Catharsis

konnichi wa
.:chapter thirteen:.

Kaoru wiped her brow, smearing a shadow of dust across her forehead. She peered at her student through thick bangs, "You told Tae that you needed to leave an hour early today, right?"

"Yeah, I told her about it yesterday," he replied, pessimism ringing in his tone.

His melancholy earned a frown. It was obvious something was bothering the boy. Blowing her bangs out of her eyes, Kaoru gave the aged chest one last nudge. The effort pushed it completely out of the crawl space and launched dust bunnies into the air.

"If you come home and I'm not here," she said, fanning away the airborne granules, "I'll be at Megumi's clinic helping her pack."

Yahiko sighed. "I know."

"Bring some good clothes with you tonight. We're going to take her out to dinner."

A nod.

Her eyes narrowed. His moodiness and one-word answers were starting to bug her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothin'."

She tilted her head toward him. "Tell me what's wrong."

He shifted his weight. "Nothin'."

Kaoru assessed him a moment longer, then stood and dusted herself off. "You're pouting."

"I'm not pouting."

"Okay. Then what's bothering you?"

Yahiko rubbed the back of his head and mumbled, "Nothin'."

Hands on her hips and jaw clenched, Kaoru gave him a impatient glare. She would not accept his childish denial when it was clear as day he was crabby about something.

"Out with it."

The boy grumbled something incoherent under his breath. Then resigned himself to her demand.

"Everyone's taking off," he complained. "Sano left town. Kenshin's gone... and now Megumi's leaving. So much for the Kenshin-gumi."

Understanding relaxed her stance. She knew he missed Sano. And regardless of the grudge Yahiko still nursed toward Kenshin, he wasn't thrilled with the him leaving. Now with Megumi leaving for Aizu, the boy must feel like everything was falling apart.

"You know she's been talking about going back to Aizu for a long time."

"I know."

"She still has some cousins there," she continued. "I think she's probably homesick."

Yahiko pressed his lips together. Kaoru didn't like seeing him holding back. He was being uncharacteristically quiet. Did his resentment run deeper than she realized? Mentioning Sano probably wouldn't be wise. She had no idea where he was... though she heard a rumor the other day that claimed he went to America.

"Megumi has already invited us to stay with her in Aizu after she gets settled," Kaoru said, trying to perk him up. "And Kenshin promised to visit."

A snort. "Yeah, right," he muttered under his breath.

Kaoru raised a brow.

"You really think we're ever going to see him again?"

"He said he'd come back and visit us. I believe him."

"Of course you do," Yahiko rolled his eyes. "I gotta go or I'll be late for work."

"I thought you understood why he left."

"I understand," his shoulders squared obstinately. "Kenshin's a prick. I thought he was getting better, but he wasn't. He gave up and left." Yahiko's fists clenched at his sides, "I hope he doesn't come back."

"Yahiko—"

The boy turned on his heel. "I gotta go."

"Wait a minute, Yahiko..."

"I gotta go!"

Kaoru frowned. The timing of Megumi's departure couldn't have come at a worse time. She never thought it would upset Yahiko this much. He was acting like he did the first few days of Kaoru's return from Enishi's island.

"Alright," she sighed. "But I still want to talk later."

"Whatever," he shrugged and gave her a dismissive wave. "I'll see you later."

Kaoru seated herself on the floor after Yahiko left and rummaged through the chest she pulled out of storage. The first item her fingers chose was an old, leather-bound journal that once belonged to her grandfather. Pages of haiku and various sketches moved past her fingertips as she flipped through the book. Her grandfather had an artistic and sensitive soul. It was no wonder that his eldest son would one day found the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu, the sword that protects life.

Setting the book aside, Kaoru continued to search through her grandfather's things.

'There has to be something of Grandpa's that I can sell...'

Sighing, Kaoru tried to ignore the quiver of guilt. She really hated selling her grandfather's things, but she didn't have much choice. Money was growing tight. Kaoru expected that as the rebuilding effort reached its goal, Maekawa would ask her to come help out at his dojo again. He had yet to contact her and the Akebeko was once again fully staffed. Without a means of earning money, Yahiko was left as the sole source of income.

Such circumstances left a bad taste in her mouth. Yahiko was her responsibility, her student. Kaoru hated asking him for help she was supposed to provide.

