Subject: [KFFDISC] "Love and Duty" - Chapter 4
    Date: Tue, 02 Apr 2002 15:10:13 +0800
    From: " Megan Lavey" <dqbunny@earthlink.net>
Reply-To: kffdisc@nabiki.com
      To: kffdisc@nabiki.com


For those of you who are just joining us,
last year a romance novel of the fairy tale,
"The Wild Swans" was put out. For those of you
not familiar with the tale, it is the story of
how a princess must knit shirts out of nettles
for her 12 brothers who have turned into swans.
She must remain silent the entire time. During
this time, a handsome king comes along and falls
for the princess. He takes her home and marries
her. Things proceed from there.

"Love and Duty"
by DQBunny

DISCLAIMER: "Rurouni Kenshin" is owned by
Nobuhiro Watsuki. The romance novel form of "The
Wild Swans" is owned by Kate Holmes. All
royalities go to them, I'm just a humble fanfic
writer.

Chapter 4

He hated knitting.

After two weeks and two shirts completed, Kenshin decided that
knitting had to be the worst task he'd ever done, even worse than the
time Hiko deemed it necessary to fight him until he fell off the edge
of a cliff and broke his leg.  It was even worse than fighting
Saitou, who now sat in the corner glaring at him.

There was little else he had to do.  There was stuff he wanted to do,
such as inspect the different areas of the palace and watch Misao
train with the Oniwabanshu.  He was so used to training his brothers,
especially Yahiko and Yutaro, that he missed it.

Kaoru had kept her promise.  The morning after their kiss, she sent
her household manager, Sekihara Tae, in to teach him how to knit.
Kenshin liked Tae immediately and picked up on the skill with little
effort.  She seemed to like him as well, calling him "Ken-san" and
bringing him the most delicious snacks to eat.  Of course, he only
got one meal before his brothers caught on and started stealing the
food as Tae's assistant, Tsubame, brought it from the kitchen.

Lately though, he had actually received most of his food.  The day
before, Kenshin had walked out of his room to go to his bath when he
saw Tsubame carrying a tray toward him.  As usual, the pack of swans,
led by Sanosuke, flew up in the air so they could pick off food for
themselves.  Tsubame always let them.  She was afraid of them.

"I'm sorry, Kenshin-san," she had said the first day.  "Tae-san says
to just tell them to go away, but I can't."

Kenshin couldn't blame her.  If he was a little girl and 12 swans
were trying to attack, he would be afraid too.  He scowled when he
saw his brothers and moved to unsheathe his sakabatou so he could
stop them.

Suddenly, one of the smallest swans flew out in front of the others
and began attacking them.  One by one, the swan poked, jabbed, and
bit at the others until they flew away annoyed.  Kenshin let his hand
drop from his sword hilt and he smiled.  If he wasn't mistaken, the
swan defending Tsubame was Yahiko.

Tsubame placed the tray of food in Kenshin's hands.  "Here you go,
Kenshin-san," she said.  "I'm glad you got it all today."  They
looked at the departing Yahiko, who had wisely headed off on the
opposite direction from his brothers.  "You know," she admitted.
"I've seen that swan around a lot.  He's always staring at me.  If I
didn't know any better, I would think he has a crush on me."

Kenshin grinned at her.  Maybe Yahiko did.  He nodded his head in
thanks and returned to his room so he could eat before his bath.

Incidents like these filled Kenshin's days outside of the constant
knitting.  Tae, Tsubame, Misao, and the other inhabitants of Edo
Castle had become good friends and always found excuses to drop by
and see him while he was working.  They questioned the knitting at
first, and then shrugged it off.  The only ones Kenshin never saw
were Megumi and Kaoru.

Megumi was easy to explain – she hated him and made no pretenses
otherwise.  She went out of her way to avoid him and often made loud
comments as she passed outside the door.

Then, there was Kaoru.  Kenshin stopped knitting and stared out the
window, which overlooked the gardens.  He hadn't seen her since the
first night he was at Edo Castle, when she kissed him before the
fire.  He closed his eyes, reliving the kiss as clearly as if it had
just happened.

The kiss shocked him at first.  He'd never expected for her to
suddenly kiss him like that.  Her lips parted over his and her tongue
probed his own lips, urging them to open.  They did, as he regained
his footing and quickly wrapped his arms around her.  She had
initiated the kiss, but he quickly took charge of it.  Angling her
head so he could have better access, he kissed her again and again,
feeling her body change as he held her close to him.

He had pulled her into his lap, and her arms wrapped around his neck.
He tore his lips away from hers and started trailing kisses down to
the nape of her neck, where he encountered the folds of her kimono.
His hands dropped to the bow at the back of her obi and he lifted his
head slightly and saw the desire burning in her eyes.

Kaoru met his gaze.  "It's strange," she whispered, huskily.  "We've
just met, but it feels like this is right.  I...I want you to..."

Kenshin's heart accelerated.  He swallowed and willed himself to keep
control of himself.  His hand shaking slightly, he pushed her bangs
out of her eyes.

"I want us to make..."

