Chapter 17
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- Kenshin muttered to himself as he stood in front of the mirror, washing his face with cold water. The pain had subsided overnight, and his consciousness had cleared.
"Where the hell did the undrafted genin get that kind of strength! He obviously didn't use his chakra to move and strike! So his strength and speed should be like that of a normal human, shouldn't it?" - The young man argued with himself mentally.
"Either the big guy has a natural predisposition for physical strength and speed, or there's something wrong here, and this world is different in one more respect from what I've seen on the screen!" - The young man remarked, and immediately remembered the many discrepancies in speed and strength of the characters in different situations.
"In the battle with Orochimaru, the blows of Hiruzen, one of the strongest shinobi, were not much stronger than that bastard Koga! But in other situations, weaker shinobi could easily break big rocks with their punches! Either Kishimoto twisted things around here too, or this is a completely different world..." - Kenshin pondered as he got ready to leave.
It was seven o'clock in the morning, and he hoped to slip out of town quietly, hoping that the gang of thugs from last night were asleep after another binge.
Without eating anything, Kenshin slipped out the back door and walked briskly towards the exit of the city. It was only half an hour later that he breathed a sigh of relief at not being tailed.
After returning to the hiding place, the young man picked up his shoulder bag and headed towards the house where his beloved girl was waiting for him.
****
Kenshin returned home when the sun was at its zenith, and it was blazing hot. It was two o'clock in the afternoon, and he hugged the girl who had shrieked at his appearance and went into the bathroom for a cold shower.
He threw on his dressing gown and made his way to the bedroom, collapsing into the bed, pulling Aya to him, nuzzling his face into her soft neck, breathing in her floral scent. Kenshin found it hard to lie on his side, much less on his stomach, so he turned round, lying on his back, and his dressing gown fell open a little, revealing to the girl a large blue spot on half his stomach.
- Ah! God, Kenshin, what is this?! Oh my God..." the girl exclaimed, covering her mouth with her palm, shocked by what she saw.
- Nothing, it'll pass in a few days. - Kenshin replied calmly, not wanting to draw attention to it and create excitement for the pregnant girl.
- What do you mean "nothing"?! God, bear with me, honey, I'll be right there! - Aya said, and ran out of the bedroom.
She returned fifteen minutes later with a small jar in her hands, and a long strip of white cloth.
- My grandmother taught me how to gather herbs and make ointment from them. - She said, and opened the boy's dressing gown fully, applying the thick greenish ointment to his stomach, then she bandaged the injured area and kissed him on the lips.
- That's it, now rest, you need more sleep. I'll wake you up before dinner. - Aya said affectionately, stroked his cheek, and left the bedroom, letting the tired Kenshin fall into a deep sleep.
****
For the remaining few days before Aya's delivery, Kenshin was recovering, and was only doing uncomplicated work. He struggled to set up the "aging formation", spending about eight hours of work on it. And now the five bottles of wine he had bought, would age a year in one day. The young man decided not to take any chances and aged the wine for ten years, for fear of arousing suspicion with a more expensive and better quality wine.
Samurai Blade wine aged for ten years cost 500 ryo per bottle, ten times its original price. A twenty year old bottle of wine cost a hundred times its original price, and connoisseurs were buying up the wine like hotcakes for 5000-7000 ryo a bottle. Kenshin knew that producing a ten year old wine was the limit of what would not cause trouble, whereas five bottles of twenty year old wine would drive him to his grave.
Aya's belly had grown quite large, and she struggled to do household chores and rested most of the time, with the day to day expectation of the baby coming into the world. It had been thirteen days since the conception, and Kenshin was all on pins and needles, having prepared towels, sheets, and some bleeding stopping pills that Aya had taken with her from home. These pills were quite expensive, and were made primarily for shinobi.
The price of the "blood clotting" pill was about 200 ryo apiece, and most peasants had one pill in a hiding place. The pill was not omnipotent, it only accelerated blood clotting without affecting the body, but it stopped blood from a damaged vein very weakly, and could only reduce blood loss, allowing the patient to survive on the way to the hospital. Stopping arterial haemorrhage was a long shot. Only irienin could stop such complex bleeding.
- Oh, my God, Kenshin! Kenshin! - Aya screamed.
Kenshin, who was working out at the gym, ran into the living room like a scalded man and saw the girl's startled expression.
- What's wrong? Already?! - He asked.
- Y-yes, it looks like my water broke..." Aya answered frightened. The boy noticed a wet spot on the girl's sundress and a small puddle on the floor.
Kenshin froze for a second, and then woke up from his shock and commanded, "Okay, do everything we agreed on. - The young man said, and gently led Aya into the bedroom and helped her onto the bed.
Aya lay down, showing no signs of contractions. Five minutes passed, and the girl calmed down, talking to the young man, as suddenly her smile froze and her eyes widened.
- Oh my god, Kenshin... Ooooof, it seems to have started! - Aya groaned, and began to breathe as the young man explained to her.
- Shh, calm down, and just breathe. Don't be nervous. - Kenshin comforted her, and stroked her head.
- Ooooof, okay..." Aya exhaled, and tried to calm herself down.