But the kendo instructor didn't give up hope. If she could sell a couple of her grandfather's paintings, she would have enough money to buy ink and paper. That way she could advertise the dojo and maybe attract a few students. If that didn't work, she would have to start begging for a job. And it would have to be something that would enable her to continue her long training sessions with Yahiko. The boy was so eager to learn, she could hardly keep up with him.

Two paintings chosen for the sacrifice, Kaoru carefully rolled them up. She could probably get a couple hundred yen for each of them. Maybe more if she dressed nicely and poured on the charm.

'What should I wear?'

A variety of possible kimono and obi combinations filtered through her mind as she entered the house. She had a really nice pastel kimono that looked good on her. And another one with a butterfly pattern and dark blue trim.

Kaoru inspected her wardrobe. She had several favorite kimonos, but nothing seemed to jump out at her. In fact, the more she looked, the more some of the robes started to look sellable. Before long, she forgot the original reason why she was looking through her closet. Instead she was selecting garments she hoped to trade or sell in the marketplace.

As she reached the back of her closet, a very familiar blue and white kimono peeked at her from the shadows. She remembered hiding it behind her other clothes the day she returned. At the time, she thought it best not to wear the outfit again. It would remind Kenshin of Enishi's jinchuu and she didn't want to aggravate the rurouni's overly-zealous guilt. For the last eight months the kimono hung in total darkness.

Kaoru fingered the high quality material. 'I forgot this was in here,' she thought. Pulling it into the light, Kaoru was once again enamored by its beauty.

'Who would have thought Enishi had such great taste?'

A simper revealed her dimples. Then the memory of Enishi presenting her with the kimono moved through her mind. His announcement that she would be returning to Tokyo, her impulsive request that he come with her, the resulting argument... and then the kiss.

Cheeks still blushed as she reminisced his sudden closeness. While the kiss had been unexpected and somewhat frightening, it was by no means unpleasant.

Fingers unconsciously slid across her lips. She hadn't thought of the kiss in several weeks. Not since the earthquake.

With the memory loomed a familiar question. 'I wonder why he kissed me..?'

Kaoru was still unable to answer that question satisfactorily. Of course, she did her best not to think about it for a long time. Remembering the kiss made her feel as though she betraying Kenshin. Forgetting the event ever occurred became habit.

But now she didn't feel guilty for thinking about the kiss. Curiosity teased her brain instead.

'Enishi had to be the one to send me those supplies,' Kaoru carefully returned the kimono to the closet. 'But how did he know? Does he have people watching me?'

Paranoia fluttered around her. On reflex, Kaoru glanced out the window. She almost expected to see a pair of eyes staring back at her. Of course, no one was there.

Certainly Enishi had the means to send people to spy on her... but would he? If he had hired someone to watch the house, it would be so he could keep tabs on Kenshin, not her.

'But he said it was over,' a counter-argument whispered in her mind. 'Jinchuu is meaningless now that he knows the truth. Maybe the gift of supplies was just his way of trying to apologize. I'm sure it doesn't mean anything more than that.'

• • •

NEXT DAY

Chin resting on his palm, Enishi took in the late aftermath of the earthquake as his carriage made its way through the city. The contrast between older buildings and the ones that had been recently rebuilt reminded him of Battousai. Enishi knew the bastard had spent a lot of time in the center of the city searching for victims and digging them out. It was perilous work... how unfortunate that a wall didn't fall on him. Such an event would have been superb.

The carriage stopped abruptly in the middle of the street. Enishi craned his neck to see what the problem was. The street before them was littered with debris from an overturned wagon loaded with goods. The spill was recent and the clean-up would be lengthy. Now that he was in Tokyo, he didn't want to wait.

He wanted to see her.

"Yagami."

The driver leaned back. "Sir?"

"I'm going to walk the rest of the way," Enishi said. "I'll call for you if I need you."

"Yes, sir."

With that, he departed the carriage. People glanced at him out of the corners of their eyes, instantly recognizing him as an unusual foreigner. With his white hair, Chinese clothes and the strange, neatly wrapped item slung over his shoulder, Enishi wasn't one to disappear into a crowd. He ignored them, as he often did, and focused instead on reaching his goal. The rows of people thinned significantly as he crossed the bridge. Minutes later, he stood outside the gates of the Kamiya dojo. A brass bell hung next to the gate. He rang it once, and waited.

Light footsteps hurried to the gate. A latch lifted, the door shuttered, and then it slowly swung open. A pair of blue eyes stared up at him in shock as heart-shaped lips parted soundlessly.

