Things are getting a little heavier for Kenshin and Kaoru, and it is starting to look like he is going to need more than just her help if he is going to get through all of this.
This chapter heralds the beginning of my free libertarian uses of the Ruroni characters as I saw fit to make my fiction what I wanted it to be. There are a lot of surprises coming up, and I hope sincerely that no one gets too upset or blown away. A lot of thought and emotion went into these unique relationships, and the people the characters have eventually evolved into being have grown to mean a great deal to me. In short, they are all very close to my heart. I hope they will become close to yours as well.
I truly wish and desire that everyone will enjoy what I have done with these extraordinary characters... just remember, keep an open mind, and hang on for what I hope will be a great ride into a whole new world of strange and bizarre things.
Sincerely, Tsuki-san
****Glossary Update****11-20-03***I have recently discovered that a couple of my word translations were not exactly right. So, Instead of going all the way back to chapter five and having to re-edit chapters 5-7 completely (cause they aren't on the puter anymore) I am changing the words from this chapter forward. They are set apart by Captical text in each glossary so you know which ones they are. Tsuki
Glossary: Sho-ji=outside door, Engowa=veranda, Shin-yuu=friend, AMAN=lover, Koishii=dear or darling, Busu=ugly woman, Sensei=teacher, Sotsu=son, OTOU=father
Chapter Eight
Old friends and Kindred Hearts
It was not really a long walk to the Aoiya, but the distance took its toll on Kenshin's energy stores and he was forced to take several short rest periods before they reached the front shoji. All of the repairs from the fight with the Juppon Gatana were finally finished, and there was hardly any way to tell it had ever been demolished.
"Wow, it looks really good again." Yahiko exclaimed as he examined the new shoji and outer walls. "They really did a good job. You can't even tell it's not the old original wall and stuff."
Kenshin and Kaoru smiled indulgently at the younger mans astonished observations and looks of surprise. "That's how its supposed to look, Yahiko." Kaoru told him laughingly. "You wouldn't want a sloppy repair that made everything look bad would you?" Kenshin laughed softly
as he laid a tired arm across her shoulders and pulled her next to his side.
He had ended up needing to lean more heavily on her than he thought he would have to, but she had not said a word. She had just put a steadying arm around his waist, shoved her shoulder into his armpit, and helped him carry his weight with her strength while making it look like nothing more than two people strolling down the street with their arms around each other. The carefully orchestrated support hold had given him the steadying crutch he needed to continue walking, and it had protected his honor and dignity as a man as well. He knew Kaoru had done it like that on purpose to spare him any embarrassment because of his weakened condition, and he loved her for that. She understood a great deal about a man's dignity, and he was forever grateful.
Yahiko gave Kaoru a sour look and pulled the string next to the doors ringing the cluster of little bells that announced to the occupants of the Aoiya that they had guests, and then stepped back to wait patiently with his older companions. After only a few short moments, they heard the soft shuffle of sandals moving along the inside engowa. The shoji opened and revealed the bright surprised face of Okon-dono.
"Kaoru-dono! Yahiko! Himura-san! Oh my goodness, how wonderful to see you." Okon jumped up and down clapping her hands in delight. "Please come in. Oh please come in."
As they entered the courtyard of the Aoiya, Okon proceeded to hug them all and continue in her happy welcome. It had always been a pleasure to come here for the Kenshin-gumi. This was another home for them.
"Thank-you, Okon-dono." Kenshin smiled warmly at the woman, and bowed respectfully. "It is also very good to see you. I hope we are not intruding by not sending word before we arrived."
"No, no, of course not. You know you are always welcome here. For heavens sake, your part of our family." She beamed at him in honest acceptance. "We are always glad to see you whenever you and yours can come."
Kenshin and Kaoru exchanged relieved glance and shared a sigh of relief. "We were very much hoping we would not be causing trouble to you. It is just..." Kenshin's voice trailed as he tried to think of the best way to say what he wanted to.
"What is it, Himura-san? Do you wish to see Aoshi-san? He is just over here in one of the day rooms. Come with me, and I will take you there."
Before Kenshin could answer, Okon was shuffling away with the intent of leading them to Aoshi. He shared an amused look with his companions, and the three obediently followed her along the engowa until she stopped in front of a closed door. She knocked and waited for an answer. A
muffled voice indicated she could enter, and she slipped though the fusuma closing it behind her. Kenshin listened to the sounds of Okon and Aoshi talking and tried to imagine how his former enemy turned ally would receive him. Their relationship had remained cool and distant despite
Aoshi's spiritual reformation and the firm alliance formed between the Onniwabanshu and the Kenshin-gumi. He knew nothing could ever be truly judged among friends, even reluctant ones so he stood patiently with his hands folded in front of his abdomen and waited.
The fusuma slid open revealing the emotionless face of Shinomori Aoshi. He was dressed in a long yukata that was usually worn for meditation in the Temple, and it seemed to Kenshin they had interrupted him in the middle of something.
"Forgive me, Aoshi." Kenshin bowed deeply in a formal apology. "Okon-dono did not tell me you were meditating. Please, return to your solitude, and I will not disturb you again." He offered another deep bow of respect then turned to leave.
"I was not meditating, Himura, and you have not disturbed me."
Kenshin turned back to face Aoshi and stood patiently waiting for the other man to continue.
"I am pleasantly surprised to see you here, as well as Kamiya-dono and her young deshi. Please, come in and join me for some tea." He stood to one side and generously waved them inside.
The three friends shared surprised, if not shocked, looks before they bowed in acceptance of Aoshi's out of character invitation and entered the room. Okon provided each of them with a cushion to kneel on then left to bring more tea and teacups.
"Thank-you, Aoshi. I realize we are here without sending any prior word of our coming. I do sincerely hope we are not causing an imposition." Once again Kenshin inclined his head to the serious faced ninja. "I did not intend to cause such a raucous. Truly I did not."
"Be at ease, Himura. You have caused no problems or impositions to us." Aoshi offered a formal bow to Kenshin, which left the swordsman in even deeper shock. "As I said, I am pleased to see you and your company, and I know Misao will be ecstatic. So rest your mind and your heart and
know you are welcome here." Aoshi folded his hands serenely in his lap. It was difficult for all three of the others to get used to him like this. "But I must admit a great curiosity as to what has brought you here unannounced, and in such an obvious state of such... debilitation."
Kenshin let Aoshi's last statement sink into his mind and his heart and felt a finger of unsettling vulnerability cover him. "Is it really that obvious?"
"Not to those who do not know you, but I could feel your impairment long before Okon knocked on the fusuma." His voice was not condescending, nor did it pity. It was laced equally with concern and curiosity. "You are not well enough to have walked the distance you came. It was a foolish choice, shin-yuu." Jade green eyes rose to meet surprised amethyst. "As your friend, I am bound to caution you to be more careful with your life."
Kenshin could only nod as he found himself unable to speak for the lump that rose in his throat. Shinomori Aoshi was concerned for his health, for his life. He had called Kenshin shin-yuu, his friend, and that knowledge was having a profound affect on him both emotionally and
spiritually. His frail spirit-ki cried inside his soul as he felt the accepting touch of Aoshi's much stronger and healthier one. It was like being touched by the icy waters of a high flowing mountain stream only it held an enormous amount of life power and spiritual energy. Kenshin began to shiver in response.
"To heal such a damaged ki will take much energy and much time, Himura. It would be to your benefit if you were too humble your dignity and accept assistance from those in a position to help you."
Kenshin gazed into Aoshi's eyes in puzzlement, unsure what the serious minded ninja was referring to, and then something cold slid up the contours of his spine like the intimate touch of a lovers hand trailing ice along his shivering flesh.. The sensation was both burning hot and icy cold as it slithered over his spine upwards to the back of his neck and touched the base of his skull.
"Take what is offered, shin-yuu. For it is freely given with the clear purity of a new and restored spirit. Open your frightened heart and let this part of my spirit-ki join with yours. Let its energy
help in renewing and healing the terrible damage yours has suffered." Aoshi's voice was low and had a soothing affect on Kenshin causing him to relax and become pliant and receptive to energy wave of Aoshi's ki. His level of concentration deepened and he held Kenshin's gaze firmly within
His own and spoke clearly. "Take it, my friend. It is my gift to you for saving my soul from a life consumed with hatred and misery. Take it and become stronger within your own self. Take it and become my brother among the waters of life, Come with me, shin-yuu. Come into the waters and feel the power of the white light."
All at once Kenshin was thrown backwards by a some unseen force of tremendous power, but it also held him in a cradling embrace so that only his head and shoulders fell. His eyes were staring, wide open orbs of brilliant violet and gold that saw nothing as his body hung limply in the
air. A soft white light began to glow around him and then it rose to completely illuminate him.
Aoshi's spiritual energy was entering Kenshin's body and the two men were beginning to fuse together.
Kenshin's mouth opened and formed a perfect O as the sensation of becoming two surged through his mind and soul. The feeling of Aoshi sitting inside his body with him was incredible and profoundly humbling. He could feel the powerful fury of great rivers and oceans rushing through his mind and spirit as the entity that was Aoshi shaped and shifted itself to fit with Kenshin's damaged ki.
Kenshin was amazed and mesmerized as he gazed with his new eyes at the endless beauties and possibilities within the infinity that was the joined mind of the Aoshi-Kenshin spirit fusion. Their thoughts and feelings were one and thus became known to each other in that instant of time, and Kenshin knew Aoshi in a way no one else ever could. He saw Aoshi's thoughts, Aoshi's regrets, Aoshi's dreams, Aoshi's feelings, and Aoshi's loves.... Then in the next split moment of time, the two joined spirits, yet separate entities that were Kenshin and Aoshi, surged together and became One. One heart, One spirit, One soul, and then a tremendous explosion of blinding white light burst inside Kenshin's mind and he collapsed onto the floor without a single sound. Across from him, Aoshi slumped over in severe exhaustion, but remained conscious.
Kaoru was not quite sure what had just happened between the two men, but the waves of spirit-ki energy that had filled the room had thrown her and Yahiko back against the walls. She struggled to sit up, hands holding her head where it had banged into one of the wooden braces. That was when she saw Kenshin, and she forgot all about her aching head.
Kaoru slid swiftly across the smooth wood of the floor until she reached Kenshin's side. She gently brushed some of his hair out of his face and tuned his head so she could look at him.
"Kenshin...?" She cupped his face in both of her hands and leaned down closer to him. "Kenshin, are you alright? Koishii, can you hear me?"
