I sit here doing the laundry (what else?), wondering what I would be doing – and who I would be – if I hadn't met Kaoru-dono, and the group of people who are here with me, almost always, known now as "The Kenshin Gumi." To think, Yahiko-chan (boy, would he give me a mouthful if he heard me calling him that!) would come up with that name, and the name sticking, without Sano or Kaoru ever getting angry that the group was not named after them! What would I be doing if Kaoru-dono had not chased me down that day? Wandering, for sure. Lost, as always, not knowing where the day would take me. Sleeping under bridges and sneaking into storage barns to catch some shuteye. Relying on a kind face and a helping hand to feed me. Completely miserable.
It is remarkable how a few people can change your life completely by being in it. It's Kaoru-dono's smile and Yahiko's persistence that keeps me here; it's Sanosuke's friendship and Megumi-dono's fight against the world that gives me a reason to wake up everyday. Most of all, it's the kinship and love that I find in this group of people, day in and day out, that makes me almost never think about wanting to be anywhere but here, in Tokyo – a love that I knew only briefly when I was a small child: a love that cholera took away from me before I could fully understand what it was. Sure, I had Shishou when I was growing up (although I wouldn't call baka deshi a term of endearment!), and the three women who gave me my life (they did die for me), and I'm sure they all loved me in their own way, but...nothing compares to what I find here at the Kamiya Dojo.
They know whom I am – know who I was – and still, they accept the past with the present, and want a future - with me in it. Not only do they love me, they care about what I'm doing – they understand the atonement. They do what they can to make sure Hitokiri Battousai stays where he belongs. It is because of them he stays where he belongs. Whether they know this, or not, I cannot say for sure. I want to believe they do. I want to believe they know how much they mean to me; that not all the laundry-doing and cooking in the world could make up to Kaoru-dono what she's gone through because of me. The same goes for Sano and Yahiko, for Megumi ...even for Dr. Gensai - and little Ayame and Suzume, whether they get to see the bulk of it, or not. In addition, it is not only these people who have made an impact in my life here. Thoughts go out to Misao and Aoshi, Okina and the rest of the Oniwabanshu. Even Saitou, more of an enemy than anything else, has bled for me, whether he will admit this or not isn't my problem. I am not ungrateful, regardless. The baka has been there more than once, and can hold me to it, if he chooses, unfortunately.
I stand up from the washbasin to see that Sanosuke, Yahiko, and Kaoru-dono are all staring at me. They saw me in deep thought, obviously believing I was daydreaming.
"Oro?!" ("How original, Kenshin!" I scream at myself.)
As if reading my mind, Yahiko yells, "How original, Kenshin!" and falls into a giggle-fit, Sanosuke and Kaoru-dono laughing with him. Ayame and Suzume-chan come running into my arms, "We're going to the Akebeko Ken-ni!" Suzume yells. Ayame squeals, "Hai, Ni-san, for sukiyaki, but will you play with us until Kaoru-dono gets ready?" I smile, because although I am not the first to admit, I live for this!
"Hai. Let me put the wash inside, then we'll play." As the girls dissolve into a puddle of squeals and giggles, Sanosuke calmly walks over, trademark fishbone in mouth, hand in pockets:
"You're a glutton for punishment, Ken-ni!" he smirks. I smile, "Sure, that I am, but you're coming down with me. Get the ball, Sano-san!" Caught by surprise, he only stands and laughs for a moment, before going with the girls to get the ball. We play for no more than a moment before Kaoru-dono comes out, dressed in one of her best, Megumi behind her.
"Who's ready to eat? My treat!" Before anything else is said, Yahiko and Sano have one little girl each under their arm, speeding ahead of us towards the Akebeko. Dr. Gensai and Megumi talk about the day's patients, and Kaoru-dono, noticing that I stopped for a moment, stops. "What's wrong, Kenshin?"
Nothing's wrong, Kaoru-dono. Nothing. Everything is going to be all right. And that is exactly what I tell her as I catch up to take her offered hand.