Apprentice

Chapter 13

Meanwhile, Back at the Dojo...

(AN: Bear with me on this, I'm doing a little research for my story on kenjutsu, bushido and the sword styles in RK. I'm almost there, but I just had to throw in this hopefully humorous little chapter/oneshot about what's going on with Kenji's family back in Tokyo, because it's in my head and the muse won't let go of it until I've coughed it up. It's not really writer's block, more like writer's diversion. Kind of your extra bonus story within a story. I hope you enjoy it. The Kenshin-gumi has been conspicuously absent in this tale, so I'm making up for it in this long chapter. Warning: Serious WAFF and fluff ahead. Grab a big hanky. Brush your teeth immediately after reading.)

"Yahiko, anata, wake up!"

"Hn," he murmured, rolling over and opening one eye. "What is it, a cramp?" he asked sleepily. His wife was tugging hard on his shoulder.

"Go get Kaoru-san and Megumi-sensai," gasped Tsubami.

Yahiko felt a surge of adrenaline and sat up quickly. "What's wrong!" he asked, which was a stupid question, because he knew immediately what was "wrong". His wife was in labor.

"Send Kaoru over first, and then go get Megumi," she instructed, panting a little. "I'll be fine until you bring her here."

Yahiko didn't even bother to put on his clothes or sandals, he dashed out the door down the road to the Himura Dojo in his sleeping robe.

Kenshin woke instantly, hearing a noise on the front porch. Then he heard, "Kenshin! It's me Yahiko, wake up!" This loudly from the engawa.

He reached over to wake his sleeping wife. "Kaoru," he shook her shoulder lightly.

"Kaoru!" he said a bit more insistently, rubbing her neck to wake her.

"Not now, koi," she murmured half asleep, "its the middle of the night. Wasn't once enough for you?" She sighed and closed her eyes again, nestling against him into a slightly more comfortable position.

He grinned at that, but shook her shoulder again, harder, "Yahiko is outside, anata, I think the baby is coming!" he said in her ear.

That got her attention. She sat up. "Baby?" she said, half asleep still.

"Tsubame-dono is having a baby, remember," Kenshin said, standing up and stretching. Yahiko was still pounding on the front door. "Wake up, you two, I mean it!" he hollered. "Get over here now and open this door before I kick it in!"

Kenshin padded barefoot to the front door and opened it. "Come in, Yahiko- kun," he said politely, as though it were the middle of the day and Yahiko had stepped over for tea.

"I need Kaoru," he panted, looking around wildly.

"Relax, Yahiko-kun," said Kenshin, "Kaoru is awake and getting dressed as we speak," he reassured his young friend.

"You go back home with her and I'll go get Megumi-sensai, that I will," said Kenshin, walking back to his room to put his clothes and sandals on.

"Hurry!" said Yahiko, "I don't want her to be alone!"

"I understand, that I do," said Kenshin's voice from the bedroom. He came out in a few minutes, dressed and Kaoru was with him.

"Kaoru-dono, go home with Yahiko, and I'm going to fetch Megumi-sensai," Kenshin said, as he was leaving.

Kaoru took Yahiko's hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "Everything will be fine, Yahiko-kun, please don't worry," she smiled at him.

"Come on, Kaoru, we need to go," he said impatiently, tugging at her arm.

He practically dragged Kaoru the short distance to their small house.

"Tsubame, I'm back," he yelled, pulling Kaoru across the threshold.

"Kaoru is with me, everything will be fine, Kenshin is going for Megumi," he said, still yelling as he came down short hallway.

They heard a slight groan from the bedroom as he slid open the rice-paper door.

"Kaoru!" gasped Tsubame, holding out her hand to the other woman, "I'm so glad you're here." Tsubame was on her knees, panting heavily, her hands rubbing her swollen belly gently.

Kaoru walked over and knelt beside the laboring woman, "I'm here, now, Tsubame," she said comfortingly, and reached over to assist her young friend in massaging her belly.

"Yahiko," Kaoru ordered, "go and get some water and some clean cloths please. We'll need hot water sooner or later, so start a fire too."

After he had gone, Kaoru looked into Tsubame's eyes, "Now tell me, are the pains close together?" "Hai," said Tsubame, still gasping, "very close." She closed her eyes and grasped Kaoru's hand in a bone crushing clench as another spasm peaked. The two women quietly rode it out together, Kaoru rubbing her back with her free hand.

"I hope Megumi gets here quickly," thought Kaoru anxiously, although outwardly, her expression remained calm.

