Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Wanderer ❯ Mother? ( Chapter 7 )

Short brief of what’s been happening with me: Hello everyone!! I apologize for the long wait, yada yada yada.. also for this short chapter. You probably don’t want to hear it, but this is my little sob story, if I’m boring you already, feel free to just skip down to the actual story. My excuse? School started, and it’s hell on earth, excuse my French. I haven’t really had the time to write at all, I don’t get home till 6 pm (Marching band practice), and spend a good 5 hours on just my homework every night. My weekends are full because of my job. >.< I don’t really have much time to write anymore, but I’m not giving up!!! Enjoy the story!


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Chapter 7-

Even in his sleep her face haunted him. The smile upon her lips as she gazed into his eyes and proclaimed her love for him and him alone. And every time, another memory soon followed. The site of a brutally murdered Koaru. It had been a clone, but still the picture had forever been imprinted in his mind. What if Enishi hadn't been so nice? There were so many possibilities, risky chances that could've cost him her life. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he jolted awake, nearly hitting his head on the trunk of the tree he rested against. Head bowed, and chest heaving, he gathered a handful of grass, and crushed it beneath his grasp. The moisture of the dew that had fallen during the night bled through the blades of grass, the color darkening as if stained by its own blood. The moisture that was soon touching his hands, moving below his fingernails caused him to shudder and abruptly let it go. His hands trembled, and shoulders slightly shivering, as if suppressing the terrible urge to cry out in his grief. It was just a dream, he told himself.. only memories long gone. Why? Why after so long, after so many fights... after he had tried so hard to protect them, why was she being wretched from his grasp? He half wished that this danger could have been a new enemy.. but no, a disease. The one thing he was helpless against, and would have to watch as his love withered away.

The sound of humming drifted to his ears as he took collected breathes, repairing his disoriented self. The tune was familiar; it left a trail of sorrow in his heart, yet warmed it with bittersweet memories. He could almost see her face, laughing at him with those beautiful eyes. She used to sing that song all the time. Under his breath, he repeated the lyrics to himself.



She couldn’t stop smiling at him, and it took all her will to resist kissing that man. After getting over the initial joy and confusion of finding themselves in physical bodies, she started to realize that they would have to keep up some sort of charade. At least until they could run away together. But there seemed to be hawk eyes on them from every aspect of the village. “Father has relayed a message that he’ll be here in a few days. I’m told that my ‘son and husband’ will be arriving around the same time. Oh Shijin.. I already bore of this façade. This Kamiya girl was so mundane.. Why couldn’t father have chosen a single woman?” She leaned against the muscular chest of her fiancé. A smile gracing her lips as his breath tickled at her ears, arms tightly wrapped around her small waist, and in turn, her arms intertwined around his.

They lay upon the futon; Uneki spooned against his chest as they lay upon their sides. The faint sounds of crickets chirped in the distance, and once in a while the chattering of the nocturnal would reach their ears from the open window. Shijin listened intently, no matter what body or voice, she would always enchant him. “Well… we had planned on having a child when the war ended.. And from what I’ve heard, this supposed husband and Kamiya are no longer together.” He nibbled at her ear, ignoring her squeaks of protest. “In laments terms, my dear… I can have you all to myself, and a son to go with it.”

“I wonder if he’ll be handsome. Smart? His name is Kenji… Not my first choice of a name, but it has a ring to it, don’t you think? You can teach him the art of swords… and with my help; he’ll be the best bowman in all of Japan.” She sighed as the dreams of the future made it way into her hope diluted mind. She could already picture the family they would make. It seemed like paradise, she couldn’t wait to receive her son.


The sounds of birds chattering filled his ears, and he moaned as he felt a moist licking upon his cheeks. Eyes shot open, and they were met with the site of a small fox. He jolted up, in turn throwing the creature from his lap, and causing it to trot away in distress. Scowling, a hand reached up to wipe of the slobber that had been placed on his face. He chose to ignore the soft laughter coming from his father, or rather.. traveling companion. Kenji had a long way to go before he would accept this man as one of his blood. The aroma of breakfast filled his nostrils, and he almost salivated at the thought of food. He had expected to wake up early to fix it for himself, but it seems that Kenshin had beaten him to it. Approaching the fire, where the other red head was stoking the fire, he looked around for what he might eat. When his father offered him breakfast, it caught him off guard, and almost made him stumble in surprise. The man had made HIM breakfast? Hesitatingly, he took the piece of bread and meat. Though not exactly the best thing for breakfast, it was surprisingly good. Perhaps the man wasn’t as bad as he had thought… still… it would be a long 2days travel..



Their flirting was going to drive him insane. For the majority of the 2 days, he was forced to go out and train or mingle with the other villagers just to get away from their antics. The children had taken an instant liking to him, perhaps because he was still such a child at heart. Whatever the case, Yahiko was quick to pick up the lessons where Kaoru had left off. It gave him something to get his mind off of “Kaoru and Enishi’s” new ‘condition’. The sound of a bokken cutting through the air echoed within the yard, he walked amongst the students and observed, correcting some here and there. “Pair off!!”

