Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Saving Grace ❯ Family Issues Over Kimonos ( Chapter 8 )

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Kenshin-gumi but all original characters and the story line are mine.

Chapter Seven: Family Issues Over Kimonos

Karou blinked slowly, leting her eyes get used to the bright light of morning. She streached and turned onto her stomach, breathing deep. 'Mmm...smells like Kenshin's got something good planned for breakfast.' Karou thought as she dressed quickly. She stepped out of her room quietly hoping to scare Kenshin when she went into the kitchen. She jumped whe she heard a voice behind her.

"Did you decide to cook this morning Karou-dono?" Kenshin asked grimicing inside.

"You scared me you jerk!" Karou roared kicking Kenshin in the leg,"And I thought you were cooking!"

They heard children quqqling from outside. "Do you think..." Kenshin began but Karou was already gone.

When Karou walked into the kitchen she was surprised to see Raven carefully chopping vegtables and tending a pot of rice. "Good morning, Karou-san," he greeted quietly. His almost white hair hung free and swayed behind him as he moved. His blue kimono had been replace by a deep green one. "Breakfast will be ready soon." he added before bowing and continuing his work.

Karou blinked a few time smiling when suddenly she heard a crash from the practice hall. She to see what was wrong. She almost crashed into Momo as she slide around the corner. The small boy squeaked in surprise.

"Is everything alright Karou-san?" Yuki asked getting up from where she and Soma had been cleaning the floor.

"Y-yes," Karou stammered trying to recover from her surprise. "I heard something crash and thought something was wrong."

"Oh that, sorry," Soma said sheepishly ribbing the back of his neck. "You see...um..."

"He picked a fight with me so I had to body slam him." Yuki finished with a bright smile.

"Don't get cocky Snowflake. I let you win," Soma said cooly going back to his cleaning.

"Shut up, baka," Yuki growled punching him in the arm.

"Hey, what was that for?" Soma asked innocently.
"Don't call me that name!"

"What name?"

"I think she means Snowflake. Right Snowflake," Momo said giggling. He took off before Yuki could get ahold of him.

Karou laugheh and thinked them for their help before going into the yard to see if she could find Yahiko.
Tai sighed and leaned back, her eyes closed.

"You look tired," Doubarou said quietlly. He sat close by with his arms up to his elbows in water washing th clothes his siblings had worn the day before. He had pulled up the sleeves of his green kimono but they had still managed to get wet. Tai stared at him. She could barely see the black cord around his neck that held Saiyan's dragan tooth. Before he died Saiyan had given it to Doubarou telling them all that is was a dragon tooth because it was always sharp no matter what and it would offer protectoin to all who deserved it.

Tai sighed again, 'Fools.' Suddenly she felt a hand on her forehead. She jerked away from Doubarou's touch.

"Are you okay?" he asked, watching her intently. "Are you sick?"

Tai snorted, "No. I just didn't get any sleep. Yuki wanted to sleep outside last night and then Himura-san decided he wanted to chat."

"I trust you treated him with some respect," Doubarou said solemly as he returned to his work. Tai looked away, her hands twitching in discomfort. "Okay then, I guess that means you don't want to talk about it," Doubarou said, "All I ask is that you tell me whether you acted respectfully."

"About as much as you can expect from me." Tai told him closing her eyes again.

Doubarou watched her for a moment. She looked pretty rumpled. Her hair hung in a loose braid instead of it's usual bun and her clothes were wrinkled and dirty. Her face was pale against the purple bruise on her temple and the dark circles around her eyes. The cut above her eyes was red and puffy.
"At least that means there wasn't any bloodshed." Doubarou joked trying to lighten Tai's brooding. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Tai's eyes slit open. Doubarou's back was to her again, but she didn't need to see his face to know he was concerned. 'Strange. Someone still accepts me after all.'

"Himura-san knows now, and no I don't want to talk about it," she said quietly.

Doubarou sighed. "You are my little sister and I care about you, but sometimes your crappy mood really pisses me off." He jumped in surprise when Tai started to laugh.

