Changing Leaves
Part Three

Rurouni Kenshin Fanfiction
by Laura Gilkey

*

May 8

Tomi's feet clattered across the bridge as she ran across it to meet Soujiro. When they met in the middle of it, he caught her, picked her up, and held her perched happily between his thin, strong arms and his chest. "Happy Birthday!" he said.

"Thank you!" Tomi crowed. "Did you get me any presents?"

"Of course I got presents," he said. "They're back at the apartment. It might be better to get the chores done at your house first, though."

She shook her head. "Can't do that today, Daddy's home."

"Oh. Is he staying home for your birthday? I mean, won't he miss you?" Soujiro asked, starting back toward his apartment with Tomi still in his arms.

"He remembers more that it's the day my Mom died, so he's always in a bad mood this time of year. He drank a lot last night, and he was still asleep when I left."

"I don't like how he does that," Soujiro said. "Some people get dangerous when they're drunk."

"Oh, I just stay away from him when he's like that," Tomi said, as if she were an expert at it. "He got me new shoes, though." She stuck out one foot, wearing a straw sandal, obviously cheap but still bright and new.

"Oh, nice! Those will be good with your new kimono."

"A new kimono? Really!?"

He nodded. "Since it'll be summer soon, I got you a yukata for your birthday. I hope you like it."

"I love it!" she said.

"But you haven't seen it yet."

"I love it anyway!"

When they arrived at the apartment, Tomi did indeed love the yukata. It had plain squarish sleeves, but it was patterned with white flowers in red swirls, so that it looked like peppermint candy, and the berry-blue obi contrasted tastefully. Soujiro drew a basin of water while she got out of her worn clothes, and before she got into the new kimono, he helped her wash up until she shone like a fresh peach—and at least today the bruises were all older, faded ones.

"So what'll we have for lunch?" Tomi asked as Soujiro was finishing her obi bow.

"I set aside money so we could have anything you want," he said.

"Yay!"

"But there's one more thing before we go."

"Oh?"

"I got you another present."

"Ooh! What is it?" She squealed with delight as he produced a small wooden box and handed it to her. She lifted the lid from it and uttered an "Ahh!" of admiration at the gift—a necklace of small round coral beads on a thread, with a brass wire clasp. Right in the middle of the strand, spaced between the smaller beads, were three larger ones, sandwiched in between brass caps like flowers wrapped around the beads. "It's beautiful!" she said, picking it up to admire it.

"Well, I thought it would match the other kimono, although it might not go so well with the new one."

"I don't care, I wanna wear it!" She put it around her neck and fiddled with the clasp for a moment before Soujiro took it, and she sat beaming while he fastened it. "I wanna wear it all the time and never take it off!"

"I'm glad you like it," he said. "But it's better if you leave it here with me. I mean, I wouldn't want it to come undone and get lost or anything."

Tomi's face was torn between pouting at him and gleefully fiddling with the beads, admiring their look and feel. "But you said it was mine..."

"It is. Whenever we go out, you can wear it anytime you want. But because it's my gift to you that you like, it's important to me, too," he said. "I'd feel bad if it got lost or stolen and I wasn't there." Of course, he had other, more serious reasons why he didn't want her to go home with the necklace on. He was sure she knew that, too. He'd never wanted to fluster her by calling her bluff about the bruises that didn't match their flimsy explanations, but he was sure she knew he'd seen through the false pretense. Now she was being coy about it to argue for getting her way, but he certainly wasn't going to start pushing her on her birthday.

"Well... okay..." she conceded.

"But you can definitely wear it out to lunch," Soujiro consoled her brightly. "Where do you want to eat?"

"I want sukiyaki," she said, "and then get candy."

"All right. Let's go."

**********

September 23

Day was already sliding into evening when Soujiro woke up and came to sit on the porch. Sanosuke was already there, and he could faintly hear Yahiko and Kaoru winding up their practice inside. The three girls were still playing in the yard and occasionally coming over to bother Kenshin as he was cooking supper.

"Did you rest well, Soujiro?" Kenshin asked.

"Oh, yes, thank you."

Kaoru and Yahiko had just emerged from the dojo when the gate opened and Megumi and Dr. Genzai entered. "Hello, Megumi-san, Genzai-sensei," Kaoru called.

