Chapter Eight
Tokio wanted to roll her eyes at the blatant confusion on the man's face. For all his claims he certainly wasn't all that astute this time around. A tiny part of her wanted to pity him. She squished that part mercilessly.
So he had been in the dark all along. That didn't surprise her considering he was very good at ignoring what he didn't want to see.
"Damn it woman, I thought you were on a pill or something!" He finally exploded and she ignored the urge to pummel him with something hard and blunt. He was an incredibly vexing man sometimes. There were times when he could be so caring and sweet under a mask of sarcasm of course. Then there were others where she wondered what in the world was going on in his thick head.
"Megumi." He blinked.
"What about her? I expect she's wolfing down that candy bar by now."
"Are you really that blind?" Tokio demanded looking at him with disbelief, "You can't tell me you don't know that you're her biological father."
If it weren't such a serious subject she would have taken gleeful pleasure in the total shock in the man's handsome face. Apparently he had never even considered it. Well, why should he have? He hadn't even met her before that whole incident and Tokio had never told him. He made it blatantly obvious that he didn't want any children.
That's what I get for that first time around, she thought ruefully to herself. To say that Megumi was unplanned was an understatement, but it was their fault for not using the proper protection. And she had been trying to have a child with her husband at the time.
When it became apparent he, for once, had absolutely no smart-ass remark in reply she continued in the same cool voice, "Kenshin figured it out quite awhile ago, and Kaoru has guessed."
"You never even told me." He accused, finally. There was a low, guilty anger in his voice, but she had the advantage and was loathed to give it up simply to comfort his hurt ego.
Taking a seat feeling drained she said softly, "For what reason? She doesn't know you're her father and honestly, I don't think she'd accept that. You two are already at odds as it is. To her, her father was shot in the head and is six feet under. He's the one that raised her not me, and certainly not you. He's the one on her birth certificate and to the world he was her Daddy. You better not fuck it up either with some misplaced guilt because you knowing this doesn't change a God damn thing. Understood?"
He nodded warily, looking like he was going to balk at her instructions. Then he seemed to give up and sink into himself.
"That was a nasty thing to do." He muttered weakly, "And I was foolish not to see it, so you're right. How my stupid student noticed is beyond me, but that stapler girl, that's the kicker."
"Her name is Kaoru." Tokio said rolling her eyes. Even wallowing in what had to be the most deviating blow to his hardened ego he had to insult someone else. "Now, we're adults. Do you promise? I can't imagine even you'd be that cruel to break a little girl's heart."
He frowned with his dark browns pulled into an angry v. "Do you think so little of me?" He demanded.
She flinched slightly because she hadn't meant it that way. Neither of them was handling this well. They didn't usually unleash their anger. Two more composed people would be hard to find.
The problem lay in the fact that Seijurou could be controlling at times. She mentally scoffed. Only at times? If she let him, he would control every aspect of her life leaving nothing for herself. She hadn't been raised a demure damsel and this puppetry didn't go over well. If growing up with three brothers had taught her anything it was to never back down. It was what made her a successful lawyer. It was also what put a chasm in their long relationship and why she avoided letting a ring touch her finger.
Even if he didn't want kids he did want to get married. She didn't think it was to stop idle talk and speculation. He wasn't like that. What other people thought or said didn't matter much to him. That extended to her to a degree. No, he wanted some security. For all his bluffing he wanted to know that she loved him.
Which she did.
But it made her wonder if such sentiment was getting in the way of practicality. Now that Meg was a permanent part of her life things had complicated and muddled so much that it gave her a headache just thinking about it.
"I think the world of you Seijurou." She murmured and tried to place a hand over his. He jerked his large hand back out of reach, almost sulkily. She returned hers to her lap vaguely aware that she shouldn't be backing down like that. She had to make him understand somehow.
Which made her think of the age-old proverb: You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink.
"Apparently not." He snapped, "You never bothered to inform me that I had a daughter."