"Yeah, I know I can get pretty annoying," Tai said still chuckling. Then she quieted down. "Thanks for putting up with me through everything that's happened," she told him, smiling. Then she slowly stood and walked away thinking 'Saiyan gave you the dragon tooth because you are brave and he knew you would never dishonor his name. Something he knew I was destined to do. Protect your gift big brother.'

Karou watched her walk away. 'She's still a kid, but something has happened inside her soul.' She shook her head to rid herself of the dark thoughts and continued her search for Yahiko.

Yahiko sat quietly watching the two little girls. Jynx had managed to balance herself on her head with her knees on her elbows and Aya was trying to sit on Jynx's feet while balancing a bucket of water on her head.

"I don't think this is going to end well," Yahiko said.

"Shh . . . they need quiet," Momo whispered beside him as Aya wobbled on top of Jynx, the water almost spilling.

"Sirius was teaching us to be acrobats before he left to fight the bad guy," Jynx grunted panting under Aya's weight.

"Bad guy?" Yahiko asked in confusion.

"The monster," Aya offered.

"He's not a monster stupid," Momo interupted, "there is no such thing as monsters. He's jus a man, a bad man."

"How do you know he's bad?" Yahiko asked watching the girls wobble again.

"Because he follows us around. He is the reason we had to leave our home in Yokahoma and in Kyoto. He's been trying to get Sirius to fight him for a long time."

"Well, why hasn't Sirius fought him before now?"

"He said it was because 'Hitomi has the tight to want revenge, but I can't just allow him to destroy himself if it isn't neccesary. As long he can't find us there is no need for someone to die.' That's what he says," Aya said mimicing what Sirius must have told them many times before.

"Hitomi?!" Yahiko gasped.

"Yahiko!" Karou's voice called suddenly.

The two girls, caught off guard, fell and soaked themselves as well as Momo who had sat closer to them then Yahiko.

Yuki sighed and shook her head as Yahiko and Karou broght the three soaking children to her. Breakfast had just been set out and their only other set of clothes had just been washed. The only one who had extra dry clothes was Tai.

'I guess it's the only way. I don't want to fight but I can't let the little ones get sick either,' Yuki thought as she took a deep breath. "Tai can you give them some of your clothes to wear please?"

Tai's eyes grew wide for a moment. "I can, if you're sure," she said as she started to herd the dripping youngsters to thier room.

"You can't do that!" Raven screeched coming out of the kitchen. "They can't wear HER clothes."

"Hmph . . .would you rather they sat around in wet clothes and get sick?" Tai asked in a sarcastic tone.

"Yes, actually," Raven answered his arms crossed defensivly.

"Then you're stupid. Besides it isn't like they're going to wear my clothes forever. Their clothes will be dry by the time breakfast is over," Tai growled moving closer to the confused kids.

"What's going on?" Aya asked quietly.

"Nothing Little Bird. You guys want to play dress up?" Tai asked comfortingly, though her eyes were still locked on Raven, daring him to cause a scene. He looked away, so she took the children to change their clothes. Raven stormed back into the kitchen to clean up his face set in a scowl.

"What was that all about? What's the big deal?" Yahiko asked rudely.

"It's just our way," Soma said quietly playing with some blades of grass.

"What do you mean?" Kenshin asked from his spot on the porch.

"It was the way of our father and his father to seperate the strong from the weak in ways that all could see. It is the way of our family for those who carry weapons to wear black, the color of death, because that is all they can bring to others. Those who have not been trained or who simply don't wish to carry weapons wear blue or green, the colors of peace and rebirth."

"Is that why you wore black yesterday but not today?" Karou asked Soma.

"Yes Kaoru-san. Today I had no need to carry my sword so I didn't wear black."

"It sounds stupid if you ask me," Yahiko snorted.

"Yahiko! Don't be rude," Karou gasped punching him in the arm.

"It may sound foolish but it is how we have done things for a long time. Usually we don't have to worry about the little ones because they have eight sets of hand-me-downs, but here we don't have those resources so we must adapt," Doubarou said quietly, brushing himself off.

"Adapt my ass," Raven growled, his arms crossed again. "It's time for breakfast."

