Kendo no Go
In the Language of Kendo:
A Fanfic in 100 Chapters
by Akai Kitsune
40: Daughter
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girl n. onna no ko. 1. a female
child. 2. a young, or relatively young, unmarried woman. 3.
a female servant or employee. 4. a woman of any age,
married or single. 5. a sweetheart; also, one's wife. See
also GIRLFRIEND, GIRLHOOD, GIRLIE, GIRLISH, KENDO GIRL.
During her pregnancy, Kaoru fervently
hoped for a baby girl. Being the first-born and a girl herself -
as well as an only child - she knew exactly how to raise her,
although she lacked most skills that young women would receive.
But there was time enough for that, really.
She loved to go clothes shopping with Kenshin, cooing and
coddling over the tiny swathes of clothing a newborn would wear,
brushing her fingers across cotton kimonos made for a little
girl-child, bright colours and patterns that were, in her mind,
perfect. She could see the child in her mind's eye: dark hair,
beautiful violet eyes - no matter what, the baby just had
to have Kenshin's eyes - short, but that was expected considering
the size of her parents. And naturally, a silk indigo ribbon for
her hair, though the significance would be lost on her. She
didn't have to know.
Kenshin always smiled at her, as she pointed out the tiny
outfits with bright eyes and joyful laughter. He smiled, but he
didn't answer her the way she wanted him to.
He said yes, it was cute, and yes, it would look wonderful on
a little baby girl.
He didn't say that yes, it was cute, and yes, it would look
wonderful on their little baby girl.
She wondered if he didn't want a girl, or in the least, not as
much as she did. He was a swordsman... and swordsmen always
wanted male heirs, didn't they?
"I'm not passing down my techniques to
anyone."
Anyone at all.
'So what is he so secretive about?'
It was infuriating, really. Even if he didn't care what the
child was, as he claimed, he could at least show a little
enthusiasm.
Such as the enthusiasm shown when he held up a small training
gi, his eyes knowing as he told her it would suit a practitioner
of the Kamiya Kasshin style very well. Or his smiling face as he
weighed a short bokken in his hands, testing it's swing with a
practiced hand. Or his laughter when she held up a soft pink
kimono, raising her eyebrow meaningfully.
"Sessha's gi is mostly
red, you know," he murmured in her ear, eliciting a giggle
and a gentle elbow in his gut.
Or his hand carefully squeezing hers - as if she were fragile,
yet still, unmistakably, his Kaoru - as she discussed
sizes and custom makings for a girl with the shopkeeper, a plump,
fervent woman with an eye for sales and prospective buyers. He
was careful to keep the discussions limited only to the planning
stages, to avoid any unnecessary purchases. Which, if course,
annoyed her to no end; how was he to know whether or not they
were unnecessary?
Yes, she very dearly wanted a little girl; to hug, to hold,
and to do for her all the things she never received as a child,
spending most of her time with her father, learning more how to
be a boy than a girl. She wanted to learn how to be a lady as her
daughter grew up, so she, in turn, could teach the child how to
act properly.
After Kenji - her son - was born, she learned that
wanting something did not always mean you were to receive it.
But, more importantly, she learned that, from a mother's
viewpoint, what you received was always, in the end, something
you truly wanted more than anything else in your heart.
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