Authors Note: Standard disclaimer, yada yada yada. I just want to give a special thanks to my beta, Hikari Tsuki Chi, without her patience and willingness to put up with my procrastination these chapters wouldn't exist.
Chapter Two: Raccoon, Fox, and Weasel...not a good mix
Kenshin looked up from the washing for a second just to look around. Ayame and Suzume were playing catch with Yahiko, Sano and Megumi were talking on the deck. But Miss Kaoru was in the yard just staring at the doors to the dojo as if waiting of them to open. She had the most peculiar look on her face.
He set down what he had been about to hang on the line and started to walk over to her. But when he was halfway there he felt two very powerful swordsman spirits coming towards the door. He grabbed his sword and opened his mouth to warn her when there came a loud knock on the door. Followed by "Himura" being yelled through the door.
Kaoru jumped three feet into the air before moving to answer the door. But Kenshin appeared in front of it before she'd taken one step in the doors' direction.
"Kenshin? Is something wrong?" Kaoru asked as she made her way to Kenshin's side. But his face had turned hard and he was no longer the gentle rurouni she knew but was well on his way to becoming the Battousai she was coming to accept.
Kenshin opened the door and Miss Misao bounced over the threshold. She was once again wearing her ninja outfit. She had a big smile on her face and when Kenshin looked down he noticed that she had two large bags with her, full to overflowing.
Kenshin looked into her face and smiled. He had missed her since he had left Kyoto. "Hello, Miss Misao. What do we owe the pleasure of this visit?" It was strange that she was here and he could still feel the two very strong swordsman's spirits that were coming towards the door.
"Sir Ken, who is your friend and why is she dressed like that. I don't think we should let the neighbors see her, they already look down on us enough because of the way Kaoru dresses when she trains Yahiko."
Both of the younger women looked at Megumi with murder in their eyes. Kenshin tried to back away from the three angry women without being noticed. But stopped immediately when Kaoru started yelling.
"How can you say that Miss Megumi? I don't embarrass —" but before Kaoru could finish Misao cut her off.
"Who do you think you are? What right do you think you have to insult warriors like myself and Kaoru, you ugly old miss. You wouldn't know beauty if I slapped you with it."
"Wait a minute, you can't insult Miss Megumi like that. Take that back."
"No way."
"Yes way."
"No"
"Yes."
Kenshin's eyes got bigger as the three girls argued. He was staring so hard that their faces started to blur until all her saw was a fox, a weasel, and a raccoon. To be honest, he'd always liked raccoons.
Then all at once three whiney voices were calling for him.
"KENSHIN!"
"SIR KEN!"
"HIMURA!"
I am going to die, he thought, gulping nervously. With my luck, Miss Kaoru and Miss Misao will hurt me badly, and Miss Megumi will refuse to treat me. What did I do to deserve this!
For a moment he seriously considered using his godlike speed to get away from the angry females but they would only track him down later. He turned around slowly, his facial expression that of the innocent man that knows what's in store for him. He put his hands out in front of him in the universal sign of peace.
"Now, now ladies, let's all try to get along alright? Now Misao, please, tell us why you have come to Tokyo?"
The women had calmed down somewhat and words couldn't describe how relieved Kenshin was. Thank God... Misao opened her mouth to answer, but before it even happened, he knew that it wouldn't be her that answered him. One of the swordsman's spirits had been coming closer and closer, and he had finally recognized it. And it was that voice that answered him. "It seems, Battousai, that we are moving in."
If Kenshin didn't know better, he would swear that Buddha was laughing at him.
"Oh, I see it. It looks like a lovely place. I hope they have enough space for all of us."
Saito and his wife walked down the street to the doors of the Kamiya dojo. Saito wasn't exactly looking forward to explaining all this to Himura and his friends, but the government hadn't given him any choice.
But although he wasn't looking forward to this move, Tokio was trying to make the best of it so he wouldn't start to complain until he could do it with Himura and Aoshi Shinomori.
"Hajime? Should we knock or just go in? I mean they don't know
to expect us."
But before he could answer her question the door was opened by Sanosuke Sagara, who was smiling wildly.
"Hey, Saito, long time no see. Aoshi said you would fill us in on why you guys have been forced to move in. Kenshin and Missy are waiting for you with the others in the dojo. By the way, who's your companion?"
Sanosuke sidled over to Tokio and gave her a most charming smile. He started to take her arm and lead her in without having his question answered but Saito moved between them and said, "My wife, Tokio."
And walked his wife inside while Sano was busy eating dirt. He quickly caught up to them and showed them the way to the dojo. Since when is he married! Thought Sanosuke, still in shock.
Inside Kenshin and Kaoru were sitting against the far wall, a foot away from each other, but still presenting a united front as the leaders of this household. Beside Kaoru sat Yahiko, yelling across the room at Misao, who was sitting next to the standing Aoshi, who was looking at Yahiko with narrowed eyes. Megumi was sitting as far from Aoshi as she could get while still sitting in the same room. Ayame and Suzume were sitting on either side of her, unusually quiet.
Sano went over to sit beside Kenshin, and Saito moved to stand beside Aoshi on the far wall and listened to the argument between the two young warriors .
