Standard disclaimers apply
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Megumi and Yahiko returned to the Kamiya dojo with all the proper equipment to treating all of Enishi's injuries.
By the time they arrived, Karou had put Enishi back in her bed with Sano's help. He had closed his eyes and fallen asleep immediately. His breathing was still coming irregularly, and his face was twisted mildly with pain every time he drew breath in.
Karou was kneeling beside her bed, watching him sleep. In her arms, Kenshin was starting to get fussy again. He was waving his tiny fists in rage and wailing intermittently. Every time he started to wail, Karou bounced him lightly until he quieted, but he was getting fussier now.
Megumi knocked on the door before entering.
Karou glanced up at her, debating if she should ask her for advice or not. Memories of Kenshin's earlier ear splitting wails, encouraged her to ask. "He's getting - "
"That's because he smell," Megumi interrupted before she had even finished speaking. "I have a patient to attend to. Please take him out of the room and give him a bath." She paused for a moment and then added, "Send Sano in to help me."
Karou stood up. "Hai," she agreed. She glanced at Enishi as she left the room. He still looked in pain, but now that Megumi was there to take care of him she was less worried about him.
She stepped into the hall, cradling Kenshin close to her chest.
"Phew! You really stink today, Busu," Yahiko muttered, raising his sleeve to cover his nose.
"It's not me, it's Kenshin. I think he need to be changed," Karou said. She didn't even loose her temper at his insult. That was more then enough proof to both herself and Yahiko that it had been too long of a day.
Yahiko seemed to be turning the possibility of Kenshin being a baby around in his mind. He had a look of pure concentration on his face, a look that made Karou reluctant, but not unwilling to disrupt him.
"Yahiko, either get out of my way, or go prepare a bath for Kenshin," she ordered crossly.
He plastered himself to the wall, still thinking. Her words didn't seem to have phased him at all. Shaking her head, she slipped past him and tracked Sano down.
He was in the kitchen, helping himself to a bowl of tasteless miso soup that also happened to be burned. He looked as easy going as every, but Karou could tell from the tension in his manner that he was still worried about Enishi.
It was one thing for an honorable fighter like Sano to seriously injure his opponent in a fair fight. It was quite another when he accidentally punched someone in the back after nearly killing a woman.
"How does it taste?" she asked, although she already knew the answer.
"Disgusting. . . . as usual," Sano responded, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand.
"Megumi wants you to help her in the bedroom," Karou said.
"Really?!" Sano said, raising one eyebrow in mock astonishment. "I wasn't under the impression that she was that bold. It takes a certain amount of class for a woman to ask a man to join her - "
Karou frowned at him. "You know what I mean," she told him. "Go help her take care of Enishi. I'll take care of Kenshin."
She didn't wait until he responded. Instead, she headed out the door and into the bathhouse.
Inside, she drew a bath, spending several minutes listening to the water fill the tub before she went outside and stoked up the fire.
Kenshin's legs were pumping enthusiastically at thin air when she came back in. She had decided to leave him inside so he wouldn't get burned by the sparking fire, or roll away when she wasn't watching. Of course, leaving him unattended inside was a mistake too.
He had managed to catch hold of the rack she had the towels on and pull them all on top of him. At the moment, she imagined he was having a hard time breathing.
Smiling in spite of the worry she felt for him, she pulled the towels off of him. Immediately she wrinkled her nose. Carrying Kenshin around, she had gotten used to the foul smell coming off of him. Now that she had several moments of fresh air, his scent was overwhelming her.
Putting one hand over her nose, she started to untwist him from his old magenta robe that Enishi had wrapped him in. It was covered in dirt and shit and after just one look at it, Karou vowed to have it burned. There was no salvaging it anymore, and without Kenshin whining about keeping it, there was no way that she would even hesitate.
Kenshin started to giggle as she tried to clean his bottom. She picked up one of his legs so she could clean him all the way, but he twisted almost immediately so that he was on his side.