"Hey," Sano greeted with a single wave.

"Good evening, everyone," Genzai said, then rounded up Ayame and Suzume. "Did you have fun?"

"Oh, yes, we had lots of fun here with Tomi," Ayame said.

"Lots of fun!" Suzume echoed.

"That's good, but it's time for dinner now, so we should get home."

"Ken-nii's(7) cooking dinner," Ayame said.

"Well, we have dinner at home, too, and Kaoru has enough guests to feed tonight. Let's go home, okay?"

While Tomi and the other two girls exchanged goodbyes, Megumi came up to the porch with a bundle of paper under her arm. "Soujiro."

"Eh?"

"I got you a newspaper," she said, handing it to him. "You made the front page."

"Eh!? Let me see!" Hurriedly he took it and began scanning the story, with some difficulty in the waning light. However, looking over his shoulder, Sanosuke could easily see the words "Dangerous Fugitive" splashed across the page in enormous type.

"'...Fugitive extorted food and lodgings from Sumida Junzo and his wife Reiko'..." Soujiro read feverishly. "But what happened to them!? Were they arrested!?"

Megumi was also leaning over the paper from the side. "Here it is," she said, pointing. "'Sumidaya is closed while the police investigate, but Sumida said he hopes to reopen early next week.' Sounds to me like they're just fine."

"Ah! I'm so glad!" Soujiro cried.

"What is it?" Tomi asked, climbing up onto the porch next to him.

"Ojisan and Obachan didn't get arrested! They're okay!"

"That's great news," Kenshin concurred.

"You'll have to be careful, though," Megumi said. "The police here are already looking for you. We had some officers asking about you at the clinic—of course I said I hadn't seen you. But some of them even looked like federal police."

"Really?"

"Hey, Kenshin, when's dinner?" Yahiko called.

"It'll be ready in just a few minutes."

Sanosuke took the newspaper and leafed through it a little before giving up on the dim light, since Soujiro had lay it aside, apparently having gotten what he wanted out of it.

**********

May 9

The dawn air was sweet and heavy with dew as Soujiro walked home from the bank. He walked slowly on weary legs, enjoying the morning air. Spending days with Tomi and nights at a job didn't leave him much time for sleep, and he was looking forward to some rest, but Tomi's birthday had been well worth it.

Bits of her party were still laying about the apartment as he entered; the new yukata was lay out, and the necklace in its box. Too tired to even get undressed, he left everything as it was and unfolded the futon. On a whim, he picked up the box for one more look at the coral necklace before he lay down.

As he lifted the box, he froze. It hefted almost weightlessly, and there was no sound inside it. He opened it, and yes, it was empty.

His mind swam against a wave of dread that broke over him. He looked around desperately. Where else might she have put it? He didn't know of anywhere else. He didn't see the necklace anywhere. His eyes came to rest on the empty birdcage. Last night , he'd told her again to take it off, but he should've been more careful. He hadn't watched her do it, or checked. She could've hidden it in her clothes; she'd wanted so badly to keep it with her...

Any thought of sleep had been blasted from his mind, and he dashed out the door and down the stairs. He had neither the energy nor the presence of mind for Shuku-chi, his ultimate speed technique, but when he reached the street, he started running as hard as he could, each footfall sending up a burst of sound and dust.

He came sliding to a stop in the overgrown yard of Tomi's house, startling the scrawny horse. Soujiro didn't even pause to see if it was "safe." I don't care if her father is here. If he's done anything to her... He threw the door open.

The house stood silent as he walked in, alert for any sign of life. At the third step, he felt something under his sandal, stepped back, and knelt to pick it up—a small coral bead.

"Tomi-chan!?" he cried.

"Onii-chan?" came the thready call.

Soujiro darted toward her voice, into the kitchen strewn with wares and furniture. He heard her sobbing behind the overturned table, and ran across the room to carefully move it aside.

Tomi huddled behind it, against the walls in the corner. Her left side was turned toward him, and blood had dried in her hair and on the side of her face. As Soujiro tried to reach around her to hold her, she cried out and guarded her far side with her arms. Her fists were clenched tight.

"Tomi-chan..."

"I'm sorry," she whined. "I know you told me..." She opened her hands to show a modest collection of salvaged beads, including just one of the three large ones and one of the brass caps.

