Chapter 14

De nobis fabula narratur

Sanosuke didn't come back to the cabin that night. Kenji was relieved. He didn't know what he could have said to him. He was also glad they were at sea. He feared the man might have disappeared in the Indian crowd never to come back. He had to admit that despite all his bravado, he was grateful for his presence. Grateful. The word made him cringe. His companion's words came rushing back to him. He couldn't believe all he'd said to be the truth. No. He did believe it. Sanosuke had no reason to make something so awful up. He believed but could not imagine it. How would someone as soft, kind and emotional as Yahiko have worked for criminals? It simply seemed impossible. And Megumi, always there to help and make people feel better, how could she possibly have made a substance that destroyed the life of so many? Inconceivable. Sanosuke's last revelation remained the most shocking. It said everything and nothing at the same time. Part of him yearned to know more while the other part begged him, for the love of everything holy under the sky, to stay as far away as possible from the subject.

Although those stories differed greatly, they all had something in common: his father. Somehow, Himura Kenshin had pulled these three people out of the morass of despair their lives had been and given them a second chance. Judging by what everyone kept hinting at, he hadn't stopped at those three. He remembered the government officials at the funeral and Kawaji at the police station. If they were to be believed, his father had saved the nation twice over. This was all good and commendable, but it did nothing to alleviate the heavy weight of anger and resentment he carried around. His father had helped all those people while he and his depressed mother had sat at home, waiting for him, needing him. Were they not worthy of his precious time? Not wanting to risk the slippery slope of those emotions, he tried to clear his head. He rolled onto his back and grunted with frustration. His mind felt fuller than before. He sat up, put on his hakama and grabbed his sword. If he couldn't sleep, he'd at least do something useful.

xxxx

The sword slashed the air. On the horizon, the sun coloured the sky with a warm orange palette. Despite the cool morning air, Kenji sweat profusely. His hair, gathered in a neat topknot earlier, came out of its leather strip in wisps, framing his face with a red aureole. His bangs stuck to his forehead and no matter how many times he brushed them away, they ended up right back where they'd started. He flowed from one kata to the other, completely focused.

Sanosuke leaned against the railing and observed. Although he'd seen Kenshin do incredible things in battle, he could tell that Kenji was ten times the kenkaku his father had been. Kaoru hadn't exaggerated the genius of her son. He had surpassed both his parents and would probably surpass old man Seijuro once he learned the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu ougi, Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki. That kid could easily end Sanosuke. Good thing he didn't know it. He grew somber. What dangerous weapon he would have been in the hands of the Ishin Shishi… It truly was a blessing that he'd been born to Kenshin, and not the other way around.

Sanosuke observed a little longer, appreciating the fluidity of the young man's movement. He made it look so easy. He cleared his throat. Kenji stopped mid-stance and looked around, disoriented for a split second. His eyes found the man and immediately, he averted them. Sanosuke swung himself upright and walked to the boy who, visibly flustered, tried to sheathe his sword. The older man waited at a safe distance: he came in peace.

Kenji struggled to slip the katana back in the saya, nearly skinning his thumb in the process. His legs shook and his arms felt like dead weight. His hands gave shooting pain. He raised his upturned palms. His fingers bled. He let his arms drop to his side and chanced a look at Sanosuke. The man had a neutral expression.

"Been at it long?" he asked.

"Most of the night."

Sanosuke nodded at nothing in particular.

"Couldn't sleep either."

Kenji averted his gaze. Sanosuke took a deep breath.

"I think I owe you an apology."

Kenji focused on his big toe, with which he was nudging a bump in the deck.

"You warned me. I pried. I got my just deserve."

"I don't think it was right."

Kenji looked up at Sanosuke, confused

"Yes, as I just said, it was wrong of…"

"I mean I don't think it was right, keeping you in the dark about everything and everyone like that." Sanosuke interrupted.

Kenji nodded, remembering his angry words to his father, so many years ago. The man smiled faintly, unaware. He scratched the back of his head.

