Believe it or not, I actually had this chapter finished several days ago. Then I was doing my pre-post read-through, and decided that I didn't really like it, so it underwent major overhaul for the next few days. I find it a little rough in places still but I'm tired of working on it, so it's up. Sorry for the wait, but I promise this is better than what I originally had!
A persistent rapping jerked Hiko from his slumber. His head shot up so quickly that his neck twinged, and he put a hand to it, cursing. Had he really been so fast asleep that he'd been unaware of someone approaching? At least he wasn't immune to sound. Unlike his deshi, who despite Hiko's abrupt movements was still sleeping soundly.
Hiko frowned. That wouldn't do. Of course the boy was wounded but unless he was unconscious−and he wasn't−there was no excuse for being completely oblivious to everything that went on around you. Hiko would have to drill him more on that when they returned home. A few extra buckets of cold water over the head ought to do the trick.
The rapping came again and this time a voice followed it. "This is doctor Hattori!"
Hiko pushed Kenshin off of him−still asleep−and made his way to the door, sliding it open and plastering a glare on his face. One could never tell how assertive they'd need to be and Hiko found it better to start overly so than to appear passive. "You're the doctor?" The man in front of him was taller than he'd expected, almost Hiko's height. He was fairly young, with no grey silvering his short, dark hair.
"Yes, doctor Hattori." Hattori shrugged his shoulders against the straps that held his medical box to his back. "I came as fast I could, I was told this was urgent."
Hiko stepped back and nodded in the direction of the bedroom. "Follow me." The doctor obliged, eyes going automatically to where Kenshin lay as soon as he entered the room. Hiko watched him closely, ready to gauge the man's reactions. Hattori's eyes widened and his mouth parted slightly when he caught sight of Kenshin's back. To his credit though, Hiko noticed that his ki remained steady.
"I take it this is my patient." Hattori moved swiftly across the room and slipped the travel box from his shoulders. "Is he unconscious or just asleep?"
As if on cue Kenshin's eyes cracked open, bright with fever. "Sh'shou?" His questioning tone was lined with worry.
"This is doctor Hattori, Kenshin," Hiko explained, standing behind the doctor with his arms folded.
"Oh." Kenshin's eyes fell closed again but the doctor laid a hand on his head.
"Kenshin-kun, I need you to stay awake for me. Tell me about your injuries, please, anything that hurts." He glanced behind at Hiko. "Unless you know and want to save him some breath."
"I know he was flayed within an inch of his life, and his right arm is hurt as well."
"I'll just look him over then, we can go from there. If you can sit up for me," The doctor helped Kenshin raise himself, and although his eyebrows lifted at the liberal amounts of dried blood splattered across the boy he said nothing. Hattori began moving his hands gently across Kenshin's abdomen and Kenshin sat listlessly, eyes lidded. The doctor nodded with satisfaction. "It doesn't feel as though there's internal damage." He took a long hollow tube from one of the many drawers in his box and Hiko watched as Hattori placed one end of the device to his ear and the other on Kenshin's chest. Then the doctor stared blankly into space.
"Do you expect his body to start talking to you?" Hiko couldn't conceal his sarcasm.
"Actually, yes," Hattori said after a second. "This amplifies the rhythm of his heart. Over here," He moved the tube to Kenshin's side, "I can hear if his lungs have been punctured or have fluid in them."
"Interesting." Hiko said grudgingly, more than a little annoyed that his barb had been so matter-of-factly dismissed. He waited a moment more, then asked impatiently, "Well?"
"He feels and sounds fine on the inside, so that's one less thing to worry about." Hattori said as he put his equipment away. "So," He sat cross-legged in front of Kenshin, eyes going over the boy's body. "Tell me what hurts."
Kenshin seemed more alert now, and he shot a glance at Hiko that the swordsman found indecipherable.
"You heard him, answer." Hiko bit back the "baka deshi" that he so badly wanted to add. Maybe now wasn't the best time for that.
