After breakfast Kenshin searched through the old chest in the corner of his room to make sure he left nothing behind. A change of clothes and his travel pack were the only things he planned to take with him. His travel pack still held his sword repair kit, his flint, and the toy top, but there was a piece of silk he didn't recognize. He unfolded a bright blue hair ribbon with a faint blood stain on top of Tomoe's comb. Its light scent reminded him of the yellow wild flowers that grew at the bottom of the cliff where he trained with Master Hiko. Jasmine. Kenshin's hands weren't quite steady as he refolded evidence that he had fallen in love with another woman at some point in the past twelve years. His heart still ached for his wife so he put her comb over the ribbon before he headed outside.
Kaoru came out of the storage shed with the wash tub and laundry soap. Kenshin always did the laundry right after breakfast, squatting in front of the tub just like she was. She watched him for so long Kaoru didn't even have to close her eyes to see the way his hair looked like fire in the sunlight…the way his loosely tied gi fell open revealing his chest...
Kenshin came outside while she was rinsing a pair of white pleated pants.
"Would you please do the washing while I hang the clean clothes?"
This was the least he could do to repay her for giving him a place to stay for so long. Kenshin re-adjusted his Sakabato as he squatted in front of the tub grabbed the soap and went to work. Hiko made him do the cooking and laundry during most of the five years he lived with his training master so he didn't think of it as only women's work.
The scrubbing was relaxing; if nothing else it was an excuse to keep his hands in soapy water. He hoped the dried blood on them would go away soon. He watched Kaoru bend over to pick up a towel from the clean pile and hang it on a bamboo pole. "I was in the dojo again last night. Why haven't you said anything about Kamiya Koshijiro?"
"My father survived the Bakumatsu, but died in the Seinan war about six months before I met you." She didn't know what else to say or what he wanted to know.
"You didn't seek out the person who killed him to avenge his death?"
"After the Bakumatsu father spent ten years creating Kamiya Kasshin-Ryu, swords that give life. I refuse to dishonor his legacy just because someone defeated him in a fight."
He considered this as he grabbed socks from the dirty pile. If Tomoe followed the same philosophy they wouldn't have met, yet he had needed her to be a sheath for his madness. A random memory that wasn't his made him pause.
He was backed up against a wall surrounded by police. They were trying to goad him into drawing so they'd have an excuse to kill him, when that failed they turned to threatening bystanders to get a reaction. Kaoru came through the crowd and stood before the corrupt officers making sure they focused on her instead. They sliced through her blue ribbon taking some hair as well, yet she held her ground. When he finally unsheathed his sakabato to protect her, Kaoru yelled warnings to him during the fight; words that were obviously not needed, but heard by everyone around.
Kenshin glanced up at the woman who publicly sided with a murderer over men in police uniforms. It was the exact shade of blue as the one in his pack; Kaoru's jasmine scented hair ribbon with an old blood stain. Twice Megumi implied that he was free to leave, yet Yahiko said they were like family. Why didn't Kaoru make their relationship clear when she didn't keep anything else from him?
Unfortunately it wasn't long before another unfamiliar image emerged, even more unsettling than the last.
Kaoru and a slightly shorter Yahiko were in a large room, like the dining room of an inn. Several men were knocked out on the floor or slumped against the walls too battered to fight. A swordsman attacked next making short work of her bamboo shinai with his steel Katana before Kenshin drew the man's attention from her.
Kasumi-san, Akane-san and Sakura-san had stood between Shinta and a pack of robbers back when he was a slave. He was a few years younger than Yahiko at the time, but the image still haunted him on occasion. Kenshin took a deep calming breath to clear his head and scrubbed harder than necessary. He felt her eyes on him, but refused to look up.
"Ken…Shin?"
She ripped his name apart and emphasized the half that meant heart. It was too much. He didn't want another woman, especially one who repeatedly stood in front of enemies that were strong, skilled, and not alone. Kenshin stalked out of the gate closing it firmly behind him.
