I was pretty disappointed with this chapter the entire time I was writing it, but when I read it once it was completed, I liked it better. So hopefully that "betterness" is what will be conveyed. Ah . . . next chapter might be 3 weeks off? Not due to a lack of inspiration but because I have a writing assignment and a recital over these next two weeks AND my parents are coming to visit, and all of that combined will probably kill my extra-curricular writing time. Definitely before Thanksgiving though!
I confess, I might have slacked on the proof-reading for this chapter, so yell at me if you catch anything, and I will hasten to fix it!
Hattori Genma was taking a leisurely inventory of his supplies as he listened to the rain. The sound was soothing but he was still on edge from the happenings several days earlier. He hadn't expected that simply performing his duties as a doctor would have rough-looking men coming to his door and threatening his family. It had been upsetting to say the least, and his wife was still on pins and needles. She was the reason Hattori was doing the inventory by himself tonight. Usually his oldest son helped, but Hattori had sent him out of the clinic early the last few evenings. Just in case. Therefore, he was understandably more than just startled when he heard the chime of the guest bell outside the clinic door.
Hattori paused, his heart thudding above the sound of the rain. Kouhei wouldn't have come back; even if he wanted to, his mother wouldn't allow it. It could be more unwanted visitors . . . but he'd told the thugs who had burst into his clinic everything he could −nothing, really−so he could only think of one reason they would be back.
Have they decided to kill me?
The bell rang again, twice, and this time a voice accompanied it. Hattori felt his heart slow a fraction. He was too flustered to place the voice, but it was familiar. Not exactly friendly, but there was no malice there either. And surely if men were coming to kill him they would just force their way in without regard for politeness, as they had before. In that case, there must be someone out in this horrible weather who needed assistance. Maybe some foolish merchant who had fallen and sprained his ankle in the rain.
Making one last note on the scroll he carried, Hattori rolled the paper and put it away as he walked to the door. He slid the shoji open a crack−there was still no reason not to take precautions−and felt his heartbeat resume its galloping pace when he saw the imposing figure standing outside the clinic.
"Hiko-san," He stuttered, a jolt of fear passing through him as he stood dumbly with his hand still on the shoji. Does he know . . .? A careful glance at the impassive face revealed nothing so Hattori chose to tread carefully. "What are you-" He stopped, lowering his voice and continuing in a hiss, "What are you doing out in this weather? Why have you come here?"
"Are you going to invite me in, or should I just stand here and get pneumonia?" Hiko asked mildly.
Hattori hesitated, Hiko's sarcasm lost on him. Was he about to be slaughtered in his own house? He scoffed at himself immediately. This man could kill him with far less trouble than he was going to. He wasn't here to kill the doctor.
"Excuse me, I'm just−a little on edge today. Please, come in." Hattori waved him forward, closing the shoji so hastily that he almost clipped Hiko's mantle. "You shouldn't need more medicine yet. Has something happened?"
Hiko flipped his dripping cloak aside in response, revealing Kenshin's comatose form curled in his arms.
Hattori had to choke back a cry of shock. "These wounds−they're all new. What has the boy been doing?"
"Doing as well as he could, given the circumstances." Hiko said nebulously. He looked Hattori in the eye then, getting right to the point. "He coughed up blood just a while ago."
Hattori tried not to flinch under the gaze. Hiko's delivery had been purposefully abrupt; Hattori knew Hiko was watching him, ready to judge his reaction to the information. Anyone knew coughing blood was a bad sign. What Hiko would want to know was if Hattori could do anything about it.
"It's not good," Hattori began slowly, "but it's also not necessarily deadly. He needs attention right away though. I can't promise anything but I'll do my best." Hattori began walking to the back of the clinic, beckoning Hiko to follow. "Normally my son would be here to assist me but−he's not here tonight. I'm assuming you'll be willing to assist?"
Hiko caught the slight pause, tied it to Hattori's earlier comment about being on edge. "Why isn't your son here?"
"He's−at home. In bed." Hattori stammered, covering his unease as he went through the motions of heating water and gathering supplies he might need.
"Mm. So he's being lazy." Hiko mused indifferently. Hattori missed the calculation behind the words, heard only the insult, and his eyes flashed.
"Kouhei is not lazy. We−there were some visitors a couple of days ago. My wife thought it best he stay home tonight."
Hiko's affected manner fell away and his eyes narrowed. "Visitors? Wanting what?"
Hattori motioned at a western-style bed, waiting for Hiko to lay Kenshin there before answering with a sigh. "They asked about you and your student."
The swordmaster stared at Hattori for a long minute. "And?" The word was cold, flat.