"And you never bothered to ask." She retorted, annoyed despite herself. "Forget it. We can talk later when you cool down. This isn't about Megumi at all. It's because it's something I kept secret. And you can't stand for the people close to you to have secrets, can you? Well, here's some food for thought: we all do. Every single person on this green Earth has some secret, some skeleton hidden in their closet. Get over it. Now, who do I need to contact about that mission?"
He looked up with his dark eyes unreadable. His quick thinking really was justice to his brags about it and she wasn't sure she wanted to know what sort of decision he just made. Imagining all the possibilities hurt.
"If you trust me enough," There was a significant pause as he watched her with a blank face. "I will set it up for you. Will you be taking our daughter with you? That is, if you don't trust anyone here to take care of her in your absence."
"I didn't meant it like that and you know it!" She snarled forgetting to hold her ire in check. All thoughts of making it up to him somehow, someway went out the window. At the moment she would be glad to flip his plush chair right out the window and see how long it took him to hit the ground twenty stories below.
There was a soft, hesitant knock and a long pause before Kenshin's voice came through the door.
"Master?"
Tokio and Hiko glanced at each other silently consenting that they would hash this out later in a more private place. Hopefully by then sober of all lingering traces of hot anger.
"Come in."
The door opened slightly and the purple-eyed man looked in mildly embarrassed. The rest of his slim, lithe body slid in after his head, but he lingered by the door looking for the world like he was going to bolt.
"Miss Kaoru and I heard shouting. Is everything all right?" He asked looking at his feet. The emotions must have been plain as day on their faces and she was sure the air was charged with stray fury.
"You knew." Hiko said flatly, ready to take his frustration on the suddenly handy target that had appeared. While Kenshin's entrance had been fortunate, and Tokio wished he had minded his own business for once. It wasn't fair that he was going to get it because they were having a spat.
"Oro?" Kenshin's violet eyes were confused and he looked to Tokio for help. She shook her head and mouthed 'Megumi'. He blinked and looked around nervously. "Yes Master. This unworthy one knew. It is very obvious, that it is."
Before Hiko could send out a scathing remark the person who had stirred up some much trouble poked her head in after a small knock. She looked at Kenshin and shook her head.
"Kenny, shut the door! Don't make me tell you again, 'kay?"
His face softened as it always did when he was near a child of any sort and he gave one of his few genuine smiles, "I forgot, that I did. Forgive this unworthy one?"
"Oh, I don't know." Megumi said affecting an air of haughty consideration. Kenshin's eyes widened. Apparently she hadn't tried this new trick on him yet. Well, he'd learn soon enough. "How do I know you won't do it again? It's very important. Very, very important. Mommy says so!"
"Megumi, Mommy forgives Kenshin." Tokio smiled wondering if the man could dig himself out. She doubted it. "Come here for a second and sit in her lap?"
Megumi, rather hyper from the massive dose of chocolate, scampered happily across the room and perched herself on Tokio's lap. Instinctively the woman hugged her briefly, which elected a frown from Hiko.
"Can you make that call right now?" Tokio asked, petting her daughter's smooth, black hair gently.
"As you wish."
A/N: And look at the number of reviews *starts laughing* Less works for me. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I dropped quite the bomb. Even if it was a day late because I couldn't log in -__-
SSM [fyyrrose]: You win, I'm not going to try to out-ramble you. I'd let Kite take a shot, but then I'd have to shut her up fifteen pages later. Besides, she's MIA. And D keeps yapping about bayonets, but you pissed Cyetoh off. He won't tell me where Kite went. I don't know if I like her out of Japan. She took Sano with her too. Probably doesn't trust Raven. The death scene in psych didn't pan out so well. But shoot, at least I've gotten past the ". What do you say in a situation like that? Oh yeah, his spine snapped like tinder, but I have to go. You'll be alright!
Wistful-eyes: FF's been a twerp all around. I wasn't getting review alerts either.
