In a previous story of mine Kenshin was caught in a similar situation as you are about to read, and met the town doctor’s granddaughter, Tomoko. I don’t know if I’ll post that, but you should know she exists for this story

Chapter 2: Trapped!

From then on, every four days Kenshin would sneak into town under the guise of practicing alone. Hiko didn’t seem to mind, and actually seemed pleased by his student’s independence. At these times the boy would meet up with his friends and do whatever they wanted, which mostly included teasing and stealing from Kimiko’s older brother.

One particularly hot summer day Kenshin had an idea. He took them out of town and led the group to a large pond he knew of. "I’ve been here before," he told them, showing them a place on an outcropping where they could view the entire pond without being seen. "A lot of the village women bathe here, as I was told."

"Really?" Tetsuya and his brother grinned. "This should be great."

Shou, however, was doubtful. "He’s making it up," he said. "No one comes out here."

As if to prove him wrong, the sound of giggling drifted up to them from the forest. Two women appeared at the end of the path, dressed in simple yukatas. They couldn’t see the boys watching them. Talking amongst themselves, they set their things down on a fallen log and began to undress.

Masa gasped, clapping his hands over his eyes. "They’re naked!" he whispered fiercely.

Shou grinned wickedly. "Yeah. We know."

"So, Masa, how many is that?"

"Eight. One little kid, three teens, three women and an old hag." He was reading the numbers from marks he’d made in the dirt. "God, that bag was disgusting."

The others laughed. "Yeah, right."

"There should be a law against anyone that ugly ever taking their clothes off."

"Right on."

"Shh. Here comes someone."

Down the path came the largest group thus far: about half a dozen girls of varied ages making their way toward the pond. Kenshin leaned forward to count. "Looks like six," he reported. "Two our age, three about fifteen, and one about twenty. Wait—there’s three our age. It’s—" His eyes widened. "It’s…"

Shou followed his gaze. "Hey, that’s—"

"—Kimiko!"

The boys leaned forward.

"Hey hey hey!" Shou hissed, trying to push them back. "Cut it out—you can’t look at her!"

"Shh," Kenshin whispered. "You’re gonna get us caught."

"But, but—"

Testuya covered his mouth to keep him silent. "Shut up. You saw our sisters."

"Yeah!" added Testuo.

Shou struggled to push them away, peeling the hand from his mouth. "Yeah, but this is different. This is Kimiko, and—"

Masa laughed, being careful to keep his voice low. "I’m sure Himura wouldn’t mind seeing Kimiko-san in the buff."

"Okay, that’s it!" Shou reached for him, and before he knew what he was doing, began to push Masa over the edge of the embankment. But as Masa fell he was able to catch Shou’s sleeve. To keep himself from falling he grabbed Tetsuya, who latched onto Tetsuo, who snatched Kenshin. They all tumbled into the water together.

Kenshin fought against his own weight, struggling in his wide sleeves to reach the surface. He soon found himself lifted above the water’s surface. Two pairs of hands had taken hold of him, and dragged him toward the beach like a wad of floating seaweed. He could hear his friends being similarly liberated from the muddy depth. Soon he was on solid ground once more, coughing up the water he’d swallowed onto the sand.

"Aono Shou," came a sharp and angry voice that he recognized. "I should have know you’d pull a stunt like this. You were spying on us all along."

Shou lifted his head, trying to clear his mind as seven vengeful faces came into view. He groaned. "Oh, hello Kimiko-san."

She put her hand son her hips in an annoyingly familiar gesture and scowled. The other women had scrambled into their yukatas, and back her up with a malevolent presence. It seemed to strengthen her. "Don’t you ‘Kimiko-san’ me, Aono," she snapped. "You and your tramps. Scared the life out of us."

One of the girls stepped forward. "Kimiko-chan, you know these punks?"

"Unfortunately." Finally her eyes landed on Kenshin, and she paled. "H-Himura. You’re with them?"

"Himura-kun!" A different girl with short black hair pushed herself forward, helping him to his feet. "You nearly drowned again, didn’t you?"

Everyone in the clearing was now looking at him. Kenshin cringed and tried to disappear into the mud. It didn’t work. "Again?" Kimiko repeated incredulously.

"Still spying on girls, I see," the girl said, giggling. "I was worried about you, Himura-kun. After the last time you were spying on my sisters and me, I thought your master was going to whip you or worse."

