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Chapter Twenty-One: On The Road Again…
Theme Music: Run to the Hills - Iron Maiden
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"The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value. I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death."
-Thomas Paine
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AU-
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Rope bridges.
WHY Rope bridges?
Kaoru had faced and conquered nearly all of what she considered her personal defects; toxic cuisine, her temper, weakness, but she still had one hurdle to leap-- her fear of heights.
"Come on Kaa-chan, its just a little bridge!" Kaori cajoled her mother, who had her arms wrapped around one of the posts securing the bridge to the cliff face.
"No thanks, Musume." Kaoru replied in a curiously calm tone of voice. "You go on ahead. "I'll just take the long way across."
Kaori cast a helpless glance across the canyon to where Enishi, Yahiko, the Oniwabanshuu, and Kaneda awaited them. "We can't just let you take that path down the cliff and then climb back up the other side, that's three times as long and as dangerous! What's so different about this?"
"Let her do as she pleases." Hiko counseled Kaori as he scowled and gestured for her to move.
Fast as lightning he lashed out at Kaoru, whose instincts took over and launched her to one side… unfortunately Hiko had positioned himself well and the only place for her to dodge to was the bridge, which her subconscious mind accepted as an acceptable escape route.
Kaoru squeaked as she realized where she was and started to get back off the bridge, but Hiko planted himself in her path with sword drawn and an unholy grin plastered across his mouth.
"You wouldn't!" she hissed at him.
"I would!" he shot back.
"I HATE you!"
Kaori gasped. "Don't say that Kaa-chan!" she cried with her hands clasped under her chin.
Kaoru winced at the watery, big-eyed, oh-so tragic expression her daughter was giving her. Oh, she knew very well that Kaori didn't mean one iota of it, but it was just one of those things that she did that Kaoru, as her mother, had no defense against.
"OH ALL RIGHT!" she cried in defeat. "I'll go!"
Kaoru slowly turned around on the bridge. She swallowed hard and held the rope handrails with a white knuckled grip then she took a step.
The bridge rocked terrifyingly (to her) as she followed that step with another, and another, and another until suddenly Enishi and Aoshi had a grip on her upper arms and were leading her off to one side as Kaori and Hiko both crossed the bridge.
"Are you all right, Kaa-chan?" Kaori cried as soon as she was over.
Kaoru glanced up and smiled wanly. "Fine, aijou."
"Well, at least that's over." Hiko commented.
Kaoru glared at him. "Hiretsukan!" she snarled and went for her bokken.
*Aijou- beloved daughter (Kaoru only says this when she's very shaken)
*Hiretsukan- mean bastard || sneak || heel || despicable person
Hiko leapt back dramatically from Kaoru's attack. "Whoa! Hey Ru-chan!" He leapt straight up to avoid a slash at his legs. "Calm down! It was for your own good!"
"Kisama! Stay still and die like a man!"
"Kaa-chan! Stop it!" Kaori latched onto her mother's arm. "You're not in your right senses right now! Kill him later, once you've had a chance to calm down!"
Kaoru let her daughter hold her back. While a body shuddering sigh, she sheathed her bokken; Hiko's life was safe--- for now.
"Oh thanks, Kaori!" Hiko griped but subsided under the combined glares of Kaoru, Enishi, and Kaneda.
Megumi slid up beside Kaoru and gently steered her towards the path to the Inn where they would be staying. For once Kaoru allowed herself to be led by the doctor even though she normally knew she wouldn't like where Megumi would to lead her.
The rest of the group fell in behind them and they all walked in silence for a bit, out of respect for Hiko's near death experience. The only sound made was the flick-flick of a fan as Megumi flicked one open and closed with elaborate motions of her wrist.
Sanosuke was the one to break the silence. "What is up with that thing, Megitsune? You've been playing with it ever since we left Tokyo!"
"I'm strengthening my wrists." she informed him. She turned her head and beamed at Kaoru. "My Kao-san recommended the exercise when I asked her how I could work up my wrists."
