Just some minor edits here and there. Still mostly grammer. Still hoping to get the rest edited and finished before I leave work today!
Emiko awoke to the scent of hot green tea drifting over her. She sluggishly opened her eyes, only to find a navy-blue pair staring back at her.
"Good morning," a gentle voice said cheerfully. "You slept through the night after you fainted yesterday." The rest of a face swam into view, and then formed a concerned frown. "How do you feel? Megumi said you just fainted from shock, but I still think you might be sick."
"I—" Emiko croaked out, unable to get any more out through her parched throat. Kaoru didn't look surprised; she merely helped the woman sit up and gave her the mug of warm tea. The woman accepted it with a grateful smile and drank nearly the whole cup before she attempted to speak again.
"Thank you…" Emiko whispered. "I am sorry for the inconvenience."
"It's nothing." Kaoru said with a smile. "The 'unexpected guest' routine is something we deal with constantly since Kenshin came to stay with us," she added lightly.
"Is Kenshin the young boy?" Emiko asked as she tilted her head curiously.
"No, the boy is Yahiko," Kaoru said, picking up the cool cloth that had dropped from Emiko's forehead when she sat up. "Kenshin is the man with the red hair."
"Ken…shin?" Emiko asked. "But… he… Shinta…"
Kaoru dropped the cool cloth that she had just picked up. "Shinta?" she asked incredulously. "You know… Kenshin's childhood name?"
"Shinta changed his name?" Emiko asked, eyebrows knitting together, frowning. "And to Kenshin?" she thought despairingly. Officer Fujita's words came back to her, taunting her. "He's not the boy you remember," he had said.
"Hiko changed his name for him, when he adopted him and started teaching him. That was when he was eight, I think," Kaoru said. "You must have known him a long, long time ago," Kaoru paused, realization coming to her face. Her expression fell, and she couldn't hide it. "If you didn't know about the change in his name… then you must not know much else, do you?" Kaoru asked sadly.
"No… I don't. I've been looking for Shinta for twenty years," Emiko said, growing even more worried. "I… was sick, and he was taken and sold into slavery…"
Kaoru sat back on her heels, her eyes curious. "What is your name?" She asked. Emiko looked surprised at the question, "Surely he's told them?" Noticing her confusion, Kaoru continued: "Kenshin never talks about his past, he finds it too painful to recall happier times before he… well…" she paused, unsure of what to reveal. "If Kenshin knew this woman before, there is a good chance that he would not want her to know about his career as an assassin," she reasoned.
"Before he what?" Emiko demanded. She then changed tactics, pleading with the teenaged kenjutsu instructor: "I… I don't know what happened after he was taken. Fujita-san brought me here, only warning me that my Shinta was different from what I remember…" she choked back a few tears and blinked rapidly to clear the mist from her eyes. "Please, please tell me," she implored.
"I'm not sure that Kenshin would want an old friend of his to…" Kaoru said nervously, looking to the doorway as if he was going to be standing there with a disappointed smile on his face.
"Miss," Emiko said, her voice now demanding though the tears, "I need to know what had become of my son over these past twenty years!"
Kaoru felt her breath leave as if she had been physically punched in the stomach.
"Son?" she breathed in shock, eyes wide. Emiko noted her reaction. "But… his parents died… when he was seven…"
"I didn't. They took me before I was dead… And they took…" she stopped. Kaoru poured her some more tea, which she drank gratefully. She stared at the cup, blinking and taking deep, shuddering breaths for a moment to calm herself down.
"Then…" recognition dawned of Kaoru's face. "Oh, no, that's why Kenshin... Kenshin went to his room shortly after you arrived, and hasn't come out yet, not to eat, or anything. Yahiko peeked in and found him sitting, staring at his sword," Kaoru sighed again.
"Oh, dear..." Emiko said, making to sit up.
"No—don't. I'll see if Kenshin will come here," Kaoru said, standing up herself. Emiko refused the offer.
"Miss, I have wandered on foot all over Japan for almost nineteen years. I can handle myself, thank you," Emiko chastised as she hoisted herself delicately to her feet. "I will see him."
Inwardly, Kaoru marveled at the older woman's strength. She finally nodded and led her to Kenshin's room.
"Here…" Kaoru said softly, stopping just short of the door. "This is Kenshin's room." She took a deep breath, and then knocked on the shoji frame. "Kenshin?" she called softly.
"Come in," came the equally soft reply. Emiko reached for the door handle and pulled it.
The shoji was slid open slowly. Emiko stared for a moment at the hunched over figure of her aged son. He was taller, and somewhat less fragile than he was when he was eight, but it was impossible to mistake the boy, and not only because of his brilliant hair.
"Shinta," She said softly, stepping in. Her tabi-clad feet barely made a sound. Kenshin, very slowly, turned his head to see the woman.
"Good morning, Mother. Did you sleep well?" He asked in a soft voice. He eyes were soft and sad, torn between relief and fear. With a sob, Emiko flew at him. Slightly surprised, Kenshin twisted around and caught her. Emiko sobbed into Kenshin's gi, hugging him tightly. Kenshin held her, burying his face in his mother's hair.
Kaoru watched from the door, a look of melancholy happiness on her face. How would the older woman react when she found out her precious son's past? Her insides churned as she imagined the conversation…