Chapter 24

The next week passed quickly. Everyone was minding their own business. Kenshin improved and supplemented his formations, and Ichiro trained his chakra control, trying to concentrate it in his feet to walk on walls. Aya played the role of a loving wife and mother, taking care of household chores. And Keiji was growing fast.

Every day, Kenshin decided to spend about two hours on recreation and entertainment, wanting to give his second son a happy childhood. The whole family went to the woods, fished, and relaxed on the river they loved, and Kenshin didn't have time to blink an eye when Keiji was born on the thirteenth day, or the forty-fourth day after Kenshin's arrival in this world, Keiji grew into a 15-16-year-old boy, becoming almost as tall as his brother and father.

On this day, the next batch of wine was finally "ripe", and in the early morning Kenshin and Ichiro went back to the city. Keiji begged his father to take him with him, but Kenshin flatly refused, not wanting to let his son out until he was fully grown.

- Be careful! Aya said as she hugged each of them.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine. We'll be back in the evening. Kenshin replied with a smile and kissed his wife.

"Yes, Mom, don't worry, we've already been to the city and everything was fine! Ichiro stated.

"And you, don't sulk. Come with us next time. Kenshin said as he patted Keiji's hair.

"All right, Father," Keiji said, still sounding annoyed.

"Okay, Ichiro, let's go. Time passes, and we stand!

By one o'clock in the afternoon, Kenshin and Ichiro were already in Shukuba City. The first thing Kenshin did when he visited the wine shop was sell 15 bottles of wine, and he got 7500 ryo. Five more bottles remained at home, and "ripened" to 20 years of aging.

Kenshin explained to the seller that their deceased grandfather was a wine collector, and there were a lot of bottles left in the basement, and now he and his brother decided to sell it.

After leaving the wine shop, Kenshin and Ichiro went to other shops to look at their purchases, and as they decided to take a shortcut to another street through a deserted alley, Kenshin heard a familiar voice.

"Hahaha, you again! You were lucky last time, but you won't get away with it today. The big bald man cackled with laughter. Next to him, there were still two skinny henchmen.

"Gee, you're clearly having a bad day, kid!" One of the hangers-on said with a laugh.

"Damn, we're in trouble. Don't panic, Ichiro. I'll take on the two skinny guys. You're wearing a big guy, try to hold him for half a minute, then I'll help you. Kenshin mentally commanded.

"Father, are you sure you can handle two at once?..." said Ichiro excitedly.

"I'm sure. The main thing is to be extremely careful, do not let the big guy get too close, and if possible stall for time!" - Added Kenshin, and noticed that the trio came to a distance of about two meters, and stopped.

"I see you're not alone this time." Decided to go with your older brother? Koga remarked with a laugh, looking very relaxed on the surface, but still not daring to rashly get too close.

Kenshin mentally commanded, and at the same time Ichiro took a sharp step forward and lunged.

The big bald man, seeing Ichiro's very fast kick, immediately jumped back, almost getting hit in the face. One of the skinny henchmen received a precise blow to the lower jaw, and instantly fell to the ground. The second henchman was so scared that he decided to run away, and only after taking about five steps did he stop and return to the boss.

"Not bad, not bad. You-take care of our old acquaintance. His older brother is on top of me. Koga said firmly to his henchman.

The skinny henchman was about to protest, but when he saw the boss ' menacing gaze, he headed towards Kenshin.

Kenshin, facing the second henchman alone, immediately made his move. The big man, seeing that Ichiro wasn't attacking, made an attempt to interfere with Kenshin's fight, but almost missed Ichiro's lunge, dodging at the last moment and jumping out of the way.

Ichiro immediately moved after him, lunging with his right hand, aiming for the jaw of the big man who blocked at the last moment, and took the blow in the forearm, staggering back a little. Ichiro didn't give him any time to think, and threw another left-handed punch at the big man's face, but he blocked it again.

Ichiro did not calm down, and very quickly threw punches at the big bald man, which were mostly blocked, but Koga still missed a few blows to the body.

Koga's attempt at a counterattack was easily blocked by Ichiro, who threw a punch through the opening "window", hitting the big man on the right cheekbone, causing him to stagger back and miss even more punches.

Kenshin, for his part, had long since finished with the second henchman, and was about to help his son, but he saw the game in one goal, and stopped worrying, and only watched with a satisfied expression on his face as his son masterfully attacked his opponent, who could only cover himself with his hands, going into a blind defense.

A few seconds later, Koga missed a dozen blows to the body, and several blows to the face. One of them was particularly strong, and knocked out the big bald guy.

Kenshin mentally praised him, deciding not to talk, and not to give any hints to possible listeners.

"Thank you, Father! It was quite easy," Ichiro replied with a smile.

Then the two of them, father and son, picked up their belongings from the ground and went about their business.

At seven o'clock in the evening, Kenshin and Ichiro were already home, sitting at the kitchen table, telling the open-mouthed Keiji about their incredible exploits.

"God, how awful! Aya said fearfully, covering her mouth with a small hand. – You could have been beaten up!" Kenshin, you should choose your route more carefully. What if you'd been beaten up, or worse... " Said Aya, starting to cry.

"Shh, calm down. Kenshin whispered as he pulled her onto his lap. – Nothing would have happened, our Ichiro is much stronger than he looks. Kenshin said, and kissed his wife on the cheek.

"Yes, Mom, nothing could have happened. This group of bandits was made up of weaklings, and even with training, they didn't stand a chance! Ichiro said proudly.

"Don't turn up your nose, Ichiro. If they had prepared, who knows how it would have ended. Never underestimate your opponent, okay?" thought Kenshin.

"Yes, Father," Ichiro replied, realizing that he was too proud of his powers too soon.

"And then what happened?" Keiji asked with burning eyes, who was extremely interested in everything that had happened to his father and brother.

"And then… Then we had lunch, went shopping, and went home. Kenshin said with a laugh as he kissed Aya on the cheek.