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Acquiescence of The Wolf of Mibu
* A Rurouni Kenshin fanfiction. I do not own Rurouni Kenshin. All rights belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki-sensei.
* Live Action movie universe with references to the manga, post “The Final”.
* This is meant to be read as a snippet of my ‘To Tomorrow’ fanfiction.
Meiji Year 15 (1882, May)
Kenshin sighed as he looked at the calendar. Tomorrow would mark four years since Saito Hajime burst back into his life and pulled him into the Shishio Makoto case. He morbidly had been thinking of the former Third Squad Captain, and Aizu Shinsengumi Commander as of lately. He hadn’t heard of anything from him since the Case of Incidents of Yukishiro Enishi’s Jinchuu had wrapped up.
From a chance encounter with his wife years ago, he knew Hajime was a father of two boys. He had hopes that Hajime was doing well in whatever he was doing. After all he knew, it could be something dangerous given his position as a Police Officer in The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Force. Kenshin knew it wasn’t his place to judge. The other man was going to live his life by his creed of Aku Soku Zan for as long as he could and that was the path Saito Hajime would live and eventually die on. No matter what name he now went by it was something Kenshin understood he couldn’t change.
He sighed again.
“It can’t be helped.”
“What can’t be helped, Kenshin?”
He was startled having failed to sense his wife’s approach, a feat of rarity. He chuckled and carefully folded the paper page of the calendar, placing it into the sleeve of his kimono. He’d burn it later. Giving Kaoru a simple smile he brushed away those thoughts, saying the other things that were on his mind.
“The passage of time, Koishi. It’s been four years already.”
Kaoru saw the date on the calendar and smiled letting out a sigh.
“So it has. We’ve come a long way.”
Kenshin smiled at that.
“That we have, Koishi. That we have.”
She gave him a peck of a kiss and went to change into her training clothes for the day. The sound of little feet pulled Kenshin further from his thoughts and looking down he saw Kenji waddling at full tilt toward him, with a big goofy grin.
“Otou, Otou!”
That made Kenshin grin and kneel down to scoop him up. He was in dry clothes, meaning Kaoru had changed him already, and had sent him to find Kenshin. He chuckled again.
“Ohayo, Kenji. Would you like your breakfast now?”
Kenji giggled in that adorable way toddlers do.
“Hmm!”
Kenshin tutted.
“You must use your words.”
Kenji pouted and attempted it.
“One-onegai, Otou!”
Kenshin nuzzled his nose with his own making the seventeen month old giggle and then Kenshin took him into the kitchen for some miso soup, rice and egg. Later when Kenji was done he set the boy up in the common room with his toys and started with the daily chores he always did.
Later on Yahiko came into the house, and sighed. Weekends were always slow around the Dojo as the majority of the other students came during the weekdays. He and Kaoru were usually done training by midday. He had changed out of his training clothes and laid done on the engawa outside the common room so he wasn’t surprised when Kenji came and hopped on him. This made Yahiko smile.
This led to Kenshin standing over them grinning.
“You don’t mind helping Kaoru keep an eye on him while I go shopping, do you Yahiko?”
Yahiko looked up at Kenshin with a grin already entertaining Kenji.
“No problem! Leave it to Yahiko Nii-san!”
Kenji giggled as Kenshin laid a kiss on the top of the boy’s head. Kenshin then got ready to go, and gave Kaoru a kiss on the way out the main front gate. It was then he saw the letter carefully nailed to the door. He quickly grabbed it, and tucked it into his sleeve. He had a good idea whom it was from. He had sensed a very familiar ki earlier that morning.
Kenshin made sure he was some distance away from the Dojo before he opened it, and read it.
“Kiyomizu Kannon-Do, Ueno. 1pm. Don’t be late. -Hajime.”
Kenshin sighed. It was already 12:30pm. He would have to move fast but he could make it.
Kenshin made it, feeling the slight strain of moving that fast. He was panting slightly and managed to catch his breath by the time he made it to the Torii gates of the Shrine Temple complex. There leaning on the pillar to the last one, wearing his uniform was Hajime. He smiled and hummed.
