DISCLAIMER: Rurouni Kenshin characters (c) Watsuki Nobuhiro, Shueisha, Sony
Entertainment and whatnots. I am borrowing characters, not making any money
out of this and not worthed suing. I'm a poor student interested in writing
stories to make others happy... so...
This is my journey, journey through life.
With every twist and turn I've laughed and cried
As the road unwinds
This is my journey, and I've learned to fight.
To make me strong enough, to lift me up
To bring my dreams alive...
~ The Journey; 911
Chronicles of a Rurouni
Part One: Winter's Rendevous
He stopped abruptly in his tracks, cocking his ears for the shrill
whistling sound disturbing the peace of this beautiful, misty morning. It
soon disappeared into something down the road which seemed tolerable enough
for the young man, so he left it how it was and went on his way.
*This is so tiring...* He decided before finally slumping down onto
a huge tree beside the deserted back alleys of town, checking his belongings
for anything edible or thirst-quenching. Having found none, he simply sighed
in resignation and rested his arms behind his back as he faced the lonely,
thick mist with wide, deep eyes.
He wasn't surveying the land, or doing anything in particular. How
was it possible, anyway, in the solidness of the fog? A mere rest, he
thought to himself. A mere indulgence one of superior sword skills could
only allow oneself once in a long while.
And he laughed at the ironic way he portrayed himself. One of
superior sword skills? Oh how anyone would laugh at him if he said it. True,
perhaps only few know of the truth behind the matter, but Soujirou himself
would not stop anyone from laughing at him for being silly. For he was.
How could he possibly be anyone who knew how to handle a sword, when
he didn't have a sword by him? How pointless it was to try to even convince
anyone otherwise... Soujirou gave himself another one of the seasoned smiles
used for hiding true emotions, then dropped it as a horse carriage could be
heard approaching.
"Yahiko! Yahiko you bum! Get off the roof sun-tanning yourself this
very instance!"
The one called Yahiko turned his head from his lying position on the
roof to stare into the face of his very infuriated Master. He sat up lazily,
running his hand through the custom shaped black spikey hair he always had
been proud of possessing.
"What is it?" He could barely mumble.
"WHAT IS IT?!?!" The female voice streaked out again. The next
moment, while Yahiko took his time trying to open his eyes in the rising
sun, a shinai flew through the air to land point blank on Yahiko's forehead.
Well, that forced his eyes wide open, anyway.
"It's the 21st. Just in case you forgot..."
This one had a very ambiguous sound to it.
"Yes. I did forget." Yahiko took the shinai and leapt off the roof,
landing spectacularly on his Master. "Thanks for reminding..." He stopped,
scratched his head and stood up, followed abruptly by his very crazed
looking master, foaming at the mouth in absolute anger. "... for
reminding..." He stopped again, face contorted with perplexity.
In the distance, the dojo doors could be heard sliding open, with a
click which presumably denoted the limits of how much the wood could reach.
A familiar voice sounded out.
"Ah! Tsubame-dono!"
In the next instance, Yahiko was at the door, panting and wheezing
from covering too great a distance with too little time. Tsubame looked on
with no amusement or anger, merely embarassment, as she always felt when
Yahiko was around. She shifted her weight around endlessly and waited for
someone else to break the ice.
"Go... Gomen!" Yahiko immediately started. "I... totally, by
golly... FORGOT about promising to help out at the restaurant today!"
Tsubame blushed a deeper flush of red as Kenshin went on to snapping
the dirt out of the white clothes, which were, by the way, what he ever
seems to be washing anyway.
"No... it's... all right actually..."
Kaoru came from behind and interrupted abruptly. "No it's not all
right! Students of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu never forgets what promises
they've bore! Get out! NOW!!!!" She yelled despite herself.
Her tone was harsh... yet soft... and, surprisingly enough to
Yahiko, imploring... with some speckles of embarassment perhaps. He turned
to the familiar redhead of the house to extract perhaps a confirmation of
what was happening, but if Kenshin had heard the tone of Kaoru's voice, he
did a very good job in hiding the surprise.
