several nights in a row, everyone capturing naps as
needed. Kaoru had fallen asleep in class one day and wound
up with a nice-sized goose egg thanks to a hard shinai on
the head. Kenshin caught himself toppling into the laundry
time on more than one occassion. Mikomi's naptime quickly
turned into the Kenshingumi naptime as well.
A month after Megumi left, she came back. Misao, Aoshi,
and the Oniwabanshu arrived from Kyoto. Together, the
entire Kenshingumi travelled to one of the shrines not far
from the dojo to witness Kenshin and Kaoru's marriage.
After the ceremony, the couple presented Mikomi to the
priest and announced their acceptance of her as their
child.
"I didn't think it would turn out this way," Yahiko
admitted to Misao. "Before Mikomi-chan came, those two
tipped-toed around each other like they were afraid to say
anything. Then, they found that baby and everything
changed."
"They do make a cute family," Misao observed, watching as
they chatted with the priest, Kaoru in her wedding kimono
and Kenshin holding Mikomi, who was doing her best to try
and teethe on his dark blue formal kimono. "But I don't
understand why Himura didn't go absolutely nuts over what
happened with Tomoe."
"Two things," Megumi spoke up. "First of all, he's spent
more than ten years atoning for killing Tomoe. In all of
that, his grief for what could had been with her also must
had come through. The second is Mikomi-chan. Perhaps fate
had a hand of placing that child in the right place at the
right time, but it reminded him of what was really
important."
"And that is?" Yahiko and Misao asked at the same time.
Megumi smiled. "The future."
*****
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::