And the students bowed, cries of “Hai Sensei!!” were heard. As soon as formalities were through, they moved as one, scurrying like ants to find a partner. Soon, at the teachers command, they were sparring with one another, careful not to bruise the opponent that they had chosen.

Yahiko watched as the students thrust, swung, and sliced at each other. He was fairly certain that none would strike with to much force. It made him proud to see so many followers of the Kamiya Kasshin style. Back at home, there had been so few members. Only he and Eutaro had been completely devoted. Kaoru had taught them well. The thought of Kaoru saddened him. What had happened to her? Something strange was in the air, and he swore to all the gods that he would find out what it was, and bring his busu back! A loud knocking interrupted his thoughts. Someone was at the gate. He motioned for two of the students closer to the wooden doors to open it. As the creaking sound filled the air, and gates were pulled open, he was met with the site of what he had thought, the two versions of the same person. Shaking his head slightly, he grinned, pushing back the uncanny resemblance between Kenshin and Kenji. The cries of the latter name filled the air. Weapons were dropped as the majority of the students rushed towards their role model. The select few had remembered their training and ‘sheathed their blades’ before rushing over the fire-haired boy.

Kenshin made his way out of the crowd of students towards the only familiar face there, Yahiko. Stopping in front of the young man, he noted with a small sort of pride, that he still carried the sakkaboto (spelling??). However, now was not the time to reminisce about the past, nor marvel of how much this young man had grown from the 10 year old brat long ago. “Where is she?” His voice was soft, almost deadly. His emotions of worry and distress were causing his stability to tread a line along the cliff edge. He feared that if he didn’t see her one last time before she left, he might go a bit mad. His eyes narrowed, and he could only fear the worse as the boy suddenly stiffened, tense, as if hesitant to reply to his question. “Where is she?” His voice was more aggressive this second time, almost wild. He heard a the chattering voiced behind him suddenly dull to a murmur, then whispering and finally dead silence, save the soft padding of footsteps approaching. He guessed that it was Kenji.

It had taken awhile to disentangle himself from the clinging familiar faces. But his father’s voice had parted the noise like a knife through butter. All eyes had turned to the elder red-head. Kenji had taken this opportunity to make his way to his ‘brother’. Silence hung through the air, almost like a thin wall of glass separated each and every individual from the other. It was almost unnerving. “ Had something happened? Myojin’s tense attitude frightened him. He prayed they hadn’t come too late. Standing next to his father, he gazed into Yahiko’s eyes, searching for some sort of answer. What he found there didn’t reassure him one bit. “Mother..”, and the glass wall shattered as he cried out, breaking away from the two, and taking long strides towards the door. However, as it slid open before he reached it, he paused, stock still a few feet away. A familiar voice filled his ears, and there standing before him was a woman that he had known all his life, yet in this time and moment, was a complete stranger to him. The man who stood with her, was almost as bewildering as she was. “Mother..?”

Kenshin’s eyes were drawn to the door, and the sight chilled him to the bone. It was as if time had never lapsed since their relationship was only wanderer and dojo owner. He stared at a familiar face, not having aged, in fact, she seemed have gotten younger since the last time he had laid eyes upon his wife. The figure next to her brought back memories, and he was almost convinced that this was Jinchuu all over again. Enishi didn’t seem to have aged all since the last time he’d sent he white haired brother-in-law.


They had heard the commotion from inside, and naturally the couple was anxious to meet their “new” son. However, when they stepped outside, it was not the scene they had expected. Just as the other party, the couple froze in their tracks. Any joy that had been on their face drained away at the sight before them. The nightmare they had thought died long ago had resurfaced. Uneki almost cried out in horror, the night of their deaths replaying in her mind. She involuntarily took a step back, only to stumble into the firm chest and engulfed in the arms of her fiancé. Blood drained from her face, “Battousai…”

Shijin saw fire and brimstones. Would this be hell all over again? There standing before them was the monster that had destroyed their lives so long ago. There was no way he was going to let history repeat itself. He hugged his beloved closer to him, he wasn’t going to lose her again, not to HIM. “What do you want Battousai…?” His voice was icy, and for the moment, both he and Uneki forgot that they were living in someone else’s body. His adversary’s voice echoed in his ears.

“My wife..” Violet eyes flashed amber, and his hand reached for his katana. It took several moments for him to control his emotions. He wasn’t here for a fight. He was here to see her again. “Kaoru..” He stared at the girl, who only showed signs of pure fright when she looked at him. It tore what remained of his heart to shreds. There was silence for a long while, as the three simply stared at one another. One figure with hate, one with fright, and the last in pain.

Once again, he was the one to break the silence. The words hovered within the air, even after it was spoken, driving an arrow through the hearts of all. His voice was on the verge of cracking, and when he spoke, he was tottering on the edge of hysteria. “Where’s my mother?”

TBC


Love it? Hate it? Hate me?? Good. I’d like your opinions. Believe it or not, they mean a lot to me.
I apologies for my horrible grammar, it’s not really my forte, but at least its legible!!
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