"Listen to your Master, Yahiko." Kenshin only smiled at him and
snapped out some more dirt from the new batch of white clothes he was
dipping into the bucket. These words worked magically, and Yahiko was on his
way immediately with a cheery 'YES SIR!'. There was no hiding that Kenshin
was Yahiko's goal in life. He was everything Yahiko could ever hope to want
to be, for he was STRONG... although the meaning of 'strong' could mean so
many different things. He was just... unique, different in so many ways.
Kenshin was his role-model and a replacement of paternal love Yahiko himself
never received in full. So naturally, Yahiko did everything Kenshin
requested of with utmost pleasure or just feeling happy that he could please
this one he so much respected.
And the one called Kenshin continued washing and snapping the dirt
out of the poor clothes as Yahiko and Tsubame disappeared down the misty
road. Kaoru sighed in relief, her lucious black hair whipping about in the
slight breeze, tied up in a high ponytail behind her. Her dancing eyes
turned to the only other person in the courtyards with a slight glimmer of
hope in it.
*She's looking surprisingly fresh for someone who usually gets up so
late...* Kenshin mused to himself, and waited patiently for her to state her
reason, or point, or whatever it was that made her get up so early.
"Err... Kenshin..." She started, unsure of what do say... or how to
continue. Kenshin flipped a piece of cloth about in front of him and peeked
over it cautiously.
"Kaoru-dono... ?"
"I was just wondering if you'd like to... erm... well..." Kaoru gave
herself a mental slap. HARD, on the face. She'd been planning this for so
long, how could she stumble at the last minute now? GO ON, KAORU YOU FOOLISH
FEMALE! She chided herself. GO ON!
She had a huge intake of air.
She couldn't continue. She would... later, but not now. Not when she
was so... oh never mind...
However, it wouldn't entirely be too good to end the conversation
just there, so...
"Iwasjustwonderingwhetheryou'dliketoteachmehowtocooksomethingreally-
niceandnottoodisgustingforachange..."
Kenshin continued snapping the dirt out of the clothes, brows
creased in slight amusement. "Kaoru-dono?" He gently inquired again,
concerned. Ah, how that voice, how that snapping-the-dirt-out-of-the-clothes
action always made poor Kaoru want to swoon... and she would too, if she
didn't flee from the courtyards soon enough...
Soujirou winced. He could feel his expressions going dead-pan,
something he had been devoid of for ten years and recently regained. Even he
himself admitted he was not too used to this facade, however more normal it
made him...
He could remember an incident like this too, many many days ago,
when life had been but a passing phase of living strongly. There he was,
hidden in the shadows of the shady trees, and there it was, beating
furiously down the tracks of a lonely alley, creating dust storms when it
passed through. In it held an important man. In him held an important
message to be relayed to one who could twist the fates decided for Japan
then...
... and Soujirou had his orders to relinquish those thoughts in
Okubo Toshimichi.
Every single muscle in Soujirou tensed up again to be going through
something of such similar nature. He could hear the horses heavy gallops
fast approaching, and every bit of him felt tempted enough to chase after
the carriage with the super-human speed he possessed.
Yet as he stood up, he hesitated. What was his mission this time?
No. He had no mission this time. He had no message to relay to the person in
the carriage now, so why was he...
He sat down abruptly, disturbing the peaceful leaves which had long
fallen from their mother branches. This was a trick he had learnt through
all these time spent wandering around the country aimlessly, seeking to help
and to be helped.
Placing two fingers from each hand on each temple, like in deep
concentration, Soujirou frowned and held his breath for three seconds,
before letting go abruptly and regaining his smile.
*That's better.* He gave himself a mental jerk and looked at the
boiling orange ball rising from the bluish horizon, creating a beautiful
contrast in accordance to the misty dark alleys.
Somewhere in the back of his head, yes, somewhere in the back of his
stomach as well, cries of 'HELP! FOOD! NOW!' could be heard. The grumbling
of his unhappy stomach, Soujirou was sure, could be heard rebounding through
infinite echoes all across the lonely walls of...
*What's the name of this place again?* Soujirou scratched his head.
He had developed an incredibly lackadaisical attitude with an extremely
failing memory while he roamed. He could remember, nearly ten steps back
from where he was he had asked as to which place he currently borrowed
dwelling on, and trust him to forget ten steps later...
*It doesn't matter...* He lifted himself off and continued on his
journey, this time for food, amongst the streets of a familiar, yet not so,
city.
~It doesn't matter...~
"Hmmm... Akabeko restaurant..."
