Mama Himura

Chapter 5

Over the next couple of days Hiko and Tokisha's arguments progressively got worse and started to last for hours at a time. One morning, Kenshin and the others were sitting on the porch listening to them argue and Sanosuke had to chuckle when he heard a shout come from the back, "How long have they been at it so far today, Missy?"

"About… two hours, I believe."

"I don't get why they argue so much!" Yahiko sighed

"Neither do I, Yahiko, but it is kind of funny to listen to them. Hey Kenshin, did your dad fight with her like this?" Sanosuke asked

"Um… no… I really don't remember them fighting that much, that I don't. I actually only recall one or two arguments between them but they weren't this bad, that they weren't."

"Who usually won?" Kaoru asked with a smile

Kenshin chuckled, "Mother."

At that moment Hiko came around the corner and stood beside of Kenshin, a wicked smile playing on his face that resembled that of a child who'd gotten away with a prank of some sort. Kenshin managed to catch this and automatically knew something was wrong, he knew full well that Hiko didn't smile like that for just any reason, "What did you do now, Master?"

"Hmm… what do you mean, what did I do?"

"You have that grin that say's 'I just got away with something evil,' and that usually means that you've done something that's going to get us both in trouble."
Hiko chuckled, "You probably won't get in trouble but I will, but… considering the past several days it's going to be worth it."

Before Kenshin could ask there was a shrill, angry scream from down the hall, "HIKO!"

"What did you do, Mr. Hiko?" Kaoru asked

"I locked Mrs. Leprechaun in her room."

Kenshin opened his mouth to say something but stopped when Tokisha came around the corner in an angry rush, glaring daggers at the Hiten-Mitsurugi master, "What did ya do that for!"

Hiko smiled innocently, "I just thought that I was doing everyone a favor."

"Oh? And how so?"

"I thought that if I locked you in there long enough you'd get a sore throat from yelling and shut up for awhile."

"Oh!"

Tokisha took off her shoe and flung it at Hiko but he dodged at the last second and it hit Kenshin directly upside the head with a loud thud, forming a rather large knot as he fell to the floor.

"Oh my! Shinta!"
Tokisha ran up beside of him and patted his cheek softly, "Shinta… are ya alright, son? Speak ta me!"

"Oro…" was the only answer she received from the swirly eyed Kenshin.

Kaoru couldn't help but giggle at him, "It's alright Mama Himura, as long as we get an 'oro' out of him he'll live."

Hiko started laughing and the already angry Tokisha jumped up to yell at him, "See what ya did, ya almost made me kill my son!"

"And you would've done the world a favor by doing so."

"Why you sorry… son of a…"

"MOTHER!"

Kenshin came to and quickly got up and wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her back as she tried to lunge at the still chuckling Hiko, "Mother it's alright, that it is, Hiko's been insulting me like that since I've known him, that he has."

"That's not the point, that it isn't, Shinta! The point is that he made me hurt you!"

"I'm alright, really, please don't worry, I'd feel bad it I didn't get hurt by one of my friends, that I would."

"What do ya mean by that?"

"Well… I'm always getting hit by Hiko or Miss Kaoru and I feel forgotten if at least one of them doesn't hit me, that I do."

"Oh really, Kenshin?"

Kenshin looked over at Kaoru and she gave him 'the look,' causing him to turn red once he realized what he'd said, "I… I didn't mean it like that, Miss Kaoru, that I didn't."

"Then what did you mean by it, Kenshin?"

Before he could think of something to say they all heard a faint, "Battousai," off in the distance. Kenshin looked over to the fence and let out a sigh of relief when he saw who was calling for him, "I never thought I'd say this but… thank you, Saito, I'd better see what he needs!"

He set Tokisha back on the ground and hastily made his way over to the fence, running a hand through his unruly hair when he got there, "You're timing is actually useful today, now what is it that you want, Saito?"

Saito smiled, "Cutting right to the chase are we, Battousai? Fine then, there's a stranger wandering around town looking for you."

"That's anything but new, Saito."

"Maybe so, however, he actually seems to know you. He's quite a shady character so I thought I'd come and warn you so you can get ready to fight."

