Kendo no Go
In the Language of Kendo:
A Fanfic in 100 Chapters
by Akai Kitsune
34: Kumo
~*~
Kaoru was not a very big fan of bugs. She did not
scream outright, but there was a firm, unshakable distaste that would not
disappear, no matter what she did or how many of the insects were squished
beneath her fingers. Whenever there was one in her room, she anxiously tugged
her father over to get rid of the creature. She stood at his back, hands fisted
in his hakama, her eyes narrowed in defiance against the intrusion as he took
care of it. It was her home, and it would be kept clean, if she had
anything to say about it.
Her mother seemed as disinclined to deal with small creeping things as she
was, but she was quite a bit more vocal about it. More than once in her lifetime
her shriek had echoed throughout the household, Kaoru and her father running
over to stop whatever madman was attacking... just in time to rescue her from
the spider slowly climbing down from the ceiling.
It saved the creatures from taking a dive in their meal, anyway.
Besides his strange fascination with fireflies, Kenji did
not appreciate insects in his early years, either. Kaoru suddenly found the
roles reversed, and it was she who came to her son's rescue when his voice cried
out in terror from beyond the shoji.
"Okaasan! Spider!"
Moments later she was standing on a small stool, a scrap of rice paper
between her fingers, squinting in the darkness in search of something she had no
desire to touch. Kenshin probably would have gone, she mused, but he had come
home tired from yet another mission, and was already dead to the world in their
room. She didn't want to show her young, impressionable son that she was afraid
of a spider, anyway.
"Kill it, kill it!" he called encouragingly, hiding his
face in the blankets.
She was grateful, then, that she hadn't sent Kenshin. He was always overly
sensitive - sometimes infuriatingly so - and such a comment, innocent and
unknowing as it was, was likely to upset him. She had patience for his brooding,
but she could only take so much before she drew the line. He really had
to stop jumping at shadows...
Crunch.
Kaoru winced at the feel of the spider's body compressing beneath her
fingers, and quickly retreated to the ground, bearing the ruined paper with her.
Kenji immediately sprang from the futon, tugging her arm until she knelt beside
him and showed off her prize.
He gazed at the limp form for a long moment, then let himself fall, thumping
down on the bed unhappily.
"Ken-chan? What's wrong?"
"No blood," he mumbled, sulking.
She blinked. Where on earth did the child get those notions from? She really
had to talk with Yahiko... soon.
"Well," she smiled back at him, brushing aside her
discomfort. "Do you feel better now?"
He brightened. "Yeah! I'm not scared of spiders! And if any come here and try
to hurt you, kaasan, I'll protect you! I'll bash their heads in! Bam!" He jumped
to his feet, waving his arms as if wielding a bokken and vanquishing any foes.
Kaoru's eyebrow twitched.
'Soon. Definitely soon.'
Part of her knew she ought to be scolding him; no son of the Kamiya dojo
should talk about bashing anyone's head in. But... in all honesty, she
felt a growing warmth in her heart, as the words were echoed in her mind.
"I'll protect you..."
"Kaoru-dono, I'll protect you."
"Come on," she said finally, "Bed time."
His fierce, delighted little smile faded at the thought, and he reluctantly
crawled under the covers, snuggling with a worn, embroidered doll Sanosuke had
sent over from China not long ago. He looked up at her expectantly, waiting for
the ritual tucking-in that always followed.
She did tuck him in, and she did kiss his forehead with a whisper of
goodnight, but instead of leaving, she curled up beside him, holding his hand as
he drifted off to sleep, a smile on his face. Before she followed him into the
realm of dreams, she thought briefly, guiltily, of Kenshin, who would wake up
alone and wonder where she had been... but maybe he would understand.
"I'll protect you."
Yes, she believed he would understand in the morning.
~*~
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