Chapter 23
De criminibus innocentes
Kenji watched the sunrise on the green, lush, rolling hills. Some leftover clouds from the previous night's showers still hung low on the horizon, stretched thin like cotton candy. The morning light painted the sky bright shades of orange, yellow and pink. He observed their fleeting colours from the pasture field his steps had taken him to. Despite his leather boots, his feet were wet. So was the hem of his hakama. He vaguely registered the discomfort.
Once again, sleep had eluded him. After Yumiko had quiet down and profusely apologised he had shown her the pictures, locket and various news clippings he had also discovered. She had refused to take them back and instead had filled Kenji in on the details of his father's life after Tomoe's death. She'd explained how she and he had met again, how a fire had destroyed her okiya, and how she had ended up on Dejima. Kenji had learned of his father's peripatetic quest for redemption across Japan, of his meeting with Kaoru and of Shishio's machinations and defeat. Yumiko had refused to address the green Dutch bible and Kenshin's life after he had been reunited with her, if only briefly.
Summer is upon us. Enjoy yourself. We will continue the story when I see fit.
He hadn't insisted; instinctively, he knew it would have been futile. She had gone to sleep. He had stayed outside and waited for the rain to subside.
In the distance, he spied a shepherd leading a flock of sheep to pasture. He observed the animals for a long while. At some point, the man noticed him and stood still. After a moment, he crossed himself and walked on. The sun now above the horizon, the azure of the sky chased infinity. Kenji resume his walk.
Could the mind be both blank and overwhelmed at the same time? He didn't know, but he certainly felt that way. Left to its own devices, his brain would jump wildly from one thought to the other, conjuring up a plethora of gruesome scenes to witness. Yet, whenever he tried to catch one of them to explore it, he suddenly found himself unable to focus, the thought lost, dissolved into nothingness. As for emotions, it seemed as if they had ceased to function. He felt nothing but a vague, flat emptiness, something akin to loss but without its poignancy. No doubt Yumiko had been right to withhold further information.
He came to a stop in front of a small stone residence surrounded by a a low wall. The front garden was in full bloom. He leaned on the wall and observed the different flowers, chasing with his gaze the first bumble bees of the day. The sun warmed his back. He closed his eyes.
"Kenji?"
The young man started awake and reached for his sword. His hand grasped the air. He looked around and saw Sakurako standing next to a bicycle. Her head was cocked to the side, concern furrowed her brow.
"Did you spend the night here?"
He shook his head and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
"I was walking and ended up here. I must have fallen asleep. Whose house is this?"
The woman smiled.
"The Jenkins'. I was just going to take some things and ride back to the manor. Want to go back together?"
"Sure," he replied, still feeling the fuzziness of sleep.
She emerged a few moment later to find Kenji closely looking at her bicycle. She walked up to him, put a small bundle in the basket, and smiled.
"Have you ever ridden?"
"No, but I have seen them in Tokyo."
"How about you give it a try?"
He looked at the contraption then looked at her. If she could, then he definitely could, too.
"Let's do it."
They walked a few paces away from the home onto the path. Kenji took out a string he kept about and tied the sleeves of his hakamashita so they wouldn't get in his way. The seat turned out to be very uncomfortable. He had a hard time keeping his balance at first but once he got the hang of it, he soon realise that his hakama kept getting caught in the chain.
"Do you have other strings?" asked Sakurako.
He didn't. She thought for a moment then shrugged.
"Oh, well. This will do."
Reaching up, she untied the ribbon that held her gibson girl hairdo up. He hair came cascading down around her face and down her back. He stared at her as she arranged it. He bit his lower lip. She noticed him and winked at him. He turned away, his face irradiating with heat. Sakurako ripped the ribbon in two.
"Come. We need to tie you up."
He gave her a horrified look. She burst out laughing. He didn't know where to set his eyes anymore.
"Come here, you silly goose. I need to tie the legs of your hakama."
He complied and observed as she circled his ankles with the thin lace ribbons. Her deft fingers moved nimbly.
"You won't get in trouble for this?" he asked.
"The ribbon? No. Give me your other leg. Funny thing, money. A few years ago I would never have imagined I could even own something so pretty. Now I have dozens."
She stood up and pushed her hair back. He blushed and pretended to adjust the strings of his hakama.
"Let's try this," she said.
Kenji got on the bicycle. This time, he got it right after only a few tries. He pedaled some length of the path then turned around and came back. Sakurako applauded.
"Marvellous! Now let's try something else."
The woman nudged Kenji forward and sat side saddle on the seat.
"Try to sit like this, alright?"
They switched place.
"Now hold on to my waist."
He stared at her.
"Come on, don't be so uptight!"