Soujirou looked up in the skies. He had been looking for two hours,
and by now the sun had risen to a quite considerable height in the skies,
while he continued his food quest.
Nothing he'd seen on the way quite impressed him enough. Either they
didn't look like restaurants, so much so that he missed them completely, or
they simply didn't look hygienic enough for a wanderer like himself could
survive on.
Not that it all mattered anyway. Soujirou had been living from hand
to foot for quite some time now, and he really needed some comfort, even if
it meant losing the rest of his days to extinct privilege...
He stepped cautiously into the noisy restaurant, absorbing the place
with as much details as he could. There were many chamber like compartments,
and almost every single one were filled with happy customers feasting away.
The air of slight ease was present all over. Every group of people were
separated into different bunks so that they could enjoy even some slight
privacy in a public place... an ingenius idea indeed, something seldom seen,
Soujirou put two fingers on his chin.
"Good morning and welcome!"
A voice so cheery and out of this world shocked him right to the
ribs as a waitress jumped out of seemingly nowhere to usher him into the
restaurant into an empty bunk.
"Would you kindly sit down, sir? What would you like, sir? How about
more tea, sir? Is it okay if I..."
Bombarded by questions, Soujirou simply stared helplessly at the
over-friendly waitress with a look which denoted "I'm-sorry-but-could-you-
repeat-that-again?"
She seemed to have caught the clue, and was about to restart her
flurry speech when someone called her name down the hall.
"Excuse me, I'll send someone back." She sweetly smiled and rushed
off to answer the concerned customer's voice. The entire place was bustling
with activity, something Soujirou would have liked to avoid if otherwise.
He sighed and checked the money he had carefully counted before stepping in.
Would it be enough? Oh he wished he'd just chose something simple, something
by the side inns instead...
He was so waist deep engrossed in his personal thoughts that he
didn't even feel or see the shadow of another dropping by close beside him.
"Not enough spare change?" A youthful voice knocked him out of his
ponderation. Embarassed, he turned his head to the new entrance.
A young boy, near 10 to 12 possibly. Soujirou sighed in what,
relief? Discomfort? He surveyed the boy for a split second, before choosing
a greeting. "Hello, little kid... I was just..."
A look of an absolutely peeved youngster flashed across the young
waiter's expressions as he reached behind to grab something. "Don't call me
little kid!" He barely managed to stifle his anger. "'Coz I could beat you
to pulp anytime I wanted for insulting me like that!" He lifted a little of
his shinai kept protectively behind him to show Soujirou of the fate he
would have received if he didn't keep his words polite and un-demoralizing.
"I... Iie!" Soujirou quickly held up both his hands to protest even
in the most feeble way that he was insulting the little boy... "I was... I
meant..."
He thought he heard the young boy growling, and decided it was time
to hit the gears...
Yahiko growled at this young... man? woman? in front of him. No one
calls him 'little kid', especially not after what he did to Hennya at Aoiya.
He wouldn't allow that even if nothing happened at Aoiya anyway. He had a
pride, and he was keeping it. This young... man, yes, man, Yahiko decided,
was nothing but another weakling beggar (judging from the way his clothes
were so...) trying to get a free meal on Tae-san's account.
Not that it was his business whether Tae wanted to treat every poor
looking soul who comes in and goes, but they were having too many of these
free-loaders lately, especially with the incoming winter. With that in mind,
Yahiko kept a clear lookout for anyone even slightly resembling a beggar,
and did his best to subtly chase them out of the restaurant.
Although in a way, Yahiko's "subtly" was...
"I will take my leave now, kodomo-kun..." Soujirou barely managed.
He hated trouble, he didn't want any, not anymore. And he had thought of
this journey as a ten year challenge issued from someone who obviously knew
the delights and tortures of travelling inside out... what great dramatic
irony. He nervously mused.
"Yeh! If that's the case! HIT IT!" Yahiko practically yelled, which
was absolutely necessary anyway, considering the amount of noise everybody
in the restaurant was collectively making.
Without a word, Soujirou stumbled out as fast as he could... well,
no, not really AS FAST AS HE COULD (for we all know how fast that would be),
just... as fast as he thought he should. Yep. That's right. He could feel
the young boy's eyes watching him leave the restaurant in the huff, and was
glad to be able to slam the door shut as he leaned slightly onto it.
