Kauru looked through the boughs of the lotus trees in the Dojo yard. Again
she saw his face, the face of her lost Husband, the face of their child,
now four years of age.
"'Kassan, is this right?" Their daughter held up a shirt that she had just wrung out, it was still dripping. Kauru almost laughed and took the shirt out of her tiny hands and wrung it out again.
"There." she said, "Nice and clean."
Kenshin placed his hands on her swollen womb and kissed her slowly, once again, he was leaving and saying goodbye.
He turned and began to walk down the street. "Promise you'll come back."
"Oro?'' he turned.
"Promise you'll come back to us or I'll follow you." She said stubbornly
"Hai, I promise I'll come back."
"You better come back alive!" she yelled after him when he took off at a run,
Later, when their child took it's first breath and began to cry, there was an explosion that shook the walls of every building in Tokyo, Kenshin was the only one not accounted for afterwards. Only his Sakabatou was found.
Misaou came running through the dojo gate out of breath, and accompanied by Ayame and Sazume, the three were jumping around. Ayame and Sazume pushed her out the door telling her that they would watch Miko.
Misaou pulled her through the streets dodging this way and that through the crowd before Kauru was able to wrench her hand out of Misaou's, "What is it?' Kauru stood with her hand on her hips.
"It's Kenshin, He's back! He didn't recognize me, though, But I know it's him!" Misaou pulled her along again, this time they went faster because Kauru wasn't struggling to free herself.
Shiro waited as the three little girls ran off to go get someone, they claimed that they knew him, But since four years ago, he couldn't remember anything but a single woman, crying among the fireflies somewhere in Tokyo. He couldn't remember his own name.
The tallest of the three ran back up to him, dragging up another young woman. Kenshin realized that this was the face that he had seen in his dreams, the face that he wanted to make smile again so desperately that he ran away from the family that had brought him in when he was injured. The eyes that looked into his were sad, so sad. She went to him. She put her arms around him and said "I'm so glad you're finally home"
She collapsed into his arms and feinted.
The other girl ran off to get someone else and Shiro was left helplessly lost with a woman in his arms that he desperately wanted to make happy.
He decided to walk toward the place the girls had come from, when he saw two men dressed in police uniforms. Saito Hajime looked at the man approaching him with a wary eye. "Batthosai?' he asked in amazement. Then before Shiro could say a word, Saito barked" Shinto, help this man get his wife back to the Kamia dojo, Now"
Shinto nodded furiously and led the way back to the dojo, and stopped at the gate. "Kenshin? Where have you been?"
Shiro gave him a puzzled look, "Is that my name?'
Shinto fell over. A large sweat drop appeared over his head. Shiro noticed that the gate was unlocked, and, shifting the weight of the black haired woman, he drug Shinto inside by one of his sandaled feet and into the yard of the dojo. Kauru didn't want to open her eyes for fear that the arms that held her would once again, like so many times before, turn into the arms of someone other than Kenshin.
A strand of red hair brushed against her cheek, blown by the wind, making her eyes travel up to it's owner's face.
She stared as Kenshin, as he closed the gate and looked bemusedly at the man on the ground that he had just dragged into the yard.
Noticing that the woman in his arms was awake, Shiro set her on her feet, but held her close in a fear that she would feint again.
Solemn Blue met confused Violet and memories crowded his mind, making him dizzy.
Kenshin slumped onto her shoulder and sighed something into her hair.
"I'm home, I'm finally home."
Shinto caught the falling limp body of the Batthosai and carried him into the dojo.
"Ayame, Sazume, Run and get the others, tell them that the wanderer has wandered home."
Megumi was the first to the dojo, gasping for air still, she felt of Kenshin's head.
"It's okay, he's sleeping." She whispered.
Kenshin awoke to the faces of his family around him, his mind nearly crowded with memories where there was none that morning.
Kenshin reached up a hand to touch Kauru's cheek, caressing the tears away.
