Legacy

 

An RK Fanfic: i.e. the author doesn't claim rights to the anime used.

 

 

 

Chapter 13- Confessions.

 

 

 

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Ich Will

 

                                                            -Rammstien

 

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When I wake in the morning's bright light,

I think oh, there's nothing to be afraid of!

Love warms this place better than any fire,

And I am just happy to be.

 

When the birds sing outside my window,

Nothing fills my heart with more joy!

Simple pleasures, life's greatest treasures,

I am just happy to be.

Happy that I'm me!

 

 

Yahiko was the first to awaken to the sound of a woman's voice singing in the kitchen. "Busu?" he wondered out loud. No. This voice was a full octave lower than his high-pitched teacher's. "Must be Hideki," he mused, "Kami, she's got a great voice! And…" He sniffed the air, "That smells better than Kenshin's soup! I better get dressed before Tori-atma comes over and hogs it all!"  He exclaimed as he rolled out of bed.

 

 

 

Kaoru hadn't slept much the night before; she was too wrapped up in her own thoughts to even consider it. As a result, her usually keen ears had not heard when her strong-as-tempered-steel relative woke up and began to cook breakfast. She only realized what Hideki was doing when the sound of her voice floated through the thin walls and the delicious smell of miso began to tug at her sensitive nose. She was so out of it that for a moment she'd thought she'd fallen asleep again and slipped into a scene from the distant past.

 

"Mama?" she asked aloud.

 

Kenshin stirred and opened one drowsy violet eye. "Mrmph?" he muttered with his lips still glued to the sheets.

 

Kaoru snapped out of her reverie at the sound of her husband's voice, "Ohayo Kenshin." she said.

 

"Mrphyoaoru. Mrosrookinrrkfst?"

 

"I think Hideki's cooking it."

 

"Mrourezarouka." Kenshin paused for a moment listening to the sound of Hideki's voice belting out her cheerful tune, "She's got a lovely voice, doesn't she?" he observed finally lifting himself off the sheets for an early morning stretch.

 

Kaoru hid a sad smile and blinked hard, "Yes, she does. She used to play the shinobouay as well."

 

Kenshin shook out his long, red mane. "I didn't know you had any musicians in your family Kaoru."

 

"Hideki is the only one, really…" Kaoru said thoughtfully shrugging into a robe. "I can't use anything but my voice and my dad was as tone-deaf as they come. Hideki was just born with the gift." She shrugged, "Some hearts are born bigger than others, I guess."

 

Kenshin smiled, "Hideki might be the singer of the family, but I think I married the poet." he said.

 

Kaoru looked at him for a moment before grabbing him by the shoulders for a deep good-morning kiss that made the fine hairs on his neck prickle. When she let him go he blinked as if stunned.

 

"Well, what was that for?" he asked incredulously.

 

Kaoru just gave him one of her most adorable smiles to date.

 

"Just for being you." she answered.

 

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Hideki continued to sing as she laid out the breakfast table. Her pale hair hung down in two pigtails tied low under her ears, knocking quite a few years off of her appearance. Kero had long since been fed and was now happily catnapping in her room contented to sleep in the sunshine shining in through the open shoji.

 

Kaoru watched from a hidden spot around the corner of the hall that led to their sleeping quarters. She wrestled with herself on which way was now best to approach her cousin.

 

"How do I do this?" she thought frantically, "Do I just tell her what I did and apologize?" She narrowed her eyes at her own naiveté "Baka, how would you feel if someone came up to you and said, 'Hey, I stole your most private thoughts last night, but that's no biggie, ne? " She shook her head tiredly; this was more hopeless than she thought.

 

"If you have something to say to me why don't you just say it?"

 

Hideki didn't turn around as she asked the question. She just continued to arrange china on the low table as if she hadn't spoken at all.

 

Kaoru froze as if caught doing something she wasn't supposed to. She blinked a few times, "How…" she stuttered, "How did you?"

 

Hideki turned around with a secretive smile on her lips. She delicately brought one hand to her mouth, "Soul-link." She blurted out between coughs.

