"Excuse-me?" asked Kenshin.
"Come on, Shinta! You don't recognise me? It's me, Yuwa!"
Kenshin scratched his head, trying to remember the face of the woman in front of them. The name felt vaguely familiar. The woman shook her head, as smirk on her lips.
"You always were a little slow," she said, laughing.
Kaoru turned to him. Shinta? She mouthed
Kenshin nodded but before he could respond, Yuwa turned to face Kaoru.
"You got yourself a pretty little wife there! I'm Yuwa. I basically raised that idiot."
She pointed at Kenshin and laughed with mirth.
"I'm Kamiya Kaoru. Pleasure to meet you."
The newcomer smiled.
"Pleasure! Now come, you two. The village is waiting for you. Had I know Shinta was the guest everyone was fussing about, I wouldn't have worried as much!"
She laughed again, hooked her arm around Kaoru's and half dragged the woman along with her. Soon, the two women were in deep conversation, Kenshin all but forgotten.
He sat on the engawa of the first house in the valley. Kaoru was exploring the small garden while, at the same time, trying to catch one of the cats that had come meandering from under the shed. Kenshin tried to focus his attention to his surroundings. Purple morning glories bordered the vegetable patch. Beyond it, the vivid green rice stalks stretched all the way to the gentle slope. It was clear that this was were he had been born. He had only given his childhood name to two people: one was his master and the other had died during the bakumatsu. Yuwa knew his childhood name. He didn't belief such a thing to be a mere coincidence. However, no matter how he tried to remember, nothing came to him. This could have been any village in Japan.
Yuwa came out of the house carrying a small tray. She handed him a cup of barley tea before sitting next to him. He observed at her as she drank. She had removed her headscarf but still wore her work clothes. Her faded blue breeches were tucked in her jikatabi. She looked up and their eyes met. He looked away.
"Shinta, you've grown quiet," she teased. "You were quite the chatterbox, if I recall properly."
In the distance, Kaoru squealed with joy, the cat now cradled in her arms. Surprisingly, it didn't attempt to free itself.
"She's lovely, that one. A bit young, but nothing I haven't seen before," said Yuwa.
Kenshin shook his head.
"She's not my wife."
She took a sip of tea.
"She wants to be," she replied.
Kenshin felt himself reddening. Yuwa pretended not to see.
"She says you call yourself Kenshin now. Did you choose that name?"
Judging by the way the corner of her lips were slightly raised, she was half curious, half amused. He sighed and shook his head.
"My master gave it to me."
She eyed his sword, now resting next to him.
"Was this master the person who…"
He shook his head. He told her how he had ended in Hiko Seijuro's care. She listened attentively.
"I see. I'm not surprised. You were always a good little boy."
Kenshin smile weakly. Had he?
"Do you live here alone?" he asked.
"My husband is probably somewhere in the field. That or he's having a little drink in preparation for tonight." She winked.
Kaoru walked up to them and sat on a stump, the cat purring in her arms.
"Your hometown is so beautiful, Kenshin!"
He leaned forward and pet the cat's head. Something inside his chest tightened.
It was late afternoon when Yuwa finally took them to the village chief's house where they received a warm welcome. A humble celebratory feast had been prepared in their honour and the entire village joined. The food served was humble, but quite delicious. Sake flowed freely. Although Kenshin was the "guest of honour" few people came to talk to him aside from those who, he assumed, felt they had to. By comparison, Kaoru had already been adopted by a group of women and she held a baby in her arms as she chatted with them. He also noted that the villagers were, on average, fairly young. He wondered to what extent war and disease had contributed to this. Above all, one thing was obvious; most of them had no idea of who he was.
When the sun finally hid behind the mountains, most of the villagers returned to their homes. The remaining few people, Yuwa and her husband, joined the newcomers in the chief's house to continue the revelling. More drinks were poured and tongues loosened. They talked of bygone days, of the village before the landslide, and of the new world order, whatever that meant for them. Kenshin soon noticed that despite their merrymaking, there was a sense of unease in the room. Had this been the bakumatsu, he would have expected someone to attack at any moment. No one spoke of his parents. No one spoke of his being sold into slavery. Of course, the latter would have been rather inappropriate. He tried to relax and enjoy himself. Kaoru certainly was. He knew she would eventually fall asleep and regret her decisions tomorrow, but for now, she was having the time of her life.
Kenshin excused himself discreetly, slipping out of the chief's house as soon as he could do so without appearing to be ungrateful. He stood in the deserted street. The waxing moon shone brightly in the cloudless sky. The hot air hung heavy in the valley without a breeze to cool the night. He stared at the shadows, his heart heavy.
"There you are."
He spun around and saw a woman's silhouette approaching. Yuwa stopped by his side and handed him a sake gourd. He uncorked it and took a small sip. He was surprised at how cool it was. He passed it back to her.
"You felt it, too, didn't you?" she asked.
He nodded.
"The young ones don't know your story. And the few older ones who are left are too ashamed to talk. Especially in front of me"
"What do you mean?" he asked.
She drank some sake, stoppered the bottle and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
"They don't want to talk in front of me because my father is the man who sold you."