Letting out a sigh of relief while looking into the skies, he smiled
again, at how many interesting experiences of such he could discuss with
Himura-san in ten years.
Provided he even lasted that long.
Feeling free of obligations, as he always did when he travelled,
Soujirou gathered up his belongings which had fallen to the ground in his
rush and gently strode along, basking in the relaxed glory of morning
sunshine.
*Hm. Coward.* Yahiko inwardly sneered as the flustered man stumbled
clumsily out of the restaurant and slammed the door shut. Although as much
as he would like to denounce this man again, he couldn't help but feel a
little similarity bursting from this man's unique aura. He was polite, and
calm, and for once Yahiko didn't get some response in his threatening to
fight every guy off the street mode lines.
This man in blue... very tattered blue, was nervous in a strong sort
of way, and deliberately obliging in a respectful manner of etiquette. He
had slightly long hair... twinkling eyes that were too old to fit that
youthful looking face. And even as he was without a sword, he was just
like...
... Kenshin...
Instantly Yahiko shook his head to brush off the thought. He could
not deny that this man in blue had too much similarities with his greatly
respected Kenshin, but he was only alike with the pure Rurouni in Kenshin.
No, the true Kenshin, which Yahiko had grown to love and understand, was far
far more deep and wholesome than what this young man in blue could offer to
him by aura and by charm.
Yet Yahiko wondered how much more about this young man he could pry
about if he was to communicate more. Too bad... he'd blown the chance
already.
He sighed and picked up the huge basket he had been assigned to for
buying some restaurant needs.
Kaoru laughed at the monkey displaying his acrobatic skills in front
of the impromptu crowd. At first she had intended to get a whiff of fresh
air, and then she had discovered she really needed to get something for that
night's dinner, so she stayed out a little longer, knowing the dojo was safe
in the hands of the family's beloved Rurouni, to enjoy the open air and
people's warmth as well as the laughy crowd gathered at the stand now...
*At least I won't look like a liar when I get back.* She smiled to
herself, then spontaneously broke into huge laughter when the monkey did
more absurd stunts at it's master's bidding.
The laughter drew the young wanderer near as he curiously peeked
over the shoulders of a few shorter ladies. He smiled as he saw what it was.
A monkey performance.
*Well, how many of those have I seen thus far?* He began counting.
Ah, life was so relaxing like that, counting things of the most
insignificant orders and busying himself in the most ridiculous affairs. Yet
he could not deny that he liked it, very very much indeed, for the skies
were his compass and the lands were his home, while the seas were his
companions and the birds were... never mind.
He turned to leave, when something caught his eye.
Yahiko dragged the now heavily imbued (wrong usage, but I don't
really care) basket behind him, panting in his step. Twacking the drops of
sweat off his brow, he checked the shopping list again for any missing items
before finally feeling satisfied with what he had.
He stopped at an entire crowd of laughing people and wondered
briefly what was going on behind the curtain of people. Him, being pretty
much shorter than most of the people there, could not catch a glimpse of
what was going on no matter how much he poked. Finally, deciding he had had
enough, he started dragging the basket all the way back.
He watched carefully, not wanting to misunderstand or anything, or
cause a great big commotion so that too much attention would be attracted.
Yes. It was confirmed. That man was stealing from an unknowing young lady
enjoying herself watching the show. Soujirou's eyes narrowed. How dare he.
It was now the sacred Meiji Era, how dare he pick on other's
disadvantageous...
A few moments later, the man had gotten the money pouch that had
been hanging from the young lady's obi by the side. Realizing that the young
lady would not notice this for a long time, Soujirou looked around for
anything that could be used, anything at all, as a weapon against that
unlawful man. Yes... that was the young gentleman from the restaurant wasn't
it? His shinai would do good... except that he was like 50 metres away from
the crowd already?
Soujirou could rectify that.
In about one second, he had swiftly reached the young boy's back and
gently eased the shinai out of its original lodging place, with inhuman
speed, no less, and returned to the crime scene where the criminal was just
about to make his getaway. With the split second this unlawful beast took to
turn his head to the direction he had chosen to get away with, Soujirou
thwacked him on his left shoulder, point blank, emitting a sickening,
cracking sound.
