The dojo was quiet when Yahiko got up for the day. The peaceful
time before the dawn was one of his favorites. No one was up yet, so he
began to do the basic morning chores. Five years before, waking up to appreciate
the dawn was something that was near the bottom of his lists of things
to do on a given day. He had been a virtual slave to that yakuza gang.
He thanked whatever gods watched him that he was lucky enough to have met
up with Kaoru and Kenshin. Maybe one day, he would be able to bring himself
to talk about those years.
He never told them because he did not want Kenshin or Kaoru to worry,
but sometimes, late at night in those early days, he would wake up from
nightmares. Nightmares that no one was there to help him. That he had to
stay in that hellhole. That no one cared.
That was the thing about mornings. They made him philosophical about
his past. Training in the Kamiya Kasshin-Ryu also forced him to reach down
deep to his soul for answers, to find himself. It was a school that forced
you to grow as a person, to think before you act (although Kaoru had needed
some work on that part of it). Though he certainly would not admit it to
Kaoru, it was that inner strength that he gained that helped him get past
those nightmares.
"Yahiko. Ohayo"
"Ah. Kenshin. Ohayo."
"Kaoru up yet?" Kenshin fell in beside him, helping to fetch water for
the morning meal. Kenshin still woke up early to make breakfast, since
it was the meal Kaoru was worst at making.
"No. She's still asleep."
"She's feeling okay, then. Last night she was still acting a little
weird."
"Megumi said that she was fine. Ano, Yahiko-kun...."
"Yeah?" he replied hesitantly. Yahiko-kun?
"We have to talk...."
*****
"She's WHAT?!?" Yahiko yelled. The birds took exception to his
loud outburst, flying from the trees, squawking indignantly.
"Kaoru is pregnant. We're going to have a baby." Kenshin stared up at
the sky. He knew that Yahiko had to have time to get use to the idea. He
still felt dazed about it all himself.
Yahiko shook his head, trying to clear the confusion from it. A baby?
Kenshin and Kaoru were going to have a baby? It wasn't that it was so surprising.
Okay. It was that it was so surprising. Even though Kenshin and Kaoru were
married, there was still a sense of continuity with all their relationships.
In so many ways, Kaoru still seemed like the teenager that he had met all
those years ago. Now Kaoru and Kenshin were going to be having children?
It boggled his mind.
"A baby. Kenshin, you and Kaoru are going to be parents...."
"That's why Kaoru has been feeling strange lately. They're the signs
of the early stages of pregnancy. She's going through a lot right now,
so...." At those words, Yahiko grinned.
"Congratulations! It's about time!" Yahiko patted the father-to-be on
the back.
"Oro~!"
"I mean, you two have been married for a while now, right? I figure,
you two have been busy enough." He winked and nudged at Kenshin, whose
face was a very interesting shade of red.
"Oro-ro-ro~. Yahiko-kun...."
"I can't wait!" Yahiko grinned even wider. "Having a baby around the
dojo is going to be great. Hopefully this baby will be a little more behaved
than Megumi and Sanosuke's kid. Whatever you all need, I'm here to help.
You're going to be a great father. And Kaoru. She's already had practice
being a mother with me. And she's done a good job these last five years,
if I do say so myself."
"Yahiko." Kenshin put his hands on the young man's shoulders to look
into his eyes. "Thank you."
"So...," the teenager drawled. "That's what you two were talking about
last night by the water. Heh. I hope you didn't tire her out last night
celebrating."
"Oro~!" For some reason, Kenshin turned even redder. Yahiko grinned
and shook his head as he walked towards the dojo for his early morning
meditation. Life since he came to the Kamiya Dojo, he thought to himself,
had been pretty good for the most part. And it looked like it was going
to get even more interesting very soon.
******
Kaoru slowly stood up, mentally checking her body for any protests.
There was no nausea or anything. She grinned to herself as she got dressed
in a blue walking kimono. Maybe it was the fact that Kenshin was being
so kind and sweet. He had brought her a cup of hot tea before she was awake
to help soothe the morning sickness away. He was being so attentive since
she broke the news to him last night.
She felt her cheeks heat when she thought of last night. They had celebrated
the news by making love. Kenshin had been so gentle and careful with her.
He touched her like she was made of glass. His hands were rough and callused
from working with his sword, but they moved so gently on her last night.
Kenshin looked at her body, trying to see the changes that the baby inside
her was making. Everything was so wonderful, she felt like melting just
thinking about it again.
She sighed as she finished tying her obi, making sure the bow was centered
at her back. She didn't know she could have been more happy than she was
until she found out that they were going to have a baby. But she had some
questions for Megumi. She hoped that it would be all right go over and
talk about what other changes were going to be in store for her.
It had been over 3 years since Megumi's first pregnancy. Since she and
Sanosuke had gotten married and moved in together into the house a few
blocks from the dojo, Kaoru wasn't around to witness the morning sickness
or any other changes that occurred with Megumi those first few months.
She had always visited her in the afternoons to help Megumi with her regular
patients to lessen the work for Megumi.
And during the early part of this pregnancy, Megumi was very healthy.
Kaoru had never recalled her having any morning sickness at all. Kaoru
had asked her about that. Apparently, for Megumi, this second child had
not given her any trouble, morning sickness wise.
"Maybe Sanosuke is wrong and it IS a girl, this time," Kaoru teased
when they had a bit of time alone last night. "A girl might be more considerate
of her mother."
At that, Megumi tilted her head in consideration. "Hmmm. Maybe. But
he says he has the strongest feeling about it. We'll see when this little
one decides to come out." Megumi replied, rubbing her belly with a soft
smile.
