Pure Heart –– Part 6 Lessons

The river was still in the forest's shadows and the water very cold. Shinta took every effort not to show his fear. Nevertheless, his disgust was plainly visible on his face.

Hiko had chosen a quiet spot for Kenshin's first swimming lesson, far away from the strong currents and the thundering waterfall.

He stood hip-deep in the cold water and had one arm underneath Kenshin's belly to support him.

Even though Shinta knew Hiko did not want to hurt him in any way, he had twitched as the man touched him. Given the many bruises his body was covered in, Hiko was not really surprised about that.

Kenshin had slept peacefully through the night and when he woke him up early in the morning, two sleepy eyes had looked up to him.

The boy's tiredness had vanished the instant he realised he was being led down to the river and Hiko explained that he would learn how to swim today.

Shinta was very suspicious of the water. In the small village where he had lived, there had only been a single, small and shallow brook and the few times of high tide his mother had strictly forbidden him to get close. His encounter with the river's currents two days before had not given him a better impression of rivers as well.

Every one of his muscles was tight even as Hiko held him secure.

"Don't forget to use your legs as well!" Hiko told him. Once more this morning.

Shinta sighed. He forgot about his legs all the time, concentrating on his arms instead.

It was early noon when Hiko let the boy swim a little bit alone for the first time. To Shinta's own excitement it went really well. If he was not afraid of the water and did not stop swimming, he could not drown at all. But then again, until now he only swam next to the riverbanks and the water was not deep enough for him to drown anyway.

After lunch, Shinta went to swim up and down the riverbank until he got exhausted. Tired, he climbed onto some rocks and sat down to regain his breath.

Unlike the morning, he was no longer cold in the water, but the wind seemed to be freezing cold. The sun was weak and did not help his body to warm up. Finally, Hiko called him back and Shinta ran up a little slope to where the man was waiting. Hiko passed him a towel just big enough for Shinta to cover himself with it.

Thankfully, Shinta took it and sat down on the soft grass. It smelled good and was tickling his face. Slowly, he warmed up again and felt nice and cosy underneath the towel. Tired and warm, he closed his eyes. He heard the wind in the trees and the water flowing. From time to time he heard Hiko take a sip of sake. Soon, he fell asleep.

He dreamt of blood and crying faces. Swords flashing in the moonlight. The sad slave girl in Kyoto ran past him and yelled something in his direction. He wanted to run after her, but his mother held him back. No, it was not his mother, his mother was long dead. It was a woman with empty eyes. She held him and, as he looked up to her, she smiled at him with a demonic smile. Somewhere, people were crying and screaming in pain and fear. Shinta screamed as well, but no sound came out of his mouth. He wanted to run away, but he could not break the strange woman's iron grip. The ground beneath him became red, the screams fell silent. Suddenly, the woman threw him into a black hole in the earth. He fell into the darkness, fell, fell...

Breathing hard, Shinta sat up. For a moment, he thought he would fall, but then he realised the warm earth beneath him. Did he fall into that deep hole? But, no , it couldn´t be. Sunlight blinded him and for a moment he could not see anything. His heart was running wild. Then, the red mist in front of his eyes vanished and he realised he was still on the grass next to the river. The towel was next to him and his body was covered with sweat.

Just a dream. It had been just a dream... but part of his dream was true. All those dead people. The holes in the earth, he himself had dug. For Akane, Kasumi and Sakura. And for the others. And the slave girl from yesterday. He shook his head. He did not want to think about that. Not hear the screams or see the blood.

Shinta took another moment to regain his breath and then stood up. Somehow, he still felt tired and exhausted.

The sun had wandered on in the sky and the river was shadowed by the afternoon sun. There was no sign of Hiko anywhere. He thought about walking back to the hut, but then decided to take a closer look down by the river instead. His feeling was to prove true, a little shrouded by some brush, Hiko sat a few meters upriver on a big rock and seemed to meditate.

Without Shinta calling, Hiko turned around.

"Did you sleep well?"

Shinta nodded and decided not to mention his dream.