"I'm sorry, too," Soujiro said. "I should've kept this from happening to you..." Nearly a year ago, in the only battle he had ever lost, he'd asked Himura "Why didn't you protect me?" when the answer was obvious—he hadn't been there. And now this happened to Tomi-chan... She might have screamed for someone to help her, but I wasn't there... Tears ran down his face as he leaned low over her forehead. "I'm so sorry... I thought that being your friend would make your life better, but it wasn't enough. I should have protected you. I should have stopped him from doing this to you."

"He said he was sorry." That was Tomi's response to the end of the false pretenses.

"I don't care if he's your father, and I don't care if he says he's sorry! Because he's bigger and stronger than you, he thinks he can do whatever he wants!" Soujiro cried. "I won't let him do that anymore! From now on, I'll protect you." Carefully, he gathered her up in his arms and lifted her up from the floor. "I'll take you to a doctor, and then you can come live with me, and I won't let anybody hurt you anymore."

"But... my daddy..." she moaned as he began to carry her away.

For a moment he'd lost sight of it. Despite everything, that man was still Tomi's father. His own family... They'd never even been so kind as to apologize, and yet, he had cried when they died. But still... "I'm sorry, Tomi-chan. But I can't let him keep you as long as he treats you like this."

She lay her face against his shoulder, crying softly.

"Do you want to come stay with me?" he asked, although he didn't know what he'd do if she said "no".

With her hands still closed tight around the beads, she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you."

Even through his anger and tears and guilt, those words touched him with a tight but deeply-felt smile, and the fresh wave of tears they brought were tears of joy. "No one has ever said that to me before," he said. Not since he could clearly remember. "Thank you."

He carried her to the doctor's house and knocked on the door until the doctor woke up, but the man wasn't upset about it when he saw Tomi with blood on her face. When he'd examined her, he cleaned a laceration on her left temple and wrapped bandages around her head to bind it, and around her chest to hold a cracked rib. And Soujiro, watching, saw not only those but an assortment of bruises that only time would heal.

His wife took the salvaged beads and strung them on a piece of suture-thread, and tied it just the right length for a bracelet, so that it fit on over Tomi's hand, but wouldn't accidentally slide back off. As Soujiro carried her home, she was still worrying the bracelet, as she might cling to a safe-feeling toy. The beads didn't take up the whole length of the thread, and she slid them up and down it like a rosary.(8)

By the time they reached the apartment, Soujiro had remembered his fatigue, and Tomi felt heavy in his arms, but he spared himself no trouble. The futon already folded out from before, he gently lay her down on it and tucked the pillow under her head, then took her sandals and put them and his own beside the door as he went back to lock it. He got the kakefuton and spread it over her. "I need to get some sleep," he told her softly, "but if you need anything, please wake me up. I won't mind, I promise."

"Okay."

He got he zabuton and put it near the bed, and lay down on the floor uncovered with his head on that seat-cushion. Even so, he was so tired...

He was just beginning to drift off to sleep when he heard a shuffling sound beside him, loud in the stillness. He felt Tomi's warm body snuggle up against him, her face nuzzling his chest.

With some effort, he opened his eyes again. "Tomi-chan," he whispered. "If you want to do this, let's both go back to the futon, okay?"

"Okay," she whispered.

**********

September 23

Soujiro yawned. He nudged Tomi awake on his lap and told her to hold onto him, then stood, supporting her with his right arm. "I'm going to bed," he said. "Goodnight, and thank you for letting us stay."

"Oh, that's all right," Kaoru said. "Goodnight!"

"Thank you! Good night!" Tomi repeated blearily.

Soujiro carried her off to bed amid an exhange of "good night"s, leaving Kenshin, Kaoru, and Sanosuke out on the porch.

"Well, I'm gonna call it a night early, too," Sano said, getting up and rolling the newspaper in his hand. "'Night!"

Kaoru and Kenshin bid him good night and started closing up the dojo for the night as he left through the gate and walked down the street toward his apartment. Passing near one of his favorite gambling spots, he ran into a few of his friends, but declined to stay and play dice with them. He explained that the business he'd been called away on last night was no big deal, but it had kept him up and he was tired. True enough, but he wasn't about to go to sleep just yet.