Kaoru didn't even know how much it was going to hurt when the
baby finally decided to come out!. Yesterday afternoon, before the others
arrived, Megumi described how everything worked during the birthing process,
but she didn't mention how it would feel. Now that she had time to think
on it, the logistics of it, the facts all pointed to a rather painful experience.
Not that Kaoru regretted being pregnant. She loved the fact that she
and Kenshin were going to have a baby together. A living symbol of their
love. It was just that she needed to know more about what was going to
happen before she started to scare herself silly imagining horrendous pain
or whatever. She needed to visit Megumi as soon as possible, she decided.
******
"Kaoru," Yahiko said as he uncurled himself from his position on the
dojo floor. He grinned and ran over to her.
"Ohayo, Yahiko."
"Kenshin told me the news. Omedetogozaimasu."
"Thank you." Kaoru's eyes filled with tears again. Her emotions had
been very much on the surface for several weeks now. Now that she knew
the reason why, she seemed to be even more prone to cry.
Yahiko came forward to stand before his teacher. He loved this woman
as a sister. As a mother. She helped him in more ways than he could ever
count. He topped Kaoru by several inches now that he was hitting his growing
time. He gently wrapped his arms around her and hugged her.
"That was for being there for me all this time, Kaoru-sensei." Yahiko
knelt down and rubbed her stomach gently. "Now I can help you," he whispered
to the baby within her.
"Yahiko. Thank you. That's sweet." Kaoru hugged the young man and wiped
the tears from her eyes. "Now, see. You make me cry. And happy. Sometimes,
you make me happy."
"Well, I haffta keep an eye on these kids, you know."
"You are certainly one of the best older brothers that I've ever seen
around. Shinnosuke loves you to death."
"Yeah, well. Anyway, where are you off to so early?"
"Megumi's. I have a couple of questions for her. Can you teach the afternoon
class if I don't get back in time."
"Yeah. Don't worry about it. Later on tonight, though, I'm off to the
Akabeko."
"Heh. To visit Tsubame-chan?" Kaoru teased. It was Yahiko's turn to
turn red.
"Um. Yeah. Anyway, I might stay to help out over there," he rushed on.
Yahiko's part-time job at the Akabeko was pretty much an established institution.
The regulars knew him and expected him to be there.
"Fine. Be careful coming home at night."
"Of course," Yahiko grinned.
"Kaoru. Yahiko," Kenshin's soft voice came from behind them. He stood
in the doorway leading into the practice room.
"Ah, Kenshin. I'm going to Megumi's to talk."
"I'll walk you over there."
"Thanks."
******
"Megumi?" Kaoru called when she got to their house. "Where are you?"
"Kaoru-chan?" Megumi's voice came from the bedroom. She sounded winded.
"Megumi. What are you doing-- Oh my... You're having the baby?!?"
"Yes, well, he doesn't seem to want to wait. Shin-chan and Sano went
to the river this morning. I just started..." Her eyes rolled back with
the pain of a contraction. She sucked in air and began to pant. "...s-started
right after they left."
"Wait here. I'll go get Gensai-sensei." Kaoru turned, poised to run
to the clinic.
"That's not going to do any good. He and the children went to visit
his sister yestereday. They'll be gone for a week. I wasn't supposed to
have the baby for another month."
"Megumi? I can't leave you!"
"You'll have to help me, Kaoru-chan."
"What do I have to do?"
Megumi told her to gather supplies and to how much water to boil to
clean the baby afterwards. She panted out the instructions from her position
on the futon on the ground. Kaoru took a calming breath and swiftly moved
to follow Megumi's directions.
"Why did you come over anyway?" She asked during a lull between contractions.
"I was going to ask about how everything was going to feel when it happened.
But I guess I'm going to witness it, huh?" She smiled down at Megumi.
"Yes. Of course, first babies usually don't arrive this fast. I was
in pain for several long, long hours before Shinnosuke was born."
"Really?"
"Yes. It hurt a lot. A whole lot. But it was totally worth it." She
grinned, but it turned into a grimace as she felt the pain course through
her.
"Kaoru-chan. I think the baby is coming."
"Now?!?"
"Yes. NOW!" Kaoru held out her hands as Megumi pushed, bringing a new
life into the world.
******
"Tadaima! Yo! Megumi? Where are you?" Sanosuke came in to the
house with Shinnosuke on his shoulders.
"Sanosuke! We're back here!"
"Kaoru? What are you doing he-" He entered the bedroom he shared with
his wife. Megumi was holding a squirming bundle to her breast.
"Okaerinasai," Megumi whispered in a tired voice.
"You had the baby?!? I was gone for 3 hours, tops. You had the baby?"
Sano was totally shocked. He couldn't speak for a few minutes, just open
and close his mouth. When Shinnosuke finally began squirming to be let
down, he woke from his stupor. He lowered his son down and turned to examine
his wife closer, his face took on a look of concern. "Are you okay? Nothing
went wrong?"
"Yes. Kaoru had stopped by for a visit just in time." Sano turned to
look at Kaoru, who was rocking a squirming bundle of her own.
"It was wonderful, Sanosuke. Messy and bloody, but beautiful!" She grinned
at him with tears in her eyes. "I'm glad that I was here to experience
this."
Then he looked back at his wife. He counted in his head. Then he used
his fingers, just to make sure.
"T-Two?!?"
"Yes, darling. You were right. We have a boy. AND a girl." Megumi grinned
tiredly. "Next time, you're doing the work!" But Sano didn't hear the last
part of Megumi's tired announcement. He promptly passed out.
"Oh my. It looks like we managed to surprise 'touchan big time."