Aoushi Shinomori picked just that time to come in from his morning rounds of fetching Tofu. He looked from face to face and noticed that one was missing, Miko. Guilt riddled his body and mind, quivering with self directed anger he asked them, "Where is Miko?" He felt a tug on his pant-leg and looked into the grinning face of the little girl that he had protected since the Batthosai's death. "Then who?" he was really confused. "'Tousan silly. I told you he would come back today." She grinned again and jumped into the foray of bodies Kenshin looked at Aoushi without a bit of recognition in his eyes or face. Aoushi snapped, "I have protected your oath for four years and you don't even recognize me? You Baka! I have stayed and put up with your wife, rooster head over there, Fox lady, and the runts for four years, and you don't recognize my face?" Kenshin was slightly taken aback at his outburst, but none of the joy left his eyes. "Well?" "Ummmm No?"
The Whole Kenshin-gumi fell over.
"Why do you keep on calling me by that name?" Kenshin asked, puzzled at why they called him by the name of a killer.
Kauru, who was the first to get back up and regain her balance, spoke first, to avoid further confusion within her unstable husband. "It's a nickname." She tried to push him back down. "only a nickname"
"I must have been a horrible friend to earn a nickname like that" he said. And despite her tries to push him back to the futon, he stayed where he was and looked out of the door.
"You Baka, You couldn't have been a better friend or brother to us." Yahiko hit him on the head with his bokken, knocking him down and out with one swing.
"What did you do that for!" cried Kauru.
"He deserved it for acting so much like the depressed Ruroni that we got rid of in him before he left, I just didn't think he would appreciate that coming back when he got all of his memories back at all." Dodging the table that Kauru threw at him, he ducked out the door to send off a message to Soujiro.
Kenshin saw memories of when he first came to the dojo, when Kauru locked him in the bathhouse for the night, when Ayame and Sazume put bunny ears on his head with bubbles, and when they found Yahiko for the first time and he got yelled at, and hit in the back of his head with his own purse.
He awoke, the memories making him smile, as he looked from sleeping face to sleeping face. He knew all of the faces in the room except for the man who had called him a killer.
He basked in the warmth of the autumn sun, and the warmth of the love and caring in the room. Ayame, Sazume, Kauru, and Miko were sleeping beside him, and the others against the wall.
He slid out from under the covers, careful not to disturb his sleeping family, and stepped onto the dojo porch.
After staring around the yard, he closed his eyes and turned his face toward the sun and drowsed until he heard footsteps in the dojo coming toward him.
Kauru opened her eyes slowly, the warmth under her palm fading, and a breeze blew through the dojo doors, where there had been a sleeping Kenshin.
She nearly panicked, he was gone! She turned in time to see the wind blow a wisp of blood red hair into the doorway.
She stepped though the sleeping bodies of the others and stopped at the door.
She looked down at the upturned face of her husband. As she stared at him, his eyes opened and found hers.
"Let me show you something." She said in a whisper.
Kenshin stood slowly and followed her across the yard to the bathhouse, and then inside.
Kenshin began to laugh, and the memories that went through his mind of he and Kauru bubbled over.
Kauru looked at him worriedly and sighed shaking her head when she was finally able to drag the reason for his mirth out of him. She lasted for about a second, then she gave in to the memories too, and they both sat on the floor of the bath house laughing.
Saito walked into the dojo yard and, hearing laughter, decided to follow the noise into the dojo full of sleeping people, through the yard, and into the bath house, where he found Kauru and Kenshin on the floor, laughing without a thought to his presence.
Kenshin sensed a presence in the doorway and looked up to meet the eyes of an off-duty police officer that had gotten Shinto to help him to the dojo.
He smiled, not knowing the identity of this man, and invited him to have a drink of tea with him. Kauru looked at him worriedly and sighed shaking her head when she was finally able to drag the reason for his mirth out of him. She lasted for about a second, then she gave in to the memories too, and they both sat on the floor of the bath house laughing.
Saito walked into the dojo yard and, hearing laughter, decided to follow the noise into the dojo full of sleeping people, through the yard, and into the bath house, where he found Kauru and Kenshin on the floor, laughing without a thought to his presence.
Kenshin sensed a presence in the doorway and looked up to meet the eyes of an off-duty police officer that had gotten Shinto to help him to the dojo.