She tried to turn him around, but he started kicking happily again, getting his heels soiled before attempting to eat his feet.
Karou pulled his feet back. "No, Kenshin," she said sternly, and completely in vain. He gurgled happily and started to suck on his fist before, in a fit of giggles, he kicked her in the face.
Finally she finished cleaning his butt and picked him up only to have her hair pulled. She twisted her head, trying to get his fingers out of her hair without luck. "Come on, let's just put you in the bath and then go check on Enishi."
She pried his fingers from her hair and dipped him gently into the water. Immediately his face squashed together and he let out a tremendous wail. His eyes were squinted shut and he looked in pained fury.
She drew him from the water, noting that his white baby skin was now red and blotchy. Almost as angry looking as his face was.
She sighed as she realized the water was too hot for him. Karou was rather fond of steamy hot bathes, the kind that left your skin red and clean. Apparently, Kenshin was fond of lukewarm bathes.
She wrapped him up in a towel and carried him into the kitchen, but first she put the fire out and opened all the windows so she could cool the water down for him. She made a pile of blankets and set him up by the window.
Then she started on supper, chopping up an assortment of vegetables and some tofu. Several times during the cooking process, Yahiko came in. He always cast a strange look at Kenshin before he left with whatever he came for.
On the sixth time that he came through, Karou stopped him. "What's wrong?" she demanded.
For several seconds Yahiko didn't respond. Then he asked his own question. "That's really Kenshin, isn't it?" he asked. He had overhead Enishi explaining it to Megumi and Sano.
Karou nodded. "Aa," she said.
"But we'll get him back to normal, right?" Yahiko said. "I mean, we'll find that Shinto priest and make him turn - "
Karou was shaking her head. "I'm not sure," she said. "Enishi wants to keep him like he- "
"So what!" Yahiko exclaimed. "He's only saying that because he wants Kenshin to be helpless and weak!" His eyes were wide with the need for his words to be true. He had always admired Kenshin and having him suddenly turned into a child, no a baby, was throwing him off in more ways then one.
"It's not just him," Karou said after a moment. "I think that I want to leave him this way too."
Anger flashed across Yahiko's face. "What are you saying! I thought you were in love with him! How could you want to leave him like this? How could you want him to be trapped as a child?!" he spat at her hotly.
Karou struggled to answer his question. The truth was she couldn't answer it for herself yet. She didn't fully know why she wanted him to stay like he was.
Yahiko didn't wait for an answer either. "I'm going to spend the night at the Akebeko!" he shouted before racing out of the room.
Karou sighed and stopped cooking. She really couldn't focus on it anyway. She hadn't thought about how Yahiko would feel about her feelings for Kenshin right now. In fact, she hadn't thought about how anyone would react to the news. Maybe it was better if Kenshin got turned back to his proper age.
It that were true, who was it better for? Would it be better for Kenshin to be his true age, or would it be better for his acquaintances? She sank to the floor beside him, searching his face for any sign that he was happier like he was now.
It seemed so clear when looking at him. He had his clean foot in his hands, holding it to his smiling face and sucking on his heel. He lowered his foot when he caught her watching and practically beamed joyfully at her.
Eyes sparkling, she reached out to him and allowed him to capture her finger in his small fist. It was easy to say that he was happy right now, but Yahiko's livid expression spoke volumes in favor of turning him back. Could she really do nothing at all to keep Kenshin as he was and still keep Yahiko happy?
Contemplating those thoughts, she didn't hear Megumi enter until the doctor tapped her on the shoulder.
Kenshin had already fallen asleep and it was well past sunset. "I'm finished with him now. You should go get some rest," Megumi whispered. "I had Sano set up Kenshin's room for the both of you."
Karou's eyes, which had been closing, opened wide. "Oh, that reminds me, how is Enishi?" She had forgotten about him completely while turning the pressing thoughts over in her mind.
"He's asleep, which is where he should stay for the rest of the week at the minimum," Megumi said firmly. "He shouldn't be moving about at all. He still had untreated wounds from his fight with Ken-san."