 

Kaoru felt like kicking herself for being so silly. How could she have forgotten about something that important?

 

"Because you always took it for granted." Her subconscious answered for her.

 

Hideki walked over to her cousin and placed a cool hand on her shoulder. "I thought I had too good a night's sleep last night." She said with a an unreadable expression on her face, "Then I remembered how your mother would comfort us as children by taking the anxiety away that caused our nightmares." 

 

Kaoru's expression was beyond guilty, "I'm sorry," she apologized, "I just wanted…"

 

"To make me happy," Hideki finished with a rueful smile, "Oh Tanuki-chan what am I going to do with you?"

 

Kaoru shifted uncomfortably, "Hideki," she began cautiously, "there's something else…"

 

Hideki's eyes darkened slightly and she stiffened as a secret thought crossed her mind. Then she forced herself to relax, "What is it sugar?" she asked with a hint of trepidation in her voice.

 

Kaoru looked into her cousin's eyes, and then let her gaze fall to the floor again. Her eyes screwed up and her bottom lip trembled, when she looked up the second time Hideki's fears were confirmed in the swirling emotions behind the tear shine in her cousin's eyes.

 

Kaoru fell into Hideki's arms, hanging on for all she was worth. Always an empathic person, she sobbed more miserably than she ever had as Hideki's pain became her own. How she hated everything, herself for not being able to do anything to help, her uncle for not protecting his daughter from such a monster, and that man! Whoever he was, when she found him he would pay dearly, warlock or no, oh how he would pay!

 

Hideki's arms suddenly wrapped themselves around Kaoru's slight frame as warm and as comforting as a mother's embrace. "There's nothing you can do now," she said gently through the link.

 

Surprised, Kaoru pulled away to look at her face. Hideki's eyes were sad, but calm.  She reached out and brushed away an ebony lock of hair that had become stuck to Kaoru's cheek. "He's dead Kaoru." She said softly.

 

Kaoru's eyes widened as an impossible thought squeezed its way into her conscious mind. "Dame!" she hissed angrily at herself, "Hideki would never!"

 

Hideki smiled sadly as she read what her relative was thinking. "It's okay Kaoru," she assured her, "It's only natural that you'd think that. However, it wasn't me. "

 

Kaoru couldn't hide her relief as she pressed herself to her cousin again, "Thank Kami-sama." she breathed, "Then who…?"

 

Hideki pressed her lips together as if grimacing, "That part of my past is dead now Kaoru," she said firmly, "I won't bring it up again."

 

"But Hideki I…"

 

Hideki pulled away and began to untie the apron she was wearing, "I have a lot to do today. Tell Kenshin I'm sorry I couldn't have breakfast with all of you, make sure Sano and Yahiko don't fight too much." she added with a light laugh.

 

"Hideki…"

 

The blue-haired woman gave Kaoru a stern look, but the pleading of her eyes wasn't lost on the dark-haired girl. Kaoru snapped her mouth shut and nodded stiffly.

 

 

Hideki left the house quickly, wearing the yellow scarf from the day before over a light pink kimono with a blue obi that was a few shades darker than her hair. 

 

Kaoru watched from the doorway as Hideki walked out the dojo gates and disappeared around the corner. As soon as she was no longer in sight she let her legs give out from under as fresh tears rolled down her face.

 

Kenshin came in from the bathhouse to find his young wife slumped in the doorway, silently crying her eyes out. Eyes flashing golden, he dropped the clothes he was holding and ran to see if she was all right.

 

"Kaoru! What's wrong koishii? Tell me!!!"

 

In response Kaoru slid into his waiting arms and sniffled unhappily.

 

"Kenshin," she said, "I have a confession to make."

 

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German-speak

 

Ich will - I want

 

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Japan-speak

 

Busu- ugly

Kimono- robey thing Japanese women wear

Obi- belt worn with robey thing

Miso- I dunno, all Kenshin fanfics have miso soup in them

Shinobouay- bamboo flute (I think I misspelled it though)

Tori-atma- Sano's nickname, it means rooster or something, I forget ^^;

 

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