NOTE
Well, I am BACK baby! YOW! Thanks to ALL of you who have stayed true throughout the years and waited for this darned update. You deserve a break. XD
For many reasons I have returned, but for one great one is decided to-- last year in 2009, the ff dot net community has lost one of its most amazing RuroKen writers.
I decided to write this chapter in memory of HakuBaikou, the writer of "A Sea of Troubles", an amazing fic which, sadly, will never be completed. We lost her in a car accident but according to her sister's deviantart post, she was in no pain and she was always very happy to talk to fans, writers and artists alike in her online sites. She will be sorely missed. Please look up her work and read/enjoy it, she was an AMAZING artist as well.
Go to /~hakubaikou/
Her deviantart account is listed on her profile page.
Rest in peace, Hakubaikou-san.
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CHAPTER FOUR: Find Your Way Home (to the White Plum Garden)
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Morning broke gently, unlike the ending to the previous night, which had was fraught with storms and wind. Sunlight was flickering over the rice paper screens in the wanderers' second story room, illuminating the futon and tatami mats in patches, glowing like a natural lamp to light the morning-- altogether a complete reversal of the former day's events.
A few threads of brilliant red were reaching out in a swirl from the bed coverings: a trail that led back to their owner, still sleeping in a meadow of soft white sheets. In contrast, two black streaks marred the tatami floor with their presence, one shorter than the other, a pale hand from the same covers wrapped securely around the longer sheath.
Himura's daisho swords.
The boy never could sleep without them...
The new sword was beautifully worked, not a flaw to be found. The former hitokiri had been quick to take advantage of their familiar surroundings; he must have sent the order for such a weapon months ago.
Himura had finally been carried to their shared quarters once the captain found his legs. It had been no small feat; his unexplained scare had rocked him hard, not a common occurrence at this point in his life. Many decades had gone by without the sudden panic attacks of his youth, although the people involved were always on his mind.
Light had come a while ago; the younger swordsman had been asleep for well over eight hours now, but the peace on his face was not something Hayashii had been willing to break.
Finally one night at least, when he can sleep without waking up screaming... I guess she can still bring him peace even in death.
Hayashii's large, rotund form was still situated outside of his resting place, one hand idly stroking his beard. His brown eyes were heavy and dark; he hadn't slept all night, familiar faces and voices calling to him every time he'd shut his eyes. Inoue had finally left him alone a fews hours past midnight, but not until he was certain his former captain was all right. Hayashii didn't know it, but a trip to the sake shop was the only solace Inoue had found that evening as well.
Kyoto was a volatile mistress-- pleasurable for some, capable of breaking others.
Maybe I shouldn't have brought him here so soon. He did say he wanted to see the rest of the country-- maybe wandering away from this place would have been a good change. Hayashii's mind brought up the same argument that had plagued him all night, resting his tired head against his hand to gaze at the brightly lit window. But there is that pesky money issue... Wandering is no good if we starve right out of the gate.
A soft breath from beside him brought the older man's eyes to where his friend lay, still snoozing beneath heavy covers and tousled red bangs.
Damn it, Himura-- why do you have to look so young when you sleep? Just like...
"Sh-Shishou. Master...n... Hayashii?" came a soft murmur.
The sound startled the greying captain out of his nostalgia. Master? Where did that come from?
"Awake already?" he smiled, recovering quickly. "I would have thought you'd need until at least noon."
The fiery head shook slowly from side to side on the pillow. "No... I'll sleep 'til tomorrow and never wake up." That came out lightly, but it still struck Hayashii in just the right place. The former manslayer must have seen this on his face; he rose quickly, sitting up and casting the blankets down to his waist. Had he not been so worried, Kenshin probably would have blushed at the fact that he was practically naked, save for the yukata that was little more than a loincloth now.
I must have been soaking last night; I'm still cold.
He hoped his wound mixed with exposure from last night's rain wouldn't make him ill. Hayashii looked like he needed no more stress from his end. Himura vaguely remembered something from when he'd been sleeping that made him frown.
"Were you-- all right last night? I felt like..." the boy trailed off, not sure what he wanted to say.
"Oh, you know me," Hayashii teased. "People my age are always 'all right'. Nothing happens to us until we're eighty, and I'm far yet from eighty."
Himura raised an eyebrow.
"At any rate, let's get some food into you. I have rice and soup here. Didn't know what you wanted in terms of fish though; you'll have to get that yourself."
The red-haired teen watched him critically as he prepared a bowl of rice for him. Something was definitely not right, but Himura knew more than anyone the value of privacy in personal matters. If he's really in trouble he'll tell me. Until then I should probably let him deal with whatever it is. I know I wouldn't want that kind of intrusion.
