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Young Again: Chapter 4 - To Be a Child

by Fitz

“Oh crap!” Yahiko blurted, halting in the middle of the road. Confused as to why the boy had stopped so suddenly, Kenshin, Kaoru, and Sanosuke paused and looked up at him.

“What’s wrong, Yahiko?” Kaoru asked, curiously having developed a noticeable lisp. “Why are you stopping?”

“I’m supposed to work at the Akabeko tonight,” Yahiko glared down at the three. “I can’t leave you guys alone at the dojo.”

“We can take care of ourselves, brat,” Sanosuke fisted his little hands and mocked a punch at Kenshin. The redheaded boy dodged the swing, and Sanosuke stumbled, nearly falling on his face. “I’m still Sagara Sanosuke, no matter how big I am.”

“Megumi-dono took my sakabatou,” Kenshin said, a bit mournfully.

“It’s okay, Kenshin,” Kaoru patted his shoulder gently. “You can use one of the shinais in the dojo.”

“It’s not the same,” Kenshin muttered, pouting.

“For Kami’s sake,” Yahiko shook his head. “You idiots. Even if you remember how to fight, you can’t. Look at yourselves!”

“Who are you calling idiots, Yahiko?” Kaoru growled. “I’m still your assistant master, don’t forget.”

“Whatever,” Yahiko sighed. “You’ll just have to come with me.”

“We’ll be fine alone at the dojo!” Sanosuke protested again.

“And if someone comes and picks you up?” Yahiko planted his hand on the chibi-version of Sanosuke’s shoulder and gave him a solid shove. Sanosuke fell back on his butt, stunned to the core.

“Hey!”

“Yahiko is right, Sano,” Kenshin stepped forward, sliding his hands under Sanosuke’s arms and helping him to his feet. “We can’t defend ourselves like this.”

“I hate it when the brat is right,” Sanosuke grumbled, shoving Kenshin away. “I can get up by myself Kenshin. I’m not a little child.”

Everyone stared at him, his words and the image of him not matching. Sanosuke scowled and crossed his arms.

“Not a word,” he growled. “Not one word.”

Yahiko, Kenshin, and Kaoru laughed at his expense, then turned back toward town. Yahiko looked like a typical baby-sitter, with the three little kids around him. Kaoru skipped beside him in her little kimono, her ponytail swinging behind her. Kenshin, with a new gi and hakama--blue and white respectively--that actually fit, padded along behind them. Sanosuke, still sulking, caught up with Kenshin--the top of whose head yet only reached his shoulder--and walked beside the eight-year-old.

^_^

Everyone agreed that the group’s predicament should not become common knowledge. So the young trio adopted different names and a simple story to explain their background. And their story was put to the test when they reached the Akabeko.

“Tae-san, this is Sano, Kaori, and Shinta,” Yahiko explained. “They’re visiting Gensai-sensei, and he asked if I would baby-sit. Is it okay if they stay here while I work for awhile?”

“Sure!” Tae smiled brightly and bent forward, bracing her hands on her knees to look into the faces of the three children before her. “Kaori must be the pretty little girl, right?”

Kaoru positively beamed under the compliments and nodded happily. Sanosuke muttered some derisive comment under his breath, and Kaoru promptly shoved her elbow deep into his stomach.

“Ow!” the brown-haired child doubled over. “Kaoru--Kaori!”

“Eh heh heh...” Yahiko grabbed their collars and held the two apart. “Sano and Kaori don’t always get along.”

Sanosuke took a wild swing at Kaoru, missing entirely. Kaoru just stuck out her tongue.

“So that’s Sano,” Tae giggled. She looked at Kenshin. “And this must be Shinta.”

Kenshin flinched at the name but nodded. Misinterpreting his recoil for nervousness, Tae smiled warmly.

“It’s okay, Shinta,” she said gently. She held out her hand to him, and he stared at it uncertainly. “Would you like to help out in the kitchen?”

For a long second, Kenshin just stared at her, unable to comprehend the way she babied him. At Yahiko’s nod, he forced a smile and put his hand in Tae’s noting that it was much smaller than the woman’s. She straightened, drawing his hand up by his head. How strange that he had to look up so far to see her face! Kenshin did not like it.

“Sano and Kaori can go out back and help or just play in the alley,” she continued, dragging the young Kenshin along to the kitchen. “And you can get into your apron, Yahiko-kun, and help Tsubame-chan serve the guests.”

“Right!” Yahiko crouched down and glared at Kaoru and Sanosuke. “Behave yourselves. I don’t want to get into trouble because of you.”

“Would we do that?” Sanosuke grinned, looking impishly mischievous.

“Don’t make a mess,” Yahiko shoved the two toward the back.

“Hey, stop pushing, Yahiko!” Kaoru protested.

“Go!”

Kaoru and Sanosuke scampered out the door, pausing only to wave at the wide-eyed Kenshin as he was pulled into the kitchen. He scowled at them, then yelped as Tae pulled him out of the way of the closing door.

The evening went smoothly. Kaoru and Sanosuke milked the child act for all it was worth, generally being a nuisance and having fun. They chased each other around the alley and played hide-and-seek amidst the stored items. Usually, the game consisted of them hiding, then scaring whichever hapless adult passed their way.

