Glossary: Chicchai-Raion=Little Lion, Oodora=Big Tiger, Kodora=Small Tiger, Saiai=Beloved, Aisoku=Beloved Son, Koishii=Dear/Darling, Chichi/Chichioya=Honorable Father, Sochi=Son, Akachan=baby, Ohayo=Good Morning, Otousan/Otou=Father, Okaasan/Okaa=Mother, Aishiteru=I love you, Sho-ji=Front door, Fusuma=inside door, Bushido=Samurai Code, Sofu=Grandfather, Ojiisan=Honorable Grandfather, Kiobito=Sweetheart, Tori=Bird, Aijou=Love,
Chapter Seven
The Face of The Future
The Saitou household was teeming with activity that morning. There had not been this many souls inside the small house in nearly two years, and it was a wonder no one was showing the strain of it yet. But everyone seemed to be more pleased with the over abundance of bodies squashed into the limited space than they were annoyed at the restricted amount of movement they were limited to because of them.
Himura Kenshin and his wife Kaoru did not come and visit often enough for Saitou and Tokio to grow tired of their company very quickly, and their visits never seemed to last long enough either. This year they had come to 'make the rounds' and check up on everyone just 'to see how things were going'. At least that was the excuse Kenshin was giving. Kaoru, on the other hand, was telling a much more believable story. They were simply homesick for their friends and family and Kenshin had just decided one day that they were making a trip to Kyoto, and that was that. He had boarded Kaoru, Yahiko, and himself onto a train the very next day, and here they were. Fortunately, Kaoru had thought to stop and send a telegram to Tokio before they left that warned her and Saitou that they were coming, so it was not a terrible shock when the three of them showed up on the Police Captain's doorstep. On the contrary, it had been quite the grand welcome they had recieved. While Kuumi and Quii had all but smothered Uncle Kenshin and Auntie Kaoru with hugs and kisses, the twins, Ruakii and Tokken all but knocked the nearly 30 year old Yahiko off his feet in their excitement to see the dark haired Samurai they had never been able to decide was their Uncle or their cousin.
When he was asked why Tsumbe was not with him, Yahiko had blushed furiously before answering that she was expecting... again, and was not feeling well. So she had decided to remain behind in Tokyo this time, but that she sent everyone her love. Then Yahiko had squinted his eyes and bunched up his face in painful preparation for Saitou's forthcomeing remarks about his wifes preganancy. It was inevitable. It was expected. It was Saitou.
"Now... How many does this make, Chicchai-Raion? Twelve? or is it Ten?"
"Three, Saitou. It only makes Three." Yahiko had sighed and cast a pleading look at his father that seemed to say, 'Help me... Please, help me.' But Kenshin had just grinned at him, shrugged, and wrapped an arm around Kuumi to give her a warm hug and kiss her cheek.
"Only Three?? Are you certain, Chiccai-Raion? It seems to me that there are many more than just Three. Perhaps you have lost count, hmmmmm? Could that be possible?" The wicked gleam of mischievious sarcasm was unmistakable as it glittered in his yellow eyes, and the young Samurai finally just gave in and laughed.
"No, Saitou. There are only two at the Dojo. Sokura, and Onji. The new baby will make three. I am sure we have not lost track of anyone on the way." His sherri colored eyes twinkled at the older man indulgently as he thought to himself, 'The old Wolf will never change, and I guess that is the way it should be. Some things are not meant to change.' Saitou had laughed and pounded the younger man on the back in good humor, and then grasped his hand in the new Western-style from of greeting and welcomed him to his home.
"It is good to see you, boy. You have stayed away for far too long. Hasn't he, My Dear?" Saitou had turned warm affectionate eyes towards the smiling face of his lovely wife, and Tokio had walked up to Yahiko and gently brushed a kiss against his cheek.
"Yes. It has been much too long since you came with your Parents on one of their visits. It is very good to see you, Yahiko-san." And she had winked at him knowingly. "Next time, do try and bring your WHOLE family with you."
"Yes, Ma'am." He blushed again, but smiled widely into her warm face. "I will remember that."
Then the mob of happy souls had been ushered into the small three bedroom home, and the reminicing had begun.
The following day, the Himura's were greeted with a wonderful early morning surprise as their youngest son came bouncing through the sho-ji with a loud "Otousan! Okaasan!" and threw himself in the middle of their futon and them in a display of exuberant joy that only Kenji was capable of. Unbeknownst to the Kenshin or Kaoru, Saitou had sent word to Hiko that the Himura's were making an unexpected trip to Kyoto and, perhaps he might want to bring the Kodora down off the mountain BEFORE they made their way up there. After all, the little demon had not seen them for several months, and everyone knew how much he was missing the two of them. So, it was no great surprise to either Saitou or Tokio when the overexcited teen burst through their front door without even knocking.
"Kenji-Akachan!" Kaoru had squealed in happiness as she sat up and engulfed her clamoring son in huge hug that showed him just how much she had missed him. "Oooohh, my baby, my baby..." She crooned and cried against the thickness of his red hair as she buryied her face against him. "I missed you so much... so much, baby... I missed you so much... Kenji, Kenji... Aishiteru, my Angel... Aishiteru." And little tears of joy began to slide down her nose as she held him tight to her heart.
Kenji had never been a child to be embarrassed by his Mother's little pet names or over expressive emotions for him, rather, he was a child who thrived on his Mother's love and had basked in its glory all of his life. So, as she cradled him tightly against her, his strong young arms wound themselves around her body and held on as tightly as he could, while his face sought out the familiar warmth and comfort of her neck. "Aishiteru, Okaasan... I missed you, too..." His usually strong firm voice cracked with the heaviness of his emotions and he burrowed closer to her feeling the beat of her heart against his nose. "I missed you too." The room grew quiet around them as they slowly rocked back and forth locked firmly within each others arms. Beside them, Kenshin watched them with deep purple eyes filled with tears of love and humility. He had always been in awe of the relationship between his wife and their son, and the tremendous love bond they shared. It was a depth of love he understood very well, but knew he could never be a part of... not in the sense that he could 'share' with them what they had together. The three of them shared a bond between them that was just as strong and as deep, and he shared a love bond with his son that was as unique and as powerful as that Kenji shared with Kaoru. But it never ceased to humble him whenever he watched the two of them together. It was like looking at the pure love of the Angels in Heaven. They were his Angels... They were ALL his Angels. Kaoru, Kenji, Soujiro, Yahiko... ALL of them.
"Kodora." The husky rough voice of Seijurou Hiko filtered in through the open sho-ji, as he carefully stepped through. "You could have at least knocked and gave them 'some' warning before you give everyone a heart siezure this early in the morning." He was trying to sound gruff again, but the glint of humor and pleasure in his deep green eyes gave him away easily. Hiko loved this sort of thing though one would have never thought so considering the man he had once been. Where he had once shunned emotional contact and ardent displays of affection, now he was often found in the middle of instigating them. It had occurred to his a few years ago, that it actually made him feel better physcially when he watched his family during moments like these. All of the strains of the world and his ever increasing age seemed to disappear in the face of his daughter-in-laws pure happiness at the unexpectedness of being able to hold her youngest son the first thing this morning. Then, as he felt the weight of their ever growing warmth upon him, Hiko turned slightly and met the smiling eyes of his own son.
Kenshin's deep purple gaze rested with deepest affection upon the craggy features of his fathers face. It never ceased to amaze the red-haired Samurai how this man seemed to remain constantly the same dispite the passage of time that had long since been left behind. His hair was still just as dark as the wings of the mighty black Raven, and it hung well past his waist now; nearly to his knees. Eyes that had seen more in one lifetime than most men can dream of or pray to see, remained the same deeply intelligent, shrewd emerald green Kenshin remembered from his days as a youth when this mighty mountain of a man was his Sword Master. So many years... was it possible that so much time had gone by yet neither of them showed their true age? Kenji was often heard saying that it was 'love' that kept a true swordsman young, and he could prove it just by looking at his Otousan and Sofu.