Aoshi pushed himself back up and took careful notice of the voice of concern and actions of Kaoru as she knelt over Kenshin's still form. 'They are aman.' He whispered to himself and smiled inwardly. Finally, two of the strongest willed people he had ever met had crossed the emotional battlefield and admitted their love for one another. 'Lovers,' he thought. 'She is calling him 'dear' they must be lovers. I am glad. Himura deserves some happiness and peace, and Kamiya-dono is a strong and beautiful woman'. Suddenly he found himself wishing... wishing he could... he pushed the thoughts away violently reminding himself of his vow. 'Never will I,' he scourged his heart and mind. 'Never will I. For I am not worthy of such things and my peace will be found in solitude.' He watched as the boy stirred in the corner moaning as he discovered a few bruises left from his experience. Aoshi smiled ever so slightly.
Kaoru stroked Kenshin's pale cheek with a gentle hand. She was not really worried about him being hurt; it was just that he had already been through so much. A low moan rose from his mouth, and he started to move. Rolling onto his back, Kenshin sat up slowly with Kaoru's firm assistance. A trembling hand rose to cover his eyes while he got his bearings and waited for the world to stop spinning. Kaoru wrapped her arm protectively around his shoulders and pulled him close to her side. "Are you alright?" She asked him quietly.
"Yes, I think so." was his shaky reply. Disoriented violet eyes searched out Kaoru's face for reassurance, and she smiled at him and squeezed him with encouragement. "I feel very... strange." He admitted with a weak half smile. Then he turned to face Aoshi, his face filled with deep respect and gratitude, as well as uncertainty. "Why did you do that?"
"Because you needed me to." Was the simply stated answer.
Kenshin's head dropped as he considered Aoshi's reasoning, then he responded. "I understand your reason, but I do not understand your motive. Why do you help me, Aoshi?"
"Because you go to face something terrible, Himura, and you cannot do it as you are now."
Kenshin's head shot up and his eyes burned into Aoshi's. "How do you know that?"
Aoshi cocked his head to one side as he considered the surprised face of the red haired man sitting across from him. "Because you have no shield to protect your soul or your feelings. You are naked, Himura. I can see everything that is pressing on your heart and causing you sorrow."
Kenshin's face showed his despair. "I had no idea I was so impaired as that."
"Perhaps not to all of those around you, but I can see more deeply than most. It is one of my most well developed skills... remember."
"True, but it does not change the fact that you now know I am not much more than a wraith of my former self. I am... diminished."
"You must not consider yourself in such a way, shin-yuu. If you do, the healing process of your ki will be greatly impeded, and you will continue to put yourself... and the ones you love in danger." He met Kenshin's startled gaze steadily. "You are still responsible for the protection of many lives, Himura. If you allow your confidence in yourself to falter, you will fail in that responsibility as well as lose your own life."
Kaoru's eyes rose to meet Aoshi's firm gaze. "What are you trying to say, Aoshi? That if Kenshin doubts himself even a little, we could all die?"
"Yes." The answer was as emotionless as his face.
"How can you say that? You don't even know what is going on." Kaoru felt an arrow of alarm pierce her heart as she tried not to think about what Aoshi was insinuating.
"No, you are right. I do not know what is going on, but let me tell you what I do know, Kaoru-dono. I know that Himura has been through an experience that striped him of his spirit-ki. A ki of such strength and will that he has been able to overcome more obstacles of the soul than any other man I have known." His jade eyes glittered with intense feeling as he continued. "I know that he has seen something of such horror it has left a wound upon his heart that may never heal, and it has
caused him to lose his confidence and self-resolve. And I know that if he is to face it again without his spirit-ki and self assurance fully restored, he will not have the strength of will to protect any of you, or
save himself. That is what I know, Kaoru-dono." His gaze shifted to Kenshin's resigned visage. "He knows this too."
Kaoru turned her uncertain eyes to her beloveds face, and found him looking at a spot on the wall, his eyes reflecting the uncertainty and vulnerability within his soul that Aoshi had just described to her. "Kenshin..?" She searched his profile for reassurance desperately wanting to hear that none of it was true. That he was just as strong within himself as he had always been, but...
"It is true, Kaoru. Aoshi is right." He refused to meet her eyes. "I have lost my self resolve and confidence. I do not have the strength to protect you right now." Violet eyes dropped in shame. "I am not only naked, but I am also only a shell... I am a disgrace to myself... And to you."
"Stop it!" She shook him hard. "Stop it right now! I won't hear any more of this kind of talk from you. Do you hear me?" She shook him again until he met her eyes. "No more. If your ki is that badly damaged, then we will do whatever we have to to fix it and to fix you. Are you listening to me you stubborn ruroni?" Her voice was as fierce as the look on her face as she glared into his shocked eyes. "That is why I am here with you, to help you, but I will be damned if I am listening to one more minute of this self depreciating bullshit from YOU!"
"Kaoru," his gentle voice admonished her. "I thought we had discussed your language problem already." When she gave him an outraged look of complete disbelief, he offered her a tired half smile and pressed his forehead against hers. "You really should learn more restraint when your angry, my love." A low chuckle of resignation rose from his chest and he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him so he could bury his face in the curve of her shoulder. "All right, you
win koishii. You win. No more self-depreciation. If you believe we can fix me together, then I have to believe you. After all, you are 'Kaoru'." A cascade of giggles erupted from her as she nuzzled her face against his throat and looped both her arms around his shoulders.
"Yes, I am, and don't you forget it."
"Geez," Yahiko's condescending voice floated over from the corner. "They are at it again. What is it with grown-ups and this love thing? All they want to do is hang all over on each other and kiss all the time. I don't get it. Who wants to kiss a busu anyway?"
"YAHIKO!!" Kaoru started to pull away from Kenshin with the intent of pounding her deshi into the floor, but Kenshin held onto her and motioned swiftly for Yahiko to make a quit exit while he had the chance. The younger man, seeing how angry his sensei was, decided it was in his
best interest to make himself scarce and bolted out the door.
"Chicken!" Kaoru shouted after his fleeing form. "I'll get you later!" Rotten brat!
"Let him go, Kaoru. He is just a boy after all." Kenshin pressed a soft kiss against her flushed cheek. "You should not let him upset you so." he was trying to reason with her, and smother his amusement at the same time.
"A boy?? Are you insane, Kenshin? He's pure monster from his head to his toes. Pure unmitigated monster." Kenshin and Aoshi shared a brief understanding look as Kaoru continued to shoot daggers in the direction Yahiko had disappeared in. Some things would never change.
******************
Seta Soujiro and Makimachi Misao were walking back to the Aoiya after going to the market for rice and tofu when they bumped into a running Yahiko. Literally. Both landed in undignified heaps on the ground.
"Hey, watch out where you're going you stupid girl!"
"Why don't you watch where you're going you scrawny brat!?"
And as they exchanged heated insults they turned to look at each other as a state of de-ja-vu hit them both at the same time.
"Yahiko!"
"Misao!"
The two friends were suddenly laughing and talking about how funny the whole situation was, and how they just seemed to keep 'bumping' into each other.
"Hey, what are you doing in Kyoto? I didn't know you were coming? Who came with you? Did Kaoru come? Where are you staying?"
"Geez," Yahiko sighed in disbelief. "Girls." Taking a deep breath, he met Misoa's blue eyes and started to tell her why they were in Kyoto.
"Wow," her voice was filled with shock. "Is Himura going to be alright? I mean, is he getting better and all? I can't imagine him like that. I mean sick and weakened. It just doesn't fit his image, you know."
"Yeah, he's really skinny and white, but you know Kenshin. He can do anything." Yahiko's face beamed with pride as he spoke the last words. His belief in Kenshin was unconditional, and his loyalty unwavering.
"I hope you're right." Misao looked out across the dusty street thoughtfully. "You say they're both at the Aoiya right now? Himura and Kaoru?"
"Uh-huh. Kenshin wanted to come for one big reason."
"Oh," Misao looked at him in frank curiosity. "What would that be?"
"The Tenken. I told him about you guys finding him and how he's living with you now, and all of a sudden he wanted to come and see him right away. It was kinda weird."
"He... he wants to see me?" The soft precise voice behind Yahiko caused him to and screeches in fright. He had not known anyone was there. Quickly turning around, he came face to face with Seta Squire, the Tenkin. The swordsman that had broken Kenshin's original sakobatou.
"Whooaa... ahhh... hello." Yahiko was stammering as he looked into the young almost feminine features of the man who had been considered one of the most dangerous and skillful assassins in Japan. He did not look much taller than Kenshin, and certainly no more intimidating. If this was the
infamous Tenken, then Yahiko almost felt disappointed.
"Are you Seta Soujiro?"
"Yes. That is my name." A bright merry smile lit up the mans face and made his deep blue eyes dance. "Who are you?"
"Oh I'm sorry, Sou-sen." Misao rushed to make the proper introductions. "This is Myojin Yahiko. He's part of Kenshin's group. He's a friend."
"I see. I am very glad to meet you, Myojin-san." The unobtrusive looking young man with short cut brown hair and blue eyes bowed in formal greeting to Yahiko, who could do nothing but stare with amazement. Soujiro rose and looked into Yahiko's stunned face and smiled again.
"What is wrong, Myojin-san? I am not what you expected?" Girlish laughter bubbled over his full lips and he bowed again. "Do not be alarmed or embarrassed. I have never appeared to be what others thought I would be. That was one of the reasons I was such a good assassin." At the deepened look of shock on the boys face, Soujiro elaborated with much amusement. "Well, do I look like a cold blooded murderer to you?"
Yahiko was taken off guard by the flippant question and found himself looking the Tenken over head to toe. "Well," his head dipped to one side. "Actually, no you don't. You look more like one of those pretty boys who walk the down side streets in Tokoyo."
"Yahiko!!!" Misao's hand whacked him hard in the back of the head sending him reeling into the dirt. "That was a lousy thing to say to Sou-sen. You apologize right now or I'm gonna... "
"No, it is alright Misao." Soujiro was laughing as he helped Yahiko to his feet. "To tell the truth, that happens to be one of the identities I used to assumed when I wanted to wander the streets
without being noticed. It worked very well for me... obviously." He was brushing the dirt off Yahiko's hakima while he laughed. "It was a fine observation, Myojin-san." When brown eyes finally met dancing blue ones, Yahiko felt the last of his trepidations evaporate about this odd man,
and he began to laugh too.
