A/N: Please forgive the lateness, don't believe Haruko… it was not her fault. I have been having a difficult time the last month. It is still the same litany, and I am sure you are all tired of hearing it. Perhaps things will start to change now. My Father-in-law has finally succumbed to his cancer and passed away as of 4:00 a.m. yesterday morning here in my home (March 1, 2004). I am exhausted and depressed beyond human description. I promised myself I would not talk about my health to any of you anymore. That is not why you are there. I have a house to clean because I have much company from out of state expected before the weekend, and there are so many other arrangements we have to make and other things to do. It is mind boggling. So, I do not know if there will be any other updates on my fictions this week or next for that matter. I don't feel much like writing at this time. The new chapter for 'End of A Weary Day' is about 1/3 done. I will try and work on it.
If you all would… If anyone is interested… I 'had' decided to hold a contest on my website (prior) to this recent 'incident' in my life. The contest is for Kenshin and Kaoru FanArt Kissing Pics. I have been searching the web for pics like this and there just don't seem to be any out there. I have found 2 or 3 and that is all. I would like to have this contest and build a one of a kind KenKao Kissing Gallery. Also there are First, Second, and Third place prizes (of a sort) to be won. If anyone is interested, go to my webpage and check out the rules of entry on my Updates and Information page. You can access 'Heart of The Flaming Sword' from my FF.net Authors page
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Haruko: I'm sorry this took such a long time, blame it on me. I was having a hard time beta-reading because of some technical glitches, but I beg you to review this. Tsuki-san has really outdone herself this time, and has successfully made me cry, I'd guarantee you'd find yourself moved by this as well. Do review!
Chapter Ten
Angel's Have Blue Eyes
October 31, 2001. Tuesday
Halloween Day, 5:00 p.m.
4 hours before the dance
School Master Saitou's Office
The telephone was ringing as Saitou opened the door to his office and he rushed over to the desk grabbing the receiver mid-ring as he flopped down in his chair. 'De-ja-vu,' He thought as his mind flew back to earlier that morning when he had entered his office to a ringing phone, and the individual on the other end had been that insolent ass step-father of ...
"Master Saitou, can I help you?"
"Hiko Seijurou here, Master Saitou."
'Oh God, not again.' "Yes, Sir..." The business tone in his voice was purely habitual. 'Twice in one day, how did I get so lucky?' His stomach began roiling with the nauseating thought of having to talk to the insufferably arrogant man more than once in the same 24-hour period. 'How did you get so lucky?' The sarcastic voice of his hind-brain sneered unpleasantly into his mental ears as he shut his eyes in dismay. 'You got lucky, you fucking Idiot, because you told him to call you back with an answer... Oh yeah,' Mental eyes rolled in exasperation. 'I guess I sort of forgot about that... shit!'
"So, have you reconsidered my proposal about Soujiro coming to school here with his brother this year?" Saitou mentally began preparing himself for the insolent, rude retort that would no doubt follow his inquiry, but instead, he found himself agape in astonished relief and surprised horror with his mouth hanging open in his lap as Hell once more began to freeze despite its blazing brimstone infernos.
"Yes, I have," Replied the sharp insistent voice of the other man as his disembodied voice cracked over the static of the telephone connection. "And, after a great deal of thought on the matter, I have decided to agree to it."
"You have? Why, that is absolutely Grand News!" 'I can't believe he had the balls to agree after only one conversation.' Saitou's silver brows furrowed in suspicious thought as he wondered at the man's sudden acquiescence to his proposal when he had been so against it just that morning.
"Yes, yes... Quite so I am sure. That is precisely why I have also decided to bring my ENTIRE family to Evermore for a long past-due visit... Today."
"Today?" Saitou sat straight up in his chair his usually narrow topaz eyes growing round
with alarm. "Did I just hear you say, 'Today?'"
"Of course." This was the smug sounding reply when Hiko heard the thread of anxiety that tinged the School Master's voice as he responded to the news of their pending arrival. "After our conversation this morning, I decided to put everyone into the car and make the trip to Evermore today. I could see no pertinent reason that we should wait to make the transfer; today seemed to be just as proper a time as any other. I do hope this sudden notice is not too short for you to arrange a room for Soujiro. He is quite excited about the whole matter."
"No, no of course not, I do not foresee any difficulties with his immediate placement once
you arrive."
"Good. We should be inside the school parking lot within approximately 30 minutes. ." Hiko cleared his throat a little nervously before he continued. "It... it... appears you were right about his wanting to graduate with his brother more than wanting to stay with his friends, Master Saitou."
"Indeed." Was all the response Saitou could manage at that precise moment of time. He was still trying to gather his screaming thoughts as they raced frantically around inside his head crying out warnings and setting off alarms. 'The Seijurou's are coming...! The Seijurou's are coming...!', they all shouted hysterically at the same time creating a cacophony of noise that was difficult to form a single rational thought. Giving his head a hard shake, Saitou forced himself to gain control over his temporarily chaotic brain and tried to find semblance of intelligence. "I am quite sure it is a good decision for both of the boys, Mr. Seijirou, and will no doubt be beneficial to both of them in the years to come. And as for finding Soujiro a room, I may be able to juggle a few things around so that he can room with Kenshin... would that be satisfactory to you, Sir?"
"That would be magnificent if you could. I am sure both of the boys would be grateful to you if you could work that out, or at least put them close enough to each other that they could socialize easily."
"I will do my best, Mr. Seijurou, that I will." 'Holy shit!! They are really coming.'
"Well, then I will be seeing you shortly, and we will discuss Soujiro's transfer from Westmore."
"Yes, of course."
"Oh, and Master... It would be a great boost to ALL of us if Kenshin were there when we arrived. His Mother would very much like to see him."
"Yes, yes or course... I will see if I can find him and have him here by the time you arrive."
"Find him? Where would he be that you would have to look for him?"
"It is Halloween, Mr. Seigurou. The Senior Class is responsible for all of the decorating for the dance, and as Kenshin is a Senior... well, I am sure he has been drafted and is up to his eyes in pumpkins and black cats by now, but I will make every effort to have him here."
"Thank-you. It would mean a lot to his Mother if you could."
"Of course." Saitou hung up the receiver with a trembling hand and then used it to wipe the sweat off his forehead. 'How in the bloody hell did I get myself into this TODAY?' He wondered in bewilderment. 'That frigging moron... He's doing this just to avoid that threat I made about having Social Services come out to his home to evaluate whether or not it's a good environment for Kenshin to go back to or not. He doesn't really give a shit about that kid... just about his fucking image. I wish I could bury my foot so deep up his...'
"Hajime? Honey? Are you all right?" The soft soothing voice of his wife worked its way through his cloud of dismay, and Saitou opened topaz eyes filled with angry disgust. The look of concern on Tokio's face changed to one of worried curiosity as she approached him and cupped his face so she could better judge what was going on inside of his complicated mind. "What happened? What are you so upset?"
"You won't bloody believe me, Baby." He snorted and opened his top drawer grabbing his cigarettes, and pulling one free quickly lit it and took a long drag. Now Tokio knew something was really wrong. Saitou never pulled that hard on a cigarette unless he was really pissed off. She waited patiently for him to exhale knowing that he was trying to gather his thoughts as well as his control before he started talking to her. "Guess whose coming to dinner?"
Tokio raised a delicate chest-nut colored eyebrow as she acknowledged his sarcastic quip, and then, pursing her lips with wifely tolerance, she drew in a long sigh and looked at him expectantly.
"Hiko Seijurou is coming with his whole fam-damily and will be here inside of the next 30 minutes to drop off Soujiro as per my request that he transfer for the emotional and psychological benefit of his brother."
"Good Lord!" She gasped in stunned surprised as her eyes widened in shock. "Are you telling me he took your threats this morning THAT seriously?"
"I guess so... You know how that tight-assed piece of work is about his 'reputation'. I guess he didn't like the idea of my sending Social Services in to evaluate his 'home life'."
"Oh my... that means we need to find a room really fast doesn't it?"
"Well... do you think we can move the Beaucannon kid out of Kenshin's room so we can put Soujiro in there instead? How hard would that be?"
"Hmmmm.... I suppose I could move Peter in with Billy Jenkins. I think there is an empty bed in his room, and they would be fairly well suited to each other... much more so than Billy and Soujiro."
"Make it happen, Tokio, and send someone to find Kenshin. His Mother wants him here when they arrive."
"Hmmmm, that's unusual. I wonder what's gotten into her?"
"Maybe a little motherly concern?"
"Right. I sincerely doubt it. She has not seemed to be concerned about him for the last three years, why should she start now?" Tokio humphed her way out the office door closing in quietly behind her and leaving Saitou to his troubled thoughts.
"Why indeed?" Narrow topaz eyes glared suspiciously out of the window behind his desk as he tried to fathom what sort of game the Seijurou's were playing with him... and their sons.
*****************
Kenshin and Kaoru had successfully snuck back out of the janitorial closet without anyone seeing them, and they were busy trying to hang little glowing ghosts from strings that were hanging down from the ceiling. But it seemed they were doing more laughing than hanging. Kaoru was standing near the top of a huge step ladder being the one to reach up and hook the little decorative pale green ornaments on the flimsy strings while Kenshin steadied her legs from below, but it had proved harder than it looked because of the heating vents.
The hot air rising throughout the Gym was causing the thin strings to whip and fly out of her reach which in turn was making her lean and tip dangerously on the tall ladder. Each time one of the ladder's feet tipped up off the floor and then dropped back down with a solid 'thunk' jarring the two of them, they would be suffused with surprised, fearful laughter that began to border on the hysterical where Kaoru was concerned. They had successfully hung 6 ghosts out of the 30 inside of the box and time was ticking away. 24 left to go... Gosh, that was a lot, and they did not seem to be making very much progress toward completing the task anytime soon.
This was how Tokio found them after sending Mrs. Gensai to help Peter Beaucannon pack and move out of Kenshin's room so Soujiro could move in, and she just stood for a couple of minutes enjoying the show they were putting on because it was profoundly unusual to catch or even see either of these two students crack a smile let alone laugh, and they were laughing like a couple of hyena's playing out on the open plains of the Seringeti without a care in the world.
It was one of the rarest and most extraordinary sites she had ever seen, and she could not help but to laugh with them a little too as it brought a feeling of warmth to her worried heart. They looked good together too, she thought. They looked like they fit with each other too, and that gave her a small sense of comfort as well..
"Hey, you two!" She called to the two howling teenagers occupying the stepladder, and when she finally got their attention, she motioned for them to come down. "I need you both down here with me for a minute, please."
It only took a few seconds for them to comply, and then they were standing next to her both breathing heavily from laughing so hard for so long. "You guys Ok?" She asked with a teasing smile, and watched as they looked at each other trying to smother any further laughter while they nodded.
"Yes, Coach Takagi." Kaoru dipped her chin down toward her chest as her cheeks flushed a bright pink. "We were just having a little trouble hanging those stupid glowy ghost-things."
"Glowy ghost-things?" Tokio's face creased in confusion and she looked at Kenshin for an explanation.
"You know," He shrugged with a mischievous boyish smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "The Ghosts that Mrs. Gensai bought last year... the one's that glow in the dark and go 'Boo' whenever you bump into them or touch them... or breath on them. The ones Master Saitou said if he heard one more 'Boo' out of them, he was going to get his double barrel... and no more ghosties?"
"Oooooh... I remember..." Tokio began to chuckle as she covered her mouth with one hand remembering how irritated Saitou had become at last years dance with the neverending 'Boo's' from those equally irritating little ghosts. "Is THAT why you are trying to hang them from the ceiling?"
"Yes Ma'am, that it is." Kenshin stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans and nodded then shuffled his feet as his gaze shifted to the silent Kaoru. "It was Kao's idea though, so do not blame me about them being way up there where you will never hear 'Boo' one out of them."
"Kenshin!" The dark-haired girls head snapped up as she gapped at him in outraged astonishment. "It was not my idea... it was Megumi's... why did you..." An embarrassed smile crossed her pretty face as she realized he was just teasing her, and in retaliation she reached out and 'whacked' him hard on the shoulder sending him stumbling several paces. "You rotten rat! Don't do that to me... Eewwwwww, I can't believe how rotten you are." It was obvious she was upset, but her voice was so full of laughter it was hard to say how much, and Kenshin looked completely unrepentant as he stood up and spread his hands innocently while fixing a blank look on his face.
"What did I say?" He asked with feigned wide eyed density. "I'm innocent as a baby, that I am." And with another screech of rage, Kaoru pounced on him and proceeded to pound him ferociously on the back. All he did was laugh and dump her off onto the floor. "And DOWN goes the Takuni." He sang as Kaoru 'thumped' harmlessly onto her shapely butt with a muffled squeak of surprise.
