Old Memories

"I wonder how many friends are still alive of theirs then. Not many Rukon residents live this long really..." Lakshmi rambled lightly to herself as she grew more excited, wondering if she had stumbled upon a secret of the Rukon. A group of residents who somehow lived for centuries! With how old Kaimu was it was a miracle they had lived out here this long!

Could he introduce her? Another time perhaps, she had this wonderful house Kaimu grew up in to explore... It... was quite different from her own home and homes actually. Gigi had always preferred western styled housing and furniture, her home back in the Indian Pocket had been... Much much different even from these.

Lakshmi gave a soft nod as Kaimu continued the tour, reaching out to take his hand once more as she was taken up the stairs. Her eyes looked around, the curiosity over the mystery just as strong as her curiosity over what his life had been like then. This was quite a nice house even if it was small...

Kaimu guided Lakshmi to one of the rooms once they'd reached the upstairs hall. Sliding the door open to reveal a rather dusty room that looked rather bare. "Tatsu and I slept in here, all the bedding and such was given away...so there's not much in here to see really... I kept a few notes on shinigami practices hidden away up here...but I took them with me when I joined the academy.

My mother was against the idea of us becoming shinigami, so all of my practices were kept secret; she thought it was too dangerous...and if we became shinigami we'd hardly see each other if we did because of work..."

The Gotei Thirteen, while it gave those with spiritual abilities an easier life...it was still a military, and the chances for death... Their mother hadn't wanted that, but he kept on with his practices because he wanted to help them...and to his surprise back then Tatsu had been practicing too after a time...

Following Kaimu around, Lakshmi was surprised to see how dusty and bare this room was... And how small too really. Her eyes shined with that curiosity still as she leaned over the threshhold, not wishing to step inside and disturb the dust but wanting a better idea of how big it was.

"This...is barely enough for you, let along a little brother. As teens I mean. How did you two deal with private things? Let alone just being alone or having time to yourself... Or hiding things like you say." Two teenagers sharing this space? How scary, Lakshmi shuddered even with stories of how mature and calm Kaimu was before his mask took over. Her eyes moved from the room to Kaimu though after a moment and she smiled softly before squeezing his hand.

"She was right... But you snuck around anyways. Were you just as serious as a child? Or more like the Kai of now then?" Maybe pulling out more stories would be nice for him and Lakshmi questioned more. "How did you and Tatsuo get along then? Was it one of those talkative and quiet sibling pairs I see sometimes?"

True, it was quite small...especially for two people to live in once the teenage years were reached. "Aa, I mostly hid things under my futon until Tatsu was asleep...and then I hid the things under the floorboards, those papers for example..."

As for privacy...

"Well, I often left early in the morning once I'd reached a certain age...I ended up getting a few hours of sleep in before heading off outside to train, or I tried doing jobs in the Rukon from time to time to help the family out... So Tatsu had the room to himself at least until nightfall.

It was hard, but we made it work.

His personality as a child though, he gave a small nod; "Kind of, though after our mother passed I sort of cracked down a bit more...became even more serious... Tatsu and I got along great! Well, at first we didn't...but we became close, I let that mask slip for him to play with him lots and help him with his studies."

There wasn't much to really use education for out here, though...if one knew how to perform certain tasks jobs could be found...so he helped Tatsu with them, and once Tatsu was old enough they both did odd jobs here and there.

"Sneaky sneaky older brother." Lakshmi chuckled, trying to imagine a younger Kaimu hiding things... She'd never seen Tatsuo though, well...other than centuries ago. But that was not to be brought up to Kaimu ever.

She sighed softly, shaking her head and trying to not think sad thoughts as it would just upset the man, listening to him speak of working once he was old enough to support them while training to be a shinigami. At least the younger brother was allowed alone time himself...

Now that was something she could latch onto. Secret training... "How...did you train to be one? I admit I am a bit lost on such things, I was...was powerful when I arrived her. My training was half completed as well... As far as how things in this Soul Society went."

She didn't talk much about her life before here, but it seemed like something she should share right now for him.

Squeezing his hand, Lakshmi tugged him lightly from the dusty bedroom. "I can definitely see that, you have a strong sense of responsibility towards things... Your family was quite precious to you... I can't imagine how siblings work even now! not liking but then loving to that extent? Though I guess I'll see first hand with Mia and her brother... What all did you teach him?"