"Well . . . everywhere?" Kenshin said uncertainly.
The doctor chuckled. "Maybe I should rephrase that. Are you in pain anywhere besides your right arm and your back?"
"Yes. My tongue is sore." Kenshin stuck his tongue out for inspection, and Hiko felt his breath hitch when he saw the jagged half circle there. It looked like . . .
"Did you fall and bite it?" Hattori asked, frowning. "This is a pretty nasty cut."
Hiko watched Kenshin carefully, studying his deshi's reaction. Kenshin looked like a trapped animal, eyes going wide and flicking from side to side as his gaze dropped to the floor. "I . . . yes. I fell." Liar. Hiko thought. He wouldn't have imagined Kenshin the type to do it, but he was almost certain his deshi had tried to bite through his own tongue. It worried him that Kenshin would have even thought to resort to such measures and Hiko decided he would ask about it later.
"It appears to be healing okay but you should keep an eye on it, in case it should get infected. Wash your mouth out every time you eat and try to eat soft foods." Hattori pulled a roll of cloth from his supplies and his tone became more conversational. "So, what do you do when you're not getting beat up?"
Kenshin looked furtively at Hiko and Hiko glared back in exasperation. What the hell did the boy think he was going to say?
"I'm training." Kenshin said shortly.
"Tell me about it." Hattori said cheerfully, taking hold of Kenshin's right arm at the elbow.
"Don't!" Kenshin jerked his arm back, glaring at the doctor. Hattori simply reached for it again.
"I know it hurts but I need to look at your wrist and shoulder. It'll only take a minute. Go ahead and tell me about your training."
Trying to be as vague as possible, Kenshin haltingly began explaining what training consisted of, stopping to gasp and wince as first his wrist, then his shoulder, was examined.
"You're lucky," Hattori said as Kenshin mumbled something about waterfalls and swimming. "Only a sprained wrist, and even though your shoulder was certainly dislocated, it's at least back in place now. However," He held up the roll of cloth he'd retrieved earlier, "You'll need to wear a sling for a good month, so that your shoulder can heal properly."
Kenshin's face was one of utter devastation and he hugged his arm to his side unconsciously. "But−I can't! I can't train like that! Shishou, tell him-"
"You can, and you will." Hiko interrupted. "There's nothing wrong with a little bit of left-handed training. Besides," He grinned, "it'll be a very realistic chance to learn how to fight wounded." Kenshin responded with a shudder that Hiko passed off as a fever chill.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Hattori looking at him with an appalled expression. "It really would be a good idea to go easy on training while he's healing."
Hiko waved the admonishment away. "Healing is your forte, doctor, and kenjutsu is mine. Relax, I'm not going to ruin your hard work." Hiko already had several ideas for some new training exercises, all featuring the left hand. No doubt they'd make his deshi temporarily miserable, but he'd be thankful after the fact.
"Is something wrong?" Hattori's worried voice broke into Hiko's scheming. Putting training ideas aside, Hiko brought his attention back to Kenshin. He was hunched over on the futon, looking queasy. He raised his head though at Hattori's query.
"No. I'm okay."
His deshi was quite glib with the lies today, Hiko thought to himself. Too bad he was a horrible liar.
"I'd like to clean your cuts and put some ointment on your back before I go then." Hattori said, laying aside the cloth he'd indicated would be Kenshin's sling. "Infection can quickly turn deadly with so many open wounds." He turned to Hiko. "I'll attend to his back afterwards, but the boy needs a bath. He's filthy."
"There's a furo in the back, I'll go heat it." Hiko offered.
"I'll help Kenshin-kun." Hattori held a hand out to Kenshin but to Hiko's amusement his deshi ignored it and pushed himself to his feet. No doubt he didn't want to appear that weak in front of his master. Admirable, even if it was somewhat stupid.
