Rurouni Kenshin: A New Era

Disclaimer All rights and privileges to Rurouni Kenshin belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki, Shuiesha, Sony Music Entertainment, and associated parties. The characters are used without permission. This is a work of fiction and not written for sale or profit.

All characters I create belong to me.
Notes:
oniichan: Older brother. Shinnosuke can't say the "n" so he leaves it off. ^_^
akachan: Baby/-ies

Revised on 12/09/98
Updated with new revsions: 02/16/99 - Thanks to Amy Forsyth

Enjoy!
Yoko-chan (ardith@geocities.com)
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/1149/

A New Era: Part 4 -- Introductions and Promises

It took a long while for Sanosuke to recover from his shock. He lay sprawled on the floor of their bedroom with their 3-year-old crawling all over him, trying to rouse him. Megumi merely laughed at her fallen spouse. It wasn't every day that her husband fainted. The shock must have been too much.

There was no waking him from his swoon. Shinnosuke wanted his father up to see meet his new brother and sister, who were quietly being fed by their mother. He tried everything from shoving at his prone form to pulling at his pointy hair, but to no avail.

"'Kachan... Why is 'touchan sweeping? He won't wake up and see the babies," Shin-chan pouted. He was very excited about his new siblings. His mother and father had explained that he was getting a new brother or sister, but now he had two instead of one.

"Shin-chan. Your father is just resting," Megumi said dryly. And resting and resting. The look on his face when he realized that there were two babies was so precious. But then, no one was expecting two bundles of joy.

Now that she thought about it, she had been very big when she was carrying them. She had just assumed that she was just having a big baby. Sanosuke was not the smallest of men. He stood very tall compared to a lot of the population of Tokyo. Shin-chan had been big when she carried him, too. Therefore the baby inside her, she reasoned, was bound to be big. She didn't count on there being two small ones. Twins usually came early, too, explaining her early labor.

When he finally revived from his faint, he remained on the ground, shaking his head in disbelief. "Twins...," he repeated before finally getting up.

He scooted over to the futon where his wife lay, the sleeping babies beside her, and bent over to kiss her passionately. Kaoru took Shinnosuke by his little hand and led him out of the room to give his parents a bit of privacy.

"Oh. That was nice, Sanosuke," she grinned weakly. "But that's what got us in this situation in the first place."

"Woman, that's not what got us in this situation. In a couple of weeks, when you feel up to it, I'll remind you what got us in this situation," he replied wickedly.

"Sanosuke..." She couldn't believe how lucky she was sometimes. Life could have turned out so different.

She thought back to the beginning, when they first met. He and Kenshin had saved her back then. She remembered when she tried to kill herself. Sano had stopped her before she could plunge the short sword into her chest, grabbing the blade with his hand, cutting his own flesh. She had been so close to doing it. So close.

He yelled at her for being stupid. He made her think about what was really important in life. If he had not done that, she would not be here. She was thankful every day for him.

"I'm so happy. I love you," he whispered rawly against her lips. He moved back to stare at her beautiful face. She smiled back at him with that smile that made his guts twist. She made him feel things so strongly. He didn't know what he would do if she was not in his life.

"Damn it, woman. I know you're good, but you don't have to rub it in. I go away for a couple of hours and you pop out twins." For a second, his face looked a little sad. "Baby, I wasn't even here to hold your hand while you were hurting..."

"Sanosuke..." Megumi move up to kiss him softly. "I love you so much. I know that you will always be there for me. I know you wanted to be here with us, but these little ones didn't want to wait." She reached out to touch his face lovingly.

"So, are you going to introduce me?" he said with a wry grin.

"Sagara Sanosuke, come meet the new additions to our family," Megumi whispered as she lifted up the fragile bundles one by one to introduce them to their father. "We have to think of names. This is our son. He's older by a few minutes."

Sanosuke looked down at his newest children. His son looked a lot like Shinnosuke. He had a full head of hair which was already starting to point up, the exact color of his mother's. He yawned and began to fuss, moving fretfully. When Sano rubbed his finger near his mouth, he automatically began to nuzzle against it.

"Hungry again, already? Heh, just like your old man," said Sano with a proud grin. Sanosuke gently gave his son over to Megumi to feed. "And this must be our youngest..."

Sano looked at his daughter. A daughter. He didn't know the first thing about how to take care of little girls. She looked even smaller and much more delicate than her brother. She was so beautiful.

He could see Megumi in her small face. She, too, had a head full of hair, but it was his dark brown instead of Megumi's deep black. She even had Megumi's lips. Geesh, he was going to have to be on guard when the boys came around her when she was older. He began to sweat at the thought.

"Megumi-chan..."

"Hmmm?"

"Thank you. For being with me and loving me."

"Sanosuke. Falling in love with you was one of the best things that ever happened to me."

*****

Kaoru and Shinnosuke sat in the front of the house, watching the sun set. The little boy was, for once, very still. It was a sight that few had ever witnessed. Shinnosuke was already known around the neighborhood for having a typhoon's worth of energy.

Kaoru hoped that he wasn't starting to become jealous of his new brother and sister. He looked a little pensive, reminding her of Sanosuke when he was trying to think deep thoughts. It was very cute to see the look of utter concentration on his little face.

"Kaoru-neecha," he said finally. He looked like he had come to a decision.

"Hmm?

"Shin's goin' to be a good oniicha."

"Yes, Shin-chan," whispered Kaoru, gathering the little boy in her arms to hug him. "You are going to be the very best oniichan around."

"Shin's goin' to help 'em and protect 'em always. 'Cuz the akachan awre wittle."

"Shin-chan. They are very lucky babies," whispered Kaoru against the little boy's hair. "And when Kenshin and I have our baby, you can help him or her, too."

She held him and whispered to him until he nodded off to sleep, about all the fun he was going to have as an older brother and how proud everyone was that he was going to be there for the other children as the sun set on the eventful day.


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