Chapter Two
We meet again
"Kaoru, I think you got us lost." Yahiko looked at the girl accusingly.
"I was following you guys! Don't blame me!" she defended herself, switching Hana to her right arm. Sano chuckled and looked at the two.
"Stop fighting you two. Why don't you think of something to say to Kenshin when we get there, eh?" Sano answered, grinning. Kaoru's eyes briefly flashed with worry but then changed to determination.
"He is going to get the biggest fight of his life." She thought with in inward laugh.
"Do you hear that?" Yahiko spoke up, stopping for a moment. Soft noises rippled through the trees, sounding like children's laughter. Yahiko could easily make out two children, probably a boy and a girl. One voice rang out, a girl's.
"New friends! New friends!" the voice shouted. Sano and Yahiko exchanged a quizzical glance before breaking out of the tree line with Kaoru behind them. Sano put his hand on his hip and looked at the two kids that were running around. One had brown hair, his amber eyes were bright. The other, a small girl, had brown hair as well, but her eyes were a leafy green color. The boy stopped running and the girl hid behind him. They stared at Sano, Yahiko, Kaoru, and Hana for a few moments before yelling.
"Father!" they both hollered and scampered off toward where a river began at a waterfall. The three looked at each other and casually walked along the river, Hana giggling as fish leapt out of the water.
"Fishy, fishy." She giggled. Kaoru smiled at her and gently placed her in the shallow part of the river.
"Are you going to come?" Sano asked.
"You two go first. Hana wants to see the fish," she replied, only half truthfully. In all honesty, she wasn't sure she was prepared to see Kenshin again after five years. Sano nodded and continued with Yahiko. They reached the waterfall and saw the two kids standing in the water in front of a rock. Sitting on the rock, beneath the bone crushing waterfall, was their fiery haired friend. He looked as if he were sleeping, though he also seemed tense.
"Father, those people are here." The boy murmured. Kenshin sighed and opened his lavender eyes. Standing up and stepping off the rock, Sano's eyes grew slightly dim. Kenshin looked tired, perhaps even exhausted. His eyes were dark and his face was filled with tiredness as well as worry.
"Tomodachi," Sano smiled. Kenshin walked out of the river and stood with the taller man. Looking up at him, Kenshin smiled and embraced his friend. Sano laughed and hugged him back, Yahiko quickly joining in the 'love fest'.
"How have you been?" Kenshin asked after a few moments of hugging. The men sat along the river, watching the two kids play.
"We've been alright. A few fights here and there, but ya know. Same old, same old." Yahiko replied.
"You've grown a lot Yahiko," Kenshin commented. Yahiko gave Kenshin a toothy grin and a thumbs up. Kenshin chuckled lightly at his friend.
"What about you? And those two kids?" Sano asked politely. Kenshin turned his calm gaze to the kids.
"Life's been hard. After I left the dojo and came here, I discovered that Master Hiko had passed on. His grave is beside the house. I made his grave stone. After that I decided to turn his home into a small inn so travelers could stop by and rest. The steady flow of people kept me busy and I did not need my sword as much." He replied, answering the first question.
"And the kids?" Yahiko added. Kenshin sighed heavily.
"They are not mine by blood. About three years ago the boy came to my 'inn', carrying the girl in a bundle of blankets. They were both terribly sick, and the boy had gashes all over his arms, legs, and chest. He begged me to take the girl, Sayuri, his sister, and protect her. He told me his family had been killed and she was all he had. I took them both and cared for them. The boy, Hayato, trains a bit with me. The girl, when she is old enough, said she wishes to practice medicine." Kenshin smiled at her as she called to him, holding a decently sized fish in her small hands.
"That's horrible," Sano muttered. Kenshin nodded slightly before glancing around.
"Where is Miss Kaoru?" Kenshin asked curiously.
"I'm here," the sapphire eyed girl was walking, her kimono soaking wet, carrying her daughter. All three boys laughed and she fumed.
"You look ridiculous," Yahiko laughed.
"I fell in the river!" Kaoru shouted. The baby in her arms sniffled and began to cry. Sano reached up and took her, showing her to Kenshin.
"This is…our daughter. Her name is Hana," he said. Kenshin looked at her with a kind smile and poked her cheek with his finger.
"No crying sweetie, everything's okay." He said gently. He looked up at Sano. "May I hold her?" he asked. Sano nodded and handed the young child to his friend. Kenshin held her sides, making her stand on his lap.
"Who yooou?" the baby asked, looking inquisitively at Kenshin. She reached up and touched his face lightly with her hand, moving it along his cheek and then poking his nose multiple times. The redhead laughed and answered.
"My name is Kenshin," he said softly.
"Kenn-sshinn," she giggled and clapped. Kenshin smiled and handed the girl back to her father and looked around, as did Yahiko.
"Where did Hayato and Sayuri go?" the raven haired man asked.
"Oh my, well it seems as though they want to scare you." Kenshin said, smiling.
"What?" Yahiko asked, confusion in his eyes.
"Attack!" a boys' voice shouted. Hayato and Sayuri ran out from behind a tree that was nearby. They both tackled into Yahiko before he could react, sending all three of them toppling over onto Kenshin.
"We win!" Sayuri announced cutely.
"No fair!" Yahiko complained, pushing them off. Hayato sat in the water and laughed, but Sayuri fell on the ground, her back landed reasonably hard on the ground. She then proceeded to cry, and call for her 'father'.
"Oh sweetie, don't cry." Kenshin murmured soothingly. He picked her up and stood up, rocking her gently. The three year old slowly stopped crying and fell asleep in Kenshin's arms.
"Kenshin, what happened to your chest and abdomen?" Kaoru spoke up, noticing that he was almost completely covered in scars. He didn't answered for a long time, but he finally did.
"The world has not been kind to me."