"I'm sorry, Seta-san. That really wasn't very nice of me considering I just met you. I am sorry." Yahiko bowed in apology to Soujiro even though he was still sniggering. "Kenshin told me I should be respectful of you, and I really haven't been. Please forgive me. I will try and remember who you are from now on."
"Who I am?" Soujiro's facial expression barely registered his confusion. "Who am I, Myojin-san?"
Yahiko glanced at the other man feeling a little bit of anxiety squeeze his heart. "You're a great swordsman, Seta-san. Y-you almost beat Kenshin in battou-jusu, and you broke his old reverse blade sword." he looked at Misao for reassurance. "You're one of the finest and most
gifted swordsmen to ever hold a blade."
"Is that what I am?" The voice dropped to a mere whisper as Soujiro dropped his gazes and looked at the ground. "We should be getting back to the Aoiya now. Aoshi-san will be wondering what has taken us so long. Come." He walked away from a confused Yahiko and a worried Misao.
"What did I say? Misao?" Yahiko looked at Misao in abject confusion. "What did I say?"
"I'm not sure, Yahiko. But whatever it was, it struck him deeply. Very deeply."
"I'm sorry, Misao. I didn't mean to do anything wrong. I really didn't."
"You didn't. I think you just may have reminded him of something he hasn't thought of for quite a long time."
"What's that?"
"Holding his sword."
"What??"
"He hasn't touched a sword since the day Himura defeated him at Shishio's compound. He can talk about those days as long as they stay in the past, but he has not identified himself with the 'Sword of Heaven' for a very long time."
"'The Sword of Heaven'?"
"That's what Tenken stands for. 'The Sword of Heaven'. There is a lot about Sets-san's past we don't understand just like Himura's past as the Battousai. Memories and guilt that they will never share or speak of to anyone. Seta-san is trying to find himself now, like Himura did when he was wandering all those years, and being reminded of who he was and what that person stood for must feel very strange to him right now."
"Wow, I really feel like a jerk."
"Don't. You didn't know. Seta-san won't hold it against you. He's not like that. He's not like that at all."
"He's really weird, Misao. He's not like a murderer at all."
"Neither is Himura, is he Yahiko. What is a murderer like? Do any of us really know?"
This perspective gave the young apprentice pause to consider the many people he knew, and how many of them he knew had killed people whether in self-defense or for other reasons. He realized Misao was right. Did any of them really know what or who a murderer was? Kenshin had killed hundreds of men during the Bakomatsu, most of them in cold-blooded assassinations, yet did Yahiko look at him as a murderer? Migumi had made opium that was sold on the streets to teenagers and kids, and a lot of them died from overdoses. Was she a murderer because she made the
drug even though she didn't sell it? Even the members of the Onniwabanshu had killed. All of these people meant something to him in his life. Did he look at them as murderers? A strange understanding came to Yahiko in those few moments. There was very little difference between
Kenshin and Seta-san. The only real one was that Yahiko had met Kenshin as a ruroni after his days of being an assassin, and Seta-san had come into his life while still living and working as one.
"You are right, Misao. What do any of us really know about murderers and killers?" His eyes followed the retreating back of Seta Soujiro with sadness. "We don't know anything." And he picked his feet up to follow the other man through the dirty streets as they wound their way back to the Aoiya.
************
Kenshin, Kaoru, and Aoshi were finally relaxing and enjoying the tea Okon had promised them when they first arrived. They were no longer setting inside, but had chosen a shaded grassy place in the courtyard where they could enjoy the cool breeze and the late morning sun. Kenshin
was showing noticeable signs of an improved countenance. His eyes were brighter, his skin was showing a touch of pink color instead of the unhealthy pale it had been for so long, and his spirits seemed to be lighter and more carefree as he sat conversing openly with several members of the Onniwabanshu including the old man, Okina.
The front shoji suddenly burst open and a wildly excited Misao charged through them squealing out in pure delight as she ran across the yard to throw herself into Kaoru's arms.
"KAORU!!!" The two girls went rolling backwards across the grass arms, legs, and feet's flying amidst a cacophony of giggles and screams.
"I told you Misao would be ecstatic." Aoshi's voice was a failed attempt at being bland as an unmistakable note of affection wove its way into his words..
"Yes, so I see." Kenshin replied with an amused smile. "I hope Kaoru had finished chewing her sandwich before Misao got to her. That I do." Several good-natured chuckles and laughs passed through the group as everyone watched the spectacle the two girls made as they hugged and cried over each other.
"Girls." Yahiko's derisive voice reached Kenshin's ears and he turned to see the young man walking across the yard with a disgusted look on his face. Kenshin laughed and gave Yahiko a knowing and indulgent smile. "You may not think it is so bad one day, you know."
"Blahhhk... they always act so silly and stupid. I don't know how you can stand it."
"I suppose you feel the same way about Tsubame. Yes?" Kenshin cast a meaningful glance at the now furiously blushing boy.
"Shut-up! I don't know what you're talking about. Besides, she never acts that way anyway." And he stomped away muttering to himself about stupid girls and rotten friends.
Kenshin laughed to himself, Yahiko would learn soon enough. His warm violet eyes turned back towards the two girls who were now setting up talking animatedly and wiping tears off each other's cheeks. "Women," He mused quietly. 'Where would we men be without them?' An unbidden feeling of loneliness coursed through him at that thought. 'We would be alone.' Instinctively his gaze sought out Kaoru's face, and cradled the image of it in his mind. "I do not want to be alone anymore." He whispered to the image of his happiness. "I do not want to be without you ever again, Kaoru."
Then, as though she could feel the intensity of his eyes upon her, Kaoru paused in her conversation with Misao and looked into his face. Shining blue sapphires locked gazes with dark violet amethysts in warm look of longing and need. An energy wave of silent communication flowed freely between them, and she sensed the tiny bud of anxiety in Kenshin's heart. Reaching out with her mind and her heart, Kaoru sent as much love and reassurance to him as she could summon from within herself. She watched as a tender smile crossed Kenshin's face, and then felt herself covered by and filled with an amazing warmth and peace tinged with a sense of hunger that brought both a smile and a blush to her face. Activity continued on around them without stopping, and no one seemed to notice the meaningful look the lovers shared Then Kaoru glanced down shyly, breaking the contact and returned to her conversation with Misao.
Kenshin took a sip of his tea and watched her over the rim of his cup. His mind was wandering into the future about eight or nine hours and thinking about where he wanted to be at that moment in time, and what he wanted to be doing. A very wicked very male smile curled his lips,
and he took another sip of tea.
"Himura-san... Myojin-san has told me you came here looking for me." A gentle, strangely familiar voice at Kenshin's side interrupted his fantasy-musings about his lover, and he turned toward the sound.
"Soujirou... " The young man was standing beside him looking much the same as he had the last time Kenshin had seen him. His brown hair was neatly cropped close to his head, his clothes were the same mix of young gentleman and peasant, and he still held himself straight and proud as a prince. But Kenshin could see a change in the man who had once been known as the 'Tenken'. There was a shimmering and shifting of new and fragile emotions glimmering just beneath the surface of he consciousness. Something that had not been there before.
Soujirou was evolving. He was developing feelings.
Kenshin stood and faced the younger man. He lifted a hand and placed it on Soujirou's shoulder and looked hard into his blue eyes. In them he saw a touch of the old merriment that had been there before, but he could also see surprise, amusement, and...
"Have I upset you by coming here, Soujirou? Do I make you feel uncomfortable?" Kenshin was very concerned by what he had seen in the other mans eyes. "I did not come here to upset you. That I did not."
Soujirou's head dropped in the face of Kenshin's concern. "You have not upset me, Himura-san. It is just that I had hoped to be better prepared the next time I saw you. It seems you have come to me before that could happen." Kenshin felt a shift in Soujirou's ki, and he sensed a profound sadness from him. "I had hoped to be... well, I had hoped I would be more... natural. More like a real person. I wanted to show you that I was trying to find out who I was like you told me to, but you have come too soon. You will be disappointed in me, and I so wanted to make you proud. Truly I did."
"Oh Soujirou, I am proud of you." Kenshin gripped Soujirou's other shoulder and waited for the younger man to look at him. "I am proud of you. Look at what you have done with your life in the last year. You have found a home, people who care about you, and who you have learned to care about. You are learning to live in the real world where emotions exist, you are allowing yours to come to the surface, and you are slowly accepting them."
Soujirou's eyes were filling with rare tears as he listened to Kenshin lay out his personal accomplishments before him. Ever since the day he had lost the last battou-jusu battle to this man, he had done nothing but strive to do what he had told him too. Kenshin had explained that life could not be defined by winning or losing a fight, it was constructed out of experiences, mistakes, and overcoming to learn a personal truth. He had started to understand that as he wandered through
Japan's countryside, but not any more deeply than he had during his months living at the Aoiya. Among these people he had learned unconditional compassion, the incredible sensation of being accepted without reservation despite his past as their enemy, and finally being made part of their family without realizing it had happened until the day he had decided it was time to leave, and it caused such an emotional upheaval he had to stay. Now he stood face to face with the one man he
respected most in the world, and he was telling him he was proud of what he had done with his life. Soujirou felt as if his heart was going to burst with the enormity of the emotions coursing though it at that moment.
"You are truly proud of what I have done, Himura-san? Even though I am still clumsy and unsure, and I do not always know how to act, and I make foolish mistakes??" His quiet cultured voice chocked on a barely suppressed sob.
Soujirou, crying? Kenshin was astounded. "Yes, Soujirou. I am proud even if you still make mistakes. Mistakes help us grow. Without making any mistakes, people would never change or evolve, and no one would have the chance to make amends, ask for forgiveness, or move forward and progress." His voice took on a gentle almost nurturing tone, and he took a step closer to Soujirou. "And for men like you and I, shin-yuu, learning from our mistakes is our only hope for redemption in this life. There is nothing else for us but to ask for the forgiveness of our blood stained guilty souls from those who choose to love us, accept it when it is given, and reach out for whatever happiness is offered to us." Tears started to slide down Soujirou's boyish face as he searched Kenshin's eyes. "You have done well in the time you have had. What more can I ask of you? And what right do I have to demand more of you than your personal evolution will permit through its own time?" He took another step closer to Soujirou and whispered, "I have no right to ask or demand anything of you, Seta Soujirou, and I have no intention of doing so either. All I wish to do is share this with you as your friend, and as a kindred soul who knows and understands the path you are walking and the difficulties you face. I will always be proud of you. Always."
