Kirikae
By lawless
"Wait, Yahiko!" Kaoru called from the kitchen. "You forgot the soup!"
Yahiko looked up from putting on his zori. "Hah? I thought you put everything inside already." He took the oibako off his shoulders and inspected its contents.
"Iie." Kaoru shook her head as she placed the carefully wrapped bowl of miso soup inside. "Kenshin insisted on the soup he made himself. You know, just in case."
"In case your oyakodon is terribl – itai!" Yahiko rubbed his crown where Kaoru swiftly knocked him with a well-aimed fist. "Violent busu-babaa," he muttered under his breath as he picked up the oibako and shrugged it over his shoulders.
"I heard that!"
"Ittekimasu!" Yahiko monotoned, stepping off the engawa to start his long walk to the clinic.
He looked up at the sky. It was a nice morning. All quiet and peaceful. Of course, it was always a little bit quieter in this street, not like the streets near Ruffian Row.
He'd moved out of the Kamiya dojo about a year ago. Mostly at Sano's urging (he had a hunch that Kenshin and Kaoru needed the space and, for once, the toriatama was right), and also because Yahiko needed his own space. Be his own man, so to speak.
Mornings at Ruffian Row were always loud, filled with drunken singing, screeching wives, clanging pots and hissing cats. Having practically grown up in the streets, Yahiko was no stranger to the aliveness of it all. But sometimes, only sometimes, he missed the stillness of the dojo – the gentle 'pu' sound of the shishi-doshi, Kaoru practicing her kata, Kenshin humming softly as he did the laundry. Sometimes, he missed the sounds of home.
The clinic appeared into view.
With his destination in sight, Yahiko quickened his steps. It was still early but he expected that at least the onna-sensei would be up and about by now. Sano, the lazy bum, would probably still be snoring. So he didn't announce his arrival and simply let himself in. He was halfway towards the kitchen when he heard a noise coming from one of the rooms. He paused then stalked towards the direction of the sound to investigate.
"No, it's too hard." That was Megumi's voice.
"What do you mean it's too hard? You're the one who's too tight." That was Sano's voice.
"Stop, stop, it hurts, dammit, go slow."
"…like that?"
"Yes, just like that. Gently, gently…."
"That's better."
A sighing sound.
"God, that feels good."
Yahiko never thought his ears could blush but they did. He dropped the tansu and fled.
From inside the room, Sano and Megumi stopped what they were doing as they turned towards the noise.
After a beat, Sano called, "Who's there?" He was sitting cross-legged on the tatami, holding a jar of hair oil, while Megumi was kneeling behind him, hand paused in the middle of combing Sano's (her) hair. "Did you hear that?" He questioned.
Megumi nodded. "Go check."
Sano stood up and drew back the shoji. But the place was empty, except for a oibako lying on the floor. "Hey, I recognize this," he exclaimed, picking up the wood and bamboo traveling box. "This is Yahiko's."
"Wait, Yahiko!" Kaoru called from the kitchen. "Tsukemono! Tsukemono!"
Yahiko looked up from putting on his zori. "Gomen, I thought I had it with me already."
"Where's your oibako?" Kaoru asked, noticing that Yahiko was using a piece of cloth to wrap the meals in.
Yahiko felt his cheeks twinge. "Oh I, uh, left it at the clinic."
"You're so careless." Kaoru handed him the jar of pickled vegetables. "Here. Sano likes pickles."
"He only says that 'coz you let him freeload," Yahiko muttered under his breath.
"I heard that!"
"Ittekimasu!" Yahiko monotoned, stepping off the engawa to start his long walk to the clinic.
Man, what a hot day. He wiped the beads of sweat already forming on his forehead as he swung the cloth-wrapped lunch box over his shoulder. But he was excited about today because today was the day he was going to ask Tsubame to go cherry blossom viewing at Ueno Park. He would wait until she got off from work (when he would just happen to pass by and just happen to be walking in the same direction as her) to casually broach the subject.
The clinic came into view. As he drew closer, Yahiko slowed down, remembering what had occurred that morning. Perhaps, he overreacted, misheard things and misinterpreted them. But just in case, when he entered the clinic, he made sure to announce his arrival.
But the clinic was empty.
Yahiko crossed the tatami towards the kitchen to place the food and listen for some signs of life.