"Yeah! Breakfast!" three voices called as Jynx, Aya, and Momo came barreling out of the house.

Momo came first, he had Tai's hakama pants pulled up under his arm pits and tied tight around him. The bottoms were rolled up almost two times but they still caused him to trip. Jynx was wrapped up tight too in Tai's black kimono. The sleeves were long and drug the ground even though Tai had tried to tie them up. Aya came last with Tai's haori wrapped around her. It was so big it swallowed her and she could barely walk.

The mood lightened when they came stumbling out and Karou started to giggle. Her laughter was infectious and soon almost everyone was chuckling. Even Tai cracked a smile.

Breakfast went peacefully, atleat as peacefully as Yuki could expect with Raven glaring at Tai and refusing to eat while Tai ate everything she could get her hands on. 'I guess it's to be expected. She hasn't eaten since breakfast yesterday,' Yuki thought as she started to wash the dishes.

She'd asked Karou if Raven and Soma could use some of her practice gear and she'd said yes so Yuki wouldn't have to worry about those two. They'd be busy for hours. The little ones had changed into their own clothes after they had finnished eating and were now playing quietly under Doubarou's watchful eye.

Yuki sighed. She had told Tai to stay close to the dojo so she could help with lunch but the girl had disappeared right after breakfast. 'I wish she would listen to me once in awhile,' Yuki thought drying her hands, 'or atleast tell me where she's going.'

Yahiko stepped out on the porch to see Kenshin setting quietly with Sano. "Hey, you look bored," he called as the went to sit next to them.

"All the chores are done and I don't need to cook so there isn't much to do," Kenshin sighed.

"You could always spend some time with Karou," Sano smirked.

Suddenly Yahiko remembered why he had gone looking for Kenshin. "Hey Kenshin, I was talking with Momo earlier and he said somthing about Hitomi being the one Sirius went to fight."

"Hitomi?" Sano asked. "You mean . . ."

"The older son of the Hitomi Clan," Kenshin finnished. "Interesting."

"Yeah, it's interesting, but do you think we can trust a little kid."

"Hey! He's not that little. He's only a few years younger than me," Yahiko growled punching Sano in the head.

"You little brat," Sano yelled as he grabbed Yahiko.

"Hmph," Kenshin cleared his throat. Yahiko and Sano stopped fighting and listened to him. "It sounds conceivable that Hitomi would wish to fight, but the boy could be mistaken. Either way we shouldn't let our guard down," Kenshin said quietly, his eyes narrowed in thought.
Tai breathed deep taking in the smells of the city. She soaked in the sights and sounds, filing them away to mull over later in the peacefullness of the dojo. She sighed. 'That dojo is my own personal hell.' She hated being stuck there with a brat like Raven under the watch of what she considered a washed up samurai. 'Though he can't be that washed up,' Tai thought, gingerly touching the dark bruise on her temple. 'He's still pretty stong.'

"Hey! You with the sword!" a harsh voice called breaking in to her thoughts.

Tai looked over at three young policemen coming her way. She growled in annoyance. 'Damn sword banning,' she cursed to herself as she turned and quickly blended into the crowd, a skill she had perfected while she lived in Yokohama. It was harder in Tokoy since it was less crowded but she managed to lose the bumbling officers quickly. 'I guess I should be more careful next time,' Tai thought stepping in to a small kimono shop.

She walked through slowly not really looking at anything. She had worn black since the day Aya had been born and she didn't believe the others would ever allow her to change. Still it was calming to do something as ordinary as picking through colored fabrics like a normal girl.

"Well hello, dear. Can I help you?" an older woman cooed as she came out from behind the counter.

"Uh . . . well, I'm just looking," Tai stammered suddenly nervous. She had never been good with people.

"Do you want anything in particular?"

"No I . . ."

"Well then, let's see," the woman interupted. "Your hair is beautiful, but your skin is too pale for that dark kimono. I know, perhaps a lavander," she said searching the rack for the color she wanted.

"Please, you don't have to. I . . ."