"They wanted to know how badly your student was hurt, and asked if you were still in Edo." Frigid silence met him, so Hattori continued, feeling as if his life hinged on his explanation. "I'm sorry, Hiko-san, but I can't risk the lives of my family. I told them I assumed you were still in Edo." He spoke defiantly. If the man wanted to kill him for that, let him. Hattori had done all he could to help; one could only sacrifice so much for a patient. He found himself breathing deeply when Hiko's stabbing gaze relaxed.
"Don't trouble yourself over it. They would have found out one way or the other." The sharpness in Hiko's voice had left as well, and Hattori wondered if he'd been expecting a different answer.
He put the uncomfortable moment behind him and turned his attention fully to Kenshin, looking first at the purple-red bruise on his chest. If there was any place that indicated possible internal bleeding, that was it. Hattori pressed his hands firmly against the bruise, moving across it several times to judge the condition of the bones underneath. Kenshin jerked. "He's broken a rib here," Hattori waved a hand at the bruise. "It could have chipped and nicked something inside." Hattori picked up his listening tube. "I'm going to check for that." He spent the next five minutes carefully placing the tube in varying locations across Kenshin's chest, face intent.
"There aren't any large punctures," Hattori announced at last, putting his tube aside. "But that just means there's nothing immediately serious. There could still be a fragment that might cause infection later. The blood he's coughing up is most likely from damaged blood vessels here." He pointed at Kenshin's neck, now ornamented with a dark purple ring. "It should stop within a day, two at most." He thought he saw Hiko's shoulders drop a fraction but he couldn't be sure.
"More immediately though, his fever is far too high. And he needs to get out of those wet clothes before he develops a cold."
With Hiko's help, Hattori undressed Kenshin, not hiding the urgency in his movements. It wasn't like him to increase a client's anxiety but he was certain Hiko already knew things were a breath away from becoming dire. Otherwise he wouldn't have run here with his student as injured as he was in the middle of a thunderstorm.
Hattori knew he had run. Kenshin was damp, yes, but he wasn't soaked through. Even traveling a distance shorter than the tairou's, just having a cloak over him wouldn't have been enough to shelter him from this downpour.
As he examined the rest of the young swordsman's body, Hattori marveled that the boy was still alive. Any other child would have been hard pressed to recover from the malnourishment and hideous wounds Hattori had observed the first time he'd treated Kenshin. And while Kenshin was nowhere near recovery, he was still alive. His wrist was sprained worse than before though, and his entire right arm was red and swollen. Hattori could put two and two together. The boy had been in a fight, and if his inflamed arm was any clue, he'd wielded his sword with both hands. The pain he must have been in if he'd fought like that . . .
Hattori shook his head. "His stamina is extraordinary." He addressed Hiko. "His name suits him surprisingly well."
"It's certainly more fitting than the name he started with."
"Ah." Hattori almost smiled, reading the unspoken boast. So Hiko had given his deshi a name that reflected his art. Somehow, he didn't find it surprising.
"Hiko-san, could you sit Kenshin up for me? I need to look at his back." Hiko obliged and Hattori peeled aside the layers of bandages that covered his back. After seeing the gray tint to his skin and the new injuries, Hattori was fairly certain what would meet his eyes. This was more a confirmation than an observation; the bandages would have to be removed anyway to prep for what would come next.
As he took in the oozing wounds−definitely not healing−he saw his suspicions were correct. "The inflammation on his back is feeding the fever." Hattori stood abruptly and walked out of the room, leaving a mystified Hiko still holding his student upright.
He returned with a steaming bucket and a handful of towels. "It must be washed, every day, until the infection begins to recede. Otherwise even medicine will do no good." Hattori sat the bucket on the floor next to the bed and pulled a stool over to sit behind Kenshin. "Just keep holding him there. I'll rewrap his back after this, and his arm too."
Hattori was methodic and thorough in his work. The first time he set down the washcloths, reaching to his right and hoisting a thin silver knife, Hiko watched with mild interest. When Hattori deftly angled the knife against Kenshin's back and sliced downwards, a trickle of fluids issuing forth as a deadened piece of tissue was removed, Hiko almost lost the rice and mushrooms he'd choked down earlier. Seeing severe wounds was something he was used to and generally unphased by but he hadn't been prepared for Hattori's method of treatment. And it didn't just look revolting−it smelled revolting, too.
From then on, Hiko pretended to be interested in the other side of the room each time Hattori reached for his knife. He was fairly certain the doctor was laughing at him inwardly but he refused to admit to the charade.
