Summer nights: June

June 1860

The heat was oppressive over the whole country. No wind rushed through the green forests. No cloud covered the clear blue sky or held back the glistening light of the sun.
Even in the otherwise cool forests, the humid heat was almost unbearable.
Kenshin held his sword in his hands, covered in sweat, and tried to concentrate. Although he was only wearing his hakama and his shoes - he hadn’t had his kimono on for two days - his whole body was wet with sweat. His hair was literally stuck to his forehead and the back of his neck. He also found it harder and harder to hold his sword properly in his hands because his hands were so wet. Kenshin groaned inwardly. How could Shisho keep his coat on in the heat!?!
He wiped the sweat from his forehead again and then took up his attacking position. He gathered all his thoughts, tried not to let anything break his concentration - and jumped off.Steel met steel and two seconds later Kenshin found himself lying on his back on the ground.

Seijuro Hiko found himself angry about the weather at the thought. How incredibly ridiculous when there was nothing he could do about it anyway. Even so, the heat made him feel worse. If he could at least take off his damn coat, but then there was too great a risk that he could not correctly estimate his strength and thus injure Kenshin. The risk was just too great to take on the grounds of simple wellbeing.
For a week it had been hotter than in any summer he had ever experienced. The early summer rainy season had been short this year and now a terrible midsummer heat was brooding over the country.
Not even here, in the densest wooded area on the whole mountain, it was even reasonably cool. Normally he would practice with Kenshin at the waterfall, but even there it was unbearable at lunchtime.At first he had seen it as a good exercise for Kenshin to improve his stamina, but now the weather has lasted seven days and he could swear it was getting a little warmer with each passing day.

A look at Kenshin, who just got back to his feet, told him that the child was on the verge of a heat collapse. His face and whole body were almost as red as his hair.
Hiko sighed inwardly. It just made no sense to go on today.
Kenshin was breathing heavily as he got back on his feet. He took his sword one more time and took up attack position. He was about to jump off when Hiko stopped him.
"Baka deshi, that's enough for today."
"What?" Kenshin burst out as he looked at Hiko in confusion. "Shisho, I can do better than that!" Kenshin said desperately, "I'll focus better and-"
“Oh Baka deshi!” Hiko rolled his eyes in annoyance. "I know you can do better than that.But it's really enough for today. "
Kenshin made a concerned face and looked guiltily at the floor.
"Gomen ..."
"Baka! Are you going to stop feeling sorry for yourself!" Hiko snapped at him.
"I am not dissatisfied with you, baka deshi", he continued a little more calmly, "but it is really enough. We are going to take care of our dinner now."
"Not very plausible in the early noon" Hiko thought angrily at himself, but he couldn't think of any other explanation and he could hardly say that Kenshin had deserved a break.
Kenshin grinned at him in childlike delight and followed him back to their hut.

The rush of the waterfall brought some life to the forest, which is now so quiet.
Kenshin stood in the middle of the crystal clear river and tried his luck with a small net. He was only wearing his fundoshi and had thrown himself head first into one of the deeper parts of the river when they arrived. Now many small drops of water shone on his hair and skin in the glaring light of the sun.Hiko sat with his fishing rod in a shady spot a few meters downriver and drank sake. There was simply nothing like chilled sake on a day like this!
There was still not a single cloud to be seen in the sky. The redeeming rain seemed far away.
Hiko thought about how to continue training if the heat lasted for a few more days. Kenshin was tough, but after a week even he had had enough of the weather, even if he would never admit it and especially not before Baka deshi. The possibilities were more than limited and-
"SHIIIISHOOO!" an excited scream tore him from his thoughts. "Shisho, I got one!" Kenshin shouted proudly as he ran through the water downstream to Hiko with his catch, splashing water on all sides.
"BAKA DESHI! YOU'RE SHOWING ALL FISH FOR ME !!!" yelled Hiko.
"Oh..."

