Chapter 17

****

- What a strong bastard..." muttered Kenshin, standing in front of the mirror, washing his face with cold water. The pain had subsided overnight, and his consciousness had cleared up.

"Where the hell did the half-assed genie get his strength from?! He obviously didn't use his chakra to move and strike! So his strength and speed should be like that of a mere 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 another aspect different from what I saw on the screen!" - The young man remarked, and immediately remembered the many inconsistencies in the speed and strength of the characters in different situations.

"In the battle with Orochimaru, the punches of Hiruzen - one of the strongest shinobi - weren't much stronger than that bastard Kogi! But in other situations, weaker shinobi could easily break big rocks with their blows! Either Kishimoto's got it all wrong here too, or it's a completely different world..." - Kenshin pondered as he prepared to leave.

It was seven in the morning, and he hoped to slip out of the city quietly, hoping that the gang of yesterday's scumbags would sleep a dead sleep after another drinking spree.

Without eating anything, Kenshin sneaked out the back door and headed for the exit of the city. It was not until half an hour later that he sighed with relief that he didn't see a tail behind him.

Back at the hiding place, the young man picked up his shoulder bag, and headed toward the house where his beloved girl was waiting for him.

****

Kenshin returned home when the sun was at its zenith, and it was burning hot. It was two o'clock in the afternoon, and the young man embraced the girl who shrieked at his appearance and went to the bathroom and took a cold shower.

He somehow made it to the bedroom and collapsed into the bed, pulling Aya to him and resting his face against her soft neck, inhaling her floral fragrance. Kenshin found it difficult to lie on his side, much less his stomach, so he turned around, lying on his back, and his robe opened slightly, revealing to the girl's eyes, a large blue spot on half of his belly.

- Ah! God, Kenshin, what is it?! God..." the girl exclaimed, covering her mouth with her palm, shocked by what she saw.

- It's nothing, it will pass in a few days. - Kenshin replied calmly, not wanting to stress about it and create excitement for the pregnant girl.

- What do you mean nothing?! God, be patient, honey, I'll be right there! - Said Aya, and rushed 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 collect medicinal herbs, and to make an ointment out of them. - She said, and opened the boy's robe fully, and applied a thick greenish ointment all over his stomach, then she bandaged the injured area, and kissed him on the lips.

- That's it, now get some rest, you need more sleep. I'll wake you up before dinner. - Aya said affectionately, stroked the young man's cheek, and left the bedroom, letting the tired Kenshin fall into a deep sleep.

****

For the remaining few days before Aya's delivery, Kenshin came to his senses, and did nothing but uncomplicated work. He had difficulty establishing the "aging formation," spending about eight hours working on it. And now the five bottles of wine he bought, were aging for a year in one day. The young man decided not to take the risk, and aged the wine for ten years, for fear of arousing suspicion with more expensive and better quality wine.

The ten-year-old Blade Samurai wine cost 500 ryo per bottle, ten times its original value. A bottle of twenty-year-old wine cost a hundred times its original price, and connoisseurs were buying it up like hotcakes for 5,000-7,000 ryo a bottle. Kenshin knew that producing ten-year-old wine was the limit of what would not get him into 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 rest most of the time, waiting for the baby to be born the day before. Thirteen days had already passed since the conception, and Kenshin was all like a needle, having prepared towels, sheets, and some pills to stop the bleeding that Aya had taken with her from home. These pills were quite expensive, and were created mainly for shinobi.

The price of a "blood clotting" pill was about 200 ryo apiece, and most peasants had one pill in a hiding place. The pill was not omnipotent, and only accelerated blood clotting without consequences to 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. One could not even dream of stopping arterial bleeding. Such complicated bleeding could only be stopped by iryanin.

- Oh, my God, Kenshin! Kenshin! - Shouted Aya.

Kenshin, who had been training in the gym, ran into the living room like a scalded man and saw the girl's frightened expression.

- What happened? Already?! - He asked.

- Y-yes, I think my water just broke..." said Aya frightened. At that moment he noticed a wet spot on the girl's sundress and a small puddle on the floor.

Kenshin froze in astonishment for a moment, and then woke up from the shock and commanded: "Well, do everything as we agreed. - The young man declared, and gently led Aya into the bedroom, and helped her onto the bed.

Aya lay down, and showed no signs of contractions. Five minutes passed, and the girl settled down, talking to the young man, as suddenly her smile froze and her eyes widened.

- Ay, jeez, Kenshin... Oof, it looks like it's started! - Aya groaned, and began to breathe measuredly, as the young man explained to her.

- Shh, calm down, and just breathe. Don't be nervous. - Kenshin comforted her, and stroked her head.

- Oof, okay..." Aya exhaled, and tried to calm down.