Seta Soujirou, once the feared 'Sword of Heaven', finally gave into the silent tears he was fighting to hold back, and took the last step toward the red haired swordsman he admired so much. He put one arm around Kenshin's shoulders and the other around his back, and then laid his head on the slim shoulder and let the quiet sobs come.
Kenshin held Soujirou against him like a crying child while his broken sobs shook both men with their force.
So many feelings surged through Kenshin as he tried to comfort Soujirou through this raging storm of emotional release. He felt like a Father, a brother, a priest? He could feel a great burgeoning ball of something growing inside of him, and it was getting larger and larger by the second. It was reaching massive proportions, and Kenshin knew it was going to explode. He tightened his embrace around Soujirou and waited.
The explosion brought with it a rush of tears and a deep sense of attachment for the young man crying in his arms. Kenshin knew the only Father figures Soujirou had had in his life had been an abusive uncle and Shishio Makoto. He had never known the love of an older mature male who
He could look up to and respect. As Kenshin buried his tear-wet face against the back of Soujirou's head where it lay exposed on his shoulder, he felt the realization that he wanted to be that man.
Soujirou felt Kenshin press his face into his hair and tighten his arms around him. A moment later he could feel the wetness of Kenshin's tears on the skin of his neck. Then he started to become aware of something else. Something that was like a low vibration or hum that was
beginning to penetrate his body. It felt warm and comforting and he had the uncontrollable urge to burrow his face deeper against Kenshin's shoulder as well as tighten his arms around him.
"Why do you cry? Himura-san?" It was barely a whisper on the breeze.
"You have touched me, Soujirou. You have touched something deep inside of my heart and my soul."
"I... have touched you??" Confusion and incredulity.
"Yes. YOU. You, Seta Soujirou. You are becoming part of my heart just as if.... just as if..." His voice trailed of as a powerful emotion gripped him and a huge lump grew in his throat.
"'Just as if' what? What, Himura-san?" Anxiety.
Kenshin took several deep breaths to calm himself. Then he spoke just for Soujirou. "Just as if you were my own... sotsu." He heard a deep gasp of surprise and...
"Your sotsu?? You would treat me as a son?" Amazement. Hope?
"Yes, if you would allow me too. I would be honored to be a Father to you. That I would, but I would also want to remain your friend. I value as a friend, Soujirou. That I do."
Soujirou pulled back away from Kenshin and looked into his face with wide innocent eyes. "You would be my Otou-san and my shin-yuu?" Vulnerability. Astonishment.
"Yes."
A small but honest smile lit Soujirou's face, and he stepped back two steps. He searched out Kenshin's gaze and held in firmly with his own for a long meaningful moment. Then leaning over from the waist, he bowed very deeply and formally to the red-haired man before him. He held the bow for several long seconds accentuating the amount of respect and honor he felt for and offered to him. As he rose to stand straight, he spoke quietly but clearly and everyone around them listened in stunned silence to what he had to say.
"From this day forward in my life, I would like to officially attach myself both morally and emotionally to the clan of the Onniwabanshu and call my home the Aoiya." He bowed to Aoshi respectfully and received a nod of acceptance from him, one from Misao, one from Okina, and one from each one of the other members. "Now, although my name is Seta Soujirou, and thus it will stay, I wish to relinquish all rights to that name and whatever titles that are attached to it. Further more, I wish to ask Himura Kenshin if he would stand with me as my mentor, friend, and..." he
paused and looked at Kenshin who nodded at him in approval. "And as my Father, for he is the one man I respect and honor most in this world, and he is the only man I am fully able to trust with my life as I am now." Soujirou knelt down on one knee in front of Kenshin and bowed his head
Kenshin stepped to Soujirou and placed both hands on his head working his fingers into the thick brown hair as he bent to look at the man kneeling at his feet. When he spoke, his voice was steady, firm, and filled with certain purpose.
"I hold your head in my hands, Seta Soujirou, and as I do this, I accept you into my soul as my friend and comrade; I accept you as my apprentice in matters of life only; and I accept you into my heart as the boy you were to be my son as you are now. I will always be here for you. I will be your rock to lean upon when you are weary, I will be the shade that comforts you in the blinding heat when your strength has gone, and I will be the water that quenches the thirst of your parched soul when you feel all is lost. My sword will defend you, and I pledge my life to protect you when you are weak. I will keep you safe until my dying breath." He pulled Soujirou's head against his body and held him. "Welcome into my life, my son. Welcome into my heart, my sotsu. Welcome
Home, Soujirou."
************
"Kenshin isn't old enough to be Seta-san's Father, is he Kaoru?"
"No, Yahiko. He's only ten or eleven years older, but that is not the point."
"Point? What 'point' are you talking about? I can't wait to grow-up just so I know what you guys are talking about all the time." An irritated sigh accompanied his words as well as a scowl.
"If you would listen, you could figure a lot of it out by yourself, you dope."
"Hey! I'm not a dope!"
"Fine. How about stupid?'
"Shut-up, Kaoru and just tell me what's going on, OK."
"Alright. No, Kenshin is not old enough to be Seta-san's Father, but the kind and amount of respect he has for Kenshin makes it so that does not matter. Get it?"
"You mean he looks up to Kenshin more than anybody else, so he can look at him as a Father even though he is not that much older than he is?"
"Yes, sort of. It is a little more than that though. There are a lot of feelings between Kenshin and Seta-san besides just respect and honor."
"Feelings? Are you talking about what I think you're talking about? Yahiko looked skeptical.
"That depends. What do you think I'm talking about?" She looked at his face and lifted her eyebrows questioningly.
"Are you telling me they... like love each other or something? I mean... blllechch! That's just wrong... guys don't love each other, Kaoru. At least not grown men."
"Don't they?" Her eyes probed his disgusted face in wonder. "Then I suppose you don't love Kenshin do you. The only reason you wanted to find him so badly was because.... you were afraid you would not get his sakobatou when he quit using it? Or maybe because you were worried
about having to go back to eating my cooking forever? Or maybe it was just because you would be the only man around the dojo for the students to go to for advice, and you didn't want all that responsibility for yourself." She watched his face change from a look of disgust to one of alarmed astonishment.
"I don't suppose you look at Kenshin as anything except a wandering ruroni, an incredible swordsman, a good friend, and maybe your hero. Is that about it, Yahiko? He has never meant anything else to you beside that?" A sidelong glance easily picked up her young deshi's growing
discomfort as everything she was saying started to sink in.
"Well I ... " His brown eyes started to study the toes of his tabi. "I guess I never thought about it like that."
"Like what? Like Kenshin could mean as much to another 'man' in the same way he does to you, and that another man could mean as much to Kenshin as you do?" These words were more gently spoken and Kaoru laid a comforting hand on the boys' hunched shoulder.
"I guess so."
"Did you think you would stop loving Kenshin when you grew up, Yahiko. Would he become less of a father-type figure to you just because you had matured into an adult? Would he mean less to you because of the belief that 'grown men do not love each other'?"
Yahiko's head jerked up, and he stared at Kaoru's face with wide eyes. "No! I've never thought that. Kenshin's been more of a Father to me in the last two years than my own father was in my whole life. He's taught me everything I know that's worth knowing." Yahiko's eyes searched out the red haired swordsman setting across the courtyard with Aoshi and Soujirou. "He's the only one who ever tried to teach me anything about being a man, and yesterday he told me he was proud of the man I was becoming."
"Yahiko, I'm so glad. You mean so much to him, you know."
"Yeah, I guess so." He was looking at his tabi again.
"Do you think you can share him with Seta-san?" It was a very carefully asked question.
"I guess so. Kenshin is a really good guy, and he's always trying to help everybody. If he thinks he can help Seta-san become a better person by being his friend and a father-type thing, then that's what he should do. Besides," He smiled wickedly as Kaoru. "Look what he did for me."
Both burst out laughing.
Across the courtyard Kenshin was watching the exchange going on between his lover and her deshi. "I wonder what is so important that Yahiko would have such a serious look on his face." It was a mental thought that he was unaware he had spoken out loud, until Aoshi offered a reply.
"Perhaps it has something to do with your increasing the size of the Kenshin-gumi. He has been your only ahhh, 'son' for some time now. It must have been quite a surprise for him to watch you bring Seta-san into your life in such a formal and long-term way."
Kenshin's brow wrinkled in concern. "Do you think I have upset him, Aoshi?"
"It is not for me to say, Himura, but I would think from the look of things that your aman is taking care of the matter quite efficiently. I would not trouble yourself with concern over it unless the need arises for such a thing."
Kenshin turned a mildly stunned face in Aoshi's direction. Soujirou quickly hid his smile behind a cup of tea, and dropped his eyes to avoid the look on his adoptive fathers face.
"Did I hear you right, Aoshi?"
"Of course, you did. I told you not to trouble yourself. You have nothing to be concerned about. Everything is well in hand."
"That is not what I was referring to, shin-yuu." His violet eyes were glittering with amused accusation.
"Then I don't understand." Aoshi looked baffled.
"My 'aman'??"
Aoshi was nonplused. "Am I mistaken?" he asked. "I was quite certain earlier when she rushed to your aid after our fusion that your relationship had reached that level." He looked at Soujirou then back at Kenshin even further baffled. "Did I misunderstand?"
Kenshin dropped his chin and laughed in defeat. "No, Aoshi. You were not mistaken."
"Then what is the problem, Himura? I am not following the gist of this conversation."
"Oh Aoshi, sometimes you are naive as a child." Violet eyes danced with mischief. "It was how you said it. So matter of fact and without any meaning or emotion what so ever as if calling Kaoru my lover were a common day occurrence." Soujirou giggled into his tea.
Aoshi sat unmoving lost in deep contemplation of Kenshin's words for many long moments before his eyes cleared and a small smile of understanding curved his thin lips. "Ahh, I think I am seeing what was so... strange about what I said." His eyes dropped and the tiniest of chuckles was heard issuing from his direction. Kenshin and Soujirou shared a shocked look of pure amazement. Aoshi laughing?
"I am sorry, Himura. I truly did not even consider the implications of what I was saying at the time I said it." Jade eyes tinged with mirth met astonished violet. "I did not mean to make offense. I am actually quite pleased you and Kaoru-dono have finally found one another and
admitted your love. Kami knows... it took you long enough."
Soujirou could not stand it any longer and burst into a full-fledged belly laugh that had him rolling on the ground. It was not long until everyone inside the Aoiya was laughing with him.
