Truth, Lies, Betrayal and Love

Chapter 4

About an hour after leaving the dojo the carriage stopped in front of the enormous castle and Kenshin climbed out. He looked up at the tall fortress like building for several moments before he finally went inside. Ryunosuke caught up to him and lead him down a long hallway where they were both greeted by a smiling Naoto. When he saw them he went straight up to Kenshin and bowed, "Good to see you again, sir, I'm glad that you decided to come and pay us a visit."

"Well… actually…he made me come, that he did."

Naoto looked to where Kenshin was pointing and chuckled, "Oh never mind Ryunosuke, he's quite harmless I assure you."

Ryunosuke, apparently uncomfortable with the conversation, cleared his throat suddenly, "Is there anything else that I can do for you sirs?"

"No, that you Ryunosuke, you may go."

He bowed his head and headed off down the hall to speak with one of the other guards, leaving the two red heads to talk amongst themselves. After a short and uncomfortable silence Kenshin asked, "So… what do I do now that I'm here, Sir Naoto?"

"Well, I suppose we should go and see Lord and Lady Iishikawa, I'm certain they're eagerly awaiting you."

"Ok, I guess I can do that."

"Good, follow me, then."

Kenshin followed Naoto through the maze-like castle and before too long they were standing outside of the throne room. Naoto stepped inside and motioned for Kenshin to do the same, which he did rather hesitantly. When they entered a tall man with shoulder-length black hair and deep blue eyes came forward and hugged Kenshin tightly, lifting him off the floor, "Welcome home Kiyoshi!"

"Thank… you… sir…" Kenshin gasped as he tried to breathe through the king's iron grip.

The queen, with her short red hair and violet colored eyes, saw Kenshin turning a nice shade of blue and gently rested a hand on her husband's shoulder, "You might want to let our son breathe, dear."

"Right you are."

He set Kenshin back on the ground and the queen gently hugged the still stunned rurouni, "It's so wonderful to see that you are alive and well Kiyoshi."

"Thank you, ma'am."

She took a step back to look at him and shook her head, "These clothes are absolutely filthy, when was the last time they were washed?"

"Um… yesterday ma'am…"

"They're horrid, I seriously hope that you do not intend to wear them to dinner tonight."

Kenshin flushed slightly, "Oro…"

Naoto chuckled, "Of course not, Milady, I will personally see to it that Kiyoshi is properly dressed for the occasion."

"Thank you, Naoto, but you better hurry, dinner shall be ready shortly."

"Yes Milady."

Naoto bowed and started out of the room, Kenshin bowed deeply and hastily followed his twin, letting out the breath he'd unconsciously been holding, "That was… painful, that it was."

"Lord Iishikawa has the tendency to accidentally hurt you when he is excited, but fear not, I won't let him break you in half."

Kenshin smiled, "Thanks, so… why do I need to change, my clothes are clean, that they are, I washed them myself, that I did."

"Well… they are rather… um…"

"They're what?"

"Forgive my rudeness, sir, but… they are rather… grungy, if that is the proper word to be used."

"Oh… well I guess they are a little old, that they are."

"How long have you worn that outfit of yours?"

Kenshin paused in mid-step and did some mental calculations before he answered, "About… seven years I think…"

He looked over and saw a somewhat disgusted look on Naoto's face and chuckled, "I guess I look like a bum, don't I, Sir Naoto?"

"No, not a bum, sir, more like… a beggar."

Both men laughed and Naoto opened a large door and shut it back after Kenshin entered the room. He looked around and realized he was in a huge bedroom, the bed in itself could've held four people easily and was draped with a deep red silk blanket. The dresser on the far wall was very large and a deep mahogany in color, the huge mirror just above it shone brightly and one could easily see their reflection across the room. Kenshin looked around a bit more before he managed a faint, "Wow…"

He heard some rustling and looked over to see Naoto digging around in another room then he realized that the room was actually an enormous closet. Naoto came out a few moments later and closed the closet door before handing some clothes to Kenshin, "that should make the lady happy, just slip into them and I'll wait for you outside."

Before Kenshin could protest he left the room and shut the door, missing the heavy sigh from the former hitokiri, "Why me… I guess I should change then."

Kenshin set the clothes on the bed and picked up the pair of gray pants, looking at them strangely before he slipped out of his hakama and pulled them on, finding out that they were very tight and form fitting, which he didn't like at all. After some grumbling and tugging he managed to somehow stretch out the tight material to where it was somewhat more comfortable then he slipped out of his gi and picked up the deep blue shirt. He raised an eyebrow when he saw that it wasn't split down the middle like his gi and he wasn't quite sure of how to put it on.

Finally he figured out to pull it over his head but found it difficult to pull it down over his shoulders. He groaned loudly and tried to tug it off but quickly found out that he had a serious problem. After a couple of minutes he gave up and hesitantly called out, "Um… Sir Naoto…"

The door opened and he poked his head inside, "Yes?"

"I… need help, that I do."

Naoto stepped inside and shut the door, unable to hold back the laugh that escaped him when he saw his cousin's distress, "What's wrong?"

"I'm stuck, that I am!"

"How on earth did you ever manage to get stuck?"

"I don't know, that I don't!"

"Let me help you."

Naoto went up to him and tried to gently pull the shirt off but found that it was stuck very well, "I see the problem, you put it on upside down… I can't get it off."

"Just jerk."

"I don't want to hurt you."

"Just jerk it off, Sir Naoto, you won't hurt me, that you won't."

"Very well, hold on…"

Naoto pulled with all of his strength and the shirt flew off, sending both men crashing in opposite directions. Kenshin ungracefully crashed onto the floor and Naoto managed to land on the bed before they both laughed at the predicament, "I'm so glad that Sano didn't see this, that I am."

"I'm certain he would never let you live this down, would he?"

"Oh never."

Naoto got up and helped Kenshin up, frowning when he saw Kenshin's chest and stomach, "My… you have so many scars… whatever happened to you, sir?"

"Just… fighting over the years, nothing to worry about, Sir Naoto, now… how do I put that torture device on?"

Naoto laughed, "You put your head into the large hole at the end, you had put it on upside down."

"Huh?"

"You were trying to put it on through the head hole first, try it this way…"

Naoto put it on his head and pulled it down, finding it much easier to slip on, "Now put your arms into the sleeves and we'll tug it down the rest of the way."

Kenshin obeyed and within seconds they had the shirt on properly and Naoto helped straighten it out, "There, that looks very good on you, sir."

"Thank you… you won't… tell anyone about this… will you?"

"Of course not… well… I may be tempted to tell Lady Kaoru of the incident…"

"Oh don't tell her, I never will live it down if she found out, that I wouldn't."

They laughed and headed back downstairs, meeting the king and queen in the dining hall, starting up a conversation after a long silence. After dinner the king and queen decided to go to bed and the red heads chose to do the same. As they were heading back to their rooms Kenshin sighed, "I don't think they like me very well, that I don't."

"Fear not, sir, I'm certain they will warm up to you in time, you must remember that they haven't seen you since you were a small child and I'm certain that they didn't expect you to grow up the way that you did."

"I suppose so and by the way, you don't have to call me 'sir', that you don't, you can just call me by my name, that you can."

"And I extend the same courtesy to you, you can call me just Naoto."

They bowed to one another and said goodnight before they each entered their rooms and shut the doors. Kenshin didn't bother to take off his clothes as he flopped onto the edge of the bed, the weight of the day's events finally catching up to him. He had intended to just rest for a moment but his exhaustion got to him first and he fell asleep where he was, slipping into a dreamless sleep as his mind wandered back to his friends at the dojo.