Chapter 6: The Origin of the Scar
While Kenshin took Kaoru to Dr. Genzai to make sure everything in her pregnancy was going fine, Sanosuke, Ryuichi and Yahiko were left with the chores to do. Even though he didn't want to, Ryuichi made Sanosuke do his part too. He wasn't used to doing them but he knew she wouldn't be too happy if she came around to see that he was slacking off and any man with a brain in his head knows not to make her mad. Plus, if Kaoru came home to find that he hadn't done anything, he would have her with her raging hormones on his back as well as Ryuichi.
"Hey Ryuichi, when are we gonna be done. It's getting late and I'm hungry."
"Hold on, dinner's almost ready and I'm glad too. All I've done today is work, I'm not adjusted to the fact that for the next many months I'm gonna be doing this everyday. It's kinda depressing if you think about it."
"Yeah, I've only got to do this today and I'm off the hook, but you've got to do this for almost a year. Then by that time Kaoru will be pregnant again starting the whole thing over."
"Don't even think that it will be that easy. Think about all the other appointments she will have to go to and Kenshin will have to help her at least a little during the last few months and then the baby will be born and he will have to help with it. All these things lead up to you having Kenshin's work to do, believe me I've been around pregnant women and babies and both are extremely demanding. You really don't have it so good after all, Sanosuke. Never mind that, dinner's ready now and I'm starved. You have to remember that you weren't the only person who worked hard today, Yahiko and I had our input too."
...............
"Wow, you can really cook good. I'm not used to eating food that doesn't look like it's gonna eat me first."
"Thanks for the compliment Yahiko, It's a recipe that I learned from my mom when I was little. I made it for the guys when I was with Tatsumi quite frequently. Sanosuke, what do you think about my food?"
"It's really good, but anything can be better that Jou-chan's food, if you can call it that."
After dinner, Yahiko went to take a bath and Sanosuke and Ryuichi sat on the porch together for a while. Ryuichi was completely exhausted and Sanosuke was only there to be with her.
"Man, I'm surprised that I did that much work in a day. I'm so tired I don't really want to move right now, but I still have to somehow make it to my room."
"Who says you have to move. I could bring some blankets out here to the porch and you won't have to move."
"Sanosuke, have you ever been told that you are Japan's biggest suck-up."
"Nah, but you are also the first person I've ever sucked-up to. Now I better get those blankets."
When he came back with the blankets, he saw that she was about to fall asleep. He hadn't seen her that tired since she passed out at the bar.
"Here's the blankets *hands her one*. We really don't need that many since it is a very warm night."
"Yeah, I love warm nights. When I was with my family I used to sleep outside when it was warm all the time. My brother and sister would come out with me and our parents would enjoy a night alone. It worked out pretty good for everyone."
"I've heard about your brother, but you never told me you had a sister. What was she like?"
"Sanosuke, remember when you and Kenshin came to the police station that night to help the police chief and I told you that I didn't have any plans to ever have any children."
"Yeah."
"Well, it is because of my sister that I made that desision. We have plenty of time so I'll tell you the whole story.
When I was about eight, my sister started seeing this one guy. He was nice enough, charming and pretty good in the looks department too, but one thing led to another and my 18-year-old sister ended up pregnant. My parents were very happy for her to know that they would have a grandchild in a few months but she was still unmarried. Her boyfriend told her that they could have the wedding a few months after the baby was born so she would look good in a kimono again, but something went wrong. The night my sister went into labor, she called my mom over to her house to help, but my mom was taking care of me while my dad took my brother to the doctor, so I ended up having to go with her to my
sister's house. When we got there, my mom told me there wasn't anything to be afraid of, but I would be hearing a lot of screaming. So I sat there for a few hours and then it started. My sister that I had grown up with was screaming so loud that I think she could wake the dead. The sound was unbearable. I had to cover my ears because I was afraid that my eardrums would burst, but then it stopped. I heard a child crying, my mom swearing and crying, but my sister was completely silent. It took me a few minutes to realize that my sister was dead and when I did I didn't know what to think. My mom took care of the child to the best of her ability and we had the funeral a few days later. On the way home we were attacked by a bunch of men with swords and they grabbed me. They told my mom if she wanted me to live that she would have to let them take me and for some reason she let them do so without a fight. I think it was because, to show her a little taste of what he would do to me if she refused, he took a small knife and put this scar on my face. A few days after that Tatsumi came along and killed my captors and took me in as his daughter. That's my story about the origin of my scar and why I act the way I do and say the things I say."
