NOT MINE! *huff*
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None.
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Kendo no Go
In the Language of Kendo:
A Fanfic in 100 Chapters


by Akai Kitsune

33: Ashi

 

~*~

Not long after Kenji's birth, once her fascination of his perfect hands had faded to a lesser degree, Kaoru realized that his baby smoothness was certainly not limited to just that. She learned that his feet were just as soft, just as delicate, each intricate toe accented by a tiny nail, the colour of a pale seashell on the beach. As she drew her hands along each bump and curve on the feet of her dozing baby, she also discovered that he was, in fact, rather ticklish. Her own nails soon found a new hobby and amusement, and as he grew older, she was rewarded with the treasured sound of his laughter.

She noticed, though, that as the weeks, months, and eventually years passed, the softness transformed into the rough, callused skin of a boy who moved constantly, exploring the outside world with the enchanted curiousity only a child could possess, stomping through mud, grass, and rocks, scraping and crawling, marring his beautiful, perfect feet with bruises and cuts. A part of her cried out in outrage at the world for that one, seemingly insignificant loss, even as her pride soared at the determination of her son, brushing aside pain and scars with the casual mindset she had often seen in her husband. He was, in truth, beneath his temper and his young, brash ambition, a great deal like his father.

 

She found a scar on Kenshin's foot one day, when he returned from a particularly tiring mission for the police chief and immediately fell down on their futon to rest, he told her, only for a few hours before starting his chores. She originally intended to let him sleep the day away, if it were possible, but Kenji's absence - he had also gone down for his daily nap - and her impish motivation prodded her to determine whether or not his feet were as ticklish as their son. She caught him smiling as she carefully tugged his tabi away, and her silent question was answered without effort. He didn't move, though, and she knew he would allow her to have her fun - for a moment, at least.

As her hand drew near his bare foot, she noticed a long, thin line of a scar trailing from the center of his foot to the heel, jagged and uneven. She traced the length with her nail, questioning, and earned a chuckle from him before he shifted away. He sat up, a broad smile on his face, but the laughter died in his throat as he caught sight of her thoughtful expression.

"Kaoru?" he asked after a moment, cautious.

She was suddenly annoyed that she allowed her inquisitiveness to make him anxious, but knew there was no point in eluding him now. "Ah, gomen... I just noticed it, that's all. I was curious..."

His smile returned, small and wistful. "It's all right. That was a mistake on my part, really... from the war, a long time ago."

Kaoru shifted closer to him, drawing his hand into her own. "Will you tell me?"

"Aa." He didn't hesitate, and she felt more comfortable with the story when she knew that he was. "I was returning from a mission-" She wasn't about to explore what the mission was, and from his tone of voice, neither was he, "And I wasn't really concentrating on what was below me so much as behind. The Shinsengumi were getting rather good at tailing me, and it didn't help that I was already wounded."

"Badly?" she interrupted quietly, her voice concerned.

He merely smiled again, giving her fingers a gentle squeeze. "No, not badly. But enough to slow me down. I had lost one of my sandals in an earlier scuffle, and it had rained that evening... in other words, the perfect combination of bad circumstances to make a tired hitokiri step on a broken sake jar and fall flat on his face."

It was such a ridiculous idea, really, that Kaoru couldn't withhold a small giggle. She ruffled his hair, smiling in sympathy, even as she murmured in his ear, "Baka."

"Aa," he said again, kissing her cheek, "Going back home is always an adventure, isn't it?"

"Home?" she echoed, her smile playful.

"Well, perhaps not home then," he corrected, musing. "But certainly it is now."

She snuggled closer to him, the words still dancing across her tongue.

'Home...'

 

Kenshin's scars were always a target for her own curousity, even in the first days of their relationship. Hitokiri Battousai was known only for the scars he received from the men he had killed - but Himura Kenshin was acknowledged because of the wounds he took while protecting those in need. She took great pride in that recognition, even if Kenshin himself could not. He saw his scars as past failures, injuries incurred when he was not strong enough to prevent them. Everything he did was torn apart and criticized, broken down with the narrow-eyed appraisal of a self-recriminatory pessimist. Nothing he did was good enough; not for him.

Kaoru often wished she could tear down his walls of self-hate and guilt, pull him back up and make him understand the good he had done for the world, for her, for their son. He had taken a lonely girl, a walking target for the edge of a murderer's katana, and made a family, a real home. He had taught her what forgiveness, joy, and, yes, what love was, by merely existing. She wanted to do the same for him; make him look with his eyes open for once and see that the world did not have their backs turned to him, just because of who he was or had been. There was so much she wanted to do for him, to show that she appreciated everything he had done for her. But there was always smile, and his hands, gently seizing whatever burdens she might have and taking them upon himself. His heart was too giving to allow anything to slow it down.

'Though maybe... maybe sometimes, I can slow him down.'

'I can do more... and I'll get him to rest once in a while. He works so hard...'

'We all do, don't we? To support each other...'

'... like a real family...'

'Maybe that's why...'

The thought made her smile, even as Kenshin worked, and Kenji played in the dirt... but mostly when the two were together, splashing in the water of the laundry bucket, Kenji nestled in the crook of Kenshin's arm, their hands wet, wrinkled, and just as identical as their hearts.

~*~

*eyes spinning* Yet another chapter that took much longer to write than I anticipated. My apologies for the delay.

The ending was inspired by Haku Baikou's wonderful piece of fanart in which Kenshin and Kenji are doing laundry together. I would definitely recommend visiting her site, because all her work is a treat to see, ^_^

The original chapter title was "Foot", which is the translation of Ashi, of course...
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