Gasps resounded throughout the entire onlooking crowd.
"Jeepers... NO!" Soujirou placed a hand on his forehead and started
to curse himself. He lifted the shinai up to investigate it, heaving only a
very tremendous sigh of relief when he confirmed no scratch on the shinai.
For if otherwise, he would not have dared faced the young waiter in the
restaurant ever again...
The thief was on the ground, eyeballs rolled and foaming at the
mouth. *Oops.* Soujirou thought, the moment he relaid his eyes on the man.
*I never thought a shinai could be of so much bodily harm...* He bent down
to the man and lifted the pouch easily from his boney fingers.
"I presume this is yours, Miss?" Soujirou held it out to an
astonished looking Kaoru.
"M... Mine?" Kaoru started, checking around for her money pouch,
which was indeed not anywhere on her at the moment. "MINE!" She yelled in
joy and almost snatched the pouch from Soujirou. "Thank you, very very
much!" She smiled, while the crowd simply gasped in awe.
"You're welcomed, but if there isn't... well I think I should take
my leave now." He smiled warmly and turned his back immediately. Another
thing he had learnt during his wandering days, was that one must always
leave before one could make any real acquaintance with anyone, for it would
be shearing to attempt going off afterwards.
Kaoru stared in amazement at the air surrounding the young... wait a
minute... oh yes, should be a boy. Yes, the air surrounding the young boy.
Clad in blue with a well-trained smile, the way he simply tore himself away
from simple acquaintance was uncannily alike to...
... Kenshin? Or that of every Rurouni in the land?
*And I thought I'd be able thank him properly... must be a rurouni
like Kenshin...* She smiled at the thought. ~Kenshin...~
That reminded her. She'd better get the stuff soon and return to
make sure he doesn't fall ill or anything washing the clothes out in the
open, since it was really getting very cold around...
As if to confirm, she shivered in the chilling breeze just arrived.
Sanosuke swore. It wasn't the first time he swore that day, and in
fact, he highly suspected there were more to come, once he found his
vocabulary.
He looked up to the skies and swore again when a breeze swept by.
"Ch, hadn't expected winter so soon this year." He grumbled, kicking away a
large pile of gathered leaves beneathe the cherry blossom trees. It was
getting cold. Too cold to walk about anymore. He couldn't understand this
sudden temperature change, but which direction the skies were going to
didn't concern him directly.
"Hmm, maybe if I go to the fox doctor's clinic I can find a cure for
weather's tempermental behavior."
Ah, the things people did to see someone they yearned to, the
excuses they came up with... so cute...
*Oh dear oh dear...* Soujirou winced scanning the streets with
flustered cheeks. *The boy's gone, and I am NOT going to step inside the
restaurant to create more trouble with and for the boy again...*
Gently, he knocked himself on the head with the shinai. The boy was
going to go KAPUT! when he realized his shinai was gone, and seeing the kind
of temper he had as a preview in the restaurant previously, returning it now
would be a definite NO-NO, as he was clear it would only create more havoc
than what he already did at the monkey performance stand just now.
*And to think I actually enjoy doing all this...* Soujirou grinned
weakly at himself, hand grabbing tightly onto his belongings hung over his
shoulder, the other one gently handling the shinai.
He stopped in his step, testing the winds for a while. It smelled
of winter, something he hadn't expected till quite late in the month. True,
he hadn't been really keeping tabs of the date, but still he did know the
seasons if anyone asked.
He stared at the abnormal skies, wondering. Something behind all
this sudden weather change? Highly unlikely, probably just a weather
spectre, or the clouds just forgot to set their alarms properly. Again, a
sigh of unconfirmed emotions escaped his lips.
*So. Where to now?* He took a quick glance around his surroundings.
Someway or another, in the process of wandering around aimlessly, he had
found out that lonely back alleys, or just about anywhere void of a lot of
people, were what Soujirou personally preferred.
Maybe he was just anti-social?
A piercing scream winged swiftly through the air, bursting
Soujirou's eardrums. This was followed up soon by yelps of "HELP! THIEF!"
In the next moment, Soujirou had traced the source of the sound and
promptly hit the spot. A woman was kneeling on the ground, crying, with a
child by her side. This child... this child was... bleeding! Profusely!