"Megumi tells me second babies come much faster than first ones, so don't worry, Tsubame," said Kaoru, soothingly, "I'm sure this is what is supposed to happen."

"Ungh," replied Tsubame, groaning and clenching Kaoru's hand once again.

"I'm hot," she said when the pain had subsided. "Yahiko!" Kaoru yelled, "bring us some cool water and some clean cloths. Quickly!" He came running in a minute later with the items, looking worried. "Megumi isn't here yet," he said, face creased with a frown of anxiety.

"She will be," said Kaoru, determinedly. She dipped the cloth in the basin of cool water and wiped Tsubame's forehead and the back of her neck which were slick with sweat.

"Here, Yahiko, make yourself useful," said Kaoru, beckoning him over and handing him the cloth. "Keep her cool."

He knelt beside his wife's straining body and wrung out the cloth, and carefully stroked her face and neck with the cool water. She sighed and bent down her head so he could reach lower down her back and shoulders. "Ah, better," she sighed, leaning against him.

She suddenly gasped as another pain spread up through her body, blindly grasping Kaoru's hand again, and Yahiko's arm with the other.

A warm gush of liquid pooled underneath her and she looked down.

Kaoru saw it too. "Kami-Sama," she thought, "this baby isn't going to wait much longer! Hurry Kenshin!"

Yahiko saw her face, "What's wrong?" he whispered hoarsely.

"This baby might not want to wait for Megumi," she said to him quietly. "Don't worry, Yahiko, babies that come quickly mean everything is going well. Megumi has told me that many times."

Yahiko paled in the lamplight. "You mean WE'RE going to deliver the baby?" he whispered in a shaky voice. Tsubame looked at their faces and groaned loudly as another pain surged through her. They grasped her arms and supported her as she panted through the sensations.

Kaoru had to smile wryly in spite of herself. The self-professed "Tokyo Samurai" looked like he might faint.

"I hope not, Yahiko-kun," she told him honestly, "But we must be prepared just in case."

He nodded grimly. "Okay, what do I do?" he asked.

"Just what you're doing now will be fine," said Kaoru, smiling at him. "After all, I have done this myself," she said much more confidently than she felt.

"Megumi-sensai!" Kenshin was outside her and Sano's house a few blocks away, pounding on the back door.

"Oi, what's the problem, Kenshin?" Sano opened the door in his sleeping robe, sans headband so his hair was wildly askew and hanging over his face and neck.

"We need Megumi-sensai," Kenshin told him, coming inside, "Tsubame-dono is having the baby right now," Kenshin told him.

"Megumi, wake up!" yelled Sano, sticking his head inside the bedroom door.

"Is it Tsubame?" came a sleepy female voice from inside.

"Aa," he replied, scratching his head and stretching until Kenshin could hear his vertebrae cracking, "I guess it's time. I think I'd better come to, you might need me to hold Yahiko down or sumthin. Remember last time, Kenshin? When Tsubame screamed, I thought we were gonna have to tie the baka down."

"I'm so sorry to wake you," said Kenshin, polite as usual, "but babies apparently do not care about such things."

"You can say that again," yawned Sano, "it's not like we get that much sleep these days anyway."

Megumi came out with her doctor's bag in one hand and a sleeping dark haired baby of less than a year on her other arm.

"Here," she said, holding the side with the baby toward Sanosuke, "take the kid."

"Come here, chibi," said Sano, taking the baby from her. Souzou briefly opened his large cinnamon colored eyes, shifted in his father's arms, and reinserted his thumb in his mouth.

"Kid's like his old man, can sleep through anything," Sano bragged, rubbing the sleeping baby on the back through his blanket.

"Even through your snoring?" teased Megumi, snickering.

"I do NOT snore," Sano said, opening the door.

"How would YOU know?" Megumi retorted, walking out past him and Kenshin. "Ken-san, put out the lamp, please?"

Kenshin bent to blow out the lamp and the four of them were on their way through the early morning dimness.

"OHHH, kuso, I have to push," groaned Tsubame loudly. Yahiko had rarely heard his soft-spoken wife curse before, even mildly, so he tended to notice when she did. "Kaoru, DO something now!" he pleaded, as his wife, rocking slowly on her hands and knees, began to make strange grunting noises low in her throat every time a spasm passed through her.

"Shut up, Yahiko, I'm doing everything I know how to do," Kaoru yelled back at him. "Will you two please not YELL," gritted Tsubame through clenched teeth. "I'm trying to have a BABY!" This last word ended on a sigh of relief as the urge temporarily passed.

