Chapter Twenty-Three

During a quick break from the lunch-time rush, Kenshin stepped out the back door off the kitchen and return-dialed the missed call on his phone. Now that he had Yutaro's number, he no longer had a reason, or excuse, not to call him back. The message the young man had left had also requested his attention ASAP, and so he had decided to use what little time he had been allowed to see what was going on. It seemed to be urgent, since the koi demon answered after only one ring.

"Himura-san! You got back to me quick this time!"

"You did ask me to." Kenshin failed to hide his amusement, but Yutaro took it in stride. "I'm afraid I don't have too much time, though."

"Sure, I'll get right to the point then. I heard from Shigure that you found an apartment you liked, but that the price was a bit high."

A touch of humiliation turned Kenshin's stomach, but he had already come to terms with it. Kaoru's immediate support at the appointment with Shigure had certainly helped. "We have a new appointment next week to look at another building. I'm confident we'll find something then. I do appreciate your help, Yutaro-kun."

"I tried to talk him down some more, but it would put him in a bind if he went any lower than what you two already discussed."

"You've really done more than enough."

"Well, don't thank me yet." There was a pause, and a sigh spoke of hesitance. "I wasn't going to tell you about this, because I felt pretty bad about it afterwards, but… a few months ago a couple of Dad's vendors overheard me say I knew a fire demon. I've tried to be careful about not telling anyone, but it slipped out when I was talking to a friend on the phone."

Kenshin smiled, because he was obviously upset about it. What a good kid.

"You shouldn't worry about that, Yutaro-kun. You're under no obligation to keep my demon trait a secret."

"Yeah well, even I know it's rude. Still, what I was trying to tell you is, the vendors got real excited and wanted me to introduce them to you. Apparently, they used to know a fire demon way back in the day. I don't know the specifics, but they wanted to talk to you about working for them. Something about powering their manufacturing plant. I don't know them that well, but we do use them for our kitchen knives. Damn good knives. They said they'd pay you salary and you could schedule your own hours. I don't know what your situation is right now with work, but it might be worth looking into. It's really up to you, though. Just let me know, and I'll send you their number."

"I'll… think on it."

"Sure. Shoot me a text when you decide. Talk at ya later."

Ending the call, Kenshin stared at the wall of the adjacent building down the back alley. It sounded like a good deal, but anyone who wanted to use him solely for his fire power always made him leery. Of course, he was older now, and hopefully more experienced at identifying someone trying to manipulate him. It wouldn't hurt to at least see what they were about, and how genuine they were. He didn't like the idea of just quitting his job at the Akabeko, but Yutaro had said they would let him schedule his own hours. That and, he really had no idea what they expected of him.

His phone buzzed, and he turned it face up to find a new message from Kaoru. Smiling, he typed a quick reply to her goofy animation.

It was also good to keep his options open to allow for future growth.

"Smoke break?"

Pocketing his phone, Kenshin turned to find the young bus boy coming out the back door. Yahiko appeared to be about the same age as Tsubame, but there wasn't much else that he knew about him. Apart from his demon trait, which Kenshin believed was an unintentional mistake on Yahiko's part. What was most telling, though, was that he was consciously hiding his demon markers by mimicking what a human would look like. Which was strange for someone young enough to have never met one.

Smiling, Kenshin shook his head.

"Not a fan."

"Really? Seems weird, coming from a fire demon."

"I don't believe so. Chemical smoke is really unclean. This may sound strange, but fire demons have a reputation for being compulsive cleaners. Or, the ones I met generally were." He looked away as he said it, and while it was a true statement, he usually thought of his father first before any other fire demon.

"I suppose you always do look unnaturally clean."

Kenshin laughed, and the boy grinned.

"I wanted to thank you again, for your help with Miss Kaoru." The grin turned to a side purse of his lips, and Yahiko looked away down the alley. "I also wanted to apologize… and offer a word of advice."

"Yeah, I already got it. Guys don't tend to like other guys touching their girl. I probably would've done the same."

A more awkward chuckle accompanied Kenshin's curled brow. It was getting to be a bit more than he could ignore or go with when everyone was assuming there was more to his relationship with Kaoru than there was.