Mercifully, Kenshin stayed unconscious the entire time Hattori was tending his back. He didn't show any sign of waking until after his arm had been rebandaged and Hattori had begun to lay strips of cold compresses on him. Then, his eyes flickered several times, but they never opened fully.
"Even if he doesn't wake up, he needs the medicine I gave you." Hattori explained as Kenshin's eyes fell undeniably closed. He ran a final appraising look over his patient, then raised himself from the stool he'd been sitting on for the past several hours. He stretched stiff joints, eliciting a string of faint pops. Hiko made no effort to move, sitting with his arms crossed and a slight crease in his brow as he stared with unseeing eyes at his student.
Hattori could tell the swordsmaster was deep in thought, and he didn't want to interrupt, but the weariness on his features was hard to ignore. The man needed to relax, if only for a brief amount of time. "Hiko-san, you must be tired and hungry." Hattori motioned to the back of the clinic. "Let me introduce you to my family. My house is directly behind the clinic. My wife can cook you something, and give you a place to sleep for the night."
Hattori waited a moment, expecting a rebuttal when he didn't immediately receive an answer. Then, just as he was about to query again, Hiko looked over at him.
"Thank you for offering." He stood then, and Hattori didn't miss how his eyes strayed over Kenshin almost unconsciously, face still creased.
"He won't be alone. I'm going to monitor him through tonight." Hattori offered. Although he sensed Hiko would never admit to worry, he also knew he wasn't immune to it. Hattori could see it in his posture, in his manner of forced detachedness. Hattori had found that a few words of reassurance always went a long way, no matter how closed a person seemed outwardly.
Indeed, the tightness in Hiko's face relaxed, and he inclined his head in acknowledgement, turning towards Hattori. One hand passed over Kenshin's arm, and for a shocked moment Hattori thought he was caressing the boy. Then Hiko's hand moved, and Hattori saw he had merely set something next to Kenshin's hand, a neatly carved wooden top.
He was curious about the childish toy's significance, but Hattori gave it no more thought as he opened the door that joined the clinic and his house.
Hiko walked behind Hattori mechanically, moving more from reflexes that told him he should follow than from any conscious effort on his part. His mind was far from the clinic; had been for some time now. Naosuke had lost his life, and Kenshin had very nearly lost his. Doctoring his half-dead student, Hiko hadn't had time to dwell on recent events but now he found his indifferent attitude towards Naosuke's death fast turning to undirected fury.
Hiko didn't regret saving his student− he would make the same choice again in a heartbeat−the issue was that he shouldn't have had to make that choice. The situation could have been avoided all together. The whole scenario was too convoluted for him to really know how at this moment but there was always another way. If Kenshin had stayed where he was supposed to−if Hiko had put more thought into what Jisaemon might plan−if Naosuke hadn't been such a damned fool and left Edo when his aids suggested he do . . .
It was all moot though. In the end, he had made the decision to temporarily adandon the man he was protecting. Admittedly, it was in part his own selfish desire for retribution that had led to Naosuke's death. He could have killed Jisaemon from the start−should have, knowing how far the man had already gone to see his plan to fruition. Jisaemon had made his mission to kill Naosuke personal, and Hiko had let emotion cloud his better judgement.
It just left him more certain that a wielder of Hiten Mitsurugi should never give their power to any one faction. That power under the wrong influence would destroy a country.
"Hiko-san?"
The voice held a tinge of worry, and Hiko realized he was standing in front of a petite, dark-skinned woman who was looking up at him with strained patience. He hadn't heard a thing Hattori had said for some while.
"Forgive me, I was preoccupied-"
"Oh, of course you were!" The woman interrupted, seemingly relieved that the awkward moment had been broken.
"-by such a rare flower." Hiko continued, enjoying the reaction his comment provoked. The woman blushed and tittered, putting a hand to her mouth as she looked at Hattori with smiling eyes. Hattori's mouth dropped slightly and he looked between Hiko and the woman for several moments as if not sure what to say.
"Hiko-san, this is my wife, Misaki," He finally stammered, face falling into a level glare when he met Hiko's eye.
"I see my words weren't misspoken." Hiko said without missing a beat, and then as Hattori's face turned several shades of crimson, he nodded and said, "Hajimemashite."
Misaki giggled again and bowed, echoing the formal greeting. "I wish my husband were as uninhibited in his speech as you. I sometimes think he might have seen a rarer flower with all the time he claims to spend in his clinic." Hiko laughed aloud and Hattori's already red face flushed even more.
"Misaki! That's entirely inappropriate." He muttered. Misaki laughed lightly and patted his arm, then turned back to Hiko.
