23
Kenji

As the baby's time to be due drew close, Kaoru was infused with a sense of urgency. She cleaned the house like a demon, spent hours turning her old room into a nursery. Kenshin surprised her by making a cradle.

Ataru had moved into town and was stayed at a boardinghouse there. Kenshin had not told her what was said between then, and Kaoru didn't ask, fairly certain whatever things two men of great enmity said to each other was probably something she'd rather not know.

Kenshin treated her like she was something made of fragile porcelain and might shatter at any moment. He did all the chores now, good-naturedly ignoring Kaoru when she teased him about doing woman's work.

The late evening hours were the best, when they would sit side by side, usually with her snuggled in Kenshin's arms, and they would speculate where the child was a boy or a girl (though Kaoru was still adamant the child would be a boy), discuss names, and their hopes and dreams for this child and others.

Only when he was alone did Kenshin ponder what happen after the baby was born. If Ataru would really return to try to arrest him. Kaoru was fond of the lawman, he knew, though she had never said so. How would she feel about her Wild Boy if Kenshin was forced to kill him? And even if he really had to, then what? He really, truly couldn't stay here then. He was already wanted for killing Kamishi, though no one in Iyo seemed to be aware of it. Another death would not be as easy to overlook.

So many questions. So many things to consider, and no easy answers.

He was standing in the yard late one night, gazing into the distance and wondering what the future would hold when Kaoru came up beside him and slipped her arm around his waist.

"Pretty night," she remarked after a while.

"Yes."

"I woke up and you were gone."

"I couldn't sleep."

"It scared me when I woke up and you weren't there."

Kenshin slipped an arm around her protectively. "I wouldn't leave you," he said. "Never with my will."

"But?"

Well, she knew the "buts" and Kenshin didn't repeat them, only shaking his head. Kaoru rested her head on his shoulder. There had to be a way to convince Ataru to change his mind, but how? What could be said that would persuade him to go back to Seiyo alone?

She felt Kenshin hand moving through her hair and she lifted her face for his kiss, her eyelids fluttering down as his mouth closed on hers. He didn't break it even when he gathered her up and carried her back into the house. In their room, he placed her on the bed and climbed up beside her.

"How can you bear to look at me?" she wanted to know. "I'm as fat as a heifer."

"You're not fat. You're pregnant with our pup. Never have you looked more beautiful than you do now."

"Flatterer," she accused. "And just what do you hope to gain by your sweet words?"

His answer was a theatrical sigh of wistfulness, and she laughed for a while, then sobered suddenly, looking up seriously into his face.

"Promise you won't leave us," she said.

His face just as serious, Kenshin said, "I can't make a promise I'm so uncertain I can keep, Beloved. But I can promise you I will stay with you for as long as I can."

As Kaoru's time drew near, Miki and Nara began dropping by almost nightly. Nara clucked and cooed over Kaoru, insisting the girl rest while she prepared their meals and washed and dried the dishes.

Kenshin was only slightly put-off by their intrusion since she had a cheerful disposition and it was obvious that Kaoru enjoyed the elder woman's company. Miki was steady and reliable. He didn't say much, and Kenshin thought that was a blessing, since his wife was rarely quiet. The two men often went outside, leaving the women to chatter about babies and recipes and the outrageous price of yard goods.

Miki introduced Kenshin to the game of Go and the two of them spent many an evening hunched over the game board, hardly saying a word as they tried to out-maneuver each other.

It was on one such night when they were playing this game that Kaoru's water broke.

Nara helped Kaoru change out of her kimono into a clean yukata, got her settled into bed, and then went outside to inform Kenshin that he was about to become a father. Miki was instructed to go into town for the doctor, and Kenshin was directed into the bedroom to sit with his wife while Nara rounded up the items the doctor would need when he arrived.

Kaoru smiled at Kenshin as he came to her. "You don't look so good," she remarked.

"I've never been this close to being a father before," he said with a wry grin. "Are you in pain?"

"No," she answered, and then gasped as a contraction caught her unawares.