"Nonsense. Here we are," the woman said holding up a pale lavander kimono with yellow fish on it. Tai raised her eyebrows. "No?" the woman asked in disappointment. "Hmm . . . let's see. Perhaps this then," she held up a bright yellow one with wide green stripes. Tai quickly opened her mouth to protest. "No that won't do at all," the sales woman said as she resumed her search.

"Please you really don't have to do this. I don't have much money and . . ." Tai tried to say, her annoyance at the shopkeepers constant interuptions growing.

"Don't worry about that. I have the perfect thing for you," the shopkeeper said triumphantly as she pulled out a white kimono.

Tai gasped. The kimono was white as snow and it was decorated with small embrodered peach flowers and a large blood red dragon that ran down the side.

"This goes with it," the shopkeeper said quietly holding up a black obi stitched with the same red dragon as the kimono. "What do you think?"

"It's beautiful," Tai whispered wanting badly to touch the material, but she couldn't allow herself to stain the fabric with her bloody hands.

"Well it's yours for half-price if you want it."

Tai's head jerked up in shock. "I . . . I mean . . . well . . . How much is it?" The woman told her the price. 'I have that much,' Tai thought. 'I could easily afford it,' she looked longingly at the kimono the women still held, 'but I can't. I can only wear the color of death. That is my place.' Suddenly her eyes narrowed.

(It makes no difference what they say you are. In this era you are free to be what you wish.) That's what Kenshin had told her.

'I am what I choose to be.' she thought. "I'll take it."
Doubarou leaned back against the side of the dojo. Soma and Raven had ust finnished practicing and were streaching quietly in the yard.

Suddenly they heard Yuki yell, "Where is she? Dammit!" A moment later she came storming out of the dojo, looking like she was about to explode.

Doubarou smiled. "Who are you looking for?" he asked quietly. "Yuki Pooki-chan."

Suddenly he felt something sharp poke him painfully in the side. Yuki's blazing eyes bored into him. "I told you not to call me that ever again," she screamed as she poked him in the forehead with a stick, barely missing his eye.

"Oww! Hey! You could have blinded me."

"Shut up, Doubarou-CHAN! You deserve to be blind!! Now tell me, does anyone know where Tai is? I've been looking for her to help with lunch. I told her not to leave the dojo," Yuki moaned in desperation.

"You act as though you thought she'd actually listen," Soma said as he cracked his back. "You know how she is. She does what she wants without thought to the wishes of others. It's just her way. Her spirit is independent."

"Maybe we should teach her a lesson and put her on a leash like a dog," Raven suggested with a sneer, cracking his knuckles. Doubarou's eyes narrowed and he turned to tell Raven off.

WHAP!!

Suddenly Raven was on the ground rubbing a large bump on his head. Tai stood over him, her sheathed sword in her hand. "I dare you to say that again you little worm," she hissed spitting the words out like poison. Doubarou heard paper crinkling as she shifted the package in her arms.

"What's that?" Soma asked trying to peck through the paper as Raven climbed to his feet.

"It's nothing," Tai said turning away quickly.

"Don't turn your back on me!" Raven screamed as he tackled her.

They landed hard and the package was thrown to the ground where is ripped open. Doubarou saw a flash of white peeking through the brown paper. Tai pushed Raven off and tried to grab the package, but Soma picked it up before she could. He opened the package all the way and unfolded a white kimono.

Yuki gasped, "It's beautiful."

Tai growled. "That's mine! Give it back!" Some looked at her thoughtfully moving to hand it to her.

"What the hell is this?" Raven asked as he grabbed the kimono from Soma. "Were you going to wear this?" he shouted.

"What business is it of yours?" Tai yelled back.

Raven glared at her. "You know our ways," he yelled. "You carry a weapon. Your hands are bloody. You can only wear black. That is your place."

"My place is where I say it is. I am what I choose to be."

"Shut up!" Raven yelled as he ripped the kimono and dropped it in the dirt.

Tai's eyes grew wide, then with lightning speed she had Raven by his collar. "You little bastard," she hissed as she punched him, "that was mine!" She grabbed him by his hair and punched him again before throwing him to the ground. Raven gasped and tried to crawl away. Tai kicked him in the stomach and reached down to grab him.

