The cicadas were particularly active that summer evening. Their ringing song echoed in Yahiko's ears as he stared out across the river. His face was set to a glare. As if to punish the water for flowing. Kenshin looked beyond the glare as his figure shrouded away from the remaining sunlight from Yahiko.

The boy knew of Kenshin's presence but would not look up. The man gave the boy a faint smile before settling in to sit next to him on the grass.

They sat in silence for what seemed like hours before Kenshin spoke.

"Yahiko-"

"How could you leave?" Yahiko interrupted, his voice deep with grief. Kenshin set his jaw and swallowed.

"It's not forever, and I just need to head to the South for a time to settle negotiations for peace. It is my dream to have a peaceful world to bring my children into, that it is." Kenshin explained.

"Then take us with you" Yahiko reasoned. "Kaoru isn't even showing in her pregnancy yet, and we could be back before the baby is born."

Yahiko risked a glance at the man. He found sad violet eyes looking back at him.

"Kaoru-dono is having a difficult pregnancy even now. She is ill, and Miss Megumi says if she isn't careful she could lose the baby. I have to find a way to make a living for us all and take that stress away from her"

"You idiot, she'll be more stressed if you're gone and if you miss the birth of your child I'll never forgive you!" The words were the most challenging he had ever given his master. Yahiko idolized Kenshin, that much was obvious. As obvious as the hurt gleaming in the sheen over his eyes. Again. He was leaving again! We almost lost him last time and I won't let that happen not on my life!

"Yahiko-"

"No! I can get a job teaching Kaoru's classes and maybe even get Sanosuke's lazy ass to come back find work too. We'll help support the family, our family!" The tears escaped then, sliding quickly down warm brown skin. He had seen and faught in manly battles despite his age, but that dd not change the fact he was only eleven years old.

"We will. That's why I need your help. I need your help with Kaoru while I'm gone" Kenshin said and raised a hand to stop the boy's protest.

"You have been my son since the day we took you from that gambling ring. Even before then, it was simply the twists of our fates. So, just as I protect the son that grows in the womb, I protect the one that stands defiantly before me. That I must" Kenshin said with a smile. Yahiko stood still safe for the faint shaking around his body.

Son

There was a light shuffle in the grass and a warm hand on his head.

"Please understand that I will never leave you, never in the sense that truly matters" Kenshin whispered before stepping away and disappearing from view.

He was gone before first light and Kaoru though quiet, had understanding shining in her sapphire eyes. Yahiko sat down next to the pregnant woman and sighed. They both stared out to the carriage-beaten path expecting to see at least a glimmer of red.

None showed and Yahiko looked to Kaoru out of the corner of his eye. Her skin was almost gray with how pale she had been and there was still a sheen of sweat to her skin as her body burned away the rest of the virus.

"Hmmm," he mused aloud. Kauro turned her gaze to his.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Hmm your face has gotten really fat," Yahiko said with a sneer. Kauro's growl was the only warning for the boy to duck his head from her fist.

"You inconsiderate brat! I'm growing a human so exuuuuuuuuuuuse me if I indulge in a little extra sponge cake." She huffed.

"A little" the young samurai challenged.

"Why you little-" Kauro began and grit her teeth to stand. It was not yet completely obvious she was pregnant but her body had been weak from a fever she had only just broken a few days prior. She stopped at the feel of a flutter and gave a surprised yelp. The humor left Yahiko's eyes and he was by her side in an instant.

"What is it?!" Panic filled Yahiko's voice but Kaoru shook her head and placed his hand just under her ribs. There was a slight rush of movement beneath his fingers.

It was a peculiar feeling, unlike anything he had ever felt before. Almost as if the school of tiny fish passed through his fingers. It was strange to imagine a face to the sensation. He wondered if his brother would look more like Kenshin with wild red hair or like Kaoru with her sapphire hair and eyes.

He felt his lips form around the words. Brother.