"Ohayo, Chichi," Kenshin rose from the make-shift sleeping mat he had shared with Kaoru, and leaned backwards trying to stretch the stiffness from his back and shoulders. He may not look his age of nearly 50, but he certainly felt it. More and more the aches and pains in his bones were becoming worse as the years of using his sword in the service of the Hiten Mitsurugi were finally showing the true wear on his body. He did not walk great distances any more, nor did he actively carry a blade since it had become far too painful to swing it in the last year. Yahiko had inherited the Sakobatou that had hung from Kenshin's belt for nearly three decades, and he wore it with an extreme amount of pride. That he did.
"Ohayo, Sochi. You are looking better than I expected you would. Did you take the train this time, like I advised, and stay off the water?"
"Yes," A grateful smile crossed Kenshin's lips as he bowed to his father in appreciation. "It was a much easier trip... just as you said it might be." Hiko watched with great concern as his son struggled to maneuver joints that had aged far to quickly for a man of his age. The pain Kenshin suffered had become an obsession for Hiko, because within his Father's heart he felt responsible for the breakdown of his son's body. The Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu was designed for a large man with heavier bones and muscles that could withstand the increased pressures and traumas forced upon them by the rigours of the unique sword style. The faster-than-God-like speed of the styles attacks had gradually worn down the natural cushioning systems within Kenshin's smaller framed body, and he had at last been forced to succumb to the terrific pain it had caused. Now Hiko was forced to watch his beautiful son struggle to do the simplest of tasks as if he were an aged man at the end of his years instead in the middle of his life, and it never failed to break his heart when he saw what the Dragon had done to his beautiful boy.
"Less painful to your bones?"
"Yes. I never realized how much of the aching before was caused by the damp of the water."
"I had wondered. I am pleased you had a better trip, Sochi." Hiko smiled gently as he nodded in relief. This was an unplanned trip for Kenshin, and as pleased as he was to see his son, Hiko could never help but worry when he did impulsive things these days. He was not the man he had once been; his strength was so limited, and he seemed to fragile at times, that Hiko often feared he may yet put Kenshin in the ground before death came to close his own eyes. Of course, to everyone elses eyes, the Great Oodora was just as powerful and strong as he had ever been, he just appeared to be slowing down, and that is what they all kept telling themselves. Only Hiko and perhaps Kaoru, truly understood how tenious a hold upon his 'Manhood' Kenshin really had.
"It is good to see you, ChiChi. That it is."
"It is good to be seen, Sochi..." The two men chuckled while the younger shook his head in indulgence and amusement. "You will be proud of the Kodora, Kenshin. He grows stronger and swifter with the rising of every Sun."
"He would have to, ChiChi. With you as his Master, he would not dare do anything less." Another deep chuckle issued from Kenshin's throat as he stepped past the bundle of arms and heads that was his wife and son and approached his Father. "After all, no one wants to bring the wrath of the Mountain-ki down upon their heads... Least of all my son. He knows only too well how... understanding you are about poor presentation."
"If he does, it is only because you had the wisdom to share your MANY experiences of, shall we say, poor judgement with him in hopes he would not make the same mistakes."
"Indeed." Both Kenshin's and Hiko's gazes turned to rest on the content boy who lay nestled within the love and safety of his mother's embrace. "He must be better than I was, Master... We... I... I cannot let him make the same kind of mistakes I made when I was his age. He must be better, he must be more honorable and respectful than I."
"He is, Sochi... You have raised him well." Hiko raised a large hand and let it rest warmly on Kenshin's shoulder. "The Kodora is a fine swordsman, a respectful deshi, and, more importantly, he is growing into an honorable man... Just like his Father."
"Thank-you, Master." Kenshin bowed his head and spoke softely and respectfully to the great man beside him. "It means a great deal to me to hear you say that, Master. I know I was not always honorable or respecful. I made many terrible mistakes that should have never been, and I tainted much of my life and yours because of them."
"Yes. But that is all long into the past, My Son. Long into the past where it no longer bears any influence upon our lives or our relationship to one another. You have long since grown into and beyond the kind of man I had hopes of your being. All of our years of sorrow and pain are behind us, Kenshin. There is only the future now. The future and the Kodora and Yahiko's progeny. From them all things further will be born, and the world as we know it will cease to exist as it makes room for a new one where we do not belong."
"Yes. The world will belong to the young. The days of War and the fighting Samurai are at an end, Chichi, but we must not let the ways of Honor and Loyalty die with the rest of our Time, Master."
"No, My Son. The Code will remain as it had always stood, as a beacon of Truth and Knowledge to be cradled within the heart of the Warrior whether he carries a sword, a rifle, or a quill. The Bushido will never fade away from Japan nor from her people. Swordsman like Your Son's will carry it and it's eight virtures into the future where it can be shared, taught, and retaught. The Honor of the Samurai will not die with us, Oodora. It will live on in our children's children until the end of the World."
Kenshin reached up and grasped his father's hand tightly in his and squeezed it as hard as he could as he bowed his head in agreement. "I pray you are right, Chichioya. I pray that with all my heart and soul. That I do." Then he turned the intensity of his clear violet eyes up into Hiko's face and locked gazes with the older man. "Aishiteru, My Father. I have missed you... I truly have."
Hiko swallowed at the huge lump that suddenly appeared in his throat as he savored the chance to look into the beloved face of his son one more time. "Aishiteru, Aisoku-Kenshin." His voice was husky and became thick with emotions he could never seem to control anymore where his son was concerned. "My heart has been empty these two years. It has been too long since my eyes have seen your face, Kenshin. Far too long... two years is too long to go without looking into your eyes and touching the warmth of your ki. I have missed you, Oodora-san. That I have." And Father and Son at last stepped into one anothers embrace and stood silently as the comfort of being together again settled around them. The almost audible hum of their spirit-ki's coming together to rejoice in the long absent contact could be felt as it filled the small room with the intensity of their combined energy.
Kenji, who had been so completely engrossed within his mother's arms, was suddenly pulled back into the world of his full reality as the unmistakable vibration of his Father's and Grandfather's combined ki's slid through his soul like the soothing balm of a warm river. He lifted his head from the curve of Kaoru's neck, and looked over his shoulder. There he saw a sight that always made him feel as if he were standing on the edge of a great cliff looking into a sky filled with a million sparking diamonds waiting for the wind to come and sweep him away into the Heaven's. His Father wrapped snuggle within his own Father's arms as if he were no more than a small boy. His glorious red hair spread out over the heavily muscled arms that held him, and his face lost to sight as it buryied itself against the thick, brown neck and shoulder, and the way Hiko bent over his smaller frame made it seem as if he were pulling the younger man right into his heart. A gentle hand reached up and wipped at the boys face, and he jerked in shock as he realized his mother was drying tears from his cheeks.
"Go on, kiobito..." Kaoru whispered and pressed a motherly kiss into his thick hair and another against his damp cheek. "Go on and find your place with them. You know it is always there waiting for you." His clear aqua colored eyes gazed lovingly at her beautiful face for a moment, and then he pressed his lips against her smooth cheek and rubbed his forehead roughly against hers.
"Aishiteru, Otaasan... How do you always know what I am thinking?"
"Because I am your Mother, Saiai. I always know what you are thinking."
"Is that the only reason?"
"No, but it is enough for you to understand for now. Go to your Father, Kenji... He had missed you so much more than I can ever tell you. Go to him, his heart and soul need to feel 'you', not just your ki, and his arms grow as hungry to hold you as mine do... sometimes I think perhaps more so. He misses you, Saiai. Go to him... Go now." With one last kiss on her cheek, Kenji rose to his feet and walked very softly over to his Father and Grandfather.