"All right you two," Tokio laughed as she tried to gain their attention once more. "I really need you to come over here and listen to me for a minute. There is something extremely important that I need to tell you Kenshin."
"Tell ME?" Large amethyst eyes suddenly filled with suspicion as he locked gazes with the older woman and slowly approached her like a mouse circling a sleeping cat. "Tell me what?"
Kaoru immediately felt the defensive stiffness that shifted through him, and she quickly reached out and put a gentle hand on his upper arm just to show him she was there if he needed her, and as she did, 'felt' an answering tingle of energy dance beneath her sensitive fingertips. He knew she was there and was accepting her presence gratefully.
"Well, I suppose I should tell you everything that has happened, so why don't you come with me out into the hallway where we won't be sharing this conversation with everyone, Ok?"
"All right..." The tone was agreeable, but Tokio sensed more was coming and it did not take long before Kenshin proved her instinct to be right. "I will come with you, and we can talk... but, Kaoru is coming with us." It was a statement made in his usual 'I don't really care what you have to say about it' tone, but instead of feeling insulted or disrespected, Tokio looked at his wanting to bring his 'girlfriend' with him as a positive action on his part. This young man had never allowed himself to become attached to anyone in the three years he had been incarcerated at Ive Payne, let alone have a girlfriend that anyone knew of, and seeing for herself that all of the rumors about him and the Kamiya girl seemed to be true, Tokio let an inward Motherly smile warm her heart. She was happy that Kenshin had finally found someone to care about, and that he seemed to be allowing her to care about him as well.
"That is fine, Kenshin. I don't have a problem with her coming. So, if that is what you want, you can bring Kaoru with you."
"It is what I want." Nodding his red head sharply, he reached back and took Kaoru by the hand, and then stiffly preceded Tokio into the nearly deserted hallway. As he stopped, Kenshin turned and faced the woman with a blank yet stern face, his eyes having turned a pale violet and steadily met her serious brown gaze. "So, Coach Takagi, what is this all about? What is so extremely important that you have to tell me in private quarters? Have I broken some minuscule rule or something? Am I in trouble? Did I fail to show up at some unwarranted detention I conveniently forgot about?" All defense systems were up and running despite the fact that Kenshin was usually very open and friendly with the Girl's Coach slash History Teacher, but this was a completely different set of circumstances. She had cornered him with a request for his undivided attention with the premise of needing to disclose important information, and to Kenshin, that meant bad news. He hated bad news because it usually meant trouble for him, and trouble always walked hand in hand with pain.
Tokio sighed in consternation. She had not counted on this reaction from the moody teenager, but berated herself for not being prepared for it. 'I should have known he would perceive this sort of a situation as an attack from the enemy. IF I were him, I know I probably would. I guess I will just have to handle this as benignly as I possibly can so he doesn't blow up in my face.' Taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm her suddenly nervous stomach, Tokio looked the stone faced young man in the eye and decided to start from the beginning.
"Kenshin, this morning Master Saitou received a phone call from your Father..."
"You mean my STEP Father." The voice was cold and stony as Kenshin referred to the man who had raised him from a child of 7. 'There is no love lost here,' She thought sadly as she watched the faint golden tinge appear in the pale violet eyes.
"Yes, of course, your step-father." Tokio politely amended in light of his reaction to the other honorific. "He called the school this morning and spoke to Master Saitou."
"Why did he call?" Suspicion rose Kenshin's hackles at the back of his neck while his muscles stiffened even more as a mental image of his step-father flashed before him.
"Master Saitou had written him a letter a week or more ago asking him if he would consider allowing your brother, Soujiro, transfer here from Westmore so that the two of you could spend your Senior year of High School together and Graduate together as well."
"H-he did that? Master Saitou did that?" Kenshin stammered a little bit over the question as he considered the enormity of the gesture Master Saitou had made on his behalf in asking a man like Hiko Seijurou to relinquish his hold on a beloved son in order to benefit a detestable son. "Why would he do that, Coach Takagi?" Violet eyes now filled with bewilderment and uncertainty looked into Tokio's face searching her dark brown eyes for an answer to the Master's strange behavior.
"Because, Kenshin, Master Saitou thought it would be good for you to have someone who was close to you here during your last year of school. He was hoping, if your step-father would agree, that it might be helpful in aiding you to readjust back into your home environment so it would not be such a shock once Graduation was over. He also felt that having your brother here was the best choice available because he knows how close the two of you are to each other despite your step-father's efforts to keep you apart. Moreoever, having someone who was close to you... who truly cared about you could have a positive impact on your personal self-image."
Tokio reached out a comforting hand and cupped Kenshin's face so she could look directly into his stunned vulnerable eyes. "He wants you to be happy, Kenshin, but he also wants you to be in the place that is going to be the best for you... even if that place is NOT your home."
"Not my home? But if I didn't go home, where would I go?" A frantic flash of fear washed across his face for a split instant and then was gone as it was swiftly replaced by his protective outer shell of blandness and indifference. "I suppose it would not matter where I went, would it? As long as I did not cause trouble, right?"
"NO!" Tokio grabbed his shoulder and shook him hard. "That is NOT right. BOTH Master Saitou and I only want what is best for YOU. We want you to be happy, Kenshin, but we also want you to be safe, secure, and at peace. We want you to be somewhere where you know you are loved and wanted... and if that place is not in your own home... then we will find you a place where it is."
"Kenshin," Kaoru's gentle voice and the slightest increase in the pressure of her hand squeezing his seemed to break through his tough outer defense system somewhat as he turned and looked at her with wide searching eyes. "It sounds like the Master is just trying to look out for you, Honey. Don't go getting all pissed off and uptight until you see what is going to happen... Ok? Please? Don't ruin this for your brother... or yourself."
"Soujiro..." The name fell from his mouth in a stunned tone as he shook is head in disbelief. "I cannot believe the old man is actually letting him come... I really cannot" Tugging on Kaoru's hand, he pulled her closer to him and wrapped a slightly trembling arm around her slender shoulders. "Will you come with me?" He asked quietly as he looked into her face questioningly. "I-I do not think I can do this alone... that I do not."
"Yes, of course I will, Sweetie. You should know that." And she wrapped both of her arms around his shoulders and held him tightly against the strength of her heart and the emotions that flowed from it. "I will be right there with you, I promise... No matter what happens, I will be right beside you."
"Thanks." The mumbled reply was almost lost within the thickness of her hair as he pressed his heated face into the comfort of her neck and squeezed her hard against his chest. "I think I'm almost afraid, Kao." He whispered for her ears only. "I hate them for that, I really do."
"I know, Baby. It is Ok," She whispered back just for him. "I know what it means to be scared and not really know why. I know, and it's Ok." Pulling back slightly, she met his troubled amethyst eyes and gently touched his face with one of her hands. "I won't let them hurt you anymore, Kenshin... I swear I won't." A delicate shudder slid through his body and he leaned his forehead against hers for a long moment, and then he pressed the softest kiss she had ever experienced against her cheek before pulling back and facing a stunned Tokio again.
"All right." His voice was much stronger, and he appeared much more in control of himself that he had been a few moments ago. "I suppose I have put this off as long as I can, and there is no use putting it off any longer. The inevitable has arrived and I must face it, that I must." He drew in a deep breath and motioned for Tokio to lead the way as he reached down and took Kaoru's hand again. "It is time to face my family, Coach Takagi... I am grateful to you... and Kaoru that I do not have to do it alone this time."
Tokio smiled gently at the stoic young man standing before as she began to truly understand why her husband had decided something about his arrest and convictions just were not right. There was a pride and an honor about this boy that was tangible and putting him in the category of 'The Bad Kid' that everyone was trying to stuff him into just was not fitting anymore. She was beginning to wonder at his innocence or lack thereof, as well, and if the incident had not just presented itself at the opportune moment for his parents to relieve themselves of his troubled presence. It was not a very pleasant thought to consider, but it bore merit for discussion with Hajime later on.
"I am pleased to help you with this, Kenshin, and I apologize that in the past you had to face them alone. I guess Hajime and I never truly understood how awful it really was for you with them... until now."
"What do you mean, 'until now'?"
"Your step-father was quite reluctant to let your brother come until the Master began pointing out to him all of the inadequacies of familial support that have been documented in your file, and even went so far as to ask him how he would feel if he had Social Services come to the home to evaluate whether or not the environment would be conducive to your continued rehabilitation... or not."
A wicked smile curved Kenshin's lips as a twinkle of dark humor winked in his violet eyes. "HE really said THAT to the old man?"
"Yes, he did."
"Oh, I wish I could have been a fly on the wall just to have seen his face when he swallowed his eyeballs over that one. I will bet he was dancing backwards for the Master after that, wasn't he?"
"Pretty much... The general consensus seemed to be that he really did not want to have anyone come to his home for any reason... especially when the Master mentioned the fact that he and your Mother had not allowed you to see your little sister since you came here."
A sad looked passed over Kenshin's face as he thought about the sweet little red-haired blue eyed angel he had not seen for so long. "She probably will not even know me anymore..."
"Well, I guess you will get to find that out today, Kenshin."
"Huh... What?" His eyes rounded into two huge dark purple pools of astonished confusion as he looked into the older woman's gently smiling face.
"That is right, Kenshin. Your step-father is bringing the WHOLE family... even Cleo, unless I am mistaken, so you'll get to find out just what she remembers."
"Oh my God...." His voice cracked as his free hand came up to cover his suddenly trembling mouth. "Cleo..."
With that stunning news, the three of them took off down the hallway at a swifter than usual walk heading for the School Master's office. It had been about 25 minutes since Saitou had hung up the phone with Hiko Seijurou and time was getting thin if they wanted to be there before the family arrived, so the pace was closer to a jog than a walk.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Are we almost there, Daddy?" The little voice wafted up from the back seat of the luxurious black Lincoln Towne Car attracting the attention of the stone faced black-haired man in the drivers seat.
"No, Chibi-chan, we are not there yet... Now, please get back into your car seat before I get pulled over by a policeman." Hiko's voice grew sharp and terse near the end of his answer, and the little red-haired girl ducked back down out of the view of his mirror, and he could hear her clamoring around trying to get back into the car seat. "Soujiro, would you please help your sister get back into that damn seat, and this time, buckle her in so she can't get out!"
"Yes, Sir." Soujiro winked at Cleo with his beautiful blue-gray eyes and reached over to help her settle back into the confining seat. "Hey, Baby-girl." He whispered in a conspiratal tone. "You gotta stay in this thing until we get there, or Dad is going to be too mad to let you out of the car."
"You mean he might not let me see Kenshin?" The little blue orbs were wide and filled with innocent anxiousness as Cleo considered the possibility of not being about to see her oldest brother after waiting for such a long time, and after enduring such a long car ride.
"Yes, he might not if you keep bugging him. You know how he is."
"Ohh... I'll be good Soujiro... I promise. I won't move again."
She settled into the hated car seat and sat patently as he pulled the seatbelt around and locked the buckle snugly thus successfully confining her inside the uncomfortable apparatus.
"That's my girl," A quick kiss placed on the tip of her nose brought a cascade of delighted giggles out of her bow-shaped mouth and a choking tight hug from her chubby little-girl arms as Soujiro finished locking her into the seat. "There now. All closed down and ready for take off, Captain."
"Did you open the flaps?" She asked seriously as she strained from side to side to see if he had pulled the edges of her coat out from under the over-head armrest.
"Aye, Captain. Flaps open."
"What about the perpeler? Is my perpeler ready too?" Little size 5 feet were kicking upward as Cleo tired desperately to see if Soujiro had retied her shoe laces into big bunny-ear bows or not like they were supposed to be, but she just could not get them high enough to see over the armrest locked down in front of her chest. "Soujiro??" She wailed. "Aye, Captain." Rich tenor laughter rumbled out of his throat as he carefully lifted first one then the other foot so she could see for herself that the shoelaces were indeed tied the right way.
"Both propellers are properly wound up and ready for pre-flight inspection."
"Ok, they look Ok... Ummmm..." Little pale red brows knitted in frustration for a moment and then she leaned toward her brother and whispered in a tone of pure dismay. "I don't remember what comes next... what comes next, Soujiro?"
"The engines, Baby." He whispered back as he desperately tried not to laugh in the face of her obvious distress.
"We start the engines."
"Oh yeah." Nodding furiously and sending her loose fiery mane of long brilliant red hair billowing all around her and up into her brothers eyes and nose, Cleo happily recalled the rest of the sequence she and Soujiro had been playing ever since leaving home that morning. "Start my engines, First Mate... is that right?"