"Why is it any of your concern as to whether I'm ready to fight or not?"

Saito smirked, "Because I don't want some stranger to kill you, that's my job."

"You wish but thanks for the warning all the same."

Saito nodded slightly and left without another word and Kenshin returned to the others, looking around worriedly when he saw Tokisha missing, "Where did my mother go?"

"She went off somewhere in the back." Hiko stated plainly.

Kenshin smiled then Kaoru suddenly came up to him and hit him in the head with her fist, "OW! What did you do that for, Miss Kaoru?"

"So you wouldn't feel 'left out!' Now, you can explain to me exactly what you meant by that on our way to town to get dinner!"

Kaoru huffed and started out of the dojo, missing Kenshin's sigh as she went, "Oh… I'm in so much trouble, that I am. Master, please do me a favor and don't fight with my mother while I'm gone."

Kenshin left the dojo to catch up to Kaoru and Sanosuke poked Yahiko, "Hey kid, let's go bug Tae and Tsubame."

"Sounds good to me, see ya, Hiko."

"Yeah, have fun with Mrs. Leprechaun." Sanosuke laughed as he and Yahiko left as well, shutting the gate tightly behind them as Hiko let out a long sigh, "Great… stuck here with Psycho Sr."

MEANWHILE IN THE KITCHEN

Tokisa had retreated to the kitchen to start dinner but so far she couldn't find anything to fix. She finally spotted something on the top shelf and she stood on her toes to try and reach it but it was no use, she was just too short. With a loud groan she hiked herself onto the counter and tried to reach for it once again, "Oh… I wish Mamoru were here, he would get this for me, that he would."

"Who's Mamoru?"

She turned her head to see Hiko standing in the doorway and sighed to herself, "Mamoru was my late husband, that he was."

"Oh… sorry…"

"So any ways… are ya still annoyin' the children?"

"No, they all left."

"Really? Where to?"

"Kenshin and Kaoru went to get something for dinner and rooster-head and porcupine-boy went to pick on some girls."

"And why didn't ya go with them, you're very good at annoyin' women, that ya are."

"But that's precisely why I stayed here, I love to annoy you."

"Of course… well go and find yourself somethin' else ta do, I'm busy, that I am."

Hiko watched her as she stood on her toes to reach something on the top shelf and couldn't help but smile at the sight, "Do you want me to help you with that?"

"No! I'd rather fall and break my neck before askin' you for help, that I would."

Tokisha gave up and tried to step off of the counter but her socks made her slip on the slick surface and she fell towards the floor. Hiko was next to her in a second and caught her before she was even half-way down, "You alright?" he asked with concern

"Yes, I'm fine…" she paused when she raised her head to look at him, because they were so close their noses touched briefly, causing her to flush brightly before quickly looking away, "Can ya put me down now?"

"Sure."

Hiko set her down and she straightened up her kimono before glancing at the man beside of her, "Thank you."

"No problem, but next time let me get it for you."

Tokisha watched silently as he easily reached up and grabbed what she'd been after, huffing ever so slightly at him, "Thank you again, now will ya go somewhere and leave me be?"

"And miss an opportunity to tick you off? Not a chance."

Tokisha sighed, "Fine then, if you're goin' ta be in here at least make yourself useful and cut some vegetables for me."

"You actually expect me to cut vegetables?"

"Yes, surely ya can do that small task with all of those fancy sword tricks ya know."

Hiko rolled his eyes but did as she asked and went up beside her and started cutting some carrots. They stood in uncomfortable silence for several moments until Tokisha couldn't stand it anymore and cleared her throat, "So… how far along is Shinta in his trainin'?"

"What?"

"How far along is Shinta in his trainin'… how long will it take for him ta master the style?"

Hiko suddenly started laughing, getting Tokisha to raise an eyebrow at him, "What's so funny?"

"You think that he's still learning? Please, the idiot completed his training almost a year ago."

"He did?"

"Yes, technically he's the new master of the Hiten-Mitsurugi style but the lug-head didn't want to accept the title."

"So… he's a master swordsman?"

"Yes, why would you think otherwise?"

"Well… Sanosuke asked Shinta ta spar with him earlier and Shinta said that he didn't know how ta use a sword very well, that he did. I just assumed that he hadn't completed his training yet is all."