"What are you talking about? Lord Aoshi is the best warrior. I'm sure he could beat anyone he went up against."
"He can't beat Kenshin, now can he?" This, Saito was sure, had been going on for a while, with the way Aoshi and Kaoru were looking at each other and then the youngsters.
Tokio cleared her throat and all noise in the dojo stopped.
Everyone in the room stared at her, this small, red-haired woman, that was half Saito's size but could obviously control armies. She walked to the center of the room, commanding all attention, and they all looked at her, perplexed. Saito could sympathize, he had felt the same way when he had first met her, which was the reason he'd run hell bent for leather in the other direction, and her following right after him.
"It seems that we'll all be living together now. Hajime will explain the specifics to you later, but I just wanted to introduce myself now. I am Hajime's wife, Tokio."
The room was now so quiet you could here a pin drop. And then Kaoru whispered, "She must be Buddha." And Tokio smiled a smile of gentle indulgence.
"Not quite," she said, "but close. Hajime, I believe, is ready to tell his story, so I will leave the floor to him." With that she went to sit beside Megumi and the little girls. Saito pushed away from the wall and walked to the center of the room.
"A month after our battle in Kyoto, the Meiji government reformed itself, and the new officials in power aren't half as lenient with us as the old ones were, they don't know us. So they decided that if we were going to live, they wanted us all in the same place. They don't even need to send someone here to keep tabs on us, since I'm a police officer. They decided to drop all of us here at the Kamiya dojo because for one, it's in Tokyo, where the government is based, and two, because the Battousai is the only one of us that might be a good influence on the rest of us."
After he had finished, Saito went back to stand over his wife.
"Hey, what happened to Eiji?" Questioned Misao.
"I was wondering that as well Saito." Added Kenshin.
Saito sighed and looked annoyed. "Tokio didn't want to bring him until she was sure that he would flourish in this environment, so we left him with her married sister, he'll be arriving in about two weeks."
Tokio looked startled at that. "I thought we both agreed that we wouldn't send for him until we had settled in for a few weeks, Hajime."
Saito smiled gently down at her"In two weeks we'll have settled in and he'll be here, so what's the problem"
"Who is Eiji?" asked Kaoru.
"Eiji was a boy we saved from a village that had been taken over by Shishio's men. His family was killed, so Saito left him with Tokio while we were in Kyoto." explained Kenshin.
(Kaoru's POV)
Kaoru was annoyed, she not only had one Manslayer living here, but three, and two others on the way.
She stood up and walked to the center of the room, where people seemed to be able to get the attention of the room. She looked them all in the eyes, and then began.
"Since this is my home, I want to be the first to welcome you all, even though nobody asked me and I'm the one who owns this place. But I'm afraid we have a few problems. The first of which is that I don't make enough money to support all of us. I have a job training students outside the dojo but it doesn't pay that well, and not well enough to pay for the food and board of eight people."
Kaoru stopped a moment and thought, then a luminous smile graced her face, "But I do have a suggestion, with your cooperation Aoshi, we could open a school for people wanting to learn Kempo."
Aoshi thought about it for a moment and shrugged, saying only, "I will consider it."
"You'll do more than consider it, you big dummy, you'll do it and I'll be your assistant." Misao had stood as her voice rose, she had one fist cocked in the air and the other pointed at Aoshi. "I know that Miss Kaoru has been supporting Kenshin and her friends. We can't put any more weight on her shoulders than there already is. So you're going to do it."
Aoshi stood up and took a few menacing steps toward Misao, a wider smile formed on her face and she stood up to face him. He came closer and closer until they were standing practically nose to nose. Aoshi's right hand moved to his kodachi while Misao grabbed her daggers, changing her stance to that of the defensive, but still smiling.
"Is that an order, Misao? I do not believe a member of the Oniwaban is allowed to give her leader orders." He said in that husky, authorative way of his. His face was hard, but his eyes were amused.
Everyone looked toward Misao, waiting for her answer. "No. A member of the Oniwaban is not giving her leader an order. But I, Misao, am giving you, Aoshi Shinomori, an order."
He looked confused for a moment and then nodded. Everyone assumed that that meant that he had agreed. Misao nodded and sat down again under her lords' watchful eyes.
Kaoru smiled, happy with her success. She looked over at Kenshin and he smiled approvingly. She was happy that she had solved that problem.
She was about to list the further problems that had presented themselves to her when a question came from an unexpected person.
"Aoshi, if you're going to teach kempo, I am willing to learn it. As I've been told before, I need to improve my skills." When Sano finished he looked toward Saito.
Saito smirked and said, "As I've stated before, you're too much of a liability in battle."
Tokio looked up at him and said hotly, "At least some people, unlike others, know when to ask for help."
Saito paled a tad and looked a bit embarrassed. It seemed that a bit of his past had come back to bite him on the butt.
"I would be honored to teach such a humble student."
And nothing more was said on that particular subject. Kaoru smiled gently. It was good that Sano would have something to do during the day. She set a more determined look on her face.
"Okay, the house has ten rooms, but unfortunately, only four are livable at the moment.
