Dilemma
Chapter 2: The Messenger Again
There was no sign of the previous night's precipitation in the vicinity of the dojo. Kaoru awoke to the especially bright sun, still feeling quite tired. The light and her biological clock wouldn't allow further sleep though, and she rose lazily to change into a rather ordinary kimono. As she walked from her room, she noticed, rather expectedly, that Yahiko was not up so bright and early. Rather unexpectedly though, she also noticed that Kenshin was not up so bright and early either. Sneaking up to his respective room, she slid open the shoji a mere inch to confirm that Kenshin was very much asleep.
He was human, after all. Kaoru considered it a good chance to take her time cooking up breakfast. The prior night's incident lingering at the back of her mind, she was gathering the necessary instruments and ingredients when a timid knock was heard from the gate. Kaoru walked hurriedly to open the smaller door to the right of the gate.
"Hel -- oh, Shin-san!" Kaoru squeaked, either out of delight or simply surprise.
The man in question was about half a foot taller than Kaoru, and appeared perhaps a few years older, but Kaoru knew better; he was probably as old as Kenshin. Shin was not his full first name, but people had always called him that. Indeed, he had always been rather popular with his clever and friendly personality, not to mention a boyishly attractive face and a slender, pleasant build. Shin had been a prodigy when it came to Kamiya Kasshin Ryu. As a result, Kaoru's father had allowed Shin, albeit reluctantly, to participate in the war in the Bakumatsu. He had been the one, over a decade ago, to bring the news of the sad death to Kaoru. Kaoru briefly remembered that Kenshin's childhood name also began with 'Shin...'
"Kamiya-san. How have you been?" The so-called Shin-san inquired.
"I've been fine... what bring you here?" Kaoru questioned, without sounding blunt.
Shin stared at her questioningly. Kaoru blinked.
"Tomorrow is your father's... when... he passed away..."
Epiphany hit. Kaoru, her friends and her father's friends had always attended her father's cemetery every year. However, Kaoru had not participated in the preceding year. Chalk that up to certain business in Kyoto.
"Oh... I'm so sorry I couldn't attend last year... and to think that I completely forgot this year!" Embarrassed and feeling quite guilty, Kaoru muttered.
"That's fine... Dr. Genzai explained last year that you had very good reasons." Shin replied in an understanding manner.
"Ano... do you have a place to stay? You are welcome to stay here, if you wish." Kaoru offered, not knowing what else to say.
"I don't want to be intrusive, but I would very much appreciate it."
And with that, Shin entered the door -- with him a presence and knowledge that would change Kenshin and Kaoru's relationship forever.
Not a moment later, Kenshin made his relatively overslept appearance. Kenshin glanced at the unfamiliar man curiously, the pretense of indifference veiling his silent questions. Meanwhile, Shin's steps halted as his face conveyed incredulousness and, at the same time, doubt for whatever silent questions he too was asking himself. Kenshin looked on ever more curiously, befuddled by the stranger's reaction. It was gone quickly though, and Shin proceeded to greet the even-younger appearing man.
"How do you do? I am Shin, a former apprentice of Kamiya-san's father." Shin talked and waited, obviously expecting a return of sorts.
"...Kenshin. Nice to meet you." If Shin wasn't going to share his treasured surname, neither was he.
Shin eyed Kenshin's sakabatou. Kenshin eyed Shin's katana. He must have been left-handed, for the positions of the two weapons mirrored each other. Questions clearly lingered on Shin's lips, but he seemed hesitant to ask.
"Tomorrow is the day Kamiya-san's father passed away." Shin instead explained, eyeing the face opposite for a reaction.
"Oh." Kenshin turned his vision onto Kaoru. "I did not know that. I'm just... a resident here, thanks to Kaoru-dono's kindness and hospitality." He finished.
That seemed to give some comfort to Shin. Kaoru didn't seem overjoyed by the statement, but now was not the time to argue. When was it ever?
"It's a long story, Shin-san. I was about to cook breakfast, so please have a rest."
Kenshin, as usual, was about to offer a hand. But Shin had similar ideas.
"I'll help you Kamiya-san. We can talk and catch up on the last two years." And with that, Shin entered the kitchen despite Kaoru's objections.
Kaoru turned to throw Kenshin a genuine smile of reassurance before following Shin's suit, its exact meaning unknown to Kenshin. Kenshin stood and wondered what he would do. On an ordinary day he would occupy himself with laundry, but at present, washing clothes seemed to him like a distasteful activity. It was an unusual feeling; Kenshin felt that his pride would be hurt. In front of this man. Not knowing what else to achieve, Kenshin decided to take a walk.
Shin heard and felt the departure. He eyed Kaoru gathering busily fresh and bottled ingredients, and allowed a few moments to pass before wording out his anxious questions.