"Yee-ss," It was impossible to stop the laughter entirely, but he did the best he could and then went on to start making the appropriate engine noises that he knew would have her in hysterical giggles within seconds.
They had played several different variations of this game for the last six hours and, for the most part, it had kept her entertained enough to keep her off their Father's nerves. The black-haired, green-eyed man was not known for his lasting patience even with his youngest and most fragile child. So, Soujiro had taken it upon himself long ago to keep Cleo out of his hair and out of his way thus avoiding any ugly consequences.
As he hugged the precious little girl and tickled her and kissed her, he mentally thanked God for having Kenshin be gone all these years. In a way, it was a terrible thing to be grateful for, but in another way, it was the only reason his brother was still alive... and THAT was what he was truly grateful for. Had Kenshin been home, he would have been the one who would step between Cleo and their Father's temper, and with the ferocity of his own demeanor, things would have gotten bad very, very quickly. He would never had stood for Hiko's angry outbursts or drunken tirades, that he would not. Kenshin would have stood straight up in the old man's face and told him to go to hell before he ever let him lay a finger a Cleo, or Soujiro. Playing it nice and quiet and finding ways to avoid the nastier confrontations just was not his style when it came to their home life. He had always tried to protect everyone... especially his Mother, and that was still an issue Soujiro was having problems with even after 3 years. If Dharma loved Kenshin so much, why had she not fought harder to prove he was innocent when they all knew he was? And why had she not fought harder to keep his Father from sending Kenshin so faraway for such a long time? And why did she not fight harder to convince him to let them all come and see him more often? Especially Cleo?? Hiko had not hit her in over 2 years, so why was she not taking advantage of that and trying to win some leeway for HER son? Or, perhaps, that was exactly why she had not gotten hit in over 2 years because she had stopped trying.
Soujiro mentally shook his head as he remembered all of the times Kenshin had stood between his father and him, and how many beatings he had taken instead of him just to keep him safe. That was why he was so fairly certain that Kenshin would not be alive now if he had remained at home. He would have made it his responsibility to stand between the raging drunk that was their father, and BOTH of his younger siblings, and no one could survive that many vicious beatings especially when he had started making it his business to pull the vicious abuser off his screaming withering Mother as well. But he was not going to think about that any more right now. All he wanted to do was see Kenshin.
It had been over a year since their Father had brought them all to Evermore to visit his eldest son, and Soujiro was brimming with an excitement that reminded him of years past when he and Kenshin used to get up early on Christmas morning waiting to see what Santa Claus had brought them. He felt like a little kid again, and he was nearly as nervous about seeing Kenshin as Cleo was. He wondered if Kenshin were nervous too.
Looking out of Master Saitou's Office window, the big Lincoln pulled into the parking lot, where he watched it park, his breathing quickened to a rapid shallow pace that was making him feel lightheaded, and his heart began to jump wildly inside the confinement of his chest like a wild thing trapped in a cage that was too small.
"They are here."
It was a hoarse muted whisper but it caught Kaoru's attention and she moved to his side and looked out the window with him.
"THAT is their car?" Blue eyes rounded into huge orbs of astonished liquid cobalt as she pointed at the big car as it pulled into a vacant space and stopped.
"Yes... that is his car." Kenshin trembled beside her, and Kaoru cast a worried sideways glance at him and noticed how pale he suddenly looked to her. Worry creased her pretty face, and she slipped an arm around his waist and dropping her chin onto his shoulder, hugged him up against her side comfortingly.
"It's Ok, Kenshin. I won't leave you alone with them... I promise."
"I know, Kao... It is just... I-I have not seen any of them for over a year."
"A year?" She gasped and her eyes shot back out the window in shocked outrage. "They have not been to see you in over a year? That... That is horrible!"
"No... that is Hiko." Kenshin lowered his chin which dropped his face making him look like a small vulnerable child. "He thinks I am a bad influence for Soujiro and Cleo to be around."
"That's bullshit and you know it." Kaoru was angry now. She had not really cared for his parents to begin with, but this was just moving her dislike of them forward a few more notches. "You aren't supposed to treat your kids that way. It's not right."
"It is to him... and That is all that really matters."
"Well, he is WRONG, and that is what really matters." A rough shake brought his wide violet eyes up to lock with her angry blue ones and for a moment it seemed he was not going to even try to believe her, but then the fierceness she was more used to seeing started to glint in their crystalline depths, and Kenshin lifted his jaw and straightened his shoulders.
"All right, Takuni." He said in a tight whisper as he put an arm around her waist and pulled her around to face him. "You win... HE is wrong... and YOU are right."
"Damn straight, Mister. And you had better be remembering That."
"Or what?"
"Or else."
"Or else What?"
"Or else I'm going to clobber you, that's what." A half smile curved his sullen expression even as a dry chuckle slid up his throat, and Kenshin leaned forward the short distance between them and brushed a soft kiss across her smiling mouth.
"Ok, you're the Boss... for the moment, so I guess I better behave, huh?"
"Uh-huh... but lets get one more thing straight before they get in here, Ok?"
"What is that?" He asked as he eyed her suspiciously. "I am always the Boss, got it?" One sparkling blue eye winked at him making him shake his head and chuckle again. She had guts. He would give her that. The takuni had a lot of guts... for a takuni.
"We will see about that, Takuni. WE will see about that."
Then he hugged her close and breathed a quiet thank-you in her ear as he felt his anxiety level drop about 1000 degrees from what it had been a few moments earlier. He had to admit it. She was good for him, that she was.
"WooW! Is this where Kenshin lives?" Cleo's round luminous blue eyes gazed in abject wonder and awe at the huge red brick building that was Ivy Payne as she climbed out of the back seat of the car. "It looks like a big red castle... doesn't it Soujiro?" Reaching out, she caught and then tightly grasped her brother's larger hand as she hopped to the slightly snow covered ground.
"I guess it does a little bit, Baby." The brown haired boy cocked his head to one side and let his blue-gray eyes scan the proportions and contours of the old high school with an intense scrutiny. "So this is where I am going to be." He mumbled to himself. "Not too bad."
The family had never actually gone to the main school building for any of their visits, but instead had usually met Kenshin somewhere on the grounds where there was grass and someplace to set. Somewhere neutral and impersonal.' Soujiro thought sourly. That way there were no real identifying memories to take back with us... with me.'
"Is Kenshin in there?"
"I imagine so, Cleo... Dad said he was supposed to be waiting for us when we got here."
"Goodie... I can't wait to see him. Do I really look like him?" A beautiful little Angels face turned and looked up at him making his heart do little somersaults inside his chest as he looked into those clear blue eyes that Kenshin has missed seeing for such a long time. "Yes, Baby... you really do look an awfully lot like him. You have seen the pictures at home... You know you do."
"I know I look like THOSE pictures, but do you think I still look like him?"
"That is a foolish and unimportant question, Cleo Nyreece." Hiko had rounded the car to find out what was taking Soujiro so long in extracting the little girl from her car seat, only to find the two of them locked in an irritating conversation about their equally irritating brother. "We are wasting time just standing here talking about nonsense that does not matter. Now, come on and lets be on our way. I am sure Master Saitou is waiting for us by now."
"Yes Sir." Soujiro scowled after his Father's retreating back as he leaned over and picked up a quivering Cleo.
"Why did he say that, Soujiro? Why did Daddy say talking about Kenshin is nonsense?"
"I... I... ahhh, I don't really know, Cleo, but I guess we better get moving before he comes back to get us again, huh."
"Yes. I don't want him to make me wait in the car."
"Me neither."
"Do you think Kenshin will like me?" A worried look passed over the beautiful little face, and Soujiro felt his heart lurch in response to his sisters unwelcome anxiety.
"Of course he will, Baby. I've told you a million times how he used to hold you and rock you in the rocking chair sometimes all night. Kenshin loved you... and he still loves you."
"You're sure?"
"Absolutely." She buried her face against the warmth of his neck and wrapped her arms around him tightly as he began to follow their parents up the sidewalk toward the front doors. "He's missed you too, Baby. He's missed you so much."
"I think I missed him too... didn't I?" She leaned back and looked into Soujiro's serious face. "Didn't I? Soujiro?"
"Yes, you did. For a long time."
"I think I still do... when I have nightmares."
"Yes, sometimes you still say his name in your sleep when you have nightmares."
"Why did Kenshin go away, Soujiro? Why did he go away and never come back?"
"That is a real complicated story, Baby. It isn't something I can explain to you until you are a little bit older, but I can tell you this. He didn't go away because he wanted to, and he hasn't stayed away because he wanted to either."
"You mean he had to go away?"
"Sort of... don't worry about that right now. Just concentrate on the fact that you are finally going to get to see him, and that is all that really matters."
"Yes... It is, isn't it." With a happy sigh, she rested her head against her brother's shoulder once more and let her mind dream of a fairy-tale with a Prince and a Princess. The Prince had flaming red hair and brilliant violet eyes and his name was Kenshin, and he was going to save the Princess from the evil King and they were going to live happily ever after. It was a nice dream.
"Come along, Dharma. I haven't got all day to do this. You know I have to get back to Denton by this evening." Hiko reached out and roughly grabbed his wife by her upper arm and pulled her from the car. It was a good thing for her that her coat was fairly heavy or she would have had a bruise to contend with later. "I have better things to do than pamper your spoiled asshole of a son. He already gets more than he deserves, and you know it."
"Yes Dear." The muttered reply was spoken habitually out of years complacent behavior that had been learned more as a defense mechanism than as true conversation or agreement. It was just easier that way. Life in the Seijurou house was much simpler if one just agreed with Hiko... and it was also much safer. However, there had been many prices to pay for her complacence. One had been her self-respect. It was difficult to look her reflection in the eye anymore knowing that she had given up her pride and self-worth to stay married to such an abusive man.
Second had been her independence. That had been lost to her after only the first few months of marriage to Hiko. He had stripped her of her personal bank account, her credit cards, her cell- phone, and anything else he deemed an 'unnecessary' luxury in her life. He handled all the money and gave her an allotted weekly allowance of $400.00 that she could spend on the children, but if she wanted to spend any money on herself, she had to ask for specific cash for that. And then, he would decide if the purchase were necessary or not. If it was not, he would not give her the money.
Third was her contact with the outside world. Hiko took it upon himself to decide who the best people for her to associate with were, and her old, long time friends did not equate into his scheme of 'the rich businessman's wife', so she was not allowed to see them anymore.
Lastly, and the most costly, she had been forced to give up her only beloved son, Kenshin, and that was something she might never forgive herself for.
He and Hiko had never hit it off because Kenshin would not set by and watch his step-father abuse his Mother. The child had endured so many vicious beatings that Dharma had begun to fear too many head trauma's were going to leave him mentally disabled or worse. But the strength of her boy always seemed to overcome no matter what abuse his step-father heaped upon him, and his relentless resolve to never give in had ended him up in the hospital with broken bones more than once. So when he was accused of killing that old man, Dharma had seen a way to get him out of the house and away from Hiko's fists, and Hiko had seen away to just be rid of him. Thus, neither of them had fought the police on the insane charges that were brought up against Kenshin. The only thing they had fought against was his place of incarceration. There was no way in hell Dharma was letting her son go into a lock-down with real 'criminals', and that was probably the only argument she had ever won with Hiko, but the trade off had been nothing worse than a Devil's bargain for her.
"Fine Dharma. I'll get him sent somewhere else... Maybe a private school up north or something, but then you have to do something for me in return."
"What? What do you want, Hiko? I will do anything. Just don't let them put Kenshin in that horrible prison. Please, don't let them do that... you know he's innocent. You know he didn't kill that old man... you know it."
"Of course I know it, but that doesn't change the fact that it would take a hellofa lawyer to get him off. There isn't enough evidence to prove he's innocent, or didn't you read the police report?"
"I read it... I know what they said about him, but there has to be a better place to put him than a Juvenile Prison."
"Like I said... I'll fix it up, but you have to do something for me."
"What do you want?"
"Once Kenshin is gone... He's gone."
"What do you mean, 'gone'?"
"He's out, cut off... He doesn't exist anymore. You know... POOF! He's history."
"I-I don't understand."
"Sure you do... Once he's out of here, we don't have anymore to do with him than is absolutely necessary to maintain proper parental image. Got it?"
"Oh God.... you can't be serious."
"Oh, but I am serious. I am sick and tired of the fucking kid getting in my way with his 'holier than thou' attitude and I intend to take advantage of his 'little' mistake by cutting him off from this family just like he was a cancer tumor. Take it or leave it, Dharma. That is my deal. Either Kenshin goes to juvie hall and becomes some 'bad boys bitch', or I get him sent somewhere nice and quiet... but on my terms. It is your choice."