When he got back to his room, he gathered up and lit every lamp and candle he had to get enough light and sat down with the newspaper, finally.

The cover story told about the incident at the inn, describing the man citizens should be on the lookout for—young and thin, short hair with bangs, blue eyes, bullet wound, smiling and amiable, armed and extremely dangerous. It described the liberation of the old couple from whom he'd extorted food and lodgings—what he'd told them to say, assuming he was telling the truth about that. Finally, he came to what he wanted.

"Probably with the fugitive is Inoue Tomi, a six-year-old girl from a town some distance to the southwest of Tokyo. Tomi has brown eyes and short reddish-brown hair. Seta kidnapped this child from her home, where she had lived with her father, a woodcutter by trade. Authorities believe that Tomi is still alive and well, although police have recieved messages from Seta directly refusing her father's repeated appeals for her safe return. Mr. Inoue's message is reprinted on page 8A, in the hopes that this poor child can finally be returned to her loving father."

So Tomi wasn't an orphan, after all. Sano could have guessed as much. He glanced over the rest of the article—nothing about Tomi, but there was Soujiro's altogether impressive list of charges: murder, assassination, unlawful entry, conspiracy, destruction of government property, etc. etc. And of course, a sizeable reward for assisting in his capture.

He flipped through to the message from Tomi's father. "The following message was dictated to a newspaperman by Inoue Saburo, whose daughter was kidnapped by Seta Soujiro, a.k.a. Tenken no Soujiro (see cover story):

"'To Seta, or anyone who sees my Tomi and can do anything, please, I'm begging you to bring her home to me. I know I'm just a poor man, but I love her and I've done my best. Her mother is gone and she's all I have. Please bring my daughter home safe!'

"Not only was this message ignored," the paper continued, "Seta has in fact left a message for police directly refusing to release Inoue Tomi to authorities or return her to her home and father. What this cold-blooded killer wants with an innocent child is a mystery, but it appears that he resided in her hometown for some time, luring her with toys and gifts her poor father could not afford, which police found on his premises after he carried her off.

"Police have not given up hope, as all reports indicate that Tomi is still alive and well, but she is very much in danger as long as she remains in the hands of this dangerous criminal. Any citizens who encounter Seta or Inoue Tomi are urged to proceed with extreme caution, as Seta is very dangerous, but if you have the opportunity, please help the police bring this criminal to justice and return this child to her home. Substantial cash rewards are being offered in this case."

Having seen enough, Sanosuke lay the paper aside. Tomi wasn't an orphan as Soujiro had said; she had a home, and a father who loved her and desperately wanted to see her again. Having seen Soujiro after his battle with Kenshin and again today with Tomi hugging him around the waist, Sano knew that the newspaper didn't have the whole truth either. Clearly Soujiro wasn't the character the cops and reporters portrayed, a vicious predator who'd lured an innocent child with sweets and toys like the bait in an animal-trap. But still, here was a bereft father, and a little girl living the life of a fugitive...

Sanosuke began blowing out the lamps and candles. He'd see more about this tomorrow, but right now, he needed some sleep.

**********

May 9

Soujiro's landlady agreed to look after Tomi while he went for dinner—he wasn't willing to leave her alone even than long. He wrapped up his empty bento(9) box in cloth to carry, and went out for the noodles Tomi wanted. And, he had something else along the way that he knew he had to do.

Before going to the restaurant, he walked into the bank; it was almost strange to be arriving there during business hours. One of the tellers told him that the head banker was in his office, and he went and rapped on the door.

He could hear loud voices inside the room, and he knew even before the portly banker cracked the door to look out at him. With that slice of view through the door, Soujiro could see the other man inside. Until now, he'd only seen Tomi's father at an anonymous distance, but still recognized him.

The banker excused himself and came out to talk, shutting the door behind him.

"That's Tomi's father, isn't it?" Soujiro asked softly.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," the banker replied.

"Yes, you did, and I have to apologize to you," Soujiro said. "I came to tell you, my friend isn't feeling well, and I have to help her, so I won't be able to work until she's better." He shot a nervous glance at the door, as if he could see through it; his mind's eye could, at any rate. "...And I'm afraid I won't be able to come back here after that, either."

"I thought as much," the man said. "I wish it hadn't come to this, but I have to say I wish you luck. If you'll wait here, I'll get you your pay for the week so far."