"That's enough," Doubarou said walking towards Tai. She was still acting cool headed but Doubarou knew one more stupid remark from Raven would push her over the edge. 'Better stop this now before Raven gets himself killed.'

Yuki followed behind him, putting a hand on Tai's shoulder while Doubarou helped Raven up. The younger boy stumbled and leaned into his brother's chest. Doubarou put an arm up to support him when he felt a sharp tug on the cord around his neck.

'What the hell?' he thought trying to push Raven away. 'What is he up too?' Suddenly there was another sharp tug and Doubarou felt the cord give way. "No," he said trying to hold Raven, but it was too late.

The boy whipped around, Doubarou's dragon tooth was clenched in his hand like a dagger. He aimed to strike at Tai's back, but she turned quickly and Doubarou heard the tingling sound of steel being drawn from a sheath.
Sano and Kenshin had only stepped out of the dojo for a moment and they could hardly believe the sight before them as they came through the gate. Raven was being supported by Doubarou and Tai was being held back by Yuki.

"Were they at it again? Jeez! You'd think they'd get tired of beating each other up after a while." Sano said casually.

"Indeed. They're a very violent family," Kenshin agreed, his body tense. He had a feeling the fight wasn't over. His suspicions were proven when Raven suddenly spun around, something sharp glinting in his hand. Tai moved fast, he barely saw her reaching to stop the strike, but he did see the glint of steel as she drew her sword.

Yuki couldn't believe her eyes. Raven was on his knees moaning in pain, while Tai stood over him with her sword drawn. Her left hand was bleeding, in it she held Doubarou's dragon tooth. "You've stained Saiyan's memory with blood," she said her voice sharp.

"Like you haven't. You murdered someone with his sword."

"A sword is meant to be stained and the sword was mine to stain anyway. The dragon tooth was given to Doubarou. It was meant to protect not to exact revenge."

"If anyone knows about revenge it's you," Raven spat out. "To bad you only know how to avenge yourself." Tai's eyes flashed as she gripped her sword tighter and growled deep in her throat.

"Please," Yuki cried suddenly, "don't kill him."

Tai looked at her, pain flashed in her eyes. "I wasn't going to," she whispered, sheathing her sword. She threw the dragon tooth aside as she walked away. "I'll go prepare lunch," she said quietly as she wrapped her bleeding hand. Soma released the breath he'd been holding.

Suddenly Raven cried out,"Look what she did!" In his hands, Raven held a clump of his hair. Tai had cut it off. "I can't believe it," Raven gasped, "she hit me in the stomach with her sheath and chopped of my hair. I'm going to . . ."

Doubarou grabbed his collar and hauled him to his feet for the second time. "Shut up," Doubarou said. "You have shamed yourself enough. Be glad she didn't kill you," he growled pushing the younger boy away, then he bent to pick up the ruined kimono and obi.

Later that afternoon while the others ate, a shadowed figure crept across the yard to collect the bloody necklace and forgotten hair. "This should do the trick," it whispered sliding away.
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Tai sighed. Things had only gone from bad to worse since they'd come to the dojo. Under Sirius's watchful eye she and Raven had managed to be civil enough not to try and kill eachother. Now though , with him gone, neither Yuki or Doubarou commanded enough presence to calm the hostility.

Tai groaned as the dull pain behind her eyes suddenly sharpened. 'I'm surprised I only have a headache after all that yelling.'

Yuki had taken it upon herself to reprimand Tai and Raven for their behavior. She had reminded them rather forcefully that they were guests at the dojo and should conduct themselves as such. It wasn't until Aya poked her in the side and told her it was rude to shout that Yuki quieted down. Things went well untill Raven started whining about his hair and ruined it for himself.

'At least she's yelling at him and not me.' Tai thought giggling manicly, remembering the look on Raven's face when Yuki poked him in the head and told him he deserved a stupid hair cut for being a low life jerk.

Suddenly her eyes flicked over to the little ones who were busy throwing a ball back and forth. Yuki had told her in no uncertain terms that as punishment for fighting she would watch the children and keep them out of trouble. Tai sighed again closing her eyes. The little one's laughter rang in her eyes comforting her. Her head dropped and her breathing slowed.