Another urge to bear down swept through her almost immediately and she involuntarily grunted as her face twisted with the overwhelming sensation. Instinctively, she grabbed the arms of the two people on either side of her and pushed against them with all her might.

Kaoru gasped as she placed her hand on the woman's bare back and rubbed it hard, trying to ease her discomfort.

"Oh, Kami-Sama," Yahiko whispered, "I think I see...is that the?...I think...oh, kuso, it's COMING OUT!"

Sure enough, as Tsubame bore down again, the baby's head began to crown. Kaoru placed her hand gently against the baby's emerging dark-tufted head, trying to remember everything Megumi had told her.

"Try not to push too hard, now," said Kaoru, still stroking the other woman's back. "Ungh," was all she heard, and Kaoru felt the child's head emerge another bit as the mother bore down again.

"Ah, it burns!" shrieked Tsubame. Yahiko paled again, but continued to put cool water on his groaning, sweating wife, murmuring softly in her ear.

"A few more pushes and this baby will be here!" Kaoru said excitedly. Her hands shook a little in anticipation, and she took a deep breath to calm herself.

"Oi, hello, minna, we're here!" They all heard Sano's deep voice at the same time.

"Thank all the gods," muttered Yahiko. Raising his voice, he yelled hoarsely, "Back here in the bedroom. Hurry, you're almost too late!"

"I'm coming!" Megumi said, and they heard the sound of her feet running down the hallway.

She opened the door to see Tsubame in the midst of a tremendous push, grabbing onto Yahiko's shoulders with both hands. Kaoru had positioned herself between the woman's legs and had both hands on the baby's head, gently guiding it into the world. Kaoru grabbed a clean cloth and gently began to clean a little blood and fluid off the baby's face and rub its limbs as the rest of the body and legs also emerged onto a clean cloth.

"It's a boy!" exclaimed Kaoru, as the baby's skin quickly began to turn pink under her ministering hands. He sneezed and suddenly, the air was filled with a loud cry as the shock of being outside of his mother's warm body hit the child and it began to wail.

"Well, that's what we want to hear," said Megumi, smiling from the doorway. She walked over and knelt down beside Kaoru.

"It looks like I'm late for the party," she joked, opening her bag to get a few necessary items.

"Can I touch him?" asked Yahiko, his eyes questioning, a look of amazement still lingering on his face. "I don't see why not," said Megumi, "after all, he's your son. Here, put him on his mother's stomach so he stays warm while I take care of a few things."

Yahiko tentatively picked up the squirming baby and gently placed him on his mother's bare stomach. Their eyes met and they both put a hand on the baby, gently stroking his small back as his cries subsided. Tears of relief and joy coursed down Tsubame's cheeks, and she didn't bother to brush them away. Yahiko wiped his eyes roughly on his sleeve and sniffled quietly.

"Kaoru, please get me a large bowl, some hot water, soap, and some more clean cloths." Megumi ordered, all business now. Kaoru patted Tsubame once more on the arm, smiling at her, and then rose to do the required tasks.

Megumi cut the cord, which had quit pulsing, and tied it off, finally separating the baby from it's mother. With sure and experienced hands, she quickly checked the infant as he lay on his mother's belly, making sure all was well.

"Well, everything seems to be fine," she pronounced after a few minutes.

Kaoru returned with the requested items, and Megumi went back to work on Tsubame, massaging her stomach until the afterbirth was finally delivered and then, with soapy hot water, proceeded to gently clean up the very tired mother and child. Finished, she helped Tsubame change into a clean sleeping robe, and she and Kaoru quickly changed the bedding.

"Here, Yahiko," Kaoru said to him, handing him a small blanket and a diaper, "he needs to be wrapped up tight to stay warm."

He put on the diaper with practiced hands, swaddled the blanket firmly around the child, then handed him back to his mother. She lay back and relaxed, holding the baby in her arms and peered lovingly into his tiny red wrinkled face.

"I'm so sleepy, now, anata," Tsubame said in a drowsy voice to her husband, stroking the side of the baby's cheek. He nuzzled his mother's finger, the instinctive urge to suckle taking hold, and she put him to her breast.

"Hn, chibi," she said, and smiled down on the baby's head of dark fuzz, "hungry already?"

"He's a male," Megumi said, " and males are always hungry, at least in my experience." She chuckled quietly, so as not to startle the baby.