Tokio wanted to roll her eyes at the blatant confusion on the man's face. For all his claims he certainly wasn't all that astute this time around. A tiny part of her wanted to pity him. She squished that part mercilessly.
So he had been in the dark all along. That didn't surprise her considering he was very good at ignoring what he didn't want to see.
"Damn it woman, I thought you were on a pill or something!" He finally exploded and she ignored the urge to pummel him with something hard and blunt. He was an incredibly vexing man sometimes. There were times when he could be so caring and sweet under a mask of sarcasm of course. Then there were others where she wondered what in the world was going on in his thick head.
"Megumi." He blinked.
"What about her? I expect she's wolfing down that candy bar by now."
"Are you really that blind?" Tokio demanded looking at him with disbelief, "You can't tell me you don't know that you're her biological father."
If it weren't such a serious subject she would have taken gleeful pleasure in the total shock in the man's handsome face. Apparently he had never even considered it. Well, why should he have? He hadn't even met her before that whole incident and Tokio had never told him. He made it blatantly obvious that he didn't want any children.
That's what I get for that first time around, she thought ruefully to herself. To say that Megumi was unplanned was an understatement, but it was their fault for not using the proper protection. And she had been trying to have a child with her husband at the time.
When it became apparent he, for once, had absolutely no smart-ass remark in reply she continued in the same cool voice, "Kenshin figured it out quite awhile ago, and Kaoru has guessed."
"You never even told me." He accused, finally. There was a low, guilty anger in his voice, but she had the advantage and was loathed to give it up simply to comfort his hurt ego.
Taking a seat feeling drained she said softly, "For what reason? She doesn't know you're her father and honestly, I don't think she'd accept that. You two are already at odds as it is. To her, her father was shot in the head and is six feet under. He's the one that raised her not me, and certainly not you. He's the one on her birth certificate and to the world he was her Daddy. You better not fuck it up either with some misplaced guilt because you knowing this doesn't change a God damn thing. Understood?"
He nodded warily, looking like he was going to balk at her instructions. Then he seemed to give up and sink into himself.
"That was a nasty thing to do." He muttered weakly, "And I was foolish not to see it, so you're right. How my stupid student noticed is beyond me, but that stapler girl, that's the kicker."
"Her name is Kaoru." Tokio said rolling her eyes. Even wallowing in what had to be the most deviating blow to his hardened ego he had to insult someone else. "Now, we're adults. Do you promise? I can't imagine even you'd be that cruel to break a little girl's heart."
He frowned with his dark browns pulled into an angry v. "Do you think so little of me?" He demanded.
She flinched slightly because she hadn't meant it that way. Neither of them was handling this well. They didn't usually unleash their anger. Two more composed people would be hard to find.
The problem lay in the fact that Seijurou could be controlling at times. She mentally scoffed. Only at times? If she let him, he would control every aspect of her life leaving nothing for herself. She hadn't been raised a demure damsel and this puppetry didn't go over well. If growing up with three brothers had taught her anything it was to never back down. It was what made her a successful lawyer. It was also what put a chasm in their long relationship and why she avoided letting a ring touch her finger.
Even if he didn't want kids he did want to get married. She didn't think it was to stop idle talk and speculation. He wasn't like that. What other people thought or said didn't matter much to him. That extended to her to a degree. No, he wanted some security. For all his bluffing he wanted to know that she loved him.
Which she did.
But it made her wonder if such sentiment was getting in the way of practicality. Now that Meg was a permanent part of her life things had complicated and muddled so much that it gave her a headache just thinking about it.
"I think the world of you Seijurou." She murmured and tried to place a hand over his. He jerked his large hand back out of reach, almost sulkily. She returned hers to her lap vaguely aware that she shouldn't be backing down like that. She had to make him understand somehow.
Which made her think of the age-old proverb: You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink.
"Apparently not." He snapped, "You never bothered to inform me that I had a daughter."