"My dear husband tells me you need food and a bed, Hiko-sama." Bowing again, she held both hands out in an exaggerated motion for him to follow. "I have food set aside for my husband but there is enough to share with a guest. Please, come eat."
Hattori raised a hand. "Ah, Misaki-chan, I'm staying in the clinic tonight. But make Hiko-san at home." Hiko could almost hear the unspoken but not too much and he smiled inwardly. He wasn't going to act on anything he said but he enjoyed a good repartee and apparently Misaki did too.
Misaki was a polite housewife, and despite her good-humored demeanor towards Hiko's wit, for the most part she watched Hiko eat in silence. She asked no questions about why he was here−Hiko supposed she and Hattori had worked some system out−although she did comment on the sword at his side.
"Your katana−you're samurai?" She asked as she offered him seconds of pickled plums.
"Only a swordsman." Hiko replied, and she nodded and left it at that.
She offered to heat a bath for him afterwards, and he accepted. Kenshin might have had several washings recently, but he hadn't. The grime and dust from his travels was reaching an intolerable level.
When he stepped out of the furo he found his clothes had been whisked away for a cleaning and an absurdly small yukata left in their place. He tied the obi around his waist, frowning at how the yukata hardly reached his knees.
Ridiculous.
Still, his clothes had reeked of sweat and blood. He could endure this for a night.
Hiko thought he caught a hint of a smile when Misaki came to show him to his sleeping quarters, but the lantern partially obscured her features and she turned deftly before he could be sure.
"You can sleep in the room with our two boys, Hiko-sama. I'm sorry we can't offer you a private room."
"Just this is generous of you." Hiko assured her.
Misaki slid the door to the room open, letting light embrace the room long enough for Hiko to see extra bedding stacked neatly against a wall. "The boys will be up early to help with chores. We'll have breakfast then but please sleep as long as you need." And handing the lantern to him, she bowed and bid him goodnight.
Hattori was true to his word and didn't move from the clinic through the first night. Not even when Hiko strode in, mild irritation on his tired features. Hiko had several valid reasons for the room switch: something about a crowded room, and an inability to sleep due to a child's "incessant tossing." Hattori noticed how each reason conveniently sidestepped any concern for Kenshin.
Hiko had failed to mention that Kenshin's ki intermittently flaring with fear and pain was as much to blame for his disturbed sleep as anything else. The doctor wouldn't sense something like that anyway, so it seemed pointless to mention it. Hiko just wanted his body to stop tingling with alarm every ten minutes, and he was fairly certain that his presence would be enough to calm his student's ki so he could get some shut eye.
It must have worked, because after settling onto a cot Hattori offered him, he didn't wake until the sunlight streaming onto his face made it impossible to keep his eyes closed.
Squinting against the brightness, Hiko automatically glanced towards Kenshin. Sleeping. With his top held loosely in one hand. It had seemed a trivial gesture the night before, but maybe it had done some good after all.
Hiko scanned the room for Hattori next, found the doctor with his back to Hiko, looking as if he were busy with something. Hiko watched him for a moment.
"I take it the night was uneventful?"
Hattori's head lifted, and he turned a moment later with a friendly smile on his face. "Good morning! Yes, mostly an uneventful night. He was going in and out of delirium so his sleep was rough but his fever seems to be marginally lower at this point." Hattori paused. "Like any fever though it will get higher at night but that's to be expected."
"He didn't wake at all?" Hiko willfully kept his glance from straying towards Kenshin again. He didn't know why he felt compelled to keep looking over there−it wasn't as if Kenshin was going to spring awake because of it.
"Not to the point where he was aware of his surroundings." Hattori said. "It might be several days before he's completely lucid again. His fever will stay up until the infection on his back begins to dissipate. He's likely to stay asleep or delirious until then."
The news was frustrating. Hiko didn't know exactly what had happened while Kenshin had been at Honmaru's and those details might be important. Obviously he hadn't stayed at Honmaru's−his sword at Naosuke's was evidence of that. But it made little sense for the enemy to apprehend Kenshin and then bring him to Naosuke's rather than straightaway to the castle. Which meant Kenshin had broken his promise and left Honmaru's his own accord. And for that, Hiko wanted an explanation. It would be nice to know if he should be on his guard for reasons unrelated to being in the vicinity of a tairou's assassination.
"-have my son help. Is that alright by you? Hiko-san?"
Damnit. He really was spacing out far too much of late. Lucky he was adept enough to piece together sentence fragments. "As long as you don't let him do something over his head, he can help all he wants."
The words might as well have been a magic incantation because even as Hiko finished speaking a gangly boy popped into the clinic so fast he must have been waiting behind the door. He bowed deeply in front of Hiko.