He smiled, not knowing the identity of this man, and invited him to have a drink of tea with him.
Kauru and Saito were surprised by his warm welcome. Saito stepped out the door and waited for Kauru and Kenshin to pick themselves up and follow him out the door.
Kenshin led the way to the kitchen and started the tea.
"So, Batthosai, where have you been for the last four years? My men haven't been able to find you, and you walked strait up to me in broad daylight after four years and didn't recognize me, do I look that much older?" Saito looked at the Hitokiri again with awe.
"How is your wife?" Kauru asked trying again to change the subject. "Wasn't her name Tokyo?" she glared at him evilly, picturing herself cutting his head off with the kitchen knife that happened to be on the table.
Saito caught the glare and smiled sweetly at the girl. He picked up the knife that she was eyeing and slung it to the other side of the room, barley missing Kenshin's ear as it flew by.
"Oro?" Kenshin stood in anger and warned the man before him, "If you throw anything dangerous, or endanger my wife or child again, or any of my family." Kenshin's eyes were turning yellow, "I swear, I will make sure that you never enter this house again while this family lives." Kenshin nearly growled.
Saito stood and walked the door of the kitchen, meeting Sano on the way.
"What do you want?" Sano asked when he nearly knocked the smaller man to the ground. Then he saw Kenshin's glare and turned on the man. "I don't care, just get out of this home."
Sano restrained from punching the guy and clenched his fists. Saito walked past and started whistling while he walked out the dojo gate.
"What was he doing here?" Sano nearly exploded with rage.
"I invited him in," said a seething Kenshin, "Against my senses I invited him to have tea."
Kenshin took a deep breath and sat down, letting it out slowly.
If he comes near us again, I'll kill him, if he is a threat to her happiness. He smiled and stood again.
Kenshin walked through the house by himself for awhile thinking on what he would do about Saito when Miko found him.
"'Tousan, 'Kassan says dinner's ready." And he let her lead him down the hall. Next time on RK, Kenshin faces his past in ways even Saito didn't expect, Nightmares of the Hitokiri. Standard disclaimers apply.
"'Kassan, is this right?" Their daughter held up a shirt that she had just wrung out, it was still dripping. Kauru almost laughed and took the shirt out of her tiny hands and wrung it out again.
"There." she said, "Nice and clean."
Kenshin placed his hands on her swollen womb and kissed her slowly, once again, he was leaving and saying goodbye.
He turned and began to walk down the street. "Promise you'll come back."
"Oro?'' he turned.
"Promise you'll come back to us or I'll follow you." She said stubbornly
"Hai, I promise I'll come back."
"You better come back alive!" she yelled after him when he took off at a run,
Later, when their child took it's first breath and began to cry, there was an explosion that shook the walls of every building in Tokyo, Kenshin was the only one not accounted for afterwards. Only his Sakabatou was found.
Misaou came running through the dojo gate out of breath, and accompanied by Ayame and Sazume, the three were jumping around. Ayame and Sazume pushed her out the door telling her that they would watch Miko.
Misaou pulled her through the streets dodging this way and that through the crowd before Kauru was able to wrench her hand out of Misaou's, "What is it?' Kauru stood with her hand on her hips.
"It's Kenshin, He's back! He didn't recognize me, though, But I know it's him!" Misaou pulled her along again, this time they went faster because Kauru wasn't struggling to free herself.
Shiro waited as the three little girls ran off to go get someone, they claimed that they knew him, But since four years ago, he couldn't remember anything but a single woman, crying among the fireflies somewhere in Tokyo. He couldn't remember his own name.
The tallest of the three ran back up to him, dragging up another young woman. Kenshin realized that this was the face that he had seen in his dreams, the face that he wanted to make smile again so desperately that he ran away from the family that had brought him in when he was injured. The eyes that looked into his were sad, so sad. She went to him. She put her arms around him and said "I'm so glad you're finally home"
She collapsed into his arms and feinted.
The other girl ran off to get someone else and Shiro was left helplessly lost with a woman in his arms that he desperately wanted to make happy.