She looked nice in her kimono. Refreshing. Even in spite of her mouth hanging open in surprise.

"Good afternoon, Kamiya."

She blinked. "E-enishi? What are you..."

Kamiya's brows knit in confusion. It was amusing to see her so thrown off guard.

Her wits gathered, she said, "Kenshin's not here."

"I know."

The puzzlement returned in an instant. Unrealized expectation swirled around them. She stared into his eyes, then quickly looked away. He smirked when he saw the first signs of a blush rising on her cheeks. His sudden appearance clearly threw her off guard.

'If I'm not here to see Battousai, Kamiya, I must be here to see you.'

He was tempted to speak his thoughts out loud, but Kamiya stole his opportunity. Suddenly remembering her manners, she stepped to the side.

"Please come in."

She was still flustered. It was almost cute. Smiling, Enishi accepted her invitation. He heard her shut the gate behind him as he eyed the house and dojo. New shingles peppered the roofs on both structures.

Kamiya entered his field of vision and his gaze moved to focus on her alone. Questions crowded her features, but Enishi offered no answers. The corners of her lips pressed downward for a brief second before being swallowed up by her words.

"Would you like some tea?"

His eyes crinkled with a smile, "Yes, thank you."

She nodded, and made her way toward the house. He followed slowly, scanning the property for the boy she trained. 'He must be at work,' he thought as he removed his shoes at the entrance and placed them next to hers.

His eyes took in everything with practiced alertness. The house felt large and empty with silence hanging around it like a shroud. Wall hangings and knickknacks bore testimony to happier days, but the generous space only seemed to remind a person of their oneness. A creak of the floorboards underfoot gave him pause. The house seemed to literally groan at him.

Being welcomed into her home, though expected, felt abruptly wrong to him. But then she did have a habit of inviting anyone into her home, regardless of who they were or what they had done. Her kindness was her best quality and greatest fault all at once.

"I have Oolong or Jasmine tea," her disembodied voice called out to him.

Enishi followed the sound and found her placing a kettle out to boil. "Jasmine is fine."

Kamiya pulled the box of dried herbs from the cupboard. They waited for the water to boil without a word. Enishi took the quiet opportunity to study her. Her kimono was a deep purple. It was cinched at the waist with a matching obi adorned with a subtle flower pattern. The outfit was understated, yet tasteful. The color of the outfit complemented her complexion nicely.

She still wore her hair in a high ponytail, but her customary ribbon was missing. Instead, she used a simple tie to keep the locks in place. He couldn't decide if he liked her hair better with or without the ribbon. Delicate fingers distracted him as they unconsciously pushed her bangs out of her eyes. They were longer now and at that stage where the ends were constantly brushing against her eyelashes.

He tilted his head as he looked at her, trying to imagine her without the bangs. 'She'd look more mature,' he decided.

Moments later, they seated themselves in the dining room. Kaoru poured the tea and was the first to speak, "How have you been, Enishi?"

He sipped. Interesting that she asked about him first, rather than why he was there. "Fine. Tired of traveling, but fine."

Kamiya took the bait.

"What brings you to Tokyo?"

"You."

Her brows arched. "P-pardon?"

A smirk was the only answer she received.

"How long are you planning to stay in town?"

"I haven't decided. I've been in Japan for several weeks." Another sip. "Visiting you was done on a whim," he lied, "I heard Battousai left you, so I thought I'd pay you a visit."

"He didn't 'leave' me," she said, a little too defensively.

"You finally came to your senses and kicked him out?"

"No! I didn't kick him out and he didn't 'leave' me," she huffed. "He promised to come back."

Disgust mixed with jealousy bubbled up within him. Kamiya would probably view him in a friendly light until her dying breath. Biting back his caustic urges, Enishi said, "You're a fool to wait for him."

"Who said I'm 'waiting' for him? He told me he didn't—" She caught herself in mid-sentence, not allowing herself to finish the divulgence.

His stoic exterior gave no indication of his wonderment. He had expected her to still love the monster, but it seemed those feelings were waning. Enishi let her unspoken words seep into him as he sipped the tea.

He should have noticed it sooner.

Her eyes no longer brightened with girlish infatuation when she thought of Battousai. Nor did he hear that annoying optimism coming from her lips when she said his name. A fondness was still there... but nothing more.

'He promised to come back, did he?' A smirk lifted the corners of his mouth. 'I'll just have to be here when that happens.'

• • •

'What's he grinning about?'