It had turned out to be a very good day after all.
This chapter heralds the beginning of my free libertarian uses of the Ruroni characters as I saw fit to make my fiction what I wanted it to be. There are a lot of surprises coming up, and I hope sincerely that no one gets too upset or blown away. A lot of thought and emotion went into these unique relationships, and the people the characters have eventually evolved into being have grown to mean a great deal to me. In short, they are all very close to my heart. I hope they will become close to yours as well.
I truly wish and desire that everyone will enjoy what I have done with these extraordinary characters... just remember, keep an open mind, and hang on for what I hope will be a great ride into a whole new world of strange and bizarre things.
Sincerely, Tsuki-san
****Glossary Update****11-20-03***I have recently discovered that a couple of my word translations were not exactly right. So, Instead of going all the way back to chapter five and having to re-edit chapters 5-7 completely (cause they aren't on the puter anymore) I am changing the words from this chapter forward. They are set apart by Captical text in each glossary so you know which ones they are. Tsuki
Glossary: Sho-ji=outside door, Engowa=veranda, Shin-yuu=friend, AMAN=lover, Koishii=dear or darling, Busu=ugly woman, Sensei=teacher, Sotsu=son, OTOU=father
Chapter Eight
Old friends and Kindred Hearts
It was not really a long walk to the Aoiya, but the distance took its toll on Kenshin's energy stores and he was forced to take several short rest periods before they reached the front shoji. All of the repairs from the fight with the Juppon Gatana were finally finished, and there was hardly any way to tell it had ever been demolished.
"Wow, it looks really good again." Yahiko exclaimed as he examined the new shoji and outer walls. "They really did a good job. You can't even tell it's not the old original wall and stuff."
Kenshin and Kaoru smiled indulgently at the younger mans astonished observations and looks of surprise. "That's how its supposed to look, Yahiko." Kaoru told him laughingly. "You wouldn't want a sloppy repair that made everything look bad would you?" Kenshin laughed softly
as he laid a tired arm across her shoulders and pulled her next to his side.
He had ended up needing to lean more heavily on her than he thought he would have to, but she had not said a word. She had just put a steadying arm around his waist, shoved her shoulder into his armpit, and helped him carry his weight with her strength while making it look like nothing more than two people strolling down the street with their arms around each other. The carefully orchestrated support hold had given him the steadying crutch he needed to continue walking, and it had protected his honor and dignity as a man as well. He knew Kaoru had done it like that on purpose to spare him any embarrassment because of his weakened condition, and he loved her for that. She understood a great deal about a man's dignity, and he was forever grateful.
Yahiko gave Kaoru a sour look and pulled the string next to the doors ringing the cluster of little bells that announced to the occupants of the Aoiya that they had guests, and then stepped back to wait patiently with his older companions. After only a few short moments, they heard the soft shuffle of sandals moving along the inside engowa. The shoji opened and revealed the bright surprised face of Okon-dono.
"Kaoru-dono! Yahiko! Himura-san! Oh my goodness, how wonderful to see you." Okon jumped up and down clapping her hands in delight. "Please come in. Oh please come in."
As they entered the courtyard of the Aoiya, Okon proceeded to hug them all and continue in her happy welcome. It had always been a pleasure to come here for the Kenshin-gumi. This was another home for them.
"Thank-you, Okon-dono." Kenshin smiled warmly at the woman, and bowed respectfully. "It is also very good to see you. I hope we are not intruding by not sending word before we arrived."
"No, no, of course not. You know you are always welcome here. For heavens sake, your part of our family." She beamed at him in honest acceptance. "We are always glad to see you whenever you and yours can come."
Kenshin and Kaoru exchanged relieved glance and shared a sigh of relief. "We were very much hoping we would not be causing trouble to you. It is just..." Kenshin's voice trailed as he tried to think of the best way to say what he wanted to.
"What is it, Himura-san? Do you wish to see Aoshi-san? He is just over here in one of the day rooms. Come with me, and I will take you there."
Before Kenshin could answer, Okon was shuffling away with the intent of leading them to Aoshi. He shared an amused look with his companions, and the three obediently followed her along the engowa until she stopped in front of a closed door. She knocked and waited for an answer. A
muffled voice indicated she could enter, and she slipped though the fusuma closing it behind her. Kenshin listened to the sounds of Okon and Aoshi talking and tried to imagine how his former enemy turned ally would receive him. Their relationship had remained cool and distant despite
Aoshi's spiritual reformation and the firm alliance formed between the Onniwabanshu and the Kenshin-gumi. He knew nothing could ever be truly judged among friends, even reluctant ones so he stood patiently with his hands folded in front of his abdomen and waited.
The fusuma slid open revealing the emotionless face of Shinomori Aoshi. He was dressed in a long yukata that was usually worn for meditation in the Temple, and it seemed to Kenshin they had interrupted him in the middle of something.
"Forgive me, Aoshi." Kenshin bowed deeply in a formal apology. "Okon-dono did not tell me you were meditating. Please, return to your solitude, and I will not disturb you again." He offered another deep bow of respect then turned to leave.
"I was not meditating, Himura, and you have not disturbed me."
Kenshin turned back to face Aoshi and stood patiently waiting for the other man to continue.
"I am pleasantly surprised to see you here, as well as Kamiya-dono and her young deshi. Please, come in and join me for some tea." He stood to one side and generously waved them inside.
The three friends shared surprised, if not shocked, looks before they bowed in acceptance of Aoshi's out of character invitation and entered the room. Okon provided each of them with a cushion to kneel on then left to bring more tea and teacups.
"Thank-you, Aoshi. I realize we are here without sending any prior word of our coming. I do sincerely hope we are not causing an imposition." Once again Kenshin inclined his head to the serious faced ninja. "I did not intend to cause such a raucous. Truly I did not."
"Be at ease, Himura. You have caused no problems or impositions to us." Aoshi offered a formal bow to Kenshin, which left the swordsman in even deeper shock. "As I said, I am pleased to see you and your company, and I know Misao will be ecstatic. So rest your mind and your heart and
know you are welcome here." Aoshi folded his hands serenely in his lap. It was difficult for all three of the others to get used to him like this. "But I must admit a great curiosity as to what has brought you here unannounced, and in such an obvious state of such... debilitation."
Kenshin let Aoshi's last statement sink into his mind and his heart and felt a finger of unsettling vulnerability cover him. "Is it really that obvious?"
"Not to those who do not know you, but I could feel your impairment long before Okon knocked on the fusuma." His voice was not condescending, nor did it pity. It was laced equally with concern and curiosity. "You are not well enough to have walked the distance you came. It was a foolish choice, shin-yuu." Jade green eyes rose to meet surprised amethyst. "As your friend, I am bound to caution you to be more careful with your life."
Kenshin could only nod as he found himself unable to speak for the lump that rose in his throat. Shinomori Aoshi was concerned for his health, for his life. He had called Kenshin shin-yuu, his friend, and that knowledge was having a profound affect on him both emotionally and
spiritually. His frail spirit-ki cried inside his soul as he felt the accepting touch of Aoshi's much stronger and healthier one. It was like being touched by the icy waters of a high flowing mountain stream only it held an enormous amount of life power and spiritual energy. Kenshin began to shiver in response.
"To heal such a damaged ki will take much energy and much time, Himura. It would be to your benefit if you were too humble your dignity and accept assistance from those in a position to help you."
Kenshin gazed into Aoshi's eyes in puzzlement, unsure what the serious minded ninja was referring to, and then something cold slid up the contours of his spine like the intimate touch of a lovers hand trailing ice along his shivering flesh.. The sensation was both burning hot and icy cold as it slithered over his spine upwards to the back of his neck and touched the base of his skull.
"Take what is offered, shin-yuu. For it is freely given with the clear purity of a new and restored spirit. Open your frightened heart and let this part of my spirit-ki join with yours. Let its energy
help in renewing and healing the terrible damage yours has suffered." Aoshi's voice was low and had a soothing affect on Kenshin causing him to relax and become pliant and receptive to energy wave of Aoshi's ki. His level of concentration deepened and he held Kenshin's gaze firmly within
His own and spoke clearly. "Take it, my friend. It is my gift to you for saving my soul from a life consumed with hatred and misery. Take it and become stronger within your own self. Take it and become my brother among the waters of life, Come with me, shin-yuu. Come into the waters and feel the power of the white light."
All at once Kenshin was thrown backwards by a some unseen force of tremendous power, but it also held him in a cradling embrace so that only his head and shoulders fell. His eyes were staring, wide open orbs of brilliant violet and gold that saw nothing as his body hung limply in the
air. A soft white light began to glow around him and then it rose to completely illuminate him.
Aoshi's spiritual energy was entering Kenshin's body and the two men were beginning to fuse together.
Kenshin's mouth opened and formed a perfect O as the sensation of becoming two surged through his mind and soul. The feeling of Aoshi sitting inside his body with him was incredible and profoundly humbling. He could feel the powerful fury of great rivers and oceans rushing through his mind and spirit as the entity that was Aoshi shaped and shifted itself to fit with Kenshin's damaged ki.
Kenshin was amazed and mesmerized as he gazed with his new eyes at the endless beauties and possibilities within the infinity that was the joined mind of the Aoshi-Kenshin spirit fusion. Their thoughts and feelings were one and thus became known to each other in that instant of time, and Kenshin knew Aoshi in a way no one else ever could. He saw Aoshi's thoughts, Aoshi's regrets, Aoshi's dreams, Aoshi's feelings, and Aoshi's loves.... Then in the next split moment of time, the two joined spirits, yet separate entities that were Kenshin and Aoshi, surged together and became One. One heart, One spirit, One soul, and then a tremendous explosion of blinding white light burst inside Kenshin's mind and he collapsed onto the floor without a single sound. Across from him, Aoshi slumped over in severe exhaustion, but remained conscious.
Kaoru was not quite sure what had just happened between the two men, but the waves of spirit-ki energy that had filled the room had thrown her and Yahiko back against the walls. She struggled to sit up, hands holding her head where it had banged into one of the wooden braces. That was when she saw Kenshin, and she forgot all about her aching head.
Kaoru slid swiftly across the smooth wood of the floor until she reached Kenshin's side. She gently brushed some of his hair out of his face and tuned his head so she could look at him.
"Kenshin...?" She cupped his face in both of her hands and leaned down closer to him. "Kenshin, are you alright? Koishii, can you hear me?"