"O-Otousan??" His voice was tremulous as he reached out to touch the back of his father's head where it was resting on the curve of Hiko's great shoulder. Kenshin immediately pulled back from his chosen place of comfort and turned to meet the misty aqua-blue eyes of his son. Violet eyes filled with tears as he drank in the absolute beauty of Kenji's unscarred face, and the purity of eyes unburdened with any of the horrors he had seen by the time he was the same age.
"Aisoku-Kenji." The gentle whisper was filled with love, pride, and the anxiety of never being sure he was still the governing male figure in his son's life. "My beautiful son... Saiai-Kenji-san." The oft times fluid grace of Kenshin's hands failed him at that moment as he reached out and cupped his son's face in loving repose.
"Otousan? What is wrong with your hands?" Kenji gently pulled his father's hands away from his face and held them reverently in his. Astonishingly, he noticed they were about the same size now, and his eyes flew to his father's face in bewilderment. "They are the same." He whispered in awe. "Our, hands... Otousan, our hands are the same."
Kenshin smiled and squeezed the boys hands tightly within his own. "Yes. They are the same, Aisoku. It has taken you your entire life, but you are finally the same size as I am. See..." Kenshin reached out and put his hand on Kenji's shoulder and made him meet his dark purple gaze. "You have reached the height of my Manhood, Kenji. From here on, you will surpass me in everything you do and everything you become. It is I who will stand in Your shadow now."
"NO! That will not ever be true, Otousan. It will never be true." Kenji was fierce and determined as he grasped both of his Father's shoulders and bore down into his shocked face. "I will never be Greater than you, nor do I wish to be. You are MY FATHER... You are that which I hope to become like, but I will never be what you are. You are the begining and end of what I want to be, and I will learn everything from you that I can... everything that you will teach me... Everything, Otousan. But I can never be more. I do not want to be more. I only wish to become a man you will be proud of... and to be your son. I only want to be your son, Otousan." With that heart felt expression of his love and respect for his Father, Kenji buryied his face in Kenshin's hair and wrapped his arms around the stunned man. "Aishiteru, Otousan. You are the Greatest Man I know. I just want to make you proud to be my Father."
As Kenshin pulled his trembling son as close to his heart as his aching arms would allow, he pressed tender kisses against the boys neck and let tears of joy slid unashamedly down his face. "I AM proud of you, Kenji My son. I am more proud than my words can ever speak to you, and I am proud to be your Father. But more so, I am proud to call you My Son, Kodora. I am so proud to call you My son, and whatever you are wishing for me to teach you, you have but to ask and the knowledge is yours. Whatever I am and whatever I have that you want or need, My Son... it is yours just as it has always been and always will be."
A soft sob could be heard from the youth as he burrowed closer against his father's neck, and Kenshin raised a hand to cup the back of his head where he tenderly stroked the long thick red hair as it fell over his arm. "I have loved you since before your lungs drew air, Kenji," Kenshin's voice was barely above a whisper, and the words he spoke were meant for his son's ears alone. "I have loved you and your brothers with every beat of my heart and every breath of my soul. My life is yours as it is theirs... my life ceased being my own the day I fell in love with your beautiful mother, and I discovered what it meant to need something more than the air I breathed to keep me alive each day. With each member of my family who has come into my heart, with each birth, each marriage; each bonding has been different and unique but nontheless, just as stong and powerful as those who came before, and those who are yet to come." Tightening his arms just a bit more, dispite the pain, Kenshin pushed outward from his central core and enveloped Kenji within the protective blanket of his powerful spirit-ki. For, no matter the pain, no matter the state of his body, the Warrior's spirit within Himura Kenshin would not be dimmed or diminished and its enormous strength continued onward as a testiment to the Magnificent Samurai he had once been.
"Carry with you always that knowledge, Himura Kenji. Carry the knowledge that your Father loves you and there is nowhere else within his life or heart for another to take your place. You are the son of my spirit, Kenji-Kodora. Within you burns the power of the white flames that you inherited from me, but there can only be one White Warrior, My Son. Your destiny lies further along the path beyond mine. I have lived my life and I have fulfilled my purpose the Gods made me for... You have been made for a purpose, My Son. A great purpose, and you cannot escape it any more than I could escape mine." Kenji grew very still within his father's embrace as all of the words he had just heard him speak slowly made their way into his rational mind. 'Only One White Warrior?' What did his father mean by that? What was a 'White Warrior'? Who was the 'White Warrior'? Was his Father refering to himself? Was he 'The White Warriror', and if so, what did that mean?
"Otousan?" Kenji pulled awa from Kenshin and looked into his serious face. "What do you mean? What is a 'White Warrior'?"
Kenshin smiled and placed his hand against the smoothness of his son's face once more. "It is time you knew the whole truth, Kenji-san. It is time you knew everything about your Father and Mother and where you come from."
"But... but, Otousan, Sofu told me..." Kenji dropped his gaze in shame as he mumbled. "I... I made Sofu tell me about many things from the past already."
"You did?" Kenji did not see the smirk that tugged at his Fathers mouth as he turned and exchanged understanding glances with Hiko. "And WHAT did you make Sofu tell you, Kenji?" As if Hiko could be forced to tell anyone anything.
"He told me about the Bakumatsu... about who YOU were during the Bakumatsu. But do not be angry with Sofu, Otou. It was my fault he told me... I wanted to know what happened in the past that would have ever made it so the two of you did not get along or even like each other, and... and, well, it just sort of ended up going that way until he told me about... about you being... well, I figured it out myself actually. Didn't I, Sofu?"
"Yes, Kodora. In the end, you did figure it out on your own. I never did actually say the words to you." Hiko's face was slightly sad, but the truth was the truth, and the boy HAD figured it out on his own.
"So, you know that I was... The Hitokiri Battousai." Kenshin's voice was flat as he looked at the bent head of his son.
"Yes. Otou, I know."
"I see." A great sigh heaved through Kenshin's small frame and he looked over his son's head to catch the worried blue eyes of his beloved. "It would seem this talk has waited a bit too long to happen, wouldn't it, Koishii?"
"Yes, perhaps it would, but Kenshin... There are so many things to tell... so many things he does not know. Which ones will you chose to tell and which ones will you leave secret?"
"Hmmmm..."
"Why must any of them be secret?" A hard flinty voice echoed from the hallway to everyones left, and Kenshin turned to find Saitou leaning against the slender doorframe preparing to light a cigarette. "The Kodora is no fool, Battousai." He said, elasping into his old habit of calling Kenshin by the name he's known him by for so many years. "He is not a child any longer, perhaps it is time you stopped treating him like one."
"Are you giving me parenting advice, Saitou?" Kenshin asked in a low dangerous voice than had Kenji staring nervously between his Father and the man he knew as his Uncle.
"Me?" Saitou pointed to himself in exageration as he took a long drag off his smoke then slowly blew it out in a gray cloud that swirled his head. "Of course not. God knows how 'I' could possibly be any more qualified than 'YOU' seeing as how I have raised four children and you one and a half."
"One and a half?" Kenji squawked in outrage. "I am worth more than a half, Uncle Saitou. Yahiko has to be the 'half' your referring to, and not me? Right??"
"Sure, Runt. And Your Mother likes me better too." Yahiko appeared right behind Saitou's should, and with a big yawn, favored the gapping mouthed teen with a wicked wink. "You never did know when to shut your mouth, Kodora... I see Sofu has not been able to teach you any better yet. Must be hereditary... "
"Yeah... Nobody in this family knows when to shut-up. It's a Himura defect, Baka-Raion, and you ought to know."
"Oh yeah, how do you figure that Runt?"
"Because you've been around them all a whole lot longer than I have... Monkey-ass." And Kenji folded his arms across his chest giving Yahiko his best 'Go to Hell,' and 'So there,' combination look.
"Hmmmm, he got you there, Raion." Hiko sniggered as he walked across the room to stand next to a smirking Saitou.
"Bullshit, he did!"
"Nope. Gotta agree with the old man here, kid. The Kodora got you that time. No doubt about it."