"Tomoko-chan, what are you doing—what do you mean ‘last time’?" Kenshin felt his stomach churning. "I wasn’t spying—"

Kimiko cut him off, her face burning crimson. "So you come here a lot, Himura?" she demanded. "Spying on women?"

"No, I mean…I…" He looked to his friends for help. "Come on, guys, back me up."

But they just shuffled their feet and looked down at the ground, their faces tainted with guilt. None of them dared to meet the eyes of the girls.

"Well." Kimiko glared at them all, seemingly on the edge of tears. "I guess my brother was right about you. All of you." She turned to go.

"Hey Kimiko-san!" Shou called after her, and for once his voice was sincere. She turned back. "I’m sorry," he said quietly. "I really am. We didn’t mean any harm."

Kenshin swallowed hard, and forced himself to speak. "It was my idea, Kimiko-san. Shou was just following me. It’s not his fault."

By now most of the girls had snuck away, leaving only Kimiko and Tomoko to deal with the trouble-makers. But just as Kimiko was about to respond, several tall figures appeared down the path. Among them were Kimiko’s father and brother, having been appraised of the situation by another of the girls. "Kimiko-chan!" Her brother Kazuo ran forward. "Are you all right? I heard about everything." His eyes, dark and hate-filled, were meant only for Shou. "You little bastard. You’ve stalked my sister for the last time."

Kimiko took his sleeve. "But brother, it—"

"Stay out of this," he told her firmly. "This is between me and him."

Shou gulped, trying to stand taller than he could. He kept his face calm, with an aura of absolute ease. "Hey calm down, Idaira-san. I didn’t see a thing."

Kazuo was about to fire back some remark, but just then a boy of perhaps sixteen stepped forward. He wore an expensive kimono, as if the son of some wealthy land-owner. "Regardless of what you saw," he stated slowly and blandly, "you have no business being here."

The rest of Kenshin’s friends huddled behind their leader. "Who are you?" Shou asked, trying not to be intimidated by the elder boy.

"I am Ueda Shinjirou," he introduced himself, "but that doesn’t matter to you." His eyes narrowed. "You were disrespectful to Kimiko-san. That I cannot forgive."

"Everyone please," Kimiko spoke up. Her voice was pleading. "Ueda-san please, they’re just boys. They didn’t mean any harm."

Kenshin watched what was happening, not knowing what to do. He felt as if he should apologize—after all, it was mainly his fault. But there was something wrong with Kimiko; by the way she was acting, the tone of her voice, he knew she was afraid. Afraid and lonely. He wanted to know why, and make it stop.

"You don’t have to stand up for me," Shou was saying, and Kenshin mentally cursed the boy’s arrogance. "It’s okay, Kimiko-san. He’s just jealous because he didn’t think of it first."

Suddenly Shou was dragged forward, and a stinging pain struck against his jaw. He tumbled head-first into the sand. "I won’t forgive you," Shinjirou muttered, cracking his knuckles, "for hurting Kimiko-san."

Shou wiped a trail of blood from his lip, cursing under his breath. "What the hell was that for?"

"Stop it," Kimiko begged, taking the older boy by the hand. "Ueda-san, let’s just go. You don’t need to do this—they’re my friends."

"But—"

"Please, for my sake, stop."

Shinjirou seemed to consider this for a moment. "All right," he consented at last. "For your sake, I’ll stop." His hand tightened around hers. "Let’s go, Kimiko-san." He turned around, and with her father and her brother they made their way down the path. The rest of their audience left as well. Finally, the five boys were alone.

"That bastard," Shou hissed, refusing Masa’s help in getting to his feet. "Who does he think he is? I’ve never seen him around before."

"He’s the son of Ueda Toshihide," Tetsuo replied quietly. "He owns half the farms around here—didn’t you know that?"

He scowled. "Well, of course I know that. I know Ueda, I just didn’t know he had a son." He rubbed his jaw. "It me damn hard."

"There’s something wrong with Kimiko-san," Kenshin said quietly, watching the path she had departed from. "That guy is a part of her life now."

Shou glared at him sharply. "What are you talking about?"