She grabbed his hands, throwing him dangerously off balance for a moment, and planted them solidly above her hips. Through the softness of the fabric, he felt the study corset. She glanced over her shoulder.
"Ready?"
Without waiting for an answer, she got up and started pedaling. The bicycle moved slowly at first but soon gained momentum. The wind blew her hair in his face. He was assailed by her sweet perfume. He closed his eyes for a second and almost fell off the seat when she came to an abrupt stop. She turned around.
"Now you do it. Gentlemen pedal, ladies look pretty." She laughed.
Once again, they switched place. Sakura had no qualm grabbing onto his side and even slid her thumbs in the outer string of his hakama for support. He was glad to be facing the other way. He immediately found out that riding with a passenger wasn't as easy as she had made it seem. However, he soon managed to get to a steady cruising speed. Sweat pearled on his forehead as they got nearer to the mansion. Suddenly, after a sharp turn, he found the path had disappeared under a gigantic puddle. Sakurako noticed it, too.
"Kenji, break!"
Kenji momentarily forgetting how to operate breaks kept going at full speed. The couple rode through the full length of the muddy puddle. The bike came to a natural stop on the incline. They got off. He looked at her. Her skirts were drenched and muddied. Part of her hair stuck limply to her back. Speck of mud punctuated her face.
"I'm so sorry," he said, aghast.
"I think you got the worst end of the deal," she replied.
He looked down. His entire front side dripped muddy water. He touched his face and looked at his fingers. More mud. He tried to wipe it with his sleeve but only made it worse. He looked back at Sakurako.
An impish grin slowly stretched across her face. She suddenly burst into laughter. Kenji immediately joined it. Soon, tears were rolling out from the corner of his eyes and his abdominal muscles cramped. He couldn't remember the last time he had laughed this hard. It felt so good.
xxxxx
In the weeks that followed, Kenji warmed up to Sakurako and they soon became inseparable. They rode their bicycles to the village, took long walks on the estate and spent many an evening in the company of the family. Kenji started to teach her Kamiya Kashin Ryu and she taught him piano. Together, they read English novels, played uta garuta and had long discussions about Japan, England, the place of women in society as well as other topical political issues. They included Emily whenever they could, but by the dog days of summer, they spent more and more time alone. Looking for Kenji meant finding Sakurako, and vice versa. Even when the Jenkins' returned and the young woman move back to the parsonage, the pair remained as close.
Yumiko observed it all with an approving eye. Kenji had truly come into himself in these last few months. She felt it was time to finish his father's story. Yet, it chagrined her to have to disrupt the young man's happiness. She postponed it as long as she could, but by the end of August, seeing the budding love between the two youngsters, she decided it was time to act. On what would prove to be one of the last warm evenings of summer, she waited for him to return from dinner at the mansion. He came in high spirits, surprised to find her awake so late. She noticed as he discreetly curved his wrist to drop in his sleep a folded piece of paper he had been carrying. She invited him to sit on the engawa.
"You and Sakurako have truly become the best of friends, haven't you," she said.
He nodded.
"Am I wrong to think that the two of you might even be in love?"
He didn't reply immediately, glad for the darkness obscuring his face.
"Maybe," he said, in a small voice.
She smiled at him.
"This is nothing to be embarrassed of. I wasn't expecting it, but I'm glad."
He turned to her. She winked.
"Have you told her about your father?" she asked.
He looked at his hands resting on his lap.
"No. I…" he hesitated. "I'm ashamed to say that I haven't given him much thought since you last told me about him."
He looked up.
"But I will tell her in time. Or if she asks. I would rather we had no secrets from each other."
Yumiko reach out her hand and tucked a stay lock of hair behind his ear. He leaned into her touch. Their relationship had grown over the summer; she had become akin to a mother to him. However, they shared a proximity that would not have normally been seen in a traditional Japanese mother-son relationship. He presumed it was because of her past as a geisha; she assumed Kenji needed a deeper human connection. Neither of them was right. Neither of them was wrong.
"I'm glad to hear that. I wanted to tell you more about your father tonight, but before I do, I think there is something I need to say."
She grew somber.
"Do you remember when I told you about your father's assignments? I mentioned how I would always figure out who had been slain."
He frowned, unsure of what this had to do with Sakurako.
"I do remember but…"
"Let me finish," she softly interrupted. The sadness in her eyes brought back the weight of anxiety he hadn't felt in his stomach for most of the summer.
"I still remember those names. I memorised them. All of them. They are etched in my memory forever."
She stared him in the eyes.
"Minagawa Sanzaburo was killed by your father on the streets of Kyoto shortly before Tomoe came into his live."
She paused, wishing she could bury away what she had to say next.
"Minagawa Sanzaburo was Sakurako's grandfather."