Author-chan's notes: Hi again! I'm up with chapter 2 of "Like Father Like Son". To be honest, this fic has been floating around in my head for the longest time. It's good to finally be writing it down. Well, enjoy chapter 2!
Like Father Like Son
(Chapter Two: Home)
The Kamiya dojo
"Tadaima!" Kenji called, sliding the shoji to the dojo open. Somewhere inside his mind, the young man sighed.
'He used to say that phrase just like that,' a voice in Kenji's head murmured sadly. Kenji growled in annoyance.
'Everyone says tadaima just like that, not just tou-san,' Kenji argued back.
'Not like that,' the voice retorted, 'Only he could say that phrase with that amount of yearning and relief, almost as if he was both happy and sad at the same time at coming home.'
'Shut up about him already,' Kenji growled at the voice, 'I don't want to talk about him.'
'Why not?' the voice argued back, 'It's the anniversary of his death, it's only natural that you would think about him.'
'Shut up and leave me alone!' Kenji snarled in his mind. With that, the redhead turned his mind away from his thoughts, just as his wife, with their baby son in her arms, entered the room.
"Anata?" his wife, Chizuru, said quietly, walking up next to him, "Is something wrong?"
"Iie," Kenji lied, taking his son, Sasuke, from her. Chizuru frowned, but did not press the matter. Kenji would tell her when he was ready.
"Tousan, tousan!" little Sasuke giggled, wrapping his chubby little arms around Kenji's neck. Kenji couldn't help but smile, his former misery forgotten.
"Oi, Sasuke-chan," Kenji grinned, "How was your day with kaa-san?"
"Tousan, tousan!" Sasuke kept on gurgling, latching himself more firmly on his father. Chizuru sighed.
"All he did today was ask for you," the raven-haired woman said, "Sasuke-chan seems to be obsessed with you, anata. I think it has something to do with your hair."
"I have no idea what you mean, koishii," Kenji said with false innocence. Kenji had inherited a head full of flaming red locks from his father, and like Kenshin, Kenji had grown it out long, though most of the time Kenji tied it up in a high silky ponytail in contrast to Kenshin's low bushy one. Ever since Sasuke had been born, the youngster had been fascinated by Kenji's bright red ponytail. Chizuru had to sigh at the fact that her husband had better looking hair than hers. Her hair was a common raven-colored black. She also kept it cut shorter than her husband did -her hair only went a little bit past her shoulders while Kenji's nearly reached his waist when let down. Sasuke had inherited his mother's hair color. The little boy had a wild tuff of black hair on top of his head that no amount of combing could fully tame. Kenji had once mentioned to his wife that it probably had something to do with his father. Kenji had told Chizuru that his father had extremely bushy hair and that he wouldn't be surprised if Sasuke shared this trait. Sasuke also had clear blue eyes, an eye color shared by both of his parents.
"Tousan!" Sasuke chirped again, burying his chubby baby face into Kenji's shoulder.
"See what I mean, anata?" Chizuru said with a slight smile on her face, "He's obsessed with you." Kenji laughed.
"Oi Kenji, Chizuru!" a voice outside called, "Anyone home?"
"Yahiko-san?" Kenji called back, "Is that you?"
"Who else?" the voice grumbled as the shoji swung back to reveal the spiky-haired swordsman.
"Ya'ko!" Sasuke gurgled, finally letting go of Kenji's neck and waving his arms at his "uncle".
"Hey there, Sasuke-chan!" Yahiko grinned, plucking the child from his father's grip, "How was your day?"
"Tousan!" Sasuke replied with a cute baby smile. Yahiko nodded sagely.
"Let me guess, he was calling for Kenji all day," Yahiko deduced. Both Kenji and Chizuru nodded. Yahiko laughed.
"That's just like you, Kenji," Yahiko pointed out, "Only you used to call for Kaoru all the time. It was funny watching Kenshin turn into an oro-ing heap every time you tugged at his hair and demanded he give you your kaa-san." Kenji looked at the floor.
"I suppose it was," Kenji murmured softly, "Tou-san said 'oro' a lot, didn't he?"
"Aa," Yahiko nodded, "That phrase was part of what made Kenshin, Kenshin." There was a long silent pause. Sasuke shifted uncomfortably, clearly feeling the tension in the air.
"Yahiko-san?" Chizuru began, breaking the silence, "Can you watch Sasuke for a moment as I talk to Kenji?"
"Okay, Chizuru-san," Yahiko nodded. Chizuru smiled, grabbed Kenji's arm, and left to go to another room. Yahiko sighed and looked at the baby in his arms.
"Want something to eat, Sasuke-chan?"
