A/N: If you forgot him, Houji is Shishio's creepy-looking right-hand man. (The one with the gun.) Also, if you didn't read my edited note in the previous chapter, I made Aoshi older than Kenshin in this fic (alongside many other liberties I took….) And again, thanks to all those who took the time to drop a review!
ChocolateBanana: Huh, a third? No offense, but I would be very happy with one in thirty..
Wyldcat: Nah, I wrote that Tomoe is Hiko's wife, and Kenshin's stepmother.
Kana: Orororo, a Japanese reader... I'm so flattered. Hajimemashite! Now, if I could have a Congolese or an Inuit reader too, that would be awesome, but that's another story...
"What is this stupid son of mine doing?" Hiko said for the hundredth time. The morning was young yet, bright sunrays filtering in the room through the shoji door. The imperial capital outside already bustled with routine activity. Vendors advertised their fare, their shouts promising cheap rice or quality meat. Samurais patrolled Kyoto's busy streets, the clunking of their steps echoing through the rice screen.
A man stood near the door, silent, watching, his hand never far from the hilt of his sword. His hairs fell in fringes across his forehead in what resembled bamboo leaves.
"Where is Aoshi?" Hiko asked him.
"At the imperial palace already, waiting for you, my lord."
Hiko grunted. He eyed the man's hairstyle once again. "Saitou, how many times did I tell you to get rid of your bamboo curtain? Don't go thinking you look good with it," he said with a snicker. The man remained stoic.
"No need to pester poor Saitou," Tomoe said behind him. "Your bodyguard has nothing to do in this."
He turned to her. She knelt beside the lone table, calm as ever. It was a quality he appreciated in her, odd as it may be. Her apparent aloofness and her collected demeanor was what had attracted him to her in the first place. She was truly a daughter of an old house, he thought, her bearing always aristocratic and noble. A smirk spread to his mouth. It always amused him to crack her prim mask. But not now. He sobered. There were other problems to consider right now. Namely, the absence of his second son. The idiot.
"I told him it was important," he said, barely concealing his impatience. "What is he thinking?"
"Something grave must have held him up." Tomoe said, her voice quiet as always. "I am certain he will do his best to come here in time."
"His best is not enough," he said. "He must be here." There trouble brewing in the imperial court. It wasn't too early to make his move, he thought. There was need to indicate his support for emperor Godaigo. And it was important to introduce Kenshin. The boy had developed into a fine warrior, and he would be an asset in the troubled times to come. Not that Hiko would admit it aloud. It was well known that too much praise softened your arm.
"Kenshin is not irresponsible, you know that, beloved," his wife said.
"Not irresponsible? Then explain to me why he took off after two females instead directly of coming here with you?"
"They were also headed here," she murmured. "He must have felt that it was his duty to escort two women without protection."
He suppressed a laugh. Tomoe was wise for her years, but she was young still, and naïve in some ways. "You don't know how boys his age think," he said. "Some womanly curves, and everything's forgotten."
"You speak from experience, I see," she said mildly. What was that prissy tone? His bodyguard snorted.
He wasn't going to let that perturb him, of course. "Of course," he said. He smirked. "Nothing's more important than chasing some comely lasses for men this young, you can believe me. They are positively obsessed."
"And it gets better with age?"
He flinched slightly. "Of course. Older men are wise enough to know better. Especially when they are fortunate enough to have a beautiful wife who is all they can wish for."
She emitted a low chuckle. "In any case, your youth must have been fascinating," she said.
He found himself amused. It was not often that Tomoe showed evidence of humor. "More than you can imagine, wife."
"You will tell me all of it, I hope."
"One day I will. Maybe."
A bell rang, somewhere in the city. It was soon time to go. What was Kenshin doing? He began pacing the room.
"Calm down, beloved," Tomoe said. She poured sake in a small cup, gestured to him to come to her. "Here, have a drink."
He knelt down next to her. "I dislike drinking alone," he said. Not true, or not entirely. He was used to drinking alone. But he still preferred to drink in company. He turned his head towards Saitou. "Have a cup with me, Saitou," he said.
"I shall abstain myself, my lord," his bodyguard said. "You know that I become bloodthirsty with too much alcohol."
Hiko turned back to Tomoe. "Then drink with me, wife."
She nodded gracefully, and poured a cup for herself. His wife, he'd discovered, was no stranger to alcohol. They drank together in silence. For once the rich flavor tasted bland on his tongue.
"It is winter, and yet there is no snow today," he murmured. "Sake tastes dull without it." He put his cup down. "You shouldn't have let Kenshin go his own way, Tomoe," he said softly.
She finished her cup, her eyes downcast. She didn't reply, nor did she look at him. He observed her profile. Suspicious. A suspicion came to him.
"My son loves you still," he said flatly.
"He believes he loves me," she murmured. "It is but an adolescent crush. He will know the difference, if he finds the right woman one day."