"Why do you need to have stronger wrists?" Misao chirped.
"Various reasons." Megumi said blithely. "Mostly so I can grind an finer powder with one of those western mortar and pestles; they're easier on the knees than a Japanese grinder, especially if I need to make smaller doses."
"Perhaps something heavier than a fan would be more… effective?" Aoshi suggested quietly.
Megumi smirked and flicked the fan shut. "Here." she held it out to him with the ebony handle out towards him.
The ninja accepted the fan and then swore and she released it. "Damnation, woman! This thing must weigh ten kan!"
Kaoru coughed discreetly. "The individual segments of the fan are hollow so thy can have a lead bit inserted into it. Megumi has about half the slots filled right now, she'll add more as her arms and wrists strengthen. When it's full it should weigh about twenty-five kan."
Sanosuke whistled appreciatively. "Wow, judging from the way you were swinging that thing around earlier you're wrists must be plenty strong by now."
"Why stop halfway?" Megumi chirped and resumed her 'exercises', now that she had an appreciative audience she began to toss the fan in spectacular arcs and performing impressive flips when she caught it.
Kaoru smiled, feeling somewhat proud of Megumi's accomplishment, for she'd had quite a lot to do with it and the feats she performed now reflected not only a large amount of effort and creativity on Megumi's part but also her progress concerning her confidence.
There had been a time when Megumi turned and ran whenever she met a man she didn't know, she'd even been uncomfortable around men she did know.
Then one day, a few weeks ago, Megumi had appeared in the Kitchen while Kaoru had been cooking lunch…
*** Flashback***
"Excuse me?" Kaoru asked with a blink. "You want me to --what?"
Megumi drew herself up a little straighter. "Teach me to fight, Kao-san."
Kaoru set down the greens she'd been rinsing when Megumi had come out with her bizarre request. "You're a doctor, Megumi. Inflicting injuries and causing injuries are hardly…"
"I know that!"
Kaoru straightened at Megumi's tone. "Well, Megumi, with an attitude like that I don't know if you'd take to learning sword work. Especially if you want to learn because of what Kanryuu did to you."
Megumi flinched and wrapped her arms around herself. "You know what this is like, Kaoru. I can't live like this. I'm afraid of everything, of everyone, even Sano. He doesn't deserve that… but I can't help it."
Kaoru wiped her hands off on her apron. "You're right, I do know what you're feeling right now; every single flinch and start. I'll tell you now, fighting skills won't help. In fact your frame of mind will only hurt your skills." she paused to take in the expression on Megumi's face. "However I'd learned sword work a long time before… that, and we're hardly the same person."
"I just need to know that I can defend myself if I need to." Megumi pled. "I used to be able to tell myself it would never happen, but now I can't because it has… I just can't fool myself that way."
Understanding lit in Kaoru's eyes. "You want your confidence back."
Megumi exhaled gustily. "Yes."
***end Flashback***
After nearly four week of nearly endless drills in jujitsu, kung fu, tactics, terrain advantage, and a whole lot of 'wrist exercise' Megumi had a fairly lethal style of fighting all her own. The only thing she lacked now was practical experience.
The fan Megumi was flicking around was just a practice weapon, the real fan was a gorgeous affair made of shining oak and lapis colored silk. The oak blades of the fan were reinforced with a discreet plate of sword steel.
Megumi had christened it 'Kuchinashi Kaoru ' in honor of the way she claimed Kaoru smelled.
…
For her part, Kaoru hadn't been aware that she smelled like jasmine (she didn't wear perfume) but as long as she didn't smell like a sumo wrestler on a hot day she was happy.
Kaori pounced on her arm. "Look Kaa-chan! There's the mansion!" she cried and pointed down the road.
From beneath the tree cover rose the graceful turrets and gables of an elegant western-style mansion. Kaoru smiled softly; this mansion held some very tender memories for her.
'I wonder if Yutaro will remember his auntie 'Onna'?' she wondered idly. 'He was only five when I last saw him at his father's funeral.'
