Wow, I had to rewrite/revise this chapter at least four times before I was content with it, so I hope everyone who reads it likes it. And a heads up to those who read In His Footsteps when I was writing that: yes, I kind of borrowed some of the beginning of this chapter from chapter three of that story. But hey, just because I stopped writing that one doesn't mean I can't reuse some material, right?
Oh yeah, more feedback would be fantastic! I like to know what I'm doing wrong and right!
Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin isn't mine!
When Sakura Blossoms Fall
Chapter 6: Across a Sea
Kenji kicked his shoes off with a rare kind of enthusiasm, wiggling his toes with pleasure in their new freedom. He set the shoes aside in the sand, then glanced around once more to observe his surrounding. His sharp blue eyes failed to spot anyone nearby, and he took a deep, cleansing breath before stepping into the crystal clear ocean water before him.
A refreshing mixture of mud and sand squeezed up between his blistered toes, the cool water swishing around his bare ankles and bringing much longed-for refreshment to his sore feet. Impulsively Kenji pulled his shirt off and cast it aside, sighing in joyous relief as he splashed lake water over his sun-beaten and exposed shoulders. Without further hesitation the young man walked into the lake until the chilly water lapped against his stomach, then took a deep breath and immersed himself completely in the sea's unknown depths.
He rose from the salty water laughing, an uncommon endeavor for him, brushing the drenched red hair out of his face and then relaxing, allowing his body to float on top of the water's sparkling surface. This was a highly needed and well deserved escape.
The waves eventually bore him back to land, but he remained basking in the sun on the beach and enjoying the regular washing of small waves over his aching frame, when an unsure voice quietly spoke his name.
"Kenji?"
The redhead flew into a sitting position and whirled around, instinctively reaching for the nearest weapon. But he had left anything with which to defend himself behind, and he was left to stare at the sudden arrival blankly.
"Kenji?" the dark-haired young man repeated apprehensively, "is that really you?"
Kenji raised a curious eyebrow. The young man wasn't wearing a uniform, and he didn't recognize him as a familiar soldier. Besides, to everyone in the regiment he was just 'Himura.' Nearly no one referred to him with his given name.
Somewhere in his mind the fact that the stranger had spoken Japanese registered, as well as the detail that the man was wearing purely Japanese clothing. He squinted, staring harder. The truth only took a few moments to hit him.
"Soichiro!"
The other man smiled, the same kind, parental smile he had worn ever since they had met.
"So it is you. You've changed a lot, Kenji."
Kenji scrambled to his feet and stepped forward to shake his old friend's hand.
"Really? You haven't changed a bit. What brings you all the way out here?"
Soichiro shrugged. "Farming wasn't going so well this year."
"So you joined the army?"
"I decided to check up on an old friend, that's all."
"Well come on," Kenji said, chuckling in elated disbelief, "we'll find a place for you to stay."
Kenji pulled himself off the ground slowly the next morning, yawning and sticking his arms high in the air in a long stretch. After a few moments he reached blindly into the bag at his side, digging for a pad of paper he knew was there. Quickly he made another mark on the white sheet, symbolizing one more day of his time in this country, just like every other morning.
Has it really been that long?
He glanced over the various marks on the sheet, then at Soichiro, who was still sleeping a few feet away, and began to calculate the overall time since he had left home in his head. Then he sighed deeply. He had been in the army for so long that it felt as if his time here had constituted his entire life. Those things that had occurred in Japan, or Tokyo and Kyoto, at least, were just fleeting memories, the objects of his dreams.
At least, they had been, until Soichiro had unexpectedly arrived in camp. With his appearance, all of the experiences Kenji had been disregarding suddenly came crashing back into his conscious mind, serving as a rather rude and disturbing awakening. For the past several months it had been easier to just forget.
Deciding that stalling any longer would be an unwise decision, Kenji reached for his uniform and began to quickly dress, cringing for the thousandth time at having to wear such uncomfortable clothing compared to his characteristic hakama and gi. His new garb consisted of a dark blue tunic with matching pants, each with red trim. He slipped his round brimmed kepi, of the same color, onto his head, rubbing absentmindedly at the bright yellow star and brass band on it.
The sakabatou, although, useless in his current circumstances, still lay among his other meager supplies. Kenji lifted the weapon and pulled it from its dusty sheath, looking pensively at his reflection in the glimmering silver blade.
For a moment he saw himself as his friends had seen him, how Soichiro had seen him until yesterday, as an arrogant adolescent, all those years ago. But the face in the sword wasn't that of a bitter teenage boy. The classic martial art clothing he had grown up in had been replaced by the uniform of the Japanese Imperial Army. His face had aged, the few traces of boyishness that had existed in it now completely absent. And his long, admired red locks were all but gone, chopped off to the point where they only fell to his ears, barely protruding from under his cap. He definitely wasn't the same swordsman anymore, at least by appearance. He smiled wanly at himself. No wonder Soichiro nearly hadn't recognized him. What would everyone else say if they saw him now?
He began to turn the sakabatou over in his hands slowly. The times when he had trained with this weapon seemed like an eternity ago. He had long ago traded that steel in for a 6.5 mm rifle and a shining, fatal bayonet. At first it had just been a game, an escape from incessant boredom, a chance to train even more in hopes of surpassing his father. But it hadn't taken him long to figure out that playtime was over when Japan had decided to send a large contingent of soldiers to China to put down the Boxer Rebellion, Kenji included.
Kenji slipped his sword back into its sheath, then began to attach it to the outside of his field pack, where it had rested unused for almost all of the time he had spent here.
Four years. It had been four years since he had stepped onto that ship in Tokyo's harbor, four years since he had bidden farewell to everyone and everything he had ever known, four years since he had become a soldier, four years since he had met—
A gentle rustling of tent flaps behind him drew his attention to the entrance of a familiar woman. He didn't bother getting up or turning around to greet her.