He accepted the bowl of miso and his rice, depositing them onto a tray at his side with a small 'thank you'. When the chopsticks came, Himura found himself face-to-face with the captain, who'd refused to release them and pulled the boy forward slightly.
"If you ever do something like that again, I'll murder you," he said lightly, completely deadpan.
Himura blinked. "What?"
"Staying out in the rain and cold like that-- you know better than to push yourself with a wound like that," Hayashii chided him. "If I ever find you out there like that again, I don't car who's watching; I'll drag you in by your topknot. Understood?"
Himura's eyes were wide and confused. "Uh... yes?"
"Good. Now let's get you started on that job of yours."
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The headquarters were quite different now that the war was over. Nothing lay in secrecy anymore, the flags flew cheekily above the markedly different doors, and inside the decor had also changed. The fine wood furnishings and highly polished floors in western style had a certain pompousness to them, an unfamiliarity that seemed to have taken over the capital city as of late.
Katsura would never have tolerated such opulence.
Kenshin had washed and dressed, taking a new white gi and tabi with his usual grey hakama and neatly gathering his long hair into a semblance of order. He'd seen the flame-coloured toknot streaking down his shoulder too many times as it fell into his face from above, all too often accompanied with the bloodied body of a 'target' at his feet. The fighting was over, and so the time for that tradition should also go, he decided. Instead of the high samurai knot at the top of his head, he tied it low, at the base of his neck. A strange feeling, but comforting somehow.
Change was good, but difficult. For almost a half-hour he'd sat staring at his daisho, the katana and smaller wakizashi having accompanied him for so long. He'd finally opted to leave the katana and keep the shorter blade, knowing that if he was attacked and it came to close range, he did have Tomoe's tanto.
No. The thought chilled him; he'd never use it for that.
Despite the cold from the previous evening, he felt more alert and capable than he'd been before. The attempted assassination from yesterday had barely been avoided; the manslayer had almost reverted to more familiar methods of defeating foes. He'd barely caught the blow in time, and berated himself for it. That could have undone Tomoe's gift entirely. Himura's jaw tightened.
That would not happen again.
Finally, the boy reached Yamagata's office, without incident, he'd noted. There'd been no one in the halls or doorways; he must have slept later than he thought.
The door opened to a scene slightly less haggard than the first time he'd entered. Piles of papers had turned into stacks, furniture was visible, and now several young men were helping with organization. Yamagata was hard at work mailing off sign-up sheets and rosters, sending delivery boys off with important papers that he'd probably been working on all night and making sure military personnel were directed to the correct addresses.
He always did have a knack for giving orders with a smile. I don't know how he manages. I'd never be able to handle so many people. He winced inwardly at the use of the word 'handle'.
Well, I guess technically I could.
Yamagata's face brightened considerably at the appearance of the red-headed swordsman, despite his disheveled appearance. His government issue jacket was unbuttoned at the top, his hat lopsided, but he did seem much less frazzled.
"Himura-san! Did you sleep well?"
"Yes, thank you," Kenshin bowed his head slightly. "I thought I'd come and sign in for my position." He handed him the papers they'd taken the previous day.
"Wonderful! I can't tell you how nice it will be to finally have a--"
Yamagata froze as his eyes found the position to be filled. He raised his gaze to Himura's impassive face.
"...a servant?"
Himura didn't move, eyes fixed on the far wall. "I have no desire to go back to the way things were, Yamagata. It would be too easy for me to... make a mistake... to injure a student, even to--" he cut himself off. "I will not return to that again. I made a promise."
Yamagata looked like he wanted to say more, but restrained himself. "I understand," he said finally. "But, I will warn you. This will be hard for most people to take. Not to be insulting, but-- not many soldiers expect to be served their evening meal by Battousai. They'd probably lose their nerve and go hungry rather than see you in their room."
Himura's expression was stricken. He hadn't really thought about that. "I don't... I don't want to be any trouble, but I do need to work somehow. I don't think any other establishment in Kyoto would take me," he murmured, half to himself.
Seeing the hurt on the boy's face, the older man was quick to make amends. "I'm sure we can find you a position that doesn't involve you meeting with our military men," he reassured him, putting an arm around his shoulders. "Perhaps you can help with preparation of meals, or maybe laundering? I know our current head of household staff is very short handed."
The former manslayer nodded, his eyes still dark, deep in thought as Yamagata prepped his new daily agenda.
This will never work. If the soldiers can't handle my presence, then how will the maids?
