Night. How I hate it.
It's during silent, lonely moments like this when I'd remember *it.* Memories which hurt, making me wish that I'd never met *him* years ago, wish that I wasn't so damned strong that he'd decided to accept me as a disciple.
I gulp down another swig of sake and laugh bitterly. He'd be heart-broken to see me like this, a disciple of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu a drunk wreck, whiling his days away in the company of sake and self-reproach.
Well, what the hell am I supposed to do? I killed my own shishou! Killed the shishou whom I loved and respected like a father, in the name of inheriting this school of sword skill of three hundred years' heritage. No matter how many tears I shed, how many times I screamed his name, he remained lifeless in my arms, his discarded white mantle lying nearby. What was it that he said before he gasped his final breath? "Don't blame yourself... this is what we have to go through... what every Hiko Seijyurou has to go through..."
But the fact remains. *I killed my own shishou.* Killing is killing, no excuse can change that...
Another swig of sake, and I let myself be carried away by the alcohol into that world between insanity and logic...
*******
A shimmering shadow slowly manifested itself in the silent night, approaching the still form of the drunk young man.
:Another disciple succumbing to self-remorse. *sigh* To work, then...:
*******
I wake with a start, startled by a female's shrill scream.
"Wha...?"
Still a bit groggy, I hastily stumble towards the direction where the scream came from. After stumbling through some prickly shrubbery, the scene which greets me is that of a young girl cowering and shuddering before a huge bear, an ugly wound in her left arm. Her clothes are that of a peasant's, and she herself looks like a plain girl of sixteen or thereabouts. She must have disturbed the bear's young in some way, for it seems eager to devour her right now in order to protect its cubs.
I rush towards the bear, bringing my katana down to cut the bear in half from behind. There's no doubt about it, I'm quite good at wielding swords. Or else he wouldn't have decided to teach me all he knew... Great, the last thing I need now is another painful memory of the day when he signed his own death certificate by taking me, an orphaned youth of 13, into his care.
Shaking my head savagely to rid myself of the uncomfortable thought, I turn my attention to the girl instead. She stares at me with frightened eyes, as if I were some demon from hell. That's probably what I look like anyway, since I've never shaved ever since shishou died five days ago. My long hair's undone, and I'm suffering from a slight hangover. And of course, the fact that I'd just effortlessly cut a grizzly bear in half and doesn't seem to mind all the blood over me. I must look a sight...
The girl's wound doesn't seem to be very serious when I check on it, just some bleeding to be taken care of. I bandaged it with a piece of cloth torn from my sleeve. All the while, the girl seems too shocked or frightened to say anything. Just stared at me as if she couldn't believe a demon is dressing her wound instead of carrying her off to hell. Once I've finished, I stand up abruptly and turn to go. *That's* when she starts to talk.
"Wait!" I continue walking. I don't feel like starting a conversation right now.
"Thank you for saving me..." I simply grunt as a signal that I've heard her.
"You're a great swordsman. Which school are you practising?" Nosy girl. Doesn't her family teach her any manners at all? I ignore her and pace on.
"Is it the legendary Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu?" I stop dead in my tracks. I whirl around and walk back towards her. "How do *you* know about that?"
"Well, Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu is famous for its speed, and you're certainly very fast..."
I grab her by the shoulder. "No, that's not what I meant... How can you possibly know about it when it should be non-existent to most people?"
To my surprise, she doesn't seem to feel the pain even though my grip on her shoulder is getting more vice-like by the moment. On the contrary, she *smiled.* "Oh, I know. Even the fact that you're the new Hiko Seijyurou."
No... not that too. I realise I'm trembling now. It's the middle of summer, but I know better than to think the beads of sweat forming on my forehead are caused by the heat. Who - no, *what* is this girl who seems to know everything about me? I slowly release my grip on her and back away from this... apparition. Can this be a dream induced by excessive sake? There's certainly nothing timid about the girl now. Her bright eyes stare steadfastly at me, as if mocking me.