Kenshin came up behind her quietly then, seeing that she was asleep, he moved to sit next to her. He watched her closely as she slept. Her face was smooth and soft without her regular death glare. 'She's so hard to others that you sometimes forget how young she is,' Kenshin thought, turing to watch the other children. They had abandoned the ball and were leaning precariously over a small mud puddle that had survived the hear of the last two days. 'This can't end well,' Kenshin thought as he nugded Tai trying to wake her. Her eyes opened just as Jynx and Aya fell head first in the puddle.

"Oh shit," Tai said jumping up. Yuki had given her strict instructions to keep the younger children clean and dry. Now Jynx and Aya were dripping and muddy. "Damn. Damn. Damn," Tai cursed trying to pull the two girls up without making more of a mess.

Momo giggled wildly. "I'm gonna tell Yuki Pookie-chan what you guys did!" he squealed and almost took off running to the house, but Aya tackled him before he could get to far.

"No," Tai groaned as Jynx plastered Momo with a handful of mud. She hastily grabbed all three by the backs of their kimonos and drug them away from the puddle. "What am I going to do? Yuki's gonna kill me when she sees this," Tai grumbled trying to wipe the mud away from Momo's eyes.

"Hmph," Kenshin cleared his throat. Tai looked up realizing for the first time he was there. "I believe Yuki-dono had a bath drawn up earlier. It's cooled off now so she'll probably draw up a new one later. I don't think anyone would mind if you used the old one to clean up the children that I don't. After the bath you could lay them down for a nap in their sleeping robes and clean their clothes," he said quietly.

"Yes, that's a good idea. Thank you Himura-san," Tai said with a small bow before she began the difficult task of hearding three muddy kids to the bathhouse without anyone noticing.

The bathwater was only slightly cold, but still comfortable. Tai stopped off the three children and scrubbed them quickly before sticking them in the large tub. She told them all to sit still and to keep quiet. Then she ran to the house and got their sleeping robes before sprinting back. She hoped they hadn't some how managed to drowned each other. Thankfully all they had done was splash half the water out of the tub. Tai figured she could clean it up later, so it made no difference. She quickly dried the three squirming children and dressed them. Then as quietly as she could she managed to sneak them back into the house. The whole process took over an hour and by the time it was over Tai's nerves were shot. She just wanted to collapse on a futon and never move again. Instead she drug herself away to clean up the mess.

She was surprised when she entered the bathhouse and found the pile of wet and muddy clothes had been replaced by her own dry ones. The water was steaming lightly like someone had tried to quickly reheat it. She smiled slightly and reminded herself to thank Kenshin again later, before carefully stripping off her own clothes and climbing in the tube.

Tai streatched slowly allowing her muscles to relax in the warm water. She'd been tense since they first entered the dojo so the water did wonders. She sat up suddenly and looked at her left hand. The dragon tooth had cut deep but the bleeding had stopped a while ago. The cut was red and sore, but she hoped it wouldn't get infected. Tai sighed sinking deeper into the tube so the water came up over her mouth. She was suppose to be the violent one in the family yet she'd been injured the most since they had arrived. Running her finger over the cut above her eye she wondered what had possesed Raven to become so murderous. Sure, she hated him, but she'd never felt the need to really kill him.

'Damn! What am I going to do?' she thought closing her eyes and trying once again to relax. She hadn't gotten much sleep the last few nights. She hadn't sleep the night before they'd left home and then Yuki had decided to sleep outside, plus after her talk with Kenshin she had been too on edge to sit still much less go to sleep. The warm water was enveloping and soothing. Soon her breathing was slow and peaceful.
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Water!! She was drowning!

Tai gasped as she sat up. She had fallen asleep in the tub. "Dammit! How stupid do you have to be to fall asleep in a tub of water?" she berated herself as she climbed out shivering and quickly changed. She braided her hair after carefully shaking out the tangles. "Time to face hell," she thought as she left the bath house, her shadow growing longer as afternoon faded into night.