Is that what I was feeling, though? Did I just not want him to touch her?

The unbidden contemplation was shaken from his brain.

I didn't understand it then, and I certainly don't understand it any better now.

"That's not what I was going to say." He paused. "Are you a runaway, Yahiko-kun?"

One dark brow on the young man's face lifted as high as it would go. "What the hell does that mean?"

Violet eyes lifted upwards to the clear sky overhead. "Does your family know where you are?"

Defensively, Yahiko's arms crossed over his chest and his weight shifted. "You kinda have to have a family first before you can run away."

Red lashes lowered, and Kenshin nodded as if understanding the situation better. "I see. Then my advice is even more important. From now on, be more careful who you show your trait to. There are powerful people in this world who might… find your presence disadvantageous to them. I understand that you may not be inclined to trust the word of someone you don't know, but I would argue that in this, as a fire demon, you can trust me more than anyone else."

It was quiet for a time, and Kenshin smiled harmlessly before excusing himself to return to work. Before he could open the back door, Yahiko's voice threaded the silence.

"My mom said the same thing, before she died. No one else knows… except Tsubame-chan. But I trust her. Can I… really trust you?"

"Hmm… only if you admit Miss Kaoru isn't ugly."

"W-what?!" His sputtering resulted in more laughter.

X

Arai Knives strictly manufactured and sold chef knives, ranging from all-purpose santoku knives to specialty usuba knives. They mainly supplied their merchandise to third-party stores and shops, but were working on straight-to-consumer options to cut out the middle man. The business was run by Arai Seiku and his son Arai Iori out of a single manufacturing facility in the industrial district. It was a little out of Kenshin's way, and a part of him had already marked it against his decision to accept whatever offer they had for him. After all, he had no desire to spend most of his day on a train. What time would he have for Kaoru then?

Both father and son greeted him respectfully, but with a restrained excitement on their beaming faces. It felt slightly surreal to Kenshin, as he was not used to being met with such acceptance or even enthusiasm purely because of his demon trait. At least not in any way that had not resulted in violence.

"Thank you so much for agreeing to meet with us, Himura-san." With their respective bows out of the way, Seiku grabbed hold of his hand and shook it intensely. "You don't know what it means to us just to have you here."

Kenshin maintained a slightly tense smile, and chuckled nervously.

"I see."

"Dad." Iori spoke out of the side of his mouth, but it was loud enough for Kenshin to hear. "I think we're making him uncomfortable."

"I think you're right. Forgive us, Himura-san. We never thought we'd see another fire demon in our lifetime. Please sit down. Have some tea."

Seiku and Iori seated themselves across from him at the small desk in their shared office. Their business had a family feel to it, and Kenshin admitted to himself that it was an atmosphere that he liked. As he sipped at the tea he was offered, he automatically picked out the demon markers he could see on each of them. From their stature, he could tell that both were earth based in their demon nature, but while Iori had the dark hair and dark eyes of hard ore, Seiku had gray eyes and hair like steel.

Once or twice Seiku caught his gaze, and smiled each time as if in encouragement. Guiltily, Kenshin finally left his attention focused on his tea and finished the liquid off in the awkward silence.

"Grandfather was quiet, too."

The strange comparison came from the son, and Kenshin frowned despite himself.

"Uh…"

"He means my father." Seiku rushed to explain, but his clarification was even more surprising. "He was a fire demon."

Twin red brows disappeared behind his long bangs.

"Arai." The name had sounded familiar, but now jumped out at him in demand. "Arai Shakku? Was that your father?"

"That's right." Iori perked up excitedly. "Did you know him?"

It certainly explained why they seemed to be perfectly comfortable in his presence. Kenshin would even go so far as to say accepting.

"Briefly. He was a friend of my father. He stopped by our home a few times when I was young."

"What a coincidence! Father never spoke much about his acquaintances. He must have really liked your father to visit more than once."

A genuine smile lightened Kenshin's features. "I'm sure my father badgered him into coming."

A friendly chuckle was shared between them all, and just like that, the tension was gone.