"But that was over a year ago," Karou protested.
"Aa, and it leads me to believe that he doesn't have a very good sense about what's good for him. I leave it up to you to make sure that he stays in bed, do you understand?" Megumi asked.
Karou nodded.
"Hey, Megumi, I'll walk you home," Sano called from the doorway, causing Kenshin to whine in his sleep. Both girls shushed him immediately and he cringed away from them. "Sorry, sorry," he said.
Megumi patter her on the head. "It you have any trouble, let me know in the morning," she whispered before heading out the door after Sano.
Karou listened to the two of them leaving, and watched them disappear from sight. She glanced back down at Kenshin, who was sleeping peacefully with her finger held in a tight grip.
After a moment, she picked him up, humming to him as he shifted in his sleep. She walked down the hall, still not sure about anything, but ready to put it off until the next day.
She checked Enishi, noting that he was sleeping peacefully now. Whatever Megumi had done to him had worked. She had fixed him the only way she knew how. Karou rubbed her eyes sleepily and closed the door with a soft click.
Then, stumbling with weariness, she pushed open the doors to Kenshin's room and settled into his futon.
Closing her eyes she inhaled his scent, noting how he smelled different now that he was a baby, but at the same time, he smelled exactly the same.
The baby cuddle up against her, little hands grasping at her hair. He sighed heavily in his sleep, and years of worry seemed to pour off of him. Karou sighed too, but it didn't feel or sound anywhere near as releasing as his sigh had.
There were too many thoughts swirling through her mind. For hours, she lay awake in bed, listening to the steady breathing of the baby at her side.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Author's notes'
Wah ha ha ha! See, I wrote two chapters at the same time! I hope that you're happy! I stayed up until three in the morning typing all of this ( Of course I started at one, so it didn't really take that long. . . . .)
Anyway, thanks for the reviews. . . . GIVE ME MORE!
Thanks for reading,
Kissa-chan
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Megumi and Yahiko returned to the Kamiya dojo with all the proper equipment to treating all of Enishi's injuries.
By the time they arrived, Karou had put Enishi back in her bed with Sano's help. He had closed his eyes and fallen asleep immediately. His breathing was still coming irregularly, and his face was twisted mildly with pain every time he drew breath in.
Karou was kneeling beside her bed, watching him sleep. In her arms, Kenshin was starting to get fussy again. He was waving his tiny fists in rage and wailing intermittently. Every time he started to wail, Karou bounced him lightly until he quieted, but he was getting fussier now.
Megumi knocked on the door before entering.
Karou glanced up at her, debating if she should ask her for advice or not. Memories of Kenshin's earlier ear splitting wails, encouraged her to ask. "He's getting - "
"That's because he smell," Megumi interrupted before she had even finished speaking. "I have a patient to attend to. Please take him out of the room and give him a bath." She paused for a moment and then added, "Send Sano in to help me."
Karou stood up. "Hai," she agreed. She glanced at Enishi as she left the room. He still looked in pain, but now that Megumi was there to take care of him she was less worried about him.
She stepped into the hall, cradling Kenshin close to her chest.
"Phew! You really stink today, Busu," Yahiko muttered, raising his sleeve to cover his nose.
"It's not me, it's Kenshin. I think he need to be changed," Karou said. She didn't even loose her temper at his insult. That was more then enough proof to both herself and Yahiko that it had been too long of a day.
Yahiko seemed to be turning the possibility of Kenshin being a baby around in his mind. He had a look of pure concentration on his face, a look that made Karou reluctant, but not unwilling to disrupt him.
"Yahiko, either get out of my way, or go prepare a bath for Kenshin," she ordered crossly.
He plastered himself to the wall, still thinking. Her words didn't seem to have phased him at all. Shaking her head, she slipped past him and tracked Sano down.