***
Meanwhile with Kenji and Chizuru
"Kenji, is there something wrong?" Chizuru asked for the second time that day. Her husband shook his head.
"Nothing," Kenji replied, "Just some old memories."
"Old ghosts of the past, is that it?" Chizuru asked.
"You can say that," Kenji murmured. Chizuru frowned slightly. She had always known that Kenji had troubles in his past, but then again, who didn't? She knew he didn't like talking about the past, and she didn't want to pry. After all, he didn't pry into her past life, so why should she? All that mattered was the present.
"I'm sorry, anata," Chizuru whispered, drawing her husband into a hug.
"Don't be," he whispered back, kissing the top of her head. They stayed like that for a few moments before Chizuru pulled back, wrapping her arms around herself.
"Chizuru?" Kenji asked, blinking his bright blue eyes.
"Kenji, how much do you love Sasuke?" Chizuru asked suddenly.
"You ought to know the answer to that question," Kenji replied, "Both you and him are my whole world."
"Do you think you can have another person in that world of yours?" Chizuru asked. Kenji blinked in confusion.
"What are you saying, koishii?" Kenji asked. Chizuru looked up at him and smiled brightly.
"I talked to your Aunt Megumi the other day," Chizuru began, "And it seems we're going to have another child…"
"Oh, koishii!" Kenji cried, hugging her tight. Chizuru smiled and returned the hug.
***
Meanwhile with Yahiko and Sasuke
"Ya'ko!" Sasuke giggled as Yahiko placed the child down on the floor of the dojo.
"Okay, Sasuke-chan," Yahiko began, "I'm going into the kitchen to get me -er us -some food. You have to wait here like a good boy and not get into any trouble while I'm cooking, alright?"
"Ya'ko!" Sasuke grinned from the floor. Yahiko sighed and smiled slightly.
"I'll take that as a yes," Yahiko murmured, "But just in case, play with this until I come back." Yahiko brought out a small red paper ball and handed it to the one-year-old.
"Ball, ball!" Sasuke cried in delight, batting the ball around the floor and crawling after it.
"Be back soon, Sasuke-chan!" And with that, the spiky-haired man walked off to the kitchen. Sasuke paid him no mind. All his thoughts were on the bright red ball.
"Ball!" Sasuke yelped, batting it away again. The red sphere floated in the air for a few moments and then started to descend gracefully, like a falling leaf in the breeze. The ball landed next to the man who was sitting against the wall. Sasuke blinked at the stranger, who had not been there a moment ago, then grinned, instantly recognizing him. After all, who else could have such bright red hair? The man blinked at the ball and then glanced at Sasuke.
"Oro? Is this yours, de gozaru ka?"
***
In the kitchen with Yahiko
"That should do it!" Yahiko said proudly, laying out the fried fish on a dish. The swordsman grinned to himself. Tsubame would be proud of him. She and he had been married for a few years, and over that time Tsubame had been teaching her husband how to cook. After all, since they lived in a restaurant one could never have too many cooks.
After laying out his fish, Yahiko spooned out some leftover rice onto the dish as well. After thinking for a moment, he spooned out a little bit more rice. Sasuke would probably want something to eat as well. Yahiko grabbed a pair of chopsticks and popped one of the pieces of fish in his mouth, sighing a little bit.
'Not bad,' he thought, 'but it's still not as good as Tsubame's or Kenshin's cooking.' Shrugging to himself, Yahiko headed back to the room Sasuke was, hoping the kid hadn't gotten in trouble while he was gone.
***
Back with Sasuke
Sasuke giggled at his father's antics. Sasuke kept on hitting the ball into the air and then the red-haired man would try to catch it. However, whenever the man reached at the sphere it would slip through his fingers like water. After a few more times of trying to catch the ball, the man finally gave up and plopped down next to Sasuke.
"That was fun, de gozaru," the man said with a smile. Sasuke grinned back.
"Tousan!" Sasuke chirped. The man smiled sadly, hanging his head so that his bright red bangs his deep violet eyes.
"Iie," he whispered, barely audible. Sasuke didn't hear him, but instead tilted his head, confused at his "father's" sudden melancholy.
"Tousan?" Sasuke questioned, confused. Suddenly another voice floated through the room.
"Sasuke-chan, I'm back!" Yahiko's voice called. The red-haired man beside Sasuke stiffened at the voice.
"Yahiko," the man whispered almost sadly, "Sessha is sorry, Sasuke-chan, but I have to go, de gozaru."
"Tousan?" Sasuke blinked. The redhead smiled at him.
"Don't worry," the man murmured, ruffling Sasuke's hair gently. Sasuke giggled and closed his eyes at the motion. It felt as if a cool spring breeze was playing with his hair rather than a human hand.
