Kenshin arrived at the clinic to see Megumi waiting patiently for him, “Shall we begin?” she asked, as he climbed onto the examination table. “Nee, Ken-san…” she uttered, looking him over, “Your face is really strained and your muscles are tense... Did you have a battle with someone?”
”Oro?” he uttered, blinking, “Iya! I didn’t…!”
”But all the symptoms are there.” she replied, “You know it’s not good to lie. What would have happened if I were Kaoru-chan? Surely, you couldn’t keep something like that from her…” Kenshin couldn’t answer, staring at the wall, “You aren’t hiding something from her, are you, Ken-san?”
”Eto…” he stammered, biting his lip. Thinking fast, he removed his gi and pointed to his shoulder, “Ano, Megumi-dono – could you look at this injury please?”
The doctor quickly forgot about her suspicions and rushed to take a look. “Aa! This one looks fine, but let me that a look at those and… hmm… the muscles here are a bit too tender… does this hurt when I do this? Does this tickle? Ohohohohoho!”
Wanting to keep his dignity as she played around with his body - Kenshin went to put his gi back on. “Maa maa, Megumi-dono, shouldn’t you be writing something down. I mean this is for my medical records.”
“Everything seems fine. No sores or aches, right?” she replied, picking up her notebook, “By the way, how’s Kaoru-chan doing?”
”She had a bit of cold this morning, but wasn’t anything serious.” he replied, “Shikashi… Megumi-dono, does Genzai-sensei ever talk about his departed grandson – Keisuke?”
”He’s mentioned a couple of times, why?” she asked as she was checking his reflexes, hitting his knee with a hammer. The leg came up with godly speed, “Mm, perfect!”
”Bezuni…” he uttered, staring at the floor. It was then that they both heard a crash outside. And crying. The two of them rushed out into the next room and saw a mess, “Ayame-chan! Suzume-chan!”
”Ken-ni! Ken-ni!” they wailed, pointing at each other, “It’s – her - fault!!”
“Oro, what happened…?” he sighed, as he and Megumi knelt to pick up all the books that fell from the shelf. He suddenly held a dusty book a ribbon tied at the bind, the characters for ‘Miyamoto’ on it. After a pause, he blew the dusts off it and stared at the name following it. ‘Kore wa...!’
* * *
After the appointment, Kenshin and Megumi arrived at the house to see Yahiko pouring tea, Sanosuke munching on snacks, “Yossha! Kenshin’s home – get dinner started, would ya?!”
”Honestly! You’re always eating!” Megumi sighed, smacking him on the back of the head, “I’m starting to think you’ve got worms or something…”
“TEME!!!!” Sanosuke hissed, jumping up and grabbing her wrist, “Let’s go home and you can cook me dinner…”
”NANI!? This is degrading to women!!!” she complained as she was dragged out the room.
”There goes the happy couple!” Yahiko chuckled his hands on his hips, and then turning to Kenshin, “What’s that in your hand? A book?”
”Aa… it’s Keisuke’s journal. We found it today at the clinic. Genzai-sensei said Kaoru could have it…” He paused for a moment, looking from side to side, “Oro? Kaoru isn’t home yet?”
Yahiko shook his head, “Thought she said she only had to stop by Maekawa dojo to pick up something. I wonder what happened…”
Kenshin’s eyes widened. ‘Masaka! Did that bastard… Iya, they wouldn’t attack her in public… demo… something surely has happened. I better…!’ Before he could run out the room, he stopped to hear her voice.
“Tadaima…” she uttered weakly, stumbling into the room. She was trembling from the cold and her eyes were watery and reddish - she looked worst than she did that morning. Slowly making her way towards Kenshin, she bowed her head, “Sorry for being late. And sorry if I made you worry…”
”Oro, Kaoru! Where have you been?” he cried, pulling her to him. She was practically frozen, but her forehead was burning up. “Yahiko, go catch up with Megumi and have her come back to check Kaoru out.”
”H-Hai!” Yahiko chimed, jumping up and racing out of the room.
Kenshin then looked back to Kaoru who was sniffling into her sleeve. His words came out in frantic jumbles, “What happened to you? Where did you go? Kaoru, please tell me.”
”Kenshin,” she replied, tears in her eyes, “I just wanted to see Shizuka-san…”
* * *
Earlier that day, Kaoru was walking from Maekawa’s dojo through a snowy trail. Letting out a yawn, she stretched a bit and looked towards a familiar neighborhood she was passing by, ‘Come to think of it – Kuma lived in this area… and also… ’
So Kaoru decided to pay a visit. According to Hachi, Shizuka was in town for once – considering her busy business schedule. Kaoru arrived at a big estate by the river and waited for someone to come let her in. “Ano…” she uttered to the servant, “Could I please see Shizuka-san. I’m an old friend of hers.”