"My father was a master blacksmith, and was pretty famous for the swords he made." The pride in Seiku's voice was blatant, but Kenshin could not fault him for it. After all, Kenshin knew his voice did the same when speaking of his own father. "He was able to infuse the individual powers of strong demons into his swords, as long as they were willing to cooperate, and pay, of course."

Something sad tainted the expression on Seiku's face.

"He got tired of making weapons, though. When I was young, I remember thinking he always looked like he enjoyed what he did, like it was a passion for him, but near the end…" Iori watched his father lose his words, and took over for him.

"We came up with the idea of making chef knives as a way to keep the family techniques alive. Instead of taking lives, we could make something that would help feed people. A full stomach is a happy stomach, my mom says. Grandfather really took to the idea, and showed us what type and temperature of flame we would need to make the perfect blade. He drew up lots of blueprints and plans for our business, but most of them depended upon his flames. As a fire demon, he could do all that himself like second nature. We've been getting by using coal, but it's hard to maintain and doesn't provide that spark a fire demon's flame does. Grandfather's blades were masterpieces. I know we can do better than we have been."

"Yutaro-kun says your knives are already good. I imagine you'll get quite the reputation if you can enhance the quality, and if that's the case, you may have to charge him more."

"That's the plan." Iori grinned, and Seiku shook his head.

"As long as our customers are happy with the knives, we'll be fine."

"Come on, Dad. You know what Grandfather always said."

"'Don't ever sell your skill short.'" They spoke it together, and laughed together.

Now that he was interested, they took Kenshin down into the manufacturing portion of their business to show him what they wished to hire him for. The knives were in no way mass produced, but individually handcrafted with care and precision. As they had briefly explained, it was the temperature and type of flame that they were having difficulty reproducing. Not only would a steady temperature make working the metal easier, they would be able to work faster. It would be cleaner, as well, which Kenshin was a fan of.

"We've also worked out a way to use the excess heat when we're not working to keep the building warm in the winter time and reduce some of our energy costs. In the summertime, the waste heat will be converted into an electric power source to help cool the office and packaging room for our other employees."

Kenshin listened intently and nodded. The detail was impressive.

"So, you would expect me to produce and maintain a single flame. Is that all?"

"That's it. Father was able to maintain this type of flame for a month before having to renew it, but he said once that it took a lot of practice. We don't expect that right off the bat, of course. It's all up to you. We would prefer the flame be steady versus long-lived. Whenever the flame needs renewed, just come in before then to make sure it never goes out. It wouldn't need to be a set schedule either, just whenever's convenient for you."

So that's what Yutaro-kun meant about scheduling my own hours.

"Shall I give it a try?"

It certainly wasn't easy, but not as taxing as it would have been prior to his training with Hiko. Once he was certain he had the temperature perfect, he stepped back from the furnace and studied the cherry red flame carefully.

"That should last a week. I don't know about a month, but next time I should be able to get it to two weeks, now that I have a feel for it."

"Wow. It looks just like Grandfather's." Iori's voice was a bit choked up, but he cleared his throat quickly. "I'll get your pay for the day."

Kenshin blinked, and watched the son jog off to the office.

"We really appreciate this, Himura-san." Seiku bowed low. "Can we count on you going forward, as well? Your salary would be fully negotiable, but whether you accept or not, we'll pay you for this week worth of flame."

"Well… I already have a full-time job that I would prefer to keep. Are you sure you'll be fine with me showing up when it suits me?"

"Absolutely! Just out of curiosity… what do you do?"

A self-conscious chuckle closed Kenshin's eyes. "I guess I'm not actually a chef, but I do work as a cook for a restaurant. I agree whole-heartedly with your decision. Full stomachs do make people happy."

"Fortuitous! You'll have to recommend our knives to your boss!"

"I will."

Iori came jogging back with a thick white envelope that he pressed into Kenshin's hands.

"Here you are."

"How much did you give him?" Seiku questioned his son before Kenshin could be surprised by the weight. When Iori answered, Kenshin's eyes widened.

"Hmm. That's a good start." Seiku nodded seriously.

"I… hardly did anything. I couldn't accept this."

"Nonsense. You'll be saving us a lot of money, Himura-san. I'm almost afraid we're underpaying you."

"Once you're added to the payroll, we'll give you a monthly salary. Are you okay with that?"