Kaoru eyed her guest warily. He'd lost some weight, his hair was a few centimeters longer, but he seemed normal. Well, as normal as Enishi could be. The angry-suspicious nature that she'd grown accustomed to on the island was now barely noticeable.

At least so far.

"When did you leave Shanghai?" Kaoru asked, trying to push the conversation away from Kenshin.

Enishi finished his cup and Kaoru automatically refilled it. "I never returned to Shanghai."

"You didn't?"

"What made you think I went there?" His eyes grinned with a secret.

"I got a shipment from China," she said. "It was rather expensive and... well," her lips stretched into an embarrassed smile, "You're the only one I know who lived in China so I guessed it was from you."

"It was."

Kaoru's smile quivered. Her cheeks reddened. Renewed tingles of paranoia licked at her nerves. "How did you know to send all of that?"

"I've had people watching Battousai for nearly three years." His eyes still grinned at her when he spoke, "When I sent you home, I asked them to keep tabs on you. I heard of the earthquake and damage to your home, so naturally I ordered supplies to be sent to you."

"Oh," Kaoru shifted uncomfortably. He was acting so... nice. It was kind of eerie. And she didn't know how to feel about him keeping tabs on her. Should she feel flattered or frightened?

Weighing him critically, her blush returned. 'Flattered.'

"Thank you," she smiled, trying to ignore the predatory spark in his eyes. "They were a great help. There was even enough left over to help a handful of other families."

"Mmm."

"So... what did you do after I left?" Kaoru asked, once again trying to push the conversation toward something more comfortable to talk about.

"I stayed on the island. Then I left a few weeks ago to go to Kyoto."

Her brows scrunched together. 'Kyoto?'

"You visited your sister's grave?"

His lips straightened as eyes grew dark. "So did Battousai."

Kaoru swallowed. "You... saw him?"

"No, I saw the bouquet he left for her."

"I didn't know Kenshin went to Kyoto," she said delicately, "but I guess I'm not surprised."

"Like a dog returning to its vomit," he remarked, a virulent quality tainting his voice.

Kaoru opened her mouth to argue the point that Kenshin had every right to visit Tomoe. She was his wife after all. However, pointing out that fact would do nothing to ease his animosity.

She nursed her cup of tea and considered the man before her. Speaking about Kenshin showed Kaoru what she needed to see. Spiritually and emotionally, Enishi wasn't any better than when she left him. Jinchuu was aborted, but the malevolence that conceived it still existed... as did the hurt he tried to bury.

'He's still trying to piece himself back together. Being alone on the island for so long hasn't helped him.' She frowned into her cup, 'I knew it wouldn't...'

"Do you have somewhere to stay, Enishi?" Kaoru asked.

His dark expression faltered.

"Because if you don't," she offered a genuine smile, "you're welcome to stay here for a while."

• • •

People can be complete assholes. He always knew that to be true. For as long as he could remember, someone was always trying to take advantage of him or his family. Seeing greed up close and personal wasn't a new occurrence. But sometimes Yahiko forgot how rude and annoying people could be. After smacking a grown man across the head with his shinai for fondling Tae's rear, the reminder came through loud and clear.

'Sake and horny men do not mix,' Yahiko thought darkly. Thankfully, his long day had finally come to an end. Stepping beyond the threshold of the house, he bent down and removed his shoes. It was then that he noticed an anomaly.

Next to Kaoru's shoes sat a pair of unfamiliar black Chinese slippers.

Eyes narrowed, Yahiko stepped into the house. He heard muffled voices coming from the kitchen. Muscles grew tense, then relaxed when he heard Kaoru laugh.

'Must be someone she knows,' he mussed. 'Maybe Maekawa stopped by...'

"I'm home, Kaoru," he called to her.

The voices instantly quieted. A second later, he heard footsteps approaching. Yahiko's stomach growled as the scent of dinner flirted with his nostrils. He'd been so busy at work he barely had a chance to take a break. Now that he was home, all he wanted to do was eat, practice and then sleep. He was in no mood to entertain one of Kaoru's friends.

"Yahiko," Kaoru said, an apprehensive look on her face.

"What's up?"

Before she could answer, a tall man with white hair appeared behind her. Eyes wide, mouth hanging open, Yahiko could only stare in muted shock.

"It's okay," Kaoru said in a rush. "Enishi is here as a friend."

Yahiko thought his head would explode when she said the word 'friend.' Reaching for his shinai, he growled, "What the HELL is he doing here?!"