Ignorance is Bliss
A Rurouni Kenshin Fanwork
by Gemini

Rated: R for flesh bokkens and such. :p
Spoilers: If you don't know about the Revenge Arc, Tomoe and Enishi, don't read this.
Timeline: After the Revenge Arc, although this does not stick faithfully to the manga.
Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is property of Nobuhiro Watsuki, Shueshia, Shonen Jump, Sony and most notably, NOT me.

Sekihara Tae was a sympathetic woman. She was easy to talk to and it wasn't unusual for her customers, even complete strangers, to spill out their problems to her over a saucer of sake or a cup of hot tea. She didn't mind listening to other people's problems, in fact, she relished it. She loved offering advice or sympathy or simply a shoulder to cry on. It was in her nature to be generous.

Tae's sharp eyes immediately noticed the dejected slump of her friend Kaoru's shoulders when the young woman walked into the newly refurbished Akabeko one late fall afternoon. Grabbing a tea pot and some cups, she bustled over to her friend and led her to a secluded table towards the back of the restaurant.

"Tell me what's wrong, Kaoru-chan." Tae said, pouring them both steaming hot cups of tea. "You look absolutely awful."

Kaoru was far too used to Tae's habits to be surprised when the woman marched her to a table and poured her tea. She had come to the Akabeko specifically to pour out her troubles to her only real female friend. Misao, the bubbly teenage ninja was too far away and too embroiled in her own romantic frustrations involving Shinomori Aoshi, and Megumi…she didn't want the doctor to tease her. She knew Tae would listen and help her.

Twisting the cup around in her hands, Kaoru spilled out everything. Tae listened, her brow knitted slightly, nodding and making sympathetic noises every once in a while.

"So, after everything, he's still avoiding the question?" Tae asked thoughtfully, her chin balanced on her hand, the fingers on her free hand tracing the rim of her tea cup, whose contents had long since cooled to room temperature.

Kaoru nodded miserably. "It's like it was when he first came to live with me. Nothing but Kaoru-dono this and Kaoru-dono that." she sniffled. "Yahiko told me how he was when he thought I was dead…how he fell apart. Doesn't that mean…?"

Tae nodded sagely. "I've seen how he looks at you, Kaoru-chan. That man is in love. He's just…well, I suppose he still feels too guilty to do anything about it." The older woman looked thoughtful for a long moment. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen him around here much since this whole thing was resolved, either. He's been avoiding me."

Kaoru poured herself another cup of tea. "He feels guilty about the Akabeko being destroyed." she said softly. "When ever I suggest we come here for dinner or lunch, he comes up with an excuse for not going."

Tae shook her head. "That man is an idiot."

"Indeed." Kaoru chuckled morosely. "Of all the men in Tokyo I could have fallen in love with, I had to fall for a notorious ex-assassin with a guilt complex and a strange obsession with laundry." She sighed and put her tea cup down, suddenly not very interested in its lukewarm contents. "I should have listened to my father."

"Your father?" Tae quirked an eyebrow and sat up, her gossip radar going off.

"He wanted me to marry one of his students, his best student, in fact, a man named Kuro Akira. He was going to make arrangements for it when he returned from the war. But after he died and Gohei ruined my dojo's reputation, that so-called student of Kamiya Kasshin Ryu was nowhere to be found. But if I had married him when my father wanted me to…that spring, before he left, I suppose my life would be drastically different now, ne, Tae-san?" Kaoru looked thoughtfully at her friend.

"It certainly would." Tae replied, surprised by the information her friend had shared. "You would probably be a mother by now, among other things."

"A mother?" Kaoru looked more horrified than intrigued by the thought. "I'm not sure I'd be a very good mother, Tae-san. Look at poor Yahiko. His head is permanently lumpy from all the times I've whacked him with my bokken." She slumped back into her seat. "Maybe its better that I become an old maid. I'd rather not be responsible for ruining the next generation."

Tae rolled her eyes and reached across the table to gently swat her friend's head. "Listen to yourself, you silly baka! Since when do you give up? I've never known you to back down from a challenge. That's all this is, a challenge. Just pretend Kenshin-san's guilt is an opponent you have to beat. What would you do to subdue it?"

"Umm, hit it with my bokken?" Kaoru tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"That's not quite what I meant, Kaoru-chan. I don't think Kenshin-san would appreciate being beaten over the head. What I meant was, if you had to face a powerful opponent, what would you do? You have to analyze the situation first, determine the opponent's weaknesses, right? And then, once you've found the weak spot, you strike."

Kaoru blinked, slightly amazed. "I thought you were a restaurant-owner, Tae-san, not a samurai."

Tae giggled. "Well, I've picked up a few things here and there."