Kenshin watched helplessly as she endured it briefly, knowing they would only get worse before the child was born--knowing there was nothing he could do to help. Indeed, he felt hopelessly out of place in this room. Drake men didn't participate in childbirth; usually chased far away by the women until after it was over. But Kaoru was reaching out for him. He moved quickly to her side, taking her hand in both of his. She sucked in a deep breath, her hand grasping his, as another pain knifed through her.

"Kaoru," he murmured, his voice filled with anguish.

"I'm all right," she tried to assure him when in passed.

Kenshin nodded, his expression doubtful.

Nara bustled into the room carrying a bowl of water and a clean cloth, which she placed on the table beside the bed. Helping Kaoru to sit up, she braided the girl's hair to keep it out of the way.

"How long does it usually take?" Kaoru asked.

"There's no way to tell with the first baby. The first ones usually take their time, but you never know." Nara glanced at Kenshin's worried face and patted his arm reassuringly. "Don't fret. She'll be fine."

Kenshin nodded, but during the next two hours he began to doubt that Nara knew what she was talking about. Kaoru's pains came harder and faster, and he was amazed at her strength as she endured one pain after another. She clung to his hands, often surprising him with their crushing pressure as their child struggled to be born.

It was nearly midnight when Miki arrived with the doctor. Ataru was with them.

"What took you so long?" Nara scolded her husband as the doctor examined Kaoru. "You've been gone for hours!"

"There was an emergency at the jail. Prisoner got shot trying to escape. Doc worked on him for a long time, but the man died anyway."

"What's he doing here?" Nara wanted to know, nodding in Ataru's direction.

"I don't know. He was at the jail, and he insisted on coming along."

"There's trouble brewing," she predicted.

Miki nodded. The tension between the Wild Boy and the lawman was thick and suffocating.

Miki and Nara went into the kitchen to make tea, leaving Kenshin and Ataru alone. The lawman waited until they had both quite vanished before he swiftly drew his gun and leveled it at Kenshin.

"Put your hands behind your back," he ordered gruffly.

Kenshin didn't move, his furious eyes daring the man to pull the trigger.

Ataru cocked the gun. "Do as I say, or the kid's not going to have a father."

Kenshin reined in his temper slowly, swearing softly under his breath. It would cause Kaoru too much stress if she knew there was anything amiss. And at a time like this, stress could kill. He couldn't take the chance, not now.

A muscle worked in his jaw as he slowly obeyed the lawman's instructions, his body going rigid when he felt the cold handcuffs locking around his wrists, and then the sword sliding away from his side.

"Well," Nara said as she pushed her way through the kitchen door. "It should be too much longer. I…" He voice trailed off as she saw the gun in Ataru's hand.

"What the hell's going on here?" Miki demanded.

"The Wild Boy is wanted by the law," Ataru said curtly.

"Wanted?" Nara snapped. "For what, I'd like to know?"

"Murder."

There was a short, surprised silence.

"Who'd he kill?" The question was asked by Miki.

"One of the road bosses."

"Oh, yeah," Miki murmured. "I remembering hearing some talk that it had been a Wild Boy."

Kenshin turned around, his eyes moving from Nara's face to her husband's. These people had been friends to him and Kaoru. Had that changed, now that they knew he had killed a man? He was surprised to find out that he cared what they thought, that he had come to value their friendship, their opinion of him.

A heavy silence hung over the room, and then, sounding as soft and sweet as the song of a lark on the first day of spring, came the first, lilting cry of a newborn child.

Kenshin swung toward the sound, his heart lifting with anticipation. At last, his child was here.

Nara rushed toward the door and opened it so that the new father might see his wife and child. Kenshin flashed her a grateful smile, and then he hurried into the room, all else forgotten as he looked on Kaoru and the blanket-wrapped bundle cradled in her arms.

"Here now," the doctor admonished. "I'm not finished in here yet."

But Kenshin ignored him, going to the bed, he dropped to one knee, smiling at his woman. Her face was pale and damp with sweat, but her smile was radiant.

"It's a boy!" she said, proud that she had been right all along, and she drew back the blanket from the child's face so Kenshin's could see.