"Tighter."
There it was. That was Sano's voice. Yahiko followed the sound to one of the rooms. He was about to call out when –
"You're pulling too hard," Megumi said with a groan.
Sano grunted in response, adding, "Harder."
There was a gasp. "I can't…"
"…come on, we're almost there…"
Yahiko did not wait to listen to the rest as he fled from the place.
From inside the room, Sano and Megumi paused what they were doing as they turned towards the noise.
"Who's there?" Sano called. He was standing in the middle of the room, holding on to a post while Megumi tried to wrap an obi around his waist. "Did you hear that?"
Megumi nodded. "Go check."
Sano strode across the tatami and pushed aside the shoji. But the place was empty, except for the smell of beef sukiyaki. "Looks like we have lunch."
That evening, Yahiko failed to show up. No particular reason given. So Kaoru and Kenshin brought dinner to the clinic.
"I wonder what those two have been up to," Kaoru said as they made their way slowly down the street.
"Has Yahiko-kun said anything to you?" Kenshin was walking ahead, one arm holding the basket, the other resting on the kashira of his sakabatou. Kaoru followed a step behind.
"No. He turns red as Kintoki everytime I ask."
The pause in Kenshin's footsteps was barely perceptible. Kaoru did not notice as Kenshin continued.
"Inu to neko no naka," Kaoru muttered under her breath.
"Hm?"
"Those two agree like cats and dogs."
Kenshin smiled. "Hm."
"Maybe that's why they got cursed. A tengu heard them the other night. What they need now is a priest, not a doctor."
The Oguni Clinic came into view. Its windows were open, warm yellow light pouring out, beckoning the approaching visitors to hasten their steps. As they drew closer, they saw that the outside shoji was open, revealing the fusuma made of plain white wood separating the yorutsoki from the interior. But the occupants of the clinic were nowhere in sight.
Kaoru called out a formal greeting and walked onto the tataki.
"Do it slowly, and steady." The voice came from the engawa which ran along the North-side of the clinic.
There was a gasp, followed by an exclamation. "Kami-sama, that's too big!"
"Tsk, hold still or it won't fit."
There was a grunt, followed by a low moan.
When Kaoru turned to face Kenshin, her face was steaming red and her eyes were round like saucers. Without a word, she grabbed the dinner basket from the rurouni, dropped it on the shikidai with a loud thud, and swiftly dragged Kenshin out of there before he could even say "Oro?"
From the engawa, Sano and Megumi paused what they were doing as they turned towards the noise.
"What was that?" Sano sounded. He was sitting on the engawa, one foot resting on the stone step, the other folded under the fabric of Megumi's yukata he was wearing. He was holding one end of a rather large piece of cloth while Megumi held the other end. On the matted-wooden floor lay a pair of scissors and some irregularly-shaped snippets of cloth.
Megumi, as Sano, was teaching Sano, as Megumi, how to make a bandage. They got so engrossed in the exercise they did not hear anything else but for the loud thud coming from the front door. They've been hearing a lot of those lately. Without prompting, Sano stood up and strode towards the genkan.
"It's probably dinner!" Megumi hollered from the north.
AN Wow, I didn't really think through how confusing this is to write.(Pronouns are so hard). I'll probably resolve this by the next chapter just because it's hard to write this shit. LOL
Obligatory English Translation:
Zori - slippers
Oibako - a knapsack made of wooden frame and a box made of woven bamboo
Iie - No
Miso - fermented soybean
Oyakodon - chicken and egg noodle
Itai - Ouch!
busu-babaa - Ugly hag
Ittekimasu - I'm leaving
Engawa - porch
Shishi-doshi - water fountain made of bamboo
Tsukemono - pickled vegetables
Kashira - pommel of a sword's hilt
Sakabatou - Kenshin's reverse-edged sword
Kintoki - as in red kintoki beans; Kintoki is a Japanese warrior during the Heian period, famous for his red face
Inu to neko no naka - They agree like cats and dogs
Tengu - a supernatural being with bird-like features
Fusuma - interior sliding panels used to separate rooms
Yorutsoki - part of the entryway of a Japanese traditional house/building
Tataki - ground floor of the genkan (entryway)
Shikidai - wooden step, part of the genkan