Hiko stood up and mentioned for Shinta to follow him. They walked for a while along the river until they reached a rather broad spot. There were a few rocks littered on the bank and a few even in the river's middle.

Shinta had a good idea what Hiko was up to.

He did not know, however, whether he was ready for that. He had been swimming alone after lunch, but the water had not been deep there, he could stand up at all times. This was different. He remembered the strong currents above the waterfall and how close that had been.

The water here seemed to be very deep and the current was fast and-

"Are you coming, Kenshin?"

Startling, Kenshin realised Hiko was already in the water and waiting for him. He stood there, covered up to his shoulders in water and watched him.

"Yes..."

What else could he do?

Unlike this morning, he could not wade in since the water got deep very quickly. Hesitating, he stood. But still there was only one choice.

He took all his courage and jumped.

The water was ice-cold and seemed to draw his down. Shinta yelled and instantly his mouth was filled with water. Trying desperately, he reached the surface somehow. In panic, he punched water to keep his head above and gasped for air.

"What are you doing, baka?" Hiko called, but did not come to help "Swim!"

Shinta kept punching water while he tried to recall the morning lessons.

Swim.

Move arms and legs together.

Do not be afraid of the water.

Don't panic.

The water will carry you.

Move arms and legs together.

Do not be afraid of the water.

Move arms and legs together.

Finally, Shinta managed to get his arms and legs under control and move them like he had been taught and exercised so well this morning. With relief, he realised it was working. The water was indeed carrying him. He swam.

"Ah, well. Finally."Hiko said as Kenshin swam next to him, taking the small boy and putting him down on a nearly rock so he could relax. Even those few meters had exhausted him.

Hiko thought he'd go and call it a day. Kenshin's body was not yet ready for that much strain. The boy was malnourished and still was covered with bruises and unhealed wounds. It was enough for today.

Swimming had made him tired again and so, while they had supper, he was rubbing his eyes despite his short nap. They had caught fish, three whole fish. But Shinta could not even eat half one. He had been very hungry, but had been filled up just as fast.

After Shinta had washed the dishes and fetched a fresh bucket of water, Hiko rubbed him once more with that milky paste that felt so good on his bruises.

After that, Hiko started to teach him reading and writing. Witless, Shinta looked at the small table on which were now a inkpot, a brush and a sheet of paper. He had a hard time following Hiko's lessons and, even though he tried to concentrate, he only heard half of what Hiko said. Then, Hiko started to draw signs on the paper and told him about what the sequence of strokes were for each.

Shinta's own first tries failed miserably. Before long, he was so tired he could only perceive the signs as washed out blobs of black on the paper and when he had filled a whole sheet with exercises, he was finally allowed to go to bed. Exhausted, he sank on his new, nice and soft futon and closed his eyes. For a while, he listened to the fire and hoped not to dream something terrible like before again. Soon, sleep came.

Hiko woke to a scraping sound. Instinctively he knew it was still during the night. Without opening his eyes he took a moment to pull himself together. He listened –– there it was again. The sound stopped for a short while, then it started anew. It sounded like there was someone dragging a futon over the wooden floor. Then, there was another sound, that of the door opening. Immediately, soft moonlight shone through the room, he could tell even without opening his eyes. The cool night air flooded the warm afterheat from the fire away. What in the world...?

As Hiko opened his eyes and sat up, Kenshin stood close by the door, holding the futon in both hands and looked at him frightened.

"Kenshin, what are you doing?" Hiko asked.

The child did not answer. He was still staring at him, uncertain. Reluctantly, he opened his mouth, but no sound came across his lips.

Shinta looked down in shame. What could he say? He could not tell the truth. Impossible.

"I..." he began, He stopped. He just could not say that.

Hiko grew impatient. Even without being able to see Kenshin's eyes, he could feel the boy's desperation, the shame he felt.

Nearly even more desperation than he had felt in that little side-street in Kyoto. But why?

"I..."

Shinta's hands dug into the futon. He was trying hard to keep his tears back, but soon it would be too late. Hiko would know anyway. He would know. And it had been just yesterday that he had promised not to disappoint him any more. And now already, he had done this terrible thing.