Perhaps he'd been right. There was no place for him here.
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Yuki was having a very hard day.
As mistress of the facility, it was her job to make sure all household endeavors went smoothly-- the preparing of meals, the cleaning of linens and laundries, the tidying of all rooms and common areas, and most particularly the upkeep of furnishings.
Due to the newly established status of their grounds, however, the woman had to start from scratch, and nothing was going right.
So far, two of her girls had left, one running off with a man no less, two of her new girls had either broken crockery or ruined a pot of soup by putting cleaning stuffs into it, three laundry bags were missing and one of the repair jobs on a nobleman's gi had gone very wrong; there was now a sort of spider web pattern attached to the sleeve. Yuki was furious.
Confound it all! I told them to close the rip, not make it into a jinbei! (1)
"Kanna-chan! I told you to close the blinds when you're washing, and for the last time, DO not leave the pot unwatched!" Yuki screeched toward the noren leading into the courtyard where the girl was presumably doing the laundry she'd failed at earlier. "And get the rice ready for lunch! Everyone is going to go hungry and then they'll all be after my neck!"
As she yelled, she'd turned around with gusto, body facing the opposite direction, head swiveled back toward the outer door-- leaving her totally unprepared for coming face to face with a complete stranger.
"KYAA!"
A flash of reddish brown and white was all she saw before she felt her balance go and her feet went sliding out from under her, tabi slipping on the polished floor as if it were oiled. She tried to catch herself, arms flailing, body bending backwards in an arc from her wild outburst, sleeves tangling and blocking her view-- and then she felt the heat of the fire behind her.
She was going to fall right into the boiling pot!
A shriek welled in her throat, her heart pounding as she realized her tenuous balance wasn't going to hold. Just as the heat became painful, she felt a hand grab onto her clothing and yank her back up, flinging her into an opposing arm and stabilizing her a good distance away from the steaming iron cauldron. Her blood slammed away in her ears, a canvas of beating, pounding noise that almost blacked out her vision before she remembered how to breathe.
All of it had happened in an instant.
"Haa-- haa-- oh my-- oh, my--"
She was shivering in shock as her lungs caught up. A strand or two of jet black hair tickled her nose, having fallen from its elaborate styling atop her head, kimono slightly askew. Abruptly she knew that she lay half supported in the arms of the man who had made her fall in the first place. Fear triggered anger and she gave a short cry. Yuki looked up, mouth open and ready, full well intending to give him a thorough scolding...
...and stopped.
Whatever she'd been expecting was definitely not what she got as she took in her rescuer.
A handsome, young face with a bandage on its left cheek gazed down at her with soft eyes, slightly concerned and glowing in the sunlight, a light lavender hue. Shockingly red hair fell neatly about his face and the striking features made her blush without knowing it, mere inches from her face. The man was a boy, probably no more than seventeen, with gorgeous eyes and a face that, while beautiful, held an intensity and sadness that drew her in like a fish in a net.
She had apparently been staring open mouthed a little too long; the boy blinked and averted his eyes nervously, releasing her slowly to the floor and bowing quickly, putting a few feet of distance between them as he spoke.
"I am quite sorry-- I didn't mean to make you fall."
The youth in his tone made her start. He couldn't have been more than fifteen with a voice like that, a mere child. A child with the eyes of a man...
"...ah."
Oh yes, very clever Yuki-- say something else!
"Well, that's-- fine. No, I-- should have been more careful--"
"I was hoping to find Matsumoto Yuki-san," the teen explained, keeping his head down and his eyes on the floor. "I am supposed to start work with her today and I got a little lost. I am assuming this is the kitchen?"
"Well-- yes." This is the person they've sent? "We uh, have been very short-handed, so no one was watching the food. I'm Matsumoto. Just call me Yuki," the woman said subduedly, embarrassed by her slip and still very flustered. "I heard someone was coming, I just wasn't sure when. Are you sure you're-- uh-- going to be satisfied doing this kind of labor?" Most men would rather be caught dead than performing most of these womanly tasks.
"After the last few years, it will be a blessing, Yuki-dono."
That caught her unaware. The tone he'd used rang of too much experience with past horrors, things he'd much rather forget. The mistress of domestics was almost startled into action by his eyes-- unspeakably dark, then abruptly veiled and proper once again. A boy like that in the ranks... must have been terrible at that age.
"I... see. We can start you today, if you'd like." Brown eyes studied him carefully. "You know how to do basic laundering, I assume? We can start some kitchen duties later and keep you outdoors for a while. Ii desu ka? Is that all right?"
