Disclaimer: See that little red-headed girl over there? And that guy with the black hair? Yeah, they're mine. Their names… those aren't. The real Kenshin and Kaoru are standing off in the sidelines laughing their heads off and being glad this isn't really happening to them. Seriously, I don't own anything involved in Rurouni Kenshin.
Notes: Okay, I will admit right now that this story is completed. I just put up a chapter at a time as I get the opportunity. I apologize for all of you who really want a lot more of Kaoru and her adjustment. I have a little of it, but I have this nasty tendency to make the girl too mean or whiny in my stories when I focus around her. It's not that I don't like her. I think she's a good, strong female character. I appreciate that. So I don't want to mess with that. My apologies. I hope you like this story anyway.
The Path of the Sword
3. A secret
Leaving the clinic in Dr. Gensai's capable hands, Megumi walked back to the dojo with Kaoru and Kenshin. Kaoru was still grumbling under her breath about cold, poking fingers while Kenshin was silent, his face very red. Megumi smirked.
"You'll have to tell Sanosuke and Yahiko, of course," she said as they entered through the side gate. "Yahiko still lives with you, after all. He's bound to notice."
"Sano is never going to let me live this down," Kenshin muttered, studying the ground like it was the most interesting thing he had seen in a long time.
"Yahiko will be worse," Kaoru predicted. "I'll bet he's home now. YAHIKO!"
Megumi and Kenshin tended to their ringing ears while Kaoru stalked off to find the boy. Both of them watched the strange, feminine swing to the now-male Kaoru's step.
"You're going to have to teach her how to walk like a man, Ken-san," Megumi giggled.
"Oro..." Kenshin shook his head. "Kaoru walks just fine... mostly."
"I could recruit Sanosuke to teach her," Megumi suggested.
"That might not be a bad idea," Kenshin startled the woman by smiling pleasantly in response to what was meant to bait him. "In my current condition, I'm hardly the prime candidate for teaching Kaoru how to act like a man."
Megumi snickered and nodded her agreement.
"I'll start the word around that you and Kaoru-chan are on a long vacation," she decided. "And if you want to ever go into town, you'll have to come up with a story for yourselves."
"You mean like an alias?" Kenshin looked up at the taller woman curiously. He was even shorter than usual. It was bad enough that Megumi had already been taller than him, but now he actually had to tilt his head to look up at her when she stood so close to him.
"Do you really want everyone to know that Battousai is a pregnant woman?" Megumi grinned at him.
Kenshin blushed.
"Of course not!"
"Then you'll have to come up with a cover story," she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "And take care of yourself. If you get hurt, the baby gets hurt. Remember that."
Kenshin watched her with wide eyes as she walked away, a gentle sway to her step that was much more graceful than Kaoru's gait. He wondered if he could ever walk like that. Probably not. Then, he blushed again, appalled at his own thoughts.
"Oi,
Kenshin!"
"Oro!"
He whirled to look for the source of that voice. Sanosuke had not yet rounded the side of the dojo. But that was only a momentary reprieve, as the lanky brawler appeared, grinning and chewing on his ever-present fish bone.
Sanosuke stopped, his grin freezing on his face, the fish bone drooping slightly. The smirk came back full force as he continued forward, toward Kenshin.
"Hello there," he greeted, his voice deepening slightly. Kenshin flushed, not liking how Sanosuke's tone had changed. "Are you waiting for someone?"
Too embarrassed to speak, Kenshin just shook his head mutely. Sanosuke had a strange tinge of pink to his cheeks, and Kenshin found himself blushing even more.
"Maybe I can help you, then," Sanosuke continued, oblivious to Kenshin's discomfort. He leaned forward until he was far into Kenshin's personal space. "My name is Sanosuke. You must be related to Kenshin. No one else has hair like that. It's beautiful. I like what you've done with it."
"Sano!" Kenshin's face went completely red. The man was flirting with him!
Sanosuke blinked, then grinned again.
"You like to skip the formalities," he predicted. "What's your name?"
Kenshin planted his hands against the tall man's chest and easily shoved him back. Startled, Sanosuke just blinked at him.
"You don't have to get so upset about it," he protested.
"Sano, it's me!" Kenshin clenched his fists in irritation. "Kenshin!"
Sanosuke stared at him. Kenshin wondered if there would ever be a time when he did not blush again. His face was as hot as it had ever felt.
"Yeah, right."
This was getting out of hand.
"Oi! Kenshin!" Yahiko's voice was quickly drawing closer. "There's some strange guy in our house!"