"No, please keep it. To repay the trouble of me leaving so quickly."

"All right."

"Well then, good luck to you too, with your business. Good-bye." With that, Soujiro turned and touched the office door-handle. The banker made a flustered sound, but when Soujiro looked up at him, he reconsidered it, offered an understanding nod, and walked away to see to other business.

Soujiro opened the door a bit and looked in at Mr. Inoue, who looked haggard but surprisingly young in his rough working clothes. One could see just a little of Tomi in his shaggy, reddish hair. "Inoue-san?"

The man looked up. "What? Who are...?" Judging by the way he trailed off, he was already starting to understand.

"My name is Soujiro, and I think I'm the person you're looking for. Come with me, please." Mr. Inoue got up and followed as he left the bank—no reason to make trouble for the employer who'd been so kind—and led the way to a quiet niche of street.

"You! You know where my Tomi is!? Where is she? What have you done with her!?"

Soujiro didn't turn and answer until he chose to. "Tomi is safe."

"So it is you!" her father shouted. "Where is she? Take me to her!"

"I won't take you or tell you where she is."

"What!?"

"Tomi is my friend, and this morning I found her badly hurt. I'm going to take care of her and keep her safe like she deserves."

"Who do you think you are!?" Mr. Inoue demanded. "You're talking about my daughter!"

Soujiro felt his eyes narrowing and passed the bento box into his left hand. "I'd like to know who you think you are," he said. "You think it's okay to get drunk and beat a little girl who loves you and depends on you, and you make her pay for things that aren't her fault. Maybe she'll forgive how you've hurt her, but as her friend who loves her, I'm not going to put up with it!"

The man could only sputter at him for a moment before he clenched his teeth hard enough to strike that spark of anger. "Why you...!" he growled, and seized Soujiro by the front of his kimono.

Soujiro inserted two fingers into Mr. Inoue's fist and bent his thumb back with a quick and powerful grip. He cried out in shock and pain, and with another expert push on his tortured hand, Soujiro had him on his knees and leaned over him. "Up until now, you've gotten your way with Tomi-chan because you were the strongest," he said, "but from now on, I'm her advocate. If you ever touch her again, you'll have to go through me, and if you fight me, you'll lose."

As those words passed his lips, Soujiro realized with a sickening jolt that he was smiling; not the old detached smile, either. He let go of Mr. Inoue's hand and stepped back. When this man had grabbed his kimono, it was a thrill, wasn't it? To say with physical strength "No one will ever treat me like this again." But he'd overpowered someone and put them in pain—someone Tomi loved, no less—and enjoyed it. He could say whatever he wanted about whether he was right or wrong, but if he took what he wanted from this man by force, wasn't it the same thing all over again? "I'm sorry about that."

Tomi's father looked up at him, eyes flashing with rage despite the apology, but he held his hand and stayed silent.

"I don't want to hurt you, but I will use my strength to keep Tomi-chan from being hurt," Soujiro told him, hoping that saying it would make it true. "Please leave us alone." He turned and started to walk away.

"Don't you dare walk away from me!" the man roared.

As Soujiro turned around, he saw that there was nothing for it. Mr. Inoue pushed himself up and charged at him, with an impassioned but clumsy swing of his fist. Soujiro stood still until the last moment, then ducked, with only a slight lunge forward, and his elbow aimed at the man's belly. Added to the force of his charge, the gut-blow was enough to send him crashing to the ground(10) without the bento box in Soujiro's other hand even rattling.

With nothing more to say, Soujiro hurried away before he could recover. After this, there wouldn't be much time...

to be continued...

Footnotes:

7. "Ken-nii": Gotten from my fansubs, couldn't come up with a good way to translate it in the prose. It seems to be a shortened form of "Kenshin-oniichan"; see above note on "Oniichan."

8. Just wanted to note that this may seem cross-cultural, but it's actually not. Some Buddhists use a rosary as well, and although it looks unlike the Catholic kind, it can still be called that.

9. A lunchbox—would probably have been made of lacquered wood at this time.

10. This does seem to be the standard blow to knock someone unconscious in anime, and this being an anime fanfic, figured I ought to go with it... And in all truth, the American convention of a knock on the head doesn't have that much more basis in reality.