The Illusion of Normal

Part 2: The Rose Garden

Ran had decided to make a garden in the back, he knew that there were still students who used the dojo, so he made a careful look for a place to put these roses. He had moved the bushes near the house, he saw Kenshin watching the bushes being planted.

Bringing Ken over with him, Ran had hoped that maybe Kenshin would at least watch, he was aware that for a moment, he would watch. Sitting inside in the shade, Kenshin would watch the bushes being planted.

Ken was not sure why he was asked, but he was aware of one thing that made Ran weary of people coming near Kenshin. He saw the long red haired man watching him from the inside of the house, almost as if he was hiding.

"Okay, I finished digging the hole," Ken smiled and looked around. "Do you have any water?"

"Huh? Inside," Ran pointed toward the door, Ken smiled and nodded, he walked into the house and went into the kitchen.

The small kitchen was a rebuild, the electricity was added into the house maybe around 1956, and also the house was small. Though the house had four bedrooms, Ken had found himself lost inside the house. He jumped a little when he saw Ran's cousin watching from his room, then pointed toward the back door. "You are looking for him?"

Kenshin had kept his face hidden, all Ken could see were the soft purple eyes, he was dressed in a dark red gi.

Returning to the outside, Ran was still working on the rose bush. "Oh…Kenshin isn't good with people he doesn't know," Ran explained and went back into the house and brought Kenshin out to look at the garden. "Do you like it?"

Sleepily, Kenshin nodded, he gazed through the door and smiled.

Ken watched for a moment and then noticed how pale Kenshin was, he did not see the scar thankfully because Ran had covered it with makeup. Ken had never seen the full detail of Kenshin' until he walked out a little into the sunlight. He saw the eyes now, they were a softer purple, the tatami mat was set up near the door, he was watching them. "This one likes the plants, what are they?"

"Rose bushes, Kenshin," Ran smiled a little and nodded. "Why not rest a little."

Kenshin walked toward the dojo, he was aware that there were no practices and no teachers in the classes or even being held. He walked toward the back and brought out something, something that was old and wrapped in a purple cloth.

"What is he doing?" Ken asked.

"Kenshin is just doing some practice sparring, when the mood strikes him, he goes to do that," Ran said this almost like it was not a problem. "Though I hope he doesn't exhaust himself."

Kenshin was holding Sakabatou, he remembered his son brought the old thing back to him. He remembered after being turned into a vampire, Kenji put the old weapon into his hands. He remembered those moments where Kenji was not like a stubborn old mule. The boy had only changed when the vampire curse came to light.

As Kenshin practiced, he drew the old blade, he was aware of one thing, that this place was still sacred to him. He remembered cleaning the dojo with Kaoru, he remembered her standing behind him at times watching as he napped. He woke once with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders, she was busily teaching Yahiko. She would turn and smile at him, there was a hidden smile between them, an almost mental note of their love.

Now in the modern era, Kenshin was almost alone, he felt sad, he did not want to be alone nor did he want to part with Kaoru's dojo. Kenshin became afraid of his vampire nature, he knew that Ran had provoked the vampire side out of him to just make sure he didn't get hurt.

As he practiced, he turned to see Ran watching from the door, he was leaning on it. "Kenshin, are you hungry, I can get you…"

"Leave this one in peace," Kenshin put Sakabatou away and wrapped it back in the cloth, he walked down toward the house. He stopped and turned his attention to Ran's friend, Ken still working on the flowers. "You brought him here for what reason?"

"To work on a rose bush and also to gage you in a conversation with someone outside the family," Ran walked off.

He knew that Kenshin was scared of his vampire nature and he also suffered from a memory loss, he lost his memories. He could not remember how he became a vampire, he only knew that he was created forcibly into a vampire.

As Kenshin walked toward the house again, he saw Ken stopped working and smiled. "I think that will do it, the bushes are planted. Do you like them? When they bloom, they will be huge and beautiful. Your cousin is an excellent breeder of flowers, his roses are called Emperor's Roses because of their size."

"Really?" Kenshin gazed at the plant in shock.

"Yeah," the young man smiled with bright brown eyes. "He grew them in our green house, but when they are out here they grow better." He was making a face. "Oh…" he looked down at his watch and gasped. "Hey, I missed practice!"

"Not my fault, you were dedicated to planting those bushes you forgot!" Ran shook his head and walked into the house. "I'm not your keeper."

"Oro?" Kenshin blinked confused.

"Oh…I'm a soccer coach for a local team around here, some of the children must be looking all over for me," Ken laughed and poke his head outside. "At least you are close enough to the park, I don't think they'll be too upset."

Sure enough Ken had to leave, he waved to them. "Hey, if you want to watch a game, we have a match in a few days, why not come out and join us?"

"Game?" Kenshin turned his head to the side and saw Ran walking into the house to bring out the bottle of blood and held it to him. He took it and removed the lid, he took a sip of the blood and smiled a little. "What is soccer?"

"It's a game that was brought by the Europeans, it is boring to watch on TV, though Ken seems to enjoy it," Ran sighed and shook his head. "If he comes over to watch it with you, just be aware of how involved he gets. He will yell, he will throw stuff, I have seen get into an argument with Omi regarding the game. Ken used to be in the Japanese national team as a goalie, someone drugged him during the game and he was kicked out of the league."

Kenshin blinked. "Doesn't sound right."

Ken returned to the flower shop and smiled as he took a seat. "I met Aya-kun's cousin," he sat down with Omi who was looking at his homework. "It was interesting, he's a shy guy, I don't even think he has ever set foot outside the Kamiya Dojo."