"Sasuke-chan!" Yahiko's voice said as Sasuke head the shoji door open with a snap. Sasuke opened his eyes only to discover that his father was gone and the floor of the room was covered in cherry blossom petals.
"What happened?!" Yahiko yelped, nearly dropping his plate when he saw the pink and white mess. Sasuke blinked at his "uncle".
"Tousan?"
***
Meanwhile with Kenji and Chizuru
The happy couple was sitting on their futon and talking about their family's future, now that they both knew that a new addition was on the way. Kenji's spirits were much higher than they were a few minutes ago. His father's death was the last thing on his mind now. Suddenly, a voice floated throughout the house, interrupting the couple's conversation.
"What happened?!" Yahiko's voice yelped. Both husband and wife glanced at each other, then at the door. Kenji sighed and stood up, gesturing for Chizuru to stay where she was.
"Don't worry about it, koishii," Kenji said with a soft smile, "I'll handle it." And with a grace that could only be achieved through years of handling a sword, Kenji strode out of the room.
"Yahiko? Is there something wrong?" Kenji called as he opened the shoji door to the room where Yahiko and his son were. The young redhead almost choked when he saw the mess that was in the room.
"W-what? How?" Kenji sputtered looking at the pile of sakura blossoms around his son. Yahiko looked at him, equally bewildered.
"I have no idea," the spiky-haired man said, his eyes wide, "I only left Sasuke alone for a few minutes and when I came back…" Yahiko gestured at the mess to emphasize his point. Kenji just stared. Sasuke sat in the middle of the blossoms, also confused. The little boy looked up at Kenji and blinked.
"Tousan?" Sasuke hiccuped. Kenji picked the boy up.
"Do you think someone came in here?" Kenji asked, worry in his voice.
"Don't be stupid," Yahiko scoffed, "What sort of idiot would come in here, dump a pile of flowers on the floor, then leave without doing anything else?"
"Then what? How did these blossoms get in here?" Kenji asked. Yahiko shrugged.
"I don't know, maybe the door was open and they got blown in here by the wind," Yahiko reasoned. Kenji snorted.
"That's even stupider than my explanation," Kenji scoffed, "The door's closed."
"Maybe we should ask Sasuke what happened," Yahiko suggested.
"Sasuke can barely say ten words!" Kenji protested. Yahiko shrugged.
"It's worth a shot," Yahiko pointed out, "What words does Sasuke know?"
"I'm not exactly sure, but he can barely say ten," Kenji answered.
"Is that it?" Yahiko asked, surprised. Kenji nodded his head. Yahiko sighed.
"Well, it's better than nothing," Yahiko murmured. Yahiko then turned to the small child.
"Alright, Sasuke-chan, I'm going to ask you some questions and you're going to answer them, okay?" Yahiko declared.
"Ya'ko!" Sasuke chirped. Kenji raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"Are you sure he knows what you're asking him?" Kenji asked.
"Sure! Kids are smarter than they look," Yahiko said confidently, "Look, I'll prove it to you. Sasuke-chan, who am I?"
"Ya'ko!"
"Who is holding you?" Yahiko pressed on.
"Tousan!"
"What were you playing with earlier?"
"Ball!"
"See, told you he's smarter than he looks," Yahiko said triumphantly. Kenji rolled his eyes.
"Alright, go on," Kenji sighed. Yahiko grinned and turned all of his attention to Sasuke.
"Okay, Sasuke-chan, was the door open when I wasn't here?" Yahiko asked.
"Iie!"
"Okay, that means that the flowers did not get blown in here by the wind," Yahiko reasoned, "Alright, Sasuke-chan, do you know how the pretty flowers got here?"
"Iie!"
"This isn't helping," Kenji sighed, two seconds away from walking out the door, "Let's just clean this mess up, and forget about it."
"Wait a second!" Yahiko ordered, "Sasuke-chan, was anyone in here when I was gone?"
"Hai!" The two men looked at each other after Sasuke's statement, their faces pale.
"Do you know who it was?" Yahiko asked. Sasuke grinned and answered.
"Tousan!"
"No, no, Sasuke-chan, tou-san was with kaa-san, not with you," Kenji said, shaking his head.
"Maybe he means someone who looked like you," Yahiko reasoned, "Or at least someone who looked more like you than me."
"Maybe," Kenji murmured, "But who in this area looks more like me than you? With my hair, the only person it could have been is a foreigner and what kind of foreigner would come here?"
"Sasuke-chan," Yahiko began slowly, "Was there anything different about tou-san earlier? Any facial features different from tou-san or did he say anything that sounded funny?" Sasuke paused for a moment, as if he was thinking it over.