Yahiko hadn't even realized he said it out loud. Kaoru tightened her grip on his. Yahiko's eyes shot to her face. She was beaming at him and happy tears fell out of the corner of her eyes.

Yahiko made a sheepish face before crying out from the pregnant woman's vice-like embrace. He flailed his arms helplessly as his face became buried in Kauro's bosom.

"Awww, of course, you are going to be a wonderful brother, my little Yahiko~" Kauro squealed and nuzzled her face atop his spikey head.

"I'M NOT LITTLE!" Came his muffled cry. Kauro laughed wholeheartedly

…

Weeks had gone by and Kaoru's pregnancy proved ever more difficult. Not just in the pains but in the highs and lows of her energy levels. One moment she'd have enough energy to clean the entire home and the next she'd nearly collapse fold laundry. Yahiko took on responsibility with grace and would work long hours teaching at the dojo to be able to earn a reliable income.

Yet it wasn't enough. There were still things that needed to be done around the home that Kauro was not able to do. So, the now assistant instructor at the Kashin Style dojo swallowed his pride and set a letter for help.

A letter that a famous street fighter turned vagabond gripped in his hand as he strolled through the familiar streets of Tokyo.

"Oye, Missie! Yahiko! I'm home" Sanosuke shouted as he stepped up to the compound.

Kaoru, now heavily pregnant had taken up the hobby of knitting, or attempted to anyway. Sanosuke eyed the tangled mess of yarn on the floor by the sapphire-eyed beauty and grimaced.

"Teh- Can't you do anything right, Missie" he commented. She put her hands on her hips and glared up at him from where she sat on the floor.

"Don't criticise unless you could do better." Kauro challenged the tall man grinned and plopped on the floor next to the yarn

"You're on!" And so the aggressive clicking ensued as the knitting needles collided into the fabric. It turns out that neither opponent was very skilled and both were left with frayed and knotted fabrics that they called a truce and worked together to make a massive blanket.

Yahiko came to find the mess and shook his head at the two.

Thankfully Kaoru had become better at cooking due to the constant practice. Nowhere near the skill level of Kenshin but it was edible and the boys didn't complain.

They fell into the routine of the boys working and earning their keep along with helping Kaoru around the house. It was nearing the final weeks of the pregnancy that Kauro began to become easily winded. Yahiko had just sent word to Kenshin to hurry home when he had found her. collapsed in the kitchen, a pot of stew boiling over.

"Kaoru!"

Word was sent and Megumi was over instantly, out of breath and hair in a disarray but her eyes were focused and clear.

Kaoru was cold and clammy a primary indicator of active labor. But when Megumi felt the baby through her the stomach the baby was in the wrong position.

"This isn't good…" Megumi muttered. Yahiko and Sanosuke stiffened. What could that mean? The doctor looked at the two worried expressions and her face soften.

"The baby is coming today, but not on his own. I have to cut him out." She said and began to tie back her hair to prepare for surgery. Miss Megumi's instructions were clear. Sanosuke was to run to the clinic and retrieve Megumi's surgical equipment and Yahiko was to find a horse and race to Kenshin. It was to be a long night.

Yahiko panted on top the bay mare that he had 'borrowed' from town, he'd worry about the repercussions later and focused on the destination to the South.

"Kenshin!" Yahiko nearly collided with the red-headed samurai

"Oro?" Kenshin had been peacefully making his way back home, thinking how wonderful it was that he was paid in advance and able to return home early. He had been smiling thinking of his family and the opportunity experience the birth of his son. September twenty-first was the date that Megumi had given and that was a week away but all sense of relief washed away when he saw his young ward aiming for him with anxious intent.

"It's happening!" Was all Yahiko said and he extended his arm to the former Samurai. They raced back to the compound and there was a piercing scream.

Neither man breathed until a child's wail cut through the silence. Yahiko nodded to Kenshin and the man smiled at the boy before dismounting the horse and rushing forward.