"I’m not sure yet." He closed his eyes, remembering all his lessons on interpreting moves and thoughts. Emotions could be a weakness when in the hands of the enemy, and so reading such things was a necessity. "She’s scared. Ashamed. But he’s very proud, as if he’s done something great. Her brother is satisfied. They’re all hiding something from us." He glanced over his shoulder. "From you."

Tetsuya frowned. "Why Shou?"

"Isn’t it obvious?" his twin rejoined. "They all hate him."

"Well, whatever it is," Shou said determinedly, "I’ll find what it is. I won’t let them do anything to Kimiko."

"It’d be better if you waited a while," Kenshin contradicted. "Leave her alone so things can cool off. If her brother catches you near her so soon…" He trailed off, indicating the obvious.

"I know…but what if something’s seriously wrong?"

He considered briefly. "I’ll go. I’m used to sneaking around, and I have to apologize to her properly anyway." He could see that his arguments weren’t hanging well with his friend. "You don’t have to be afraid," he assured. "I’m not after Kimiko-san. But they’re most likely to be more accepting if they find me and not you." He grinned. "I’ll come back and tell you. But before I go, I’ll make her know how you feel, Shou. You don’t have to worry about me."

Shou didn’t quite know what to say. He could only nod.

"We’ll meet at the barn tomorrow morning," Masa filled in for him. "It’ll give us all time to go home and explain ourselves before our folks hear the rumors. You can share with us then, okay Kenshin?"

The boy nodded. "Sure thing. Until then." He left quickly, so that Shou wouldn’t have time to change his mind.

Once Kenshin had gotten to the house, finding Kimiko was simple. She was in the kitchen. Her mother was there too, so talking to her would be difficult. As he was thinking of a plan, he heard footsteps coming down the hall. Panicking, he slipped through the kitchen door and immediately ducked behind a barrel of rice.

"How’s lunch coming?" Kazuo asked, peering through the entrance.

The mother chuckled. "It’ll be ready in a bit," she replied. "You can wait for a while, I’m sure."

"All right, Mom." He grinned, and to Kenshin’s relief, he left.

"Keep it up, Kimiko," her mother said after a few minutes had passed. She dried her hands on her apron. "I have to see to the washing, and then I’ll be back to help."

"Okay, Mother."

Great. She’s alone, the little spy thought to himself, slipping out of hiding once the mother had gone. I’ll just have to be careful. Taking a deep breath, he whispered, "Hey."

Kimiko turned. She nearly leapt out of her skin. "Himura!" she exclaimed weakly, struggling to keep her voice in check. "W-what are you doing? If my father finds you here he’ll kill you!"

Kenshin held a finger to his lips, joining her at the small counter. "It’s okay," he told her. "Just talk quietly. I’m not here to spy on you." He reached for the food her mother had abandoned.

"Hey—"

"It’s okay." He grinned, and began to clean it the way she had been doing. "I’ll help you cook. Don’t worry—I know how." He bowed his head slightly. "Let’s just say it’s the least I can do as an apology for this morning."

Kimiko nodded barely, a look of sorrow tainting her eyes. "It’s okay," she assured. "I’ll forgive you."

"Thank you."

A short silence passed, then Kenshin said, "May I ask you something, Kimiko-san?"

"I suppose so."

"Are…I mean, that guy Ueda-san." He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "Who was he?"

the question seemed simple enough, but it took the girl some time before she could answer. She swallowed hard and licked her lips, stalling for time. "He’s…he’s my fiancé, Himura."

Her words were so sudden and so unexpected that Kenshin staggered physically. He stared at her in shock. Surely it was some joke she was telling, or a trick, or some other form of lie. But then he looked at her face, and saw there were tears in her eyes.

"I found out just this morning," she continued in a solemn tone. "My parents have been planning it for a while. They thought I’d be happy." Her face twisted, and he thought she might start crying, but she didn’t. "We’re getting married next year, in the spring. His father’s rich, so it should be some party. Then I’ll be his wife."

"I’m…I’m sorry," he said quietly, not knowing how he might comfort her. "I really am, Kimiko-san."

"Don’t be. It has nothing to do with you." But after this she paused, and turned toward him. She watched him for a long moment. "You’re training to be a samurai, aren’t you?"

"Sort of. A swordsman, not really a samurai." He frowned, confused by her change in subject. He shoved his sleeves back as he continued to help in preparing the food.

"From the guy in the woods? The hermit?"

"Uh, yeah. Hiko Seijuurou."