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

Kenshin and Kaoru sprung apart.  Kenshin jumped to his feet, drew his
sakabatou, and whirled toward the door.  He was ready to kill the
person, whoever it was.  Sexual frustration had to be a justifiable
means of murder, wasn't it?

Megumi stomped into the room and pushed Kenshin aside.  She grabbed
Kaoru's wrist and pulled the younger woman to her feet.  "I can't
believe you're rutting with that...that man!" she cried.

Kenshin grabbed Megumi's arm, releasing her grip on Kaoru.  Megumi
growled and slapped him.

"Stop that now, Megumi-san!" Kaoru cried, her blue eyes threatening
to shoot daggers.  "If you ever touch me or a guest of mine in a
personal manner again, I will throw you out in the streets no matter
what promises I made to my father!"

"I don't see you saying that to certain people," Megumi grumbled,
snatching her arm out of Kenshin's grip.

"Kenshin was just trying to protect me, and you know it," Kaoru
replied.  She sighed and sunk into her chair.  "What is so important
that you had to burst in here without knocking."

"The peasants are revolting in Hokkaido," Megumi answered.  Kenshin
shivered.  Her voice sounded as cold as the winds that blew there.
"Apparently, the daimyo have taken more than their fair share of the
crops and now the peasants are upset.  There is literally no income
coming in from that area at all."

"Is that such a bad thing?" Kaoru asked.  "It's their food, they have
a right to it.  We don't need it, we have too much as is."

"It's inexcusable.  You have been listening to that Matsudaira
Sadanobu too much.  You're all for just leaving Hokkaido alone."

"As it should be," Kaoru said, rising from her chair.
"Matsudaira-san has a point.  There is no use in us trying to develop
Hokkaido and draining already thin resources.  We need to pull the
daimyo out of there and allow the peasants to live on their own.
That way, we'll have an effective buffer zone against the Russians in
case they decide to invade us."

"You can't be serious!" Megumi cried.

"Oh, but I am.  Now is a good time to do it."  Kaoru's voice dropped
to a near whisper.  "This system of government is dying, Megumi-san.
The people will not allow for the bakufu to make the country's
decisions for much longer.  I smell revolution in the air.  When the
smoke clears, the power will be in the hands of the emperor or
empress, not the shogun.  I can't be parading around, doing silly
stuff like husband parades.  I need to prove I'm an effective leader.
That's why in the morning, we're leaving for Hokkaido."

Megumi's face turned pale.  "But...but the shogun.  He'll get upset.
He'll..."

"He'll live.  The bakufu is not going to ride over me anymore.  It's
time to start standing on my own.  Please, go make the arrangements,
but be as discreet as you can.  I want to take the best of the
Oniwabanshu with me, but leave Misao here.  I'll need her to guard
the castle."

Megumi bowed slightly and left the room.  Kaoru looked back at
Kenshin, her gaze apologetic.  "I'm sorry," she said.  "I'm not sorry
that I kissed you, and I'm not sorry we nearly made love.  I'm sorry
that I dragged you into the middle of my mess.  For once in my life,
I wanted to be selfish.  When I saw you by the lake, that part of me
wanted you."

Kenshin smiled and shook his head.  He pointed to himself, then at
her, then toward the north.

Kaoru shook her head.  "It seems to me that you have your own duty,"
she replied.  "I don't know what's going on with you, knitting, and
the swans, but I sense that you have your own great burden set before
you.  Besides, I would like for you to be here and help Misao-chan
with protecting Edo Castle."

Kaoru walked over to her desk and picked up a sheet of paper.
"During my father's reign, there were 465 rural disputes, 445 peasant
uprisings and 101 urban riots.  And he couldn't do a single thing
about them.  Not a single thing."  Kaoru balled up the paper and
threw it into the fire.  She stared at Kenshin.  "It's time for this
to end, and it ends now.  That's why I'm going to Hokkaido."

That was the last time he'd seen her.  Every day, those who had been
left behind gathered in the front hall to await news from the north,
carried by the Oniwabanshu's carrier pigeons.  So far, Kaoru and her
entourage had made it to the north and stopped the riots by releasing
the daimyo from their duties and giving the food back to the
peasants.  By the time the shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, found out
about it, the damage had been done.

A knock sounded on Kenshin's door.  He tossed aside the knitting and
got up to answer it.  He brushed his hands on a towel as he passed by
an end table, wiping the blood from where the nettles stung him.

Misao stood on the other side of the door.  "I've just received word
from Hannya-kun that Kaoru-san's almost here," she said.  "They came
home a different route so they could avoid the shogun.  I figured
you'd want to meet her."

Kenshin smiled and nodded.  He took his sakabatou from the table next
to the door and tucked it in the waistband of his hakama, then
followed Misao downstairs where the rest of the household gathered.

Misao looked up and down the lines of servants and retainers lined up
from the front doors to the steps.  "I want you to know now that the
bakufu will probably declare war on the empress and her followers,"
she announced.  "It has been coming for some time, we all know this.
However, the empress has been away on an official matter that was not
to the liking of the bakufu.  They will retaliate over this.  I
understand that some of you may not agree with this.  Therefore, I
give you the chance to depart this household now in peace.  You may
see Tae-san for any money we owe you."