He was in the kitchen, helping himself to a bowl of tasteless miso soup that also happened to be burned. He looked as easy going as every, but Karou could tell from the tension in his manner that he was still worried about Enishi.
It was one thing for an honorable fighter like Sano to seriously injure his opponent in a fair fight. It was quite another when he accidentally punched someone in the back after nearly killing a woman.
"How does it taste?" she asked, although she already knew the answer.
"Disgusting. . . . as usual," Sano responded, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand.
"Megumi wants you to help her in the bedroom," Karou said.
"Really?!" Sano said, raising one eyebrow in mock astonishment. "I wasn't under the impression that she was that bold. It takes a certain amount of class for a woman to ask a man to join her - "
Karou frowned at him. "You know what I mean," she told him. "Go help her take care of Enishi. I'll take care of Kenshin."
She didn't wait until he responded. Instead, she headed out the door and into the bathhouse.
Inside, she drew a bath, spending several minutes listening to the water fill the tub before she went outside and stoked up the fire.
Kenshin's legs were pumping enthusiastically at thin air when she came back in. She had decided to leave him inside so he wouldn't get burned by the sparking fire, or roll away when she wasn't watching. Of course, leaving him unattended inside was a mistake too.
He had managed to catch hold of the rack she had the towels on and pull them all on top of him. At the moment, she imagined he was having a hard time breathing.
Smiling in spite of the worry she felt for him, she pulled the towels off of him. Immediately she wrinkled her nose. Carrying Kenshin around, she had gotten used to the foul smell coming off of him. Now that she had several moments of fresh air, his scent was overwhelming her.
Putting one hand over her nose, she started to untwist him from his old magenta robe that Enishi had wrapped him in. It was covered in dirt and shit and after just one look at it, Karou vowed to have it burned. There was no salvaging it anymore, and without Kenshin whining about keeping it, there was no way that she would even hesitate.
Kenshin started to giggle as she tried to clean his bottom. She picked up one of his legs so she could clean him all the way, but he twisted almost immediately so that he was on his side.
She tried to turn him around, but he started kicking happily again, getting his heels soiled before attempting to eat his feet.
Karou pulled his feet back. "No, Kenshin," she said sternly, and completely in vain. He gurgled happily and started to suck on his fist before, in a fit of giggles, he kicked her in the face.
Finally she finished cleaning his butt and picked him up only to have her hair pulled. She twisted her head, trying to get his fingers out of her hair without luck. "Come on, let's just put you in the bath and then go check on Enishi."
She pried his fingers from her hair and dipped him gently into the water. Immediately his face squashed together and he let out a tremendous wail. His eyes were squinted shut and he looked in pained fury.
She drew him from the water, noting that his white baby skin was now red and blotchy. Almost as angry looking as his face was.
She sighed as she realized the water was too hot for him. Karou was rather fond of steamy hot bathes, the kind that left your skin red and clean. Apparently, Kenshin was fond of lukewarm bathes.
She wrapped him up in a towel and carried him into the kitchen, but first she put the fire out and opened all the windows so she could cool the water down for him. She made a pile of blankets and set him up by the window.
Then she started on supper, chopping up an assortment of vegetables and some tofu. Several times during the cooking process, Yahiko came in. He always cast a strange look at Kenshin before he left with whatever he came for.
On the sixth time that he came through, Karou stopped him. "What's wrong?" she demanded.
For several seconds Yahiko didn't respond. Then he asked his own question. "That's really Kenshin, isn't it?" he asked. He had overhead Enishi explaining it to Megumi and Sano.
Karou nodded. "Aa," she said.
"But we'll get him back to normal, right?" Yahiko said. "I mean, we'll find that Shinto priest and make him turn - "
Karou was shaking her head. "I'm not sure," she said. "Enishi wants to keep him like he- "
"So what!" Yahiko exclaimed. "He's only saying that because he wants Kenshin to be helpless and weak!" His eyes were wide with the need for his words to be true. He had always admired Kenshin and having him suddenly turned into a child, no a baby, was throwing him off in more ways then one.