Yutaro's tou-chan had been the first to coin the nick-name 'Raiden no Onna', before that she'd just been 'Raiden' which was unfortunately the same nickname he'd earned for himself. Finally, after months of being accredited (or blamed) for one another's deeds they tracked each other down and had it out.
Since Kaoru hadn't wanted the name in the first place it reverted to its original owner and suddenly she found herself with one worse; 'Raiden no Onna'. It could translate as 'Lady of Thunder and Lightening' or as 'woman of Raiden'. That last one made for some awkward assumptions about their relationship.
'Nah. He won't remember me, even if I had to give him a pony ride two times around the compound.' she thought affectionately. 'He's had too much to do in his life since his tou-chan died.'
"It's so big!" Yahiko murmured. "How can one person live in all that space?"
"It was built by a western architect." Kaoru told him. "In Europe and America there's a lot more space to spread out so they build accordingly. Our buildings feel cramped to them; the man who commissioned this house was raised in Texas even though he was Japanese. He said he wanted to room to 'stretch out'."
A collective sigh rose from her companions.
"… and I know this because we were friends, hence how I got use of the lake house." she finished pointedly.
"Let's face it." Sanosuke chuckled. "Our Kaoru knows everything!"
"I do not!"
"What did I have for breakfast?" he pressed.
Kaoru scowled. "That's not fair! I cooked breakfast!"
"See, you DO know everything!" Sanosuke smirked only to dodge a bokken a second later. He grinned at her as he move in and out of her reach, dodging her semi-serious attempts to do him damage.
"Stay still and die like a man!" Kaoru muttered.
Sanosuke tired of the game and stopped eluding her around the same time she stopped attacking. "Tempting, Kaoru, but no."
She stuck her tongue out at him and 'sheathed' her bokken. "You're not worth the sweat I'd work up killing you." she snarled playfully.
Sanosuke clutched his chest and rocked back on his heels. "Ouch, it bites!" he cried dramatically eliciting many a roll of eyes from their traveling companions.
"The road does not grow shorter" Aoshi reminded them softly. "and it grows dark and cool. I would just as soon spend the night in a warm house with a fire to warm me."
"Aoshi-sama has been reading poetry again." Misao whispered as an aside to Kaori. Aoshi glared at her and she smiled back, oozing innocence out her ears.
Kaoru noted the exchange with interest; for one Aoshi seemed to be loosening up more than she thought possible for the reticent man, and also his relationship with Misao seemed to have evolved by leaps and bounds while she hadn't been watching. He certainly seemed comfortable around the ninja-girl to show his emotions… or maybe it was Kaoru and co. he was growing more comfortable with, maybe he and Misao had been like this all along.
'Nice to know things can get along without me standing over them.' she thought happily. 'I've never been so glad to become obsolete!'
Kaori chose then to latch back onto her mother's arm. "Heyas, Kaachan!"
"Yes, musume?" she turned her head gracefully towards her daughter.
"I was wondering if we could, you know, spar while we're out here." she said hesitantly. "We used to spar all the time back on Iron Mountain so I… I just kind of miss it, you know?"
Kaoru nodded. "It sounds good to me, Aijou, I think you're ready to start with ki manipulations and since Sano will be around consistently now I think we'll us him as a practice dummy."
"Emphasis on the 'dummy' part." Kaori said pitching her voice so Sanosuke could hear.
"I'll make you eat those words, jou-chan!" Sanosuke said ominously.
Kaori blew a raspberry at him and hugged her mother's elbow. "Arigotou gozaimasu, Kaa-chan!!!" she giggled. "Daisuki!"
Kaoru chuckled and ruffled her daughter's hair, it was times like this that she'd really missed when she'd been Ronin. She freed her arm from Kaori's grip and wrapped it around the girl's shoulders. "Mou, I'm looking forward to those mineral springs!"
"Considering the injuries you've been inflicting on your poor body, it's no small wonder." Megumi commented acerbically from Kaoru's left.
