Hello again! I own a lot of things, one being Nine Months, but not Rurouni Kenshin.
Again, I'm most familiar with the Samurai X (TV series) version of RK, so Kenshin for the most part talks normally (no "that I am"), unless I intend him to be unusually polite. Then I add sessha and de gozaru. –dono stays for almost all situations.
Sou-chan? Maybe not in this fic. I've considered it, but I can't think of why he would drop in. Same goes for Hiko-sama.
More Eni-chan? If it's OK with everyone, that idea gets continued in another fic after Nine Months. ^^ This IS a K/K fic after all. I have yet to read White Tiger Jade Concubine. I remember I started on it but wasn't able to finish reading.
Fast answers: Sabbie—yes, I meant cloth diapers. Firuze Khanume—Yes, they helped a LOT! Sorry about the misconceptions. Yen—Baby? Soon, soon. Fehrocious and Spellcaster and Crystal and V-babe—Thanks! (longer replies eventually ^_^) Kurura—couples have to practical about money! Ro-chan—your answer is on top. Chiki—sorry about the mixup. Marstanuki—yes, I'm hurrying! SailorLoneStar—I like the murderers, when the murderers are as cute as Rinoa.
Oh, btw. C-chan, Chiki-san: I flunked the enumeration test. ^^;; If it's any consolation to you guys, so did everyone else, except for 5 people.
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Misao had several sleepness nights during the eighth month, the first month of spring. "He's staring at me in my dreams!" she explained to the Kenshin-gumi one time.
"Who?" they all asked.
She could not get herself to tell them who. No other member of the –gumi saw him after his official visit to the Kamiya dojo. No further reports of a white man in a brown hat came to them either. They all assumed that the businessman had returned to Kyoto. This assumption made Misao beg Aoshi for them to stay just a little bit longer in Tokyo, convincing him that Okina would not need them yet, and that she would want to see Kaoru's baby.
This also made Misao cling like a monkey to Aoshi all that month. "I love ONLY you, Aoshi-sama, alright?" she kept telling herself as much as she told Aoshi. The okashira did not show signs of annoyance, but was indeed rather suspicious about the increase in affection.
"I checked with the jewelry store about the brooch," Kenshin reported to him a few days after Misao's "intelligence mission". "The address given is in Kyoto."
"And the sender?" the okashira asked.
"Someone I do not know," the trainer replied. "But upon asking for a description, the shopkeeper said the man was tall and wore white."
"Yukishiro?"
"Seems that way."
"But I was of the impression that Kami—I mean, your wife---" he asked, with a face of stone.
"I have asked Kaoru-dono several times. She tells me he treated her like a gentleman would, aside from a single strangling incident. But romantic advances, there were none. In his eyes, she was merely Battousai's woman, nothing else."
"That white-haired man, falling for Misao?!" the face had not changed, the voice had not lost its calm, but the eyes were on fire.
"Maa, maa, Aoshi-dono!" Kenshin tried to calm him down. "That is not certain yet. Maybe it was just a little meaningless gift. And it seems that Misao-dono had not lost any of her admiration for you, ne?"
The okashira did not comment.
The situation was no longer discussed after that, pushed to the back of both Aoshi and Misao's minds. As the rest of the –gumi did not know what to make of it, they eventually forgot it even happened.
Four weeks, two cabinets, lots of diapers, many booties, and several thousand yen later, the ninth month arrived for the Himuras.
By now Megumi had returned from Aizu. Sanosuke received quite an earful from the irritated doctor. He only wrote to her when he remembered. Unfortunately, he had not remembered to write after two months. The last letter that she received from him --- was the telegram Kaoru ordered him to send. The fox rightly went on a rampage. If something happened to Kenshin, if Kaoru gave birth too early, if Sano had left Tokyo---she wouldn't have known! Sanosuke was given a hard slap at the end of the tirade.
Tae posted Yahiko permanently as a waiter and occasional dishwasher for the Akabeko. He had been consistently effective in the position, with Tsubame nearby for inspiration. Sanosuke was still her delivery man, and the rooster head had become closely associated with the restaurant. He was beginning to get restless, though. "Not fair, Tae!" he once complained. "That guy deserved that right hook! I don't care what they say about the Akabeko!"
"But I do, so don't ever do that again!" the owner had retorted.
"I should've left this job with Kenshin……" he grumbled.
Kenshin was preparing for the final set of examinations for his students. The training year was ending, and the promotion of approximately 50 rookies to official police work depended on his grading and assessment. However, while he did know what to look for in a trainee, he did not know how to write it down as a grade. For this, he asked his wife's help. After all, she had been teaching in other schools for a few years.
"You said correct technique counts for a lot, right? So let's make it, say, 45% of the grade? Then execution 25%, and application 30%……….A total of 100%." Kaoru jotted down figures.
"A, anou, Kaoru-dono…….."
"Then, you said this grade for practicals is 50% of the total grade, the other 50% coming from written exams……."
"Um, Kaoru-dono…….."
"What's the matter, anata? The percentages too high?"
"Kaoru-dono………..to be honest…………..I don't understand you."
"Which part? Do you want me to start over?"