"Hiko Seijuurou," she mused aloud. "He’s a master, isn’t he? Of some school that nobody else knows?"

Kenshin didn’t like how she was asking so many questions about his master. "Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"Oh, nothing." Kimiko turned away again. "Just thinking." She gazed thoughtfully down at the vegetables she was cutting. "My grandfather was once a samurai, but my father never cared for it—with the Americans and their diplomacy, there’s more politics than he wants to deal with. When my grandfather became crippled our family lost a lot of honor. Since then we’re nothing better than peasants, which is why my parents want me to marry Ueda-san." She sighed. "He’s rich, respected, and says he doesn’t care if I’m not really good enough for him."

Kenshin felt as if she had some ulterior motive in telling him all this, but he was too surprised by all of the knowledge she had to bring it up. "You know a lot of stuff, Kimiko-san," he commented.

She chuckled. "Yeah, well, you’re not the only good spy in this town, Himura."

His face flushed red embarrassment. "I’m really sorry about today," he replied quickly. "I guess I thought that if I did something big, then the guys would think I was cool or something."

Kimiko glance at him briefly. "I always thought you were cool, Himura."

He blinked. "You did?"

"Sure. For a guy, you’re pretty cool." She blushed. "You’re pretty cute, too."

"I’m…cute?"

"Yeah."

Kenshin felt his face reddening further, and he quickly went back to cleaning the rice. "Uh… thanks," he mumbled. "But…but what about Shou?"

"Aono? What about him?"

"Well he…" He shook his head, forcing the words out. "He really likes you, Kimiko-san. A lot."

She sighed. "I know. We were really good friends when we were little, because my mother volunteered to teach some of the town children. But now all he does is make fun of me, and torture my brother." Her voice was quickly growing bitter. "My father was so tired of him hanging around that he decided to marry me off. If I was someone’s wife, there’d be nothing he could do about it. When we were little my mother would tease, and say that I would marry Aono someday because he was the son of a samurai. But as it turned out, he’s the reason I’m in this mess.

Kenshin stared, not quite sure what to say. He shifted from foot to foot. "I’m sure he didn’t mean for this to happen. He’s—"

"Well, it did," she shot back angrily. "I can’t stand Ueda-san, and now I’m marrying him. I’m only twelve years old, Himura." Her hands tightened around the fabric of her apron. "It’s not fair. Whenever I think of it. I…" Her dark eyes began to fill with tears.

"Kimiko-chan?" The mother was coming back, and Kenshin quickly dove behind a rack of fish. "Kimiko-chan, who are you talking to?"

"No one," she replied quietly, scrubbing her eyes clear. "Just to myself."

"Oh, you finished cleaning the rice," her mother said. "How did you do that and chop the vegetables so quickly? Oh, no matter. Good work, darling." She returned to her work. "Everyone’ll be glad for your hard work."

"Thank you, Mother." Her eyes flickered to where Kenshin was hidden. "If you want to finish the chores, I can finish lunch. It’s okay—I’m sure I can."

"Really? It’s a lot to do."

"So is the cleaning." She smiled brightly, a gesture that looked as if it was held with great difficulty. "Don’t worry. It’s fine, really."

"Well, okay." Looking bewildered, the mother left once more.

Kenshin came out of hiding and set up on preparing the rice. Kimiko wasted no time getting to her point. "I want you to marry me, Himura."

The boy almost dropped the food he held, so startled was he. His voice was long in returning. "K-Kimiko-san? What…"

"It’s the only way." Her voice flooded with determination. "You’re going to be a samurai. My grandfather was a samurai—it’s enough, isn’t it? They can’t tell us no. I just want to marry someone who might love me someday, not a rich snob like Ueda-san." Her eyes fastened on his, shining with desperation and pleading. "Himura, you have to. My father will agree—he won’t care about today if you tell him it was all Aono’s fault. Please, Himura."

Kenshin felt like he was going to faint. Everything was spinning crazily around his head. He couldn’t think straight. "But…but Kimiko-san," he stuttered, "my master doesn’t even know that I’ve been in town, let alone that I could get married." His face went pale at the thought of Hiko’s face. "What would I tell him?"

The answers came to her quickly. So quickly that he could tell she’d already planned everything. "You wouldn’t have to. Father wouldn’t think of marrying us until you were older, when you finished training. You could even join the Shogun’s men. It would be years, Himura, long after your master’s gone. He wouldn’t have to know."