Aoshi pushed himself back up and took careful notice of the voice of concern and actions of Kaoru as she knelt over Kenshin's still form. 'They are aman.' He whispered to himself and smiled inwardly. Finally, two of the strongest willed people he had ever met had crossed the emotional battlefield and admitted their love for one another. 'Lovers,' he thought. 'She is calling him 'dear' they must be lovers. I am glad. Himura deserves some happiness and peace, and Kamiya-dono is a strong and beautiful woman'. Suddenly he found himself wishing... wishing he could... he pushed the thoughts away violently reminding himself of his vow. 'Never will I,' he scourged his heart and mind. 'Never will I. For I am not worthy of such things and my peace will be found in solitude.' He watched as the boy stirred in the corner moaning as he discovered a few bruises left from his experience. Aoshi smiled ever so slightly.
Kaoru stroked Kenshin's pale cheek with a gentle hand. She was not really worried about him being hurt; it was just that he had already been through so much. A low moan rose from his mouth, and he started to move. Rolling onto his back, Kenshin sat up slowly with Kaoru's firm assistance. A trembling hand rose to cover his eyes while he got his bearings and waited for the world to stop spinning. Kaoru wrapped her arm protectively around his shoulders and pulled him close to her side. "Are you alright?" She asked him quietly.
"Yes, I think so." was his shaky reply. Disoriented violet eyes searched out Kaoru's face for reassurance, and she smiled at him and squeezed him with encouragement. "I feel very... strange." He admitted with a weak half smile. Then he turned to face Aoshi, his face filled with deep respect and gratitude, as well as uncertainty. "Why did you do that?"
"Because you needed me to." Was the simply stated answer.
Kenshin's head dropped as he considered Aoshi's reasoning, then he responded. "I understand your reason, but I do not understand your motive. Why do you help me, Aoshi?"
"Because you go to face something terrible, Himura, and you cannot do it as you are now."
Kenshin's head shot up and his eyes burned into Aoshi's. "How do you know that?"
Aoshi cocked his head to one side as he considered the surprised face of the red haired man sitting across from him. "Because you have no shield to protect your soul or your feelings. You are naked, Himura. I can see everything that is pressing on your heart and causing you sorrow."
Kenshin's face showed his despair. "I had no idea I was so impaired as that."
"Perhaps not to all of those around you, but I can see more deeply than most. It is one of my most well developed skills... remember."
"True, but it does not change the fact that you now know I am not much more than a wraith of my former self. I am... diminished."
"You must not consider yourself in such a way, shin-yuu. If you do, the healing process of your ki will be greatly impeded, and you will continue to put yourself... and the ones you love in danger." He met Kenshin's startled gaze steadily. "You are still responsible for the protection of many lives, Himura. If you allow your confidence in yourself to falter, you will fail in that responsibility as well as lose your own life."
Kaoru's eyes rose to meet Aoshi's firm gaze. "What are you trying to say, Aoshi? That if Kenshin doubts himself even a little, we could all die?"
"Yes." The answer was as emotionless as his face.
"How can you say that? You don't even know what is going on." Kaoru felt an arrow of alarm pierce her heart as she tried not to think about what Aoshi was insinuating.
"No, you are right. I do not know what is going on, but let me tell you what I do know, Kaoru-dono. I know that Himura has been through an experience that striped him of his spirit-ki. A ki of such strength and will that he has been able to overcome more obstacles of the soul than any other man I have known." His jade eyes glittered with intense feeling as he continued. "I know that he has seen something of such horror it has left a wound upon his heart that may never heal, and it has
caused him to lose his confidence and self-resolve. And I know that if he is to face it again without his spirit-ki and self assurance fully restored, he will not have the strength of will to protect any of you, or
save himself. That is what I know, Kaoru-dono." His gaze shifted to Kenshin's resigned visage. "He knows this too."
Kaoru turned her uncertain eyes to her beloveds face, and found him looking at a spot on the wall, his eyes reflecting the uncertainty and vulnerability within his soul that Aoshi had just described to her. "Kenshin..?" She searched his profile for reassurance desperately wanting to hear that none of it was true. That he was just as strong within himself as he had always been, but...
"It is true, Kaoru. Aoshi is right." He refused to meet her eyes. "I have lost my self resolve and confidence. I do not have the strength to protect you right now." Violet eyes dropped in shame. "I am not only naked, but I am also only a shell... I am a disgrace to myself... And to you."
"Stop it!" She shook him hard. "Stop it right now! I won't hear any more of this kind of talk from you. Do you hear me?" She shook him again until he met her eyes. "No more. If your ki is that badly damaged, then we will do whatever we have to to fix it and to fix you. Are you listening to me you stubborn ruroni?" Her voice was as fierce as the look on her face as she glared into his shocked eyes. "That is why I am here with you, to help you, but I will be damned if I am listening to one more minute of this self depreciating bullshit from YOU!"
"Kaoru," his gentle voice admonished her. "I thought we had discussed your language problem already." When she gave him an outraged look of complete disbelief, he offered her a tired half smile and pressed his forehead against hers. "You really should learn more restraint when your angry, my love." A low chuckle of resignation rose from his chest and he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him so he could bury his face in the curve of her shoulder. "All right, you
win koishii. You win. No more self-depreciation. If you believe we can fix me together, then I have to believe you. After all, you are 'Kaoru'." A cascade of giggles erupted from her as she nuzzled her face against his throat and looped both her arms around his shoulders.
"Yes, I am, and don't you forget it."
"Geez," Yahiko's condescending voice floated over from the corner. "They are at it again. What is it with grown-ups and this love thing? All they want to do is hang all over on each other and kiss all the time. I don't get it. Who wants to kiss a busu anyway?"
"YAHIKO!!" Kaoru started to pull away from Kenshin with the intent of pounding her deshi into the floor, but Kenshin held onto her and motioned swiftly for Yahiko to make a quit exit while he had the chance. The younger man, seeing how angry his sensei was, decided it was in his
best interest to make himself scarce and bolted out the door.
"Chicken!" Kaoru shouted after his fleeing form. "I'll get you later!" Rotten brat!
"Let him go, Kaoru. He is just a boy after all." Kenshin pressed a soft kiss against her flushed cheek. "You should not let him upset you so." he was trying to reason with her, and smother his amusement at the same time.
"A boy?? Are you insane, Kenshin? He's pure monster from his head to his toes. Pure unmitigated monster." Kenshin and Aoshi shared a brief understanding look as Kaoru continued to shoot daggers in the direction Yahiko had disappeared in. Some things would never change.
******************
Seta Soujiro and Makimachi Misao were walking back to the Aoiya after going to the market for rice and tofu when they bumped into a running Yahiko. Literally. Both landed in undignified heaps on the ground.
"Hey, watch out where you're going you stupid girl!"
"Why don't you watch where you're going you scrawny brat!?"
And as they exchanged heated insults they turned to look at each other as a state of de-ja-vu hit them both at the same time.
"Yahiko!"
"Misao!"
The two friends were suddenly laughing and talking about how funny the whole situation was, and how they just seemed to keep 'bumping' into each other.
"Hey, what are you doing in Kyoto? I didn't know you were coming? Who came with you? Did Kaoru come? Where are you staying?"
"Geez," Yahiko sighed in disbelief. "Girls." Taking a deep breath, he met Misoa's blue eyes and started to tell her why they were in Kyoto.
"Wow," her voice was filled with shock. "Is Himura going to be alright? I mean, is he getting better and all? I can't imagine him like that. I mean sick and weakened. It just doesn't fit his image, you know."
"Yeah, he's really skinny and white, but you know Kenshin. He can do anything." Yahiko's face beamed with pride as he spoke the last words. His belief in Kenshin was unconditional, and his loyalty unwavering.
"I hope you're right." Misao looked out across the dusty street thoughtfully. "You say they're both at the Aoiya right now? Himura and Kaoru?"
"Uh-huh. Kenshin wanted to come for one big reason."
"Oh," Misao looked at him in frank curiosity. "What would that be?"
"The Tenken. I told him about you guys finding him and how he's living with you now, and all of a sudden he wanted to come and see him right away. It was kinda weird."
"He... he wants to see me?" The soft precise voice behind Yahiko caused him to and screeches in fright. He had not known anyone was there. Quickly turning around, he came face to face with Seta Squire, the Tenkin. The swordsman that had broken Kenshin's original sakobatou.
"Whooaa... ahhh... hello." Yahiko was stammering as he looked into the young almost feminine features of the man who had been considered one of the most dangerous and skillful assassins in Japan. He did not look much taller than Kenshin, and certainly no more intimidating. If this was the
infamous Tenken, then Yahiko almost felt disappointed.
"Are you Seta Soujiro?"
"Yes. That is my name." A bright merry smile lit up the mans face and made his deep blue eyes dance. "Who are you?"
"Oh I'm sorry, Sou-sen." Misao rushed to make the proper introductions. "This is Myojin Yahiko. He's part of Kenshin's group. He's a friend."
"I see. I am very glad to meet you, Myojin-san." The unobtrusive looking young man with short cut brown hair and blue eyes bowed in formal greeting to Yahiko, who could do nothing but stare with amazement. Soujiro rose and looked into Yahiko's stunned face and smiled again.
"What is wrong, Myojin-san? I am not what you expected?" Girlish laughter bubbled over his full lips and he bowed again. "Do not be alarmed or embarrassed. I have never appeared to be what others thought I would be. That was one of the reasons I was such a good assassin." At the deepened look of shock on the boys face, Soujiro elaborated with much amusement. "Well, do I look like a cold blooded murderer to you?"
Yahiko was taken off guard by the flippant question and found himself looking the Tenken over head to toe. "Well," his head dipped to one side. "Actually, no you don't. You look more like one of those pretty boys who walk the down side streets in Tokoyo."
"Yahiko!!!" Misao's hand whacked him hard in the back of the head sending him reeling into the dirt. "That was a lousy thing to say to Sou-sen. You apologize right now or I'm gonna... "
"No, it is alright Misao." Soujiro was laughing as he helped Yahiko to his feet. "To tell the truth, that happens to be one of the identities I used to assumed when I wanted to wander the streets
without being noticed. It worked very well for me... obviously." He was brushing the dirt off Yahiko's hakima while he laughed. "It was a fine observation, Myojin-san." When brown eyes finally met dancing blue ones, Yahiko felt the last of his trepidations evaporate about this odd man,
and he began to laugh too.