As Sano walked behind a tofu stand at the edge of the market Battosai appeared directly in front of him. Like the last time he was ambushed from a roof there was no sound, nor warning, but this time there was no confusion in his eyes wondering who he was or if they were enemies. This time he wanted blood.
"You know her better than anyone else, don't you?" The low, menacing tone seemed to echo in Sano's ears.
"Except for you," was his flippant response.
"What does she know about the blood shed for these scars?" Battosai's baritone dripped with rage and contempt.
Sano didn't know how to explain Kamiya Kaoru to Battosai. What would Saito Hajime, the Wolf of Mibu say? "She doesn't have to gut a man and watch him bleed out to understand you."
"When she's never held a real sword?" Battosai's amber eyes went a little red around the edges.
He's hunted like prey just so the guy can vent? What happened to doing laundry to work through his issues?
"Her naïve style will get her killed if she doesn't stop using shinai against katana" Battosai growled.
"Who attacked this time?" Sano folded his arms and leaned against the back wall wondering if the tofu vendor heard them.
"It was a memory. She didn't back off when her shinai splintered."
"A broken weapon doesn't stop her any more than it stops you, but at least you're remembering."
A steady sullen glare told Sano that this was nothing to celebrate.
"Relaxing at the Shuei-Ya will take your mind off it."
"I can't stand sake."
There were two little girls playing with a ball in the yard when Kenshin returned for his pack. They turned simultaneously and shouted "Big-brother Kenny!"
The older one yelled "Play with us!"
The younger one mimicked "With us! With us!"
Yahiko was on the porch and welcomed him home "Hey, Kenshin. Kaoru already left to be visiting instructor at the Maekawa dojo. Dr. Gensai came by with Ayame and Suzume to visit, but my shift at the Akabeko starts soon."
The bearded old man that he passed on the street yesterday morning was right behind him. "Megumi-san told me about your amnesia and I wanted to make sure you weren't having any headaches."
"No". Just more memories that I don't want.
"Big brother Kenny! We wanna play Kenny! We wanna help with laundry!" Ayame attached herself to his leg while Suzume lifted up her arms "Nice and clean! Nice and Clean!"
Dr. Gensai scooped up Suzume and told them both that Kenshin wasn't feeling well, but Suzume leaned over to Kenshin still holding out her arms. He grabbed her around her ribs and let her cling to his side.
"This ordeal can't be easy for you, but I didn't have the heart to tell the girls not to come with me. They haven't seen you for most of a week."
"She mentioned them." Kenshin carried both girls into the kitchen to find that someone, probably Yahiko, had made a trip to the market and left a few vegetables and a bag of rice sitting out.
When Kaoru first told him about Dr Gensai's granddaughters, he didn't think they'd be this little. Or that they had already lost both parents. Kenshin was grateful that the cute little girls would never fall into the hands of evil men like he did when his parents died of Cholera. Ayame and Suzume would never be the property of slavers even if something happened to their grandfather.
The doctor made himself comfortable while Kenshin put the turnips, cabbage and radishes in the cupboard. He began cooking some rice without even thinking about it. Apparently he wasn't going to get to the Department of Internal Affairs today. He supposed it wouldn't make much difference if he went tomorrow. Okubo wasn't really expecting him until Friday anyway.
"Is something wrong Kenshin-san?"
"I planned to visit the Department of Internal Affairs."
"So you've decided to go to Kyoto."
"You know about Lord Okubo's visit?"
"Kaoru-chan told me you were asked to help prevent another war."
Kenshin let Suzume get a scoop of rice from the bag and held Ayame as she poured it into the hot water on the stove. Both girls clapped their hands and congratulated each other for helping 'big-brother Kenny' while the doctor settled them on his lap.
"She told you about Shishio Mokoto?"
"We talk about local news and politics. She has a strong opinion of democracy."