She had not known what to do, so she had agreed believing that she was at least keeping her son free from one fate, but knowing she was condemning him to the sadness of another. Kenshin would live the next 4 years believing his family had deserted him and no longer cared what happened to him, and in a very real way, he would be right. But in her heart of hearts, Dharma would always love her son, and the day they had left in the care of School Master Saitou her Mother's heart had shattered into a thousand unmendable pieces.
Now she was walking up the sidewalk on her way to see that same son knowing that he believed without a shadow of a doubt, that she had betrayed him right along side his step-father, and that he probably hated her with as much, if not more, venom than he did Hiko. Dharma's heart felt very heavy for being in so many small pieces.
"Look Kaoru, there is my Mother... I wonder why SHE looks so sad." Kenshin peered out of the window trying to get a better look at his Mother's face, but could not because she had lowered her head once Hiko had pulled her from the car. "If that asshole has..."
"Kenshin, is that your brother and little sister?" Kaoru was pointing to a young man about Kenshin's same height, but with dark brown hair, carrying a little girl with flaming orangish-red hair on his hip who had just appeared around the side of the big car. "Soujiro... Cleo... Oh my God. It's them. It is really them." A shiver of anticipation quacked through his body as his eyes drank in the site of his two siblings even as his voice whispered what his heart could not believe. "They are really here, Kao. I cannot believe it, but they are really here."
Turning around in a swift circle, he met the warm gazes of the two teachers standing behind him, and Kenshin found himself speechless at that moment so he just stood there looking at them with the most bewildered look on his face. "See," Tokio said gently. "I told you they would both be here."
"I... ahhhh..."
"Come on, Himura, lets go meet your family... or at least your brother and sister." Saitou walked up to the stunned teen and grasped him by the shoulder with a firm but compassionate hand. "At least we can be sure 'they' are going to be more than happy to see YOU... and if I am not mistaken, I think you are way beyond happy to see them."
"Ahhh... Yes Sir." Lavender crystals shining with unshed moistness blinked to keep the tears from falling as Kenshin met the understanding topaz gaze of the School Master. "That I am." Was his choked reply as a shaky smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "That I am."
"All right then, lets go meet them, my friend." And Saitou pulled Kenshin toward the door. Kenshin, in turn, pulled Kaoru behind him. Tokio followed on her own. As they entered the empty hallway, the echoing 'thunk' of the double front doors closing could be heard as it rolled along the formica flooring. Kenshin and Kaoru both snapped their gaze sharply to the right in the direction of the sound and both gasped as they saw Soujiro and Cleo standing in the middle of the hallway.
"Hey, Brother!" Soujiro hollered and waved with his free hand. "Where the hell have you been?" Kaoru watched as a mischievous grin curved Kenshin's mouth and a gleam of pure laughter filled his eyes.
"In Rio," He yelled back. "Judging the wet T-shirt contests."
"Awww man, and you didn't take me with... Asshole."
"Hey, watch who you're calling an asshole, shit for brains."
"Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah... you can't call me that anymore, buddy."
"And why the hell not?"
"Because I have been pulling straight A's... just like you, that is why."
"Ewwwwwwwww.... will wonders never cease. Somebody call God... It's a red letter day."
"Awww, shut-up, will ya."
"Not unless you think you can make me, wussy-boy."
"Don't make me come over there, man."
"Try it, and see what happens."
"You daring me?"
"What did it sound like? Or are you deaf as well as stupid?"
"All right. That is it. Now you've really pissed me off."
"Oh no... I've pissed you off?? I am soooo scared."
"You ought to be, you OLD wind bag."
"OLD?? Who are you calling OLD, baby face?" Karou was standing next to Kenshin with her head whipping back and forth like she was at a tennis match, and the smile on her face was getting bigger by the minute. This was fun as well as funny. Watching the two brothers banter back and forth like this was a treat because she could tell neither on of them was getting angry or in the least bit upset with the other, in fact, the increase in Kenshin's mood was tangible to her, and it was making her heart sing. She was going to like Soujiro, she knew it already.
"Are you about finished, you big over grown herring?"
"Why, What's it to you, girly-boy?"
"Well, Cleo and me... you see, we've been stuck in that car for about 6 hours waiting to get up here to see you... and, well, we'd both sort of like to give you a big hug, but if your still interested in throwing the shit around, I guess we can wait a little longer."
Kaoru found herself sucking in a breath of awe as a smile broke across Soujiro's face transforming him into one of the most extraordinarily handsome boys she had ever seen in her life. The girls at Ive Payne definitely had a new heart-throb to moon and drool over in Soujiro Seijurou. That they did.
"Hmmmm... In that case, I guess I'm done." Kenshin smiled and gently disentangled himself from Kaoru, and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, began walking toward his brother who, in turn, leaned down and carefully set the little girl down on the floor and then took her by the hand so he could lead her in the direction of the smiling lithe stranger in front of them. But, as her little blue orbs took in the handsome smiling face and the brilliantly shining dark purple eyes, something inside of her began to wriggle around and wake up, and long dormant baby memories that had not been known to her began to drift to the surface of her mind.
Hysterical baby laughter mingled with a deeper tenor bubbling around it... Chubby little fingers getting caught and tangled inside a long heavy mane of silky red hair that was not Mama's, and that same red hair laying soft beneath her cheek as she snuggled against a hard flat chest listening to someone read and sing to her for hours and hours... Sleepy violet eyes that always had a twinkle in them just for her... Strong arms that used to toss her up into the air, and then catch her on the way back down... And the knowledge that she had been loved... loved so very much that those arms had been the only place she had wanted to be most of the time whether it was daytime or night. They had been the place she would run too when the monsters came, when she wanted a story read to her, or when she just wanted to snuggle up with her blanket and drink her bottle. And the sound of his voice was echoing inside of her head pulling at other long buried memories... Cleo could hear that same beloved voice calling to her, calling her name, calling her... And as these dozens of swirling images and feelings floated to the conscious surface of Cleo Himura's mind, she stopped walking in the middle of the hallway bringing Soujiro to an abrupt halt as well.
Kenshin stopped walking also when he noticed the looked of ultimate sadness on his youngest siblings little face, and felt his heart squeeze painfully as tears began to slide down her smooth cheeks in distressed rivulets.
"Oh Cleo..." Dharma whispered painfully as she watched the little girl from where she and Hiko had stopped to allow the children time to greet each other. "What is happening inside of your head, my precious? What are you thinking?"
But it was a matter of what she was thinking as it was what she was remembering. Soujiro knelt down next to her and tenderly wiped the wetness from her fragile looking face with one of his hands. "What's wrong, Baby? Why are you crying?"
"I... I can remember..." Blue eyes filled with a terrible pain as well as a wealth of tears turned to look into his face as her bottom lip began to quiver. "I remember."
"What do you remember?"
"Kenshin... I can remember things we used to do."
"And that makes you sad?" She nodded her head and more tears cascaded down her face as she did. "Why, Cleo? Why would remembering the things you and Kenshin used to do make you sad?" Soujiro gently he brushed her flaming hair out of her face and waited for her to find a way to explain.
"Cause, he loved me."
"Yes, Baby... He loved you very much. I told you that before."
"But... but..." Her chin trembled dangerously and she sucked in a ragged breath as she looked hard into her brothers patient blue-gray eyes. "But I didn't know I loved him so much too."
Understanding finally dawned on Soujiro and he wrapped the confused little girl tightly in his arms and rocked her back and forth trying to comfort as best he could considering the magnitude her self revelation was having on her. "Yes Cleo... You loved Kenshin... You loved him more than anything else in this whole world, and when he left, you cried for weeks and weeks. It was awful."
"I think I remember... I think that's why I feel so sad right now... I remember missing him so bad. Oh Soujiro, my heart hurts."
"I know, Sweetheart, I know." He rubbed her frail little back as he tried to blink back the tears of his own pain and loss over his beloved brother so he could comfort hers, and then he gently pulled her back so he could look her in the face. "What do you think will make you feel better now, Cleo? What can we do to help you now? What do you want, Baby?"
"I-I..." She cast a furtive look over her shoulder at their Father for a brief moment, and then looked back into her brothers face. "I want Kenshin back."
"All right, Baby. He is right over there... go get him."
Watery blue eyes searched his gentle face for a long moment as if looking for a sign of real permission, and finally Soujiro turned her around to face in Kenshin's direction and gave her a little shove. "Go on, he looks like he is about to bust or something wondering what in the heck is going on. Go put him out of his misery, little girl. I really think he needs you too."
And that was all it took.
In the next split instant of time, Cleo Nyreece Himura was racing up the hallway toward the brother she had not seen since she had been a baby in his arms with her own little arms stretched open wide crying out his name on a note of desperation. "Keennshhin!" His long legs carried him to her rushing form, and he bent down to scoop her up into his arms swinging her around in a high arcing circle before hugging her close to his chest and burying his face in the sweetness of her brilliant hair.
"Cleo..." A choking whisper of intense emotion was all that he could manage as he held one of the most precious things in his life close to his heart once more after having lost it for such a long, long time. "Oh baby-girl, I missed you so much... that I have."
His shoulders began to shake as the fierceness of her embrace around his neck became over whelming to him, and he finally lost his battle with his tears. "Poppet," She sniffled against his neck.
"What?" Pulling back from her, he looked into her wet tearful face in mild confusion.
"You used to call me 'Poppet'." She repeated as one of her small hands reached out to touch his face in wonder.
"You remember that?" Gently he wiped some of the wetness off her pale cheeks with trembling fingers as he shifted her weight onto his hip.
"Uh-huh... I remember a lot of stuff... I guess."
"You guess? What do you mean by that?"
"It's not like real memories, stuff... it's more like feelings and other things I remember... like pictures."
"Tell me?" He asked as he pressed his larger forehead against her smaller one. "Tell me what you remember, Poppet."
"I remember you used to sing to me sometimes," Little hands cupped his cheeks and then started to stroke them as Cleo rubbed her forehead along his trying to get closer to him. "And we'd stay up late rocking in the rocking chair all night... sometimes we'd sleep in it... didn't we?"
"Yes, we did." Kenshin's voice filled with a thrill of joy as he listened to the little girl talk about some of his own most cherished memories.
"And you used to carry me all over the house on your shoulders too, like we were a great big giant."
"Yes, that I did... that I did." The shadow of a laugh wafted over his lips as he captured one of her chubby little hands and pressed a soft kiss into its small palm.
"But, Kenshin...?"
"What Baby?" He reared back as he detected the distress in her voice and looked earnestly into her face noticing as another frown marred its angelic perfection, and he tenderly cupped her soft cheek making her look him in the eyes. "Tell me what?"
"The Monster's," Grabbing at the collar of his blue button down, Cleo pulled him closer to her until their noses were almost touching. "They all came back after you left."
"They did?" The hand cupping her face gently tried to smooth the frown away from her bow-shaped mouth as he pressed a tender kiss against her nose. "Why did they do that, Poppet?"
"Because you weren't there any more to make them go away." The steady forthrightness of her blue gaze wrenched at his heart and he felt a modicum of guilt settle upon his conscience as he hugged her tight against him again.
"I am sorry, Honey." He said gently as he rubbed small circles around her thin back in a motion of instinctive comfort. "I did not mean to go away, that I did not, and I never meant to be gone for such a long time either. Can you forgive me?"
The furious nodding of her little head jarred against his chin as she laid her cheek against the curve of his shoulder and wrapped her little arms around his neck again. She was back in the arms of her absolute security, and she knew it. The feelings of love and safety that her baby's mind remembered were wrapped all around her once again, and Cleo knew she had finally found that one thing that had gone missing from her young life for such a long time. The thing that she would cry for in the middle of the night when she did not understand why or what she was crying for. Now, she knew what it was and why having it gone had hurt inside of her heart for so long.
It was Kenshin, and it was missing him and the love and security he had represented to her in those early months of her life when those things were the most important. He had imprinted himself on her heart and soul so deeply that having him taken from her had left wounds deeper and far more painful than even she could understand. But now she did. She needed her brother back in her life. She needed that safety and security that he represented to her, and she needed his love because it had been the replacement for the love she had never gotten from the stone faced man who was her Father. Kenshin had been her Father. Kenshin had been her whole world... and she had been his, and now they were back together. Perhaps fate would be kind and let them stay that way.
Tearful violet eyes looked on in anguished joy as Dharma Himura watched her beloved son find a small measure of peace in the world of pain and rejection she had created for him, and with in her guilt ravaged heart she asked God to forgive her even as she begged for the chance to make right all of the wrongs done to him.
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I thank you all for supporting my fictions and reading my work… and I thank you for your support when I reached out and asked for help for my friend, Female Hitokiri Battousai. Now, I apologize for the many times I have complained and lamented about my personal life and my health… It was bad form and poor manners.