"He doesn't want you to know how good he really is, he thinks you'll worry or be mad at him or something like that, there's really no telling with Kenshin."

"Then… how good is he?"

"Honestly? Between you and me… Kenshin's one of the best swordsmen in Japan, but I'd never tell him that."

"I see… let me ask ya something, Hiko."

"What's that?"

"Why do ya insult him so much? The way ya speak ta him it sounds like you're speakin' to an enemy rather than your student, that it does."

Hiko chuckled, "Believe it or not I'm very fond of my stupid apprentice, that's just how we've always acted around one another, he's rude to me and I'm rude to him."

Tokisha turned to face him, opening her mouth to say something but instead she let out a gasp of surprise when she saw bright red blood flowing from Hiko's hand, "Oh my! You're hurt, that ya are!"

"Huh? Oh, don't worry about it."

"No, come here!"

Before Hiko could protest she grabbed his wrist and lead him outside to the well, washing the wound with the cool water in the bucket, getting a soft laugh from him, "You don't have to do this, I've had far worse than this."

"That's not the point, that it isn't, a wound is a wound and ya have ta tend ta them, that ya do."

"So Mrs. Leprechaun actually has some feelings after all, huh?"

Tokisha didn't say a word, instead she just jerked his thumb back sharply, getting him to cry out in pain, "Ow! That hurt, woman!"

"Good… there, all done, I shouldn't have been distractin' ya earlier…"

"Hey stop worrying, I'm not as accident prone as your son is. Just ask him about the time he got stuck in a tree and attacked by a squirrel."

Tokisha giggled, picturing her red-haired son trying to fend off an angry squirrel while trying to get free from the tree. She looked down at Hiko's hand and groaned when she saw that it was bleeding again, "Oh, I swear… here…"

She tore off a piece of her sleeve and tied it around Hiko's hand, securing the knot on his palm, "There, now, good as new…"

She paused when she looked up at him, surprised to see a warm smile on his handsome face accompanied by a strange look deep within his dark eyes, "What?"

"Thanks for fixing my hand?"

"It's no trouble, that it isn't…"

Before she could do anything else Hiko closed his long fingers around hers, getting a small flush from her as he did so. They stared at each other for several moments then Hiko suddenly started to lean down to her as his eyes began to drift closed. Tokisha unconsciously leaned upwards towards him, her confused eyes never leaving his face as his lips came closer and closer to her own. He continued to slowly lean down until she could feel his breath against her mouth then… "We're back, that we are."

Kenshin came around the corner and froze when he saw the scene before him. Hiko was leaning down close to Tokisha, their hands entwined tightly as they looked at him with an almost frightened look, "Um… am I… interrupting something?"

"No!" both answered quickly

"Um… Master… why are you holding my mother's hand?"

They quickly let go of one another before Hiko answered, "I'm not holding her hand!"

"Of course he wasn't, Shinta, I was tendin' ta a wound on his hand, that I was."

Kenshin gave them an arched eyebrow and Hiko knew that he wasn't believing them so he turned to Tokisha and poked her in the shoulder lightly, "Yeah, a wound that you caused."

Tokisha flashed him an angry glare, "Excuse me! It wasn't my fault, that it wasn't!"

"Yes it was… you… you were distracting me!"

"Well it's your fault more than it is mine, that it is! You're not supposed ta let anythin' distract ya, that your not, 'Master'!"

Tokisha huffed and headed back into the kitchen, Hiko following closely behind her, "Come back here you midget! We're not finished!"

Kenshin watched them leave and couldn't help but scratch his head in confusion once they were out of sight, "What the…"
Before he could ponder further Kaoru came up beside of him and placed a hand on his arm, "What was all that about, Kenshin, did we miss something?"

Kenshin listened briefly to the yells and clangs coming from the kitchen before he turned his confused gaze to the young woman next to him, "I have no idea, Kaoru… I have absolutely no idea…"

Sorry about not updating folks, my computer decided to crash on me and my sister was being mean and wouldn't let me use hers to update but I got it fixed and here it is! I'll have the next chappy up soon so stay tuned and enjoy!