I'm suddenly terrified of her. Dreadfully terrified. For the first time in my life, I know fear. Even when shishou's Kuzu Ryu Sen came lashing at me with all his powers unrestrained, in order to make me master the succession technique, I didn't quiver. But *this* - this is different.
I'm simply afraid of her...
She continues to smile at me, then suddenly utters, "Feng Lin Huo Shan..."
"What?" I frowned.
"Still don't understand, do you? Perhaps *this* will help."
Her form shimmers and changes before my astonished eyes, as the young girl is transformed into one whom I know so well.
*SHISHOU...*
"No... it can't be... shishou, you're dead... I killed you..." My head is swimming... I know that he can't be alive, but he stands before me... the piercing eyes, the firm mouth curved into the familiar smile... The only thing missing is the white mantle that he wore all the time, except during our final match. Oh my god, to what depths of hellish nightmare have I been dragged down to?
"Come on Ryo. You know it's me. You think you have the ability to kill me? Not by a long way yet, lad." My god, even his voice... it *is* him!
"Shishou... but... your heart stopped beating. I killed you! I killed you with the Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki! The technique which even you yourself said is unbeatable!"
"Not yours, it's not." He stops smiling. "You think the technique *you* delivered was unbeatable? Let me show you how it should be done."
The katana at his side is suddenly unsheathed in a blinding motion. I can only stare, mouth opened, the strong wave of ki flying straight at me nailing me to the spot. The dragon is right in front of me, its jaws wide open, when suddenly it swerves to the right, slamming into a tree and neatly slashing it into two. Blood trickled from a long, thin wound which formed on my right cheek.
I stare at him. "Shishou...?"
He advances towards me. "Fool that you are to think that you've master the succession technique. How can I rest in peace when you've let me down by not mastering it properly? Prepare yourself, Ryo, and we'll continue that final unfinished lesson."
It's all happening again. I remember the other day, when I had brutally slain the nine-headed dragon, taking him with it... I can't go through it again, I can't... I can no longer control my trembling. I look up at the approaching figure, tears welling up in my eyes.
"Shishou, no... please... I can't do it... please..."
He remains silent, looking straight into my eyes. I suddenly realise that he's serious. Ghost or not, he's taking me with him if I don't fight back.
But I don't want to fight back...
There's a hint of sadness in his stern eyes as I watch him unsheathe his katana again, his left feet about to take that one last step to bring the normal battoujutsu to its maximum potential where it becomes a merciless soaring dragon.
Let it be, then. Perhaps it's just as well...
*Feng Lin Huo Shan...*
My eyes widen as those four Chinese words suddenly appear in my mind for no apparent reason. And then it all fell into place.
Wind. Forest. Fire. Mountain.
Swift as the wind. Slow as the forest. Deadly as the fire. Unmovable as the mountain.
I bring out my own katana, executing the Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki, going through the motion smoothly, bringing it exactly where I wanted it to land. The dragon pounce at my command, not overly aggressive yet not too gentle, just enough.
The blades clash against each other, two dragons colliding head on, the impact so strong that the world seems to shake with it. In that brief moment when our eyes met, I see something familiar yet at the same time unfamiliar in shishou's eyes - smiling, satisfaction, and a myriad of other emotions.
I pant laboriously as our blades part, the sudden enlightenment sapping my energy.
"You've got it after all." I look up with a start, for the voice was that of a female's again. My eyes widen further when I see that it's not the peasant girl before me, but a girl wearing a fine, rich court kimono which make her look like a princess from the Sengoku eras.
"The Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki... is not always fatal, is it? One is able to manipulate it according to one's wishes. Whether it's swift as the wind, or as slow as the swaying of the forest. Whether it's a vicious attack or a subtle one with a chance of escaping for the opponent." She nods approvingly at my enlightenment.
"Impenetrable as the overcast sky, sudden as the thunderbolt. As you progress and search deeper into yourself, you'll be able to wield it in any way you wish, adapting it to win in different situations. *That's* why it's the most powerful technique of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu. That's why generations of Hiko Seijyurous sacrificed themselves to pass on the skill."