Yahiko glared at the two men whose love for sarcasm and mental grief was legendary within the family if not within Kyoto in the last 10 years. "And just how do you figure the little Runt got anything up on me that time, I would like to know?"
"Well, Raion... Whether you beat him in defimation of family character or not... he absolutely beat you within the personal insult catagory. Would you not agree, Hiko?"
"Oh, most definitately, Saitou. Most definitately. The Kodora out scored Raion by what... at least two."
"Two...?" Saitou carefully counted on his fingers as he moved his lips in a mockery of talking to himself. "Why, your right, Old Friend. It is two. Definitely two."
"Oh Lord save me from old men who think they are still fit to do battle." Yahiko mumbled under his breath as he stalked into the room and idly cuffed his younger brother on the back of the head. "Baka."
Kenji just smiled smuggly.
He knew he had won the verbal battle with his brother, and so, for the moment, everything else was forgotten.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Kenji's here, Kuumi." Quii's excitment carried her all the way back down the hallway to the room she shared with her older sister and bouncing into the middle of her futon. "Did you hear me, sleepy-head? Kenji's here! Kenji's here! Kenji's here!"
"I heard you, little tori. Now get off my bed and go away... I am still sleeping." Kuumi tried to bury her dark head further beneath the quilts, but her younger sister was not having any of that. With a wild yank, she pulled all of the bed clothes off leaving Kuumi in a disheveled pile in the center of the futon with her long black hair sticking out in a thousand directions.
"QUII!!!" She squealed in anger and lunged up off the mattress intent upon strangling the younger girl, but all she found was empty air where Quii had been, and then she was regailed with the evil devlish laughter that was unique to her sister alone. "Kami save me..." She moaned and flopped back down onto her head rest roll. "MOTHER..."
"Oh come on... don't you have any sense of humor at all? Geez, you always have to be so serious all of the time... Hummph." Quii threw herself back down onto Kuumi's futon as all the excitement of her early morning discovery seemed to drain out of her. "I thought you would be excited that He was here. That is why I came to wake you up."
"I am excited, Quii. Can you not see that?" Kuumi's voice was laced heavily with sarcasm and irritation.
"Yeah right. I can really hear the abundance of excitment in your voice. Maybe I should go out and tell him that you really do not care if he is here or not... Yes. I think I will do just that." And she bounced off the futon towards the fusuma only to find herself falling flat on her face. Looking back in angry surprise, she found her ankle caught tightly in the hand of her older, now glowering sister.
"IF you do, Saitou Quii, I swear on Buddha's head... I will tear every strand of your hair out by the roots, rub honey all over your bald head, and tie you up in an anthill. YOU GOT ME?"
"OK, OK, OK... Geez, you cannot take a joke at all. Do you really think I would do that?"
"Yes."
The only response she got back from that accusation was another round of Quii's wicked laughter as she leapt up off the futon and smothered Kuumi with her own bedding, and then bounced from the room. Kuumi had to smile and laugh a little. She would not know what she would do without Quii to keep her going sometimes, but then again. She woundered sometimes what it would be like NOT to have her around tormenting her all the time. With a deep sigh, she pulled herself up off the futon and walked to her clothes cabinet. She needed to find something pretty to wear if Kenji really was here. After looking and considering several different gowns, Kuumi chose her lavendar kimono with its pale pink obi. She liked how it made her eyes look more of a misty blue than green, and the pastels also seemed to bring out a creamy sheen in her skin that was attractive.
Kuumi knew that being attracted to Kenji was silly. He was nearly four years younger than she was, and barely entering into manhood to the point of being eligable to take a wife... at least by his parents standards. She knew it was a dream that was next to impossible, her becoming Kenji's wife, but there was a small part of her that was so attached to him she just could not seem to let go of the dream. He was really the only spousal option she had left in her life anyway. She was getting too old for betrothals, and her father had not had any offers for her in over two years.
It was a fact, Kuumi made people nervous. She had the uncanny ability to appear like she knew everything someone else was thinking, almost before they thought it themself. There was a constant air around her of something nontangible yet physically oppressing that sent others into a feeling of instant wariness and defensivness. Her beauty was incomparable, her mannars and graces impecable, but none of that mattered once someone was close enough to her to 'feel' the aura of strangeness that surrounded her constantly like a second skin.
Her Mother called it her 'second sense' and tried to tell Kuumi it was a gift to be able to feel and sense the emotions and state of mind of others, but Kuumi had always felt it was more of a curse than a gift. 'It' had kept her from having many friends, from having a Inazuke or a Husband, and 'It' may end up being the only companion she had to grow old with before her life was over, unless someone came along who was not disturbed by 'It'. That was what was so wonderful about Kenji. He had grown up in a family where manifestations of the spiritual energies and powers was as normal as breathing and eating, so she had never had any strange effect on him like she did on others. If only there were someone else... someone older who would still not be put off by her... Gift.
But was there anyone like that? Kuumi did not believe so.
"Kuumi-aijou, I need you to go to Market for me today." Tokio's voice interrupted her daughters daydreams in front of her cabinet.
"Oh... What do you need, Okaa?"
"Just some extra tofu, rice milk, and bean sprouts."
"All right, Okaa. I will be ready in just a few moments." Kuumi rushed to dress and then brushed her hair into a smooth black curtain around her shoulders and waist. Kenji liked long hair.
When she approached her Mother, Tokio looked into the beautiful jewel like blue-green eyes, and gently took one of the small white hands. "You are so lovely, My Dear one, but you are wearing your heart on your sleeve, Kuumi."
"I know, Okaa. I cannot seem to help it. I always feel this way when HE is here. He is the only one who..." Her voice trailed off as she lowered her eyes and blushed.
"I know, Koishii, Kenji is the only one who does not seem to notice your Gift, nor does it seem to bother him in anyway, but dearling, you must listen to me. Kenji-san is not for you, in your heart you know this."
"I know this, Okaasan. But how do I stop feeling how I feel?"
"I am not sure, my dear, but something will happen and you will forget about the young Kodora. I am certain of this."
Hopeful blue-green crystals rose to search the gentle face of the only mother she had known, and Kuumi reached out and wrapped her arms around Tokio's neck. "Thank-you, Okaasan."
"You are welcome, Saiai. Now have hope in your heart... You are not too old for love or marriage. There is a man waiting to find you. I believe this."
"Why, Okaasan? Why do you believe it so much? I have gone nearly all my years without finding anyone to love me... or who will let me love them. How can you believe?"
"Because, Aijou. I lived without your father for over 10 years believing he had died in the Bakumatsu, but he was yet alive, and God allowed us to come back together after all that time and still have a wonderful loving marriage. That has made me a believer of many things, and I believe there is one yet who is meant to hold your precious heart, but you must let go of Kenji and your little girl dreams."
"I will try, Okaa... I will try." Kuumi hugged her mother one more time, and then bid her farewell as she ducked out the backdoor and headed towards the Market. Perhaps her mother was right. Perhaps it was time to let go of childish dreams of Himura Kenji... Of course, she knew in her heart that even if her mother was right, and there was someone waiting for her, she would probably never find him.
Things like that just did not happen to Saitou Kuumi. She led the dullest life of any single member in this family. Little did she know, that this trip to the Market would have more repurcussions on her future than she could have imagined. For, as Kuumi departed the small home she had lived in and grown up in since the night of 'The Flaming Sword', Christian was patiently trying to make his way through the throng of milling Japanese shoppers as he looked for a link to his past.
The future was about to collide with the past, and no one within the Saitou or Himura Familes would ever be the same.
***A/N***
This is a transition chapter that needed to be written in order to pull together the lives and ideals of both families involved. It takes place only a few hours/moments before Kuumi and Christian meet in the street. The next chapter will bring Kenshin face to face with his long forgotten and unknown past... Christian de'Angeles.
Please look forward to reading "The Beautiful Gemini".
