"Mama!" Karin squealed joyfully as soon as she touched the ground, and ran to meet the thin, exhausted woman.
"My little bun!" Keiko exclaimed with tears in her eyes, and pressed her daughter to her chest.
"Come on, Mom!" Karin grumbled discontentedly, embarrassed by such a "childish" nickname in her opinion.
Even taking everything that had happened into account, Kenshin couldn't hold back a smile at the sight of this incredibly heartwarming scene. His wounded heart showed signs of life for the first time and fluttered joyfully.
"Darling, thank Master Kenshin for the rescue. We'll never be apart again!" Keiko stated with a joyful smile. Over the past few hours, she had fully trusted Kenshin and was delighted by the invitation to live in his mansion. Being a very weak woman, she knew well how high the price could be for living in a safe place, but Kenshin had promised not to force her into anything.
"Th-thank you, sir..." The little red-haired girl murmured embarrassedly and bowed awkwardly.
Kenshin just smiled benevolently and stroked Karin's red hair.
"You're much cuter in person..." He whispered with a satisfied smile, lost in thought, then, realizing he'd said too much, changed the subject: "Ahem, we'll discuss everything later. We can't linger here."
Over the past few hours, Kenshin had somewhat stabilized his condition, but he was still far from full recovery. The maximum speed he could manage barely reached that of an average Genin, but nevertheless, he sharply rejected all his sons' offers to carry him—his unyielding pride wouldn't allow it.
Due to her weakness, Keiko received one of the ten spare exo-suits and could keep up with the marching pace without much trouble. Even so, they only reached the Land of Fire by evening of the 422nd day.
After a rest stop, they advanced a few hundred more kilometers deeper in and decided to camp in the forest, as Karin and several of Kenshin's wounded sons needed rest.
"Why did you decide to help Karin and me?" Keiko asked quietly, sitting by the campfire and looking into Kenshin's thoughtful brown eyes.
"Besides compassion, I have my own reasons," he replied calmly, gazing into the fragile woman's calm, sea-like crimson eyes.
"It's definitely because of my cursed chakra..." Keiko said with a sigh. Her chakra, incredible even by Uzumaki clan standards, was both a gift and a curse, saving her life more than once and putting it in danger just as often.
"Not quite. I'd be lying if I said your ability didn't interest me at all, but even without it, I'd gladly invite you and Karin to stay," Kenshin replied gently. His rage had almost completely dissipated, and the grief no longer burned his soul so fiercely.
"I... I don't quite understand... You won't bite me and heal using my chakra?" she asked in surprise, unable to think of another reason why such a powerful man would be interested in her.
"What? Why would I engage in such barbarity? Zosui is a completely incompetent idiot who couldn't think of anything smarter than hammering nails with a microscope..." Kenshin replied with a sigh, feeling the need to eliminate this man. However, Zosui was still a fairly strong Jonin, and Kenshin wasn't rushing to tempt fate by charging headlong at such an enemy.
Keiko raised an eyebrow in surprise, hearing such a phrase for the first time. She immediately felt like a country bumpkin, not knowing what a "microscope" was and unable to fully converse with highly educated people, to which Kenshin undoubtedly belonged in her opinion.
"My wife might find a use for your chakra, but without bites or other harmful methods," he added, fully calming the woman worried about her fate.
"Thank you!" she stated joyfully, feeling that for the first time in a long while, she'd met a decent man. The cold-blooded execution of Gaku, which she'd witnessed, seemed more than normal to her, as killing scoundrels and villains was nothing but retribution for their sins in her eyes.
"You have a wife?" Keiko asked softly, surprised that Kenshin was married.
"Yes, and not just one," Kenshin replied calmly, enjoying the soothing sight of the burning flames.
"Th-that's unusual..." Keiko murmured in surprise and gently stroked the sleeping Karin beside her. So absorbed in thoughts of her beloved child, she allowed herself another question.
"Do you have children?"
"Yes... I could be called a father of many," he smirked ironically, realizing how hard it was to explain to someone who didn't understand.
"Ahem..." Keiko faltered, not knowing what to say. She couldn't imagine a young guy like him having many children. But considering he had more than one wife, she easily found an explanation.
Half an hour later, the sparse conversations died down completely, and Kenshin began to rest. To Keiko, it seemed like he was just sitting by the fire, not in the mood for more talk, but in reality, his brain activity was minimized. It still couldn't replace full sleep, but Kenshin had no intention of closing his eyes until he was home.
"Go to sleep. You need to rest," he said calmly, turning his head to Keiko.
"I... I can't sleep," Keiko replied with a smile.
"That's not a request, it's an order. You promised to do whatever I say, so obey. With me here, no beast will come near her, so relax and sleep," Kenshin said, feeling chronic fatigue in this fragile, twig-like woman. Looking at her condition, he figured she had no more than a month left at this rate, so he tried to preserve her health.
"A-alright..." she said obediently and carefully climbed into the thick sleeping bag, pressing her beloved daughter to her.
Noticing Kenshin slowly rise from his spot, she watched his actions closely but sighed in relief when she saw he just moved to her place.
Gazing at Kenshin's broad back, the woman exhausted from constant sleep deprivation didn't notice how she fell into a deep sleep. All the anxieties that had torn at her fragile heart for months suddenly dissipated, and for the first time in a very long while, Uzumaki Keiko felt peace.