"Kaoru-dono is forgetting that sessha did not get a formal education. Sessha does not understand Kaoru-dono's percentages and calculations. Sessha can only count change and deal with money because shishou forced sessha to learn. Shishou also made sessha learn to read and write. Wandering for years left sessha with little opportunity to study or read books. Sessha apologizes to Kaoru-dono for the incovenience." Kenshin then lowered himself into a deep bow.
"Sessha, sessha, sessha----stop apologizing, anata, alright?" Kaoru raised his head until his eyes once again met hers. "You're a great man for what you do know about life, and that's something books can't teach. I'll make it easier for you, so all you have to do is add up numbers………."
"Domo arigatou gozaimashita."
Kaoru then found herself teaching her husband, master swordsman, former terror of an entire nation—written addition.
It was not like Kaoru had to be a teacher to a little boy, and teach him addition from scratch. On the contrary, he could add things pretty well in his head. Kaoru had proven that many, many times on shopping trips. He was her equal in shopwise-ness. He knew when he was being tricked in a bargain. He kept track of many purchases, all in his intelligent brain. The problem was that the poor swordsman could not associate the adding he did in the market, to adding numbers written on paper. The abacus confused him even more.
"Maybe I should do the computing for you, instead? You could tell me what to write in, ne?" Kaoru offered, after three hours of teaching and explaining that went nowhere.
"Sessha appreciates the offer, but sessha is of the opinion that he should do it himself. After all, it is he who knows the students. Also, sessha does not want to tire his wife needlessly, seeing that the baby is coming very soon. Do not worry. Kaoru-dono's efforts have not been wasted on sessha. Sessha thinks he understood most of what Kaoru-dono said………"
"Are you sure about this, anata?" Kaoru was not convinced.
"Hai, de gozaru."
"Alright, then." Kaoru stood up painfully and hobbled out, a hand on her lower back. "I'll be here if you need me."
But poor Kenshin had a rough time with it.
"Let's see………this is given a 45, then this part is given 20, so that gives me……..Um………wait, 45, 46, 47, 48……"
"65, Kenshin," Yahiko piped up as he entered the kitchen that afternoon.
"49, 50………oh?………oh………I see, thanks, Yahiko." He gave the boy a patented clueless-rurouni face.
"Wanna let me do it for you?" he offered.
"Thank you, but it might be too much work," Kenshin smiled at him.
"Suit yourself. But don't make things too hard for you, alright?" and he walked off to the well to cool down.
Unfortunately, things got worse. As Kenshin arrived at the precinct the next day, the chief greeted him with a tall stack of papers. Test papers. To be graded. Part of the overall grades he had to submit by the end of the term. He explained, there was no one else available to do it. All members of the police department were needed these days…
"And as I am the only trainer who is not a policeman, I am the only one left to check these," Kenshin hung his head.
Chief Uramura nodded. "You don't have to hurry with it, though. It's needed only at the end of next week."
"Oro."
Kaoru woke up at 7 the following morning, and that was rather late for her. So she wondered why the dojo was still deathly quiet at that time.
"Oi! Anyone home?" Kaoru heard Megumi calling from the gate. "I've come for the vegetables! Anyone home?"
Kaoru eventually opened the gate for her. They walked to the kitchen. Megumi told her that she had met Yahiko on the way, and he had said he was having breakfast at the Akabeko. "Anything wrong?"
Kaoru replied, "Not that I know. Sano's gone to work, most probably, Aoshi and Misao came home late from a festival, so they're still asleep, and Kenshin---I don't know where that baka is…….."
Kaoru opened the door to the kitchen, and found the baka, fast askeep on the table, his head pillowed by his arms. Papers were strewn all around him. Kaoru took up one of them, and discovered that for all his efforts, her husband had not made much progress with his work. She shook her head and gave out a sigh. She drew closer to him, and quietly whispered, "Anata……"
He suddenly snapped to attention and sat up straight. "Sir, yes, sir! I'll have it done on time, sir!"
"KEN-SAN!" Megumi sternly called out.
"Haa (Japanese military affirmative). Demo, why did the chief just call me Ken-san?"
"What are you talking about?! Ken-san, I've warned you, you can't punish yourself this way!"
"Sir! But I'm just doing what you asked, sir!" His eyes were only half open.
Kaoru stepped up and shook her husband hard at the shoulders. "Kenshin! Himura Kenshin! Wake up! It's half-past seven and there's no breakfast! Exactly when did you go to sleep, anata?"
"Sleep? I didn't, sir! I worked on this all night……….and all of last night as well……." His head began to drop again.
"Masaka!" He had fallen asleep unconsciously, from mental exhaustion. She shook him again. "Kenshin! This is the last time you're doing this!"
Finally he looked well at the speaker. "K-Kaoru-dono? What are you doing………..here?" He looked around in confusion, and found himself still in the kitchen. "Oh……….I see………Ohayo…………sumimasen deshita…………..half-past seven?!………Oh, no………."
"Ken-san!"
"Me-Me-Megumi-dono?"
"Keep your promise to me, Ken-san."
"You don't understand, Megumi-dono, the chief gave this work to me…………"
"No more words out of you, smooth talker! You will not overwork yourself again, you promised us. You will keep your promise to me and Kaoru-san, if we have to force you!"
Kenshin only gave a sigh and a yawn.
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This one is short, to compensate for the long chapter last time. Hope you liked it. More action next time! ^^