Hiko left Kenshin in the doctor's capable hands and strode to the bathhouse. There was already water in the furo−Naosuke must have been thinking ahead and put his guard on the job−so Hiko set to starting a fire, and had it blazing in no time. To his annoyance though, Kenshin wasn't near as swift getting to his destination. Hiko watched as his deshi shuffled out the door, his pace so agonizingly slow that a baby learning to walk could have kept up. Even at that speed Kenshin's balance was horrible, and he almost fell against Hattori several times. He managed to arrive at the bathhouse just as Hiko was thinking he might have to use the entire supply of wood stacked outside, and Hiko raised a silent prayer of thanks to the heavens.
There was a small well just outside the bathhouse and Hattori stopped there, helping Kenshin pour several buckets of water over his arms and chest as Kenshin couldn't very well lift a full bucket with one hand. It took several douses before the water cascading off of him was no longer tinged with blood.
"That will have to do for now." Hattori said as Kenshin rubbed at one last stubborn speck on his leg. "Look down for me now, you should have your hair washed as well."
"I can do it myself." Kenshin said hastily and Hiko wondered why he sounded so adamant. Maybe he thought Hattori was going to end up drenching his back. Or maybe he thought it too demeaning.
Hattori just smiled agreeably and handed Kenshin the soap. Hiko sighed to himself. This was taking much longer than it needed to. He began observing his surroundings, deciding he might as well make good use of the time.
A couple of small houses were in the immediate vicinity, and the way they were centered on Naosuke's house had Hiko assuming these were the guards' quarters, and probably the serving girl's as well. Naosuke was used to being well taken care of, then. No surprise there; he was the tairou, after all.
Bright green spring grass was everywhere but it was so short and sparse that Hiko suspected come summer, with the heat beating down on it and people trampling over it, dirt would take its place. The rest of the landscape surrounding the dwellings was mostly flat and cleared of large patches of forest. There were still a good number of trees, including several groves of sakura which were on the verge of blooming. A few places then that might be good for an ambush, but nothing overwhelmingly amazing. In the distance though, perhaps a scant half mile behind the castle, carpets of green rose above the rooftops and spread in either direction. That, then, was the place to keep an eye on.
Mind still preoccupied, Hiko glanced over absently to see how Kenshin was progressing. His mouth twitched upwards, caught off guard at Kenshin's appearance. Half of the red-head's hair was plastered to his face and the other half was covered in suds and sticking out every which way. His deshi looked downright ridiculous right now. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more ridiculous he looked. The twitch in Hiko's lips promptly turned into full-blown laughter. Kenshin turned to look at him, startled, and that only caused Hiko to laugh harder.
"I think−you missed a spot or two." He gasped out, before laughter overtook him again.
Kenshin just glared and continued to stiffly scrub his hair, as if Hiko's merriment might end sooner if it was ignored.
The laughter died down to a chuckle and Hiko cleared his throat. "I don't suppose you want help with that?" He asked, eyes still mirthful.
"No." Kenshin replied venomously.
"Your arm is hardly moving, baka, you're just spreading soap on the top of your head."
"I don't care." He sounded less spiteful though.
Hell with it, Hiko thought. This was going to take forever if he didn't jump in, and he for one wanted some more sleep, and soon.
"Shishou, what're you doing?" Kenshin squawked as Hiko's hand shoved his away.
"What does it look like?" Hiko was scrubbing at Kenshin's head with far more vigor than the boy had exhibited.
"I said I didn't−Ow, shishou!" Kenshin tried to twist his head, no doubt to throw a reproving glare at his teacher, but Hiko held it straight.
"Keep still. I'm not trying to give you a massage, I'm trying to make sure this awful smell you're steeped in is gone."
"You're gonna make me go bald." Kenshin muttered.
Hiko tugged a clump of hair in response. "Not yet though." His deshi was silent after that, and even though Hiko knew he couldn't possibly have been hurting him he scrubbed a little softer.
"You know," Hiko said as he finished up, "if you'd just landed correctly you'd be able to wash your own hair right now." He felt Kenshin start.