Updated: The Master of High Tower (the end of the week)IE: The 'unedited' version of Master of High Tower is located on Adultfanfiction.net. It is rated a LEMON over there, but I had to tone it down to post it on fictionpress.net
Just posted: The Bad Kid (new K/K fanfiction under Romance/Drama/Angst/Mystery) You can find my new fiction through the links on my Author's page. It will also be up on my Webpage.
Please READ and REVIEW. Thanks for your support. Tsuki-san.
Chapter Seven
The Face of The Future
The Saitou household was teeming with activity that morning. There had not been this many souls inside the small house in nearly two years, and it was a wonder no one was showing the strain of it yet. But everyone seemed to be more pleased with the over abundance of bodies squashed into the limited space than they were annoyed at the restricted amount of movement they were limited to because of them.
Himura Kenshin and his wife Kaoru did not come and visit often enough for Saitou and Tokio to grow tired of their company very quickly, and their visits never seemed to last long enough either. This year they had come to 'make the rounds' and check up on everyone just 'to see how things were going'. At least that was the excuse Kenshin was giving. Kaoru, on the other hand, was telling a much more believable story. They were simply homesick for their friends and family and Kenshin had just decided one day that they were making a trip to Kyoto, and that was that. He had boarded Kaoru, Yahiko, and himself onto a train the very next day, and here they were. Fortunately, Kaoru had thought to stop and send a telegram to Tokio before they left that warned her and Saitou that they were coming, so it was not a terrible shock when the three of them showed up on the Police Captain's doorstep. On the contrary, it had been quite the grand welcome they had recieved. While Kuumi and Quii had all but smothered Uncle Kenshin and Auntie Kaoru with hugs and kisses, the twins, Ruakii and Tokken all but knocked the nearly 30 year old Yahiko off his feet in their excitement to see the dark haired Samurai they had never been able to decide was their Uncle or their cousin.
When he was asked why Tsumbe was not with him, Yahiko had blushed furiously before answering that she was expecting... again, and was not feeling well. So she had decided to remain behind in Tokyo this time, but that she sent everyone her love. Then Yahiko had squinted his eyes and bunched up his face in painful preparation for Saitou's forthcomeing remarks about his wifes preganancy. It was inevitable. It was expected. It was Saitou.
"Now... How many does this make, Chicchai-Raion? Twelve? or is it Ten?"
"Three, Saitou. It only makes Three." Yahiko had sighed and cast a pleading look at his father that seemed to say, 'Help me... Please, help me.' But Kenshin had just grinned at him, shrugged, and wrapped an arm around Kuumi to give her a warm hug and kiss her cheek.
"Only Three?? Are you certain, Chiccai-Raion? It seems to me that there are many more than just Three. Perhaps you have lost count, hmmmmm? Could that be possible?" The wicked gleam of mischievious sarcasm was unmistakable as it glittered in his yellow eyes, and the young Samurai finally just gave in and laughed.
"No, Saitou. There are only two at the Dojo. Sokura, and Onji. The new baby will make three. I am sure we have not lost track of anyone on the way." His sherri colored eyes twinkled at the older man indulgently as he thought to himself, 'The old Wolf will never change, and I guess that is the way it should be. Some things are not meant to change.' Saitou had laughed and pounded the younger man on the back in good humor, and then grasped his hand in the new Western-style from of greeting and welcomed him to his home.
"It is good to see you, boy. You have stayed away for far too long. Hasn't he, My Dear?" Saitou had turned warm affectionate eyes towards the smiling face of his lovely wife, and Tokio had walked up to Yahiko and gently brushed a kiss against his cheek.
"Yes. It has been much too long since you came with your Parents on one of their visits. It is very good to see you, Yahiko-san." And she had winked at him knowingly. "Next time, do try and bring your WHOLE family with you."
"Yes, Ma'am." He blushed again, but smiled widely into her warm face. "I will remember that."
Then the mob of happy souls had been ushered into the small three bedroom home, and the reminicing had begun.
The following day, the Himura's were greeted with a wonderful early morning surprise as their youngest son came bouncing through the sho-ji with a loud "Otousan! Okaasan!" and threw himself in the middle of their futon and them in a display of exuberant joy that only Kenji was capable of. Unbeknownst to the Kenshin or Kaoru, Saitou had sent word to Hiko that the Himura's were making an unexpected trip to Kyoto and, perhaps he might want to bring the Kodora down off the mountain BEFORE they made their way up there. After all, the little demon had not seen them for several months, and everyone knew how much he was missing the two of them. So, it was no great surprise to either Saitou or Tokio when the overexcited teen burst through their front door without even knocking.
"Kenji-Akachan!" Kaoru had squealed in happiness as she sat up and engulfed her clamoring son in huge hug that showed him just how much she had missed him. "Oooohh, my baby, my baby..." She crooned and cried against the thickness of his red hair as she buryied her face against him. "I missed you so much... so much, baby... I missed you so much... Kenji, Kenji... Aishiteru, my Angel... Aishiteru." And little tears of joy began to slide down her nose as she held him tight to her heart.
Kenji had never been a child to be embarrassed by his Mother's little pet names or over expressive emotions for him, rather, he was a child who thrived on his Mother's love and had basked in its glory all of his life. So, as she cradled him tightly against her, his strong young arms wound themselves around her body and held on as tightly as he could, while his face sought out the familiar warmth and comfort of her neck. "Aishiteru, Okaasan... I missed you, too..." His usually strong firm voice cracked with the heaviness of his emotions and he burrowed closer to her feeling the beat of her heart against his nose. "I missed you too." The room grew quiet around them as they slowly rocked back and forth locked firmly within each others arms. Beside them, Kenshin watched them with deep purple eyes filled with tears of love and humility. He had always been in awe of the relationship between his wife and their son, and the tremendous love bond they shared. It was a depth of love he understood very well, but knew he could never be a part of... not in the sense that he could 'share' with them what they had together. The three of them shared a bond between them that was just as strong and as deep, and he shared a love bond with his son that was as unique and as powerful as that Kenji shared with Kaoru. But it never ceased to humble him whenever he watched the two of them together. It was like looking at the pure love of the Angels in Heaven. They were his Angels... They were ALL his Angels. Kaoru, Kenji, Soujiro, Yahiko... ALL of them.
"Kodora." The husky rough voice of Seijurou Hiko filtered in through the open sho-ji, as he carefully stepped through. "You could have at least knocked and gave them 'some' warning before you give everyone a heart siezure this early in the morning." He was trying to sound gruff again, but the glint of humor and pleasure in his deep green eyes gave him away easily. Hiko loved this sort of thing though one would have never thought so considering the man he had once been. Where he had once shunned emotional contact and ardent displays of affection, now he was often found in the middle of instigating them. It had occurred to his a few years ago, that it actually made him feel better physcially when he watched his family during moments like these. All of the strains of the world and his ever increasing age seemed to disappear in the face of his daughter-in-laws pure happiness at the unexpectedness of being able to hold her youngest son the first thing this morning. Then, as he felt the weight of their ever growing warmth upon him, Hiko turned slightly and met the smiling eyes of his own son.
Kenshin's deep purple gaze rested with deepest affection upon the craggy features of his fathers face. It never ceased to amaze the red-haired Samurai how this man seemed to remain constantly the same dispite the passage of time that had long since been left behind. His hair was still just as dark as the wings of the mighty black Raven, and it hung well past his waist now; nearly to his knees. Eyes that had seen more in one lifetime than most men can dream of or pray to see, remained the same deeply intelligent, shrewd emerald green Kenshin remembered from his days as a youth when this mighty mountain of a man was his Sword Master. So many years... was it possible that so much time had gone by yet neither of them showed their true age? Kenji was often heard saying that it was 'love' that kept a true swordsman young, and he could prove it just by looking at his Otousan and Sofu.