Kaimu gave a laugh at Lakshmi's teasing; well, he had had no choice but to sneak around with such things. It had all worked out...the training and such anyway...

"Well, at first it was mostly just training to show I had the potential of becoming a shinigami; it was mostly just forming and learning to control my reiatsu, after that I often attempted swordsmanship practice, though I never owned a bamboo sword or anything so I had to make due with branches I cut up...certainly different from a sword, but it helped in its own way."

As Lakshmi tugged him out of the room, Kaimu followed, his attention on her as she spoke; "It was mostly just...a matter of acceptance on my part... When Tatsu was born I was still a kid...a few years before my own father had just died so... I certainly didn't welcome Tatsu's dad, nor did I welcome Tatsuo...

It took time, but...I learned to accept and love Tatsuo at the very least."

He was...curious about how Mia and her brother would get along as well, he hoped they would get along easily and...not be too awkward. They would just have to see though...

"When it came to studies... Tatsu didn't really grasp numbers all that well, so I helped him with that; I also taught him easier ways to carry heavy weighted things around for when jobs came along that required it... He never could get a grasp on fishing either..."

"So you also learned wood carving at the same time as swordsmanship?" Lakshmi tried to push those thoughts from her head, but the image of a teenage Kaimu that was still burned into her memories from the recent Bubble incidents was too much. Just him attempting to slice branches into some form of use for swordsmanship. Quieting as he continued, instead of teasing further she smiled a bit and reached up with her free hand to brush his bangs from his cheeks.

"You loved him so much... It shows, even now, even if you were a little brat before you loved him." She could understand why the young Kaimu had reacted like that though, a new brother and father... Maybe he felt like she was replacing his dad and him with it... Squeezing his hand reassuringly, she hoped to give him her comfort through that action but wasn't sure if it could be given over these matters. There was something she had to admit too... Important. Important about those events centuries ago.

He continued with how they had been and Lakshmi gave a smile, knowing first hand Kaimu's way with math and numbers really. He was useful for her, quick on his feet when she was working and able to keep up mathematically at times.

"Poor Tatsuo but moreso poor Haruki... Never getting to see her love catching fish for her half naked in the river... Or carry heavy things around." It was clear what Lakshmi was looking forward too, even in her soft teasing... Though she hoped it wouldn't hurt Kaimu's feelings. He seemed fine at times, but sometimes the man was filled with melancholy that she almost felt like she couldn't touch. Like it was a sacred thing, that shouldn't be disturbed... Weirdly poetic in her head, Lakshmi shook that off and waited for Kaimu to show her the final room.

"It was...kinda necessary for proper practice, but my skills have definitely helped me in my life!" Kaimu answered; being able to do that had helped back then, and with more practice it helped now. He was no master at it, but he was pretty handy~!

A bit of a sheepish laugh came out as Lakshmi called his past self a brat, oh well, it wasn't something he'd been able to see or help at the time. What mattered was that he got passed it...at least for Tatsuo. He had...somewhat...for Tatsuo's dad, even if he never had seen that man as a father...but he'd learned to tolerate...but then...he'd just left.

Poor Tatsu, but moreso Haruki because... E-Eh? Kaimu wanted to laugh, honestly, it was quite clear what Lakshmi was looking forward too; unable to help it, a small smile did show up as he suppressed a grin.

"Next would be my mother's room... This one." He continued, moving to slide open the door that led to where his mother stayed. It was more empty than his and Tatsu's had been, though...it looked cleaner. Perhaps out of respect for his mother people had kept it clean? Looked after it...?

"You have all sorts of neat skills I just keep finding out about... I would love to see some of your carvings then and hear more." There was so much she didn't know about him and was just finding out now, but really that was to be expected. Kaimu kept things rather hidden well, though he had tried his best to show her all sides of him. There was just so much under the surface of the smiling man that it would take time, at least he was enjoying her comments if his smiles and laughs were any indication.. She should say the thing, but it was so hard to that she blinked and pushed it aside as he brought them to his mother's room.

The door slid open and she blinked before staring.

"...Kai, you are in denial. Someone is using this house at times..." Murmuring softly, she stepped inside of the much less dusty than expected room, intent on investigating this mystery. There was much less of anything in here, but that was to be expected... She began looking for signs of someone who had lived in here, attempting to spot clues now... Though as she did, the thought she had been holding back popped up. Well it was more a comment, a welled up snarky comment...