Kaoru was on the futton bloodied but still conscious for the time being. Kenshin tried to block out the image of her corpse impailed with Enishi's sword. A powerful illusion that nearly destroyed Kenshin. But his Kaoru was there before him. Flesh and blood and looking up at him with so much more love in her eyes than he believed he served. He knelt by her side and retrieved her right hand. It was cold and clammy from the strain of childbirth.

"She had been fighting the sedative I gave her," Megumi announced from behind the new parents, a small pink figure in her arms. She shook her head "She needed an emergency cesarian and the pain would have been unbearable without but, the Raccoon girl insisted that she still be conscious. Bull-headed idiot" Megumi muttered but there was no malice in her words. Even if they were they fell upon deaf ears as the too stared in awe at the tiny human they had made together.

"He's so beautiful." Kaoru whispered as she touched the soft cheek gently with her finger. Kenshin noticed the wince that came from his wife, he manuvered the baby on to Kaoru's bare chest and behind her so she could sit up without strain.

"You're are already so loved and hope you never know any different, little Kenji" Kenshin said as he held his family in his arms. HIs wife settled back into his chest with a kissed her temple. There was a knock on the wooden panel of the screen door.

Sanosuke and Yahiko peaked into the room and Kenshin inclined his head in a motion to invite them in. They rushed in with as much delicacy as they could manage before plopping down.

"Shesh well there is no doubt who the father is, he could be your twin Kenshin" Sanosuke chuckled.

"It was never a question, Sanosuke" Kaoru growled at him. The man raised his hands in surrender and there were a few fleck of blood seeping through his bandaged hand. Kenshin questioned it and then he pointed at Kaoru accusingly.

"That's what I get for trying to be chivalrous. She nearly crushed my hand!" Sanosuke shouted igniting an argument between him and the suddenly energized mother. Kenshin noticed Yahiko waiting patiently at his right side. His gaze was fixed on the infant's.

Kenshin carefully rearranged the blankets so not to expose his wife and then collected his son gingerly before offering the baby towards the young man.

Yahiko looked up to Kenshin for permission and received a nod. Yahiko was hyping himself in head to not be nervous. He had fought and won battles with men more than twice his age, he could hold a baby damn It!

There was a hush as everyone watched Yahiko cradle the baby close to his chest.

"I, Yahiko Myojin, promise to be the best brother to you. I'll always protect you and teach you how to be a man and use your sword to protect life. So is the Kamiya Kashin ryu way." He vowed.

Kaoru, who had been on emotional overload since she had gone into labor was practically sobbing at the oath.

"I'll hold you to that, my little Yahiko" She laughed and sobbed.

"I AM NOT LITTLE!" he shouted absentmindedly causing Kenji to scream. Yahiko cringed and held out the baby as if it were a bomb. Sano shook his head and took the baby from the boy and rocked him gently in his arms. As he once did with his sister when she was this small. The baby quickly calmed to small murmurs.

The new parents stared on to their makeshift family.

"You look good with a baby, Sano ever think of settling down?" Kenshin asked. Sano gave a wane smile to the baby that lay asleep in his lap.

"Not anytime soon, maybe if a beautiful woman makes me fall hard enough I'll stay." He looked towards the window where he saw Megumi sterilizing her medical equipment outside for a moment, his face unreadable. It was only for a moment though. He passed the baby back to Kaoru's arms.

"But in the meantime I'll just live vicariously through you guys especially if you guys keep having beautiful babies." Sanosuke grinned. Kaoru gave him a warm smile but she and Kenshin knew that this would be their only child. Kaoru's body almost didn't survive this pregnancy and Megumi was honest that if she were to fall pregnant again it was probable that neither mother nor child would survive.

Not that either parent were particularly devastated. They would give their sweet boy all the love they could give.

The Kamiya Kashin dojo would come to know many faces both as students and as friends and family. The children of the generation flooding the halls and courtyard. Even a spikey haired brunette girl that came bursting through the dojo with fire in her eyes, claiming to be the bastard daughter of the famous street fighter Zaza. However, that is a story for another day one best told by the young man that fell for her.