"I wouldn't think he would since he has a blood disorder," Omi was holding his breath as he was reading a book. "Kenshin-kun has been ill since childhood, he's been homeschooled and also has never really met anyone like us. Aya-kun is the named heir of the Himura family, also they are related to several up and coming families in Tokyo. Even Takatori Reiji has family connection to the Himura, but he can't inherit anything unless…" Omi was perplexed when he did the research. "Huh? There are two branches to the family, the Himura and the Fujimiya. The Fujimiya have always been the family that served as guardians of the Kamiya Dojo."

The door opened as Yohji walked into the flower shop. "Where the hell is Aya, I need his…"

"He's taking care of his cousin today," Ken walked away and turned to the door. "You should just let him take care of his cousin!"

"Cousin?" Yohji blinked and walked up to the bedroom. "I can't believe this guy, he went out to see his comatosed sister, and he never mentions his cousin?"

"Its none of our business," Omi was looking at his homework, he had been in trouble in history, mostly Japanese history. "Man, I'm going to flunk."

"What's your problem?" Yohji gazed at the homework. "Ouch, I never was good in history either, what are you covering?"

"Bakumatsu and the Meiji Restoration," Omi whimpered as he just gazed in almost shock at what he was reading. "I can't make hide or hair on this."

The door opened and Aya walked in, he was taking off a jacket and looked down. "Come to the Dojo tomorrow, Omi. Kenshin might be better at your history problem, you've been struggling with this for months."

"Why is it, I'm good at all other subjects and terrible at History?"

Omi had never seen the Kamiya Dojo unless he counted the times he walked passed it going to school, he knew the history classes about the Himura family and also the contributions of the famous ancestor of Aya's. He walked up to the house, he heard a faint rustle of fabric and the door slid open a little. "Er…Hello?"

"I have been expecting you," a man who was possibly no taller than him was standing wearing a simple red gi. Like his name sake, Himura Kenshin was very thin, hardly what anyone would expect a master of the Kamiya Kashin Ryuu or even a variant of Hitten Mitsurugi Ryuu would look. The soft purple eyes had a glassy look to them, and though this Kenshin was hardly what Omi had expected. "Ran said you were having trouble in history?"

Sure enough Kenshin knew a lot, in fact he was great with history some of it was pretty graphic from what was said. Nothing was straight forward, Omi realized that legalized assassinations were normal.

Kenshin went off to take a nap, but Omi was very curious about a few things. Ran had said that it was always that way with the house. Nothing changed, the house only was modified for the rest of the family.

"Don't seek out a change, don't attempt to change anything. Leave the Himura as it is, don't seek out to change anything there. Kenshin won't allow it."

The house seemed almost stuck in 1969, there were little to no computers, the television was the only thing from the current age, as well as a DVD player. Omi's curiousness seemed to stem from a stack of old pictures. A few were a couple a hundred years old, some were browning and even yellow.

The picture showed a different Kenshin, he was holding a woman who looked almost familiar to Omi. This Kenshin looks happy, looks though like he was hurt somehow too. The scar on his left cheek, it looks like…Omi suddenly jumped when he heard someone talking in the hall. "Yes, I'm aware."

It was Aya, he leaning against the wall. "You almost lost control didn't you?" he whispered.

"This one cannot be near humans for longer than a few hours, this one's need becomes so strong," Kenshin was leaning against Aya shaking.

Omi left the house quickly, he did not want know what was going on, but something was not right. He walked back to the store and was hoping not tell anyone anything.

Yohji hated secrets, he had researched Aya, he thought it was strange that Aya made no mention or even thought to talk of his cousin. It was a strange thought, he was thinking about how it did not seem right. He walked into the hall just as Omi returned from the Kamiya dojo. "So how was visiting Kenshin-kun?"

"Kenshin-kun is very smart and nice, and he is very much attached to his cousin." Omi made a shot response and walked into his room. He had no clue what he witnessed back at the house, but he was about to pry into Aya's privacy or even Kenshin's.

The sound of the thunder made Kenshin walked toward the hall, he was leaning against a wall, the need for blood drove him to the kitchen. He searched for the bottles, he made a face, not enough, none of it was enough. He looked around the Kamiya house, his voice came in low gasps. "RAN!" He looked everyone in the house, when he went into the living room, he found Ran sitting reading.

"It isn't the need for blood, its that cursed empathy," Ran looked at him and was touching his face. "Kenshin, just relax, breath."

Taking a deep breath, Kenshin was letting out a soft moan. He was thinking about how much blood he took from Ran, he was licking his lips thinking. The horrifying part of vampirism was the abilities that he had gotten. Some gift, Ran was given Telepathy, I was given the horrible ability to sense emotions, Kenshin had hated this. He had wished his abilities were not a curse, he had become too afraid these things would happen.

As a century rounded, Kenshin could sense the emotions of neighbors, they often woke him from dreams. There was something strange about that night, Kenshin was lying inside his room, but somehow in the dream, he saw a young girl, possibly no older than Kaoru had been when they first met. She was kneeling sobbing, then he realized it was a seven year old child. He reached through this dream and soon she was holding onto her crying, she was telling him of pain. She kissed his right cheek as he woke from the dream.

Now though as the rain came down these dreams were starting to drive him more into the thoughts that he was attached to the dream world. He remembered the darkness, he was really quiet about it too. The dreams as a vampire were very different from those of human ones, in these dreams, Kenshin was afraid of what he saw.