Some of the servants shrugged and quietly left the room.  Tae quickly
marked who they were and nodded.  Misao faced the rest of the group
once more.  "Go on about your business," she instructed.  "Don't
worry.  As okashira of the Oniwabanshu, I swear with my life that I
will protect this castle."  She thumped her fist against her chest
for emphasis.

The rest of the servants and retainers bowed to Misao and quickly
departed.  Misao gave Kenshin a grim smile.  "I hope you're in this
for the long haul," she said.  "I know you came into this place not
knowing what was going on."

Kenshin nodded firmly.  He was going to stay, no matter what
happened.  Too much was at stake now.

*****

Kaoru wearily stepped through the doors into the front hall of the
castle, absently kicking her shoes off as she did so.  "Tadaima," she
muttered.

"Okaeri nasai, Kaoru-chan," Tae said, approaching her mistress.
"Maaa, you look worn out!"

"Thanks," Kaoru gave Tae a tired smile and accepted the mug of tea
she offered.  "It's been a long trip.  We only stopped long enough to
water the horses.  We wanted to make sure to get home ahead of the
shogun.  How's everything here?"

"Misao-chan gave the announcement you requested.  Only six of the
retainers left," Tae replied as Kaoru headed for the stairs.  "They
were known to be loyal to the bakufu anyhow.  Everyone else stayed."

Kaoru placed her hand on the banister and glanced at Tae.  "And
Kenshin?" she asked.

Tae smiled when she saw a momentary flicker of fear in Kaoru's eyes.
"He's in his room," she said.  "He came down to watch Misao-chan's
announcement, then returned to work on those shirts of his.  He's
finished two shirts and is working on a third now.  You would think
it strange, but I believe he's making those shirts for those swans of
his."

Kaoru laughed for the first time since she left Edo.  "Perhaps so.
Why he would want to give those swans shirts made out of nettles, I
don't know.  They seemed to be somewhat of a pain in the butt for
him, maybe that's why."

"The swans have...been somewhat integrated into the household as
well," Tae replied.  "One of them meditates in the shrine every day
while another guards Tsubame-chan.  That one who dresses up in
Megumi-san's clothing seems to be helping the seamstress while the
one who took her handkerchief likes to be in the kitchen drinking
sake.  Then, there's the cigarette-smoking one, another that
destroyed one of the walls when he flapped a wing against it, the..."

"I get it, I get it," Kaoru laughed.  "I think I want to take a nap
right now.  I'll have a bath when I get up in a couple of hours."

"Of course."

Kaoru started up the stairs.  Tae walked toward the kitchens, then
looked back at the empress.  "Kaoru-chan?  Where is Megumi-san?"

Kaoru stopped momentarily.  "Oh, she broke off from the group once
she reached Osaka.  She said she had an errand to run in Kyoto.
She'll be back in a few days."

"Not another husband parade," Tae groaned.

Kaoru giggled.  "Probably so, just to get my mind off of the
shogunate, heaven forbid."

She reached the second floor and headed for her room.  About halfway
down the hall, her footsteps slowed, then stopped.  Kaoru looked over
her shoulder down the other end of the hall, where Kenshin's room
was.

During the times she was able to snatch a few hours of sleep, she
dreamed about him.  She relived their kiss over and over in her mind.
But, it wasn't the kissing so much she wanted to do right now.  She
just wanted to talk to him.  Kaoru felt somewhere in her heart that
she could unburden herself to the swordsman that she couldn't to
Misao, Tae, or anyone else.

Kaoru whirled around and headed toward Kenshin's room.  When she was
about ten feet away, the door opened.  Kaoru smile brightly and
started to call out a greeting.  The smile died and the words were
caught in her throat as a stunning beautiful woman wearing a
haphazardly worn kimono walked out of Kenshin's room.

*****
HISTORICAL NOTES:

During Kaoru's dicussion with Megumi about going to Hokkaido, several
of the facts she brought up were true.  Matsudaira Sadanobu, a
Confuscian working in the bakufu government, proposed a series of
ambitious plans to reform the ailing Tokugawa government during the
Edo Period.  Known as the Kansei Reforms (1787-93), part of the plan
was to leave Hokkaido undeveloped in order to serve as a natural
barrier against invasion.  Other references to the Kansei Reforms
will be made over the course of the story.

The numbers Kaoru quotes to Kenshin concerning the number of peasant
uprising were the actual numbers that occurred during the Tempo Era
(1830-44).  Many of these were caused by a severe national famine
that took place from 1833-36.

Tokugawa Yoshinobu was the final shogun of the Tokugawa Era
(1866-68).  He would had been the man Saitou fought for as a member
of the Shinsengumi.

Megs
*****
I do have a signature...somewhere! There it is!  ::yanks out
signature from underneath a heaping pile of Kenshin manga::  See?
My...OROOOOO!! ::Megs is covered by the now fallen over stack of
Kenshin manga
*****
dqbunny@earthlink.net
AIM: MegsLeigh
http://www.wishing-blue.net/dreamweaver/

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