We can bunk up tonight, but tomorrow we will have to start cleaning. Yahiko, you and Kenshin can bunk tonight in his room. Aoshi, you can bunk in with Sano. Saito, you and Tokio can take Yahiko's room. Misao, you bunk with me. Now, it's late and I think we all need some sleep, so lets all get ready for bed."
Kaoru started to walk to the door but faltered and would have fallen hard on her face if Kenshin hadn't used his god-like speed to catch her.
"Kaoru!" Yahiko yelled. She looked around, it seemed that everyone had been about to get up and try to catch her. It surprised her, but it made her feel something, like a flutter in her heart. And then she looked up into Kenshin's eyes, they held things she didn't
even want to put a name to, but most of all concern.
"Are you alright, Miss Kaoru? You should be more careful, that you should."
"I'm alright, Kenshin, I guess I'm just more tired than I thought."
"You're working to hard, Missy. You need to take a break. Now that there are more people here, you can take more time for yourself."
Kaoru looked toward Sano with a grateful smile. It was true that her job had been tiring her out lately, but if she didn't provide for them, no one would. But now there was someone here to help her. A lot of someone's. She was grateful that he had said that.
Aoshi, however, was more practical, "A woman should not have to work when there are men living in her house. True men would know better then to let their women work themselves into exhaustion."
Kenshin looked at him with a tortured expression in his eyes. Kaoru looked toward Sanosuke, thinking he might start a fight after a comment like that, but when she looked at him, he looked like he was dealing with self-hatred. Kaoru, however, believed this was Aoshi's way of being concerned and reassuring her about his willingness to help out.
"You're right about that Aoshi, that you are. But, hopefully, things will change around here soon. But for now, Miss Kaoru, you need to get some rest. Sano and I will take care of things around here for the next couple of days, you just rest yourself. Miss Megumi, if you'll please give Miss Kaoru something that will help her sleep, and Miss Misao, will you please go with them and help Miss Kaoru get ready for bed? Thank you."
Kaoru found herself being taken from Kenshin's arms and deposited caringly into Miss Megumi's and Miss Misao's care and being led toward her bedroom.
(Kenshin's POV)
Kenshin watched her walk away. He was angry at himself for letting her tire herself out so badly. Aoshi was right, he should have done something about this situation long ago. He had let it go on this long, but no more. She would have to tell her students that if they wanted to learn they would do it at the Kamiya dojo, and, hopefully, the money brought in by Aoshi's new school would be enough to pay for the expenses of eight people living here.
But right now he had other things to take care of. Like getting Miss Megumi safely home. And he needed to talk to Saito and Aoshi alone, they needed to know more about how many manslayers they were going to send here, ones that were a threat to the family he had built here. People like Saito and Aoshi he could trust because of their honor codes, Saito's rule to slay only evil, and Aoshi's honor bound moral's to the Oniwaban. Plus, Kenshin believed that if Aoshi tried to hurt innocent people Misao would try to kill him.
"Sano, please show Mrs. Saito to her room and escort Miss Megumi home."
"Sure Kenshin, I could use the exercise anyway. I'll see you guys later."
"Hajime, I'll wait up for you in bed. I want to know what you three talk about. And I know you'll tell me all about it, won't you."
Without waiting for an answer she turned around and followed Sanosuke to her new room.
Kenshin turned around and looked at two men he had fought hard battles with before, but would probably never fight again, for they were living under Kaoru's roof now and he would never bring that aspect of his life here ever again. The last time was when he had
fought with Saito before going to Kyoto, and he had seen the pain in her face caused by that fight. He never wanted to see her face look like that again. Aoshi pushed away from the wall and took a step towards Kenshin, he had followed the Battousai's thoughts and silently agreed.
"Battousai," he said, trying to get the other mans full attention. Kenshin gave it to him, "Please, Aoshi we are all going to be living together, that we are, you should call me Kenshin."
Aoshi nodded, "Kenshin. In Kyoto you gave me a bit of advice that turned my life around, mine and Misao's. I think now is the time that I give you some advice. That girl loves you, it's very obvious. Do not make her suffer as she obviously is, it is cruel, and I know you are anything but cruel."
Kenshin thought this over. He'd known for some time that Kaoru had feelings for him, but he hadn't known the extent of those feelings. But I don't want to complicate her life anymore than I've already have. He thought, looking toward Saito. This man who was a manslayer, who had a wife who seemed happy, who seems to have a happy life with her husband. Could I make Kaoru happy like that as well?
"I agree with Aoshi. Kyoto's over, this is the time to express your true feelings. Since I have some experience in the matter, I'll give you some advice, don't make her wait too long, she's liable to change her mind."
Kenshin was shocked. I hadn't thought of that. Could she... would she... really change her mind? No, he thought fiercely, almost feeling his eyes turn gold. I wouldn't let her. She is mine, and if any other man touched her, I will kill them. I won't lose her like I did with Tomoe...
Saito and Aoshi watched as Kenshin's eyes went the gold of the Battousai. They saw this as a good sign, a sign that the Battousai was about to claim his woman. They were sure that that girl wouldn't be sad for much longer.