"And you never bothered to ask." She retorted, annoyed despite herself. "Forget it. We can talk later when you cool down. This isn't about Megumi at all. It's because it's something I kept secret. And you can't stand for the people close to you to have secrets, can you? Well, here's some food for thought: we all do. Every single person on this green Earth has some secret, some skeleton hidden in their closet. Get over it. Now, who do I need to contact about that mission?"
He looked up with his dark eyes unreadable. His quick thinking really was justice to his brags about it and she wasn't sure she wanted to know what sort of decision he just made. Imagining all the possibilities hurt.
"If you trust me enough," There was a significant pause as he watched her with a blank face. "I will set it up for you. Will you be taking our daughter with you? That is, if you don't trust anyone here to take care of her in your absence."
"I didn't meant it like that and you know it!" She snarled forgetting to hold her ire in check. All thoughts of making it up to him somehow, someway went out the window. At the moment she would be glad to flip his plush chair right out the window and see how long it took him to hit the ground twenty stories below.
There was a soft, hesitant knock and a long pause before Kenshin's voice came through the door.
"Master?"
Tokio and Hiko glanced at each other silently consenting that they would hash this out later in a more private place. Hopefully by then sober of all lingering traces of hot anger.
"Come in."
The door opened slightly and the purple-eyed man looked in mildly embarrassed. The rest of his slim, lithe body slid in after his head, but he lingered by the door looking for the world like he was going to bolt.
"Miss Kaoru and I heard shouting. Is everything all right?" He asked looking at his feet. The emotions must have been plain as day on their faces and she was sure the air was charged with stray fury.
"You knew." Hiko said flatly, ready to take his frustration on the suddenly handy target that had appeared. While Kenshin's entrance had been fortunate, and Tokio wished he had minded his own business for once. It wasn't fair that he was going to get it because they were having a spat.
"Oro?" Kenshin's violet eyes were confused and he looked to Tokio for help. She shook her head and mouthed 'Megumi'. He blinked and looked around nervously. "Yes Master. This unworthy one knew. It is very obvious, that it is."
Before Hiko could send out a scathing remark the person who had stirred up some much trouble poked her head in after a small knock. She looked at Kenshin and shook her head.
"Kenny, shut the door! Don't make me tell you again, 'kay?"
His face softened as it always did when he was near a child of any sort and he gave one of his few genuine smiles, "I forgot, that I did. Forgive this unworthy one?"
"Oh, I don't know." Megumi said affecting an air of haughty consideration. Kenshin's eyes widened. Apparently she hadn't tried this new trick on him yet. Well, he'd learn soon enough. "How do I know you won't do it again? It's very important. Very, very important. Mommy says so!"
"Megumi, Mommy forgives Kenshin." Tokio smiled wondering if the man could dig himself out. She doubted it. "Come here for a second and sit in her lap?"
Megumi, rather hyper from the massive dose of chocolate, scampered happily across the room and perched herself on Tokio's lap. Instinctively the woman hugged her briefly, which elected a frown from Hiko.
"Can you make that call right now?" Tokio asked, petting her daughter's smooth, black hair gently.
"As you wish."
A/N: And look at the number of reviews *starts laughing* Less works for me. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I dropped quite the bomb. Even if it was a day late because I couldn't log in -__-
SSM [fyyrrose]: You win, I'm not going to try to out-ramble you. I'd let Kite take a shot, but then I'd have to shut her up fifteen pages later. Besides, she's MIA. And D keeps yapping about bayonets, but you pissed Cyetoh off. He won't tell me where Kite went. I don't know if I like her out of Japan. She took Sano with her too. Probably doesn't trust Raven. The death scene in psych didn't pan out so well. But shoot, at least I've gotten past the ". What do you say in a situation like that? Oh yeah, his spine snapped like tinder, but I have to go. You'll be alright!
Wistful-eyes: FF's been a twerp all around. I wasn't getting review alerts either.