He decided to walk toward the place the girls had come from, when he saw two men dressed in police uniforms. Saito Hajime looked at the man approaching him with a wary eye. "Batthosai?' he asked in amazement. Then before Shiro could say a word, Saito barked" Shinto, help this man get his wife back to the Kamia dojo, Now"
Shinto nodded furiously and led the way back to the dojo, and stopped at the gate. "Kenshin? Where have you been?"
Shiro gave him a puzzled look, "Is that my name?'
Shinto fell over. A large sweat drop appeared over his head. Shiro noticed that the gate was unlocked, and, shifting the weight of the black haired woman, he drug Shinto inside by one of his sandaled feet and into the yard of the dojo. Kauru didn't want to open her eyes for fear that the arms that held her would once again, like so many times before, turn into the arms of someone other than Kenshin.
A strand of red hair brushed against her cheek, blown by the wind, making her eyes travel up to it's owner's face.
She stared as Kenshin, as he closed the gate and looked bemusedly at the man on the ground that he had just dragged into the yard.
Noticing that the woman in his arms was awake, Shiro set her on her feet, but held her close in a fear that she would feint again.
Solemn Blue met confused Violet and memories crowded his mind, making him dizzy.
Kenshin slumped onto her shoulder and sighed something into her hair.
"I'm home, I'm finally home."
Shinto caught the falling limp body of the Batthosai and carried him into the dojo.
"Ayame, Sazume, Run and get the others, tell them that the wanderer has wandered home."
Megumi was the first to the dojo, gasping for air still, she felt of Kenshin's head.
"It's okay, he's sleeping." She whispered.
Kenshin awoke to the faces of his family around him, his mind nearly crowded with memories where there was none that morning.
Kenshin reached up a hand to touch Kauru's cheek, caressing the tears away.
Aoushi Shinomori picked just that time to come in from his morning rounds of fetching Tofu. He looked from face to face and noticed that one was missing, Miko. Guilt riddled his body and mind, quivering with self directed anger he asked them, "Where is Miko?" He felt a tug on his pant-leg and looked into the grinning face of the little girl that he had protected since the Batthosai's death. "Then who?" he was really confused. "'Tousan silly. I told you he would come back today." She grinned again and jumped into the foray of bodies Kenshin looked at Aoushi without a bit of recognition in his eyes or face. Aoushi snapped, "I have protected your oath for four years and you don't even recognize me? You Baka! I have stayed and put up with your wife, rooster head over there, Fox lady, and the runts for four years, and you don't recognize my face?" Kenshin was slightly taken aback at his outburst, but none of the joy left his eyes. "Well?" "Ummmm No?"
The Whole Kenshin-gumi fell over.
"Why do you keep on calling me by that name?" Kenshin asked, puzzled at why they called him by the name of a killer.
Kauru, who was the first to get back up and regain her balance, spoke first, to avoid further confusion within her unstable husband. "It's a nickname." She tried to push him back down. "only a nickname"
"I must have been a horrible friend to earn a nickname like that" he said. And despite her tries to push him back to the futon, he stayed where he was and looked out of the door.
"You Baka, You couldn't have been a better friend or brother to us." Yahiko hit him on the head with his bokken, knocking him down and out with one swing.
"What did you do that for!" cried Kauru.
"He deserved it for acting so much like the depressed Ruroni that we got rid of in him before he left, I just didn't think he would appreciate that coming back when he got all of his memories back at all." Dodging the table that Kauru threw at him, he ducked out the door to send off a message to Soujiro.
Kenshin saw memories of when he first came to the dojo, when Kauru locked him in the bathhouse for the night, when Ayame and Sazume put bunny ears on his head with bubbles, and when they found Yahiko for the first time and he got yelled at, and hit in the back of his head with his own purse.
He awoke, the memories making him smile, as he looked from sleeping face to sleeping face. He knew all of the faces in the room except for the man who had called him a killer.
He basked in the warmth of the autumn sun, and the warmth of the love and caring in the room. Ayame, Sazume, Kauru, and Miko were sleeping beside him, and the others against the wall.