"Ohayo, Chichi," Kenshin rose from the make-shift sleeping mat he had shared with Kaoru, and leaned backwards trying to stretch the stiffness from his back and shoulders. He may not look his age of nearly 50, but he certainly felt it. More and more the aches and pains in his bones were becoming worse as the years of using his sword in the service of the Hiten Mitsurugi were finally showing the true wear on his body. He did not walk great distances any more, nor did he actively carry a blade since it had become far too painful to swing it in the last year. Yahiko had inherited the Sakobatou that had hung from Kenshin's belt for nearly three decades, and he wore it with an extreme amount of pride. That he did.
"Ohayo, Sochi. You are looking better than I expected you would. Did you take the train this time, like I advised, and stay off the water?"
"Yes," A grateful smile crossed Kenshin's lips as he bowed to his father in appreciation. "It was a much easier trip... just as you said it might be." Hiko watched with great concern as his son struggled to maneuver joints that had aged far to quickly for a man of his age. The pain Kenshin suffered had become an obsession for Hiko, because within his Father's heart he felt responsible for the breakdown of his son's body. The Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu was designed for a large man with heavier bones and muscles that could withstand the increased pressures and traumas forced upon them by the rigours of the unique sword style. The faster-than-God-like speed of the styles attacks had gradually worn down the natural cushioning systems within Kenshin's smaller framed body, and he had at last been forced to succumb to the terrific pain it had caused. Now Hiko was forced to watch his beautiful son struggle to do the simplest of tasks as if he were an aged man at the end of his years instead in the middle of his life, and it never failed to break his heart when he saw what the Dragon had done to his beautiful boy.
"Less painful to your bones?"
"Yes. I never realized how much of the aching before was caused by the damp of the water."
"I had wondered. I am pleased you had a better trip, Sochi." Hiko smiled gently as he nodded in relief. This was an unplanned trip for Kenshin, and as pleased as he was to see his son, Hiko could never help but worry when he did impulsive things these days. He was not the man he had once been; his strength was so limited, and he seemed to fragile at times, that Hiko often feared he may yet put Kenshin in the ground before death came to close his own eyes. Of course, to everyone elses eyes, the Great Oodora was just as powerful and strong as he had ever been, he just appeared to be slowing down, and that is what they all kept telling themselves. Only Hiko and perhaps Kaoru, truly understood how tenious a hold upon his 'Manhood' Kenshin really had.
"It is good to see you, ChiChi. That it is."
"It is good to be seen, Sochi..." The two men chuckled while the younger shook his head in indulgence and amusement. "You will be proud of the Kodora, Kenshin. He grows stronger and swifter with the rising of every Sun."
"He would have to, ChiChi. With you as his Master, he would not dare do anything less." Another deep chuckle issued from Kenshin's throat as he stepped past the bundle of arms and heads that was his wife and son and approached his Father. "After all, no one wants to bring the wrath of the Mountain-ki down upon their heads... Least of all my son. He knows only too well how... understanding you are about poor presentation."
"If he does, it is only because you had the wisdom to share your MANY experiences of, shall we say, poor judgement with him in hopes he would not make the same mistakes."
"Indeed." Both Kenshin's and Hiko's gazes turned to rest on the content boy who lay nestled within the love and safety of his mother's embrace. "He must be better than I was, Master... We... I... I cannot let him make the same kind of mistakes I made when I was his age. He must be better, he must be more honorable and respectful than I."
"He is, Sochi... You have raised him well." Hiko raised a large hand and let it rest warmly on Kenshin's shoulder. "The Kodora is a fine swordsman, a respectful deshi, and, more importantly, he is growing into an honorable man... Just like his Father."
"Thank-you, Master." Kenshin bowed his head and spoke softely and respectfully to the great man beside him. "It means a great deal to me to hear you say that, Master. I know I was not always honorable or respecful. I made many terrible mistakes that should have never been, and I tainted much of my life and yours because of them."
"Yes. But that is all long into the past, My Son. Long into the past where it no longer bears any influence upon our lives or our relationship to one another. You have long since grown into and beyond the kind of man I had hopes of your being. All of our years of sorrow and pain are behind us, Kenshin. There is only the future now. The future and the Kodora and Yahiko's progeny. From them all things further will be born, and the world as we know it will cease to exist as it makes room for a new one where we do not belong."
"Yes. The world will belong to the young. The days of War and the fighting Samurai are at an end, Chichi, but we must not let the ways of Honor and Loyalty die with the rest of our Time, Master."
"No, My Son. The Code will remain as it had always stood, as a beacon of Truth and Knowledge to be cradled within the heart of the Warrior whether he carries a sword, a rifle, or a quill. The Bushido will never fade away from Japan nor from her people. Swordsman like Your Son's will carry it and it's eight virtures into the future where it can be shared, taught, and retaught. The Honor of the Samurai will not die with us, Oodora. It will live on in our children's children until the end of the World."
Kenshin reached up and grasped his father's hand tightly in his and squeezed it as hard as he could as he bowed his head in agreement. "I pray you are right, Chichioya. I pray that with all my heart and soul. That I do." Then he turned the intensity of his clear violet eyes up into Hiko's face and locked gazes with the older man. "Aishiteru, My Father. I have missed you... I truly have."
Hiko swallowed at the huge lump that suddenly appeared in his throat as he savored the chance to look into the beloved face of his son one more time. "Aishiteru, Aisoku-Kenshin." His voice was husky and became thick with emotions he could never seem to control anymore where his son was concerned. "My heart has been empty these two years. It has been too long since my eyes have seen your face, Kenshin. Far too long... two years is too long to go without looking into your eyes and touching the warmth of your ki. I have missed you, Oodora-san. That I have." And Father and Son at last stepped into one anothers embrace and stood silently as the comfort of being together again settled around them. The almost audible hum of their spirit-ki's coming together to rejoice in the long absent contact could be felt as it filled the small room with the intensity of their combined energy.
Kenji, who had been so completely engrossed within his mother's arms, was suddenly pulled back into the world of his full reality as the unmistakable vibration of his Father's and Grandfather's combined ki's slid through his soul like the soothing balm of a warm river. He lifted his head from the curve of Kaoru's neck, and looked over his shoulder. There he saw a sight that always made him feel as if he were standing on the edge of a great cliff looking into a sky filled with a million sparking diamonds waiting for the wind to come and sweep him away into the Heaven's. His Father wrapped snuggle within his own Father's arms as if he were no more than a small boy. His glorious red hair spread out over the heavily muscled arms that held him, and his face lost to sight as it buryied itself against the thick, brown neck and shoulder, and the way Hiko bent over his smaller frame made it seem as if he were pulling the younger man right into his heart. A gentle hand reached up and wipped at the boys face, and he jerked in shock as he realized his mother was drying tears from his cheeks.
"Go on, kiobito..." Kaoru whispered and pressed a motherly kiss into his thick hair and another against his damp cheek. "Go on and find your place with them. You know it is always there waiting for you." His clear aqua colored eyes gazed lovingly at her beautiful face for a moment, and then he pressed his lips against her smooth cheek and rubbed his forehead roughly against hers.
"Aishiteru, Otaasan... How do you always know what I am thinking?"
"Because I am your Mother, Saiai. I always know what you are thinking."
"Is that the only reason?"
"No, but it is enough for you to understand for now. Go to your Father, Kenji... He had missed you so much more than I can ever tell you. Go to him, his heart and soul need to feel 'you', not just your ki, and his arms grow as hungry to hold you as mine do... sometimes I think perhaps more so. He misses you, Saiai. Go to him... Go now." With one last kiss on her cheek, Kenji rose to his feet and walked very softly over to his Father and Grandfather.
"O-Otousan??" His voice was tremulous as he reached out to touch the back of his father's head where it was resting on the curve of Hiko's great shoulder. Kenshin immediately pulled back from his chosen place of comfort and turned to meet the misty aqua-blue eyes of his son. Violet eyes filled with tears as he drank in the absolute beauty of Kenji's unscarred face, and the purity of eyes unburdened with any of the horrors he had seen by the time he was the same age.