I am deeply sorry and regretful.
I thank those of you who have offered kind words to me in the past. I am humbled by your warmth and encouragement. Thank you all.
And Thank you, Haruko, my beloved and dear friend. You mean so much to me. God bless you for everything you do, and for everything you say. I love you dearly. Kanzen Ne Tsuki
If you all would… If anyone is interested… I 'had' decided to hold a contest on my website (prior) to this recent 'incident' in my life. The contest is for Kenshin and Kaoru FanArt Kissing Pics. I have been searching the web for pics like this and there just don't seem to be any out there. I have found 2 or 3 and that is all. I would like to have this contest and build a one of a kind KenKao Kissing Gallery. Also there are First, Second, and Third place prizes (of a sort) to be won. If anyone is interested, go to my webpage and check out the rules of entry on my Updates and Information page. You can access 'Heart of The Flaming Sword' from my FF.net Authors page
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~K.N.T.
Haruko: I'm sorry this took such a long time, blame it on me. I was having a hard time beta-reading because of some technical glitches, but I beg you to review this. Tsuki-san has really outdone herself this time, and has successfully made me cry, I'd guarantee you'd find yourself moved by this as well. Do review!
Chapter Ten
Angel's Have Blue Eyes
October 31, 2001. Tuesday
Halloween Day, 5:00 p.m.
4 hours before the dance
School Master Saitou's Office
The telephone was ringing as Saitou opened the door to his office and he rushed over to the desk grabbing the receiver mid-ring as he flopped down in his chair. 'De-ja-vu,' He thought as his mind flew back to earlier that morning when he had entered his office to a ringing phone, and the individual on the other end had been that insolent ass step-father of ...
"Master Saitou, can I help you?"
"Hiko Seijurou here, Master Saitou."
'Oh God, not again.' "Yes, Sir..." The business tone in his voice was purely habitual. 'Twice in one day, how did I get so lucky?' His stomach began roiling with the nauseating thought of having to talk to the insufferably arrogant man more than once in the same 24-hour period. 'How did you get so lucky?' The sarcastic voice of his hind-brain sneered unpleasantly into his mental ears as he shut his eyes in dismay. 'You got lucky, you fucking Idiot, because you told him to call you back with an answer... Oh yeah,' Mental eyes rolled in exasperation. 'I guess I sort of forgot about that... shit!'
"So, have you reconsidered my proposal about Soujiro coming to school here with his brother this year?" Saitou mentally began preparing himself for the insolent, rude retort that would no doubt follow his inquiry, but instead, he found himself agape in astonished relief and surprised horror with his mouth hanging open in his lap as Hell once more began to freeze despite its blazing brimstone infernos.
"Yes, I have," Replied the sharp insistent voice of the other man as his disembodied voice cracked over the static of the telephone connection. "And, after a great deal of thought on the matter, I have decided to agree to it."
"You have? Why, that is absolutely Grand News!" 'I can't believe he had the balls to agree after only one conversation.' Saitou's silver brows furrowed in suspicious thought as he wondered at the man's sudden acquiescence to his proposal when he had been so against it just that morning.
"Yes, yes... Quite so I am sure. That is precisely why I have also decided to bring my ENTIRE family to Evermore for a long past-due visit... Today."
"Today?" Saitou sat straight up in his chair his usually narrow topaz eyes growing round
with alarm. "Did I just hear you say, 'Today?'"
"Of course." This was the smug sounding reply when Hiko heard the thread of anxiety that tinged the School Master's voice as he responded to the news of their pending arrival. "After our conversation this morning, I decided to put everyone into the car and make the trip to Evermore today. I could see no pertinent reason that we should wait to make the transfer; today seemed to be just as proper a time as any other. I do hope this sudden notice is not too short for you to arrange a room for Soujiro. He is quite excited about the whole matter."
"No, no of course not, I do not foresee any difficulties with his immediate placement once
you arrive."
"Good. We should be inside the school parking lot within approximately 30 minutes. ." Hiko cleared his throat a little nervously before he continued. "It... it... appears you were right about his wanting to graduate with his brother more than wanting to stay with his friends, Master Saitou."
"Indeed." Was all the response Saitou could manage at that precise moment of time. He was still trying to gather his screaming thoughts as they raced frantically around inside his head crying out warnings and setting off alarms. 'The Seijurou's are coming...! The Seijurou's are coming...!', they all shouted hysterically at the same time creating a cacophony of noise that was difficult to form a single rational thought. Giving his head a hard shake, Saitou forced himself to gain control over his temporarily chaotic brain and tried to find semblance of intelligence. "I am quite sure it is a good decision for both of the boys, Mr. Seijirou, and will no doubt be beneficial to both of them in the years to come. And as for finding Soujiro a room, I may be able to juggle a few things around so that he can room with Kenshin... would that be satisfactory to you, Sir?"
"That would be magnificent if you could. I am sure both of the boys would be grateful to you if you could work that out, or at least put them close enough to each other that they could socialize easily."
"I will do my best, Mr. Seijurou, that I will." 'Holy shit!! They are really coming.'
"Well, then I will be seeing you shortly, and we will discuss Soujiro's transfer from Westmore."
"Yes, of course."
"Oh, and Master... It would be a great boost to ALL of us if Kenshin were there when we arrived. His Mother would very much like to see him."
"Yes, yes or course... I will see if I can find him and have him here by the time you arrive."
"Find him? Where would he be that you would have to look for him?"
"It is Halloween, Mr. Seigurou. The Senior Class is responsible for all of the decorating for the dance, and as Kenshin is a Senior... well, I am sure he has been drafted and is up to his eyes in pumpkins and black cats by now, but I will make every effort to have him here."
"Thank-you. It would mean a lot to his Mother if you could."
"Of course." Saitou hung up the receiver with a trembling hand and then used it to wipe the sweat off his forehead. 'How in the bloody hell did I get myself into this TODAY?' He wondered in bewilderment. 'That frigging moron... He's doing this just to avoid that threat I made about having Social Services come out to his home to evaluate whether or not it's a good environment for Kenshin to go back to or not. He doesn't really give a shit about that kid... just about his fucking image. I wish I could bury my foot so deep up his...'
"Hajime? Honey? Are you all right?" The soft soothing voice of his wife worked its way through his cloud of dismay, and Saitou opened topaz eyes filled with angry disgust. The look of concern on Tokio's face changed to one of worried curiosity as she approached him and cupped his face so she could better judge what was going on inside of his complicated mind. "What happened? What are you so upset?"
"You won't bloody believe me, Baby." He snorted and opened his top drawer grabbing his cigarettes, and pulling one free quickly lit it and took a long drag. Now Tokio knew something was really wrong. Saitou never pulled that hard on a cigarette unless he was really pissed off. She waited patiently for him to exhale knowing that he was trying to gather his thoughts as well as his control before he started talking to her. "Guess whose coming to dinner?"
Tokio raised a delicate chest-nut colored eyebrow as she acknowledged his sarcastic quip, and then, pursing her lips with wifely tolerance, she drew in a long sigh and looked at him expectantly.
"Hiko Seijurou is coming with his whole fam-damily and will be here inside of the next 30 minutes to drop off Soujiro as per my request that he transfer for the emotional and psychological benefit of his brother."
"Good Lord!" She gasped in stunned surprised as her eyes widened in shock. "Are you telling me he took your threats this morning THAT seriously?"
"I guess so... You know how that tight-assed piece of work is about his 'reputation'. I guess he didn't like the idea of my sending Social Services in to evaluate his 'home life'."
"Oh my... that means we need to find a room really fast doesn't it?"
"Well... do you think we can move the Beaucannon kid out of Kenshin's room so we can put Soujiro in there instead? How hard would that be?"
"Hmmmm.... I suppose I could move Peter in with Billy Jenkins. I think there is an empty bed in his room, and they would be fairly well suited to each other... much more so than Billy and Soujiro."
"Make it happen, Tokio, and send someone to find Kenshin. His Mother wants him here when they arrive."
"Hmmmm, that's unusual. I wonder what's gotten into her?"
"Maybe a little motherly concern?"
"Right. I sincerely doubt it. She has not seemed to be concerned about him for the last three years, why should she start now?" Tokio humphed her way out the office door closing in quietly behind her and leaving Saitou to his troubled thoughts.
"Why indeed?" Narrow topaz eyes glared suspiciously out of the window behind his desk as he tried to fathom what sort of game the Seijurou's were playing with him... and their sons.
*****************
Kenshin and Kaoru had successfully snuck back out of the janitorial closet without anyone seeing them, and they were busy trying to hang little glowing ghosts from strings that were hanging down from the ceiling. But it seemed they were doing more laughing than hanging. Kaoru was standing near the top of a huge step ladder being the one to reach up and hook the little decorative pale green ornaments on the flimsy strings while Kenshin steadied her legs from below, but it had proved harder than it looked because of the heating vents.
The hot air rising throughout the Gym was causing the thin strings to whip and fly out of her reach which in turn was making her lean and tip dangerously on the tall ladder. Each time one of the ladder's feet tipped up off the floor and then dropped back down with a solid 'thunk' jarring the two of them, they would be suffused with surprised, fearful laughter that began to border on the hysterical where Kaoru was concerned. They had successfully hung 6 ghosts out of the 30 inside of the box and time was ticking away. 24 left to go... Gosh, that was a lot, and they did not seem to be making very much progress toward completing the task anytime soon.
This was how Tokio found them after sending Mrs. Gensai to help Peter Beaucannon pack and move out of Kenshin's room so Soujiro could move in, and she just stood for a couple of minutes enjoying the show they were putting on because it was profoundly unusual to catch or even see either of these two students crack a smile let alone laugh, and they were laughing like a couple of hyena's playing out on the open plains of the Seringeti without a care in the world.
It was one of the rarest and most extraordinary sites she had ever seen, and she could not help but to laugh with them a little too as it brought a feeling of warmth to her worried heart. They looked good together too, she thought. They looked like they fit with each other too, and that gave her a small sense of comfort as well..
"Hey, you two!" She called to the two howling teenagers occupying the stepladder, and when she finally got their attention, she motioned for them to come down. "I need you both down here with me for a minute, please."
It only took a few seconds for them to comply, and then they were standing next to her both breathing heavily from laughing so hard for so long. "You guys Ok?" She asked with a teasing smile, and watched as they looked at each other trying to smother any further laughter while they nodded.
"Yes, Coach Takagi." Kaoru dipped her chin down toward her chest as her cheeks flushed a bright pink. "We were just having a little trouble hanging those stupid glowy ghost-things."
"Glowy ghost-things?" Tokio's face creased in confusion and she looked at Kenshin for an explanation.
"You know," He shrugged with a mischievous boyish smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "The Ghosts that Mrs. Gensai bought last year... the one's that glow in the dark and go 'Boo' whenever you bump into them or touch them... or breath on them. The ones Master Saitou said if he heard one more 'Boo' out of them, he was going to get his double barrel... and no more ghosties?"
"Oooooh... I remember..." Tokio began to chuckle as she covered her mouth with one hand remembering how irritated Saitou had become at last years dance with the neverending 'Boo's' from those equally irritating little ghosts. "Is THAT why you are trying to hang them from the ceiling?"
"Yes Ma'am, that it is." Kenshin stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans and nodded then shuffled his feet as his gaze shifted to the silent Kaoru. "It was Kao's idea though, so do not blame me about them being way up there where you will never hear 'Boo' one out of them."
"Kenshin!" The dark-haired girls head snapped up as she gapped at him in outraged astonishment. "It was not my idea... it was Megumi's... why did you..." An embarrassed smile crossed her pretty face as she realized he was just teasing her, and in retaliation she reached out and 'whacked' him hard on the shoulder sending him stumbling several paces. "You rotten rat! Don't do that to me... Eewwwwww, I can't believe how rotten you are." It was obvious she was upset, but her voice was so full of laughter it was hard to say how much, and Kenshin looked completely unrepentant as he stood up and spread his hands innocently while fixing a blank look on his face.
"What did I say?" He asked with feigned wide eyed density. "I'm innocent as a baby, that I am." And with another screech of rage, Kaoru pounced on him and proceeded to pound him ferociously on the back. All he did was laugh and dump her off onto the floor. "And DOWN goes the Takuni." He sang as Kaoru 'thumped' harmlessly onto her shapely butt with a muffled squeak of surprise.
"All right you two," Tokio laughed as she tried to gain their attention once more. "I really need you to come over here and listen to me for a minute. There is something extremely important that I need to tell you Kenshin."
"Tell ME?" Large amethyst eyes suddenly filled with suspicion as he locked gazes with the older woman and slowly approached her like a mouse circling a sleeping cat. "Tell me what?"