The kenshi woman grinned sheepishly at her sometimes-admirer/sometimes-torturer. "Ite, Meg-chan, let's not dwell on the negative, ne?"
Megumi set a glare that should have frozen water on Kaoru, but dropped the subject and returned to her fan exercises. "I have to admit, those hot springs do sound heavenly after all the stress we've been through. All we'll have to worry about is pruney fingers and peeping toms."
Misao grinned. "Hey, Megistune! You've got possibly the best swordswoman in Japan, a fully trained ninja, and Kaori to beat the gahoolies out of any guy stupid enough to take a look."
"… never mind the fact that anybody peeping would laugh themselves to death the moment they laid eyes on the underdeveloped tanuki and itachi." Sanosuke drawled.
"Ya wanna die, tori-atama!?" Misao and Kaori screeched.
Kaoru was about to intervene when all at once, every sensitive fighter in the group momentarily froze and went for their weapons; the Oniwabanshuu vanished into the forest cover and everyone else dropped hands to weapons or assumed discrete defendable positions. For her part, Kaoru stepped in front of the children, who also had their own guards up.
The ki came from behind them, by her guess they were just getting off the rope bridge and would come into view in a few seconds. Already she could hear voices.
"What's wrong anata? You've gone still all of a sudden." came a soft, mellow contralto.
A husky male voice answered her. "There are many strong warriors on the road ahead, koi, please stay back here."
"Oh no!" the woman's voice groaned. "Not again! We'll be late at this rate, I told you to wear a kasa. I swear, you must have fought every ex-samurai with a chip an his shoulder that live between here and Kyoto!"
Enishi dropped his guard. "It can't be…" he said softly.
Kaoru too was off-kilter, the voices from beyond the bend of the road were… familiar somehow. Where had she…
Just then a short man in a dark blue gi and pale gray hakama stepped into view. He moved like a shadow and even though he had bright red hair that went down to his mid back he seemed... Dark was the only word Kaoru could think of. The only thing bright about him was the feral glow of amber eyes that shone through his bangs. He carried a katana and wakizashi in the belt of his pants, his hand was on the katana and had just popped the sheath.
"K-kenshin…?" Kaoru whispered.
"Kenshin!" Enishi said at the same time, only louder and while her strode forward towards his brother in law. "You got my letter!"
Kenshin blinked once, twice and suddenly he seemed… brighter all of a sudden. Except for his eyes, they faded from living gold to a muddy brown. A false smile eased over his face like an overly familiar friend. "Enishi, it's you. Your sister will be pleased, but please ask your companions to leave the forest. I will not allow Tomoe to join us until I can see every one with you."
His entire speech was delivered in an impersonal monotone and no emotion moved through his eyes. Kaoru wasn't quite sure she understood what she was seeing…
"… see what I meant?" Hiko said in a sotto voice. "Can you tell me that there's any life in him. He only seemed to be alive when he was about to fight."
Kaoru nodded numbly. "I see, Hiko. He's spiritually numb." now that he was closer, she could feel it even. While initially impressive, there was a stagnant quality to Kenshin's ki. It was as if his spirit had neither grown nor atrophied over the years, but instead had hung in a sort of limbo. While he was not 'dead' he was no longer growing and changing, something vital to the 'human' element of ki.
'Oh god, Kenshin, what have I done to you?' she wondered in shock.
When Kenshin glanced at Kaoru and Hiko to see what they were whispering about, his eyes widened and something that might have been violet flickered through his irises before being re-consumed by the brown.
"Shisho, ah… konnichiwa." he said hesitantly. "I did not expect to see you here."
Hiko grunted and turned to stalk down the road to the inn. "I'll get directions to our cabin, Kaoru." he growled back at Kaoru.
"Thank you, Hiko." she called back.
"Kaoru?!" There was rustling in the forest and a woman in dark green kimono burst out. She paused and visually searched the area. "KAORU!" she beamed and suddenly Kaoru found herself with a double armful of Himura Tomoe and no idea about what to do with her.
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End Chapter 21
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