"But…I…" he stammered.

"You don’t have to decide now." She set her tools aside, and wiped her hands clean on her apron. Her voice grew soft and sweet. "I know it must be really tough on you. But I believe in you, Himura. I know you’ll help me."

"Kimiko-san—"

She leaned forward, ever so gently touching her lips to his cheek. Both their faces flushed red in embarrassment, and she quickly pulled back once more. "Please, Himura."

Still drunk with the sensation of her kiss, Kenshin nodded dumbly. "Okay."

"Thank you Himura!" Kimiko exclaimed enthusiastically giving him a quick hug. "Thank you, thank you!"

"It’s…nothing. Really."

Kenshin returned later than usual that day, having stayed around Kimiko’s home to do whatever chores he could in secret. But the tardiness gave Hiko an excuse to lay more questions upon him, and he found himself creating very elaborate lies to cover up the events in town. They were so colorful and detailed that the boy almost began to believe them himself. For his part Hiko only listened with mild interest, clearly divided by some other attention of his own. He only nodded, then instructed that he prepare for evening lessons.

That night found Kenshin utterly exhausted, and he was all to eager to chance for bed. As he always did, Hiko helped himself to one last round of Sake before retiring for the night. It was during this quiet time that a question pressed itself upon the young boy’s mind. It was a strange question, one he’d never thought too much about. But he was thinking of it now.

For several minutes Kenshin pondered things in his mind. Finally he couldn’t stifle his curiosity. "Master," he asked loudly, "can I ask you a question?"

Hiko paused between sips to mutter, "Sure thing, Kenshin."

"How do you make love to a woman?"

The question was so abrupt that he spat his sake nearly halfway across the room. "What did you say?" he exclaimed hoarsely.

Kenshin blinked, gazing at his master innocently as if he’d asked something simple—like all of his other questions that usually centered on sword moves. "Well, I was just thinking," he explained, confused by Hiko’s reaction. After all, it was a completely logical question. "If I ever get married, then my wife would expect to make love to her, wouldn’t she?"

Hiko coughed violently into his hand. "Kenshin, what’s gotten into you?"

"Nothing." He shrugged. "I just thought you’d know."

"Well of course I know," he replied quickly. Then he realized what they were talking about, and was forced to remind himself of his student’s age. "But you don’t have to know about that."

"But…"

"But?"

Kenshin sighed deeply, turning away. "Okay, Master," he said in a low, disappointed voice. "I guess I shouldn’t ask someone who doesn’t know."

"Now just a minute," Hiko sputtered indignantly. "I didn’t say that."

"Have you ever?"

"That’s none of your—"

"Have you?"

"Well…"

Kenshin hid his head under the covers. "Never mind."

Being the adult that he was, Hiko responded to this frustrating situation in the only way he knew how: he got angry. "Now listen here," he said firmly, snatching the blankets off his student. "I don’t know were you’re getting all this from, but it’s gonna stop, all right? I don’t want to hear about it." He stomped over to the bottle of sake he’d abandoned and, forsaking his smaller cup, took a long draught from the source. "Women are lying, cheating, sleazy, sneaky bitches. Whatever you’ve got in your mind, forget it. They’re good while they last, but they never do, and in the meantime all you get is a dull sword."

Kenshin watched him for a moment, disappointed by his answer. It was obvious now that his master did know what he was talking about, but wasn’t going to say. End of discussion, no questions answered. There would be no point in pressing things further. With a sigh he pulled the blanket back to him, feeling even more confused and torn than when he’d begun.

Hiko cocked an eye, and began to rethink his answers. "Hey, kid," he called hesitantly.

"Yes, Master?"

He finished the bottle and tossed it aside. "Listen. Everything I said’s the truth, but that doesn’t help any. Sooner or later you’re gonna end up falling for some woman—that’s just the way things are." He began to prepare his own futon. "Just be careful—they’re tricky."

"Yes, Master."

"Now go to sleep and stop thinking like that." Hiko stifled a yawn. "You’re too young for that."

"All right."

"Go to sleep."

"I am."

"Good."

Sleep did not come easily for the master or the student.

*Hee hee, Kenshin’s so cute as a kid!

To Next Chapter

Return