Kaoru immediately felt the defensive stiffness that shifted through him, and she quickly reached out and put a gentle hand on his upper arm just to show him she was there if he needed her, and as she did, 'felt' an answering tingle of energy dance beneath her sensitive fingertips. He knew she was there and was accepting her presence gratefully.
"Well, I suppose I should tell you everything that has happened, so why don't you come with me out into the hallway where we won't be sharing this conversation with everyone, Ok?"
"All right..." The tone was agreeable, but Tokio sensed more was coming and it did not take long before Kenshin proved her instinct to be right. "I will come with you, and we can talk... but, Kaoru is coming with us." It was a statement made in his usual 'I don't really care what you have to say about it' tone, but instead of feeling insulted or disrespected, Tokio looked at his wanting to bring his 'girlfriend' with him as a positive action on his part. This young man had never allowed himself to become attached to anyone in the three years he had been incarcerated at Ive Payne, let alone have a girlfriend that anyone knew of, and seeing for herself that all of the rumors about him and the Kamiya girl seemed to be true, Tokio let an inward Motherly smile warm her heart. She was happy that Kenshin had finally found someone to care about, and that he seemed to be allowing her to care about him as well.
"That is fine, Kenshin. I don't have a problem with her coming. So, if that is what you want, you can bring Kaoru with you."
"It is what I want." Nodding his red head sharply, he reached back and took Kaoru by the hand, and then stiffly preceded Tokio into the nearly deserted hallway. As he stopped, Kenshin turned and faced the woman with a blank yet stern face, his eyes having turned a pale violet and steadily met her serious brown gaze. "So, Coach Takagi, what is this all about? What is so extremely important that you have to tell me in private quarters? Have I broken some minuscule rule or something? Am I in trouble? Did I fail to show up at some unwarranted detention I conveniently forgot about?" All defense systems were up and running despite the fact that Kenshin was usually very open and friendly with the Girl's Coach slash History Teacher, but this was a completely different set of circumstances. She had cornered him with a request for his undivided attention with the premise of needing to disclose important information, and to Kenshin, that meant bad news. He hated bad news because it usually meant trouble for him, and trouble always walked hand in hand with pain.
Tokio sighed in consternation. She had not counted on this reaction from the moody teenager, but berated herself for not being prepared for it. 'I should have known he would perceive this sort of a situation as an attack from the enemy. IF I were him, I know I probably would. I guess I will just have to handle this as benignly as I possibly can so he doesn't blow up in my face.' Taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm her suddenly nervous stomach, Tokio looked the stone faced young man in the eye and decided to start from the beginning.
"Kenshin, this morning Master Saitou received a phone call from your Father..."
"You mean my STEP Father." The voice was cold and stony as Kenshin referred to the man who had raised him from a child of 7. 'There is no love lost here,' She thought sadly as she watched the faint golden tinge appear in the pale violet eyes.
"Yes, of course, your step-father." Tokio politely amended in light of his reaction to the other honorific. "He called the school this morning and spoke to Master Saitou."
"Why did he call?" Suspicion rose Kenshin's hackles at the back of his neck while his muscles stiffened even more as a mental image of his step-father flashed before him.
"Master Saitou had written him a letter a week or more ago asking him if he would consider allowing your brother, Soujiro, transfer here from Westmore so that the two of you could spend your Senior year of High School together and Graduate together as well."
"H-he did that? Master Saitou did that?" Kenshin stammered a little bit over the question as he considered the enormity of the gesture Master Saitou had made on his behalf in asking a man like Hiko Seijurou to relinquish his hold on a beloved son in order to benefit a detestable son. "Why would he do that, Coach Takagi?" Violet eyes now filled with bewilderment and uncertainty looked into Tokio's face searching her dark brown eyes for an answer to the Master's strange behavior.
"Because, Kenshin, Master Saitou thought it would be good for you to have someone who was close to you here during your last year of school. He was hoping, if your step-father would agree, that it might be helpful in aiding you to readjust back into your home environment so it would not be such a shock once Graduation was over. He also felt that having your brother here was the best choice available because he knows how close the two of you are to each other despite your step-father's efforts to keep you apart. Moreoever, having someone who was close to you... who truly cared about you could have a positive impact on your personal self-image."
Tokio reached out a comforting hand and cupped Kenshin's face so she could look directly into his stunned vulnerable eyes. "He wants you to be happy, Kenshin, but he also wants you to be in the place that is going to be the best for you... even if that place is NOT your home."
"Not my home? But if I didn't go home, where would I go?" A frantic flash of fear washed across his face for a split instant and then was gone as it was swiftly replaced by his protective outer shell of blandness and indifference. "I suppose it would not matter where I went, would it? As long as I did not cause trouble, right?"
"NO!" Tokio grabbed his shoulder and shook him hard. "That is NOT right. BOTH Master Saitou and I only want what is best for YOU. We want you to be happy, Kenshin, but we also want you to be safe, secure, and at peace. We want you to be somewhere where you know you are loved and wanted... and if that place is not in your own home... then we will find you a place where it is."
"Kenshin," Kaoru's gentle voice and the slightest increase in the pressure of her hand squeezing his seemed to break through his tough outer defense system somewhat as he turned and looked at her with wide searching eyes. "It sounds like the Master is just trying to look out for you, Honey. Don't go getting all pissed off and uptight until you see what is going to happen... Ok? Please? Don't ruin this for your brother... or yourself."
"Soujiro..." The name fell from his mouth in a stunned tone as he shook is head in disbelief. "I cannot believe the old man is actually letting him come... I really cannot" Tugging on Kaoru's hand, he pulled her closer to him and wrapped a slightly trembling arm around her slender shoulders. "Will you come with me?" He asked quietly as he looked into her face questioningly. "I-I do not think I can do this alone... that I do not."
"Yes, of course I will, Sweetie. You should know that." And she wrapped both of her arms around his shoulders and held him tightly against the strength of her heart and the emotions that flowed from it. "I will be right there with you, I promise... No matter what happens, I will be right beside you."
"Thanks." The mumbled reply was almost lost within the thickness of her hair as he pressed his heated face into the comfort of her neck and squeezed her hard against his chest. "I think I'm almost afraid, Kao." He whispered for her ears only. "I hate them for that, I really do."
"I know, Baby. It is Ok," She whispered back just for him. "I know what it means to be scared and not really know why. I know, and it's Ok." Pulling back slightly, she met his troubled amethyst eyes and gently touched his face with one of her hands. "I won't let them hurt you anymore, Kenshin... I swear I won't." A delicate shudder slid through his body and he leaned his forehead against hers for a long moment, and then he pressed the softest kiss she had ever experienced against her cheek before pulling back and facing a stunned Tokio again.
"All right." His voice was much stronger, and he appeared much more in control of himself that he had been a few moments ago. "I suppose I have put this off as long as I can, and there is no use putting it off any longer. The inevitable has arrived and I must face it, that I must." He drew in a deep breath and motioned for Tokio to lead the way as he reached down and took Kaoru's hand again. "It is time to face my family, Coach Takagi... I am grateful to you... and Kaoru that I do not have to do it alone this time."
Tokio smiled gently at the stoic young man standing before as she began to truly understand why her husband had decided something about his arrest and convictions just were not right. There was a pride and an honor about this boy that was tangible and putting him in the category of 'The Bad Kid' that everyone was trying to stuff him into just was not fitting anymore. She was beginning to wonder at his innocence or lack thereof, as well, and if the incident had not just presented itself at the opportune moment for his parents to relieve themselves of his troubled presence. It was not a very pleasant thought to consider, but it bore merit for discussion with Hajime later on.
"I am pleased to help you with this, Kenshin, and I apologize that in the past you had to face them alone. I guess Hajime and I never truly understood how awful it really was for you with them... until now."
"What do you mean, 'until now'?"
"Your step-father was quite reluctant to let your brother come until the Master began pointing out to him all of the inadequacies of familial support that have been documented in your file, and even went so far as to ask him how he would feel if he had Social Services come to the home to evaluate whether or not the environment would be conducive to your continued rehabilitation... or not."
A wicked smile curved Kenshin's lips as a twinkle of dark humor winked in his violet eyes. "HE really said THAT to the old man?"
"Yes, he did."
"Oh, I wish I could have been a fly on the wall just to have seen his face when he swallowed his eyeballs over that one. I will bet he was dancing backwards for the Master after that, wasn't he?"
"Pretty much... The general consensus seemed to be that he really did not want to have anyone come to his home for any reason... especially when the Master mentioned the fact that he and your Mother had not allowed you to see your little sister since you came here."
A sad looked passed over Kenshin's face as he thought about the sweet little red-haired blue eyed angel he had not seen for so long. "She probably will not even know me anymore..."
"Well, I guess you will get to find that out today, Kenshin."
"Huh... What?" His eyes rounded into two huge dark purple pools of astonished confusion as he looked into the older woman's gently smiling face.
"That is right, Kenshin. Your step-father is bringing the WHOLE family... even Cleo, unless I am mistaken, so you'll get to find out just what she remembers."
"Oh my God...." His voice cracked as his free hand came up to cover his suddenly trembling mouth. "Cleo..."
With that stunning news, the three of them took off down the hallway at a swifter than usual walk heading for the School Master's office. It had been about 25 minutes since Saitou had hung up the phone with Hiko Seijurou and time was getting thin if they wanted to be there before the family arrived, so the pace was closer to a jog than a walk.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Are we almost there, Daddy?" The little voice wafted up from the back seat of the luxurious black Lincoln Towne Car attracting the attention of the stone faced black-haired man in the drivers seat.
"No, Chibi-chan, we are not there yet... Now, please get back into your car seat before I get pulled over by a policeman." Hiko's voice grew sharp and terse near the end of his answer, and the little red-haired girl ducked back down out of the view of his mirror, and he could hear her clamoring around trying to get back into the car seat. "Soujiro, would you please help your sister get back into that damn seat, and this time, buckle her in so she can't get out!"
"Yes, Sir." Soujiro winked at Cleo with his beautiful blue-gray eyes and reached over to help her settle back into the confining seat. "Hey, Baby-girl." He whispered in a conspiratal tone. "You gotta stay in this thing until we get there, or Dad is going to be too mad to let you out of the car."
"You mean he might not let me see Kenshin?" The little blue orbs were wide and filled with innocent anxiousness as Cleo considered the possibility of not being about to see her oldest brother after waiting for such a long time, and after enduring such a long car ride.
"Yes, he might not if you keep bugging him. You know how he is."
"Ohh... I'll be good Soujiro... I promise. I won't move again."
She settled into the hated car seat and sat patently as he pulled the seatbelt around and locked the buckle snugly thus successfully confining her inside the uncomfortable apparatus.
"That's my girl," A quick kiss placed on the tip of her nose brought a cascade of delighted giggles out of her bow-shaped mouth and a choking tight hug from her chubby little-girl arms as Soujiro finished locking her into the seat. "There now. All closed down and ready for take off, Captain."
"Did you open the flaps?" She asked seriously as she strained from side to side to see if he had pulled the edges of her coat out from under the over-head armrest.
"Aye, Captain. Flaps open."
"What about the perpeler? Is my perpeler ready too?" Little size 5 feet were kicking upward as Cleo tired desperately to see if Soujiro had retied her shoe laces into big bunny-ear bows or not like they were supposed to be, but she just could not get them high enough to see over the armrest locked down in front of her chest. "Soujiro??" She wailed. "Aye, Captain." Rich tenor laughter rumbled out of his throat as he carefully lifted first one then the other foot so she could see for herself that the shoelaces were indeed tied the right way.
"Both propellers are properly wound up and ready for pre-flight inspection."
"Ok, they look Ok... Ummmm..." Little pale red brows knitted in frustration for a moment and then she leaned toward her brother and whispered in a tone of pure dismay. "I don't remember what comes next... what comes next, Soujiro?"
"The engines, Baby." He whispered back as he desperately tried not to laugh in the face of her obvious distress.
"We start the engines."
"Oh yeah." Nodding furiously and sending her loose fiery mane of long brilliant red hair billowing all around her and up into her brothers eyes and nose, Cleo happily recalled the rest of the sequence she and Soujiro had been playing ever since leaving home that morning. "Start my engines, First Mate... is that right?"
"Yee-ss," It was impossible to stop the laughter entirely, but he did the best he could and then went on to start making the appropriate engine noises that he knew would have her in hysterical giggles within seconds.
They had played several different variations of this game for the last six hours and, for the most part, it had kept her entertained enough to keep her off their Father's nerves. The black-haired, green-eyed man was not known for his lasting patience even with his youngest and most fragile child. So, Soujiro had taken it upon himself long ago to keep Cleo out of his hair and out of his way thus avoiding any ugly consequences.