Yahiko sighed, and reached over to touch the baby again. "I've never seen anything like that ever," he said wonderingly.

"When Toshiro was born, I only sat outside and heard, but I never imagined..." he broke off, looking teary-eyed again, shook his head, unable to continue.

"Now you know how brave women really are," said Megumi archly. "You men and your tough talk, why, fighting with swords and fists is nothing compared to giving birth."

"I believe you," Yahiko said quietly.

"You look tired, Yahiko-anata," said Tsubame quietly. "Why don't you lie down and go back to sleep, now. It's been a long night for all of us." Her eyes closed and she sighed, the baby tucked carefully next to her, sated and asleep after his first meal.

"I'm going to check on Toshiro first, anata," he said rising wearily to his feet.

"I told Sano and Kenshin that you have another son," said Kaoru, smiling at her little "brother", her eyes bright with tears of joy. She stood up and impulsively hugged him tightly around the waist, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I don't know what I'd done if you hadn't been here, Kaoru," said Yahiko, looking down at her and smiling. "I can't believe you were so calm!" he exclaimed softly. "Well, I am the Master of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu," she said confidently, hands on her hips. "And I'm also a mother, don't forget," she added, grinning up at him. "But, to tell you the truth, I was scared half to death," she said, "I'd much rather fight Kamatari any day than deliver a baby!" she joked.

Yahiko and Kaoru walked out the door, quietly sliding it shut, and before Yahiko could go check on his older son, Sano and Kenshin motioned him over to them in the common room.

"I believe this calls for a drink," said Sano, grinning and handing him a cup of sake and punching him lightly on the shoulder. Souzou, true to his father's earlier statement, slept quietly on his stomach on a cushion in the corner, covered with blanket.

"You believe everything calls for a drink," teased Kenshin, making a mock face of disapproval at his tall friend.

"Well, this calls for at least two drinks, then," said Sano, pouring himself another cup.

"Does this child have a name, yet?" Kenshin asked, draining his cup and holding it out for more.

"We decided on Shin-yo for a boy," Yahiko said, grimacing slightly as the burning liquid went down.

"A good name for a future swordsman," declared Kenshin, smiling.

Kaoru came into the room, arms folded. "I can't believe you men are drinking sake at this time of the night!" she said, shaking her head at them.

"It's a special occasion, anata," protested Kenshin, "we're celebrating the new baby, that we are!"

"Besides, jou-chan," said Sano reasonably, "It's not as though I've never had a drink at this hour before."

"You must be celebrating the birth of every baby in Japan!" declared Kaoru, pointing a finger at the lanky man who was quickly downing his fourth cupful.

"Why not?" he winked at her. "I've drunk much more for worse reasons," he shrugged.

Megumi came in from the hallway, carrying her bag, and went to stand beside Kaoru.

"Sagara Sanosuke," she stated, "Please pick up your son and take me home, I'm one very tired lady sensai."

Sano jumped up as though he'd been stuck with a pin.

"Well, I have to be going, thanks for the drink, see ya later," he said quickly. He bent over to pick up the baby, making sure the blanket was firmly tucked around him, went over to his wife and took the bag from her.

"Kaoru, I want to tell you what a good job you did with Tsubame," Megumi said quietly. "If you ever want to become a midwife..." she said, suddenly grinning wickedly at her friend.

"Uh, no, no, thank you," said Kaoru, blushing slightly and smiling. "I'm quite content to simply be a kendo instructor, it's much easier."

Later, a tired Kaoru and a smiling Kenshin walked home in the early morning light.

"How about a nice hot bath, Koishii?" asked Kenshin asked as he opened the dojo gate for her, ushering her inside and fastening it again.

"That sounds wonderful, Kenshin," she sighed and now that the were inside, drew down his head for a sudden impulsive kiss.

"What was that for?" he said breathlessly, pulling back his head after a few seconds.

"I don't know, I just felt like it," she replied, smiling and then putting her arms around him tightly.

He sighed and returned the embrace, gently nuzzling her neck and inhaling her warm scent.

"You're a very brave woman," said Kenshin smiling into her hair, "did you know that?"

"Yes," she said, kissing him again fully on the mouth to cover her blush at the compliment.

"In fact, I'm so brave, I'm going to ask the most infamous swordsman in Japan to wash my back for me," she giggled, licking his earlobe and blowing on it gently.

"Aa, Koishii, the most infamous swordsman in Japan accepts your challenge!" he said, laughing out loud, and before she could protest, picked her up in his arms and carried her across the yard to the bathhouse.