By the end of her story, her cheeks were stained with tears and she was shaking because of all the terrible things she had to remember, but Sanosuke knew what to do. He had been with her many times when she really needed someone's help and she trusted him more than anyone else. He put his arms around her waist and drew her to his chest. She pressed her lips against his in a long but somewhat pained attempt to help him understand the pain she had felt her entire life. After all was said and done, she rested her head on his shoulder and fell asleep. He put his arm around her and soon fell asleep also.
The next morning...
"Hey Yahiko, where's Kenshin and Kaoru?"
"Sleeping, and I'm hungry too. I think they just enjoy torturing me because they are either feeding me food that is unsuitable for eating or not feeding me at all! Hmph."
"You're just using that as an excuse for me to cook, aren't you?"
"Maybe..."
"Alright, you win, but I'm gonna have to make enough for six people 'cause Kaoru's eating for two now, so it's gonna take a little bit longer than yesterday when I was cooking for three."
After smelling the food, Kenshin and Kaoru came into the room to see what was cooking, followed closely by Sanosuke. Sanosuke, who was half asleep, walked up to Ryuichi while she was cooking, put his arms around her waist and kissed her on the cheek. As he did this, a mischievous grin came upon her face. She slowly grabbed a small ball of rice that she had put way too much soy sauce on and said "Here Sanosuke, taste this and see if it has enough soy sauce on it." Then she quickly shoved it into his mouth.
"Yuck! I think you might have put about a gallon too much soy sauce on that thing!"
"Well, I must say my mother named me correctly. Ryuichi means 'first dragon', so I think it suits me perfectly. He he!"
While Kenshin took Kaoru to Dr. Genzai to make sure everything in her pregnancy was going fine, Sanosuke, Ryuichi and Yahiko were left with the chores to do. Even though he didn't want to, Ryuichi made Sanosuke do his part too. He wasn't used to doing them but he knew she wouldn't be too happy if she came around to see that he was slacking off and any man with a brain in his head knows not to make her mad. Plus, if Kaoru came home to find that he hadn't done anything, he would have her with her raging hormones on his back as well as Ryuichi.
"Hey Ryuichi, when are we gonna be done. It's getting late and I'm hungry."
"Hold on, dinner's almost ready and I'm glad too. All I've done today is work, I'm not adjusted to the fact that for the next many months I'm gonna be doing this everyday. It's kinda depressing if you think about it."
"Yeah, I've only got to do this today and I'm off the hook, but you've got to do this for almost a year. Then by that time Kaoru will be pregnant again starting the whole thing over."
"Don't even think that it will be that easy. Think about all the other appointments she will have to go to and Kenshin will have to help her at least a little during the last few months and then the baby will be born and he will have to help with it. All these things lead up to you having Kenshin's work to do, believe me I've been around pregnant women and babies and both are extremely demanding. You really don't have it so good after all, Sanosuke. Never mind that, dinner's ready now and I'm starved. You have to remember that you weren't the only person who worked hard today, Yahiko and I had our input too."
...............
"Wow, you can really cook good. I'm not used to eating food that doesn't look like it's gonna eat me first."
"Thanks for the compliment Yahiko, It's a recipe that I learned from my mom when I was little. I made it for the guys when I was with Tatsumi quite frequently. Sanosuke, what do you think about my food?"
"It's really good, but anything can be better that Jou-chan's food, if you can call it that."
After dinner, Yahiko went to take a bath and Sanosuke and Ryuichi sat on the porch together for a while. Ryuichi was completely exhausted and Sanosuke was only there to be with her.