"I'm sorry, Seta-san. That really wasn't very nice of me considering I just met you. I am sorry." Yahiko bowed in apology to Soujiro even though he was still sniggering. "Kenshin told me I should be respectful of you, and I really haven't been. Please forgive me. I will try and remember who you are from now on."
"Who I am?" Soujiro's facial expression barely registered his confusion. "Who am I, Myojin-san?"
Yahiko glanced at the other man feeling a little bit of anxiety squeeze his heart. "You're a great swordsman, Seta-san. Y-you almost beat Kenshin in battou-jusu, and you broke his old reverse blade sword." he looked at Misao for reassurance. "You're one of the finest and most
gifted swordsmen to ever hold a blade."
"Is that what I am?" The voice dropped to a mere whisper as Soujiro dropped his gazes and looked at the ground. "We should be getting back to the Aoiya now. Aoshi-san will be wondering what has taken us so long. Come." He walked away from a confused Yahiko and a worried Misao.
"What did I say? Misao?" Yahiko looked at Misao in abject confusion. "What did I say?"
"I'm not sure, Yahiko. But whatever it was, it struck him deeply. Very deeply."
"I'm sorry, Misao. I didn't mean to do anything wrong. I really didn't."
"You didn't. I think you just may have reminded him of something he hasn't thought of for quite a long time."
"What's that?"
"Holding his sword."
"What??"
"He hasn't touched a sword since the day Himura defeated him at Shishio's compound. He can talk about those days as long as they stay in the past, but he has not identified himself with the 'Sword of Heaven' for a very long time."
"'The Sword of Heaven'?"
"That's what Tenken stands for. 'The Sword of Heaven'. There is a lot about Sets-san's past we don't understand just like Himura's past as the Battousai. Memories and guilt that they will never share or speak of to anyone. Seta-san is trying to find himself now, like Himura did when he was wandering all those years, and being reminded of who he was and what that person stood for must feel very strange to him right now."
"Wow, I really feel like a jerk."
"Don't. You didn't know. Seta-san won't hold it against you. He's not like that. He's not like that at all."
"He's really weird, Misao. He's not like a murderer at all."
"Neither is Himura, is he Yahiko. What is a murderer like? Do any of us really know?"
This perspective gave the young apprentice pause to consider the many people he knew, and how many of them he knew had killed people whether in self-defense or for other reasons. He realized Misao was right. Did any of them really know what or who a murderer was? Kenshin had killed hundreds of men during the Bakomatsu, most of them in cold-blooded assassinations, yet did Yahiko look at him as a murderer? Migumi had made opium that was sold on the streets to teenagers and kids, and a lot of them died from overdoses. Was she a murderer because she made the
drug even though she didn't sell it? Even the members of the Onniwabanshu had killed. All of these people meant something to him in his life. Did he look at them as murderers? A strange understanding came to Yahiko in those few moments. There was very little difference between
Kenshin and Seta-san. The only real one was that Yahiko had met Kenshin as a ruroni after his days of being an assassin, and Seta-san had come into his life while still living and working as one.
"You are right, Misao. What do any of us really know about murderers and killers?" His eyes followed the retreating back of Seta Soujiro with sadness. "We don't know anything." And he picked his feet up to follow the other man through the dirty streets as they wound their way back to the Aoiya.
************
Kenshin, Kaoru, and Aoshi were finally relaxing and enjoying the tea Okon had promised them when they first arrived. They were no longer setting inside, but had chosen a shaded grassy place in the courtyard where they could enjoy the cool breeze and the late morning sun. Kenshin
was showing noticeable signs of an improved countenance. His eyes were brighter, his skin was showing a touch of pink color instead of the unhealthy pale it had been for so long, and his spirits seemed to be lighter and more carefree as he sat conversing openly with several members of the Onniwabanshu including the old man, Okina.
The front shoji suddenly burst open and a wildly excited Misao charged through them squealing out in pure delight as she ran across the yard to throw herself into Kaoru's arms.
"KAORU!!!" The two girls went rolling backwards across the grass arms, legs, and feet's flying amidst a cacophony of giggles and screams.
"I told you Misao would be ecstatic." Aoshi's voice was a failed attempt at being bland as an unmistakable note of affection wove its way into his words..
"Yes, so I see." Kenshin replied with an amused smile. "I hope Kaoru had finished chewing her sandwich before Misao got to her. That I do." Several good-natured chuckles and laughs passed through the group as everyone watched the spectacle the two girls made as they hugged and cried over each other.
"Girls." Yahiko's derisive voice reached Kenshin's ears and he turned to see the young man walking across the yard with a disgusted look on his face. Kenshin laughed and gave Yahiko a knowing and indulgent smile. "You may not think it is so bad one day, you know."
"Blahhhk... they always act so silly and stupid. I don't know how you can stand it."
"I suppose you feel the same way about Tsubame. Yes?" Kenshin cast a meaningful glance at the now furiously blushing boy.
"Shut-up! I don't know what you're talking about. Besides, she never acts that way anyway." And he stomped away muttering to himself about stupid girls and rotten friends.
Kenshin laughed to himself, Yahiko would learn soon enough. His warm violet eyes turned back towards the two girls who were now setting up talking animatedly and wiping tears off each other's cheeks. "Women," He mused quietly. 'Where would we men be without them?' An unbidden feeling of loneliness coursed through him at that thought. 'We would be alone.' Instinctively his gaze sought out Kaoru's face, and cradled the image of it in his mind. "I do not want to be alone anymore." He whispered to the image of his happiness. "I do not want to be without you ever again, Kaoru."
Then, as though she could feel the intensity of his eyes upon her, Kaoru paused in her conversation with Misao and looked into his face. Shining blue sapphires locked gazes with dark violet amethysts in warm look of longing and need. An energy wave of silent communication flowed freely between them, and she sensed the tiny bud of anxiety in Kenshin's heart. Reaching out with her mind and her heart, Kaoru sent as much love and reassurance to him as she could summon from within herself. She watched as a tender smile crossed Kenshin's face, and then felt herself covered by and filled with an amazing warmth and peace tinged with a sense of hunger that brought both a smile and a blush to her face. Activity continued on around them without stopping, and no one seemed to notice the meaningful look the lovers shared Then Kaoru glanced down shyly, breaking the contact and returned to her conversation with Misao.
Kenshin took a sip of his tea and watched her over the rim of his cup. His mind was wandering into the future about eight or nine hours and thinking about where he wanted to be at that moment in time, and what he wanted to be doing. A very wicked very male smile curled his lips,
and he took another sip of tea.
"Himura-san... Myojin-san has told me you came here looking for me." A gentle, strangely familiar voice at Kenshin's side interrupted his fantasy-musings about his lover, and he turned toward the sound.
"Soujirou... " The young man was standing beside him looking much the same as he had the last time Kenshin had seen him. His brown hair was neatly cropped close to his head, his clothes were the same mix of young gentleman and peasant, and he still held himself straight and proud as a prince. But Kenshin could see a change in the man who had once been known as the 'Tenken'. There was a shimmering and shifting of new and fragile emotions glimmering just beneath the surface of he consciousness. Something that had not been there before.
Soujirou was evolving. He was developing feelings.
Kenshin stood and faced the younger man. He lifted a hand and placed it on Soujirou's shoulder and looked hard into his blue eyes. In them he saw a touch of the old merriment that had been there before, but he could also see surprise, amusement, and...
"Have I upset you by coming here, Soujirou? Do I make you feel uncomfortable?" Kenshin was very concerned by what he had seen in the other mans eyes. "I did not come here to upset you. That I did not."
Soujirou's head dropped in the face of Kenshin's concern. "You have not upset me, Himura-san. It is just that I had hoped to be better prepared the next time I saw you. It seems you have come to me before that could happen." Kenshin felt a shift in Soujirou's ki, and he sensed a profound sadness from him. "I had hoped to be... well, I had hoped I would be more... natural. More like a real person. I wanted to show you that I was trying to find out who I was like you told me to, but you have come too soon. You will be disappointed in me, and I so wanted to make you proud. Truly I did."
"Oh Soujirou, I am proud of you." Kenshin gripped Soujirou's other shoulder and waited for the younger man to look at him. "I am proud of you. Look at what you have done with your life in the last year. You have found a home, people who care about you, and who you have learned to care about. You are learning to live in the real world where emotions exist, you are allowing yours to come to the surface, and you are slowly accepting them."
Soujirou's eyes were filling with rare tears as he listened to Kenshin lay out his personal accomplishments before him. Ever since the day he had lost the last battou-jusu battle to this man, he had done nothing but strive to do what he had told him too. Kenshin had explained that life could not be defined by winning or losing a fight, it was constructed out of experiences, mistakes, and overcoming to learn a personal truth. He had started to understand that as he wandered through
Japan's countryside, but not any more deeply than he had during his months living at the Aoiya. Among these people he had learned unconditional compassion, the incredible sensation of being accepted without reservation despite his past as their enemy, and finally being made part of their family without realizing it had happened until the day he had decided it was time to leave, and it caused such an emotional upheaval he had to stay. Now he stood face to face with the one man he
respected most in the world, and he was telling him he was proud of what he had done with his life. Soujirou felt as if his heart was going to burst with the enormity of the emotions coursing though it at that moment.
"You are truly proud of what I have done, Himura-san? Even though I am still clumsy and unsure, and I do not always know how to act, and I make foolish mistakes??" His quiet cultured voice chocked on a barely suppressed sob.
Soujirou, crying? Kenshin was astounded. "Yes, Soujirou. I am proud even if you still make mistakes. Mistakes help us grow. Without making any mistakes, people would never change or evolve, and no one would have the chance to make amends, ask for forgiveness, or move forward and progress." His voice took on a gentle almost nurturing tone, and he took a step closer to Soujirou. "And for men like you and I, shin-yuu, learning from our mistakes is our only hope for redemption in this life. There is nothing else for us but to ask for the forgiveness of our blood stained guilty souls from those who choose to love us, accept it when it is given, and reach out for whatever happiness is offered to us." Tears started to slide down Soujirou's boyish face as he searched Kenshin's eyes. "You have done well in the time you have had. What more can I ask of you? And what right do I have to demand more of you than your personal evolution will permit through its own time?" He took another step closer to Soujirou and whispered, "I have no right to ask or demand anything of you, Seta Soujirou, and I have no intention of doing so either. All I wish to do is share this with you as your friend, and as a kindred soul who knows and understands the path you are walking and the difficulties you face. I will always be proud of you. Always."