"Go wash up. Then we can talk, one man to another."

xxxx

Kenji found Sanosuke asleep on a bench facing the stern. He sat next to him and closed his eyes, letting the sun warm his face. Now that the conversation was about to take place, his mind felt blank. All the questions that had been niggling him had vanished. He opened his eyes and shifted making the bench creak. Sanosuke blinked and stretched.

"Guess this old man fell asleep." He grinned for a second then his face turned serious. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his legs, his arm dangling in-between. Kenji got up and sat across from him on the deck, leaning on a cleat. He patiently waited for Sanosuke to gather his thoughts.

"I've been wracking my brains about this for a while. Long before today, but especially last night."

A pause. A gull mewed in the distance.

"I can't tell you everything about your father."

Kenji tensed.

"Let me finish before you get all worked up. I can't tell you everything about your father because I don't know everything. And what I know is probably a toned down version of whatever really happened. So I can tell you what relates to me."

"And Yahiko? And Megumi?"

"Yeah. I guess I can tell you about them, too, though technically it's not my place to do so. But since I've already dropped the ball on that one... When poisoned, might as well eat the plate, or so they say."

Kenji nodded. He'd imagined this moment in one form or another for so long, yet he didn't feel like he had envisioned. No righteous pride. Not even the vindication he'd sought for so long. He felt only apprehension.

"So, let's start with the easier ones."

Sanosuke then proceeded to tell him about Yahiko. This had been before he even knew Kenshin, although he knew of him. He had heard this tale from Kaoru. Yahiko's parents were of the samurai caste, but the lower level. Having fallen on hard times, the boy had ended up having to steal for a yakuza gang in order to survive. He was good at it, that is, until he met his match in Kenshin. Kenji's father had challenged the yakuzas and won. His prize: Yahiko.

"Now at that point your father was nothing but a freeloader at the dojo. So the decision to take on a kid when Kaoru's business was flagging wasn't received very well. Especially since your mother and Yahiko were both stubborn and kept butting heads."

"I can't imagine him like that." He'd only ever seen Yahiko and his mother on good terms.

"The Yahiko you know is very different. He was always a soft, gentle kid, but he had to build a shell in order to survive. We all did."

Sanosuke then switched over Megumi's story, how she'd lost her family and how she'd ended up working for a madman making a highly addictive strain of opium. He grew somber. Kenji waited. The older man frowned, some kind of internal debate obviously taking place. He shook his head and continued.

"Aoshi's gang… You remember Aoshi and Misao? No? Oh well, next time you're in Kyoto we'll make sure to introduce you. Anyway, so his gang also got involved in this and they all died, except for Aoshi, that is. Kenshin and I saved Megumi, but it was a close call. The whole thing was truly horrible."

"Did…" Kenji tried to find the right word to designate his father without having to call him dad. "Did he kill anyone?"

"Who? Kenshin?" Sanosuke laughed. "No. He already had his sakabato by then. Doesn't mean he didn't do any damage. He didn't know the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu ougi at that point, though."

"Really?!" Kenji perked up.

"Yeah. It's complicated. Let's not get into this."

The young man's shoulder slumped.

"So I guess that leaves me," said Sanosuke.

He sat up and lifted a knee to his chest, his foot resting on the bench. He stared in the distance for a while, unsure of how to begin.

"Kenji, you've studied the history of the Meiji restoration, right?"

The young man nodded. He'd studied the official version at school.

Sanosuke faced him anew, his gaze piercing.

"Tell me, who won the war?"

"The Ishin," Kenji answered without hesitation.

"Correct. Would you agree then, that they, being the victors, got to write history."

"I guess…"

"Unless you access to the private archives of the government, which probably don't contain anything incriminating anyway, every source will tell you how the Ishin won a just war against the evil shogunate. But it never was that clean cut. What do you know of the Sekihoutai?"

The name sounded familiar. Kenji jogged his memory, trying to remember. In the back of his head, he couldn't help but wonder what this had to do with anything.

"They were rebels. The Ishin put them down," he ventured.

Sanosuke clenched his fist on his wrist and exhaled loudly.

"That's what they say now, but we were much more than that."

Kenji raised an eyebrow. We?