Tiny fists flailed in the air, and Kenshin could see red down covering his head, so similar to his own, except maybe a touch darker. "Oh, Kaoru," he murmured in awe, his voice thick with emotion.

"Isn't he beautiful? Perhaps he'll have a sister next year."

"Perhaps."

"Would you like to hold him?" Kaoru asked, looking at him strangely, wondering why he hadn't touched his son.

"Kaoru…"

"What is it?" she said, alarmed by the grave tone of his voice. She looked at him intently, and then she noticed his arms were drawn behind his back.

"Ataru is here."

Kaoru drew in a deep breath, tears of anger prickling in her eyes. Her child wasn't even an hour old and already Ataru had come to take his father away.

"Don't cry," Kenshin begged softly. "I can't bear your tears."

Kaoru nodded, then groaned as the doctor expelled the afterbirth. Kenshin rocked back on his heels, his eyes intent on Kaoru's face as the doctor finished cleaning her up.

After assuring the couple that everything was fine, he took up his satchel and left the room. A moment later, Nara peeked in.

"Come in," Kaoru invited her.

"Shall I take the baby?" she asked. "He needs a bit of a bath, and I think you two might like to be alone."

"Yes," Kaoru said, handing her son to the woman. "Thank you."

When they were alone, Kenshin sat on the edge of the bed and Kaoru put her arms around him, holding him as tight as she could. Kenshin nuzzled the top of her head, then let his lips trail over her forehead and nose to her mouth.

Nara washed the baby quickly and efficiently, then dressed him in a clean sacque and laid him in the cradle his father had made for him. Then, squaring her shoulders, she marched to where Ataru still waited to confront him.

"It's shameful," she declared, "arresting a man the day his child is born! What can you be thinking of?"

Ataru took a step back, feeling like a rooster being attacked by a banty hen. "He's a wanted man," he said defensively. "I'm only doing my job, and doing it the best way I know how. Any other time, and there would have been bloodshed, his or mine, and I didn't want that to happen if I could prevent it."

"The law, the law! There's more to life than the law. That man needs to hold his wife in his arms, and she needs to be held. And he needs to hold his son as well. You ought to be ashamed of yourself."

Ataru looked over Nara's head to her husband for help.

Miki shrugged elaborately. "She does carry one sometimes," he admitted. "But this time she's right."

Ataru felt his anger rise. "You two are almighty interested in what's right and what's wrong. What about Kamishi's rights? That Wild Boy killed him. Killed him in cold blood, so far as I know. The fact that his…his wife just had a baby doesn't change that."

Miki and Nara exchanged glances. Ataru was right, of course. A man had been killed and his murderer had been apprehended. If it hadn't been for their love for Kaoru and their affection for Kenshin, they would have been incensed to think that a known criminal was running loose in their midst.

"I'd best go look in on Kaoru," Nara said. "She's likely tired. Maybe a little hungry."

"I'll go with you," Ataru said.

Kenshin stood up as they entered the room. Kaoru had fallen asleep, and Nara clucked softly as she saw the dark shadows under the girl's eyes, the tear stains on her cheeks.

"Poor child," the woman murmured. "She's done in."

Ataru grunted softly. Then he drew his gun and waved it in Kenshin's direction. "Get over here," he ordered. "Sit down with your back to the bed."

Kenshin did as bidden and Ataru unlocked one of Kenshin's wrists and quickly secured Kenshin's right hand to the brass bed frame.

"That should hold you for the night," he mused, holstering his gun again." He turned to Nara. "We'll be leaving at first light."

"Leaving?" she echoed. "Who's going to look after Kaoru and the baby while you're gone?"

"W-well, I assumed you'd be here."

Nara shook her head. Perhaps if Ataru thought Kaoru would be all alone, he would stay for a few days, and that would give Kenshin and Kaoru more time together. "We have to get back to town. We have a business to run, you know." She looked over her shoulder at her husband, who was standing in the doorway. "In fact, we'd best be getting on home. It's late, and we have to open the store first thing in the morning. Goodnight, Ataru-san, Kenshin. We'll be by to look in on Kaoru in a couple of days."