"You're still hauling that old piece of junk around?" the woman questioned as she eyed the sakabatou. "I thought I told you to get rid of it."
Kenji easily ignored the comment. He was getting better at only acknowledging the things he wanted to hear her say.
"Hello, Ai. Shouldn't you be with Itagaki-san?"
"Oh, he's talking about war again, and you know he's no fun when he gets like that," she replied in a blasé voice.
"He's the colonel of the regiment, Ai. What do you expect?"
She sighed again, forcing Kenji to smile. He had known her long enough to know when she was just trying to be dramatic. When he didn't respond she pouted and walked over to kneel next to him.
"Anyway, take me shopping today, will you? I saw the most beautiful kimono the other day when I was—"
"Very well."
She rewarded him with a pleased smile and a quick kiss on the cheek, leaving a crimson outline of her lips on the side of his pale face. Kenji impatiently wiped it away with his sleeve as he finished fastening the last strap on his pack, then turned to face her with a stern and unmoving face. Her lips turned down in a fake whimper upon seeing his expression.
"Please don't make me go," she pleaded pathetically. Kenji stared blankly at the coquettish and manipulative woman, unable to supply an excuse to make her leave.
"You're going to wake up Soichiro and Noda," he said, referring to the other soldier with whom he shared a tent.
Ai glanced at the sleeping figure on the ground, raising an impressed eyebrow and curling her lips into a curious smile.
"Soichiro . . . so that's his name? You should keep him around, Kenji. I like him."
"Ai, how many times do I have to tell you that you can't—"
"I know, I know. I'm just looking, all right?"
Kenji looked at her again with a conceding sigh. She was fairly tall when she stood, just as tall as him, although that wasn't much of an accomplishment considering his genes (he had long ago surpassed Kenshin, but was still be no means remarkable in his height). Ai's hair was jet black, and fastened in an ornate bun high atop her head. Her dark green, silk kimono was decorated with chrysanthemums of various sizes and shades, and tied with a tan obi. Her white, painted face and gray eyes practically exuded mystery and allure, and Kenji had seen more than one smitten man suffer from their effects. After all, even Kenji couldn't deny that she was beautiful.
Kenji turned away from her and began to chuckle to himself. He had always greatly admired his colonel as a capable leader and a powerful man, but this geisha that traveled with him was another story. She spent more time with the soldiers than Itagaki anyway.
She jumped in surprise as Soichiro began to stir, and her hand immediately flew to smooth her kimono and hair. Kenji smiled as her transformation began.
He never ceased to be amazed at the completely polar personalities she could adopt without even a moment's notice. As Soichiro's eyes drifted open, she was suddenly a quiet, demure, almost painfully polite geisha. She was always like this when they were around other people, but when she was alone with those few she trusted, of whom Kenji was included, she was just like any other girl, though perhaps more selfish and domineering.
Oh well.
"Perhaps you should leave now," Kenji suddenly whispered. Ai shot him an angry glare, but smiled as Soichiro came nearer to complete consciousness. Surprisingly, she complied, and almost silently rose and drifted toward the exit, turning just once to wink at Kenji and blow him a kiss.
"Bye."
He just rolled his eyes.
"How long will you be here?" Kenji asked between mouthfuls.
"Who knows? Until this escapade in China is over."
"So you actually joined the army?"
"Yeah. Odd that we were assigned to the same regiment, isn't it?"
Kenji only nodded.
"Misao and Aoshi had their baby, right?"
"Yeah. It was a girl; they named her Asuka." Soichiro chuckled as he recalled the hyperactive four-year-old. "She's just like both of her parents. She can be as frightening as her father, as stubborn as Misao, and someday she'll be just as powerful as both of them."
Kenji smiled. A child like that was easy to imagine, almost too easy. Misao and Aoshi surely had their hands full.
"Have you seen anyone in Tokyo?"
"Yes, just before I left. Shinya's four now too, a miniature Yahiko."
Kenji sighed. "Things really have changed a lot, haven't they?"
"Not really. Everyone misses you, though. You haven't written in years."
"Sorry. I've been gone so long, I'd almost forgotten that I used to live there."
Kenji glanced musingly toward the entrance of camp, where a small group of fresh soldiers was entering to replace some who had recently returned home to Japan. Ai was there beside Itagaki, greeting them all in her perfect, rehearsed way. He smiled and began to turn away, but at the last moment his eyes unexpectedly caught sight of a lonely figure who stood out among the new soldiers like a glowing white rose amongst dying weeds.
For a moment Kenji thought he had seen his mother, once again young and vibrant. But upon his second, more thorough glance, he realized that the new arrival was a stranger, though she was still strikingly familiar. Ai frowned as she saw that his attention was focused on the other young woman, but for some reason Kenji couldn't help following the stranger's movements for a few moments longer. The girl had dark, raven tresses pulled to the back of her head and adorned with a beautifully simplistic red comb. On her slim figure was a white kimono, dotted with sakura blossoms. Kenji raised a tapered red eyebrow as she laughed at something Itagaki had said. The sound was lilting, almost childish. It matched her face, with its wide and naïve almond eyes and bright, youthful features. But he was sure she was around his age. And she seemed so familiar . . .
"Noda!"
The passing soldier paused as Kenji called his name. "What?"
"Who is that?" he asked, pointing to the young woman.
Noda shrugged. "I don't know. She sure is pretty though, isn't she?"
"Yeah, she is." He glanced at Soichiro to see if he agreed. But his friend's jaw had dropped, and after a few moments of staring vacantly he moved his mouth to doubtfully exclaim one pained word.
"Chizuru!"