Kendo no Go
In the Language of Kendo:
A Fanfic in 100 Chapters
by Akai Kitsune
81: Honey
~*~
Kenji had
a growing affection for sticky things, Kaoru learned as he grew older. As a
toddler he loved to crawl through the mud, coating his clothes in the dirt -
something she did not appreciate, despite the fact that it was Kenshin who
usually did the laundry - and when he learned to walk, the habit became even
more difficult to break.
It didn't take Kenji long to
discover the wonders of honey. Somehow the very idea that something could be
so amazingly sticky and edible fascinated him. This amused Kenshin, and
he found himself shopping for the sweet syrup more often as time passed. He
discovered it to be surprisingly good as well - surprising, because of his
usual avoidance of sugary foods. Never mind how Kaoru felt about it.
Kaoru showed him something to
do with honey which won him over in the end: by adding a generous spoonful to
a cup of cool green tea in summertime, the flavour developed into something
not too sweet, nor bitter; with the right amount - something he experimented
with - it could become quite a treat.
At first, however, the honey
would not blend properly with the tea, he noticed; it collected at the bottom
of the lukewarm cup, rebelling against his intent to mix the two. Only by
several attempts at stirring the stubborn syrup would the tea and honey blend
together.
Kaoru watched him mix it one
day, smiling when the honey disappeared as though he had conquered a great
foe. He stared down at the cup, as if suddenly realizing some great thought.
"Kenshin?"
she blinked, puzzled by his expression.
"It's like
you," he murmured, then clamped his jaw shut, unwilling - or unable - to
explain his enigmatic remark.
"You are too sweet
for me..."
She didn't ask him to
elaborate, curious as she was; she knew his stubbornness like she knew her
own, recognizing them both as a match for one another. She also knew - all too
well - that firm expression on his face, fixed to his silence like giant
boulders are to the shore. Only by slowly picking away at it could one break
through the walls of refusal.
Truthfully, he didn't know
how to explain his spontaneous observation - it had been sudden, not
really considered fully until later, and unraveling the mystery even as he
told her would only confuse them both. Eventually he pieced his thoughts
together, but by then she had forgotten it, so there was no point in bringing
it up, besides in his own mind.
It was the tea, not the
honey, which reminded him of his wife; she was pure and untarnished, a light,
comforting warmth to a weary traveler at the end of a long day's journey.
No, the intrusion to such
purity was not Kaoru, but himself. Entering her life not by his own bidding
but by the wind's calling, he was consumed by her warmth, her compassion, and
he was defenseless against her pleas to stay. He tried - sometimes without
sincere effort, but oh, he tried - to flee from her, but everywhere he went,
she was there, right behind him, her welcome and her glowing smile drawing him
back home again.
It took her several attempts
to keep him with her - endless attempts to truly make it permanent - but the
reward of their joining was well worth the effort. It was a constant trial,
determining exactly how much of each would make the perfect blend, but the
challenge was never beyond their abilities.
'Sometimes beyond
our patience,' he admitted with a wry smile, 'But we never give up, do
we?'
'... maybe you'd
understand, koishii...'
~*~
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