As he hugged the precious little girl and tickled her and kissed her, he mentally thanked God for having Kenshin be gone all these years. In a way, it was a terrible thing to be grateful for, but in another way, it was the only reason his brother was still alive... and THAT was what he was truly grateful for. Had Kenshin been home, he would have been the one who would step between Cleo and their Father's temper, and with the ferocity of his own demeanor, things would have gotten bad very, very quickly. He would never had stood for Hiko's angry outbursts or drunken tirades, that he would not. Kenshin would have stood straight up in the old man's face and told him to go to hell before he ever let him lay a finger a Cleo, or Soujiro. Playing it nice and quiet and finding ways to avoid the nastier confrontations just was not his style when it came to their home life. He had always tried to protect everyone... especially his Mother, and that was still an issue Soujiro was having problems with even after 3 years. If Dharma loved Kenshin so much, why had she not fought harder to prove he was innocent when they all knew he was? And why had she not fought harder to keep his Father from sending Kenshin so faraway for such a long time? And why did she not fight harder to convince him to let them all come and see him more often? Especially Cleo?? Hiko had not hit her in over 2 years, so why was she not taking advantage of that and trying to win some leeway for HER son? Or, perhaps, that was exactly why she had not gotten hit in over 2 years because she had stopped trying.
Soujiro mentally shook his head as he remembered all of the times Kenshin had stood between his father and him, and how many beatings he had taken instead of him just to keep him safe. That was why he was so fairly certain that Kenshin would not be alive now if he had remained at home. He would have made it his responsibility to stand between the raging drunk that was their father, and BOTH of his younger siblings, and no one could survive that many vicious beatings especially when he had started making it his business to pull the vicious abuser off his screaming withering Mother as well. But he was not going to think about that any more right now. All he wanted to do was see Kenshin.
It had been over a year since their Father had brought them all to Evermore to visit his eldest son, and Soujiro was brimming with an excitement that reminded him of years past when he and Kenshin used to get up early on Christmas morning waiting to see what Santa Claus had brought them. He felt like a little kid again, and he was nearly as nervous about seeing Kenshin as Cleo was. He wondered if Kenshin were nervous too.
Looking out of Master Saitou's Office window, the big Lincoln pulled into the parking lot, where he watched it park, his breathing quickened to a rapid shallow pace that was making him feel lightheaded, and his heart began to jump wildly inside the confinement of his chest like a wild thing trapped in a cage that was too small.
"They are here."
It was a hoarse muted whisper but it caught Kaoru's attention and she moved to his side and looked out the window with him.
"THAT is their car?" Blue eyes rounded into huge orbs of astonished liquid cobalt as she pointed at the big car as it pulled into a vacant space and stopped.
"Yes... that is his car." Kenshin trembled beside her, and Kaoru cast a worried sideways glance at him and noticed how pale he suddenly looked to her. Worry creased her pretty face, and she slipped an arm around his waist and dropping her chin onto his shoulder, hugged him up against her side comfortingly.
"It's Ok, Kenshin. I won't leave you alone with them... I promise."
"I know, Kao... It is just... I-I have not seen any of them for over a year."
"A year?" She gasped and her eyes shot back out the window in shocked outrage. "They have not been to see you in over a year? That... That is horrible!"
"No... that is Hiko." Kenshin lowered his chin which dropped his face making him look like a small vulnerable child. "He thinks I am a bad influence for Soujiro and Cleo to be around."
"That's bullshit and you know it." Kaoru was angry now. She had not really cared for his parents to begin with, but this was just moving her dislike of them forward a few more notches. "You aren't supposed to treat your kids that way. It's not right."
"It is to him... and That is all that really matters."
"Well, he is WRONG, and that is what really matters." A rough shake brought his wide violet eyes up to lock with her angry blue ones and for a moment it seemed he was not going to even try to believe her, but then the fierceness she was more used to seeing started to glint in their crystalline depths, and Kenshin lifted his jaw and straightened his shoulders.
"All right, Takuni." He said in a tight whisper as he put an arm around her waist and pulled her around to face him. "You win... HE is wrong... and YOU are right."
"Damn straight, Mister. And you had better be remembering That."
"Or what?"
"Or else."
"Or else What?"
"Or else I'm going to clobber you, that's what." A half smile curved his sullen expression even as a dry chuckle slid up his throat, and Kenshin leaned forward the short distance between them and brushed a soft kiss across her smiling mouth.
"Ok, you're the Boss... for the moment, so I guess I better behave, huh?"
"Uh-huh... but lets get one more thing straight before they get in here, Ok?"
"What is that?" He asked as he eyed her suspiciously. "I am always the Boss, got it?" One sparkling blue eye winked at him making him shake his head and chuckle again. She had guts. He would give her that. The takuni had a lot of guts... for a takuni.
"We will see about that, Takuni. WE will see about that."
Then he hugged her close and breathed a quiet thank-you in her ear as he felt his anxiety level drop about 1000 degrees from what it had been a few moments earlier. He had to admit it. She was good for him, that she was.
"WooW! Is this where Kenshin lives?" Cleo's round luminous blue eyes gazed in abject wonder and awe at the huge red brick building that was Ivy Payne as she climbed out of the back seat of the car. "It looks like a big red castle... doesn't it Soujiro?" Reaching out, she caught and then tightly grasped her brother's larger hand as she hopped to the slightly snow covered ground.
"I guess it does a little bit, Baby." The brown haired boy cocked his head to one side and let his blue-gray eyes scan the proportions and contours of the old high school with an intense scrutiny. "So this is where I am going to be." He mumbled to himself. "Not too bad."
The family had never actually gone to the main school building for any of their visits, but instead had usually met Kenshin somewhere on the grounds where there was grass and someplace to set. Somewhere neutral and impersonal.' Soujiro thought sourly. That way there were no real identifying memories to take back with us... with me.'
"Is Kenshin in there?"
"I imagine so, Cleo... Dad said he was supposed to be waiting for us when we got here."
"Goodie... I can't wait to see him. Do I really look like him?" A beautiful little Angels face turned and looked up at him making his heart do little somersaults inside his chest as he looked into those clear blue eyes that Kenshin has missed seeing for such a long time. "Yes, Baby... you really do look an awfully lot like him. You have seen the pictures at home... You know you do."
"I know I look like THOSE pictures, but do you think I still look like him?"
"That is a foolish and unimportant question, Cleo Nyreece." Hiko had rounded the car to find out what was taking Soujiro so long in extracting the little girl from her car seat, only to find the two of them locked in an irritating conversation about their equally irritating brother. "We are wasting time just standing here talking about nonsense that does not matter. Now, come on and lets be on our way. I am sure Master Saitou is waiting for us by now."
"Yes Sir." Soujiro scowled after his Father's retreating back as he leaned over and picked up a quivering Cleo.
"Why did he say that, Soujiro? Why did Daddy say talking about Kenshin is nonsense?"
"I... I... ahhh, I don't really know, Cleo, but I guess we better get moving before he comes back to get us again, huh."
"Yes. I don't want him to make me wait in the car."
"Me neither."
"Do you think Kenshin will like me?" A worried look passed over the beautiful little face, and Soujiro felt his heart lurch in response to his sisters unwelcome anxiety.
"Of course he will, Baby. I've told you a million times how he used to hold you and rock you in the rocking chair sometimes all night. Kenshin loved you... and he still loves you."
"You're sure?"
"Absolutely." She buried her face against the warmth of his neck and wrapped her arms around him tightly as he began to follow their parents up the sidewalk toward the front doors. "He's missed you too, Baby. He's missed you so much."
"I think I missed him too... didn't I?" She leaned back and looked into Soujiro's serious face. "Didn't I? Soujiro?"
"Yes, you did. For a long time."
"I think I still do... when I have nightmares."
"Yes, sometimes you still say his name in your sleep when you have nightmares."
"Why did Kenshin go away, Soujiro? Why did he go away and never come back?"
"That is a real complicated story, Baby. It isn't something I can explain to you until you are a little bit older, but I can tell you this. He didn't go away because he wanted to, and he hasn't stayed away because he wanted to either."
"You mean he had to go away?"
"Sort of... don't worry about that right now. Just concentrate on the fact that you are finally going to get to see him, and that is all that really matters."
"Yes... It is, isn't it." With a happy sigh, she rested her head against her brother's shoulder once more and let her mind dream of a fairy-tale with a Prince and a Princess. The Prince had flaming red hair and brilliant violet eyes and his name was Kenshin, and he was going to save the Princess from the evil King and they were going to live happily ever after. It was a nice dream.
"Come along, Dharma. I haven't got all day to do this. You know I have to get back to Denton by this evening." Hiko reached out and roughly grabbed his wife by her upper arm and pulled her from the car. It was a good thing for her that her coat was fairly heavy or she would have had a bruise to contend with later. "I have better things to do than pamper your spoiled asshole of a son. He already gets more than he deserves, and you know it."
"Yes Dear." The muttered reply was spoken habitually out of years complacent behavior that had been learned more as a defense mechanism than as true conversation or agreement. It was just easier that way. Life in the Seijurou house was much simpler if one just agreed with Hiko... and it was also much safer. However, there had been many prices to pay for her complacence. One had been her self-respect. It was difficult to look her reflection in the eye anymore knowing that she had given up her pride and self-worth to stay married to such an abusive man.
Second had been her independence. That had been lost to her after only the first few months of marriage to Hiko. He had stripped her of her personal bank account, her credit cards, her cell- phone, and anything else he deemed an 'unnecessary' luxury in her life. He handled all the money and gave her an allotted weekly allowance of $400.00 that she could spend on the children, but if she wanted to spend any money on herself, she had to ask for specific cash for that. And then, he would decide if the purchase were necessary or not. If it was not, he would not give her the money.
Third was her contact with the outside world. Hiko took it upon himself to decide who the best people for her to associate with were, and her old, long time friends did not equate into his scheme of 'the rich businessman's wife', so she was not allowed to see them anymore.
Lastly, and the most costly, she had been forced to give up her only beloved son, Kenshin, and that was something she might never forgive herself for.
He and Hiko had never hit it off because Kenshin would not set by and watch his step-father abuse his Mother. The child had endured so many vicious beatings that Dharma had begun to fear too many head trauma's were going to leave him mentally disabled or worse. But the strength of her boy always seemed to overcome no matter what abuse his step-father heaped upon him, and his relentless resolve to never give in had ended him up in the hospital with broken bones more than once. So when he was accused of killing that old man, Dharma had seen a way to get him out of the house and away from Hiko's fists, and Hiko had seen away to just be rid of him. Thus, neither of them had fought the police on the insane charges that were brought up against Kenshin. The only thing they had fought against was his place of incarceration. There was no way in hell Dharma was letting her son go into a lock-down with real 'criminals', and that was probably the only argument she had ever won with Hiko, but the trade off had been nothing worse than a Devil's bargain for her.
"Fine Dharma. I'll get him sent somewhere else... Maybe a private school up north or something, but then you have to do something for me in return."
"What? What do you want, Hiko? I will do anything. Just don't let them put Kenshin in that horrible prison. Please, don't let them do that... you know he's innocent. You know he didn't kill that old man... you know it."
"Of course I know it, but that doesn't change the fact that it would take a hellofa lawyer to get him off. There isn't enough evidence to prove he's innocent, or didn't you read the police report?"
"I read it... I know what they said about him, but there has to be a better place to put him than a Juvenile Prison."
"Like I said... I'll fix it up, but you have to do something for me."
"What do you want?"
"Once Kenshin is gone... He's gone."
"What do you mean, 'gone'?"
"He's out, cut off... He doesn't exist anymore. You know... POOF! He's history."
"I-I don't understand."
"Sure you do... Once he's out of here, we don't have anymore to do with him than is absolutely necessary to maintain proper parental image. Got it?"
"Oh God.... you can't be serious."
"Oh, but I am serious. I am sick and tired of the fucking kid getting in my way with his 'holier than thou' attitude and I intend to take advantage of his 'little' mistake by cutting him off from this family just like he was a cancer tumor. Take it or leave it, Dharma. That is my deal. Either Kenshin goes to juvie hall and becomes some 'bad boys bitch', or I get him sent somewhere nice and quiet... but on my terms. It is your choice."
She had not known what to do, so she had agreed believing that she was at least keeping her son free from one fate, but knowing she was condemning him to the sadness of another. Kenshin would live the next 4 years believing his family had deserted him and no longer cared what happened to him, and in a very real way, he would be right. But in her heart of hearts, Dharma would always love her son, and the day they had left in the care of School Master Saitou her Mother's heart had shattered into a thousand unmendable pieces.