Seta Soujirou, once the feared 'Sword of Heaven', finally gave into the silent tears he was fighting to hold back, and took the last step toward the red haired swordsman he admired so much. He put one arm around Kenshin's shoulders and the other around his back, and then laid his head on the slim shoulder and let the quiet sobs come.
Kenshin held Soujirou against him like a crying child while his broken sobs shook both men with their force.
So many feelings surged through Kenshin as he tried to comfort Soujirou through this raging storm of emotional release. He felt like a Father, a brother, a priest? He could feel a great burgeoning ball of something growing inside of him, and it was getting larger and larger by the second. It was reaching massive proportions, and Kenshin knew it was going to explode. He tightened his embrace around Soujirou and waited.
The explosion brought with it a rush of tears and a deep sense of attachment for the young man crying in his arms. Kenshin knew the only Father figures Soujirou had had in his life had been an abusive uncle and Shishio Makoto. He had never known the love of an older mature male who
He could look up to and respect. As Kenshin buried his tear-wet face against the back of Soujirou's head where it lay exposed on his shoulder, he felt the realization that he wanted to be that man.
Soujirou felt Kenshin press his face into his hair and tighten his arms around him. A moment later he could feel the wetness of Kenshin's tears on the skin of his neck. Then he started to become aware of something else. Something that was like a low vibration or hum that was
beginning to penetrate his body. It felt warm and comforting and he had the uncontrollable urge to burrow his face deeper against Kenshin's shoulder as well as tighten his arms around him.
"Why do you cry? Himura-san?" It was barely a whisper on the breeze.
"You have touched me, Soujirou. You have touched something deep inside of my heart and my soul."
"I... have touched you??" Confusion and incredulity.
"Yes. YOU. You, Seta Soujirou. You are becoming part of my heart just as if.... just as if..." His voice trailed of as a powerful emotion gripped him and a huge lump grew in his throat.
"'Just as if' what? What, Himura-san?" Anxiety.
Kenshin took several deep breaths to calm himself. Then he spoke just for Soujirou. "Just as if you were my own... sotsu." He heard a deep gasp of surprise and...
"Your sotsu?? You would treat me as a son?" Amazement. Hope?
"Yes, if you would allow me too. I would be honored to be a Father to you. That I would, but I would also want to remain your friend. I value as a friend, Soujirou. That I do."
Soujirou pulled back away from Kenshin and looked into his face with wide innocent eyes. "You would be my Otou-san and my shin-yuu?" Vulnerability. Astonishment.
"Yes."
A small but honest smile lit Soujirou's face, and he stepped back two steps. He searched out Kenshin's gaze and held in firmly with his own for a long meaningful moment. Then leaning over from the waist, he bowed very deeply and formally to the red-haired man before him. He held the bow for several long seconds accentuating the amount of respect and honor he felt for and offered to him. As he rose to stand straight, he spoke quietly but clearly and everyone around them listened in stunned silence to what he had to say.
"From this day forward in my life, I would like to officially attach myself both morally and emotionally to the clan of the Onniwabanshu and call my home the Aoiya." He bowed to Aoshi respectfully and received a nod of acceptance from him, one from Misao, one from Okina, and one from each one of the other members. "Now, although my name is Seta Soujirou, and thus it will stay, I wish to relinquish all rights to that name and whatever titles that are attached to it. Further more, I wish to ask Himura Kenshin if he would stand with me as my mentor, friend, and..." he
paused and looked at Kenshin who nodded at him in approval. "And as my Father, for he is the one man I respect and honor most in this world, and he is the only man I am fully able to trust with my life as I am now." Soujirou knelt down on one knee in front of Kenshin and bowed his head
Kenshin stepped to Soujirou and placed both hands on his head working his fingers into the thick brown hair as he bent to look at the man kneeling at his feet. When he spoke, his voice was steady, firm, and filled with certain purpose.
"I hold your head in my hands, Seta Soujirou, and as I do this, I accept you into my soul as my friend and comrade; I accept you as my apprentice in matters of life only; and I accept you into my heart as the boy you were to be my son as you are now. I will always be here for you. I will be your rock to lean upon when you are weary, I will be the shade that comforts you in the blinding heat when your strength has gone, and I will be the water that quenches the thirst of your parched soul when you feel all is lost. My sword will defend you, and I pledge my life to protect you when you are weak. I will keep you safe until my dying breath." He pulled Soujirou's head against his body and held him. "Welcome into my life, my son. Welcome into my heart, my sotsu. Welcome
Home, Soujirou."
************
"Kenshin isn't old enough to be Seta-san's Father, is he Kaoru?"
"No, Yahiko. He's only ten or eleven years older, but that is not the point."
"Point? What 'point' are you talking about? I can't wait to grow-up just so I know what you guys are talking about all the time." An irritated sigh accompanied his words as well as a scowl.
"If you would listen, you could figure a lot of it out by yourself, you dope."
"Hey! I'm not a dope!"
"Fine. How about stupid?'
"Shut-up, Kaoru and just tell me what's going on, OK."
"Alright. No, Kenshin is not old enough to be Seta-san's Father, but the kind and amount of respect he has for Kenshin makes it so that does not matter. Get it?"
"You mean he looks up to Kenshin more than anybody else, so he can look at him as a Father even though he is not that much older than he is?"
"Yes, sort of. It is a little more than that though. There are a lot of feelings between Kenshin and Seta-san besides just respect and honor."
"Feelings? Are you talking about what I think you're talking about? Yahiko looked skeptical.
"That depends. What do you think I'm talking about?" She looked at his face and lifted her eyebrows questioningly.
"Are you telling me they... like love each other or something? I mean... blllechch! That's just wrong... guys don't love each other, Kaoru. At least not grown men."
"Don't they?" Her eyes probed his disgusted face in wonder. "Then I suppose you don't love Kenshin do you. The only reason you wanted to find him so badly was because.... you were afraid you would not get his sakobatou when he quit using it? Or maybe because you were worried
about having to go back to eating my cooking forever? Or maybe it was just because you would be the only man around the dojo for the students to go to for advice, and you didn't want all that responsibility for yourself." She watched his face change from a look of disgust to one of alarmed astonishment.
"I don't suppose you look at Kenshin as anything except a wandering ruroni, an incredible swordsman, a good friend, and maybe your hero. Is that about it, Yahiko? He has never meant anything else to you beside that?" A sidelong glance easily picked up her young deshi's growing
discomfort as everything she was saying started to sink in.
"Well I ... " His brown eyes started to study the toes of his tabi. "I guess I never thought about it like that."
"Like what? Like Kenshin could mean as much to another 'man' in the same way he does to you, and that another man could mean as much to Kenshin as you do?" These words were more gently spoken and Kaoru laid a comforting hand on the boys' hunched shoulder.
"I guess so."
"Did you think you would stop loving Kenshin when you grew up, Yahiko. Would he become less of a father-type figure to you just because you had matured into an adult? Would he mean less to you because of the belief that 'grown men do not love each other'?"
Yahiko's head jerked up, and he stared at Kaoru's face with wide eyes. "No! I've never thought that. Kenshin's been more of a Father to me in the last two years than my own father was in my whole life. He's taught me everything I know that's worth knowing." Yahiko's eyes searched out the red haired swordsman setting across the courtyard with Aoshi and Soujirou. "He's the only one who ever tried to teach me anything about being a man, and yesterday he told me he was proud of the man I was becoming."
"Yahiko, I'm so glad. You mean so much to him, you know."
"Yeah, I guess so." He was looking at his tabi again.
"Do you think you can share him with Seta-san?" It was a very carefully asked question.
"I guess so. Kenshin is a really good guy, and he's always trying to help everybody. If he thinks he can help Seta-san become a better person by being his friend and a father-type thing, then that's what he should do. Besides," He smiled wickedly as Kaoru. "Look what he did for me."
Both burst out laughing.
Across the courtyard Kenshin was watching the exchange going on between his lover and her deshi. "I wonder what is so important that Yahiko would have such a serious look on his face." It was a mental thought that he was unaware he had spoken out loud, until Aoshi offered a reply.
"Perhaps it has something to do with your increasing the size of the Kenshin-gumi. He has been your only ahhh, 'son' for some time now. It must have been quite a surprise for him to watch you bring Seta-san into your life in such a formal and long-term way."
Kenshin's brow wrinkled in concern. "Do you think I have upset him, Aoshi?"
"It is not for me to say, Himura, but I would think from the look of things that your aman is taking care of the matter quite efficiently. I would not trouble yourself with concern over it unless the need arises for such a thing."
Kenshin turned a mildly stunned face in Aoshi's direction. Soujirou quickly hid his smile behind a cup of tea, and dropped his eyes to avoid the look on his adoptive fathers face.
"Did I hear you right, Aoshi?"
"Of course, you did. I told you not to trouble yourself. You have nothing to be concerned about. Everything is well in hand."
"That is not what I was referring to, shin-yuu." His violet eyes were glittering with amused accusation.
"Then I don't understand." Aoshi looked baffled.
"My 'aman'??"
Aoshi was nonplused. "Am I mistaken?" he asked. "I was quite certain earlier when she rushed to your aid after our fusion that your relationship had reached that level." He looked at Soujirou then back at Kenshin even further baffled. "Did I misunderstand?"
Kenshin dropped his chin and laughed in defeat. "No, Aoshi. You were not mistaken."
"Then what is the problem, Himura? I am not following the gist of this conversation."
"Oh Aoshi, sometimes you are naive as a child." Violet eyes danced with mischief. "It was how you said it. So matter of fact and without any meaning or emotion what so ever as if calling Kaoru my lover were a common day occurrence." Soujirou giggled into his tea.
Aoshi sat unmoving lost in deep contemplation of Kenshin's words for many long moments before his eyes cleared and a small smile of understanding curved his thin lips. "Ahh, I think I am seeing what was so... strange about what I said." His eyes dropped and the tiniest of chuckles was heard issuing from his direction. Kenshin and Soujirou shared a shocked look of pure amazement. Aoshi laughing?
"I am sorry, Himura. I truly did not even consider the implications of what I was saying at the time I said it." Jade eyes tinged with mirth met astonished violet. "I did not mean to make offense. I am actually quite pleased you and Kaoru-dono have finally found one another and
admitted your love. Kami knows... it took you long enough."
Soujirou could not stand it any longer and burst into a full-fledged belly laugh that had him rolling on the ground. It was not long until everyone inside the Aoiya was laughing with him.
It had turned out to be a very good day after all.