Soujirou did not have to wonder long to figure out what exactly was going
on. The alleged thieves, three of them, had a bundle in their arms,
presumably of the lady and her child's, as well as a bloodied katana...
All of Soujirou's belongings slipped from his shoulders in a fluid
movement, but he held fast to the shinai. It was not as if he had not seen
such bloodied and brutal scenes before, though... it was just that...
A child... innocent, and pure to the world. The future... and now he
lay mutilated in a sobbing mother's arms...
"YOU!" He looked up at the robbers with pure fury in his eyes,
lifting the shinai to be pointed at them as he spoke.
They merely laughed. "You dare challenge us, fool?" The one with a
scar across from the forehead to the lid of the eye mocked. "You don't know
what you're asking for..."
*Idiots. I didn't ask for a challenge.* Soujirou grimaced.
They arranged themselves to block of access to the lady and her
child hidden behind in the shadows of a dead-end path behind them. Soujirou
swung the shinai to his side and faced them, brows knitted in anger.
"Hand them over, and you won't get hurt." He lowered his voice
dangerously. The two followers cowered at his tone, but the leader smirked
again. Now his eyes were narrowed dangerously into slits, and he took one
step nearer the trio. "I repeat. Hand. Them. Over."
He was being ignored, and he was ready to destroy them for not doing
as he was told. If the child didn't get to a clinic soon... Soft laughter
from the leader slowly reverted to hysterical laughter. His steel blade
reflected beautifully in the morning sun, a sick irony, considering how much
blood were on the blade now. Blood of a child... of innocence...
"We are the three notorious warriors of Tokyo!" A sudden declaration
was made, shifting Soujirou's attention back to the leader. "NO ONE,
challenges us! Besides, we're not done with the lady and her child yet." He
shot his best glare at Soujirou, who merely shot one back and bested him.
"I don't care who you are, three nutritious warriors or not."
Soujirou calmly expressed what he thought of these three idiots in front of
him. "Because if you don't hand them over, I will personally make sure your
notorious reputation ends right here and NOW."
There were boiling emotions from the three of the addressed men.
Possibly, no one had ever said things like that to them and lived to tell
it, judging from the way their faces distorted in rage. Soujirou lapsed into
a guarding stance, knowing how low idiots like these would stoop to gain an
advantage...
True to his thoughts, the first one charged at him from his left
with a cry which probably translates to 'Curse your mother, your father and
all of your ancestors and oh by the way watch me kill you now!' As soon as
the wooden sword he had was brought down, Soujirou brought his own shinai up
and pushed him slightly backwards, watching him stumble, stunned. Then, in a
whiff of smoke, he vanished and reappeared behind the man, shinai already
deeply buried into the back of his neck.
This man gapped wildly, eyes bulging in disbelief before collapsing
into subconsciousness. *No time to even scream, but just as well... don't
want to attract too much attention...* Soujirou did not wait for the next
man to get over from his shock. Borrowing the wall beside him, he leapt off
it to arrive behind the man in yet another flash.
Unfortunately, the man had somehow anticipated this move and now was
wildly thrashing his weapon backwards. After his fling however, Soujirou saw
that he was completely open to any attacks, and promptly stuffed the top end
of the shinai into his stomach, rendering the poor man unconcious as well.
Instincts hit him as he swiftly ducked, just in time to avoid the
blade of a real sword aimed accurately for his head. The leader withdrew his
attack with a low grunt of displeasure and prepared again.
Soujirou leapt two steps backwards, shinai in hand.
"Will you release them to me now?"
The leader just kept glaring at him. "You're fast, kid." Soujirou
could spot the tremor in his voice. Good, he needed the leader to feel as
frightened as he could. "Fast..." he trailed, then regained composure. "...
but I'm faster! You watch out! YAAAAAAA -- !"
His blade gleamed, but never touched the target.
"What the..."
Before he could finish his sentence, his sword was thwacked out of
grasp and the hilt of the young man in blue's shinai caught him straight on
the forehead...
Soujirou got up, weary from the fight. It had been pretty easy
though, he admitted. He examined the three unconcious bodies in front of him
and then trottered quickly over to the young lady.
"Are you all right?" His eyes gleamed of concern. "Can I help, in
any way at all?"
