Kendo no Go
In the Language of Kendo:
A Fanfic in 100 Chapters
by Akai Kitsune
90: Akachan
~*~
Time does
not stop for anything. Kaoru knew this, even when she was suddenly preoccupied
with the arrival of Kenji into her family. The world kept turning, businesses
still ran, people continued living. She found it hard to believe, staring down
at her little baby, that the entire world wasn't halted in its place so
everyone could come into her home and have a look.
There had never, she decided
finally, been such an adorable child in the entire world.
Realistically, she knew that
she was speaking like a mother. Parents never acknowledged their child as
ugly, right? They never looked down at that sweet, innocent face and thought
to themselves, 'He is such an ugly-'
But truthfully, Kenji was a
handsome child. Kaoru often commented on this, pointing out to Kenshin the
different features that belonged to each of them. A small, rounded nose
(Kaoru), unusually large eyes (Kaoru again - and such a beautiful colour,
Kenshin murmured), thin cheekbones (Kenshin of course), strong fists
(inherited from both, evidently), and that gorgeous hair that could be no
one's but Kenshin's (and yours, Kenshin insisted, brushing his hand through
the mussy auburn locks).
They lived in the bliss of
their son's existence for several days, floating around the dojo like lovesick
birds. Neither seemed to notice Yahiko's grumbling, or the playful games of
Ayame and Suzume with their visiting grandfather, or Tae and Tsubame's own
comments on the child's development. Kenji was their heaven.
Eventually, the world did
move on. Kenji became old news, less exciting to many people around them and
more of a source of noise and aggravation. Yahiko stated several times that
the boy was a troublesome brat when left alone, much like his busu mother.
Tsubame said quietly that he was a bit of a handful. Tae, when asked,
would mutter that she'd love to baby-sit, provided he was kept away - far away
- from the Akabeko kitchen. Neither parent wanted to ask what sort of disaster
had occurred the last time Kenji was at the restaurant without his parents.
Even Kenshin suffered his share of hair pulling, which Kaoru suspected would
not be such a problem if he had not have cut that wonderful hair of his.
Megumi seemed to be the only
one who had no trouble with him. Her excuse was that she had handled plenty of
children in the past, observing mothers and their conditions after birthing,
and that no child was too difficult to control. It all depended on the
parents, she stated firmly, raising an eyebrow at Kaoru. Which of course sent
Kaoru into a fit.
But Megumi was usually gentle
with Kaoru when discussing motherhood; perhaps she knew how uneasy Kaoru was
with the subject. The younger woman was constantly fearing her motherly skills
- if she held the baby correctly, if she fed him enough, if she was acting
badly and that he wouldn't ever love her even though she loved him so much she
would burst.
Everyone reassured her that
she was doing fine, the family was perfect, Kenji loved her dearly and always
would. But fear was always there, and she hated it. She wondered if the hate
would swell like a balloon and somehow be transferred to the child she held in
her arms. She wondered if everyone would someday see what a bad job she was
doing and take Kenji away from her.
Kenshin
was her refuge. He knew her moods too well; knew when to comfort her, when to
stay away and give her room, when to take Kenji from her and let her be alone
for a while. He knew when to burst into the room with a grin and a child on
his shoulders, calling out that "kaasan needed to come play with tousan and
the akachan!" She didn't know precisely how he knew, or when he had learned,
but she was grateful, especially when Kenji learned to laugh with him.
Slowly her fears began to
fade, as she grew more confident, more assured with the life she had made with
her husband and son.
'This is what I
wanted,' she thought to herself one day, watching her son take his first
steps, a wide smile on his face, laughter dancing in his twilight eyes,
Kenshin kneeling before him with arms wide open in welcome.
'I wanted a family,
where we could all be happy and together for the rest of our lives.'
'I wanted the dojo
to be full of laughter.'
'We made it,
Kenshin... we made it work, we made it into what we really wanted and needed.'
'This is home.'
~*~
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