Ataru swore softly as the older couple left the house. He had intended to head right out for Seiyo in the morning, but now he'd have to hang around here until Kaoru was on her feet again. He scowled at Kenshin. How long does it take for a woman to recover from childbirth? he wondered irritably.

Growling, he flopped down on the floor by the door and settled back to try and get some sleep.

The sound of a baby crying roused Kaoru from her deep sleep. Frowning, she snuggled deeper into her blankets, wondering what a baby was doing in the house, and then her eyes flew open. It was her baby, of course, hers and Kenshin's.

She sat up as Ataru hurried into the room with the little boy held awkwardly, his face wearing a look bordering on fear.

"Here," he said, thrusting the baby into her arms. "I think he's hungry."

"Yes," Kaoru agreed. She looked past Ataru to the foot of the bed where Kenshin sat, glowering at the lawman. "Would you mind leaving the room while I…feed my son?"

Ataru blushed. "No, of course not," he said quickly. "I'll go out and look after your stock."

When they were alone again, Kenshin stood up, stretched, and then sat on the foot of the bed. Kaoru slid from under her blankets and joined him there, and they spent a moment admiring their son before she said, in a very low whisper, "Where is your sword?"

"Ataru has been busy while you were sleeping," Kenshin murmured back. "My sword, every knife in the house, even the fireplace implements, he's taken them all away." He smiled slightly. "I'm beginning to get the idea that he doesn't want me to escape, my love."

"So…you can't get free?"

Kenshin tested the handcuffs securing him to the bed. His wrists were thin, but the restraining device had conformed to the size of it. Dislocating his thumb wouldn't help matters; the cuffs were still too enclosed to allow him to wriggle his hand out of it. He would have to find another way. "Not right now, no. I just have to bide my time."

There was a little time of silence, and Kenshin felt a lump rise in his throat as he watched Kaoru nurse their child. Surely he had never seen anything more lovely. Kaoru had never looked more beautiful. And the child--he was a study in perfection from the top of his rusty head to the soles of his tiny, pink feet. Kenshin reached out to stroke a chubby little hand and the baby's tiny fingers curled around his much larger finger, holding tight.

When he looked back at Kaoru, he found her studying his face intently. "You're not going to Seiyo," she said firmly. "You're staying here with us."

Ataru cooled his heels for three days. In that time, he did the cooking, tended the stock, tried not to be jealous of the loving looks that passed between Kaoru and the Wild Boy. Kaoru looked positively adorable as she held her son, whose name, it seemed, was to be Kenji, cooing to him, softly stroking his cheeks, rocking him to sleep. He felt a twinge of guilt at the thought of taking away the man she loved, that he was depriving a boy of his father, but I wasn't his fault the Wild Boy was a murderer. A man committed a crime, he had to pay the price. That was the way of it.

He was a little surprised at Kaoru, though. He had expected her to beg him not to take Kenshin back to Seiyo. He had thought she might even resort to tears, but she never mentioned their imminent leave-taking, and he was grateful for that. It proved she was resigned to the inevitable, that she had accepted it. She was unfailingly kind and polite, apparently harboring no ill will, and he was grateful for that, too, because he hadn't given up hope that she would be his once the Wild Boy was out of the way.

Kaoru recovered quickly, and on the morning of the fifth day after Kenji had been born, Ataru informed her that he would be leaving that afternoon.

"So soon?" she said.

"I'm afraid so. Is there anything that needs doing before I leave? I think you've got enough wood to last a couple of months."

"Thank you, Ataru. You've been very kind."

Her words cut into his heart. Kind indeed, he thought guiltily.

"I'll go out and feed the stock and make sure everything's in good shape," he said, not meeting her eyes. "Would you mind packing us a lunch?"

"Of course not."

"Thanks."

Kaoru prepared a huge lunch, mostly leftovers from Ataru's own cooking since she would have to admit it was still better than anything she might make, and then went to sit with Kenshin. He pulled her close, burying his face in her hair as always.

They sat quietly close for an hour, not saying a word. It was enough that they were together. Later, Kenshin watched her nurse their son again, and then she set Kenji in her husband's free arm, listened as Kenshin murmured little nonsense things to the boy.

