Wanderers

It's time to say goodbye to these two characters. Thanks to Watsuki-san, we know what will be in Kenshin's future. As for Georgina and her gamble – who's to say? I have a bet with my Mouse. A pretty cheesy early Nineties song gave me the idea for this story. If the Mouse can guess it, there is a prize. If the Mouse can't guess it, I get some hand-dipped chocolate almonds. The gerbils, Zoot and Rapatullia, (don't ask, it's just what they looked like), will get new chewies. Can you tell?

...Kenshin slept so soundly that he was shocked to hear a cough outside his room in the early light. Usually, he would have heard them long before, Jina's singing must have driven away his dreams and allowed him to sleep far more deeply. He sat up and answered the tap that now came at the door.

The young maid, Shiori, came in. She still looked a little tired from the stress of last night, but she gave Kenshin a wide smile as she bowed politely. "Himura-san, my Lady wishes you a good morning and asks if you will be ready for breakfast soon. She says she's starving!" She giggled. "She sends you this letter and these few things for your journey." The girl motioned to several servants in the hall, who brought in trays of items covered properly with white cloth. "The Lady said to give you this letter, and she will await you in the garden teahouse." Before Kenshin could reply the girl and the servants bowed and left.

Kenshin sat with the letter in his hands. She brushed a clearly legible script, better than his. "Dear Red, The dawn comes on the day of our parting. Please accept these few items from a grateful friend to give you comfort on the road before you. Don't say no. If you do, I'll be insulted, and how will I be able to insult you back now? It would be too great a shameful burden on my weak woman's heart... Does that sound as pompous and stupid as I think it does? Get dressed and come to breakfast, my friend. I'm hungry and there isn't a dried meat strip in sight, so we're safe. Yours, Persimmon"

He remembered the joke he had made comparing her to the fruit, and the way she had "insulted" him back. He had to smile at the thought, though it gave him pain to know that she could never be able to be with him again in that way. He reached into the back of his mind and found the thread of her there, where she would always be. And it would have to be enough.

Kenshin took care of his morning needs and knelt in front of the trays. There was a set of sturdy traveling clothes in a soft brown, not new, but good and nothing that would draw attention to a man. Loin and waistcloths, tabis of several different colors, a warm blanket, plus an oiled cloak for rainy weather. Packages of bandaging, and a little kit of medicines plus several new hair ties and a tiny sewing kit. Dried meat, fruit, rice, and tea. Nothing heavy, nothing bulky, everything which would be good and appropriate for a journey and would fit in his little bag. The last tray held two yukatas and a wrapped package with the words "for good times" brushed on it in Georgina's hand. It was a heavy fine silk hakima in a brilliant crimson red with a pair of white silk haori pants. She must have wrapped these herself, they smelled faintly of her. For good times? He would never let these go.

He dressed quickly, tucking the tiny scrap of lace she had given him into the little box of his sewing kit, along with her letter. He packed his bag and left it by the veranda shojis. Then he walked out into the sunlit garden, heading for the little tea house at the far end. It was set several feet off the ground; at its foot was a tiny pond of koi. Georgina sat on the narrow porch, tossing crumbs to the fish.

She was dressed in western style, except for her black velvet shoes. A form fitting dress of dove-grey with touches of lace at the neck and wrists. Her hair was braided and wound into a crown, making her seem even taller than usual as she rose to bow before him, hands in her sleeves, Chinese fashion. Kenshin bowed back and accompanied her up into the tiny room she had to bend almost in half to enter. The shoji's on both sides were open, allowing everyone who wished to look to see how they sat a polite distance from each other. She had taken off her shoes and sat back on her white-socked feet.

"Good morning Himura-san. Have you had rice yet?" She asked in Chinese.

"No I haven't Lady; I am looking forward to a good breakfast before I leave. Please excuse my tardiness." They chattered on like this while the servers brought out the trays and tea. They sat side by side instead of across from each other, their backs towards the main part of the inn. Anyone who might try to see what they were saying could not approach without their knowledge. The maid took her own breakfast on the teahouse's bottom step, a proper chaperone, but out of hearing if words were spoken softly.

"Please eat, Red. I'm starving myself." Georgina picked up a bowl of congee and deftly snagged a bit of salted fish with her chopsticks. She put it in her mouth with a sigh. "Please, Red, not you too!"

"What, Jina?"

"Don't watch me use chopsticks as if I was a trained bear. I swear I'm charging admission for the show. It will help pay for the extra food I eat, ne?" Her laugh rang across the garden, along with Kenshin's embarrassed giggle. He bent his attention on the food and they were silent for a while.

"Here, try the dried persimmons. Unless you're tired of them."

"Oh, no Jina. I think persimmons will be my favorite thing to eat for the rest of my life, that they will. If I can't have something better in my mouth, that is." He watched her blush - he didn't think it was possible, but Georgina could be shy. He may have made her blush before yet not have seen it in the dimness of the hut. "Thank you very much for your gifts, where did you get everything so fast?"

"Captain Mikawa can't do enough for us, it seems. I told him what I wanted, and poof! There it was. Except for the festival outfit, I picked that out myself. You should have something to look good in for special occasions, and I think that your hair won't clash with that red. It will just make you look even more beautiful. If you only wear it for special times, it shouldn't fade like it would if you washed and wore it constantly. The stuff you have on now is used, but in very good shape and will keep you warm. If I can't wrap my arms around you, at least I can surround you with another type of warmth." This time it was Kenshin's turn to blush.

She poured them tea and they sat quietly, reaching out along their mental connection; strong now because they were so close. He could smell her sweet scent waft towards him on the warming breeze. "It will be a good day for traveling, Jina. Will you stay here after your husband arrives or leave at once?"