"How did-" Kenshin stopped himself, voice turning belligerent. "Well I didn't ask you to help anyway." Apparently he hadn't expected his own teacher would be able to figure out how he'd hurt his arm.
"I didn't think he'd told us how that happened." Hattori murmured, apparently thinking the same thing.
"Like I said, kenjutsu is my forte." Hiko didn't disguise the arrogance in his tone. "Someone meaning harm doesn't just sprain a wrist. If someone had given that injury to him, his wrist would be broken. All of this," He indicated Kenshin's arm, "is because he fell and landed badly." Hiko knew Kenshin was probably praying that he wouldn't be asked to respond but Hiko wasn't about to be so lenient. His deshi was going to have to admit to his mistake aloud. It would make him think more next time. "Am I right, Kenshin?"
He could sense the boy fuming inwardly−he was certainly taking his time answering− but Kenshin finally grunted something that sounded like "yes."
Hattori seemed duly impressed and Hiko gave himself another notch on the metaphorical stick in his mind. It took a damned good teacher−a damned observant teacher−to decipher exactly how their student had messed up without being told.
Satisfied that Kenshin was free of blood and grime at last, Hattori directed him towards the bathhouse. Kenshin carefully kept his head lowered to prevent any water dripping onto his back.
"Kenshin-kun," Hattori spoke as the trio squeezed into the bathhouse, "I just need you to sit on the edge so I can clean your back."
Despite the fact that he was already scantily clad, Kenshin stubbornly refused to remove the remains of his tattered clothing until Hattori and Hiko were facing away from him. Hiko could hear him fumbling with the shreds of his hakama for what seemed an interminably long time. Finally, there was the soft splash of water and Hiko felt several stray droplets soak into his pants' leg.
"Okay." Kenshin said.
Hiko turned to see his deshi situated on the edge of the furo with a washcloth across his lap, his legs dangling into the tub. Goosebumps covered his arms and he was shivering slightly.
A chill from washing in the cool weather? Or is his fever worsening? Hiko frowned to himself. Neither was good.
"I'm not getting in." Kenshin declared, catching sight of his teacher's frown and mistaking it for disapproval.
"You don't need to," Hattori assured him, "just sit there." The doctor picked up another washcloth and dipped it into the water. Hiko just leaned against a wall.
"I can wash myself." Kenshin said hastily.
Hattori gave him an amused smile. "I'm only going to take care of your back. Just sit still for me and relax." Hiko was positive that wasn't going to happen but he'd let Hattori see for himself.
As he sat there observing, Hiko suddenly became aware of a horrible smell permeating the tiny room, a mix of old blood and who knew what else. What in kami's name-? He was pretty sure he'd scrubbed any lingering odors from Kenshin's hair. Hiko glanced to where he thought the stench was coming from and his eyes lit on the remains of Kenshin's hakama. Hiko cracked the door and kicked the hakama outside with a disdainful nudge from his boot.
An echo of the smell lingered but Hiko's attention was soon drawn away from it as Hattori lifted the wet cloth to Kenshin's back. The doctor had hardly touched him before Kenshin was falling forward bonelessly. Hiko moved into action−no way the doctor was going to be quick enough−jumping forward and flinging an arm across Kenshin's chest to grab his good shoulder and push him back just as his bangs brushed against the water. Kenshin's head lolled for a second, then he blinked as water dripped into his eyes.
"I'm sorry." His voice was shaky and Hiko kept a hand on his shoulder.
"It's okay," Hattori assured him. "Why don't we do this instead. You finish washing and afterwards you can go inside and lay down, and I'll take care of your back."
"Can you go out until I'm done?" Kenshin asked, looking from Hattori to Hiko with pleading eyes.
"What, so you can drown yourself?" Hiko scoffed. He supposed a little modesty could go a long way though, so he released Kenshin's shoulder and turned around in a compromise. "No one's watching you, hurry up." Since Kenshin wasn't really soaking, the bath didn't take long, and soon enough there was the drip of water on the floor.
