Kendo no Go
In the Language of Kendo:
A Fanfic in 100 Chapters
by Akai Kitsune
49: Tanuki
~*~
There was an ancient story,
Kaoru remembered, about a fox and a tanuki. The two met on a road and, knowing
their skills of transformation, decided to hold a contest in order to determine
who was superior.
It was so like them, she
mused. Always fighting, always seeking ways to best the other. Always warring
for the greatest prize.
Sometimes she felt hurt by
Megumi's teasing, however lighthearted it usually was. It was hard to brush
aside a vocalized statement of what she thought - knew - to be true.
"You're no
replacement for Tomoe-san."
Hard, indeed.
Yahiko had once tried to give
her reassurance, however crude it was. He mentioned, after a particularly
harsh comment from Megumi, that "tanuki always have bigger balls than
anything".
After she had throttled him
and sent him through a grueling exercise, she slowly learned to appreciate his
odd comfort. She knew, in part, that Kenshin loved her for who she was - the
sweaty, energetic tomboy - not who she sometimes wished to be. He knew her
limits, often better than she did, and so did not expect more from her
than she could - or would - give. Yahiko knew this as well, it seemed, and he
never hesitated to remind her.
She was thankful for that, at
least.
Kaoru
never imagined how much she'd miss Megumi when her friend left for Aizu. She
thought she would be glad - no more clever, derogatory remarks, no more loud,
obnoxious laughter at her expense, no more sly glances at her precious
Ken-san, or flickers of disdain at any childish impulses she sometimes gave
into.
But as she thought more on
it, she remembered all the older woman had done for her. The elegant fox-lady
had served as an example of how a lady could be - beautiful, wise, independent
and skilled - and had guided her to become a stronger woman herself. Megumi
probably never saw her as a woman - sometimes Kaoru had doubts - but
through her strange teachings, Kaoru learned.
And those lessons were
appreciated, in her heart of hearts.
She had been close to tears
as Megumi turned away from their "family" and climbed into the waiting
carriage, but she held them back, aided by the memory of the woman's smile,
the way she had turned and not looked back, not once. Not even for Kenshin.
"Thank you,
Megumi-san."
"I'm not doing it
for you."
Of course it wasn't for her.
It had never been for her, had it? Yet still, she was grateful. And, in
respect for Megumi's own strength, she refused to go back to the weak,
cowardly girl she had once been without Kenshin. Maybe someday Megumi would
see her as worthy for Kenshin, that she had not surrendered to someone who was
forever hopeless.
Maybe Megumi, too, knew the
ancient story; knew that, in the end, the tanuki won.
~*~
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