Now she was walking up the sidewalk on her way to see that same son knowing that he believed without a shadow of a doubt, that she had betrayed him right along side his step-father, and that he probably hated her with as much, if not more, venom than he did Hiko. Dharma's heart felt very heavy for being in so many small pieces.
"Look Kaoru, there is my Mother... I wonder why SHE looks so sad." Kenshin peered out of the window trying to get a better look at his Mother's face, but could not because she had lowered her head once Hiko had pulled her from the car. "If that asshole has..."
"Kenshin, is that your brother and little sister?" Kaoru was pointing to a young man about Kenshin's same height, but with dark brown hair, carrying a little girl with flaming orangish-red hair on his hip who had just appeared around the side of the big car. "Soujiro... Cleo... Oh my God. It's them. It is really them." A shiver of anticipation quacked through his body as his eyes drank in the site of his two siblings even as his voice whispered what his heart could not believe. "They are really here, Kao. I cannot believe it, but they are really here."
Turning around in a swift circle, he met the warm gazes of the two teachers standing behind him, and Kenshin found himself speechless at that moment so he just stood there looking at them with the most bewildered look on his face. "See," Tokio said gently. "I told you they would both be here."
"I... ahhhh..."
"Come on, Himura, lets go meet your family... or at least your brother and sister." Saitou walked up to the stunned teen and grasped him by the shoulder with a firm but compassionate hand. "At least we can be sure 'they' are going to be more than happy to see YOU... and if I am not mistaken, I think you are way beyond happy to see them."
"Ahhh... Yes Sir." Lavender crystals shining with unshed moistness blinked to keep the tears from falling as Kenshin met the understanding topaz gaze of the School Master. "That I am." Was his choked reply as a shaky smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "That I am."
"All right then, lets go meet them, my friend." And Saitou pulled Kenshin toward the door. Kenshin, in turn, pulled Kaoru behind him. Tokio followed on her own. As they entered the empty hallway, the echoing 'thunk' of the double front doors closing could be heard as it rolled along the formica flooring. Kenshin and Kaoru both snapped their gaze sharply to the right in the direction of the sound and both gasped as they saw Soujiro and Cleo standing in the middle of the hallway.
"Hey, Brother!" Soujiro hollered and waved with his free hand. "Where the hell have you been?" Kaoru watched as a mischievous grin curved Kenshin's mouth and a gleam of pure laughter filled his eyes.
"In Rio," He yelled back. "Judging the wet T-shirt contests."
"Awww man, and you didn't take me with... Asshole."
"Hey, watch who you're calling an asshole, shit for brains."
"Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah... you can't call me that anymore, buddy."
"And why the hell not?"
"Because I have been pulling straight A's... just like you, that is why."
"Ewwwwwwwww.... will wonders never cease. Somebody call God... It's a red letter day."
"Awww, shut-up, will ya."
"Not unless you think you can make me, wussy-boy."
"Don't make me come over there, man."
"Try it, and see what happens."
"You daring me?"
"What did it sound like? Or are you deaf as well as stupid?"
"All right. That is it. Now you've really pissed me off."
"Oh no... I've pissed you off?? I am soooo scared."
"You ought to be, you OLD wind bag."
"OLD?? Who are you calling OLD, baby face?" Karou was standing next to Kenshin with her head whipping back and forth like she was at a tennis match, and the smile on her face was getting bigger by the minute. This was fun as well as funny. Watching the two brothers banter back and forth like this was a treat because she could tell neither on of them was getting angry or in the least bit upset with the other, in fact, the increase in Kenshin's mood was tangible to her, and it was making her heart sing. She was going to like Soujiro, she knew it already.
"Are you about finished, you big over grown herring?"
"Why, What's it to you, girly-boy?"
"Well, Cleo and me... you see, we've been stuck in that car for about 6 hours waiting to get up here to see you... and, well, we'd both sort of like to give you a big hug, but if your still interested in throwing the shit around, I guess we can wait a little longer."
Kaoru found herself sucking in a breath of awe as a smile broke across Soujiro's face transforming him into one of the most extraordinarily handsome boys she had ever seen in her life. The girls at Ive Payne definitely had a new heart-throb to moon and drool over in Soujiro Seijurou. That they did.
"Hmmmm... In that case, I guess I'm done." Kenshin smiled and gently disentangled himself from Kaoru, and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, began walking toward his brother who, in turn, leaned down and carefully set the little girl down on the floor and then took her by the hand so he could lead her in the direction of the smiling lithe stranger in front of them. But, as her little blue orbs took in the handsome smiling face and the brilliantly shining dark purple eyes, something inside of her began to wriggle around and wake up, and long dormant baby memories that had not been known to her began to drift to the surface of her mind.
Hysterical baby laughter mingled with a deeper tenor bubbling around it... Chubby little fingers getting caught and tangled inside a long heavy mane of silky red hair that was not Mama's, and that same red hair laying soft beneath her cheek as she snuggled against a hard flat chest listening to someone read and sing to her for hours and hours... Sleepy violet eyes that always had a twinkle in them just for her... Strong arms that used to toss her up into the air, and then catch her on the way back down... And the knowledge that she had been loved... loved so very much that those arms had been the only place she had wanted to be most of the time whether it was daytime or night. They had been the place she would run too when the monsters came, when she wanted a story read to her, or when she just wanted to snuggle up with her blanket and drink her bottle. And the sound of his voice was echoing inside of her head pulling at other long buried memories... Cleo could hear that same beloved voice calling to her, calling her name, calling her... And as these dozens of swirling images and feelings floated to the conscious surface of Cleo Himura's mind, she stopped walking in the middle of the hallway bringing Soujiro to an abrupt halt as well.
Kenshin stopped walking also when he noticed the looked of ultimate sadness on his youngest siblings little face, and felt his heart squeeze painfully as tears began to slide down her smooth cheeks in distressed rivulets.
"Oh Cleo..." Dharma whispered painfully as she watched the little girl from where she and Hiko had stopped to allow the children time to greet each other. "What is happening inside of your head, my precious? What are you thinking?"
But it was a matter of what she was thinking as it was what she was remembering. Soujiro knelt down next to her and tenderly wiped the wetness from her fragile looking face with one of his hands. "What's wrong, Baby? Why are you crying?"
"I... I can remember..." Blue eyes filled with a terrible pain as well as a wealth of tears turned to look into his face as her bottom lip began to quiver. "I remember."
"What do you remember?"
"Kenshin... I can remember things we used to do."
"And that makes you sad?" She nodded her head and more tears cascaded down her face as she did. "Why, Cleo? Why would remembering the things you and Kenshin used to do make you sad?" Soujiro gently he brushed her flaming hair out of her face and waited for her to find a way to explain.
"Cause, he loved me."
"Yes, Baby... He loved you very much. I told you that before."
"But... but..." Her chin trembled dangerously and she sucked in a ragged breath as she looked hard into her brothers patient blue-gray eyes. "But I didn't know I loved him so much too."
Understanding finally dawned on Soujiro and he wrapped the confused little girl tightly in his arms and rocked her back and forth trying to comfort as best he could considering the magnitude her self revelation was having on her. "Yes Cleo... You loved Kenshin... You loved him more than anything else in this whole world, and when he left, you cried for weeks and weeks. It was awful."
"I think I remember... I think that's why I feel so sad right now... I remember missing him so bad. Oh Soujiro, my heart hurts."
"I know, Sweetheart, I know." He rubbed her frail little back as he tried to blink back the tears of his own pain and loss over his beloved brother so he could comfort hers, and then he gently pulled her back so he could look her in the face. "What do you think will make you feel better now, Cleo? What can we do to help you now? What do you want, Baby?"
"I-I..." She cast a furtive look over her shoulder at their Father for a brief moment, and then looked back into her brothers face. "I want Kenshin back."
"All right, Baby. He is right over there... go get him."
Watery blue eyes searched his gentle face for a long moment as if looking for a sign of real permission, and finally Soujiro turned her around to face in Kenshin's direction and gave her a little shove. "Go on, he looks like he is about to bust or something wondering what in the heck is going on. Go put him out of his misery, little girl. I really think he needs you too."
And that was all it took.
In the next split instant of time, Cleo Nyreece Himura was racing up the hallway toward the brother she had not seen since she had been a baby in his arms with her own little arms stretched open wide crying out his name on a note of desperation. "Keennshhin!" His long legs carried him to her rushing form, and he bent down to scoop her up into his arms swinging her around in a high arcing circle before hugging her close to his chest and burying his face in the sweetness of her brilliant hair.
"Cleo..." A choking whisper of intense emotion was all that he could manage as he held one of the most precious things in his life close to his heart once more after having lost it for such a long, long time. "Oh baby-girl, I missed you so much... that I have."
His shoulders began to shake as the fierceness of her embrace around his neck became over whelming to him, and he finally lost his battle with his tears. "Poppet," She sniffled against his neck.
"What?" Pulling back from her, he looked into her wet tearful face in mild confusion.
"You used to call me 'Poppet'." She repeated as one of her small hands reached out to touch his face in wonder.
"You remember that?" Gently he wiped some of the wetness off her pale cheeks with trembling fingers as he shifted her weight onto his hip.
"Uh-huh... I remember a lot of stuff... I guess."
"You guess? What do you mean by that?"
"It's not like real memories, stuff... it's more like feelings and other things I remember... like pictures."
"Tell me?" He asked as he pressed his larger forehead against her smaller one. "Tell me what you remember, Poppet."
"I remember you used to sing to me sometimes," Little hands cupped his cheeks and then started to stroke them as Cleo rubbed her forehead along his trying to get closer to him. "And we'd stay up late rocking in the rocking chair all night... sometimes we'd sleep in it... didn't we?"
"Yes, we did." Kenshin's voice filled with a thrill of joy as he listened to the little girl talk about some of his own most cherished memories.
"And you used to carry me all over the house on your shoulders too, like we were a great big giant."
"Yes, that I did... that I did." The shadow of a laugh wafted over his lips as he captured one of her chubby little hands and pressed a soft kiss into its small palm.
"But, Kenshin...?"
"What Baby?" He reared back as he detected the distress in her voice and looked earnestly into her face noticing as another frown marred its angelic perfection, and he tenderly cupped her soft cheek making her look him in the eyes. "Tell me what?"
"The Monster's," Grabbing at the collar of his blue button down, Cleo pulled him closer to her until their noses were almost touching. "They all came back after you left."
"They did?" The hand cupping her face gently tried to smooth the frown away from her bow-shaped mouth as he pressed a tender kiss against her nose. "Why did they do that, Poppet?"
"Because you weren't there any more to make them go away." The steady forthrightness of her blue gaze wrenched at his heart and he felt a modicum of guilt settle upon his conscience as he hugged her tight against him again.
"I am sorry, Honey." He said gently as he rubbed small circles around her thin back in a motion of instinctive comfort. "I did not mean to go away, that I did not, and I never meant to be gone for such a long time either. Can you forgive me?"
The furious nodding of her little head jarred against his chin as she laid her cheek against the curve of his shoulder and wrapped her little arms around his neck again. She was back in the arms of her absolute security, and she knew it. The feelings of love and safety that her baby's mind remembered were wrapped all around her once again, and Cleo knew she had finally found that one thing that had gone missing from her young life for such a long time. The thing that she would cry for in the middle of the night when she did not understand why or what she was crying for. Now, she knew what it was and why having it gone had hurt inside of her heart for so long.
It was Kenshin, and it was missing him and the love and security he had represented to her in those early months of her life when those things were the most important. He had imprinted himself on her heart and soul so deeply that having him taken from her had left wounds deeper and far more painful than even she could understand. But now she did. She needed her brother back in her life. She needed that safety and security that he represented to her, and she needed his love because it had been the replacement for the love she had never gotten from the stone faced man who was her Father. Kenshin had been her Father. Kenshin had been her whole world... and she had been his, and now they were back together. Perhaps fate would be kind and let them stay that way.
Tearful violet eyes looked on in anguished joy as Dharma Himura watched her beloved son find a small measure of peace in the world of pain and rejection she had created for him, and with in her guilt ravaged heart she asked God to forgive her even as she begged for the chance to make right all of the wrongs done to him.
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I thank you all for supporting my fictions and reading my work… and I thank you for your support when I reached out and asked for help for my friend, Female Hitokiri Battousai. Now, I apologize for the many times I have complained and lamented about my personal life and my health… It was bad form and poor manners.
I am deeply sorry and regretful.
I thank those of you who have offered kind words to me in the past. I am humbled by your warmth and encouragement. Thank you all.
And Thank you, Haruko, my beloved and dear friend. You mean so much to me. God bless you for everything you do, and for everything you say. I love you dearly. Kanzen Ne Tsuki