Too soon, Ataru came to get him. Kaoru held on a moment longer, showering kisses on his face not unlike the way he had done to her when she had freed him from the jail in Seiyo.

"Forever," she said to him as she pressed one last kiss to his lips.

"Forever," he promised back, ignoring the ever-steady gun in Ataru's hands.

But finally, Kaoru found herself standing on the porch, alone, watching Ataru and a well-trussed Kenshin ride away.

She watched them until they were out of sight, and then she turned and went into the house. Moving quickly, she gathered up a sack of food and set it aside. Going into the bedroom, she packed her child's diapers and clothing, a change of clothing for herself, as well as a hairbrush and few other items. Laying Kenji in his cradle, she went out to the barn and saddled her horse, then turned the stock loose.

Back at the house, she whisked about, making certain everything was locked up. She washed the breakfast dishes, made the bed, took up her provisions in one hand and the baby in the other, and left the house, carefully locking the door behind her. Ataru might think he was taking Kenshin away from her without a fight, but he had another think coming!

It was near dusk when she came up on the lawman's night camp. Kenshin was handcuffed to a tree and Ataru was preparing supper when she rode up.

"Got room for one more?" she asked.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Ataru exclaimed.

"I'm going to Seiyo."

Ataru stared at Kaoru, at a loss for words. He glanced at his prisoner, and saw that the Wild Boy was grinning openly. "Do you have anything to do with this?" he demanded.

Still grinning, and his eyes still on Kaoru, Kenshin said, "If she does anything, it's all her own idea."

"Well, Ataru-san?" Kaoru said. "Are you going to stand there staring all night, or are you going to help me down?"

"What? Oh." Ataru moved forward, muttering under his breath about women being more unpredictable than flash floods and summer storms.

The baby was asleep and Kaoru placed him beside Kenshin, then went to the fire and began seeing to what was left of preparing the food. It had advanced far enough that she thought she could see to it without ruining it too badly…

Ataru watched helplessly, and then he sat down on his saddle, his chin cupped in the palms of his hands, elbows resting on his knees.

Kaoru chatted amiably through dinner, her conversation including both men. Kenshin, still looking slightly amused, said little and Ataru said even less. Kaoru didn't seem like she noticed.

After dinner, Kaoru washed the dishes for them, fed Kenji, then sat beside the fire, inviting Ataru to join her.

"All right," Ataru said, letting out a long breath. "What's this all about?"

"I want you to let Kenshin go free."

Ataru gawked at her a moment. "I can't do that. He's wanted by the law for killing a man."

"It was self-defense," Kaoru said.

"Not the way I heard it."

"And what did you hear?"

"I read the report Kamishi's partner filed. It said the Wild Boy escaped and bashed Kamishi's brains in."

"It wasn't like that. Kamishi had shot Kenshin and would have finished him off. There was a struggle and Kenshin killed him in self-defense."

Ataru snorted. "Is that what he told you?"

"Yes, and I believe him."

He shrugged. "I guess you can believe anything you want, but it doesn't change anything."

"You don't believe it was self-defense," Kaoru snapped, "and neither will anyone else."

"He'll get a trial."

"Sure," Kaoru said. "And who'll be sitting on that jury? A dozen New People who think just like you do."

"Damn it, Kaoru, I don't make the laws!"

"Isn't there anything I can do to change your mind?"

"No, so you might as well go on back home in the morning."

"Oh, no, no. You're very stubborn about upholding the law. You only see the black and the white. Very well, then, Ataru-san, then I insist you arrest me for helping Kenshin escape from jail."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"I'm perfectly serious. And if you won't arrest me, then I'll turn myself in when we get to Seiyo."

Ataru swore under his breath. Women! He raked his fingers through his hair, then scowled at her. Was she serious? Would she really turn herself in?

"Fine, do it then," he said, calling her bluff. "But if they arrest you, they'll take your baby and put him in an orphanage. Is that what you want?"

"No one has to tell me what an orphanage is, Ataru-san, and I can tell you I don't want my son in one. What I want is for you to let Kenshin go. He saved your life, you know. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"Of course it does, and I'm grateful. But I can't compromise the law. I swore to uphold it. I took an oath."