”Right this way.” he replied, leading her inside, “She ought to be back soon. She just stepped out to meet Shimako-san. You can wait here for the meantime. I’ll go get you some tea.”
As the servant left, Kaoru sat in the empty room, a single table in the center. She remembered coming here once before, having tea with the girls. They were much older than her, but no one minded.
‘After Keisuke died, I didn’t see Shizuka-san anymore. She didn’t come to the dojo to visit nor did she stay in Tokyo. According to other people, they said she didn’t take his death well. I was so worried about her but somehow I couldn’t find a way to see if she was all right… Shizuka-san…’
She waited for an hour, not moving from her spot. She wondered how much longer it would take. ‘I better wait a little bit longer.’ She did, another hour passing, ‘Okay… maybe I should just…’ As soon as she tried to get up and walk out the room, she stopped to hear voice comes to the door, “Eeh? Shizuka-san!”
The older woman stopped in front of her, taking a moment to recognize her. It was the other woman at her side who blurted out, “Aa! It’s little Kaoru!! Ooh, look at you! You’re so grown up!”
”Shimako-san, arigatou.” Kaoru said, bowing her head. Shimako was anything but an ‘ugly hag’ as her husband had reported. She was a petite woman, with long curly brown hair and lovely ruby eyes that sparkled. Kaoru then turned to Shizuka who was still staring at her, “Long time no see. I just came by to say ‘hello’.”
”Were you waiting long?” Shimako asked, “Gomen gomen. It’s all my fault! I told Shizuka here to meet me by the dress shop – but I had to go stop by the police station to yell at my idiot husband… by the way, has he been bothering you, Kaoru-san? I heard he’s been showing up at your house lately. If he is, I’ll give him a piece of my mind! That loser is always troubling others! You know, for a cop – he really needs learn to use his head if he wants to ever get promoted!”
”Right…” Kaoru uttered nervously, turning back to Shizuka. “Are you happy to be back home?”
“Hai.” she uttered, moving to sit down, gesturing them to follow her, “Shall we have some tea and warm up. It’s awfully cold today with all this snow.”
”I’ll say!” Shimako chimed, “We should go on vacation to a hot springs resort! Hakone sounds good, nee?”
”Uhn,” Kaoru sat across from Shizuka and watched her pour the tea. She was always so perfect at it. Long ago, Shizuka had tried to teach her the traditional Japanese tea ceremony, but she would never get it as perfectly as Shizuka did. Shizuka was the perfect woman. ‘Perfect for Keisuke.’ she thought with a smile as she accepted the cup.
“It’s quite a long ways from the dojo…” Shizuka noted, pouring another cup, “You are still staying at the dojo, right?”
”Hai.” Kaoru replied, “I didn’t mind the walk. I’m kind of used of it. I just wanted to see you ever since I heard you were back in town.”
”Sou ka…” she uttered, staring into her cup.
“Last I spoke with Kuma, he told me you were traveling through Europe. Is it really lovely there?”
”Hai, it was…”
Shimako elbowed her, “Tell her the story of how you ended up on the wrong boat and had to convince these sailors to turn it around …” Shizuka didn’t answer, still staring into her cup, “Nee, nee! C’mon! It’s a funny story! Or at least I thought it was! Nee, Shizukaa!”
”Shizuka-san?” Kaoru uttered, looking at her worriedly.
Unable to contain her self any longer, Shizuka rose from her seat, the teacup crashing to the floor and breaking into pieces. “Kamiya Kaoru, why are you here?!”
Kaoru’s eyes widened as she stared up at her, ”Eh? I-I told you… I wanted to see you so…”
”Well, I never wanted to see you! Not your face ever again!”
Shimako stood up and stared at her friend, “What’s gotten into you, Shizuka? This is Kaoru – our little Kaoru. She’s our friend and a guest in your house so…”
”She’s not.” Shizuka replied, turning away, “The truth is… I’ve always hated her.”
“S-sou na…” Kaoru gasped, standing as well, “That can’t be true, Shizuka-san! I-I thought… you… I’ve always looked up to you… why are you saying these things!?”
”Because it’s the truth.” she replied, going to tell another truth from eleven years ago…
* * *
The attack came suddenly at the dojo. Yashiitomo and his men came rushing the place, searching for Kaoru. Shizuka had just arrived before the frenzy began and was distraught as Hachi and Kuma handed Kaoru over to her. “Get her out of here as fast as you can!” Hachi ordered, “Through the back – we’ll hold them off! You better hurry!!”