"It's not just him," Karou said after a moment. "I think that I want to leave him this way too."
Anger flashed across Yahiko's face. "What are you saying! I thought you were in love with him! How could you want to leave him like this? How could you want him to be trapped as a child?!" he spat at her hotly.
Karou struggled to answer his question. The truth was she couldn't answer it for herself yet. She didn't fully know why she wanted him to stay like he was.
Yahiko didn't wait for an answer either. "I'm going to spend the night at the Akebeko!" he shouted before racing out of the room.
Karou sighed and stopped cooking. She really couldn't focus on it anyway. She hadn't thought about how Yahiko would feel about her feelings for Kenshin right now. In fact, she hadn't thought about how anyone would react to the news. Maybe it was better if Kenshin got turned back to his proper age.
It that were true, who was it better for? Would it be better for Kenshin to be his true age, or would it be better for his acquaintances? She sank to the floor beside him, searching his face for any sign that he was happier like he was now.
It seemed so clear when looking at him. He had his clean foot in his hands, holding it to his smiling face and sucking on his heel. He lowered his foot when he caught her watching and practically beamed joyfully at her.
Eyes sparkling, she reached out to him and allowed him to capture her finger in his small fist. It was easy to say that he was happy right now, but Yahiko's livid expression spoke volumes in favor of turning him back. Could she really do nothing at all to keep Kenshin as he was and still keep Yahiko happy?
Contemplating those thoughts, she didn't hear Megumi enter until the doctor tapped her on the shoulder.
Kenshin had already fallen asleep and it was well past sunset. "I'm finished with him now. You should go get some rest," Megumi whispered. "I had Sano set up Kenshin's room for the both of you."
Karou's eyes, which had been closing, opened wide. "Oh, that reminds me, how is Enishi?" She had forgotten about him completely while turning the pressing thoughts over in her mind.
"He's asleep, which is where he should stay for the rest of the week at the minimum," Megumi said firmly. "He shouldn't be moving about at all. He still had untreated wounds from his fight with Ken-san."
"But that was over a year ago," Karou protested.
"Aa, and it leads me to believe that he doesn't have a very good sense about what's good for him. I leave it up to you to make sure that he stays in bed, do you understand?" Megumi asked.
Karou nodded.
"Hey, Megumi, I'll walk you home," Sano called from the doorway, causing Kenshin to whine in his sleep. Both girls shushed him immediately and he cringed away from them. "Sorry, sorry," he said.
Megumi patter her on the head. "It you have any trouble, let me know in the morning," she whispered before heading out the door after Sano.
Karou listened to the two of them leaving, and watched them disappear from sight. She glanced back down at Kenshin, who was sleeping peacefully with her finger held in a tight grip.
After a moment, she picked him up, humming to him as he shifted in his sleep. She walked down the hall, still not sure about anything, but ready to put it off until the next day.
She checked Enishi, noting that he was sleeping peacefully now. Whatever Megumi had done to him had worked. She had fixed him the only way she knew how. Karou rubbed her eyes sleepily and closed the door with a soft click.
Then, stumbling with weariness, she pushed open the doors to Kenshin's room and settled into his futon.
Closing her eyes she inhaled his scent, noting how he smelled different now that he was a baby, but at the same time, he smelled exactly the same.
The baby cuddle up against her, little hands grasping at her hair. He sighed heavily in his sleep, and years of worry seemed to pour off of him. Karou sighed too, but it didn't feel or sound anywhere near as releasing as his sigh had.
There were too many thoughts swirling through her mind. For hours, she lay awake in bed, listening to the steady breathing of the baby at her side.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Author's notes'
Wah ha ha ha! See, I wrote two chapters at the same time! I hope that you're happy! I stayed up until three in the morning typing all of this ( Of course I started at one, so it didn't really take that long. . . . .)
Anyway, thanks for the reviews. . . . GIVE ME MORE!
Thanks for reading,
Kissa-chan