"Oh, Kamiya-san, what did Kenshin-san say his surname was?" It came out with complete nonchalance.
"Himura." Kaoru seemed to find some fondness in speaking the name.
Himura...
For the second occasion that day, Shin couldn't help but feel as if his blood froze.
"Battousai." It was a statement -- one that cleared his own doubts and confirmed his suspicions -- barely audible to Kaoru. "You are letting Battousai live in the dojo of Kamiya Kasshin Ryu."
It was utterly unfathomable to him. No, it was beyond unfathomable.
"Shin!" Kaoru snapped with disappointment and anger. "Don't you dare jump to conclusions. Don't you dare judge him."
Kaoru was sick of it. She was sick of people like Shin, stating to her what she knew, assuming what they wanted to assume about Kenshin. How dare they? If one person in Japan deserved to be in this dojo, it would be Kenshin, according to Kaoru. They didn't know him like she did.
Shin stared at her, his face conveying pure disbelief.
"So you know, yet..." Shin stopped.
He realized she was never told.
She was never told the exact nature of her father's death.
- - Author's Note: I wasn't good enough to make this chapter have the same mood as the first, but please forgive me... because I think I can bring it back very soon. I also honestly wanted to write a few thousand words per chapter, but I'm an impatient bastard :/ I wanted to get the second chapter out quickly. I'm currently traveling interstate, inquiring universities and stuff to get the course I want, as well as arranging where and how to live and move stuff, while my parents undergo divorce and I'm in the (proverbial) middle somewhere... Pardon my life story. Anyway, so I won't be able to write very much for a while, but once I get settled I hope to write thousands of words every week!
Thanks for the reviews by the way. I finally know what all the authors feel like when they get these lovely reviews!
Believe me I'm really really grateful for each and every review, but I'm a lazy bastard so I only reply to some reviews, ones that concern questions or explanations.
Death by Wasabi: You may be right, I wanted to make sure before writing this story but I couldn't find out... so please assume for this story that they were on opposite sides. Also, regarding the killing, I probably made it a bit unclear – if it did happen, Kenshin doesn't know. I changed the words in the first chapter right at the end (added 4 words :) ) to make it hopefully clearer. These types of inputs are very appreciated, thanks!
Laurika, Tiger, Bob-san, Koishi-Sweet, kik-ting, MZ. AMbER EYES: Thanks for the lovely comments, any suggestion like the one Bob-san made is very welcome.
There was no sign of the previous night's precipitation in the vicinity of the dojo. Kaoru awoke to the especially bright sun, still feeling quite tired. The light and her biological clock wouldn't allow further sleep though, and she rose lazily to change into a rather ordinary kimono. As she walked from her room, she noticed, rather expectedly, that Yahiko was not up so bright and early. Rather unexpectedly though, she also noticed that Kenshin was not up so bright and early either. Sneaking up to his respective room, she slid open the shoji a mere inch to confirm that Kenshin was very much asleep.
He was human, after all. Kaoru considered it a good chance to take her time cooking up breakfast. The prior night's incident lingering at the back of her mind, she was gathering the necessary instruments and ingredients when a timid knock was heard from the gate. Kaoru walked hurriedly to open the smaller door to the right of the gate.
"Hel -- oh, Shin-san!" Kaoru squeaked, either out of delight or simply surprise.
The man in question was about half a foot taller than Kaoru, and appeared perhaps a few years older, but Kaoru knew better; he was probably as old as Kenshin. Shin was not his full first name, but people had always called him that. Indeed, he had always been rather popular with his clever and friendly personality, not to mention a boyishly attractive face and a slender, pleasant build. Shin had been a prodigy when it came to Kamiya Kasshin Ryu. As a result, Kaoru's father had allowed Shin, albeit reluctantly, to participate in the war in the Bakumatsu. He had been the one, over a decade ago, to bring the news of the sad death to Kaoru. Kaoru briefly remembered that Kenshin's childhood name also began with 'Shin...'
"Kamiya-san. How have you been?" The so-called Shin-san inquired.
"I've been fine... what bring you here?" Kaoru questioned, without sounding blunt.
Shin stared at her questioningly. Kaoru blinked.
"Tomorrow is your father's... when... he passed away..."
Epiphany hit. Kaoru, her friends and her father's friends had always attended her father's cemetery every year. However, Kaoru had not participated in the preceding year. Chalk that up to certain business in Kyoto.
"Oh... I'm so sorry I couldn't attend last year... and to think that I completely forgot this year!" Embarrassed and feeling quite guilty, Kaoru muttered.
"That's fine... Dr. Genzai explained last year that you had very good reasons." Shin replied in an understanding manner.
"Ano... do you have a place to stay? You are welcome to stay here, if you wish." Kaoru offered, not knowing what else to say.