”What?! But I can’t…!”
”Onegai, Onee-san!” Kuma cried, “Please protect Kaoru-chan!”
The sounds of fighters were nearing the door, so Shizuka grabbed Kaoru’s hand and took her out back towards the woods. They ran and ran, hoping to make it to the main road soon. All of a sudden, Kaoru was yanked from her grasp and being dragged on the ground into a deeper part of the woods. “Kaoru-saaaan!” she cried, running after her.
”Shizuka-san! Help---!” her voice was suddenly cut off as she hit her head and passed out. She was still being dragged away. Up ahead, there was a small ledge with rocks below.
Shizuka quickly dove down and grabbed her hand before she was pulled down. She could see the rope tied to her foot, a man below her. “D-Dare?!” she snapped, still trying to pull her up, but lacking the strength. The man had stopped trying to pull down the girl. He just stared at her. All of a sudden she recognized him, “You were that man speaking with Keisuke the other day! You made him so angry… are you the one behind all this?!”
“So what if I am?” Yashiitomo asked, “Just hand over the girl and we’ll both be pleased.”
”Nani…”
”You heard me. Do you really want to see save this person? She’s the one behind all your problems – your cancelled engagement, your ruined relationship… admit it, if it weren’t for her and her kenjutsu, you’d be living much happier.”
Shizuka concentrated on the unconscious girl, whose hand she had been holding. Without another thought, she let the fingers slip through hers, allowing her to fall, only to be caught by the man below. “If this person wasn’t in my way…” she uttered, standing, “Kill her now and I’ll leave satisfied!”
“Sumimasen. I cannot do that. I was hoping to kill her after getting what I wanted.” he replied, “But rest assured, she will be dead soon.”
”Find then.” she replied, “But I want nothing to do with her. I don’t want to see her ever again, you hear.” Yashiitomo nodded and then disappeared into the woods. Shizuka then turned back towards the dojo, coming up with a story to tell everyone there. ‘Never again do I have to deal with this person…’ she thought.
* * *
“But I was wrong.” Shizuka uttered, back in the present, “Why… why … WHY did Keisuke go to save you?” She turned to Kaoru, who was still stunned to speak. She grabbed the girl by the shoulders and shook her, “WHY DID HE DO SUCH A THING!?”
”I… I don’t know.” Kaoru stammered, “Shizuka-san… please…”
She released her and turned to walk around her, “That person… the moment he chose to go rescue you I knew he had made his decision. And I made mine. I knew then… I would never forgive him!” She clenched her fists and glared at the split tea on the floor, “To this day – I still can’t forgive him, that person who forsake me.”
“That’s not true!!” Kaoru cried, running up to her, “Keisuke loved you with all his heart! Even though there were some problems – he never stopped thinking of you. As for me… I was just a child then. You can’t possibly think that…!”
”Keisuke was no more of a child than you were.” Shizuka replied, looking past her, “He could never grow up or handle responsibility. That’s why I thought I could change him – get him to become an adult. But you – you always got in the way! You and kenjutsu… that’s all that person cared about!” Shaking her head, she closed her eyes for a moment, then exclaimed, “Kamiya Kaoru – why couldn’t you have just died?!”
“Shizuka-san…”
“Just get out! I don’t want to see your face ever again!”
Kaoru didn’t even think twice, she grabbed her things and bolted out the door. She kept running until the house was no longer visible. But Shizuka’s words still echoed clearly in her mind, her heart breaking as well.
* * *
Yahiko, Sanosuke and Megumi came into the room. “Let me see the girl…” Megumi said, bringing the medicine chest over, “Hm… you’ve got a temperature. Better get into some warmer clothes and take this medicine I have ready for you. I don’t think it will be too serious, but if you don’t do something about it, things might turn for the worse.”
”Arigatou…” she uttered in a small voice. She was still holding onto to her husband, who was still thinking over the story she had told him. Kenshin stared at her, wanting to give her more comfort. But he knew she didn’t want him to make a scene; she had only told him and only wanted him to know. Still…
Ater Megumi and Sanosuke left, Yahiko and Kenshin helped Kaoru to the room and into bed. “Daijoubu! You’ll feel better in no time.” Yahiko replied, “In the meantime… oh! I’ll be right back!”
As the boy had ran out of the room, Kenshin knelt beside her, “Are you feeling all right – I mean after what happened with Shizuka-dono?”
“I know I shouldn’t think about it. I’ve been disliked before, it shouldn’t be something new.”