"Then I'm under arrest too!"

Ataru let out a long sigh. What we he going to do with her?

Before he had quite made up his mind, an arrow swished through the air and ploughed into a deep furrow near his foot. Another flew to land in the tree just above Kenshin's head.

Ataru swore as he pushed Kaoru too the ground. Snatching his gun, he fired into the direction they had come, and felt a third arrow nick his left arm.

There was a wild, howling cry.

Kenshin made a soft noise, something between a laugh and a sigh. "Kaoru, my love, it looks like your plan to end this without bloodshed might not come to be."

"Throw down your weapons, Enemies, or you will all die," a voice called from the darkness.

"I'm afraid there is only one Enemy here, Brothers, but he is also the only one with a weapon," Kenshin called back.

"Shut up!" Ataru hissed.

"Brother?" the same voice said in surprise. "Sing out your face-name," he demanded.

"Kenshin."

"Kenshin! Truly? What are you doing with an Enemy?"

"I'm his prisoner. My wife and son also."

"Shut up!" Ataru warned. "Or I'll kill you now!"

"That wouldn't be wise," Kenshin said. "Brothers of Dragons don't look fondly on one who kills one of their own."

"Perhaps you should surrender," Kaoru suggested.

"Surrender!" Ataru exclaimed. "Are you crazy? Besides, there can't be very many of them, or they'd rush us."

There was a movement in the underbrush, the sharp twang of an arrow being loosed, and a high-pitched yelp as the shaft found its mark in Ataru's right shoulder. His gun fell from a hand gone numb, and before he could retrieve it, he was surrounded by three Wild Boys.

Two of them jerked the lawman to his feet and bound his hands behind his back while the third unlocked the cuffs and freed Kenshin.

No one was paying attention to Kaoru, and she hurried to her son, picked him up. He made a sleepy sound against her, his thumb in his mouth.

Kenshin and the warriors were talking rapidly among themselves. After a short while, the three other dragoners sat down and began rummaging through Ataru's packs for something to eat.

Kaoru came to stand beside her husband. "Who are they?"

"Renegades," Kenshin said, sounding terribly sad. "They abandoned the hills with a lot of younglings and pups because they feel it's getting harder than its worth to defend the land. They tell me a lot of dragons are moving toward the Shining Mountains again in hopes defense will come more easily there." Kenshin looked at Ataru, who was squatting on the ground. His right shirt sleeve was soaked with blood, and his face was pale. A fine layer of sweat sheened his brow.

Kaoru followed his gaze. "What now?"

"Nothing."

"What about Ataru?"

"They mean to kill him, a little at a time."

"Why?"

"He killed one of them when he fired into the brush."

"But that was self-defense. Doesn't that mean anything to anyone?"

Kenshin sighed through his nose, closing his eyes against the layers of frustration that had seemed to come down upon him. "These warriors are renegades now, Kaoru. They have no families, and the hills are being abandoned and there's not much there to go back to. They're angry and confused and they feel the need to shed blood. This is a terrible thing, Kaoru. Their minds are twisted by the constant fighting and hiding and hating. It's just like…"

Just like the young drakes that wanted to go raiding and attack a stagecoach.

Kaoru laid a hand on his arm. "You can't let them kill Ataru," she said urgently. "You have to stop them, Kenshin."

Kenshin opened his eyes and looked at Kaoru, his eyes glittering fiercely. "You must not interfere, Kaoru. No matter what happens this night, you must not interfere. The blood lust is as strong with these boys as it has ever been with any dragon. I don't know how much honor they even have left."

Kaoru held Kenji closer as a cold chill crept down her spine. She realized suddenly what Kenshin was trying to tell her. These Wild Boys had nothing to lose and nowhere to go. Kaoru had been unable to find where Ataru had hidden Kenshin's weapon before she had left the house to go after them, and without a sword, Kenshin didn't have much of a chance if they turned on him, and they were desperate and angry enough to do so if he crossed them. Then there would be no one to protect her and the baby.

It was going to be a very long night.