The next morning, Kenshin and Ichiro set out for the city of Shukuba.
Aya was very worried about her son, who was going out into the world for the first time, at which Kenshin merely rolled his eyes and chuckled quietly, making Ichiro blush and feel embarrassed.
“Mom, stop it!” he declared, and after ruffling the hair of “three-year-old” Keiji, dashed out of the house.
“Take care of yourselves,” Aya said, kissing Kenshin on the lips.
“Mm-hm.
Everything will be fine.
Don’t let this little rascal drink too much coffee, or he won’t sleep at night,” Kenshin said with a smile, picking up his son.
“And you, you little bandit, listen to your mother, got it?”
“Yes!” little Keiji declared.
Kenshin laughed and handed his son to Aya, then left the house, meeting Ichiro at the cave’s exit.
“Don’t be upset with your mother.
She loves you very much, that’s why she worries so much,” Kenshin said, adjusting his backpack and heading toward the descent from the mountain.
“I know…
But damn it, I’m already an adult, and she treats me like a child!”
“Because you are a child.
To her, you’ll always be a child, even at fifty.
Try to hold back your annoyance, okay?”
“Yes, Father…” Ichiro sighed, and followed after Kenshin.
* * *
By one in the afternoon, father and son reached the city of Shukuba and immediately headed to the wine shop.
The seller recognized Kenshin at first glance and greeted him warmly, like an old friend.
Five minutes later, Kenshin and Ichiro left the wine shop and set off to see the sights, mostly to broaden Ichiro’s horizons a bit.
Ichiro was like a country bumpkin visiting a big city for the first time.
The blue-eyed young man spent most of the time with his mouth open, marveling at everything there was to marvel at.
After an hour of wandering the city, Kenshin and Ichiro had visited all the necessary shops and bought various things, from spices to clothes, then stopped by a local eatery to eat.
But then Kenshin caught an interesting conversation and listened more closely.
“I’m not lying, I swear.
Why would I lie?
Everyone’s talking about it — you’ll see, by evening this news will be on everyone’s lips!” declared a middle-aged man with a face red from the alcohol he’d drunk.
“That can’t be!
The Uchiha Clan is one of the pillars of Konoha — the whole clan wiped out in one night?
What nonsense!” declared a sturdy-looking man of about forty, with a short but thick beard, not believing a single word.
“Don’t believe me?
You’ll see!
Later you’ll be ashamed you didn’t trust your old friend…” the red-faced man said with a sigh, downing another shot of sake and chasing it with something resembling sauerkraut.
“You shouldn’t have made up so many stories so often, so your words would carry some weight!” the broad-shouldered man said with a laugh, also downing a shot of sake.
“What?!
The Uchiha Clan wiped out?!
That means Itachi has already left Konoha, and Naruto and Sasuke are 10 years old…
The canon is in full swing, and no one’s going to wait for me!” Kenshin mused, shocked by this unexpected news.
“Come on, Ichiro.
No time to dawdle,” Kenshin declared, paid the cute waitress who’d been making eyes at him the whole time, and headed for the exit.
On the way back, Kenshin and Ichiro stopped by that same village and this time bought 20 bottles of wine, nearly emptying the shop’s entire stock.
At seven in the evening, father and son returned home, where they were met by Aya with little Keiji, who rushed into his father’s arms with a squeal, then looked at his older brother and reached out his little arms to him.
Ichiro laughed and took little Keiji in his arms, playing with his younger brother for a bit.
Then Kenshin and Ichiro took showers in turn, and Kenshin thought for the first time that at this rate, their home would become too cramped for everyone.
He could rebuild his “hideout” and create more simple showers, but he decided not to do that for now, judging that there was still enough space for four people.
After the showers, everyone gathered at the table and sat down to dinner.
Aya had made roast rabbit in the “oven,” with wild potato tubers that were practically indistinguishable from regular ones.
After dinner, Aya and Kenshin headed to the bedroom, enjoying each other’s company.
They hadn’t been alone in a long time, so they just lay in each other’s arms, kissing and caressing.
Kenshin sensibly reasoned that sex was out of the question for now, since at any moment a cheerful Keiji might come running in — for him, the bedroom was his home turf.
Ichiro was washing the dishes, while Keiji was making laps from the living room to the kitchen, then suddenly stopped and stared with hungry eyes at the table, where a handful of candies bought in the city sat in a small bowl.
Ichiro, seeing his little brother’s gaze, took a few candies and placed them in his little hands, drawing a squeal of joy from the little boy.
“Fank you, big bwother!” little Keiji said, hugging Ichiro.
“Ha-ha, you’re welcome, Keiji.
We’re brothers, and we should help each other!” Ichiro replied with a laugh, ruffling his little brother’s hair.
“Mm-hm!” Keiji agreed cheerfully, and scampered off to the bedroom, shouting, “Mom, Mom, Ichiro gave me a candy!
Look, I brought one for you too!”
* * *
On the next day, the fourth day after Keiji’s birth, or the thirty-fifth day after Kenshin’s arrival in this world, the entire family, after lunch, went to the river to take a break from the routine and let little Keiji experience a happy childhood.
Keiji grew very fond of his older brother and tried to imitate him in everything.
For example, not knowing how to swim, he flailed about and decided to cross the river along with Ichiro, but was instantly caught by his watchful mother and spanked on his bottom.
But closer to evening, Kenshin and Ichiro taught the little one to swim, and Keiji didn’t want to leave the river he had grown so fond of.
In the evening, everyone had dinner and went to bed.
This was the last night Keiji was allowed to sleep in his parents’ bedroom, so he made the most of it, begging his mother to let him sleep in their bed.
And after much pleading and grumbling from Kenshin, a satisfied Keiji climbed in between his father and mother and quickly fell asleep.
It all helps promote the story.