The next week flew by. Everyone did their thing. Kenshin refined formations; Ichiro trained Chakra control, trying to pool it in his feet for wall-walking. Aya played loving wife/mom, handling chores. Keiji grew fast.
Daily, Kenshin allotted two hours for fun, crafting happy childhood for son two. Family hiked forest, fished, chilled by fave river. Blink—thirteenth day post-Keiji, or Kenshin's forty-fourth here; Keiji shot up to 15-16-year-old size, nearly matching bro and Dad.
That day, another wine batch "matured." Early morn, Kenshin and Ichiro headed to town again. Keiji begged to join; Kenshin firmly refused till full-grown.
"Be careful!" Aya said, hugging each.
"No worries, back by evening," Kenshin smiled, kissing her.
"Yeah, Mom, we went before—fine!" Ichiro said.
"No pouting. Next time you come," Kenshin said, ruffling Keiji's hair.
"Fine, Father..." Keiji grumbled.
"Alright, Ichiro, let's go. Time waits!"
By one p.m., Kenshin and Ichiro hit Shukuba. First, wine shop: sold 15 bottles for 7500 ryō. Five stayed home "aging" to 20 years.
Kenshin told seller their late grandpa was a wine collector; cellar had many, now selling with "brother."
Post-shop, they browsed stores, eyeing buys. Cutting through empty alley to shorten path, Kenshin heard a familiar voice.
"Ha-ha-ha, you again! Got lucky last time, but today you won't get off easy," bald brute Koga guffawed. His two skinny goons flanked him.
"Wow, kid, bad day today!" one flunky laughed.
"Damn, we're in trouble. Don't panic, Ichiro. I'll take on the two skinny ones. The big guy is yours—try to hold him off for half a minute, then I'll help you. Got it?!" Kenshin commanded mentally.
"Father, are you sure you can handle two at once?..." Ichiro replied worriedly.
"I'm sure. Just be extremely careful, don't let the big guy get too close, and stall for time if possible!" Kenshin added, noticing that the trio had approached to about two meters away and stopped.
"I see you're not alone this time. Decided to bring your big brother?" Koga noted with a laugh, looking outwardly very relaxed but still not daring to approach too recklessly.
"Go!" Kenshin commanded mentally, and simultaneously with Ichiro, he took a sharp step forward and lunged.
The bald brute, seeing Ichiro's very fast strike, instantly leaped back, barely avoiding a hit to the face. One of the skinny henchmen took a precise blow to the lower jaw and instantly fell to the ground. The second henchman got so scared that he tried to run, but after about five steps, he stopped and returned to the boss.
"Not bad, not bad. You—deal with our old acquaintance. His big brother is mine." Koga stated decisively, addressing his henchman.
The skinny henchman wanted to object but, seeing the boss's menacing glare, headed toward Kenshin.
Now one-on-one with the second henchman, Kenshin immediately made his move. The brute, seeing that Ichiro wasn't attacking, tried to interfere in Kenshin's fight but nearly missed Ichiro's lunge, dodging at the last moment and jumping aside.
Ichiro immediately followed him, lunging with his right hand aimed at the brute's jaw. The big guy managed to block at the last second, taking the hit on his forearm and staggering back a bit. Ichiro gave him no time to think and followed with another lunge from the left hand to the face, but the brute blocked again.
Ichiro didn't let up, rapidly striking the bald brute. Most were blocked, but Koga still let a few body blows through.
Ichiro easily blocked Koga's counterattack attempt and struck into the opening, hitting the brute's right cheekbone, making him stagger and leaving him open to even more hits.
Kenshin, having long finished off the second henchman, wanted to help his son but saw it was one-sided and stopped worrying, instead watching with a satisfied expression as his son masterfully attacked his opponent, who could only cover up with his hands in a desperate defense.
A few seconds later, Koga had taken about a dozen body blows and several to the face. One was especially hard, knocking the bald brute out cold.
"Well done, Ichiro!" Kenshin praised mentally, deciding not to speak aloud and give away hints to any listeners.
"Thanks, Father! That was pretty easy," Ichiro replied with a smile.
Then father and son picked up their things from the ground and went about their business.
By seven in the evening, Kenshin and Ichiro were home, sitting at the kitchen table, recounting their incredible exploits to Keiji, who listened with his mouth agape.
"God, how awful!" Aya exclaimed in fright, covering her mouth with her small palm. "They could have beaten you! Kenshin, you need to choose your routes more carefully. What if they had beaten you, or worse..." Aya said, starting to cry.
"Shh, calm down," Kenshin whispered, pulling her onto his lap. "Nothing would have happened. Our Ichiro is much stronger than he looks." Kenshin said, kissing his wife on the cheek.
"Yeah, Mom, nothing could have happened. That gang of thugs was full of weaklings—even with training, they didn't have a chance!" Ichiro declared proudly.
"Don't get cocky, Ichiro. If they'd prepared, who knows how it would have ended. Never underestimate an opponent, got it?" Kenshin admonished mentally.
"Yes, Father," Ichiro replied, realizing he'd gotten arrogant too soon about his strength.
"What happened next?" Keiji asked with shining eyes, dying to hear everything about his father and brother.
"And then... then we had lunch, went shopping, and came home," Kenshin said with a laugh, kissing Aya on the cheek.