The lady looked up with pleading eyes. "Thank you..." She barely
managed to mutter. "... there's a clinic around here..." She glanced briefly
around in a fluster, with crying eyes. The child stirred in her arms as
Soujirou signalled for him to be handed over.
"There there... you'll be all right..." Soujirou's soothing voice
protruded through the thick, stiff morning air. He saw the lady pick up his
travel belongings for him as she picked up her own bundle and smiled. She
was a very responsible lady indeed, he thought, chucking the shinai to the
side of his hakama and shifting the boy slightly so he would be in a more
comfortable position.
To his surprise, the boy grabbed at his gi and wrenched open one
bloodied eyelid. "Okaasan..."
"She's all right." Soujirou assured, and as if on cue, the so said
Okaasan gently held onto one hand of the young boy. Soujirou looked at the
young boy, wondering what he had done to provoke the robbers into attacking,
presuming that these robbers hadn't just attacked on sight.
"They were doing something funny to Okaasan..." The boy choked, as
if he could read Soujirou's thoughts by merely looking into his questioning
eyes. Soujirou simply smiled for reassurance. "... I wanted to protect
her... thank you for helping..."
Soujirou looked forward into the path with a mother's son gathered
in his arms and the mother sobbing in touched concern beside him, as he
continued his journey in the direction of the clinic.
"You are a brave boy." He gently announced, and not for the first
time that day wondered if THIS, was his motive in journeying...
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"
Tsubame tried to pacify the furious Yahiko, who was ruining
everything in the backyard of the restaurant. He had even tried to throw
some veggies and fruits down the water well as well, but was convinced
otherwise by the ever present Tae. So he contented himself with kicking,
screaming, punching and blaming instead.
"It's all your fault! How could this have happened!!?? NOOOOOOO!"
"Yahiko-kun..." Tsubame was weeping softly. She hated violence, and
she really didn't know what to do with the situation at hand. Yahiko had
always been well-behaved, no matter how rough, in front of her...
"Yahiko-kun..." Tae echoed, large sweatdrops dripping off her hair
and forehead. "... it wasn't anyone's fault that your shinai..."
"NONONONO!NO!O!O Don't talk about my shinai anymore! AREGGHGH!"
Tsubame grabbed onto Tae's apron and hid her face from the fuming
Yahiko, still busy punching the wall in anger. His shinai! Lost just like
that! How could he not have noticed! More importantly...
WHO DID IT?!?!
"Sanosuke?" Megumi stopped mid-way in bandaging the injured hand of
a patient. "What brings you here?" She half-mocked, noticing the usual
sturdy 19 year old shivering slightly as he stood out in the open courtyards
of the clinic.
"Ch, can't I come for no reason at all?" He stepped into the
slightly warmer clinic, as Megumi turned to finishing up the final wraps of
the patient's arm.
"No you can't. This is a clinic, not an inn or Kaoru's dojo." Megumi
grumbled, writing out the prescription for the patient in the room before
handing it over with a few instructions. The patient thanks her and made his
exit. By that time, Sano had seated himself comfortably in a small corner of
the room, trying to make himself as inconspicious as possible.
"I don't care. It's a public place, and that entitles me to free
coming and going." Sano bit furiously on his fishbone, hands wrapped around
himself.
Megumi frowned, then got up to exit the room. She came back soon
with a blanket which she flung violently towards Sano, covering him up
entirely in the meantime.
"Take this. I don't want anyone to freeze to death in the clinic...
not a very good reputation it'll make..." She mumbled the last few words,
herself taking her customary position in the doctor's chair. "Although I
must admit, I didn't expect winter so quickly in the year..."
"As if I did." Sano's muffled voice came from beneath the blanket,
where he struggled to get the corners of so as to control how he was to be
covered.
Megumi ignored him for a while, staring at the skies in concern. "I
wish I had a cure for that too..." She lamented. "... many people falling
ill over this weird weather pattern..."
"If you didn't like the trouble of all this curing, just say so."
"I didn't ask for an opinion, mind you!"
"Then what am I supposed to do? Sit here and watch you cut up
mysterious looking plants all day?"
"You could jolly well leave if it bothers you so much."
"Right, and..."
Their conversation (conversation? What conversation?) was stopped by
the sudden appearance of a weeping lady leaning on the door frame for
support, holding in her hands the small form of a young, injured child.
"Please help..."