"I'll do my best, Hiko-san."
Hiko gave him an accusatory frown as he recognized the energy behind the movements. "You're the one that kept me up last night."
The boy kept his face lowered, but Hiko could see his cheeks coloring. "I−I'm sorry. I know I move a lot when I sleep."
"Kouhei, was it?"
Kouhei nodded.
"How do you help in here?"
Kouhei seemed at a temporary loss for words. "Well . . . I do a lot of observing actually. Otou-san doesn't always let me help with procedures." He looked at Hattori as he spoke, as if gathering some sort of direction from him. "I can mix medicine though." He continued confidently. "And stitch wounds."
The boy certainly had a passion for what he did. It showed in the glow of pride that seemed to radiate from him as he spoke. He wasn't an unwilling aide. And that was what Hiko had wanted to confirm.
"I leave Kenshin in your hands then." He was looking at Hattori, but from the swell of Kouhei's chest, he'd taken the words personally.
The rest of the day drifted into a routine that remained monotonously unchanging for the better part of a week. Hattori spent mornings in the clinic with his son. The clinic's location made it ideal for everyone who lived in or around the castle town, so it was always busy, and Hattori divided his time between Kenshin and the other patients, letting Kouhei deal with the simpler tasks. He would break for lunch and then return for the afternoon shift while Kouhei took care of medicines or messages that needed to be delivered. Business abated considerably by the time supper came around, and Hattori dealt with anyone left at the clinic before wrapping up for the night.
Hiko appreciated the regimen−he liked structure−but he felt as if he were in the way. There was nothing for him to do. He helped Hattori with two late-night onsets of delirium, poured liquids down his deshi's throat a handful of times, and ultimately managed to keep the boy's ki from spiralling out of control with fear (after one more attempt at sleeping in Kouhei's room, Hiko had decided it was pointless, and claimed the spare cot in the clinic). He'd even done some menial tasks for Misaki. Still, he felt caged. And he was also somewhat apprehensive about the scene at Edo castle. Aside from militia filling the castle grounds, he didn't know what had transpired there after he'd left.
So on the third day, with no sign of Kenshin being fully cognizant, he announced that he was going for a walk. Hattori hardly acknowledged him, and Kouhei just gave him a bright smile, as if to assure Hiko of his competence. Hiko was still smirking over that when Misaki hurried over with a box neatly wrapped in cloth and knotted at the top.
"Hiko-sama, take some food with you. I just finished making lunch."
He thanked her and took the bento graciously before stepping outside. Aside from vivid blossoms and fresh greenery springing up everywhere, there was no trace of the storm that had drowned the land three days earlier. It would have been a perfect day to train. Maybe he could find a secluded section of forest later. He had a reason for leaving though, and that came before anything else. He was going to find out firsthand just how much people knew about the incident at the castle.
Kenshin is on the road to recovery! Unfortunately, this means our story is rapidly coming to a close. I'm playing with some other RK ideas though, so I might have something out relatively soon after this. I'm thinking Battousai timeframe, as I haven't written anything during that period in Kenshin's life and I'd like to give it a whirl. But neither here nor there!
If anyone was curious, "Misaki" means something along the lines of "beautiful flower." And I think Hiko has enough style to use "hajimemashite." I'm sorry if I'm insulting all my readers' knowledge of Japanese, but if you're not familiar with the term, "hajimemashite" is what you say when you meet someone for the first time.
Love to the reviewers! Your comments and insights are always appreciated!
Althea M: Yeah, Hiko's intelligence usually comes through, it's the whole "soft-side" part that he's got smothered pretty well.
szahara again: Haha on the tv tropes, thanks for that! I like their analysis. The serving girl got the hell out of Dodge, so to speak. She wasn't sticking around to see what else was going down! At least, that's what she did in my mind. You can make up any story you'd like for her. :) Hm, as for people remembering Hiko and his totally-not-flashy white cape . . . undoubtedly they did, but events are going to work out a l-i-i-i-i-ttle differently than you might imagine.
t42n24t: I'm glad the research is paying off, thanks for noticing! Haha, I'm not so much worried about payment right now for the good doctor. That's something Hiko can work out later, possibly over the course of the next several years. ;) ("chickens under the mantle," big lol moment for me!)
Rose Crystal: Yay! Hundredth review! Very exciting moment for me, thanks for delivering it!
Kaida Ukitake: Thanks!
one-who-loves-sesshy: Spot on on the rib-breaking! As for nicking a lung, I'm kind of throwing that to the reader's imagination. You're welcome for the updating. Thanks for reviewing!