“Made it in thirty minutes. I see you’re still quick, Himura.”
That threw him for a loop. Usually when they were alone like they were right at that moment Hajime would call him Battousai. Not that he wasn’t thankful for it, it merely surprised him.
“Still keeping tabs on me?”
Hajime gave him a slight grin.
“Of course.”
Kenshin sighed.
“So why did you want to meet me here?”
Hajime sighed and looked towards the holy temple and back at Kenshin.
“I thought it was symbolic enough. For us to meet here, in a time of peace, to deal with things once and for all.”
Kenshin was suspicious of those words.
“Say it straight, Saito. Why did you invite me here?”
Hajime sighed again, feeling tiresome. This meeting was long due and Tokio would never forgive him if he didn’t follow through with it. He gave Kenshin a kind no nonsense look.
“For us to come to an understanding. Personally, I’d love nothing else than to finish a duel between us. For us to fight like we did during the Bakumatsu until one of us was dead. Things have changed and that can no longer be a possibility. I’ve watched you for years and while I cannot say that I’m proud, I know that you’ve built a good life for yourself. As a father, it would bring a dishonor to myself to leave your son without you. So I say we compromise.”
Kenshin crossed his arms.
“What are you suggesting?”
Hajime smirked.
“That we play it by your strange new rules.”
Kenshin was surprised at this.
“What? Oro?”
Hajime chuckled and continued to grin.
“Simply put, whoever lives the longest between us is the victor in the longest death match in history.”
That made Kenshin smile. He never thought that he’d agree with Hajime again but this was perhaps the easiest duel they would ever have. Suddenly the peaceful surroundings made sense. This was Hajime letting go of the past, and Kenshin nodded agreeing to the terms.
“I think I can agree to that duel to the death. Though between us, you better live longer. I don’t want to win.”
That made Hajime burst out laughing and he smiled at Kenshin.
“You have responsibilities too, so don’t make it easy for me. This was the only compromise I could agree with without my wife getting pissed. I made a promise to her that when I died it would be when I was old. You better aim for the same.”
Kenshin smiled.
“Yes. One would think you’ve gone soft saying things like that.”
Hajime’s eyes glinted ever so slightly.
“I’ll never get soft, Himura. You know that.”
He grinned at Hajime.
“I know.”
Kenshin still couldn’t believe what he was agreeing to.
“What made you think of this, Saito?”
Hajime took out his cigarettes and matches, lit one, inhaled and exhaled.
“I told you. This was the least inconvenient option. I told you before that I don't break promises to my wife. So if you and I are going to do right by them, this is where we will leave the past and live in this new age.”
Kenshin knew that Hajime was being completely serious and smiled.
“Then I agree. It was good to see you, Saito.”
Hajime smirked.
“You better get going if you’re going to make it back to the Dojo from shopping before dinner.”
Kenshin laughed.
“Yeah, yeah.”
When Kenshin was a ways away he could have sworn he heard Hajime say something. That something was ‘sayonara’. It felt right. They had parted under the best terms they could. While he couldn’t say that he had ever been a friend, perhaps at long last they had come close enough to that that they ever could.
He made it back, laden with groceries around 3pm. Sanosuke and Megumi were there. Yahiko was playing with Kenji in the training yard, and Kaoru was drinking tea with Megumi while Sanosuke munched on an odango. All looked as Kenshin came through the front gate.
Kaoru greeted him.
“Okeri nasai, Kenshin.”
Kenshin sighed and smiled as Sanosuke hopped up to help with the groceries.
“Tadaima, de gozaru!”
Yes, he was home. With the family of his choosing and the child that his wife had made him.
~ Owari ~
* * *
PandaLady, here! This one has been a long time coming. I felt that Kenshin and Hajime’s amenity needed some form of closure. I chose Ueno because it’s halfway between Asakusa and Bunkyo where Hajime and his family historically lived. For the purpose of this story line they have a house up in Aizu as well. Kiyomizu Kannon-Do is a real place in Ueno Park. Also could not resist writing Kenji as a toddler! So darn cute! Anyways this is of course part of my To Tomorrow story. I hope you like it. PandaLady, out!!