Memory's Touch
A RK fanfiction by eriesalia: onigirichan @ mindspring dot com
Standard disclaimer applies.
onigiri = rice ball. This is typically prepared like sushi rice, and shaped in various shapes and with varying compositions.
Impetuousness was not one of his ruling characteristics. And yet, at the very
moment it seemed that he was mistaken in that assumption. Otherwise, how could
he explain the reason for the situation at hand?
Memories had brought them to this point. Memories and -- he admitted -- a deep seated attraction. They had led him to kiss her and when she appeared to reciprocate, to pull her into the dojo. By the time his mind had caught up with his body, his hand had already found its way to her waist and the tie that cinched her yukata. It was then that he removed his hand from her waist and pulled back.
At the sudden break in contact, she had opened her eyes and touched her swollen lip. Somewhat startled, she looked up at him.
A half second later, she began laughing.
It was unexpected to say the least. If he were sensitive, he might have been offended. It was unclear whether she was laughing at the awkwardness of the situation, out of her own nervousness, or for some other reason.
He should have said something when she stood up and smoothed the front of her yukata, but despite his years of training, none of it had equipped him for dealing with situations like this. Moreover, not one of the many lessons his elders had tried to teach him had ever covered the issue of dealing with women, particularly one like this – who unpredictably answered his silence by leaving.
As her footsteps faded down the porch, he closed his eyes and forced himself to try to meditate – to clear out the confusion that had apparently taken hold on him, and to think on the consequences of what he had done.
After a few moments, he concluded that this effort was fruitless.
He was at a complete loss.
He had eluded women for much of his life; they had been largely incompatible with the lifestyle he had chosen for himself for more than half of it. From the time he had become Okashira until the end of the Revolution, the only women in his life had been the ones in the clan under his authority and leadership. All he had cared for then was to give them the training they needed to survive and to instill in them a code of honor that would serve them in a life of battle. No other women had a place in it.
Megumi Takani was the first woman he had more than a passing familiarity with after that time had ended. And perhaps therein, lay the basis of the beginning of the explanation for their attraction.
His relative idleness in his time at Kanryuu's –- made him notice her. Her history of course, had been explained rather crudely by Kanryuu, but his research and familiarity with the Aizu clan (who were allied with the Tokugawa shogunate) filled in the rest of the details.
Unwittingly, he had done so not just to better serve Kanryuu (for any employee of Kanryuu was a potential threat to his client), but to satisfy his curiousity.
Still – nothing had ever become of that. It was not until he had the benefit of years of thinking and self-examination that he had seen how many of actions had been seeded with inconsistencies.
Regardless – he was dwelling too much on his own motives. It did not excuse that he was largely responsible for the situation. He was the one who had always been an example of self-control and thought. He should not have been swayed by the beauty of the day, and should have distanced himself from her, particularly after the other inhabitants and guests of the dojo had retired.
But it had been her song that he had been unable to resist. Not the tune itself, but of a side of her that had never been known to him. Her eyes closed, her head tilted – the look of utter peace on her face at that moment had been something too tempting to ignore.
Obviously, his five years of meditation and restraint had not been enough. He had been swayed by his altered view of the past, too affected by the present moment, and not thinking of the future.
He was a foolish man.
~
The sound of laughter was a common fixture in this household it seemed. From the kitchen, there was quite a bit of it – although muffled due to the time of day.
Habit brought him over to see what was going on. As he neared the door, he stopped for a moment to listen.
"Ken-san!" A female voice was exultant. "You've been practicing behind my back haven't you? And yet you have the ingredients all wrong."
"Miss Megumi was not here to teach us--" was the laughing reply.
"And the shape of these as well— Kenji certainly has his way with all of you, doesn't he?"
This picture of domesticity – or at least a glimpse of what it might have been like long past – was something he had never really seen. He had been here at the dojo only a few times really. There was the one fateful encounter where he had come across Takani alone, and the time he had come after Kaoru had disappeared and Kenshin had wandered off. It had been four of them then – Yahiko, Megumi, Misao and himself.
And it had never been like this.
Aoshi did not like to eavesdrop – but he found himself standing outside the doorway regardless.
"To think Kenji will grow up thinking that all onigiri are supposed to be served this way. Think of the years of embarrassment in store for him—"
Kenshin sounded worried. "When you say it that way – "
"And with Misao and Shinomori-san here as well – I'm certain that your Aoiya guests would never tolerate such odd shaped onigiri—"
The formal manner with which she stated his name jarred him. His attention lapsed for a moment, long enough for Himura to suddenly become aware of his presence.
Kenshin cleared his throat loudly. "Shinomori-san won't mind, will you?"
The former Battousai had indeed found him out. With that, he was forced to step forward and inside the kitchen and face the both of them.
Megumi said nothing, but the flicker of embarrassment that crossed her face told him to tread cautiously.
As for Himura – he was a perceptive man. He had seen the look as well, but wisely said nothing. Instead, he thrust out a tray in Aoshi's face. "Aoshi-san won't mind, will he?" Himura smiled again more quietly.