”But it still hurts, because you really cared about her.” he replied. After a pause she nodded her head and turned into her pillow, hiding her tears, “Kaoru…”
”Got it!!” Yahiko chimed, running back into the room, waving the journal in his hand, “Kenshin brought this home today! Look, Kaoru – its Keisuke’s journal.” Kaoru immediately sat up and stared at him, then at the book in his hands, “Genzai-sensei wanted you to have it. Don’t you think the special moves are in there?” he asked, going to untie the knot on the side.
”Yamette!” she cried, snatching the book from his hands, “No one is going to read it! I-I won’t allow anyone to!”
Yahiko propped his head to the side, “Greedy! I want to learn those moves…!” he sneered, wanting to fight her for it back. But a hand on his shoulder stopped him, “Eh? Kenshin?”
“Just let it go.” Kenshin replied, “We better concentrate on her getting better first okay? Come on, let’s go get some ice and hot tea…” The two turned for the door, him turning back and worriedly staring at his wife was clutching the journal, her eyes hidden, ‘Kaoru…’
* * *
Before long it was dark and Kenshin had to lock up and make sure everything was put away. He passed Yahiko on the way to his room, “Did you check on Kaoru?”
”Aa,” the boy replied, scratching his head, “Gave her some more blankets – the girl’s freezing. You better go to her, Kenshin. I’m going to hit the hay. Call me if you need anything, all right? G’night!” he said, walking to his room on the other side of the house.
Kenshin nodded after him then turned for his room. He could see Kaoru squirming in the futon, trying to get warm – the bag of ice that was on her forehead already melted. “It’s so cold…” she murmured into her pillow, “Kenshin, I don’t think the medicine is working. I don’t feel any better at all…”
”It’ll take time.” he replied, going to tuck her back in, “I’ll try to keep you warm. Let’s see…” He moved to the end of the futon, lifting the blanket slightly to reveal her feet. Taking hold of one he realized that it was as cool as ice. “Hmmm…” He then got a bottle of oil and soaked his hands in them, proceeding to rub her foot until it was massaged into the skin. “Kaoru, how is it?”
“Feels good.” she sighed as he continued onto the other foot. When it started to tickle, she playfully kicked him away. “That’s enough. Arigatou.”
Satisfied for being able to do something for her, he wanted to do more. “Anything else? More tea? More ice?” he asked. She simply shook her head. “Then, how about a sponge bath??”
“Mou, Kenshin…!” she grumbled, kicking him again. He just laughed and climbed into the blanket with her, wrapping his arms around her trembling body, “Kenshin, you really shouldn’t… I mean, you can catch what I got and then we’ll both be sick. You should go stay into another room.”
”Iya, I’m not going.” he murmured, pulling her closer and trailing kisses from her ear to her mouth, “I’d rather be here than anywhere else.”
“You always just do as you please.” Kaoru sighed. But then, a smile curled on her lip and she went to return the kisses. “Demo ne, you always say and do the sweetest things.” Leaning against him, she whispered in his ear, “I feel so warm and safe.”
“I’m glad.” he replied, nuzzling his face into her hair. He closed his eyes for a moment, picturing the threat who could take this away from him, ‘Yashiitomo – you can try, but there’s no way I will let you. She’s already a part of me…’ His thoughts were cut off by Kaoru sneezing into his shoulder. “Oro?!”
“Gomen, Kenshin.” she stammered, wiping her nose and dapping his gi with a tissue. “I didn’t mean to. Mou, you better go and change…”
“Aa…” he said, releasing her and sitting up. Pulling off his gi as he walked to the dresser, he stopped and stared at the old book resting atop. “Kaoru, aren’t you even going to look at this?”
“Iie. First thing tomorrow, we’re going to return it Genzai-sensei.” she replied, rolling onto her back and staring up at the ceiling, “I don’t wish to invade Keisuke’s privacy.”
“Demo…” Kenshin uttered, fastening his yukata close, before turning back towards the futon, “I’m sure Keisuke-dono would trust you reading his words. There might be some truth you could learn or something to remember. You shouldn’t be afraid of what you might find…”
”But I am!” she blurted out, sitting up as he stopped in front of her. She lowered her head from his stunned face and gripped the blankets; “What Shizuka-san told me today really shook me to the core. I don’t want to make any more discoveries like that. I don’t want those precious memories to be tarnished. Even if all of them were lies – I-I don’t want to lose them, Kenshin!”
“Kaoru, I know but…” He climbed in next to her, one arm around her, the other holding the journal, “You must face the truth with all the courage you have. You needn’t be afraid… because I’m with you.” he uttered, lying down and bringing her with him, “I’ll always be with you through everything.”
”Kenshin…” she uttered, turning towards him. “…all right. We’re read it together.” She then leaned her head onto his shoulder as he rested the book in front them, turning to the first page.