"I... I wet my bed..."

That's not possible...

For the second time in those few days, Kenshin caught him totally unprepared. He was at a loss for words. Had he heard right?

"You did what..?"

Shinta felt the first hot tear run down his face. He did not dare look at Hiko. He had only known his Shishou for a few days and he was not certain whether he would laugh at him, scream or even throw him out.

Hiko did not expect Kenshin to answer. He had heard right without a doubt. Incredible. For the first time in years he was clueless for a moment. But a suppressed, barely audible sobbing brought him back to the reality where his student stood in front of him and had soiled his futon.

Sighing, Hiko stood up. Had it not been in the middle of the night, he would be really amused right now, he thought.

Given Kenshin's fear and shameful face, he passed without any comment as he took the futon from Kenshin's hands and took it outside.

He had taken on a greater burden than he had imagined. First, he had regarded Kenshin's age as an advantage, the fact that he was still young and unspoiled. But there seemed to be certain disadvantages connected to that young age as well. Disadvantages he was clearly not really prepared to face yet.

He cleaned the spot as well as he could with a piece of cloth and left if outside for the morning sun to dry.

"Why are you standing around like that, baka? Change your clothes." He called back at Kenshin who was standing in the door, watching him.

Shinta twitched and immediately hurried inside. He felt so bad. It took all his will not to break down and cry. But at the same time he was thankful Hiko had not been screaming and yelling at him. Feelings crashed down on him like a tidal wave –– shame, anger –– he was so angry with himself. And so ashamed.

Hiko shook his head and followed him. Still ashamed, Kenshin dropped the haori he had been given to sleep in and brought it outside.

As he came back, Hiko had already prepared another haori and a provisional bed made up from an old blanket and a thin one as cover. Reluctantly, Kenshin was standing close to the door again.

"Will you come here, already?" Hiko called him, frowning.

He draped the much too big haori around the small boy, ignoring his glassy eyes.

Suddenly, he had an irritating thought. He had no idea how old the child was after all.

The answer surprised him.

"Nine?"

Kenshin nodded and watched him, uneasy.

"You don't normally wet your bed in that age." Hiko said dryly.

"I know..." Kenshin stammered

"Does this happen frequently to you?"

Kenshin shook his head.

Hiko watched him for a long moment, thinking.

"Well, let's hope it stays an exception.

End Part 6

Translator's note: (Hi, it's me, Angel )

Well, I just wanted to say thank you to all the reviewers who so kindly commented on my English translation. I like doing this, even if it gets tiresome from time to time. And no, Ayumi does not make me write this. But she just called over (she's in bed reading) and asked if I'm done already , so I'll keep it short.

Terry-McElrath: Sure, if you really want to proof-read the texts, feel free to do so. Just send the corrections to Ayumi (her mail is registered with ) and she can then replace the old texts.

As to the question whether the other fanfictions will be translated, I think they will be in time. When is another question and dependant on my studies and her persuasion.

That's it from me for now. Hope you had fun with the current chapter and I hope I'll have the next one ready for next weekend.

-Angel

Now it ´s Ayumi's turn!!

Hello, everyone!

Ahrg, I had a hard week again. Last weekend we went to another anime con in Germany. It was lots of fun, but on the last day I felt sick ( But guess what ––Angel and I made a Hiko and Kenshin Cosplay!!! I was young Kenshin from the first OVA But unfortunately I felt so sick that I couldn't wear the costume very long –– I don't even have a single photo). The whole last week I was ill, but now I'm feeling better.

Thanks so much for all your reviews!!! I hope I can force, erm, persuade Angel to translate my other fanfics too. At least the short ones. I have one very long story with over 60 pages ("Dunkelheit" which means "Darkness") and well, Angel doesn ´t like this story so I think he will translate the short ones.

Someone asked me where I buy my doujinshis. The answer is simple : ebay!!!! I look for doujinshis nearly every day.

I ´m talking and talking and don ´t say anything about the story ...well, I hope you like it! Is Hiko in character? It ´s pretty hard to write about him.

I love this part where Kenshin wet his bed!

See you next chapter!!!