"I'm done. But Shishou," The words were so forlorn that if Hiko hadn't known better he would've thought Kenshin's favorite pet had just died.
"What?" Hiko turned to find Kenshin with a bathing yukata wrapped around his waist, looking around the tiny bathhouse with a lost expression on his face. Don't tell me he's got amnesia now, Hiko thought sourly. "What is it, Kenshin?"
Kenshin looked at him piteously. "I don't have any clothes."
Well. He hadn't expected that. Kenshin didn't have any clothes, and child-sized garments certainly hadn't been on Hiko's "to bring" list when he'd left for Edo.
As Hiko stared blankly at his distraught deshi, Hattori raised a finger. "The man who came for me mentioned that Kenshin-kun might need clothes." He pulled open the largest drawer in his medicine chest. "I took what I could and luckily my youngest son is about your size." He shook out a pair of gray knee-length pants, followed by a light-weight dark green shirt. "He's outgrown these, but I think they should fit you."
The look of relief on Kenshin's face was comical. "Thank you, Hattori-sensei." He held his hands out for the clothes but Hattori only handed him the pants.
"I need to take care of your back before you put this on," He waved the shirt. "Let's see if we can't finish up now. Hiko-san, I'll leave the furo to you and we'll get started." Hattori dipped a bucket into the furo, adding, "If you could bring some more water with you when you're done."
The casual manner with which Hattori delegated him to clean up left Hiko speechless. By the time he'd thought to open his mouth and retort, Hattori was already halfway back to the house with Kenshin trailing beside him. Muttering complaints about doctors who thought they were too good to perform a few simple chores, Hiko went about emptying the furo and sweeping the excess water into the drain before going to smother the fire. It didn't really take that long, and he grabbed the bucket of water he'd put aside and stalked back to the house as soon as he finished.
"He's passed out." Hattori answered the unspoken question in Hiko's eyes as the swordsman walked into the small bedroom Hattori had commandeered. The doctor was attending to his patient with painstaking care, stopping every few seconds to pick pieces of light-colored debris from the gashes in Kenshin's back. Hiko saw that Kenshin's arm was already cradled against his chest by the sling, and he was wearing the pants that Hattori had brought. They might have been a little more billowy than was usual but they seemed to fit well enough.
"So tell me, doctor," Hiko sat the bucket of water at Hattori's side, "how long do you think he needs before traveling back to Kyoto?" Mostly Hiko wanted to provoke a shocked reaction from the doctor, but he was honestly curious as well. Kenshin's capacity to recover from scrapes and bruises was impressive but Hiko had never seen a child with wounds as severe as his deshi's. Kenshin had been damned lucky, and Hiko wasn't going to push that luck any further than he had to.
"I think you probably know that Kyoto is out of the question for a considerable time." Hattori spoke softly as he dipped his cloth into the bucket Hiko had brought. A pale red cloud blossomed in the clear water. "It's a wonder he's still alive. I wouldn't think-" Hattori stopped, as if deciding against his choice of words. "His body is fighting hard." He continued. "The fever is nothing to worry about as long as it doesn't get too high."
Hattori dabbed at a fleck of dirt on Kenshin's back and Hiko pointed as muscles in his deshi's legs started twitching.
"Can he feel it?"
"Not at all, that's just muscle spasms," Hattori spoke without looking. "It's been happening on and off for some time now, throughout his entire body. It comes from having the body's blood flow reduced for extended periods of time."
The expression of wrath that passed across Hiko's face had Hattori wishing his explanation had been more tactful. "There's no permanent damage though," He hastened to add. "His muscles will probably pain him suddenly for the next few days but it should fade away."