"Man, I'm surprised that I did that much work in a day. I'm so tired I don't really want to move right now, but I still have to somehow make it to my room."
"Who says you have to move. I could bring some blankets out here to the porch and you won't have to move."
"Sanosuke, have you ever been told that you are Japan's biggest suck-up."
"Nah, but you are also the first person I've ever sucked-up to. Now I better get those blankets."
When he came back with the blankets, he saw that she was about to fall asleep. He hadn't seen her that tired since she passed out at the bar.
"Here's the blankets *hands her one*. We really don't need that many since it is a very warm night."
"Yeah, I love warm nights. When I was with my family I used to sleep outside when it was warm all the time. My brother and sister would come out with me and our parents would enjoy a night alone. It worked out pretty good for everyone."
"I've heard about your brother, but you never told me you had a sister. What was she like?"
"Sanosuke, remember when you and Kenshin came to the police station that night to help the police chief and I told you that I didn't have any plans to ever have any children."
"Yeah."
"Well, it is because of my sister that I made that desision. We have plenty of time so I'll tell you the whole story.
When I was about eight, my sister started seeing this one guy. He was nice enough, charming and pretty good in the looks department too, but one thing led to another and my 18-year-old sister ended up pregnant. My parents were very happy for her to know that they would have a grandchild in a few months but she was still unmarried. Her boyfriend told her that they could have the wedding a few months after the baby was born so she would look good in a kimono again, but something went wrong. The night my sister went into labor, she called my mom over to her house to help, but my mom was taking care of me while my dad took my brother to the doctor, so I ended up having to go with her to my
sister's house. When we got there, my mom told me there wasn't anything to be afraid of, but I would be hearing a lot of screaming. So I sat there for a few hours and then it started. My sister that I had grown up with was screaming so loud that I think she could wake the dead. The sound was unbearable. I had to cover my ears because I was afraid that my eardrums would burst, but then it stopped. I heard a child crying, my mom swearing and crying, but my sister was completely silent. It took me a few minutes to realize that my sister was dead and when I did I didn't know what to think. My mom took care of the child to the best of her ability and we had the funeral a few days later. On the way home we were attacked by a bunch of men with swords and they grabbed me. They told my mom if she wanted me to live that she would have to let them take me and for some reason she let them do so without a fight. I think it was because, to show her a little taste of what he would do to me if she refused, he took a small knife and put this scar on my face. A few days after that Tatsumi came along and killed my captors and took me in as his daughter. That's my story about the origin of my scar and why I act the way I do and say the things I say."
By the end of her story, her cheeks were stained with tears and she was shaking because of all the terrible things she had to remember, but Sanosuke knew what to do. He had been with her many times when she really needed someone's help and she trusted him more than anyone else. He put his arms around her waist and drew her to his chest. She pressed her lips against his in a long but somewhat pained attempt to help him understand the pain she had felt her entire life. After all was said and done, she rested her head on his shoulder and fell asleep. He put his arm around her and soon fell asleep also.
The next morning...
"Hey Yahiko, where's Kenshin and Kaoru?"
"Sleeping, and I'm hungry too. I think they just enjoy torturing me because they are either feeding me food that is unsuitable for eating or not feeding me at all! Hmph."
"You're just using that as an excuse for me to cook, aren't you?"
"Maybe..."
"Alright, you win, but I'm gonna have to make enough for six people 'cause Kaoru's eating for two now, so it's gonna take a little bit longer than yesterday when I was cooking for three."
After smelling the food, Kenshin and Kaoru came into the room to see what was cooking, followed closely by Sanosuke. Sanosuke, who was half asleep, walked up to Ryuichi while she was cooking, put his arms around her waist and kissed her on the cheek. As he did this, a mischievous grin came upon her face. She slowly grabbed a small ball of rice that she had put way too much soy sauce on and said "Here Sanosuke, taste this and see if it has enough soy sauce on it." Then she quickly shoved it into his mouth.
"Yuck! I think you might have put about a gallon too much soy sauce on that thing!"
"Well, I must say my mother named me correctly. Ryuichi means 'first dragon', so I think it suits me perfectly. He he!"