He slid out from under the covers, careful not to disturb his sleeping family, and stepped onto the dojo porch.
After staring around the yard, he closed his eyes and turned his face toward the sun and drowsed until he heard footsteps in the dojo coming toward him.
Kauru opened her eyes slowly, the warmth under her palm fading, and a breeze blew through the dojo doors, where there had been a sleeping Kenshin.
She nearly panicked, he was gone! She turned in time to see the wind blow a wisp of blood red hair into the doorway.
She stepped though the sleeping bodies of the others and stopped at the door.
She looked down at the upturned face of her husband. As she stared at him, his eyes opened and found hers.
"Let me show you something." She said in a whisper.
Kenshin stood slowly and followed her across the yard to the bathhouse, and then inside.
Kenshin began to laugh, and the memories that went through his mind of he and Kauru bubbled over.
Kauru looked at him worriedly and sighed shaking her head when she was finally able to drag the reason for his mirth out of him. She lasted for about a second, then she gave in to the memories too, and they both sat on the floor of the bath house laughing.
Saito walked into the dojo yard and, hearing laughter, decided to follow the noise into the dojo full of sleeping people, through the yard, and into the bath house, where he found Kauru and Kenshin on the floor, laughing without a thought to his presence.
Kenshin sensed a presence in the doorway and looked up to meet the eyes of an off-duty police officer that had gotten Shinto to help him to the dojo.
He smiled, not knowing the identity of this man, and invited him to have a drink of tea with him. Kauru looked at him worriedly and sighed shaking her head when she was finally able to drag the reason for his mirth out of him. She lasted for about a second, then she gave in to the memories too, and they both sat on the floor of the bath house laughing.
Saito walked into the dojo yard and, hearing laughter, decided to follow the noise into the dojo full of sleeping people, through the yard, and into the bath house, where he found Kauru and Kenshin on the floor, laughing without a thought to his presence.
Kenshin sensed a presence in the doorway and looked up to meet the eyes of an off-duty police officer that had gotten Shinto to help him to the dojo.
He smiled, not knowing the identity of this man, and invited him to have a drink of tea with him.
Kauru and Saito were surprised by his warm welcome. Saito stepped out the door and waited for Kauru and Kenshin to pick themselves up and follow him out the door.
Kenshin led the way to the kitchen and started the tea.
"So, Batthosai, where have you been for the last four years? My men haven't been able to find you, and you walked strait up to me in broad daylight after four years and didn't recognize me, do I look that much older?" Saito looked at the Hitokiri again with awe.
"How is your wife?" Kauru asked trying again to change the subject. "Wasn't her name Tokyo?" she glared at him evilly, picturing herself cutting his head off with the kitchen knife that happened to be on the table.
Saito caught the glare and smiled sweetly at the girl. He picked up the knife that she was eyeing and slung it to the other side of the room, barley missing Kenshin's ear as it flew by.
"Oro?" Kenshin stood in anger and warned the man before him, "If you throw anything dangerous, or endanger my wife or child again, or any of my family." Kenshin's eyes were turning yellow, "I swear, I will make sure that you never enter this house again while this family lives." Kenshin nearly growled.
Saito stood and walked the door of the kitchen, meeting Sano on the way.
"What do you want?" Sano asked when he nearly knocked the smaller man to the ground. Then he saw Kenshin's glare and turned on the man. "I don't care, just get out of this home."
Sano restrained from punching the guy and clenched his fists. Saito walked past and started whistling while he walked out the dojo gate.
"What was he doing here?" Sano nearly exploded with rage.
"I invited him in," said a seething Kenshin, "Against my senses I invited him to have tea."
Kenshin took a deep breath and sat down, letting it out slowly.
If he comes near us again, I'll kill him, if he is a threat to her happiness. He smiled and stood again.
Kenshin walked through the house by himself for awhile thinking on what he would do about Saito when Miko found him.
"'Tousan, 'Kassan says dinner's ready." And he let her lead him down the hall. Next time on RK, Kenshin faces his past in ways even Saito didn't expect, Nightmares of the Hitokiri. Standard disclaimers apply.