Kenshin groaned and buried his face in his hands.
^_^
"AAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"
Kaoru and Kenshin just watched helplessly as Yahiko and Sanosuke collapsed against each other, laughing uncontrollably. Kenshin had since changed out of the kimono and into a set of Kaoru's practice clothes, more for comfort than necessity. Now, he sat with Kaoru, vainly trying to sip his tea with some semblance of dignity.
Yahiko and Sanosuke had first reacted with disbelief and skepticism. Then as the proof accumulated, they had no choice but to believe the story they were being told. Now, they were unable to contain their laughter.
"You two aren't being very helpful!" Kaoru shouted over their snorts and chuckles as they had to break to breathe.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Kaoru scowled, looking to Kenshin for some help. He just shrugged and sipped more tea. It really did help his stomach, and at the moment, that was more important to him than Yahiko's and Sanosuke's amusement.
"Kenshin, make them stop!" Kaoru demanded.
"W-w-why should he-he-heeee! Why should Kenshin do it?" Sanosuke managed to blurt around his laughter. "You're the m-man of- the man of the fami-HAHAHAHAHA!"
Kenshin sighed and stood. Sanosuke and Yahiko ignored him, still laughing raucously. They stopped laughing very quickly when Kenshin took hold of one ear each and pulled on them until they were shouting for mercy.
"I may not be a man right now, Sano," Kenshin released their ears, now red and sore. "But I am far from helpless. You can laugh later. Right now, we need you two to listen."
"Itai..." Yahiko grumbled, holding his poor, injured ear. "You're already starting to act like a girl, Kenshin. Only girls pull on people's hair and ears."
Kenshin frowned but refused to comment, returning to his seat beside Kaoru. He picked up his tea again and calmly sipped it.
"Is that better, Kaoru?"
"Much," Kaoru glared at Sanosuke and Yahiko. "We need to keep this a secret you guys. Kenshin can't fight, so if anyone finds out about this, he could get hurt."
"Don't you mean she?" Sanosuke snickered.
"Sano, you're getting annoying," Kenshin sighed.
"Give me a break, Kenshin," Sanosuke was still laughing. "If I can't tease you, who can? Besides," he winked at his friend. "I'm the one who tried to hit on you."
"You what?!" Kaoru was not amused.
"Kaoru, it was just a misunderstanding," Kenshin interjected quickly. "He did not recognize me."
"Damn right," Sanosuke pointed at Kenshin rudely. "His scar is gone too! No one would have known."
"I recognized Kenshin last night," Kaoru said hotly.
"Kenshin was screaming for you at the top of his lungs," Yahiko rolled his eyes, scratching the back of his head lightly. "I could hear you halfway across town."
"You could not!"
"Whatever."
"Please, you three," Kenshin set his cup down, exasperated. "This is serious. No one can know about this. That's a very big secret for you to keep. If you think for a minute that you can't, then maybe we should go somewhere else until this is resolved."
That brought everyone up short. Yahiko shook his head.
"No way!" he blurted.
Sanosuke agreed with him.
"Besides," he added. "Megumi's the expert on pregnancies around here. You guys have to stay where she can reach you."
Kenshin smiled triumphantly.
"So you'll keep it a secret?"
"Of course!"
"Yeah!"
Kaoru grinned. Kenshin could certainly be devious when he wanted to. She was proud of him.
"Sano, I'd like you to hang around the dojo until this is over," Kenshin added. "You can help Kaoru protect the place, and maybe you can teach her a little bit about behaving like a man in town."
She hated him. A vein popped forth from her forehead as she began to steam.
"I don't need help protecting my dojo!" she yelled furiously. "And I don't need Sanosuke, of all people, teaching me how to act like a man!"
Kenshin yelped, a handful of his hair caught in Kaoru's fist. She dragged him to his feet, still yelling at him, calling him every name she could think of.
"Kenshin no baka!!" was the usual conclusion.
"Kaoru-dono-" he cut off, realizing his mistake the instant the word left his mouth. While Kaoru was busy growing very red in the face, the rest of her frozen, he slipped his hair free of her grasp. Not waiting for any prompting, he retreated quickly, hiding behind Sanosuke, who looked at him in laughing confusion. His confusion was immediately dispelled as Kaoru screamed at the top of her lungs:
"DON'T CALL ME KAORU-DONO!!!!"
Notes: Oh, that Kaoru-dono thing just came from reading too many of those WAFFy fics where Kaoru feels Kenshin is putting distance between them by calling her –dono. Next chapter: Chapter 4: First Trimester.