But… if this is just for one week… then a month's salary would be double what I make at the Akabeko in the same amount of time!

"Don't ever sell your skill short, remember? No one else in the world can do what you can do. We know that, and we appreciate it. You deserve fair compensation for such a wonderful skill."

Wonderful?

When had anyone ever said that about his flame, and genuinely meant it?

Perhaps Kaoru would, if she could speak.

Something tight formed in his chest, and it was hard to speak. Instead, he shook both of them by the hand in turn, and accepted their offer gratefully.

As soon as the details were hammered out and an employment contract completed, Kenshin dug his phone from his pocket while still walking out the door.

"Himura-san, I was not expecting to hear from you. I hope it's good news?"

Shigure sounded suspiciously unsurprised despite his claim to the contrary.

"Have you already found a tenant for that loft apartment?"

"Not yet. It's yours if you want it."

"I'll take it."

X

The dream was becoming clearer. Up to that point, the fire demon had filled the entire world within her dream, and as a result, all of Kaoru's senses had been filled with him as well. Heat: the feel of it; taste of it; and smell of it. Other details were starting to stand out to her now. The red-orange flames of his body glowed bright, but now reflected off the buildings and created strange, flickering shadows in what Kaoru guessed was an alleyway. There was also a faint smell of rotten garbage and rank urine that curled her nostrils and soured her stomach.

Most noticeable, though, was the sound of screaming. The unmistakable scream of a man gripped by terror. It echoed off the buildings, and she was unable to pinpoint where it was coming from.

The pressure in her chest was intensifying, and she could feel as well as smell the burning of her own flesh. The pleading lock of her eyes on the fire demon finally fell, as was now usual, and she anticipated the vision of his finger pressed hard into her sternum. She wondered, for what was not the first time, why he was touching her when he would not look at her. She wanted so much for him to look at her, to see her. She wanted him to know her, and for her to know him. Maybe, she could touch him. Maybe, she could force him to notice her. As she willed her heavy arms to move, her chin finally completed its long, arduous journey down.

Dark lashes pulled wide around the whites of her eyes as she finally saw the truth.

It was not a finger pressed to her chest.

X

A/N: I didn't get to definitively work it into the story, but Seiku is a steel demon, and Iori is an ore demon. I thought it was kind of fun, since Shakku is a fire demon that makes swords. Since his son isn't also a fire demon, that means he didn't marry another fire demon. As previously (albeit briefly) explained, for elemental demons to have pure offspring, they have to procreate with another pure elemental demon of the same type. Which also means that Kenshin couldn't repopulate the world with more fire demons, lol. Instead, Shakku married an earth elemental, and as a result, their son was a steel demon.

I also briefly explained this, but I'm not sure if I'll get to expand on it at any point in the story, so I'll elaborate now. Just because sometimes the little details I like seem to go to waste. Kenshin never met his mother, and was raised by his father. This isn't because his mother died in child birth, and she didn't exactly abandon them either. It was more like a contract. Kenshin's dad made a deal with his mom to have a child. As mentioned, elemental demons, especially fire demons, don't really get along with their own, which made procreation difficult before their numbers dwindled. Kenshin's dad wanted a baby, son or daughter didn't matter, as long as he had someone to carry on his line. (For a very special/important reason, I promise.) Kenshin's mom agreed, but wasn't interested (sadly) in being a part of their lives after she gave birth. Unfortunately, like the other fire demons, she died in the war and Kenshin never had the chance to meet her. Although, he never really asked either, since he was happy being raised by his father.

Whew, glad that's out of the way, lol. I like Kenshin working at the Akabeko, because cooking is really special to him in this story, but I also wanted him to have something that allowed him to use his powers in a way that was helpful, to others and himself. Getting a discount for keeping an entire apartment building warm is great, but why not actually get paid?! I like how easily Arai Knives came into being as a result of this. It made me really happy.

Last thing… Yahiko. Oh, Yahiko. Be careful… you little brat. XD

Next chapter… to the beach! And Tomoe gets some spotlight. Hope you're liking this journey as much as I am! Keep the encouragement coming! This weekly thing is easy at times, but then hard at others. XP