I can't help but hang my head at the thought. "Is it worth it? To be killed by your own disciple in order to pass on the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu?"
"My child, let me tell you something. The first Hiko Seijyurou did not create the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu to bring unhappiness to his disciples. It was to protect the weak and to uphold justice that the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu was conceived. But it's so powerful, it's dangerous should it fall into the wrong hands. A true master of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu needs to understand fully the price of life in order to qualify himself as such. The Hiko Seijyurous have chosen their successors well, and it's because that they trust their chosen disciples well that they're willing to sacrifice themselves. Your shishou trusted *you.* Don't let him down. Carry on the spirit of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu well, and the souls of the Hiko Seijyurous will always be by your side."
I'm shocked. Shishou... trusted me? He believed that I had the ability to continue his mission to protect the weak with his sword? So much so that he'd willingly give his life to help me take the final hurdle? "But... I'm not strong enough!" I blurt out in despair. "How can I ever do the things he had completed so successfully?"
"Aren't you?" The angel-like girl asks of me. "Do you doubt your shishou's decision? I personally don't, you know. You're strong and intelligent. You *know* what you should do. Just go on believing in yourself, Hiko Seijyurou. For that is who you are now."
"...who are you, my lady?" I ask in awe.
"Natsuhime..." She replies my question with a sweet, gently smile, and vanishes as suddenly as a dream break. Only the midsummer cicadas' cries remain.
Natsuhime... the queen of the first Hiko Seijyurou, whom he rescued from the hands of a rival lord. Natsuhime, who had since become the guardian angel of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu, watching over all twelve generations of Hiko Seijyurous. And now, there's a thirteenth Hiko Seijyurou whom she'll watch over...
Thank you, my princess. I promise I'll never let you or all the masters of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu down. I'll never forget what you've taught me, and hopefully, the one I've chosen to inherit the heritage will not be as weak as I have been during the past few days, when he is to face the inevitable.
And when the time comes, I won't be afraid to join you on the other shore.
*******
"No, please, spare us! Take the money, but please, spare our lives!" The old man pleaded of the bandits, hugging his sobbing granddaughter close.
"Awww, c'mon old man, you think we'd let go of a chance of a good time?" The bandits leered at the girl as they pulled her loose from the old man's clutches, and proceeded to tear off her kimono.
Amid the laughter of the bandits, the screams of the girl and the pleas of the old man, a blade arced through the air, cutting down three men in one smooth motion.
"Who are you?" The remaining bandits shouted in terror at the tall man in a white mantle trimmed with red, the collars turned up high, his long hair tied back to avoid hindering his eyesight.
"Is my name a matter of consequence to you soon to be dead people?" He asked coldly, before finishing off the rest of the bandits in three more brisk moves. He then peeled off a relatively clean shirt off a dead bandit and discreetly covering the girl's bare shoulders with it.
"It's dangerous travelling this road by night, ojiisan, young lady. But I reckon there'll be no more people troubling you tonight. Go straight down this road and turn to the right, and you'll see an inn by the river. You'd better stay there for the night."
The tall man nodded at them and turned to go, leaving behind the two astounded people.
"Grandfather..." the girl said at length, as she helped her grandfather up.
"Yes, Sachiko?"
"I think that was the Lord of the Night himself, stopping by to help us..."
-End-
Ahem. Really, really lousy fic. I can't get it the way I want it... oh well. Hope you'll like it, though. Although Watsuki-sensei has never proclaim any relationship between the Hiko Seijyurou in the stand-alone story in RK vol. 6 (Crescent Moon of Sengoku) and the Hiko Seijyurou in the RK story, this is in my imagination and I guess I can make it that way! :) Also, note that the kanji of 'Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu' is not quite the same in both storylines, but what the heck...
The Chinese words, 'Feng Lin Huo Shan', is inspired by a line in the Sun Tzu's Art of War, the English translation of the original line is in the fic itself. That's the part about the wind, the woods, the fire and the mountain.
:P ~Tracy Lim~