A concerned flicker went through the lavender of the boy's eyes. "How... visible... would I be to passersby in the courtyard?"
Of course-- he is worried about other men seeing him work such a feminine job.
"There's a fence that keeps the courtyard private, and shoji to block the tenants and other guests from seeing the laborers," she reassured him, a little of her former confidence returning at the teenage uncertainty on the redhead's face. "I've had enough problems having my girls run off with a handsome young man they've been looking at for a while, and it keeps the garden looking neat."
"Sou desu ka... Then, I have no problem working anything you wish to assign me." Relief was evident in his reply.
"All right, then. We'll get you set up and I'll teach you the daily schedules. I hope you don't mind being an early riser." As Yuki led the boy outside, she felt something in her gut that suggested this new worker would be a nice change from the incompetence she'd already had to deal with. "We have a set of lines already up, and--" Looking behind her, Yuki saw the boy had paused just before exiting. He was staring at something just inside the door that she couldn't see from her vantage point.
"Something wrong?"
"...Iya. No."
His look was so captivated she almost walked back to see what was so mesmerizing. All she could remember being on that shelf was a vase of ikebana, flower arrangement. Purple irises had bloomed that week, so she had taken quick advantage before the blossoms faded.
"Well, then-- shall we... start?"
He snapped himself alert and Yuk physically flinched at the change. The young man was almost cold.
"Yes. Please continue."
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How am I supposed to do this? I can't function if I can't stop thinking of the past... Damn you, Haiyashii, why are we here?!
Kenshin barely heard any of what the middle-aged woman in front of him had to say. Her back was to him and they walked through the courtyard past well-kept flowers, a small pond with a wooden bridge and the large bonsai willow draping over it. Dark patches of moss framed the path they followed, and he was totally absorbed by his thoughts as they moved through the trimmed, shaped foliage past the partition.
Just keep your hands moving. You did when you had to kill, you can do it now that it's just menial labor. Do the work, see the results, be happy with it. There's no other way to do this. Just keep moving.
"...and we'll break for meals around that same time. It's a lot, I know, but if you have questions, you can ask one of the gardeners or serving girls to fill you in."
He had missed everything. Wonderful.
"Is it all right if I leave you to things? I need to check on the girls and make sure they aren't doing anything stupid. You'd be surprised how hard it is to get good help around here," Yuki griped.
The redhead actually managed a smile. "That's fine. I can take over from here."
Yuki glanced at him for a moment, then inclined her head and left with a little wave. "See you in a few hours."
The mistress of the grounds was obviously intimidated by him, by his strange looks, but she covered well. He appreciated her effort to keep things comfortable between them, especially considering their awkward start. At least it was better than most of Kyoto's population to his presence.
With Yuki gone, he finally felt free enough to chance a real look around. It was beautiful here. At least he'd be working in a serene setting, mostly to himself. Had there been a garden at the inn back where he and Katsura had stayed, before the burning? He couldn't remember, and being unable to recall made him feel cold. It hadn't been a relevant detail then.
A koi flicked its golden tail out of the water, causing the sound of water droplets to echo lightly against the stones.
Did she notice beauty like this back then, in our courtyard?
A vision of Tomoe working with her ikebana across the courtyard came back to him, back when she was still a maid, before they had been close. He almost started at the realization that the memory did not hurt.
Let's go home, anata.
His heart ached, but at the same time, watching the willow that grazed the surface of the pond, he felt safe. Comforted. The sheets drying on the lines billowed out softly away from him, filling with wind as his hair drifted away from his face, revealing pale skin.
I will protect you.
Eyes the color of wisteria were soft with thought. "Will I ever be able to go home, anata?"
The flick of koi under the water was his only reply.
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(1) A jinbei is a wrap shirt and short trousers, light for summer and sleepwear, usually having partially detached sleeves held together with woven cord, leaving space for cool air to come in.
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Okay, news for those of you who haven't heard-- which is all of you-- I'm pregnant! ^^ My husband and I are expecting our first child, a little girl. OMG she's active; I keep telling my husband it's not my side of the family doing back-axe kicks to my ribs in there. XD I'm 6 months now, due in May, the week after finals. Crud.
I've asked all the other college moms and they said "Ahyuk! Yeah, I was due the 'week after finals' too. Like that actually happened." XD XD Ah well. If all goes well I'll be graduated and in Japan by January '11. Wish us luck everyone! I'm sure living in Nippon will make me want to write more of these period style fics, and hopefully give me more time.
Wish us luck, everybody! And you might just get more chappies. Next up: Strength and Weakness! BUAHA. Love you all!
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