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


by Akai Kitsune

57: Son

 

~*~

boy n. shonen. 1. a male child to the age of physical maturity; youth; lad. 2. a man regarded as common, lowly, immature, or callow. 3. a young man, fellow; a familiar form of address. 4. a male servant; an underling; a patronizing term. 5. a messenger; a helper. 6. a son.

Kaoru had always wanted a girl, which made the existence of her son a little harder to deal with, at first. She hadn't expected a boy, and was entirely unprepared to raise him. Thankfully, she had quite some time - and a lot of people to give her aid - before she had to consider doing anything more than feeding and dressing the child.

Kenshin was thrilled to have a child at all, a reaction which she had expected. They had cared for Yahiko for years already, and his ability to guide and mold the boy into a young man on the path to honourable adulthood had shone through on many occasions. She was a little envious, how he seemed so prepared, so ready to be a father, while she frequently doubted her parenting skills, even as she held her son in her arms.

When she asked him how he could be so calm and relaxed over the prospect of raising a child, he laughed. It had surprised her - it seemed like a perfectly good question, and she truly did want to know - but it was so rare that he laughed, her question instead transformed into why, exactly, he was laughing.

He smiled back at her, his eyes still shining with lingering amusement, and took the slumbering Kenji from her arms, cuddling him close.

"This child," he murmured, gazing at the baby with a peculiar expression on his face, "Terrifies me more than any swordsman, any foe that stood before me in the past."

He never ceased to surprise her, it seemed.

 

Kenshin never expanded upon his strange, enigmatic statement, but his actions spoke far louder. His eyes were soft, his hands gentle, his voice quiet, whenever Kenji was near. The rurouni had always been polite, but the presence of a child - his child - tempered his demeanor beyond all her expectations. It was as if he was afraid of waking the boy, of ruining a dream, of shattering the image of a perfect family with the chaos of real life.

"He sleeps too much," Kaoru complained one day, watching the baby as he blissfully slumbered in his bed. He was only a few days old.

Kenshin smiled and shook his head. "Iie. It's normal, isn't it?"

"Well, that's what Gensai-sensei says, but..."

"He's so peaceful when he's sleeping," Kenshin continued, reassuring her with his relaxed tone. "It's soothing to watch him. Just let him sleep..."

She bit her lip, unsure, but knowing he was right, the doctor was right, and she was worrying for nothing.

"Soon," he whispered, brushing his finger across the newborn's cheek, "He'll wake up, and we'll be wishing we could go back to this."

 

He was right, of course. Kenji awoke like a storm, growing and never ceasing to do so. He tore through the house, the town, their lives, bringing laughter and tears wherever he went.

And he went wherever he dared to go.

In his heart, Kaoru could sense that he was a wanderer too, in part. He sought his answers, he watched for his dreams, he chased the shadows of the lives around him, past or present. He had a brilliant drive for knowledge that, truthfully, she hadn't expected from her son - as one who enjoyed knowing peace and only that, who looked for the truth when it was needed, and accepted the excuses of others when it was for her own protection.

But he was Kenshin's son, and Kenshin had always known too much, seen too much, kept too much to himself. Kenshin was his own master, however innocent and oblivious he depicted himself to be. Kenji wished for nothing more than the strength and right to lead his own life, to find his own path.

And, though she took great pride in the determined vision of his own future, Kaoru wished, just as Kenshin told her, that they could return to how it had once been, when life was peaceful, when Kenji was home, sleeping, with his father's finger brushing against his skin as he slept on, knowing the feel of parental love and nothing more.

~*~

This is sort of reminiscent of Seisouhen, although it's following the pattern of Watsuki-sensei's guideline of who Kenji was (or would be, rather). He states that Kenji becomes quite the genius, even though he's pretty egotistical. I figured that, as a true brainiac, he's want to know anything and everything, ^_^ So I wrote him that way.

The original title of this chapter was "Boy". As many of you probably guessed, it is meant to be a parallel to "Daughter".

I haven't mentioned this before, but the definitions in this story come more-or-less directly from the source novel, which I don't have on hand at the moment... anyway, the English definitions are from there, so they're not mine in any way. Just thought I'd mention it now...

More coming soon!
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