The creak of the door woke Kenshin from his light sleep. He was lying on his futton without a blanket because it was still warm even at night.Kenshin blinked sleepily into the darkness and gave his eyes time to get used to them. After a few seconds he made out the inside of the little hut in the pale moonlight that shone through the window. Kenshin yawned heartily, then rolled over to the other side of the lining and noticed that he was all alone in the hut. He had probably only slept very briefly and Shisho was still drinking sake outside.
Kenshin closed his eyes and tried to sleep again. But suddenly he felt wide awake.
"Maybe it's just before sunrise ..." thought Kenshin. He decided to get up straight away. Maybe he was allowed to go swimming while Shisho trained. Shisho always trained in the morning when Kenshin was still sleeping and in the evening when he went back to bed.
He quickly cleaned up his futton and then put on his hakama before stepping out into the pleasantly crisp night.
Kenshin was surprised to see that it was still the middle of the night.The moon shone brightly in the starry night sky and no streak of light was visible on the horizon, only the darkness of the night. Between the trees he could just make out Hiko, who was disappearing between the trees. The white coat stood out clearly against the night gray of the forest.
Now that he was up and felt well rested, Kenshin didn't want to go to sleep either. Instead, he followed Hiko into the darkness of the woods.

After Kenshin lost Hiko in the woods, he followed the sound of the waterfall. Finally he came out near the place where he caught the fish at noon today.
Kenshin rediscovered Hiko under the waterfall, where he was meditating. He only wore Fundoshi and even under the huge waterfall he was still an imposing sight. Even if Hiko was tall and sturdy, it amazed Kenshin how he could withstand the pressure of the raging water.In any case, Hiko hadn't noticed him until now. That was very unusual, usually Shisho always knew where he was, even if he hadn't told him specifically. In childish joy that this was not the case today, Kenshin came up with a daring plan. He would get to Shisho without being detected by him!
He took off his hakama and his shoes and slipped into the cold water, hidden behind a few bushes.
Kenshin took another deep breath and then went into hiding. As fast as he could he swam underwater towards the waterfall.
It was so dark that he couldn't see where he was swimming, he had to rely entirely on his sense of direction and his hearing. The thunder of the waterfall grew louder underwater the closer it got. The current got stronger and stronger and it was always difficult for him to swim against it. He was almost there, but he was slowly running out of air. He had to pull himself together in order not to dive up when he was suddenly pulled out of the water by two strong arms.Confused, Kenshin looked into Hiko's two scrutinizing eyes. He quickly tried to assess whether Shisho was angry with him, but he came to the assumption that Hiko was a little angry.
"Baka deshi, did you think I hadn't noticed you? You really are more stupid than I thought." Said Hiko, half angry, half amused.
Kenshin was relieved to see an amusing twinkle in Hiko's eyes. He grinned mischievously at Hiko.
"Baka deshi!" Hiko sighed and threw Kenshin back into the ice-cold water.
The current carried him a few yards, then Kenshin reappeared, squealing with pleasure.
Hiko inwardly shook his head. He had expected an outraged protest, but Kenshin just chuckled as he swam back to him. Not that he is completely averse to it. He hadn't seen him like that once since Kenshin was with him. He hadn't laughed a single time in the past four months. And now, so completely unexpected, he suddenly found himself facing this playful child.Maybe it was the weather. Or maybe not.
Hiko sighed. Baka deshi was full of surprises. In any case, his meditation was over.

Hiko sat on the bank of the river and drank sake. He had dressed completely again and now the heavy white coat weighed on his shoulders again. He watched Kenshin, who had been busy for some time climbing a rock and then jumping into the cool water. Each time the current tore him away and each time he struggled back to the rock to start over again.
Actually, Hiko had wanted to send him back to bed immediately, but the child's unusually good mood had changed his mind. Tomorrow it might look completely different again and a sad breath would return to Kenshin's eyes. Those big sad eyes ... how different Kenshin looked tonight. He laughed so freely and so freely as if nothing bad had ever happened to him.During the whole month Hiko had tried every now and then to make Kenshin laugh or at least cheer him up. None of that had worked. He had tried exciting stories and tried a few other things. Once he had shown him little bunnies that were barely a few weeks old. That was the only time that the veil of sadness in Kenshin's eyes had briefly lifted and he could enjoy the game of bunnies for a few minutes like any other child. But when Kenshin went back to the rabbit burrow the next day, he saw the fox shoot out of the undergrowth, bite the mother rabbit to death and then grab the rabbits and drag them along. It all happened so quickly that Kenshin only chased after the fox when it was too late and the fox disappeared into the thicket of the woods. Kenshin