Sano caught her before she fainted. Megumi moved in to lift the
child from the mother's embrace. After a quick check, she looked up at Sano
with alarmed eyes.
"Emergency!" She whispered and ran deeper into the room with the boy
in her arms. Sanosuke merely nodded and lifted up the mother from the floor
into the room as well. He'd been around long enough at the clinic to know
what exactly Megumi was going to do, and he knew she'd need all the help she
could.
Before he left however, he thought he could spot a pair of eyes
peering through the clinic front doors. He blinked, and the doors slid shut
silently.
Was he dreaming, or were those eyes... !!
His eyes were wide with disbelief. Him? Here? Oh no... then indeed,
this place...
He stole a quick glance around, then briskly geared up his engines.
Previously, he had wanted to personally bring the young kid into clinic, but
the mother wouldn't allow him to trouble himself over her family matters
anymore, so he had to relax his principles and return the previous
possession back to the original owner.
Still his heart wasn't at ease. He had to see the boy being
delivered straight into the doctor's arms before he could leave, so he
managed to slide a small slit from the clinic's front doors to peek, and
satisfied that it was enough, watched for a while.
Yet... yet...
Soujirou had to hasten, before Himura-san's companion recognized him
and gave chase. The boy was safely delivered, he knew that, and he really
had no face to see any of Himura-san's friends or Himura-san himself as of
yet.
Soon, he was a far way off from the clinic, back at some old mazey
alley with no one at all. Just as well... He breathed in a large amount of
the morning air. Soon it would be afternoon, then evening, then night...
then the next day would come... on and on and on, this would continue until
his own designated ten years was up. Yes... ten years...
*Well, I've done my second good deed of the day, yet I've still not
gotten anything to eat...*
Lamentations, lamentations... he gently rubbed on the shinai hung
absently around his left side. It was a silly place to chuck a shinai, since
that was where a sword should go, but that was the only place Soujirou could
think of...
He stopped dead in his tracks, realizing something. Quickly, he
dropped his travelling boxes and drew out the shinai with a glimmer of hope
in his eyes.
True enough, on a small part of the wooden blade, there were a few
carved words. Soujirou squinted.
*Kamiya Kasshin Ryu Dojo. Myoujin Yahiko.*
Soujirou smiled. At least that gave him something to work on. Maybe,
if he was quick enough, he could just leave it in the dojo without anyone
suspecting and the young waiter of the restaurant wouldn't jump at his skin
for taking off with his shinai without permission...
*Thank you for swordsmen who cherish their swords enough to leave
name and address...* Soujirou sighed.
After asking around for a few more minutes, he nodded and was on his
way.
Kenshin wearily tried to shield himself from the cold breeze,
although he merely ended up shivering more violently. He groaned and sat
himself on the ground. Now where did Kaoru-dono say she was going to? Oh
yes... she figured they had ran out of ingredients required for the cookery
lesson and was promptly on her way to shop, although what Kenshin couldn't
understand was why one needed to leave to do one's daily shopping with such
a red face...
Kenshin had no idea why whatsoever as to why she felt this way. And
as much as he wanted to know...
He noticed a piece of paper on the usually clean dojo courtyards (of
course, with Kenshin around, the dojo courtyards would always be clean...),
and moved to pick it up. There were some curious looking words on it,
nothing more, but they were looking *extremely* alien to the confused
bishounen staring at it, nonplussed. *Gaijin words* he decided before
tucking it away securely for future retrieval.
With a sigh, he turned to finish up the laundry when he launched
himself into a tremendous sneeze. Jeepers. It was really getting *that* cold
around here. Although he couldn't help highly suspecting that the sneeze
from beyond the dojo doors too were anything but an echo...
The dark figure stepped into view with the half-opened dojo doors
framing his shivering body. He rubbed at his nose, then looked up in mock
surprise at the redhead boring his violet eyes into him.
They locked sights for a good 3 seconds before Kenshin dropped
everything in his hands and gapped.
"Soujirou... ?"
Soujirou's mock surprise changed into one more real.
"Hi... Himura-san!"
END PART 1
ruroken@geocities.com
23/4/98
Revised 24/4/98
Re-revised 15/5/98
(
geocities.com/tokyo/shrine/3037) (
geocities.com/tokyo/shrine) (
geocities.com/tokyo)