"It damn well better. How would he train like that?" Hiko could care less about the flicker of abhorrence he saw in Hattori's expression. Let the man think he was pitiless. Kenshin needed Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, it was why he was alive, what he poured his heart and soul into. Take that away and you took away what gave his life purpose. If it ended up his deshi's life as a swordsman was ruined because his muscles were too screwed up-
"Hiko-san,"
Hiko realized he was gripping his sword. He uncurled his fingers from the hilt and let his hand fall.
"I'm almost done here. I'm going to leave some of this ointment with you. Use it twice a day. Keep his back well-wrapped, or there will be an infection. There's already a slight reddening but as his back is clean now and it's been treated early it will hopefully not develop into anything serious. Be sure to check it every day though and rub this on it." Hattori placed a sealed jar at Hiko's side then reached into another drawer of his medicine chest and pulled out two small brown packets. "Kuko and yomogi." He indicated which was which. "The first will help keep his fever down, the second will help stave off infection. Mix them with liquid." He handed the medicine to Hiko.
"And Kyoto?" Hiko asked, taking the packets and stuffing them in his shirt.
Hattori sighed. "It's hard to say. That's a very long journey. He could be well enough to travel slowly in a couple of weeks but if he's pushed too hard-" Hiko didn't miss the accusatory glance directed at him, "he could easily regress. Seeing all he's been through, he can obviously tolerate rough treatment but there's no reason to see what his breaking point is."
"Thank you for the lecture," Hiko smirked. "Even if he is an idiot, I do try to keep my only student's well-being in mind, especially if it's a matter of life or death."
Hattori colored, realizing how his words had come across. "Please forgive me, I only meant to stress how serious his situation is. He really needs care and rest or he'll take a turn for the worst."
"I'll keep that in mind." Hiko said.
"And I'm sure you've noticed but he looks half starved. Try and get some food into him. Nothing too solid at first, his stomach probably wouldn't react well to that but at least some soup. I would say that you should let me check on him in a couple of days-"
"I'll send for you if I need you." Hiko interrupted. "It's uncertain what will be happening two days from now."
"Right . . . well. In that case, I wish your student a quick recovery, and if anything happens please send for me." Hattori rose, shouldering his medicine box. He was halfway out the door when he heard his name spoken.
"Hattori-sensei," Hiko waited for the doctor to turn, then sketched a shallow bow. "Thank you."
Surprise graced Hattori's face, but then he returned the bow. "Some thanks must go to you as well. To have a fighting spirit such as this, the boy must have a fine master indeed."
Hiko didn't consider himself a man to be bought with flattering words but he suddenly found himself regarding the doctor in a much more positive light than he had while cleaning up the bathhouse.
A fine master indeed. Situating himself against a nearby wall as the doctor left, Hiko smiled to himself. He'd have to see what Kenshin thought about that when he woke up.
Things seem to finally be moving in the right direction for our little Hiten pupil, eh? And er, I'd just like to say that despite having tortured myself with scads of unecessary bio classes in college, I'm definitely no medical doctor (although I have relatives who are, so maybe I picked up stuff from osmosis? ;) ). Therefore, I have logicked my way to Hattori's assessment/treatment of Kenshin. Although yomogi and kuko actually are plants used to treat fever/inflammation/etc. So don't be too angry if you're a real doctor. Pleeeease.
Reviewers! I love you all!
Althea M- Haha, yeah, Hiko's doing his best. I'm proud of him. And I meant to change the rating before I posted the "painful" chapters. Oops.
ZukoFlame - Glad you enjoyed it so much! Ah, Kenshin-torture, who doesn't like at least a little, right? As to the reason for the furtive glances . . . it's coming!
t42n24t - I'd like to see what Hiko thinks about being compared to a teddy bear. :) Yay for touchingly poetic! Aren't many of those moments with Kenshin and Hiko, huh?
Szahara again - Yup, Jisaemon needs to start watching his a$$. Papa Wolf's coming for the kill. Ha, I don't think Hiko could ever bring himself to address anyone as "sama." His doppelganger, maybe?