He wasn't sure what to make of that. "I'm not accustomed to women knowing anything of politics. Or being doctors and running dojos for that matter."
"Koshijiro raised little Kaoru himself so she isn't like most girls. Megumi-san is an excellent doctor and Tae-san has done very well with the Akabeko since her father gave it to her."
Kenshin began shaping the rice into balls and the girls wanted him to make the onigiri into a bunny or squirrel. It took a few minutes for Ayame to explain that Kenshin was supposed to cut bits of turnip, radish and mushroom to be the noses, whiskers and ears. The tails were cabbage.
"Ayame, take the rice balls to the table. Suzume, take the vegetables."
The two girls consulted each other over the exact placement of the ears, noses, and whiskers – the strangest things entertained them.
"How did they learn that?" Kaoru wasn't that capable around a kitchen.
The old doctor had a dry laugh "You made those when they first met you."
Kenshin frowned as he finished washing the rice pot and vegetable knife.
"I don't suppose Kaoru-chan would have told you about that. She spent two months hunting for hitokiri Battosai and I bring the girls by to find you huddled over a campfire in her yard making rice." He smiled at the memory "I said 'Do you know who that is?' and little Kaoru answered 'He's a rurouni named Himura Kenshin' with that defiant tone of hers."
"She was hunting me?"
"A man she thought was you, but your reputation as being the most feared manslayer of the Bakumatsu didn't stop her from smacking your head with her shinai. I didn't blame her too much though; you were being plain silly sleeping outside in the cold after she gave you a room."
No wonder she only had two students if everyone knew she was harboring Battosai. Why did he go along with it? Ayame and Suzume interrupted his thoughts by tugging on his hakama.
"Let's do laundry!"
"Nice and clean! Nice and clean!"
"There is no laundry to do, Ayame-chan."
"Then we can play ball."
"Play ball! Play ball!"
Kenshin scooped them up a little surprised that the girls snuggled into his shoulders, each draping an arm around his neck. He wasn't prepared for their affectionate embrace and didn't know what to do. He didn't even know why he picked them up instead of grabbing their hands.
Dr. Gensai smiled at the young man's expression as his youngest granddaughter all but fell asleep on the young manslayer. "I always wondered how much a decade of wandering changed a cold-blooded killer into our humble Kenshin-san. There wasn't much of a transformation after all, perhaps you simply mellowed."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I meant no offense. You're deadly accurate with a blade and have a soft spot for women and children; that doesn't change much. After all these years you haven't lost your skills and still can't say no to your girls." He rose to pat Suzume's head. "Why don't you put them down for their nap? We can play a game of Go."
"I don't play."
"You will."
Kenshin didn't need to look out the window to know that Kaoru was sitting on the steps watching the sun set, yet he stood at the glass pane anyway. The doctor and his granddaughters left after dinner and Yahiko wasn't back from his shift at the Akabeko. He watched the florescent orange clouds with some idea of why he stayed here for so long.
Yahiko came back when the clouds had faded to grey and stopped next to Kaoru on the steps "So is Kenshin going to Kyoto or what?"
"He isn't the type of man to ignore Lord Okubo's request."
"What if Kenshin breaks his vow? This Shishio guy sounds like a good pounding won't stop him."
"He is a man of his word no matter what happens and you've seen how sharp witted he is in battle, knowing the precise amount of force to use."
"Yeah, but it'll be weird without him around for a while."
"You ought to worry more about your Migi Nagi attack than Kenshin."
"Whatever. G'night, Ugly."
"Goodnight, Brat."
Kaoru and Yahiko expected him to eliminate this threat. Captain Katsura used to send black envelopes with a single name – his next target – written inside and Kenshin got rid of the man before sunrise. Shishio Mokoto was a threat to this era therefore he was his next target. No, his former comrade that replaced him as 'hitokiri of the shadows' was going to be his last target.