Kenshin felt a bit ridiculous, being spoken to like he would not understand if big words were used. He found himself following the cook around, standing on a stool to stir bowls of soup. The kitchen staff was charmed by the wide-eyed little boy who was far too serious for his own good--at least, so they thought. So Kenshin was frequently the victim of tickling fingers and hands ruffling his hair.

Yahiko was just pleased that he did not have to baby-sit. He slipped into his role of polite server easily, and quickly forgot about the three children. He forgot, that is, until he heard Tsubame’s startled scream from the back; Kaoru and Sanosuke had managed to scare her. Not an hour later, there was a mild commotion from the kitchen, where someone had handed Kenshin a rice bowl that was too big for him. He spent twenty minutes sweeping up spilled rice.

^_^

The day ended, and Yahiko took the three child-sized adults back to the dojo. Kaoru and Sanosuke frequently collapsed into giggles as they watched Kenshin--still picking rice out of his clothing and hair.

Kaoru’s ponytail was messy, long strands of black hair falling around her face. Her obi was askew, and her face was flushed with good humor. Sanosuke’s spiky hair looked the same, but it was always so messy that one could never tell anyway. He still wore his red bandanna, the tails dangling far down his back. He grinned and tackled Kenshin, easily knocking the smaller boy down.

“Oof!” Kenshin met dirt, and he scrambled to get away, but the larger boy easily pinned him in place. “Sano!”

“It’s so easy to pick on you now, Kenshin!” Sanosuke giggled again, his big brown eyes glittering in amusement.

“You’re bigger!” Kenshin whined. “Get off!”

“Do I have to carry you guys home?” Yahiko interrupted, pulling Sanosuke off the tiny Kenshin. “Can’t you behave for even a minute?”

“He started it!” the words popped forth from Kenshin’s mouth, and he blushed furiously, feeling like the child he was.

“For Kami’s sake!” Yahiko reached down and hefted Kenshin up, off the ground entirely. A second later, Kenshin was under his arm, held like so many burdens. For a few seconds, as Yahiko walked along the path to the dojo, Kaoru and Sanosuke just followed him in silence, Kenshin blinking incomprehensibly.

Kaoru and Sanosuke burst out laughing. Kenshin gritted his teeth and glowered at them and shouted:

“Yahiko!”

“Shut up, Kenshin,” Yahiko sighed. Kaoru and Sanosuke giggled, and he glared at them. “You guys too. We’re going back to the dojo, and you’re all going to bed.”

So they traveled in silence the rest of the distance back to the dojo. Yahiko set out a spare futon in Kenshin’s room for Sanosuke while Kaoru changed into her night yukata in her own room. He then went to his room and changed for bed. Extremely weary from the excitement of the day, Yahiko collapsed onto his futon and rolled onto his back, closing his eyes with a happy sigh.

“How does it feel, Yahiko?”

He groaned, opening his eyes to see Kenshin sitting on the floor beside his futon, gazing at him solemnly with those big, purple eyes of his. It was ridiculously cute.

“It’s late, Kenshin,” he protested. “Go to bed.”

“I was just thinking about the conversation we had last night,” Kenshin continued, oblivious to Yahiko’s complaints. “Before all this happened. And what you said...”

“What was so important about what I said?” Yahiko grumbled.

“You said that you wished we were younger,” Kenshin reminded him. “And here we are... younger.”

“You think I caused this?!” Yahiko glared into shining, violet eyes. “That’s stupid. It’s impossible.”

“So is all of this,” Kenshin pointed out. “But I did some thinking today, and I don’t like this at all. In one night, I have lost twenty years of my life. Hell, I’m prepubescent again!”

“Not that puberty changed you that much,” Yahiko noted with a grin.

“Not funny, Yahiko,” Kenshin muttered.

“What do you expect me to do?!” the boy demanded. And as an afterthought, he added, “You should watch that language while you’re so small, Kenshin.”

Kenshin cursed again, a bit more colorfully. He slouched down and propped his chin up in his hands, elbows braced on his knees.

“You’re the one who wanted to be the adult, Yahiko,” he said after a moment. “Now you’re the closest thing to an adult we have around here.”

Yahiko was quiet for awhile, thinking about that. For a long time, he stared at Kenshin, so much smaller than he was. Then, shaking his head, he sighed and stood up.

“I’ll think about it, Kenshin,” he said tiredly. “For now, you have to go to bed.”

Kenshin smiled in mild amusement. He blinked as he found himself swept off the ground and propped up on Yahiko’s hip. It was something he had done frequently with Ayame and Suzume.

“Oro?” he murmured.

“It’s late, I’m tired, and you’re a growing boy now,” Yahiko carried him back to his room. The eleven-year-old dropped him onto his futon and arranged the covers around him. Kenshin stared up at him incredulously, keeping quiet, lest he wake Sanosuke. The child Sanosuke would never let him live it down.

“Good night, Kenshin,” Yahiko murmured.

Sleep already dragging down his eyelids, Kenshin sighed.

“Good night, Yahiko.”