Saitou was listening, but it didn't really matter. Saitou followed him almost everywhere, and he kept few secrets from his bodyguard. Besides, this particular matter was known widely enough among his household.
"And is his crush reciprocated?" he asked.
She looked up at him, her pale features showing some surprise. "Are you jealous of your own son, sir?" she said with a small smile.
He wasn't, of course. But he didn't answer. "So you let him go to spare his feeling?" he asked instead. The better defense was to go on the offense. As a master of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, he knew that well.
"He was ill at ease in my presence," she said reluctantly. "He…. He seemed eager to leave, somehow. I thought it would be better if we went our separate ways." She shrugged. "He was bound here in any case."
"It doesn't seem so," he remarked. "I know you feel uncomfortable with this situation," he sighed, "but you know I have intrigued heavily to have this audience. This is more than a mere visit of courtesy."
"Maybe you should have told your son so then," she said quietly.
"He can't be unaware of it. He is a perceptive boy, despite all his flaws." He looked at Tomoe, weighting his words. "Do you think that he still resents me for marrying you?"
"Maybe… probably," she conceded. "Part of it is adolescent rebellion, I think, and part of it is resentment, yes." She sighed. "But he wouldn't come late intentionally just because of petty rancor. Kenshin is not that shallow."
"Let's hope so," he said. "There is much at stake."
"Are those stakes the reason why you married him off to the Kamiyas?"
He nodded, once. "Aa." His wife was a sharp woman; he would be well advised to never forget that. There was little he could hide from her. A short silence, as they waited.
"I am not uncomfortable," Tomoe said finally.
He arched his eyebrows.
"You said you knew I felt uncomfortable about the situation," she reminded him. She gazed straight into his eyes. "But I am not. Kenshin will move on, I am certain. For now, as long as I am by your side, I am content. I know that our marriage was a political one, but—"
He hushed her. His wife was a gem of woman. Let him not forget that, either. He took one of her white hand into his, bringing it towards him. He kissed her palm. She smiled tenderly.
The shoji flung open. A young man stared down at them, his blank expression turning into uneasiness.
Hiko looked up. "Not too early, son,"
The sight that greeted him when Kenshin opened the shoji door wasn't one he would have expected. His father, his mouth pressed to Tomoe's hand. The scene seemed oddly intimate, and he felt a voyeur for interrupting it. He felt a pang of jealousy too, and he ruthlessly reined it in.
"Not too early, son," his father said, looking up at him.
"I have been detained by an urgency," he said curtly.
He entered the room, Soujiro on his tails. He saw his father's gaze skim past his shoulder and to Soujiro, then back at him, questioning.
"A luggage I picked up en route," he said.
"A luggage?" Soujiro said behind him. "How rude of you, samurai-san. I am Soujiro," he told Hiko.
"I see," Hiko said, rising.
"Are you samurai-san's father?" Soujiro asked, bright-eyed. "Did you teach him kenjutsu?"
Hiko frowned at Soujiro. "I did."
"Oh, how fortunate! Could you teach it to me too, please?"
Hiko approached the smiling brat. "Do you see this cloak?" his father asked, clutching said cloak in his fist. "It weighs eighty pounds. It is the proof its bearer is a master of our school. Do you think you are strong enough to wear it?"
"Ah, I don't think so," Soujiro laughed.
"I thought so as well," Hiko said. "Do some bodybuilding first if you want to learn the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu. Anyway" he said, turning to Kenshin, "do you know how late you are, stupid son?"
"As I said, an urgency," Kenshin said. He couldn't prevent some hostility from slipping into his voice. "There was a lady in need and—"
"Ah, a lady," the old man interrupted, turning to Tomoe. "What did I tell you, wife?"
"It is not what you are thinking," he said.
"Oh?" His father approached him, his face suddenly severe. They stared hard at each other. Kenshin had to admit that Hiko the thirteenth looked a little intimidating like this. "You almost missed an appointment with the emperor for a woman. What should I be thinking?"
He allowed himself a private snicker. "Even when the woman in question is my future wife?"
That surprised his father.
"Oh, I didn't know that!" Soujiro said, intruding. "It's becoming more and more interesting."
His father glanced at Soujiro, then back at him again. "You will tell me more of this. But for now we must go." He turned to his wife. "Tomoe." She rose.
"One moment," Kenshin said. He walked to Saitou. "Do something for me," he said to the wolf. "The lady Kaoru might soon arrive in this city. Keep an eye on her."
"You don't order me, Battousai," Saitou said, looking at him with an amusement tinted with hostility. "My duty is to protect your father. I owe nothing to you."
Kenshin expected an answer like this. But he knew how to tempt the man. He and Saitou had crossed sword before, when the latter served under the lord of Tsu, a duel stalled into a draw.
"Do it for me," he said, "and when all of this is finished, we will settle our match."