"I imagine we'll stay, it's a long trip from Yokihama and Fred and I will have some catching up to do." And I'll have some covering up to do. But when I look down into my heart, I get a stronger and stronger response from whatever is trying to create itself using my body as its vessel. I'll know for sure in a little while... till then Georgina, be thou of the Tao, let the world slide by you as water slides past the stone. "I'm sorry, Red-chan. You were saying?"

"You will tell him about me? Will he not think it odd that I have left?"

"How could I not tell him about you? You have saved my life and I know he will be eternally grateful. But I will also tell him a little of what you told me about your past and the present government. He will understand that you wish to be long gone in case you were known and will not wish to expose you to danger by looking for you." But I won't be describing you except as a very young man who appeared to be almost a child. Let him think that you look like an average young Japanese boy, dark-haired and dark eyed. "He will wish to include you in his prayers, as I will for the rest of my life." She bowed to him as the servants removed the now empty trays and poured them both more tea. The time was almost here and it tore her apart to see him go. But he had to; there was no future for him here. There could not be. Fredrick was her love, and perhaps soon another would be present for her to love as well. Kenshin would be a sweet memory of a magic day, except that she would always feel him breathing in the back of her mind as she had felt him breathing into her hair yesterday morning in that little hut. She would miss him, yet she would never lose him totally. It was an extra gift he had given her.

She slid a small paper package, wrapped in the form of a magnolia blossom, across to him. "Please take this final gift on your road. A little something to ease the way, ne?"

Kenshin looked down at it. He knew it had to be a tidy sum, probably in small coins so they wouldn't draw attention when they were spent by a wanderer. He didn't want her money, or her gifts. He wanted her. She was a wanderer too, moving between cultures and countries, a woman able to take the strains of the life he had chosen. She would be his shelter from the darkness of the night. She would be his warmth. He looked up into her eyes, ready to politely refuse everything, demand his old things back and leave. If she would not be his, he didn't need things that would only prolong his life and his misery.

The autumn pool eyes were steady and he felt her reach across to him without touching. "You will never be alone Kenshin. Someone in this world will always be thinking of you. It's more than most people ever get. Take it and be grateful for the memories of joy." When she spoke out loud, the sound of her real voice made him jump.

"Please Red, there is so much I would like to do for the people of your beautiful land, but I am bound by protocol and prejudice. You will make sure this goes where it is most needed and spent on those who need it the most. It is to help you on your path to healing your heart. Please accept it." She held his eyes, and he knew she was right, as she had been right all along. He picked up the little bundle and slipped it into his sleeve.

"Thank you, Jina-chan. I will make sure your gifts are not wasted. Any of them."

They heard loud voices from the inn. A man was asking questions about what had happened and where was the Madame Undersecretary? He needed to see her immediately, to make the apologies for his government. Her husband was due in a few hours and everything had better be fine! Kenshin and Georgina's gazes met one last time. She turned to face him and bowed low, her head on the floor.

"Goodbye, my little Red. May the road be kind to you and may you find the peace you deserve."

He bowed back, equally low. "Fare you well, Jina-chan. May your life be one of joy. I know that I need not wish for you to have love." He stood and turned to go down the steps. She turned her back, so she wouldn't have to see him go. He bowed to the maid, who returned the gesture and joined her mistress.

Captain Mikawa met him on his way back to pick up his bag. "You are leaving then, Himura-san? This is Togo Katanabe-san, here to represent our government. I have assured him that the Lady is in good health after her ordeal. Did you have a good breakfast together?"

"Greetings, Togo-san. Yes Captain, the Lady is very bright this morning and has a good appetite. I feel that her husband will have no worries about her health."

"Well, at least that's something." The sweating, business-suited man said, sketching a small bow to the plainly dressed boy before him. "She has caused us so much trouble! I wish that they would keep their women at home, instead of letting them wander around like loose horses. It was just asking for trouble."

Kenshin watched the Captain wince. Georgina was close enough to hear the man plainly, and even though she would be lying doggo, it was still not right for her not to be defended. But how to do it without giving her away?

"Well, come along Captain, it's time to go deal with this disagreeable situation. Farewell, Himura-san, thank you on your government's behalf for your assistance to the Lady."

"It was my pleasure to help a visitor, Togo-san. Tell me, do you speak the Lady's native language?"

"No, not a word. But the Captain says she can make herself understood in ours, if badly. Why?"

"Well the Lady taught me a few phrases to pass the time on that cold wet night. I believe I can truly say: Sir, you are a damn cocksucker son of a bitch. Good day to both of you gentlemen. Why is she laughing like that Togo-san? Perhaps she heard something amusing from her maid. Yes, they do laugh loudly, those foreigners. Good bye." He caught the Captain's eye and saw that the man knew something was up, but didn't want to know anything more.

Kenshin picked up his bag and walked from the inn, hearing Jina's laughter ring out behind him. "Good shot, Red! Cocksucker son of a bitch! Couldn't have said it better myself! Don't worry though; nobody takes me on without paying. Go with God, my friend!"

That fool has just bought himself a world of hurt, Kenshin thought, and walked back towards the little village that he had left a few days before. Time to get back to his mission and start spreading Jina's gift. The money –and the laughter.

I'm done! Time to move onto the next story! Has anyone seen Master Hiko? He hasn't returned my book yet, and I'm afraid the gerbils will be getting out! Yes, Mouse, I told you it was for the gerbils...you're so suspicious. No I don't know why that little bag is making a clanking sound when you kick it. Did you get those S-hooks I asked for? I'm going to hang...Plants..., yes, plants! (Tune in for further developments, kids.)