"This isn't working, Yahiko," Kenji sighed as he handed his son to his friend, "I'm going to get a broom to clean this mess up. Sasuke probably remembered wrong. It is possible that the door was open and the petals just got blown in here by the wind."
"Aren't you the least bit curious what happened in here, Kenji?" Yahiko asked.
"There are more important things to worry about than how a pile of flowers ended up in my home," Kenji replied. Then he turned and walked out of the room.
"That boy has no sense of adventure," Yahiko muttered, sighing a bit. Meanwhile, Sasuke suddenly found an answer to Yahiko's earlier question to him.
"Gozaru!" Sasuke suddenly said, answering Yahiko. Yahiko's eyes grew wide.
"Did you just say what I think you said?" Yahiko whispered, his body shaking slightly. Sasuke blinked at him.
"Sasuke-chan," Yahiko began, still in shock, "Repeat what you just said."
"Gozaru!" Sasuke chirped again, not realizing the pain he was awakening within the man holding him. On the ground, the pile of blossoms rustled, as if stirred by some unknown wind. Neither Yahiko nor Sasuke paid the motion any mind.
***
The red-haired man sighed, as he sat on the porch outside the dojo. Maybe talking with Sasuke wasn't such a good idea. But how could he help it? He never guessed that he would live long enough to see his grandchildren, so it was rather surprising that he was able to see Sasuke. Of course that didn't mean he lived long enough to do so. The ghost of Himura Kenshin/Shinta sighed again. It was good to see Sasuke. Being with the boy made him feel like he was still alive.
'Stop fooling yourself, Himura,' Kenshin thought to himself, 'you are dead and there's nothing you can do about it.'
"Anata?" a soft voice behind the former rurouni murmured. The red-haired ghost turned his head around to face the spirit of his blue-eyed wife.
"Kaoru-dono," Kenshin greeted, his infamous Rurouni-smile on his face, "How are you, de gozaru ka?"
"Better than you," Kaoru answered, sitting down next to him, "Really, Shinta, do you have to keep torturing yourself? You did that enough when you were alive."
"Anou, old habits die hard?" Kenshin suggested, mentally wincing at his horrible pun.
"Shinta!" Kaoru yelled.
"Oro!" the former Rurouni yelped, "You'll disturb everyone in the dojo, Kaoru-dono!"
"Shinta no baka!" Kaoru yelled, her translucent face beginning to flush as if she was still alive, "They can't hear us! We're dead, remember?!" Kenshin looked down, his long bangs hiding his face.
"Aa, that we are," the dead man murmured. Kaoru instantly calmed down, her concern for her husband overriding her anger.
"What's the matter?" Kaoru asked, drawing her husband into a gentle hug.
"Today is the day sessha came home for the last time," Kenshin answered quietly, not looking up at her.
"Your day of death," Kaoru realized. Kenshin nodded.
"So that's why you're all depressed," Kaoru murmured.
"It's not that," Kenshin said, "Sessha feels that there is something wrong. There is something that sessha has to do."
"There shouldn't be anything else that you need to do," Kaoru reasoned, "You've atoned for your sins at least a hundred times over! The cross-shaped scar is gone, anata. You are allowed to move on. We are allowed to move on."
"Perhaps I have atoned for the sins sessha committed as Hitokiri Battousai," Kenshin murmured, "But there is one last person who sessha has wronged. Sessha must fix that wrong, de gozaru."
"You're talking about Kenji," Kaoru realized. Her husband nodded. The blue-eyed ghost looked at him mournfully.
"Then what do you propose we should do, anata?" Kaoru asked.
"I don't know," Kenshin answered.
"Perhaps I can help," a voice from behind the couple piped up. The two startled spirits turned around, their eyes wide.
"Anou, who are you, de gozaru ka?" Kenshin asked the visitor.
"And how can you see us?!" Kaoru yelped.
Author-chan's notes: A much longer chapter than the last one. *sigh* I forgot how slow things are in the beginning of stories. Hopefully things will start speeding up soon.
By the way, in the OAV, when Yahiko gave Kenji the sakabatou, he mentioned that he was late in giving the sword to Kenji for his coming of age present. So I deduced that Kenji must have been either 15 or 16 in the OAV, making him 17 or 18 in this fic. If some of you are going to complain on how being 17 or 18 is a bit young to be married and have kids, I just want to remind you that Kenshin was 15 himself when he got married to Tomoe. Also Sasuke is only a couple of months old. As for Chizuru, Kenji's wife, she's about Kenji's age.
Please R+R!!!
Oh, and by the way, does anyone know when Saito Hajime's date of death? Or even the general year when he dies? If you know, please tell me!