Saitou smiled. There was something eerie and feral in that smile; he was truly a wolf, Kenshin thought. "You would make a widow of your wife?" Saitou asked.
"You shouldn't be worrying about me," he retorted. "It is fortunate that you are not married. I needn't fear leaving a tearful widow when I kill you."
"You are showing some spirit, boy," his father intervened. Hiko was smirking, he saw. "I'll allow it. Saitou, do as he ask."
Saitou seemed ready to protest for one second, but he relented. "Very well," he said, his expression still intense. "Tell me the details."
He did so as quickly as he could.
"Are you finished, son?" Hiko asked hurriedly.
"I'm done." He turned to Saitou. "Nothing harmful is to happen to the lady," he said.
"Of course," Saitou said. He sneered. "I look forward to our match."
Kenshin turned without replying. "I am ready to go, father."
"Good," Hiko said. "Tell us about this wife you're so enamored of on the way."
He tensed. "You should know her better than me. You are the one who picked her, after all."
"Good point," Hiko said agreeably.
"An unbecoming choice at that."
"Probably true."
"I still don't understand why me and not Aoshi."
"Easy," the old man said. "I chose a wife for you…." His father's face inched close to his, looking at him with a wicked gleam in his eyes. "… so that you'll keep your hands off mine."
His heart jolted in his chest. His shock must have been plain to read, but Hiko'd already turned towards Tomoe. His father offered a hand to his wife. She took it.
"Watch, boy," his father said, "and learn." Hiko turned his head to him again, smiled smugly. "You'll never rival my good looks or my charm. Just accept your loss and live with it." With that he walked out with Tomoe, leaving him speechless.
"Haha, your father is a very interesting man, samurai-san."
Her plan was a straightforward one, all things considered. The first part consisted in misleading her father's men. Two women strangely resembling her and Megumi, and even wearing their usual clothes, would had made sure to be seen leaving Izushi by the western gate. The deception was simple. Her father would assume that she would flee west. Her maternal grandparents governed Matsue, and they never forgave her father for not taking immediate action against Himura after her mother's death. It was a logical choice. And even if the trickery were to be unmasked, it would still buy her enough time.
The second part of the plan presumed that she reach Kyoto. She did.
They'd reached the imperial capital a bit earlier. Kaoru was enchanted by the view of the beautiful city, a thousand tiled roofs glittering under the sun. The Kiyomizudera spread into sight, the magnificent wooden temple standing proud over the mountain. And even from afar, she could see the streets brimming with so many people, so much more than her native Izushi.
She was now walking anxiously through one of those crowed street, Megumi beside her, making their way past rich patricians and poor peasants, proud warriors and gracile women, their face covered with paint. A band of warriors passed her. She watched them wearily with her eyes downcast. Could they be her father's men, already on the lookout for her? She'd lost precious time on the way.
Merchants often hailed them from the sides, offering them clothes or flowers. A lovely bunch of jasmine almost tempted her, but she declined with courtesy. There would always be time for that later. The air was cool, but not cold, especially here amongst so many people. The sky was radiant, promise of a successful day.
A man bumped roughly into her maid.
"Hey! Watch where you are going," Megumi said.
"Excuse me," the man sneered. He had, Kaoru saw with a start, thin black bangs over his brow covering his chilly face. The man reminded her strongly of a wild wolf. She eyed uneasily the sword at his hip.
"You need to look where you are walking," her maid insisted. Kaoru winced. It wasn't the time for that.
"I already said 'excuse me,' woman. Now get lost. You're fooling no one with that fake lady air of yours."
"Fake? Watch your foul mouth."
He took Megumi's chin between his thumb and his index, seizing her maid. Megumi snapped his hand away.
"What are you doing," she fumed.
He ignored her, and took in Megumi's appearance, scanning her from toe to head.
"Not bad," he said, finally turning away. "Take my advice, and be careful. You never know who you might bump into. You were pretty lucky it was me," he said, walking away. "That feisty mouth of yours will get you into troubles with less tolerant men."
"How dare you," Megumi almost shouted.
"Come, let him be," Kaoru told her maid. "Don't provoke him." The man had a dangerous look about him, and just watching him edge away into the crowd sent cold shivers down her spine. It must have been the weather, she told herself. "And he's right. No need to stir troubles. Let's go, Megumi. It's not far from here."
Indeed, it was not far. Ten minutes later, after a nervous walk, always careful of avoiding the attention of passing patrols, and bumping into two more people, they stood in front of a large city house. The façade was a little worn out, but the place was still imposing. Kaoru knocked at the wodden door. It opened, revealing a man in his thirties.
She rushed to hug him, relieved. "Uncle Houji," she exclaimed.
Notes: Ok, there was probably plenty of OOCness here, especially the whole Kenshin/Tomoe thing, but this chapter was such a riot to write.
Also, a geographical note: Matsue is west of Izushi, while Kyoto is southeast.