"I don't want to be intrusive, but I would very much appreciate it."
And with that, Shin entered the door -- with him a presence and knowledge that would change Kenshin and Kaoru's relationship forever.
Not a moment later, Kenshin made his relatively overslept appearance. Kenshin glanced at the unfamiliar man curiously, the pretense of indifference veiling his silent questions. Meanwhile, Shin's steps halted as his face conveyed incredulousness and, at the same time, doubt for whatever silent questions he too was asking himself. Kenshin looked on ever more curiously, befuddled by the stranger's reaction. It was gone quickly though, and Shin proceeded to greet the even-younger appearing man.
"How do you do? I am Shin, a former apprentice of Kamiya-san's father." Shin talked and waited, obviously expecting a return of sorts.
"...Kenshin. Nice to meet you." If Shin wasn't going to share his treasured surname, neither was he.
Shin eyed Kenshin's sakabatou. Kenshin eyed Shin's katana. He must have been left-handed, for the positions of the two weapons mirrored each other. Questions clearly lingered on Shin's lips, but he seemed hesitant to ask.
"Tomorrow is the day Kamiya-san's father passed away." Shin instead explained, eyeing the face opposite for a reaction.
"Oh." Kenshin turned his vision onto Kaoru. "I did not know that. I'm just... a resident here, thanks to Kaoru-dono's kindness and hospitality." He finished.
That seemed to give some comfort to Shin. Kaoru didn't seem overjoyed by the statement, but now was not the time to argue. When was it ever?
"It's a long story, Shin-san. I was about to cook breakfast, so please have a rest."
Kenshin, as usual, was about to offer a hand. But Shin had similar ideas.
"I'll help you Kamiya-san. We can talk and catch up on the last two years." And with that, Shin entered the kitchen despite Kaoru's objections.
Kaoru turned to throw Kenshin a genuine smile of reassurance before following Shin's suit, its exact meaning unknown to Kenshin. Kenshin stood and wondered what he would do. On an ordinary day he would occupy himself with laundry, but at present, washing clothes seemed to him like a distasteful activity. It was an unusual feeling; Kenshin felt that his pride would be hurt. In front of this man. Not knowing what else to achieve, Kenshin decided to take a walk.
Shin heard and felt the departure. He eyed Kaoru gathering busily fresh and bottled ingredients, and allowed a few moments to pass before wording out his anxious questions.
"Oh, Kamiya-san, what did Kenshin-san say his surname was?" It came out with complete nonchalance.
"Himura." Kaoru seemed to find some fondness in speaking the name.
Himura...
For the second occasion that day, Shin couldn't help but feel as if his blood froze.
"Battousai." It was a statement -- one that cleared his own doubts and confirmed his suspicions -- barely audible to Kaoru. "You are letting Battousai live in the dojo of Kamiya Kasshin Ryu."
It was utterly unfathomable to him. No, it was beyond unfathomable.
"Shin!" Kaoru snapped with disappointment and anger. "Don't you dare jump to conclusions. Don't you dare judge him."
Kaoru was sick of it. She was sick of people like Shin, stating to her what she knew, assuming what they wanted to assume about Kenshin. How dare they? If one person in Japan deserved to be in this dojo, it would be Kenshin, according to Kaoru. They didn't know him like she did.
Shin stared at her, his face conveying pure disbelief.
"So you know, yet..." Shin stopped.
He realized she was never told.
She was never told the exact nature of her father's death.
- - Author's Note: I wasn't good enough to make this chapter have the same mood as the first, but please forgive me... because I think I can bring it back very soon. I also honestly wanted to write a few thousand words per chapter, but I'm an impatient bastard :/ I wanted to get the second chapter out quickly. I'm currently traveling interstate, inquiring universities and stuff to get the course I want, as well as arranging where and how to live and move stuff, while my parents undergo divorce and I'm in the (proverbial) middle somewhere... Pardon my life story. Anyway, so I won't be able to write very much for a while, but once I get settled I hope to write thousands of words every week!
Thanks for the reviews by the way. I finally know what all the authors feel like when they get these lovely reviews!
Believe me I'm really really grateful for each and every review, but I'm a lazy bastard so I only reply to some reviews, ones that concern questions or explanations.
Death by Wasabi: You may be right, I wanted to make sure before writing this story but I couldn't find out... so please assume for this story that they were on opposite sides. Also, regarding the killing, I probably made it a bit unclear – if it did happen, Kenshin doesn't know. I changed the words in the first chapter right at the end (added 4 words :) ) to make it hopefully clearer. These types of inputs are very appreciated, thanks!
Laurika, Tiger, Bob-san, Koishi-Sweet, kik-ting, MZ. AMbER EYES: Thanks for the lovely comments, any suggestion like the one Bob-san made is very welcome.