"Aisoku-Kenji." The gentle whisper was filled with love, pride, and the anxiety of never being sure he was still the governing male figure in his son's life. "My beautiful son... Saiai-Kenji-san." The oft times fluid grace of Kenshin's hands failed him at that moment as he reached out and cupped his son's face in loving repose.
"Otousan? What is wrong with your hands?" Kenji gently pulled his father's hands away from his face and held them reverently in his. Astonishingly, he noticed they were about the same size now, and his eyes flew to his father's face in bewilderment. "They are the same." He whispered in awe. "Our, hands... Otousan, our hands are the same."
Kenshin smiled and squeezed the boys hands tightly within his own. "Yes. They are the same, Aisoku. It has taken you your entire life, but you are finally the same size as I am. See..." Kenshin reached out and put his hand on Kenji's shoulder and made him meet his dark purple gaze. "You have reached the height of my Manhood, Kenji. From here on, you will surpass me in everything you do and everything you become. It is I who will stand in Your shadow now."
"NO! That will not ever be true, Otousan. It will never be true." Kenji was fierce and determined as he grasped both of his Father's shoulders and bore down into his shocked face. "I will never be Greater than you, nor do I wish to be. You are MY FATHER... You are that which I hope to become like, but I will never be what you are. You are the begining and end of what I want to be, and I will learn everything from you that I can... everything that you will teach me... Everything, Otousan. But I can never be more. I do not want to be more. I only wish to become a man you will be proud of... and to be your son. I only want to be your son, Otousan." With that heart felt expression of his love and respect for his Father, Kenji buryied his face in Kenshin's hair and wrapped his arms around the stunned man. "Aishiteru, Otousan. You are the Greatest Man I know. I just want to make you proud to be my Father."
As Kenshin pulled his trembling son as close to his heart as his aching arms would allow, he pressed tender kisses against the boys neck and let tears of joy slid unashamedly down his face. "I AM proud of you, Kenji My son. I am more proud than my words can ever speak to you, and I am proud to be your Father. But more so, I am proud to call you My Son, Kodora. I am so proud to call you My son, and whatever you are wishing for me to teach you, you have but to ask and the knowledge is yours. Whatever I am and whatever I have that you want or need, My Son... it is yours just as it has always been and always will be."
A soft sob could be heard from the youth as he burrowed closer against his father's neck, and Kenshin raised a hand to cup the back of his head where he tenderly stroked the long thick red hair as it fell over his arm. "I have loved you since before your lungs drew air, Kenji," Kenshin's voice was barely above a whisper, and the words he spoke were meant for his son's ears alone. "I have loved you and your brothers with every beat of my heart and every breath of my soul. My life is yours as it is theirs... my life ceased being my own the day I fell in love with your beautiful mother, and I discovered what it meant to need something more than the air I breathed to keep me alive each day. With each member of my family who has come into my heart, with each birth, each marriage; each bonding has been different and unique but nontheless, just as stong and powerful as those who came before, and those who are yet to come." Tightening his arms just a bit more, dispite the pain, Kenshin pushed outward from his central core and enveloped Kenji within the protective blanket of his powerful spirit-ki. For, no matter the pain, no matter the state of his body, the Warrior's spirit within Himura Kenshin would not be dimmed or diminished and its enormous strength continued onward as a testiment to the Magnificent Samurai he had once been.
"Carry with you always that knowledge, Himura Kenji. Carry the knowledge that your Father loves you and there is nowhere else within his life or heart for another to take your place. You are the son of my spirit, Kenji-Kodora. Within you burns the power of the white flames that you inherited from me, but there can only be one White Warrior, My Son. Your destiny lies further along the path beyond mine. I have lived my life and I have fulfilled my purpose the Gods made me for... You have been made for a purpose, My Son. A great purpose, and you cannot escape it any more than I could escape mine." Kenji grew very still within his father's embrace as all of the words he had just heard him speak slowly made their way into his rational mind. 'Only One White Warrior?' What did his father mean by that? What was a 'White Warrior'? Who was the 'White Warrior'? Was his Father refering to himself? Was he 'The White Warriror', and if so, what did that mean?
"Otousan?" Kenji pulled awa from Kenshin and looked into his serious face. "What do you mean? What is a 'White Warrior'?"
Kenshin smiled and placed his hand against the smoothness of his son's face once more. "It is time you knew the whole truth, Kenji-san. It is time you knew everything about your Father and Mother and where you come from."
"But... but, Otousan, Sofu told me..." Kenji dropped his gaze in shame as he mumbled. "I... I made Sofu tell me about many things from the past already."
"You did?" Kenji did not see the smirk that tugged at his Fathers mouth as he turned and exchanged understanding glances with Hiko. "And WHAT did you make Sofu tell you, Kenji?" As if Hiko could be forced to tell anyone anything.
"He told me about the Bakumatsu... about who YOU were during the Bakumatsu. But do not be angry with Sofu, Otou. It was my fault he told me... I wanted to know what happened in the past that would have ever made it so the two of you did not get along or even like each other, and... and, well, it just sort of ended up going that way until he told me about... about you being... well, I figured it out myself actually. Didn't I, Sofu?"
"Yes, Kodora. In the end, you did figure it out on your own. I never did actually say the words to you." Hiko's face was slightly sad, but the truth was the truth, and the boy HAD figured it out on his own.
"So, you know that I was... The Hitokiri Battousai." Kenshin's voice was flat as he looked at the bent head of his son.
"Yes. Otou, I know."
"I see." A great sigh heaved through Kenshin's small frame and he looked over his son's head to catch the worried blue eyes of his beloved. "It would seem this talk has waited a bit too long to happen, wouldn't it, Koishii?"
"Yes, perhaps it would, but Kenshin... There are so many things to tell... so many things he does not know. Which ones will you chose to tell and which ones will you leave secret?"
"Hmmmm..."
"Why must any of them be secret?" A hard flinty voice echoed from the hallway to everyones left, and Kenshin turned to find Saitou leaning against the slender doorframe preparing to light a cigarette. "The Kodora is no fool, Battousai." He said, elasping into his old habit of calling Kenshin by the name he's known him by for so many years. "He is not a child any longer, perhaps it is time you stopped treating him like one."
"Are you giving me parenting advice, Saitou?" Kenshin asked in a low dangerous voice than had Kenji staring nervously between his Father and the man he knew as his Uncle.
"Me?" Saitou pointed to himself in exageration as he took a long drag off his smoke then slowly blew it out in a gray cloud that swirled his head. "Of course not. God knows how 'I' could possibly be any more qualified than 'YOU' seeing as how I have raised four children and you one and a half."
"One and a half?" Kenji squawked in outrage. "I am worth more than a half, Uncle Saitou. Yahiko has to be the 'half' your referring to, and not me? Right??"
"Sure, Runt. And Your Mother likes me better too." Yahiko appeared right behind Saitou's should, and with a big yawn, favored the gapping mouthed teen with a wicked wink. "You never did know when to shut your mouth, Kodora... I see Sofu has not been able to teach you any better yet. Must be hereditary... "
"Yeah... Nobody in this family knows when to shut-up. It's a Himura defect, Baka-Raion, and you ought to know."
"Oh yeah, how do you figure that Runt?"
"Because you've been around them all a whole lot longer than I have... Monkey-ass." And Kenji folded his arms across his chest giving Yahiko his best 'Go to Hell,' and 'So there,' combination look.
"Hmmmm, he got you there, Raion." Hiko sniggered as he walked across the room to stand next to a smirking Saitou.
"Bullshit, he did!"
"Nope. Gotta agree with the old man here, kid. The Kodora got you that time. No doubt about it."
Yahiko glared at the two men whose love for sarcasm and mental grief was legendary within the family if not within Kyoto in the last 10 years. "And just how do you figure the little Runt got anything up on me that time, I would like to know?"
"Well, Raion... Whether you beat him in defimation of family character or not... he absolutely beat you within the personal insult catagory. Would you not agree, Hiko?"
"Oh, most definitately, Saitou. Most definitately. The Kodora out scored Raion by what... at least two."