"...I wonder if this was the room you and Tatsuo were conceived in. Or was it romantically by the riverside? Or maybe the dinner table?" She had held it in for so long, Lakshmi felt there should be some sort of award for how hard she had tried. Lifting her hand up to her sleeve, she pulled out one of the fans Kaimu had one her and snapped it open as she looked away. It hid her amused smirk, she...had tried so hard. Gold medal for effort.

"I can do lots of handiwork! It was all helpful to know while living out here, or being out in the Rukon in general." Kaimu finally let that grin showed up as he began to talk of his various skills. He was a hard worker, and Lakshmi knew this, he had to learn lots of things to be able to make it easily out here!

D...Denial...

He was in no such thing! His parents had had good friends out here, and it was likely they were the ones watching after the house! That was that!

Before Kaimu had a chance to voice his reasoning Lakshmi...

"E-...E....E...Eh?....L-Lak-taaaaan!" His tone was that of whining, a reaction Lakshmi was probably expecting. How could he not react like this!? That...That was not an image he wanted in his head! "L-Lakshmiiiiii...-!!"

R-Rive...Table!?

No! No, no, no!!!

"Weeeeeeeh!!"

"How amazing! I really would like to see them all, so show me more when we get home!" Lakshmi was suitably awed by Kaimu's skills and hard work, turning to smile at him as she lowered the fan for a moment. His smile was almost as good as vanilla pudding to her right now, but alas the mysterious room bore more looking.

As Kaimu freaked out, Lakshmi continued on unhindered by his whines. They were much adored and she brought the fan back up to hide her amusement over the expected reaction. "Considering your family's looks, your mother must have been gorgeous as well. I mean between Mia, you and Tatsuo..."

"A woman like that... did you know those with lesser energy sometimes have more trouble conceiving children? There must have been more than just a few attempts for you to even be here Kai." She didn't even realize she had given away seeing Tatsuo, though there had been an image on file. It was too much fun to tease him but there was nothing to be found to solve the mystery of the house that was in way too good of shape.

Sighing softly, Lakshmi headed for the doorway to the room and her broken lover. "It is a rather lovely house. I think... I think we should send someone to take proper care of it, clean it up entirely really. Your home can't fall to ruin and maybe we could take the burden off of those friends of your family instead."

Nothing escaped Kaimu but whines, especially as Lakshmi mentioned that fact. People with...lower energy... No! No! Absolutely not! No! His mind could only scream that one word, this was not something he wanted in his mind! Not at all!

"Lakshmiiiiiii...!" Another strong whine escaped as he slid to the floor. He couldn't even properly respond with all of his horror right now.

Someone to take proper care of the house... He couldn't even focus on that!

That... Less energy... Weh! Weeeeh!

He did not want to picture anything of the sort! His mother, his father...Tatsuo's... He didn't want to picture this at all! Not at all! Just like he never wanted to hear about Mia and Shirakawa, this was of the same caliber! He did not!

Oops. Lakshmi had gone a bit too far it seemed, breaking Kaimu utterly as he fell to the floor in despair. She did give a few chuckles as she slowly knelt down, her stomach making it a bit harder to do and not caring about the dust that would now settle on the lower part of her clothes.

As he whined her name, she winced and gave a sheepish smile before bringing her hand up to his cheek. "I am sorry Kai, forgive me please?"

Ah her teasing had gotten away from her again... That wasn't good, she had shattered him. Though really, parents had sex and so did their children once they were old enough. Kaimu wouldn't be here if his mother hadn't! Her parents had obviously done so due to her being here as well and now both of them would be parents in turn due to that same fun action...

How awful was that really to think about? Did he have such an overactive imagination?

Kaimu remained on the floor, whining still as Lakshmi bent down to apologize and attempt to comfort him. The thought....the thought of...his parents...doing... It was horrible, horrible! Weh! That wasn't something he ever wanted to think about!

No matter how natural it was, he just did not!

Uuu....uuu...uu...

"Lak-taaaaan...f-forgiven b-but...L-Lak-tan!" He needed to snap out of this!

And snap out of it he did as he brought his hands up to his face and slapped his cheeks, hard. It took a couple of times but the horror and whining gradually decreased as a heavy breath escaped him.

Okay...fine...fine...

His focus was now on the sting he'd give himself.