He deliberately looked down at the tray that Kenshin had held out and now saw the root of the controversy between the two meal-preparers. Onigiri of every shape imaginable– with eyes, whiskers, tails made out of nori, pine nuts, dates, and mostly anything that was in season and available at the market.
And he could see the reason why the doctor had protested. It appeared that Himura, in his absent-mindedness had not considered that perhaps his adult guests might prefer their breakfast to not look so happy while being eaten.
"I'll make another tray," Megumi interjected hastily.
"There is no need to." The inconvenience to her and the waste of ingredients alone was reason enough to tolerate Himura's odd creation.
"But I will—" she seemed a bit annoyed by his interference in the matter. "And I'll take some of those with me to keep me company on the ride home."
"Well then," Himura smiled a bit too easily. "I'll let Aoshi-san help you then while I see if Kenji is awake. We can continue our other conversation later."
And then suspiciously, before she could fully voice her protest, he had disappeared.
She turned away then to pick up a bottle of rice vinegar to add to the pot of rice at her fingertips. "I don't need your help, Shinomori-san."
Shinomori-san. The emphasis had been on the –san.
"You are leaving."
"Of course I am," she kept her back to him as she focused her attention on mixing the rice with vinegar. "I've patients to attend to back home."
"Megumi—" he decided to be boldly informal with her. "This is something I'm not familiar with—"
"I know."
"Is there someone I should speak to?"
At that, she stiffened. Finally, she answered.
"The fact that you have to ask who to ask, shows that what you have in mind is completely wrong, Shinomori-san." She finally turned around, her expression bemused. "Even if something further had happened – the reality of the situation is that our directions have shifted. Last night—" she looked off to the side, "I was overwhelmed by memories of the past. But morning brings logic and reason back to the table. Beyond just knowing nothing about the life I lead now – you don't even know that something as simple as onigiri could bother me. It's the little things that matter."
"Megumi—"
"Please, Shinomori-san. Misao will be looking for you. Let me finish this on my own."
And with her little speech on onigiri concluded, Aoshi realized that the most honorable solution he had come up with was being firmly rejected. Unlike him, she did not wish to understand or resolve what had happened.
~
Himura and his family had seen Megumi off to the station. Given the circumstances, he had chosen to stay behind and observe the students who Yahiko was putting through their paces.
When they had returned, Misao found him with a tray of tea in hand and like her usual cheerful self, talked of all that they had seen and the innumerable ways that the sensei had teased Kaoru along their way.
"Kaoru was at her wit's end trying to not laugh or scream at Megumi-sensei," Misao giggled. "Especially when Megumi-sensei suggested that Kaoru wasn't feeding Kenji enough and that she would take him with her to Aizu."
At that, he had to shake his head. There was an odd dynamic between the two women – one he thought he understood, and other times—not.
"Perhaps she misses the Himuras more than she admits."
"Of course she does," Misao related cheerfully. "But she'll see Himura soon enough anyways –"
As casually as he could manage, he took a sip of tea. "Takani-sensei is returning to Tokyo?"
"No," her face changed slightly. "Himura and Megumi-sensei are coming to Kyoto. He wants to pay a visit to his own master."
It took him a moment to recover. Thankfully, Misao did not notice the sudden lapse of apparent calm he worked hard to cultivate and reflect.
"Of course, I've invited them to stay at the Aoiya, although Himura did say that he and the doctor would likely spend time with his teacher. Himura and Megumi-sensei wouldn't say more than that – in front of Kenji."
The earlier hint of an unfinished conversation between Himura and the doctor. A sudden visit to Kyoto. The meaning behind Misao's words became suddenly more clear.
Years ago, Megumi Takani—as both Himura's friend and doctor -- had told all of them the shocking news of Kenshin's inevitable deterioriation.
The man who could understand it most was the man who had isolated himself outside Kyoto.
The visit would not be a social one by any means.
a/n: crosses fingers. The perspective of Aoshi dramatically
changes the tone of this piece. And the question of why things happened the
way it did is not entirely clear, is it?
-The rejection of Aoshi's proposal has someting to do with a conversation that CherieDee and I had. Mostly thinking of evil things we could do as fic writers. This is one of them.
-Regarding Aoshi... I still think he is a largely sensible man. But he is a man. Sometimes his head lags behind his passion -- if it were always the case that he were completely logical and sensible, his whole chasing Kenshin around thing would have never happened. ^_^ . So fear not Aoshi lovers, I am exploiting only a certain tendency I find interesting.
-Considering which perspective to take next. Perhaps not either of the two main characters, but of another. And yeah, I figure to keep consistent with old habits, the title might change. You better remember my name :-).
-Shimizu Hitomi - I don't read the Japanese fanfics. I get too dizzy after seeing BLessing and Green over and over again. I was referring mostly to the fanarts ^_^
-mij - I'm chanting "quiet drama, quiet drama" over and over again like a mantra so I'm not tempted to whip out some kind of action scene.
-CherieDee - Bad Megumi? Bad Aoshi.
-Trupana and April... you asked for it, but now you know it's not going to be WAFF. heh.
-Eevee - whee! back to having conversations in reviews!