"Two...?" Saitou carefully counted on his fingers as he moved his lips in a mockery of talking to himself. "Why, your right, Old Friend. It is two. Definitely two."
"Oh Lord save me from old men who think they are still fit to do battle." Yahiko mumbled under his breath as he stalked into the room and idly cuffed his younger brother on the back of the head. "Baka."
Kenji just smiled smuggly.
He knew he had won the verbal battle with his brother, and so, for the moment, everything else was forgotten.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Kenji's here, Kuumi." Quii's excitment carried her all the way back down the hallway to the room she shared with her older sister and bouncing into the middle of her futon. "Did you hear me, sleepy-head? Kenji's here! Kenji's here! Kenji's here!"
"I heard you, little tori. Now get off my bed and go away... I am still sleeping." Kuumi tried to bury her dark head further beneath the quilts, but her younger sister was not having any of that. With a wild yank, she pulled all of the bed clothes off leaving Kuumi in a disheveled pile in the center of the futon with her long black hair sticking out in a thousand directions.
"QUII!!!" She squealed in anger and lunged up off the mattress intent upon strangling the younger girl, but all she found was empty air where Quii had been, and then she was regailed with the evil devlish laughter that was unique to her sister alone. "Kami save me..." She moaned and flopped back down onto her head rest roll. "MOTHER..."
"Oh come on... don't you have any sense of humor at all? Geez, you always have to be so serious all of the time... Hummph." Quii threw herself back down onto Kuumi's futon as all the excitement of her early morning discovery seemed to drain out of her. "I thought you would be excited that He was here. That is why I came to wake you up."
"I am excited, Quii. Can you not see that?" Kuumi's voice was laced heavily with sarcasm and irritation.
"Yeah right. I can really hear the abundance of excitment in your voice. Maybe I should go out and tell him that you really do not care if he is here or not... Yes. I think I will do just that." And she bounced off the futon towards the fusuma only to find herself falling flat on her face. Looking back in angry surprise, she found her ankle caught tightly in the hand of her older, now glowering sister.
"IF you do, Saitou Quii, I swear on Buddha's head... I will tear every strand of your hair out by the roots, rub honey all over your bald head, and tie you up in an anthill. YOU GOT ME?"
"OK, OK, OK... Geez, you cannot take a joke at all. Do you really think I would do that?"
"Yes."
The only response she got back from that accusation was another round of Quii's wicked laughter as she leapt up off the futon and smothered Kuumi with her own bedding, and then bounced from the room. Kuumi had to smile and laugh a little. She would not know what she would do without Quii to keep her going sometimes, but then again. She woundered sometimes what it would be like NOT to have her around tormenting her all the time. With a deep sigh, she pulled herself up off the futon and walked to her clothes cabinet. She needed to find something pretty to wear if Kenji really was here. After looking and considering several different gowns, Kuumi chose her lavendar kimono with its pale pink obi. She liked how it made her eyes look more of a misty blue than green, and the pastels also seemed to bring out a creamy sheen in her skin that was attractive.
Kuumi knew that being attracted to Kenji was silly. He was nearly four years younger than she was, and barely entering into manhood to the point of being eligable to take a wife... at least by his parents standards. She knew it was a dream that was next to impossible, her becoming Kenji's wife, but there was a small part of her that was so attached to him she just could not seem to let go of the dream. He was really the only spousal option she had left in her life anyway. She was getting too old for betrothals, and her father had not had any offers for her in over two years.
It was a fact, Kuumi made people nervous. She had the uncanny ability to appear like she knew everything someone else was thinking, almost before they thought it themself. There was a constant air around her of something nontangible yet physically oppressing that sent others into a feeling of instant wariness and defensivness. Her beauty was incomparable, her mannars and graces impecable, but none of that mattered once someone was close enough to her to 'feel' the aura of strangeness that surrounded her constantly like a second skin.
Her Mother called it her 'second sense' and tried to tell Kuumi it was a gift to be able to feel and sense the emotions and state of mind of others, but Kuumi had always felt it was more of a curse than a gift. 'It' had kept her from having many friends, from having a Inazuke or a Husband, and 'It' may end up being the only companion she had to grow old with before her life was over, unless someone came along who was not disturbed by 'It'. That was what was so wonderful about Kenji. He had grown up in a family where manifestations of the spiritual energies and powers was as normal as breathing and eating, so she had never had any strange effect on him like she did on others. If only there were someone else... someone older who would still not be put off by her... Gift.
But was there anyone like that? Kuumi did not believe so.
"Kuumi-aijou, I need you to go to Market for me today." Tokio's voice interrupted her daughters daydreams in front of her cabinet.
"Oh... What do you need, Okaa?"
"Just some extra tofu, rice milk, and bean sprouts."
"All right, Okaa. I will be ready in just a few moments." Kuumi rushed to dress and then brushed her hair into a smooth black curtain around her shoulders and waist. Kenji liked long hair.
When she approached her Mother, Tokio looked into the beautiful jewel like blue-green eyes, and gently took one of the small white hands. "You are so lovely, My Dear one, but you are wearing your heart on your sleeve, Kuumi."
"I know, Okaa. I cannot seem to help it. I always feel this way when HE is here. He is the only one who..." Her voice trailed off as she lowered her eyes and blushed.
"I know, Koishii, Kenji is the only one who does not seem to notice your Gift, nor does it seem to bother him in anyway, but dearling, you must listen to me. Kenji-san is not for you, in your heart you know this."
"I know this, Okaasan. But how do I stop feeling how I feel?"
"I am not sure, my dear, but something will happen and you will forget about the young Kodora. I am certain of this."
Hopeful blue-green crystals rose to search the gentle face of the only mother she had known, and Kuumi reached out and wrapped her arms around Tokio's neck. "Thank-you, Okaasan."
"You are welcome, Saiai. Now have hope in your heart... You are not too old for love or marriage. There is a man waiting to find you. I believe this."
"Why, Okaasan? Why do you believe it so much? I have gone nearly all my years without finding anyone to love me... or who will let me love them. How can you believe?"
"Because, Aijou. I lived without your father for over 10 years believing he had died in the Bakumatsu, but he was yet alive, and God allowed us to come back together after all that time and still have a wonderful loving marriage. That has made me a believer of many things, and I believe there is one yet who is meant to hold your precious heart, but you must let go of Kenji and your little girl dreams."
"I will try, Okaa... I will try." Kuumi hugged her mother one more time, and then bid her farewell as she ducked out the backdoor and headed towards the Market. Perhaps her mother was right. Perhaps it was time to let go of childish dreams of Himura Kenji... Of course, she knew in her heart that even if her mother was right, and there was someone waiting for her, she would probably never find him.
Things like that just did not happen to Saitou Kuumi. She led the dullest life of any single member in this family. Little did she know, that this trip to the Market would have more repurcussions on her future than she could have imagined. For, as Kuumi departed the small home she had lived in and grown up in since the night of 'The Flaming Sword', Christian was patiently trying to make his way through the throng of milling Japanese shoppers as he looked for a link to his past.
The future was about to collide with the past, and no one within the Saitou or Himura Familes would ever be the same.
***A/N***
This is a transition chapter that needed to be written in order to pull together the lives and ideals of both families involved. It takes place only a few hours/moments before Kuumi and Christian meet in the street. The next chapter will bring Kenshin face to face with his long forgotten and unknown past... Christian de'Angeles.
Please look forward to reading "The Beautiful Gemini".
Updated: The Master of High Tower (the end of the week)IE: The 'unedited' version of Master of High Tower is located on Adultfanfiction.net. It is rated a LEMON over there, but I had to tone it down to post it on fictionpress.net
Just posted: The Bad Kid (new K/K fanfiction under Romance/Drama/Angst/Mystery) You can find my new fiction through the links on my Author's page. It will also be up on my Webpage.
Please READ and REVIEW. Thanks for your support. Tsuki-san.