Lakshmi was forgiven but Kaimu was still broken and she tried hard not to smile, instead attempting to treat it with a bit more solemnity that he might appreciate. Letting him work through his wehs and whines, she was shocked as his hands came up and the man slapped his cheeks. Was this his attempts at returning to normal!?

Waiting until he was done, she blinked before pushing aside his hands with her own. They settled on his cheeks, glowing softly as she refused to allow them to be even sore for a few moments.

"Are you quite done, Kai?" Her voice was weak as she questioned him, she hadn't realized how broken it'd made him to react in such a manner. Lakshmi couldn't even look at him now, a shame filled flush on her cheeks while she stared at the dusty floor. Ah... yes...

Kaimu felt the soothing of the small healing spell against his cheeks as Lakshmi's hands replaced his own, focusing on that as he let his eyes shut for a moment. "Uh-huh... Better now..."

Opening his eyes he noticed her looking towards the floor; "Don't feel bad, Lak-tan... You were just teasing, I know."

She had been teasing, and she had...done more than succeed in her attempts to do so.

Though...

He blinked as he realized something; "Lakshmiii..." With that he moved to stand, trying to gently pull her up with him. She'd been bent over! She didn't need to bend like that, even if she was just starting to show obviously now. It wasn't good!

"Good..." He didn't sound all better, but Lakshmi was going to take what she could get as far as that was concerned. Kaimu's next words did startle her a bit, but only got a shake of her head in reply. Her teasing had obviously gone way too far.

As he whined her name though, she blinked and wondered what was wrong before realizing what was going on. He was tugging her up, whining her name... Uh oh, it was beginning. Earlier he'd been worried about dust as well.

"Oh no, Kai's overprotective father instincts are already kicking in~ Next he'll forgo sex for worry you can feel it." Lakshmi looked down at her stomach as she allowed Kaimu to help her up, not wanting to show she appreciated that boost. He was being cute and she laughed softly after a moment, her eyes finally looking up at him. "He has more than enough room in there right now, I can bend a little bit."

Next thing she knew he would be double checking all the food she ate while out here just in case it was carrying something bad or was not cooked fully...

"It was expected, but it's best to be careful!" Kaimu stated; it was early still, yes...but... It was best to be careful! The bubbles had put them ahead of schedule and so he needed to be ahead of schedule! That's how it worked!

For now they were all fine, but... Well he was going by instinct with his worries, he'd never had to...do this before... He had to watch out for Lakshmi especially moreso now so she and the baby would be alright!

Now that they were both standing, he gave a smile, a true one despite his earlier horror. He wanted to reassure Lakshmi that he'd be alright now...and he would! He just could not allow his mind to wander...

"You really will taste test all my food while we are out here..." Lakshmi muttered as Kaimu seemed rather intent on being overprotective. What was that odd glint in his eyes? What was he thinking now? It was something to do with her, she bet, and his child...

Reaching up to his cheeks once more, she narrowed her eyes as he smiled, though it was a true smile and thus she was forced to smile in return. Her weakness... She was definitely reassured, feeling better for that but still wondering what exactly he was thinking. "What is going on in that silly head of yours? What are you plotting...?"

Would the tour continue now? Or would he feed her... Lakshmi heard her stomach growling softly and hoped Kaimu didn't, if he wanted to continue to spend time in his old home she would definitely not mind waiting a bit longer.

Kaimu gave a laugh, but...well... The food was good here, but perhaps... That would be a safe thing to do... What if someone hadn't cooked their meals properly!? Lakshmi had done nothing more than put more ideas in his head...

What was he plotting?

"Eeeeh? I wouldn't call it plotting, plotting sounds like I have something bad planned, Lak-tan~" Kaimu stated, smiling again; "The bubbles put us ahead of schedule, so therefore I have to be ahead of schedule!"

His logic was sound.

"For now, we should get something to eat next!" Had her stomach growled just now? "The room's we've been in really are the main ones...nothing much more to look at... So food now!"

He had promised fishing, but that might take a while...and hadn't she said fish wasn't good for her when she was like this? Hmmm....

"...I see what you are thinking! I am not an invalid, merely pregnant Kai..." Lakshmi's eyes narrowed as she saw the cogs turning in Kaimu's head. He had taken her joking suggestion to heart and now she would have to watch out she felt. This man would be fun but also a hassle, though really... she wouldn't have it any other way. Her gaze softened and she laughed as he spoke, explaining his 'plots'.

"I really do not think it works that way. I do not. Besides you have more overprotection plots in you, I sense it." Lakshmi poked his cheek, puffing out her cheek in return. "I feel the urge to come up with ways to keep me overly safe and from any modicum of things you find dangerous. This is definitely plotting."

Still she was happy to take his offer of food and pulled back a bit to head for the stairs. "Aha, I get to see your patented fishing technique. We can come back later!"

If he wanted to tell her more things, Lakshmi was definitely happy to return and learn about it. At least Kaimu hadn't realized they'd be cooking over an open fire and not in the most sanitary of conditions yet for fishing... He'd probably panic and come up with something else to allow them to eat. She wanted his fish though!

She didn't think it worked that way, but he did... Kaimu was sure of it! He needed to keep an eye out on things now more than ever! He was both her love and assistant~ It was his duty to watch after her~!

Kaimu couldn't help but laugh again though as Lakshmi puffed a cheek out, his finger coming up to poke lightly just as she began talking again.

He had neither confirmed nor denied her claims though... Nope~

"Right~! There should be a nice spot to sit outside, so I can get to fishing." He replied, following Lakshmi down the stairs; she seemed fine with waiting a bit while he caught the fish. It may take a bit, he would be doing this without a fishing pole after all...

He'd also need to undress a bit or else his clothes would get soaked... They couldn't have that...

He was thinking things! Kaimu was thinking things and plots and she knew this and could do nothing about it! Lakshmi found herself wondering what other things he was going to do.. He hadn't even said anything about her words!

"Kaaaaaai..." There was minor warning in her voice, not serious warning but merely warning him she did not buy it at all. He had just laughed and poked her cheek, leaving Lakshmi startled though, her thoughts focused on the poking and distracted as he wanted.

However his words on fishing had her completely distracted again, he had agreed and wasn't thinking of that stuff yet! She had to hurry before he attempted to stop them, laughing while skipping down the stairs two at a time. "Good! It is not fair at all Mia got to see and I have not yet as well."

Reaching the bottom, Lakshmi gave a smile up to Kaimu before hurrying for the front door.

...Wait he hadn't said anything about her words! Bah! Well she was getting fishing Kaimu who was going to be wet and half naked, this was an acceptable situation for now...

Kaimu jolted as Lakshmi began to skip down the stairs, two at a time at the very least... W-Weh... Calling her out on that was on the tip of his tongue, but...but she was so happy... For now he would behave since she'd made it to the door safely...

"Coming, coming~" He chuckled; "Well, now you'll get to see~ It may take just a little bit... I'm catching them with my hands after all."

There was nothing he could do to cut the time, but it would all be good once the fish were ready to be eaten! In the time it took him to catch them they would have likely worked up more of an appetite!

He walked outside with Lakshmi, heading further down the path that led towards the river. It was wide, and it seemed the water would come up to just below the knees...

Looking around, Kaimu spotted a smooth looking rock, large enough to seat someone. "That seem alright as a seat, Lak-tan? I would suggest a log but that might have insects in it..."

While saying this, he pulled out a long piece of cloth from his yukata as he began to pull and tie his sleeves up before adjusting the lower half of his yukata, situating it to adjust high enough so it wouldn't become too wet. There would be no avoiding splatter unfortunately...but at most he'd get damp.

Lakshmi sensed more 'fun police' vibes behind her, as she was taking to calling in her head, but ignored them. Kaimu'd held them back so it was perfectly fine. She just turned and gave him another bright smile, holding her her hand and nabbing his as they headed outside. "Of course. You will just have to catch that many more. If I am still hungry we can get more food in town~"

Following him down the path, she looked around curiously but nothing had changed so she wasn't too keep to keep watching things that hadn't shifted at all. Instead she watched where she was walking and Kaimu, trying not to smile at how sweet this was.

The wide river was something to look at though and she grinned as she noticed it's size, pleased with how it looked in the sunlight. her eyes followed his as he pointed out the rock... It looked nice enough. She gave a nod and brought Kaimu's hand up to her lips planting a soft kiss on the back and then palm before heading for it. "All right. I will sit patiently and not move too much, or else you will take away my nice show as punishment."

Sighing playfully, she hid a smirk as she settled herself on the rock. Her legs pulled up a bit, she leaned down with her elbows on her kneeds and watched Kaimu pull up his clothes. Aaay~